Routledge Studies in the History of Iran and Turkey – serie

The polymath, Qutb al-Dīn Shīrāzī, operated at the heart of the Ilkhanate state (1258–1335) from its inception under Hulegu. He worked alongside the scientist and political adviser, Nasir al-Dīn Ṭūsī, who had the ear of the Ilkhans and all their chief ministers. The Mongols in Iran provides an annotated, paraphrased translation of a thirteenth-century historical chronicle penned, though not necessarily authored, by Quṭb al-Dīn Shīrāzī. This chronicle, a patchwork of anecdotes, detailed accounts, diary entries and observations, comprises the notes and drafts of a larger, unknown, and probably lost historical work. It is specific, factual, and devoid of the rhetorical hyperbole and verbal arabesques so beloved of other writers of the period. It outlines the early years of the Chinggisid empire, recounts the rule of Hulegu Khan and his son Abaqa, and finally, details the travails and ultimate demise and death of Abaqa’s brother and would be successor, Ahmad Tegudar. Shirazi paints the Mongol khans in a positive light and opens his chronicle with a portrait of Chinggis Khan in almost hallowed terms. Throwing new light on well-known personalities and events from the early Ilkhanate, this book will appeal to anyone studying the Mongol Empire, Medieaval History, and Persian Literature.

Zengi gained his legacy as the precursor to Saladin. While Zengi captured Edessa, Saladin would capture Jerusalem, and both leaders fought to establish their own realms. However, Zengi cannot be fully understood without an examination of his other policies and warfare and an appreciation of his Turkmen background, all of which influenced his fight against the Crusades. Zengi and the Muslim Response to the Crusades: The politics of Jihad, provides a full and rich picture of Zengi’s career: his personality and motives; his power and ambition; his background and his foundation of a dynasty and its contribution, along with other dynasties, to a wider, deeper Turkification of the Middle East; his tools and methods; his vision, calamities and achievements; and how he was perceived by his contemporaries and modern scholars. Examining primary Muslim and non-Muslim sources, this book’s extensive translations of original source material provides new insight into the complexities of Zengi’s rule, and the politics of jihad that he led and orchestrated during the Crusades. Providing deeper understanding of Islamic history through a close examination of one of its key figures, this book will be a valuable resource for students and scholars interested in Muslim history and the Crusades in general.

An account of the re-emergence of Persia as a world player and the reassertion of its cultural, political and spiritual links with Turkic Lands, this book opposes the way in which, for too long, the whole period of Mongol domination of Iran has been viewed from a negative standpoint. Though arguably the initial irruption of the Mongols brought little comfort to those in its path, this is not the case with the second 'invasion' of the Chinggisids. This study demonstrates that Hülegü Khan was welcomed as a king and a saviour after the depredations of his predecessors, rather than as a conqueror, and that the initial decades of his dynasty's rule were characterised by a renaissance in the cultural life of the Iranian plateau.

The Tarikhnamah is a history of the world and the oldest surviving work of Persian prose. This book examines it as a political and cultural document and why it became such an influential work in the Islamic world.

This new view on aspects of the Ghaznavid and Seljuk dynasties concentrates on the relationship of the panegyric poets Farrukhi Sistani (c.995-1032) and Mu'izzi (c.1045-1127) to the Ghaznavid and Seljuk rulers and dignitaries for whom they wrote. Dr Tetley investigates the reliability of the historical information which may be gathered from the poems, and draws comparisons with other historical sources.A solid and impressive work of learning, of interest to scholars in Oriental Studies, Medieval Literature, and History, The Ghaznavid and Seljuk Turks: Poetry as a Source for Iranian History, is the first extended English study of Mu'izzi it presents much new material concerning both this little-studied poet and also the better-known Farrukhi. Additionally, there is a valuable exploration of the relationship between Persians and Turks, a highly significant factor during the rule of the two dynasties.

An account of the re-emergence of Persia as a world player and the reassertion of its cultural, political and spiritual links with Turkic Lands, this book opposes the way in which, for too long, the whole period of Mongol domination of Iran has been viewed from a negative standpoint. Though arguably the initial irruption of the Mongols brought little comfort to those in its path, this is not the case with the second 'invasion' of the Chinggisids. This study demonstrates that Hülegü Khan was welcomed as a king and a saviour after the depredations of his predecessors, rather than as a conqueror, and that the initial decades of his dynasty's rule were characterised by a renaissance in the cultural life of the Iranian plateau.

