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Yazidis
Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish languages, Kurdish-speaking Endogamy, endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The majority of Yazidis remaining in the Middle East today live in Iraq, primarily in the Governorates of Iraq, governorates of Nineveh Governorate, Nineveh and Duhok Governorate, Duhok. There is a disagreement among scholars and in Yazidi circles on whether the Yazidi people are a distinct ethnoreligious group or a religious sub-group of the Kurds, an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group. Yazidism is the ethnic religion of the Yazidi people and is Monotheism, monotheistic in nature, having roots in a Ancient Iranian religion, pre-Zoroastrian Iranic faith. Since the spread of Islam began with the early Muslim conquests of the 7th–8th centuries, Persecution of Yazidis, Yazidis have faced persecution by Arabs and later by Turkish people, Turks, as ...
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Yazidism
Yazidism, also known as Sharfadin, is a Monotheism, monotheistic ethnic religion which has roots in Ancient Iranian religion, pre-Zoroastrian Iranian religion, directly derived from the Indo-Iranians, Indo-Iranian tradition. Its followers, called Yazidis, are a Kurdish language, Kurdish-speaking community. Yazidism includes elements of ancient Iranian religions, as well as elements of Judaism, Church of the East, and Islam."Yazīdī"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. (2025) [1998].
Yazidism is based on belief in one God who created the world and entrusted it into the care of seven Holy Beings, known as Angels. Preeminent among these Angels is Tawûsî Melek (, also spelled as ''Melek Taûs''), who is the leader ...
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Lalish
Lalish (, also known as Lalişa Nûranî) is a mountain valley and temple located in the Nineveh Plains, Iraq. It is the holiest temple of the Yazidis. It is the location of the tomb of the Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir, a central figure of the Yazidi faith. The temple is above the town of Shekhan, which had the second largest population of Yazidi prior to the persecution of Yazidis by ISIL. The temple is about sixty kilometers north of Mosul and 14 kilometers west from the village Ayn Sifna. The temple is built at about 861 meters above sea level and situated among three mountains, Hizrat in the west, Misat in the south and Arafat in the north. At least once in their lifetimes, Yazidis are expected to make a six-day pilgrimage to Lalish to visit the tomb of Şêx Adî and other sacred places. These other sacred places are shrines dedicated to other holy beings. There are two sacred springs called Zamzam and the Kaniya Spî (White Spring). Below Sheikh Adi's sanctuary, which also ...
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Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and Kuwait to the Iraq–Kuwait border, southeast, Jordan to Iraq–Jordan border, the southwest, and Syria to Iraq–Syria border, the west. The country covers an area of and has Demographics of Iraq, a population of over 46 million, making it the List of countries by area, 58th largest country by area and the List of countries by population, 31st most populous in the world. Baghdad, home to over 8 million people, is the capital city and the List of largest cities of Iraq, largest in the country. Starting in the 6th millennium BC, the fertile plains between Iraq's Tigris and Euphrates rivers, referred to as Mesopotamia, fostered the rise of early cities, civilisations, and empires including Sumer, Akkadian Empire, Akkad, and Assyria. Known ...
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List Of Yazidi Settlements
The following is a list of Yazidi settlements in Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Armenia, including both current and historical Yazidi settlements. Historically, Yazidis lived primarily in Iraq, Turkey, and Syria. However, events since the end of the 20th century have resulted in considerable demographic shifts in these areas as well as mass emigration. Today, the majority of the Yazidis live in Iraq and are particularly concentrated in the Nineveh Plains and Sinjar areas in the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. Iraq The following settlements in Iraq are currently inhabited by Yazidis: Duhok Governorate Duhok District *Duhok Simele District *Chigan * Dayrabun * Faysh Khabur *Girepan (Gerepane, Gir Pahn, Girebun, Grepan) *Gutba *Kabartu (Kebertu, Kibrtu) * Khanke (Khanek, Khanik, Xanke) *Kharshina (Kharshani, Kharshnya, Khirschnia, Khurshinah, Xershenya) *Klebadir (Galebader, Kelebadre, Qalat Bardi, Qaleba'drê) *Mam Shivan (Mem Shivan, Mam Shuwan, Mamshivan, Mamshuwan) * Q ...
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Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief that one God is the only, or at least the dominant deity.F. L. Cross, Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. A distinction may be made between exclusive monotheism, in which the one God is a singular existence, and both inclusive and pluriform monotheism, in which multiple gods or godly forms are recognized, but each are postulated as extensions of the same God. Monotheism is distinguished from henotheism, a religious system in which the believer worships one god without denying that others may worship different gods with equal validity, and monolatry, monolatrism, the recognition of the existence of many gods but with the consistent worship of only one deity. The term ''monolatry'' was perhaps first used by Julius Wellhausen. Monotheism characterizes the traditions of Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic religions such as Judaism, Samaritanism, Christi ...
