The Memoirs of Bābur 910.6.7

910.6.7

Ghaznī is a very humble place; strange indeed it is that rulers in whose hands were Hindūstān and Khurāsānāt,[828] should have chosen it for their capital. In the Sulṯān's (Maḥmūd's) time there may have been three or four dams in the country; one he made, some three _yīghāch_ (18 m.?) up the Ghaznī-water to the north; it was about 40-50 _qārī_ (yards) high and some 300 long; through it the stored waters were let out as required.[829] It was destroyed by `Alāu'u'd-dīn _Jahān-soz Ghūrī_ when he conquered the country (550 AH.-1152 AD.), burned and ruined the tombs of several descendants of Sl. Maḥmūd, sacked and burned the town, in short, left undone no tittle of murder and rapine. Since [Sidenote: Fol. 139.] that time, the Sulṯān's dam has lain in ruins, but, through God's favour, there is hope that it may become of use again, by means of the money which was sent, in Khwāja Kalān's hand, in the year Hindūstān was conquered (932 AH.-1526 AD.).[830] The Sakhandam is another, 2 or 3 _yīghāch_ (12-18 m.), may-be, on the east of the town; it has long been in ruins, indeed is past repair. There is a dam in working order at Sar-i-dih (Village-head).