Lecture on ‘Maathir-ii-Rahimi’ at Department of History

Aligarh: Prof Eva Orthmann, Director, Institute Iranian Studies, Gottingen, Germany covered the many facets of life of Abdul Baqi Nihavandi and redeeming features of his works in a lecture on ‘Compilation and Contention: The Source, Structure and Aims of Maathir-ii-Rahimi’ at the Centre of Advanced Studies, Department of History, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

“Abdul Baqi Nihavandi, the Persian immigrant to India completed ‘Maathir-i-Rahimi’ in 1616 under the patronage of Abdur Rahim Khan-i- Khanan. The text covers the period of Mughal rulers till the early years of Jahangir with a focus on biographies of Bairam Khan and his son Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan, an important noble and a scholar of repute at Akbar’s court”, she said.

Prof Eva added: “The text compiled in three volumes traces the genealogy of Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khanan to the Qara Qoyunlu tribe of Persia. Abdur Rahim, described as Mard-i-Kamil in the text and is eulogized by the author for his political acumen and intellectual genius and for his patronage of artists and intellectuals and Hindi poetry”.

Covering different aspects of the life and works of Abdur Rahim, she reiterated that he was brought up like a prince in the court of Akbar.

“The language of the text is panygerical in nature and almost 1600 pages are in the form of epilogue (Khateme) where the writer describes scholars, poets, military leaders and mansabdars of the contemporary period. The writer elevates his patron, Abdur Rahim to the position of Padshah, a term usually used for the emperor”, said Prof Eva.

In the concluding remarks, Prof Gulfishan Khan (Chairperson, Department of History) spoke on the importance of this seventeenth century historical text and urged the students to read sources such as these for in depth research.