The work is divided into ten sections, which treat respectively of the works of God and his abode (p. 3); the creation of Adam and Eve (p. 8); the wonderful deeds of the god Yezîd (p. 16); the Yezidi saints (p. 27); the New-Year (p. 32); marriage customs (p. 46); death and burial (p. 53); the pilgrimage to Šeiḫ ‘Adî’s shrine (p. 67); the festivals and assemblies at Šeiḫ ‘Adî (p. 80); and the Yezidi kings (p. 87). Apart from the _Kitâb al-Jilwah_, Priest Isaac’s work is clearly the source from which is derived most of the material in the Syriac and Arabic manuscripts that have hitherto come to light. Beside the Arabic manuscript from Dâud aṣ-Ṣâîḡ which is translated below, I have in my possession two others, which were sent me by the Rev. A. N. Andrus. The first of these written by Šammas Eremia Šamir (designated in the notes hereafter as SS), seems to be a duplicate of that from which Browne’s translation was made. They agree in contents and arrangement, and in certain readings in which they differ from the other texts. At the close of SS the writer says that he compiled it (chiefly from _Al-Jilwah_) for the benefit of some of his friends who wished to acquaint themselves with the Yezidi religion. The origin of the Yezidi sect has been the subject of much discussion, but no satisfactory solution of the problem has as yet been reached. There are those who assert that the Yezidis are the remains of the ancient Manichaeans;[5] others entertain the view that the Yezidis were originally Christians, whom progressive ignorance has brought into their present condition[6]—some even going so far as to connect the name “Yezidi” with “Jesus”![7] Some think that the Yezidi sect takes its name from the Persian word _yazd_, ‘god, or good spirit,’ over against Ahriman, the evil principle;[8] while others associate it with _Yazd_ or _Yezid_, a town in central Persia, the inhabitants of which are chiefly Parsees.[9] Some finally maintain that the sect was founded by Šeiḫ ‘Adî.[10] The Yezidis themselves had a curious legend connecting the name with the Caliph Yezîd bn Mu‘âwiya[11] (see p. 37). In a dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Harvard University I called attention to a statement of aš-Šahrastânî the importance of which seems hitherto not to have been appreciated, but which appears to me to give the most probable explanation of the name and of the original affinities of the sect. The passage is as follows (_Kitâb al Milal wan-Nihal_, ed. Cureton, I, 101):