History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c11.91

c11.91

Hardly a month had elapsed since Sultan 'Alāūddīn's return from Chittor, when the Mughal general Targhī invaded India with 120,000 horsemen.⁵⁶ The situation at the capital was very critical indeed. In the siege of Chittor the royal army had suffered terribly, and what little stores and equipment had been saved in the warfare were lost on the return march to Delhi,—a march conducted through the dreary desert of Rajputana and at the height of the rainy season. So that when the Mughals were approaching Delhi ‘Alāuddīn’s forces were not fit to be mustered, they had not renewed their kits even. The army which had been sent to the east had not yet returned. Still ‘Alāuddīn did not lose heart. He sent orders to provincial governors in the east and the west to send reinforcements to the capital and prepared to fight the Mughal invader.