Theory and Practice of Muslim State in India c8.s5.1

c8.s5.1

Taxes were collected from the people. From defeated Rajas and Zamindars huge amounts were extorted as war indemnities. When the capital city of a Raja or any other important city of his kingdom was attacked, the people were robbed, the temple treasures were raffled and the Rajas fleeced. Full advantage was taken of their helpless state. The wealth collected from these sources filled the treasuries of the sultans and badshahs. Punjab and Gujarat had surrendered wealth and treasure on many occasions to Mahmud Ghaznavi, Qutbuddin Aibak and Shamsuddin Iltutmish. But Alauddin Khalji's coffers overflowed with the wealth obtained from defeated princes. Before attacking Devagiri in 1296, Alauddin, as yet a prince, had learnt during his raid on Vidisha that Raja Ram Chandra of Devagir had inherited a huge treasure accumulated by his ancestors.¹⁶⁶ Marco Polo describing the treasures of the South says that "when the king dies none of his children dares to touch his treasures. For they say, 'as our father did gather together all his treasure, so we ought to accumulate as much in our turn'. And in this way it comes to pass that there is an immensity of treasure accumulated in this kingdom (Maabar)." The Venetian traveller describes at length the jewellery the king wore about his person as well as the ways in which they used to obtain "very fine and great pearls". The king desires to reserve all pearls for himself "and so in fact the quantity he has is something almost incredible."¹⁶⁷ About the Vijayanagar kingdom Abdurrazaq says that "In the king's treasury there are chambers with excavations in them, filled with molten gold, forming one mass."¹⁶⁸ Thus, the treasuries of the Deccan kingdoms were full of precious metals and precious stones. Ram Chandra was defeated in a surprise attack, and Alauddin collected from him "six hundred *man* of gold (a *man* was equal to 14 the then ser), seven *man* of pearls, two *man* of precious stones like rubies, sapphires, diamonds and emeralds, one thousand *man* of silver and four thousand pieces of silk and sundry articles the details of which are beyond computation". This detailed account is given by Farishtah; he is indirectly supported by the contemporary writers Barani and Amir Khusrau. Barani says that Alauddin brought so much money from the Deccan that despite the squandering of it by his successors much of it remained till the time of Firoz Tughlaq.¹⁶⁹ It is said that the wealth turned his head and he began to conceive of "absurdities and impossibilities", but in the end settled on furthering his conquests. Through these his treasuries got filled with gold to such an extent that his coins became standard currency even for future. After about a century, the invader Timur demanded from the Raja of Jammu a hundred thousand gold *tankahs* (*asharfis*) of Alauddin.¹⁷⁰ In Akbar's reign, when Asaf Khan attacked Gondwana, he lay hold on a hundred large pots full of the asharfis of Alauddin. His silver coin has been found in far-off Nepal.¹⁷¹