Translation Methodology
1. Since the chronicle was one long narrative, it
became necessary to divide it into chapters. There are eight of them, each
dealing with a particular period or a particular ruling house. Care has been
taken to ensure that minimum dislocation of events or their overlapping takes
place.
2. As stated elsewhere in the introduction, translation
of verses has been left out. Likewise superfluous titles and appendages to
names, a practice very common to Persian historiographical style, have also been
left out to make the account readable.
3. Effort has been made to reproduce the place names as
correctly as possible; some deficiencies have still remained.
4. Transliteration of Persian/Arabic/Sanskrit words,
names, phrases etc. has been done in accordance with the accepted system. (See
the key to transliteration). Diacritical marks have been used wherever
necessary.
5. Explanatory comments wherever necessary have been
put in round parenthesis, but whatever was felt necessary to clear the textual
ambiguities has been put in square brackets.
6. Blanks and erasions in the MS have been shown by the
sign ... in the English translation. Illegible words have also been indicated
likewise followed by the abbreviation illeg.
7. Conversion of Hijra years into Christian years has
been done on the basis of the Lunar year system of the Muslim calendar and not
the Solar year system of the Iranians.
8. Qur'anic verses, which figure in the chronicle, have
been rendered into English wherever possible.
9. Folio numbers of the MS and their corresponding
printed pages have been given on a separate sheet.
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