Tomb of Parvez Mirza To Be Restored

The archaeological department of Uttar Pradesh will execute a conservation project to preserve a Mughal era monument from further decay. 

The structure situated between Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) conserved  Itimad-ud-Daula’s tomb and Chini Ka Ruza in Agra is said to be tomb of Sultan Parvez (Parviz), grandson of Akbar and second son of Jahangir. His daughter Nadira Banu Begum was the wife of Dara Shik oh, eldest son of Shah Jahan (son of Jahangir) and eldest brother of the sixth Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Sahib-e-Jamal was Parviz’s mother. 

Bearing a striking resemblance to the mausoleum of megalomaniac 14th century Mongol leader Timur in Samarkand in Uzbekistan, Parvez Mirza’s tomb is in a shambles now.  Inverted lotus at the dome has been disfigured and lime mortar plaster over its walls has crumbled.

Timur’s mausoleum  is known as the Gur-e Amir mausoleum. 

Parvez died of delirium tremens in 1626 AD in Burhanpur (now in Madhya Pradesh). 

Several Mughal rulers and princes were addicted to alcohol and had died of delirium tremens.  Murad and Daniyal, the sons of Akbar,  had succumbed to delirium tremens. 

Babar, the founder of the Mughal Empire, was an opium eater and loved to drink fine wines. 

 

Raja Todar Mal, Finance Minister of Emperor Akbar

 

Raja Todar Mal, the finance Minister of Emperor Akbar / Image Credit

Todar Mal was a brilliant finance officer who was first in the service of Afghan ruler Sher Shah Suri and afterwards in that of Mughal emperor Akbar. Known for introducing standard weights and measures, he was the main architect behind a brilliant land revenue system Zabti system which is also called as Todar Mal bandobast. Dahshala, a system of taxation, was also established by him. 

According to tradition he was one of Akbar’s ‘Navratnas (“Nine Jewels”). The Navratnas were nine individuals of extraordinary ability gracing the court of Akbar.

Todar Mal joined Akbar’s revenue department in 1560 by replacing Khawaja Malik Itimad Khan.

Another field in which Todar Mal excelled was architecture. In 1585 Todar Mal rebuilt the Kashi Vishwanath Temple which was later demolished by Aurangzeb, who had the Gyanvapi Mosque built on its ruins.

Qila Rohtas, near the city of Jhelum in Pakistan, was built by Raja Todar Mal for Sher Shah with a view to suppressing the tribes of the region and also to checking Humayun’s entry into India.  Humayun, father of Akbar, was defeated by Sher Shah Suri in the battle of Kannauj in 1540 and spent the next years of his life in exile in Persia. 

History Medieval India - MCQs – Set 6

Q.1. The actual name of Later Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II was

(a) Alamgir

(b) Aziz-ud-Din

(c) Ali Gauhar 

(d) Muhammad Kam Bakhsh

Q.2. Name the Mughal Queen whose name was inscribed on the coins and all royal firmans.

(a) Mumtaz Mahal

(b) Nur Jahan

(c) Ladli Begum

(d) Mariam uz-Zamani 

Q.3. How did the Mughal Emperor Jahandar Shah's reign come to an early and?

(a) He was addicted to drinking and died of too much consumption.

(b) He was deposed by his Wazir

(c) He died due to a slip while descending from the staircase

(d) He was defeated by his nephew Farrukhsiyar in a battle

Q.4. Who was the Mughal Emperor when the Battle of Plassey was fought in 1757 between Siraj ud Daula, the Nawab of Bengal and the English East India Company?

(a) Muhammad Shah

(b) Ahmad Shah

(c) Aziz-ud-Din Alamgir II

(d) Shah Alam II

Q.5. Who was the last Mughal Emperor to sit on the peacock throne?

(a) Aurangzeb 

(b) Muhammad Shah Rangila 

(c) Bahadur Shah I

(d) Farrukhsiyar

Q.6. Who is the author of the famous 11th century literary work Tahqiq- I- Hind?

(a) Al-Beruni

(b) Badauni

(c) Minhaj-us-Siraj

(d) Shams Siraj Afif

Q.7. The famous Arab traveller Alberuni came to India with

(a) Mahmud of Ghazni 

(b) Muhamamd Ghori

(c) Babur

(d) Amir Timur

Q.8. Who had built the Badshahi Masjid at Lahore?

