Ziauddin Barani

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.