Twilight of the Sultanate c13.s1.26

c13.s1.26

For this purpose Bahlūl Lodī felt the need of enrolling many more Afghan troops and thought of marching to Multan,¹⁹ the chief centre of recruitment of Afghans from Roh. During the reign of Mubārak Shāh, Multan had suffered terribly because of the inroads of Shaikh 'Alī, but Mubārak and his incompetent successors had failed to restore peace there. Sick of the strife and discord, the elite of the city, in 1443 (847 H), raised to the throne Shaikh Yūsuf Qureshī, a descendant of Shaikh Bahauddīn Zakaria.²⁰ But the independence of Multan and Uchch had cut off the chief recruiting centre of Bahlūl and he, after leaving the capital in the hands of his son Khwājā Bayezīd, marched to Multan about the end of 1451.²¹ His aims were two ; firstly, to bring that strategic region under control and secondly, to recruit fresh levies.²²