Abd al-Baqi Nihavandi

'Abd al-Baqi Nihavandi (born around 1573; died after 1636) was a Persian-speaking poet and historiographer who worked in the Mughal Empire in the first half of the 17th century . The only works he has survived are the Ma'athir-i Rahimi , which he wrote for his patron, Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khanan .

biography

'Abd al-Baqi Nihavandi was born near Hamadan around 1573 . His family was of Kurdish origin and was in the service of Safavidenherrschers Shah 'Abbas I . 'Abd al-Baqi also worked for Shah' Abbas for a while before making a pilgrimage to Mecca and from there to India in 1614 .

At that time there was a lively exchange between India and Iran. Many poets and scholars moved to India because they hoped for better patronage opportunities there. Some stayed in India forever, while others later returned to Iran. 'Abd al-Baqi was in contact for a while with one of these returnees, the poet Mughith al-Din Mahvi Asadabadi, whom he met in Kashan , and who told him about the generosity of his Indian patron. Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khana, for whom Mughith ad-Din had worked, was one of the most important notables from the Mughal Empire at the time, and at the same time made a name for himself as a promoter of poetry and scholarship.

'Abd al-Baqi therefore went to the court of Abdul Rahim in India. There he was entrusted with writing a history that was supposed to tell of the life of his patron and his ancestors. It took 'Abd al-Baqi about two years to complete his monumental work, the Ma'athir-i Rahimi . He then left the court of Abdul Rahim. Probably afterwards he stayed with Prince Parviz for a while, possibly also with Mahabat Khan. There is evidence that he was still alive in 1636; the exact year of his death is unknown.

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The main chapters of the Ma'athir-i Rahimi deal with the life and work of Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khanan and his predecessors and sons. The most interesting part of the book is the "Afterword", a collection of more than 1500 pages of biographies of those people who were sponsored by 'Abd ar-Rahim. Since many of these people were poets, the afterword also contains a comprehensive collection of poems dedicated to Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khanan. Based on this collection of biographies, it is possible to obtain extensive information about the patronage system in the Mughal Empire.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Abd al-Baqi Nihavandi: Maathir-i Rahimi . In: Bibliotheca Indica . tape 181.3 . Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta 1931, p. 1542 ff .
2. ^ Eva Orthmann: Abd or Rahim Khan-i Khanan (964-1036 / 1556-1627): statesman and patron . Klaus Schwarz Verlag, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-87997-258-3 , pp. 12 .