Lak women: the history of Kurdish lion-ladies/knight-ladies throughout history

It was not uncommon for Lak women to join the men in battles. Freya Stark describes this tradition into the early twentieth century, along with the reputation these Kurdish ladies enjoyed in Iran:

From here we rode across country eastward over an easy but very stony shelf of Kebir Kuh, dipping into small combes and out again, but keeping more or less to the level of the Larti city, at about 4,500 feet. The great wall stretched out of sight before and behind us, as near and overwhelming as a wave about to break on the head of an insect swimming below.

Across the open lands beneath us on our left, we could see in its full outline the small tree-dotted range of Siah Pir, divided by clefts into separate hills. Blue enticing distances of Lakistan lay before us. Sa'id Ja'far, one of the pleasantest of companions, chatted about that country and its ways.

"The women there are more cruel than our men," said he.

"Last year, while they were at war with the government, one of them had a baby. When her husband asked to see it, she said: 'This is no time for children,' and took it by the feet and dashed it against the rocks. Many of them use a gun and ride like warriors with their tribes."

Language can offer valuable glimpses into the realities of a bygone age. Among the highest compliments in Kurdish for a woman are terms such as shera-jn ("lion-lady") and shora-jn ("knight-lady").

The association between women and warfare in Kurdish society was not limited to the Lak. Kurdish women from various regions and tribes participated in armed conflicts more frequently than is commonly assumed today. Yet this aspect of Kurdish history is only sparsely reflected in written sources. Instead, the memory of female warriors has been preserved largely through oral traditions, tribal histories, and folklore passed down across generations.

Kurdish in the hierarchy of languages

Shamʿī, a translator at the Kurdish court of Palu, wrote about the hierarchy of languages in the seventeenth century. Although his account simplifies a far more complex historical reality, it represents an important early stage in the elevation of Kurdish as a language of literary and cultural prestige among the world's languages.

Much of what Shamʿī writes is drawn directly from the literary tradition with which he was familiar. It was entirely conventional within that tradition to place Arabic in first place and Persian in second. What is noteworthy, however, is that Shamʿī composed this passage in Ottoman Turkish, addressing an Ottoman audience. Rather than assigning Ottoman Turkish the third position, he marshals respected Kurdish authorities and established literary conventions to secure that place for Kurdish itself.

This strategy captures a distinctive feature of the first phase in the elevation of Kurdish. At the time, two languages stood as major obstacles to the widespread use of Kurdish as a literary medium: Arabic and Persian. Their dominance would be challenged only gradually as more works were composed in Kurdish.

In the second phase, Kurdish authors increasingly sought to place Kurdish on an equal footing with Persian, and in some cases even above it. Persian posed the greater challenge, both symbolically and practically. Since the Iranian Intermezzo, it had served as the principal court language of Kurdish dynasties and remained the dominant literary language of much of the Kurdish learned elite. The effort to establish Kurdish as the equal of Persian persisted in many aspects into the early 20th-century.

Shamʿī writes: 

It shall be known that the variety of tongues refers to the various languages spoken among the creatures, some of which are Arabic, Persian, Kurdish, Turkish and Greek, Hindi, Afghani and, in addition to these, many more strange tongues and wonderful languages that cannot be counted. However, the most eminent and elegant of these tongues is Arabic, in which the noble Qur'an was revealed, and after it, Persian, the sweetest of languages. Then, each people has considered their own language to be the highest, but Imam Muhammad Barqal'i, Mulla Jaziri, and many more great scholars and noble literati, have chosen the Kurdish language, making it the most agreeable. Furthermore, the bravest and most generous peoples of the aforementioned Islamic community are the Arabs, and then the Kurds.

Qara Yusuf and Shams al Din of Bidlis

Attributed document from 1417 by Qara Yusuf granting Shams al Din, head of the Kurdish Rojaki confederation, legitimacy over Badlis, Xelat, Mush and other districts. A noteworthy aspect of the chart's interchangeable labels applied to the region, where "Kurdistan" and "Iran" are intertwined:

Dearest children [of ours]-may God Almighty preserve them-and the amīrs of the ulūs, the tūmāns, the hundreds and thousands, the chiefs, governor and financial officers, landowners, city elders and residents, notables, headmen and village elders of Kurdistan in general, and the dignitaries, scholars, and the people of note, the natives and residents of Bidlis, Akhlat, Mush, and Khinis along with associated and surrounding areas, should take cognizance of the fact that there is absolute loyalty, agreement of opinion [with us], unlimited diligence, sincere devotion and total reliance and confidence in him, refuge of the amirate, dearest son [of ours], greatest, most just and noble amir, amir of the amīrs of Iran, Amir Shams al-Din Abū al-Maʻālī-may God Almighty perpetuate the days of his power, triumph, dignity, and prosperity to the day of Judgement—and in whom we have the utmost confidence and trust. To serve our regal purposes it is necessary for us according to the previous [order], to distinguish him apart by bestowing various beneficences and awards to the aforementioned amīr among his equals. Because of this, there are visible and obvious impressions of mercy and kindness from the pädishāh in the pages [of the book] of his living conditions. Presently, we granted him again the rights of control, the emirship and ownership, land tax and taxes for the dīvān (huqūq-i dīvānī), from Bidlis, Akhlat, Mush, and other fortresses and dependent areas with surroundings, grounds and buildings that have been previously held by the aforementioned amīr. We granted him these things without intervention and complicity of other persons. This decree was issued on the grounds that, in respect to the aforementioned amīr, amīrs, governors and rulers would not intervene and would not enter the district, terrain, winter pastures and arable land that previously belonged to the aforementioned amīr and would not constrain his peasants or people. Whosoever opposes the farmān (decree) will be dealt with. The duty of the amīrs, sardārs, dignitaries, and noble people, and indigenous people and inhabitants of Bidlis, Akhlat, Mush, and Khinis, places and arable land, castellans and residents of those places is that they always acknowledge him, refuge of the emirship, son (of ours) as their own ruler (hākim) and amīr; let them not shy away from his words, good deeds, and prudent orders and let them follow the path of obedience, submission and sincere devotion. In all judicial matters, responsibilities, and affairs let them recognize themselves as subordinate and dependent on the authorized representatives of the aforementioned amīr. For whatever he addresses (to them), let them be submissive and let them handle the matter similarly everywhere. And when [the charter] is embellished with the high and noble sovereign's seal, let them have faith in it. Written on 10 Rabī al-Avval.

