What Does a Timurid Munshi Construct? An Examination of Ikhtiyar B. Ghiyath Al-din’s Asâs Al-iqtibâs
This article examines the intellectual position Ikhtiyar b. Ghiyath al-din (d. 1521/22) developed in his Asâs al-Iqtibâs, an insha work written in the Timurid capital Herat at the end of the fifteenth century. Throughout the fifteenth century Iran and Central Asia witnessed a series of intellectual clashes sustained by the Hurufiyya, messianic movements, walaya based Sufi trends, pro-Alid currents countered by certain reactionary responses. A series of debates revolving around the status of philosophy, theology and logic exacerbated these intellectual clashes. Ikhtiyar adopted a certain intellectual position to refute some of the ideas proposed by such intellectual camps. The components of his intellectual position are as follows: a conceptual framework that is based on the divine speech (bayan), defining letters and numbers as ordinary entities rather than ascribing them supernatural qualities, deemphasizing the importance of the figure of Ali (d. 661), interpreting futuwwa in a particular way, and opposing certain traditions or ideas within the fields of logic and theology. One can see this position of Ikhtiyar as the stance of a larger circle comprising of Nawai (d. 1501), the patron who commissioned the work, and of Jami (d. 1492) who assessed and appreciated the work once it was finished. Thus, Asâs al-Iqtibâs conveys a new interpretation in the Timurid intellectual world and in Timurid Sunnism, and also points at a heightened level of polarization. This article examines Herat as an intellectual center at the micro level. It suggests that various forms of Sunnism are possible in contrast with the prevalent, monolithic conception of it. Also, it proposes that one can examine the rise of Shiism in this period in a non-Safawid context. It points at the period between mid-1470’s and the beginning of 1490’s as one in which critical changes might have taken place. It shows that Ikhtiyar attempted to exert his influence over the entire society by shaping the world of orality.
Ertuğrul Ökten
