Mongol Expansion in the Caucasus and Persia through the Book Nihayat al-Arab fi Funun al-Adab by al-Nuwayri (d.733AH/1332AD

Abstract

The seventh century AH/thirteenth century AD witnessed the rise of the Mongol threat, which began planning, primarily, to invade and overthrow the Khwarazmian state and then expand into the countries of the Islamic world , This research attempts to assess the scholarly value of Nihayat al-Arab in the field of Mongol studies and to understand its position as a literary book compared to other contemporary historical sources, as well as later sources , It also sheds light on the intellectual and cultural dimensions that shaped al-Nuwayri's view of the Mongols , This makes studying this topic almost essential for anyone attempting to understand Islamic awareness of the Mongol invasion during the seventh and eighth centuries AH/thirteenth and fourteenth centuries AD.

Al-Nuwayri addressed the events of the Mongol invasion and its consequences for the Islamic world. He expressed an advanced historical awareness due to the political changes, as his presentation of historical events was not merely a narration, but rather offered reflections on the reasons for the fall of states and the weakness of the Islamic nation in the face of the Mongol enemy. Al-Nuwayri's material on the Mongols was distinguished by its comprehensiveness, as he did not limit himself to mentioning only historical military events, but also referred to the shifts in authority and the change in centers of power, and the disintegration of administrative structures in some Islamic regions, which led to the Mongol invasion.