Abbâsîler

The Abbasids (749-1258) were an Islamic caliphate dynasty centered in Baghdad. Since a large part of the Islamic period of Kurdish history took place during this dynasty, sources particularly examine the first two centuries of the Abbasids in the context of Kurdish history; this period constitutes the phase following the Rashidun Caliphs (632-661) and the Umayyads (661-749) (Volume 1, p. 88).

Kurds and the Caliphate

The Kurds gave great support to the Abbasid revolution; even the Kurdish origin of the revolution's legendary commander, Ebû Müslim-i Horasanî, has been mentioned. In contrast, primary sources also record that the Kurds, during the same period, occasionally revolted due to sectarian, ethnic, or other reasons, or supported uprisings against the Abbasid caliphate (Volume 1, p. 98).

The Name Kurd in Sources

This era is the period when the name "Kurd" began to become established in Islamic historiography. The historian Taberî is among the first historians to use the word "Kurd" in the 3rd Hijri (9th AD) century to express the ethnic characteristic of an established community; numerous accounts related to the Kurds are found in Taberî's History (Volume 1, p. 94). As an example of the social fabric of the period, the Zoroastrian ancestors of the geographer Ibn Khordadbeh accepted Islam during the early Abbasid period (Volume 2, p. 12).

The Emergence of Local Dynasties

The weakening of the Abbasid central authority over time paved the way for local dynasties in the region; indeed, Kurdish dynasties such as the Annâzîs, who ruled in the Cibal region of western Iran between 381-511/990-1171, are a product of this process (Volume 1, p. 141).