History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c9.s1.7

c9.s1.7

At the time of 'Alāuddīn's invasion Rānā Ratan Singh, son of Rānā Samar Singh and grandson of the valiant Jaitra Singh, was the ruler. He had ascended the throne in C. 1301 A.D.⁵ According to Amīr Khusrau the Rana of Chittor was the most exalted of all the Hindu rulers, and all the kings of Hindustan acknowledged his superiority.⁶ Describing the awful grandeur of the fortress the poet says that the citadel, which was cut out of a huge rock, was wonderful, and despite the onslaughts of the *minjniq*, it was not affected in the least. The brave Rajputs, under their gallant leader Ratan Singh offered a heroic resistence for full eight months, but then they gave way. No trustworthy account, contemporary or even later, of the various siege operations, tough battles and stratagems that would surely have occured during these eight months, is available to us.⁷ The fact that the siege was a prolonged one emphatically proves that the garrison were bent upon defending their fortress to the last man. It is not known if the neighbouring princes came to the rescue of Ratan; but considering the constant rivalries and callous indifference of the kingdoms of Rajputana towards one another, it can easily be