The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India: A History of the Establishment and Progress of the Turkish Sultanate of Delhi, 1206–1290 A.D. c11.33

c11.33

The King's prestige, more than a concern for the people's welfare, demanded a concentrated drive against this anarchy. With the army recently fitted, Balban therefore, made the extirapation of the rebels his first care. He started his work in the immediate vicinity of the capital. For a whole year he engaged himself in hunting down the highway robbers and clearing the forests. Having thus destroyed their hiding places, he erected a fortress at Gopalgir guarding the city's southwestern approach against the Mewatis. It was garrisoned with seasoned Afghan troops. Similar posts with Afghan garrisons were established in other corners of the Delhi province¹. The capital was thereby cordoned off and freed from the Mewati robbers, and for the first time in several years the citizens breathed freely. Next year Balban turned to the Doab and Awadh where life was equally insecure. In order to deal effectively with the rebels he divided the area into a number of military commands. These were made into assignments and placed under energetic officers who were to clear the forests and conduct a relentless drive against the insurgents. The measure produced good result, and in a short time order was restored. Brigands were seized and peasants returned to normal obedience and to agriculture. Balban himself remained for a year in the neighbourhood of Kampil and Patiali to clear the highways and build new roads through the forest-clearings. To ensure their safety he erected military posts at Bhojpur, Patiali and Kampil, formerly strongholds of the rebels, and placed Afghan troops there. The ancient fortress at Jalali, situated on the route to Hindusthan¹, was also repaired and strongly garrisoned². From the inscription on the mosque, presumably built on this occasion, this re-settlement of the place, seems to have taken place in 665-6/1266³.