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SULTAN MAHMOOD.

53

Chap. II.]

lome wife, complained to the king that one of his courtiers, who had conceived ad, io3o. a passion for her, took forcible possession of his house every night, and turned him into the street, where he was obliged to remain till the intruder chose to take his departure. He had sought redress from the proper judges, and failed summary

1*1 justice

to obtain it. The sultan, indignant, ordered the man to say nothing, but to hasten back to him the first time the gross outrage was repeated. He had not long to wait. The sultan, on being informed, wi'apped a loose cloak about him, and was con- ducted to the house. On enter- ing the chamber he found the guilty parties asleep. A light was bm-ning. He extinguished it; and then, going up to the bed, cut off the adulterer's head at a stroke. This done, he called for a light, and on ex- amining the features of the adulterer, threw himself pros- trate on the ground, and gave utterance to his joy in thanks- giving. The audacious manner in which the offence was committed had con- vinced him that the offender must be one of his sons, or near relatives. He had extinguished the light lest natural affection might stay his hand from doing justice; and now that it was done, he was rejoiced to find that his suspicions were unfounded, and that he had not been under the necessity of staining his hands with the blood of one of the members of his o^vn family.

Sultan Mahmood left a will appointing his son Mahomed his successor. Musaood Another son, Musaood, Mahomed's twin brother, but born some hours later, conceived he had as good a title. Both sons were absent at the time of their father's death, but Mahomed, on his arrival in Ghuznee, was crowned. JMusaood, however, was the favourite both of soldiers and people, and the household troops marched off in a body to join him. A large force, headed by an Indian chief, and composed principally of Hindoo cavalry, was sent in pursuit, but in the encounter which took place, the king's party was defeated. Meanwhile Musaood was hastening on to assert his claim, and was met by the household troops at 1^ Nishapoor. Before actually appealing to arms, he offered to divide the empire,

Interior of Sultan Mahmood's Tomb.'— iiiirt's Al'ghaii Scenery.

all other creeds, even though unbelievers be adverse thereto" {Koran, Surah ix. 33, and Ixi. 9). On the obverse, " Dominion both past and future is of God, and in that day the Faithful shall rejoice in the aid of the Lord" (Koran, Surah xxx. 4, 5). — Silver coin of Mahmood — weight, 50 grains. — On the Coins of the Kings of Ohuzni, by Edward Thomas. Lon. 1848.

' The inscription, in Kufic characters, on the sar- cophagus of Mahmood'a tomb is to the following efTect : — " Jlay there be forgiveness of God, upon liini who is the great lord, the noble Nizam-u-din Abul Casim Mahmood, the son of Sebektegin. May God have mercy upon him." — Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1843.


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IIIS'I'OKV OF IXniA.

[Br^oK I.

A.D. 1030.

Miiaaood's

l)er8onal

qualities.

New palace at Ghuznee.

Defeat by the Seljuks iinder Togli- rul Beg.

hy ictaininj^ iiien;ly the portions which In- li;ul liiin.self conquered. The only condition he added Wcos, that in the Khootlja, or puljHc prayer for the soverei^, liis name should be read first within his own dominions. Mahomed refused to consent; and a civil war broke out, which tenninated in his overthrow and capture. According to the barljarous practice of the times, he wa« deprived of sight, and imjtrisoned. Musa/jod mounted the throne. He was remai'k- able for personal strength. Ferishta says (vol. i. p. 98;, that " his arrow, after piercing tiie strongest mail, penetrated the hide of an elepliant; and his iron mace was so {)onderou.s, that no man of his time could rai.se it with one hand" He was also distinguished by valour and liberality, and not unfrequently offended his father by his bold and independent Vjearing.

The transactions of Musaood's reign are not important. Of these relating to India, with which here we have alone to do, the first de.serving of notice is an expedition to that country in 1033. He took the route for Soorsooty, situated among the hills of Cashmere, and on arriving at it, summoned the garrison. It offered to submit, and he was di.sposed to grant easy terms, till he learned that some Mahometan merchants had been seized, and were then captives in the fort. Enraged at the information, he caused the ditch to be filled up with sugar-canes from the adjoining plantation.s, planted scaling ladders, and took the place by storm. The garrison to a man were put to the sword, and all the women and children were enslaved.

In 1036, when a new palace was finished at Ghuznee, containing a golden throne, studded with jewels, and surmounted with a canopy, in which was a golden crown, seventy maunds in weight, suspended by a golden chain, and glistening with jewels, Musaood again set out for India, mainly with the view of reducing the fort of Hansi, the ancient capital of Sewalik. The Indians believed it impregnable; and were confirmed in this belief by their soothsayers, who assured them that it was not destined ever to fall into Mahometan hands. The result falsified their predictions, for in the coiu'se of six days it was taken by storm. The treasure found in it was immense. Musaood next proceeded to Sonput, which he found abandoned. Lea^'ing an ojSicer in charge of it, he retraced his steps, taking possession of all the coun- tries he had left in his rear, and arrived at Lahore, the government of which he conferred on his son Modood.

Musaood on his return found full occupation in repelling the Seljuks, who, after passing to the left bank of the Jaxartes, and residing for some time in Transoxiana, had settled and acquired considerable influence in Khorasan. While they professed the utmost submission to his authority, they were con- stantly waning with his lieutenants and ravaging his tenitories. At length, in 1039, Toghrul Beg, a celebrated Seljuk warrior, mustered so strongly, that Musaood fomid it necessary to take the field in person. The decisive battle was fought at Zendecan, near Merv, and ended, in consequence of the desertion

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 Chap. II.] SULTANS MODOOD, AND MUSAOOD II. 55

of liis Turkish followers, in Musaood's complete defeat. After endeavouring to a.d. iiu. collect the wreck of his army, he returned to Gliuznee. Here new troubles awaited him ; and, unable to repress the mutinous spirit of his troops, he began to look to India as a place of refuge, and finally withdrew to it in the hope of being able to retrieve his affairs. Anarchy now reigned uncontrolled in his ca})ital. No sooner had he crossed the Indus than his own guards attempted to plunder the treasury ; a general insui'rection of the army immediately followed, and Musaood, being formally depo.sed, his brother Mahomed, whom he had kept in prison, was restored. A sovereign deprived of sight was totally unfitted to rule in such troublous times, and he devolved the administration on his son Ahmed, one of whose first acts was to put Musaood to death in lO+O.

Modood, son of Musaood, had, as we have seen, been appointed governor of Modood Lahore, but was at Balkh when his father was murdered. Without losing a moment he hastened east with his army, and crushed his rivals. Ghuznee still lay open to the inroads of the Seljuks, but these formidable intruders had turned their attention more to the west, and Modood, who had married Toghrul Begs grand-daughter, both maintained himself in Ghuznee and recovered Transoxiana. In India advantage was taken of his absence; and the Rajah of Delhi, working on the feelings of the Hindoos, roased them to unwonted exertions. At the head of a powerful army he recovered Nagarcote, overran great part of the Punjab, and Laid siege to Lahore, which, however, made good its defence. Modood, meanwhile, was imable personally to interfere ; and died in 1 i9, without again visiting India.

He left an infant son, wiio was murdered by his uncle Abul Has.san. A Musaood u. series of usurpations, usually effected by great crimes, now took place, and no name of note occurs till 1098, when Musaood II. ascended the throne. Durins: the sixteen years of his reign, which ended with his death in 1114', he distin- guished himself more as a legislator than a warrior, though his generals carried his arms beyond the Ganges. For some years his court resided at Lahore.

On the death of Musaood II., another usurpation took j)lace in the person of his son Arslan, who, to secure the throne, imprisoned his brothers. The unnatural act did not avail him; and he was, in his turn, deposed by Behram, Behrama

reign.

the only brother who had e.scaped imprisonment. Behram's reign, which lasted thirty-four years, was not more long than brilliant, and he might have trans- mitted his power unimpaired, had he not been guilty of a crime which brought its pimishment along with it, and led to the extinction of the Gliuznee dyna.sty. It will be necessary to go back a few years in order to explain the circumstances. The territory of Ghor, situated, as has already been mentioned, among the northern ramifications of the Hindoo Koosh, is regarded by the Afghans as their original seat. At a comparatively early period it was invaded by the ^ Arabs, and a large ])ortion of its inhabitants embraced Mahometanism. When ■ the Arab dynasties were overthrown, it resumed its independence, and pi*e-

I


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 5G

HISTORY OF INIMA.

[Book I.

A.I). ni'<

Uehram'.s treaoliery to tlif houxo of Ghor.

His exinilsion.

!

His

defeat 1)y Ala u-diii.

Extinction of Ghuzna- vide dyuasty

servcfl it even while Sulbiii Muliiiiood was extending lii.s eonqueHts on every side. Two generations after, it was treacherously seized by Modood, and became a dependency of Ghuznee. It was still, however, governed by its own princes, who lived almost on terms of equality with the Sultans of Ghuznee. One of these princes, called Kutb-u-din Sur, had married a daugliter of Sultan Behram. This affinity might have been supposed to bring the houses of Ghuznee and Ghor into the most friendly relations. It turned out otherwise. Differences arose; and Behram, having obtained poaseasion of the person of his son-in-law, sullied the reputation which he had acquired for jastice and humanity by poisoning him, or putting him to an open death. Kutb-u-din Sur had two brothers, Seif-u-din and Ala-u-din. The}'^ at once flew t^j arms to avenge his death ; and, advancing upon Ghuznee, obliged Behram to seek an asylum among the mountains of Kerman.

Seif-u-din, the elder brother, established him.self in Ghuznee, and .sent back most of his army, vmder Ala-u-din, to Feruz Coh, his former capital He thought he had gained the affections of the inhabitants, and only learned his mistake when it was too late to remedy it. A strong attachment was still felt to the dynasty to which Ghuznee owed all its prosperity and its splendour; and, as soon as the winter had set in so severely as to prevent all communica- tion with Ghor, Behram made his appearance at the head of an army. Seif- u-din, totally unprepared, was about to retire, when treacherous promises of support from tlie inhabitants induced him to march out and risk a battle. It was no sooner commenced than the greater part of his troops passed over to his enemy. For a time he was able, by the aid of a small body of his o^v•n people who remained stanch, to maintain an unequal contest, but was at length wounded, overpowered, and taken prisoner. Behram, instead of availing himself of the opportunity to wipe off the stain which he had brought on his reputation by the murder of the eldest brother, acted still more atrociously. Seif-u-din, after being ignominiously paraded round the city, and subjected to every species of indignity, was put to death by torture.

