The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c20.297

v3.c20.297

During the winter of 1302–03 ‘Alā-ud-dīn marched into the country of the Rājputs, and without much difficulty captured Chitor and carried the Rānā, Ratan Singh, a prisoner to Delhi. At the same time he dispatched an expedition under the command of Chhajjū, nephew and successor of Nusrat Khān, from Kara into Telingāna. For some obscure reason this expedition marched on Warangal, the capital of the Kākatīya rajas, by the then unexplored eastern route, through Bengal and Orissa. Unfortunately no detailed account of the march has been preserved, but the expedition was a failure. The army reached Warangal, or its neighbourhood, but was demoralised by the hardships which it had endured in heavy rain on difficult roads, and, after suffering a defeat, lost most of its baggage, camp equipage, and material of war and returned to Kara in disorder.