Toluid Dynamics of Asia: flexibility, legality and identity within Toluid institutions Florence Hodous Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD in History 2013 Department of History School of Oriental and African Studies University of London 2 Abstract This thesis will show that the concept of Great Yasa is not supported by the contemporary sources and that alternative approaches are needed to investigate law in the Toluid empire. While the concept of Yasa tends to reinforce the perception of Mongol law as being rigid, in fact, considerable room for flexibility and negotiation was embedded within the Mongol legal tradition. This flexibility can be seen in the traditional Mongol institution of the quriltai, an institution which was important not only in terms of the election of khans and taking various decisions, but also in legal terms. The principle of collegiality which was at its foundation was central to Mongol legal culture and its effects can be discerned in the Ilkhanate and the Yuan dynasty. While there was little political will on the part of the Mongol rulers to impose any particular legal practices, including Mongol customs, on the conquered populations, the principle of collegiality had a significant impact on how they dealt with legal matters, and how they and their officials interacted with Persian and Chinese legal traditions. In the many legal cases decided by conference, where many different stakeholders were present, can be seen the enduring effects of the principle of collegiality. The flexibility of the Mongol approach to law is also seen in the differences in the influence of Mongol law in Persia and China. While in China the eagerness of officials and judges to have the Qa’ans produce legislation led to significant mutual influence and the integration of several characteristics of Mongol law into Chinese legislation and into practice even on the local level, in Persia the restrained attitude of the qadis led to Mongol influence being significantly less marked, and coming about through cultural influence or imitation. In conclusion, Mongol law as seen in the Toluid empire was characterized by significant flexibility, which cannot be attributed simply to the failure or abandonment of Mongol legal traditions, since this flexibility was itself an influential and genuine expression of the Mongol steppe legal tradition. 3 Acknowledgments I would here like to express my thanks to my supervisor Dr. George Lane, who encouraged me to embark on this PhD, and helped me transform a mass of disjointed facts and ideas into an organized and focused work. His enthusiasm for the Mongols is what inspired me to study the Mongol empire more deeply! Thanks to my parents for their unstinting financial and emotional support, and to my father for his help in the late stages of editing. Many thanks go to Prof. Françoise Aubin who patiently read my thesis and provided many invaluable corrections and suggestions. Prof. Timothy Barrett gave valuable guidance in the early stages of this project. To Ryo Mizukami goes the credit for making me aware of Chogto’s latest work on the ‘Great Yasa,’ while Dr. Taka Oshikiri helped me to understand it. Thanks also to Dr. Xu Yuchun, who made his recently completed PhD available to me, and to Prof. Wang Dafang, who answered a phone call out of the blue to give me some sought-after details. Dr. George Lane, Dr. Nima Mina and Mohammad Abutalebi all helped me with Persian, while Dr. Yan Wei, Sim Tze Wei and Cathy Ma helped with Chinese. Dr. Alena Kulinich, Dr. Atef Al-Sha’er and Dr. Konrad Hirschler helped me with Arabic. Abdirahman Sharif also helped in the late stages of editing. SOAS provided an excellent environment in which to study, especially in the form of the cozy and friendly PhD students’ computer room R301. My thanks to the librarian Yevgenia Schlyuger, who never tired of ordering interlibrary loans for me. Thanks to Eea Platner and Beth Norris, for supporting me through difficult periods and providing wise counsel. Thanks also to the many conference and seminar attendees who listened to my presentations and asked questions or made comments. Any shortcomings in this work remain entirely my own. 4 Table of contents: Illustrations p. 9 A captive Mongol prince p. 9 Horse sacrifice p. 9 Note on transliteration and use of terms p. 10 Introduction p. 11 Chronological and geographical scope of the thesis p. 12 The thesis p. 16 Sources and methodology p. 19 Literature review p. 28 Chapter 1 – The Great Yasa p. 34 Introduction p. 34 The ‘Great Yasa’ and the need for reviewing this concept p. 35 An evaluation of the evidence for the Great Yasa p. 37 Evidence from initial encounters with non-Mongol practices p. 44 The Great Yasa in intellectual history p. 51 Conclusion p. 56 5 Chapter 2 – The quriltai p. 57 Introduction p. 57 The quriltai p. 58 