:

i I '

I

i .! ' A NOTE ON ISKANDAR BEGq CIIRONOIOGY

' lI iR. D. M&IIESNEY, Ntu Y6n Utuleeily

LI

II

I

II

I

U'lr' S 30 no. r (r030)l@ rmo 6y ah6 UdweEity of Chi@go.

002t-2968/80/3001-0003/t00.08,

.\ \OTE ON ISKANDAR, BEG'S CHRONOLOGY

R. D. MCCEESNINY, Nlu ltk Ututur&tY

Tnr value or rskandor Beg MurNhfB fd"it-d "{

Iam Afi's; "Abhdsi lheftaftet

r-l -{--l ) for the history of Iren, Khurdsdn, and M5'v&dnnahr has long b€€n &ppreciatecl

]IaNhair o. S. Hodgson spokc of the lvork's "judicious accuracv' its lsvchologicrl

@rcentileness, and thc bro;d interest it mani{ests in th€ nmilications of the events it

i*""i.'''rq. tL miklolLaMaklai described the chronicle as "s basic source for the history

of l.an during the lasi quarter of the siit€enth centuv and the lirst third of the s€ven-

rc""th ""a

riso ." i"vaiu&bte source for the ssme Friod for 6ome of trre countries 6nd

prorinces .djacent to Iran "'

Such cstee.m is shown not only by present-dsv historians, with th€ir ox]l diltinctiYe

prcferences in historical souces, but also bv Iskandar Beg's o'n coniempomnes and

,.uccessive generatiom of scholars in lran, Mawodnnahr, and India Judging 6$t bv the

relatively large nunber of manuscript copies of the work $hich have been presered sDd

secondl]: by t;e daies those copies were nade, thc popularitv of ihe ru-4'4 seemB 10 have

r'ee' .*or"d "l"tuany

f"on the moneni ii eas witt€n 3 The lithogrephed publication

of noBt of the work (minus eleven of tho t$elve naqalahs o1.''Abbds)a in Tehran in

1896 g? and its rc-publication lwirt the Mqdlahs resioed) in Isfahan jn 1956 haYe

assurcd its wide availsbility. ID addition, an awaited Enelish traDBlstion aillxnqr$tion'

ably enlunce its already enormous in{uence as an authoritative source for the sixt€cnth

and seventeenth centEy history of great€r lran

I have made eitensive use of the ?,4.{l in preparing a monograph on the last voars

of the Abu'l-Khayrid/Shibanid rule iD M''a'annahr, Balkh, and Khudsnn For the

Deri , , t ,Jg5-f007 i587 g0, 'hc TAAAis^nr of lhr moFt rBponsDr. i f not lh" rnct

i ;o; . ' ; ' . " . " ; . l , is b ishly de(sr l "d 'oh' tcn1 'omprPh'nsiv '

and ai leasr on rhc

surfa-.hr"nologhol ly p-" i "" t " t ,nau. BPg Na" sn cve$ rr nFss ro man) ot r }" eeais

in KlLumun r hei n. namxrcc sDd rFl ipd or l t he a"ounrs of or hcr ot u lar paf l i ' ipenrF and

"reliabtc sourccs" in his rcci)nshuctioD of evcnt! s

!,sr\s,, c . Hoocso, 7 ^. '.n'de

dr rs,an HT.l;::il"'"fl:3:ili",j",il::,"1'ff:;'%i:

' 'l il' .1";,J:i* li.',:;.. oFsdnv u.,h,tsb,t!: iili""'i i"ii^a ":-a^;

r$ios'ad'F '|06{f pp

: "-;;i.r,,;"-";;","" i,";b .-b'"-,n".'a ,i:#,,:ii,il.:;.llT"I:1t,,:'#,g,'fii'.:;"Tl"^''.11,;'.'i.';hll'; e:€so jddt.:"; $#:,ilil,?^l;:li,*;"1, ,i*.{;l:l

rikro,Lr, (Mosco$l ls?2l pp 376 30 Bmgel' lisrB

-""-"' ' ' io,p"'"':,;pana'oopapmsnh' f,T"l*li i;?tL'i!l l, i l:In:"'""i1ii;,*J;;tr.";li ,';;'";:'l;;" 11' ;l;1",i:"5i,",1: i::*F::;l;ui,*:":i:i;;; .i:;.)

nasnnudc of tha nmbor ol copier is mds s&dilv

'ii'llii;;;r;:n*"':r";i. :;.r,;t""al .,;,iT.':ili[T'.".iril""r11:ili"""-::i:';'':i'i::tJ-\tS 39 no. r {r080)lO 1930 by f i-" University of Chicago

oorz 2903/80l3gor 0003/t00.98

5 Foi a lull otstrcn or lhos sUrdmAnn, I3k€ndd lfunehi xrd *n' wer[

2D A 16 lJ3611' 457-6ot

64 JourN,lI, or Nn,ln EASTTRN SrlrDrns

But in thc coune of correlrting Iskandar Be€'s irfornation rith that ofother Iranian$orks composed Dore near'lJ contemporarilJ' x'ith the period 905 10076

'ruch as Bidlisi's

conclusion (irattmn) {o tLrc :lharal.M'nalt (conplet€d on thc last day of Dhn'l-Hiijaht005)j ? Q&di -{limad Qumi's Khulasat al. taxirikt (the epiloguc ofs'l)icl xas comptctcdh l00t);a or Mnrvarannahrid sourccs such as Hniz-i Tanis}l'E Ahdft|.nanah-ai shahl(a.k.a., 'Abtld.llahndndh). cohpleied in its lirst version in 997 and its second somctineafter Sg8i'o or Badr al Din Kashmiri's naudai dl-dlutn complctcd in 9S810 and his4al,nlijndh. \rrirtet\ in r00l;11 as wcll ss $ith trldlmld b. -{nir $ ali's dr. al- asrrl,ihe appropriatc vollrDe of which $as complcted in 1045', and thc Sisi,ari v.ork ofltalilShah Husala.lryd dl-,rzlri,13 conplct.d iD 1028/1618 l9 both ofrvtri(h Mrc approxj-naliellr coDtcnporary rvil.h Iskandar Beg's $ork, a number of qucstioDs arose rcgadiDgIsko du Beg's Fyst.n) of chonology and thus his datnig ofcvcnts.

