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ABSTRACT
The disintegration of the Ilkhanate following the death of its last effective ruler, Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan (d. 736/1335), precipitated the emergence of a number of regional dynasties, not least of all the Chubanids who claimed the former Mongolian core territories of Azerbaijan and Mughan in north-western Iran. Between 738/1337 and 758/1357, the Chubanids worked strenuously to reconstitute the Ilkhanid dispensation under their control. This period, which has so far been largely ignored by historians, may therefore offer a great deal of information about the balance of power, both in the late Ilkhan court and the warring states period that prefaced the Timurid dominion of the fifteenth century. The present study will begin the process of demystifying this still largely unexplored chapter of Iran's political history by outlining how the Chubanids supported their claim to power through a coalition of “Turks and Tajiks” drawn from the sedentary and nomadic population of the former Ilkhanate. It will argue that this coalition was wooed to the Chubanids by an eclectic mix of Chinggisid, Islamic, and Persian political symbolism, which speaks to the dynamic imperial culture of the late Ilkhanate.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 On the topic of retribalisation see Petrushevsky, “Socio-economic Condition of Iran,” 496; Melville, Fall of Amir Chupan, 72; Paul, “Mongol Aristocrats,” 113; Veit, “The Eastern Steppe,” 161; Dunnell, Chinggis Khan World Conqueror, 52.
2 Togan, Flexibility and Limitation, 14. Also see Wing, “The Jalayirids,” 34.
3 Melville, “Abu Sa‘id and the Revolt of the Amirs,” 114.
4 Wing, “The Jalayirids,” 191.
5 For Timurtash’s time in Anatolia see Uzunçarşılı, “Emir Çoban Soldoz ve Demirtaş,” 622–46; Haykiran, “Anadolu’da bir Ilhanli Valisi,” 1314–28; Brack, “A Mongol Mahdi,” 611–30.
6 Haykiran, “Anadolu’da bir Ilhanli Valisi,” 173–4; Uzunçarşılı, “Emir Çoban Soldoz ve Demirtaş,” 637–40.
7 Khwafi, Mujmal-i Fasihi, III, 894.
8 Al-Mufaddal, al-Nahj al-Sadid, f. 265.
9 Astarabadi, Bazm u Razm, 122–4.
10 Al-Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 65.
11 Ibid.
12 Al-Shuja‘i, Tarikh al-Malik al-Nasir, 36; al-Mufaddal, al-Nahj al-Sadid, f. 265.
13 Kutubi, Tarikh-i Al Muzaffar, 30; Heravi, Tarikhnamah, 127.
14 Aigle, Fars Sous la Domination Mongole, 190–3.
15 Masson-Smith Jr., History of the Sarbadar Dynasty, 104; Mirkhwand, Rawzat al-Safa, V, 602.
16 Cahen, Pre-Ottoman Turkey, 292.
17 Peacock, Islam, Literature, and Society, 118–39; Arnakis, “Akhis, Bektashi Dervishes, and Craftsmen,” 234–7; Selçuk, “Structure and Social Functions of Akhi,” 95–113; Ridgeon, Javanmardi.
18 Ibn Battuta, Rihla, 292–4; al-Aflaki, Manaqib al-‘Arifin, 376.
19 Ibn al-Dawadari, Kanz al-Durar, IX, 348; Al-Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 65.
20 Al-Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 65.
21 Malik Ashraf is said to have taken control of the tumen of ‘Akanji’ (Ugrunch) the Uyghur amir in 739. Al-Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 68; Mar‘ashi, Tarikhi Tabaristan, 46; Amuli, Tarikh-i Ruyan, 132.
22 Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 79; Qazvini, Dhayl Tarikh-i Guzidah, 60.
23 Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 80–2; Qazvini, Dhayl Tarikh-i Guzidah, 64–70.
24 Bold, Mongolian Nomadic Society, 114; Ratchnevsky, Genghis Khan, 13; Skrynnikova, “Relations of Domination and Submission,” 85–115.
