A Historical Approach to the Story of “Tabriz’s Muhtasib” in Rumi’s Masnavi

The poetic and mystical aspects of Rumi’s Masnavi are very striking, but, as in other texts, the influence of the poet’s historical era is detectible so that it reflects the social realities of its period. Therefore, Masnavi could also be considered as historical evidence that may be used by contemporary historians as a source of information about the time of the poet. “Tabriz’s Muhtasib” is a poem in Masnavi that apparently reveals some of the poet’s viewpoints on his time. This research argues that the changes in the character Muhtasib and in the location of the story correspond with the abolition of the establishment of Hisbah and the election of Tabriz as the capital of the Ilkhanate Empire on the one hand and the importance of Omar, the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, in Hisbah affairs and Rumi’s interest in him on the other. These events influenced Rumi’s recreation of this ancient story and caused it to contain historical connotations.