Atâ-Malek Juvayni (1226–1283, esp. the 1250s)

by Andrew Brooke (See Chinese translation)

Atâ-Malek Juvayni (also known as ʻAlāʾ al-Dīn ʻAṭā Malik al-Juvaynī, see other alternative names) was born in 1226 in the town of Juvain, in Khorasan, to a distinguished family of administrators who had served under the Abbasid khalifs, the Seljuk and Khwarazmi Turks, and then the Mongol invaders. Juvayni’s father served during the reign of Ögödei Khan, reaching the rank of sahib-divan in his Western provinces, a position to which Juvayni and his brother also rose.

Juvayni accompanied his father as he headed east to the court of the Great Khan; he travelled to East Asia on one or two other occasions, visiting Karakorum. It is supposed that during one such journey, in the 1250’s, he decided to compose his histories, probably drawing from the recollections of the soldiers and companions of Chinggis and other Mongol conquerors for the first part of his account.

He and his brother assumed senior administrative offices under the command of Hülegü (Hulagu) Khan, who arrived from Mongolia with an army to complete the invasion of Persia and the Middle East. After the deposition of the last Caliph, Juvayni is installed as the governor of Baghdad, in charge of all the territories formerly in the Caliph’s dwindled domain. He is said to have revived, to an extent, the damaged local economy. After Hülegü’s death, he served under his two successors, Abaqa and Tegüder.

By 1280, however, after thwarting several conspiracies against his position, he was put under arrest, only to be released again in 1281. Before long accusations against him were renewed, but he passed away in 1283. His brother and his sons were soon afterwards executed.

His History of the World Conqueror (Tarikh-i Jahan-Goshah, تاریخ جهانگشای, Persian, circa. 1260) is a major work of Persian prose and historiography, and quite likely the most valuable account of the Mongol invasion of Western Asia, being contemporaneous with the latter part of the events and composed by a well-placed observer and participant. The first volume sets out the condition of the Mongols before Chinggis Khan, his rise to power and domination of Mongol tribes. His conquests in Central Asia are narrated along with a history of the Uighurs, mentioning what is alleged to have been written in their books, and the capture of a host of cities in that region, including Bokhara, Samarkand, and Balkh. The latter parts of the volume, after the return of Chinggis east, move on to the reign of his son, Ögödei, description of his new capital Karakorum, description of his sons and companions, as well as the invasion of Russia.

The second volume switches to the Khwarazmis, who had been defeated by the Mongols, giving an account of their rise and profiles of their rulers. The third volume (coinciding with Juvayni’s time in service of the Mongols) chronicles the conquests of Hülegü, a famous narration of the fall of the Assassins’ headquarters at the Alamut Castle, and a description of their beliefs and traditions, according to their books which Juvayni had had the chance to read before their burning. His history stops before the fall of Baghdad.

What he had not witnessed himself, it can be assumed that he had consulted, during his travels to Mongol territory and elsewhere, individuals who had either played an active role in those events or had come to their knowledge through those who did. Traditions, genealogies, geographical information, and above all, the political history of Central and Western Asia are abundantly to be found in Juvayni’s work.