Abstract:

This paper will examine several narratives pertaining to the early Abu’l-Khayrid rulers of Mavarannahr, such as ‘Ubayd Allāh Sultān and Suyūnj Khvāja Khān, as provided in the Badāyi‘ al-vaqāyi‘ of Zayn al-Dīn Maḥmūd Vāṣifī, a work which was completed in Tashkent and dedicated to a prince of the Abu’l-Khayrid Shībānid dynasty, Abū’l-Muẓaffar Hasan Sulṭān b. Kīldī Muḥammad Sulṭān, in 1538-39. The Badāyi‘ al-vaqāyi‘ itself defies easy classification or categorization: While it is first and foremost a memoir and is thus of a quasi-autobiographical nature, it may also be considered a history written from Vāṣifī’s unique perspective. Therefore, it is a work that provides the reader with a rare glimpse into the lives of the author and his contemporaries, including the Abu’l-Khayrid rulers of early sixteenth century Central Asia. While the Badāyi‘ al-vaqāyi‘ may not provide an account of the battles fought by the princes of the early Abu’l-Khayrid dynasty, it does offer unique narratives that will tell us more about the personalities and dispositions of the early Abu’l-Khayrid rulers and those surrounding them at court with whom Vāṣifī was acquainted and interacted. Thus, the Abu’l-Khayrid narratives found in the Badāyi‘ al-vaqāyi‘ will serve to enhance and expand our knowledge and understanding of early sixteenth century Central Asia.