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Syrian Kurdistan or Western Kurdistan refers to an area in the Middle East, located in northern and north-eastern Syria. The term is a Kurdish nationalist description of a geographic area, historically populated by Kurds, and included in the Syrian state by French Mandatory authorities following WWI. Since 2012, much of the Syrian Kurdistan came to be controlled by Kurdish militant groups as part of the Syrian civil war.

Kurdish nationalist concept

Kurdistan

Kurdish-inhabited areas
Language	Kurdish, Turkish, Arabic and Persian
Location	Western and Northwestern Iranian Plateau: Upper Mesopotamia, Zagros, Southeastern Anatolia, including parts of northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey
Area (Est.)	190,000 km²–390,000 km² 74,000 sq.mi–151,000 sq.mi
Population	25 to 30 Million (Kurdish Population) (Est.)

Contemporary use of Kurdistan refers to parts of eastern Turkey (Turkish Kurdistan), northern Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan), northwestern Iran (Iranian Kurdistan) and northern Syria (Western Kurdistan) inhabited mainly by Kurds. Kurdistan roughly encompasses the northwestern Zagros and the eastern Taurus mountain ranges, and covers small portions of Armenia.

See also

• Al-Jazira province
• Iranian Kurdistan
• Iraqi Kurdistan
• Turkish Kurdistan

References

1. The secret garden of the Syrian Kurdistan
2. "Kurdistan - Definitions from Dictionary.com". Retrieved 2007-10-21.
3. "Kurdish Studies Program". Florida State University. Retrieved 2007-03-17.
4. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2005.
5. Kurdistan, Britannica Concise.

• Secession in Syria
• Kurdistan independence movement