The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India: A History of the Establishment and Progress of the Turkish Sultanate of Delhi, 1206–1290 A.D. c5.23.4

c5.23.4

His work can hardly be called a chronicle in the real sense of the term for facts which, in themselves, are scanty in a work of 600 pages and covering a period of nearly hundred years, are not objectively narrated as in the *Tabaqat-i-Nasiri*. They are presented in a manner designed to suit the particular character in which he wants to reveal the eight sultans treated in the book. The account of Balban's reign, for example, is not a faithful chronicle of events but a character-study in which he is made to appear more as a doctrinaire than as a practical statesman. This method of treating history is illustrated by another of his work, namely *Fatawah-i-Jahandari* written early in the 14th century in which he preaches his own views about the governmental policy and which are identical with those which Balban is reported to have held. Barani was, however, a deligent recorder of administrative details. Having held offices in the government, possibly in the revenue department, he shows an interest in agrarian affairs though his remarks are sometimes ambiguous and disappointingly scrappy.