Kurds in 18th century Medina

Despite its significance, Al-Ansari's work has remained untranslated and overlooked in Kurdish studies. This translation is the first effort to demonstrate its relevance to the field while making some of its most noteworthy passages available to a broader readership.

In his 18th-century work, Al-Ansari documents the family histories of several Kurdish households in Medina and provides biographical details on their most distinguished members. His testimony is especially valuable because of his personal familiarity with many of these families. Among the first Kurdish families he discusses are the Barzanjis. Al Ansari's study of the Kurdish families who settled in Medina represents around a century of credible genealogy. The descendants of the founding fathers and some of their life tales are told. These details are typically absent from biographies of Kurdish migrants. 

The Barzanjis of the Hijaz have been of particular interest to me because I myself come from the Barzanji lineage. Over the years, I have been in contact with some Barzanjis who still reside in Arabia, and I have found them to be deeply aware of and proud of their Kurdish heritage. What surprised me even more was noticing that some of them retain physical features that are commonly found with Kurdish populations. Despite centuries having passed since their ancestors left Kurdistan, certain traits seem to have endured, serving as subtle reminders of their origins: 

The Barzanji Family

The Barzanji family takes its name from Barzinja, a well-known town in the land of the Kurds. Their ancestor was the eminent scholar and meticulous researcher Sayyid Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Rasūl. Many later authors wrote his biography, foremost among them our late father in his biographical compendium, as well as Shaykh Muṣṭafā ibn Fatḥ Allāh al-Ḥamawī and others. He was born in 1044 AH (1634–35 CE). He devoted himself to the study of the sciences in both their theoretical and practical aspects. He authored numerous works and beneficial books. Around 1068 AH (1657–58 CE) he came to Medina and studied under Mullā Ibrāhīm al-Kurdī. He married the daughter of Khwāja Muḥammad al-Maghribī. He later traveled to the Ottoman Empire, where he was warmly received, gained favor, and attained all that he desired. He traveled there a second time and then returned to Medina. On the very day of his arrival, death overtook him, in 1103 AH (1691–92 CE). He endured some trials and hardships in his lifetime. He left two sons: Sayyid Aḥmad and Sayyid ʿAbd al-Karīm, whose mother was the daughter of Khwāja Muḥammad al-Maghribī. His male descendants eventually died out, and his endowment came to be inherited through the descendants of his daughters.

Sayyid Aḥmad: Sayyid Aḥmad had a son named ʿUmar. ʿUmar in turn had: Sayyid Aḥmad (still living at the time of writing), Sharīfa Khadīja, mother of Sharīfa Ḥafṣa daughter of Sayyid Jaʿfar. Sayyid Aḥmad had four daughters and one son, all living at the time of writing.

Sayyid ʿAbd al-Karīm

Sayyid ʿAbd al-Karīm served as preacher (khaṭīb) in 1111 AH. He was later executed as a martyr in the prosperous port city of Jeddah. He was put to death by Bakīr Pasha under an imperial decree issued by the Ottoman government because of the disturbances that occurred in Medina during that period.

One poet commemorated his death with the phrase:

"ʿAbd al-Karīm died a martyr" (1138 AH).

He left the following children: The distinguished scholar Sayyid Ḥasan, Sayyid Ḥusayn, Sayyid Muḥammad, Sharīfa Umm al-Ḥusayn.

Sayyid Ḥasan ibn ʿAbd al-Karīm

He was born in 1099 AH (1687–88 CE). During the disturbances mentioned above, he secretly left Medina and went to Cairo, where he remained in hiding in the house of Sayyid Muḥammad al-Naḥḥāl until his death in 1148 AH (1735–36 CE). He authored books, treatises, sermons, and other works. He had two sons: Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn, Jaʿfar. Their mother was Ḥafṣa, daughter of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Kāzarūnī al-Shāfiʿī al-Zubayrī. Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn died in Basra in 1169 AH, and was buried beside the grave of his maternal ancestor, al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām. He left two sons: Ḥasan, Muḥammad, both born in the city of Zabīd and still living at the time of writing.

