The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India: A History of the Establishment and Progress of the Turkish Sultanate of Delhi, 1206–1290 A.D. c13.81

c13.81

Nandanah”. If the reference to Nandanah meant an attempt to recover the fortress it must have proved unsuccessful, for, although the Delhi forces are said to have reached the Indus on this occasion, their operations were evidently confined to the districts east of and adjacent to the Jhelum. Beyond, were the Mongols who “from the ferries of the Jhelum beheld the Mussalman troops serving under Ulugh Khan and fear fell upon their hearts”¹. Inspite of this allegedly triumphant advance across the Chinab, the tract beyond the Ravi, for all practical purposes was lost and formed the Mongol sphere of influence. Shamsuddin’s successor, Ruknuddin Kurt of Herat, exercised sway over territories extending up to the Indus river and is even reported to have controlled the highways “as far as the frontiers of Delhi”². When Lahore is next mentioned in the pages of the Tabaqat-i-Nasiri under the year 652/1254, it is described as a Mongol dependency.