35Q Lieut. -Colonel Briggs on the Life and TFri/ings ofFerishta. 



equally well executed ; a defect which is rather to be ascribed to the nature 

 of his materials than to his own incapacity. The events of the early periods 

 of the history are too much crowded together ; and many trivial occurrences 

 that serve to load the work, without adding to its perspicuity, might have 

 been altogether omitted wthout detracting from its value. In the histories 

 of the Deccan, Ferishta is full, clear, and entertaining ; and his account of 

 the Mogul empire is extremely well written ; while tlie details of all the 

 minor histories are instructive, and tend to elucidate tlie events of each 

 other. All that Ferishta pretends to be is an annalist. He seldom indulges 

 in philosophical remarks; but whenever he does, they are judicious and 

 evince a strong mind. In many parts of the Deccan history he has traced 

 the causes of great political events with an accuracy and perspicuity that do 

 him infinite credit ; and for fidelity, impartiality, and simj)licity, Ferishta is, 

 perhaps, entitled to rank higher than any historian of his country.* 



Having said so much regarding the author, I will now draw a hasty 

 outline of the work itself. 



It is not easy, on account of the irregularity of its figure, to convey a 

 correct idea of the superficial area, over the history of which Ferishta's 

 great work extends ; I shall leave it therefore to the imagination to fill up 

 the outline from the following positions. On the extreme west is Hamadan, 

 the ancient Ekbatana ; and on the east Chittagong, situated near the Delta of 

 the Ganges, at the head of the Bay of Bengal. On the north is Samarkand, or 

 Marakanda, in Transoxania ; while to the south it is terminated by the course 

 of the Kishna river. These limits extend therefore from the 50th to the 

 9.5th degree of longitude east from Greenwich ; and from the 14th to the 

 40th of northern latitude. The population of this vast tract may be roughly 

 computed at one hundred and fifty millions. The period of the history 

 embraces more than six hundred years, viz. from the year 997 of the 

 Christian era to l609. 



* In preparing for the press the translation which is shortly to appear, I have availed myself 

 of my friend Colonel Tod's extensive knowledge of the history of the northern Hindoo nations; 

 and it has been equally satisfactory to us both, to find how much the chain of events, related 

 by the Muhamedan historian, derive confirmation f.om the heroic poems of the Hindoo bards, 

 as well as from monumental pillars and tablets of copper and stone, copies of the inscrip- 

 tions of which are in the possession of Colonel Tod ; and, 1 am happy to say, are soon likely to 

 meet the public eye, in the interesting and important 'Annals of Kajpootana,' in which he is at 

 present engaged. 



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