Jaʿfar ibn Ḥasan

Born in 1128 AH (1715–16 CE), he received an excellent upbringing and excelled especially in preaching and letter-writing. He became a preacher, imam, teacher, and eventually the chief Shāfiʿī mufti. He died in Shaʿbān 1177 AH (1764 CE). He left a daughter named Ḥafṣa, who was still alive when this was written. She married her cousin, Sayyid Muḥammad, and bore him a son named Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn, born in 1176 AH, who was also living at the time of writing.

Sayyid Ḥasan also fathered: Sayyid Qāsim by a concubine, who was living in India. Sayyid ʿAlī, whose mother belonged to the family of Mikāʾīl. He was born in 1134 AH and excelled in both poetry and prose. Sharīfa Ṣāliḥa, wife of Sayyid Abū al-Qāsim ibn Sayyid Ibrāhīm, who gave birth to twin sons in Jumādā I, 1187 AH.

Sayyid Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd al-Karīm

Born in 1110 AH, he became a preacher and died in 1178 AH. He left a son: Sayyid Muḥammad, who died in 1189 AH, leaving a son named Sayyid Ḥasan, born in 1179 AH. His mother was Sharīfa ʿĀʾisha, daughter of Sayyid Aḥmad ibn ʿUmar. 

 

Sayyid Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Karīm

Born in 1112 AH, he died in 1145 AH. He left a son: Sayyid Muḥammad Rasūl, who died in 1182 AH. He also left two daughters by Sharīfa Sāra, daughter of Sayyid Ḥasan and sister of Sayyid ʿAlī. Both daughters were still living.

 

Another Branch of the Family

Sayyid Qāsim, son of the aforementioned Sayyid ʿAbd al-Rasūl, arrived in Medina around 1098 AH. He lived an ascetic life and was regarded as a man of piety and righteousness. He married his cousin Sharīfa Fāṭima, who bore him: Sayyid Ibrāhīm, Sharīfa Āmina. He died in 1144 AH. From this branch descended Sayyid Qāsim and Sayyid ʿAbd al-Karīm, sons of Sayyid Ḥaydar, brother of Sayyid Muḥammad.

Sayyid Ibrāhīm

Born in 1112 AH, he died in 1182 AH. He left: Abū al-Qāsim, Ḥasan, who was blind, Sharīfa ʿĀʾisha. Abū al-Qāsim was born in 1158 AH. He devoted himself to scholarship and was known for exceptional intelligence, understanding, excellent character, and many virtues. He had a son: Sayyid ʿUmar, born in 1178 AH. As for his brother Ḥasan, he was born in 1160 AH. Both of them were still living at the time of writing.

As for Sayyid ʿAbd al-Karīm ibn Ḥaydar, he was blind in one eye. He was arrested and sent to the Ottoman government in connection with the disturbances that took place in Medina in 1134 AH. He died there in 1142 AH, leaving a son named Zakī al-Dīn.

As for Sayyid Zakī al-Dīn, he had a son named Sayyid ʿAbd al-Karīm, who was still living at the time of writing. He was a man of upright conduct, never neglecting the recitation of the Qurʾān or the Prophetic Sunnah, and was diligent in attending the congregational prayers. He had several children by the daughter of Sayyid Aḥmad, and they were all still living at the time of writing.

Al Kurdi's house was another well-known family. According to al Ansari, many people in Medina had the Kurdi-attribution, which includes Muhammad b. Sulayman al Kurdi, the well-known Shafii mufti, as well as other prominent figures and wealthy individuals: 

The Kurdish (Al Kurdi) Family

The Kurdī family takes its name from the well-known Kurds. Their homeland is a great mountainous region, and many people in Medina trace their ancestry to it. We shall mention the most prominent among them who were known for learning and piety. The most famous among them was Shaykh Yūsuf al-Kurdī, deputy to the Shāfiʿī imams in the Prophet's Mosque. He arrived in Medina in 1120 AH. He was a learned, virtuous, and devout man, and he taught in the Prophet's Mosque, focusing primarily on Shāfiʿī jurisprudence. He left four sons:

• Muḥammad
• ʿUbayd
• Ismāʿīl
• Sulaymān

As for the aforementioned Muḥammad, he was raised in a righteous manner and later traveled to the Ottoman lands. He obtained permission from the Ottoman government to construct a building on a platform near the eastern side of the Noble Prayer Mosque adjacent to the Prophet's Mosque. He began construction, but the Shaykh of the Sanctuary objected and halted the work. Thereafter he traveled repeatedly between the Ottoman lands and Medina in pursuit of the matter. Eventually he returned, completed the building, and was living there at the time of writing. He had children, including a daughter.

As for ʿUbayd, he set out for Egypt on his way to the Ottoman lands but died there.

As for Ismāʿīl, he also traveled abroad and was residing in the Ottoman lands at the time of writing.

Among them was Shaykh Sulaymān al-Kurdī, who taught the Qurʾān to children at the Ribāṭ al-Sabīl. He came to Medina in 1115 AH. He was a blessed and righteous man. He died leaving three sons:

• Muḥammad
• Aḥmad
• Ibrāhīm

Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Sulaymān al-Kurdī

Muḥammad was born in 1126 AH. He received an excellent upbringing, memorized the Noble Qurʾān, and devoted himself to the pursuit of knowledge in all its branches. He became exceptionally accomplished in jurisprudence, until there was said to be no equal to him in Shāfiʿī law.