The Saljuq period of the eleventh and twelfth centuries saw the arrival in Iran of Türkmen nomads from Central Asia and the beginning of Turkish rule. Through the example of the city of Isfahan, the book analyses the internal evolution of Iranian society in this period and the interaction of the Iranian elites and Turkish rulers.Drawing on an analysis of a wide range of sources, including poetic and epistolary material, this study fills an historiographical gap and casts new light on the two centuries prior to the Mongol invasion. This comprehensive analytical study provides a new contribution to the understanding of many crucial issues: the cultural divide between Western and Eastern Iran; the military potential of city-dwellers; the attitude of the Turkish rulers toward cities and city life; the action of the famous vizier Nizam al-Mulk; the meaning of the Ismaili uprising; and above all the structure of the local elite, organized into rival networks and largely autonomous vis-à-vis state powers. The study is enhanced by a variety of additional features, including extensive genealogical tables, Arabic script and maps. Providing a new understanding of the cultural identity of Iran, this book is an important contribution to the study of the history of Iran and the Medieval period.

Charting the expansion of the Rum Seljuqs from rulers of a small principality to a fully- fledged sultanate ruling over almost the whole of Anatolia, this book demonstrates how ideology, rather than military success, was crucial in this development.The Rum Seljuqs examines four distinct phases of development, beginning with the rule of Sulaymān (473-478/1081-1086) and ending with the rule of Kay Khusraw II (634-644/ 1237-1246). Firstly, Songül Mecit examines the Great Seljuq ideology as a pre-cursor to the ideology of the Rum Seljuqs. Continuing to explore the foundation of the Seljuq principality in Nicaea, the book then examines the third phase and the period of decline for the Great Seljuqs. Finally, the book turns to the apogee of the Rum Seljuq state and questions whether these sultans can, at this stage, be considered truly Perso-Islamic rulers?Employing the few available Rum Seljuq primary sources in Arabic and Persian, and drawing on the evidence of coins and monumental inscriptions, this book will be of use to scholars and students of History and Middle East Studies.

This book investigates the early history of the Seljuq Turks, founders of one of the most important empires of the mediaeval Islamic world, from their origins in the Eurasian steppe to their conquest of Iran, Iraq and Anatolia. The first work available in a western language on this important episode in Turkish and Islamic history, this book offers a new understanding of the emergence of this major nomadic empireFocusing on perhaps the most important and least understood phase, the transformation of the Seljuqs from tribesmen in Central Asia to rulers of a great Muslim Empire, the author examines previously neglected sources to demonstrate the central role of tribalism in the evolution of their state. The book also seeks to understand the impact of the invasions on the settled peoples of the Middle East and the beginnings of Turkish settlement in the region, which was to transform it demographically forever. Arguing that the nomadic, steppe origins of the Seljuqs were of much greater importance in determining the early development of the empire than is usually believed, this book sheds new light on the arrival of the Turks in the Islamic world.A significant contribution to our understanding of the history of the Middle East, this book will be of interest to scholars of Byzantium as well as Islamic history, as well as Islamic studies and anthropology.

This book provides a broad history of the Seljuq Turks from their origins and early conquests in the 10th century, through the rise of empire, until its dissolution at the end of the 12th. Where the history of the Seljuqs is usually studied in the context of medieval Persian, Arabic or Islamic history, this book considers the topic from the perspective of Turkish history.Examining the corpus of academic work on the period and how Turkish historiography has interpreted and understood the Seljuqs, the author demonstrates how the Great Seljuq Empire can be considered not only in a historical context, but as the instigator of Turko-Islamic civilization. Rejecting traditional Turkish scholarship, which places Iranian culture and Islam as the civilising elements in the Great Seljuq Empire, the author shows how the nature of nomadic pastoral empires have come under fresh scrutiny, reassessing Seljuq history and the framework within which it has been treated.This book provides a unique insight into the adoption to an urban environment of Turkic expectations that were forged on the Eurasian steppes, showing how the outcome put its stamp on the second millennium throughout the Middle East and Balkans. It will be an important addition to the literature on Medieval Islamic, Turkish and Middle Eastern history.

The Tarikhnamah is a history of the world and the oldest surviving work of Persian prose. This book examines it as a political and cultural document and why it became such an influential work in the Islamic world.

Nishapuri flourished in the 12th century and wrote a succinct history in Persian of the Saljuq Turks, a tribal group from Central Asia who in the 11th century established a vast empire, enduring for some century and a half and bringing about lasting changes to the ethnic composition and the patterns of land utilisation in the northern tier of the Middle East.

