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History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c26.s1: Contemporary Sources

History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c26.s1

Language
English

Contents

Contemporary Sources

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*Ziyāuddīn Baranī*:—Of the contemporary historical works of our period the greatest value is attached to Maulānā Ziyāuddīn Baranī's *Tarīkh-i-Fīroz Shāhī*. It was completed in 1359, about forty years after the death of Mubārak Khaljī. Born in 1285 Baranī was about five years when Jalāluddīn ascended the throne and thirty-five when Mubārak Khaljī died. Thus he was an eye witness to the events of the reigns of all the Khaljī sultans, especially of 'Alāuddīn and Mubārak in whose time he had quite passed the age of adolescence. Baranī received his education at Delhi where great scholars and teachers flocked from all parts of Asia, and his *Tarīkh* bears the imprint of his great scholarship. In a lengthy introduction to his book Ziyāuddīn dilates upon the uses of history, its method of writing, its place in man's education. He considers the study of history in no way less important than the study of *Hadīs*, Fiqah and hagiological literature.¹ Like Bacon he thought history made men wise and they learnt from the experience of the past. A historian, says he, should be truthful, honest and fearless. If for one reason or another he was unable to write the facts openly, he should try to convey his ideas through implications and suggestions.² On more than one occasion he asserts that whatever he wrote was all true,³ but that is exaggerated self-estimation. Ziyāuddin died at a ripe age after experiencing both the "bitter and sweet" of life. Born and brought up in rich surroundings and patronized by sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq, Barani's last days were miserable; he died poverty-stricken and destitute.

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¹ Barani p. 9.

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² Barani pp. 13-16.

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³ Eg. p. 237.

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Ziyāuddin catches the thread of narrative dropped by Minhāj Sirāj. The *Tarikh-i-Firoz Shāhi* begins with the history of the reign of Balban and ends with the first six years of Firoz Tughluq's reign. Comparatively studied, the reign of the Khaljis is more systematically treated than that of the Tughluqs. In the narrative of the Khaljis chronological sequence of the events is maintained fairly accurately although the chronology is far from satisfactory.

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His father M'uyīdulmulk's and his uncle 'Alāulmulk's official positions under the Khaljis, as also his associations with Amir Khusrau, 'Alā Hasan Sajzi and other state officials, had given Barani ample opportunities to collect and ascertain historical facts. He very often refers to his sources of information, naming Khvājā Zaki, nephew of Hasan Başri and a Vazir of Balban, Malik Qira Beg, Amir Khusrau and Amir Hasan.⁴ He also studied the Divāns of Khusrau whom he quotes at various places.⁵ But surely he wrote his history from time to time and not all at once, and he did not fully utilize the contemporary works in the preparation of his *Tarīkh*. Had he improved upon the drafts of his book after consulting Khusrau's *Miftāhul Futūh*, *Khazāinul Futūh* and *Deval Rani*, and Kabīruddīn's *Fatehnāmah*, he would surely have given more information about 'Alāūddīn's wars in Chittor, Ranthambhor, Malwa and the Deccan. He does not refer to the Deval Rani episode at all and his account of the Deccan campaigns of Malik Kāfūr is extremely poor. Moreover, once he starts writing about the Deccan, he neglects the north altogether. For example, he furnishes little information about events in northern India from 1308 to 1313 particularly about the wars in Jalor and Sevana. It must, however, be observed that Ziyā finished his work at the advanced age of seventy-four when he was in a miserable plight. His pecuniary embarrassments had made him bitter and disappointed. And so he was more prone to pour forth the agonies of his soul, than to sit and improve upon his notes after comparing them with the works of Amīr Khusrau and other contemporary writers. Hence the *Tarīkh-i-Fīroz Shāhī* at times betrays symptoms of a number of jottings carelessly pieced together.

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⁴ Barani pp. 67, 114, 299.

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⁵ Ibid. pp. 118, 370.

