History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v2.c32.s1.t4.5

v2.c32.s1.t4.5

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.*