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ÒÀÐÈÕØÓÍÎÑËÈÊ // ÈÑÒÎÐÈÎÃÐÀÔÈß // HISTORIOGRAPHY
DONIYOROV ALISHER
Doctor of science, professor, TSIOS
MADRAIMOV ASKARIY
researcher, TSIOS
Iran in the era of Amir Temur and temurids
in the works of academic V. V. Bartold
Abstract.
The article covers the history of Iran in the works of V. V. Bartold. It has
historiographic analysis, shows the influence of environmental conditions, the positive
and negative aspects of V.V.Bartold's works, and gives conclusions and recommendations
on directions of scholarly researches in the framework of the study of the history of Iran
in the Timurid epoch.
Keywords and expressions:
Herat, Amir Temur, Temurids, Alisher Navoi, Shohrukh
Mirza, Afghanistan, Iran, written sources.
Аннотация
.
Мақола
В
.
В
.
Бартольднинг
тадқиқотларидаги
Эрон
тарихининг
тутган
ўрнига
бағишланган
.
Мақолада
тарихнавислик
таҳлил
,
замон
таъсири
,
В
.
В
.
Бартольднинг
тадқиқотларидаги
ижобий
ва
салбий
томонлар
,
шунингдек
,
Темурийлар
даврида
Эрон
давлатининг
тарихини
ўрганиш
соҳасидаги
истиқболли
йўналишлар
кўрсатилган
.
Таянч
сўз
ва
иборалар
:
Ҳирот
,
Амир
Темур
,
темурийлар
,
Алишер
Навоий
,
Шоҳрух
Мирза
,
Афғонистон
,
Эрон
,
ёзма
манбалар
.
Аннотация
.
Статья
посвящена
истории
Ирана
в
трудах
В
.
В
.
Бартольда
.
В
ней
показаны
историографический
анализ
,
влияние
окружающих
условий
,
положи
-
тельные
и
отрицательные
стороны
трудов
В
.
В
.
Бартольда
,
а
также
даны
выводы
и
рекомендации
по
перспективным
направлениям
в
рамках
исследования
истории
Ирана
в
эпоху
тимуридов
.
Опорные
слова
и
выражения
:
Герат
,
Амир
Темур
,
темуриды
,
Алишер
Навои
,
Шохрух
Мирза
,
Афганистан
,
Иран
,
письменные
источники
.
Introduction
The aim of this article is a historiographical analysis of the works of academic
Bartold Vasily Vladimirovich, devoted to the history of Iran in the era of the rule
of Amir Temur and the Temurids. The history of Iran and Afghanistan occupies a
significant place in the scientific heritage of the scientist
1
. From the first years of
1
Umnyakov I.I. Annotirovannaya bibliografiya trudov akademika V.V.Bartol'da. M.: Glavnaya
redakciya vostochnoi literatury, 1976. S. 7-229. (Umnyakov I.I. Annotated bibliography of works
by academic V. V. Bartold. M .: The main editors of Eastern literature, 1976. P. 7-229.);
Madraimov A. A. Interpretation of historical processes of the epoch of Amir Temur and Temurids
in the works of Acad Bartold. Canadian Center of Science and Education. Asian Social Science;
Vol. 14, No. 12; 2018. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v14n12p67
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his scientific work he paid much attention the study of the political, cultural, and
later the social history of medieval Iran. The areas of Iran and modern Afgha-
nistan: Khorasan, Herat, Seistan and Balkh, etc. - were always in the sight of V.
Bartold in almost all his works on the history of Central Asia, these areas received
great attention in his works.
Literature Review
In this research, the books, articles which are called that “Turkestan in the era
of the Mongol invasion”
1
, “Historical and geographical overview of Iran@”
2
,
“Iran. Historical Review ”
3
(1926), “Ulugbek and His Time”
4
,“ The World of Ali-
Shir and his political Life”
5
, "Temur and Temurids"
6
are used as main sources.
