Twilight of the Sultanate c12.s2.7

c12.s2.7

There was yet another reason why kingship had no charm for him. At the time of his accession the Sultanate had shrunk to its narrowest limits. Not only Gujarat, Malwa, and Jaunpur had surpassed it in strength and Bahlūl Lodi ruled over the whole of the Punjab as far east as Panipat,⁵⁹ but even the districts around Delhi were in the hands of certain tribal chiefs, mostly Afghan. The tract from Maholi near Mathura up to Sarai Lado in the vicinity of Delhi, was in the hands of Ahmad Khan Mewati,⁶⁰ while on the western side of the Jumna the tract from Sambhal up to the ford of Khwājā Khizr (through which Tīmūr had crossed into Delhi near Wazīrābād) was in the possession of Dariyā Khan Lodī so that their authority extended up to the capital from opposite directions. Kol was occupied by 'Īsā Khan Turkbachchā. In Rapri, Chandwār and Etawah Qutb Khan, son of Hasan Khan Afghan, held his sway. Bhongaon, Kampil and Patiali were with Rai Pratap Singh.⁶¹ Bayana was with Dāūd Khan Auhadi.⁶² Gwalior and Dholpur had their own Rajas. The country being thus parcelled out,⁶³ the sultanate was shrunk to such an extent that a contemporary poet satirically declared : "The Empire of the Emperor of the World (Shāh 'Ālam) extended (only) from Delhi to (a distance of ten miles to) Palam".⁶⁴