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تحفة النظار في غرايب الامصار وعجايب الاسفار 11.14

English (machine translation) 11.14

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English

11.14.1

His name is vocalised with u after the dotted t, a quiescent dotted gh, u after the l, and ending in q. The shaykh, the imām, the pious, learned, practising and devout Rukn al-Dīn, son of the pious shaykh Shams al-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh, son of the saint, the imām, the learned and devout Bahāʾ al-Dīn Zakariyyāʾ al-Qurashī al-Multānī, told me in his hospice there that Sultan Tughluq was one of the Turks known as the Qarawna (with a after the q and the r, a quiescent w and a after the n), who dwell in the mountains between the land of Sind and the land of the Turks. He was of humble condition, and came to the land of Sind in the service of a certain merchant, being his kalwānī; the kalwānī (with u after the hard k) is a horse-herd. This was in the days of Sultan ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn, and the amīr of Sind at that time was his brother Ulū Khān (with u after the hamza and the l). Tughluq served him and attached himself to him, and he enrolled him among the bayāda (with i after the single-dotted b and a after the y), that is, the foot-soldiers. Then his excellence became evident and he was entered among the horsemen; then he was one of the lesser amīrs, and Ulū Khān made him master of his horse; afterwards he was one of the great amīrs and was called al-Malik al-Ghāzī.

11.14.2

I saw written on the maqṣūra of the congregational mosque at Multān, which he had ordered built: "I fought the Tatars twenty-nine times and defeated them, and therefore I was named al-Malik al-Ghāzī."

11.14.3

When Quṭb al-Dīn came to power he appointed him over the city of Dibāl Pūr and its district (with i after the undotted d and a after the single-dotted b), and made his son, who is now the sultan of Hind, master of his horse. He was called Jawna, with a after the j

11.14.4

and the n, and when he became king he took the name Muḥammad Shāh. Then, when Quṭb al-Dīn was killed and Khusraw Khān came to power, he kept him as master of the horse. When Tughluq resolved to rebel he had three hundred of his companions on whom he relied in battle, and he wrote to Kishlū Khān, who was then at Multān—between it and Dibāl Pūr is three days—asking him to rise in his support, reminding him of Quṭb al-Dīn's favours and urging him to seek vengeance for him.

11.14.5

Kishlū Khān's son was in Dihlī, so he wrote to Tughluq: "If my son were with me I would help you in what you intend." Tughluq wrote to his son Muḥammad Shāh informing him of what he had resolved and ordering him to flee to him, bringing with him the son of Kishlū Khān. His son planned a stratagem against Khusraw Khān, and it succeeded as he wished. He said to him: "The horses have grown fat and heavy and they need yarāq," that is, training down, and he gave him permission to train them. Every day he would ride out with his companions and exercise them for an hour, two hours or three, and he continued up to four hours, until one day he stayed away until noon, which is their mealtime. The sultan ordered men to ride in search of him, but no news of him was found; he had joined his father and taken Kishlū Khān's son with him. Thereupon Tughluq openly rebelled and gathered troops, and Kishlū Khān came out with him with his companions. The sultan sent his brother Khān Khānān to fight them, and they routed him utterly; his army deserted to them, Khān Khānān returned to his brother, his companions were killed, and his treasuries and wealth were taken.

11.14.6

Tughluq made for the capital Dihlī, and Khusraw Khān came out against him with his troops and encamped outside Dihlī at a place known as Āṣiyā Abād, which means 'windmill'. He ordered the treasuries opened and gave out money by the bagful, neither weighed nor counted. Battle was joined between him and Tughluq, and the Hindus fought most fiercely; Tughluq's troops were routed, his camp was plundered, and he was left alone with his three hundred veteran companions. He said to them: "Where can we flee? Wherever we are caught we will be killed." Khusraw Khān's troops were busy plundering and dispersed from him, and only a few remained with him. Tughluq and his companions made for his position. The sultan there is recognised by the parasol raised over his head, which in Egypt is called 'the dome and the bird' and is raised there on festivals; but in Hind and China

11.14.7

it never leaves the sultan, whether travelling or at home. When Tughluq and his companions made for him, the fighting grew hot between them and the Hindus; the sultan's companions were routed and no one remained with him. He fled, dismounted from his horse, threw off his clothes and weapons, kept only a single shirt, let his hair hang loose between his shoulders as the faqīrs of Hind do, and entered a garden there. The people rallied to Tughluq, and he made for the city; the kotwāl brought him the keys, and he entered the palace and lodged in one part of it. He said to Kishlū Khān: "You shall be sultan." Kishlū Khān said: "No, you shall be sultan," and they disputed. Kishlū Khān said to him: "If you refuse to be sultan, then your son shall rule." He disliked this, and so accepted, sat on the royal throne, and the elite and common people swore allegiance to him. After three days hunger pressed hard on Khusraw Khān, hiding in the garden; he came out and wandered about it, found the caretaker and asked him for food, but he had none. So he gave him his ring and said: "Go and pawn it for food." When he took the ring to the market, the people were suspicious of him and brought him to the shiḥna, that is, the magistrate, who took him in to Sultan Tughluq, and he told him who had given him the ring. He sent his son Muḥammad to fetch him; he seized him and brought him riding on a tattū (with two two-dotted t's, the first with a and the second with u), that is, a pack-pony. When he stood before him he said: "I am hungry, bring me food." He ordered him given sherbet, then food, then beer, then betel. When he had eaten he stood up and said:

11.14.8

"Tughluq, deal with me as kings do, and do not disgrace me!" He said: "You shall have that," and ordered him beheaded. This was in the very place where he had killed Quṭb al-Dīn, and his head and body were thrown from the top of the roof, as he had done with Quṭb al-Dīn's head. After that he ordered him washed and shrouded, and he was buried in his tomb. The kingdom remained firmly in Tughluq's hands for four years, and he was just and virtuous.

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