Juvayni, History of the World Conqueror
About the Text and Author:
ʿAla al-Din ʿAta-Malik Juvayni (d. 1283) was one of the earliest and most important Persian
historians of the Mongol era. Juvayni’s career offers a prototypical example of the role
performed by Persian scribes within the Mongol Empire. His family held prominent positions
under various Muslim rulers going back many generations. Yet Juvayni was born into an
environment in which the Mongols had established themselves as the supreme power in the
eastern Islamic lands. For him, the Mongol conquests represented divine punishment of
Muslims for their sins, and the wisest course of action was to learn from past mistakes and
accept Mongol authority. It was Juvayni who reported the famous words that Chinggis Khan
announced from the pulpit in Bukhara: “O people, know that you have committed great sins,
and that the great ones among you have committed these sins. If you ask me what proof I
have for these words, I say it is because I am the punishment of God. If you had not
committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.”
It was at some point during his second visit to Mongolia, which lasted from May 1252 until
September 1253, that Juvayni began work on the Tarikh-i Jahan Gusha, his “History of the
World Conqueror,” which he completed in 1260. Soon thereafter Möngke dispatched his
younger brother Hülegü to Persia, and Juvayni was officially placed in his service. Juvayni’s
fortune rose with that of his patron, and in 1259, just one year after Hülegü brought an end to
the ῾Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258), the new Il-khan appointed Juvayni as governor of
Baghdad. Given his firsthand experience in the Mongols’ governing administration, Juvayni’s
richly detailed chronicle is arguably the most important source for the early history of the
Mongol Empire.
Two excerpts from the History of the World Conqueror are provided here. The first discusses
the nature of Chinggis Khan’s rule and his law code, known as the Yasa. This excerpt is
important for understanding the manner in which Chinggis Khan’s rule was legitimated by
Juvayni for a Muslim audience. In the second excerpt, Juvayni discusses the children of
Chinggis Khan, the responsibilities assigned to them, and the division of the empire among
them. This excerpt, which may compared with the except from the Secret History of the
Mongols, is important likewise for understanding the process of political succession and the
division of territory within the Mongol Empire.
Text of Excerpt #1:
God Almighty in wisdom and intelligence distinguished Chinggis Khan from all his
contemporaries and in alertness of mind and absoluteness of power exalted him above all the
kings of the world; so that all that has been recorded touching the practice of the mighty
Khusraws of old1 and all that has been written concerning the customs and usages of the
Pharaohs and Caesars was by Chinggis Khan invented from the page of his own mind
without the toil of perusing records or the trouble of conforming with tradition; while all that
1
A reference to the Sasanian emperors of pre-Islamic Iran.
1
pertains to the method of subjugating countries and relates to the crushing of the power of
enemies and the raising of the station of followers was the product of his own understanding
and the compilation of his own intellect.
And indeed, Alexander,2 who was so addicted to the devising of talismans and the solving of
enigmas, had he lived in the age of Chinggis Khan, would have been his pupil in craft and
cunning, and of all the talismans for the taking of strongholds he would have found none
better than blindly to follow in his footsteps: whereof there can be no clearer proof nor more
certain evidence than that having such numerous and powerful foes and such mighty and
well-supplied enemies, whereof each was the emperor of the time and the Khusraw of the
age, he sallied forth, a single man, with few troops and no supplies, and reduced and
subjugated the lords of the horizons from the East unto the West; and whoever presumed to
oppose and resist him, that man, in enforcement of the yasas and ordinances which he
imposed, he utterly destroyed, together with all his followers, children, partisans, armies,
lands and territories. There has been transmitted to us a tradition of the traditions of God
which says: “Those are my horsemen; through them shall I avenge me on those that rebelled
against me,”3 nor is there a shadow of doubt but that these words are a reference to the
horsemen of Chinggis Khan and to his people.
And so it was that when the world by reason of the variety of its creatures had become a
raging sea, and the kings and nobles of every country by reason of the arrogance of pride and
the insolence of vainglory had reached the very zenith of “Vainglory is my tunic, and pride
my Cloak”, then did God, in accordance with the above-mentioned promise, endow Chinggis
Khan with the strength of might and the victory of dominion: “Verily, the might of the Lord
is great Indeed.”4 And when through pride of wealth, and power, and station the greater part
of the cities and countries of the world encountered him with rebellion and hatred and refused
to yield allegiance (and especially the countries of Islam, from the frontiers of Turkestan to
uttermost Syria), then wherever there was a king, or a ruler, or the governor of a city that
offered him resistance, him he annihilated together with his family and followers, kinsmen
and strangers; so that where there had been a hundred thousand people there remained,
without exaggeration, not a hundred souls alive; as a proof of which statement may be cited
the fate of the various cities, whereof mention has been made in the proper place.
