The realm of Kurdistan & honor according to Sharafxan Badlisi

Honor can mean different things to different people. According to Sharafxan, the term meant this for "the ideal Kurd":

Sharafxan (16th-century): 

The realm of Kordestan begins on the coast of the Strait of Hormuz, which borders on the shores of the Indian Ocean. From thence, it extends forth on a straight line, terminating with the provinces of Malatya and Mar'ash. To the north of this line are the provinces of Fars, Persian Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia Minor and Armenia Major. To its southern side lies the Arabian Iraq, Mosul and Diyarbakir. And thus the branches of this nation have reached from the extrem-ities of the lands of the East to the extremities of the lands of the West. A greater number of this nation are from among the brave and courageous. They are fair and generous, but also proud and zealous, so much so, that due to their extreme courage and bravery and excess of manliness and zeal, they would rather engage in thievery and banditry or do soldiering in this world and get themselves killed, rather than stretch the begging hand to the base and vile people.

The mighty kings and great monarchs likewise have not coveted the [Kurds'] territories and country, and have instead been content with their tribute and consent to [abide by the kings'] herald and call to expedition. If on occasions some kings have tried and endeavored for the conquest and occupation of the lands of Kordestan, they have suffered untold pain and torment, and at the end have had to return it with repentance and disappointment to its [Kurdish] masters.

Saladin's secret heart

Ibn al-Athir relates that shortly before his death, Saladin held a discussion with his brother and son concerning the future of the Ayyubid Empire. Their conversation centered on strategic questions: where should the empire's center of gravity lie, and in which directions should it expand?

A closer examination of the political realities of the period, drawing on sources beyond Ibn al-Athir, suggests that the envisioned focus of expansion was not the Levant but rather Iran, Anatolia, and parts of modern-day Iraq. This has implications for how we understand Saladin's ambitions, challenging the popular image of him as a ruler driven by a pan-Islamic mission. Instead, his calculations appear to have been rooted largely in dynastic considerations (oh my God, who could've guessed that?).

Had these plans been fully realized, one of their most significant consequences would likely have been the reversal of Turkic political dominance in much of the region. The course of Middle Eastern history might have been dramatically altered, as later Turkic dynasties, including the Ottomans, may never have emerged as the dominant powers they became. In practice, however, the Ayyubids only succeeded in implementing a small part of this broader vision: 

In Şafar of this year [March 1193] Saladin (Şalah al-Din Yūsuf ibn Ayyüb ibn Shādhī), lord of Egypt, Syria, the Jazīra and other lands, died in Damascus.' He was born in Takrīt and we have mentioned the reason for the family's move away from there and their becoming rulers of Egypt under the year 564 [1169].

The reason for his illness was that he went out to meet the pilgrims. After returning, he fell ill that same day with a feverish sickness that lasted for eight days and then he died (God have mercy on him).

Before his illness he had summoned his son al-Afdal 'Alī and his brother al-'Adil Abū Bakr and consulted them about what he should do. He said, 'We have finished with the Franks. There is nothing to occupy us in this land. Which region shall we attack?' His brother al-'Adil suggested an attack on Khilāt, because Saladin had promised him, if he took it, that he would hand it over to him, but his son al-Afdal suggested an attack on Anatolian lands that were in the hands of the sons of Qilij Arslan. He said, 'They are more extensive lands with more troops and wealth and may be taken sooner. Moreover, they are on the route of the Franks when they come by land. If we take them, we shall deny them passage through them.' He replied, 'Both of you are remiss, lacking in ambition. No, I shall invade Byzantine lands.' He then said to his brother, 'Do you take one of my sons and part of the army and attack Khilāt. When I have finished with the lands of Byzantium I shall come to you. We shall enter Azerbayjan and go on to Persian lands, for there is no-one to stop us.' He then ordered his brother al-'Adil to proceed to Kerak, which was held by him, and said to him, 'Make your preparations and then come back ready to start.' After he had travelled to Kerak, Saladin became ill and he died before his return.

Syncretic Kurds in 17th-century Afrin

Kurdish settlements were an inevitable stop for premodern British visitors en route to Aleppo. The first British contact with the Kurds of the Afrin Valley is documented by William Biddulph in 1609.

William Biddulph (17th century): 

In the Mountaines betwixt Scanderone and Aleppo, there are dwelling a certaine kind of people called at this day Coords, comming of the race of the ancient Parthians, who worship the Devill, and allege for their reason in so doing, that God is a good man, and will doe no man harme, but that the Devill is bad, and must be pleased lest he hurt them.

Mastoureh Ardalani's diwan, 19th-century

1.

My dear Khosrow,

Spring is here, how I wish it would not have come this year.

