Jami al-Tawarikh
Encyclopedia
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian work of literature and history written by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani at the start of the 14th century.
The author
Rashid-al-Din Hamadani was born in 1247 at HamadanHamadan
-Culture:Hamadan is home to many poets and cultural celebrities. The city is also said to be among the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities.Handicrafts: Hamadan has always been well known for handicrafts like leather, ceramic, and beautiful carpets....
into a Jewish family. The son of an apothecary, he studied medicine and joined the court of the Il-Khan emperor Abaqa Khan
Abaqa Khan
Abaqa Khan , also Abaga , or Abagha Khan, was the second Mongol ruler of the Persian Ilkhanate. The son of Hulagu Khan and Yesuncin Khatun, he reigned from 1265–1282 and was succeeded by his brother Tekuder Khan...
in that capacity. He converted to Islam around the age of thirty. He rapidly gained political importance, and in 1304 became the vizir of Mahmud Ghazan
Mahmud Ghazan
Mahmud Ghazan was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of Arghun and Quthluq Khatun, continuing a line of rulers who were direct descendants of Genghis Khan...
. He retained his position until 1316, experiencing three successive reigns, but was finally executed on July 13, 1318.
He was responsible for setting up a stable social and economic system in Iran after the destruction of the Mongol invasions, and was an important artistic and architectural patron. He was also a prolific author, though few of his works have survived: only a few theological writings and a correspondence which is probably apocryphal are known today in addition to the Jami al-tawarikh. His immense wealth made it said of him that he was the best paid author in Iran.
The work
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
as a whole.
Commission
The text was initially commissioned by khan Mahmud GhazanMahmud Ghazan
Mahmud Ghazan was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of Arghun and Quthluq Khatun, continuing a line of rulers who were direct descendants of Genghis Khan...
, who was anxious for the Mongols to retain a memory of their nomadic roots, now that they had become settled, and adopted Persian costume. This text, which was intended only to set out the history of the Mongols and their predecessors on the steppes, took the name Ta’rikh-i Ghazani, and makes up one part of the Jami al-Tawarikh.
After the death of Ghazan in 1304, his successor Oljeitu asked Rashid al-Din to extend the work, and write a history of the whole of the known world. This text was finally completed in 1307.
Sources
To write the Jami al-tawarikh Rashid al-din based his work solely on written sources, some of which can be identified:- For Europe, the Chronicle of the Popes and the Emperors of Martin of OpavaMartin of OpavaMartin of Opava, also known as Martin of Poland, was a 13th century chronicler.Known in Latin as Frater Martinus Ordinis Praedicatorum , he is believed to have been born, at an unknown date, in the Silesian town of Opava , thus sometimes called Martinus Oppaviensis, or also Martinus Polonus...
- For the Mongols, it seems that he had access to the Altan DebterAltan DebterThe Altan Debter is an early, now lost history of the Mongols. Rashid al-Din had access to it when writing his Chronicles, Jami al-Tawarikh. And it is also believed that The Secret History of the Mongols is based on it....
, through the ambassador of the Great Khan to the court of the Il-Khanate. - For China, the author knew the translation of four Chinese manuscripts: three on medicine and one on administration. Furthermore, it is known that he enjoyed calligraphy, painting and Chinese music. The links with this world were made all the easier because Mongols also ruled the Chinese empire.
Contents
The Jami al-tawarikh consists of four main sections of different lengths:1. The Ta'rikh-i Ghazani, the most extensive part, which includes:
- The Mongol and Turkish tribes: their history, genealogies and legends
- The history of the Mongols from Genghis KhanGenghis KhanGenghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
up to the death of Mahmud GhazanMahmud GhazanMahmud Ghazan was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of Arghun and Quthluq Khatun, continuing a line of rulers who were direct descendants of Genghis Khan...
2. The second part includes :
- The history of the reign of Oljeitu up to 1310 (no known copy)
- The history of the non-Mongol peoples of Eurasia:
- Adam and the patriarchs
- the kings of pre-Islamic Persia
- MuhammadMuhammadMuhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
and the CaliphCaliphThe Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
s - the Islamic dynasties of Persia (GhaznavidsGhaznavid EmpireThe Ghaznavids were a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic slave origin which existed from 975 to 1187 and ruled much of Persia, Transoxania, and the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. The Ghaznavid state was centered in Ghazni, a city in modern-day Afghanistan...
