The Institution of Bukaul in Turko-Mongol States: Ilkhanid, Jochid and Chagataid Traditions

Introduction. The article examines the institution of bukaul in Chinggisid states and their successors. Special attention is given to functions implemented by the official in the uluses of Hulagu, Jochi and Chagatai — and the former’s evolution throughout centuries. It is also explained why the functions tended to vary in different Turko-Mongol states. Goals. The study seeks to characterize the status of bukaul in Chinggisid and post-Chinggisid states. To facilitate this, the paper introduces a Russian translation and an interdisciplinary analysis of one legislative act — yarliq (decree) — appointing an army bukaul, and compares it to other sources for specific features of this official in Turko-Mongol states. Materials and methods. The paper examines Dastur al-Katib fi Tayin al-Maratib (A Scribe’s Guide to Determining Ranks) compiled in the mid-fourteenth century by Persian official Muhammad ibn Hindushah Nakhchivani, and other historical sources on Turko-Mongol states — from the empire of Genghis Khan and to Central Asian khanates of the eighteenth–nineteenth centuries. The work employs a series of historical and legal research methods, such as those of source criticism, diplomatic analysis, comparative historical research, formal legal approach, historical legal and comparative legal analyses. Results. Bukauls are often mentioned by medieval Asian historians but the messages tend to vary, which gives rise to different opinions as to their status and functions. The paper introduces the yarliq appointing a bukaul from Dastur al-Katib into Russian-language scientific discourse and supplements it with a detailed interdisciplinary analysis. Our comparative insights into other sources attest to that functions of bukaul in different Chinggisid states were as different and diverse, which resulted from the latter’s specific sociopolitical and economic development conditions. Conclusions. Depending on correlations between Mongol imperial and regional traditions of power, administrative and socioeconomic patterns, bukaul could serve as distributor of material benefits in the army (Mongol Iran), as executive of administrative and law-enforcement structures (Ulus of Jochi), and even as courtier in charge of khans’ cuisine (Chagatai Ulus). At the same time in Chinggisid and post-Chinggisid states, bukauls were usually ethnic Turko-Mongols of noble origin with military-oriented minds and corresponding training, which resulted in that they could be actively involved into military endeavors regardless of their official positions and functions.  

1. Archive of Orientalists, Institute of Oriental Manuscripts (RAS). (In Russ.)

2. Abdullahoğlu H. Yarliqs of Mengli I Giray. Türkiyat Mecmuası (Journal of Turkology). 1934. Vol. IV. Pp. 99–109. (In Turk.)

3. Abdullahoğlu H. Yarliqs of Timur Qutluq. Türkiyat Mecmuası (Journal of Turkology). 1935. Vol. III. Pp. 207–227. (In Turk.)

4. Abru H. Zail-i Jāmiʿ al-tawārīkh-i Rashidi (Supplements to Rashid al-Din’s Compendium of Chronicles). E. Talyshkhanov (transl., foreword, etc.), I. Mirgaleev (ed.). Kazan: YaZ, 2011. 320 p. (In Russ.)

5. Abzalov L. F., Gatin M. S., Mustakimov I. A., Pochekaev R. Yu. Mongolian Records Management in 13th–14th Century Iran Revisited: Analyzing One Yarliq Appointing a Bakhshi from Dastur al-Katib. Mongolian Studies. 2022. Vol. 14. No. 1. Pp. 130–155. DOI: 10.22162/2500-1523-2022-1-130-155. (In Russ.)

6. Abzalov L. F., Gatin M. S., Mustakimov I. A., Pochekaev R. Yu. Ulug Bitigchi: A Turko-Mongol Institution in the Islamic Government System of Chinggisid States, 13th–14th Centuries (Analyzing Materials of Dastur al-Katib). Mongolian Studies. 2023. Vol. 15. No. 1. Pp. 8–28. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.22162/2500-1523-2023-1-8-28.

7. Abzalov L. F., Gatin M. S., Mustakimov I. A., Pochekaev R. Yu. New historical insights on protection of the trade routes in Genghisids states, 13th to 14th century. In: Proceedings in Archaeology and History of Ancient and Medieval Black Sea Region. 2022. No. 14. Pp. 297–313. (In Russ.)

8. Babur Z. M. Bāburnāma: Letters of Babur. M. Salye (transl.), S. Azimdzhanova (ed., foreword). Tashkent: Uzbek SSR Academy of Sciences, 1958. 529 p. (In Russ.)

9. Barthold W. Turkestan down to the Mongol Invasion. In: Bartold V. V.. Writings. Vol. 1. Moscow: Oriental Literature Press, 1962. 760 p. (In Russ.)

10. Belyakov A. V. The organization of embassy service in the Russian lands in the thirteenth through sixteenth centuries. E. Glushachenkova (transl.). Herald of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 2022. Vol. 92. Suppl. 5. Pp. S419–S427. (In Eng.)

11. Berezin I. N. Tarkhan Yarliqs of Tokhtamysh, Timur Qutluq and Saadet Geray. Kazan: Imperial Kazan University, 1851. 56 p. (In Russ.)

