Yazidis
Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis, are a Kurdish-speaking endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran, with small numbers living in Armenia and Georgia. The majority of Yazidis remaining in the Middle East today live in Iraq, primarily in the governorates of Nineveh and Duhok.
There is a disagreement among scholars and in Yazidi circles on whether the Yazidi people are a distinct ethnoreligious group or a religious sub-group of the Kurds, an Iranic ethnic group. Yazidism is the ethnic religion of the Yazidi people. It is monotheistic in nature and syncretic. Having its origin from Adawiyya Sufi order, which blended Sufi Sunni Islam, a local Kurdish veneration of Yazid ibn Mu'awiya and Umayyad dynasty, and local Kurdish peasant belief of pre-Zoroastrian Iranic faith. By the 15th century, Yazidism developed into a distinct religion separate from Islam.
In the aftermath of early Muslim conquests, Yazidis have at times faced persecution from neighboring Muslim rulers, often being accused of heresy by clerics, while at other times they established alliances and held positions of influence. In the 18th and 19th centuries, 72 massacres took place, described as state-sanctioned violence. However, under the Government of the late Ottoman Empire, Yazidis lived peacefully in proximity with their Muslim neighbours.
In modern times, Yazidis face persecution particularly by ISIS. Due to ongoing terrorist attacks in Kurdish regions, many Yazidis sought refuge in Western countries. The 2014 Yazidi genocide that was carried out by the Islamic State saw over 5,000 Yazidis killed and thousands of Yazidi women and girls forced into sexual slavery, as well as the flight of more than 500,000 Yazidi refugees.
Origins
The Yazidis' own name for themselves is Êzidî or, in some areas, Dasinî, although the latter, strictly speaking, is a tribal name. Some western scholars derive the name from the Umayyad Caliph Yazid ibn Muawiyah. However, all Yazidis reject any relationship between their name and the caliph. The word Yazidi means 'the servant of the creator'. Although Yazidism was not named after Yazid ibn Muawiyah, the caliph was revered in Yazidism. Other scholars derive it from Old Iranian yazata, Middle Persian yazad, "divine being". Another derivation of the word origin relates to Ez dā : Yazidis also refer to Xwedê ez dam and to Em miletê ezdaîn.The Yazidi religion shares similarities with those of the Yaresan and the Kurdish Alevis. The shared features among the three religions can be traced back to an ancient faith that was probably dominant among the western Iranic peoples, but distinct from Zoroastrianism and derived from the pre-Zoroastrian Iranic tradition.
Early writers attempted to describe Yazidi origins, broadly speaking, in terms of Islam, or Persian, or sometimes even "pagan" religions; however, research published since the 1990s has shown such an approach to be simplistic.
History
Early history and origins
In the 12th century, Sheikh ‘Adī ibn Musafir, a Sufi Arab mystic of Umayyad origin and a scholar who had studied with prominent teachers in Baghdad such as ‘Uqayl al-Manbijī and Abū’l Wafā al-pulwānī, left Baghdad and established a zāwiya at Lalish. His order was called Adawiyya, the fallowers of the order are mentioned in medieval Arabic sources as Akrad 'Adawiyya. At the time, Lalish was inhabited by a peasant Kurdish community whose beliefs included elements of ancient Iranian religions, which, although similar, was not only distinct from Zoroastrianism but actually of pre-Zoroastrian origin, and local veneration of Yazid ibn Mu’āwiya. Over time, the ascetic practices and teachings of Sheikh ‘Adī and his followers interacted with local beliefs, creating a syncretic religious system. After his death in 1162, his tomb became a pilgrimage site for both Muslims and non-Muslims, and Lalish became the central religious site for his followers. Over the following three centuries, this blend of Sufi Islamic and pre-Islamic Kurdish beliefs gradually developed into Yazidism as a distinct religion by the 15th century.Yezidism was embraced by many Kurdish tribes and emirates. Yezidi manuscripts, called mişûrs which were written down in the 13th century, contain lists of Kurdish tribes who were affiliated to Yezidi Pir saints. Only two of the total of 40 manuscripts have been published so far, namely the Mişûr of Pîr Sini Daranî and the Mişûr of Pîr Xetîb Pisî, the list in the Mişûr of Pîr Sini Daranî include some large tribes that have been mostly, or fully islamized today, including but not limited to the large Shikak, Reşan, Dumilî/Dumbuli, Memkan, Kîkan, and Musareşan tribes. In addition, Sherefkhan Bidlisi writes in Şerefname that seven of the most important Kurdish tribes were Yezidi. Yezidism was the official religion of numerous Kurdish emirates and principalities, including the principalities of Bohtan, Mahmudi, Donboli and the Emirate of Kilis.
Territory and religious administrative structure
From the 14th century onward, Yazidis developed their own religious and political institutions in the regions where they lived. The Yezidi territory was divided into seven administrative centres, each having its own Sincaq, more commonly known as Tawis among the Yezidis. Sincaqs are sacred bronze effigies bearing the image of a bird or peacock to symbolize Tawûsî Melek. They serve as symbols of power for each administrative centre, namely:- Tawisa Enzel: Welatşêx - Lalish
- Tawisa Şingalê: Shingal District
- Tawisa Hekkarê: sometimes also called Tawisa Zozana: Historical region of Hakkari.
- Tawisa Welatê Xalta: Region around Siirt, Batman, Diyarbakir, Mardin, etc.
- Tawisa Helebê: Aleppo and Afrin.
- Tawisa Tewrêzê: the city of Tabriz, located in today's Iran.
