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 84 iriSTOHY OV INDIA. [Book i.

I' An. iiioit. any inspecti(jn. I'lie jtrinceHs wa.s not then;, but in lier stea<J several trusty

H dependants of her family comj)l(it(iIy arrned, who, as 80on as they were admitted

within the prison, cut down the sentinels, and set the rajah free. He made liis escape to the hills, from which he continued to make frequent desaints, and avenge himself on the Mahometans for the insults and sufferings which he harl endured. A new Mogul In 1305, tlic Moguls again, under the leadership of an officer of the namt^

invaBion do- ,

feated ol Elbuk Khan, crossed the Indus, and after i-avaging Mooltan, proceeded to Sewalik. Ghazy Beg Toghlak, aware of the route by which they would return, placed himself in ambush near the banks of the Indus, and rusliing out suddenly, defeated the invaders with great slaughter. Seeing their return cut off, the survivors had no alternative but to return into the desert. It was the hot season, and, in a short time, out of 57,000 cavalry, and camp followers who outnumbered them, only 3000 remained alive. When taken to Delhi, they were trodden to death by elephants, and a pillar was raised before the Budaoon gate with their skulls. Another invasion shortly after having met with no better success, the Moguls were so discouraged, as well as exhausted, that they not only desisted for many years from entering Hindoostan, but found them- selves placed on the defensive, Ghazy Beg Toghlak scarcely allowing a season to pass in which he did not cross to the west bank of the Indus, and plunder the provinces of Cabool, Ghuznee, and Kandahar.

Conquest of Ala-u-din, now rid of his most formidable enemies, had time to resume his conquests in the Deccan ; and with this view despatched Mullik Kafoor, who had been originally purchased as a slave, with an army against Ram Dew, Rajah of Dewghur, who had neglected for three years to pay his stipulated tribute. The army, when it set out, mustered 100,000 horse, and was reinforced on the way by the troops of the governors of Malwah and Gujerat. Mullik Kafoor, after encamping on the frontiers of the Deccan, was so strenuously opposed, that for a time he made little progress, and had nothing to plume himself upon except the capture of a daughter of the beautiful Kowla Dey>% who, from being the wife of a Hindoo rajah, as already mentioned, had become the favourite of the Delhi harem. The daughter had a similar fate, for she was on the way to become the bride of a rajah when she was captured ; and after- wards, on being brought to Delhi, was married to Khizr Khan, Ala-u-din's son. On a second expedition to the Deccan, in 1309, Mullik Kafoor proceeded by way of Dewghur towards Wurvmgole, a place of great strength. After appearing at Indoor, about ninety miles north of Hyderabad, and causing great conster- nation among the inhabitants, wdio had never seen the Mahometans before, he sat down before Wui'ungole, which made a valiant defence, but was ultimately taken by assault. In the following year he proceeded still further south, reached the Malabar coast, and then, turning inland, continued his victorious career to the frontiers of Mysore. Much of his time was employed in plundering


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the temples, and the spoil which he brought back to Delhi was enormous. It is A.D. 1316. curious that silver is not mentioned as forming any part of it. Gold, indeed, seems to have been the precious metal chiefly used at this time in India, as coin, ornament, or plate. declining

Ala-u-din had now reached the zenith of his power. Though he had been guilty of many crimes, fortune had never ceased to favour him, and his territories had extended on every side, till they assumed the magnitude and splendour of an empire. The period of decline, however, had now arrived. Mullik Kafoor, who possessed his utmost confidence, and used it for the promotion of his treasonable designs, disgusted the nobles, and spread discontent among the people. His own health, too, undermined by intemperance and vicious indulgence, gave way; and his family, to whose training he had never attended, entirely neglected him, and spent their time in revelry. His principal wife, Mullika Jehan, was equally indifferent; and he found himself in the midst of a palace, glittering with gold and jewels, destitute of every domestic comfort. He made his complaints to Mullik Kafoor, who turned them to good account, by insinuating that the queen and her sons Khizr Khan and Shady Khan, together with his brother Aluf Khan, had entered into a conspiracy against his life. The brother was accordingly seized and put to death, while the queen and her sons were imprisoned.

During these domestic calamities, the flames of insurrection burst forth in various quarters. Gujerat took the lead, and defeated the general sent against it with great slaughter. The Rajpoots of Chittoor, rising against their Mahometan officers, hurled them from the walls, and resumed their independence; while Hurpal Dew, the son-in-law of Ram Dew, stirred up the Deccan, and expelled several of the Mahometan garrisons. The tidings made Ala-u-din mad with rage, and so increased his illness, that it took a fatal form, and carried him off in 1316, after a reign of twenty years. It is doubtful if his death was natural, for the subsequent conduct of his worthless favourite, Mullik Kafoor, tends to confirm the suspicion that poison was employed.

The day after the death, Mullik Kafoor produced a will, said to be spurious, by which the late king gave the crown to Prince Oomor Khan, his youngest son, and made Mullik regent during his minority. The young prince, then in his seventh year, was placed upon the throne, while Mullik used him as a tool, and proceeded to carry out his own schemes. One of his first acts was to put out the eyes of Khizr Khan and Shady Khan, and increase the rigour of the sultana's confinement. Another act, somewhat singular, as he was an eunuch, was to marry the young king's mother, who had ranked as Ala-u-din's third wife. He meant, for additional security, to have put out the eyes of Prince Moobarik Khan, the son of the second wife of Ala-u-din, and had even proceeded to the still more atrocious step of sending assassins to murder him. The prince succeeded in buying them off; and a lieutenant of the guards, on hearing

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 8G

IlISTORV !•■ iNlJJA.

I Hook I.

 * l

Mootmrik Ivliail Hlli:

ceodH.

FT is wicked

roigii.

A.D. 1321. of the attempt, proceeded at once with Heveral of lii.s soldiers to Mullik Kafoor's apartment, and put liiiii, and several of tiie princijjal eunuchs in his interest, to d(!ath. Prince Moobarik Khan immediately ascended the throne, and Prrnwi Oomor, who had occupied it nominally for three montliH, was deprived of sight, and imprisoned for life.

Moobarik's reign, which lasted four years, is a mere tissue of vices and crimes. The officer who had saved his life, and been the main instrument of his elevation, was put to death, merely because it was said that he j)resumed upon his services. After this most ungi-ateful act, he began to show some little activity; and, besides sending Ein-ool-Moolk, a general of great abilities, into Gujerat, proceeded in person into the Deccan, and recovered the country of the Mahrattas. On returning, he sent his favourite, Mullik Khosrow, to whom he had given the ensigns of royalty, as far as the Malabar coast. Here he remained about a year, and acquired immense wealth by plunder. His ambition being thus excited, he proposed to make himself sovereign of the Deccan. With this view, he endeavoured to gain over the chief officers of his army. He did not succeed ; and a formal charge of treason was made agaiast him to the king, who was, however, so blinded in his favour, that he punished his accusers, and trusted him still more than before.

Moobarik no sooner found himself in quiet possession of Gujerat, the Deccan, and most parts of Northern India, than the little activity which he had begun to display ceased, and he gave himself up to unbounded and shameless excesses. Indecencies which cannot be mentioned, were his daily amusements. Universal discontent and disgust were in consequence excited ; but the first attempt on liis

life was made by his favourite, Khos- row. He had been repeatedly warned that a conspu-acy was being hatched, and the proofs of it were so evident, that it had become the common talk. StiU, his infatuation was continued; and he was not roused from it tni the con- spii-ators were ac- tually on the stairs

He is of the palace. He endeavom-ed to make his escape by a private passage ; but

Khosrow, who knew of it, intercepted him, and a deadl}' struggle took place.

Mausoleum of Khosrow. — From Daniell's Oriental Scenery.


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Moobarik, being the stronger of the two, threw Khosrow on the ground, but could not disentangle himself from his grasp, as his hair was twisted in his enemy's hand. The other conspirators had thus time to come up, and Moobarik's head was severed from his body by a scimitar.

Khosrow was not allowed long to profit by his crime. He, indeed, ascended the throne in 1321, under the title of Nasir-u-din, but a confederation of the nobility was immediately formed against him. It was headed by Ghazy Beg Toghlak, who had acquired great renown by his expedition against the Moguls. In the battle which ensued, Khosrow was defeated, captured, and slain; and Ghazy Beg Toghlak, with some degree of reluctance, mounted the throne amid universal acclamations. The people saluted him Shah Jehan, "The King of the Universe;" but he assumed the more modest title of Gheias-u-din, "The Aid of Religion."

Gheias-u-din Toghlak reigned little more than four years. He owed his crown to his fame as a warrior, and secured it by the better fame of a wise and just ruler. The incidents of his reign are few. One of the most important was the siege of Wurungole, which had thrown off the Mahometan yoke, and resumed its independence. Prince Aluf Khan, the king's eldest son, conducted the siege; the Rajah Luddur Dew the defence. Both sides greatly exerted themselves, and the losses were severe, particularly on the part of the besiegers, who not only failed to make a practicable breach, but, in consequence of the hot winds and severe weather, were seized with a malignant distemper, which daily swept off hundreds. The survivors, completely dispirited, were anxious to return home; and sinister rumours, circulated by the disaffected, caused general consternation, under the influence of which, a number of officers moved off suddenly during the night, with all their followers. Aluf Khan, thus deserted, had no alternative but to raise the siege. In the haste and disorder of his retreat, he was pursued by the enemy with great slaughter. The officers who deserted suffered equally. One died in a Hindoo prison, another was cut off by the Mahrattas, and their whole baggage was captured. One of the rumours which had been circulated, was the death of the king. The authors of the rumour having been discovered, were condemned to be buried alive, the king jocularly but barbarously remarking, "that as they had buried him alive in jest, he would bury them alive in earnest." A new army having been collected, Aluf Khan renewed the siege of Wurungole, and obliged it to surrender. The news were celebrated with great rejoicings in the new citadel of Delhi, which had just been finished, and had received the name of Toghlakabad.

In 1325 Gheias-u-din Toghlak, after a journey to Bengal to inquire into complaints made against the governors in that quarter, reached Afghanpoor on his return. His son Aluf Khan, who had previously arrived with the nobles of the court to offer their congratulations, had hastily erected a wooden building


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 88

JIISTOliy OF INDIA.

[Book I.

A.D. 1327.

Toghlak's Hon succuods iiiuler tlie title of Mahomed Toglilak.

Mogul incursions resumed.

