Page:The Oriental Biographical Dictionary.djvu/66

Arzani 54 Asaf placed hj Sir John Malcolm in 632 A. D., 11 A. H., but Major Price fixes it in 635 A. D., 14 A. H. Fide Turan- dukht. Arzani Begam, (^^i^ cs^Dj'^ ■was the daughter of Shahriar who was married, in the 16th year of Jahangir's reign, to Mihr-un-nisa the daughter of Nur Jahan. Vide Ain Translation, I, 331. Arzu, the poetical name of Siraj-ud-din Al£ Khan, which see. Asa Allir, j--^.^' ^•^T^ a shepherd chief, who huilt the fortress of A sirgarh in the Dakhan in the 14th century; he had some 2000 retainers. The hill had long before been enciicled by a wall to protect the cattle, and it was to employ the poor that Asa constructed instead of the fortifications which still remain beyond all comparison, the strongest native built fortress in India. Asa was put to death by Malik Nasir, the Muhammadan chief of Khandais, who possessed himself of the stronghold by treachery, and completed the fortifications. Two cen- turies later Asii-garh and all iSTimar were conquered by Akbar and incorporated with the Mughal empires. It was taken by the British in 1817. Asad, "^-"'^ the poetical name of Mirza Asad-uUah Khan usually called Mirza Noushah. His ancestors were of Samarkand, but he was born at Agra ; but was brought up and lived at Dehlf where he rose to great fame as a poet and writer of the Persian language, whilst his com- positions in Urdu were not less admired. He won the favoiu' of Bahadur Shah, the last kmg of Dehli, wlio con- ferred upon him the title of Nawab and appointed him royal preceptor in the art of poetry. He is the author of a Persian Insha, a Masnawf in praise of 'All, and a Diwan in Persian and another in Urdu. Both have been printed. He was in 1852 A. D., sixty years of age, living at Dehlf, and was engaged in compiling a history of the Mughal emperors of India. His poetical name is Ghalib, which see. He died in the year 1869, 1285 A. H. Asadi Tusi, ls'"^ •^••I, a native of Ttisin the province of Khurasan, and one of the most celebrated Persian poets at the court of Sultan Mahmiid of Ghaznf, whom the Sultan often intreated to undertake the Shah Nama, but he excused himself on account of his age. His best work is supposed to be lost. He was the master of Firdausi, who afterwards composed the Shah Nama. It is said that Firdausi on his departure from Ghazni requested him to finish the Shah Nama which was yet incomplete, and that Asadi composed that part of the poem between the Arabian conquest of eastern Persia under the khalif 'Umar, to the end, consisting of 4,000 couplets. The year of Asadi's death is unknown, but it appears from the above circumstance, that he was living in 1010 A. D., 401 A. H., in which year Firdausi departed from Ghazni. The most celebrated of the other works of Asadi now extant, is his dispute between Day and Night, a trans- lation of which in English verse is to be found in the " Kose Garden of Persia," by Louisa Stuart CostcUo, pub- lished, London, 1845. Asad Khan, vLy-'j (Nawab) entitled Asaf-ud- daula and Jumlat-ul-Mulk, was descended from an illustrious family of Turkmans. His father who fled from the oppressions of Shah Abbas of Persia into Hin- dustan, was raised to high rank by the emperor Jahangfr with the title of Zulfikar Khan, and married to the daughter of a new relation to his empress Nur , Jahan. His son Asad Khan (whose former name was Ibrahim) was very early noticed by Shah Jahan, who married him to a daughter of his wazir 'Asaf Khan, and promoted him to the office of second Bakhshi, which he held till the 15th year of 'Alamgir (1671 A. D.) when he was raised to the rank of 4,000, and a few years afterwards to the office of wazir and highest order of nobility, seven thousand. In the reign of Bahadur Shah he was ap- pointed Wakil Mutlak (an oifice superior to wazir), and his son Isma'il made ISlir Bakhshi or chief paymaster with the title of Amir-ul-'Umra Zulfikar Khan ; but on the accession of Farrukhsiar, he was disgraced, his estates seized, and his son put to death. Since that period, he lived upon a scanty pension in a sort of confinement, but much respected by all ranks. He died in the year 1717 A. D., 1129 A. H., aged 90 lunar years, and was buried with great funeral pomp at the expense of the emperor, in a mausoleum, erected by his father for the family. Asad-llllall al-GhaliL, v"*^' '^•'l , the conquer- ing lion of God, an epithet of AH the son-in-law of Muhammad. Asad-ullah Asad Yar Khan, ^d^^ j^J'*—! (Nawab), he lived in the time of the emperor Muhammad Shah, and died in 1745 A. D., 1158 A. H. His poetical name was Insan, which see. Asad-ullah Khan, ^t-*! '>'«l (Mirza) vide Asad, and Ghalib. Asaf, ^^'f, a native of Kumm in Persia, who came to India in the reign of the emperor Shah Jahan, and is the author of a Diwan. Asafi, iJ^'°'^ *^Ly^j (Khwaja) son of Khwaja Na'mat-ul- lah, was an elegant poet. Asafi is his poetical name, which he took on account of his father having served in the capacity of wazir to Sultan Abu Sa'i'd Mirza ; for, they say, that Asaf or Asaph of the Scriptures, was wazir to king Solomon. He was one of the contemporaries and companions of Jami, and took instructions from him in the art of poetry. He died about the month of August, 1520, A.D., 16th Shaban 926 A.H., aged more than 70, and was buried at Hirat ; but according to the work called Khulasat-ul-Asha'ar, he died in 920 A. H. He is the author of a Di'wan or book of Odes called Diwan Asafi, and a Masnawi in the measure of " Makhzan-ul-Asrar." Asaf Jah, »-*'^T^ the title of the celebrated Nizam-ul- Mulk of Haidarabad. Asaf Khan I, iJ-=^ '^'^'f, surnamed Abdul Majid, was a nobleman in the time of the emperor Akbar, who in 1565 A. D., 973 A. H., distinguished himself by the conquest of Garrakota, a principality on the Narbada, bordering on Bundelkhand. It was governed by a queen or Rani named Durgawatf, who opposed the Muhammadan general in an unsuccessful action, and when seeing her arm}^ routed and herself severely wounded, she avoided falling into the hands of the enemy by stabbing herself with a dagger. Her treasures, which were of great value, fell into the hands of Asaf Khan ; he secreted a great part, and the detection of this embezzlement was the immediate cause of his revolt. He was, however, subse- quently pardoned, and after the conquest of Chittour, that country was given to 'Asaf Khan in jagir. Asaf Khan II, ^"^'I' title of Khraj-Ghayas-ud-din All Qaiwani, the son of Aqa Mulland uncle to A'saf Khan Jafar Beg. He held the Bakhshi'gari in the time of the emperor Akbar, and after the conquest of Gujrat in 1573 A. D., 981 A. H. in which he distinguished himself, the title of Abbas Khan was conferred on him. He died at Gujrat in 1581 A. D., 989 A. H., and after his death his nephew Mirza Jafar Beg was buried with the title of Asaf Khan.