Aldine Rashid

Aldine Rashid (1247 - 1318) is a Persan statesman of the period it-khanide. He was also historian, and composed for this reason the Jami Al-tawarikh , or universal history .

The politician

Aldine Rashid Fadl Allah ibn `Imad Al-dawla abu l-Khayr was born with Hamadan, an important center of Jewish culture (site of a rabbinical college), in 1247, whereas the capacity it-khanide was put in place.
Wire of a Jewish pharmacist, it continued studies of medicine and entered for this reason to the court of Abaqa (R. 1265 - 1282). It is perhaps on this occasion that it converts with the Islam, although its Jewish education remained all its life a major handicap. After the death of its Master, it entered to the service of Gaykhatu (R. 1291-1295), its role first of all consisting to prepare, present and test the food of the Sultan. Climbing the levels of the imperial bureaucracy quickly he saw in 1298 named by Ghazan assistant of the vizier His' D Aldine Zanjani, but this one was carried out with the following autumn. What could have given a crushing argument to its career propelled in fact Aldine Rashid on the front of the political scene: it was suddenly named Vizier associated His' D Aldine Sawaji.
But, never during its career, Aldine Rashid only the capacity did not exert; it always had an assistant. This is why, in spite of its capacity and its influence, its position constantly remained precarious.

When Ghazan arrives at the capacity in 1294, the country is almost in state of war civil. Aldine Rashid developed great reforms, relating to as well the public administration as agriculture or the trade, constantly seeking to protect sedentary Iranian from the rapacity of the Mongolian aristocracy. By writing a vast code of laws, it refitted finances by a new adjustment of the incomes and expenditure and a new calculation of the tax, and reorganized the provinces and their administration. It also set up the Charia (Islamic law), and dealt at the same time with the maintenance of the public roads, the organization of the post office, of social laws for the elderly, the disabled person, the poor and even of the care of the animaux.
In 1302-1303, it accompanied Ghazan in its countryside against the Mamelouks, in particular directing the attack of the town of Al-Rahba.

With died of Ghazan in 1304, Rashid Aldine continued its work under its successor, Oldjaïtou. Very in favor, he managed to place a great number of his children at important stations. But, in 1312, its associate His' D Aldine Sawaji was carried out and replaced by Aldine Taj “Ali Shah, a former jeweller, who became his keen rival. The enmity between the two men was so strong that Oldjaïtu was constrained to divide into two the capacity: in Aldine Rashid returned the administration of the center and the south of the empire, while Aldine Taj dealt of the North-West, the Mésopotamie and the Anatolia.
The intrigues multiplied, so much and so that in 1316, with the accession with the throne of Abu Said, Rashid was revoked under the influence of Aldine Taj, then shown to have poisoned Oldjaïtou and have carried out on July 13rd, 1318 with one of its sons, while its district of Rab-i Rashidi was destroyed.

The reigns of Ghazan (1294-1304), Oldjaïtou (1304-1316) and Abu Said (1316-1335) mark the apogee of the dynasty it-khanide. The sedentarisation allowed an economy thrives, a flourishing cultural life, a great artistic innovation. The Mongols adopted the culture and the traditions Persan be, an international business developed between Europe and the East starting from the warehouses of Tabriz and Sultaniya. For the first time since several centuries, the Iran became a political and cultural entity. Aldine Rashid took an active part in this apogee, even if its position constantly remained precarious, as for all the ministers it-khanides. This man with the immense richness, owner of great properties through the kingdom was also the director of the construction of the new capital of Oldjaïtou, Sultaniya, and of many commercial buildings. Being interested all at the same time in the History, the Administration, the Theology and the Agriculture, this curious insatiable made come from the scientists, the craftsmen and the artists of the four corners of the world and collected books Chinese, Byzantine, Western and Caucasian.
One of its sons, Aldine Ghiyat, took the functions of vizier later.

The patron

The period it-khanide marks a major change in the Iranian culture, which results in a new form of artistic patronage. Two forms of patronage are preeminent at that time: funerary complexes and illustrated manuscripts. Aldine Rashid constitutes the ideal model of patron, because patronage sultanien follows the majority of its ideas and employs same the artists as him.

Architectural patronage

A new feature of the Mongolian period takes shape in the concentration of public edifices in districts of recent construction. Aldine Rashid thus establishes large districts with Tabriz and Sultaniya, which does not prevent it from designing pious foundations with Hamadan and Yazd, and to supervise those founded in Tabriz and Baghdad by Ghazan. It then acts great complexes with several parts including places of prayer, education and residence and using many employees.

Rab-i Rashidi

Tabriz, the capital, is increased considerably and clearing under it-khanides, in particular by the sultan himself: Ghazan triples the urban area, with the construction of the suburb Sham-i Ghazan, around its mausoleum. Aldine Rashid, as for him, made there build Rab-i Rashidi, a district built intramuros in the Eastern suburb, around its own monument. The act of Waqf, preserved, gives dated August 9th, 1309.
The district, girdled ramparts, includes/understands a great input area, a mosque of Friday with the tomb of Rashid, another mosque (perhaps act does of a duality mosque of winter/mosque of summer?), to the Madrasa, a place for be enough (Khanqah), a hospital, an old people's home for the visitors, of the scientific establishments, the services (two libraries, hammams, caravanserais, workshops of weaving, manufactures paper, dyeing, mint, gardens, fountain). It is not known if the plan had been rigorously pre-established.
The act of equipment (waqf) of the complex is preserved. Written by Aldine Rashid itself, it consists of an introduction, three great chapters (profit institutions, properties of donation, details for the direction of the institutions), of appendices and additional clauses (donations additional and new stipulations). The equipment seems exceptional: 50.000 dinars. Half of the incomes turned over to the supervisors of Rab (Rashid Aldine then its sons), the other went to the 220 slaves and 100 employees, and to the repair of the buildings. The copy of manuscripts of the Coran, the Hadith S and works of Aldine Rashid is also envisaged.
The focal point of Rab is to obviously fall it, included in the mosque, where Coran was recited every hour, and of the special readings made for the festivals. One preserved at it many manuscripts and of invaluable objects.

