برگی از فرهنگ جهانگیری

Page from the "Farhang-i Jahangiri"

Page from "Farhang-i Jahangiri" a Persian-language dictionary by Jamal al-Din Husayn b. Fakhr al-Din Hasan Inju Shirazi, from 1619 in Nasta'liq script Mughal and Safavid courts. Dimensions of Written Surface: Recto: 10.7 (w) x 22 (h) cm. Dimensions of Written Surface: Verso: 10.8 (w) x 21.4 (h) cm On recto and verso the author includes an essay on the Persian language, its dialects, a summary of its grammar, and a list of the forty-four former dictionaries (farhangha) and "books of words" (kutub-i lughat) he consulted for his work. These are listed in a grid format on this page, and continue on the fragment's verso (1-85-154.61c V). The dictionaries include, among many, the "Farhang-i Shahnamah" (Dictionary of Firdawsi's "Book of Kings") and the "Farhang-i Ibrahimi" (Abraham's Dictionary), and a Persian dictionary compiled by Ibrahim Qivam al-Din Faruqi in 1448 for the ruler of Bengal, Barbak Shah (Rypka 1968, 721). The author of this Persian-language farhang (dictionary) was Jamal al-Din Husayn b. Fakhr al-Din Hasan Inju Shirazi (d. 1035/1626), a learned man from an old Persian noble (sayyid) family who came from Persia to Akbar's court in India. There, he held high offices and began writing his dictionary in 1005/1596-7 at the ruler's request, basing himself on Persian poems and previous lexicographical works. Due to the scope of his farhang and continuous revisions, he did not complete the dictionary until after Akbar's (d. 1014/1605) death, presenting the work in 1608 to his successor Jahangir instead. For this reason, Jamal al-Din's Persian dictionary came to be known as the the "Farhang-i Jahangiri", or "Jahangir's dictionary." Along with the "Burhan-i Qati'" and the "Farhang-i Rashidi", it is one of the three most important Persian-language dictionaries produced in Mughal India (Rypka 1968, 431). The text frame is illuminated with panels of interlacing flowers, and the folio's borders include a number of putti, birds, and grapes painted in gold ink. Unfortunately, the marginal decoration suffers from a number of worm holes. During the early 20th century, a section of the "Farhang-i Jahangiri" was acquired by the French art dealer Demotte, who cut out its pages and used the decorative margins as mounts for Safavid and Mughal paintings (Sotheby's London, Arts of the Islamic World, 3 May 2001, lot 61). In some cases, paintings remounted on margins originally intended for the dictionary retain the marginal glosses accompanying the main text (see York Leach 1992: 64, and cat. nos. 16 and 20). This fragment is the second folio of the "Farhang-i Jahangiri", a Persian lexicon purportedly executed in Agra in 1028/1618-19 (1-87-154.61d V). A total of four folios of this work are held in the collections of the Library of Congress (see 1-87-154.61a R &V, 1-85-154-61b R & V, 1-85-154-61c V, and 1-85-154-61d R & V). Script: nasta'liq 1-87-154.61c

Provided by the Library of Congress