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Except in the preface, which is written in a highly florid language, the historian adheres to a simple, clear and lucid style. His narrative, far from exhibiting the highly ornamental style then in fashion, seems to be a painful translation from the spoken Hindustani into Persian. Ziyāuddīn uses Hindi words like *badla*, *bhatti*, *chākar*, *charai*, *chautra*, *chouki*, *chappar*, *dholak*, *mandi*, *morha*, *mathāha* (earthen jugs), *pondā* (sugar cane), *palak* (eye lids) etc., frequently in the course of his narrative. At places his language is so broken as to make out little sense. Moreover, he is prone to making contradictory statements. Being a chronicler of contemporary events he saw the various aspects of a certain thing and mentions them all unsynthetically. At some some places he extols 'Alāuddīn, at others dubs him a Pharaoh, and on a study of his *Tarīkh* it is difficult to say whether 'Alāuddīn was a benefactor or a tyrant. Anyway, the historian possessed a facile pen and writes in a clear and unostentatious way.

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Baranī has his own peculiar way of describing events and he takes pains to make them credible. This is shown in 'Alāuddīn's conversation with Qāzī Mughīsuddīn of Bayana, and Qutbuddīn's attachment to his favourite Vazīr Khusrau Khan. On the occasion of Qāzī Mughīs's talk with 'Alāuddīn there was no third person present, but the historian writes every word that passed between the Qāzī and the sultān. In such cases Baranī finds a welcome opportunity to put his own ideas in the mouth of others. At another place he so graphically describes the eventful night of Qutbuddīn's murder; that it gives the impression that he was peeping through a crevice into the apartment where Qutbuddīn and his favourite Vazīr Khusrau Khan were sleeping together.⁶ These vivid descriptions do grip popular imagination but cannot satisfy a craving for historical veracity.

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⁶ Baranī pp. 405-6.

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Ziyāuddīn's sarcasm is incisive. Occasionally his sardonic humour helps him to sum up his ideas in a few words. His remark that in 'Alāuddīn's days "a camel could be had for a *dang*, but whereform a *dang*",⁷ shows at once how the reforms of 'Alāuddīn had made articles cheap and people poor. Again, the stern attitude of 'Alāuddīn towards the revenue officials, according to our historian, made them so unpopular that service in the revenue department was considered worse than "plague", that nobody "gave his daughter in marriage to a revenue clerk" and that "the office of superintendent was accepted by one who had no regard for life."⁸ The sad plight of the agriculturists had reached such dimensions that the peasants "sold their wives and children" to remit the land revenue⁹ while the wives of rich *zamīndārs* (*Khūts* and *Muqaddams*) worked in the houses of Musalmans and received wages. And the *bazar* people, to our historian, are the worst of all the "seventy-two" classes of people (that inhabit the globe).¹⁰

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⁷ *Ibid.* p. 312.

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⁸ *Ibid.* p. 289.

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⁹ Barani p. 340.

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¹⁰ *Ibid.* p. 343.

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Like all human beings, Barani has his likes and dislikes. He does not feel interested in the description of battles, tactics used in a particular engagement, and such other points of military strategy. Whenever he has to give such a description he invariably has recourse to brevity. He does, however, pause to praise an act, a character or a motive. When he praises somebody he extols him to heaven, when he condemns, he writes with his pen dipped in acid. Nonetheless his character sketches are excellently done. He is a philosopher-cum-historian and not an accurate historian always. His memory is prodigious.

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*Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi* has greatly suffered at the hands of its transcriptors. Certain passages of the book are altogether incomprehensible. It is possible that at some places Barani could not dare write true facts with impunity just as in the passage about the death of Ghiyās̤uddīn Tughlaq, but at other places where he could never be suspected of suppressing truth, as for example in the description of the salary of soldiers in the time of 'Alāuddīn,¹¹ or the increase of land revenue by Muhammad Tughlaq, the fault probably lay with later copyists.

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¹¹ *Ibid.* p. 303.

