The author, a British civil servant after retirement decided to examine old land and revenue records, resulting in this work, which was published in 1929. Starting in the thirteenth century, the book gives a historical context to the changing land use and revenue practices in India. Moreland also examines the role of religious laws and the influence of successive regimes and rulers on the development of agrarian prac­tices?as?well?as?on?the?lives?and?work?of?India’s?peasantry. There are nine very useful appendices. They are: (1) Indo-Persian Terms for Land-Revenue (2) Provincial Governors in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries (3) Some Fourteenth-Century Passages (4) Assessment by Nasaq (5) Ain-i Dahsala (6) Legends of Todar Mal (7) The Agrarian Statistics in the Ain (8) Glossary (9) List of Authorities About the Author W.H. Moreland spent twenty-five years in North-Western Provinces. For twelve years he was Director, Land Records and Agriculture. He wrote extensively on the economic history of Mughal India. Among others his other books are: India at the Death of Akbar; From Akbar to Aurangzeb; and Relations of Golconda in the Early Seventeenth Century. \n