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Kurds
Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syria. Consisting of 30–45 million people, the global Kurdish population is largely concentrated in Kurdistan, but significant communities of the Kurdish diaspora exist in parts of West Asia beyond Kurdistan and in parts of Europe, most notably including: Turkey's Central Anatolian Kurds, as well as Kurds in Istanbul, Istanbul Kurds; Iran's Khorasani Kurds; the Caucasian Kurds, primarily in Kurds in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan and Kurds in Armenia, Armenia; and the Kurdish populations in various European countries, namely Kurds in Germany, Germany, Kurds in France, France, Kurds in Sweden, Sweden, and the Kurds in the Netherlands, Netherlands. The Kurdish language, Kurdish languages and the Zaza–Gorani languages, both of which belong to the Wes ...
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Yazidi New Year
The Yazidi New Year (''Sersal'') is called ''Çarşema Sor'' ("Red Wednesday") or ''Çarşema Serê Nîsanê'' ("Wednesday at the beginning of April") in Kurmanji. It falls in spring, on the first Wednesday of the April and Nîsan months in the Julian and Seleucid calendars, i.e. the first Wednesday on or after 14 April according to the Gregorian calendar. Description The celebrations start on the eve of Wednesday, i.e. Tuesday evening (Yazidis believe 24 hours of the day start at sunset), eggs are boiled and coloured, the festive ''sawuk'' bread is baked, the graves are visited to commemorate the dead and bring offerings and fruits for them. Yazidis also wear festive garments and visit nearby temples, in particular Lalish, where the sacred Zemzem spring, which runs in a dark cave, is located. Yazidis offer sacrifices on the entrance at the entrance to the cave and receive blessings. The hills surrounding Lalish are climbed, where they fasten colourful ribbons to the wishing tr ...
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Nineveh Governorate
Nineveh Governorate (; , ) is a governorate in northern Iraq. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people as of 2003. Its largest city and provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of ancient Nineveh. Before 1976, it was called ''Mosul Province'' and included the present-day Dohuk Governorate. The second largest city is Tal Afar, which has an almost exclusively Turkmen population. An ethnically, religiously and culturally diverse region, it was partly conquered by ISIS in 2014. Iraqi government forces retook the city of Mosul in 2017. Recent history and administration Its two cities endured the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and emerged unscathed. In 2004, however, Mosul and Tal Afar were the scenes of fierce battles between US-led troops and Iraqi insurgents. The insurgents moved to Nineveh after the Battle of Fallujah in 2004. After the invasion, the military of the province was led by (then Major Genera ...
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Kurmanji
Kurmanji (, ), also termed Northern Kurdish, is the northernmost of the Kurdish languages, spoken predominantly in southeast Turkey, northwest and northeast Iran, northern Iraq, northern Syria and the Caucasus and Khorasan regions. It is the most widely spoken form of Kurdish. Kurmanji is also the common and ceremonial language of Yazidis. Their sacred book '' Mishefa Reş'' and all prayers are written and spoken in Kurmanji. ''Ethnologue'' reports that the use of Kurmanji is declining in Turkey even when the language is used as a language of wider communication (LWC) by immigrants to Turkey, and that the language is threatened because it is losing speakers. History Pre-modern Kurmanji Although Kurds are mentioned in the pre-Islamic period, there is no information of the Kurdish language before the Islamic period. The first mention of Kurmanji Kurdish is by the medieval Chaldean author Ibn Wahshiyya (d. 930/1) in his treatise about alphabets. Orientalist Joseph Hammer ...
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Western Asia
West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian highlands, the Levant, the island of Cyprus, the Sinai Peninsula and the South Caucasus. The region is separated from Africa by the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt, and separated from Europe by the waterways of the Turkish Straits and the watershed of the Greater Caucasus. Central Asia lies to its northeast, while South Asia lies to its east. Twelve seas surround the region (clockwise): the Aegean Sea, the Sea of Marmara, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aqaba, the Gulf of Suez, and the Mediterranean Sea. West Asia contains the majority of the similarly defined Middle East. The ''Middle East'' is a political term invented by Western geographers that has ...
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Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western European nations in the early 20th century as a replacement of the term Near East (both were in contrast to the Far East). The term "Middle East" has led to some confusion over its changing definitions. Since the late 20th century, it has been criticized as being too Eurocentrism, Eurocentric. The region includes the vast majority of the territories included in the closely associated definition of West Asia, but without the South Caucasus. It also includes all of Egypt (not just the Sinai Peninsula, Sinai) and all of Turkey (including East Thrace). Most Middle Eastern countries (13 out of 18) are part of the Arab world. The list of Middle Eastern countries by population, most populous countries in the region are Egypt, Turkey, and Iran, whil ...
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Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, the east and southeast, Jordan to Jordan–Syria border, the south, and Israel and Lebanon to Lebanon–Syria border, the southwest. It is a republic under Syrian transitional government, a transitional government and comprises Governorates of Syria, 14 governorates. Damascus is the capital and largest city. With a population of 25 million across an area of , it is the List of countries and dependencies by population, 57th-most populous and List of countries and dependencies by area, 87th-largest country. The name "Syria" historically referred to a Syria (region), wider region. The modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the Eblan civilization. Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and ...
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