25 Rashid al-Din/Thackston, Jamiʻu’t-Tawarikh, II, 736.
26 Ibn al-Dawadari, Kanz al-Durar, IX, 273.
27 Ibn Battuta, The Travels, 79.
28 Ibid., 78.
29 Haykiran, “Anadolu’da bir Ilhanli Valisi,” 172.
30 His enemies included Arab Noyan, whose grandfather Sumaghar had served as supreme commander of the Mongol garrison in the west during the reign of Abaqa (1265–1281), and Bularghu, who had led an army in Anatolia since the reign of Gaykhatu (1291–5) and had played a prominent role in harassing Lesser Armenia during the early reign of Oljeitu. These commanders were joined by Barambay b. Sutay, whose father had been appointed to govern Diyarbakr in 1301. Aqsarayi, Musamarat al-Akhbar, 322; Vassaf, Tahrir-i Tarikh-i Vassaf, 370.
31 Abu’l-Fida, The Memoirs of a Syrian Prince, 83.
32 They included Amir Sayf al-Din Bahadur al-Damurtashi, who married one of the sultan’s daughters and was among the four chief officials of the realm; Amir Sayf al-Din Dhildhilah, who was appointed governor of the east (wali al-sharqiyya); Jamal al-Din Damurtashi, the chamberlain (hajib) of Damascus. Al-Shuja‘i, Tarikh al-Malik al-Nasir, 240; al-Safadi, A‘yan al-‘Asr, II, 62.
33 Hafiz Abru, Zubda al-Tavarikh, I, 69; Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 70.
34 Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 72–3.
35 Qazvini, Dhayl Tarikh-i Guzidah, 56; Aigle, Fars Sous la Domination Mongole, 199.
36 Qazvini, Dhayl Tarikh-i Guzidah 43; Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 73.
37 Qazvini, Dhayl Tarikh-i Guzidah, 44.
38 Ibid., 55.
39 Ibid., 53–4; Khwafi, Mujmal-i Fasihi, III, 741; Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 74.
40 Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 72–3; Qazvini, Dhayl Tarikh-i Guzidah, 39.
41 Allsen, “Rise of the Mongol Empire,” 345–6; May, Mongol Art of War, 27; Lhamsuren, “Political Order,” 652.
42 Qazvini, Dhayl Tarikh-i Guzidah, 54.
43 Ibid., 59.
44 Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 77.
45 Qazvini, Dhayl Tarikh-i Guzidah, 55.
46 Kirmani, Simt al-‘Ula li’l-Hazrat al-‘Ulya, 58; Hafiz Abru, Jughrafiya Hafiz, III, 129; Paul, “Mongol Aristocrats,” 114.
47 Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 66.
48 Hafiz Abru, Zubda al-Tavarikh, I, 69.
49 Paul, “Mongol Aristocrats,” 142.
50 Al-Shuja‘i, Tarikh al-Malik al-Nasir, 36–7; Al-Mufaddal, al-Nahj al-Sadid, f. 234–5.
51 Al-Mufaddal, al-Nahj al-Sadid, f. 235.
52 Hafiz Abru, Zubda al-Tavarikh, I, 69; Melville, “Revolt of the Amirs,” 73.
53 Hafiz Abru, Zubda al-Tavarikh, I, 92; Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 67.
54 Hafiz Abru, Zubda al-Tavarikh, I, 92; Khwandamir, Habib al-Siyar, III, 229.
55 Wing, “The Jalayirids,” 86; al-Safadi, A‘yan al-‘Asr, V, 40.
56 Hafiz Abru, Zubda al-Tavarikh, I, 70.
57 Ibid., I, 70–3; Khwandamir, Habib al-Siyar, III, 227.
58 Khwandamir, Habib al-Siyar, III, 230.
59 Shabankara’i, Majmaʻ al-Ansab, 281.
60 Hafiz Abru, Zubda al-Tawarikh, I, 126.
61 Shabankaraʻi, Majmaʻ al-Ansab, 312, Mu‘izz al-Ansab, 227; Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 65.
62 Al-Mufaddal, al-Nahj al-Sadid, f. 234; Al-Shuja‘i, Tarikh al-Malik al-Nasir, 36.
63 Hafiz Abru, Zubda al-Tawarikh, I, 71; Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 66; Khwandamir, Habib al-Siyar, III, 228.
64 Amuli, Tarikh-i Ruyan, 121.
65 Mara‘shi, Tarikh-i Tabaristan, 40.
66 Khwandamir, Habib al-Siyar, III, 228.
67 Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 67; Album, “Studies in Ilkhanid History,” 53; Markov, Catalogue of Islamic Coins, 591.
