Manuscript/Mixed Material Waqiat-i-Nadiri (History of Nadir Shah) Waqa-i-Nadiri / Vāqiʻāt-i Nādiri

Title

• Waqiat-i-Nadiri (History of Nadir Shah)

Other Title

• Waqa-i-Nadiri
• Vāqiʻāt-i Nādiri

Summary

• Historical study of Iran and Afghanistan during the reign of Nādir Shāh, 1688-1747.
• Waqiat-i Nadiri (literally "Events of Nadir") is a historical manuscript that chronicles the political and military career of Nādir Shāh, who was born in 1688 and rose to power in Iran during the 1720s; he became shah in 1736. He is known as a military warrior famous for his campaigns in Iran, Afghanistan, northern India, and Central Asia. He was assassinated by his officers in June 1747. The name of the author of this work, Muḥammad Mahdī Munshi' ibn Muḥammad Naṣīr (also seen as Mahdī Khān Astarābādī), appears on page four. Mahdi Khan was a court secretary, historian, and close confidante of Nādir Shāh, whom he accompanied on many of his campaigns, so the work is an important historical source. The manuscript is organized chronologically and recounts about 100 military and political events. The preliminary pages contain a preface outlining the political events in Iran and Qandahar (or Kandahar) that led to the Afghan invasion of Isfahan in 1722 and the emergence of Nādir Shāh as a ruler who would confront and eventually defeat the Afghans and other enemies. The preface is followed by a biography of Mahmud Hotaki, an Afghan commander who defeated the Safavids and briefly ruled in Isfahan. The last part of the manuscript covers the reigns of Ali Shah and Ebrahim Shah, nephews of Nādir Shāh, each of whom claimed the throne in Isfahan for brief times in the aftermath of Nādir Shāh's assassination. In the manner typical of Persian court historiography, the author emphasizes throughout the restoration of order, the introduction of justice, and the defeat of the enemies of the state. The margins contain notes, probably by anonymous readers. Various poems and verses from the Qur'an appear throughout the text. The manuscript is written in different styles of broken nastaliq, the calligraphic Persian script. All of the events recounted have a rubricated title and are organized and described in terms of their outcomes or final causes, usually in a page or a half page. The manuscript is numbered in pencil in the Indo-Arabic numeral style, probably by an anonymous reader. World Digital Library.

Names

• Mahdī Khān Astarābādī, active 1733-1759

Created / Published

• 1173 [1759 or 1760]

Headings

• -  Nādir Shāh,--Shah of Iran,--1688-1747
• -  Manuscripts, Persian--Washington (D.C.)
• -  Iran--History--16th-18th centuries
• -  Iran--Kings and rulers--Biography
• -  Iran

Notes

• -  "The manuscript WAQA-I-NADIRI contains memoirs of Nadir Shah compiled by Mohammad, waqia Navis of Nadir Shah. The Manuscript gives a detailed accound of the period from 1708-1747 AD dealing with his campaigns in India, Afghanistan, & Iran etc. This copy is about 200 years old and is unpublished so far"--typewritten label pasted inside front cover.
• -  Folio 1a-241b.
• -  Later black cloth binding, with black leather spine.
• -  Library of Congress. Persian manuscript 263/63.
• -  Manuscript.
• -  Nastaʻliq; 15 lines in written area 19 x 11 cm.
• -  Paper: Middle-Eastern light cream-colored paper; no borders, some rubrication; heavily worm damaged and repairs throughout.
• -  Probably copied in Iran.
• -  Title from frontispiece.
• -  Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website.
• -  Persian.

Medium

• 241 leaves (15 lines) bound : paper ; 25 x 17.5 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

• DS294 .M312 1759

Digital Id

• http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.wdl/wdl.11852
• https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.amed/plmp.m003

Library of Congress Control Number

• 2013415018

Online Format

• pdf
• image

LCCN Permalink

• https://lccn.loc.gov/2013415018

Additional Metadata Formats

• MARCXML Record
• MODS Record
• Dublin Core Record

IIIF Presentation Manifest

• Manifest (JSON/LD)