A Persian historian, born at Astrabad, on the Black Sea; went at an early age, accompanied by his father, to India, where his life was spent in the service, first of Murtaza Nizam Shah, in Ahmednagar, and afterwards at the court of the prince of Bijapur; his famous history of the Mohammedan power in India, finished in 1609, and the writing of which occupied him for 20 years, is still a standard work, and has been translated into English (about 1570-1611).