The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c20.218

v3.c20.218

Balban soon discovered that in attempting to protect the interests of his posterity he had endangered the peace of his kingdom. Sunqar had been dreaded by the Mughuls and by the Khokars and other turbulent Hindu tribes, and his death revived the courage of both foreign and domestic enemies. Owing to the renewed activity of the Mughuls the king transferred his elder son, Muhammad Khān, entitled Qā‘ān Malik, from his fief of Koil to the government of Multān. This prince was the hope of his line. He was gentle and courageous, able and learned, a diligent student and a munificent patron of letters. The poets Amīr Khusrav and Amīr Hasan began their literary careers as members of his household, and he invited the famous Sa‘dī of Shīrāz to visit him at Multān, and was disappointed of the honour of entertaining him only by reason of the poet’s extreme age. His table and intimate circle were adorned by the presence of the learned and the wise, and though wine was in use it was drunk for the purpose of stimulating, not of drowning, the intellect. No obscenity or ribald conversation was heard in that society, nor did cheerfulness and merriment ever transgress the bounds of decorum. Eastern historians and poets are wont to associate the names of princes with fulsome and almost blasphemous adulation, but in all that has been written of Muhammad Khān affection, as well as admiration, may be traced. In him were centred all the hopes of the stern old king; for him the Forty were doomed, and for him the blood of near kinsmen was shed. The relations between father and son were of the most affectionate character, and Muhammad Khān used to travel every year from Multān to visit Balban, to enjoy his society, and to profit by his counsels. Before his departure he was formally designated heir-apparent and was invested with some of the insignia of royalty.