Ure nay takc as An example the dating of the siege of Har6t b.v- .Abdalldh KlanShibani. The opcning of the siegf, an importaDL noment in Shibanid-Safadd as rvetl asQizilbash-$afavid relations, is dated to {}95/1587 (bx all of thc above-nancd sorrces $hoproyide a date) and its condusion to 996r'1588. Tak€n in chonological order ofconposi-rior\, the Sharaf.nalMh-y; s ahi dat$ thc opeDing of the sicge 2 liajab 995,ra $hen'Abdalliih Khnn cstablished hjs headquartos at the Sultnn TIu.ayn B.'}afi" hndmsahoutside the city rr€lls and its close to 5 Rabi' II 996.16The Raudatal-idba,, $,hichjrivesnoopFninL,JJ. ,n, lqrhpsi-g-orNonds\ l l i r r , l lCaC.r ' lnrh4Ahuld"otat tdui ; ;kh

QEdi Ahnad Qumi records ihat 'Abb&s lclt Mashl,nd lbr Qazwin durirs the tust ren da1.sol RlmaJan l l5 by $hi . , , r im, \bdsl ls\ h l , i r hcJ olr .s, tJ , r r i r , t "d Hsrnr arJbrought the outlying area! unde. control.13 Ne!s ofthc d(:nrh ofrh. Oizitbash coDrnanderoftheHaratganison, killed when Hsretfeil,lrs L.ought to Qazvii bv "srviftnr.ssersers,'or the l8th of Iiabi'II ofthe "aforementiondl y{[, " (i.. , 1XX)) r, I'h(j Kurdish hiAlorjan,Shemf Khnn Bidlisi, dites the Harot sicgc f.oJn I llaial 1)1)510 l8 R{bi.II1}9ij.,o TheSistani chroniclcr, Nalik Shah Husayn, gires the opcning drlc ofrhe assautt on the oiiyas 28 Junadd II 995 and its conclusion "te! Donths lato",r (i.e., R !bi.II 996).

Iskandar Beg alone dates the opening of tlie campaign to 996, or at lcasr, to all

,\ Norr o\ IsxaNDAR thc's CnRo\oroGY 55

r l ' t t r r r n! , { ! t rs10.r lAt thebeginningoftheYcarof i 'hcPjg(Tangiz\- i l ) 00( i hc

( iltrl,,lliil,) ,,{d,i to Khu.esnn vith an innumersblc trzbek a'nv "r' Leaving th' doo'

'rl,lrl,lll ritrr al lirst as ro whei'hcr he reallj' meant to concspond Tangnz Yil 1o 99(i

(,,1-,.i ir(, h(l (xtr.csponds it to 994 and 995)''3 Iskendar Bcg then firnlv closes it b)

,,,,.t",ti.g t,l. p, i,,"ipot o"count of the siege in the evcnts of the succceding J'car- Sichqnr

r,r * r,i,ll, hr,,:omcspo",ls to 997 'za that is, the New Yeals Dav (Na{rnz)of Sicltqdn \il

,'.,,url iD 1)9?. Uniike thc other sources for the sicge, he gives no precise dates foreilIfl

rlr in,r,r,lion or conolusion ofthc campaign, remarking onry that it cam' to an cnd 'r'

rrg ,.|l vrlrrth nonth.'6 Ho'ever. later, in one of the manv ambiguities that merk his

rr{l rr(xlt of the poiod, h. st&t€s that tbe siege ras concluded in Tangirz Yil (whicl hr

l r { r ' ( r l ls 1}94 rathei than 996) '6'l'h(j ,i,rpture of Uashhad by the Shibanid sul-tdn, '-qbd al-Mu'nin b 'Abdallirh Khnt'

" ,** u" r".tlt* instancc of thc apparent discEpan(ies between the chronologv ol

trkrn(i{r Bcg an.I that of the otler Iranian and Mn{arnnnabrid historiaN'

Iskanrlar ieg places ihe siege end fall of Meshhad in Ud Yil, conesponding to 008 ''

(As will bc disosscd belov, he actxalv clatcs Nawrtrz ofOd Yil 14 Jum6dd I997:3 lnrl

r.aLcs it clcor that he inlended 998 as he strtes in the chapter heading-1'hen hc dalfs

t hc folloring Namtrz 14 Jum6.da I 999 )'o Once again, as in the Hadt oasc' lie mol ilnrs

no spec i6c d;tes for ihe siegc and fall of Mashhad to tlzbek troops under 'Abd al'llu-tt t irr

'fhcie ig a nention of ihe onpaignt duration-four months 30'---and Iskn'ndar -Ucg calls

l.hc battle st ihe Ri(t6vi shr;e "a s€cond 'Ashnra "31 $tEther he me&nt rhis b(nll

lihcrally and metaphoricaly is problematic

In dunrs accorint,'Abbds receivcd word ofthe sicse and marched out of Qa'z$in ('r

tlrc 21st ofShaN gS?.sz Before the Sa{a{id-Qizilb6sh forcc could rcach evcnasld trs

Dnmghnn, xord aniveil that'Abd sl-Mu'minhad occupied Mashhad Qadi il.rnad Qrrnri

dat.; ihe transfer of ihe city io Shibanid hands to Sundav, the 20th of Dh['l-Qa (hll

997.33 His year'date i.i supportad by Sh&raf Kh5'n Bidlisi, who includes the fall ('l

lfashhrd in his account of trle Hijri year 99? The lstter' ho\sover' otrcrs diffcrent' d!l.r

1br thc inception anil conclusion ofthe eiegc 'Abd al-Mu'min' aooording to thc Kuxlisll

historia!, ;ache.l the w&Is of trIaBhhdd on the rst of Junid& II, bcBieged the cit] li'

"f(mr monihs," and then conquer.d it.3a

'll\t\ Ra6tlat olri.lbatu rccords a /dli-7'dna, {hich 'Abd al-}Iu'min scnt to thc JnJ lrnrr

sfulvl(h, Khwnjah Sa'.i. The Shibdnid sultnn sent the document at the vov fn(l ('l

l)1,; l-r.Iijj"h 997, unaw$e that thc iliBtinguiBhed sha]'kh lrad died t$o rveeh ndin! "'

lvl,rhr,;,I b. A,Dir \Yali mitirg te'o decedes attcr Iskand&r Beg. lil<ewisc d'ti)s IIlf

,rlnt'ris,, 11117 trn,l cites a chronogram celcbr&tnrg the fall ofMsshhad alich vitlds 1l!'

