The Administration of the Sultanate of Dehli c12.51

c12.51

A very effective section was that of the elephants; their size and strength struck the same dismay into the hearts of foreign warriors as did the first appearance of the tanks in the Great War. The Ghaznavīds as well as the Sassanids employed elephants; Baihaqī mentions that one thousand six hundred and seventy of these animals were present at a muster held by Mas'ūd at Kābul.² The sultans of Dehlī valued elephants highly; Balban considered a single elephant to be as effective in battle as five hundred horsemen.³ A big war elephant could carry several armed soldiers; they towered above the cavalry and rained death amongst the ranks of the enemy.⁴ Some of these animals carried on their backs small citadels full of soldiers.⁵ Barbosa gives a realistic picture in the following words: "They build wooden castles on the elephants' backs which will hold three or four men armed with bows, arrows, arquebuses and other weapons. From these castles they fight against their enemies, and the aforesaid elephants are so well trained to this that when they enter into a battle they strike both horses and warriors."⁶ These elephants were clad in plates of steel, and large scythes were attached to their trunks and tusks.⁷ Fīrūz Shāh used elephants to break the force of the current when his troops were crossing a river; ropes were tied to the animals to help the soldiers.⁸ Muḥammad bin Tughluq had three thousand elephants, which is not a large number when the extent of his dominions is taken into consideration.⁹ When Fīrūz Shāh marched against Bengal for the second time, he had four hundred and seventy elephants in his train.¹ Muḥammad Shāh Bahmanī had three thousand elephants in his stables, and Sulṭān Maḥmūd of the Sharqī dynasty marched against Dehlī with one thousand four hundred.² The sultans maintained a monopoly of elephants, for such a source of strength could be misused.³ A noble could possess an elephant only with royal permission.⁴ Great care was taken to maintain a good supply. Though the art of breeding elephants was known in contemporary India and practised successfully, it does not seem to have thrived at Dehlī itself.⁵ The main area of supply was Bengal; even its independent rulers were not in a position to stop sending elephants to Dehlī. Balban, in the course of advice to Bughrā Khān when installing him on the throne of Lakhnautī, said, "Send elephants occasionally to Dehlī, so that the emperor of Dehlī may not prevent the entry of horses into Bengal."⁶ South India and Gujrāt imported elephants from Ceylon; but it is not known if Ceylonese elephants ever reached Dehlī. In Gujrāt they fetched about Rs. 7,500 each; therefore their price in Dehlī would be prohibitive.⁷ The great number of elephants at Dehlī required a large establishment, and the *shahnah-i-fil* was an important officer of the realm. Generally, there were two *shahnahs*, one for the right wing and the other for the left.⁸ Sometimes, however, the commands were united in one man.⁹