History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c1.s1.8

c1.s1.8

But Niẓāmuddīn’s conclusion is hardly worth credence, because in an earlier context he writes that the Khaljīs fought in the Khvarizm Shahi armies, and, therefore, their existence before Changīz Khan's times cannot be doubted. The hypothesis finds support from Ferishtah who says that the Khaljīs are often mentioned in the histories of Ghaznā, and it is certain that they existed anterior to the time of Changīz Khan. But, perhaps, to reconcile himself to Niẓāmuddīn's statement he adds that it is likely that Qalij Khan may himself have been of the tribe of the Khaljīs, and Jalāluddīn of Delhi and Maḥmūd of Malwa may have descended directly from him.⁴³ Badaonī, on the other hand, vehemently criticises the Qalij Khānī ancestry saying that this theory "has no real authority" . . . "and as a matter of fact there is no connection whatever between Qalij and Khalj."⁴⁴ Both Ferishtah and Badaonī think the second statement of Niẓāmuddīn, which mentions Turk, son of Japhet, as the progenitor of the Khaljī race, as the more reasonable. Hājīuddabīr writing about the Khaljīs of Malwa says that they were descendants of Qalij Khan, son of Afrāsiyāb, who was son-in-law of Changīz Khan;⁴⁵ but he does not say anything about the ancestry of Jalāluddīn of Delhi.