Ala-u-din, the third brother, still remained, and set out burning for ven- geance. In his eagerness, his preparations were imperfect ; and Behram, either in insult or because the blood already shed had satiated him, made an offer of peace. It was indignantly rejected, and the battle immediately began to rage. Behram's superiority of numbers made the issue for some time doubtful, but at last, when left almost alone, he turned his back and fled from the field.

The victor immediately advanced on Ghuznee, which cordd offer no resist- ance. Its doom was sealed. For three or seven days (for accounts varj") fire and sword continued the work of destruction, and all the proud monuments which attested the power, wealth, and splendour of the Ghuznavide kings were laid in ruins. Behram hastened to seek an asylum in India, but died before he had found it. His son Khosru was more fortunate, and reached Lahore, where


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 iAP. IT.] ALA-U-DIN AND SUCCESSORS.

he was received with acclamations, and fixed the seat of liis government. He d iivs.

f reigned till 1160, and was succeeded by his son Khosru Melik, at whose death,

in 1 186, the last wreck of the Ghuznavide empire passed to the house of Ghor,

and the Ghuznavide dynasty became extinct.

The two last reigns have anticipated the course of the narrative. In order

to resume it, it is necessary to return to Ala-u-din, and trace the history of the

house of Ghor through him and his successors.

After the signal vengeance taken for the murder of his two brothers, Ala-u- .ia udin

din acted as if the heroic part of his life had been played out; and, retiring to by (^l^uliL

the old Ghorite capital of Feruz Cob, he followed his natural bent by giving ""'"'"'

himself up to pleasure. He found it even more perilous than war would have

been, for the Seljuks, under Sultan Sanjar, during an invasion of Ghor and

Ghuznee, made him prisoner. He was soon, however, set at liberty, and

reinstated in his dominions, which he held for four years, till his death in 11.56.

Sliortly before, he had imprisoned his two nephews, Gheias-u-din and Shahab-

u-din, with the view of securing the succession to Seif-u-din, his son ; but this

young prince set them at liberty, and replaced them in their governments. His

confidence was not misplaced, but he had reigned little more than a year when he

fell by the hand of an a.ssassin. He was succeeded, in 1157, by the above cousins,

who ruled jointly and, contrary to the general rule in such cases, harmoniously.

Gheias-u-din superintended the territories in the west — Shahab-u-din gave his

attention to the east; and, from consolidating the Mahometan power there, has

sometimes been thought to have a better title even than Sultan Mahmood,

to be regarded as the true founder of the Mahometan empire in India.

In 1176, he took the town of Ooch, situated at the point where the rivers Exploits of

of the Punjab, united into one stream under the name of the Punjnud, join the di'n.'^ "

left bank of the Indus. In 1178 he undertook an expedition to Gujerat, but

it proved disastrous. His next expedition, after he had marched twice to

Lahore, and obliged Khosru Melik, the last of the Ghuznavides, to submit to a

disadvantageous treaty, and give his son as a hostage, was to Scinde. Having

completely overrun it, he once more attacked Kho.sru Melik. This prince,

assuming the courage of despair, made an alliance with the Gukkm's, and opened

the campaign with the capture of one of his enemy's strongest forts. Shahab-u-

diu, niuler the pretext that he was about to march for Khorasan, where affairs

nad assumed an alarming appearance, increased his army, and at the same

time made overtures of peace to Khosru Melik, sending back his son, whom he

held as a hostage, in proof of his sincerity. The stratagem succeeded. Khosru

Melik, thrown completely off" his guard, set out to welcome his returning son,

and was surpi'ised by Shaliab-u-din, who surrounded his camp with a strong

body of cavalry, and took him prisoner. The last of the Ghuznavides and his

family were sent to Gheias-u-din, who imprisoned them in a castle. Here,

after a long confinement, they were all. put to death.

Vol. I. 8


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HISTORY OF INI>I..

[Book I.

AD, ll'.il.

Hindoo struggle for iiulo- paiulence.

Dissensions among the rajahs.

Il

Their vic- tory over Shahab-u- din.

Sh;iliab-u-din, being tlius left in India witliout a Mahometan rival, deter- mined to extend his conquests. It is prol^aljle he did not anticipate much difficulty, as his army, diviwn Irom the warlike province of the west, must have been considered more than a match for any that the Hindoos could oppose to it. The struggle, however, was severe. Several of the Indian rajahs suc- cessfully maintained their ground, while few of them yielded without a manful resistance.

In this war of independence the Rajpoots particularly distinguished them- selves. Belonging to the military class in the original Hindoo system, they were bom soldiers, and lived under a kind of military feudal system, not unlike that of the clans in the Highlands of Scotland and some other countrie.s. While eacli chief had his hereditary territory, all the chiefs held under the rajah as their common head, and were thus in the po.sition most favourable for united action and individual exertion. At tiie same time they laboured under some disadvantages. Living almost secluded, they had a simplicity of manners little fitted to protect them again.st political wile.s, and an indolence and love of freedom which made it difficult to keep them under regular di.scipline.

Near the time of Shahab-u-din,' Hindoostan was mainly composed of four leading sovereignties — Delhi, Canouge, Ajmeer, and Callinjer. On a failure of heirs in the third, the heir-apparent of the first had been adopted, and thus Delhi and Ajmeer were united under one head. This arrangement had given great offence to the Rajah of Callinjer, who thought he ought to have been preferred in the adoption; and thus, when cordial union among the rajahs constituted their only safety, considerable dissension prevailed. The disunion, thus dangex'ous to them, was most opportune for Shahab-u-din, who, taking advantage of it, made his first attack on the newly amalgamated, but by no means firmly cemented rajahships of Delhi and Ajmeer. It commenced in 1191, with the capture of Batinda. He placed a garrison in it; but had scarcely left when he learned that the Rajah of Delhi, at the head of a powerful confederation, was advancing against it with an army of 200,000 horse and 3000 elephants. In retracing his steps to relieve the garrison, he was met by the enemy on the banks of the Soorsooty, about eighty mUes from Delhi. He immediately joined battle, but with forces so inferior that both wings, being outflanked, bent backwards tiU they met in the rear, and gave his army the form of a circle. While standing within its centre, affair's looked so desperate that he was advised to provide for his safety. This so enraged him that he cut down the messenger sent with the advice, and rushed into the enemy's lines, making terrible slaughter. The Rajali of Delhi, observing where he smote, drove his elephant right against him ; but Shahab saw his intention in time to frustrate it, and struck a blow with his lance which knocked out a

' Ferishta gives his full name as Moiz - n - din Mahomed. Ghoory, and speak.s of him under the name

of Mahomed Ghoory, not as joint sovereign, but onlv as the general of Gheias-u-din.


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 CnAP. II.]

SHAHAB-U-DIN,

59

number of his teeth, The rajah returned the thrust by letting tiy an arrow, ad. 1192. which pierced Shahab's right arm. He was on the point of falUng, when one of his faithful attendants leaped up behind him and bore him off the field, which his army had now almost wholly deserted. Having recovered of his wound at Lahore, he returned to Ghor, and disgraced the officers to whose desertion he attributed his discomfiture, com])elling them to walk round the city with horses' mouth-bags, filled with barley, about their necks.

After a year, spent partly in pleasure and festivity, and partly in preparation shahab-a for a new campaign, Shahab set out from Ghuznee at the head of 120,000 veugeanco. chosen horse, and took the road to India without disclosing his intentions. At Peshawer an aged sage, prostrating himself before him, said — " king, we trust ill thy conduct and wisdom, but as yet thy design has been a subject of much speculation among us." Shahab replied — "Know, old man, that since the time of my defeat in Hindoostan I have never slumbered in ease, nor waked but in sorrow and anxiety ; I Jiave, therefore, determined with this army to recover my lost honour from those idolaters, or die in the attempt."

On arriving at Lahore, he sent an ambassador to Ajmeer, offering, as the New only alternative, war or conversion. The rajah returned an indignant answer,

.JMEER, from near the Gogra Pass.'— From Dixon's Sketch of Mairwara.

and immediately applied for succour to all the neighbouring princes. It was readily granted ; and an army equal to that which had recently given them the victory again encamped on the same field. In this army were 150 Rajpoot l)rinces, "who had sworn by the water of the Ganges that they would concpicr their enemies or die mart}Ts to their faith." While the camps were separated

V ' Ajmeer was occasionally the resilience of the emperor, .Jehan>;eer, who was here visited, in IGIO, by Sir Thomas Roe, the En;;lish ambassador. In 1818 it was ceded to the British, and was then in a ruinous state, from which, however, it soon recovered,

and is now one of the liandsonie.st cities in British India. On thesuniniit of the hill, in the back ground, stands a fortress, named Taraglinr, nearly two miles in circumference, capable of containing 12U0 men, but fast going to decay.— /?n/f;'ia/ Gazetteer,


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 60 insTOIlY OF INDI.x. fBooK I.

AD. lur. by the Soorsooty, the Indian princes sent a measage to Slialial>, warning liini of his fate if he persisted, but at the same time offering to allow him to retreat in safety. He was so humble in his answer that they at once attributed it to fear, and, in the midst of tlifir joy, gave themselves up to revelry. Shahab, in anticipation of the effect which his mes,sage would produce, prepared for a surprise; and, by the early dawn, having forded the river, was in the camj) of the Indians before they had the least notice of his approach. Notwithstanding the confusion, they managed to bring their line into tolerable order, and had continued the contest till near sunset, when Shahab, placing hiraself at the

HiiMioo head of 12,000 chosen horsemen, covered with steel armour, made a furious charge, which carried the day. The Indians were panic-struck, and the Mahometans had nothing to do but slaughter them. Many rajahs fell on the field; the Rajah of Delhi and Ajmeer was taken prisoner, and aftenvards put to death in cold blood. The immediate results of the victory were the surrender of the forts Soorsooty, Samana, Koram, and Hansi, and the capture of Ajmeer, where all in arms were put to the sword, and the rest reserved for slavery.

Shahab next turned his arms towards Delhi, but was propitiated by pre- sents. On his return to Ghuznee, he marched north to the Sewalik Mountairts, plundering and destroying wherever he went. After he had reached home,

Exi)ioits Eibuk, the officer whom he had left with a strong detachment in Koram, took the fort of Meerut and the city of Delhi. In the latter, in 1193, he fixed the seat of his government, and compelled the surrounding districts to embrace Mahometanism. We shall afterwards see him make a prominent figure in Indian affairs.

The restless spirit of Shahab would not allow him to remain long at Ghuznee, and he is soon again found in India. His proceedings were not unimportant, but the personal share which he had in them is almost lost sight of in consequence of the prominence given to Eibuk, whom he had now made Viceroy of India, and to whom his future military achievements in this country are mainly ascribed. During this visit to his Indian dominions, he defeated the Rajah of Canouge and Benares, took the fort of A.sny, where the rajah had laid up his treasure; and afterwards, entering the city of Benares, broke the idols in more than a thousand temples. After his return to Ghuznee, laden with spoil, his conquests and dctories were continued by Eibuk. who, in 1 194, defeated and slew the Rajah of Hemraj, and took revenge in the capital of Gujerat for the defeat which his master had there sustained.

