ʿAbbās Ḫān Sarvānī fl. ca. 987/1579

Biographer

ʿAbbās Ḫān Sarvānī is mostly known for his Tuḥfah-yi Akbar Šāhī.

Works

Tuḥfah-yi Akbar Šāhī     A Gift to Akbar Šāh

Written at the request of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. While it is unclear exactly what Akbar commissioned the author to write, the final product came very close to a biography of Šīr Šāh, a sultan of Delhi and Agra who ruled from 947/1540 to 952/1545 just prior to Akbar’s reign. Consequently, Tuḥfah-yi Akbar Šāhī is often referred to as the Tārīḫ-i Šīr Šāhī (The History of Šīr Šāh) in reference to its overwhelming focus on the career, ancestry and achievements of Šīr Šāh. Tuḥfah-yi Akbar Šāhī was probably completed some time after 987/1579.