1870.] 271 



Facsimiles of several Autographs of Jahdngir, Shdhjahdn, and Prince 

 Ddrd ShiJcoh, together with Notes on the Literary Character ml the 

 Capture and Death of Ddrd Shihoh.—By H. Blochmann Esq., M. A., 

 Assistant Professor, Calcutta Madrasah. 



(With a Plate.) 



Nos. 1. and 2. (Plate XIII, 1 and 2.) Autographs of the Emperors 

 Jahdngir and Shdhjahdn. 



The splendid MS. on the fly-leaf of which these two autographs 

 stand, belongs to Babii Pratapa Chandra Ghosh, Assistant Secretary, 

 Asiatic Society, and was described in the Proceedings of the Society, 

 for July, 1869, p. 190, where the text and translation will be found, 

 together with a remark on the historical value of Shahjahan's 

 autograph. 



The facsimiles of the plate are perfect and resemble the original 

 in the minutest particulars. 



The MS. has at the end the following remark — 



(sic) ^jUaJUf t^MJ\ ^JLkLJl ^Icj.xyo c-O^+Jl ^Sit'l ±*x)\ &J ^k O.+J 



from which it will appear that the book was copied in the end 

 of Zi Qa'dah, 945 (April, 1539, A. D.) at Bukhara, during the reign 

 of Abul Grhazi Sultan 'Abdul 'Aziz Bahadur. 



On the other fly-leaf there are numerous signatures of Libra- 

 rians and officers who inspected the Imperial Library ; hence the 

 frequent 8»i-& 8tiJ,i (j^s, ' 'arz didahshudah, 'inspected.' The term <J^j^ 

 u^j*, ''arz didan, which means to inspect, to muster, if not a usual 

 phrase, appears to have been the technical term used at the Mughul 

 Court ;and if MSS. have on their fly-leaves the words 8^ ^^/, 

 they are sure to have once belonged to the Imperial Library. 



Jahangir's spelling *£}&*», for /♦*£*», is unorthographical. 



The value of the MS. was fixed at 8000 Eupees. 



In the Tuzuk i Jahdngiri (Sayyid Ahmad's edition, p. 81), mention 

 is made of another master-piece of the same calligrapher, which 

 was valued at 1000 goldmuhurs (9000 Rupees)— 