In 1195 Shahab, retui'ning once more to Hindoostan, took Byana, and sent the new governor whom he appointed against Gwalior, which ;y-ielded only

His d«f Mt after a long siege. The following year is chiefly remarkable for a defeat which

tena."'^' Eibiik sustained in Rajpootana — a defeat so severe that he was compelled to shut himself up in the fort of Ajmeer Having again recruited his strength


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 CiiAP. ir.] SHAHAB-U-DIN. 61

lie assumed the offensive, reduced the capital of Gujerat, with all its depen- ad i.'Oj

dencies, and took the forts of CaUinjer, Kalpi, and Budaoon.

During these events, Shahab received intelligence of the death of his brother Gheias-u-din, and returned to Ghuznee, where he was crowned sole sovereign. Y'iien he attained this additional elevation, his good fortune seemed to forsake simhabde- liiia During a struggle with the King of Kharism, he sustained a defeat the King of which cost him the loss of all his elephants and treasure, and so complete an '^'"*™"' annihilation of a noble army that he was left with scarcely a hundred men. Dn escaping from the field of battle, he shut himself up in a fort, but had no means of sustaining a siege, and was not suffered to return to his dominions till he had paid a large ransom to the Khan of Samarcand. On amving at Gliuznee, he found it in possession of one of his own officers, who would not allow him to enter ; and he was, in consequence, obliged to continue his route to Mooltan. Having here been reinforced, he retm'ned to Ghuznee, and regained possession. Meanwhile, the Gukkurs had been laying waste the country around Lahore. They continued to ravage with impunity, for Shahab's disasters left him without the means of chastising them, till a treaty which he had concluded wnth the King of Kharism left him fully at leisure to bring all his forces into the field against them. He accordingly again set out for India, and placed the Gukkurs between two fires, engaging them on the west, while Eibuk marched against them from the east. Lahore, which had fallen into their hands, was rescued, and their plundering hordes were entirely dispersed. It would seem, however, that they, not long after, again collected in Ravages

of the

great numbers at the foot of the mountains of Sewalik, carried on an exter- cukkuw. minating war again.st the Mahometans, on whom they exercised unheard-of crueltie.s, and cut off the communication between the provinces of Peshawer and Mooltan. Their incm'sions continued till their king, who had been made captive, con.sented to embrace Mahometanism. On being sent home, he had so much influence with his people, that many of them, to whom religion appeai-s to have been very much a matter of indifference, were easily induced to adopt his new creed. Many others, not so easily pereuaded, yielded to force, and Islamism became the prevailing religion of the mountaineers both east and west of the Indus.

The affairs of India being settled, Shahab, in the end of 1205, set out from Assassina Lahore to return to Ghuznee. He was meditating an expedition beyond the hab-u-ain. Oxus, and had given orders to throw a bridge across it, and collect an ami}' on its banks. Meanwhile he had only advanced on his homeward journey as far as the Indus. A body of twenty Gukkurs, who had lost some of their relatives during the war, and had entered into a conspiracy to avenge their death by assassinating him, had been tracking his footsteps, and watching their ■opportunity. Owing to the excessive heat, he had ordered the screens which surrounded the royal tents in the form of a square to be struck, in order to


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 62

HISTORY OF IXniA.

fliooK f.

Disputed

sucoos-sioii

HI

A.D. 1200. obtain a IVccr circulation of ;iif, 'I'Iil- Gukkur consjiirators had tliu.s olttained a view of the interior so far fis to know the position of Shahab's private apart- ment. In the dead of tiie night they crept stealthily up tfj the tent door. H« was asleep, fanned by two slaves, and before any alarm could ha given they had done the bloody deed so effectually, that his lifeless body la,y pierced with twenty-two wounds.

This tragical termination of Shahab's eventful life took place on the 14th of March, 1206. His reign, including that of the joint sovereignty with hLs brother, lasted thirty-two years. The succession was disputed. The chiefs of Ghor claimed it for Baha-u-din, who was Shahab's cousin, and had been ap- pointed by him governor of Bainian; the vizier and officers of the Turkish mercenaries supported the claim of Shaliab's nepliew, the son of his brother Gheias-n-din. The claimants, however, had comparatively little interest in the decision, for Shahab's death was the signal for internal commotions, which were shortly followed by the dismemberment of his dominions. His nephew Mah- mood was indeed proclaimed king, and held a nominal supremacy; but the

Eidoz and real power was in the hands of two individuals — Eldoz at Ghuznee, and Eibuk, or, as he is often called, Kutb-u-din, in India. It is with the latter that we have now to do ; for vmder him India, dissevered from the governments beyond the Indus, assumed the form of a distinct and independent kingdom. As the first heads of this kingdom were originally slaves, their d3Tiasty is known as that of the Slave Kings.

CHAPTETl III.

Medieval India continued — The Slave Kings — Eibuk or Kutb-u-din — Altamsh — Sultana Eezia — Mogul irruptions into India — Gheias-u-din Bulbun — House of Khilji Jelal-u-din — Proceedings in tie Deccan — House of Toghlak — House of Lodi.

Eibiik or Kutb-u-din.

ijIBUK had been carried off in infancy, and was brought to Nishapoor, where a wealthy citizen purchased him, and spent some pains on his education. On the citizen's death, he was sold to a merchant, who presented him to Shahab-u-din. With the prince he became so great a favourite that he was taken into his confldence, and lived with him as a friend. His fidelity and military talents made him at once his royal master's most trusted and most successful general, and he was ultimately dignified with the title of Viceroy of India. In this character, he fixed his government at DeUii, which thus began the course of prosperity which it was destined to rmi under Mahometan nile. The longer.


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and by far the more brilliant part of Eibuk's career was finished before he became independent, for he afterwards reigned only four years, and died in 1210. He had displayed considerable tact in strengthening his position by affinity.

He himself married the daughter of Eldoz, who ruled supreme in Ghuznee; his sister he gave in marriage to Nasir-u-din Kubachi, who held a delegated sovereignty in Scinde; and his daughter he gave in marriage to Altamsh, who, though purchased with his money, held the first place in his esteem, and possessed talents which ulti- mately made him his successor.

Eibuk's affinity with Eldoz did not produce the cordiality which might have been anticipated. They not only quarrelled, but proceeded to open war, and carried it on with a virulence which brought each of them alternately to the brink of ruin. Nasir-u-din never thought of disputing Eibuk's authority; and so long as his brother-in-law lived, was perfectly satisfied with a delegated sovereignty. He was not disposed, however, to yield the same deference to Altamsh, and made himself independent ruler of Mooltan and Scinde.

Shortly after Altamsh had secured his position as Eibuk's successor, the whole of Asia was thrown into consternation by the appearance of Ghenghis Khan. Originally a petty Mogul chief, he had become the acknowledged sovereign of all Tartary, and, at head of its countless hordes, burst through its mountain passes with irresistible fury. The Sultan of Kharism, at whom the first blow was struck, deserved it for the treachery and barbarity of which he had been guilty, in murdering the ambassadors of Ghenghis; and the penalty was not more than the crime, when he fled to die broken - hearted on a solitary island of the


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 T)!' HISTORY OF INDIA. [TV>ok I.

AD i2.il), Caspian. His son Jdal-u din Itore ii]) iiioic inanl'iilly ; but vicfc<')ry after victf>ry seemed to have no power either to intimidate or weaken his fearful a/lversary,

.ppoaraiico

..ffihenghiH and he only saved him.self by swimmin;^ the Indu.s, while the enemy's arrow.i showered tliick ai'ound him Tlie Motfuls threatenirif; to cro.ss the river in pm'suit, he continued his fliglit to Delhi. Altamsh, t^j wlwm he here applierl for an asylum, feared to expose himself to Mogul vengeance, and gave an answer with whicii Jelal-u-din was .so dissatisfied, that he made a party for him.self, and, in alliance with the Gukkurs, roamed the country, plundering and devas- tating, and even making himself master of Scinde, while Nasir-u-din Kubachi was glad to take refuge in Mooltan. To all appearance he might have ma/Ie good his footing, if he had not been lured away by a brighter pro.spect, which seemed opening in Persia. Before he quitted Scinde a detaehment of the Mogul army crossed the Indus, and commenced their barbarous warfare ; but want of provisions compelled them to depart, after slaughtering 10,000 Indian prisoners. Nasir-u-din, who had repulsed the Mogul detachment when it laid siege to Mooltan, was less fortunate when he was attacked a second time by Altamsh. After retreating to Bukkur, he had, with the view of proceeding to Scinde, embarked with all his family on the Indus, when a sudden squall upset the boat, and all on board perished. This tragical event happened in 1225.

Altamsh was thus rid of a fonnidable competitor, and obtained a large

accession of territory. Another competitor, however, remained, in the person

of Bakhtiar Khilji, the governor of Behar and Bengal. He had been mainly

instrumental in conquering these provinces ; and though he was contented to

hold them under Eibuk, one of whose sisters he had mamed, he had no idea of

acknowledging any supremacy in Altamsh. The latter, after persuasion failed,

had recourse to force, and Bakhtiar was not only worsted, but lost his life.

Deiiii the Altamsh, throned in his capital at Delhi, now swayed his sceptre over all

Mahometan the territories which the Mahometans had conquered in India. They were

empire. j^rge euough and rich enough to satisfy any reasonable ambition, but he was

still bent on conquests, which, being wholly his own, might form the most solid

basis of his fame. Six years, from 1226 to 1232, were spent in executing these

ambitious schemes; and in the end, after the conquest of Malwah, with its famous

capital Oojein, had been completed, all Hindoostan proper, with a few isolated

and unimportant exceptions, did homage to Altamsh. The additional greatness

thus conferred on him was not enjoyed long, for he died fom' years after, in

Ap-'i, 1236. It may be mentioned, as a proof of the anxiety which the

Ilahometans of India still felt to keep up their connection with the central

LI authority of Islamlsm in the west, that Altamsh, in the com-se of his reign,

received his investitm-e from the Caliph of Bagdad. ' Rnkn Rukn-u-din, the son and successor of Altamsh, was a very unworthy repre-

unuorthy seutative of his talents. Wliile his coiu-t was thronged with musicians, dancing- women, and buffoons, he was too indolent and effeminate to support the

reign.


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 CiiAP. ITT.]

THE SULTANA KEZIA.

