The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India: A History of the Establishment and Progress of the Turkish Sultanate of Delhi, 1206–1290 A.D. c5.22.4

c5.22.4

It has been considered to rank among the best general histories of the East, but its usefulness for the history of India is confined to its brief though generally accurate account of the Ghaznawides, Shansabanis and the sultans of Delhi. Except for the Ghorides, for whom it supplies some interesting details, the value of the work, so far as facts and dates are concerned, is merely corroborative. Of later histories written outside India, mention may be made of the *Mujmal-i-Fasihi*, a chronological compendiem of prominent events composed about the middle of the 15th century by Fasihuddin Ahmad b. Muhammad Fasihi al-Khafi, the *Rauzatus-Safa* of Mir Khvand completed in 1498, the *Habibus-Siyar* and the *Khulasatul-Akhbar* of his grandson, Khwand Amir,—compiled in 1528. Mention should also be made of the *Tarikh-i-Alfi*, compiled by a board of editors under the direction of Akbar and brought down to 1632, the thousandth year from the death of the Prophet. The authors took great pain in utilising all available sources with care and discretion. The sultans of Delhi, however, find only casual mention, for the work is mainly concerned with the history of Central Asia and is arranged in a strictly chronological order.