Muntaḫab al-tavārīḫ - The Muntakhabu-’rukh, Volume 1

In the sixteenth year of his age, in succession to his grandfather, by the intervention of Malik Kachhan, who was called Ītimar, and other Amīrs who were disaffected to the Martyred Khān, succeeded to the throne of Empire.^220a Then having bestowed Multān upon Khusrū Khān with his family and dependents, they sent him off there under some pretext and exiled his adherents, and when the Empire became established he appointed all the officers of the state to their old posts in the kingdom, and Malik Niẓāmu-d-Dīn^220b was appointed Dādbeg^220c and they gave Khwāja Khaṭīru-d-Dīn the title of Khwāja-i-Jahān, and Malik Shāhik Amīr Ḥājib that of Wazīr Khān, and Malik Qīyāmu-l-Mulk obtained the post of Wakīldar: and after six months he left Dihlī and founded the palace of Kīlūghaṛī, which is now a ruin, near the ford of Khwāja Khiẓr on the banks of the river Jumna; there he held public audiences, and by craft getting hold of the Mughals who had newly become Moslims, put the majority of them to death, and banished a certain number of them. The chief author and cause of this action was Malik Niẓāmu-d-Dīn ‘Alāqa the ^158. Wazīr (this Niẓāmu-d-Dīn ‘Alāqa is the same in whose honour Muḥammad ‘Aufī composed the books Jāmi‘u-l-Ḥikāyāt and Taẕkiratu-sh-Shu‘arā); and to Malik Chhajū (who eventually became grantee of Karra²²¹ and Manikpūr, and whom Mīr Khusrū eulogises in the Qirānu-s-Sa‘dain in these words,^221a

Khān of Karra Chhajū, conqueror of countries
Who hast encircled thy feet with anklets^221b formed from the
lips of Khāns)

was given Sāmāna, his daughter was united in marriage to Sulṭān Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn Kaiqubād. At the end of the month of Zūl Ḥijjah in the abovementioned year, news arrived that the Tatār infidels whose leader was Ītimar had attacked Lahore and the frontier of Multān. The Sulṭān appointed Shāhik Bārbak with thirty thousand cavalry and giving him the title of Khān-i-Jahān despatched him to oppose them. He pursued the Tatārs as far as the foot of the Jūd hills, and put the greater number of them to the sword, or made them prisoners, and having repulsed them he came to the Court.

Inasmuch as Sulṭān Kaiqubād, during the lifetime of Sulṭān Balban, had not attained the desires of his heart, and learned instructors had been placed in charge of him, at this time when he attained to the Empire finding himself completely unfettered he occupied himself with the full fruition of lustful delights, while the majority of the people took advantage of the luxuriousness of his reign to spend their days in wantonness and license. The ministrants of debauchery, jesters, singers and jugglers were admitted to close intimacy in his Court, in marked contrast to his grandfather's reign, and learning, and piety, and integrity were nothing valued; and Malik Niẓāmu-d-Dīn ‘Alāqa seeing that the Sulṭān was immersed in luxury and enjoyment, and utterly careless of his kingdom's affairs, stretched forth the hand of oppression and went to unwarranted lengths. The vain desire of sovereignty came into his heart, so that he set about devising the downfall of the family of Ghiyāṯu-d-Dīn. In the first instance having instigated Sulṭān Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn to murder Kai Khusrū the son of Sulṭān Muḥammad the Martyr, he summoned him from Multān, and in the town of Rohtak raised him to the dignity of martyrdom and sent him to join his father.

^159. In the same way he accused Khwāja-i-Jahān of an imaginary crime and had him publicly paraded on an ass through the city, he also imprisoned the Amīr and Maliks of the house of Balban who were related to the Mughals who had recently become Moslims, and deported them to distant fortresses, and destroyed the glory of Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn.

Sulṭān Nāṣiru-d-Dīn Bughrā Khān, when the tidings of his son's ruinous condition reached him in Lakhnautī, wrote a letter full of hints couched in the language of enigma and innuendo to Sulṭān Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn warning him of the sinister intentions of Niẓāmu-l-Mulk. Sulṭān Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn out of the hot-headedness of youth, did not act on his father's advice, and after much correspondence it was decided that Sulṭān Nāṣiru-d-Dīn should leave Lakhnautī, and Sulṭān Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn should start from Dihlī and that they should visit each other in Oudh.

From what Mīr Khusrū may the mercy of God be upon him, says in the Qirānu-s-Sa‘dain,²²² and also from the Tārīkh-i-Mubārak Shāhī^222a we learn that Bughrā Khān, on his accession to the throne of Bengāla with the title of Nāṣiru-d-Dīn, was coming with a large gathering to attack Dihlī, and Sulṭān Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn also having collected his forces from the neighbouring districts advanced against him in the direction of Oudh; and since the river Sarū^222b lay between them the son alighted on this side and the father on the other side, and neither was able to cross the river. The Amīrs and Maliks of Ghiyaṯu-d-Dīn's party, intervened with advice to come to peaceful terms, and Sulṭān Nāṣiru-d-Dīn with a party of special retainers crossed the river, as it had been agreed that the son should sit upon the throne, and the father, standing below the throne, should pay the customary dues of reverence and respect to him. Sulṭān Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn from excess of desire forgot that compact, and on the instant his eyes fell upon the splendid presence of his father he came down from his throne and running barefooted, was about to fall at his feet. The father however ^160. would not permit this, whereupon each embraced the other and for a long time they wept bitterly, and in spite of all the father's attempts to take his stand at the foot of the throne, the son forcibly took him by the hand, and led him to the throne and seated him upon it. Then he also took his seat, and after a long time the Sulṭān Nāṣiru-d-Dīn returned to his own camp, and sent as presents to his son a large number of famous elephants and very many extremely valuable presents and curiosities, and priceless treasures from the country of Lakhnauti. The son also sent to his father an equal number of Persian horses, and other kinds of valuable articles and cloth goods, and rare and unique presents such that the accountant of imagination is unable to estimate their number and value; and all sorts of delight and pleasure burst upon the Amīrs of Ghiyāṯu-d-Dīn and Nāṣiru-d-Dīn and Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn, and upon high and low of the armies, and the Maliks of both parties exchanged visits: Mīr Khusrū relates in detail this meeting²²³ in the Qirānu-s-Sa‘dain, and in another place he writes in a qaṣīda:

Hail! to the happy kingdom when two kings are as one.
Hail! to the happy era when two troths are as one.
Behold! the son is a monarch, the father a Sulṭān,
Behold the glorious kingdom now that two kings are as one.
'Tis for the sake of kingship and world enslaving power,
That for the world, two world-protecting kings become
as one.
One is the Nāṣir of the age, the king Maḥmūd Sulṭān,
Whose edict in the four parts of the world is still as one.
The other is Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn the world's king Kaiqubād,
In whose grasp Irān and Turān are welded into one.

And this is his also—

^161. Sulṭān Mu‘izzu-d-Dunyā wad Dīn Kaiqubād Shāh
Hast thou ever seen one who is the light of the eyes of four
kings

On the last day²²⁴ when Sulṭān Nāṣiru-d-Dīn came to bid farewell in the presence of Malik Niẓāmu-l-Mulk and Qiwāmu-l-Mulk, who were both of them counsellors and closely bound up with the Government, he gave Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn many good pieces of useful advice on all subjects, with exhortation, and examples and instances, and first of all warned him against excess in wine and venery, then spoke of his carelessness with regard to state matters, and rebuked him severely for killing his brother Kai Khusrū and the other noted Amīrs and Maliks of the adherents of Ghīyāṯu-d-Dīn; then he exhorted him to be continually given to prayer and to perform the fast of Ramaẓān, and to keep all the principal tenets of the Musulmān religion, and taught him certain fixed rules and essential regulations of sovereignty. At the time of taking his departure he whispered in a low tone telling him to get rid of Niẓāmu-l-Mulk ‘Alāqa as soon as possible, “for” said he “if he gets a chance at you it is small chance you will get” this much he said, and they bid one another farewell with great emotion, and Sulṭān Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn for a few days remembered his father's injunctions, and gave up his vicious pleasures, but when he had travelled a few stages the merry courtesans and all kinds of enticing musicians and enchanting jugglers, subverters of piety, skilled and clever, crowded round him on all sides, and enticed his feet from the firm path of fortitude and self-restraint, by all sorts of gallantries and coquetries, and sense-ravishing gestures and allurements.

The bitter parting advice of his father did not find place in
his heart
For this reason that his heart was inclined to sweets of
pleasure.

And the elephant saw Hindustān²²⁵ in its dreams and he broke through his forced repentance, which was as filmy as the web of a spider, at the first provocation, and used to say, “Which ^162. advice?^225a and what counsel?

I will not give up the delights of to-day for tomorrow
Let tomorrow bring what it may, say to it “Bring it.”

In opposition to this view is the following,

It befits not a king to be drunken with wine
Nor become entangled in lust and desire;
The king should be always the guardian of his people,
It is a sin that a guardian should be drunken.
When the shepherd becomes full of new wine
The flock sleeps in the belly of the wolf.

Heavy cups of wine used he to drink from the hands of the light-living cup bearers, and used to snatch a portion from his short ephemeral existence, and in this state malicious time used to foretell this calamity,^225b

Oh thou whose reign is the reign of faithless friends
From thy love springs hate, from thy honour disgrace,
Thou art as full of turmoil, but as empty, as the drum;
Lasting for one night like the candle, and for one day like
the rose.

In this licentious mode of life he made his way to Dihlī where he arrived in the year 689 H. (1290 A.D.). There certain of his notable Amīrs became suspicious of his intentions, and withdrew to the skirts of the mountains. Sher Khān²²⁶ who was one of their number repented and returned, and was thrown into a prison which he only left to go to the prison house of the grave, the others were punished. They bestowed upon Fīroz Khān ibn Yaghrash the Khiljī, who eventually obtained the title of Sulṭān ^163. Jalālu-d-Dīn, the title of Shāyista Khān,^226a and entrusted the district of Baran^226b to his control; accordingly he formed a plot by which he got Malik Ḥimār Kachhan, who had treacherously attempted to slay him, into his power, and took vengeance on him for the deed which he had failed to accomplish. Then was seen the truth of the proverb “He who digged a pit for his brother is fallen into it himself.

Thou hast digged a pit in the way^226c that thou mayest overthrow others.
Dost thou not fear lest one day thou should'st find thyself
in the midst of it?

This was the plan which Sulṭān Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn carried into effect. He was very anxious to act upon the advice of his father and remove Niẓāmu-l-Mulk ‘Alāqa, so he in the first instance appointed him to Multān, but Niẓāmu-l-Mulk saw through this device, and kept making excuses for delaying his departure, whereupon certain of the king's retainers at a hint from him, poisoned Niẓāmu-l-Mulk's cup, and despatched him to the land of nonexistence. It so happened that this occurrence became a cause of injury to the State. At this same time the Sulṭān was attacked by paralysis^226d from his excesses in wine and venery, in addition to which other deadly ills and chronic diseases obtained the mastery over his body, and his constitution not being able to stand against them, his powers succumbed. The greater number of the Amīrs and Maliks who were well disposed to him raised his son Kai Kāūs who was an infant²²⁷ of tender years to the throne with the title of Shamsu-d-Dīn.

In the year 688 H. (1289 A.D.) they made terms with Shāyista Khān who had distanced all his rivals.^227a Accordingly he ordered all his kinsmen and retainers whom he had summoned from Baran, ^227b and had stationed fully armed and equipped in readiness on the other side of the river, to cross the river Jumna and prepare to contest the day with their enemies. Certain of the Amīrs of the party of Ghiyāṯu-d-Dīn and Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn came out to oppose him with elephants and a large gathering, and having placed a royal umbrella over the head of Sulṭān Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn, who was ^164. reduced to a shadow by weakness and emaciation, displayed him from afar off from the summit of the palace of Kīlūgharī where he was but barely visible, and made obeisance to him.^227c In the meantime Malik Chhajū, brother's son to Sultān Ghiyāṯu-d-Dīn, who had acquired the title of Kishlī Khān cried out “I wish to place Sulṭān Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn upon a boat and take him to his father at Lakhnautī and remain myself in the service of Sulṭān Shamsu-d-Dīn Kai Kāūs”—In spite of this the people of Dihlī, from the highest to the lowest, came to the assistance of Shamsu-d-Dīn, and having assembled in front of the Budāon gate stood up^227d to oppose Shāyista Khān in battle, and since the sons of Maliku-l-Umarā Fakhru-d-Dīn Kotwāl had been taken prisoners in the fight with Shāyista Khān, and Malik Ḥimār Surkha, who had plotted with the servants of Ghiyāṯu-d-Dīn to kill Shāyista Khān and carry off Sulṭān Shamsu-d-Dīn (Kai Kāūs),^227e had fallen by the hand of Ikhtiyāru-d-Dīn son of Shāyista Khān; accordingly Maliku-l-Umarā (Fakhru-d-Dīn) opposed the people and prevented their assembling as they desired, till at last the adherents of Shāyista Khān removed Sulṭān Shamsu-d-Dīn Kai Kāūs from the throne by force and carried him off to Bahāpūr,^227f where Shāyista Khān was; they then ordered²²⁸ a man whose father had been put to death by Sulṭān Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn to go to the palace of Kīlūgharī, which he did, and finding the Sulṭān at his last gasp, he kicked him several times on the head, and then threw him into the river Jumna, and the Empire passed from the dynasty of Ghor, and kingship from the family of Ghiyāṯu-d-Dīn. This occurrence took place in the middle^228a of the month of Muḥarram in the year 689 H. (1209 A.D.).^228b The duration of the sovereignty of Sulṭān Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn was three years and some months.

This is the changeableness of the ancient heaven,
At one time it is like a bow at another like an arrow;
^165. At one time it feeds you with kindness at another poisons
you with enmity,
This is an example of the custom of the revolving heaven.

We learn from the Tārīkh-i-Mubārak Shāhī^228c that Sulṭān Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn, after the capture of the Shāhzāda, was seized while sitting in durbar during that revolt of the populace, and was bound, and died in captivity of hunger and thirst: in the course of his sufferings he wrote this quatrain,

The horse of my excellence has been left far behind on the
plain.
The hand of my generosity has fallen between the hammer
and the anvil.
My eye which used to see the gold of the mine and the
invisible jewel
To-day alas! is blinded for lack of bread.

And when the tumult between Itimar Surkha and the people of Dihlī subsided, and Shāyista Khān had gained his heart's desire and seated the prince upon the throne, and had set the affairs of the kingdom going again, on the second day after this, Sulṭān Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn bade farewell to this transitory^228d unstable world, and realised that all that wanton enjoyment had been but a dream and a phantasy.

Quatrain.

If with your love you have lived in peace your whole life
long,
Should you taste all the sweets the world can give your
whole life long.
Still at the end comes Death to meet you, and then you find
'Tis but a dream you have vainly dreamed your whole life
long.

