The Nāṣirī Generations 196.3

196.3

When the different Maliks returned from the capital [to their various posts], Sultan Rukn-ud-Din, Firuz Shah, opened the door of his treasuries, and gave himself up to pleasure, and began to expend, in the most profuse fashion, the funds of the Bait-ul-Mal in an improper manner. Such was his excessive appetite for pleasure and sensual enjoyments, that the business of the country, the concerns of the state, and the regulation of the affairs of the kingdom fell into a state of disorder and confusion; and his mother, Shah Turkan, began to assume the decision and disposal of state affairs, and used to issue [her] commands. Perhaps it was by reason of this, that, during the lifetime of the august Sultan, Shams-ud-Din, she had experienced envy and jealousy on the part of [some of the] other ladies of the haram, that she [now] brought misfortune upon that party among the inmates of the haram, and, by tyranny and cruelty, destroyed several of them. The minds of men in authority became troubled at their [the mother's and son’s] conduct ; and, in the face of all these acts, they caused a son of the [late] Sultan, who was styled Kutb-ud-Din, and a youth of great worth and promise, by their directions, to be deprived of the sight of both eyes, and afterwards had him put to death. From these causes, the hostility of the Maliks, in different parts, began to be manifested.