Template:Image frame The Farhang-i Jahangiri (Template:Langx)[1] is a Persian dictionary compiled in the 17th century by Mir Jamal al-din Husayn Inju, and commissioned by Mughal Emperor Akbar. It is one of the most important Persian-language dictionaries produced in Mughal India,[1] and has been termed a "benchmark" in the genre of Persian dictionary-writing.[2]
Writing
Mir Jamal al-din Husayn Inju hailed from Shiraz (in present-day Iran), born into a noble Sayyid family. He emigrated to Mughal India at an early age, spending the majority of his life in the city of Agra. He rose to a prominent position in the court of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, and began writing the dictionary at the ruler's request in the 1590s.[1][3] Inju was advised by Akbar to investigate words and idioms from Middle Persian, to understand the nature of the Persian language before it was influenced by Arabic; this was a major objective of the dictionary.[4] Muzaffar Alam interprets this as emblematic of a larger trend of Persian linguistic purification attempts in Mughal India.[5] Richard Eaton views the production of this dictionary as part of efforts by Akbar to associate the Mughal court with Persian culture.[6]
The dictionary was completed after twelve years in 1608, by which time Akbar had died and been succeeded by his son Jahangir; Inju hence named the dictionary in honor of him. In 1622, Inju authored a second edition of the dictionary.[1][3] The Farhang-i Jahangiri was considered a standard dictionary of Persian in the early 17th century.[5] It was highly influential on subsequent dictionaries such as Farhang-i Rashidi and Burhan-i Qati.[7] It also inspired the contemporary Iranian poet and lexicographer Soruri Kashani to write a second edition of his dictionary Farhang-e Soruri.[8]
Content
The Farhang-i Jahangiri lists 9,830 words, arranged in alphabetical order.[3] The ordering is unconventional in that it is alphabetised by second letter of the word, then first letter.[9] These words were taken from the works of an extensive number of Persian poets. Each entry provides a definition as well as poetic verses where the word was used. The dictionary used at least 44 Persian dictionaries as sources, as well as Persian technical treatises and oral sources.[3]
The dictionary contains an introduction, which includes a discussion of the sources and a detailed study of the Persian language. The dictionary's supplement includes five glossaries.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Page from the "Farhang-i Jahangiri". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ↑ INDIA xiv. Persian Literature, Casari, Mario. Encyclopaedia Iranica.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 FARHANG-E JAHĀNGĪRĪ, Bayevsky, Solomon. Encyclopaedia Iranica.
- ↑ ON THE DOORSTEPS OF HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS — A NOTE ON MUGHAL LEXICOGRAPHY. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress({Template:Date).
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 2. The Culture and Politics of Persian in Precolonial Hindustan. University of California Press(2019-12-31).
- ↑ The Persian Cosmopolis (900–1900) and the Sanskrit Cosmopolis (400–1400). BRILL(2018-10-30).
- ↑ The Oxford Handbook of Persian Linguistics. Oxford Handbooks Online({Template:Date).
- ↑ FARHANG-E SORŪRĪ, Bayevsky, Solomon. Encyclopaedia Iranica.
- ↑ India in the Persian World of Letters: Ḳhān-I Ārzū Among the Eighteenth-Century Philologists{{#if:Dudney|, Dudney}. Oxford University Press(2022). ISBN 978-0-19-285741-5