(a) Babar

(b) Akbar

(c) Shah Jahan

(d) Aurangzeb 

Q.9. In which of the following places is Shah Jahan Mosque located in Pakistan?

(a) Thatta

(b) Karachi

(c) Lahore

(d) Jacobabad

Q. 10. Who among the following had organized Turkan-i-Chahalgani, the Group of Forty ?

(a) Qutbuddin Aibak

(b) Aram Shah 

(c) Razia Sultan 

(d) Iltutmish

Answers

1-c 

Notes: The actual name of Shah Alam II was Ali Gauhar. After his defeat in the Battle of Buxar in 1764,  Shah Alam II was forced to grant the diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the English East India Company in 1765. 

2- b

Notes: Wife of Mughal emperor Jahangir, Nur Jahan was the first Mughal queen in whose name coins were struck. She had deep influence on the Jahangir who took pride in saying that he had handed her the country in lieu of a cup of wine and few pieces of mutton.

3- d

Notes: Jahandar Shah was defeated by his nephew Farrukhsiyar outside the city of Agra on 10th January, 1713. Jahandar Shah fled to Delhi in a bullock cart where he was strangled to death in prison on Farrukhsiyar’s orders. 

4- c

Notes: Known as Aziz-ud-Din before he ascended the Mughal throne, Alamgir II ruled from 1754 to 59. 

5-b

Notes: It was during the reign of Muhamamd Shah that Nadir Shah, the ‘Napolean of Iran’ invaded India in 1739. Nadir Shah took with him the peacock throne.

6-a

Notes: Al-Beruni’s book Tahkik-i-Hind (reality of Hindustan or Enquiry into India) is a mirror of the eleventh century India.

7-a:

Notes: One of the most famous Arab travellers to India, Alberuni visited India when Mahmud of Ghazni invaded Somnath, the famous shrine in Gujarat dedicated to Lord Shiva. Between 1001 and 1027 Mahmud made seventeen great raids on India.

 

8-d: 

Notes: Badshahi Masjid was built at Lahore by Aurangzeb. The mosque was built under the supervision of his foster brother Fidai Khan Koka. 

9-a: 

Notes: The 17th-century Shah Jahan Mosque was built in Thatta during the reign of 5th Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.

10-d: 

Notes: Iltutmish had organised the turkan-i-chahalgani, also known as Amir-i-Chahalgani. Turkan-i-chahalgani was a group of 40 faithful slaves which came into existence with the task of protecting Shamsuddin Iltutmish 

History Medieval India - MCQs – Set 5

Q.1. Which one of the following dynasties ruled over the Delhi Sultanate following Timur’s invasion?

(a) Sayyid dynasty

(b) Lodi dynasty

(c) Tughlaq dynasty

(d) Khalji dynasty

Q.2. Which of the following Delhi Sultanate rulers had set up employment exchanges for the unemployed?

(a) Firuz Shah Tughlaq

(b) Alauddin Khilji

(c) Muhammad bin Tughlaq

(d) Iltutmish

Q.3. Which of the following rulers of the Delhi Sultanate is called “Father of Indian Irrigation”?

(a) Firoz Shah Tughlaq

(b) Alauddin Khilji

(c) Muhammad Bin Tughlaq

(d) Sikandar Lodi

Q.4. Which of the following battles took place between Sher Shah and Humayun?

(a) Battle of Ghaghra

(b) Battle of Bilgram

(c) Battle of Surajgarh

(d) None of the above

Q.5. The Mughal empire under Akbar was divided into 15 provinces. They were called --------.

(a)  Parganas

(b)  Subahs

(c)  Sarkars

(d)  None of these

Q.6. What was the name of the war that took place between Sher Shah Suri and  the Mughal Governor of Bihar, Jalal Khan,  in 1534 ?

(a) Battle of Surajgarh 

(b) Battle of Bilgram

(c) Battle of Ghaghra

(d) Battle of Kannauj

Q.7. Which of the following works narrates the ascent of the Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq to power?

(a) Tabaqat-i-Nasiri

(b) Tajul-Ma'asir

(C) Tughlaqnama

(d) None of the above

Q.8. Who was the founder of Tughlaq Dynasty?

(a) Firoz Shah Tughlaq

(b) Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq

(C) Muhammad bin Tughlaq

(d) Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq

Q.9. What was the name of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq before his ascension to the throne?

