Question

Fill in the blank with the appropriate word from the given options.
The chronicle Ain-i-Akbari was authored by Akbar’s court historian _ _ _ _ .

• A. Iyat Khan
• B. Abu’l Fazl
• C. Abdul Hamid Lahori
• D. Abdul Qadir Badayuni

Hint:

To easily remember the structure of Akbar's primary court history: Akbarma (3 Volumes total, authored by Abu'l Fazl)
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Volume I & II: Chronological rrative of Akbar's life and ancestors
Volume III: Ain-i-Akbari (The administrative and statistical manual)

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Concept: During the Mughal era, official court chronicles were commissioned by emperors to project their authority, document comprehensive administrative frameworks, and preserve dystic lineages. These texts provide foundatiol primary sources for modern historians alyzing the structural functioning of the Mughal state.

Step 1: Identifying the author of the Ain-i-Akbari.
The Ain-i-Akbari (meaning "Institutes of Akbar") serves as an exhaustive gazetteer detailing the administration, revenue collection, cultural practices, military layout, and statistical metrics of Emperor Akbar’s domain. It was written by his close confidant, advisor, and court historian, Abu'l Fazl ibn Mubarak.
• The Ain-i-Akbari is actually the monumental third volume of a much larger historical project known as the Akbarma (The History of Akbar).
• Abu'l Fazl worked on this expansive manuscript for thirteen years, writing in elegant Persian. He meticulously gathered raw data from central and provincial administrative bureaus to assemble a detailed, empirical picture of the empire.

Step 2: Verification and elimition of incorrect options.
Let us review the historical contributions of the other contemporary figures mentioned:
• (A) Iyat Khan: He was a seventeenth-century Mughal historian who authored the Shahjahanma, which details the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan. He is unrelated to Akbar's era.
• (C) Abdul Hamid Lahori: A pupil of Abu'l Fazl, Lahori was the official court historian for Shah Jahan. He authored the famous chronicle titled Padshahma.
• (D) Abdul Qadir Badayuni: He was a contemporary of Abu'l Fazl in Akbar’s court. However, he was a staunch critic of Akbar's liberal religious policies and secretly wrote the Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh (Selection of Chronicles), which directly opposed the idealized portrayal found in Abu'l Fazl's works. Thus, Option (B) stands as the only correct answer.