Mongol Dynastic History, 1302–1304

The Blessed History of Ghazan (Tarikh-i Mubarak-i Ghazani) marked the culmination of several decades of historical writing that worked to integrate the Mongol ilkhans into historical and cultural patterns indigenous to the Middle East, but it was one of the first works produced under direct Ilkhanid patronage. This chapter surveys the historical writing of the early Ilkhanate before focusing on a series of works commissioned by Ghazan Khan (1295-1304) during the latter years of his reign. Of these, Rashid al-Din’s Blessed History provides the most concise, streamlined narrative, with the most compelling argument for the ilkhans’ legitimacy in the region. This chapter shows that to be a conscious production by Rashid al-Din for his Mongol patrons.