Volume 04 Issue 11-2024
217
American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research
(ISSN
–
2771-2141)
VOLUME
04
ISSUE
11
P
AGES
:
217-221
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
ABSTRACT
The article emphasizes that Alisher Navoi was well-versed in world history, and his work "Tarihi muluki Ajam" provides
information about the history of the great empires of the ancient world and their relations. The author focuses on the
history of Rome in the work, notes related to the activities of some emperors, the relationship between Rome and
Ajam, and explains how they were interpreted by Navoi.
KEYWORDS
Alisher Navoi, history, Rome, Caesar, Emperor, interstate relations, notes and data, interpretation, "Tarihi muluki
Ajam," Byzantium.
INTRODUCTION
Alisher Navoi's work is distinguished by its immense
scope. This feature, characteristic of Renaissance
artists, is also evident in the works of Navoi, including
the geography of his dastans. In them, one can observe
the development of the plot and the events depicted
in the vast territory from Chin to Arabia, from India to
Rome. The great poet had a deep knowledge of
geography and world history. This is evidenced by the
content of his literary and scientific works. "Tarihi
muluki Ajam" contains information not only about the
history of Ajam, but also about the history of the other
great empires of the ancient world - the Turkic
Khaganate, Rome (Byzantium), and their relations.
Among them, notes and scenes related to the activities
of Roman rulers deserve special attention.
Research Article
ALISHER NAVOI AND THE HISTORY OF ROME
Submission Date:
November 20, 2024,
Accepted Date:
November 25, 2024,
Published Date:
November 30, 2024
Crossref doi:
https://doi.org/10.37547/ajsshr/Volume04Issue11-28
Kadirjon Ergashev
Literature and Folklore of the Uzbek Language, Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, leading researcher of the
Institute, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Uzbekistan
Journal
Website:
https://theusajournals.
com/index.php/ajsshr
Copyright:
Original
content from this work
may be used under the
terms of the creative
commons
attributes
4.0 licence.
Volume 04 Issue 11-2024
218
American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research
(ISSN
–
2771-2141)
VOLUME
04
ISSUE
11
P
AGES
:
217-221
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
Navoi uses the form of the Roman name common in
the tradition of Eastern historiography, that is, he calls
it Rum. In his works, this term is used equally in relation
to the Roman Empire in general and Vizantium (Eastern
Roman Empire). It should be noted that Navoi
mentions only Octavian Augustus as "Augustus the
Stubborn" from among the Roman emperors. When
speaking of other emperors, all of them are referred to
as "qaysar," "Rum Qaysar," which is the title used in
Eastern tradition for the rulers of Rome. In such cases,
it is important to determine which emperor the author
was referring to, and this is possible, as a certain part
of the information given in Navoi's work is also
available in other sources, including studies devoted to
the history of Rome. Based on their comparison, the
time of the events, what historical figures are
mentioned, and others, it is possible to draw
conclusions about which ruler is being discussed in one
place or another. As a result of our research based on
this, we were able to identify Navoi's notes and
information about the activities of emperors such as
Valerian, Theodosius, Julian, Mauritius, and Anastasius.
It is known that Octavian Augustus was the
first emperor of Rome. Prior to that, Rome was a
republic and ruled by consuls. Following the
assassination of Julius Caesar, Octavian began his
political career. He was Caesar's nephew. Octavian,
victorious in the political struggle, avenged Caesar's
murderers. Later, he established his monopoly in Rome
by defeating his main political rival, Marcus Antonius.
The years of Octavian's reign are considered to be the
most powerful period of the Roman Empire.[2-593].
The name of Octavian Augustus is mentioned by Navoi
only once in his works. In "Tarikh-i muluki Ajam," he
states that there is information about the fact that
Jesus was arrested at that time in the mention of
Shapur bin Ashk from the dynasty of the Ashkanids,
and says that "Va Agustus was a muosir to the
stubborn one" Jesus asserts that Shapur bin Ashk and
Octavian lived at the same time [3-620]. Octavian was
born in 63 BC and died in 14 AD. Jesus was born in the
first year of the Common Era (calculation begins with
his birth year) and lived to be 44 years old. When
Octavian died, Jesus died. He was 14 years old.
