Shivan Mahendrarajah
Biographic Data
| ID | 1443153 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Shivan Mahendrarajah |
| GIVEN NAMES | Shivan |
| FAMILY NAME | Mahendrarajah |
| SIGNATURE | MAHENDRARAJAH S |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Cambridge |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 24 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 8 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 24 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Urban Renewal and Cultural Renaissance
The rebuilding of Herat is the focus of Chapter 9. Early Mongol initiatives are noted, however, serious development inside Herat began under Fakhr al-D?n Kart. He defied Mongol proscriptions on construction in Herat. He built commercial spaces (bazaars and caravansarais) and developed public spaces. Fakhr al-D?n Kart’s brother, Ghiy?th al-D?n Kart, flush with tax-exemptions, cash, and plunder following his victories over the Chaghataids, invested…
Mongol Invasions of Khurasan
Chapter 1 (years 615/1218 to 676/1278). How eastern Persia-the lands congruent with eastern Iran and most of Afghanistan-came to experience the wrath of the Mongols. Included is Table 1.1, “A Chronological Guide to the Mongol Invasions of Khurasan and Transoxiana, 615/1218 to 619/1222,” with dates for the known attacks on cities and settlements. The story begins with preparations for war by the Mongols, the march of its armies, and the conquests …
From Ilkhanate to Independent Kingdom
Chapter 5 (years 729/1329 to 783/1381). The Kartid state transitioned from being an Ilkhanid client state to an independent Persian kingdom. The death of the last Ilkhanid ruler of Persia, Abū Saʿīd, accelerated the unraveling of the Ilkhanate. Muʿizz al-Dīn Kart declared his polity was now a sultanate, and he tried to become the idealized model of a Tajik Padishah. He minted coins in his own name. The Sarbadar state, prominent in the Nishapur Qu…
Stability in Herat and Khurasan
Chapter 4 (years 677/1278 to 729/1329). Fakhr al-Dīn Kart, a successor to Shams al-Dīn, was a willful man who precipitated sieges of Herat, and earned the enmity of Öljeitü, who as Il-Khan, “devoted much time to fighting with the Kart dynasty of Herat.” Rebuilding of Herat commenced during this turbulent period. Fakhr al-Dīn Kart’s brother, Ghiyāth al-Dīn Kart replaced him as Herat’s ruler. He had to contend for years with Öljeitü’s distrust of K…
Later Efforts to Revive Agriculture and Commerce
Chapter 8 picks up on developments in Chapter 7, and addresses efforts undertaken to revitalize hydrological systems and improve agricultural production. Ilkhanid land reforms that affected land use in Khurasan are studied, along with relevant economic theories on property rights and economic risks. Kartid initiatives are analyzed. Critical issues raised in this chapter are treated in the appendices, viz., No. 2: “Land and Water Use”; No. 3: “Urb…
Urban Development in the Kartid Period
The table is derived primarily but not exclusively from Terry Allen’s Catalogue (1981). The column “Cat. No.” refers to Allen’s catalogue numbers; and sinc
Illustrations
vii 1Greater Iran and its neighbors xiv2Herat and its surroundings xv3Kartid domains itemized in Möngke’s 1251 decree 454Arterial waterways of Kartid Herat
Mongol Imperial Policies and Herat
Chapter 2 (years 677/1278 to 729/1329). Examines Chingissid political fault lines, viz., rivalries among Jochids, Toluids (Golden Horde), Ogedeids and Chaghataids, the four branches of Chingiz Khan’s family, and how factionalism impacted on Iran, Khurasan, and Herat. Grand Qa’an Mongke installed Shams al-Dīn Kart, his Tajik bondsman, as ruler of Herat, with a mandate to govern vast tracts of eastern Persia. Shams al-Dīn Kart’s stewardship was und…
A History of Herat: From Chingiz Khan to Tamerlane
This book narrates the history of Herat, from the Mongol invasions of Persia (Iran) under Chingiz Khan, beginning in 1218, to the rejuvenated city of Herat’s capitulation to Tamerlane (or Temür) in 1381. It examines why the Mongol Empire rebuilt Herat through their Tajik (Persian) loyalists, and analyzes the roles of Persians and Mongols in devising fortifications, restoring commercial and cultural edifices, and resuscitating economic and cultura…
