Short answers, pulled from the story.
Khwaja Nizam-ud-Din Ahmad Bakshi was a historian born in 1551 who served as Akbar's Mir Bakhshi or Paymaster General. He is best known for writing the Tabaqat-i-Akbari, a comprehensive historical work spanning from the Ghaznavids to the 38th year of Akbar's reign.
The Tabaqat-i-Akbari is a monumental historical text written by Khwaja Nizam-ud-Din Ahmad that covers the period from the Ghaznavids to 1593-4 or 1002 AH. It serves as a deliberate construction of imperial memory designed to legitimize the Mughal dynasty while preserving the cultural and political heritage of the subcontinent.
Khwaja Nizam-ud-Din Ahmad wrote the Tabaqat-i-Akbari to cover the period ending in the 38th year of Akbar's reign which concluded in 1593-4 or 1002 AH. The work spans from the Ghaznavids who ruled from 986 to 987 through the height of Akbar's power.
Khwaja Nizam-ud-Din Ahmad quoted twenty-nine different authorities in the Tabaqat-i-Akbari. Many of these sources have since vanished into the mists of time leaving him as the sole custodian of their lost wisdom.
The Tabaqat-i-Akbari is important because it preserves references to twenty-nine different authorities many of which are now entirely lost to history. It provides a detailed account of the political social and cultural transformations that shaped India during the Mughal period.