The son of Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn Kaiqubād nominally ascended the throne²²⁹ in Bahāpūr in the year already mentioned, by the cooperation of Shāyista Khān and Malik Chhajū; and the uncle of Shāyista Khān, named Malik Ḥusain, who had kept quiet at Kīlū-gharī during the disturbances, for the safe custody of Sulṭān Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn, had established great confidence. Shāyista Khān made Malik Chhajū Kishlī Khān undertake the duties of Regent, ^166. and handing over the young prince to his charge, made a request on his own behalf for the districts of Tiberhinda, Debālpur, and Multān, and asked permission to depart thither; Malik yielding up the Regency and Vazīrship to Shāyista Khān^229a asked for the district of Karra for himself. Shāyista Khān immediately acceded to his request, and conferred on him a robe of honour, and some days later allowed him to proceed to Karra, and Maliku-l-Umarā Fakhrud-Dīn Kotwāl having congratulated Shāyista Khān on his accession to such high office and great prosperity was instrumental in obtaining permission for Malik Chhajū to leave.

Shāyista Khān used to bring the prince into the durbār hall and used himself to give audience and to regulate the important affairs of state. After a month or two, he brought Sulṭān Shamsu-d-Dīn on horseback to the palace of Kīlūgharī, and imprisoned him, and giving him as his fellows the inhabitants of the prisonhouse of the grave, sent him to the secret abode of destruction.

The duration of the kingdom of Shamsu-d-Dīn Kāi Kāūs was three months and a few days.²³⁰

The wine of the sky is not unmixed with the brine of
sorrow,
The world's one employment is jugglery—naught else.

Whose name was Malik Fīroz and his title Shāyista Khān, came to the throne in the year 689 H. as has already been said, ^167. with the consent and assistance of Malik Chhajū Kishlī Khān; and inasmuch he had previously been regent and governor of the kingdom^230a the affairs (of state) all devolved upon him.

It must not be forgotten that although Shihābu-d-Dīn Ḥakīm Kirmānī Jaunpūrī,^230b the author of the history called Tabaqāt-i-Maḥmūd Shāhī, deduces the pedigree of Sulṭān Jalālu-d-Dīn and Sulṭān Maḥmūd Mālwī from the stock of Qālij Khān, son-in-law of Changīz Khān, there is a long story connected with this. This at least is clear that this ancestry has no real authority, any one of sound judgment will be able to detect the falsity of his claim to this descent; and as a matter of fact there is no connection whatever between Qālīj and Khalj, in spite of the fact that Qālīj has too rough a sound for the Turki tongue, and if it had any equivalent (of sufficient softness) it would be Qalj^230c with the meaning of a sword and in some histories it is said that Khalj is the name of one of the sous of Yāfiṯ, (Japhet) the son of Nūḥ (Noah) on whom be peace and that the Khiljīs descend from him. God knows the truth of this. To make a long story short, Sulṭān Jalālu-d-Dīn divided the greater portion of the valuable appointments between his sons and brothers, and bestowed the following titles—upon his eldest son the title of Khān Khānān, upon his second son that of Arkalī Khān, and on his youngest son that of Qadr Khān, while he gave to his uncle Malik Ḥusain the title of Tāju-l-Mulk. In this same way he bestowed various titles upon others, and allotted them estates, and having built a new town, and a new garden on the banks of the Jumna opposite to the Mu‘izzī palace he called it a citadel, “The Rocky Citadel”; when it was completed it was called “Shahr-i-nau” (New-town)²³¹ and in Sha‘bān, of the second year after his accession, Malik Chhajū Kishlī Khān went to Karra, and became openly rebellious. The Amīrs of the party of Ghīyāṯu-d-Dīn who held estates in that district joined with him, came to Budāon and crossed the Ganges by the ford of Bijlāna with the intention of attacking Dihlī, waiting for the arrival of Malik Chhajū who was to come by way of Karra,^231a (and)^231b Sulṭān Jalālu-d-Dīn left Khān Khānān in Dihlī and marched against them. Dividing his forces into two army corps he himself went by way of Kol, and reached Budāon,^231c sending Arkalī Khān towards Amroha to oppose Malik Chhajū. Arkalī Khān fought the enemy valiantly in many engagements during several days on the banks of the Rahab. In the meantime the people of Bairām Dev the Raja of Kola, which was also called Koela, gave information to Malik Chhajū that Sulṭān Jalālu-d-Dīn was in pursuit of him, and having frightened him exceedingly, urged him to take to flight. He was in such dread of the Sulṭān, that he did not know his head from his heels, and in the dead of night he made his escape, but eventually fell into the hands of the Kuwārs.^231d Arkalī Khān crossed the Rahab,^231e despatched Bairām Dev to hell, and pursued Malik Chhajū, and took him prisoner together with some of the other Amīrs of the Ghiyāṯi faction. Then he went in the direction of Bahārī and Kasam Kūr, which is the same as Shamsābād,²³² and when they took Malik Chhajū and the other captive Balbanī Amīrs in fetters and chains^232a into the presence of the Sulṭān, he called to mind their old ties of relationship, and loosed them from their bonds, sent them to the baths, clothed them in rich garments of honour, and made them partake of his own table, sending Malik Chhajū with the greatest marks of respect to Multān.

^169. Malik ‘Alāu-d-Dīn who was the brother's son and son-in-law of the Sulṭān,^232b and had been appointed to the district of Karra, and Ilmās Beg, the brother of ‘Alāu-d-Dīn who subsequently became Ulugh Khān^232c was appointed to the post of Akhor Beg. In the mean while, the summons which is distasteful to all reached Khān-i-Khānān. The Sulṭān was greatly distressed at his loss. Mīr Khusrū wrote the following dirge in memory of him:—

What day is this that I see not the sun shining,
If night has come why do I not see the brilliant moon.
Since two days my sun has remained behind the clouds,
So that in my eyes I see nothing but clouds and rain.
In Hindustān an evident danger has appeared,
On every face I see thousands of wrinkles but I do not see
the Khāqān.^232d
The stone of the royal signet is hidden as a stone in the
mine.
My heart has turned to blood like the ruby for that I see
him not.
Lo there is the King, seated on his throne, with his courtiers
standing round him on all sides,
All are there, but still I do not see Khān-i-Khānān.
When I saw fortune blinded, I asked him, Dost thou wish
for sight?
He replied, What could I do with sight, since I cannot see
Maḥmūd Sulṭān!

And in the year following, Arkalī Khān came from Multān to Dihlī, and the Sulṭān leaving him in Dihlī proceeded to Mandāwar, and after his arrival at that stage, having received with anxiety tidings of the revolt of certain of the Ghīyāṯī Amīrs, he made over the district of Budāon to Malik Maghlaṭī,²³³ sent him off at once and appointed Malik Mubārak to Tiberhindah, then after reducing the fortress of Mandāwar proceeded by an uninterrupted ^170. series of marches to Dihlī; and in those days a certain Saiyyid ascetic and recluse, holding close communion with God,^233a relying upon Him, bountiful,^233b adorned with so many excellencies and perfections, Sīdī Maulā^233c by name first came from ‘Ajam (Persia) to Ajūdhan in the service of the pillar of the Saints the master Shaikh Farīd, Ganj-i-Shakkar, may God sanctify his resting place, and sought permission to proceed to the eastern parts of Hin-dustān. They said to him “Beware of crowds of men, and abstain from intercourse with kings.” When he reached Dihlī, Khān-i-Khānān, the eldest son of the Sulṭān, displayed the greatest desire to become his disciple.^233d In the same way the greater number of the deposed Maliks and Amīrs of the Balban party^233e used daily both morning and evening to sit at the table of that darvesh, who would not accept anything from any one. People used to credit him with alchemistic powers, and used to come in such crowds that a thousand mans of fine flour and five hundred mans of freshly skinned meat, and three hundred mans of sugar used to be the daily expenditure of the Shaikh which he expended in alms; the aforesaid Sīdī although he engaged always in vigils²³⁴ and the prayers of the five stated times, was, however, never present at the public prayer on Fridays, nor was he bound by the conditions of public^234a worship in accordance with established custom, and Qāẓī Jalālu-d-Dīn Kāshānī (and)^234b Qāẓī Urdū and men of note, and trusted chiefs, and all both great and small, used continually to worship at his monastery.

When this news reached the Sulṭān, the story goes that one night he went in disguise to his monastery, and saw for himself that he expended even more than was reported. Accordingly the next day he held a grand durbār and ordered Sīdī Maulā with the Qāẓī and the other Amīrs who were his disciples, to be brought before him with ignominious treatment of all kinds, bound in fetters and chains. He enquired into the state of the case, and asked each one whether the Sīdī laid claim to kingly power. The aforesaid Sīdī denied it, and fortified his denial with an oath, but to no purpose. At that time Qāẓī Jalālu-d-Dīn lay under the Sulṭān's displeasure, he also denied the allegation. The Sulṭān ^171. deposed him, and nominated him as Qāẓī of Budāon. In order to verify the claims to Saiyyidship, and to test the miraculous powers of the Sīdī, he had a huge fire like that prepared by Nimrūd (for Abraham) lighted, and wished to have Sīdī Maulā thrown into that temple of fire. The Ulamā of the time, in consideration of the irreligious nature of that order, issued a mandamus which they communicated to the Sulṭān saying, “The essential nature of fire is to consume things, and no one can issue forth from it in safety unhurt.” The Sulṭān accordingly desisted and gave up that ordeal, but he punished the larger number of those Maliks in that same assembly, and some he expatriated; and inasmuch as the answers of Sīdī Maulā^234c were all in accordance with reason, and no fault could be found with him either on the score of religious law or logic, the Sulṭān was reduced to extremity, and suddenly turning to Abū Bakr Tūsī Ḥaidarī who was the chief of the sect of Qalandars, and utterly unscrupulous, he said “Why do not you darveshes avenge me of this tyrant,” thereupon a Qalandar leapt up from their midst, and struck the unfortunate Sīdī several blows with a razor and wounded him, then they shaved off the holy man's whiskers²³⁵ with a knife even to the chin, and stabbed him in the side^235a with sackmakers' needles, and then, by command of Arkalī Khān, the second son of the Sulṭān, an elephant driver drove a rogue elephant over the head of the poor oppressed Sīdī, and martyred him with countless tortures may God be gracious to him. They say that this same Sīdī, for a whole month before this occurrence used to sing these verses at all times, smiling the while he sang:

In the kitchen of love, they slay naught but the good;
The weak natured, and evil disposed they kill not.
If thou art a sincere lover, flee not from slaughter,
He whom they slay not is no better than a corpse.

And just at this time, on the very day of his murder, a whirlwind black with dust arose, and the world was darkened; there ^172. was a scarcity of rain in that year, and such a famine occurred that the Hindūs, from excess of hunger and want, went in bands and joining their hands threw themselves into the river Jumna, and became the portion of the alligator of extinction. Many Muslims also, burning in the flames of hunger, were drowned in the ocean of non-existence, while the rest of the world took these signs and events as proofs of the verity of Sīdī and as evidence of his sincerity. Although no inferences can be drawn from facts of this kind, since they may finally prove to be only coincidences, still I myself have seen with my own eyes examples of such incidents, as shall be related in their proper places if God so will it.

God has never cursed any nation
Until the heart of a holy man has been grieved.

The remainder of the accused, at the intercession of Arkalī Khān, were delivered from the danger which threatened their lives, and from the punishment intended by the Sulṭān; and in this same year the Sulṭān for the second time marched against Rantanbhor, and destroyed the country round it, and overthrew the idols and idol-temples, but returned without attempting to reduce the fort. Arkalī Khān went to Multān without his permission, at which the Sulṭān was very vexed.

In the year 691 H. the Mughuls under Chingīz Khān came up against Hindustān with a very large army, and fought a very severe battle with the Sulṭān's victorious forces in the neighbourhood of Sanām. When the Mughuls became aware of the size of the army of Hindustān they began to make overtures for peace. The Sulṭān thereupon summoned their leader, who was very closely related to Halākū Khān, and also his son, who called the Sulṭān his father. They accordingly had an interview and exchanged gifts and presents and each returned to his own country: ^173. and Alghū²³⁶ the grandson of Chingīz Khān, embraced Islām, and several thousand Mughuls besides followed his example and having learnt to repeat the sacred and blessed formula, elected to remain in the service of the Sulṭān. Alghū was selected for the honour of becoming son-in-law to the Sulṭān. The Mughuls took up their abode in Ghiyāṯpūr in which is now the sacred tomb of the Prince of Holy men Nīẓāmul Auliyā^236a may God sanctify his resting place. It is commonly known as Mughulpūr and those Mughuls were called the “new Muslims.”

At the close of this same year the Sulṭān having gone up against the fort of Mandāwar ravaged and pillaged the country round it and then returned. ‘Alāu-d-Dīn the Governor of Karra, obtained permission in that year to proceed to Bhilsa^236b and attacked that country^236c and brought much booty thence to present to the Sulṭān, and the idol which was the object of worship of the Hindūs, he caused to be cast down in front of the gate of Badāon to be trampled upon by the people.^236d These services of ‘Alāu-d-Dīn being highly approved,^236e the jāgīr of Oudh also was added to his other estates; and since ‘Alāu-d-Dīn was very angry and incensed against the Sulṭān's consort, who was his mother-in-law, and against the daughter of the Sulṭān, because she always made a practice of speaking ill of him to her father, he was anxious, on any pretext whatever, to leave the Sulṭān's dominions and go to a distance, and find some place of refuge for himself; accordingly he provided himself with new servants, and making all preparations as to personal clothing and furniture, he asked the Sulṭān²³⁷ to bestow upon him the district of Chanderī, and leaving Dihlī came to Karra, and from there under the pretence of attacking Chan-derī, he went by way of Illichpūr, and made for the frontiers of the country of Deogīr; leaving Malik ‘Alāu-l-Mulk who was one of his friends, as his deputy in Karra, and having instructed him to temporise with the Sulṭān, went off somewhere unknown to anyone, and when no news could be obtained of Malik ‘Alāu-d-Dīn's whereabouts for a considerable time, the Sulṭān was exceedingly sorry.^237a Suddenly news arrived that ‘Alāu-d-Dīn having gone up against ^174. the rebel Deo Gīr, had conquered the whole of his country as far as the confines of the country of the Deccan, and had taken as spoil much treasure, and elephants and property, several thousands of horses, together with valuables; silk and cloth goods, and jewels, beyond the limits of computation, and that he was making for Karra. This was a source of great gratification to the Sulṭān, but the wise men of those times knew very well, both from analogy and inference, that ‘Alāu-d-Dīn^237b had gone to that country without permission from the Sulṭān, and had suffered much annoyance at the hands of Malika-i-Jahān who was the consort of the Sulṭān, and also from his own wife, and had accordingly faced the world, always nursing in his breast sinister intentions. Now^237c that he was in a position perfectly to put his rebellious ideas into execution, and had not the access to the Court, it was strange that the Sulṭān seemed to suffer no apprehension as regarded him; but no one dared represent these views to the Sulṭān, who was wholly and entirely ignorant of the annoyance which ‘Alāu-d-Dīn had suffered at the hands of the Queen-mother and his own wife, and if by chance they ventured to speak²³⁸ of the possibility of the revolt and treachery of ‘Alāu-d-Dīn, the Sulṭān attributed it to jealousy, and would never allow the idea of his contumacy or rebellion to enter his head.

