198 BOOKS ON FALCONRY. 



342. KitAb al-buzdt li Nushirvdn, 

 The Book of Hawks of Ndshirvdn. 



No. 49 of Hammer Purgstall ; no date assigned. More ac- 

 cessible information on the subject of Falconry in Persia is 

 to be found in the following : — 



343. A'lN I Akbari II Abul Fazl 'Allami. 



The Government of Akbar, by Abul Fazl 'Allami, 

 A.D. 1590. Translated from the original Persian 

 by Professor H . Blochmann. Printed for the Asiatic 

 Society of Bengal. Calcutta. 1873. 8vo. 



The Ain i Akbari, says Prof. Blochmann, contains that infor- 

 mation regarding Akbar's reign which, though not strictly his- 

 torical, is yet essential to a correct understanding of the times, 

 and embodies therefore those facts for which, in modern times 

 one would turn to Administration Reports, Statistical Compila- 

 tions, or Gazetteers. It contains the ain {i.e., mode of governing) 

 of Akbar [who died in 161 5], and is in fact the Administration 

 . Report and Statistical Return of his Government, as it was about 

 A.D. 1590. The contents, therefore, are naturally varied and 

 detailed. Abul Fazl's high official position gave him access to 

 any document he wished to consult, and his long career and 

 training in various departments of State, eminently fitted him 

 for undertaking such a work. "His love of truth and his 

 correctness of information," adds Prof. Blochmann," are apparent 

 in every page of the book." 



In the portion which relates to Hunting (Book II. Ain 27 

 and 28) there is a section on " Hunting with Hawks " (Transl. 

 pp. 293-296), in which the writer describes the various species 

 used, with their Persian names ; their allowance of food ; prices 

 paid for them ; and the minimum number of each kept at Court. 



The birds mentioned by their Persian names are not always 

 to be identified, for the reason that Persian falconers give 

 different names to the sexes of hawks, as well as to old and 

 young, and to those which have and have not moulted ; but we 

 recognise amongst them the Peregrine {Shdhin and Bahri), 



