History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c3.16

c3.16

The Sultan collected a large army under able generals and dispatched a lakh of horsemen and infantry according to Ibn Batūṭah and eighty thousand according to Yaḥyā, Badaoni, Firishta and Husām Khān, under the command of Malik Naqbiah who captured the town of Jadiyah which was situated at the base of the mountain.³⁴ The army marched from Dihli under the imperial commandant, who does not seem to have been a strategist of marked ability, nor does he seem to have realised fully the importance of the physical configuration of the mountainous region. To keep close communication with the headquarters, the troops were asked to build small posts so that there might be no difficulty in obtaining supplies and re-inforcements from Dihli. When the Dihli army came into view, the hill-men with their bows and spears made their appearance, but in this rugged country surrounded by impervious woods it was no easy task to engage the field, found itself in a dangerous situation. The mountain was accessible only by a single pass, and not more than one man could ascend the hill at a time. The royal army escaladed the mountain, and seized the town of Warangal, which stood on a rock.³⁵ Victory