Ibn al-Athir, who died in the 13th century, is one of the most important historians of Islam. His major chronicle, the Kamil fi'l-Ta'rikh, is one of the greatest achievements of Muslim historiography for the range and comprehensiveness of the sources it assembled and for its narrative, covering the whole sweep of Islamic history up to his own lifetime. This volume of D.S. Richards' translation covers the early years of conquest and the period of the 'great sultanate'. With its copious annotations, the translation will open a direct window into this period of history for non-Arabic readers and will be an invaluable aid and resource for students and scholars.

The Akhbar al-dawla al-saljuqiyya is one of the key primary documents on the history of Western Persia and Iraq in the 11th and 12th centuries. This book provides an accessible English translation and commentary on the text, making available to a new readership this significant work on the pre-modern history of the Middle East and the Turkish peoples.The text is a chronicle of the Seljuq dynasty as it emerged within the Iranian lands in the 11th and 12th centuries, dominating the Middle Eastern lands, from Turkey and Syria to Iran and eastern Afghanistan. During this formative period in the central and eastern Islamic lands, they inaugurated a pattern of Turkish political and military dominance of the Middle East and beyond, from Egypt to India, in some cases well into the 20th century. Shedding light on many otherwise obscure aspects of the political history of the region, the book provides a more detailed context for the political history of the wider area. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars of Middle Eastern history and is an important addition to the existing literature on the Seljuq dynasty.

The Saljuq period of the eleventh and twelfth centuries saw the arrival in Iran of Türkmen nomads from Central Asia and the beginning of Turkish rule. Through the example of the city of Isfahan, the book analyses the internal evolution of Iranian society in this period and the interaction of the Iranian elites and Turkish rulers.Drawing on an analysis of a wide range of sources, including poetic and epistolary material, this study fills an historiographical gap and casts new light on the two centuries prior to the Mongol invasion. This comprehensive analytical study provides a new contribution to the understanding of many crucial issues: the cultural divide between Western and Eastern Iran; the military potential of city-dwellers; the attitude of the Turkish rulers toward cities and city life; the action of the famous vizier Nizam al-Mulk; the meaning of the Ismaili uprising; and above all the structure of the local elite, organized into rival networks and largely autonomous vis-à-vis state powers. The study is enhanced by a variety of additional features, including extensive genealogical tables, Arabic script and maps. Providing a new understanding of the cultural identity of Iran, this book is an important contribution to the study of the history of Iran and the Medieval period.

This book investigates the early history of the Seljuq Turks, founders of one of the most important empires of the mediaeval Islamic world, from their origins in the Eurasian steppe to their conquest of Iran, Iraq and Anatolia. The first work available in a western language on this important episode in Turkish and Islamic history, this book offers a new understanding of the emergence of this major nomadic empireFocusing on perhaps the most important and least understood phase, the transformation of the Seljuqs from tribesmen in Central Asia to rulers of a great Muslim Empire, the author examines previously neglected sources to demonstrate the central role of tribalism in the evolution of their state. The book also seeks to understand the impact of the invasions on the settled peoples of the Middle East and the beginnings of Turkish settlement in the region, which was to transform it demographically forever. Arguing that the nomadic, steppe origins of the Seljuqs were of much greater importance in determining the early development of the empire than is usually believed, this book sheds new light on the arrival of the Turks in the Islamic world.A significant contribution to our understanding of the history of the Middle East, this book will be of interest to scholars of Byzantium as well as Islamic history, as well as Islamic studies and anthropology.

Nishapuri flourished in the 12th century and wrote a succinct history in Persian of the Saljuq Turks, a tribal group from Central Asia who in the 11th century established a vast empire, enduring for some century and a half and bringing about lasting changes to the ethnic composition and the patterns of land utilisation in the northern tier of the Middle East.

Ibn al-Athir, who died in the 13th century, is one of the most important historians of Islam. His major chronicle, the Kamil fi'l-Ta'rikh, is one of the greatest achievements of Muslim historiography for the range and comprehensiveness of the sources it assembled and for its narrative, covering the whole sweep of Islamic history up to his own lifetime. This volume of D.S. Richards' translation covers the early years of conquest and the period of the 'great sultanate'. With its copious annotations, the translation will open a direct window into this period of history for non-Arabic readers and will be an invaluable aid and resource for students and scholars.

