Seyyed Mohammad Mansour; Alireza Khazaei
Abstract
The present article examines the structural and content-based aspects of a certification document related to a siyurghal decree issued by Tīmūr Gurkānī in favor of Mīr Ikhtiār ...
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The present article examines the structural and content-based aspects of a certification document related to a siyurghal decree issued by Tīmūr Gurkānī in favor of Mīr Ikhtiār al-Dīn Ḥasan al-Ṭabāṭabāʾī al-Bihbahānī. This taṣdīq-nāmeh of a Siyurghal Decree, written in the late Zand period (probably between 1201–1206 AH), is the only known document that extensively addresses not the original siyurghal decree issued by Tīmūr Gurkānī, but rather the formal confirmation of such a decree. The primary aim of this study is to conduct a thorough analysis of the internal and external elements of the taṣdīq-nāmeh of a Siyurghal Decree, examine the social status of the family that received the siyurghal, evaluate its historical authenticity, and compare it to existing examples of siyurghal decrees from various historical periods. This comparative analysis reveals that, unlike the original siyurghal decrees, such taṣdīq-nāmeh of a Siyurghal Decree were generally informal, non-bureaucratic documents whose legitimacy relied on the seals and testimonies of local elders, notables, and dignitaries. Accordingly, the document under examination stands as a unique case for identifying and evaluating taṣdīq-nāmeh of a Siyurghal Decree, particularly from the late Zand era. The authors in the present article have attempted, by structurally and content-wise examining the existing taṣdīq-nāmeh of a Siyurghal Decree and comparing it with the structure and content of Siurghal decrees based on previously published examples of Siurghal decrees, to identify the similarities and differences between these two types of documents and to distinguish their various aspects from one another
