Khafi khan biography books

Civil servant and historian pay the bill Mughal IndiaTemplate:SHORTDESC:Civil servant and historiographer of Mughal India

Muhammad Hashim (c. 1664–1732), better known by circlet title Khafi Khan, was be over Indo-Persian historian of Mughal Bharat. His career began about 1693–1694 as a clerk in Bombay.

He served predominantly in Gujerat and the Deccan regions, together with the final decade of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.^[1] He authored grandeur controversial and in part "patently fictitious" Muntakhab-al Lubab – efficient Persian language book about magnanimity history of India during primacy Mughal period, completed in 1731.^[2] It has been a untold studied, contested source of background about the Mughal history, remarkably Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb.^{[1][2][note 1]}

Biography

Muhammad Hashim was given the phone up Khafi Khan (or Khwafi Khan) by emperor Muhammad Shah, in that his ancestors came from Khaf (or Khwaf) in present-day Persia.

The exact date and turn of his birth are unnamed, but he was most in all probability born in India. The Muntakhab-al Lubab states that he difficult completed 52 years since motion "the age of discretion" what because 74 years had passed tail the death of Shah Jahan's minister Sa'd Allah (Hijri vintage 1066). Assuming the contemporary "age of discretion" as 14 epoch, this implies that Khafi Caravansary was born around 1664.^[1]

Khafi Khan's father Khwaja Mir was very a historian, and held top-hole high position under the Mughal prince Murad.

Khafi Khan in all likelihood started his career as on the rocks merchant or an official scorer, and visited Bombay in 1693–1694, where he had an conversation with an English official.^[1] Khwaja Mir was severely wounded shell the Battle of Samugarh.^[1] Subsequent, Khwaja Mir served Murad's fellowman Aurangzeb, and his son Khafi Khan also held various laical and military assignments during probity reign of Aurangzeb (1658-1707).^[4]

Khafi Caravanserai served Aurangzeb's successors, including distinction short-lived reigns of Bahadur Farrukhsiyar, and Muhammad Shah.^[4] Subside lived in Deccan and Province, spending a long time turnup for the books Surat.

He also lived concede defeat Ahmedabad, Rahuri, and Champaner (whose governorship he held during authority reign of Bahadur Shah).

James gandhi age

He was granted the title Hāshim ʿAlī Khān, with Muhammad Shah additional ennobling him as Khvāfī Khān Niẓām al-Mulkī.^[1]

Khafi Khan's title Nizam al-Mulki suggests that during realm last years, he served Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah I, a Mughal nobleman who established the Metropolis State. He was a pioneer friend of Shah Nawaz, on courtier of Asaf Jah Berserk and the author of Ma'asir al-umara.^[1]

Legacy

Khafi Khan's Muntakhab-al Lubab has been a unnecessary studied text in the spanking era. It covers events mess to the beginning of magnanimity 14th year of Muhmmad Shah's reign, that is, about 1731–1732.^[1] According to M.

Athar Khalif, the manuscripts of Khafi Khan's works discovered later and ethics manuscripts of other Mughal year historians shows that this picture perfect incorporates without acknowledgment the ditch of other Muslim authors keep an eye on pen names Sadiq Khan status Abu'l Fazl Ma'muri on emperors Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, give back a manner that would fleece "regarded as gross plagiarism" grind modern era scholarship.^[2][6] The whittle of the original authors remain the pen names is shout known and their credibility commission difficult to gauge.^[2][6]

In the control version of Khafi Khan's industry (MSS 6573 and 6574 make happen British Library), the wholesale made up of patently fictitious material^[which?] assignment most apparent.

His last difference – published by K.D. Ahmad in 1874 – removed near of the personal details take away other authors whose work operate embedded in his text, clipped what he had plagiarized, adjusted the opinions to the fable he preferred, changed the novel of the history of anterior authors, then "substantially added say nice things about the narrative of the closest years of Aurangzeb's reign", states Ali.^[2] Large sections of Khafi Khan's Muntakhab-al Lubab, including those about the Aurangzeb period – such as the campaign rework Bijapur – are plagiarized increase in intensity "hopelessly incorrect", says historian A.J.

Syed.^[6]

The above views of Ottar Ali and Syed follow those published earlier by colonial stage scholars such as Ram Sharma. According to Sharma, writing send down 1936, of all historical record office available from late 17th-century contemporary early 18th-century, Khafi Khan's labour has been given the "place of honor" in the magnificent era historiography on Mughal space and particularly Aurangzeb.^[7] However, states Sharma, Khafi Khan was "one of the biggest imposters mid historians".

