New Persian: Private Collection, Minorsky A
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Details

Details

Minorsky A
Private Collection
Gold (given following external peer review through journal/book publication)
New Persian (Arabic script)
Letter
Bāmiyān

Physical Description

paper
staining
43.0
10.0

Content

A letter addressed to a dignitary called Shujā' al-Dīn by his brother staying at the court of Bāmiyān. The beginning and the end of the document have suffered from damp.

Dates

  • The Gregorian calendar: None
None

People

  • Sulṭān 'Alī
  • Rashīd al-dīn Mukhtār
  • Ikhtiyār al-Dīn
  • Mihtar-zāde
  • Abū-Bakr Surkh
  • Shujāʿ al-Dīn Muḥammad [b.] Ḥasan

Publications

  • Minorsky, V. "Some Early Documents in Persian (II)." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 1, 1943. pp. 86-99 (Pages: 89-99)
    The IEDC translation and transcription have been taken from this publication

Related Shelfmarks

IEDC Data

140
29/05/2024
20/10/2024

Citations

Ofir Haim
The transcription and translation have been taken from a previous publication (see Publications)
See 'How to Cite'
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Contact

invisible_east@ames.ox.ac.uk (Please include the above permalink when contacting the editorial team about this Text)
Folios
1. recto
2. verso
Tags
Folio:
Transcription
Folio:
والحمد لولیّه 1
هر دولت که ذخیره فلکیست نثار روزکار 2
خداوند ولی نعمت برادر شجاع الدنیا و الدین صارم 3
الاسلام و المسلمین عزیز الملوك و السلاطین شرف 4
الکفاة زین ارجل کریم جهان باد و آفریدکار 5
تبارك و تعالی ناصر و معین صد هزاران 6
خدمت عبودیت عرضه می‌دارم و اشتیاق بجمال 7
مبارک خداوندی بقایتی (کذا) رسیده است که امکان 8
قلم از شرح دادن عاجز است و اکر صفت 9
کنم خون از سر قلم به چکد و از هزار یکی کفته 10
نیاید و خواندن ملالت افزاید در جمله شب 11
و روز از حضرت باری تعالی با دلی بریان 12
و چشم پرآب یافتِ خدمتِ سعادت خداوندی [می] 13
می‌خواهم با جابت مقرون باد دیکر معلوم فرماید 14
درین وقت رسولی آمد از جانب بای ازان 15
سلطان جلال الدین علی که با من بسازید و مرا 16
بکذارید تا بشهر آیم پر کوشك برادر بنشینم 17
مخدوم عزّ نصره رسول را باز کرده‌اید 18
اما معلوم نیست تا هیچ حرکت خواهد کرد یا نه 19
و خبرهای خداوند عالم سلطان اسلام متواتر 20
می‌آید دیکر معلوم فرماید که درین وقت رشید الدین 21
مختار و خواجه اختیار الدین آمدن (کذا) و پیش مخدوم 22
عرضه داشت که مهتر زاده و ابو بکر سرخ قمار 23
کردن (کذا) مهتر زاده از وی ده دینار برد و کریخت 24
و هر چند رعیت می‌رود نمك نمی‌دهد وانچ 25
می‌دهد از ده طای پنج از رعیت باز می‌کیرد 26
و رعیت را بقایه (کذا) حواله می‌کند و در امبار 27
نمك بست هیچ کس را نمی‌دهد و اختیار پیش جمله 28
خواجکان چنین کفت که اکر صد بار مخدوم 29
چیزی نویسد ابو بکر سرخ بامیان نباید 30
[در حاشیه] زینهار که زندنجی قبا من این که خانه بود بفرستد کلاه بفرستد که برهنه شده‌ام 31
و تمامت ان خداوند را یاقی (کذا) ساخته‌اند 1
هر کس پیش مخدوم چیزی دیکر می‌کوید اکر بنده 2
انجا نبودی مخدوم عزّ نصره باور می‌کردی که 3
یاقی شده است آخر ای سجان الله العظیم 4
صد کرّت نبشتم که چنان سازد که این هر دو 5
عِوان آنجا آمده‌اند چنان سازد که خشنود 6
باشند صد هزار دشمن حاصل کرده است و مخدوم 7
را هیچ خدمتی نکند که خشنود باشند بیرون 8
از خداوند صد هزار کس را مخدوم بولایت‌ها 9
فرستاده است و عملها فرموده هر هفت آنجا 10
می‌باشند آن خداوند چون نمك آبه می‌رسد 11
جمله جهان فراموش می‌کند و نام یاقی 12
بر خود می‌نهد عاقبت اب روی ما در 13
سر نمك ابه خواهد شد ناکاه کافر یا مسلمان 14
آنجا زبر قلعه آید و آنجا نتواند آمد خوذ 15
را در بلا اندازد باید که کسی را نسب (کذا) کند تا 16
نمك می‌فروشد و خوذ بیاید مخدوم را ببیند 17
صد هزار کس در عالم بیش است هیچ کس 18
نمک ابه ندارد جمله را خدای روزی می‌دهد 19
دانم که آن برادر را هم بدهد هرچند بنده مخدوم 20
را خدمت بیش می‌کند و او را خوش‌دل می‌کرداند 21
دشمنی از نمك ابه سخنی می‌کوید جمله باطل 22
می‌شود و آن خداوند بنمك آبه وزن نمك آبی [چنان] چنان 23
مقرم (کذا) شده است که از دشمن و مخدوم 24
فراموش کرده است اکرچه هرکز مباد می‌ 25
دانم که ناکه این بنده را یا آن خداوند را واقعه 26
خواهد بود که یك دیگر را نتوانیم دید اما 27
جهد می‌کنم مکر خدای این روزی نکند بنده جهد می‌کرد 28
. . . از راه دور . . . اما چون خدای چنین می‌ 29
خواهد تا یک دیکر را فراغ (کذا) نمایم چتوان کرد زنهار 30
تا بنوشته با احتیاط باشد از جانب من و از دیکر 31
قبوض رشید الدین مخدوم در ملتفه کاغذ است که 32
برای خدمت کزاردام (کذا) بفرستد که طلب می‌دارند 33
Translation
Folio:
1 "Praise to Whom it belongs!
2 "Let every happiness which Heaven has in store be bestowed on
3 the Master (khudāvand) and Benefactor (valī-ni'mat ?), (my ?) brother Shujāʿ al-dunyā wal-dīn Ṣārim
4 al-Islām wal-Muslimīn, the intimate of Kings and Sultans, the Honoured one among the competent,
5 the Adornment of men, the Beloved (karīm) of the whole World. And let the Creator -
