Halep

Halep is a historical city located in northern Suriye today, one of the leading centers of science and politics in the medieval Islamic world. In the sources of Kurdish history, it stands out especially as one of the main centers of the Eyyûbîler period and as a city where numerous scholars and historians were born, lived, or died.

Ayyubid Period Center

Halep was an important center during the Eyyûbîler period, and Eyyûbî rulers, especially el-Melikü'z-Zâhir, reigned in the city. Herevî penned his work on the art of war, et-Tezkiretü'l-Hereviyye fi'l-Hiyeli'l-Harbiyye, for the Halep Eyyûbî ruler el-Melikü'z-Zâhir; the work was written during the Eyyûbîler period when a successful defense against Haçlı attacks was developed, and it has been considered one of the most important works on the art of war in the Middle Ages (Cilt 1, s. 161). The city's political appeal also served as a refuge for disgraced bureaucrats; for instance, İbn Memmâtî, who was dismissed and had his property confiscated during el-Melikü'l-Âdil's reign, fled to Halep and continued his life there under the patronage of the Eyyûbî ruler el-Melikü'z-Zâhir, dying in this city in 606/1209 (Cilt 1, s. 160).

Scholars and Historians

The city was a center where the lives of renowned historians and scholars of the period intersected. The Eyyûbî historian Kemâleddin Ömer İbnü'l-Adîm was born in Halep in 588/1192; he continued his scholarly activities in Halep, Dımaşk, Kudüs, Bağdat, and Hicaz (Cilt 1, s. 175). Münzirî organized scholarly journeys to İskenderiye, Dımaşk, Kudüs, Halep, Harran, Gazze, and Ruha for hadith studies, listening to hadith from scholars there (Cilt 1, s. 174).

Following the death of Selâhaddîn-i Eyyûbî, many scholars turned to Halep. Bahâeddin İbn Şeddâd died in Halep on 14 Safer 632 (8 November 1234) (Cilt 1, s. 168). İzzüddîn İbn Şeddâd, on the other hand, took the Halep ruler's family from Dımaşk to Halep and was tasked with conducting peace negotiations with the Moğollar besieging Meyyafarikin in 657/1259 (Cilt 1, s. 185); he himself was born in Halep in 613/1217 (Cilt 2, s. 31). The versatile scholar İbn Vâsıl continued his scholarly activities in Dımaşk, Kudüs, Halep, Kerek, and Hama under the patronage of Eyyûbî rulers (Cilt 1, s. 186); İbnü'l-Kıftî also served as vizier to the Halep Eyyûbî rulers until his death in 646/1248 (Cilt 1, s. 170).

Focus of Historiography

Halep was also the focus of historiography concerning this period. The general history by the Halep Shiite historian İbn Ebî Tayyi' (d. 627/1230) titled Ma'âdinü'z-Zeheb fî Târihi Haleb, and his work 'Ukûdü'l-Cevâhir fî Sîreti'l-Meliki'z-Zâhir, which covers the biography of el-Melikü'z-Zâhir, contain important information for Eyyûbî history but have not survived to the present day (Cilt 1, s. 200). The surviving part of İbnü'l-Adîm's work titled Buğyetü't-Taleb constitutes one of the important sources for the cultural history of the Halep Eyyûbîs and deals with bureaucrats, soldiers, and scholars who lived in Halep during the Eyyûbîler period (Cilt 1, s. 204). The geographer Yâkût el-Hamevî completed the first draft of Mu'cemü'l-büldân, considered the largest geographical encyclopedia, in Halep in 621/1224, and gave it its final form in 625/1228 (Cilt 2, s. 26).

Kurdish History Context

From the perspective of Kurdish history, the city and its surroundings are also noteworthy: Dımaşkî mentioned the Harat el-Ekrad [Kürt Mahallesi] Mosque located near Halep and similar shrines representing the tombs of Kurdish scholars and saints (Cilt 2, s. 33). İzzüddîn İbn Şeddâd dedicated the first section of his work to Halep, Kinnesrin, Suğur, Avasim, and their associated regions (Cilt 2, s. 32). Among the important cities listed by Ebü'l-Fidâ within the borders of Şam are Kinnisrin, Halep, Humus, Hama, and Şam (Cilt 2, s. 71).