Est. ~3000 BCE · Kurdistan

Thousands of Years of
Kurdish Civilization

One of the world's oldest living cultures. Explore the full depth of Kurdish history, art, poetry, architecture, music, and heritage – preserved for generations to come.

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5,000+

Years of History

40M+

Kurdish People

Countries Spanning

Featured

Newroz: The Kurdish New Year

Celebrated for over 3,000 years · Spring Equinox

Ancient Citadels

Architecture & Sites

Kurdish Poetry

Mem û Zîn & beyond

Chronicle

A 5,000-Year Timeline

From the earliest civilizations of Mesopotamia to the modern Kurdish cultural renaissance. Every era, every story.

~3000 BCE – 600 BCE

Ancient Mesopotamia & the Gutian Kingdom

The ancestors of the Kurds inhabit the Zagros Mountains. The Gutian Kingdom rises to challenge Akkadian dominance in Mesopotamia, marking one of the earliest recorded presences of proto-Kurdish peoples.

612 BCE – 550 BCE

The Medes Empire

The Medes, widely considered ancestors of the Kurdish people, establish a powerful empire and destroy Nineveh alongside the Babylonians, reshaping the ancient Near East. Ecbatana (modern Hamadan) becomes their capital.

550 BCE – 7th Century CE

Persian Empires & Zoroastrian Influence

Kurds live under successive Persian empires: Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian. Zoroastrian beliefs deeply influence Kurdish folk religion and Newroz celebrations that persist to this day.

7th – 12th Century

Islamic Golden Age & Kurdish Literature

Kurds embrace Islam and contribute to the Islamic Golden Age. Kurdish principalities flourish across the region. The Shaddadids, Marwanids, and Rawwadids establish Kurdish dynastic rule, while Persian-Kurdish literary traditions blossom.

1137 CE

Saladin: Sultan of Egypt & Syria

Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, born Kurdish in Tikrit, founds the Ayyubid dynasty and recaptures Jerusalem in 1187. He becomes one of the most celebrated figures in both Islamic and Kurdish history.

17th Century

Mem û Zîn: Kurdish Epic Poetry

Ahmad Khani writes Mem û Zîn, the foundational epic of Kurdish literature, weaving together romance, philosophy, and a powerful call for Kurdish national identity – centuries before modern nationalism.

1920 – Present

Modern Kurdistan & the Cultural Renaissance

Following WWI, Kurdistan is divided between Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria. Despite statelessness, Kurdish culture endures: language, music, art and literature see a powerful global renaissance in the 21st century.

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The Tablet of Destinies

Play as an Iraqi archaeologist racing against smugglers who've broken into the ancient Erbil Citadel and the ruins of Hatra. Descend into forgotten tunnels, inspect real Mesopotamian artifacts for clues, survive ancient traps, and solve puzzles left behind by old kings – all to recover the lost Tablet of Destinies before it disappears forever.

Chapter 1

The Erbil Citadel

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Available in 🇬🇧 English 🇮🇶 Arabic Kurdish

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Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the Kurds?

The Kurds are an Indo-European people native to a mountainous region of Western Asia spanning south-eastern Turkey, northern Iraq, north-western Iran and northern Syria. Numbering an estimated 30 to 40 million, they are widely described as the largest nation in the world without a state of its own.

Where is Kurdistan?

Kurdistan is the mountainous region where Kurds form the historical majority. It spans four countries: south-eastern Turkey (Bakur), northern Iraq (Basur), north-western Iran (Rojhelat) and northern Syria (Rojava). Only the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is an officially recognised autonomous entity, with Erbil as its capital.

How many Kurds are there?

Estimates range from about 25 to 45 million, with 30 to 40 million the figure most commonly cited. Roughly half live in Turkey, where Kurds are the largest ethnic minority, alongside substantial communities in Iraq, Iran and Syria, plus a diaspora of well over a million concentrated in Germany.

What language do Kurds speak?

Kurds speak Kurdish, a Western Iranian language of the Indo-European family - related to Persian, not to Arabic or Turkish. Its main varieties are Kurmanji (northern), Sorani (central) and Southern Kurdish. Many Kurds also speak Zazaki or Gorani, which linguists classify as a closely related but separate group.

What religion are Kurds?

Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims, largely of the Shafi-i school. Kurdistan is also the homeland of the Yazidi and Yarsan (Kaka-i) faiths, and has significant Alevi, Shia and Sufi communities, alongside historic Christian and Jewish populations.

Are Kurds Arabs?

No. Kurds are an Indo-European people and Kurdish is an Iranian language, whereas Arabs are a Semitic-speaking people and Arabic is a Semitic language. The two are distinct in language, origin and culture, although many Kurds in Iraq and Syria also speak Arabic.