Book contents
- The Courts of the Deccan Sultanates
- The Courts of the Deccan Sultanates
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Note on Transliteration
- Chronology of the Deccan Sultanate Rulers
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Courtly Society
- Part II Courtly Skills
- 4 Scribal Skills
- 5 Esoteric Skills
- 6 Martial Skills
- Concluding Remarks
- Select Bibliography of Primary Sources
- Index
4 - Scribal Skills
from Part II - Courtly Skills
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2019
Book contents
- The Courts of the Deccan Sultanates
- The Courts of the Deccan Sultanates
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Note on Transliteration
- Chronology of the Deccan Sultanate Rulers
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Courtly Society
- Part II Courtly Skills
- 4 Scribal Skills
- 5 Esoteric Skills
- 6 Martial Skills
- Concluding Remarks
- Select Bibliography of Primary Sources
- Index
Summary
This chapter considers the importance of scribal skills, particularly letter writing, through a focus on the insha (epistolary) treatises of the Bahmani vizier, long-distance merchant and scholar, Mahmud Gavan. Against a background of court factionalism, Gavan advocated the cultivation of a genre of writing, insha or letter writing, which not only had strong practical uses for communication at court, but had the potential, if manipulated adroitly enough, to transform society, the recipient of the letter, and the individual writing the letter.
Keywords
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- Information
- The Courts of the Deccan SultanatesLiving Well in the Persian Cosmopolis, pp. 167 - 209Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019