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History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v2.c32.s1: Persian.

History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v2.c32.s1

Language
English

Contents

Persian.

A.—Court Annals.

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1. *Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri*, ed. by Syed Ahmad (1863-64), the autobiography of the Emperor Jahangir (Elliot, vi. 251—283.) Translations of two different recensions of it have been published by Price and Anderson, and a faithful one of Syed Ahmad's edition by Rogers and Beveridge (for the O. T. Fund, New Series.) I have occasionally referred to Gladwin's *History of Hindostan*, Vol. I. (Calcutta, 1788), which gives an account of Jahangir's reign, faithfully based on "authentic Persian manuscripts." (Elliot, vi. 277.)

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2. *Padishahnamah* by Abdul Hamid Lahori, printed in the Bibliotheca Indica series, 2 vols. The first volume is divided into two parts, paged separately and indicated in my notes as I. A. and I. B. It covers the first twenty years of Shah Jahan's reign and was written to order on the model of Abul Fazl's *Akbarnamah*. (Elliot, vii. 3.) Quoted as 'Abd. Hamid' or *Pad*.

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3. *Padishahnamah* by Muhammad Waris, a continuation of Abdul Hamid's work. It covers the 3rd decade of Shah Jahan's reign. (Elliot, vii. 121.) I have used the Khuda Bakhsh MS. which once belonged to F. Gladwin, Major Fuller, Wm. Moorcroft, and Lewis DaCosta.

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4. *Aml-i-Salih* by Muhammad Salih Kambu, gives the history of the 31st year of Shah Jahan's reign and of the War of Succession. (Elliot, vii. 123.) The author was an adherent of Shah Jahan. He uses the State papers and writes in the exact style and method of the Court annalists in continuation of Waris's history. But with the illness of Shah Jahan he evidently lost access to the State papers and his narrative from this point onwards lacks fulness and accuracy, and is either meagre of detail or padded out with rhetorical commonplaces and moral reflections. In a disjointed manner it continues the narrative to the death of Shah Jahan. The same volume as No. 3 above.

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5. *Alamgirnamah* by Mirza Muhammad Kazim, (Bibliotheca Indica series), covers the first decade of Aurangzib's reign. Written to order and revised by the Emperor. Full of gross flattery and suppression of all incidents discreditable to Aurangzib. (Elliot, vii. 174.) Quoted as *A. N.*

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6. *Masir-i-Alamgiri* by Muhammad Saqi Mustaid Khan, (Bibliotheca Indica series), written after Aurangzib's death, but on the basis of the State papers. (Elliot, vii. 181.) It is very condensed, giving the history of 51 years in 541 pages, while a regular Court chronicle like the *Alamgirnamah* takes 1107 pages in treating of 10 years only. I suspect that some of the leaves of the MS. from which this edition has been printed had got out of their proper places, and certain incidents of one year have been recorded under another year. But I have not met with any good MS. of the work. Quoted as *M.A.*

B.—Private Histories.

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7. Aqil Khan Razi, (life in *Masir-ul-umara*, ii. 821), an old servant of Aurangzib, wrote a short history variously entitled *Zafarnamah-, Wakiat-, Halat-i-Alamgiri*, and *Aurangnamah*. It begins with the invasion of Bijapur in 1657 and ends with the death of Mir Jumla. The author writes with independence and in some cases reveals facts which could not have been pleasing to his master. His style is stiff with rhetoric, and the material portion of his book is really small in extent, though of undoubted value. I have used the A. S. B. MS. D. 239, occasionally comparing it with the Khuda Bakhsh MS. There are several copies of it at Rampur. (See Rieu, pp. 265, 792.)

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8. *Tarikh-i-Shah-Shujai*, written at Maldah in 1660 by Mir Muhammad Masum, an old servant of Shuja. (See Elliot, vii. 198, for other titles of the book.) Masum's wife's brother (?), Muhammad Said, was the paymaster of Sipihr Shukoh (a son of Dara) and afterwards entered the service of Muhammad Sultan (the eldest son of Aurangzib.) So, our author learnt the different versions of events current in the camps of three of the rivals for the throne. But he lived and wrote in Bengal, where only distorted rumours of Delhi affairs reached him. Hence he is not always reliable about occurrences outside Bengal, and can be convicted of inaccuracy in certain details. But he mentions many facts not to be found elsewhere and seemingly true. For Shuja's doings he is our only authority and a very important one too. There is a striking agreement between him and Manucci in many particulars; evidently the two used the same source of information. Ends abruptly with Shuja's return to Tanda on the eve of his flight to Dacca. I have used the India Office Library MS. No. 533 (Ethe 340.) Khuda Bakhsh has a better copy of it.

