Mongolian documents of the Ilkhans, the rulers of the Hülegüid state in Iran (1256–1335): letters to European rulers and popes, edicts (yarlïqs), fragments. Each document has its own page with facts, facsimiles, the text in the corpus mongoliancorpus.org and literature (works available on this site are linked).
| Document | Date | Ilkhan | Addressee | Kept | Facsimile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letter of Hülegü to King Louis IX of France | 1262 (Maragha; “anno decimo … Nochoe”) | Hülegü | Louis IX, King of France | Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, cod. 339 (formerly the library of the Bishop of Salzburg, no. 295) |  |
| Decree of Abaga (Ardabil, A 1) | 1265/6 (Doerfer’s dating) | Abaqa (Abaγa) | darughachis (daruγas) and bitikchis; the case of Amir Elege | Ardabil, archive of the shrine of Shaykh Safi (dīn-xāna / Chini-khana); the Ardabil documents were later transferred to Tehran (National Museum of Iran, Islamic department / central archive of the Sāzmān-i awqāf) — general indication by Herrmann 2004 … more |     +4 |
| Safe-conduct issued by Abaga | year of the Hare, 16th day of the first winter month — 1267 or 1279 (3 Nov. 1267 or 21 Nov. 1279) | Abaqa (Abaγa) | Samaghar (Samaγar) and the darughachis, the noyans of the towns along the route, the overseers of the post stations (yams), guards, boatmen | Vatican, Archivio Segreto Vaticano (Archivio Apostolico Vaticano), A.A. Arm. I–XVIII, no. 1801 (1) (Archivum Arcis fonds — the former archive of Castel Sant’Angelo) |    |
| Letter of Abaqa to Pope Clement IV (Latin) | 1268, summer (Tabriz) | Abaqa | Pope Clement IV | Archivio Segreto Vaticano, Reg. Vat. 62, fol. 138v–139r | |
| Decree of Abaga of 1271 (Ardabil, A 2) | year of the Sheep, 2nd day of the last autumn month = 1271 (autumn) | Abaqa (Abaγa) | merchants (ortaqs) subject to Elege; noyans, darughas; Amir Šigtür | Ardabil, archive of the shrine of Shaykh Safi → Tehran (general indication by Herrmann 2004) |     +5 |
| Message of Abaqa to Pope Gregory X and the Council of Lyons | 1274 (Tabriz / Lyons) | Abaqa | Pope Gregory X and the participants of the Second Council of Lyons | Durham, Dean and Chapter Muniments, Loc. I, 60*, fol. 2v; Wien, ÖNB lat. 389, fol. 114v–115r; Paris, BnF lat. 14765, fol. 137v–138r; BAV Vat. lat. 1328, fol. 146r–v | |
| Latin letter of Abaqa to Pope Nicholas III | 15th day of the first winter month of the year of the Hare — according to Tanase, probably November 1279 (place: “Sarah”, possibly = Aras) | Abaqa | the pope (Nicholas III?) | Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Barb. lat. 524, fol. 130r | |
| Letter of Arghun to Pope Honorius IV (Latin) | 18 May 1285, Tabriz | Arγun | Pope Honorius IV (with mention of the King of France and Charles of Anjou) | Archivio Segreto Vaticano, Reg. Vat. 43, fol. 128r–v | |
| Decree of Arghun (Ardabil, A 3) | year of the Pig, 7th day of the last summer month — according to Doerfer, probably 1287 (Qongqur Öleng) | Arγun — Doerfer’s attribution is tentative | unknown (the names Bolad, Ašitu aduγuči, Bauvas, Buqa, Muγtar, Turan, Bübeg are preserved) | Ardabil (A. H. Morton’s inventory, no. 132) → Tehran (general indication by Herrmann 2004) |     +7 |
| Letter of Arghun to Philip IV the Fair | year of the Ox, 6th day of the first summer month = 1289 (May), Köndelen | Arγun | Philip IV the Fair, King of France | Paris, Archives nationales, J. 937 |     +9 |
| Letter of Arghun to Pope Nicholas IV | year of the Tiger, 5th day of the new moon of the first summer month = 14 May 1290, Urumi | Arγun | Pope Nicholas IV | Vatican, Archivio Segreto Vaticano, A.A. Arm. I–XVIII, no. 1801 (3) |    |
| Letter of Ghazan to Pope Boniface VIII | 701 AH, year of the Tiger, 14th day of the last spring month = 18 April 1302, Qos Qabuγ | Ghazan (Γazan) | Pope Boniface VIII | Vatican, Archivio Segreto Vaticano, A.A. Arm. I–XVIII, no. 1801 (2) (= 1801 A) |     +1 |
| Letter of Öljeitü to Philip IV the Fair | 704 AH, year of the Snake, 8th day of the first summer month = 1305 (May), Alivan | Öljeitü | Philip IV the Fair (“Iridivarans sultan”) and all the princes of the Franks | Paris, Archives nationales, J. 937 |     +10 |
| Seal of Qutluγ-šāh on a decree issued in the name of Öljeitü (Ardabil, A 5) | 704/1305 (according to the Persian text) | Öljeitü (decree of Amir Qutluγ-Šāh issued in his name) | — | Ardabil → Tehran (general indication by Herrmann 2004) |   |