In short, at the time when the Sulṭān was in the neighbourhood of Gwāliār he summoned a council of his Amīrs to deliberate about ‘Alāu-d-Dīn and said.^238a “What in your opinion is ‘Alāu-d-Dīn's object in coming hither with so great display and circumstance, what will he do and what ought I to do? shall I go to meet him by way of Chanderī or shall I remain where I am, or again shall I return to Dihlī?” Malik Aḥmad Chap who was a Vazīr of sound judgment and ripe experience and loyal to the backbone, did all he could to warn the Sulṭān by adducing logical arguments and quoting precedents, reminding him of the revolt of Malik Chhajū and the mutiny of the inhabitants of Kaṛṛa, events which were of recent occurrence, as testifying to ^175. the probabilities of the present position, and urged him to go out to meet ‘Alāu-d-Dīn on the way by which he would arrive, and to put an end to his ostentatious display and pompous arrogance, to seize his elephants and property, and all the things which were likely to be of use; but the Sulṭān would not listen to his advice, and launching forth into extravagant eulogy of ‘Alāu-d-Dīn declared that his mind was perfectly at ease on his account in every possible way, “for is he not” (said he) “my protégé^238b and foster child, he can never harbour any evil designs against me.” Malik Fakhru-d-Dīn, and the other Amīrs also went with oily speeches to the Sulṭān, and brought forward all sorts of absurd arguments simply to suit the humour of the Sulṭān, and adducing weak examples induced him to return to Dihlī; Malik Aḥmad Chap rose up in wrath from that assembly, and spoke as follows: “If Malik ‘Alāu-d-Dīn with all this^238c pomp and royal display has arrived at Kaṛṛa and crossing the river Sarū makes for Lakhnautī, I do not know what can be done by any one to oppose him,” and lamenting exceedingly the condition of the Sulṭān he repeated the following lines—

A foeman, though small one should never despise,
For a mountain is made up of stones of small size.

The Sulṭān then came from Gwāliār to Dihlī, and ‘Alāu-d-Dīn having reached Kaṛṛa²³⁹ wrote despatches full of craft and cunning to the Court, and worked upon the avarice of the Sulṭān by presents of elephants and endless wealth, and begged for a kindly worded letter summoning him to the Court, while all the time he was engaged in preparations to start for Lakhnautī, and having sent his brother^239a Ẓafar Khān to Oudh ordered him to hold in readiness all the boats on the river Sarū. The simple minded Sulṭān Jalālu-d-Dīn wrote a command with his own hand in accordance with ‘Alāu-d-Dīn's request and sent it^239b by the hand of two confidential and trusted body servants, one of whom was named Imādu-l-Mulk and the other^239c Ẓīāu-d-Dīn. These men when they arrived soon perceived by his manner and ^176. bearing^239d that the face of affairs was altered^239e and ‘Alāu-d-Dīn having prepared the dish for the Sulṭān, and having arranged for its service at a given signal, handed over^239f those two messengers to sentries who were charged to keep them so closely guarded that not even a bird should be able to flap its wings near them, then he wrote a letter to Ilmās Beg his brother, who was also a son-in-law of the Sulṭān,^239g and sent it to Dihlī, couched in these words: “Inasmuch as in the course of this expedition, I have committed many unwarranted acts, in that without taking the orders of the Sulṭān I proceeded to Deogīr, for this reason certain persons have aroused fear in my heart and anxiety—but seeing that I am the loyal servant and son of the Sulṭān, if he will march lightly equipped and by rapid marches come and lay hands upon me, and carry me off I have nothing to urge against imprisonment, and if, as they have said the current rumours are true, and the Sulṭān's mind is in reality turned against me, I must perforce lay violent hands upon myself and efface myself from the world.” When Ilmās Beg laid that²⁴⁰ letter before the Sulṭān, he on the instant sent^240a Ilmās Beg to reassure ‘Alāu-d-Dīn and gave him a promise that he himself would follow. Ilmās Beg embarked in a boat, and going like the wind over the surface of the water,^240b on the seventh day joined Malik ‘Alāu-d-Dīn, and urged him to proceed to Lakhnautī,^240c but certain of the wise and far-seeing companions of ‘Alāu-d-Dīn said, “What need have we to go to Lakhnautī when the Sulṭān by reason of his excessive greed for the wealth of Deogīr, and the elephants and horses of that country will come here lightly equipped^240d in the very height of the rainy season.^240e At that time we will take any steps that may be necessary,^240f and whatever has to be done to meet the emergency, we have it all stored up and we will put an end to him on the spot.”^240g Since the cup of the life of Sulṭān Jalālū-d-Dīn was full^240h and his heart was brim full of lust and greed for that fancied and ill-omened treasure,²⁴⁰ⁱ and Fate too had rendered him deaf and blind, not one of these evil designs was perceived by him:

Verse.

When Fate lets fall from the sky a feather,
^177. All the wise men became^240j blind and deaf.

Casting the advice of his well-wishers behind him,^240k he embarked on a boat with certain of his trusted followers and a thousand sowārs, borrowing his speed from the wind and his haste from the stream, and set out for Kaṛṛa: he sent Malik Aḥmad Chap the Vazīr with an armed force and a body of retainers by land,²⁴¹ Malik Aḥmad Chap was rending his garments but all to no purpose.

Verse.

If the listener will not turn his ear to counsel,
He will reap retribution from the high heaven.

The Sulṭān, whose life's boat had been wrecked by a contrary wind, and had been cast on the shore of destruction, arrived at Kaṛṛa on the 17th of the blessed month of Ramaẓān: and ‘Alāu-d-Dīn, who had kept his forces in readiness, had crossed the river Ganges between Kaṛṛa and Manikpūr and had pitched his camp: then he sent Ilmās Beg to the Sulṭān, sending by him some valuable jewels, with strict orders to use all the means he could devise and all the craft he could command to separate the Sulṭān from his army and bring him to ‘Alāu-d-Dīn. His confederate therefore went and presented himself before the Sulṭān, and with great craftiness and deceit, and with obsequious humility represented that^241a if he had not come ‘Alāu-d-Dīn would have been utterly scared and would have escaped, “and to such an extent” said he, “have the evil speakers stuffed his ears^241b with reports of the unkind and ill-disposed utterances of the Sulṭān, and filled his mind with fear, that even now fear and suspicion is by no means entirely removed from his mind.^241c There is still a probability of that of which I spoke before, unless the Sulṭān should shew him some favour and kindness, and should re-assure him, and going alone, without any retinue, should take him by the hand and lead him here.”

^241d The Sulṭān taking his blood-thirsty words for the truth, ordered the cavalry escort which accompanied him to remain halted where they were, and he himself, together with a small body of retainers armed and ready for battle, proceeded a short distance forward, going forth to meet Death, while the archtraitor ^178. Ilmās Beg further represented ²⁴² saying “my brother is in great fear and awe of the Sulṭān ^242a and is quaking from head to foot; and when he sees even this small body of men, he will be all the more alarmed, and will despair of the Sulṭān's clemency.”^242b Accordingly the Sulṭān ordered this body of retainers to lay aside their arms which they did: those who were closely attached to the Sulṭān were greatly agitated at this foolish decision, but the Sulṭān would not be dissuaded by their objections. When they arrived near the bank of the river, the army of ‘Alāu-d-Dīn was plainly visible drawn up in close order fully armed and equipped, and evidently expecting an engagement. Malik Khur-ram ^242c the Vakīldar said to Ilmās Beg “We left our army behind us at your instigation, and we laid down our arms, what is this that we see an army ready for action?” He replied “my brother wishes to review his army, and following his usual course, he wishes to make a proper display^242d before the Sulṭān, with an eye to future advantage,” the Sulṭān in accordance with the saying “When fate comes the plain becomes narrow”^242e up to that moment even did not discover the deceit of his enemy, but of his own free will walked deliberately into the jaws of the dragon.

Verse.

When the day becomes dark to any man,
He does that which is hurtful to him.

When he said to the stony-hearted Ilmās Beg “In spite of my old age and the weakness due to fasting I came so far,^242f even yet will not your cruel brother's heart induce him^242g to get into a boat and come to me?” Ilmās Beg answered “my brother is unwilling to receive the Sulṭān empty handed^242h and with reserve.

“If thou goest empty handed to visit a Sheikh,
Thou wilt get no profit, nor wilt thou even see him.”

^179. He is busy selecting elephants and valuables and goods to present, and is quite occupied in that service²⁴³ and he has been preparing food for breaking your fast, and to do honour to the arrival of his guest, and is now awaiting the honoured coming of the Sulṭān, so that he may be distinguished among his peers by the honour derived from the royal visit.” The Sulṭān all this time was occupied in reading the sacred volume; they reached the river's bank by the time of afternoon prayer and he took his seat in the place they had made ready for him to sit in, and ‘Alāu-d-Dīn having got every thing ready^243a came with a great gathering to pay his respects to the Sulṭān and fell at his feet.^243b The Sulṭān smiling, with affection and kindness and love smote him a gentle blow on the cheek, and addressing him with great shew of fondness and clemency and warm-heartedness, began to give him words of counsel, and was talking to him affectionately and lovingly, reassuring him in every possible way, and seizing the hand of Malik ‘Alāu-d-Dīn was drawing him near. At this moment when the Sulṭān laid hold of his beard, and, kissing him, was shewing him marks of his special favour, and^243c had given his hand into his, ‘Alāu-d-Dīn seizing the Sulṭān's hand firmly, wrenched it, and gave a signal to a party of men who were confederate and had sworn together to murder the Sulṭān. Then Maḥmūd Sālim who was one of the scum of Sāmāna, aimed a blow with his sword at the Sulṭān and wounded him; on receiving that wound the Sulṭān made for the boat crying out as he ran: “Thou wretch ‘Alāu-d-Dīn, what is this thou hast done!” At this juncture one Ikhti-yāru-d-Dīn who had been a particular protégé of the Sulṭān ran behind him and inflicted a second wound which killed him; he then cut off his head and brought it to ‘Alāu-d-Dīn.^243d By Alāu-d-Dīn's orders, the head of the unfortunate oppressed and martyred monarch was placed upon a spear and carried round Kaṛṛa and Manikpūr: from thence they took it to Oudh; and the body- ^180. servants of the Sulṭān who were in the boat were all put to death, some of them threw themselves into the river, and were drowned in the ocean of destruction. Malik Fakhru-d-Dīn Kūchī fell into their hands alive and was murdered. Malik Aḥmad Chap having made prisoners of the Sulṭān's army brought it to Dihlī and²⁴⁴ pending the arrival of Arkalī Khān from Multān (he was the worthy son of the Sulṭān and fitted to succeed him in the kingdom) as a temporary measure, with the co-operation of Malika-i-Jahān, seated Qadr Khān the youngest son of the Sulṭān, upon the throne of Dihlī, with the title of Ruknu-d-Dīn Ibrāhīm. The Amīrs and Maliks of Jalālu-d-Dīn's party came one and all to swear allegiance to him at his accession. He retained the name of King for one month. Malik ‘Alāu-d-Dīn lost no time,^244a but on the very day of the assassination of the Sulṭān, made open display of the insignia and emblems of royalty, and raising the imperial canopy over his own head^244b was addressed as Sulṭān and^244c in the middle of the rainy season marching uninterruptedly he made straight for the metropolis of Dihlī, and showering dīnārs and dirhems like rain over the heads of the populace, and pelting the people in the streets great and small with golden missiles from balistae and slings,^244d came to his own garden on the banks of the Jumna and alighted there. Day by day the Amīrs of the Jalālī faction joined themselves to him and swore allegiance to him, and by the hope of the red gold, all regret for Jalālu-d-Dīn was completely effaced from their black hearts.

Liberality is the alchemy^244e of the copper of faults;
Liberality is the remedy for all pain.

It is said that by the day when Sulṭān ‘Alāu-d-Dīn reached Badāon sixty thousand sowārs had joined his standard, Malik Raknu-d-Dīn Ibrāhīm seeing that he had not the power to resist him went to Multān to Arkali Khān, with certain chosen Amīrs who remained faithful after the massacre (of Jalālu-d-Dīn), and the whole of the kingdom fell under the dominion of ‘Alāu-d-Dīn.

The kingdom is God's and greatness is His. The massacre of ^181. Sulṭān Jalālu-d-Dīn took place in the seventeenth of the month of Ramaẓān in the year 694 H. (A.D. 1294) and the duration of his reign was seven years and some months.

Verses.

Hast thou seen the acts of the tyrant heaven and its star,
Mention it not; what is the heaven, its revolution, or its
arched vault?
How is it that the revolving heaven has cast the sun of the
kingdom headlong into the dust,
Dust be on the head of his sun of glory.

Sulṭān Jalālu-d-Dīn had a taste for poetry, and Amīr Khusrū after the death of Mu‘izzu-d-Dīn Kaiqubād, came into the service of the Sulṭān Jalālu-d-Dīn, and was honoured by being selected as an intimate companion, and was made Qur'ān-keeper to the Sulṭān, he was presented every year with the robes of honour which were reserved for the Amīrs of the Sulṭān²⁴⁵ and were tokens of special distinction and peculiar trust.

In this same category were Amīr Ḥasan and Muīd Jājarmī and Amīr Arslān Kātibī and Sa‘d-i-Manṭiqī and Bāqī-i-Khaṭīb and Qāẓī Mughīṯ of Hānsī, who is one of the most learned men of the time of Jalālu-d-Dīn and wrote a Ghazal in nineteen metres^245a of which this is the opening:—

Two pearly ears, a stately form, two lovely cheeks, with
fresh youth dight,
Thy glory is the fairy's pride, a fairy thou, at glory's
height.

And the rest of the learned men used to keep the Sulṭān's assembly embellished and adorned with the jewels of poems, and delicate points of learning and philosophy, and the following few verses are the offspring of the Sulṭān's genius:—

^182. I do not wish those flowing locks of thine to be entangled
I do not wish that rosy cheek of thine (with shame) to burn.
I wish that thou one night unclothed may'st come to my
embrace
Yes, loud I cry with all my might, I would not have it
hidden.

And at the time when he was besieging Gwāliār he built a pavilion and a lofty dome²⁴⁶ and wrote this quatrain as an inscription for that building:—

Quatrain.

I whose foot spurns the head of heaven,
How can a heap of stone and earth augment my dignity?
This broken stone I have thus arranged in order that
Some broken heart may haply take comfort from it.

And Sa‘d Manṭiqī and the other poets he ordered to point out to him the defects and beauties of this composition. They all praised it exceedingly and said! It has no fault, but he replied: You are afraid of hurting my feelings, I will point out its defect^246a in this quatrain:

It may be some chance traveller may pass by this spot
Whose tattered garment is the satin mantle of the starless
sky;^246b
Perchance from the felicity of his auspicious footsteps
One atom may fall to my lot: this will suffice me.

