The four volumes together comprise a detailed study of the causes and the result of the events between 1707– 1803, that is between the death of Aurangzib and the conquest of Delhi. Dr Sarkar’s pioneering work is based on a close examination of contemporary sources and documents. The fourth edition of this book includes extensive footnotes listing the best sources available on the subject, scholarly acknowledgement of other historians’ views, and detailed identification in present-day India of the villages and towns mentioned in the book.