What is it about?
In the last days of his life, the Mongol ruler of Iran (r. 1295-1304) made a speech to his assembled courtiers and officials, naming his brother Oljeitu as hjis successor, and recommending that he followed in the same path of government. Two contemporary sources report the speech, giving the names and titles of the main officers who were in attendance.
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Why is it important?
The information provided about the office holders and their names gives us an unusally precise idea of the inner circles of the government of the Mongols in Iran, and allows us to identify networks of power and connections between members of the ruling elite. In many cases the offices they held were hereditary - but it seems from other sources that they may have held different offices at different times and there remains some uncertainty about identifying them all with cionfidence. The document also underlines similarities with Mongol rule in China.
Perspectives
This is one of a series of articles about the second period of Mongol rule in Iran, starting with Ghazan's conversion to Islam and ending with an attempt to understand the nature of their rule and the reasons for its collapse after a relatively short period, 30 years after the death of Ghazan Khan.
Charles Melville
Pembroke College Cambridge
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Ghazan Khan’s Political Will and Testament: Further Light on the Mongol Household, Ming Qing Yanjiu, March 2019, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/24684791-12340028.
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