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Abdul Hamid Lahori ( ur, ; died 1654) was a traveller and historian during the period of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan who later became a court historian of Shah Jahan (Shah Jahan's official chronicler). He wrote the book ''Padshahnama'', about the reign of Shah Jahan. He has described Shah Jahan's life and activities during the first twenty years of his reign in this book in great detail Infirmities of old age prevented him from proceeding with the Third decade which was then chronicled by Waris, a historian.The Padshahnama (book written by Abdul Hamid Lahori in 1656-57)
Royal Collection Trust website, Retrieved 9 July 2019


Biography

Not much is known about the biographical details about Abdul Hamid Lahori, except from ''Amai-i Salih'' of Muhammad Salih, another court writer, who mentions his date of death to be 1654 AD. In his own preface to the text, Lahori mentions that he was recalled from his retirement in
Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...
to write official history as the Emperor wanted someone who could emulate the style of ''
Akbarnama The ''Akbarnama'', which translates to ''Book of Akbar'', the official chronicle of the reign of Akbar, the third Mughal Emperor (), commissioned by Akbar himself and written by his court historian and biographer, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak. It was w ...
'' of
Abul Fazl Abul is an Arabic masculine given name. It may refer to: * Abul Kalam Azad * Abul A'la Maududi * Abul Khair (disambiguation), several people * Abul Abbas (disambiguation), several people * Abul Hasan * Abul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi * Abu'l-Fazl ibn ...
which he too greatly admired. Abdul Hamid Lahori wrote the history of the first twenty years of Shah Jahan's rule in
Padshahnama Padshahnama or ''Badshah Nama'' ( fa, پادشاهنامه or پادشاه‌نامه) (Chronicle of the Emperor Shah Jahan) is a group of works written as the official history of the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. Unillustrated texts ...
and completed the book in 1648 AD.Padshahnamah - a book written by Abdul Hamid Lahori on Banglapedia website
Retrieved 9 July 2019


Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...
, the world-renowned monument was built and completed by the end of 1653 or early 1654 in the 17th-century. Therefore, the 350th anniversary of Taj Mahal actually occurred around 1994.Taj Mahal turns 350...maybe
news24 archives website, Published 27 September 2004, Retrieved 9 July 2019
More than 20,000 workers toiled for years to build the majestic Taj Mahal with four slender minarets. It was built by the heartbroken Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his second wife, Empress Mumtaz Mahal, who had died in childbirth. Shah Jahan's official chronicler Abdul Hamid Lahori writes that the construction began six months after Empress Mumtaz Mahal's death which was on 17 June 1631. Abdul Hamid Lahori also calls the glass pieces of the Sheesh Mahal of the
Agra Fort The Agra Fort is a historical fort in the city of Agra in India also known as the Red Fort. Rebuilt by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1565 and completed in 1573, it served as the main residence of the rulers of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638, when ...
as glass pieces "Shish-i-Halebi" because Haleb was the original name of Aleppo ( Syria) which was the main centre for manufacturing these glass pieces. To build a strong foundation of this grand mausoleum known as the Taj Mahal, a network of wells was laid down along the river line and the wells were filled with stones and other solid materials.Love Story Behind Taj Mahal
Government of Uttar Pradesh, India (tajmahal.gov.in website), Retrieved 9 July 2019
He was widely-known to be a good scholar. He also had good knowledge of science and astronomy. Abdul Hamid was called Lahori because he was from
Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
,
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
although he died in
Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra i ...
.


Works

* * *
Bádsháh-Náma of 'Abdu-L Hamíd Láhorí
'' Packard Humanities Institute''


References


External links


The Padshahnama (Abdul Hamid Lahori's book written in 1656-57) at the Royal Collection Trust website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lahori, Abdul Hamid Historians from the Mughal Empire Muslim writers Historians of India Year of birth unknown 1654 deaths Writers from Lahore People from Agra 17th-century Indian historians 17th-century Indian biographers 17th-century Indian non-fiction writers 17th-century Indian astronomers