Item number: M359

Year: AD 1975

Material: Silver

Size: Box 87.2 x 86.4 x 33.0 / Medal 40.1 x 40.1 x 27.0 mm

Weight: Box 67.75 / Medal 31.3 g

Manufactured by: Central Bank of Iraq

Provenance: Monetarium Budapest 2024

This is a silver commemorative medal issued by the Central Bank of Iraq on March 11, AD 1975, to commemorate the first anniversary of the ceasefire agreement between the central government and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

The medal is housed in a dark blue leather case, with the surface embossed in gold Arabic script: “البنك المركزي العراقي” (Central Bank of Iraq), indicating the issuing authority. The interior features a white lining inscribed in silver Arabic script: “بمناسبة الذكرى الأولى لتوقيع الحكم الذاتي وعقد السلام رئاسة الوزراء” (“Commemorating the first anniversary of the signing of the self-rule and peace agreement – The Office of the Prime Minister”).

The obverse of the medal features two male busts side by side, both facing to the right. On the left is a Kurdish man wearing a turban and sporting a beard, while on the right is a young Arab man wearing a traditional Arab headscarf. To the left of the Kurdish figure is the Gregorian year AD 1975, and to the right of the Arab figure is the corresponding Hijri year AH 1395.

The reverse of the medal features Arabic text. Along the upper edge is the inscription “الجمهورية العراقية” (“The Republic of Iraq”). The lower edge displays the issuance date in both Gregorian and Hijri calendars: “١١ آذار ١٩٧٤ م” (March 11, AD 1974) and “١٧ صفر ١٣٩٤ هـ” (17th of Safar, AH 1394).

In the central upper section, the inscription in three lines, “بمناسبة الذكرى الأولى لتوقيع الحكم الذاتي وعقد السلام” (“In Commemoration of the First Anniversary of the Signing of the Autonomy and Peace Agreement”), highlights the medal’s theme. Below this, the words “رئاسة الوزراء” (“Prime Minister’s Office”) serve as the issuing authority’s signature.

After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire following World War I, Britain and France established spheres of influence in the Middle East, while Arab peoples began forming newly independent states. However, the Kurds—spread across Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran—were denied their right to establish a nation-state. This led to intense Kurdish resistance movements, particularly in Turkey and Iraq.

In Iraq, the Kurds primarily inhabit the mountainous regions of the northeast. The main resistance force was the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), established in AD 1959 under the leadership of Mustafa Barzani.

In AD 1974, the Kurds, seeking greater autonomy, engaged in the Second Iraqi–Kurdish War against the central government in Baghdad. However, in AD 1975, following the signing of the Algiers Agreement between the Iraqi central government and Iran—the Kurds’ primary backer—the Kurdish resistance was forced to either surrender or flee to Iran.

Seizing the opportunity, the Iraqi central government initiated an “Arabisation” campaign in key Kurdish strongholds such as Kirkuk, a region rich in oil resources. This policy aimed to alter the region’s ethnic composition and ultimately became the catalyst for future conflicts.

Today, following the Second Gulf War, the Kurds in Iraq have achieved a high degree of autonomy, with Erbil as the capital of their self-governed region. They have played a pivotal role in defeating the Islamic State (ISIS) and, in AD 2017, held a non-binding but highly supported independence referendum, signalling their aspirations for full sovereignty.

物件編號: M359

年代: 公元 1975 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 盒 87.2 x 86.4 x 33.0 / 獎章 40.1 x 40.1 x 27.0 mm

重量: 盒 67.75 / 獎章 31.3 g

製造地: 伊拉克中央銀行

來源: 貨幣布達佩斯 2024

這是一枚公元1975年3月11日，伊拉克中央銀行為紀念中央政府和庫德斯坦民主黨停火一周年發行的銀質紀念章。

獎章安置在一個深藍色的皮革收納盒內，盒子表面有燙金的阿拉伯文「البنكالمركزيالعراقي」即為發行單位「伊拉克中央銀行」，內部的白內襯有銀字「بمناسبة الذكرى الأولى لتوقيع الحكم الذاتي وعقد السلام رئاسة الوزراء」(紀念簽訂自治與和平協議一周年 總理辦公室)。

獎章正面是兩位並肩，面朝右側的男性半身像。左側是纏著頭巾蓄鬍的庫德族，右側是披著阿拉伯頭巾的年輕阿拉伯裔男性。庫德族人的左側標示公元年份「١٩٧٥م」(1975)，阿拉伯裔男性右側則是對應的回曆年份「١٣٩٥هـ」(1395)。

背面上緣是伊拉克共和國的阿拉伯文「الجمهورية العراقية」，下緣則是發行的公元和回曆日期「١١آذار ١٩٧٤ م ١٧ صفر ١٣٩٤ ه」(公元1974年3月11日/ 回曆1394年色法爾月17日)。中央上三段的銘文「بمناسبة الذكرى الأولى لتوقيع الحكم الذاتي وعقد السلام」(紀念簽訂自治與和平協議一周年) 是獎章主題，下方「رئاسة الوزراء」則是總理辦公室的落款。

鄂圖曼帝國在第一次世界大戰瓦解之後，英法兩國相繼在中東建立自己的勢力，同時阿拉伯人也相繼建立新興的獨立國家，然而分布在土耳其、敘利亞、伊拉克和伊朗一帶的庫德人其建國的權利遭到剝奪。庫德人發起激烈的反抗運動，尤以土耳其和伊拉克最為激烈。庫德人在伊拉克境內主要分布於東北部的山地地區，並且以公元1959年穆斯塔法·巴爾扎尼組建的「庫德斯坦民主黨」為主要反抗力量。

公元1974年，為求爭取更多自治地位的庫德人和巴格達中央爆發「第二次伊拉克-庫德戰爭」。然而在公元1975年，伊拉克中央政府和庫德人背後最大的贊助者伊朗達成《阿爾及爾協議》後，庫德反抗勢力被迫投降或逃往伊朗。伊拉克中央政府趁勢在重要油田產區的吉爾庫克等庫德重鎮推動「阿拉伯化」試圖改造當地的民族結構，使其成為下一輪衝突的導火線。至今伊拉克境內的庫德人在歷經第二次波斯灣戰爭後，已經擁有以艾比爾為首府的高度自治政權。更在殲滅伊斯蘭國的戰役中扮演重要角色，並且於公元2017年趁勢舉辦僅具諮詢性質但擁有高度支持的獨立公投。