Baharistan-i-Ghaibi  written by Alauddin Isfahan alias Mirza Nathan is an important primary source for the reconstruction of the history of Bengal in the reign of jahangir (1605-1627). Unlike other histories of the Mughal Empire, written by court-historians by order of the emperor and covering the history of the whole empire, Baharistan-i-Ghaibi deals only with the affairs of Bengal and the adjoining area.

The author, entitled Shitab Khan by Emperor Jahangir, passed his military career in Bengal and an eyewitness of many events, wrote from personal observation. He adopted the takhullus or pseudonym of Ghaibi (invisible) and hence the name of his work Baharistan-i-Ghaibi. His father Malik Ali, later entitled Ihtimam Khan, came to Bengal as Mir Bahr (Admiral of the imperial fleet) in 1608 along with islam khan chisti. Mirza Nathan, a valiant fighter, accompanied his father to Bengal and joined the imperial service. He took part in battles against khwaja usman and pratapaditya during the viceroyalty of Islam Khan, but during the later period he was engaged in the warfare in Kamarupa. When the prince shahjahan revolted against his father (Jahangir) and came to Bengal, Mirza Nathan joined him and helped in his war operations, but when the prince left Bengal for the Deccan, Mirza Nathan went into oblivion and he is heard of no more. He was probably enjoying a retired life when he composed his voluminous book, the Baharistan-i-Ghaibi.

The book is divided into several parts, called daftar by the author. The first daftar is called Islamnama, containing the account of the subahdari of Islam Khan, the second daftar deals with the subahdari of qasim khan chisti, but it is not named; the third daftar deals with the subahdari of ibrahim khan fath-i-jang and is called Ibrahimnama; while the fourth and last daftar deals with the usurpation of the government of Bengal by the rebel prince Shah Jahan and is called the waqiat-i-Jahanshahi.

The Baharistan-i-Ghaibi was for long lost to the historians, it is by chance that Sir jadunath sarkar discovered a manuscript of the book in the Bibliotheca Nationale of Paris. He brought it to the notice of the scholarly world by writing several articles in English and Bengali journals. The Dhaka University procured a photograph copy of the book and MI Borah, the then Professor of Persian in the Dhaka University translated it into English. The government of Assam published it in 1936, and the book has come down to us in two large volumes of about a thousand printed pages. The English translation of Borah is also very scholarly with copious notes of technical terms and geographical places.

Mirza Nathan is very economical in giving dates of the events he narrated; in fact there are only four complete dates (complete means day, month and year) in the whole book. Of these three have been found to be incorrect by his own narrative and the correctness of the fourth date could not be ascertained. But there are indications in his narratives by which chronology may be ascertained more or less correctly. These indications are the references to the month of Ramazan, the two 'Id festivals, Muharram, Shab-i-Barat etc, ie the Muslim festivals, which the author and the Mughal army celebrated. The author did not give the date of writing or completion of his book; only in the introduction of the third daftar it is stated that 'on the 7 Zil-Qada, (10) 41 Hijri, the fifth year of the accession of Sahib-i-Qiran ie Shah Jahan (27 May 1632), it came out of the heart to the tongue and from the tongue to the pen'. In the fly-leaf it is stated that the manuscript was presented to Nawab Asalat Khan and the latter presented it to his foster brother Aga Muhammad Baqir on 1 Rabi I, 1051 AH (10 June 1641 AD). So modern scholars have concluded that the 1st and 2nd daftars of the book were completed before 1632, and the last two daftars were completed before 1641. It appears also that the author dictated the book to some one who wrote it down.

The Baharistan-i-Ghaibi is the only contemporary history of Bengal dealing with the subjugation of Bengal in the reign of Jahangir. The other contemporary source, the Memoirs of the emperor, the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri mentions briefly only a few events of Bengal and does not refer to many others at all. So but for the discovery of the Baharistan, much of the history of Bengal of his period would have remained unknown to modern readers. The subjugation of Bengal by Islam Khan, the Mughal conquest of Kamarupa and Tippera, the campaigns to Kachhar, Assam and Chittagong have been discussed in great details in the Baharistan. The minute details of the wars and battles, the political condition in Bengal and the adjoining area, and the side-lights on social and economic life of the people as found in this book are not to be met with in any other source. But for the discovery of this book, the names of musa khan and his zamindar allies of Bhati, Raja Ananta Manikya of Bhulua, Raja Ram Chandra of Bakla, Raja Satrajit of Bhusna, Shams Khan of Pachet, Salim Khan and his nephew Bahadur Khan of Hijli, Majlis Qutb of Fathabad and many other zamindars and chiefs of Bengal would not have come down to us.

The name of Bayazid Karrani of Sylhet is known only through the Baharistan. The names of Khwaja Usman and his brothers are known through the akbarnamah, the defeat and death of Usman and his brothers was known through the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, but the last stronghold of Usman - Bukainagar and Uhar - and the battle field of Daulampapur could be identified only through the eyewitness account of Mirza Nathan in his Baharistan. Mirza Nathan took part in the battle against Usman. The name of Raja Pratapaditya of Jessore was known, but myths, legends and fantastic stories overshadowed his history.

It is only from the pen of Mirza Nathan that the myths have been cleared, because the Mirza himself took part in the battle against Pratapaditya, when the latter was forced to surrender. The Mughal conquest of Kamarupa, the campaigns to Kachhar and Assam were known only briefly through the local chronicles, but in the Baharistan we get a detailed account. The accounts of the several Magh invasions of the Mughal territory of Bhulua and the several Mughal invasions to Chittagong are found in greater details in the Bharistan; the Arakanese and the Portuguese sources give only a short account. The importance of the Baharistan-i-Ghaibi shall be clear if we remember that no part of the history of Bengal in the pre-British period is so fully known to us as the history of the reign of Jahangir.  [Abdul Karim]

Bibliography  Mirza Nathan, Baharistan-i-Ghaibi, Eng. tr. by MI Borah, Gauhati, 1936; A Karim, History of Bengal, Mughal Period, I, Rajshahi, 1992.