The twenty two essays collected in Turkish Language, Literature and History offer insights into Turkish culture in the widest sense. Written by leaders in their fields from North America, Europe and Turkey, these essays cover a broad range of topics, focusing on various aspects of Turkish language, literature and history between the eighth century and the present. The chapters move between ancient and contemporary literature, exploring Sultan Selim’s interest in dream interpretation, translating newly uncovered poetry and exploring the works of Orhan Pamuk. Linguistic complexities of the Turkish language and dialects are analysed, while new translations of 16th century decrees offer insight into Ottoman justice and power. This is a festschrift volume published for the leading scholar Bob Dankoff, and the diverse topics covered in these essays reflect Dankoff’s valuable contributions to the study of Turkish language and literature. This cross-disciplinary book offers contributions from academics specialising in linguistics, history, literature and sociology, amongst others. As such, it is of key interest to scholars working in a variety of disciplines, with a focus on Turkish Studies.

This book provides a novel approach to the history of medieval Anatolia by analysing political, religious and cultural developments in the region of Kastamonu during the reign of the Chobanid dynasty (c. 1211–1309).During the 13th century, the Chobanids consolidated a local dynasty in western Anatolia – a borderland between Islam and Christianity – becoming cultural actors patronising the production of religious, scientific and administrative works in the Persian language. These works, though surviving today in manuscript form, have received little attention in modern historiography. The book therefore attends to this gap in the research, incorporating a detailed study of texts by little-known authors from the time. The book explores the relationship between Islam and the Chobanid dynasty in the context of the wider process of Islamisation in medieval Anatolia, hypothesising that Turkmen dynasties played a fundamental role in this process of Islamisation and acculturation. The Chobanids of Kastamonu, then, offers an in-depth study of a Turkmen local dynasty that achieved political autonomy, financial independence and cultural patronage in medieval Anatolia vis-à-vis the main political powers of the time.Attentive to religious diversity, state formation and processes of transculturation in medieval Anatolia, the book is key reading for scholars of Middle Eastern history and Islamic studies.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 license.

Charting the expansion of the Rum Seljuqs from rulers of a small principality to a fully- fledged sultanate ruling over almost the whole of Anatolia, this book demonstrates how ideology, rather than military success, was crucial in this development.The Rum Seljuqs examines four distinct phases of development, beginning with the rule of Sulaymān (473-478/1081-1086) and ending with the rule of Kay Khusraw II (634-644/ 1237-1246). Firstly, Songül Mecit examines the Great Seljuq ideology as a pre-cursor to the ideology of the Rum Seljuqs. Continuing to explore the foundation of the Seljuq principality in Nicaea, the book then examines the third phase and the period of decline for the Great Seljuqs. Finally, the book turns to the apogee of the Rum Seljuq state and questions whether these sultans can, at this stage, be considered truly Perso-Islamic rulers?Employing the few available Rum Seljuq primary sources in Arabic and Persian, and drawing on the evidence of coins and monumental inscriptions, this book will be of use to scholars and students of History and Middle East Studies.

This book provides a novel approach to the history of medieval Anatolia by analysing political, religious and cultural developments in the region of Kastamonu during the reign of the Chobanid dynasty (c. 1211–1309).During the 13th century, the Chobanids consolidated a local dynasty in western Anatolia – a borderland between Islam and Christianity – becoming cultural actors patronising the production of religious, scientific and administrative works in the Persian language. These works, though surviving today in manuscript form, have received little attention in modern historiography. The book therefore attends to this gap in the research, incorporating a detailed study of texts by little-known authors from the time. The book explores the relationship between Islam and the Chobanid dynasty in the context of the wider process of Islamisation in medieval Anatolia, hypothesising that Turkmen dynasties played a fundamental role in this process of Islamisation and acculturation. The Chobanids of Kastamonu, then, offers an in-depth study of a Turkmen local dynasty that achieved political autonomy, financial independence and cultural patronage in medieval Anatolia vis-à-vis the main political powers of the time.Attentive to religious diversity, state formation and processes of transculturation in medieval Anatolia, the book is key reading for scholars of Middle Eastern history and Islamic studies.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 license.

