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A    SHORT     HISTORY    OF 
MUSLIM   RULE   IN    INDIA 


FROM  THE  CONQUEST  OF  ISLAM 
TO  THE  DEATH  OF  AURANGZEB 


BY 

ISHWARI  PRASAD,  M.A.,  D.Litt.,  LL.B. 

Reader  in  History  in  the  University  of  Allahabad 


t  The  essence  of  royal  protection  consists  in  protecting 
I  the  life  and  property  of  the  subjects.  They  (kings)  should 
J  use  the  principles  of  justice  and  equality  in  all  their 
A  dealings  with  all  classes  of  people,  and  should  in- 
Jstruct  powerful  officials  so  that  they  may  try  their  best  to 
Irefrain  from  cruelty  and  oppression  in  their  jurisdiction. 

-SHER    SHAH 


PUBLISHED  BY 
THE  INDIAN  PRESS,  LIHITHD 

ALLAHABAD 
Stcond  Edition 


*fd  and  published  by  K.  Mittra  at 
Indian  Press,    Ltd.,  Allahabad 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTEK  PAGK 

I.     Pre-Muhammadan   India  .  ..1 

II.     The  Arab  Invasion  of  Sindh  ..  29 

III.  The  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Ohaznavidefi  .  43 

IV.  The  Conquest  of  Hindustan            ..  .66 
V.     The  Slave  Dynasty                           ...  ...  74 

VI.     Khilji  Imperialism           .                  .  ...  103 

VII.     The  Tughluq  Dynasty                      ...  ...  132 

VIII.     Break-up  of  the  Empire  of  Delhi  ...  ..  180 

IX.     An  Era  of  Decline         ...                  ..  ,  227 

X     Society  and  Culture  in  the  Middle  Ages  ...  245 
XI.     India    at    the     Opening     of     the    Sixteenth 

Century         ...                ..                 .  .  ...  279 

XII.     Foundation  of  the  Mughal  Empire  ...  293 

XIII.  Humayun  and  Sher  Shah               ...  ...  324 

XIV.  Era  of  Reconstruction  — Akbar  .  349 
XV.    The    Empire    at    its   Zenith— jahangir  and 

Shahjahan    ..                 ...                ...  ...  482 

XVI.     The  Turn  in  the  Tide— Aurangzeb  646 

XVII.    Society  and  Culture  in  Mughal  India       J  .  .  739 


PREFACE  TO  THE   SECOND   EDITION 

THE  first  edition  of  this  book  was  very  favourably  received 
by  students  of  Muslim  history  all  over  India.  Its  use- 
fulness is  shown  by  the  fact  that  a  second  edition  has 
become  necessary  in  such  a  short  space  of  time.  I  regret 
that  owing  to  other  engagements  of  a  pressing  nature  I 
have  not  been  able  to  add  a  chapter  on  the  later  Mughals  as 
I  had  promised  in  the  first  edition.  But  the  index  has 
been  provided,  and  care  has  been  taken  to  remove  the 
errors  and  discrepancies  suggested  by  scholars  of  history. 
I  am  fully  aware  of  the  imperfections  that  still  exist, 
but  1  Lope  kindly  critics  will  continue  to  favour  me 
with  their  valuable  suggestions  from  time  to  time.  In 
their  appreciation  lies  my  reward  and  in  their  well- 
informed  criticism  my  chance  of  further  improvement 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  AULAHABAD 

ISHWARI  PR  AS  AD 
Dated  August  24^  1931 


PREFACE 

HTHE  purpose  of  the  present  book  is  to  provide  a. 
*•  general  history  of  Muhammadan  rule  in  India  up 
to  the  death  of  Aurangzeb  for  the  use  of  teachers 
in  secondary  schools  and  students  in  Indian  Colleges. 
The  want  of  a  book  of  this  kind  has  long  been  felt  The 
older  histories  of  the  middle  ages  by  European  writers 
have  now  become  inadequate  and  out  of  date  owing  to 
the  rapid  progress  of  knowledge  in  recent  times,  tytost 
of  the  errors  based  on  imperfect  acquaintance  with  the 
original  sources  are  repeated  in  all  text-books,  and  the 
student  of  history,  who  aims  at  precise  knowledge,, 
demands  more  than  what  is  contained  in  Elphinstone, 
Lane-Poole^  and  Vincent  Smith.  Excellent  as  they  are 
in  their  own  way,  they  are  found  sketchy  in  these  days* 
The  author  has  kept  the  requirements  of  the  modern 
student  always  in  view,  and  he  hopes  he  has  done  his  best 
to  meet  them. 

The  earlier  portion  of  the  book  is  largely  an  abridge- 
ment of  the  author's  History  of  Mediaeval  India  with 
which  students  of  history  are  already  familiar.  The 
sketch  of  Mughal  history,  which  is  new,  is  fairly  full,  and 
will  be  found  useful  by  those  wly>  will  consult  it,  whether 
for  the  purpose  of  passing  an  examination  or  acquiring 
a  knowledge  qf  Indian  history  under  the  Mughals.  The 
best  authorities  on  the  subject,  original  as  well  as 
secondary,  have  been  utilised,  and  no  topic  of  importance 
has  been  omitted.  Attempt  has  been  made  to  awaken 


11 

the  critical  faculty  of  students  by  discussing  controver- 
sial matters  and  by  presenting  the  views  of  different 
^writers  in  regard  to  them. 

The  advanced  student  for  whom  the  book  is  not 
intended  may  find  it  inadequate  for  his  purpose.  He  will 
be  sadly  disappointed,  if  he  makes  it  a  substitute  for 
•original  sources  into  which  he  must  dive  deep  himself,  if  he 
aims  at  specialised  knowledge.  The  professed  object  of  this 
volume  is  to  present  to  the  reading  public  a  concise  and 
readable  narrative  of  the  achievements  of  our  Muslim 
conquerors,  both  Mughal  and  pre-Mughal,  up  to  the  death 
of  Aurangzeb.  The  author  hopes  to  add  a  chapter  on 
later  Mughals  in  a  subsequent  edition. 

An  important  feature  of  the  book  is  that  the 
narrative  is  not  confined  merely  to  political  history. 
rAn  attempt  has  been  made  to  describe  the  social  and 
economic  condition  of  the  people  at  different  periods. 
The  life  of  a  people  must  be  viewed  as  a  whole  and  to 
enable  the  reader  to  understand  it  fully,  enough  has  been 
said  about  the  growth  of  religion  and  literature.  The 
interaction  of  political  and  cultural  currents  has  been 
-explained  with  a  view  "to  liberalise  the  student's  concep- 
tion of  history  and  to  enable  him  to  develop  a  sense  of 
right  perspective. 

Proper  names  have  been  generally  spelt  according 
to  the  method  approved  by  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society 
and  diacritical  marks  have  been  placed  over  unfamiliar 
names  and  terms. 

My  acknowledgments  are  due  to  my  friend  and  pupv 
Mr.  Ktinwar  Bahadur,  M.A.,  LL.B.,  who  has  helped  me  > 
various  ways  in  preparing  this  book.    Most  ol  the  proo* 
sheets  have  been  read  by  him,  and  hi  the  selection  erf 


Ill 

illustrations  and  maps,  his  atlvice  has  been  of  considerable 
help  to  me.  Still  there  must  be  many  imperfections 
which  have  escaped  the  author's  notice.  He  will 
gratefully  receive  all  corrections  and  suggestions  for 
further  improvement 


ALLAHABAD,  ] 

\  ISHWARI  PRASAD. 

July  26,  1930.  ] 


CHAPTER  I 
PRE  MUHAMMADAN  INDIA 

After  Harga's  death  in  647  A.D.  India  broke  up  into  a 
number  of  independent  states,  always  fighting  against  one 
another.    Most    of  these  were  founded   by 
Break-up  of     Rajput  chief  s  who  were    distinguished  for 
m" 


their  valour  and  devotion  to  the  military  art. 
Among  these  warring  states  Kanauj  rose  to 
the  position  of  a  premier  state,  but  even  her  pre-eminence 
was  not  universally  acknowledged  in  the  country. 

Kashmir  was  not  included  in  Harsa's  empire,  though 
the  local  ruler  was  compelled  by  him  to  yield  a  valuable 
relic  of  Buddha.    It  became  a  powerful  state 
Kashmir.  Muktaplda  (725-52  A.D.) 


of  the  Karkota  dynasty,  He  was  a  capable  ruler 
arho  extended  his  dominion  beyond  Kashmir  and  the 
neighbouring  countries,  and  once  led  an  expedition  against 
*;he  ruler  of  Kanauj.  Towards  the  beginning  of  the  ninth 
century  the  K§rkot#  dynasty  declined  in  importance,  and 
was  succeeded  by  the  Utpala  dynasty. 

This  dynasty  produced  two  remarkable  rulers,  Avantivar- 
inan  and  6ankaravarman.  After  the  latte^'s  death  in  902,  a 
aeries  of  worthless  rulers  followed,  under  whom  the  country 
suffered  much  from  misrule  and  anarchy  and  finally  passed 

nto  the  hands  of  a  local  Muhammadan  dynasty  in  1339. 

In  1640  Babar's  well-known  cousin  Mirza  Haidar  Daghlfit, 


2  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

the  historian,  conquered  the  valley  and  established  his 
sway.  After  his  death  in  1551  disorder  ensued  and  puppet 
kings  were  set  up  by  rival  factions.  This  state  of  affairs 
was  finally  ended  by  Akbar  when  the  kingdom  was  annex- 
ed to  the  Mughal  empire  in  1586. 

Kanauj  rose  early  into  prominence  after  the  death  of  • 

Harsa.    Yasovarman  was  a  powerful  ruler,  but  his  successors 

were  unable  to  resist  the  aggressions  of  neigh- 

tvanaui. 

bounng  states.  It  was  the  Gurjara  chief 
(840—90  A.D.)  who  retrieved  the 
fortunes  of  Kanauj  and  built  up  an  empire  including 
the  Sutlej  districts  of  the  Punjab,  the  greater  part 
of  the  United  Provinces  of  Agra  and  Oudh  and  the 
Gwalior  territory.  His  successor,  Mahpnr*rflPHla.  kept  his 
father's  dominions  intact,  but  the  next  ruler 


succumbed  to  the  power  of  the  Rastrakuta  Indra  in  916 
and  although    he  recovered   his  dominions  owing  to  the 
negligence  of  the  latter,  he  suffered  another  defeat  at  the 
hands  of  the  Chandela  ruler  of  Jaijakbhukti.    The  process 
of  decadence  continued   and  the   kingdom  of  Kanauj  los^ 
one  province  after  another.     The  repeated  invasions  of  th 
Muhammadans  further  weakened  it  and  in  1018  A.D.  wh§ 
Mahmud  of  Ghazni  appeared  before  the  gates  of  Kanauj  th 
Pratihar  ruler,  Raivapala.  offered  no  resistance  and  made  a 
abject  submission.    This  cowardly  act  gave  offence  to  h; 
fellow-princes  and  the    Chandela  Rsn'a  Ganda  n^ga™*** 

Ganda's  son  Vidyadhai 


marched  against  him  at  the  head  of  a  large  army,  inflicted 
crushing  defeat  upon  him  and  murdered  him.    Rajyapala' 
successors  vainly  struggled  to  retain  their  power  until  the. 
were  finally  subdued  about  1090  A.D.  by  a  Raja  of  thu 
GaharwSr  clan. 


PEE-MUHAMMADAN  INDIA  3 

Another  important  Rajput  clan  was  that  of  the  Chohans 
2JL  Sashay — in  Pfljpntfltin     Ajm6r  was  included  in  the 
principality  of  Sambhar.    The  earliest  ruler 
i)eihi.mer  and     °^  whom  we  have  an   authentic  record  was 
Vigraharaja    IV    better    known    as   Eiaal&- 
flpva  n^mi,  distinguished  alike  for  his  valour  and  learn- 
ing.    He  fought  against  the  Muhammadans,  wrested   Delhi 
from  the  Pratihars  and  established  a  kingdom,   extending 
from  the  base  of  the  Himalayas  to  the  Vindhyas  in   the 
Deccan.    At  his  court   were  produced    the    two     famous 
dramas,  the  Lalitaviqraharq(jn-fnnfrb.a.  and  the  Harakeli- 
which   are  still   preserved     in     the    museum     gt 
He  also  founded  a  college  at  Ajmer  which  was 
destroyed  by  the  soldiers    of    Muhammad     Ghori.      The 
most  remarkable  of  the  line  was  Prithvirajp  whose  deeds 
of  valour  are   still    sung    by    bards    all    over    Northern 
India.     In     1182    he  invaded  the   Chandela  territory  and 
defeated  Raja  Parmal  of  Mahoba.     He  also  nrg-anispd  a  f*on.- 
federacy  of  Rajput  nrincea  whir.h  defeated  the.  Muslim  Jbost 
inrl^r  Mnhammad  Ghori  inJlgJ.    But  the  latter  reappeared 
lext  year  and  inflicted  a  crushing  defeat  upon  the  Rajputs. 
Prithviraja   wag  captured   and    killed.    The   Hindu   power 
suffered  an  irreparable  blow,  and  yet  Raja  Jayachandra  of 
Kanauj  stood  apart  and  refused  to  combine  with  the  Chohans 
with  whom  he  had  a  family  feud.    Next,  Muhammad  Ghori 
.urned   against  Jayachandra  himself  and    defeated    him. 
Several  members  of  the  Gaharwar  clan  left  Kanauj   and 
migrated    to    Rajputana,    while    the    able    generals    of 
Muhammad  Ghori  completed  the  work  of  conquest  by  reduc- 
ing Gwalior,  Anhil wa^and  Kalanjar.   Soon  after  Qutbuddin, 
the  gallant  slave  of  Muhammad,  was  enthroned  at  Delhi  as 
•the  overlord  of  the  princes  of  Northern  India. 


4  HISTORY  07  MUSLIM  RULE 

Two  other  Rajput  dynasties  of  importance  in  Northern 

India  were  the  Chandelaa  of  Javjflkhhnkti  (modern  Bundel- 

khand)  and  the  Kalachuris  of  Chedi  (modern 

deiashe  °han"     Central  Provinces).    The  country  was  called 

ti.  i.e.,  the  territory  or  bhukti  of 


,  one  of  the  earliest  kings  of  the  Chandela  dynasty. 
The  Chandelas  do  not  emerge  into  history  until  the 
ninth  century  when  Nannuk  Chandela  established  a  small 
kingdom  for  himself.  At  first  feudatories  of  the  Gurjar- 
Pratihar  kings  of  Kanauj,  they  became  independent  during 
the  first  half  of  the  tenth  century.  Harsa  Chandela  raised 
the  status  of  the  family  by  helping  the  ruler  of  Kanauj 
against  Indra,  the  Rastrakuta  king  of  the  Deccan,  and  by 
marrying  a  Chohan  princess.  His  son  Yasovarman  was  a 
great  conqueror.  He  captured  the  fortress  of  Kalanjarand 
forced  the  ruler  of  Kanauj  to  surrender  a  valuable  image  of 
Visnu.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Dhanga. 

Dhanga  extended  the  boundaries  of  his  father's  domi- 
nions and*joined  the  Rajput  confederacy  which  was  formed 
by  Jayapala  to  repel  the  invasion  of  Subuktagin,  king  of 
Ghazni.  After  his  death,  his  son  and  successor  Ganda  carried 
on  the.  warlike  policy  of  his  father.  In  1018  when  Sultan 
Mahmud  of  Ghazni  advanced  against  Kanauj,  its  ruler 
Rajyapala  made  an  abject  submission.  Enraged  by  this 
unworthy  conduct  of  their  suzerain,  the  chiefs  of  Northern 
India  combined  against  RSjyapala  under  the  leadership  of 
Ganda's  son  Vidygdhara.  Rajyapala  could  offer  no  resistance 
and  was  slain  by  Arjuna,  the  Kachchapaghata  chief  of 
Gwalior.  When  Sultan  Mahmud  heard  of  this  inhuman 
murder,  he  set  out  from  Ghazni  in  1019  to  punish  the  wrong- 
doers, hn|>-QaTTi^a  fl*H  J"  *hq  "Jgh*  without  encountering 
Mahmud  on  the  field  of  battle.  A  few  years  later  Mahmud 


PRE-MUHAMMAflAN  INDIA  5 

again  marched  against  him  and  compelled  him  to  sign  a 
treaty  by  which  Ganda  ceded  the  fort  of  Kalanjar  and 
acknowledged  his  suzerainty. 

After  the  death  of  Ganda  the  history  of  the  Chandelas 
is  a  record  of  wars  with  the  neighbouring  states.  The  Kalfl- 
churis  of  Chprii  ftefpatf>rl  the  Chandela  king  Kirt.ivarma- 
deva  and  deprived  him  of  his  kingdom,  but  the  latter  soon 
recovered  his  position  through  the  assistance  of  his  Brahman 
minister  Gopala.  The  Chandela  power  once  again  rose 
to  its  highest  point  under  Madanavarman  who  was  a 
contemporary  of  Kumarapala  of  Gujarat  and  Govinda- 
chandra  of  Kanauj.  Madana's  eldest  son  died  during 
his  lifetime  and  he  was  succeeded  by  his  grandson 
Parmardin. 

With  Parmardin 's  accession  to  power  the  Chandelas 
plunged  into  bitter  and  prolonged  wars  with  the  Chohans 
of  Delhi.  In  1182  he  was  completely  defeated  by 
Prithviraja  who  followed  him  into  the  heart  of  his  kingdom 
as  far  as  Madanapur.  He  offered  no  help  to  Prithviraja 
and  Jayachandra  when  Muhammad  of  Ghor  directed  his 
arms  against  them.  His  own  turn  came  in  1202  when 
Muhammad's  general  Qutbuddin  attacked  Kalanjar  and 
inflicted  a  crushing  defeat  upon  him.  Parmardin  hero- 
ically struggled  to  save  his  power  but  he  fell  in  the  fight. 
Henceforward  the  Chandelas  ceased  to  have  any  political 
importance  and  a  similar  process  of  decadence  overtook 
the  Kalachuris  of  Chedi. 

The  Parmar  kingdom  of  Malwa  was  founded  by  Krisna 

Raja  alias  Upendra  in  the  ninth  century   A.D.  The  kings 

of  Malwa  were     originally    feudatories  of 

riM-»£»  Infirm  PITS 

of  Malwa.  the  Gurjar-Pratihars  of  Kanauj  but  towards 

the  close  of    the  tenth     century  Slyak  II 


6  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

established  his  independence.  The  kingdom  of  Malwa  in- 
cluded a  large  part  of  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Avanti 
/up  to  the  Narbada  in  the  south.  /Ceaseless  wars  were, 
I  waged  between  the  Parmars  of  Malwa,  the  Chandelas  of 
Mahoba,  the  Kalachuris  of  Chedi,  the  Solankis  of  Gujarat 
and  the  Chalukyas  of  the  Deccan./  Munja  who  came  to 
the  throne  in  974  A.D.  inflictea  several  defeats  upon 
the  Chalukyas  of  the  Deccan,  but  was  himself  fatally 
wounded  by  them  during  the  years  993—97  A.D.  He 
extended  his  patronage  to  men  of  letters,  and  authors 
like  Padmagupta,  Dhananjaya  and  Halayudha  lived  at 
his  court. 

The  most  illustrious  ruler  of  the  dynasty  was  Munja 's 
Nephew  Bhoia  (1010—60  A.D.  )  who  is  known  in  history 
as  a  great  warrior  and  patron  of  learning.  He  was  himself 
a  scholar  and  a  poet,  and  established  a  Sanskrit  college 
at  Dhara  called  the  Saraswati  Kanthabharan,  the  ruins 
of  which  exist  to  this  day.  In  this  college,  he  had  several 
works  on  poetry,  grammar,  astronomy  and  other  branches 
of  learning  incised  on  slabs  of  stone.  The  college  was 
afterwards  turned  into  a  mosque  by  the  Muhammad ans 
Bhoja  also  constructed  a  lake  to  the  south  of  Bhopal  which 
extended  over  an  area  of  250  miles,  the  waters  of  which 
were  afterwards  drained  by  the  Muslim  rulers. 

Towards  the  close  of  his  life  the  enemies  of  Bhoja  be- 
came very  strong.  He  was  defeated  and  slain  in  battle 
by  Kama  of  Dahala  and  Bhima  of  Gujarat.  The  Parmar 
power  steadily  declined  after  Bhoja's  death,  and  the  last 
king  of  the  dynasty  was  compelled  to  embrace  Islam 
by  the  generals  of  Alauddin  Khilji,  who  effected 
the  complete  conquest  of  the  entire  province  in 
1310  A.D. 


PRE-MUHAMMADAN  INDIA  7 

After  the  fall  of  the  kings  of  Vallabhi  the  Chapotakas 
or  Chava^as  ruled  Gujarat  for  a  long  time,  but  towards  the 

close  of  the  ninth  century  it  became  a  part 
of  1Gufa°mtnklS  of  the  empire  of  the  Gurjar-Pratihars  of 

Kanauj.  The  Chalukya  princes  at  first  became 
the  vassals  of  the  empire,  but  in  943  A.D.  a  Chalukya  prince 
Mulraja  (960—95  A.D.)  founded  an  independent  dynasty 
called  the  Chalnfrva  dvnaRt.ynfAnahilanat.aVR.  The  history  of 
this  dynasty  is  fully  revealed  in  the  works  nf  r»nn  temporary 
Jain  afthnlara.  Tftfllraja  flonqnered  the.  Parmgrs  of  AbUj  and 
fought  against  Vigraharaja(Blsaladeva  II)  who  defeated  him 
and  devastated  his  kingdom.  Better  success  attended  his 
arms,  when  he  marched  against  the  combined  forces  of  the 
chiefs  of  Sindh,  Cutch  and  Vanthali  in  Kathiawad.  Great 
valour  was  shown  in  this  battle  by  the  prince  of  Abu  who 
fought  on  the  side  of  Mulraja.  Mfilraja  hm'lt  the  prpaj; 
temple  of  %Hr^|^^Halaya  which  was  dedicated  to  £iva  at 
but  he  did  not  live  to  finish  it.  The  installation' 


of  the  deity  in  the  tpmple  was  celebrated  with  great  spjen- 
dnur,  and  Brahmans  from  Thanesar,  Kanauj,  and  other  parts 
of  North  India  were  invited  to  assist  in  the  solemn  ceremony. 
Mulraja  died  in  995  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Chamunda- 
raja  whn  pleiir  mhqH-1eSinHhn|ffia.  theParmar  kin^of  Malwa. 
which  led  to  bitter  animosities  between  the  two  kingdoms. 

Chamundaraja  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Vallabharaja, 
but  he  died  after  a  short  reign  of  six  months.  His  son 
Durlabharaja,  who  was  married  to  a  Chohan  princess  of 
Nadol,  reigned  for  12  years  (1009—21  A.D.),  and  after  his 
death  was  succeeded  by  his  nephew  Bhima  I  who  is  welt 
known  in  the  annals  of  Gujarat 

Bhima  continued  the  bitter  feud  against  the  king  of 
Malwa  and  invaded  his  territory.  He  humbled  the  Parmar 


8  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

ruler  of  Abu,  and  made  his  power  felt  by  the  Chohans  of 
Nadol. 

But  a  great  calamity  was  in  store  for  Bhlma.  When 
Mflhmpri  of  Ghaani  invaded  Hnj^ygt  in  order  to  seize  the 
vast  wealth  of  the  temple  of  Somnath,  situated  on  .the  sea* 
™ygf  ffgrytli  nf  ftflifriflYfc^  RhTma  tied  from  his  kingdom 
and  sought  refuge  in  a  fortress  in  Cutch.  After  the  depar- 
ture of  the  Turkish  invaders  he  recovered  his  country  and 
rebuilt  the  desecrated  fpmplp  nf  Somnath. 

Bhima  died  in  1063  A.D.  and  was  succeeded  by  his  third 
son  Kama  I  who  established  order  in  the  country  by  subdu- 
ing the  Kols  and  Bhils.  His  successor  Java  Singh,  surnam^d 
ffiflflharsja,  who  came  to  the  throne  in  1093,  is  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  Solanki  kings  of  Gujarat,  He  inflicted 
a  crushing  defeat  on  the  ruler  of  Malwa,  annexed  the 
country  to  his  dominions,  and  .assumed  the  title  of  king  of 
Avanti.  He  fought  against  the  Yadava  prince  of  Girnar, 
suppressed  the  wild  tribes,  and  defeated  the  Chohan  prince 
of  Ajmer  with  whom  he  afterwards  made  peace.  J^iddhfl- 
rjrjfl  was  a  just,  kirul  and  sagacious  ruler.  He  extended  his 
patronage  to  learned  men,  and  ah^wfld  Wm'a]  fay*'""  **»  -T^'n 
scholars,  the  chief  of  whom  was  Hemachandra  or  Herpa- 
Shacya.  He  had  no  son,  and  therefore  when  he  died  in  1142, 
he  was  succeeded  by  Kumarapala,  a  descendant  of  Kama,  the 
third  son  of  Bhlma  I,  of  whom  mention  has  been  made  before, 
jiumarapala  is  by  common  consent  the  most  remarkable 
of  all  Solanki  kings  of  Gujarat.  He  showed  great  respect 
to  Hemachandra  Suri,  the  learned  Jain  scholar,  whom  he 
elevated  to  the  position  of  chief  minister.  KumarapSla 
invaded  the  territory  of  Ajmer  twice.  The  first  expedition 
was  a  failure,  but  in  the  second  the  Gujarat  forces  obtained 
a  victory  over  the  Chohan  prince.  The  rulers  of  Malwa  and 


PRE-MUHAMMADAN  INDIA  9 

.Abu  were  defeated,  and  Mallikarjuna,  the  chief  of  Konkan, 
had  to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  Kumarapala.  Thus  the 
original  kingdom  of  Gujarat  was  considerably  enlarged,  and 
certain  portions  of  Malwaand  Rajputana  were  included  in  it. 
Kumarapala  was  a  patron  of  learning.  Many  scholars 
lived  on  his  bounty,  but  those  specially  worthy  of  mention 
are  the  two  Gujarati  scholars  Ramachandra  and  Udaya- 
His  minister  Hemachandra  was  a  great  scholar 
Sanskrit,  and  composed  a  number  of  works 


on  history  f-mf*  roiiginyi  xyhinfr  were  dedicated  to  the  king. 
Kumarapala  embraced  the  Jain  faith  through  the  influence 
of  Hemachandra,  and  forbade  any  kind  of  kimsa  (injury  to 
living  beings)  throughout  his  wide  dominions 

Kumarapala  died  after  a  reign  of  nearly  thirty-one  years 
in  1173,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  nephew  Aiaya^ala.  With 
Ajayapala's  accession  to  the  throne  began  the  decline  of  the 
kingdom  which  was  further  accelerated  during  the  reigns 
of  his  weak  successors  Mulraja  II  and  Bhlma  II.  The  last 
Chalukya  king  was  Tribhuvanapala,  a  mere  figurehead,  from 
whom  power  was  snatched  by  the  Baghela  branch  of  the 
Solankis  sometime  about  1243  A.D.  This  dynasty  produced  a 
number  of  kings  who  were  constantly  troubled  by  the  new 
invaders  of  India-  -the  Muhammadans,  The  last  king  was 
who  was  overpowered  by  Ulugh  Khan  and  Nusrat 
,  the  two  famous  generals  of  Alauddin  Khilji,  in  1296, 
and  whose  power  was  finally  destroyed  by  Kafur  in 
1310  A.D.  With  Kama's  defeat  and  death  the  line  of  the 
independent  Solankis  of  Gujarat  came  to  an  end. 

Besides  Rajput  kingdoms  described  before  there  were 
many  others  in  Rajputana  on  the  eve  of  Muhammadan 
conquest.  The  chief  of  them  were 


Rajputana. 

Jesalmir.    Bundi.    Jalor    anxL  Nadol.     The 


10  HISTORY -OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

principality  of  Jodhpur  was  founded  after  MuhammacJ 
Ghori's  conquest  of  Hindustan,  and  Amber  (modern 
Jeypore)  and  Bikanir  did  not  rise  into  prominence  until  the 
advent  of  Mughals  in  the  sixteenth  century.  The  Rajputs 
of  Mewar,  Jesalmir,  Ranthambhor  and  Jalor  struggled  hard 
with  the  early  Turks  and  bravely  opposed  them  on  the  field 
of  battle.  An  account  of  these  struggles  will  be  given  in 
subsequent  pages. 

Bengal  as  far  as  Assam  was  included  in  the  empire  of 
Harsa,    but    like    other    provinces    it  suffered  after  his 
death  from  anarchy    and    misrule     In  the 
eiShth  century,  the  people,  tired  of  disorder, 


Bihar  and  elected  Gopala  as  their  king  Gopala  was  a 
enga  "  Buddhist  and  he  reigned  for  nearly  45  years 
over  Magadha  and  South  Bihar.  His  successor  Dharmapala 
defeated  the  ruler  of  Kanauj,  and  his  suzerainty  was 
acknowledged  by  the  kings  of  Afghanistan,  Punjab,  certain 
portions  of  Rajputana  and  the  Kangra  Valley.  He  built 
magnificent  monastery  of Vikramasila.  which 

107    tpTflplpifl  and  fi  ro)1^00  fnr  Hnrat.ifl!L-in 
Devapala,  the  next  ruler,   is  described  as  the 


most  powerful  ruler  of  the  dynasty.  He  conquered  Assam 
and  Kalinga  and  waged  ceaseless  wars  for  the  propagation 

Of  his  faith.      He    received    a^    PT^hasfrgy    frnm    thp    king    nf 

Javajto  obtain  permission  for  building  a  temple  of  Buddha  at 
Nalanda.  Devapala  received  the  mission  well,  and  granted 
five  villages  in  the  districts  of  Patna  and  Gaya  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  temple,  built  by  the  Javanese  king. 

After  a  reign  of  forty  years  the  Palas  were  tempo- 
rarily overpowered  by  the  hill  tribe  of  the  Kambojas.  But 
the  Kamboja  rule  was  short-lived.  MahlpSla  recovered 
the  lost  power  of  his  house  and  sent  a  mission  for  the 


PRE-MUHAMMADAfc  INDIA  11 

revival  of  Buddhism  in  Tibet.  He  was  a  staunch  follower  of 
Buddhism  ;  he  built  several  buildings  at  Nalanda,  Bodhgaya 
and  Vikramaslla  and  repaired  many  Buddhist  shrines. 
In  1084  Ramapala  ascended  the  throne  of  his  forefathers, 
and  conquered  Mithila,  and  reduced  the  kings  of  Assam 
and  Orissa  to  the  position  of  tributaries  His  son  Kumara- 
pSla  turned  out  a  weak  ruler,  and  he  found  it  impossible 
to  keep  the  power  of  his  dynasty  intact.  Samanta  Sena, 
who  probably  came  from  the  Deccan,  seized  a  large  part 
of  the  kingdom  of  Palas,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  the 
new  dynasty  of  Senas  in  Bengal  towards  the  close  of 
the  eleventh  century  A.D.  Samanta  Sena's  grandson, 
Vijaya  Sena,  conquered  Western  Bengal,  and  firmly  establish- 
ed the  power  of  his  house.  His  successor 


came  to  the  throne  in  ]  155,  and  besides  maintaining  the 
dominion  of  his  father  intact,  promoted  learning,  and 
introduced  the  practice  of  Kulinism  among  the  Brahmans, 
the  Vaidyas  and  the  Kayasthas  of  Bengal.  Brahmanism 
regained  its  ascendancy  under  him,  and  missions  were 
sent  abroad  for  propaganda  work.  Ballala  Sena  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Laligmana^Sfiiis  in  1170.  He  succumbed  to 
the  raid  of  ftlnhnnnmQH  hin  RalrfrHyar  KlvIJ1'  in  1199, 
and  a  large  part  of  Bengal  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
Muhammadans. 

The  origin  of  the  Rajputs  is  a  matter  of  controversy. 

Historical  ingenuity  has  been  much  exercised  in  determin- 

.  ing  with  precision  the  origin  of  the  Rajputs, 

Rajputs.0      e     and    the    difficulty    has    been    considerably 

aggravated   by   the  lofty  pedigrees  assigned 

to  them  in  Brahmanical  literature  and  the  bardic  chronicles. 

The  Rajputs  claim  to  be  the  lineal  descendants  of  the  Ksatri- 

yas  of  Vedic  times.    They  trace  their  pedigree  from  the 


12  HISTORY*  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

sun  and  the  moon,  and  some  of  them  believe  in  the  theory 
of  ^qnikula.  ThA  wnrd  Tfajpnt  in  common  parlance,  in 
Certain  states  of  Rajnntana./fe  used  to  rtennt.g  f,hp  illflgiti- 

nriftfP    grnig  nf  n  Kqgfn'yQ  /»hipf  nr  jfigfrdnr        But  in  reality  it 

is  the  corrupted  form  of  the  Sanskrit  word 


*  am'nn  nf  thp  rnyal  hlnpfL'      The  WOrd  OCCUrS  in  the 

Puranas,  and  is  used  in  Ra[pafa  Hgrsachgrita  in  the  sense  of 
high-born  Ksatriya—  a  fact  which  goes  to  show  that  the 
word  was  used  in  early  times  and  in  the  seventh  and  eighth 
centuries  A.D. 

Much  has  been  written  about  the  origin  of  the  .Rajputs. 
Some  hold  them  to  be  the  descendants  of  the  foreign  settlers 
iff  Indja,  while  others  trace  their  pedigree  back  to  the 
Ksatriyas  of  Vedic  times.  Tod,  the  famous  historian  of 
Rajasthan,  started  the  theory  that  fop  Rajputs  w?re  the 
descendants  of  tlje  Scythians  or  Sakas  who  came  into  India 
about  the  sixth  century  A.D. 

European  scholars  have  accepted  Tod's  view  of  the 
origin  of  the  Rajputs.  Dr.  Vincent  Smith  in  his  Early 
History  of  India  (Revised  edition,  p  425),  speaking  of 
the  foreign  immigration  of  the  Sakas  and  the  Yue-chi  or 
Kushans  in  the  second  and  first  centuries  B.C.,  writes  :— 

"  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  ruling  families  of  both  the 
£akas  and  the  Kushans,  when  they  became  Hinduised, 
were  admitted  to  rank  as  Kshatriyas  in  the  Hindu 
caste  system,  but  the  fact  can  be  inferred  only  from  the 
analogy  of  what  is  ascertained  to  have  happened  in 
later  ages—  it  cannot  be  proved.'' 

Dr.  Smith  dwells  at  length  upon  the  effects  of  the  Hun 
invasions,  and  observes  that  they  "  disturbed  Hindu  institu- 
tions and  the  polity  much  more  deeply  than  would  be 


PRE-MUHAMMADAN'  INDIA  1& 

supposed  from  perusal  of  the  Puranas  and  other  literary 
works. "  He  goes  on  to  add  that  the  invasions  of  foreign 
tribes  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries  shook  Indian  society 
in  Northern  India  to  its  foundations,  and  brought  about  a 
re-arrangement  of  both  castes  and  ruling  families.  This 
view  is  supported  by  TV  n  R  T^hanHflrkar,  and  the 
editor  of  Tod's  Annals,  Mr.  William  Crooke,  who  writes  in 
his  Introduction  that  the  origin  of  many  Rajput  clans  dates 
from  the  Saka  or  Kushan  invasion,  which  began  about  the 
middle  of  the  second  century  B  C.,  or,  more  certainly,  from 
that  of  the  White  Huns  who  destroyed  the  Gupta  Empire 
about  480  A.D. 

But  in  recent  times  certain  Indian  scholars  have  attempt- 
ed in  their  researches  to  point  out  the  error  of  Tod  and 
other  European  scholars.  Mr.  Gaurishankar  Ojha  discusses 
the  question  at  length  in  his  History  of  Rajputana  and 
comes  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Rajputs  are  the  descendants 
of  the  ancient  Ksatriyas,  and  that  Tod  was  misled  by  the 
similarities  in  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Rajputs  and 
the  foreigners  who  settled  in  India. 

One  may  or  may  not  wholly  agree  with  Mr.  Ojha's 
view,  but  it  is  clear  that  the  foreign  tribes  who  settled 
in  India  made  a  fresh  re-arrangement  of  social  groups 
inevitable,  and  as  possessors  of  political  power  they  were 
connected  with  the  ancient  Ksatriyas  by  their  Brahman 
advisers. 

The  theory  of  Agnikula  that  four  Rajput  clans -the 
Jqwar  (Pyamflr)  Pflrihftr  (Prati'l^fir^  Chohan  (Chahumana) 
inri  Snlanki  or  Cfralukva— sprang  frorq  Va6igth£>>g  £**"*&**** 

f  fount    nn  -mnn^    g[Ki]    jp    ^^hoy-fl    Hfljpntanfl.     still    finds 

credence  among  the  Rajputs.     Dr.  Bhandarkar  and  others 
have  found  in  this  myth  a  confirmation  of  their  theory  of« 


14  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

the  foreign  origin  of  the  Rajputs.  They  hold  that  the 
Agnikula  myth  represents  fr  rite  nf  purgation  bv  fire,  the 
-scene  of  which  was  in  southern  Rajputana,  whereby  the 
impurity  of  the  foreigners  was  removed,  and  they  became 
fitted  to  enter  the  caste  system.  The  story  of  the  Agnikula 
is  related  in  the  f^rithvlr71^  Rnfinw  The  Rasau,  whatever 
its  date,  contains  many  interpolations,  and  sometimes 
inextricably  combines  history  with  legend  so  that  we  cannot 
accept  everything  that  it  says  as  historical  truth.  The 
fictitious  character  of  the  story  is  obvious,  and  it  is  unneces- 
sary to  adduce  evidence  to  prove  it.  It  represents  only  a 
Brahmanical  effort  at  finding  a  lofty  origiyi  for  tfrgjjgogle^ 
who  stood  very  high  in  the  §pcial  order,  and  whose 
munificence  flowed  in  an  unstinted  measure  to  the  priestly 
class,  which  reciprocated  that  generosity  with  great  enthu- 
siasm. It  will  be  absurd  to  contend  that  the  Rajputs  are 
the  pure  descendants  of  the  Ksatriyas  of  the  ancient  Vedic 
times.  The  original  Ksatriyas  were  mixed  up  with  the  hordes 
of  immigrants  who  poured  into  India  in  the  fifth  and  sixth 
centuries  of  the  Christian  era.  Dr.  Smith  writes  that  some 
of  the  Rajputs  are  descended  from  the  indigenous  tribes 
such  as  the  Gonds  and  Bhars— a  fact  which  is  borne  out  by 
the  distinctions  that  still  exist  among  them.  It  is  too  large 
»an  assumption,  and  is  scarcely  justified  by  the  historical 
data  available  to  us.  There  are  similar  distinctions  among 
the  Brahmans  also,  but  that  does  not  prove  that  certain 
Brahmans  are  descended  from  the  lower  orders  in  the  Hindu 
social  system.  To  make  such  a  generalisation  would  be 
against  all  canons  of  historical  research. 

The  various  tribes  of  the  foreign  settlers  became  so 
deeply  intermixed  with  one  another  in  course  of  time 
that  all  marked  dissimilarities  were  obliterated,  and  a 


PRE-MUHAMMADA"N  INDIA  15 

-certain  kind  of  homogeneity  was  developed  by  the  adoption 
of  similar  social  customs  and  religious  rites.  The  tribal 
individuality  vanished,  and  a  process  of  amalgamation 
set  in  which  made  scrupulous  differentiation  impossible. 
A  high  feeling  of  chivalry  and  honour,  of  indepeTjd.. 
qnfte  and  patriotism  animated  all  RaiDUtS.  and  this  same- 
ness  had  much  to  do  with  the  fusion  of  the  various  clans 
which  had  ethnologically  stood  apart  from  one  another. 

The  architectural   activity  of  the  Hindus  during  this 

period  was  mainly  confined  to  the  building  of  temples. 

u;The  most  famous  temples  of  the  period  in 

Art  and       Northern  India  are  those  of  Bhuvanesvara. 

Literature.  ,      -i        •  i  i  ^   '  A    ^          *  „ 

built    in    the    seventh    century     A  D.t     of 
'Khajuraho  in  Bundelkhand,  and  of  Puri  in  Orissa.  The  Jain 
at  Abu  was  built  early  in  the  eleventh  century,  and 


is  one  of  the  most  exquisite  examples  of  Indian  architecture 
of  the  pre-Musalman  period.  In  the  Deccan  also  numerous 
.temples  were  built,  the  most  famous  of  which  are  those 
built  by  the  rulers  of  the  Hoysa)?  dynasty.  The  first  at 
Somanathapq?  was  built  by  Vinaditya  Ballala  in  the 
eleventh  century,  the  second  at  Belur  by  Visnuvardhana 
Hoysala  in  the  twelfth  century,  and  the  third  at  Halevid 
built  by  another  prince  of  the  same  dynasty  towards  the 
close  of  the  twelfth  century.  The  Pallavas,  Chalukyas,  and 
Cholas  were  also  great  builders.  The  Pallavas  adorned  their 
capital  Kanchi  with  beautiful  temples,  some  of  which 
belong  to  the  seventh  century  A.D  The  temple  of  Tan- 
jore,  which  was  built  by  R§ja  R5ja  Chola  about  1090  A.D., 
bears  testimony  to  the  skill  of  the  southern  master-builders. 
The  Chalukyas  were  also  great  patrons  of  art.  They, 
adorned  their  capital  Badami  with  magnificent  temples 
-and  one  of  them,  Vikramaditya  II  (733—47  A.D.),  built  the 


16  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

>  famous  temple  of  Virupaksa  at  Pattadakal  which  was  prob- 
ably a  recognised  seat  of  learning  in  the  South.  The 
faindn  architecture  is  an  expression  of  the  Hindu  religJOIL 
(To  the  Hindu,  his  whole  life  is  an  affair  of  religion.  It  is 
his  religion  which  regulates  his  conduct  in  everyday  life, 
and  its  influence  permeates  through  the  various  grades  of 
the  Hindu  society.  Nowhere  is  the  religiousness  of 
.the  Hindu  more  clearly  manifest  than  in  his  architecture 
and  sculpture,  for  it  was  through  these,  as  a  distinguished 
Indian  scholar  points  out,  that  he  sought  to  realise  the 
all-embracing  notion  of  his  faith. 

The  temples,  tanks  and  embankments  of  the  Hindu 
kings  were  wonderful  works  of  art.  The  Arab  scholar 
Al-Biruni  writes  regarding  them  :  — 

"  In  this  they  have  attained  to  a  very  high  degree  of 
art,  so  that  our  people  (the  Muslims)  when  they  see 
them,  wonder  at  them,  and  are  unable  to  describe 
them,  much  less  to  construct  anything  like  them." 

Even  such  an  iconoclast  as  Mahmud  of  Ghazni  was 
moved  with  admiration,  when  he  saw  the  beautiful  temples 
of  the  city  of  Mathura  during  one  of  his  Indian  raids—  a 
fact  which  is  recorded  by  his  official  chronicler,  Utbi. 

The  triumph  of  Brahmanism  was  followed  by  an  enor- 
mous growth  of  religious  and  secular  literature.  The 
religious  controversies  of  the  time  produced  an  abundance 
of  philosophical  literature  of  which  the  most  important  are 
the  qflynmentaries  of  aar^kara  on  the 


Brahmasutra.    The  court  of  DhSrS  was 


adorned   by  such  eminent  literary  men  as  Padmagupta, 

ari%irnf  thf>  NnvaAnhafintyfaeharitft.,  nhanRfij^    author  of 

theDa&arupaka,  phanifa^  commentator  of  the  Dasarupaka^ 


PRE-MUHAMMADAN  INDIA  17 

commentator  of  Pinoalachhandahsutra  and 
other  works,  and  Amitag;ati,  author  of  the  Subhayi* 
taratnasandoh.  Among  the  dramatists  of  the  period  are 
Bhavabhuti,  author  of  the  Malatlmadhava,  the  Mafya- 
vlracharita  and  the  Uttararamacharita,  who  flourished 
in  the  eighth  century  A.D.  ;  VififtkhaHafi-a,  ant.hnr  of  f.he 
and  BhflftQ  NTsraya^fi,  author  of  the  Venl- 


samhara  (800  A.  D.)  and  Raiasekhara.  author  of  the  Kar( 
puramanjan  and  other  works,  who  wrote  in  the  early 
part  of  the  tenth  century  A.D. 

'^     The  Kavya  literature  also  deserves  a  passing  mention 

\».  a  well-known  work  which  draws 


its  materials  from  the  Mahabharata,  and  describes  the  story 
of  the  destruction  of  6isupala  by  Krisna.  Another  mahakavycn 
of  importance  is  the  Naisadhacharita  of  &ri  JHarga  (1150 
A.D.)  who  wrote  probably  under  the  patronage  of  Jaya- 
chandra  of  Kanauj.  Besides  the  Kavyas  proper  there  were 
written  during  this  period  historical  Kavyas.  Among  them 
the  most  remarkable  are  the  Navasahasankacharita  of 
Padmapnpta  who  was  a  court  poet  of  the  king  of  Dhara, 
and  of  whom  mention  has  previously  been  made  and  the 
Vikramankacharita  of  Bilhana  written  to  commemorate 
the  exploits  of  Vikramaditya  VI,  the  Chalukya  ruler  of 
Kalyan.  The  most  remarkable  historical  work  in  verse  is 

composed  in  the  middle  of  the 


twelfth  century  A.D.  KalhaJljajvas  a  well-educated  native 
of  Kashmir  who  had  taken  part  in  the  politics  of  his  coun- 
try* and  who  was  fully  conversant  with  its  affairs.  He 
attempts  to  give  his  readers  a  complete  history  of  Kashmir,. 
and,  though  like  all  mediaeval  frifitaringrfrphers  he  combiner 
faf*  with  fif*tjnnT  he  sincerely  endeavours  to  consult  the 
varied  sources  of  history.  Among  the  lyrical  poets  the  mqst 
F.  2 


18  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

remarkable  is  Jayadeva,  the  author  of  the  Gita  Govinda, 
who  flourished  in  Bengal  in  the  twelfth  century,  and  of 
whom  mention  will  be  made  in  another  chapter. 

The  institution  of  caste  existed.  The  superiority  of  the 
Brahmans  was  acknowledged  and  the  highest  honours 
Social  Life  were  accorded  to  them  by  kings  as  well  as 
the  common  people.  But  the  Rajputs  were 
no  less  high  in  the  social  scale.  Brave  and  warlike,  the 
Rajput  was  ever  devoted  to  the  championship  of  noble 
causes.  Tod  has  in  his  masterly  way  delineated  the 
character  of  the  Rajput  in  these  words  :  /"  High  courage, 
patriotism,  loyalty,  honour,  hospitality  and  simplicity  are 
qualities  which  must  at  once  be  conceded  to  them ;  and 
if  we  cannot  vindicate  them  from  charges  to  which  human 
nature  in  every  clime  is  obnoxious ;  if  we  are  compelled 
to  admit  the  deterioration  of  moral  dignity  from  the 
continual  inroads  of,  and  their  subsequent  collision  with, 
rapacious  conquerors  ;  we  must  yet  admire  the  quantum  of 
virtue  which  even  oppression  and  bad  example  have  failed 
to  banish.  The  meaner  vices  of  deceit  and  falsehood,  which 
the  delineators  of  national  character  attach  to  the  Asiatic 
without  distinction,  I  deny  to  be  universal  with  the 
Rajputs,  though  some  tribes  may  have  been  obliged  from 
position  to  use  these  shields  of  the  weak  against  continuous 
oppression.  "l/  The  Rajput  had  a  high  sense  of  honour  and 
a  strict  regard  for  truth.  He  was  generous  towards  his 
foes,  and  even  when  he  was  victorious,  he  seldom  had 
recourse  to  those  acts  of  barbarity  which  were  the  inevitable 
concomitants  of  Muslim  conquest  He  never  employed 


1  Tod's  Annals  and  Antiquities  of  Raj  as  than,  edited    by  Crooke, 
II,  p.  744. 


PRE-MUHAMMADAN  INDIA  19 

•deceit   or   treachery   in    war  and   scrupulously  abstained 
from  causing  misery  to  the  poor  and  innocent  people.    The 
test  of  the  civilisation  of  a  community,    writes  a  great 
thinker,  is  the  degree  of  esteem  in    which  women  are 
held  in  it.    Tfr$  Rajput  honnnrftd  his  women,   and  though 
their  lot  was  one  of  "  appalling  hardship  "  they  showed 
wonderful  courage  and  determination  in  times  of  difficulty, 
and   performed  deeds  of  valour  which   are    unparalleled 
in  the  history  of  the  world.    Their  devotion  to  their  hus- 
bands,   their    courage    in  moments  of   crisis — and  these 
were    unfortunately   many    in    a    Rajput   woman's    life — 
and  their  fearless  example  exercised  a  healthy  influence 
on  Rajput  society  in  spite  of  the  apnlnsjn^  fn  whinh  they  we^p 
Jiapt.  But  their  noble  birth,  their  devotion  to  their  husbands, 
their  high  sense  of  honour,  and  their  conspicuous  resource- 
fulness and  courage  all  combined  to  make  their  lives  highly 
uncertain.    The  custom  of  "  Jauhar  "  or  self-immolation— 
though  its  cruelty  seems  revolting  to  us— had  its  origin  in 
that  high  feeling  of  honour  and  chastity,  which  led  Rajput 
women  to  sacrifice  themselves  in  the  extremity  of  peril,  when 
the  relentless  invaders  hemmed  in  their  husbands  on  all 
sides,  and  when  all  chances  of  deliverance  were  lost. 

But  if  the  virtues  of  the  Rajputs  are  patent,  their 
faults  are  equally  obvious.  Their  inconstancy  of  temper, 
their  liability  to  emotion  or  passion,  #LGJV  oltH>fooling, 
their  Cfjpf fvial  frnffoj  their  UBS  of  opium,  their  incapacity 
to  present  a  united  front  to  the  common  enemy— all  these 
placed  them  in  a  highly  disadvantageous  position,  when 
they  were  matched  against  foes  of  tougher  stuff.  The 
pjflf.Hn.ft  nf  infantif»j(fa  was  common  amongst  them,  and 
female  children  were  seldom  suffered  to  exist  even  in  the 
/most  respectable  families.  Equally  baneful  was  the  custom 


20  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

of  Sati  which  resulted  from  time  to  time  in  the  deaths* 
of  a  number  of  women  in  royal  households  which  were 
universally  polygamous.  The  practice  became  so  common 
that  even  womeil_nf  nrdinnry  status  burnt  themselves  to 
death  ao.mfftMea  of  t]lftir  nwn  free  will,  but  more  often 
under  the  pressure  nf  parents  ^pfl  kinsmen^obsessed  by  a 
false  notion  of  family  pride.  The  Rajput  never  had  re- 
course to  treachery  or  deceit  in  time  of  war  and  dealt  fairly 
and  honourably  with  his  enemies.  His  wars  did  not  disturb 
the  ordinary  husbandman  in  the  peaceful  pursuit  of  his 
occupation.  Sieges,  battles,  massacres— all  left  him  un- 
moved with  the  result  that  he  became  completely  indifferent 
to  political  revolutions,  and  readily  transferred  his  allegiance 
from  one  king  to  another. 

The  Hindu  society  was  stirred  by  the  religious  move- 
ments of  reformers  like  Ramanuiacharva,  who  preached 
the  cult  of  bhaktL  and  whose  teachings  marked  a  reaction 
against  Sahara's  Advaita  philosophy.  He  preached  against 
Sankara's  Vedanta  and  laid  stress  upon  the  attributes  of  a 
personal  god  who  could  be  pleased  by  means  of  bhakti  or 
^devotion.  Hejgrmed  a  link  between  the  nprtl)  and  south, 
and  succeeded  in  establishing  his  spiritual  hegemony  over 
a  considerable  body  of  Hindus  in  both  parts  of  the  country. 
Pilgrimages  became  common,  and  men  moved  about  visiting 
Isacred  places—a  fact  which  imparted  a  great  stimulus  to 
the  deep  religious  fervour  which  was  at  this  time  a  remark- 
able feature  of  Hindu  society.  Svayamvaras  were  not 
frequently  held,  the  last  recorded  one  of  importance  being" 
that  of  the  daughter  of  Jayachandra  of  Kanauj,  but  Sati  was 
common,  and  in  beleaguered  fortresses  and  cities  no  mercy 
was  shown  to  the  weaker  sex,  when  it  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy. 


PRE-MUHAMMABAN  INDIA  21 

The  government  of  the  Rajputs  was  of  a  feudal  charac- 
ter.   The  kingdom  was  divided  into  estates  or  fiefs  held 

by  JaglrdSrs,  who  were  often  of  the  same 
Go^mLeirt*      family    as   the    prince.    The    strength    and 

security  of  the  state  depended  upon  their 
loyalty  and  devotion.  The  khalsa  land  of  the  state  was 
directly  under  the  prince  and  was  administered  by  him. 
The  nobles  or  their  vassals  were  divided  into  several  classes, 
and  the  etiquette  of  each  class  was  prescribed  by  imme- 
morial usage  which  was  scrupulously  observed.  The  chief 
source  of  income  was  the  revenue  from  the  khalsa  lands 
which  was  further  increased  by  taxes  on  commerce  and 
trade.  The  vassals  or  fief-holders  of  the  prince  had  to 
render  military  service,  when  they  were  called  upon  to 
do  so.  They  loved  and  honoured  their  prince  and  cheerfully 
followed  him  to  the  field  of  battle.  They  were  bound 
to  him  by  ties  of  pgr^opa}  Devotion  and  service,  and  were 
ever  anxious  to  prove  their  fidelity  in  times  of  difficulty 
or  danger.  No  price  could  purchase  them,  and  no  tempta- 
tion could  wean  them  away  from  their  chief.  These  feudal 
barons,  if  we  may  so  call  them,  had  to  make  payments 
to  their  chief  resembling  very  much  the  feudal  incidents 
qf  iriPdlflPval  F.nrftpp  The  knight's  fee  and  scutage  were 
not  unknown  ;  feudal  obligations  were  mutually  recognised, 
and  we  often  find  that  greedy  rulers  had  recourse  to 
scutage  to  obtain  money.  Such  government  was  bound 
to  be  inefficient.  It  fostered  individualism,  and  prevented 
the  coalition  of  political  forces  in  the  state  for  a  common 
end.  The  king  was  the  apex  of  the  system,  and  as  long  as 
he  was  strong  and  powerful,  affairs  were  properly  managed, 
but  a  weak  man  was  soon  reduced  to  the  position  of  a  poli- 
tical nullity.  The  internal  peace  of  the  state  often  depended 


22  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

upon  the  absence  of  external  danger.  When  there  was  no 
fear  of  a  foreign  foe,  the  feudal  vassals  became  restless,  and 
feuds  broke  out  between  the  various  clans  with  great 
violence,  as*  is  shown  by  the  feuds  of  the  clans  of  Chondawat 
and  Saktawat  in  the  seventeenth  century  in  the  time  of 
Jahangir. 

The   Deccan 

The  Chalukyas,  who  were  a   family  of  Rajput  origin, 

entered  the  Deccan  in  the  sixth  century  A.D.    The  most 

remarkable  of  the  line  was  ^ilflkfiff1*11  T{  who 

lukyas6  °  h  a"     ascended  the  throne  in  611  A.D.     He  waged 

ceaseless  wars  against  the  rulers  of  Gujarat, 

Raj  put  an  a,  Malwa  and  Konkan  and  annexed  the  territories 

of  the  Pallavas  of  Vengi  and  Kanchipura.     His  brother,  who 

was  originally  appointed  as  the  viceroy  of  the  conquered 

territories,  founded  a  separate  kingdom  known  in  history  as 

that  of  the  Eastern  Chalukyas.    In   fi2Q  A.D.     Pulakesin 

of  Kanaii].  an  achievement 


which  was  considered  a  remarkable  feat  of  valour  by  his 

contemporaries.    The  Cholas  and  Pandyan  nlnn  mtfrpd  into 

jjendly    relations    wfr.h   Pnlnlcftain-    The  Chinese  pilgrim 

iuen  Tsang  who    visited  the  Deccan    in  639  A.D.  was 

much  impressed  by  his  power  and  greatness. 

But  the  perpetual  wars  of  Pulakesin  implied  a  heavy 
strain  upon  the  military  and  financial  resources  of  his 
empire.  The  Pallavas  under  Narasinhavarman  inflicted 
a  crushing  defeat  upon  Pulakesin.  Pulakesin's  son  Vikra- 
mSditya  declared  war  upon  the  Pallavas  and  seized  their 
capital  K&nchl,  and  the  struggle  went  on  with  varying 
success  until  a  chieftain  of  the  RSgtrakuta  clan  supplanted 
the  jx>wer  of  the  Chalukyas. 


PRE-MUHAMMAt)AN  INDIA  23 


The   Rggtraknfas   werfl   originally  inhfl.hitfl.nta  nf 

and  are  mentioned  in  the  inscriptions  of  A£oka 
Rasfcra-  as  ^attas  or  Rathikas.  Formerly  they  were 
a"ra  subject  to  the  Chalukyas  of  Bad  ami,  but 
Dantidurga  had  established  his  independence 
after  defeating  the  Chalukya  ruler  Klrttivarman  II.  Danti- 
durga died  childless,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  uncle  Krisna  1 
who  considerably  increased  the  territories  inherited  from 
his  nephew.  Krigpa  erected  the  beautiful  rocWnt  tfiT^P1^ 
of  &va  at  Ellnra.  His  successors  further  extended  their 
dominions  by  their  conquests.  Amoghavar§a  who  came 
to  the  throne  in  815-16  A.  D.  ruled  over  all  the  territories 
included  in  the  kingdom  of  Pulakesin  II.  He  defeated 
the  Chalukyas  of  Vengi  and  founded  the  new  capital 
Manyakheta  or  Malkhed  in  the  Nizam's  dominions.  Amogha- 
varsa  professed  the  Jain  faith.  He  extended  his  pat- 
ronage to  Jain  scholars,  and  it  is  said  that  an  important 
work  on  the  philosophy  of  the  Jains  of  the  Digambara 
sect  was  written  during  his  reign.  Amoghavarsa  retired 
from  public  work  in  his  old  age,  and  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  Krisna  II  who  had  married  a  daughter  of  the 
Chedis  of  Dahala.  Krisna's  successor  Indra  III  allied 
himself  with  the  Chedis  by  means  of  marriage,  and  with 
their  aid  he  invaded  the  territories  of  the  Gurjar-Pra- 
tihars.  He  invaded  Malwa,  conquered  Ujjain,  and  his 
troops  ravaged  the  Gangetic  plain.  The  Ra?frakutas  of 
Gujarat  were  reduced  to  submission,  and  the  Gurjar- 
Pratihars  lost  their  power  owing  to  his  ceaseless  attacks. 

Under  the  successors  of  Indra  III  the  power  of  the 
Rastrakutas  declined.  They  exhausted  their  treasure  on 
wars  and  thus  crippled  their  resources.  The  Chalukyas 
gained  fresh  strength,  and  the  last  RS§trakut»  monarch 


24  HISTORY  Cfr  MUSLIM  RULE 

was  defeated  and  killed  in  battle  by  Tailapa  II  in  982 
A.D. 

A  new  dynasty  known  as  the  Chalukyas  of  Kalyani 
was  founded,  and  the  house  of  Rastrakufras  under  whom 
the  temple  at  Ellura  and  frescoes  of  Ajanta  were  built) 
and  commercial  relations  with  the  Arabs  were  maintained 
came  to  an  end. 

Tailapa  II  proved  a  powerful  and  energetic  ruler.    He 

brought  all  the  territories  over  which  the  Chalukyas  had 

once    ruled    under   his  sway,   and  defeated 

The  Western     Munja,  the  Parmar  Raja  of  Dhara.    Tailapa 

Ohalukyas     of  .  •       •«••«• 

found  a  formidable  adversary  in  Raja  R5ja 


Chola  who  harried  the  Vengi  territory  after 
his  death.  But  Tailapa's  successor  Somesvara,  'the 
wrestler  in  battle/  defeated  the  reigning  Chola  king,  and 
also  made  successful  attacks  upon  Dhara  and  Ranch!. 
Vikramaditya  VI  who  ascended  the  throne  in  1076  had  an 
unusually  peaceful  reign  of  fifty  years.  Art  and  literature 
flourished  under  him.  Bilhana.  the  poet,  and  the  famous 
jurist  Viift5neshwaraT  the  author  of  the  Mitaksara.  both 
wrote  their  works  during  his  reign.  After  the  death  of 
Vikrama  the  power  of  the  Chalukyas  began  to  decline 
rapidly.  Bijjala,  a  former  minister  of  Tailapa,  usurped 
authority  and  founded  a  new  dynasty. 

The  usurpation  of  BijjSla  coincided  with  the  revival  of 
J§iva  worship.  Basava  was  the  leader  of  the  new  movement. 
The  Lingayat  sect  flourished,  gathered  strength  and  consi- 
derably weakened  the  hold  of  Buddhism  and  Jainism.  The 
Chalukyas  tried  once  again  to  grasp  the  sceptre,  but  were  un- 
able to  do  so.  The  Deccan  was  divided  between  the  Ysdavas 
with  their  capital  atuDexagir*  the  KSkatiyas  at  Warangal 
and  th$  HoxsalaJBall&la^who  ruled  at  DwSrsamudra. 


PRE-MUHAMMADAN  INDIA  25 

These  three  powers  contended  for  supremacy  in  the 
Deccan  with  the  result  that  they  weakened  themselves 
paved  the  way  for  the  Muhammadans. 


the  famous  general  of  Alauddin  Khilji,  defeated  the 
powerful  Yadava  ruler  and  compelled  the  Kakatiyas  and 
the  Ballalas  to  render  allegiance  to  Delhi. 

In  the  earliest  times  there  were  three  important   king- 
doms in  the  Far  South,  namely,  the  PanHvar  th?  flbpla  and 

The  Pandya  kingdom 


m^  _    0     t       f 

The  Par  South. 

covered  the  area  now  occupied  by  the  Madura 
and  Tinnevelly  districts  with  portions  of  Trichinopoly  and 
Travancore  state.  The  Chola  kingdom  extended  over 
Madras  and  several  other  British  districts  on  the  east  as 
well  as  the  territory  now  included  in  the  Mysore  state. 
The  limits  of  the  principality  of  Chera  or  Kerala  cannot  be 
defined  with  precision,  but  scholars  are  of  opinion  that  it 
included  approximately  the  Malabar  districts  ajid  the  greater 
part  of  the  Cochin  and  Travancore  states.  The  three  king- 
doms enjoyed  a  position  of  power  and  influence  during  the 
•centuries  before  the  Christian  era,  and  had  trade  relations 
with  ancient  Rome  and  Egypt  But  in  the  second  century 
A.D.  a  new  power  rose  into  prominence  and  that  was  of 
the  Pallavas,  who  ruled  over  the  Telugu  and  west-coast 
districts  from  Vengipura  and  Plakaddu  (PalghSt)  respec- 
tively. They  gradually  increased  their  power  in  South 
India,  overpowered  the  ancient  kingdoms,  and  came  into 
•conflict  with  the  Chalukyas.  The  Chalukya  king,  Pulakesin 
II,  inflicted  a  crushing  defeat  upon  the  Pallava  ruler, 
Mahendravardhan  I,  and  annexed  the  Vengi  province  to 
his  dominions.  Exasperated  at  the  loss  of  an  important 
part  of  their  territory,  the  Pallavas  organised  their  forces, 
and  paid  the  Chalukya  king  in  his  own  coin  next  year, 


26  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

These  dynastic  feuds  were  inherited  by  the  R2$trakQt»s,. 
when  they  supplanted  the  Chalukyas  in  the  Deccan  in  the 
middle  of  the  eighth  century  A.D.  Before  the  continued 
attacks  of  a  youthful  and  vigorous  dynasty,  which  had 
just  emerged  on  the  stage  of  history,  the  Pallavas  found  it 
difficult  to  defend  themselves.  Internal  disorder  together 
with  the  rebellion  of  the  Southern  Gangas  accelerated  the 
decline  of  the  Pallavas  ;  and  the  supremacy  of  the  South 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Cholas,  and  Raja  Raja  Chola, 
who  assumed  sovereign  authority  in  985  A.D.,  extended 
his  conquests  far  and  wide.  By  the  end  of  1005  A.D.  he 
defeated  all  his  rivals,  and  built  for  himself  a  magnificent 
empire.  But  the  incessant  strain  of  war  proved  too  great 
even  for  this  mighty  ruler  of  the  South,  and  in  1011  A.D. 
he  sheathed  his  sword  with  pleasure,  and  devoted  himself 
to  the  task  of  organising  the  administration.  His  son 
Rajendra  Chqla  (1018—1042  A.D.)  was,  in  accordance  with 
the  Chola  custom,  associated  with  him  in  the  administration 
of  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom.  He  turned  out  an  able  ruler 
and  vigorously  carried  on  the  warlike  policy  of  his  father. 
His  arms  penetrated  as  far  as  the  territory  now  occupied 
by  the  provinces  of  Prome  and  Pegu  in  modern  Burma, 
and  Bengal  in  the  east.  Orissa  was  overrun,  and  the 
Andaman  and  Nicobar  Islands  were  also  conquered. 
The  Gangas  of  Mysore,  who  had  given  much  trouble  to 
the  Pallavas,  were  also  subdued ;  and  this  astute 
ruler  consummated  his  policy  of  aggrandisement  by 
forming  a  matrimonial  alliance  with  the  Chalukya  ruler 
of  Kalyaiil,  who  was  a  formidable  rival.  The  offspring 
of  this  marriage  was  Kulottunga  I  (1070—1118  A.D.)  wha 
united  in  his  person  the  power  of  the  Cholas  and  the 
Phalukyas. 


PRE-MUHAMMADAH  INDIA  2T 

After  the  death  of  Rajendra,  the  Chola  kingdom  began 
to  decline  ;  and  the  neighbouring  powers  who  had  suffered 
much  at  the  hands  of  its  rulers  now  arrayed  their  forces 
against  it.  The  Chola  ruler  was  defeated  by  the  Chalukya 
army,  and  this  defeat  led  to  the  defining  of  the  Chalukya 
and  Chola  frontiers.  The  Pandyas,  the  Cheras,  and  the 
Gangas  withheld  their  allegiance,  and  the  confusion  into 
which  the  kingdom  had  fallen  is  illustrated  by  the  fact 
that  several  rulers  occupied  the  throne  in  quick  succession 
only  to  be  removed  from  power,  either  by  military  force 
or  by  assassination.  In  1070  A.  D.  Somesvara  II  and  his 
younger  brother  Vikramaditya  contended  for  succession 
to  the  Chalukya  throne,  while  Vlra  Rajendra  Chola  had  a 
powerful  rival  in  Rajendra  Chola  of  the  Eastern  Chalukya 
dynasty.  Vikramaditya  won  a  victory  in  this  civil  war ; 
he  seized  the  Chalukya  throne,  and  restored  his  brother- 
in-law  5dhi-Rajendra  Chola  to  his  patrimony.  But  Adhi- 
Rajendra  who  depended  entirely  upon  Chalukya  support 
failed  to  win  the  confidence  of  his  subjects,  and  was  shortly 
afterwards  assassinated  He  left  no  male  heir,  and,  there- 
fore, the  crown  passed  to  Rajendra  Chalukya  who  is  better 
known  as  Kulottunga  I  (1070—3118  A.D.). 

