History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c33.s7.4

v3.c33.s7.4

Mahmud's two sons Masa'ud and Muhammad were born on the same day from different mothers. Masa'ud was so strong physically that his mace could not be wielded even by Mahmud but he was unruly and turbulent. Muhammad was, on the other hand, gentle and promising and therefore in the good graces of his father. Believing Masa'ud would oppress the people and the army, Mahmud had named Muhammad as his successor and the permission of the Khalifa to add his name in the Khutba had been obtained. When some officer expressed his condolence to Masa'ud privately, he in the usual Mahomedan spirit observed "The sword is a better guarantee of the throne than documents". And events actually happened as had been anticipated. Masa'ud was governor in Khorasan, like Mahmud himself, at the time of their father's death, and marched against his brother Muhammad who had meanwhile ascended the throne of Ghazni, in the same way as Mahmud had marched against his brother Ismail. But unlike Mahmud, Masa'ud blinded his defeated brother and always kept him a close prisoner. And when he became the master of the extensive empire of Mahmud he recovered all the sums Muhammad had distributed among his officers, even by torture. If Mahmud resembles Shivaji, his son Masa'ud resembles Sambhaji almost in every respect. The latter was as powerful physically as Masa'ud and he too after his father's death defeated Rajaram and killed his mother. He ruled vigorously for about ten years and was eventually seized by Aurangzeb and cruelly put to death. Masa'ud met a similar tragic end after reigning vigorously for about ten years. Both Sambhaji and Masa'ud were strong in their religious beliefs. Masa'ud persecuted heretics as Mahmud had done and also led some religious expeditions into Hindustan.