Mir Ahmed Nasrallah Thattvi
Encyclopedia
Mir Hajji Mulla Ahmad Nasr Allah Tattavi (d.1588) was born in Thatta
, Sindh
. He was among the well respected and well traveled Muslim scholars at the court of Mughal
Emperor
Akbar. He was the son of a Qadi
(Kazi) in Thatta
. During his early life he was in a devoted pursuit of higher education and spiritual improvement, he traveled as a young man both to important centers of learning, particularly in Safavid Iran
, and the Ottoman
ruled cities of Mecca
, Medina
, and Jerusalem. He is known to have spoken four languages including Sindhi
, Turkish
, Persian
, Arabic
.
Upon his return to the Mughal
realm he was received favorably by Akbar. When the Mughal Emperor commissioned a group of scholars to compose a work on the first 1000 years of Islam, Tattavi emerged as the chief author of the work. The work was entitled Tarih-i Alfi. His main contributions to the works was the chapters beginning from the 36th year after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad to the time of Ghazan (d.704 AH/1304 AD). However, Tattavi never saw the work completed he died in (996 AH/1588 AD) upon the emergence of prince Jahangir
. Among his students included the future Mughal
Subedar
of Sindh
, Amir Khan I
.
Thatta
Thatta is a historic town of 220,000 inhabitants in the Sindh province of Pakistan, near Lake Keenjhar, the largest freshwater lake in the country. Thatta's major monuments especially its necropolis at Makli are listed among the World Heritage Sites. The Shah Jahan Mosque is also listed...
, Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
. He was among the well respected and well traveled Muslim scholars at the court of Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
Akbar. He was the son of a Qadi
Qadi
Qadi is a judge ruling in accordance with Islamic religious law appointed by the ruler of a Muslim country. Because Islam makes no distinction between religious and secular domains, qadis traditionally have jurisdiction over all legal matters involving Muslims...
(Kazi) in Thatta
Thatta
Thatta is a historic town of 220,000 inhabitants in the Sindh province of Pakistan, near Lake Keenjhar, the largest freshwater lake in the country. Thatta's major monuments especially its necropolis at Makli are listed among the World Heritage Sites. The Shah Jahan Mosque is also listed...
. During his early life he was in a devoted pursuit of higher education and spiritual improvement, he traveled as a young man both to important centers of learning, particularly in Safavid Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, and the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
ruled cities of Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
, and Jerusalem. He is known to have spoken four languages including Sindhi
Sindhi language
Sindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by 53,410,910 people in Pakistan, according to the national government's Statistics Division...
, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
.
Upon his return to the Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
realm he was received favorably by Akbar. When the Mughal Emperor commissioned a group of scholars to compose a work on the first 1000 years of Islam, Tattavi emerged as the chief author of the work. The work was entitled Tarih-i Alfi. His main contributions to the works was the chapters beginning from the 36th year after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad to the time of Ghazan (d.704 AH/1304 AD). However, Tattavi never saw the work completed he died in (996 AH/1588 AD) upon the emergence of prince Jahangir
Jahangir
Jahangir was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1605 until his death. The name Jahangir is from Persian جهانگیر,meaning "Conqueror of the World"...
. Among his students included the future Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
Subedar
Subedar
Subedar is a historical rank in the Indian Army, ranking below British commissioned officers and above non-commissioned officers. The rank was otherwise equivalent to a British lieutenant and was introduced in the East India Company's presidency armies, to make it easier for British officers to...
of Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
, Amir Khan I
Amir Khan I
Mir Amir Khan I, Amir Khan I was the title of Mir Abul Wafa the eldest son of Mir Qasim Khan Namkiu. He was a nobleman in the time of the Mughal emperors Jahangir and Shah Jahan. At the time of his death he was Subedar or governor of Thatta where he died 1647 aged more than 100 years....
.