A people who have maintained a distinct culture for over 3000 years despite never having been united under a single ruler. An Islamic pastoral people the Kurds inhabit an extensive plateau and mountainous region of the Middle East, south of the Caucasus, including large parts of Turkey, northern Iraq, western Iran, eastern Syria, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The creation of a separate state of Kurdistan was proposed by the Allies after World War I, but this was abandoned in 1923 when Turkey reasserted its territorial authority in the region. The Kurds have suffered persecution in Turkey and Iraq.