Anderson, James, 1758-1833 (Persian Interpretor, East India Company)
Dates
- Existence: 1758 - 1833
Biography
James Anderson (1757-1833) was a soldier and Persian interpreter for the East India Company. He and his brother, David Anderson (1750-1828), were close associates of Warren Hastings (1732-1818), the first British Governor-General of Bengal, Hasting’s inner circle being known for their interest in South Asian and Muslim culture and heritage. Born in Edinburgh, he studied at the University of Edinburgh matriculating in 1768 and graduating in 1774, taking courses in Greek, Rational, Moral, and Natural Philosophy, Rhetoric and Belles Letters. He also studied with James Robertson (Chair of Hebrew 1751-1792), participating in Robertson’s "Hebrew Language" classes that included the tuition of Arabic and Persian. In 1775 Anderson joined the East India Company Army, being promoted to Lieutenant in 1778. He acted as translator for an important peace treaty between the Marāthās and the EIC, negotiated between David Anderson and Madho Rao Pundit Purdhan at Scindia in 1782.
James Anderson worked together with Charles Hamilton (c.1752-92) on the translation of the Hedāyah, an important work of Hanafī jurisprudence by Burhān al-Dīn Marghīnānī (1135-1197 C.E.) that became central to the legal system operated by the British in South Asia. East India Company records show that by 1789 Anderson was on furlough in Europe, and that by 1791 he had been “Struck Off”. He later purchased Wilton Lodge near Hawick. In November of 1844 Adam Anderson, James’ nephew donated his late uncle’s manuscripts to the University Library. This included 57 items, the vast majority in Persian (several in Arabic). Poetry and historiography feature prominently among these works with medicine, Islamic Law, the Persian epics, and other topics also treated.
Found in 56 Collections and/or Records:
Or Ms 156: الجامع الصحيح al-Jāmi‘ al-ṣaḥīḥ, undated copy (original text composed 9th cent. C.E.)
A copy of the famous collection of ḥadīth (reports of teh sayings and deeds of Prophet Muḥammad) by Abū ‘Abd-Allāh Muḥammad b. Ismā‘īl al-Bukhārī, (d. 256 A.H., 869 C.E.).
Four frontispieces illuminated with gold.
Or Ms 158: الهداية في الفروع ‘al-Hidāyah fī al-furū, undated copy (original text composed 12th cent. C.E.)
An incomplete copy of a well-known work on Ḥanafī law by Shaykh Burhān al-Dīn ‘Alī b. Abī Bakr al-Marghīnānī (d. 593 A.H., 1197 C.E.).
Or Ms 159: جامع الرموز Jāmi‘ al-rumūz, undated copy (original text composed 16th cent. C.E.)
A complete commentary on the Wiqāyat al-Hidāyah of ‘Ubayd-Allāh b. Maḥmūd b. Maḥmūd al-Maḥbūbī, also known as "Ṣadr al-Sharī‘ah", who lived in the seventh century of the ḥijrah. The author of the commentary is Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad Khurāsānī Quhistānī, (d. circa 950 A.H., 1543 C.E.).
Or Ms 181: هدايهٔ فارسی (جلد دوم) Hidāyah-yi Fārsī (vol. ii), 1201 A.H., 1786 C.E.
Or Ms 182: هدايهٔ فارسی (جلد چهارم) Hidāyah-yi Fārsī (vol. iv), undated (Persian translation of a work originally composed in Arabic, 12th cent. C.E.)
Or Ms 184: هدايهٔ فارسی (جلد چهارم) Hidāyah-yi Fārsī (vol . iv), undated (Persian translation of a work originally composed in Arabic, 12th cent. C.E.)
Or Ms 193: فتوح ابن اعثم Futūḥ-i Ibn A‘s̱am, 1168 A.H., 1755 C.E.
Or Ms 195: ظفرنامه Ẓafar-nāmah, 1076 A.H., 1665 C.E.
Or Ms 204: تاريخ فيروزشاهی Tārīkh-i Fīrūzshāhī, 1074 A.H., 1663 C.E.
A history of the life and reign of Fīrūz-Shāh., Sulṭān of Dehlī (r. 752-790 A.H., 1351-1388 C.E.).
Or Ms 212: توزک جهانگيری Tūzuk-i Jahāngīrī, undated (original text compiled 16th-17th cent. C.E.)
The memoirs of the Mughal Emperor Nūr-al-Dīn Muḥammad Jahāngīr (d.1037 A.H.,1627 C.E.), considered to be spurious, and containing an account of the transactions of the first thirteen years of his reign (1014-1027 A.H., 1605-1617 C.E.).