Maathir-Ul-Umara, Biography of the
Persian and Hindu Officers of the Rulers of Inda From 1500 to 1780 A.D.
By Nawa Samsam-ud-Daula Shah Nawaz Khan and his son Abdul Hayy,
Translated by H Beveridge
Vol 2 Pages 922-925:
TAQARRUB KHAN
(Vol. I, pp. 490-493).
His name was Hakim
Daud, and he was the son of Hakim
Inayat Ullah. He was
the foremost pupil of Mirza Muhammad
father of Hakim
Masih-u-Zaman. After his father's death
on account of his
great skill and experience as a physician, became
intimate companion of
Shah Abbas I, and was at the head of
Shah's physicians.
After the death of that great sovereign, he through the machinations of
his enemies ill treated by Shah Safi,
as he also did not
receive proper consideration from Shah Abbas II
- who was
still young - he became averse to staying on in Iran. Ostensibly he gave
out his intention of going on pilgrimage, but in real
he proceeded to the
Court of Emperor Shah Jahan from Iraq via
Basra, and
disembarked at the port of Laheri (Lari, in Sindh)
the 17th year 1053
A.H. (1643 A.D.) he presented himself at the
Court, and was
appointed to the rank of 1,000, and received
Rs. 20,000 as
a present.
By a
fortunate coincidence Beo-am Sahib - who was loved by Emperor
Shah Jahan
more than all his sons—was, only twenty days before his
arrival, going to her bed-chamber after waiting upon her father.
Suddenly the
corner of her dress caught fire
from a lamp which was
lighted in the
portico on the way. As the clothes of the ladies of theh Harem
of honour are
extremely delicate, and fragrant oils were sprinkled
on them, the flames shot out and caught all over the dress.
Although four
(female) servants, who were in attendance, took all
possible steps to extinguish the flames, but as their dresses also
caught fire they were obliged to look after themselves. Before others
could know of
this accident, and water could be brought, the back and
both sides of the
body and both the arms of the Princess were burnt. In great anguish the
Emperor himself undertook the task of
nursing, and in the
first instance had recourse to spiritual remedies. From the first to
the third day 5,000 muhars (gold coins) and
5,000 rupees were
distributed as alms to the poor each day. Until
convalescence large
sums were spent in charity, and seven lacs of rupees
of government
dues,
for which debtors in detention were responsible,
were remitted. It was also ordered
that after this, 1,000 rupees a day or
360,000 rupees a year should be distributed to the poor as alms
on behalf of the Princess. Afterwards bodily remedies were resorted
to, and physicians and surgeons
came from all quarters, and applied
themselves to cure the patient.
Hakim Daud, whose
arrival at such a time was a lucky coincidence,
made use of proper remedies for various diseases which developed
from the burns, such as lazum tab (hectic fever),
lainat taba
intermittent fever), and
tahabbauj itraf chasbm
(swellings round
eyes). He became an
object of praise and felicitation. On the occasion of the festival to
celebrate the convalescence he was raised to the rank of 1,000 with 200
horse, received various other gifts,
gained a position of
trust with the Emperor. Further all offerings
(to the Emperor) on
Fridays were for one year assigned to him. In
the 20th year he
received the high title of Taqarrub Khan, and in
the 23rd year his
rank was advanced to 3,000 with 800 horse,
the 26th year he
displayed his great skill in treating Akbarabadi
Mahal,
and in addition to an increase of 500 in his rank reccieved
present of Rs.
