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Edinburgh Studies in Classical Islamic History and Culture

A History of HeratFrom Chingiz Khan to Tamerlane

By Shivan Mahendrarajah

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£100.00

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About this book

Shows how and why an ancient city destroyed and then rebuilt by Mongols became again the ‘Pearl’ of the Iranian east
  • Establishes a sequence and chronology for the Mongol attacks in eastern Iran
  • Includes a political-military history of the Kart dynasty, from their founding in 649/1251 by Möngke Qaʾan, to their surrender to Tamerlane in 783/1381
  • Explores the renewal of agriculture, commercial development (caravansarays and bazaars) and the revivification of Islamic activities (patronage of madrasas, hospices, and mosques)
  • Illustrates the reconstruction of Herat’s intricate hydrological network of channels, dams, cisterns, sluices, controllers and watermills with maps and schematics
  • Details Herat’s fortified landscape (citadel, curtain walls, embankment, trench, gateways, towers and Kartid Walls) and analyses the city’s defensive postures

This book tells the history of Herat, from its desolation under Chingiz Khan in 1222, to its capitulation to Tamerlane in 1381. Unlike the other three quarters of Khurasan (Balkh, Marw, Nishapur), which were ravaged by the Mongols, Herat became an important political, cultural and economic centre of the eastern Islamic world. The post-Mongol age in which an autochthonous Tajik dynasty, the Kartids, ruled the region set the foundations for Herat’s Timurid-era splendors.

Divided into two parts (a political-military history and a social-economic history), the book explains why the Mongol Empire rebuilt Herat: its rationales and approaches; and Chinggisid internecine conflicts that impacted on Herat’s people. It analyses the roles of Iranians, Turks and Mongols in regional politics; in devising fortifications; in restoring commercial and cultural edifices; and in resuscitating economic and cultural activities in the Herat Quarter.

Reviews

This study views the unfolding events and unraveling political shenanigans in Mongol Greater Iran from the viewpoint of Herat and its Persian Kartid rulers. The result is a fresh perspective on the Ilkhanate and the emergence of the Timurids. This History of Herat will undoubtedly become the standard textbook for the study of the region during this period, and future scholars will be extremely indebted to Shivan Mahendrarajah for the focused effort and attention to detail that went into this impressive work of research and analysis.

This study views the unfolding events and unraveling political shenanigans in Mongol Greater Iran from the viewpoint of Herat and its Persian Kartid rulers. The result is a fresh perspective on the Ilkhanate and the emergence of the Timurids. This History of Herat will undoubtedly become the standard textbook for the study of the region during this period, and future scholars will be extremely indebted to Shivan Mahendrarajah for the focused effort and attention to detail that went into this impressive work of research and analysis.

A centre of Persian political power and cultural magnificence in the post Mongol era, Herat has been written out of contemporary nationalist Iranian and Afghan histories. Shivan Mahendrarajah restores Herat to its rightful place in this lucidly written and intensively researched book that is a pleasure to explore.

It is well conceived, well researched, and well written. More importantly, it advances the field not only in knowledge, but the author’s innovative approach. This is a significant body of exceptional scholarship and Mahendrarajah lucidly narrates a very complex and often confusing series of events.

Mahendrarajah’s study of Herat under Kartid rule views the Ilkhanate from a fresh and unexpected angle.

Mahendrarajah’s study of Herat under Kartid rule views the Ilkhanate from a fresh and unexpected angle.
Table of contents
Introduction

Part 1: Imperial and Local Histories: Mongols and Karts

Prolegomenon: The Early Period: 615–76/1218–78

Chapter 1: Mongol Invasions of Khurasan

Chapter 2: Mongol Imperial Policies and Herat

Prolegomenon

: The Middle Period: 677–729/1278–1329

Chapter 3: Turmoil in Herat and Khurasan

Chapter 4: Stability in Herat and Khurasan

Prolegomenon

: The Late Period: 729–83/1329–81

Chapter 5: From Ilkhanate to Independent Kingdom

Chapter 6: From Kartid Sultanate to Tamerlane

Part 1: Reflections and Conclusions

Part 2: Social, Economic, and Cultural Renewal in Herat

Chapter 7: Early Efforts to Revive Agriculture and Commerce

Chapter 8: Later Efforts to Revive Agriculture and Commerce

Chapter 9: Urban Renewal and Cultural Renaissance

Chapter 10: Fortified Landscape of Herat and its Environs

Part 2: Reflections and Conclusions

Glossary

Appendix 1: Genealogical and Dynastic Charts

A1.1. The Mongols

A1.2. The Il-Khans of Persia

A1.3. The Kart Dynasty of Herat

A1.4. Kart-Jami marriages

Appendix 2: Land and Water Use

Table A2.1: Cultivation and Land Use in Herat Quarter

Appendix 3: Urban Development in the Kartid Period

Table A3.1: Edifices Built/Re-Built in Herat

Appendix 4: Settlements and Population

Bibliography

Index

About the author

Shivan Mahendrarajah

Dr. Shivan Mahendrarajah is a Research Fellow (2021–24), School of History, University of St. Andrews, Scotland. He is the Managing Editor of Afghanistan: The Journal of the American Institute of Afghanistan Studies, which he co-founded in 2016. He is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.Shivan is the author of articles on Islam, Iran, Afghanistan, Mongols, and Timurids; on counter-insurgency, al-Qaida, and the Taliban movements of Afghanistan and Pakistan. His first monograph, The Sufi Saint of Jam, was published by Cambridge University Press (2021).

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