AS THE LARGEST GROUP of stateless people in the world, the Kurds are familiar with persecution. The diverse landscape known to them as Kurdistan is shredded by the borders of Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq.

But now the dream of a Kurdish state may be realized. With the region in violent political turmoil, the strong-arm rulers who kept the Kurds down are distracted, and loosening their grips. Iraqi Kurds, who previously existed autonomously in the country, are now poised for independence, emerging as the region’s strongest opposition to ISIS and a friend of the West.

John Zada travelled across the region to capture this monumental period that may decide the future of Kurdistan.