History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c7.16.4

c7.16.4

The Khilji king Mahmud invaded Mewar, but he was defeated at Singoli and taken prisoner by Hammīr who slew Hari Singh, brother of Banvir (Mal-Deva's son).⁹ The Khilji king remained confined in Chittor for three months, and was not liberated until he had surrendered Ajmer, Rantambhor, Nagor and Sooespur, besides paying 50 lakhs of rupees and 100 elephants. Tod's account is not correct for there was no such king as Mahmud of the Khilji dynasty. Tod certainly does not mean Mahmud Khilji of Malwa, for he says later that the Sultans of Gujarat and Malwa formed a league against Kumbha and in 1440 A.D. at the head of a large army they invaded Mewar.¹⁰ Kumbha met them with a large force consisting of one lakh of horse and foot and 1,400 elephants, defeated them, and carried as a captive to Chittor Mahmud, the Khilji sovereign of Malwa. Erskine in his Rajputana Gazetteer gives a different account.¹¹ He says, Muhammad Tughluq came down with a large army, but he was defeated and taken prisoner at Singoli, close to the eastern border of Mewar and was not released till he had paid a large ransom said to have been 50 lakhs of rupees and 100 elephants and ceded several districts. In view of the inscription to which allusion has been made before and the increased prosperity of Mewar under Hammīr, we cannot doubt the truth of the native annals.