Hicaz

Hicaz is a historical region in the west of the Arabian Peninsula, stretching along the Red Sea coast, and containing Mecca and Medina. Due to being the birthplace of Islam and the center of the Hajj, it held great political, scientific, and religious importance from the Middle Ages to the Ottoman period; it has also been mentioned on various occasions in the sources of Kurdish history.

Ayyubid period

In the Middle Ages, Hicaz was one of the regions where Eyyûbî rule extended. The Eyyûbî State, whose foundations were laid by Selâhaddîn Yûsuf b. Necmeddîn Eyyûb b. Şâdî, shortly after seizing power in Mısır in 564/1169, brought Hicaz, Yemen, Suriye, Filistin, Kuzey Afrika, and a significant part of el-Cezîre under its rule (Cilt 1, s. 151). The fact that Hicaz was under Eyyûbî rule is also reflected in the sources of the period: Hicaz, Mısır, and Suriye being under Eyyûbî administration along the route of İbn Cübeyr, who died in İskenderiye in 614/1217, makes Rihletü İbn Cübeyr, considered one of the finest examples of its kind, valuable for the social history of the Eyyûbîs from geographical, historical, sociological, and folkloric perspectives (Cilt 1, s. 162).

Scholarship and travel

The region was an important stop for scholars and travelers. İbnü'l-‘Adîm, born in Halep in 588/1192, engaged in scholarly activities in Halep, Dımaşk, Kudüs, Bağdat, and Hicaz (Cilt 1, s. 175). The primary motive for journeys to Hicaz was often religious; when a traveler explained the goal of his first journey, he stated that he wanted to go on Hajj, visit the prophet's tomb and the holy places in Hicaz, and this journey also served as an opportunity for him to explore the world and increase his knowledge (Cilt 2, s. 37). Similarly, el-Makrîzî, drawing strength from his grandfather's scholarly authority and his father's social standing, traveled to many cities in Suriye, Mısır, and Hicaz and had the opportunity to listen to lessons from many scholars (Cilt 2, s. 44).

Sect and population

In terms of sectarian geography, Hicaz was one of the regions with a high concentration of Şafiî population; one source stated that the majority of the inhabitants in the Suriye region and the northern, southern, and western parts of Hicaz, as well as Kürdistan, were Şafiî (Cilt 4, s. 83). The population movements of the region also affected areas like Cezire and Asurya; in past times, many Urban (Çöl Arapları) who migrated from Yemen and Hicaz settled in this area (Cilt 4, s. 101).

Ottoman period

During the Osmanlı period, Hicaz was frequently mentioned in geographical works as an integral part of the state's Asya territories. Osmanlı Asya'sı was shown to consist of the Anadolu region, referred to as Küçük Asya, along with the regions of Kürdistan, Irak-ı Arap, Suriye, Hicaz, and Yemen (Cilt 4, s. 135); when describing the era of Kanuni Sultan Süleyman, among the places under Osmanlı rule were listed Anadolu, Azerbaycan, Irakeyn, Suriye, Kürdistan, Hicaz, and Yemen (Cilt 4, s. 161). Population estimates also recorded that alongside the inhabitants in the Anadolu, Suriye, and el-Cezîre parts, about four to five million were located in the Hicaz and Yemen regions (Cilt 4, s. 141). In administrative records, Hicaz is mentioned as an administrative unit along with regions such as Zor, Halep, Suriye, Beyrut, Kudüs, Yemen, Medine, and Cebel-i Lübnan (Cilt 3, s. 118).

Hicaz, as a Hajj route, also became a subject of Osmanlı security concerns regarding the Kürtler. Upon the possibility of a Kürtçe publication, originating from the inhabitants of Kürdistan, entering the country via pilgrims coming from Hicaz using the Süveyş and İskenderun route, the Bitlis Valisi requested that the pilgrims' belongings be searched (Cilt 3, s. 75).