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The Use of Sources in Mughal Historiography

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 September 2009

M. Athar Ali
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Extract

India during the period of the Mughal dynasty (sixteenth-eighteenth centuries) is exceptionally well illuminated by a large body of historical literature, mainly in Persian. This literature followed the traditions of classical Persian historiography, the models of which like Yazdi's Zafarnama (a history of Timur) and Mir Khwand's Rauzatu's Safa (a history of the world), both written in the fifteenth century, were widely read in India. By its very volume, if nothing else, Mughal historiography has, however, to be studied and assessed separately. It may be recalled that when C. A. Storey made his great survey of Persian historical literature, works written on Indian history accounted for a major part of it providing 475 items, by authors (nos. 612–1087), as against 299 (nos. –611) concerned with Persia, and Central Asia and countries other than India. And among the works written in India those written in Mughal times again account for the overwhelming part.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , Volume 5 , Issue 3 , November 1995 , pp. 361 - 373
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 1995

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References

1 Storey, C. A., Persian Literature — A Bio-bibliographical Survey, Section II, Fasciculi 1–3 (London, 1935, 1936, 1939).Google Scholar Nos. 101–311 cover General History and the history of the Prophet and the Pious Caliphs and Imams. Of these too, many works were written in India. From these items biographical literature is excluded, which Storey catalogued in a separate volume, coming after section II, Fasciculus 3, as Part II of Volume I (London, 1953).

2 For a fairly comprehensive survey of Persian and other literature of Mughal India, in which such works are listed, see Marshall, D.N., Mughals in India: A Bibliographical Survey, i: Manuscripts (but including works now printed) (Bombay, 1967).Google Scholar

3 ii, ed. K. D. Ahmad (Calcutta, 1860–74).

4 Lucknow, 1875, p. 3.

5 Ibid., pp. 98–9.

6 Ed. Saiyid Ahmad Khan, W. N. Lees and Kabir al Din (Calcutta, 1862), pp. 452–453.

7 Ed. A. S. Usha (Madras, 1948), pp. 418–420.

8 Tabaqat-i Akbari, i, p. 99.

9 Lucknow, 1281/1864–1865, i, pp. 4–5.

10 Ibid., p. 132.

11 Sadr Jahan began writing his History in 1497. The statement quoted by Firishta, occurs in the Tarikh-i Sadri Jahan (account of the Sultans of Delhi), ed. Siddiqi, Iqtidar Husain (Aligarh, 1988), p. 54.Google Scholar

12 Tarikh-i Firishta, i, p. 134.

13 As yet unpublished, see Aligarh Muslim University Library MS Lytton Farsiya 3–26, 27 (2 vols).

14 Maktubat-i Allami or Insha-i Abul Fazl (Lucknow, 1262/1864) and several other eds.

15 Ed. Ed Chaudhuri, Abdul Ghafur, 2 vols (Lahore, 1971).Google Scholar

16 Pub. as Ruqat-i Alamgiri (Lucknow, 1260/1844): numerous MSS.

17 Lucknow, 1882.

18 MS Bib. Nat., Paris: Blochet Suppl. Pers. 482.

19 MS British Library, Add. 16,859, ff. 270–109b, 122b–127a.

20 Ed. Ali, Nawab, i (Baroda, 1928), pp. 8–13.Google Scholar The same editor published Vol. ii (Baroda, 1927), and Supplement (Baroda, 1930).

21 Mirat-i Ahmadi, i, p. 272.

22 See, for example, orders issued in respect of coining lighter copper coins (dams), Mirat-i Ahmadi, i, pp. 265, 267, 288.