12. Berezin I. Ulus of Jochi and Its State System: An Essay. St. Petersburg: Imperial Academy of Sciences, 1863. 112 p. (In Russ.)

13. Biran M. Diplomacy and chancellery practices in the Chagatai Khanate: Some preliminary remarks. Oriente Moderno. 2008. Vol. 88. No. 2. Pp. 369–393. (In Eng.)

14. Budagov L. A Comparative Dictionary of Turko-Tatar Languages [and Dialects]. Vol. 1. St. Petersburg: Imperial Academy of Sciences, 1869. 810 + 6 p. (In Tat., Turk., Russ., etc.)

15. Busse H. Diplomatique. Perse. In: Encyclopedie de l'Islam. Vol. 2. Leiden: Brill, 1991. Pp. 301–313. (In Fr.)

16. Churas Sh.-M. The Chronicle. O. Akimushkin (text prep., transl., etc.). Moscow: Nauka — GRVL, 1976. 406 + 121 p. (In Russ. and Pers.)

17. Doerfer G. Türkische und Mongolische Elemente im Neupersischen. Vol. 2. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1965. 671 p. (In Germ.)

18. El-Buhari Ş. S. E. Lugat-i Çağatay ve Türki-yi Osmani. Cild-i Evvel. Istanbul: Mihran Matbaasi, 1298. 320 p. (In Turk.)

19. Farquhar D. M. The Government of China under Mongolian Rule: A Reference Guide. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1990. 594 p. (In Eng.)

20. Firkovich Z. A. Collected Old Credentials and Statutes of the Russian Empire on [Civil] Rights and [Social] Status of Subject Karaites. St. Petersburg: P. Yablonsky, 1890. XXXVI + 223 p. (In Russ.)

21. Grekov B. D., Yakubovsky A. Yu. The Golden Horde and Its Collapse. V. Trepavlov (foreword). Moscow: Bogorodsky Pechatnik, 1998. 368 p. (In Russ.)

22. Grigoryev A. P. Collected Yarliqs [Granted] by Khans to Russian Metropolitans: A Source Analysis of Golden Horde Documents. St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg University, 2004. 276 p. (In Russ.)

23. Hammer J. von. Uigurisches Diplom Kutlugh Timur's vom Jahre 800 (1397). In: Fundgruben des Orients. Vol. 6. Wien, 1818. Pp. 359–362. (In Germ.)

24. Hammer-Purgstall J. von. Geschichte Der Goldenen Horde in Kiptschak, Das Ist: Der Mongolen in Russland. Pest: C. A. Hartleben’s Verlag, 1840. 683 p. (In Germ.)

25. Herrmann G. Persische Urkunden der Mongolenzeit. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2004. 205 p. (In Germ.)

26. Ivanin M. I. About Military Art and Conquests of Mongols. St. Petersburg: Voennaya Tipografiya, 1846. 61 p. (In Russ.)

27. Izmaylov I. L. Force structuring. In: History of Tatars. Vol. 3. Kazan: Märcani Institute of History, 2009. Pp. 409–421. (In Russ.)

28. Khanykov N. A Description of the Khanate of Bukhara. St. Petersburg: Imperial Academy of Sciences, 1843. 279 p. (In Russ.)

29. Kim H. Eastern Turki royal decrees of the 17th century in the Jarring Collection. In: Studies on Xinjiang Historical Sources in 17–20th Centuries. Tokyo: The Tōyō Bunko, 2010. Pp. 59–119. (In Eng.)

30. Kurat A. N. Collected Writings. Book 1: Yarliqs and Bitiqs of Khans of the Golden Horde, Crimea, and Turkestan in Archives of Topkapı Palace Museum. R. Galeev (transl.). Kazan: Märcani Institute of History, 2014. 256 p. (In Russ.)

31. Li M. Communication between China and Persia in the 13th–14th centuries: As seen from the appointment documents of Dastūr al-Kātib fi Ta’yīn al-Marātib. In: Yu T., Li J., Doar B. (eds.) Eurasian Studies. English Edition. Vol. II. Beijing: Asia Publishing Nexus, 2014. Pp. 298–309. (In Eng.)

32. Manz B. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. 227 p. (In Eng.)

33. Materials for the history of Georgia. Kavkaz. 1852. No. 69. Pp. 288–290. (In Russ.)

34. Nakhchivani M. ibn H. A Scribe’s Guide to Determining Ranks. A. Ali-zade (text, foreword, etc.). Vol. 2. Moscow: Nauka, 1976. 526 p. (In Russ.)

35. Piriev V. Z. ‘Bukaul’: The term revisited. Doklady Akademii nauk Azerbaydzhanskoy SSR. 1977. Vol. XXXIII. No. 12. Pp. 63–66. (In Russ.)

36. Piriev V. Z. Azerbaijan under the Hulaguids and Jalairids: State and Government System. Dr. Sc. (history) thesis abstract. Baku, 1988. 48 p. (In Russ.)

