Táríkh-i 'Aláí (extracts)

Translation of Khazaʾin al-futuh (Khazāʾin al-futūḥ)

Language: English
Date: 1871 CE
Translators: Henry Miers Elliot, John Dowson
Extent: 37 passages, 7,708 words
Text: complete digital text
Source: archive.org · The History of India, as told by its own Historians. The Muhammadan Period. The posthumous papers of Sir H.… · Public domain (published before 1930)

Text

1

'Alau-d din Khilji, on the 19th of Rabi'u-l-akhir, 695 H. (Feb. 1295), left Karra Manikpur, of which he was then governor, on his expedition to Deogir, and after taking immense booty from Ram Deo, the Rai of that country, he returned to Karra on the 28th of Rajab of the same year. His accession to the throne on the 16th of Ramazan, 695 H. (July, 1296), after murdering his uncle and father-in-law, Sultan Jalalu-d din. His arrival at Dehli, where he again mounted the throne, on the 22nd of Zi-l hijja of the same year. His rules, regulations, justice, and liberality. The cheapness which prevailed in his time.

2

The Sultan determined upon adding to and completing the Masjid-i Jami' of Shamsu-d din, "by building beyond the three old gates and courts a fourth, with lofty pillars," "and upon the surface of the stones he engraved verses of the Kuran in such a manner as could not be done even on wax; ascending so high that you would think the Kuran was going up to heaven, and again descending, in another line, so low that you would think it was coming down from heaven. When the whole work was complete from top to bottom, he built other masjids in the city, so strong that if the nine-vaulted and thousand-eyed heavens were to fall, as they will, in the universe-quake, on the day of resurrection, an arch of them would not be broken. He also repaired the old masjids, of which the walls were broken or inclining, or of which the roof and domes had fallen."
"He then resolved to make a pair to the lofty minár of the Jami' masjid, which minár was then the single (celebrated) one of the time, and to raise it so high that it could not be exceeded. He first directed that the area of the square before the masjid should be increased, that there might be ample room for the followers of Islám."
"He ordered the circumference of the new minár to be made double that of the old one, and to make it higher in the same proportion, and directed that a new casing and cupola should be added to the old one." The stones were dug out from the hills, and the temples of the infidels were demolished to furnish a supply. The building of the new fort of Dehli, and the repairs of the old one. "It is a condition that in a new building blood should be sprinkled; he therefore sacrificed some thousands of goat-bearded Mughals for the purpose." He also ordered repairs to be made to all the other masjids and forts throughout the kingdom.
As the tank of Shamsu-d din was occasionally dry, 'Alau-d din cleaned it out and repaired it, and erected a dome in the middle of it.

3

"The following is the account of the victory which the champions of the triumphant army obtained, on the first occasion, during the reign of this Sanjar-like Sultán, may God protect his standards! over the soldiers of the accursed Kadar, in the land of Járan Manjúr, when the subtle [mu-shigáf) Tatár, accompanied by an army, like an avenging deluge, came as presumptuous as ever from the Júdí mountain, and crossed the Biah, and Jelam, and Sutlej, and the advancing wave of the hellites burnt down all the villages of the Khokhars in such a way that the flames extended as far as the suburbs of the city, and ruin hurled its ravages upon the houses. Such a wailing arose, that the sound reached his majesty the king of kings.
"He despatched the late Ulugh Khán, the arm of the empire, with the whole of the right wing (hand) of the army, and the powerful chiefs and the officers who were the support of the state, and he named him for the purpose of wielding the sword of holy war; that so, making themselves ready with power, they might go and lay their hands upon the infidel." "The Khán sped swift as an arrow from its bowstring, and made two marches in one until he reached the borders of Járan Manjúr, the field of action, so that not more than a bow-shot remained between the two armies. That was a date on which it became dark when the day declined, because it was towards the close of the month, and the moon of Rabi'u-l ákhir waned till it looked like a sickle above the heavens to reap the Gabrs. Arrows and spears commingled together. Some Mughals were captured on Thursday, the 22nd of Rabi'u-l ákhir, in the year 695 H. (Feb. 1296 A.D.). On this day the javelin-head of the Khán of Islám fell on the heads of the infidels, and the standard-bearers of the holy war received orders to bind their victorious colours firmly on their backs; and for honour's sake they turned their faces towards the waters of the Sutlej, and without the aid of boats they swam over the river, striking out their hands, like as oars impelling a boat."
The Mughals were defeated, "though they were in number like ants and locusts," with a loss of twenty thousand men left dead on the plain. Many took to flight, and many were taken prisoners, "and the iron collars, which were desirous to be so employed, embraced them with all respect." On the return of the Khán to the King, he was received with many thanks and honours, and a festival was held in celebration of the event.

