― 1 декабря 2024 г.

Reşîdüddin Fazlullāh-ı Hemedânî's "Camiü't-Tevârîh" presented in Kazakhstan

In cooperation of TURKSOY with the  Eurasian National University named after  L.N. Gumilev, a book launch event was  organised in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan to present ‘Câmiu't-Tevârîh’ prepared by Prof. Erjan İsakulov and Ruzbihan İsfahan's ‘Mehman Nâme-i Bukhara’ prepared by  Zaripbay Orazbay.

The opening speeches of the book launch event held at the Rectorate of the Eurasian National University named after L.N. Gumilev  were delivered by TURKSOY Secretary General Sultan Raev and the Rector of the Eurasian National University named after L.N. Gumilev as well as authors of the works and scholars.

In his speech, TURKSOY Secretary General Sultan Raev said: ‘Câmiu't-Tevârîh is not only a book of Islamic history, but also an encyclopaedic work describing the history of different geographies and cultures. The main purpose of the work was to provide the Ilkhanid rulers with a broad knowledge of world history. For this reason, in addition to the history of Islam, different subjects such as the history of the Mongolians, China, India, Jews, and Christianity were also covered.

Câmiu't-Tawârîh is an important milestone in terms of historiography of the period in which it was written. For the first time, it aimed to deal with world history as a whole. While preparing this work, Rashīd al-Dīn benefited from various sources and analysed the cultures, languages and religions of different nations. In this respect, the work provides a unique source for us to understand the intellectual accumulation of the period and the interaction between different societies.
 

Another important aspect of the work is that it brought a new dimension to the understanding of history of the period. It played an important role for the societies under Mongol rule to develop a historical consciousness and contribute to world history.’
Participants who took the floor at  the event  gave detailed information about the life and art of Rashīddin Fazlullāh-i Hemedānī and Ruzbihan Isfahan and the work he wrote.

In addition, Prof. Erjan Isakulov who delivered a  speech about the work he discussed, said that the work ‘Câmiu't-Tevârîh’ is a valuable source telling the history of Turkic peoples, the life of Genghis Khan and his descendants, and that the work was first translated from Persian into Kazakh and then into Russian. Prof. Erjan Isakulov further  said that the translated work contains new information about the places of the ancestors of Genghis Khan and historical sites in the Kazakh steppes.

Touching upon  ‘Mehman Nâme-i Bukhara’ by Zaripbay Orazbay, Prof. Erjan Isakulov said that it provides important information about the origin, social structure, religious and spiritual structure of the Kazakh people in the XV-XVI centuries and the international relations of the Kazakh Khanate. He also said that the life and activities of Shaybani Khan are described in detail in the work.

The event ended with an  exhibition organised by the Eurasian National University named after L.N. Gumilev  and a group photograph taken as a remembrance of the day.