Hasan Nizami

Hasan Nizami was a Persian language poet and historian, who lived in the 12th and 13th centuries. He migrated from Nishapur to Delhi in India, where he wrote Tajul-Ma'asir, the first official history of the Delhi Sultanate.

Little is known about the family background of Hasan Nizami, since neither him nor his contemporaries provide any such information. The later historians such as Mīr-Khvānd, Abu'l-Fazl and Kâtip Çelebi call him "Sadru-din Muhammad bin Hasan Nizami". Ziauddin Barani calls him "Sadr-i-Nizami". According to the 14th century Persian historian Hamdallah Mustawfi, Nizami was a son of Persian poet Nizami Aruzi, but there is no evidence to substantiate this claim.

Nizami originally lived in Nishapur, in the Khorasan region of present-day Iran. When the region became unsafe because of the Khwarazmian-Ghurid conflict, Nizami visited the Imam Reza shrine and sought advice from his religious preceptor Muhammad Kufi. Kufi advised him to leave Nishapur and migrate to India.

During his journey to India, Nizami fell ill at Ghazna. He recovered under the care of Shaikh Muhammad Shirazi and Majd-al-Mulk, who held the office of Sadr-i-Jahan. The fact that these important officials extended their hospitality to Nizami indicates that he was either a reputed scholar or came from a reputed family.

While in Ghazna, Nizami heard that the Qutb al-Din Aibak, the Ghurid governor of Delhi, was generous towards immigrants. He, therefore, decided to try his luck in Delhi.

Nizami arrived in Delhi, sometime before the assassination of the Ghurid king Muhammad of Ghor in 1206. Nizami initially stayed with Sharaful-Mulk, who held the office of Sadr in Delhi. When Nizami was looking for employment, his friends suggested that he compile a history of the Muslim conquest of India, highlighting the achievements of Qutb al-Din Aibak. Soon after the Ghurid king's death, Qutb al-Din became the first ruler of the independent Delhi Sultanate, and issued a firman towards this objective.

...
Wikipedia