Ghulam Hussain Khan
18th-century Indian historian
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Ghulam Hussain Khan, also known as Ghulam Husain Khan Tabatabai (1727/28–1797/98) was an 18th-century Indian historian and scholar-administrator from Delhi who later settled in Azimabad (Patna).[1][2][3] He is the writer of the famous book Seir Mutaqherin (سیر المتاخرین; lit. 'Review of modern times'), one of the notable contemporary historical accounts of the late Mughal Empire.
Ghulam Husain Khan Tabatabai | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Ghulam Hussain Khan c.1750-1760 | |
| Born | 1727/28 |
| Died | 1797/98 (aged 69-70) |
| Occupations | Historian, Subahdar, Noble |
| Relatives | Alivardi Khan, Siraj-ud-Daulah |
| Writing career | |
| Language | Persian |
| Period | 18th century |
| Notable work | Seir Mutaqherin |
He is considered to be among a slew of Muslim nobles whose families had left Delhi and settled in Azimabad.[4]
Life
Ghulam Husain's ancestors were originally from Iraq. His father Hidayat Khan accompanied the Nawab of Bengal, Alivardi Khan to Azimabad where he was appointed subadar.[5] Ghulam Hussain Khan left Delhi after Nader Shah's invasion of India and moved to the court of his cousin, Alivardi Khan, the Nawab of Bengal, in Murshidabad.[6] Khan was also related to the next nawab, Siraj ud-Daulah, either through Siraj being Alivardi's grandson[7] or in another way.[8]
Charles W. J. Withers described him as a "high-born Bihari official "whose Persian father had served the Mughal Emperor and whose mother was related to Alivardi Khan."[9]