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But a few shortcomings cannot mar the extra-ordinary value of Barani's *Tarikh*. He does not only write about courts or campaigns as most of the medieval chroniclers do, but also gives social and economic reforms of rulers, their administrative measures and their system of meeting out justice. He gives a long list of contemporary saints, philosophers, historians, poets, medical men and astronomers. His references to clothes, fruits and sweets and other sundry articles of those days throw a flood of light on the socio-economic conditions of the 14th century. Barani's descriptions of the Market Control of 'Alāūddīn and the sultan's revenue regulations, clearly show that he is not a mere chronicler but a historian in the true sense of the word. Barani knew the shortcomings of his contemporaries and says that Kabīruddīn and other historians confine their narrative to kings, courts and conquests. He begins his book with a long discourse on historiography and the uses of historical study.¹² He talks at length about the duties of a king.¹³ As a historian he tries to analyse critically the causes which brought about the end of Jalāluddīn, of 'Alāūddīn and of the Khaljī regime as a whole. Ziyāuddīn was cognizant of his contribution to historical literature and declares, without diffidence, that for the past thousand years a book like the *Tarīkh-i-Fīroz Shāhī* had not been produced.¹⁴

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¹² Baranī pp. 10-12.

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¹³ *Ibid.* pp. 41-44.

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¹⁴ *Ibid.* pp. 123-24.

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Barani's work is undoubtedly very valuable. Later historians have greatly depended upon him for information as well as inspiration. Nizāmuddīn Ahmad, Badaonī, Ferishtah, Hājiuddabīr—almost all important historians of the 16th and 17th centuries have depended upon Baranī for their account of the history of the period covered by him. Nizāmuddīn especially quotes him very often; at some places he almost copies out Baranī and at others tries to solve the knotty problems left by him. Thus he tries to explain the origin of the Khaljīs about which Baranī says nothing except that they were not "Turks." Ferishtah also tries to analyse the passage in which Baranī describes the salaries of soldiers fixed by 'Alāūddīn. Hājīuddabīr throws fresh light on some vexed questions not properly explained by Baranī, such as the age of 'Alāūddīn and the causes underlying the constant quarrels between 'Alāūddīn and Jalāluddīn's family. Abdul Haqq Dehlvī, the author of *Akhbārul Akhyār*, almost entirely depends upon Baranī for the biographical sketches of Nizāmuddin Aulia and other saints of the period.

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Besides the *Tarikh*, Ziyāuddīn is accredited with the authorship of many other works like *Salvāt-i-Kabīr*, *Sanā-i-Muḥmmadī*, *Ḥasratnāmah*, *Ināyatnāmah*, *Ma'asir-i-S'ādāt* and a history of the Barmakides. Another work of his known as the *Fatvā-i-Jahāndārī* seems to be nothing more than a supplement to the *Tarikh-i-Fīroz Shahi* and contains a sort of moral code the clerical historian would like a Muslim monarch to follow. The most important book of Baranī, however, remains his *Tarikh* which is an everlasting epitome of his erudition and scholarship.