Research Methodology
This is a qualitative research using the content analysis approach. About
twenty scientific works are used to analyze the topic of “Iran in the era of Amir
Temur and Temurids in the works of academic V. V. Bartold”. Besides that, the
researcher had used journals and articles to collect data related to the research.
Findings and Discussion
In the academic year 1901–1902, “Historical and geographical overview of
Iran” was introduced into the curriculum on the initiative of V. V. Bartold, “in this
form to inform students of some information about the past of Muslim countries,
while the state of the history of the East as a science does not allow them to offer
their own historical course corresponding to the requirements generally imposed
on university history teaching”
7
.
These lectures were first read by the author to students of the Faculty of
Oriental Languages at St. Petersburg University. In our opinion, this course has
not lost its relevance today, especially when teaching the subject “Country
Studies” (Iran and Afghanistan), but it’s necessary to be critical of the author’s
materials, based on today's requirements.
In his lectures on Iran’s course, the author sought to report on the geographical con-
ditions of the country, identify, as far as possible, the dependence of historical life on
these conditions, determine the time of prosperity and decline of the most important cities
and compare news about the past of certain areas with data on their current situation.
In the monograph “Iran. Historical Review”
8
, dated 1926. V. V. Bartold des-
cribed written sources in Persian. They were studied by the author as a result of
1
Bartol'd.V.V. Sochineniya. – M.: Iz-vo vostochnoi literatury. 1963 g. T. I. – S. 43–610.
(Bartold.V.V. Writings. – M.: From the oriental literature, 1963 T. I. – P. 43–610)
2
Bartol'd.V.V. Sochineniya. – M.: Nauka, 1971g. T. VII. – S. 23–196. (Bartold.V.V. Writings. –
M.: Science, 1971. T. VII. – P. 23–196)
3
Ibid. – P. 227–334.
4
Bartol'd.V.V. Sochineniya. – M.: Nauka 1964 g. T. II. Ch. 2. – S. 23–196. ( Bartold.V.V.
Writings M .: Science of 1964. T. II. Part 2. – P. 23–196)
5
Ibid. – P. 228–260.
6
Ibid. – P. 157–162.
7
Bartol'd.V.V. Istoriko-geograficheskii obzor Irana. Sochineniya. – M.: Nauka, 1971g. T. VII. – S. 23–196. (
Bartold.V.V. Historical and geographical overview of Iran. – M.: Science, 1971. T. VII. – P. 23–196.)
8
Bartol'd.V.V. Sochineniya. – M.: Nauka, 1971. T. VII. – S. 227–334. (Bartold.V.V. Writings. –
M.: Science, 1971. T. VII. – P. 227–334).
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many years of work on primary sources, the volume of which had sharply in-
creased by that time. This book is valuable for studying the history of Central
Asian countries, but the author’s main attention is drawn to history, especially the
history of the development of the culture of Iranian peoples, and the book also
contains important information on the geography and ethnography of Iran.
The book also contains a review of historical literature in Persian. This work was
published in Tashkent on the initiative of the Eastern Department of Central Asian
State University, in whose organization V. V. Bartold played a certain role. The
scientist gave a positive description of the development of historiography in Central
Asia: "The events of the end of the XIV and the beginning of the XV centuries related
to the formation of the empire of Amir Temur (Tamerlane) and his descendants
contributed to the development of historiography in the Persian language"
1
.
In the work of V. V. Bartold “The Historical and Geographical Survey of Iran”,
the third chapter called “Herat and the Course of Heriruda (pp. 33–43)”
2
author tells
about the geographical position of Herat and its surroundings, roads and ferries
natural conditions from ancient times to the beginning of the XX century. According
to the scientist, the founder of Herat is Alexander the Great
3
.
Due to the extraordinary fertility of the valley of Herirud, Herat was already one
of the main cities of Khorasan in the Samanid era, although it remained aloof from
the main trade routes
4
. V. V. Bartold writes that the city usually shared the fate of the
rest of Khorasan and was never the seat of independent and powerful rulers. Due to
its advantageous geographical position, Herat, before other cities of Khorasan, was
conquered by the XII century rulers of the mountainous region Gur.
