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URL: https://utoronto.academia.edu/SaifBeg

⇱ Saif Beg - University of Toronto

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A Scholar who focuses on the Chagati Khanate from the death of Chagatai in 1241 CE to the end of the Chagatai Khanate in the mid-17th century. I examine the political, cultural, and economic issues that arose when Chagataiyid Khans converted to Islam and their reception among the Moghuls.

I am a Podcast Host, Editor, and Producer of "In The Great Khan's Tent" a podcast focusing on the history, history of literature, literature, and folk literature of the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, North Africa, Mongolia, and the Russian Far East. Currently, I have ben going through a complete and thorough run through of the One Thousand and One Nights, also called the Arabian Nights. I also have begun a series called "Tales from Central Asia".
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Papers by Saif Beg

The purpose of this paper is to provide a preliminary survey examining certain aspects of censors... more The purpose of this paper is to provide a preliminary survey examining certain aspects of censorship and the presence of obscenity within the more popular adult translations of The Arabian Nights. Due to the wide depth of children’s literature this aspect will be undertaken in a future essay. The first aspect that will be examined will be the aspect of censorship, especially in the form of bowdlerization, with a focus on the translation of Edward William Lane1. The second aspect that his paper will focus on will be on the re-integration of the obscene narrative structures back into The Arabian Nights, focusing on the translation of Richard Burton and the reasons behind this re-inclusion. This paper will, lastly, also provide a brief overview of one such obscene narrative within The Arabian Nights as a foundational example of the sort of story that was targeted by translators.
The presence and propagation of myths and stories in any context highlights an evolution within a... more The presence and propagation of myths and stories in any context highlights an evolution within a geographical area which usually involves changes in the religious events, political ideologies, or cultural
modifications. These changes allow those who were not well versed in these three areas to understand the changes that had occurred or were still occurring. These types of stories have taken many forms such
as the Arabian Nights where stories of Caliphs, evil Viziers, Wizards, Jinn, and other characters help deliver a message that would not have been possible or understood if it was told directly and to the point. Stories
in this form provide many examples and lessons that could be learnt by those who listened to them in various settings such as meeting places, reading about them, or even retold by their family members. These types of stories and myths are found everywhere and in every culture.
This purpose of this paper is to begin a foundational inquiry to the larger question “Are geograp... more This purpose of this paper is to begin a foundational inquiry to the larger question “Are geographic designations within Stamp Catalogues continuing the colonial and imperialist ideologies in both Europe and North America?” To approach this question, this paper will examine two
important areas of Postage Stamps. Firstly, this paper will examine the role of Postage Stamps in propagating the ideologies of colonialism and secondly, this paper will examine into the organizational structure of two of the largest Postage Stamp catalogue publishers, Stanley Gibbons
and Amos Media, and how they continue to perpetuate these ideologies of colonialism. In the attempt to understand these approaches, various nation-states and colonies will be examined, using Postage Stamps from the authors own collection, in order to better understand how these ideologies are persistent in these catalogues.
The death of the last powerful Timurid, Shahrukh (r. 1409-1447 CE), had signaled the dissolution ... more The death of the last powerful Timurid, Shahrukh (r. 1409-1447 CE), had signaled the dissolution of the Timurid dynasty in Transoxania. Although Timurid scions would continue to rule city-states no one was able to replicate either Timur's (1336-1405 CE) conquests or the stability that was provided by Shahrukh. During this interim period, before the establishment of the Abu'l-Khayrid Khanate the Khwajagan-Naqshbandiyya, a Sufi tariqa, had established itself during this unstable political period and played an important role, not only as mediators between the various Timurid princes, but also as important economic factors which had resulted in the tarqia, for a time, being seen as an important foundation to an effective successor dynasty. The arrival of the Abu'l-Khayrids in the 16 th century changed the structural foundation of rule within Transoxania and the tariqa was no longer able to effectively exploit the situation as they had done before. This new political environment led them to expand and focus outside of Transoxania mainly within two regions. The first region was the re-established Timurid haven in Afghanistan and eventually the Indian subcontinent. The second region, and the main focus of this paper, was the region known as Moghulistan. Expanding to these new areas had allowed them to continue their role, in a limited form, as mediators or as somewhat important economic factors. While this can be termed as a continuation of the policies that were used by the tariqa, however, they had evolved far more significantly within Moghulistan than had been the case in Transoxania. In Moghulistan they found themselves not only playing an important religious role, especially in terms of conversions, but this new environment had allowed them to greatly expand the outlook for their political roles. The tariqa's role within society and the nobility had increased so much so that they were able to take over political power and, much like Timur himself, rule solely by themselves while controlling puppet Chagatai khans starting in the 17 th and 18 th centuries.