On the twenty-ninth^246c of Zūl Hijjah in the year six hundred and ninety-five (695 H.) (A.D. 1295) raised the banner of the Sulṭanate of Dihlī, with the consent of his brother Ilmās Beg, to whom he gave the title of Ulugh Khān²⁴⁷ and to Sinjar, his wife's brother, who was the Mīr-i-Majlis he gave the title of Alp Khān, while to Malik Nuṣrat Jalīsarī he gave that of Nuṣrat Khān, and to Malik Badru-d-Dīn that of Ẓafar Khān,^247a and alighted at the plain of Sīrī, where he pitched his camp, and giving public audience delighted the hearts of the Amīrs and all classes of his subjects by his boundless munificence, then he had the Khuṭbah and the ^183. Sikka promulgated in his own name and conferred^247b appointments and titles upon the Amīrs, and distributing jāgīrs gave his mind first of all to his principal object which was to overthrow the two sons of Sulṭān Jalālu-d-Dīn who were in Multān.^247c

Verse.

As long as the head of the heir to the throne is on his
shoulders,
Disorder is the mantle of the body of the state.

In the Muḥarram 696 A. H. (he sent) Ulugh Khān and Alp Khān against Arkalī Khān and Sulṭān Ruknu-d-Dīn;^247d both these brothers were besieged²⁴⁸ in the fortress of Multān. The inhabitants of the city and the Kotwāl asked for quarter, and made overtures for peace, and the two princes, by the intervention of Shaikh Ruknu-d-Dīn Quraishī may God sanctify his resting place,^248a came forth and had an interview with Ulugh Khān,^248b who treated them with the utmost respect, sending a despatch announcing his victory to Dihlī; and taking the family and tribe of Jalālu-d-Dīn he set out for Dihlī. When they came near Bohar^248c a place in the vicinity of Hānsī, Nuṣrat Khān arrived with an order, in obedience to which they put out the eyes of both the sons^248d of Sulṭān Jalālud-Dīn, of Alghū Khān the Mughul son-in-law to the Sulṭān, and of Malik Aḥmad Chap,^248e and handed over the Sulṭān's sons^248f to the Kotwāl of Hānsī and martyred them together with two sons of Arkalī Khān.^248g They kept the Sulṭān's wives and the rest of his children imprisoned in Dihlī, sending Aḥmad Chap and Alghū the Mughul to the fortress of Gwāliār, and putting out the eyes of some others also, scattered them in all directions and punished them with tortures, and very many of the old families they utterly destroyed and the hidden meaning of Sīdī Maula^248h soon became evident, and (vengeance for) his blood did not long sleep.²⁴⁹ In a short time^249a it became the cause of the shedding of the blood of Sulṭān Jalālu-d-Dīn and his family, and of so many ^184. thousands of others among the people who had been murdered.

The wealth of Qārūn which still sinks down to the bottom
of the earth,
You may have read, that it was a source of envy to the
poor.^249b

And in the year^249c 697 A.H. (1297 A.D.), Nuṣrat Khān having been appointed to the office of Vazīr, used strenuous efforts to recover the money which Sulṭān ‘Alāu-d-Dīn had lavished in the commencement of his reign in order to gain over the affections of the people, and demanding the repayment of very large sums deposited them in the treasury; and having summoned from Kaṛṛa ‘Alāu-l-Mulk the uncle of Zīāu-d-Dīn Barnī, the author of the Tārīkh-i-Fīroz Shāhī (whom Sulṭān ‘Alāu-d-Dīn had removed from the kotwālship of Dihlī and had sent as governor to Kaṛṛa, appointing Naṣrat Khān to the office of Kotwāl) he conferred upon him his old rank, Alp Khān being appointed to Multān. And in the year 698 A. H. (1298 A.D.) one Ṣaldī^249d a Mughul commander, crossing the Indus came towards Hindustān, and Ulugh Khān and Tughlaq Khān the governor of Depālpūr (who is Ghāzī-i-Mulk), were appointed to put down that rising, and offered strong opposition to them^249e on the confines of Jārin Manjhūr.^249f The Mughul army was defeated, some of them were killed and others taken prisoners, and the army of Sulṭān ‘Alāu-d-Dīn returned victorious with many spoils. A second time Qutluq Khwāja, the son of Duā,²⁵⁰ came from Māwarāu-n-nahr with a countless host to attempt the conquest of Hindustān, and penetrated^250a as far as Dihlī, inflicting no injury on the districts through which he passed. In Dihlī itself grain became very dear, and the citizens were in great straits,^250b and Sulṭān ‘Alāu-d-Dīn ^185. placing Ulugh Khān and Ẓafar Khān in command of the forces, sent them with a countless host to oppose the Mughul army, and a severe battle was fought on the frontiers of Gilī.^250c Ẓafar Khān was killed, and the Sulṭān had gained what he wanted in this.^250d Qutluq Khwāja after his defeat made his way to Khurāsān where he died.

A third time Targhī Mughul who was one of the margans,^250e that is to say accurate archers of that country, accompanied by 100,000 infantry and 20,000 valiant and renowned cavalry, seized the fort of the hills, and gaining possession of that country, penetrated as far as the township of Baran, where Malik Fakhru-d-Dīn Amīr Dād the Governor was entrenched; Malik Tughlaq Ghāzī-i-Mulk was sent from the metropolis to put down that disturbance.^250f Malik Fakhru-d-Dīn sallying from the fortress of Baran,^250g joined with Malik Tughlaq, and they jointly made a night attack upon the Mughuls.^250h The Mughul forces being routed, Targhī was taken prisoner and Malik Tughlaq brought him into the royal presence.

A fourth time, Muḥammad Turtāq²⁵⁰ⁱ and ‘Alī Beg Mughul, who were the sons of the royal house of Khurāsān, brought together a very large army, which they divided into two, one bore down upon Nāgor,²⁵¹ while the other seized the fort of the Sirmūr hills and occupied the country as far as the river Biāh which they call Kāli Pāuī.^251a Sulṭān ‘Alāu-d-Dīn appointed Malik Mānik his slave (who is Kāfūr Nāib or Hazār Dīnārī)^251b with Malik Tughlaq Governor of Depālpūr to proceed to Amroha; and while the Mughul army, having succeeded in capturing much spoil and many cattle, was marching to the banks of the river Rahab, Malik Mānik ^186. came up in pursuit^251c and a severe battle ensued. Both the Mughul princes evinced great bravery, but were ultimately taken prisoners, and were put to death, while the greater part of those accursed ones became food for the sword of vengeance, and the remnant of the sword fled panicstricken to their own country. The heads of these two princes were taken to Badāon and impaled upon the battlements of the fort. One of the learned poets of that time wrote the following quatrain which was afterwards inscribed upon the southern gateway of that city.

Quatrain.

Noble fortress! whose helper may the assistance of the
Almighty ever be!
May the victory and conquest of the Emperor ever be thy
standard-bearer!
The Malik of this age became thy builder, and built thee
anew,
May Targhī, like ‘Alī Beg^251d become thy captive.

And Mīr Khusrū^251e has written an account of the fight between Malik Mānik (who had obtained the title of Malik Nāib)^251f in the Tārīkh-i-Khazāīnu-l-Futūḥ²⁵² a marvel of literature, which mortal powers confess themselves impotent to approach or imitate, though to tell the truth all the writings of that king of poets, rightly named Khusrū, are of this excellence, and to praise and crown them is an impertinence and error for any other.

Whenever any thought shines forth from his mind
It is so subtle as to escape comprehension and defy imitation.

On the fifth occasion Iqbālmand and Kapak, Mughuls, brought together an army to take vengeance for Turtāq^252a and ‘Alī Beg, and invaded the frontiers of Multān. The Sulṭān on this occasion also appointed Malik Nāib, and Malik Tughlaq. They proceeded by forced marches while the Mughals were falling back, and pursuing them gave battle. Kapak was taken prisoner, but was ransomed by the infidel Tātārs, with the prisoners and abundant booty which had fallen into their hands.^252b From that day the Mughuls lost their enthusiasm for the conquest of Hindustān, and the teeth of their ambition became blunted.

After these victories, the Sulṭān one night was holding a wine party quite at his ease with his companions, and was quaffing copious draughts of wine. The night, like the circulation of the ^187. wine cup, had come near to an end; suddenly some of the assembled guests began to make signs to each other^252c with hand, and eye, and brow that it was time to break up,^252d the Sulṭān happened to perceive it, he was annoyed and cried out Mutiny! Mutiny! and on the instant gave orders for Bahā (who was one of his boon-companions and choice spirits) to be killed. The rest fled in confusion. On the following morning when he came to realise what had occurred, it was as clear as day to the Sulṭān²⁵³ that his suspicion was groundless.

Wait, till the world removes the veil from the face of events,
And till that thou hast done this evening, tomorrow is
plain to thee.

Then he asked for Qāẓī Bahā.^253a They replied, He was sent into eternity at that very moment.^253b The Sulṭān was very repentant and ashamed at hearing this, and vowed never again to drink wine, and ordered it to be proclaimed that the use of wine should be absolutely abandoned throughout the kingdom. Cask upon cask of wine was poured out in the court till it became a flowing river. Everyone who was discovered intoxicated, was hauled off to prison, and punished by imprisonment^253c and confiscation of property.

Piety and penitence became the order of the day, the taverns were in ruins,^253d and the police officers had plenty of work, and there was no longer any need to purchase vinegar,^253e while the wine bibbers were giving expression by their actions to these verses:

Now he sprinkles the flagon with salt, now he shatters the
cup,^253f
How the policeman disturbs the peace of the tavern in
which we sup.

And in the year 697 H. (1297 A.D.) the Sulṭān becoming suspicious of the newly-converted Muslim Mughuls was contemplating ^188. to murder and eradicate them, and they also for their part, goaded by the extortion of the revenue collectors and their extortionate demands for refunding money,²⁵⁴ were plotting a rebellion whilst the Sulṭān should be hunting and hawking.^254a One of them who was opposed to this scheme made it known to the Sulṭān. Secret orders were written and despatched to the Governors of the country saying that on a certain day^254b they should put to death all the new Muslim Mughuls with one consent wherever they found them.

Accordingly on the appointed date they despatched so many poor hapless Mughuls with the sword of injustice, and sent them on their travels to the kingdom of annihilation, that the mind cannot compute their number, and the name of Mughul no longer survived in Hindustān, although this custom of killing strangers has survived from that time.

And in the commencement of affairs, the fact of so many victories following one another in close succession led to extravagant ambitions in the mind of the Sulṭān; one of these was religious innovation, and moreover by the assistance of these four Ulugh Khān, Nusrat Khān, Ẓafar Khān and Alp Khān he was led to estimate himself as being superior to the Prophet on whom be the peace and blessing of God,^254c and his companions may God be gracious to them all.^254d The second was the conquest of the whole inhabited world like Sikandar; this led to his ordering his name to be inscribed on the currency and mentioned in the proclamation as Sikandar-i-ṯānī.^254e When he sought the advice of ‘Alāu-l-Mulk Kotwāl of Dihlī he restrained the Sulṭān from pursuing both these claims and said, “No one can evolve a religion out of his own brain unless he be aided²⁵⁵ by God, and till he can perform miracles^255a This object cannot be acquired by the strength of dominion, and wealth, and majesty, and splendour, moreover such an attempt may be expected, nay is certain to result in violent disorders and tumults of all kinds, nothing will be gained while disgrace will follow the attempt: as for conquering realms, it is a worthy ambition, but needs the highest qualifications, as well as perfection of rule and a vazīr like Aristotle, none of which are here existent.

If the Sulṭān clears Hindustān of infidels and frees the environs of Dihlī from these contumacious ruffians, this will be in no way inferior to the world conquests of Sikandar.”

The Sulṭān, after due meditation, was greatly pleased with these ^189. proofs deduced from reason and supported by precedent, and bestowed a robe of honour upon ‘Alāu-l-Mulk and gave him large rewards, and abstained from attempting to satisfy either of his ambitions. The Amīrs, who on account of the harshness of the Sulṭān, and the roughness of his temper, were unable to say anything of service, all sent presents of horses and valuables for ‘Alāu-l-Mulk and were loud in praise of him.

Verse.

In my opinion that one is thy well wisher,
Who says that will be a thorn in thy path.

In this year the Sulṭān proceeding to Deogīr gained a fresh conquest^255b and doubled his spoils:

That which he cut after that his sword cut double,
That which he defeated after that his mace defeated again
and again.

And in the year 698 H. (1298 A.D.) he appointed Ulugh Khān to the command of a powerful army, to proceed into the country of Gūjerāt against Rāi Karan who had thirty thousand cavalry, and eighty thousand infantry, and thirty head of elephants. Ulugh Khān, after Rāi Karan was defeated, ravaged and laid waste Nahr-wāla, and pursued him;²⁵⁶ and Rāi Karan took refuge with Rai Rāmdeo^256a who was the ruler of Deogīr, in the country of the Deccan. The family of Rāi Karan, with his treasury and elephants and all his possessions, fell into the hands of the Muslim warrior. Among the ladies of his harem was one Dewalrānī, of whom Khizr ^190. Khān the son of Sulṭān ‘Alāu-d-Dīn ultimately became enamoured. He related the account of his amours to Mīr Khusrū for him to turn into verse, and the book of Khizr Khān and Dewalrānī, which is known as the ‘Ashīqa, is in his name. Ulugh Khān carried off an idol from Nahrwāla (in place of the idol of Somnāt which Sulṭān Maḥmūd had carried^256b to Ghaznin, and the Hindūs had made an object of their worship,) and took it to Dihlī where he caused it to be trampled under foot by the populace; then he pursued Rāi Karan as far as Somnāt, and a second time laid waste the idol temple of Somnāt, and building a mosque there retraced his steps.

Nusrat Khān having proceeded to Kuhanbāyat,^256c a well-known post, seized much spoil of valuable goods and rubies and other jewels from the traders;^256d Kāfūr Hazār Dīnārī whom the Sulṭān Alāu-d-Dīn had latterly taken into close favour, and made Nāibu-l-Mulk, was part of that booty.

When Ulugh Khān arrived on the frontiers of Alwar he occupied himself with verifying the amount of property and spoil which had fallen into the hands of his people during these several battles, and exacted the giving up of much of it with great severity. A certain party of Mughuls who accompanied him thought this rather unfair, and consequently plotted a rebellion, but eventually were dispersed; some of them went off to Rāi Hamīr Dev in Jhāīn,²⁵⁷ which is near Rantanbhor, and some went elsewhere.

Ulugh Khān proceeded by continuous marches to his master at Dihlī, and from this we gather that the massacre of the foreigners (above alluded to) took place after the arrival of Ulugh Khān from Gujrāt. Historians have paid little attention to the due order of events, but God knows the truth.