.y , r f 1r1,7 {s wcl l .36'l'l!r', rnr!,y rno.c similar ol ronological discrepancies lnnaDv cases' thor(i

'r u (rr'

' , ' l , ' " . ' ' , ' : i ' . . . . , - , , , . . \ . , ,_. , , : , : i " i l . i l i .

8liror). r' 4! (nf,i)! r r i r . , r . . r ooxrr '

€ Trra $rsi p.ri of ",{r41

(tLLiJah i auudL rhrn!.1 rabitak-i .tatL\ nd,lsad i

o&va4 *as eondasd i!, t0i5rl0l6 md ihs g{!dpsrr oohiJah-i ddrurtul oqsd i dauuun) in

? shamlKrtu r,. srun{lin in E nriri, slart/ fine,rol. t, iidru. E. r. \'as ,evs

oro*:o{. r0i6l, p. 35.3 addi -Arir&r.i Qunri, t{hdd

and r[ltiel trans. 7L \rt\rte\ ])ie chroaik guldtdrdt tu f,, d* Qa, Ahmd.t Qu,/i t$'i.sbader, t064)rinc nainpdi drQunfstcxisasfinialjed st ihc sDd of8tu3 Y 000 (*3odn's r. his Turki.nijri l.osrcorr*IDdcnccs), p. 30 (sxi). Iniher i3 3n ,ncon\rei6 epilosnc

,1nndr ar-Din lj.aEb^ri, znJar-^dhtlk tt\"iho PoaIo "r .1", , ' id, l . , t / ,d/ i r ,\c iokd.r . . in,

^.nton.,o.re rrahnnd b, Imir w3ti, znnl dLd*b lr tu"naqih

n,.d*/iJdr, vol.6,'"tn 4! rndi olilcc Ljbrory, London,Nrs no. 5?5,lbh. 3?41,, 403b, md dlsodrrc. A dnzyl$a3later dd.d brineing evelts down io Dhn,l.Qa.d,h

13Malik shdh rtnsala, thua at-,.ultk, cd.ilucrrlhr snindah (T6rlan lr14/re06).

lrriinzi Tmish, stent.Lanah i shnrn \a.L a..rrd ,4,nlnd,er,), Dnshonba, irrvsnolr !o, 7?3irr,

o Mikhlurn. Idkl.i, o!&anie, pr.296 36. 1. Ksbmirl fiou*,, ot i;ltztin, tor. 1661.{tsadr ar.Din.r lralrrmhi, nauddt ul ridl,an ud r Qnili Ahnad, Kh,tj^at at tau.ifrkh \MJ1er

^ad1q!t at.thilndn, ra8hl.nl, rlsrftui vogiorovc editior), p. 4 oe!i).

deniA, invanidry ro. r0!4,6t! $tbi.l., p. 2a {ieri).iIF conpl.iior is roi givd,, bur or rdr. r1db, ofiar $rbid.,p.,7tcxi)i ihe lmnslaijo., rruner !160rcforirs b |1ro (Dqlcr or Eardi Or- rhe lrrn,n,,nl") n"dNrand; dF ftr*o,,orbren,6nin,Fd y.ar,,to!' 996, tho aulhor di$u|s4 o li8cal ur.inic lniiiaied reior io 99ii (p ,15, iran|.J.then srrc]' hd mninru.dfdiv, yoars (dotr!nr i}[ eErdtii, rrd,/ n.i,tr, ). ,55 ,6$.iine ihs lork !,s rtnlcn).

- r,,r , sr,ir, rl*"y,, til,i

"

r I tl|i,. rruil &tr. r'. !r

66 JouR\ar, or NBAR ElsrEEN SruDrrs

yc&r diference betveen Iskanda. Beg'a chronolosy and thet of others lho had naratedthc same events. Oertain questioN then inevitably arise:r'as Iskandar Beg as coreful andeccurate in his $ork, specific& y in his dates, as history hes judged him to b€? Or arethc disffepancies linply attributable to scribaland editorial negligenc€ ? Certainly, in thccase of the lehran lithograph, th€ editing \ras neither thorough nor of a standardecccpt&ble today. Whether IskeDdar Beg hinself or succeeding genentions of copJistswerc at fault, it appears that the enols crcptintothe text v€ry early. No ffnal conclusionnay be dravn, however. {ithout s systematic analysi! of ihe extant manuscript€ of thework. What is certain is thai major disoepanci€s do exist in the chronological shuctureof th€ s ork as it has come dom to us, and I shall now attempt to identify end explainthose dtucrepancies.

Sincc many of the problems ere di.ectly linled to the anangenent of the rull, itis rvorthwhile to begin by b efly desc bing it. The ?.4.41 comp s€s ihree volume!, tneIir6t and second caled ",sabijah.yi @aMl" a\d. "t.tkiJah-rt dauiu",r." The third volume is.slled " hwqsad.i dauuu,tu " O.igin&Iy Iskandar Beg had intonded the second pdlifah to.ontain two na4sits, but since the second na?sad was rraitten fourt€en veals after thefi.st, vith its own introduotiol, it hss come to be treated aB a separate volume.a?

What concems u6 here is IsksDdar Beg's arrangement of the second pakilah. Tha6Br dk;iJah, includes AbbnB's genealogy, the history of his ancestors before the(Biablhhncnt of the Safavid house in Imn, and then the history ofthe dynasty in Irandown to the beginning of his rcEn. In addition. twelve short essey€ (',iaqdiais) on .Abbas

trre part of the ffrsi &rA,/ah.. The second faittlan incorporates en cntirely diferent alranSe-lncnt. INtesd of a topical arrangement, Iskandar Beg adopts en annelistic franeworkwithinrhich the variouseventB of'<Abbns reign ere narrated.It is the use ofthis anmlisticfnmework {hich leads to difrculties. In oder to adduce the dating of speciffc eventsonc usualyhas torelyonthe "yearfisme" within which thosc cvcnts are includedandtowhich thcy are related by Buch phass es "in ihis ye&r," "in the same year," or "in this

kkanilar Beg begins the second sattlan with a prefsce in vhich he stat€! his int€ntionio record the evente of"Abbes's reign annalisiically (rdJ 6;sdi).38 He then goes oD ro ssy:

