Hafez Abrou, the famous Iranian historian and geographer

Compiled By: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On 3rd of the Islamic month of Shawwal in 833 AH, the Iranian historian and geographer, Shehhab od-Din Abdullah ibn Lotfollah, known popularly as Hafez Abrou, passed away in Zanjan, northwestern Iran. He was a native of Herat, the capital of Khorasan, and after education in Hamadan in western Iran, joined the service of the Central Asian conqueror Amir Timur, accompanying him on many of his campaigns, including those to Iraq, Syria and Anatolia.
As a court historian and eyewitness of many historical accounts, he also served Timur's son and successor, Shah Rukh. He died while returning from Shah Rukh’s second military campaign to Azarbaijan. He is an authority on the history of the later Ilkhanid period and early Timurid era.
Among his major works is the "Majmu'a", which is a collection of three older historical works with annotations by him. His 4-volume "Majma'at-Tawarikh" is a world history covers ancient Iran, the pre-Islamic prophets and events of other lands, with details on the Seljuq and Mongol periods. His history of the Timurid Dynasty titled "Zubdat at-Tawarikh-e Baysunquri" is dedicated to Prince Baysunqur Mirza. He also translated into Persian a geographical work from Arabic, titled Masalek al-Mamalek wa Suwar al-Aqalim", with focus on the various regions of Iran.