4

"When 'Alí Beg, Turták, and Turghí came with drawn swords from the borders of Turkistán to the river Sind, and, after crossing the Jelam, turned their faces in this direction, Turghí, who already saw his head on the spears of the champions of Islám, who, although he had an iron heart, durst not place it in the power of the anvil-breaking warriors of God, was at last slain by an arrow, which penetrated his heart and passed through on the other side.
"But Turták and 'Alí Beg, as they had never yet come to this country, regarded the swords of the Musulmáns as if they were those of mere preachers, and rushed on impetuously with about fifty thousand horsemen. From the mere dread of that army the hills trembled, and the inhabitants of the foot of the hills were confounded — all fled away before the fierce attack of those wretches, and rushed to the fords of the Ganges. The lightning of Mughal fury penetrated even to those parts, and smoke arose from the burning towns of Hindústán, and the people, flying from their flaming houses, threw themselves into the rivers and torrents. At last from those desolated tracts news reached the court of the protector of the world, and a confidential officer, Malik Ákhir Beg, Mubashara, was directed, at the head of a powerful body of thirty thousand horse, to use his best endeavours to attack the accursed enemy, and throw a mighty obstacle in their way." He obtained victory over them on the twelfth of Jumáda-s sání A.H. 705. "In short, immediately on discerning the dust of the army of Islám, the grovelling Mughals became like particles of sand revolving above and below;" and they fled precipitately "like a swarm of gnats before a hurricane." "The enemy made one or two weak attacks, but the army of the second Alexander, which you might well call an iron wall, did not even bend before the foe, but drove before them those doers of the deeds of Gog." "Their fire-coloured faces began to fall on the earth, and in the rout, 'Alí Beg and Turták, the commanders, when they saw destruction awaiting them, threw themselves under the shade of the standard of Islam, and exclaimed that the splendour of our swords had cast such fire upon them, that they could gain no repose, until they had arrived under the shadow of God."
"He who has been burnt by the heat of misfortune, Let him seek no rest save under the shadow of God."
"The field of battle became like a chess-board, with the pieces manufactured from the bones of the elephant-bodied Mughals, and their faces (rukh) were divided in two by the sword. The slaughtered hoggish Mughals were lying right and left, like so many captured pieces, and were then thrust into the bag which holds the chessmen. The horses which filled the squares were some of them wounded and some taken; those who, like the pawns, never retreated, dismounted, and, advancing on foot, made themselves generals (queens). 'Ali Beg and Turtak, who were the two kings of the chessboard, were falling before the fierce opposition which was shown by the gaunt bones of Malik Akhir Beg, who checkmated them both, and determined to send them immediately to his majesty, that he might order either their lives to be spared, or that they should be pil-mated, or trodden to death by elephants."

5

"Dust arose from the borders of the land of Sind, and the inhabitants fled and threw away their property like leaves dispersed by the wind in autumn; but as that blast of destruction had no power to raise the dust as far as Kuhram and Samana, it turned its face towards the deserts of Nagor, and began to sweep away the dwellers of that country." The king despatched Malik Kafur against them, with orders to advance rapidly without attracting observation. "The kind-hearted Musulmans, running up from the right and left, took Kapak prisoner," sent him to the sublime court, and made all his followers prisoners.

6

"Another army, namely, that of Ikbál Mudbir and Mudabir Tái Balwí, followed close behind Kapak's, thirsty for the blood of the Musulmáns, but well filled with the blood of their own tribes. Suddenly a torrent of blood of the slaughtered infidels flowed towards them," and they had no place to stand on. "Meanwhile, the van of the army of Islám advanced like clouds and rain against them, and fell like a raging storm on those Jahánnamís." Both these leaders were compelled to fly across the river of Sind. Ikbál was taken prisoner, with many of his followers, and those who escaped fled towards the north, and "countless infidels were despatched to hell." A farmán was issued by Sultán 'Aláu-d dín that the surviving prisoners should be massacred, and beaten up into mortar for the fort.
'They hung down from the Taikrí and Chíní fortress, As Abyssinians with heads inverted hang from a new building;'
And a bastion was formed from an hundred thousand of their heads."

7

The Sultán despatched Ulugh Khán to Ma'bar and Gujarát for the destruction of the idol-temple of Somnát, on the 20th of Jumáda-l awwal, 698 H. (1300 A.D.) He destroyed all the idols and temples of Somnát, "but sent one idol, the biggest of all the idols, to the court of his Godlike Majesty, and in that ancient stronghold of idolatry the summons to prayers was pronounced so loud, that they heard it in Misr and Madáin." He conquered also the city of Nahrwála and the city of Khambáíh, and other cities on that sea-shore.