Early Efforts to Revive Agriculture and Commerce
Chapter 7 addresses early efforts to revitalize hydrological systems (canals, dams, sluices, cisterns) in and around Herat, and to improve agricultural production. Mongol Grand Qaʾan Ögödei (r. 1229–41) took the first steps, c. 634/1236, to rejuvenate Herat. Canals supplying the inner city of Herat with potable water were refurbished and re-opened. Revivification endeavors in Herat were impacted by factional struggles between agents of Chinggisid…
From Kartid Sultanate to Tamerlane
Muʿizz al-Dīn Kart’s favored son and heir, Ghiyāth al-Dīn (Pīr ʿAlī) Kart, succeed his father. He terminated the Sarbadarid-Kartid détente; secured a fatwa from ulama and brought sectarian conflict to Nishapur Quarter. Multiple campaigns followed that ruined sections of Khurasan. Table 6.1, “Kartid-Sarbadarid Campaigns in the Nishapur Quarter, 773/1371–72 to 783/1381,” summarizes the campaigns and social-political impacts. Temür/Tamerlane, who ha…
Turmoil in Herat and Khurasan
Chapter 3 (years 677/1278 to 729/1329). Unfolded is the “Roving Bandit v. Stationary Bandit” economic thesis on why plunderers settle and become rulers. Economists, principally, Prof. Mancur Olson, developed St. Augustine’s observation on how bands of brigands occupied lands and adopted “the name of a kingdom.” The Mongols, who had hitherto thrived on portable wealth (gold, livestock, slaves) acquired by violent theft (rob and run), realized they…
Fortified Landscape of Herat and its Environs
Fakhr al-Dīn Kart constructed or re-constructed the fortifications of Herat, including walls, bastions, gates, and citadel. Chapter 10 is on (a) Herat’s fortifications; and (b) defensive postures. The Kartid’s kingdom’s network of strongholds is given in Table 10.1, “The fortified landscape of the Kartid realm.” Fortifications and network of strongholds to protect highways and byways were indispensable to economic and social development in Herat …
A History of Herat: From Chingiz Khan to Tamerlane
Shows how and why an ancient city destroyed and then rebuilt by Mongols became again the ‘Pearl’ of the Iranian east Establishes a sequence and chronology for the Mongol attacks in eastern Iran Includes a political-military history of the Kart dynasty, from their founding in 649/1251 by Möngke Qaʾan, to their surrender to Tamerlane in 783/1381 Explores the renewal of agriculture, commercial development (caravansarays and bazaars) and the revivifi…
The Sufi Saint of Jam: History, Religion, and Politics of a Sunni Shrine in Shi'i Iran
The Sunni saint cult and shrine of Ahmad-i Jam has endured for 900 years. The shrine and its Sufi shaykhs secured patronage from Mongols, Kartids, Tamerlane, and Timurids. The cult and shrine-complex started sliding into decline when Iran's shahs took the Shiʿi path in 1501, but are today enjoying a renaissance under the (Shiʿi) Islamic Republic of Iran. The shrine's eclectic architectural ensemble has been renovated with private and public funds…
Sufi Saint of Jam: History, Religion, and Politics of a Sunni Shrine in Shi'i Iran
Gawhar Shād Waqf Deed: Public Works and the Commonweal
This article is about the 829/1426 charitable trust deed (waqfiyya) of the Gawhar Shād Mosque and its social and economic implications. The deed was for a public-private trust (waqf-i mushtarak): the private (waqf-i khāṣṣ) aspect advanced Gawhar Shād's family interests, while the public (waqf-i khayrī) aspect promoted the commonweal (maṣlaḥa), being (1) income for the Shiʿi shrine-complex of Imām Riżā, the Gawhar Shād Mosque, and the Sunni shrine…
In memoriam: Professor David O. Morgan (1945–2019)
The Shaykh al-Islam in Medieval Khurasan
