Firishta's History (Gulshan-i Ibrāhīmī) 41.3.p2

41.3.p2

Feroze Toghluk was a just and learned prince. His soldiers and his subjects were equally happy under his administration, nor did any one dare to exercise oppression in his time. He was himself the author of the Futtoohat Feroze Shahy. He was the first of the Dehly kings who brought forward, by his patronage, the race of Afghans, before whose time they were not held in estimation. He reigned 38 years over Hindoostan, and the words وفات فیروز "Wufat Feroze," "The Death of Feroze," comprise the numerical letters of the date of his demise. Zeea-ood-Deen Burny, who lived at his court, has written the history of his reign in a work entitled Towareekh Feroze Shahy. Nizam-ood-Deen Ahmud Bukhshy observes in his history, that Feroze introduced many excellent laws which were current in his time. Among others were the three following regulations: The first was the abolition of the practice of mutilating criminals, a mode of punishment which he would not allow to be inflicted on any of his subjects, either Mahomedan or Hindoo. The second regulation limited very much the demand on cultivators, by which he increased not only the population but eventually his revenue. The third was the encouragement he gave to learned men, whom he caused to reside in different parts of the empire, for the sake of imparting instruction to the people. He caused his regulations to be carved on the Musjid of Ferozabad, of which the following may be taken as a sample: "It has been usual in former times to spill Mahomedan blood on trivial occasions, and, for small crimes to mutilate and torture them, by cutting off the hands and feet, and noses and ears, by putting out eyes, by pulverising the bones of the living criminal with mallets, by burning the body with fire, by crucifixion, and by nailing the hands and feet, by flaying alive, by the operation of ham- "flaying, and by cutting human beings to pieces. God in his infinite goodness having been pleased to confer on me the power, has also inspired me with the disposition to put an end to these practices. It is my resolution, moreover, to restore in the daily prayers offered up for the royal family, the names of all those princes, my predecessors, who have reigned over the empire of Dehly, in hopes that these prayers, being acceptable to God, may in some measure appease his wrath, and ensure his mercy towards them. It is also hereby proclaimed, that the small and vexatious taxes, under the denomination of Cotwally, &c. payable to the public servants of government, as perquisites of offices, by small traders; that licences for the right of pasturage from shepherds, on waste lands belonging to the crown; fees from flower-sellers, fish-sellers, cotton-cleaners, silk-sellers, and cooks; and the precarious and fluctuating taxes on shopkeepers and vintners, shall henceforward cease throughout the realm; for it is better to relinquish this portion of the revenue than realise it at the expense of so much distress, occasioned by the discretionary power necessarily vested in tax-gatherers and officers of authority; nor will any tax hereafter be levied contrary to the written law of the book. It has been customary to set aside one fifth of all property taken in war for the troops, and to reserve four fifths to the government. It is hereby ordered, that in future four fifths shall be distributed to the troops, and one fifth only reserved for the crown. I will on all "occasions cause to be banished from the realm, persons convicted of the following crimes: Those who profess atheism, or who maintain schools of vice. All public servants convicted of corruption, as well as persons paying bribes. I have myself abstained from wearing gaudy silk apparel and jewels, as an example to my subjects. I have considered it my duty to repair every public edifice of utility, constructed by my predecessors, such as caravansaras, musjids, wells, reservoirs of water, aqueducts, canals, hospitals, alms-houses, and schools, and have alienated considerable portions of the revenue for their support. I have also taken pains to discover the surviving relations of all persons who suffered from the wrath of my late lord and master, Mahomed Toghluk, and having pensioned and provided for them, have caused them to grant their full pardon and forgiveness to that Prince, in the presence of the holy and learned men of this age, whose signatures and seals as witnesses are affixed to the documents; the whole of which, as far as lay in my power, have been procured, and put into a box, and deposited in the vault in which Mahomed Toghluk is entombed. I have gone and sought consolation from all the most learned and holy men within my realm, and have taken care of them. Whenever my soldiers have been rendered inefficient for service, by wounds, or by age, I have cause them to be pensioned on full pay for life. Two attempts have been made to poison me, but without effect."
The following are the public works constructed during the reign of this prince:—
50 Dams across rivers, to promote irrigation, 40 Mosques, 30 Colleges with mosques attached, 20 Palaces, 100 Caravansaras, 200 Towns, 30 Reservoirs or lakes for irrigating lands, 100 Hospitals, 5 Mausolea, 100 Public baths, 10 Monumental pillars, 10 Public wells, 150 bridges; Besides numerous gardens and pleasure-houses.
Lands were alienated, at the same time, for the maintenance of these public buildings, in order to keep them in thorough repair.