Ziauddin Barani
is one of the greatest Indo-Persian historians of medieval India. He was born
in an aristocratic family and held high positions under the Khaljis and the
Tughlaqs. Barani was a great scholar. He
was an expert in law and philosophy, and he took a keen interest in History. The two
most well-known works of Barani are Tarikh-i-Firoz
Shahi and Fatwa-i-Jahandari.
Tarikh-i-Firoz
Shahi
Barani’s Tarikh begins
with the accession of Sultan Balban to the throne of Delhi in 1266 and comes to
a close with the account of the first six years of Sultan Firuzshah Tughluq’s
reign, i.e. the year 1356. The book describes the reigns of eight Delhi
Sultans (Balban, Kaikubad, Jalauddin Khalji, Alauddin Khalji, Qutbuddin Mubarak
Shah Khalji, Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, Mohammad bin Tughlaq) and the first six years
of the reign of Firoz Shah Tughlaq. The careers of Sultans are the primary
theme of the book. In addition to the political and military events of these
reigns, Barani describes the general administration and economic life, throws light on the age's social institutions, and gives details about
the cultural role performed by intellectuals, scholars, poets, and saints.
In the introductory chapter of Tarikh-i-Firozshahi,
Barani lays down the rules of historical writings. He laid great stress on
impartiality and truth. Barani had a high conception of the function of a
historian, viz. to record impartially and honestly the whole truth without fear
or favour. He declares that the job of the historian is not only to praise the
activities and good works of the rulers but also to present to readers a
critical account of the shortcomings and drawbacks of policies. Barani had his
own philosophy of history; it was religious philosophy of history. He believed
that the historian would be accountable to God on the day of judgment for what
he wrote; his function was to teach ‘the lessons of history’.
Barani’s Tarikh is unique
to the Persian history writing tradition prevalent till his times. It is for
the first time that he tries to analyse the cause and effect of the events and
developments taking place in polity and economy.
Fatwa-i-Jahandari
Barani’s
subsequent work, Fatawa Jahandari, contains his advice to rulers on
administration, state policy, and army. Through his work, he tried to educate
the Sultans about their duties. It is an important contribution to political
and military thinking of the period and scholars of his age.
Conclusion
Though Barani conceived the duties of a historian, he wrote like a storyteller. Thus, he lacked ‘deep research, great discrimination, and sustained effort’. On his own admission, Barani based his work partly on his hearsay statements, and partly on personal observations. Whatever may be his limitations as a historian from the modern point of view, it must be admitted that Barani had a high conception of the function of a historian.
