Sultanate or Amirate? : the routinization of Chinggisid authority in the early Mongol Empire and the Ilkhanate of Iran

Abstract

This study provides a new interpretation of how political authority was conceived and transmitted by the ruling elite of the Early Mongol Empire (1227-1259) and its successor state in Iran, the Ilkhanate (1258-1335). Authority within the Mongol Empire was intimately tied to the character of its founder, Chinggis Qan, whose reign served as an idealized model for the exercise of legitimate authority amongst his political successors. After Chinggis Qan's death in 1227 two distinct political traditions emerged in the Mongol Empire each claiming to have preserved the essence of Chinggis Qan's rule. For the purposes of this thesis these two traditions have been designated as collegialism and patrimonialism. Both of these streams of Chinggisid authority represented the political and economic interests of different social groups within the Mongol polity. The supporters of collegial authority were drawn from amongst Chinggis Qan's extended family (altan uruq) and companions (n{u1F42}k{u1F42}t). The collegialists held that the essence ofChinggis Qan's government had been enshrined in his laws (jasaq) and customs (yosun), which they claimed to defend. The collegialists used their supposed expertise in these laws and customs to preserve their power and influence the policy of the Empire in the years after Chinggis Qan's death. Yet the collegialists were opposed by the patrimonialists, represented by the descendants of Chinggis Qan's fourth son Tolui and their sedentary bureaucrats. This group sought to centralize authority and reduce the interference of the princes and companions in the running of the Empire. The patrimonialists considered both Chinggis Qan's authority and Empire to have been the hereditary property of his family. Moreover, the patrimonialists believed that the qans were chosen by Eternal Heaven/God, and blessed with unique virtues and powers which elevated them above their subjects. The character and composition of the Early Mongol Empire and the llkhanate were shaped by the conflict between these competing ideologies and their supporters in the central government and its military aristocracy. The influence of these rival political traditions upon the constitution of the llkhan polity was so strong that they continued to serve as the primary source of legitimate authority in Iran well after the conversion of the llkhan court to Islam at the end of the thirteenth century. The present study documents the emergence of these two streams of political authority and assesses their impact upon the constitution and character of the Early Mongol Empire and the llkhanate. In doing so this dissertation provides a more comprehensive account of how power was conceived and exercised in the Mongol Empire, particularly amongst the noyat (commanders), whose contribution to the Mongol polity has commonly received little attention. The findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of the noyat's role within the history of the Mongol polity and disprove the idea that Chinggis Qan's Empire remained the exclusive property of his family. Indeed, it is shown that the preservation of Chinggis Qan's political legacy was achieved through the participation of the entire Mongol community, not just its senior leadership. Show more