Beşnevî

Beşnevî (Bejnevî, in sources Beşneviyye), lived around Cizre (Cezîretu İbn Ömer), and is a Kurdish tribe frequently mentioned in medieval Islamic geography and history sources.

In the Mervânî Geography

Beşnevî was one of the important Kurdish tribes located in the geography dominated by the Mervânîs. The region ruled by the Mervânîs, who reigned in Northern Mesopotamia between 983-1085, was a vast geography known as Zevezân (Zozan) in the Middle Ages; extending from Musul in the south to the Ahlât border, from Selmâs city in Azerbaycan in the east, to Diyarbekir in the west. This geography included important Kurdish tribes such as Humeydî, Lârî, Hezbânî, Mihrânî, Hakkârî, Buxtî, Beşnevî, Çûpî, and Millî (Vol. 1, p. 129).

In Islamic Period Sources

In Islamic period geographical sources, the Beşnevî tribe is mentioned with its fortified castle in the Cizre region. Yâkût el-Hamevî, in his work Muʿcemü'l-büldân, while speaking of many Kurdish tribes and clans, also lists Beşneviyye alongside communities such as Buhtîyye, Hekkâriye, Hezbanî, and Humeydiyye (Vol. 2, p. 27). Hamevî records that Fenek/Fenik, a difficult-to-access and fortified castle near Cezîretu İbn Ömer, belonged to the Beşnevî Kurds and had been in the hands of these Kurds for approximately three hundred years (Vol. 2, p. 27).

The same information is also confirmed by the cosmography scholar el-Kazvinî in his work Âsârü'l-Bilâd ve Aḫbârü'l-ʿİbad. Kazvinî recounts that the difficult-to-access Fenek/Fenik castle, located at the summit of a high mountain, had been in the hands of the Beşneviyye Kurds for three hundred years. According to his account, the Beşneviyye Kurds were a brave and spirited community who protected those who sought refuge with them (Vol. 2, p. 28).

Later Period Sources

The tribe also appears in later period sources. el-Umerî, in his work Mesâlikü'l-Ebṣâr, mentions Fenek Castle near Cezîretu İbn Ömer and its ruler Husameddin el-Kürdî el-Beşnevî; thus, the nisba "el-Kürdî el-Beşnevî" explicitly appears in the sources. In the same context, Şatan Castle is also mentioned as one of the places belonging to the Kurds (Vol. 2, p. 64).