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342. KITAB al-buzát li Núshírván,

THE BOOK of Hawks of Núshírván.

No. 49 of Hammer Purgstall; no date assigned. More accessible information on the subject of Falconry in Persia is to be found in the following:

343. A'IN I AKBARI li Abul Fazl 'Allami.

THE GOVERNMENT OF AKBAR, by Abul Fazl 'Allami, A.D. 1590. Translated from the original Persian by Professor H. Blochmann. Printed for the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Calcutta. 1873. 8vo.

The Ain i Akbari, says Prof. Blochmann, contains that information regarding Akbar's reign which, though not strictly historical, is yet essential to a correct understanding of the times, and embodies therefore those facts for which, in modern times one would turn to Administration Reports, Statistical Compilations, or Gazetteers. It contains the ain (i.e., mode of governing) of Akbar [who died in 1615], and is in fact the Administration Report and Statistical Return of his Government, as it was about A.D. 1590. The contents, therefore, are naturally varied and detailed. Abul Fazl's high official position gave him access to any document he wished to consult, and his long career and training in various departments of State, eminently fitted him. for undertaking such a work. "His love of truth and his correctness of information," adds Prof. Blochmann," are apparent in every page of the book."

In the portion which relates to Hunting (Book II. Ain 27 and 28) there is a section on " Hunting with Hawks" (Transl. pp. 293–296), in which the writer describes the various species used, with their Persian names; their allowance of food; prices paid for them; and the minimum number of each kept at Court.

The birds mentioned by their Persian names are not always to be identified, for the reason that Persian falconers give different names to the sexes of hawks, as well as to old and young, and to those which have and have not moulted; but we recognise amongst them the Peregrine (Sháhín and Bahri),

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Jerfalcon (Shungar), Saker (Bálábán, when captured in nets, and Charkh, when taken from the nest), Merlin (Turumtái), Goshawk Tăigún and Tarlán, male and female, and Sparrow-hawk (Báshá and Girgi), besides the Bargut, or trained eagle. As to the hawks used by Persian falconers see the remarks of Major Oliver St. John in the account of the Persian Boundary Commission, 1870-72, edited by Sir Frederic Goldsmid, 2 vols. 8vo, London, 1876, vol. ii. pp. 102-111.

An earlier translation of the Ain i Akbari, by F. Gladwin, was printed in 4to, Calcutta 1783, and London 1800, but that by Blochmann, here quoted, is considered preferable.

344. BAZ NAMAH, or Book of the Hawk.

Amongst the Persian MSS. in the British Museum, Egerton, 1012 ff. 124 (cf. Rieu, Cat. ii. 485), is a Báz Námah, or Book of the Hawk, seventeenth century, in metre. "Bahádur" is the poetical surname assumed by the author, and occurs in a versified preamble, fol. 1-5, containing eulogies on 'Abd ulKadir Jilání, and on the reigning Sovereign Aurangzib. The author states in a succeeding prose preface that he had undertaken the work at the urgent request of Ja'fer Beg, whom he calls his master in the craft. He mentions having written the work in the twenty-fifth year of the reign of 'Alemgir, corresponding to A.H. 1091, or A.D. 1680.

The treatise is divided into forty-three chapters (bábs), a list of which is given at the end of the preface, fol. B. The first thirty-nine treat very fully of the training of hawks and other hunting birds, and of their employment in the chase. Then follow: Báb xl., Diseases of Hunting-birds, in sixty-eight sections (fast), fol. 84 b; Báb xli., their treatment, fol. 93 b; and Báb xlii., miscellaneous instructions, in four sections. 345. BAZ NAMAH, or Book of the Hawk.

In the same collection, Egerton 1013, pp. 108 (cf. Rieu, Cat. ii. p. 485), is a Báz Námah, or Book of the Hawk, dated A.H. 1163, i.e., A.D. 1749, by Muhib 'Ali, surnamed Khán Khás Mahalli B. Nizam ud Din 'Ali Marghilání.

The author, a son of Nizam ud Din 'Ali Khalifeh, Prime Minister of Báber, was raised to the dignity of Khan in the first year of Akbar's reign, and died Governor of Delhi, A.H. 989,

i.e., A.D. 1581. See Erskine, Hist. India under Báber, vol. i. p. 385; and Blochmann, Ain i Akbari, p. 420.

The author states that he was nearly sixty years old at the time of writing, and that, having from his youth upwards accompanied illustrious Sovereigns in the chase, he had acquired considerable experience. He dedicates the work to Akbar, whose skill and prowess in the hunting field he praises at great length. The treatise is divided into sixty-one chapters or sections (bábs), a full table of which is given in the preface.

Contents Preface, fol. 2 b; Precepts of the Law relating to the Chase, fol. 9 b; Qualifications of a Perfect Sportsman (Mir Shikár), fol. 12 b; Capture and Rearing of Hawks, fol. 13a; How to Select Hawks and other kinds of Hunting Birds, fol. 20a; Signs of Health and Disease, fol. 24 a; Directions Relating to Hunting in General, and to the Diet and Training of the different kinds of Hunting Birds, fol. 26 b; Diseases of Hawks and their Treatment, fol. 68 b; Snares and Decoys, fol. 87 b; Selection and Training of Cheetahs (yūz), fol. 101.

346. BÁZ NÁMAH, or Book of the Hawk, transcribed A.H. 1160, ¿.e., A.D. 1747.

A treatise on the qualities and rearing of Hawks, and their use in the sport of Falconry. An 8vo MS. Persian, in an Indian handwriting; in the possession of Mr. Quaritch.

The transcriber was Muhammed Mustafa Kusuri, who wrote it at the request of Muhammed Khanhív. The authorship is not disclosed; but the work is spoken of as a compendium (mukhtasar) compiled A.H. 970 (about A.D. 1562).

The work is divided into 72 sections or bábs, each section having several chapters.

Thus it is not the same as the "Báz-námah" of Khan Khas Mahalli, who wrote for Akbar about the same time as the composition of the above compendium. His Baz-namah is very similar in contents, but is quite differently arranged in 61

sections.

347. BAZ NAMAH I NASIRI, A.H. 1258.

The Book of the Hawk of Nasir, A.D. 1842.

For a knowledge of this work the present writer is indebted

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