“THE GUARDED TREASURY” is so peculiar a name, that it probably represents the date when the work was first commenced, 1142 A.H. The narrative, however, is brought down to the year 1150 A.H., or eight years subsequent.
The second volume only of this work has come into my possession, and in that nothing is stated with respect to the name and position of the author. The first volume seems to have been devoted to miscellaneous subjects. We are told incidentally, in a passage at the beginning of the second volume, that, amongst other things, it contained a Treatise on Knowledge. There could have been nothing on history, for that subject is exhausted in the second volume. The names of authorities are not given in any general form, but the Tabakát-i Násirí and Tabakát-i Akbarí are quoted. The only portion that can be considered original is the first portion on the duties and observances of kings and ministers, which is profusely illustrated by quotations from the Kurán.
This work is very rare. I have seen but one copy, which is in the possession of Sa'ídu-d dín Ahmad Khán, of Murádábád. As before mentioned, it is deficient in the first volume. It was transcribed in 1188 A.H., in the Nast'alík character.