I present a short overview of my recent book, I closely examine the most complete idea of Hindustan, elaborated by the early seventeenth century Deccan historian Firishta, in his *Tarikh*. The talk will cover the methodological argument of the book.  I will focus on the ways in which Firishta’s philosophy of history shapes the ways in which he reads the past.

Manan Ahmed, Associate Professor, is a historian of South Asia and the littoral western Indian Ocean world during the medieval and early modern periods. His areas of specialization include intellectual history; critical philosophy of history, colonial and anti-colonial thought. He is interested in how modern and pre-modern historical narratives create understandings of places, communities, and intellectual genealogies for their readers. He is the author of *A Book of Conquest: The Chachnama and Muslim Origins in South Asia* (Harvard University Press, 2016) and  *The Loss of Hindustan | The Invention of India* (Harvard University Press, 2020).

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