The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India: A History of the Establishment and Progress of the Turkish Sultanate of Delhi, 1206–1290 A.D. c16.19

c16.19

Reference to special recruits for temporary work is not frequent, but recorded instances imply that such enrolment was an established practice. In 1241, when the Mongols besieged Lahore, the *sadrus sudur*, Minhaj-i-Siraj, was directed by the king to deliver an exhortation urging the people to enrol in the army for fighting the infields⁴. In 1258 again, he delivered a similar lecture "with the object of stimulating to holy warfare and the merit of fighting against infields"⁵. It is perhaps safe to guess that such recruitments were confined to Muslims only. Even for expeditions against powerful rebels, such emergency recruitments were resorted to. On his way to Lakhnauti, Balban held a *leveé en masse* in Awadh and enrolled, it is said, about two hundred thousand men in archers, carriers, and also horsemen and infantry. In this case, it is reasonable to assume, that not all of this two hundred thousand men was meant for combatant work and that a proportion, doubtless, came from the non-Muslims. The employment of Hindu mercenaries for special campaigns should also be considered in this connection; Raziah, when she marched with her husband Iltuniah to recover the throne, is reported to have headed an army composed mainly of mercenaries from the Khokar and Jat tribes of the Punjab.