Fazli Beg Khuzani Isfahani. A chronicle of the reign of Shah ‘Abbas. II vols. (2015)

Fazli Beg Khuzani Isfahani. A chronicle of the reign of Shah ‘Abbas. Vol. I. Edited by Kioumars Ghereghlou, with an introduction by Kioumars Ghereghlou and Charles Melville. Cambridge: Gibb Memorial Trust, 2015, pp. LXX, 1-526. ISBN 9781909724501, ISBN 9781909724563, ISBN 9780906094495

Fazli Beg Khuzani Isfahani. A chronicle of the reign of Shah ‘Abbas. Vol. II. Edited by Kioumars Ghereghlou, with an introduction by Kioumars Ghereghlou and Charles Melville. Cambridge: Gibb Memorial Trust, 2015, pp. 527-1069. ISBN 9781909724518, ISBN 9781909724778, ISBN 9780906094495

This substantial and largely unknown Persian chronicle of the reign of Shah ‘Abbas I (1587-1629) exists in a unique manuscript, recently discovered in the Library of Christ’s College, Cambridge. Its author, Fazl-Allah Khuzani Isfahani, member of an important bureaucratic family, provides an insider’s account of this crucial period in Persian history, with a wealth of detail about the central and provincial administration and much information not found in other sources. Shortly after the succession of Shah Safi I, Fazl-Allah left for India, where he continued to work on his chronicle. So far, three volumes of the Afzal al-tawarikh have come to light, covering the reigns of Shah Isma‘il, Shah Tahmasp and Shah ‘Abbas; none of them is complete and each exists only in a sole copy.

This two volume set, an edition of volume three of the “Afzal al-tavarikh”, makes available the text of this chronicle of the reign of the Safavid ruler, Shah ‘Abbas. Includes the complete text of 579 folios and is accompanied by detailed indexes and an introduction on the life and work of Fazli Beg, the significance of his work and the manuscripts on which it is based. Volume one covers the years 996-1018 AH / 1587-1609; volume two covers the years 1019-1037 AH / 1610-1629.

Keywords: Faz̤lī Bayg Khūzānī Iṣfahānī, فضلى بىگ خوزانى اصفهانى, Afz̤al al-tavārīkh, افضل التواريخ