[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Dark Ages](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages) › [Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate) › [Ṭabaqāt-i Nāṣirī](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri) › [Tabakat-i-Nasiri](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri~en-raverty) › 263.2 # The Nāṣirī Generations 263.2 Tabakat-i-Nasiri 263.2 - **Language:** English ### [263.2.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri~en-raverty.263.2.1) The body of Turk cavalry, detached by the Majir-ul-Mulk, pushed on as far as Sarakhs; and, on their appearance there, the Musalmans seized the Kazi, Shams-ud-Din, who had taken offerings to Jabah \[Yamah\] and Swidae \[Sahudah\], and had assumed the authority there, and made him over to a man whose father the Kazi had caused to be put to death unjustly, who slew him according to the law of retaliation. All noise respecting the Mughal armies now became suspended—it was the calm preceding the hurricane, however—and the Majir-ul-Mulk gave himself up to pleasure and revelry, drinking, and other unlawful acts. At this juncture, Ikhtiyar-ud-Din, a Turkman, who was Hakim of Amuyah, came to Marw, and reported that the Mughal forces were coming, that they had reached the Amu, and were then investing Kala’-i-Nau. Although the Majir-ul-Mulk received him with great distinction, nevertheless Ikhtiyar-ud-Din was hostile to him—on account of his remissness probably, at such a crisis—and he went and took up his quarters with the Turkmans. Soon after 800 Mughal horsemen came in search of Ikhtiyar-ud-Din, and threw themselves upon the Turkmans. At this juncture, Shaikh Khan, and Aghul, the Hajib, who arrived with 2000 men from the side of Khwarazm, laid an ambuscade for the Mughals, slew the greater part of them, and took sixty of them captive who were paraded about Marw, and then put to a cruel death. ### [263.2.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri~en-raverty.263.2.2) Shaikh Khan, and the Hajib, Aghul, made no stay, and retired to the Dasht-i-Khurz, upon which the Turkmans chose Ikhtiyar-ud-Din as their head and ruler, entered into a covenant with him, left the service of the Majir-ul-Mulk, and contemplated taking the city out of his hands. He, however, got information of it, and prepared to defeat their design, upon which they, being hopeless of surprising Marw, went and pitched their camp on the banks of the river of Marw. They then began to plunder the villages around, and the suburbs of the city, up to its very walls, and to appropriate place, he martyred every person in Nishapur, desolated it, everything they could lay their hands upon. In the meantime, Tuli Khan, having drawn a levy of 70,000 men from Sarakhs, Nisa, Abiward, and other towns of Khurasan, which had submitted to the Mughal yoke, and incorporated them into his army, moved towards Marw. Having arrived in the vicinity, he sent in advance — so say the pro-Mughal historians — a body of 400 horse — much more probably 4000 — to reconnoitre, so that, in the night, they reached the banks of the Marw river, close to the khels of the Turkmans, and there they halted. There were 12,000 men there assembled for the purpose of making a raid in the vicinity of the city; and, in that dark night, each detachment of Turkmans, as they came up, totally unsuspecting the presence of such foes, were attacked unawares, in detail, and slaughtered; ### [263.2.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri~en-raverty.263.2.3) and, during that night, the Mughals destroyed the whole of the 12,000 Turkmans, and Ikhtiyar-ud-Din is also said to have been killed. Now if the former only numbered 400 men, each man must have killed thirty on the average, and this they could scarcely have accomplished in the time, even had the Turkmans lain down quietly to be butchered like sheep, which they probably did not do. The whole 12,000 must have come by precisely the same road, just at the propitious time, and when the 400 Mughals had just finished the preceding detachment; and of course, in the stilly night, the cries and shouts, groans and screams, and the clash of arms could not be heard, and close to their khels too. All this is gross exaggeration, although contained in the Jahan-Kushae, the Rauzat-us-Safa, and several other pro-Mughal works. Having thus broken the back of their strength, the Mughals, next day, made for the encampments where were the families of the Turkmans, and early in the morning fell upon them and slew the whole — with the exception of some, who, while the slaughter was going on, threw themselves into the river of Marw, hoping to escape, and perished — male and female, young and old — who were butchered, to the number of 70,000 souls! ### [263.2.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri~en-raverty.263.2.4) Now, at this rate of 400 men, each individual Mughal must, on the average, have killed, during the night and following day, just 230 souls, which is as incredible as it is ridiculous to expect any sane person to believe it, and, even assuming that these barbarian butchers numbered 4000, each one must have slain, on the average, thirty-two persons. Taking the fighting men at 12,000, and the average number of each family at from five to six persons, each furnishing one fighting man, 70,000 is not beyond the mark. The Mughals captured likewise 60,000 quadrupeds — oxen and camels — besides innumerable sheep, and proceeded to join Tuli’s camp. This account reads like a page out of Mr. Eugene Schuyler’s work, or a leaf from the annals of the "Christian" and "knightly warfare" in Asia Minor and European Turkey in 1878: the Turkmans of that day, like the Turkmans of this, were treated a la Kaufmann, and the whole proceedings were carried out in true "Circassian style." I would observe here, however, with respect to some strange theories respecting the origin of the name "Turkomen," in the "Geographical Magazine," for 1875, there would be some difficulty to find such a word in any oriental writer whosoever. ### [263.2.