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{{Short description|Sacred place of the Yezidis in Kurdistan, Iraq}} {{Infobox settlement|name=Lalish|native_name=Laliş|other_name=Lalişa Nûranî|native_name_lang=Kurdish|settlement_type=Sacred place|image_skyline=File:Lalish, the holiest site in Ezidkhan, the sacred place of the Ezidis 07.jpg|image_alt=Conical roofs over the tomb of Şêx Adî in Lalish|image_caption=Conical roofs over the tomb of Şêx Adî in Lalish|image_flag=|flag_alt=|image_seal=|seal_alt=|image_shield=|shield_alt=|nickname=|motto=|image_map=|map_alt=|map_caption=Location in Kurdistan, Iraq|pushpin_map=Iraq|pushpin_label_position=|pushpin_map_alt=|pushpin_map_caption=Location in Kurdistan, Iraq|coordinates={{coord|36|46|17.03|N|43|18|12.04|E|display=inline,title}}|subdivision_type=Country|subdivision_name={{flag|Iraq}}|subdivision_type1=Region|subdivision_name1={{flag|Kurdistan Region}} [[Kurdistan Region]]|subdivision_type2=Governorate|subdivision_name2=[[Nineveh Governorate|Nineveh]]|subdivision_type3=District|subdivision_name3=[[Shekhan District]]|established_title=Founded|established_date=|founder=|leader_title=|leader_name=|unit_pref=Metric|area_footnotes=|area_total_km2=|area_land_km2=|area_water_km2=|elevation_m=861|population_total=|population_as_of=|population_density_km2=auto|timezone1=|utc_offset1=|timezone1_DST=|utc_offset1_DST=|postal_code_type=|postal_code=|area_code_type=|area_code=|iso_code=|website=<!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->|footnotes=|official_name=}} {{Yazidism}} '''Lalish''' ({{langx|ku|لالش|translit=Laliş}},<ref>{{cite news|title=دوو پڕۆژە بۆ پەرستگەی لالش جێبەجێدەكرێن|url=https://www.rudaw.net/sorani/kurdistan/270720194|access-date=19 December 2019|work=Rûdaw|date=27 June 2019|language=ku}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Perestgeha Laliş tê nûjenkirin|url=https://www.rudaw.net/kurmanci/kurdistan/270720183|access-date=19 December 2019|work=Rûdaw|date=27 July 2018}}</ref> also known as '''Lalişa Nûranî''') is a mountain valley<ref>{{cite book|author1=C. J. Edmonds|title=A Pilgrimage to Lalish|date=2002|page=10|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9780947593285|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rG5ek-jpFAoC&pg=PA53|access-date=13 August 2019}}</ref> and temple<ref>{{cite book|url=http://kdp.se/yazidi2.pdf|title=Fighting Back With Faith: Inside The Yezidis Iraqi Temple|author1=Luongo|first=Michael|date=21 August 2014|publisher=The Daily Beast|website=kdp.se|page=1|access-date=13 August 2019}}</ref> located in the [[Nineveh Plains]], Iraq. It is the holiest temple of the [[Yazidis]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lalish Temple|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/6467/|access-date=2024-12-27|website=whc.unesco.org}}</ref> It is the location of the tomb of the [[Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir]], a central figure of the [[Yazidism|Yazidi faith]].<ref name="csm">{{cite news|last1=Soguel|first1=Dominique|title=World Middle East A sanctuary for Iraqi Yazidis – and a plea for Obama's intervention|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2014/0812/A-sanctuary-for-Iraqi-Yazidis-and-a-plea-for-Obama-s-intervention|access-date=August 13, 2014|work=The Christian Science Monitor|date=August 12, 2014}}</ref>

The temple is above the town of [[Ain Sifni|Shekhan]], which had the second largest population of Yazidi prior to the [[Genocide of Yazidis by ISIL|persecution of Yazidis by ISIL]].<ref name="ttg0">{{cite news|title=Iraq crisis: the last stand of the Yazidis against Islamic State|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/11029765/Iraq-crisis-the-last-stand-of-the-Yazidis-against-Islamic-State.html|access-date=August 14, 2014|work=The Telegraph|date=August 12, 2014}}</ref> The temple is about sixty kilometers north of [[Mosul]] and 14 kilometers west from the village [[Ain Sifni|Ayn Sifna]]. The temple is built at about 861 meters above sea level and situated among three mountains, Hizrat in the west, Misat in the south and Arafat in the north.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Spiritual Centre of Lalish and the mausoleum of Sheikh Adi|url=https://www.mesopotamiaheritage.org/en/monuments/le-centre-spirituel-yezidi-de-lalesh-et-le-mausolee-de-cheikh-adi/#:~:text=The%20spiritual%20centre%20of%20Lalish%20is%20located%20at%2036%C2%B0,Yazidi%20spiritual%20centre%20of%20Lalish.|access-date=2025-01-28|website=Mesopotamia|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=From Daena to Din. Religion, Kultur und Sprache in der iranischen Welt: Festschrift für Philip Kreyenbroek zum 60. Geburtstag|last=Harrassowitz|first=O.|year=2009|isbn=978-3447059176|pages=357|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag}}</ref>

At least once in their lifetimes, Yazidis are expected to make a six-day [[Yazidi#Pilgrimage|pilgrimage to Lalish]] to visit the tomb of Şêx Adî and other sacred places.<ref name="csm" /> These other sacred places are shrines dedicated to other holy beings. There are two sacred springs called Zamzam and the Kaniya Spî (White Spring).<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=God and Sheikh Adi are Perfect|last1=Kreyenbroek|first1=Philip G.|last2=Jindy Rashow|first2=Khalil|publisher=Harassovitz Verlag|year=2005|isbn=3447053003|location=Wiesbaden|pages=37–38}}</ref> Below Sheikh Adi's sanctuary, which also includes the tomb of [[Al-Hasan ibn Adi|Sheikh Hesen]] is situated a cave.<ref name=":1" />

Lalish is also the location of ''pirrā selāt'' (Ṣerāṭ Bridge) and a mountain called Mt. ʿErefāt which has sites significant in other faiths.<ref name=":0" /> Yazidis living in the region are also expected to make a yearly pilgrimage to attend the autumn seven-day ''Feast of the Assembly'',<ref name="ei">{{cite encyclopedia|title=YAZIDIS i. GENERAL|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica|location=New York|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/yazidis-i-general-1|access-date=August 13, 2014|last=Allison|first=Christine|date=July 20, 2004|edition=online}}</ref> which is celebrated between 6th and 13th of October.

