https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=KhvandamirKhvandamir - Revision history2026-07-31T15:00:37ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Khvandamir&diff=509880&oldid=prevBellEggers2 at 08:33, 26 March 20262026-03-26T08:33:59Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|16th-century Persian historian}}<br />
{{Infobox writer<br />
| name = Khvandamir<br />
| image = Ghiyath al-Din ibn Humam al-Din, known as Khvandamir (d. AH 927, i.e. 1521)- Habib al-Siyar Part III.jpg<br />
| caption = Manuscript of Khvandamir's ''[[Habib al-siyar]]''. Copy made in [[Safavid Iran]], dated 17th-century<br />
| birth_date = 1475/6<br />
| birth_place = [[Herat]], [[Greater Khorasan|Khurasan]], [[Timurid Empire]]<br />
| death_date = 1535/6 (aged 59–60)<br />
| death_place = [[Delhi]], [[Mughal India]]<br />
| occupation = Historian<br />
| notable_works = ''[[Habib al-siyar]]''<br>''Qanun-i Humayuni''<br />
| relatives = [[Mirkhvand]] (grandfather)<br/>Humam al-Din Muhammad (father)<br/>Amir Mahmud (son)<br>Abdallah Khan (son)<br />
}}<br />
'''Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad''', commonly known as '''Khvandamir''' ({{langx|fa|غیاثالدین خواندمیر}}, also spelled '''Khwandamir'''; 1475/76–1535/36) was a [[Persian people|Persian]]<ref name="Donzel1994">{{cite book|last1=Donzel|first1=E. J. van|title=Islamic Desk Reference|date=1 January 1994|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-09738-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/islamicdeskrefer00donz_0/page/212 212]|quote=Khwandamir: surname of the Persian historian Ghiyath al-Din; ca. 1475ca. 1535. His most valuable work is a general history from the earliest times down to the end of the reign of Shah Ismail.|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/islamicdeskrefer00donz_0/page/212}}</ref> historian who was active in the [[Timurid Empire|Timurid]], [[Safavid Iran|Safavid]] and [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] empires. He is principally known for his Persian [[Universal history (genre)|universal history]], the ''[[Habib al-siyar]]'' (The beloved of careers), which was regarded by both the Safavids and Mughals as their first official court account.<br />
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Another notable work by Khvandamir is the ''Qanun-i Humayuni'' (The regulations of Humayun), a biography of the Mughal [[Mughal emperors|emperor]] [[Humayun]] ({{reign|1530|1540|1555|1556}}), which contains important information regarding the early Mughal symbolism of rulership.<br />
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Khvandamir is buried near the [[Nizamuddin Dargah|shrine]] of [[Nizamuddin Auliya]] (died 1325) in [[Delhi]], India.<br />
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==Background==<br />
Khvandamir was the son of Humam al-Din Muhammad, who was the [[vizier]] of [[Sultan Mahmud Mirza]] ({{reign|1494|1495}}), the ruler of the northern [[Timurid Empire|Timurid]] branch in [[Transoxiana]]. However, Khvandamir's family lived in [[Herat]], the capital of the southern Timurids.{{sfn|Bockholt|2020a}} Khvandamir was tutored by his maternal grandfather [[Mirkhvand]] (died 1498), which played a major role in his career as a historian. Furthermore, Khvandamir also inherited the patronage networks of his grandfather. Mirkhvand was one of the most prominent historians during the reign of [[Sultan Husayn Bayqara]] ({{reign|1469|1506}}), well known for his [[Universal history (genre)|universal history]], the ''[[Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ|Rawzat as-safa'<nowiki/>]]'' (The garden of purity), which he wrote under the patronage of the high-ranking functionary [[Ali-Shir Nava'i]] (died 1501).{{sfn|Bockholt|2020a}}{{sfn|Bockholt|2020b}}<br />
