The Oriental Biographical Dictionary/Prefatory Notice
PREFATORY NOTICE.
The author of this Dictionary was formerly a Clerk in the office of the Board of Revenue, N. W. P. at a time when the-Secretary was Henry Myers Elliot, afterwards well known as Sir H. M. Elliot, K. C. B. It is probable that, in preparing his extracts from the Mohamadan Histories of India, Elliot availed himself of the aid of Mr. Beale, of whose scholarship Prof. Dowson makes justly deserved mention in the eighth volume of his valuable edition of the work.[1] Mr. Beale died at a very advanced age in the summer of 1875, having before his death expressed a wish that I would see his MS. through the press, and reduce the transliteration into conformity with the system then recently adopted by the Government of India, and founded (as I need hardly observe) upon the system of Sir W. Jones.
Accordingly, on the 5th October of that year I laid the MS. before Sir John Strachey, the then Lieut.-Governor, in the name of the Archæological Society of Agra, of which he was a Vice-Patron, in a letter from which the following is an extract:—
"This is no ordinary book. I have used it as a work of reference, for years: and have lately had an opportunity of showing it to the eminent scholar Mr. E. B. Eastwick, C. B. who, I am authorised to say, concurs with me in thinking that the Dictionary will be of unique value to oriental students."
Sir J. Strachey took up the subject with that enlightened energy which always actuated him in dealing with the past history of the country over whose administration he then presided. The MS. and copyright were acquired at the expense of Government; and it was ultimately resolved—in view of the importance of the work and my own official occupations—that the editing should be entrusted to the Asiatic Society of Bengal. The Society confided the labour of seeing the Dictionary though the press to their Philological Secretary, Principal Blochmann, of whose qualifications it would be presumptuous to say more than that they have an œcumenical reputation. That distinguished man (of whom it has been observed by Count v. Noer that he united the enthusiasm of an artist to the most patient accuracy of research[2]) undertook the task with his characteristic earnestness and ability. But unhappily for oriental scholarship Mr. Blochmann's lamented death occurred before he had completed the preparation of more than a few sheets; and the duty ultimately reverted to the local Archæeological Society of Agra.
Being soon after transferred from Agra, and being besides prevented by my public duties from giving to the Dictionary the full attention which its importance required, I have availed to a great degree of the aid of my colleagues, Mr. Sáyad Mahmood, Prof. A. Thomson, and Lála Bahál Rai. I have also (in the latter sheets particularly) had valuable help from Dr. Hoernle, Philological Secretary of the Society. To these gentlemen, and to the Superintendent of the Baptist Mission Press the work is indebted for its handsome and practical appearance and character.
The substance is almost entirely Mr. Beale's; and I cannot close this notice more fitly than by giving the following extracts from the preface originally drafted by himself:—
"In preparing a work of this nature, intended to be used as a work of reference on matters connected with Oriental History, it is proper to state that the greatest care has been taken to ensure accuracy in the narrative, as also in the dates of births, deaths, and other events recorded.... Various MSS. have been collated whenever discrepancy was observed....To remove all doubt, chronograms indicating the dates with a certainty not to be found by any other method and written when the events were fresh in the minds of men, have been inserted, when available."
I may here add that it has been judged expedient to omit these chronograms, for the most part, in printing the book. In the chapter of Mr. Dowson's book already cited, will be found an account of this species of memoria technica. But it is chiefly interesting as machinery for producing a certain result; and when the result has been produced is not of much more use than the scaffolding of a building when the building is complete.
"The materials collected in this Biography are only from those works which were within the reach of the author, and therefore it is to be considered as a nucleus to which those who have access to other sources may add new materials.
"It may also be proper to add, that the difficulties and embarrassment which a writer of such a work is liable to meet with is so great, (I quote here the words of a learned gentleman) ' that though of a minor order, comprehends in itself such a number of annoyances that the writer of it, even if he had none other to make head against, might feel tempted to abandon his pen in despair when considering it.'
