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History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c26.s3: Secondary Sources

History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c26.s3

Language
English

Secondary Sources

c26.s3.1

In the course of writing this book a large number of non-contemporary Persian and Arabic texts and manuscripts have been consulted and a few of these need special attention. The *Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi* of Yāhya bin Ahmad, written about the middle of the 15th century (837 H.), supplements Barani at many places though it is in itself a very brief narrative. Its value lies in the fact that it gives dates of events frequently and is written in a simple style. I have used the Bib. Ind. Text and a Ms. copy possessed by the Allahabad University Library.

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*Tarikh-i-Muhammadi* was completed in 842 H. by Muhammad Bihāmad Khan who was a contemporary of Yahya. The author's father was in the service of Tughlaq Shah and Muhammad Tughlaq, the son of Firoz Tughlaq. The Allahabad University Ms. is a copy of the Ms. of the British Museum.

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*Tabqāt-i-Akbari* of Nizāmuddīn Ahmad written in 1593 A.D. in the time of Akbar also contains an exhaustive account of the Khaljis. Nizāmuddīn Ahmad has borrowed much from Barani and tries to explain the origin of the Khaljis. He mentions twenty seven works which he utilized in the preparation of his book. I have utilized Bid. Ind. Text.

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Amin Ahmad Razi, the author of *Haft Aqlim*, was a contemporary of Nizamuddin. He is an independent writer and gives valuable information about certain points e.g. about the origin of the Bahmani dynasty. *Haft Aqlim* is a sort of encyclopaedia and deals with political history, geography and lives of saints. The Ms. copy of the Bankipur Library has been utilized.

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Abdul Qadir Badaoni's *Muntakhabut Tawarikh* was finished in 1596. He relies more on Yahya than on Barani or Nizamuddin, and follows him in method of writing also. The Bib. Ind. Text and Ranking's Translation have been utilized.

c26.s3.6

More important than Badaoni is Muhammad Qasim Ferishtah, whose work *Gulshan-i-Ibrahimi*, popularly known as *Tarikh-i-Ferishtah* was completed in 1612. It contains a detailed account of the Khaljis and of the lives of saints contemporaneous to them. As the book was written in the Deccan Ferishtah possessed sources from which he gives a more detailed account of the Deccan campaigns of 'Alauddin than Barani or even 'Isami. Ferishtah gives a detailed list of the wealth captured by 'Alauddin in his various Deccan campaigns and especially in the raid of Devagiri in 1296, but his data are open to doubts since they are not corroborated by any other historian. He cites no less than thirty-five works he utilized in the preparation of his book, but even then his chronology is not free from faults. Moreover, he does not make definite statements on controversial points. The Lucknow text has been utilized.

c26.s3.7

As Ferishtah was writing in the Deccan, his contemporary Hajiuddabir was busy with his history in Gujarat. The real title of the book is *Zafarul Vali bi Muzaffar Valiah* and the full name of its author 'Abdullah Muhammad bin Sirajuddīn ‘Umar al Makkī surnamed Hājiuddabīr. He began writing in 1605 and was still engaged in 1611 on his work. Hājī makes use of a valuable work which so far has not been found to exist. It is the *Tabqāt-i-Bahādur Shāhī* by Husām Khān from which he quotes extensively. Hājiuddabīr lends information on many abstruse points and on the whole his statements are quite trustworthy. He is the only historian who gives ‘Alāuddīn’s age and relates interesting incidents about his family life, perhaps because he utilized sources now lost. He gives various versions of Padminī episode, and at many places in his narrative he gives original information. The work has been edited by Sir Denison Ross with a learned introduction and a very exhaustive and informative index.

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*Provincial Histories.*

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*Tarīkh-i-M‘āṣūmī*, written in 1008 H. (1599 A.D.), is a history of Sindir from the time of Muḥammedan conquest to its annexation by Akbar. Mīr M‘āṣūm’s work throws sufficient light on ‘Alāuddīn’s conquest of Jaisalmer, which has not even been mentioned by any other Persian historian and has only been given by Rajput bards in a very defective manner. The text has been published.

c26.s3.10

*Tarīkh-i-Tāhirī* of Tāhir Muḥammad is also a history of Sindh completed in 1018 A.H. (1609 A.D.). *Tarīkh-i-Tāhirī* and *Tuhfatul Kirām* of Mīr ‘Alī Qānī of Tattha (C. 1766), another history of Sindh, have been copiously translated by Elliot. I have used the Bankipore Ms. of *Tarīkh-i-Tāhirī*.

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*Beg Larnāmah*, another history of Sindh was completed in 1017 H. (1608 A.D.). It deals with rulers of Sindh in the time of Akbar but also gives a retrospective sketch of the history of the province. The Allahabad ‘Varsity Ms. is a transcript copy of the Ms. in the British Museum Library.

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Of the histories of Gujarat *Mirāt-i-Sikandarī* and *Mirāt-i-Aḥmadī* are the most important. The former, written by Sikandar bin Muḥammad, was finished in 1020 H. (1611 A.D.);

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the latter, written by 'Ali Muḥammad Khan, was finished in 1174 H. (1760 A.D.). Though written at a later date *Mirāt-i-Aḥmad* supplies more information about 'Alāūddīn than the former. Hājjīuddabīr also supplies useful information about the history of Gujarat.

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*Riāzuṣ Salātīn*, the only connected history of Bengal, was completed by Ghulām Husain Yazdpuri in 1202 H. (1788 A.D.). It deals with the history of Bengal from the earliest times to the date of writing. The book is full of "inaccuracies and mis-statements" and therefore is not very reliable, but a comparative study of the book with coins and inscriptions helps in ascertaining true facts about the history of Bengal.

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Besides some of the important works mentioned above, many other Persian and Arabic texts and Mss. have been utilized in the preparation of this work. A large number of books in Hindi, Urdu and English have been consulted and a list of their names given in the Bibliography. Mention may here be made of Nainsī's *Khayat* which is of special value for the study of Rajput history. Compiled in 1650-66 A.D., it is not a historical work in the real sense of the term, but it throws much light on Rajput history of many centuries and presents us with a "Hindu" version of various events. It is written in Marwari interspersed with Dingal at places and covers the period from the 12th to the 17th century.

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For archaeological evidence the Reports and Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India, the Epigraphica Indo-Moslemica, and the Epigraphica Carnatica have been consulted. A list of the journals and periodicals utilized has been given at the end of the Bibliography.

Cites (4)