Abd al-Razzaq Samarqandi facts for kids

Abd-al-Razzāq Samarqandī (Persian: کمال‌الدین عبدالرزاق بن اسحاق سمرقندی, Kamal-ud-Din Abd-ur-Razzaq ibn Ishaq Samarqandi; 1413–1482) was a famous Persian historian and scholar from the 1400s. He lived during the time of the Timurid dynasty, a powerful empire in Central Asia and Persia.

Abd-al-Razzāq worked for Shah Rukh, who was the ruler of the Timurid Empire. For a while, Abd-al-Razzāq was an ambassador (a special representative) for Shah Rukh. In this role, he traveled to Kozhikode (also known as Calicut) in southern India in the early 1440s. He wrote a detailed account of what he saw there, which is very helpful for understanding life and culture in Calicut at that time.

He also wrote a long history book about the Timurid dynasty and the empires that came before it in Central Asia.

Early Life and Education

Abd-al-Razzāq was born in a city called Herat on November 7, 1413. His father, Jalal-ud-Din Ishaq, was an important person in Shah Rukh's court. He was a qazi (a judge in Islamic law) and an imam (a religious leader) there.

Abd-al-Razzāq studied with his father and his older brother. In 1429, they all received an ijazah, which was like a special license or certificate allowing them to teach Islamic subjects. After his father passed away in 1437, Abd-al-Razzāq took over his father's role as the qazi at Shah Rukh's court.

Amazing Travels and Writings

Abd-al-Razzāq served as an ambassador for Shah Rukh, the ruler of the Timurid dynasty in Persia. He traveled to Kozhikode, India, from January 1442 to January 1445. This was a very long and important journey!

His Famous Book

He wrote a 45-page story about his trip to India. This story became a chapter in his much larger book, which was about 450 pages long. The book was called Matla-us-Sadain wa Majma-ul-Bahrain, which means "The Rise of the Two Auspicious Constellations and the Confluence of the Two Oceans."

This book is a detailed history of his part of the world from 1304 to 1470. Even though he used information from other writings, his own accounts of his travels are very special.

What He Saw in India

Abd-al-Razzāq's travel story about India describes daily life and important events in Calicut, which was ruled by a leader called the Zamorin. He also wrote about the ancient city of Vijayanagara at Hampi. This was during the time of Deva Raya II, another powerful ruler. Abd-al-Razzāq described how incredibly wealthy and grand these places were.

He also wrote down important details about the shipping trade in the Indian Ocean during the 1400s. This helps us understand how goods were moved across the seas back then.

Diplomacy with China

Abd-al-Razzāq's book also included a detailed account of how Shah Rukh's empire communicated with Ming China. This was very important for understanding the relationships between these big empires.

He even included a first-hand story from a mission that Shah Rukh sent to Beijing in China between 1420 and 1422. This part was written by someone who was actually on that trip, named Ghiyāth al-dīn Naqqāsh.

See Also

• List of medieval Indian Persian language writers