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{{short description|1695 Persian-language history chronicle}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| author = Sujan Rai
| orig_lang_code = fa
| translator =
| country = [[Mughal Empire]]
| language = [[Persian language|Persian]]
| subject = History of India
| genre = non-fiction
| published = 1695 (manuscript); 1918 (printed)
| publisher =
| native_wikisource =
| wikisource =
| notes =
}}
'''''Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh''''' ({{Langx|fa|خلاصة التواریخ}}, "Epitome of History") is a [[Persian language]] [[chronicle]] written by [[Sujan Rai Bhandari]] in the [[Mughal Empire]] of present-day India. It deals with the history of [[Hindustan]] (northern [[Indian subcontinent]]), and it also contains details about the contemporary Mughal Empire. Sujan Rai completed the book in 1695 CE, during the reign of [[Aurangzeb]]. An insertion about Aurangzeb's death was later added to the original copy by a transcriber.

Alternative transliterations of the book's title include ''Khulasat-Al-Tavarikh'' and ''Khulasatu-t-Tawarikh''.

== Authorship and date ==

The author's name is not given anywhere in the actual book, but the transcribers' notes in several manuscripts mention him as Sujan Rai. Some manuscripts appended Bhandari or Batalvi to his name.<ref name="MA_2011"/> The title [[Munshi]] is also prefixed to his name. One such manuscript calls him the "Munshi of Munshis".<ref name="IH_7">{{cite book |url=http://kblibrary.bih.nic.in/Vol07/BP012.htm |title=Indian History - Vol 7, No. 540 |chapter=Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh |pages=12–14 }}</ref>

Rai was a [[Khatri]] Hindu from [[Batala]]. As a young man, he had served as a ''dabir'' (secretary) to some nobles.<ref name="MA_2011"/> He knew the [[Hindustani language|Hindi]], [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Sanskrit]] languages.<ref name="IH_7"/>

''Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh'' was completed in the 40th year of Aurangzeb's reign, corresponding to 1695 CE. Most of the manuscripts contain a brief account of Aurangzeb's death at the end, written abruptly in a small number of lines. This section is believed to be an insertion in an early copy by a transcriber and was repeated in subsequent copies.<ref name="MZH_1918"/>

== Contents ==

=== Preface ===

The book has a long preface, which contains a list of 27 Persian and Sanskrit historical works used as references:<ref name="MA_2011">{{cite book |author1=Muzaffar Alam |author2=Sanjay Subrahmanyam |title=Writing the Mughal World: Studies on Culture and Politics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YWYWAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT414 |year=2011 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-52790-3 |pages=414–419}}</ref><ref name="IH_7"/>

'''Persian translations of Sanskrit works'''

# ''[[Razmnama|Razm-Namah]]'', translation of ''[[Mahabharata]]'' by [[Abdul Qadir Badayuni]] and Sheikh Muhammad Sultan Thanesari; commissioned by [[Akbar]]
# Translation of ''[[Ramayana]]''; commissioned by Akbar
# Translation of ''[[Harivamsa]]'', translated by Maulana Tabrezi; commissioned by Akbar
# ''Jog Basisht'', translation of ''[[Yoga Vasistha]]'' by Shaikh Ahmad; commissioned by [[Dara Shikoh]]
# ''Kitab Bhagawat ''
# ''Gulafshan'', translation of ''[[Singhasan Battisi]]''
# Translation of Bidhadhar's ''Rajavali'' by Nibahuram
# Translation of [[Kalhana|Pandit Raghu Nath]]'s ''[[Rajatarangini]]'', by Maulana Imad-ud-Din

'''Persian-language texts'''

# ''Tarikh-i-Mahmud Gaznawi'' by Maulana Unsuri; about [[Mahmud of Ghazni]]
# ''Tarikh-i-Sultan Shihab-ud-Din Guri''; about [[Muhammad of Ghor]]
# ''Tarikh-i-Sultan'' Ala-ud-Din Khalji; about [[Alauddin Khalji]]
# ''Tarikh-i-Firuzshahi'' by Maulana A'azz-ud-Din Khalid Khani; about [[Firuz Shah Tughlaq]]
# ''Tarikh-i-Afaghina'' by Husain Khan Afghan
# ''[[Zafarnama (Yazdi biography)|Zafar Namah]]'' by [[Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi|Sharaf-ud-Din Ali Yazdi]]; about [[Timur]]
# ''Timur Namah'' by Hatifi; about Timur
# ''[[Akbarnama|Akbar Namah]]'' by Abu'l Fazl; about [[Akbar]]
# ''Tarikh-i Akbar'' Shahi by Ata Beg Qazwini; about [[Akbar]]
# ''Akbar Namah'' by Shaykh Ilahdad Munshi Murtada Khani; about [[Akbar]]
# ''Tabaqat-i-Akbari'' by Nizam-ud-Din Ahmad Bakshi; about [[Akbar]]
# ''Iqbal Namah''
# ''[[Tuzk-e-Jahangiri|Jahangir Namah]]''; about [[Jahangir]]
# ''Tarikh-i-Shah Jahan'' by Waris Khan, corrected by Sa'd Ullah Khan; about [[Shah Jahan]]
# ''Tarikh-i-Alamgiri'' by Mir Muhammad Kazim; about [[Aurangzeb]]
# ''Tarikh-i-Bahadur Shahi''; about [[Bahadur Shah of Gujarat]]

'''Other works'''

# ''[[Padmavat]]''
# ''[[Baburnama|Tarikh-i-Baburi]]''; about [[Babur]]; translated from [[Turki]] by Mirza Abad-ur-Rahim Khan Khanan
# ''[[Tarikh-i-Kashmir]]'', translated from the Kashmiri language by Maulana Shah Muhammad Shahabadi

