EDITOR'S PREFACE.
ix
is alone known to us, is of later date. The Arab occupation of Sind was but temporary, it was the precursor, not the commencement, of Musulmán rule in India. On the retreat of the Arabs the government of the country reverted to native princes, and notwithstanding the successes of Mahmúd of Ghazní, the land remained practically independent until its absorption into the Empire during the reign of Akbar in 1592 A.D. Priority of date and of subject thus give the right of precedence to the Historians of Sind, while the isolation of the country and the individuality of its history require that all relating to it should be kept together. The “Early Arab Geographers,” and “The Historians of Sind,″ have therefore been taken first in order, and they are comprised in the present volume.
So far as this volume is concerned, Sir H. Elliot's plan has been followed, and the special histories of Sind form a distinct book, but for the main portion of the work his plan will be changed. In classifying his materials as “General Histories” and “Particular Histories,” Sir H. Elliot adopted the example set by previous compilers of catalogues and other bibliographical works, but he sometimes found it convenient to depart from this division. Thus the Kámilu-t Tawáríkh of Ibn Asír and the Nizámu-t Tawáríkh of Baizáwí, are general histories, but they are classed among the particular histories, be-