Kulottunga  I,  who  was  a  capable  ruler,  established 
complete  tranquillity  throughout  his  wide  dominions.  He 
made  large  conquests,  but  he  is  distinguished  from  his 
predecessors  by  the  care  which  he  bestowed  upon 
the  organisation  of  the  administration  on  a  sound  and 
efficient  basis.  Towards  the  close  of  his  reign,  the  Hoysala 
Prince  Bitti  Deva,  otherwise  known  as  Vignuvardhana 
(1100—1141  A.D.),  drove  out  the  Chola  governors  from 
the  Ganga  territory,  and  before  his  death,  established  his 
sway  over  the  country  now  covered  by  the  Mysore  state. 


38  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

The  Pandyas,  meanwhile,  developed  their  power,  and 
the  Chola  empire  had  to  bear  the  blows  of  the  Hoysalas, 
the  KSkatiyas,  and  the  Pandyas.  The  last  powerful  ruler 
of  the  Pandya  dynasty  was  Sundaram  Pandya, J  who  died 
in  1293  A.D.  after  having  conquered  the  whole  Tamil  cpun- 
try  and  Ceylon.  The  great  Venetian  traveller  Marco  Polo, 
who  visited  South  India  in  the  thirteenth  century,  speaks  of 
the  great  wealth  and  power  of  the  Pandya  king.  But  in 
1310  A.D.  Kafur's  raids,  backed  by  the  fanaticism  of  the 
entire  Muslim  community,  destroyed  the  political  system  of 
the  South,  and  plunged  the  whole  country  into  a  state  of 
utter  confusion.  The  Chola  and  Pandya  kingdoms  rapidly 
declined  in  power,  and  were  finally  destroyed  by  Muslim 
attacks.  The  Deccan  was  not  united  again  until  the  rise 
of  the  Vijayanagar  kingdom  in  1336  A.D. 


Marco  Folo  found  him  ruling  at  Madura. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  ARAB  INVASION  OF  SINDH 

The  earliest  Muslim  invaders  of  Hindustan  were  not 
the  yqrka  hnt  tha  Amhar  who  issued  out  from  their  desert 
homes  after  the  death  of  the  great  Arabian 
The  Arabs.  prophet  to  enforce  belief  at  the  point  of  the 
which  was,  according  to  them,  "  jhe  kev  of  heaven 
Wherever  they  went,  plunder,  destruction  and 
cruelty  of  a  most  wanton  type  marched  in  their  train. 
Their  virility  and  vigour  enabled  them  to  make  them- 
selves masters  of  Syria,  Palestine,  Egypt  and  Persia  within 
a  short  space  of  twenty  years.  The  conquest  of  Persia 
made  them  think  of  their  expansion  eastward,  and  when 
they  learnt  of  the  fabulous  wealth  and  idolatry  of  India 
from  the  merchants  who  sailed  from  Shiraz  and  Hurmuz 
and  landed  on  the  Indian  coast,  they  recked  little  of  the 
difficulties  and  obstacles  which  nature  placed  in  their  way, 
and  resolved  on  an  expedition  to  India.  The  first  recorded 
expedition  was  sent  from  Uman  to  pillage  the  coasts  of 
India  in  the  year  636-37  A.D.  during  the  Khilafat  of  Omar 

was  t.hfl  nhw.Hvft  of  these  earlv 


raids,  but  the  task  was  considered  so  difficult  and  dangerous 
that  the  Khalifa  disapproved  of  such  distant  campaigns 
and  prohibited  all  further  attempts  in  this  direction.  He 
had  a  great  repugnance  to  naval  expeditions,  which  is  said  to 
have  been  caused  by  the  description  of  the  sea  furnished  tjo 

29 


30  HISTOR?  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

him  by  one  of  his  lieutenants,  as  "a  great  pool  which  some 
senseless  people  furrow,  looking  like  worms  upon  logs 
•of  wood."  But  Omar's  successors  relaxed  the  prohibition, 
and  expeditions  were  planned  and  undertaken,  so  that 
every  year  the  Muslims  marched  from  their  homes  in  search 
of  new  countries.  In  643-44  A.D.  Abdulla  bin  Amar  bin 
Rabi  invaded  Kirman,  and  marched  towards  Sistan  or 
Siwistan,  and  besieged  the  ruler  of  the  place  in  his  capital 
^nd  compelled  him  to  sue  for  peace.  Peace  being  made, 
the  victorious  general  proceeded  towards  Mekran,  where 
he  was  opposed  by  the  combined  forces  of  the  rulers  of 
Sindh  and  Mekran,  but  the  latter  sustained  a  defeat  in  a 
night  encounter.  Abdulla  wished  to  follow  up  his  victory 
and  to  win  further  success  on  the  other  side  of  the  Indus ; 
but  the  cautious  policy  of  the  Khalifa  stood  in  his  way 
and  forbade  all  further  progress. 

The  arms  of  Islam  achieved  splendid  success  every- 
where. Egypt,  Syria,  Carthage,  Africa, -all  were  reached 
within  a  few  years,  and  jr^  710  \  p.  at  the  battle  of  G^ada- 
lete  the  Gothic  kingdom  WQQ  dgatmypd  hy  the  Moorar  who 
established  their  own  power  in  the  country  and  introduced 
the  elements  of  Arabian  culture  among  the  semi-civilised 
European  rqces^  Persia  had  already  been  overrun  as  far 
as  the  river  Oxus,  and  attempts  had  been  made  to  annex 
the  lands  beyond  that  river  to  the  Caliphate.  These  eastern 
-conquests  greatly  increased  the  power  and  prestige  of  the 
Khilafat  which  attained  to  its  pinnacle  of  fame  under  the 
Omayyads.  Under  Hajjaj,  the  governor  of  IrSq,  who 
practically  ruled  over  the  entire  country  formerly  com- 
prised in  the  kingdom  of  Persia,  and  who  was  an  imperialist 
to  the  core,  the  spirit  of  conquest  found  its  fullest 
tfeope,  and  Bokhara,  Khojand,  Samarqand,  and  Farghana 


THE  ARAB  INVASION  OP  SINDH  31 

were  conquered  by  Muslim  arms.  Qutaiba  was  dent  to 
Kashgar  where  a  treaty  was  concluded  with  the  native 
Chinese.  An  army  was  also  sent  against  the  king  of  Kabul 
and  another  to  chastise  the  pirates  of  Debal1  IT?  Sindh,  who 
[had  plundered  eight  vessels  full  of  valuable  prrnmts  fifmt  hy 
|the  ruler  nf  (Tfiylnn  fnr  rh*  ITVHJfc  flnri  Hajjaj.  But  this 
punitive  expedition  against  Debal,  which  the  Khalifa  had 
sanctioned  at  the  special  request  of  Hajjaj,  failed,  and  the 
Arab  general  who  captained  it  was  defeated  and  put  to 
death  by  the  Sindhians.  Struck  with  shame  and  humiliation 
at  this  disastrous  failure,  Hajjaj  who  was  a  man  of 
sensitive  nature  vowed  vengeance  upon  the  Sindhians,  and 
planned  a  fresh  expedition,  better  organised  and  equipped 
than  the  previous  one.  It  was  entrusted  toMuhanrpa^  hm 
<3&fiim,  who  was  pointed  out  by  the  astrologers  as  the 
luckiest  man  to  be  placed  in  charge  of  it. 

The  story  of  Muhammad  bin  Qasim's  invasion  of  Sindh 

flf  thp  rnmnn/»off    ^f  hifltmj7       HlS  blooming  youth,  his 

dash  and    heroism,     his   noble  deportment 
throughout  the  expedition  and  his  tragic  fall 


invasion    of      have  invested  his  career  with  the  halo  of 

Bmdh,        712  _  , 

A.D.  martyrdom.    Buoyed  up  with  great  expecta- 

tions that  were  formed  of  him  on  account  of 

his  youthful  and  warlike  spirit,  this  gallant  prince  started 

on  his  Indian  expedition,  well-accoutred,  y>-h  ft, 


Trftflimi  Wftrrmrfl  flpnf  hy  Haiifti,  withlan  equal 
number  of  armed  camel-riders  and  a  baggage  train  of  3,000 


1  Thatta  is  synonymous  with  Debal.  Mr.  Abbott  discusses  the 
whole  question  at  length  in  his  interesting  monograph  on  Sindh 
(pp.  43—66).  Also  see  Major  Raverty's  translation  of  the  Tab%at-i-Naairi, 
I,  p.  395  (note  2). 


32  HISTORy  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 


Bactrian  camels.  Nfto.Pftaftrjpg  as  well  as  luxuries 
amnlv  supplied  bv  the  Khaliffl.  who  had  appointed  Muham- 
mad bin  Qasim  more  on  the  score  of  his  kinship  with  him 
than  mere  personal  merit.  When  Muhammad  reached 
Mekran,  he  was  joined  by  the  governor,  Muhammad 
HarGn,  who  supplied  reinforcements  and  five  catapulta 
which  were  sent  to  Debal  with  the  necessary  equipments. 
Besides  these  Arab  troops,  Muhammad  bin  Qasim  enlisted 
under  his  banner  a  large'number  of  the  discontented  Jats 
and  Meds,  who  had  old  accounts  to  settle  with  the  intoler- 
ant Hindu  government,  which  had  inflicted  great  humi- 
liations upon  them.  They  had  been  forbidden  to  ride  in 
saddles,  wear  fine  clothes,  to  uncover  the  head,  and  thia 
condemnation  to  the  position  of  mere  hewers  of  wood  and 
drawers  pf  water  had  embittered  animosities  to  such  an 
extent  that  they  readily  threw  in  their  lot  with  the 
foreigner.  Though  Muhammad  bin  Qasim  treated  them  with 
scant  respect  as  soon  as  he  had  gained  a  foothold  in  the 
country,  this  division  of  national  sympathies  was  of  incal- 
culable help  to  him  in  acquiring  knowledge  of  the  country 
with  which  his  men  were  but  imperfectly  acquainted. 

Muhammad  reached  Debal  in  the  spring  of  712  A.D. 
There  he  was  reinforced  by  a  large  supply  of  men  and 
munitions.  Forthwith  Muhammad's  men  set  themselves 
to  the  task  of  digging  entrenchments  defended  by  spear- 
men, each  body  of  warriors  under  its  own  banners,  and 
the  manjnlq  called  the  '  *  bride  "  was  placed  with  500 
men  to  work  it.  There  was  a  large  temple  at  Debal  on  the 
top  of  which  floated  a  red  flag  which  was  pulled  down  by  the 
Muslims  to  the  complete  horror  of  the  idolaters.  A  hard  fight 
ensued  in  which  the  Hindus  were  defeated  by  the  Muslims. 
The  city  was  given  up  to  plunder,  and  a  terrible  scene  of 


THE  ARAB  INVASION  OF  SINDH  3? 

carnage  followed,  which  lasted  for  three  days.  The 
governor  of  the  town  fled  away  without  offering  any 
resistance  and  left  the  field  clear  for  the  victorious  general, 
who  laid  out  a  Muslim  quarter,  built  a  mosque  and  entrusted 
the  defence  of  the  city  to  a  garrison  of  4,000  men. 

Having  taken  Debal  by  storm,  Muhammad  bin  Qasim 
proceeded  to  Nirun,  '  the  inhabitants  of  which  purchased 
their  freedom  by  furnishing  supplies  and  making  a  complete 
surrender.  He  then  ordered  a  bridge  of  boats  to  be  con- 
structed in  order  to  cross  the  Indus.  This  unexpected  move 
took  Dffliir  bv  surprise,  and  with  his  men  he  fell  back  upon 
Rawar  where  he  set  his  forces  in  order  to  fight  against  the 
enemy.  Here  the  Arabs  encountered  an  imposing  array 
of  war-elephants  and  a  powerful  army,  thirsting  to  give 
battle  to  the  Muslims  under  the  command  of 


Thakurs  (chiefs).  A  naphtha  arrow  struck  D§hir's  howdah 
and  set  it  ablaze.  Dahir  fell  upon  the  ground,  but  he  at 
once  raised  himself  up  and  had  a  scuffle  with  an  Arab,  who 
"  struck  him  with  a  sword  on  the  very  centre  of  his  head 
and  cleft  it  to  his  neck."  Driven  to  despair  by  the  death 
of  their  valiant  king  and  leader,  the  Hindus  assailed  the 
Muslims  with  relentless  fury,  but  they  were  defeated,  and 
the  faithful  "  glutted  themselves  with  massacre."  ffihiV^ 
wiffi>  pgnT  RgT.  and  his  son  betook  themselves  to  the 
fortress  of  Rfiwar,  where  the  last  extremity  of  peril  called 
forth  the  shining  qualities  of  those  hapless  men  and  women 
whom  death  and  dishonour  stared  in  the  face.  After  the 
manner  of  her  tribe,  this  brave  lady  resolved  to  fight  the 
enemies  of  her  husband.  She  reviewed  the  remnant  of  her 

1  Nirun  was  situated  on  the  high  road  from  ThattS  to  Haidrttb&d,  a 
little  below  Jarak.  (Elliot,  I,  pp.  896—401.) 
F.  3 


34  HISTORY  .OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

garrison,  15  thousand  in  number  in  the  fort,  and  forthwith 
stones  from  mangonels  and  balistas,  as  well  as  arrows 
•and  javelins,  began  to  be  rained  down  thickly  upon  the 
Arabs,  who  were  encamped  under  the  walls  of  the  fort.  But 
the  Arabs  proved  too  strong  for  the  forlorn  hope  of  RSwar 
and  conducted  the  siege  with  great  vigour  and  intrepidity. 
When  the  Rani  saw  her  doom  inevitable,  she  assembled  all 
the  women  in  the  fort  and  addressed  them  thus  :—  "  God 
forbid  that  we  should  owe  our  liberty  to  those  outcaste 
cow-eaters.  Our  honour  would  be  lost.  Our  respite  is  at 
an  end,  and  there  is  nowhere  any  hope  of  escape  ;  let  us 
collect  wood,  cotton  and  oil,  for  I  think  we  should  burn 
ourselves  and  go  to  meet  our  husbands.  If  any  wish  to  save 
herself,  she  may."  They  entered  into  a  house,  where  they 
burnt  themselves,  and  by  means  of  this  ghastly  holocaust 
vindicated  the  honour  of  their  race. 

Muhammad  took  the  fort,  qaassacred  the  6.000  men 
whom  he  found  there,  and  seized  all  the  wealth  ,sand 
treasure  that  belonged  to  Dahir.  Flushed  with  success, 
he  proceeded  to  prghmq^qhaH '  where  the  people  at  once 
submitted  to  him.  A  settlement  of  the  country  followed 
immediately  ;  those  who  embraced  Islam  were  exempted 
from  slavery,  tribute  and  the  Jeziya,  while  those  who 
adhered  to  the  faith  of  their  fathers  had  to  pay  the  poll- 
tax,  and  were  allowed  to  retain  possession  of  their  lands 
and  property.  The  poll-tax  was  levied  according  to  three 
grades.  The  first  grade  was  to  pay  silver  equal  to  forty- 
eight  dirhams,  the  second  grade  twenty-four  dirhams,  and 


1  It  is  a  ruined  city   in  the  Sinjhoro  Taluka  of  Thar  and   Parkar, 
district  Siudh,  Bombay,  situated  in  26°  52' N.  and  68°  62'  B.,  about  11 
'  miles  south-east  of  Shahdadpur  in  HaidrSbad,  and  21  miles  from  Hala. 
(Imperial  Gazetteer,  IX,  p.  8.) 


THE  ARAB  INVASION  OF  SINDH  85 

the  lowest  grade  twelve  dirhams.  When  the  people  of 
Brahmanabad  implored  Muhammad  bin  Qasim  to  grant 
them  freedom  of  worship,  he  referred  the  matter  to 
Hajjaj,  who  sent  the  following  reply  : — "As  they 
have  made  submission  and  have  agreed  to  pay  taxes  to 
the  Khalifa,  nothing  more  can  be  properly  required 
from  them.  They  have  been  taken  under  our  protection  and 
we  cannot,  in  any  way,  stretch  out  our  hands  upon  their 
lives  or  property.  Permission  is  given  them  to  worship 
ftbair  goffe.  Nobody  must  he  forbidden  or  prevented  from 
folio  winy  his  f\^r\  feli^ipn.  Tfrev  may  IJVP  in  t.hrir  hnnya 

in.  whatever  manner  thevlifre."1     Muhammad  bin  Qasim 
then  devoted  himself  to  the  settlement  of  the  country.   The 
-whole  population  was  divided  into  four  classes  and  twelve 
ydirhams'  weight  of  silver  was  allotted  to  each  man  because 
their  property  had  been  confiscated.    The  Brahmans   were, 
treated  well  and  their  dignity  was  maintained.    They  wertiu 
entrusted    with    offices    in    the    administration    and  the 
country  was  placed  under  their  charge.    To  the  revenue  * 
officers    Muhammad    said  :  "  Deal  honestly   between  the 
people  and  the  Sultan,  and  if  distribution  is  required,    make 
it    with    equity,    and  fix  the   revenue  according  to  the 
ability  to    pay.    Be    in  concord     among   yourselves  and 
oppose  not  each  other,  so  that  the  country  may  not  be 
•distressed."    Rp(lig-inna  fraeifopi  wfr$  grante4  and  in  the 
matter  of  worship    the  wishes    of  the    Brahmans  were 
respected. 

The  victory  of  Brahmanabad  was  followed  by  the 
•conquest  of  Multan,  the  chief  city  of  the  upper  Indus.  The 
•garrison  in  the  fort  was  put  to  the  sword,  and  the  families 

1  GhSchnSmSt  Blliot,  I,  pp.  185*86. 


86  HISTORY*  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

of  the  chief  s  and  warriors  of  Multan  were  enslaved.  The- 
people  of  Multan,  merchants,  traders,  and  artisans,  together 
with  the  Jats  and  Meds  of  the  surrounding  country,  whom 
the  native  government  had  persecuted,  waited  upon  the 
conqueror  and  paid  him  homage.  The  usual  settlement  of 
territory  followed,  and  Muhammad  bin  Qasim  granted 
toleration  to  all  unbelievers,  and  spared  their  lives  on  pay- 
ment of  a  poll-tax.  Having  conquered  Multan  he  sent 
one  of  his  generals,  Abu  Hakim,  at  the  head  of  ten 
thousand  horse  towards  Kanauj,  but  before  he  could 
open  a  fresh  campaign,  he  received  from  the  Khalifa  the 
ominous  decree  of  his  doom. 

But  all  these  glorious  conquests  spelled  disaster  for 

Muhammad,  and  nothing  availed  to  save  him  from  the  tragic 

fate  that  awaited  him.    His  fall  was  as  sud- 

The  death  of     den  as  his  meteoric  rise.    When  the  captive 

Muhammad 

bin  Qasim.          daughters  of  Raja  Dahir.  Parmal  Devi  and 


Snraj  Devij  were  presented  to  the  Khalifa 
to  be  introduced  into  his  seraglio,  the  princesses,  in  order 
toavenpe  their  father's  (foftth,  invented  tViA  afrnry,  that 
before  sending  them  to  the  Khalifa  Muhammad  bin  Qasim 
had  dishonoured  them  both,  suggesting  thereby  that  they 
were  unfit  for  the  commander  of  the  faithful.  The  Khalifa2 
lost  his  temper,  and  peremptorily  issued  an  order  that 
Muhammad  bin  Qasim  should  be  sewn  in  the  raw  hide  of 
an  ox  and  be  sent  to  the  capital.  So  great  was  the  might 
and  majesty  of  the  Khalifa,  that  Muhammad,  on  receipt  of 
this  order,  voluntarily  sewed  himself  in  raw  hide,  and  Mir 
MBsOm  writes  that  "  three  days  afterwards,  the  bird  of  life 

I  The  Khalifa's    name   was  Walid  ibn-  Abdul  Malik.   He  became- 
f&alifa  in  86  A.H.  (706  A.D.)  and  died  in  96  A.H.  (715  A.D.). 


THE  ARAB  INVASION  OF  SINDH  37 

left  his  body  and  flew  to  heaven.  "  His  dead  body,  enclosed 
in  a  box,  was  sent  to  the  Khalifa,  who  ordered  it  to 
be  opened  in  the  presence  of  the  daughters  of  Dshir.  The 
princesses  expressed  unalloyed  satisfaction  at  the  death 
of  their  father's*  murderer,  but  told  the  Khalifa  that  he  was 
innocent.  The  Khalifa  was  struck  with  remorse  ;  but  how 
could  he  make  amends  for  his  mistake  ?  He  ordered  the 
princesses  to  be  tied  to  the  tails  of  horses  and  be  dragged 
until  they  were  dead/  Thus  perished  the  young  hero, 
who  had,  in  the  short  space  of  three  years,  conquered 
Sindh  and  established  the  Khalifa's  sway  on  Indian  soil. 
This  story  partakes  of  the  nature  of  a  myth.  There  is  a 
great  disagreement  among  our  authorities  on  the  point  of 
Muhammad  bin  Qasim's  death,  but  the  account  of  Futuhu-i- 
Buldan,  which  says  that  Muhammad  was  seized,*  put  in 
chains  and  tortured  to  death  by  the  order  of  the  Khalifa, 
seems  to  be  more  probable  than  the  rest. 

As  a  matter  of  necessity  rather  than  of  choice,  the  ad- 

ministration was  left  in  the  hands  of  the  natives.    The  con- 

quest placed  plenty  of  land  in  the  hands  of  the 

The  Arab  oc-     Arabs.  The  iqtUs  were  held  by  grantees  on  the 

cupation      of  ,_.          -      ...^  .  , 

condition  of  military  service  and  were  exempt 


from  all  taxes  except  the  alms  (Sadqah).  The 
Muslim  soldiers  were  not  allowed  to  cultivate  lands,  and 
therefore  the  main  burden  of  agricultural  labour  fell  upon 
the  natives  who  were  '  reduced  to  the  condition  of  villeins 
and  serfs/  Some  soldiers  held  grants  of  land  while  others 
received  fixed  salaries.  As  laid  down  in  the  sacred  law, 

1  MTr  M3*8um  writes  that  after  two  months,  the  princesses  were 
presented  to  the  Khalifa  and  an  interpreter  was  called  in.  When  the 
veil  was  removed  from  their  faces,  the  Khalifa  fell  in  love  with  them. 
They  told  him  that  Muhammad  had  kept  them  for  three  days  in  his 
haram.  (Tarikh-i-M&sBmT,  KhudRbakhsha,  M8.  F.  16.) 


38  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

four-fifths  of  the  spoils  was  given  to  the  troops  and  one-fifth 
was  kept  for  the  Khalifa  and  it  appears  that  the  Khalifas 
observed  this  rule,  because  they  were  afraid  of  the  opposi- 
tion of  these  military  men.  Religious  endowments  were 
made,  and  land  was  given  in  waqf  (free-gift)  to  holy  men 
and  heads  of  monasteries,  The  Arab  soldiers  settled  in 
the  country,  married  Indian  women  and  thus  slowly  a 
number  of  small  military  colonies  came  into  existence,  where 
in  the  enjoyment  of  domestic  happiness  these  men  forgot 
the  pain  of  exile. 

The  Arabs  were  not  so  fanatical  as  the  Turks  who 
followed  them  later.  They  granted  toleration  to  the 
Hindus.  They  did  so  not  because  they  felt  respect  for 
other  faiths,  but  because  they  were  convinced  of  the  im- 
possibility of  suppressing  the  faiths  of  the  conquered 
peoples.  At  first  there  was  a  fearful  outbreak  of  religious 
bigotry  in  several  places,  and  temples  were  wantonly 
desecrated.  The  temple  of  the  Sun  at  Mult  an  was  ravaged , 
and  its  treasures  were  rifled  by  Muhammad  bin  Qasim. 
The  principal  sources  of  revenue  were  the  land-tax  and 
the  poll-tax.  The  land-tax  was  rated  at  two-fifths  of  the 
produce  of  wheat  and  barley,  if  the  fields  were  watered  by 
public  canals,  and  one-fourth  if  unirrigated.  Of  dates,  grapes 
and  garden  produce  one-third  was  taken,  either  in  kind  or 
cash,  and  one-fifth  of  the  yield  of  wines,  fishing,  pearls  and  of 
other  produce,  not  derived  from  cultivation.  Besides  these, 
there  were  several  other  taxes,  which  were  generally  farmed 
out  to  the  highest  bidder.  Some  of  the  tribes  had  to  comply 
with  demands  which  carried  much  humiliation  with  thenu 
At  one  time  the  Jats  living  beyond  the  river  Aral  had  to 
bring  a  dog  when  they  came  to  pay  their  respects  to  the 
governor  and  were  branded  on  the  hand.  Sumptuary  law& 


THE  ARAB  INVASION  OF  SINDH  39 

were  rigorously  enforced,  and  certain  tribes  were  forbidden 
to  wear  fine  apparels,  to  ride  on  horses  and  to  cover  their 
heads  and  feet.  Theft  by  the  subject  race  was  held  to  be  a 
serious  crime,  and  it  was  punished  by  burning  to  death  the 
women  and  children  of  the  thief.  The  native  population 
had  to  feed  every  Muslim  traveller  for  three  days  and  nights, 
and  had  to  submit  to  many  other  humiliations  which  are 
mentioned  by  the  Muslim  historians.  The  Jeziya  wa& 
always  exacted  "  with  rigour  and  punctuality,  and  frequent- 
ly with  insult."  The  unbelievers,  technically  called  Zimmla, 
had  to  pay  according  to  their  means,  and  exemption  waa 
granted  to  those  who  embraced  Islam.  There  were  na 
tribunals  for  deciding  cases  between  the  Hindus  and  Mus- 
lims. The  amirs  and  chiefs,  who  still  maintained  their 
independence,  exercised  the  right  of  inflicting  capital  punish- 
ment upon  offenders  within  their  jurisdiction.  The  Qazi 
decided  cases  according  to  the  principles  of  the  Quran,  and 
the  same  practice  was  followed  in  cases  between  the  Hindus 
and  the  Muslims,  which,  of  course,  resulted  in  great  injustice 
to  the  former.  In  the  matter  of  public  and  political 
offences,  the  law  made  no  distinction  between  Hindus  and 
Muslims,  but  all  suits  relating  to  d$bts,  contracts,  adultery, 
inheritance,  property  and  the  like,  were  decided  by  the 
Hindus  in  their  panchayats  or  arbitration  boards  which 
worked  with  great  efficiency.  The  public  tribunals  were 
to  the  EJindus  "  only  the  means  of  extortion  and  forcible 
conversion."  They  always  fretted  and  chafed  under  the 
foreign  tutelage,  but  their  own  disunion  was  responsible 
for  it.  The  absence  of  that  bond  of  sympathy  between 
the  conqueror  and  the  conquered,  which  arises  from  mutual 
confidence,  was  a  conspicuous  feature  of  the  Arab  adminis- 
tration in  Sindh. 


40  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

The  conquest  was  accomplished  by  tribes  who  were  so 

different  in  their  habits  and  sentiments  that  they  could 

never  act  in  unison.    When  religious  fana- 

The     imper-     ticism  had  subsided,  they  "  showed    them- 

manence        of  t  .  .  ,          _  ._,. 

Arab  conquest,  selves  as  utterly  incapable,  as  the  shifting 
sands  of  their  own  desert,  of  coalescing  into 
a  system  of  concord  and  subordination."  The  hereditary 
feuds  among  the  various  clans  further  weakened  their  posi- 
tion, which  was  rendered  worse  by  the  persecution  of  the 
Shias  and  several  other  heretical  sects.  The  Arab  con- 
quest, as  Stanley  Lane-Poole  rightly  observes,  was  only  "  an 
episode  in  the  history  of  India  and  of  Islam,  a  triumph  with- 
out Result s."  The  province  of  Sindh  was  well-known  for  the 
infertility  of  its  soil,  and  the  Arabs  soon  discovered  that  it 
was  an  unremunerative  appanage  of  the  Khilafat.  The 
Hindu  world,  deeply  conservative  and  philosophical,  treated 
with  supreme  disdain  the  wealth  and  greatness  of  its 
physical  conquerors,  so  that  the  even  tenor  of  Hindu  life 
was  not  at  all  disturbed  by  this  "  barbarian  inroad.*'  It 
was  impossible  for  the  Arabs  to  found  a  permanent  power 
in  India,  for  the  Rajputs  still  held  important  kingdoms  in 
the  north  and  east,  and  were  ever  ready  to  contest  every 
inch  of  ground  with  any  .foreign  intruder,  who  ventured 
to  invade  their  territory,  f  Muhammad  bin  Qasim's  work 
of  conquest  was  left  uncompleted,  and  after  his  death 
the  stability  of  the  Arab  position  was  seriously  shaken 
owing  to  the  ineffectual  aid,  which  the  Khalifas  sent,  to 
their  representatives  in  that  inhospitable  region.  The 
decline  in  the  power  of  the  Khilafat  seriously  affected  its 
possessions  abroad,  and  the  distant  provinces  gradually 
ceased  to  respect  the  authority  of  the  imperial  government 
SiiWhwas  divided  into  several  petty  states  which  were 


THE  ARAB  INVASION  OF  SINDH  41 

practically  independent.    The  Arabs  who  settled  in  Sindh 
•established  their  own  dynasties,  and    the  chiefs   of  the 
Saiyyad  families  exercised  authority  over  the  upper  and 
the  lower  Indus.  Only  a  few  settlements  and  a  few  families 
constituted  the  memorial  of  Arab  conquest  in  India.    The 
Arabs  have  left  no  legacy  behind  in  the  shape  of  buildings, 
camps,  and  roads.    Language,  architecture,  art,  tradition, 
customs,  and  manners  were  little  affected  by  them,   and 
all  that  remained  was  the  dtbria  of  ancient  buildings,  which 
proclaimed  to  the  world  the  vandalism  of  their  destroyers. 
Out  of  the  materials  of  the  buildings  which  they  demo- 
lished they  built  castles,  cities  and  fortresses  which    have 
been  destroyed  by  the  ravages  of  time. 

It  may  be  conceded  at  once  that  the  Arab  conquest  of 

>Sindh,  from  the  political  point  of  view,  was  an  insignificant 

event  in  the  history  of  Islam.  But  the  effects 

'effecteso1ltThe     of  this  conQuest  upon  Muslim  culture  were 
Arab  conquest     profound  and  far-reaching.    When  the  Arabs 
came  to  India,  they  were  astonished  at  the 
superiority  of  the  civilisation  which  they  found  in  the  coun- 
try.   The  sublimity  of  Hindu  philosophical  ideas  and  the 
richness  and  versatility  of  Hindu  intellect  were  a  strange 
revelation  to  them.  The  cardinal  doctrine  of  Muslim  theology 
that  there  is  one  God,  was  already  known  to  the  Hindu 
saints  and  philosophers  and  they  found  that  in  the  nobler 
arts,  which  enhance  the  dignity  of  man,  the  Hindus  far  ex- 
celled them.  The  Indian  musician,  the  mason,  and  the  painter 
were  as  much  admired  by  the  Arabs  as  the  philosopher  and 
the  man  of  learning.    The  Arabs  learnt  from  the  Hindus 
a  great  deal  in  the  practical  art  of  administration,    and  the 
employment  of  Brahman  officials  on  a  large  scale  was  due 
to  their  better  knowledge,  experience,  and    fitness  for 


42  HISTORY  *OF  MJJSLIM  RULE 

discharging  efficiently  the  duties  of  administration.  Muslim 
historians  are  apt  to  forget  or  minimise  the  debt  which  the 
Saracenic  civilisation  owed  to  Indo-Aryan  culture.  A  great 
many  of  the  elements  of  Arabian  culture,  which  afterwards 
had  such  a  marvellous  effect  upon  European  civilisation, 
were  borrowed  from  India.  The  court  at  Baghdad  extended 
its  patronage  to  Indian  scholarship,  and  during  the  Khilafat 
of  Mansur  (753-774  A.D.)  Arab  scholars  went  from  India  to 
Baghdad,  who  carried  with  them  two  books,  the  Brahma 
Siddhanta  of  Brahmagupta  and  his  Khanda-khtidydMT 
which  were  translated  into  Arabic  with  t¥eTielp"3f "  'Indian 
scholars.  It  was  from  them  that  the  Arabs  learnt  the 
first  principles  of  scientific  astronomy.1  The  cause  of 
Hindu  learning  received  much  encouragement  from  the 
ministerial  family  of  the  Barmaks  during  the  Khilafat  of 
HSrun  (786-808  A.D.).  They  invited  Hindu  scholars  to 
Baghdad,  and  appointed  them  as  the  chief  physicians  of 
their  hospitals,  and  asked  them  to  translate  from  Sanskrit 
into  Arabic  works  on  medicine,  philosophy,  astrology  and 
other  subjects.  When  the  Khilafat  of  Baghdad  lost  its 
importance  after  the  extinction  of  the  Abbasid  dynasty 
at  the  hands  of  HalagG,  the  Arab  governors  of  Sindh  became 
practically  independent.  The  cultural  connection  was  brok- 
en and  the  Arab  scholars,  no  longer  in  contact  with  Indian 
savants,  turned  to  the  study  of  Hellenic  art,  literature, 
philosophy  and  science.  We  may  endorse  Stanley  Lane- 
Poole's  view  that  the  conquest  of  Sindh  produced  no  perma- 
nent political  results,  but  it  must  be  added  that  the  Arabs, 
derived  much  benefit  from  the  culture  and  learning  of  the: 
Hindus. 

°l  Al-Biruni,  India,  translated  by  Sachau,  Introduction,  p.  xxxi. 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  GHAZNAWIDES 

The  Arab  invasion  was  a  failure  because  it  was  directed 
against  a  barren  and  unproductive  province.  The  progress 
of  Islamic  conquest  was  checked  for  the  time, 
of  the  Turks.°e  but  it  was  resumed  with  great  zeal  and  ear- 
nestness in  the  tenth  century  by  the  Turks 
who  poured  into  India  from  beyond  the  Afghan  hills  in 
ever-increasing  numbers.  After  the  fall  of  the  Omayyads 
in  750  A,D.,  the  A bbasides  who  succeeded  to  the  Khilafat 
transferred  the  capital  from  Damascus  to  Al-Kufa,  and 
removed  all  distinctions  between  the  Arabs  and  the  non- 
Arabs.  The  Khilafat  now  lost  its  sole  spiritual  leadership 
in  the  Islamic  world  ;  and  its  authority  was  circumscribed 
by  the  independent  dynasties  that  had  lately  come  into  exist- 
ence. The  Arabs  had  now  sunk  into  factious  voluptuaries, 
always  placing  personal  or  tribal  interests  above  the  interests 
of  Islam.  The  Abbasides  accelerated  the  process  of  decadence 
by  systematically  excluding  the  Arabs  from  office.  The 
provincial  governors  showed  a  tendency  towards  indepen- 
dence, as  the  central  government  became  weaker  and 
weaker.  The  barbarian  Turkish  guards  whom  the  Khalifas 
employed  to  protect  their  person  grew  too  powerful  to  be  < 
controlled,  and  they  became  mere  tools  in  their  hands.  The 

43 


44  HISTORY  bF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Turks  grew  in  importance  from  Egypt  to  Samarqand, 
•and  when  the  Samanid  kingdom  was  overthrown  by  them, 
they  founded  small  principalities  for  themselves.  The  more 
ambitious  of  these  petty  chiefs  turned  to  India  to  find 
an  outlet  for  their  martial  ardour  and  love  of  conquest. 
In  933  A.D.  Alaptagin  seized  Ghazni  where  his  father  had 
been  governor  under  the  SamSnids  and  established  his  own 
independent  power. 

After  his  death  in  976  A.D.  he  was  succeeded  by  his 

slave  Subuktagin.    As  he  seemed  to  be  a  man  of  promise, 

.    .   Q  ,   ,       Alaptagin  gradually  raised  him  to  posts  of 

Amir  Hubuk-  ,  -          _  . 

tag  in— The     trust,  and  conferred  upon  him,  in  course  of 

5rHinTdu8atann  time'  the  title  of  Amir-uL-Umra.  Subuktagin 
was  a  talented  and  ambitious  ruler.  Not 
content  with  the  petty  kingdom  of  his  master,  he  organised 
the  Afghans  into  a  compact  body,  and  with  their  help  con- 
quered Lamghan  and  Sistan,  and  extended  the  sphere  of  his 
influence.  The  Turkish  attacks  upon  the  Samanid  power 
further  gave  him  the  long-desired  opportunity  of  securing 
the  province  of  Khorasan  for  his  son  Mahmud  in  994  A.D. 

Eager  to  acquire  religious  merit,  Subuktagin  turned  toj 
the  conquest  of  India,  a  country  of  idolaters  and  infidels. 
Jayapala,  whose  kingdom  extended  from  Sarhind  to  Lam- 
ghan  and  from  Kashmir  to  Multan,  was  the  first  Indian 
ruler  likely  to  check  his  advance.  When  the  Afghans  encamp- 
ed on  the  border  of  the  Lamghan  territory,  JayapSla,  who 
was  frightened  beyond  measure  on  seeing  the  heavy  odds 
arrayed  against  him,  sued  for  peace,  and  offered  to   pay 
tribute  in  acknowledgment  of  the  conqueror's  sovereignty. 
Mahmud  dissuaded  his  father  from  acceding  to  these  terms 
of  peace,  and  urged  battle  for  "  the  honour  of  Islam  and  of 
JkCttsalmaiis."  JayapSla,   however,  renewed  his  overtures 


THE  RISE  AND  PALL  OF  THE  GHAZNAWIDES          4& 

and  sent  the  following  message  to  Subuktagin :— "  You 
have  seen  the  impetuosity  of  the  Hindus  and  their  indiffer- 
ence to  death,  whenever  any  calamity  befalls  them,  as  at 
this  moment.  If,  therefore,  you  refuse  to  grant  peace  in 
the  hope  of  obtaining  plunder,  tribute,  elephants,  and 
prisoners,  then  there  is  no  alternative  for  us  but  to  mount 
the  horse  of  stern  determination,  destroy  our  property, 
take  out  the  eyes  of  our  elephants,  cast  our  children  into 
the  fire,  and  rush  on  each  other  with  sword  and  spear,  so 
that  all  that  will  be  left  to  you,  is  stones  and  dirt,  dead 
bodies,  and  scattered  bones.'* 

At  this,  peace  was  made,  and  Jayapala  bound  himself 
to  pay  a  tribute  of  a  million  dirhams,  50  elephants,  and 
some  cities  and  fortresses  in  his  dominions.  But  he 
soon  changed  his  mind  and  cast  into  prison  two  officers 
sent  by  Subuktagin  to  see  that  he  made  good  his  promise. 
When  the  Amir  heard  of  this  breach  of  faith,  he  hastened 
with  his  army  towards  Hindustan  to  punish  JayapSla  for 
his  '  wickedness  and  infidelity/  Jayapala  received  help 
from  his  fellow-princes  of  Ajmer,  Delhi,  Kalanjar,  and 
Kanauj,  and  at  the  head  of  a  hundred  thousand  men  he 
advanced  to  meet  the  invader  on  the  same  field  of  battle. 

The  issue  of  the  battle  was  a  foregone  conclusion. 
Subuktagin  urged  his  fanatical  followers  to  fight  as  well  as 
they  could  for  the  honour  of  the  faith.    The 
inTaseion.eC°nd     Hindus  were  defeated  in  a  sharp  engagement. 
Subuktagin  levied  a  heavy  tribute  and  obtain- 
ed an  immense  booty.    His  sovereignty  was  acknowledged, 
and  he  appointed  one  of  his  officers  to  the  government  of 
Peshawar*     India  was  not  conquered,  but  the  Muslims 
discovered  the  way  that  led  to  her  fertile  plains.    After 
ruling  his  subjects  with  prudence    and   moderation  for 


46  HISTORY^  OP  MUSLIM  BULB 

twenty  years,  Subuktagin  died  in  August  997  A.D.,  leaving 

-a  large  and  well-established  kingdom  for  his  son  Mahmud  J> 

After  the  death  of  Subuktagin,  the  sceptre  of  Ghazni 

passed  into  the  hands  of  his  eldest  son,  Mahmud,  who 

quickly  attained  to  the  position  of  one  of  the 

G  ha*™1?—  Hie     mightiest    rulers  of   Asia,   famed  in  far-off 

early      ambi-     lands  for  his  riches,  valour,  and  justice.     To 

tions. 

the  qualities  of  a  born  soldier,  he  added  bound- 
less religious  zeal  which  has  ranked  him  among  the  great 
leaders  of  Islam.  Mahmud  was  indeed  a  fierce  and  fanatical 
Muslim  with  an  insatiable  thirst  for  wealth  and  power. 
Early  in  life  he  formed  the  grim  resolve  for  spreading  the 
faith  of  the  Prophet  at  the  point  of  the  sword,  and  his  in- 
vestiture by  the  Khalifa  further  sharpened  his  zeal.  To 
such  a  greedy  iconoclast,  India  with  her  myriad  faiths  and 
fabulous  wealth  presented  a  favourable  field  for  the  exercise 
of  his  religious  and  political  ambitions.  Again  and  again,  he 
led  jihads  against  the  Hindus,  bringing  back  with  him 
vast  booty  obtained  by  the  plundering  Turkish  hordes 
who  followed  him  into  Hindustan. 

Having  settled  the  affairs  of  his  kingdom,   Mahmud 
turned  his  attention  towards  Hindustan,  and  led  as  many 
as   seventeen    invasions    during  the     years 
1000—1026  A.  a    The  first  expedition  in  1000 


raid    on  fron-     ^.D.   resulted  in  the     capture    of    several 
frontier  fortresses  and  districts  which  were 
entrusted  by  Mahmud  to  his  own  governors. 

Next  year  he  again  set  out  from  Ghazni  at  the  head  of 
ten  thousand  picked  horsemen.    Thereupon,  JayapSla,  the 
Raja  of  Bhatinda,  mustered  all  his  forces,  and 
on  the  8th  Muharram,  392  A.H.  (November 
28,  1001  A.D.),  a  severe  action  was  fought  at 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  GtfAZNAWIDES          47 

Peshawar,  in  which  the  Musalmans  defeated  the  Hindus. 
Jayapala  was  captured  with  his  kinsmen,  and  an  immense 
booty  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  conqueror.  The  former  agreed 
to  give  fifty  elephants  and  his  son  and  grandson  as  hos- 
tages as  a  security  for  fulfilling  the  conditions  of  the  peace. 
But  Jayapala  personally  preferred  death  to  dishonour, 
•and  perished  in  the  flames  to  save  himself  from 
humiliation.  ' 

The  third  expedition  was  aimed  against  the  city  of 
Bheera  (1004-05  A.D.)  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Jhelam,  below 
the  Salt  Range,  which  was  soon  annexed  to 
Against      the  kingdom  of  Ghazni.    Abul  Fatah  Daud, 
.       the  heretic  ruler  of  Multan,  purchased  a  par- 


don by  promising  an  annual  tribute  of  twenty 
thousand  golden  dirhams,  when  he  learnt  of  the  defeat  of 
JayapSla's  son  AnandapSla  near  Peshawar.  Mahmud  entrust- 
ed his  Indian  possessions  to  Sevakapala,  a  Hindu  convert,  and 
returned  to  Ghazni,  but  as  soon  as  the  conqueror  turned 
his  back,  Sevakapala  abjured  Islam  and  withheld  allegiance 
to  Ghazni.  Thereupon,  Mahmud  marched  against  him  and 
•defeated  him.  He  was  compelled  to  pay  400  thousand 
-dirhams  as  penalty  for  his  disloyalty  and  bad  faith. 

The  sixth  expedition    (1008-09  A.D.)  was  aimed  against 

AnandapSla  for  having  assisted  Daud  of  Multan  in  his 

treasonable  designs.     Anandapala  like  the 

AntndapaFa?  *    aslant    RM»    San£a    of  Mewar  organised 

a   confederacy    of    the   Rajas  of   Ujjain, 

Gwalior,  Kalanjar,  Kanauj,  Delhi  and  Ajmer  and  marched 

1  Firishta  writes  that  a  custom  prevailed  among  the  Hindus  that 
when  a  Raja  was  overpowered  twioe  by  strangers,  he  became  disquali- 
fied to  reign.  (Briggs,  I.  p.  88.)  Utbi  also  refers  to  this  custom  though 
with  AS  light  variation.  (Elliot*  II,  p.  97.) 


48  HISTORY.  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

towards  the  Punjab  to  give  battle  to  the  invader.  The* 
response  to  the  appeal  of  the  Punjab  chief  showed  that  the* 
Rajput  princes  were  fully  alive  to  the  danger  to  their 
civilisation.  The  high  and  the  low,  the  rich  and  the  poor, 
were  all  stirrecTto  "heroic  action.  The  Muslim  historian 
writes  that  Hindu  women  '  sold  their  jewels  and  sent  the 
money  from  distant  parts  to  be  used  against  the  Musalmans. 
The  poorer  women  worked  day  and  night  at  tha^spinnin^ 
wheel  or  as  hired  labourers  to  be  able  to  send  something  to* 
the  men  of  the  army.  The  Khokhars  also  threw  in  their  lot 
with  the  Hindus. 

Mahmud's  archers  were  repulsed  by  the  bareheaded 
and  barefooted  Khokhars  who  rushed  fearlessly  into  the 
thick  of  the  fight  and  slew  and  smote  three  or  four  thou- 
sand Musalmans.  Dismayed  by  this  furious  charge,  the 
Sultan  was  about  to  stop  the  fight,  when  suddenly  Ananda- 
pSla's  elephant  took  fright  and  fled  from  the  field  of  battle. 
the~HIndus  were  panic-stricken  and  the  Ghaznawide  army 
pursued  them  for  two  days  and  nights.  Many  were  put  to 
death,  and  enormous  booty  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  victors. 

Flushed  with  success,   Mahmud  marched  against  the 

fort  of  Kangra,  also  known  as  Nagarkot  or  Bhimnagar. 1 

^  The  fortress    was    reputed  to  hold  untold 

est  of  Naglr-    treasures,  all  dedicated  to  Hindu  gods.    Whea 

k<^t,   ioos-09    the    Muhammadans   besieged  the  fortress, 

the  Hindus  opened  the  gates  out  of  fear,. 

and   Mahmud    easily   became    master    of  it   and   seized 

immense   booty.      The  Sultan    returned   in   triumph  to 

1  Kangra  is  a  most  fertile  plateau  in  the  Himalayas  with  a  snow-clad 
range  at  its  back  and  with  perennial  streams  running  through  it  into* 
three  OP  four  rivers.  The  fort  of  Kangra  was  permanently  conquered 
by  Jahangir  in  1621. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  GHAZNAWIDES  49 

Ghazni  with  a  vast  collection  of  jewels  which  far  exceeded! 
the  treasures  of  the  mightiest  kings  of  the  world. 

/    The  acquisition  of  vast  treasures  whetted  the  rapacity 
of  Mahmud's  followers,  and  they  repeated  their  raids  with 
a  remarkable  frequency.    The  dissensions  of 
the  Hindus,  though  they  were  numerically 
superior  to   their  invaders,  made  their  task 
easy.    There  was  little  feeling  of  national  patriotism  in, 
the    country.    The    masses    were  indifferent  to  political 
revolutions.     Whenever    a    confederacy    was    organised^ 
its    members  often  fell  out  among  themselves,   and  the 
pride  of  the    clan    or    the    tribe    interfered    with    the 
discipline  of  the  coalition  and  paralysed  the  plans  of  leaders. 
Self-interest    always  predominated  over  the  interests  of( 
Hindustan,  while  the  Muslims  never  experienced  dearth 
of  recruits  owing  to  their  boundless  fanaticism. 

After  the  conquest  of  Ghor,  Mahmud  marched  towards 
Multan  in  1010  A.D.,  and  defeated,  and  punished  the  rebel- 
lious chief  Daud.  Three  years  later  he  proceeded  against 
Bhimapala,  captured  his  fortress,  and  seized  vast  booty. 
The  Muslims  pursued  the  Raja  who  fled  to  Kashmir. 
Mahmud  appointed  his  own  governor,  and  after  plunder- 
ing Kashmir,  and  forcing  a  great  many  people  to  embrace 
Islam  he  returned  to  Ghazni. 

But  far  more  important  than  these  raids  was  his  expedi- 
tion against  Thanesar  in  the  year  1014  A.D.    The  Hindus 
fought  desperately  against  the  invaders,  but 
TiineLi .n  8  *     they  were  defeated,  and  the  fort  of  Thanesar 
with  a  large  booty  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
conqueror. 

Ardent  spirits  offered  themselves  as  volunteers  to  fight 
in  the  crusades  against  infidelity,  and  the  armies  of 

F.4 


50  HISTORY  6F  MUSLIM  RULE 

Mahmud  soon  swelled  to  enormous  dimensions.  Mahmud 
now  determined  to  invade  Kanauj,  renowned 
in  the  East  a8  the  imperial  Kpatriya  capital 
of  Hindustan.  In  1018  A.D.  he  started 
from  Ghazni  and  crossed  the  Jamna  on  the  2nd  December, 
1018  A.D.  He  captured  all  the  forts  that  blocked  his  way. 
The  Raja  of  Baran  (Bulandshahr)  tendered  his  submission, 
and  according  to  Muslim  historians  with  ten  thousand 
men  embraced  Islam.  The  Sultan  then  marched  against 
the  chief  of  Mahawan  on  the  Jamna.  The  Hindus  put  forth 
a  gallant  fight  but  they  were  defeated.  The  Raja  killed 
himself  to  escape  humiliation,  and  an  enormous  booty  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Sultan  who  now  proceeded  against 
Mathura,  the  sacred  city  of  the  Hindus,  which,  according 
to  the  Muslim  historian,  was  unrivalled  in  population  and 
edifices,  and  the  wonderful  things  which  it  contained  could 
not  be  described  by  the  tongue  of  man.  Muslim  iconoclasm 
proved  too  much  for  the  defenders,  and  the  exquisite  temples 
were  razed  to  the  ground  by  the  orders  of  the  conqueror 

Mahmud,  then,  proceeded  against  Kanauj  and  appeared 
before  its  gates  in  January  1019  A.D.  Rajyapala,  the  Prati- 
har  Raja  of  Kanauj,  however,  submitted  without  offering 
any  resistance.  The  Sultan  sacked  the  whole  town  and 
destroyed  the  temples,  seizing  an  enormous  amount  of  their 
wealth.  Passing  through  the  country  of  Bundelkhand 
Mahmud  returned  to  Ghazni. 

The  abject  surrender  of  RajyapSla  gave  offence  to  his 

fellow  Rajput  princes,  and  Vidyadhara,  son  of  the  Chandela 

Raja  of  Kalanjar,    attacked   RajyapSla* and 

The  Defeat  of    8iew  him  in  battle.    Resenting  the  murder 

Prince  of  his    vassal,     Mahmud    left    Ghazni  in 

1019  A.D.  to  chastise  tfce  Chandela  Prince. 


THE  RISE  AND  PALL  OP  THti  GHAZNAWIDES          51 

The  Chandela  Raja  was  ready  for  battle  with  a  huge  army, 
but  he  was  curiously  struck  with  a  panic,  and  luckily  for 
Mahmud  fled  from  the  field  of  battle,  leaving  his  entire 
baggage  for  the  invaders.  In  1021-22  A.D.  Mahmud  again 
returned  to  India  and  after  compelling  the  submission  of 
the  chief  of  Gwalior  proceeded  towards  Kalanjar.  The 
Chandela  Raja  elected  to  conclude  a  peace  with  the  Sultan. 
Having  accepted  immense  riches  and  jewels,  Mahmud  vic- 
toriously returned  to  Ghazni. 

But  the  most  momentous  expedition  was  aimed  against 

Somnath  in  the  year  416-17  A.H.  (1025-26  A.D.).    Having 

Expedition     heard  of    the    fabulous  wealth  whictt  this 

against    Som-     temple  was  supposed  to  contain,  he  resolved  to 

nath 

proceed  against  it.  Marching  through  diffi- 
cult country  by  way  of  Ajmer,  the  Sultan  stood  before  the 
gates  of  Somnath '  in  a  few  days.  He  invested  the  fortress 
which  stood  on  the  sea-shore,  and  was  washed  by 
the  waves.  The  Rajput  princes,  from  far  and  near, 
gathered  to  protect  their  cherished  idol.  When  the 
Muslims  began  the  attack,  the  Hindus  repelled  the  assault 
with  stubborn  courage,  and  when  the  besiegers  tried  to 
scale  the  walls  next  morning,  the  defenders  hurled  them 
down  with  irresistible  fprce.  Mahmud  was  filled  with 
dismay  ;  but  when  he  addressed  a  fervent  appeal  to  God  for 
assistance,  the  hearts  of  the  ignorant  zealots  of  Islam  were 
touched.  With  one  voice  they  declared  their  resolve  to 
fight  and  die  for  him. 

The  battle  raged  loud  and  fierce,  and  a  scene  of  terrible 
carnage  followed,  and  about  5,000  Hindus    were    slain. 

1  The  temple  of  Somnath  was  situated  in  Kathiawad  in  Gujarat. 
The  old  temple  is  in  ruins  and  a  new  temple  has  been  built  by  Ahalyabai 
near  the  site  of  the  old,  but  the  grandeur  of  the  temple  is  still  indicated 
toy  the  ruins  that  exist. 


52  HISTORY*  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Mahmud  then  entered  the  temple  and  broke  the  idol  into 
Dieces.  He  ordered  some  fragments  of  the  idol  to  be  sent  to 
Ghazni  where  they  were  thrown  down  at  the  threshold  of 
the  great  mosque  to  give  satisfaction  to  the  true  be- 
lievers. It  is  related  that  when  Mahmud  was  thus  breaking 
the  idol,  the  priests  offered  him  immense  wealth,  only  if  he 
spared  what  remained  of  their  god,  but  he  replied  with 
callous  indifference  that  he  wished  to  be  known  in  the  world 
as  Mahmud,  the  breaker  of  idols,  and  not  as  Mahmud, 
the  seller  of  idols.1  All  appeals  for  pity,  all  offers 
of  wealth  made  by  the  priests  in  charge  of  the  temple 
produced  no  effect  on  this  relentless  fanatic,  who  by  another 
blow  broke  the  sacred  lingam  into  pieces.  The  Muslim 
soldiers  of  Mahmud  ruthlessly  sacked  the  temple  and  easily 
obtained  possession  of  a  large  heap  of  diamonds,  rubies,  and 
pearls  of  incalculable  value.2 

Thus  did  Mahmud  figure,  in  the  eyes  of  his  followers, 
as  a  devoted  champion  of  the  faith.  They  followed  him 
uncomplainingly  wherever  he  led  them.  The  Raja  of 
JNehrwala  was  attacked  next  for  taking  part  in  the  defence 
of  Somnath.  He  fled,  and  his  country  was  easily  conquered. 
This  was  followed  by  the  subjugation  of  the  Bhatti  Rajputs. 
On  his  return  journey  Mahmud  was  much  troubled  by 
Bhima  Deva,  the  chief  of  Gujarat,  and  the  troops  suffered 
considerably  in  the  Ran  of  Kutch.  He  adopted  a  more 
westerly  route  and  proceeded  to  Ghazni  by  way  of  Sindh. 

1  Mr.  Habib's  statement  that  the  offer  of  the  Brahmans  and  Mah- 
mud's  rejection  of  the  offer  is  a  fable  of  later  days  lacks  confirmation 
by  Muslim  authorities.  There  is  no  improbability  in  the  offer  made  by 
the  Brahmans.  (Habib,  Sultan  Mahmud  of  Ghazni,  p.  53.) 

*  Firishta's  story  that  the  idol  of  Somnath  was  hollow  does  not  seen* 
"to  be  correct.     Al-Biruni  says  the  lingam  was  made  o!  solid  gold. 


THE  RISE  AND  PALL  OP  T^E  GHAZNAWIDES          53 

The  last    expedition   of    Mahmud  was  undertaken  to 
chastise  the  Jats  of  the  Salt  Range  as  they  had  molested  the 
Muslim    army   on  its   return   journey  from 
the      Somnath.  The  Jats  were  defeated  and  many 

of  them  were  put  to  the  sword. 
Mahmud  was  a  great  king.  It  was  no  mean  achievement 
to  develop  a  small  mountain  principality  into  a  large  and 
prosperous  empire  by  sheer  force  of  arms. 
f  chievement     ft  js  true,  the  fall  of  the  Samanids,  dissen- 

of  Mahmud.  __ 

sions  of  the  Hindu  princes,  the  waning  power 
of  Persia,  and  the  boundless  fanaticism  of  the  Turks- 
callow  converts  to  Islam— all  these  were  factors  which 
favoured  his  rise  and  contributed  to  his  success.  The  per- 
manent conquest  of  Hindustan  was  impossible,  and  that 
wasHnot  the  objective 'of  the  Sultan.  Besides,  the  Turks 
still  fondly  looked  back  to  their  hilly  native  land,  and 
found  the  sultry  climate  of  India  unbearable.  All  that 
Mahmud  wanted  was  the  vast  wealth  which  India  possessed, 
and  when  this  was  obtained,  he  returned  to  Ghazni,  un- 
mindful of  annexation  or  permanent  conquest.  But,  still, 
the  task  was  formidable,  and  Mahmud  was  made  of  the  stuff 
of  which  martyrs  are  made.  His  expeditions  testify  to  the 
boldness  of  conception,  vigour  of  mind,  and  undaunted  cour- 
age against  heavy  odds.  A  born  military  leader,  he  never 
shrank  from  war,  always  sustained  in  his  endeavours  by 
the  thought  that  he  was  fighting  for  the  glory  of  Islam. 
He  died  in  April  1030  at  Ghazni  at  the  age  of  sixty, 
leaving  untold  treasures  and  vast  possessions  behind. 

Although  a  great  conqueror,  Mahmud  was  no  barbarian. 

Himself  illiterate,  he  appreciated  the  works 

Estimate  of      of  art,  and  drew  around  himself  by  means  of 

-Mahmud.  _  .      _      .  ,  .  ,  .          •        , 

t  his  lavish  generosity  a  galaxy  of  pmmenjt 


54  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

poets  and  scholars  among  whom  were  some  leading 
figures  of  the  eastern  world  of  letters,  such  as  the 
^ersatil^AJ-Biruni,  the  mathematician,  philosopher,  as- 
tronomer *m<T^  scholar  ^tJtbi,  the  historian,  Parabi, 
ihe  philosopher,  and  Baihaki,  whom  Stanley  Lane-Pool  $ 
aptly  describes  as  the*"*4  brieiital  Pepys. "  It  was  an  age 
of  poetry,  and  some  of  the  poets  who  lived  at  Mahmud  ?s 
court  were  well-known  all  over  Asia.  Among  these  were 
^  Ujpari,  the  poet-laureate  of  Ghazni,  Farrukhi,  and  Asjadi 
who  is  the  author  of  the  following  well-known  quatrain  : 

1 1  do  repent  of  wine  and  talk  of  wine 
Of  idols  fair  with  chins  like  silver  fine 
A  lip-repentance  and  a  lustful  heart, 
0  God,  forgive  this  penitence  of  mine/ 

But  the  most  famous  of  all  these  was  Firdausi,  the- 
author  of  the  world-famed  Shahnama,  whose  great  epic 
has  placed  Mahmud  among  the  immortals  of  history, 
Mahmud  gave  him  only  60  thousand  silver  dirhams  for 
completing  the  Shahnama,  though  he  had  promised 
60  thousand  mishkals  of  gold.  At  this  the  poet  was 
so  offended  that  he  wrote  a  satire  upon  the  king  and 
left  Ghazni  for  good. '  Mahmud  at  last  made  amends  for  his 


1  This  is  Browne's  rendering  of  Firdausi' s  satire   in  his   "  Literary 

History  of  Persia  "  : 

* 

Long  years  this  Shahnama  I  toiled  to  complete, 

That  the  king  might  award  me  some  recompense  meet, 

But  naught  save  a  heart  writhing  with  grief  and  despair 

Did  I  get  from  those  promises  empty  as  air ! 

Had  the  sire  of  the  king  been  prince  of  renown, 

My  forehead  had  surely  been  graced  by  a  crown  I 

[  Were  his  mother  a  lady  of  high  pedigree, 

tln  silver  and  gold  had  I  stood  to  knee! 
3ut,  being  by  birth  not  a  prince  but  a  boor, 
The  praise  of  the  noble  he  could  not  endure !  s 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  iftE  GHAZNAWIDES          55 


mistake,  but  when  the  belated  60  thousand  gold  coins 
arrived,  the  poet's  corpse  was  being  carried  in  a  bier  to 
the  grave. 

Mahmud  was  stern  and  implacable  in  administering 
justice  and  was  always  ready  to  protect  the  persons  and 
property  of  his  subjects.  There  is  no  need  to  repeat 
the  charge  of  avarice  brought  against  the  Sultan,  as  it  can- 
not  be  refuted.  Mahmud  loved  money  passionately,  but 
he  also  spent  it  lavishly.  He  promoted  learning  by  estab-[ 
lishing  a  university  at  Ghazni,  a  library,  and  a  museum, 
adorned  with  the  trophies  of  war,  which  he  brought  from 
conquered  lands.  It  was  through  his  liberality  that  beautiful 
edifices  rose  at  his  capital,  making  it  one  of  the  finest 
cities  in  Asia. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  determine  Mahmud's  place  in  his* 
tory.  To  the  Musalmans  of  his  day,  he  was  a  Gha&i  who 
tried  to  extirpate  infidelity  in  heathen  lands.  To  the  Hindus, 
he  is  to  this  day  a  veritable  Hun  who  destroyed  their  most 
sacred  shrines  and  wounded  their  religious  feelings.  The 
impartial  enquirer,  however,  must  record  a  different  verdict. 
To  him,  the  Sultan  was  a  born  leader  of  men,  a  just  and 
upright  ruler,  an  intrepid  and  gifted  soldier,  a  dispenser  of 
justice,  a  patron  of  letters,  and  deserves  to  be  ranked  among 
the  greatest  personalities  of  the  world. 

But  his  work  did  not  endure.  The  mighty  fabric 
that  he  had  built  up  crumbled  to  pieces  in  the  hands  of  his 
weak  successors,  as  consolidation  did  not  keep  pace  with 
conquest. 

Firdausi  was  born  at  Tus  in  Rhorasan  about  960  A.D.,  and  died 
in  1020  A.D.  Mahmud  had  promised  him  a  handsome  reward,  but  he 
was  deprived  of  it  through  the  intrigues  of  Ayaz,  one  of  Mahmud's 
favourites  who  entertained  ill  feelings  towards  the  poet.  (Elliot,  IV* 
pp.  190—92.) 


56  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

vMahmud  failed  to  establish  peace  and  order  in  the 
lands  which  he  conquered  by  sheer  dint  of  his  valour.  A 
Muslim  mystic  is  reported  to  have  said  of  him :  "  He  is  a 
stupid  fellow.  Without  being  able  to  manage  what  he 
already  possesses  he  yet  goes  out  to  conquer  new  countries." 
Lawlessness  prevailed  in  the  empire,  jand  brigand  chiefs 
practised  their*  nefarious  trade  with  impunity.  //  There  was 
no  well-organised  system  of  police  to  put  down  crime  and 
check  the  forces  of  disorder.  ^Mahmud  devised  no  laws 
or  institutions  for  the  benefit  of  his  subjects.^Local  liberties 
were  suppressed,7and  men  of  different  nationalities  were 
formed  into  an  empire  by  force,  r  No  bond  united  them 
except  their  subordination  or  subservience  to  a  common  chief. 
I  The  officers  of  Mahmud  who  were  all  imperialists  followed 
their  master,  and  showed  greater  interest  in  the  expansion 
of  the  empire  than  in  the  establishment  of  an  orderly  and 
methodical  administration.  Such  a  political  organisation 
as  Mahmud 's  could  not  last  long  and  as  soon  as  his  master- 
hand  was  stiffened  in  death,  the  elements  of  disorder 
asserted  themselves  with  great  vigour  and  undermined 
the  imperial  capacity  for  resistance.  As  Mr.  Habib  puts 
it  when  the  Saljuqs  knocked  down  the  purposeless  structure 
no  one  cared  to  weep  over  its  fate. 

Mahmud   came    to   India   as  a   religious  zealot  ac- 
companied    by     men   who  were    prepared    to    sacrifice 

themselves  in   what  they  deemed  a  sacred 
and    cause.      He    fully    exploited    the  religious 

sentiments  of  his  followers,  though  he 
found  no  time  to  make  conversions  from  among'  the 
native  population.  The  following  observations  of  a 
modern  Muslim  writer  will  be  found  interesting  in  this 
connection : 


THE  RISE  AND  PALL  OF  THE  GHAZNAWIDES          57 


No  honest  historian  should  seek  to  hide,  and  no 
Musalman  acquainted  with  his  faith  will  try  to  justify 
the  wanton  destruction  of  temples  that  followed  in 
the  wake  of  the  Ghaznavide  army.  Contemporary  as 
well  as  later  historians  do  not  attempt  to  veil  the  nefari- 
ous acts  but  relate  them  with  pride.  It  is  easy,  to  twist 
one's  conscience  ;  and  we  know  only  too  well  how  easy 
it  is  to  find  a  religious  justification  for  what  people 
wish  to  do  from  worldly  motives.  Islam  sanctioned 
neither  the  van<Jalism^*ior  the  plundering  motives  of 
the  invader  ;  no  principle  known  to  the  Shariat  justi- 
fied the  uncalled  for  attack  on  Hindu  princes  who  had 
done  Mahmud  and  his  subjects  no  harm  ;  the  shameless 
destruction  of  places  of  worship  *  is  condemned  in 
law  of  every  creed.  And  yet  Islam,  though  it  was 
not  an  inspiring  motive,  could  be  utilised  as  an 
a  posteriori  justification  of  what  had  been  done.  It 
was  not  difficult  to  mistake  the  spoliation  of  non- 
Muslim  populations  for  a  service  to  Islam,  and  per- 
sons to  whom  the  argument  was  addressed  found  it 
too  much  in  consonance  with  the  promptings  of  their 
own  passions  to  examine  it  critically.  So  the  precepts 
of  the  Quran  were  misinterpreted  or  ignored  and  the 
tolerant  policy  of  the  second  Caliph  was  cast  aside, 
in  order  that  Mahmud  and  his  myrmidons  might  be 
able  to  plunder  Hindu  temples  with  a  clear  and  un- 
troubled conscience.  "  l 

Abu  RihSn  better  known  as  Al-Biruni  was  born  in  973 
in  the  'country  of  modern  KhlvS  and  was  captured  by  Mah- 

Al-Biruni  mud'  When  h6  Con(31uered  {t  in  1017  A-D-      He 

came  to  India  in  the  train  of  Mahmud  and 

1  Habib,  '  Sultan  Mahmud  of  Ghaznin,'  p.  79. 


58  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

stayed  in  the  country  for  some  time.  He  sympathetically 
studied  the  manners,  customs,  and  institutions  of  the 
Hindus  and  has  left  us  a  vivid  account  of  them  which 
throws  much  light  upon  the  conditions  of  those  times.  He 
writes  that  the  country  was  parcelled  out  among  petty 
chiefs,  all  independent  of  one  another  and  often  fighting 
amongst  themselves.  He  mentions  Kashmir,  Sindh,  Malwa, 
Gujarat,  Bengal,  and  Kanauj  as  important  kingdoms. 
About  the  social  condition  of  the  Hindus  he  writes  that 
child  marriage  prevailed  among  them ;  widows  were  not 
permitted  to  marry  again,  and  Sati  was  in  vogue.  Idol 
worship  was  common  throughout  the  land,  and  vast  riches 
were  accumulated  in  temples  which  fired  the  lust  of 
Muhammadan  conquerors.  Al-Biruni  studied  and  appre- 
ciated the  philosophy  of  the  Upani§a^.  He  writes  that 
the  vulgar  people  were  polytheists,  but  the  cultured  classes 
believed  God  to  be  'one,  eternal,  without  beginning  and 
end,  acting  by  free  will,  almighty,  all-wise,  living,  giving 
life,  ruling  and  preserving.' 