He was regarded as one of the most accomplished of men: a scholar, a jurist, and a man of great distinction. His reputation spread throughout many lands until news of him reached the Shaykh al-Islām in the Ottoman Empire. As a result, he was appointed Mufti of the Shāfiʿīs in Medina.

His official letters of appointment reached him in 1189 AH. Before him, no Shāfiʿī had held this office except one from Mecca. Despite his elevation, he did not alter his manner of life or his clothing.

He died in 1194 AH. Among his children were:

• ʿAbd Allāh
• Ḥamza
• ʿAbd al-Raḥmān

all of whom were still living at the time of writing.

Aḥmad ibn Sulaymān al-Kurdī

Aḥmad did not follow the path of his father and brother. He was nicknamed "al-Jinnī" because of his constant activity and lack of steadiness. He was a famous and courageous man and became one of the nawbatjiyya (a military or guard corps). He died in 1175 AH.

Ibrāhīm ibn Sulaymān al-Kurdī

Ibrāhīm was raised in a virtuous manner. God granted him a son who managed his livelihood and affairs, named Sulaymān.

Ibrāhīm himself died in 1192 AH.

His son Sulaymān became engaged in trade, buying and selling and conducting business transactions. He was considered one of the finest and most accomplished of men, and he had children.

Shaykh Fayḍ Allāh al-Kurdī al-Madūs

Among them was Shaykh Fayḍ Allāh al-Kurdī al-Madūs, who arrived in Medina in 1170 AH.

He was a learned, virtuous, and practicing scholar. There existed between him and the author a friendship and mutual affection. He told me that he had written a commentary on Jamʿ al-Jawāmiʿ in legal theory by Imām al-Subkī.

He purchased a ruined house in the quarter known as Zuqāq Banī Ḥusayn, restored it splendidly, and took up residence there. According to his own statement, he spent approximately 10,000 qurūsh (piastres) on its reconstruction.

Afterward he settled down, ceased attending the Friday prayer and congregational prayers, and was still alive at the time of writing. He had two sons who were also living.

Shaykh Ilyās al-Kurdī

Among them was our companion Shaykh Ilyās al-Kurdī, deputy to the Shāfiʿī imams in the Noble Rawḍa of the Prophet's Mosque.

He arrived in Medina in 1172 AH.

He was a complete and accomplished man: intelligent, learned, devout, and deeply engaged in the pursuit of the religious sciences. He taught in the Blessed Rawḍa. He later traveled to the Ottoman lands and then returned to Medina.

He married the daughter of Mullā Muḥammad al-Dāghistānī, and had children by her.

Also featured are the distinguished family of Mulla Ibrahim al-Kurdi and the house of Mulla Jami.

The Family of Mullā Ibrāhīm al-Kurdī

The House of Mullā Ibrāhīm al-Kurdī was a distinguished family, renowned for its learning and virtue. 

Their ancestor was the celebrated scholar and erudite savant Mullā Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥasan Shihāb al-Dīn al-Kurdī al-Shahrazūrī al-Kūrānī, whose biography is well known.

He arrived in Medina around 1063 AH, attached himself to Shaykh Aḥmad al-Qushāshī, was trained by him, married his daughter, and was appointed his successor after his death.

He remained occupied with scholarship, teaching, writing, and authorship until his death in 1103 AH. He had been born in 1025 AH.

He left two sons:

• Abū al-Ḥasan
• Abū Ṭāhir

Abū al-Ḥasan

Abū al-Ḥasan had a son named Abū al-Ṭayyib.

Abū al-Ṭayyib was a courageous man. He was caught up in the famous disturbances and was exiled by imperial decree from Medina to Damascus. He remained there for approximately twenty-two years. In 1160 AH, another decree permitted his return to Medina. He lived there until his death in 1168 AH.

He left two sons:

• Abū al-Ḥasan
• Abū al-Barakāt

Abū al-Ḥasan

His mother was a slave woman, from whom he inherited wealth. Most of it was eventually lost and squandered.

It was said that his father used to pray against him and that the prayer was answered. He traveled to the Ottoman lands, then to Egypt, where he died in poverty and miserable circumstances in 1173 AH.

Abū al-Barakāt

Abū al-Barakāt was a spirited and capable man with excellent handwriting. He copied many scholarly books for people in exchange for payment.

He died in 1168 AH, leaving a son named Abū al-Suʿūd. The latter traveled to the Ottoman lands and died young in 1178 AH, leaving no descendants.

Muḥammad Saʿīd

Muḥammad Saʿīd's mother was Wahba, daughter of Shaykh Aḥmad al-Qushāshī.

He was a courageous man who was martyred on Mount Salʿ on 22 Shawwāl 1134 AH. He was buried near the gate of Ismāʿīl ibn Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, inside the Ottoman city wall. His grave was well known and visited.

He left two sons:

• Aḥmad Abū al-Faraj
• Ḥasan

Aḥmad Abū al-Faraj

Aḥmad was a righteous and learned man.

There existed between him and the author—and between the author and his brother Ḥasan, a severe hostility that lasted until death. Many people attempted to reconcile them, but none succeeded.

