Language: Added references to the use of Timurid Persian in diplomacy← Previous revisionRevision as of 11:12, 3 November 2026 Line 153: Line 153: ===Language=== ===Language=== During the Timurid era, Central Asian society was bifurcated, with the responsibilities of government and rule divided into military and civilian spheres along ethnic lines. At least in the early stages, the military was almost exclusively Turco-Mongolian, while the civilian and administrative element was almost exclusively Persian. The spoken language shared by all the Turko-Mongolians throughout the area was [[Chagatai language|Chaghatay]]. The political organization hearkened back to the steppe-nomadic system of patronage introduced by Genghis Khan.''The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor''. Translated, edited and annotated by W. M. Thackston (2002). Modern Library. The major language of the period, however, was [[Persian language|Persian]], the native language of the [[Tājik people|Tājīk]] (Persian) component of society and the language of learning acquired by all literate or urban people. Timur was already steeped in Persian cultureGérard Chaliand, ''Nomadic Empires: From Mongolia to the Danube'', translated by A. M. Berrett, Transaction Publishers, 2004. p. 75 and in most of the territories he incorporated, Persian was the primary language of administration and literary culture. Thus the language of the settled "[[Divan|diwan]]" was Persian, and its scribes had to be thoroughly adept in Persian culture, whatever their ethnic origin.Beatrice Forbes Manz. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999. pg 109: "In Temür's government, as in those of most nomad dynasties, it is impossible to find a clear distinction between civil and military affairs, or to identify the Persian bureaucracy solely civil, and the Turko-Mongolian solely with military government. It is in fact difficult to define the sphere of either side of the administration and we find Persians and Chaghatays sharing many tasks. (In discussing the settled bureaucracy and the people who worked within it I use the word Persian in a cultural rather than ethnological sense. In almost all the territories which Temür incorporated into his realm Persian was the primary language of administration and literary culture. The language of the settled population and the chancery ("diwan") was Persian, and its scribes had to be thoroughly adept in Persian culture, whatever their ethnic origin.) Temür's Chaghatay emirs were often involved in civil and provincial administration and even in financial affairs, traditionally the province of Persian bureaucracy." Persian became the official state language of the Timurid Empire{{cite book |others=Robert Devereux (ed.) |title=Muhakamat Al-Lughatain (Judgment of Two Languages) |author=Mir 'Ali Shir Nawāi |location= Leiden |publisher=E.J. Brill |year=1966 |oclc=3615905 |id={{LCC|PL55.J31 A43}} |quote=Any linguist of today who reads the essay will inevitably conclude that Nawa'i argued his case poorly, for his principal argument is that the Turkic lexicon contained many words for which the Persian had no exact equivalents and that Persian-speakers had therefore to use the Turkic words. This is a weak reed on which to lean, for it is a rare language indeed that contains no loan words. In any case, the beauty of a language and its merits as a literary medium depend less on size of vocabulary and purity of etymology that on the euphony, expressiveness and malleability of those words its lexicon does include. Moreover, even if Nawā'ī's thesis were to be accepted as valid, he destroyed his own case by the lavish use, no doubt unknowingly, of non-Turkic words even while ridiculing the Persians for their need to borrow Turkic words. The present writer has not made a word count of Nawa'i's text, but he would estimate conservatively that at least one half the words used by Nawa'i in the essay are Arabic or Persian in origin. To support his claim of the superiority of the Turkic language, Nawa'i also employs the curious argument that most Turks also spoke Persian but only a few Persians ever achieved fluency in Turkic. It is difficult to understand why he was impressed by this phenomenon, since the most obvious explanation is that Turks found it necessary, or at least advisable, to learn Persian – it was, after all, the official state language – while Persians saw no reason to bother learning Turkic which was, in their eyes, merely the uncivilized tongue of uncivilized nomadic tribesmen.}}{{cite encyclopedia |last=Spuler |first=Bertold |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/central-asia-v |title=Central Asia |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |access-date=2008-04-02 |quote=[Part] v. In the Mongol and Timurid periods: ... Like his father, Olōğ Beg was entirely integrated into the Persian Islamic cultural circles, and during his reign Persian predominated as the language of high culture, a status that it retained in the region of Samarqand until the Russian revolution 1917 ... Ḥoseyn Bāyqarā encouraged the development of Persian literature and literary talent in every way possible ... }} and served as the language of administration, history, belles lettres, and poetry.