The  administration  of  justice,  though  crude  and  pri- 
mitive in  many  ways,  was  liberal  and  'humane.  Written 
complaints  were  filed,  and  cases  were  decided  on  the  testi- 
mony of  witnesses.  The  criminal  law  was  mild,  and  Al- 
Biruni  compares  the  mildness  of  the  Hindus  with  the 
leniency  of  the  Christians.  Brahmans  were  exempt  from 
capital  punishment.  Theft  was  punished  according  to  the 
value  of  the  property  stolen,  and  mutilation  of  limbs  was  re- 
cognised as  an  appropriate  penalty  for  certain  offences.  Taxa- 
tion was  mild.  The  state  took  only  one-sixth  of  the  produce 
of  the  soil,  and  Brahmans  were  exempt  from  taxation. 

There  is  ample  evidence  in  Al-Biruni's  pages  of  India's, 
degeneracy  and  decay.    Politically  she  was  disunited,  and. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  GHAZNAWIDES          59 

rival  states  fought  against  one  another  in  complete  dis- 
regard of  national  interests.  Probably  the  word  national 
had  no  meaning  for  them.  Religion  was  encumbered  by 
superstition,  and  society  was  held  in  the  grip  of  a  rigid 
caste  system  which  rendered  the  unification  of  the  various 
groups  impossible.  Indeed,  in  many  respects  India  present- 
ed a  parallel  to  mediaeval  Europe,  and  as  a  distinguished 
writer  observes,  "  Everything  bore  the  appearance  of  dis-j 
integration  and  decay  ;  and  national  life  became  extinct."  ! 
Masud,  who  proclaimed  himself  king  in  1031  A.D. 
after  his  father's  death  by  setting  aside  his  younger  brother. 

was  a  true  son  of  his  father,  full  of  ambition, 
s^J.  lesser. U  d  9  courage,  and  warlike  zeal.  The  magnificence 

of  the  court  of  Ghazni  was  unequalled  in 
that  age,  and  Baihaki  relates  in  his  memoirs  how  the 
Sultan  passed  his  days  in  pomp  and  splendour.  Though 
drunken  orgies  were  not  unusual  for  even  the  great 
Mahmud,  Masud  carried  them  to  excess,  and  himself 
became  the  leader  of  a  notorious  party  of  drunkards  and 
debauchees. 

But  Masud  had  an  able  minister  in  Khwaja  Ahmad 
Maimandi,  whom  he  had  liberated  from  prison  and  restored 

to  office  with  great  honours.  The  Khwaja 
HEasnaktion  °f  set  himself  to  the  task  of  organising  his  office, 

which  had  become  notorious  for  delay  and 
lack  of  promptness  under  his  predecessor.  Under  his  care 
the  administration  soon  began  to  display  a  new  vigour  and 
activity.  While  the  Khwaja  was  thus  honoured,  his  pre- 
decessor in  office,  Hasnak,  accused  of  Karmatian  heresy, 
was  put  in  chains,  tried,  and  executed.  After  the  execu- 
tion, Hasnak 's  head  was  served  up  in  a  dish  at  a  feast  held 
by  Bu'Suhal  to  the  complete  horror  of  the  guests.  Such 


«60  HISTORY0  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

was  the  uncertainty  of  life  and  tenure  of  office  under  the 
demoralised  Ghaznawides. 

But  Masud  was  no  roi  faineant.    His  contemporaries 
feared  him  both  on  the  score  of  his  physical  prowess  and  his 
kingly  dignity.    He  now  turned  his  attention 

to  the  affairs  in  India>  which  had  been  left 

in  charge  of  Ariyarak. 

Secure  in  the  possession  of  a  vast  territory,  the  ambi- 
tious Ghaznawide  commander  of  Hind  had  begun  to  behave 
as  an  autocrat  and  cared  little  for  the  fiats  of  his  sovereign. 
Masud,  though  a  slave  to  drink  and  dissipation,  knew  how 
to  assert  his  dignity  when  his  own  authority  was  flouted 
or  disregarded.  Ariyarak  was  induced  to  proceed  ,to 
Ghazni  where  he  was  cast  into  prison,  and  probably 
poisoned.  Ahmad  Niyaltgin  was  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  Indian  province,  though  he  had  to  leave  his  son  at 
Ghazni  as  a  hostage  under  a  nominal  pretext.  The  new 
viceroy  was  hardly  less  ambitious  than  his  predecessor, 
and  he  too,  in  Baihaki's  words,  "  turned  away  from  the 
path  of  rectitude  and  took  a  crooked  course." 

Ahmad  Niyaltgin,  on  coming  to  India,  found  it  difficult 
to  get  on  with  his  colleague,  Qazi  Shiraz,  and  as  he  did  not 
Trea  son   of    consu^  '^e  latter  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties, 
Ahmad  Niyait-     a  quarrel  soon  broke  out  between  the  two. 
*in*  But    when    the    matter    was    referred    to 

Ghazni,  the  Qazi  received  a  strong  rebuff,  and  was  ordered 
to  leave  military  affairs  alone.  Thereupon,  Niyaltgin 
undertook  an  expedition  to  Benares,  tempted  by  the  prospect 
of  plundering  the  wealth  of  this  ancient  and  venerated 
city  of  the  Hindus.  The  expedition  was  a  great  success. 
The  Qazi,  however,  could  not  bear  the  success  of  his 
rival,  and  sent  spies  to  inform  the  Sultan  that  Niyaltgin 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  GHAZNAW1DES          61 

gave  himself  out  as  the  son  of  Sultan  Mahmud,  and 
aimed  at  independence.  In  every  possible  way,  the 
enemies  of  Niyaltgin  poisoned  the  Sultan's  mind  and  im- 
pressed upon  him  the  necessity  of  immediate  interven- 
tion. 

Official  after  official  volunteered  to  go  to  Hindustan  to 
restore  order,  but  the  choice,  at  last,  fell  upon  Tilak,  a 
Hindu  of  low  birth,  but  of  great  ability  and  courage.  As 
a  mark  of  royal  favour,  he  was  granted  a  gold-embroidered 
robe,  a  jewelled  necklace  of  gold,  a  canopy  and  an  umbrella; 
and  kettle-drums  were  beaten,  and  ensigns  with  gilded 
tops  were  unfurled  at  his  residence,  in  accordance  with 
Hindu  fashion,  to  proclaim  his  elevation  to  high  official 
dignity.  The  philosophical  Baihaki  wrote,  "Wise  men  do 
not  wonder  at  such  facts,  because  nobody  is  born  great- 
men  become  such." 

When  Tilak  reached  Lahore,  his  presence  struck  terror 
into  the  hearts  of  the  followers  of  Ahmad  Niyaltgin,  and 
the  rebellious  governor  fled  for  dear  life.  He  was,  however, 
defeated  in  a  sharp  engagement,  and  a  price  of  500,000  dir- 
hams  was  set  upon  his  head  by  Tilak,  when  the  rebel  eluded 
the  grasp  of  his  pursuers.  The  Jats,  who  were  all  familiar 
with  the  desert  and  the  wilds,  caught  hold  of  Ahmad,  and 
cut  off  his  head.  Masud  was  delighted  at  the  news  of  vic- 
tory, and  encouraged  by  this  success  he  determined  to  fulfil 
his  old  vow  of  capturing  the  fort  of  Hansi. l  In  vain  did  the 
veteran  Khwaja  urge  upon  him  the  impolicy  of  such  a  step, 
but  the  obstinate  Sultan  replied:  "The  vow  is  upon  my 
neck,  and  accomplish  it,  I  will,  in  my  own  person/'  The 

1  Hansi  is  a  city  with  a  ruined  castle,  eleven  miles  to  the  east  of 
Hisar. 


"62  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  BULB 

ministers  bowed  their  heads  in  profound  submission,  and 
the  Khwaja  was  invested  with  plenary  authority  at 
<5hazni. 

The  Sultan  started  from  Ghazni  in  October  1037  A.D., 
-and  after  a  long  march  reached  the  town  of  Hansi.    The 

invaders  laid  siege  to  the  fortress  hitherto 
e     °f     deemed  impregnable  by  the  Hindus.    Though 

the  garrison  heroically  defended  itself,  the 
Muslims  took  the  fortress  by  storm,  and  seized  an  enormous 
booty.  Having  placed  the  fortress  in  charge  of  a  reliable 
official,  the  Sultan  marched  towards  Sonpat,  a  place  not  far 
from  Delhi.  The  Muslims  easily  captured  it,  as  the  chief 
offered  no  resistance  and  the  victorious  Sultan  returned 
to  Ghazni. 

The  expedition  to  India  turned  out  a  blunder.  Taking 
advantage  of  the  Sultan's  absence,  the  Saljuq  Turks  harried 
the  territories  of  Ghazni,  and  sacked  a  portion  of  the  capital. 
Masud  marched  against  the  invaders,  but  at  Dandankan, 
near  Merv,  he  was  overpowered  by  them  on  March  24, 
1040  A.D.  This  crushing  defeat  at  the  hands  of  the 
Saljuqs  compelled  the  Ghaznawides  to  withdraw  towards 
India. 

The  vanquished  Sultan  fled  towards  Hindustan  in  spite 
of  the  advice  of  the  aged  minister  who  vainly  pleaded  with 

him  to  remain  at  Ghazni.  When  the  royal 
totoSuiflight  Party  reached  Marigalah,1  the  Turkish  and 

Hindu  slaves  mutinied,  and  placed  upon  the 
throne  the  Sultan's  younger  brother  Muhammad.  Masud 
was  cast  into  prison  and  put  to  death  in  1041  A.D. 

1  A  pass  situated  between  Rawalpindi  and  Attock,  a  few  miles  east 
of  Hasan  Abdal. 


THE  RI8B  AND  FALL  OF  TBE  6HAZNAWIOES          63 

Thus  perished  by  the  cruel  hand  of  the  assassin,  a  king 
•who,  like  his  father,  extended  his  patronage  to  men  of 
letters,  built  mosques,  and  endowed  schools  and  colleges 
in  the  various  cities  of  his  wide  dominions.  Thus  does  Bai- 
haki  observe  in  a  characteristically  fatalistic  vein  :"  Man 
has  no  power  to  strive  against  fate.'* 

After  Masud's  death,  his  son  Maudud  ascended  the 
throne,  and  defeated  his  uncle  Muhammad  in  an  engage- 
The      weak     ment>  ^UQ  avenging  the  death  of  his  father. 
successors   of     Maudud   was  succeeded  by  a  series  of  weak 
Masud.  rulers  whose  uneventful  careers  deserve  little 

mention.  TheSaljuq  pressure  continued,  and  the  Ghaz* 
nawide  empire  lost  much  of  its  territory.  The  Saljuqs  even- 
tually inflicted  a  crushing  defeat  upon  the  Ghaznawides,  and 
the  last  independent  ruler  of  Ghazni,  Arslan,  fled  to  Hindus- 
tan where  he  died  in  a  state  of  misery  in  the  year  1117  A.D. 
The  Saljuqs  thus  established  their  influence  at  Ghazni, 
and  dominated  the  titular  Ghaznawide  ruler,  Bahram, 
who  owed  his  crown  to  them.  Bahrain's  reign  would 
have  ended  gloriously,  had  it  not  been  for  the  quarrels  that 
arose  between  him  and  the  Maliks  of  Ghor,  a  small  mountain 
principality  between  Ghazni  and  Herat.  These  warlike 
Afghans  had  fought  under  the  banner  of  Mahmud,  but  when 
the  sceptre  of  Ghazni  passed  into  feeble  hands,  they  treated 
them  with  scant  respect.  Matters  came  to  a  crisis,  when  a 
Suri  prince  was  put  to  death  by  Bahrain's  order.  The  brother 
of  the  deceased  led  an  attack  against  Ghazni,  but  he  was  de- 
feated and  killed.  Alauddin  Husain,  another  brother,  swore 
to  wreak  vengeance  upon  the  house  of  Ghazni.  He  marched 
upon  Ghazni,  at  the  head  of  a  large  army,  and  won  a  splendid 
victory  in.  1150  A.D.  Bahrain  escaped  to  India,  but  he 
returned  to  Ghazni  again  and  recovered  his  lost  power. 


64  HISTORY*  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

Bahrain  died  in  1152  A.D.  and  was  followed  by  his  soft 
Khusrau  Shah  who  was  quite  unfit  to  deal  with  the  new 
situation.  The  Ghuzz  Turkomans  advanced  upon  Ghazni, 
whereupon  Khusrau  Shah  escaped  to  India.  The  implacable 
Alauddin  destroyed  the  finest  buildings  of  the  city  and 
massacred  the  whole  populace.  Khusrau  Shah  died  in 
exile  at  Lahore  in  1160  A.D. 

The  condition  of  the  empire  grew  worse,  and  under 
Khusrau  Malik,  the  new  pleasure-loving  ruler  of  Ghazni, 
the  administration  fell  into  a  state  of  utter  chaos.  The 
power  of  Ghazni  rapidly  declined,  and  the  house  of  Ghor  rose 
into  prominence.  Alauddin's  nephew  Ghiyas-ud-din  brought 
Ghazni  under  his  control,  about  the  year  1173,  and  entrusted 
it  with  its  dependencies  including  Kabul  to  the  charge  of 
his  brother,  Muiz-ud-din  bin  Sam,  better  known  in  history 
as  Muhammad  Ghori.  Muiz-ud-din,  who  had  an  inborn  apti- 
tude for  war  and  adventure,  led  repeated  attacks  against 
Hindustan,  and  compelled  Khusrau  Malik  to  make  peace  and 
surrender  his  son  as  security  for  the  fulfilment  of  treaty  obli- 
gations. Later,  even  Khusrau  was  taken  prisoner  by  strata- 
gems and  false  promises,  and  put  to  death  in  1201  A.D.  A 
similar  catastrophe  befell  his  son  Bahram  Shah,  and  the  line 
of  Subuktagin  came  to  an  inglorious  end.  The  sovereignty 
of  Ghazni  now  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Ghori  chiefs. 

Thus  after  nearly  two  centuries,  the  empire  of  Ghazni 
disappeared  from  history.  An  empire  which  rested  purely 
upon  a  military  basis,  could  not  last  long  with- 
1  the  out  capable  and  warlike  rulers.  Mahmud  had 
established  no  institutions  which  could  hold 
his  wide  dominions  together.  The  unwieldy  empire  had  no 
principle  of  cohesion  or  unity,  and  speedily  broke  up  after 
hjs  death.  The  untold  wealth  obtained  from  Hindustan 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OP  THE  GHAZNAWIDES         65 

fostered  luxury  among  his  weak  successors  and  rendered 
them  unfit  for  the  strenuous  duties  of  war.  Once  the 
rotten  character  of  the  political  system  became  known, 
disorders  began  on  all  sides.  The  profligate  Ghaznawides 
were  no  match  for  their  enemies  who  continued  to  seize 
large  slices  of  Ghazni  territory.  As  disorder  increased  in 
the  Afghan  regions,  India  also  began  to  seethe  with  dis- 
content The  multifarious  troubles  of  the  rulers  of  Ghazni 
made  it  difficult  for  them  to  deal  properly  with  the  Indian 
problem.  But  the  chiefs  of  Ghor  were  men  of  a  different 
stamp.  They  were  better  fitted  to  lead  and  command  the 
unruly  Turks,  and  knew  how  to  employ  their  valour  and 
zeal  for  purposes  of  self-aggrandisement. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  CONQUEST  OF  HINDUSTAN 

Muhammad  Ghori's  attempt  to  seize  the  Muslim  prov- 
inces of  Hindustan  was  a  remarkable  success.  His  expedi- 
Muhammad's  tion  to  Uccha  against  the  Bhatti  Raj  puts  suc- 
indian  Cam-  ceeded  on  account  of  treachery.  He  took 
paigB'  Multan  from  the  Karmatian  heretics  in  1174 

A.D.  Bhima  Deva,  the  Raja  of  Nehrwala,  however,  inflicted 
a  crushing  defeat  upon  the  invaders  who  then  captured 
Peshawar,  and  subdued  the  whole  of  Sindh  down  to  the 
sea-coast.  Having  failed  to  capture  the  fortress  of  Lahore, 
Mohammad  concluded  a  peace  with  Khusrau  Malik,  and 
returned  to  Ghazni.  After  his  departure,  Khusrau  Malik 
laid  siege  to  the  fortress  of  Sialkot,  assisted  by  the  Khokhar 
tribes,  but  failed  to  capture  it.  When  the  news  reached  the 
Sultan,  he  again  undertook  an  expedition  against  Lahore, 
and  by  a  stratagem  he  captured  Khusrau  Malik  in  1186  A.D., 
and  put  an  end  to  the  rule  of  the  dynasty  of  Subuktagin. 
Lahore  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  victorious  chieftain. 

Muhammad  was  still  far  from  being  master  of  Hindu- 
stan. In  the  interior,  lay  Rajput  kingdoms,  wealthy  and 
powerful,  which  were  always  ready  to  give  battle  to  the 
foreigner  who  dared  to  invade  their  territory.  The  hillmen 
of  Ghazni  and  Ghor  had  never  encountered  such  dauntless 
fighters  as  the  Rajputs.  But  Jthejeudal  organisation  of  the 
.Rajput  society  was  the  principal  cause  of  its  weakness. 
•The  rivalries  and  feuds  of  the  dans  hampered  unity  of 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  HINDUSTAN  67 

action,  and  the  Invidious  caste  distinction  prevent^ 
Inferior  classes  among  the  Ralputa  from  being 


with  the  prftfflj  pohiPga*  Only  fh*  moii-Knm  could  hold 
Heis,  and  this  exclusive  spirit  tended  to  make  the  aristo- 
cracy hereditary  and  selfish.  It  was  impossible  for  these 
Rajput  governments,  based  as  they  were  upon  a  system  of 
feuds,  to  last  long,  and,  no  wonder,  if  the  first  shock  of  the 
Muslim  invasion  shook  Rajput  India  to  its  foundations. 

Having  organised  his  forces,  Muhammad  marched 
towards  the  frontier  town  of  Sarhind,  which  had  a  greal 
strategic  importance  in  the  middle  ages,  and  captured  it 
The  most  powerful  Rajput  clans  which  exercised  authority 
in  Northern  India  were  (1)  the  Gaharwars,  afterwards 
known  as  the  Rathors  of  Kanauj,  (2)  the^ChohSns  of 
Delhi  and  Ajmer,  (3)  the  Palas  and  Senas"  of  Bihar  and 
Bengal,  (4)  the  Baghelas  of  Gujarat,  and  (5)  the  Chandelas 
of  Bundelkhand.  The  most  powerful  of  these  were  the 
rulers  of  Delhi  and  Kanauj,  whose  rivalry  made  it  impos- 
sible for  them  to  stem  the  tide  of  foreign  invasion. 

Prithviraja,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  kingdoms  of 
Delhi  and  Ajmer,  and  who  had  established  a  great  reputa-{ 
tion  for  chivalry  and  heroic  exploits,  marched 

viraja.       aga{nst  fae  Qhori  chief,  and  encountered  the 


Muslim  host  atjarainj  a  village  fourteen  miles  from 
Thanesar  in  1191  A.  D.  Jayachandra,  the  Rathor  Raja  of 
Kanauj,  was  the  only  prince  who  kept  aloof  from  this  war  ; 
for  Prithviraja  had  insulted  him  by  carrying  off  h?^  dfflif  *****- 
by  force.  The  Sultan  followed  the  time-honoured  tactics 
of  the  right,  left,  and  centre,  and  himself  occupied  a  posi- 
tion in  the  middle  of  his  army.  The  Rajputs  charged  both 

1  In  most  histories  it  is   written  as  Narain,  which  is  incorrect, 
.Lane  Poole  too  incorrectly  writes  Narain.    (Mediaeval  India,  p.  61.) 


68  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

wings  of  the  Muslim  army  with  tremendous  vigour  and 
scattered  it  in  all  directions,  while  Govind  Rai,  the  Raja's 
brother,  inflicted  a  severe  wound  on  the  Sultan,  who  was 
luckily  carried  off  the  field  of  battle  by  a  faithful  Khilji 
warrior.  This  disaster  caused  a  panic  among  the  Muslims 
who  immediately  dispersed  in  all  directions.  Never  before, 
had  they  experienced  such  a  terrible  rout  at  the  hands  of 
the  Hindus.  When  the  Sultan  reached  Ghor,  he  publicly 
disgraced  those  officers  who  had  fled  from  the  field  of  battle. 

With  a  large  army,  well-organised  and  accoutred,  the 
Sultan  marched  from  Ghazni  towards  Hindustan  in  1192 
A.D.  to  wreak  vengeance  upon  the  Hindu 
°f  Princes-  The  forces  of  the  Sultan  again  en- 
camped near  Tarain.  Alarmed  for  the  safety 
of  Hindu  India,  Prithviraja  called  upon  his  fellow  Rajput 
princes  to  rally  round  his  banner  to  fight  the  Turks.  His 
appeal  met  with  an  enthusiastic  response,  and  as  many  as 
150  Rajput  princes  joined  the  colours  of  the  Chohan 
warrior. 

From  morning  till  sunset  the  battle  raged  fiercely. 
While  the  enemy  was  tired,  the  Sultan,  at  the  head  of 
12,000  horse,  made  a  desperate  charge  and  "  carried  death 
and  destruction  throughout  the  Hindu  camp."  The  Rajput 
valour  proved  of  no  avail  against  these  mounted  archers, 
and  a  fearful  slaughter  ensued  on  all  sides.  The  result 
of  the  battle  was  a  foregone  conclusion.  The  Hindus  in 
spite  of  their  numbers  were  defeated  by  the  Muslims.  The 
Muhammadan  historians  write  that  Prithviraja  fled  from 
the  field,  but  he  was  captured  near  Sirsuti, '  and  finally 
4  despatched  to  hell/ 

1  It  vas  a  city  on  the  banks  of  the  ancient  Saraswati.    In  Akbar's- 
me  Sirsuti  was  one  of  the  mahals  of  Sarkar  Sambhal. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  HINDUSTAN  69 

The  defeat  of  Prithviraja  was  an  irreparable  blow  to 
Eajput  power.  The  demoralisation  caused  by  this  defeat 
was  great,  and  the  Muslims  easily  captured  Sirsuti,  Saraana, 
Kuhram  and  Hansi.  The  Sultan  proceeded  towards  Ajmer, 
which  was  given  up  to  plunder,  and  some  thousands  of  the 
inhabitants  were  put  to  the  sword.  The  city  was  made 
over  to  a  natural  son  of  Prithviraja  on  promise  of  punc- 
tual payment  of  tribute.  Having  left  his  faithful 
lieutenant  Qutb-ud-din  Aibek  in  charge  of  his  Indian 
possessions,  the  Sultan  returned  to  Ghazni.  Qutb-ud-din, 
in  a  short  time,  conquered  Mirat  (Meerut),  Kol  l 
and  Delhi,  the  last  of  which  he  made  the  seat  of  his 
government. 

Beyond  Delhi,  in  the  heart  of  the  Doab,  lay  the 
principality  of  the  Rathor  clan  with  its  capital  at 
Kanauj  renowned  all  over  India  as  a  nur- 
°f  sery  of  warriors  and  statesmen.  Its  ruler 
Jayachandra,  famous  alike  in  legend  and 
history,  was  reputed  as  one  of  the  most  powerful 
princes  of  the  time.  Jayachandra  had,  perhaps,  hoped 
that,  after  the  defeat  of  Prithviraja,  he  would  become  the 
paramount  sovereign  of  all  Hindustan,  but  his  hopes  were 
doomed  to  disappointment.  In  1194  A.D.  Sultan  Muham- 
mad marched  from  Ghazni  against  the  Raja  of  Eanauj. 
No  confederacy  seems  to  have  been  organised  by  the  latter 
to  withstand  the  Muslim  attack ;  probably  the  defeat  of 
Prithviraja  had  cooled  the  enthusiasm  and  crushed  the 
spirit  of  the  Rajputs  who  might  have  otherwise  rallied 
round  his  banner.  The  Muslims  inflicted  a  crushing  defeat 
upon  the  Rajput  army  encamped  in  the  plain  between 

1  Kol  is  a  place  near  Aligarh.    It  has  an    old  fortress  which  still 
-exists. 


70  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Ghandwar  and  Etawah.  Jayachandra  received  a  mortal 
wound  from  an  arrow  and  fell  down  on  the  earth.  The 
Rathors,  after  this  discomfiture,  migrated  to  Rajputana, 
where  they  founded  the  principality  of  Jodhpur.  The 
victorious  Sultan  now  marched  against  Benares,  where  he 
destroyed  temples  and  ordered  mosques  to  be  built  in  their 
places.  He  then  returned  to  the  fort  of  Kol,  and,  laden 
with  the  spoils  of  war,  returned  to  Ghazni. 

Qutb-ud-din's  career  in  Hindustan  was  one  of  unbroken 

triumph.    He  marched  against  Ajmer,   and  restored  its 

lawful  ruler,  a  vassal  of  Ghazni,  but  appoint- 

Other  0  o  n*          i         •»  *•      • .  .  1* 

quests.  e(*  a  Muslim    governor  to  exercise  control 

over  him.    From  Ajmer,  Aibek  marched  his 

forces  against    Bhima    Deva,    the    Raja    of    Nehrwala, 

whom  he  defeated.    Gwalior,   Biyana,   and  other  places 

were  compelled  to  acknowledge  the  suzerainty  of  Ghazni. 

Muhammad  bin  Bakhtiyar  Khilji,  an   '  intrepid,   bold, 

and    sagacious  '  general,  accomplished    the    conquest  of 

Bihar  with  astonishing  ease.    He  led  an  or- 

^Oonquest   of     ganiged  attack  against  the  province,  probably 

in  1197  A.D.,  at  the  head  of  a  small  detach- 
ment  of  200  horsemen,  and  quickly  captured  the  principal 
fortresses.  The  Buddhist  monasteries,  or  viharas,  were 
demolished,  and  a  large  number  of  books  were  seized, 
and  scattered  by  the  invaders.  It  was  the  idolatry  of 
latter-day  Buddhism  which  stimulated  the  zeal  of  the 
Muslims,  and  the  debris  of  Buddhist  viharas  and  stupas 
that  exist  to  this  day,  bear  testimony  to  their  iconoclastic 
zeal.  The  Muslim  raid  on  Bihar  gave  a  death-blow  to 
Buddhism  ;  but  it  appears  from  an  inscription  of  Vidya- 
dhara  dated  Samvat  1276  (1219  A.D.)  that  it  did  not 
wholly  disappear  from  Northern  India. 


THE  CONQUEST  OP  HINDUSTAN  71 

The  conquest  of  Bihar  was  followed  by  that  of  Bengal. 
The  Muslim  chronicler,  relying  upon  the  account  furnished 
by  a  certain  *°\<iteT  of  Parghana  in  the  ser- 


of 

°      vice  of  Muhammad  bin    Bakhtiyar,  writes 

that  the  intrepid  general  marched  to  the 
city  of  Nudiah  at  the  head  of  a  small  party  of  18  horse- 
men and  that  the  aged  Rai  on  hearing  of  his  approach  fled 
from  a  back  door  of  his  palace  and  sought  shelter  at 
Vikrampur  near  Sonargaon  which  was  a  place  resorted 
to  by  all  discontented  men  at  Gaur.  '  This  is  an  exaggerated 
account  of  what  actually  happened.  Muhammad  des- 
troyed the  city  of  Nudiah  and  made  Lakhnauti  or 
Gaur  his  capital.  The  khutba  was  read  and  coins  were 
struck  in  the  name  of  Sultan  Muiz-ud-din.  A  large  portion 
of  the  enormous  booty  seized  by  Muhammad  was  sent  to 
Qutb-ud-din. 

In  1202  A.D.  Qutb-ud-din  marched  against  Parmardi, 

the  Chandela  Prince  of  Bundelkhand.    The  latter  found  it 

On       t   of     *mposs*kle  to  resist  effectively  the  Muslims, 

Ka^njaT!     °      and  the  fort  of  Kalanjar  fell  into  the  hands 

of  the  victors.  The  forts  of  Kalpi  and 
Badaon  were  subdued  next,  and  in  this  way  all  the  impor- 
tant places  in  Northern  India  were  brought  under  the 
sway  of  Ghazni  by  Qutb-ud-din. 

The  kings  of  Ghazni  were  not  satisfied  with  their 
Indian  possessions.     They  fondly  looked  towards  the  lands 

The        tide     °f  the  °XUS'  which  the  kin^s  of  Ghazni,  ever 

turn*       l  e    since    the  days  of    Mahmud,  had  tried  in 

vain   to  annex.    Muhammad    followed  the 

1  The  account  of  the  Tabqat-i-Naairi  accepted  in  Mo  by  Dr. 
Vincent  Smith  is  undoubtedly  exaggerated.  The  old  view  has  been 
modified  in  the  new  and  revised  edition  of  his  Early  History  of  India* 


72  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

same  practice  and  invaded  Khwarizm  at  the  head  of  a 
large  army  in  the  year  1204  A.D.,  but  the  troops  of  Ghori 
were  pressed  so  hard  by  the  Shah  of  Khwarizm  and 
his  allies  that  they  were  completely  routed,  and  the 
Sultan  with  difficulty  escaped  with  his  life.  As  soon 
as  the  news  of  this  disaster  was  circulated  abroad,  the 
forces  of  confusion  began  to  work.  A  Ghazni  officer  hastily 
went  to  India  and  declared  hjmself  governor  of  Multan  by 
producing  a  forged  royal  order,  and  he  was  accepted  by  the 
army.  Ghazni  shut  its  gates  against  the  unlucky  Sultan, 
and  the  turbulent  Khokhars  stirred  up  strife  and  harried 
the  districts  of  the  Punjab.  The  Sultan  was,  however,  not 
unnerved  by  this  gloomy  prospect.  He  quickly  recovered 
Multan  and  Ghazni,  and  then  marched  towards  Hindustan 
to  chastise  the  Khokhars,  who  suffered  a  crushing  defeat 
near  a  ford  of  the  Jhelam.  Having  obtained  this  victory, 
the  Sultan  returned  to  Lahore. 

The  Khokhar  snake  was  scotched  but  not  killed.  Having 
failed  in  open  engagement,  the  Khokhars  had  recourse  to 
treachery.  Some  of  their  chiefs  who  burnt  with  rage  to 
avenge  the  deaths  of  their  kinsmen  formed  a  conspiracy  to 
take  the  life  of  the  Sultan.  On  his  way  from  Lahore  to 
Ghazni,  the  Sultan  halted  at  Dhamyak  in  the  Jhelam  district 
where  he  was  stabbed  to  death  by  a  fanatic  in  March, 
1246  A.D. 

Not  so  fanatical  as  Mahmud,  Muhammad  was  certainly 

more  political  than  his  predecessor.  He  clearly  perceived  the 

rotten  political  condition  of  India,  and  made 

Estimate    of  i  ••••/•        i  ,       .    . 

Muhammad.       UP  his  mind  to  found  a  permanent  dominion. 
Mahmud's  love  of  wealth  had  blinded  him  to 
the  gains  of  far-reaching  importance,  which  the  Indian  con- 
quest was  bound  to  bring  to  the  conqueror.    Muhammad 


THE  CONQUEST  OP  HINDUSTAN  73 

•Ghori,  from  the  outset,  took  a  different  course ;  he  tried  to 
consolidate  his  conquests,  and  in  this  work  he  had  the 
valued  assistance  and  co-operation  of  his  able  lieutenant, 
Qutb-ud-din,  who  afterwards  founded  a  dynasty  of  the 
kings  of  Delhi. 

Mahmud  never  aimed  at  permanent  conquest  ;  he  had 
•come  sweeping  like  a  whirlwind  and  had  returned  to  his 
native  land  after  the  acquisition  of  vast  booty.  Wealth 
-and  the  extirpation  of  idolatry  were  the  objects  of  his 
raids  ;  but  Muhammad  was  a  real  conqueror.  He  conquered 
the  country  and  aimed  at  permanent  settlement.  A  com- 
plete conquest  of  India  was  impossible  as  long  as  warrior- 
<blood  throbbed  within  the  veins  of  the  Rajput  race.  But 
for  the  first  time  the  Muslims  had  brought  extensive  terri- 
tory under  their  direct  sway.  Qutb-ud-din  was  appointed 
viceroy  of  Hindustan,  and  charged  with  the  duty  of  extend- 
ing further  the  dominion  of  Islam— a  fact  which  clearly 
shows  the  object  which  Muhammad  had  in  mind.  It  is 
true,  he  turned  his  eyes  westwards  for  territorial  expansion, 
but  it  would  be  wrong  to  blame  Muhammad  for  following 
a  traditional  policy.  His  work  in  India  was  more  solid. 
The  Muslim  power,  which  he  founded  in  India,  increased 
•as  time  passed,  and  from  humble  beginnings  the  kingdom 
of  Delhi  gradually  developed  into  one  of  the  greatest 
-empires  of  the  east.  It  was  no  mean  contribution  to  the 
greatness  of  Islam. 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  SLAVE  DYNASTY1 

(1206-90  A.D.) 

Muhammad  died  without  a  male  heir.  Minhaj-us-Siw 
writes  that  on  one  occasion  when  a  favourite  courtier  spoke 
to  the  Sultan  about  the  default  of  male  heirs, 
.  Qutb-ud-din's  he  replied  with  absolute  indifference  :  "  Other 
thT throne  * t0  monarchs  may  have  one  son,  or  two  sons  :  I 
have  so  many  thousand  sons,  namely,  my  Turki 
slaves,  who  will  be  the  heirs  of  my  dominions,  and  who, 
after  me,  will  take  care  to  preserve  my  name  in  the  khutbU 
throughout  those  territories."  After  the  death,  of  his 
,master,  Qutb-ud-din  Aibek  naturally  came  to  the  forefront. 
He  became  the  ruler  of  Hindustan  and  founded  a  dynasty 
of  kings,  which  is  called  after  his  name.  Originally  Aibek 
was  a  slave.  He  was  purchased  by  the  Qazi  of  Nishapur, 
through  whose  favour  he  acquired  a  reputation  for  courage 
and  manly  bearing.  After  the  Qazi's  death  he  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Sultan  Muiz-ud-din.  Though  ^  ugly  in 
external  appearance,  Aibek  was  endowed  with  "laudable 
qualities  and  admirable  impressions"  ;  and  by  sheer  dint  of 
merit  he  rose  gradually  to  the  position  of  Amir  Akhur  (mas- 
ter of  the  stables).  During  the  Sultan's  expeditions  to  Hin- 
dustan, Aibek  loyally  served  him,  and  as  a  reward  for  his 

1  This  dynasty  has  been  miscalled  the  Blare  dynasty.  The  slaves  who- 
occupied  the  throne  had  been  originally  slaves  but  they  were  manu- 
mitted by  their  masters  and  raised  to  the  rank  of  freemen 

74 


THE  SLAVE  DYNASTY  75- 

services,  he  was  left  in  charge  of  the  Indian  possessions. 
As  viceroy  of  Hindustan,  he  secured  and  extended  the 
conquests  made  by  his  master.    He  strengthened  himself 
by  matrimonial  connections  ;  he  married  the  daughter  of 
Taj-ud-din  Eldoz,  and  gave  his  sister  in  marriage  to  Qubai- 
chaf  and  his  daughter  to  lltutmish,  one  of  his  own  slaves. 
Aibek  captured  Hansi,   Meerut,    Delhi,  Ranthambhor 
and  Kol,  and  conquered  the  country  as  far  as  Benares.    In 
1197  A.D.  Qutb-ud-din  led  his  forces  against 
r^queT'  °f    Nehrwala.  The  chief  was  defeated  in  a  hotly 
contested  engagement,  and  the  whole  country 
was  ravaged  by  the  Muslims.    For  six  years,  i.e.,  from 
1196  to  1202  A.D.  there  was  cessation  of  warfare  in  India, 
but  in  1202  A.D.  Aibek  marched    against    the    fort   of 
Kalanjar,  captured  it  and  seized  enormous  booty.    Mahoba 
was  occupied  next.    Bengal  and  Bihar  had  already  been 
subjugated  by  Muhammad  Khilji,  son  of   Bakhtiyar,   who 
had  acknowledged  the  suzerainty  of  Qutb-ud-din.    All  Hin- 
dustan, from    Delhi  to  Kalanjar  and  Gujarat,  and  from 
Lakhnauti  to  Lahore,  was  brought  under  the  sway  of  the 
Muhammadans,  though  the  distant  lands  comprised  in  the 
empire  of  Delhi  were  not  thoroughly  subdued. 

Qutb-ud-din  was  a  high-spirited  and  open-handed  mon- 
arch. He  administered  the  country  well,  dispensed  even- 
handed  justice  to  the  people,  and  exerted 
1  md 


himself  to  promote  the  peace  and  prosperity 
of  the  realm.  The  roads  were  freed  from 
robbers,  and  the  Hindus  were  treated  with  kindness,  though 
the  Sultan,  like  'a  mighty  fighter  in  the  way  of  God/ 
captured  thousands  as  slaves  during  his  wars.  His  generosity 
is  praised  by  all  writers  who  style  him  as  lakhbakhaha  or 
giver  of  lakhs. 


76  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Aibek  was  a  powerful  and  capable  ruler  who  always 
maintained  a  high  character.  Brave  and  energetic,  sagacious 
and  just,  according  to  Muslim  ideas,  Aibek  was  devoted  to 
the  faith,  and  as  the  founder  of  a  large  kingdom  on  foreign 
.soil  among  races  whose  martial  grow  ess  was  well-known, 
he  ranks  among  the  great  pioneers  of  Muslim  conquest  in 
India.  He  gave  proof  of  his  religious  zeal  by  building  two 
mosques,  one  at  Delhi  and  another  at  Ajmer.  He  died  in 
1210  A.D.,  from  a  fall  from  his  horse,  while  he  was  playing 
ohaugan, l  leaving  a  large  kingdom  to  his  successor. 

.  Aram  succeeded  his  father,  but  after  a  brief  reign  of 
one  year,  Iltutmish,  who  was  then  governor  of  Badaon, 
1  Conf  u  s  i  o  n  defeated  and  dethroned  him.  At  the  time 
after  Aibek's  of  Aram's  death  Hindustan  was  parcelled  out 

eat  '  into  four  principalities— Sindh  was  held  by 

Qubaicha  ;  Delhi  and  its  contiguous  country  were  in  the 
possession  of  Iltutmish  ;  Lakhnauti  was  held  by  the  Khilji 
Maliks  ;  Lahore  was  held  alternately  by  Qubaicha,  and 
Eldoz  who  was  then  supreme  at  Ghazni. 

Iltutmish  who  ascended  the  throne  in  1210  A.D.  is  the 
greatest  of  the  slave  kings.    He  was  the  slave  of  a  slave,2 

Iitut  m  i  a  h's  w^°  rose  to  em*nence  ^y  sheer  dint  of  merit, 
accession  to  and  it  was  solely  by  virtue  of  his  fitness  that 
-the  throne.  he  superseded  the  hereditary  claimants  to  the 

throne.  But  he  did  not  find  the  throne  of  Delhi  a  bed  of 
roses.  He  had  to  face  a  critical  situation,  as  rivals  like 
Eldoz  and  Qubaicha  aspired  to  universal  dominion,  while 


1  Chang  an  was  something  like  modern  polo.    In  the  early  middle 
«ages  it  was  a  favourite  game  in  Persia  and  India. 

*  Iltutmish  was  purchased  by  a  certain    merchant  Jaraal-ud-din 
^who  brought  him  to  Ghazni.    From  there  he  was  taken  to  Delhi  and 

sold  to  Qutb-ud-din  along  with  another  slave  named  Bak. 


To  face  page  76 


Qutbi  Mosque,  Delhi 


THE  SLAVE  DYNASTY  77 

some  of  the  Muizzi  and  Qutbi  amirs  watched  with  sullen 
resentment  the  usurpation  by  a  slave  of  the  throne  which 
lawfully  belonged  to  the  line  of  Aibek.  Besides,  there  were 
numerous  Hindu  princes  and  chieftains  whose  recognition 
of  the  sovereignty  of  the  Muhammadans  was  only  nominal. 
But  lltutmish  was  not  the  man  to  fail  or  falter  in  the  face  of 
difficulties,  and  in  grim  earnestness  he  set  himself  to  the 
task  of  dealing  with  the  situation  in  a  bold  and  decisive 
manner  ju^nvJLi. 

Having  overpowered  all  thejgfcactfliy  amirs,  he  brought 
the  whole  of  the  principality  of  Delhi  under  his  control.  But 
his  safety  depended  upon  the  suppression  of 
11     MS  rivals,  and  he  at  once  turned  his  attention 
towards  them. 

Eldoz  who  had  been  purchased  by  Sultan  Muhammad^ 
when  he  was  young  in  years,  won  the  confidence  of  the 
Sultan  by  his  ability  and  courage,  and  after  the  death 
of  his  master,  became  ruler  of  Ghazni.  But  he  was  expelled 
by  Qutb-ud-din  who  made  himself  master  of  the  country. 
The  people  of  Ghazni,  however,  soon  got  disgusted  with  the 
drunken  orgies  of  Qutb-ud-din,  and  invited  Eldoz  to  assume 
charge  of  the  kingdom.  Eldoz  was  a  spirited  soldier  ;  he 
ultimately  defeated  Qubaicha,  governor  of  Sindh,  and  estab- 
lished himself  in  the  Punjab.  lltutmish,  who  could  not 
afford  to  see  a  formidable  rival  established  so  near  the 
northern  frontier,  marched  against  him,  and  inflicted  a 
crushing  defeat  upon  him  in  1215  A.D.  in  the  vicinity  of 
Tarain.  Eldoz  was  taken  prisoner  andj^juiin  rtiulj^  The 
defeat  of  Eldoz  was  followed  by  an 
who,  after  an  unsuccessful  engag^ 
mission  in  1217  A.D.  But  it 
he  was  finally  subdued. 


78  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

This  danger  was  nothing  in  comparison  with  the  storm 
which  burst  upon  India  in  1221  A.D.    The  Mongols'  under 

The  invasion  ^ingjz  J^an  came  down  fr°m  their  moun- 
oi  0  h  i  n  g  i  z  tain  steppes  in  Central  Asia  and  ravaged  the 
Khan'  countries  that  came  in  their  way.  The  Mon- 

gol was  a  ferocious  and  blood-thirsty  savage,  and  in  fact  the 
word  Mongol  itself  is  derived  from  the  word  Mone,  mean- 
ing brave,  daring,  told.l£L*>*^^^i^A«*/^ 

Chingiz,  who  was  a  typical  Mongol  warrior,  was  born 
in  1155  A.D.  at  Dilum  Boldak  near  the  river  Oman.  His 
original  name  was  Temujin.  His  father  died  when  he  was 
only  13  years  of  age.  As  a  result  of  this  calamity,  the  young 
lad  had  to  struggle  for  years  against  adversity,  and  it  was 
only  in  1203  A.D.  that  he  was  proclaimed  Khan.  With  light- 
ning speed  he  overran  China,  plundered  and  devastated  the 
Muhammadan  countries  of  Western  Asia.  Balkh,  Bokhara, 
Samarqand,  and  many  other  famous,  and  beautiful  cities 
were  ruined  by  his  predatory  raids.  When  Chingiz  attacked 
Jalal-ud-din,  the  last  Shah  of  Khwarizm,  he  fled  towards 
Hindustan,  whither  he  was  pursued  by  the  invaders.  He 
-encamped  on  the  Indus  and  prepared  to  give  battle  to  the 
Mongols.  He  sent  an  envoy  to  Iltutmish  requesting  him 
to  grant  a  place  for  residence  in  Delhi  for  some  time,  but 
the  latter  excused  himself  on  the  ground  that  the  climate 
of  Delhi  would  not  suit  him,  and  had  the  envoy  murdered. 
Jalal-ud-din  was  eventually  defeated  by  the  Mongols,  and  he 
had  to  escape  with  only  a  handful  of  followers.  Having 
allied  himself  with  the  Khokhars,  he  fell  upon  Nasir-ud-din 

1  The  forms   Moghul  and   Mongol  are   used   for  one  and  the  same 
When  the  Mongols  separated  themselves   from  their  ancestral 
'dns  and  came  to  close  quarters  with  the  Musalman  Inhabitants  of 
weafeecn 'states    of  Central  Asia,  their    neighbours    mispronounced 
$ame  qf  their  .original  nation  and  called  them  Moghul* 


THE  SLAVE  DYNASTY  79 

<iubaicha,  whom  he  drove  into  the  fortress  of  Multaru 
After  a  short  time,  however,  he  went  to  Persia,  where  he 
learnt  that  the  army  in  Iraq  was  ready  to  help  him,  but 
he  was  murdered  by  a  fanatic  whose  brother  he  had  pre- 
viously slain.  The  Mongols  found  the  heat  of  India  intoler- 
able and  went  back  to  the  lands  to  the  west  of  the  Indus, 
which  had  a  great  attraction  for  them.  Thus  was  India 
saved  from  a  great  calamity,  and  Iltutmish  now  felt  himseU 
strong  enough  to  crush  his  native  enemies,  f: 

The  Khilji  Maliks  had  withdrawn  their  allegiance  after 

the  death  of  Qutb-ud-din.    Some  of  them,  like  Ali  Mardan 

n          4  and  Ghiyas-ud-din    Khilji,   had  also   struck 

Conquests.  ...  J          .  j  j    ^    • 

their  own  coins  and  caused  their  names  tc 
be  read  in  the  khutba  as  independent  rulers.  In  1225  A.D, 
Iltutmish  sent  an  army  against  Ghiyas  who  concluded 
a  treaty  and  paid  a  large  tribute.  The  khutba  was  read, 
and  coins  were  struck  in  his  name.  When  the  Sultan's 
forces  withdrew,  Ghiyas  expelled  the  governor  of  Bihai 
and  seized  the  province.  Nasir-ud-din  Mahmud  Shah  wh< 
had  the  fief  of  Oudh  marched  against  him.  Ghiyas  was 
•defeated  and  slain,  and  the  Khilji  amirs  were  made  captives 
The  whole  of  Lakhnauti  passed  into  the  hands  of  th< 
prince.  Ranthambhor  fell  in  1226  A..D.  ;  and  Mandore  in 
the  Sewalik  hills  followed  suit  a  year  later. 

Qubaicha,  another  slave  of  Sultan  Muiz-ud-din,  was  a  man 
of  intellect  and  sound  judgment,  and,  through  his  master's 

favour,  had  acquired  considerable  influence. 
<iubaicha.  °  He  was  appointed  governor  of  Uccha,  where  he 

managed  the  affairs  so  well  that  in  a  short 
time  he  made  himself  master  of  the  whole  country  of  Sindh 
which  now  extended  as  farasSarhind,  Kuhram,  and  Sirsuti. 
His  successes  aroused  the  jealousy  of  his  rival  chief  fit 


80  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Ghazni,  and  Lahore  soon  became  a  bone  of  contention  be- 
tween him  and  Eldoz.  When  the  Khalj  and  Khwarizam 
forces  were  defeated  by  Qubaicha,  they  found  protection  with 
Iltutmish  who  espoused  their  cause.  He  started  from  Delhi 
by  way  of  Sarhind  towards  Uccha  at  the  head  of  a  large 
army.  Hearing  of  the  approach  of  the  Sultan,  Qubaicha 
entrenched  himself  in  the  fortress  of  Bhakkar.  The  royal 
army  invested  the  fortress  of  Uccha  and  captured  it  after  a 
protracted  siege  of  two  months  and  twenty-seven  days  in 
1227  A.D.  The  capitulation  of  Uccha  so  disheartened  Qubai- 
cha that  he  embarked  in  a  boat  in  order  to  save  his  life,  but 
he  was  drowned  in  the  Indus. 

In  1228  A.D.  Iltutmish  received  a  patent  of  investiture 

from  the  Khalifa  of  Baghdad,  the  highest  pontiff  of  Islam,  a 

recognition  which  enormously  increased  the 

b  the^haHfa     Pres*J£€  °^  the  Indo-Muhammadan  power  in 

India.    It  legitimised  the  Sultan's  authority 

and   silenced   those   who   challenged    his   claim   to    the 

throne  on  the  score  of  his  birth,  and  gave  to  his  authority 

the  sanction  of  a  name,  honoured  and  cherished  by  the  entire 

J^lim_world._   The  name  of  the  Khalifa  was  inscribed  on 

*   the  coins  issued  from  the  royal  mints,  and  the  Sultan  was 

described  as  "  Aid  of  the  Commander  of  the  Faithful  Nasir 

Amir-ul-Mumnin. "    The    currency   was  remodelled,   and 

Iltutmish   was  the   first   to   introduce  a   purely   Arabic 

coinage  ;  and  the  silver  tanka  weighing  175  grains  became 

the  standard  coin. 

When  Nasir-ud-din  Mahmud  Shah  died  in  Bengal,  the 

Khilji  Maliks  at  Lakhnauti  broke  out  into  rebellion.    The 

The  Conquest    Sultan  marched  against  the  rebels  at  the  head 

of  Bengal  and    of  a  large  army  and  defeated  them.    The 

Gwahor.  government  of  Lakhnauti  was  conferred  upon 


THE  SLAVE  DYNASTY  81 

Malik  Alauddin  Jani,  and  order  was  restored  in  the  province. 
In  1231  A.D.  the  Sultan  undertook  an  expedition  to  Gwalior 
which  had  thrown  off  the  yoke  of  Delhi  during  the  brief 
reign  of  Aram  Shah.  Mangala  Deva,  the  ruler  of  the  place, 
offered  a  desperate  resistance,  and  it  was  after  a  prolonged 
fight,  jpfrich  continued  off  and  on  for  eleven  months,  that 
the  fortress  was  captured  in  1232  A.D.  Mangala  Deva 
effected  his  escape  but  a  large  number  of  his  followers 
were  captured  and  slain. 

13  JfA  year  later,  the  Sultan  marched  against  Malwa  and 

captured  the  fort  of  Bhilsa,  from  which  place  he  proceeded 

rn.     .        .      to  Ujjain  which  easily  fell  into  his  hands. 

The  close  of 

a  successful  ,  The  temple  of  Mahakali,  one  of  the  most 
career.  venerated  shrines  in  that  city,  wasdemol^^ 

and  the  idols  were^rneToirtoTJelhi.  The  Sultan  had  to 
abandon  the  projected  expedition  against  Banian  on  account 
of  his  ill-health,  which  ultimately  grew  worse,  and  he 
expired  in  his  palace  in  1235  A.D. 

lltutmish  is  undoubtedly  the  real  founder  of  the  Slave 
dynasty.    It  was  he  who  consolidated  the  conquests  that 

had  been  made  by  his  master  Qutb-ud-duu 
°f      He  brou£ht  under  his  sway  the  whole  of 

Hindustan  except  a  few  outlying  provinces 
and  displayed  extraordinary  vigour  and  intrepidity  in  deal- 
ing with  his  foes.  Though  he  was  always  busy  in  military 
campaigns,  he  extended  his  patronage  to  the  pious  and  the 
learned.  He  was  deeply  religious,  and  his  observance  of  the 
faith  led  the  Mulahidas  to  form  a  conspiracy  to  take  his  life, 
but  luckily  it  proved  abortive.  The  3ultan  was  a  great 
builder,  and  the  Qutb  Minar,  whose  massive  grandeur  and 
beauty  of  design  are  unrivalled,  still  stands  as  a  worthy 
memorial  of  his  greatness.  As  long  as  he  lived,  he 
p.  6 


92  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

behaved  like  a  great  monarch,  and  the  contemporary  chro- 
nicler Minhaj-us-Siraj  extols  his  virtues  in  these  words  : 
'"never  was  a  sovereign  of  such  exemplary  faith,  of  such 
kindness  and  reverence  towards  recluses,  devotees,  divines 
and  doctors  of  religion  and  law,  from  the  mother  of  creation 
ever  enwrapped  in  swaddling  bands  of  dominio*" 

Iltutmish,  who  was  well  aware  of  the  incapacity  of  his 
sons,  had  nominated  his  daughter  Reziya  as  his  heir.    But 
the  nobles,  who  had  a  prejudice  against  the 
successors  of      succession  of  a  female,  placed  upon  the  throne 
Iitutmish.  prince  Rukn-ud-din,  a  son    of   Iltutmish,  a 

notorious  debauchee,  addicted  to  the  most  degrading  sensual 
enjoyments.    While  the  young  prince    was  immersed    in 
pleasures,    the    affairs    of   state    were    managed    by    his 
mother  Shah  Turkan,  an    ambitious    lady,  who    had    an 
inordinate  love  of  power.      But    when    mother   and   son 
Brought  about  the  cruel  murder  of  Qutb-ud-din,   another 
ttince  of  the  blood  royal,  the  maliks  and  amirs  assumed 
an  attitude  of  hostility  towards  them.    The  governors  of 
Oudh,  BadSon,  Hansi,  Multan,  and  Lahore  became  openly 
hostile,  while  the  crisis  was  precipitated  by  an  attempt 
of  the  Queen-mother  to  take  the  life  of  Sultan  Reziya,  the 
eldest  daughter  and  heiress-designate  of  Iltutmish.    The  con- 
spiracy was  nipped  in  the  bud,  and  Shah  Turkan  was  taken 
prisoner  by  the  infuriated  mob.  Rukn-ud-din  was  also  seized, 
and  thrown  into  prison  where  he  died  in  1236  A.D.  The  nobles 
now  rallied  round  Reziya  and  saluted  her  as  their  sovereign. 
When  Reziya  was  formally  nominated  as  heir-apparent 
by  her  father,  the  ministers  of  the  Sultan  felt  scandalised 
Sultan  Rezi-      at  the  elevation  of  a  woman  to  royal  dignity, 
ya's  accession      an(j  urged  upon   him    the   imprudence  of 

tp  the  throne.       ^  ^  ^^^    ^   he  replMf  •«  My  SOM 


THE  SLAVE  DYNASTY  88 

engrossed  in  the  pleasures  of  youth,  and  none  of  them 
possesses  the  capacity  to  manage  the  affairs  of  the  country. 
After  my  death  it  will  be  seen  that  not  one  of  them  will 
be  found  to  be  more  worthy  of  the  heir-apparentship  than 
my  daughter."  The  advocates  of  male  succession  were 
thus^lenced,  and  Reziya  was  acknowledged  heir  to  the 
throne.  * 

Muhammad  Junaidi,  Wazir  of  the  kingdom,  did  not 
acknowledge  her  right  to  the  throne,  and  the  provincial 
governors  too  offered  opposition.  It  was  a 
critical  situation  for  Reziya,  but  Nasrat-ud-din 
Tayarsi,  the  feudatory  of  Oudh,  who  owed  his 
position  to  her,  came  to  her  rescue.  By  her  courage  and 
diplomacy,  the  queen  soon  put  down  the  rebellious  maliks, 
and  restored  order  throughout  the  kingdom.  In  the  words 
of  the  chronicler,  "  from  Lakhnauti  to  Debal  and  Damrilah 
all  the  maliks  and  amirs  tendered  obedience  and  submission." - 

Reziya  was  a   talented  woman.      The   contempora 
chronicler  describes  her  as  a  "  great  sovereign  and  sagacic 
just,   beneficent,   the  patron  of  the  learnc 

Htr      policy  1-1 

causes  d  i  s-  a  disposer  of  justice,  the  chensher  of 
content.  j^  subjects,  and  of  warlike  talent,  and  was 

endowed  with  all  the  admirable  attributes  and  qualifications 
necessary  for  a  king  ;  but,  as  she  did  not  attain  the  destiny 
in  her  creation,  of  being  computed  among  men,  of  what 
advantage  were  all  these  excellent  qualifications  to  her." 
She  tried  her  best  to  play  the  King.  She  cast  off  female 
garments,  abandoned  the  seclusion  of  the  zenana,  donned 
the  head-dress  of  a  man,  and  transacted  business  in  open 
darbar.  She  took  an  active  part  in  campaigns  against  the 
Hindus  and  the  rebellious  Muslim  chiefs,  and  herself  led 
-an  expedition  against  the  governor  of  Lahore,  who  was 


84  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

compelled  to  acknowledge  her  authority.  But  her  sex: 
proved  her  worst  disqualification.  As  Elphinstone  remarks, 
her  talents  and  virtues  were  insufficient  to  protect  her 
from  a  single  weakness.  It  was  shown  in  extraordinary 
marks  of  favour  to  her  master  of  the  horse,  who,  to* 
make  her  partiality  more  degrading,  was  an  Abyisinian 
slave,  Jamal-ud-din  YaqQt.  The  freeborn  Khans,  whom 
the  corps  of  the  Turkish  mamluks  known  as  "the 
forty''  had  superseded  in  power,  resented  the  preference- 
which  the  queen  showed  to  the  Abyssinian.  The  feeling 
against  the  queen  was  further  accentuated  by  her  public 
appearance  which  shocked  the  orthodox  Muslims. 

The  first  to  raise  the  standard  of  revolt  was  Altunia, 
the  rebel  governor  of  Sarhind.  Reziya  forthwith  started 
from  the  capital  to  put  down  the  revolt. 
n  '  a  8  When  she  reached  Tabarhindah,  the  Turkish 
amirs  slew  her  favourite  Yaqut  and  imprison- 
ed her  in  the  fort.  But  the  artful  queen  proved  too  clever 
for  her  captors.  She  cast  her  spell  on  Altunia  who  con- 
tracted a  marriage  with  her,  and  marched  towards  Delhi  to 
recover  the  kingdom.  Muiz-ud-din  Bahram  Shah,  brother 
of  Reziya,  who  had  been  proclaimed  king  by  the  amirs, 
led  an  army  against  the  queen  and  her  consort,  and  defeat- 
ed them.  The  partisans  of  Altunia  deserted  him,  and 
together  with  his  spouse  he  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Hindus  who  put  them  to  death  in  1240  A.D.  Reziya's 
reign  lasted  for  three  and  a  half  years. 

Bahram  Shah,  brother  of  Reziya,  who  succeeded  her, 

was  a  prince  "fearless,  full  of  courage  and  sanguinary." 

The  confusion    His  reign  was  full  of  murder,  treachery,  and 

after  Reriya's    intrigue ;  and  disaffection  became  widespread 

^  when  he  adopted   drastic  measures  to  put 


THE  SLAVE  DYNASTY  85 

down  conspiracies.  The  Mongols  made  their  appearance  In 
Hindustan  in  1241  A.D.  and  captured  Lahore,  Shortly 
afterwards  the  Sultan  was  assassinated,  and  waft 
succeeded  by  Alauddin  Masud  Shah,  a  grandson  of 
Iltutmish.  In  1245  A.  D.,  the  Mongols  appeared  again  in 
Indik,  but  they  were  repelled  with  heavy  losses.  During 
the  latter  part  of  his  reign,  the  Sultan  began  to  behave 
like  a  tyrant  and  became  inordinately  fond  of  pleasure. 
Disaffection  grew  apace;  and  the  amirs  and  maliks  invited 
Nasir-ud-din,  another  son  of  Iltutmish,  to  take  charge  of  the 
kingdom.  Masud  was  thrown  into  prison  in  May  1246  A.D., 
where  he  died  shortly  afterwards. 

The  throne  of  Delhi  now  fell  to  the  lot  of  Nasir-ud-din 
Mahmud  Shah,  a  younger  son  of  Iltutmish,  in  1246  A.D. 
He  was  a  pious,  God-fearing  and  kind-hearted 
Mahmudddin  ruler who  patronised  the  learned  and  sym- 
pathised  with  the  poor  and  the  distressed. 
He  led  the  retired  and  obscure  life  of  a  darvesh,  denied  to 
himself  the  pleasures  of  royalty,  and  earned  his  living  by 
copying  verses  from  the  Quran.  By  character  and  tempera- 
ment he  was  unfitted  to  rule  the  kingdom  of  Delhi  at  a 
time,  when  internal  factions  and  Hindu  revolts  conspired 
to  weaken  the  monarchy,  and  the  Mongols  hammered  upon 
the  gates  of  India.  But  fortunately  the  Sultan  had  an 
able  minister  ifl  ( BalbaiL- who  guided  the  domestic  as  well 
as  the  foreign  policy  of  the  state  throughout  his  master's 
reign. 

Balban  was  a  Turk  of  the  tribe  of  Ilbari,  and  his  father 
was  a  Khan  of  10,000  families.    He  was,  in  his  youth, 
captured  by  the  Mongols,  who  conveyed  him 
to  Baghdad,  where  he    was  purchased  by 
Khwaja  Jamal-ud-din  of  Basra*    The  latter 


86  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

took  him  to  Delhi  where  he  was  purchased  by  lltutmish. 
Balban  was  appointed  Khasah-bardar  (personal  attendant) 
to  the  Sultan,  and  was  enrolled  in  the  famous  corps  of 
forty  slaves.  Under  Reziya  he  was  Dromoted  to  the  rank  of 
Amir-i-Shikar  (Lord  of  the  Hunt).  QBahram  entrusted  to 
him  the  fief  of  Rewari,  to  which  was  afterwards  added 
the  district  of  HanSK 

When  the  Mongols  under  their  leader  Mangu,  invaded 
Sindh  and  laid  siege  to  the  fortress  of  Uccha  in  1245  A.D., 
Balban  organised  a  large  army  to  repel  their  attack.  It  was 
his  military  vigour  and  intrepidity  which  inflicted  a  crushing 
defeat  on  the  Mongols,  and  won  such  brilliant  success  for  the 
arms  of  Islam.  When  Nasir-ud-din  ascended  the  throne  in 
1246  A.D.,  he  was  appointed  principal  minister  of  the  state. 
r Balban  crossed  the  Ravi  in  1246  A.D.,  ravaged  the  Jud 
anckJilam  hills,  and  suppressed  the  Khokhars  and  other  con- 
tumacious tribes.  He  undertook  several  expeditions  to  the 
Doab  to  chastise  the  refractory  Hindu  Rajas.  The  Rana  of 
Malaki,  the  country  between  Kalanjar  and  Kara,  was 
subdued,  and  Mewat  and  Ranthambhar  were  ravaged.  The 
rebellious  Muslim  governors  were  suppressed,  and  Gwalior, 
Chanderi,  Malwa,  and  Narwar  were  subduedA 

Six  months  later,  when  the  Sultan  marched  towards 
Uccha  and  Multan,  Imad-ud-din  Rihan,  who  was  jealous  of 
Balban's  influence,  excited  the  maliks  and  poisoned  the  ears 
of  the  Sultan  against  him.  The  great  minister  was  con- 
sequently banished  from  the  court  in  1253  A.D.,  and 
Imad-ud-din  was  installed  as  Vakil-i-dar l  at  the  capital. 

Imad-ud-din  was  a  renegade  Hindu,  and  his  tutelage 
now  galled,  the  pride  of  the  maliks  and  nobles  of  the  court, 

1  The  principal  duty  of  the  Vakil-i-dar  was  to  hold  the  keys  of  the 
gate  of  the  king's  palace.  The  office  existed  among  the  Mughals  also 
abd  was  no  doubt  considered  important  by  them. 


THE  SLAVE  DYNASTY  87 

who  were  all  "  Turks  of  pure  lineage  and  Tajziks  of 
noble  birth,"  and  looked  upon  it  as  a  disgrace  to  serve 
under  him.  The  administration  grew  lax,  and  from  all 
sides  requests  poured  in  upon  the  Sultan  to  dismiss  the 
vile  upstart.  The  powerful  maliks  eventually  persuaded 
the  Sultan  to  order  the  dismissal  of  Rihan.  He  was  ordered 
to  the  fief  of  Badaon,  and  Balban  returned  to  the  capital 
in  triumph  in  February  1254  A.D. 

When  Qutlugh  Khan,  governor  of  Oudh,  revolted  in 
1255  A.D.,  Balban  marched  against  him  and  obliged  him 
to  withdraw.  The  former  was  assisted  by 
of  RebenS  a11  the  disaffected  maliks  and  Hindus,  and 
was  joined  by  Iz-ud-din  Balban  Kashlu  Khan, 
governor  of  Sindh,  who,  also,  following  the  evil  example 
of  Qutlugh  Khan,  revolted.  The  two  maliks  effected  a 
junction  of  their  armies  near  Saman#  and  marched  towards 
the  capital,  but  were  unable  to  put  into  execution  their 
ppfariong  project.  Towards  the  close  of  the  year  1257  A.D. 
the  Mongols  again  invaded  Sindh,  but  when  the  royal 
forces  marched  against  them,  they  retreated. 

The  last  expedition  was  against  the  hilly  country  of 

Mewat  in  the  year  1259  A.D.,  where  the  rebels  under  their 

leader  Malka,  a  Hindu,  plundered  and  de- 

pedition 8t  ex~     stroyed  villages,  and  harassed  the  peasantry 

in  the  districts    of  Hariana,    Sewalik  and 

Biyana.  Ulugh  Khan  crushed  the  rebels  and  cleared  the 

whole  country  of  these  pests. 

For  full  two  decades  Balban  preserved  the  state  from 
many  a  danger,  and  put  down  with  an  iron  hand  the  ele- 
ments of  disorder  and-  strife.    The  frontier 
posts  were  strongly  garrisoned  ;  a  large  and 
efficient  army    was    constructed,    and  the 


88  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

Mongols  were  successfully  repelled.  The  rebellions  of  the 
refractory  Hindus  were  effectively  suppressed,  and  the 
disaffected  amirs  and  maliks  too  were  curbed.  But  for 
Balban's  vigour  and  energy,  the  kingdom  of  Delhi  would 
have  hardly  survived  the  shocks  of  internal  revolts  and 
external  invasions. 

