CONTENTS.

Preface, p. 1—Hindústán, its products and men, p. 12— Descriptive Geography of the súbas, p. 28—Hindú Rájas, p. 94—The Ghaznivides, p. 172—Muhammadan Kings of Dehlí, p. 196—Reign of Bábar, p. 294—Reign of Humáyún, p. 310— Reign of Akbar, p. 347—Reign of Jahángír, p. 441—Reign of Sháh Jahán, p. 479—Reign of Aurangzeb, p. 487.

SIZE—Quarto; containing 534 pages of 19 lines each.

The Khulásatu-t Tawáríkh is one of the commonest works in India, and is not rare in Europe. There are several copies in the British Museum. The Asiatic Society of Bengal has a very good copy, with a few leaves deficient at the end, and there are two copies in the Royal Asiatic Society's Library.

Several copies, even from such widely distant places as Lon­don, Calcutta, Dehlí, Patna, and Saháranpúr, all conclude with stating the date of Aurangzeb's death; which, as the work was composed in the fortieth year of his reign, must have been added by some transcriber in a very early copy; for though it is not improbable that any transcriber should add the date of the Emperor's death, yet, unless the original entry had been very early, so many copies could not have concurred in giving it in the same form and words.

[The Editor has translated the account of Dehlí; but has not thought it necessary to give extracts from the historical part of the work.]

[In Hindú and Persian histories I have read that in ancient times the city of Hastinápúr was the capital of the rulers of Hindústán. This city stood upon the bank of the Ganges, and a great deal has been written about the (great) extent and size of this city in that age. It is very populous at the present time, but nothing like what it was in those old days. When dissensions broke out between the two royal races the Kauravas and Pán-davas, the latter removed from Hastinápúr to the city of Indar-prast on the Jumna, and made it their capital. A long while afterwards, in the year 440 of Bikramájít, Rája Anang Pál Tonaur* built the city of Dehlí near to Indarprast. Afterwards Ráí Pithaurá, in the year twelve hundred and something of Bikramájít, built a fort and city to which he gave his own name.

Sultán Kutbu-d dín Aibak and Sultán Shamsu-d dín Altamsh occupied the fort of Ráí Pithaurá. In the year 666 Hijra (1267-8 A.D.) Sultán Ghiyásu-d dín Balban built another fortress, which he called Shahr-zaghan.* In the year 686 Hijra (1287 A.D.) Sultán Mu'izzu-d dín Kai-Kubád built another city of handsome edifices on the Jumna, to which he gave the name of Kílú-garí. Amír Khusrú extols this city in his Kiránu-s Sa'adain. Sultán Jalálu-d dín Khiljí founded the city Kúshk-l'al (red palace), and Sultán 'Aláu-d dín the city of Kúshk-Sirí and made them their respective capitals. Sultán Ghiyásu-d dín Tughlik Sháh, in the year 725 Hijra (1325 A.D.), raised the city of Tughlik-ábád. His son, Sultán Muhammad Fakhru-d dín Jauná, founded another city, and erected in it a palace of 1000 pillars. He also built some other fine mansions of red stone (rukhám). In the year 755 Hijra (1354 A.D.) Sultán Fíroz Sháh built the large city of Fíroz-ábád, and having cut the river Jumna, he conducted the water to his city. Three kos distant from the city he raised another palace, containing in it a lofty pillar, which still remains standing on a little hill, and is commonly called the láth of Fíroz Sháh. Sultán Mubárak Sháh founded the city of Mubárak-ábád. In the year 943 Hijra (1536 A.D.) Nasíru-d dín Muhammad Hum-áyún Bádsháh, having restored and repaired the fort of Indarprast, gave it the name of Dín-panáh, and made it his royal residence. Sher Sháh Afghán, having pulled down the city known as Kúshk-Sirí, built another one. Salím Sháh, his son, in the year 953 Hijra (1546 A.D.) built the fort of Salím-garh, which still stands in the river Jumna, opposite the citadel of Sháh-Jahán-ábád. Although each of the rulers of Hindústán founded a city, and made it the seat of his government, still in all parts of the dominions Dehlí is famous as the capital of all the rulers of Hindústán. In the year 1048 A.H. (1638 A.D.), and in the twelfth year of his reign, Shahábu-d dín Muhammad Sháh Jahán Bád-sháh-i Ghází Sáhib-Kirán-i sání built a city near Dehlí, which he named Sháh-Jahán-ábád. Through the building of this great city, all the cities which have been mentioned as having been built by former kings have been eclipsed, and are included under the general name of Sháh-Jahán-ábád, just as the many rivers which fall into the Ganges are known only by the name of Ganges.]