Chinggisid and Persian Office Culture in the Work of Muhammad Nakhchivani “Dastur al-katib”

Abstract

Based on analysis of samples of yarliqs from the Persian medieval treatise “Dastur al-Katib” by Muhammad Nahchivani, the article reveals the peculiarities of the interaction of Persian and Chinggisid chancellery traditions preserved in the state of Jalairids. The aim of the study is to consider the correlation of local Persian, Muslim traditions of office work and office culture of the Chinggisid and post-Chinggisid states in the process of documenting power decisions. The objectives of the study are to determine the structure of the yarliq samples presented in “Dastur al-katib”, compare them with the forms of Chinggisid act materials, as well as to determine the degree of influence of Chinggisid chancellery rules on the Persian chancellery traditions. The source base consists primarily of samples of yarliqs, as well as other materials from “Dastur al-Katib”, other medieval sources about Mongol Iran and other Chinggisid states, including the writings of Rashid al-Din etc., the materials of medieval Chinggisid chancelleries. In the study, the authors use source studies, diplomatic and comparative historical methods. The analysis of these materials indicates that the Hulaguids, thanks to their military and political power, managed to introduce the Chinggisid canons proper into the chancellery practice of Iran, which turned out to be very stable and persisted even after the fall of the Ilkhans’ power. Muhammad Hindushakh organically connects the Jalayirs with the Hulaguids and builds this connection to Genghis Khan, which allows us to consider his work as one of the most recent monuments of Mongol imperial ideology. The authors conclude that in Iran in 13–14 cc. the old Persian chancellery tradition and Chinggisid chancellery norms coexisted, and the latter symbolized the dominance of the ruling dynasty and adherence to political traditions laid down by Chinggis Khan.