A History of Agriculture in India v2.c50.21

v2.c50.21

Shams-i-Siraj Afif in his *Tarikh-i-Firozshahi* provides administrative details and gives information on the condition of the common people. According to Professor Dowson, this history gives us altogether a better view of the internal condition of India under a Muhammedan sovereign than is presented by any other work, except the *Ain-i-Akbari*. Written in a plain style, the book is chapterized unlike other works. Afif descended from a family which dwelt at Abohar. His great-grandfather was the Collector of Revenue of Abohar. He himself was attached to the court of Firozshah Tughlak and accompanied him on his hunting expeditions. He provides details about the founding of the city of Hissar Firoza, the present-day Hissar. He also describes the sources of the king’s revenue and the digging of the West Jamuna canal.