37. Piriev V. Z. Some aspects of administrative structures under the Hulaguids and Jalairids revisited: A case study of Dastur al-Katib fi Tayin al-Maratib (A Scribe’s Guide to Determining Ranks) by Muhammad ibn Hindushah Nakhchivani. In: Primakov E. M., Gamkrelidze T. V. et al. (eds.) Oriental Studies in the Soviet Union: Problems and Prospects. Moscow: Nauka, 1988. Pp. 197–203. (In Russ.)

38. Prokhorov D. A. Ttranslations of yarliqs of the Crimean khans to the Jewish community of Kyrk-Yer (Chufut-Kale) in the archives of the Russian Federation (According to the materials of the State Archive of the Republic of Crimea and the Russian State Historical Archive). Golden Horde Review. 2022. Vol. 10. No. 2. Pp. 456–481. (In Russ.)

39. Radlov V. Yarliqs of Tokhtamysh and Timur Qutluq. Zapiski Vostochnogo otdeleniya Imperatorskogo Russkogo arkheologicheskogo obshchestva. 1889. Vol. 3. Pp. 1–40. (In Russ.)

40. Rashid al-Din. Compendium of Chronicles. History of Mongols. History of Genghis Khan before His [Rise to Power] and Enthronement. I. Berezin (transl., foreword). Trudy Vostochnogo otdeleniya Imperatorskogo arkheologicheskogo obshchestva. 1858. Vol. V. 322 p. (In Russ.)

41. Rashid al-Din. Compendium of Chronicles. Vol. 1. Book 2. O. Smirnova (transl.); B. Pankratov, O. Smirnova (comment.); A. Semenov (ed.). Moscow, Leningrad: USSR Academy of Sciences, 1952. 315 p. (In Russ.)

42. Rashid al-Din. Compendium of Chronicles. Vol. 2. Yu. Verkhovsky (transl.); Yu. Verkhovsky, B. Pankratov (comment.); I. Petrushevsky (ed.). Moscow, Leningrad: USSR Academy of Sciences, 1960. 253 p. (In Russ.)

43. Rashid al-Din. Compendium of Chronicles. Vol. 3. A. Arends (transl.), V. Struve (ed.). Moscow, Leningrad: USSR Academy of Sciences, 1946. 340 p. (In Russ.)

44. Romodin V. A. (ed.) Materials for the History of the Kyrgyz and Kyrgyzstan. Vol. 1. Moscow: Nauka — GRVL, 1973. 281 p. (In Russ.)

45. Tadhkirat al-Muluk: A Manual of Safavid Administration (c. 1137/1725). V. Minorsky (transl., expl.). Cambridge: E. J. W. Gibb Memorial, 1980. 218+130 p. (In Eng. and Pers.)

46. Tiesenhausen E. W. von. Some collections from the treatise of Mohammad [ibn] Hindushah Nakhchivani. At: Institute of Oriental Manuscripts (RAS), Archive of Orientalists. Coll. 52. Call no. 14–16. Pp. 217–239. (In Russ.)

47. Trepavlov V. V. Steppe Empires of Eurasia: Mongols and Tatars. Moscow: Kvadriga, 2015. 368 p. (In Russ.)

48. Usmanov M. A. Ulus of Jochi and Its Subjects in the Fourteenth to Sixteenth Centuries: Letters of Grant and Related Acts. Kazan: Kazan University, 1979. 318 p. (In Russ.)

49. Vásáry I. Mongol or Turkic? Notes on bükevül, a military and court official of the Turco-Mongolian polities. In: Rybatzki V. et al (eds.) The Early Mongols. Language, Culture and History. Studies in Honor of Igor de Rachewiltz on the Occasion of His 80th Birthday. Bloomington: Indiana University, 2009. Pp. 195–207. (In Eng.)

50. Velyaminov-Zernov V. V. (ed.) A Dictionary of Chagatai Turkic. St. Petersburg: Imperial Academy of Sciences, 1868. 422 + 31 p. (In Chag. and Russ.)

51. Vernadsky G. V. History of Russia: The Mongols and Russia. Tver: LEAN; Moscow: AGRAF, 2000. 480 p. (In Russ.)

52. Veselovsky N. Tamga officer and customs warehouseman: The [two-in-one] imaginary position in Genghis Khan’s empire revisited. Zapiski Vostochnogo otdeleniya Imperatorskogo Russkogo arkheologicheskogo obshchestva. 1916. Vol. XXIV. Pp. 201–204. (In Russ.)

53. Vildanova A. B. [Analyzing] an original treatise on ranks and titles of Bukhara. In: Bregel Yu. E., Konstantinov V. M., Tveritinova A. S. (eds.) Written Monuments of the East: Studies in History and Linguistics. Yearbook. 1968. Moscow: Nauka — GRVL, 1970. Pp. 40–67. (In Russ.)

54. Vladimirtsov B. Ya. Turkic elements in Mongolian. Zapiski Vostochnogo Otdeleniya Imperatorskogo Russkogo Arkheologicheskogo Obshchestva. 1910. Vol. XX. Pp. 153–184. (In Russ.)

55. Yarliqs [granted] by Tatar Khans to Russian Metropolitans (A brief compendium). In: Cherepnin L. V. (ed.) Monuments of Russian Law. Moscow: Gosyurizdat, 1955. Vol. 3. Pp. 463–491. (In Russ.)