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XXIII.

RAUZATU-S SAFA

OF

MIRKHOND.

THE full title of this work is Rauzatu-s Safá fi Siratu-l Ambiá wau-l Mulúk wau-l Khulafá, "The Garden of Purity, containing the History of Prophets, Kings, and Khalifs." It was composed by Mírkhond, or more correctly Mír Kháwand, whose true name at length is Muhammad bin Kháwand Sháh bin Mahmúd. He was born towards the close of the year 836 H., or the beginning of 837-A.D. 1433.

We gather some few particulars of him and of his family from the account of his patron, the minister, 'Alí Shír, and of his son, Khondamír. The father of Mírkhond was Saiyid Burhánu-dín Kháwand Sháh, a native of Máwaráu-n nahr, who traced his pedigree to Hasan, the son of 'Alí. When his father died, Kháwand Shah was young, and being compelled by circumstances to abandon his country, he fixed his residence in the town of Balkh, where he indulged himself in the study of literature and science, and after an intermediate residence at Hirát, returned to Balkh, and died there.

Of Mírkhond himself very little is known. When he was only thirteen years of age he accompanied his father on a political embassy, which was not only entirely unsuccessful, but the negociators were unfortunately pillaged by the Turks and deprived of every thing they took with them. On another occasion, he tells us, that he was on a hunting expedition, when, for leaving his post to join in mid-day prayer, he was reprimanded by some of the royal servants, and was so much alarmed at the reproaches and at the extortions to which he was exposed in consequence,

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that he fell ill and remained in a bad state for seven days. Frightful dreams troubled him during the night, and before his departure the humble author of this history took God to witness, and vowed that on no account would he ever be induced to join another hunting expedition."

These luckless adventures seemed to have indisposed him towards an active and public life, and he devoted himself early to literature. His son tells us that Mírkhond having employed his early life in acquiring all that was attainable in Eastern science, in which he soon outstripped all his contemporaries, he applied himself with equal assiduity and success to the study of history. "Through the seductions of a convivial disposition, however, and too unrestrained an intercourse with the votaries of pleasure, it never occurred to him to engage in the labours of composition, until, by the goodness of Providence and the influence of his better destiny, he found means to be introduced to the excellent 'Alí Shír, from whom he immediately experienced every mark of kindness and encouragement." He assigned to Mírkhond apartments in the Khánkáh Akhlásía, a building erected by him "to serve as a retreat and asylum to men of merit distinguished by their attainments," and cheered him with intellectual converse when exhausted with the labours of composition.

'Alí Shír himself, in the biographical article which he devotes to Mírkhond, vaunts in pompous terms the distinguished talents of the historian, and greatly applauds himself for having by his counsels and urgent remonstrances overcome the modesty of this honourable man, and for having thus contributed to enrich Persian literature with a production so remarkable as the Rauzatu-s Safa.

A great portion of this work was composed on a bed of sickness, and the author has himself given an account of the painful circumstances under which he was compelled to write. It is fortunate that writing was found rather to relieve than aggravate his disease. "I wrote all, chapter by chapter, lying on my right side; and because of the violent pains I felt in my loins, I was

Clever phy

not able to write a single page sitting down. sicians assured me that this occupation would relieve me of the malady, or at least prevent its becoming worse. If on any night I happened to neglect my usual labour, and wished to abandon myself to repose, I had troublesome dreams, woke up in affright, or an excessive heat came over me which prevented my sleeping. If, on the contrary, I set myself to write as usual, I had a good sleep and agreeable dreams."

For a whole twelvemonth before his death he gave himself up entirely to religious duties, while his malady increased upon him every day, and after a lingering illness he expired in the month Zi-l ka'da, 903, corresponding with June, 1498-aged sixty-six years.1

There is no Oriental work that stands higher in public estimation than the Rauzatu-s Safá. The author has availed himself of no less than nineteen Arabic and twenty-two Persian histories, besides others which he occasionally quotes. His work forms the basis of many other compilations, and the greater portion of Hájí Khalfa's History may be considered to be founded upon it." It must be confessed, however, that the Rauzatu-s Safa is very unequal in its execution, some portions being composed in great detail, and others more compendiously. It is most copious in what concerns the kings of Persia.

CONTENTS.