8

The king himself went to conduct the siege of Rantambhor. "The Saturnian Hindús, who pretend to relation with that planet, had for purposes of defence collected fire in each bastion. Every day the fire of those infernals fell on the light of the Musulmáns, and as there were no means of extinguishing it they filled bags with earth and prepared entrenchments. You might have said that the sewing up of the bags containing the sand looked as if the king of the earth was preparing to invest the fortress with an earthen robe of honour. When the bank of the entrenchment had reached the height of the western bastion of the fortress, the Royal Westerns, shot large earthen balls against that infidel fort, so that the hearts of the Hindus began to quail."
"Some newly converted Musulmáns among the ill-starred Mughals had turned their faces from the sun of Islám, and joined those Saturnians;" but they discharged their arrows ineffectually against the party they had deserted. "The victorious array remained encamped under that fort from the month of Rajab to Zí-l ka'da." Every day they collected at the foot of their outwork or entrenchment, and made vigorous attacks, rushing like salamanders through the fire which surrounded them. "The stones which were shot from the catapults and balistas, within and without the fort, encountered each other halfway, and emitted lightning. They fell upon the fort like hailstones, and when the garrison ate them, they became cold and dead." "No provisions remained in the fort, and famine prevailed to such an extent, that a grain of rice was purchased for two grains of gold." One night the Rái lit a fire at the top of the hill, and threw his women and family into the flames, and rushing on the enemy with a few devoted adherents, they sacrificed their lives in despair. "On the fortunate date of the 3rd of Zí-l ka'da a.h. 700 (July, 1301 a.d.), this strong fort was taken by the slaughter of the stinking Rái." Jhain was also captured, "an iron fort, an ancient abode of idolatry, and a new city of the people of the faith arose." The temple of Bahir Deo, and the temples of other gods, were all razed to the ground.

9

"On the southern border of Hindustan, Rai Mahlak Deo, of Malwa, and Koka, his Pardhan, who had under their command a select body of thirty or forty thousand cavalry, and infantry without number, boasting of their large force, had rubbed their eyes with the antimony of pride, and, according to the verse, 'When fate decrees the sight is blinded,' had forsaken the path of obedience. A select army of royal troops was appointed, and suddenly fell on those blind and bewildered men. Victory itself preceded them, and had her eyes fixed upon the road to see when the triumphant army would arrive. Until the dust of the army of Islam arose, the vision of their eyes was closed. The blows of the sword then descended upon them, their heads were cut off, and the earth was moistened with Hindu blood."
The accursed Koka, also, was slain, and his head was sent to the Sultan. His confidential chamberlain, 'Ainu-l Mulk, was appointed to the Government of Malwa, and directed to expel Mahlak Deo from Mandu, "and to cleanse that old Gabristan from the odour of infidelity." A spy showed him a way secretly into the fort, and he advanced upon Mahlak Deo "before even his household gods were aware of it." The Rai was slain while attempting to fly. This event occurred on Thursday, the 5th of Jumada-l awwal, A.H. 705 (Nov. 1305 A.D.). 'Ainu-l Mulk sent a chamberlain to the Sultan with a despatch announcing this event. The Sultan returned thanks to God for the victory, and added Mandu to the Government of 'Ainu-l Mulk.

10

On Monday, the 8th Jumada-s sani, A.H. 702, the loud drums proclaimed the royal march from Dehli, undertaken with a view to the capture of Chitor. The author accompanied the expedition. The fort was taken on Monday, the 11th of Muharram, a.h. 703 (August, 1303 A.D.). The Rai fled, but afterwards surrendered himself, "and was secured against the lightning of the scimetar. The Hindus say that lightning falls wherever there is a brazen vessel, and the face of the Rai had become as yellow as one, through the effect of fear."
After ordering a massacre of thirty thousand Hindus, he bestowed the Government of Chitor upon his son, Khizr Khan, and named the place Khizrabad. He bestowed on him a red canopy, a robe embroidered with gold, and two standards — one green, and the other black — and threw upon him rubies and emeralds. He then returned towards Dehli. "Praise be to God! that he so ordered the massacre of all the chiefs of Hind out of the pale of Islam, by his infidel-smiting sword, that if in this time it should by chance happen that a schismatic should claim his right, the pure Sunnis would swear in the name of this Khalifa of God, that heterodoxy has no rights."

11

Rai Ram Deo, of Deogir, having swerved from his allegiance, an expedition of thirty-thousand horse was fitted out against him, and Malik Naib Barbak was appointed to the command. "He accomplished with ease a march of three hundred parasangs over stones and hills, without drawing rein," "and arrived there on Saturday, the 19th of Ramazan, a.h. 706 (March, 1307 a.d.). The son of the Rai fled at once, and most of the army of the Hindus was sent to hell by the spears and arrows. Half of the rest fled away, and the other half received quarter."
After the victory, the general ordered that the soldiers should retain the booty they had acquired, with the exception of horses, elephants, and treasure, which were to be reserved for the king. The Rai was taken prisoner and sent to the king, by whom he was detained for six months, and then released with all honour, and a red umbrella was bestowed upon him.

