Writing and Illustrating History: Rashid al-Din’s Jami’ al-tavarikh

Blair, Sheila. “Writing and Illustrating History: Rashid al-Din’s Jami’ al-tavarikh.” Theoretical Approaches to the Transmission and Edition of Oriental Manuscripts. Ed. Judith Pfeiffer and Manfred Kropp. Beirut: Ergon Verlag Wurzberg, 2007. pp.57-65.

Blair argues that this early 14thC manuscript is an ideal choice for the study of manuscript tradition as we know so much about it.

p.57 Commissioned by Rashid al-Din, born in Hamada 1247, who entered the service of the Ilkhanid ruler Abaqa in perhaps 1277.  Rose to the rank of co-vizier before execution.

p.58 During his life, he instituted an endowment that would see the annual production of a number of important books – laid out the specificities of the layout and even the quality of the paper.

Blair traces the production of this book and how over time the quality of the works decreased, during his life and after it.  Does not look at the text at all – concerned primarily with layout and quality of the images.  Last manuscript mentioned from Mughal period in 1596.