Munshi
(Scribe) Mohammad Azim’s Historical Notes
Preface
Mohammad Azim was a munshi or scribe at the court of several
Afghan sovereigns in the nineteenth century, hence the appellation Munshi
Mohammad Azim. Unusual for his time and place, he kept a diary, or rather
notes, of his life and times which –though short– provide a unique historical
glimpse of his world and include information on the political and social
affairs of Afghanistan, particularly Herat, and neighbouring countries during the
latter half of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century.
Mohammad Azim the Scribe, son of the Munshibashi (Chief Scribe)
Mohammad Ismail, was born circa lunar anno hegirae 1252 (1836-1837 CE), probably
in Herat, northeast Afghanistan. This date is a deduction, as he makes no
mention of his date of birth, but in his notes he writes that he went to Mecca
in anno hegirae 1322 (1904 CE) at the age of 70. Munshibashi Mohammad
Ismail was a pupil of Munshibashi Safi Khan Qarai, whose letter to his protégé,
Mohammad Ismail, written in beautiful script, evinces amicable and kindly relations
between them. I had seen the letter in my childhood among the papers of Munshi Mohammad
Azim.
Since youth, Mohammad Azim constantly accompanied his father at
work, at home and on his travels abroad. It seems that he picked up his
father’s skills and experiences as a scribe and a courtier. From accounts of
his expeditions, we know that as a young man, he travelled with his father to
Tehran in the company of Sultan Ahmad Khan[1]
Sarkar, Governor of Herat, when the latter visited Naseruddin Shah, King of
Iran. On his third expedition, again accompanying his father, Mohammad Azim wrote
of the war in Farah, a province to the south of Herat. From an account of his
fourth expedition, we learn that after the death of Sultan Ahmad Khan and conquest
of the province by Dost Mohammad Khan[2]
which preceded the latter’s death, father and son continued their career at the
royal court of Herat in the service of Amir Shir Ali Khan, son of Amir Dost
Mohammad Khan, and Shir Ali Khan’s son, Amir Mohammad Yaqoob Khan. From an account
of his ninth trip, it seems that his father had passed away at the time of the
government of Amir Mohammad Ayub Khan, son of Shir Ali Khan. Mohammad Azim writes
that at this juncture he went to Kabul to follow up on the disbursement of his
salary.
Munshi Mohammad Azim’s account of the Battle of Maiwand[3],
albeit brief, is very important because of his presence at the battle. He had also
been present at the demarcation of the northern border of Afghanistan with
Russia, regarding which he wrote a detailed account.
According to an account of
his sixteenth trip, in 1322 AH (1904-1905 CE), Mohammad Azim went to Mecca for
the Hajj pilgrimage at the age of 70. He
traveled through Ashkhabad, now in Turkmenistan, and Russian ports. He then went
to Islambul (now Istanbul), where he stayed for 41 days. He wrote about the many
novelties and wonders he encountered during those days, such as what he calls
the ‘fire trains’ and ‘fire ships’ ((steam-powered railroads and ships) and the
baleet (ticket, taken from the French billet). Many years ago I
saw a confirmation-of-life certificate drawn in Munshi Mohammad Azim’s name
bearing the date 1332 AH (1914-1915 CE), issued for the payment of his annual pension.
Thus, he should have had lived to his eighties.
It is not known if Munshi Mohammad Azim had a brother or brothers,
but he does mention accompanying his sister on a trip to Mashhad. His sister’s
descendants now live in Herat, Mashhad and other cities.
I have been
able to ascertain the existence of four of Munshi Mohammad Azim’s sons:
1.
Mohammad Rahim, who worked as a scribe beside his father at the
royal court of Herat. Mohammad Rahim was imprisoned due a court conspiracy and after
his release refused to work any further at the royal court or in government
service. He was my maternal grandfather and I remember him from my childhood,
when he kindly gave me my first lessons in calligraphy. He penned a beautiful
script known as shakasta-nasta’liq (broken Nasta’liq ).
2.
Scribe Mohammad Reza, who passed away en route to Kabul, where,
along with other governmental officers, he was summoned by Amir Abdurrahman Khan.
3.