Go

i.r.Hr-.'l-

cares of government, and devolved them on liis mother, who was ambitious ad. viss. enough to undertake the task, but performed it so capriciously and tp'annically, that a rebellion broke out, and, at the end of seven months, Kukn-u-din was

de[)0,sed to make way for his sister, who __ __^ ..___

assumed the title of Sultana Rezia. She was not new to government, for her father, when absent on his campaigns, intrusted her with the administration in preference to l^is sons. According to Ferishta, "Rezia Begum was endowed with every princely virtue; and those who scrutinize her actions most severely, will find in her no fault but that she was a woman."

The circumstances under which she assumed the government were difficult. The two most powerful parties in the state were cordially united in deposing her brother, but only one of them con- curred in her elevation. The malcon- tent faction, lieaded by the vizier of the two previous reigns, at once appealed to the sword, and, appearing before Delhi, defeated an army which was advancing to its relief But though Rezia was weak in arms, she was powerful in intrigue, uei skiii in and succeeded so well in sowing dissensions, that the confederacy formed against her melted away of its own accord. Equal skill and success marked her internal administration. Seated daily on her tin-one, she was accessible to all, gave a patient ear to complaints, redressed grievances, reformed abuses, and dispensed justice firmly and impartially. Unfortunately, she had one failing which affected her reputation, and lowered her in the estimation of her subjects. Sbe showed a strong and undisguised favour for her master of the horse, whom, though originally an Abyssinian slave, she raised above all her other nol)ilitv, V>y appointing him commander-in-chief It does not seem that her honour was compromised; for the utmost said against her in this respect is, that she allowed him to lift her up when she mounted on horseback. It was enough, however, to excite a rebellion, and make it successful. After a short struggle, the Abys- sinian was murdered, and Sultana Rezia was deposed. She was confided to the charge of a Turki chief called Altunia, who had been the leader in the rebellion. Here her blandishments again availed her, and she so won upon Altunia that he fell de.sperately in love with her, married her, and attempted to restore her to the throne. At the head of an army, she advanced to Delhi, fought two

Vci, 1. 9

IXTKRIOR OK THfc; ToMU OK ALTAMSH.

From Lviiiril's Views in India.


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 6t)

IITSTOJIV OF IVDTA.

[Bof»K I.

A U. 1260.

Miiiz ii-din Itelintm Kucceeds liezia.

Reign of Nasir-i-din Mahmood.

Embassy from the King of Persia.

bloody I Kittles, lo.st them, .'ind was t;iken jtrLsoner with lier hiwhand. Both were put to death. She had reigned three years and a half.

In 1239, when Uczia was deposed, her brother Moiz-u-din Behnim was placed on the throne. He was alto<:^etlier unworthy of it; and endeavoured to rid himself of the importunities of tho.se to whom he owed his elevation, by treachery and assas.sination. He was imprisoned and put to death after he had reigned little more than two years. The only event of importance in his reign was an irruption of the Moguls into the Punjab. Another reign, equally short and worthless, followed. The niler was Ala-u-din Masaood, a son of Ilukn-u- din. His crimes were soon terminated by a violent death. During his reign two irruptions of the Moguls took place ; the one into the north-west, and the other by a route which they had not previously attempted — through Thibet into Bengal.

Nasir-u-din Mahmood, grandson of Altam.sh, after a short interval, was raised to the throne in 1246. He was of retired and studious habits, and rid himself of the cares of government by devolving them on his vizier Gheia.s-u-din Bulbun. The Moguls were now the great enemies to be feared. The pro'inces of Herat, Balkh, Kandahar, Cabool, and Ghuznee were in their posse&sion; and as India was constantly threatened by them, it was nece.ssary to keep up a. standing army along the frontier. Several of the earlier years of this reign were employed in suppressing disturbances which had arisen, chiefly in ilooltan and the Punjab generally. The events of the latter years are, generally, unim- portant. In 1259, the Rajpoots of Meerut, ha'ing risen in insurrection, the Vizier Bulbun led an army against them; and, having obliged them to take refuge among the mountainous districts, continued for four months to ravage the country by fire and sword. The barbarities thus committed, however, made the Rajpoots desperate, and they nished down with aU their forces into the plain, attacking the Mahometans so suddenly and fiercely that Bulbun had great difficulty in keeping his men together. Superior discipline finally prevailed, and the Rajpoots were driven back to their fastnesses with great slaughter. Above 10,000 fell on the field; 200 chiefs, taken prisoners, were put to death; and the great body of their followers were condemned to slavery. Shortly before this formidable outbreak, an ambassador arrived at Delhi from Hoolakoo, King of Persia, and grandson of Ghenghis Khan. On his approach, the vizier went out in state to meet him, with a train of 50.000 foreign horse, then in the service of the Delhi government, 2000 elephants, and 3000 carriages of fireworks. What these last were is uncertain. They may have been merely for display, but more probably consisted of the Greek fii-e, with which the Mahometans, even of the far east, were then well acquainted. A series of reviews and sham fights were performed ; and the ambassador was thep led through the city to the palace, where everything was arranged for his ^'eception in the most gor- geous style. Among those who graced the ceremony, and stood next the throne,


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 Japan in the year 552. At that time numerous artists, artisans, and physicians joined the Buddhist priests in their travels to Japan, whilst the Japanese in the 7th century also commenced to go abroad to learn medicine, the arts and sciences. Thus a Corean priest Kuwan-kin brought in 602 chronological and astronomical works to Japan. Another Corean priest Tan-tsching introduced the manufacture of paper and ink in Japan, which industry was energetically furthered by the famous prince-priest Sho-toku-daï-shi. Until that time the Japanese had written on silk or hemp-tissue. All metallurgical processes, and especially the art of minting, the Japanese also learned from the Chinese. In the year 708 A.D. the first Japanese copper-coin called Wa-do-kai-zen was cast after the model of Chinese cash, which were till that time circulating in some parts of Japan, although in other parts of these islands only a barter-trade existed. This event has been immortalized in Japanese history by the institution of the Wa-do nengo (Japanese copper nengo) (708-714), as the reign of the Mikado Gen-meï is called.

Although gold and silver were known in China from the earliest times, the first Japanese gold was found and melted in 749 A.D., and the first Japanese silver in the year 674. It is a remarkable fact that the discovery of these metals, which were known to the Egyptians, the Chinese and old Greeks, and of which Moses and Homer already speak very distinctly, was not made in Japan at an earlier period.

Thus we see that the art of Metallurgy—although very primitive—was introduced in Japan together with other arts, sciences and the Buddhist religion. Von Siebold has expressed this very view in the following words:—“The Hindoos and Chinese were for the Japanese what the Greeks and Romans were for the west of Europe, the

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 Chap TTT ] GHEIAS-U-DIN BULBUN. 67

were many tributary Indian princes. There were present, also, no fewer than ad. )2<>t) twenty-five princes of Irak-Ajemi, Khorasan, and Transoxiana, who had sought ])rotection at Delhi from the devastating hordes of Ghenghis Khan.

Nasir-u-din died of a lingering disease in 1266, after a reign of twenty years, "abitaof

Naair u-(Jiii.

He makes little figure on the page of history; and was, both by nature and habit, far better adapted for a private than for a public station. Though of royal ])arentage, he had acquired parsimonious habits, and lived in the utmost sim- plicity. When imprisoned in early life, he maintained himself by the labours of his pen; and, when seated on the throne, he made it his daily practice to wi'ite as much as would suffice to purchase his food. Ferishta's account of his domestic an-angements is curious: — "Contrary to the custom of other princes, he kept no concubines He had but one wife, whom he obliged to do every homely part [ of housewifery. When she complained one day, that she had burned her fingers in baking his bread, and desired he would allow a maid to assist her, he rejected her request, saying that he was only a trustee for the state, and was determined not to burden it with needless expenses. He therefore exhorted her to persevere m her duty with patience, and God would reward her on the day of judgment."

Gheias-u-din Bulbun, usually called by European writers Balin, had long iJuiimn been virtual, and on his master's death, became actual sovereign. He was the son of a powerfid Turki chief, but, when a youth, had been carried off" by the Moguls and sold to a merchant, who took him to Bagdad. Here he was bought by an inhabitant of Bussorah, who, on learning that he belonged to the same tribe as Altamsh, toolc him to Delhi, when that monarch paid for him so liberally that his previous master returned with an independent fortune.

His first emplo}Tnent wjis as falconer, because he was ])articularly skilful in iiiseaiiy the art of hawking; but, by the influence of a brother, whom he found living in high favom' at court, he obtained a higher position and became a noble. In the reign of Rukn-u-diu, he commanded in the Punjab. On receiving an order to return, he refused to place himself in the power of that worthless t_yTant, who, he learned, had a design upon his life. He therefore took the only alternative that remained, and declared himself independent. Wlien the Sultana Rezia mounted the throne, he joined the confederacy which marched to Delhi to depose her, and was taken prisoner. After a time he effected his escape, and became a leading supporter of Behram, during whose reign he held the government of Hansi and Rewaree, and distinguished himself in suppressing the insun-ections in Meerut. In the reign of Ala-u-din Musaood, he held the office of Ameer Hajib; and at last, as has been seen, exercised all the powei-s of sovereign, though nominally only the zier of Nasir-u-din.

Bulbun began his reign with some acts of what he deemed necessary severity; "'" i>at""n- and having thus made his position secm'e, acquired a high reputation for justice literature

Bidom. He was a liberal rewarder of merit, and a rigid coirector of crime; seems to have attached more imiiortance to birth than mii^ht have been


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 OS

HTSTOP.Y < apfK>int any Hindoo to a place of trust and power. His jjatronage of literature brought srnne of the most distinguished wiiters of tiie period to his court, which, if we may credit Ferishta, was the most polite and magnificent in the world His example found many imitators in the cajutal; and, while a society of learned men inet at the house of a prince called Khan Shaheed, another society, of a more miscel- laneous but not less attractive descrijjtion, as it consisted of masiciarLS, dancers, actors, and kissagoes or story-tellers, met at the hoase of the king's seajnd s^ni. Various other societies, for similar purj)Oses, were formed in every quarter of Delhi. Not merely the literary tastes of the king, but his love of show wa.s sedulously imitated ; and splendid palaces, equipages, and liveries became quite a rage amonfj the courtiers.

Ferishta warms as he describes the pomp and state with which the monarch surrounded him.self, and proceeds as follows: — "So imposing were the cere- monies of introduction to tlie royal pre.sence, that none could approach the throne without a mixture of awe and admiration. Nor was Gheias-u-din Bulbun less splendid in his procession.s. His state elephants were covered with purple and gold tra])pings. His horse -guards, consisting of 1000 Tartars, appeared in glittering armour, mounted on the finest steeds of Persia and Arabia, with silver bits, and housings of rich embroidery. Five hundred chosen foot, in rich liveries, with drawn swords, preceded him, proclaiming his approach and clearing the way. His nobles followed according to their rank, wuth their various equipages and attendants."

