ʿĀrif Qandahārī

Historian

Muḥammad ʿĀrif Qandahārī served as a steward to a celebrated general of Mughal Emperors Humāyūn and Akbar. Due to this position, the author was able to witness some of major events of early Mughal times, such as Humāyūn’s flight to Iran and then his return to India as Mughal Emperor. His only known work is Tārīḫ-i Akbarī, sometimes referred to as Tārīḫ-i ʿĀrif i Qandhārī, or Tārīḫ-i Muḥammad ʿĀrif i Qandahārī, which is a history of Akbar’s reign extending to 987/1579. It is possible that Tārīḫ-i Akbarī is a section of a much larger work that included the history of Humāyūn’s reign, however, that part is missing.