Amīr Khusrau

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Abul Hasan, popularly known by his pseudonym of Amīr Khusrau, is another contemporary authority of our period. Born in 651 H. (1252 A.D.) he witnessed the reigns of Balban, Jalāluddīn, 'Alāūddīn, and Muḥammad bin Tughlaq. Most of his works were written in the time of 'Alāūddīn and the latter's son Mubarak Khaljī. His great merit as a poet and philosopher cannot here be studied in detail for lack of space. *Qirānus S'ādain*, *Miftāhul Futūh*, *Ashiqa*, *Nūh Sipehr* and *Tughlaqnāmah* are his historical *masnavis*. *Qirānus S'ādain* deals with the memorable meeting between Bughra Khan and his son Kaiqubad. In the course of this work Khusrau malignantly portrays the features of the Mongols in whose galling captivity he once fell. *Miftāhul Futūh* which comprises a part of the *Divān Ghurattul Kamal* (C. 690 H.) enumerates the victories of Jalāluddīn Khaljī. Some portions of this book have been translated by Elliot in volume III of his history. *Ashiqa* or *Ishqia* was completed by the poet in 715 H. and it deals with the love adventures and marriage of Khizr Khan and Deval Rani. Khusrau begins the *masnavi* with a short history of the military exploits of ‘Alāūddīn and his predeces- sors and gives a glimpse into the uncertain times which preced- ed and followed ‘Alāūddīn's death. The poem ends with the description of Khizr Khan's numerous hardships and his sad death. *Nuh Sipehr* or the “Nine Spheres” was completed in Jamādiul Avval 718 H. when the poet reached a ripe age of sixty seven. The *masnavi* deals with the victories of Mubarak Shah, but in the third sphere the author gives detailed re- ferences about Indian climate, fruits, languages, philosophy, witchcraft etc. Consequently he gives a very interest- ing as well as authentic sketch of the social conditions of those times. The last *masnavi*—the *Tughlaqnāmah*—was written about the last years of Khusrau. It deals with Ghayāsuddīn Tughlaq's victory over Khusrau Shah, and a few other events about the early years of Tughlaq's reign. It also describes at length the sad plight of the various sons and descendants of ‘Alāūddīn who were mercilessly massacred by Khusrau Shah.

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*Khazāinul Futūh*, or the “Treasure of Victories”, com- prises a detailed account of the victories of sultan ‘Alāūddīn in the Deccan. It is a prose work and is written in an in- flated and verbose style. Since Khusrau wrote it for the reign- ing emperor, it forms almost an official account of the exploits of Malik Kāfūr in the south. It describes events from ‘Alā- ūddīn's accession in 695 upto the date of its composition (711 H). The historical importance of this work can hardly be exaggerated as technically it is the only contemporary history of ‘Alāūddīn's reign, for even Barani wrote long after the death of the king. Besides the Deccan campaigns which are dealt exhaustively, Khusrau also describes in this work the buildings constructed by ‘Alāūddīn, his conquests of Gujarat, Chittor, Malwa and Sevana as well as his administrative measures. From its numerous topographical details, it appears that the author was an eye-witness to at least some of the scenes described in the course of the Deccan campaigns. According to Badaoni he had accompanied Kāfūr to the South. The Allahabad University Library has a manuscript copy of the *Khazāinul Futūḥ*. The work has been translated by Professor Habīb who supplements it with learned notes.

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Mention may also be made of Khusrau's *A'ijāz-i-Khusravi*, *Afzalul Favaid* and *Rāhatul Muhabbin*, all being works of his later years. *A'ijāz-i-Khusravi* is a voluminous work on epistography and deals with various subjects of common interest; and the last two books are collections of the author's conversations with his *pīr* Shaikh Niẓāmuddin Aulia. All these books throw a flood of light on the social history of the period. The other *masnavis* of Khusrau like the *Mutlai Anvār* also supply information on social and cultural conditions of those days.

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Khusrau's works are of great historical authenticity. He was a government officer and courtier and, therefore, had access to government records and such persons from whom he could gather correct information about affairs of the state. 'Alā Hasan Sajzi and Ziyāuddin Barani were his intimate acquaintances and his association with them formed another authentic source of ascertaining facts of his own days. The one great merit in Khusrau's works is the abundance of dates which are on the whole reliable; and in matters of chronological details he is more to be trusted than Barani. Khusrau's tastes as well as his activities covered various channels, and, therefore, he was not as good a historian as Barani was, but generally he wrote truthfully and honestly. In *Miftahul Futūḥ* he writes that some times he was tempted to add falsehoods, but he always adhered to truth for "truth is an admirable thing”.¹⁵ Indeed Khusrau's works shorn of their grandiloquence, verbosity and poetical exaggerations give a true picture of political and social history of the times in which he lived.

