Niccolao Manucci

Niccolao Manucci

Portrait of Niccolao Manucci. National Library of France, Cabinet of Prints, Paris.
Born 19 April 1638
Venice, now Metropolitan City of Venice, Italy
Died 1717 (aged 79)
Monte Grande, Chennai, now Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation Physician, Historian, Geographer, Explorer
Ethnicity Italian
Notable works Storia do Mogor (1698)
Years active c. 1660 – 1717

Niccolao Manucci (19 April 1638–1717) was an Italian writer and traveller. He worked in the Mughal court. He worked in the service of Dara Shikoh, Shah Alam, Raja Jai Singh and Kirat Singh.

Storia do Mogor

Manucci is famous for his work "Storia do Mogor", an account of Mughal history and life. Manucci had first-hand knowledge of the Mughal court, and the book is considered to be the most detailed account of the Mughal court. It is an important account of the time of the later reign of Shah Jahan and of the reign of Aurangzeb.

He wrote about his work: "I must add, that I have not relied on the knowledge of others; and I have spoken nothing which I have not seen or undergone..." but there are some very serious issues regarding the veracity of his work as explained in section that follows below.

Controversy

Manucci spent almost his entire life in India. He would then send home the manuscript for "Storia do Mogor" which was lent to the French historian François Catrou in 1707. Catrou wrote another version as Histoire générale de l’empire du Mogul in 1715. The original then emerged in Berlin in 1915 and was written in three different languages. This version was translated and then published. Among those who have doubted Manucci's authenticity are Stanley Lane-Poole and Ali Sadiq.

Works online

Further reading

See also

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