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9. *Muntakhab-ul-Lubab*, by Muhammad Hashim Khafi Khan, (Bibliotheca Indica series), 2 vols.—a history of the Mughal Emperors from Babar to the 14th year of Muhammad Shah's reign (1733.) Khafi Khan's father was an officer of Murad Bakhsh, and he was probably related to several natives of Khaf who held the post of collector of customs at Surat and whom he praises. Khafi Khan himself conducted an embassy to the English at Bombay in 1694.

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His history is professedly an abridgement of more original works up to the middle of Aurangzib's reign. Thereafter he writes from personal knowledge and supplements the meagre *Masir-i-Alamgiri* in many important points. He took care to consult many of the surviving actors of the earlier scenes and to verify his information by diligent inquiry. His reflective style, description of the condition of society, and characteristic anecdotes save his work from the dry formality of the Court annals, and he is specially informing with regard to Deccan affairs. But Khafi Khan at places seems to me to have added unauthorised touches for the sake of literary effect. (Elliot, vii. 207).

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10. *Nuskha-i-Dilkasha*, by Bhimsen, a Kayeth born at Burhanpur and the son of Raghunandan whose brother was Bhagwan-das surnamed Dianat Rai, officiating diwan of the Deccan. Our author, therefore, lived in friendly intercourse with the highest officers, Hindu and Muslim, of Mughal Deccan. He spent most of his life as the agent of Dalpat Rao, the Bundela chief of Datia, who long fought in Aurangzib's wars in the Deccan with a contingent of his clansmen, usually as the lieutenant of Nusrat Jang. Bhimsen had to travel from Delhi to Cape Comorin and has left short but interesting accounts of the places he saw, besides recording many autobiographical touches and throwing much light on the manners of the age and the character of the administration. His book is of the highest importance to the historian, especially for Deccan affairs. An abridged and incorrect translation of a portion of it has been published as "the Journal of a Boondelah Officer" in Jonathan Scott's *History of the Dekkan* (Shrewsbury, 1794.) I have used I. O. L. MS. No. 94 (Ethe 445) as far as it goes, *viz.* to the fall of Golkonda (pp. 1—208) and thereafter the British Museum copy (Or. 23), folios 94*b*—174*a*. The work begins with Aurangzib's raid on Haidarabad in 1656 and ends with the death of Kam Bakhsh.

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11. Isardas (sometimes written as Isridas), a Nagar of Pattan in Guzerat, wrote a history named *Fatuhat-i-Alamgiri*, (Elliot, vii. 198.) He was a servant first of the Shaikh-ul-Islam (the son of Chief Qazi Abdul Wahhab) and afterwards of the Mughal viceroys of Guzerat, being placed in charge of the Jodhpur district. Though like Masum he sometimes records the affairs of Northern India inaccurately, because only garbled popular tales reached him in his far-off province, yet he is a first-hand authority for much of what happened in Rajputana and Malwa. The book covers the period 1657 to 1698, but does not attempt a regular narrative of all the occurrences of any year. Parts of it look desultory. The colophon states that the work was "put down in writing as a memorial of Mehta Isridas." Does it mean that it consists of Isardas's reminiscences put together by another hand after his death? Br. Mus. Add. 23,884 is the only copy of it known to exist.

C.—Professed Abridgements

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(of little value.)

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12. Inayet Khan's *Shah Jahan-namah*, (Elliot, vii. 73.) Khuda Bakhsh has a fine copy of it.

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13. *Tazkirat-us-Salatin-i-Chaghtaia*, (Elliot, viii. 17.) Khuda Bakhsh MS.

