The Mediatory Role of Sayyids Between Ruling Class and Commoners in Timurid Era

Subject Areas : Epistemological and methodological researcher of historical research

robabeh sadaat jazbi ¹ (ph.d student)
Reza Dehghani ² (Associate Professor, Faculty of World Studies, University of Tehran)
mahmood seyyed ³ (faculty of Azad university)

Received: 2023-08-20 Accepted : 2023-10-16 Published : 2023-11-22

Keywords: Timurids, ruling class, commoners, Sayyids, mediatory class,

Abstract :

Due to their descent from Prophet Muhammad, Sayyids have been highly respected by the public since the advent of Islam and have enjoyed a special status. The fall of the Abbasid Caliphate and the Mongol rule created an atmosphere of religious free thinking across the Islamic world, allowing sects, Sufi orders and intellectual currents to freely propagate their ideas. Sayyids also benefited from this freedom, and some prominent families got the chance to enter politics and establish small, local governments like Mar'ashis. Apart from the states founded by Sayyids, Timur and his successors had great respect for Sayyids, appointing them to high positions in the administrative structure of the Timurid state. Owing to their social status and noble lineage, Sayyids played a mediatory role between the ruling elite as superordinates and the masses as subordinates. This mediatory function and their mutual respect by superordinates and subordinates allowed them to be socially and politically active, and serve as the sole refuge of the public in times of crisis like wars. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the role of Sayyids in the Timurid era as an intermediary group between the ruling and ruled classes. The research question is how Sayyids functioned as mediators between the ruling class and commoners under Timurid rule,