The Jalayirids

‘This book is the first significant study in English of one of the major powers in Iran and Anatolia during the decades following the collapse of Mongol rule there after 1335. It sheds a flood of light not only on that, but on many aspects of the earlier period of Mongol rule.’ David Morgan, University of Wisconsin-Madison The story of how one tribal family claimed the legacy of Chinggis Qan in Persia The period of Middle Eastern history between the collapse of the Mongol Ilkhanate in 1335 and the rise of Timur (Tamerlane) at the end of the fourteenth century is commonly seen as a tumultuous time of political breakdown and disorder. This book helps to make sense of this confusing period by tracing the origins, history and memory of the Jalayirid dynasty, a family that succeeded the Mongol Ilkhans in Iran and Iraq in the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries and claimed to be the rightful heirs of the Chinggisid Mongols. The story of how the Jalayirids came to power is illustrative of the political dynamics that shaped much of the Mongol and post-Mongol period in the Middle East. Key Features • Shows how the Jalayirid sultans sought to preserve the social and political order of the Ilkhanate while claiming they were the rightful heirs to its rulership • Considers the importance of controlling Azarbayjan and its major city Tabriz for the success of the Jalayirid dynasty • Examines the relationship between tribal and dynastic identity among the post-Mongol rulers in Iran, Iraq and Anatolia • Includes maps and a genealogy of the Jalayirid Dynasty Patrick Wing is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Redlands. His research focuses on the history of the Middle East in the period of the Mongols and their successors.