Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh
| Author | Sujan Rai |
|---|---|
| Country | Mughal Empire |
| Language | Persian |
| Subject | History of India |
| Genre | non-fiction |
| Published | 1695 (manuscript); 1918 (printed) |
Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh is an Indian Persian language chronicle by Sujan Rai. It deals with the history of Hindustan, and also contains details about the contemporary Mughal Empire. The author completed the work in 1695 CE, during the reign of Aurangzeb. An insertion about Aurangzeb's death was later added to the original copy by a transcriber.
Alternative transliterations of the book's title include Khulasat-Al-Tavarikh and Khulasatu-t-Tawarikh.
The author's name is not given anywhere in the actual book, but the transcribers' notes in several manuscripts mention him as Sujan Rai. Some manuscripts appened Bhandari or Batalvi to his name. The title Munshi is also prefixed to his name. One manuscript calls him the "Munshi of Munshis".
Rai was a Khatri Hindu from Batala. As a young man, he had served as a dabir (secretary) to some nobles. He knew Hindi, Persian and Sanskrit languages.
Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh was completed in the 40th year of Aurangzeb's reign, corresponding to 1695 CE. Most of the manuscripts contain a brief account of Aurangzeb's death at the end, written abruptly in a small number of lines. This section is believed to be an insertion in an early copy by a transcriber, and was repeated in the subsequent copies.
The book has a long preface, which contains a list of 27 Persian and Sanskrit historical works used as references:
Persian translations of Sanskrit works
Persian-language texts
Other
Description of Hindustan
The following provinces are covered in the book:
The descriptions of many provinces, especially those away from the author's native Punjab region, are borrowed from Ain-i-Akbari. The book gives a detailed and original account of Punjab, especially the Lahore subah and the Batala sarkar.
This part gives an account of the pre-Islamic rulers of India, especially Delhi. It covers kings from the time of the legendary Pandava ruler Yudhishthira to Rai Pithora (Prithviraj Chauhan). The book gives a list of the rulers' names, the period of their reigns and a short account. This section is more of legends than history.
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