, shahs of KhwarezmKhwarezmKhwarezm, or Chorasmia, is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, which borders to the north the Aral Sea, to the east the Kyzylkum desert, to the south the Karakum desert and to the west the Ustyurt Plateau...
, Ismailis) - the TurksTurkish peopleTurkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
, - the ChineseHistory of ChinaChinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
, - the JewsJewsThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, - the FranksFranksThe Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
, - the IndiansHistory of IndiaThe history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from...
.
3. The Shu'ab-i panjganah ("5 genealogies, of the Arabs, Jews, Mongols, Franks, and Chinese"). This text exists in a manuscript in the library of the Topkapi Palace
Topkapi Palace
The Topkapı Palace is a large palace in Istanbul, Turkey, that was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years of their 624-year reign....
in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
(ms 2937), but has only been published on microfilm.
4. The Suwar al-akalim, a geographical compendium. Unfortunately, it has not survived in any known manuscript.
Questions about the Jami al-tawarikh
A number of questions remain about the writing of the Jami al-tawarikh, including even the authorship itself. Several others, such as Abu’l Qasim al-Kashani, claimed to have written the universal history. Rashid-al-Din Hamadani was of course a very busy man, with his public life, and would have employed assistants to handle the materials assembled and to write the first draft: Abu'l Qasim may have been one of them. Furthermore, not all of the work is original: for instance, the section on the period following the death of Genghis KhanGenghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
in particular is directly borrowed from Juvayni
Ata al-Mulk Juvayni
Atâ-Malek Jovayni was a Persian historian who wrote an account of the Mongol Empire entitled Ta' rīkh-i jahān-gushā .He was born in Juvain, a city in Khorasan in northeastern Iran...
. Other questions concern the objectivity of the author and his point of view: it is after all an official history, concerning events with which Rashid al-Din in his political capacity was often involved at first hand (for the history of the Il-Khanate in particular).
Contemporary manuscripts of the Jami al-tawarikh
The Jami al-tawarikh was an immediate success, no doubt in part due to the political importance of its author. Many manuscripts were published, in Arabic and in Persian, often for teaching and ideological purposes. Their illustrations sometimes seem to refer to contemporary events.Arabic Manuscripts
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
(151 folios) and the Khalili
Nasser David Khalili
Nasser David Khalili, KCSS, KCFO is a British-Iranian property developer, art collector and philanthropist based in London. He holds [United Kingdom] citizenship....
collection (59 folios), although some researchers argue for these being from two different editions.
The Edinburgh part measures 41.5 × 34.2 cm and contains 35 lines per page written in Naskhi
Naskh (script)
Naskh is a specific calligraphic style for writing in the Arabic alphabet, thought to be invented by the Iranian calligrapher Ibn Muqlah Shirazi . The root of this Arabic term means "to copy". It either refers to the fact that it replaced its predecessor, Kufic script, or that this style allows...
calligraphy. There are some omissions: folios 1, 2, 70 to 170, and the end; but it contains a date: 1306-1307. The text comprises four parts: the history of Persia and pre-Islamic Arabia, the story of the Prophet and Caliphs, the history of the Ghaznavids, Seljuks and Atabey
Atabey
Atabey is a town and district of Isparta Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. The mayor is Ali Bal . Tem population is 4153 as of 2010.-External links:*...
s, and the history of the sultans of Khwarezm
Khwarezm
Khwarezm, or Chorasmia, is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, which borders to the north the Aral Sea, to the east the Kyzylkum desert, to the south the Karakum desert and to the west the Ustyurt Plateau...
.
Seventy rectangular miniature
Miniature (illuminated manuscript)
The word miniature, derived from the Latin minium, red lead, is a picture in an ancient or medieval illuminated manuscript; the simple decoration of the early codices having been miniated or delineated with that pigment...
s adorn the manuscript, which reflect the cosmopolitan nature of Tabriz
Tabriz
Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
at the time of its production. In this capital, a crossroads of trade routes and influences, and a place of great religious tolerance, Christian, Chinese, Buddhist and other models of painting all arrived to feed the inspiration of the artists.
According to Rice, four major painters and two assistants can be distinguished:
- The Painter of IramIram of the PillarsIram of the Pillars , also called Aram, Iram, Irum, Irem, Erum, Wabar, Ubar, or the City of a Thousand Pillars, is a lost city on the Arabian Peninsula.-Introduction:Ubar, a name of a region or a name of a people, was mentioned in ancient records, and was spoken of in folk...