lf, in the manner of the rhl al-td.ikl, the Eijri yesr. whose beginning accordlna ro AlabrNasc (bi.?d t i@air) b olc fif8t of Mularrsnj should bo ddopred, th€n mosr of the peoplo ofIron $ ould not undeEiand. tr'or among the Turks and IrsniMs, the beginning of the yed is,ltur .-i tuUdn1. \rr'i.b is thc frrst day of the world,sdohing lprins (@aj bahtu-i.dlaml?/n-rl). When fou seasns p$s &nd snoih€r Namuz comesj rhst is one vear. The month ofM uLorram may lall anlvhere in the Tdki year (Ddh-i Lluhartdm dal .Md,.i. sal-a tvki uld.1i.,,t,/o&d). Dotes of sreat event€ (of the Eijri yed) for which ial€nred p@pl6 provide alrronry arrongornent will vary wiih the Tdki yd lhabdrttkh kih @bdb-i isti.dAd, bi-jilbt-ilufi1ti' i 'azimalL yi f&.gdr dar *hta:h i bdu,:lhdt itttiztun mtu]dhatul ba sd'l..i turk:i mukhtaliJdxr). Sono $ill corrcspond to the previous yeer Md some to th€ subsequent y@r, i.e,, onelnw.r or onf .ror.. Strcc ihis ignoble &roo is under th6 obligarion to otiminaie dd expEgerl,l,igu il n.H ond Froblems from ihis work of the World Adorning One and (mako ir) &ceprablclo th..orrt,rohonsron of both iho ordinery person and spociatist alrr€, he h&s closed hiE cyes

jLrhs ymr snd €nds !nr.Ar,h

tuxn. yuF, of (r, r0??r.

]\ No,ro oN Isx,u.DAn BEds CERoNoLo,]y 57

l,' rru'r 'li{rttrun,v (,a?r d ar ik|llik.f Wshidah) aad lras settieil on thc lbki ymr which the|r'{nl ltrrlnn l,.rl,or urd.rsrr.ds so lh6t knowledge may incre&se among those r.ho iaqu'r€

'l',' lhis strn nxJrt it is .e{ressary to add that as the Turki year was p3rt of a (twelve\1rr) ,,!e1( and lEd no ponri of rcference except the rccuDing Nawruz that rould tclll lr' ,re r *hcre, in rclation to the distant past, any evcnt stood, Iskandar Beg added tor|l llrrki ycar thc nnmber of the Hijri year within which Nawrnz feli. As the entir€dfl!,nrf wis kcvcd to'Abbas's.Juccession, the ordinal number ofthe succession year {as,,|i,' ircludcd. The syslem Isknndar Beg used. thereforc, rr€s not ba.eed on the Turki y@r,11,,,r,. Ds thc prelatory rcmark! suggest. but was a "mixed" iultrs-TurkiHijri syst€m.

1,, |is discu$ion of the chronological systen he yould usc to "eliminate and expunge,,,,,lrisiril ies" from his rrork, Iskandar Bes oiticized those historians sho adhered io thorrri.llv Hijri sFtcrnj since it was not the context $'ithin lhich the genersl public,,r,lfbtood thc passage of tine. The beginning of the )'ear las not Muharram I butNtrwrnz, the lcmal equinox as determined under the lolar catendal revised during ther i,n{, of tlre Saljtq, l{alik Shdh Sultnn (whence the ten nduitz-i suLfin l). When evefts$.i) rccordcd by the llijri calendar, according to Iskandar Beg, jt simply confused thex, r ! rsl readcBhip. lbr e{aln ple, jf a s riter spoke of the events of Safar 998, in the Turkisvstiim this $ould occur ir the jear begiming in 907, since Nawriiz feli tro-third! o{ thervav through 997 and iDcluded the tust four months of 998. This, we assume is vhetIskandar Bcg ncant vhen he said: "Some {of thc cvents recorded according to the Hijrisysicn) xill correspond to the Fevious year . . . ." lvhat he n€ant by ". . . end somo tolhc subscilucnt year . . ." is less clear. As the solar Turkt year }as longer than the lunarnijri, it would havc bccn impossible foi an ercnt recorded as occurring in a giveD Eijrir1r. to have concsponded to a subsequent Turki rcar. One senses from this remark thatlskrndor Bcg himself had sone dificulty keeping the two systems in proper nlstion, aliding rcinforccd by hia then stat:ng that he would ignore th€ discrepancies between thelwo systcms and sinply relJ. on the Turki yca., which the public (and hc) undentoodtr'tlr lnazt a2 dn ikhtild.J p.iishiddh bi4dl'i tutk:i ltih'ittrm lahttutar ast qarar ddd,).ao

Ilhrndm Bcg used tlre 'L'urki year to divide or frane the chapiers of ihc second pa.l.t/ah.l,)'!,|| yc.r hAd ir,s o$r name and conesponding Hijri year nunber. The month names,Brl wfn l.h(' Hij.i months. The Tuki Jcar could begin at any point in the Hijf year(trrll vicf vfrM), ,nd, since it was clevcn da)B ionge., al{ays includcd parts of &t leastInlr trr! I s(,nol ih.s three Hijri xears. I'or.xample, It Yi1 l0l8 began oD 16 Dhu,l.Ilijjehlrr l8. i r ! .1[ l ( r l r l l of l0]9. and ended on 5 Muharran r020.a1

'l'l!, liNl chrt,l.,r, organized according to the Turki year-frane, vss Tangaz Yil(,r',,'mtn'rrlii,{ to !11}ll according to Isksndar Bcg). As tlre accession of'Abbes to therl',, trx, l,r,l( l,li,rc (lurjng th. Jedr. {le ohaptex is entitlcd "The Remaining HappeningB, ' ,1 ' l l11, . l r i i , ' l ' l i l r lgrrYi l . lhr l i rs lyearof theAccessionofr | \eHunAAAn.. . . "arTheir,'l l,,ll \,r,,rl r\ l,l'ni s niign is th e liamework for thc lirst full chapter incorpo.atingr l ' ! ' \ ! l ' . , , , l r lx , l , r tnrr iscr l j tk i l " l 'hc Events of Sichqen Yj l corresponding to 997,

5E JouR\-q.L or NIAR UrsrER\ SruDltrsA Norr on Is(aND-aR BEe's CFio\oroGY

TiBLI' IIsF^N.$ 3no'3 CEEoNoToGY

69

\rhich is thc Second Yea. of the ^ccession

ofthe fluna|ir . . . ."4s'l]n]sfotmat rcmain-cin etrect for aI succeeding chaptcB until'Abbas's de{lh. lof the most pat the Hiiriyear corrcspondcnces: cruoial for undcBtanding the discrepDcies bet!een kkandar Btgand other historians, are lbund in thc chaptcr hcadings and oDlJ occasionall) in the textitsclf. Thc conespondence ol

-\asruz, when it js giten, usull)_ occur. \ritlrour ih. Hljli

)'car, thc proper year beillg infencd from thc ohapter headi.g.As nost of the chroDologic&l qu.stions nrising fto]J, \he TAAA Flatc dircctlt' t.)

