A review of Rashd al-Dn and the Making of History in Mongol Iran, by Stefan

T. Kamola.

To dedicate a PhD dissertation to a man like Rashd al-Dn (d. 1317) is risky
because he is not only the most famous historian of his time but has also attr
acted the attention of modern historians since the late nineteenth century. Ka
molas work, however, aims to provide a different view, not only of the man b
ut of the historical context that made the man. This work offers a histori
cal and historiographical analysis of the Ilkhanate (Mongol dynasty of Iran) b
ased on the figure of Rashd al-Dn in his multiple facets of historian, admin
istrator and patron. It engages with the secondary literature on the history a
nd historiography of the Ilkhanate while making an exhaustive and inventive sc
holarly use of primary material. One of the challenges and interesting aspects
of the dissertation is that it engages with a source that has provoked a fair
amount of discussion and controversy in the past. In this sense, the thesis is
not limited to the best known works by Rashd al-Dn (like the Jmi al-tawr
kh) but additionally makes use of an extensive corpus of Ilkhanid-era literat
ure to explore the intellectual life of Ilkhanid Iran. Kamola engages with con
troversial material such as the Sawni al-afkr-i rashd (commonly known as
the letters of Rashd al-Dn), a source that was at the centre of a
scholarly debate about their authenticity between A. H. Morton and Soudavar
some years ago. Kamola addresses the issue in his Introduction, concluding
that although the authenticity of the whole collection of letters cannot be
asserted, there is a good deal of authentic information in them. While the
letters may not be entirely reliable as a basis for a reconstruction of the
biographical events of Rashid al-Dns life, this dissertation makes use of
this largely neglected source to investigate aspects of administrative and
financial affairs in the life of the great Persian historian and statesman.
Similarly, it deals with those Ilkhanid intellectuals who preceded and
succeeded Rashd al-Dn in the intellectual milieu of Mongol Iran in a way
that gives us a better understanding not only of the setting of Rashd al-
Dns life and work, but also of the legacy of his cultural production.
Further, this study is not content with simply carrying out an analysis of the
life and work of the Hamadani doctor, but looks further at the political
implications of his intellectual production, with issues such as kingship,
acculturation and Islamisation being approached with scholarly rigor. In
taking Rashd al-Dn as a central figure, this dissertation evaluates the
political, historical and historiographical changes that the arrival of the
Mongols in Iran triggered in the Islamic Middle East.

The dissertation is divided into two parts, each containing four chapters. The
first part focuses on the historical development of the Ilkhanate from the
time of the Mongol conquest in the first half of the thirteenth century up to
the time that Rashd al-Dn became the vizier of the realm under the rule of
Ghazan Khan (r. 1295-1304). Entitled Apocalypse to Ilkhanate, this part
opens with a section whose analysis centres on the Mongol domination of the
Middle East before the conquest of Hulegu in the 1250s. Its primary argument
is that the region was not one of particular strategic interest at the time of
Chinggis Khan (d. 1227) and his successor Ogedei (d. 1241). Although campaigns
into the region existed, pre-Mongol political entities such as the Abbasid
Caliphate or a reduced Khwarazmshah empire retained influence in the region.
In the context of the shift in power from the Ogedeid to the Toluyid line of
descent after Chinggis Khan, Kamola argues that this political shift meant
that Hulegu (a Toluyid) favoured Iranian scholars and bureaucrats over Central
Asian Jochid administrators. According to Kamola, this change is behind the
emergence of a new class of intellectuals and officials with Persian roots
that proved to be pivotal in the incipient Ilkhanid state. The second chapter
focuses on the contribution of characters such as Nar al-Dn s and the
brothers Al al-Dn and Shams al-Dn Juvayn to the creation of a cultural
and intellectual legitimacy for Mongol rule in Iran. The chapter focuses on
the interaction between rulers and officials and suggests patterns of
acculturation that might have occurred (or begun to occur) in this period
through the development of a new style of historical writing and the
introduction of a system of patronage for the arts, philosophy and the
sciences. The third chapter in this section explores what is, in my view, a
crucial period in the history of the Ilkhanate: the rise of Gheikhatu and
Ghazan Khan. The chapter argues that this turbulent period, defined by courtly
intrigues, political turmoil and religious confrontation, provoked a shift in
the legitimacy discourse constructed for the Mongols in the Middle East.
Kamola suggests that this period explains Rashd al-Dns rise to power and
the eventual triumph of his ideas. The final chapter in this section deals
with the biography of Rashd al-Dn from the time of his early career to his
demise at the beginning of the fourteenth century.

