Ahmad Ghaffari Qazvini

Ahmad Ghaffari Qazvini (Persian: احمد غفاری قزوینی: died 1568) was a scribe and historian in Safavid Iran, who composed two Persian universal histories, the Nosakh-e jahan-ara and Tarikh-e negarestan.^[1]

Ahmad Ghaffari Qazvini
The right side of a double-page illuminated frontispiece in the Tarikh-e negarestan, showing the name of Ahmad Ghaffari Qazvini
Born	Qazvin, Iran
Died	1568 Debal
Occupation	Scribe and historian
Language	Persian
Notable works	Nosakh-e jahan-ara Tarikh-e negarestan
Relatives	Mohammad Ghaffari (father) Abd-al-Ghaffar (paternal grandfather)

A native of Qazvin, Ahmad Ghaffari belonged to a distinguished lineage, known for their roles as scholars and officials. His family was descended from Najm al-Din al-Qazwini al-Katibi (died 1266), a prominent scholar of the Shafi'i school in Sunni Islam. Ahmad Ghaffari's paternal grandfather Abd-al-Ghaffar served as the army judge (qazi-e mo'askar) under the Aq Qoyunlu. Ahmad Ghaffari's father Mohammad Ghaffari (died 1525) held the office of chief judge of Ray during the reign of Shah Ismail I (r. 1501–1524), and was also a cousin of Qazi Isa Savaji (died 1491), a distinguished vizier of the Aq Qoyunlu.^[1]

Ahmad Ghaffari began his career under Shah Tahmasp I as a court scribe but soon found himself working for the latters younger brother Sam Mirza. In 1552, Ahmad Ghaffari composed the Tarikh-e negarestan and dedicated it to Shah Tahmasp I.^[1] In 1563/64, he composed the Nosakh-e jahan-ara, which was also dedicated to Shah Tahmasp I.^[2] Ahmad Ghaffari traveled to the Hijaz on a pilgrimage later in Shah Tahmasp I's reign. He traveled to Mughal India in 1568 from the Hijaz, but died in Debal, a port city in the Sindh region near present-day Karachi in Pakistan.^[1]