History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c10.18

c10.18

The Wazir forwarded them to the king for proper punishment. They were brought into the royal presence, and Ibn Batūṭah saw one of these culprits with a long beard trembling with fear and reciting a chapter from the Quran. The Sultan sent the culprits back to the Wazir with the command that they should be beheaded and thrown before the elephants. The unhappy victims were torn into pieces by the elephants, who had their tusks covered with sharp blades of iron, and when they were dead, their skin was stuffed with bran. After the suppression of this conspiracy, Khwajah Jahan returned to Dihli, and began to make preparations for the suppression of another revolt which had just broken out at Multan and Lahore. Dihli was in a deplorable condition owing to famine and high prices of grain, and lawlessness prevailed even in the vicinity of the capital. When the Sultan reached Daulatabad, he demanded large contributions from Muslim chiefs and tax-collectors with the result that those who were unable to comply with the exorbitant royal demands committed suicide to escape punishment. A new scheme of taxation was devised, and fresh imposts of a heavy nature were levied upon the people, and officers were appointed to realise them with great severity. Having thus settled the territories of Devagiri, the Sultan proceeded to Warangal, but an epidemic broke out in the royal camp, and most of the soldiers, amirs, and slaves were carried off by it. Malik Daulat Shah and Amir ‘Abdullah Harvi were among the victims of the fell disease. The expedition against Ahsan Shah was abandoned under the pressure of unforeseen circumstances, and the Sultan returned to Daulatabad. On his return journey he suffered from a violent toothache at Bir and lost one of his teeth which was solemnly entombed in the midst of great pomp and ceremony, and a large mausoleum still known as the dome of tooth was erected over it to proclaim to the world the peculiar character of its builder.¹⁸ Malik Maqbūl was appointed governor of Telingana, and Shihāb Sultani on whom was conferred the title of Nusrat Khan was entrusted with the fief of Bidar and the adjoining territories, yielding a revenue of ten million tankahs.¹⁹ Qutlugh Khan, the Sultan's tutor, a man of great integrity, was placed in charge of Devagiri and the Sultan, who was still ailing, proceeded towards the capital. On this occasion he permitted the inhabitants of Dihli, who had stayed in Devagiri to go back to Dihli, if they felt inclined to do so. Barani writes that two or three caravans were formed which returned to Dihli, and those with whom the climate of the Maratha country agreed, permanently settled there with their families. Firishta's statement that many thousands made the attempt, but several of them perished in the way owing to famine which then desolated the country of Malwa and Chanderi is not supported by Barani who is certainly more correct when he says that the Sultan accorded a general permission to go to Dihli.²⁰ Some returned to their old homes, while others preferred to remain at Devagiri.