Gholam Haidar, who lived and died in Mashhad. His descendants, some
of whom go by the family name Monshizada (or Munshizadeh; descendants of the
Scribe) still live in Mashhad, Iran.
4.
Mohammad Na’im, whom I had seen in my childhood.
No one in the
family evinced any interest in the Scribe’s papers. Chancing upon his diary –or
rather, notebook– of which he had been so fond that he had noted on the top of
the first page that he had taken it with him to Mecca and had kept it for sixty
years, I realised its importance and decided to publish the Munshi’s historical
notes. My teacher and dear friend, Dr. Ravan Farhadi[4]
also encouraged me to edit and publish these notes. Professor May Schinazi,
author and researcher of the Serajia[5]
period (the period in which these notes were written), and to whom I sent
photocopies of the notes, found them extremely important and recommended
that I should not only publish them in the
original Farsi (Persian), but that I should also translate them into English.
Prior to reading
these notes carefully, I had imagined Scribe Mohammad Azim to be a character like
his son, my maternal grandfather whom I remembered as a solitary, conservative
and quiet man. After studying his notes, I realised that Munshi Mohammad Azim was
quite different. He had undertaken many journeys, most of them on military
expeditions. Some of these journeys lasted for nearly two years. He had been
present at one of the most famous battles of those wars, the Battle of Maiwand,
and had written a brief account of the struggle.
These
historical notes also include precious information on many social and political
issues in Afghanistan and Iran which unfolded during the lifetime of the Scribe.
He imparts information about government tax at the time, the price of
provisions and foodstuff, festivals, the population of cities, details of many
transportation routes, geographical information on Herat and other places, even
about the speed of delivery of the postal system. In the notes we also read
about mutual relations with Iran, about the Iranian government and its issues,
and about Britain.
When writing
about a subject, the Scribe sometimes expresses his personal opinions. For example,
in the account of the Battle of Maiwand, he writes that when the British authorities
reached an agreement with Amir Abdurrahman Khan in Kabul, they were reassured
of their safety there and could afford to withdraw their armies from Kabul to
reinforce their forces in the Maiwand battlefield in Kandahar. Thus, initially
facing complete defeat, they were able to emerge victorious from the battle
thanks to the timely reinforcement that arrived from Kabul. In another account
about the revolt in Kabul[6], Munshi Mohammad Azim writes that the reason for the uprising of the people
of Kabul was the capitulation of Amir Yaqoob Khan to the demands made by Cavagnari, the British
political envoy in Kabul. It is also
worth mentioning, that in all his notes –with the exception of the accounts of
his journeys– the Munshi never makes any mention of himself or of his sons who
also served as scribes at the royal court, one of whom died while still serving
and the others resigned after imprisonment due to royal displeasure.
I hope that the
notes penned by Scribe Mohammad Azim will be useful for researchers and historiographers
of the region covering the 19th century and first decades of 20th
century.
Asef Fekrat Ottawa,
June 11, 2013
==================================================
[All
interpolations in square brackets and footnotes by Asef Fekrat]
1
Historical Notes by Munshi Mohammad Azim
This book has been taken on the voyage to Holy Mecca and brought back
Trips and expeditions
Details of the
expeditions of this humble faqir[7],
Haji[8]
Mohammad Azim Khan, Munshi [Scribe], during the years of my career:
First
expedition:
When Hessam-us-Saltana, governor of the land of Khorasan and uncle
of Naseruddin Shah King of Iran, seized Herat, I went to the Holy Land[9]
with my mother, my wife, my sister, and three servants and stayed for nine
months. [According to other notes penned by the Munshi, this trip must have
taken place in 1272 AH (1855 CE)]
Second expedition:
I accompanied my sire on an expedition to Tehran, along with Sardar[10]
Sultan Ahmad Khan, Governor of Herat. The trip lasted six months [1274 AH (1857-1858
CE)].
Third
expedition:
Together with my sire and Sardar Sultan Ahmad Khan, we went to
capture Farah [perhaps in 1274 AH (1857-1858 CE), or a little later. Farah was
under the control of Dost Mohammad Khan].
