MIRKHOND, merldftd, Haman Ed Din, Persian historian: b. 1433; d. 1498. He was the son of a pious and learned man of an old Bokhara Sayyid family, direct descendants of Mohammed. From an early age he devoted himself to 1.istory and literature; and in Herat, where he spent the greater part of his life, he gained the favor of a famous patron of letters named Mir Alishir. About 1474, in the quiet convent of Khilasiyah, which his patron had founded in Herat, he began his great work on universal history, the tRauzat-us-safa> (Gar den of Purity), a collection of biographies of prophets, kings and caliphs from mythical times to 1523. Although written in a flowery and bombastic style and with no attempt at critical examination, the (Rauzat> is ranked as one of the most remarkable of literary achievements. It is composed of seven large volumes and a geographical appendix. As the seventh volume contains accounts of events after Mirkhond's death, it is supposed to be the work of his grandson, the historian Khwandamir (1475-15341, who probably fin ished the appendix. The entire cRauzat> has
been lithographed in folio (Bombay 1853 and Teheran 1852-56), and with Turkish transla tion (Constantinople 1842). The has been translated by various hands: 'The Early Kings of Persia> by D. Shea (London 1832); the Sassanids into French by S. de Sacy, (L'histoire de la dynastic des (Paris 1793) and also by Jaubert (Paris 1843); (1-listoire des Sarnanides,> by Defremery (Paris 1845); 'Histoire des Sultans Ghurides,> by Defremery (Paris 1844) • Seljuks into German by Vullers (Giessen 1837) ; and the story of Mohammed by Rehatsek, into English (5 vols, London 1891-94), the latter was rendered from English into French by Lamairesse (Paris 1894). For the life of Mirkhond, consult De Sacy, 'Notice sur Mirkhond) in his 'Memoires sur diverses antiquites de la Perse> (Paris 1793); Jourdain, 'Notices et extraits> (Vol. IX, Paris 1812); and Elliot, 'History of India,' Vol, IV.