The shaykh al-Islam emerged in early Islamic Khurasan. A shaykh al-Islam's social-political roles developed organically, and his duties were exogenous to state bureaucracies. The Seljuq vizier, Niẓām al-Mulk, struck upon a “brilliant and original” scheme, to use the shaykh al-Islam to shape Islamic curricula and control lecturers. He officialized the position by appointing his “own lieutenant” as the shaykh al-Islam of Nishapur. Shāh-Rukh restart…
A Revised History of Mongol, Kart, and Timurid Patronage of the Shrine of Shaykh Al-Islam Ahmad-I Jam
This article proposes revisions to scholarly perspectives on patronage of the shrine at Turbat-i Jam. Firstly, the chronology established by Lisa Golombek in Iran IX (1971) is materially amended. Secondly, it is argued that a gunbad attributed to a minor Ghurid ruler could have been funded by other parties. Thirdly, it demonstrates that patronage by the Kart kings (maliks) of Herat (r. 1245–1381) came primarily from Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad Kart (…
Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism, and the Taliban of Afghanistan: Puritanical reform' as a 'revolutionary war' program
This article argues that the Taliban's revolutionary war (RW) program is puritanical reform informed by the Islamic legal duty of al-amr bi'l-ma‘ruf wa'l-nahy ‘an al-munkar (‘commanding what is good and forbidding what is reprehensible’). It also examines the history of this duty with examples of puritanical reform movements emerging from Berber tribes in North Africa and tribes in Arabia. Furthermore, the importance of this duty in Wahhabi Saudi…
Conceptual failure, the Taliban's parallel hierarchies, and America's strategic defeat in Afghanistan
ISAF exists to protect the Afghan constitutional model. This strategic objective will be defeated because the GIRoA model has a conceptual flaw that renders it incapable of delivering governance at the local level (Tier IV). This fatal flaw has enabled the Taliban, by developing parallel hierarchies, to displace GIRoA and establish itself in southern locales as the political authority. The Taliban are fighting a revolutionary war, a Maoist displa…
The Shrine of Shaykh Aḥmad-I Jām: Notes On A Revised Chronology and a Waqfiyya
This notice advises on work-in-progress that substantially revises the existing chronology of architectural development at the shrine-complex in Turbat-i Jām (Iran), the Mazār-i Shaykh Aḥmad-i Jām. The Ṣūfī Shaykhs of Jām initially venerated only AṢmad-i Jām; they had no ṭarīqa. In the ninth/fifteenth century, influential shaykhs joined the Khwājagān-Naqshbandiyya, and these mystical bonds played seminal roles in acquiring patronage. Recently-acq…
The Sarbadars of Sabzavar: Re-Examining Their 'Shi'a' Roots and Alleged Goal to 'Destroy Khurasanian Sunnism
It has been claimed that the Sarbadars were initially Shi'a, and had established a 'Shi'a republic' in Sabzavar. This article challenges that claim, and shows that the Sarbadar state only became Ithna-'ashari about 27 years after the rebellion. The confessionally mixed Sarbadar rebels allied with a Shi'a ghulat militia, and that association, coupled with the romanticization and politicization of the Sarbadars' rebellion, has distorted interpretat…
Conceptual failure, the Taliban's parallel hierarchies, and America's strategic defeat in Afghanistan
ISAF exists to protect the Afghan constitutional model. This strategic objective will be defeated because the GIRoA model has a conceptual flaw that renders it incapable of delivering governance at the local level (Tier IV). This fatal flaw has enabled the Taliban, by developing parallel hierarchies, to displace GIRoA and establish itself in southern locales as the political authority. The Taliban are fighting a revolutionary war, a Maoist displa…
A Revised History of Mongol, Kart, and Timurid Patronage of the Shrine of Shaykh Al-Islam Ahmad-I Jam
This article proposes revisions to scholarly perspectives on patronage of the shrine at Turbat-i Jam. Firstly, the chronology established by Lisa Golombek in Iran IX (1971) is materially amended. Secondly, it is argued that a gunbad attributed to a minor Ghurid ruler could have been funded by other parties. Thirdly, it demonstrates that patronage by the Kart kings (maliks) of Herat (r. 1245–1381) came primarily from Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad Kart (…
Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism, and the Taliban of Afghanistan: Puritanical reform' as a 'revolutionary war' program
This article argues that the Taliban's revolutionary war (RW) program is puritanical reform informed by the Islamic legal duty of al-amr bi'l-ma‘ruf wa'l-nahy ‘an al-munkar (‘commanding what is good and forbidding what is reprehensible’). It also examines the history of this duty with examples of puritanical reform movements emerging from Berber tribes in North Africa and tribes in Arabia. Furthermore, the importance of this duty in Wahhabi Saudi…
The Sarbadars of Sabzavar: Re-Examining Their 'Shi'a' Roots and Alleged Goal to 'Destroy Khurasanian Sunnism
It has been claimed that the Sarbadars were initially Shi'a, and had established a 'Shi'a republic' in Sabzavar. This article challenges that claim, and shows that the Sarbadar state only became Ithna-'ashari about 27 years after the rebellion. The confessionally mixed Sarbadar rebels allied with a Shi'a ghulat militia, and that association, coupled with the romanticization and politicization of the Sarbadars' rebellion, has distorted interpretat…
The Shrine of Shaykh Aḥmad-I Jām: Notes On A Revised Chronology and a Waqfiyya
This notice advises on work-in-progress that substantially revises the existing chronology of architectural development at the shrine-complex in Turbat-i Jām (Iran), the Mazār-i Shaykh Aḥmad-i Jām. The Ṣūfī Shaykhs of Jām initially venerated only AṢmad-i Jām; they had no ṭarīqa. In the ninth/fifteenth century, influential shaykhs joined the Khwājagān-Naqshbandiyya, and these mystical bonds played seminal roles in acquiring patronage. Recently-acq…
The Sarbadars of Sabzavar: Re-Examining Their 'Shi'a' Roots and Alleged Goal to 'Destroy Khurasanian Sunnism
It has been claimed that the Sarbadars were initially Shi'a, and had established a 'Shi'a republic' in Sabzavar. This article challenges that claim, and shows that the Sarbadar state only became Ithna-'ashari about 27 years after the rebellion. The confessionally mixed Sarbadar rebels allied with a Shi'a ghulat militia, and that association, coupled with the romanticization and politicization of the Sarbadars' rebellion, has distorted interpretat…
Conceptual failure, the Taliban's parallel hierarchies, and America's strategic defeat in Afghanistan
ISAF exists to protect the Afghan constitutional model. This strategic objective will be defeated because the GIRoA model has a conceptual flaw that renders it incapable of delivering governance at the local level (Tier IV). This fatal flaw has enabled the Taliban, by developing parallel hierarchies, to displace GIRoA and establish itself in southern locales as the political authority. The Taliban are fighting a revolutionary war, a Maoist displa…
Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism, and the Taliban of Afghanistan: Puritanical reform' as a 'revolutionary war' program
This article argues that the Taliban's revolutionary war (RW) program is puritanical reform informed by the Islamic legal duty of al-amr bi'l-ma‘ruf wa'l-nahy ‘an al-munkar (‘commanding what is good and forbidding what is reprehensible’). It also examines the history of this duty with examples of puritanical reform movements emerging from Berber tribes in North Africa and tribes in Arabia. Furthermore, the importance of this duty in Wahhabi Saudi…
A Revised History of Mongol, Kart, and Timurid Patronage of the Shrine of Shaykh Al-Islam Ahmad-I Jam
This article proposes revisions to scholarly perspectives on patronage of the shrine at Turbat-i Jam. Firstly, the chronology established by Lisa Golombek in Iran IX (1971) is materially amended. Secondly, it is argued that a gunbad attributed to a minor Ghurid ruler could have been funded by other parties. Thirdly, it demonstrates that patronage by the Kart kings (maliks) of Herat (r. 1245–1381) came primarily from Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad Kart (…
The Shaykh al-Islam in Medieval Khurasan
