Tolerant Empires? Pluralism and Intolerance in Eurasian Courts - Part 1

Session Submission Type: Organized Panel

Abstract

The Mongols’ intolerant attitude towards those who refused to willfully submit to their domination is often mentioned at the same breath as their tolerance of religious diversity and the cultural eclecticism and cosmopolitan worldview showcased at their courts. This interplay between pluralistic approaches on the one hand and brutal suppression of opposition on the other was not restricted to the Mongol Empire, but was common to other Eurasian imperial projects as well. This two-part panel aims to consider these dynamics across geographical and temporal divides. Were imperial centers driven by practicality and effectiveness, indifference to religious diversity, or an inclusive, tolerant ethos when they chose one approach to religious and cultural difference over the other? How did courtly agents interact with, respond to and conceptualize such diversity? And what were the larger ideological currents at play in the promotion of these political cultures?
The two-part panel is thematically divided to advance a conversation based on a Eurasian comparative view. In this first panel, we explore reactions to, contestation and adoption of pluralistic attitudes at Mongol and post-Mongol Eurasian courts, and their relationship to the construction and maintenance of political authority and sacred kingship. The panel includes presentations on Muslim interaction with and response to Buddhism in Mongol ruled Iran, the intellectual roots of the Mughal emperor Akbar’s pluralistic doctrine of ‘Universal Harmony,’ and the intolerance of the Yuan court in China to diverse diplomatic protocols and its relationship with the dynasty’s integration of Turco-Mongolian and Confucian traditions.

Area of Study

• Interarea-Border Crossing

Session Organizer

• Jonathan Zev Brack, University of Michigan

Chair

• Johan Elverskog, Southern Methodist University

Individual Presentations

• Harmonious Henosis: Āẕar Kayvān and Occult Aspects of Akbar's ṣulḥ-i kull - Daniel Sheffield, University of Washington

• Rashid al-Din’s Epistle against the Transmigration of Chinggisid Souls: Islam, Buddhism and the Polemics of Mongol Sacred Kingship in Medieval Iran - Jonathan Zev Brack, University of Michigan

• Debates from Afar: Discussing Diplomacy at Qubilai's Court - Francesca Fiaschetti, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Discussant

• Johan Elverskog, Southern Methodist University