The Nāṣirī Generations 57.13

57.13

1251), the royal army marched towards Malwa and Kalinjar. When Ulugh Khan arrived there with the army of Islam, he defeated Jahir of Ijari, a great rana, who had a large army and many adherents, and destroyed both him and his kingdom. This Jahir, rana of Ijari, was an active and able man. In the reign of Sa'id Shamsu-d din, in the year 632 H. (1234), the army of Islam was sent from Bayana Sultan-kot, Kanauj, Mahr, Mahawan and Gwalior, against Kalinjar and Jamu, under the command of Malik Nusratu-d din Tabasi, who was distinguished above all the generals of the time for courage, boldness, ability, and generalship. The army marched on fifty days from Gwalior, and great booty fell into its hands, so much that the imperial fifth amounted to nearly twenty-two lacs. When they returned from Kalinjar they were encountered by this Rana of Ijari, who seized upon the defiles on the river Sindi in the road of the returning army. The author heard Nusratu-d din Tabasi say, "No enemy in Hindustdn had ever seen my back, but this Hindu fellow of Ijari attacked me as a wolf falls upon a flock of sheep. I was obliged to retire before him until I reached a position where I turned upon him and drove him back." I tell this story so that my readers may clearly perceive what courage and generalship Ulugh Khan exhibited when he defeated and put to flight such a foe. He further took from him the fortress of Bazor, and his conduct and feats in this campaign will stand as a lasting memorial of him.