Ilkhanid Capital Cities
Transcultural Interactions
Studies the interaction between Perso-Islamic sedentary concepts and Mongolian nomadic traditions in the context of Ilkhanid capital cities
- Combines fields as diverse as history, art history, archaeology, religious studies and comparative literature
- Works with a range of sources, from archaeological and architectural material, to aerial photographs, travel narratives, manuscript miniatures and chronicles
- Uses primary sources in a multitude of languages including Persian, Arabic and Chinese, and is based primarily on the works of thirteenth- and fourteenth-century authors writing in Persian
- Discusses several examples of the architectural and urban projects patronized by the Ilkhans in Iran
- Offers extensive evidence drawn from newly excavated archaeological sites in the northwest of Iran
- Illuminates the dialogue established between the Mongol conquerors and the Iranians following the conquest of Iran in the thirteenth century
Ilkhanid Capital Cities studies the capital cities founded by the Mongol Ilkhans in Iran during the Ilkhanid period (1256–1335). It primarily focuses on two major cities in the northwest of Iran, Ghazaniyya and Sultaniyya, and examines how the court-sponsored urban projects in these two cities reflected the interactions between Perso-Islamic sedentary concepts and Mongolian nomadic traditions.
Questioning the earlier reductive scholarly framework that positioned the Mongols as uncultured barbarians, this study stresses the active role of the Mongol elite not only as agents, but also cultural donors in the Perso-Mongol cultural zeitgeist of late thirteenth- and early fourteenth-century Iran. It provides a fuller and more convincing picture of the Ilkhanid city, which is characterized by a hybrid quality injected not only into the physical structure of the city, but also into the taste, motivations, and world views of its patrons.
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
Notes for the Reader
Notes on Key Terms
Introduction: The Mongol Ilkhans Meet the Sedentary World and Enter into Dialogue with it
1. The Western and Eastern Neighbours of the Ilkhanid State
2. ‘Let our Capital be our Saddle’: The Foundation of Urban Centres under the Ilkhanids
3. The Architectural and Urban Projects of Ghazan Khan in Ghazaniyya
4. The Grand Capital of Öljeitü in Sultaniyya
5. Theorising Transcultural Interactions in the Context of Ilkhanid Cities
Concluding Remarks: The Study of Ilkhanid Cities: Challenges and Successes
Appendix
Bibliography
Index
Hatef Naiemi offers a much-needed, detailed study of the urban interventions and foundations of the Ilkhanids in Iran within the cross-cultural and multi-religious context of the time. Her insightful analysis contextualises these cities within the broader context of the Mongol Empire, from East Asia to Anatolia, and thus is an invaluable contribution to our trans-regional understanding of this period and its architecture.
This welcome study situates Mongol urbanisation in the political, religious and social history of Iran and surrounding regions. Hatef Naiemi shows how cities developed under the Mongols were sites of acculturation, serving the needs of both the foreign military elite who founded them and the indigenous population that inhabited them.
