The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India: A History of the Establishment and Progress of the Turkish Sultanate of Delhi, 1206–1290 A.D. c12.8

c12.8

During adolescence, the puritannical Balban allowed him no opportunity for tasting the pleasures of life; "he could not glance at a fair face or drain a goblet of wine"¹. Now suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, in the most critical period of a man's life, he found himself absolute master not only of his own actions but of a rich and prosperous kingdom. The usual result followed; his pent-up desires and preferences found expression in unbridled indulgence in wine, women and gaiety. The court became full of buffoons, musicians and dancers. Citizens and courtiers, whose yearning for sensual pleasures remained unsatisfied under the austere Balban, also followed suit and Delhi became a flourishing mart for wine, musicians and dancing girls who flocked from all parts of the kingdom. Persuit of pleasure became the rule of life and even men of letters and learning were obliged to earn appreciation by paying their quota of poetry, wit, and humour to merry parties. Kaiqubad gave up residing in the old city and built himself a new palace at Kilokhri, a few miles down the Jumna². The courtiers also shifted there, and soon the placed teemed with new buildings and with people of all descriptions. Barani remarks, perhaps with no little exaggeration, that during the three years of Kaiqubad's rule the people had no other work but to seek merriment and invent newer forms of pleasure. As the personal popularity of the young Sultan increased, the governmental measures of the late king became less in evidence. The administration was left to shift for itself and to the successful intriguer.