SOME NOTES ON THE EARLY HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE SALJŪQID PERIOD IN IRĀN

— Dr. ‘Affān Saljūq

An attempt is made in these notes, which are the result of my research[1] on the subject at Tehrān University, to introduce and analyse the works of Anūshīvān b. Khālid and Abū Ṭāhir Khātūnī, two remarkable historians, men of letters and active politicians of the Saljūqid period. These works are among the most important lost sources of Saljūq history in Irān.

The earliest of these works is the memoirs of Anūshīrvān b. Khālid (d. 532/1138)[2], entitled Nafsat al-Maṣdūr fī Ṣudūr Zamān al-Futūr wa Futūr Zamān al-Ṣudūr. 'Imād al-Dīn Kātib al-Iṣfahānī translated the memoirs into Arabic,[3] and they are also available in an abridged edition by Abū al-Fataḥ al-Bundārī under the title Zubdat al-Nuṣrah.[4] A careful examination of the material compiled in this work, as transmitted to us through the Arabic translation of 'Imād al-Dīn, reveals the significant role it has played in influencing contemporary and later historiography. It has been used by later Persian and Arab historians alike, as the following corresponding passages will show. We shall first narrate an incident and then quote the relevant passages from Zubdat al-Nuṣrah and works of other contemporary and later historians.

I

On the day of 'Īd, Chagribeg wanted to plunder the city of Nīshāpūr. Tugrilbeg stopped him from doing that. Chagribeg got annoyed, pulled out a knife and said, "If you do not allow me to plunder, I shall commit suicide." Tugrilbeg pacified him, by paying him an amount of forty thousand dīnārs.

Zubdat al-Nuṣrah (p. 7)

Saljūq Namā (p. 18)[5]

II

He said: "The condition of a sick person is like that of a goat. When her legs are tied up to obtain wool, she thinks that she is going to be slaughtered. After some time, she gets habituated to this procedure. At last, one day when her legs are tied up, she thinks that it is for the wool, but gets slaughtered. Whenever a person gets ill, he thinks that he will be cured. At last, he falls ill and hopes to recover, but dies."

Zubdat al-Nuṣrah (p. 27)

Saljūq Nāma (p. 22)

Akhbār al-Dawlat al-Saljūqiyyah (p. 23)[6]

Al-Muntazim fi Tārīkh aī-Mulūk wa al-Imam (vol. 8, p. 189)[7]

III

Tugrilbeg said that during the beginning of his reign, he dreamt that he had been taken to the skies and there asked about his wishes. Tugril wished for a long life. He was informed that he would

live for seventy years.

Zubdat al-Nusrah (p. 28)

Saljūq Nāma (p. 22)

Akhbār ul-Dawlat al-Saljūqiyyah (p. 22)

Al-Kāmil fī al-Tārīkh (vol. 8, p. 19)[8]

Wafayāt al-AWin (vol. 4, p. 158)[9]

IV

Sultān Tugril came to Bāb al-Nawbī and sat in the place of the Ḥājib. When the Caliph came, Tugril got up from his seat, caught the reins of his (Tugril's) horse and conducted him to the Bāb al‑Hujrah.

Zubdat al-Nuṣrah (p. 17)

Saljūq Nāma (p. 20)

Al-Kāmil fī al-Thrīkh (vol. 8, p. 86)

A comparative study of the above passages suggests that it is the ṢudūrZamān al-Futūr which is the source of the similarity in the Persian and Arabic texts. In support of this hypothesis, the following points merit consideration:

1)       A comparative study of the relevant passages from the Saljūq Nāma and the Zubdat al Nuṣrah clearly indicates the presence of one single source. The original text of Ṣudūr Zamān al-Futūr not being available today, we cannot compare the text of the Saljūq Nāma with Anūshīrvān's work, but the Arabic translation by 'Imād al-Dīn can be used in place of the original Persian text. We can see that not only are the accounts the same, but even the language and the way of presentation are common to the Persian and Arabic texts. Since the Zubdat al-Nuṣrah is a translations of the Ṣudūr Zamān al-Futūr, it is reasonable to presume that the passages cited in both the sources originated from Anūshīrvān's work.

2)       It seems that in the group of Persian histories, only Ẓahīr al-Dīn Nīshāpūrī has used Anūshīrvān's work, because the other important history, the Rāḥ at al-Ṣudūr, whose author, Rāwandī, lived during the reign of the Saljūqs, does not contain any of the accounts cited above. From this we can draw the conclusion that Zahīr al-Dīn has used the Sudūr Zamān al-Futūr directly, whereas the Arab historians had access to it through 'Imād al-Dīn's Arabic translation.

3)       The order of the accounts in the Zubdāt al-Nuṣrah is followed by the Saljūq Nāma and the Arabic sources mentioned. This also supports our claim.

