Muḥammad Muḥsin ibn Ḥanīf

Historian

Muḥammad Muḥsin ibn Ḥanīf Ṣiddīqī is mainly known for his work Jawhar-i Ṣamṣām, which focuses on some crucial events of the later Mughal period. Jawhar-i Ṣamṣām begins with an account of the battle for succession following the Mughal Emperor Awrangzīb’s (see Awrangzīb (ʿĀlamgīr I)) death in 1119/1707 and extends until Nādir Šāh’s departure from India in 1152/1739. (Nādir Šāh invaded India and subjugated Delhi earlier that year). The author composed the work at the request of a companion of a general defeated by Nādir Šāh, who also provided the author with some information on the events of that invasion. The work was composed in 1153/1740–1.