Mahomed 's grinding taxation and cruelty.

for his recei)tion. Here a sj>k;ndid eritei'taininent ha<l been given; and the kinj^, having ordered his equipage, was in the act of (quitting the building to wjiitinue 1 lis journey, wlien the roof suddenly gave way and cnwhed liirn, with five of }m attendants, in the ruins. The cause lias been variously explained Most attri- bute it to accident: some even to design. One author, not satinfied with either explanation, offers one of his own, and asserts, " that the building had been raised by magic, and the instant the magical cliarm which upheld it was dis- solved, it fell."

Aluf Klian, the late king's eldest son, succeeded, under the title of Mahomed Toghlak. He is said to have been the most learned, eloquent, and accomplished prince of his time. He was well versed in history, having a memorj'^ so reten- tive that every date or event of which he once read, remained treasured up in it; wrote good poetry; and had made logic, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine his special study. The philosophy of the Greek schools was well known to him. With aU these literary accomplishments, he was a skilful and valiant warrior, and thus united qualities so opposite that his contemporaries describe him as one of the wonders of the age. They also extol him for his piety, which he e'inced by a careful observance of the rites enjoined, and strict abstinence from drunken- ness and other vices forbidden by the Koran. This is the fair side of his character : for it had also its darker features. He was stem, cruel, and vindic- tive. As Ferishta expresses it, " So little did he hesitate to spill the blood of Gods creatm-es, that when anything occuiTed which excited him to that horrid extremity, one might have supposed his object was to extinguish the human species altogether."

In 1 327 the Moguls, who Ijad ceased their incursions for many years, resimied them; and a celebrated leader, called Toormooshreen Khan, belonging to the tribe of Choghtay, made his appearance in Hindoostan at the head of a va.st army. Province after province was overrun, and he advanced rapidly towards Dellii. Mahomed Toghlak, unable to meet him in the field, saved his capital by the fatal and humiliating expedient of bujdng him ofi" by a ransom so large as to be almost equal to the price of his kingdom. The Mogul withdrew by way of Gujerat and Scinde, but plundered both, and carried off an immense number of captives.

To compensate for what he had thus lost, Mahomed turned his eyes to the Deccan, the greater part of which he is said to have as effectually incoi^orated with his dominions as the villages in the vicinitj^ of Delhi. All these conquests, however, were destined to be wrested from him in consequence of liis gidnding taxation, cruelty, and inordinate ambition. So heavy were the duties rigorously levied on the necessaries of life, that the industrious, having no security that they would be permitted to reap the fruits, ceased to labour. The farmers, flying to the woods, lived by rapine ; and the fields remaining uncultivated, whole pro- vinces were desolated by famine. The currency, too, was tampered with; and


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Rh Mahomed struck a copper coin, which, because his name was impressed upon it, he ordered to be received at an extravagant imaginary value. This idea, he is said by Ferishta to have borrowed “from a Chinese custom of issuing paper on the emperor's credit, with the royal seal appended, in lieu of ready money.” He shrewdly adds:— “The great calamity consequent upon this debasement of the coin, arose from the known instability of the government. Public credit could not long subsist in a state so liable to revolutions as Hindoostan ; for how could the people in the remote provinces receive for money the base representative of a treasury that so often changed its master?”

In the midst of the discontent and ruin produced by these wretched financial devices, Mahomed conceived the idea of enriching himself by the conquest of the empire of China. As a first step to the realization of this idea, he despatched his nephew Khosrow MuUik, at the head of 100,000 horse, to subdue Nepaul, and the mountainous region on both sides of the Himalaya, as for as the Chinese

frontiers. This done, he was to follow in person. In vain did his more sagacious and faithful counsellors assure him that the whole scheme was visionary. He had made up his mind, and was not to be dissuaded. Rh


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 ^'^ HISTORY OF INDIA. [Book I.

^•"- "•''s- Kho.srow MuUik miulc lii.s way with gi(at difficulty aoros,s tlni inountains,

buiifliug foits as he proceeded, in order to secure the road. On arriving, in 1337, at the Chinese boundary with forces fearfully reduced, he found liiin.self in front Disartn.uH of a numerous anny prepared to oppose his further progress. The sight struck tothe t'^6 Indian army with dismay, and a precipitate retreat wa« commenced. 'J'hc fron"tIer ChinesB followcd closely, while the mountaineers occupied the parses in the rear and plundered the baggage. For seven days the Indians remained in this peril- ous position, suffering all the liorrors of famine. At length the rain began to fall in torrents. The first effect was to oblige the Chinese to retire to a greater distance, and Khosrow began to conceive hopes of making good liLs retreat. He was soon undeceived. The low grounds became inundated, while the mountains continued impervious. The result is easily told. The wliole army melted awa}-, and scarcely a man returned to relate the particulars. Tiarbanms Ouo of tlic king's ncphcws, who was called Khoorshasip, and held a goveni-

of a traitor, luent in the Deccan, was tempted by the general discontent which prevailed to aspire to the throne, and in 1338 openly raised the standard of revolt. He at first gained some advantages, but was afterwards captured and carried to Delhi, where he was flayed alive, and then paraded a horrid spectacle around the city, the executioner going before and proclaiming aloud, " Thus shall aU traitors t<j their king perish." Attempted Bcfore this rebellion was suppressed, the king had taken the field in person,

thTcIpitri '^'^^ fixed his head-quarters at Dewghur. Its situation and strength so pleased him that he determined to make it his capital. His resolution once announced was inflexible, and orders were forthwith issued that Delhi should be evacuated, and all its inhabitants, men, women, and children, with aU their property, should migrate to Dewghirr, the name of which was changed to Dovjletabad. The abandonment of Delhi, which was styled, in the hyperbolical style of the East, " The Envy of the World," was productive of great misery and discontent, and Mahomed began to feel that the change of capital was an exploit w^hich even all his energy and despotism could hardly accomplish. Having been led in the course of an expedition to the proximity of the old capital, those of his army who originally belonged to it, were seized with such a longing to return, that they deserted in great numbers and took refuge in the woods, detenniued to i-emain till the rest of the army should have left. The numbers of the troops were so thinned by this desertion, that the king had no alternative but to fix his residence at Delhi, and tluis lure the deserters back. His original prnpose, however, was not abandoned ; and at the end of two years he carried ofi" the whole of the inhabitants a second time to the Deccan, " leaving the noble metro- polis of Delhi a resort for owls, and a dwelling-place for the beasts of the desert." Before he left, he was guilty of barbarities which are almost incredible. On one occasion, having set out with an immense himting party, on arriving at the district of Behram, he made the startling announcement that he had come to

to Dowle tabad.


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 Chap. III.] FEROZE TOGHLAK. 91

liunt not beasts but men, and began to massacre the inhabitants. He com])leted ..n. vm.

the barbarity by carrying back some tliousands of the heads of tlie slain to Deliii, and hanging them over the city walls.

These atrocities were more than human nature could endure, and rebellion, various on a greater or less scale, broke out in every quarter — in Bengal, on the Malabar tiLs. coast, and even in the new capital, Dowletabad. These two last rebellions seem to have somewhat cooled the king's partiality for the Deccan ; and free permission was given to those whom he had forced to migrate, to return to Delhi. Thousands made the attempt ; but a general famine w.is then raging, and while many perished by the way, many more reached their beloved Delhi, only to die in it. The most formidable insurrection of all broke out in the south. It was the result of a confederacy formed for the express ])urpose of extirpating the Mahometans from the Deccan. Tiie principal leaders were Krishn Naig, son of Luddur Dew, who live<l near Wurungole, and Belal Dew, Rajah of the Carnatic. So extensive and so successful was the confederacy, that, in a short time, Dowletabad was the only place within the Deccan which the Mahometans could call their own. Ultimately, however, a considerable portion of the lost territory was recovered, and the whole Deccan was divided, as before, into four Mahometan provinces. Though scarcely a month now passed without a revolt, and everything seemed ripe for a general revolution, Mahomed Toghlak kept his throne, and at last descended to the grave by a death which was not violent, and yet cannot well be called natural. He had ordered a large number of boats to be collected at Tatta, and proceeded thither across the Indus, to chastise the Soomara Prince of Scinde, who had given protection to MuUik Toghan, when heading a formidable revolt of Mogul mercenaries in Gujerat. When within sixty miles of Tatta, he wjis seized with fever, attributed by his l)hysicians to a surfeit of fish. The symptoms were favom'able, but his restless spirit would not allow him to remain to complete his recovery, and a fatal relapse ensued. His death took place in 1351, after a reign of twenty-seven years.

After a short struggle, in which a re])uted son of the late king, a mere child, nui-i. of was put forward and immediately set aside, his cousin Feroze, known by the title of Feroze Toghlak, mounted the tin-one. Considering the troubled state of the country, two of the most remarkable facts of his reign are, its length of thirty-eight years, and its termination, by a peacefid death, at the age ot ninety. The empire of Delhi, however, was evidcTitly in a rapid state of decline. The Deccan could hardly be said to be incorporated with it; and Bengal was so completely dissevered, that in 1356 Feroze consented to receive an ambassador from its king, Avith proposals of peace; and thus virtualh', if not formally, acknowledged it <is an independent kingdom. Both Bengal and the Deccjin, however, still continued to i)ay a small tribute. Though Feroze does not figiu-e as a warrior, he obtained a high name for wise legislation, and a large number of public works, in which, while magnificence was not forgotten, utilitv was


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 92 IITSTOJtY OF INI>IA. [BrjoK I.

