Persian Manuscripts : Khizānah-'i ʻĀmirah

G̲h̲ulām ʻAlī Āzād Bilgrāmī, Sayyid, 1704-1786

Persian Manuscripts

<p style='text-align: justify;'>An abridged selection of biogrpahical notices of various nobles and statesmen culled from the <i>Khizānah-ʼi ʻĀmirah</i> (Royal Treasury), originally completed by the author, Ghulām ʻAlī ibn Nūḥ Āzād Bilgrāmī (1704–1786) in 1176 AH (1762–63 CE).</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>He completed it in Aurangabad, then the capital of the Hyderabad State very shortly after his close friend and patron, Niẓām al-Mulk ‘Alī Khān Āṣaf Jāh II (b. 1734, r. 1762–1803), ascended the throne.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'> A major Indian poet and author of several historical and biographical accounts, in this work he relates the lives of some 135 Persian poets, recounts the Āsaf Jahi dynasty up to his patron, describes other contemporary elites, and also the reigns of Aḥmad Shāh Durranī (r. 1747–1772) and the Maratha empire. Since he lived during many of these events and also relates vivid eyewitness accounts, historians deemed this work a reliable reference on 18th-century South Asia.</p>