The Kurdish Community from the Abbasids to Safavids; Sharafkhan Bedlisi’s Perspective

Sharafkhan Bedlisi began writing Kurdish historiography in the late sixteenth century by writing Sharafnama. Sharafnama includes the history of the Kurdish emirates from the Abbasid caliphates to the end of the years (1596-1597), i.e. until the Safavid era. Sharafnama is basically a continuation of the same method of traditional Islamic historiography, i.e. political, military and family event writing. However, the introduction of Sharafnama regarding the characteristics of Kurdish people and the Kurdish society from the Abbasid to Safavid eras can differentiate this historical work from the contemporary and earlier historical works. In this regard, Sharafnama can be considered as a work different from the tradition of Islamic historiography. Sharafkhan Bedlisi maintains that religionism, irrationality, chaos (lack of concentration), lack of unity thoughts, fratricidal desires, lack of foresight, importance of warrior-ship and unwillingness to establish a local government are the most important characteristics of Kurdish people and Kurdish society from the Abbasid to Safavid eras. The present study attempts to discuss the aforementioned characteristics in a descriptive-analytical manner.

Conclusion

Chapter 5 presents a cohesive conclusion, summarizing the findings, rehearsing the arguments, and synthesizing the concluding remarks of the entire study. Islamic historiography presents varying notions of conversion to Islam which are evidenced by repeated literary features and depictions. It suggests not only that conversion started slowly (as recent studies advocate) but also that conversion meant different things, including sincere religious conviction and mere political submission. Medieval Muslim historians utilize conversion themes to address both non-Muslims and Muslims, highlighting the supremacy of Islam to non-Muslims and emphasizing genuineness of faith to Muslims. Literary depictions of conversion are a product of the religious views of the historians, influenced by the sociopolitical requirements at the time of writing.

E-4 An Analytical Study of the Development of Historiography in the world; A Case of Early Islamic Historiography

The history of the world began with human creation and consciousness. And with the passage of time came the expansion and innovation in historiography. The Greeks have credited with the formal beginning of historiography. Hycuts was the first person to start writing the events of history in a scattered manner. Herodotus later began the work of historiography on the basis of this effort. Herodotus was called the father of history. Similarly, historiography was transferred from the Greeks to the Romans and then the advent of Islam made historiography not just an art but an industry. Islamic historiography began during the Prophet's time when it was writing with Quran and Hadeth. Later several people started to write the biography of Prophet and many others. Among them Imam Zahri, Muhammad Bin Ishaq, Ibn-e-Hisham, Waqdi and many others. This paper is an attempt to highlight the basic concept of historiography and Islamic contribution in historiography during the early Muslim era to 350 A.H.

Legitimacy and Authority in Medieval Islamic Historiography

Usurpation is a common term used by Western historians to describe the illegitimate change of political supremacy inthe context of medieval Muslim states. The taking over of any state without authority is considered an illegal occupationof a legitimate state and its leader is considered illegitimate or usurper. This paper attempts to shed some lights on thenotion of political legitimacy and authority in Islamic tradition and its application in the context of medieval Syria,particularly during the Zengid dynasty. This period experienced the coming of the second crusade to the East with therevitalization of the spirit of jihad was on its way among the Syrian Muslims. This paper argues that the Zengid dynastywas trying to uphold the institution of the caliphate through recognizing the spiritual leadership of the ‘Abbasid caliphof Baghdad as well as acquiring political legitimacy to administer their subject on behalf of the caliph and the Seljuqsultan. Through adherence to the Sunni tradition of political legitimacy, Zengi (d. 541/1146) and Nur al-Din (d.569/1174) succeeded in promoting Sunnism by means of Muslim unity and jihad enterprise. As a result, after theannexation of Egypt from the Fatimid caliphate in 565/1171, Muslims in Syria and Egypt were unified under the bannerof Sunnism with Nur al-Din as their new legitimate ruler

Nesebname-i Müluk (Moğol Kısmı) Ve Muizzü’l- Ensab’ın Biçim Ve İçerik Açısından Mukayesesi

"Nesebname-i Müluk or Şu’ab-ı Pencgâne is a genealogical work which is to be found in the corpus of the famous vizier of Ilkhanate, Rashid al-Din Fazl Allah. This work contains the names of the rulers and their families in world history alongside partial descriptions, including ancestors and caliphs of Prophet Muhammed, rulers of Khitai, Kaisers (rulers of Europe), ancestors and descendants of Genghis Khan, rulers of Bene Israel. His access to historical information about China, the Islamic world, Byzantine, Turkish and Mongol and to include them in the narrative was made possible by Rashid al-Din’s service as a statesman and historian at the Ilkhanate court. The additional part regarding Jewish history is related to Rashid al-Din’s background. In the work, the nations of Noah’s sons and human beings are divided into different branches, the names of the rulers of each branch are mentioned and the ancestors and descendants of Genghis Khan are included as an important part of this whole. Thus, the Mongolian dynasties were defined as legitimate dynasties in accordance with Islamic historiography within world history. The way the names in the pedigree are written (writing in a round or square frame, ink color, etc.) reinforces the theme of legitimizing the Cengiz lineage. Shu’ab has been both a source and an example for the Muizzü’l-ensab prepared in the Timurid palace in terms of form and content. The reproduction of the work in the Timurid palace reflects the perceptions and realities of the Timurid period and is a valuable example of the transfer and updating of tradition. The Muizzü’l-ensab produced in the Timurid court is anonymous and is not as large as the genealogy in the Reşidüddin’s corpus; it is limited to the lineage of Genghis Khan and Emir Timur and the officers who served them. Muizz serves the legitimacy of the Timurid rulers."