Tarikh-i Daʾudi 3.3
Táríkh-i Dáúdí of 'Abdu-lla (extracts) 3.3
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3.3.1
He was so zealous a Musulmán that he utterly destroyed divers places of worship of the infidels, and left not a vestige remaining of them. He entirely ruined the shrines of Mathurá, the mine of heathenism, and turned their principal Hindu places of worship into caravanserais and colleges. Their stone images were given to the butchers to serve them as meat-weights, and all the Hindus in Mathurá were strictly prohibited from shaving their heads and beards, and performing their ablutions. He thus put an end to all the idolatrous rites of the infidels there; and no Hindu, if he wished to have his head or beard shaved, could get a barber to do it. Every city thus conformed as he desired to the customs of Islám. In each quarter prayers were performed in public, and high and low were everywhere seized with a desire of acquiring knowledge. In Sikandar's time many tradesmen were wealthy, and so much rivalry in consequence existed amongst them, that each tried to exceed the other in his expenditure.
3.3.2
One of the King's commands was, that twice a year money should be distributed from the royal treasury to the deserving poor of the different cities, and certain God-fearing persons were sent to inquire into the state and administer to the necessities of the unfortunate. He ordained that each Jágírdár should possess all the revenues of his tenure, with the exception of those proceeding from imlák and wazáif. Thus were the holders of aima released by this single order of the Sultan, as no one now required to have his farmán renewed. There was no interference in the concerns of any of the chiefs who went to the wazir's diwán and settled their accounts with him, having drawn them up in the manner most convenient to themselves. No one was allowed to press cattle from the villagers for the purpose of carriage. It was the custom for every chief, when he heard of the coming of a royal order, to go out two or three kos to meet its bearer; a terrace was then erected, on which the messenger placed himself, whilst the nobleman standing beneath received the farmán in the most respectful manner with both hands, and placed it on his head and eyes; if it was to be read privately he did so, and if it was to be made known to the people, it was read from the pulpit of the Mosque. The annual procession of the spear of Salar Mas'ud he abolished in every province of his dominions, and peremptorily enjoined its discontinuance. Women also were forbidden to perform pilgrimages to tombs.
3.3.3
Grain, merchandize, and goods of all descriptions were so cheap during his reign, that but small means enabled their possessor to live comfortably. On the festivals, or 'Ids, and on the anniversary of the death of the Prophet (on whom be the peace and blessing of God!), he, by order, was furnished with a list of all the prisoners in his dominions, and he then released, by a written command, all those who were confined on account of balances of public revenue. If any one who had been oppressed demanded justice whilst he was out riding, he immediately demanded who the petitioner was. The agents of the various chiefs being always in attendance on him, would take the man by the hand, and use their best exertions to give him satisfaction. If he made any one a grant of a jágír he never removed him until a fault was proved against him. When a person had once been convicted of a crime, he never again gave him anything, but at the same time he did not cease to treat him with honour and kindness. If singers or performers greatly skilled in the science of music came to his Court, he never allowed them to display their talents in his presence. Mírán Saiyid Ruhu-lla and Saiyid Ibn-i Rasul, two men who were great favourites, were commanded to station themselves in the neighbourhood of the Sultán's tent, and before them all the musicians used to come and perform.
3.3.4
The Sultán was, however, in the habit of listening to the surná, and ten performers on it, called sháhnák, played every night in the royal darbár, commencing at nine o'clock; they were ordered only to play these four tunes: 1 Málíkur, 2 Kalyán, 3 Kánra, 4 Husaini, and then cease for the evening; if they ever played other tunes, they were chastised. Every business had its appointed time, and an established custom was never changed; no one could possibly have found fault with any of his actions, with the exception of his shaving his beard. When he had once allowed an individual meat and drink, he never, till the close of his reign, made any alteration in the allowance. It is related that Shaikh 'Abdu-l Ghaní, a man of eminence, came from Jaunpúr to visit the Sultán during the hot weather, and that a portion of food was allotted to him, which, in consequence of the heat of the weather, was accompanied by six jars of sharbat, and that even when he came in winter-time the same quantity of sharbat was sent to him. He always behaved to the nobles and great men of his time in the way he did on the first day of the interview, whether they revisited him after the lapse of years, or remained with him doing daily service. The Sultan's conversation was under discipline, and he was never desultory. Every chief had his appointed post in his presence, where he always stood. He possessed a retentive memory.
3.3.5
He daily received an account of the prices of all things, and an account of what had happened in the different districts of his Empire. If he perceived the slightest appearance of anything wrong, he caused instant inquiries to be made about it. He generally resided at Agra; it is said by some that Agra became a city in his time, before which it had been a mere village, but one of old standing. The Hindus, indeed, assert that Agra was a strong place in the days of Raja Kans, who ruled in Mathura, and who confined every one who displeased him in the fort at that place, so that in course of time it had become the established State prison. In the year when the army of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni invaded Hindustan, he so ruined Agra, that it became one of the most insignificant villages in the land; after this, it improved from the time of Sultan Sikandar, and at length, in Akbar's time, became the seat of government of the Empire of Dehli, and one of the chief cities of Hindustan.
3.3.6
The noble who had the general direction of affairs in the reign of Sikandar bestowed districts and charitable gifts upon the learned and religious to an extent that had never been known in former reigns, notwithstanding the great extent of territory and the vast treasures. In his reign, business was carried on in a peaceful, honest, straightforward way. A new sort of life obtained, for people high and low were polite, and self-respect, integrity, and devotion to religion prevailed, like as had never been the case in former reigns. The study of the belles lettres was not neglected, and a general respect was paid to integrity and piety. Factory establishments were so encouraged that all the young nobles and soldiers were engaged in useful works (kasb). Under the orders of Sultan Sikandar, the Argar-mahadah on the science of medicine and the treatment of disease was translated, and received the name of Tibb-i Sikandari. The book is the foundation of the practice of the physicians of Hind, and was thus brought into general use. Sultan Sikandar had six sons: the eldest, Ibrahim Khan, succeeded his father, with the title of Sultan Ibrahim, in the Empire of Dehli; the second, Jalal Khan, became King of Jaunpur, and was styled Sultan Jalalu-d din; the third, Isma'il Khan; the fourth, Husain Khan; the fifth, Mahmud Khan; the sixth, 'Azam Humayun.
3.3.7
As for the nobles of note, who were all men of dignity and might, and were unequalled in their day in valour and skill, how can I give a list of them? During his reign, innumerable Afghan chiefs attached themselves to him, and he treated the Afghans and those of his own tribe with the greatest kindness. Whenever he granted an allowance to one of his chiefs to supply his wants, he from that day placed confidence in him, and said, "I have sown good seed, I shall lose nothing by it!" His nephews had no equal in bravery and liberality. All the nobles and soldiers of Sikandar were well satisfied; each of his chiefs was appointed to the government of a district, and it was his especial desire to gain the goodwill and affections of the body of the people. For the sake of his officers and troops, he put an end to war and disputes with the other monarchs and nobles of the period, and closed the road of contention and strife. He contented himself with the territory bequeathed him by his father, and passed the whole of his life in the greatest safety and enjoyment, and gained the hearts of both high and low. An account of several of the chiefs of Sikandar will be found in its proper place, after the completion of the relation of what happened during this reign.