He traveled to India, where he gained favor and prosperity and accumulated considerable wealth. His two sons, Ḥusaynand Abū al-Ḥasan, accompanied him.

They later returned to Medina.

He died in 1167 AH, leaving the sons already mentioned.

Ḥusayn

Ḥusayn was a virtuous, righteous, and blessed man.

Abū al-Ḥasan

Abū al-Ḥasan was an accomplished and upright man, noted for his generosity and honorable conduct.

Among his children were:

• Abū al-Faraj
• Umm al-Ḥasan, wife of the preacher and mufti ʿAbd Allāh al-Khalīfatī

Abū al-Futūḥ

Abū al-Futūḥ received a good upbringing, memorized the Qurʾān, and led the congregation in the Ramadan tarāwīḥprayers.

He died during his father's lifetime in 1190 AH.

Ḥasan Abū al-Faḍl

Born in 1100 AH, he received a good education and pursued learning until he achieved the level he sought.

He taught in the Prophet's Mosque.

He traveled first to India and then to the Ottoman lands, where he was warmly received and amassed substantial wealth. His son Aḥmad accompanied him.

Toward the end of his life he lost his sight.

He was a learned scholar, accomplished intellectual, and theologian.

He died in 1180 AH and was said never to have liked people asking him his age.

He left a son named Muḥsin, who died young, leaving a son:

• Muḥyī al-Dīn, who was still living at the time of writing.

Shaykh Ḥasan Abū al-Faḍl also left:

• Aḥmad
• Muḥammad Saʿīd
• Ibrāhīm
• ʿĀʾisha
• Fāṭima

Their mother was Ruqayya, daughter of Shaykh ʿAlī al-Qushāshī, who was still living.

Aḥmad

Aḥmad was a pleasant and refined man with charming manners.

He died young in 1183 AH, leaving a son:

• Muḥammad Abū al-Faraj, who was still living.

His mother was Rābiʿa al-Maraʿashiyya.

Muḥammad Saʿīd

Muḥammad Saʿīd was a distinguished man.

He died young in 1185 AH, leaving a daughter:

• Khadīja

She was still living, though bedridden. Her mother was Fāṭima, daughter of the Maghribi Fāsī pilgrim Abū Jayda.

Ibrāhīm

Ibrāhīm was an accomplished and intelligent man who appreciated elegance and refinement in all things.

He was still living at the time of writing and had children.

ʿĀʾisha

ʿĀʾisha was the wife of Abū al-Ḥasan and the mother of his daughter Umm al-Ḥasan, who in turn became the wife of al-Khalīfatī.

Muḥammad Abū Ṭāhir

Muḥammad Abū Ṭāhir was born in 1085 AH.

He was an accomplished and distinguished scholar and was among the greatest teachers from whom we ourselves acquired knowledge. He granted us authorization (ijāza) for all the traditions and works he had received from his father and other teachers.

He remained occupied with scholarship and teaching until his death in 1145 AH.

He developed and built a number of properties, including:

• the garden, residence, and reception hall known as his dwelling in the district of al-ʿArīḍiyya,
• and the large house adjoining the outer cemetery.

He left:

• Ibrāhīm,
• Fāṭima, wife of Sayyid ʿAbd Allāh ʿAbbās al-Bukhārī and mother of his children,
• and Āmina, wife of Abū al-Barakāt and mother of Abū al-Suʿūd, who later died in the Ottoman lands.

The Jāmī Family

The Jāmī family was a Kurdish family. The name "Jāmī" was given in imitation of Mullā Jāmī, the famous commentator on al-Ḥājibiyya in Arabic grammar, as a blessed and auspicious honorific.

The distinguished scholar Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Mullā Jāmī came to Medina together with his brother Mullā Maḥmūd.

He became deputy to the Shāfiʿī imams and one of their teachers in the Prophet's Mosque.

He was a righteous man devoted to the Sacred Sanctuary and remained so until his death in 1162 AH.

He left:

• Yaḥyā
• Aḥmad
• Umm Kulthūm, wife of Shaykh Muḥammad Saʿīd Ṭāhir al-Kurdī and mother of his children

Yaḥyā

Yaḥyā's profession was tailoring, in which he excelled.

He traveled twice to the Ottoman lands and was still living in Medina at the time of writing.

In 1190 AH, he married his daughter to Aḥmad Āghā, the agent of the Murādiyya.

Aḥmad

Aḥmad possessed outstanding personal qualities and accomplishments.

He obtained an imperial decree appointing him as a Shāfiʿī imam and served in that capacity in the Noble Rawḍa of the Prophet's Mosque.

He composed fine poetry, pursued learning, and wrote elegant prose.

He traveled to the Ottoman lands, achieved his ambitions there, and later returned to Medina, where he was still living.

He had several noble children.

Maḥmūd

Maḥmūd was a righteous man and student of knowledge, possessing considerable merit.

He traveled to the Ottoman lands and later returned to Medina.

He died there in 1188 AH.

He had a talented son named ʿAbd al-Raḥīm, who traveled to India and died in 1185 AH.

The Amedi House was named after its founder, a wealthy Kurd from Amedi. The male line did not outlast the founding father, hence the house's legacy was rather short. This is one of the causes for notable houses' low long-term success rates:

The ʿImādī Family

The ʿImādī family takes its name from al-ʿImādiyya, a well-known city in the land of the Kurds.

