Möngke Khan: The Ideal King in the Thought and Aspiration of Ata-Malik Juvayni

In the political thought of Iran-shahr (the Iranian world), the king, as the agent of Ahura Mazda, bore the responsibility of establishing order, justice, and the organization of society. Accordingly, a monarch who discharged his duty in a desirable manner became transformed into a "good king" or "ideal king," bringing about goodness, felicity, and prosperity. This intellectual apparatus spread from various foundations into the Islamic period as well, and although at certain junctures, such as the Mongol era, it encountered a serious challenge, it was each time recovered through the efforts of scholarly and political elites, who encouraged rulers to accept it. The Mongols, in the second decade of the seventh century AH, launched their devastating assault upon the territory of the Khwarazmshahs. Their attacks, accompanied by widespread destruction and massacres, led to the annihilation of the existing structures of society and eliminated order and stability. It appears that Juvayni's principal concern at this historical juncture was the restoration of order and the organization of society after the initial Mongol onslaught.
In this research, employing a descriptive-analytical method and relying on library sources—with particular emphasis on the text of Tarikh-i Jahan-gushay—an attempt is made to answer the following question: In Juvayni's thought and aspiration, what was the way out of the existing disorder and chaos? Accordingly, the principal objective of the research is to examine and elucidate Juvayni's thought and aspiration regarding the employment of the foundations of Iran-shahr political thought for the improvement of the existing situation and its manifestation in the personality of Möngke Khan, the Mongol Khan.
Juvayni, who was employed in the political and administrative apparatus of the Mongols, regarded the solution to the existing chaotic conditions as the emergence of an authoritative and competent sovereignty that would restore order to society. In accordance with Iran-shahr political thought, he regarded Möngke Khan as a possessor of divine charisma (farr) chosen by God to make the ruined world prosperous through justice and equity. Therefore, with the election of Möngke Khan at the great quriltai, he presents him as possessing the prerequisites and attributes of ideal kings in Iran-shahr political thought. He repeatedly refers to Möngke's supra-terrestrial station with words and expressions that render him akin to the kings of ancient Iran, and praises him as a charismatic and ideal king. In recounting Möngke Khan's accession to the Khanate throne, Juvayni states that he is God's chosen one, endowed with God-given wisdom and perfect intellect and judgment. Juvayni calls Möngke Khan a justice-dispensing monarch who spreads the justice of Anushirwan and re-establishes the rules of kingship and governance. He becomes so immersed in Möngke Khan's justice and equity that he considers him superior to Anushirwan and other kings. A noteworthy point is that Möngke Khan's justice is exercised within the framework of preserving the interests of groups and classes and in accordance with the principle of individual autonomy and competence (khwish-kari wa kardani), which is counted among the principles of Iran-shahr political thought. Möngke Khan's religious policies caused the atmosphere to become more open for Islam and the expansion of its influence. This very matter led Juvayni to regard Möngke Khan as a king supportive of the "Ahmadi shari'a" (the law of Muhammad) and to praise him with various epithets. In reality, Juvayni was pursuing his own aspiration and desire, which was none other than the existence of an authoritative and religion-supporting monarch. Ultimately, Juvayni's description of Möngke Khan's personality and period of rule is such that it places him in the ranks of the ideal charismatic kings—a monarch in whose light, through his competence, all the affairs of the world have been ordered, and even animals and inanimate beings have benefited therefrom.