Ayeen Akbery: Volume 2
Or, The Institutes of the Emperor Akber

Published in 1800, the two-volume English translation of a sixteenth-century Persian document on the workings of the Mughal Empire.

Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak (Author), Francis Gladwin (Translated by)

9781108067102, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 January 2014

590 pages
25.4 x 17.8 x 3 cm, 1.01 kg

Akbar the Great (1542–1605) is often regarded as the Mughal Empire's most accomplished ruler. This document on the workings of his empire was produced by Akbar's vizier, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak (1551–1602). Between 1783 and 1786, the scholar Francis Gladwin (1744/5–1812) produced an English translation from the original Persian. Reissued here is the two-volume edition that appeared in 1800. As the work's dedicatee and Governor-General of Bengal, Warren Hastings had seen the translation as illuminating the Mughal Empire's 'original constitution' and believed it would educate and inform Britain's colonial administrators. Gladwin's text would not be superseded for many decades, and it testifies to the quality of his scholarship and the contemporary concerns of the East India Company. Volume 2 explores religion, science and philosophy, including details of proper dress, forbidden foods, festivals, and India's flora and fauna.

Introduction
Bengal
Bahar
Allahabad
Owdh
Agra
Malwah
Dandees
Berar
Gujerat
Ajmeer
Dehly
Lahoor
Multan
Tatah
Chasmeer, including Cabul
Of the Crouh, or Cose
Tukseem Jumma
Abulfazels' introduction on religious toleration
A description of Hindostan
Opinions concerning the creation
Astronomy
Of the deeps, or islands
Other divisions of the universe
General description of the earth
Of the earth's longitude
Of the earth's latitude
Tables of longitudes and latitudes
The extent of the inhabited earth
Numeration
The jehats, or quarters
Of the Hindoos
Of the languages of Hindostan
The birds and beasts of Hindostan
Weights and measures
The learning of the Hindoos
The science
The doctrine of Boodh
Nastick
The eighteen Beddya, or arts and sciences
The art of discovering crimes
The art of predicting future events
The names of some other arts
The art of writing with elegance
Music and dancing
The art of governing a kingdom
The administration of justice
The four Hindoo degrees of discipline
The worship of the deity
The incarnations of the deity
Unclean things
Purifications
Improper dress
Forbidden food
The ceremonies to be observed before meals
Fasts
Sins
Places dedicated to divine worship
Marriages
Dress
Jewels
Workmen
Ceremonies on the birth of a child
Festivals
Ceremonies with the dead
Meritorious kinds of suicide
Explanation of some Sanscrit words
List of subscribers.

Subject Areas: Asian history [HBJF]