The first member of this family to arrive in Medina was al-Ḥājj Yāsīn ibn Muḥammad al-ʿImādī al-Kurdī. He was an accomplished and intelligent man, possessed of great wealth. He died in 1138 AH, leaving no children.

He did, however, leave behind a number of freedmen (mawālī). The most prominent among them was al-Ḥājj ʿUthmān al-ʿImādī. He was an accomplished and sensible man who engaged in trade and commerce through his shop and eventually amassed considerable wealth. He built the two houses adjoining the inner bathhouse and became a member of the Sipahi corps.

He died in 1162 AH, leaving:

• ʿUmar
• Ṣafiyya, the wife of our companion ʿUbayd Efendi Kadak and the mother of his children.

ʿUmar al-ʿImādī

The aforementioned ʿUmar received a good upbringing. He was one of the finest and most accomplished of men.

He succeeded his father among the Sipahis. During the famous Citadel Affair, he was among those arrested by Sharīf Surūr. He was taken to Mecca as a prisoner and died there in 1196 AH.

He left behind one son and two daughters, all of whom were still young at the time of his death.

Ali Kurdi was part of yet another Kurdish family that had settled in Medina. Alongside the nisba al-kurdi, he carried the designation al-Baghdadi. Taken together, the examples from the work seem sufficient to support several broader conclusions about the Kurdish presence in the city:

The Hijrī Family

The Hijrī family derives its name from Dār al-Hijra ("the Abode of Migration").

The first person to be known by this nisba was our companion, the learned ʿAlī al-Kurdī al-Baghdādī al-Hijrī.

He arrived in Medina in 1170 AH and taught in the Noble Prophet's Mosque. He later traveled to the Ottoman lands and then set out on his return journey to the Prophet's City. However, he died at Maʿān, on the Syrian route, in 1194 AH.

He married and had children by a daughter of Sayyid Marnaqiyya.

He was hunchbacked, and the people of Medina nicknamed him Abū Qunbūr ("Father of the Hump"). Nevertheless, he was a pleasant and charming man with an agreeable personality. He was also known at times for his playful, lighthearted behavior and for amusing others with jokes and humorous antics.

Al-Ansari's catalogue of notable families in Medina includes roughly 300 families. Of these, approximately 3 percent can be identified as Kurdish families. This should be regarded as a conservative estimate, as I have not undertaken a systematic investigation of families whose ethnic origins remain uncertain but may also have been Kurdish.

In one sense, 3 percent represents a considerable overrepresentation relative to the size of the Kurdish population in the broader Islamicate world. Yet it also raises a legitimate question: why was Kurdish representation in the Hijaz not even greater? Al-Ansari's work itself provides the answer. Compared to other major urban centers of the Islamicate world, Kurdish migration to the Hijaz was remarkably limited. The region was generally not regarded as an attractive destination for permanent settlement.

The biographies of Medina's migrant families paint a revealing picture. Many maintained connections with the great political and economic centers of the age, particularly the Ottoman capital and the Mughal Empire. Al-Ansari leaves little doubt as to the motives behind such journeys. More often than not, they were undertaken in pursuit of wealth, patronage and office.

The experiences of Kurdish families provide concrete examples. The founder of the Barzanji family in Medina travelled to the Ottoman capital in search of what he ultimately desired: greater prosperity and standing back home in Medina. Likewise, Ali Kurdi died while returning from a journey to the Ottoman center. This is often the practical meaning behind biographical notices stating that an individual "went to Rum." Such travel was frequently tied to the pursuit of material advancement, patronage networks, or political opportunities.

Indeed, Al-Ansari openly mocks those Medinans who journeyed to Rum only to return empty-handed, without gifts, appointments, promises of advancement, or support in local power struggles. Understanding these ambitions helps explain both the migration of Kurdish families to Medina and their continued presence there. For many, the Hijaz was not the endpoint of a migration story but one node within a much wider network that connected Medina to the imperial capitals of the Ottoman and Mughal worlds.

Evliya Celebi and the Kurdish scholar-ruler, Abdal Xan

During his travels through Kurdistan, Evliya Çelebi spent time as a guest of the Kurdish scholar-ruler Abdal Xan of Bidlis. Abdal Xan appears to have left a strong impression on him, prompting Evliya to devote an unusually lengthy passage to praising his accomplishments.

The key question, however, is how much credibility should be assigned to Evliya's portrayal and what factors might explain his remarkably favorable depiction of the ruler of Bidlis. Some of Evliya's claims are impossible to verify and bear the hallmarks of the exaggeration for which he is famous. Yet other aspects of his account can be more readily explained and are supported by other sources.

