The house of Mahmúd had now come to its end; the sun of its glory was set, and the registrar of fate had written the mandate of its destruction. Khrusrú Malik could offer no resistance; he came forth peacefully to meet the Sultán, and was made prisoner. Lahore fell completely into the power of the Ghorí prince, and he secured all its dominions in Hindustán.
'Alí Karmákh, chief of Multán, was appointed commander at Lahore, and the father of the writer of this book, Mauláná A'júbatu-z Zamán Afsahu-l 'Ajam Siráju-d dín Minháj, was appointed Kází of the army of Hindustan, and received the honour of investiture from Mu'izzu-d dín. He held his Court at the head quarters of the army, and twelve camels were assigned for moving from place to place his Bench of Justice.
The Sultán returned to Ghazní carrying Khusrú Malik with him, and on arriving there he sent him on to Fíroz-koh, to the Court of the great king Ghiyásu-d dín. This monarch sent him prisoner to the fort of Bahrawán, and confined his son Bahrám Sháh in the fort of Saifrúd.* When the war with Khwárizm Sháh broke out in the year 587 H. (1191 A.D.) Khusrú Malik and his son were put to death.*
The victorious Sultán then prepared another army, with which he attacked and conquered the fort of Sarhind. This fort he placed under the command of Zíáu-d dín Kází Tolak, (son of) Muhammad 'Abdu-s Salám Nasáwí Tolakí. This Kází Ziáú-d dín was cousin (son of the uncle) of the author's maternal grandfather. At the request of the Kází, Majdu-d dín Tolakí selected 1200 men of the tribe of Tolakí, and placed them all under his command in the fort so as to enable him to hold it until the return of the Sultán from Ghazní.
Ráí Kolah Pithaurá came up against the fort, and the Sultán returned and faced him at Naráín.* All the Ráís of Hindustán were with the Ráí Kolah. The battle was formed and the Sultán, seizing a lance, made a rush upon the elephant which carried Gobind Ráí of Dehli. The latter advanced to meet him in front of the battle, and then the Sultán, who was a second Rustam, and the Lion of the Age, drove his lance into the mouth of the Ráí and knocked two of the accursed wretch's teeth down his throat. The Ráí, on the other hand, returned the blow and inflicted a severe wound on the arm of his adversary. The Sultán reined back his horse and turned aside, and the pain of the wound was so insufferable that he could not support himself on horseback. The Musulman army gave way and could not be controlled. The Sultán was just falling when a sharp and brave young Khiljí recognized him, jumped upon the horse behind him, and clasping him round the bosom, spurred on the horse and bore him from the midst of the fight.
When the Musulmans lost sight of the Sultán, a panic fell
upon them; they fled and halted not until they were safe from
the pursuit of the victors. A party of nobles and youths of
Ghor had seen and recognized their leader with that lion-hearted
Khiljí, and when he came up they drew together, and, forming a
kind of litter with broken lances, they bore him to the halting-
Next year the Sultán assembled another army, and advanced to Hindustán to avenge his defeat. A trustworthy person named Mu'ínu-d dín, one of the principal men of the hills of Tolak, informed me that he was in this army, and that its force amounted to one hundred and twenty thousand horsemen bearing armour. Before the Sultán could arrive the fort of Sarhind had capitulated, and the enemy were encamped in the vicinity of Náráin. The Sultán drew up his battle array, leaving his main body in the rear, with the banners, canopies, and elephants, to the number of several divisions. His plan of attack being formed, he advanced quietly. The light unarmoured horsemen were made into four divisions of 10,000, and were directed to advance and harass the enemy on all sides, on the right and on the left, in the front and in the rear, with their arrows. When the enemy collected his forces to attack, they were to support each other, and to charge at full speed. By these tactics the infidels were worsted, the Almighty gave us the victory over them, and they fled.
Pithaurá alighted from his elephant, mounted a horse, and galloped off, but he was captured near Sarsutí,* and sent to hell. Gobind Ráí, of Dehli, was killed in the battle, and the Sultán recognized his head by the two teeth which he had broken. The capital, Ajmír, and all the Siwálik hills, Hánsí, Sarsuti, and other districts were the results of this victory, which was gained in the year 588 H. (1192 A.D.)
On his return homewards the Sultán placed Kutbu-d dín in command of the fort of Kahrám, and in the same year this chief advancing to Mírat conquered that town, and took possession of Dehli. In the following year he captured the fort of Kol. The Sultán came back from Ghazní in the year 590 (1193 A.D.), by way of Benares and Kanauj,* defeated Ráí Jai Chandar, in the neighbourhood of Chandawáh, and captured over 300 elephants in the battle.
Under the rule of this just king victory followed the standards of his slave Kutbu-d dín Aibak, so that the countries of Nahrwála and Bhangar, the forts of Gwalior and Badáún, and other parts of Hindustán were conquered. But these victories will be related more in detail hereafter, in describing the victories of Kutbu-d dín.
Sultán Sa'íd Ghiyásu-d dín died at Hirát, when his brother Sultán Mu'izzu-d dín was between Tús and Sarakhs in Khurásán, but the latter returned and secured his succession to the throne. [Proceedings west of the Indus.]
A rebellion had broken out among the Kokhars (Gakkars), and the tribes of the hills of Júd, and in the winter the Sultán went to Hindustán to put down the revolt. He defeated the rebels, and made their blood to flow in streams, but as he was returning home to Ghazní he fell into the hands of these infidels, and was put to death in the year 602 H. (1206 A.D. The period of his reign was thirty-two years. [Detailed lists are given of his judges, relations, generals, victories, and of his] Slaves who attained royalty:—Sultán Táju-d dín Yalduz, Sultán Násiru-d dín Kubácha, Sultán Shamsu-d dín Altamsh, Sultán Kutbu-d dín Aibak.
This chapter is devoted to the history of those kings who were the slaves and servants of the Sultán Ghází Mu'izzu-d dín Muhammad Sám, and sat upon the throne of royalty in the country of Hindustán. The throne of that king descended to them, as he had designed and as is mentioned above. They adorned their heads with the crown of royalty which had belonged to that king, and the influence of the light of Muhammadanism was preserved through their power over the different parts and provinces of Hindustán.
Sultán Kutbu-d dín, the second Hátim, was a brave and liberal king. The Almighty had bestowed on him such courage and generosity that in his time there was no king like him from the east to the west. 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 generosity and warlike prowess. So this king was generous and brave, and all the regions of Hindustán were filled with friends and cleared of foes. His bounty was continuous and his slaughter was continuous.