The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c20.124

v3.c20.124

The circumstances of his death are a vexed question. The legend which attributes it to Prithvī Rāj who, according to the bards of the Rājputs had not been slain at Tarāorī but was wounded and taken prisoner and remained, after having been blinded, a captive for the rest of his life, is mentioned by one Muslim historian but may be dismissed without hesitation as a fabrication. Other authorities attribute the deed to some of the Khokars whose homes had so recently been made desolate, but though these were perhaps privy to the design, and, if so, certainly furthered it, the actual assassins appear to have been fanatical Shiahs of the heretical Ismā‘īlī sect. A few years before this time these heretics had again established themselves in Khurāsān, where they are still numerous, and held possession of that province until Muhammad crushed them in 1199, and restored his brother's authority. A number of these bound themselves by an oath to slay the persecutor of their faith, and found on this occasion their opportunity.