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Khvandamir likewise wrote under the patronage of Nava'i, dedicating his first works to him, the first one being the ''Ma'athir al-muluk'' (Memorials of the kings), a compilation of sayings ascribed to pre-Islamic and Islamic [[Sage (philosophy)|sages]] and rulers; and the second being the ''Khulasat al-akhbar fi bayan ahval al-akhyar'' (Summary reports on the affairs of those gone by), a concise version of the ''Rawzat as-safa'<nowiki/>''. After Nava'i's death in 1501, Khvandamir wrote a praiseful biography of the latter, the ''Makarim al-akhlaq'' (Laudable virtues). Khvandamir also completed volume seven and epilogue of the ''Rawzat as-safa''', which had been left incomplete after Mirkhvand's death in 1498.{{sfn|Bockholt|2020a}}{{sfn|Bockholt|2020b}}<br />
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== Career ==<br />
===Under the Timurids===<br />
In the subsequent years, Khvandamir worked as a ''[[munshi]]'' (secretary) and diplomat under Sultan Husayn Bayqara's oldest son and heir [[Badi' al-Zaman Mirza]] (died 1514), under whom he composed the ''Dastur al-vuzara''' (Exemplary viziers), a biography list of pre-Islamic and Islamic viziers. Following the co-succession of Badi al-Zaman and his brother [[Muzaffar Husayn Mirza|Muzaffar Husayn]] to the throne in 1506, Khvandamir was installed as one of the two ''sadrs'' (head of religious fundings) of the entire kingdom. Khvandamir retained his position following conquest of Herat by the [[Uzbeks|Uzbek]] leader [[Muhammad Shaybani]] (died 1510), which led to the fall of the Timurids.{{sfn|Bockholt|2020a}} Regardless, Khvandamir seems to have been dissatisfied with the new government, as indicated in his later universal history ''[[Habib al-siyar]]''.{{sfn|Bashir|2015|p=213}} He soon found himself unemployed following the conquest of Herat by the [[Safavid Iran|Safavid]] [[shah]] (king) [[Ismail I]] ({{reign|1501|1524}}) in 1510. This was most likely due to religio-political reasons, as Khvandamir was a [[Sunni Muslim]], whereas the Safavids were zealous [[Shia Muslims]].{{sfn|Bockholt|2020a}}{{sfn|Newman|2008|p=12}} Khvandamir soon left for the neighbouring region of [[Gharjistan]], where he briefly served Badi al-Zaman's son [[Muhammad Zaman Mirza]] (died 1540), who unsuccessfully attempted to establish his rule in the area.{{sfn|Bockholt|2020a}}<br />
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===Under the Safavids===<br />
In 1521, Khvandamir started writing his universal history ''Habib al-siyar'' for the Safavid ''sadr'' Amir Ghiyas al-Din Mohammad ibn Amir Yusuf Hosseini, seemingly in order to revitalize his career in Herat. The latter, however, was executed the same year by the governor of the city, Amir Khan Mawsillu (died 1522). [[Durmish Khan Shamlu]] (died 1526) was soon made the new governor of Herat, whose vizier Karim al-Din Khvaja Habiballah Savaji became the new patron of Khvandamir. While it is generally agreed that the name of Khvandamir's ''Habib al-siyar'' referred to his new patron Habiballah Savaji, it may have in fact referred to Shah Ismail, as the latter is often called ''habib-i ilahi'' (friend of God) in the work. In 1524, Khvandamir finished his first version (called A) of the book, and the following year a second version (B), which was an extension of the previous version.{{sfn|Bockholt|2020a}}<br />
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===Under the Mughals===<br />
The murder of Habiballah Savaji in 1526 seemingly made Khvandamir reassess his situation in Herat. He accepted the invitation of the Timurid prince and [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] [[Mughal emperors|emperor]] [[Babur]] ({{reign|1526|1530}}), who had in the same year established his authority over [[North India]], including the cities of [[Delhi]] and [[Agra]]. Khvandamir reached India 1528, where wrote a third version (C) of the ''Habib al-siyar'' at Babur's court. Khvandamir later wrote the ''Qanun-i Humayuni'' ("The regulations of Humayun"), a biography of Babur's son and successor [[Humayun]] ({{reign|1530|1540|1555|1556}}), which has important information regarding the early Mughal symbolism of rulership.{{sfn|Bockholt|2020a}}<br />
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== Death, burial and issue ==<br />