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14. *Mirat-i-Alam* (Elliot, vii. 145), gives the accession of Aurangzib. An almost exact copy of the *Alamgirnamah*. The *Aina-i-Bakht*, of which two MSS. exist at Rampur, is probably the same work, or an eighteenth century recension of it.

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15. *Lab-ut-Tawarikh-i-Hind*, by Brindaban-das, the son of Dara's *diwan* Bahara Mal, (A. S. B. MS. D. 265.) Too brief to be of any use. (Elliot, vii. 168.)

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16. *Adab-i-Alamgiri*, Khuda Bakhsh MS. f. 213a—259b, gives a history of the 31st year of Shah Jahan's reign and of the War of Succession, avowedly abridged from the regular histories (*viz.* the *Aml-i-Salih* and the *Alamgirnamah*), but occasionally adds a line or two of information not to be found in the sources.

D.—Monographs.

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17. *Lataif-ul-Akhbar*, probably written by Badi-uz-zaman Rashid Khan, gives a detailed account of Dara Shukoh's siege of Qandahar. Khuda Bakhsh MS. (See Ethe No. 331 and Rieu, i. 264.)

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18. *Fathiyya-i-ibriyya* and its *Continuation*, by Shihab-uddin Talish, (Elliot, vii. 199). The main work deals with Mir Jumla's invasion of Kuch Bihar and Assam, and an abstract of it has been published by Blochmann in *J.A.S.B.*, 1872. I have edited the Persian text (as yet in MS.) on the basis of 4 MSS.—A.S.B. MS. D. 72 and three others in the Khuda Bakhsh Library (one of which was written in England in Mr. Swinton's house by Ihtisham-ud-din, the author of the *Shigarf-namah-i-Vilayet*.) The *Continuation* (Bodleian 589, Sachau and Ethe No. 240) gives the history of Bengal from Mir Jumla's death to the conquest of Chatgaon by Shaista Khan. I have published an abstract of its contents and translations of three long passages of it in *J.A.S.B.*, 1906 and 1907. Fragments of the *Continuation* have been found in the library of Nawab Abdus Salam Khan and (probably) in I.O.L. MS. 1572 (Ethe 344).

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¹⁹ *Tarikh-i-Shivaji* (I. O. L. Ms. 1957, Ethe No. 485, cf. Rieu, i. 327), an uncritical history of the rise of the Maratha kingship down to Sambhaji's accession, full of

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popular stories, but giving the Maratha version of many important events. Evidently translated into Persian by some Hindu munshi from one of the Marathi bakhars of Shivaji. I have published an English rendering of it in the *Modern Review*, 1907. The Persian is very impure and the work bristles with Sanskritic words.

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20. *Masir-ul-umara*, or a biographical dictionary of the peerage of the Mughal empire, (Bibliotheca Indica series,) 3 vols. (Elliot, viii. 187). Begun about 1742 and completed in 1779, on the basis of the existing and authoritative histories and letters,—thirty of such sources being named (i. 4-5). Where it conflicts with the original authorities, its evidence has necessarily to be rejected. But its chief value lies in the many characteristic anecdotes it mentions and the light it throws on the manners of the age. Evidently the authors used many true traditions preserved up to their time and some historical works now lost to us. Quoted as *M. U.*

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21. *Ahkam-i-Alamgiri*, ascribed (on insufficient evidence) to Hamid-ud-din Khan surnamed Nimchah-i-Alamgiri, whose life is given in *M. U.* i. 605-611. I have published the text with a critical and annotated English translation under the name of *Anecdotes of Aurangzib*, using the only copies of the work known to exist, *viz.*, 2 MSS. of Mr. Wm. Irvine (Nos. 252 and 340 of his library) 2 MSS. of Nawab Abdus Salam Khan of Rampur, and I. O.L. MS. 3388, none of which is complete. Other fragments of this work await discovery. It contains many anecdotes about Aurangzib, his sons and officers, and his orders on petitions, usually in a caustic vein.

E.—Histories of Persia (for the sieges of Qandahar).

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22. *Tarikh-i-Shah Abbas Sani*, by Mirza Tahir Wahid (Mulla Firuz Library, Rehatsek's Catalogue, IV. 27 and Pers. 92).

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23. *Tarikh-i-Alamara-i-Abbasi*, Vol. II. (Mulla Firuz Library, Rehatsek IV. 23).

