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Firishta or Ferešte ( fa, ), full name Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah Astarabadi ( fa, مُحَمَّد قاسِم هِندو شاہ), was a
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
historian, who later settled in India and served the Deccan Sultans as their court historian. He was born in 1560 and died in 1620. The name ''Firishta'' means 'angel' in Persian.


Life

Firishta was born at
Astarabad Gorgan ( fa, گرگان ; also romanized as ''Gorgān'', ''Gurgān'', and ''Gurgan''), formerly Esterabad ( ; also romanized as ''Astarābād'', ''Asterabad'', and ''Esterābād''), is the capital city of Golestan Province, Iran. It lies appro ...
on the shores of the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asi ...
to Gholam Ali Hindu Shah. While Firishta was still a child, his father was summoned away from his native country into
Ahmednagar Ahmednagar (), is a city located in the Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra, India, about 120 km northeast of Pune and 114 km from Aurangabad. Ahmednagar takes its name from Ahmad Nizam Shah I, who founded the town in 1 ...
, India, to teach
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
to the young prince Miran Husain Nizam Shah, with whom Firishta studied. In 1587 Firishta was serving as the captain of guards of King Murtaza Nizam Shah I when Prince Miran overthrew his father and claimed the throne of
Ahmednagar Ahmednagar (), is a city located in the Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra, India, about 120 km northeast of Pune and 114 km from Aurangabad. Ahmednagar takes its name from Ahmad Nizam Shah I, who founded the town in 1 ...
. Prince Miran spared the life of his former friend, who then left for
Bijapur Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural ...
to enter the service of King Ibrahim Adil II in 1589. Having been in military positions until then, Firishta was not immediately successful in
Bijapur Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural ...
. Further exacerbating matters was the fact that Firishta was of Shia origin and therefore did not have much chance of attaining a high position in the dominantly Sunni courts of the Deccan sultanates. In 1593 Ibrahim Shah II ultimately implored Firishta to write a history of India with equal emphasis on the history of Deccan dynasties as no work thus far had given equal treatment to all regions of the subcontinent.


Overview of work

The work was variously known as the ''Tarikh-i Firishta'' and the ''Gulshan-i Ibrahimi''. In the introduction, a resume of the history of Hindustan prior to the times of the
Muslim conquest The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ...
is given, and also the victorious progress of
Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...
through the East. The first ten books are each occupied with a history of the kings of one of the provinces; the eleventh book gives an account of the Muslims of
Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...
; the twelfth a history of the Muslim saints of India; and the conclusion treats of the geography and
climate of India The climate of India consists of a wide range of weather conditions across a vast geographic scale and varied topography. Based on the Köppen system, India hosts six major climatic sub types, ranging from arid deserts in the west, alpine tu ...
. It also includes graphic descriptions of the persecution of Hindus during the reign of
Sikandar Butshikan Sikandar Shah (Sikandar Butshikan – "Sikandar, the Iconoclast") was the sixth sultan of the Shah Miri dynasty of Kashmir from 1389 to 1413. Sources The only contemporaneous source that exists is the Rajatarangini (lit. Flow of Succession o ...
in Kashmir. ''Tarikh-i Firishta'' consists primarily of the following books: # The Kings of Ghazni and Lahore # The Kings of Dehli # The Kings of Dakhin - divided into 6 chapters: ##Gulbarga ##Bijapur ##Ahmadnagar ##Tilanga ##Birar ##Bidar # The Kings of Gujarat # The Kings of Malwa # The Kings of Khandesh # The Kings of Bengal and Bihar # The Kings of Multan # The Rulers of Sind # The Kings of Kashmir # An account of
Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...
# An account of Saints of India #Conclusion - An account of the climate and geography of India Contemporary scholars and historians variously write that the works of Firishta drew from ''Tabaqat-i-Akbari'' by Nizamud-din, ''Tarikh-i-Rashidi'' by Mirza Haider and Barani's ''Tarikh''. At least one historian, Peter Jackson, explicitly states that Firishta relied upon the works of Barani and Sarhindi, and that his work cannot be relied upon as a first hand account of events, and that at places in the ''Tarikh'' he is suspected of having relied upon legends and his own imagination.


Legacy

According to T. N. Devare, Firishta's account is the most widely quoted history of the Adil Shahi, but it is the only source for asserting the Ottoman origin of
Yusuf Adil Shah Yusuf Adil Shah (1450–1510), referred as Adil Khan or Hidalcão by the Portuguese, was the founder of the Adil Shahi dynasty that ruled the Sultanate of Bijapur for nearly two centuries. As the founder of the newly formed Bijapur dynasty (as th ...
, the founder of the Adil Shahi dynasty. Devare believes that to be a fabricated story. Other sources for Deccani history mentioned by Devare are those of Mir Rafi-uddin Ibrahim-i Shirazi, or "Rafi'",
Mir Ibrahim Lari-e Asadkhani ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
, and
Ibrahim Zubayri Ibrahim ( ar, إبراهيم, links=no ') is the Arabic name for Abraham, a Biblical patriarch and prophet in Islam. For the Islamic view of Ibrahim, see Abraham in Islam. Ibrahim may also refer to: * Ibrahim (name), a name (and list of people w ...
, the author of the Basatin as-Salatin (67, fn 2). Devare observed that the work is "a general history of India from the earliest period up to Firishta's time written at the behest of Ibrahim Adilshah II and presented to him in 1015 AH/1606 CE. It seems, however, that it was supplemented by the author himself as it records events up to AH 1033 (1626 CE)" (Devare 272). On the other hand, ''Tarikh-i-Farishti'' is said to be independent and reliable on the topic of north Indian politics of the period, ostensibly that of Emperor
Jehangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...
where Firishta's accounts are held credible because of his affiliation with the south Indian kingdom of
Bijapur Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural ...
. Despite his fabricated story of Yusuf's Ottoman origin, Firishta's account continues to be a very popular story and has found wide acceptance in
Bijapur Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural ...
today. In 1768, when the East India Company officer and Orientalist
Alexander Dow Alexander Dow (1735/6, Perthshire, Scotland – 31 July 1779, Bhagalpur) was a Scottish Orientalist, writer, playwright and army officer in the East India Company. Life He was a native of Crieff, Perthshire. Alexander Dow's father worked at the ...
translated Firishta's text into English language, it came to be seen as an authoritative source of historical information by the English. Firishta's work still maintains a high place and is considered reliable in many respects. Several portions of it have been translated into English; but the best as well as the most complete translation is that published by General J. Briggs under the title of '' The History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India'' (London, 1829, 4 vols. 8vo). Several additions were made by Briggs to the original work of Firishta, but he omitted the whole of the twelfth book, and various other passages which had been omitted in the copy from which he translated.
Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, is k ...
used Firishta's work as one of the sources of reference for Indian history in ''
Decline and Fall ''Decline and Fall'' is a novel by the English author Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1928. It was Waugh's first published novel; an earlier attempt, titled '' The Temple at Thatch'', was destroyed by Waugh while still in manuscript form. '' ...
''.


Works

* *


See also

*
List of Muslim historians :''This is a subarticle of Islamic scholars, List of Muslim scholars and List of historians.'' The following is a list of Muslim historians writing in the Islamic historiographical tradition, which developed from hadith literature in the time o ...


Notes


References

{{Authority control 16th-century Persian-language writers Historians from the Mughal Empire 17th-century Indian historians 16th-century births 1620 deaths People from Gorgan Emigrants from Iran to pre-colonial India Historians of India 16th-century Iranian historians 17th-century Persian-language writers 17th-century Iranian historians