Persian Manuscripts : Mirʼāt al-Khayāl

Lūdī, Shīr ʻAlī Khān, active 1680لودی، شیر علی خان

Persian Manuscripts

<p style='text-align: justify;'> Author Shīr ʻAlī Khān Lūdī (fl. 1657–90) completed his <i>Mirʼāt al-Khayāl</i> (Mirror of the Imagination) in 1102 AH (1690–91 CE) according to a chronogram in the final line. It comprises an encyclopedia encompassing the lives and works of 136 poets — including fifteen female authors — interspersed with treatises on varied topics such as literature, music, medicine, physics, and ethics. When he served in Bengal, the Mughal Prince Shāh Shuja‘ (d. 1661) employed the author's father, 'Alī Amjad Khān (d. 1673–74), which allowed his son to study there under the poet Faraḥ Ḥusayn Nāẓim (d. ca. 1653–64) before Mughal nobleman and Fawjdār of Dehli, Sayyid Shukrallāh Khān, in 1090 AH (1679–80 CE), employed him, hence this work documents him and many authors whom he knew personally. While the colophon does not indicate when and where the scribe copied this manuscript, it appears likely finished in India, using British paper handmade in Kent dated 1814 and 1817, hence it must date after then.</p>