12

On Wednesday, the 13th of Muharram, A.H. 708 (July, 1308 A.D.), the king set out on his expedition against Siwána, "a fort situated on an eminence, one hundred parasangs from Dehli, and surrounded by a forest occupied by wild men, who committed highway robberies. Sutal Deo, a Gabr, sat on the summit of the hill-fort, like the Simurgh upon Caucasus, and several thousand other Gabrs, were also present, like so many mountain vultures." "The Western mangonels were placed under the orders of Malik Kamalu-d dín Gurg (the wolf);
"For in slaying lions he excelled As much as the wolf in killing sheep."
Some of the garrison, in attempting to escape to the jungles, were pursued and killed. "On Tuesday, the 23rd of Rabí'u-l awwal, Sutal Deo, the Savage, was slain. When the affair with those savages was brought to completion, the great king left Malik Kamálu-d dín Gurg, to hunt the hogs of that desert," and he himself returned to Dehli.

Conquest of Tilang.

13.1

On the 25th of Jumáda-l awwal, A.H. 709, Malik Náíb Káfúr, the minister, was despatched on an expedition to Tilang, and "accompanied by the royal red canopy, through the kindness of the Sun of Sultans, he departed towards the sea and Ma'bar." "The army marched stage by stage for nine days, when the lucky star of the chief of Wazírs, at a fortunate moment, arrived at Mas'údpur, so called after the son of King Mas'úd. There the army halted for two days, and, on the 6th of the second Jumád, he took his departure with all the chiefs." The difficulties of the road described, through hills and ravines and forests. "The obedient army went through this inhospitable tract, file after file, and regarded this dreadful wilderness as the razor-bridge of hell. "In six days the army crossed five rivers, the Jun, the Chambal, the Kunwari, the Niyds, and Bahuji, which were all crossed by fords, and arrived at Sultanpur, commonly called I'rijpur, where the army halted four days." "After thirteen days, on the first of the month of Rajab, they arrived at Khandhar; in such a wilderness, the month of God advanced to meet the army of Islam." Here they remained fourteen days. "At this fortunate season, all the Imams, Maliks, the pious and celebrated persons in the army, assembled before the royal canopy and offered up prayers for the king.

13.2

"The army again advanced, and, like a raging deluge, passed through torrents and water courses — now up, now down. Every day it arrived at a new river." "There were means of crossing all the rivers, but the Nerbadda was such that you might say it was a remnant of the universal deluge. As the miraculous power of the saintly Sultan accompanied the army, all the whirlpools and depths became of themselves immediately dry on the arrival of the army, and the Musulmans passed over with ease, so that in the space of eight days after crossing that Tigris they arrived at Nilkanth." "As Nilkanth was on the borders of Deogir, and included in the country of the Rai Rayan, Ram Deo, the minister, acting under the orders of his Majesty, directed that it should be secured against being plundered by the army, which was as destructive as ants and locusts. No one, therefore, was able to carry off doors, enclosures, dwellings, and grain stores, or to cut down the growing crops. The drums which sounded to march were detained here two days, while enquiries were made about the stages in advance, and on Tuesday, the 26th of Rajab, the army again moved forward."

13.3

The difficulties of the next sixteen marches described. — Stones, hills, streams, ravines, and pathways "narrower than a guitar-string." "After crossing three plains and hills with fortitude and determination, they arrived at a place within the borders of Bijdnagar, which was pointed out as containing a diamond-mine." It was in a Doáb, or Interamnia, one river being the Yashar, the other the Bariiji. About this time, he arrived at the fort of Sarbar, "which is considered among the provinces of Tilang." The commander, without delay, "gave orders that the fort should be invested; from without the archers shot arrows, from within the Hindus exclaimed 'strike! strike! (már már)'" When, in consequence of the fire-arrows shot by the Musulmans, the houses in the fort began to burn, "Every one threw himself, with his wife and children, upon the flames, and departed to hell." While the fire was yet blazing, an attack was made on the fort, and those that escaped the flames, became the victims of the sword. The Náib 'Ariz-i mamdlik, by name Siráj-i din, when he saw that the moment of victory had arrived, called upon Ananír, the brother of the commander of the fort, who had made his escape, to surrender the fort with all its treasures. The defenders who still survived fled in terror.

13.4

On Saturday, the 10th of Sha'bán, the army marched from that spot, "in order that the pure tree of Islám might be planted and flourish in the soil of Tilang, and the evil tree, which had struck its roots deep, might be torn up by force." On the 14th of the month, they arrived at Kúnarpal, when Malik Náib Bárbak sent out a detachment of a thousand men to seize some prisoners from whom information might be obtained. As the army had arrived near Arangal, two chiefs were sent on with forty mounted archers to occupy "the hill of An Makinda, for from that all the edifices and gardens of Arangal can be seen." Here he himself encamped a few days afterwards.

