Sheikh Mand

Sheikh Mand or Sheikh Mend, Sheikh Mand Pasha (Kurdish: Şêx Mend^[1]) was a 13th-century Yazidi saint, ruler of Kilis principality, and an Ayyubid Army commanfiefdom is the son of Şêx Fexredîn and thus belongs to the Şemsanî lineage of sheikhs. His sister was Khatuna Fekhra, revered today as one of the most important Yazidi female saints.^[2][3][4]

Sheikh Mand
Emir
Emir of Kurds
Successor	Arbu Bag
Born	12th century
Names Sheikh Mand ibn Fakhir ad-Din ibn Eizdin al-Hakkari
Dynasty	Şemsanî
Father	Fexredîn
Religion	Yazidism

Quba Sheikh Mand, a shrine dedicated to Sheikh Mand in Sinjar, Iraq

Emir of Kurds

Sheikh Mand was a chief of Kurdish Hakkari tribe and commander of Hakkariya regiment of the Ayyubid Army. For his service, Saladin granted the title of "Emir of the Kurds" along with the rule of Qoseir castle located in western Aleppo, and a fiefdom over Kurds in Levant.^[2][5][6]

Association with snakes

Sheikh Mand is traditionally considered to be a patron of snakes. His shrine at Lalish is said to contain a cave that is full of snakes.^[3][7]

References

1. Omarkhali, Khanna (2017). The Yezidi religious textual tradition, from oral to written: categories, transmission, scripturalisation, and canonisation of the Yezidi oral religious texts. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-447-10856-0. OCLC 994778968.
2. Açikyildiz, Birgül (2014). The Yezidis: The History of a Community, Culture and Religion. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-85772-061-0.
3. Kreyenbroek, Philip (1995). Yezidism: its background, observances, and textual tradition. Lewiston NY: E. Mellen Press. ISBN 0-7734-9004-3. OCLC 31377794.
4. Kreyenbroek, Philip (2005). God and Sheikh Adi are perfect: sacred poems and religious narratives from the Yezidi tradition. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-447-05300-6. OCLC 63127403.
5. Guest, John S. (2012-11-12). Survival Among The Kurds. Routledge. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-136-15736-3.
6. باروت, محمد جمال; السياسات, المركز العربي للأبحاث ودراسة (2018-01-01). الصراع العثماني - الصفوي وآثاره في الشيعية في شمال بلاد الشام (in Arabic). المركز العربي للأبحاث ودراسة السياسات. ISBN 978-614-445-219-6.
7. Diar Khalaf and Hayri Demir. 2013. Mythos und Legende der Shex Mend und das Symbol der Schlange (Myth and legend of the Şêx Mend and the symbol of the snake) (in German).