In accordance and agreement with his own mind he established a rule for every occasion and
a regulation for every circumstance; while for every crime he fixed a penalty. And since the
Tatar peoples had no script of their own, he gave orders that Mongol children should learn
writing from the Uighur; and that these yasas and ordinances should be written down on rolls.
These rolls are called the Great Book of Yasas and are kept in the treasury of the chief
princes. Wherever a khan ascends the throne, or a great army is mobilized, or the princes
assemble and begin to consult together concerning affairs of state and the administration
thereof, they produce these rolls and model their actions thereon; and proceed with the
disposition of armies or the destruction of provinces and cities in the manner therein
prescribed.
A reference to the famous conqueror Alexander the Great.
Juvayni refers here to one of the hadith, or the oral traditions attributed to the Prophet Muhammad.
4
Quran 70:12
2
3
2
At the time of the first beginnings of his dominion, when the Mongol tribes were united to
him, he abolished reprehensible customs which had been practiced by those peoples and had
enjoyed recognition amongst them; and established such usages as were praiseworthy from
the point of view of reason. There are many of these ordinances that are in conformity with
the Shari‘at.5
In the messages which he sent in all directions calling on the peoples to yield him allegiance,
he never had recourse to intimidation or violent threats, as was the custom with the tyrant
kings of old, who used to menace their enemies with the size of their territory and the
magnitude of their equipment and supplies; the Mongols, on the contrary, as their uttermost
warning, would write thus: “If ye submit not, nor surrender, what know we thereof ? The
Ancient God, He knows.” If one reflects upon their signification, one sees that these are the
words of them that put their trust in God, for God Almighty has said “And for him that put
his trust in Him, God will be all-sufficient,”6 so that of necessity such a one obtains whatever
he has borne in his heart and yearned after, and attains his every wish.
Being the adherent of no religion and the follower of no creed, he eschewed bigotry, and the
preference of one faith to another, and the placing of some above others; rather he honoured
and respected the learned and pious of every sect, recognizing such conduct as the way to the
Court of God. And as he viewed the Muslims with the eye of respect, so also did he hold the
Christians and idolaters in high esteem. As for his children and grandchildren, several of
them have chosen a religion according to their inclination, some adopting Islam, others
embracing Christianity, others selecting idolatry and others again cleaving to the ancient
canon of their fathers and forefathers and inclining in no direction; but these are now a
minority. But though they have adopted some religion they still for the most part avoid all
show of fanaticism and do not swerve from the yasa of Chinggis Khan, namely, to consider
all sects as one and not to distinguish them from one another.
Questions for Discussion on Excerpt #1:
1. What methods does Juvayni employ in this excerpt to portray Chinggis Khan as a rightful
ruler? What do you think he choose those particular methods?
2. What evidence do you see in this except that Juvayni was writing specifically for a Muslim
audience? What do you think is his primary agenda in regards to this audience?
Text of Excerpt #2:
Chinggis Khan had many children, both male and female, by his wives and concubines. His
eldest wife was Yesünjin Börke. Now according to the custom of the Mongols the rank of the
children of one father is in proportion to that of their mothers, so that the child of an elder
wife is accorded greater preference and precedence. By this wife Chinggis Khan had four
sons who had risked their lives in the execution of great affairs and glorious actions and were
to the throne of the kingdom as its four pedestals and to the palace of the khanate as its four
5
6
The code of Islamic law
Quran 65:3
3
pillars. For each of these Chinggis Khan had selected a special office. To Jochi, the eldest, he
assigned hunting and the chase, which is a great sport with the Mongols and held in high
esteem by them; while to Chaghatai, who came next to him, fell the administration of the
yasa and the law, both the enforcement thereof and the reprimanding and chastisement of
those that contravened it. Ögedei he selected for all that called for understanding and counsel
and for the administration of the kingdom; and Tolui he promoted to the command and
organization of troops and the equipment of armies.
When the matter of Ong-Khan had been disposed of7 and the tribes of the Mongols had, some
by choice and some by compulsion, been reduced to his command and rendered submissive
and obedient to his orders, he divided the tribes and peoples of the Mongols and the Naiman,
as well as all the armies, between the aforesaid sons; and to each of his other younger sons
and to his brothers and kinsmen he allotted their share of the armies. And thereafter he was
wont to urge the strengthening of the edifice of concord and the consolidation of the
foundations of affection between sons and brothers ; and used continually to sow the seed of
harmony and concord in the breasts of his sons and brothers and kinsfolk and to paint in their
hearts the picture of mutual aid and assistance. And by means of parables he would fortify
that edifice and reinforce those foundations. One day he called his sons together and taking
an arrow from his quiver he broke it in half. Then he took two arrows and broke them also.
