Saladin's plan to conquer the Almohad Empire

In total, 800 Turkish and Kurdish Ayyubid warriors were deployed to conquer Almohad territory. The Ayyubids formed alliances along the way, reaching the outskirts of Qayrawan. The plan was only disrupted by an army of 20,000 Almohads. 

The crusades were a disguised gift to the Ayyubids' neighbours. The unrealized goals of the early Ayyubid dynasty were to extend in all directions. If the scheme had been effective, the Abbasid caliphate would not have remained intact, either. The Almohad episode is another piece in realizing the distorted interpretation of Saladin, and that it is not limited to the popular level, but also true for the "academic literature". 

Source: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/235739721.pdf

Kurdish tutors of the Ottoman sultans

Idris-i Badlisi lists two Kurdish tutors for Ottoman sultans. Kurdish teachers would be available to Ottoman sultans in following centuries, but these two were the most renowned throughout the early Ottoman period. 

Idris-i Badlisi (16th-century): 

Of all the great 'ulema and knowledgeable governors since the beginning of the world one of the most famous for his knowledge in those days was Mevlana Ahmed Gürani, who in the time of sultan Murad had been tutor and Hoca of sultan Mehmed gazi, and until the end of his long life he continued to serve him. After the demise of the sultan Mehmed II, he served the present sultan and his name was among those of the excellent ministers of the state. He was respected for the seventy years that he served Islam under the sultans, always spreading the knowledge of the learned. He died in 895 (1489-90).

Another man of knowledge and excellence in the sultan's service was Mevlana Bedreddin Hoca. He was of Kurdish origin and had held the position of the sultan's tutor and Hoca. He was distinguished among the 'ulema and he died in 903 (1497-8).

Aiding invaders from within in the Kurdish Marwanid dynasty

According to Ibn al Athir, during the Seljuks' attack on Marwanid territory, a local family opened the gate for them, leading the Marwanid resistance to fall. It is impossible to say whether this is true or not. The plot is realistic, however. Some people, whether in modern times or in history, had no problem advancing their own family interests by aligning with what they thought to be the stronger party, regardless of other considerations. 

Ibn al Athir (13th-century): 

ACCOUNT OF THE CONQUEST OF JAZIRAT IBN UMAR

Fakhr al-Dawla sent an army to Jazirat Ibn Umar, which also belonged to the Marwanids, and put it under siege. A local family, called the Banu Wahban, who were notables of the place, rose up and attacked a small city gate, called the Buwayba Gate, which was used only by pedestrians because one climbed steps up to it from outside. They smashed it down and allowed the army to enter and take the city. This was the end of the Marwanid state. Praise be to One whose dominion is without end! 

Down to this present day, whenever someone comes to besiege Jazirat [Ibn Umar], this Wahban family leaves the city. Not one of them survives with any influence or position which allows him to do anything. Up to the present time they are still held to blame for that past initiative.

Marriage gifts among the Ayyubids

Al-Maqrizi, the Mamluk historian, provides a fascinating glimpse into Ayyubid customs surrounding marriage gifts and childbirth celebrations. What might a wedding among the Kurdish ruling elite of the thirteenth century have looked like? Were women held to the same exacting standards that many still associate with Kurdish society today? 

The birth of a prince was an occasion of immense significance as well. Al-Malik al-ʿAziz became the youngest nominal ruler of the Ayyubid period after his father, al-Zahir, died shortly after the birth of his son. At the remarkable age of checks notes two years old, the child was elevated to the position of nominal ruler of Aleppo: 

This year Ibn-Shaddad arrived in Damascus from Aleppo bringing a large sum of money and robes of honor for the celebration of the marriage between Dayfah, daughter of al-'Adil, and her cousin al-Zahir, prince of Aleppo. All the emirs and notables of the city went out to meet him. The marriage pact was made in the month of Muharram, on a dowry of 50,000 dinārs. Pieces of gold were distributed in Muharram to the people in the citadel at Damascus. The princess was then equipped to go with great splendor to her spouse in Aleppo; among the things that went were cloths, instruments, and manufactured goods, borne on fifty mules, two hundred Bactrian camels, and three hundred (ordinary or one-humped) camels. Attendant maidens traveled on litters on a hundred camels, among them one hundred singers who could play a variety of musical instruments, and another hundred who could execute the most remarkable handicrafts. The day of her entry into Aleppo was a great occasion. Al-Zahir presented her with his gifts, which included five strings of jewels that cost 150,000 dīnārs, a diadem of gems without equal, five amber necklaces ornamented with gold and five without such, 170 gold and silver objects, twenty linen bags filled with vestments, twenty handmaidens, and ten slaves.