Herat, like other cities of Khorasan, was taken in 1221 by the son of Genghis
Khan Tului, since the inhabitants surrendered voluntarily, the city was not des-
troyed, but Tului destroyed the twelve thousandth garrison of the city. But in the
same year, the successes of Khorezmshah Jalal ad-Din became a call for the
inhabitants to revolt against the Mongols. In response, the Mongols embarked on
a new siege of Herat, with the result that the city was taken in 1222
5
, after a six-
month siege and subjected to complete destruction. The author in the book does
not report on the heroism of Herat’s defenders in the fight against the Mongols
and on the atrocities of the conquerors in Khorasan.
From the “History of Afghanistan” by V. M. Masson and V. A. Romodin we
learn that the Mongols sent a strong army against the rebels led by Ilchigday-
noyon. In December 1221 this army approached Herat and the beginning of the
siege. The townspeople defended very hard. For 6 months and 18 days, the Mon-
gols could not achieve any noticeable success.
1
Bartol'd.V.V. Sochineniya. – M.: Nauka, 1971. T. VII. – S. 227–334. (Bartold.V.V. Writings. –
M.: Science, 1971. T. VII. – P. 227–334).
2
Bartol'd.V.V. Istoriko-geograficheskii obzor Irana. Sochineniya. – M.: Nauka, 1971. T. VII. – S. 23–196.
( Bartold.V.V. Historical and geographical overview of Iran. – M.: Science, 1971. T. VII. –
Р
. 23–196.)
3
Ibid. – P. 72.
4
Ibid. – P. 72.
5
Bartol'd.V.V. Istoriko-geograficheskii obzor Irana. Sochineniya. – M.: Nauka, 1971. T. VII. – S. 23–196.
( Bartold.V.V. Historical and geographical overview of Iran. – M.: Science, 1971. T. VII. – P. 23–196.)
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In the end, Ilchigdai threw all his troops to the storming of the city and the city
was taken on July 3, 1222, although during the storming 5 thousand Mongolian
soldiers were killed. Furious conquerors destroyed the entire population of the city
1
.
Herat and Herat oasis, which suffered during the years of the Mongol inva-
sion, are much more than Gur, by the middle of the XIII century. just starting to
be reborn. After the mass extermination of the inhabitants by Mongolian troops
from a population of many thousands, only a few dozen Heratis survived
For 14 years, from 1222 to 1236, Herat remained dead ashes. The streets from
collapses of destroyed buildings and spills of qanats and canals became impass-
able, but a handful of people who did not want, in spite of everything, to leave
their native places, huddled among the ruined ashes. Seyfi al-Harawi, based on the
stories of old men, gives a number of details that truly reflect the horrors of these
people’s lives in a dead city and the extent of the devastation of the Herat oasis.
About the devastation caused by the Mongol invasion of Tokharistan and Kho-
rasan, the same author reports, referring to the oral story he heard: "...from the limits
of Balkh to the border of Damgaya during the year people ate human and dog and cat
meat". Barns with grain were burned. There was no bread, no seed for sowing.
The restoration of Herat began only after the prescription of the Ogedei Kaan,
who decided in 1236, to revive this city, taking into account the advice of his
entourage – Persian merchants and tax farmers
2
.
In the Mongol era in Herat, the Kartov dynasty originated from the Gurids.
Under the rule of Giyas ad-Din Pir-Ali, the last Kurdish ruler in 1381, Herat Amir
Temur was captured
3
.
V. V. Bartold describes in detail and colorfully the capture of Herat by the
troops of Amir Temur
4
, focusing the reader’s attention on the negative sides of
this siege. For example, “Temur at the very beginning of the siege promised the
sanctity of life and property to anyone who remained in his house and would not
take part in armed resistance. Under such conditions, nodiv paid attention to the
orders of Giyas ad-Din. He was advised to execute several people, as an example
to others, but he preferred to surrender the city of Temur. Amir Temur left all the
inhabitants alive, and appointed Giyas ad-Din to be the ruler of the city
5
.