It has been located in the [[Shekhan District]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Volunteers help restore holy Yezidi temple of Lalish|url=https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/06062019|publisher=[[Rûdaw]]|access-date=13 August 2019|date=6 June 2019}}</ref> since 1991.<ref>{{cite book|title=Minority Rights in the Middle East.|date=2013|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=9780191668883|page=204|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9VHRny2tWgcC&pg=PT253}}</ref>

== History ==
{{Kurds}}
[[File:Views_around_Lalish,_including_pilgrims_and_worshippers,_in_summer_of_2019_04.jpg|thumb|Pilgrims and worshippers at the shrine of [[Xatûna Fexra]] in Lalish, with the [[Social organization of the Yazidis#Mijewir|Micewir]] of the shrine, Sheikh Mirza (second from left), mid-2019.]]
[[File:Entrance_to_the_Sanctuary_of_Lalish.jpg|thumb|The portico of the sanctuary of Lalish, showing carved Yezidi symbols]]
Archaeologists and historians believe the Lalish sanctuary to date back about 4,000 years.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kurdistan|first=Colin Gleeson in Iraqi|title=Journeying to the historic heart of the Yazidi religion|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/journeying-to-the-historic-heart-of-the-yazidi-religion-1.3544839|access-date=2021-02-04|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rudaw.net/english/people-places/12112018|access-date=2021-02-04|website=www.rudaw.net}}</ref>

In the early 12th century, [[Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir|Adi ibn Mosāfer]] moved to Lalish. Adi died in 1162 and was buried. During a major campaign by the governor of [[Mosul]] against the Yazidi in 1415, the tomb of Adi was razed.<ref name="ei" />

The Lalish valley was annexed in 1892 by the surrounding Muslim tribes under the leadership of Ottomans, the mausoleum of Yezidi saints were looted and damaged and the Lalish Temple was converted into a [[Madrasa|Quranic school]]. The occupation of the temple eventually led to a fierce and widespread rebellion by Yezidis of [[Shekhan District|Shekhan]] and [[Sinjar|Shingal]] against the Ottomans and the neighbouring Muslim Kurdish tribes. It was not until 1904 that the Ezidis, under the leadership of Mir Ali Beg, succeeded in forcibly recovering their temple and driving out the Muslim occupiers.<ref>{{Cite web|last=admin|date=2018-05-30|title=Die Rückeroberung des Heiligtums Lalish im Jahr 1904|url=http://www.ezidipress.com/blog/die-rueckeroberung-des-heiligtums-lalish-im-jahr-1904/|access-date=2021-05-16|website=ÊzîdîPress|language=de-DE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Yezidis (Yazidis) History|url=http://www.yezidisinternational.org/abouttheyezidipeople/history/|access-date=2021-05-16|website=Yezidis|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis|title=Aspects of the social and political history of the Yazidi enclave of Jabal Sinjar (Iraq) under the British mandate, 1919-1932|url=http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5832/|publisher=Durham University|date=1994|degree=Doctoral|first=Nelida|last=Fuccaro}}</ref>
[[File:Details_inside_the_shrine_of_Shekh_Shems,_saint_of_the_sun,_at_Lalish_02.jpg|thumb|Shrine of Shekh Shems, saint of the Sun, at Lalish]]
Beginning on 3 August 2014, Yazidi refugees fled from [[Sinjar]] and took shelter in the temple after the militants of the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] [[Sinjar massacre|attacked]] and captured Sinjar and its environs.<ref name="csm" /><ref name="ttg">{{cite news|last1=Spencer|first1=Richard|date=August 13, 2014|title=Iraq dispatch: terrified Yazidi people seek refuge inside holy temple|work=The Telegraph|publisher=Telegraph Media Group Limited|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/11030445/Iraq-dispatch-terrified-Yazidi-people-seek-refuge-inside-holy-temple.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813193957/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/11030445/Iraq-dispatch-terrified-Yazidi-people-seek-refuge-inside-holy-temple.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 13, 2014|access-date=August 13, 2014}}</ref> When some 50,000 Yezidis trapped on Sinjar Mountain were freed by way of a land corridor opened by the [[People's Protection Units|Peoples's Protection Units]] (YPG) and [[Kurdistan Workers' Party]] (PKK),<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/08/11/a-u-s-designated-terrorist-group-is-saving-yazidis-and-battling-the-islamic-state/?noredirect=on|title=A U.S.-designated terrorist group is saving Yazidis and battling the Islamic State|last=Tharoor|first=Ishaan|date=11 August 2014|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=15 December 2018}}</ref> the majority fled through [[Syria]] and circled around the north of the Sinjar mountain range to reach Lalish and [[Shekhan District|Shekhan]] in [[Kurdistan Region]].<ref name="ttg0" />

== See also ==

* [[Genocide of Yazidis by ISIL]]
* [[Yazidi Black Book]]
* [[Yazidism]]
* [[Yazidis in Iraq]]
* [[List of Yazidi holy places]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}