The shaykh al-Islam emerged in early Islamic Khurasan. A shaykh al-Islam's social-political roles developed organically, and his duties were exogenous to state bureaucracies. The Seljuq vizier, Niẓām al-Mulk, struck upon a “brilliant and original” scheme, to use the shaykh al-Islam to shape Islamic curricula and control lecturers. He officialized the position by appointing his “own lieutenant” as the shaykh al-Islam of Nishapur. Shāh-Rukh restart…
In memoriam: Professor David O. Morgan (1945–2019)
The Sufi Saint of Jam: History, Religion, and Politics of a Sunni Shrine in Shi'i Iran
The Sunni saint cult and shrine of Ahmad-i Jam has endured for 900 years. The shrine and its Sufi shaykhs secured patronage from Mongols, Kartids, Tamerlane, and Timurids. The cult and shrine-complex started sliding into decline when Iran's shahs took the Shiʿi path in 1501, but are today enjoying a renaissance under the (Shiʿi) Islamic Republic of Iran. The shrine's eclectic architectural ensemble has been renovated with private and public funds…
Sufi Saint of Jam: History, Religion, and Politics of a Sunni Shrine in Shi'i Iran
Gawhar Shād Waqf Deed: Public Works and the Commonweal
This article is about the 829/1426 charitable trust deed (waqfiyya) of the Gawhar Shād Mosque and its social and economic implications. The deed was for a public-private trust (waqf-i mushtarak): the private (waqf-i khāṣṣ) aspect advanced Gawhar Shād's family interests, while the public (waqf-i khayrī) aspect promoted the commonweal (maṣlaḥa), being (1) income for the Shiʿi shrine-complex of Imām Riżā, the Gawhar Shād Mosque, and the Sunni shrine…
A History of Herat: From Chingiz Khan to Tamerlane
Shows how and why an ancient city destroyed and then rebuilt by Mongols became again the ‘Pearl’ of the Iranian east Establishes a sequence and chronology for the Mongol attacks in eastern Iran Includes a political-military history of the Kart dynasty, from their founding in 649/1251 by Möngke Qaʾan, to their surrender to Tamerlane in 783/1381 Explores the renewal of agriculture, commercial development (caravansarays and bazaars) and the revivifi…
Urban Renewal and Cultural Renaissance
The rebuilding of Herat is the focus of Chapter 9. Early Mongol initiatives are noted, however, serious development inside Herat began under Fakhr al-D?n Kart. He defied Mongol proscriptions on construction in Herat. He built commercial spaces (bazaars and caravansarais) and developed public spaces. Fakhr al-D?n Kart’s brother, Ghiy?th al-D?n Kart, flush with tax-exemptions, cash, and plunder following his victories over the Chaghataids, invested…
Mongol Invasions of Khurasan
Chapter 1 (years 615/1218 to 676/1278). How eastern Persia-the lands congruent with eastern Iran and most of Afghanistan-came to experience the wrath of the Mongols. Included is Table 1.1, “A Chronological Guide to the Mongol Invasions of Khurasan and Transoxiana, 615/1218 to 619/1222,” with dates for the known attacks on cities and settlements. The story begins with preparations for war by the Mongols, the march of its armies, and the conquests …
From Ilkhanate to Independent Kingdom
Chapter 5 (years 729/1329 to 783/1381). The Kartid state transitioned from being an Ilkhanid client state to an independent Persian kingdom. The death of the last Ilkhanid ruler of Persia, Abū Saʿīd, accelerated the unraveling of the Ilkhanate. Muʿizz al-Dīn Kart declared his polity was now a sultanate, and he tried to become the idealized model of a Tajik Padishah. He minted coins in his own name. The Sarbadar state, prominent in the Nishapur Qu…
Stability in Herat and Khurasan
Chapter 4 (years 677/1278 to 729/1329). Fakhr al-Dīn Kart, a successor to Shams al-Dīn, was a willful man who precipitated sieges of Herat, and earned the enmity of Öljeitü, who as Il-Khan, “devoted much time to fighting with the Kart dynasty of Herat.” Rebuilding of Herat commenced during this turbulent period. Fakhr al-Dīn Kart’s brother, Ghiyāth al-Dīn Kart replaced him as Herat’s ruler. He had to contend for years with Öljeitü’s distrust of K…
