Ata Al-Mulk Juvayni
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Ata-Malik Juvayni ; 1226 – 5 March 1283) was a bureaucrat and historian from the
Juvayni family The Juvayni family was a Persian family native to the Juvayn area in Khorasan. The most famous members were Shams al-Din Juvayni (d. 1284) and his elder brother Ata-Malik Juvayni (d. 1283). The family was known for patronizing scholars and poet ...
who served under the
Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...
. He is known for composing the ''
Tarikh-i Jahangushay ''Tārīkh-i Jahāngushāy'' ( "The History of The World Conqueror") or ''Tārīkh-i Jahāngushāy-i Juwaynī'' () is a detailed historical account written by the Persian people, Persian Ata-Malik Juvayni describing the Mongol, Hulegu Khan, and I ...
'' ("History of the World Conqueror"), an important account on the history of
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
and the 13th-century Mongol invasion of Iran.


Early life

Born in 1226, Ata-Malik belonged to the
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
Juvayni family The Juvayni family was a Persian family native to the Juvayn area in Khorasan. The most famous members were Shams al-Din Juvayni (d. 1284) and his elder brother Ata-Malik Juvayni (d. 1283). The family was known for patronizing scholars and poet ...
, whose history of bureaucratic service goes back to the
Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...
era. Both his grandfather and his father, Baha al-Din, had held the post of ''sahib-divan'' or Minister of Finance for Muhammad Jalal al-Din and
Ögedei Khan Ögedei Khan (also Ögedei Khagan or Ogodei; 11 December 1241) was the second Khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. The third son of Genghis Khan, he continued the expansion of the empire that his father had begun. Born in 1186 AD, Öged ...
, respectively. Baha al-Din also acted as deputy c. 1246 for his immediate superior, the emir Arghun Aqa, in which role he oversaw a large area, including the
Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia (), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a Middle Ages, medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in Anno Domini, AD. It reached Georgian Golden Age, its Golden Age of political and economic strength during the reign ...
.


Career

Just like his predecessors, Ata-Malik became an important state official. He visited the Mongol capital of
Karakorum Karakorum (Khalkha Mongolian: Хархорум, ''Kharkhorum''; Mongolian script:, ''Qaraqorum'') was the capital city, capital of the Mongol Empire between 1235 and 1260 and of the Northern Yuan, Northern Yuan dynasty in the late 14th and 1 ...
twice, beginning his history of the Mongols conquests on one such visit (c. 1252–53). He was with Ilkhan Hulagu in the 1256 campaign at the taking of Alamut, where he selected many 'choice books' from the famous Alamut library for his own purposes and burnt the books that he did not like. He was responsible for saving part of its celebrated library. He had also accompanied Hulagu during the sack of Baghdad in 1258, and the next year was appointed governor of
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
, Lower
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
, and
Khuzistan Khuzestan province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf, covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's ...
. Around 1282, Ata-Malik attended a Mongol '' quriltai'', or assembly, held in the Ala-Taq pastures northeast of
Lake Van Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...
. He died the following year in
Mughan Mughan plain (, مغان دوزو; ) is a plain stretching from northwestern Iran to the southern part of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The highest density of irrigation canals is in the section of the Mughan plain which lies in the Republic of Aze ...
. Ata-Malik was survived by at least one son, Mansur (died 1293) and a daughter who became the wife of the
Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
shaykh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...
Sadr al-Din Ibrahim Hamuwayi, who played a key role in converting the later Ilkhanate ruler
Ghazan Mahmud Ghazan (5 November 1271 – 11 May 1304) (, Ghazan Khan, sometimes westernized as Casanus was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of Arghun, grandson of Abaqa K ...
to Islam. According to ''Tarikh-i Uljaytu'' by Abu al-Qasim Kashani, this daughter was named Ismatuddin and she died in Maragha, August 1306.


Siege of Alamut

Ata-Malik's brother was the powerful Shams al-Din Mohammad Sahib-Divan, who had served as Minister of Finance under Hulagu and
Abaqa Khan Abaqa Khan (27 February 1234 – 4 April 1282, , "paternal uncle", also transliterated Abaġa), was the second Mongol ruler ('' Ilkhan'') of the Ilkhanate. The son of Hulagu Khan and Lady Yesünčin and the grandson of Tolui, he reigned from 1265 ...
. A skillful leader in his own right, Shams al-Din also had influential in-laws: his wife Khoshak was the daughter of Avag Mkhargrdzeli, Lord High Constable of Georgia, and Gvantsa, a noblewoman who went on to become queen of Georgia.


Work and legacy

Ata-Malik's position at court and his family connections made him privy to information unavailable to other historians. For unknown reasons, Ata-Malik's ''
Tarikh-i Jahangushay ''Tārīkh-i Jahāngushāy'' ( "The History of The World Conqueror") or ''Tārīkh-i Jahāngushāy-i Juwaynī'' () is a detailed historical account written by the Persian people, Persian Ata-Malik Juvayni describing the Mongol, Hulegu Khan, and I ...
'' ends in 1260, more than twenty years before his death. The standard edition of Ata-Malik's history is published under the title ''Tarikh-i Jahangushay'', ed. Mirza Muhammad Qazwini, 3 vol, Gibb Memorial Series 16 (Leiden and London, 1912–37). An English translation by John Andrew Boyle ''The History of the World-Conqueror'' was republished in 1997.


References


Sources

* Fascicle 1. * Fascicle 4. * * Vol. XV, Fasc. 1 * Vol. XIII, Fasc. 5 *


External links

* Juvaini stopped working on the original Persian-language text in 1260, leaving it in a disorganized and incomplete state. Mirza Muhammad Qazvini completed the best text and published it in 1937. The 1958 edition (Boyle's English translation) is in two volumes. A book review of the 1958 edition was published by ''
The American Historical Review ''The American Historical Review'' is a quarterly academic history journal published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical Association, for which it is an official publication. It targets readers interested in all period ...
''. A revised edition of the Boyle translation was published in 1997. * * "Ata-Malik Juvayni" is the spelling of D̲j̲uwaynī's name used in the title of this English Wikipedia article. {{DEFAULTSORT:Joveini, Ata-Malik 13th-century Iranian historians 1226 births 1283 deaths Juvayni family Historians from the Ilkhanate Officials of the Ilkhanate