[23rd May, 1213-12th May, 1214]

This year al-Zahir, prince of Aleppo, felt somewhat appre-hensive of his uncle al-'Adil, and commenced to put his forces in readiness; but they exchanged some correspondence whereby the situation was calmed.

Dayfah, daughter of al-'Adil, gave this year a son to her cousin (and husband) al-Zahir. He was named Muhammad, and described as al-Malik al-'Azīz Ghiyāth-al-Din. He was born on the fifth of Dhū-'l-Hijjah [17th April, 1213]. Aleppo was decorated, and al-Zahir proclaimed a great celebration. Objects of all shapes and kinds were fashioned for him in hundred-weights by his command. Ten cradles were made for him of gold and silver, not counting those which were made of ebony, sandalwood, and aloes-wood and such like. For the boy himself three dresses were woven from pearls, each dress having also forty rubies, sapphires, and emeralds; two breastplates, two helmets, and two embroidered horse-cloths, all set with pearls; three jeweled saddles, each saddle having a set of gems of astonishing beauty and rubies and emeralds; three swords with their attachments and handles studded with a variety of precious stones; and a set of golden lances with jeweled heads.

Advice to the Kurdish nobility in the first Kurdish newspaper

The Kurdistan Newspaper: 

O mîrs and aghas! You are mîrs and aghas thanks to Kurds [Kurmanc]. Therefore, you should be considerate of them, help them study [and] learn the sciences and skills. Who would you rule over as mîrs and aghas if Kurds [Kurmanc] vanished? The more Kurds [Kurmanc] become strong and rich; the more their mîrs and aghas become honourable and famous. Therefore, O dignitaries of the Kurds! You should care for the Kurds [Kurmanc] as if they are your children. 

Then, O Kurds [Kurdino], you should come to your senses. Alas, if you are not cautious, if you do not wake up, this situation, before long, will befall you too If Moscow sends its soldiers against you, the [Ottoman] state will not come to your aid. The soldiers of Moscow outnumber you; you do not possess the cannons and rifles they do... They will kill twenty of you by the time you kill one of them. I know Kurds are manlier [mêrtir] than Moscow. However, in the face of those cannons and rifles, your manliness will not suffice. 

The first Kurdish newspaper: Kurdish-Armenian hostilities

Abdulrahman Badirxan's perspective, written in the first Kurdish newspaper, on the Hamidiye regiments, formed during the late Ottoman period. The connection made in certain narratives between Kurds as some (imaginary) singular entity and the Hamidiye is incorrect. Abdulrahman Badirxan and the educated Kurds around him recognized that the situation was manufactured by elements of the Ottomans and their hired Kurdish clients. 

Kurdistan newspaper (early 20th-century):

Before [Abdülhamid II] ascended the throne, the Kurds were knowledgeable and civilized people, having brotherly relations with Armenians and avoiding any kind of confrontation. Then what happened? Did [Kurdish] civilization and knowledge turn into barbarity, ignorance, and organized rebellion? Who else carries out the atrocities in Kurdistan but the members of the Hamidiye divisions, who are armed by the sultan and proud of being loyal to him? For example, there is Mustafa Pasha, the head of the Mîran tribe, within the borders of Diyarbekir [province]. He used to be a shepherd ten or fifteen years ago in his tribe, and was called "Misto the Bald." We do not know what he did to become a favorite of the sultan, but his talent in creating scandals appealed to the sultan, who thought that he would assist in shedding blood and hurting people. He made him a pasha and introduced him with the title of commander of a Hamidiye division. Now imagine what such a man is capable of doing-a traitor whose own son has even become an enemy to him, and a person who has outraged his daughter-in-law. Would he not butcher the Armenians and pillage the Muslims?

Some sources also include references to history's silenced majority. Their opinion on the Ottoman-sponsored Kurdish tribesmen was consistent with that of the families of Kurdistan's former rulers. In 1907, a Kurdish man from the Bilikan tribe characterized the excessive hostilities in the following words:

Formerly we lived with the Armenians like brothers. Religion was the only difference. Now we are always quarrelling, about I know not what. Are we in fault? Are the Armenians in fault? I know not-by God, I know not. All of us suffer, Kurd and Armenian alike. Soldiers come in every day, eat our chickens, beat our men, and demand taxes twenty-five years in arrear. How will it end? The Hamidieh rob us, the Vali robs us, the Mudir robs us. What are we to do? How are we to live?