Consider the following text and arrange them in chronological order :
1. Fatawa-i-Jahandari
2. Prithviraja-Raso
3. Kitab-ul-Hind
4. Tabaqat-i-Nasiri
Select the correct answer from the codes given belo

Question

Consider the following text and arrange them in chronological order :
1. Fatawa-i-Jahandari
2. Prithviraja-Raso
3. Kitab-ul-Hind
4. Tabaqat-i-Nasiri
Select the correct answer from the codes given below.

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — D, the order is 3, 2, 4, 1. Kitab-ul-Hind (Tahqiq-i-Hind) by Al-Biruni is the earliest, written around 1030 CE in the wake of Mahmud of Ghazni's raids. Prithviraja-Raso, the Braj-Rajasthani epic ascribed to Chand Bardai, court poet of Prithviraj Chauhan (reigned to 1192 CE), belongs to the late 12th century. Tabaqat-i-Nasiri, Minhaj-us-Siraj Juzjani's history of the Delhi Sultanate up to the Slave (Mamluk) dynasty, was completed around 1260 CE. Fatawa-i-Jahandari, Ziauddin Barani's political treatise, is the latest, written around 1358 CE under Firoz Shah Tughlaq. So earliest to latest = 3 (c. 1030) → 2 (late 12th c.) → 4 (c. 1260) → 1 (c. 1358).

Why the other options are wrong — (a) This wrongly puts Prithviraja-Raso (late 12th c.) before Kitab-ul-Hind (c. 1030). Al-Biruni's work predates Chand Bardai's epic, so 3 must come before 2.  (b) This places Fatawa-i-Jahandari (c. 1358, Barani) second — far too early. Barani's treatise is the latest of the four, not earlier than Prithviraja-Raso or Tabaqat-i-Nasiri.  (c) This starts with Tabaqat-i-Nasiri (c. 1260) before Kitab-ul-Hind (c. 1030), reversing their true order, and ends with Prithviraja-Raso, which actually predates the two Sultanate works.

Concept: This tests the dating of four well-known medieval Indian texts. Al-Biruni's Kitab-ul-Hind (c. 1030) is an Arabic account of Indian sciences, religion and society; Prithviraja-Raso (late 12th c.) is a bardic epic in early Rajasthani/Braj by Chand Bardai; Tabaqat-i-Nasiri (c. 1260) by Minhaj-us-Siraj is a Persian chronicle of the early Delhi Sultanate; Fatawa-i-Jahandari (c. 1358) by Ziauddin Barani is a treatise on ideal Islamic kingship written under Firoz Shah Tughlaq.

State PCS 2020 Q32 — History PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2020 Q32 — History PYQ with Answer