Bihāmad Ḫānī

Historian

Muḥammad ibn Bihāmad Ḫān was a military commander in the Kālpi dynasty, which held a semi-independent position in Uttar Pradesh from 797/1394 to ca. 842/1438. After meeting a Sufi saint, the author’s life appears to have been transformed. He became a disciple and some time later began working on a project beginning with the life of the Prophet. The work was titled Tārīḫ-i Muḥammadī (named after the Prophet), also referred to as Tārīḫ-i Bihāmad Ḫānī. Tārīḫ-i Muḥammadī is a general history from the time of the Prophet to 842/1438–9. Perhaps the work’s greatest value is in the author’s observations of his own times, which deal with local dynastic and regional history.