18 Facts About Khvandamir

Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad, commonly known as Khvandamir was a Persian historian who was active in the Timurid, Safavid and Mughal empires.

Khvandamir is principally known for his Persian universal history, the Habib al-siyar, which was regarded by both the Safavids and Mughals as their first official court account.

Khvandamir is buried near the shrine of Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi, India.

Khvandamir was the son of Humam al-Din Muhammad, who was the vizier of Sultan Mahmud Mirza, the ruler of the northern Timurid branch in Transoxiana.

However, Khvandamir's family lived in Herat, the capital of the southern Timurids.

Khvandamir was tutored by his maternal grandfather Mirkhvand, which played a major role in his career as a historian.

Khvandamir likewise wrote under the patronage of Nava'i, dedicating his first works to him, the first one being the Ma'athir al-muluk, a compilation of sayings ascribed to pre-Islamic and Islamic sages and rulers; and the second being the Khulasat al-akhbar fi bayan ahval al-akhyar, a concise version of the Rawzat as-safa'.

Khvandamir retained his position following conquest of Herat by the Uzbek leader Muhammad Shaybani, which led to the fall of the Timurids.

Regardless, Khvandamir seems to have been dissatisfied with the new government, as indicated in his later universal history Habib al-siyar.

Khvandamir soon found himself unemployed following the conquest of Herat by the Safavid shah Ismail I in 1510.

Khvandamir soon left for the neighbouring region of Gharjistan, where he briefly served Badi al-Zaman's son Muhammad Zaman Mirza, who unsuccessfully attempted to establish his rule in the area.

In 1521, Khvandamir started writing his universal history Habib al-siyar for the Safavid sadr Amir Ghiyas al-Din Mohammad ibn Amir Yusuf Hosseini, seemingly in order to revitalize his career in Herat.

In 1524, Khvandamir finished his first version of the book, and the following year a second version, which was an extension of the previous version.

The murder of Habiballah Savaji in 1526 seemingly made Khvandamir reassess his situation in Herat.

Khvandamir accepted the invitation of the Timurid prince and Mughal emperor Babur, who had in the same year established his authority over North India, including the cities of Delhi and Agra.

Khvandamir reached India 1528, where wrote a third version of the Habib al-siyar at Babur's court.

Khvandamir died in 1535 or 1536, and was buried near the shrine of Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi.

Khvandamir was survived by two sons; Amir Mahmud, who stayed in Iran and wrote a history book about the first fifty years of Safavid rule, the Tarikh-i Shah Isma'il va Shah Tahmasb-i Safavi; and Abdallah Khan, who served as a government official under the Mughal emperor Akbar.