posted by xzins and a good read for backgound:
The Kurdish people comprise a large ethnic group of about 25 million that have always lived in the same place, and trace their roots back to the Medes of ancient Persia more than 2,500 years ago. In fact, the Magi, or "wise men" who traveled from the east to deliver their gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newborn Jesus at Bethlehem were most likely Zoroastrian priests, forbears of the modern Kurds. The Kurds are tribal people, many of them lived, until recently, a nomadic lifestyle in the mountainous regions of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. Their refuge has always been the mountains, with their steep pastures and fertile valleys.