History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c38.5

v3.c38.5

We give this short history of the rise of this great general because we believe in the influence of the personality of individuals, of great men who are born from time to time to mould the destinies of nations. The rise of the Mahomedan power in India and the fall of Hindu kingdoms may in part be attributed to the birth of such men as Mahmud, Shihabuddin and Kutubuddin. The author of the Tabakat-i-Nasiri, in beginning the history of this great man, observes properly "When the Almighty God wishes to exhibit to his people an example of greatness and majesty, he endows one of his slaves with the qualities of courage and generosity and then friends and enemies are influenced by his bounteous munificence and warlike prowess" (E. II p. 298). Such men, witness Shivaji or Bajirao, easily collect bands of brave warriors about them and eventually become the founders of kingdoms and kingly lines. The work of conquering Northern India was carried out by Kutubuddin and also by Altamash also a slave from Turkestan brave, generous and fortunate like Kutubuddin himself who gave his daughter in marriage to him. It is also surprising to find that these slaves continued to be slaves even when they rose to the highest position and letters of freedom were given them at a very late stage in their life. The history of their conquests we give from Taj-ul-Ma'sir the almost contemporary history already quoted and from Tabakat-i-Nasiri also a nearly contemporary account written in the days of Nasiruddin.