Medieval Indian History
🔒 Log in to trackMedieval Books & Foreign Travellers
🔒 Log in to trackOur knowledge of medieval India comes from court chronicles, memoirs, poems and the reports of foreign travellers. Exams ask which author wrote which book, and which traveller visited which ruler. Learn each book with its author, and each traveller with his country and ruler.
Chronicles of the court
| Book | Author | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Kitab-ul-Hind (Tahqiq-i-Hind) | Al-Biruni | India under Mahmud of Ghazni |
| Tabaqat-i-Nasiri | Minhaj-us-Siraj | Dedicated to Nasiruddin Mahmud |
| Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi | Ziauddin Barani | Sultanate history. He also wrote Fatawa-i-Jahandari, advice to kings. |
| Rihla | Ibn Battuta | Travels, including Muhammad bin Tughlaq's India |
| Padmavat | Malik Muhammad Jayasi | Awadhi epic (1540) |
| Humayun-nama | Gulbadan Begum | Babur's daughter |
| Akbarnama and Ain-i-Akbari | Abul Fazl | Ain is the third volume of the Akbarnama |
| Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh | Abdul Qadir Badauni | Critical of Akbar |
| Razmnama | Translation team under Akbar | Persian Mahabharata |
| Padshahnama (Badshahnama) | Abdul Hamid Lahori | Shah Jahan's reign |
| Majma-ul-Bahrain, Sirr-i-Akbar | Dara Shikoh | Sufism and Vedanta meet; Persian Upanishads |
Other writers: Amir Khusrau, the "Parrot of India", wrote in Persian (Khamsa, Tughlaq Nama). Isami wrote Futuh-us-Salatin. Babur wrote the Baburnama in Turkish. Jahangir wrote the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri.
Tip: Abul Fazl wrote the praising Akbarnama and Ain. Badauni wrote the bitter, critical Muntakhab.
The travellers' ladder
| Traveller | From | Visited | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Biruni | Central Asia (Khwarazm) | Mahmud of Ghazni | Kitab-ul-Hind |
| Marco Polo | Venice | Pandya coast (1290s) | Pearl fishery accounts |
| Ibn Battuta | Morocco | Muhammad bin Tughlaq's Delhi | Qazi of Delhi. Book: Rihla. |
| Nicolo Conti | Venice | Vijayanagara (Deva Raya I) | |
| Abdur Razzaq | Persia (Timurid) | Vijayanagara (Deva Raya II) | Hampi's splendour |
| Athanasius Nikitin | Russia | Bahmani kingdom | Voyage to India |
| Domingo Paes, Duarte Barbosa | Portugal | Krishnadevaraya's court | Bazaars of Hampi |
| Ralph Fitch | England | Akbar's reign (1583) | First English merchant |
| Hawkins, Sir Thomas Roe | England | Jahangir (1608, 1615) | Roe = envoy of James I |
| Bernier | France | Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb | |
| Tavernier | France | Shah Jahan | Diamond merchant |
| Manucci | Italy | Mughal India (17th century) |
Watch: Ibn Battuta was Moroccan, not Persian.
Vernacular classics
The medieval literary map is many-languaged.
- Padmavat by Jayasi: an Awadhi Sufi romance of Alauddin and Padmini.
- Bijak, Manas, abhangas: Kabir, Tulsidas (Awadhi), Sur (Braj) and Tukaram (Marathi).
- Amuktamalyada: Krishnadevaraya's Telugu classic.
Each book is also a source. The Padmavat shows Sufi storytelling. The Ain records prices and rules. The Rihla shows daily life in Delhi under Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
What each source is best for
- Administration: the Ain-i-Akbari (mansabs, provinces, prices).
- Daily life and courts: Ibn Battuta's Rihla, Paes on Hampi, Bernier on Delhi.
- Trade: Tavernier on diamonds, Marco Polo on pearls, Nikitin on Bahmani markets.
- Court politics: Barani on the Tughlaqs. Badauni against Abul Fazl's praise of Akbar.
Note: Court histories praise their patrons. Cross-check them with coins, inscriptions and foreign travellers.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Chronicle and author (Sultanate and Mughal)
A book title to match with its author, or a match-the-column list.
Sultanate: Barani (Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi), Minhaj (Tabaqat-i-Nasiri).
