History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c9.5.1

c9.5.1

The project of foreign conquest is mentioned by Barani among these measures of the Sultan’s reign which diminished his treasury and brought distress upon the country. Later writers have condemned the scheme in no uncertain terms and have charged the Sultan with madness. It should be borne in mind that the Sultan had built up a large empire in India, and during the first three years of his reign, he had fully reasserted the authority of Dihli over the distant provinces both in the north and the south. There was nothing inherently absurd in the design which is in keeping with his great genius. A tried general who had bravely grappled with foes of stern stuff in the field of battle, and who had subdued the numerous chiefs and princes all over Hindustan and the Deccan, was not the man to shrink from an enterprise that would have, if materialised, greatly redounded to his glory, and enabled him to rank among the mighty conquerors of the Islamic world. Other rulers before him had cherished similar dreams. ‘Ala-al-Din had wished to play the role of a world-conqueror, but he was asked to desist from such a course by his advisers who brought home to him his limitations.³ But the circumstances in which Muhammad was placed were different. For ‘Ala-al-Din there was sufficient scope in India itself, and he acted wisely in abandoning his scheme of a world conquest. But Muhammad who possessed a vast empire desired a fresh outlet for his ambition and energy.