“Book XXI.—History of the Shamsiya Sultáns of Hindustan, whose capital was Dehlí, from the time of Shamsu-d dín Al-tamsh, who expelled Árám Shah from the throne in A.H. 607 (A.D. 1210) to A.H. 658 (A.D. 1259), when Násíru-d dín Mah-múd, the seventh king of the dynasty, reigned in Dehlí, and the author completed the present history.

“Book XXII.—Account of the most eminent nobles, viceroys, governors, etc., who flourished under the Shamsiya dynasty, from A.H. 625 (A.D. 1227) to the author's own time, ending with a life of Baháu-d dín Alú Khán Balban who was the wazír of Násiru-d dín Mahmúd, and who afterwards, on the death of that monarch, ascended the throne of Dehlí without opposition.

“Book XXIII.—On the incursions of the infidels; comprising an account of the war between Sultán Sanjar Saljúkí and the tribes of Kará Khitá; of the conquest of Turkistán by Mu­hammad Khwárizm Sháh, and the defeat and death of Gúr Khán, the Kará Khitáian, in A.H. 607 (A.D. 1210); and of Changíz Khán and his descendants, viz:—Jújí Khán, Uktáí Khán, Chaghatáí Khán, Kuyúk Khán, Bátu Khán, Mangú Khán, Hulákú Khán, and Barakah Khán, to A.H. 658 (A.D. 1259).”

The Tabakát-i Násirí is held in very high esteem both in India and Europe. Firishta and others refer to it as an excellent work of high authority; Anquetil du Perron calls it a “precious work,” and Elphinstone mentions it as a work of the highest celebrity. Stewart in his History of Bengal, follows it very closely, and considers it “a very valuable book.” These en­comiums are not altogether undeserved; it is written in a plain, unaffected style, and the language is considered very correct. The author but rarely indulges in high-flown eulogy, but narrates his facts in a plain, straightforward manner, which in­duces a confidence in the sincerity of his statements, and the accuracy of his knowledge. He appears to have been industrious in collecting information from trustworthy persons, and he often mentions his authority for the facts he records. Still he is very meagre in his details, and Mr. Morley justly observes, “many portions of the history are too concise to be of much use.” He is also particularly disappointing occasionally in the brevity with which he records important matters about which he might have obtained full information, such, for instance, as the irruption of the “infidels of Changíz Khán” into Bengal, as far as the walls of Lakhnautí, in 642 H. (1245 A.D.)

Another defect of the work arises from its plan, which necessi­tates repetition, and requires events to be related in more than one place. Thus, the record of the reign of Násiru-d dín and the memoir of Ulugh Khán (Ghiyásu-d dín) go over the same ground, and record many of the same facts but with considerable variety of detail.]

It is strange (says Sir Henry Elliot) that the Tabakát-i Nasirí should be so scarce in India. I know of only one copy besides my own, although there is no work for which I have searched so much.* It is in one of the royal libraries of Luck-now, and though several of my correspondents had declared that it was not to be found there, I discovered it at last by making a man ascend a ladder, and read out the title of every work in the library. After the lapse of almost three hours the name was read out. The work is by no means uncommon in Europe. Scarcely any one is so much quoted by Orientalists. It is possible that the reason of its being so scarce in India is that it vituperates the Mughals, and shows the consternation which they occasioned at the time of their first conquests, inasmuch as the author represents them as manifest signs of the approach of the day of judgment.*

[The portions of the Tabakát-i Násirí which relate to India have been printed in the Bibliotheca Indica, under the super-intendance of Major Lees, in a volume of 450 pages. This con­tains the 11th and the 17th to the 22d Tabakats or books. Major Lees' preface to this volume states the reasons for thus limiting the publication, and contains some critical observations upon the value of this work, and of others which furnish the materials for the history of the early Muhammadan rulers of India.*

Size of Sir H. Elliot's MS.—Small folio, 12 by 8 inches. Seventeen lines in each page.]