AD. vm. Kpeciully (-onsultfiil. One of iIk^w; works, in which 50,000 labourers were enii)loye(l, wsis a winal, iMtended to connect the Soorsooty or Soorsa, a hiduII tributary of the Sutlej, with a small stream, called the Sulima or Khanjioor, and thereby obtain a perennial stream to flow through Sirhind and Murisur- poor. The canal, if ever completed, no longer exiHts ; but it deserves notice for the remarkable fact, that in the digging of it, aVjout five centuries ago, fossil remains of a gigantic size were discovered and attracted much attentioiL It Is not easy to say to what animals they belonged; but Ferishta, adopting the opinion which appears to have been formed at the time of the discovery, says they were the bones of elephants and men ; and adds, "the bones of the human fore arm measured three gaz (5 feet 2 inches); some of the bones were petrifiefl, and some retained the appearance of bone." Public Among the other works of Feroze are enumerated — 40 mosques, 30 colleges,

FerozV'^ 20 palaces, 100 hospitals, 100 caravansaries, 100 public baths, loO bridges, 50 dams across rivers, and 30 reservoirs or lakes for irrigation. He appears to have been sufficiently conscious of his good deeds ; and rather pharisaically causerl some of them to be inscribed on the mosque of Ferozabad, a city which he had built in the vicinity of Delhi, The following may be taken as a sample: — "It has been usual in former times to spill Mahometan blood on trivial occasions ; and, for small crimes, to mutilate and torture them, by cutting oft' the hands and feet, and noses and ears, by putting out eyes, by pulverizing the bones of the living criminal with mallets, by burning the body with fire, by crucifixion, and by nailing the hands and feet, by flaying alive, by the operation of hamstringing, and by cutting human beings to pieces. God, in his infinite goodness, having been pleased to confer on me the power, has also inspired me with the disposition to put an end to these practices." Reign of Glieias-u-diu, whom his grandftither Feroze had associated with him in the

Gheias u- government a year before he died, now became sole sovereign, but proved utterly unworthy of reigning, and within six months was assassinated A contest for the succession took place between Abubekr, a grandson, and Mahomed, a son of the late Feroze. The former had been placed on the throne by the as.sassins of Gheias- u- din; but in the coiu-se of eighteen months the latter displaced him, and assumed the title of Nasir-u-din Mahomed Toghlak. He died in 1394, after a reign of six years and seven months, entirely barren of great events, and fruitful only in intestine dissensions; and was succeeded by his son Hoomayoon, who assumed the name of Sikundur, and died suddenly, in the course of forty-five days. These constant changes threw everji^hing into disorder, and a kind of anarchy ensued ; each chief who thought himself strong enough making no scruple of throwing ofi" his allegiance, and declaring himself independent. In Delhi alone there were two parties, each with a separate king, the one occupying Delhi proper, and the other Ferozabad. A third party, occu- pying the citadel, professed neutrality, but this only meant that they were


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 Chap. III.]

PEER MAHOMED JEIIANGIR.

93

endeavouring to hold the balance, with the view of ultimately selling them- ^^ ^^^ selves to the most advantage. Civil war thus raged in the very heart of the city, and the streets freciuently ran with blood.

During this confusion, intelligence arrived, in 1396, that Prince Peer Ma- New M.>gia liomed Jehangir, grandson of the celebrated Timour or Tamerlane, had crossed the Indus by a bridge of boats, and laid siege to Ooch. The governor of Mool- tan was preparing for the relief of it when Peer Mahomed, anticipating his movements, amved, just in time to surpnse the Mooltanies immediately after they had crossed the Beas. Their show of resistance was useless ; and most of those who escaped the sword perished in the river. A few made good their retreat to Mooltan, but the victor was close at their heels, and the governor, Sarung Khan, had barely time to retire into the fort. After a siege of six months, want of provisions obliged him to sun-ender at discretion. The pre- sence of such an enemy as Peer Mahomed Jehangir was a dire calamity. H(jw fearfully must the calamity have been increased when lie proved to be only the forerunner of his grandfather. The event is of sufficient importance to demand a new (hapter.

Ri'iss OF TooHr.AKABAT). Part of the Serai.'

From Uucoii'« Vint linpresitoiis of India

' Toglilakabad wa.s named after its foiuuler, tlie taiits; but the nule, iiia.<!sy, and stiipendous ruins of Enperor Glieias-ii-din Toghlak, who <lied A.n. l'i'2Ct. its walla, palaces, and subterranean apartments still A faw miserable huts contain all its present inhabi- attract the notice of travellers.


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 91.

HISTORY OF INDIA.

[Book I.

CHAPTER IV.

Invasion of Tiinour or Tamerlane —Battle of Delhi— Sack of Delhi— Khizr Khan, Timour's deputy— In(le[ien(lent kingdoms established on the ruins of the Delhi monarchy —Proceedings of Khizr Khan — His death — Moobarik, his son and successor — Syud Mahorned — Syud Ala-udin — Afghan Lody dynasty— Bheilole Lody— Sikundur Lody— Ibrahim Lody— ilxtinction of the L<idy Afghan dynasty, and renewal of that of the Moguls in the person of Baber.

A.D. 139S.

TamerLane approaclies the Indus.

His graiiil- ison takes Jlooltan.

IMOUR, or Timour Beg, usually called by the Asiatics Ameer Teimoor, and by Europeans Tamerlane or Tamerlan, evidently a corruption for Timour Leng, or Lame Timour, an epitliet applied to liim on account of a certain degree of lameness, was born about 1336, in a village in the vicinity of Samarcand. According to some, he was only the son of a herdsman ; but a more probable accoimt is, that he was the son or grandson of a Tartar or Mogul chief He liimself traced his descent from Ghenghis Khan. On the downfall of the Moijul d}Tiasty of Dschaggatai, he managed to obtain the supremacy, and made Samarcand his capital. Possessing the ambition as well as the ttilents of a conqueror, he had overrun Persia, and extended his dominions over Central Asia, from the wall of China west to the frontiers of Europe, and even beyond, to Moscow. He was not yet satisfied; and in 1398, when his age miLst have exceeded sixty, he made his appearance on the west bank of the Indus, at the head of a mighty host. The convulsed state of the country promising an easy conquest, and the immense plunder which would necessarily follow, were his great inducements. His grandson had, as we have seen, been sent before, apparently to feel the way. He himself now crossed the river, and commenced a course of almost unparalleled massacre and devastation. Having arrived at the junction of the Chenab and Ravee, where the town and strong fort of Tulumba are situated, he crossed by a bridge ; and, entering the town, plun- dered it, and slaughtered the inhabitants without mercy. The fort was too strong to be taken by assaidt. He therefore left it, and proceeded to a to^vn called Shahnowaz, where, finding more grain than his own troops required, he caused the rest to be burned. On crossing the Beas, he entered a rich and plen- tiful country. Meanwhile, his grandson, Peer Mahomed Jehangu", had met with more obstruction. After taking Mooltan, the rainy season commenced, and so many of the cavalry encamped in the open country were destroyed, that he was under the necessity of lodging his whole army within the walla Here he became so completely hemmed in and cut oif from supplies, that he was in the greatest danger of losing his whole army, when Tamerlane, after sending for-^ard a detachment of 30,000 select horse, joined him with his whole army.


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Chap. I V.J INVASION OF TAMERLANE. 95

Tamerlane now marched to Bhatneer, which was crowded with j^eople flying ad 1393. in terror from the siurounding districts. On his api)roach half of them were driven out of the town, and obliged to take shelter under the walls. After a Tamoriane'a short resistance from the governor, he forced his entrance, and committed so tioiw. many cruelties that the garrison, seeing the fate which awaited them, killed their wives and children in despair, set fire to the place, and, rushing out, sold their lives as dearly as they could, by killing some thousands of the iloguls. Tamerlane, in revenge, laid Bhatneer in ashes, after causing every soul in it to be massacred. Soorsooty, Futtehabad, Rajpoor, and other towns, were sub- jected to similar barbarities. These, however, were merely preludes to a more

general extermination.

Tamerlane's great object was Delhi, towards which he kept steadily advancing. Having at length advanced opposite to it, he crossed the river with only 700 horse, to reconnoitre. Mahmood Toghlak, then the pageant King of Delhi, and his minister, Mulloo Yekbal Khan, tempted by the smallness of his attendants, siege of sallied out with 5000 horse, and twenty-seven elephants. Notwithstanding their superiority in numbers, the Delhi troops were repidsed. A vast number of prisoners were in the Mogul camp, and some of them, on seeing Tamerlane attacked at a disadvantage, could not refrain from expressing their joy. The circumstance being reported to this cruel barbarian, he took his revenge by order- ing that all the prisoners above the age of fifteen shoiild be put to the sword. In this horrid massacre, nearly 100,000 men, almost all Hindoos, are said to have perished.

Having now forded the river with his whole army, Tamerlane encamped on the plain of Ferozabad. The King of Delhi and his minister again risked the encounter, but with the same result as before. The elephants, on which they mainly trusted, being, at the first charge, depriv^ed of most of their drivel's, turned back, and spread confusion in their own ranks. Tamerlane gave no time to rally ; and, following the fugitives u}) to the very gates of Delhi, ooiin

I'll- • !!• 1 flicked

thei'e fixed his head- (quarters. Consternation now spread over the city; and the king, instead of attein])ting to allny it, thought only of his own safety, and lleil in the direction of Gujerat. All idea of resistance being abandoned, the chief men of the city, crowding to the camp, made their submission, and Tamer- lane was formally proclaimed emperor. A heavy contribution having been ordered, some difiiculty was found in levying it. On this pretext, a body of soldiers were sent into the city, and immediately commenced an indisci'iminate plunder. It had continued for five days before Tamerlane was even aware of it. He had remained outside in the cjimp to celebrate a festival in honour of his victory, and the first intimaticm of the proceedings in Delhi was given him when he saw it in flames ; fi)r the Hindoos, in despair, had murdered their wives and children, set fire to their houses, and then rushed out to perish by the sword. A general massacre ensued, and some streets became impassable from heaps of


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 no HISTORY OF INDIA. [Book I.

A.D. 1308. (lead. 'I'lu; Jiinount of pluixler v';us Ixjyond wilculation. Tamerlane remained at Delhi fifteen days, and then comm(need hi.s return home, carrying with him, as part of hi.s own share of the spoil, 120 elejihants, twelve rljinoceroses, and a great Tinnil)er of curious animals h(Ionging to a menagerie which Feroze Toglilak had formed. He is also said to have heen so much struck with admi- ration at the mo.sque which that monarch had built, and on the walls of which he had inscribed the history of his reign, that he took back the architects and masons to Samarcand to build one on a similar plaiL

captuic of He first halted at Paniput, and sent a detachment to besiege Meerut. The

gan'ison, confiding in its strength, ridiculed the very idea of capture, and insult- ingly reminded the officer of the defeat which another Mogul general had sus- tained before it. The officer, without attempting anything, returned to Tamer- lane, who forthwith ap2)eared in person, and commenced running mines with such rapidity that his ultimate success was certain. The process, however, seemed too slow to his Moguls, who, haAnng filled up the ditch, applied their scaling-ladders and grappling-irons to the walls, carried the place by assault, and put every soul within it to the sword. The mines employed by Tamerlane in this and many other sieges, were not intended to be filled with gunpowder, as in modern warfare, but merely to sap the foundations of the wall.s, which, while the process was being earned on, were supported by wooden frames. When the process was finished, the wooden fi-ames were set on fire, and the walls, thus left without support, necessarily tiimbled. In this iiLstance the Mogul conqueror, to wreak his vengeance more effectually, completed Ids mines after the place had been taken without them, and thus entirely destroyed its defences.

