<d. between 1162/1749 and 1182/1768>
Historian
Mīrzā Muḥammad Mahdī Ḫān “Kawkabī” Astarābādī spent most of his career in the service of Nādir Šāh of Iran (r. 1148/1736 to 1160/1747) first as head of the secretariat and later as the Šāh’s official historian. In 1160/1747, he was sent on a mission to the Ottoman court, but forced to return mid-journey after hearing the news of Nādir Šāh’s death. Mīrzā Mahdī Ḫān is predominantly known for his histories, both of which deal with the life of Nādir Šāh, however, he also wrote a Persian-Čağatāy dictionary and a work on Čağatāy grammar in Persian. His year of death is disputed but is thought to have occurred between 1162/1749 and 1182/1768.
Tārīḫ-i Nādirī (=
Tārīḫ-i Jahāngušā-yi Nādirī, Jahāngušā-yi Nādirī)
Tārīḫ-i Nādirī, also referred to as
Tārīḫ-i Jahāngušā-yi Nādirī or
Jahāngušā-yi Nādirī, is a work on the history of Nādir Šāh. It is a “detailed year-by-year record of Nādir’s career, particularly of his military campaigns,” though often times marred by the author’s praise for his patron. It is not known for certain, but very possible this work was completed in 1171/1757-8.
Similar to the
Tārīḫ-i Nādirī is the author’s
Durra-yi Nādirī, which roughly covers the same information as the
Tārīḫ-i Nādirī but was written in a more florid and ornate style.