A paiza or paizi or gerege ( xng, Гэрэгэ, mn, Пайз, fa, پایزه ''pāiza'', ''páizi'') was a tablet carried by
Mongol officials and envoys to signify certain privileges and authority. They enabled Mongol nobles and officials to demand goods and services from civilian populations.
Although only someone with a paiza was required to be supplied with mounts and served specified rations, those carrying military rarities used the
yam
Yam or YAM may refer to:
Plants and foods
*Yam (vegetable), common name for members of ''Dioscorea''
* Taro, known in Malaysia and Singapore as yam
* Sweet potato, specifically its orange-fleshed cultivars, often referred to as yams in North Amer ...
even without a paiza. The officials and nobles of the
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in 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 Europe, ...
issued paizas unofficially and abused civilians. Therefore,
Ögedei Khan (r. 1229–1241) prohibited the
nobility from issuing paizas and
jarliq
A jarlig ( mn, зарлиг, zarlig; russian: ярлык, ''jarlyk'', also transliterated yarlyk in Russian and Turkic, or even more correctly yarlıq, and the Tatar: yarlığ) is an edict or written commandant of Mongol and Chinggisid rulers' ...
s.
To attract foreign or overseas merchants and talents, the Great Khans gave them paiza exempting them from taxes and allowing them to use relay stations. Most of these merchants were business partners of the Mongols, known as ortoq. However,
Möngke Khan (r. 1251–1259) limited notorious abuses and sent imperial investigators to supervise the business of the merchants who were sponsored by the Mongols. He prohibited them from using the imperial relay stations or yam (zam) and paizas.
Marco Polo
Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...
, who visited the
Yuan Dynasty during the reign of
Kublai Khan
Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of th ...
(r. 1260–1294), left a good description of the paiza.
The
Ilkhan
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...
Ghazan
Mahmud Ghazan (5 November 1271 – 11 May 1304) (, Ghazan Khan, sometimes archaically spelled as Casanus by the Westerners) was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of A ...
(r. 1295–1304) reformed the issuance of jarliqs, creating set forms and graded seals, ordering that all jarliqs be kept on file at court and canceling jarliqs older than 30 years and old paizas. He fashioned new paizas into two ranks, ordered that they bear the names of the bearers on them to prevent them from being transferred and required them to be relinquished at the end of the official's term.
Although paizas were popularized by the Mongols, they were not (contrary to common claim) a Mongol innovation. Similar such passports were already in use in northern China under the
Liao dynasty, and their use was continued under subsequent kingdoms such as the
Jin Dynasty and the
Tangut kingdom
The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...
of
Xi-Xia
The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...
. The Jin paiza had seven different ranks.
[John Man ''Xanadu: Marco Polo and Europe's Discovery of the East'', p.36]
File:Paiza Golden Horde.jpg, A Gerege in Mongolian script, found in the former territory of the Mongol Golden Horde ( Dnieper River, 1845)
File:Phagspa vinokurov tablet.jpg, Official pass with Mongolian inscription in 'Phags-pa script reading "By the power of eternal heaven, his isan order of the Emperor. Whoever does not show respect o the bearerwill be guilty of an offence."
File:Paizi.jpg, A nightwatchman's pass of the Mongol empire, with inscriptions in Persian (left), Mongolian in 'Phags-pa script (centre), and Uyghur (right). The Mongolian inscription reads "Announcement: Beware of evil-doers".
References
{{Commons category, Paiza
Mongol Empire
