When the father of the Ráí departed this world, he was in the womb of his mother, so the crown was placed upon her belly, and all the great men expressed their loyalty before her. His family was respected by all the Ráís or chiefs of Hindustán, and was considered to hold the rank of Khalif, or sovereign. When the time of the birth of Lakhmaniya drew near, and symptoms of delivery appeared, his mother assembled the astrologers and Brahmans, in order that they might see if the aspect of the time was auspicious. They all unanimously said that if the child were born at that moment it would be exceedingly unlucky, for he would not become a sovereign. But that if the birth occurred two hours later the child would reign for eighty years. When his mother heard this opinion of the astrologers, she ordered her legs to be tied together, and caused herself to be hung with her head downwards. She also directed the astrologers to watch for the auspicious time. When they all agreed that the time for delivery was come, she ordered herself to be taken down, and Lakhmaniya was born directly, but he had no sooner come into the world than his mother died from the anguish she had en­dured. Lakhmaniya was placed upon the throne, and he ruled for eighty years. It is said by trustworthy persons that no one, great or small, ever suffered injustice at his hands. He used to give a lac to every person that asked him for charity; as was also the custom of the generous Sultán, the Hátim of the time, Kutbu-d dín. In that country the current money is kaudas (kaurís) instead of chítals,* and the smallest present he made was a lac of kaudas.

Let us return to the history of Muhammad Bakhtiyár. When he came back from his visit to Sultán Kutbu-d dín and con­quered Behár, his fame reached the ears of Ráí Lakhmaniya and spread throughout all parts of the Ráí's dominions. A body of as­trologers, Brahmans, and wise men of the kingdom, came to the Ráí and represented to him that in their books the old Brahmans had written that the country would eventually fall into the hands of the Turks. The time appointed was approaching; the Turks had already taken Behár, and next year they would also attack his country, it was therefore advisable that the Ráí should make peace with them, so that all the people might emigrate from the territory, and save themselves from contention with the Turks. The Ráí asked whether the man who was to conquer the country was described as having any peculiarity in his person. They replied, Yes; the peculiarity is, that in standing upright both his hands hang down below the knees, so that his fingers touch his shins.* The Ráí observed that it was best for him to send some confidential agents to make enquiry about that peculiarity. Ac­cordingly confidential agents were despatched, an examination was made, and the peculiarity was found in the person of Mu­hammad Bakhtiyár. When this was ascertained to be the fact, most of the Brahmans and many chiefs (sáhán) went away to the country of Sanknát,* and to the cities of Bang and Kámrúp, but Ráí Lakhmaniya did not like to leave his territory.

Next year Muhammad Bakhtiyár prepared an army, and marched from Behár. He suddenly appeared before the city of Núdiya with only eighteen horsemen, the remainder of his army was left to follow. Muhammad Bakhtiyár did not molest any man, but went on peaceably and without ostentation, so that no one could suspect who he was. The people rather thought that he was a merchant, who had brought horses for sale. In this manner he reached the gate of Ráí Lakhmaniya's palace, when he drew his sword and commenced the attack. At this time the Ráí was at his dinner, and golden and silver dishes filled with food were placed before him according to the usual custom. All of a sudden a cry was raised at the gate of his palace and in the city. Before he had ascertained what had occurred, Muhammad Bakhtiyár had rushed into the palace and put a number of men to the sword. The Ráí fled barefooted by the rear of the palace, and his whole treasure, and all his wives, maid servants, attendants, and women fell into the hands of the invader. Numerous elephants were taken, and such booty was obtained by the Muhammadans as is beyond all compute. When his army arrived, the whole city was brought under sub­jection, and he fixed his head quarters there.

Ráí Lakhmaniya went towards Sanknát* and Bengal, where he died. His sons are to this day rulers in the territory of Bengal. When Muhammad Bakhtiyár had taken possession of the Ráí's territory, he destroyed the city of Núdiya and established the seat of his government at Lakhnautí. He brought the sur­rounding places into his possession, and caused his name to be read in the Khutba and struck on the coins. Mosques, colleges, and monasteries were raised everywhere by the generous efforts of him and his officers, and he sent a great portion of the spoil to Sultán Kutbu-d dín.

