Poet/Courtier
Mīr ʿAlī ʿAskarī ibn Muḥammad Taqī Ḫwāfī (commonly referred to as Mīr ʿAskarī or ʿĀqil Ḫān Rāzī) chose for himself the penname “Rāzī” in deference to his spiritual guide. Rāzī entered the service of Awrangzīb (see Awrangzīb (ʿĀlamgīr I)) while the latter was still a prince and rose to become one of his most trusted courtiers. In 1091–92/1680–1, about 24 years into Awrangzīb’s reign, Rāzī was appointed Governor of the Province of Delhi, a post he held until his death in 1108/1696.
He composed numerous works, among them: a history of the early years of Awrangzīb’s reign, a collection of discourses by his spiritual guide, and various sufistic manavīs. Vāqiʿāt-i ʿĀlamgīrī (=Ẓafar-nāmah-yi ʿĀlamgīrī, Ḥālāt-i ʿĀlamgīrī,
Awrang-nāmah)
Vāqiʿāt-i ʿĀlamgīrī is a history of the first five years of Awrangzīb’s reign (extending to late 1073/1662) and also includes a short notice on Šāh Jahān’s death in 1076/1666. While many considered Rāzī to be the author of this work, his authorship is not entirely certain. The work has sometimes been ascribed to Mīr Ḫān. Vāqiʿāt-i ʿĀlamgīrī was either completed in 1073/1662 or 1076/1666