30,000. In the 27th year his rank was increased
4,000 with 3,000
horse. In the 31st
year when the Emperor
afflicted with
strangury and as a result of use of cooling medicines
this ended in
diabetes and great weakness of the body; no
prescription|
of the ablest physicians proved of any use. But for the relicf of
strangury
much benefit was derived from the use of manna (shir-khisht)
which was ably prescribed by Taqarrub Khan. In accordance willi
presage, the Emperor
changed his residence, and in Muharram 1068
A.H. (October, 1657
A.D.) came from the Capital to Agra, an
taking ma'-ul-lahm
(essence of meat) and strong soups recovered his.
health. Taqarrub
Khan was promoted to the exalted rank of 5,000
and beat loudly the
drum of his high office. After the throne of India
adorned by the accession of Emperor Aurangzib, and Shah Jahan was kept
in retirement in the Agra fort, Taqarrub Khan who had made
excellent endeavours in treating Shah Jahan, and had become
acquainted with his
constitution received a reward of 30,000 ashrafis
and was again
the recipient of royal favours. He was
appointed to
complete the cure, and to restore Shah Jahan to health. After this
he, for some reason, became the object of censure by Emperror
Aurangzib, and for a time lived in retirement. In the beginning
of the 5th year Emperor Aurangzib suffered from a severe attack
of fever, and became extremely weak. On this occasion,
Taqarrub Khan was
again restored to favour, and made the recipient gifts and bounties even
though he was not asked to treat the Emperor.
He was, however, allowed to pay his respects. In the
same year,
1073 A.H. (1662 A.D.) he died.
His son Muhammad
Ali was relieved of
his mourning dress by the grant of a robe of
honour by the
Emperor. He also had been dismissed from office on
count of his father's
faults, but was now restored to the rank of
1,500 with 200
horse. As he became the envy of the leading men of
time owing to his
close association with the Emperor, a separate account account
about him has been included.
The above
account is taken almost verbatim from his biography
Badsbahnama,
II, p. 756, where, however,
it is stated that he came to India
after performing the
pilgrimage. See also id.
pp. 367, 368,
where it is stated that he arrived at the Court 20 clays after
the accident, but the rank n which he was appointed is given as
1,500 with 200 horse. The year in the text is incorrectly given
as 1053 instead of 1054 A.H.
The burning took place on 27th Muharram, 1054 A.H. (5th
April,1644
A.D.). A detailed account is given in Badshahnama, II,
pp.363 – 369 In Khafi Khan I
pp. 598 - 600 the year of accident is given as 1053 A.H. and
it is stated that two of the four maidservants who tried to
extinguish the flames
died of their injuries. Beale, Oriental Biographical
Dictionary (1894 edn.),
p. 190, apparently on Stewart's authority states that she was
cured the treatment of an English physician named Gabriel
Boughton, but this is incorrect, see Irvine's note in Storia
do Mogor, I, p. 219. Boughton treated one of Shuja's.ladies.
One of Shah Jahan's wives. Her name was 'Izz-un-Nisa Bcgam,
see
Beale, Oriental. Biographical Dictionary, p. 45.
She died on 28th January
1678 (4th Dhul Hijjab, 1088 A.H.), vide Maathir-i-'Alamgiri,
p. 160,
and not 29th
January, 1677, as stated by Beale.
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To find out about our ancestor I hit upon the idea of finding out
about The Hakim Mosque as we know from the family tree that he was the
founder of this mosque, searching through the web yielded surprisingly
good information about the mosque, its founder Hakim (doctor) Mohammad
Davoud and more importantly the first substantive historical references.
Thomas Rochford provided the first clue which was Dr Honarfar's book on
Isfahan's monuments and through the kind assistance of Mr Karim Zadeh
who provided copies of the relevant pages the following information has
been gleaned about our oldest known ancestor. The pages from
Dr Honarfar's book are available on this
site in Persian image document or
in English. Aunt Fataneh and Bahar provided the information
from the Persian book published by Ministry of Antiquities about
Monuments of Iran, an English summary of which is available.