23 Ibid., pp. 272, 283.

24 For Amin Qazwini's text see Aligarh CAS in History Library transcript, pp. 509–510. For the text of the actual inscription as found on the mosque, see Khoyhami, Pir Ghulam Hasan, Tarikh-i Hasan (Srinagar, n.d.) ii, pp. 500–1.Google Scholar

25 These versions are studied by Moosvi, Shireen, “;Administrating Kashmir, an Imperial Edict of Shahjahan”, Aligarh Journal of Oriental Studies, III (2) (1986), pp. 141–52.Google Scholar

26 Khan, Saqi Mustaid, Ma‘asir-i Alamgiri, ed. Ali, Agha Ahmad (Calcutta, 1871), p. 69.Google Scholar

27 Selected Waqai of the Deccan (1660–1671, A.D.), ed. Husain, Yusuf, Central Record Office, Hyderabad Govt., (Now A.P. State Archives) (Hyderabad, 1953).Google Scholar

28 A.P. State Archives MS (Asafiya, Fan-i Tarikh 2242), transcript Aligarh CAS in History Library, Nos. 15–16.

29 Of these histories the following have been published: Fazl, Abu'l, Akbarnama (Calcutta, 1873–1887)Google Scholar; Lahori, , Padshahnama (Calcutta, 1866–1872)Google Scholar; Kazim, , Alamgirnama (Calcutta, 1865–1873).Google Scholar

30 Jahangirnama (Tuzuk-i Jahangiri), ed. Ahmad, Syed (Ghazipur and Aligarh, 1863–1864).Google Scholar

31 Ed. Khare, G. H. and Kulkarni, G. T., Aurangzebachya Darbarache Akhbar (Persian texts with Marathi Calendars) (Pune, 1973).Google Scholar

32 Wilson, C. R. (ed.), The Early Annals of the English in Bengal, ii (2): The Surman Embassy (1911, 1963), pp. 282–3.Google Scholar

33 MS Oxford, Bodleian 257 (Fraser 124), ff. 129a–489b, which largely comprises material from Akhbarat from Delhi, given under separate entries for each day.

34 Cf. Sharma, S. R., A Bibliography of Mughal India (1526–1707 A.D.) (Bombay, n.d.), pp. 9–10.Google Scholar

35 Tazltarat-us Salatin-i Chaghta, ed. Alam, Muzaffar (Bombay, 1980).Google Scholar Cf. the editor's remarks in the English introd., pp. 5–7 for this author's sources.

36 British Library, Add. 16,711, ff. 141a, 145b–146a.

37 Khatima (Epilogue) of Faizi Sirhindi's recension of Jauhar Aftabchi's memoirs, King's College, Cambridge, MS84, ff. 134a–b. India Office MS Ethe 222 (I.O. 788) is also a copy of this recension.

38 Faizi Sirhindi, Akbarnama, Br. Lib. Or., 169, ff. 194b–195a.

39 King's College, Cambridge, MS 84 fT. 55b, 88b.

40 “ The book might be described as consisting of annals and a diary which once met within what is now the gap 1508–1519 (914–925 A. H.)”, Beveridge, A. S. in the preface to her translation, Baburnama (London, 1921), p. xxxiii.Google Scholar

41 Jahangimama, ed. Ahmad, Syed (Ghazipur and Aligarh, 1863–1864).Google Scholar

42 Tarikh-i Khan Jahan Lodi, ed. Din, S. M. Imamal (Decca, 1960), ii, pp. 704–5.Google Scholar

43 See account of the 13th R.Y. in Jahangimama, op. cit., p. 239, Cf. Elliot, and Dowson, , The History of India as told by its own Historians (London, 1866–1877), vi, pp. 278–9.Google Scholar

44 The separate history was published is Jahangimama (Lucknow, 1898).Google Scholar The Iqbalnama, a history of the Mughal dynasty till Jahangir's accession (1605), was written earlier in Jahangir's reign in the 15th regnal year (1620) (Kishore, Nawal ed., Lucknow, 1870, p. 479Google Scholar), in two vols. The history of Jahangir came to be treated as its third volume, and was published as such in the Nawal Kishore edition of the whole work (Lucknow, 1870), and in the Bib. Ind. edition of this volume only (Calcutta, 1865).

