Yahya bin Ahmad Sirhindi
Yahya bin Ahmad Sirhindi (nisba of Sirhind in Punjab) was a 15th century Indian Muslim historian who wrote Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi, a Persian language chronicle of the Delhi Sultanate. Written during the reign of Mubarak Shah, his work is an important source of information for the Sayyid dynasty.
Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi
Yahya expected to become a courtier of Mubarak Shah (r. 1421-1434), a ruler of the Delhi Sultanate. Therefore, he wrote Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi and presented it to the Sultan, hoping to win the royal patronage.[1]
The book begins with the conquests of Muhammad of Ghor (1149-1206), and ends abruptly in 1434.[2] Several earlier royal chroniclers had written texts describing the 13th-15th century history of the Delhi Sultanate. For example, Minhaj-i-Siraj covered the period up to 1259 in his Tabaqat-i Nasiri, Ziauddin Barani covered 1259-1356, and Shams-i Siraj Afif covered 1356-1388. Yahya carried forward this chronology all the way to 1434.[3]
For the events up to 1351, Yahya selectively borrowed from the earlier writers, and arranged the material in a chronological order. For the events after 1351, he relied on personal memory and observations, besides the accounts of some trustworthy narrators. His work is a regional history, generally limited to military and political events. For example, Yahya omitted the economic reforms of Alauddin Khalji (r. 1296-1316).[1]
References
- ^ a b Hasan 1968, p. 174.
- ^ Sarkar 1977, p. 33.
- ^ Nizami 1981, p. 70.
Bibliography
- Sarkar, Jagadish Narayan (1977). History of History Writing in Medieval India. Ratna Prakashan. OCLC 905677470.
- Nizami, Khaliq Ahmad (1981). Supplement to Elliot & Dowson's History of India. Vol. 2. Idarah-i Adabiyat-i Delli. OCLC 10825475.
- Hasan, Mohibbul (1968). Historians of Medieval India. Meerut: Meenakshi Prakashan. OCLC 35732.
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