I went to the local library to do some research on Kurdistan and found a book titled 'A people without a country: Kurds and Kurdistan'.
According to this book, in 1514 the Ottoman's set up a semi-independent Kurdistan, which existed for the duration of the EU2 period and beyond. The key to this Kurdistan vassal was that it was very decentralized, there were over sixty lords and no central control. The Kurdish lords spent all of their energy plotting against each other and couldn't give two shakes about the Ottoman's. Similarly, the Kurdish people had no sense of nationalism to fuel a rebellion.
The take home point for our game is that Kurdistan should not be created from a liberation movement, but could easily be created as a vassal. Kurdistan would be mighty dull to play as a human, but they would make a well behaved vassal.
Kurdistan did not, could not, have a monarch. For EU2 purposes the monarch would be called 'The confederation of tribes'. The diplomacy setting would be one star, as Kurdistan was almost entirely isolated. Also, this rating will be inflated by Kurdistan's tendency toward aristocracy. The military rating should be three stars, as the Kurds did assist in the victory in the battle of Tchaldyran in 1514, and were always sharpening thier knives against each other. The culture rating should be one star to reflect the Kurd's lack of stability and low interest in trade and economic developement.
Starting domestic policy settings.
Aristocracy Max-1 - the lords were the only power, there was no interest in trade
Decentralization Max - already covered
Inventiveness Max - 3 - Kurdish culture thrived far from the seat of oppresive rulers.
Mercantilism Max-1 - The Kurds had almost no connection to the outside world
Offensive to Defensive Middle - very little data, go with the norm
Land max- landlocked
Quantity Max-3 - every petty lord had his own militia.
Serfdom Max-2 - tribal life is traditional
Events
Nobility demands ancient right should be common as centralization should be impossible
The uninforceable edict event should also be common
The Noble allies with a foreign power event should be common
Events promoting instability should be common
Some event relating to the 1514 creation of Kurdistan should be added to the Ottoman events
Other notes
The provinces of Kurdistan and Nuyssaybin should not have nationalism if conquered.
Kurdistan should not be able to come into existance is Ak Koyunlu is still in the game, as Ak Koyunlu is a Kurdish state of sorts
Kurdistan will share a flag with Ak Koyunlu
I am going to play a game as Ak Koyunlu to see if I can get more ideas. Any other ideas on Kurdistan are very welcome.