Tamerlane's jj^ Continuing lus marcli, Tamerlane skirted the mountains of Sewahk, cros.sed

return. ^

the Ganges, and laid waste the whole country with fire and sword along its banks up to the point where it bursts from its rocky gorges. He afterwards repassed the river, and ultimately reached Samarcand by way of CabooL Before he left, a Gukkur chief, taking advantage of his absence, got possession of Lahore, and refused to acknowledge liis authority. He therefore sent a de- tachment against that city, which fell in a few days. "NMiile he halted at Jamoo, Khizr Khan, who had submitted to him and become a favourite, was appointed by him viceroy of Mooltan, Lahore, and Depalpoor. Dismember- For two montlis after Tamerlane's departure, Delhi was a prey to anarchy, i)!u!i kuig^ and was at the same time ravaged by pestilence and famine. After a series of •^"^ sanguinary struggles, Mulloo Yekbal Khan, the old Mahometan ^'izier, gained

the ascendency, and something like regular govermnent was re-established. This return to order induced many of the inhabitants who had fled to retm'n ; and the city, which had recently been a smoking ruin, began to recover. In addition to a small district around the city, Mulloo Yekbal obtained possession of the Doab, or the tract lying between the Jumna and Ganges. Tliis was now


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all that remained of what had recently been a great empire. All the other ad. 1421. provinces were seized by the governors, who continued to hold them in their own names as independent kingdoms.

Mulloo Yekbal Khan was not contented that Delhi should be thus shorn of its greatness. He added considerably to its territory by successfid attacks on Vekbai. neighbouring governors; and made atfairs to assume an appearance so promising that the ex-king, Mahmood Toghlak, who had found an asylum first at Gujerat, and then at Malwah, was induced, by his invitation, to return in 1401. Mulloo Yekbal, however, still continued to retain the sovereign power in his own hands; and Mahmood, feeling ill at ease, was provided for by being put in possession of Canouge. Mulloo Yekbal, having thus got quit of him, appears soon to have forgotten all the deference which he used to show him; for, in 1404, after a victory which filled him with ambitious longings, he did not hesitate to lead an army against his old sovereign. Mahmood shut himself up in Canouge; and Mulloo, unable to reduce it, raised the siege. He shortly after turned his arms against Khizr Khan, but his good fortune forsook him, and he was defeated and slain in 1405.

On this event, the officers who had been left in Delhi gave an invitation to Mahmood Toghlak, who, leaving Canouge, came with a small retinue, and was re-seated on his throne. Mahmood had neither the sense nor courage necessary to maintain his positions; and after various vicissitudes, shut himself up in Ferozabad, where he was besieged by Khizr Khan, who was, however, obliged to raise the siege from want of forage and proasions. The release was only temporary, for having obtained supplies, he immediately returned. Meanwhile, Mahmood had removed to Siry, the old citadel of Delhi. A similar cause obliged Khizr Khan to retire as before; but the deliverance proved as fatal to Mahmood as the capture of the citadel would have been. The transition from fear to joy, and immoderate exertion during a hunting excursion, brought on a fever, of which he died in 1412. With him ended the race of Toorks, the adopted slaves of Sultan Shahab-u-din Ghoory. His inglorious and disastrous reign had lasted, with interruptions, twenty years. The nobles immediately placed an Afghan, of the name of Dowlut Khan Lody, on the throne. He held it nominally for fifteen months, and was then deposed by Khizr Khan, in 1416.

Khizr Khan had gained the favour of Tamerlane, and been appointed, as already mentioned, governor of Lahore, Mooltan, and Depalpoor. Hence, though on the deposition of Dowlut Khan Lody, he assumed the reins of government at Delhi, he refused to appropriate regal titles, affecting to regard himself as only the deputy of Tamerlane, in whose name money was coined, and the Khootba was read. Even after Tamerlane's death, the same policy induced Khizr Khan to acknowledge the supremacy of his successor, Shahrokh Mirza, and even send tribute occasionally to Samarcand. His reign or regency, which was terminated by his death in 1421, after it had lasted little more than seven


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 98

HISTOliY OK INI>IA.

[Hook I.

(!iu. A.I). 14 K).

Mol)!irik Bucoeoils Kliizr Kh;i[i.

Uinvortliy reign of Mahomed, his son.

Bheilole Lody aim3 at the throne.

years, presents few imi)Oi'tant events; but liis conduct contrawts favourably with - that of his predecessors, and the inliabitants of Delhi showed their respect ior liis memory by wearing black, their garb of mourning, during three days.

Mol)arik, Khizr Khan's eldest son, succeeded him, in virtue of a nomination by his father, when he felt his end approaching. His first military (jperati'^ns were carried on in the Punjab, where he succeeded, but not without difficulty, in suppressing a serious insurrection. The rebel, Jusrut Gukkur, though repeatedly defeated, managed always to escape, and to a|)pear unexpectedly in some other quarter as strong as ever. He even succeeded in creating a divei-sion in his favour by forming an alliance with Ameer Sheikh Ally, a Mogul chief in the service of Shahrokh Mirza, governor of Cabool. and inducing him to make an incursion into Scinde. The King of Malwah, takinj; a^lvantajje of these di.sturb- ances, invested Gwalior, in the hope of adding it to his dominions. Moobariks attention was thus fully occupied ; and liis whole reign of thirteen years fur- nishes nothing more important than a succession of revolts. HLs temper, said tf) have been so equable that he never spoke in anger during his life, was probably iU fitted for the times in which he lived. A conspiracy, in which some of liLs own family were implicated, was formed against him, and he was basely assassinated in the new city of Delhi, while at worship in a mosque.

Prince Mahomed, Moobarik's son, though not one of the actual perpetiu- tors of his father's mui-der, was perfectly cogniztmt of it, and endeavoured to turn it to account by immediately mounting the throne. His fu"st act was to proclaim his own shame and guilt, by rewarding the conspirators. The appoint- ment of the ringleader, Survui"-ool-Moolk, to the office of vizier, produced general inchgnation; and a confederacy was formed, which soon broke out into open rebel- lion. The malcontents marched at once upon Delhi; and Mahomed, seeing that his vizier was chiefly aimed at, thought he might save himself by abandoning him to his fate. The vizier, however, was too crafty to be thus caught ; and no sooner learned that the king was in communication with his enemies, than he formed a band of assassins, and broke into the palace in order to mui'der his master. He, too, had been put on his guard, and had laid a trap for the vizier, who fell into it and was cut to pieces.

Mahomed, now apparently on good terms Avith the confederates who had laid siege to Delhi, thought himself safe ; and, throwing ofi" all restraint, spent his time in sensual indidgence. The administration of affairs, thas neglected, fell into disorder ; discontent prevailed, and an insiurection broke out in Mooltan among the Afghans. Bheilole Lody, who had placed himself at their head, had previ- ously usurped the government of Sirhind, and now made himself master of Lahore, Depalpoor, and all the country as far south as Panipiit. Bheilole, unable to cope with the royal army which was sent against him, was driven into the hills, and, abandoning open force, determined to try the effect of intrigue. This he managed so dexterously that the king, on his suggestion, ]iut one of bis


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 Chap. IV.] REIGN OF ALA-U-DIN. 99

ablest and most faitliful servants to death; and then, in order to suppress the ..i). ms.

(U.sturbances which this imbecile and inic^uitous act had produced, had recoiu-se

to Bheilole for assistance. The crafty Afghan at once obeyed the summons,

and marched to Delhi with 20,000 horsemen iUTayed in armour. 'J'hough

this reinforcement made the royal army superior to that of the insurgents,

lie refused to take the Held, and, like a coward, shut himself up in his ])alace.

The brunt of the action which ensued fell upon Bheilole, who acquitted liim-

self manfully ; and, in consequence, rose into such ftivour that Mahomed adopted

liim as his son. Matters seemed now ripe for the execution of the schemes

which Bheilole had all along contemplated. He accordingly strengthened his

army by numerous bodies of Afghans, and, throwing off the mask, marched

upon Delhi. The siege which he commenced proved more formidable than he

had anticipated, and he determined to wait a little longer. Meantime the

weak and dissolute Mahomed was permitted, notwithstanding his crime of

jtarricide, to die a natm-al death, in 14-10, after a reign of twelve years.

Ala-u-din, Mahomed's son, mounted the throne, and immediately received -Ma-w-diirs

feeble reign.

tlie homage of all the chiefs except Bheilole, who was jn-obably not unwillmg to provoke a contest in which he felt confident that he would prove the victor. Ala-u-din was too j)owerless or too mean-spirited to resent the insult, and soon tell into general contempt, the people not hesitating to say openly that he was a weaker man than his father. The kingdom of Delhi now posses.sed scarcely a shadow of its former greatness; for the whole that could be considered as pro- perly belonging to it was the city of Delhi and a small tract in its vicinity. All the rest of Hindoostan wtis broken up into separate })rincipalities. The Deccan. (iujerat, Malwah, Jounpoor, and Bengal had each its independent king ; while a. ii ions <tll the other territories, though nominally subordinate to Delhi, were in the kingdoms. hands of chiefs e(pially independent. At the head of these was, tis has been already seen, Bheilole Lody, whose designs on the ca})ital had been re})eatedly declared by overt acts, ;ind were only postponed to a fitting opportunity. This op])ortuuity soon arrived.

Ala-u-din had early taken a great ftmcy for Budaoon, where he had spent Ai,iu<iiii'« some time in building pleasiu-e-houses and laying out gardens. He thought that ii,„i;,.H,n. its air agreed better with his health than Delhi, and wished to make it his lesi- dence. The remonstrances of his vizier, who showed him the danger, dissuaded him for a time; but crafty corn-tiers, having succeeded in bringing the vizier into disgrace, he immediately proceeded to follow out his own wi.shes, regardless of the consequences, and set off to enjoy him.self at Budaoon, leaving a deputy to act for him at Delhi. The vizier, though disgraced, was still alive. The very thought made him uneasy; and some of his comisellors. tfiking advantage of the reeling, persuaded him that his best policy would ])e to take the vizier's life. The order to that ett'ect was accordingly given; but the vizier Mas put on his guard, and made his escape to Delhi, where he had intiucnce enough to obtain


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 promoters of language, letters, arts, sciences, religion and politics.”

The Metallurgy of the Japanese does not differ much from the Chinese and has, even in the present time, a purely practical, and not the least scientific basis. Chemistry was as unknown to the old Japanese as it was to the Chinese. The latter have still the most extravagant, nay, absurd, ideas of the changes to which matter is liable. By means of a long and patient experience the practical Chinese have originally found out their different melting processes; they have digged their ores and fused their metals from the oldest time, without knowing the rudest elements of geology or chemistry. They do not differ in this respect from the old Celtic, Egyptian and other nations, and Europe, who knew in the most ancient times a rough manner of melting metals, without having the slightest scientific knowledge of it. Chemistry is the youngest of all natural sciences, and even in Europe till the middle of the 18th century (when Lavoisier, Scheele and Priestley founded the quantities period), the most extraordinary and false ideas prevailed about the changes to which matter is liable. But the western nations have largely profited by the discoveries of chemical science in ameliorating their Metallurgical processes, whilst the Chinese and Japanese have made no progress at all in this direction. Their methods are still the same as they have been for many centuries. Hence the melting of metals by these nations stands at present much behind our western methods.

