The study of Yezidis by Vladimir Gordlevsky

Abstract

In this article, the author analyzes the scholarly heritage of Vladimir Gordlevsky (1876–1956), a Member of the Russian Academy, preserved in the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences. This heritage reveals Gordlevsky’s interest in the Yezidis, the fact, which was previously not known. Some notes and remarks by V. A. Gordlevsky regarding the Yezidis from the Khnys of the Erzurum region, refer to the mistakes and in accuracies found in the work of the famous Irish geographer and traveller H. F. B. Lynch (1862–1913) wrote about the alleged absence of the Yezidi population in Khnys. In addition, the article analyzes the extensive bibliographic material about the Yezidis, prepared by V. A. Gordlevsky and small notes that confirm his interest in this ethnoreligious group as well as the preparatory material, which was collected by him for an article about the Yezidis. Various records from V. A. Gordlevsky’s archive reveal the breadth of his scholarly erudition, his ability to create a fundamental bibliographic background, even on very poorly researched topics. They also are clear evidence of his deepest knowledge about even the smallest details, which pertain to the history and culture of the Ottoman Empire. These data are also valuable for the scholars of Yezidi studies since they mention some now little-known sources.