It is not unworthy of notice, that Bulbun took a very marked interest in what is now known as the temperance cause. An officer of rank, son of the keeper of the royal wardrobe, and governor of the pro'ince of Budaoon, had, while in a state of drunkenness, slain one of his personal dependants, and, on the complaint of the widow, was sent for, tried, and beaten to death in presence of the whole court. Another higli officer, the governor of Oude, who had been guilty of the same crime under the influence of intoxication, received a public whipping of 500 lashes, and was given over as a slave to the widow of the man he had killed. These are not to be regarded as solitary instances of rigid justice, but rather part of a general system adopted for the purpose of putting down drunkenness. In the following statement of Ferishta, there is something very like an enactment of the Maine-law: — "Gheias-u-din Bulbun in his youth was addicted to the use of wine, but on his accession to the throne he became a great enemy to the luxury, prohibiting the use and manufacture of fermented liquors throughout his dominions, under the severest penalties.'"'

Though fond of splendour, and by no means niggardly, Bulbun seems some- times to have been seized with fits of economy. During one of these, he caused a list of all the veterans wdio had served in the preceding reigns to be made out, and settled half-pay, with exeni|)tion from active duty, on all who were reported


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 Chap. III.] MOOUL INCURSIONS. til)

as worn out. The arrangement, though one which the most enlightened states a.d. 1-270. of modern times have adopted, gave great dissatisfaction; and the veterans induced a magistrate of Delhi, venerable for years and character, and high in favour, to represent their case to the king. He accordingly went the next day to court, and, while standing in the presence, put on a face of great dejection. The king observing it, inquired the cause: "I was just thinking," replied tlie magistrate, " that if, in the presence of God, all the old men were rejected, what would become of me." The device succeeded, and the veterans were again placed on full pay.

In the year 1270 the king's nei)hew. Sheer Khan, died. He was governor sheer Khan of Lahore, Mooltan, Sirhind, Batinda, &;c., and all the districts exposed to Mogul incursions. These restless depredators immediately made their appear- ance. It seems that several of the subordinate governors were in league with them ; and owing to this cause, as well as to mutual jealousies and dis.sensions in other cpiarters, the Moguls made such head that Bulbun was obliged to appoint his eldest son. Prince Mahmood, viceroy of the frontier provinces. At the same time he caused him to be proclaimed his successor.

The Moguls had hitherto been the only enemy against whom it was thought insunectiou necessary to provide, but in 1279 a formidable insurrection broke out in a dif- i.y loghmi ferent quarter. During a serious illness, which led to a rumour that Bulbun "■ ''"' liad died, Toghrul Kiian, the governor of Bengal, who had been guilty of some irregularities, for which he feared he might be called to account, not only revolted, but, assuming the scarlet canopy along with other insignia of roj^alty, declared himself King of Bengal. Bulbun immediately gave the government of Bengal to the governor of Oude, Aluptujeen, entitled Ameer Khan, and .sur- nametl the Hairy. At the same time, he sent several generals with a large army to his assistance. Aluptujeen, thus reinforced, crossed the Gogi-a, and Toghrul Khan advanced to meet him. This he did with the more confidence, hecause he was aware that many of the Turki chiefs in Aluptujeen's army had been gained by his largesses. The consequence was that the royal army sus- tained a total overtlu'ow. When the news reached Bulbun, he bit his own Hi'sh with vexation, hung Aluptujeen at the gate of Oude, and sent Mullik Tirmuny Toork with another army against the rebel. Not more successful than his pre- decessor, he was defeated, lost all his baggage, and with it the public treasure.

Bulbun now set out in pei-son, crossed the Ganges without waiting for the Ruibmrs dry season, and proceeded to Bengal b}^ forced marche.s. The state of the river ,[, Uengai. and roads, however, occiisioned so much delay, that Toglirul Khan had time to collect a large army, though it did not seem to have been large enough to justif}' the risk of an encounter in the open field. He therefore evacuated Bengal with all his elephants, trejisure, and effects ; intending to keep out of sight till tlie king should return to his capitid. This .scheme he followed out with so much dexterity, that Bulbun, following close upon the route which he was understood


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 70 IIISTOI'.V OF TNT)TA [Book I

A I) 1270 to liJive taken, could not obtain a inum (jf liini for several days. At last Mullik Mookudur, the governor of Kolc, l;eing out with a small ieconnoiti'ing party, saw some bullocks with pack -saddles. The drivere were seized, but in aiLswer to all inquiries, obstinately pretended ignorance, till the head of one of them was struck off, when the rest fell on their faces and confessed that they had jast left Toghrul Khan's camp, which was four miles farther on. Mullik going forward climbed a rising ground, from which he saw the whole encampment spread over a plain, with the ele[)hants and cavalry picketted, and everything in apparent security. Having fixed his eye on Toghrul s tents, situated near

exploit, the centre of the camp, he determined on a very daring enterprise. Advancing with the forty men he had with him at full speed, he was allowed to enter the camp, because it was never doubted that he belonged to it. He made directly for head-quarters, and ordering his men to draw their swords, rushed into the tent of audience, shouting " Victory to Sultan Bulljun!"

Toghrul Toghrul thought he had been surprised by the royal army, and leaped from

his throne to make way to the rear. Finding a horse without a saddle, he mounted it, and fled in the direction of the river. Mullik, having cauglit sight of him, pursued, and shot him with an arrow while he was in the act of swimming the stream. Toglnail fell from his horee, and was seized by Mullik. who di-agged him out by the hair, and cut off his head, leaving the body to be carried down the stream. He had just time to hide the head in the .sand when some of Toghrul's people came up. They found Mullik bathing, and nevei- suspecting how matters stood, left him after asking a few questions. The confusion produced by the supposed surprise spread into a general panic, and the whole camp dispersed, every one thinking only of his own safety. Mullik ever after bore the surname of Toghrul Koosh, or the Slayer of Toghnil.

Bulbun arrived next day, and finding that no enemy remained, returned to execute vengeance on the rebel's family, every member of which he put to death. Before returning from this expedition, on which he is said to have spent three years, he appointed his son, Khurra Khan, King of Bengal, and gave him all the spoils of Toghrul, except the elephants and treasure, which he removed to Delhi. As soon as Prince Mahmood heard of his father's ariival, he hastened from Mooltan to visit him, and was received with the greatest affection. The two were almost inseparable; but they had not been three months together

iiLvasion of when an event occui'red which was to part them for ever. The Moguls had

Mooltau by. i ii i i-r-.ii

tiieMogiuJ invaded Mooltan. The prince made all haste to oppose them, and Bulbun, now on the borders of eighty, bitterly felt the pang of sejiaration. His presentiment probably was that he himself was about to be gathered to his fathers, and that the prince would survive him. Accordingly he spent much of the last interxdew in counselling him as to the conduct he should pui-sue when on the throne. The counsels were wise, and the prince, who had given great promise, would doubtless have acted upon them if the succession had opened to him. It was


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 Chap. III.]

WARS WITH THE MOGULS.

71

Cia. A.D. 1285.

Defeat of the

otherwise determined. As soon as the prince arrived in Mooltan, he attiicked the Moguls, recovered all the territories which they had seized, and expelled them with great slaughter. These Moguls were subjects of Timour Khan, of the house of Ghenghis Khan; and though not unknown to fame, a very different person from the still more ftimous Timour or Tamerlane, who did not make his appearance till a century after. The present Timour ruled the eastern provinces of Persia, from Khorasan to the Indus, and with the view of avenging the expulsion of his Moguls, appeared next year in Hindoostan, at the head of 20,000 chosen horse. After ravaging the country around Laliore, he advanced Moguls, in the direction of Mooltan. Prince Mahmood hastened to meet him. A river lay between them, and might easily have been converted into an inseparable barrier against the further progress of the Moguls, but the prince disdained to avail himself of this ad- vantage, and left the passage free. After Timour had crossed, the armies drew up and a great battle was fought. Both leaders distinguished themselves ; but after contesting the victory foi- three hours, the Moguls were obliged to flee, and the Indians followed hotly in pursuit. Prince Mahmood, worn out with fatigue, halted on the banks of a stream to qiiench his thirst. He iiad only 500 attendants, and was spied by a Mogul chief, who lay concealed in an adjoining wood with 2000 horse. The prince had barely time to mount before the IMoguls were upon him. With his small band he thrice heroically repulsed his assailants ; but at la,st, overpowered by numbers, he fell mortally wounded, and almost instantly expired. His troops, who had gone in pvu-suit of the flpng enemy, on returning with the shouts of victory, found their prince weltering in his blood. The voice of triumph was immediately turned to wailing, and every eye was in tears. The dismal news broke the old king's heart, and he only lingered on, a ishi g for death to release him.

When he found his end approaching, he recalled his son, Khurra Khan, neatiiof from Bengal, and nominated him his successor. He only sti))ulated that he should appoint a deputy in Bengal, and remain with him at Delhi till his death.

'The suits of mail are in the Meyrick Collection weapons are from Lan^les, Mnniimrnit Ancieps el at Goodrich Court, as also the battle-a.e, paiscash, Mmlerncx ile 1' Thrtilnriatan, taken from an ancient and khanjar iu the foreground. The rest of the MS. of the Ayeen Akbery.

Groi'p of Indian Armoi'r.'


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 72

niSTOUV OF INDIA.

[Book I.

A I) I2S0.

Dentil of Uulbuii.

Keikobail succeeds.

Nizaiii- u dill's treacherous (le.sigiis.

lili

This event not liappi'iiiiifj so .soon a.s Kliurra Kliaii oxpftcted, he wa-s unnatunil enough to become impatient, and depart for Bengal without announcing his intention. BuUxni, both grieved and indignant, went for hi.s gi-and.wn, Kei Khosru, Prince Mahmood's son, from Mooltan, settled the succeHsion on him, and a few day.s aftei-, exjjired, in 1286. He had reigned with great succeh- for twenty-one years. Though all the officens of the court had swoni to give effect to Bulbun's will, no sooner was he dead than the chief magistrate of Delhi, who had always been at variance with Kei Khosru s father, exerted liLs influence against the young prince with such effect, that he was set aside i/) make way for his cousin, Keikobad, the son of Khun-a Khan. Kei Kho.sru, glad to escape with his life, returned to his government.

