History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c10.s3.1

c10.s3.1

Ever since the sultan had embarked upon the conquest of Ranthambhor in 1300, till the fall of Jalor in 1311, his armies had constantly fought in Rajasthan. It was below the dignity of the sultan to recall his forces once the siege of a fortress had been begun, and the valour of the Rajputs could not brook the insult of giving way to the enemy. The result was that bloody battles were fought before each and every fortress. To enumerate the various wars in Rajputana, then, is to repeat the horrors of blood and slaughter, of gallant fight, of glorious martyrdom. Sometimes before a single citadel the contest prolonged for years, and ended in a general massacre of its population accompanied by the gruesome destruction of the womenfolk in the fire of Jauhar.