مسالك الابصار في ممالك الامصار 2.37

2.37

ويتمذهبون [1] خاصة وأهل الهند عامة لأبي حنيفة رضي الله عنه، وله [2] ثلاثة آلاف فيل محققة، تلبس في الحروب البركصطوانات [3] الحديد المذهب، وأما في أوقات السلم فتلبس جلال الديباج [4] والوشى وأنواع الحرير، وتزين بالقصور والأسرة المصفحة، وتشد عليها البروج من الخشب المسمرة، ويتبوأ بها رجال الهند مقاعد القتال، ويكون على الفيل من عشرة رجال إلى ستة رجال على قدر احتمال الفيل، وله عشرون ألف مملوك أتراك.

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.

* * * He has 20,000 Turk mamluks. * * * It is not the same in India as in Egypt and Syria, where the maliks, amirs, and generals have in their service men whom they maintain out of their own resources. In India the officer has only to care for himself. As to the soldiers, the Sultán summons them for service, and they are paid from the public treasury. The sums granted to a khán, a malik, an amir, or a general, are given exclusively for his own personal maintenance. The chamberlains and other dignitaries; the military men, such as the kháns, the maliks, and the amirs, all have a rank in proportion to the importance of their employ. The isfah-sálárs (generals) have no right to approach the Sultán. It is from this class that governors and other similar functionaries are chosen. The khán has 10,000 horse under his command, the malik, 1,000; the amir, 100; and the isfah-sálár a smaller number. The kháns, maliks, amirs, and isfah-sálárs receive the revenues of places assigned to them by the treasury, and if these do not increase, they never diminish. Generally speaking, they bring in much more than their estimated value. The khán receives a grant of two lacs of tankas, each tanka being worth eight dirhams. This sum belongs to him personally, and he is not expected to disburse any part of it to the soldiers who fight under his orders. The malik receives an amount varying from 60,000 to 50,000 tankas, the amir from 40,000 to 30,000, and the isfah-sálár 20,000, or thereabouts.