13.5

"The wall of Arangal was made of mud, but so strong that a spear of steel could not pierce it; and if a ball from a western catapult were to strike against it, it would rebound like a nut which children play with." "At night Khwája Nasíru-l Mulk Siráju-d Daulat distributed the troops to their several destinations, and sent every detachment to occupy its proper place, so that the fort might be invested in every direction, and that his soldiers might find shelter from the naphtha and fire of those within. "When the blessed canopy had been fixed about a mile from the gate of Arangal, the tents around the fort were pitched together so closely that the head of a needle could not get between them." "To every tamin (tribe or division) was allotted one thousand and two hundred yards of land, and the entire circuit of the wall was twelve thousand and five hundred and forty and six yards." "Orders were issued that every man should erect behind his own tent a kath-gar, that is a wooden defence. The trees were cut with axes and felled, notwithstanding their groans; and the Hindus, who worship trees, could not at that time come to the rescue of their idols, so that every cursed tree which was in that capital of idolatry was cut down to the roots; and clever carpenters applied the sharp iron to shape the blocks, so that a wooden fortress was drawn around the army, of such stability, that if fire had rained from heaven their camp would have been unscathed."

13.6

A night attack was made on the camp by three thousand Hindu horse, under the command of Banak Deo, the chief (mukaddam) of that country. It was unsuccessful, and "the heads of the Rawats rolled on the plain like crocodiles' eggs," the whole party being slain, or taken prisoners. From the latter it was learnt that "in the town of Damdhum, six parasangs from Tilang, three powerful elephants were kept." A thousand men, under Karrah Beg, were detached to seize them, and they were brought into camp and reserved for the royal stables. The Naib Amir gave daily orders to attack the chiefs of Laddar Deo, and he also ordered the "western stone-balls" to be thrown at the wall from every direction "to demolish it, and reduce it to powder." The manjaniks from without had more effect than the arradas from within; "the stones of the Musulmans all flew high, owing to the power of the strong cable, but the balls of the Hindus were shot feebly, as from a Brahman's thread."

13.7

"When the stories and redoubts (sábát o gargaj) were completed, and had attained such a height that the garrison of the fort were placed suddenly on a lower elevation, the ditch of the wall which was in front of the army of Islám, and which was of very great depth, had to be crossed. This was filled to the mouth with earth. "One face of the fort, which was one hundred cubits in length, was so battered down by heavy stones that it no longer covered the Hindus and afforded them protection. On another face also, the balls of the western engines which were in the outwork had, by the breaches they had made, opened several gates. All those breaches were so many gates of victory, which heaven had opened for the royal army. "As the earth which was battered down from the wall filled up the ditch from the very bottom to the middle of the wall, and the walls of the earthen fortress were pounded into dust by the stones discharged at them, the commander was about to make a sloping ascent to the breach, so wide and open that a hundred men could go on it abreast. But as it would have taken several days to make this slope, and victory was herself urgent that she should be secured by rapid action, the wise minister summoned his prudent Maliks to a council, and it was unanimously determined that, before making an ascent to the breach, an assault should be attempted."

13.8

On the night of the 11th of Ramazan, "the minister of exalted rank issued orders that in every division high ladders, with other apparatus, should be kept ready in the middle of the night, and whenever the drum should beat to action every one should advance from his entrenchment and carry the ladders towards the fort — "That the work of victory might be exalted step by step." During the attack, the catapults were busily plied on both sides. "If one ball from an engine without the walls was discharged, it fell as two balls within, but from the engines within, although two balls might be discharged at a time, no misfortune befell the proclaimers of unity. Praise be to God for his exaltation of the religion of Muhammad! It is not to be doubted that stones are worshipped by the Gabrs, but as stones did no service to them, they only bore to heaven the futility of that worship, and at the same time prostrated their devotees upon earth." Three bastions of the outer wall were taken and occupied by the Musulmans.

13.9

On Sunday, the 13th, "a day dedicated to the sun," the attack was renewed, and cries of "huzza huzz, and khuzza khuzz," the acclamation of the triumph of holy warriors arose. "They took fire with them, and threw it into the places of retreat of the Gabrs, who worshipped fire." By Wednesday, the whole of the outer wall was in possession of the Musulmans. They then saw the inner fortress, which was built of stone. "You might have said it was the fort of Ndi, in which the air is as much lost as in a reed." When the army reached the inner ditch, they swam across it, and commenced a vigorous attack on one of the stone bastions, which so alarmed Rai Laddar Deo that he offered terms of capitulation. He despatched confidential messengers to offer an annual payment of tribute, and sent a golden image of himself, with a golden chain round its neck, in acknowledgment of his submission. "When the messengers of the Rai came before the red canopy, which is the honoured harbinger of victory and triumph, they rubbed their yellow faces on the earth till the ground itself acquired their colour, and they drew out their tongues in eloquent Hindui, more cutting than a Hindi sword, and they delivered the message of the Rai."