Fourth
expedition:
During the governorship of Sardar Mohammad Yaqoob Khan son of Amir Shir Ali Khan, we went to
Turkistan[11]
together with Sardar Abdullah Khan. The Amir [Shir Ali Khan] had sent an army
from the capital Kabul against his brother Sardar Mohammad Afzal Khan. The Amir himself accompanied the army, but his
son, Sardar Mohammad Ali Khan, was in the vanguard and in commanded of the
army. This campaign is known as the campaign of Bajgah of Turkistan and lasted
for seven months. The army of Herat had been summoned to arrive through Maimana
and four provinces of Balkh[12].
We took the Mirs (potentates) of the four-provinces of Balkh to an audience
with Amir Shir Ali Khan at Tashqorghan [Amir Yaqoob Khan was Governor of Herat on his father’s
orders in 1280 AH (1863 CE)].
Fifth
expedition:
I accompanied Sardar Mohammad Yaqoob Khan to Holy Mashhad, for
three months, to pay homage to Naseruddin Shah, King of Iran, who was visiting
the city [1280 AH (1863 CE)].
Sixth, seventh
and eighth expeditions:
These expeditions were from Herat for the purpose of recapturing
Kandahar and Kabul which had fallen into the hands of Amir Mohammad Azam Khan, brother
of Amir Shir Ali Khan. Sardar Mohammad Yaqoob Khan made up the vanguard of the
expedition which recaptured the provinces of Afghanistan. The expedition lasted
two years [probably between 1280-1287 AH (1863-1870 CE)].
Ninth
expedition:
A three-month journey to Kabul for the recovery of my salary, after
my sire passed away, during the governorship of Sardar Mohammad Ayub Khan. [Circa
1291 AH (1874 CE)].
Tenth
expedition:
At the time of the governorship of
Sardar Mohammad Ayub Khan, I went to Kandahar at a time when the governor sent
Sardar Abdullah Khan [his brother] and Omar jan[13]
Sahebzada[14]
to Kandahar and the British officer St. John[15]
was there too, with the British army. The expedition lasted 3 months [circa
1302 AH (1884 CE)].
Eleventh
expedition:
During the reign of Zia-ul-mellat-e-wad-din[16]
Amir Abdurrahman Khan, King of Afghanistan, at the time when the border between
Herat and the Rus[17]
was being demarcated and the British and Russian missions had been deployed to
the area, I went with Nayeb[18]
Mohammad Sarwar Khan, Governor of Herat, [to the northern border of
Afghanistan] to delineate the border. This work was accomplished within two
years [This mission should also have been undertaken in 1302 AH (1884 CE)].
Twelfth
expedition:
I went with Sardar Mohammad Ayub Khan to the campaign against the
British army commanded by St. John. The battle took place around Keshk-e-Nakhod,
at Maiwand. The battle continued for nine months and the British were decimated.
[On the basis of chronological sequencing, this expedition should have taken
place in 1297 AH (1880 CE), and prior to the eleventh expedition.]
Thirteenth
expedition:
I went to Balamorghab with Amir Shahnawaz Khan and Sardar Sekandar Khan,
sons of Sultan Ahmad Khan, Governor of Herat, to suppress the Jamshidi tribe. The
expedition lasted three months. [This should have been before the fourth trip
and prior to the death of Sultan Ahmad Khan in 1279 AH (1863 CE).]
Fourteenth
expedition:
During the reign of Zia-ul-mellat-e-wad-din Amir Abdurrahman Khan, King
of Afghanistan, we went to Maimana in the company of Nayeb-al-Hokuma[19]
Sa’ddudin Khan, Governor of Herat, where we arrested Mohammad Sharif
Khan, Governor of Maimana, who had gone over to the Russian State at Panjdeh.
We brought him to Herat from where he and his family were sent to the capital,
Kabul. Eight months. [According to Munshi’s notes, this mission should have
taken place in 1310 AH (1893 CE).]
