An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul, and its Dependencies in Persia, Tartary, and India; Comprising a View of the Afghaun Nation; A History of the Dooraunee Monarchy.

ELPHINSTONE, Mountstuart.

Item Number: 124122

New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 1998.

First edition of Munshiram Manoharlal’s modern reprint of Elphinstone’s detailed survey of Kabulistan; the first historical account of Afghanistan and its people. Quarto, original boards, illustrated with 14 colored plates including frontispiece and 2 maps, one folding. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.

In 1808, Scottish historian Mountstuart Elphinstone was appointed the first British envoy to the court of Kabul, Afghanistan, with the object of securing a friendly alliance with the Afghans against Napoleon's planned advance on India. Ultimately, Elphinstone's Account of the Kingdom of Caubul became the most valuable result of the embassy, being the first historical account of the region. "Elphinstone's encompassing scope and psychological insight have never been surpassed: for the historically leaning ethnologist, Elphinstone's work remains a source of the very highest caliber" (Henze).