Guzidah Ash‘ār-e-Sabk-e-Hindi
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Introductory notes
Ne‘mat Khān Ali was a satirist, historian, and poet (d. 1709-10). His father, Hakīm Fath-al-dīn, and his son, Hakīm Hādeq Khan, were famous physicians. Educated in his ancestral city of Shiraz, he served the court during the reign of Shah Jahān (1628-57) and continued into Aurangzēb’s reign (1658-1707). He became superintendent (dārūḡa) of the royal kitchen, and received the title of Neʿmat Khan in 1692-93. He was promoted to keeper of the crown jewels, with the title Muqarrab Khan. With the accession of Shah ʿĀlam I (1707-12) he was given the title Dāneshmand Khan and appointed to the office of court historian. Most of his poetry consists of gazals, characterised by a gentler tone of moral criticism than his satires.