Murmupp at 02:57, 29 January 2026

2026-01-29T02:57:23Z

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{{Short description|17th century Mughal history}}
{{italic title}}

The '''''Baharistan-i-Ghaibi''''' ({{langx|fa|{{Nastaliq|بهارستان غیبی}}}}), written by Mirza Nathan in [[Persian language|Persian]], is a 17th-century [[chronicle]] on the [[history of Bengal]], [[Cooch Behar]], [[Assam]] and [[Bihar]] under the reign of Mughal emperor [[Jahangir]] (1605–1627). Unlike other history books of the [[Mughal Empire]], written by court historians by order of the emperor and covering the history of the whole empire, the ''Baharistan-i-Ghaibi'' deals only with the affairs of Bengal and the adjoining area.

==Author==
The ''Baharistan-i-Ghaibi'' was written by Alauddin Isfahani, alias Mirza Nathan. His father, Ibrahim Kalal, later entitled Ihtimam Khan was a special officer of Jahangir.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hanif |first=N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DIxTAAAAYAAJ&q=Kalal+Khan |title=Islamic Concept of Crime and Justice: Political justice and crime |date=1999 |publisher=Sarup & Sons |isbn=978-81-7625-063-4 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Richards |first=John F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HHyVh29gy4QC&q=Kalal&pg=PA314 |title=The Mughal Empire |date=1993 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-56603-2 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dr. M. I. Borah |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.84864/page/n345/mode/2up?q=Kalal |title=Baharistan I Ghaybi Volume I |date=1936}}</ref> On his orders, Ibrahim Kalal went to Bengal in 1608, along with [[Islam Khan Chishti]], as an [[admiral]] of the Mughal fleet. Mirza Nathan accompanied his father in his service. Later Mirza Nathan was awarded the title of Shitab Khan by Jahangir.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Karim |first1=Abdul |author-link=Abdul Karim (historian) |title=History of Bengal: Mughal Period |year=1992 |volume=1 |publisher=Rajshahi University |oclc=28183749 |pages=7–8}}</ref> Serving in the Mughal army in Bengal, he witnessed most of the region's political events and common life, and wrote from personal observation. He took part in battles against [[Khwaja Usman]] and [[Pratapaditya]] during the viceroyalty of Islam Khan,<ref name="Banglapedia">{{cite book |last=Karim |first=Abdul |year=2012 |chapter=Baharistan-i-Ghaibi |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Baharistan-i-Ghaibi |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]] |access-date=2016-05-09 |archive-date=2015-11-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120065654/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Baharistan-i-Ghaibi |url-status=live}}</ref> but during the later period he was engaged in the warfare in [[Undivided Kamrup district|Kamrup]].

When the prince [[Shah Jahan]] revolted against his father Jahangir and came to Bengal, Mirza Nathan joined him and helped in his war operations, but when the prince left Bengal for the [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]], Mirza Nathan went into hiding and was not heard of anymore. Believed to be living a retired life, he adopted the pseudonym of ''Ghaibi'' (''Invisible'').<ref name="Banglapedia" /> Mirza Nathan's eyewitness accounts have provided detailed and lucid accounts of the Mughal conquest of Kamarupa, Kachhar and Assam. The accounts of the several Magh invasions of the Mughal territory of [[Bhulua]] and the several Mughal invasions to [[Chittagong]] are found in greater details in the Baharistan; the [[Rakhine State|Arakan]]ese and the Portuguese sources give only a short account.

==Organisation==
The ''Baharistan-i-Ghaibi'' was lost for a long time until its discovery by [[Sir Jadunath Sarkar]] in the [[Bibliothèque nationale de France|national library]] in Paris, France. Sir Jadunath wrote several articles in English and [[Bengali language|Bengali]] journals, bringing the manuscript to scholarly attention. The [[University of Dhaka]] procured a photograph copy of the book and M. I. Borah, the then professor of [[Persian language|Persian]], translated it into English. The government of Assam published it in 1936; the book consists of two large volumes of about a thousand printed pages. The English translation of Borah is very scholarly with copious notes of technical terms and geographical places. The book is divided into sub-sections called ''daftars''. The first ''daftar'' is the ''Islamnama'' account of the generalship of Islam Khan, while the second ''daftari'' documents the generalship of Qasim Khan Chisti; the ''Ibrahimnama'' documents the generalship of Ibrahim Khan Fath-i-Jang, and the last ''daftar'' deals with the rebellion of Shahjahan that usurped control of the Bengal region, and is called the ''Waqiat-i-Jahanshahi''. Mirza Nathan gives only four complete dates in the whole book, three of which are negated by his own narrative. However, references to the Muslim months of [[Ramadan]], [[Eid ul-Fitr|Eid]], [[Muharram]] and other festivals help ascertain the chronology of events accurately. Scholars have ascertained that the first two ''daftars'' were completed before 1632 and the last two were completed before 1641.<ref name="Banglapedia" />

==Accounts==

The ''Baharistan-i-Ghaibi'' is a unique and extensively documented source of the history of contemporary [[Bengal]], [[Bihar]] and [[Assam]] and the Mughal subjugation of the region.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} The only other source of the time [[Tuzk-e-Jahangiri]], the official memoirs of the emperor only briefly mention a few events in Bengal.<ref name="Banglapedia" /> Mirza Nathan's account follows the campaigns of Islam Khan, as well as the conflicts with of [[Koch Hajo]], [[Twipra Kingdom|Tippera]], [[Dimasa Kingdom|Kachar]], [[Ahom kingdom|Ahoms]] and [[Kingdom of Mrauk U|Mrauk U]] (over [[Mughal conquest of Chittagong|Chittagong]]) in lucid and copious details, including full accounts of the battles, the political situation and socio-economic life and conditions of the region during Jahangir's time. The book names and describes the regional political and military leaders and warriors who played instrumental roles in the events of the era.

==See also==
* [[History of Bangladesh]]
* [[Islam in Bangladesh]]
* [[Khalekdad Chowdhury]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite book |title=Baharistan-I-Ghaybi – Volume 1 |author=Nathan, Mirza |editor=M. I. Borah |year=1936 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.84864/page/n7/mode/2up |publisher=[[Government of Assam]] |location=[[Gauhati]], [[Assam]], [[British Raj]]}}
* {{cite book |title=Baharistan-I-Ghaybi – Volume II |author=Nathan, Mirza |editor=M. I. Borah |year=1936 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.279665/page/n1/mode/2up |publisher=[[Government of Assam]] |location=[[Gauhati]], [[Assam]], [[British Raj]]}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Books about the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:Bengal Subah]]
[[Category:1630s books]]
[[Category:17th-century Indian books]]
[[Category:17th-century Persian books]]

Baharistan-i-Ghaibi - Revision history

Murmupp at 02:57, 29 January 2026