Mirza Mehdi Khan Astarabadi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 18th century |
| Died | Sometime between 1759 and 1768[1] |
| Notable work | Jahangosha-ye Naderi |
Mirza Mehdi Khan Astarabadi (Persian:میرزا مهدی خان استرآبادی), also known by his title ofMonshi-ol-Mamalek (منشی الممالک), was the chief secretary,historian,biographer, advisor,strategist, friend andconfidant of KingNader Shah (r. 1736–1747). He who wrote and accepted the different decisions and files related to the Empire.
Even though Mirza Mehdi rose to become an eminent figure in 18th centuryIran, not much is known about his life.[1] A native ofAstarabad (present-dayGorgan), he was the son of a certain Mohammad-Nasir, and he presumably spent his young life inIsfahan during the lateSafavid period, where he practised to become acivil servant.[1]
During the reign of the last Safavid king,Soltan Hoseyn (r. 1696–1722), the Afghans attacked Iran. When military chief Nader Shah expelled the Afghans, Mirza Mehdi Khan supported him in the Safavid court.[1] During his long service to Nader, he first functioned as "head of the royal correspondance" (Monshi-ol-Mamalek), until Nader's coronation at theMughan plain in 1736.[1] Afterwards, he became his official biographer andhistoriographer.[1]
DuringNader's Dagestan campaign, he accompanied him. About Nader's disembarking he noted "The banners that conquered the world are leaving Iran and heading toDagestan".[3]
In early 1747, Astarabadi was sent as anambassador to theOttoman Empire together with Mostafa Khan BigdeliShamlu in order to ratify theTreaty of Kerden (1746).[1] However, they had only reachedBaghdad when the embassy learned about the death of Nader Shah, which forced them go back to Iran.[1] Everything remains unknown regarding the fate of his subsequent career.[1] He must have "evidently" retired from public life in order to be able to finish thephilological and historical works which he had been compiling during his service to Nader.[1] The Iranian intellectual and journalistMohammad Ali Tarbiat (died 1940) was a descendant of Astarabadi.[4]
He was the author of historical books such asTarikh-e-Jahangoshay-e-Naderi (History of Nadir Shah's Wars), which is a book studied in theYale University and has this presentation : « Tarikh-i Nadiri. A history of Nadir shah Afshar, who ruled Iran from 1736 to 1747, written in Persian by Mahdi Khan Astarabadi (d. 1759), his secretary and court historian ». This book was also the object of research in 1996 byUnited States Naval Academy. Mirza Mehdi Khan also wrote "Dareh Nadareh" and "A Persian Guide to the Turkish Language" in 1759 with an introduction of SirGerard Clauson.
In 1768, KingChristian VII ofDenmark visitedEngland. He took with him the book of Nader Shah, written by Mirza Mehdi Khan Astarabadi and askedSir William Jones (1746-1794),orientalist and specialist in the history of oldIndia, to translate it intoFrench. This, in turn, led to the publication of the (not entirely accurate) book, "Histoire de Nader Chah", in 1770. This translation by William Jones was then later translated intoGerman andGeorgian.[1]