13.10

"The idol-breaking Malik comprehended the gilding of the Hindus, and paid no regard to their glozing speech, and would not look towards that golden image;" but he ("a part of the second Alexander") ordered his officers to take the gold that was brought and suspend operations against the fort. He demanded, in reply, everything that the Rai's country produced, from "vegetables, mines, and animals. On this condition the fort-taking Malik stretched forth his right hand, and placed his sword in his scabbard, and struck his open hand, by way of admonition, so forcibly on the backs of the basiths that he made them bend under the blow. They hastened to the fort, trembling like quicksilver. The Rai was engaged all night in accumulating his treasures and wealth, and next morning his officers returned with elephants, treasures, and horses, before the red canopy, which is the dawn of the eastern sun; and the Malik, having summoned all the chiefs of the army, sat down in a place which was found in front of the exalted throne, and every other officer found a place in the assembly according to his rank. The common people and servants assembled in a crowd. He then sent for the basiths of the Rai, and directed them to place their faces on the ground before the canopy, the shadow of God; and the elephants were placed in front of that assembly, to be exhibited for presentation."

13.11

The Malik took the entire wealth of the Rai which was brought, and threatened a general massacre, if it should be found that the Rai had reserved anything for himself. An engagement was then entered into that the Rai should send jizya annually to Dehli. The Malik left Arangal on the 16th of Shawwal (March, 1310 A.D.) with all his booty, and "a thousand camels groaned under the weight of the treasure." He arrived at Dehli on the 11th of Muharram, A.H. 710, and on Tuesday, the 24th, in an assembly of all the chiefs and nobles on the terrace of Nasiru-d din, the plunder was presented, and the Malik duly honoured. "They raised a black pavilion on the Chautara Nasira, like the Ka'ba in the navel of the earth, and kings and princes of Arabia and Persia took up their stations around it, while various other celebrated chiefs, who had fled to the city of Islám, came with pure intentions to offer allegiance, and honoured the dust which adhered to their foreheads when prostrating themselves upon the earth before his majesty." "You would have said that the people considered that day a second 'Id, when the returning pilgrims, after traversing many deserts, had arrived at the sacred dwelling of the king. The common people went roaming about, and there was no one to prevent their enjoying that blessed sight.

13.12

They obtained the rewards resulting from pilgrimage, but a greater reward than that attending other pilgrimages was, that, on whatsoever person the fortunate sight of the king fell, that person was a recipient of his kindness and favour."

The Conquest of Ma'bar.

14.1

"The tongue of the sword of the Khalifa of the time, which is the tongue of the flame of Islám, has imparted light to the entire darkness of Hindústán by the illumination of its guidance; and on one side an iron wall of royal swords has been raised before the infidel Magog-like Tatárs, so that all that God-deserted tribe drew their feet within their skirts amongst the hills of Ghazní, and even their advance-arrows had not strength enough to reach into Sind. On the other side so much dust arose from the battered temple of Somnát that even the sea was not able to lay it, and on the right hand and on the left hand the army has conquered from sea to sea, and several capitals of the gods of the Hindus, in which Satanism has prevailed since the time of the Jinns, have been demolished. All these impurities of infidelity have been cleansed by the Sultán's destruction of idol-temples, beginning with his first holy expedition against Deogír, so that the flames of the light of the law illumine all these unholy countries, and places for the criers to prayer are exalted on high, and prayers are read in mosques. God be praised!"

14.2

"But the country of Ma'bar, which is so distant from the city of Dehlí that a man travelling with all expedition could only reach it after a journey of twelve months, there the arrow of any holy warrior had not yet reached; but this world-conquering king determined to carry his army to that distant country, and spread the light of the Muhammadan religion there." Malik Náíb Barbak was appointed to command the army for this expedition, and a royal canopy was sent with him. The Malik represented that on the coast of Ma'bar were five hundred elephants, larger than those which had been presented to the Sultan from Arangal, and that when he was engaged in the conquest of that place he had thought of possessing himself of them, and that now, as the wise determination of the king had combined the extirpation of idolaters with this object, he was more than ever rejoiced to enter on this grand enterprise.

