Chapter NIRVÁNA to NOKAR of N by The Hobson Jobson Dictionary

ourt of the Bahmani king of the Deccan, who had been originally a Brahman and a slave. His son Ahmed set up a dynasty at Ahmednagar (A.D. 1490), which lasted for more than a century. The sovereigns of this dynasty were originally called by the Portuguese Nizamaluco. Their own title was Nizam Shah, and this also occurs as Nizamoxa. [Linschoten’s etymology given below is an incorrect guess.]

1521.—“Meanwhile (the Governor Diego Lopes de Sequeira) … sent Fernãao Camello as ambassador to the Nizamaluco, Lord of the lands of Choul, with the object of making a fort at that place, and arranging for an expedition against the King of Cambaya, which the Governor thought the Nizamaluco would gladly join in, because he was in a quarrel with that King. To this he made the reply that I shall relate hereafter.”—Correa, ii. 623.

c. 1539.—“Trelado do Contrato que o Viso Rey Dom Garcia de Noronha fez com hu Niza Muxaa, que d’antes se chamava Hu Niza Maluquo.”—Tombo, in Subsidios, 115.

1543.—“Izam maluco.” See under COTAMALUCO.

1553.—“This city of Chaul…is in population and greatness of trade one of the chief ports of that coast ; it was subject to the Nizamaluco, one of the twelve Captains of the Kingdom of Decan (which we corruptly call Daquem).…The Nizamaluco being a man of great estate, although he possessed this maritime city, and other ports of great revenue, generally in order to be closer to the Kingdom of the Decan, held his residence in the interior in other cities of his dominion ; instructing his governors in the coast districts to aid our fleets in all ways and content their captains, and this was not merely out of dread of them, but with a view to the great revenue that he had from ships of Malabar.…”—Barros, II. ii. 7.

1563.—“…This King of Dely conquered the Decam (see DECCAN) and the Cuncam (see CONCAM) ; and retained the dominion a while ; but he could not rule territory at so great a distance, and so placed in it a nephew crowned as king. This king was a great favourer of foreign people, such as Turks, Rumis, Coraçonis, and Arabs, and he divided his kingdom into captaincies, bestowing upon Adelham (whom we call Idalcam—see IDALCAN) the coast from Angediva to Cifardam…and to Nizamoluco the coast from Cifardam to Negotana.…”—Garcia, f. 34v.

„ “R. Let us mount and ride in the country ; and by the way you shall tell me who is meant by Nizamoxa, as you often use that term to me.

“O. At once I tell you he is a king in the Balaghat (see BALAGHAUT) (Bagalate for Balagate), whose father I have often attended, and sometimes also the son.…”—Ibid. f. 33v.

[1594–5.—“Nizám-ul-Mulkhiya.” See under IDALCAN.

[1598.—“Maluco is a Kingdome, and Nisa a Lance or Speare, so that Nisa Maluco is as much as to say as the Lance or Speare of the Kingdom.”—Linschoten, Hak. Soc. i. 172. As if Neza-ul-mulk, ‘spear of the kingdom.’]

NOKAR, s. A servant, either domestic, military, or civil, also pl. Nokar-logue, ‘the servants.’ Hind. naukar, from Pers. and naukar-log. Also naukar-chakar, ‘the servants,’ one of those jingling double-barrelled phrases in which Orientals delight even more than Englishmen (see LOOTY). As regards Englishmen, compare hugger-mugger, hurdy-gurdy, tip - top, highty - tighty, higgledy - piggledy, hocus - pocus, tit for tat, topsy-turvy, harum-scarum, roly-poly, fiddle-faddle, rump and stump, slip-slop. In this case chakar (see CHACKUR) is also Persian. Naukar would seem to be a Mongol word introduced into Persia by the hosts of Chinghiz. According to I. J. Schmidt, Forschungen im Gebiete der Volker Mittel Asiens, p. 96, nükur is in Mongol, ‘a comrade, dependent, or friend.’

c. 1407.—“L’Emir Khodaidad fit partir avec ce député son serviteur (naukar) et celui de Mirza Djihanghir. Ces trois personnages joignent la cour auguste.…”—Abdurrazzak, in Notices et Extraits, XIV. i. 146.

c. 1660.—“Mahmúd Sultán…understood accounts, and could reckon very well by memory the sums which he had to receive from his subjects, and those which he had to pay to his ‘naukars’ (apparently armed followers).”—Abulghazi, by Desmaisons, 271.

[1810.—“Noker.” See under CHACKUR.

[1834.—“Its (Balkh) present population does not amount to 2000 souls ; who are chiefly…the remnant of the Kara Noukur, a description of the militia established here by the Afgans.”—Burnes, Travels into Bokhara, i. 238.]

1840.—“Noker, ‘the servant’ ; this title was borne by Tuli the fourth son of Chenghiz Khan, because he was charged with the details of the army and the administration.”—Hammer, Golden Horde, 460.