And in the year 699 H. (1299 A.D.) Ulugh Khān was nominated to proceed against the fortress of Rantanbhor and Jhāīn, which is better known as Naushahr,^257a and Rāi Hamīr Dev, the grandson ¹⁹¹ of Raī Pithora,^257b who had ten thousand cavalry, and countless infantry, and celebrated elephants, gave him battle but was defeated, and with great generalship withdrew the whole of his forces into the fortress of Rantanbhor.

Ulugh Khān having reported^257c the state of affairs to the Court, urged the Sulṭān to capture the fort; the Sulṭān collected his forces^257d and marched against Rantanbhor, and in a short time, by skilful effort, and aided by the energy of his Maliks, completely subdued and took the fortress, and despatched Hamīr Dev to hell. Great booty, and spoil, and treasures fell into his hands. Then he appointed^257e a Kotwāl to hold that fortress, and having bestowed the country of Jhāīn upon Ulugh Khān, left to attack Chitor,^257f and having conquered that place also within a few days, and²⁵⁸ having given it the name of Khiẓrābād, and having bestowed a red canopy upon Khiẓr Khān aforesaid, made Chitor over to him as governor. Among the events which happened in this expedition this was one, that Nuṣrat Khān had come from Karra^258a to Rantanbhor, to reinforce Ulugh Khān before the Sulṭān arrived there;^258b and during the siege one day a stone struck him on the head, and he went without delay to the other world. One arm of the Sulṭān, that is to say Ẓafar Khān, had been broken in the fight with Qutluq Khwāja, and now the second arm was broken also.

When the army was encamped in the neighbourhood of Malhab^258c the Sulṭān one day was engaged in the hunting field;^258d when night came on he remained in the plain, and at dawn of day he posted his troops all round, while he himself with a select following ascended an eminence and was watching the sport.^258e In the meantime the brother's son of the Sulṭān, Akat Khān,^258f together with a band of new-Muslim Mughuls who were engaged in performing ^192. the duties of guards, attacked the Sulṭān relentlessly and smote him with arrows, seized him and wounded his arm. As it was the winter season, and the Sulṭān was wearing a cap^258g stuffed with cotton his wounds were not fatal. Akat Khān wished to alight from his horse and strike off the Sulṭān's head from his body, but some of the attendants pretending to side with him and take his part, cried out, the Sulṭān is killed! Akat Khān was satisfied at hearing this, and made off with all speed to the camp on horseback, and entering the royal hall of audience seated himself upon the throne, and drawing the canopy over his head, the Amīrs, in accordance with ancient custom, gave in their allegiance to him as the rightful king,²⁵⁹ and raised no overt objection. Akat Khān was so overwhelmed by his inordinate lust that on the instant he made an attempt upon the ḥaram,^259a but Malik Dīnar Ḥaramī who was on guard at the entrance to the ḥaram with his men armed and equipped, said, Till you shew me the head of the Sulṭān I will not permit you to set foot within this private chamber. Sulṭān ‘Alāu-d-Dīn, when he had somewhat regained consciousness^259b after that perilous attack, bound up his wounds. He was convinced in his own mind that Akat Khān, in unison with the Amīrs who had revolted, had had the audacity to make this disgraceful attempt upon his life, for that were it not so, he was not the man to attempt it alone.

Accordingly his intention was to make his way to Jhāīn (where Ulugh Khān was) with the fifty or sixty attendants who had remained with him, and see what course Ulugh Khān would recommend. One or two of his confidential retainers pointed out the unwisdom of this course and urged him to go at once to the royal pavilion and kingly court.

Before they arrived at the Court fifty horsemen joined them, and Akat Khān took the road to Afghānpūr, but a body of men ^193. who had been despatched in pursuit of him by forced marches made him prisoner,^259c sent him into the Sulṭān's presence, and then utterly destroyed all his family and relations wherever they found them, among whom Qutluq Khān his brother also perished.^259d

Verse.

One who injures the country is better beheaded

And at that same time ‘Umar Khān and Mangū Khān the two nephews of the Sulṭān, revolted in Badāon: certain of the Amīrs sent from the Court seized them and brought them to the Sulṭān, by whose orders their eyes were put out.²⁶⁰

If thou revoltest against thy benefactor
Even if thou art the sun, thou wilt fall headlong.

This further occurrence took place, namely, when the Sulṭān was engaged in besieging Rantanbhor, a person named Ḥājī Maulā, one of the slaves of Maliku-l-Umarā Kotwāl,^260a gathered together certain ruffians, displayed a counterfeit order in Dihlī,^260b entered the city by the Badāon gate, and sent for one Turmuẓī Kotwāl and in an instant cut his head off,^260c closed the city gates, and sent a messenger to ‘Alāu-l-Mulk^260d a friend of his, who was Kotwāl of the New Castle, saying “An order has come from the Sulṭān, come and read it” ‘Alāu-l-Mulk being fully alive to what was going on^260e did not obey the summons, whereupon the rebel Ḥājī Maulā went to the Ruby Palace, and liberating all the prisoners, gave a horse and arms and a large bag (of gold) out of the treasury to each one, gathered together an immense following; then he seized by force Saiyyid Zāda-i-‘Alawī Shāh Nabsa,^260f who on his mother's side was descended from Sulṭān Shamsu-d-Dīn Altamsh (Iyaltimish), summoning his chief men ^194. and nobles for the purpose, and seated him upon the throne at the entrance to the Red Palace, and compelled the chief men whether they would or no, to swear allegiance to him.

The Sulṭān, when he heard this tidings, did not publish it, nor did he betray any signs of emotion, until he had succeeded by superhuman effort in entirely²⁶¹ reducing the fortress. A week had hardly passed after this exploit of Hājī Maulā when Malik Ḥamīdu Dīn, who was Amīr of Koh, with his sons who were renowned for their valour, and a body of the cavalry of Ẓafar Khān who had come from Amrohā to oppose the Mughuls,^261a engaged Hājī Maulā in fight, and having destroyed him, put to death the hapless Saiyyid Zāda also, and sent their heads to Rantanbhor. The Sulṭān nominated Ulugh Khān to proceed to Dihlī to track out those who had taken part in that^261b rebellion, and bring them to destruction. He also completely eradicated the family and relations of Maliku-l-Umarā on this suspicion that Hājī Maulā would not have embarked on this enterprise without their instigation.^261c

The Sulṭān after adding the fortress of Rantanbhor and its surrounding districts to the jāegīr of Ulugh Khān returned (to Dihlī). Ulugh Khān was taken ill that very day while on the road, and died,^261d and Rantanbhor became for him like the Paradise of Shaddād.^261e

Moreover a band of robbers of Jālor, whose leader was Mīr Muḥammad Shāh, were captured in Rantanbhor after the fort was taken. When the Sulṭān asked Muḥammad Shāh (who had been wounded) ‘If I should spare your life and have you cured, and you should thus escape this deadly danger, how would you treat me in future?’ he replied, ‘If I should get well and should have an opportunity, I would kill you and raise the son of Hamīr Dev to the throne.’ The Sulṭān wondered, and was amazed at ^195. this audacity, and enquired of his most shrewd and astute Amīrs the reason why the people had so turned against him, and why these continual riots and seditions were so constantly occurring, and further sought to know how to set about remedying these evils. They shewed him several paths of conduct which would end naturally in four things. Firstly, that the king should in his own person be aware of the enterprises both good and bad which are going on in his kingdom. Secondly, that he should put an end to wine bibbing, which is the source of so much evil. Thirdly, abandonment by the maliks of their gadding about to each others' houses and holding deliberative meetings.²⁶³ Fourthly, to demand back the money which he had lavished, from all classes, whether soldiery or populace, because it is the fountain head of all riot and sedition, especially upstarts and nouveaux riches,^263a and in a short time these regulations would by their inherent good, be acceptable to the Rāīs, and pass from potentiality to actuality just as has already been related in a former place.

The Sulṭān did away with wine drinking, and brought the other regulations also into force, and also published several new rules of his own, which have never been heard of either before or after his time, whether they were in accordance with religious law or not; one of these rules was that regulating the price of grain, and cloth, and horses, and all necessaries essential to the comfort of the soldiery and populace, and the bestowal of rewards and alms upon all classes of the people, the detail of which is told at some length in the history of Ẓiā-i-Barnī.²⁶⁴ Those laws were the most extraordinary of all: this cheapness of provisions was one of the chief sources of the prosperity of the people, and formed a stout wall of defence against the irruption of the Mughuls. And inasmuch as in mentioning some of these events and occurrences in the original work,^264a the chronological sequence has not been preserved, and they have been only incidentally mentioned as occasion arose, for this reason they have also been recounted here in the same manner.

^196. In the year 700 H. he ordered ‘Ainu-l-Mulk Shihāb Multānī to proceed to Mālwa with a large army [and Kōkā the Rānī who had forty thousand cavalry and 100,000 infantry, not being able to stand against him fled].^264b ‘Ainu-l-Mulk ravaged and pillaged that country and returned victorious with countless spoils.^264c The Khusrū of poets has described this in the ‘Ashīqa, in these words:

He gave ‘Aīnu-l-Mulk a signal with his brow
To turn his face towards the kingdom of Mālwa;
From the clear-sightedness which ‘Ainu-l-Mulk possessed,
That which he ordered was brought into sight.
He marched with an army drawn up in array,
And placed round them sentinels like the eyelashes.^264d

And in the year already mentioned the Sulṭān set out for Sorath^264e on a hunting expedition, and despatched to hell Satal Dev a rebel who had taken refuge in that fortress with a huge army, the Sulṭān's army having before been unable to reduce it, but it now fell into their hands. And in the year 701 H. (1301 A.D.) the fort of Jālor was reduced by Kamālu-d-Dīn Kark and he sent Kanhar Dev, a headstrong rebel to the lowest abyss of hell.

And in the year 702 H. (1302 A.D.) he sent Malik Kāfūr Nāib²⁶⁵ with a large army and complete equipment towards Tilang and Marhaṭ^265a and an immense quantity of treasure with elephants and horses, jewels and cloths, fell as spoil into the hands of the troops.

And in the year 709 (1309 A.D.)^265b Malik Nāib Kāfūr went a second time to Arankal^265c and having taken much treasure and several fine elephants and seven thousand horses as a present from Rāi Nadar Dev the Governor of Arankal made him a regular tributary. And in the year 710 H. (1310 A.D.) the country ^197. of Ma‘bar^265d as far as Dhor^265e Samundar came into the possession of the Muslims.

And in the year 711 H. (1311 A.D.) Malik Nāib brought to court and presented his spoils consisting of three hundred an twelve elephants, and twenty thousand horses, ninety-six thousand mans of gold, and many chests of jewels and pearls besides other booty beyond the limits of computation; Amīr Khusrū who was with that army has given full particulars in the Khazāīnu-l-Futūḥ : some attributed these victories to respite before punishment, and some to the miraculous powers of Sulṭān ‘Alāu-d-Dīn, while others held that the peace and security of that reign were due to the unbounded blessings of the Sulṭānu-l-Mashāikh Niẓāmu-l-Auliyā²⁶⁶ may God^266a sanctify his resting-place.

At length when the Sulṭān's mind was satisfied, and he gained some leisure from the administration of the State, he set himself to provide for the future of his two sons, allotting to each one a province in the neighbourhood, and setting apart districts for them. Among other events was the marriage of Khiẓr Khān to Dewal Rānī, and Girāī's account is of a nature to last to all eternity, and those who have the taste may read the account of that in the ‘Ashīqa;^266b then having bestowed upon Khiẓr Khān the canopy and staff of office, and having made him his heir the Sulṭān sent him away to Hatnāpūr^266c and the foot of the hills. When affairs were settled,^266d and the heavens began to act with their ingrained natural deceit, and commenced displaying those evil traits, and old age overcame the Sulṭān's health, his followers deserted him;

Verse.

In the world, when a king becomes advanced in years
His worshippers grow weary of him;
His head, which is worthy of a crown,
He must recline on musk not on ivory.^266e

^198. Various disorders affected him,^266f and hectic fever which leads^266g to ill-temper, and suspiciousuess, and causes the health to become deranged, gained the mastery over him, and when only such a small amount of health remained that it was like a single lamp to light the whole house, Khiẓr Khān in fulfilment of a vow he had made, in singleness of heart and sincerity of spirit set out from Hatnāpūr²⁶⁷ barefooted upon a pilgrimage to the holy men of Dihlī, and performed his thanksgiving for the restoration of his father's health, but it is a very strange fact that he never once went to visit the Sulṭānu-l-Mashāikh wal Auliyā,

“Shaikh of the sects, Pillar of the faith, Niẓāmu-d-Dīn
Like Khiẓr and Masīḥ, with a breath brings bones to life.”

with whom he was connected by bonds of affection and sanctity.

And Malik Nāib informed the Sulṭān of the coming of Khiẓr Khān with considerable embellishment, saying that Alp Khān, the maternal uncle of Khiẓr Khān, who had arrived from Gujrāt, out of policy and prudence, having regard to the affairs of the State and in his desire to become Nāib and Vakīl, bad himself summoned his sister's son, and further remarked that if this crude idea and immature desire had not fixed itself in the mind of Khiẓr Khān, why had he come unbidden to the Court?

The Sulṭān whose health was upset, and his brain disordered and disposed to entertain absurd prejudices, in according with the saying,^267a “When a man's health is disordered his fancies are disordered,” from his great lack of discrimination taking this suggestion as the actual fact, and regarding this assertion^267b as the truth, instantly gave orders for the execution of Alp Khān.

Malik Nāib and Malik Kamālu-d-Dīn Kark seizing that unhappy wretch like a meek lamb, cut him to pieces inside the Royal palace. After that Malik Nāib induced the Sulṭān (on the ground that Khiẓr Khān had taken alarm at the murder of his uncle and that it was not expedient for him to return to his own place in the court), to issue instructions that, to allow of the restoration^267c of order in the State, he should go for some ^199. time to Amroha till a command should issue summoning him to the presence. In the meantime he might engage in hunting, and he was to return to the Court his canopy and staff of office, and all the other insignia of royalty. Khiẓr Khān having obeyed this order with a sad and distracted heart, after a little while relying upon the sincerity of affection he entertained for his father and the confidence between them, wrote to him to this effect,²⁶⁸ that he had never committed any breach of trust which could cause the Sulṭān to be so wroth with him; then overcome by sorrow he determined to leave Amroha for Dihlī. When he arrived to do obeisance to his father, the chord of fatherly affection was stirred in the heart of the Sulṭān, he clasped his son to his breast, and kissed him several times on the forehead, and motioned to him to go and see his mother. Khiẓr Khān went thither, and Malik Nāib out of villainy,^268a on the instant went back to the Sulṭān and filled his ears with lies, saying,^268b ‘Khiẓr Khān has now come for the second time to the palace with evil intentions without orders, and the Sulṭān takes no notice of the matter.’ The Sulṭān upon this occasion gave orders to send both brothers, Khiẓr Khān and Shādī Khān, to the fortress of Gwāliār.^268c Malik Nāib, after these two heirs had been deported, and the way was clear for Malik Shihābu-d-Dīn, the son of the Sulṭān by another mother, who was yet a lad of tender years, made him heir-apparent and exacted from him an agreement.