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24. *Zubdat-ut-Tawarikh* by Md. Afzal Husain, Khuda Bakhsh MS.

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also *Ruqat-i-Shah-Abbas Sani* (my MS).

F.—Deccan Histories.

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25. *Basatin-i-salatin*, a history of Bijapur, by Mirza Ibrahim Zubairi, (Ethe 455,) written in 1824 but a reliable work, being based on older sources. I have used Major Vamandas Basu's MS. Khuda Bakhsh has a very good copy of it.

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26. *Tarikh-i-Haft-Kursi* (Bijapur), I. O. L. No. 3051 (Ethe 454).

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27. *Tarikh-i-Ali Adil Shah II.* by Syed Nurullah, completed in 1667. I. O. L. 3052 (Ethe 452).

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28. *Qutb-numa-i-Alam*, by Syed Muhammad Mir Abu Turab, completed in 1806. A good abridgement of "the *Tarikh-i-Qutb Shahi*, and other reliable histories" of Golkonda. I. O. L. No. 2428, (Ethe 465, where the title and author are given differently).

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∴ Nos. 26-28 reached me too late for use in my first two volumes.

G.—Court Bulletins.

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29. *Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Muala*, R. A. S. MS. It consists of small slips of brown paper, each briefly recording one day's occurrences at Court, *viz.*, the movements and doings of the Emperor, the time of holding Court, the appointments made, the persons presented or given congee, the presents offered to the Emperor and the gifts bestowed by him, summaries of the despatches received and the orders passed on them, &c. Such records have been preserved for the following years only of Aurangzib’s reign : 3, 4, 8—15, 17, 20—22 (the number of slips ranging from 1 to 61), 36—40, and 42—49. Of these only 6 years, (38, 43—48), have records for more than 200 days each, the year 39 has 101 slips, and the other years less than 71. There are also bulletins of Md. Azam Shah’s viceroyalty (years 46—49 of Aurangzib’s reign, 271 slips,) and of the 2nd year of Bahadur Shah I’s reign, (4 slips).

H.—Letters.

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The letters of Aurangzib have reached us in (a) three compact and clearly defined collections made by his secretaries. (b) Three compilations consisting of selections from various earlier sources, made long after his death. These are generally of an ill-defined and mixed character, hardly any two MSS. agreeing in the number and arrangement of the letters. This is partly due to the fact that after the editors had issued their compilations with their own prefaces, later copyists covered the leaves left blank at the end of their transcripts by inserting other letters of Aurangzib out of the vast number of them circulating in India throughout the 18th century. There is a second difficulty with regard to this group : sometimes a letter of a certain purport differs so much in language and extent in two different collections that they must be considered as belonging to two distinct types. Which of the two faithfully represents Aurangzib’s original letter and which of them is a later recension, it is difficult to say. (c) Two incomplete collections which stand apart from all other groups. (d) Short orders written on petitions, as given in No. 21 above. (e) Stray letters scattered through a large number of other works.

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(a) 16. *Adab-i-Alamgiri*, being a collection of fully drafted letters of Aurangzib from 1650 to 1658 written by his secretary Abul Fath, afterwards created Imperial Munshi and entitled Qabil Khan, who retired from service in June 1659 and died in May 1662. Aurangzib's last letters here are some addressed to Shah Jahan about two months after that Emperor was placed in confinement. The volume also contains (1) a number of letters written by Abul Fath on his own behalf or by order of his master, (2) letters written by Sadiq of Ambala, the secretary of Muhammad Akbar, on behalf of that prince and of himself, and (3) a history of the War of Succession. Compiled in 1704. (See Elliot, vii. 205 and Rieu on Br. Mus. Or. 177.) I have used the beautiful Khuda Bakhsh MS., which once belonged to the Fort William College. A few letters from it have been inserted in other collections and also in Khafi Khan. In every case the addressee is mentioned, and I have found out the dates of most of the letters from internal evidence, by a thorough study of Waris and Kambu.