Introduction. On the study of History in general, and its advantages, especially to Rulers.

Book I.-Gives an account of the Creation of the World, and of the Deluge; details the lives of the Patriarchs and Prophets; and contains the ancient History of Persia, to the conquest of that country by the Muhammadans, A.D. 636; the Life of Alexander, and several Grecian Philosophers.-339 pages.

1

Quatremère has given some notices of Mirkhond and of his son Khondamír in the Journal des Savants.

VOL. IV.

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Book II.-Details the History of Muhammad and the four first Khalifs, Abú Bakr, 'Umár, 'Usmán and 'Alí, with a particular account of their conquests to A.D. 664.-368 pages.

Book III.-Contains the lives of the twelve Imáms. This section comprises also the History of the Ummayide and Abbáside Khalifs.-232 pages.

Book IV.-Includes Memoirs of the Dynasties of Táhirides, Saffarides, Sámánides, Búwaihides, Saljúkides, Ghaznivides, Ghorians, Atábaks, etc., who reigned over Persia, Transoxiana, 'Irák, etc., from about the year 800 to 1263 A.D.-pages 293.

Book V.-Presents the History of the celebrated conqueror Changíz Khán, who was born A.D. 1154, and died at the age of 73; also Memoirs of his descendants, who reigned over Irán and Túrán till A.D. 1335.-pages 253.

Book VI.-Exhibits the History of Tímúr; also of his sons and successors to the year 1426.-pages 408.

Book VII.-In this section are preserved the Memoirs of Sultán Husain Mirzá Abú-1 Ghází Bahádur, fourth in descent from Tímúr, who reigned with great repute over Khurásán for thirty-four years, and died A.D. 1505-pages 166.

Conclusion.-Contains a description of the city of Hirát (then the capital of Khurásán), and of several other places of that kingdom.-pages 75.

Size.-Folio, 2 vols., containing respectively 939 and 1195 pages, of 29 lines each.

This accords with the Table of Contents given by the author himself, and copied by Stewart in his "Catalogue of Tippú Sultán's Library," but differs from the Latin Catalogue of the MSS. of Erpenius, at page 27 of the Appendix to Hottingeri Promptuarium.

A very full list of Contents will be found in the Vienna Jahrbücher, Nos. Ixix. and lxx. Anzeige-Blatt, where the Rubrics of the entire work are given. Baron Hammer-Purgstall has also given a detailed account of its contents in Handschriften HammerPurgstalls, Wien, 1840.

M. Jourdain, in his elaborate article in the ninth volume of Notices et Extraits des MSS. observes that additions were subsequently made to the seventh book by the author's son, Khondamír, because the author died A.H. 903, and events are recorded in it of A.H. 911. He consequently is disposed to ascribe the whole book to another hand. Major Price concurs in this opinion,1 but Sir W. Ouseley 2 is of opinion that Mírkhond wrote at least the first part of that book. His son Khondamír distinctly observes, that of his father's work the seventh book remained incomplete for want of materials, or, as has been suggested, more probably through the delicacy of engaging in a narrative of the passing events of the reign of Abú-1 Ghází. This omission he pledged himself at a future period to supply, should the requisite materials be procurable, and heaven be propitious to his hopes, This he accordingly did, and the seventh book is composed of extracts taken from the Habibu-s Siyar, and contains the biography of Mírkhond. The preface leaves it very doubtful whether any portion of the seventh book was written by Mírkhond, for the names of both father and son occur in it in a very strange combination.

The Conclusion, or Geographical Appendix, is more rarely to be found than the other portions. In this also there are several interpolations by Khondamír. There is an excellent copy of it in the Asiatic Society's Library.

The entire text of Mírkhond's history was published in lithography at Bombay in the year 1848, and the first part of a Turkish translation was issued at Constantinople in 1842.

We have no entire translation of this work, but at different times, and in different languages, several portions of the History have been made available to the European reader.3 The early volumes of the Modern Universal History derive the history of Persia from the Rauzatu-s Safá,-a portion of the work which has been attributed by some to Dr. Hunt, by others to George

1 66 Retrospect of Mah. Hist.," vol. iii., p. 656.

3 Vide "Ancient Universal History," iv., pp. 248, 288.

2 "Travels," ii., p. 397.