Later Efforts to Revive Agriculture and Commerce
Chapter 8 picks up on developments in Chapter 7, and addresses efforts undertaken to revitalize hydrological systems and improve agricultural production. Ilkhanid land reforms that affected land use in Khurasan are studied, along with relevant economic theories on property rights and economic risks. Kartid initiatives are analyzed. Critical issues raised in this chapter are treated in the appendices, viz., No. 2: “Land and Water Use”; No. 3: “Urb…
Urban Development in the Kartid Period
The table is derived primarily but not exclusively from Terry Allen’s Catalogue (1981). The column “Cat. No.” refers to Allen’s catalogue numbers; and sinc
Illustrations
vii 1Greater Iran and its neighbors xiv2Herat and its surroundings xv3Kartid domains itemized in Möngke’s 1251 decree 454Arterial waterways of Kartid Herat
Mongol Imperial Policies and Herat
Chapter 2 (years 677/1278 to 729/1329). Examines Chingissid political fault lines, viz., rivalries among Jochids, Toluids (Golden Horde), Ogedeids and Chaghataids, the four branches of Chingiz Khan’s family, and how factionalism impacted on Iran, Khurasan, and Herat. Grand Qa’an Mongke installed Shams al-Dīn Kart, his Tajik bondsman, as ruler of Herat, with a mandate to govern vast tracts of eastern Persia. Shams al-Dīn Kart’s stewardship was und…
A History of Herat: From Chingiz Khan to Tamerlane
This book narrates the history of Herat, from the Mongol invasions of Persia (Iran) under Chingiz Khan, beginning in 1218, to the rejuvenated city of Herat’s capitulation to Tamerlane (or Temür) in 1381. It examines why the Mongol Empire rebuilt Herat through their Tajik (Persian) loyalists, and analyzes the roles of Persians and Mongols in devising fortifications, restoring commercial and cultural edifices, and resuscitating economic and cultura…
Early Efforts to Revive Agriculture and Commerce
Chapter 7 addresses early efforts to revitalize hydrological systems (canals, dams, sluices, cisterns) in and around Herat, and to improve agricultural production. Mongol Grand Qaʾan Ögödei (r. 1229–41) took the first steps, c. 634/1236, to rejuvenate Herat. Canals supplying the inner city of Herat with potable water were refurbished and re-opened. Revivification endeavors in Herat were impacted by factional struggles between agents of Chinggisid…
From Kartid Sultanate to Tamerlane
Muʿizz al-Dīn Kart’s favored son and heir, Ghiyāth al-Dīn (Pīr ʿAlī) Kart, succeed his father. He terminated the Sarbadarid-Kartid détente; secured a fatwa from ulama and brought sectarian conflict to Nishapur Quarter. Multiple campaigns followed that ruined sections of Khurasan. Table 6.1, “Kartid-Sarbadarid Campaigns in the Nishapur Quarter, 773/1371–72 to 783/1381,” summarizes the campaigns and social-political impacts. Temür/Tamerlane, who ha…
Turmoil in Herat and Khurasan
Chapter 3 (years 677/1278 to 729/1329). Unfolded is the “Roving Bandit v. Stationary Bandit” economic thesis on why plunderers settle and become rulers. Economists, principally, Prof. Mancur Olson, developed St. Augustine’s observation on how bands of brigands occupied lands and adopted “the name of a kingdom.” The Mongols, who had hitherto thrived on portable wealth (gold, livestock, slaves) acquired by violent theft (rob and run), realized they…
Fortified Landscape of Herat and its Environs
Fakhr al-Dīn Kart constructed or re-constructed the fortifications of Herat, including walls, bastions, gates, and citadel. Chapter 10 is on (a) Herat’s fortifications; and (b) defensive postures. The Kartid’s kingdom’s network of strongholds is given in Table 10.1, “The fortified landscape of the Kartid realm.” Fortifications and network of strongholds to protect highways and byways were indispensable to economic and social development in Herat …
Eurasian Exchange Networks (19 works) · Islamic Studies and History (17 works) · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East (9 works) · Islam (8 works) · History (7 works) · Law (7 works) · Philosophy (7 works) · Political science (7 works) · Ancient history (6 works) · Archaeology (5 works)