Editing Kurds (section)

===Medieval period===
[[File:Saladin the Victorious.jpg|thumb|Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, or [[Saladin]], founder of the [[Ayyubid dynasty]] in the Middle East]]
Early Syriac sources use the terms ''Hurdanaye, Kurdanaye, Kurdaye'' to refer to the Kurds. According to [[Michael the Syrian]], Hurdanaye separated from Tayaye Arabs and sought refuge with the Byzantine Emperor [[Theophilos (emperor)|Theophilus]]. He also mentions the [[Persian people|Persian]] troops who fought against Musa chief of Hurdanaye in the region of Qardu in 841. According to [[Bar Hebraeus|Barhebreaus]], a king appeared to the Kurdanaye and they rebelled against the Arabs in 829. Michael the Syrian considered them as [[Paganism|pagan]], followers of [[mahdi]] and adepts of [[Magi]]anism. Their mahdi called himself [[Christ]] and the [[Holy Ghost]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mouawad|first=R.J.|year=1992|title=The Kurds and Their Christian Neighbors: The Case of the Orthodox Syriacs|journal=Parole de l'Orient|volume=XVII|pages=127–141}}</ref>

In the early [[Middle Ages]], the Kurds sporadically appear in Arabic sources, though the term was still not being used for a specific people; instead, it referred to an amalgam of nomadic western Iranian tribes, who were distinct from [[Persian people|Persians]]. However, in the [[High Middle Ages]], the Kurdish ethnic identity gradually materialized, as one can find clear evidence of the Kurdish ethnic identity and solidarity in texts of the 12th and 13th centuries,<ref>James, Boris. (2006). Uses and Values of the Term Kurd in Arabic Medieval Literary Sources. ''Seminar at the American University of Beirut'', pp. 6–7.</ref> though, the term was also still being used in the social sense.<ref>James, Boris. (2006). Uses and Values of the Term Kurd in Arabic Medieval Literary
Sources. ''Seminar at the American University of Beirut'', pp. 4, 8, 9.</ref> Since 10th century, Arabic texts including [[al-Masudi]]'s works, have referred to Kurds as a distinct linguistic group.<ref>{{Cite book|last=James|first=Boris|title=Grounded Identities: Territory and Belonging in the Medieval and Early Modern Middle East and Mediterranean|publisher=Brill|year=2019|isbn=9789004385337|editor-last=Tamari|editor-first=Steve|pages=20|chapter=Constructing the Realm of the Kurds (al-Mamlaka al-Akradiyya): Kurdish In-betweenness and Mamluk Ethnic Engineering (1130-1340 CE)}}</ref> From 11th century onward, the term Kurd is explicitly defined as an [[ethnonym]] and this does not suggest synonymity with the ethnographic category nomad.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=James|first=Boris|year=2014|title=Arab Ethnonyms( 'Ajam, 'Arab, Badu and Turk): The Kurdish Case as a Paradigm for Thinking about Differences in the Middle Ages|journal=Iranian Studies|volume=47|issue=5|pages=683–712 (see 692)|doi=10.1080/00210862.2014.934149|s2cid=143606283}}</ref> [[Al-Tabari]] wrote that in 639, [[Hormuzan]], a Sasanian general originating from a noble family, battled against the [[Early Muslim conquests|Islamic invaders]] in [[Khuzestan]], and called upon the Kurds to aid him in battle.<ref>al-Tabari. ''The Conquest of Iraq, Southwestern Persia, and Egypt''. Trans. G. H. A. Juynboll. Albany: [[State University of New York Press]], 1989, p. 121.</ref> However, they were defeated and brought under Islamic rule.
[[File:Kurdsih_Wariors.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Kurdish warriors by Frank Feller]]
In 838, a Kurdish leader based in Mosul, named [[Mir Jafar Dasni|Mir Jafar]], revolted against the Caliph [[al-Mu'tasim]] who sent the commander Itakh to combat him. Itakh won this war and executed many of the Kurds.<ref>T. Bois. (1966). ''The Kurds''. Beirut: Khayat Book & Publishing Company S.A.L., p. 87.</ref><ref>K. A. Brook. (2009). ''The Jews of Khazaria''. Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers Inc., p. 184.</ref> Eventually, Arabs conquered the Kurdish regions and gradually converted the majority of Kurds to Islam, often incorporating them into the military, such as the [[Hamdanids]] whose dynastic family members also frequently intermarried with Kurds.<ref>Canard (1986), p. 126</ref><ref>Kennedy (2004), pp. 266, 269.</ref>