Iskandnr Bcg's use of the lu.kiHijrijuhs "]ear-fralne," \!e $ill list herc cach of thc

years i Nh. first "qalz" oI'Abbn-.'s rcign with the Nawlz dnl.es when and !s kkandar

Beg p.ovidcs them in the ter.t. Thc correspordirg Cregorinr date is also gircn 6ing thc

Wusienfcld-Xlehler tables.4aThN Iskandar Be€ presents thc Turhi-Hijrijuhs yen.-f.amc ritli thc Nasr[tz

corre.rpondenccs. Before {e begiD io ilcal Nith the obvious discrepaDcjes in uiis tablc, $e

should notc thet in two ofthe categorics Iskandar Beg has preserved perfcct consistcncyandaccuracy. The corre(i order of juhs yQrs is never confused nor is thc propcr sequence

of Turki ycsB in the trvelve year cl'clc.A cursory look at the cor.espondences of thc Turki (solar) and Hijri (lunar) years as

p.esented by Iskandar Beg Fill ucoi'er nuDoous inconsistencies. One of thc frst andmost apparnt is the enatni co.r.Erondcnce of the Nalalz dete to thc vcrn&l equinox.In ihe Gregorian calendar (and all thesc dates fill in the CrcgoriaD era), ure vernal

equirox fals on or about 20 Narch. Of thc tMntv-Iivc )'ears for s'hich Iskandar Beg

gives a Navrnz datc, only twelve cor.espond to thc vonal equinox. Given thc sophisti-

oation of the Safsvid cout astrononers, il is safc to nssume thtt they ar. Dot rcsponsible

for this inconsistencv.Another glsring inconsistenc,v .egads the fixnrg of tlrc beginnirgs ol s.Rral Tuki

xears. In thc lourteenth juli,s yedr (Sichqnn), Ishondnr Bcg sars the ommcncement(.tglrtz) of the }tar conesponds to 1009 and thcn latcr statcs thrt tlre iifteenih juhs year

'torresponds partl]'to 1009 and partl) i,o r0r0." Iccording to hin then, thc Sichqnnyear \rould hak bcgun on the Stlr of lianadiin and.ndcd elcven daF later! Obviously,nr gifing tlie co espondcncc for one of the 1,wo years an cnor has been nade The emc

pfoblem ocours wirh ihc sixtccnth and seventeeDth julus Fars (Bers and Tnshqsn) and

the twenty{eventh and t\ccnty-eighth (ild and l}ars).The corespordencc of thc day ofthe week on $hich Nr$atrz fel is.nother brodd arca

o{ inoonsiste cy. Therc arc six years (1004, r005, r0r5rrr6, 1016/17, 1017/18, l0r8/rl)) in

whioli the Nawr[z day of thc aeck as giren bJ Iskandar Bcg and the l!'ustenfe]d-Mahlcr(irrcspondenoe a.e e{actly equimlcnt. If Ne give Iskandar Bcg the benefit oftle doubt

rnd rssume he considered thc weeliday to begin ard end at sundosr, then we may add

i,) i h. sii. i ryo mofc ]'cars (1000, l02l) in wlich lskrndar Beg's and t\iustenfel.t-nahlcr'sw,! l<hys n,ry b. saidto coincide. Yet thi! still neans thet in less than oxe-thifd of the,,r$.s ,li) lh,, sla,kda-\ls conrcide.

,\r),nlri rrcr,)l i..onsistencv is *hen the Hijri ycar ntmber is given in both thc. l , i , t ' l . f l , , , r ( l i rsrn( l int l l : tcxt . Ineightof theye . i rwhichtheNawrizcofcslr . rk inceir ! i r , , , ( l )1r11. l , l r ! ) , lo l ! . l l )1.1. lo l8. 1020. 1022. l02l l ) , I6kandar 1l .g i r ) . l r t r tcs thc } I i j r i

r , { r r , , , , ,1! |n, l l , I [ , u, \ , l t t rn( l n, , ) , ,1 l , ,h)s i r t1 l , f1cx1.Inr l l l ! , r ( t r t r of thrs. inst t rD( 's

SDdav. r0 Raiar,s3 Suday, l0 March 1696\! ,n, , ;v 2L R;,rb '8 t r lonoc\. l0 \ lo ' .1 l i !7l"Ja' : t2.1. ;n ' "n ,J. l^ NIJ| 'h 5JrXlond;r, rr Sho'bnn'3 TueBddy, g trfarch 1699sudsi, 23 sha'bnn6' 1 !urs.]ay, 9 Iar ch lli00r,rledn;sdrx, 5 iiana4nn6' Saturdry, l0 xlarch 1601

Saiudar. l{j Iiamrdarc'? \tedNcday, 2l lfarch 160lTl-ui .u i \ . 2n Rs" 'a i l , in6 Su'd8y, 01I3 ' l ' l6 '3Fr J"! . i shs"" . ] t lu r \ " . .c:asJ,2^I Idr ,h l6 i ,Sud;v, l0 Sha{sal6' Iridr)-,2l Xlaroh 1604nt.nd;w- I Dhill.O. 101463 ldd6v. l0 March 1606s"t.rd;v. r,t Dhn'l.Q.o' \l'€dn.sdrl, li1xlarch 160?\\elnp.. ls\ .22 Dh- Q.:r \1 ln ' "uar ' z l1I3r. \ 160i$

' r r , l r \ , 3 l ' n l .H. ' h^Joy 2u\I3 'h1603

sardlqi . l4 Dn I H. ' s6r ' dP\,21 1lr-h l t i00

", dur l2. , o, ,u r a, r , , ro" \u.Llr .21 t rorol t6 ln

l ' rdst , b N Js'raa In20 l l nuot.2l1Ia ' .1 ' 16l lTuesd;v, l0lluharrdnLso xlorday, 19 llarch 1612$iedn€sdav. 2t ]tuha[sm 10233': Sundry, I Marh rdr4lddev. r0 s a' Lo23a3 setur.Lot, ,, rar'h t6l4Seturiiny eie, 21 sufar€s Sulday, 22 ]Iu.h llrlt

?0nill ', p. ?3?r "pdl of Qny Yi] corsgponds ior015 md ptrt to 1016."