Keikobad, on mounting the throne in his eighteenth year, assumed the title of Moiz-u-din. He was remarkably handsome in person, affable in his manners, mild in temper, of a literary taste, and well informed. Unfortunately he became too soon his own master ; and on Vjreaking loose from the tight rein which his father had kept upon him, he passed to the opposite extreme, and became a debauchee. His example was soon followed by his courtiers, and once more, to borrow the description of Ferishta, "every shady gi'ove was filled with women and parties of pleasure, and every sti'eet rung with riot and tumult ; even the magistrates were seen drunk in public, and music was heard in every house." At Kelookery, on the banks of the Jumna, he fitted up a palace where he might revel undisturbed amidst his only companion;? — singei-s, players, musicians, and buffoons.

Nizam-u-din, the chief secretary of Keikobad, seeing how completely his master was engrossed by pleasure, conceived the idea of usurping the throne ; and having no scruples as to the means, began by endeavouring to remove what he conceived to be the greatest obstacle. This was Kei Khosru, who had gone to Ghuznee, and solicited Timour Khan, the Mogul viceroy, to aid him with troops for the purpose of driving Keikobad from the throne, which, by the will of his grandfather Bulbun, belonged of right to himself He failed in the attempt, but returned, notwithstanding, to his government. Either thinking that his attempt was unknown, or hoping that it had been forgiven, he was enticed to pay a visit to Delhi, and before he reached it, was w^aylaid and murdered by the hired assassins of Nizam-u-din. The next part of the plot was to procure the disgrace of Keikobad's izier, and cut off all the old serv^ants of the late King Bulbun. They disappeared one after another by some kind of mysterious agency, and a general feeling of dismay was produced. Nizam-u-din, the real instigator, though not the actual perpetrator of the murdei-s, was not even suspected.

Though the Moguls on the other side of the Indus were constantly crossing it, and making predatory incursions into India, it is a remarkable fact that vast numbers of their countrymen had voluntarily enlisted in the army of Delhi as


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SULTAN KEIKOBAD.

73

soldiers of fortune, and were even understood to have done good and faitliful service. Nizam-u-din, anxious to get quit of the Mogul mercenaries — who, he feared, mifjlit refuse to be the instruments of his designs — took advantage of a recent Mogul inciu'sion, to persuade Keikobad that it was impolitic to retain them, as in the event of a general invasion, they would certainly join their countrymen. It was therefore resolved to get quit of them by any means, however atrocious. The plan adopted was to assemble the Mogul chiefs, and massacre them by the guards. Even all other officers who had any connection with them were first imprisoned, and then sent off to distant garrisons. While Nizam-u-din was thus clearing away all real or imaginary obstacles, his wife was equally busy in the seraglio, and had all its inmates at her devotion.

Khurra Kiian, Keikobad's father, who had hitherto been contented with Bengal, hearing of the state of affairs at Delhi, wrote to warn his son of his danger. No attention was paid to his advice ; and Khurra Khan, seeing the crisis approaching, determined to anticipate it, by marching with a large army upon Delhi. Keikobad advanced with a still larger army to oppose his progress. The father, feeling his inferiority, proposed negotiation, but the son assumed a liaughty tone, and would appeal to nothing but the sword. Before mattere were allowed to come to this extremity, Khurra Kiian made a last effort, and wi'ote a letter in the most tender and affectionate terms, beijffinof he mifflit be blessed with one sight of his son. Keikobad was melted, and a reconciliation took place, the ultimate effect of which

was, that Nizam-ii-din saw all his trea- ~ ~r ~^^-r

cherous designs frustrated, and was shortly after cut oft" by poison.

For a time Keikobad seemed about to reform ; but he had no decision of character, and his old habits returning, new facticms were formed, and a kind of anarchy prevailed. To increa.se the con- fusion, his dissipation undermined his constituticm, and he became paralytic. Every noble now began to intrigue for power, and two great parties were formed — the one headed by a Khilji of the name of JVIullik Jelal-u-din Feroze, and the other bv two hijjh court oflicei's. who, more loyally disposed, wished to secure the crown to Keikobad's only son, Prince Keiomoors, an infant of three vears of age.

A.D. 1287.

Massacre of tlie Mugul mercen- aries.

.iV- — -.^

Khiuti Chieftain- and Woman '—From Hart's

Afglian Scoiier}-.

Intervifiw of Keikobad with his father, Khurra Kliaii.

The Khiljies, almost to a man,

li • The Khiljies were in former times by far the holding only the second rank among the races of their f most celebrated of the Afghans ; and though now country, they still fondly cherish a remembrance of Vol. I, 10


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71-

JiisToity or iNi^iA.

[Book I,

Jelal-ii-diu succeeds.

A.D. 1288. took part with their countryman ; the Moguls were equally unanimous in favour of the prince, whom they canied off from the harem, for the purj-K^se of seating IiItu upon the throne. It was not yet vaamt, for Keikoba/1, though on a sick- bed, might continue for a time to linger on. This was a state of uncertainty which the contending {Kirties could not endure; and after mutual attempts at assas.sination, the emissaries of Jelal-u-din, having forced their way into the palace of Kelookery, where they found Keikobad lying in a dying state, deserted Keikobad's by all liis attendants, they beat out his braias with bludgeons, rolled up the

death.

body in the bed-clothes, and threw it out of the window into the river. The young prince was shortly after put to death; and Jelal-u-din having been pro- claimed king, became the founder of the Khilji d_ynasty. This revolution hap- pened in 1 288.

Jelal-u-din Feroze had reached the age of seventy when he usurped the throne. The footsteps to it he had stained with blood, but after he was seated, either remoi"se or policy induced him to become humane. Having no great confidence in the people of Delhi, he fixed his residence at Kelookery, which he fortified, and also adorned with fine gardens and terraced walls along the river. Numerous other buildings rapidly sprung up; and Kelookery, having thus assumed the appearance of a city, was known for a time by the name of Xew Delhi. The year after Jelal-u-din's usurpation, a competitor for the crown appeared in the person of Mullik Juhoo, one of the late Bulbun's nephews, instigated chiefly by Ameer Ally, governor of Oude. After an obstinate engagement, Juhoo was defeated, and Ameer Ally and several other leaders were taken prisoners. They were immediately sent off to Kelookery ; but Jelal-u-din, as soon as he saw them, ordered them to be unbound, and gave them a free pardon, while (quoting a verse of which the purport is — " Evil for evil is easily returned, but he only is great who returns good for evil" The Khilji chiefs could not understand this humanity, which they condemned as at variance with sound policy. " At all events," they observed, " the rebels should be deprived of sight, to deter them from further mischief, and as an example to others. If this was not done, treason would soon raise its head in every quarter of the empire." The king answered, " What you say is certainly according to the ordinary rules of policy ; but, my fiiends, I am now old, and I wish to go down to the grave without shedding more blood." His humane It is refreshing to be able to turn aside from the massacres which we have Ind '.X'*' in the course of the narrative been compelled to witness, and listen to senti- taken lenity ^q^^^ partaking so much of the spirit of Christianity. It seems, however, that the Khiljies were not altogether wrong, for the king's lenity was often mistaken,

I

their former greatness, ere the Dooraunee dynasty succeeded in wre.sting from them the sovereignty. In the beginning of last century this tribe alone conquered all Persia. After a hard struggle, the third Khilji King of Persia was expelled by Nadir Shah. The territory occupied by them is situated in

the north of Afghanistan, and forms a parallelogram of about 180 miles in length, by 8.5 miles in breadth. It is comprised more especially in the valley of the Cabool River, from its source to the town of Jelala- bad, and also in the valleys which descend from tha Hindoo Koosh.


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REIGN OF JELAL-U-DIN.

io

Piopoaed trial by fire.

and the hope of impunity produced numeroas disorders. " The streets and a.d. 1291. highways," says Ferishta, " were infested by thieves and banditti. House- breaking, robbery, murder, and every species of crime was committed by many who adopted them as a means of subsistence. Insurrections prevailed in every province; numerous gangs of freebooters interrupted commerce, and even common intercourse. Add to this, the king's governors neglected to render any account either of their revenues or their administration."

Crime, thus encouraged, did not stop shoit of treason, and two plots were coiispiraciee formed against the king's life. One, in which some Khilji chiefs were the X.'"** conspirators, was no sooner detected than forgiven; the other, which was headed by a celebrated dervis, called Siddy Mollah, wixs visited more severely. Tins dervis, originally from Persia, after visiting various countries in the west, arrived at Delhi, where his reputation for sanctity, joined to the liberality of his alms, made him a great favourite, especially with the populace, who were constantly crowded around his gates. For a time he appeared to have no higher aspiration than popularity ; but at last, ambition took possession of his soul, and an intriguer, to whom he had given his confidence, persuaded him that the people looked on him as sent from God to deliver the kingdom from Khilji misrule, and bless Hindoostan with a wise and just government.

The throne having thus become his object, he determined to take the nearest road to it, and sent two of his followers to assassinate the king as he was pro- ceeding to the public mosque. One of the two, however, was seized with remorse, and disclosed the plot. Siddy Mollah and his confidential intriguer were apprehended; but as they persisted in their innocence, and no witness appeared against them, it was determined to have recourse to the fiery ordeal, that they might purge themselves of their guilt. Everything was ready, and the accused having said their prayers, were about to plunge into the fire, when Jelal-u-din, who had come to witness the ceremony, stopped them, and turning to his ministers, put the question, " Is it lawful to try Mussulmans by the fiery ordeal?" They unanimously answered that the practice was heathenish, and contrary to the Mahometan law as well as to reason, inasmuch as it was the nature of fire to consume, paying no respect to the righteous more than to the wicked. Siddy Mollah was ordered to prison, but was barbarously murdered before he reached it. This murder was associated in the minds of the populace with a series of public calamities which ensued, and particularly with two — the one a dreadful famine in the com*se of the same year (1291), and the other a Mogul invasion in the year following.