- Tawisa Misqofa : Renamed from Tawisa Serhedê after the exodus of the Yazidis from Serhed to the Russian Empire. Serhed is a region covering the cities of Kars, Ardahan, Erzurum, Ağri, Van, Bitlis and Muş.
Early relations in the Middle East
Due to the ever-growing large and influential power of the Yezidis, they began to be perceived as a threat by the neighbouring Muslims, leading to a rapid intensification of the Yezidi-Muslim conflict that would last for centuries. Yezidis were subject to brutal persecution by Arabs, Persians, Turks and Sunni Kurds. Two of the most known early and major expeditions against the Yezidis took place in 1246, when the Yezidi leader, Sheikh Hassan ibn Adi was killed by Badr Ad-Din Lulu, and 1414, when a joint army of neighbouring Sunni Kurdish tribes ransacked Lalish. During these conflicts, many important Yezidi chiefs were forcibly converted to Islam, leading to a gradual decline of the Yezidi power from the 15th century. However, Yezidis were also able to establish alliances with the authorities and neighbouring powers at various times, some Yezidi tribes allied with Qara Yusuf of Kara Qoyunlu, while others allied with Uzun Hasan of the rival Aq Qoyunlu against the Timurids. During Saladin's reign, Yezidis served as troops, ambassadors and they were given lands to govern.Ottoman period
16th century
Yezidis came into contact with the Ottomans for the first time in the early 16th century and lived as semi-independent entities under the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans had conquered Kurdish regions and installed their own governors in Diyarbekir, Urfa, Shingal and Mosul. In 1516 AD, Sultan Selim the Grim launched an invasion into Syria, capturing Aleppo and Damascus from the Mamluks of Egypt. The chief of the Kurds in Aleppo was Qasim Beg, he had long been at odds with the Mamluks who wished to install Sheikh Izz ed-Din, a Yezidi, in his stead. Despite Qasim Beg paying homage to the Sultan, Sheikh Izz ed-Din was still able to have himself named the Emir of the Kurds after persuading the local Ottoman governors to execute Qasim Beg for treason. However, due to Sheikh Izz ed-Din leaving no heirs after his death, the title was returned to the family of Qasim Beg.Yezidis were a large and numerous group living in many places, namely, based on Evliya Çelebi's reports, in Bingöl, Bitlis, Van, Hazo, Amedi, Diyarbekir, Hasankeyf, Cizir and Duhok. Yezidi leaders occupied important positions within the provincial Ottoman system and were appointed as governors as far as Tikrit and Kerek. Yezidis were also participants in commerce and river transportation of their territory through contact with other ethnicities and religions. Evliya Çelebi describes the quality of Yezidi products in the following manner:
The quality of Yezidis' grapes and honey is priceless, and their raisins are highly priced in Baghdad, Basra and Lahsa markets. They have many Berry trees. Sinjar has important mineral as well.
Çelebi also reports that Yezidis collected fees by taking people from Hasankeyf to the other side with their ferries.
Under the reign of Sultan Suleyman in 1534, the Yezidi leader, Hussein Beg was given the control over the domain of the Soran Emirate together with its capital of Erbil, and the Bahdinan Emirate with its capital of Amediye. Hussein Beg's father, Hassan Beg, had allied himself with the victorious Ottomans after the Battle of Chaldiran and was famed for his diplomatic and political expertise, which helped him bring Mosul under his rule and become a powerful and influential figure. His son, Hussein Beg, succeeded him after his death in 1534. Despite the persecution and the brutal rule over the Muslims of Soran, the Yezidis were able to maintain a large political, military power under the short-lived, but prosperous leadership of Hussein Beg and enjoy a rare period of peace and freedom from persecution. The Muslims of Soran opposed Hussein Beg's rule, and attempted to overthrow the Dasini rulers several times, their initial attempts were unsuccessful and were repelled, until the neighbouring Muslim rulers formed an alliance against Hussein Beg, and captured Erbil while Hussein Beg was absent and on a visit to Sheikhan, or Istanbul according to other sources. Hussein Beg's attempts to retake the city were unsuccessful due to the local support enjoyed by the Muslim rulers and resulted in the death of 500 Yezidi warriors. After the defeat, Hussein Beg was summoned back to Istanbul and executed.
As the relations were deteriorating with the Ottomans and strained with the Sunni Kurds, the Ottomans exploited from these tensions and used religious differences to control both groups. In 1566, Abu al-S'ud al-'Amadi al-Kurdi, who was the Mufti of the Ottoman Empire and Sheikh al-Islam, cooperated with the Ottoman Sultans and issued fatwas that legitimized the Sultan's killing of Yezidis, enslavement of Yezidi women and the sale of Yezidi slaves in the markets. This resulted in Yezidis being subject to constant Ottoman military pressure and their territories being considered Dar Al-Harb from a religious standpoint.
In later periods, Sunni Kurdish princes, particularly those of the Bahdinan principality and its Muslim clerics, requested the Ottoman Sultan to eliminate the Yazidis with the justification of Yazidi being apostates. Numerous Ottoman documents reveal the role of the princes, including one dating back to 1568 AD, which reads:
The necessity of ending the corruption and evil-doing of the Dasini sect and firmans to the governors of Mosul and Erbil to punish the Dasinis
According to another document dating back to 1571 AD, the Prince of Bahdinan, Sultan Husayn Waly, demanded the Ottomans to send a firman to the states of Jazira, Mosul, Amadiya, and Erbil to arrest the Yezidi leaders.