The quriltai as a legal institution p. 60 Further legal aspects of the quriltais p. 63 The principle of collegiality p. 71 The influence of the principle of collegiality outside of the legal sphere p. 74 Conclusion p. 76 Chapter 3 - The ‘legal specialists’ – yarghuchis p. 78 Introduction p. 78 The institution of yarghuchi and qualifications required for holding the post p. 79 Yarghuchis’ flexibility and cooperation with local legal personnel p. 85 i) Persia p. 85 ii) China p. 97 Conclusion p. 106 Chapter 4 – Darughachis and other local officials p. 107 Introduction p. 107 Darughachis p. 108 Local personnel in China p. 111 Local personnel in Persia p. 119 Conclusion p. 127 6 Chapter 5 – The khans’ attitude to law p. 129 Introduction p. 129 Local legal personnel p. 130 i) Persia p. 130 ii) China p. 134 Inter-Toluid ties: weaker than local ties p. 137 Minorities: not allowed to derail cooperation with local legal officials p. 143 i) Muslims in China p. 143 ii) Buddhists in the Ilkhanate p. 148 Conclusion p. 155 Chapter 6 – Chinese officials’ dependence on the Yuan emperors p. 157 Uniqueness of Yuan China p. 158 Confucianism as a powerful motive for cooperation p. 160 Chinese officials’ requests for a law code p. 164 The attitude of local officials p. 175 Changes in Chinese law as a result of Mongol influence p. 179 i. Beatings p. 179 ii. Military exile p. 182 iii. The death penalty p. 185 iv. Confiscation and handing over of family members or property of the accused p. 189 Conclusion p. 193 7 Chapter 7 – The self-reliance of Persian qadis p. 195 Introduction p. 195 Positive aspects of the qadis’ attitudes towards the Ilkhans and Mongol authority p. 196 The independence of the qadis from the Ilkhans p. 202 Mongol influence on law in Persia p. 211 i. Beatings p. 211 ii. Military exile p. 213 iii. The death penalty p. 215 iv. Confiscation of property or family members of the accused. p. 217 Conclusion p. 222 Conclusion p. 224 Appendix p. 226 Yarghuchis in the Mongol empire p. 227 Yarghuchis in the Ilkhanate p. 233 Yarghuchis in the Yuan Dynasty p. 236 Maps: The Mongol World Empire; The Ilkhanate; Yuan China p. 244 Bibliography p. 247 Primary sources p. 247 Secondary sources p. 251 8 i. Physical prisons on the steppe were impractical. Methods of restraint could thus include collars such as the above; and punishments were often the death penalty, a beating, or being forced to serve in the army. Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, The monks of Kûblâi Khân , London: The Religious Tract Society, 1928, facing p. 264 ii. The belief in the sacred nature of blood persists. A ‘bloodless’ animal sacrifice among the Buryats. Adolf Zeman, V kraji šaman ů a lam ů, Prague: Náklad Památníku odboje v Praze, 1923 , p. 110 9 Note on transliteration and use of terms Chinese has been transliterated using pinyin . The Library of Congress Romanization tables have been used for Persian and Arabic. English names for the offices within the Yuan dynasty government have been taken from Farquhar, David M., The Government of China under Mongolian Rule: a Reference Guide , Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1990 10 Introduction Laws and a legal system are a fundamental aspect of governance. Laws can be a way to resolve conflicts, punish transgressions, or demarcate ‘belonging’ through the privileging of certain groups above others. In the case of a conquest empire, the conquerors have a choice of whether to try to impose their own laws, or recognize existing laws, or some combination of both. The Toluid empire is a particularly important focus of study as it provides the contrast between Mongol law, which was the legal system of a nomadic people, and the Persian and Chinese legal systems, each of which had a long written tradition. Many studies have examined the nature and content of Mongol law and how it interacted with these two legal systems. However, there has been no study to date focusing on the flexibility of the Toluid rulers and officials in the area of law, or on how this flexibility helps us understand the developments in law in medieval Persia and China. This thesis will show that a flexible attitude towards decision-making, involving as many stakeholders as possible, was integral to the Mongol approach to law, and greatly influenced both the process and the outcomes of interaction with non-Mongols in the area of law. 11 Chronological and geographical scope of the thesis This thesis will focus on Mongol rule in Persia and in China: the Ilkhanate (1258-1335) and the Yuan dynasty (1260-1368), as well as the Mongol legal culture which influenced developments in these polities.The Ilkhanate and the Yuan dynasty, which were ruled by the same branch of Chinggis Khan’s descendants and closely connected in military, political and cultural terms, are known together as the Toluid empire.