The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India: A History of the Establishment and Progress of the Turkish Sultanate of Delhi, 1206–1290 A.D. c8.1

c8.1

Muizuddin's sudden death placed his officers in India in a difficult situation. The Delhi government was far from well-established; want of common loyalty now threatened to intensify personal jealousies. Aftermaths of the late rising still rendered communications unsafe with Ghazni which, in any case, now seemed an easy prey to the aggressive Khwarizm Shah. By far the most serious menace came from the Hindus whose military power, only stunned by the rapidity of the conquest, now showed signs of recovery and even of offensive action. Already, by 1206, Kalinjar had been recovered and the Chandella king appeared effectively to stop further expansion in the south¹. In the Gangetic plain numerous chiefs still held out in open defiance². Gahdvala rule was still a reality, for Harischandra found means to establish himself in the districts of Farrukhabad and Budaun³. Even the Pariharas appeared to have regained their initiative and recovered Gwalior which had to be reconquered several years later. In the east, a terrible disaster had befallen the Muslim arms and the two-year old possession of Lakhnauti, rendered insecure by distance and by Khalji factiousness, promised to be a heavy liability. The Turks had overrun the whole of north India, but on Muizzuddin’s death found themselves in effective possession only of Sind and parts of the Punjab and the Gangetic valley with Rajput resistance increasing in extent.