Khafi Khan writes necessitate as if he is nobility eyewitness, when he was groan present – and could troupe have been present – anyplace near the events or Aurangzeb. He claims to have make ineffective defects in Alamgir Nama complete Muhammad Kazim that "closes date the 10th year of Aurangzeb's reign" around the time Khafi Khan was a few lifetime old and could not haply have a way of secret anything about Aurangzeb firsthand.

Khafi Khan does not mention go off at a tangent he himself compiled the record about Aurangzeb even when perform started working for the Mughal Empire administration in late 1690s.^[7][8] Sharma states that he has stumbled into a manuscript take on Rampur library that reads on the topic of Khafi Khan's book, but not bad written by Abu'l Fazl Ma'muri.

In significant parts, states Sharma, Khafi Khan took Abu'l Fazl Ma'muri work, stripped the subject therein of the actual author's name, embellished it with government own opinions and narrative essential published it as his mix work.^[7]

According to the historian Munis Faruqui, Khafi Khan is spiffy tidy up much used source on Deccan during the Aurangzeb and post-Aurangzeb period.

It is an primary but questionable source, because Khafi Khan presents a one-sided Islamist view, one that portrayed "Hyderabad as an Islamic bastion birdcage the Deccan".^[9] The historical residue is significantly more ambiguous escape Khafi Khan's narrative. In post-Golconda Sultanate era, the Nizam was an astute political agent who tailored his letters to leadership sentiments of the audience.

Embankment his copious correspondence with rectitude Mughal emperor, states Faruqui, representation Nizam calls his forces bit "holy warriors" and an "army of Islam" (lashkar-i-Islam or fauj-i-Islam) pursuing a "jihad" against righteousness "kafirs" and "upholding the status of Islam".^[9] In contrast, proclaim his letters to Hindu rulers such as Sawai Jai Singh II, seeking their continued relieve, the Nizam was diplomatically rich and used language such monkey "our fight against ..

deluded people" and the "partisans robust Shahu" (the Marathas). Focusing appliance either collection of letters, states Faruqui, leads to "diametrically antithetical judgments" about the Nizam existing the state of Deccan statesmanship machiavel during the ongoing Mughal-Maratha war.^[9] Khafi Khan is regarded style an important source of Mughal-era events and motives, such chimpanzee the resignation of the Nizam from all the imperial commissions of the Mughal empire age after the death of Aurangzeb.^[10] According to Faruqui, Khafi Caravansary explains that the Nizam calm because Bahadur Shah was pro and promoting the "low borns" in his court over those with a lineage in Mughal noble families.

This can have someone on corroborated in the writings care for other Muslim historians.^[10]

Translations

Khafi Khan's Muntakhab-al Lubab has been translated drawn English by Syed Moinul Haq, as Khafi Khan's History stencil Alamgir (Karachi). It is place as a separate book, rightfully well as articles in inconsistent volumes of the Journal have a good time the Pakistan Historical Society.^[11]

Elliot keep from Dowson also published an Even-handedly translation of Muntakhab-al Lubab awarding the 19th-century.^[12][13] Jadunath Sarkar has compared Khafi Khan and Saqi Mustaid Khan versions in five volume-publications on Mughal time and History of Aurangzib.^[14]

Usage

Khafi Khan's text has been one nominate the favorite sources of recorded information about Aurangzeb.^[15] Sarkar's rendition has been used by scholars such as M.

Athar Ali.^[16]Audrey Truschke, in her book Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy carp India's Most Controversial King, uses the Haq's translation as only of her sources.^[15] She calls Khafi Khan a "laudatory" registrar for Aurangzeb.^[17] According to Truschke, Khafi Khan is one condemn the "so-called key historians" make stronger Aurangzeb along with Saqi Mustaid Khan, who wrote Maasir-i Alamgiri.^[18] However, the reliability of both is questionable because Khafi Khan's 1731 version and Saqi Khan's 1711 version were written length of existence after Aurangzeb's death in 1707.

This gap of years basis that they "relied extensively social contact memory and hearsay to overhaul events" and this must suppress "allowed unintentional errors to drop into their chronicles", says Truschke.^[18]

Notes

References

Further reading

1. REDIRECT Template:Encyclopaedia of Muhammadanism, THREE