Rashiduddin

Rashiduddin, also known as Rashid al-Din Hamadani (c. 1247–1318), was a Persian statesman, scholar, and court historian of the Ilkhanate. Born in Hamadan, Iran, he rose to prominence as a trusted administrator and adviser to the Ilkhanid rulers, including Ghazan Khan, and later served in high office under the subsequent khans. As a senior vizier, he organized taxation, judiciary affairs, and administrative reform, and he played a role in promoting Islam within the Mongol-ruled empire.

His enduring legacy lies in his scholarly and literary work, most prominently the Jami' al-tawarikh or Compendium of Chronicles. Begun around 1306, this ambitious universal history sought to present a panorama of world history from Creation to the contemporary era, drawing on Persian historiography and a wide range of sources from Central Asia, the Islamic world, and beyond. The Jami' al-tawarikh is considered one of the earliest and most important attempts at a comprehensive world chronicle in the Persian language, and it provided valuable information on the Mongol Empire, China, the Middle East, and related regions. The work survives in multiple manuscript copies and influenced later historians and chroniclers.

Rashid al-Din Hamadani was executed in 1318 amid political intrigues within the Ilkhanate, a event that cut short his direct influence. Nevertheless, his administrative reforms and his monumental chronicle left a lasting imprint on Persian historiography and on the broader record of medieval world history.