Hitherto the Metallurgy of the Japanese has been deseribed by no author. The classical and doubtless the best work which at any time has been written about Japan—the Nippon Archiv of Von Siebold, was never finished and contains but very little about this subject, whilst Kaempfer’s History of Japan contains only some insignificant notices, which are often wholywholly [sic] erroneous.

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 100

HISTORY OF INDIA.

[JiooK I.

Bheilole founds the Lody Afghan dynasty.

A.D. m:;1. possession of all tiio royul effects. The king wsts urg((l to li}iHt<;n baxrk to lii.s capital and strike a decisive blow, but he only made frivoloas excas^jH for ihJay. One day it was the weather, which made it fli.sagreeable to travel ; another day it was the stars, which pronounced it unlucky. The vizier made better ukc of the time, and invited Bheilole Lody to assume the government. Bheilole set out at once, but gave a new specimen of his Afghan craft by wi-iting to Ala-u- din that his only object in going was to expel the vizier. This wa.s too much even for the imbecile monarch to believe ; and he voluntarily took the step to which he saw he would soon be forced, by formally abdicating the throne in Bheilole's favour, on condition of being permitted to reside quietly at Budaoon. Here the remainder of his life, extending to nearly twenty-eight years, was spent. He had previoasly reigned seven years at Delhi.

Bheilole, the founder of the Lody Afghan dynasty, began his reign in 1450. The circumstances of his birth were extraordinary, and being interpreted t<> portend his future greatness, very probably contributed to realize it. Before he was bom his mother was killed by the fall of her hoase. Her husband, Mullik Kaly, governor of a district in Sirhind, immediately ordered her body to be opened, and, strange to say, the life of the infant was saved. His uncle, Mullik Sultan, who had been appointed governor of Sirhind with the title of Islam Khan, rewarded his valour by giving him his daughter in marriage, and making him his heir, to the exclusion of his o^vn full-grown sons. Islam Khan had usually retained 12,000 Afghans, mostly of his owii tribe, in his service. The greater part of these joined Bheilole. The King of Delhi harl his suspicions roused as to the ultimate objects of the Afghans; and, by inducing Jusrut Gukkur to take the field against them, drove them to the hills. Here Bheilole headed them, made many predatory incursions, and, by the liberality with which he divided the spoil, attracted great numbers to his standard The vizier, Hissam Khan, whom the kinsr sent against him, was signallv defeated The result, as has been ah*eady related, was that Bheilole foimd means to ingi'atiate himself with the king, was adopted as his son, and at last succeeded in displac- ing Moobarik, who retired into private life, and went to reside, despised or forgotten, at his favourite residence of Budaoon.

Aftei' Bheilole succeeded, he continued for a time to treat the vizier, to whom he was mainly indebted for his elevation, with gi-eat respect ; but after- wards, thinking he presumed too much on what he had done, he caused some of his servants to seize him. The vizier, though not aware of the offence which he had given, expected nothing but death ; but Bheilole told him that, in gratitude for past services, he had a security for his life ; the only thing necessary now was, that he should cease to intermeddle with public affairs, and spend the rest of insuiTection his life in retirement. In 1451, during an absence of Bheilole in Mooltan. a for-

I It ' o

midable insuiTection broke out, headed by Mahmood Shah Shui'ky, King of Jounpoor, who advanced with a large army, and laid siege to Delhi. Bheilole


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 CnAP. IV.] BHEILOLE AND HIS SUCCESSOES. 101

returned with precipitation ; and, by putting down the rebellion, placed his a.d. 1499.

power on a firmer basis than before.

The kingdom of Delhi, contracted in extent as it then was, could not satisfy FomiiiiHbie the ambition of Bheilole, who no sooner found himself firmly seated than he |^f j,"^' '"" began to think of new conquests. He was not very successful ; for he was ^^^^-^^ obliged to make a treaty which bound him to limit his possession to the terri- tories which had belonfjed to Delhi in the time of Moobarik. His most form id- able enemies were the difierent members of the Shurky family. Among them, Hoossein Shah Shurky took the lead. At one time he advanced against Dellii with 100,000 horse and 1000 elephants; at another he obliged him to make a treaty, by which he reliniiuished all right to any territory east of the Ganges. Ultimately, however, Bheilole gained so many decided advantages, that a great part of the Shurky territory was incorporated with his own.

Bheilole, when he mounted the throne, had a family of nine sons. As he Biieiioie'« advanced in years, and felt the cares of government weighing heavily upon him, pnrtition he adopted the very injudicious measure of partitioning his territory among territories them. In this way the amalgamation of the conquests, which had been the great object of his life, was completely frastrated. Shortly after making this arrangement he was seized with illness, and died in 1 488, after a reign of nearly thirty-nine years.

He had previously declared that his son Nizam Khan, to whom he had allotted neiiin nf Delhi and several districts in the Doab, should be his successor. He was not the lawful heir; for the eldest son of Bheilole, though dead, had left a son, whose title, according to the ordinary rules of succession, was certainly preferaljle. Nizam Khan owed this preference to the influence of his mother, the daughter of a goldsmith, whose beauty had given her the first place in the harem. After a short contest, all o])position to the appointment ceased, and he assumed the title of Sikundur. His reign, which lasted twenty-eight years, wsis peaceful, at least compared with that of his predecessoi*s ; and he is described as remark- able alike for the comeliness of his person and the excellence of his character. In general, justice was administered impartially, but some remarkable instances of intolerance have left a stain (m his reputation. One of these desei^ves to be recorded.

About i99, a Brahmin of the name of Boodlum, an inhabitant of a village Mahometan near Lucknow, being upbraided by some Mahometans on account of his faith, anTintoiCT- defentled himself by maintaining " that the religions, both of the Moslems and Hindoos, if acted on with sincerity, were equally acceptable to God." He argued the point so ingeniously that considerable attention was excited, and the subject was publicly discussed before the cazis of Lucknow. These judges did not .agi-ee in their conclusion ; and the governor, as the best way of settling the matter, sent the Brahmin and all the other parties to Sumbuhl, where the court then happened to be. The king, who was well informed on religious subjects,

aiice.


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 102

HISTOIIV or INDfA.

[Book I.

Cm.

AD. 1600.

Sikuiiclur celebrate* uiiKup- ported, while no fewer than nine of the al>lest Mahometan doctfjrs were arrayed against him. The result was that the chosen nine found themselves perfectly

in the right, and the Brahmin altogether in the wrong. As a natural consequence, they were rewarded with gifts; and it would have Iteen well if these had satisfied them, and they had allowed their opponent Uj go his way. A very different course was followed The Brah- min, in maintaining that the Hindofj faith was entitled to rank on a footing of equality with the Mahometan, wa.s lield to have in- sulted the Pro])het; and the only alternative left was to turn Mahometan or suffer death. He prefeired the latter, and was accordingly executed.

The king appears to liave been as fond of judicial as of religious questions, and often sat in ])ei'son in the courts of law. Some of

A Brah.min.— Friira Belnos' Smidhva. , i i • • i ■ i i i i

the decisions which lie i)ronounced are cele- brated. Two brothers, private soldiers, had, among other booty obtained during a siege, become possessed of tw(j large i-ubies of different shapes. One of the brothers having determined to qviit the service and retui'n to his family at Delhi, the other intrusted him with his share of the plunder, including one of the rubies, and told him to deliver it to his wife. The soldier who had continued to serve, on returning after the war was ended, asked his wife for the ruby, and was told that she had never seen it The brother, (jn the contrary, declared that he had delivered it; and vrheii the case was brought before the court, produced a number of witnesses who swore that they had seen hiiu deliver it. The judge, acting on this testimony, decided against the woman, telling her to go home and give the ruby to her hiLsband. Her home was thus rendered so uncomfortable that, as a last resource, she laid her complaint before the king. He listened patiently to her statement, and then summoned all the })arties before him. The %vitnesses repeated their e-idence; and, in order to strengthen it, affirmed that they perfectly recollected the size and shape of the ruby, which they had seen given. On this the witnesses were separated, and a piece of wax being given to each of them, as well as to each of the soldiers, they were told to mould it into the form of the gem. On examination, the models of the soldiers agreed, but that of all the othei-s differed. The king drew the infer- ence that the soldiers alone had seen the ruby, and the witnesses had been


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 101 HISTORY OF INDIA. [Book I.

AD. 1626. Numeroas malcontent cluefs joined him; and, at the head (f 100,000 horw^, he made himself master of all the country as far {is Sumbuhl, defeating the Delhi Keiwiii..!. army in several engagements. A still more fatal step wa« taken by Dowlut govoniors Klian Lody, the governor of Lahore. He had at first taken part with the king, ami Lahore '^^^^ bccame alamicd at the repeated instances of his pei-fidy. Not seeing any seemity for his family in any temis of accommodation which Ibrahim might )>(' induced to gi'ant, and conscious, at the same time, of his inability to meet him in the open field, he entered into a communication with Baber, who was then reigning in Cabool. That prince had long kept his eye fixed on Hindoostan, which, as a direct descendant of Tamerlane, he regarded as part of his inheritance. Nothing, therefore, could be more in accordance with his wishes than Dowlut Khan's invitation. He was well acquainted with the convulsed state of the country ; for at this very time Ala-u-din, the brother of Ibrahim, was living in exile at his com-t. Before taking the field in person, Baber sent forward this ])rince, who was immediately joined by Dowlut Khan. Many other officers of distinction also rallied around his standard, and lie continued his march towards Delhi, with the intention of laying siege to it. His army mustered 40,000 hor.se. Ibrahim went out to oppose him, but suffered himself to be surprised in the night, and, after a tumultuous conflict, found, when the day dawTied, that most of his officers had deserted to the enemy. The troops, however, had remained faithful, and an opportunity of regaining more than he had lost immediately presented itself. The troops of Ala-u-din, thinking they had secured the victory, had dispersed to plunder. Ibrahim, before they were aware, w^as on them with his elephants and as many of his soldiers as he had rallied, and drove them from the field with great slaughter. Ala-u-din, giving up all for lost, made a precipitate retreat to the Punjab, and Ibraliim once more entered Delhi in triumph. It was of .short dm-ation ; for the only effect of Ala-u-din' s Invitation discomfitm'e was to bring Baber across the Indus in the end of 1525. As the details must be left for another chapter, it is sufficient here to mention the result. The kings met in the beginning of the following year, on the plain of Paniput, and a sanguinary battle was fought, which teiininated the life of Ibrahim, and extinguished the Lody Afghan dvTiasty. On its ruins the far more celebrated dynasty of the Great Mogul was erected.

to Baber


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1


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 Chap V.] ItEIGN OF BABER. 10^

CHAPTER Y.

