Maftun Amini

Maftun Dunbuli Azerbaijani, ‘Abd al-Razzaq Beyg (1762-1827), son of Najaf Quli Khan. Litterateur, historian, scholar, Qur’an exegete, writer, mystic, and poet with the nom de plume Maftun, born in Khuy, Azerbaijan. When the Karim Khan Zand held Najaf Quli Khan’s children for security against rulers of Azerbaijan, Maftun’s father sent him who was 10 years of age to Shiraz instead of his brother. He studied in Shiraz for 14 years. After Karim Khan’s death and the conquest of Shiraz by the Zand ‘Ali Murad Khan, the hostages were taken to Isfahan and after ‘Ali Murad Khan’s death in 1784, they were released by Agha Muhammad Khan who permitted them to return to Azerbaijan. Maftun had mastery of Persian and Arabic prose and poetry and composed poetry in both languages. In his compositions, he was more inclined towards composing qasidas and mathnawis. He went on pilgrimage to the holy shrines and Mecca in 1799 and died in Tabriz where he was laid to rest. His works include Ma’athir-i Khaqani, devoted to the history of the Qajars; Ma’athir-i Sultaniyya, also known as Ma’athir-i Sultani, devoted to the history of Fath’ali Shah’s reign from his accession to the throne to 1825; Hada’iq al-Janan, including his autobiography in Shiraz as well as the biographical accounts of the scholars and poets of that city also embracing biographical accounts of the Karim Khan Zand; Nigaristan-i Dara on the biographies of the poets flourishing under Fath’ali Shah; Tajziyat al-Ahrar wa Tasliyat al-Abrar on the biographies of some of his contemporary scholars, notables, and poets; a commentary on Mulla Sadra’s Masha’ir; translation of ‘Ibratnama, also entitled Basiratnama from Turkish into Persian; Haqa’iq al-Anwar on the biographies of Arab and Persian poets in Persian; Hada’iq al-Udaba’, including the dialogues and correspondence of Persian and Arab poets; Hadiqa, in Persian on the biographical accounts of Arab poets and commentaries on some of their poems; the mathnawi entitled Naz wa Niyaz; the mathnawi entitled Humayun-nama on the accounts of Mukhtar al-Thaqafi; another mathnawi in the meter of ramal; Riyaz al-Janna, on the Dunbuli dynasty; Rawzat al-Adab wa Jannat al-Albab on the biographical accounts of Arab poets in Arabic; and his Divan of poetry. Maftun also collaborated with Mirza Razi, with the nom de plume Banda, in the compilation of the historical book entitled Zinat al-Tawarikh.

Asarafarinan (5/ 274-275); Sharh-i Hal-i Rijal (2/ 264).

مفتون دنبلی آذربایجانی، عبدالرزاق بیگ، فرزند نجف ‌قلیخان (۱۱۷۶- ۱۲۴۳