In 1383, an uprising occurred in Herat and in order to curb separatist senti-
ment, Amir Timur punished the inhabitants of Herat, destroyed the inner and outer
1
Masson.V.M., Romodin V.A. Istoriya Afganistana. – M.: Nauka, 1964. T. I. – S. 288
(Masson.V.M., Romodin V.A. The history of Afghanistan. – M.: Science, 1964. T. I. – P. 288).
2
Petrushevskii I. P. Trudy Seifi kak istochnik po istorii Vostochnogo Horasana, «Trudy
YuTAKE». T. V. 1955. – S. 130–162; to je, otd. ottisk. (Petrushevsky, I.P. Proceedings of the
Safe, as a source on the history of Eastern Khorasan. “Proceedings of the Codex”, V. 1955, pp.
130–162; the same otd. imprint).
3
Bartol'd.V.V. Istoriko-geograficheskii obzor Irana. Sochineniya. – M.: Nauka, 1971. T. VII. – S. 23–196
(Bartold.V.V. Historical and geographical overview of Iran. – M.: Science, 1971. T. VII. – P. 23–196).
4
Ibid. P. 72.
5
Bartol'd.V.V. Istoriko-geograficheskii obzor Irana. Sochineniya. – M.: Nauka, 1971. T. VII. – S. 72
(Bartold.V.V. Historical and geographical overview of Iran. – M.: Science, 1971. T. VII. – P. 72).
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walls of the city and imposed a large indemnity on the inhabitants. Unlike the
Mongols, Amir Temur did not completely destroy the city.
The reason that Herat quickly recovered from the devastation and remained under
Amir Temur and the Temurids capital of Khorasan was that the direct descendants of
Amir Temur became the rulers of Herat and the whole of Khorasan. The ruler of
Herat and the regions of Khorasan was for several years the son of Amir Temur
Miranshah Mirza (1393–1498)
1
, and from 1397 another son of Shahrukh Mirza
(1377–1447) was ruled after Hemir Temur died. In 1409, he began to rule the state of
Amir Temur and Herat was the capital of his state. In 1415 Shahrukh Mirza restored
the fortifications of Herat, destroyed by his father Amir Temur.
Of the other Temurids in Herat, Sultan Abu Sa'id lived in 1458–1469. and
Sultan Hussein Mirza from 1469 to 1506. The Age of Temurids was the most
brilliant period in the history of Herat. The names of Shahrukh Mirza and Sultan
Hussein Mirza are still alive in the memory of the population; according to Ferier,
these names are known to everyone, even in the poorest hut, and are never
pronounced with respect.
Also a positive role in the development of Herat was played by the results of
Amir Temur's campaigns in Khorezm and the victory over the Khan of the Golden
Horde Tokhtamyshkhan, which contributed to the significant movement of trade
routes from north to south and this increased the trade value of Herat, located on a
busy road connecting east and west.
Sultan Husayn Mirza achieved great success in the field of culture. Outstanding
poets of the East, Alisher Navoi and Abdurahman Jami, the brilliant miniaturist
Kamoladdin Behzad, worked at his court, and Herat turned into one of the best cities
of the East, decorated with architectural creations by architect Kawam ad-Din
2
.
The work of V. V. Bartold “Ulugbek and His Time” is among the works on
the epoch of Amir Temur and Temurids, both in terms of volume and value. He is
a monographic sketch of the life of a prominent scientist and ruler Ulug-
bek (1394–1449). The author is not limited only to information about the political
and cultural history of the epoch of Ulugbek's rule in Maverannahr, but in the first
two chapters he gives characteristics of the Chagatai state and the state of Amir
Temur. In conclusion, he cites data on the nature of political life in Central Asia
after the death of Mirzo Ulugbek.
