Page 7 - SST Class 07

enunciate information from a written word than Biographies and Autobiographies
from an archaeological source.
Prithviraj Raso : It was written by Chand Bardai . It
Archaeological Sources describes the times and adventures of Prithviraj
Chauhan, a ruler of Delhi.
The archaeological sources include buildings,
paintings, coins, inscriptions etc. A great many Baburnama : It was written by the Mughal
buildings were constructed during the medieval emperor, Babur , about his times and rule.
period, such as Qutb Minar and Red Fort in Delhi;
Humayun Nama : It was written by Gulbadan
Buland Darwaza at Fatehpur Sikri near Agra; and Begum . It tells many things in detail about
Char Minar in Hyderabad etc. The inscriptions on Humayun’s reign.
buildings have helped in ascertaining dates of
history. Similarly, inscriptions on coins, copper Akbarnama : It was written by Abul Fazl
plates, rocks and pillars have helped to ascertain describing the times during Akbar’s rule.
dates and historical developments. Chronicles

Chronicles tell about the rule of a ruler or rulers in
detail. Some of the important chronicles are:
Tughlaqnama : It was written by Amir Khusrau
dealing with the rule of the Tughlaqs. He has also
written the Khazain-ul-Futuh about the rule of the
Khaljis.
He has also mentioned different languages which
Buland Darwaza Qutb Minar
were spoken in different parts of the country, such
as Sindhi, Lahori, Kashmiri, Dvarsamudri,
Info Bits
Info Bits Telangani, Gujarati, Ma’bari, Gauri, Awadhi and
Hindawi.
Archaeology is a specialised science dealing with Activity
the material remains of past civilisations. The
people who study such old material remains are Amir Khusrau has mentioned a number of
called archaeologists. languages that were spoken in India during his
times. Can you tell the modern names of these
Literary Sources languages with the help of clues :

A lot of information about the medieval period is Dvarsamudri ______________
derived from the literary sources, which comprise
of biographies of rulers, autobiographies, (Clue : It is spoken in southern Karnataka.)
chronicles, letters, records, poetry, travelogues Gujarati ______________
and other works. Let us understand that the (Clue : It is spoken in Gujarat.)
printing press had not yet been invented, so the
copies of works were made by hand. The people Tarikh-i-Firishta : This book, written by Firishta , is
who made copies from manuscripts were called a record of the rule of Delhi Sultans until the
scribes . Since copying by hand is a difficult task, seventeenth century.
we find some changes in different copies by the Rajatarangini : This is a famous book on the
same writer. This has sometimes resulted in history of Kashmir written by Kalhana .
ambiguity.
Travelogues
Some of the important biographies,
A number of travellers visited India during the
autobiographies, chronicles and travelogues
pertaining to the medieval period are as follows: medieval period and wrote about their

Medieval Period : Where, When and How
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