After  Nasir-ud-din's  death  in  1266  A.D.,  the  mantle  of 
sovereignty  devolved  upon  Balban.  His  first  task  was  to 
reorganise  the  administration,  and  to  take 
effective  steps  to  prevent  the  recurring  Mon- 
gol raids.  Barani  writes :  "Fear  of  the 
governing  power,  which  is  the  basis  of  all  good  government, 
and  the  source  of  the  glory  and  splendour  of  states,  had 
departed  from  the  hearts  of  all  men,  and  the  country  had 
fallen  into  a  wretched  condition. "  By  means  of  drastic- 
punishments  and  relentless  measures  the  new  Sultan,  who 
was  an  adept  in  the  art  of  government,  suppressed  the 
elements  of  disorder  anjL  taught  people  obedience  and 
submissiveness. 

The  first  need  of  Balban  was  a  large  and  efficient  army. 
The  cavalry  and  infantry,  both  old  and  new,  were  placed 
under  maliks  of  experience,  who  had  given 

proof  of  their  coura^e  and  loyalty  in  many 

battles.  With  the  help  of  this  army,  he  es- 
tablished order  in  the  lands  of  the  Doab  and  the  environs 
of  Delhi.  The  turbulence  of  the  Mewatis  had  become  a 
serious  menace  to  the  throne  of  Delhi.  They  carried  their 
predatory  raids  in  the  vicinity  of  the  capital,  and  at  night 
"  they  used  to  come  prowling  into  the  city,  giving  all  kinds 
of  trouble,  depriving  the  people  of  their  rest/'  So  great  was 
their  audacity  that  the  western  gate  of  the  capital  had  to 
be  closed  at  the  time  of  afternoon  prayer,  and  even  the 


THE  SLAVE  DYNASTY  89 

rgarb  of  a  mendicant  was  no  protection  against  their  high- 
handedness. The  Sultan  cleared  the  jungles  and  inflicted 
a  crushing  defeat  upon  them.  rTo  provide  for  the  security 
-of  the  capital,  he  built  outposts  which  were  strongly 
garrisoned  by  Afghans,  to  whom  grants  of  land  were  made 
for  maintenance.  The  noblemen  and  officers,  who  were 
left  in  charge  of  the  country,  thoroughly  subjugated  it,  and 
put  to  the  sword  thousands  of  these  miscreants.  In  the 
heart  of  the  Doab  the  greatest  insecurity  prevailed  ;  and 
Kampil,  Patiali,  and  Bhojpur  were  the  strongholds  of 
robbers,  who  infested  the  roads  and  rendered  impossible 
the  transport  of  merchandise  from  one  place  to  another. 
The  Sultan^ proceeded  in  person  to  quell  these  disorders, 
anft  posted  strong  Afghan  garrisons  to  put  down  brigand- 
age) and  lawlessness.  "  The  den  of  the  robbers  was 
thus  converted  into  a  guard-house,  and  Musalmans  and 
guardians  of  the  way  took  the  place  of  highway  robbers/' 
so  that  sixty  years  afterwards  Barani  was  able  to  record 
with  satisfaction  that  the  roads  had  been  freed  from  robbers 
and  the  lives  of  the  wayfarers  rendered  secure. 

y  Having  suppressed  the  outlaws,  the  Sultan  led  an 
expedition  into  the  mountains  of  Jud  and  chastised  the 
hill  tribes.  Two  years  later  he  proceeded  against  the  fort 
which  had  been  destroyed  by  the  Mongols.  The  whole 
country  was  laid  waste,  and  order  was  restored.  This 
brief  campaign  once  again  revealed  to  the  Sultan  the 
unfitness  of  the  old  Shams!  veterans,  who  had  enjoyed 
liberal  grants  of  land  for  the  last  thirty  or  forty  years. 
It  appeared  that  about  2,000  horsemen  of  the  army  of 
-Shams-ud-din  held  villages  in  the  Doab  in  lieu  of  salary. 
Many  of  the  grantees  were  old  and  infirm,  and  many  had 
<died,  and  their  sons  had  taken  possession  of  their  lands 


90  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

and  caused  their  names  to  be  entered  in  the  records  of 
the  Ariz  (muster-master).  These  holders  of  service  lands 
called  themselves  proprietors  and  professed  to  have  received 
the  lands  in  free  gift  from  Sultan  Shams-ud-din.  Some 
of  them  performed  their  military  duties  in  a  leisurely 
manner,  others  stayed  at  home  making  excuses,  and  bribed 
the  Deputy  Muster-master  and  his  officials  to  condone 
their  neglect  of  duty.  The  Sultan  at  once  issued  an  order 
for  holding  an  enquiry  into  the  condition  of  these  service 
tenures,  and  a  list  of  all  grantees  was  prepared.  This 
order  caused  a  feeling  of  dismay  among  the  members  of 
the  military  oligarchy,  which  had  held  so  far  a  monopoly 
of  all  favour  and  privilege  in  the  state.  Some  of  these 
old  Khans  approached  Fakhr-ud-din,  the  Kotwal  of  Delhi, 
who  was  supposed  to  have  influence  with  the  Sultan,  and 
requested  him  to  intercede  in  their  behalf.  The  Kotwal 
eloquently  pleaded  the  cause  of  these  aged  veterans,  and 
the  Sultan  was  moved  with  compassion  to  cancel  the 
resumption  of  their  estates.  Though  the  original  order 
was  revoked,  the  Khans  lost  much  of  their  former  influence 
and  tamely  submitted  to  Balban's  dictation. 

(    Balban  organised  the  internal  administration  on  a  most 
efficient  basis.    It  wasjfralf  civil,  half  military.    He  was 

himself  the  fountain  of  all  authority,  and 
government!1  enforced  his  commands  with  the  greatest 

rigour.  Even  his  own  sons  who  held  import- 
ant provinces  were  not  allowed  much  initiative,  and  had  to 
refer  to  the  Sultan  all  complicated  matters  on  which  he 
passed  final  orders,  which  were  to  be  strictly  enforced.  In 
administering  justice  he  never  showed  partiality  even 
towards  his  own  kith  and  kin,  and  when  any  of  his  relations 
or  associates  committed  an  act  of  injustice,  he  never  failed 


THE  SLAVE  DYNASTY  91 

to  grant  redress  to  the  aggrieved  party.  So  great  was  the- 
dread  of  the  Sultan's  inexorable  justice  that  no  one  dared 
to  ill-treat  his  servants  and  slaves.  When  Malik  Barbak, 
one  of  the  courtiers,  who  held  a  jSglr  of  4,000  horse  and 
the  fief  of  Badaon,  caused  one  of  his  servants  to  be  scourged 
to  death,  his  widow  complained  to  the  Sultan.  He  ordered 
the  Malik  to  be  flogged  similarly  in  the  presence  of  the 
complainant,  and  publicly  executed  the  spies  who  had 
failed  to  report  his  misconduct.  A  well;_est^ 
tern „  of  espionage  iaJnseparable  from  despotism,  and  Bal- 
ban  with  a  view  to  make  the  administration  of  justice 
more  efficient  appointed  spies  in  his  fiefs,  who  reported 
to  him  all  acts  of  injustice.  To  make  these  reports 
accurate  and  honest,  he  greatly  restricted  the  field  of 
individual  observation,  and  when  the  report  was  made,  he 
showed  no  indulgence  on  the  score  of  rank  or  birth.  Even 
Bughra  Khan's  movements  were  watched  by  the  spies, 
and  it  is  said  that  the  Sultan  took  great  pains  to  keep  himself 
informed  of  his  activities.  These  spies  no  doubt  checked 
crime  and  protected  innocent  persons  against  the  high- 
handedness of  those  in  power,  but  their  presence  must  have 
demoralised  the  community  and  led  to  the  suppression  of  even 
the  most  legitimate  and  harmless  amenities  of  social  lif&j). 
But  the  one  all-absorbing  pre-occupation  of  the  Sultan 
was  the  fear  of  the  recurring  Mongol  invasions.  Although 

he  possessed  a  large  and  disciplined  army,  he 
goiT  M  °  " "  never  left  Delhi,  and  devised  measures  to 

safeguard  his  dominions  against  the  raids  of 
these  nomad  hordes.  The  Mongols  had  seized  Lahore  and 
every  year  harried  the  lands  of  Sindh  and  the  Punjab.  The 
Sultan  never  moved  from  the  capital,  and  kept  a  vigilant 
watch  upon  the  vulnerable  parts  of  the  empire.  The 


$2  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

provinces  of  Multan  and  Samana,  which  were  most  exposed 
to  attack,  being  near  to  the  northern  frontier,  were 
-entrusted  to  his  own  sons,  Muhammad  and  Bugrhra  Khan, 
who  maintained  large  and  well-trained  armies  to  fight  against 
the  Mongols.  But  this  constant  fear  greatly  influenced  the 
foreign  policy  of  Balban.  He  never  attempted  the  conquest 
of  any  distant  country  ;  his  whole  attention  was  concen- 
trated upon  measures  to  guard  himself  and  his  kingdom 
-against  the  Mongols.  Even  the  administrative  organisation 
was  carried  out  with  a  view  to  strengthen  the  government 
to  cope  with  these  calamitous  raids.  IFrom  Amir  KhusrauV 
description  of  these  nomad  savaglj,  which  is  somewhat 
tinged  by  the  poet's  own  feelings,  for  he  had  on  one  occasion 
fallen  into  their  hands,  we  can  form  some  idea  of  the  horrors 
which  their  recurring  raids  implied.  He  writes:  "There" 
were  more  than  a  thousand  Tartar  infidels  and  warriors  of 
other  tribes,  riding  on  camels,  great  commanders  in  battle, , 
^11  with  steel-like  bodies  clothed  in  cotton  ;  with  faces  like 
fire,  with  caps  of  sheepskin,  with  heads  shorn.  Their  eyes' 
were  so  narrow  and  piercing  that  they  might  have  bored 
4  hole  in  a  brazen  vessel.  .  .  Their  faces  were  set  on 
their  bodies  as  if  they  had  no  neck.  Their  cheeks  resembled 
soft  leathern  bottles,  full  of  wrinkles  and  knots.  Their  noses 
extended  from  cheek  to  cheek,  and  their  mouths  from 
cheek-bone  to  cheek-bone.  .  .  Their  moustaches  were  of 

1  Abul  Hasan,  better  known  by  his  now  de  plume  of  Amir  Kbusrau 
by  far  the  greatest  Muslim  poet  of  India,  was  born  at  Patiali  in  651  A.H. 
•(1263  A.D.),  and  died  at  Delhi  in  726  A.H.  (1324-26  A.D.)  While  yet  a 
boy,  he  became  a  disciple  of  Shaikh  Nizam-ud-din  Aulia.  He  entered  the 
service  of  Balban  as  an  attendant  on  his  son  Prinoe  Muhammad,  who 
was  fond  of  the  society  of  the  learned.  Gradually  he  rose  into  promi- 
nence and  was  elevated  to  the  Fflflifr'™  "f  fl*\ft  nnnfi  fa"™"!^  He  died  of 
flffcf  at  th«  d^h  of  hifl  ffl-vmirite  saint  Nizam-ud-dinAulia.  He  Has 
Written  numerous  works'  brie!  notices  of  which  are  fWen  Iff  Elliot,  III, 
pp.  67— 92,  623—67. 


THE  SLAVE  DYNASTY  9& 

extravagant  length.  They  had  but  scanty  beards  about  their 
chins  .  .  .  They  looked  like  so  many  white  demons,  and  the 
people  fled  from  them  everywhere  in  affright/1 1  Hardy  and 
heartless  invaders  such  as  these,  coming  from  the  cooler 
regions  beyond  the  Hindukush,  could  not  be  trifled  with, 
and  Balban  was  led  by  the  instinct  of  sheer  self-preserva- 
tion to  ignore  all  other  things  and  keep  his  army  ever  on, 
the  war-path  to  repel  their  oft-repeated  incursions. 

Tughril  Khan,  the  governor  of  Bengal,2  who  had  beea 
appointed  by  Balban,  was  led  astray  by  his  evil  counsellors. 

Tughril's  Be-       They  tol(i  him  that  the  Sultan  was  old  and  hiS 

rbeiiioD,     1279     two  sons  were  occupied  in  dealing  with  the 
AlD-  Mongol  attacks,  and  the  leaderless  nobler 

possessed  neither  men  nor  munitions  to  march  to  Lakhnauti 
to  frustrate  his  attempt  at  independence.  Tughril  readily 
listened  to  this  false  and  mischievous  advice  ftnd  "  allowed 
the  egg  of  ambition  to  be  hatched  in  his  head. "  He  attacked 
Jajnagar,  carried  off  a  large  booty  consisting  of  valuable 
goods  and  elephants,  and  kept  it  all  for  himself.  This  act 
of  disloyalty  was  consummated  by  a  formal  declaration  of 
independence,  when  he  assumed  the  royal  title  of  Sultan 
Mughis-ud-din,  struck  coins,  and  caused  the  khutba  to  be 
read  in  his  own  name.  The  possession  of  vast  wealth  en- 
abled him  to  bestow  large  gifts  upon  his  associates.  As 
Barani  writes,  money  closed  the  eyes  of  the  clear-sighted, 
and  greed  of  gold  kept  the  more  politic  in  retirement. 
Sedition  became  so  rife  that  the  soldiers  as  well  as  the 


1  For  further  account  of  these  savages,  see  Elliot,  III,  Appendix, 
pp.  528-29. 

*  Tughril  was  originally  a  Turkish  slave  who  had  been  purchased 
,  by  Balban.  Being  a  brave  and  warlike  man,  he  subdued  the  Rajas  of 
;  the  neighbouring  countries  and  compelled  them  to  pay  tribute. 


•94  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

* 

citizens  ceased  to  fear  the  sovereign  power,  and  gave  their 
adhesion  to  the  rebellious  governor. 

The  Sultan  was  much  disturbed  by  the  news  of  this 
revolt.  A  royal  army  crossed  the  SarjQ  and  marched  to- 
wards Lakhnauti,  but  when  it  reached  Bengal,  it  Was  opposed 
and  defeated  by  Tughril,  who  had  drawn  to  his  banner  by 
means  of  his  liberality  numerous  adherents frpm  the  country 
districts.  The  troops  of  Delhi  fled,  and  many  of  them 
deserted  their  colours  and  went  over  to  the  enemy. 

Another  expedition  met  with  a  like  fate.  Emboldened  by 
his  success,  Tughril  marched  out  of  Lakhnauti,  fell  upon  the 
army  of  Delhi,  and  completely  defeated  it.  The  news  of  this 
defeat  overwhelmed  the  Sultan  with  shame  and  anger,  and 
he  swore  vengeance  upon  the  rebels.  Having  entrusted  the 
affairs  of  Delhi  to  Malik  Fakhr-ud-din,  he  proceeded  towards 
Samana  and  Sunnam,  and  asked  his  son  Bughra  Khan  to 
accompany  him  to  Bengal.  Prince  Muhammad  was  asked  to 
take  care  of  the  province  in  his  charge,  and  to  keep  a  vigilant 
eye  upon  the  Mongols.  At  the  head  of  a  large  army,  the 
Sultan  started  for  Lakhnauti  in  spite  of  the  rains.  He  order- 
ed a  general  levy  in  Oudh,  and  enrolled  about  two  lakhs  of 
men  in  his  army.  A  large  flotilla  of  boats  was  constructed, 
and  the  royal  troops  crossed  the  Sarju,  but  their  passage 
in  the  marshy  land  of  Bengal  was  delayed  by  the  rains. 
The  royal  army  wended  its  way  through  mud  and  water 
to  the  capital  of  Bengal  only  to  find  that  the  rebel,  deeming 
himself  unable  to  withstand  the  Sultan,  had  fled  towards 
the  wilds  of  Jajnagar,  taking  with  him  treasure,  elephants 
and  a  picked  body  of  fighting  men.  He  was  pursued  by 
the  royal  troops,  and  the  Sultan  publicly  declared  that  he 
would  never  abandon  the  pursuit,  cost  him  what  time  and 
•trouble  it  might.  He  gave  the  soldiers  some  idea  of  his 


THE  SLAVE  DYNASTY  95 

mighty  resolve,  when  he  told  them  that  they  were  playing 
for  half  the  kingdom  of  Delhi,  and,  if  Tughril  took  to  the 
water,  he  would  pursue  him  and  would  never  return   to 
Delhi,  or  even  mention  it,  until  the  'blood  of  the  rebel  and 
his  followers  had  been  poured  out.   Many  of  them  despaired 
<>f  ever  returning  to  their  homes  and  made  their  wills.    A 
large  party  of  horsemen  was  sent  in  search  of  Tughril,  but 
no  trace  of  him  was  to  be  found.    After  a  diligent  search 
the  camp  of  Tughril  was  discovered,  and  the  royal  horsemen 
rudely  interrupted  the  joyous  life  led  by  him  and  his  men 
in  these  bucolic  surroundings.    His  army  fled  from  the  field 
panic-stricken,  and  he  himself,  mounted  asaddleless  horse 
^nd  tried  to  gallop  to  a  stream  which  ran  hard  by.    He  was 
pursued  by  the  royalists,  and  an  arrow  which  pierced    him 
on  the  side  at  once  brought  him  down.    His  head  was 
severed  from  the  body,   which  was  flung  into  the  river, 
and  his  women,  children,  and  dependents  were  all  captured 
by  the  victors.    The    Sultan  was  pleased  to   hear  of  the 
success  of  this  expedition,  and  suitably  rewarded  the  men 
who  had  risked  their  lives  in  his  service 

Balban  returned  to  Lakhnauti  where  gibbets  were  erected 
on  both  sides  in  the  bazar,  and  the  relations  and  accomplices 
of  Tughril  were  hanged  mercilessly.  These  terrible  punish- 
ments went  on  for  two  or  three  days,  and  it  is  said  that 
even  the  Qazis  and  Muftis  obtained  their  pardon  with  great 
difficulty.  When  the  work  of  slaughter  was  over,  Balban 
made  arrangements  for  the  restoration  of  order  in  the 
country.  He  entrusted  the  province  to  his  son  Bughra  Khan 
whom  he  asked  to  recove^and  hold  in  peace  the  rest  of 
Bengal  and  to  eschew  convivial  parties.  Then  he  asked 
the  Prince  with  a  stern  look:  MjD|dst  thpusee?"  The 
Prince  did  not  understand  what  his  father  meant  to  convey 


96  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

by  this  enigmatical  question.  The  Sultan  again  said,  "Didst: 
tfiou  see  ?  "  The  perplexed  Prince  returned  no  answer  and 
the  Sultan  repeated  the  question  for  the  third  time  and 
added,  ''You  saw  my  punishments  in  the  bazar."  The 
Prince  bent  down  his  head  in  profound  submission,  and 
the  pitiless  father  addressed  him  in  these  words  :  "If  ever- 
designing  and  evil-minded  persons  should  incite  you  to- 
waver  in  your  allegiance  to  Delhi  and  to  throw  off  its 
authority,  then  remember  the  vengeance  which  you  have 
seen  exacted  in  the  bazar.  Understand  me  and  forget 
not  that  if  the  governors  of  Hind  or  Sindh,  of  Malwa  or 
Gujarat,  of  Lakhnauti  or  Sonargaon,  shall  draw  the  sword 
and  become  rebels  to  the  throne  of  Delhi,  then  such  punish- 
ment as  has  fallen  upon  Tughril  and  his  dependents  will 
fall  upon  them,  their  wives,  their  children,  and  all  their 
adherents. "  He  called  Bughra  Khan  again  for  a  second 
interview  and  gave  him  valuable  advice  about  political 
affairs.  On  the  day  of  his  departure,  he  embraced  him 
affectionately  and  bade  him  farewell.  On  his  return  to 
Delhi  he  ordered  gibbets  to  be  erected  again  for  the 
execution  of  those  residents  of  Delhi  and  its  environs,  who 
had  assisted  in  the  late  rebellion.  It  was  with  great 
difficulty  that  the  Qazi  of  the  army  was  able  to  persuade 
the  Sultan  to  desist  from  such  a  frightful  proceeding. 

The  rebellion  was  effectively  suppressed,  but  a  great 
lomestic  bereavement  befell  the  Sultan.  When  the  Mongols 
Death  of  under  their  lead^rjjajowu invaded  the  Punjab- 
in  1285  A.D.,  his  son,  Prince  Muhammad, 
^Q  was  placed  in  charge  of  Multan,  marched 
awards  Lahore  and  Dipalpur  to  repel  their  attack.  He  was 
tefeated  and  killed  in  the  encounter  that  followed,  and  hia 
jqprifiee  won  him  the  posthumous  title  of  the  "  Martyr 


THE  SLAVE  DYNASTY    -  97 

Prince."  The  Sultan  was  so  stricken  with  grief  that, 
shortly  afterwards,  he  died  in  1286  A.D.,  leaving  a  will 
in  which  he  nominated  his  grandson  Kai-Khusrau  as  his 
successor.  No  sooner  were  his  eyes  closed  in  death  than 
the  nobles  and  officers  opposed  his  last  testament  and  elevat- 
ed Kaiqubad  to  the  throne,  an  unhappy  choice,  which  ulti- 
mately led  to  the  fall  of  the  Slave  dynasty. 
I^Balban's  career,  full  of  strenuous  activity,  extending 
over  a  period  of  forty  years,  is  unique  in  the  annals  of 

mediaeval  India.     He  enhanced  the   dignity 
of  BaTb8^ ahty  * of  the  kingly  office,  and  established  peace  and 

order  by  a  policy  of  'blood  and  iron/  He 
maintained  a  splendid  court  where  he  presented  himself 
on  public  occasions  with  great  magnificence.  He  always 
behaved  like  a  well-bred  oriental  monarch  ;  his  sense  of 
kingly  dignity  was  so  great  that  he  never  appeared  but  in 
full  dress  even  before  his  private  servants.  He  never 
laughed  aloud  nor  joked  in  his  darbar  ;  nor  did  he  permit 
any  one  to  indulge  in  laughter  or  amusement  in  his  presence. 
He  despised  the  company  of  the  low  and  the  vulgar,  and 
nothing  could  ever  draw  him  into  unnecessary  familiarity 
either  with  friends  or  strangers.  So  punctilious  was  he  in 
maintaining  the  prestige  of  his  office  that  on  one  occasion 
he  refused  a  proffered  gift  of  some  lakhs  from  a  rich  upstart 
who  had  accumulated  a  vast  fortune,  but  who  could  not 
boast  of  a  lofty  gedjgcee.  Low  birth  was  the  grea^e^  dis- 
qualification for  public  office,  and  the  nobles  and  officers 
never  dared  to  recommend  any  but  a  well-born  man  for 
employment  in  the  state.  Balban  had  been  food  of  wine  in 
his  youth,,  Jbjut  he  sswud&t^J  j»ye it  upHwhaa  he  became 
king.  He  took  delight  in  hunting  excursiQRSl  fuwi  oftto 
went  out  on  long  expeditions.  In  his  private  life,  he  wad*a 
F.  7 


96  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

kind-hearted  man.  He  loved  his  sons  and  relatives*  and 
even  towards  strangers  who  sought  shelter  at  his  court,  he 
behaved  with  great  generosity.  Though  his  lot  was  cast  in 
stormy  times*  he  took  interest  in  letters  and  extended  his 
patronage  to  literary  men.  All  things  considered*  Balban 
was  a  most  remarkable  ruler  who  saved  the  infant  Muslim 
State  in  India  from  the  Mongol  peril,  and  by  establishing 
social  order  paved  the  way  for  the  military  and  administra- 
tive reforms  of  Alauddin  Khilji.  \l 

Balban's  death  left  a  void  thatVould  not  be  filled.  There 
was  none  among  his  survivors,  who  could  wield  the  sceptre 
which  he  had  swayed  for  twenty  years  with 
°f  such  *bility  and  success.  The  personal  factor 
counted  for  much  in  mediaeval  politics,  and 
as  soon  as  the  master-hand  of  Balban  was  removed  by  death, 
the  affairs  of  the  state  fell  into  confusion,  and  the  old 
confidence  in  the  justice  and  strength  of  the  administration 
was  completely  shaken. 

Kaiqubad  who  was  only  seventeen  years  of  age  was 
elevated  to  the  throne  through  the  intrigues  of  the  Kotwal 
of  Delhi.  From  his  childhood,  he  had  been  brought  up 
with  such  care  that  he  was  never  allowed  to  have  even  a 
look  at  a  fair  damsel,  or  taste  a  cup  of  wine.  Day  and 
night  he  was  watched  by  his  tutors  who  taught  him  tfie 
polite  arts  and  manly  exercises,  and  never  permitted  him  to 
do  an  improper  act  or  utter  an  indecent  word.  Such  a  prince 
found  himself  all  of  a  sudden  in  the  possession  of  a  mighty 
kingdom,  the  vast  wealth  of  which  could  afford  everything 
that  was  needed  for  personal  enjoyment.  He  cast  to  the 
winds  all  lessons  of  prudence  and  self-restraint,  and  at  once 
changed  his  enforced  Puritanism  for  a  life  of  debauch  and 
pleasure.  Balban's  work  was  undone  ;  the  example  of  the 


THE  SLAVE  DYNASTY  99 

king  was  followed  by  the  nobles  and  the  ministers  so  that 
court  life  became  notoriously  corrupt,  and  men  of  all  ranks 
gave  themselves  up  to  the  pursuit  of  pleasure. 

While  Kaiqubad  spent  his  time  in  drunken  revels  and 
orgies,  the  business  of  government  was  carried  on  by  Malik 
Nizam-ud-din,  son-in-law  of  the  influential  Kotwal  of  Delhi, 
who  had  deftly  wormed  himself  into  the  confidence  of  the 
Sultan.  Nizam-ud-din  was  a  highly  ambitious  man;  his 
arrogance  and  ascendancy  offended  the  veteran  Khans, 
who  had  since  the  days  of  Aibek  and  lltutmish  served  the 
state  with  signal  devotion.  Bughra  Khan's  absence  in 
Bengal,  the  decline  of  the  power  of  the  nobles,  and  the 
intemperance  and  licentiousness  of  Kaiqubad  led  Nizam-ud- 
din  to  harbour  designs  of  usurping  the  throne  at  a  favour- 
able moment.  But  this  nefarious  plan  could  not  succeed 
unless  Kai  Khusrau,  the  heir-designate  of  Balban,  who  still 
commanded  the  respect  and  esteem  of  the  nobility,  was  got 
rid  of.  With  such  thoughts  in  his  mind  the  minister  ap- 
proached his  insensate  master,  and  obtained  his  assent  to  the 
prince's  murder  in  a  state  of  intoxication.  The  unsuspecting 
young  prince  was  called  away  from  Multan,  and  on  his  way 
to  Delhi  was  murdered  near  Rohtak. 

This  murder  sent  a  thrill  of  horror  throughout  the 
whole  country.  Parties  were  formed,  and  the  Khilji  Amir 
Jalal-ud-din  Firuz,  who  held  the  office  of  the  AriH-wcfc- 
malik  (muster-master)  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  a 
powerful  faction.  The  power  of  Jalal-ud-din  increased,  and 
several  Turkish  Maliks  and  Amirs  went  over  to  his  side, 
thinking  that  resistance  was  impossible.  Two  days  later 
Sultan  Kaiqubad  was  murdered  in  his  .palace  of  mirrors  by 
a  Khilji  Malik,  and  his  corpse  was  thrown  into  the  Jamna. 

Suck  was  the  inglorious  end  of  the  Slave  kings  of  Deity. 


100  THE  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Jalal-ud-din  Firuz  now  obtained  the  support  of  friends  and 
foes  and  ascended  the  throne  at  Kilughari.  But  the  people 
of  Delhi  were  hostile  to  the  Khiljis  ;  they  extended  no  wel- 
come to  Firuz,  and  it  took  him  some  time  to  reconcile  then* 
to  his  usurpation. 

The  conquest  of  Hindustan  accomplished   with  great 
ease  by  the  Muslims  was  primarily  due  to  the  weakness  of 
The     causes     ^e  Etin(*u   soc*ety  which  .had  lost  its  old 
of  Muslim  sue-     vigour  owing  to  mutual  jealousies  and  dis~ 
ce88"  sensions.    The  whole  country  was  split  up 

into  a  number  of  independent  states,  often  fighting  against 
one  another.  There  was  no  dearth  of  military  talent  in  the 
country,  for  the  Rajputs  were  the  finest  soldiers  and  were 
scarcely  inferior  to  the  Muslims  in  courage  and  determina- 
tion. The  Muslims  came  from  the  cooler  regions  beyond  the 
Afghan  hills  and  displayed  much  vigour  and  energy  in  actual 
campaign.  They  possessed  better  organisation,  discipline 
and  coherence.  Islam  is  one  great  brotherhood  in  which  the 
high  and  the  low,  the  rich  and  the  poor  are  all  alike  and  no 
distinctions  are  made  between  man  and  man.  The  practice 
of  proselytism  ordained  by  Islam  inspired  its  followers  with 
the  fanatical  zeal  of  the  missionary  which  made  them  stand 
united  in  a  solid  phalanx  against  their  enemies.  As  Lane* 
Poole  says,  "  the  very  bigotry  of  their  creed  was  an  instru- 
ment of  self-preservation ;  in  mere  self-defence  they  must 
hold  together  as  God's  elect  in  the  face  of  the  heathen,  and 
they  must  win  over  proselytes  from  the  Hindus,  whether  by 
persuasion  or  by  the  sword,  to  swell  their  isolated  minority." 
ft  was  devotion  to  the  faith  which  made  them  so  violent 
and  aggressive  in  dealing  with  non-Muslims.  The  Musal- 
man  cheerfully  risked  his  life  in  the  service  of  his  faith 
and  made  the  heaviest  sacrifices.  As  compared  with  the 


THE  SLAVE  DYNASTY  101 

Muslims,  the  Hindus  were  weak  and  divided  and  had  only 
clan  or  caste  interests  to  uphold.  The  caste  system  created 
artificial  barriers  which  prevented  the  unification  of  the 
various  groups  for  purposes  of  common  defence  and  safety. 
Even  the  most  distinguished  generals  and  warriors  found 
it  difficult  to  shake  off  the  influence  of  caste,  and  were  often 
arrayed  in  hostile  camps  even  when  they  were  confronted 
by  a  common  enemy. 

The  military  system  of  the  Hindus  was  out  of  date  and 
old-fashioned.  Their  too  much  dependence  upon  elephants 
was  dangerous  when  they  had  to  fight  against  fierce  and 
well-trained  cavalry  leaders.  Experiei^ce  furnished  ample 
warning,  but  it  was  constantly  disregarded  by  Hindu 
generals  who  adhered  with  great  tenacity  to  their  old 
methods  of  warfare.  The  Musalmans  had  an  excellent 
recruiting  ground  in  the  countries  beyond  the  Afghan  hills, 
from  where  they  could  constantly  bring  fresh  levies  to  fight 
against  the  Hindu  hosts.  Large  numbers  of  men,  attracted 
by  the  wealth  of  India  and  the  love  of  adventure,  enrolled 
themselves  in  the  armies  of  men  like  Mahmud  of  Ghazni 
and  Muhammad  of  Ghor,  whereas  the  Hindus  had  to  confine 
themselves  to  one  country  and  very  often  to  a  single  prin- 
cipality, whose  dimensions  were  not  greater  than  those  of 
a  modem  province.  The  political  system  of  the  Hindus 
restricted  military  duties  to  a  particular  class,  so  that  the 
great  mass  of  the  people  were  either  unfit  for  military 
service  or  indifferent  to  the  political  revolutions  which  shook 
Indian  society  to  its  base.  Every  time,  the  Rajputs  tried 
to  check  the  advance  of  the  foreigners,  but  unsupported  by 
national  will  or  national  strength,  they  could  not  hold  out 
long  against  such  formidable  foes.  Thus,  the  Muslims, 
when  they  came  in  contact  with  the  disunited  and  enfeebled 


102  THE  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

faces  of  Hindustan,  found  little  difficulty  in  obtaining* 
victory  over  them.  The  war  between  the  two  peoples  was 
really  a  struggle  between  two  different  social  systems,  the 
one,  old  and  decadent,  and  the  other,  full  of  youthful  vigour 
and  enterprise. 

Another  great  source  of  strength  to  the  Muslims  was 
their  slave  system.  Sometimes  it  produced  extremely 
capable  men  like  lltutmish  and  Balban,  who  were  infinitely 
superior  to  the  average  men  who  inherited  crowns  and 
kingdoms  by  the  mere  accident  of  birth.  To  be  the  slave 
of  a  great  king  or  captain  of  war  was  looked  upon  as  a 
privilege  in  the  Islamic  east,  and  often  men  of  servile  origin 
were  deemed  equal  or  even  superior  to  the  purest  aristocrats. 
Stanley  Lane-Poole's  remarks  on  the  efficacy  of  the  slave 
system  deserve  to  be  quoted:  "JiVhile  a  brilliant  ruler'a 
qon  is  apt  to  be  a  failure,  the  slaves  of  a  real  leader  of  mep 
have  often  proved  the  equals  of  their  master.  The  reason, 
of  66Uf86,  IB  that  tbe  son  is  a  mere  speculation,  he  may 
or  may  not  inherit  his  father's  talents  :  even  if  he  does,  the 

SUCCeSS  and  power  **  thy  fathAr  or^atea  an 


of  luxury  that  does  not  encourage  effort  :  and,  gopd  or 
Jifesonis  an  immovable  fixture:  oplv  a  father  with  an 
exceptional  sense  of  public  duty  would  execute  an  incom- 
petent son  to  make  room  for  a  talented  slave.  On  the 
other  hand  the  slave  is  the  '  survival  of  the  fittest'  ;  he  is 
chosen  for  physical  and  mental  abilities,  and  he  can  hope 
to  retain  his  position  in  his  master's  favour  only  by  vigilant 
effort  and  hard  service.  Should  he  be  found  wanting,  his 
fate  is  sealed/'1 


*  Medical  India,  p.  64 


KHILJI    IMPERIALISM      ' 

"^MMMMHMWWIMMMMMW»          * 

The  throne  of  Delhi  now  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
Khilji  Turks,  and  in  a  public   Durbar  held  at  Kilughari 
T    -  p  Uti  ,,.    the  soldiers  and  citizens  all  tendered  fealty 
the  new  Sultan.  Gradually  he  established 


>  an(j  the  "  excellence  of  his 
character,  his  justice,  his  generosity  and  devotion  gradual- 
ly removed  the  aversion  of  the  people,  and  hopes  of 
grants  of  land  assisted  in  conciliating,  though  grudging- 
ly and  unwillingly,  the  affections  of  his  people.  "  Firug 
was  a  good  old  man  of  seventy,  who  was  averse  to  bloocf 
shed  and  war,  but  his  mildness  and  tenderness  fostered 
sedition  in  the  state  and  encouraged  the  spirit  of  rebel- 
lion and  disorder.  In  the  second  year  of  the  reigr 
Balban's  nephew  Malik  Chajju,  who  held  the  fief  of  Kara, 
broke  out  into  rebellion.  He  marched  towards  Delhi  a1 
the  head  of  a  considerable  force,  but  when  the  royal  armj 
approached,  his  followers  dispersed  in  fear.  Those  who 
were  captured  were  brought  before  the  Sultan  who 
granted  them  a  pardon  and  entrusted  Kara  to  his 
nephew  and  son-in-law  Alauddin. 

The  Sultan's  foreign  policy  was  as  weak  and  timid  as 
his  domestic  policy.  The  expedition  against  Ranthambhor 
failed,  and  the  Sultan's  army  returned  in  disappointment 
to  the  capital.  Better.  success  attended  his  anna 

108 


104  THE  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

tiie  Mongols  invaded  Hindustan  under  their  leader  HalSkEL 
They  were  defeated  and  massacred  in  large  numbers.  At 
last  peace  was  made  with  them  and  they  were  allowed  to 
settle  near  Delhi.  This  policy  had  disastrous  consequences: 
for  Mughalpur  became  a  centre  of  intrigue  and  disaffec- 
tion and  caused  much  anxiety  to  the  rulers  of  Delhi. 

Alauddin,  the  Sultan's  nephew  and  son-in-law,   had 
been  entrusted  with  the  fief  of  Kara  and  Oudh.    Removed 
from  the  control  of  the  Sultan,  Alauddin, 
expedition  "to     who  was  an  ambitious  man,  conceived  the 


Devagir,  1294  fc^  project  of  making  a  raid  upon  Devagir, 
which  is  one  of  the  most  memorable  feats 
in  the  annals  of  mediaeval  India.  He  had  heard  of 
the  fabulous  wealth  of  Devagir,  the  capital  of  the 
Yadava  Rajas  of  Maharashtra,  and  eagerly  longed  to 
obtain  possession  of  it. 

He  marched  at  the  head  of  8,000  horse  and  reached 
Elichpur  not  far  from  the  frontiers  of  the  Maratha  king- 
dom. From  Elichpur  he  proceeded  towards  Ghati-lajaura, 
at  a  distance  of  12  miles  from  Devagir  without  encounter- 
ing any  opposition.  When  Ramachandra,  the  Raja  of 
Devagir,  heard  of  the  enemy's  advance,  he  shut  himself 
up  in  his  fortress  and  resolved  to  face  the  attack  of  the 
Muslims.  Meanwhile  Alauddin's  troops  entered  the  town 
and  levied  a  heavy  contribution  upon  the  merchants  and 
bankers.  Ramachandra  was  frightened  by  the  rumour 
that  the  Sultan  was  also  coming  towards  the  Deccan  at 
the  head  of  20,000  horse,  and  he  offered  to  make  peace. 
He  agreed  to  pay  a  ransom  of  fifty  mans  of  gold,  seven 
man*  of  pearls,  and  other  valuable  things  in  addition  to 
forty  elephants,  some  thousands  of  horses,  and  the 
plunder  which  he  had  already  collected  from  the  city. 


KHILJI  IMPERIALISM  105 

When  Ramachandra's  son  Sankara  Deva  heard  of  this 
peace,  he  hastened  to  the  rescue  of  his  father  and  asked 
Alauddin  to  restore  whatever  booty  he  had  seized  from 
his  father  and  to  leave  the  province  quietly.  Alauddin 
treated  this  demand  as  an  insult  and  proceeded  to  attack 
&ankara,  leaving  a  thousand  horse  to  invest  the  fort,  but 
in  the  encounter  that  followed,  the  Maratha  army 
defeated  the  Muslims  and  dispersed  them  in  all  direc- 
tions. The  arrival  of  the  force  which  Alauddin  had  left 
to  conduct  the  siege  of  the  fort,  infused  a  fresh  hope 
into  the  Musalman  army.  A  panic  seized  the  Hindus, 
and  they  sustained  a  severe  defeat.  Enormous  booty 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  victorious  general,  who  demand- 
ed the  cession  of  Elichpur  for  the  support  of  the  garri- 
son which  he  intended  to  leave  behind.  These  terms 
having  been  accepted  by  Ramachandra,  Alauddin  return- 
ed to  Kara  in  triumph. 

The  Sultan  was  delighted  at  the  success  of  his 
nephew.  Accompanied  by  a  scanty  retinue,  he  crossed 
the  Ganges  in  a  barge  and  met  Alauddin  with  a  few 
adherents.  When  the  old  man  affectionately  embraced 
him,  he  was  murdered,  and  the  royal  party  was  put  to 
the  sword.  The  Sultan's  head  was  paraded  in  the  army, 
and  Alauddin  was  proclaimed  king  of  Delhi. 

On  his  accession  to  the  throne  Alauddin  found  himself 
confronted  with  a  difficult  situation.  The  Jalali  nobles  had 
Aiauddin'8    not  yet  completely  forgotten  the  murder  of 
early  difficui-    their  good  old  chief,  and  secretly  plotted  to 
tie8'  avenge  it.  The  Queen-mother  MalikaJahan, 

whomJBarani  describes  *'  aa  ong  9^  thfi-sillifist-QfJJie  silly* n 
fomented  intrigues  to  push  forward  the  claims  of  her  own 
aons»  Arkali  Khan  and  Qadr  Khan.  The  hostile  nobles  an{L 


106  THE  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULES 

—  bv  laviflH  gjftfl  omotJQtifl 


hiyh  office,  while  the  common  people  were  reconciled  ta 
the  new  regime  by  scattering  gold  stars  amongst  them 
from  mcmynia**  Malika  Jahan,  who  had  raised  to  the* 
throne  Qadr  Khan  under  the  title  of  Rukn-ud-din  Ibrahim, 
wrote  to  Arkali  Khan  at  Multan  asking  him  to  come  ta 
Delhi,  but  he  excused  himself  on  the  ground  that  the 
defection  of  the  nobles  had  made  the  task  of  restoration 
absolutely  impossible.  When  Alauddin  reached  near  the 
capital,  Rukn-ud-din  Ibrahim  came  out  of  the  city  to  op- 
pose his  progress,  but  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  the  left 
wing  of  his  army  went  over  to  the  enemy.  The  prince,. 
taking  some  bags  full  of  gold  tankSs  and  a  few  horses* 
from  the  stables,  made  off  for  Multan.  Alauddin  then 
made  his  triumphal  entry  into  the  plain  of  Siri,  where  he 
received  the  homage  of  all  parties.  K^rani-  describes  the 
situation  in  these  words  :  "the  throne  was  now  secure, 
and  the  revenue  officers  and  the  keepers  of  elephants 
with  their  elephants,  and  the  kotwals  with  the  keys  of 
the  forts,  and  the  magistrates  and  the  chief  men  of  the 
city  came  out  to  Alauddin,  and  a  new  order  of  things  was 
established.  His  wealth  and  power  were  great  ;  so 
whether  individuals  paid  their  allegiance  or  whether 
they  did  not,  mattered  little,  for  the  KutbS  was  read 
and  coins  were  struck  in  his  name." 

Having  secured  his  power,  Alauddin  turned  to  combat 
the  great  danger  of  the  ever-  recurring  Mongol  raids.    He 

completed  the  work  of  Balban  and  effectively 
**    garrisoned  the  frontier  outposts  of  the  king- 

dom.   The  Mongols  came  again  and  again, 
tot  they  were  repulsed  with  heavy  tosses.    In  the  second 
of  the  reign,  Amir  Daud,  the  ruler  of  Tranaoxian* 


KH1LJI  IMPERIALISM  10T 

advanced  with  an  army  of  100,000  Mongols  with  a  view 
to  conquer  Multan,  the  Punjab  and  Sindh,  but  Ulugh 
Khan  drove  them  back  with  heavy  losses.  The  Mongols 
did.not  mind  this  discomfiture  and  appeared  again  under 
their  leader  Saldj.  Zaf ar  Khan  marched  against  them  and 
QM^MpKiremongol  Saldi  and  his  2,000  followers,  and 
sent  them  in  chains  to  Delhi.  But  the  most  dreadful* 
invasion  of  the  Mongols  occurred  in  the  year  1298  A.D.r 
when  flutlugfr  Jfchwaia.  at  the  head  of  a  countless  host, 
advanced  against  Delhi.  A  feeling  of  consternation 
spread  among  the  population,  and  a  war  council  was 
forthwith  summoned  by  the  Sultan  fd  devise  means  of 
repelling  the  attack  of  the  enemy.  Zafar  Khan  and 
Ulugh  Khan  proceeded  against  them,  and  the  Sultan 
himself  took  the  field  in  person  at  the  head  of  12,000 
well-equipped  volunteers.  The  Mongols  were  defeated 
and  dispersed,  though  Zafar  Khan,  the  greatest  warrior 
of  the  age,  was  slain  in  the  thick  of  the  fight.  Just  at 
this  time,  Targhi,  another  Mongol  leader,  appeared  at  the 
head  of  aTWnsfcterable  force,  but  the  danger  was  averted 
through  the  good  offices  of  Nizam-ud-din  Aulia.  Notwith- 
standing these  reverses,  the  Mongol  raids  did  not  cease, 
and  in  1304  A.D.f  jMiJBeg  and  Khwaja  Tash,  marching  to 
the  north  of  Lahore  "and  skirtffig13ie^walik  hills,  made 
an  incursion  into  Hindustan,  and  penetrated  as  far  as 
Amroha.  Ghazi  Tughluq,  who  was  warden  of  the  marches 
at  Dipalpur,  marched  against  them  and  inflicted  heavy 
losses  upon  them.  This  was  followed  by  other  raids,  but 
Ghazi  Tughluq  again  rose  equal  to  the  occasion  and 
repulsed  the  invading  hordes.  When  Iqbalmandg  came 
with  a  large  force,  the  Sultan  sent  an  army  aganurt  him. 
He  was  defeated  and  slain,  and  thousands  of  Mongda 


108  THE  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

were  massacred.    Several  of  the  Mongol  Amirs  who  were 
commanders    of    one  thousand  or   one    hundred   were 
captured    alive,   and  were  trampled  under  the  feet  of 
elephants  by  the  order  of  the  Sultan.    The  Mongols  were 
30  frightened  by  his  forays  into  their  country  that  they 
never  appeared    again    in    Hindustan.    To  ^gSl&jtr  his 
dominions  against  the  Mongols,   the  Sultan   adopteS*the 
frontier  policy  of  Balban.    All  old  forts  that  lay  on  the 
route  of  the  Mongols  were  repaired,  and  veteran  com- 
manders were  placed  in  charge  of  them.   The  outposts   of 
Samana  and  Dipalpur  were  garrisoned  and  kept  in  a  state 
of  defence.    The  royal  army  was  considerably  strengthen- 
ed, and  in  the  workshops  of  the  state  engineers  were 
employed  to  manufacture  weapons  of  all  kinds,   to  fight 
against  the  enemy. 

Having  got  rid  of  these  nomad  hordes,  Alauddin  turned 

his  attention  to  foreign  conquest   Ulugh  Khan  and  Nusrat 

Khan  had  conquered  Gujarat  and  Nehrwala, 

The  g  r  a  n  d     an(j  subjected  the  merchants  of  Cambay  to 

designs  of  the          ,  ,  ,  _,        _      .     .       _.    .      ^ 

Sultan.  a  heavy  blackmail.    The  Baghela  Rajput, 

Karan,  had  fled  from  his  country,  leaving 
his  wife  and  children  to  be  captured  by  the  invaders  in 
1297  A.D.  From  all  sides  came  the  news  of  success,  and 
enormous  booty  flowed  into  the  coffers  of  the  Sultan. 
Barani  writes  :  "All  this  prosperity  intoxicated  him.* 
Vast  desires  and  great  aims  far  beyond  him  formed  their 
germs  in  his  brain,  and  he  entertained  fancies  which  had 
never  occurred  to  any  king  before  him.  In  his  exulta- 
tion, ignorance  and  folly,  he  quite  lost  his  head,  forming 
the  most  impossible  schemes  and  nourishing  the  most 
extravagant  desires.  He  was  bad-tempered,  obstinate 
and  hard-hearted,  but  the  world  smiled  upon  him, 


KHILJI  IMPERIALISM  109 

fortune  befriended  him  and  his  schemes  were  generally 
iccessful,  so  he  only  became  the  more  reckless  and 
brrogaut."    He  became  so  presumptuous  that  he  began 
to  cherish  the  dream  of  founding  a  new  religion  and 
going  out  into    the  world  in  search    of    conquest    like 
Alexander  the  Great.    On  these   ambitious  schemes  he 
used  to  expatiate  in  the  following  manner  :  — "  God  Al- 
mighty gave  the  blessed  Prophet  four  friends,  through 
whose  energy  and  power  the  law  and  religion  were  estab- 
lished, and  through  this  establishment  of  law  and  religion 
the  name    of  the    Prophet  will  endure  to  the  day  of  judg 
ment.     God  has  given  me  also  four  friends,  Ulugh  Khan, 
Zafar  Khan,  Nusrat  Khan,  Alap  Khan,  who,  through  my 
prosperity,  have  attained  to  princely  power  and  dignity. 
If  I  am  so  inclined,   I  can ,  with  the  help  of  these  four 
friends,    establish    a  new  religion  and  creed  ;  and  my 
sword,   and    the  swords  of  my  friends,  will  bring  all  men 
to  adopt  it.    Through  this  religion,  my  name  and  that  of 
my  friends  will  remain  among  men  to  the  last  day,  like  the 
names  of  the  Prophet  and  his  friends  ....  I  have  wealth, 
and  elephants,  and  forces  beyond  all  calculation.  My  wish 
is  to  place  Delhi  in  charge  of    a  vicegerent,  and  then  I 
will  go  out  myself  into  the  world,  like  Alexander,  in  pur 
suit  of  conquest,  and  subdue  the  whole  habitable  world." 
Qazi  Ala-ul-mulk,  uncle  of  the  historian  Zia  BaranL 
was  consulted  by  the  Sultan,   who  thus  expressed  his 
opinion  on  the  subject:    "  Religion  and  law  spring  from 
heavenly  revelation ;  they  are  never  established  by  the  plans 
and  designs  of  men.  Prom  the  days  of  Adam  till  now  they 
have  been  the  mission  of  Prophets  and  Apostles,  as  rule  and 
government  have  been  the  duty  of  kings.    The  prophetic 
office  has  never  appertained  to  kings,  and  never  will,  so 


110  THE  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

long  as  the  world  lasts,  though  some  Prophets  have  dis- 
charged the  functions  of  royalty.    My  advice  is  that  Your 
Majesty  should  never  talk  about  these  matters.    Your 
Majesty  knows  what  rivers  of  blood  Chingiz  Khan  made 
to  flow  in  Muhammadan  cities,  but  he  never  was  able  to 
establish    the    Mughal    religion    or  institutions  among: 
Muhammadans.    Many  Mughals  have  turned  Musalmans 
but  no  Musalman  has  ever  become  a  Mughal. "    On  the 
subject  of  conquest  the  Qazi  thus  expressed  his  opinion  : 
"  The  second  design  is  that  of  a  great  monarch  for  it  is  a 
rule  among  kings  to  seek  to  bring  the  whole  world  under 
their  sway  ;  but  these  are  not  the  days  of  Alexander,  and 
where  will  there  be  found  a  Wazir  like  Aristotle.     .     .    . 
There  were  two  important  undertakings  open  to  the  king, 
which  ought  to  receive  attention  before  all  others.  One  is 
the  conquest  and  subjugation  of  all  Hindustan,  of  such 
places  as  Ranthambhor,  Chittor,  Chanderi,  Malwa,  Dhar 
and  Ujjain,  to  the  east  as  far  as  the  Saryu,  from  the 
Siwalik  to  Jalor,  from  Multan  to  Damrila,  from  Palam  to 
Lahore  and  Dipalpur  ;  these  places  should  all  be  reduced 
to  such  obedience  that  the  name  of  rebel  should  never  be 
heard*    The  second  and  more  important  duty  is  that  of 
closing  the  road  of  Multan  against  the  Mughals.  "  Before 
closing  his  speech,  the  Qazi  said  :    "  What  I  have  recom- 
mended can  never  be  accomplished  unless  Your  Majesty 
gives  up  drinking  to  excess,  and  keeps  aloof  from  convivial 
parties  and  feasts.     ...    If  you  cannot  do  entirely 
without  wine,  do  not  drink  till  the  afternoon,  and  then  take 
it  alone  without  companions.  "    The  Sultan  appreciated 
the  Qazi's  advice  and  richly  rewarded  him. 

With  the  full  concurrence  of  his  ministers  and  generals, 
Alauddin  now  resolved  to  capture  the  famous  fortress  of 


KHILJI  IMPERIALISM  111 

Hanthambhor  in  1299  A.D.  Ulugh  Khan  and  N.usrat  Khan 
marched  from  their  respective  fiefs  towards 
BajpStlaena.°f      Rajputana  at  the  head  of  a  large  army, 
and  succeeded  in  capturing  the  fortress  of 
Jhain.    Ranthambhor  was  besieged,  but  during  the  siege 
the  imperial  commandant  Nusrat  Khan,  while  he  was 
superintending  the  construction  of  a  redoubt,  was  struck 
with  a  stone  discharged  from  a  catapult  (maghribi)  in  the 
fort.    The  wound  proved  fatal,  and  the  brave  man  suc- 
cumbed to  it  after  a  couple  of  days.    Rana  Hammir  carne 
out  of  the  fort,  and  in  a  short  time  drew  to  his  banner 
200,000  well-equipped  men,  with  whose  help  he  delivered 
a  tremendous  attack  upon  the  Muslims,   and  compelled 
Ulugh  Khan  to  fall  back  upon  Jhain  with  heavy  losses. 
When  the  news  of  this  disaster  reached  the  Sultan,   he 
proceeded  in  person  towards   Ranthambhor,  but  on  his 
way  he  was  attacked  and  wounded  by  his  nephew  Aqat 
Khan,  who  wished  to  seize  the  throne  with  the  help  of 
some  disaffected  new  Muslims.    But  his  attempt  failed, 
and  he  was  punished  with  death  for  his  treason.    There 
were   other  conspiracies   to   deprive  the  Sultan  of  his 
throne,   but  they  were  successfully  put  down.    Freed 
from  this  danger,  the  royalists  concentrated  their  full 
vigour  upon  Ranthambhor,  and  the  siege  was  pushed 
on  for  a  whole  year.    By  means  of  bags  filled  with  sand, 
the  besiegers  escaladed  the  walls  of  the  fortress,  and 
forcibly  obtained  possession  of  it.    Hammir  and  his  family 
were  put  to  death,  and  so  were  the  remnant  of  the  garri- 
,son,  who  had  heroically  battled  for  their  chief  to  the  last.1 

1  The  frightful  rite  of  *'Jauhar"  was  performed,  and  in  Amir 
Khusrau's  words,  one  night  the  Rai  lit  a  fire  at  the  top  of  the  hill,  and 
threw  his  women  and  family  into  the  flames,  and  rushing  on  the  enemy 
with  a  few  devoted  adherents,  they  sacrificed  their  lives  in  despair. 


112  THE  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Eanmal,  the  minister  of  the  Rana,  paid  in  full  the  penal- 
ty of  his  defection  by  suffering  an  ignominious  death. 
But  even  in  these  bloody  annals,  we,  now  and  then,  come 
across  men  of  true  heroism  and  loyalty.  When  Mir 
Muhammad  Shah,  a  Mongol  general  in  the  service  of 
Hammir,  lay  wounded  on  the  field  of  battle,  Alauddin 
asked  him  what  he  would  do  if  he  ordered  his  wounds 
to  be  dressed  and  saved  his  life  from  peril.  In  scornful 
pride  the  vanquished  hero  replied,  "If  I  recover  from 
my  wounds,  I  would  have  thee  slain  and  raise  the  son  of 
Hammir  Deo  upon  the  throne."  Such  fidelity  was  rare 
indeed  in  the  Muslim  camp,  where  an  atmosphere  of 
intrigue  and  self-seeking  prevailed,  and  though  the 
spirited  warrior  was  thrown  down  under  the  feet  of  an 
elephant  to  be  trampled  unto  death,  the  victor's  heart 
was  touched  by  his  manliness,  and  he  ordered  a  decent 
burial  to  be  accorded  to  him.  The  fort  was  taken  in 
July,  1301  A. D.,  and  the  palaces  and  other  forts  of  the 
"stinking  Rai"  were  razed  to  the  ground.  Having 
placed  Ulugh  Khan  in  charge  of  Ranthambhor  and  Jhain, 
the  Sultan  returned  to  the  capital. 

Emboldened  by  this  success,  Alauddin  directed  his 
forces  against  Mewar,  the  premier  state  of  Rajputana. 
No  Muhammadan  ruler  had  yet  ventured  to  penetrate 
into  that  secluded  region,  protected  by  long  chains  of 
mountains  and  deep  forests.  The  physical  features  of 
Mewar  rendered  it  difficult  for  any  conqueror  to  bring  it 
under  his  effective  sway,  and  the  fort  of  Chittor,  situat- 
ed on  a  hill-top,  strongly  fortified  by  nature,  had  always 
defied  the  foreign  invader.  Cut  out  of  a  huge  rock,  the 
famous  fortress  stood  in  its  awful  grandeur,  overlooking 
the  vast  plain  below,  where  the  Hindu  and  Muslim  hosts 


KHILJl  IMPERIALISM  113 

were  to  engage  each  other  in  a  death  grapple.  But  the 
impregnability  of  the  fortress  did  not  deter  the  ambitious 
Sultan  from  attempting  its  conquest,  and  in  1303  A.D. 
he  marched  his  forces  against  Mewar.  The  immediate 
cause  of  the  invasion  was  his  passionate  desire  to  obtain 
possession  of  Padmini,  the  peerless  queen  of  Rana  Ratan 
Singh,  renowned  for  her  beauty  all  over  Hindustan.  It 
is  no  longer  necessary  to  repeat  the  story  of  the 
chivalrous  manner  in  which  the  Rana  agreed  to  gratify 
the  Sultan's  wish  by  allowing  him  to  behold  the 
princess  through  the  medium  of  mirrors,  and  the  foul 
treachery  of  Alauddin  in  capturing  him,  when  he  accom- 
panied him  out  of  courtesy  to  the  outer  gate  of  the 
fortress.  From  his  camp,  he  sent  word  to  the  Rani  that 
her  husband  would  be  released  if  she  chose  to  come  into 
his  harem.  But  how  could  the  Rajputs  brook  this  indelible 
stain  upon  their  national  honour  ?  They  debated  amongst 
themselves  as  to  the  course  which  was  to  be  adopted.  Like 
a  brave  Rajput  matron,  more  anxious  for  the  honour  of 
her  race  than  for  her  own  safety,  the  queen  expressed  her 
willingness  to  abide  by  their  decision.  She  consented  to  go 
to  the  Muslim  camp,  and  Alauddin,  whose  reason  was 
clouded  by  lust,  permitted  her  to  do  so  in  a  manner  befitting 
her  rank  and  dignity.  Seven  hundred  covered  litters 
containing  brave  Rajput  warriors,  well-equipped  with  arms 
proceeded  to  the  royal  camp  and  demanded  the  strictest 
privacy.  They  rescued  the  Rana  and  carried  him  off  to 
Chittor.  A  deadly  fight  raged  at  the  outer  gate  of  the 
fort,  where  the  Rajputs  bravely  resisted  the  invaders,  but, 
at  last,  they  were  overpowered.  When  they  saw  that  there 
was  no  chance  of  escape,  they  prepared  to  die  after  the 
manner  of  their  race.  The  frightful  rite  ofjauhar  was 

P.  8 


114  THE  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

performed  and  the  fairest  ladies  of  the  royal  family 
perished  in  the  flames.  Amir  Khusrau,  who  accompanied 
the  Sultan  during  this  expedition,  gives  a  detailed  account 
of  the  siege.  He  writes :  '  The  fort  of  Chittor  was  taken 
on  Monday,  the  llth  Muharram,  703  A. H.  (August  26, 1303). 
The  Rai  fled,  but  afterwards  surrendered  himself.  After 
ordering  a  massacre  of  thirty  thousand  Hindus  he  bestowed 
the  government  of  Chittor  upon  his  son  Khizr  Khan  and 
named  the  place  Khizrabad.  He  bestowed  upon  him  a  red 
canopy,  a  robe  embroidered  with  gold  and  two  standards— 
one  green  and  the  other  black— and  threw  upon  him  rubies 
and  emeralds.  He  then  returned  towards  Delhi/  All 
accounts  agree  that  the  fight  before  Chittor  was  terrible. 

The  fort  was  entrusted  to  Prince  Khizr  Khan  and  the 
town  was  re-named  Khizrabad.  Khizr  Khan  remained  in 
Chittor  for  some  time,  but  about  the  year  1311  he  was 
obliged  to  leave  it  owing  to  the  pressure  of  the  Rajputs. 
The  Sultan  then  made  it  over  to  the  Sonigra  chief  Maldeva 
who  held  it  for  seven  years,  at  the  end  of  which  period  it 
was  recovered  by  Rana  Hammir  by  means  of  |reachery 
and  intrigue.  Under  Hammir  Chittor  once  more  regained 
its  former  splendour  and  became  one  of  the  premier  states 
in  Rajputana. 

The  fall  of  Chittor  was  followed  by  the  submission  of 
the  Rai  of  Malwa,  who  fought  against  the  armies  of  Islam 
at  the  head  of  a  large  force,  but  he  was  defeated  and 
killed,  and  Malwa  was  placed  in  charge  of  a  Muslim  gover- 
nor. Soon  afterwards  the  cities  of  Mandu,  Ujjain,  Dhara- 
nagari  and  Chanderi  were  conquered,  and  their  rulers  were 
compelled  to  acknowledge  the  suzerainty  of  the  Khilji 
war-lord.  By  the  end  of  1305  A.D.,  practically  the  whole 
of  Northern  India  came  into  the  hands  of  Alauddin,  and 


KHILJI  IMPERIALISM  115 

the  policy  of  imperialism,  of  which  he  was  the  author  and 
champion,  gathered  a  fresh  momentum  with  every  new 
conquest  and  annexation. 

Having  conquered  Northern  India  the  Sultan  turned 
his  attention  to  the  Deccan.  The  physical  features  of 
The  Deccen  ^e  country>  ^e  hostility  of  Hindu  Rajas, 
—Conquest  of  the  long  distance  from  the  capital  of  the 
evagir'  empire-  all  made  its  permanent  subjugation 

difficult,  if  not  impossible.  But  Alauddin  was  not  the 
man  to  flinch  back  from  his  resolve.  He  invested  his 
slave  Kafur  with  the  supreme  command  of  the  royal 
forces.  On  his  way  to  the  Deccan,  Kafur  passed  through 
Malwa  and  Gujarat  and  inflicted  a  crushing  defeat  upon 
Karan,  the  Baghela  ruler,  who  was  obliged  to  surrender 
owing  to  shortage  of  supplies.  Ulugh  Khan,  the  Sultan's 
brother,  forcibly  seized  Devaldevi,  the  daughter  of  Rai 
Karan,  who  was  admitted  into  the  royal  seraglio,  and  was 
afterwards  married  to  Prince  Khizr  Khan,  the  heir- 
apparent.  Kafur  laid  waste  the  whole  country,  and 
secured  the  submission  of  Ramachandra  Yadava  who  was 
sent  to  the  court.  He  was  well  received  by  the  Sultan  who 
conferred  upon  him  the  title  of  Raya  RaySw. 

The  defeat  of  the  Yadavas  of  Devagir  prepared  the 
way  for  the  fall  of  the  other  Hindu  princes  of  the  south. 
In  1309  Kafur  started  on  his  expedition 
°f  a£ainst  the  Kakatiya  Rajas  of  Warangal1 
in  Telingana.  Marching  through  difficult 
and  inhospitable  regions,  he  reached  before  the  fort  of 
Warangal.  Raja  Pratap  Rudra  Deva,  caLte4-  Xadar  Deo 
by  Muslim  historians,  shut  himself  ye&A  itJUTQ  /£>>t,  and 


Warangal  was  the  ancient  capi 


116  THE  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

offered  stubborn  resistance.  The  fort,  in  the  words  of 
Amir  Khusrau,  was  so  strong  that  a  spear  of  steel  could 
not  pierce  it,  and  if  a  ball  from  a  western  catapult  were  to 
strike  against  it,  it  would  rebound  like  a  nut,  which 
children  play  with.  After  a  prolonged  siege,  Pratap 
Rudra  Deva  Kskatiya  submitted  and  sued  for  peace  He 
agreed  to  pay  annual  tribute  and  "  sent  a  golden  image  of 
himself,  with  a  gold  chain  round  its  neck  in  acknowledg- 
ment of  his  submission  "  ;  but  Kafur  refused  to  listen  to 
his  overtures*  In  vain  did  the  Brahman  plenipotentiaries 
of  the  Kakatiya  prince  plead  for  quarter  for  their  master. 
The  relentless  general  promised  to  desist  from  a  general 
massacre  of  the  Hindus,  only  on  the  condition  that  their 
chief  should  give  up  all  his  treasures,  and  agree  to  send 
tribute  annually  to  Delhi.  Driven  to  extremities,  Pratap 
Rudra  Deva  accepted  the  humiliating  conditions,  and 
purchased  his  safety  by  offering  a  large  booty.  Kafur, 
with  the  laurels  of  victory  on  his  brow,  fc*  left  Warangal 
and  returned  to  Delhi  with  a  thousand  camels,  groaning 
under  weight  of  treasure,"  in  March  1310,  by  way  of 
Devagir.  Dhar  and  Jhain. 

The  success  which  attended  this  expedition  and  the 
vast  wealth  that  flowed  into  the  coffers  of  the  state,  as 

the  result  of  his  enterprises,  strengthened 
MdbLr!168*  °f  Alauddin's  belief  in  his  destiny,  and  he 

resolved  to  extend  the  limits  of  hi$  empire 
to  the  farthest  extremity  of  the  South.  Dvarasamudra 
and  Mabar1  still  remained  outside  the  pale  of  his  empire. 


the  name  given   to  the  strip  of  land  which  according  to 
WassSf,  Polo  and  Abul  Peda  extended  from  Kulam  to  Nils  war  (Nellore). 
Wassaf  writes  in   his   Tazriyat-ul-Amaar  that  Mabar  extended  from 
Kulam  to  Nilawar    (Nellore),    nearly  three  hundred    parasangs  along, 
the  sea-coast.     (Elliot,  II  Ir  p.  *32.) 


KHILJI  IMPERIALISM  117 

Under  Vira  BallSla  III,  the  son  of  Nara  Siihha,  the 
Hoysala  dominions  above  and  below  the  Ghats  had  been 
reunited ;  and  this  powerful  ruler  held  sway  over  the 
whole  of  Kangu  and  a  portion  of  the  Konkan  and  the 
whole  of  what  is  now  known  as  the  Mysore  country. l 
Ballala  was  a  capable  prince,  who,  like  the  other  Hindu 
princes  of  his  day,  had  consolidated  his  power  by  abolish- 
ing vexatious  imposts  and  granting  charitable  religious 
endowments.  Bitter  rivalry  existed  between  the  Hoysalas 
and  the  Yadavas,  and  each  tried  to  ruin  the  other.  At  last 
these  mutual  feuds  and  strifes  disabled  both  of  them  and 
made  room  for  a  third  power,  namely,  the  Muslims.  On 
November  18, 1310  A.D.,  the  royal  army  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Kaf ur  left  Delhi,  and  having  crossed  deep  rivers, 
ravines,  and  mountain  valleys,  reached  the  country  of 
M&bar.  Vira  Ballala  suffered  a  crushing  defeat  and  sur- 
rendered himself  to  the  victorious  general.  But  Kaf  ur  was 
not  satisfied  with  mere  surrender ;  he  informed  the  Rai 
that  he  must  either  embrace  Islam  or  accept  the  position 
of  a  Zimmi.2  The  Rai  accepted  the  latter  alternative, 
paid  a  huge  war  indemnity,  and  became  a  vassal  of  Delhi. 
The  Muslims  captured  a  large  booty,  which  consisted  of 
36  elephants  and  an  abundant  quantity  of  gold,  silver, 
jewels,  and  pearls.  Vira  Ballala  was  sent  to  Delhi  along 
with  the  elephants  and  horses,  and  a  reference  to  this 
visit  occurs  in  his  inscriptions. 

