Ata Malik Juvayni | |
|---|---|
| عطاملک جوینی | |
 Juvayni sitting and writing, in Tarikh-i Jahangushay, 1290 edition. His name "‛Alā al-Dīn", and title "Ṣāḥib [al-]Dīvān" (Minister of Finance) are inscribed next to him.[1] Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Suppl. Pers. 205).[2][1] | |
| Ruler of Baghdad | |
| In office 1259–unknown | |
| Preceded by | Guo Kan[3] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1226 Juvayn, Greater Khorasan |
| Died | 1283 Mughan |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Mongol Empire, Ilkhanate |
Atâ-Malek Juvayni (Persian: عطاملک جوینی; 1226–1283), in full, Ala al-Din Ata-ullah (علاءالدین عطاءالله), was a Persian historian and an official of the Mongol state who wrote an account of the Mongol Empire entitled Tarikh-i Jahangushay ("History of the World Conqueror").[4]
Juvayni was born in Joveyn, a city in Khorasan in eastern Persia. 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.[5]
Juvayni, just as his predecessors 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).[4] 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 those books that he did not like.[6] 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.[4][7] Around 1282, Juvayni attended a Mongol quriltai, or assembly, held in the Ala-Taq pastures northeast of Lake Van. He died the following year in Mughan.
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Main article: Mongol campaign against the Nizaris |
Juvayni'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.
Juvayni's position at court and his family connections made him privy to information unavailable to other historians. For unknown reasons, Juvayni's Tarikh-i Jahangushay ends in 1260, more than twenty years before his death.
The standard edition of Juvayni'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.
