Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur

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	PREFACE	liii

	[Babur's history has been thus brought to an end, incomplete in the balance needed of 7. In Kehr's volume a few pages are left blank except for what shews a Russian librarian's opinion of the plan of the book, "Here end the writings of Shah Babur."] 10 (Imp. omits). Preface to the history of Humayun, beginning at the Creation and descending by giant strides through notices of Khans and Sultans to "Babur Mirza who was the father of Humayun Padshah ". Of Babur what further is said connects with the battle of Ghaj-davan (918 15i2 q.v.). It is ill-informed, laying blame on him as if he and not Najm Sani had commanded speaks of his preference for the counsel of young men and of the numbers of combatants. It is noticeable for more than its inadequacy however ; its selection of the Ghaj-davan episode from all others in Babur's career suppoits circumstantially what is dealt with later, the Ghajdavani authorship of the Compilation. 11 (Imp. omits). Under a heading "Humayun Padshah" is a fragment about (his? Accession) Feast, whether broken off by loss of his pages or of those of his archetype examination of the P. Univ. Codex may show. 12 (Imp. 6). An excellent copy of Babur's Hindustan Section, perhaps obtained from the Ahrari house. [This Ilminski places (I think) where Kehr has No. 7.] From its position and from its bearing a scribe's date of completion (which Kehr brings over), viz. Tamt shtid 1126 (Finished 1714), the compiler may have taken it for Humayun's, perhaps for the account of his reconquest of Hind in 1555. [The remaining entries in Kehr's volume are a quatrain which may make jesting reference to his finished task, a librarian's Russian entry of the number of pages (831), and the words Etablisscment Orientate, Fr. v. Adelung, 1825 (the Director of the School from 1793).¹ ¹ For particulars about Kehr's Codex see Smirnov's Catalogue of the School Library and JRAS 1900, 1906. Like others who have made statements resting on the mistaken identity of the Bukhara Compilation, many of mine are now given to the winds.

	Outline of the History of the Compilation. An impelling cause for the production of the Bukhara compilation is suggested by the date 1709 at which was finished the earliest example known to me. For in the first decade of the eighteenth century Peter the Great gave attention to Russian relations with foreign states of Central Asia and negociated with the Khan of Bukhara for the reception of a Russian mission.¹ Political aims would be forwarded if envoys were familiar with Turki; books in that tongue for use in the School of Oriental Languages would be desired ; thus the Compilation may have been prompted and, as will be shown later, it appears to have been produced, and not merely copied, in 1709. The Mission's despatch was delayed till ^I7^I9 ; it arrived in Bukhara in 1721 ; during its stay a member of ^lts secretariat bought a Compilation MS. noted as finished in 1714 ^d on a fly-leaf of it made the following note : See Gugorief's "Russian policy regarding Central Asia", quoted in Schuyler's ^rurkistan, A«,p. IV y ' The Mission was well received, started to return to Petrograd, was attacked by J'^kmans, went back to Bukhara, and there stayed until it could attempt the devious route ⁿ»:h brought it to tie capital in 1725.

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