The second part of the dissertation focuses on the tradition of historical

writing in the Ilkhanid court at the beginning of the fourteenth century. It
argues that there was a deliberate attempt to provide Mongol rule in the
Middle East with a new basis of legitimacy, now based on Islamic values and,
more importantly, on the Persian/Iranian tradition. Given this argument,
chapter five is dedicated to exploring the ways in which historical writing in
this period relied on a variety of historiographical traditions in
constructing a new idea of kingship suited to the Mongols in Iran. The section
proposes that Mongol and Iranian traditions of ruling legitimacy were
synthesized by simultaneously enhancing both the figure of Chinggis Khan and
the concept of rn-zamn (Land of Iran) in order to construct a legitimising
discourse for the Mongols. Chapter six explores the Islamic elements
incorporated in this new idea of legitimacy, particularly after Ghazan Khans
conversion to Islam in 1295. However, Kamola argues that the Islamic elements
were carefully selected so as to emphasise elements of Sha Islam, Sufism
and Turco-Mongol traditions as reflected in Rashd al-Dns works. This point
is a crucial one in that these writings served the basis of the ideal of
kingship not only for the Mongols of Iran but also for the succeeding Timurid
and Mughal dynasties. Chapter seven focuses again on Rashd al-Dn by looking
at his patronage and literary activities while he was at the peak of his
career. His preoccupation with the distribution and preservation of his works
and the financial patronage he bestowed on the arts and architecture are the
main focus of this chapter. Kamola suggests that these were a sign of Rashd
al-Dns struggle to maintain his own legitimacy at the head of the Mongol
court; as he states, Rashd al-Dn became states greatest mind and its
worst enemy (p. 134). Finally, the last chapter is dedicated to exploring
the theme of Rashd al-Dn as a vizier and statesmen in the works of his
intellectual disciples and protgs at the Mongol court. To this end, Kamola
investigates the works of Vaf, Ab l-Qsim Kshn and, in particular,
amd Allh Mustauf. On the latter, Kamola suggests that this historian
extended the intellectual legacy of his predecessor in both prose and verse
works, and contributed to the creation the image of Rashd al-Dn as the
unimpeachable man of state and wise vizier and author of the crucial base text
for the understanding of Ilkhanid history (p. 279).

The dissertation is well written and organized and contributes to our

knowledge in the fields of Mongol and Iranian history. It provides a masterful
account of the historiographical production that emerged in the period, which
remained highly influential among other dynasties in the Middle East and South
Asia long after the Mongols disappeared from the political scene. More
importantly, Kamola adds further weight to the increasingly accepted view that
the Mongols, despite the initial destruction wrought by their conquest, were
not mere destroyers and bloodthirsty conquerors but also vital contributors to
a new Iranian-Islamic ideal of kingship and energetic patrons of cultural and
intellectual life in a way that provided a crucial precedent for the great
early modern Islamic empires. He demonstrates, moreover, that it is precisely
the life and work of Rashd al-Dn and other men of letters who lived under
Mongol patronage which prove the older image wrong.

Dr. Bruno De Nicola

School of History

University of St. Andrews

bdn@st-andrews.ac.uk

Primary Sources

Rashd al-Dn, Savni al-afkr-i rashd (Tehran: Intishrt-i Dnishgh-i

Tihrn, 1980).

Rashd al-Dn, Jmi al-tawrkh (Tehran: Alburz, 1994).

amd Allh Mustauf, afarnma (Tehran and Vienna: Dnishgh-i rn and
sterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1999).

Vaf, Kitb-i mustab-i Vaf al-arat dar bandar-i Mughl (Bombay

lithograph edition, 1853).

raj Afshr (ed.), Akhbr-i mughln (650-683) dar anbna-i Mull-i Qub (Qum:
Marash, 2010).