Indian Historiography in the Medieval Period

Historiography in the Medieval Period:  

Medieval India refers to a long period of Post-Classical history of the Indian subcontinent between the "ancient period" and "modern period". It is usually regarded as running approximately from the breakup of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century CE and the start of the Early modern period in 1526 with the start of the Mughal Empire, although some historians regard it as both starting and finishing later than these points. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early Medieval and Late Medieval eras. 

Sources of Medieval Indian History:  

1. The writing style of Kalhana's history of Kashmir, ‘Rajtarangini’, from the 12th century C.E., is strikingly similar to that of contemporary historiography. According to Kalhana, he penned this book after carefully researching a variety of sources, including inscriptions, coins, the remnants of ancient structures, dynastic documents, and regional customs. 
   

   Kalhana's Rajtarangini

2. Arabic and Persian historiography had an impact on the court historians of Muslim kings in medieval India. Ziauddin Barani occupies a significant position among them. In a book he wrote titled ‘Tarikh-i-Phiruz Shahi,’ he outlined the goal of history. He contends that the historian's obligation extends beyond simply documenting the heroism and welfare policies of the ruler and requires him to also write about the monarch's flaws and bad decisions. 
   

   Tarikh-i-Phiruz Shahi

3. The Mughal empire's founder Babur authored an autobiography titled ‘Tuzuk-i-Babari.’ It includes accounts of the conflicts he was involved in. Babur also kept a detailed journal of his observations of the plants and trees, culture, and economy of the different places and cities he visited. 
   

   Tuzuk-i-Babari

4. The ‘Akbarnama’ by Abul Fazl is crucial from the perspective of critical historiography. His approach to gathering real historical materials and studying them is seen as objective and so realistic. 
   

   Akbarnama

5. Alberuni discussed Indian culture and society in his Arabic writings. Many works about India were written by foreign academics in the years that followed.    

   Author	Book
   Hasan Nizami	Tajul-Ma’asir
   Minhaj-i-Siraj	Tabaqat-i-Nasiri
   Amir Khusrau	Tuzuk-i-Timuri, The autobiography of Timur (-i) Lang, who was also known as Amir Timur who invaded India
   Yahya Bin Ahmad Sirhindi	Tarikh-i- Mubarakshahi

   The experiences of international visitors to India are very crucial. Ibn Battuta, Abdul Razzaq, Marco Polo, Nicolo Conti, Barbosa, and Domingos Paes are a few of them. Their writings give us historical details about medieval India. Among the Aurangzeb era historians whose writings are significant sources of Mughal history are Ishwardas Nagar, Bhimsen Saxena, Khafi Khan, and Niccolo Manucci.
   
   
6. Bakhar: 

• A significant category of historical writing from the Middle Ages is called ‘Bakhar.’ It includes tributes to the heroes as well as accounts of historical occasions, conflicts, and the lives of famous persons. 
• Bakhars can be categorized into a variety of types, including king biographies, dynasty histories, event summaries, sect histories, autobiographies, about grievances, based on mythology, and state management by a monarch. 
• There are several kinds of Marathi bakhars. During the rule of Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj, Krishnaji Anant Sabhasad penned ‘Sabhasad Bakhar.’ It is an important source of knowledge regarding Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's reign. 
• The Battle of Panipat is described in ‘Bhausahebanchi Bakhar.’ The same event is also covered in another bakhar, titled ‘Panipatachi Bakhar.’ Information on the Holkars and their contributions to the Maratha rule can be found in ‘Holkaranchi Kaiphiyat.’ 
  

  Page of Sabhasad Bakhar