After two or three days the Sulṭān's life became intolerable through his affliction, and he would willingly have purchased a breath at the price of a world, but it was not to be had.

Verse.

Sikandar, who held sway over a world,
At the time when he was departing, and was quitting the
world,
^200. It could not be as he wished, though he would have given
a world could they have given him in return the brief
respite of a moment.

The mint of Existence was emptied of the coin of life.

This event took place in the year 715 H. (1316 A.D.).²⁶⁹ The duration of the reign of Sulṭān ‘Alāu-d-Dīn was twenty-one years.

‘Alāu-d-Dīn who struck his stamp upon the golden coin
Subdued a world beneath the palm of his gold-scattering
hand.^269a
By the revolution of the sky, that stamp became changed,
but that gold
Remained the same in appearance, and you may see it now
passing from hand to hand.

[Account of Amīr Khusrū and Mīr Ḥasan may God have mercy on them].^269b

And among the poets^269c by whose existence the reign of Sulṭān ‘Alāu-d-Dīn was adorned and honoured, one was the Khusrū-i-Shā‘irān (Prince of Poets), may God shew him mercy and acceptance, whose writings, whether prose or poetry, have completely filled the world from one remotest end to the other.

He completed his five works, collectively called Khamsa,^269d in the year 698 H. (1298 A. D.), in honour of Sulṭān ‘Alāu-d-Dīn, within the space of two years. Among these works is the Maṭla‘u-l-Anwār ²⁷⁰ which he composed in two weeks as he himself says (in these verses):

The year of this ancient heaven which had passed away
Was after six hundred and ninety eight.
Following on the steps of the sky traversing star^270a
In two weeks did the full moon^270b arrive at completion.

In the Nafaḥāt^270c it is stated upon the authority of Sulṭānu-l-Ma shāikh Niẓāmu-l-Auliyā, may God sanctify his sacred resting-place , that on the day of judgment each individual will boast of some one thing, and my boast (said he) will be of the heart-burnings of this Turk Allāh^270d (God's champion); Mīr Khusrū probably alludes to this when he says:—

Khusrū my friend, strive in the right way
^201. That you may be called Turk-i-Khudā (God's champion).

Another poet was Mīr Ḥasan Dihlavī,^270e whose anthology also has enslaved the east and west of the world. Although in that reign there were other poets who composed anthologies, still by reason of these two eminent poets the mention of the others sinks into insignificance.

The death of Mīr Khusrū took place in the year 725 H. (1325 A.D.). He is buried in Dihlī at the foot of the sacred tomb of his own spiritual instructor²⁷¹ may God shew mercy to them. Maulānā Shihāb^271a wrote an enigmatical chronogram upon that, and having had it engraved upon a tablet of stone had it fixed above the shrine^271b of Mīr Khusrū. It is as follows:—

Mīr Khusrū, the Khusrū of the kingdom of eloquence,
That ocean of excellence, and sea of perfection;
His prose is more attractive than flowing water,
His poetry purer than the most limpid streams;
A sweet-singing nightingale without a rival,
Honey-tongued parrot without an equal:
In tracing the date of the year of his death,
When I placed my head upon the knee of thought,
One phrase ‘Adīmu-l-Miṯl^271c came as the date,
Another was Ṭūṭī-i-Shakar Maqāl.^271d

Mīr Ḥasan, in the year in which Sulṭān Muḥammad having laid waste Dihlī built Daulatābād^271e in the Deccan, died in that country, and was buried in the city of Daulatābād where his tomb is well known, and is visited as a shrine of sanctity.

‘Ārif Jāmī,²⁷² may his resting-place be sanctified, says—

Those two parrots from whose birth
Hindustān was filled with sugar,
Became at last a mark for the arrow of the sky
And were silenced and prisoned in the cage of earth.

^202. Who was a child, ascended the throne as a puppet in the month of Shawwāl, 715 A.H. (1316 A.D.) by the exertions, and with the consent of Malik Nāib, and was styled by the above title. He sent Malik Ikhtiyāru-d-Dīn Sanbal to the fortress of Gwāliār to put out the eyes of Khiẓr Khān and Shādī Khān. He also caused the mother of Khiẓr Khān, Malika-i-Jahān, to be imprisoned, and confiscated all her property, and having thrown the Shāhzāda, whose name was Mubārak Khān, into prison, intended to put out his eyes, but fate did not second his efforts.

When his attempts to uproot the family of ‘Alāu-d-Dīn became known, two sirdars named Mubashshir and Bashīr in concert with a body of pāiks of the garrison of the Hazār Sutūn palace, one night murdered Malik Nāib.²⁷³

Verse.

If thou doest evil, hope not for good,
For never wilt thou gather grapes from thorns;
I do not imagine that thou who hast sown barley in autumn
When harvest comes wilt gather in wheat.

Then, having released Shāhzāda Mubārak Khān from prison, they appointed^273a him to be Nāib to Sulṭān Shihābu-d-Dīn in place of Malik Nāib: Mubārak Khān carried on the affairs of the state for one or two months after that, and succeeded in conciliating the Amīrs and Maliks. Then he sent Sulṭān Shihābu-d-Dīn to the fortress of Gwāliār where he finally died in the year 716 H.^273b

Verse.

No one has ever seen a trace of fidelity in Time,
Everyone who seeks fidelity from Time is in error.

The Sirdārs having put some of these pāiks to death,^273c scattered ^203. the rest of them in all directions.

Verse.

Good requites good, and evil meets with evil,
This is the way of the world: requital of actions.

And the period of the reign of Shihābu-d-Dīn was three months and a few days.

Ascended the throne of Dihlī with the consent of the Amīrs and Vazīrs in the early part of the year 717, H.²⁷⁴ and apportioning appointments and suitable jāegīrs among his most trusted Amīrs, specially distinguished by promoting to high office one Ḥasan, Barāwar bacha,^274a who was very handsome, and had been brought as a captive from Mālwa. He had been the protégé of Malik Shādī Nāib-i-Khāṣṣ, the Hājib of Sulṭān ‘Alāu-d-Dīn. ^274b

He gave him the title of Khusrū Khān. The tribe of Barāwar^274c are a family of servile position in Gujrāt; but now in the kingdom of Dihlī, the Sulṭān, to such an extent was he infatuated by his beautiful face, raised him, in spite of his unfitness for the office, to the trusted post of Vazīr.

Verse.

If thou desirest thy kingdom to be glorious
Give not high office to an upstart;
Unless thou wishest that thy state should be ruined
Entrust not thy affairs to the inexperienced.

And Sulṭān Quṭbu-d-Dīn, inasmuch as he had undergone the affliction of imprisonment, on the very first day of his reign had all the prisoners liberated, and appointed Malik Fakhru-d-Dīn Jūnā the Son of Ghāzī Malik, who eventually was entitled Muḥammad ‘Ādil, to be Mīr Ākhor.^274d

In the first year of his reign he contemplated the conquest of Deogīr otherwise called Daulatābād,^274e but his Amīrs opposed and dissuaded him.

Verse.

It was not deemed expedient, from motives of wisdom,
That the world's king should move from his place;
Who knows, what are the hidden designs of evil wishers, ^204.
Or who, in all sincerity, is well disposed to the king?

In the year 718 H. (1318 A.D.) Sulṭān Quṭbu-d-Dīn sent Sar Salāḥī Kotwāl,²⁷⁵ with orders to proceed to Gwāliār and put to death Khiẓr Khān and Shādī Khān. Having done this he summoned Dewal Rānī and included her in his ḥaram. With reference to this Mīr Khusrū writes:

Verses.

In short one who is acquainted with the secret of this mystery
In this way opened the door of this treasury of secrets,
That when the Sulṭān Mubārak Shāh in cruelty
Turned against his own kith and kin with anger and frowning,
He considered that the interests of the country demanded
their murder,
And thought that they deserved the sharp sword.
His object was to empty the country of noble men by malicious enterprise.
Secretly he sent a messenger to Khiẓr Khān
Making treacherous protestations of hearty good will
Saying, Oh thou shining light who remainest far from the
assembly,
Thy body ill at ease and thy countenance without light;
Thou knowest that this is none of my doing,
The oppressed remains while the oppressor disappears.
If thou art imprisoned, by the Lord of the world
When the time comes he himself will loosen these bonds.
In this matter haste and anxiety are not fitting,
An elephant extricates itself from the mire by patient endeavour.
Now, we too are engaged in plumbing this matter
So that by clever contrivance we may free you from that
captivity.
If thou art fitted to become a king
We will make thee ruler over a wide kingdom.
But the affection for some one which springs in thy heart
Is not fitted for the loftiness of thy ambition.
Dewal Rānī who is but a handmaiden to thee,
For whom even were the moon needed as handmaid this were
an easy matter,
I have heard that she is so dear to thee
That thy cypress-like form stoops to kiss her feet.
This is not fitting that from shortsightedness
The king should be enslaved by a slave.
The gourd is in any case of no account in the garden
^205. That it should attempt to raise its head in emulation of the
Chinār.
A straw which places its foot upon the face of the stream
Is carried hither and thither by the wind and buffeted by the
floods.²⁷⁶
[My heart's desire makes this request, that thou should'st give
up that mistress of thine.]
Since she went from here, send her back hither again
Send her to take her place at the foot of my throne.
When the infatuation of thy mind is somewhat less
We will send her back to thee to be thy handmaid.
When the messenger went and took back the message
Khiẓr Khān's heart no longer enjoyed any rest.
First he wept tears of blood which flooded his eyes and lips,
Then he sent back an answer mingled with blood
Saying, since the Shāh has attained his ambition in becoming
a sovereign,
He must leave Dewal Rānī to me.
If however you desire to deprive me of this wealth
You desire to see me despoiled of wealth and light.
Since this heart's delight holds her head as high as mine
Cut off my head, afterwards thou wilt know.
When the messenger, from that grief-stricken soul
Bore those fiery sighs to the palace of the king,
The Emperor waxed wrath from head to foot
From his heart he smiled, as lightning smiles in the cloud,
The flame of the fire of²⁷⁷ enmity shot forth,
He who sought a pretext, was provided with a new one.^277a
In anger he sent for Sar Salāḥī (the Kotwāl)
Saying you must travel this day before nightfall a hundred
krohs;
Go to Gwāliār at this moment without delay,
And with the sword cut off the heads of the lions of the
country,
That I may be safe from the nobles of the country;
Because this disturbance, small as it is, risks the existence of
the country.
At his order the tyrant set out,
The pigeon was tied^277b by the foot and the hawk hungry.
In that day and night he travelled several leagues
He arrived and again imprisoned him intending (to kill him).^277c
He made known the orders he had received from the throne,
The garrison of the fort set about carrying out this severe
measure;
The ruthless soldiery entered shamelessly^277d into that pure ^206.
place of chastity,
The veiled ladies^277e were thrown into consternation and screamed
so that the roof and doors shook with their cries.
In that palace every arrow-like beam^277f became curved like a
bow,
The day of resurrection became a guest in that Paradise;
From the corners of the rooms in great consternation
The male lions leapt forth in wrath,
The arms had lost their strength, and the bodies their power,
Force was dead, and wit had sunk to sleep.²⁷⁸
Shādī Khān Wālā waxed wrath, and sought aid from the
protection of God most High,
Nimbly he leapt upon the Kotwāl and fought with him for a
long time, threw him to the ground and sought for a sword
wherewith to slay him.
Inasmuch as he had lost his sword of victory
What did that unattainable strength avail him?
Allies ran up to help him from right and left
They fell one after the other and that fallen one rose up.
Each fierce (lion) was attacked by ten dogs,^278a
See how the dogs vent their wrath upon the lions,
Hey for the meanness of the cowardly sky
That permits dogs to hunt lions!
When they had forcibly bound those two prosperous chieftains,
The time bound the hands of fortune and prosperity.
Those wondrous men fell into disgrace,
Blood-reeking swords appeared on every side
When the murderous clashing of daggers was heard,
The blood-thirsty murderer appeared from the door,
Hard as a rock,^278b source of grief, though his name was Shādī
(Joy)
As repulsive as the document of a dowry, and the grief
arising from debt.
Artful enough to depose Dajjāl^278c from his place,
Hideous enough to make Satan forgetful of his own ugliness;
On each side of his face was gathered a dark cloud,²⁷⁹
From every hair sprang a sword.^279a
Fierce wrath as cutting as the executioner's sword, ^207.
A glance as piercing as the chisel of Farhād;^279b
His lips wreathed in an angry smile,
Through wrath seizing|his lips between his teeth
His one desire and wish was revenge and punishment,
From head to foot a statue of hatred and scorn;
When he gave the signal and brandished his sword on all sides²⁸⁰
Not one leapt like lightning from that mass of clouds.
May God have mercy!
How could anyone draw the sword of revenge upon that
crowd of moonlike faces.
Whose heart would not be torn with distracting grief
In pity for so many young and beautiful men?
Oh Lord! may the breast of heaven be rent a hundredfold
To think that it has brought so many noble ones to the dust.
How can you look for pity for the blood he sheds, in the heart
of the butcher?
Whose one desire is to see his knife stained with blood.
When the bloody butcher binds roses upon his head,
Why should he withhold his knife from the rose-like body?
Since no one of them desired that the sword should succeed
in shedding their blood,^280a
There leapt from their midst like a whirlwind
A man of low origin, a Hindū by birth
Dusky of hue, like to Ahriman,^280b
Nay! a thousand Ahrimans would stand aghast at his face;
Grief-increasing like the pleasure of those in distress,
Wrong in judgment like the intellect of young people;
Unlucky to look upon as a young owl,
Like a morning in Dai^280c at Ghaznīn cold and inhospitable;
Like the night of sorrow his forehead full of gloom,
Like the nature of a wicked man, accursed.
A lip like the sole of a ploughman's foot,
A cheek like the mouth of a man with paralysis;
That hideous one had a mouth like a helmet,
His smile like the yawning of a burst shoe;
Long whiskers twisted over his ears
His whiskers taking the place of the ring in the slave's ear;
Lightly he leapt out from the line of warriors,
[You would think that a wave of blood would burst from him, ^208.
His skirt tucked up in his wrathful haste, his sleeves drawn
back for bloodshed.]²⁸¹
He demanded a well-tempered sword from his officer,^281a
Drew it, and tightened up the skirt of his tunic;
[The head of that cypress-like noble fell from his shoulders
He who was renowned for his youth and beauty]^281b
Martyrdom was evident^281c in Khiẓr in that palace;
Just as the tree praises God when its branches put forth leaves
The heaven kept lamenting over his punishment;
The angels continually assisted him in his martyrdom,
Riẓwān threw open the gates of Paradise,
All the Hūrīs began to sing his praises.
From that martyr's shout of triumph which came forth from
the Shāh,
The sun and moon joined in the martyr's song.
When the dagger was raised aloft and the Shāh's face was
seen amid its clustering locks,
Lamentation arose in that assembly like^281d the roll of thunder;
The sun made his body a shield to protect him,
But Fate turned it on one side from before him.
When the sword of Fate severs the cord of Hope,
Neither sun nor moon can become a shield for thee;
With one blow which that ruthless one struck
He made the Shāh's head a guest in his bosom.
To wash away the blood, the revolving water-wheel of the sky
Required that the spring of the sun should yield all its blood;
But, since there was no longer a breath of life in his body,
Of what avail was it to wash the blood from the surface of it.
Dewal Rānī, who was a woman of dignity and beauty,
Was the lifespring of Khiẓr Khān's existence.
Since the Khiẓr of the sky had lain in ambush to slay him
That very well of life²⁸² of his became the sword of enmity.
When we look in this crystal globe carefully
Many life giving springs are also fatal to their Khiẓr.
The soul of the lover was poured out with his life blood,
But still was hovering round about the beloved one.
A rose from which thou ḥast tasted a pearl of dew,
Thou wilt shed thy blood^282a for it a hundred times.
Instead of rose water they drew his heart's blood from that
rose,
See how they (mercilessly) robbed him of his blood!

