Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, V. 1 of 3

Royal descent, regional traditions and the political history of the Rajput states shape this first volume of James Tod's account of Rajasthan. Tod writes as a former political agent to the western Rajput states, expressing admiration for their princes and concern for their independence within the British imperial setting. His historical discussion brings together competing accounts of ancestry, including possible connections between the rulers of Mewar and Persian royal families.

This edition adds William Crooke's editorial notes to Tod's original account. Crooke explains that later scholarship has changed the understanding of Indian history, geography and language, and that some of Tod's theories require correction. Readers therefore encounter both a historical narrative and a record of its later reassessment. The volume suits an interest in Rajasthan's ruling houses, the use of genealogies as historical evidence, and the assumptions through which earlier writers interpreted the region's past.