Sheikh Mahmmud Barzanji (Kurdish: Şêx Mehmûd Berzincî, Arabic:شیخ محمود برزنجي) was the leader of several Kurdish uprisings against the British Mandate of Iraq. He was Sheikh of a Qadiriyah Sufi family from town of Barzinjah (Barzinja, now in Iraq). He proclaimed himself King of an independent Kurdish state and took over the city and area of Sulaimaniya in 1919 and [1]. He was originally chosen by the British authorities to subdue and supervise the Kurds for them in their newly acquired mandate of Iraq. He did subdue and supervise the local Kurds, but not for the British authorities. As a result, he was arrested and sent to exile in India, only to be brought back a year later by the British, who hoped to co-opt him. Instead, he declared the independence of Kurdistan with himslef as its King, in 1922 [2] (p.11). The Kurdish language (Kurdî in Kurdish) is spoken in the region loosely called Kurdistan, including Kurdish populations in parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey [1]. Kurdish is an official language in Iraq while it is banned in Syria. ... Arabic (; , less formally, ) is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... The Kurds are an ethnic group inhabiting northern and northeastern Mesopotamia, which includes parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey (a region sometimes referred to as Kurdistan). ... The British Mandate of Palestine was a swathe of territory in the Middle East, formerly belonging to the Ottoman Empire, which the League of Nations entrusted to the United Kingdom to administer in the aftermath of World War I as a Mandate Territory. ... Shaikh (Arabic: ),(also rendered as Sheik, Shaykh or Sheikh) is a word in the Arabic language meaning elder of tribe, lord, a revered old man, or Islamic scholar. ... Qadiriyyah, one of the oldest Sufi tariqa, derives its name from Abd al-Qadir al-Djilani (1077-1166), a native of the Iranian province of Gilan. ... Sufism (Arabic تصوف taṣawwuf) is a system of esoteric philosophy commonly associated with Islam. ... Sulaymaniyah (Arabic: as-sulaymānÄ«yä, Kurdish: Slêmanî) is a city in the southeast of greater Kurdistan (the Kurdish-speaking region of the Middle East). ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Kurds are one of the Iranian peoples and speak Kurdish, a north-Western Iranian language related to Persian. ... Mandate can mean: An obligation handed down by an inter-governmental body; see mandate (international law) The power granted by an electorate; see mandate (politics) A League of Nations mandate To some Christians, an order from God; see mandate (theology) The decision of an appeals court; see mandate (law) The... EXILE is a 6-member Japanese pop music band. ... Kurdistan (literally meaning the land of Kurds) is both the name of a geographic region and a cultural region in the Middle East inhabited mostly by the Kurds, an ethnic group of unknown origins 1 living in parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Armenia, and Syria. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Sheikh Mamoud's Revolts

He lead the first Kurdish revolt occurred in British controlled Southern Kurdistan (Iraqi Kurdistan) in May 1919. Shortly before being appointed governor of Sulaimaniya, Sheikh Mahmoud Barzanji ordered the arrest of all British political and military officials in the region. After seizing control of the region, Barzanji raised a military force from his Iranian tribal followers and proclaimed himself Ruler of all of Kurdistan. Among Mahmud’s many supporters was 16-year-old Mustafa Barzani, the future leader of the Kurdish nationalist cause in Iraqi Kurdistan. Kurdistan is an area in the Middle East, inhabited mainly by the Kurds, covering parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Armenia, and Syria. ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Sulaymaniyah (Arabic: as-sulaymānÄ«yä, Kurdish: Slêmanî) is a city in the southeast of greater Kurdistan (the Kurdish-speaking region of the Middle East). ... Mustafa Barzani (March 14, 1903–March 1, 1979) was a Kurdish nationalist leader and President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). ...

As the British became aware of the Sheikh’s growing political and military power, they were forced to respond militarily. Two British brigades were deployed to defeat Sheikh Mahmoud’s fighters at Darbandi Bazyan near Sulaimaniya in June 1919. Sheikh Mahmoud was eventually arrested and exiled to India in 1921. 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Mahmoud's fighters continued to oppose British rule after the his arrest. The success of the Kurdish fighters’ anti-British revolts forced the British to recognize Kurdish autonomy in 1923. Returning to the region in 1922, Sheikh Mahmoud continued to promote raids against British forces, and declared himslef the King. On September 14th, 1922, the British recognized Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji as the first King of Kurdistan under the British mandate ( see [3], p.14). The Kingdom of Kurdistan lasted from 1922 to 1924. After the British government finally defeated Sheikh Mamoud, they signed Iraq over to King Faisal I of Iraq and a new Arab-led government. Sheikh Mahmoud had to retreat into the mountains, then he signed a peace accord with the Iraqi government and settled in the new Iraq in 1932.[4] Autonomy is the condition of something that does not depend on anything else. ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Faisal bin Husayn (Arabic:فيصل بن حسين May 20, 1883 – September 8, 1933) was for a short while king of Greater Syria in 1920 and king of Iraq from 1921 to 1933. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب Ê»arab) are a large and heterogeneous ethnic group found throughout the Middle East and North Africa, originating in the Arabian Peninsula of southwest Asia. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ...

See Also

• Kingdom of Kurdistan

The Kingdom of Kurdistan can refer to two kingdoms formed in the 1920s in the geo-cultural region of Kurdistan. ...

External Links

• Ethnic Cleansing and the Kurds
• Kurds and the Formation of the State of Iraq 1917-1932, by M.R. Izady
• The Kurdish Warrior Tradition and the Importance of the Peshmerga, by Michael G. Lortz.
• The Kurdish National Movement, By Jaafar Hussein Khidir, Kurdistan Studies Journal, No.11, March 2004.