I then obtained copies of Chardin,
Bernier and Manucci, European travellers to the Middle East and India in
the 17th Century. Chardin's nine volume account of his travels has not
been translated to English and only abridged versions exist. All the
material relating to Chardin are from Dr Honarfar and Monuments of
Persia. Bernier and Manucci were in the court of Mongol (Turcomen-Persian)
rulers of India at the same time as Mohammad Davoud and probably had met
him. In addition to the
bibliographical references, the relevant parts of
Bernier's account and
Manucci's account are provided on this site and both make
fascinating reading as it was under Timurids that the so called Mughal
[Mongol] empire in India was as its Zenith, leaving behind such
magnificient historical artifacts such as the Peacock Trone, and
buildings such as the
Taj Mahal. The history of this era reads far better
than fiction as the rivalries of the Court turn to tragedy.
What we know of Mohammad
Davoud is narrated below however to do the story justice, I would
encourage the reader to visit all the following sites:
The Isfahan Site for a virtual
tour of the Hakim Mosque,
the
Hakim Mosque page on this site which includes a translation of
Honarfar and pictures kindly supplied by Thomas Rochford after his visit
to Isfahan in summer of 2000, the pages from
Bernier and
Manucci.
An important link is the poem inscribed on the northern
entrance of the Hakim Mosque. It states that it was founded by
Mohammad Davoud (western David) entitled as " Tagharrob Khan In The
Indian Court" who was physician to the Persian kings Shah Safi I
(reigned 1629-1642AD) and Shah Abbas II (1642-1666 AD) of the Safavi
dynasty. Tagharrob as a title means the person held dear and khan
is a generic Persian male title meaning lord or squire. We further
learn about the link because of references to Mohammad Davoud in the
writings of the French traveller
Chardin
who travelled
twice to Persia in the second half of the 17th century and references to
Tagharrob Khan by
Bernnier who travelled to India in
the middle of the same century. Chardin describes him as physician
to Shah Safi I (1629-1642 AD) and Abbas II. Schindler describes him as a
consultant physician to Shah Abbas, Chardin goes on to describe how he
fell out of Shah's favour and (probably fearing for his life) escaped to
India.
He then quotes from
Bernier's travelling diaries and mentions Hakim Davoud's rapid rise in
the Indian court. Hakim (Doctor) Mohammad Davoud very quickly succeeded
in the Indian court and became a prominent person. He seems to
have been involved in all sorts of intrigue. According to Chardin's
quote of Bernier's travels, Mohammad Hakim played a significant
role in the war between
Aurengzib and his brothers. He very quickly
established himself in a prominent position in Aurenzib's court and
started sending plenty of riches to his family in Isfahan, and either
out of a sense of patriotism or because of a desire to keep his name
alive, continued doing so until the construction of the mosque was
completed. Bernier's account is confirmed in
Niccolao Manucci's
account of his travels and life in 17th century India.
Bernier in his
account of his travels describes Mohammad Davoud as a physician who
became one of 'Omrah' (taken from Arabic Omara, plural of Amir meaning
chieftan or lord) in the court of Aurengzeb and may have been used by
latter in a meeting of the ruling family to decide the fate of his
unfortunate brother Dara. An interesting discovery was Bernier's use of
the title Hakim Al Molk to describe one of the Persian chieftans in the
court of Aurengzeb (the actual expression used was Hakim Al Molok which
is a mistake as the latter is a feminine title while he was clearly
referring to a male courtier) . Unfortunately he does not give the
name of the courtier, just his title. It may have been in
reference to Mohammad Davoud. This is the same title used centuries
later for the Hakimis prominent in the Persian Courts and this is the
earliest reference to this title in relation to a family member.
It is impossible to say whether it came from his work in the Safavi
court in Persia or was given to him by Aurengzeb as Persian was the main
language used in the Timurids Court.
