Samarqandī

Historian

ʿAbd al-Razzāq Samarqandī entered the service of Šāh Ruḫ (son of Tīmūr, see Tīmūr) at a young age and shortly thereafter was sent as an ambassador to South Asia for several years. Following Šāh Ruḫ’s death in 850/1446–47, ʿAbd al-Razzāq served his successors in various capacities until he was appointed Šaykh of Šāh Ruḫ’s monastery at Herat, a position he held until his death in 887/1482.

ʿAbd al-Razzāq Samarqandī is mostly known for his work Maṭlaʿ-i saʿdayn va Majmaʿ-i baḥrayn, a history of the Tīmūrids from the early 8th/14th century to 875/1470.

For the period up to the year 830/1426–7, ʿAbd al-Razzāq relied heavily on Ḥāfiẓ-i Abrū’s work Zubdaħ al-tavārīḫ , however, for the period from 830/1425–7 until 875/1470 Maṭlaʿ-i saʿdayn va Majmaʿ-i baḥrayn is “one of the most important sources of information”.