68 MUZAFFARNAGAR. spread of irrigation have been successful in inducing a high state of cultivation. On the whole, although Muzaffarnagar is not so flourishing as the rich Districts to the south, its condition is far above the average of Indian rural tracts. In the north-eastern corner, however, as above stated, the spread of swamps is rapidly driving back the cultivator, whose place is usurped by wild hog and hog-deer. Measures are being taken for the reclamation of this neglected region by the deposit of silt, which will doubtless prove exceptionally fertile, owing to the mass of organic debris brought down by the flooded Soláni. History. — Tradition represents Muzaffarnagar as having formed a portion of the Pandava kingdom which had its capital at Hastinápur in the adjoining District of MEERUT, and at a more historical date as being included in the dominions of Prithwi Ráj, the Chauhan ruler of Delhi. Authentic history first shows us the country around Muzaffarnagar at the time of the Musalmán conquest in the 13th century, and it remained a dependency of the various dynasties who ruled at Delhi until the final dissolution of their empire. The earliest wave of colonists probably consisted of Aryan settlers, Brahman and Rájput. They were succeeded by the Játs, who occupied the whole southern portion of the District, where their descendants still form the chief lando class. At a later date, the Gújars took possession of the poorer tracts which the Játs had left unoccupied, and they too are still to be found as zamindárs. Finally, with the Muhammadan irruptions, bodies of Shaikhs, Sayyids, and Patháns entered Muzaffarnagar, and parcelled out amongst themselves the remainder of the territory. Timúr paid one of his sanguinary visits to the District in 1399, when all the infidel inhabitants whom he could capture were mercilessly put to the sword. Under Akbar, Muzaffarnagar was included in the sarkár of Saharanpur. During the 17th century, the Sayyid family of Bárha rose to great eminence, and filled many important offices about the court. Their ancestors are said to have settled in Muzaffarnagar about the year 1350, and to have enjoyed the patronage of the Sayyid dynasty which ruled at Delhi in the succeeding century. In 1414, Sultán Khizr Khán conferred the control of Saharanpur on Sayyid Salim, the chief of their fraternity; and from that time onward they rose rapidly to territorial power and court influence. Under Akbar and his successors, various branches of the Barha stock became the leading landowners in the Province. They were celebrated as daring military leaders, being employed by the Emperors on all services of danger, from the Indus to the Narbadá (Nerbudda). It was mainly through their aid that the victory of Agra was won in 1707, by which Bahadur Shah made good his claim to the imperial title. The part which they bore in the
