About 92.73% of Iraqi Kurds voted for independence in 2017, yet no state recognised it and Baghdad retook Kirkuk within weeks.
A secret 1916 deal split Ottoman Arab lands into British and French zones. The borders that followed left no Kurdish state.
The 1920 Treaty of Sevres allowed Kurdish autonomy and later independence. It was never implemented, and Lausanne in 1923 omitted it.
A March 1970 autonomy agreement broke down over Kirkuk and oil. Baghdad imposed its own law in 1974; the revolt collapsed after the 1975 Algiers deal.
Iraq's 1988 Anfal campaign destroyed thousands of Kurdish villages. The Halabja chemical attack on 16 March killed about 5,000 people.
Under allied air protection, Kurds held elections in May 1992 and formed the KRG. The KDP and PUK became the two dominant parties.
Fighting over territory, customs revenue and power split the Region in two. A US-brokered deal in September 1998 ended it.
Iraq's 2005 constitution made Kurdistan a federal region. Article 140 set a path to settle Kirkuk by 2007 and was never completed.
After the army collapsed against ISIS in June 2014, Peshmerga moved into Kirkuk. The Region also began its own oil exports via Turkey.
Barzani announced the vote on 7 June. On 25 September about 92.73% said yes on a turnout near 72%. It was advisory and no state recognised it.
Iran halted flights on 24 September. From 29 September Baghdad barred international flights and Turkish carriers followed.
On 15 and 16 October federal forces and the PMF moved into Kirkuk. Peshmerga pulled back and the oil fields returned to Baghdad.
The KRG offered to freeze the result on 24 October and Baghdad refused. Barzani announced on 29 October he would leave office on 1 November.
On 20 November Iraq's Federal Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional, held that no part of Iraq may secede and cancelled its results.
Flights resumed in March 2018 under federal oversight. Nechirvan Barzani became president in 2019 and the KDP led the 2024 election.
Read the complete story, FAQs and key facts.