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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}}
'''Abdul Malik Isami''' (1311–?) was a 14th-century Indian historian and court poet. He wrote in [[Persian language]], under the patronage of [[Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah]], the founder of the [[Bahmani Sultanate]]. He is best known for ''Futuh-us-Salatin'' (c. 1350), a poetic history of the [[Muslim conquests of the Indian subcontinent|Muslim conquest of India]].

== Early life ==

Isami was born in 1311, possibly in [[Old Delhi|Delhi]]. His father's name was 'Izz ul-Din 'Isami.{{sfn|Iqtidar Alam Khan|2008|p=79}} His ancestor Fakhr Malik Isami had migrated from [[Baghdad]] to India during the reign of [[Iltutmish]] (r. 1211–1236).{{sfn|Bhanwarlal Nathuram Luniya|1969|p=87}}

In 1327, the [[Delhi Sultanate]] ruler [[Muhammad bin Tughluq]] decided to move his capital from Delhi to [[Daulatabad, Maharashtra|Daulatabad]] in Deccan region. Several residents of Delhi, including Isami's family, were ordered to move to Daulatabad. His 90-year-old grandfather died during this journey.{{sfn|E. Sreedharan|2004|p=346}}

== In Bahman Shah's service ==

At Daulatabad, Isami was appalled with what he perceived as Tughluq's misdeeds and tyranny. At one point, he decided to migrate to Mecca, but he was determined to write a history of Muslim rule in India before leaving the country.{{sfn|Iqtidar Alam Khan|2008|p=79}} He aspired to emulate the famous Persian poet [[Ferdowsi]], who wrote ''[[Shahnameh]]'', an epic poem outlining the history of Persia.{{sfn|E. Sreedharan|2004|p=346}}

Qazi Bahauddin of Daulatabad introduced him to [[Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah]], who had rebelled against Tughluq.{{sfn|Agha Mahdi Husain|1963|p=vi}} Bahman Shah, who established the independent [[Bahmani Sultanate]] in the [[Deccan]] region, became Isami's patron.{{sfn|E. Sreedharan|2004|p=346}} Isami thus became the earliest [[panegyrist]] at the Bahmani court.{{sfn|Meenakshi Khanna|2007|p=133}}

Under the patronage of Bahman Shah, he started writing ''Futuh-us-Salatin'' in 1349. Isami claims to have composed its 12,000 verses in 5 months.{{sfn|Saiyid Abdul Qadir Husaini|1960|p=164}} According to him, he started writing the book on 10 December 1349, and completed it on 14 May 1350.{{sfn|Bhanwarlal Nathuram Luniya|1969|p=87}} Nothing is known about Isami's life after this point.{{sfn|Agha Mahdi Husain|1963|p=vi}}

== ''Futuh-us-Salatin'' ==

The ''Futuh-us-Salatin'' ("Gifts of the Sultans") is a history of Muslim rule in India until 1349-50. Isami also called it ''Shahnama-i Hind'' ("the ''[[Shahnameh]]'' of India").{{sfn|Iqtidar Alam Khan|2008|p=79}} According to Isami, his sources included anecdotes, legends, and reports by his friends and acquaintances.{{sfn|E. Sreedharan|2004|p=346}} Unlike several earlier chronicles, the book's language is devoid of "rhetorical artifices and unpleasant exaggeration".{{sfn|Saiyid Abdul Qadir Husaini|1960|p=164}}

The book begins with an account of the conquests of the [[Ghaznavid]] ruler [[Mahmud of Ghazni|Mahmud]] (r. 998–1002) and the [[Ghurid]] ruler [[Muhammad of Ghor|Muhammad]] (r. 1173-1202). It then goes on to narrate the history of the Delhi Sultanate until 1349-50.{{sfn|E. Sreedharan|2004|p=346}} The book also describes the early years of the establishment of the Bahmani Sultanate.

