Asar us Sanadid by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan Pdf Free Download
Asar-us-Sanadid book 5th Edition complete 3 Volumes by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. The book ” Ashar-ul-Sanadid” was first published in 1947. This book contains a complete list of all the notable historical buildings, forts, tombs, monuments, and other archeological sites of Delhi and the historical details of these sites. Sir Syed’s book attracted British scholars in Delhi. He appreciated Sir Syed’s work and was so impressed that he invited him to join the Asiatic Society and to write the second better edition of the book in English, but unfortunately, this translation was never written.
The archeological sites built on the land of Delhi during the last nine hundred and fifty years are reminiscent of their creators. These monuments are not only a masterpiece of architecture but also the story of the glorious rise and Scary fall of various ruling families. On this land, Raja Anangpal II built a fort called Lal Kot in 1052; some of its walls still exist.
It is the land of Delhi, where the mausoleum of Nasir-ud-Din Mahmood, the Crown Prince of “Sultan Al-Tamish,” was built by Sultan Al-Tamish in 1231 and is called the tomb of Sultan Ghazi. The tomb of Sultan Ghazi of Delhi is one of the earliest Muslim tombs in India.
In the same land of Delhi, there is the magnificent mosque of Quwwat-ul-Islam, built by Qutbuddin Aibak, which is said to be the first notable building built by Muslims on Indian soil. Delhi is the land where a new architecture was born from Hindu and Muslim architecture fusion. The fusion of Muslim and local architecture in different parts of India took on new forms, provided by the buildings built in the middle of the early medieval period.
In the second decade of the twentieth century, the Archaeological Survey of India published a list of Muslim and Hindu archeological sites in English in four volumes under the title “Shahjahanabad.” This was the time when the British government was building a new city south of Shahjahanabad called “New Delhi.” Many archeological sites were demolished to construct new buildings. Even after the construction of New Delhi, there were many ruins in this area. Some of them were demolished before independence, and some after independence.
Most of the archeological sites in Delhi are in awful condition, and no one is looking after them. These archeological sites include some of the most important historical buildings. For example, the mosque of “Khan e Jahan” a Wazir of Feroz Shah Tughlaq, was built 630 years ago, in 1387. Aurangzeb‘s daughter “Zainab-un-Nisa Begum” built a mosque called Zeenat-ul-Masajid in 1710. The condition of this mosque is excellent after three hundred years. Yet the Archaeological Survey of India has withdrawn its protection.
In this context, the “archeological evidence” is an essential historical document because many of the historical buildings described in it no longer exist. Therefore, this book is the only source of authentic historical information about these monuments.
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was one of the many local Indian scholars who compiled the history of architecture and archeology of the subcontinent in the 19th century. In Athar-us-Sanadid, Sir Syed has also described the circumstances of Sufis, poets, sages, calligraphers, and musicians of Delhi of his time. This chapter is essential for understanding the social, cultural, religious, and literary life of Delhi in the first half of the twentieth century. Therefore, necessary footnotes have also been written on the personalities mentioned in this edition.
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