In Search of Qiwām al-Dīn and Humām al-Dīn al-Kurbālī: Bridging a Gap in the Intellectual History of Fifteenth-Century Shiraz

Abstract During the ninth/fifteenth century, Shiraz sustained its prominence as an intellectual epicenter in Iran. Although substantial research has recently been conducted on Ṣadr al-Dīn Dashtakī (d. 903/1498) and Jalāl al-Dīn Dawānī (d. 908/1502), two eminent philosophers of the city writing and teaching during the latter half of the century, the scholarly activities of the earlier period remain underexplored. This gap is particularly noticeable between the demise of Sayyid Sharīf Jurjānī in 816/1413 and the ascendance of Dashtakī and Dawānī, both of whom trace their intellectual lineage to Jurjānī. This article aims to address this lacuna by shedding light on two unrecognized scholars active during this interval: Qiwām al-Dīn and Humām al-Dīn al-Kurbālī, cited in historical sources as mentors to Dashtakī and Dawānī, respectively. The article proposes that they were distinct scholars from the same region, each embarking on unique intellectual journeys. Qiwām al-Dīn, an eminent student of Jurjānī, was an instructor of both rational and traditional sciences in Shiraz. Humām al-Dīn embraced Sufism under the guidance of the Timurid Sufi, Shāh Qāsim Anwār (d. 837/1433), and eventually became his authorized deputy ( khalīfah ). These two streams of thought – rationalist and mystic – not only coexisted in Shiraz but at times also converged, shaping the city’s rich scholarly tradition.