Mogul dynasty -Life aiul reign of Ilaber -Hoomayoon — Ilis expuUiuii and return —State of India at

his death.

ABER was the sixth in descent from Tamerhine. His grand- ad uss. fathei', Abu Said Mirza, left eleven sons, among wliom his extensive dominions were divided. Omar Sheikh Mirza, the fom*th son, was for some time i^overnor of Cabool, but was transferred to Fergliana, situated on the upper course of the Jaxartes This province, of which he was in possession when Abu Said died, unVw, bom was afterwards lield l)y liim Jis an independent sovereignty. He had mar- lusorifrin ried the sister of Mahmood Khan, a descendant of Dschaggatai Khan, and "i""^,'".'^ tlu-ougl» him connected with CJhenghis Khan. Baber was lier son, and was, conseciuently, by the mother's side, a Mogul. It is somewhat singular that, in Ills own Memoirs, lie always speaks with contempt of the Mogul race, though the tlvnasty which he was about to e.stablisii in India was destined to take its name from it. Tiie exphmation is, that the title Great Mogul was not chosen by liini, but was applied, in accordance with the Hindoo ciustom of giving the name (»f Moguls to all the Mahometans of the north-west, with the single excei)tion of the Afghans When his father died, Baber was only twelve years of age. He was thus de])rive(lof his natural protector before he could be expecteil to be able to act for himself To add to the misfortune, his uncles, wh(^ ought to have befriended him, were ingenerous enough to re.sent a (piarrel which they had had with the father, on the son But Baber had talents equal to the difliculties of liis position. On learning his father's death, lie took immediate steps to secure the succession As the eldest son, he had the best title to it, and there was no room for tUs])ute. It Wiis necessary, however, to consult his uncle. Sultan Ahmed Mirza, ruler of Samarcand and Bokhara, to whom the .suiu'emac}' belonged; and Baber sent an embassy to him. to say, "It is plain you must place one of your iiis mes-sagfi servants in the command of this country; I ;un at once your son and your servant ; if you ap]>oint me, your purpose will be answered in the mo.st satisfac- toiy manner." 'i'his honest but ])lain dealing gave dis.sati.sfaction. and a hostile answer was returned The uncle wius, in fa<:t, already on the marcli, determined to complete the conquest which he had begun while Baber's father was alive, and make himself sole master of Fertrhana On this occasion fortune favoured the friendless youth. In crossing a river, the bridge, which was crowded with his unele's troops, gave way, and great numbers of men, hoi-ses. and camels ])erished.

Thi.s was regarded as ominous, particularly jus a defeat had been sustained at the Vol. I. 14


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 106

TIFSTOIJV OF INDIA.

[iiooK r.

At) iifli;

Raber'H

(lilfilMllt

positiuu.

Alteniate success and defeat.

His serious illne-a and luisfortuiies

snmo spot tliree or four years before. The anny, in consequence, Ixicarne panic- struck, and showed the utmost reluctance to axlvance. While they were hesi- tating, the horses were seized with a fatal di.sease, and Baber's arrny marie its appearance. All these circumstances made the invaders disposed to listen to terms of accommodation, and patch up a hasty peace, when a resolute a/lvance of a few miles would probably have put them in possession of Indijan, Baber's capital.

No sooner was this danger escaped, than another, of an equally formidaljle nature, thrcatejied him. The Sultan Mahmood Khan made his af)[»earance in the north, and laid siege to Baber's fortress of Akhsi. After re[)eated ftssaidts, which were repulsed with great valour, he abandoned the attempt as hopeless, and ma<^Ie the best of his way home. A third enemy advanced from the efist, jilundering and devastating as he came. He was, however, still more easily disposed of than the others, having brought himself into a position out of which, if full advantage had been taken, he could not have extricated himself Balder, thus freed from the perils which had environed him, turned his leism-e to good account, and made many important internal improvements.

He had hitherto been contented to act on the defensive, but in 1495 he found himself strong enough to change his tactics, and attempt the conquest of Kliojend. It had at one time belonged to hLs father, and on this ground he thought him- self entitled to take it if he could. The task proved easier than he anticipated, and he gained possession of it almost without resistance. His next attempt was on Uratuppa ; but as the inhabitants had canied home all their grain and pro- vender, thus making it impossible for him to obtain sipphes, and as the winter was about to set in, he was obliged to retreat. In 1496, the succession to Samarcand having been disputed, three diff'ei'ent claimants appeared, and invaded the country in tloi-ee different directions. Baber was one of them ; but as none of them was able to establish an ascendency, they all three retired. In the fol- lowing year Baber renewed the attempt, and conducted his operations with so much skill and valour, that, before the year expired, both the city and teiritory of Samarcand were in his possession. He wjis accordingly crowned, and acknowledged by most of the nobles ; but as the city had capitulated, and he was anxious to conciliate the inhabitants, he forbade all plunder. The troops were gi-ievously (Usappointed, and began to dispei-se. Others, not satisfied with this, went off in a body, and offered their ser-ices to Jehangir Mu-za, Baber's brother, who was treacherous enough to listen to their overtm-es, and seize on Indijan, one of the leading districts of Ferghana.

At this time, when aU the talents which Baber possessed would scarceh^ have sufficed, he was seized with a dangerous illness, and foimd his affairs on the verge of ruin. Samarcand was held by a most precarious tenure ; and it was obvious that the moment he ceased to overawe it by liis personal presence, he would lose it altogether. He resolved, notwithstanding, to make this sacrifice ;


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 Chap. V.]

FORTUNi:S OF BABEH.

107

^

for his paternal domiuions were dearer to hini than any new conquest, however valuable, and he could not brook the idea of having them dismembered by the perfidy of a brother. He accordingly set out towards Indijan, but he arrived oidy in time enough t(^ learn that the officers to whom the defence of it wa« intrusted, had been induced, by a rumour of his death, to surrender, and that Jehangir had actually mounted the throne. Both Samarcand and Indijan were thus lost. Baber wiis now in the utmost distress, and applied for aid to his maternal uncle, Sultan Mahmood Klian. His brother Jehangir applied at the same time, and Mahmood, unwilling to interfere in the quarrels of his nephews, gave no assistance to either. Ultimately, however, he departed so far from this resolution as to take open ]>art with Baber, who, after various vicissitudes, recovered his paternal kingdom in 1499. He even set out to attempt the recovery of Samarcand, but was only on the way when he received the morti- fying intelligence that the Usbeks had anticipated him, and made themselves masters both of Samarcand and Bokhara. The consequence was, that he was not only frustrated in the hope of taking Samarcand, but again lost Ferghana, which had been oveiTun in his absence.

His only resource was to betake him- self to the mountains, and wait there till fortune should again smile upon him. While almost disconsolate at the disasters which had Wallen him, he lay down in a grove to sleep, and dreamed that AbdoUah, a dervis of grwit re])ute, cjxlled at his iiou.se. He invited him to sit down, and ordered a table-cloth to be spread for him; but the dervis, apjiarently offended, rose to go away. While Baber endeavoured to detain him, the dervis took hold of his arm, and lifled him up towards the sky. The ch'eam is neither striking nor .significant; but Baber and his followers regarded it as a promise of future good fortune, and determined, in consequence, to make another attempt on Samarcand. The captm'e of the city was one of the exploits on which Baber particularly j)hnned himself, and he dwells on it with evident exultation in his ^femoil•s. Here, however, only the leading facts can be mentioned. His small ])arty mustered only 320 men, and yet with these he succeeded in making himself master of a large ca])ital, occupied by warlike Usbeks, whom Sheebani Khan, a veteran general of high rej)utation, commanded. Having secretly arrived in the vicinity at midnight, he sent forward <-ighty of his party to a low part of the wall, which they immediately scaled by means of a gi-ap})ling-rope. Going

M) HO!)

MaliiiKMMl

8l|>I><>l'ts

H.ilicr.

Usbeks of Khoondooz, and a Kiiojaii ok Usbf.k

Taktarv.— From Rattmy's AfKh&ni5tan &iid Klpliiiistoiie's Cabool.

neniarkal)l8 rv covery of Sainarcaiid


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HLST(JiV OF INDIA.

[lirjoK I.

Tin. A.D. 1000.

Baber defeated hy the Uabeks.

Becomes master of Cabool and Kandahar.

afterwards round, they surjiriHed and over[)owor<id the guard in charge of on<; of the gates, opened it, and let in Baber with the 240 wlio were with hiin. They immediately i-ushed along the .streets, proclaiming Baber's name as they passed. It carried a charm with it to the ears of many of the inhabitants, who immediately rallied around him, while the Usbeks ran c^mfasedly from plH/;e to place, ignorant both of the position and numbers of their assailants. When the alarm reached the head-quarters, Sheebani Khan, who occupied the fort with 7000 men, set out with a small body to reconnoitre, and on finding that Babei' had gained some thousands of the inhabitants, who were rending the air with acclamations, was so frightened that he took the opposite gate, and fled towards Bokhara. Baber obtained quiet possession.

Baber was aware that the victory was only half won so long as the Usljeks maintained theii* footing in the country, and he laboured to unite the neighbour- ing chiefs in a general coalition for the pm'pose of expelling them. Owing to dissensions and jealousies, liis exertions were unavailing, and he was left to tight single-handed with his formidable foes. They proved more than a match for him ; and he sustained a defeat which obliged him to shut himself up within the walls. Here he defended himself till he suffered aU the horrors of famine, and saw no resource but to take advantage of the night, and escape with about 100 faithful attendants. This flight took place in the beginning of loOl, and he was once more a homeless wanderer. He foTind an asylum with his uncle. Sultan Mahmood Khan, who gave him the town of Aratiba for his residence. Here his relentless enemy, Sheebani Khan, found him out, and he removed to Tashkend, where he remained for some time in a state of despondency. At length an opening appeared in his hereditary kingdom, and by the aid of his two uncles he obtained possession of Akhsi, one of its strongest forts. It was only a gleam of sunshine before the coming storm. Sheebani Khan again appeared, and conquered as before. In addition to his own misfortune, Baber had the misery to see his imcles involved in his fate. They were both taken prisoners, and released only at the expense of their kingdoms. Sultan Mahmood Khan was unable to bear up imder the stroke, and his health began to decHne. One of his friends, hinting that Sheebani Khan had poisoned him, offered some tiriak of Khutta, a medicine which was then in high repute as an antidote. The sultan replied, "Yes! Sheebani Khan has poisoned me indeed! He has taken away my kingdom, which it is not in the power of yom- tiriak of Khutta to restore."

