Who gifted the Badshah Nama to King George in 1799 ?

The Badshah Nama (or Padshahnama), a chronicle of Emperor Shah Jahan's reign, was authored by Abdul Hamid Lahori [1]. In 1799, Saadat Ali Khan II, the Nawab of Awadh, gifted a magnificent illuminated and illustrated manuscript of this work to King George III of Great Britain. This diplomatic gift was part of a larger collection of six volumes sent to the British monarch. The manuscript is particularly famous for its 44 high-quality miniatures depicting court ceremonies, battles, and portraits. Since its arrival in England, it has been preserved in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle and is often referred to as the 'Windsor Padshahnama'. While Abdul Hamid Lahori was the author, the act of gifting the manuscript to King George III in the late 18th century was specifically performed by the Nawab of Awadh.

Sources

1. [1] History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 14: The Mughal Empire > Literature > p. 219