Khazaʾin al-futuh 13: Conquest of Tilang.
Táríkh-i 'Aláí (extracts) 13
- Language
- English
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."