A History of Agriculture in India v2.c50.20

v2.c50.20

There are, however, two exceptions to the general rule among the Muhammedan historians of the Sultanate period, viz. Zia-ud-din Barni and Shams-i-Siraj Afif. Barni belonged to the ruling class of Delhi. His father Mu’ayyid al-Mulk was *naib* to Arkali Khan, the second son of Sultan Jalal al-din Khalji. His paternal uncle Malik ‘Ala’ al-Mulk was the *Kotwal* of Delhi under Sultan ‘Ala’ al-din Khalji and a prominent royal counsellor. His maternal grandfather, Sipah Salar Husam al-din, was appointed to the *shahnagi* of Lakhnauti by Sultan Balban. Barni himself became a *nadim* or boon companion of Sultan Muhammad-bin-Tughlak. In his *Tarikh-i-Firozshahi*, Barni records facts relating to administration, agrarian conditions and economy.