APPENDIX   L
 

Regarding Dryden's Tragedy of Aureng-Zebe

Aureng-Zebe, A tragedy. Acted at the Royal Theatre. Written
by John Dryden, .Servant to his Majesty—is entered in the Stationers'
Register on November 29th, 1675, and Malone is of opinion that it had
probably been acted in the spring of that year. The dramatis personce
and plot are as follows, from which, and from what follows, will be
seen what poetical licence the Author has taken with the text of the
History he used :

The old E.mperour [in love with Indamora].
Aureng-Zebe, his son [in love with Indamora].
MoRAT, his younger Son [son of Nourmahal].
Arimant, Governour of Agra [in love with Indamora].
DiANET,                 ]

Indian Lords, or

Omrahs of
several Factions.
 

SoLVMAN Agah,

Mir Baba,

Abbas,

Asaph Chawn,

P'azel Chawn,

Nourmahal,! the Empress.

Indamora,  a captive Queen [of Cassimere,   in  love  with

Aureng-Zebe].
Melesinda, wife to Moral.
Zayda, favourite Slave to the Empress.

Scene, Agra, in the year 1660.

The Emperour, who is 70 years of age, had been so ill that his
death was expected--his four sons had taken up arms to contend for
the Empire—Aureng-Zebe, who remains loyal to his Father, defeats

t Nur Mahal was the wife of the Emperor Jattdngfr, and died, aged 72, in
1645. Mumtaz Mahal was Shah Jahan's wife, and she died in 1631, and is
buried in the Taj. Many compilers of books of Indian History have confounded
the one with the other.    Dryden has of course availed himself of a poet's licence.

2 G