History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c2.14

c2.14

The touching scene silenced Ahmad Chap. It also confirmed Jalāluddīn's generosity and kindheartedness. But the strange behaviour of Firoz did not redound to his credit as the master of an empire so recently won in teeth of so great an opposition. On many other occasions, about which mention would be made presently, the sultan behaved most tactlessly. Both his age and his temperament were responsible for his extreme gentleness. The only punishment he could inflict upon robbers was to send them to some distant place. The only way in which he could castigate rebellious nobles was to cry in their presence and drink with them to remove all cause of misunderstanding. The king was incapable of harbournig any ill-will. Two persons, Sirājuddīn Sāvī and Manda Ahīr, had given him some cause of resentment during his Khanship. They began to despair of their lives when they heard he had become king. They came to the king, their heads hanging low, their faces all repentence. To the utter surprise of everybody present the sultan not only pardoned them for their misconduct in the past but rewarded them profusely. Sometimes the old king behaved like a child. Once he was tempted to add the title of Almujāhid fī Sabīlullah (The Fighter in the Way of God) to his name. Any other sultan would have done so without creating any fuss. Jalāluddīn, however, asked Malika-i-Jahān to instruct the barons to suggest to him to do so in open court. But when they actually did so Firoz at once confessed to them that he himself was responsible for that request and refused to take the title. Such a tactless sovereign was surely a misfit on the throne of Delhi. How Jalāluddīn fell a victim to his nephew's treachery forms one of the most tragic episodes of medieval history. Never was a man more unsuited to wear the crown than the founder of the Khaljī dynasty. To him kingship was a fraud and its magnificence a few days' unstable splendour.¹¹ He actually cursed his enemies not so much for plotting against him as for compelling him to strive for the throne.¹² Careless of fame, he was content with the status of a nobleman than that of the king, for the former was free from all turmoil.