New Delhi– The sword of the sixth Mughal Emperor, Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir, commonly known as Aurangzeb was found in a cupboard of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Aligarh, a city of Uttar Pradesh state.
Ata Khurshid didn't expect anantique scabbard to tumble out of a cupboard in Aligarh Muslim University's manuscript section. And definitely not one with Aurangzeb’s sword in it.
Khurshid, head of the manuscript division at AMU's Maulana Azad Library, found the treasure last month during a routine inspection of a steel almirah lying untouched for five decades. The scabbard found on February 26 contained a regal ancient sword. That it belonged to Aurangzeb became apparent when Khurshid took his find to head librarian Shahabat Hussain to decipher golden engravings that looked like a couplet, an English daily toi reported here today.
Students of Persian managed to read 'Aurangzeb' inscribed on the sword, but the couplet in 'shakista farsi' eluded them, Hussain told TOI. It was Azarmi Tukht, head of the Institute of Persian Studies and professor of Persian Asif Naeem who broke the code. Later, a visiting Iranian delegation also confirmed the Mughal emperor's ownership.
The prized possession is not listed in the library's inventory and there is no record of it either. But then, some of the almirahs in Asia's second biggest library have not been opened for decades. Sixteen royal families have gifted the university rare manuscripts or artifacts from time to time. The sword could have been a part of a nawab's or nobleman's collection, Hussain said.
Among the 'findings' of February 26 were a sapphire pen stand and paper cutter gifted by Afghan king Mohammed Nadir Shah to the vice-chancellor of AMU in 1933 and undated portraits of Shahjahan and Mumtaz Mahal besides 350 rare manuscripts and sale deeds. The oldest among them is a deed executed in 1602, from the times of Emperor Akbar.
Now, the university administration is considering setting up a museum to display the collection which also includes royal decrees of Mughal emperors Babar, Akbar, Shahjahan, Shah Alam and Aurangzeb. There is a fragment of the Holy Quran inscribed by an Hazarat Ali on parchment too. (IRNA)
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