',Ibid,, r. 733i pari.r "ichi

Yil colrodPon& tol0l0 @d lad io t017 '

r4Ibid-r.730j lart of Takhaqny Yil corespand8to 1017 md putfo t013."

?3 Ibid. . r ' sooi ' !ar t of l iYi lc

ft lbid., r' stor "pal|ofTanenzYil dtrrdpo siol0!0 md part ofii b r02l

1r , t l \ , fk i Ludr!q, v(' (yil) Hijri Jear (Neelidr)-, ro., morrh)

C.ego an oquiralert(Feekdrr, no., nonrh, y€ax)

r r ' l rnAnz 096{5rr l Nnl l , rdn S97{33,r a,r s93{' I I ' l r , r rs 9994rL l ' ' lnshqnn 1000rr l ' l ,nv l00ri r r , Yi lnr 100963HrlL Ynni 10036.Itrh (lnl' 100,1

l i f l ' l ' ,c l 1005l lll' lirLl6q,it l00tir : rr , I i rooTl j r i l ' lmgnz 1003rr i l ' s ichqdn 1009In1r, a, l r009,110dr i i I ' l l6n l01Ll?l l " f i tshqnn lo l t /1234rsr l ' Lny l0r2/13ftllrr l' \'ilnr 10r.1:lorh Ynr! l0l5: l l l r qnv r0r5/16ro: l ! ,1 l ) iebi ro lc/r?z: l1 l Taknrqn\ l l rLT/ l8r{i l t , i t Lols1L9rr:rrlrh Tang,iz r0r0,i2rru2rnli SichqrL 1021rirl' E,r r022,i233liirrh rnB ro23l21l l r lh T, ishqnn l021/254i l | ih Lrv 10!536

" , 1r ,1,1. , Nrqrnz (Ncn Yaar 's

3 Jumndn I {|9l lst.]t!Ionday, 14 Jurndd M995"\Yednosdar. 2n Jumidn lrlsoturday, 3 Jumsde 52

; ra-h r6seSaturdsy, l0 Narch l59lTnesday. l0 ]larch 1592Surley, 7 March 1,t03

4' I s,r t , u rr . t t ,nt t t , t |L,? , / - r , , 1\r nr Nir , r r r r ) .

on Sriurday aftor

agrnz oorerpor'

. r l i r rL 4i t r rNi ! I l r , l

!o rbi l , r , . 3633' , ,d. , ; .3dr. ro y,r , " , , "spo,d. . , r0!?a'd

l)nri of it !o 10?r'"€3r l i r l

lrdPonds!,1024

4 '11 re ' i l ,n j i ) i ! lor i .

0( l

( l r1) l l ) , i lx r . r , nurn1l r i ! $r i l tcn orr t in f i r l l Ol l l (s( i ' ig |1 1$r) (111'8 l r r ! ! ) r l i l l i r l r t ' l

i t ' " vcu 'umt,r

e ivcn in the headi .g ln thc former (*her ' 1198 ls givcrt iD iht i htr( lx 's

oud tttt'; in tlt" r"xt), rt," 1tar numb.r gifeo in the lext (997) is 1hc corre(t onc' whilc xl

lh,i loti,r. .ast (nhere l(122 is giver in the hcoding and 102:l in thc text) thc reteBc rs

A ciosd cxanination of the table rcveals a discernible pattem in the incoNislenctes

'lllx corcspnderccs fo the'ftrrk]-Hijd vears Tangnz 996 to Sich'lnD 1009 os giv€n b)

rskandr. llcg appcar to be consistentlv incorrect' Of the ten Na$rnz rcrrespondences

"; ' ' " i " ' r , , . , ' , " '1" ' , r '

" r L,"r iod onlJ ur ' ' i "u" ' " r arrd ' \ -n r l 'sr o 'F ' f Jr is atub r '

l , , ,n, t '

r t - "*dingarJ Fvual ! isr n ' ,mb-rssrc drf f r r rnr ' T\ ' ' urre ' r 'on' l - r c ' " lur

r ' ,n rc. , rs CJ touq l0 l ' r ru \ ln l0 l5 ,n In on{"r"nr l \ ' In"on"r ' Ihr ' ' o l rh ' b;r

" . . . , " r . " '4, " , -" Jr- in.n-r- . r ' ' - d, \"r L,J I" \1r 'd ' r B"g Frnr l l ] lor r l ' ' Tur l rHi j r '

y,o* quy lOrllrOrO to Tnshqan ro24jro25 the conesponde'ces de inmnsistcntlv

"--"t. d"ay onc of the ninc is inrccuratc and that onc (Od) is ambigtou' for the

heading and texturl ycar numbers arc difiercnt

Trrcr'e arc t'r'o nethoas ly $'hich $€ rriav demonstraie these chanct€rizstions The

{irst iB bt' couelating thc t}o categorics of thc table known to be conect (thc julns snd

Tuki ve"! sq encs) with thc Na$ruz co'r''spoDd'nce in the Hijri )'csr' As-the- lirst da)-

,; thc'TNki vear (Nnrrnz) is the vernal equnrox it becomcs, therefore' a filed refercnt

asainst rhich to measure the accuracv of Iskandtr Bes's correspondcnces'"'tt.

