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History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c8.s2: The Insurrection of Ḥāji Maulā

History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c8.s2

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The Insurrection of Ḥāji Maulā

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Following close upon the abortive revolt of 'Umar and Mangu, intelligence arrived in the imperial camp of a serious outbreak in Delhi. This insurrection was one of the numerous attempts of the Ilbarites to regain the sovereignty. The chief conspirator was one Ḥāji,²⁶ a prominent slave of the former Kotvāl of Delhi, Malik Fakhruddin. Ḥāji Maulā was a man of "the most sanguinary, audacious and depraved disposition." At the time of revolt the Ḥāji was the superintendent of the crown lands at Ratol,²⁷ and Tirmizi was the Kotvāl of Delhi. Tirmizi seems to have been of a very harsh and uncompromising nature, and the people of Delhi were utterly disgusted with him. At that time he was engaged in the repair of the Badaon Gate, and to supervise the construction had taken up his residence in a small house close by. Also in those days temporary huts had been pitched in the plain of Siri where a new fort was under construction and the Kotval of Siri 'Alāūddin Ayāz, was staying there. Thus both the kotvāls were busy, one at the Badaon Gate, and the other at Sīrī and the sultan was far away in Ranthambhor. At this very time reports of the distress of the soldiery at Ranthambhor were constantly arriving, and it was rumoured that the troops were ever intent on relinquishing their jobs but for fear of the sultan's severe punishments. Considering the moment opportune and fancying that in their distress the people in the camp and at the capital would lend him their support, Ḥāji Maula rose in open rebellion. In the scorching heat of a noon in the month of Ramzān 700 (May 1301), when most of the people were taking a siesta, and very few people were passing to and fro in the streets, Hājī Maula accompanied by four armed men went to the residence of Tirmizī and called him to come out. He declared that he had been deputed by the sultan to deliver him a message. The kotvāl without suspecting any danger came out of his house, and was instantly beheaded. Everybody present there was quite bewildered when Hājī Maulā produced a forged warrant from under his arms, and told the people that he had killed the kotvāl by the order of the king. He then ordered all gates under the charge of Tirmizī to be shut up. The news of the kotvāl’s murder spread like wild-fire, and the towns folk were so frightened that "the door of every house throughout the city was kept closed." After disposing off Tirmizī the Hājī attempted to kill ‘Alāuddīn Ayāz, the kotvāl of the new fort, under the same pretence of a royal warrant. But Ayāz had come to know of the Hājī’s treachery and when he was called by the Hājī to come out and listen to a royal command, he refused. At the same time he had the gates of the new fort strongly secured.

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²⁶ Ḥāji Maulā was the chief *Shahnah* of Delhi in the time of Sultan Jalāluddīn. *Ferishtah* p. 107.

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²⁷ Ratol or Rataul lies 15 miles north-east of Delhi and is included in the Baghpat Tehsil of Meerut District.

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Hājī Maulā was now all powerful in Delhi. He released all the prisoners of the state, some of whom joined him. To give strength to his cause and to gain fresh supporters, he ransacked the royal treasury and squandered its money among the populace at large. He distributed arms and horses to his followers and "whosoever became his ally had his lap filled with gold." Nonetheless Hājī Maulā’s position was not safe. He was an imposter, a usurper who had no claim to the throne. He, therefore, hunted out a puppet who could play the nominal king, while he himself could enjoy the real power. The choice fell on a Saiyyad named ‘Alvī, who, according to Barani, was known as a descendant of Shāh Najaf, and on his mother’s side was related to Sultan Shamsuddīn Iltutmish. This innocent man was forcibly abducted from his residence by the Hājī, and placed on the throne. All the nobles and great men of the capital were compelled to come and pay him homage. The people in general were terribly afraid because 'Alāuddīn's revenge was implacable. Owing to the dread of the miscreants, the people of Delhi gave up food and sleep, and passed their days and nights in greatest anxiety. 'Alāuddīn had been apprised of the revolt only three days after its outbreak. He had kept the fact secret from everybody, but as a precautionary measure had sent Malik Hamīduddīn to Delhi.²⁸ But when the reports of the insurrection and of the accession of a puppet king at Delhi began to pour in, he sent his brother Ulugh Khān to punish the rebels. But before Ulugh Khān arrived in Delhi, the trouble had almost been got under by Malik Hamīduddīn. Hamīduddīn accompanied by his sons and relatives had forced his way into the Ghaznī Gate, and entering the city had marched to the Bhāndarkal Gate. A short skirmish had ensued between him and the rebels. Hājī Maulā was defeated, but his power for mischief was not totally destroyed. By chance some followers of Zafar Khān had arrived at the capital from Amroha to present a petition to the court. They joined the royalists. The Hājī's party was utterly destroyed. The gallant Amīr-i-Koh dragged the Hājī down from his horse and sat upon his chest. In spite of the constant shower of arrows he did not stir from there until he had done the Hājī to death. He then went to the Red Palace, and struck off the head of the worthless 'Alvī. It was fixed upon a spear, paraded through the streets of Delhi, and then sent to the sultan at Ranthambhor.

