Life and career

Ahmad Fanākatī came from Fanākat (or Banākat), a town on the upper Syr Darya in Central Asia, under the rule of the Qara Khitai until they were conquered by the Mongol Empire.

Ahmad obtained employment under Kublai through Empress Jamui Khatun, who had known him before her marriage. To her court he was originally attached but we find him already in high financial office in 1264.

Trusted by Chabi Khatun, Kublai's favorite wife, Ahmad was entrusted with state finances in 1262. He was successful in managing the financial affairs of Northern China and brought huge tax revenues to Kublai's new government.

In 1270, he assumed the full power of the new financial department known as the Department of State Affairs (Shangshu Sheng), which had equal status with the administrative department known as the Central Secretariat (Zhongshu Sheng).

After the conquest of the Song dynasty in 1276, he entered the financial matters of Southern China. He prepared a state monopoly in salt, which came to account for a large portion of state income. In his 20-year term of office, he created his strong faction with his clan and Muslims from Central Asia.

Ahmad's tax system gained a bad reputation from the Chinese because it was ruthlessly operated and considerably differed from traditional Chinese systems. Ahmad was reputed for his rapaciousness. He abused his position to gather riches for himself.

Marco Polo recorded his name as "Bailo Acmat (Achmac)". He mentions that Ahmad had 25 sons and accumulated great wealth.

In 1271, the Department of State Affairs was absorbed into the Central Secretariat. While holding the financial affairs, he started intervening in state administration. It heightened tension with the rival faction that included Crown Prince Zhenjin, Antong, the head of the Central Secretariat and other Mongol aristocrats, and Chinese bureaucrats. The death of his political patron Chabi Khatun in 1281 made the situation critical; Ahmad was assassinated by Wang Zhu and Gao Heshang (Kao Ho-chang) in the next year and his faction fell from power.

Although Ahmad's assassins were executed, after Kublai Khan heard all the complaints about Ahmad's corruption from his enemies, Kublai then ordered Ahmad's body to be taken from his tomb and desecrated by being eaten by dogs, and then using chariot wheels to smash the bones to pieces.

Kublai also ordered Ahmad's sons to be put to death.

Influence

Ahmad is usually portrayed as an evil bureaucrat in traditional Chinese records: his corruption and tyranny are emphasized. In contrast, the Jami al-Tawarikh positively evaluates his assistance to Kublai's administration. The recent Mongolian studies also tend to make positive reference to his role in establishing the dynasty's unique financial system.

In popular culture

Ahmad Fanakati was fictionalized by Mahesh Jadu in the Netflix series Marco Polo and by Leonard Nimoy in the RAI mini-series Marco Polo during the 1980s. In the Netflix series Marco Polo, Ahmad declares that he is not Persian but rather that he hails from Upper Asia. Specifically, he mentions a village near Bukhara that was destroyed as he was taken into the Mongol court. He is described and holds an influential role in the Jami al-Tawarikh, furthermore Ahmad plays the treacherous villain and lead antagonist in Season 2 of the Marco Polo.

生平

早年生平不詳，只知他是察必皇后的父親按陳那顏的陪嫁奴隸。史載世祖中統2年（1261年），阿合馬出任上都同知，三年領中書左右部，兼都轉運使。至元元年（1264年），升至中書平章政事，主政十多年。至元十四年（1277年），他任用侄子別都魯丁為中書省參知政事。

阿合馬在位期間主要掌理財政，他以清理戶口、推行專賣制度、發行鈔票（時稱交鈔）等方式來增加收入，元征服南宋之後，他又在江南實行發鈔和藥材限制專賣政策，使元初的財政收入大為增加。但他種種財政措施引起其他大臣不滿，武官王著聯絡僧人高和尚，趁世祖北往上都（今內蒙古境內）時，假傳太子之命召喚留守大都的阿合馬，然後設計將阿合馬刺殺。

二人事後被捕殺，但之後眾大臣紛紛上書，力言阿合馬所為多不法，經忽必烈調查後亦數阿合馬之罪，不但沒收其家產，殺其黨羽，還剖開阿合馬之棺槨車裂其屍。

地位

傳統史家對阿合馬之評價都相當負面，如《元史》就把阿合馬收錄於「姦臣傳」裡面，有「益肆貪橫」、「內通貨賄，外示刑威」這些話。然而隨著研究深入，後世對阿合馬之評價也不再極端，蓋因阿合馬在任內主要是改革稅制，整頓財政。當時正值元初，漢人、南人地位較低，出任宰相的是色目人，其後不管證據虛實都會被視為貪橫暴虐。再者，阿合馬進行的所謂「改革」，其根本原因是因忽必烈長年對外征戰、國庫空虛導致。而他的繼任人不論是漢人盧世榮、或是藏人桑哥，也遇到與阿合馬一樣的悲劇。

《馬可波羅遊記》中也有詳細記載這事，並指出事件是民族與宗教問題引起。