Muhammad Rafi (also known as Diya ad-Din Abul-Fath al-Makki or Mullah Rafi) was a medieval

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...

i historian who lived in the second half of the 13th century. The author of the historical chronicle "''Tarikhi Dagestan''" (“

History of Dagestan Historically, Dagestan consisted of a federation of mountainous principalities in the eastern part of the North Caucasus. Located at the crossroads of world civilizations of north and south, Dagestan was the scene of clashes of interests of many s ...

”) written in 1312–1313. The chronicle was supplemented and received its final form only in the 17th century.

Tarikhi Dagestan

"Tarikhi Dagestan" includes several texts created at different times. The most ancient part of "Tarikh Dagestan" can be considered its beginning – a story about the

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

Avar lands, about the income of Nutsal (ruler) and the former greatness of the rulers of Avar lands, known in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

historical and geographical literature of the 9th–10th centuries under the name

Sarir Sarir or Serir was a medieval Christians, Christian state lasting from the 6th or 7th century to the 12th century in the mountainous regions of modern-day Dagestan in southern Russia. Its name is derived from the Arabic word for "throne" and re ...

. "Tarikh Dagistan" is also a collection of various historical stories relating to different historical periods, and also contains a number of legendary stories. In the structure of the chronicle, four independent directions of narration can be distinguished: the fate of

paganism Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

and the rulers of the Avar region (Avaria),

Islamization The spread of Islam spans almost 1,400 years. The early Muslim conquests that occurred following the death of Muhammad in 632 CE led to the creation of the caliphates, expanding over a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted ...

of the

population; the struggle of the Dagestanis against the Mongol invaders,

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

and the shamkhal rulers of the 14th-century. The original version of this work was also written much earlier before the birth of this author, presumably in 318–930.

Vladimir Minorsky Vladimir Fyodorovich Minorsky (; – 25 March 1966) was a White Russian academic, historian, and scholar of Oriental studies, best known for his contributions to the study of history of Iran and the Iranian peoples such as Persians, Lurs, and ...

suggested dating the work to the 13th-century, with which the Soviet Caucasian specialist L. Lavrov agreed. Currently, more than 40 lists of Tarikhi Dagestan are known in copies of the 18th – early 20th centuries. All texts are in

and the scribes are Dagestanis by origin. It is noteworthy to mention that list No.38 was used by

Abbasgulu Bakikhanov Abbasgulu agha Bakikhanov () (, – January 1847), Abbas Qoli Bakikhanov, or Abbas-Qoli ibn Mirza Mohammad (Taghi) Khan Badkubi was an Azerbaijani writer, historian, journalist, linguist, poet and philosopher. He was son of the third khan of Baku ...

in "''Golestan-e Eram''". However, he himself notes that in the manuscript of 1030 AH (1620), excerpts from a story written in 712 AH (1312) by Muhammad Rafi and old notes from an essay compiled in 318 AH (930) were used.

also wrote: “This is a collection of local legends about some descendants of the “Uncles of the

Prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

”, who allegedly emigrated to

from

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

.{{Cite book , last=Minorsky , first=Vladimir , title=A History of Sharvan and Darband in the 10th-11th Centuries , publisher=Cambridge , year=1958 , pages=24–25

References

14th-century historians Avar khans 14th-century literature 14th-century Arabic-language books 13th-century historians 13th-century literature 13th-century Arabic-language books

Tarikhi Dagestan

See also

References