Historian, (d. 704)
d. 996/1587–88
Historian
One the most respected scholars to appear at Mughal Emperor Akbar’s court, Aḥmad ibn Naṣr Allāh Tattavī was brought up in Tattah, Sind. In his pursuit of higher education and spiritual improvement, Tattavī traveled as a young man both to important centers of learning, particularly in Iran, and the holy cities of Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem. Later on Tattavī made his way to India and was received favorably by Akbar. When the Emperor commissioned a group of scholars to compose a work on the first 1000 years of Islam Tattavī became the chief laborer. The work was entitled Tārīḫ-i Alfī. Tattavī wrote the bulk of the text, namely, the portion from the 36th year after the Prophet’s death to the time of Ghāzān Ḫān (d. 704/1304). However, Tattavī never saw the work completed as he was killed in 996/1587–88.