Mes‘ûdî

Mes‘ûdî (d. 345/956) is one of the most important historians and geographers of the early Islamic period. He is among the important primary sources for Kurdish history due to his detailed records on the origin, tribes, settlement areas, and religious-sectarian identity of the Kurds, information not found in the works of Islamic historians preceding him.

Works

Mes‘ûdî, a scholar with a versatile personality, authored many works in the fields of history and geography, as well as cosmology, astrology, history of religions and sects, fiqh, kalām, philosophy, ethics, and politics. However, only Mürûcü’ẕ-ẕeheb ve meʿâdinü’l-cevher and et-Tenbîh ve’l-işrâf among these works have survived to the present day (Vol. 1, p. 95). According to his own statement, Mürûcü’ẕ-ẕeheb is a selected summary of his previously written works, Kitâbü Ahbarü’z-Zamân and Kitâbü’l-Evsât. In the first part of the work, which consists of two sections, various encyclopedic topics are covered, and in the second part, Islamic history from the period of the Islamic Prophet to the period of the Abbasid Caliph Mutî‘-lillâh is narrated (Vol. 1, p. 95). Mes‘ûdî penned this work in Fustat in h. 332/m. 943 and revised it twice in h. 336/m. 947 and h. 345/m. 956 (Vol. 2, p. 15). In his other work, et-Tenbîh ve’l-işrâf, after discussing topics related to astronomy and meteorology and providing information about the seven regions of the earth and its seas, he examines the nations that left their mark on world history from various perspectives (Vol. 2, p. 15).

Origin of the Kurds

Mürûcü’ẕ-ẕeheb contains important information regarding the Kurds that is not found in earlier Islamic historical sources; the name Kurds appears in fourteen different places in the work (Vol. 1, p. 95). Mes‘ûdî recounts many different narratives regarding the origin of the Kurds: according to one narrative, in ancient times, the Kurds separated from others and, compelled by circumstances, retreated to mountains and valleys, becoming neighbors to the settlements of the Acem and Fars, abandoning their languages, which then became foreign, and each tribe began to speak a different Kurdish dialect; according to other narratives, they descend from Mudar b. Nizar or Kürd b. Merd b. Sa‘sa‘a b. Hevazin, or they are from the lineage of Rebia and Mudar (Vol. 1, p. 96). In et-Tenbîh ve’l-işrâf, the author also touches upon the origin of the Kurds, stating that the Kurds originate from the sons of Rebia b. Nizar and that this is the most accurate account regarding their lineage; he also mentions two tribes named Yakubiyye and Curkan living in the lands of Musul and Cebel-i Cudi (Vol. 2, p. 15).

Kurdish Tribes

The detailed information he provides about Kurdish tribes covers a very wide geographical area. According to Mes‘ûdî, in addition to Sunni and Shia Muslim Kurdish tribes, there are also Harici Kurds; furthermore, Christian and Yakubî Kurdish tribes are also found. The author also notes that each Kurdish tribe has its own distinct dialect (Vol. 1, p. 97). Mes‘ûdî mentions that there are 300 factions of Kurds; according to him, Kurds do not settle anywhere outside of mountains, and their dwellings are the lands of Fars and Bilad-ı Cebel (Vol. 2, p. 34).

Source Value and Criticism

Mes‘ûdî, along with İbn Hurdâzbih, Ya‘kūbî, İbnü’l-Fakīh, and İbn Rüste, is one of the leading representatives of the geography-history school that provided early information about the Kurds (Vol. 2, p. 8). However, some of the narratives he conveyed regarding the origin and historical past of the Kurds are legendary in nature (such as the Dehhak legend); this information, along with his information on the origins of the Fars, Yunan, Türk, and Çinli, has been criticized by contemporary researchers on the grounds that it does not align with anthropological and philological facts (Vol. 2, p. 15). Later authors also benefited from his works; for example, Dımaşkî is among the authors who utilized Mes‘ûdî when writing his famous cosmography and geography work, Nuḫbetü’d-dehr (Vol. 2, p. 33).