Kafur  next  turned  against  the  Pandyas  of  Madura. 
What  gave  the  Muslims  their  long-desired  opportunity  was 

1  Vira   Ballala  was  crowned  in  1292  A.D.,  and  died  fighting  against 
the  Turks  in  1342  A.D. 

2  A  Zimmi  Is  an  unbeliever  who  does  not  accept  Islam,    but  for  a 
.monetary  consideration  is  allowed  security  of  life  and  property. 


118  THE  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

a  quarrel  between  the  two  brothers  Sundara  Pandya  and 
Vlra  Pandya,  an  illegitimate  son  of  the  ruler  of  the  Pandya 
kingdom.  He  set  out  for  the  Deccan  at  the  head  of  a 
large  army.  Amir  Khusrau  in  his  Tarikh-i-Alai  gives  a 
graphic  account  of  the  progress  of  this  valiant  general 
through  the  distant  and  inaccessible  regions  of  the  south. 
On  his  way  he  seized  elephants  and  demolished  temples  at 
several  places,  and  on  the  17th  of  Zilqada,  710  A.H. 
(April  1311),  he  arrived  at  'Kham'  from  where  he  marched 
towards  Madura,  the  capital  of  the  Pandya  kings.  The 
Rai  fled  on  the  approach  of  the  invaders  who  captured 
elephants  and  destroyed  temples.  According  to  Amir 
Khusrau  the  booty  seized  consisted  of  512  elephants,  five 
thousand  horses  and  five  emeralds  and  rubies.  It  appears 
Kafur  reached  as  far  as  Rame6varam,  a  well-known  place 
of  Hindu  pilgrimage.  The  great  temple  was  plundered,  the 
idol  destroyed,  after  which  Kafur  returned  to  Delhi  to- 
wards the  close  of  the  year  1311  A.D.  Having  subdued 
the  whole  country,  Kafur  returned  to  Delhi  on  the  4th 
Zil-hijja,  710  A.H.  (April  24,  1311  A. D.),  laden  with  the 
spoils  of  war,  and  was  accorded  a  cordial  welcome  by 
the  Sultan.  The  victory  was  proclaimed  from  the  pulpits, 
and  rich  rewards  were  distributed  among  the  nobles  and 
officers  of  the  empire. 

After  Rama  Deva's  death,  his  son  Sankara  Deva  had 
ceased  to  pay  the  customary  tribute  and  had  refused  to 

fulfil  the  obligations  of  an  ally  during 
6ank!laaDeva,f  Kafur's  expedition  against  the  Hoysalas. 

Alauddin's  wrath  was  kindled  at  this  infideli- 
ty, and  for  the  fourth  time  the  slave- warrior  was  sent  to  the 
Deccan  at  the  head  of  a  large  force  in  1312  A.D.  The 
whole  of  Maharashtra  was  ravaged,  and  the  Yadava  prince 


KHILJI  IMPERIALISM  119 

was,  after  a  feeble  resistance,  defeated  and  beheadea.j 
The  whole  of  South  India  now  lay  at  the  feet  of  Kafur, 
and  the  ancient  dynasties  of  the  Cholas,  the  Cheras,  thej 
Pandyas,  the  Hoysalas>  the  Kskatiyas,  and  the  YSdavasj 
were  all  overthrown,  and  made  to  acknowledge  thcj 
suzerainty  of  Delhi.  By  the  end  of  1312  Alauddin's  empirej 
embraced  the  whole  of  the  north  and  the  south  and  all 
the  leading  princes  owned  his  sway. 

Alauddin  was  opposed  to  the  interference  of  the  ulama 
In  matters  of  state,  and  in  this  respect  he  departed  from  the 
Alauddin's  traditions  of  the  previous  rulers  of  Delhi. 
jheory  of  king-  The  law  was  to  depend  upon  the  will  of  the 
3  lp*  monarch,  and  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 

law  of  the  Prophet  -this  was  the  guiding  maxim  of  the 
new  monarch.  The  Sultan's  political  theory  is  clearly  set 
forth  in  the  words  which  he  addressed  to  Qazi  Mughis-ud- 


whom  he  consulted  about  the  legal  position  of  the 
sovereign  power  in  the  state.  He  upheld  the  royal  prero- 
gative of  punishment  and  justified  the  mutilation  of  dis- 
honest and  corrupt  officers,  though  the  Qazi  declared 
it  contrary  to  canon  law.  Then  the  Sultan  asked  him, 
"That  wealth  which  I  acquired  while  I  was  a  Malik, 
with  so  much  bloodshed  at  Devagir,  does  it  belong  to  me 
or  to  the  public  treasury?  "  The  Qazi  replied,  "  I  am 
bound  to  speak  the  truth  to  your  Majesty.  The  treasure 
obtained  at  Devagir  was  obtained  by  the  prowess  of  the 
army  of  Islam,  aad  whatever  treasure  is  so  acquired  belongs 
to  the  public  treasury.  '  If  your  Majesty  had  gained  it 
yourself  alone  in  a  manner  allowed  by  the  law,  then  it 
would  belong  to  you."  The  Sultan  flared  up  with  wrath 
and  asked  the  Qazi  how  such  treasure  could  belong  to  the 

1  The  public  treasury  is  called  the  *  Bet-ul-mal  '  in  legal  language. 


120  THE  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

state.  The  Qazi  meekly  answered,  "  Your  Majesty  has  put 
to  me  a  question  of  law  ;  if  I  were  not  to  say  what  I  have 
read  in  the  book,  and  your  Majesty  to  test  my  opinion 
were  to  ask  some  other  learned  man,  and  his  reply,  being 
in  opposition  to  mine,  should  show  that  I  had  given  a  false 
opinion  to  suit  your  Majesty's  pleasure,  what  confidence 
would  you  have  in  me,  and  would  you  ever  afterwards 
consult  me  about  the  law  ? ' ' 

The  Qazi  was  confronted  with  a  fresh  question  about 
the  rights  of  the  king  and  his  children  upon  the  public 
treasury,  the  Bet-ul-mal.  Frightened  by  the  Sultan's 
stern  demeanour,  the  Qazi  screwed  up  courage  with 
great  difficulty  to  return  a  reply  and  said,  "  If  your 
Majesty  will  follow  the  example  of  the  most  enlightened 
Khalifas,  and  will  act  upon  the  highest  principle,  then 
you  will  take  for  yourself  and  your  establishment  the 
same  sum  as  you  have  allotted  to  each  fighting  man, 
two  hundred  and  thirty-four  tankas.  If  you  would 
rather  take  a  middle  course  and  should  think  that  you 
would  be  disgraced  by  putting  yourself  on  a  par  with  the 
army  in  general,  then  you  may  take  for  yourself  and  your 
establishment  as  much  as  you  have  assigned  to  your  chief 
officers,  such  as  Malik  Kiran  and  others.  If  your  Majesty 
follows  the  opinions  of  politicians,  then  you  will  draw  from 
the  treasury  more  than  any  other  great  man  receives,  so 
that  you  may  maintain  a  greater  expenditure  than  any 
other,  and  not  suffer  your  dignity  to  be  lowered.  I  have  put 
before  your  Majesty  three  courses,  and  all  the  crores  of 
money  and  valuables  which  you  take  from  the  treasury  and 
bestow  upon  your  women  you  will  have  to  answer  for  on  the 
day  of  account."  The  Sultan  was  filled  with  wrath  and 
threatened  the  Qazi  with  severe  punishment  When  he 


KHILJI  IMPERIALISM  121 

again  recounted  his  proceedings,  the  Qazi  placed  his  fore- 
head on  the  ground  and  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  "  My 
liege  !  whether  you  send  me,  your  wretched  servant,  to 
prison,  or  whether  you  order  me  to  be  cut  in  two,  all  this 
is  unlawful,  and  finds  no  support  in  the  sayings  of  the 
Prophet,  or  in  the  expositions  of  the  learned. "  The  expo- 
nentof  the  canon  law  knew  that  his  fate  was  sealed,  but  to 
his  utter  astonishment  when  he  went  to  the  court  the  next 
day,  the  Sultan  treated  him  kindly  and  handsomely  reward- 
ed him.  With  a  politeness,  which  was  agreeably  surpris- 
ing, he  explained  to  the  Qazi  his  doctrine  of  kingship  in 
these  significant  words  :  — "  To  prevent  rebellion  in  which*1 
thousands  perish,  I  issue  such  orders  as  I  conceive  to  be 
for  the  good  of  the  state,  and  the  benefit  of  the  people.: 
Men  are  heedless,  disrespectful,  and  disobey  my  commands ; 
I  am  then  compelled  to  be  severe  to  bring  them  into  obe- 
dience. /  do  not  knoiv  whether  this  is  lawful  or  unlawful  ; 
whatever  I  think  to  be  for  the  good  of  the  state,  or  suitable 
for  the  emergency,  that  I  decree  and  as  for  what  may 
happen  to  me  on  the  approaching  day  of  Judgment  that  I 
know  not."  This  new  doctrine  of  sovereignty  was  the 
outcome  of  the  circumstances  of  the  time.  The  people 
readily  acquiesced  in  it,  and  cared  nothing  for  the  claims 
-of  the  ulama.  They  tamely  submitted  to  him  because  he 
gave  them  the  much  coveted  gifts  of  peace  and  order. 
The  support  which  he  received  from  public  opinion  made 
him  irresistible  as  long  as  he  lived. 

Alauddin  brought  to  bear  upon  his  methods  of  admi- 
nistration ability  and  insight,  which  we  rarely  find  in  men 
endowed  with  mere  military  genius.    Rebel- 
lions  an<J  conspiracies  roused  him  from  his 
lethargy,  and  convinced  him  of  the  necessity 


122  THE  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

of  undertaking  drastic  measures  to  put  an  end  to  sedition 
in  the  state.  He  calmly  sat  down  to  find  out  the  causes  of 
political  disorders,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  they 
were  due  to  four  things  :— (1)  the  Sultan's  disregard  of  the 
affairs  of  the  nation,  (2)  wine-drinking,  (3)  friendship  and 
frequent  social  intercourse  of  the  Maliks,  Amirs,  and 
grandees  of  the  empire,  and  (4)  superfluity  of  wealth 
which  intoxicated  men's  minds  and  fostered  treason  andji 
disaffection.  - 

This  searching  analysis  led  to  a  highly  repressive  legis* 
lation,  and  the  first  measure  which  the  Sultan  undertook 
was  the  confiscation  of  property.  All  gratuities,  pensions, 
and  endowments  were  confiscated  to  the  state,  and  all 
the  villages  that  were  held  as  milk  (in  proprietary  right) 
or  inam  (in  free  gift),  or  waqf  <as  charitable  endowment) 
were  resumed  and  incorporated  with  the  crown  lands. 
The  fear  of  conspiracy  and  murder  upset  the  Sultan,  and 
he  established  an  elaborate  system  of  espionage,  by  which 
he  tried  to  keep  himself  informed  of  the  doings  of  his 
officials  and  subjects.  The  spies  reported  everything  that 
took  place  in  the  houses  of  the  nobles,  and  often  in  their 
zeal  to  win  royal  favour,  they  carried  the  silly  gossips  of 
the  bazar  to  the  ears  of  the  emperor.  Spirituous  liquor  was 
strictly  forbidden ;  and  the  Sultan  himself  set  an  example- 
by  giving  up  the  habit  of  drink.  All  the  china  and  glass 
vessels  of  the  Sultan's  banqueting  room  were  broken  into 
fragments,  and  "  jars  and  casks  of  wine  were  brought 
out  of  the  royal  cellars,  and  emptied  at  the  Badayun  gate 
in  such  abundance,  that  mud  and  mire  was  produced  as  in 
\  the  rainy  season. "  But  this  regulation  weighed  too  heaviljr 
!  upon  the  people,  and  wine  was  secretly  brought  into  the 
city  by  vintners,  The  nobles  were  permitted  to  drink 


KHILJI  IMPERIALISM  128 

individually  at  their  houses,  but  all  social  intercourse  was 
strictly  prohibited.  All  festive  gatherings  and  convivial 
parties  were  forbidden  in  private  as  well  as  public  houses,, 
with  the  inevitable  result  that  the  amenities  of  social 
life  disappeared,  and,  life  became  an  intolerable  burden. 

The  Hindus  were  treated  with  special  severity.  In  the 
Doab  they  had  to  pay  50  per  c  ent  of  the  total  produce  oi 

their  land  witho  ut  making  any  deductions, 
°f    an(*  M  rigorous  was  the  assessment  that  not 

even  a  biswah  of  land  was  spared.  A  grazing 
tax  was  imposed  upon  cattle,  and  a  house-tax  was  alsa 
levied.  The  same  regulations  were  applied  to  the  khuts  and 
the  balahars }  so  as  to  save  the  poor  from  the  heavy  burden 
of  taxation.  So  rigorously  were  the  new  rules  enforced, 
'  that  the  chaudhris,  khuts,  and  muqaddams  were  not  able 
to  ride  on  horse-back,  to  find  weapons,  to  get  fine  clothes, 
or  to  indulge  in  betel.'  The  policy  of  the  state  was  that 
the  Hindus  should  not  have  so  much  as  to  enable  them  to 
ride  on  horseback,  wear  fine  clothes,  carry  arms  and 
cultivate  luxurious  habits.  They  were  reduced  to  a  state 
of  abject  misery  to  such  an  extent  that  the  wives  of  the 
khuts  and  muqaddams  went  and  served  for  hire  in  the 
houses  of  the  Musalmans.  Barani  speaks  highly  of  the 
wazirof  the  empire  and  says  that  he  brought  all  the 
provinces  under  one  revenue  law  as  if  they  were  all  one 
village.  He  investigated  all  cases  of  embezzlement  and 
inflicted  the  severest  punishment  upon  the  wrong-doers. 
If  the  ledger  of  the  patwari  showed  a  single  jital  standing 
against  the  name  of  any  officer,  he  was  punished  with 

1  Khut  and  Balahar  are  obviously  used  for  landed  classes.  Most, 
probably  they  are  used  here  for  landlords  and  tenants.  [Elliot,  III 
(Appendix),  p.  623.] 


124  THE  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

torture  and  imprisonment.  The  post  of  revenue  clerk 
came  to  be  looked  upon  as  dangerous,  and  only  the  bolder 
spirits  offered  themselves  as  candidates  for  it. l 

Alauddinwas  a  true  militarist.  He  saw  clearly  that  his 

empire   could  not  be  maintained  without  a  permanent 

.  standing  army.    With  this  object  in  view  he 

Organisation  ,  __  , 

of  the    army     undertook  military  reform.    He  fixed  the 

of  the  m^ket1  pay  of  a  soldier  at  234  tankas  a  year  and 
that  of  a  man  with  two  horses  at  78  tankas 
more.  But  it  was  impossible  to  maintain  a  large  army 
unless  the  necessaries  of  life  were  cheapened.  For  this 
reason  the  Sultan  fixed  the  prices  of  all  commodities 
required  for  daily  use.  Grain  was  to  be  stored  in  royal 
granaries  and  in  the  Khalsa  villages  of  the  Doab,  the 
revenue  of  the  state  was  realised  not  in  cash  but  in  kind. 
The  prices  of  all;articles  of  food  were  fixed,  and  the  shop- 
keepers were  severely  punished,  if  they  did  not  observe 
these  regulations.  Spies  and  agents  were  employed  who 
reported  to  the  Sultan  the  condition  of  the  market. 

All  merchants,  whether  Hindus  or  Musalmans,  had 
to  register  themselves  and  to  enter  into  engagements 
by  which  they  bound  themselves  to  bring  their  articles  to 
the  Serai  adl,  an  open  space  inside  the  Badaon  gate, 
where  all  articles  were  exposed  for  sale.  Advances  were 
made  from  the  treasury  to  these  wealthy  and  respectable 
Multani  traders,  to  enable  them  to  purchase  goods  in  large 
-quantities.  The  Diwan  issued  permits  to  those  Maliks 

1  Barani  writes  (Tarikh-i-Firuz  Shahi,  Bibliotb.  Ind.,  p.  289)  that 
the  office  of  revenue  clerk  fell  into  such  bad  odour  that  nobody  would 
£ive  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  him  and  the  post  of  mushrif  was 
-accepted  only  by  those  who  did  not  pay  any  heed  to  their  lives.  These 
me  n^  we  re  frequently  cast  into  prison. 


KHILJI  IMPERIALISM  125 

and  Amirs  who  purchased  costly  articles.  This  device  was 
adopted  to  prevent  merchants  from  buying  articles  in  the 
market  at  cheap  rates  and  then  selling  them  at  higher 
rates  in  the  country. 

The  market  was  superintended  by  two  officers— the 
Diwan*i-riyasat  and  the  Shahna-i-mandi.    These  officers 
performed  their  duties  with  the  strictest  honesty  and 
regularity.  The  cattle  market  was  also  controlled,  and  the 
price  of  cattle  fell  considerably.    Horses  of  the  first  class 
could  be  purchased  for  100  to  120  tankas,  of  the  second 
for  80  to  90,  of  the  third  for  65  to  70  tankas,   while  small 
ponies  could  be  had  for  10  to  25  tankas.    A  milch  cow  could 
be  had  for  three  or  four  tankas  and  a  she-goat  for  ten  or 
twelve  or  fourteen  jitals.    The  prices  of  slaves  and  maid- 
servants fell  considerably.   The  punishments  for  the  viola- 
tion of  the  tariff  laws  were  exceptionally  severe.    If  the 
shopkeepers  weighed  less,  an  equal  quantity  of  flesh  was 
cut  off  from  thejrhaunches  to  make  up  the  deficiency  in 
weight.    The  vendors i  were  frequently  kicked  out  of  their 
shops  for  dishonest  dealings.    The  result  of  all  this  was 
that  the  bazar  people  became  quite  submissive,  and  ceased 
to  practise  deceit,  and  often  gave  more  than  the  fixed 
quantity. 

These  reforms  succeeded  well  enough.  The  increased 
strength  and  efficiency  of  the  army  guaranteed  security 
against  Mongol  invasions,  and  held  in  check 
the  refractory  Rajas  and  chieftains.  All  sedi- 
tion was  stamped  out,  and  men's  habits  were 
so  disciplined  that  crime  was  considerably  lessened.  The 
cheapness  of  the  necessaries  of  life  increased  the  happiness 
of  the  people,  and  bound  them  more  closely  to  the  personal 
despotism  of  the  emperor.  Though  the  stress  of  war 


126  THE  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

pressed  too  severely  upon  the  resources  of  the  state,  nu- 
merous works  of  public  utility  were  constructed,  and  the 
•emperor  extended  his  patronage  to  the  learned  and  the 
pious.  Amir  Khusrau,  the  poet-laureate  of  the  empire, 
shed  lustre  on  his  reign,  and  pious  men  like  Shaikh  Nizam- 
ud-din  Aulia  and  Shaikh  Rukn-ud-din  did  not  a  little  to 
augment  its  prestige,  but  the  most  important  result  of 
these  measures  was  the  solidity  which  they  imparted  to 
the  central  government.  The  disorderly  habits  of  the 
grandees  of  the  empire  were  put  down  with  a  high  hand, 
and  all  particularism  was  kept  under  firm  control.  The 
governors  in  the  distant  provinces  obeyed  the  orders  of 
the  emperor  with  perfect  obedience.  The  agents  of  the 
government  were  allowed  no  freedom  of  action,  and  the 
disregard  of  the  royal  will  was  treated  as  a  grave  offence 
for  which  severe  punishments  were  laid  down. 

\.  The  foundations  of  the  political  system  which  Alaud- 
jdin  had  built  up  were  unsound.  3.  /The  new  discipline  which 

he  had  imposed  upon  the  people  drove  discon- 
°f    tent  deep  underground  }The  Hindu  Rajas, 

who  had  been  deprived  of  their  indepen- 
dence, sullenly  brooded  over  their  losses  and  waited  for  an 
opportunity  to  strike  a  blow  for  their  freedom JfThe  nobles, 
accustomed  to  a  life  of  gaiety,  were  sick  of  the  obnoxious 
laws  which  they  had  to  obey ;  the  merchants  resented  the 
policing  of  the  market,  while  the  Hindus  groaned  under 
the  humiliations  inflicted  upon  them.  C  The  new  Muslims 
always  plotted  and  intrigued  against  the  Sultan,  i  Over- 
centralisation,  repression,  and  espionage,  all  undermined 
the  imperial  authority.  %.s  the  emperor  advanced  in  years, 
he  became  violent  and  whimsical,  and  his  suspicious  nature 
estranged  from  him  the  sympathies  of  his  leading  nobles. 


THE  EARLY  TURKISH  EMPIRE,  1315  A.D. 


KHILJ1  IMPERIALISM  127  , 

To  form  a  class  of  officials  entirely  dependent  on  himself,  he 
Taised  base-born  men  to  positions  of  honour  and  eminence. 
Too  much  depended  upon  the  personality  of  the  Sultan  in 
this  age  ;  and  Alauddin  made  the  mistake  of  minimising 
the  importance  of  this  powerful  factor  in  the  politics 
of  his  day.l'He  neglected  the  education  of  his  sons, 
.and  under  Kafur's  influence  he  treated  them  with  great 
severity.  Besides,  Kafur  secretly  intrigued  to  obtain  power 
for  himself. j&  He  induced  the  emperor  to  execute  a  will 
nominating  his  son,  Shihab-ud-din,  heir  to  the  throne.  The-' 
authority  of  the  emperor  ceased  to  command  respect,  and 
insurrectionary  movements  were  set  on  foot  in  the  outly- 
ing provinces  of  the  empirel^Jn  the  words  of  the  Muslim 
chronicler,  "  Fortune  proved,  as  usual,  fickle;  and  destiny 
drew  her  poniard  to  destroy  him,"  and  the  mighty  monarch 
'  bit  his  own  flesh  with  fury/  as  he  saw  the  work  of  his 
lifetime  being  undone  before  his  eyes.  In  the  midst  of 
these  distressing  circumstances,  the  emperor  who  was 
already  in  the  grip  of  a  mortal  disease,  died  in  1316,  and 
was  buried  in  a  tomb  in  front  of  the  Jam-i-masjid. 

Alauddin  was  by  nature  a  cruel  and  implacable  despot. 
He  swept  aside  the  dictates  of  religious  and  canon  law,  if 

they  interfered  with  his  policy.    He  had  no 
°f     re£ard  for  kinship  and  inflicted  punishments 

without  distinction.  He  possessed  the  qua- 
?  lities  of  a  born  military  leader  and  a  civil  administrator  and 
kept  his  vast  possessions  under  firm  control  as  long  as  he 
lived.  He  clearly  saw  the  dangers  of  his  time  and  guarded 
against  them.  He  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  his  soldiers 
and  his  example  fired  their  zeal.  In  organising  his  civil 
administration  he  displayed  great  originality  and  mental 
^vigour,  and  his  control  of  the  market  is  one  of  the  marvels 


128  THE  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

of  mediaeval  statesmanship.    He  ruled  with  a  strong  hand 

and  exercised  personal  supervision  over  the  conduct  of 

his  officials.    No  one  was  allowed  to  take  a  pice  from 

the  cultivators,   and  fraudulent  practices  were  sternly 

put  down.    He  was  himself  illiterate,  but  extended  his 

patronage  to  the  learned  and  pious,  and  granted  stipends- 

and  lands  for  their  maintenance.    Among  the  early  Muslim 

rulers  he  was  the  first  who  had  the  courage  to  oppose  the 

orthodox  policy  of  the  ulama,  and  who  represented  in  his 

person  to  the  fullest  extent  the  virility  and  vigour  of  Islam. 

Alauddin's  death  was  a  signal  for  civil  war  and  the 

scramble  of  rival  parties  for  power.  Malik  Kafur  removed 

from  his  path  the  princes  of  the  blood  royal 

The  weak     one  by  one<  an(j  produced  a  spurious  will  of 

successors    of        ,  ^  .  .          _ 

Aiauddin.  the  late  Sultan  in  which  Omar  Khan  was 
nominated  heir  to  the  throne.  As  Omar  was 
a  little  child  of  six  years  of  age,  Kafur  himself  became 
regent  and  began  to  manage  the  affairs  of  the  state.  The 
first  thing  he  did  was  to  destroy  the  survivors  of  Aiauddin 
All  the  princes  except  Mubarak  Khan  were  put  in  prison 
orjnurdered/  and  Kafur  bestowed  the  highest  offices  on 
KIT  favourites.  This  policy  caused  discontent  among  the 
supporters  of  the  old  regime.  A  conspiracy  was  formed, 
and  the  slaves  of  Aiauddin  with  the  help  of  the  army 
killed  Kafur  and  his  leading  partisans.  After  Kafur  ;s 
death  Mubarak  Khan  succeeded  to  the  throne  under  the 
title  of  Qutbuddin  Mubarak  Shah  in  1316  A,D. 

Mubarak  began  his  reign  well.     He    released    the 
political  prisoners,  restored  the  confiscated  lands  to  their 
owners,  and  abolished  the  numerous  taxes 
which  clogged  the  progress  of  trade  and 
industry.  Barani  writes  that  the  regulations* 


KH1LJ1  IMPERIALISM  129 

of  Alauddin  fell  into  disuse,  and  men  reverted  to  their  old 
ways  and  habits.  But  there  was  no  serious  rebellion 
except  that  of  Raja  Harapala  Deva  of  Devagir  in  1318  ;  it 
was  quickly  suppressed  and  the  rebel  was  flayed  alive. 
Khusrau,  a  man  of  low  caste  from  Gujarat,  who  had 
become  a  special  favourite  of  the  Sultan,  undertook  an 
expedition  to  Telingana  which  met  with  great  success. 
The  Rai  submitted  and  ceded  to  Khusrau  five  districts 
and  promised  to  pay  an  annual  tribute  of  '  more 
than  a  hundred  strong  elephants  as  large  as  demons, 
12,000  horses,  and  gold,  jewels  and  gems  beyond 
compute.' 

Good  fortune  spoiled  Mubarak.  He  became  proud, 
vindictive  and  tyrannical  and  indulged  in  the  worst 
excesses.  He  lost  all  regard  for  decency  and  morality  and 
often  appeared  in  public  in  the  company  of  harlots.  There 
was  a  great  demand  for  dancing  girls,  and  the  price  of  a 
boy  or  handsome  eunuch,  or  beautiful  girl  varied  from  50Q 
to  1,000  and  2,000  tankas.  The  Sultan  cast  all  decency  to 
the  winds  when  he  allowed  his  unworthy  associates  to 
insult  in  foul  and  obscene  language  the  distinguished, 
nobles  of  the  court.  Khusrau's  influence  increased  every 
day,  and  he  conspired  with  his  castemen  to  bring  about 
the  king's  death.  The  Sultan  was  informed  of  Khusrau's 
evil  intentions,  but  he  paid  no  heed  to  the  advice  of  hia 
well-wishers.  One  night  the  conspirators  entered  the 
palace  and  murdered  the  Sultan.  A  court  was  hastily 
improvised  at  midnight  hour,  and  with  the  forced  consent 
of  the  nobles  and  officers  Khusrau  mounted  the  throne 
in  1320  under  the  title  of  Nasiruddin. 

Khusrau  began  what  the  Muslim  historians  call  a 
reign  of  terror.    He  seized  the  treasures  of  the  state,  and 


130  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

conferred  lavish  gifts  upon  the  people  at  large  to  win 
their  support.  Islam  was  treated  with  con- 
tempt,  and  the  old  nobles  and  officers  had  to 
make  room  for  Khusrau's  kinsmen.  The 
Alai  nobles  who  had  served  the  state  in  the  past  were 
filled  with  grief  at  this  deplorable  state  of  affairs.  There 
was  one  among  them  who  planned  the  overthrow  of 
Khusrau.  He  was  Fakhruddin  Juna,  who  afterwards 
ascended  the  throne  under  the  title  of  Muhammad  Tughluq 
He  communicated  everything  to  his  father  Ghazi  Malik, 
the  Warden  of  the  Marches  at  Depalpur.  The  veteran 
warrior  was  moved  with  indignation  and  swore  vengeance 
upon  the  *  unclean  '  Parwans.  He  was  joined  by  all  the 
nobles  of  the  empire  except  the  governor  of  Multan  who 
bore  a  personal  grudge  against  him. 

The  news  of  Ghazi  Malik's  approach  alarmed  Khusrau, 
and  he  began  to  organise  his  forces.  The  army  of  Delhi, 
demoralised  by  indolence  and  debauchery,  was  no  match 
for  the  sturdy  Muslims  who  followed  the  banner  of  Ghazi 
Malik.  Lack  of  experienced  generalship,  added  to  the 
want  of  discipline,  made  the  cause  of  Khusrau,  from  the 
outset,  hopeless.  When  the  two  armies  came  face  to  face, 
^ach  side  began  to  plan  dexterous  manoeuvres  to  over- 
power the  other.  The  rickety  forces  of  Khusrau  were 
routed,  and  fled  in  confusion.  The  cause  of  the  Parwarls 
was  doomed,  and  they  were  so  frightened  that  '  hardly 
any  life  was  left  in  their  bodies/ 

Having  seized  considerable  spoil,  the  victorious 
general  commenced  his  march  towards  Delhi  to  deal  a 
decisive  blow.  Driven  to  despair,  Khusrau  looked  for 
help  in  all  quarters.  Like  one  '  despised  by  fortune  or 
worsted  in  gambling/  he  brought  out  all  the  treasures  and 


KHILJI  IMPERIALISM  .131 

distributed  them  among  the  soldiers  to  prevent  defection 
in  the  royal  army.  But  this  prodigality  proved  of  no 
avail ;  the  soldiers,  who  knew  that  Ghazi  Malik's  cause 
was  just  and  righteous,  accepted  Khusrau's  gold,  but 
abandoned  all  intention  of  fighting  under  his  colours. 
Once  more  the  usurper  made  a  desperate  effort  to  save 
himself,  and  the  forlorn  hope  of  the  Delhi  army  fought 
-a  hotly  contested  engagement,  in  which  they  carried 
everything  before  them.  Khusrau  fled  from  the  field  of 
battle,  but  he  was  captured  and  beheaded.  His  support- 
ers were  diligently  traced  out ;  they  were  charged  with 
treason  and  made  to  suffer  the  fate  which  they  so  richly 
merited.  Ghazi  Malik  received  the  congratulations  of  the 
assembled  nobles,  who  offered  him  the  keys  of  the  palace. 
The  old  leader  shrank  from  the  burden  of  the  kingly 
office,  and  enquired  if  there  was  any  survivor  of  the  stock 
of  Alauddin.  The  nobles  answered  in  the  negative  and 
dwelt  upon  the  confusion  and  disorder  that  prevailed  in 
the  empire  owing  to  the  abeyance  of  authority.  With 
one  voice  they  appealed  to  him  to  assume  the  insignia  of 
royalty  and  placed  him  upon  the  throne.  7fe  Rarani. 
who  is  an  orthodox  chronicler,  writes  with  exultation: 
"  Islam  was  rejuvenated  and  a  new  life  came  into  it.  The 
•clamour  of  infidelity  sank  to  the  ground.  Men's  minds 
were  satisfied  and  their  hearts  contented.  All  praise  for 
Allah."  The  election  of  a  plebeian  to  the  kingly  office 
demonstrated  in  an  unmistakable  manner  the  democratic 
spirit  of  Islam,  and  reaffirmed  the  principle  of  the  survival 
t>f  the  fittest,  which  dominated  and  controlled  the  Muslim 
State  in  India  in  the  13th  and  14th  centuries. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY 

(1320—1412  A.D.) 

Ghazi  Malik,  the  Warden  of  the  Marches,  ascended 

the  throne  under  the  title  of  Ghiyasuddin  Tughluq.    He 

was  a  man  of  humble  origin  ;  his  father  was. 

Ghiyasuddin     a  QaraunS  Turk, '  and  his  mother  was  a  Jat 

Tughluq.  1820-  -    A.      '  .   .        „      ,      , 

36  A.D.  woman  of  the  Punjab.    He  had  risen  to 

high  position  by  dint  of  personal  merit,  and 
in  the  time  of  Alauddin  had  played  an  important  part  in 
wars  against  the  Mongols  whom  he  had  chased  out  of  the 
country  again  and  again.  When  he  assumed  the  reins  of 
office,  the  empire  of  Delhi  was  in  a  state  of  confusion, 
and  it  was  with  great  tact,  prudence,  and  firmness  that 
Ghiyas  restored  order  and  recovered  the  moral  prestige 
of  the  monarchy.  The  magnanimity  of  his  nature  showed 
itself  in  the  generous  treatment  which  he  meted  out  ta 
the  relatives  of  Alauddin.  He  made  a  suitable  provision 
for  them  and  appointed  them  to  high  offices  in  the  state. 
No  just  claim  was  ignored  and  no  past  service  was  for* 
gotten.  The  claims  of  rank  and  birth  were  respected, 
and  many  families  that  had  been  ruined  were  restored  to 
their  former  dignity. 

1  Ibn  Batmta  writes  that  he  heard  from  Shaikh  Ruknuddin  Sultan* 
that  Sultan  Tughluq  was  of  the  stock  of  QaraunS  Turks  who  lived  in  the 
mountainous  region  between  Sindh  and  Turkistan.  In  his  early  life  he 
was  very  poor  and  was  obliged  to  take  up  service  under  some  merchant 
4n  Sindh.  Later  he  joined  the  army*  and  by  sheer  dint  of  merit  rose  ta 
high  position. 

132 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  138 

Having  settled  the  affairs  of  the  empire,  Ghiyas  order- 
ed an  expedition  against  Warangal,  the  capital  of  the 
KSkatiya  Rajas  of  Telingana.    Pratap  Rudra 
Expedition      Deva  II  had  greatly  increased  his  power  dur- 

agamst  War-        .         _  .  ,  rr.  ....    _,,      - 

^ngai.  ing  the  reign  of  Mubarak  Khilji.  The  Crown 

Prince  was  sent  at  the  head  of  a  large  force 
to  deal  with  him.  After  a  desperate  fight  the  Raja  surren- 
dered, and  the  whole  country  was  subdued.  The  glory  and 
greatness  of  the  Kakatiyas  ended,  and  henceforward  they 
ceased  to  exist  as  a  predominant  power  in  Southern  India. 
The  administration  of  Ghiyas  was  based  upon  the 
principles  of  justice  and  moderation.  The  land  revenue 
was  organised,  and  the  Sultan  took  great  care 
to  Prevent  abuses.  The  jagirs  granted  by 
Khusrau  were  resumed,  and  the  finances  of 
the  state  were  set  in  order.  The  cultivators  were  treated 
well,  and  officials  were  severely  punished  for  their  mis- 
conduct. The  departments  of  justice  and  police  worked 
efficiently,  and  the  greatest  security  prevailed  in  the 
remotest  parts  of  the  empire.  The  army  was  also  organised. 
The  soldiers  were  treated  with  kindness  and  liberality. 
Strict  discipline  was  enforced,  and  arms  and  weapons  were 
amply  provided. 

Towards  the  close  of  his  reign,  in  1324,  the  Sultan 
marched  towards  Bengal  to  restore  to  the  throne  the 
Princes  of  Lakhnauti,  who  had  been  expelled 
GhiVas*  * h  °f      by their  brother  Bahadur.  Bahadur  was  pun- 
ished, and  the  dispossessed  princes  were  rein- 
stated in  their  territory.  When  the  Sultan  returned  to  Delhi, 
he  was  killed  by  the  fall  of  a  pavilion  which  his  son,  Prince 
Juna,  had  erected  near  Afghanpur  at  a  distance  of  six  miles 
from  the  capital  in  1325  A.D.    The  prince  was  suspected 


184  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

of  having  planned  the  emperor's  death,  for  the  hasty  con- 
struction of  such  a  palace  was  entirely  superfluous.  What- 
ever the  real  truth  may  be,  there  are  strong  reasons  for 
thinking  that  the  Sultan's  death  was  the  result  of  a  con- 
spiracy in  which  the  Crown  Prince  took  part,  and  not  of 
accident. 

Ghiyas  was  a  mild  and  benevolent  ruler.  He  loved 
simplicity*  and  towards  his  quondam  colleagues,  he  be- 
haved with  the  same  frank  joviality  which 
hsd  characterised  him  in  his  earlier  days. 
A  pious  and  peace-loving  Muslim,  he  practis- 
ed rigidly  the  observances  of  his  faith,  and  always  tried  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  his  co-religionists.  Unlike  many 
other  Muslim  rulers  he  lived  a  pure  life  and  eschewed 
every  kind  of  pleasure.  As  long  as  he  lived  he  took  the 
best  care  of  his  subjects  and  ruled  with  a  strong  hand.  ,A 
new  life  was  infused  into  the  administration  which  had 
been  thrown  out  of  gear  during  the  reigns  of  the  imbecile 
Mubarak  and  the  '  unclean '  Khusrau.  The  following 
verse  of  Amir  Khusrau  is  illustrative  of  the  Sultan's 
excellent  methods  of  government  : 

'*  He  neyer  did  any  thing  that  was  not  replete  with  wisdom  and  sense, 
He  might  be  said  to  wear  a  hundred  doctor's  hoods  under  his  crown." 

Ghiyas-ud-din  Tughluq  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 
Prince  Juna,  under  the  title  of  Muhammad  Tughluq,  in 
1325  A.D.  He  was  unquestionably  the  ablest 
:>f  Muh&ww*.     man  amon* the  crowned  heads  of  the  middle 
ages.    Of  all  kings,  who  had  sat  upon  the 
throne  of  Delhi  since  the  Muslim  conquest,  he  was  undoubt- 
edly the  most  learned  and  accomplished.    Nature  had 
endowed  him  with  a  marvellous  memory,  a  keen  and  pene- 
trating intellect,  and  an  enormous  capacity  for  assimilating 


•s 


I 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  135 

knowledge  of  all  kinds.  The  versatility  of  his  genius  took 
by  surprise  all  his  contemporaries.  A  lover  of  the  fine  arts* 
a  cultured  scholar  and  an  accomplished  poet,  he  was  equally 
at  home  in  logic,  astronomy,  mathematics,  philosophy,  and 
the  physical  sciences.  No  one  could  excel  him  in  composi- 
tion and  calligraphy  ;  he  had  at  his  command  a  good  deal  of 
Persian  poetry,  of  which  he  made  a  very  extensive  use  in 
his  writings  and  speeches.  He  was  an  adept  in  the  use  of 
similes  and  metaphors,  and  his  literary  productions  were 
saturated  with  the  influence  of  the  Persian  classics.  Even 
the  most  practised  rhetoricians  found  it  difficult  to  rival  the 
brilliance  of  his  imagination,  the  elegance  of  his  taste,  and 
his  command  over  the  subtleties  and  niceties  of  expression. 
He  was  a  master  of  dialectics,  well-versed  in  Aristotelian 
logic  and  philosophy,  and  theologians  and  rhetoricians 
feared  to  argue  with  him.  Barani  describes  him  as  an  elo- 
quent and  profoundly  learned  scholar,  a  veritable  wonder  of 
creation,  whose  abilities  would  have  taken  by  surprise  such 
men  as  Aristotle  and  Asaf . f  He  was  highly  generous,  and 
all  contemporary  writers  are  unanimous  in  extolling  his 
lavish  gifts  to  the  numerous  suppliants  who  crowded  his 
gate  at  all  times.  He  was  a  strict  Muslim  who  rigidly 
practised  and  enforced  the  observances  laid  down  in  the 
Holy  Book.  But  he  was  not  an  unrelenting  bigot  like  some 
of  his  predecessors. His  liberalism  is  reflected  in  his  desire 
to  be  tolerant  towardsjAie  Hindus  and  in  his  humane  attempt 
to  introduce  ameliorative  reforms  like  the  suppression  of 
Sati,  which  was  in  vogue  in  the  fourteenth  century. 

The  Moorish  traveller,  Tfrn  P0*"*5,  who  came  to  India 
in  1333  A.D.,  thus  describes  the  Sultan  :— "  Muhammad  is 

1  Barani,  Tarikh-i-Firua  Shahi,  Biblioth.  Ind.,  p.  461, 


186  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

a  man  who,  above  all  others,  is  fond  of  making  presents  and 
shedding  blood.  There  may  always  be  seen  at  his  gate 
some  poor  person  becoming  rich,  or  some  loving  one  con- 
demned to  death.  His  generous  and  brave  actions,  and  his 
cruel  and  violent  deeds,  have  obtained  notoriety  among  the 
people.  In  spite  of  this,  he  is  the  most  humble  of  men,  and 
the  one  who  exhibits  the  greatest  equity.  The  ceremonies 
of  his  religion  are  dear  to  his  heart,  and  he  is  very  severe 
in  respect  of  prayer  and  the  punishment  which  follows  its 
neglect.  He  is  one  of  those  kings  whose  good  fortune  is 
great  and  whose  happy  success  exceeds  the  ordinary  limit ; 
but  his  distinguishing  character  is  generosity.  I  shall 
mention  among  the  instances  of  his  liberality,  some  mar- 
vels, of  which  the  like  has  never  been  reported  of  any 
of  the  princes  who  have  preceded  him.  " 

'  the  Sultan  seems  to  be  an  amazing 
But  he  is  not  really  so.  The 
charges  of  blood-thirstiness  and  madness,  brought  against 
him  by  later  writers,  are  mostly  unfounded.  No  contem- 
porary writer  gives  the  barest  indication  of  the  Sultan's 
madness.  The  charge  of  blood-thirstiness  was  bolstered 
up  by  the  members  of  the  clerical  party  whom  the  Sultan 
treated  with  open  disregard.  It  is  true,  he  was,  like  all 
mediaeval  despots,  subject  to  greatjaroxysms  of  rage, 
and  inflicted  the  most  brutal  punishments  upon  those  who 
offended  against  his  will,  irrespective  of  the  rank  or  order 
to  which  they  belonged  ;  but  this  is  quite  a  different  thing 
from  stigmatising  him  as  a  born  tyrant,  taking  delight  in 
the  shedding  of  human  blood.  A  close  examination  of  the 
alleged  murders  and  atrocities  of  the  Sultan  will  reveal  the 
unsoundness  of  the  common  view  that  he  found  pleasure 
in  the  destruction  of  human  species  and  organised 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  137 

*  man-hunts.'  The  truth  is  that  the  Sultan  combined  a 
head-strong  temper  with  advanced  ideals  of  administra- 
tive reform,  and  when  his  subjects  failed  to  respond  to 
his  wishes,  his  wrath  became  terrible.  His  impatience 
was  the  result  of  popular  apathy,  just  as  popular  apathy 
was  the  outcome  of  his  startling  innovations. 

The  earliest  administrative  measure,  which  the  Sultan 
introduced,  was  the  enhancement  of  taxation  in  the  Doab, 

Barani  says  that  '  it  operated  to  the  ruin  of 
<foe"oab?n  in     the  country  and  the  decay  of  the  people/ 

while  another  historian,  who  is  more  cau- 
tious in  his  remarks,  says  that c  the  duties  levied  on  the 
necessaries  of  life,  realised  with  the  utmost  rigour,  were 
too  great  for  the  power  of  industry  to  cope  with/ 
The  taxes  in  the  Doab  were  raised,  according  to 
Barani,  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  income  of  the  people, 
and  some  oppressive  abwabs  (cesses)  were  also  invented 
Avhich  broke  the  back  of  the  ryot,  and  reduced  him  to 
utter  poverty  and  misery.  All  historians  dwell  upon  the 
•distress  which  was  caused  by  this  fiscal  measure,  and 
Barani,  whose  native  district,  Baran,  also  suffered  from 
the  effects  of  this  enhancement,  bitterly  inveighs  against 
the  Sultan.  He  greatly  exaggerates  the  suffering  and 
misery  caused  to  the  population,  when  he  says  the  ryots 
of  distant  lands,  on  hearing  of  the  distress  and  ruin  of 
the  people  in  the  Doab,  broke  out  into  open  rebellion,  and 
threw  off  their  allegiance.  Unfortunately,  this  measure 
was  carried  out  at  a  time  when  a  severe  famine  was  pre- 
vailing in  the  Doab,  and  the  distress  of  the  people  was 
-greatly  aggravated  by  its  disastrous  effects.  But  this  does 
not  exonerate  the  Sultan  altogether  from  blame ;  for  his 
officials  continued  to  levy  taxes  at  the  enhanced  rate  with 


138  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

the  utmost  rigour,  and  made  no  allowance  for  famine.  It 
was  long  afterwards,  that  he  ordered  wells  to  be  dug 
and  loans  to  be  advanced  to  agriculturists  to  promote 
cultivation  in  the  affected  areas.  The  remedy  came  too  late ; 
the  famished  population,  whose  patience  was  sorely  tried 
by  the  long  duration  of  the  famine,  failed  to  profit  by  it, 
andjraye  up  the  ghost  in  sheer  despair.  Never  were  be- 
nevolent schemes  of  reform  more  cruelly  frustrated  by 
an  evil  fate  than  in  the  case  of  Muhammad  Tughluq. 

Another  measure,  which  entailed  much  suffering  on 
the  population,  was  the  transfer  of  the  capital  to  Devagir 
Transfer  of  w^ich  was  re-christened  Daulatabad.  The* 
the  capita],  empire  had  grown  to  large  dimensions  fto- 
"2T  D*  wards  the  north  it  embraced  the  Doab,  the 
^plains  of  the  Punjab  and  Lahore  with  the  territories 
stretching  from  the  Indus  to  the  coast  of  Gujarat;  towards 
the  east  it  comprised  Bengal,  and  in  the  centre  it  included 
such  \  principalities  as  Malwa,  Ujjain,  Mahoba  and 
Dhar/)  The  Deccan  had  been  subdued,  and  its  prin- 
cipal powers  had  acknowledged  the  suzerainty  of  Delhi. 
Having  fully  weighed  in  his  mind  the  drawbacks  of  Delhi  *" 
as  an  imperial  capital,  he  decided  to  transfer  it  to 
Daulatabad  which  was  more  centrally  situated.  It  was 
situated  at  a  safe  distance  from  the  route  of  the  Mongols 
who  frequently  threatened  the  neighbourhood  of  Delhi 
and  made  life  and  property  insecure.  It  is  clear  that  the 
change  was  not  dictated  by  the  mere  caprice  of  a  whim- 
sical despot.  Obviously,  considerations  of  safety  and 

1     Barani    mentions  the  following   provinces  of  the   empire    at  the 
beginning  of  Muhammad's  reign  : — (1)    Delhi,  (2)  Gujarat,    (3)  Malwa, 
(4)    Devagir,    (5)    Telang,   (6)  Kampila,  (7)    Dhorsamundar,    (8)   Mabar, 
(9)    Tirhul,    (10)   Lakhnaubi,    (11)    SatgSon,    (12)    SonSrgSon. 
'        Barani,  Tarikh-i-Firuz  Shahi,  Biblioth.    Ind.,  p.  468. 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  139- 

better  government  alone  urged  the  Sultan  to  take  such  a 
bold  step.  As  regards  his  possessions  in  Hindustan,  he 
hoped  to  exercise  control  over  them  with  the  aid  of  the 
simple  means  of  communication  which  existed  between 
the  north  and  south. l 

This  change  might  have  been  effected  without  causing 
much  hardship,  if  the  Sultan  had  remained  satisfied  onljr 
with  the  removal  of  the  official  machinery  of  the  state. 
But  he  made  an  egregious  blunder  in  ordering  the  people 
of  Delhi,  men,  women  and  children,  to  go  en  masse  to 
Daulatabad  with  all  their  effects.  All  sorts  of  facilities 
were  provided  ;  a  road  was  built  from  Delhi  to  Daulatabad 
and  food  and  accommodation  were  freely  supplied  to  the 
emigrants.  Those,  who  had  no  money  to  feed  themselves 
during  the  journey,  were  fed  at  the  expense  of  the  state, 
and  the  Sultan  was  ' '  bounteous  in  his  liberality  and  favours 
to  the  emigrants,  both  on  their  journey  and  on  their 
arrival."2  But  all  these  concessions  and  favours  proved  of 
no  avail.  The  people,  who  had  lived  in  Delhi  for  genera* 
tions,  and  to  whom  the  city  was  endeared  by  numerous 
associations,  left  it  with  broken  hearts.  The  sufferings 
attendant  upon  a  long  journey  of  700  miles,  were  incal- 
culable, and  a  great  many  of  them,  wearied  with  fatigue 
and  rendered  helpless  by  home-sickness,  perished  in  the 
way,  and  those  who  reached  their  journey's  end  found 
exile  in  a  strange,  unfamiliar  land  unbearable,  and 


1  Ibn    Batuta's  statement  that  the  people  of  Delhi  dropped   anony- 
mous   letters   full   of  abuse  into  the  king's  Diwan,  and   the   king  took 
so   much  offence  at    this    that   he  ordered  the  capital  to  be  changed,  is 
based   upon   hearsay,  for  when   the  transfer  took  place  in  1326-27  A.D.^ 
he  was  not  present  in  India. 

2  Barani,  Tarikh-i-Firuz  Shahi,  Biblioth.     Ind.,  p.  474. 

Elliot,  III,  p.  239. 


140  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

"  gave  up  the  ghost  in  despair/'  Barani  writes  that  the 
Muslims,  struck  with  despondency,  laid  down  their 
heads  in  that  heathen  land,  and  of  the  multitude  of  emi- 
grants only  a  few  survived  to  return  to  their  homes. l 

The  unwarranted  assumption  of  Ibn  Batuta  that  a 
search  was  instituted  in  Delhi  under  a  royal  mandate  to 
find  out  if  any  of  the  inhabitants  still  lurked  in  their 
houses,  and  that  it  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  two  men, 
one  lame  and  the  other  blind,  who  were  dragged  to 
Daulatabad,  is  based  upon  mere  bazar  gossip,  invented 
-afterwards  to  discredit  the  Sultan.  It  is  true,  the  Sultan's 
orders  were  carried  out  in  a  relentless  manner,  but  it  is  a 
calumny  to  assert  that  his  object  was  to  cause  needless 
suffering  to  the  population.  It  must  be  said  to  his  credit 
that,  when  he  saw  the  failure  of  his  scheme,  he  ordered 
the  inhabitants  to  go  back  to  Delhi,  and  on  the  return 
journey  treated  them  with  great  generosity  and  made 
full  amends  for  their  losses.  But  Delhi  was  a  depopulated 
<rity.  From  far  and  near,  the  Sultan  brought  learned 
men,  merchants,  and  landholders  to  take  up  their  abode 
in  the  deserted  capital  ;  but  no  inducement  proved  of  any 
avail  to  reconcile  them  to  the  changed  surroundings.  The 
old  prosperity  did  not  return,  and  Delhi  did  not  recover 
Tier  former  grandeur,  for  the  Moorish  traveller  found  it 
in  1334  A.D.  uninhabited  in  some  places  and  still  bearing 
the  marks  of  desolation. 

1   Barani,  Tarikh-i-Firuz    Shahi,    Biblioth.  Ind.,  p.  474. 

Elliot,  III,   p.  239 

Zia  Barani  writes  :  "So  complete  was  the  ruin,  that  not  a  cat 
-or  a  dog  was  left  among  the  buildings  of  the  city,  in  its  palaces  or  in 
its  suburbs."  A  statement  of  this  kind  made  by  an  oriental  writer  of 
the  middle  ages  is  not  to  be  taken  too  literally.  European  scholars, 
unaccustomed  to  Indian  forms  of  speech,  have  made  this  mistake. 
Dr.  Smith  uncritically  accepts  Ibn  Batuta's  story  related  above.  Oxford 
History  of  India,  p.  239. 


THE   TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  141 

Daalatabad  remained.  aaLane-Poole  remarks,  a  monu- 
ment of  rnifl%P<»ted  gngrgy.    The  scheme  of  transfer 
failed  disastrously.   That  it  would  have,  in  the  event  of 
success,  enabled  the  Sultan  to  keep  a  firm  hold  upon  the 
different  parts  of  the  empire,  may  well  be  doubted.    He 
failed  to  see    that  Daulatabad  was  situated  at  a  lone 
distance  from  the  northern  frontiers  of  the  empire,  which 
needed    to    be  constantly  watched  with  vigilance.    He 
disregarded  the  warning,  which  experience  amply  fur- 
nished, that  Hindu  revolts  and  Mongol  inroads  might  at 
any  time  jeopardise  his  possessions  in  the  north.    If 
such  a   contingency  were  to  arise,   it  would  have  been 
an  extremely  difficult  task  for  the  Sultan,  pressed  by 
the  half-subdued  races  of  the  Deccfcn  and  the  nomad 
hordes  of  Central   Asia,   to  cope  with    the     forces  of 
disorder. 

Muhammad  Tughluq  has  rightly  been  called  the  prince 

of  moneyers.    One  of  the  earliest  acts  of  his  reign  was  to 

reform  the    entire  system    of    coinage,  to* 

The    token     determine  the  relative   value  of  the  pre- 

currency,  1830        „  _  ,    ^       -         ,          .  ... 

A.D.  cious    metals,  and  to  found    coins    which 

might  facilitate  exchange  and  form  con- 
venient circulating  media.  But  far  more  daring  and 
original  was  his  attempt  to  introduce  a  token  currency. 
Historians  have  tried  to  discover  the  motive  which  led  the 
Sultan  to  attempt  this  novel  experiment.  The  heavy  drain, 
upon  the  treasury  has  been  described  as  the  principal 
reason  which  led  to  the  issue  of  the  token  coins.  It  can- 
not be  denied  that  a  great  deficiency  had  been  caused  in 
the  treasury  by  the  prodigal  generosity  of  the  Sultan,  the 
huge  expenditure  that  had  to  be  incurred  upon  the  trans- 
fer of  the  capital,  and  the  expeditions  fitted  out  to  quell 


142  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

armed  rebellions.    But  there  were  other  reasons  which 
must  be  mentioned  in  giving  an  explanation    of    this 
measure.    The  taxation  policy  in  the  Doab  had  failed  ; 
and  the  famine  that  still  stalked  the  most  fertile  part  of 
the  kingdom,  with  the  consequent  decline  in  agriculture, 
must  have  brought  about  a  perceptible  fall  in  the  revenue 
of  the  state.    It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  Sultan  was 
faced  with  bankruptcy  ;  his  treasury  was  not  denuded  of 
specie,   for  he  subsequently  paid  genuine  coins  for  the 
new  ones,  and  managed  a  most  difficult  situation  with 
astonishing  success.    He  wished  to  increase  his  resources 
in  order  to  carry  into  effect  his  grand  plans  of  conquest 
and  administrative  reform,  which  appealed  so  powerfully 
to  his  ambitious  nature.    There  was  another  reason  :  the 
Sultan  was  a  man  of  genius  who  delighted  in  originality 
and  loved  experimentation.    With   the  examples  of  the 
-Chinese  and  Persian  rulers  before  him,  he  decided  to  try 
the  experiment  without  the  slightest  intention  of  defraud- 
ing or  cheating  bis  own  subjects,  as  is  borne  out  by  the 
legends  on  his  coins.     Copper  coins  were  introduced  and 
made  legal  tender;  but  the  state  failed  to  make  the 
issue  of  the  new  coins  a  monopoly  of    its  own.    The 
result  was  as  the  contemporary  chronicler  points  out  in 
right  orthodox  fashion,  that  the  house  of  every  Hindu— 
of  course  as  an  orthodox  Muslim  he  condones  the  offences 
of  his   co-religionists -was  turned  into  a  mint  and  the 
Hindus  of    the  various  provinces    manufactured  lakhs 
and  crores  of  coins.    Forgery  was  freely  practised  by 
the  Hindus  and  the  Muslims ;  and  the  people  paid  their 
taxes  in  the  new  coin  and  purchased  arms,  apparels,  and 
other    articles  of  luxury.    The  village    headmen,  mer- 
chants, and  landowners  suppressed  their  gold  and  silver, 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  143 

-and  forged  copper  coins  in  abundance,  and  paid  their  dues 
with  them.  The  result  of  this  was  that  the  state  lost  heavi- 
ly, while  private  individuals  made  enormous  profits.  The 
-state  was  constantly  defrauded,  for  it  was  impossible  to  dis- 
tinguish private  forgeries  from  coins  issued  by  the  royal 
mint.  Gold  and  silver  became  scarce ;  trade  came  to  a 
stand-still,  and  all  business  was  paralysed.  Great  confusion 
prevailed;  merchants  refused  to  accept  the  new  coins  which 
became  as  "valueless  as  pebbles  or  potsherds."  When  the 
Sultan  saw  the  failure  of  the  scheme,  he  repealed  his  former 
edict  and  allowed  the  people  to  exchange  gold  and  silver 
£oins  for  those  of  copper.  Thousands  of  men  brought  these 
<x>ins  to  the  treasury  and  demanded  gold  and  silver  coins  in 
return.  The  Sultan  who  meant  no  deception  was  defrauded 
by  his  own  people,  and  the  treasury  was  considerably 
-drained  by  these  demands.  All  token  coins  were  completely 
withdrawn,  and  the  silence  of  Ibn  Batuta  who  visited  Delhi 
only  three  years  later,  proves  that  no  disastrous  results 
ensued,  and  the  people  soon  forgot  the  token  currency. 

The  failure  of  the  scheme  was  inevitable  in  the  India 
of  the  fourteenth  century.  To  the  people  at  large  copper 
was  copper,  however  benevolent  the  intentions  of  the 
Sultan  might  be.  The  Sultan  who  pitched  his  expectations 
too  high  made  no  allowance  for  the  conservative  character 
of  the  people,  whose  acceptance  of  a  token  currency  even 
in  modern  times  is  more  in  the  nature  of  a  submission  to 
an  inevitable  evil  than  a  willingness  to  profit  by  the  use  of 
«  convenient  circulating  medium.  The  mint  was  not  a 
state  monopoly ;  qpd  the  Sultan  failed  to  provide  adequate 
safeguards  to  prevent  forgery.  Elphinstone's  statement 
that  the  failure  of  the  token  currency  was  due  to  the  king's 

Barani,  Tarikh-i-Firuz  Bhahi,  Biblioth.  lad.,  p.  486. 


144  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

insolvency  and  the  instability  of  his  government,  is  not 
justified  by  facts,  for  the  Sultan  withdrew  all  coins  at 
once,  and  his  credit  remained  unshaken.    Mr.  Gardner 
Brown  has  ascribed  this  currency  muddle  to  the  shortage 
in  the  world's  supply  of  silver  in  the  fourteenth  century. 
Soon  after  his  accession  Muhammad  Tughluq  introduced 
a  gold  dinar  of  200  grains  and  an  adali  or  a  silver  coin  of 
140  grains  in  place  of  the  gold   and  silver  tankas   which 
had  hitherto  been   in  use,  and  which  had  weighed  17& 
grains  each.    The  introduction  of  the  gold  dinar  and  the 
revival  of  the  adali  show  that  there  was  an  abundance  of 
gold  and  a  relative  scarcity  of  silver  in  the  country.    The 
prize  money  brought  by  Kafur  from  the  Deccan  consisted 
largely  of  jewelry  and  gold,  and  it  was  this  which  had 
brought  about  a  fall  in  the  value  of  gold.    The  scarcity  of 
silver  continued  even  after  the  death  of  Sultan   Muham- 
mad.   Only  three  silver  coins  of  Firuz  have  come  to  light, 
and  Edward  Thomas  mentions  only  two  pieces  of  Muham- 
mad bin  Firuz,  one  of  Mubarak  Shah,  one  of  Muhammad 
bin  Farid,  and  none  of  Alam  Shah  and  his  successors  of 
the  Lodi  dynasty,  and  it  is  not  until  the  middle  of  the  16th 
century  that  we  come  across  a  large  number  of  silver  coins,, 
issued  from  the  mints  of  Sher  Shah  Suriand  his  successors. 
Regarding  the  failure  of  this  scheme,  Edward  Thomas,  a 
numismatist  of  repute,  has  rightly  observed,  "  There  was 
no  special  machinery  to  mark  the  difference  of  the  fabric 
of  the  royal  mint  and  the  handiwork  of  the  moderately 
skilled  artisan.    Unlike  the  precautions  taken  to  prevent 
the  imitation  of  the-Chinese  paper  notes,  there  was  posi- 
tively no  check  upoq  the  authenticity  of  the  copper  token, 
and  no  limit  to  th^  power  of  production  by  the  masses  at 
large. 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  145 

Muhammad  Tughluq  adopted  a  policy  which  ran  coun- 
ter to  the  cherished  prejudices  of  the  orthodox  school.  He 
levied  many  taxes  in  addition  to  the  four  legal 
character  ^of  ones1  prescribed  by  the  Quran,  and  showed  8 
totion.dmini8"  £reater  re£ard  for  the  religious  susceptibili- 
ties of  the  Hindus  than  his  predecessors  had 
ever  done.  Unlike  his  weak-minded  cousin,  Firuz,  he  was  no 
unreasonable  bigot.  His  culture  had  widened  his  outlook, 
and  his  converse  with  philosophers  and  rationalists  had 
developed  in  him  a  spirit  of  tolerance  for  which  Akbar  is 
so  highly  praised.  He  employed  some  of  them  in  high 
positions  in  the  state, 2  and,  like  the  great  Akbar  after  him, 
tried  to  stop  the  horrible  practice  of  Sati.  The  independ- 
ent Rajput  states  were  left  unmolested  ;  for  the  Sultan 
knew  that  it  was  impossible  to  retain  » permanent  posses- 
sion of  such  strongholds  as  .Chittor  and  Ranthambhor— a 
policy  which  was  not  liked  by  the  clerical  party.  He  con- 
tinued Alauddin's  practice  of  appropriating  four-fifths  of 
the  share  of  plunder  to  himself,  leaving  the  rest  -to  the 
soldiers.  But  the  feelings  of  the  ulama  were  deeply  embit- 
tered, when  he  deprived  them  of  the  monopoly  of  the 
administration  of  justice.  His  love  of  justice  was  so  great 
that  he  personally  looked  into  the  details  of  the  judicial 
administration,  and  submissively  accepted  the  decrees  of 
the  courts  passed  against  himself. 

He  made  himself  the  Supreme  Court  of  Appeal,   and 
when  his  judgment  differed  from  that  of  tl^Muftis,  he 

1  The  four  legal  taxes   are    Khiraj, 

*    Ibn  Batuta  speaks  of  a  Hindu, 
Sultan's  service.    The  traveller  praises 
Paris  ed.,  Ill,  pp.  105-106. 


146  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

overruled  them  and  adhered  to  his  own  view.  To  curtail 
the  influence  of  the  orthodox  party,  he  invested  some  of 
the  distinguished  officers  of  the  state  with  judicial  powers 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  were  not  Qazis,  Muftis,  or 
professed  canonists.  He  was  very  strict  in  administering 
justice.  He  laid  his  hapda  freely  npn^  the  jgembers  of 
the  Prigstlvclass  when  they  were  found  guilty  of  rebellion- 
open  sedition,  or  embezzlement  of  public  funds.  Neither 
birth  nor  rank,  nor  piety  availed  aught  to  afford  protec- 
tion to  an  offender  from  the  pun  ishment  which  his  guilt 
merited,  and  that  is  why  Ibn  Batuta  who  had  visited  many 
lands  and  seen  a  great  deal  of  men  and  affairs,  recorded  the 
verdict,  when  he  was  in  his  own  country,  no  longer  afraid 
of  the  Sultan's  wrath,  that  "of  all  men  this  king  is  the 
most  humble,  and  of  all  men  he  most  loves  justice." 

The  Sultan  organised  the  services  of  the  State  on  an 
efficient  basis.  As  there  was  a  dearth  of  capable  officers  in 
the  country,  he  employed  foreigners  in  his  service  and 
bestowed  rich  rewards  and  gifts  upon  them.  This  policy 
caused  discontent  among  the  native  nobility  and  led  to 
rebellions  in  the  empire.  The  Sultan's  generosity  knew  no 
.bounds.  He  maintained  several  departments,  two  of  which 
are  specially  worthy  of  mention— the  department  of  pre- 
sents which  regulated  the  giving  and  taking  of  presents 
and  the  Industrial  Department  which  managed  the  pre- 
paration of  costly  fabrics  for  the  use  of  the  royal  ladies 
and  the  wives  of  the  nobles. 

The  Sultan  like  his  great  predecessor  Alauddin  cherish- 
ed magnificent  schemes  of  foreign  conquest.    Early  in 
The  Sultan's    *^e  refen  he  was  induced  by  some  Khorasani 
schemes      of     nobles  who  had  sought  refuge  at  his  court  to 
conquest.  Attempt  an  invasion  of  their  country.    There 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  147 

was  nothing  fantastic  or  absurd  in  the  plan.  The  condition 
of  Khorasan  under  Abu  Said  had  become  highly  unsatis- 
factory. The  Chaghtai  chief  Tarmashirin  Khan  and  the 
ruler  of  Egypt  were  eager  to  grab  Persian  territory. 
Muhammad  who  had  established  friendly  relations  with 
the  ruler  of  Egypt  collected  a  large  army  containing 
570,000  men  who  were  paid  for  one  whole  year  from  the 
public  treasury.  But  the  scheme  did  not  materialise.  The 
task  was  beyond  the  strength  of  the  armies  of  Delhi  at 
this  period.  It  was  an  act  of  wisdom  on  the  part  of 
Muhammad  Tughluq  to  abandon  the  scheme  and  to 
concentrate  his  attention  upon  India 

Another  project  which  has  brought  much  odium  upon 
the  Sultan  was  the  so-called  Chinese  expedition.  All 
modern  writers  on  Indian  history,  following  the  lead  of 
Firishta,  have  made  the  mistake  of  supposing  that  the 
expedition  was  aimed  against  China.  But  the  contempo- 
rary chronicler,  Barani,  says  that  the  design  of  Sultan 
was  to  conquer  the  mountain  of  Qarachal  or  Qarajal  which 
lies  between  the  territories  of  Hind  and  China.  Ibn  Batuta 
states  clearly  that  the  expedition  was  directed  against 
the  QarSjal  mountain,  which  is  situated  at  a  distance 
of  ten  stages  from  Delhi,  This  shows  that  the  mountain 
meant  was  Himachal  (the  Himalayas),  which  constitutes 
-an  impassable  barrier  between  China  and  India.  The 
expedition  was  obviously  directed  against  a  refractory  hill 

1  Briggs,  Piriahta,  I,  p.  416. 

Blphinstone,  Historry  of  India,  p.  396. 

Firishta  writes:  "  Having  heard  of  the  great  wealth  of  China, 
Muhammad  Tughluq  conceived  the  idea  of  subduing  that  empire;  but 
in  order  to  accomplish  his  design  it  was  found  necessary  first  to  conquer 
-the  country  of  Him&chal."  He  further  says  that  the  nobles  and  coun- 
cillors of  the  king  tried  to  convince  him  of  the  futility  of  the  scheme, 
but  failed  to  do  so.  B  a  rani's  testimony  is,  of  course,  more  reliable.  Ibn 
BatOta  supports  Barani. 