(a) Ghazi Malik 

(b) Juna Khan

(c) Nizam Khan

(d) None of the above

Q.10. Who among the following transferred his capital from Delhi to Devagiri renamed by him as Daulatabad?

(a) Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq 

(b) Mohammad-bin Tughlaq 

(c) Firoz Shah Tughlaq

(d) Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq

Answers

Q.1.- a

Khizr Khan was appointed governor of Multan, Lahore and DIpalpur by Timur Lang or Tamerlane who won these places after invading India and sacking Delhi in 1398-99. In June 1414, Khizr Khan invaded Delhi and founded a new dynasty named Saiyid Dynasty.

Q.2.- a

Firuz Shah Tughlaq, the third Tughlaq Sultan, had established employment exchanges for the unemployed.

Q.3.- a 

Firoz Shah Tughlaq, the third Tughlaq Sultan, is known as “Father of Indian Irrigation” because of the many irrigation canals that he built in his empire.

Q.4.- b 

The Battle of Kannauj took place at Kannauj in present day Uttar Pradesh between Mughal emperor Humayun and Afghan leader Sher Shah Suri on May 17, 1540. This battle is also known as the battle of Bilgram. Humayun was defeated by Sher Shah Suri in the battle.

Q.5.- b 

Initially Akbar had divided the Mughal empire into 12 subahs which were later expanded to 15 by the end of his reign.

Q.6.- a 

Battle of Surajgarh (1534) was fought between the combined forces of Jalal Khan and Bengal Sultan Mahmud Shah and the forces of Sher Shah.

Q.7.- c 

Tughlaq Nama (Book of the Tughlaqs) was written by Amir Khusrau. Tughlaq Nama describes the reign of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq.

Q.8.- b

Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq was the founder of the Tughluq dynasty. He was succeeded by Juna Khan who assumed the title of Muhammad bin Tughlaq whose reign marked the highest point of territorial expansion of the Delhi Sultanate.  

Q.9.- a

Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq was called Ghazi Malik before his ascension to the throne of Delhi Sultanate. Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq was succeeded by Juna Khan who assumed the title of Muhammad bin Tughlaq. 

Q.10.- b

In 1327 a rebellion by his cousin Bahauddin Gurshasp, prompted Muhammad bin Tughluq to transfer his capital from Delhi to centrally located Devagiri, which he named Daulatabad. However, this experiment of his did not go down well with the Delhi populace. This forced the Sultan to retransfer the capital to Delhi.    

History Medieval India - MCQs – Set 4

 Q.1.- Ibrahim Lodhi was defeated by Rana Sanga in which of the following battles?

(a) Battle of Khatoli

(b) Battle of Gagron

(c) Battle of Khanwa

(d) None of the above

Q.2.- Who among the following Delhi Sultanate rulers was first to have coins inscribed with the name of Abbasid caliph of Baghdad?

(a) Iltutmish

(b) Ruknuddin Firoz

(c) Razia 

(d) None of the above

Q.3.- Chintamani Bhatta’s Suka-saptati (Parrot’s Seventy) was the first Sanskrit work to be translated into Persian by the name Tutinama. Who translated the work during the time of Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq?

(a) Malik Muhammad Jayasi 

(b) Amir Khusrau 

(c) Zia Nakhshabi 

(d) Zain-ul-Abidin  

Q.4.- The Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque in Delhi is the earliest example of Islamic architecture in India. What was the original construction at the site of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque?

(a) A Jain temple

(b) A Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu

(c) A Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva

(d) None of the above

Q.5.- Which of the following rulers of Delhi Sultanate created the department of Diwan-e-Amir-Kohi related to agriculture? 

(a) Firoz Shah Tughluq

(b) Muhammd Bin Tughlaq

(c) Allaudin Khilji

(d) Jalauddin Khilji

Q.6.- Who among the following Delhi Sultanate rulers had appointed lbn Batuta as the Chief Oazi of Delhi?

(a) Balban

(b) Alauddin Khilji

(c) Feroz Shah Tughlaq

(d) Muhammad bid Tughluq 

Q.7.- Which of the following rulers of Delhi Sultanate had maximum number of slaves in his court?