"""n.d ncthod of demonstratins thc soundness of the clamcterizations is bv

comparing the Turkiqijri-juhs concspondcDces ('f Iskrndor Beg s'ith ihosc oi other

hLIor iJ n. $ ho Lq' d t l " 6atr i 5J ' rPm

On correlating the Na\wnz oconrfence w' bcgh x'ith ur asunpt'ion Sn'rc the-vernal

cquinox (the transition fron Iluii?isccs to IJ&noliA'ics) o'cnrs on or about the 20ih of

U'.."f ii*g-ir"t, '. -ey assume 1'hat the Nawrnz dates gn'cn bv Iskondar Bcg vhich

.orr^epon' l io t \e r ' rnal .qrr i .d / 'p mo- iL ' lJ h ' 'unP"r Ihdrr r l6 ' h l rh i l !nnl

i , . " " f -

r , " . ' r , " ' , " r" ' r ' " '

. * ' . r r ,P NJ"rL? dcr""o ' " f 'or" l i rs L" 's

20l t tsr th

occur towaril the end ofthe thirtv-Fsr pe'iod under discussion, i'e ' betseen the vears

1015/1016 and 1024/1025, dlring llichwe lravc called tlie co'rcspondences inconBistentlJ'

correct. As this is so, I shall bcgh sitll this poriod and lork baok$'ards' using th$c

N&rvrlz dates as points of relerenoe.

The tust problen $'e cncomter i! {1'l Yil, called in ihe chapter hcading "lartlv

coresDonilins to I02, and pnrily to 1023 " Howcrer, in the text the NaMtrz coneBpon_

clence';s given as 27 Multarran 1023. an obvious impossibiliiv if the heading is couect

Since twi Turki years er.licr (i.c , h Tangnz Yil) tlie Nssritz date is givcn as 1020 in

thetext and sinc;thc follo$'ing Nawntz iB d&ted 10 fJafar 1023, then olearlv 27 Mulrarram

1022, not l[,23 is Ineant. This would vie]'l onequivalent Grcgoriar dale of19 March 1613

rathcr than I }Iarch 1614. The rcekdavs mav then be said to coincide as rell' Iskandar

Bcg siving W'ednesday and the \\rustellfeld-Mahlo tables vielding Tuesdal Aside frcn

tr'"',i.y..t Lhe $eck vhich do not correspond in thc 1015/1016-102'r/1025 pcriod'

r" , r sr . r , " " 'n, . l isq"|srniaF. snJ rhr 7,4 1.1 chror 'o lotr msJ bF

'onsi ' laad rctr{r '

$ i cur ' . no\ i . r l ,F q.cr iu. o i lnP rrblc 'onbiJFrFd in onbibl"nl lJ In 'orr i

' l { r 'L

I t )01| /1010 Ynnt l0 l5) . In th is scct ior , the vears Ud (r009/r0r0), Tnshqen (r0r l /1012) '

rn( i Lnr ( lo l?/ l0 l i | ) { l l hcgi i on or about 20 March end thus 'nav

be talen as thr

r .nr i t |o i r r rs l i r nrrr t i ls t l i . N vrnz datcs of Bers ( l0 l r ) , Yi l tu (1014) ' 'nd

Ynrr

ll ln) lr l h,, l,rl l.f t l,r,r, ctrsrs, t,y teking thc given ycsr as thc Becond part oIihc Turki

|r,' trrll ,ol trH l'r'y,xrr iD wlntr Nawruz leli, we c&D arrivo at the conect Nswlnz

, , r l r rp ' r rhrr ' ' l l ,us ] ] r i rs l0 l l is actual lv 1010/10rr , Yihn r0t4is l0 l3/1014' and Ynnt

!rlr, r; lrll1/lolr, l'h(i hll dates erc corecled in the revised Turki-Hijri-jllnB table giren

l!.1,,\r (trl)1, :|). 'll!) cntitc scquencc ofthe yeaft Od though Ytrrt now accords with the

, l lN, ! t r ! ,n l {1 l ,xtc. Qny through TnshqdD

'l'l,f l1,r,rl..ri v{,r. period TsDgnz (c'[ed 996 bv Isk&Ddar Beg)t}rough Sichqan (catled

l{r(r!r), I he t'rriod we have dcsigaated consistcntlv inconect in the conespoDd"lT: g',"-':

li tr il. n,usi now bc deali with in ihe €ame fashion. With Od conectty given as 1009/1010'

sr,.l,,litr, must thffcfore conespond to 1008/1009, Teng[z io 100?/1008, It to 1006/100?

,rrr,l ro on back 1o the litst julus year Tangaz which bv ihese modiffed correspondences

,1,',rl,l l)0 Tangiiz 995/996 mtner than 996/997 as Iskandar Bcg would h&ve it -Everv

Nr wrnz,late f; this period ss it is given in ihe ru.4'4 is late bv one vear' {Onlv Od Yil

'",.n.,,tly conesponded to 99?/998 in the text, a fact that is undernin€d by the wording

, 'l l h, hcs.dins {hich would Beem to co espoDd the begjnning of the voar to 998 )

llv rcvisiDe the Nawdz dates of this pe od back bv one Hijri year, Dot onlv sre the

,,,',"i"t"n"ii" in --""pondence

betw€en these vears and subsequent vors eliminat€d'

l,Lrl more importantly, Isk&ndar Bcg's chronologv ofthe period is broueht into h8rmonv

,vill other surceB. both C,€ntlal Asian a,nd lrani&n It is thercfore esmntial for the

rrrodorn historian making use of the ?,'11.4 to adjusi Iskandar Beg's chronologv as

Iortunetaly, w€ have more than inductivo reasoning on *hich to re'tv in arriving et

I l(,so linding;. Although Isk&ndar Beg's usc ofthe Turki-HijrijDhs svst€m is probablv

th,, bost kn;an, it is not unique Qadi Ahnad Qumi' for example' is another hhtorien

ol lhe $&fevid period who uBed th€ same sj'stem ln tho published, abridged version of

h i" mri, N*nu, corespondences for five of the ftst lix vears of'Abbas's rciea are given

On compadng the two t&bles, a number of points are immediatelv apparcnt On the

corrclation of Turki y€ars and the julus sequence there iB complet€ harmony between

TABLE 2QA'I A!M!D QUII,8 CSRONOTOGY

Turki Hijrl(weeliday, no., month, yeat

Grogo.io! oquival€lt(Feekday, no., mmth, Yeet)

sichodn 906/9? €nd of" sDdav 2l lioli'lI99lj3? sundsv, 20 Morch 1583

-.1 orieB ruo.da\.4Jumdddr0e73e,*,*r", l i" i ] :y; j , , .J," i i l , ] f i :0"

iri;-, lii ii:r ilr*li:ii;r",'*i'"'.t il'" ir#j{r''-':rh;l;rdr"..a"d,.111*:

t{huLtua' o!-kbdril^ rMr'rs ob\ tdsrr.ftrbijssNi:l.:: iTl:';.x-:::;""'T: ;"'l'

