International Journal of History

The arrival of Muslims during the 11^th to 12^th centuries AD marked the beginning of a new era in the Indian sub-continent known as the "Medieval Age." This period witnessed significant transformations in the spheres of administration, society, language, literature, and art, which were widely influenced by central Asian traditions. The Turkish Sultans of the early century adopted Persian as their official language, which acquired prominence in all aspects of learning and communication. In order to facilitate an intimate relationship with the monarchy, the majority of Indian scholars imbibed this language. Even Central Asian scholars, poets, historians, and theologians had been summoned to Delhi; hence, Hindustan emerged as a center of Persian language and literary practice. Throughout the Delhi Sultanate, huge numbers of prose, poetry, historical texts, and manuscripts were composed in Persian. The emigrant scholars of the 13^th century produced their works both in the form of prose and verse, which extend our understanding of history and culture. Evidence of Persian translations of Arabic classics appeared in large numbers. Simultaneously, the 13^th-century Diwans, composed by scholars and poets under the patronage of Sultans and regional rulers, are rich in quality as well as variety. Examples of 14^th-century Farhang literature (lexicography) have a historic dimension that proliferated our knowledge of Delhi aristocratic culture.