History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c4.31

c4.31

Rām Chandra sued for peace again, but this time 'Alā'uddīn was adamant. He had scented the reason why the Maratha king was so importunate to secure a treaty as quickly as possible and delayed negotiations until the envoys of Rām Chandra confessed that the defenders were almost on the verge of starvation. At last a truce, the terms of which were dictated by the victorious prince, was patched up. 'Alāūddīn was to receive a much larger war indemnity than was agreed to on the previous occasion. According to Ferishtah it consisted of "six hundred *man* of gold, seven *man* of pearls, two *man* of precious stones like rubies, sapphires, diamonds and emeralds, one thousand *man* of silver and four thousand pieces of silk and sundry articles the details of which are beyond comprehension."²¹ The contemporary historian Ziyā Barani does not give any such list. He only says that 'Alāuddīn brought so much wealth from the Deccan that despite the squandering of it by his successors much of it remained till the time of Firoz Tughlaq.²² Amīr Khusrau, another contemporary, describes at length in his exaggerated poetic way, the treasures brought by 'Alāuddīn, but he too does not give any figures.²³ Consequently it is doubtful if Ferishtah derived his exact knowledge of the war indemnity from some reliable source. It may only be a computation of his fertile mind. In short, the exact amount of the wealth cannot be ascertained from the meagre data available.