Mughal: Abul Fazl (Akbarnama), Lahori (Badshahnama), Gulbadan (Humayun-nama).
Match the emperor to the historian before you answer.
Each book has exactly one author, and an emperor's name in the title helps.
The Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi, a history of the Tughlaq age, was written by:
Show solutionHide solution
The title names Firoz Shah.
Its author is Ziauddin Barani.
Ziauddin Barani
Foreign travellers and the courts they visited
"Who visited the court of..." or a traveller-country-ruler match.
Use the ladder: Ibn Battuta-Muhammad bin Tughlaq, Razzaq-Deva Raya II, Paes-Krishnadevaraya.
Then: Nikitin-Bahmani, Fitch-Akbar, Roe-Jahangir.
The traveller's country is a strong clue.
Each traveller pairs with one ruler, and the country removes wrong options.
Who visited the court of Deva Raya II of Vijayanagara as an envoy of Persia?
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Persia narrows the list.
The Timurid envoy was Abdur Razzaq.
Abdur Razzaq
Regional and vernacular classics
"Padmavat", "Humayun-nama", "Amuktamalyada" or a language question.
Jayasi: Padmavat, Awadhi.
Gulbadan Begum: Humayun-nama, a woman chronicler.
Krishnadevaraya: Amuktamalyada, Telugu.
Each classic has a language and an author, which the options test.
The Padmavat, an Awadhi Sufi romance, was written by:
Show solutionHide solution
It was written in 1540.
The author is Malik Muhammad Jayasi.
Malik Muhammad Jayasi
Mughal court literature and memoirs
Words like Baburnama, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, Ain-i-Akbari, Badshahnama.
Two royal memoirs: Babur (Turkish) and Jahangir (Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri).
Ain-i-Akbari is the third volume of the Akbarnama.
Abdul Hamid Lahori wrote on Shah Jahan.
Emperor, book and volume form a short fixed set.
The Ain-i-Akbari is which part of Abul Fazl's Akbarnama?
Show solutionHide solution
The Akbarnama has three volumes.
The Ain is the third.
The third volume
Best source for what?
"Which source tells us about prices / daily life / trade / court politics?"
Administration and prices: Ain-i-Akbari.
Daily life: Rihla, Paes, Bernier. Trade: Tavernier, Marco Polo, Nikitin.
Court politics: Barani (Tughlaqs), Badauni against Abul Fazl.
The question type asks you to match a source to its strength.
Which source is best for Akbar's mansabs, provinces and prices?
Show solutionHide solution
It is an administrative gazetteer.
It forms the third volume of the Akbarnama.
The Ain-i-Akbari
Shortcuts that save time
Abul Fazl wrote the official, praising Akbarnama and Ain. Badauni wrote the bitter, critical Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh.
Which historian wrote a critical account of Akbar's religious policy?
Show solutionHide solution
Critical and bitter points to Badauni.
His book is Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh.
Abdul Qadir Badauni
11th Al-Biruni, 13th Marco Polo, 14th Ibn Battuta, 15th Conti and Abdur Razzaq, 16th Paes and Nuniz, 17th Hawkins, Roe, Bernier and Tavernier.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Calling Ibn Battuta a Persian traveller.
He was Moroccan and served as qazi of Delhi.
Saying Humayun wrote the Humayun-nama.
Gulbadan Begum, Babur's daughter, wrote it.
Treating the Ain-i-Akbari as a separate book.
It is the third volume of the Akbarnama.
Thinking Al-Biruni came with Muhammad Ghori.
He came with Mahmud of Ghazni.
Mixing Hawkins and Roe.
Hawkins came in 1608. Roe came in 1615 as envoy of James I.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Barani: Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi. Abul Fazl: Akbarnama (Ain is vol. 3). Lahori: Badshahnama. Babur: Turkish memoir.
Travellers: Marco Polo (Pandya), Ibn Battuta (Muhammad bin Tughlaq), Conti and Paes (Vijayanagara), Razzaq (Deva Raya II).
Nikitin: Bahmani. Fitch: Akbar. Roe: Jahangir (1615).
Jayasi: Padmavat (Awadhi). Khusrau wrote chiefly in Persian.
Court histories praise patrons, so exams love the question "who visited whom".
Practice: 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 5 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.