The Kurdish warrior tradition of rebellion has existed for thousands of years along with aspirations for independence, and early Kurdish warriors fought against the various Persian empires, the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire. Despite being viciously persecuted by the Ottoman Government, the Kurdish tribal militias that were the predecessors of the Peshmerga were also collaborative with the Ottoman Government shortly after World War I through assistance in perpetrating the genocides of Assyrians, Armenians, and Greeks living in the Ottoman Empire at the time.