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²⁸ Hamīduddīn was present in the royal camp at the time of Ikat Khān's revolt. He, therefore, surely accompanied the sultan to Ranthambhor. From Ferishtah's narrative it appears that the Amīr was present in Delhi when the revolt broke out. It appears that Hamīduddīn was sent to Delhi either when the revolt of 'Umar and Mangu broke out or at the very start of the insurrection of Hājī Maulā.

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Malik Hamīduddīn then rounded up all the confederates of Hājī Maulā, from whom he recovered all the money they had received from the traitor, and restored it to the royal exchequer. While this inquisitorial process was going on Ulugh Khān arrived from Ranthambhor, and put to death all the rebel captives "making a torrent of blood to flow." Determined as he was to extirpate the rebels as also to set an example for the people, he put an end to the line of Malikul Umara Fakhruddīn, the former kotvāl of Delhi. The descendants of the kotvāl had no concern with the revolt; their only fault was that Hājī Maulā had been their man in days gone by.

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*The Capitulation of Ranthambhor.*

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The investment of Ranthambhor had proved to be a long drawn out affair. During this while a general like Nusrat Khān had perished, attempts on the sultan's life had been made, and the empire had been convulsed with rebellions; and yet 'Alāuddīn's determination to take the fort had not faltered in the least. The army was reduced to extreme distress, but not a single soldier dared to desert the camp for fear of the sultan's imposing a fine of three years' pay upon him.²⁹ While the open country around had altogether been ruined, a spirit of despair had begun to overtake the Imperial troops. Cut off from the capital, the soldiery was certain in its belief that they were destined to perish under the impregnable walls of Ranthambhor. In secret 'Alāuddīn would deliberate with his confidential nobles about the causes of the successive revolts and the seriousness of the situation, but outwardly he showed as if nothing of importance had happened, and pressed the siege with great vigour. The soldiers, finding it impossible to fill the whole ravine, concentrated on filling a small portion of the moat with bags filled with sand and stone and succeeded in reaching the outskirts of the fort. But the Hindus kept throwing fire and missles and succeeded in keeping the enemy away from the battlements for two or three weeks more. At last provisions fell short in the fortress and soon famine raged to such an extent that one "grain" of rice could be purchased only for two "grains" of gold. "Man can bear every affliction but that of a starving stomach," says Amīr Khusrau, and the valiant Rajputs could not bear the pangs of hunger. In the imperial camp, on the other hand, gold was distributed freely among the troops to give them fresh incentive to fight. When nothing remained in the fort except hardship, despair and starvation, the heroic act of Jauhar was performed. A blazing fire was lit and the ladies of the Rai, headed by Ranga Devī,²⁰ the chief queen of Hammīr, perished on the pyre. The remnant of the Rajput soldiery, their nobles and king donned saffron garments and dashed forth to engage the enemy in a last combat. They fought desperately for there was not the least desire to save a single life. The battle raged fiercely and blood flowed on everyside. Muḥammad Shāh and Kehbru, grateful to the last to the Rajput king for his hospitality and sacrifice, fought side by side with their patron. At last the great Rana Hammīr fell, fighting gallantly on the field of battle, as yet in the prime of his life.²¹ 'Iṣāmī asserts that none of the Rai's family was captured alive.²²

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²⁹ *Baranī* p. 279.

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²⁰ Har Bilās Sarda: *Hammīr*, p. 44.

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²¹ A memorial tablet at Gadhala, District Shivapur, also says that the hero of *Hammīr Mahākāvya* was slain in 1301 A.D. *Arch. Sur. India Rep.* 1916-17, p. 20.

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²² *Futūḥ*, p. 267.

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The gallant fight and death of Rana Hammīr has been attributed by some writers to his persistence (Hammīr hath);²³ but it must be admitted that Hammīr is one of those gallant sons of Rajputana who died fighting the Muslim invader to save the ever-cherished independence of thier motherland. Once he had given shelter to Mughal noblemen, he could never betray them into the hand of their enemy. Hammīr fought with sublime courage, and upheld the noble traditions of the chivalrous race to which he belonged.

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²³ Ten beautiful paintings of 19th century depicting the capture of Ranthambhor as described in the *Hammīr Kāvyas* are contained in the Journal of Indian Art, 1915-16.

