Historian
Iskandar Big began his career as an accountant but left that profession to devote himself to inšā (composition of documents). Later he became a member of the royal secretariat of the Safavids (r. 907/1501 to 1135/1722) and in 1001/1592–3 a member of the royal retinue. Iskandar Big’s one known work is Tārīḫ-i ʿĀlam-ārā-yi ʿAbbāsī.
Tārīḫ-i ʿĀlam-ārā-yi ʿAbbāsī is a detailed history of the reign of the Safavid Šāh ʿAbbās (r. 996/1588 to 1038/1628–9), which also includes sections on the origins of the Safavids and Šāh ʿAbbās’ predecessors. The bulk of the work was completed in 1025/1616 while some latter portions were completed in 1038/1628–9. Iskandar Big’s exact date of death is not known, however, 1038/1628–9 and ca. 1042/1632 have been offered as possibilities.