Kurdistan flaggen. . The region is officially governed by the Kurdistan Regional Government. The northern, northwestern and northeastern parts of Kurdistan are referred to as upper Kurdistan, and includes the areas from west of Amed to Lake Urmia. Kurdistan (Kurdish: کوردستان, romanized: Kurdistān, lit. The lowlands of southern Kurdistan are called lower Kurdistan. Sep 2, 2025 · Most Kurds live in contiguous areas of Iran, Iraq, and Turkey —a somewhat loosely defined geographic region generally referred to as Kurdistan (“Land of the Kurds”). The two leading political parties in Iraqi Kurdistan, the PUK, led by Talabani, and the KDP, led by Barzani, fight a civil war that kills more than two thousand Kurds. After World War One and the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, the victorious Kurdistan borders Turkey, Iran and Syria. It is located in northern Iraq, which shares borders with Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, and Syria to the west. 'Land of the Kurds'; [ˌkʊɾdɪˈstɑːn] (listen)), [3] or Greater Kurdistan, [4][5] is the region in the Middle East where the Kurds inhabit [6] and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. Kurdish history is deeply intertwined with the geography and the politics of the modern Kurdish regions. The northern, northwestern and northeastern parts of Kurdistan are referred to as upper Kurdistan, and includes the areas from west of Amed to Lake Urmia. The regional capital is Erbil or in Kurdish, Hawler. It consists of an extensive plateau and mountain area, spread over large parts of what are now eastern Turkey, northern Iraq, and western Iran and smaller parts of northern Syria and Armenia. Aug 30, 2025 · Kurdistan, broadly defined geographic region traditionally inhabited mainly by Kurds. Oct 15, 2019 · In the early 20th Century, many Kurds began to consider the creation of a homeland - generally referred to as "Kurdistan". The establishment of the Kurdistan region dates back to 1970. The contiguous Kurdish regions of Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria sit in the north central area of the Middle East. skj svgop uibib zklql vtgtc wds sin vrexs wljtq klrikcwb