Sharaf al-Din 'Ali Yazdi (ca. 770s--858/ca. 1370s--1454): Prophecy, politics, and historiography in late medieval Islamic history

This dissertation examines the life and works of the Timurid historian and intellectual Sharaf al-Din 'Ali Yazdi ( ca. 770s-858/ca. 1370s-1454), who is best known as the author of the Z&dotbelow;afarnama which is a biographical account of Timur (d. 807/1405), the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Iran and Central Asia.;Yazdi was born to an urban elite family in Yazd, Iran, and gradually became a major player in Timurid politics and intellectual life. In this dissertation, Yazdi's own works as well as the published and unpublished narrative and documentary sources are used to reconstruct Yazdi's life and his relationship with the competing Timurid princes. There are two princes who are given special attention. The first one is Ibrahim-Sult&dotbelow; an b. Shahrukh, who invited Yazd i to Shiraz to start composing a history, and Sult&dotbelow;an-Muh&dotbelow;ammad b. Baysunghur, in whose rebellion in 850/1446-47 Yazd i played a prominent role. Yazdi was part of a little known intellectual circle in the late medieval Islamic word. While reconstructing Yazdi's biography, fundamental characteristics of this intellectual circle are also studied. In particular, Sayyid H&dotbelow;usayn Akhlat&dotbelow;i and S&dotbelow; a'in al-Din Turka are included in this analysis in order to shed light on the identity of this intellectual circle.;This dissertation establishes that Yazdi wrote at least five historical works, including the abovementioned Z&dotbelow;afarn ama, and he did not complete any of them. It also discusses the reasons for Yazdi's changes to the plan of his historical compendium, and argues that Shahrukh's purge of intellectuals around 830/1426-27 and his attempts to control the intellectual and public sphere were one of the reasons for Yazd i's decision.;While changing the plan of his historical works, Yazdi changed his political discourse as well. From his earlier sympathies to redistributive politics in the early 820s/1417s, Yazdi moved towards formulating a description of the model absolutist ruler in 850/1446-47. He achieved this transformation by manipulating and combining the notions of prophecy, the perfect man, and the caliph.