Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh (Persian: خلاصۃ التواریخ, "Epitome of History") is a Persian languagechronicle written by Sujan Rai in the Mughal Empire of present-day India. It deals with the history of Hindustan (northern Indian subcontinent), and it also contains details about the contemporary Mughal Empire. Sujan Rai completed the book 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 appended Bhandari or Batalvi to his name.[1] The title Munshi is also prefixed to his name. One such manuscript calls him the "Munshi of Munshis".[2]
Rai was a Khatri Hindu from Batala. As a young man, he had served as a dabir (secretary) to some nobles.[1] He knew the Hindi, Persian and Sanskrit languages.[2]
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 subsequent copies.[3]
The descriptions of many provinces, especially those away from the author's native Punjab region, are borrowed from Ain-i-Akbari.[4] The book gives a detailed and original account of Punjab, especially the Lahore subah and the Batala sarkar.[3]
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.[3]
This part gives details of the Muslim rulers, from Nasir-ud-din Sabuktigin to Aurangzeb. A large portion of this part is borrowed from other works mentioned in the preface. The information unique to Khulasat-i-Tawarikh includes an account of the contest between Aurangzeb and his brothers.[3]
Some copies contain an insertion about Aurangzeb's death, inserted by a transcriber. This part mentions that Aurangzeb died in Ahmadnagar, Deccan. The date of his death was Friday, the 28th Zulqada of the year 1118 A.H., three hours after dawn. His age at time of his death is given as 91 years 17 days and 2 hours. The period of his reign is stated as 50 years, 2 months and 28 days.[3]
In 1918, Archaeological Survey of India's M. Zafar Hasan made available the first editio princeps of the book. He had come across a reference to the book in Syed Ahmed Khan's Asar-us-Sanadid. He then started searching for manuscripts of the book, and consolidated them into a printed edition.[3]
The five manuscripts used by Hasan were the following:[3]
A partly worm-eaten, but complete copy. It seems to be comparatively older, since it doesn't contain the description of Aurangzeb's death. It is written in the Shikasta calligraphic style. Its completion is dated to the first year of the reign of Muiz-ud-din Alamgir II. It was procured from Delhi.
Written in the Nastaliq calligraphic style. It is dated to year 1864 of the Vikram Samvat (1808-09). It was written in the Jaipur town, during the reign of Jagat Singh II of Jaipur, a vassal of the Mughal Emperor Akbar II. It was procured from Lucknow.
It is written in Nastaliq characters. The year of composition is illegible. It was procured from Moradabad.
It is written in Nastaliq characters. The copy is worm-eaten, but complete. There is no date of transcription. It was procured from Sardhana.
An incomplete copy that ends with the deposition of Emperor Shah Jahan. First three pages are missing. Written in the Shikasta style. It was procured from Delhi.
