ABSTRACT
Mirza Lutfullah, entitled Nusratullah Khan, who died in AH 11591/ AD 1746-7 was a man of letters, described as being ‘of the people of the pen and the sword’ (Ahl-e-qalam-o-saif ). His ancestors had come from Iran during the time of Shah Jahan and settled in Delhi where they were court officials. Lutfullah was born in Delhi and for this reason he has been called Nisar Dehlavi. Lutfullah joined the court of Rafiush-Shah, son of Bahadur Shah I after whose death in 1712 he served at the court of the Emperor Farrukhsiyar (r. 1713-19). He held the important position of Qurchi Beg (Keeper of the Arsenal) under Muhammad Shah (r. 1719-48) where his patron was Motman-ud-Daula Mohammad Ishaq Khan Bahadur.2