It is also important to place Evliya's observations within the broader context of his travels and political involvement in Kurdistan. The relationship between Evliya and Abdal xan was more complicated than these passages might suggest. In fact, the two men found themselves on opposing sides of a political conflict, and Evliya was later taken hostage in Bidlis. Against this backdrop, his admiration for Abdal Khan becomes all the more noteworthy:

In architecture he is a master engineer. The plan of the great palace described above was entirely his own conception, and it was built according to his specification. It is like the palace of Bilqis or Candace. In the art of bookbinding he is like Sultan Süleyman's chief binder. In painting he is the equal of Bihzad and Mani. His depictions are so realistic, they seem to be alive. As a calligrapher he rivals Imad and Mir Ali and Kutbeddin Mehemmed Yezdi in the Ta'liq script. As a poet he is the unique of the age, rivalling Azmizade Haleti and Cami and Hafiz and Saib in composing odes and rubais. He is a sea of verbal wisdom. If he takes an Arabic book in his hands he can translate immediately into Persian and read it faultlessly and elegantly; while Turkish chronicles he can recite in fluent Arabic or Persian. Such an ocean of wisdom and a fine litterateur he is. A master ironsmith, he makes Sheykhani and Ma'arravi and Zivzik swords and daggers and knives, the likes of which the workshops of Isfahan cannotproduce; and no one can turn the blade of the trenchant sword tempered by his anvil.

He is a master goldsmith, and does all the jewel-setting himself. He plaits a kind of horsetail aigrette from gold and silver thread that sells for three thousand piasters, and he sends one or two of them each year to the Ottoman sultan as a gift. It is quite a marvel. He also makes tobacco pipes interlaced with various kinds of gold and silver thread and tiny pearls -- beyond human capacity!

He is a master clockmaker, manufacturing clocks marking the month or the day, indicating the zodiacal constellations or the daily account book, or operating with an alarm. Even Can Petro and Kashper cannot expend such skill on a clock.¹ On his own finger he had a signet watch like that which my late father made for the signet of Sultan Mehemmed the conqueror of Egri, a work of magic: when the hour came, the watch pricked its wearer's finger, and from that he knew what time it was. Another such signet was on the finger of the Khan's son-in-law Beg, the khan of Mahmudi, and it too was the Khan's handiwork.

He was a master seal carver and engraver, whose fine calligraphic rhyming-prose inscriptions carved in Ta'liq or Riq'a rivalled those of Ahmed Beg and Ferid and Sırri. He also wrote white inscriptions on Yemeni (blades) with a type of aquafortis which never faded. He has seals of land and time that are matchless.

A master singer, his mother is like the mode Rast and his father like Dugah. No other singer -- unless it was Pythagoras or Abdullah Faryabi or Ghulam-i Shadi -- knew so many types of songs. He has a very powerful and doleful voice, with which he extemporizes, in twenty-four rhythmic cycles, verses of Hafiz while striking the tambourine. When he recites Kar or Savt or Zecel, the listener is left marvelling.He is a master musician, owns one hundred and sixty musical instruments of various kinds -- reed flute, panpipes, harp, dulcimer, pandore, six-stringed lute, four-stringed lute, Arabian lute, violin, psaltery, harp [sic], trumpet, small kettledrum, Turcoman reed-pipe, flute¹ -- and plays them as well as Zühre-i Sührab or Baba Chengi or Ali Rebab. He makes all of these instruments himself, and in mother-of-pearl inlay he rivals Kırtıl Can Hindi.

As a caller to prayer he is like Bilal-i Habeshi.

In racing he is like Amru Umeyya Zamiri.

As a barber he is a second Selman Pak.

As a judge he was a veritable Zu'n-nun-i Misri.

As a story-teller he was Suheyb-i Rumi.

When he preaches he is a second Hasan-i Basri.

In Koran interpretation he is like Abdullah ibn Abas.

In military prowess he is a Malik Eshter or an Ali, Lion of God, mounted on Düldül.

In bowmaking he is a Mehemmed ibn Ebi Bekr.

In drawing the bow he rivals Sa'd-i Vakkas.

In generosity he is a Khatem Tayy or a Ca'fer Bermeki.

In ascetic exercises he is like Ebu Derda Amiri, who subsisted on the fast of David; but in his earlier days he used to frequent taverns.

In feeding the poor he was like Oman ibn Umran.

In fireplay he was like Ebu Omar Abdullah Vasiti.

In making bottles and in bottle jugglery he was a very Avicenna.

He constructed a hot bath as though he were Muhsin ibn Osman. It is described below.2

As a dyer he was like Zeyd-i Hindi.

In tailoring he is similar to Davud Tahiri.

In weaving he is a Zahid el-kattan. He presented Melek Ahmed Pasha with a handmade embroidered prayer rug such as they cannot weave in Cairo or Isfahan.

In making various turban caps and Bektashi headcovers, he is a second Abdullah Vasiti.As a furrier you would think him Omar ibn Amiri.

In making felt caps and felt rugs, he is Ebu Said Tari.

In calligraphy he is Abdullah Kufi.

In versifying he is like the Prophet's own poet, Hassan ibn Thabit.

In ironworking he is Ebu Zeyd Muslim Haddad.

In cauldron foundery he is Ebu Habib Muhyiddin.

In needlework he is Ebulkasim Attar.

In veterinary medicine he is a veritable Ebu Kasim es-Semmak.

As a jeweler he is like Nasr ibn Abdullah.

In making confections and sweets he is a Huseyn ibn Nasir.

In making scents he is Hüsam ibn Abdullah el-Basri.

In silk working he is Abdullah Ca'fer Tayyar or else the imam Mehemmed Ghazali.

In making various Circassian boots and slippers and shoes he is like Ekber-i Yemeni whose noble name was Mehemmed.

In fashioning harnesses and stirrup thongs and saddles embroidered with gold and silver thread, he is Ebunnasr Khatem-i Baghdadi.