(a) Balban

(b) Alauddin Khilji

(c) Mohammad bin Tughlaq

(d) Feroz Shah Tughlaq

Q.8. - Who among the following was the ruler of Delhi Sultanate when Hari Har and Bukka founded the Vijayanagar Empire in the South India?

(a) Muhammad bin Tughlaq

(b) Firuz Shah Tughlaq

(c) Alauddin Khilji

(d) Khizr Khan

Q.9. -Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi has been written by

(a) Ziauddin Barani 

(b) Shams Siraj Afif

(c) Both a and b

(d) None of the above

Q.10. -During the reign of which Tughlaq ruler, India faced invasion from Amir Timur, the terrible Mongol military leader of Central Asia?

(a) Ghiyasud-din Tughlaq

(b) Firuz Shah Tughlaq

(c) Muhammad bin Tughluq

(d) Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah Tughluq

Answers

Q.1.- (a)

Battle of Khatoli was fought between Rana Sanga and Ibrahim Lodi in 1518. Rana Sanga defeated Ibrahim Lodi in the battle of Khatoli.

Q. 2.- (a)

In 1229, Iltutmish received a deed of investiture from the Abassid Caliph of Baghdad, becoming the first Sultan of Delhi to secure this recognition. The names of Abbasid caliph of Baghdad are inscribed on his coins.

Q. 3.- (c)

Zia Nakhshabi (d.1350) was a famous Sufi saint and scholar during the reign of Tughlaq Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq. He is credited with translating Chintamani Bhatta’s Sanskrit work Suka-saptati (Parrot’s Seventy) into Persian. The text translated by him is known as Tutinama (Stories from a Parrot) which was in time translated into Turkish and other European languages.

Zia Nakhshabi had also translated Koka-shastra (also known as Rati-rahasyam: Mysteries of Passion), a popular early medieval Sanskrit work on erotica written by Kukkoka (Kokapandita).

Q. 4.- (a)

Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque in Delhi is considered to be India's oldest mosque.

Q.5.- (b)

The department named Diwan-e-Amir-Kohi was introduced by Muhammad Bin Tughlaq.

Q.6.- (d)

Arab traveller Ibn Battutah arrived in India in 1333 during the rule of second Tughlaq ruler Muhammad bid Tughluq who appointed him the Qazi (judge) of Delhi. After serving for eight years as the Qazi (judge) of Delhi, he was dismissed from the post by the Tughlaq Sultan.

Q.7.- (d)

Feroz Shah Tughlaq is known to have as many as 180,000 slaves. According to Shams Siraj Afif, their rise brought disaster to the Tughlaqs. They annihilated Firuz's sons and played roles in destroying the Tughlaq dynasty. Firuz's eunuch named Malik Sarwar founded the Sharqi dynasty of Jaunpur.

Q.8.- (a) 

During his reign Muhammad bin Tughluq had to encounter as many as thirty four rebellions, twenty seven of them in the south. Vijayanagar Empire came into existence at the cost of Sultanate territory during the rule of Muhammad bin Tughlaq.

Q.9.- (c) 

Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi is a contemporary account of Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq by medieval historian Ziauddin Barani. Another contemporary chronicle, also known as Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, written by Shams Siraj Afif, gives a detailed account of his reign.

Q.10.- (d) 

It was during the reign of last Tughluq ruler Nasiruddin Mahmud (reigned 1394-1413) in the years 1398-99 that Amir Timur, the terrible Mongol military leader of Central Asia, invaded India creating havoc in the forms of massacres and plunders.

History Medieval India - MCQs – Set 1

 1. Who among the following had written Tughlaq Nama?

(a) Amir Khusrau

(b) Minhaj-us-Siraj

(c) Khwaja Abd Malik Isami

(d) Ziauddin Barani

2. The court of which of the following did Abdur Razzaq, ambassador of Timur’s son Shah Rukh of Herat, visit?

(a) Zamorin of Calicut 

(b) Alauddin Khilji

(c) Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq

(d) Muhammad bin Tughluq

3. Who ascended the throne of Delhi Sultanate after the death of Iltutmish?

(a) Rukn-ud-din Firuz 

(b) Aram Shah

(c) Balban

(d) Razia Sultana

4. When was Sayyid Dynasty of Delhi Sultanate founded?

(a) 1404 AD

(b) 1408 AD

(c) 1414 AD

(d) 1418 AD

5. Who among the following traced his descent to the Prophet?

(a) Khizr Khan

(b) Ghiasuddin Tughlaq

(c) Ibrahim Lodi

(d) Jalalud din Khalji

6. Who among the following was the first Muslim ruler to conquer South India? 

(a) Alauddin Khalji

(b) Muhammad bin Tughlaq

(c) Sher Shah

(d) Akbar

7. Who among the following had introduced the Dagh and Chehra system in administration?

(a) Balban 

(b) Alauddin Khalji

(c) Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq

(d) Sikander Lodi

8. Which Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate was responsible for introducing rationing system in India?

