Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate World

IO Islamic 3784 (Oriental Manuscripts, British Library)

India Office Library

Scroll of 10 transcripts and petitions to royal court and ministers, Kingdom of Avadh (Oudh)

Contents

Summary of Contents: Scroll of 10 transcripts and original petitions addressed to an unnamed ruler, as well as officials and dignitaries of Avadh (Oudh/Oude), during the reign of Amjad ʿAlī Shāh; most petitioners are identified by signatures and adjacent dated seals; dates extend from 1229/1813 to 26 Jum. II 1259/24 July 1843; contains appeals for employment and government posts, reconsideration on dismissals from post, adjudication and mediation in disputes, housing and poverty relief, social interactions of prominent women, ministers, princes, and ethnic and religious groups (African women and Christian East India Company officials), mortgages, debt, fraud, theft, and misappropriation, as well as 2 instances of the presentation of dedicated literary works; IOL stamp 13 May 1909; creased with some damage; variations in dimensions of documents; various design schemes, some illuminated flamboyantly; set of 3 scrolls (IO Islamic 3783, 3784, 3785, possibly corresponding to lot numbers 9, 10, 11) acquired in the 'Hodgson' auction sale ([19]09-05-13)

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Form: scroll
Support: Cloth backing

Hand(s)

History

Origin: 1229 to 26 Jum. II 1259 (1813 - 24 July 1843) AH Lakhnaʾū, Avadh ; Lucknow, India

1

Contents

1.

Petition of Bābū Dayāl Singh addressed to an unnamed ruler seeking a position in the government of Sulṭānpūr and Partābgadh (Pratapgarh), endorsed by Amīn al-Dawlah Bahādur and Mushīr al-Dawlah Bahādur

Not dated

Seal impression: Bābū Dayāl Singh 1229/1813-4

Illuminated frame around text

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Form: leaf
Support: Bound in scroll along bottom edge and wooden dowel at top; cloth backing
1
Dimensions (leaf): 527 × 215 mm.

History

Origin: 1229 (1813 - 1857) AH Lakhnaʾū, Avadh ; Lucknow, India

2

Contents

2.

Transcript of an order or judgement in the name of Shīv Singh the muhtamim of the Guz̲arāt-i Gang (?) in relation to a petition from Khalīl Aḥmad the amīn

Content dated 2 Jum. II 1259/30 June 1843, equating to regnal year 2 (Amjad ʿAlī Shāh)

Dated seal impression absent

Official dated endorsements on verso: 1) 4 Jum. II [1259]/2 July 1843; 2) 9 Jum. II 1259/7 July 1843; 3) 26 Jum. II 1259/24 July 1843

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Form: leaf
Support: Bound in scroll along top and bottom edge; cloth backing
1
Dimensions (leaf): 241 × 175 mm.

History

Origin: 2-26 Jum. II 1259 (30 June 1843 - 24 July 1843) AH Lakhnaʾū, Avadh ; Lucknow, India

3

Contents

3.

Petition of Laʿl Bahādur addressed to an unnamed minister

Not dated

Seal impression: Laʿl Bahādur 12[??]

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Form: leaf
Support: Bound in scroll along top and bottom edge; cloth backing
1
Dimensions (leaf): 349 × 173 mm.

History

Origin: 1840 - 1857 CE Lakhnaʾū, Avadh ; Lucknow, India

4

Contents

4.

Petition of Mīr Sayyid ʿAlī addressed to an unnamed ruler, regarding his claim that one floor of his hereditary haveli in Ashraf'ābād, mortgaged to Shankar Lāl, has been misappropriated by Manī or Munī of the Rastūgī clan (Rastogi), who appealed for aid from the royal court

Not dated

Seal: Mīr Sayyid ʿAlī 1246/1830-1

Good nastaʿlīq over a ground of square-cut gold leaf arranged in horizontal bands

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Form: leaf
Support: Bound in scroll along top and bottom edge; cloth backing
1
Dimensions (leaf): 525 × 173 mm.

History

Origin: 1246 (1831 - 1850) AH Lakhnaʾū, Avadh ; Lucknow, India

5

Contents

5.

Petition of Sayyid Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn Mūsavī addressed to an unnamed ruler, describing the receipt of news that he had been removed from his post while participating in a Thursday maḥfil at the Makān-i Davāzdah Imām (imāmbārah), and replaced by Muḥammad Jaʿfar

Dated: 14 Rabīʿ I 1259/14 April 1843

Seal: Sayyid Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn Mūsavī 1248/1832-3

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Form: leaf
Support: Bound in scroll along top and bottom edge; cloth backing
1
Dimensions (leaf): 572 × 173 mm.

