Portal:Kurdistan/Selected biography/Sunday

Sheikh Mahmmud Hafid (1878 – October 9, 1956) was the leader of several Kurdish uprisings against the British Mandate of Iraq. He was sheikh of a Qadiriyah Sufi family from the city of Sulaymaniyah. He twice proclaimed himself king of an independent Kurdish state. Sheikh Mahmud led the first Kurdish revolt in British controlled Iraq in May 1919. Shortly before being appointed governor of Sulaymaniyah, he ordered the arrest of all British political and military officials in the region. After seizing control of the region, Sheikh raised a military force from his Iranian tribal followers and proclaimed himself "Ruler of all of Kurdistan". read more...