The invading force, headed by a kinsman of Hoolakoo Khan, Ghenghis Khan's ^'"^'i'

invasion

grandson, consisted of 100,000 hoi-se. Jelal-u-din collected his anny, and iei>eiie<i advanced 'against them. For five days the amiies lay in sight of each other, with a stream between them. On the sixth morning, as if by mutual consent, they drew up on an extensive plain, to fight a })itched battle. After an


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AD. i2fl3. obstinate conflict, the Moguls were defcHted. It is prol»able that the vict^jry was not decisive, for Jelal-u-din gave the Moguls free permission Uj withdraw from his dominions, and excljanged j^resents with them in thew, who had pieviously V>een governor

by Ala- of Kurra, obtained in addition to it the government of Oude, and began to entertain schemes of conquest, with a view to ultimate independence. One of his expeditions is interesting as the first which the Mahometans maxle to the Deccan. It was directed against Ram Dew, Rajah of Dewghur or Dowletabad, who is described as possessing the wealth of a long line of kings. Ala-u-din, after reaching the Deccan frontier, pressed forward towards the capital. The rajah happened to be absent, and hastened home in great alarm. Having sud- denly collected a force, composed chiefly of citizens and domestics, he encountered the Mahometans about four miles from the city; but, though he behaved gallantly, was easily repulsed, and driven back into the fort. Its ditch, which is now one of the most remarkaVjle sights of the Deccan, the scarp being in many places 100 feet, excavated in the solid rock, was not then in existence, and the chief defence was a bare wall. The city was taken at once, and pillaged. Many of the inhabitants, after hea-vy contributions had been levied from them, were cruelly tortured for the discovery of their property. The fort still held out, but Ram Dew began to despond, as the Mahometans had given out that their present force was only the advanced guard of the King of Delhi's army. He therefore offered a large ransom, which Ala-u-din, who had begun to feel the difficulties of his position in the centre of a hostile country, was fain to accept.

The terms had just been concluded when Shunkul Dew, the rajahs eldest son, was seen advancing with a numerous army. His father sent a message to him, intimating that peace was concluded, and ordering him to desist from hostilities. The youth refused, and sent messengers to Ala-u-din with a letter, in which he said, " If you have any love for life, and desire safety, restore what you have plundered, and proceed quietly homeward, rejoicing at your happy escape." The Mahometan indignation was so roused that the messengers, after having their faces blackened with soot, were hooted out of the camp. Defeat of the Ala-u-din immediately moved out to meet the approaching enemy, leaTiig Dowieta- Only Mullik Noosroot, with 1000 horse, to invest the foit and prevent a sally. In the contest which ensued, the jIahometans were overpowered by numbers, and falling back on all sides, when the sudden aiTival of Mullik Noosroot, who had left his station at the fort without orders, changed the fortune of the day. The Hindoos, supposing that the royal army, of which they had heard so much, was actually arrived, were seized with a panic, and fled in all


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directions. Ala-u-din returned to the fort, the besiegers of which were now a. d. 1295 pressed for provisions, it liaving been ascertained that a great number of bags, supposed to contain grain, were filled with salt. Ram Dew was obliged to sub- mit to any terms; and Ala-u-din, besides obtaining the cession of Elliciij)Oor and its dependencies, retired with an immense ransom. He had many difficulties to contend with, as his route lay through the hostile and powerful kingdoms of Malwah, Gundwana, and Candeish ; but he siu-mounted them all, and arrived safely at Kurra, where, from the interruption of the communications, nothing had been heard of him for several months.

Jelal-u-din, on hearing of the immense booty which liis nephew was Jeiain.iia bringing with him, was overjoyed, because he had no doubt that the greater aI^u jinf part of it would go to enrich the royal treasury at Delhi. His more sagacious ^*'"'"^' servants thought otherwise, and hinted that Ala-u-din had ultimate designs of a treasonable nature, and would use the booty as a means of accomplishing them. The king refused to entertain suspicions which might prove unfounded; and, on receiving a letter from his nephew, couched in the most submissive terms, felt only anxious to assure him of his continued ffivour.

Meanwhile, the crisis was approaching. Partly by flattering letters from visits .ia- KuiTa, and partly by the treacherous advice of counsellors at Delhi, the king ""' '"' was inveighled into the fatal resolution of paying a visit to his nephew in 1295. When the royal canopy appeared in sight, Ala-u-din di-ew out his troops under pretence of doing honour to his majesty, and sent his brother Almas Beg forward to arrange for his reception. Almas was deep in the plot, and artfully suggested that if the king advanced with a large retinue, Ala-u-din, who feared he had incui-red the royal displeasure, might be alarmed. So plausible was the tongue of Almas Beg, that the king embarked in his own solitary barge with only a few select attendants, and, as if this had not been enough, ordered them to unbuckle their armour, and lay their swords aside. In this defenceless state, he reached the landing-place, and ordered his attendants to halt, while he walked forward to meet his nephew, who advanced alone, and threw himself pros- trate at his feet. The old king raised him up, embraced him, and, tapping him familiarly on the cheek, exclaimed, "How could you be suspicious of me, who have brought you up from yom- childhood, and cherished you with a fatherly affection, holding you dearer in my sight, if possible, than my own offspring?" This kind-hearted appeal was answered by the nephew by a .signal to his soldiers, one of whom made a cut "with his sword, and wounded Jelal-u-din in the shoulder. He immediately ran to regain his barge, crying, "Ah! thou villain, is murdered. Ala-u-din I" but, before he reached it, was overtaken by another of the soldiers, who threw him on the ground, and cut off his head, which was fixed on a spear, and carried in triumph through the cam]). The ATetch whose sword completed the bloody deed is said to have suffereil a thousand deaths in imagi- ■nation before he died. He became mad, and expired, screaming incessantly


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HISTORY OF TXDIA.

[Book f

AI;i 11 din UBurim tlio throuo.

Courts popularity

AD 12.10. that Jelal-u-din Feroze wa,s cutting off his head. This reign is full of incident, but la.sted only for the comparatively short period of seven years.

When tidings of Jelal-u-din's murder reached Dellii, the queen-dowager, of her own accord, without con.sulting the chiefs, placed her youngest son, Prince Kuddur Khan, a mere boy, on the throne. The real lieir was Arkally Klian, tiien governor of Mooltan. He had all the qualities of a king, but the queen's proceedings disconcerted him, and he resolved, in the meantime, to take no active steps to secure his right. Ala-u-din, when he atrociously murdered his uncle, aimed not at the throne of Dellii, but at the e.stabli.shment of a new inde- pendent kingdom. However, on learning the state of matters, he began t<> entertain higher aspirations; and, in .spite of the rainy season, set out at once for the capital. There was nothing to oppose his progress; and the queen-mother, with her son, having fled with the treasure to Mooltan, he made a triumphal entry into the city in the end of 1296.

Ala-u-din began his reign with splendid shows and festivities, by which he dazzled the populace, and made them forget, or overlook, the enormity which had placed him on the throne. At the same time, he conciliated tiie great by titles, and the venal and avaricious by gifts. The army, also, ha'ing V>een gained by six months' pay, he turned his thoughts to the rival claimants in Mooltan, and sent thither his brother, Aluf Khan, at the head of 40,000 horse. The citizens, to save themselves, betrayed the princes, and delivered up Arkally Khan and Kuddm- Khan, on an assurance that the lives of both would be spared. It is almost needless to say that the promise was not kept. While the princes were being conveyed to Delhi, a messenger arrived with orders from Ala-u-din, that they should be deprived of sight. After this barbarous deed was done, they were imprisoned in the fort of Hansi, and shortly after a.ssas- sinated.

In 1 296, after Ala-u-din had finished the first year of his reign, the start- ling intelligence arrived that Ameer Dawood, King of Transoxiana, had prepared an army of 100,000 Moguls, with a design to conquer the Punjab and Scinde, and was actually on the way, carrying everything before him with fij'e and sword. Aluf Khan was sent against them ; and, after a bloody conflict on the plains of Lahore, defeated them with the loss of 12,000 men. Some days after, the numerous prisoners, not excepting the women and childi'en, found in the Mogid camp, were inhumanly butchered.

In the beginning of the following year, Aluf Khan and the Vizier Noosroot Khan, were sent to reduce Gujerat. On their approach to the capital, the Rajah Ray Kurrun escaped into the territories of Ram Dew, Rajah of Dewghur, in the Deccan, but not without the capture of his "wives, childi-en, elephants, baggage, and treasure. Noosroot Khan then proceeded with part of the army to Cambay, which, being a rich country full of merchants, jdelded a prodigious booty. With this, the whole troops were retm-ning to Delhi, when the two

A Mogul inviision defeateil

Reduction of Gujerat.


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Chap. III.] REIGN OF ALA-U-DIN. 79

generals, by demanding a fifth of the spoil in addition to the shares which ad. 1207. they had already obtained, caused a wide-spread mutiny, especially among the Mogul mercenaries. Aluf Khan narrowly escaped with his life. His nephew, who was sleeping in his tent, was mistaken for him by the mutineers, and murdered. When the army reached Delhi, Ala-u-din gratified his passion by taking into his harem Kowla Devy, one of the captive wives of the Rajah of Gujerat, so celebrated for beauty, wit, and accomplishments, that she was styled the "Flower of India" — and his blood-thirsty revenge, by an indiscriminate massacre of all the families of those who had been concerned in the late mutiny.

About this time, another great invasion of the Moguls took place, under Mogul inva- Kootloogh Khan, son of the Ameer Dawood, who had led the former expedition. Kootwgh Their army consisted of 200,000 horse, and contemplated nothing less than the '^'""* entire comiuest of Hindoostan. Kootloogh Khan, after cro.ssing the Indus, pro- ceeded direct for Delhi, and encamped, without opposition, on the banks of the Jumna. Zuffur Khan, the chief secretary and governor of the adjoining pro- vinces, gradually retired as the Moguls advanced. The inhabitants, fieeing in dismay, crowded into the capital ; and the supply of provisions being cut off, while the consumption was immensely increased, famine began to rage. Dismay and despair were painted on every countenance. In this emergency, Ala-u-din called a council of nobles, but, on finding them opposed to action, took his own way, and determined to attack the enemy. With this view, he marched out by the Budaoon gate with 300,000 horse and 2700 elephants, and, proceeding into the plains beyond the suburbs, drew up in order of battle. Here, too, Kootloogh Khan drew up to receive him. Two such armies had not mustered in Hindoostan since the Mahometans appeared in it.

The right wing of the Delhi army was commanded by Zufi'ur Khan, considered Pitched the greatest general of the age, and the left by Aluf Kiian. Ala-u-din took by the vizier, Noosroot Khan. The choicest of the elephants occupied a line in front, and a body of chosen cavalry guarded the rear. Zuffur Khan began the battle by impetuously charging the enemy's left, which he l)ore away before him, breaking up the line by his elephants, and thus committing dreadful slaughter. The enemy's left flank, thus turned back, was di'iven upon his centre, and considerable confusion ensued. Ala-u-din, seeing this, ordered Aluf Khan to advance, but he, dissatisfied because the place of honour had been given to Zufi'ur Khan, of whose fame he was envious, meanly kept aloof, and left his rival to follow up his advantage as he could. This he did almost heedlessly, contimiing the pureuit for many mile.s. A Mogul chief, whose toman, or division of 10,000 horse, had not been engaged, seeing Zuffur Khan un.supported, resolved to attack him ; and, at the same time, sent information to Kootloogh Khan, who hastened forward with another toman. Zuffur Khan was con.sequently attacked in front and rear. Thus placed, he .saw his danger; but as it was too
 * )ost in the centre, with 12,000 volunteers, mostly of noble family, and headed


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HISTORY OF TXDIA.

