The Loyal Scholar. Hindūšāh, Naḫjawān and the Juwaynīs

Abstract

Abstract This article documents intellectual life in Iran under the Mongols through the case of Hindūšāh Naḫjawānī (d. before 728/1327–28), a scholar known primarily as a historian who has gained a certain notoriety thanks to the pioneering works of Edgard Browne and ʿAbbās Iqbāl on his Tajārib al-salaf. New sources allow to rectify a number of approximations and mistakes about his origin, his name, his works, his career and his scholarly interests. The resulting portrait of Hindūšāh illustrates several key features of the scholarly life of medieval Islam in general and of the Ilkhanid period in particular: social mobility (via Hindūšāh’s rise from a Turkish military background to a well-educated scholar), geographical mobility (through his constant travels from his home region of Naḫjawān), linguistic fluidity in his writings (between Persian and Arabic, but without the slightest interest in Turkish), political context (specifically, the increasing “Shiitisation” of the late Ilkhanate), and, last but not least, loyalty to his patrons. Hindūšāh not only enjoyed the protection of the Juwaynī brothers at a time when they wielded tremendous power in the early Ilkhanate state but also remained loyal to their memory decades after their fall in the 680/1280s. It helps explain his disillusioned view of historiographical writing but also his choice of works to copy. Hindūšāh remained an independent scholar, finding solace from distressing historical events in the study of philosophy and the reading of poetry.