14.3

The army left Dehli on the 24th of Jumáda-l ákhir, A.H. 710 (Nov. 1310 A.D.) and after marching by the bank of the Jún (Jumna) halted at Tankal for fourteen days. While on the bank of the river at that place, the Díwán of the 'Ariz-i Mamálik took a muster of the army. "Twenty and one days the royal soldiers, like swift grey-hounds, made lengthened marches, while they were making the road short, until they arrived at Kanhún; from that, in seventeen more days, they arrived at Gur-gánw. During these seventeen days the Gháts were passed, and great heights and depths were seen amongst the hills, where even the elephants became nearly invisible." "And three large rivers had to be crossed, which occasioned the greatest fears in their passage. Two of them were equal to one another, but neither of them equalled the Nerbadda."

14.4

"After crossing those rivers, hills, and many depths, the Rái of Tilang sent twenty-three powerful elephants for the royal service." "For the space of twenty days the victorious army remained at that place, for the purpose of sending on the elephants, and they took a muster of the men present and absent, until the whole number was counted. And, according to the command of the king, they suspended swords from the standard poles, in order that the inhabitants of Ma'bar might be aware that the day of resurrection had arrived amongst them; and that all the burnt Hindus would be despatched by the sword to their brothers in hell, so that fire, the improper object of their worship, might mete out proper punishment to them." "The sea-resembling army moved swiftly, like a hurricane, to Ghurg&nw. Everywhere the accursed tree, that produced no religion, was found and torn up by the roots, and the people who were destroyed were like trunks carried along in the torrent of the Jihun, or like straw tossed up and down in a whirlwind, and carried forward. When they reached the T&wi (T&pti), they saw a river like the sea. The army crossed it by a ford quicker than the hurricane they resembled, and afterwards employed itself in cutting down jungles and destroying gardens."

14.5

"On Thursday, the 13th of Ramaz&n, the royal canopy cast its shadow on Deogir, which under the aid of heaven had been protected by the angels, and there the army determined to make all preparations for extirpating Bill&l Deo and other Deos (demons). The Rai R&y&n, Ram Deo, who had heard safety to Satan proclaimed by the dreadful Muhammadan tymbals, considered himself safe under the protection secured to him; and, true to his allegiance, forwarded with all his heart the preparations necessary for the equipment of the army sent by the Court, so as to render it available for the extermination of rebels and the destruction of the Bir and Dh&r Samundar." The city was adorned in honour of the occasion, and food and clothes plentifully supplied to the Musulm&ns.

14.6

Dalwi, a Hindu, who had been sent on to hold the gates of access to the Bir and Dhur Samundar, was directed by the R&i R&y&n to attend on the Musulm&n camp, and "he was anxious to see the conquest of the whole of Dh&r Samundar by the fortunate devotees of the Ka'ba of religion." The Muhammadan army remained for three days, and on the 17th departed "from the Imanabad Deogir to the Kharababad of Paras Deo Dalvi, in five stages, in which three large rivers were crossed," Sini, Godavari, and Binhur, and other frightful rivers; and "after five days arrived at Bandri, in the country (ikta') of Paras Deo Dalvi, who was obedient to his exalted Majesty, and desired that, by the force of the arms of the victorious Muhammadan soldiers, Bir Dhul and Bir Pandya might be reduced, together with the seas which encircle them, into one cup." Here he stayed to make inquiries respecting the countries in advance, when he was informed that the two Rais of Ma'bar, the eldest named Bir Pandya, the youngest Sundar Pandya, who had up to that time continued on friendly terms, had advanced against each other with hostile intentions, and that Billal Deo, the Rai of Dhur Samundar, on learning this fact, had marched for the purpose of sacking their two empty cities, and plundering the merchants; but that, on hearing of the advance of the Muhammadan army, he had returned to his own country.

14.7

On Sunday, the 23rd, after holding a council of his chief officers, he took a select body of cavalry with him, and pressed on against Billal Deo, and on the 5th of Shawwal reached the fort of Dhur Samund, after a difficult march of twelve days over the hills and valleys, and through thorny forests. "The fire-worshipping" Rai, when he learnt that "his idol temple was likely to be converted into a mosque," despatched Kisu Mal to ascertain the strength and circumstances of the Musulmans, and he returned with such alarming accounts that the Rai next morning despatched Balak Deo Naik to the royal canopy, to represent that "your slave Billal Deo is ready to swear allegiance to the mighty emperor, like Laddar Deo and Ram Deo, and whatever the Sulaiman of the time may order, I am ready to obey. If you desire horses like demons, and elephants like afrits, and valuables like those of Deogir, they are all present. If you wish to destroy the four walls of this fort, they are, as they stand, no obstacle to your advance. The fort is the fort of the king; take it." The commander replied that he was sent with the object of converting him to Muhammadanism, or of making him a Zimmi, and subject to pay tax, or of slaying him, if neither of these terms were assented to. When the Rai received this reply, he said he was ready to give up all he possessed, except his sacred thread.

