Ala'iddin Ata-Malik Juvayni

Ata-Malik Juvayni ; 1226 – 5 March 1283) was a bureaucrat and historian from the Juvayni family who served under the Mongol Empire. He is known for composing the ''Tarikh-i Jahangushay'' ("History of the World Conqueror"), an important account on the history of Central Asia and the 13th-century Mongol invasion of Iran.

Early life

Born in 1226, Ata-Malik belonged to the Persian Juvayni family, whose history of bureaucratic service goes back to the Seljuk era. Both his grandfather and his father, Baha al-Din, had held the post of ''sahib-divan'' or Minister of Finance for Muhammad Jalal al-Din and Ögedei Khan, respectively. Baha al-Din also acted as deputy c. 1246 for his immediate superior, the emir Arghun Aqa, in which role he oversaw a large area, including the Kingdom of Georgia.

Career

Just like his predecessors, Ata-Malik became an important state official. He visited the Mongol capital of Karakorum twice, beginning his history of the Mongols conquests on one such visit (c. 1252–53). He was with Ilkhan Hulagu in the 1256 campaign at the taking of Alamut, where he selected many 'choice books' from the famous Alamut library for his own purposes and burnt the books that he did not like. He was responsible for saving part of its celebrated library. He had also accompanied Hulagu during the sack of Baghdad in 1258, and the next year was appointed governor of Baghdad, Lower Mesopotamia, and Khuzistan. Around 1282, Ata-Malik attended a Mongol '' quriltai'', or assembly, held in the Ala-Taq pastures northeast of Lake Van. He died the following year in Mughan.

Ata-Malik was survived by at least one son, Mansur (died 1293) and a daughter who became the wife of the Sufi shaykh Sadr al-Din Ibrahim Hamuwayi, who played a key role in converting the later Ilkhanate ruler Ghazan to Islam. According to ''Tarikh-i Uljaytu'' by Abu al-Qasim Kashani, this daughter was named Ismatuddin and she died in Maragha, August 1306.

Siege of Alamut

Ata-Malik's brother was the powerful Shams al-Din Mohammad Sahib-Divan, who had served as Minister of Finance under Hulagu and Abaqa Khan. A skillful leader in his own right, Shams al-Din also had influential in-laws: his wife Khoshak was the daughter of Avag Mkhargrdzeli, Lord High Constable of Georgia, and Gvantsa, a noblewoman who went on to become queen of Georgia.

Work and legacy

Ata-Malik's position at court and his family connections made him privy to information unavailable to other historians. For unknown reasons, Ata-Malik's ''Tarikh-i Jahangushay'' ends in 1260, more than twenty years before his death.

The standard edition of Ata-Malik's history is published under the title ''Tarikh-i Jahangushay'', ed. Mirza Muhammad Qazwini, 3 vol, Gibb Memorial Series 16 (Leiden and London, 1912–37). An English translation by John Andrew Boyle ''The History of the World-Conqueror'' was republished in 1997.

References

Sources

* Fascicle 1.
* Fascicle 4.
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* Vol. XV, Fasc. 1
* Vol. XIII, Fasc. 5
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External links

* Juvaini stopped working on the original Persian-language text in 1260, leaving it in a disorganized and incomplete state. Mirza Muhammad Qazvini completed the best text and published it in 1937. The 1958 edition (Boyle's English translation) is in two volumes. A book review of the 1958 edition was published by ''The American Historical Review''. A revised edition of the Boyle translation was published in 1997.
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* "Ata-Malik Juvayni" is the spelling of D̲j̲uwaynī's name used in the title of this English Wikipedia article.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joveini, Ata-Malik
13th-century Iranian historians
1226 births
1283 deaths
Juvayni family
Historians from the Ilkhanate
Officials of the Ilkhanate