FERISIITA, MOHAMMED KASHA, a celebrated Persian historian, was born at Aetrabad, on the border of the Caspian Sea, in 1570. Ilia father, when name was Gholani All Ifindoo Shah, and who appears to have been a learned man, left his native country when Feriehta was very young and travelled into India. llo finally settled at Ahmudnuggcr, in the Deccan, during the reign of Murtuza Nizam Shah, and was appointed to instruct Miran Hoseein, the eon of Murtuza, In the Persian language, but he died eoou after this appoint ment Miren Homeiu however patronised his son Feriehta, and through his influence the historian was advanced to high honours in the court. When 3iiirtuza was assassinated, Feriahta, who was then only seventeen yearn of an was captain of the royal guard.
In tho troubles following the death of Murtuza, Ferishts left Ahmudnuggcr (1589, leo the preface to his history), and went to Bejapore, where he was kindly received by the regent and minister, Dilawur Khan, who introduced him to Ibrahim Adil Shah II., the reigning monarch. In this court he spent the remainder of his life in high houonr, engaged sometimes in military expeditious, as we learn from his own history, and devoting his leisure time to the composition of his great work. He died, in all probability, soon after 1611, at the age of forty-one. He mentions in his history the English and Portuguese factories at Surat, 1611.
The preceding account has been chiefly taken from the English translation of Ferishta, by Colonel Briggs, which was published in London, in 1829, 4 vols. Svo. Portions of the history had been pre viously translated. Colonel Dow published a translation of the first two books in his History of Hindostan,' 2 vols., 4to, London, 1768, which is not considered to be very accurately done. A much better
translation of the third book was given by Mr. Jonathan Scott in his History of the Deccau,' 2 vols., 4to, 1794. Mr. Stewart, in his ' Descriptive Catalogue of the Library of the late Tippoo Sultan of Mysore,' gives an account of the contents of the history, p. 12 ; and also a translation of part of the tenth book, accompanied with the original Persian, pp. 259-267.
The history of Ferishta is divided into twelve books, with an introduction, which gives a brief and imperfect account of Hindoo history before the time of the Mohammedans, and also a short account of the conquests of the Arabs in their progress from Arabia to Hindustan. The first book contains an account of tho kings of Ghizui and Lahore, 997.1186. Here the detailed portion of his history begins: 2, The kings of Delhi, 1205 to the death of Abker, 1605;' 3, ' The kings of the Deccan, 1347-1596;' 4, The kings of Guzerat ; ' 5, The kings of Malwa; ' 6, 'The kings of Kaodeish ;' 7, Tho kings of Bengal and Behar ; ' 8, 'The kings of Multan ; ' 9, The rulers of Sind;' 10, 'The kings of Cashmir ;' 11, 'An Account of Malabar ;' 12, 'An Account of the European Settlers in Hin doetan.' At the conclusion of the work, Ferishta gives a short account of the geography, climate, and other physical circumstances of Hin dustan.
Ferishta is certainly one of the most trustworthy, impartial, and unprejudiced of oriental historians. He seems to have taken great pains in consulting authorities. At the close of his preface he gives a list of thirty-five historians to whom be refers, and Colonel Briggs mentions the names of twenty more who are quoted in the course of the work. .