The following poem which
appears on the mosiacs on the eastern entrance of the mosque confirm
that Tagharrob Khan described by Bernier and Mohammad Davoud the
founder of the mosque are indeed the same person:
In the
age that the throne is adorned by the ruler of the revolving world, the
king of kings
The Solomon of (his?) time, Abbas The Second, the shadow of god
Omniscient was made the sagacious physician Davoud
Who came to be called in the court of India as Tagharrob khan
That he must make his way without delay to Isfahan
To lay the foundation of a mosque like Davoud’s paradise
It was through the efforts of the employer that in these times there was
constructed
An auspicious mosque like the solitary spiritual world
Pleasant place of prayer which liberates the mind in a benevolent manner
Date of construction is written clearly in this next part
The centrepoint of worship is now from Davoud of Isfahan
1067 (A.H.-1656/7 AD )
In the book Monuments of
Iran published by ministry of antiquity in Iran, Bernier is further
quoted saying that Hakim Davoud eventually falls out of favour in the
Indian court and dies penniless. In the English translation of
Bernier and Manucci, his death is described as a miserable one.
According to history of the moslem rule in India Mohammad Davoud died in
1073 AH or 1662/3.
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Other sources or
interesting reads from the internet:
Persian
Physicians in India (Salam Knowledge Website):
HAKIM DAWUD TAQARRUB KHAN (d. 1663 A.D.)
Hakim Dawud was the son of Hakim lnayatullah
who was the pupil of Fakhr al-Din Shirazi (Mirza
Muhammad), father of Hakim Sadra and personal
physician of Shah Abbas Safawi."22"
Due to his expertise in medicine and in-depth
knowledge of sciences, Hakim Da'wud became a close
companion of Shah 'Abbas Safawi, after the death of
his father. Shah Safi and Shah 6Abbas II (successors
of Shah Abbas Safawi) did not give due respect and
attention to men of learning. The Hakim felt
aggrieved and in 1053 A.H./1644 A.D. he came to
India and entered the court of Emperor Shahjahan who
gave him the rank of Derh Hazari (Officer having
1500 horsemen under his command) and Rs. 20,000 as a
gift."23"
According to Shah Nawaz Khan (quoting Hakim's son
Muhammad 'All), Shahjahan used to give great
importance to Hakim Da'wud because of his
extraordinary skill in medicine."24"
Hakim Da'wud along with a team of physicians like
Hakim Momina, Hakim Sadra, had treated Queen Mumtaz
Mahl for high degree burns and other resultant
complications like hectic fever and parozysm."25"
After the recovery of the queen, Shahjahan bestowed
on him the rank of CCI ahar Hazart (Officer having
4000 horsemen under his command), a horse with
golden saddle and an elephant as gift."26"
In the 31st year of his accession, Shahjahan had
developed some urine trouble (strangury). When
treated by some court physicians other complications
arose. They included constipation which could not be
cured despite their best efforts. Ultimately Hakim
Da'wud was called for treatment and the Emperor
recovered soon. Shahjahan was so much pleased at his
recovery that he raised the Hakim to the rank of
Panj Hazdri (Officer having 5000 horsemen under his
command).
Hakim Da'wud also lived during the reign of Emperor
Aurangzeb. He died in 1073 A.H./1663 A.D."27"
22) Badshah
Nama, by Abdul Hamid Lahori (Asiatic Society of
Bengal), Calcutta, 1868. Vol. III, p. 388
23) Amal-i
Saleh or Shahjahan Nama, by Muhammad Saleh Kanbuh,
(Asiatic Society of Bengal), Calcutta, 1227
A.H./1821 A.D. Vol. III, p. 388.
24) Ma'athir
al-Umara (Urdu Translation), by Shah Nawaz Khan,
Lahore, 1968, Vol. III, p. 625.
25) Badshah
Nama, by Abdul Hamid Lahori (Asiatic Society of
Bengal), Calcutta, 1868. Vol. III, p. 368.
26) Amal-i
Saleh or Shahjahan Nama, by Muhammad Saleh Kanbuh,
(Asiatic Society of Bengal), Calcutta, 1227
A.H./1821 A.D. Vol. III, p. 418
27) Atibba-i
Ahd-i Mughaliya, by Sayyid Ali Kauthar Chandpuri (Hamdard
Academy), Karachi, 1955, p. 90.
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