3 Review(s)

The book was first published in 1829, at the court of Bijapur, where Ferishta spent most of his life under the patronage of King Ibrahim Adil Shah II. It covers Muslim India from around AD 975 to AD 1612. Although Ferishta had a close involvement with some of the events and people he records, there is a fine balance in the narration. There are valuable additions to the text by the translator, John Briggs—an East India Company officer who enriched it by inserting genealogical tables and notes, as well as a comparative chronology of events in Europe and India. The book also examines the descendants of Timurlane and the founding of the Mughal dynasty by Babur in the early sixteenth century. The book gives a true account of the sovereigns of Delhi and of the Bahmuny kings of the Deccan. Ferishta also wrote in detail the histories of all the other Mohammedan princes who held independent sway in India during the 17th century. The deeds of the illustrious monarchs who reigned over Bijapur also form part of the book. The work has come to be regarded as a classic and still maintains a high place as an authority on the history of the period covered.