Sultan Ezid

Sultan Êzîd (or sometimes Êzî or Siltan Êzîd) is a divine figure in the Yazidi religion.^[1] Although many scholars consider his name to be derived from that of the second Umayyad caliph Yazid I, Yazidis consider him to be a separate figure unconnected to the historical Yazid I.^[2] Yazidis typically consider him to be part of a triad of divine emanations of God (which are, in order, Melek Tawus, Sheikh Adi, and Sultan Ezid),^[3] though he is sometimes also considered to be identical with the angel Melek Tawus, and thus a manifestation or emanation of God.^[4]

Sultan Ezid
Sultan Êzîd
Other names	Sultan Êzî

The Yazidi people and religion are named after him.

Origin

Most modern historians hold that the name Ezid derives from the name of Caliph Yazid I.^[5] In Yazidi religious lore, there is no trace of any link between Sultan Ezid and the second Umayyad caliph.^[6] A pro-Umayyad movement particularly sympathetic towards Yazid existed in the Kurdish mountains before the 12th century, when Shaykh Adi,^[7] a Sufi of Umayyad descent venerated by Yazidis to this day,^[8] settled there and attracted a following among the adherents of the movement. The name Yazidi seems to have been applied to the group because of his Umayyad origins.^[7]

Shrines

Yazidis also consider Melek Tawus's shrine at Lalish to be identical with that of Sultan Ezid's, since the two figures are often held to be identical.^[4]

Holidays

The Feast of Ezid commemorates him.^[9][10][11]

References

1. Kreyenbroek, Philip (2005). God and Sheikh Adi are perfect: sacred poems and religious narratives from the Yezidi tradition. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3-447-05300-6. OCLC 63127403.
2. Asatrian & Arakelova 2016, p. 49.
3. Asatrian & Arakelova 2016, p. 45.
4. Kreyenbroek, Philip (1995). Yezidism: its background, observances, and textual tradition. Lewiston NY: E. Mellen Press. ISBN 0-7734-9004-3. OCLC 31377794.
5. Kreyenbroek 2002, p. 313.
6. Asatrian & Arakelova 2016, p. 386.
7. Kreyenbroek 2002, p. 314.
8. Langer 2010, p. 394.
9. Admin. "Fest zu Ehren des Siltan Ezid". SJA - DE (in German). Retrieved 2021-06-15.
10. Hayrî Demir. 2009. Eyda Ezid. (in German)
11. Maisel, Sebastian (2016-12-24). Yezidis in Syria: Identity Building among a Double Minority. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-0-7391-7775-4.

Sources

• Asatrian, Garnik; Arakelova, Victoria (2016). "On the Shi'a Constituent in the Yezidi Religious Lore". Iran and the Caucasus. 20 (3–4): 385–395. doi:10.1163/1573384X-20160308. JSTOR 44631094.
• Kreyenbroek, Philip G. (2002). "Yazīdī". In Bearman, P. J.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. & Heinrichs, W. P. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume XI: W–Z. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 313–316. ISBN 978-90-04-12756-2.
• Langer, Robert (2010). "Yezidism between Scholarly Literature and Actual Practice: From 'Heterodox' Islam and 'Syncretism' to the Formation of a Transnational Yezidi 'Orthodoxy'". British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. 37 (3): 393–403. doi:10.1080/13530194.2010.524441. JSTOR 23077034. S2CID 145061694.