مجله مطالعات ایرانی (Dec 2023)
Analysis of the political – military functions of entertainment of the Seljuk period
Abstract
Introduction Man has a dual existence, and just as he needs food to cultivate his physical powers, he must take measures to cultivate his spiritual powers. One of the most important actions that can help to strengthen and refresh the spiritual dimension of a person is recreation. Realizing this need from the distant past, people tried to develop their spiritual powers by engaging in various types of entertainment. This problem is especially observed among ruling families who had more facilities. The Seljuk sultans were also among these families who, understanding this need and following the entertainment tradition that remained for them from the previous period, used different ways to spend their free time. During this period, various recreational activities such as hunting, strolling, traveling the countryside in temperate climates, polo, playing backgammon and chess, shooting, horseback riding, and holding banquets were common. In addition to their primary and immediate function, i.e. leisure, these entertainments also had a political-military function. Most of the time, this type of entertainment function was created unintentionally, and in some cases, the political actors of this era deliberately and with prior knowledge carried out a type of entertainment with the aim of the political-military exploitation of the occasion. This issue caused the courtly classes to become aware of the conspiratorial and political nature of some types of entertainment and in many cases, when they suspected the intentions of their organizers, they refrained from engaging in such entertainments. However, these functions in some cases played a constructive role in the political-military developments of the Seljuk era. And in other cases, they had harmful effects on the political life of the period and became a place for political settlements and conspiracies of opponents against each other. The political-military functions of the pastimes of this period were in some cases related to sultans and in other cases to Seljuk officials and officials such as great emirs and ministers. Methodology The current research was done in a historical way. In this method, by using the method of library research, first by referring to the sources related to the Seljuk period, all the necessary data for writing the research have been collected. In the next step, the aforementioned data were reviewed and analysed, and then the reliable information was written in a descriptive manner in line with the purpose of the research. Also, the authors have tried to contribute to the richness of the article by providing analysis based on witness accounts and remaining documents. Discussion The decentralized structure of the Seljuk government, which was influenced by the political and social traditions of this dynasty, consisted of a central government and various local and tribal dynasties. This feature has turned this period into one of the most turbulent periods in the history of Iran. The political actors of this era, including sultans, local rulers and nobles, court families and great nobles, used every opportunity to settle political accounts with their rivals and opponents. The entertainments of this period were among the important opportunities for the exploitation of different political groups. During the Seljuk era, there were entertainments such as banquets, celebrations, hunting, traveling, sexual entertainment, dance and music, wine parties, history and story-telling, shooting, riding, polo, humor, poetry and intellectual games. Although most of these recreational activities served political-military functions, it was particularly obvious in some activities such as hunting, polo, banquets, poetry and satire. In terms of its essence, this function can be examined in two ways, military and political. Some types of entertainment such as hunting and polo had a military nature, and some, such as banquets, had great potential to turn into events for deceiving, arresting and eliminating political opponents. Thus, the political-military functions of the entertainments of the Seljuk era can be investigated in terms of their influence on the political events of this era in the form of two groups of positive and constructive functions, as well as negative or non-constructive functions. The first positive political-military function was to increase the combat and operational power of the Corps, which was achieved through simulating the battle scene and strengthening the physical strength of the soldiers by doing recreational activities such as hunting and polo. These activities, in addition to increasing the fighting power and agility of the soldiers, were a simulation of the battle scene with the enemies. Also, sometimes the players acted under the guise of such entertainments as hunting, killing enemies or collecting secret military information. The second positive function of these entertainments was to increase the legitimacy of the sultans. The sultans of this dynasty used some types of entertainment of this age as a weapon in order to increase their legitimacy. In this regard, we can mention the skill of hunting strong animals such as lions as a means of propaganda. Maintaining and promoting the status of government officials was another political function of the entertainments of this era. The skill of some government officials in performing entertainment or providing conditions for the entertainment of the sultans further secured their position as agents of the government. The entertainments of this period also played a constructive role in the relations between the central government and the local rulers, and the great Seljuk sultans used the capacities of some entertainments such as poetry recitals to create convergence between themselves and the rulers. Or they used to de-escalate the tension between themselves and their subordinates in the course of friendly meetings while engaging in such entertainments as banquets. The giving of various gifts related to the entertainments of this era, such as special horses and hunting animals, was one of the other capacities of the entertainments of the Seljuk period to create convergence between the central government and its agents and other local rulers. In some cases, a type of entertainment led to the acquittal of the angry and even saved the life of the mentioned person, and thus the entertainments of this era played an important role in the political developments of the Seljuk era in a different way. In this context, we can point out the sugar-coated language of satirists with regard to the sensitive cases of reprimanded or persecuted officials, which would end up saving their lives. Also, the skill of some government officials in performing some types of entertainment such as polo caused their mistakes to be ignored by the sultans, and the poisonous propaganda of their opponents was neutralized. The removal and installation of sultans and some local rulers was the first negative and non-constructive political-military function of the entertainments of the Seljuk period. The extravagance of some sultans and local rulers gave their opponents an excuse to surprise them by using the capacity of some types of entertainment such as banquets and then remove them from their positions. The removal and killing of government officials were the second negative political-military function of the entertainments of this period. In this way, they killed their opponents on the pretext of overdoing it through a surprise attack. Also, by getting the satisfaction of the sultans in providing the means to engage in a hobby, they provided the basis for killing their rivals. Conclusion The nature of some types of entertainment in the Seljuk era, along with the tense and complex political atmosphere of the time, caused the traditional entertainments of this period to acquire a political-military nature in addition to their function of invigorating and making people happy. Entertainments of the Seljuk period had seven political-military functions, which are divided into two groups: positive functions and negative functions. The political functions of these entertainments, which had a constructive effect on the course of events in this era, include strengthening the physical and operational strength of the army, promoting the legitimacy of the sultans, maintaining and promoting the status of government officials, acquitting political dissidents, and improving the relations between the Seljuk court and the local rulers. Negative functions also included the removal and installation of sultans and local rulers and the removal and killing of government officials. Although the recreational and invigorating function of the pastimes of this period was fully conscious, most of the political-military functions of the types of pastimes of this era were involuntary and unconscious. This means that the activists of this era did not perform these entertainments with the motivation of fulfilling such functions, but during their occupation, such functions arose involuntarily. Of course, some of the political functions of the pastimes of this era prioritized their recreational function, and even in some cases, the political nature played a more important role than the recreational aspect in engaging in a particular type of recreation. The political-military functions of the entertainments of the Seljuk period included all political spectrums and groups, including sultans, great emirs, ministers, slaves, and other Seljuk appointees and vassals in the states
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