Twilight of the Sultanate c7.16

c7.16

Such was the immediate and the real cause of the invasion of India. But Tīmūr's historians have made a virtue of necessity, and have made out that the decision was inspired by a desire of destroying infidels and idolaters¹¹ besides the prospect of obtaining wealth in abundance. Indeed the conquest of India had fired the imagination of all great conquerors ever since the time of Alexander of Macedon, and Tīmūr wanted to vie with his illustrious predecessors and repeat their achievements. What provided the impetus to Tīmūr's ambition was the report of his secret agents that while two brothers Sārang Khan and Mallū Khan were wielding authority at Multan and Delhi respectively, the young Sultan Mahmūd was despised "even in the harem of Delhi".¹²