* [THE author of this celebrated work was named Abú Nasr Muhammad ibn Muhammad al Jabbáru-l 'Utbí. He was a member of the family of 'Utba, which held important offices under the Sámánís, and he himself was Secretary to Sultán Mahmúd, so that he enjoyed excellent opportunities of becoming fully acquainted with the operations of that conqueror. His work comprises the whole of the reign of Násiru-d dín Subuktigín, and part of that of Mahmúd, down to the year 410 Hijra (1020 A.D.) The author would appear to have lived a few years later than this, as he records an event as happening in 420 Hijra,* but the interest of his work ceases with the year 410.]
[Though holding an appointment near the person of Mahmúd, he does not seem to have accompanied him in his expeditions, for he evidently had no knowledge of the topography of India, and his statements in respect of localities are of little authority. He never mentions Lahore or Dehli, and with the exception of the title Ráí, no Hindí word is found in his pages. In dates he is deficient, and far from precise.]
[There are several Persian translations of this work, which bear the title of Tarjuma-i Yamíní. The most ancient of these is that of Abú-l Sharaf Jarbádkání, or Jarbázkání, which was made in 582 Hijrí, or 1186 A.D. This version is very rarely met with in India, but it has been rendered into English by the Rev. J. Reynolds, and published under the auspices of the Oriental Translation Fund (London, 1858). Another version is the modern one made by Muhammad Karámat 'Alí of Dehli. This is known as the Táríkh-i Amíní or Tarjuma-i Yamíní, and although it is not common, it can easily be procured. Karámat 'Alí's translation is very literal, the order of the words even following that of the original Arabic, and it is in general very correct and free from errors. He interposes fáídas or notes containing explanations of meaning and surmises about identifications of places, but these are common place, and of little value.]
[A knowledge of the work of 'Utbí was at one time considered a great desideratum in Europe, but it is now found to contain but little which is not accessible through other channels. Firishta and other historians have, by means of the Persian versions, extracted from it all that is of value and interest. But for all this it must continue a work of authority and an object of curiosity, as the original source from which later writers have drawn much of their information respecting Mahmúd's campaigns.]
[The style of the original has generally been considerēd difficult and inflated, and Karámat 'Alí describes it as “very difficult, but at the same time good and elegant.” Sir H. Elliot, who himself translated the extracts which follow from the original Arabic, observes that he “was alarmed at first at the declared difficulty of the text, but found it to vanish after a little examination.” “All passages relating to India have been extracted, and the translations are literal, except that some of the useless illustrations have been omitted.”]
[The Bibliothèque Imperiale possesses three copies of the
Arabic, and one of the Persian version. From the latter, Silvestre
de Sacy published in “Notices et Extraits,” Tome iv. 1799, an
almost complete translation into French.]*
Copies of the Táríkh
Yamíní are not uncommon in India. One of the best is in the
Library of Nawwáb Siráju-l Mulk, of Haidarábád; and Sir H.
Rawlinson has a very good copy. The edition lithographed at
Dehli in the year 1847, is a very clear one, and contains some
useful marginal notes, explanatory of the difficulties of the text.
It was edited by Maulaví Ashraf 'Alí and Dr. Sprenger: size,
large 8vo. 423 (497) pages each containing 16 lines. Professor
Fleischer has remarked on the errors of its pagination.*
Sil-
There are several commentaries upon 'Utbí's history bearing this title. Their object is the explanation of the difficult passages, and the settling the right orthography of names They are thus enumerated by Hájí Khalfa:* —
“The commentators are Majda-d dín Kirmání; Kassam bin Husain Khwárizmi, whod ied A.H. 555; Táju-d dín 'Isa bin Mahmúd; Haibatu-d dín Abú 'Abdu-llah; Mahmúd bin 'Umar Manjání Naishápurí, who has entitled his work “Gardens of the excellent and odoriferous herbs of the learned.” Another is Abú-l Márin Aitánia, who tells us that having consulted five other commentaries, he extracted from them all that was useful, and made to them many important additions of his own. When it was complete, he presented his work to his master, the celebrated Kutbu-d dín Shírází, who honoured it with his approval. In the end, Kutbu-d dín desired him to join the text to the commentary, an arrangement of which the author did not approve; but having extracted from the text the most important words in it, he joined to them the necessary explanation in such a manner that one could not distinguish the text from the commentary, which together form one well-combined whole. He completed his labours on the entire work of 'Utbí at Tabríz, in the year 721 H. (1321 A.D.)
It is difficult to conceive the nature of the work thus spoken of. A combination of text and commentary so as to represent an harmonious unity, seems an impossibility.
The only commentary I know in India is by 'Alí bin Muslihu-s
Sama'ání-al Kirmání. The year of composition does not appear,
but the copy which I have seen cannot be less than three hundred
years old. It is not a commentary upon the complete text, but
only the most difficult words are selected for explanation. The
portion thus selected for exegetical notes amounts to about one-
The ruler of Kusdár, which was near the territory of Ghazna, rebelled against Amír Subuktigín.* His fort was itself strong, naturally as well as in its approaches, and he thought that the difficulties of the road, as well as the distance, would prevent the Amír from attacking him; but he was afraid lest his territory might be plundered, while his city was invested by the Amír's cavalry. Amír Subuktigín marched that long distance over lofty and difficult hills, with his troops in close columns, one after the other, and with such expedition, that his body knew no rest, nor his eyes sleep, and his army had but little repose.
So Subuktigín and his followers attacked the city of the ruler of Kusdár, and seized him suddenly, like as a sheep is seized, when its limbs are torn to be roasted and placed before a guest; and the faces of the inhabitants were so changed through alarm, that the very dogs barked at them, and mothers in their fright deserted their children. The Amír thought it expedient to show kindness to the ruler of Kusdár, and to restore to his possession all that he had taken from him. He made peace with him on condition that he should immediately pay a contribution in money and hereafter promise to send an annual tribute. The Khutba also was read in that territory in the name of Amír Subuktigín, and comers and goers, and the far and near became acquainted with these circumstances.*
After this victory he made frequent expeditions into Hind, in the prosecution of holy wars, and there he conquered forts upon lofty hills, in order to seize the treasures they contained, and expel their garrisons. He took all the property they contained into his own possession, and captured cities in Hind, which had up to that time been tenanted only by infidels, and not trodden by the camels and horses of Musulmáns.