by Ahmad Yadgar or Ahmad Yādgār was a scholar and a historian of India lived in 16th century AD. He was born in Afghanistan. He is known for his authorship of a book on the medieval history of India, titled Tarikh-e Shahi (History of the Reign) or better known as Tarikh-e Salatin-e Afghaneh (History of Afghan Rulers), specifically describing the events and history of Afghan rulers in India. The language of Tarikh-e Shahi is Persian.
As far as the information about his personal life is concerned, we know a little due to lack of documented facts. Whatever we know today about Ahmad Yadgar, that is mostly based on the information contained in his book in the preface, that he mentioned himself. And that too is very precise. But, on the basis of his respected place in the court of rulers, as well as his migration from Afghanistan to India, reflects and it also seems that he was from a learned and well off family and he had migrated to India in his early age. He held a respected post as a scholar and a writer (or may be a tutor too) in the court of Afghan rulers.
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According to his book Tarikh-e Shahi (تاریخ شاهی), as the author mentions himself in the preface, that he was a courtier in the court of Daud Shah, the Sultan of Karrani Dynasty of Bengal. “And the book has been written on the order of Daud Shah”, (Tarikh-e-Shahi, Author Ahmad Yadgar, Translation (Urdu) by Sayyed Nazeer Neyazi, Urdu Science Board, Lahore, 1985).
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Daud Khan or Sultan Daud Shah-bin-Sulaiman or Daud Shah Karrani wanted to preserve the history of reigns of Afghans in India, and wanted it to be written and documented. He succeeded his father, Shah Sulaiman, and Daud ruled for a short period in Bengal from 1572-1576 AD (980-84 AH). Shah Daud was the last ruler of Karrani Dynasty and reigned till he was defeated by the Mughals.
Ahmad Yādgār also notes in his Tarikh-e Shahi that, he was “an old servant at the Sur Kings and says that Daud Shah gave him order to write a History of Afghan Sultans, and thus do the same for them as the Tarkikh-i Nasiri and Zia-i Barni had done for the kings of their times”, (The History of India as Told by its own Historians, The Muhammadan Period, by Sir H. M. Elliot and Dowson, Vol. V, London).
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His book Tarikhe-e Salatin-e Afghan-eh (تاریخ سلاطین افغانه ) is considered as one of the valuable primary sources by historians specially for the history and accounts of the reigns of Lodi and Sur sultans. A brief description of the Mughal kings like Babur, Humayun and Akbar has also been mentioned by Ahmad Yadgar in his Tarikh-e Shahi.