And he continued to add to the bundle until there were so many arrows that even athletes
were unable to break them. Then turning to his sons he said: “So it is with you also. A frail
arrow, when it is multiplied and supported by its fellows, not even mighty warriors are able to
break it but in impotence withdraw their hands therefrom. As long, therefore, as you brothers
support one another and render stout assistance one to another, though your enemies be men
of great strength and might, yet shall they not gain the victory over you. But if there be no
leader among you, to whose counsel the other brothers, and sons, and helpmeets, and
companions submit themselves and to whose command they yield obedience, then your case
will be like unto that of the snake of many heads. One night, when it was bitterly cold, the
heads desired to creep into a hole in order to ward off the chill. But as each head entered the
hole another head would oppose it; and in this way they all perished. But another snake,
which had but one head and a long tail, entered the hole and found room for his tail and all
his limbs and members, which were preserved from the fury of the cold.”
And there were many such parables which he adduced in order to confirm in their minds his
words of counsel. They afterwards always abided by this principle; and although authority
and empire are apparently vested in one man, namely him who is nominated Khan, yet in
reality all the children, grandchildren and uncles have their share of power and property; a
proof whereof is that the Emperor Möngke Khan8 in the second quriltai9 apportioned and
divided all his kingdoms among his kinsfolk, sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters.
When during the reign of Chinggis Khan the kingdom became of vast extent he assigned to
everyone his place of abode, which they call yurt. Thus to Ötegen, his brother, and to some of
his grandchildren he apportioned territory in the regions of Khitai (China). To his eldest son,
The Ong-Khan was the leader of the Keraite tribe and an early supporter of Temujin (the future Chinggis
Khan), but later became his opponent and was defeated by him in 1203, clearing the way for Temujin to
establish his supremacy over the Mongol tribes.
8
The Mongol Khan at the time of Juvayni’s writing.
9
A quriltai was a council of Mongol chiefs at which important political and military issues were decided.
7
4
Jochi, he gave the territory stretching from the regions of Qayaligh10 and Khorezm to the
remotest parts of Saqsin and Bulghar,11 and as far in that direction as the hoof of Tartar horse
had penetrated. Chaghatai received the territory extending from the land of the Uighur to
Samarqand and Bokhara, and his place of residence was in Quyas in the neighborhood of
Almaligh.12 The capital of Ögedei, the heir-apparent, during his father's reign was his yurt in
the region of the Emil and the Qobaq; but when he ascended the throne of the Khanate he
removed it to their original homeland, between Khitai and the land of the Uighur, and gave
that other fief to his own son Güyük. An account of his various dwelling places has been
recorded separately. Tolui's territory, likewise, lay adjacent thereto, and indeed this spot is the
middle of their empire like the center of a circle. What we have related is but an insignificant
part of the story.
The children and grandchildren of Chinggis Khan are more than ten thousand, each of whom
has his own position, yurt, army, and equipment. To record them all is impossible: our
purpose in relating this much was to show the harmony which prevails among them as
compared with what is related concerning other kings, how brother falls upon brother and son
meditates the ruin of father till of necessity they are vanquished and conquered and their
authority is downfallen and overthrown.
God Almighty has said: “And dispute not lest you become fainthearted and your success go
from you.”13 Whereas by mutual aid and assistance those khans of the children of Chinggis
Khan that succeeded him on the throne have conquered the whole world and utterly
annihilated their enemies. Now the purpose of these tales and histories is that the intelligent
man may learn without the pain of experience and be edified by the study of these discourses.
Questions for Discussion on Excerpt #2:
1. According to this excerpt, what qualities of leadership were considered to be important
among the Mongols?
2. What can we learn from this excerpt regarding the nature of politics and decision-making
within the Mongol Empire? How does this compare with what is found in the excerpt from
the Secret History?
3. What may have been the strengths and weaknesses of the method of territorial organization
within the Mongol Empire described in this excerpt?
Source:
Juvaynī, ʿAtāʾ Malik. The History of the World Conqueror. Trans. John A. Boyle.
Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1958.
A former town lying near the present-day town of Qapal in the Almaty district of southeastern Kazakhstan.
Both references to former towns along the Volga River in southern Russia.
12
A former town located in the present-day Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of the Xinjiang region in
Northwestern China.
13
Quran 8:48
10
11
5