An Analytical Survey of the Badauni,s Historiography and Approach toward History in his Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh

Formal works in Muslim historiography were written mostly by the order of the rulers, legitimizing their rule as a result. However, there were some Muslim historians who tended to take an independent and critical style of work. Badauni, the historian of the Mughal court who spent most of his time in the court of Akbar, is one of those men who have a special style of historiography. In his reports of his contemporary events, Badauni almost pays attention to every aspect of whatever happens such as historical, philosophical, sociological, economic, and anthropological ones. This article surveys Badauni,s Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh to study his style of historiography beside delivering required contextual clues. Unlike his contemporaneous historians, Badauni criticizes the government,s economic and social policies as well as the official and ethical corruption of the court elite. He also tends to sociological analyses, when reporting the events inside the society and among the folk