Participation of Jami shaykhs in the political life of Khurasan in the 2nd half of the 14th — beginning of the 15th centuries

Abstract

Several Sufi shrines important for Iranian mysticism are located in the region of Khurasan. One of them is the mausoleum of shaykh Ahmad from Jam — a 12th-century Sufi mentor, also known as «Ahmad-i Jam». Ahmad’s circle of devotees burgeoned into a significant Sufi community of the region while his descendants maintained the shrine and enjoyed beneficial positions in Khurasanian state and society. The article explains the main functions of Sufi center as a place for the joint religious rites, meetings and debates, where representatives of various movements could exchange religious experience. Based on the materials of Sufi hagiographies and correspondence, the author also attempts to assess the role of Islamic mysticism in the political events in the Middle East and investigate the relationship between the descendants of Ahmad-i Jam and the rulers of the 14th–15th centuries — the Karts, Tamerlane and his son Shahrukh. Special attention is paid to the role of the Jami shaykhs in the Tamerlane’s conquest of Khurasan and subsequent events.

References

1. Al-Khwafi, Fasih Ahmad ibn Jalal al-din Muhammad. Fasihov svod [Fasih’s Compendium] Trans. D. Yusopova. Tashkent: Fan, 1980. (In Russ.)

2. Ibn Battuta I ego puteshestviya po Sredney Azii [Ibn Battuta And His Travels In Central Asia] Trans. I. Ibragimov. Moscow: Nauka, 1988. (In Russ.)

3. Ando Sh. The Shaykh al-Islām as a Timurid Office: a Preliminary Study. Islamic Studies, 1994, vol. 33 (2/3). P. 253–280.

4. Khwandamir Ghiyas al-din. Habib al-siyar. In A Century of Princes: Sources on Timurid History and Art, selected and translated by W.M. Thackston. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Аga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, 1989.

5. Mahendrarajah, Sh. A Revised History of Mongol, Kart, and Timurid Patronage of the Shrine of Shaykh Al-Islam Ahmad-I Jam. Iran, 2016, 54/2. P. 107–128.

6. Mahendrarajah, Sh. The Sufi Saint of Jam. History, Religion, and Politics of a Sunni Shrine in Shiʿi Iran. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2021.

7. Paul, J. Forming a Faction: The Ḥimāyat System of Khwaja Ahrar. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 1991, 23(4). P. 533–548.

8. Turko-Mongol Rulers, Cities and City Life, ed. David Durand-Guédy. Leiden: Brill, 2013.

9. Ahl, Yusuf. Faraid-i Ghiyathi [Ghiyath’s Pearls] Ed. H. Moayyad. Vol. I–II. Tehran: Intisharat-i bunyad-i farhang-i Iran, 1356 (1977)–1358 (1979). (In Pers.)

10. Buzjani, Ali. Rawzat al-riyahin [Windy Gardens]. Ed. H. Moayyad. Tehran: Bungah-i tarjome wa nashr-i kitab, 1345/1966. (In Pers.)