68 Yazdi, Zafarnama, I, 200.
69 Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 67.
70 Shabankaraʻi, Majmaʻ al-Ansab, 311; Hafiz Abru, Zubda al-Tawarikh, I, 75; Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 67.
71 Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 68; Khwandamir, Habib al-Siyar, III, 229; Yazdi, Zafarnama, I, 200.
72 Qalqashandi, Subh al-A‘sha, IV, 421.
73 Al-Shuja‘i, Tarikh al-Malik al-Nasir, 100.
74 Hafiz Abru, Zubda al-Tawarikh, I, 124.
75 Mansouri, “Bazshanasi Arg-i ‘Alishah,” 57; Mustawfi, Nuzhat al-Qulub, 80.
76 Hoffman, “In Pursuit of Memoria and Salvation,” 180.
77 Khwafi, Mujmal-i Fasihi, II, 927; Qazvini, Dhayl Tarikh-i Guzidah, 39.
78 Khwandamir, Habib al-Siyar, III, 232.
79 Khwafi, Mujmal-i Fasihi, II, 932; Khwandamir, Habib al-Siyar, III, 232.
80 Khwafi, Mujmal-i Fasihi, II, 932.
81 Peacock, Islam, Literature and Society in Mongol Anatolia, 191–200.
82 Siraj al-Qulub, 29, 107–11.
83 Brack, “A Mongol Mahdi,” 611–30.
84 al-Aflaki, Manaqib al-‘Arifin, 685.
85 Haykiran, “Anadolu’da bir Ilhanli Valisi,” 163; Brack, “A Mongol Mahdi,” 620.
86 Al-Shuja‘i, Tarikh al-Malik al-Nasir, 38; Brack, “A Mongol Mahdi,” 625.
87 Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 71; Qazvini, Dhayl Tarikh-i Guzidah, 31.
88 Qazvini, Dhayl Tarikh-i Guzidah, 51.
89 Ibid., 55.
90 Clavijo, Narrative of the Embassy, 89.
91 Ashraqi, “Tusif Dawlatkhanah va Kakh-ha,” 41–58; Habib, Sipihri, and Mahakamah, “Maydan va Dawlatkhanah Isfahan,” 127–38.
92 Qazvini, Dhayl Tarikh-i Guzidah, 55.
93 Ibid.
94 Blair and Grabar, Epic Images; Blair, “The Ilkhanid Palace,” 239–48; Kamola, Making Mongol History, 22–3.
95 ‘Umari, Masalik al-Absar, 257; al-Aflaki, Manaqib al-‘Arifin, 684.
96 Wing, “Jalayirids,” 92.
97 Qazvini, Dhayl Tarikh-i Guzidah, 55.
98 Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 71; Qazvini, Dhayl Tarikh-i Guzidah, 39; Khwandamir, Habib al-Siyar, III, 235.
99 Ibn Bazzaz, Safwat al-Safa, 348.
100 Shabankaraʻi, Majmaʻ al-Ansab, 312.
101 Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 77.
102 Khwandamir, Habib al-Siyar, III, 233.
103 Qazvini, Dhayl Tarikh-i Guzidah, 57.
104 Ibn Bazzaz, Safwat al-Safa, 1001, 1059, 1064.
105 Ibid., 348.
106 Ibid., 900, 1001, 1065.
107 Qazvini, Dhayl Tarikh-i Guzidah, 61; Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 78; Khwandamir, Habib al-Siyar, III, 236.
108 Qazvini, Dhayl Tarikh-i Guzidah, 62.
109 al-Safadi, A‘yan al-‘Asr, II, 193; Qazvini, Dhayl Tarikh-i Guzidah, 29; Khwandamir, Habib al-Siyar, III, 231.
110 Qazvini, Dhayl Tarikh-i Guzidah, 55.
111 Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 73.
112 Ibid.; Khwandamir, Habib al-Siyar, III, 235.
113 Ibn Qadi Shuhba, Tarikh, II, 541–6.
114 Ahri, Ta’rikh-i Shaikh Uwais, 74; Qazvini, Dhayl Tarikh-i Guzidah, 42.
115 Ibn Qadi Shuhba, Tarikh, II, 542.