‘Abd al-Razzaq al-Samarqandi

‘Abd al-Razzaq al-Samarqandi (1413-1482) was a Persian historian who served several Timurid rulers in Samarkand and left a historical work which is an important source of information.  

'Abd al-Razzaq was a Persian chronicler and Islamic scholar. He was the ambassador of Shah Rukh, the Timurid dynasty ruler of Persia to Calicut, India, from January 1442 to January 1445.

"Abd al-Razzaq was born in Herat on November 7, 1413. His father Jalal-ud-Din Ishaq was the qazi and imam of the Shah Rukh's court in Herat. He studied with his father and his elder brother Sharif-ud-Din Abdur Qahhar and together with them obtained an ijazah (license) from Shams-ud-Din Mohammad Jazari in 1429. After the death of his father in 1437, he was appointed the qazi of the Shah Rukh's court.

'Abd al-Razzaq was the ambassador of Shah Rukh, the Timurid dynasty ruler of Persia to Calicut, India, from January 1442 to January 1445.

'Abd al-Razzaq chronicled his mission to India in his book entitled Matla-us-Sadain wa Majma-ul-Bahrain (The Rise of the Two Auspicious Constellations and the Confluence of the Two Oceans), a major work which contained an overview of the history of his part of the world from 1304 to 1470.
'Abd al-Razzaq's book described the life and events in Calicut under the Zamorin and also of the Ancient City of Vijayanagara at Hampi, describing their wealth and immense grandeur. He also left vivid accounts of the thriving shipping trade in the Indian Ocean during the 14th and 15th centuries.

Abd-ur-Razzaq's Matla-us-Sadain wa Majma-ul-Bahrain also included a detailed account of diplomatic relations between Shah Rukh's state and Ming China. In particular, it incorporated the first-hand account of the mission Shah Rukh sent to Beijing in 1420-1422, written by its participant Ghiyāth al-dīn Naqqāsh.

Alternative names include: 

'Abd al-Razzaq al-Samarqandi

Abd-ur-Razzaq

Al-Samarqandi

Al-Samarqandi, 'Abd al-Razzaq

Ibn Ishaq Samarqandi

Ibn Ishaq Samarqandi, Kamal-ud-Din Abd-ur-Razzaq

Kamal-ud-Din Abd-ur-Razzaq ibn Ishaq Samarqandi

Samarqandi, 'Abd al-Razzaq al-