Endowment Deed of Rab’-e Rashidi

Endowment Deed of Rab’-e Rashidi is not only a valuable historical work, but also a manifestation of the Iranian people’s interest in knowledge and science. This work, whose full name is “Al-Waqfiyah al-Rashidiya Be-khat-e al-Waqif fi Bayaan Omur al-Waqf and al-Masarif”, is a manuscript in the handwriting of Khwaja Rashid al-Din Fazlullah Hamadani during the Ilkhanate era (1256 to 1356 AD).

Khwaja Rashid al-Din and His role in the Establishment of Rab’-e Rashidi

After the Mongols gained control over Iran and some surrounding lands in the 13th century AD, they moved the center of their government to the western regions of Iran. Gradually, the Mongols became familiar with Iranian culture and became attached to it, to the extent that they tried to help its expansion by employing Iranian experts. Khwaja Rashid al-Din Fazlullah was one of the ministers who was appointed to the Mongol court. He was a learned man of grace who was known as a doctor and scientist.

Khwaja Rashid al-Din Fazlullah was born in Hamadan. His father was a well-known physician and gave him the first lessons in the field of medicine. It is said that Khwaja was a follower of Judaism at first, but he became a Muslim in the middle of his life and after converting to Islam, he followed his scientific path. Khwaja first entered the royal Ilkhanate court as a physician, but gradually gained influence in court affairs and finally reached the position of minister in 1311 AD (711 AH). Khwaja Rashid al-Din was dismissed from the ministry in 1317 AD (717 AH) and was murdered in the same year as a result of a conspiracy. Although the birthdate of Khawaja is not known for sure, according to some sources, he was 71 years old at the time of his death.

Khwaja Rashid al-Din left behind several valuable books, including Jame’ al-Tawarikh (lit. “Compendium of Chronicles”), which is considered his most important book. In this book, the history of the world, the myths and beliefs of the Turkish community of the time, the history of prophets from Adam to the last prophet, and the geography of nations are discussed. The establishment of Rab’-e Rashidi is his most important work during his era as a minister. After the death of Khwaja Rashid al-Din, Rab’-e Rashidi was looted and destroyed. Today, the remains of this valuable work are left on the slopes of Mount Sorkhab in the north of Tabriz.

The Contents of the Endowment Deed of Rab’-e Rashidi

Rab’-e Rashidi was a scientific and educational town that hosted scientists from different nationalities. This town housed a huge library and other buildings such as a school, a mosque, an orphanage, a bathhouse, a guest house, a hospital, and industrial workshops. The management of such a huge complex involved a lot of expenses, so Khwaja Rashid al-Din prepared a “waqf-nameh” (endowment deed) in which he donated certain properties to cover the related expenses. Khwaja Rashid al-Din had acquired these properties in different cities during his ministry. Currently, some of these waqf properties are located in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Also, under the current division of Iranian territory, Khawaja Rashid al-Din’s waqfs are located in eight provinces. The endowment deed is an accounting book full of details in which the uses and characteristics of each endowment have been mentioned. Khwaja Rashid al-Din has mentioned helping the development of “Ilm al-Adyan and Ilm al-Abadan” (religious and medical sciences) as his purpose for the endowment of these properties.

Global Inscription of the Endowment Deed of Rab’-e Rashidi

The dimensions of the existing version of this book are 36 x 27 cm. This edition has 382 pages, the 33rd page and the last page of which are decorated with gilding. There are three gilded suns on the last page of the endowment deed. The cover of the book is made of leather and the thuluth script has been used for writing it. This manuscript is kept in Tabriz Central Library.

This precious heritage was in the possession of a private owner until 1969 AD, but in this year it was bought from him and handed over to the library to be preserved in a principled way and for the future generations. In 1971 AD, some photos were taken from various pages of the Endowment Deed of Rab’-e Rashidi and published in the form of a book. This endowment deed was introduced to UNESCO in 2007 AD by the National Library of Iran and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in the same year.