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30. *Ahkam-i-Alamgiri* by Inayetullah Khan, the last and favourite secretary of Aurangzib. The volume contains not fully written out letters but only a precis of the points which the Emperor dictated to his secretary for inclusion in the letters. But they are not so brief and obscure as the contents of 31. The persons addressed are usually named. The contents refer to the last decade of Aurangzib's reign. I have used the Rampur State Library MS., a fine copy which must have belonged to the Delhi Palace Library, and collated it with the Khuda Bakhsh MS., a neatly written copy of the 18th century. No other MS. of it is known to exist.

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31. *Kalimat-i-Tayyibat*, a precis of the points dictated, including scraps of verse and Arabic texts, for inclusion in the formal letters. Of the same character and date as No. 30, but the persons addressed are usually not named, and the contents are often hopelessly obscure from their brevity. Compiled in 1719 by Inayetullah. I have used A. S. B. MS. F. 27, a fine old copy, probably of the Delhi Palace Library, and compared it with I. O. L. 1761 and 1594 (f. 52a to end.) Some letters from it have found a place in other collections.

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(b) 32. *Raqaim-i-Karaim*, compiled by Syed Ashraf Khan Mir Md. Husaini, consists (but not exclusively) of Aurangzib's letters addressed to the editor's father Mir Abdul Karim. (Br. Mus. Addl. 26, 239).

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33 and 34. *Dastur-ul-aml-i-Agahi* and *Ramz* (or rather *Rumuz)-wa-Isharahha-i-Alamgiri*, two collections of Aurangzib's letters formed at the instance of Rajah Aya Mal, the diwan of Siwai Jai Singh of Jaipur, in 1738 and 1742 respectively. (Elliot, vii. 203—206.) British Museum Addl. 26240, which bears the title of *Ramz* and Addl. 18,881, which is named *Dastur*, are identical in contents and arrangement with each other and with the *Ruqat-i-Alamgiri* lithographed at Lucknow and Cawnpur and everywhere available in the bazar,—there being some slight differences and the inevitable additional letters at the end. The *Ruqat* has been four times translated into English. Br. Mus. Addl. 26239, bearing the title of *Raqaim*, agrees with I. O. L. 3021, 3388 and 1594 (f. 1—50b), and all of them reproduce the contents of the lithographed *Ruqat*, with some additions, omissions and changes in the arrangement. I. O. L. 3301 agrees with 3021, but with many differences and additions. I. O. L. 1761 agrees with Br. Mus. Addl. 26239. Irvine MSS. 344 and 350, though both entitled *Ramz*, greatly differ from each other in their contents and arrangement. Most of their letters (esp. in 344) are to be found in the *Ruqat* and I. O. L. 1344. But there are large additions, many from the *Kalimat-i-Tayyibat* in the case of 350, and a few from sources not yet traced by me. Irvine MS. 350, f. 37a—43b, contains a number of stories, epigrams, and maxims told by the Emperor, many of which are to be found in the Ruqat, I. O. L. 1344, and the K-i-T. I. O. L. 370, f. 56b—80a, mainly reproduces the contents of Irvine 350, with additions from I. O. L. 1344. Cambridge University Library Addl. 420 (Browne's Catalogue, No. CXVII) is almost identical with Irvine 344, with a number of letters from Irvine 350 thrown in.

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Thus we may take the bazar Ruqat-i-Alamgiri as the type of one class of this group. The other type is supplied by I. O. L. 1344, (agreeing with I. O. L. 3337), which reproduces many of the letters of the Ruqat, but usually in an altered form, and gives many others which are not to be found in the Ruqat, being taken mostly from the K-i-T, and in a few cases from the Adab.

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(c) 35. Kalimat-i-Aurangzib, I. O. L. MS. 3301, f. 33a—60b, incomplete at the beginning. It contains letters belonging to the Emperor's last years, none of which is to be found in any other known collection. A few seem to have been taken from Inayetullah's Ahkam, but I have not yet compared the two works closely enough to pronounce an opinion on the point. The contents give information of value.

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36. Rampur State Library, Insha 109 of the new Catalogue, is entitled Kalimat-i-Tayyibat, but does not at all agree with the A. S. B. MS. of that work except in the preface! It contains 204 pages of a very small size. The first two letters of it are found in 35 above. From the short examination I could make of it, it struck me as different from Inayetullah's Ahkam. Ends with a letter of Aurangzib to Md. Akbar and that prince's taunting reply (both abridged). Probably these letters were added on at the end. The conclusion is abrupt, without the regular khatimah.

