Rashid al-Din Hamadani

Key Accomplishments

• Authored "Jami al-Tawarikh," the first genuinely universal world history, covering peoples from China to Europe
• Drew on an unprecedented range of sources including Chinese, Indian, Buddhist, and Frankish informants
• Served as vizier (chief minister) to the Ilkhanid rulers Ghazan Khan and Oljeitu
• Founded the Rab-i Rashidi scholarly quarter and publishing center in Tabriz

The Full Story

Rashid al-Din Fadlallah was born in 1247 CE in Hamadan, Iran, into a Jewish family. He converted to Islam around the age of thirty and entered the service of the Ilkhanid Mongol rulers, rising to become vizier (chief minister) under Sultan Ghazan Khan and later under Oljeitu. His position at the crossroads of Mongol, Persian, and Chinese cultures gave him unique access to sources from across the Eurasian landmass.

In 1306, Sultan Ghazan commissioned Rashid al-Din to compose a history of the Mongols. The result far exceeded the original brief. His "Jami al-Tawarikh" (Compendium of Chronicles), completed around 1307-1311, is widely regarded as the first attempt at a truly universal world history. It covered not only the Mongol Empire but also the histories of the Franks, Chinese, Indians, Jews, Turks, and Arabs, drawing on a remarkable range of sources including Chinese scholars resident at the Ilkhanid court, Buddhist monks, Frankish clergy, and classical Persian and Arabic historians.

The "Jami al-Tawarikh" was a lavishly illustrated work, and surviving manuscripts contain some of the earliest known depictions of Chinese, Indian, and European subjects in Islamic painting. Rashid al-Din also founded a scholarly quarter in Tabriz called the Rab-i Rashidi, which functioned as a university and publishing center.

Despite his enormous contributions, Rashid al-Din fell victim to court intrigue. After Oljeitu's death, rival factions accused him of poisoning the sultan. He was executed in 1318 in Tabriz, and his property was confiscated. His historical masterwork survived, however, and remains one of the most important primary sources for the history of the Mongol Empire and medieval Eurasia.

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Connected Figures

Sources

• [1]Sheila Blair, "A Compendium of Chronicles: Rashid al-Din's Illustrated History of the World" (Nour Foundation, 1995)
• [2]David Morgan, "The Mongols" (Blackwell, 2007)
• [3]Thomas T. Allsen, "Culture and Conquest in Mongol Eurasia" (Cambridge University Press, 2001)