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri~en-raverty.263.2.5) The day after this fearful slaughter, which is said to have taken place on the 1st of Muharram \[which must be an error for the 11th or 21st, as Tuli was only despatched early in that month\], 618 H. \[25th February, 1221 A.D.\], Tuli Khan, with his army arrived, and took up a position opposite the Shahristanah Gateway, which is mentioned in the "Masalik wa Mamalik" as situated near the great masjid, and commenced to assail the place. The Mujir-ulrazed the walls of the city, and having had a pair of oxen Mulk, who had made great preparations for its defence, distributed his treasures liberally among the troops, and used to send forth large bodies of men to make sallies upon the Mughals, in such wise, that, on the first day, in the course of one hour, more than 1000 Mughals were slain. Here it will be remarked how large bodies of Turks and Tajziks only kill 1000 Mughals, in about the time that 400 Mughals, by the writer’s account, would cut up a whole host. ### [263.2.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri~en-raverty.263.2.6) At this show of resistance, Tuli, next day, attacked the place in person, at the head of 22,000 Mughals—but the Rauzat-us-Safa says, an army in numbers beyond all computation—and inflicted great slaughter on the defenders; and, in this manner, from morn to eve, for a period of twenty-two days, the fighting went on. The Tarikh-i-Jahan-gir, Habib-us-Siyar, and Jahan-Kushae, say the fighting only lasted for seven days, and that on the eighth the Majir-ul-Mulk sent to beg for quarter, but this statement is much the same as that of the 400 horsemen slaughtering 12,000 Turkman soldiers and 70,000 of their people. In the meantime, the vast population of Marw became reduced to great straits, and began to say among themselves, that there was no hope of resisting the Mughals. Besides this, many persons from Balkh, Samrkand, Bukhara, Khwarazm, and other places captured by the Mughals, had taken shelter in Marw; and these fugitives persuaded the Marwazis that the city must surely be captured at last, and that it was better to seek an accommodation, and thus prevent the shedding of torrents of Musalman blood. On the twenty-third day, therefore, the Majir-ul-Mulk was prevailed upon to despatch the Imam, Jamal-ud-Din, the chief ecclesiastic, who, attended by a body of the priesthood, came out of Marw, and sought the presence of Tuli Khan. ### [263.2.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri~en-raverty.263.2.7) After presenting befitting the Imam offered, if the conqueror would promise to spare the lives of the inhabitants, and not destroy the city, to pay a ransom of 200,000 dinars, 30,000 Mar-wars of grain, 100,000 ambling horses, and 100 Hindu and Turk slaves, to receive a Mughal Shahnah or Intendant, and pay yearly taxes into the Khan’s treasury. Tuli accepted these offers, a dress of honour was conferred upon the Imam and those with him, and he was sent back to the city with that Khan’s reply. The next day, the Majir-ul-Mulk, attended by ten of his principal officers, placing faith in the word of a Mughal prince, and taking with him valuable offerings of all descriptions, came out of Marw, and proceeded to the audience tent of Tuli Khan. On his reaching the entrance, he was stopped by the Amirs of Tuli—the matter, of course, had been previously arranged—and he was required to give an assignment of 300 Mar-wars—each computed at an ass’s load—of dinars as an offering to the Badshah-Zadah \[Tuli Khan\], and another 100,000 dinars for themselves, on the wealthy people of the city, on which they would obtain from Tuli Khan a written deed of security for the lives of the inhabitants; and this they swore most solemnly to observe according to the rites of their belief. Willing to save the people, and again trusting the perfidious Mughals, the Majir-ul-Mulk, at once, gave an assignment on 100 great merchants of the city; ### [263.2.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri~en-raverty.263.2.8) and sent a person of his own, with a party of Mughals, to receive the amount. The Mughals went and brought back with them the persons named, and, with the aid of the rack and other tortures, succeeded in extorting the money; and, besides these unfortunates, nearly 10,000 other persons were tortured to death. After this, the Majir-ul-Mulk was mutilated by having his ears, nose, and lips cut off—the fashion of the Sag-lab Montenegrin and Bulgarian “heroes” of the present day—and then yoked \[to a plough\], he had them driven over \[the area on put to death. Orders were then issued by this fiend in human form to destroy the city, and massacre the inhabitants. The Mughals poured in, and continued to expel the inhabitants, whom they drove out into the plain. Four days were occupied in separating the males from the females, and then, after the selection of a few young females for captivity, and about 400 artisans, the whole of the remainder were butchered, and not a soul was left alive. --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri~en-raverty.263.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.sultanate.tabaqat-i-nasiri~en-raverty.263.2) · Pramāṇa