148  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

chieftain  who  had  refused  to  own  the  suzerainty  of  Delhi. 
The  first  attack  of  the  imperialists  was  a  success,  but  when 
the  rainy  season  set  in,  the  troops  became  demoralised, 
and  it  became  impossible  to  obtain  supplies  from  the 
headquarters.  The  troops  suffered  heavily,  and  the  entire 
baggage  of  the  army  was  plundered  by  the  wily  mountain- 
eers. Only  ten  horsemen  returned  to  tell  the  story  of 
this  terrible  disaster.  But  the  object  of  the  expedition 
was  realised ;  the  mountain  prince  made  peace  with  the 
Sultan  and  agreed  to  pay  tribute,  for  it  was  impossible 
for  him  to  cultivate  the  low  lands  at  the  foot  of  the  hills 
without  acknowledging  the  authority  of  the  ruler  of 
Delhi,  of  whose  kingdom  they  formed  a  part. 

From  the  year  1835  there  was  a  perceptible  decline  in 
the  fortunes  of  Muhammad  Tughluq.  It  was  due  partly  to 

his  harsh  policy  in  the  latter  years  of  his  life, 

The  disorders     and  partly  to  famine,  which  continued  for 

Ahwn  Shah's     several  years  and  produced  enormous  suffer- 

revolt.  ing  in  all  parts  of  Hindustan.    When  public 

revenue,  the  principal  mainstay  of  the 
administration,  decreased,  rebellions  broke  out  in  all  parts 
of  the  empire.  The  earliest  rebellion  of  importance  was. 
that  of  Jalal-ud-din  Ahsan  Shah  in  Mabar,  which  occurred 
in  1385  A.D.1  Although  Delhi  was  in  a  deplorable  condition, 
owing  to  the  famine  and  lawlessness  prevailing  in  its 
vicinity,  the  Sultan  marched  in  person  to  chastise  the 
rebel ;  but  when  he  reached  Telingana,  cholera  broke  out 
and  carried  off  a  large  number  of  men  belonging  to  the 

1  The  date  1388-39  given  by  Smith  on  page  242  in  his  Oxford  History 
of  India  is  incorrect. 

Ahsan  Shah  rebelled  in  1335  A.D  He  began  to  issue  his  coins  as 
an  independent  ruler  in  this  year.  Dr.  Hultzsch  who  has  examined  these 
coins  with  care  assigns  this  rebellion  to  1335  A.D. 

J.  R.  A.  8.,    1909,  pp.    667— 83. 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  149 

king's  retinue.  The  expedition  against  Ahsan  Shah  was 
abandoned  under  the  pressure  of  unforeseen  troubles, 
and  he  was  allowed  to  become  independent. 

Bengal  had  never  been  a  loyal  appanage  of  the  empire 
of  Delhi  since  the  days  of  Muhammad,  son  of  Bakhtiyar. 
Fakhr-ud-din,  the  armour-bearer  of  Qadr 
Khan> the  governor  of  Lakhnauti,  slew  his 
master  and  usurped  his  territories  in  737-38 
A.H.  (1337  A.D.).  Taking  advantage  of  the  state  of  con- 
fusion into  which  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom  of  Delhi  had 
fallen,  he  proclaimed  himself  independent  ruler  of  Bengal 
and  struck  coins  in  his  own  name.  The  Sultan,  who  was 
busily  occupied  with  greater  troubles  in  other  parts  of  his 
wide  dominions,  could  not  pay  attention  to  this  upstart 
rebel.  As  there  was  no  interference  from  him,  Fakhr-ud- 
din  successfully  overcame  the  local  opposition  to  his 
assumption  of  royal  power.  He  soon  brought  the  whole 
country  under  his  control  and  governed  it  with  ability 
and  vigour. 

The  rebellion  in  Bengal  was  followed  by  others  of  less 

importance,  but  they  were  speedily  put  down.    The  most 

important  rebellion,  however,  was  that  of 

Revolt      of      Ain-ul-mulk,  the  governor  of  Oudh  andZafra- 

Ain-nl-mulk,  1-1.11  ±.  •      j_i_  10^  *<* 

1340-41  A.D.  bad,  which  broke  out  m  the  year  1340-41. 
Ain-ul-mulk  was  a  distinguished  nobleman 
who  had  rendered  great  services  to  the  state,  and  who 
was  held  in  high  favour  at  court.  When  the  Sultan  remov- 
ed his  court  to  Saragdwari  in  the  Farrukhabad  district 
on  account  of  famine,  Ain-ul-mulk  and  his  brothers  ren- 
dered great  assistance  in  mitigating  its  severity.  Asingular 
lack  of  foresight  on  the  part  of  the  Sultan  drove  the 
Joyal  governor  into  rebellion.  Having  heard  of  the 


150  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

misconduct  of  certain  Deccan  officers,  the  Sultan  decided 
to  appoint  Ain-ul-mulk  governor  of  that  country,  and 
ordered  him  to  go  there  with  his  family  and  dependents. 
This  peremptory  order  of  transfer  took  the  Malik 
by  surprise.  His  ears  were  poisoned  by  those  persons 
who  had  sought  shelter  in  Oudh  and  Zafrabad  to  escape 
from  the  wrath  of  the  Sultan.  All  of  a  sudden, 
Ain-ul-mulk,  who  suspected  danger,  revolted,  and 
with  his  brothers  seized  the  entire  royal  baggage  which 
was  in  his  charge.  The  Sultan  was  at  first  dumbfounded 
at  the  news  of  this  revolt,  but  he  at  once  devised  measures 
to  strengthen  his  forces.  He  paid  special  attention  to  the 
morale  of  the  army,  and  himself  superintended  the  opera- 
tions. After  a  prolonged  and  stubborn  fight,  Ain-ul-mulk 
was  defeated  and  brought  as  a  prisoner  to  the  royal  camp. 
His  associates  were  cruelly  put  to  death,  but  he  was  par- 
doned in  recognition  of  his  past  services  and  appointed 
superintendent  of  the  royal  gardens. 

Destiny  allowed  no  respite  to  this   unlucky  monarch, 

and  no  sooner  did  he  quell  disturbances  in  one  quarter 

Suppression      *kan  trou")les  of  greater  magnitude  broke 

of  brigandage      out  in  another.    This  evil  was  the  greatest 

in  Bindh.  in  gindlu    The  Sultan  marched  thither  With 

his  forces  and  scattered  the  ruffians.  Their  leaders  were 
captured  and  forced  to  embrace  Islam.  By  the  end  of  the 
year  1342  A.D.,  order  was  established  in  Hindustan,  but 
disorders  of  greater  magnitude  soon  afterwards  broke 
out  in  the  Deccan.  They  assumed  formidable  dimensions, 
and  the  Sultan  found  himself  powerless  to  stamp  out  sedi- 
tion and  overcome  resistance  to  his  own  authority. 

The  Deccan  was  a  hot-bed  of  intrigue  and  seditious 
conspiracy.    In  the  early  part  of  the  reign,  the  Sultan  had 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  151 

effectively  brought  under  his  sway  such  distant  provinces 
as Mabar,  Warangal  and  DvSrsamudra,  and 
his  empire  embraced  practically  the  whole 
of  the  Deccan.    But  Mftbar  became  an  independent  princi- 
pality^jij  1335,  and  in  1336  Hari  Kara  and  his  brother 
Bukka  founded  the  kingdom  of  Vijayanagar  as  a  protest 
against  the  Muslim  power,  of  which  a  full  account  will  be 
given  later.    In  1344  Kanya  N§ik  or  Krigna  Nayak,  son  of 
Pratap  Rudra  Deva  Kskatiya,  organised  a  confederacy  of 
the  Hindus  of  the  south.    The  great  Deccan  revolt  began, 
and  through  the  efforts  of  Ballala  IV,   Hari  Kara  and 
Krisna  Nayak,   followed  by  many  lesser  leaders,  it  finally 
culminated    in  the  disappearance  of  Muslim  power  in 
Warangal,   Dvarsamudra  and    the    country    along    the 
Coromandel  coast.    The  fall  of  the  Hoysalas  in  1346  A.D* 
enabled  Hari  Hara  to  place  his  power  upon  a  firm  footing, 
and  henceforward  Vijayanagar  became  a  leading  state 
in  the  south  and  a  bulwark  against  the  Muslim  invasions 
from  the  north. 

Gujarat  and  Devagir  alone  were  left  in  the  hands  of 
Muhammad  Tughluq.  His  many  failures  had  soured  hia 
temper,  and  he  had  lost  that  quality  of  human  sympathy 
without  which  no  conciliation  of  hostile  people  is  possible. 
He  removed  QutlughKhan, theveterangovernorof  Devagir, 
from  his  office,  and  appointed  his  brother  in  his  place— an 
arrangement  which  caused  much  discontent  in  the  country. 
The  revenue  declined,  and  the  officers  of  the  state  began 
to  extort  money  for  themselves  from  the  hapless  ryots. 
The  recall  of  Qutlugh  Khan  was  followed  by  a  fresh  blunder 
in  the  massacre  of  the  foreign  Amirs  by  the  foolish  vintner's 
son,  Aziz  Khummar,  who  had  been  entrusted  with  the 
fiefs  of  Malwaj  and  Dhar.  The  crime  of  Aziz  produced 


152  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

a  feeling  of  consternation  among  the  Amirs  and  they  took 
dp  arms  in  self-defence.  Disorder  rapidly  spread  in  the 
Dec  can,  and  the  troops  became  mutinous  everywhere.  The 
Sultan  proceeded  in  person  to  suppress  the  rebellion  in 
Gujarat,  and  from  Broach  he  sent  a  message  to  Nizam-ud- 
din  Alim-ul-mulk,  brother  of  Qutlugh  Khan,  the  new  gover- 
nor of  Daulatabad,  asking  him  to  send  the  foreign  Amirs 
immediately  to  the  royal  camp.  The  Amirs  of  Raichur, 
Mudgal,  Gulbarga,  Bidar,  Bijapur,  Berar  and  other  places 
obeyed  the  royal  command  and  started  for  Gujarat,  but  on 
the  way  a  sudden  panic  seized  them,  and  they  entertained 
the  suspicion  that  the  Sultan  intended  to  take  their  lives. 
They  attacked  the  royal  escort,  killed  some  of  the  men  in  a 
skirmish  that  followed,  and  returned  to  Daulatabad  where 
they  seized  Nizam-ud-din  and  made  him  prisoner.  The 
fort  of  Daulatabad  fell  into  their  hands ;  they  seized  the 
royal  treasure,  divided  the  Mahratta  country  amongstthem- 
selves,  and  elected  one  of  their  leaders,  Malik  Ismail  Makh 
Afghan,  as  their  king.  When  the  Sultan  received  intelli- 
gence of  these  developments,  he  marched  towards  Daulata- 
bad and  defeated  the  rebels  in  an  open  engagement.  Malik 
Makh  Afghan  entrenched  himself  in  the  fort  of  Devagir, 
and  Hasan  Kangu,  another  Afghan  leader,  with  his 
followers  went  away  in  the  direction  of  Gulbarga.  The 
Sultan  laid  siege  to  Daulatabad  and  sent  his  general  Imad- 
ul-mulk  Sartez  in  pursuit  of  the  rebels.  Daulatabad  was 
recovered ;  but  soon  afterwards  the  Sultan  had  to  leave 
the  place  on  account  of  the  rebellion  of  Taghi  in  Gujarat. 
As  soon  as  the  Sultan's  back  was  turned,  the  foreign 
Amirs,  once  again,  made  a  vigorous  effort  to  recover 
their  lost  power.  They  besieged  the  fort  of  Devagir  and 
baffled  the  attempts  of  the  imperialists  to  recapture  it. 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY 

'The  imperial  general  Imad-ul-mulk  was  defeated  in  an 
.action  by  Hasan,  and  the  rebels  occupied  Daulatabad. 
Ismail  Makh  whom  they  had  chosen  as  their  king 
"voluntarily  aud  gladly  "  resigned  in  favour  of  Hasan,  a 
young  and  high-spirited  warrior,  who  had  taken  a 
prominent  part  in  these  campaigns.  Hasan  assumed 
sovereignty  under  the  title  of  Alauddin  wad-din  Abul- 
MuzaffarBahman  Shah  on  August  13,  1347  A  J).  Thus  was 
founded  the  famous  Bahmani  kingdom,  of  which  a  full 
account  will  be  given  in  another  chapter. 

Hearing  of  the  rebellion  of  Taghi,   the   Sultan  left 
Devagir  for  Gujarat.    It  was  a  mistake  on  his  part  to 

resolve  to  put  down  the  traitor  Taghi  before 
theh8uditanh  °f  dealing  effectively  with  the  foreign  Amirs. 

He  pursued  the  rebel  from  place  to  place, 
but  the  latter  succeeded  in  eluding  his  grasp.  He  subdued 
the  Rai  of  Karnal  and  brought  the  entire  coast  under  his 
sway.  From  there  he  proceeded  to  Gondal  where  he  fell 
ill  and  was  obliged  to  halt  for  some  time.  Having  collected 
a  large  force  he  marched  towards  Thatta,  but  when  he  was 
about  three  or  four  days'  march  from  that  place,  he  got 
fever  and  died  on  March  20,  1351  A.D. 

Such  was  the  end  of  this  unlucky  monarch.    All  his 
life,  he  battled  against  difficulties  and   never  abandoned 

his  task  in  despair.  It  is  true,  he  failed, 
Mohammad.  °f  but  his  failure  was  largely  due  to  rirftiim- 

Stance&over  which  he  had  little  or  no  control. 
A  severe  famine  which  lasted  for  more  than  a  decade 
marred  the  glory  of  his  reign  and  set  his  subjects  against 
him.  The  verdict  that  declares  him  a  cruel  and  blood- 
thirsty tyrant  like  Nam  oy  f!a]jynifl  dn*q  little  justice  to 
his  great  genius,  and  ignores  his  conspicuous  plans  to  cope 


154  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

with  famine  and  his  efforts  to  introduce  ameliorative  re- 
forms. There  is  ample  evidence  in  the  pages  of  Barani 
and  Ibn  BatutS  to  show  that  he  was  not  fond  of  shedding 
blood  for  its  own  sake,  and  that  he  could  be  kind,  generous 
and  just  even  towards  his  enemies.  He  possessed  an 
intellect  and  a  passion  for  practical  improvement,  which 
we  rMely^fe^lP  mediaeval  rulers.  But  his  task  was  an 
extremely  onferous  one.  He  had  to  deal  with  the  problems 
of  an  ever-growing  empire  with  a  staff  of  officers  who 
never  loyally  co-operated  with  him.  He  had  also  to  reckon 
with  the  orthodox  Ulama  who  clamoured  for  privilege  and 
who  resented  his  attempt  to  enforce  justice  and  equality 
r  among  his  subjects. 

All  modern  writers  repeat  the  charge  of  madness 
against  the  Sultan,  but  neither  in  the  pages  of  Ibn  Batuta 
nor  in  the  history  of  Barani  there  is  any  mention  of  it. 
The  charge  of  bloodthirstiness  is  equally  untenable.  The 
Sultan  was  no  monster  of  iniquity  who  loved  crime  for 
its  own  sake.  He  inflicted  severe  punishments  on  the 
wrongdoers,  but  punishments  were  always  severe  in  his 
day  both  in  Europe  and  Asia.  There  is  little  point  then 
in  the  denunciations  of  European  writers,  who  are 
always  severe  in  judging  the  actions  of  oriental  statesmen 
and  rulers.  In  pronouncing  a  verdict  on  Muhammad 
we  must  bear  his  difficulties  in  mind. 

A  most  interesting  source  of  information  regarding  the 

reign  of  Muhammad  Tughluq  is  the  account  of  his  travels 

given  by  the  Moorish  traveller,  Ibn  Batuta. 

Ibn  Batuta.  *  _ 

Abu-Abdulla  Muhammad,  commonly  known 
as  Ibn  Batuta,  was  born  at  Tangier  on  the  24th  February, 
1304  A.D.  He  had  an  inborn  liking  for  travel,  and  as  soon 
as  he  grew  to  manhood,  he  made  up  his  mind  to  fulfil  his. 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  155 

heart's  desire.  At  the  early  age  of  21,  he  started  on  his 
journey,  and  after  wandering  through  the  countries  of 
Africa  and  Asia,  he  came  to  India  through  the  passes  of  the 
Hindukush.  He  reached  the  Indus  on  the  12th  September, 
1383  A.D.;  thence  he  proceeded  to  Delhi,  where  he  was. 
hospitably  received.  He  was  appointed  Qazi  of  Delhi  by 
Muhammad  Tughluq  and  admitted  to  his  court,  where 
he  had  close  opportunities  of  acquainting  himself  with 
the  habits,  character,  and  acts  of  this  most  extraordinary 
monarch.  He  lived  in  India  for  eight  years  and  left 
the  service  of  the  Sultan  in  1342  A.D.  He  throws 
much  light  on  the  customs  and  manners  of  both  Hindus 
and  Muslims  in  those  days  and  supplements  Zia  Barani 
in  many  respects.  He  was  sent  on  an  embassy  to 
China  on  a  diplomatic  mission  by  Muhammad  Tughluq,  but 
he  was  prevented  by  unforeseen  circumstances  from 
fulfilling  it  He  returned  to  his  native  land  in  1349 
and  recorded  his  experiences.  He  died  at  the  age  of  73  in 
1377-78  A.D. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  about  the  general  veracity  of 
Ibn  Batuta,  for  his  statements  are  very  often  corroborated 
by  other  historians.  He  describes  the  gifts  and 
punishments,  the  kindnesses  and  severities  of  his  patron 
with  considerable  impartiality.  His  view  of  the  Sultan's 
character  is  corroborated  by  Zia  Barani  who  is  more 
fulsome  in  his  adulations  and  less  balanced  in  his  denun- 
ciations. The  character  of  Ibn  Batuta,  as  it  is  reflected  in 
the  pages  of  his  narrative,  is  profoundly  interesting. 
Full  of  freshness,  life,  daring,  a  kind  of  superstitious, 
piety,  and  easy  confidence,  Ibn  Batuta  is  a  man  of  extra- 
vagant habits,  prone  to  fall  into  pecuniary  difficulties,  out 
of  which  he  is  more  than  once  extricated  by  his  indulgent 


166  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

patron,  tp  whom  he  clung  like  a  veritable  horse-leech,   as 
long  as  he  lived  in  India. 

The  death  of  Muhammad  Tughluq  near  Thatta  plung- 

ed the  entire  royal  camp  into  confusion,  and  a  feeling  of 

despair  seized  the  leaders  of  the  army  as 

The  accession     well  as  the  rank  and    file.     The  Mongol 

ofFiruz  .  ,,-,  .,.,1 

"Tughiuq.  mercenaries  who  had  come  to  assist  in  the 

expedition  against  Taghi  began  to  plunder 
the  royal  camp,  and  the  army  found  it  difficult  to  retreat 
in  safety  towards  the  capital.  The  situation  was  further 
aggravated  by  the  fact  that  Muhammafl  had  left  no 
male  heir,  and  it  was  apprehended  by  the  nobles  that 
disastrous  consequences  might  follow,  if  they  did  not  at 
once  proceed  to  choose  a  successor.  Barani  who  was  an 
eye-witness  of  these  events  writes  that  the  late  Sultan 
Finis  aa  his  heir-apparent,  a  statement 


which  is  corroborated,  by  another  contemporary  writer, 
Shams-i-Sirai  Afif.  According  to  this  testament  of  the 
late  Sultan  they  offered  the  crown  to  Firuz  and  appealed 
to  him  to  save  the  families  of  the  generals  and  soldiers 
from  the  Mongols  by  accepting  it.  Piruz,  who  was  utterly 
devoid  of  ambition  and  who  wished  to  lead  the  life  of  a 
religious  recluse  at  first  demurred  to  the  proposal,  and 
said  that  he  contemplated  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca.  But 
the  pressure  of  the  nobles  became  irresistible,  and  at 
last  he  had  to  concede  to  their  wishes  in  the  interests  of 
the  state.  Firuz  's  acceptance  of  the  crown  had  a  calm- 
ing effect  on  the  army,  and  order  was  quickly  restored. 
But  in  Delhi  the  Khwaja  Jahan's  attempt  to  set  up  a 
supposititious  son  of  Muhammad  had  created  a  serious 
situation.  The  Khwajs  cannot  be  charged  with  treason,  for 
&e  had  done  so  in  public  interestlon  receiving  the  news  of 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  157 

the  disappearance  of  Firuz  and  Tatar  Khan,  the  principal 
leaders  of  the  imperial  army,  from  the  field  of  battle. 
Firuz  enquired  of  the  nobles  and  officers  of  the  state  if 
the  late  Sultan  had  left  a  son,  and  received  a  reply  in  the 
negative  The  Khwaja  repented  of  his  conduct,  and  with 
every  mark  of  abject  submission  appeared  before  Firuz 
to  implore  forgiveness.  The  latter  was  inclined  to  take  a 
lenient  view  of  his  offence  on  the  score  of  his  past  services, 
but  the  nobles  refused  to  condone  what  they  described  as 
"  unpardonable  treason/'  The  Khwaja  was  asked  to  go 
to  the  fief  of  Samana,  but  on  his  way  he  was  murdered. 
Thus  did  the  weak  and  irresolute  Firuz  acquiesce  in  the 
murder  of  a  trusted  friend  and  colleague,  of  whose  guilt- 
lessness he  was  probably  fully  convinced. 

Firuz  Tughluq  mounted  the  throne  on  the  24th  March, 
1351  A.D.,  with  little  ambition  and  less  fitness  for  that 
Jiigh  position.  lrhe  contemporary  Muslim 
F^racter  of  chroniclers  liave  bestowed  lavish  praise 
upon  him,  for  his  reign  marked  the  begin- 
ning of  that  religious  reaction,  which  became  a  prominent 
feature  of  his  administrative  policy.  Barani  writes  that 
since  the  days  of  Muiz-ud-din  Muhammad  bin  Sam, 
there  was  no  ruler  of  Delhi,  so  numoie,  merciful,  truth- 
loving,  faithful  ana  pious.  Shams'i-fciiraj  Afif  pronounces 
upon  him  a  fulsome  eulogy,  and  extols  his  virtues  in  terms 
of  hyperbolical  praise.  He  was  a  bigot  who  observed  the 
Holy  Law  with  great  strictness,  and  on  the  occasion 
of^reiigious  festivals  behavedlike  a  pious  Muslim.  He 
encouraged  his  '  infidel '  subjects  to  embrace  Islam  and 
exempted  the  converts  from  the  payment  of  the  jeziya, 
The  Brahmans  were  taxed,  and  their  protests  were  con- 
temptuously disregarded.  All  decorations  in  the  royal 


158  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

palace  were  forbidden.  The  Sultan  himself  used  earthen 
vessels  instead  of  plates  of  gold  and  silver  for  dining 
purposes.  But  his  vaunted  devotion  to  the  Quran  did 
not  prevent  him  from  seeking  the  gratification  of  his 
lower  appetites.  On  one  occasion,  in  the  midst  of  a 
campaign,  when  Tatar  Khan  paid  him  a  visit,  he  saw  him 
lying  half  naked  with  wine  cups  concealed  in  his  bed.  The 
Khan  reproached  him  for  this  depravity,  and  the  Sultan 
promised  to  observe  abstinence  as  long  as  Tatar  Khan 
was  with  the  army.  But  the  weakness  of  will  soon  assert- 
ed itself,  and  the  Khan  was  transferred  to  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Hisar  Firuza. 

Though  riffidlv  ortftQfiny.  Firuz  was  generous^  and 
humane.  He  behaved  towards  his  co-religionists  with 
great  generosity  and  liberally  helped  the  poor  and  the  un- 
employed. tiisldndness  is  reflected  in  his  reform  of  the  legal 
system.  He  abolished  torture,  simplified  the  legal  proce- 
dure, and  discouraged  espionage.  He  extended  his  patron- 
age to  learned  men  and  established  schools  and  colleges  for 
theological  instruction.  Several  measures  were  devised  by 

him    tO    promote  the  welfflrft  nf  his 


the  chief  of  which  were  the  facilities  of  irrigatiop  and  a 
hospital  at  Delhi  where  medical  aid  was  given  free  of  cost. 

Firuz  is  well  known  in  history  for  his  administrative 
reform,  but  he  had  nothing  of  the  ability,  intrepidity,  and 
vigour  of  Alauddin  Khilji  or  Muhammad  Tughluq..  He  walT 
aTweak-mindefl  map  who  listened  too  much  to  the  advice 
-of  muftis  and  maul  vis.  The  results  of  this  policy  were 
seen  after  a  generation  in  the  complete  disintegration  of 
the  Sultanate  of  Delhi. 

During  the  confusion  that  followed  the  death  of 
-Muhammad  Tughluq,  Bengal  completely  separated  itself 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  159 

from   Delhi,    and  Haji    Ilyas    proclaimed   himself    an 
independent  ruler  under  the  title  of  Shams- 
The  first  ex-      ud-din.     The    Sultan    marched     towards 
KSSTiast      Ben»al  at  the  head  of  a  large  army,    and 
$4  A.D'  on  reaching  there  issued  a  proclamation  to 

his  Bengali  subjects,  in  which  he  explained 
the  wrongs  of  Haji  Ilyas  and  his  own  desire  to  do  justice 
to  the  people  and  to  govern  the  country  well. 

When  Haji  Ilyas  heard  of  his  approach  he  entrenched 
himself  in  the  fort  of  Iqdala.  To  induce  him  to  leave  the 
fortress  Firuz  had  recourse  to  a  clever  strategical  move  ;  he 
retraced  his  steps  a  few  miles  backwards  in  the  hope  that 
the  enemy  would  come  out  of  the  fort  in  order  to  harass 
the  retreating  army.  The  expected  happened,  and  Shams- 
ud-din  followed  the  royal  army  at  the  head  of  a  consider- 
able force  consisting  of  10,000  horse  and  20,000  foot, 
-all  eager  to  fight  against  the  Delhwis.  The  Sultan  arrang- 
ed his  troops  in  battle  array  according  to  the  time-honour- 
ed practice  of  mediaeval  warfare  in  three  divisions  -the 
right,  left,  and  centre,  and 


organising  the  campaign*  A  terrible  battle  ensued  in  which 
the  protagonists  on  either  side  fought  with  great  valour 
•and  determination.  When  Shams-ud-din  saw  the  day  going 
against  him,  he  fled  from  the  field  of  battle  and  took  shel- 
ter again  in  the  fort  of  IqdalS.  The  royalists  followed  up 
their  success  and  invested  the  fort  in  full  vigour.  But  the 
shrieks  and  wails  of  women  who  pathetically  demonstrated 
their  grief,  moved  the  compassionate  heart  of  the  Sultan, 
.and  he  forthwith  decided  to  abandon  the  fruits  of  a  hard- 
This  is  how  the  official  historian  of  the 
incapacity  to  deal  with  a  difficult 


situation  :  '  To  storm  the  fort,  put  more  Musalmans  to  the 


160  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

sword,  and  expose  honourable  women  to  ignominy,  would! 
be  a  crime  for  which  he  could  not  answer  on  the  day  of 
judgment,  and  which  would  leave  no  difference  between, 
him  and  the  Mughals.'  Tatar  Khan,  the  imperial  com- 
mandant, urged  the  annexation  of  the  province,  but  with 
his  characteristic  weakness  Firuz  rejected  his  advice  on 
tjie  plea  that  Bengal  was  a  land  of  swamps,  andjhat  it 
jwas  not  worth  while^to  retain  possession^ it 

On    his    returrT  f rom   Bengal   the   Sultan   devoted 
himself  with  great  energy  and  vigour  to  the  organisation 

of  his  administration.    But  a  second  expe- 

The  d8*t°nd     dition  to  Bengal   became  necessary,  when 

1359^60  A.D.  '     Zafar  Khan,  the  son-in-law  of  Fakhr«ud-din, 

the  first  independent  ruler  of  Bengal,  com- 
plained of  the  high-handedness  of  Shams-ud-din  and 
begged  the  Sultan  to  intercede  on  his  behalf.  Zafar  Khan 
was  well  received  at  the  court,  and  his  heart  was  elated 
with  joy  when  the  Sultan  ordered  the  Khan-i-  Jahan  to 
make  preparations  for  a  second  expedition  to  Bengal. 
Popular  enthusiasm  rose  to  such  a  high  pitch  thatjiumerous 
vnfaptftftrg  enrolled  themselves  in  the  armv  which  consist- 
ed of  70.000  Tinrae.  innumerable  Jbpt,  470  elephants  and 
a  large  flotilla  of  boats.  Shams-ud-din  had  been  dead  for 
some  time,  and  his  son  Sikandar  had  succeeded  him. 
Following  the  example  of  his  father,  he  shut  himself  up  in 
the  fort  of  IqdalS.  The  fortress  was  besieged,  and  the 
royalists  made  breaches  in  its  walls,  which  were  soon  re- 
paired by  the  Bengalis,  who  displayed  great  courage  and 
vigour.  But  the  patience  of  both  sides  was  soon  exhausted 
by  this  interminable  siege,  and  negotiations  for  peace 
began.  Sikandar 's  envoy  conducted  the  negotiations  with 
great  patience,  tact  and  firmness.  He  agreed  to  the 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  161 

restoration  of  SonargSon  to  Zafar  Khan  and  sent  40  ele- 
phants and  valuable  presents  to  the  Sultan  to  cement  their 
friendship.  But  Zafar  Khan  who  was  the  chief  cause  of 
all  this  trouble  gave  up  the  idea  of  retiring  to  his  country 
and  preferred  to  remain  at  Delhi.  Once  again  Firuzj 
weakness  prevented  him  from  asserting  his  sovereijgaty 
over  a  province  which  was  well-nigh  within  his  grasp. 
"""  On  Ms  returrTfrdm  Bengal,  the  Sultan  halted  at  Jaun- 
pur,  from  where  he  marched  against  Jajnagar  (modern 

Orissa),  which  was  in  a  flourishing  condition. 
gation  of  the     The  Rai  of  Jajnagar  fled  at  the  approach  of 
J&J"     ^e  ro^  armY  andtook  shelter  in  an  island, 

whither  he  was  pursued  by  the  Sultan's 
forces.  The  temple  of  Jagannath  at  Puri  was  desecrated 
and  the  idols  were  thrown  into  the  sea.  At  last,  dismayed 
by  the  heavy  odds  arrayed  against  him,  he  sent  his  emis- 
saries to  negotiate  the  terms  of  peace.  To  their  utter  sur- 
prise, the  Sultan  informed  them  that  he  was  entirely 
ignorant  of  the  cause  of  their  master's  flight.  The  Rai 
explained  his  conduct  and  agreed  to  furnish  a  fixed  num- 
ber of  elephants  every  year  as  tribute.  The  Sultan  accept- 
ed these  terms,  and  having  obtained  the  submission  of 
several  other  Hindu  chieftains  and  Zamindars  on  his  way, 
he  returned  to  the  capital. 

The  fortress  of  Nagarkot  had  been  conquered  by  Mu- 
hammad Tughluq  in  1837  A.D.  ;  but  during  the  latter  part 

of  his  reign  its  Rai  had  established  himself 
Na^r/kVtf  as  an  ^dependent  ruler.  JThe  temple  ^f 
1860-61  A.D.  '  Jwalamukhi  in  Nagarkot  was  an  old  and 

venerated  shrine  which  was  visited  by  thou- 
sands of  Hindu  pilgrims  who  made  rich  offerings  to  the 
i3oT  Its  sanctity  was  an  additional  reason  which  led  the 


162  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

bigoted  Firuz  to  undertake  this  expedition  ;  and  the  con- 
temporary  cnromcier  writes  thai  when  the  Sultan  paid  a 
visitto  the  temple,  he  addressed  the  assembled  Rais,  Ranas, 
and  Zamindars  in  these  words  :  "  Of  what  avail  is  the 
worship  of  this  stone  ?  What  desire  of  yours  will  be  ful- 
filled by  praying  to  it  ?  It  is  declared  in  our  Holy  Law  that 
those  who  act  contrary  to  it  will  go  to  hell."  The  fort  of 
Nagarkot  was  besieged,  and  manjniqs  and  arradas  were 
placed  on  all  sides.  After  a  protracted  siege  of  six  months, 
which  well-nigh  exhausted  the  patience  of  the  combatants 
on  both  sides,  Firuz  offered  pardon  to  the  Rai,  who  "  came 
down  from  his  fort,  apologised,  and  threw  himself  at  the 
feet  of  the  Sultan,  who  placed  his  hand  on  his  back,  be- 
stowed upon  him  rich  robes  of  honour  and  sent  him  back 
to  his  fort." 

The  Thatta  expedition  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 

episodes  in  the  reign  of  Firuz  Tughluq.    It  originated  in 

adesjre  to  avenge  the  wrongs  done  by  thg 

uLhofThatn"  peopl€!  °£  Thatta  to  the  late  Sultan-  Pw 
1871-72  A.D.tai  parations  for  the  campaign  were  made,  and 
volunteers  were  enrolled  in  the  army  which 
consisted  of  00,000  cavalry,  numerous  infantry  and  480 
elephants.  A  large  flotilla  of  five  thousand  boats  was  also 
constructed  and  placed  under  experienced  admirals.  Jam 
Babiniya,  the  chieftain  of  Sindb,  arranged  in  battle  array 
Ms  forces  which  numbered  200,000  horse  and  40,000  foot, 
and  prepared  for  action.  Meanwhile  in  the  Sultan's  camp 
provisions  became  scarce  owing  to  famine  and  pestilence, 
which  decimated  the  troops  and  swept  away  nearly  one- 
fourth  of  ike  cavalry. 

Reduced  to  sore  straits,  the  Sultan  retreated  towards 
Gujarat  mnd  lost  liis  way  in  the  Han  of  Kutch.    Having 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  168 

reached  Gujarat,  he  organised  his  army  and  spent  about 
two  crores  in  obtaining  the  sinews  of  war.  The  royal 
army  was  further  strengthened  by  the  reinforcements 
sent  by  the  Khan-i-Jahan  from  Delhi.  The  Sindhians 
were  frightened  and  expressed  their  willingness  to 
surrender*  The  Jam  offered  submission  ;  he  was  taken  to 
Delhi  where  a  liberal  pension  was  granted  to  him  and  his 
brother  was  reinstated  in  the  Jamship. 

Firuz  revived  the  Jaffir  system  which  had  been  dis- 
continued by  Alauddin.    The  whole  empire  was  divided 
jntojfiefs  and  the  fiefs  into  districts  held 
d8°trlt!ondrain"     *>y  M»  officers.     In  addition  to 

of  land,  the  officers  of  the  state  were 
allowances  which  enabled  them  to  accumulate  large 
fortunes.  The  interests  of  the  agriculturists  were  well 
protected.  The  Sultan  constructed  four  canala  which 
irrigated  large  areas  of  land  and  levied  a  small  irrigation 
cess  which  amounted  to  10  per  cent  of  the  produce  of  the 
fields.  The  system  of  taxation  was  reorganise^  and  made 
to  conformj*)  the  law^of  Islam.  All  vexatious  taxes  were 
abolished  and  Firuz  in  his  Fatuhat-i-Firuashahi  takea 
-credit  for  abolishing  23  such  taxes.  He  levied  only  four 
taxes  allowed  by  theJHoly  Law,  namely,  the  Khiraj, 
ZakaL  Jeziya  andj£ham&.  The  spoils  of  war  and  conquest 
won  by  the  arms  of  the  faithful  were  to  be  aharad  bv 
the  army  and  the  state  in  the  proportion  laid  down  in  the 
•flaeredjfts^ The  new  policy  of  taxation  had  a  beneficial 
effect  on  the  development  of  trade  and  agriculture  Prices 
were  low,  and  no  scarcity  of  necessaries  was  ever  felt. 

In  administering  law  and  justice  Firuz  actecTJIke  an 
•^orthodox  Muslim.  He  followed  thg  Quran  with  the  strict- 
est fidelity.  The  mu# Axpouztfed  the  law,  and  the 


164  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

judgment,  the  legal  system  waa  reformed^ 


Torture  was  abolished,  and  leniency  was  shownjn  award- 
ing punishments  to  wrong-doers. 

The  Sultan  was  kindly  disposed  towards  the  poor  and 
the  unemployed.  The  Kotwals  majj^jists  of^  Jhqse  who 
were  in  want  and  forwardM^hemTto  i  the  Diwan  where 
Suitable  occupations  were  jroyided  for  thezrT  ~ 

Himself  acquainted  with  the  science  of  medicine,  the 
Sultan  established  a  hospital  (Dar~ul-Shafn)  at  Delhi 
where  medicines  were  distributecf  to  the  sick  free  of  cost. 
The  patients  were  supplied  with  food  at  the  expense  of 
the  state,  and  competent  physicians  were  appointed  to 
look  after  them. 

The  military  organisation  of  the  empire  rested  on  a 

feudal  basis.    Grants  of  land  were  made  to  the  soldiers 

mi.     A  .of  the  army  for  their  maintenance  while  the 

The  Army.         ~  -  7         *  _     . 

irregulars  (ghairwajh)  were  paid  from  the 
royal  treasury,  and  those  who  received  neither  salary  nor 
grants  of  land  were  given  assignments  upon  the  revenue. 
The  royal  army  consisted  of  80  or  90  thousand  cavalry  in 
addition  to  tne  retainers  01  tne  feudal  barons  and  grandees 
of  the  state,  who  numbered  a  little  less  than  two  hundred 
thousand.  Horsemen  were  required  to  bring  the  right 
kind  of  animals  to  the  registration  office,  and  the  corrupt 
practices  that  had  formerly  attended  this  business  were 
put  an  end  to  by  the  vigilant  Malik  Razi,  the  N&ib  Ariz-i- 
mamnlik  (deputy  muster-master).  The  soldiers  were 
treated  kindly  and  were  provided  with  all  sorts  of  com- 
f<a±p.  But  the  rSultan's  misplaced  generosity,  seriously 
impaired  the  efficiency  of  the  army  by  allowing  aged  and 
infirm  persons,  no  Jon^er  fit  for  active  service,  to  re~ 
main  in  it.  A  new  regulation  laid  down  that  when  a 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  165 

soldier  became  unfit  on  account  of  old  age,  his  son,  or 
son-in-law,  or  slave  should  succeed  him,  and  in  this  way 
"  the  veterans  were  to  remain  at  home  in  ease  and  the 
young  were  to  ride  forth  in  their  strength/7  ""~ 

One  of  the  principal  features  of  the  reign  of  Firuz 
was  the  unusual  growth  of  the  slave  system.    From  the 
various  parts  of  the  empire  slaves  were 


*  *  V  e  were  granted  allowances  bv 


the  state.  Owing  to  the  Sultan's  favour  the 
number  of  slaves  rapidly  multiplied,  so  that  in  a  few  years 
in  the  metropolis  and  the  provinces  of  the  empire  their 
total  number  reached  the  high  figure  of  180.000.  For  the 
proper  management  of  this  army  of  slaves,  a  separate 
department  with  a  regular  staff  of  officers  was  established, 
which  must  have  caused  a  heavy  drain  upon  the  treasury. 
Firuz  was  a  gre'at  builder.  He  founded  the  towns 
,of  Firuzabad,  Fatahabad^  Jaunpur^and  several  others: 
built  n>Q9cmea.  palaces,  monasteriea^Jid  inna 
for  tlie  convenience  of  travellers,  and  re- 
paired numerous  buildinfta  which  had 
suffered  from  the  ravages  of  time.  Numerous  artisans 
were  employed  by  the  state,  and 


dentjwas  appointed  to  supervise  the  work  of  each  class  of 
artisans.    The  plan  of  every  new  building  was  examined 


in  the  finance  ^office  (Diwan  4-  Wizarat)  and  then  money 
was  sanctioned  for  its  construction. 

The  Sultan  was  a  great  gardener.  He  rebuilt  30  old 
gardens  of  Alauddin  and  laid  out  1,200  new  ones  in  the  vici- 
nity of  DelhL  Numerous  gardens  and  orchards  were  laid 
.  which  yielded  to  the  state  a  large  revenue.  Much  waste 


land  was  reclaimed,  and  though  the  extent  of  the  empire 
reduced.  its  revenue  increased  by  several  millions. 


196  HISTORY  OF  KtfSLIM  BULB 


Firuz  took  interest  in  **>*  Pr?aflTTat1'ftP  "* 
msnumenta,  and  caused  two  monoliths  of  Afoka  to  be 
yed  to  his  new  city.  Learned  Brahmans  were  called 
to  decipher  the  inscriptions  on  the  pillars,  but  they  failed 
to  make  out  the  script  which  was  totally  different  from 
the  language  with  which  they  were  familiar.  Some 

to  please  t*1*  Sl1W  h.y 


recorded  in  the  inscriptions  that  no  one  woi]]^  h^  flMfi  ^ 
.remove  the  monoliths  until  the  advent  of  Firuz. 

Though  not  a  finished  scholar  like  his  cousin  Muham- 
mad Tughluq,  the  Sultan  was  interested  in  the  promotion 
^"  "  *  of  learning.  He  extended  his  patronage  to 
iePa?n?n°g!0n  °f  £b*ikhs  and  learned  men  and  accorded  to 
them  a  most  hearty  reception  in  his  Palace 
of  Grapes.  H^gHHlCTTeiiisions  and  .gratuities  to  them 
and  made  it  a  part  of  his  state  policy  to  encourage  learn- 
ed men  in  all  parts  of  the  empire.  He  yasjond  of  his- 
tory, and  the  works  of  2ia  Barani  and  Shams-i-Siraj  Afif, 
besides  ^£tlier  works  on  law^and  theology,  were  written 
during  his  reign.  Numerous  collects  ^and.  moaasterifia. 
were  established,  where  men  devoted  themselves  to  study 
and  meditation,  and  to  each  collecre  was  attached  a 
mosque  for  worship. 

Ine  MoBiri-i-Rahimi  of  Abdul  Baqi  states  that  he 
built  fifty  Madrasas.  Nizamuddin  and  Firishta  estimate 
the  number  to  be  thirty.  Firuz  speaks  of  such  institu- 
tions in  his  FatuhaL  The  Firuzshahi  Madrasa  at  Firuza- 
bad  was  liberally  endowefl  and  surpassed  in  scfrplastto 
attdrnnfiyita  fJi^  other  Mad™*™  nf  thA  tim^  The  Sultan 
caused  several  works  to  be  translated  from  Sanskrit 
info  perakm.  One  of  these  was  the  Dalaml-i-Firuzshahi 
which  was  seized  during  the  conquest  of  Nagarkot. 


THB  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  167 

No  account  of  Firuz's  reign  would  be  complete  with- 
out a  mention  of  his  able  and  energetic  minister  Khan-i- 
Jahan  MaqbQl.    He  was  originally  a  Hindu 
but  had  latterly   embraceS 


Islam.  HeHaad  acquired  much  valuable 
experience  of  public  affairs  under  Sultan  Muhammad' 
Tughluq,  who  had  entrusted  to  him  the  fief  of  Multian.. 
When  friruz  ascended  the  throne,  Maqbul  was  elevated 
to  the  position  of  the  Jirst  minister  of  the  realm  after* 
the  fall  of  Ahmad  bin  Ayaz.  When  he  went  on  distant, 
expeditions,  he  left  the  minister  in  charge  of  the  capital. 
and  the  Jatter  managed  the  affairs  of  the  state  with 
such  ability  and  vigour  that.,  the.  long  absence  of  the 
Sultan  had  no  effect  upon  the  administration.  Though  a 
great  statesman,  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  state,  the 
minister  was  like  most  men  of  rank  in  ftis  age  addicted  to 
the  pleasures  of  the  haram,  It  is  said,  he  had  two  thousand 
women  of  different  nationalities  in  his  seraglio  and  a  large 
number  of  children,  who  were  all  liberally  provided  for/ 
by  the  state.  The  Khan-i-Jahan  lived  up  to  a  ripe  old 
age.  When  he  died  in  1370  A.D.  his  son  Juna  Shah, 
who  was  born  at  Multan  during  the  reign  of  Muhammad 
Tughluq,  was  confirmed  in  his  office,  and  the  title  which 
his  father  had  so  long  enjoyed  was  bestowed  upon  him. 

The  last  days  of  Piruz  were  clouded  by  sorrow  and 
anxiety,  and  the  even  tenor  of  his  life  was  disturbed  by 

the  dissensions  of  parties  and  factions.  The 
olpira?*  day8  infirmities  of  age  had  compelled  him  to  dele- 

gate his  authority  to  the  minister  Khan-i- 
Jahan,  but  the  latter's  overweening  pride  and  insolence 
filled  the  old  nobility  with  disgust.  In  order  to  put  Prince 
Muhammad  out  of  his  way,  the  minister  informed  the 


168  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Sultan  that  the  Prince  had  entered  into  a  confederacy  with 
certain  disaffected  nobles  and  intended  to  take  his  life.  So 
skilfully  did  the  wily  minister  play  upon  the  fears  of  the 
weak-minded Firuz  that  he  readily  granted  him  permission 
to  arrest  the  conspirators.  But  the  Prince  proved  too  clever 
for  him,  and  by  a  dexterous  move  foiled  the  intrigues  of  his 
enemy.  Having  secured  permission  for  his  ladies  to  visit 
the  royal  seraglio,  he  put  on  his  armour  and  got  into  one  of 
the  palanquins.  When  he  reached  the  palace,  he  threw 
himself  at  the  feet  of  his  father  and  begged  forgiveness. 
He  was  pardoned  and  the  Sultan  declared  him  his  heir- 
apparent.  Secure  in  his  position,  the  Prince  spent  his  time 
in  pleasure  and  appointed  his  own  unworthy  favourites  to 
positions  of  honour.  Opposition  to  the  Prince  grew  apace, 
and  civil  war  ensued.  The  nobles  sought  the  protection  of 
the  old  Sultan,  and  his^gpe^y^nce  had  a  magical  eflpQ^t  pn 
the  hostile  troops.  The  Prince  fled  towards  the  Sirmur  hills, 
and  order  was  quickly  restored.  Piruz  once  more  assumed 
sovereignty,  but  advancing  age  rendered  him  unfit  for  the 
proper  discharge  of  kingly  duties.  The  last  public  act 
of  his  life  was  the  conferment  of  the  royal  insignia  upon 
his  grandson,  Tughluq  Shah  bin  Fatah  Khan,  to  whom 
he  delegated  his  authority.  Not  long  afterwards  the  old 
Sultan,  who  was  nearly  eighty  years  old,  died  in  the  month 
of  Ramzan,  790  A.H.  (October  1388).  His  death  was 
followed  by  the  scramble  of  rival  princes  and  parties  for 
power  which  will  be  described  in  the  next  chapter. 

After  the  death  of  Firuz  Tughluq  the  empire  of  Delhi 
which  had  shrunk  to  the  dimensions  of  a  small  principality* 
rapidly  declined  in  importance.   It  had  been 
greasy  disturbed  by  the  convulsions  of  Mu- 
hammad's reign,  and 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  169 

tejrecover  the  lost  prcn  '^ces.  As  a  result  of  his  policy  the 
centrifugal  tendencies,  so  common  in  Indian  history,  began 
to  work,  and  province  after  pro vince  separated  itself  from 
the  empire.  Ambitious  chiefs  and  disloyal  governors 
hoisted  the  flag  of  revolt,  and  defied  the  authority  of  the 
central  power,  which  had  become  incapable  of  asserting 
itself.  The  basic  principle  of  the  Muslim  State  in  the  four- 
teenth century  was  force  ;  but  the  awe  and  fear  in  which 
the  ruling  class  was  held  had  disappeared  owing  to  the 
relaxation  of  authority,  and  Firuz  was  loved  and  not 
feared  by  his  subjects.  The  Muslims,  accustomed  to  a 
life  of  ease  at  the  court,  lost  their  old  vigour  and  man- 
liness, and  behaved  like  a  disorderly  rabble  in  the  midst 
of  a  campaign.  The  jagir  system  led  to  great  abuses, 
and  often  the  feudatories  attempted  to  set  up  as  inde- 
pendent rulers.  ^  ne  slaves  of  Firuz  whose  number  had 
exceeded  all  reasonable  limits  were  another  source  of 
weakness.  The  whole  institution  had  undergone  a  radical 
change,  and  the  slaves,  no  longer  capable  and  loyal  like 
their  forbears  in  the  time  of  Balban  and  Alauddin, 
embroiled  themselves  in  disgraceful  intrigues,  and  added 
to  the  disorders  of  the  time.  The  incompetence  of  the 
later  Tughluqs  led  to  a  recrudescence  of  Hindu  revolts 
particularly  in  the  Doab,  where  Zamindars  and  Khuts 
withheld  tribute  and  began  to  play  the  role  of  petty 
despots.  The  revenue  was  not  realised,  and  the  whole 
administration  fell  into  a  state  of  chaos.  A  kingdom 
which  depended  for  its  existence  mainly  on  military 
strength  was  bound  to  be  pulled  to  pieces  like  a  child's 
map,  when  its  destinies  were  controlled  by  men  who  were 
neither  warriors  nor  statesmen,  and  who  could  be  utilised 
by  self-seeking  adventurers  for  their  own  aggrandisement 


170  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

By  their  incompetence,  the  successors  of  Firuz  accelerated 
the  process  of  disintegration,  the  seeds  of  which  hadL 
been  sown  during  his  r  eign. ' 

The  successor  of  Firuz  was  his  grandson  Tughluq 
Shah,  son  of  Prince  Fatah  Khan,  who  assumed  the  title  of 

Ghiyas-ud-din  Tughluq  II.  This  young  and 
suc^ss^s6  aokf  inexperienced  ruler  had  no  idea  of  the  magni- 
Piruz.  tude  of  the  difficulties  that  surrounded  him 

and  the  dangers  that  threatened  the  empire 
of  Delhi.  He  gave  himself  up  to  debauch  and  pleasure, 
and  neglected  the  affairs  of  the  state.  His  conduct 
alienated  the  sympathies  of  the  great  officials  and  Amirs, 
and  when  he  threw  into  prison  Abu  Bakr,  son  of  Zaf ar 
Khan,  they  formed  a  conspiracy  to  overthrow  him.  The 
conspirators  entered  the  palace,  and  the  Sultan  who 
knew  that  they  had  designs  on  him  escaped  with  the 
wazir  towards  the  river.  But  he  was  pursued  and  over- 
taken by  one  of  the  conspirators,  just  when  he  was  about 
to  cross  the  river,  and  was  beheaded  on  the  spot  on 
February  19, 1389  A. D.  Abu  Bakr  succeeded  him  ;  gradual- 
ly he  established  his  hold  over  Delhi,  and  his  influence  and 
authority  began  to  wax  from  day  to  day.  But  the  peace  of 
the  realm  was  disturbed  by  the  news  of  the  murder  of  the 
Amir  ol  Samana,  who  had  been  sent  against  Prince 

1  8tanley  Lane-Poole  mentions  inter-marriage  with  the  Hindus 
innnp.nft.bft  o.a.Vftpa  of  d  is  migration.  Tkia  18  narfllv  norrect.  P  Irtig 
himself,  who  was  born  of  a  Hindu  mother,  never  showed  any  Hindu  pro- 
clivities. On  the  contrary,  he  was  a  bigot,  who  always  deemed  it  an 
act  of  merit  to  persecute  the  "  infidels.  "  Besides,  Lane-Poole's  state- 
ment is  not  borne  out  by  subsequent  history  The  great  Mughal  Emperor 
Akbar  adopted  the  policy  of  matrimonial  alliances  with  a  view  to  streng- 
then the  empire,  and  this  policy  succeeded  remarkably  well:  The  empire 
continued  as  vigorous  as  before  under  his  two  successors,  and  it  broke  up- 
only  when  Aurangzeb  abandoned  the  policy  of  religious  toleration  which 
bis  great-grandfather  had  inaugurated. 


THE  TUGHLDQ  DYNASTY  171 

Muhammad,  the  your  ~<*r  eon  of  Sultan  Firuz  Shah.  The- 
latter  readily  grasped  at  this  opportunity,  and  forthwith 
proceeded  to  Samana,  where  he  proclaimed  himself  em- 
peror. Encouraged  by  the  offers  of  help  from  some  of  the 
Amirs  and  nobles  at  the  capital,  he  marched  towards  Delhi 
and  encamped  in  its  neighbourhood.  A  terrible  civil  war 
became  imminent,  and  ambitious  chiefs  and  slaves  began 
to  sway  the  scale  on  one  side  or  the  other.  Bahadur  Nahir 
of  Mewat  joined  Abu  Bakr,  and  with  his  help  the  armies 
of  Delhi  succeeded  in  inflicting  a  defeat  upon  Prince 
Muhammad  in  the  battle  of  Firuzabad.  The  vanquished 
prince  went  into  the  Doab  and  began  to  make  efforts  to 
obtain  fresh  allies.  His  troops,  mortified  by  their  defeat, 
ravaged  the  lands  of  the  Doab,  and  plundered  the  estates 
of  the  nobles  and  Amirs  of  Delhi.  Sharp  skirmishes  with 
the  Zamindars  and  petty  chieftains  followed  and  the  lex 
talionis  was  freely  resorted  to.  Abu  Bakr's  indifference 
to  these  depredations  turned  his  nobles  against  him,  and 
many  of  them  went  over  to  the  side  of  the  enemy. 
Having  organised  his  forces,  Muhammad  returned  ta 
Jalesar,  where  he  encamped  and  busied  himself  in  making 
preparations  for  battle.  A  battle  was  fought  near 
Panipat,  but  fortune  again  favoured  Abu  Bakr,  and 
Prince  Humayun,  Muhammad's  son,  suffered  a  severe 
defeat.  Muhammad,  who  was  assisted  by  a  faction  at 
Delhi,  did  not  lose  heart,  and  when  Abu  Bakr  left  for 
Mewat  to  seek  the  help  of  Bahadur  Nahir,  the  disaffected 
nobles  invited  him  to  come  to  the  capital.  In  response 
to  this  invitation  Muhammad  marched  towards  Delhi, 
where  he  was  cordially  received  by  his  partisans.  Having 
effected  a  safe  entry  into  the  capital,  Prince  Muhammad 
took  his  abode  in  the  palace,  and  ascended  the  throne  at 


172  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Firuzabad  under  the  title  of  Nasir-ud-din  Muhammad  in 
August  1390.  In  order  to  consolidate  his  power,  the 
new  Sultan  deprived  the  old  Firuzshahi  slaves,  who  were 
partisans  of  Abu  Bakr,  of  the  custody  of  elephants. 
They  protested  against  this  step  but  in  vain,  and  one 
night  they  fled  with  their  wives  and  children  to  join  Abu 
Bakr.  The  Sultan  sent  Prince  Humayun  and  Islam  Khan 
against  his  rival  and  the  slaves  of  the  old  regime.  Islam 
Khan's  intrepid  action  overpowered  Abu  Bakr,  and  when 
the  latter  saw  that  his  cause  was  lost,  he  made  his  sub- 
mission. The  Sultan  pardoned  Bahadur  Nahir  and  im- 
prisoned Abu  Bakr  in  the  fort  of  Meerut,  where  he  died 
afterwards. 

The  Sultan  returned  to  Delhi,  but  the  good  effect  of 
his  victory  was  marred  by  the  rebellion  of  the  Zamindars 
of  the  Doab.  The  revolt  of  Narasingh,  Zamindar  of 
Etawah,  was  successfully  put  down,  but  Islam  Khan's 
treasonable  conduct  caused  the  Sultan  much  anxiety. 
On  the  evidence  of  a  kinsman  of  his  own,  Islam  was 
condemned  to  death  without  a  trial.  But  more  formidable 
in  magnitude  than  all  these  was  the  rebellion  of  Bahadur 
Nahir  of  Mewat,  who  began  to  make  inroads  into  the 
environs  of  Delhi.  The  Sultan,  although  in  a  state  of 
feeble  health,  proceeded  against  him,  and  compelled  him 
to  seek  refuge  in  his  own  fortress.  His  health  declined 
rapidly,  and  he  died  on  January  15,  1394.  He  was 
succeeded  by  his  son  Humayun,  but  his  life  was  cut  short 
.by  a  "violent  disorder,"  and  he  died  after  a  few  days. 

JThe  vacant  throne  now  fell  to  the  lot  of  Prince 
M  ah  mud,  the  youngest  son  of  Muhammad,  who  assumed 
the  sceptre  under  the  title  of  Nasir-ud-din  Mahmud 
Tughluq.  The  problems  which  confronted  the  new 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  if* 

government  were  difficult  and  multifarious.  At  the 
capital,  the  scramble  of  parties  and  factions  made  the 
establishment  of  a  strong  administration  well-nigh  im- 
possible ;  abroad,  the  Hindu  chiefs  and  Muslim  governors 
openly  disregarded  the  authority  of  the  central  govern- 
ment. The  whole  country  from  Kanauj  to  Bihar  and 
Bengal  was  in  a  state  of  turmoil,  and  many  of  the  chiefs 
and  Zamindars  had  begun  to  exercise  de  facto  sovereignty 
within  their  territorial  limits.  Khwaja  Jahan  who  had 
been  created  Malik-us-Sharq  (Lord  of  the  East)  became 
independent  at  Jaunpur ;  the  Khokhars  revolted  in  the 
north;  Gujarat  declared  its  independence,  and  Malwa 
and  Khandesh  followed  suit.  The  government  found  it 
impossible  to  arrest  the  forces  of  disorder,  which  was 
aggravated  by  the  acrimonious  disputes  of  contending 
parties  at  Delhi  Some  of  the  nobles  put  forward  Nusrat 
Khan,  a  grandson  of  Firuz  Tughluq,  as  a  rival  claimant 
to  the  throne.  The  Amirs  and  Maliks  at  Piruzabad,  to- 
gether with  the  slaves  of  the  old  regime,  espoused  the 
cause  of  Nusrat,  while  those  at  Delhi  gave  their  support 
to  Mahmud  Tughluq.  Thus,  there  were  two  Sultans 
arrayed  in  hostile  camps,  and  the  imperial  crown  was 
tossed  to  and  fro  like  a  shuttlecock  between  the  contend- 
ing factions.  A  large  number  of  party  leaders  arose, 
but  the  most  distinguished  among  them  were  Bahadur 
Nahir,  Mallu  Iqbal,  and  Muqarrab  Khan.  Fighting  went 
on  ceaselessly  ;  and  the  protagonists  on  either  side  keenly 
contested  for  supremacy  without  any  appreciable  result. 
The  provincial  governors  took  no  part  in  these  civil  wars ; 
but  they  vigilantly  watched  the  fluctuations  in  the  fortunes 
of  rival  parties.  Towards  the  close  of  the  year  1397,  came 
the  news  that  the  army  of  Timur  had  crossed  the  Indus 


174  HISTORY  OP  MU8LIM  BULB 

•and  laid  siege  to  Uchha  The  effect  of  the  advent  of  a 
foreign  army  was  soon  felt  at  the  capital,  where  the 
parties  began  to  shift  their  positions  with  astonishing 
rapidity.  Mallu  Iqbal  went  over  to  the  side  of  Nusrat 
Khan,  and  the  new  allies  swore  fealty  to  each  other,  but 
the  compact  was  too  hastily  formed  to  last  long.  Sultan 
Mahmud  and  his  powerful  allies,  Muqarrab  Khan  and 
Bahadur  Nahir,  occupied  old  Delhi.  Mallu  Iqbal  trea- 
<5herously  attacked  Nusrat,  but  the  prince  having  got 
scent  of  his  treasonable  designs  escaped  to  Tatar  Khan  at 
Panipat.  Mallu  Iqbal  now  turned  against  his  irreconcil- 
able foe,  Muqarrab,  and  determined  to  drive  him  out  of 
the  capital.  A  fierce  fight  raged  between  them,  and  it  was 
after  two  months  that  a  peace  was  patched  up  through 
the  intervention  of  some  noblemen.  But  Mallu  was  not 
the  man  to  abide  by  his  plighted  word ;  he  attacked 
Muqarrab  at  his  residence  and  had  him  cruelly  put  to 
death.  Muqarrab's  death  broke,  as  it  were,  the  right  arm 
of  Sultan  Mahmud,  who,  deprived  of  all  royal  authority, 
became  a  tool  in  the  hands  of  Mallu  Iqbal.  He  made 
efforts  to  reorganise  the  administration,  but  the  grim 
spectre  of  a  foreign  invasion  stared  him  in  the  face.  The 
ominous  news  flashed  forth  that  Amir  Timur  was  advanc- 
ing upon  Hindustan  with  his  myriad  hosts. 

Timurwas  born  in  1336  A.D.  at  Kech  in  Transoxiana, 
fifty  miles  south  of  Samarqand.    He  was  the  son  of  Amir 

Turghav.  chief  of  the  Gurkan  branch  of  the 
.  Tim  u  r/8  Barias,  a  noble  Turkish  tribe,  and  a  nephew 
A.D.9  oFaaji  Barias.  At  the  age  of  33  he  became 

the  head  of  the  CfraghtIB  Turks  and  con- 
stantly waged  war  against  Persia  and  the  adjoining  lands. 
Having  made  himself  master  of  the  countries  of  central 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  175 

Asia,  he  resolved  on  the  invasion  of  Hindustan,  which 
was  at  the  time  in  a  state  of  anarchy.  His  motive  in 
doing  so  was  '  to  purify  the  land  itself  from  the  filth  of 
infidelity  and  polytheism,  ' 

The  advance  guard  of  Timur  's  army  under  Pir  Muham- 
mad soon  reached  India.  crossedjh^IlldU3,  capturedUchha. 
and  then  advanced  upon  Multan,  which  also  capitulated 
after  a  protracted  siege  of  six  months.  Having  collected 
•a  large  army  from  all  parts  of  his  wide  dominions, 
Timur  marched  across  the  Hindukushjtnd  crossed  the  river 
Indus  on  September  24f  1398.  When  he  reached  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Dipalpur^  the  people  who  had  murdered 
Musafir  Qabuli  whom  Pir  Muhammad  had  appointed 
.governor  of  their  city,  fled  out  of  fear  and  took  refuge 
in  the  fort  of  Bhatnir,  which  was  one  of  the  most 
renowned  fortresses  irT  Hindustan.  The  generals  of 
Timur  attacked  the  fort  on  the  right  and  left  and 
captured  it.  The  Rai  submitted,  but  the_Amir  J!?fl!$te<l 
heavy  punishments  upon  thelnhabitaiitg_of  Bhatnir.  Men 
«id  women  were  slain,  their  goods  were  forcibly  seized. 
and  the  buildings  and  the  fort  were  razed  to  the  ground. 

From  Iffiatnir  Tjprmr  parched  tp  Siranti  which  was 
easily  conquered,  and  when  he  reached  Kaithal  which 
is  at  a  distance  of  34  miles  from  Samana,  he  began 
to  make  preparations  for  an  attack  upon  Delhi.  As  the 
-army  progressed  in  its  journey,  the  inhabitants  of  the 
towns  through  whifeh  it  pasted  flad  fa 


houses  and  goods  at  the  dianoaul  of  thP  _ 

.after  town  surrendered^  and  in  a  short  time  Timur  reached 
the  Jahanuma.  a  fine  palace  built  by  F1*1™  Shflfr  ftt~ft 
.distance  of  six  miles  from  Delhi.  The  neighbour  ing  country 
was  ravaged,  and  the  soldiers  were  permitted  to  obtain 


176  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

food  and  fodder  for  themselves  and  their  cattle  by  means 
of  plunder.  When  Timur  reached  near  Delhi,  he  ordered 
that  the  100,000  Hindustwho  were  in  his  camp  should  be 
put  to  death,  for  he  thought  that  on  the  great  day  of 
battle,  they  might  4  break  their  bonds  '  and  go  over  to  the 
enemy.  Even  such  a  pious  man  as  Maulana  Naair-ud-din 
Omar,  who  had  never  killed  a  sparrow  in  his  life,  slew 
who  happened  to  be  his  prisoners! 


Timur  organised  his  forces  in  battle  array  and  made 
ready  for  action.  Sultan  Mahmud  and  Mallu  Iqbal  collect- 
ed an  army,  which  contained  10,000  well-trained  horse, 
40,000  foot  and  125  elephants.  The  two  armies  confronted 
each  other  outside  Delhi.  In  the  battle  that  followed,  the 
Delhi  army  fought  with  desperate  courage,  but  it  was 
defeated,  Mahmud  and  Mallu  Iqbal  fled  from  the  field 
of  battle,  and  Timur  hoisted  his  flag  on  the  ramparts  of 
Delhj.  The  city  was  thorou^ljrsacked,  and  th(T  iniiabi- 
tants  were  massacred.  According  to  the  Zafarnama  men 
and  women  were  madq  slaves,  and  vast  booty  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy,  S^v^ya!  tho^^an4  craftsmen 
and  mechanics  were  brought  out  of  the  city  and  were 
divided  among  the  jPrinceg^jLmirs,  and  Aghas,  who  had 
.assisted  in  the  conquest. 

Timur  halted  at  Delhi  for  a  fortnight  which  he  spent 
in  pleasure  and  enjoyment.  After  that  he  moved  towards 

Mgei^tr  and  thfin  flronftftdftd  tn  Hard  wnr  where  afierce  fight 

raged  between  the  Hindus  and  Muslims.  This  was  follow- 
ed by  a  sucgfiasf  ul  raid  in  the  Siwalik  hills.  The  Raj  waa 
defeated,  and  vast  booty  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  victors. 
\  Having  completed  the  conquest  of  a  Siwalik  country, 
tlmur  marched  toward*  Jamm^  Th^Bgjawasdefeated 
and  takqn  prisoner,  and  forced  to  embraceTsIaqa.  ~* 


THE  INVASION  OF  TIMUR,  1398  A.D. 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  177 

The  task  of  conquest  was  now  over,  Timur  felt  that 
it  was  time  to  go.  Having  entrusted  the  fiefs  of  Lahore. 
Mul  tan  and  Dipalpur  to  Khizr  Khan,  hejeftfor  Samarqapd. 

Timur's  invasion  caused  widespread  anarchy  in    fTiir 

<lustan.  The^government  at  Delhi  was  completely  para- 
lysed,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  capital  as 
wel1  as  in  the  Provinces  of  the  empire,  the 

greatest confusion     prevailed.     To    the 

sufferings  consequent  upon  a  war,  conducted  by  heartlesg 
ruffians,  fired  by  a  fanatical  thirst  for  bloodshed  and 
-plunder,  were  added  the  horrors  of  famine  and  pestilence. 
which  destroyed  men  and  Battle,  and  caused  a_susE£nsion 
of  agriculture.  The  dislocation  of  the  entire  social 
systemT~coupled  with  the  abeyance  of  political  authority 
capable  of  enforcing  peace  and  order,  favoured  the 
plans  of  the  military  adventurers,  who  harried  the  land  and 
harassed  thejagojale  for  their  own  aggrandisement.  The 
small  military  cliques,  working  for  their  own  selfish  ends, 
became  the  chief  curse  of  the  time.  In  March  1399, 
Sultan  Nusrat  Shah,  who  had  fled  into  the  Doab,  recovered 
possession  of  Delhi,  but  it  soon  passed  into  the  hands  of 
Iqbal  Khan,  whose  sway  extended  over  a  few  districts  in 
the  Doab  and  the  fiefs  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  capital. ' 

1  The  rest  of  the  empire  was   parcelled   out  into   fiefs   which   were 
independent 

Tarikh-i-Mubarak  Shahi,  Elliot,  IV,  p.  37. 
The  following  were  the  principal  fiefs  of  the  empire : — 
Delhi  and   the   Doab  ...  ..     Iqbal  Khan. 


