A familiar title can lead to an earlier chronological section

Manchester’s Persian MS 897 description identifies Siyar al-Muta’akhkhirin as a general history of India by Ghulam Husain Khan Tabatabai, composed around 1780–1784 and dedicated to Warren Hastings. This particular volume includes an introduction and a history from ancient times to the reign of AlamgirI. It is therefore not automatically the volume required for every eighteenth-century episode associated with the better-known later portions of the work.[1]

The catalogue explains that three complete volumes are bound into two objects, with Persian MS 898 linked as the companion. Physical bindings and textual divisions require separate attention. For Punjab research, first establish which section covers the period and place under enquiry; a broad title or a manuscript’s presence online does not establish that the desired passage occurs in the open volume. The description is a finding aid rather than a reading of that passage.[1]

Identify the translation and its reprint history

CiNii records a four-volume English set issued by Oriental Publishers in Lahore in 1975, identifying it as a reprint of the 1789 edition and naming Nota-Manus. The catalogue also preserves several forms of the title, including Siyar al-muta’akhkhirin and Review of Modern Times. These variants can help locate references across bibliographies. A reprint year identifies a modern object while the original translation and the Persian composition have their own histories.[2]

Keep the work’s wider geography visible

The translated title describes the later Mughal emperors, English wars in Bengal and the ruling families of Bengal and Awadh, alongside criticism of English government. That scope makes the work a broader comparative source rather than a chronicle devoted exclusively to Punjab. Cite translator, edition, volume and passage when using it, and check the account against evidence relevant to the particular Punjab event. Catalogue coverage alone cannot establish an author’s direct observation or settle the accuracy of an episode.[2]

Sources & notes

Source records include access dates and, where known, limits on what was examined. Checks used AI assistance; independent human or specialist review has not been completed.

  1. University of Manchester Library, Manchester Digital Collections. Siyar al-Muta’akhkhirīn, Persian MS 897 ↗institutional manuscript catalogue and viewer description · Source date: publication date not established · Locator: Public description:part 1 of threecompletevolumes boundintwo, relatedMS 898, author, compositionc.1780–1784, dedication andfirstvolumeextent. Accessed 2026-11-01.Actual public description inspected. Extended metadata visible only in search was not used; no manuscript-copy date or colophon reading claimed. First volume’s ancient-to-AlamgirIcoverage differs from later eighteenth-century scope. Manuscript pages, complete text and linkedMS 898 were not read.Return to A familiar title can lead to an earlier chronological section, paragraph 1 ↑Return to A familiar title can lead to an earlier chronological section, paragraph 2 ↑
  2. National Institute of Informatics, CiNii Books. The Sëir mutaqherin, NCID BB 17583720 ↗institutional union-catalogue record · Source date: publication date not established · Locator: 1975 Oriental PublishersLahorefour-volumereprint, Nota-Manuscredit,1789 reprintnote andlong-titlecoverage. Accessed 2026-11-01.Actual complete record inspected. Reprint date distinguished from original translation and subject chronology. Historical title spellings retained for searching, not endorsed as current labels for religious groups. No full 1789 translation or a Briggs edition claimed as read. Return to Identify the translation and its reprint history, paragraph 1 ↑Return to Keep the work’s wider geography visible, paragraph 1 ↑
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Record PH-COL-0012 · English edition · human review not performed