From Yezidism to Islam: Religious Architecture of the Mahmudî Dynasty in Khoshâb

Abstract

The Yezidi Mahmudî Dynasty controlled Khoshâb and surrounding area between Van, Nakhchivân and Marâgha during almost five centuries, from the end of the 14th century to the second half of the 19th century. Тhe Mahmudî rulers consolidated their power by their rational diplomacy with the main political forces of the region, first with the Black Sheep and White Sheep Turkomans and later with the Ottomans and the Safavids. Converted to Islam in the mid-16th century, the Mahmudîs contributed to the Islamic art by endowing buildings in Khoshâb between 1563 and 1671.The article focuses on the study of Mahmudî religious architecture in Khoshâb, tracing particularly the pre-Islamic Yezidi elements in it.