Tarikh-i Bal'ami

upright=1.5|thumb|Folio from the Tarikhnama of Muhammad Bal'ami|Bal'ami (early 14th century copy), depicting al-Saffah (r. 750–754) as he receives pledges of allegiance in [[Kufa]] thumb|upright=1.5|The arrow of old Wahraz kills Masruq, the King of Yemen in Persian miniature. '''''Tarikh-i Bal'ami () or Tārīkhnāma-yi Bozorg''''' (, 'The Great Book of History') is the earliest known extant prose book in New Persian written by Muhammad Bal'ami, a vizier in Samanid service. The 10th-century text is a universal history, spanning a period beginning with the dawn of creation through to the Islamic age. Having been translated into Turkish and Arabic, 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 of al-Tabari's History of the Prophets and Kings, it is actually an independent work.

The literary style deviates from that of earlier Parthian language and Middle Persian works composed in the Sasanian Empire. The Tarikhnama 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. It helped revive both the idea of the Iranian monarchy and its memory.