Rab'-e Rashidi () is the site of a historic building complex including a school and a workshop for producing books that was constructed in the early 14th century during the reign of

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 ...

, a ruler of the Ilkhanid dynasty, in the northeastern part of the city of

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. Other buildings later replaced these, and the site is now ruined, but it is the original complex that gives the site its fame. It was founded and richly endowed by

Rashid al-Din Hamadani Rashīd al-Dīn Ṭabīb (;‎ 1247–1318; also known as Rashīd al-Dīn Faḍlullāh Hamadānī, ) was a statesman, historian, and physician in Ilkhanate Iran.Ghiyas al-Din ibn Rashid al-Din led a revival in the 1330s until his own murder in 1336. The foundation document of the complex survives, dated August 1307, and gives a detailed picture of how the complex was supposed to function. There are later appendices, and the site may well have been functioning before 1307. There was provision for over 100 employees, about a quarter of them labourers and the rest skilled professionals, as well as 220 slaves. There was also provision for salaried students. In addition to all these the complex held a workshop for the production of books, where the early manuscripts of the ''

Jami' al-tawarikh ''Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh'' () is a work of literature and history, produced in the Mongol Ilkhanate. Written by Rashid al-Din Hamadani (1247–1318 AD) at the start of the 14th century, the breadth of coverage of the work has caused it to be call ...

'', and in the 1330s probably the Great Mongol ''Shahnameh'', were produced. The site had fallen into ruin when Shah Abbas chose it for a fort, including the governor's palace. By the end of the 17th century these buildings, too, were in ruins, as a traveller reported. Only a small part of the ruined establishment remains standing, with most of its remaining structures perhaps underground. Archaeologists continue to excavate and study the large complex. Today, the historical elements of the buildings of the Rab'-e Rashidi can no longer be identified. All that remains are some masonry bases of the fortifications that were built either during the 14th century or by Shah Abbas in the 17th century. The most prominent of the masonry bases still extant has a rectangular projection, possibly the foundation for an astrological observatory that is mentioned in Rashid al-Din's writings. Also found on the site were mosaic fragments that may date from Rashid al-Din's time up until the

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

period.

Establishment

The endowment was of nearly 50,000

dinar The dinar () is the name of the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, with a more widespread historical use. The English word "dinar" is the transliteration of the Arabic دينار (''dīnār''), which was bor ...

s, a huge sum. Almost half of this went to the overseers, Rashid al din himself while alive, and his sons thereafter. Salaries were set out for the employees, with the highest paid the senior of the two professors, at 500 dinars annually. He had an assistant (200 dinars) and ten paid students, earning 30 dinars for a five-year period. The other professor had two students. The

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

was recited at the tomb around the clock, with 24 reciters paid 50 dinars on the staff, as well as four more senior religious staff. There was a special area for

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 ...

devotions, with a shaikh (150 dinars) and 5 other Sufis (30 dinars). There was a hospital with a head doctor (330) and a surgeon/eye-doctor (100), as well as two trainees (30 dinars for 5 years). The 220 slaves included about 150 gardeners, and 20 Turks, who were given the more physical roles, including security and rent collecting. These received a 50% higher bread ration than the other slaves. All the staff also received bread and other food in addition to their salaries, and it was also distributed to those attending the tomb at certain times, and 100 of the poor were fed daily. The complex, at the top of a hill, was surrounded by a wall. It was entered through a large portal, with

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

s, giving onto a courtyard with four

iwan An iwan (, , also as ''ivan'' or ''ivān''/''īvān'', , ) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...

s. Beyond this lay the main buildings, and other facilities such as a bathhouse.Iranica

History

Rab'-e Rashidi origins date to the 13th century, when

Rashid-al-Din Hamadani Rashīd al-Dīn Ṭabīb (;‎ 1247–1318; also known as Rashīd al-Dīn Faḍlullāh Hamadānī, ) was a statesman, historian, and physician in Ilkhanate Iran.Ghazan Khan, the seventh ruler of the Ilkhanid dynasty, established a large academic center in

, the capital of Ilkhanid dynasty at the time, which he named Rab'-e Rashidi. After his death several years later, Khajeh Rashid was buried in this place in the tomb he had prepared. The complex was equipped with a paper factory, a library, a hospital (Dar-ol-Shafa), Dar-ol Quran (Quranic Center), residential facilities for teachers, student’s quarter, a big caravansary and other facilities during the Ilkhanid era. Students from Iran,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, and

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 ...

studied subjects here under the supervision of intellectuals, scientists, physicians and Islamic scholars. The main components of the foundation were a library, a hospice, a hospital, a khanqah, and a tomb with winter and summer mosques. The tomb was originally that of Rashid al-Din, built by his son Muhammed Ghiyath. However, due to what is believed to have been a conspiracy, Rashid al-Din was executed under the false pretext that he had poisoned Oljeitu Khan. This turn of events was further compounded by rumors that emerged during the reign of

Miran Shah Mirza Jalal-ud-din Miran Shah Beg (1366 – 20 April 1408), commonly known as Miran Shah (), was a son of the Central Asian conqueror Timur, founder of the Timurid Empire. During his father's reign, Miran Shah was initially a powerful regio ...

(1404-1407) that Rashid al-Din had been Jewish; consequently, his remains were exhumed from his tomb at the Rab'-e Rashidi and moved to a Jewish cemetery. In addition to the components of the foundation, the complex became surrounded by a residential quarter. It contained caravanserais, shops, baths, storehouses, mills, factories, and thirty thousand houses. The entire complex was surrounded by a wall that Ghazan Khan had begun building to enclose the entire city of Tabriz, and later by a second one that enclosed its suburbs. Since his reputation had been tainted and his foundation plundered, the Rab'-e Rashidi began to decline after the death of Rashid al-Din in 1318. Although Rashid al-Din's son Muhammed Ghiyath attempted to expand the foundation after his father's death, he too was put to death in 1336, and the foundation was again looted. According to later stories, before Shah Abbas, a ruler by the name of Malik Ashraf later took over the site in 1351 and expanded it further by building fortifications, mosques, hospitals and schools.

Notes

References

*"Iranica", Sheila S. Blair, “RABʿ-E RAŠIDI,”

Encyclopædia Iranica ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English-language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times. Scope The ''Encyc ...

, online edition, 2016
online
accessed on 31 August 2016. * * * *

External links

CHN, Cultural & Historical News Agency
(Tabriz University of Medical Sciences)

{{Portalbar, Iran Buildings and structures in Tabriz Ilkhanid architecture Archaeological sites in Iran Buildings and structures on the Iran National Heritage List

Establishment

History

Notes

References

Further reading

External links