Mirza Abu Taleb Khan

Mirza Abu Taleb Khan (Persian: میرزا ابوطالب خان; more formally Mirzá Abú Muhammad Tabrízí Isfahání, میرزا ابومحمد تبریزی اصفهانی, known as The Persian Prince during his stay in London and as Abú Tálib Londoni once back in India[1][2][Note 1] 1752–1805/1806)[Note 2] was an Indian tax-collector and administrator of Iranian stock,[3][4] notable for a memoir of his travels in Britain, Europe and Asia Minor, Masir Talib fi Bilad Afranji, written between circa 1799 and 1805.

By his description, his Iranian[4] father Hajji Mohammed Beg (died 1768)[4] was born in Abbasabad in the Isfahan Province of Persia, but fled to Lucknow in Oudh State, northern India, in fear of the 'tyranny' of Nader Shah.

Abu Taleb had been married into the family of 'Muzaffer Jung - Nabob of Bengal' and spent some time in that prince's service, remaining away from Oudh until, in 1775, after the death of Shuja-ud-Daula and the accession of his son Asaf-ud-Daula, he was invited by the prime minister, Mokhtiar-ud-Daula, to take up the position of Aumildar of the Etawah district.

The role combined tax-collector, Lord-Lieutenant and local military controller, but ceased within a couple of years upon the death of Abu Taleb's patron Mokhtiar, and the appointment of Hyder Beg Khan as his replacement.

Middleton had been withdrawn from Lucknow, and Hastings resigned in 1784, leaving Abu Taleb somewhat exposed, but surviving on an allowance from the Nawab of 6,000 rupees per annum; his bête noire Hyder Beg Khan was still in place and appeared to have the confidence of the new Governor General, Sir John Macpherson.

Although John Shore made encouraging noises, several years of deteriorating Company relations with Oudh, the 1797 death of Asaf-ud-Daula, the brief reign of Wazir Ali Khan with its delayed culmination in the Massacre of Benares all served to render Abu Taleb unemployed, separated from his family, increasingly poor and depressed.

[10] It was at this very low period in Abu Taleb's life that, in 1799, an unexpected offer was made to him by David Thomas Richardson, an East India Company officer returning to London for health reasons.

[12] Khan and Richardson departed Calcutta on 7 February 1799, making it as far as Cape Town in South Africa where, in despair about conditions on their ship, they remained for some months awaiting the opportunity of a more congenial conveyance; they were well-received, and came within the social circle of Lady Anne Barnard.

[12][5] Abu Taleb found himself employment upon his return as an administrator in Bundelkhand, and devoted his time to writing an account of his travels, which he circulated in very limited numbers as Masir Talib fi Bilad Afranji, before his untimely death in 1805 or 1806.

[16] Abu Taleb's son, Mirza Hussein Ali, who entered into the company's service at Fort William College, assisted in the publication of the Persian language version, editions of which were published in 1812, 1827 and 1836.

[6] Mirza Abu Taleb Khan's known works include: Besides these, Elliot and Dowson assert that he was the author of 'several other treatises, a Biography of the Poets, ancient and modern, and', quoting the Zubdatu-l Gharaib of Muhammad Riza, '"himself indulged in versification, especially on the subject of the females of England, who aspire to equality with the Angels of Paradise, and he was always expatiating on the heart-ravishing strains of the women of that country, who used to sing at the public assemblies"'.