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¹⁵ Wahid Mirza : *Life and Works of Amir Khusrau* p. 177.

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*Sources almost Contemporary.*

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*‘Iṣāmī :*—Of the sources nearly contemporary, the most valuable work is the *Futuhus Salātin*. It was the outcome of the broken heart of an unknown poet Khvājā ‘Abdulla Malik ‘Iṣāmī. ‘Iṣāmī was born in about 1311 A.D.; his ancestor Fakhr Malik ‘Iṣāmī had come to India from Baghdad in the time of Iltutmish. Since then his family had served under the various sultans of Delhi, so that ‘Iṣāmī’s grandfather A‘izzuddin was the Chief Huntsman (*Sar-i-Lashkar*) of Balban. In 1327 when the author was sixteen years of age he was compelled to go to Daulatabad where the capital of the empire had been shifted by Muḥammad bin Tughlaq. He lived there till he was forty but he could never reconcile himself to the change. He determined to leave Hindustan for Mecca, but “the last infirmity of the noble mind” impelled him to leave something permanent behind. He was unmarried and childless, and thought that the best thing he could leave was a poetical composition of historical interest. Consequently he wrote the *Futūhus Salātin*, or the Victories of the Kings (of India). It was begun on the 10th December 1349 and finished on the 14th May 1350 after an incessant labour of a little less than six months.

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This book written seven or eight years before Barani’s *Tarikh-i-Firoz Shāhī* comprises an account of the events from the times of Mahmud of Ghazna to those of Muḥammad bin Tughlaq. Although the author wrote in a hurry, his work suffers neither from historical inaccuracies nor in poetical merit. His style is simple and lucid, and the epic is written in a short and swift verse. 'Iṣāmī neither indulges in the rhetoric of Khusrau nor in the abstruseness of Badr Chach. According to the editor of the work 'Iṣāmī may be called the best epic writer of the age.¹⁶ The poet does not cite his authorities, but his narrative clearly shows that he surely used works of historical authenticity and wrote with admirable discretion. So far as the reign of 'Alāuddīn is concerned he seems to have consulted people who had been eye witnesses to his reign. At more than one place he says that he listened to the accounts of various old and experienced persons whose names he does not mention.¹⁷ Besides this he also consulted many authoritative documents. His account of 'Alāuddīn's Deccan expedition of 1296, gives the most detailed information about that event. Since his book was written at Devagiri itself where eye witnesses to the raid must be living at that time, 'Iṣāmī was in a better position to know about the details of that particular event than even Baranī and Khusrau. In the descriptions of the loves of Deval Ranī and Khiẓr Khān 'Iṣāmī seems to have depended entirely on the '*Ashīqā* of Amīr Khusrau. 'Iṣāmī's account of their love-adventures is only an abridgement of Khusrau's description. *Futūhus Salātīn* is tolerably correct in chronology, and the poet has very carefully preserved the sequence of events. 'Iṣāmī supports and supplements Baranī at many places. With regard to Mughal invasions especially, he gives many new facts and his account of those invasions is perhaps the most detailed. As the title denotes, the subject matter of 'Iṣāmī's work does not deal with any other aspect of government except wars and victories. The administrative and economic reforms of 'Alā-ūddīn, given in so prominent details by Baranī, have not been touched upon by 'Iṣāmī, who at places makes only a casual reference to them. But his vivid description of battles and sieges makes his book a source of great historical value. 'Iṣāmī describes at length 'Alāuddīn's siege of Ranthambhor and throws fresh light on the emperor's various engagements with the Mughals.

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¹⁶ *Futūh*, English preface p. 4.

