Abu Sa'id Gardezi

Abū Saʿīd ʿAbd-al-Ḥayy ibn Żaḥḥāk b. Maḥmūd Gardēzī (Persian: ابوسعید عبدالحی بن ضحاک بن محمود گردیزی‎), better known simply as Gardizi (گردیزی), was an 11th-century historian and official, who is notable for having written the Zayn al-Akhbar, one of the earliest history books written in New Persian.[1] He was probably from Gardez, a city in the present-day Paktia Province of Afghanistan, as his nisba implies.[2]

His father's name was Zahhak, a name that was seemingly popular in the region.[3] Gardezi started his career as an official of the Ghaznavid monarch Mahmud of Ghazni (r. 998–1030), and was an eyewitness to many of the events that occurred under the latter.[1] In his Zayn al-Akbar, Gardezi took a dispassionate view of history which was fairly remarkable for its time.[3] It consisted of a history of the pre-Islamic kings of Iran, Muhammad and the Caliphs until the year 1032. Included is a history of the Arab conquest of Khorasan, which it is believed Gardezi was using al-Sallami as a source. His history concerning the Turks was written using Ibn Khordadbeh, Jayhani and Ibn al-Muqaffa' as sources.[4] He may have been a student of al-Biruni, since the Zayn al-Akbar contains information concerning Indian festivals.[4]

References
  1. Yarshater & Melville 2012, p. 120.
  2. Bosworth 2000, pp. 314–315; Bosworth 2013
  3. Bosworth 2000, pp. 314–315.
  4. Gardizi, W. Barthold, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol.II, p. 978.

Sources
  • Bosworth, C. Edmund (2013). "Gardīzī". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE. Brill Online. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_27374. ISSN 1873-9830.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Bosworth, C. Edmund (2000). "Gardīzī, Abū Saʿīd ʿAbd-al-Ḥayy". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. X, Fasc. 3. pp. 314–315.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Yarshater, Ehsan; Melville, Charles (2012). Persian Historiography: History of Persian Literature A, Volume 10. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 9780857721402.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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