The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c20.437.3

v3.c20.437.3

The disaster to his army in the Himālaya had impaired his prestige and his severity and cruelty had alienated the nobles in his camp, on whose fidelity he could no longer rely. The rebel army, though composed of poor material, was more numerous than his own, and he desired to avoid an immediate battle. Hastily summoning reinforcements from Delhi and other towns, he marched rapidly towards Kanauj, seeking the protection of its walls. The rebels on the eastern bank marched from Bangarmau, and it seemed that Muhammad's only hope of safety lay in outstripping them. When it became known that they had crossed the river he was much alarmed, for he did not believe that they would have ventured on this step without encouragement from traitors in his own camp. The rebels, to the number of 50,000, attacked his outposts by night, and the battle soon became general. Notwithstanding the overwhelming numerical superiority of the enemy, the Persians, Turks and Khurāsānīs in the royal army fought valiantly, and at dawn the rebels were in full flight and were pursued for twenty miles. Many, including two of 'Ain-ul-Mulk's four brothers, were slain in the battle or the pursuit, or drowned in the Ganges. Malik Ibrāhīm, one of 'Ain-ul-Mulk's accomplices in rebellion, seized him and carried him before the minister, Khvāja Jahān, in the hope of earning a pardon, and the minister, after causing ‘Ain-ul-Mulk to be stripped, carried him before the king.