[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Foreign](https://indike.org/pramana/inf) › [Islamic world](https://indike.org/pramana/inf.isl) › [Arabic](https://indike.org/pramana/inf.isl.ar) › [Encyclopaedias](https://indike.org/pramana/inf.isl.ar.mawsua) › [مسالك الابصار في ممالك الامصار](https://indike.org/pramana/inf.isl.ar.mawsua.masalik-al-absar) › 2.34 # مسالك الابصار في ممالك الامصار 2.34 مسالك الأبصار في ممالك الأمصار 2.34 - **Language:** Arabic ### [2.34](https://indike.org/pramana/inf.isl.ar.mawsua.masalik-al-absar.2.34) وبساتينها على استقامة، كل خط اثنا عشر ميلا من ثلاث جهاتها، فأما الغربي فعاطل لمقاربة جبل لها به، وفي دهلى ألف مدرسة، وبها مدرسة واحدة للشافعية، وسائرها للحنفية، ونحو سبعين مارستانا \[1\] ، وتسمى بها دور الشفاء \[2\] ، وفيها وفي بلادها من الخوانق \[3\] والربط \[4\] عدة ألفين مكانا، وبها الديارات \[5\] العظيمة، والأسواق الممتدة، والحمامات الكثيرة، وجميع مياها من آبار محتفرة قريبة المستقى، أعمق ما يكون سبعة أذرع، عليها السواقي، وأما مشرب أهلها فمن ماء المطر في أحواض وسيعة تجتمع (المخطوط ص 17) فيها الأمطار، كل حوض يكون قنطرة، علوه سهم وأزيد، وبها الجامع المشهور المئذنة \[6\] ، التي قال أنه ما على بسيط الأرض لها شبيه في سمكها وارتفاعها \[7\] ، وقال الشيخ برهان الدين بن الخلال البزي الصوفي أن علوها ستمائة ذراع في الهواء. > Dehli, which was one among them, has given its name to all the rest. It is both long and broad, and covers a space of about forty miles in circumference. The houses are built of stone and brick, and the roofs of wood. The floors are paved with a white stone, like marble. None of the houses are more than two stories high, and some only one. It is only in the palace of the Sultan that marble is used for pavement. But if I can believe the Shaikh Abu Bakr bin Khallal, this description applies only to the old houses of Dehli, for the new ones are built differently. According to the same informant, Dehli comprises an aggregate of twenty-one cities. Gardens extend on three sides of it, in a straight line for twelve thousand paces. The western side is not so furnished, because it borders on a mountain. Dehli contains a thousand colleges, one of which belongs to the Sháfi'ís, the rest to the Hanafís. In it there are about seventy hospitals, called Dáru-sh Shifá, or houses of cure. In the city, and those dependent upon it, the chapels and hermitages amount to 2,000. There are great monasteries, large open spaces, and numerous baths. The water used by the people is drawn from wells of little depth, seldom exceeding seven cubits. Hydraulic wheels are placed at their tops. The people drink rain-water, which is collected in large reservoirs constructed for that purpose, the distance across each of them being a bowshot, or even more. > — Henry Miers Elliot & John Dowson 1871, Masáliku-l Absár (extracts) > The chief mosque is celebrated for its minaret, which, in point of altitude, is said to have no equal in the world. If the statement of Shaikh Burhánu-d dín Bursí can be believed, the height of this part of the edifice is 600 cubits. According to Shaikh Mubárak, the palaces of the Sultán of Dehlí are exclusively occupied by the Sultán, his wives, concubines, eunuchs, male and female slaves, and mamlúks. None of the Kháns and amírs are permitted to dwell there. They make their appearance there only when they come to wait upon the Sultán, which they do twice a day, morning and afternoon. Afterwards, each one of them retires to his own house. As regards the great officers of State, those of the highest rank are called khánś, then the maliks, then the amírs, then the isfáh-sálárs (generals), and, lastly, the officers (jand). The court of the sovereign comprises eighty kháns, or even more. The army consists of 900,000 horsemen, some of whom are stationed near the prince, and the rest are distributed in the various provinces of the empire. All are inscribed in the registers of the State, and partake of the liberality of their sovereign. These troops consist of Turks, inhabitants of Khatá, Persians, and Indians. Among them are to be found athlets (pahlawán), runners, (shattár), and men of every kind. They have excellent horses, magnificent armour, and a fine costume. \* \* \* The Sultán has 3,000 elephants, which, when accoutred for battle, wear a covering of iron gilded. > — Henry Miers Elliot & John Dowson 1871, Masáliku-l Absár (extracts) - [Previous: 2.33](https://indike.org/pramana/inf.isl.ar.mawsua.masalik-al-absar.2.33) - [Next: 2.35](https://indike.org/pramana/inf.isl.ar.mawsua.masalik-al-absar.2.35) - [Up: 2](https://indike.org/pramana/inf.isl.ar.mawsua.masalik-al-absar.2) ## Translations (2) - [Masáliku-l Absár (extracts)](https://indike.org/pramana/inf.isl.ar.mawsua.masalik-al-absar~en-elliot.1.3) — Henry Miers Elliot & John Dowson 1871, English - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/inf.isl.ar.mawsua.masalik-al-absar~en-mt.2.34) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/inf.isl.ar.mawsua.masalik-al-absar.2.34](https://indike.org/pramana/inf.isl.ar.mawsua.masalik-al-absar.2.34) · Pramāṇa