K. Ghereghlou

Columbia University, USA

E‑mail: kg2458@columbia.edu

 Muhammad Khan Shibani in Tus

 Abstract. This present article studies and contextualizes an unpublished appointment letter (nishān) drafted on behalf of and sealed by the Uzbek ruler of Khurasan, Muhammad Khan Shibani, in 915/1509. Issued in the name of a Sunni judge from Mashhad, this appointment letter sheds light on the Uzbek ruler's plans to build a new city on the ruins of Tus, a rural town some 20 miles northwest of Mashhad, to be called Yadgar‑i Khani.

 Key words: Muhammad Khan Shibani, Tus, Khurasan, Uzbeks, Ma wara’ al-nahr, Safavids, Iran

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