SOAS Research Online

Abstract

1. The attitude of Juvayni towards the Mongols. I. Introduction. II. Anti-Mongol feelings evident in (a) his candid recital of the atrocities and acts of sacrilege committed at the time of the invasion, as also his references to the devastated condition of Khorasan; (b) his lament on the decline of learning under the Mongols and his bitter attacks on the new generation of officials which had sprung up as a consequence of the invasion; (c) isolated Instances of abuse of the Mongols and perhaps also his references to their drunkenness; (d) the strong language which he employs in speaking of Buddhist and Christian nations, language which, it Is to be presumed, he would have applied in other circumstances to the heathen Mongols also; (e) his sympathetic attitude towards the Mongols' defeated opponents, Muhammad Khwarazmshah and his son Jalal ad-Din, particularly the latter; (f) his identification of Chingi Khan with Afrasiyab, the legendary enemy of Iran, and of Jalal ad-Din with Rustam, the Iranian national hero. III. Admiration of the Mongols evident in his remarks on (a) their military genius; (b) the discipline and efficiency of their armies; (c) the spirit of harmony that prevailed among them; (d) their avoidance of pomp and ceremony; (e) their religioue toleration; (f) their protection and patronage of the Mongol, Justification of the Mongol Invasion as an act of divine grace, in support of which argument Juvayni adduces (a) certain of the Traditions of Kohaismed; (h) Chingiz Khan's own words in a speech to the people of Bokhara; (c) the Mongols' destruction of Kuchluk the Nayman, a persecutor of Islam, and their extirpation of the heretic Isma' ilis of Alanut; (d) the spread of Islam towards the Mast as a result of their conquests; (e) the glory of martyrdom that was vouchsafed to so many thousands. V. Conclusion. The seeming contradictions in Juvayni's attitude explained by the fact that while his sympathies lay with the Moslem past it was necessary to find a modus vivendi with the Mongol present. 2. Juvayni's sources. A list of sources specifically referred to in the "Ta'rikh-i-Jahan-Gusha" and consisting of (a) previous' historical works; (b) official and other documents; (c) oral information. 3. The unfinished state of the text. Evidence that the "Ta'rikh-i-Jahan-Gusha" was never finally revised afforded by (a) blanks in the MSS.; (b) references to non-existent chapters; (c) inconsistencies in the narration; (d) the division of the text Into two uneven volumes; (e) the absence of any reference to events subsequent to the destruction of the Assessins. 4. Grammar. Notes on certain grammatical peculiarities of the text being a supplement to Muhammad Qazvini's remarks on this subject in his introductions to Vols. I and II. I. Orthography. II. Accidence. III. Syntax. 5. Glossary. A list of the rare and unusual words in the "Ta'rlkh-i-Jahan-Gusha." 6. Translation of Vol. I. 7. Notes on Vol. I. A translation of footnotes by Muhammad Qazvini together with some additions.