Khvandamir died in 1535 or 1536, and was buried near the [[Nizamuddin Dargah|shrine]] of [[Nizamuddin Auliya]] (died 1325) in Delhi. He was survived by two sons; Amir Mahmud (died after 1550), who stayed in Iran and wrote a history book about the first fifty years of Ṣafavid rule, the ''Tarikh-i Shah Isma'il va Shah Tahmasb-i Safavi''; and Abdallah Khan (died 1589), who served as a government official under the Mughal emperor [[Akbar]] ({{reign|1556|1605}}).{{sfn|Bockholt|2020a}}<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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==Sources==<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Bashir|first1=Shahzad|title=History and Religion: Narrating a Religious Past| chapter=A Perso-Islamic universal chronicle in its historical context: Ghiyās al-Dīn Khwāndamīr's Ḥabīb al-siyar |location=Berlin |publisher = De Gruyter | date=2015 |series=Religionsgeschichtliche Versuche und Vorarbeiten 68|editor-first=Bernd-Christian|editor-last=Otto|editor-first2=Susanne |editor-last2=Rau |editor-first3=Jörg |editor-last3=Rüpke|pages=207–223|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/16033519|chapter-url-access=registration}}<br />
* {{EI3|last=Bockholt|first=Philip|year=2020a|title=Khvāndamīr|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-3/khvandamir-COM_35589}}<br />
* {{EI3|last=Bockholt|first=Philip|year=2020b|title=Mīrkhvānd|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-3/mirkhvand-COM_40284}}<br />
* {{cite book|last=Manz|first=Beatrice Forbes|author-link=Beatrice Forbes Manz|title=Power, Politics and Religion in Timurid Iran|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BfkpHz9q_RMC|year=2007|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-46284-6}}<br />
* {{EI3|last=Manz|first=Beatrice Forbes|year=2014|title=ʿAbd al-Razzāq Samarqandī|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-3/abd-al-razzaq-samarqandi-COM_23906}}<br />
* {{Cite book|last=Melville|first=Charles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=czDaDwAAQBAJ|title=The Timurid Century: The Idea of Iran Vol.9|publisher=I.B. Tauris|year=2020|isbn=978-1838606886}}<br />
* {{cite book | title = Safavid Iran: Rebirth of a Persian Empire | year = 2008 | publisher = I.B.Tauris | location = | editor-last = | editor-first = | last = Newman | first = Andrew J. | authorlink = | chapter = | pages = 1–296 | isbn = 978-0857716613 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KPgBAwAAQBAJ&q=false}}<br />
* {{Cite book|last=Pollock|first=Sheldon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ak9csfpY2WoC|title=Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia|publisher=University of California Press|year=2003|isbn=978-0520228214}}<br />
* {{Cite book|last=Quinn|first=Sholeh A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t80HEAAAQBAJ|title=Persian Historiography Across Empires: The Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2020|isbn=978-1108842211}}<br />
* {{Cambridge History of Iran|volume=6|last=Roemer|first=H. R.|chapter=The successors of Tīmūr}}<br />
* {{Cite book|last=Spuler|first=Bertold|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rD1vvympVtsC|title=Persian Historiography and Geography: Bertold Spuler on Major Works Produced in Iran, the Caucasus, Central Asia, India, and Early Ottoman Turkey|publisher=Pustaka Nasional Pte Ltd|year=2003|isbn=978-9971774882}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
* {{commons category-inline}}<br />
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[[Category:People from Herat]]<br />
[[Category:16th-century Iranian historians]]<br />
[[Category:1470s births]]<br />
[[Category:1530s deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Historians of India]]<br />
[[Category:15th-century Iranian historians]]<br />
[[Category:Iranian emigrants to the Mughal Empire]]<br />
[[Category:Historians from the Timurid Empire]]<br />
[[Category:Safavid historians]]<br />
[[Category:Historians from the Mughal Empire]]<br />
[[Category:16th-century Mughal Empire people]]</div>BellEggers2