: the most influenced by China (reflected in Chinese elements, such as trees, interest in the landscape, interest in contemplative characters). The work is characterized by open drawing, minimal modelling, linear drapery, extensive details, stripped and balanced compositions, delicate and pale colours, and a rare use of silver. He painted mostly the early miniatures, and may have been assisted by the Master of Tahmura.
- The Painter of Lohrasp: characterized by a variety of subjects, including many throne scenes, a variable and eclectic style, quite severe and angular drapery, a verity of movements, stripped and empty backgrounds. His absence of interest in landscape painting shows a lack of Chinese influences, which is compensated for by inspiration from Arab, Syrian and Mesopotamian painting. His work is of variable quality, and uses silver systematically. His assistant: the Master of Scenes from the Life of the Prophet.
- The Master of the Battle Scenes: a somewhat careless painter, as becomes evident when the number of arms does not match the number of characters, or a leg is missing among the horses. He is notable for a complete lack of focus and horror, and for strong symmetry, his compositions usually comprising two parties face to face composed of a leader and two or three followers. Decoration is limited to grass, indicated in small vegetative clumps, except during sieges and attacks on the city.
- The Master of Alp ArslanAlp ArslanAlp Arslan was the third sultan of the Seljuq dynasty and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty...
appears briefly, at the end of the manuscript. His style is crude and unbalanced, his characters often badly proportioned.
Just as distinguishable are different racial and ethnic types, made manifest not just in the physical attributes of the characters, but also their clothes and their hats. One can thus distinguish a remarkably well observed group of Abyssinians, Western-style figures based on Syrian Christian manuscripts, Chinese, Mongols, Arabs, and so on.
The portion in the Khalili collection is dated 1314 and measures 43.5 × 30 cm (slightly different dimensions to the Edinburgh portion due to different models copied). It includes twenty illustrations, plus fifteen pages with portraits of the emperors of China. It clearly comes from the same scriptorium, and probably the same manuscript, as the other part. The text covers the history of Islam, the end of China's history, the history of India and a fragment from the history of the Jews. The work of the Painter of Luhrasp and Master of Alp Arslan is again evident. Some differences in style can be observed, but these can be attributed to the difference in date. A new painter appears for the portraits of Chinese leaders, which uses special techniques that seem to mimic those of Yuan
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
mural painters (according to S. Blair): an attention to line and wash, and the use of black and bright red. This artist seems to be very familiar with China.
Persian Manuscripts
There are two copies in Persian kept in the Topkapi PalaceTopkapi Palace
The Topkapı Palace is a large palace in Istanbul, Turkey, that was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years of their 624-year reign....
library, Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
.
- Ms. H 1653, made in 1314, which includes later additions on the TimuridTimurid DynastyThe Timurids , self-designated Gurkānī , were a Persianate, Central Asian Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turko-Mongol descent whose empire included the whole of Iran, modern Afghanistan, and modern Uzbekistan, as well as large parts of contemporary Pakistan, North India, Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the...
period for Sultan Shah RukhShah Rukh (Timurid dynasty)Shāhrukh Mīrzā was the ruler of the eastern portion of the empire established by the Central Asian warlord Timur - the founder of the Timurid dynasty - governing most of Persia and Transoxiana between 1405 and 1447...
; - Ms. H 1654, made in 1317, which includes 118 illustrations, including 21 pages of portraits of Chinese emperors. It would have been copied for Rashid al-Din.
See also
- Rashid-al-Din Hamadani
- MongolsMongolsMongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
- Persian literaturePersian literaturePersian literature spans two-and-a-half millennia, though much of the pre-Islamic material has been lost. Its sources have been within historical Persia including present-day Iran as well as regions of Central Asia where the Persian language has historically been the national language...
- Islamic artIslamic artIslamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by or ruled by culturally Islamic populations...
- Depictions of MuhammadDepictions of MuhammadThe permissibility of depictions of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, has long been a concern in the history of Islam. Oral and written descriptions are readily accepted by all traditions of Islam, but there is disagreement about visual depictions....
External links
- Paul Lunde and Rosalind Mazzawi, A History of the World, Saudi Aramco World, January 1981
- Folios from the Jami' al-tavarikh, Timeline of Art History, Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of ArtThe Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...