Kurdish leaders congratulate as Sulaimani celebrates 240th anniversary

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish leaders on Thursday congratulated the 240th anniversary of the founding of Sulaimani city, the Kurdistan Region’s capital of Kurdish culture.

“I warmly congratulate all the people of Sulaimani, the capital of enlightenment, the city of literature and art, the city of campaign and sacrifice, on the 240th anniversary of the founding of the city. I wish them every success,” Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said on X.

“In the cultural and political history of the people of Kurdistan, Sulaimani has always been a distinguished and influential name, a place of respect and recognition, and a source of pride for the people of Kurdistan,” added Barzani, whose maternal family hails from Sulaimani.

The second largest city in the Kurdistan Region, Sulaimani was founded by a Kurdish prince, Ibrahim Pasha, on November 14, 1784. He named the city after his father, Sulaiman Pasha. It is now the most populated province in the Region.

Celebrating the occasion, Bafel Talabani, the leader of the city’s governing Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said in a post on Facebook that Sulaimani is “a city that each day brings pride to its golden, and brilliant history.”

“Today, we send our heartfelt greetings to all those political, cultural, and social figures who were an important and influential part of the history of the city of life, and made Sulaimani a symbol of Kurdishness and justice,” he added.

Sulaimani was the capital of the Baban emirate for nearly 70 years, until its collapse by the Ottoman Empire in 1850.

Many prominent pioneers of Kurdish poetry, thoughts, and national struggle have roots in the city. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officially recognizes it as the “Capital of Culture.” Most of the city’s renowned streets are named after poets, writers, and cultural and political figures.

In 2019, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Sulaimani as a Creative City of Literature.