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Pochekaev R. Between Diplomacy and Law: Jarlig of Ilkhan Abu Sa‘id to Venetians in 1320 (Attempt at Interdisciplinary Research)

Roman Pochekaev
National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE)
St. Petersburg, Russia
ORCID: 0000-0002-4192-3528
E-mail: rpochekaev@hse.ru

 

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ABSTRACT. Jarlig given by Abu Sa‘id, Ilkhan of Iran to Venetians in 1320 was more than once used by scholars specialized in history of relations between medieval Turkic-Mongol states and European countries in the field of diplomacy and trade. Also it drew attention of specialists in the Mongol diplomacy of the 13th–14th centuries. Thus, it was considered as historical source and official document. Meanwhile, it is of great interest as diplomatic and legal act. It was written in the form of a patent by khan, but originally was prepared by Venetians to promote their own interests. The article is an attempt at interdisciplinary research of the jarlig in order to demonstrate its value for the study of legal realities of the Turkic-Mongol states of 13th–14th centuries and particularly the specific features of their relations with western partner countries. the author analyzes basic field of legal relations reflected in the jarlig as well as Chinggisid juridical terms used in the document. Also, he clarifies if the wordings of Venetian project correlated with principles and norms of the Mongol law in force in the Ilkhanate. Finally, a comparative analysis of Abu Sa‘id’s jarlig and other Chinggisids’ official acts (firstly of the Mongol Iran and the Golden Horde), including diplomatic documents and khans’ edicts, is carried out, in order to clarify its correlation to the Chinggisid chancellery tradition.

 

KEYWORDS: Ilkhanate, Golden Horde, Venetian Republic, jarlig, international trade relations, trade privileges, customs and duties, foreigners’ status, traditional law

 

FOR CITATION: Pochekaev R. Between Diplomacy and Law: Jarlig of Ilkhan Abu Sa‘id to Venetians in 1320 (Attempt at Interdisciplinary Research). Kunstkamera. 2023. 3(21): 68–83. (In Russian). doi 10.31250/2618-8619-2023-3(21)-68-83

 

*The research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant No. 23-18-00147, https://rscf.ru/project/23-18-00147, implemented at Voronezh State University.

 

DOI 10.31250/2618-8619-2023-3(21)-68-83
УДК 930.2+339.9:94(517)

 

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