"'In the East' says he, 'there are but a few proper names of individuals. Abdullah, Alí, Hasan, Husain, Muhammad, for example, are common to thousands. To remedy the inconvenience that might be supposed to result from this tendency to homogenousness, the Orientals annex to the family-name of the chronicled person, 1, a Kunia, or surname taken from the name of his eldest son, as Abu Muhammad (father of Muhammad); Abú'l Hasan (father of Hasan); 2, the name of his father and often the name of his grandfather; 3, a name taken from his place of residence; 4, a name taken from his birthplace; 5, an honorary title, chiefly appended to the name of Kázís, Sheiks and Imáms, Monks and Doctors, as Baháuddín (Splendour of Religion), Jaláluddín (Glory of Religion), Tájuddín (Crown of Religion); and in the order of this nomenclature, the last name is put first. Thus to designate aright the famous physician Abdul Latíf, we must call him Muwaffikuddín Abú Muhammad Abdul Latíf bin Yusaf Mousalí Baghdádi, viz. The Protector of Religion, father of Muhammad, Abdul Latíf, son of Joseph, living at Mousal, born at Baghdád. Yet this is by no means an exaggerated specimen; several other surnames of the same kind are frequently added. The perpetual recurrence of such a multiplicity of names and titles must tend in many ways to confuse a literary historian; and the more naturally when he finds the same individual chronicled in one page under his honorary title only, as Jaláluddín, in another under his family-name, as Abdur Rahmán, in the third under his father's name as Ibn Arabsháh, somewhere else under the name of his sons, as Abú'l Abbás, and perhaps again, and where one would least look for it, under the name of his native province, Sháhristán. D'Herbelot has recorded no fewer than fourteen Persian writers, all of whom pass, under the common cognomen of Karamání, from their province Karamán. Here is perspicuity! But this is not all. The transcribers of the MSS. have frequently confounded the title Abú and Ibn, or else for abbreviation sake, have omitted them altogether and written down Abdullah, or Abdur Rahmán, him who was in fact the father or the son of Abdullah or Abdur Rahmán. Then there are a great many authors whom public celebrity has been accustomed to distinguish so exclusively by one only of their adjunctive titles, that even the native biographers find it impossible to trace either their family-names or their surnames. Lastly, many hundreds of books bear the same name, and the names of most books are conceived after such a many-worded and no-meaninged fashion, that de Sacy, Schlegel, Casiri and von Hammer, to mention but a few investigators out of many, have been foiled in the attempt to establish their signification.'
"To prevent such confusion and difficulties, the author has taken care to insert each individual under his different appellations, viz., under his family-name, his surname, poetical name, under his title or under the name of the place of his birth, referring at the same time, if he is not to be found under one name, to look under the one referred to.
"In conclusion the author begs to add that most part of the materials collected in this volume were procured by the assistance of his son the late lamented Mr. J. W. Beale, 2nd Master of the Bareily College who was murdered by the insurgents on the 3rd June 1857 at that station, and since he is now no more, the author is obliged to drop his pen; but earnestly hopes that this work which is nearly the first of its kind in India, and the want of which has already been much felt, may prove useful to the Student, the Scholar, the Historian, and the general reader."
This notice may well terminate with a repetition of this hope: and with an appeal to scholars of larger leisure and opportunities for an indulgent treatment of a work produced by a man who had never been in Europe nor enjoyed the use of a complete Library. Mr. Beale had drawn up a list of more than thirty books in various languages which had furnished him with materials. In addition the editors have from time to time referred to the translation of the Ain Akbari and its invaluable notes by Mr. Blochmann, of which the 1st Volume (never, alas, continued) was published in Calcutta some years ago.
One word more as to the inexhaustible subject of transliteration. The English as is well known have three methods; the Haphazard (which indeed is no method at all), the Gilchristian, and the popularised Jonesian introduced by the Government of India under the inspiration of Mr. W. W. Hunter. None of these is quite satisfactory. The French adopt a system of their own, and so do the Germans. Mr. Beale had followed an orthography, compounded of the two first-named elements, which has been to some extent modified in printing these pages. For the convenience of Continental European scholars the names have also been printed in the Persian character; and it is hoped that no practical difficulty will be experienced by those who may have occasion to use the Dictionary.
Meerut, September, 1881.
- ↑ The History of India, by its own Historians. Trübner & Co. 1877.
- ↑ Kaiser Akbar. Leyden, 1880.