# Ethnicity in Modern Mesopotamia **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 17, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethnicity-in-modern-mesopotamia/295056 "2005-03-17T21:29:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethnicity-in-modern-mesopotamia/295056/1 "2005-03-17T21:29:58Z")
As I understand it, the Kurds are an ethnic group that is fairly scattered throughout the Middle East. I know their roots as a distinct culture go back many centuries – Saladin is said to have been a Kurd. There has been much in the news about the rift that separates the Kurds in Iraq from the Shiite and Sunni population. My first question is whether this rift is purely cultural (Kurdish vs. Arab, for example), or do the Kurds also have their own Islamic sect? My second question is about other ethnic distinctions within the Middle East. Is there, for example, any separation between Arabs and those of Persian descent in Iran? Being the product of a thoroughly Western education, my knowledge of Mesopotamian history goes little further than the death of Cleopatra. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2005, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethnicity-in-modern-mesopotamia/295056/2 "2005-03-17T21:33:34Z")
Oh yeah. I’ve been briefed on the presence of the Israelies. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2005, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethnicity-in-modern-mesopotamia/295056/3 "2005-03-17T21:45:09Z")
It’s cultural. Most Kurds are Sunni, some are Shi’ite. But they have their own language, their own culture, their own ethnic identity, etc. As for Arabs in Iran, they make up about 3% of the population, mostly live in the province of Khuzestan, with some along the gulf, and are pretty well assimilated into Iranian life. And, btw, Cleopatra never went to Mesopotamia…🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2005, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethnicity-in-modern-mesopotamia/295056/4 "2005-03-17T22:06:50Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > And, btw, Cleopatra never went to Mesopotamia…🙂 :smack: Good point. Though her grandfather Mithridates ruled a kingdom a bit closer to that neighborhood. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2005, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethnicity-in-modern-mesopotamia/295056/5 "2005-03-17T22:52:26Z")
The Kurds are an Iranic people, linguistically quite different from the main Iraqi population. It should also be noted that there is a moderately large Azerbaijani population in the northern hills of Iraq. Both groups overlap into Iran. > [@](#): > > About 75 percent of the population of Iraq is Arab. Kurds, dwelling in the highlands of northern Iraq, constitute 15 to 20 percent of the population. Smaller groups include Turkmens, Jews, Armenians, and Assyrians. > [@](#): > > Iran’s population is made up of numerous ethnic groups. Persians migrated to the region from Central Asia beginning in the 7th century bc and established the first Persian empire in 550 bc. They are the largest ethnic group, and include such groups as the Gilaki, who live in Gilan Province, and the Mazandarani, who live in Mazandaran Province. Accounting for about 60 percent of the total population, Persians live in cities throughout the country, as well as in the villages of central and eastern Iran. Two groups closely related to the Persians both ethnically and linguistically are the Kurds and the Lurs. The Kurds, who make up about 7 percent of the population, reside primarily in the Zagros Mountains near the borders with Iraq and Turkey. The Lurs account for 2 percent of the population; they inhabit the central Zagros region. Turkic tribes began migrating into northwestern Iran in the 11th century, gradually changing the ethnic composition of the region so that by the late 20th century East Azerbaijan Province was more than 90 percent Turkish. Since the early 1900s, Azeris (a Turkic group) have been migrating to most large cities in Iran, especially Tehran. Azeris and other Turkic peoples together account for about 25 percent of Iran’s inhabitants. The remainder of the population comprises small communities of Arabs, Armenians, Assyrians, Baluchis, Georgians, Pashtuns, and others. (From the relevant entries at [Countriesquest.com](http://Countriesquest.com))