14.8

On Friday, the 6th of Shawwal, the Rai sent Balak Deo Naik, Narsin Deo, and Jit Mal, with some other basiths, to bow before the royal canopy, and they were accompanied by six elephants. Next day some horses followed. On Sunday, "Billal Deo, the sun-worshipper, seeing the splendour of the sword of Islam over his head, bowing down his head, descended from his fortress, and came before the shadow of the shadow of God; and, trembling and heartless, prostrated himself on the earth, and rubbed the forehead of subjection on the ground." He then returned to fetch his treasures, and was engaged all night in taking them out, and next day brought them before the royal canopy, and made them over to the king's treasurer. The commander remained twelve days in that city, "which is four month's distance from Dehli," and sent the captured elephants and horses to that capital.

14.9

On Wednesday, the 18th of Shawwal, the Malik "beat his drums, and loaded his camels for his expedition to Ma'bar, and after five days arrived at the mountains which divide Ma'bar from Dhur Samundar. In this range there are two passes — one Sarmali, and the other Tabar. After traversing the passes, they arrived at night on the banks of the river Kanobari, and bivouacked on the sands. Thence they departed for Birdhul, and committed massacre and devastation all around it. The Rai Bir showed an intent of flying for security to his islands in the ocean, but as he was not able to attempt this, his attendants counselled him to fly by land. With a small amount of treasure and property, he deserted the city, and fled to Kandur, and even there he dare not remain, but again fled to the jungles. Thither the Malik pursued "the yellow-faced Bir," and at Kandur was joined by some Musulmans who had been subjects of the Hindus, now no longer able to offer them protection. They were half Hindus, and not strict in their religious observances, but "as they could repeat the kalima, the Malik of Islam spared their lives. Though they were worthy of death, yet, as they were Musulmans, they were pardoned." After returning to Birdhul, he again pursued the Raja to Kandur, and took one hundred and eight elephants, one of which was laden with jewels. The Rai again escaped him, and he ordered a general massacre at Kandur.

14.10

It was then ascertained that he had fled to Jalkota, "an old city of the ancestors of Bir." There the Malik closely pursued him, but he had again escaped to the jungles, which the Malik found himself unable to penetrate, and he therefore returned to Kandur, where he searched for more elephants. Here he heard that in Brahmastpuri there was a golden idol, round which many elephants were stabled. The Malik started on a night expedition against this place, and in the morning seized no less than two hundred and fifty elephants. He then determined on razing the beautiful temple to the ground, — "you might say that it was the Paradise of Shadddd, which, after being lost, those hellites had found, and that it was the golden Lanka of Rám," — " the roof was covered with rubies and emeralds,"—" in short, it was the holy place of the Hindus, which the Malik dug up from its foundations with the greatest care," " and the heads of the Brahmans and idolaters danced from their necks and fell to the ground at their feet," and blood flowed in torrents.

14.11

" The stone idols called Ling Mahádeo, which had been a long time established at that place,— 'quibus, mulieres infidelium pudenda sua affricant,' — these, up to this time, the kick of the horse of Islám had not attempted to break." The Musulmáns destroyed all the lings, " and Deo Narain fell down, and the other gods who had fixed their seats there raised their feet, and jumped so high, that at one leap they reached the fort of Lanka, and in that affright the lings themselves would have fled had they had any legs to stand on." Much gold and valuable jewels fell into the hands of the Musulmáns, who returned to the royal canopy, after executing their holy project, on the 13th of Zí-l ka'da, 710 H. (April, 1311 A.D.). They destroyed all the temples at Bírdhúl, and placed the plunder in the public treasury.

15

After five days, the royal canopy moved from Bírdhúl on Thursday, the 17th of Zí-l ka'da, and arrived at Khám, and five days afterwards they arrived at the city Mathra (Madura), the dwelling-place of the brother of the Rái Sundar Pándyá. They found the city empty, for the Rái had fled with the Ránís, but had left two or three elephants in the temple of Jagnár (Jaggannáth)." The elephants were captured and the temple burnt. When the Malik came to take a muster of his captured elephants they extended over a length of three parasangs, and amounted to five hundred and twelve, besides five thousand horses, Arabian and Syrian, and five hundred mans of jewels of every description — diamonds, pearls, emeralds, and rubies.

16

On Sunday, the 4th of Zi-l hijja, 710 H. Malik Kafur, accompanied by his army, returned towards Dehli with all the plunder, and arrived in safety on Monday, the 4th of Jumada-s Sani, 711 H. Sultan 'Alau-d din held a public darbar in front of the Golden Palace, and all the nobles and chiefs stood on the right and on the left, according to their rank. Malik Naib Kafur Hazar-dinari, with the officers who had accompanied him, were presented to the Sultan, before whom the rich booty was exhibited. The Sultan was much gratified, loaded the warriors with honour, and the darbar was dissolved.

Táríkh-i 'Aláí (extracts)

Contents

Text

Conquest of Tilang.

The Conquest of Ma'bar.