' " " - : ' i : f : ' : : : - , . sdsd and sinoo ' r qtrLdsr gi -D n ' t 's iar

,. i i ::: l --- *-..i;:;i:.p 6?,."*, t#ffi.,;ll",if;iiiT,l";",,::Lll:;::f"ilI",'

'L fh" N'*"n. d"t"." gi"mly aedi Abnsd {'

i: liut*il}:j5:,fi :i::,":jl':"{'i'.u"1":: :: *v1ifll :;"Jl',il*i:ir,lii'l ,i:::'i.ri:f11111 ,:ll,,ii:l*"il*,1ifi'd: ll iili . ,, * *"""! r r , , , r ; ; - . I o,s, ,"" . r" '

N(/ | . |L,)N lsK^xD,r ' t lJ ! r r 's OrrRoNolooy 1i3li2 JouRNnr, or ND,tx ll^s1lll|N SrLir)rN

I6handar Re,{ and Qddi ,\hmad. Moreover, therc is a general consislcncl'in thcir Na$rnz

corrcspondences for Od, Ba$, Tnshqnt, and Lnj'. The correspondirg Hijri ycar nunbfrs

ond the nanes ofthc Ncckdavs, ho$ever, arc xholly dispdrate llut on the b$ of $'hrt

hos been sa nbovc about revising Iskandar Bcg, it is obvious that it i3 Qedi Ahmad's

Na$atrz dates i,hat arc correct.os Not onlJ arc his Hijri dates in hamon)'with thc

occurrcnce of the vernal cquinox, but for aI five years the \reekdays are in perfcct

corrcspondence with thc Grcgorian calendrr as vellThere are iound methodologjcal reasons for devoting so nuch space to rcvisine

''hatmight appear to somc to be a verJ ninor point of chronology. For onc thing, the aitho ty

and ldde use ol thc ?,4,41 te ds io lead to the perpetuation of thc chronological erors

For exanple, the chapter on Eafavid Iran in th€ recentlJ publish.d Cd,D/idse Histary of

.r.,rrn, apparcntlr relling in the main oI Iskandar Beg's narrativc. dates'Abda nh

Kll6n's assault on Harat to 996 instesd of 995'o0 and the fall of tne citr'. to 997 rather

then 996.'a?

AABLE 3REusEr lrnEi Hrrlr.Jurts Y!^ns

'l'||,,,, ii r r,ltrl,rl ,l,r,gr' 1l)it gi\-cn thc 7,{1,,1's deserve.l rcputation thc datins, l rd, , tnr ! i , s , r ig l , l l , r ,d l i ) d isd.di i thc author i tJ of the other sonrc.s. A rscordw,,,'rl,l \v' ll h i,,din,rl 1o discotrni thc lcss dctailcd and oomt,lete accomts founil in otlit,ir i(.s rilirlj rs r l,r{,t{ixt for such discounting *hnt mny appcar to hc chronological,!i,t f,inri l, s tr h.', ,innl[..d with kkandar Beg's \vork.

'l'l!J1 lir,, lo rssisl ll,(, stud.nt of Iranirn and Centul Asian histor]-, particularly i,,ll,, tr.ri,rl wli.,1 lsk xh, ltcg's chronology is coDsisi,entlJ inofcct, a tahlc ofrcfisc,l'l r[ll.llilri-iulns co (]spondcnccs is provided (Tnble 3). Whcrc ncitlid Qedi Abmad rorlrkrrlli! lJ1s givc N{*rnz d,rtcs, thc Hijri oorrespordenl to 20 llnrch is prescnted in

ADDTIDUM

lllef complctiDg this article, I rcccivcd from tlie Britisl Mrs.um a micmfiln ofJalal-iItl,rxLjjin)'s raltir-; S'ntt '.4 bbds conposcd ca. 1020/1611. -A.lihorgh Jald,l-i }lunojjnn di,lrnl usc r nix.d Turki-Hiiri-julns dilnrg sj'stem, the ohronologi.ial intormation hc dors

t,r'vi,lf butl'.sscs thc above lindhgs. Hc datcs the arriral of the Shibnnid arm]- und.rl1!l llhh Khnn at Harat to the sunno of!]95/1587 (lb1.424)as do allour othd sourfs

,.r,r'tn Isk[df ltcg. Jalel-i IuDajjim datcs Shah '-q.bbas's depnrturc from Mashh&d fol

Q,rzwnr in Sh{'l)nD lxlr't/? .Iut}' -l Ausnsl 1587 and his arival at QdzFiD and a.cc8sion nr

Itri" I)hii'l-Hijjrh ggt/]atc Novenber 1587 (fol. 45b). Thus, the iirst Hij.! julus ycar,

ir(r(rliDlj 1o J{lnl-l Munnajjin, r'ould liave been {195.

$rliN) Solar Turli

u,t

Qny

Sichqnn

Qnr

l:a$12

fd

hy

9!5,'96

993/99

l00l /21002/3

r004/5

1008/9

r0r0/rrl0 l t /12l0l t /131013/r4r0r4/r5l0 l5/ t t i

r0r7/r3

r02rt22

10211251t)25126

3 Julndn I 99? (Its)4 JudddA I 00i (QA)

3 Junndd II 1000 (IB)I JDnrnde ll 1000 (Q.\)

r Dhn' l .Q. r013r5(?)Dhn' l Q. 101422 Dhn',l Q. tol53 Dhn',l H. 1016

14 Dhil.I.j. ror7

(2 Rabi' t 1025)

22t

(o!6rlooti.s all tlr€ oonimrv to:iurl .riden o) simplye! H. I. Serory, M.dah Psrsia, ' in l'. llr. Holr, bocause ii xuJd have had th. S

ond B.rnsrd Lowis, €de "n,

a najdr .snpaign 3! ilte l,egiming ot s'nicr lcaiyt\u,rritr llitr't.[ Isten tce!n,ri,ls6, 1070), rol. l; Deca bon, s Eoi uu.rr acicriii. (n)! Lnn) inld n,

sn\orv a.inorlr- dri{} ihc bcdr d ctuupaien