And when the foundation stone of this edifice of his destruction of the family of ‘Alāu-d-Dīn was laid, the question was asked of a devotee, why this should be? His reply was because ‘Alāu-d-Dīn had cast a firebrand into the family^282b of the uncle of his benefactor, and as a consequence similar treatment had been meted out to his own family.

Verse.

^209. In this full voiced, re-echoing dome (the world)
Whatever speech you utter that same will you hear.

At all events, after the usurpation by Sulṭān Quṭbu-d-Dīn, all the rules and regulations made by ‘Alāu-d-Dīn, each of which embodied some wise purpose or far-seeing design, were thrown into confusion, and dissoluteness and wickedness, contumacy and rebellion sprang anew to life during the reign of Sulṭān Quṭbu-d-Dīn, who threw open the doors of license and gratification of desires to the people; and when Malik Kamālu-d-Dīn Garg, after that Alf Khān had been summoned to the presence and had been executed, proceeded to Gujrāt where he attained martyrdom, ‘Ainu-l-Mulk Multānī was nominated by the Court,^282c and having quelled the disturbance there regained possession^282d of Nahrwāla and all the country of Gujrāt, Sulṭān Quṭbu-d-Dīn married the daughter of Malik Dīnār, and having given²⁸³ him the title of Ẓafar Khān sent him to Gujrāt. He performed^283a the important duties of that province better and more satisfactorily than ‘Ainu-l-Mulk.

In the year 718 H. (1318 A.D.) Sulṭān Quṭbu-d-Dīn marched for Deogīr with a larger army, and the Rāīs of that country were not able to stand against him.

He flayed^283b Harpāl Deo who had rebelled during the time which followed the death of Rām Deo.^283c The country of the Marhattas also fell into the hands of Quṭbu-d-Dīn who, having given Khusrū Khān the canopy and staff of office ordered him to proceed to Ma‘bar, and having left Yaklakhī in Deogīr as Nāib, returned to Dihlī. Near Badra-i-Sakūn^283d Malik Asadu-d-Dīn ibn Yaghrash Khān who was called Malik Khamūsh, and who was the uncle's son of Sulṭān ‘Alāu-d-Dīn, was smitten with the ambition of chieftainship,^283e and plotted a rebellion against the Sulṭān, who however was warned^283f of this design by one of his loyal adherents, and gave orders for the immediate execution of Malik Asadu-d-Dīn. He also sent orders that twenty of the relations of ^210. Yaghrash Khān who were aware of this conspiracy^283g some of whom were children, should be executed, and when he reached Jhāin he sent Shādī Kath^283h his chief captain to Gwaliār to bring the family and relations of the murdered Khiẓr Khān and Shādī Khān with the remainder of the haram of ‘Alāu-d-Dīn to Dihlī, after having killed Sulṭān Shihābu-d-Dīn, which he carried out. Sulṭān Quṭbu-d-Dīn was led by the fact that Khiẓr Khān had been a disciple of the Sulṭānu-l-Mashāikh Niẓāmu-d-Dīn Aulīyā, to regard that holy Shaikh with suspicion and distrust, and in opposition to the wishes of the holy Shaikh, sent for Shaikh Ruknu-d-Dīn from Multān, and honoured Shaikhzada-i-Jām, who was one of the opponents of Shaikh (Niẓāmu-d-Dīn) with special distinction.

Verse.

When God²⁸⁴ desires to openly disgrace any man
He leads him to abuse those of holy and pure nature;
And if God desires to hide the sins of any man
He leads him to talk little about the sins of other sinners.

His habits also underwent great change, and his heart emboldened him to walk in the valley of bloodshed as his father had done, so that rivers of blood began to flow, and he put to death without any cause Ẓafar Khān Walī of Gujerāt.

In the mean while Yaklakhī had prepared a rebellion in Deogīr, and had arranged to assume the insignia of royalty. At last when Khusrū Khān reached Deogīr, the men of the army who had been sent to Deogīr seized Yaklakhī and made him over to Khusrū Khān, who sent him bound to Dihlī where he was executed. The Sulṭān^284a also put to death Malik Shāhīn who was ^211. known by the title of Wafā Malik, without any reason save the representations of some intriguers.

In these days the Sulṭān used generally to array himself in women's garments, and adorning himself like them with gold and jewels, used to give public audience. Moreover he openly indulged in drinking and other forms of vice, inter marem feminamque discrimen nullomodo facere solebat.

Verse.

Statura cujusvis ut littera Alif erecta, idem quod litteræ
Dāl et Nūn incurvescebat, adeo Alif in rimam omnium
inserebat.

He used to command buffoons and jesters to insult with jest and witticisms his most trusted and eminent Amīrs, as for instance ‘Ainul Mulk Multānī and Qarābeg, who held fourteen appointments, and summoning them for that purpose to the roof of the Hazār Sutūn palace, they used to perform low buffooneries, et nudefacti, gestu turpi et obscœno, in vestes nobilium honoratorum mingebant. Thus he prepared everything that was necessary for the downfall of the kingdom.

Verse.

There was the rose, the leaf adorned it too.

And the kingdom seemed to say:—

Oh! King what can come to pass from wine bibbers
What too can come to pass from unrestrained lust
The king maddened by lust, the empire ruined, the enemy
before and behind.

It is only too plain in such a case, what must come to pass. And after the murder of Ẓafar Khān, he raised Husāmu-d-Dīn who was half-brother²⁸⁵ to Khusrū Khān to succeed to the position ^212. enjoyed by Ẓafar Khān and nominated him to proceed to Gujrāt. Husāmu-d-Dīn collected together the Barāwar^285a crew from all parts of that country and nursed a scheme of rebellion in his brain. The Amīrs of Ẓafar Khān's party^285b however seized him and sent him to Dihlī. The Sulṭān led by the feelings he entertained towards Khusrū Khān took no steps to punish him, but had him set at liberty on the instant and gave him extraordinary privileges. Then he appointed Malik Waḥīdu-d-Dīn^285c Quraishī, to Gujrāt in place of Husāmu-d-Dīn. He it was who was the cause of the arrest of Yaklakhī.²⁸⁶ Khusrū Khān having arrived on the frontier of Telinga, and having blockaded the Rāi of that country in one of his fortresses, accepted several head of elephants^286a with treasure and valuables beyond all power of computation as a present from him, and moved his camp towards the Maithilī country,^286b and having gained possession of nine hundred and twenty elephants and a diamond weighing six dirams, came into the country of Ma‘bar, and relying on that^286c wealth entertained the idea of disobedience and rebellion, and obtaining permission to remain there, put to death several Amīrs whom he had with him. Malik Talbīgha Yaghda^286d and Malik Talbīgha Nāgorī and Malik Ḥājī Nāib, with certain other Amīrs of the Sulṭān's party, becoming aware of his secret intentions threw him by force into a litter, and, marching with all haste by forced marches, conveyed him from Deogīr to Dihlī in seven days and acquainted the Sulṭān with his nefarious designs. Khusrū Khān however in the private apartment of the palace where he enjoyed the special companionship of the Sulṭān, gained him over by artful and specious representations, and fully persuaded the Sulṭān of the villainy of the Amīrs.^286e The Sulṭān took his words as Gospel, so greatly was he influenced and controlled by him, and was incensed against the Amīrs, censured them^286f severely and subjected them to many indignities, and although they brought forward many veracious ^213. witnesses in support of their allegations it was all of no use, and the wretched witnesses were severely punished.

The story of Farazdaq the poet fits in with this, namely when he accompanied by his wife, appealed to the Khalīfah of Baghdād, he got Ja‘far the Barmecide, to plead for him, and used his wife Zubeida Khātūn as an intermediary. Hārūn the Khalīfah was favourably disposed towards Zubeida, and passed orders in accordance with the petition of the wife of Farazdaq.²⁸⁷ He accordingly wrote these lines:—

An advocate who appears before thee clothed
Is not like one who comes before thee naked.^287a

That is to say an intercessor who comes near thee wearing drawers will not be so influential as she who comes naked. From that day this became a proverbial saying among the Arabs.

As soon as Khusrū Khān became quite assured in all ways of his predominant influence over the Sulṭān, he gave orders for the assembly of all his tribe from Gujrāt and began to introduce them into the service of the Sulṭān. The Sulṭān reposed entire confidence both in him^287b and in his family, and gave up the reins of Government absolutely into his hands,^287c abandoning himself to rioting and debauchery.^287d

Verse.

Casting aside the Qur‘ān and the sword
^214. Taking instead to the cup and flagon.

The attendants who were loyal to the state were struck dumb and were compelled by the necessity for time-serving to throw themselves upon the protection of Khusrū Khān,

Verse.

If the times give the reins of authority to a wolf,
You must save yourself by saying, God save you Sir!

And the family of Barāwar²⁸⁸ gained entire control of the Court of the Sulṭān, and used to assemble by day and by night at the house of Khusrū Khān to plot sedition and rebellion against the Sulṭān, and when Qāẓī Ẓīāu-d-Dīn, who was known as Qāẓī Khān, made these facts known, the Sulṭān who was the slave of his lust immediately summoned Khusrū Khān in private,^288a and informed him of what had been said, whereupon Khusrū Khān said, the people see the great kindness which the Sulṭān shews me and regard it as excessive, and from motives of jealousy falsely accuse me. The Sulṭān believed him and^288b made over to him the keys of the royal treasury and of all the other store-houses as well: Khusrū Khān^288c regarded this as a proof of his complete ascendency deduced from it a favourable omen for his future:—

Verse.

When he saw his affairs so prosperous
He considered that omen as a proof of victory;
From that favourable omen the heart of Khusrū Khān,
Like a strong mountain, became firmly established.

Eventually, one night the Sulṭān was holding a drinking party in the company of Khusrū Khān, and the Amīrs of the guards withdrew from their posts. Qāẓī Khān came down from the roof of the Hazār Sutūn palace and was engaged in examining if the doors were safe, and the guards posted. In the meantime one Randhol²⁸⁹ the uncle of Khusrū Khān ^215. with a body of the Barāwas, having daggers concealed under their arms came upon Qāẓī Khān, and kept him engaged in talk on one way and another, till, taking him off his guard, they stabbed him and despatched him as a martyr to his abode in Paradise. There was a great uproar,^289a and the Sulṭān, who at that moment had no other companion than Khusrū Khān, enquired what was the tumult. Khusrū Khān rose from beside him and went out to instigate his followers to murder the Sulṭān, then returned and said that some of the horses of the stud had broken loose, and were fighting among themselves. At this moment Jāhirīyā the uncle of Khusrū Khān approached the Hazār Sutūn with a party of his men, and having assassinated Ibrāhim and Isḥāq who were on guard at the palace, made for the Sulṭān. The Sulṭān rising,^289b half intoxicated as he was, ran towards the ḥaram, Khusrū Khān caught him from behind by the hair of his head, and as the Sulṭān was begging him to aid his escape Jāhirīyā arrived, aimed a blow at the Sulṭān wounding him in the side, then with his sword cutting off the Sulṭān's head^289c threw it down below from the roof of the palace.

Verse.

The bed of that dear one was one of thorns
For his brocaded bed led to his ruin.

When the populace saw what had occurred, every one of them went into hiding and there was dismay in all quarters. Putting to death some of the Amīrs at the door of the palace, the Barāwas entered the Sulṭān's ḥaram and tore Farīd Khān and Mangū Khān, the two infant sons of Sulṭān ‘Alāu-d-Dīn, from their mother's arms and cut off their heads, and committed every kind of violence they wished, and in one moment scattered to the four winds all the honour and glory of ‘Alāu-d-Dīn and Quṭbu-d-Dīn.

Verse.

In one hour, in one moment, in one instant ^216.289d
The whole course of the world becomes changed.

And when they had glutted themselves with murder and rapine, they sent for certain of the Amīrs namely ‘Ainu-l-Mulk Multānī, and Malik Fakhru-d-Dīn Jūnā, by whom is meant Sulṭān Muḥam-mad ibn Tughlaq Shāh, and Malik Waḥīdu-d-Dīn Quraishī with the two sons of Qarābeg and other notable Amīrs, and kept them all that night till morning upon the roof of the Haẓār Sutūn; and when it was day they made all the ‘Ulamā and chief men of the city swear allegiance to Khusrū Khān, and read the Khuṭbah in his name. By craft they got the upper hand of a certain party whom they suspected of being opposed to them, and sent them to the world of non-existence, and made over the family of Qāẓī Ẓīāu-d-Dīn Qāẓī Khān,²⁹⁰ all except his wife who fled,^290a to the aforesaid Randhol.^290b

Husāmu-d-Dīn, the brother by the mother's side of Khusrū Khān, was given the title of Khān-i-Khānān and Randhol^290c became Ṛāi-i-Rāiyān, and the ḥarams of Sulṭān Quṭbu-d-Dīn and the other princes and relatives they divided among themselves. Khusrū Khān took to himself^290d in marriage the chief wife of the Sulṭān. These events happened in the year 720, H. (1320 A.D.) and the duration of the reign of Sulṭān Quṭbu-d-Dīn was four^290e years and some months.

Verse.

Since the world began so it has been, and so will always be,
To everyone the end of all things will be as this.

Whose name at the first was Ḥasan Barwabacha, in the aforesaid year sat upon the throne of ‘Alāu-d-Dīn and Quṭbu-d-Dīn, ^217. by the co-operation of his own tribe; and the Amīrs who have already been mentioned, whether they would or no, were constrained to give in their allegiance to him, and addressed him by this title. The rites and ceremonies of Islām tended towards neglect while Hindu customs and heathen observances obtained currency.^290f Idolatry and devastation of mosques became widespread, and although Khusrū Khān, to conciliate the people scattered gold and lavished presents on all sides so that in a short time he squandered the greater part of the treasure of Alāu-d-Dīn and the wealth which Quṭbu-d-Dīn had amassed,

Verse.

Who was it had acquired the wealth,
Who was it squandered it?

still the hearts of great and small were not so attuned to this disloyalty and irreligion of his that he could bring them into harmony with his own.

