15 Topics.
0 of 21 Concepts Done
What to Study: Who wrote it, and in which period? Remember how many books it has and the subjects it covers. Know when and by whom it was rediscovered, and where. Why is it compared with Machiavelli, and how does it work as a Mauryan administrative manual?
What to Study: Who was Megasthenes, and in whose court did he serve? Is the original text still available? Understand how its content is known today and through which later writers. Remember what it describes of Mauryan India, such as the capital, the army and the palace. Into how many classes does it divide Indian society, and what are they?
What to Study: Remember when each Chinese pilgrim visited India, in whose reign, and the name of his book. Be clear about Xuanzang's stay at Nalanda. You should be able to tell the two pilgrims apart by period and king, and explain what their accounts are used for.
What to Study: Whose life does it describe, and who wrote it? Is it a work in verse or in prose? Understand why it is read together with the account of a Chinese pilgrim as the two sources for Harsha's reign.
What to Study: Which king does this poem praise, and from which dynasty and century? Bilhana came from Kashmir but wrote about the Deccan. What does this tell you about Sanskrit culture across India?
What to Study: Remember the author, approximate date, language and region, and what the title means. Understand how Kalhana tested his sources. Why is it called the first systematic historical chronicle, and why do earlier works such as the Arthashastra and Harshacharita not count as chronicles in this sense?
What to Study: Who wrote it, and who is its hero? It mixes history with legend. Understand the debate over its date and authenticity, and why it is still valued as a record of Rajput memory.
What to Study: Whose chronicles are the Buranjis? Remember the language they were first written in and the language that replaced it. Know the two types, official and family. Were Buranjis also written about neighbouring kingdoms (Tripura, Kachari, Jaintia)? Understand why they matter for Assam's history.
What to Study: When and in which language did Al-Biruni write it, and how did he come to India? Understand how he studied India, what he wrote about (philosophy, science, society) and why his account is valued for its objectivity.
What to Study: Remember the author, the approximate date and the language. How is the work arranged, and how far back does its story begin? Understand which period of the Delhi Sultanate it serves as a primary source for.
What to Study: When and in which language was the Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi written, and which reigns does it cover? Understand the Fatawa-i-Jahandari as a work of political theory. What role does it give to Islamic law in governing?
What to Study: Where was Ibn Battuta from, and when did he reach India? Remember the post Muhammad bin Tughlaq gave him and the mission he was later sent on. In which language is the Rihla, and who wrote it down?
What to Study: Afif's history shares its title with Barani's work. How do the two differ in the part of Firuz Shah's time they cover? Remember what the Futuhat-i-Firuz Shahi is, and who wrote it.
What to Study: In which language did Babur write his memoirs, and about when? Understand what makes it a frank self-portrait and what he observed of plants, animals and society. Into which language was it later translated, and under which emperor?
What to Study: Who was Gulbadan Begum, and how was she related to Babur, Humayun and Akbar? Why did she write the book, and in which language? Understand what it covers and why it is rare among Mughal writings.
What to Study: Who wrote it, about which period, and in which language? Be clear about its three-volume structure. Understand why it is treated as the official biography of Akbar and a very detailed source for Mughal India.
What to Study: How does the Ain-i-Akbari relate to the Akbarnama? Remember the kinds of information it records: the royal household, administration, revenue, the army and culture. Understand why this makes it a key source on Mughal administration.
What to Study: Where and when did Akbar set up the Maktab Khana? Remember what it did. The Razmnama is the Persian version of which Sanskrit epic? Know the men who made it and who wrote its preface.
What to Study: These are Jahangir's own memoirs. Remember their approximate period and their other name. Understand why they are a useful source for 17th-century art, culture and natural history, and what they show about his taste.
What to Study: Remember what each of the two works deals with, and the year of the Sirr-i-Akbar. What was Dara Shikoh trying to achieve through them, and which two traditions of thought did he try to bring together? Know which saint he followed and which other Hindu texts he had put into Persian.
What to Study: Which history did each of these writers produce: Badauni, Abdul Hamid Lahori and Khafi Khan? Know the reign or period each history is chiefly valued for. How did Badauni's view of Akbar differ from Abul Fazl's?