Tarikh-e Balami, Abu Ali Muhammad Balami

Balami's History is a Persian translation by Abu Ali Muhammad ibn Muhammad Balami of the celebrated History of the Prophets and Kings by the ninth-century historian Muhammad al-Tabari. The translation was begun in 352 AH (942 CE). While Tabari's original work provides a detailed account of world history from the creation of Adam through the early fourth Islamic century, Balami's version is a freer and more concise Persian rendering. Given its date of composition, it stands as one of the oldest works of Persian prose, preceded only by the Shahnameh.