45 Ed. Alavi, Azra (Bombay, 1978).Google Scholar

46 Br. Lib. Add. 16,695, ff. 211b–245b, contains Ataki's account of Jahangir's reign.

47 The standard editions of the two works are: Badauni, , Muntakhab-ut Tawarikh, ed. Ali, Ahmad and Lees, , 3 vols (Calcutta, 1864–1869)Google Scholar; Ahmad, Nizamuddin, Tabaqat-i Akbari, 3 vols., ed. De, B. (vol. iii partly ed. Husain, M. Hidayat) (Calcutta, 1913–1935).Google Scholar In his work Nijatur Rashid, ed. Haq, S. Moinul (Lahore, 1972), p. 82Google Scholar, Badauni himself modestly styles his Muntakhab-ut Tawarikh, “a summary” of “the late” Nizamuddin Ahmad's history.

48 Muntakhab-ut Tawarikh, ii, p. 389.

49 MS Aligarh Muslim University Library, Subhanullah Coll. Suppl. Farsiya 920/45. For a few of Badauni's references to this work see Muntakhab-ut Tawarikh, iii, pp. 76–77, 97, 323.

50 Dabistan-i Mazahib (Bombay, 1292/1875), p. 266.

51 Thus H. Blochmann allowed it to influence heavily his translation of the chapters on Akbar's religious views in Abu'l Fazl's Ain-i Akbari. Not satisfied by rendering, for example, ain-i iradat qazinan (Rules for Spiritual Disciples) as ordinances of Divine Faith, Blochmann proceeds to insert the translation of a whole series of passages from Badauni. See Ain-i Akbari, tr. Blochmann, H. (Orig. Pub., Calcutta, 1864–1873)Google Scholar, rev.Phillott, D. C., Calcutta, 1927, p. 175Google Scholar (Ordinances of Divine Faith), 177–218 (extracts from Badauni). By and large, Mughal historians even in the eighteenth century, e.g. Khafi Khan in Muntakhab-ul Lubab, vol. i, remained great admirers of Akbar and his achievements, ignoring his religious heresies.

52 The standard editions of the two works are: Akbarnama, ed. Ali, Ahmad, 3 vols (Calcutta, 1873–1887)Google Scholar, Aini Akbari, ed. Blochmann, H. (Calcutta, 1867–1877).Google Scholar

53 These dates are best discussed in Moosvi, Shireen, Economy of the Mughal Empire (Delhi, 1987), pp. 5–8.Google Scholar

54 Ain-i Akbari, iii, tr. Jarrett, H. S., rev. Sarkar, Jadunath (Calcutta, 1948), p. 472Google Scholar (translation modified after checking with text, ii, p. 255); see also Akbarnama, i, p.9 (Abu'l Fazl's preface).

55 I assume nadanist (did not understand) is a misreading here for nadasht.

56 Tazkira-i Humayun wa Akbar, ed. Husain, M. Hidayat) (Calcutta, 1941), pp. 1–2.Google Scholar

57 Humayun Nama, ed. and tr. Beveridge, A. S. (London, 1902)Google Scholar, from the only known MS, in Br. Lib.

58 India Office Library, Ethe 219 (I.O. 218) seems to be the best MS copy of this work.

59 Mukhia, Harbans, Historians and Historiography during the Reign of Akbar (New Delhi, 1976), pp. 68–9.Google Scholar

60 Akbarnama, iii, p. 118.

61 Akbarnama, i, pp. 9–10.

62 Ibid., i, p. 10.

63 Br. Lib. Add. 27, 247.

64 Add. 27, 247, ff. 331b–332b; 400a–401b; 401b–404b.

65 Akbarnama, iii, pp. 381–3.

66 Ain-i Akbari, iii, tr. Jarrett, rev. Sarkar, pp. 472–473: translation substantially corrected after checking with text, ii, p. 255.