Translation and State

Beyond Boundaries: Religion, Region, Language and the State is a research initiative hosted by the British Museum and the British Library in London. Moving beyond geographical, chronological, disciplinary and historiographical boundaries, the books in this series explore the interactions of India and her neighbors from late antiquity to the close of the medieval.

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In 1587, Abu al-Faz l ibn Mubarak - a favourite at the Mughal court and author of the Akbarnamah - completed his Preface to the Persian translation of the Mahabharata. This book is the first detailed study of Abu al-Faz l's Preface. It offers insights into manuscript practices at the Mughal court, the role a Persian version of the Mahabharata was meant to play, and the religious interactions that characterised 16th-century India.