Firdausi, author of the epic Shahnama, was not part of Mahmud Ghaznavi’s Indian expeditions. Though he lived during Mahmud’s time, he worked mainly in Persia. The historians who actually documented Mahmud’s rule were Alberuni (Kitab-ul-Hind), Utbi (Tarikh-i-Yamini), and Vaihaki (Tarikh-i-Subuktagin). Firdausi’s work was literary, not historical. ANSWER: (A) Firdaus, author of Shahnama