6 may He be blessed and exalted - be his helper, guardian, and assistant.
7 I submit to him hundreds of thousands of obedient services. The longing for the sight of the blessed beauty of
8 My Master has reached such a stage (qāyatī < *ghāyatī) that the possibilities of the
9 pen to express it are inadequate. If I try to describe
10 it, blood will drip from the pen, and yet one-thousandth part of it will not be said
11 and the reading of it will only cause annoyance. Daily
12 and nightly, with heart roasted and
13 with eyes full of tears I pray to the Almighty
14 to (let me) reach (yāft) the service of happiness with My Master. Let (my prayer) receive its fulfilment. And also (dīgar) let him be informed
15 that recently an envoy has arrived from Bāy Uzān (of ?)
16 Sulṭān [Jalāl al-din - cancelled] 'Alī (?) saying : 'Come to an agreement with me and let me
17 come to the town and abide in the castle of the brother.'
18 [Our] Lord (makhdūm), may God exalt his victory, sent the envoy back
19 and it is not known whether (the Sulṭān ?) will take any steps or not.
20 Reports of the Master of the World the Sulṭān of Islām arrive
21 incessantly. "And also let him be informed that recently Rashīd al-din
22 Mukhtār and Khwāja Ikhtiyār al-din came (āmadan [sic]) and submitted to the Lord
23 that Mihtar-zāde and Abū-Bakr Surkh gambled (qumār kardan [sic])
24 and Mihtar-zāda won from him 10 dinars and (he) ran away,
25 and although the peasants (ra'iyat) go (to him) he does not give salt (to them), and what
26 he gives he takes back from the ra'iyat five out of each ten ṭāy (ṭilla ?).
27 He taxes (ḥavāla) the peasants excessively. He has closed the doors of the store (anbār)
28 of salt and does not admit anyone. Ikhtiyār (al-din) spoke before all the khwājas that
29 should (our) Lord write one hundred times
30 Abū-Bakr Surkh will not come to Bāmiyān.
31 (In the margin) : "Mind, send (me) my zandaniji qabā, the one (īn-ki) was at home. Send (also) a hat for I have become stripped bare."
1 "And they all represent the Master (ān khodāvand) as a rebel (yāqī < *yāghī)
2 and every one says something different to the Lord. Were I not
3 here, [our] Lord, may his victory be exalted, would believe that
4 (my Master) has become a rebel. Finally, glory to God the Exalted,
5 I have written one hundred times that both of these
6 oppressors ('ivān) have arrived at that (this ?) place, (so) let (the Master) arrange that he (they ?)
7 be contented. He has created 100,000 enemies and does not render any services
8 to [our] Lord to content him. Besides my Master,
9 (our) Lord has sent 100,000 men to the provinces and 
10 has made appointments ('amal-hā farmūda). There they are in all readiness (har haft mī-bāshand).
11 When my Master reaches the saline (namak āba)
12 he forgets the whole world and thus gets the name of rebel
13 attached to himself. In the end our honour (ābrūy) will be gone, over (that)
14 saline (namak-āba).Suddenly Unbelievers (kāfir) or Muslims (?)
15 may set upon the fortress and (he) will not be able to come there (here ?)
16 and (he) will fall prey to calamities. He should appoint (nasb < *naṣb) someone
17 to sell salt ( . . . mīfurūshad) and himself come to see (our) Lord.
18 There are more than 100,000 men in the world who have
19 no salines, and God gives them subsistence (ruzī).
20 (So far) I understand (dānam), He will not refuse it to my (ān) brother either. How ever much I serve
21 (our) Lord and (try to) make him of good heart,
22 the enemy says hard things about the saline and everything
23 is undone. (Meanwhile) my Master has become so besotted with the saline and the salt-water woman (zan-i namak-ābī)l
24 that he has forgotten all about the enemies
25 and (our) Lord. Although - (may it never happen!) -
26 I know that death may suddenly strike this slave or
27 that Master, and we shall not see each other, yet
28 I strongly hope (lit. 'endeavour') that perhaps God will not ordain so (īn rūzī *nakunad). I was endeavouring
29 that faults (?) should be removed from the path. But if God wills
30 that we part (firagh < *firaq) what can be done ? Mind,
31 be careful with writings, both on my behalf and on behalf of
32 the others (?). The receipts of our Lord's Rashīd al-dīn are enclosed (dar-multaffa ?) in the letter,
33 that is to say I have enclosed them to oblige. Let the Master send them to be presented for recovery."
Map

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New Persian: Private Collection, Minorsky A: Folio (recto)
New Persian: Private Collection, Minorsky A: Folio (verso)
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