Persian Manuscripts : Ḥāl-i Baygum Samrū

Anonymous

Persian Manuscripts

<p style='text-align: justify;'>An unidentified scribe completed this very rare, complete, prosimetrical biography entitled <i>Ḥāl-i Baygum Samrū</i>, of Samru Begam, (ca. 1745, r. 1778–1836), ruler of the principality of Sardhana, on Monday, 11 February 1841, just 5 years after her death. Comprised of twenty-two brief chapters, it opens by recounting the life and career of her husband, German mercenary Walter Reinhardt Sombre (ca. 1720-1778). It describes how the Mughal ruler Shāh ‘Alām II rewarded him with lands of the Durrani forces that he defeated, within which he established a principality in 1773. Referring to her to by the honourific Zīb al-Nisā Baygum throughout, then work continues to describe Begum Samru's ascension upon her husband's death in 1778, her formidable character, and major events in her life up until her death. </p>