And in the year 721 A.H. (1321 A.D.) Khusrū Khān put out the eyes of certain of the offspring of ‘Alāu-d-Dīn, for instance Abūbakr Khān, and ‘Alī Khān, and Bahādur Khān,²⁹¹ and gained over^291a certain of the Amīrs, such as ‘Ainul Mulk and some others.

The Hindūs gained ground and increased their influence in most of the provinces, and a torrent of destruction swept suddenly upon the followers of Islām and destroyed their wealth and property, giving their families to the wind of extinction.

The affair of the Ghuzz which had happened in the time of Sulṭān Sinjar^291b was forgotten, and the state of mankind was expressed by this verse—

Verse.

You will never see your fellowmen happy save at the door
of death,
You will never find a virgin save in the womb of earth.

Khusrū Khān^291c issued firmāns to all the outlying districts and invited the people to side with him, he also bestowed upon Yūsuf ^218. Ṣūfī Azlbacha^291d the title of Ṣūfī Khān while Ikhtiyāru-d-Dīn Sanbal was styled Ḥātim Khān. He also made Kamālu-d-Dīn Ṣūfī Wakīldar, and the son of Qurra Qumār ‘Ariẓu-l-Mulk; Malik Fakhru-d-Dīn Jūnā the son of Ghāzī Malik he appointed Ākhur Beg, and was especially desirous of gaining his good will, with the object of using his influence to induce Ghazī Malik also, who was one of the notable Amīrs of ‘Alāu-d-Dīn and was posted to oppose the Mughuls, to leave the frontiers of Dīpālpur and fall into his trap. At that time he put into effect every means he could devise and gave ‘Ainu-l-Mulk Multānī for a time the title of ‘Ālam Khān. At last having gained over Ghāzī Malik, he wrote a letter²⁹² expressing his sincerity of purpose, and desiring him when the day of battle should arrive to flee from Dihlī to his own country, that is Mālwa, and return when the danger had passed.^292a

And of the Amīrs, some sided with Khusrū Khān out of lust for place and property, but some others were rebellious. When Ghāzī Malik heard this startling news his zeal for Islām and for the preservation of the honour of his benefactor was stirred, so that he girded up his loins for vengeance, and sending despatches to the Maliks of the various districts sought their aid in extirpating that ungrateful wretch. Malik Fakhru-d-Dīn sent secretly a letter to his father conveying his intention to fly from Dihlī and asking for post horses,^292b which in the Hindī tongue are called ḍāk chaukī, and for the posting of cavalry escorts at several places along the route.

^219. At last one night by the assistance of the Son of Bahrām Ība^292c the governor of Multān and Uchh^292d he fled from Dihlī with a party of horsemen and made his way by forced marches towards Dīpālpur.

Verse.

Seated upon that fleet Burāq^292e
He hastened steadfastly with unity of purpose.

And Ghāzī Malik himself previously to this had sent two hundred cavalry into the fort of Sarsutī. When Khusrū Khān awoke from his slumber of neglect he recognized that the departure of Malik Fakhru-d-Dīn Jūnā was a strong proof of the decline of his own power:²⁹³ accordingly he despatched the son of Qurra Qumār, whom he had appointed ‘Āriẓ-i-Mamālik,^293a in pursuit of him. He proceeded as far as the town of Sarsutī, but on his arrival there was obliged to retrace his steps without finding an opportunity of accomplishing his object, and conveyed to Khusrū Khān tidings regarding the real state of affairs.

Ghāẓī Malik, after the arrival of his son, was demonstrative^293b in his expressions of satisfaction, and gave effect to the aspirations of the Maliks; further by issuing orders for the commencement of the jihād^293c he made amends for the previous delay, and gave full satisfaction to the demands of bravery by marching in the direction of Dihlī.

Khusrū Khān having bestowed upon his brother Khān-i-Khānān the canopy and staff of office, despatched Ṣūfī Khān with the other Amīrs of this canaille against Ghazī Malik who for many years had done yeoman's service in the various wars with the Mughuls, and had everywhere returned victorious and triumphant. But on the other hand Malik Bahrām Iba, the Governor of Multān and Uchh, arrived to reinforce Ghāzī Malik. The two armies selected as their field of battle a spot near the reservoir of Thānesar.^293d At the first onset the breeze of victory blew favourably for the armies of Islām, the standards of the infidels were overthrown, and the adherents of Khusrū Khān abandoning their elephants and horses, and ammunition and standards ^220. fled precipitately to Dihlī. Ghāzi Malik with all speed pursued and scattered these ungrateful wretches²⁹⁴ and reached Dihlī in one long march.^294a Khusrū Khān having rallied his scattered and panic stricken forces, opened the doors of the treasury and gave his army three and four years' pay together with large rewards and promises of appointments and governorships; and things being as they were, he brought out from confinement in the ḥaram the remainder of the princes of the family of ‘Alāu-d-Dīn whom he had blinded, and put them to death; then, led by hostile Fate, he marched on from the city in great force and proceeded to the Ḥauẓ-i-Khāṣṣ^294b where he encamped, his camp extending in one line of tents from the Ḥauẓ-i-Khāṣṣ to Indrapath,^294c while Ghāzī Malik encamped in the vicinity of the tomb^294d of Sulṭān Raẓẓīya. In the meanwhile ‘Ainu-l-Mulk, in accordance with agreement, having deserted the unsuccessful army of Khusrū Khān fled with haste towards Dhār and Ujjain;^294e his defection was a cause of great despondency to the followers of Khusrū Khān. On the following day the array of battle was drawn up and the followers of the truth engaged in close conflict with the partisans of infidelity, and utterly vanquished the impious horde.

At the outset the army of Khusrū Khān obtained the mastery, and the army of Ghāzī Malik suffered a repulse, but Ghāzī Malik planting firmly the foot of resolution like another Rustum came to the rescue, and with three hundred cavalry, men of tried valour, whom he had kept in concealment in an ambush, utterly discomfited the infidel horde²⁹⁵ and Malik Talbagha^295a Nāgor, and the son of Qurra Qumār^295b with the other nobles of that ignoble kingdom, in that battle became food for the sword,^295c as such hypocritical knaves should. Khusrū Khān brought to bear all temerity and manliness in spite of his unmanly character, and fought bravely till the close of the day, but^295d at last finding he was unable to withstand these lionhearted warriors, he turned ^221. his back in flight, and made for Talpath; his canopy and standards and borrowed^295e retinue fell into the hands of Ghāzī Malik.

Khusrū Khān returning from Talpath came to the tomb of Malik Shādī^295f who was an old patron of his, alone and distraught, and hid himself there in despair, but the following day they laid hands upon him, treating him with all possible indignity, and brought him to Ghāzī Malik,^295g so that he reaped the reward of his infamous and abominable deeds.

Verse.

The tree thou didst nurture has borne its fruit,
Dost thou not see even now its fruit in its bosom,
If it has borne thorns it is thou who didst plant them,
If it has brought thee silk attire it is of thy own spinning.

And the following day Ghāzī Malik left Indrapath^295h and alighted at Kūshk Sabzī.²⁹⁵ⁱ Great and small came out to welcome his coming, and gave vent to expressions of congratulation. The day following he went on to the city of Dihlī, where tidings was brought to him that the rascal Khān-i-Khānān had crept into the corner of a garden,²⁹⁶ where he was lying concealed.

Malik Fakhru-d-Dīn proceeded by order of Ghāzī Malik, and having mutilated and disgraced him^296a paraded him about the city where he met with condign punishment. This event took place in the year 720 A.H. (1321. A. D). The duration of Khusrū Khān's rule was four months and a few days.

Verse.

That which thou doest they will shew thee again,
That which thou givest, they will return thee the like.

Who is the same as Ghāzī Malik, ascended the throne in the year 720 A.H. (1321 A.D.) by the consent of the Amīrs and nobles and was styled by this title. In the space of one week ^222. he ordered and regulated the important affairs of the state with a perfection unattainable to others in the course of years.^296d

He appointed his own relations to various posts and showing many favours to the Amīrs of ‘Alāu-d-Dīn and to some of the Maliks of Quṭbū-d-Dīn gave them districts. Then he directed his ambition to the rebuilding of the fortress of Tughlaqābād and all the lofty edifices, and set about it (without delay)^296e and Badr Shā‘ir Shāshī^296f invented as a chronogram for the date of building the fort (of Tughlaqābād)²⁹⁷ the following: “Enter then her gates.”^297a He brought to punishment also a body of men^297b who during the glorious reign of Sulṭan Quṭbu-d-Dīn had joined hands with Khusrū Khān and had aided and abetted the band of ruffians and scoundrels. He also gave the title of Ulugh Khān to Malik Fakhru-d-Dīn Jūnā^297c who shewed marked signs of discretion and kingly dignity,^297d and conferred on him a canopy and the other insignia of royalty, making him his heir-apparent; he also raised Bahrām Ība,^297e who was the adopted brother of the Sulṭān,^297f to the dignity of the title of Kishlū Khān, and entrusted to him the district of Multān and the whole of Sind. To his other four sons he gave the titles of Bahrām Khān, Ẓafar Khān, Maḥmūd Khān and Nuṣrat Khan.^297g

And in the year 721 A. H. [he appointed] Ulugh Khān [to proceed in command of his troops which were at Chandēri and Badāon and in the other eastern districts of Hindustān, towards Deogīr and Tilang, and Ulugh Khān]^297h taking with him the army of Deogīr, invested the fortress of Arankal which for the past seven hundred years had been the capital of Rai Sadar Mahadco and his ancestors, and having gained possession of the clay-built citadel forming the outer line of defence, was on the point of reducing the inner stone citadel also. In the meantime²⁹⁸ ‘Ubaid Rākātī^298a the poet, a turbulent fellow, the notorious^298b opponent of Mir Khusrū (on whom be mercy) who rascal that he was wrote the following famous verses:

^223. Khusrū's own verse was very raw, so by mistake he took
Nīzāmi's^298c saucepan by mistake, his flummery^298d to cook.

(Mīr Khusrū in many of his compositions complains bitterly against him and Sa‘d Falsafī) joining with Shaikhzāda Dimishqī on the occasion of the late arrival of the stage from Dihlī, spread a false report that the Sulṭān Tughlaq was no more, where- upon great dismay spread through the Muslims. ‘Ubaid also terrified the Amīrs by his account of Ulugh Khān, and infidels springing up put to death many of the soldiers of the army;^298e Malik Tigīn and other revolutionary Amīrs planned an insurrection against Ulugh Khān who with fifty sowārs came by rapid marches to the metropolis, whereupon the Amīrs took themselves off, each to his own district; and Malik Tigīn who had gone to the country between Multān and Jaisalmīr^298f was taken prisoner with his family, and Tāju-d-Dīn Ṭālaqānī, the son-in-law of Malik Tigīn who had escaped from prison, was captured^298g on the banks of the river Sarū, and Ubaid (the poet)^298h also was captured in the same way in a wretched plight. All this party with their families and friends, they cast under the feet of elephants, and those who escaped this fate met their death wherever they went.

And in the year 723 A. H. (1323 A.D.) Ulugh Khān for the second time marched towards Tilang; and Rāi Ladar Mahādeo again shut himself up in the fort.

Ulugh Khān gained possession of both the outer and inner citadels²⁹⁹ by force of arms, and took the Rāi prisoner together with his family and followers, and leaving commissioners there drew off his army to Jājnagar^299a and Bīdar,^299b and having taken as spoil many elephants and other property with jewels and valuables without number [sent them] to Dihlī [and despatched Rāe Ladhar also to the capital and having given to Arankal the name of Sulṭānpūr] returned to Dihlī.^299c

And in the year 724 A.H. (1324 A.D.), Sulṭān Ghiyāṯu-d- ^224. Dīn Tughlaq Shāh, upon the occasion of the tyranny of the governors of Bengal, left Ulugh Khān as his viceroy in the capital Tughlaqābād which had been built in the space of three years and a fraction, entrusting to his sound judgment the whole civil administration, and left for Lakhnautī with a firm intention of setting things straight; Sulṭān Nāṣiru-d-Dīn the ruler of Lakhnautī, with the notable princes of those districts hastened to meet the Sulṭān and placed their necks under his yoke; Sulṭān Tughlaq Shah conferred upon Sulṭān Naṣiru-d-Dīn the canopy and staff of office and all other insignia of royalty, entrusted Lakhnautī once more to his control and sent a despatch announcing his success to Dihlī; then he sent on in advance Tātār Khān his adopted son, the Governor of Ẓafarābād who brought Bahādur Shāh otherwise known as Tūda (? Nūda) the Governor of Sunār Gānw who was boasting his independence, with a chain around his neck, and accompanied by all his elephants into the royal presence at the Court.

Sulṭān Tughlaq Shāh taking Bahādur Shāh with him, victorious and triumphant returned to Dihlī, and proceeding by double stages made forced marches. Ulugh Khān upon hearing this news gave immediate orders for the erection of a lofty and noble palace near Afghānpur which is at a distance of three krohs from Tughlaqābād. It was completed in three days, so that Sulṭān Tughlaq Shāh might alight there,³⁰⁰ and having passed the night in it and having rested might depart thence at an auspicious moment and alight at Tughlaqābād.

The Sulṭān arrived there and Ulugh Khān having gone out to meet him with all the nobles and grandees, spread a banquet of welcome. The Sulṭān gave orders for the elephants which he had brought with him from Bengal to be raced, and as the foundation of the New Palace was new and unsettled the palace began to shake and totter with the tramp of the elephants. When the people became aware that the Sulṭān was mounting with all ^225. haste, they hurriedly came out from the palace, without even washing their hands. The Sulṭān Tughlaq Shāh was engaged in washing his hands^300a and so did not come out. In consequence he washed his hands of life and the palace fell in upon him.^300b

We should not lose sight of the fact that from having built a palace such as this, which was quite unnecessary, there is a suspicion that Ulugh Khān may have built the palace^300c without foundations³⁰¹ as was currently rumoured, but the author of the Tārīkh-i-Fīroz Shāhī makes no mention of this although this may possibly be due to a desire to flatter Fīroz Shāh and out of regard for him.

This event took place in the year 725 A.H. (1325 A.D.) and the duration of the reign of Sulṭān Ghiyāṯu-d-Dīn Tughlaq Shāh was four years and some months.

Verse.

If thou placest the world beneath thy feet
Thou wilt not sleep at last in thine own place.

It is currently reported among the people of India that Sulṭān Ghiyāṯu-d-Dīn Tughlaq, on account of the ill will he bore to Sulṭānu-l-Mashāikh, sent a message to the Shaikh while on the way to Lakhnauti to this effect, “After my arrival at Dihlī, either the Shaikh will be (ruler) there or I.”^301a The Shaikh replied, “Dihlī is still some way off.”^301b This saying became proverbial from that day and gained currency.

The Tughlaq Nāma of Mīr Khusrū which was the latest of his works, was written in verse in honour of the Sulṭān and in obedience to his order.

The death of the Sulṭānu-l-Mashāikh and also of Mïr Khusrū occurred in the same year as has already been stated.