The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India: A History of the Establishment and Progress of the Turkish Sultanate of Delhi, 1206–1290 A.D. c8.53

c8.53

Mangbarni left India in 1224, but western Punjab continued to witness rapid political changes. These changes which extended far beyond Iltutmish’s reign, require a fuller discussion³ and admit of only a passing reference here. They upset Iltutmish’s plan of consolidation on the west, but they also helped him to destroy his rival Qubachah⁴. For, the latter had to bear the brunt of Mangbarni’s invasion and of its aftermath, which fearfully weakened his power of resistance. Close on the heels of the Khwarizmi fugitive, came the Mongols in his persuit and reached as far as Multan; then, a mass migration of the Khalji supporters of Mangbarni who appeared like an invading army. Iltutmish had thus the satisfaction of seeing Qubachah nearly crushed by these events; he needed little military exertion to recover Bhatinda, Kuhram and Sarsuti and the tracts along the Hakra river⁵.