When several years had elapsed, he received information about the territories of Turkistán and Tibet, to the east of Lakh-nautí, and he began to entertain a desire of taking Tibet and Turkistán. For this purpose he prepared an army of about ten thousand horse. Among the hills which lie between Tibet and the territory of Lakhnautí, there are three races of people. The one is called Kúch (Kúch Behár), the second Mích, and the third, Tiháru.* They all have Turkí features and speak different languages, something between the language of Hind and that of Tibet. One of the chiefs of the tribes of Kúch and Mích, who was called 'Alí Mích, had been converted to Muhammadanism by Muhammad Bakhtiyár, and this man agreed to conduct him into the hills. He led him to a place where there was a city called Mardhan-kot.* It is said that in the ancient times when Gurshásp Sháh returned from China, he came to Kámrúd (Kám­rúp) and built this city. Before the town there runs a stream which is exceedingly large. It is called Bangamatí.* When it enters the country of Hindustan it receives in the Hindí lan­guage the name of Samundar. In length, breadth, and depth, it is three times greater than the Ganges. Muhammad Bakh-tiyár came to the banks of this river, and 'Alí Mích went before the Muhammadan army. For ten days they marched on until he led them along the upper course of the river into the hills, to a place where from old times a bridge had stood over the water having about twenty (bíst o and) arches of stone. When the army reached the bridge, Bakhtiyár posted there two officers, one a Turk, and the other a Khiljí, with a large force to secure the place till his return. With the remainder of the army he then went over the bridge. The Ráí of Kámrúp, on receiving intelli­gence of the passage of the Muhammadans, sent some confi­dential officers to warn Bakhtiyár against invading the country of Tibet, and to assure him that he had better return and make more suitable preparations. He also added that he, the Ráí of Kámrúp, had determined that next year he also would muster his forces and precede the Muhammadan army to secure the country. Muhammad Bakhtiyár paid no heed to these represen­tations, but marched on towards the hills of Tibet.

One night in the year 641 (1243 A.D.) he halted at a place between Deo-kot and Bangáwan, and stayed as a guest in the house of Mu'atamadu-d daula, who had formerly been an equerry in the service of Muhammad Bakhtiyár and had lived in the town of Lakhnautí. From this man he heard that after passing over the bridge, the road lay for fifteen stages through the defiles and passes of the mountains, and at the sixteenth stage level land was reached. The whole of that land was well populated, and the villages were flourishing. The village which was first reached had a fort, and when the Muhammadan army made an attack upon it, the people in the fort and the surrounding places came to oppose them, and a battle ensued. The fight raged from morning till the time of afternoon prayer, and large numbers of the Muhammadans were slain and wounded. The only weapons of the enemy were bamboo spears; and their armour, shields and helmets, consisted only of raw silk strongly fastened and sewed together. They all carried long bows and arrows. When night came on, the prisoners who had been taken were brought forward and questioned, and it was then ascertained that at five parasangs from that place there was a city called Karam-batan, * and in it there was about three hundred and fifty thousand brave Turks armed with bows. The moment the horse­men of the Muhammadans arrived, messengers went to report their approach, and these messengers would reach their destina­tion next morning. When the author was at Lakhnautí, he made enquiries about that place, and learnt that it was a pretty large city. The ramparts of it are built of stone. The inhabitants of it are Brahmans and Núnís,* and the city is under the sway of the chief of these people. They profess the Buddhist* religion. Every morning in the market of that city, about fifteen hundred horses are sold. All the saddle horses* which come into the territory of Lakhnautí are brought from that country. Their roads pass through the ravines of the mountains, as is quite com­mon in that part of the country. Between Kámrúp and Tibet there are thirty-five mountain passes through which horses are brought to Lakhnautí.