The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India: A History of the Establishment and Progress of the Turkish Sultanate of Delhi, 1206–1290 A.D. c7.107

c7.107

Emboldened by success in these raids Bakhtiyar obtained Aibak’s commendation for a final attack on the monastic town⁵. Minhaj speaks of the fort (Hisar and Qalah) of Bihar, although it is extremely uncertain if it possessed any effective military force. The citadel containing the university proper seems, in any case, to have been defended by some sort of armed men, the majority of whom, however, were the "shavenheaded" Sramanas, (Bhuddhist monks) whom the Muslims mistook for Brahmins¹. But it only resulted in their being put to the sword, for Bakhtiyar with his two hundred well-armed fighters, easily captured the town. Too late he learnt, on being apprised of the large number of books stored there, of the real nature of the place². According to the 15th century Tibetan chronicler Taranath, Bakhtiyar on this occasion also captured the monastery towns of Vikramsila and Nalanda and erected a fortress on the site of Uddandapur³.