Nationless group known to be effective fighting force

The Kurds are one of the biggest ethnic groups in the world without their own nation. Now numbering 30 million to 40 million worldwide, most live amid the peaks and valleys straddling the borders of Armenia, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey.

- Jason Burke

The Kurds link their history to that of the Medes, an ancient Middle Eastern people. They were left stateless a century ago when the borders of the modern Middle East emerged from the collapsing Ottoman empire.

Repeatedly caught up in the bloody political competition of a volatile region and often forced to rely on their homegrown militia, the peshmerga, for defence, the Kurds say their tough and often bloody history has taught them that they have "no friends but the mountains".

Despite significant diversity the Kurds have their own distinct culture, with a language related to Persian that has many dialects, and music, cuisine and identity.