SULṬĀN BUHLŪL [IBN I KĀLĀ]*
LODĪ,

Who in the reign of Sulān Muḥammad Shāh had obtained the title of Khān-ī-Khānān,* in the year 855 H. (1451 A.D.) in concert with Ḥamīd Khān Vazīr (who, after the execution of Ḥusāin Khān at the hands of Sulān ‘Alāu-d-Dīn, had gained possession of the family and relations of Sulān ‘Alāu-d-Dīn in Dihlī, and had brought the key of the fortress and had given it to Sulān Buhlūl) 307. ascended the throne of sovereignty, and by degrees contrived to secure the imprisonment of Ḥamīd Khān,* and in the same year proceeded to Multān to set that province in order.*

And in the year 856 H. (1452 A.D.) Sulān Maḥmūd Sharqī at the instigation of certain of the Amīrs of the party of Sulān ‘Alāu-d-Dīn, came with a large army and laid siege to Dihlī, and after severe fighting gained possession of it,* and Fatḥ Khān Ḥarawī* who was one of the most trusted Amīrs of Sulān Maḥmūd was killed. Sulān Maḥmūd* not being able to bear up against this went to Jaunpūr; and the following year came into the same neighbourhood, proceeding from Jaunpūr to Itāwa, and concluded peace upon the following terms, namely, that so much of the kingdom of Dihlī as was under the sway of Mubārak Shāh should belong to Sulān Buhlūl, while that portion which was under the rule of Sulān Ibrāhīm Sharqī should revert to Sulān Maḥmūd;* and having promised that after the rainy season he would give Shamsābād to Sulān Buhlūl,* which was held by Jūnā Khān as the deputy of Sulān Maḥmūd, each of them went to his own country.

Sulān Bublūl at the expiration of the appointed time marched against Shamsābād, took possession of it, and gave it to Rāi Kiran, ruler of Bhūnganw. Sulān Maḥmūd being displeased at this, proceeded again* to the borders of Shamsābād and fought with Sulān Buhlūl.* In the meantime Sulān Maḥmūd quitted this existence for the house of eternity, and Muḥammad Shāh, the son of Sulān Maḥmūd, was nominated to the kingdom of Jaunpūr in the room of his father, and having arranged peace upon the terms formerly agreed upon between Sulān Maḥmūd and Sulān*

Buhlūl proceeded to Jaunpūr, and, inasmuch as Qub Khān, the cousin of Sulān Buhlūl had fallen a prisoner into the hands of Muḥammad Shāh,* Sulān Buhlūl, in defiance of the existing treaty, again brought up his army against Muḥammad Shāh, who also leaving Jaunpūr came to Shamsābād and took it from the Hindūs 308. by force,* and on the borders of Rāprī confronted Sulān Buhlūl. Muḥammad Shāh was defeated and retreated towards Qanauj. Sulān Buhlūl pursued him.* And in the aforesaid year Sulān Ḥusain Sharqī, ibn-i-Sulān Maḥmūd revolted against his brother Muḥammad Shāh, and seized the throne of Jaunpūr with the assistance of the Amīrs, and detailed* a large army to proceed against Muḥammad Shāh, whom they finally put to death on the banks of the Ganges in the vicinity of Rāj Gar. Sulān Ḥusain made peace with Sulān Buhlūl, and sending for Qub Khān Lodī who was still in prison, from Jaunpūr, presented him with a horse and a robe of honour and sent him to Sulān Buhlūl* and returned from Qanauj to Jaunpūr.*

Sulān Buhlūl also despatched Jalāl Khān, the brother of Ḥusain Khān, whom he held in confinement as hostage for Qub Khān, to Sulān Ḥusain after conferring honours upon him. And after some years* Sulān Ḥusain coming to the borders of Chandwār, fought a battle with Sulān Buhlūl, and having concluded a peace for three years again returned to his own country. At this juncture Aḥmad Khān Jilwānī, the ruler of Baiāna read the Khubah in the name* of Ḥusain Khān; and Sulān Ḥusain, upon the expiration of the period for which peace had been concluded, proceeded towards Dihlī with 10,000 cavalry and a thousand elephants. They met near a place called Bhatwāra, and Sulān Ḥusain having agreed to peace encamped at Itāwa. Sulān Buhlūl came to Dihlī. The fact of these two kings being thus within a seven days' journey is not without its ridiculous side.

Verse.
Who has ever seen a scabbard which can contain two swords!
Who has ever seen the thrones of two Jamshīds in one place!

And in this year Sulān ‘Alāu-d-Dīn, whose daughter [Malika- 309. i-Jahān]* was married to Sulān Ḥusain, passed away in Badāon, as has been already related,* and left his kingdom to Sulān Buhlūl and Sulān Ḥusain.

Verse.
Even supposing that thou hast attained to that which thou
desirest,
Even supposing that thou hast been all that thou shouldest be,
Has not everything which has attained perfection, suffered
afterwards from loss?
Does not the azure heaven taken away again all that it has
bestowed?

And Sulān Ḥusain came from Itāwa to Badāon to perform the duties of mourning for him,* and having taken those districts from the sons of Sulān ‘Alāu-d-Dīn, took possession of them himself, and thence went* to Sambal, and having taken prisoner Tātār Khān,* the Governor of that place, sent him to Sāran,* and with a large army and the number of elephants already mentioned, arrived at Dihlī in the month of Ẕū Ḥijjah, in the year 880 H.* and encamped on the banks of the Jamna near the ford of Kīchā.* Sulān Buhlūl coming from Sihrind summoned* Ḥusain Khān, the son of Khān-i-Jahān from the vicinity* of Mīrath, and des­patched him to oppose Sulān Ḥusain,* while he himself held Dihlī against him. And on this occasion also, owing to the exer­tions of Qub Khān, Sulān Ḥusain agreed to peace, taking into his own possession the whole of the country on the further side of the Ganges;* then relinquishing this side of the river to Sulan Buhlūl he returned. Sulān Buhlūl* seized his opportunity, and when Sulān Ḥusain marched, crossed the river Jamna and cap­tured some baggage and other property* which Sulān Ḥusain, relying upon the truce, had left on the camping-ground: a certain proportion of the treasury also which was laden on elephants and horses, fell into the hands of Sulān Buhlūl, and as many as forty* 310. noted Amīrs of Sulān Ḥusain's force, were taken prisoners, among others for instance, Qāẓī Samā'u-d-Dīn entitled Qutlugh Khān the Vazīr, who was the most learned of the doctors of his time.

Sulān Buhlūl made over Qutlugh Khān in chains to Qub Khān Lodī, and himself giving chase went as far as Shamsābād* in the Doāb, which was held by Sulān Ḥusain, and seizing it, appointed commissioners* of his own over* that country; this occurrence took place in the year 884 H. (1479 A.D.)* the chronogram for that year was Nawīd-i-Kharābī (Tidings of ruin).*