Hasan Nizami
Hasan Nizami was a Persian language poet and historian, who lived in the 12th and 13th centuries. He migrated from Nishapur to Delhi in India, where he wrote Tajul-Ma'asir, the first official history of the Delhi Sultanate.
Early life
Little is known about the family background of Hasan Nizami, since neither him nor his contemporaries provide any such information. The later historians such as
Nizami originally lived in
During his journey to India, Nizami fell ill at
While in Ghazna, Nizami heard that the
Tajul-Ma'asir
Nizami arrived in Delhi, sometime before the assassination of the Ghurid king Muhammad of Ghor in 1206. Nizami initially stayed with Sharaful-Mulk, who held the office of Sadr in Delhi. When Nizami was looking for employment, his friends suggested that he compile a history of the Muslim conquest of India, highlighting the achievements of Qutb al-Din Aibak. Soon after the Ghurid king's death, Qutb al-Din became the first ruler of the independent Delhi Sultanate, and issued a firman towards this objective.[2]
Nizami thus started compiling his
Since Nizami was more of a poet than a historian, his work features "flights of imagination". For example, he depicts Central Asian plants blossoming in the desert region around Ajmer. Nevertheless, his book was well-regarded by medieval historians for its detailed descriptions. The 14th century chronicler Ziauddin Barani counts him among the trustworthy historians of the Delhi Sultanate.[4]
The Tajul-Ma'asir begins with the
The book provides comprehensive details about the events between 1192 and 1196. Nizami probably compiled this part of the book between 1206 and 1210. However, his coverage of the post-1196 events is not satisfactory. It is possible that Qutb al-din's untimely death in 1210 dashed Nizami's hopes of receiving a royal reward, and reduced his interest in completing the work.[7] The book goes on to describe the reign of the next ruler Iltutmish, but this part appears to have been compiled in haste.[8]
Nizami started writing the book in 1205-1206, and completed it sometime after 1229.[9]
References
- ^ a b Iqtidar Husain Siddiqi 2010, p. 40.
- ^ a b c d Iqtidar Husain Siddiqi 2010, p. 41.
- ^ Khaliq Ahmad Nizami 1983, p. 55.
- ^ Iqtidar Husain Siddiqi 2010, p. 42.
- ^ Iqtidar Husain Siddiqi 2010, pp. 41–42.
- ^ Iqtidar Husain Siddiqi 2010, p. 43.
- ^ Iqtidar Husain Siddiqi 2010, p. 46.
- ^ Iqtidar Husain Siddiqi 2010, p. 52.
- ^ Peter Jackson 2003, p. 7.
Bibliography
- Iqtidar Husain Siddiqi (2010). Indo-Persian Historiography Up to the Thirteenth Century. Primus Books. ISBN 978-81-908918-0-6.
- Khaliq Ahmad Nizami (1983). On history and historians of medieval India. Munshiram Manoharlal. OCLC 832916392.
- Peter Jackson (2003). The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-54329-3.