The History of Shēr Shāh (Tārīkh-i Shērshāhī) 4.3.1

4.3.1

The former capital city of Dehlí was at a distance from the Jumna, and Sher Sháh destroyed and rebuilt it by the bank of the Jumna, and ordered two forts to be built in that city, with the strength of a mountain, and loftier in height; the smaller fort for the governor's residence; the other, the wall round the entire city, to protect it; and in the governor's fort he built a Jámi' masjid of stone, in the ornamenting of which much gold, lapis lazuli, and other precious articles were expended. But the fortifications round the city were not completed when Sher Sháh died. He destroyed also the old city of Kanauj, the former capital of the Kings of India, and built a fort of burnt brick there; and on the spot where he had gained his victory he built a city, and called it Sher Súr. I can find no satisfactory reason for the destruction of the old city, and the act was very unpopular. Another fort, that of Bohnkundal, he also built, and ordered another fort to be built in these hills, and called it "Sher Koh." He said, "If my life lasts long enough, I will build a fort in every sarkár, on a suitable spot, which may in times of trouble become a refuge for the oppressed and a check to the contumacious; and I am making all the earthen-work saráis of brick, that they also may serve for the protection and safety of the highway."