The “Kāmūsī Corpus”: A Case Study in Manuscript Production and Knowledge Transmission in Ilkhanid Iran

Abstract

AbstractThe arrival of the Mongols in Iran in the thirteenth century made a deep impact on the political, economic, and religious life of the region. With the establishment of the Ilkhanate (1250–1335), the cultural life of Iran was also transformed. The territories under Mongol control saw the appearance of new architectural styles, a renaissance of Persian literature, and a burst in the production of Islamic manuscripts. Regarding this literary production, scholars have concentrated their efforts on studying important works composed in Mongol Iran either for their scientific, literary, or artistic value. However, most of this research focuses on individual manuscripts or specific works belonging to a concrete literary genre; these do not provide a holistic picture of the production, distribution, and consumption of the huge number of manuscripts surviving from the period. In an attempt to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon, this study looks at six different manuscripts, jointly referred to as the “Kāmūsī corpus,” that share the rare characteristic of having all been copied by the same hand in fourteenth-century Iran. This article investigates the individuals involved in the production of these manuscripts, identifies the different works included in this corpus, and connects the production of these texts and the dissemination of knowledge in Ilkhanid Iran.