Gujarat    with    all   its     districts    and 

dependencies. 

Multan,  Dipalpur  and  parts  of  Sindh 
Mahoba  and  Kalpi 
Kanauj,  Oudh,  Kara,  Dalmau.  Sandila, 

Bahraich,  Bihar  and  Jaunpur, 
Dhar 
Samana 
Biyana 


Zaiar  Khan  Wajih-ul- 

Mulk. 

Khizr  Khan. 
Mahmud  Khan. 
Khwaja  Jahan. 

..     Dilawar  Khan. 
..     Ghalib  Khan. 
~     Shams  Khan. 


178  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Iqbal  gradually  asserted  his  authority,  and  in  1401  he  was 
joined  by  Sultan  Mahmud,  whom  he  formally  received 
in  the  capital.  But  as  real  power  was  in  the  hands  of 
Iqbal,  Sultan  Mahmud  chafed  against  the  restraint  imposed 
upon  him,  and  sought  in  vain  the  help  of  Ibrahim  Shah 
of  Jaunpur.  Thus  foiled  in  his  efforts  to  effect  a  coalition 
against  Iqbal,  the  Sultan  settled  at  Kanauj,  where  the 
disbanded  troops  and  retainers  rallied  round  his  banner. 
Iqbal  marched  towards  Gwalior  to  chastise  the  local  ruler 
Bhima  Deva,  but  he  was  obliged  to  raise  the  siege  and 
return  to  Delhi.  His  expedition  against  the  Hindu  chiefs 
of  Etawah  was  more  successful ;  but  when  he  marched 
towards  Multan,  Ehizr  Khan,  the  governor,  opposed  him, 
and  in  a  battle  that  ensued  Iqbal  was  slain  in  1405.  The 
death  of  Iqbal  removed  from  the  path  of  Mahmud  a  formid- 
able opponent,  and  on  being  invited  by  Daulat  Khan  and 
other  nobles,  he  proceeded  to  Delhi,  but  the  imbecility  of 
his  character  soon  made  him  unpopular  with  the  army, 
and  prevented  him  from  making  a  proper  use  of  his  restor- 
ed rights.  The  author  of  the  Tg/nkh-i-Mubarak  Sh&hi 
who  has  carefully  chronicled  the  events  of  this  troubled 
period,  writes  :  "  The  whole  business  was  fallen  into  the 
greatest  disorder.  The  Sultan  gave  no  heed  to  the  duties 
of  his  station,  and  had  no  care  for  the  permanency  of  the 
throne;  his  whole  time  was  devoted  to  pleasure  and 
debauchery. " 

Sultan  Mahmud  died  in  1412,  and  with  him,  as  Firishta 
writes,  fell  the  kingdom  of  Delhi  from  the  race  of  the 
Turks,  who  had  mightily  swayed  the  sceptre  for  more  than 
two  centuries.  After  his  death  the  Amirs  and  Maliks 
chose  Daulat  Khan  as  their  leader  and  gave  him  their 
adhesion.  Daulat  Khan  received  no  honours  of  royalty ; 


THE  TUGHLUQ  DYNASTY  179 

he  occupied  only  the  position  of  the  head  of  a  military 
p%flrn.hv  which  was  trying  to  save  itself  from  a  highly 
difficult  situation.  Shortly  after  his  assumption  of  this 
quasi-royal  office,  Daulat  Khan  led  an  expedition  to 
Katehar  and  received  the  submission  of  the  Hindu 
chiefs.  At  this  time  came  the  disquieting  news  that 
Ibrahim  of  Jaunpur  was  besieging  Qadr  Khan  in  his 
fortress  at  Kalpi,  but  Daulat  Khan  had  no  forces  at  his 
command  to  march  to  his  relief.  Meanwhile  Khizr  Khan, 
the  governor  of  Multan  and  Timur's  deputy  in  Hindustan, 
who  had  been  watching  the  disordered  state  of  things, 
advanced  upon  Delhi,  and  after  a  siege  of  four  months 
compelled  Daulat  Khan  to  surrender  on  May  28,  1414. 
Fortune  befriended  Khizr  Khan  ;  he  easily  acquired  pos- 
session of  Delhi  and  laid  the  foundations  of  a  new 
dynasty. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE 

(i)  The  Rise  of  Provincial  Dynasties 

In  the  tenth  century  the  kingdom  of  Malwa  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Parmar  Rajputs,    and  under  their  rule  it 
attained  to  great  prominence      During  the 
Malwa>  reign  of  Raja  Bhoja  of  Dhara,  Malwa  became 

very  famous.  In  1235lltutmish  raided  Ujjain  and  demolished 
the  famous  temple  of  MahakSli.  Alauddin  conquered  it  in 
1310,  land  from  that  time  it  continued  to  be  held  by  Muslim 
governors  until  the  break-up  of  the  kingdom  of  Delhi  after 
(the  death  of  Firuz  TughluQ.  In  1401  Dilawar  Khan,  a  des- 
cendant of  Muhammad  Ghori  and  one  of  the  fief-holders  of 
Firuz  Tughluq,  established  his  independence  during  the 
period  of  confusion  that  followed  the  invasion  of  Timur  and 
made  Dhar  the  capital  of  his  kingdom. l  DilSwar  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son,  Alap  Khan,  under  the  title  of  Hushang 
Shah  (1405—1434  A.D.),  who  transferred  his  capital  to 
Mandu,  which  he  adorned  with  many  beautiful  buildings. 
The  situation  of  Malwa  and  the  fertility  of  its  lands  involved 
it  in  wars  with  the  neighbouring  kingdoms  of  Delhi,  Jaun- 
pur,  and  Gujarat,  which  greatly  taxed  her  resources.  Hush- 
ang was  defeated  in  a  war  with  Gujarat  and  was  taken 
prisoner,  but  he  was  soon  liberated  and  restored  to  his  king- 
dom. He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Ghazni  Khan,  a  worth- 
Jess  debauchee,  who  was  murdered  by  his  minister  Mahmud 

1  Firishta  has  given  a  connected  account  of  the  kings  of  Malwa.  See 
Brigge,  IV,  pp.  167—279. 

180 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE  181 

Khan,1  aKhilji  Turk,  who  usurped  the  throne  and  assumed 
the  honours  of  royalty.  Under  Mahmud  Khilji  (1436—69 
A.D.)  Malwa  rose  to  be  a  powerful  and  prosperous  kingdom 
and  its  ruler  established  his  fame  as  a  great  general  and 
warrior  all  over  Hindustan,  by  his  unending  wars  against  the 
rulers  of  Raj  put  an  a,  Gujarat,  and  the  Sultans  of  the  Bah- 
mani  dynasty.  Mahmud  was  a  brave  soldier  ;  his  fondness 
for  war  was  so  great  that  his  whole  life  was  spent  in  the 
military  camp.  As  an  administrator  he  was  just  and  gener- 
ous, and  Firishta  writes  of  him:  "Sultan  Mahmud  was. 
polite,  brave,  just,  and  learned  ;  and  during  his  reign, 
his  subjects,  Muhammadans  as  well  as  Hindus,  were  happy, 
and  maintained  a  friendly  intercourse  with  each  other. 
Scarcely  a  year  passed  that  he  did  not  take  the  field,  so  that 
his  teiftbecame  his  home,  and  the  field  of  battle,  his  resting 
place.  His  leisure  hours  were  devoted  to  hearing  the  his- 
tories and  memoirs  of  the  courts  of  different  kings  of  the 
earth  read." 

Mahmud  Khilji  greatly  enlarged  his  dominion,  which 
extended  in  the  south  to  the  Satpura  range,  in  the  west  to 
the  frontier  of  Gujarat,  on  the  east  to  Bundelkhand,  and  on 
the  north  to  Mewar  and  Herauti.  In  1440  the  ambitious'] 
Sultan  proceeded  against  Delhi,  which  was  in  a  state  of  de- 
cline, but  Bahlol  Lodi  successfully  resisted  his  advance.  His 
war  with  Rana  Kumbha  of  Chittor  about  the  same  time  waa 
indecisive.  Both  sides  claimed  the  victory.  The  Rana 

1  Mahmud  Khilji  was  the  son  of  Malik  Mughis  Khilji.  Both  fathei 
and  son  acted  as  ministers  to  Hushang  Hushang's  son,  Ghazni  Khan, 
who  assumed  the  title  of  Muhammad  Ghori,  was  married  to  the  sister  of 
Mahmud  Khilji.  Being  a  debauchee  and  a  drunkard,  he  left  the  busi- 
ness of  the  state  entirely  in  the  hands  of  Mahmud  Khilji,  whose  ambition 
led  him  to  imprison  his  royal  patron.  Briggs,  IV,  pp.  186,  191,  193, 
Elliot,  IV,  pp.  562—54. 


182  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

commemorated  his  triumph  by  building  the  "  Tower  of 
Victory  "  at  Chittor,  iwhile  the  Khilji  war-lord  erected  a 
seven-storied  tower  at  Mandu  as  a  monument  of  his  success. 

Mahmud  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Ghiy5s-ud-din  in  1469 
A.D.,  who  was  poisoned  to  death  by  his  son  Nasir-ud-din, 
who  ascended  the  throne  in  1500  A.D.  Nasir-ud-din's  mur- 
der of  his  father  does  not  seem  to  have  shocked  Muslim 
sentiment  at  the  time  it  was  committed,  but  nearly  a  cen- 
tury later  it  received  a  most  scathing  condemnation  from 
Jahangir,  who  ordered  the  ashes  of  the  parricide  to  be  cast 
into  the  fire. 

Nasir-ud-din  turned  out  a  miserable  sensualist  and  a  brut- 
al tyrant,  and  Jahangir's  informant  told  him,  when  he 
visited  the  place  in  1617,  that  there  were  15,000  women  in 
his  haram,  accomplished  in  all  arts  and  crafts,  and  that 
whenever  he  heard  of  a  beautiful  virgin,  he  would  not  desist 
until  he  obtained  possession  of  her.  In  a  fit  of  drunken- 
ness, when  he  fell  into  the  Kaliyadaha  lake,  none  of  his 
attendants  had  the  courage  to  pull  him  out,  for  he  had  mer- 
cilessly punished  them  for  similar  service  on  a  previous 
occasion,  and  he  was  left  to  be  drowned.  He  was  succeeded 
in  1510  by  Mahmud  II,  who  called  in  the  Rajputs  to  curb 
the  turbulence  of  the  Muslim  oligarchy^  which  had  become 
powerful  in  the  state.  He  appointed  a  Rajput  nobleman, 
Medini  Rao,  to  the  office  of  minister  with  the  result  that 
Hajput  influence  became  predominant  at  his  court.  Dis- 
trustful of  the  motives  of  his  powerful  minister,  he  called  in 
the  aid  of  Muzaffar  Shah,  king  of  Gujarat,  to  expel  him 
and  re-establish  his  power.  A  believer  in  the  efficacy  of 
the  sword,  Mahmud  came  into  conflict  with  Rana  Sanga, 
the  redoubtable  ruler  of  Mewar,  who  captured  him,  but 
with  the  magnanimity  of  a  Rajput  released  him  afterwards 


To  face  page  182 


Tower  of  Victory  at  Ohittor 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE  183 

and  restored  him  to  his  kingdom.  The  unwise  Sultan,  who 
ill-appreciated  this  act  of  generosity,  again  led  an  attack 
upon  the  Rana's  successor,  but  he  was  captured  by  his  ally, 
Bahadur  Shah  of  Gujarat,  who  defeated  and  executed  him. 
All  the  male  members  of  the  royal  house  were  put  to  death, 
the  sole  survivor  being  one  who  was  at  Humayun's  court. 
The  kingdom  of  Malwa  was  annexed  to  Gujarat  in  1531,  and 
continued  to  be  a  part  of  it  until  it  was  conquered  by  Huma- 
yun.  Humayun  expelled  Bahadur  Shah  from  Malwa  in  1535, 
and  defeated  him  at  Mandasor  and  Mandu.  When  the 
sovereignty  of  Delhi  passed  into  the  hands  of  Sher  Shah,  he 
entrusted  the  province  to  one  of  his  co-ad  jutors.  Shujat 
Khan,  who  was  succeeded  on  his  death  by  his  son,  Malik 
Bayazid,  known  as  Baz  Bahadur,  so  famous  in  folk-lore  and1 
legend  by  reason  of  his  passionate  attachment  to  the  beauti- 
ful and  accomplished  princess,  Rupmati  of  Sarangpur.  In 
1562  the  conquest  of  Malwa  was  effected  with  terrible  cruel- 
ty by  Akbar's  generals,  Adam  Khan  and  Pir  Muhammad, 
and  it  was  annexed  to  the  Mughal  empire.  Baz  Bahadur, 
after  a  futile  struggle,  acknowledged  Akbar  as  his  suzerain, 
and  received  the  command  of  2,000  horse  as  a  mark  of  royal 
favour. 

The  province  of  Gujarat  was  one  of  the  most  fertile  and 

wealthy  provinces  of  India,  and  had  always  attracted  the 

,,  .     ,  attention   of  foreign  invaders.     Mahmud  of 

Gujarat.  • 

Ghazni  was  the  first  Muslim  invader,  whose 
famous  raid  upon  the  temple  of  Somnath  was  the  prelude 
to  further  Muslim  invasions.  But  the  permanent  conquest 
of  Gujarat  was  not  attempted  until  the  reign  of  Alauddin 
Khilji,  who  annexed  it  to  the  Sultanate  of  Delhi  in  1297. 
The  province  was  henceforward  held  by  Muslim  governors 
who  were  subordinate  to  the  rulers  of  Delhi,  but  whose 


184  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

loyalty  fluctuated  according  to  the  strength  or  weakness  of 
the  central  government.  After  the  invasion  of  Timur,  when 
the  affairs  of  the  Delhi  kingdom  fell  into  confusion,  Zafar 
Khan,  the  governor,  assumed  the  position  of  an  independent 
prince  in  1401,  and  formally  withdrew  his  allegiance.  His 
son  Tatar  Khan  conspired  with  some  of  the  discontented 
nobles  to  get  rid  of  his  father,  who  was  an  obstacle  to  his 
assumption  of  royal  dignity.  He  threw  him  into  confine- 
ment, and  assumed  royal  honours  under  the  title  of  Nasir-ud- 
din  Muhammad  Shah  in  1403.  But  this  glory  was  short- 
lived, for  he  was  soon  afterwards  poisoned  by  Shams  Khan, 
one  of  his  father's  confidants.  Zafar  Khan  was  brought 
from  Asawal,  and  with  the  consent  of  the  nobles  and  officers 
of  the  army,  he  assumed  the  honours  of  royalty  under  the 
title  of  Muzaffar  Shah.  He  subdued  Dhar  and  undertook 
several  other  expeditions  to  consolidate  his  power.  But  four 
years  later,  he  was  poisoned  by  his  grandson  Ahmad  Shah 
who  was  anxious  to  usurp  the  throne  for  himself. 
A  4w&e  was  the  true  founder  of  the  independence  of  Gujarat. 
A  brave  and  warlike  prince,  he  spent  his  whole  life  in  wag- 
ing wars  and  conquering  territories  to  en- 
lar£e  the  boundaries  of  his  small  kingdom. 
In  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  he  built  the 
city  of  Ahmadabad.on  the  left  bank  of  the  Sabarmati  river 
near  the  old  tpwn  of  Asawal,  and  adorned  it  with  beautiful 
buildings,  and  invited  artisans,  and  merchants  to  settle  there. 
|He  was  an  orthodox  Muslim,  and  waged  wars  against  the 
'Hindus,  destroyed  their  temples,  and  forced  them  to  em- 
brace Islam.  In  1414  he  marched  against  Girnar  and  defeat- 
ed the  Rai  who  offered  submission.  He  led  an  attack  upon 
Malwa  in  1421  and  laid  siege  to  Mandu.  Hushang  whose 
army  was  defeated  in  two  skirmishes  secured  his  pardon  by 


BREAK-UP  OP  THE  EMPIRE  185, 

promising  fealty  in  the  future.  The  last  notable  expedition, 
was  undertaken  by  the  Sultan  in  1437  to  assist  Prince  Masud 
Khan,  grandson  of  Hushang  of  Malwa,  who  had  fled  from 
the  tyranny  of  Mahmud  Khilji,  the  murderer  of  his  father 
and  the  usurper  of  his  ancestral  dominions.  Mandu  was 
besieged,  and  the  usurper  Mahmud  Khilji  was  defeated  in  a 
hotly  contested  engagement.  But  the  sudden  outbreak  of 
a  severe  epidemic  spoiled  the  fruits  of  victory,  and  the  Sul- 
tan was  obliged  to  beat  a  hasty  retreat  towards  Ahmadabad 
where  he  breathed  his  last  in  1441. 

Ahmad  Shah  was  a  brave  and  warlike  prince  ;  he  was  a 
zealous  champion  of  the  faith.  As  long  as  he  lived,  he 
practised  the  observances  of  Islam,  and  looked  upon  way 
against_the  _  Hindus  as  a  religious  duty.  His  love  of 
justice  was  unequalled.  The  claims  of  birth,  rank,  or 
kinship  were  nothing  in  his  eyes,  and  on  one  occasion,  he 
had^his  son-in-law  publicly  executed  in  the  bazar  in  cir- 
cumstances^of"  exceptional  barbarity  for  the  murder  of*  an 
innocent  person.  The  author  of  the 


justly  observes  that  the  ''effect  of  this  exemplary  punish- 
ment lasted  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  Sultan's 
reign,  and  no  noble  or  soldier  was  concerned  in  murder." 

Ahmad  Shah  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Muhammad  Shah 
who  was  styled  as  "  Zar  bakhsha  "  or  "  bestower^olgold." 
He  marched  against  Champanir,  but  the  Raja  called  in  the 
aid  of  the  ruler  of  Malwa,  and  the  combined  armies  of  Malwa 
and  Ghampanir  put  him  to  flight.  His  nobles  conspired 
against  him  and  caused  his  death  by  poison  in  1451.  His 
son  Qutb-ud-din,  who  was  placed  upon  the  throne,  spent 
a  large  part  of  his  time  in  expeditions  against  the  Rana  of 
Chittor.  After  a  short  reign  of  eight  years  and  a  half,  he 
died  in  1459,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  uncle  Daud,  a 


186  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

notorious  profligate,  who  by  his  meanness  of  character  so 
offended  the  nobles  that,  within  a  week  of  his  accession  to 
the  throne,  they  deposed  him  and  installed  in  his  place  Fatah 
Khan,  a  grandson  of  Ahmad  Shah,  under  the  title  of  Mah- 
mud,  commonly  known  as  Mahmud  Bigarha,  in  1458  A.D. 

Mahmud  Bigarha  may  rightly  be  called  the  greatest  of 

the  Gujarat  kings.    The  author  of  the  Mirat-i-Sikandari 

M  a  h  mud     gives  a  highly  amusing  account  of  his  habits 

Bigarha,    1458      . 

—  1611  A  D.        m  these  words  :  — 

"  Notwithstanding  his  high  dignity  and  royalty,  he 
had  an  enormous  appetite.  The  full  daily  allowance  of 
food  for  the  Sultan  was  one  man  of  Gujarat  weight. 
In  eating  this  he  put  aside  five  sirs  of  boiled  rice,  and 
before  going  to  sleep  he  used  to  make  it  up  into  a  pasty 
and  place  one-half  of  it  on  the  right-hand  side  of  his 
couch  and  the  other  half  on  the  left,  so  that  on 
whichever  side  he  awoke  he  might  find  something 
to  eat,  and  might  then  go  to  sleep  again.  In  the 
morning  after  saying  his  prayers,  he  took  a  cup  full  of 
honey  and  a  cup  of  butter  with  a  hundred  or  a  hundred 
and  fifty  golden  plantains.  He  often  used  to  say,  '  If 
God  had  not  raised  Mahmud  to  the  throne  of  Gujarat, 
would  have  satisfied  his  hunger  ?  '  " 


Mahmud  was  a  brave  and  warlike  prince.  He  rescued 
Nizam  Shah  Bahmani  from  Mahmud  Khilji  of  Malwa  and 
•compelled  the  Rai  of  Junagarh  to  acknowledge  his  authority. 
He  suppressed  the  pirates  who  infested  the  sea-coast  of 
Gujarat,  and  secured  the  submission  of  the  Hindu 
-chief.  The  Rajputs  of  Champanir  were  the  next  to  submit, 
-and  the  fort  was  surrendered  to  the  Muslims  in  1484. 
Mahmud  built  a  wall  round  the  town  of  Champanir  in 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE  187 

•commemoration  of  his  victory,  and  renamed  it  Muhammad- 
abad, 

Towards  the  close  of  his  reign  in  1507  he  led  an  ex- 
pedition against  the  Portuguese,  who  had  securely  estab- 
lished themselves  on  the  Western  Coast,  and 
cutoff  the  trade  of  the  Muslims.  He  allied 
himself  with  the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  who  with 
a  view  to  put  an  end  to  the  Portuguese  interference  with 
ovejland  trade  fitted  out  a  fleet  of  twelve  ships,  and  des- 
patched 15,000  men,  commanded  by  Mir  Hozem,  to  attack 
their  possessions  in  India.  The  Portuguese  at  last  obtained 
a  victory  which  established  their  power  on  the  sea-coast  and 
gave  them  an  undisputed  command  of  the  sea-borne  trade. 

After  a  glorious  reign  of  52  years,  the  Sultan  died  in 
1511.  He  was  a  great  monarch  ;  his  personal  habits  be- 
came known  even  in  Europe.  As  long  as  he  lived,  he 
ruled  with  great  ability  and  vigour,  and  the  Muslim  chro- 
nicler speaks  of  his  reign  in  these  words  :— 

"He  added  glory  and  lustre  to  the  kingdom  of  Guja- 
rat, and  was  the  best  of  all  the  Gujarat  kings,  including 
all  who  preceded,  and  all  who  succeeded  him  ;  and 
whether  for  abounding  justice  and  generosity  ;  for  suc- 
cess in  religious  war,  and  for  the  diffusion  of  the  laws 
of  Islam  and  of  Musalmans  ;  for  soundness  of  judgment, 
alike  in  boyhood,  in  manhood,  and  in  old  age ;  for  power, 
for  valour,  and  victory.— he  was  a  pattern  of^exceHence." 

The  next  ruler  of  importance  was  Bahadur  Shah  who 

-came  to  the  throne  in  1526.  A.D.  He  was  a  brave  and  warlike 

B  a  h  a  d  u  r    ro^er-  Soon  after  his    accession  he  entered 

*Shah,    1526—     upon  a  brilliant  career  of  conquest  and  an- 

1587  A.D  nexation.  He  captured  Mandu  and  Chanderi 


188  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

and  stormed  the  fort  of  Chittor  in  1534.  Bahadur's  ambition* 
alarmed  Humayun  who  marched  against  him,  captured 
Mandu  and  Champanir,  and  occupied  Gujarat.  But  Bahadur 
who  was  a  capable  military  leader  soon  collected  a  large 
force,  and  with  its  help  defeated  the  imperialists,  and  reco- 
vered Gujarat.  His  attempt  to  expel  the  Portuguese  from  the 
island  of  Diu  met  with  failure.  They  conspired  against  him 
and  had  him  barbarously  murdered  on  board  ship,  when  he 
was  barely  31  years  of  age.  After  Bahadur's  death,  Gujarat 
fell  into  a  state  of  anarchy  and  disorder.  Rival  factions 
set  up  puppet  kings  who  followed  one  another  in  rapid 
succession.  Such  disorders  continued  until  the  annexation 
of  the  province  to  the  Mughal  empire  by  Akbar  in  1572. 

When  Firuz  undertook  his  second  expedition  against 

Sikandar  Shah  of  Bengal  in  1359-60  A.D.,  he  was  obliged  to 

halt  at  Zafrabad l  during  the  rains.    It   was 

Jaunpur. 

there  that  he  conceived  the  idea  of  founding 
a  town  in  the  neighbourhood  which  might  serve  as  a 
£2iMj?l  appm  for  his  military  operations  in  Bengal. 
On  the  bank  of  the  river  Gumti  he  caused  a  new  town 
to  be  built,  which  was  named  Jaunpur  to  commemorate 
the  name  of  his  illustrious  cousin,  Muhammad^Juna, 
and  spared  no  pains  to  make  it  beautiful  and  attractive. 
After  the  death  of  Firuz  in  1388,  nothing  of  importance 


J  Zafrabad  was  an  old  town.     The   inscription   on   the    gate    of  the 
palace  of  Hazarat-i-Chiragh-i-Hind   shows   that   the   name   was    known 
in  721  A.H.  in  the  time  of   Ghiy&s-ud-din   Tughluq,  king   of   Delhi.  It  is 
a  mistake  to  think  that  the  town  was  founded  by  Prince  Zafar,  governor- 
of  Firuz  Tughluq,  in  1360  A.D. 

The  last  line  of  the  inscription  runs  thus  :  <k  As  the  city  was  acquir- 
ed by  conquest  and  re-peopled,  it  was  given  the  name  of  Zafrabad." 

Fasih-ud-din,  "The  Sharqi  Monuments  of  Jaunpur,"  p.  105  (Inscrip- 
tion No.  1 ) 

Also  see  FQhrer's  note  on  Zafrabad  in  4*  The  Sharqi  Architecture  ol" 
Jaunpur,"  pp.  64—66. 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE  189 

occurred  in  the  history  of  Jaunpur  until  the  rise  to  power 
of  Khwaj5  Jahan  in  the  reign  of  Muhammad.  KhwSjS 
Jahan,  whose  real  name  was  Sarwar,  was  a  eunuch,  who 
•had  attained  to  high  position  by  sheer  dint  of  merit.  The 
title  of  Khwaja  Jahan  was  conferred  upon  him  in  1389,  and 
he  was  elevated  to  the  rank  of  a  wazir.  A  little  later, 
when  the  affairs  of  the  fiefs  of  Hindustan  fell  into  con- 
fusion through  the  turbulence  of  the  "base  infidels," 
Khwaja  Jahan  received  from  Mahmud  Tughluq  in  1394  the 
title  of  "  Malik-us-sharq  "  or  lord  of  the  east,  and  the 
administration  of  all  Hindustan  from  Kanauj  to  Bihar  was 
entrusted  to  him.  Forthwith,  the  new  governor  marched 
into  the  interior  of  the  Doab,  and  suppressing  the  rebellions 
in  Etawah,  Kol,  and  Kanauj,  proceeded  to  Jaunpur  to 
assume  charge  of  his  office.  In  a  short  time  he  brought 
under  his  sway  the  fiefs  of  Kanauj,  Kara,  Oudh,  Sandila, 
Dalmau,  Bahraich,  Bihar,  and  Tirhut,  and  subdued  the 
refractory  Hindu  chieftains.  So  great  was  his  power  that^ 
/the  Rai  of  Jajnagar  and  the  ruler  of  Lakhnauti  acknow^, 
ledged  his  authority,  and  sent  him  the  number  of  elephants 
which  they  had  formerly  sent  as  tribute  to  Delhi.  The 
confusion  and  anarchy  caused  by  Timur's  invasion  favoured 
the  KhwSja's  ambitious  plans,  and  he  declared  himself  inde- 
pendent, and  assumed  the  title  of  Atabak-i-Azam. 

The  most  remarkable  ruler  of  Jaunpur  was^Ibrahim,  a 
man  of  versatile  talents  who  called  himself  Shams-ud-din 
Ibrahim  Shah  Sharqi.  Mahmud  Tughluq  who  was  a  puppet 
in  the  hands  of  Iqbal  Khan  wished  to  escape  from  the  latter's 
galling  tutelage.  While  Iqbal  was  encamped  at  Kanauj, 
"Mahmud  effected  his  escape  under  the  pretext  of  going 
on  a  hunting  excursion,  approached  Ibrahim,  and  solicited 
.his  aid  against  Iqbal.  But  Ibrahim  made  no  response  to 


190  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

his  appeal.  Thus  disappointed  and  humiliated,  Mahmud  re- 
turned to  the  Delhi  army,  and  quietly  took  possession  of 
Kanauj.  Iqbal  Khan  made  an  attempt  to  recover  the  place, 
but  Mahmud  offered  successful  resistance  in  1405. 

Iqbal's  unexpected  death  in  a  battle  against  Khizr  Khan, 
the  governor  of  Multan,  left  the  field  clear  for  Mahmud, 
and  some  of  the  Amirs  at  Delhi  invited  him  to  take  charge 
of  government.  Ibrahim  judged  it  a  favourable  opportu- 
nity to  recover  his  lost  fief  of  Kanauj,  but  he  was  opposed 
by  the  Delhi  army,  and  withdrew  to  Jaunpur.  Mahmud 
returned  to  Delhi,  but  no  sooner  was  his  back  turned  than 
Ibrahim  mobilised  his  forces,  and  captured  Kanauj  after  a 
siege  of  four  months.  Success  emboldened  him  to  carry 
his  inroads  into  the  Delhi  territory  in  H07,  but  the  news 
of  the  advance  of  Muzaffar  Shah  of  Gujarat,  who  had  over- 
powered the  ruler  of  Dhar,  compelled  him  to  abandon  the 
conquered  districts  of  Sambhal  and  Bulandshahar  and  to* 
return  to  Jaunpur.  Soon  afterwards  Ibrahim  marched  against 
Qadr  Khan  of  Kalpi,  but  he  had  to  abandon  the  siege.  Mean- 
while a  great  change  was  brought  about  in  Delhi  politico 
by  Khizr  Khan's  elevation  to  the  throne  on  May  23, 1414. 

Ibrahim  was  a  great  lover  of  art  and  letters.  He 
extended  his  patronage  to  eminent  scholars  who  made 
Jaunpur  a  famous  seat  of  learning  in  the  east.  The  insecur- 
ity of  life  which  followed  the  invasion  of  Timur  drove  many 
distinguished  literary  men  to  his  court,  the  most  widely 
known  of  whom  was  Shihab-ul-din  Malik-ul-ulama,  who 
dedicated  several  of  his  works  to  his  generous  patron.  The 
long  interval  of  peace  enabled  the  Sultan  to  construct 
beautiful  buildings  to  adorn  his  capital.  The  Atala  mosque 
was  finished  in  1408,  which  stands  to  this  day  as  a 
monument  of  Ibrahim's  magnificent  tastes. 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE  191 

But  peace  did  not  last  long.  The  peculiar  circumstances 
of  the  time  rapidly  brought  about  a  collision  between  Delhi 
and  Jaunpur,  Ibrahim  and  his  successors  contended  for 
years  against  the  rulers  of  Delhi  ;  and  these  wars  will  be 
described  in  their  proper  place. 

It  was  the  timid  policy  of  Piruz  Tughluq  which  had 

brought  about  the  separation  of  Bengal  from  the  empire  of 

Delhi.     The  wars  between  Firuz  and  Shams- 

enga '  ud-din  and  his  successor  Sikandar  Shah  have 

been  described  before.    Although  these  rulers  occasionally 

sent  presents  to  the  Sultan  of  Delhi,  they  were  in  reality 

independent. 

The  establishment  of  the  power  of  the  Husaini  dynasty 
opened  a  new  era  in  Bengal.  The  first  ruler  of  the  dynasty 
Husain  Shah  (1493—1519)  was  a  man  of  ability  who  governed 
the  country  wisely  and  well.  He  fully  consolidated  his 
authority  in  the  various  provinces  of  his  kingdom  so  that  not 
a  single  rebellion  broke  out  during  his  reign.  He  built 
mosques,  and  founded  other  charitable  institutions,  and 
granted  pensions  to  learned  and  pious  men.  His  son  Nusrat 
Shah  who  came  to  the  throne  after  his  death  was  an  equally 
remarkable  ruler.  He  enlarged  the  boundaries  of  his  king- 
dom by  conquest  and  annexation,  and  became  a  prince  of 
substance  in  the  country. 

Babar  in  his  Memoirs  mentions  him  among  the  power- 
ful princes  of  Hindustan.  Like  his  father,  Nusrat  was  fond 
of  learning  and  took  great  interest  in  architecture.  He  built 
several  mosques,  which  are  known  to  this  day  for  their 
beauty  and  massive  design.  After  the  decline  of  the  inde- 
pendent dynasty  of  Bengal  kings,  power  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  Afghans.  Sher  Shah  made  himself  master  of 
the  east  after  defeating  the  Mughal  Emperor  Humayun* 


192  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

and  fully  established  his  authority  in  Bihar  and  Bengal. 
In  the  10th  and  15th  centuries  there  was  much  religious  stir 
in  Bengal.  Ibn  Batutg,  the  Moor  who  travelled  in  Bengal 
in  the  fourteenth  century,  speaks  of  150  gaddis  of  faqirs  in 
Bengal  in  Fakhr-ud-din's  time.  It  was  during  this  period 
that  the  impact  of  Hinduism  and  Islam  set  in  motion  the 
new  forces  which  tended  to  bring  the  Hindus  and  Muslims 
together,  and  gave  a  new  colour  to  Hindu  religion.  The 
•cult  of  Vaignavism  made  great  progress  in  Bengal,  and  when 
Chaitanya  appeared  upon  the  scene  it  prospered  wonder- 
fully. He  preached  the  doctrine  of  Bhakti  or  personal  devo- 
tion, and  by  his  inspiring  personality  electrified  the  souls 
of  his  disciples  and  admirers.  Krisna's  name  was  chanted 
all  over  Bengal,  and  the  numerous  men  and  women  who 
responded  to  the  master's  call  ignored  all  social  distinctions, 
and  became  united  by  the  bond  of  love. 

The  new  forces,  as  has  been  said  before,  tended  to 
•bring  about  a  rapprochement  between  the  Hindus  and 
Muslims. 

Husain  Shah  of  Bengal  was  the  founder  of  a  new  cult 
called  ^oiaflaziLwhich  aimed  at  uniting  the  Hindus  and  the 
Muslims.  Satyapir  was  coHfi922S2£  of  ^a^a»  a  Sanskrit 
word,  and  PIT  which  is  an  rffaKftword.  It  was  the  name 
Df  a  deity  whom  both  communities  were  to  worship. 
There  are  still  in  Bengali  literature  several  poems  composed 
in  honour  of  this  new  deity. 

The  province  of  Khandesh  was  situated  in  the  valley 

)f  the  Tapti  river ;  it  was  bounded  in  the  north  by  the 

Khandesh        Vindhya  and  Satpura  ranges  and  in  the  sduth 

by  the  Deccan  plateau,  in  the  east  by  Berar 

_md  in  the  west  by  the  subah  of  Gujarat.    It  was  a  part 

•of  Muhammad  Tughluq's  empire,  and  continued  to  be  a 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE  198 

feudatory  of  Delhi  during  the  reign  of  Firuz,  who  entrusted 
it  to  Malik  Raja  Farrukhi,  one  of  his  personal  attendants 
in  the  year  1370.  After  the  death  of  Firuz,  when  the 
empire  of  Delhi  broke  up,  Malik  Raja,  a  man  of  adventurous 
and  ambitious  spirit,  declared  his  independence.  He  was 
a  broad-minded  ruler,  who  treated  the  Hindus  well,  and 
tried  to  promote  the  welfare  of  his  subjects.  After  his 
death  in  1399,  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Malik  Nfisir, 
who  captured  the  famous  fortress  of  Asirgarh  from  AsS 
Ahlr,  a  chieftain  of  considerable  power.  Malik  NBsir 
maintained  a  firm  hold  over  the  territories  he  had  inherited 
from  his  father,  and  when  he  died  in  1437,  he  left  to  his 
successor  a  united  Khandesh.  The  princes  who  followed  him, 
possessed  no  ability,  and  during  their  nftigns  the  fortunes 
of  Khandesh  rapidly  declined.  After  the  death  of  5dil, 
one  of  Nasir's  grandsons,  in  1520,  a  series  of  weak  rulers 
followed  who  found  it  difficult  to  resist  the  encroachments 
of  foreign  powers.  The  latter  took  full  advantage  of  the 
weakness  of  the  central  power  and  the  factious  fights  of 
the  nobles.  In  1601  the  fortress  of  Asirgarh  was  conquered 
by  Akbar,  and  Khandesh  was  annexed  to  the  empire.  The 
local  dynasty  ceased  to  exist. 

(ii)  The  Bahmani  Kingdom 


The  break-up  of  the  empire  during  Muhammad's  reign 
led  the  Amirs  of  the  Deccan  to  revolt  and  set  up  an  inde- 
pendent kingdom  at  Daulatabad  with  Ismail 
The  rise  of    Makh  as  their  king.  Ismail,  being  a  man  of 
retired  habits,  resigned  in  favour  of  Hasan,  a 
brave  soldier  who  was  elected  king  In  1347. 
Firishta  relates  that  Hasan  was  originally  employed  in  the 

F.  18 


194  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

service  of  Gangu,  a  Brahman  astrologer  of  Delhi,  yho  gn- 
jpyed  the  confidence  of  Sultan  Muhammad  Tuqhfria.  One 
day  while  Hasan  was  ploughing  the  land  of  his  master,  he 
came  across  &  pot  full  nf  gold  coins  whifth  he  at  once  made 
over  to  his  master.  The  Brahman  was  so  pleased  with 
Hasan's  honesty  that  he  recommended  him  to  Sultan 
Muhammad  who  employed  hinn  fr  *"«  a*™i<*f>  The  Brahman 
predicted  a  great  deatfnv  far  Haa^  and  expressed  a  wish, 
that  when  he  was  elevated  to  royal  dignity,  he  should 
appoint  him  as  his  minister.  To  this  Hasan  agreed,  and 
when  he  was  elevated  to  the  kingly  office,  he  asa^mgd 
title  Bahmani  OUt  of  gratefulneaa  to  hia  ol^ 


Modern  research  has  exploded  Firishta's  error,  and  the 
view  now  generally  accepted  is  that  Hasan  was  descended 
from  Bahman  bin  Isfandiyar,  king  of  Persia.  He  called 
himself  a  descendant  of  Bahmanshah,  and  this  name  is 
inscribed  on  his  coins.  ' 

He  chose  Gulbarga  as  his  capital.  The  whole  country 
was  divided  into  larafs  which  were  assigned  to  the  Amirs 
who  had  rendered  him  good  service  in  the  recent  war.  Each 
of  these  Amirs  was  granted  a  jagir  on  feudal  tenure  and 
had  to  render  military  service  to  the  king.  Hasan  now  em- 
barked upon  a  brilliant  career  of  conquest.  The  fort  of 
Qandhar  was  recovered,  ana  ms  otricer,  Sikandar  Khan, 
reduced  Bidarand  Malkaid.  Groa,  Dab  hoi,  Kolapur,  and 
Telingana  were  all  conquered,  and  towards  the  close  of  his 
reign  his  dominions  extended  from  the  east  of  Daulatabad  to 

1  The  author  of  the  Burhvn-i-Mdair  clearly  states  that  Hasan  traced 
his  pedigree  from  Bahman  bin  Isfandiyar.  He  is  supported  by  Nizam- 
uddin  Ahmad,  the  author  of  the  Tabqot-i-Akbari,  Ahmad  Amin  Raai, 
tbfe  author  of  the  Haft-lqUm  and  Haji-ud-Dabir,  the  author  of  the 
Arabic  History  of  Gujarat.  This  statement  is  also  supported  by  the 
eridenoe  of  inscriptions  and  coins, 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE  185 

Bhongir  now  in  the  Nizam's  dominions  and  from  the  river 
Wainganga  in  the  north  to  the  river  KrisnS  in  the  south. 
The  pressure  of  unremitting  exertions  told  upon  his  health, 
and  he  died  m  1359.    He  was  succeeded  by  Muhammad 
Shah  I,  whom  he  had  nominated  as  his  heir  on  his  death-bed. 
He  continued  his  father's  policy  of  conquest.     The 
principal  event  of  his  reign  was  the  war  with  the  neighbour- 
ing Hindu    kingdoms  of  Vijayanagar    and 
Telingana.    He  defeated  the    Hindus    who 
fought  with  great  courage  and  determination. 
Their  country  was  plundered,  and  temples  were  razejd  to  the 
ground.    Muhammad  enjoyed  peace  for  about  a  cl^caae.  But 
the  barbarous  execution  of  the  Telingana  Prince  for  a  trivial 
offence  again  lit  up  the  flames  of  war.    The  Hindus  would 
not  tamely  submit,  and  after  a  prolonged  fight  of  two  years 
a  peace  was  made,   and  the  Raja  agreed  to  surrender  the 
fort  of  Golkunda  and  to  pay  a  huge  war  indemnity  of  33 
lakhs.  Golkunda  was  fixed  as  the  boundary  line  between  the 
two  kingdoms.  Soon  afterwards  war  with  Vijayanagar  broke 
out,   which  assumed  formidable  dimensions.    The  humilia- 
tion of  a  Gulbarga  messenger  who  had  came  to  demand 
mone^r  from  Vijayanagar  was  the  immediate  cause  of  the 
war. 

The  Raja  of  Vijayanagar  took  the  offensive,  marched 
into  the  Sultan's  territory  at  the  head  of  30,000  horse, 
100,000  foot,  and  300  elephants,  and  laid  waste  the  country 
between  the  KrignS  and  the  Tungabhadra.  The  fort  of 
Mudgal  was  captured,  and  the  Muslim  garrison  was  put  to 
the  sword.  Muhammad  took  an  oath  to  take  a  terrible 
revenge,  and  marched  at  the  head  of  a  huge  army  upon 
Vijayanagar.  He  enticed  the  Hindu  forces  out  of  the  fort 
by  a  clever  stratagem,  and  inflicted  a  terrible  defeat  upon 


196  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

them.  The  Raja's  camp  was  raided,  though  he  effect- 
ed his  escape,  but  his  soldiers  and  officers  as  well  as  the 
inhabitants  of  the  neighbourhood  were  butchered  by  the 
ruthless  Muslim  soldiers.  Peace  was  at  last  made  with  the 
Raja  of  Vijayanagar,  and  the  Sultan  took  an  oath  never  to 
shed  the  blood  of  innocent  men  in  the  future?^ 

Muhammad  Shah  acted  ruthlessly  in  carrying  out  his 
domestic  policy.  He  ordered  all  public  distilleries  to  be 
closed  and  put  down  lawlessness  with  a  high  hand.  After 
a  reign  of  17  years  and  7  months  he  died  in  1373  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son  Mujfihid  Shah. 

MujBhid  showed  a  great  preference  for  the  Persians 
and  the  Turks,  and  thus  by  his  policy  of  exclusion  he  re- 
vived the  old  feuds  and  jealousies  between 
the  Deccanis  and  the  foreigners,  which  had 
wrecked  the  government  of  Muhammad  Tugh- 
luq.  But  the  most  important  problem  of  the  time  was,  as 
usual,  war  with  Vijayanagar  over  the  possession  of  the 
Raichur  Doab,  and  the  forts  of  Raich ur  and  Mudgal.  He 
marched  twice  on  Vijayanagar,  but  had  to  retreat  on 
both  occasions  on  account  of  the  combination  of  the  Hindus. 
Peace  was  concluded,  but  the  Sultan  was  murdered  by 
his  cousin,  Daud,  who  usurped  the  throne  in  1377.  He 
in  his  turn  was  murdered  in  the  following  year  by  a 
slave,  hired  by  Ruh  Parwar  Agha,  the  foster-sister  of 
MujBhid. 

After  Daud's  death,  Muhammad  Shah  II  came  to  the 
throne  in  1378.    He  was  a  man  of  peace.    The  cessation  of 
war  enabled  him  to  devote  his  time  to  the  pursuit  of 
literature  and  science.  He  built  mosques,  established  public  . 
schools  and  monasteries,  and  never  allowed  anyone  to  act  j 
against  the  Holy  Law.    No  rebellion  occurred  during  his 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE  197 

reign,  and  the  nobles  and  officers  all  loyally  served  their 
master.  The  Sultan  evinced  a  great  interest  in  the  welfare 
of  his  subjects  ;  and  once  when  famine  broke  out,  he 
employed  ten  thousand  bullocks  to  bring  grain  from  Malwa 
and  Gujarat  to  mitigate  its  severity.  In  the  last  year  of 
his  life  his  sons  conspired  to  seize  the  throne.  He  died  in 
1397  and  was  succeeded  by  his  sons  who  were  deprived  of 
sovereignty  after  a  brief  period  of  six  months  by  Firuz, 
a  grandson  of  Sultan  Alauddin  Hasan  Shah.  Firuz  came 
to  Gulbarga,  and  with  the  help  of  the  nobles  and  officers 
seized  the  throne  in  February  1397. 

The  author  of  the  Burhfin-i-Mcteir  describes  him  as 
"  a  good,  just  and  generous  king  who  supported  himself  by 
copying  the  Quran,  and  the  ladies  of  whose! 
haram  used  to  support  themselves  by  embroi- 1 
dering  garments  and  selling  them."  The 
same  authority  further  says  : — "  As  a  ruler  he  was  without 
an  equal,  and  many  records  of  his  justice  still  remain  on  the 
page  of  time/'  But  this  seems  to  be  an  exaggeration,  for 
Firishta  clearly  states,  that  although  he  observed  the  prac- 
tices of  his  religion  with  strictness,  he  drank  hard,  was 
passionately  fond  of  music,rgnd  n^intairajL  a  large  haram 
which  included  women  of  s^pt^niauoh^alit^s.  It  is  said 
that  about  800  women  were  daiiy^dmiitecr  into  the  royal 
seraglio  by  means  of  muta  marriage.  Frank  and  jovial  to  a 
degree,  Firuz  took  delight  in  social  intercourse,  and  treated 
his  companions  without  the  slightest  reserve,  but  he  never 
allowed  public  matters  to  be  discussed  at  such  convivial 
gatherings. 

As  usual,  struggle  with  Vijayanagar  began  for  the  pos- 
session of  the  fort  of  Mudgal  in  1898.  HariHar  II  marched 
an  army  into  the  Raichur  Doab.  Firuz  also  mobilised  his 


198  HISTOHY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

forces,  but  he  had  also  to  check  the  Raya  of  Kehrla* 
who  had  invaded  Berar.  The  Raya  was  defeated,  and  a 
treaty  was  made  which  restored  the  status  quo,  although 
the  Raya  had  to  pay  a  large  sum  as  ransom  for  the 
release  of  the  Brahman  captives  seized  during  the  war. 

The  war  was  renewed  again,  and  in  1419  Firuz  led  an 
unprovoked  attack  upon  the  fort  of  Pangal,  a  dependency 
of  Vijayanagar.  The  Sultan's  troops  were  defeated  owing 
to  the  outbreak  of  pestilence,  and  the  victorious  Hindus 
butchered  the  Musalmans  mercilessly,  ravaged  their 
country,  and  desecrated  their  mosques. 

Firuz  was  obliged  by  his  failing  health  to  leave  the 
affairs  of  state  in  the  hands  of  his  slaves.  His  brother 
Ahmad  Shah  became  the  most  powerful  man  in  the  king- 
dom towards  the  close  of  his  reign,  and  succeeded  to  the 
throne  after  his  death  in  1422. 

He  ascended  the  throne  without  opposition.  His 
minister  advised  him  to  put  to  death  the  late  Sultan's  son  in 
order  to  ensure  his  safety,  but  he  refused  to 
U&IH46 Shab'  doso»  and  provided  him  with  a  liberal  jagir 
at  Firuzabad,  where  the  prince  utterly  devoid 
of  any  political  ambition  frittered  away  his  time  in  the 
pursuit  of  pleasure.  He  waged  war  against  Vijayanagar 
and  mercilessly  put  to  death  men,  women,  and  children  to- 
the  number  of  20,000.  This  cruelty  of  Ahmad  Shah  so  ex- 
asperated the  Hindus  that  they  determined  to  take  his  life  ; 
and  when  he  was  engaged  in  a  hunting  excursion,  they 
chased  him  with  tremendous  fury,  but  he  was  saved  by 
his  armour-bearer,  Abdul  Qadir.  Ahmad  Shah  now  reduced 
the  people  of  Vijayanagar  to  such  distress  that  Deva  Raya 
was  compelled  to  sue  for  peace.  He  agreed  to  pay  all 
arrears  of  tribute,  and  sent  his  son  with  30  elephants,  laden 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE  199 

with  money,  jewels  and  other  articles  of  untold  value  to 
the  royal  camp. 

In  1424  he  defeated  the  Raja  of  Warangal,  and  annexed 
a  large  portion  of  his  territory  to  his  own  dominions.  He 
also  defeated  the  Muslim  rulers  of  Malwa  and  the  neigh- 
bouring states,  massacred  a  large  number  of  men,  and 
captured  rich  booty.  ^^iAJU  *^X5UA  <wlw  ,^>. 

Hejajssumed  the  title  pi  JMFPoK  '  and  on  his  return  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  city  of  Bidar,  which  afterwards  became 
the  recognised  capital  of  the  Bahmani  kingdom.  In  1429* 
he  went  to  war  with  the  chiefs  of  the  Konkan,  and  fought 
an  indecisive  battle  with  the  ruler  of  Gujarat.  The 
last  expedition  of  the  reign  was  against  Telingana  to  put 
down  a  Hindu  revolt,  after  which  he  retired  from  public 
life  and  resigned  the  throne  to  his  son,  Prince  Zafar  Khan* 
He  died  of  illness  in  1435. 

Zafar  Khan  ascended  the  throne  under  the  title  of 
Alauddin  II.    He  began  his  reign  well,   but  later  on  his 
Aiauddin  ji,     character  degenerated,  and  he  spent  his  time 
1485—1467.         jn  debauchery  an(j  pleasure. 

His  brother,  Muhammad,  whom  he  treated  well,  rose 
in  rebellion  and  seized  the  Raichur  Doab,  Bijapur,  and 
other  districts  with  the  help  of  Vijayanagar.  But  he  was 
ultimately  defeated,  and  pardoned,  and  allowed  to  hold  the 
district  of  Raichur  as  jagir.  But  the  hereditary  enemy  of 
Alauddin  was  the  Raya  of  Vijayanagar  who  now  led  a 
wanton  attack  against  the  Sultan's  dominions.  At  first 
the  struggle  was  indecisive,  but  after  a  siege  lasting  for 
some  time,  Deva  Raya  agreed  to  pay  the  stipulated  tribute. 
The  administration  was  much  disturbed  by  the  feuds  of  the 
Deccani  Muslims,  who  were  mostly  Sunnis  and  foreigners 
like  the  Arabs,  Turks,  Persians,  and  Mughals  who 


200  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

professed  the  Shia  faith  and  thus  led  to  a  serious  crime. 
In  1454  Khalf  Hasan  Malik-ul-Tuj jSr  suffered  a  crushing 
defeat  at  the  hands  of  a  Hindu  chief  in  the  Konkan.  As 
the  party  were  moving  in  order  to  save  their  lives,  the 
Deccani  chief  led  the  Sultan  to  believe  that  they  meditated 
treason.  They  were  invited  to  a  feast  and  treacherously 
murdered.  Alauddin  died  in  1457. 

Alauddin  was  a  profligate,  but  he  did  not  wholly 
neglect  the  interests  of  his  subjects.  He  built  mosques, 
established  public  schools  and  charitable  institutions.  Order 
was  maintained  throughout  the  kingdom,  and  thieves  and 
brigands  were  severely  punished.  Though  not  deeply 
religious  himself,  he  strictly  enforced  the  observances  of 
the  faith,  and  respected  the  feelings  of  his  co-religionists. 

Alauddin  was  succeeded  by  his  eldest  son  Humayun.  He 
was  a  monster  of  cruelty.  He  might  well  be  praised  for  his 
,-  learning,  eloquence  and  wit,  but  at  the  same 
'  '"  t*me  we  wou^  regret  his  fierce  disposition. 
He  showed  no  compassion  in  shedding  blood. 
But  he  was  fortunate  in  securing  the  services  of  Mahmud 
GSwfin,  who  served  the  state  with  rare  fidelity  and  devotion 
to  the  last  day  of  his  life.  The  main  interest  of  his  reign 
lies  in  the  hideous  forms  of  cruelty  which  he  practised  with 
savage  brutality.  After  the  conspiracy  which  resulted  in 
the  release  of  his  brothers,  Hasan  and  Yahiya,  from  prison, 
he  caused  Hasan  in  his  own  presence  to  be  thrown  before 
a  Jerocious  tiger  who  instantly  killed  and  devoured  him. 
The  king's  ferocity  exceeded  all  bounds. 

In  October  1461,  Humayun  died  a  natural  death  ; 
but  according  to  Firishta  the  more  probable  account  is 
that  he  was  murdered  by  one  of  his  servants  in  a  state  of 
drunkenness. 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE  201 

After  Humayun's  death  Nizam  was  selected  as  king 
by  Khwajja  Jahan^  Mahmud  Gawan,  and  the  queen-mother, 

who  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  women 
I46i-63,8hah'     that   have   appeared    in    the    east.    Nizam, 

being  a  child  of  eight  years,  the  government 
itfas  in  the  hands  of  the  Dowage^^ 

Aided  by  Mahmud  GSwan,  she  set  at  liberty  all  the  innocent 
persons  who  had  been  thrown  into  prison  by  her  husband, 
and  reinstated  in  their  offices  all  the  servants  of  the  state 
who  had  been  dismissed  without  cause. 

She  repelled  an  attack  led  by  the  Rais  of  Orissa  and  Te- 
lingana  ;  but  when  Mahmud  Khilji  of  Malwa  occupied  Bidar, 
the  Deccan  army  under  Mahmud  Gawan  and  Khwaja  Jahan 
suffered  a  crushing  defeat  in  1461.  The  queen-mother 
secured  in  this  hour  of  need  the  assistance  of  the  ruler  of 
Gujarat  on  whose  approach  Mahmud  Khilji  retreated  to 
his  country.  A  second  attempt  by  Mahmud  Khilji  was 
unsuccessful  for  the  same  reason.  Nizam  Shah  died  jdl  of 
a  sudden  in  1463,  when  he  was  about  to  be  marriedZJwj^^ 
Muhammad  Shah,  brother  of  the  late  king,  was  selected 
by  the  nobles.  The  new  king  had  the  KhwSjS  JahBn 

murdered    on    account   of  the  embezzlement 

of  public  funds,  and  Mahmud  Gawan  became 


U88 
—82.      '  the  chief  authority  in  the  state.     He  had  un- 

limited power.  He  loyally  served  the  state 
for  several  years.  He  fought  wars,  subdued  countries,  and 
increased  the  Bahmani  dominions  to  an  extent  never 
reached  before.  He  was  sent  with  a  large  force  against 
the  Hindu  kingdom  of  Konkan,  and  compelled  the  chief  to 
surrender  the  fortress  of  Kalna,  the  modern  Visalgarh. 
He  also  compelled  the  Raja  of  Orissa  to  pay  tribute,  but 
the  most  remarkable  exploit  of  the  Sultan  was  the  raid  on 


202  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Kanchi  or  Kanjivaram  in  the  course  of  acampaign  against 
Narasinha,  Raja  of  Vijayanagar.  The  city  was  captured, 
and  an  immense  booty  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
victors. 

In  1474  a  severe  famine  occurred  in  the  Deccan  which 
is  known  as  the  Bijapur  famine.  InJ47p  jVthnasius  Niki^ 
tin,  a  Russian  merchant,  visited  Bidar.  He  has  made 
observations  regarding  the  country,  its  government  and  the 
people.  He  also  gives  a  description  of  the  Sultan's  hunting 
expeditions  and  his  palace. 

Mahmud  (jgwgir.  was  a_great  administrator.  In  spite 
of  the  feuds  between  the  Two  parties  in  the  kingdom — 
the  Deccanis  and  J;he  Iranls — which  were  a 
s^™6  of  £reat  tr°uble,  Mahmud  G§w5n  was 
able  to  carry  out  his  work  of  reform  with 
success.  No  department  seems  to  have  escaped  his  attention. 
He  organised  the  finances,  improved  the  administration  of 
justice,  encouraged  public  education,  and  instituted  a  survey 
of  village  lands  to  make  the  state  demand  of  revenue  just 
andjKjuitahte-  Corrupt  practices  were  put  down  ;  the  army 
was  reformed  ;  better  *%dl?liflft  wqq  Qr>^nr^dT  and  the  pros- 
pects  of  the  soldiers  were  improved . 

But  the  Deccanis  who  were  jealous  of  his  influence 
formed  a  conspiracy  against  him  and  forged  a  letter  of  trea- 
sonable contents,   purporting  to  have  been 
written  by  him  to  Narasinha  Raya.    The  king 
was  persuaded  to  have  him  murdered  as  a 


traitor,  in  a  fit  of  drunkenness.  Thus  passed  away  by  the 
gruel  hand  of  the  assassin  one  of  the  purest  characters  of 
the  age,  and  Meadows  Taylor  rightly  observes  that  with  him 
ieparted  all  the  cohesion  and  the  power  of  the  BahmanI 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE 

Mahmud    GSwfin    was  one  of    the  most  remarkable 
nediseval  statesmen.     He  was  completely  devoted  to  the 
state,  and  served  it  all  his  life  with  great 
-     frkffity*  an<*  distinction.    Much  has  already 
been  said  about  his  public  career,  which  was 
s  full  of  unremitting  exertions  for  the  benefit  of 

t^e  state.  But  the  KhwajS  shone  better  in  private  life.  He 
loved  simplicity^  and  always  felt  for  the  poor.  All  Muslim 
chroniclers  agree  in  saving  that  he  was  courageous,  mag- 
nanimous, a  lover  of  justice  and  free  from  the  vices  common 
to  the  great  men  of  his  jge~ His  wants  were  few,  and  his* 
time  was  mostly  passed  in  the  company  of  scholars  and 
divines.  He  possessed  a  fine  library  in  his  college_at^ 
'Bidarwhich Contained  3,000  books..  After  the  day's  toil  the 
learned  Khwaja  repairedTto  the  college  in  the  evening,  and 
there  found  his  most  favourite  recreation  in  the  company 
of  learned  men.  He  was  well-versed  in  Mathematics,  the 
gftjffliM  of  Medicine,  literature,  and  was  a  mastgrof 
epistolary  styleA  Firishta  attributes  to  him  the  authorship  of 
two  works— thp  Rauzat-ul-Imha  and  the^iwan-i-ashr.  But 
although  the  KhwSja  was  pious  and  learned,  he  found  it 
difficult  to  rise  above  the  religious  prejudices  of  the  age,  and 
often  took  part  in  crusades  against  idolatry.  All  things 
said,  the  murder  of  such  a  devoted  servant  was  a  grave 
Jjlujldfir,  and  more  than  anything  else  it  accelerated  the 
ruin  of  the  BahmanLdynasty. 

luhammad  Shah  died  in  1482,  and  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  Mahmud  Shah  who  was  only  12  years  of  age.    He 
The  downfall    *urnec^  out  an  imbecile    and  spent  his  time  in 
oftheBahmani     merriment  and  revelry.    Disorders  increased 
kingdom.  Qn  ajj  Bftea^  an(j  provincial  governors  began 

to  declare   their  independence.     The  Bahmani  kingdom 


204  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

was  now  restricted  to  Bidar  and  the  provinces  near  the 
capital.  Amir  Barid,  the  new  minister,  was  the  virtual  ruler; 
he  kept  Mahmud  in  a  state  of  humiliating  dependence  upon 
himself.  After  Mahmud's  death  in  1518  the  Bahmani 
kingdom  practically  came  to  an  end. 

The  kingdom  broke  up  into  five  independent  principali- 
ties which  were  :— 

1.  The  Imad  Shahi  dynasty  of  Berar. 

2.  The  Nizam  Shahi  dynasty  of  Ahmadnagar. 

3.  The  Adil  Shahi  dynasty  of  Bijapur. 

4.  The  Qutb  Shahi  dynasty  of  Golkunda 

5.  The  Barid  Shahi  dynasty  of  Bidar 

The  Bahmani  dynasty  contained  in  all  fourteen  kings. 
Tney  were  with  a  few  exceptions  cruel  and  ferocious,  and 

never  hesitated  in  shedding  the  blood  of  the 
re-  Hindus.  The  founder  of  the  dynasty,  Hassan 

Kanga,  was  a  capable  administrator,  but  he 
too  was  relentless  in  his  attitude  towards  the  Hindus.  His 
successors  were  mostly  debauched  and  unprincipled  tyrants 
who  were  always  hampered  in  their  work  by  the  dissensions 
of  the  Deccani  and  foreign  Amirs.  Attempts  at  making  the 
administration  efficient  were  made  from  time  to  time,  but 
they  never  succeeded  except  perhaps  during  the  ministry  of 
Mahmud  GawSn.  The  Hindus  were  employed  by  the  state 
in  the  lower  branches  of  the  administration,  but  that  was 
inevitable  because  they  had  better  knowledge  and  expe- 
rience of  revenue  affairs.  JMahmud  GgwSn  reformed^the 
system  of  revenue,  and  allowed  the  agriculturists  to  pay 
their  dues  in  cash  or  kind.  Athnasius  Nikitin  says  that  the 
^country  was  populous,  the  lands  well  cultivated,  the  roads 
safe  from  robbers,  and  the  capital  ofjthe  kingdom,  amagni- 
Acent  city  with  parka  and  promenades.  The  nobles  lived  in 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE  20& 

great  magnificence,  but  the  lot  of  the  people  in  the  country 
was  hard  and  miserable.  It  is  from  his  remarks  that  Dr. 
Smith  draws  the  conclusion  that  the  country  must  have 
been  sucked  dry.  But  he  forgets  that  mediaeval  monarchs 
all  over  the  world  felt  no  scruples  in  spending  the  people's 
money  with  a  light  heart  on  personal  pleasures.  It  is 
true  the  Bahmanids  often  plundered  the  property  l>f  their 
enemies,  but  they  were  never  guilty  of  levying  oppressive 
exactions  even  in  the  time  of  war.  They  provided  facilities 
of  irrigation  for  the  development  of  agriculture  in  their 
dominions,  and  took  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  peasantry. 
Some  of  them  were  patrons  of  arts  and  education,  and  made 
endowments  for  the  maintenance  of  the  learned  and  pious. 
They  were  not  great  builders.  The  only  things  worthy  of 
mention  are  the  city  of  Bidar,  which  was  full  of  beautiful 
buildings,  and  certain  forts  which  exist  to  this  day. 

In  judging  the  Bahmanids  it  would  be  unfair  to  apply 
to  their  conduct  the  standards  of  today.  Even  in  the 
West  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries  religious 
persecution  was  the  order  of  the  day.  Religion  and  politics 
were  often  mixed  up,  and  ambitious  rulers  exploited 
religious  zeal  for  their  own  advantage.  If  we  keep  this 
fact  in  mind,  we  can  neither  accept  the  unqualified  praise 
which  Meadows  Taylor  bestows  upon  the  Bahmanids  nor 
their  wholesale  condemnation  which  is  to  be  found  in 
Dr.  Vincent  Smith's  Oxford  History  of  India. 

THE  FIVE  MUHAMMADAN  KINGDOMS  OF  THE  DECCAN 

The   Jmad    Shahi    dynasty  was  founded  by  Fatah 

Ullah  Imad  Shah,  onginaHy  a  Hindu  from  Carnatic.    He 

made   a   name    in  the  service  of   Khan-i- 

Berar*  Jahan,  the  viceroy   of  Berar,  and  succeeded 


206  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

him.  He  was  the  first  to  declare  his  independence.  His 
•dynasty  ruled  till  1574,  when  it  was  incorporated  in  the 
Nizam  Shahi  dominions. 

The  Adil  Shahi  dynasty  was  founded  by  Yusuf  Adil 

Khan,     a  slave    purchased    by    Mahmud    Gawan.    But 

according     to     Firishta     he     was    a   son    of 

Bajapur.        ^^    ^^    n    Q£    Turkey  who  died  in  14gL 

When  his  eldest  brother  Muhammad  came  to  the  throne 
he  ordered  the  expulsion  of  all  the  male  children  of  the 
late  Sultan  ;  but  Yusuf  was  saved  by  the  tact  of  his 
mother.  He  rose  to  high  rank  through  the  favour  of  his 
patron,  Mahmud  Gawan*  He  declared  his  independence 
in  1489. 

His  formidable  enemy  Qasim  Barid  incited  the  Raya 
of  Vijayariagar  to  declare  war  upon  Bijapur.  But 
Narasinha  suffered  a  defeat.  In  1495  he  helped  Qasim 
Barid  in  defeating  Dastur  Dinar,  the  governor  of 
Gulburga,  who  had  revolted.  But  he  managed  to  have 
Oulburga  restored  to  him  and  saved  his  life.  Yusuf 
was  anxious  to  obtain  Gulburga  for  himself.  Qasim  was 
defeated,  and  his  defeat  greatly  enhanced  the  prestige  of 
Ali  Adil  Shah.  In  1502  he  declared  the  Shia  creed  to  be 
the  religion  of  the  state,  but  granted  perfect  toleration 
to  the  Sunnis.  Nevertheless/  the  neighbouring  powers 
joined  against  him.  He  fled  to  Berar,  restored  the  Sunni 
faith,  and  withdrew  to  Khandesh. 

Meanwhile  Imadul-Mulk  wrote  to  the  allies  that  Amir 
Barid  was  using  them  for  his  own  selfish  end.  So  the 
Sultans  of  Ahmadnagar  and  Golkunda  left  the  field.  Amir 
Barid,  left  alone,  was  defeated  by  Yusuf,  who  entered 
Bijapu*  in  triumph.  Yusuf  Adil  Shah  is  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  rulers  of  the  Deccan.  He  was  a  patron  of 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE  207 

letters,  and  learned  men  from  Persia,  Turkistan,  and  Rum 
<came  to  his  court  and  enjoyed  his  bounty.  He  was  free  from 
•bigotry,  and  religion  in  his  eyes  was  no  bar  to  public  employ- 
ment. Firishta  says  that  he  was  'handsome  in  person, 
eloquent  in  speech,  and  eminent  for  his  learning,  liberality, 
and  valour.' 

Yusuf  Adil  was  followed  by  Ismail  who  was  only  nine 
years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  accession.  The  affairs  of 

.1  01  ^       the  state  were  managed  by  KamSl  Khan,  an 

Ismail  Shah. 

officer  of  the  late  king,  but  he  proved  a 
traitor.  His  designs  were  frustrated  by  the  queen-mother 
who  had  him  assassinated  by  a  slave.  Ismail  now  took  the 
reins  of  government  in  his  own  hands.  But  he  had  to  fight 
against  Vijayanagar  and  Ahmadnagar.  He  was  victorious  in 
all  his  wars,  and  recovered  possession  of  the  Raichur 
Doab  from  Vijayanagar.  Ismail  died  in  1534,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Mallu  Adil  Shah,  but  he  was  blinded  and 
dethroned.  After  him  his  brother  Ibrahim  was  proclaimed 
king. 

He    first  restored  the  Sunni  faith  and  replaced  all 
foreigners  in  his  service  by  the  Deccanis  and  Abyssinians. 
He  defeated  the  rulers  of  Bidar,   Ahmadna- 
gar,  and  Golkunda  and  displayed  commend- 
able energy,  but  debauchery  soon  brought 
about  his  ruin.    He  fell  ill  and  died  in  1557.  ,  He  was 
succeeded  by  Ali  Adil  Shah. 