=== Historical reliability ===

''Futuh-us-Salatin'' is written in [[Mathnawi (poetic form)|masnavi]] (rhyming poem) style, and is not fully reliable for the purposes of history. It contains factual mistakes and omits several important events. In addition, Isami implies that the various historical events were [[predeterminism|pre-determined]] by [[divine will]] and [[destiny]].{{sfn|Tej Ram Sharma|2005|p=73}} He believed that the presence of spiritually powerful [[Sufi]] leaders affected the fortunes of a kingdom. For example, he attributes to the decline of the Delhi Sultanate to the death of the Sufi saint [[Nizamuddin Auliya]]. Similarly, he claims that the Deccan region prospered because [[Burhanuddin Gharib]] and his successor [[Zainuddin Shirazi]] lived in Daulatabad.{{sfn|Meenakshi Khanna|2007|p=133}}

Isami is highly critical of Muhammad bin Tughluq. On the other hand, he calls his patron Bahman Shah as the rightful [[caliph]].{{sfn|Carl W. Ernst|2003|p=59}} He claims that Tughluq forced the ''entire'' population of Delhi to move to Daulatabad, and that only 10% of the migrants survived the journey. Both these claims appear to be exaggerations.{{sfn|Carl W. Ernst|2003|p=112}} According to Isami, this unfortunate situation was a result of God's punishment to the corrupt Muslims.{{sfn|Carl W. Ernst|2003|p=113}}

Despite these defects, Isami's book is a valuable source of information about the political history and social life of 14th century India.{{sfn|Kanhaiya Lall Srivastava|1980|p=236}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===

{{ref begin}}
* {{cite book |author=Agha Mahdi Husain |title=Tughluq Dynasty |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGA9AAAAMAAJ |year=1963 |publisher=Thacker, Spink |oclc=776929905 }}
* {{cite book |author=Bhanwarlal Nathuram Luniya |title=Some Historians of Medieval India |chapter=Khwājā Abd Malik Isāmi and His Futuh-us-Salātin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pas9AAAAMAAJ |year=1969 |publisher=Lakshmi Narain Agarwal |oclc=652191747 }}
* {{cite book |author=Carl W. Ernst |title=Eternal Garden: Mysticism, History, and Politics at a South Asian Sufi Center |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5xnM2RWvswgC&pg=PA59 |publisher=SUNY Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-4384-0212-3 }}
* {{cite book |author=E. Sreedharan |title=A Textbook of Historiography, 500 B.C. to A.D. 2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jJVoi3PIejwC&pg=PA346 |year=2004 |publisher=Orient Blackswan |isbn=978-81-250-2657-0 }}
* {{cite book |author=Iqtidar Alam Khan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iGSKTttoa3IC&pg=PR17 |title=Historical Dictionary of Medieval India |publisher=Scarecrow |year=2008 |isbn=9780810864016 }}
* {{cite book |author=Kanhaiya Lall Srivastava |title=The position of Hindus under the Delhi Sultanate, 1206-1526 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-cMgAAAAMAAJ |year=1980 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |isbn=9788121502245 |oclc=7889570 }}
* {{cite book |author=Meenakshi Khanna |title=Cultural History of Medieval India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZbKv3zyIFD8C&pg=PA133 |year=2007 |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=978-81-87358-30-5 }}
* {{cite book |author=Saiyid Abdul Qadir Husaini |title=Bahman Shāh, the founder of the Bahmani Kingdom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zJgrnbdaefEC |year=1960 |publisher=K. L. Mukhopadhyay |location=Calcutta |oclc=52549354 }}
* {{cite book |author=Tej Ram Sharma |title=Historiography: A History of Historical Writing |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vkpTy-_jEoYC&pg=PA73 |year=2005 |publisher=Concept |isbn=978-81-8069-155-3 }}
{{ref end}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Panegyrists]]
[[Category:14th-century Indian historians]]
[[Category:Delhi Sultanate]]
[[Category:Bahmani Sultanate]]
[[Category:Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:Persian-language writers]]
[[Category:Indian male writers]]
[[Category:Poets from Delhi]]
[[Category:1311 births]]
[[Category:Year of death uncertain]]
[[Category:Scholars from Delhi]]

Abdul Malik Isami - Revision history

>Utcursch at 15:07, 12 March 2021