.”No One Can Give You Protection“ The Reversal of Protection in a Persian Decree Dated 562/1167

Abstract

While we know from historical texts that authorities in pre‑Mongol Iran and Central Asia issued letters of protection (amān‑nāma), no original has survived. In this article, we introduce one newly purchased document at the National Library of Israel catalogued as Ms.Heb.8333.86 and dated 562/1167, which refers to an act of protection (ḥimāyat)—or rather, its reversal. This is the closest we get to an actual documentary reference in Persian to an act of protection in the pre-Mongol period, and the document, therefore, merits closer study. The document offers an alternative history of protection far from the centres of power, at a very local level in the Ghūrid domains of today’s Central Afghanistan and northern India, and the survival of the document offers clues as to the longevity of acts of protection and their archival value. The study, by extension, highlights the dynamism of reciprocal loyalties between citizens and administrative officials in local communities.