History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c14.45

c14.45

The near contemporaries of Barani who throw light upon certain aspects of Muhammad’s reign are Shams-i-Sirāj ‘Afif, the author of the *Sirat*, Sultan Firuz himself and ‘Ain-al-Mulk Multani. Shams-i-Sirāj ‘Afif’s *Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi* is a continuation and completion of Zia Barani’s history and is carried down to 790 A.H. (1388 A.D.) the date of Firuz Shah’s death. ‘Afif came of a family in Abuhar, the home of Firuz’s Rajput mother and his great-grandfather was collector of revenue of Abuhar and was intimately known to Ghiyās-al-Din Tughluq. His father was also employed in the service of Sultan Firuz and he derived from him a great deal of information. His book is essentially a history of Firuz but he makes some observations regarding the origin of the dynasty and the character and achievements of Sultan Muhammad which serve as a corrective to Barani. The MSS. of ‘Afif’s history are available and I have found the Bibliotheca Indica edition fairly satisfactory. The *Sirat-i-Firuz Shahi* of which the only copy is in the Khudabakhsh Library at Bankipore is a rare work. It was written in 772 A.H. (1370 A.D.) during the reign of Firuz and though the author does not give his name it appears from the highly eulogistic vein in which he writes that he attended the court of Firuz and enjoyed his patronage. The MS. is dated 1002 A.H. (1593 A.D.,) and though very carelessly written is a very old copy. As the author of the *Sirat* wrote only 18 years after Sultan Muhammad’s death, his information must have been based upon what he saw with his own eyes and what he heard from eyewitnesses. He speaks of Muhammad’s devoutness, his toleration towards the Hindūs, his great abilities and indirectly gives us a glimpse of the fiscal system which prevailed in his reign. It supplies information which is lacking in Barani and which is corroborated.