Art. IV.—Notice of an Inscription at Turbat-i-Jām, in Khorāsān, about half-way between Meshed and Herat

Abstract

I was not allowed inside the shrine inclosure at Jām, so sent my Mirza to look for the “Yadgār” of Humāyūn, which the Sheikh told me was there. The Mirza brought back a copy of the inscription, and described the situation as follows:—“The above inscription is written, or rather painted, with black ink or some other composition, on an oblong slab of white Herat stone, which is fixed with mortar on to the top of the railing (partly built of plain and glazed bricks and partly of stone) enclosing the grave of Sheikh Jāmi, which is in the open air. The slab in question is about ¾ ẕar' (about 30 inches) in length and about 3 girah (8 inches) in breadth, the inscription running lengthwise. The surface bearing the writing is smooth and polished. In some places the paint—or ink—has been removed, and it shows that the surface of the slab was first punctured with some pointed instrument, and afterwards the paint laid on. An old Khwāja told me that formerly this slab was fixed in the Diwān (arch) facing the Sheikh's tomb, but that afterwards it was removed from there and placed on top of the railing where it now stands. The Khwāja also said that he used to see the word Hindi written after ‘Muhammad Humāyūn,’ but that now it has been obliterated. Sheikh Abdur Rahmān, one of the descendants of Sheikh-i-Jām, says that the inscription is believed to be in Humāvūn's own handwriting.”