In the state created by Amir Temur, V. V. Bartold saw a peculiar combination
of Muslim and Turkic-Mongolian culture. According to the scientist, ultimately,
1
Bartol'd.V.V. Sochineniya. – M.: Nauka, 1964. T. II. Ch. 2. – S. 55 (Bartold V.V. Writings. – M.:
Science, 1964. T. II. Part 2. – P. 55).
2
Alisher Navoi / Sbornik. – M.-L., 1948; Velikii uzbekskii poet / Sbornik. Tashkent, 1948;
Pugachenkova G.A. Iskusstvo Afganistana. – M., 1963. S. 73; Istoriya Uzbekistan. Epoha Amira
Temura i Temuridov. Kollektivnaya monografiya. Otv. Red. E.V.Rtveladze, D.A.Alimova. – T.:
Fan, 2017. – S. 88. (Alisher Navoi / Collection. – M.-L., 1948; Great Uzbek poet / Collection.
Tashkent, 1948; Pugachenkova G.A. Art of Afghanistan. – M., 1963. – S. 73; History of
Uzbekistan. Era of Amir Temur and Temurids. Collective monograph. Ed. Ed. E.V.Rtveladze,
D.A.Alimova. – T.: Fan, 2017. – P.88.)
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Muslim culture subjugated the culture of the nomads, but in Central Asia this
process was much slower than in Iran, and met more opposition.
V. V. Bartold was interested in the interaction of two cultural-historical
factors: the Turkic-Mongolian statehood, on the one hand, and the Muslim, main-
ly Persian culture, on the other.
In the work "Ulugbek and his time" contains a lot of facts about the history of
Iran. An example of the reign of Miranshah, who was born in 1366, who in 1380,
at the age of 14, took part in the campaign against Khorasan and was then
appointed ruler of this region
1
. We find some information about the rule of Shah-
ruh Mirza in Herat
2
. From this study, we learn that Herat becomes the center of
diplomatic relations between Khorasan and Maverannahr with China interrupted
during the rule of Amir Temur
3
. We also see a comparative analysis of the
scientist, life at the court of Ulugbek and Shahrukh. Shahrukh Mirza, according to
V. V. Bartold, was more committed to Muslim traditions than Ulugbek. In Herat,
Shahruh Mirza strictly observed that the forbidden religions would not be used:
wine, debauchery, feasts with music and singing, which at that time were widely
held in Samarkand, where women of the palace participated along with men
4
. We
also learn that at the head of the civil administration in Herat for almost the same
length of time (from 1417, with a short break, until the end of the reign of
Shahruh) stood Giyas ad Din Pir-Ahmed Khavafiz
5
. In one way or another, we
can learn from the author “Ulugbek and his time” that Herat was at that time the
political and cultural center of Khorasan and partially Maverannahr.
The work of V. V. Bartold “Mir Ali Shir
6
and his Political Life” is a
continuation of a critical analysis of the history of Central Asia in the era of the
1
Bartol'd V.V. Ulugbek i ego vremya. Ulusnye emiry. Carstvovanie Timura Sochineniya. – M.:
Nauka, 1964. T. II. Ch. 2. – S. 55 (Bartold V.V. Ulugbek and his time. Ulus emirs. The reign of
Timur Essays. – M.: Science, 1964. T. II. Part 2. – P. 55).
2
Ibid. – P. 56.
3
Bartol'd V.V. Ulugbek i ego vremya. Ulusnye emiry. Carstvovanie Timura Sochineniya. – M.:
Nauka, 1964. T. II. Ch. 2. – S. 117–119; Istoriya Uzbekistan. Epoha Amira Temura i Temuridov.
Kollektivnaya monografiya. Otv. Red. E.V.Rtveladze, D.A.Alimova. – T.: Fan, 2017. – S. 137–
144; Rtveladze E.V. Kitaiskie posol'stva ko dvoru Amira Temura i Temuridov // ONU. 1996.