In 252-260 AD, Emperor Valerian ruled Rome. This
century was a period of political instability and chaos in
the Roman Empire. During these years, imperial power
was weakened, and rulers often changed. Most of
them were military, and at every opportunity they took
power. Valerian was one of these emperors.
Alisher Navoi's work "Tarihi muluki Ajam"
contains some notes about the life of this ruler. As
mentioned above, Navoi does not name the emperor,
but refers to him as "the stubborn one." According to
him, there was a war between the stubborn ruler and
Shah Shapur bin Ardasher, who belonged to the
Sasanian dynasty. The reason for this was that the
Volume 04 Issue 11-2024
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American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research
(ISSN
–
2771-2141)
VOLUME
04
ISSUE
11
P
AGES
:
217-221
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
persecutor exceeded his limits. "The persecutor of
Rome has invaded his limits," Navoi writes about this.
Shapur besieged and conquered the city of Nisibin,
which belonged to Rum, and also captured the
treasures of the stubborn ruler. After that, the
stubborn man admitted defeat and was forced to pay
tribute to Shapour. If we turn to sources and historical
research related to the history of Rome, it becomes
clear that the Emperor who was sitting on the Roman
throne at that time and was defeated by Shopur bin
Ardasher was Valerian, and Navoi meant this ruler
when he said that he was stubborn. This information is
also confirmed by studies on the history of Iran. They
note that Shapour bin Ardasher (Shapour I) fought and
defeated the Roman emperor Valerian in 260 BC.
Valerian was captured. Shopur used the emperor, like
ordinary people, in the construction of the dam. For
this reason, this dam was later called "Bandi Qaysar"
(Caesar Dam) [4 -112]. These subsequent details,
namely the capture of Valerian and his use in the
construction of the dam, are not found in Navoi's work.
In Navoi's work, one of the scenes related to the
history of Rome is connected to an emperor,
Theodosius, and his son.
It is known from sources that Theodosius was on the
throne from 379 to 395. He was extremely cautious in
his domestic and foreign policy, particularly in seeking
to establish good relations with the Sasanian Empire.
In 387, Theodosius managed to conclude an alliance
with Shapur III. They shared Armenia by mutual
consent. In addition, the agreement between the two
contained an article granting Chopur III the right of
guardianship over the son of Emperor Theodosius.
Navoi also drew attention to the unique relationship
that existed between Shapur III (Navoi calls him Shapur
binni Shapur) and the Rum Emperor, and emphasized
this in "Tarihi Muluki Ajam." Most importantly, he
dwells in detail on the issue of guardianship. According
to Navoi's words about this, the initiative came from
the Rum sultan (Navoi calls him "Rum sultan" in one
place and "sultan" in two places), and he himself raised
the issue. In the "Tarikh-i muluki Ajam," his words on
this matter are also cited, addressing Shapur binni
Shapur through an ambassador: "A man was sent to
Shapur and made an invasion, so that I am old, I don't
trust my life anymore, and my son is young." One man,
my dear, has your trust, and let him reign in Rome. If
my son grows up, he will hand over the property to
him." According to Navoi, in response to this, Shapur
bin Shapur sent a man named Shervin to Rum to take
care of him on his behalf. Sherwin ruled Rum after his
stubborn death until his son grew up. When Caesar's
son grew up, he entrusted the power to him.
Here, there are a couple of aspects of the issue that
need to be clarified in the future. Shopur III was
proclaimed regent to Arkady, son of the Emperor
Theodosius. But Chopur III himself could not carry out
this guardianship, because, according to sources, he
Volume 04 Issue 11-2024
220
American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research
(ISSN
–
2771-2141)
VOLUME
04
ISSUE
11
P
AGES
:
217-221
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
died in 378, a year after the aforementioned
agreement was concluded, long before Theodosius
(He died in 395). As we have seen above, Navoi Shopur
writes that he entrusted this work to Shervin and that
Shervin ruled the Romanian government until the son
of Theodosius reached adulthood. However, there is
no information about this in the sources of Roman
history.
