Kurdistan, meaning "Land of the Kurds," is a loosely defined geographic region inhabited mainly by Kurds. It includes parts of eastern Turkey, northern Iraq, western Iran, and smaller sections of northern Syria and Armenia. The region covers an extensive plateau and mountainous area that incorporates the Zagros and the eastern extension of the Taurus mountain systems. The Kurdish people have lived in this area since ancient times.
The Treaty of Sèvres, a post-World War I pact between the Allied powers and the Ottoman sultan that was signed in 1920, provided for the recognition of an autonomous Kurdistan, along with an independent Armenia and three independent Arab states of Hejaz, Syria, and Iraq. Owing to the military revival of Turkey under Kemal Atatürk, this treaty was never ratified. It was superseded in 1923 by the Treaty of Lausanne, which confirmed the provision for the Arab states but omitted mention of Armenia and Kurdistan.