The Sanctification of Genghis Khan in the Historical Books of Poetry during the Ilkhanid Period

The Ilkhanid era is one of the most important periods in Persian historiography and prominent historical works were composed at this time. Given that these works were usually dedicated to the institution of power, poets and authors sought to please the rulers of time. Hence, using a variety of linguistic and rhetorical devices, as well as community-based discourses, they strived to legitimize the Mongol kings. One of these strategies involved attributing divine dignity (Far Izadi) to the Mongol kings and comparing them to the Iranian ideal kings. This study investigates the application of religious discourse in order to sanctify Genghis Khan in three historical books of poetry including Mostufi’s Zafarnameh, Kashmani’s History in Verse and Tabriz’s Book of Kings. To this end, this paper elaborates on the pure essence of the Genghis ancestors, how the Mughal empire was related to the Unseen world and its divine glory, as well as the belief in the relationship between the Mongol invasion to Iran and the Genghis’ divine mission. According to the results, two different approaches could be identified in these works: Kashani and Mostufi have recruited various strategies to portray an ideal picture of Khan Mughal, but Tabrizi has been fairly reluctant in establishing Mongolian legitimacy and has sufficed to a brief mentioning. Khwaja Rashid al-Din also has adopted an intermediate approach in Jama'at al-Tavarikh. The idea of ​​Genghis sanctification, which is evident in this recent work, has reached its zenith in Kashani’s History in Verse and Zafarnameh.