The presence and propagation of myths and stories in any context highlights an evolution within a... more The presence and propagation of myths and stories in any context highlights an evolution within a geographical area which usually involves changes in the religious events, political ideologies, or cultural modifications. These changes allow those who were not well versed in these three areas to understand the changes that had occurred or were still occurring. These types of stories have taken many forms such as the Arabian Nights where stories of Caliphs, evil Viziers, Wizards, Jinn, and other characters help deliver a message that would not have been possible or understood if it was told directly and to the point. Stories in this form provide many examples and lessons that could be learnt by those who listened to them in various settings such as meeting places, reading about them, or even retold by their family members. These types of stories and myths are found everywhere and in every culture. The presence of Sufi stories within the Central Asian context primarily deals with the political and religious aspect rather than a cultural one. These stories are often composed in volumes such as the Book of Dede Korkut which provides a sense of belonging and values that were based on tribal traditions or stories about their ancestors and were often cast in an Islamic light after their conversion, integrating their new religion with that of the rather than the traditional steppe religion. By the 13 th century, however, these stories and myths had moved from the previous Oghuz style, stylized by heroes, virtuous Khans, heroic deeds, damsels in distress and other tropes of this nature. They now began to focus on either the new political realities of Chinggisid credentials and were often used to showcase a ruler's descent from Chinggis Khan. It also tried to explain the surge of Islamic conversions especially amongst of some of the prominent leaders and princes who were of Chinggisid descent. This paper will examine two stories which emerged after the Mongol conquest, firstly focusing on the story of the conversion of Ozbek Khan (1313-1341 CE), who was a Khan of the Golden Horde and had established Islam as its primary religion. The focus of this story will be the use of fire and it relation to the fires of Hell and punishment awaiting unbelievers.
Historians use Primary and Secondary sources throughout their careers from the time when they wer... more Historians use Primary and Secondary sources throughout their careers from the time when they were undergraduates to the time that the finish their PhDs. However, how Historians come across both types of these sources is poorly understood. The purpose of this article is to identify the key elements of how Historians approach Primary and Secondary sources and how they interact with them, how they incorporate them into their courses, and how their students are interacting with them. This paper identified that Primary and Secondary sources are found through elements on the online institutional Libraries and that they rely more on their personal Library and knowledge, more than anything else. As a result of this research, it is clear that the trajectory of Librarianship has changed the way that Historians have traditionally interacted with Libraries, making the Historians, in essence, Librarians themselves in the way they interact with students.
This paper examines certain sections of the important Islamization narrative of Tughluq-Temur Kha... more This paper examines certain sections of the important Islamization narrative of Tughluq-Temur Khan in the Tarikh-i-Rashidi. This narrative is one of a few, which illustrates the beginning of Chagataiyid Islamization in Moghulistan. Also important in this narrative is how Mirza Haydar portrayed this process. These particular sections have been chosen since they contain almost all the elements that typically are contained in a conversion narrative.
The argument of this paper that this predisposition for dating the “end” of the Chagatai Khanate ... more The argument of this paper that this predisposition for dating the “end” of the Chagatai Khanate in 1370 CE is based on false premises and that there is no reason for the rise of Temur in Mawarannahr to be the “end” date of the Chagatai Khanate.
The focus of this paper is the examination of a specific subset of those notables who were identi... more The focus of this paper is the examination of a specific subset of those notables who were identified as Irani. It is the belief of this paper that this subset of foreign nobility should be termed as the Qizilbash who had their own unique reasons for leaving the Safavid Empire. They are a unique case of immigration to the Mughal Empire and are subsequently different from the other Irani also known as Tajiks a description also continued by some modern scholars. This paper examines three points which identify the existence of this category. Firstly, the identification as Qizilbash is an important one to be made and there are clear signs present within some primary sources which continually identify them as being a member of this group. Secondly, this paper examines the role of Bairam Khan, who while not being a member of the Qizilbash himself, continued to maintain links with his own tribe who were incorporated into that system thus taking on this identity himself which was passed down to his descendants. Lastly, this paper will also examine the attitude of modern scholarship in continuing to perpetuate the Irani classification system and how their perceptions continually cloud their judgement in properly defining these groups of nobility.
History and Political Science Journal, Sep 28, 2014
The establishment and the subsequent expansion of the Gök Turk Qaghanate in the 6th century led i... more The establishment and the subsequent expansion of the Gök Turk Qaghanate in the 6th century led it to come into contact with two major powers in Western Asia, the Sasanians, who were based in Iran and the Hepthalites based in Transoxania. As a result the Hepthalite state was hemmed in between two great and expanding powers. In 557 CE to 561 CE a Sasanian-Turk alliance was established and war with the Hepthalite state was soon declared. It consequently was destroyed. Soon the relations between the two former allies deteriorated over trading rights resulting in a series of two wars. This essay seeks to answer the question “What were the causes of such a rapid unraveling of this alliance between the Sasanians and Gök Turks and what effect did this have on the economy of the Sasanians?”

Drafts by Saif Beg

This paper examines the three reasons why instead of Humayun and Akbar, it is Bairam Beg who shou... more This paper examines the three reasons why instead of Humayun and Akbar, it is Bairam Beg who should be called the true founder of the Timurid Empire in India, instead of giving credit to any other person, except for Babur. It is only through the success of Bairam Beg’s own actions that the Timurids in India expanded as they did
It is this paper’s contention that the conquests of the Central Asian confederations, including t... more It is this paper’s contention that the conquests of the Central Asian confederations, including the Mongols, was not just a violent episode in the relations between agrarian and pastoralist but should be considered as an event eventually which saved the Muslim world from the decline that it had fallen into. This paper firstly examines the theory of cyclical history during the Seljuk rise as they began to establish dominance within the Middle East which was a turning point in Islamic history. Secondly this paper examines the change in the methods of legitimacy which forever changed how Islamic empires were established from then on through religious and political means. Lastly this paper examines the Seljuk invasion of Baghdad and claims that it was the Seljuks and not the Mongols who had eliminated the Caliph, as well as the ideology of the Caliphate, all but in name.

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