Ghazan Khan’s Political Will and Testament: Further Light on the Mongol Household

Abstract

Towards the end of his life, Ghazan Khan (r.1295–1304) made arrangements for the continuation of the Ilkhanid government along the lines he had established in his short but formative reign. Rashid al-Din refers briefly to Ghazan’s last testament (vasiyat-nama) but gives no details; however, Qashani in his history of Öljeitü reproduces it as a document and Vassaf, writing around the same time, presents it as a speech made by Ghazan to the assembled courtiers. This paper will compare the two texts and seek to identify both the offices and the office-holders mentioned, with a view to better understanding the underpinning of political power and faction in the Ilkhanate.