The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c20.321

v3.c20.321

'Alā-ud-dīn's power, having reached its zenith, began to decline. He had hitherto shown considerable administrative capacity, and, though headstrong and self-willed, had usually sought and frequently followed the advice of others, even to the abandonment of some of his most cherished dreams; but his intellect was now clouded and his naturally fierce temper embittered by ill-health, and though he was physically and mentally less capable than formerly of transacting business of state, he rejected the counsels even of his own chosen ministers, and insisted on administering his vast dominions by the light of his own unaided intelligence, with the result that the affairs of the kingdom fell into such disorder that his declining years were darkened by rebellions and disturbances.