Fifteenth
journey:
At the time of the governorship of Nayeb-al-Hokuma Sa’duddin Khan,
during the reign of His Majesty Seraj-ul-millat-e-wad-din Amir
Habibullah Khan, King of Afghanistan, in the year of Tushqanyel[20]
[Year of the Rabbit, 1321 AH (1904 CE)], along with His Eminence the Mir of
Kazergah[21],
on the new moon of the month of Shaban [circa 10 October 1904], we wound our
way through the Holy Land [Mashhad], Ashkhabad and other provinces and ports of
Russia, and going by way of Badkuba [Baku] and Islambul [Istanbul] we arrived at
Mecca. After visiting the Illuminated Medina on pilgrimage, we parted from Mir
Sahib in Jidda and embarked by sea, arriving in Noble Baghdad after 26 days where
we paid our respects to the holy shrines of the children of the Prophet. Then,
by way of Tehran, I came back to Herat on the tenth month, that being Jomadi-al-awal
of the year 1322 = 1904 [sic; circa July
1904]. All praise and gratitude to Allah.
And the days of the circumambulation of the Kaaba during the Hajj
of that year was in the month of Pisces [February 10 – March 20], the last
month of the winter, and Eid was on the Saturday, which therefore made it the
Greater Hajj[22].
This was noted down in the year anno hegirae one thousand
three hundred and twenty two, Turkish Louiyel [Year of the Dragon]: For nine
months and five days, by the route going through Basra and Baghdad, at seventy years
of age, the Almighty Most High granted this humble inconsequent the wherewithal
and endurance to go on pilgrimage to the Noble House of Allah, otherwise what
power and endurance could this humble inconsequent have?
In the said Tushqanyel and Louiyel years, the ambassador of Iran at
Islambul was Mirza Reza Khan, and Mirza Sadeq Khan Kandahari was also there. We
stayed forty one days in Islambul.
Some paragraphs and sentences about Hajj, however in different
places of the notebook, are as followed:
Our courier on the way from Yanbooq (Yanboo’) to Medina, was Nasser
ibne Shaker.
Distance between Jidda and
Great Mecca is ten farsang (each farsang or parasang= 6.24 km). From Medina to
Mecca, on land route, there are ten marches. Also when you go from Medina to
Yanbooq, there are five marches. From Yanbooq to Jidda, on the sea, takes 24
hours. From Jidda to Mecca also takes
one day and night, approximately 10
farsang. (to be continued)
=====
Gratitude
I am thankful to Dr. Hamid Simab for his kind editing of the translation of the preface and first part of the notes.
I am thankful to Dr. Hamid Simab for his kind editing of the translation of the preface and first part of the notes.
--------------------------------------------
[1] The word Khan is not an integral part of a male name, but was constantly
used to denote respect and status among the Muslim populations of Iran, Afghanistan,
central Asia and the subcontinent, thus becoming part of the name. It can be
compared to the English word ‘Esquire’. The word Khan in such usage has fallen
into disuse, but unlike the English ‘Esquire’ has not yet become obsolete.
[2] Dost
Mohammad Khan was the first Amir (sovereign) of the
Mohammadzai dynasty which lasted until the abolition of the monarchy in the
1970s.
[3] A
famous battle fought between Afghan and British forces in Maiwand, Kandahar
province, at the end of what is known at the Second Anglo-Afghan War.
[4] Dr. Ravan Farhadi, prominent Afghan linguist, scholar and
politician, who for many years represented Afghanistan at the United Nations.
[5] The Serajia period is so named after the adopted royal
title of the sovereign, Amir Habibullah Seraj-ul-millat-e-wad-din (Light of the
Nation and of the Religion), whose reign it encompasses (1901-1919).
[7] Although not a faqir (or fakir, a Muslim religious ascetic), it was de
rigueur that one should always deprecate oneself to show modesty and
humility, considered a very commendable character trait.
[9] The
reference is to the city of Mashhad in Iran, considered
by Shi’ite Muslims as a holy city, and revered by Sunni Muslims too.
[11] The
now-obsolete name of the northern provinces of Afghanistan
which have a predominantly Turkic population.
[13] “Jan”, like the title “Khan” is not part of a name but is used as a
diminutive form of Khan, mostly for more junior members of a family. Sometimes
the addition “jan” remains attached to the name even after the individual is
advanced in age. In such cases, it is a reflection of the affection with which
the individual was regarded in earlier years.
[16] The
officially adopted royal title of
Amir Habibullah Khan’s father, Amir Abdurrahman Khan, meaning “Light of the
Nation and of the Religion”. He reigned from 1880 to 1901.
