The principal histories of Mahmud's reign are--_Kitab-i-Yamini_ (Utbi); _Tarikh-us-Subuktigin_ (Baihaki); _Tabakat i Nasiri_ (Minhaj el-Siraj); _Rauzat-us-Safa_ (Mir Khond); _Habib-us-Sivar_ (Khondamir). See Elliot, _History of India_; Elphinstone, _History of India_; and Roos-Keppel's translation of the _Tarikh-i-Sultan Mahmud-i-Ghaznavi_ (1901). FOOTNOTE: [1] The name is strictly Mahmud. MAHOBA, an ancient town in India, in Hamirpur district of the United Provinces. Pop. (1901), 10,074. As the capital of the Chandel dynasty, who ruled over Bundelkhand from the 9th to the 13th century, the neighbourhood is covered with architectural antiquities, prominent among which are artificial lakes, formed by banking up valleys with masonry dams. The largest of these is more than 4 m. in circuit. MAHOGANY, a dark-coloured wood largely used for household furniture, the product of a large tree indigenous to Central America and the West Indies. It was originally received from Jamaica; 521,300 ft. were exported from that island in 1753. It is known botanically as _Swietenia Mahogani_, and is a member of the order _Meliaceae_. It bears compound leaves, resembling those of the ash, and clusters of small flowers, with five sepals and petals and ten stamens which are united into a tube. The fruit is a pear-shaped woody capsule, and contains many winged seeds. The dark-coloured bark has been considered a febrifuge, and the seeds were used by the ancient Aztecs with oil for a cosmetic, but the most valuable product is the timber, first noticed by the carpenter on board Sir Walter Raleigh's ship in 1595 for its great beauty, hardness and durability. Dr Gibbons brought it into notice as well adapted for furniture in the early part of the 18th century, and its use as a cabinet wood was first practically established by a cabinet-maker named Wollaston, who was employed by Gibbons to work up some mahogany brought to England by his brother. It was introduced into India in 1795, and is now cultivated in Bengal and as far north as Saharunpur.