Ahmed Barzani was later forced to flee to Turkey, where he was held in detention and then sent to exile in the south of Iraq.

Shortly after the final accords of World War I, Sheykh Mahmud Barzanji of the Qadiriyyah order of Sufis, the most influential personality in southern Kurdistan,[5] was appointed Governor of the former sanjak of Duhok.

After the Treaty of Sèvres, which settled some territories, Sulaymaniya still remained under direct control of the British High Commissioner.

After the subsequent penetration of the Turkish "Özdemir" Detachment into the area, an attempt was made by the British to counter this by appointing Sheykh Mahmud, who was returned from his exile, as Governor once again, on 14 September 1922.

In January 1926 the League of Nations gave the mandate over the territory to Mandatory Iraq, with the provision for special rights for Kurds.