History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c11.s2.1

c11.s2.1

Before closing this chapter it would be intersting to study why the Mughals, who once terrorised both the east and the west, and who even in the time of ‘Alāūddīn waged mighty wars in Central Asia, were always successfully defeated by the armies of Hindustan. The defeats and retreats of the Mughals in India were due to many reasons. Firstly, the idea of world conquest, which had been the driving force of the Mughal empire, was given up on account of the wars among the various descendants of Changīz Khan. The Mughals who invaded India were sent by the Khans of Transoxiana. They had rebelled against the Great Khans of China and were mostly busy with their internal troubles in Central Asia. Dava Khan, the arch-enemy of Hindustan fought some forty battles in Central Asia itself, and consequently could not give all his attention and energy to the conquest of Hindustan. As Professor Habib rightly point out, the discord among the Mughals and their own internecine warfare saved the kingdom of Delhi which could not have withstood a united attack of the Mughals.⁸⁸