The polymath, Qutb al-Dīn Shīrāzī, operated at the heart of the Ilkhanate state (1258–1335) from its inception under Hulegu. He worked alongside the scientist and political adviser, Nasir al-Dīn Ṭūsī, who had the ear of the Ilkhans and all their chief ministers. The Mongols in Iran provides an annotated, paraphrased translation of a thirteenth-century historical chronicle penned, though not necessarily authored, by Quṭb al-Dīn Shīrāzī. This chronicle, a patchwork of anecdotes, detailed accounts, diary entries and observations, comprises the notes and drafts of a larger, unknown, and probably lost historical work. It is specific, factual, and devoid of the rhetorical hyperbole and verbal arabesques so beloved of other writers of the period. It outlines the early years of the Chinggisid empire, recounts the rule of Hulegu Khan and his son Abaqa, and finally, details the travails and ultimate demise and death of Abaqa’s brother and would be successor, Ahmad Tegudar. Shirazi paints the Mongol khans in a positive light and opens his chronicle with a portrait of Chinggis Khan in almost hallowed terms. Throwing new light on well-known personalities and events from the early Ilkhanate, this book will appeal to anyone studying the Mongol Empire, Medieaval History, and Persian Literature.

This new view on aspects of the Ghaznavid and Seljuk dynasties concentrates on the relationship of the panegyric poets Farrukhi Sistani (c.995-1032) and Mu'izzi (c.1045-1127) to the Ghaznavid and Seljuk rulers and dignitaries for whom they wrote. Dr Tetley investigates the reliability of the historical information which may be gathered from the poems, and draws comparisons with other historical sources.A solid and impressive work of learning, of interest to scholars in Oriental Studies, Medieval Literature, and History, The Ghaznavid and Seljuk Turks: Poetry as a Source for Iranian History, is the first extended English study of Mu'izzi it presents much new material concerning both this little-studied poet and also the better-known Farrukhi. Additionally, there is a valuable exploration of the relationship between Persians and Turks, a highly significant factor during the rule of the two dynasties.

This book provides a broad history of the Seljuq Turks from their origins and early conquests in the 10th century, through the rise of empire, until its dissolution at the end of the 12th. Where the history of the Seljuqs is usually studied in the context of medieval Persian, Arabic or Islamic history, this book considers the topic from the perspective of Turkish history.Examining the corpus of academic work on the period and how Turkish historiography has interpreted and understood the Seljuqs, the author demonstrates how the Great Seljuq Empire can be considered not only in a historical context, but as the instigator of Turko-Islamic civilization. Rejecting traditional Turkish scholarship, which places Iranian culture and Islam as the civilising elements in the Great Seljuq Empire, the author shows how the nature of nomadic pastoral empires have come under fresh scrutiny, reassessing Seljuq history and the framework within which it has been treated.This book provides a unique insight into the adoption to an urban environment of Turkic expectations that were forged on the Eurasian steppes, showing how the outcome put its stamp on the second millennium throughout the Middle East and Balkans. It will be an important addition to the literature on Medieval Islamic, Turkish and Middle Eastern history.

The Akhbar al-dawla al-saljuqiyya is one of the key primary documents on the history of Western Persia and Iraq in the 11th and 12th centuries. This book provides an accessible English translation and commentary on the text, making available to a new readership this significant work on the pre-modern history of the Middle East and the Turkish peoples.The text is a chronicle of the Seljuq dynasty as it emerged within the Iranian lands in the 11th and 12th centuries, dominating the Middle Eastern lands, from Turkey and Syria to Iran and eastern Afghanistan. During this formative period in the central and eastern Islamic lands, they inaugurated a pattern of Turkish political and military dominance of the Middle East and beyond, from Egypt to India, in some cases well into the 20th century. Shedding light on many otherwise obscure aspects of the political history of the region, the book provides a more detailed context for the political history of the wider area. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars of Middle Eastern history and is an important addition to the existing literature on the Seljuq dynasty.

The twenty two essays collected in Turkish Language, Literature and History offer insights into Turkish culture in the widest sense. Written by leaders in their fields from North America, Europe and Turkey, these essays cover a broad range of topics, focusing on various aspects of Turkish language, literature and history between the eighth century and the present. The chapters move between ancient and contemporary literature, exploring Sultan Selim’s interest in dream interpretation, translating newly uncovered poetry and exploring the works of Orhan Pamuk. Linguistic complexities of the Turkish language and dialects are analysed, while new translations of 16th century decrees offer insight into Ottoman justice and power. This is a festschrift volume published for the leading scholar Bob Dankoff, and the diverse topics covered in these essays reflect Dankoff’s valuable contributions to the study of Turkish language and literature. This cross-disciplinary book offers contributions from academics specialising in linguistics, history, literature and sociology, amongst others. As such, it is of key interest to scholars working in a variety of disciplines, with a focus on Turkish Studies.