Tarikh-i Bal'ami (Persian:تاریخ بلعمی,romanized: History of Bal'ami) orTārīkhnāma-yi Bozorg (تاریخنامه بزرگ, 'The Great Book of History') is the earliest known extant prose book in thePersian language written byMuhammad Bal'ami, avizier inSamanid service. The 10th-century text is auniversal history, spanning a period beginning with the dawn of creation through to the Islamic age. Having been translated intoTurkish andArabic, the book remained in circulation for a thousand years, and it is among the most influential books of Islamic historical literature. While the author claims the book is a Persian translation ofal-Tabari'sHistory of the Prophets and Kings, it is actually an independent work.^[1][2]

The literary style deviates from that of earlierPahlavi andMiddle Persian works composed in theSasanian Empire. TheTarikhnama is considered the starting point of an influential Persian historiographical tradition that makes use of Arabic loanwords, and is based more on Arabic (and Islamic) models than earlier Sasanian ones.^[1]

Bal'ami started translating the book on 352AH (963 CE).

Various manuscripts of this book are today available in the libraries of Iran, India, Turkey and Europe. The oldest surviving manuscript seems to be from 7th century AH (13th century CE).

The book was translated into Persian language at the order ofMansur ibn Nuh, the Samanidamir. The book provides invaluable information about theSasanian Persia and mythical history of Iran.^[3] Generally considered merely an abridged version of Tabari's work,A. C. S. Peacock demonstrated that Balami reshaped Tabari's work considerably, and that the differences between the two works are such that theTārīkhnāma is essentially a new work.^[4]

• Shahnameh

• Peacock, A. C. S. (2007).Mediaeval Islamic Historiography and Political Legitimacy: Balʿamī's Tārīkhnāma. London and New York: Routledge.ISBN 978-0-415-40025-1.