The Kurds are an ethnic Iranian group in the Middle East; mostly inhabiting a contiguous area spanning adjacent parts of modern-day Iran; Iraq; Syria; and Turkey; a geo-cultural region often referred to as 'Kurdistan'. The Kurds have ethnically diverse origins. They are culturally and linguistically closely related to the Iranian peoples and; as a result; are often themselves classified as an Iranian people. The Kurdish languages form a subgroup of the Northwestern Iranian languages.

The Yazidis are a Kurdish religious community whose syncretic but ancient religion Yazidism is linked to Zoroastrianism and ancient Mesopotamian religions.They live primarily in the Nineveh Province of Iraq. Additional communities in Armenia; Georgia; and Syria have been in decline since the 1990s as a result of significant migration to Europe; especially to Germany. In Armenia; the Yazidis are recognized as a national group. Pictures From History