Hafiz-i Abru

Hafez-e Abru (Persian: حافظ ابرو; died June 1430) was a Persian historian working at the courts of Timurid rulers of Central Asia. His full name is ʿAbdallah (or Nur-Allah) Ebn Lotf-Allah Ebn 'Abd-al-Rashid Behdadini; his short name is also transcribed in Western literature as Hafiz-i Abru, Hafez-e Abru, Hafiz Abru etc.

Hafiz-i Abru
Born	ʿAbdallah Ebn Lotf-Allah Ebn 'Abd-al-Rashid Behdadini Herat, Khorasan (modern-day Afghanistan)
Died	June 1430 (1430-07) Zanjan, Iran
Nationality	Persian
Occupation	Historian
Title	Court Historian
Academic work
Era	Timurid period
Notable works	Majma al-tawarikh (The Compendium of History), Zubdat at-tawarikh-i Baysunghuri (Baysunqur’s Cream of History)

Persian Miniature from Hafiz-i Abru's Majma al-tawarikh. “Noah’s Ark” Iran (Afghanistan), Herat; Timur's son Shah Rukh (1405–1447) ordered the historian Hafiz-i Abru to write a continuation of Rashid al-Din's famous history of the world, Jami al-tawarikh. Like the Il-Khanids, the Timurids were concerned with legitimizing their right to rule, and Hafiz-i Abru's “A Collection of Histories” covers a period that included the time of Shah Rukh himself.

Hafiz-i Abru was born in Khorasan and studied in Hamadān. He entered Timur's court in the 1380s; after the death of Timur, Hafiz-i Abru continued in the service of Timur's son, Shah Rukh, in Herat. He interacted with other scholars congregating around Timur's and Shah Rukh's courts, and became recognized as a good chess player.

Hafiz-i Abru is the author and/or compiler of numerous works on the history and geography of the Timurid state and adjacent regions, commissioned by his master Shah Rukh, in particular Majma al-tawarikh ("World Histories").

References

1. Maria Eva Subtelny and Charles Melville, "Ḥāfeẓ-e Abru" at Encyclopædia Iranica
2. Tauer, F. (1971). "Ḥāfiẓ-i Abrū". In Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, Ch. & Schacht, J. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume III: H–Iram. Leiden: E. J. Brill. OCLC 495469525.

Sources

• Subetlny, Maria; Melville, Charles (2002). "Ḥāfeẓ-e Abru". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. XI, Fasc. 5. pp. 507–509.