Name: Annapurna Menon

Roll no: 30
History, 2B

Medieval India Assignment

Question 1: Historians of Delhi Sultanate have used the Persian chronicles of the time in varied
ways. Discuss with special reference to Zia Barani.

Answer 1: Medieval Indian history is replete with sources, be it archaeological, numismatic,

literary. Unlike many other sultanates, one of the largest Sultanates of India is fortunately
covered by a vast expanse of literary sources, not only in Persian but also other languages like
Arabic. Fortunately for us, most of these literary texts have survived though not always in
complete and usable forms. However, they are extremely precious sources of us to be used
with extreme caution keeping in mind the context and position of the author. As the questions
asks us to focus on Persian chronicles of the time, I’ll be giving a brief description and
viewpoints of various historians on the works of: Mihaj-us-Siraj Jozani, Shams Siraj Afif, Yahya
bin Ahmad Sulindi, Amir Khusrao, Isami and talking in details about Zia-ul-din Barani.

Now that we have talked about the chroniclers we will be further discussing, I would also like to
point out that my answer is primarily based on the discussions and viewpoints put forth by
Harbans Mukhia, Peter Hary, Sunil Kumar, Irfan Habib, Muhammad Habib, Dr Mahdi Husain. All
the above historians rarely agree on a lot of things, but it is really interesting t see how each
one’s argument gives a totally new facet to the work of the chroniclers. They view the texts with
their own perceived judgements, and though they try to keep their views free of any bias, certain
of them do tend to creep in. Even still, they are extremely interesting and provide a great
learning basis and introduction to the Persian Chronicles.

Let’s begin discussing the Persian chroniclers and their texts.

Minhaj-us-Siraj Jozani
Minhaj’s text, Tabaqat-i-Nasiri is a voluminous text starting from the birth of Adam, going on to
the caliphs and ending with his own end. The book is well structured, it’s divided into chapters
and each chapter discusses a specific dynasty, starting from its establishment to its decline. At
the end of each chapter, Minhaj gives his own evaluation of the ruler towards whom he
generally showers a few words of praises, nothing too elaborate. Chapters are divided into sub-
chapters dedicated to individual rulers. So we see, for Minhaj as Harbans Mukhia rightly points
out, deals with political and military history of the Sultanate, giving almost no information on the
society. Rohni Rajbar is quick to point out that Minhaj’s work has the largest reference to
military commanders in comparison to any other work. Also, the same events are at times
narrated by different protagonists giving us a complete perspective of the event.

According to Mukhia, Minhaj treats history as a politico-biographical and describe events as part
of individuals lives. Causation of history for him lies in human volition and events are described
to reveal calculated. One important thing is that rarely does Minhaj takes about divine
intervention which is very different from the other chroniclers.
Sunil Kumar talks about the multi dynamic personality of the Minhaj as a jurist, preacher and a
litterateur. He points out that Minhaj doesn’t repeat events but places them within their own
distinct spatial and historical events. Minhaj is not much talked about by a lot of other historians
who consider him to be too bland, and his narratives boring. Also, another limitation of Minhaj’s
work as agreed by all historians would definitely be his misdating, eg: he gives two dates for
Malik’s death by Sultan Ghiyas-ud-din leaving the reader confused.

Shams Siraj Afif

Afif, in his words continued where Barani had left of, so basically he wrote in continuation of
Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, describing the life of Firuz Shah Tughlaq. He wrote five qisms with
eighteen muqaddamas out of four qisms and fourteen muqaddamas have survived. A qism is
equivalent to a chapter and opens up with a list of maliks and khans of concerned ruler. There
are a few pages dedicated to the praise of God and Prophet as well. Harbans Mukhia points
out the mark of interpretation of the divisions of the chapters which deal with Tuglaq’s birth to
the final qism dealing with his death.

Mukhia views Afif as someone who not only interprets but also analyzes causes and his
narratives are very colourful and extremely descriptive, eg: he would often talks about the
buildings that were erected, the climate, canals, economy. Though descriptive, he is indifferent
towards chronology and observes contradictory events. His chronicle also gives us information
about the rulers shortcomings, his army and administration not restricting himself only to
praises. He is one of the few chroniclers who believes that the causation of history lies within
history and not in the person/event.

Peter Hardy is another historian who discusses Afif in some detail. Hardy mentions that Afifi
never treated his book as Tarikh (History), instead he treated it as part of a large historical
composition in which he dealt with Tuglaq’s good qualities for edification of future generations.
Hardy goes to describe Afif’s life and also brings life to the belief that Afif covered up for his
historical shortcomings by making use of his literary expertise.

I am amazed by the fact that Afif chose his sources on the basis of religious/personal
preference, extremely unbefitting to a historian. But then again, it might be controversial to say
that Afif considered himself a historian. He also differed from other chroniclers in what he
thought history to be. To quote Hardy,Afif believes that “past is a spectacle of a true religion but
not a school of true religion”.

