A hospital in Ilkhānid Iran: toward a socio-economic reconstruction of the Rab‘-i Rashīdī

In the first decade of the fourteenth century, Rashid al-D?n Fazl Allah penned a remarkable endowment deed in which he meticulously detailed his plans for the creation of a utopian community. He named it the Rab'-i Rashid. In this document, he provides socio-economic data concerning the day-to-day operations of this settlement unparalleled in comparable texts. This article focuses on the hospital ward of the Rab'-i Rashid, and provides a broader historical context for this medieval hospital and its personnel by examining the financial and monetary information in the endowment deed in order to piece together the inner workings of this community. In so doing, we are granted a rare opportunity to explore the daily lives of ordinary people whose endeavors, however significant, often went unnoticed.