Precisazioni intorno a una regola alimentare buddhista nella Cronografia di Barhebraeus

In the chapter dealing with Mongol religious habits in the Chronography by Barhebraeus (1225/6-1286), we find precise reference to a Buddhist rule on the consumption of meat. The rule states that if the meat of an animal killed on purpose is offered to monks, they are not allowed to eat it. Barhebraeus’ primary source concerning the Mongols was the Persian History of the World’s Conqueror by ʽAṭā Malek Jovayni, who makes no mention of this rule in the corresponding passage. Therefore, it must have been an addition by Barhebraeus himself, based on his personal experience. For this reason, we can assume that he had met some Buddhist monks, most likely during his stay in Maragha. In the region of the Ilkhanid capital, a flourishing cultural center of the Near East, there must have been several Buddhist temples and/or monasteries, as we know from later historiographical accounts (Rašīd al-Dīn, al-Qāšānī). Along with several other data (mainly literary and topographical), this reference provides significant evidence of a sizeable Buddhist presence in Western Iran, that is farther west than the limit of securely identifiable Buddhist archaeological remains (i.e., the Kandahar – Merv line).