The Nāṣirī Generations 27: 1. Sultan Kutbu-d din Aibak.
Tabakát-i Násirí (extracts) 27
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1. Sultan Kutbu-d din Aibak.
27.1
Sultan Kutbu-d din, the second Hatim, was a brave and liberal king. The Almighty had bestowed on him such courage and generosity that in his time there was no king like him from the east to the west. When the Almighty God wishes to exhibit to his people an example of greatness and majesty he endows one of his slaves with the qualities of courage and generosity, and then friends and enemies are influenced by his bounteous generosity and warlike prowess. So this king was generous and brave, and all the regions of Hindustan were filled with friends and cleared of foes. His bounty was continuous and his slaughter was continuous. When Sultan Kutbu-d din was first brought from Turkistan, his lot fell in the city of Naishapur, where he was bought by the chief Kazi, Fakhru-d din 'Abdu-l 'Aziz of Kufa, who was one of the descendants of the great Imam Abu Hanifa of Kufa. This Kazi was governor of Naishapur and its dependencies. Kutbu-d din grew up in the service and society of his master's sons, and with them he learned to read the Kuran, and also acquired the arts of riding and archery. In a short time he became remarkable for his manly qualities. When he had nearly arrived at the age of manhood, merchants brought him to Ghaznin, and the Sultan Ghazi Mu'izzu-d din Muhammad Sam purchased him from them. He was possessed of every quality and virtue, but he was not comely in appearance. His little finger was broken from his hand, and he was therefore called Aibak, "maimed in the hand."
27.2
Sultan Mu'izzu-d din used occasionally to indulge in music and conviviality, and one night he had a party, and in the course of the banquet he graciously bestowed gifts of money and of uncoined gold and silver upon his servants. Kutbu-d din received his share among the rest, but whatever he got, either gold or silver, coined or uncoined, he gave it all, when he went out of the assembly, to the Turki soldiers, guards, farashes and other servants. He kept nothing, either small or great, for himself. Next day when this was reported to the king, he was looked upon with great favour and condescension, and was appointed to some important duties about the Court. He thus became a great officer, and his rank grew higher every day, until by the king's favour he was appointed Master of the Horse, While he held this station, the kings of Ghor, Ghaznin, and Bamian went towards Khurasan, Kutbu-d din showed great activity in repelling the attacks of Sultan Shah. He held the command of the foragers, and one day while in quest of forage, he was unexpectedly attacked by the cavalry of the enemy. Kutbu-d din showed great bravery in the fight which ensued, but his party was small, so he was overpowered, made prisoner, and carried to Sultan Shah. This prince ordered him into confinement, but when the battle was fought, and Sultan Shah was defeated, the victors released Kutbu-d din and brought him in his iron fetters, riding on a camel, to his master Sultan Mu'izzu-d din.
27.3
The Sultan received him kindly, and on his arrival at his capital Ghaznin, he conferred on him the districts of Kahram. From thence he went to Mirat, of which he took possession in A.H. 587 (1191 A.D.) In the same year he marched from Mirat and captured Dehli. In A.H. 590 (1194 A.D.) he and 'Izzu-d din Husain Kharmil, both being generals of the army, accompanied the Sultan and defeated Rai Jai Chand of Benares in the neighbourhood of Chandawal. In the year 591 H. (1195 A.D.) Thankar was conquered; and in 593 H. (1197 A.D.) he went towards Nahrwala, defeated Rai Bhim-deo, and took revenge on the part of the Sultan. He also took other countries of Hindustan as far as the outskirts of the dominions of China on the east. Malik 'Izzu-d din Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khilji had subdued the districts of Bihar and Nudiya in those quarters, as will be related hereafter in the history of that general.
27.4
When Sultan-i Ghazi Muhammad Sam died, Sultan Ghiyasu-d din Mahmud Muhammad Sam, his nephew, gave Kutbu-d din the royal canopy, and the title of Sultan. In A.H. 602 (1205 A.D.) the new monarch marched from Dehli to attack Lohor, and on Tuesday, the 18th of the month of Zi-l Ka'da, in the same year (June 1206), he mounted the throne in that city. After some time a dispute arose between him and Sultan Taju-d din Yalduz respecting Lohor, and it ended in a battle, in which the victory was gained by Sultan Kutbu-d din. Taju-d din fled. Sultan Kutbu-d din then proceeded towards Ghaznin, which he captured, and for forty days he sat upon the throne of that city, at the end of which time he returned to Dehli, as has been before-mentioned. Death now claimed his own, and in the year 607 H. the Sultan fell from his horse in the field while he was playing chaugan, and the horse came down upon him, so that the pommel of the saddle entered his chest, and killed him. The period of his government, from his first conquest of Dehli up to this time, was twenty years, and the time of his reign, during which he wore the crown, and had the Khutba read and coin struck in his name, was something more than four years.