The Táju-l Ma-ásir was commenced in the year 602 H. (1205 A.D.), in the eighth month of which (Sha'bán) Muhammad Ghorí died, and it is evident that it was begun before his death, because the preface, which, however unusual, was really composed at the beginning, and not the conclusion of the work, contains a prayer for the prolongation of his life and the prosperity of his kingdom.
The history opens with the transactions of the year 587 H. (1191 A.D.), when Muhammad Ghorí undertook his expedition to India to retrieve the dreadful disaster he had a short time before experienced on the field of Náráin, near Thánesar, to which, however the courtly historian makes no allusion. The copies ordinarily to be met with carry the history down to the year 614 H. (1217 A.D.), or seven years after the death of Kutbu-d dín, and at the close of that portion the author indulges in a panegyric on his own work, in which he invites the reigning monarch Shamsu-d dín, the second Alexander, to compare his work with those of other celebrated historians, and he will see that it is “superior to anything written by ancients or moderns,” and he concludes by saying, that if his life is spared, he will continue the work in the same manner. That he did so continue it is evident from a very valuable copy in the possession of Nawwáb Zíáu-d dín of Dehli, written as early as the ear 779 H. (1377-8 A.D.) in the Naskh character styled Hijjází. In this, though itself imperfect at the end, we have the history carried down even twelve years later, or to 626 H. (1228-9 A.D.), and it is not improbable that it might have been prolonged to the close of Shamsu-d dín's reign, or seven years later than this period. From the general meagreness of historical details, it cannot be said that this deficient portion is worth much enquiry.
Beyond the praise which the author bestows upon his heroes, there is nothing to indicate that he was contemporary with the events which he describes, and the absence of all particulars, as well as a certain confusion and indistinctness about some of the dates, show that he was no active participator in any of his patrons' campaigns. It is singularly strange that he says nothing of the transactions of Kutbu-d dín's actual reign, for the same short chapter records his accession and his death.
The following abstract contains all that is of the remotest historical interest in the work, no name or event being omitted. The passages between inverted commas imply that the words of the original have been translated, but even in these many intermediate words, such as synonyms and reduplications of the same expression, have been omitted, and it has been considered sufficient to group together words and phrases, which, though actually to be found in the Táju-l Ma-ásir do not in the translation preserve the exact order of the original. The passages in the first chapter, which are printed in italics indicate that they are written in Arabic, and nearly the same proportion of Arabic occurs throughout the work, showing that, without a knowledge of that language, it would be impossible to understand thoroughly the Táju-l Ma-ásir.
The Táju-l Ma-ásir is rare in Europe. Hammer* says that the only copy to be found is in the royal library of Vienna, but there is one also in the British Museum. In India it is by no means uncommon, much less so than the difficulty of understanding the work would lead one to suppose. The copy in the library of the Asiatic Society of Bengal is a very clean one, but abounds with errors, and many chapters are recopied towards the close. There is a beautiful copy in the Dehli College, and there is one of surpassing excellence belonging to Maulaví Sadru-d dín, the Sadru-s sudúr of Dehli, written in the Naskh character, apparently about three hundred years ago, by Muhammad bin Muhammad, who professes to have copied it from the author's autograph. The transcriber imitates successfully the style of the work in a chapter at the end, devoted to its praise.
There are also two good copies of the Táju-l Ma-ásir in the library of Nawwáb Siráju-l mulk, but so little known and appreciated as to be lettered, one the Táríkh-i Mahmúd Ghazniví, the other Jahán-kushá; but all must yield the palm to Nawwáb Zíáu-d dín's copy noticed above, on account of its containing the additional matter, but it must be confessed that the character is not easy to read, and the manuscript is unfortunately damaged by water and worms.
The copy noticed above, which shows the verses in separate lines detached from the prose, contains 570 pages of twenty lines each; the additional matter being comprised in thirty pages.
“In the year 587 H. (1191 A.D.), the Lord of the World, the Sultán of Sultáns, Mu'izzu-d dunyá wau-d dín (Muhammad Ghorí) in a happy moment, and under a fortunate star, departed from Ghazna, may God protect it from calamities!
Had he not imparted movement to his hands and reins,
The feet of his stirrups would have stopped the air in its course.
If his horse be so wearied that it cannot carry him,
His courage would urge him against his enemies.
Having equipped and set in order the army of Islám, and unfurled the standards of victory and the flags of power, trusting in the aid of the Almighty, he proceeded towards Hindústán.
His standards proclaim victory,
Indeed, they are almost prepared to write the book of victory,
His ensigns and black umbrella are full of adornment,
How beautiful on the face of time are the curls and freckles of
the state!
When the tent of eternal prosperity, encompassed by splendour, arrived near Lohúr, and when the air of that country became perfumed and crescented by the dust of the armies and the shoes of the horses, the great Sadr Kiwámu-l mulk Rúhu-d dín Hamza, who was among the chiefs of the country and the renowned of the state, and had obtained distinction by the customs of embassage and the proprieties of missions, and his position in the service of the sublime Court (may God surround it with increased glory)! had met with approval, and in the beauty of his moral character and the excellence of his endowments, the above mentioned person, in whose merits all concurred, and from the flame of whose wisdom and the light of whose penetration abundant delight and perfect good fortune arose.
Indeed all kinds of excellences united in his person,
And he was singularly endowed in the practice of all virtues,
he was such a Sadr that the substance of greatness found in
him a soul,
He was a sea in which the eyes of meaning found vision.
Such was the man who was sent on an embassy to Ajmír, in order that the Ráí (Pithaurá) of that country might see the right way without the intervention of the sword, and that he might incline from the track of opposition into the path of propriety , leaving his airy follies for the institute of the knowledge of God, and acknowledging the expediency of uttering the words of martyrdom and repeating the precepts of the law, and might abstain from infidelity and darkness, which entails the loss of this world and that to come, and might place in his ear the ring of slavery to the sublime Court, (may God exalt it!) which is the centre of justice and mercy, and the pivot of the Sultáns of the world, and by these means and modes might cleanse the fords of a good life from the sins of impurity.
When the ambassador arrived in the country of Ajmír, and in accordance with his orders brought forward the conditions of his mission, and in uttering his speech presented the usual inducements of fixing the mind, and adorned the selection of his words with the excellence of their significations, and strung well the pearls of exhortations and admonitions upon the thread of style.
They were such words that if the world were to hear them,
On account of their beauty the people would incline to become ears.
Your words are right and your meaning correct,
Your opinion is the soul and your greatness the body.
Your words are the product of the bough of rhetoric,
And your clemency is the fruit of the seed of eloquence.