Twilight of the Sultanate c7.s1.76

c7.s1.76

On 10 December (1 Rabiul Ākhir), according to his usual practice,⁷² Amīr Tīmūr held a council of war in which everybody was allowed to have his say. Two apprehensions were universally expressed. One was the fear of the war-elephants of Hindustan the stories of whose terrific charges were widely current; and the other related to the scarcity of provisions. Moreover, the number of the prisoners of war had swelled to more than fifty thousand. They needs must be fed and fed probably for a long time in case Delhi stood a siege.⁷³ To guard against the first danger Tīmūr had strong iron claws made which were given to the foot soldiers who were to hurl them before the attacking elephants.⁷⁴ To overcome the second difficulty Amīr Jahān Shāh and Amīr Sulaimān Shāh were directed to detail forage parties to collect large quantities of grain.⁷⁵