Machine summary:
In the first volume of his work which was published some years ago, he rightly assessed the value of the Muihal period of Indian History in the following words : " Mu!ilial culture and civiliza• tion filtered through India's medieval society ; MuihaI art and architecture enriched India's artistic heritage; and Muibal ideas and ideals of government influenced the development of Indian polity.
The book deals with the period from 1540 to Hurnayun's death, from the time he trod his way, after having suffered defeats at the hands of the ~f ihan filler Shah at Chausa and Qannauj, through the Indian desert to Iran, to his reconquest of Delhi and his death fifteen years later: The author follows Humayun almost step by step to Lahore, across the Punjab, at Bhakkar, in his return to Rohri, in Rajputana, back to Sind and in Iran, dealing en passant, but in great detail, with his marriage with :E;Iamida.
Before he took up his pen on this subject the author thought that no useful purpose would be served unless something new was contributed to the study of Haidar 'Ali. That is why he perused Wilks very rninu• rely to ascertain whether his proposed work would be of any use.
It should be remembered that this work does not claim to be a history of Mysore from 1721-1782, nor specifically a biography of Haidar 'Ali. To borrow the author's expression-it is a study in biographical form of a typical figure of 18th century.