{{cite encyclopedia |title=Timurids |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |edition=Online |year=2007 |quote=During the Timurid period, three languages, Persian, Turkish, and Arabic were in use. The major language of the period was Persian, the native language of the Tajik (Persian) component of society and the language of learning acquired by all literate and/or urban Turks. Persian served as the language of administration, history, belles lettres, and poetry.|author1=B. F. Manz |author2=W. M. Thackston |author3=D. J. Roxburgh |author4=L. Golombek |author5=L. Komaroff |author6=R. E. Darley-Doran }} The Chaghatay language was the native and "home language" of the Timurid family,{{cite encyclopedia |title=Timurids |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |edition=Online |year=2007 |quote=What is now called Chaghatay Turkish, which was then called simply türki, was the native and 'home' language of the Timurids ... |author1=B. F. Manz |author2=W. M. Thackston |author3=D. J. Roxburgh |author4=L. Golombek |author5=L. Komaroff |author6=R. E. Darley-Doran }} while [[Arabic]] served as the language ''par excellence'' of science, philosophy, theology and the religious sciences.{{cite encyclopedia |title=Timurids |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |edition=Online |year=2007 |quote=As it had been prior to the Timurids and continued to be after them, [[Arabic language|Arabic]] was the language par excellence of science, philosophy, theology and the religious sciences. Much of the astronomical work of Ulugh Beg and his co-workers ... is in Arabic, although they also wrote in Persian. Theological works ... are generally in Arabic. |author1=B. F. Manz |author2=W. M. Thackston |author3=D. J. Roxburgh |author4=L. Golombek |author5=L. Komaroff |author6=R. E. Darley-Doran }} During the Timurid era, Central Asian society was bifurcated, with the responsibilities of government and rule divided into military and civilian spheres along ethnic lines. At least in the early stages, the military was almost exclusively Turco-Mongolian, while the civilian and administrative element was almost exclusively Persian. The spoken language shared by all the Turko-Mongolians throughout the area was [[Chagatai language|Chaghatay]]. The political organization hearkened back to the steppe-nomadic system of patronage introduced by Genghis Khan.''The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor''. Translated, edited and annotated by W. M. Thackston (2002). Modern Library. The major language of the period, however, was [[Persian language|Persian]], the native language of the [[Tājik people|Tājīk]] (Persian) component of society and the language of learning acquired by all literate or urban people. Timur was already steeped in Persian cultureGérard Chaliand, ''Nomadic Empires: From Mongolia to the Danube'', translated by A. M. Berrett, Transaction Publishers, 2004. p. 75 and in most of the territories he incorporated, Persian was the primary language of administration and literary culture. Thus the language of the settled "[[Divan|diwan]]" was Persian, and its scribes had to be thoroughly adept in Persian culture, whatever their ethnic origin.Beatrice Forbes Manz. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999. pg 109: "In Temür's government, as in those of most nomad dynasties, it is impossible to find a clear distinction between civil and military affairs, or to identify the Persian bureaucracy solely civil, and the Turko-Mongolian solely with military government. It is in fact difficult to define the sphere of either side of the administration and we find Persians and Chaghatays sharing many tasks. (In discussing the settled bureaucracy and the people who worked within it I use the word Persian in a cultural rather than ethnological sense. In almost all the territories which Temür incorporated into his realm Persian was the primary language of administration and literary culture. The language of the settled population and the chancery ("diwan") was Persian, and its scribes had to be thoroughly adept in Persian culture, whatever their ethnic origin.) Temür's Chaghatay emirs were often involved in civil and provincial administration and even in financial affairs, traditionally the province of Persian bureaucracy." Persian became the official state language of the Timurid Empire{{cite book |others=Robert Devereux (ed.) |title=Muhakamat Al-Lughatain (Judgment of Two Languages) |author=Mir 'Ali Shir Nawāi |location= Leiden |publisher=E.J. Brill |year=1966 |oclc=3615905 |id={{LCC|PL55.J31 A43}} |quote=Any linguist of today who reads the essay will inevitably conclude that Nawa'i argued his case poorly, for his principal argument is that the Turkic lexicon contained many words for which the Persian had no exact equivalents and