Twilight of the Sultanate c7.s4.4

c7.s4.4

So he set out on his homeward journey. To avoid any more conflicts, he chose a safe route along the foot of the Himalayan hills. Still, wherever he went, he did not fail to inflict some more damage and loot some more wealth. Consequently, even during the return journey campaigning and killing went on on as large a scale as during his onward march, to the disgust of some of his own nobles like Amīr Sulaimān Shāh, Amīr Shāh Malik and Amīr Shaikh Nūruddīn.¹⁴² To their protest Tīmūr gave the usual reply now couched in clearer terms. "My principal object," said he, "in coming to Hindustān had been to accomplish two things. The first was to war with the infidels and to acquire some claim to reward in the life to come. The other was to give a chance to the army of Islam to gain something by plundering the wealth and valuables of the infidels; plunder in war is as lawful as their mother's milk to the Musalmans."¹⁴³