As a cobbler he is like Omar ibn Yaser.

In swordmaking he is Esir-i Hindi Seyyaf.

He fashioned shields that were like the work of Hasan Kattal Ghazi.

In his artificial lake he caught various fishes with nets and lines as skillfully as Nasrullah Semmak.

In treating wounds he is like Ebu Ubeyd Kassab.

In carpentry he is like Ebulkasim Abdülvahid Neccar.

In lathe turning God knows he makes such incomparable objects that Ebu Ubeyd el-Kharrat himself was incapable of making. He sends abroad as gifts his rounded spoons for adding water to ink; also pen cutters, thumbstalls, and antimony styluses.

He makes various kinds of arrows for target shooting (pūta), practice shooting (āzmāyish; zīzān), heavy and light flight arrows (heki, peshrev), standard-length or "nock" arrows (gez), and tomar which Mehemmed ibn Imran cannot make. He made one arrow from 150 reed stripsthat was hollow from notch to point and he could shoot..... gez¹ with a bow weighing..... dirhems. Truly he hung his bow on the loftiest peak.

In bowmanship he is Sam-i Akran. In one draw of his bow he shot from a single bowstring two arrows in front and two arrows behind, in the presence of Sultan Murad IV, and was awarded the kharāc of Mush in perpetuity. He can do hundreds of such shots, like white magic.

In dyeing he is like Amir ibn Abdullah as-Sabbagh.

For all the instruments he plays, he makes his own strings, more expertly than Pir Omar ibn Nasir el-Vettar. He also makes strings (fobs? springs?) for watches (or clocks) from the gut of small bobtail birds, and these last ten years.

He makes all sorts of goblets and mugs and jugs out of enamel-like glass, such that Pir Abdülghaffar Medeni could not accomplish.

In order that the bread he eats will be legitimate and pure, he sometimes engages in agricultural pursuits, more skillfully than Riyath ibn Omar al-Harrath.

In horticulture he is like Ebu Zeyd Hindi Baba-reten himself, and so this garden of his betokens the gardens of paradise.

In short, God has endowed this Khan with such cleverness, intelligence, and understanding that aside from the skills listed above he has shown authority in the practice of thousands of other arts. He is like a second Cemshid. If we were to describe every craft and skill in detail it would take an entire volume.

He has fourteen noble sons, among them Ziyaeddin, Bedir, Nureddehir, Sheref, Ismail, Shemseddin, Hasan, Hüseyn. All are masters of a thousand skills, resourceful and clever, noble princes, who have demonstrated their authority in various sciences and arts. For this reason, in the above enumeration of the Khan's skills, I cited the elders and patrons of the various crafts, those ancient ones who, in the presence of the Prophet, were initiated by Ali and Selman Pak.

What Evliya appears to have intended to capture was the Badlisi rulers' library, which allowed Abdal Xan to interact with books from different directions; also, the Badlisi rulers did not set up their libraries for display. Abdal Xan was involved in research and translation. Evliya encountered someone who had access to one of the largest collections of separate book titles in the Middle East and was likely familiar with the majority of the material. 

Evliya Celebi credited this poem to Abdal Xan. Whether it's the poems, translations of works, or research, these items help us to reconstruct what Abdal Xan would have had access to in terms of literature, and how unusual that was in the 17th century:

My heart began to dance in ecstasy of longing for your cheek.

It came to market as bad cucumbers from the ruined garden.

Wretched with love-pain for you, the crazed one came to the asylum.

Swollen and sick, he came to the hospital.

From being burned in the fire of cruelty, he came to a weakened state.

Be kind and clutch this ruined heart with the talon of benevolence.

If you will favor us with a quarter bushel of ripened fruit of beauty.

No wonder if I am contorted, for your curl has made a lasso.

The talon of separation has crumbled me while clapping hands.

As a tailless fledged chicken, he came to the rose garden.

The pretender wrapped a pointed turban on his head and turned into a hare (?).

To cleanse his crooked face he put it into the fire.

He is gluttonous and filthy -- look now at the dirty one!

A mean rival and a trough with food for dogs.

Yesterday he changed spoons with his skirt, today he denied it.

The beloved squatted down and struck that rival with a pen-knife.

He writhed strangely, like bulghur boiling in a pot.

He looked at his plague, turned his face, and laughing said: "Thank God the pretender had boils on his skin (?)

No wonder he is weak: every calamity befell the rival."

That wizard put old tattered clothes on his back.

Like wood chips he came to the edge of the earth oven to be face to face.

Hopping like chickens and shaped like a black bogey, the foul fiend.

In this form the rival rubs against the beloved like soap chips.

Look at his strange shapes: the trickster has come.

Tie your curl ribbon as a swing to the heart's tapkin (?).

Do not put the skein of your curls like cotton wound on the spindle.

Make the fetter of your curls a string round my neck, my darling.

Do not crush your curl thread with a mill-crank for me.

The heart came to market like a pot without its string.

The holiday beauty applied rouge to his face, your shame rubbed on white paint.¹

What need for lulu curcan? Explain that thorn of yours.

A bride's veil on his head, ownerless, that snot-nosed foul one of yours.

Or is it a wedding party, does he bring gifts, that rival of yours?

That is, disguised as a wedding inviter, he has been let in on secrets.