As a matter of fact, the Ṣudūr Zamān al-Futūr serves as a bridge between the Arabic and the Persian historians. Professor Claude Cahen, however, does not seem to believe this to be the case. He says, "As far as Saljūq history is concerned, we have the impression that Ẓahīr al-Dīn and his epiques knew nothing of the Arabic group of sources, even the Irānian ones, and that, in short, there are two families of historians, each ignorant of the other, separated by a cleavage of language."[10] The passages cited above do not bear out Professor Cahen's point of view. The fact is that there has been a very close contact between Arab and Persian historians. Had this not been the case, the harmony of subject and presentation in these passages would never have been possible. There are scores of other parallel passages, suggestive, though not so trenchantly, of a common source.

While discussing this point, we should not forget that the scholars and men of letters of that time were bilingual; they had both the Persian and the Arabic sources at their disposal, no matter which of the two languages they chose as their medium of expression. For example, the author of Akhbār has mentioned the name of Abū al-Faḍl Bayhaqī in connection with his recording of the events which occured during the consolidation of the Saljūq power.[11]

The other book with which we are concerned is the Tārirīh-i Al-i Saljūq by Abū Tāhir Khātūnī. Zahīr al-Dīn Nīshāpūrī and Rāwandī, authors of the Saljūq Māma and the Raḥ at al-Sudūr respectively, have given an account of Sultān Malik Shāh's hunting on the authority of Khātūnī.[12] On the same page, Rāwandī informs us about a book, the Shikār Nāma, by him. No reference is made to Khātūnī's history of the Saljūqs in the works mentioned above. It is only Dawlat Shāh who has quoted Khātūnī's history of the Saljūqs and has noted down a number of short accounts and anecdotes from him.[13]

We are not sufficiently informed about the life and activities of Khātūnī. He was born in the middle of the fifth century A.H., probably at Sāvah in Irān. The only reference we find to his career is that he was the custodian of the estates of Gawhar Khātūm, the beloved wife of Sulṭān Muhammad (498/1104-511/1117).[14]

It seems that Khātūnī was a well-known personality of his time, especially in literary circles. His couplets are cited in Rāḥat al-Ṣudūr[15] and are repeated in Jami' al-Tawārikh.[16] Anūshīrvān notes a number of couplets from him.[17]

The author of the Saljūq Nāma and the Rāḥat al-Ṣudūr have not mentioned Khātūnī's history, but a comparative study of corresponding passages from these two books with the Tadhkīrah of Dawlat Shāh Samarqandi, which has ben taken from Khātūnī's lost history, clearly indicates that the Tārīkh-i Al-i Saljūq has furnished the Saljūq Nāma and the Rāḥat al-Ṣudūr with valuable historical information; but, unlike Dawlat Shāh, Nīshāpūrī and Rāwandī have made no reference to Khātūnī's history. The fact that Khātūnī's history was preserved as late as Dawlat Shāh's period makes it reasonable to assume that this work was available during the time of the two earlier authors. A comparative study of some relevant passages is made here to illustrate this point.

Professor Claude Cahen is of the view that Khātūnī's work was based on popular anecdotes and folktales relating to the Saljūq Sulṭāns [18]It seems that he does not concede any historical significance to it. A careful examination of the nature of the information compiled in Khātūnī's work and transmitted to us through the courtesy of Dawlat Shāh convinces us that this work was not wholly based on anecdotes and folk-tales. The references to the reign of Sulṭāns Sanjar (511/1117-552/1157) and Arsalān made by Khātūnī which have been quoted in the Tadhkirah prove the personal presence of the author during that time.

Dawlat Shāh mentions that Abū Ṭāhir Khātūnī has said in his Tārīkh-i Al-i Saljūq that he had been in the service of Sulṭān Sanjar in Rādgān. There he saw that a bird had made her nest and had laid eggs on the roof of the royal tent. When the Sulṭān wanted to leave the place he appointed one of his servants to look after the bird and to wait till the young ones grew up and learnt how to fly. The tent was kept as it was so that its removal might not hurt the young ones.[19]

Another account is related to the reign of Sulṭān Arsalān b. Tughril (555/1160-571/1175). Khātūnī says that on the day of 'Īd he was present in Hamadān and saw the procession of Sultān Arsalān going to offer his Id prayers. According to him, seven thousand slaves clad in satin and brocade uniforms were present in that procession.[20]

The references made to the two Saljūqid Sultāns by Khātūnī indicate that he was an eye-witness to these events. Attributing the material compiled in his book to a collection of unimportant anecdotes and folk tales does not seem to be correct. As already mentioned, Khātūnī was a well-known literary figure of his time. Anūshīrvān b. Khālid has paid most glowing tributes to him and a number of his couplets are quoted in his work. Keeping these points in mind and going through the material found in Dawlat Shāh's work, one finds it difficult to accept Professor Cahen's view.

From this brief survey it must be clear that the two works in question are very important for Saljūqid historiogrphy. Anūshrrvān's memoirs not only provided valuable and interesting material for his contemporaries, but connected Arab historiography with the Persian. The Persian and Arab historians were never by any means ignorant of one another. Unfortunately, while we have a version of the Ṣ udūr Zamān al-Futūr, we do not have one of Khātūni's history. We only have the four accounts quoted by Dawlat Shāh.

Notes and References