Poet
ʿIṣāmī was born in Delhi but at a young age forced to move to the Deccan as a result of Muḥammad Tuğluq’s compulsory population transfer in 726/1326. Later in life he migrated to Arabia ca. 750-1/1349–50 and most likely died some time not too long afterward, possibly at Medina. ʿIṣāmī’s fame rests on the epic poem Futūḥ al-salāṭīn, also referred to as āh-nāmah-yi Hind on account of ʿIṣāmī’s attempt to model his poem after Firdawsī’s Šāh-nāmah (see Firdawsī) in both meter and stature.
Futūḥ al-salāṭīn is a history of the rulers of India from the Ğaznavids until the date of the work’s composition ca. 750-1/1349–50. It is written in a clear and simple style with a high regard for factual information rather than poetic license or freedom.