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Ranthambhor had capitulated on Tuesday the 3rd of Zil-qada 700 (July 11, 1301).³⁴ Its fall had been accelerated by the defection of Ranmal and Ratanpāl, two ministers of Hammīr. Ranmal, who had gone to ‘Alāūddīn to settle terms on behalf of the Rajputs, agreed to desret to the sultan, and obtained a written undertaking from him granting him complete amnesty. Ranmal showed the document to his Rajput friends and some of them together with Ratanpāl left the beleagurd garrison for the royal camp.³⁵ But after ‘Alāūddīn had captured the fort he punished the faithless Rajputs, Ranmal and others, saying that when they had not proved true to their old patron how could they be expected to be faithful to him.³⁶ But just the contrary was the treatment he accorded to Mīr Muhammad Shah whose wounds he ordered to be dressed. Even in pangs of death, the valiant soldier spurned any offer of attention. He openly insulted the sultan for which he was trampled under the feet of the elephant. But the sultan could never forget the bravery and loyalty of the Moghal noble and gave him decent burial.

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³⁴ *Khazain*. Habib trs. p. 41.

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³⁵ *Zafarul Vāli* p. 807.

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³⁶ Ferishtah, p. 108., Har Bilas Sarda: *Hammir* pp. 38-42. The defection of the ministers has also been mentioned by Chandra Sen Sūrī in the *Hammīr Kāvya*.

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The surrender of Ranthambhor witnessed the usual zeal for iconoclasticism and plunder. A number of temples, chief amongst which was the temple of Yahar Deo (Har Deva) were razed to the ground. Many "temples and houses in the city were destroyed" and "the centre of Kufr became the abode of Islam."³⁷ The fortress of Ranthambhor together with the territory of Jhain was entrusted to the care of Ulugh Khān and the Sultān returned to Delhi.

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³⁷ *Khazāin* Allahabad University, Ms. fol. 27 a & b.

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*Death of Ulugh Khān.*

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Almās Bēg governed Ranthambhor for about six months after which he started for Delhi. On his way to Delhi he suddenly died. 'Isāmī attributes the death to poisoning and writes that when Ulugh Khān had heard of the almost fatal injuries to the king, during the revolt of Ikat Khān, he had remarked that if the sultān was dead, his brother was alive to fill the vacant throne. 'Alāuddīn learnt about it from one of his confidential servants. He grew suspicious about his brother and ordered that the latter should be poisoned.³⁸ Hājiuddabīr, on the authority of Husām Khān's *Tabqāt-i-Bahādur Shāhī*, also says that Ulugh Khān was poisoned on his way from Ranthambhor to Delhi.³⁹ Ziyā Baranī says, "Ulugh Khān for four or five months during the sultān's absence, enlisted a large force, to effect an invasion of Telingana and M'abar, but he fell a victim to cruel fate and was overtaken by death about the time of his approach to the capital. They brought him dead to the city and buried him in his mansion. The calamity made the sultān very sad. He gave away many charities for the soul of the dead".⁴⁰ Thus Baranī not only does not mention poisoning to be the cause of Ulugh Khān's death; his last sentence goes even to prove the king's innocence. But taking into account the vindictive and unpropitiating temperament of 'Alāuddīn, it is not improbable that he may have been instrumental in his brother's death.

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³⁸ *Futūh* pp. 272-73.

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³⁹ *Zafarul Vālī* p. 811.

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⁴⁰ *Baranī* p. 299.

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*Measures undertaken to ensure Further Conquests.*

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After his return from Ranthambhor, 'Alāūddīn spent his time in hunting in the suburbs of Delhi. He did not enter the City,⁴¹ perhaps because he had been very much terrified by the various revolts that had recently occured in the capital. Though contemporary writers do not refer to the fear complex, and attribute the sultan's reluctance to enter the capital to a sense of displeasure and dis-satisfaction on his part towards the inhabitants who had displayed a disloyal behaviour; yet it is clear that 'Alāūddīn assured himself of the security of his life before entering the City where so many efforts to dethrone him had been made in quick succession. Even his predecessor Jalāluddīn had refrained from entering Delhi in the same circumstances. 'Alāūddīn sentenced many prominent men of Delhi to exile, and punished every conspirator who had escaped the cruel justice of Malik Hamīduddīn and Ulugh Khan. The king then set to stamp out the very root of sedition. He confiscated a large number of fiefs, prohibited the sale and use of wine, and even restricted the normal intercourse of barons and influential men. All these measures so varied and so severe in their character will be studied in another chapter, suffice it to say here that the regulations had the desired effect, and in future no serious revolt occured in Delhi. Secure at home, the sultan could once more think of subjugating the independent kingdoms.

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⁴¹ *Ibid.* p. 283.

Cites (2)