South India and her Muhammadan Invaders c12.40

c12.40

Muhammad's Empire at his death.—At his death the empire which, about twenty years previously in the reign of Sultan Muhammad himself, extended from Madura in the south to Kashmir, and from the western passes to the mouths of the Ganges, had shrunk to comparatively narrow dimensions. Muhammad's authority certainly did extend over the country north of the Vindhyas, the western boundary remained intact. The smaller half in the east, the Bengals had effectively cut themselves off and had not been brought under his authority again. For more than fifteen years the province of Ma'bar had remained quite independent of him. His authority over the territories of the Hoysalas was but nominal. The Sultan's overlordship was perhaps a little more recognized by the Raja of Warangal at least in name; the province of the Dakhan or Deogir had stood defiant and practically independent during the last three or four years of his life. Muhammad Tughlak therefore had, among the Muhammadan monarchs, the credit of having ruled over the greatest extent of India, his empire exceeding in extent even that of Aurangzeb. He had also the misfortune to see before he died that that vast empire had shrunk to something smaller than that to which the slave kings laid claim. For this calamity he himself was in the main responsible. He made an attempt to expand his empire, in days when communications were at the very best imperfect, to a distance of six months' journey from headquarters in spite of the declared policy of Alau-d-din to the contrary. He succeeded in this effort; but he tried to maintain this vast empire by a policy of mistrust and repression which carried its own condemnation; and with such a policy failure was inevitable.