History

Origin: 14 Rabīʿ I 1259 AH; 14 April 1843 CE Lakhnaʾū, Avadh ; Lucknow, India

6

Contents

6.

Petition submitted by Ḥasan ʿAlī Jaffār-i Rashtī to an unnamed ruler, beginning by relating his dedication to the sovereign of a treatise, the Risālah jafrīyah, sent with the present ʿarz̤ah dāsht through the mediation of Amīn al-Dawlah Bahādur; continues by describing in detail the difficulties of his family’s circumstances

Not dated and lacking seal impression

Nastaʿlīq over a ground of square-cut gold leaf arranged in horizontal bands

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Form: leaf
Support: Bound in scroll along top and bottom edge; cloth backing
1
Dimensions (leaf): 408 × 165 mm.

History

Origin: 1840 - 1857 CE Lakhnaʾū, Avadh ; Lucknow, India

7

Contents

7.

Petition describing desperate circumstances, but lacking the appellant’s name, date of transcription, or seal

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Form: leaf
Support: Bound in scroll along top and bottom edge; cloth backing
1
Dimensions (leaf): 210 × 164 mm.

History

Origin: 1840 - 1857 CE Lakhnaʾū, Avadh ; Lucknow, India

8

Contents

8.

Letter or nāmah from Navvāb Baygum addressed to an unnamed nawab, describing her alarm at the taunting remarks of a certain Ḥabash Pāsī attributing acts of fraud to an unidentified prince, and the nawab’s resolve to expel him from the city (Lucknow?)

Dated: 10 Rabīʿ II 1259/10 May 1843

Seal: Navvāb Baygum 1238/1822-3

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Form: leaf
Support: Bound in scroll along top and bottom edge; cloth backing
1
Dimensions (leaf): 502 × 169 mm.

History

Origin: 10 Rabīʿ II 1259 AH; 10 May 1843 CE Lakhnaʾū, Avadh ; Lucknow, India

9

Contents

9.

Petition submitted by Nūr al-Dawlah Lays̲ al-Mulk Muḥammad Aḥsan Khān Bahādur Muḥkamjang to the ruler titled Sulṭān ʿĀlam, relating to the employment and payment of Sudhan Lal, formerly the messenger of Kishandut Pande, as well as debts owed to Sālik Rām the mahājan

Not dated, but mentions faṣlī date 1260 for the year approaching or sāl-i āyandah

Seal: Nūr al-Dawlah Lays̲ al-Mulk Muḥammad Aḥsan Khān Bahādur Muḥkamjang 1254/1838-9

Text framed by illuminated rulings and notable headpiece of 2 fish either side of regal chatr

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Form: leaf
Support: Bound in scroll along top and bottom edge; cloth backing
1
Dimensions (leaf): 511 × 234 mm.

History

Origin: 1254 (1838 - 1857) AH Lakhnaʾū, Avadh ; Lucknow, India

10

Contents

10.

Unusual petition submitted by Mukarram ʿAlī, beginning with a lengthy poem in ghazal form consisting of 59 bayt or couplets arranged in 4 columns, ending with a short prose summary

The appellant describes how at the age of seven his family's hereditary jāgīr in Bihar was misappropriated. Reduced to poverty, he travelled through Mathura and Shahjahanabad after consulting the Naṣrāniyān (i.e. EIC officials), rulers and ministers in search of an income. He failed to secure the post of sar'rishtah'dār, and expectations raised by a minister in bayt al-salṭanat (Lucknow) made him return there. Theft of his baggage and gold caused him difficulties, but eight months after arriving in the city, he is now in great hardship. He goes onto describe starvation among members of his family, as a result of being defrauded out of 50 rupees by market traders. He is himself now near death from hunger

The appellant speaks of presenting a work of his own, entitled Ḥamlah-'i shīrī, a titammah or completion of the Ḥamlah-'i Ḥaydarī

The appellant desires to be considered for the posts of ʿāmil or taḥṣīldār

Not dated and lacking seal impression

Nastaʿlīq; multiple polychrome ruled lines

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Form: leaf
Support: Bound in scroll along upper edge and wooden dowel at bottom; cloth backing
1
Dimensions (leaf): 457 × 237 mm.

History

Origin: 1840 - 1857 CE Lakhnaʾū, Avadh ; Lucknow, India

Additional Information

Availability

Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card for admissions procedures contact British Library, Registering for a Reader Pass. Contact apac-enquiries@bl.uk for further information on the availability of this manuscript. For information on catalogues and ordering manuscripts see Finding and ordering Persian manuscripts in the British Library.

Funding of Cataloguing

BL


Comments

Comment on this record

Please fill out your details.

How are we using your feedback? See our privacy policy.

See the Availability section of this record for information on viewing the item in a reading room.

TO TOP