The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c21.29

v3.c21.29

Fūlād, after holding out for six months, sent a large sum of money to Shaikh ‘Alī of Kābul and summoned him to his aid. In January, 1431, he left Kābul and marched to Bhātinda, and on his arriving within twenty miles of the town Mubārak’s nobles hurriedly raised the siege and fled to their fiefs. Fūlād issued from the fortress to meet him, paid him 200,000 *tangas* as the price of his assistance, and entrusted his family to his care, in order that they might be removed to a place of safety. A passing remark of the historian of this reign throws much light on the position of affairs in the Punjab during Mubārak’s futile attempts to establish his authority in the Doāb, the trans-Gangetic region, and the south-eastern districts of his kingdom. Sikandar Tuhfa paid to Shaikh ‘Alī ‘the sum which he had been wont to pay him annually,’ and thus induced him to refrain from molesting Lahore during his retreat. From the reference to the yearly payment of blackmail it is clear that the kingdom had been exposed, during its intestine troubles, to the danger of invasion from the direction of Lahore. In the direction of Multān the worthless Mubārak was better served, and when Shaikh ‘Alī, during his retreat, attacked a fortress within the limits of that province, ‘Imād-ul-Mulk marched to Talamba and forced him to relinquish his prey. Unfortunately ‘Imād-ul-Mulk received orders to retire to Multān, and Shaikh ‘Alī, attributing his retreat to cowardice or a consciousness of weakness, crossed the Rāvī near Khatībpur, plundered the country along the banks of the Chenāb, and marched to within twenty miles of Multān. ‘Imād-ul-Mulk sent Islām Khān Lodī to stem his advance, but Islām Khān’s force, while still on the march, came unexpectedly on the invaders, and was defeated before it could form for attack or defence. Islām Khān was slain, and the remnant of his force fled back to Multān. Shaikh ‘Alī advanced to Khairābād, near Multān, and encamped there on May 15, 1431. On the following day he advanced to attack one of the gates, but his troops were repulsed by a sortie of the garrison, and he did not resume the offensive until June 8, when he made a second attempt to carry the place by assault, but was again repulsed with heavy loss, and thereafter contented himself with harassing the garrison in a series of skirmishes until the arrival of a strong relieving force which attacked him and drove him within his entrenched camp, whence he fled across the Rāvī¹. He was pursued, and numbers of his army perished in the river and by the swords of the pursuers, but he eventually threw himself into Shorkot, leaving all his horses, camels, and equipment in the hands of the victors. ‘Imād-ul-Mulk and the army which had marched to his relief followed the fugitives to Shorkot and Shaikh ‘Alī fled with a small force to Kābul, leaving his nephew, Amīr Muzaffar, with the remainder of his army in Shorkot. Further operations were stayed by the receipt of orders from the king, recalling to Delhi the relieving force, and most imprudently removing from Multān the able and energetic ‘Imād-ul-Mulk, who was relieved by Khair-ud-dīn Tuhfa. Misfortunes now fell thick and fast on Mubārak. Jasrat the Khokar again rebelled and marched on Jullundur. Sikandar Tuhfa, marching against him, met him on the Dhaulī Waīn, but was defeated and taken alive, and Jasrat marched to Lahore and besieged the city, which was defended by Sayyid Najm-ud-dīn, Sikandar’s lieutenant, and Malik Khushkhabar, his slave. Meanwhile Shaikh ‘Alī of Kābul had again invaded the Multān province and on November 13 captured Talamba, occupied the citadel, threw the leading citizens into prison, and plundered all the surrounding country. At the same time Fūlād, who still held Bhātinda, led an expedition against Rāi Fīrūz, whose fief lay in the neighbourhood, slew him and plundered the district which he had governed.