In the parts of "Tarihi Muluki Ajam" dedicated
to rulers such as Hurmuz binni Anushirvan, Bahrami
Chobina, Khusrv Parviz binni Hurmuz, Alisher Navoi,
while describing historical events and information
about the aforementioned individuals, in many places
mentions the ruler of Rum at that time. The author,
remaining true to his custom, does not mention the
name of the Emperor, but simply refers to him as "the
Roman Caesar" and "the stubborn one."Comparison of
the events and information in these parts, the records
of the stubborn one, with information from historical
sources and research shows that the word here refers
to the Emperor Mauritius.
Mauritius ruled
the
Eastern
Roman
Empire
(Byzantium) from 582 to 602.[5] Throughout his
career, Mauritius not only sought to strengthen the
empire, save it from decline, but also sought to
strengthen it, exert influence on neighboring states,
including the Sasanian Empire, sometimes making
campaigns against them. He was a contemporary of
the aforementioned Khurmuz binni Anushervan,
Bahrami Chobina, Khusrau Parviz, and was involved in
the political events that took place in Ajam during their
reign. Mavriki made a peace with the Turkic Khaganate
in 589 and established allied relations. In 595, Khusrau
Parviz, who had fled to him due to the rebellion of
Bahrami Chobina, was well received and provided him
with military assistance. With his help, Khosrow won a
victory over Chobina. Mauritius was assassinated in
602 by Foka, who rebelled against him.
Most of the events described are also reflected
in "Tarihi muluki Ajam." According to Navoi, at the end
of the reign of Khurmuz (Khusrau Parvez's father, who
was ruler in 579-590), the nobles of Ajam were
displeased with his policy and turned away from him.
As a result, the government of Hurmuz was weakened.
Taking advantage of this, neighboring rulers began to
attack Ajam. Among them, Navoi mentions the Rum
stubborn. Hurmuz was able to prevent the war by
giving gifts and gifts to the stubborn (that is, to
Mauritius). The nobles overthrew Hurmuz and
proclaimed Khusrau the ruler. But Bakhrom Chobina
opposed him. Khusrau, knowing that he would not be
able to fight Chobina, went to the Rum emperor and
asked him for help. According to Navoi, the idea of
going to Rum and getting help from Qays came from
his father, Hormuz. Khusrau asked him for advice:
"Parviz kurdikim, Bahrom ila muqobala qilur toqati
yuktur. Hurmuzdin wished him good fortune. Hurmuzd
finished, so that he and the treasurer would send his
Volume 04 Issue 11-2024
221
American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research
(ISSN
–
2771-2141)
VOLUME
04
ISSUE
11
P
AGES
:
217-221
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
sons and daughters to the enclosed fortresses and go
to Rum and ask for help from the rulers! As if to say
Parviz ul... He took refuge in the stubborn."
The words written by Navoi about how the stubborn
Khusrau treated him when he went to Rum coincide
with the information given above about Mavriki, that
is, Navoi also welcomed the stubborn Khusrau, gave
him military assistance, and with his help Khusrau
Bahrami fought against Chobina and won. He also
mentions that the ruler gave his daughter, Maryam, in
marriage to Khusrau and thus became Khusrau's son-
in-law to the ruler: "Chun Parviz got married to Rum,
the ruler, knowing his perfect condition, took good
care of him and married his daughter, Maryam, and
handed him his hand to help him. Bakhrom came upon
him, and Bakhrom ran away to the khan. Parviz sat on
the throne of Madain and put many countries under his
control."
In Navoi's epic "Farhad and Shirin," there is an image of
Maryam, Khusrau's wife. The prototype of this image is
the daughter of the Emperor Mauritius, Maryam, and
the prototype of the image of Sheruya in this epic is
Khusrau's son Sheruya, who was born to Maryam, a
grandson of Mauritius.
REFERENCES
1.
Ergashev Kodirjon. Interpretation of interstate
relations in "Tarihi muluki Ajam." UTA, 2013, No. 1.
P. 25-29.
2.
Kovalev S.I. History of Rome. Moscow, 1986. -
С.
593.
3.
Alisher Navoi. Tarihi muluki Ajam. Complete
collection of works in volume X. Volume 9. T.2011.
P.620.
4.
Grantovsky N.A. and others. History of Iran.
Moscow, 1977. С.112.
5.
The
Great
Russian
Encyclopedia.
Old.bigenc.ru/world history/text/2151075