Baber had at one time some thoughts of trying liis fortune in China. HLs own country, at all events, seemed shut against him, and he qmtted it for ever. But he had no intention of closing his career. Though he had seen much of the world, and experienced many reverses, he had only attained the age when most men begin to make their appearance in the public stage of life. He was httle more than twenty, and was borne up by tlie behef, which conscious talent and


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 10

IIISTOlty OF INDIA.

[Book I.

A.D. 1824. and Dell)i exhibited merely a sliadow of its former grasiUieHH. It was impos- sible not to pereeive that a country thus ruled, and acknowledged at the same time to be one of the grandest, fairest, and richest regioiLs of the globe, pre- sented facilities and attractioius to the con(jueror far greater than the west could furnish ; and the only wonder is, that a }>rince so talented and w) ambitious as Baber should have remained so Ion;; on its fiontiers without makiiiir an actual inroad into it. Baber-s first Baber's first Indian cami)aign took place in 1519. On that occasion, after overrunning the territory between Cabool and the Indas, he crossed over into the Punjab, and advanced as far as Bhira. From this place he sent a mes.sage to Ibrahim Lody, the King of Delhi, reminding him that the Punjab had been frequently possessed by the house of Tamerlane, and demanding that to him, as a branch of that house, it should be voluntarily resigned, miless he was pre- pared to see the war carried farther into India. In this cainj>aign he reached the Chenaub, and then returned to Cabool. His second Indian campaign Avas made in the course of the same year. His main object was to reduce Lahore, but after reaching Peshawer, and advancing to the Indus, intelhgence of an invasion of Budukshan by the King of Cashgar compelled him to retmii. He marched a third time against India in 1520, and had reached Sealkote when he learned that his presence was immediately required to defend hLs capital against an invasion from Kandahar. He had not only repulsed the invader, but pur-

^ sued him to Kandahar,

-—^^^ ^^^=^^ ^^d captured it, when,

in 1524, Dowlut Khan sent the tempting in- vitation formerly men- tioned. In compHance with it, Baber advanced to the neighbourhood of Lahore, which he en- tered in triumph, after gaining a signal victory. Dowlut Khan having afterwards turned acrainst him, he found his prospects of success so seriously affected, that he rested satisfied with app(jinting governors over the districts hich he had conquered, and again retvu*ned home.

Ala-u-din Lody, the brother of Ibrahim Lody, King of Delhi, had been left in command of the Cabool forces, and for a time was so successful, that he pushed forward to the vicinity of Dellii. Here he seemed to have gained a

.,..-,.,r--«<5.

Kandahar. — From Sale's Defence of Jelalabad.

Defeat i>f Ala-u-iliii


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 Chap. V.] BABER'S SUCCESSES. 1 1 1

victory, till his own carelessness and the want of disci[)line turned it into a com- ad. 1526.

plete defeat, and obliged him to retire })recipitately into the Punjab. Baber, on hearing of the disaster, immediately bestirred himself, ami made his appearance in India. This was his fifth, and proved his most decisive Indian cam})aign.

His force was comparatively small. After crossing the Indus on the 1 oth Hater's of December, 1525, he mustered it, and found that he had only 10,000 chosen horse. At Sealkote, however, he was joined by Ala-u-din, and thus obtained a considerable reinforcement. The fii'st ajipearance of opposition was on the part of Dowlut Khan, and his son Ghazy Khan, who had again espoused the ciiuse of the King of Delhi, and were encamped on the banks of the Ravee, neiir Lahore, with an army of 40,000. They were afraid to risk an action, and, as Baber advanced, retreated — the former to Malwat, and the latter to the hilLs. Baber immediately invested Malwat, and obliged it to capitulate in a few (hiys. On this occasion he generously forgave Dowlut Khan, and exerted himself in restraining the rapacity of his troops, who, as soon as the gates were openeil, broke in, and commenced an indiscriminate plunder. Rushing in among them, he at great ]>ersonal risk rescued a lady belonging to Dowlut Khan's family, whom a ruffian had seized, and saved a fine library which had been collected by Ghazy Khan, who was a poet and a man of learning.

The dissensions which prevailed at Delhi, and the invitations which he capture ..r received from the malcontents, induced him to advance without delay. He Deii.i. experienced little serious opposition till Ibrahim himself advanced to meet him, at the head of 10,000 horse and 1000 elephants. Babers army was not a fifth of this number ; but every man in it was a soldier highly discii)lined, attached to his chief, and resolved to conquer or die; whereas the Delhi force was a hetei'ogeneous mass, composed of the most discordant materials. The result wjus not long doubtful, and Ibrahim him.self was among the slain. This battle, which wjis fought on the 20th of April, 1526, decided the fate of Hindoostan. Baber did not tail to make the most of his victory. He inmiediately despatched his son Hoomayoon to occupy Agi-a, and another detachment to march rapidly on Delhi, while he followed with the main body. His entrance wjis unopposed, and he took formal possession as sovereign. The fort of Agra offered some resistance ; but the terror of the Mogul arms was now so general, that the Rajpoots who defended it offered to capitulate. Instead of levying a ransom from individuals, Baber consented to accept of a diamond, weighing 672 carats, which he presented to his son Hoomayoon. On entering the Delhi treasur}', he appears to have been a,stonished at the amount, and immediately began to distribute it with the greatest profusion, as if he had imagined it inexhaustible. Not satisfied with making rich presents to all his chiefs, and even to the mer- chants who followed his camp, he made large donations to holy places in various countries, and caused a skarokh to be given to every man, woman, and child in the kingdom of Cabool, without distinction of slave or free. The gift to eiich


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 112 IILSTOKY OF JNIHA. fUooK I.

A.D. 1630 was rather less than a ,sliilliii<^, hut the a<^gregate kuiii must have been enormoufi. His prodigality on this occasion procured liini the nickname of "Callender," after a religious order whose rule is to make no ])rovision f<jr the morrow. iiaber makes Had Babcr becii intending, like Tamerlane, tf) ([uit India, this wjuandering pennaiient oi the trcasurv might easily have been explained, and even jastined, on grounds lusK tnoo ^^j. pQjj^,^, . i^^j^ ^jj^ folly of the proceeding seems extreme, when it is considered that he from the first regarded it as a permanent conquest, and determined to make Delhi his future capital. The question had midergone formal di.scassion after the capture, and many of his most expeiieuced officers, contrasting the smallness of his army with the threatening appearance which the Afghans still continued to present in various quarters, were urgent for his return to Cabool, or at least retreat to the Punjab; but he at once put an end to all their remon- strances, by exclaiming, " What would all the Mahometan kings in the world say of a monarch whom the fear of death obliged to abandon such a kingdom ! " Hisdiffitni- The idea of departure being abandoned, it required all Baber's skill and lUmgers. eiicrgy to make good his position Several Afghan competitors connected with the late i-oyal family were set np against him and sanguinary l:)attles were fought, generally, however, to his advantage. As a necessary consequence, liis cause advanced, while that of his enemies rapidly declined ; and many who had stood aloof with the intention of ultimately joining the winning side, made their submission. But his gi*eatest dangers were not in the field ; for tho.se who feared to encounter him there, cUd not scruple at any means which promised to be successful. (>ne of the most flagrant attempts made on his life was by the mother of Ibrahim Lody, the late .sovereign. She had become his captive, and he had treated her with great respect and kindness ; but the destruction which he had brought on her family was not to be forgiven, and she bribed Baber's taster and cook to poison some hare-soup intended for him He actually par- took of it, but the poisoning having been overdone, affected the taste, and he desisted in time to save his life. Preiaatuve Baber was still in the full vigour of life, and might, in the course of nature,

old age and

<ieath. have been expected to have a long career before him ; but he had crowded the events of a lifetime into a comparativ^el}' short period and began to exhibit symptoms of a premature old age. Fever after fever attacked him ; and, lieginning to feel his end approaching, he sent for his son Hoomayoon, and appointed him his successor. A few months after, on the 21th of December, 1530, he breathed his last. He had reigned thirty-eight years, but of the.se only five were spent on the throne of Delhi. Considering the .shortness of the period, it is wonderful how much had been accomplislied in it. Not only had Afghan insurrections been put down, and the whole Mahometan population reconcileil to the new dynasty, Init great battles had been fought, and great victories gained over in.surgent Hindoos. After Mewar, M;ilwah, and Mewat had been subdued, Behar, on both sides of the Ganges, w;is overrun, and the


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BABER'S CHARACTEIL

113

Tomb of Kmperor Babkr— From Atkinson's SketcJies in Afghauittiin.

I

King of Bengal barely saved liis independence by submitting to an ignominious to be fu"mly establislied.
 * )eace. The throne of the Great Mogul was thus not only set up, but seemed

The love of natm-e, which Baber retained in all its freshness to the very last, and of which many touching instances are re- corded by him- self, a[)peared in his selection of a final resting- place. It was in the vicinity of Cabool, on the banks of a clear running stream, at the foot of a liill commanding a noble prospect.

There his tomb still stands, and in front of it a small but chaste mosque ol' white marble. His character is best learned from his Memoirs or A ufo- hiography, in which his oi)inions and feelings are candidly expressed, and a full insijxht is <jiven into the conduct both of the monarch and the num. Few lives so full of vicissitudes and temptations would bear to be so minutely investigated, and sulfer so little from the investigation. Take him all in all,

in his varied and seldom combined capacities as a writer, a soldier, and a ruler, it nuist be admitted that his proper place is among the greatest men whom the Eiist has j)roduced. It is almo.st needless to .say that both his public and his private life exhibit blemishes. Among those of the former description may be mentioned his folly in sqiiandering the treasiu'e found in Delhi ; and among those of the latter, his bacchanalian habits, which he is said not to have aban- doned till they had made serious inroads on his constitution.

Baber left four son.s. The second, Kannan. who at the time of his father's

' Tlie sm.-iU but very ole^'aiit white niaiUle iiios<|Uc | Rliali Jehai), in l.onour of liis great ancestor. — Vigne's at tlio tomb of Sultan Baber, was built in KMO, by I Vi^il to Ghuziii.