Yahya bin Ahmad Sirhindi

Yahya’s literary text is titled Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi, which is a bare narrative, similar to Minhaj
that covers an extremely long period of time. Like the treatment that Minhaj’s text gets because
of its impersonal natureby present day historians, very few have referred to Yahya’s work in
great detail.

It begins with the Muiz-id-din of Ghor. Mukhia describes it as a chronicle of the accession of
rulers, appointment of nobles, battles fought by sultans, rebellions and their suppressions and
finally death of these rulers. Yahya is known for the earliest reference to a very popular remark
attributed to Shaik Nizam ud-din Awliya, Delhi is (still) far from you. Though Yahya makes an
effort to mention everything that is going on around him, he refuses to interpret them but
surprisingly analyses the causes of decline of Muhammad Tuglaq’s empire giving five prime
reasons: famine, Timur’s India invasion, transfer of capital from Delhi to Daulatabad, rebellions
and large scale massacres.

Amir Khusrao
Also known as Amir Hasan, a lot of information is available on his life by Mahdi husain. Mahdi
informs us that Amir started composing at the tender age of nine and has many roles inspired
by his father and maternal grand father: soldier, warrior, traveller. Though he was a religious
fanatic, he was indispensable for the Tuglaq period. Various texts by him are mentioned: Tuglaq
Nama, Nur Siphir.

Amir Khusrao wrote no history, he wrote prose. He composed beautifully in various languages,
his expertise remained Persian and also in various forms of poetry: malfuz, ghazal, masnavi
though I personally think this might lead to overcrowding or degradation of his talent (We’ve all
heard of the quote: Jack of all trades, master of none.).

According to Mukhia, Amir’s compositions were based on a particular event or group of events
and he paid special attention to anything that could be remotely associated with his main theme.
It is notable that his attention was not just with political problems but also with the climate,
subjects, entertainment. Amir doesn’t offer an analysis of the rulers, because then he would
have to analyze their failures as well, something he couldn’t afford to do considering he was
commissioned by the ruler to write. But wherever he can, he does derive lessons, though these
seem superficial and stereotypical. For Amir, history seems to a raw material which he molds
into shape as the occasion demands.

Isami
Isami is a different chronicler from the rest because unlike all of them he was not a part of the
Sultanate, or even in Delhi. His patron was Ala al-din Bahman Shah in the Deccan, who was
also a rebel against Muhammad bin Tuglaq, Isami’s main subject. Isami’s book Futuh-us-Salatin
is an account of the Ghaznavide and the Ghorid conquest of India and the history down to 1349
AD.

Sunil Kumar describes his huge account as a history in three verses, Ghaznavid, Ghurid and
Persian. Mukhia talks about the consistent pattern that Isami follows and how unlike Amir, he
depicts victories as well as the failures of Muhammad bin Tughlaq. This might have an ulterior
motive of glorifying his patron. There are also details of events not found elsewhere and which
are found to be mostly correct. His writing displays his personal frustration and his stereotypical
ways. He was always unsatisfied with his life and tends to beautify the past in order to put
emphasis on the horrors of the present. Mukhia portrays Isami as a cool, calculative man who
has very deliberate strategies.

Zia-ud-din Barani
Barani is easily one of the most discussed chroniclers. he wrote impressively and expansively,
most contemporary historians favour him. His works have to be the most debated upon and
worked upon texts. To better understand Barani’s stand today, I am bringing forth the discussion
of a couple of Historians on Barani and then we can later form our own viewpoints on him.

Mahdi Husain talks about Barani’s early life mentioning how he got the name ‘Barani” due to
his close association with the old town of Bulandshahr. He was a devoted disciple of Shaik
Nizam-ud-din Awliya but unlike him, Barani aspired for respect, recognition and a worldy career.
Though towards the end of his bright career, Barani is seen as a frail old man in a pitiable
condition, one who finds his entire life unworthy, is lonely. Consequently, he becomes charitable
and as the story goes, Barani gave away every single thing, even the clothes on his body so
that when he finally left the world, he didn’t leave anything behind.

Harbans Mukhia gives an extensive description of Barani’s work. Barani wrote in succession of
rulers, and dynasties. It’s similar to Minhaj in the sense that there were chapters, which were
divided into sub-chapters though unlike Minhaj, the sub-chapters did not deal with rulers;
instead they dealt with important events. His book, Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi covers six reigns in
eleven muqaddamas (chapters) in which he deals with various aspects. Barani’s coverage of
Ala-ud-din Khalji’s economic reforms are popular world wide and he focuses heavily on society.
He refers to zamindars, khuts repeatedly in his texts, signifying their importance. Though he
relies himself to provide for much of the information, he is one of the few historians who take
special measure to mention all the reforms, whether successful or not, policies, good or bad,
administrative measures, everything.