(a) Iltutmish

(b) Alauddin Khalji 

(c) Firoz Tughlaq

(d) Ghiyasuddin Balban

9. Who among the following sultans love to style himself Sikander-i-Sani? 

(a) Iltutmish

(b) Balban

(c) Muhammad bin Tughlaq

(d) Alauddin Khalji 

10. During the invasion of which kingdom, Malik Kafur, who later became Alauddin’s most important military general, was captured by army of the latter. 

(a) Bengal

(b) Gujarat

(c) Devagiri

(d) Gujarat

Answers

1-a: Tughlaq Nama (Book of the Tughlaqs) was written by Amir Khusrau. Tughlaq Nama describes the reign of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq. 

2-a: Abdur Razzaq was a Persian who was sent by Shah Rukh (reign 1405 – 1447) as ambassador to the Zamorin of Calicut. In April 1443, Abdur Razzaq also visited Vijayanagar during the reign of Devaraya II. 

3-a: Rukn-ud-din Firuz was placed on the throne of Delhi Sultanate by the nobles of the court in deference to the wishes of the Slave Sultan Iltutmish who had nominated his daughter Razia as his successor before his death in April, 1236.

4-c: Khizr Khan was the founder of the Sayyid dynasty, the fourth and penultimate dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. 

5-a: According to some historians, Khizr Khan traced his descent to the Prophet. That Khizr Khan traced his descent to the Prophet has been mentioned in Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi written by Yahiya bin Ahmad Sarhindi. 

6-a: After annexation of North India, Alauddin embarked on a military expedition under the command of Malik Kafur for the subjugation of South India. 

7-b: Dagh (branding of horse) and Chehra (full description of each soldier) were introduced by Alauddin Khalji.

8-b: Rationing system was one of the many administrative reforms by Alauddin Khilji. 

9-d: Alauddin Khalji loved to style himself “the Second Alexander” (Sikander-i-Sani) 

10-b: The prized capture during the Gujarat conquest by Alauddin Khilji was slave Malik Kafur (also known as hazardinari). The kingdom of Gujarat was then ruled by king Karna Dev of the Vaghela dynasty. 

Mirat-i-Sikanderi by Sikander bin Muhammad Manzu

Mirat-i-Sikandari is a Persian work describing the political history of Gujarat from the inception of the Muzaffarid dynasty by Muzaffar Shah (Jafar Khan). The work was composed by Sikander bin Muhammad Manzu and completed in 1611.

Sikander bin Muhammad Manzu served in the army of Aziz Koka, a leading noble and Mughal Subahdar of Gujarat.

Mirat-i-Sikandari also describes the cultural and social life of Gujarat.

Kakatiya Dynasty

               Kakatiya’s well at Warangal|Wikimedia Commons/Aravind Pakide

A famous kingdom of eastern Deccan in South India, Kakatiya dynasty rose in prominence in the 12th and 13th centuries. Ruling over an area corresponding to the modern day Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and parts of southern Odisha and eastern Karnataka, the Kakatiya dynasty produced rulers who created some exquisite pieces of temple architecture in India like the Ramappa temple and Thousand Pillar temple (Sri Rudreshwara Swamy Temple).

The Kakatiyas were at first the subordinates of the Rastrakutas and then Western Chalukyas of Kalyani. It was in or around 1163 that they threw their allegiance to them. 

Ganapati Deva (ruled 1199–1262) was the greatest ruler of the Kakatiya Dynasty. Earlier, he was imprisoned by Yadava ruler Jaitugi who had killed his father Mahadeva. Later on, Ganapati was set free by Jaitugi and ascended the Kakatiya throne in 1199. He ruled for over 60 years and proved to be a good administrator.