that Persian-speakers had therefore to use the Turkic words. This is a weak reed on which to lean, for it is a rare language indeed that contains no loan words. In any case, the beauty of a language and its merits as a literary medium depend less on size of vocabulary and purity of etymology that on the euphony, expressiveness and malleability of those words its lexicon does include. Moreover, even if Nawā'ī's thesis were to be accepted as valid, he destroyed his own case by the lavish use, no doubt unknowingly, of non-Turkic words even while ridiculing the Persians for their need to borrow Turkic words. The present writer has not made a word count of Nawa'i's text, but he would estimate conservatively that at least one half the words used by Nawa'i in the essay are Arabic or Persian in origin. To support his claim of the superiority of the Turkic language, Nawa'i also employs the curious argument that most Turks also spoke Persian but only a few Persians ever achieved fluency in Turkic. It is difficult to understand why he was impressed by this phenomenon, since the most obvious explanation is that Turks found it necessary, or at least advisable, to learn Persian – it was, after all, the official state language – while Persians saw no reason to bother learning Turkic which was, in their eyes, merely the uncivilized tongue of uncivilized nomadic tribesmen.}}{{cite encyclopedia |last=Spuler |first=Bertold |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/central-asia-v |title=Central Asia |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |access-date=2008-04-02 |quote=[Part] v. In the Mongol and Timurid periods: ... Like his father, Olōğ Beg was entirely integrated into the Persian Islamic cultural circles, and during his reign Persian predominated as the language of high culture, a status that it retained in the region of Samarqand until the Russian revolution 1917 ... Ḥoseyn Bāyqarā encouraged the development of Persian literature and literary talent in every way possible ... }} and served as the language of administration, history, belles lettres, and poetry.{{cite encyclopedia |title=Timurids |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |edition=Online |year=2007 |quote=During the Timurid period, three languages, Persian, Turkish, and Arabic were in use. The major language of the period was Persian, the native language of the Tajik (Persian) component of society and the language of learning acquired by all literate and/or urban Turks. Persian served as the language of administration, history, belles lettres, and poetry.|author1=B. F. Manz |author2=W. M. Thackston |author3=D. J. Roxburgh |author4=L. Golombek |author5=L. Komaroff |author6=R. E. Darley-Doran }} The Timurid variety of Persian also served as the language of diplomacy between the Timurids and the Ming dynasty,{{cite book |last=Ido |first=Shinji |year=2015 |chapter=New Persian vowels transcribed in Ming China |editor1-last=De Chiara |editor1-first=Matteo |editor2-last=Grassi |editor2-first=Evelyn |title=Iranian languages and literatures of Central Asia: from the 18th century to the present |series=Cahiers de Studia Iranica |volume=57 |location= Leuven |publisher=Peeters |pages=99–136 |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338422452_New_Persian_vowels_transcribed_in_Ming_China}} as evidenced by ''[[:ja:回回館雑字|Huihuiguan zazi]]'', a Persian-Chinese glossary compiled in Ming China.{{cite book |last=Ido |first=Shinji |year=2018 |chapter=Huihuiguan zazi: A New Persian glossary compiled in Ming China |editor1-last=Korangy |editor1-first=Alireza |editor2-last=Miller |editor2-first=Corey |title=Trends in Iranian and Persian Linguistics |location=Berlin, Boston |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |pages=21–52 |doi=10.1515/9783110455793-003}} The Chaghatay language was the native and "home language" of the Timurid family,{{cite encyclopedia |title=Timurids |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |edition=Online |year=2007 |quote=What is now called Chaghatay Turkish, which was then called simply türki, was the native and 'home' language of the Timurids ... |author1=B. F. Manz |author2=W. M. Thackston |author3=D. J. Roxburgh |author4=L. Golombek |author5=L. Komaroff |author6=R. E. Darley-Doran }} while [[Arabic]] served as the language ''par excellence'' of science, philosophy, theology and the religious sciences.{{cite encyclopedia |title=Timurids |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |edition=Online |year=2007 |quote=As it had been prior to the Timurids and continued to be after them, [[Arabic language|Arabic]] was the language par excellence of science, philosophy, theology and the religious sciences. Much of the astronomical work of Ulugh Beg and his co-workers ... is in Arabic, although they also wrote in Persian. Theological works ... are generally in Arabic. |author1=B. F. Manz |author2=W. M. Thackston |author3=D. J. Roxburgh |author4=L. Golombek |author5=L. Komaroff |author6=R. E. Darley-Doran }} ===Literature=== ===Literature===