By: Kirmanj Gundi
In the wake of the Chalderan War, for the first time in 1639 our beloved Kurdistan was divided between the two warring empires, the Turkish Ottoman and the Persian Safavis. Although, this division formally ended or at least diminished the Kurdish political sovereignty, it did not impact the everyday livelihood of our people. Nonetheless, the geographical disunity caused our people to carry an alien identity, because the divide land was no longer able to represent the national identity of a distinct and independent people. Our people and their land became parts of the two empires.
Instead of thinking about the future of their people and try to reunite the fractured Kurdistan, some local leaders began cooperating with the central authorities and others remained indifferent to the Turkish and Persian threats. Kurdish manpower were used either against each other on both sides of the border or against enemies of the empires. Our people were the immediate victims of any hostility that took place between the warring factions, because Kurdistan on both sides of the border was the battleground of the hostile enemies.
Over the course of history, each central government tried to expand its political influence over the people of Kurdistan; particularly the Turkish Sultans