In 934, the [[Daylamite]] [[Buyid]] dynasty was founded, and subsequently conquered most of present-day Iran and Iraq. During the time of rule of this dynasty, Kurdish chief and ruler, Badr ibn Hasanwaih, established himself as one of the most important emirs of the time.<ref>K. M. Ahmed. (2012). ''The beginnings of ancient Kurdistan (c. 2500–1500 BC) : a historical and cultural synthesis''. [[Leiden University]], pp. 502–503.</ref>

In the 10th–12th centuries, a number of [[Kurdish principalities]] and dynasties were founded, ruling Kurdistan and neighbouring areas:
[[File:AyyubidGreatest.png|thumb|The Ayyubid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin, founded by Saladin.]]
*The [[Shaddadids]] (951–1174){{Sfn|Bosworth|1996|p=151}}{{sfn|Peacock|2000}}{{sfn|Kennedy|2016|p=215}}{{Sfn|Vacca|2017|p=7}} ruled parts of [[Armenia]] and [[Arran (Caucasus)|Arran]].
*The [[Rawadid dynasty|Rawadid]] (955–1221) were Arab origin, later Kurdicized{{Sfn|Vacca|2017|p=7}} and ruled [[Azerbaijan (Iran)|Azerbaijan]].
*The [[Hasanwayhids]] (959–1015){{sfn|Kennedy|2016|p=215}} ruled western Iran and upper Mesopotamia.
*The [[Marwanids (Diyar Bakr)|Marwanid]]s (990–1096){{sfn|Bosworth|1996|p=89}}{{sfn|Kennedy|2016|p=215}}{{Sfn|Vacca|2017|p=7}} ruled eastern Anatolia.
*The [[Annazids]] (990–1117){{sfn|Aḥmad|1985|p=97–98}}{{sfn|Kennedy|2016|p=215}} ruled western Iran and [[Upper Mesopotamia]] (succeeded the Hasanwayhids).
*The [[Hazaraspids]] (1148–1424){{sfn|Bosworth|2003|p=93}} ruled southwestern Iran.
*The [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubids]] (1171–1341){{Sfn|Mazaheri|Gholami|2008}} ruled [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], Upper Mesopotamia, [[Hejaz]], [[Yemen]] and parts of southeastern Anatolia.

Due to the Turkic invasion of Anatolia and Armenia, the 11th-century Kurdish dynasties crumbled and became incorporated into the Seljuk dynasty. Kurds would hereafter be used in great numbers in the armies of the [[Zengid]]s.<ref>F. Robinson. (1996). ''The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Islamic World''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 44.</ref> The [[Ayyubid dynasty]] was founded by Kurdish ruler [[Saladin]],{{Sfn|Riley-Smith|2008|P=|p=64}}{{Sfn|Humphreys|1977|p=29}}{{Sfn|Laine|2015|p=133}}{{Sfn|Lewis|2002|p=166}} as succeeding the Zengids, the Ayyubids established themselves in 1171. Saladin led the Muslims to recapture the city of [[Jerusalem]] from the [[Crusaders]] at the [[Battle of Hattin]], also frequently clashing with the [[Hashashin|Assassin]]s. The Ayyubid dynasty lasted until 1341 when the Ayyubid sultanate fell to [[Mongols|Mongolian]] invasions.