EXTRACTS.

India is a most important country, with which no other country in the world can be compared in respect of extent, riches, the numbers of its armies, the pomp and splendour displayed by the sovereign in his progresses and habitations, and the power of the empire. * * * The inhabitants are remarkable for their wisdom and great intelligence; no people are better able to restrain their passions, nor more willing to sacrifice their lives, for what they consider agreeable in the sight of God.

According to the information of Siráju-d dín Abú-l Fath 'Umar, a lawyer, and a native of the province of Oudh, who had lived long at the court of the Sultán of Dehli, the dominions of that monarch consisted of twenty-three principal provinces. 1. Dehli. 2. Dawákír (Deogir). 3. Multán. 4. Kahrán (Kuhrám). 5. Sámána. 6. Siwistán. 7. Uch. 8. Hasí (Hansí). 9. Sarsutí (Sírsah). 10. Ma'bar. 11. Tilank (Telingana). 12. Gujarát. 13. Badáún. 14. Oudh. 15. Kanauj. 16. Lakhnautí. 17. Bihár. 18. Karra. 19. Málwa. 20. Láhor. 21. Kalanor (Gwalior?). 22. Jájnagar. 23. Tilanj Darusamand (Telingana (?) and Dwára-samudra).

According to the account of Shaikh Mubárak, the city of Dehli is the capital of the kingdom of India. Next comes Dawákír (Deogír), which was founded by the Sultán of that empire, and named by him “Kabbatu-l Islám, or the Metropolis of Islám.” This place, said the Shaikh, is situated in the third climate. When I left it six years ago the buildings were not completed, and I doubt if they are yet finished, the extent it covers being so great, and the number of its intended edifices so vast. The king divided it into quarters, each of them intended for men of the same profession. Thus there was the quarter of the troops, that of the ministers and clerks, that of the kázís and learned men, that of the shaikhs and fakírs, and that of the merchants and those who carry on trades. Each quarter was to contain within it everything necessary for its wants, mosques, minarets, markets, baths, mills, ovens, and workmen of every trade, including even blacksmiths, dyers, and curriers, so that the inhabi­tants should have no necessity to resort elsewhere for buying or selling, or the other requirements of life. Each quarter was to form a separate town, entirely independent of those surrounding it.

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I questioned the Shaikh Mubárak about the city of Dehli and the court of its sovereign, and I obtained from him the following details. “Dehli consists of several cities which have become united, and each of which has a name of its own. Dehli, which was one among them, has given its name to all the rest. It is both long and broad, and covers a space of about forty miles in circumference. The houses are built of stone and brick, and the roofs of wood. The floors are paved with a white stone, like marble. None of the houses are more than two stories high, and some only one. It is only in the palace of the Sultán that marble is used for pavement. But if I can believe the Shaikh Abú Bakr bin Khallál, this description applies only to the old houses of Dehli, for the new ones are built differently. According to the same informant, Dehli comprises an aggregate of twenty-one cities. Gardens extend on three sides of it, in a straight line for twelve thousand paces. The western side is not so furnished, because it borders on a mountain. Dehli con­tains a thousand colleges, one of which belongs to the Sháfa'is, the rest to the Hanafís. In it there are about seventy hospitals, called Dáru-sh Shifá, or houses of cure. In the city, and those dependent upon it, the chapels and hermitages amount to 2,000. There are great monasteries, large open spaces, and numerous baths. The water used by the people is drawn from wells of little depth, seldom exceeding seven cubits. Hydraulic wheels are placed at their tops. The people drink rain-water, which is collected in large reservoirs constructed for that purpose, the distance across each of them being a bowshot, or even more. The chief mosque is celebrated for its minaret, which, in point of altitude, is said to have no equal in the world. If the statement of Shaikh Burhánu-d dín Búrsí can be believed, the height of this part of the edifice is 600 cubits.

According to Shaikh Mubárak, the palaces of the Sultán of Dehli are exclusively occupied by the Sultan, his wives, concubines, eunuchs, male and female slaves, and mamlúks. None of the kháns and amírs are permitted to dwell there. They make their appearance there only when they come to wait upon the Sultán, which they do twice a day, morning and afternoon. Afterwards, each one of them retires to his own house.

As regards the great officers of State, those of the highest rank are called kháns, then the maliks,* then the amírs, then the isfah-sálárs (generals), and, lastly, the officers (jand). The court of the sovereign comprises eighty kháns, or even more. The army con­sists of 900,000 horsemen, some of whom are stationed near the prince, and the rest are distributed in the various provinces of the empire. All are inscribed in the registers of the State, and partake of the liberality of their sovereign. These troops consist of Turks, inhabitants of Khatá, Persians, and Indians. Among them are to be found athletœ (pahlawán), runners, (shattár), and men of every kind. They have excellent horses, magnificent armour, and a fine costume. * * * The Sultán has 3,000 elephants, which, when ac­coutred for battle, wear a covering of iron gilded. * * * He has 20,000 Turk mamlúks. * * * It is not the same in India as in Egypt and Syria, where the maliks, amírs, and generals have in their service men whom they maintain out of their own resources. In India the officer has only to care for himself. As to the soldiers, the Sultán summons them for service, and they are paid from the public treasury. The sums granted to a khán, a malik, an amír, or a general, are given exclusively for his own personal main­tenance. The chamberlains and other dignitaries; the military men, such as the kháns, the maliks, and the amírs, all have a rank in proportion to the importance of their employ. The isfah-sálárs (generals) have no right to approach the Sultán. It is from this class that governors and other similar functionaries are chosen. The khán has 10,000 horse under his command, the malik, 1,000; the amír, 100; and the isfah-sálár a smaller number. The kháns, maliks, amírs, and isfah-sálárs receive the revenues of places as­signed to them by the treasury, and if these do not increase, they never diminish. Generally speaking, they bring in much more than their estimated value. The khán receives a grant of two lacs of tankas, each tanka being worth eight dirhams. This sum belongs to him personally, and he is not expected to disburse any part of it to the soldiers who fight under his orders. The malik receives an amount varying from 60,000 to 50,000 tankas, the amír from 40,000 to 30,000, and the isfah-sálár 20,000, or thereabouts. The pay of the officer varies from 10,000 to 1,000 tankas. A mamlúk receives 500 tankas, and all receive, in addition, food and raiment, and forage for their horses. Soldiers and mamlúks do not receive grants of land-revenue, but draw their pay in money from the public treasury. The officers have villages of which they receive the revenues. As this same traveller observed to me, the revenues of these lands, if they do not increase, certainly do not decrease. Some of the officers receive double, and even more than that, in excess of the estimated value of their grants.