Timurids in transition : : Turko-Persian politics and acculturation in medieval Iran / / by Maria E. Subtelny.

• Superior document: Brill's Inner Asian library, v. 19
• Author: Subtelny, Maria.
• Year of Publication: 2007
• Language: English
• Series: Brill's Inner Asian library ; v. 19.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (438 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

How did the the descendants of Tamerlane, collectively known as the Timurids, make the transition from a nomadic empire to a sedentary polity based on the Perso-Islamic model , and what effect did the process of transition have on their Turko-Mongolian customs and identity? This volume seeks to answer these questions by utilizing the Weberian concepts of the “routinization” of charismatic authority and the patrimonial household state. Focusing on the period of the last Timurid ruler, Sulṭān-Ḥusain Bayqara (1469–1506), the author examines the impact of the introduction of Persian modes of bureaucratic administration on the evolution of Timurid government and describes the development of the agrarian economy of the eastern Iranian province of Khorasan through the Islamic institution of the pious endowment. Based on an exceptionally broad range of sources in Persian, Arabic, and Turkic languages, the book provides a new paradigm for understanding the Timurids within the framework of post-Mongol history and offers fresh insights into Turko-Persian relations and the problem of acculturation in medieval Iran.

Table of Contents

Preliminary material / M.E. Subtelny -- Chapter One. The routinization of charisma: The Timurid patrimonial household state / M.E. Subtelny -- Chapter Two. From political vagabond to potentate: The career of Sultan-Husain Bayqara / M.E. Subtelny -- Chapter Three. The challenge of change: Centralizing reforms and their opponents / M.E. Subtelny -- Chapter Four. The search for long-term solutions: Khorasan and the agricultural imperative / M.E. Subtelny -- Chapter Five. Piety and pragmatism: The role of the islamic endowment / M.E. Subtelny -- Chapter Six. Of saints and scribes: The Timurid shrine as a vehicle for agromanagement / M.E. Subtelny -- Conclusion / M.E. Subtelny -- Appendix One. Survey of endowment deeds from the Timurid period / M.E. Subtelny -- Appendix Two. A Timurid deed of endowment: The Vaqfiyya of Afaq Begim, wife of Sultan-Husain Bayqara, for her mausoleum in Herat / M.E. Subtelny -- Appendix Three. An edict of Sultan-Abu Sa’Id concerning the Gulistan Dam at Mashhad / M.E. Subtelny -- Appendix Four. A diploma of appointment issued by Sultan-Husain for the supervisor of the ‘Alid shrine development project at Balkh / M.E. Subtelny -- Appendix Five. Bills of purchase and sale relating to the privatization of state land in the Balkh region by Sultan-Husain / M.E. Subtelny -- Bibliography / M.E. Subtelny -- Index / M.E. Subtelny.