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(e) 37. Paris Bibliotheque Nationale MS. Persan Suppl. 476 (Blochet's Catalogue No. 704), f. 1b—13a, gives Aurangzib's letters to Jai Singh, the replies to which are to be found in the Haft Anjuman.

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38. Two farmans on revenue regulations [Berlin Royal Library, Pertsch's Catalogue Nos. 15 (9) and (23)], published by me with an English translation in J. A. S. B., 1906. I was wrong in holding these farmans to be unique. The farman to Rasik-das is to be found in Bib. Nat. Sup. 476 and in the I. O. Library, while that to Md. Hashim was translated by Noel Paton in his Principles of Asiatick Monarchies and also in the Persian Reader, Vol. II. (Calcutta School Book Society, 1836), where the text also is given.

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Aurangzib's correspondence with Shah Jahan and Jahanara is quoted by Kambu and Aqil Khan (a paraphrase) and given verbatim in the Faiyaz-ul-qawanin and the A. S. B. MS. F. 56.

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39. Aurangzib's letters to Md. Akbar, his fourth son, after his rebellion, are given in the Khatut-i-Shivaji (R. A. S. MS. 71), and also in 40 below. The Khatut contains three letters of Aurangzib to three Maratha generals.

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40. Zahur-ul-insha, lithographed at Lucknow.

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41. Insha-i-Farsi (A. S. B. MS. F. 56) contains, among other things, letters from Prince Akbar to Aurangzib, Sambhaji to Aurangzib (both given in 39), Muhammad Shah to Nizamulmulk on the invasion of Nadir Shah, Aurangzib to Md. Yar Khan, Aurangzib to Shah Alam I., Shah Jahan to Aurangzib during the siege of Agra Fort, the Mughal collectors of Surat to Pratap Rao Gujar, Aurangzib to Siddi Masaud on the surrender of Adoni, Shah Jahan during his sons' advance from the Deccan, Aurangzib's reply, Lutfullah Khan to Mir Jumla on his being taken under Imperial protection.

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42. Some *farmans* of Aurangzib published in the *J. A. S. B.* and also collected separately.

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43. His letter of reprimand to Azim-ush-shan about private trade (*sauda-i-khas*), given in the *Riyaz-us-salatin* and I. O. L. 3021.

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Stray letters of Aurangzib are also found in I. O. L. 549 (f. 50*a* & *b*) and in some other MSS.

Letters of other Historical Personages.

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44. *Haft Anjuman*, (Benares MS. belonging to Babu Shyam Sundar Lal and his brothers; many leaves hopelessly damaged through neglect.) Udai Raj was secretary to Rustam Khan Deccani and then to Mirza Rajah Jai Singh. On the death of the latter he embraced Islam with the name of Tala Yar. The letters he had written were collected by his son in a book divided into seven sections (called *anjumans*), thus:

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(i) Despatches from Rustam Khan to Shah Jahan, f. 7*b*—26*b*.

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(ii) Despatches from Jai Singh to Aurangzib during the pursuit of Dara after the battle of Ajmir, f. 26*b*—37*a*.

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(iii) Despatches from Jai Singh to Aurangzib during the Deccan compaigns against Shivaji and Bijapur, f. 37*a*—94*b*.

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(iv) Rustam Khan to Shah Jahan's sons, f. 94*b*—125*a*.

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(v) *a.* Rustam Khan to nobles during Shah Jahan's reign, f. 125*a*—135*b*.

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*b.* Jai Singh to nobles of Aurangzib's Court.

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*c.* Jai Singh to nobles and officers posted in the Deccan.

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d. Jai Singh to Sadat Khan, Qutb Shah, and candidates for office (i.e., deserters from the Deccani Sultans.) f. 135b—165a are covered by b, c, and d.

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e. Jai Singh to the Imperial envoys to the Deccani Sultans, f. 165a—174a.

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(vi) a. Letters written in Shah Jahan's reign about certain affairs of Rustam Khan and in Aurangzib's reign about the marriage of Raj Singh and other matters, f. 174a—187a.