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¹⁷ E.g. he says, p. 340, شنیدم زافسانه گوئے کهن - که از زیر کی کرد گوے سخن - p. 341, - شنیدم ز پیران دیرینه سال p. 199, - شنیدم زافسانه سنجان پاک

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'Iṣāmī, however, could not rise above the prejudices of his age. His book is at places full of exaggerations and is marred by personal malice. Since he had to suffer great hardships on account of Muḥammad bin Tughlaq's transfer of the capital, he denounces that king mercilessly. He compares Muḥammad bin Tughlaq with 'Alāūddīn and while extolling and crediting 'Alāūddīn with great qualities he severely disparages Muḥammad.

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Although they were contemporaries, yet, perhaps 'Iṣāmī never met Baranī, and both were ignorant of each other. Baranī does not mention 'Iṣāmī anywhere in his narrative, but that is not surprising since Baranī seldom cites anybody's authority. Nizāmuddīn Aḥmad and Ferishtah make mention of *Futūḥus Salātīn*; and as has been shown above, the book possesses great historical value, and cannot be dubbed as an unimportant book of historical romances as Briggs is prone to do.¹⁸

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¹⁸ Briggs: Ferishtah Vol. I p. 406.

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The itinerary of Ibn Battūṭah (1304—1378) also is of great historical importance for the history of our period. Abu 'Abdullah surnamed Muḥammad Ibn Battūṭah was a native of Tangiers, Egypt. Since early childhood he had a passion for voyage and from 1325 to 1349, for full twenty-five years, he travelled in north Africa, Arabia, Persia and India and is said to have gone as far east as China itself. Ibn Battūṭah arrived in India in 1333 A.D. and for his learning and foreign lineage he was appointed Qazī of Delhi by the reigning monarch Mohammad bin Tughlaq. Ibn Battūṭah was known as Maulana Badruddin in India and received every consideration at the hands of the sultan, but after remaining in his office for about eight years he was removed from it as he had incurred the displeasure of the sovereign. He was imprisoned, but later on released and sent as an ambassador to China. On his way to that country he was shipwrecked, and fearing the wrath of the sultan, stayed in the Maldive Islands. After a year he came back to southern India, and not long after he went to Chittagong from where he took boat for China. It is not known for certain if he ever reached there. The indefatigable traveller performed Hajj at Mecca and then returned to Morocco where he settled down permanently.

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This widely travelled man possessed an observing eye and a keen intellect. His interest in men and things was so great that he jotted down everything that interested him during his travels. Unfortunatelly his original notes were lost on one of his journeys and the account of his travels which is available to us is only an abridgement of the dictation of his experiences to Ibn Juzzi who edited them in form of a book. The work is known as *Tuhfatul Nazzār fī Ghar-rāibul Amṣār va ‘Ajāibul Asfār*.

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Ibn Battūṭah arrived in India seventeen years after ‘Alāuddīn’s death, when many people of the latter’s reign would surely be living. His account of ‘Alāuddīn, therefore, was probably based on information derived from eye witnesses of the period. Battūṭah gives a short history of the sultans of Delhi prior to Muḥammad bin Tughlaq; and his narrative when compared to those of contemporary writers leaves no doubt that he was truthful. His account is a valuable store-house of information on political and social institutions of those days. He gives a faithful account of sultan Muḥammad’s court and of the manners, customs, habits and institutions of the people at large. Battūṭah is an independent writer and is more reliable than the historians who cared for the favour or frown of the emperors. The traveller corroborates Barani at some places and at others he supplements him. But his narrative has its shortcomings also. He was a foreigner. He did not know Persian well and he was altogether ignorant of Hindi. Not unoften he lent a credulous ear to rumour and gossip and frequently mixes up fiction with fact. He cares little about the chronological sequence of events and so also about topographical accuracy. In spite of these defects Ibn Battūṭah's *Risala* forms an invaluable source of Indian history of the 14th century.

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I have used the French Edition of Ibn Battūṭah's voyages by C. Defrémery and B. R. Sanguinetti. The portions dealing with India have also been translated by Khan Saheb Maulvi Muhammad Husain, who supplements his translation with valuable footnotes.

