Jami al-Tawarikh
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The Jami al-tawarikh ("Compendium of Chronicles") or Universal History is an Iranian work of literature and history written by Rashid al-Din at the start of the 14th century.
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[edit] The author
Rashid al-Din was born in 1247 at Hamadan into a Jewish family. The son of an apothecary, he studied medicine and joined the court of the Il-Khan emperor Abaqa 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. 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.
[edit] The work
The Jami al-tawarikh is the single most important historical source for the Il Khanate period, and for the Mongol empire as a whole.[citation needed]
[edit] Commission
The text was initially commissioned by khan Mahmud Ghazan, 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.
[edit] 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 Opava
- For the Mongols, it seems that he had access to the Secret History of the Mongols, 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.
[edit] 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:
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- The Mongol and Turkish tribes: their history, genealogies and legends
- The history of the Mongols from Genghis Khan up to the death of Mahmud Ghazan
2. The second part includes :
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- The history of the reign of Oljeitu up to 1310 (no known copy)
- The history of the non-Mongol peoples of Eurasia:
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 in Istanbul (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.
[edit] 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 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 Khan in particular is directly borrowed from Juvayni. 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).
[edit] 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.
[edit] Arabic Manuscripts
It appears that only one manuscript in Arabic now exists, divided into two parts between the University of Edinburgh (151 folios) and the Khalili 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 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 Atabeys, and the history of the sultans of Khwarezm.
Seventy rectangular miniatures adorn the manuscript, which reflect the cosmopolitan nature of Tabriz 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 Iram: 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 Arslan 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 an 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 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.
[edit] Persian Manuscripts
There are two copies in Persian kept in the Topkapi Palace library, Istanbul.
- Ms. H 1653, made in 1314, which includes later additions on the Timurid period for Sultan Shah Rukh;
- 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.
It is difficult to say more about these books, which have not been studied and may not be for the foreseeable future, the library Topkapi stubbornly refusing to open its collections to researchers.
[edit] References
- "Rashid al-Din Tabib", in Encyclopedia of Islam, Brill, 1960 (2nd edition)
- S. Blair, A compendium of chronicles : Rashid al-Din’s illustrated history of the world, 1995, 2006 ISBN 187478065X
- S. Blair and J. Bloom, The Art and Architecture of Islam 1250 – 1800, Yale University Press, 1994 ISBN 0300058888
- O. Grabar, Mostly Miniatures: An Introduction to Persian Painting, Princeton University Press, 2000 ISBN 0691049416
- B. Gray, Persian painting, Macmillan, 1978 ISBN 0333223748
- B. Gray, The 'World history' of Rashid al-Din: A study of the Royal Asiatic Society manuscript, Faber, 1978 ISBN 0571109187
- D. T. Rice, Basil Gray (ed.), The illustrations to the “World History” of Rashid al-Din, Edinburgh University Press, 1976 ISBN 0852242719
- A.Z.V. Togan, The composition of the history of the Mongols by Rashid al-din, Central Asiatic Journal, 1962, pp 60 – 72.
[edit] See also
[edit] 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 Art
