A WORK under the title Táríkh-i Ibráhímí is described by Major Charles Stewart as an abridged history of India from the earliest times to the conquest of that country by Sultán Bábar. It is mentioned as a quarto volume in the collection of Tippú Sultán. The author's name is given as Ibráhím bin Harírí, and the work was dedicated to Sultán Bábar, A.D. 1528. (See Stewart's Descriptive Catalogue, etc., p. 13.)
Under this name the more famous history of Firishta is frequently quoted by native historians, in consequence of its having been compiled under the patronage of Ibráhím 'Ádil Sháh, of Bíjápúr; but I have never met with the work quoted by Stewart, nor heard of its existence in any library in India.
[A copy of the work so noticed in Sir H. Elliot's first edition is in the Library of the East India Office, No. 428, and was brought to the notice of Sir H. Elliot by Mr. Morley. A comparison of Mr. Morley's summary of the contents and of a few extracts copied by that gentleman proved the work to be the same as one discovered in the Motí Mahal at Lucknow, under the title of Tawáríkh-i Humáyúní. There is a copy also bearing the same name in Paris. The Nawáb of Jhajjar possesses a copy, apparently about 200 years old, which is lettered Táríkh-i Tabarí, and another excellent copy is the property of Hájí Muhammad of Pesháwar.
The account of India begins with the Dehlí slave kings, and incidental notices of those of Gujarát occur, in consequence of Humáyún's connexion with that province. The history comes down to the time of Humáyún, in whose reign the writer lived. The references to authorities are few, but the lives of learned men are introduced, as in the Habíbu-s Siyar of Khondamír. A comparison of the two works may show that the Humáyúní is an abridgment of the larger work. The similarity of name and the termination of the work in the reign of Humáyún led Sir H. Elliot to imagine that it might possibly turn out to be the Kánún-i Humáyúní of Khondamír, already referred to at page 143. This, however, cannot be, for Khondamír died in 941 H., and the work before us records Humáyún's flight to Persia in 950, and carries his history down to his restoration, including the capture of Kandahár, and his entry into Kábul in 952 H.
The following is Mr. Morley's description of the copy in the East India Library.
“Táríkh-i Ibráhímí, the name of the MS., is inscribed on the back of the first page, the title being so written by two former possessors, and in one instance with the addition of the words Tasníf-i Ibráhím ibn Harír. I do not find, however, either the title of the work or the name of the author expressed in the body of the book. The MS. bears no signs of ever having belonged to Tippú.
There is no Preface; the MS. begins at once, after the Bismillah. The author goes on to state the number of years that have elapsed from the Creation of the world to the time of Muhammad, according to the computation of various authors, beginning with Tabarí. The work is not divided into books, chapters, sections, etc., as is usually the case, but presents the customary contents of a general history in the usual order.
The Patriarchs and Prophets, beginning with Adam, pp. 4 to 59.
Wise men and Philosophers (Lukmán, Aflátún, etc.), pp. 60 to 70.
Peshdádians, etc., from Kaiomars to Yazdajird, pp. 70 to 117.
Muhammad, his ancestors and descendants, and the earlier years of Islám, pp. 118 to 184.
The Twelve Imáms, pp. 184 to 215.
The princes of the Baní Ummayva, pp. 215 to 259.
The Khalífahs of the Baní 'Abbás, pp. 259 to 334.
The dynasties which arose during the time of the Baní 'Abbás,
viz., Táhirides, Saffárides, Sámánides, Ghaznivides, Khwáriz-
The Changíz Khánians, Kará Kúínlú, etc., pp. 377 to 433.
The Sultáns of Hind, i.e., the Patháns, from Kutbu-d dín to A.H. 952, pp. 433 to 443.
The Sultáns of Gujarát, from Muzaffar Sháh (A.H. 793) to Mahmúd Sháh bin Latíf Sháh (A.H. 943), pp. 443 to 445.
Tímúr, and his descendants to A.H. 951, when Humáyún had sought refuge in Persia, pp. 445 to 498. Imperfect at the end.
The history is everywhere very concise, as is shown by the
above Table of Contents, but it is even more so than is apparent
by the table, as it is interspersed with the lives of eminent and
learned persons; for instance, the account of Hárúnu-r Rashíd
occupies but thirteen lines; then follows a notice of the Imám
Málik bin Anas (the founder of the Málikí sect of Sunnís),
which comprises twenty-two lines, and an account of the Bar-
If this be the MS. described by Stewart at p. 13, No. xxxi. of his Catalogue, he is wrong in calling it an abridged History of India, and also in stating that it extends only to the conquest by Bábar, and that the work was dedicated to that prince, since, as has been above stated, it continues the history down to the reign of Humáyún, and the year of the Hijra 951. At this point the MS. is left unfinished by the transcriber, not being imperfect by mutilation. The last twenty-two pages are nearly destitute of diacritical points. The size of the book is nine inches by four and a half. The character is Nasta'lík, and there are nineteen lines in a page.”
A comparison of the last words of the MS. in the East India Library with those of the Lucknow copy shows that the latter contains only one leaf more than the former; and there is among Sir H. Elliot's papers the concluding words of another copy (perhaps that of Pesháwar), which are identical with those of the London MS. These, however, are manifestly imperfect, for they break off in the very middle of a sentence. The Jhajjar copy has also lost a leaf at the end, but the missing portion is not identical with the one deficient in the other copies.
The work is a mere compendium. Humáyún's reign, from his accession to his restoration, occupies less than 100 lines. Such a summary does not afford passages suitable for translation, but two short pieces have been selected as specimens; the latter of which shows where the East India Library copy breaks off abruptly.]