WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Between 25 and 35 million Kurds inhabit a mountainous region straddling the borders of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Armenia. They make up the fourth-largest ethnic group in the Middle East, but they have never obtained a permanent nation state.

Detailed explanation-2: -As a percentage of the total population, the largest share of around 19 percent is in Iraq. A total of about 27.2 million people worldwide speak Kurdish as their mother tongue.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Kurds are the world’s largest ethnic group without a state of their own. Since their best hopes for independence were dashed a century ago, they’ve lived as minorities dispersed across a handful of countries in the Middle East, subject to ill treatment by Arab-and Persian-dominated governments.

Detailed explanation-4: -From politicians and activists, to entrepreneurs and musicians, a range of well-known figures hail from the Kurdistan region. From creating the world’s leading Greek yogurt brand to heroically protecting the rights of Kurdish people, prominent Kurdish figures have deeply impacted every society they’ve touched.

Detailed explanation-5: -Kurds are an Iranian people; the first known Indo-Iranians in the region were the Mitanni, who established a kingdom in northern Syria five centuries after the fall of Gutium. The Mitanni are believed to have spoken an Indo-Aryan language, or perhaps a pre-split Indo-Iranian language.