Mokhtasar-e Mofid was a geographical text written by the Iranian administrator Mohammad Mofid Mostofi Bafghi in 1680/81 at Lahore. It is of significant value because it is the only known geographical writing related to the Safavid era.[1]
The text cites sources from both the past and present. In keeping with tradition, the word "Iran" appears rarely throughout the text and usually in reference to "Turan" and/or "Hendustan", or when Iran is under attack or invasion by its opponents. However, the boundaries of Iran are made clear, as is the arrangement of its different regions.[2] The text is filed with a strong sense of nostalgia and longing for home. Many contemporary Iranian writers who moved to India in search of new opportunities expressed a similar sense of nostalgia, reflecting their feelings of separation and loss.[3]
The text highlights its Shia Muslim perspective in the listing, since Arabian Iraq is given a prominent position, and Mashhad is given significant attention with twenty-two pages dedicated to it. In contrast, Shiraz only receives a brief mention of just two pages.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b Matthee 2021b.
- ^ Matthee 2021, p. 93.
- ^ Matthee 2021, p. 94.
Sources
edit- Matthee, Rudi (2009). "Was Safavid Iran an Empire?". Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient. 53 (1–2). Brill: 233–265. doi:10.1163/002249910X12573963244449.
- Matthee, Rudi (2021). "The idea of Iran in the Safavid period: Dynastic pre-eminence and Urban Pride". In Melville, Charles (ed.). Safavid Persia in the Age of Empires: The Idea of Iran. Vol. 10. I.B. Tauris. pp. 81–105.
- Matthee, Rudi (2021b). "Moḵtaṣar-e Mofid". Encyclopaedia Iranica Online. Brill. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
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