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Equal in importance to Ibn Battūṭah is the Venatian traveller Marco Polo, who visited south India about the end of the thirteenth century. It is really unfortunate that Marco did not visit north India, and his account deals only with the Deccan. He speaks very highly of queen Rudramba of Warangal and gives interesting details about the kings of M'abar. His account of horse trade in south India tallies with that of Vassāf even to details. Marco Polo visited almost all the then existing ports of India and talks about the brisk maritime activity in the south. He describes in detail the manners and habits of the people of the Deccan and forms a very valuable source of social history. Col. Yule has edited the "Travels of Marco Polo" supplementing them with learned footnotes.

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*Masālikul Abṣār fi Mumālikul Amṣār* is another work like the two cited above. Its only shortcoming is that its author Shihābuddin Ahmad also known as Al Marashi (1297—1348), a native of Damascus, did not himself visit India. His account of this country is based only on what he heard from trustworthy persons like Shaikh Mubarak and Khojandi. But on the whole his information is quite trustworthy and is corroborated by other contemporary writers. The *Masālik* throws much light on the social and economic life of the country as well as on the machinery of government of Hindustan. It has been published in the Aligarh University Magazine. Translations of relevent portions of the book have also been given in Elliot Vol. III. There is also a rotograph copy of a Ms. of the work in the Allahabad University Library.

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On the basis of the *Masālik* an Arab geographer Alqal Qāshindi has written an account of the social conditions of India in his work *Subh-ul-A‘sha*. Dr. Otto Spies has translated into English the portions of the book dealing with India. Alqal Qāshindi has nothing new to say and copiously copies from the *Masālik*, at times verbatim.

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Besides these works which are very valuable for giving information on social and economic life of the country, there are books on political history written a few years before and after the Khaljī period. Minhāj Sirāj’s *Tabqāt-i-Nāṣirī* deals with the period between the Muslim conquest of India and the reign of Balban. The most important portions of this book for our period are those dealing with the Mughals. Major Raverty, who has translated the work, has given very copious and learned footnotes. The book forms an authentic and indispensable history for pre-Khaljī period.

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Shams Sirāj ‘Afīf’s *Tarīkh-i-Fīrōz Shāhī* is a continuation of Baranī’s *Tarīkh* and is carried down to 1388 A.D. It occasionally refers to ‘Alāuddīn’s reign which was of great significance in the 14th century. ‘Afīf was born in 1350 A.D. and served under Fīroz Tughlaq.

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*Non-Indian Contemporary Sources.*

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Among the non-Indian contemporary sources the most important is the *Tarīkh-i-Vaṣṣāf*. It was finished in 1312 A.D. by ‘Abdullah bin Fazlullah Vaṣṣāf, who subsequently resumed writing and brought down the work to 1328. Vaṣṣāf's *Tārīkh* is written in Persian transpersed with Arabic at places, and his style is extremely ornamented and verbose. It is a history of the Mongols of Persia, but the author refers to happenings in India as he heard from travellers and other informed men. He refers to the climate of Gujarat and the political and commercial conditions of the Deccan. He makes mention about the Mongol raids on India in the time of 'Alā-uddīn and gives a graphic account of the closing years of that monarch. No other historian except Vaṣṣāf says anything about the Persian embassy to 'Alāuddīn's court. The Bombay edition of the text has been used.

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*Jāmi'-ut-Tawārīkh* of Rashīduddīn is another non-Indian contemporary work. The book which was completed in 1310 A.D. gives a reliable account of the Mongols of the 13th century. Rashīd also lends information about Indian geography. I have consulted Gibb Memorial and the Tehran texts.

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The *Tarīkh-i-Guzīdah* completed in 1329 A.D. by Ḥamdullāh Mustaufī is a valuable work and deals with the Mongols of Persia and Transoxiana. Mustaufī's *Nuzhatul Qulūb* written in 1339 deals with the history of Persia. *Tarīkh-i-Guzīdah* has been published in the Gibb Memorial Text Series.

Cites (6)