№
7–10. – S. 55; Karimova N.E. Vzaimootnosheniya narodov Central'noi Azii i Kitaya V XIV–
XVII vv.: Avtoreferat. – T., 2006. – S. 25; Iz istorii Srednei Azii i Vostochnogo Turkestana XIV–
XVI vv. – T.: Fan, 1987. – S. 45. (Bartold V.V. Ulugbek and his time. Ulus emirs. The reign of
Timur Essays. – M.: Science, 1964. T. II. Part 2. – Pp. 117–119; History of Uzbekistan. Era of
Amir Temur and Temurids. Collective monograph. Ed. Ed. E.V.Rtveladze, D.A.Alimova. – T.:
Fan, 2017. – P. 137–144; Rtveladze E.V. Chinese embassies to the court of Amir Temur and
Temurids // ONU. 1996.
№
7–10. – S. 55; Karimov, N.E. Relations between the peoples of Central
Asia and China In the XIV – XVII centuries: Abstract. – T., 2006. – P. 25; From the history of
Central Asia and East Turkestan of the XIV–XVI centuries. – T.: Fan, 1987. – P. 45).
4
Bartol'd V.V. Ulugbek i ego vremya. Ulusnye emiry. Carstvovanie Timura Sochineniya. – M.:
Nauka, 1964. T. II. Ch. 2. – S. 121 ( Bartold V.V. Ulugbek and his time. Ulus emirs. The reign of
Timur Essays. – M.: Science, 1964. T. II. Part 2. – P. 121).
5
Ibid. – P. 97.
6
The writing of the name “Alisher Navoi” now accepted in world literature in Uzbekistan was
established only in 1938 by the jubilee committee on holding the 500th anniversary of the poet’s birth.
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rule of the Temurids. It was written in connection with the fifth centenary of
Alisher Navoi’s birth in 1926 according to the lunar calendar. Still in the
conclusion of “Ulugbek”, V. V. Bartold noted that the center of cultural life has
moved to Herat, the capital of the state Sultan-Hussein Mirza.
As we wrote above, the main reason for the rapid development of Herat was
his adherence to the state of Amir Temur. In the second chapter of this book, we
see that after Herat joined Temuri Power and the appointment of Amir Temur’s
children and grandchildren in his administration, Herat’s role in political and
cultural life strengthens, this fact is confirmed by written sources of that time. The
special dawn of Herat occurred during the reign of Shahrukh Mirza and Sultan
Hussein Mirza. The scientist believed that the disintegration of the Temuri state
had a positive role in the development of Herat culture. Also, in the last three
chapters of “Mir Ali Shir and his Political Life”
1
we find information about
political and cultural life during the reign of Sultan Hussein Mirza.
Concluding Remarks
In conclusion, we can say that V. V. Bartold, for his time, was influenced by
the Russian-imperial colonialist views, and then by the Marxist-Leninist ideology.
It can be traced that after the October coup in Russia and the national territorial
demarcation in Central Asia, there was a political necessity for many of his
publications concerning the history of the small peoples of the USSR. His last
works bore the imprint of time and were prepared by the order of the Bolshevik
government. His writings were mostly of a certain tendentious, nihilistic, and
clearly Pan-Iranian nature. In our opinion, this is primarily due to the large
number of written sources of the time, which the scientist studied, created mainly
in the Persian language. The study of the scientist can be used by modern
scientists and students in the study of the history of Iran and Central Asia only
with a critical approach. Since in the last years of independence of the Republic of
Uzbekistan on the basis of new methodological approaches, the national
historiography of the history of the era of Amir Temur and the Temurids has been
greatly enriched, serious new fundamental research has emerged related to the era
of the rule of Amir Temur and the Temurids.
This valuable information available in the works of V. V. Bartold was used by
his followers I. P. Petrushevsky, A. A. Semenov, A. Y. Temur and Temurids in
particular, D. A. Alimova, B. A. Akhmedov, O. Buriev, etc.
1
Bartol'd.V.V. Mir Ali Sher. Sochineniya. – M.: Nauka, 1964. T. II. Ch. 2. – S. 228, 260
(Bartold.V.V. Mir Ali Sher. Writings. – M.: Science, 1964. T. II. Part 2. – S. 228–260).
