Yemen

Yemen is a region located in the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula, which gained importance in Kurdish historical sources, especially during the Eyyûbî period. The Eyyûbî State, whose foundations were laid by Selâhaddîn Yûsuf b. Necmeddîn Eyyûb b. Şâdî, brought a significant part of Hicaz, Yemen, Suriye, Filistin, Kuzey Afrika, and el-Cezîre under its rule shortly after seizing power in Mısır in 564/1169 (Cilt 1, s. 151).

Eyyûbî rule

Yemen's entry into Eyyûbî rule made the region a part of the political and administrative sphere of influence of this Kurdish-origin dynasty. Eyyûbî ruler Tûranşâh reigned in Yemen; Yemen historian Hazrecî provided detailed information regarding Tûranşâh's departure from Yemen, citing his sources (Cilt 1, s. 194).

Historical sources

Yemen has been a geography where the Islamic period sources of Kurdish history have been enriched. İbnü'l-Mücâvir, in his work, extensively covered the Zürey'îler in Aden and the Eyyûbîs' rule over Yemen, and also conveyed information about the Suleyhîler, who previously ruled in Yemen, from the works of Yemen historians Umâre el-Yemenî and Ceyyâş b. Necâh; his work titled Târîhu'l-Müstebsır is highly valuable for the social history of the Yemen Eyyûbîs (Cilt 1, s. 167). Hazrecî's work titled el-'Akdu'l-Fâhirü'l-Hasen fî Tabakâti Ekâbiri Ehli'l-Yemen deals with the biographies of over 1500 rulers, emirs, scholars, and jurists who lived in Yemen, and examines the lives and personalities of the Yemen Eyyûbî rulers in the context of their conquests and deeds in the region (Cilt 1, s. 194). Bâ Mahreme's work on the history of Aden, titled Târîhu Sağri 'Aden, contains important information regarding the Eyyûbîs' rule over Aden and provides information about Tuğtegin's actions in Yemen that is not found in other sources (Cilt 1, s. 199). Western researcher G. R. Smith, on the other hand, published a study on the history of the Eyyûbîs, Yemen, and the Resûlîler as a separate volume (Cilt 1, s. 188).

Kurdish settlement

Yemen is also one of the geographies where Kurds spread. Kurds spread to other regions of the Islamic world, primarily Mısır and Yemen, as well as vast areas such as Ermenistan, Azerbaycan, Horasan, Huzistan, Fars, Kirman, Irak, Cezîre, Cibâl, and Şam; this situation became more pronounced with the Eyyûbîs' dominance over the Islamic world (Cilt 2, s. 114). Geographer el-Umerî provided valuable information about the migration of Kurds to Şam, Yemen, and Mısır after the Moğols invaded the areas where Kurds lived (Cilt 2, s. 39; Cilt 2, s. 115). Dımaşkî, while mentioning the castles in Yemen, noted that the Aruseyn castle was located in a district known as "Ulvan el-Kürdî," thus pointing to Kurdish traces in the geography of Yemen (Cilt 2, s. 34). During the Eyyûbî internal conflicts, Yemen also emerged as a political refuge; it is recorded that el-Melik el-Kamil, who ascended to power in Mısır after the death of el-Melik el-Adil in 625/1218, had to flee to Yemen due to the influence of the Kurdish Mîri İmaduddin el-Maştub (Cilt 2, s. 80).