Farhang-i Jahangiri

The Farhang-i Jahangiri (Persian: فرهنگ جهانگیری, lit. 'Jahangir's dictionary')^[1] is a Persian dictionary compiled in the 17th century by Mir Jamal al-din Husayn Inju, and commissioned by Mughal Emperor Akbar. It is one of the most important Persian-language dictionaries produced in Mughal India,^[1] and has been termed a "benchmark" in the genre of Persian dictionary-writing.^[2]

Recto and verso of an illuminated folio, from a manuscript of the Farhang-i Jahangiri.

Writing

Mir Jamal al-din Husayn Inju hailed from Shiraz (in present-day Iran), born into a noble Sayyid family. He emigrated to Mughal India at an early age, spending the majority of his life in the city of Agra. He rose to a prominent position in the court of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, and began writing the dictionary at the ruler's request in the 1590s.^[1][3] Inju was advised by Akbar to investigate words and idioms from Middle Persian, to understand the nature of the Persian language before it was influenced by Arabic; this was a major objective of the dictionary.^[4] Muzaffar Alam interprets this as emblematic of a larger trend of Persian linguistic purification attempts in Mughal India.^[5] Richard Eaton views the production of this dictionary as part of efforts by Akbar to associate the Mughal court with Persian culture.^[6]

The dictionary was completed after twelve years in 1608, by which time Akbar had died and been succeeded by his son Jahangir; Inju hence named the dictionary in honor of him. In 1622, Inju authored a second edition of the dictionary.^[1][3] The Farhang-i Jahangiri was considered a standard dictionary of Persian in the early 17th century.^[5] It was highly influential on subsequent dictionaries such as Farhang-i Rashidi and Burhan-i Qati.^[7]

Content

The Farhang-i Jahangiri lists 9,830 words, arranged in alphabetical order. These words were taken from the works of an extensive number of Persian poets. Each entry provides a definition as well as poetic verses where the word was used. The dictionary used at least 44 Persian dictionaries as sources, as well as Persian technical treatises and oral sources.^[3]

The dictionary contains an introduction, which includes a discussion of the sources and a detailed study of the Persian language. The dictionary's supplement includes five glossaries.^[3]

References

1. "Page from the "Farhang-i Jahangiri"". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
2. Casari, Mario. "INDIA xiv. Persian Literature". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
3. Bayevsky, Solomon. "FARHANG-E JAHĀNGĪRĪ". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
4. Habib, Irfan (2004). "ON THE DOORSTEPS OF HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS — A NOTE ON MUGHAL LEXICOGRAPHY". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 65: 411–415. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44144759.
5. Alam, Muzaffar (2019-12-31), "2. The Culture and Politics of Persian in Precolonial Hindustan", Literary Cultures in History, University of California Press, p. 174, doi:10.1525/9780520926738-007, ISBN 9780520926738, retrieved 2021-12-31
6. Eaton, Richard (2018-10-30), "The Persian Cosmopolis (900–1900) and the Sanskrit Cosmopolis (400–1400)", The Persianate World, BRILL, p. 78, doi:10.1163/9789004387287_004, ISBN 9789004387287, retrieved 2022-02-12
7. Sedighi, Anousha; Shabani-Jadidi, Pouneh, eds. (2018-09-10). "The Oxford Handbook of Persian Linguistics". Oxford Handbooks Online: 2168. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198736745.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-873674-5.