[BfjOK J

A.D. 1299.

Ala-ii din's in-ojects.

Attempts on his life.

liite to retreat, he, drew up liis forces, in nuiuher not half those of the enemy, in two squadrons, and continued the unequal conflict. The leg of his horse having been cut through by a sabre, he fell to the ground, but rose instantly, seized a bow and quiver, and, being a dexterous archer, dealt death around liim Most of his soldiers were now slain or di.spersed, and Kootloogh Khan — who, fioni admiration of liis valour, would have saved him — called upon him to surrender, })ut he persisted in discharging his arrows, and refused quarter. On thi.s, the Mogul attempted to take him alive, but it could not be done, and he was at last cut in pieces.

Notwithstanding this advantage, the Moguls did not venture to continue the contest; and, abandoning all hopes of succes.s, evacuated India as fast as they could. Their departure was celebrated at Delhi with great rejoicino-.

Ala-u-din, in consequence of the success which had attended his arms, became so elated, that he began to entertain some extraordinary projects. One of them was to imitate Mahomet, and become, like him, the founder of a new religion; another, to leave a viceroy in India, and set out, in the manner of Alexander the Great, to conquer the world. While meditating such schemes, he was so illiterate, that he could neither read nor write. The only part which

he executed, was to assume the title, and issue coinage impressed with the name of Alexander II. A more prac- ticable coui-se of action was adopted in 1299, when he resolved to attempt new conquests in India. With this view, he sent his brother, Aluf Klian, and the vizier, Noosroot Khan, on an expedition against the Rajah of Runtunbhore, or Rintimbore, a strong fortress in the Rajpoot state of Jeypoor. Noosroot Khan, going too near to the Avail, was killed by a stone thrown from an engine. The rajah, Humber Dew, immediately marched out from the fort, and, placing himself at the head of a large army, hastily collected, drove Aluf Khan back with great loss.

Ala-u-din, informed of the defeat, resolved to take the field in person. On the way, he one day engaged in hunting, and having wandered far from the camp, spent the night in a forest, with only a few attendants. Rukn Khan, his nephew and brother-in-law, tempted l)y the opportunity, thought he could not do better than gain the throne in the same way as Ala-u-din had done, b}- assassinating his predecessor. Accordingly, having communicated his design to some Moguls, on whose co-operation and fidelity he could rely, he rode up at suni'ise to the place whei*e the king was, and dischai'ged a flight of arrows.

Silver Coin- of Ala-u-din.' — From Thomas's Coins of the Patan Sultans.

' Weight, 170 grs. On obverse — The most mighty der the second, right hand of the khalifat, Biipporter sovereign, Ala-ud-diinia-wa-iid-din, Ahul Muzafar of the commander of the faithful. On margin — This Mahomed Shah, the Sultan. On reverse, area — Sekun- silver (was) struck at the capital, Delhi, in the year 712,


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Chap. Ill] REIGN OF ALA-U-DIN. 81

Two of them took effect, and he fell, apparently dead. Rukn Klian drew his a.d. 1299. sword to cut off his head ; but, as the deed seemed already effectually done, and time was precious, he desisted, and, hastening to the camp, was proclaimed king.

Ala-u-din's wounds were not mortal; and he was able, after they were bound up, to reach the camp, where, to the astonisliment of all, he suddenly appeared on an eminence. Rukn Khan was holdinfj his court when the {istounding news reached him, and had only time to mount his horse and flee. A party sent in pursuit, speedily overtook him, and, returning with his head, laid it at the feet of the king, who shortly after continued his march to Rintimbore, and capture of

Hiiitimbore.

renewed the siege. The phice was obstinately defended; and, after standing out a whole year, was only taken at List by stratagem. Humber Dew, his family, and the garrison were put to the sword. It seems that the rajah's minister had turned traitor, and gone over to the Mahometans with a strong party during the siege. He no doubt anticipated a splendid reward; but met the fate he deserved, wlien, with all his followers, he was ordered to execution. Ala-u-din justified the sentence by observing, that "those who have betrayed their natural sovereign will never be true to another."

Ala-u-din, alarmed at the frequency of conspiracies against his life, became Aiau dins

... tiT. 1 a<lmini.str.i- I

anxious to adopt some effectual means 01 preventing their recurrence. With tive i-efonn this view, he summoned his nobles, and commanded them to give their opinions without reserve. They spoke more freely than might have been expected ; and mentioned, among other causes of treason, his own inattention to business, and the consequent difficulty of obtaining redress of grievances — the prevalence of intoxictxtion — the power of aristocratical families in connection with the abuse of patronage — and the unequal division of property. The opinion thus given made a deep impression upon him, and he immediately began to act upon it, though in a manner which left as much room for censure as for approbation. He first applied himself to reform the administration of justice, and made strict intpiiry into the private as well as public characters of all officials. He next adopted a kind of universal spy system, by which he obtained a knowledge of all that was said or done in ftxmilies of distinction in the capital, or throughout the country. Crime, also, was so rigorously punished, that robbery and theft, formerly common, became almost unknown; "the traveller slept secure on the highway, and the merchant carried his commodities in safety, from the Sea of Bengal to the Mountains of Cabool, and from Tulingana to Cashmere." These are Ferishta's words; but the description must be taken with considerable allowance, as a portion of the territories within these limits was not yet under the jurisdiction of the King of Delhi. To repress drunkenness, he issued an edict similar to that of Bulbun, making the use of wine and strong liquors a ctipital offence. To prove his sincerity and determination on the subject, he pm])tied his own cellars into the streets, and was imitated in this respect to T. U


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 82

JllWTUitV OF 1N1;1A.

[I'AXJK I.

A.i). imi.

'rvTiiiiiiy of Al 1-11 din.

Chittoor attacked.

Delhi blockaded by the Moguls.

Huch ail extent, >y ;ill classeH of jtcojilc, tliiit lor Hcveral days the comiaou sewers ran wine.

As too often happens under despotiHins, tlie radical refonns of Ala-u-din degenerated into unmitigated tyranny and rapacity. As a means of keeping the nobility in check, he emicUtd that they should Vje incapable of contnicting marriage without the previous consent of the crown, and prohibited them from holding private meetings, or engaging in political discuasions. To such a length was this prohibition carried, that no man durst entertain his friends without a written permission from the vizier. His rapacity he gratified by seizing the private property and confiscating the estates of Mussulmans and Hindoos, without distinction, and cutting down the salaries of public offices, till the}' were filled only by needy men, ready to act as his servile instruments. Noi- did he confine himself to officials ; for all classes and employments were subjected to minute and vexatious regulations. His views in regard to ecclesiastical matters are evinced by a common saying attributed to him, "that religion had no connection with civil government, but was only the basiness, or rather the amusement of private life."

In 1303, Ala-u-din having set out to attack the strong fort of Chittoor, in Rajpootana, Toorghay Khan, a Mogul chief, took advantage of his ab.sence, to

prepare a new ex- pedition into Hin- doo.stan. He ac- cordingly entered it at the head of twelve tomans of horse (120,000) ; and, proceeding directly towards Delhi, encamped on the banks of the Jumna. Ala- u-din, having been made aware of his intention, had has- tened home by forced marches, and arrived before him. He was unable, how- ever, to take the open field, as great part of his anny had been left behind All he could do was to entrench himself on a plain beyond the suburbs, where he remained two months; wliile the Mogul, in possession of the sur- rounding country, cut off all suppUes, and phmdered up to the very suburbs of the capital. From some cause never understood, and therefore ascribed to the

' Cbittooi- was also taken by Akbcr (1507); by Azim I pluiiclered, and (1700), by Sindia, from Blieum Singh, Ushaun, son of Aurungzebe (IGSO), by whom it was I the rebellious subject of the Rana of Odeypoor.

Ruins of the Palace of Rana Bheum, Chittoor.' — From Tod's Annals of Rajastlian.


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 Chap. III.) REIGN OF ALA-U-DIN. 83

miraculous intervention of a saint, tlie Moguls were one night seized with a a.d. 1304. panic, and never halted till they had regained their own country.

The extreme danger which he thus so singularly escaped, convinced Ala- Minute nnu u-din of the necessity of greatly increasing his forces, but the expense seemed reguiationa. beyond his means. Large as his treasures and revenues were, he found that he could not support an army on the scale proposed, for more than six years. Retrenchment then became the order of the day, and many curious plans were devised for that purpose. His first resolution was, to lower the pay, but as, according to the custom of that period, the soldiers furnished their own horses, arm.s, and provisions, a reduced pay was impossible, unless these articles also were lowered in price. This, therefore, was the course which Ala-u-din resolved to pursue. By an edict to be strictly enforced throughout the empire, he fixed the price of every article of consumption or use, grain of every kind, horses, asses, camels, oxen and cows, sheep and goats, cloths coarse and fine, ghee or clarified butter, salt, sugar and sugar-candy, onions, and garlic. The treasury *Viven ofjened a loan to furni.sh merchants with ready money, with which they could import manufactured goods from the cheaper markets of adjoining countries. It is said that a court favourite proposed, by way of joke, to fix a price for prostitution. "Very well," said the king, "that shall be fixed also;" and three classes, with fixed prices for each, were actually formed. Such is a sample of Ala-u-din's scheme of finance.

About 1304j, after a new irruption of Moguls had been chastised, Ein-ool- Moolk was sent to make the conquest of Malwah. The rajah met him with 40,000 horse and 100,000 foot; but was defeated, and his capital, Oojein, with other cities, were taken. The news gave so much joy, that the capital was illuminated for seven days. Amid the general rejoicings, there was one poor imprison- lajah who sat solitary in his prison, mourning. This was the Rajah of Chittoor, Rajah of Ray Ruttun Sein, who, ever since the capture of his fort, had been kept in close confinement at Delhi. An insulting otter of liberty had, indeed, been made him. He had a daughter celebrated for her beauty and accomplishments, and Ala-u-din wsis willing to give him his release, provided she would become an inmate of his harem. It is said that he consented ; perhaps he only seemed to consent. Be this as it may, he sent for his daughter, but his family determined sooner to poison her, than subject her to the degradation intendeil. The princess took the matter into her own hands; and adopted a scheme which, happily, proved successful in both saving her ovn honour and procuring her father's freedom.

Every arrangement having been made for the proposed exchange, she wrote nis escape, to say that on a certain day she would arrive at Delhi with her attendants. A royal passport w<is inunediately sent her, and her cavalcade, proceeding by slow marches, reached the capital as the evening closed. By the king's special orders the litters were carried directly into the prison, without being subjected to