Mukhia points out that Barani’s narrative is party interpretive which I believe is also one of the
reasons for his popularity. He treats History as something to derive lessons from and he
believes the role of a historian is to make the lessons of history intelligible to its readers. Barani
continuously studies history in a conscious historical framework which is cognisant of historical
change. But, it is also overridden with limitations. Barani’s central theme for the most part is
aristocratic birth, he doesn’t believe in rights for the low-borns. He is indifferent towards
chronology and though he is outspoken, he is fixed on his personal beliefs. Barani, though
extremely religious can accept history even if it goes against Islam but not if it goes againt his
own beliefs.

Peter Hardy pays a lot of attention to the personal predicament of Barani while writing the
Tarik-i-Firuz Shahi and it seems like he is questioning the authenticity of the text considering
how it was written at a time when the author fell on evil days and needed the sympathies and
respect of the ruler. There is a chance of a bias in his text for the ruler. Hardy also mentions
Barani’s seven benefits of studying History which help us understand Barani’s motives as well
as his thought while writing history: acquaintance with heavenly books, considered them as twin
brothers of Prophet Muhammad, strengthening reason and judgement, adopt strategies, give
patience, proves the fruit of good action while encouraging others to indulge in same. History for
Barani had a didactec purpose and his Fatwa-i-Jahandari mentions coherent politico-religious
philosophy. Divine intervention and divine punishment are commonly mentioned by Barani, his
emphasis on religion and his anti-Hindu sentiments are not exactly surprising to me. Hardy
believes it is important to separate Barani’s data from his interpretation of them.

Barani in Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi gives a very vivid description of rulers and their kingdoms
beginning from Balban to Muhammad bin Tuglaq. A common theme in all of them is how as
long as the rulers agreed to Baran’s thoughts, followed his beliefs they would succeed, but if
they did not, misfortune would befall them, their families and their kingdoms. Hardy gives a
detailed descriptions of each of the chapters which provides rich insight into the book and the
author’s style of writing history.

Sunil Kumar considers Barani a sophisticated, urbane Muslim who was strongly influenced by
traditions of normative literature (adab literature) though this is very clear as the author himself
makes this claim. Kumar thinks that Barani’s greatest merit was his attempt to structure a
historical narrative around his personal general moral maxims, which he manages to do pretty
well. Like Hardy, Kumar also seems to be questioning the motives behind his writing, often
thinking was Barani asking for his lost respect and recognition while writing the Tarikh-i-Firuz
Shahi.

Irfan Habib, has also done extensive study on Barani, who he considers well read in Islamic
Law and other traditional reviews and he points out that the chronicler’s point of view is geared
primarily towards the nobles. Barani himself says that is historians can’t talk about the present
due to some dangerous circumstances in totality (Might be referring to his own case), they
should at least present the past truthfully.Also, Habib brings to our notice that in his book, each
event is covered by a grim eclipse, this might be a representation of his real life. Barani is a
historian with an openly declared class bias, and it’s best to deal with him on his terms.
Personally, I agree with Habib’s view that Barani’s addiction the principle of birth doesn’t derive
from any theory of blue blood, but comes from a carving for security and stability for those who
are already in possession. Barani’s main content of political history consists of growth of
despotic power, greater and greater use of terror, successful wholesale changes in composition
of nobility. Habib views Barani as a man of vision, who detests changes and has a mind of
immense comprehension and lucidity.

Even though Barani’s work has it’s share of limitations, it is undeniable that it is definitely a gold
mine of information for Historians. Some might not prefer it too much but no one can overlook
the plethora of information it contains.

Conclusion:
With this, we come to end of the discussion of the various Persian Chronicles. In conclusion, I
would again like to remind that while referring to these texts we should be careful of the
personal bias of the author, their motive, how most of them except for a view had royal patrons
and had to be careful with what they wrote. All of them wrote for the public, their views had the
potential of moulding the minds of many hence, they might have written with ulterior motives
which we should be careful of. Many of the texts also try to make use of literary expertise to
overcome their shortcomings. If we use these chronicles in caution, juxtaposed with the context
they were written at, their time period, condition of their authors, we can probably form sound
conclusions about the events that took place during this period.

Bibliography:

1. Harbans Mukhia - Historiography During the Reign of Akbar

 2. Rohni Rajbar - Writing a History of the Delhi Sultanate
3. Sunil Kumar - Persian Literary Traditions and Narrativizing the Delhi Sultanate
4. Dr Mahdi Huain - Tughlaq Dynasty
5. Irfan Habib - Barani’s Theory of the History of the Delhi Sultanate
6. Peter Hardy - Historians of Medieval India

Submitted by:
Annapurna Menon
History, 2B
Lady Shri Ram College for Women