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Alex Sloan
Professor Spademan
Philosophy 251
09 December 2022
Yazidi
Throughout this class I have learned about many different religions and found them all to
be very interesting. I liked how we learned about all the different religions upbringings and what
they are today. For this final assignment I decided to do just that with a religion we didn't look at.
I decided to look into Yazidi and see what it’s all about with a focus on the formative era of it.
After looking at many religions this one fascinated me being that it is very common in the
middle east which is also my origins so I thought it would be very unique to learn about how the
religion came about and what it is today. I am going to do this by gathering research through
many different sources and trying to compact as much information about this religion as
possible.
First I am going to look at the background of the Yazidi religion, the formative era of
Yazidi then see how it came to be what it is today. To begin we see that Yazidi people are an
ethnically Kurdish community that follows a syncretic religion with ancient roots in the Near
East. (2017) The Yazidi religion combines elements of Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam,
and is characterized by a belief in one supreme deity, Melek Taus, who is often depicted as a
peacock. (Dhwty, 2020) They are a minority faith that is practiced by a small community of
people primarily in Iraq, Armenia, and Georgia. The Yazidis have a long and complex history,
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with the formative era being a crucial period in the development of their unique cultural and
religious identity.
The formative era of the Yazidis is generally considered to be the period between the 12th
and 16th centuries. During this time, the Yazidis were subjected to various forms of persecution
and discrimination, as they were often seen as outsiders by the dominant religions of the region.
(2022) Despite these challenges, the Yazidis managed to preserve their distinct cultural and
religious practices, which were passed down through oral traditions and sacred texts.
(Omarkhali, 2019) Throughout this essay we are going to dive into research to learn more about
the Yazidis and what they went through to be where they are today. We are also going to look at
key points, hardships, and their basic beliefs and principles that make them so unique.