=== Geography of India during Aurangzeb's reign ===

The description of Hindustan in the book:<ref name="MA_2011"/><ref name="MZH_1918"/>

* People and their customs
* Flora and fauna
* Geography of [[subah (country subdivision)|subahs]] (provinces) of the Mughal Empire
** Chief towns and rivers
** Handicrafts and other products
** Interesting localities and Buildings
** Subdivisions ([[sarkar (administrative division)|sarkars]] and [[mahallah|mahals]]), including revenues

The following provinces are covered in the book:<ref name="JS_1901">{{cite book |title=India of Aurangzib |author=Jadunath Sarkar |author-link=Jadunath Sarkar |publisher=Kinnera |date=1901 |pages=xii-xvi }}</ref>

{{div col|colwidth=18em}}
# [[Shahjahanbad]] ([[Delhi]])
# Akbarabad ([[Agra]])
# [[Allahabad]]
# [[Awadh]]
# [[Bihar]]
# [[Bengal Subah|Bengal]]
# [[Orissa, India|Orissa]]
# [[Aurangabad, Maharashtra|Aurangabad]]
# [[Berar Subah|Berar]]
# [[Khandesh]]
# [[Malwa Subah|Malwa]]
# [[Ajmer]]
# [[Ahmedabad]] ([[Gujarat]])
# [[Thatta]]
# [[Multan]]
# [[Lahore]]
# [[Kashmir]]
# [[Kabul]]
{{div col end}}

The descriptions of many provinces, especially those away from the author's native [[Punjab region]], are borrowed from ''Ain-i-Akbari''.<ref name="JS_1901"/> The book gives a detailed and original account of Punjab, especially the [[Lahore]] subah and the [[Batala]] sarkar.<ref name="MZH_1918"/>

=== Hindu kings of India ===

This part gives an account of the pre-Islamic rulers of India, especially [[Delhi]]. It covers kings from the time of the legendary [[Pandava]] ruler [[Yudhishthira]] to Rai Pithora ([[Prithviraj Chauhan]]). The book gives a list of the rulers' names, the period of their reigns and a short account. This section is more of legends than history.<ref name="MZH_1918"/>

=== Muslim kings of India ===

This part gives details of the Muslim rulers, from Nasir-ud-din [[Sabuktigin]] to Aurangzeb. A large portion of this part is borrowed from other works mentioned in the preface. The information unique to ''Khulasat-i-Tawarikh'' includes an account of the contest between Aurangzeb and his brothers.<ref name="MZH_1918"/>

=== Aurangzeb's death ===

Some copies contain an insertion about Aurangzeb's death, inserted by a transcriber. This part mentions that Aurangzeb died in [[Ahmednagar|Ahmadnagar]], Deccan. The date of his death was Friday, the 28th Zulqada of the year 1118 A.H., three hours after dawn. His age at time of his death is given as 91 years 17 days and 2 hours. The period of his reign is stated as 50 years, 2 months and 28 days.<ref name="MZH_1918"/>

== ''Editio princeps'' ==

In 1918, [[Archaeological Survey of India]]'s M. Zafar Hasan made available the first ''[[editio princeps]]'' of the book. He had come across a reference to the book in [[Syed Ahmed Khan]]'s ''Asar-us-Sanadid''. He then started searching for manuscripts of the book, and consolidated them into a printed edition.<ref name="MZH_1918">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/SujanRaiKhulasatAlTavarikh/Sujan%20Rai_Khulasat%20al-Tavarikh#page/n5/mode/2up |title=Khulasatu-t-Tawarikh |editor=M. Zafar Hasan |publisher=VT J. & Sons |year=1918 |pages=i-iii }}</ref>

The five manuscripts used by Hasan were the following:<ref name="MZH_1918"/>

# A partly worm-eaten, but complete copy. It seems to be comparatively older, since it doesn't contain the description of Aurangzeb's death. It is written in the [[Shikasta Nastaʿlīq|Shikasta]] calligraphic style. Its completion is dated to the first year of the reign of Muiz-ud-din Alamgir II. It was procured from Delhi.
# Written in the [[Nastaliq]] calligraphic style. It is dated to year 1864 of the [[Vikram Samvat]] (1808-09). It was written in the [[Jaipur]] town, during the reign of Jagat Singh II of [[Jaipur State|Jaipur]], a vassal of the Mughal Emperor [[Akbar II]]. It was procured from [[Lucknow]].
# It is written in Nastaliq characters. The year of composition is illegible. It was procured from [[Moradabad]].
# It is written in Nastaliq characters. The copy is worm-eaten, but complete. There is no date of transcription. It was procured from [[Sardhana]].
# An incomplete copy that ends with the deposition of Emperor Shah Jahan. First three pages are missing. Written in the Shikasta style. It was procured from Delhi.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160812013655/http://dli.ernet.in/handle/2015/30126 Critical Editiontranslation And Annotation Of Khulasat-ut-twarikh] (2006) by Shahbaz Amil; includes partial English translation
* ''[https://archive.org/details/SujanRaiKhulasatAlTavarikh Khulasatu-t-Tawarikh]'' (1918), M. Zafar Hasan's edition in PDF format
* ''[https://archive.org/details/indiaofaurangzib034937mbp India of Aurangzib]'' by Jadunath Sarkar; includes English translations of selected portions from ''Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh''
* [http://ir.amu.ac.in/10107/ Critical edition of the Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh] by Irshad Alam, in Persian

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1695 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:1695 in India]]
[[Category:1690s in the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:17th-century Indian books]]
[[Category:17th-century history books]]
[[Category:Indian chronicles]]
[[Category:Books about the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:17th-century Persian books]]

Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh - Revision history

Flightsvilla at 03:13, 29 January 2026