Sultaniya

Sultaniya was founded at the end of XIIe century by Arghoun. It was used as capital some time in XIVe, under Oldjaïtou (1304-1316), which embellishes it notably. The district built by Aldine Rashid was finished in 1313; it comprised thousand houses, a pious foundation with madrasa, hospital, and Khanqah, and a large main door in the shape of Iwan surmounted by a minaret. Unfortunately, it is more known only by accounts of travellers.

Other foundations

Rashid founded, equipped, visited and restored many tombs of are enough, like that of Bayazid with Bastam, which it entirely made restore. It made in the same way for the large mosque of Oldjaïtou, as it equipped with a pious foundation announced in an addendum to the act of waqf of Rab-i Rashidi, gone back to 1314.

Patronage of manuscripts

With the turning of XIVe, the size, the function and the patronage of the book illustrated in Iran change. This one emerges like an essential medium of the expression, and undoubtedly constitutes the most important subject of patronage. The size increases, of new types of texts (including epopees and stories) are regularly illustrated. The illustrated book conveys the official ideology.

The act of equipment of Rab-i Rashidi envisages:

the annual copy of 30 manuscripts of Coran and a collection of Hadith ( Jami `Al-usul fi ahadith Al-rasûl ). The rules of manufacture of the manuscripts are precisely specified: paper of Baghdad, big size, pure penmanship, confrontation of the texts with the originals, leather gilded for the binding, boxes for the manuscripts.
the copy of 6 works of Aldine Rashid in Arabic and Persan (the size, paper, etc are also specified.) These works must moreover be read in all the charitable institutions of Ghazan with Baghdad and Tabriz.

One can thus say that it is about the first legal concretization of a Kitabkhana, a workshop of painters, concept which will develop during the following centuries in everyone Islamic.

Hamadan, the birthplace of Rashid, is also a great place of production of Corans and this, since the Saljukide period. This tradition remains and develops under the sponsorship of It-khanides, mainly thanks to Aldine Rashid. Much Corans for Uljaytu and its pious foundation is in particular produced there.

One preserves some manuscripts made at Rab-i Rashidi or under the patronage of Aldine Rashid:

a Majmu' has Al-Rashidiyya , currently with BNF (Arab dimension 2324), gone back to 1310-1311. It is about a regrouping of theological works of Aldine Rashid. Of large size (50 X 37 cm), it comprises a Colophon which gives the name of the artist Muhammad ibn Mahmud ibn Muhammad Al-Amin, known under the nickname " the rapid calligrapher of Baghdad". It is thought that it enluminé the right page of the double frontispiece, the left page having been made by another hand.
several Corans, all written in 5 lines on broad format:

Coran of the library of Topkapi, (EH 248) made in April 1315, copied by abd `Allah ibn Abi' L Qasim ibn Abdallah Al turi Al-Rudravari, a calligrapher coming from the south of the district of Hamadan. Of big size (52 X 37 cm), he recalls the preceding manuscript.
Coran in 30 volumes, fact with Hamadan for Uljaytu, of the Library National of Cairo (ms 72). Copied and enluminé in September 1313, it is the work of Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn Mahmud Al-Hamadani, a scribe which worked in Hamadan in dar Al-khairat Al-rashidiyya, the pious foundation of Rashid with Hamadan.
Coran of the library of Tokapi, (ms K3), smaller (32 X 22 cm), made by Fakhr Al-Hamadani.
Coran in 30 volumes, made for Uljaytu with Mossul in 1306-1311. The colophon mentions the patronage of Aldine Rashid and Its' D Aldine Savaji, a rather exceptional fact, since associations of patrons are rare. It is thought that there exists perhaps a chronological gap between volumes: a first part would have been carried out in 1306-1307 and the second in 1310-1311.

In the introduction of the act of waqf of Rab-i Rashidi, Aldine Rashid gives its motivations for such an act of patronage, by taking support on religious reasons (last Judgment…). However, at which time it orders so many work is also that where it starts to write its philosophical and theological treaties. For B. Hoffmann, these writings, like these foundations pious and these acts of patronage, are more realized to justify immense fortune of Rashid Aldine which thus marks its territory and its superiority vis-a-vis its rivals, who criticize his Jewish origin, rather than for strictly religious reasons.

The writer

Aldine Rashid wrote many works on very diverse subjects. We arrived of the writings on Islamic theology, a correspondence (undoubtedly apocryphal book) and especially, an immense historical work, the Jami Al-tawarikh.

Jami Al-tawarikh constitutes the most important source with regard to the period it-khanide and the Mongolian empire as a whole. This work was ordered by Ghazan, which was eager that the Mongols, sedentarized and persianized, have a memory of their origins. Initially intended to expose only the history of the Mongols and their predecessors in the steppe, the book was transformed soon into a history of the known world, at the request of Uljaytu. It is thus about a historical work from the encyclopedic point of view, which, even if posing some problems of objectivity because of the identity and the place which the author within the State occupies, is eminently remarkable by its originality.