| Teheran fragment I (invocation) | undated | unknown (after the adoption of Islam: the Prophet Muḥammad is mentioned) | — | Tehran, Musée de Téhéran (Bastan Museum of Iran) — according to Pelliot 1936 and Cleaves 1953 |  |
| Teheran fragment II | undated | unknown (Pelliot suggested Arγun; Mostaert & Cleaves 1952 — attribution not proved) | — | Tehran, Musée de Téhéran |   |
| Edict of Abū Saʿīd of 1320 (Teheran Document III) | 720 AH, year of the Monkey, 8th day of the waning moon of the middle autumn month = 1320, Sultaniyya | Abū Saʿīd (Busayid Baγatur qan) | darughas, noyans and officials; the case of Shaykh Badr al-Dīn Abū Muḥammad Maḥmūd (of the family of Shaykh Zāhid) | Tehran, Musée de Téhéran |     +6 |
| Persian-Mongolian decree of 725/1325 (Ardabil, A 10) | 725/1325 | Abū Saʿīd (decree of the Great Divan) | governors and tax collectors of Ardabil; the headman and elders of the village of Barür | Ardabil, shrine of Shaykh Safi → Tehran (general indication by Herrmann 2004) | |
| Persian-Mongolian decree of Shaykh Uvays, 759/1358 (Ardabil, A 16) | 759 AH, year of the Dog = 17 October 1358 (according to Doerfer) | Shaykh Uvays Jalayirid (not an Ilkhan; the Jalayirids were the successors of the Ilkhans) | governors, collectors and financial secretaries of Khan-e Beli | Ardabil, shrine of Shaykh Safi → Tehran (general indication by Herrmann 2004) | |
| Seal of Taiqu on a Persian decree of 700/1301 (Ardabil, A 4) | 700/1301 (according to the Persian text; reign of Ghazan) | Ghazan (reign); decree of Amir Taiqu | — | Ardabil → Tehran (general indication by Herrmann 2004) |  |
| Endorsement (parwana) on the verso of a decree of 704/1305 (Ardabil, A 6) | 704/1305 | Öljeitü (decree of the Grand Vizier Sadr al-Dīn issued in his name) | — | Ardabil → Tehran |  |
| Seal of Irinjin on a Persian decree of 704/1305 (Ardabil, A 7) | 704/1305 | Öljeitü (decree of an amir issued in his name) | — | Ardabil → Tehran |   |
| Endorsements on the verso of Čoban's decree of 721/1321 (Ardabil, A 8) | 721/1321 | Abū Saʿīd (decree of Amir Čoban issued in his name) | — | Ardabil → Tehran |   |
| Endorsement on the verso of Dimašq Xwāja's decree of 723/1323 (Ardabil, A 9) | 723/1323 | Abū Saʿīd (decree of Dimašq Xwāja, son of Čoban, issued in his name) | — | Ardabil → Tehran |  |
| Seals on a Persian decree of 729/1329 (Ardabil, A 11) | 729/1329 (according to Morton) | Abū Saʿīd (period of his reign) | — | Ardabil → Tehran |  |
| Endorsement on a decree of 743/1342 issued in the name of Sulaimān (Ardabil, A 12) | 743/1342 | Sulaimān (nominal khan under the Chobanids; decree of Shaykh Ḥasan-i Chobani) | — | Ardabil → Tehran |  |
| Six seals on the verso of Amīr Čoban's decree of 726/1326 | 726/1326 | Abū Saʿīd (reign); decree of Amir Čoban | — | Tehran, National Library and Archives of the Islamic Republic of Iran | |
| Ilkhanid coins with Mongolian legends | 1255 – 14th century | various (Aḥmad, Arγun, Ghazan, etc.) |
General works (13)
- Boyle J.A. (1976). The Il-Khans of Persia and the Princes of Europe. PDF · 1.3 MB
- Cleaves F.W. (1951). A Chancellery Practice of the Mongols in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries. PDF · 2.0 MB
- Dobu (Добу) (1983). Uyiγurǰin mongγol üsüg-ün durasqaltu bičig-üd. PDF · 119.9 MB
- Doerfer G. (1974). Zu mongolisch «keyen-tiwe».
- Doerfer G. (1975). Mongolica aus Ardabīl. PDF · 10.9 MB
- Herrmann G. (2004). Persische Urkunden der Mongolenzeit. Text- und Bildteil. PDF · 10.0 MB
- Kotwicz W. (1934). Formules initiales des documents mongols aux XIIIe et XIVe ss. PDF · 3.8 MB
- Ligeti L. (1972). Monuments préclassiques 1. XIIIe et XIVe siècles. PDF · 21.9 MB
- Lupprian K.-E. (1981). Die Beziehungen der Päpste zu islamischen und mongolischen Herrschern im 13. Jahrhundert anhand ihres Briefwechsels. PDF · 7.8 MB
- Matsui D. (2015). Six Seals on the Verso of Čoban's Decree of 726 AH/1326 CE. PDF · 1.1 MB
- Mostaert A., Cleaves F.W. (1952). Trois documents mongols des Archives secrètes vaticanes. PDF · 4.8 MB
- Rybatzki V. (2006). Die Personennamen und Titel der mittelmongolischen Dokumente. Eine lexikalische Untersuchung. PDF · 7.8 MB
- Tumurtogoo D. (ed.), Cecegdari G. (2006). Mongolian Monuments in Uighur-Mongolian Script (XIII–XVI Centuries). Introduction, Transcription and Bibliography. PDF · 31.0 MB