1916-1923: Land Distributions

In 1916, British diplomat Mark Sykes and former French Consul of Beirut Charles Picot secretly negotiated a pact, later known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement, to divide Ottoman territories between their countries after World War I. Each power was determined to preserve its spheres of influence: the British sought control over vital trade routes connecting Europe to India through the Persian Gulf and the Suez Canal, while the French aimed to maintain dominance over Syria and Lebanon, along with access to cheap cotton and silk supplies. The negotiations ultimately split the Middle East into zones of British and French influence, with Britain assuming control over Palestine, Iraq, and Transjordan, while France secured authority over Syria and later Lebanon.

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Following the war, the Treaty of Sèvres (1920) officially dissolved the Ottoman Empire and, importantly for Kurdish history, included provisions for the creation of an independent Kurdish state. This marked a turning point for the Kurds, as the treaty formally acknowledged their right to self-determination and raised hopes for autonomy and eventual statehood. However, these aspirations were quickly dashed when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the new leader of Turkey, rejected the treaty’s terms.

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The Treaty of Lausanne (1923) replaced the Treaty of Sèvres after being revised under Turkish pressure. Its outcomes reversed Kurdish gains by removing all references to a Kurdish homeland and formally denying Kurdish aspirations for independence. With the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and the drawing of new national borders, the Kurdish people, who were concentrated in Ottoman lands, were divided across the emerging states of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Iran, setting the stage for decades of statelessness and continued struggles for recognition.

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Test your knowledge and quiz yourself: Quiz on Kurdish History from 1916-1923

 

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