Firishta

Historian

Muḥammad Qāsim Hindū Šāh Astarābādī (“Firištah”) was probably born a few years before 980/1572 in Aḥmadnagar. However, both the date and place of his birth remain conjectural. He spent his early youth as a member of the royal guard in the service of the Aḥmadnagar sultanate. When the king was deposed and murdered during a raid on the palace in 996/1588, Firištah barely escaped with his life. He along with others migrated for safety to Bīdjāpūr in 997/1589. Later that same year, Firištah was presented to the Bīdjāpūrī court and soon entered the government service. It was as a servant of the Bīdjāpūrī sultanate that Firištah completed the Tārīḫ-i Firištah, the well-known history upon which his reputation is largely based.