Ganapati Deva transferred the Kakatiya capital city from Anmakonda to Orugallu or Warangal. He had nominated his daughter Rudrama Devi to succeed him. He used to call her by the masculine name Rudradeva Maharaja. She became the first woman ruler to accede to the throne in South India. The early years of her reign were marked by rebellions of the feudatories but they were suppressed. According to K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, she was defeated by the Yadava ruler, Mahadeva. Rudrama Devi has been praised in glowing terms by the contemporary Venetian traveller Marco Polo who had visited the Kakatiya kingdom during her reign.   

There is divergence of views regarding the date of the death of Rudrama Devi. Discovery of a portrait sculpture of Rudrama Devi in 2018 in the sanctum sanctorum of Trikuta temple in Siddjipet district in Telengana reinforces the belief that she was killed by her once loyal Kayashtha chieftain Ambadeva. 

Rudrama Devi was succeeded by her grandson Prataparudra or Pratap Rudra Deva II who was the last ruler of the Kakatiya dynasty. He was defeated by Malik Kafur, the general of Khilji ruler Alauddin Khilji, in 1309-10. In 1321, Jauna Khan (later on known as Muhammad bin Tughluq) was deputed by his father Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq (1320-1325) for the conquest of Kakatiya kingdom which was duly annexed to the Delhi Sultanate. Pratap Rudra Deva II was sent to Delhi and imprisoned.

Salabat Khan’s Tomb at Ahmadnagar

                                     Tomb of Salabat Khan/ Wikipedia Commons

The octagonal tomb of Salabat Khan is at the centre of an octagonal terrace on a picturesque hill site in Ahmadnagar in Maharashtra. Salabat Khan was a minister under Sultan Murtaza I (1565-88) of Ahmadnagar Sultanate, known more famously as the Nizam Shahi dynasty, one of the five independent states that arose on the debris of the Bahmani Sultanate.  

Salabat Khan’s tomb is also known as Chand Bibi’s palace. Chand Bibi was the daughter of Husain Nizam Shah of Nizam Shahi dynasty and widow of Ali Adil Shah belonging to the Bijapur’s Adil Shahi dynasty. 

Minhaj-us-Siraj: Author of Tabaqat-i-Nasiri

Minhaj-ud-din Abu Uraar bin Siraj-ud-din al-Juzjani, popularly known as Minhaj-us-Siraj, was a medieval historian who was patronized by Slave Sultan Nasir-ud-din Mahmud to whom he had dedicated his magnum opus Tabaqat-i-Nasiri.

Since Siraj held the high office of the Chief Qazi of Delhi to which he was appointed by Nasir-ud-din Mahmud, it is natural that Tabaqat-i-Nasiri gives a first hand account of the historical events from the conquest of Delhi by Muhammad of Ghur up to the year 1260 AD.

Siraj was temporarily removed from the post of Chief Qazi from 1253 to 1255 when a section of nobles induced the Sultan to send his prime minister Balban into exile. 

Tabaqat-i-Nasiri has been translated into English by Raverty.  

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• This page was last edited on 24 July 2021

Ziauddin Barani : leading Medieval Historian of India

One of the foremost medieval historians of India, Ziauddin Barani was born in 1286 during the reign of Salve Sultan Balban of Delhi Sultanate. His famous works are Tarikhi-Firozshahi and Fatwa –i- Jahandajri which were written under the patronage of Firoz Tughlaq, the last prominent ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty. 

A highly educated man of noble descent, Barni lived more than seventy five years and was a contemporary of Muhammad bin Tughluq and Friuz Shah Tughluq.

Completed in 1359 AD, Tarikh-i-Firozshahi begins with the accession of Balban and concludes with the sixth year of the reign of Firoz Firoz Tughlaq.

Fatwa –i- Jahandajri describes about principles and ideals of government.

Sultan Ghari Tomb of Nasir-ud-din Mahmud

Located in the Malakapur village near Vasant Kunj in Delhi, Sultan Ghari tomb is the first Turkish tomb in India. It was built by Slave Sultan Iltutumish on the grave of his eldest son Nasir-ud-din Mahmud, who died in April, A.D. 1229, while looking after the state of affairs in Bengal as the governor of that province.

Nasir-ud-din Mahmud is not to be confused with his namesake who later became a ruler of the Slave dynasty.

Architecturally, the Sultan Ghari tomb is more Hindu than any other tomb in India.