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August, 1874.]
ON MUHAMMADAN CHRONOGRAMS.
217
advanced age issued his third Dîwîn of stray poems, he told the reader in the preface that he completed the collection in the year 4 tamamtuhu, 'I have finished it,' which gives 885. From his time chronograms, such as are usual now-a-days, came into fashion. Thus we have the clever tarikh on Babar's birth by Mullá Munîr of Bukhårå (metre muzári) :
چرن در شش محرم آمد شه مكرم
محرم تارین سال انهم أمد شش
As the honoured king was born on the 6th Mu- harram, the chronogram also is Shash i Muharram.
This gives 6th Muharram 838, or 14th February 1483.
The literary circle presided over by Jami's patron, the renowned Mîr 'Ali Sher, minister of Sultan Husain Mirzâ of Harât, was often engaged in composing chronograms. Thus when Mir 'Ali Sher built his Madrasah, and appointed Mir 'Ata-allah, a well-known writer on prosody, to the post of superintendent, Mir 'Aga presented him with the following tarikh (Rubá'í metre) :
loped in the end of the 9th century of the Hijrah. Histories, Tazkirahs, and inscription on buildings and tombs from this time abound in chronograms, and kings and grandees paid handsomely for good specimens. Thus Khwajah Husain of Marw presented Akbar on the birth of Prince Salim (Jahangir] with an ode of no less than 31 lines, every hemistich of which was a chronogram of Akbar's accession and Salim's birth, in alternate order. The emperor made him a present of two lakhs of tankahs, or 10,000 rupees. Another remarkable set of chronograms was presented by Mullâ Muhtashim to Shah Isma'il II. of Persia on his accession, in 984 A.H. The set consisted of six Rubå'is, or quatrains, i.e. 24 hemistichs. The letters of each hemistich when added give 984; but the dotted letters of each hemistich and also the undotted ones amount each to *, or 492; hence there are 24 dotted portions and 24 undotted portions of hemistichs, i.e. 48 portions. But the permutations of 48 things taken two and two together
48 x 47
= 1128. The six quatrains contained, therefore, as Mulla Muhtashim correctly represented, 1128 chronograms. I give the first quatrain-the curious will find the whole set in the Tazkirah by Tâhir of Nasrâbâd :
= 1x2
چون مدرسه ساخت مهر با علم و ادب
طلب اهل افاد
مرا فرمود چون در ششم ماه رجب کرد اجلا س
ماء رجب طلب از ششم تارين
When the learned and polite Mir had built the Yadrasah and ordered me to instruct the students, he opened the session on the 6th Rajab. Search, therefore, for the chronogram in the 6th of the month of Rajab.'
This gives 6th Rajab 891, or 8th July 1486. Mir 'Ali Sher himself, who is known as an excellent Turkish and Persian poet,* did not disdain chronograms, and wrote the following tarikh on Jami's death'(metre long ramal) :
جلیل چو ز صنع رازق پان میشد
بدارا تحویل و ملك و فلك ملك
هم بود ز لطف
که هر ملك و تجمل
هده افكند بشار اسمعیل دهر أن
کا شف سر الهي بود بیشک زان سبب
سر الاs
کا شف گشت تاریم وفاتش
He was no doubt a revealer of divine secrets ; hence the chronogram of his death lies in the words Kashif i sirr i ildh.'
This gives 898 A.H. or A.D. 1492.7
From these examples it is clear that the art of composing chronograms was fully deve-
• His nom-de-plume is Nawat.
+ Jemt died on Friday, 18th Muharram 898, or 9th November 1492. Mir Ali Sher's chronogram removes all
When by the will of the holy and glorious Dispenser of life the kingdom, fate, and possessions were made over to the sovereign, Fortune kindly threw to Shah Isma'd every realm and dignity that was with her.
A trial will easily convince the reader that the sum of the dotted letters of each hemistich, as also that of the andotted letters, amount each to 492; hence any two give 984, the year when Isma'il ascended the throne. Notwithstanding the extraordinary difficulty of the conditions which Muhtashim imposed on him. self in constructing this chronogram, ite poetdoubt regarding the year JAmi died. Many words on literature give 899.
This remarkable ode will be found in Baddonf's Mun. takhab, II. p. 120.