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b. Private letters of Jai Singh to his son Ram Singh, his agent Girdhar Lal, and others, in Aurangzib's reign, f. 187a—204b.

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(vii) Letters written by Udai Raj for himself and others, f. 204b—243a.

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The whole of Anjuman ii. and a portion of iii. are given in the Paris MS., No. 37 above. Several of Jai Singh's letters are also met with in the Faiyaz-ul-qawanin.

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45. Faiyaz-ul-qawanin, belonging to Nawab Ali Husain Khan Bahadur of Lucknow, a MS. of 266 leaves, 17 lines to a page. It is a large collection of historical letters, several of them being taken from the official annals and other earlier sources. Divided into three books (called daftars): (i) Letters of kings and princes, (ii) letters from nobles to each other and to kings and princes, and (iii) miscellaneous letters. Among the writers are the Emperors Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan (25 letters), Aurangzib (11), and Farukh-siyar, Jahanara, Dara Shukoh (8), Shuja (6), Murad Bakhsh (47), Jafar Khan, wazir of Aurangzib (9), the Shahs Tahmasp, Abbas I. and Abbas II., Adil Shah, Qutb Shah, Jai Singh and others. Some of Murad's letters are also given the Rampur State Library bad MS. Qasir-ul-anamil (Insha 168.) Irvine MS. 371, a fragment, gives some of the letters of the Faiyaz. I have quoted the paging of Irvine's copy of the complete Faiyaz.

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46. Irvine MS. 257, a fragment of 6 leaves, contains the letters of Lutfullah Khan, the son of the wazir Sadullah Khan, to Aurangzib.

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39. Khatut-i-Shivaji (R. A. S. MS. 71) contains, besides Aurangzib's letters to prince Akbar and three Maratha generals, the following :—Shivaji to the officers of Aurangzib before the siege of Purandhar,—Shivaji to Aurangzib,—Pratap Rao Gujar to the Surat officers,—letters of Sahu, Shah Alam I., Namdar Khan, Dilir Khan (both to Shivaji), Prince Akbar to Aurangzib (most ironical), to Sambhaji and Kavi Kulesh, &c.

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47. I. O. L. 2678, f. 72—128, miscellaneous letters, several of Aurangzib's time, very badly written.

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48. I. O. L. 150 (Ethe 370). Letters from the English at the Surat Factory during their imprisonment for suspected complicity in the plunder of the ship Ganji-Sawai and other letters of 1695-96, folios 65.

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49. Insha-i-Raushan-Kalam, by Munshi Bhupat Rai, servant of Radandaz Khan, faujdar of Baiswara in Aurangzib's reign. Irvine MS. 417, pages 63. "Used by C. A. Elliott in his Chronicles of Oonao, 1860."

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50. Muraqat-i-Hassan, written in 1669 by Maulana Abul Hassan, an officer who served in Bengal and Orissa about 1655—1667, especially during Tarbiyat Khan's viceroyalty of Orissa. (Rampur State Library, Insha 182).

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51. Majmua-i-munshat-wa-ghaira contains letters from and to Bidar Bakht, letters from Mukhlis Khan, Ruhullah Khan, Asad Khan to Md. Murad Khan, and from several other officers during the closing years of Aurangzib's reign. (Rampur State Library, Insha 176.)

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52. British Museum Addl, 6600 gives letters from Abdullah Qutb Shah to Shah Jahan, Dara, Shuja, Aurangzib, and Adil Shah, and also some other letters to Aurangzib and one from him. This MS. could have been of great use to me in connection with Chapters X and XIV, but I have not yet got a transcript of it.

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53. British Museum Sloane 3582, f. 101—124, contains letters and official papers relating to the Karnatak down to 1102 A. H. Most of them belong to the time of Aurangzib.

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54. *Ruqat-i-Shah Abbas Sani*, a MS. which I picked up in the Lucknow bazar, contains some letters on the sieges of Qandahar, the Persian intrigue with Murad Bakhsh and the Deccani Sultans during the War of Succession, letters to Dara when a fugitive, to Aurangzib congratulating him on his accession and one (sent with Tarbiyat Khan) taunting him on his failure to subdue Shivaji and threatening an invasion of India!