Vot,. I. 15

A.n. I. wo.

nabei'situt.i- biogiai>hy.

WuiTi- Marble Mosque at tlie Tomb of Kmperor naber ■

From Vtum'i Vi.-it to (ihuzin.


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 114

JIISTOItV OF INDIA.

[Book I.

JSiiber.

Siege of Cliviiiiir.

A D 1530. death was governor of Cabool and Kandahar, not only retained )f>memi(>n ol' them, l)iit iriade good a chiim to tlie Punjab. The two youngest sons were at

nonmavoon first Contented to hold governments in India under Hoomayoon, who, an eldest son, and by Babers special appointment, mounted tlie tlirone of Delhi. He soon found it anything but a bed of roses. The cession of the Punjab to Kamran, without any effort t<j preserve it, was a kind of premium offered to aggression, which was accordingly attempted in varioas quarters. The first contest was with Bahadur Shah, King of Gujerat, who had rendered liimself formidable by the annexation of Malwah, and the establishment of his supremacy over several adjoining teiritories. The ostensible cause of f|uarrel was the ])rotection given by Bahadur Shah to Mahomed Zuman Mirza, who had taken refuge with him after a rebellion against his brother-in-law, Hoomayoon, had failed During a series of struggle.s, with various alternations of success, Bahadur first lost, and then recovered his kinfjdom.

The next formidable opponent who appeared was Sheer Klian Sur, who had made himself master both of Behar and Bengal. Hoomayoon advanced

The Chunar-ohcr, from the South-west. — From Hodge's Views in ludia.

against liim from Agra, and amved with a powerful army before the fort of Chunar, near Benares, in the beginning of 1538. Sheer Khan had been taken somewhat by surprise, and as his object, therefore, was to gain time, he left Chunar strongly garrisoned, and retired farther into the interior. Hoomayoon did not venture to advance while the enemy possessed such a place in his rear, and resolved to lay siege to it. He was thus detained for several months, and only succeeded at last because the provisions of the garrison were exhausted. This siege derives importance from the regular manner in which it was con- ducted, and the great use made of gunpowder and artillery, both by besiegers and besieged. Hoomayoon Hoomayoon now advanced along the Ganges, but Sheer Khan continued to pursue his tactics of not risking a general engagement, and only offering such


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FORTUNES OF IIOOMAYOON.

115

resistance as miglit suffice to protract the advance. Hooniayoon ought now to have become perfectly aware of the trap which was laid for him, and been satisfied to select some strong ])osition, at least till the rainy season was over. Instead of this, he found himself in the lower basin of the Ganges when its whole delta was Hooded, and every brook had swollen into an impassjible torrent. Meanwhile Sheer Khan, by a dexterous movement, i)laced himself in his rear, and cut off his retreat. The King of Delhi was at last alive to his ])erilous condition, and endeavoui'ed to elude his enemy by ])re paring boats to cross over to the other side of the Ganges. While thus occupied, he allowed himself to be completely surprised, and had barely time to momit his horse and make for the river. He immediately plunged in, but his steed, after bearing him nobly for a while, sunk exhausted His fate would have been the same, had not a water-carrier, who was crossing, by the aid of the water-skin, which he had inflated for that purpose, seized him before he sunk, and carried him to the opposite bank. He reached Agra in the end of June, 1539, but his whole army had jierished, and his queen Wfxs Sheer Khan's captive.

Hoomayoon made the best use of his escape; and, by the aid of his brothers, Kamran and Hindal, who, after taking very suspicious measures, had become cor- dially imited with him. kept the enemy at bay. By the spring of 15-tO he thought himself strong enough for a new campaign. The armies came in sight of each other, and continued for some time manoeuvring, till Hoomayoon, alarmed at some symptoms of desertion, determined to risk a general

engagement. It proved disastrous; and in the flight which ensued, his escape was as extraordinary as before. His hoi-se wsis wounded, and he was on the point of being Icilled or taken, when he found an ele})hant, mounted it, and htistened to the Ganges. The driver hesitated to swim the river, and gave place to an eunuch who undertook the task. He reached the opposite bank in siifety, but, on account of its height, could not land, till two soldiers who hajipened to be present joined their turbans, and throwing one end to him, drew him up His

AD 1540.

XaiTow escape of HooniayooH

BmiSTEE OH Water-carrier ' —From Luard's

Views iti liidta.

His sticoud ■ lefeitt and

' The bag whioli the Hiliistee carries on his back, i.* called a luushk of p.inee, or skin full of water. It is a goat -skin carefully sewed up, and made perfectly tight; a valve being left open at one end, which he holds in his hand to enalde him to guide the water into porous earthenware bottles, in which it is placed

to cool. Some Bihistees go about leading a bullock with two large skins of water for sale, slung acros.s the animal's back, and nearly reaching to the ground. In tiie baik-ground to our engraving, men are re- presented filling skius so slung. BihisUc means Itca- venly.


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 I<>

HISTORY OF INDIA,

[Hook I.

A I). 1.-.40.

Siibsefiuont fortunes cpf HoomayoKii

He reaches Ameikote.

Slieer Khan seated on the throne of Dellii.

situation was now lio[)ele.ss; ami Ik; luil only time to itMiiovt; his fauiily and his treasure from Agra and Delhi, and liasten off with them to Laliore. Here his reception was not very gracious, as his brotiier Kamran feared he might prove a dangeroas competitor, and was also preparing to make Ills ])eace with .Sheer Khan, by ceding tlie Punjab to him.

Hof)mayoon, thus abandoned by liis brother, turned his thouglits to Scinde, and endeavoured, partly by {)ersuasion and j)ajtly by force, to obtain possession of it. He failed; and then tlirew himself on the protection of the Rajah of Marwar. To accomplisli this he was obliged to cross the de.sert, and even there had the mortification to perceive that the rajah was only meditating how he might best deliver him to his enemies. Flight into the desert was again his only resource. While wandering here, encumbered with the women of his family, a body of horse was seen approaching They were headed by the son of the Rajah of Marwar. Nothing short of death or captivity was foreboded ; but after a great show of hostility, the rajah's son apparently I'elented, furnished them with water, and allowed them to proceed The horrors of the desert were still before them ; and at last Hoomayoon, with only seven attendants, reached Amerkote. Here he was not only hospitably entertained, but furnished with the means of making a second attempt upon Scinde. It might have succeeded, but the rajah who accompanied him, indignant at obtaining no redress for an insult which he had received, suddenly withdi'ew with all his Hindoo followers. His position was now despei-ate, and he was only too glad to make an arrange- ment which permitted him to withdraw from Scinde and set out for Kandahar. This province belonged to Kamran, and was then held for him by one of his younger brothers. Hoomayoon, travelling with his wife and an infant child, afterwards the celebrated Emperor Akber, had arrived within 130 miles of his destination, when one of his old adherents rode hastily up, and gave him the startling intelligence that his brother Mirza Askari was at hand, with the intention of making him prisoner. He had only time to mount the queen behind him, and take to flight. The infant could not be thus carried, and fell, with his attendants, into the hands of his im^cle. Hoomayoon contiimed his flight with a few followers till he amved within the Pei-sian dcjminions. He was sent to Herat to await the shah's orders.

Sheer Khan, on Hoomayoon's flight, made a kind of trimnphant progress, and was soon in possession of all the territories which had acknowledged the authoi'ity of the King of Delhi. His reign, or usurpation as it is sometimes called, though his title was at least as good as Baber's, had been commenced in 1 540. During the three following years he made himself master of Malwah. Marwar, and Mewar, and was carrying on the siege of Callinjer, in loio, when he was killed by the explosion of a powder magazine. His eldest son, Adil Khan, had previously been recognized by him as his successor; but the feebleness of his character induced the chiefs to set him aside, and give the throiie to his


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Page:A Comprehensive History of India Vol 1.djvu/151

 Chap. V.J

THE USURPER ADILF.

117

Tib.

SuKKH SiiAU's .Mausoleum at tSA.s.sKKAii.' From UiinicUs Oriental .iinunl.

brother, Jelal Khan, wlio a.ssnineJ the title of Selim Shah. Hi.s reign, which a d i.w. lasted nine years, durinor which several important internal improvements were made, and public works erected, was on the whole peaceful He left a son of succeo-u. tlie age of twelve, but he was nuu'dered by his uncle, Ma- homed Khan, who usurped the throne, and is known by the title of Adili. His conduct on the throne was such as miglit have been expected after the atrocity by which he had oained it, and he made him- self universally odi- ous by his follies and ini([uities. For a time, however, the abilities of Hemoo, u»uri«tioii

TT- 1 1- 1 1 1 1 • of iMaliiiiii.-il

a Hindoo oi low origiji, to whom he had committed the government, kept him Kiian^.r on his seat ; and he pm'sued a course of utter lawlessness, first scjuandering liLs treasury, and then indiscriminately confiscating the property of his subjects, in order to procm'e the means of indulging in his extravagances and low debauch- eries. After he had naiTOwly escaped the dagger of .an assassin, a confederacy was formed against him. It failed in the first instance, but other revolts were succes.sful ; and Ibrahim Sur, making himself ma.ster of Delhi and Agra, Adili was left in possession only of the eastern pronces. Ibrahim, having in his turn been driven out of Delhi and Agra by Sikundur Sur, who h.ad proclaimed himself King of the Punjab, endeavoured to compensate himself by wresting some more territory from Adili, but was repulsed by Hemoo. This success did not at all improve his condition, for intelligence immediately arrived that Bengal and Malwah had both revolted, and that Hoomayoon, who had returned, had defeated Sikundur, and was once more seated in Delhi. Tiiis la^t intelligence proved the most fatal of all ; for though Hoomayoon soon died, his son Akber succeeded, and brought the Mogul empire to its highest pitch of glory. Adili was maintained for some time by Hemoo ; but on that Hindoo's death his success was at an end, and he lost his life fighting in Bengal.

Hoomayoon's rece])tion by Shah Tamasp, the second of the Safavi or Sophi Kings of Pei"sia, had been (m the whole favourable, though accompanied with

' Sheer Shah's mansoleu'.ii .at S-is-scram. near ]?e- iiavaa. is built in the midst of .v hirge tank, altoiit a niile iit circumference. Tiic I'uiUling is r.ipidly falling to decay, and the stone i.s now grsafly di-icolonred hy age. The remains of Sheer Sliah,vitli those of several

nicnilier.s of lii.s faniilj- were dei>osited in the lower story of the mausoleum. The central apartment is an octagon, 100 feet in diimeter, standiiig on a nias- sivo square terrace, each angle of which is ornamented with an octagonal kiosk.