How I wish no flowers were grown in the garden,

No trees coming into blossom,

No nightingale in the meadow,

No dew on flowers.

I wish water lilies did not come up until Doomsday,

And no rosewater be produced.

How I wish violets, wallflowers, and hyacinths would never grow again;

How I wish tulips, lilies, yellow flowers, and basil would not grow
to remind me of my pain.

How I wish the troop of flowers were destroyed,

And poppies would grow yellow with aching heart.

The history of Kurdish trousers

Wearing the characteristic garment, which was typically pants, was the custom for more senior futuwwa members during the Abbasid dynasty. Many Kurdish rulers from the Abbasid era and beyond were given trousers as a gift. 

Al Jahiz has one of the earliest mentions of trousers in the Abbasid period. The military traditions of the Arabs and Iranians are contrasted in this text. The statement regarding pants is true. Because of their cultural heritage, the prominent figures in the futuwwa wore loose-fitting pants, which made them symbolic. For the people of the Iranian plateau, who were accustomed to riding horses with loose pants, it was an ancient outfit. The predecessors of contemporary Kurdish pants are those trousers.

Al Jahiz (9th-century): 

You did not use to fight in the night, did not know of raids and ambush,

or of right, left, center, and flank of the army; neither of the vanguard

or rear-guard, or of reconnaissance patrol and musculus (darrāja).

You had not known of war equipments such as wheeled convoy (ratila),

small mangonels (arrāda), mangonels (majānīq), armored vehicles

(dabbaba) or ditches or spike thorns, or coats of mail [aqbiya, pl.

of qabā'] or trousers (sarāwīl), or the hanging of swords, or of drums

or banners, or protective armor, or coats of mail (jawshan), or helmets

(khūd), or arm-guards, or bells, or lassos, or banjikān ['bows capable

of shooting five arrows in a row'], or hurling of oil and fire. Further

they say to the Arabs: 'Your javelins were made of elastic wood and

your spears were made of cow horns, and you used to ride horses

unsaddled, whereas the Persians had saddles. '

What must a Kurdish prince do to impress a Safavid princess?

What must a Kurdish prince do to impress a Safavid princess? This amusing anecdote from Mastoureh Ardalan reminded me of the seemingly unreasonable expectations that society has often placed upon Kurdish men:

Chess in 17th-century Kurdistan

During his travels, Evliya Celebi noticed how popular chess was in the Kurdish areas. Premodern writings frequently mention the connection between chess and Kurdish regions and people. The origins of the link go back beyond the 17th century.

Evliya Celebi (17th-century): 

Some of the congregants, when they are finished with their lessons and recitations, play chess in one corner of the mosque. Chess is permitted according to the Shafii legal school, and also sharpens the mind, so they indulge in it, and when they are finished with that they return to their studies. It once happened that some Kurds were playing chess in a mosque and, being an irritable race, said kishu mishu, attacked one another with daggers, and were killed. Then chess was forbidden in the mosques. But now again some do play it.

Kurdish disunity in the 16th-century

According to Sharafxan, the Ottoman sultan proposed that the Kurdish rulers select one individual among themselves to have absolute command in Kurdistan, but Idris noted that everyone said, "It can only be me; it cannot be anyone else but me."

Sharafxan (16th-century): 

When the Sultan's [Selim I] army returned from Tabriz to Rum [Anatolia], the thinker İdris, in the name of the Kurdish princes forwarded a report to the throne of the most esteemed Sultanate. The report made it explicit that in order to go to Diyarbakir together under the command of the Sultan and to eject the Safavid governor Qara Khan [the following measures were necessary]; he asked that, out of his grace, the Sultan would give them [the Kurdish princes] their tra-ditional hereditary rights in order to find favor amongst them. He recommended that an important individual be raised to the rank of beylerbeyi. The Sultan responded positively and gave this answer: "Let the Kurdish princes and rulers choose one from amongst themselves who all of them can obey and bow to and who can take the responsibility for position of beylerbeyi and under whose command the Qezelbash can be struck and ejected them from the country." There-after, the thinker İdris sent one more report which stated "Here there is plurality rather than unity. All say "It can only be me; it cannot be anyone else but me.' No one obeys anyone else. Since the supreme goal is to destroy the Qezelbash com-munity and to take actions to destroy the Qezelbash's coherence, under these circumstances, it would be better to appoint someone from amongst the Sultan's palace retinue who all the Kurdish princes can obey and submit to the orders of. Thus, this work will be completed in the quickest and best way." Following this, a written order was given appointing Çavuşbaşı Mehmed Ağa, who is known as Bıyıklı Mehmed, as beylerbeyi of the province of Diyarbakir and commander the armies of Kurdistan with the purpose of taking that province back from the foreigners and bringing it back under the sovereignty [of the Sultan].