Publication History of Elphinstone’s An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul

Mountstuart Elphinstone, Kingdom of Caubul, Publication History, Afghanistan, Mission Report, Book History.

Abstract

Mountstuart Elphinstone's An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul, is regarded as a seminal work in the study of Afghanistan and the surrounding areas. It is called Bible of Afghan Studies.  After visiting the area on a diplomatic mission in 1809, British colonial administrator and scholar Elphinstone wrote the narrative. He finished compiling his mission notes and turned into his final report in 1810. These reports can be found in 88 volumes of notes, correspondence, and drawings found in the British Library.  The report was converted into a book and was first published in English in 1815 in London titled as An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul, and its Dependencies in Persia, Tartary, and India: Comprising a View of the Afghan Nation, and a History of the Douranee Monarchy by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Omre, Brown, and J. Murray. In 1819, its second edition was published. A third edition, consisting of two volumes that are typically bound together, was published in 1839 under the publisher Richard Bentley. In 1842, a revised edition was published. Similarly, in 1972 another edition was published by Oxford University Press with an introduction by Olaf Caroe. Besides London it was published in Austria in 1969; in Pakistan in 1992 and in India in 1998. The latest edition was published in 2011 by Cambridge University Press. The publication history of Elphinstone’s work demonstrates its continued relevance, as it remains to have an impact on the study of Afghanistan's geopolitics and Central Asian history. This book provides an intriguing look into the early interactions between British India and the Afghan kingdom, and it is still considered a significant source in historical and political studies of Afghanistan. This article presents a brief overview of the publication of this book.