Context

Simko Shikak's revolt commands a small patch of territory in western Iran, west of lake Urmia and centered in the city of the same name.

Simko has recently received military aid and inducements from the so-called Serok Barzanji of Kurdistan. This, combined with the tenuous hold of the Iranian Democratic Progressive Front on the state and subsequent resignation of Premier Mirza, places Shikak's revolt in a strong position to continue to defy Iranian rule and get lots of fat loot.

Aims

Though Simko is sympathetic to Kurdish nationalism, his first and foremost obligation is to himself. He deserves loot, he deserves power, he deserves luxury. If the cause of Kurdish nationalism delivers these things into his hands, he will operate as a Kurdish nationalist. But if grift behooves him, grift he will do.

Following the end of Simko's Rebellion - be it a success that sees his revolt's territory incorporated into an independent Kurdistan, or a failure that leads to his death - I will take on the 2IC role for Kurdistan, operating as elements hostile to the primary government such as islamic nationalists, imams and tribal chieftains whose influence is undermined by a secularising, urbanising and modernising Barzanji government.

In-meta, my main goal is to tell a good story. Bevans has laid the foundation of a potentially very successful Kurdistan, but the concept has underlying difficulties of demography and geography that can't be overcome with mere idealism, and which would legitimately threaten the prospect of a stable Kurdish state. I want to ensure these factors get their due consideration, because I find that the most interesting human stories occur when people become better than their world socialised them to be.