ʿInāyat Ḫān

Confidant of Šāh Jahān and Historian

Muḥammad Ṭāhir “Āšnā”, entitled ʿInāyat Ḫān, was an intimate friend of Mughal Emperor Šāh Jahān and at one time served as his Imperial Librarian. ʿInāyat Ḫān is mostly known for the Šāh Jahān-nāmah, sometimes referred to as Mulaḫḫaṣ or Qarnīyyah-i Šāh Jahān Bādšāh. Šāh Jahān-nāmah is a history of Šāh Jahān’s reign extending to 1068/1657–8, the year Awrangzīb declared himself emperor. This work is largely an abridgement of the Pādšāh-nāmah by ʿAbd al-Ḥāmid Lāhūrī and is written in a more simple style. In addition to his history of Šāh Jahān’s reign, ʿInāyat Ḫān also wrote a dīvān of verses and three manavīs. His date of death is commonly held to be either 1077/1666–7 or 1081/1670–1.