The  new  Sultan  restored  the  Shia  faith  and  his  policy 

caused  discontent  in  the  country.       With  the    help    of 

the    Raya  of  Vijayanagar  he  ravaged  the 

Bhih. A  d  *  l     Ahmadnagar  territory  in  1658.    The  Hindus 

perpetrated    the    most    horrible    excesses 

which   disgusted  even  their  ally  Ali  Adil.    The  growing 


208  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

power  of  Vijayanagar  seemed  to  be  a  menace  to  the 
existence  of  the  Muslim  monarchies.  Bijapur,  Bidar, 
Ahmadnagar,  Golkunda  combined  against  Vijayanagar 
and  defeated  Ram  Raya  at  Talikota  in  1565.  Ali  Adil  w as- 
assassinated  in  1579. 

The  heir  to  the  throne  was  a  minor,  and  the  govern- 
ment was  carried  on  by  his  mother  Chand  Bibi  who  is  so 
famous  in  Indian  history.  Ibrahim  was  suc- 
cessful  in  a  war  with  Ahmadnagar  in  1594, 
when  the  Sultan  was  slain  in  battle.  He  died 
in  1626.  He  was  the  most  remarkable  ruler  of  his  dynasty* 
The  Adil  Shahis  fought  long  and  hard  against  the 
Mughals,  and  Bijapur  was  finally  annexed  to  the  empire 
in  1686  by  Aurangzeb. 

The  Nizam  Shahi  dynasty  was  founded  by  Nizamul- 

mulk  Bahri,    the  leader  of  the   Deccan  party  at  Bidar. 

After    Mahmud     Gawan's    death,    he  was. 

Ahmadnagar.  .  , 

appointed  minister.  His  son  Malik  Ahmad 
was  appointed  governor  of  Junir.  He  intended  to  join, 
his  son,  but  his  plans  were  foiled  by  the  governor  of  Bidar, 
who  had  him  strangled  to  death  with  the  king's  per- 
mission. Malik  Ahmad  declared  his  independence  in  1498, 
and  transferred  his  court  to  Ahmadnagar.  He  obtained 
possession  of  Daulatabad  in  1499  after  a  hard  fight.  On 
his  death  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Burhan  Nizam 
Shah. 

Burhan  (1508—58)  was  a  minor  ;  and  so  the  affairs  of  the 
state  were  managed  by  his  father 'sold  officers.  He  married 
a  Bijapur  princess.  He  fell  out  with  the 
kin«  of  Bijapur  and  brought  about  almost  a 
diplomatic  revolution  by  concluding  aa 
alliance  with  the  Raya  of  Vijayanagar. 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE  20& 

In  1553  he  laid  siege  to  Bijapur,  but  he  died  shortly 
afterwards.  The  subsequent  history  of  Ahmadnagar  is> 
unimportant  except  for  the  heroic  defence  made  hv  ffiflnd 
Bibi  against  Prince  Murad.  Ahmadnagar  was  finally 
conquered  by  the  imperialists  in  1600. 

The  Qutb  Shahi  dynasty  was  founded  by  Qutb-ul-mulk^ 

He    was  well  educated,  and  was  originally  employed  in 

~  „      ,  the  secretariat  of  Mahmud  Shah  Bahmani. 

Golkunda. 

By  dint  of  his  ability  he  rose  to  be  the 
governor  of  Telingana.  He  declared  his  independence  in 
1518.  On  his  death  in  1543,  he  was  succeeded  by  a  series- 
of  weak  rulers  who  maintained  their  independence  against 
the  Mughals  until  1687  when  Golkunda  was  finally 
annexed  to  the  empire  by  Aurangzeb. 

Amir  Barid,  son  of  Qasim  Barid,  assumed  the  title 
of  king,  and  declared  his  independence  in  1526,  when 

Sultan,  Kalimullah,  fled  to  Bijapur. 


Bidar 

The  dynasty  lingered  till  1609,  when  it  was. 

supplanted  by  the  Adil  Shahis  who  annexed  the  province 
to  their  dominions. 


(iii)  The  RUe  of  Vijayana?ar 

The  rise  of  the  kingdom  of  Vijayanagar  dates  from  the 
time  of  the  disorders  which  occurred  during  the  reign  of 

Muhammad  Tughluq.  Sewell,  the  historian  of 
of  thenEampipre.  the  Vijayanagar  Empire,  gives  seven  tradition- 

ary  accounts  of  the  origin  of  the  empire*  l  But 
the  most  probable  account  is  that  which  attributes  its  origin; 
to  two  brothers,  Hari  Kara  and  Bukka,  who  were  employed 
in  the  treasury  of  Pratap  Rudra  Deva  KSkatiya  of  WarangaK 

1  Sewell,  A  Forgotten  Empire*  pp.    20—22. 
F.     14 


210  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

They  fled  from  their  country  in  1323  when  it  was  overrun 
by  the  Muslims.  They  took  up  service  with  the  Raja  of 
Anagondi  in  the  Raichur  district,  but  they  were  taken  to 
Delhi  when  that  country  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Muslims. 
This  excited  the  Hindus  so  much  that  they  rose  in  rebellion, 
and  the  Sultan  released  the  two  brothers,  and  restored 
them  to  the  country  of  Anagondi  which  they  held  as  tri- 
butaries of  the  empire  of  Delhi.  With  the  help  of  the 
famous  sage  and  scholar  Vidyaranya  (literally,  forest  of 
learning)  they  founded  in  the  year  1336  A.D.  the  imperial 
city  on  the  bank  of  the  Tungbhadra  merely  as  a  place  of 
shelter  against  the  persecutions  and  aggressions  of  the 
Muslim  invaders,  and  Hari  Hara  became  the  first  ruler  of 
the  dynasty. 

By  the  year  1340  Hari  Hara  had  estab- 

arly    lished  his  sway  over  the  valley  °f  the 

Tungbhadra,   portions  of  the  Konkon,    and 
the  Malabar  coast. 

Hari  Hara  and  his  brothers  never  assumed  royal  titles. 
Muslim  historians  tell  us  that  Hari  Hara  took  part  in  the 
•confederacy  organised  by  Krigna  Nayak,  son  of  Pratap 
Hudra  Deva  of  Warangal,  in  1344,  to  drive  the  Muslims  out 
'of  the  Deccan.  The  evidence  of  inscriptions  also  points 
to  the  fact  that  Hari  Hara  I  assisted  in  this  confederacy, 
and  fought  against  the  Muslim  forces.  The  death  of  the 
last  king  of  the  Hoysala  dynasty— VirQpfik?a  Ballala  in  1346 
coupled  with  the  disappearance  of  the  power  of  the  Sultan 
of  Delhi  enabled  the  valiant  brothers  to  bring  under  their 
control  the  dominions  of  the  Hoysalas.  The  brothers  then 
embarked  upon  a  brilliant  career  of  conquest.  Their  efforts 
were  crowned  with  success,  so  much  so,  that  within  the 
lifetime  of  Hari  Hara,  the  kingdom  extended  from  the  KrifpK 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE  211 

in  the  north  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Kaveri  in  the 
south,  and  comprised  the  whole  country  situated  between 
the  eastern  and  western  oceans.  Bat  the  northward  ex- 
pansion of  the  rising  kingdom  was  checked  by  the  Bah- 
manids.  Both  tried  to  be  supreme  in  the  Deccan,  and  their 
ambitions  led  them  to  fight  against  each  other  with  great 
ferocity  and  pertinacity.  Hari  Kara  divided  his  kingdom 
into  provinces,  which  he  entrusted  to  scions  of  the  royal 
family  ana  trustworthy  viceroys,  whose  loyalty  had  been 
proved  by  long  and  faithful  service.  Hari  Kara  died  about 
1353,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  brother  Bukka  who  completed 
the  building  of  the  city  of  Vijayanagar,  and  enlarged  its 
dimensions.  He  is  described  in  the  inscriptions  as  the 
master  of  the  eastern,  western,  and  southern  oceans.  This 
is  no  doubt  an  exaggeration  ;  but  we  might  easily  conclude 
that  he  was  a  remarkable  ruler.  He  sent  a  mission  to  the 
emperor  of  China,  and  waged  wars  against  the  Bahmani 
kingdom.  He  was  a  tolerant  and  liberal-minded  ruler  ;  and 
it  is  said  that  on  one  occasion  he  brought  about  a  reconcilia- 
tion between  the  Jains  and  Vaignavas  by  his  intervention.^ 
Bukka  died  in  1879^  and  was  succeeded  by  HarL JIara  II 
the  first  king  of  the  dynasty  who  assumed  imperial  titles 
and  called  himself  Maharajadhiraj.  He  en* 
(*owed  ternPles»  an(*  tried  to  consolidate  his 
vast  possessions.  Sewell  writes  that  he 
was  always  a  lover  of  peace,  and  Vincent  Smith  says  that  he 
had  a  quiet  time  so  far  as  the  Muslims  were  concerned,  and 
enjoyed  leisure  which  he  devoted  to  consolidating  his  domi- 
nion over  the  whole  of  Southern  India,  including  Trichinopoly 
and  Conjeevaram  (Kanchi).  He  turned  his  attention  to  other 
countries  of  the  south,  and  his  general,  Gunda,  conquered 
several  new  provinces.  Hari  Hara  II  die£  on  the  90th 


21g  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

August,  1404,  and  was  succeeded  by  bis  son  who  ruled  only 
for  a  short  time.  He  was  succeeded  by  Deva  Raya  who 
had  to  fight  again  and  again  against  the  Bahmanids. 
Firishta  says  that  on  one  occasion  Firuz  compelled  him  to 
give  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  the  Sultan.  But  we  may 
well  doubt  whether  the  marriage  took  place,  for  the  author 
of  the  Burhan-i-MOsir,  who  is  a  detailed  and  accurate 
chronicler,  does  not  make  even  a  casual  mention  of  this 
marriage,  nor  is  there  any  mention  of  it  in  the  inscriptions. 
Deva  Raya  died  in  1410,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son 
Vijaya  Raya  who  reigned  for  nine  years.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Deva  Raya  II.. 

Deva  Raya  followed  the  military  traditions  of  his  pre- 
decessors and  declared  war  against  the  Bahmanids.  Being 
impressed  by  the  superior  strength  of  the 
Muslim  cavalry,  he  employed  Muslim  horse- 
men  in  his  service,  but  even  this  somewhat 
unusual  step  proved  of  no  avail.  When  the  war  broke  out 
again  in  1443,  the  Muslims  defeated  ihe  Raya's  forces,  and 
compelled  him  to  pay  tribute.  During  Deva  Raya  H's  reign 
Vijayanagar  was  visited  by  two  foreigners— one  of  them  was 
Nicolo  Conti,  an  Italian  sojourner,  and  the  other  was  Abdur 
Razzaq,  an  envoy  from  Persia.  Both  have  left  valuable  obser- 
vations regarding  the  city  and  the  empire  of  Vijayanagar. 
He  visited  Vijayanagar  about  the  year 
Nicol°  Cont1'  1420  or  1421  and  he  describes  it  thus  :- 

"  The  great  city  of  Bizengalia  is  situated  near  very 
steep  mountains.  The  circumference  of  the  city  is  sixty 
miles ;  its  walls  are  carried  up  to  the  mountains  and 
enclose  the  valleys  at  their  foot,  so  that  its  extent  is, 
thereby  increased.  In  this  city  there  are  estimated  to 
be  ninety  thousand  men,  fit  to  bear  arms. 


BREAK-UP  (fr  THE  EMPIRE  218 

The  inhabitants  of  this  region  marry  as  many 
as  they  please,  who  are  burnt  with  their  dead 
husbands.  Their  king  is  more  powerful  than  all  other 
kings  of  India.  He  takes  to  himself  12TQOO  wives,  of 
whom  4,000  follow  him  on  foot  wherever  he  may  go, 
and  are  employed  solely  in  the  service  of  the  kitchen.  A 
like  number,  more  handsomely  equipped,  ride  on  horse- 
back. The  remainder  are  carried  by  men  in  litters,  of 
whom  2,000  or  3,000  are  selected  as  his  wives,  on  con- 
dition that  at  his  death  they  should  voluntarily  burn 
themselves  with  him,  which  is  considered  to  be  a  great 
honour  for  them. 

^  "At  a  certain  time  of  the  year  their  idol  is  carried 
through  the  city,  placed  between  two  chariots,  in  which 
are  joung  women  richly  adorned,  who  sing  hymns 
to  the  god,  and  accompanied  by  a  great  concourse  of 
people.  Many,  carried  away  by  the  fervour  of  their 
faith,  cast  themselves  on  the  ground  before  the  wheels, 
in  order  that  they  may  be  crushed  to  death— a  mode 
of  death  which  they  say  is  very  acceptable  to  their  god, 
others  making  an  incision  in  their  side,  and  inserting  a 
rope  thus  through  their  body,  hang  themselves  to  the 
chariot  by  way  of  ornament  and  thus  suspended  and 
half -dead  accompany  their  idol.  This  kind  of  sacrifice 
they  consider  the  best  and  most  acceptable  of  all. 

3.  "  Thrice  in  the  year  they  keep  festivals  of  special 
solemnity.  On  one  of  these  occasions  the  males  and 
females  of  all  ages,  having  bathed  in  the  rivers  or  the 
sea,  clothe  themselves  in  new  garments,  and  spend 
three  entire  days  in  singing,  dancing  and  feasting.  On 
another  of  these  festivals  they  fix  up  within 
their  temples,  and  on  the  outside  on  their  roofs  an 


214  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

innumerable  number  of  lamps  of  oil  of  auaimanni  which 
are  kept  burning  ^ay-  an  d)night.  On  the  third,  which 
lasts  nine  days,  they  set  up  in  all  the  highways  large 
beams,  like  the  masts  of  small  ships,  to  the  upper  part 
of  which  are  attached  pieces  of  very  beautiful  cloth  of 
various  kinds  interwoven  with  gold.  On  the  summit 
of  each  of  these  beams  is  each  day  placed  a  man  of 
pious  aspiration,  dedicated  to  religion,  capable  of  endur- 
ing all  things  with  equanimity,  who  is  to  pray  for  the 
favour  of  god.  These  men  are  assailed  by  the  people, 
who  pelt  them  with  orange,  lemons,  and  other  odori- 
ferous fruits,  all  of  which  they  bear  most  patiently, 
There  are  also  three  other  festival  days,  during  which 
they  sprinkle  all  passers-by,  even  the  king  and  queen 
themselves,  with  saffron  water,  placed  for  the  purpose 
by  the  wayside.  This  is  received  by  all  with  much 
laughter." 

Twenty  years   after    Nicolo    Conti,    Abdur   Razzaq,1 

an  envoy  from  Persia,  visited  Vijayanagar  in  1442     He 

Abdur    Raz-     staye(*  in  the  famous  city  till  the  beginning 

z&q's   account     of  April  1448.     He  gives  a  detailed  account 

>f  Vijayanagar. 


are  as  follows  :  — 

11  One  day  messengers  came  from  the    king  to 

summon  me,  and  towards  the  evening  I   went  to   the 

court,  and  presented  five    beautiful    horses 

Tke  Raya.  -  *  . 

and  two  trays  each  containing  nine  pieces 
of  4§mask    and    satin.      The    king    was    seated    in 

J  hr  <H  ^  *  ./  < 

y        J     s 

1  A  detailed  account  of  Abdur-Razzaq  is  given  in  the  Matta-us- 
Sadain.  Elliot,  IV,  pp.  105—120*  He  was  born  a*  Herat  in  1413.  Shah  Rukb 
of  Persia  sent  him  as  an  ambassador  to  Yijayanagar.  He  died  in  1482. 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE  215 

great  state  in  the  forty-pillared  hall,  and  a  great  crowd 
of  Brahmans  and  others  stood  on  the  right  and  left  of  him. 
He  was  clothed  in  a  robe  of  Zaitun  satin  and  he  had- 
around  his  neck  a  collar  composed  of  pure  pearls  of  regal 
excellence,  the  value  of  which  a  jeweller  would  find  it 
difficult  to  calculate.     He  was  of  an  olive  colour,  of  a 
spare  body  and  rather  tall.    He  was  exceedingly  young,, 
for  there  was  only  some  slight  down  upon  his  cheeks  and 
none  upon  his  chin.    His  whole  appearance  was  very 
prepossessing.  .  .    The  daily  provision  forwarded  to  me 
comprised  two  sheep,  four  couple  of  fowls,  five  mans  of 
rice,  one  man  of  butter,   one  man  of  sugar,  and  two 
varahas  gold.    This  occurred  every  day.     Twice  a  week 
I  was  summoned  to  the  presence  towards  the  evening 
when  the  king  asked  me  several  questions  respecting 
the  Khakan-i-said,   and  each  time  I  received  a  packet  of 
betel,  a  purse  of  fanams  and  some  miskals  of  camphor. 

4<  TJie^city  ofJBisanagar  is  such  that  eye  has 
nor  ear  heard  of  any  place   resembling  it  upon  the 

eartk  It  is  so  built  that  it  has  seven  fortified 
walls,  one  within  the  other.  Beyond  the  cir- 
cuit of  the  outer  wall  there  is  an  esplanade  extending 
for  about  fifty  yards,  in  which  stones  are  fixed  near  one 
another  to  the  height  of  a  man ;  one-half  buried  firmly  in 
the  earth,  and  the  other  half  rises  above  it,  so  that 
neither  foot  nor  horse,  however  bold,  can  advance  with 
facility  near  the  outer  wall. 

" Each  class  of  men  belonging  to  each 

profession  has  shops  contiguous  the  one  to  the  other ;  the 
jewellers  sell  publicly  in  the  bazar  pearls, 
robieSt  emeralds,  and  diamonds.  In  this 
agreeable  locality,  as  well  aa  in  the 


216  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM 

king's  palace,  one  sees  numerous  running  streams 
and  canals  formed  of  chiselled  stone,  polished  and 
smooth. 

On  the  left  of  the  Sultan's  portico,  rises  the  diwan- 
khana  (the  council  house)  which  is  extremely  large  and 
looks  like  a  palace.  In  front  of  it  is  a  hall,  the  height  of 
which  is  above  the  stature  of  a  man,  its  length  thirty 
ghez,  and  its  breadth  ten.  In  it  is  placed  the  daftar- 
khana  (the  archives),  and 'here  sit  the  scribes.  .  .  In 
the  middle  of  this  palace  upon  a  high  estrade  is  seated 
an  eunuch,  called  Daiang  who  alone  presides  over 
the  diWan. At  the  end  of  the  hall  stand  tchobdars 
(hussars)  drawn  up  in  line.  Every  man  who  comes  upon 
any  business,  passes  between  the  tchobdars,  offers 
a  small  present,  grostratea  himself  with  his  face  to 
the  ground,  then  rising  up  explains  the  business  which 
brought  him  there  and  the  Daiang  pronounces  his  opi- 
nion, according  to  the  principles  of  justice  adopted  in 
this  kingdom,  and  no  one  thereafter  is  allowed  to  make 
any  appeal." 

Deva  Raya  II  probably  died  in  1449,  and  was  succeeded 

by  his  two  sons  one  after  the  other.    But  they  were  too 

weak  to  manage  the  large   empire    which 

dy-      he    ^    j£ft     t()     them         The     throne     wag 

usurped  by  Saluva-Narasinha,  the  most 
powerful  noble  in  KarnSta  and  Telingana.  This  is  known 
as  the  first  usurpation  Saluva-Narasinha's  power  did  not 
last  long.  His  successor  had  to  make  room  for  his  redoubt- 
able general  Naresa  Nayaka  of  Tuluva  descent,  who  became 
the  founder  of  a  new  dynasty.  The  most  famous  king  of 
this  dynasty  was  Kri?na  Deva  Raya. 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE  217 

Kriijna  Deva  Raya  is  said  to  have  ascended  the  throne 
Vijayanagar  in  1509  A.D.  Under  him  Vijayanagar 
attained  ty  the  zenith  of  its  greatness  and 
char-  prosperity.  He  fought  the  Muslims  of  the 
per"  Deccan  on  equal  terms,  and  avenged  the 
wrongs  that  had  been  done  to  his  predeces- 
sors. He  was  an  able  and  accomplished  monarch.  Paes 
who  saw  him  with  his  own  eyes  thus  describes  him  : 

-/  "  The  king  is  of  medium  height,  and  of  fair  com-j 
exion  and  good  figure,  rather  fat  than  thin  ;  he  has  on 
Tiis  face  signs  of  small-pox.  He  is  the  most  feared  and 
perfect  king  that  could  possibly  be,  cheerful  of  disposition 
and  very  merry  ;  he  is  one  that  seeks  to  honour  foreign- 
ers, and  receives  them  kindly,  asking  about  all  their 
affairs  whatever  their  condition  may  be.  He  is  a  great 
ruler  and  a  man  of  much  justice,  but  subject  to  sudden 
fits  of  rage " 

The  history  of  this  period  is  a  record  of  bloody  wars. 
There  is  no  ruler  among  the  sovereigns  of  the  Deccan, 
both  Hindu  and  Muslim,  worthy  of  comparison  with  Kri$na 
Deva  Raya.  Although  a  Vaisnava  himself,  he  granted  the 
fullest  liberty  of  worship  to  his  subjects.  He  was  very 
kind  and  hospitable  to  foreigners,  who  speak  highly  of  his 
liberality,  his  genial  appearance,  and  his  elevated  culture. 
He  was  a  brilliant  conversationalist,  and  the  inscriptions  show 
that  he  was  a  great  patron  of  Sanskrit  and  Telugu  litera- 
ture. His  court  was  adorned  by  eight  celebrated  poets,  who 
were  known  as  the  o$a  diggaja.  He  was  not  wanting 
in  military  prowess,  and  gave  proof  of  his  organising 
capacity  and  valour  in  the  wars  he  waged  against  his 
-enemies.  A  fearless  and  renowned  captain  of  war,  Krigna 


218  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Deva  Raya  was  a  man  of  charitable  disposition,  and  he 
made  numerous  gifts  to  temples  and  Brahmans.  All  things- 
considered,  he  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  rulers  that 
have  appeared  in  Southern  India.  Sew  ell  gives  an  in- 
teresting account  of  the  king's  position  and  personality  : 

"  Kri?na  Deva  was  not  only  monarch  de  jure,  was 
in  the  practical  fact  an  absolute  sovereign  of  extensive 
power  and  strong  personal  influence.  He  was  the  real 
ruler.  He  was  physically  strong  in  his  best  days,  and 
kept  his  strength  up  to  the  highest  pitch  by  hard  bodily 
exercise.  He  rose  early  and  developed  all  his  muscles 
by  the  use  of  the  Indian  clubs  and  the  use  of  the  sword  ; 
he  was  a  fine  rider,  and  was  blessed  with  a  noble  presence 
which  favourably  impressed  all  who  came  in  contact 
with  him.  He  commanded  his  enormous  armies  in  person,, 
was  able,  brave  and  statesmanlike,  and  was  withal  a 
man  of  much  gentleness  and  generosity  of  character.  He 
was  beloved  by  all  and  respected  by  all.  The  only  blot 
on  his  scutcheon  is,  that  after  his  great  success  over  the 
Muhammadan  king  he  grew  to  be  haughty  and  insolent 
in  his  demands/' 

Krigna  Deva  Raya's  conquests  extended  far  and  wide. 
He  defeated  the  Raya  of  Orissa  and  married  a  princess  of  the 
royal  house.  But  his  most  important  achieve- 

ment  was  the  defeat  of  Adil  Shah  of  Bfiapur 
in  1520.  The  Muslim  camp  was  sacked,  and 
enormous  booty  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Hindus.  Adil 
Shah's  prestige  was  so  completely  shattered  that  for  a  time 
he  ceased  to  think  of  further  conquest  in  the  south,  and  con- 
centrated his  attention  on  organising  his  resources  for  a 
fresh  and  more  determined  struggle.  The  Hindus  behaved  so* 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE 

haughtily  in  the  hour  of  victory  that  their  conduct  gave 
terrible  offence  to  the  Muslim  powers,  and  made  them  the  ob- 
jects of  universal  hatred  in  all  Muslim  circles  in  the  Deccan. 
The  Portuguese  had  friendly  relations  with  the  Raya 
of  Vijayanagar  who  greatly  benefited  by  their  trade  in 

Rei  a  t  i  o  n  s  ^orses  an<*  other  useful  articles.  In  1510  the 
with  the  Portuguese  governor  Albuquerque  sent  a 

ortuguese  mission  to  Vijayanagar  to  obtain  permission 
to  build  a  fort  at  Bhatkal.  This  was  granted  when  the 
Portuguese  seized  Goa,  which  has  always  been  one  of  their 
valuable  possessions.  The  mutual  feuds  of  the  Hindu  and 
Muslim  rulers  of  the  Deccan  increased  the  political  impor- 
tance of  these  foreign  traders,  for  their  assistance  was 
often  sought  by  the  contending  parties. 

The  conquests  of  Krigna  Deva  Raya  considerably  enlarged 

the  extent  of  the  empire.    It  extended  over  the  area  which 
™  .  is  now  covered  by    the  Madras  Presidency, 

1    U  6        OX™ 

tent  of  the     the  Mysore  and  certain  other   states    of  the 
empire.  Deccan.  It  reached  to  Cuttack  in  the  east  and 

Salsette  in  the  west,  and  towards  the  south  it  touched  the 
extreme  border  of  the  peninsula.      The  expansion    of   the 
empire  and  its  great  resources  were  a  matter   of  supreme 
anxiety  to  the  Muslim  rulers  of  the  Deccan,   who  always 
kept  themselves  in  a  state  of  readiness  for  war,  and  left 
no  stone  unturned  to  reduce  its  power  or  lower  its  prestige. 
After  Krisna  Deva  Raya's  death  a  period  of  decline 
began.    The  new  ruler  Achyut  Deva,  who  was  a  brother 
of  the  late  king,   was  an  incompetent  man 
*  '  d  e     who    found  it  difficult    to  guard  the  state 


against  his  jealous  neighbours.  The  Sultan 
of  Bijapur  seized  the  fortresses  of  Raichur  and  Mudgal,  and 
thus  humiliated  the  Raya.  After  his  death  in  1542,  Achyut 


^220  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

was  succeeded  by  Sadasiva  Raya,  the  son  of  a  deceased 
brother  of  his,  but  since  he  was  merely  a  figure-head,  all 
power  passed  into  the  hands  of  Rama  Raya  Saluva,  son  of 
Krishna  Deva  Raya's  famous  Minister  Saluva  Timma. 
Rama  Raya  was  a  capable  man,  but  his  pride  and  arrogance 
had  given  offence  to  his  allies  and  opponents  alike.  In  1543 
with  the  help  of  Ahmadnagar  and  Golkunda,  he  declared 
war  upon  Bijapur,  but  it  was  saved  by  the  diplomacy  of 
Ali  Adil  Shah's  minister  Asad  Khan,  who  detached  the  Raya 
from  the  coalition  and  made  peace  with  Burhan.  But  a 
fresh  shuffle  of  cards  followed  when  in  1557  Bijapur, 
Golkunda,  and  Vijayanagar  combined  to  attack 
Ahmadnagar.  The  whole  country  was  laid  waste  by  the 
Hindus  and  Firishta  writes  :— 

"The  infidels  of  Vijayanagar,  who  for  many  years 
had  been  wishing  such  an  event,  left  no  cruelty 
unpractised  ;  they  insulted  the  honour  of  the 
Musalman  women,  destroyed  the  mosques,  and  did 
not  even  respect  the  sacred  Quran." 

This  atrocious  conduct  of  the  Hindus  outraged  Muslim 
sentiment  and  alienated  their  allies.  They  determined  to 
crush  the  Hindu  State,  and  giving  up  all  their  differences 
formed  a  grand  alliance  against  Vijayanagar.  In  1564 
Bijapur,  Ahmadnagar,  Golkunda,  and  Bidar  combined,  but 
Berar  remained  aloof  from  the  confederacy.  The  formidable 
coalition,  called  into  existence  by  irreconcilable  hatred,  took 
a  revenge  which  has  no  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  south. 

The  allies  began  their  southward  march  on  December 
25,  1564,  and  met  near  the  town  of ..  Talikota  on  the  bank 
^  Battle  of  °^  *ke  K^na.  The  Raya  treated  their  move- 
Taiikota,  1566  ments  with  indifference.  He  used  '  scornful 
A*D~  language  towards  their  ambassadors  and 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE  221 

regarded  their  enmity  as  of  little  moment.'    But  he  soon 
discovered    his  mistake.    He    sent  his  youngest  brother 
Tirumala  with  20,000  horse,  100,000  foot  and  500  elephants 
to  guard  the  passages  of  the  Kri?na  at  all  points,  and  des- 
patched a  brother  with  another  force.  The  remaining  troops 
he  kept  under  his  command  and  marched  to  the  field  of  bat- 
tle. The  allies  also  made  mighty  preparations.     Such  huge 
armies  had  never  met  each  other  before  on  a  field  of  battle 
in  the  south.    The  fight  began.   At  first  the  Hindus  seemed 
victorious,  but  the  tide  turned  when  the  artillery  wing 
of  the  allied  army  charged  the  Hindu  host    with  bags, 
filled  with  copper  coins,  and  in  a  short   time  5,000  Hindus 
were  slain.    This  was  followed  by  a  fearful  cavalry  charge. 
Rama  Raya  was  captured  and  was  beheaded   by  Husain 
Nizamshah   with  the  exclamation,     "Now  I  am    aveng- 
ed of  thee.  Let  God  do  what  he  will  to  me."  The  army  was 
instantly  seized  with  panic.     The  battle  ended  in  a  complete 
rout.    About  100.000  Hindus  were   slain,   and  the  plunder 
was  so  great  that  "every  man  in  the  allied  army  became 
rich  in  gold,  jewels,  effects,  tents,  arms,  horses,  and  slaves, 
as  the  Sultan  left  every  person  in  possession  of  what  he 
had     acquired    only   taking  elephants   for  his  own  use. 
Then  the  victorious  allies  proceeded  towards  the  city  of 
Vijayanagar  which  was  thoroughly    sacked.    Its   wealth 
was  seized  and  its  population  was  destroyed.    No  words 
can  describe  the  horrors   and  misery  which  the  people  of 
Vijayanagar  had  to  suffer  at  the  hands  of  the  Muslims. 
The  scene  is  described  by  Sewell  in  these  words  :— 

"  The  third  day  saw  the  beginning  of  the  end.  The 
victorious  Musalmans  had  halted  on  the  field  of  battle  for 
rest  and  refreshment,  but  now  they  had  reached,  the 


HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

capital,  and  from  that  time  forward  for  a  space  of  five 
months  Vijayanagar  knew  no  rest.  The  enemy  had  come 
to  destroy,  and  they  carried  out  their  object  relentlessly. 
They  slaughtered  the  people  without  mercy  ;  broke  down 
the  temples  and  palaces  and  wreaked  such  savage  venge- 
ance  on  the  abode  of  the  kings,  that  with  the  exception 
of  a  few  great  stone-built  temples  and  walls, 


a  h*ap  "f  ™in*  tn  mark  thf3!  p^  where  once 


stately  buildings  q*™^     They  demolished  the  statues, 
and  even  succeeded  in  breaking  the  limbs  of  the  huge 
Jfarsinha  monolith.    Nothing  seemed  to  escape  them. 
They  broke  up    the  pavilions  standing  on  the    huge 
platform  from  which    the  kings    used  to  watch  the 
festivals  and  overthrew  all  the  carved  work.    They  lit 
huge  fires  in  the  magnificently    decorated    buildings 
forming  the  temple  of  Vitthalaswami   near  the  river, 
and  smashed  its  exquisite  stone  sculptures.     With  fire 
and  sword,  with  crow-bars  and  axes,  they  carried  on 
•day    after    day    their    work    of   destruction.    Never 
perhaps  in  the  history  of  the  world  has  such  havoc 
been    wrought,    and  wrought    so    suddenly,    on    so 
splendid  a  city  ;  teeming  with  a  wealthy  and  industrious 
population  in    the  full    plenitude   of    prosperity  one 
day,  and  on  the  next,  seized,   pillaged,  and  reduced 
to  ruins,  amid  scenes  of  savage  massacre  and  horrors 
beggaring  description." 
The  battle  of  Talikota  is  one  of  the  most  decisive 
Battles  iq  frdian  history.    It  sealed  the  fate  of  the  great 
Effect  of  the     H*n<*u  Empire  of  the  South.    Its  fall  was 
battle  of  Tali-     followed  by  anarchy  and  misrule,  and  the 
%oto*  Muslims  who  were  elated  at  the  ruin  of  their 

formidable  rival  soon  began  to  lose  their  strength  and 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE  223 

vigour*  The  fear  of  Vijayanagar  was  to  them  a  blessing 
in  disguise.  It  had  kept  them  alert  and  active.  But  as 
soon  as  this  fear  vanished,  they  quarrelled  among  them- 
selves, and  thus  fell  an  easy  prey  to  the  ambitious  Mughal 
Emperors  of  the  north. 

After  the  fall  of  Rama  Raya  his    brother  Tirumala 
exercised  sovereignty  in  Sadasiva's  name,  but  about  the 

year  1570  he  usurped  the  throne,  and  laid  the 
dynasty  *  W  foundations  of  a  new  dynasty.  Tirumala's 

second  son,  Ranga  II,  was  succeeded  on  the 
throne  by  Venkata  I  about  1586.  He  was  the  most 
remarkable  prince  of  the  dynasty,  a  man  of  ability  and 
character,  who  extended  his  patronage  to  poets  and  learned 
men.  The  successors  of  Venkata  were  powerless  to  pre- 
serve intact  the  small  dominion  they  had  inherited  from 
him,  and  under  them  the  dynasty  gradually  dwindled  into 
insignificance.  The  Muslims  seized  much  of  the  territory 
of  the  Empire,  and  the  Naiks  of  Madura  and  Tanjore  built 
principalities  for  themselves  out  of  its  fragments. 

The  empire  was  a  vast  feudal  organisation,  and  the 
king  was  the  apex  of  the  whole  system.     He  was  assisted 

by  a  council  composed  of  ministers,  provincial 
toon.dmmiBtea"     governors,  military  commanders,  men  of  the 

priestly  class  and  poets*  But  the  govern- 
ment was  highly  centralised,  and  the  king  a  perfect 
autocrat.  His  authority  was  unlimited.  He  looked  after 
the  civil  administration,  and  directed  the  military  affairs 
of  the  empire,  and  acted  as  judge  in  cases  that  were 
submitted  to  him  for  decision.  The  principal  officers  of 
the  state  were  the  prime-minister,  ijhe  chief  treasurer, 
the  Jkeeper  of  the  royal  jewels,  thc^prefect  of  the  police, 
who  were  assisted  by  a  number  of  lesser  officials.  The 


224  BISTORT  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

prime-minister  was  the  king's  chief  adviser  on  all  im- 
portant questions*  The  prefect  of  the  police  was  respon- 
sible for  maintaining  order  in  the  city.  The  kings  of* 
Vijayanagar  maintained  a  splendid  court  on  which  they 
spent  huge  sums  of  money.  It  was  attended  by  nobles, 
learned  priests,  astrologers  and  musicians,  and  on  festive 
occasions  fireworks  were  displayed,  and  various  other  enter- 
tainments were  provided  by  the  state. 

There  was  a  well-regulated  system  of  local  government. 
The  empire  was  divided  into  more  than  200  provinces,  sub- 
divided into  Nadus  or  Kottams,  which  were  again  subdivided 
into  small  groups  of  villages  and  towns.  Each  province 
was  held  by  a  viceroy,  who  either  belonged  to  the  royal 
family  or  was  a  powerful  noble  of  the  state.  The  province 
was  merely  a  replica  of  the  empire.  The  viceroy  kept  his 
own  army,  held  his  own  court,  and  practically  acted  as  a 
despot  within  his  jurisdiction.  But  he  had  to  render  account 
of  his  stewardship  to  the  emperor,  and  in  time  of  war  he 
was  liable  to  render  military  service.  Though  the  tenure  of 
the  provincial  governors  was  uncertain,  they  seem  to  have 
thoroughly  enjoyed  their  time,  while  they  were  in  office. 

The  system  of  local  government  extended  to  vil- 
lages. The  village  was,  as  it  had  been  from  time  immemo- 
rial, the TmTTof  administration.  The  village  moot  managed 
its  own  affairs  through  its  hereditary  officers,  called  the 
Ayagars.  Some  of  them  decided  petty  disputes,  collected 
revenues,  and  enforced  law  and  order.  The  village  com- 
munities served  a  great  purpose.  They  kept  the  imperial 
government  in  touch  with  the  people. 

The  kings  of  Vijayanagar  enjoyed  a  large  income.  The 
pain  source  was  the  land  revenue.  The  Portuguese  chro- 
nicler tells  us.that  theflcaptains  held  land  from  the  king,,  and 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  EMPIRE  225 

they  made  it  over  to  husbandmen  who  paid  nine-tenths  of 
their  produce  to  their  lords,  who  in  their  turn  paid  one-half 
to  the  king.  This  seems  to  be  an  exaggeration,  for  the 
peasantry  could  not  live  on  barely  one-tenth  of  the  produce 
of  their  labour,  v Besides  the  land  tax,  the  state  levied  a 
large  number  of  cesses  which  considerably  augmented  its 
income.  Eygp  prnaflt^tea  were  taxed,  and  the  large  in- 
come from  this  source  was  spent  on  maintaining  a  police 
force  which  was  attached  to  the  prefect  of  the  city.  The 
peasant  was  often  rack-rented  and  heavily  assessed,  and 
the  tax-collectors  dealt  with  him  harshly. 

The  military  organisation  was  also  based  on  a  feudal 

basis.    Besides  the  king's  personal  troops,  the  provincial 

governors  supplied  their  quota  in  time  of  war,  and  were  re- 

v  quired  to  give  every  kind  of  assistance.    There  is  a  differ* 

7  ence  of  opinion  among  historians  regarding  the  total  numeri- 

"  cal  strength  of  the  Vijayanagar  armies.    One  authority 

>  writes  that  in  1520  Kri$na  Deva  Raya  had  at  his  disposal 

a  huge  army  consisting  of  703,660  foot,  32,600  horse  and 

551  elephants  and  a  large  number  of  sappers  and  camp 

followers.    These  figures  are  considerably  over-estimated, 

and  it  is  highly  improbable  that  the  army  of  the  Raya 

should  have  been  so  large.    The  army  was  organised  like 

other  Hindu  armies  of  the  middle  ages.    It  consisted  of 

elephants,  cavalry,  and  infantry,  but  in  fighting  strength 

it  was  inferior  to  the  Muslim  armies  of  the  north.    Much 

reliance    was    placed    upon  elephants,  but    these  were 

powerless  against  skilled  archers  and  well-trained  Muslim 

cavalry  leaders. 

Justice  was  administered  in  a  rough  and  ready  fashion 
According  to  the  discretion  of  the  authorities.  Petitions  could 
be  made  to  the  king  or  to  the  prime-minister.  Justice  in 

F.  16 


226  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  BULB 

civil  cases  was  dispensed  according  to  the  principles  of 
Hindu  Law  and  local  usage.  The  criminal  law  wag  harsh 
and  barbarous.  Fines  were  levied,  and  torture  was  fre- 
quently resorted  toA  Theft,  adultery,  and  treason  were 
punished  with  death  or  mutilation.  The  members  of  the 
priestly  order  were  exempt  from  capital  punishment* 

There  was  a  great  contrast  between  the  splendour  of 
the  court  and  the  squalor  and  poverty  of  the  cottage. 
Foreign  visitors  dwell  at  length  upon  the 
tbn°ial  C°ndi"    magnificence  of  royal  processions  and  festivals 
at  the  capital  and  the  wealth  and  luxury  of 
the  nobles.  \  Duelling  as  looked  upon  was  a   recognised 
method  of  settling  disputes.  2The  practice  of  Sati  was  in 
vogue,  and  the  Brahmans  freely  commended  this  kind  of 
self-immolation.  3  But  the  position  of  women  at  the  capital 
indicates  a  highly  satisfactory  state  of  affairs.    There  were 
women    wrestlers,  astrologers,    soothsayers,    and  a  staff 
of  women  clerks  was  employed  within  the  palace  gates 
to  keep  accounts    of  the  royal    household.    This   shows 
that  women  were  fairly  well  educated  and  experienced  in 
the  business  of  the  state.    Great  laxity  seems  to  have  pre- 
vailed in  the  matter  of  diet.    Though  the  Brahmans  never 
killed  or  ate  any  living  thing,  the  people  used  nearly  an 
kinds  of  meat.    The  flesh  of  oxen  and  cows  was  strictly 
prohibited,  and  even  the  kings  scrupulously  observed  this 
rule/ JEvery  animal  bad  to  be  sold  alive  in  the  markets. 

^  Brahmans  were  held  in  high  esteem.  They  were 
according  to  Nuniz,  honest  men,  very  good  at  accounts, 
talented,  welHformed  but  incapable  of  doing  hard  work. 
Bloody  sacrifices  were  common.  The  wealth  of  the  capital 
fostered  luxury  which  brought  in  its  train  numerous  vices. 


CHAPTER  IX 

AN  ERA  OF  DECLINE 

Khizr  Khan  had  secured  the  throne  of  Delhi,  but  his 
position  was  far  from  enviable.     He  hesitated  to  assume 
publicly  the  title  of  king  and  professed  to  rule 
mer*ly  as  the    yicegereflLof   Timur.    The 
empire  had  suffered  in  prestige,  and  lost  in 
territory  since  the  invasion  of  Timur  owing  to  the  ambition 
and  greed  of  provincial  governors,  and  the  process  of  disinr 
tegration  that  had  set  in  had  not  yet  come  to  an  end.    At 
the  capital,  the  parties  scrambled  for  power,  and  changed 
their  positions  with  astonishing  rapidity,  and  their  leaders 
acted  according  to  the  dictates  of  self-interest.    The  Doab 
had  been,  since  the  days  of  Balban,  a  most  refractory  part 
of  the  empire,  and  the  Zamindars  of  Etawah,   mostly  Raj- 
puts of  the  Rathor  clan,   Katehar,   Kanauj,  and  Badaon 
withheld  their  tribute  and  disregarded  the  central  power. 
They  stirred  up  strife  with  such  persistence,  that  again  and 
again  punitive  expeditionajiad  to  be  undertaken  in  order  to 
chastise  them.    The  kingdoms  of  Malwa,  Jaunpur,  and 
'Gujarat  were  quite   independent    of  Delhi.    They    were 
-engaged  in  fighting  with  their  neighbours  and  amongst 
themselves,  and  of  ten  encroached  upon  the  territory  of  Delhi. 
The  rulers  of  Malwa  and  Gujarat  fought  among  themselves 
and  with  Rajputs  whom    they    prevented    from  taking 
any  interest  in  the  politics  of  Delhi.  Not  far  from  the  capital, 
the  Mewatis  were  seething  with  discontent ;  they  withheld 
tribute  and  wavered  in  their  allegiance.     Towards  the 

227 


228  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

northern  frontier,  the  Khokhars  carried  on  their  depreda- 
tions at  Multan  and  Lahore,  and  wished  to  profit  by  the 
general  anarchy  that  was  prevailing  all  over  the  country. 
The  Turk-bacchas  at  Sarhind  were  equally  restive.  They 
fomented  intrigues,  and  formed  conspiracies  to  establish 
theirown  influence.  The  Muslim  governors  in  the  provinces 
waged  war  against  their  neighbours,  and  acted  as  inde- 
pendent despots.  The  prestige  of  the  monarchy  was. 
gone,  and  the  Muslim  community  had  lost  its  old  strength 
and  vigour.  There  was  no  bond  of  sympathy  between  the 
Hindus  and  Muslims,  and  they  often  fought  among  them- 
selves. The  political  situation  at  the  opening  of  the  fifteenth 
century  was  full  of  anxiety,  and  the  task  of  social  recon- 
struction before  the  Saiyyads  an  exceedingly  difficult  one. 

The  political  confusion  that  prevailed  at  Delhi  enabled 
Khizr  Khan  to  acquire  more  power,  and  in  1414  he  over- 
powered Daulat  Khan,  and  took  possession  of 
ui^2i  AJX*    the  capital.    The    most  important  problem 
before  him  was  how  to  establish  order  in  the 
Doab  and  in  those  provinces,  which  still  acknowledged 
the  suzerainty  of  Delhi.    His  Wazir  Taj-ul-mulk  marched 
into  the  district  of    Katehar  in  1414    and  ravaged  the 
country. 

Rai  Hara  Singh  fled  without  offering  resistance,  but  he 
was  pursued  by  the  royal  forces  and  compelled  to  surrender. 
The  Hindu  Zamindars  of  Khor, l  Kampila,  Sakit,1  Parham, 

1  Khor  is  modern  Shamsabad  in  the  Fairukbabad  district  in  the 
United  Provinces  situated  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Buri  Ganga  river, 
18  miles  north-west  of  Fatehgarh  town. 

Farrukhabad  Distt.  Gaz.,  pp.  123-124. 

*  Sakit  lies  between  Kampila  and  Rapari,  12  miles  south-east  of 
Btah  town.  It  was  at  Badoli  in  this  par g ana  that  Bahlol  Lodi  died  oa 
hie  return  from  an  expedition  against  Gwalior. 


AN  ERA  OF  DECLINE  229 

Gwalior,  Seori  and  Chandwar  submitted  and  paid  tribute* 
Jalesar1  was  wrested  from  the  Hindu  chief  of  Chandwar, 
and  made  over  to  the  Muslims  who  had  held  it  before.  The 
countries  of  the  Doab,  Biyana,  and  Gwalior  broke  out  into 
rebellion  again  and  again,  but  order  was  restored,  and  the 
chiefs  were  compelled  to  acknowledge  the  authority  of 
Delhi. 

Having  restored  order  in  the  Doab,  Khizr  Khan  turned 
his  attention  to  the  affairs  of  the  northern  frontier.  The 
rebellion  of  the  Turk-bacchas  at  Sarhind  was  put  down. 
Trouble  broke  out  afresh  in  the  Doab,  but  the  leading 
Zamindars  who  stirred  up  strife  were  subdued.  The  Mewatis 
were  also  suppressed.  The  Sultan  himself  marched  against 
the  chiefs  of  Gwalior  and  Etawah  who  were  reduced  to 
obedience.  On  his  return  to  Delhi,  Khizr  Khan  fell  ill  and 
died  on  May  20,  1421  A.D. 

Khizr  Khan  lived  like  a  true  Saiyyad.  He  never  shed 
blood  unnecessarily,  nor  did  he  ever  sanction  an  atrocious 
crime  either  to  increase  his  own  power  or  to  wreak 
vengeance  upon  his  enemies.  If  there  was  little  adminis- 
trative reform,  the  fault  was  not  his  ;  the  disorders  of 
the  time  gave  him  no  rest,  and  all  his  life  he  was 
engaged  in  preserving  the  authority  of  the  state  in 
those  parts  where  it  still  existed.  Firishta  passes  a  well- 
deserved  eulogy,  upon  him  when  he  says :  "  Khizr 
Khan  was  a  great  and  wise  king,  kind  and  true  to  his 
word  ;  his  subjects  loved  him  with  a  grateful  affection 
so  that  great  and  small,  master  and  servant,  sat  and 
mourned  for  him  in  black  raiment  till  the  third  day,  when 


1  Jalesar  is  88  miles  east  of  Muttra  in  the  United  Provinces  of  Ajrn 
«nd  Oudh. 


280  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

they  laid  aside  their  mourning  garments,  and  raised  his  son? 
Mubarak  Shah  to  the  throne/' 

Khizr  Khan  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Mubarak  who 

won  the  favour  of  ithe  nobles  by  confirming  them  in  their 

possessions.    The    most    remarkable    thing 

ShL£^4a"w     about  the  histoi>y  of  this  Period  isthewide- 
A.D.  '  spread  anarchy  that  prevailed  in  the  country. 

As  before,  the  Zamindars  of  the  Doab  revolted 
again,  and  the  Sultan  marched  into  Katehar  in  1428  to 
enforce  the  payment  of  revenue.  The  Rathor  Rajputs  of 
Kampila  and  Etawah  were  subdued  next,  and  Rai  Sarwar's 
son  offered  fealty  and  paid  the  arrears  of  tribute. 

The  most  important  rebellions  of  the  reign  were  two— of 
Jasrath  Khokhar  in  1428  and  of  Paulad  Turk-baccha  near, 
Sarhind.  The  Khokhar  chieftain  suffered  a  severe  defeat 
and  fled  into  the  mountains  to  seek  refuge.  Paulad  was 
more  defiant ;  he  offered  a  stubborn  resistance  and  remained 
at  bay  for  more  than  a  year.  It  was  after  persistent  and 
prolonged  fighting  that  he  was  defeated  and  slain  in 
November  1433. 

In  order  to  make  the  administration  more  efficient,  the 
Sultan  made  certain  changes  in  the  distribution  of  the* 
highest  offices  in  the  state.  This  gave  offence  to  certain 
nobles  who  conspired  to  take  his  life.  When  the 
Sultan  went  to  Mubarakabad,  a  new  town  which  he  had 
founded,  to  watch  the  progress  of  constructions  on  the  20th 
February,  1434,  he  was  struck  with  a  sword  by  the  conspi- 
rators so  that  he  instantaneously  fell  dead  on  the  ground. 

Mubarak  was  a  kind  and  merciful  king.    The  contem- 
porary chronicler  records  his  verdict  with  touching  brevity 
I  in  these  words  :    '  A  clement  and  generous  sovereign,  full 
I  of  excellent  qualities.' 


AN  ERA  OF  DECLINE  231 

After  Mubarak's  death  Prince  Muhammad,  a  grand- 
son of  Khizr  Khan,  came  to    the  throne.    He  found  it 
difficult  to  cope  with  the  forces  of  disorder  and  rebellion. 
Ibrahim  Shah  of  Jaunpur  seized  several  parganas  belonging 
to  Delhi,  and  the  Rai  of  Gwalior  along  with  several  other 
Hindu  chiefs  ceased  to  pay   tribute.    Mahmud  Khilji  of 
Malwa   advanced   as    far   as   the   capital,    but   he    soon 
retired  after  concluding  a  peace  with  Muhammad  Shah, 
for  his  capital  Mandu  was  threatened   by  Ahmad  Shah 
of  Gujarat.     Bahlol  Khan  Lodi,  the  governor  of  Lahore 
and  Sarhind,  who  had  come    to  the   rescue  of   Muham- 
mad Shah,  pursued  the  retreating  Malwa  army,  and  seized 
its   baggage   and    effects.      He   was   given   the   title   of 
Khani-Khanan,    and   the     Sultan     signified   his   affection 
towards  him  by  addressing  him  as  his  son.    But  Bahlol's 
loyalty    was    short-lived.     When    Alauddin    Alam    Shah 
came  to  the  throne  in  1445,  the  prestige  of  the   govern- 
ment declined  further  owing    to  his  negligence  and   in- 
competence.   Bahlol  slowly  gathered  strength,  and  deriv- 
ed  full   advantage   from   the   weakness    of   the   central 
power.     In  1447  the   Sultan   betook  himself  to   Badaon, 
which   he   made   his   permanent   residence  in    the  teeth 
of  the  opposition  of  the  entire  court  and  the  minister.    He 
committed   a    serious   blunder  in  attempting  to    kill  his 
Wazir,  Hamid    Khan,    who   thereupon   invited   Bahlol   to 
come   to  the   capital   and   assume    sovereignty.     With  a 
traitorous  party  at  the  capital  itself,  it  was  not  difficult 
for  Bahlol  to  realise  his  old  dream,  and  by  a  successful 
coup  d'etat  he  seized  Delhi.    Alauddin  Alam  Shah  volun- 
tarily    left    to    him     the    whole     kingdom    except    his 
favourite  district  of  Badaon.    Bahlol  removed   the  name 
of  Alam  Shah  from  the  Khutba  and  publicly  proclaimed 


232  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

himself  ruler  of  Delhi. 1  The  imbecile  Alauddin  retired  to 
Badaon  where  he  died  in  1478. 

Having  obtained  the  throne,  Bahlol  proceeded  with 
studied  caution  and  feigned  humility  to  secure  Hamid's 
Bahlol  con-  confidence.  At  first  he  treated  him  with  great 
soiidates  his  respect  but  soon  grew  jealous  of  his  power 
power  and  influence.  In  order  to  remove  him  from 

his  path  Bahlol  had  him  arrested  and  thrown  into  prison. 

Though  Bahlol's  name  was  proclaimed  in  the  Khutba, 
there  were  many  malcontents  who  did  not  recognise  his 
title  to  the  throne.  When  the  Sultan  left  for  Sarhind  to 
organise  the  North- West  Provinces,  they  invited  Mahmud 
Shah  Sharqi  to  advance  upon  the  capital.  Mahmud 
marched  at  the  head  of  a  large  army  and  laid  siege  to 
Delhi.  On  hearing  of  this  disaster,  Bahlol  at  once  turned 
back  and  Mahmud  withdrew  to  Jaunpur. 

1  It  is  written  in  the  Tarikh-i-Ibrahim  Shahi  and  the  Tarikh-i- 
Nizami  that  Malik  Bahlol  was  a  nephew  of  Sultan  Shah  Lodi  who 
was  appointed  governor  of  Sarhind  after  the  death  of  Mallu  Iqbal 
with  the  title  of  Islam  Khan.  His  brothers,  among  whom  was  Malik 
Kali,  the  father  of  Bahlol,  also  shared  his  prosperity.  Malik  Sultan, 
impressed  by  the  talents  of  Bahlol,  appointed  him  his  successor,  and 
after  his  death  Bahlol  became  governor  of  Sarhind.  Firishta  writes 
that  Islam  Khan  married  his  daughter  to  Bahlol,  and  notwithstanding 
the  existence  of  his  own  sons  he  nominated  Bahlol  as  his  heir,  because 
he  was  by  far  the  ablest  of  all.  But  Qutb  Khan,  the  son  of  Islam 
Khan,  dissatisfied  with  this  arrangement  went  to  Delhi  and  complained 
against  Bahlol  to  the  Sultan.  Hasan  Khan  was  sent  against  Bahlol 
at  the  head  of  a  considerable  force,  but  he  was  worsted  in  battle. 

An  interesting  anecdote  is  related  of  Bahlol,  that  one  day  when 
lie  was  in  the  service  of  his  uncle,  he  went  to  Zamana  where  he  paid 
i,  visit  to  Saiyyad  Ay  en,  a  famous  darvesh,  with  his  friends.  The 
larvesh  eaid  : '  Is  there  any  one  who  wishes  to  obtain  from  me  the 
empire  of  Delhi  for  two  thousand  tankas  ?'  Bahlol  instantly  pre- 
lented  the  sum  to  the  holy  man  who  accepted  it  with  the  words  :  *  Be 
»he  empire  of  Delhi  blessed  by  thee.'  The  prophecy  of  the  darvesh 
uckily  proved  true. 

Dora,  Makhzan-i-Afghana,  p.  43. 

The  Tarikh-i-Daudi  has  1,300  tonkas  instead  of  2,000. 

Allahabad  University  MB.,  p.  8. 


AN  ERA  OF  DECLINE  233 

This  victory  over  the  Sharqi  king  made  a  profound 
Impression  upon  friends  and  foes  alike.  At  home,  it 
strengthened  his  position  and  silenced  the 
malicious  detractors  of  the  new  dynasty  ; 
abroad,  it  frightened  into  submission  several 
provincial  fief-holders  and  chieftains  who  had  enjoyed  vary- 
ing degrees  of  local  autonomy.  The  Sultan  proceeded 
towards  Mewat,  and  received  the  willing  homage  of  Ahmad 
Khan  whom  he  deprived  of  seven  parganas.  The  governor 
of  Sambhal,  who  had  taken  part  in  the  late  war  against 
the  Sultan,  was  treated  indulgently  in  spite  of  treason, 
and  the  only  penalty  inflicted  upon  him  was  the  loss  of 
seven  parganas.  At  Kol  Isa  Khan  was  allowed  to  keep  his 
possessions  intact,  and  similar  treatment  was  accorded  to 
Mubarak  Khan,  the  governor  of  Sakit,  and  Raja  Pratap  Singh 
who  was  confirmed  in  his  possession  of  the  districts  of 
Mainpuri  and  Bhogaon.  Etawah,  Chandwar,  and  other 
districts  of  the  Doab,  which  had  caused  so  much  trouble 
during  the  late  regime,  were  also  settled  and  made  to 
acknowledge  the  authority  of  Delhi. 

The  rebellious  governors  of  the  Doab  were  subdued  but 
Bahlol  was  not  yet  free  from  danger.  His  most  formidable 
enemy  was  the  King  of  Jaunpur.  At  the  in- 
stigation  of  his  wife  Mahmud  Shah  Sharqi 
made  another  attempt  to  seize  Delhi,  but 
peace  was  made  through  the  mediation  of  certain  nobles, 
and  the  status  quo  was  restored. 

But  the  terms  of  the  treaty  were  soon  violated,  and  war 
with  Jaunpur  h^iame  .a  serious  affair  when  Husain  Shah 
succeeded  to  the(^ttarqinihr^e.  Husain  was  a  ruler  of  great 
ability  and  courage ;  he  was  led  by  his  courtiers  to  think  that 
Bahlol  was  a  usurper  and  a  plebeian  by  birth,  and  that  he 


284  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

himself  had  a  valid  title  to  the  throne.  He  crossed  the- 
Jamna,  but  after  some  petty  skirmishes  in  which  the 
Jaunpur  forces  had  the  advantage,  a  truce  was  concluded, 
and  the  river  Ganges  was  fixed  as  the  boundary  between 
the  two  kingdoms.  Husain  retreated  to  Jaunpur  leaving 
his  camp  and  baggage  behind. 

Bahlol  soon  broke  the  treaty  and  attacked  the  Jaunpur 
army  on  its  return  march.  He  seized  Husain's  baggage  and 
captured  his  wife  Malika  Jahan.  The  Sultan  treated  his 
exalted  captive  with  every  mark  of  respect,  and  escorted  her 
back  with  his  Khwa ja  Sara  to  Jaunpur.  War  broke  out  again, 
and  Husain  was  defeated  in  a  battle  near  the  Ealinadi  by  the 
Delhi  forces.  Bahlol  marched  to  Jaunpur  and  obtained  pos- 
session of  it.  Husain  made  another  attempt  to  recover  his- 
kingdom,  but  he  was  defeated  and  expelled  from  Jaunpur. 
As  the  Sultan  had  little  faith  in  the  loyalty  of  the  Afghan, 
barons,  he  made  over  Jaunpur  to  his  son  Barbak  Shah. 

The  conquest  of  Jaunpur  considerably  strengthened  the 
hands  of  Bahlol,  and  he  marched  against  the  chiefs  of  Kalpi, 
Dholpur,  Bari,  and  Alapur,  who  offered  their  submission. l 
An  expedition  was  sent  to  chastise  the  rebellious  chief  of 
Gwalior,  who  was  subdued  and  made  to  pay  tribute.  On  his- 
return  from  the  expedition,  the  Sultan  was  attacked  by 
fever,  and  after  a  short  illness  died  in  1488. 

As  the  founder  of  a  new  dynasty  and  the  restorer  of 

the  waning  prestige  of  the  Delhi  monarchy,  Bahlol  deserves 

a  high  place  in  history.    In  personal  charac- 

whtevement.8     ter  ^e  was  *ar  suPeri°r  to  h'is  immediate 
predecessors  ;  brave,  generous,  humane,  and, 

1  Kalpi  is  a  city  in  the  Jalaun  district  in  the  United  Provinces  of 
Agra  and  Oudh.  Dholpur  is  a  state  between  Agra  and  Gwalior.  Bari  is 
&  town  in  the  Dholpur  State  19  miles  west  of  Dholpur.  Alapur  is  in  the* 
Gwalior  State  near  Morena. 


AN  ERA  OF  DECLINE  285 

honest,  he  waa  devoted  to  his  religion,  and  followed  the 
letter  of  the  law  with  the  strictest  fidelity.  He  waft 
singularly  free  from  ostentation  ;  he  never  sat  upon  the 
throne,  bedecked  with  jewels  and  diamonds  in  gorgeous 
robes  like  other  mediaeval  rulers,  and  used  to  say  that 
it  was  enough  for  him  that  the  world  knew  him  to- 
be  a  king  without  any  display  of  royal  splendour  on 
his  part.  He  was  kind  to  the  poor,  and  no  beggar  ever  turned 
away  disappointed  from  his  gate.  Though  not  a  man  of 
learning  himself,  he  valued  the  society  of  learned  men,  and 
extended  his  patronage  to  them.  His  love  of  justice  was 
so  great  that  he  'used  to  hear  personally  the  petitions  of  his 
subjects  and  grant  redress.  He  kept  no  private  treasure, 
and  ungrudgingly  distributed  the  spoils  of  war  among  his- 
troops.  The  author  of  the  Tarikh-i-Daudi  describes  the 
character  of  Bahlol  in  these  words : 

1 '  In  his  social  meetings  he  never  sat  on  a  throne,, 
and  would  not  allow  his  nobles  to  stand  ;  and  even 
during  public  audiences  he  did  not  occupy  the  throne, 
but  seated  himself  upon  a  carpet.  Whenever  he 
wrote  a  firman  to  his  nobles,  he  addressed  them  aa 
Masnad  Ali  ;  and  if  at  any  time  they  were  displeased 
with  him,  he  tried  so  hard  to  pacify  them  that  he 
would  himself  go  to  their  houses,  ungird  his  sword 
from  his  waist,  and  place  it  before  the  offended 
party  ;  nay,  he  would  sometimes  even  take  off  his 
turban  from  his  head  and  solicit  forgiveness,  saying : 
'If  you  think  me  unworthy  of  the  station  I  occupy,* 
choose  some  one  else,  and  bestow  on  me  some  other} 
office.'  He  maintained  a  brotherly  intercourse  with 
all  his  chiefs  and  soldiers.  If  any  one  was  ill,  he 
would  himself  go  and  attend  on  him." 


286  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

After  Bahlol's  death,  his  son  Nizam  Khan  was  elevated  to 

the  throne  under  the  title  of  Sikandar  Shah  by  the  Amirs 

and  nobles,  though  not  without  a  dissentient 

8  i  k  a  ndar's     vote     While  the  question  of  succession  was 

accession      to  ^ 

the  throne.  being  mooted  by  the  principal  nobles  and  offi- 
cers of  state,  the  name  of  Barbak  Shah  was 
suggested,  but  as  he  was  far  away,  the  proposal  was 
rejected,  and  after  some  heated  discussion  among  the 
nobles,  the  choice  fell  upon  Nizam  Khan  mainly  through 
the  help  of  Khan-i-Jahan  and  Khan-i-Khanan  Farmuli. 

Sikandar  addressed  himself  to  the  task  of  organising 
the  government  with  great  energy  and  vigour.     The  first 
to  feel  the  force  of  his  arms  was  his  brother 
Barbak  Shah  who  had  assumed  the  title  of 
king.     He  was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner, 
and  the  country  was  entrusted  to  the  Afghan  nobles. 

The  Zamindars  of  Jaunpur  sent  word  to  Husain  Sharqi 
to  make  once  more  a  bold  bid  for  his  ancestral  dominions. 
At  the  head  of  a  large  army  he  marched  to  the  field  of 
battle,  but  he  was  defeated  near  Benares,  and  his  army  was 
put  to  flight.  Husain  Shah  fled  towards  Lakhnauti  where 
he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  obscurity.  With  his 
defeat,  the  independent  Kingdom  of  Jaunpur  ceased  to  exist. 
The  whole  country  was  easily  subdued,  and  the  Sultan 
appointed  his  own  officers  to  carry  on  the  government. 

Sikandar  next  turned  his  attention  to  the  Afghan  chiefs 
who  held  large  jagirs.  The  accounts  of  some  of  the  leading 
Afghan  officers  were  inspected  by  the  Sultan, 
the  and  there  were  startling  disclosures.  This 
policy  greatly  offended  them,  because  they 
looked  upon  audit  and  inspection  as  an  encroachment  upon 
their  privileges.  The  king's  attempts  to  suppress  them  with 


AN  ERA  OF  DECLINE  287 

a  high  hand  led  them  to  form  a  conspiracy  against  him,  and 
having  finished  their  nefarious  plans,  they  induced  Prince 
Fatah  Khan,  the  king's  brother,  to  join  them.  But  the 
prince,  realising  the  dangerous  consequences  of  his 
conduct,  divulged  the  whole  plot  to  the  Sultan  who  inflicted 
severe  punishments  on  the  wrong-doers. 

Experience  had  impressed  upon  the  Sultan  the  necessity 
of  making  the  place  where  the  city  of  Agra  now  stands  the 
headquarters  of  the  army,  so  that  he  might 
be  able  to  exercise  more  effective  control  over 
the  fief-holders  of  Etawah,  Biyana,  Kol, 
Gwalior,  and  Dholpur.  With  this  object  in  view,  he  laid  the 
foundations  of  a  new  town  on  the  site  where  the  modern 
city  of  Agra  stands  in  1504  A.D.  A  splendid  town  gradually 
rose  upon  the  chosen  spot,  and  afterwards  the  Sultan  also 
took  up  his  residence  there. 

Next  year  (911  A.H.=1505  A.D.)  a  violent  earth- 
quake occurred  at  Agra,  which  shook  the  earth  to  its  founda- 
tions, and  levelled  many  beautiful  buildings 
and  houses  to  the  ground.  The  chronicler  of 
the  reign  writes  that,  'it  was  in  fact  sa 
terrible,  that  mountains  were  overturned,  and  all  lofty 
edifices  dashed  to  the  ground :  the  living  thought,  the  day  of 
judgment  was  come ;  and  the  dead,  the  day  of  resurrection/ 
No  such  earthquake  had  occurred  before,  and  the  loss  of 
life  was  appallingly  heavy. 

The  remaining  years  of  Sikandar's  life  were  spent  in 

suppressing  Rajput  revolts  and  the  attempts  of  provincial 

governors  to  establish  independent  kingdoms 

of  their  own*    Dholpur'  Gwalior,  and  Narwar 
were  subdued,  and  their  chiefs  were  com- 
pelled  to   pay   homage   to  the   Sultan.     The  prince  of 


288  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

€banderi  also  submitted,  and  though  allowed  to  retain 
nominal  possession  of  the  city,  the  administration  was  en* 
trusted  to  the  leading  Afghan  officers. 

The  last  expedition  was  undertaken  by  the  Sultan  to 
secure  the  fortress  of  Ranthambhor  which  was  entrusted 
to  a  nobleman  who  held  it  as  a  vassal  of  Delhi.  The  prince 
•of  Gwalior  rebelled  again.  The  Sultan  put  his  forces  in 
order,  but  in  the  midst  of  these  preparations  he  fell  ill  and 
died  on  December  1,  1517  A.D.,  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
son  Ibrahim  Lodi. 

Sikandar  was  the  ablest  ruler  of  the  Lodi  dynasty.  He 
kept  the  Afghan  barons  in  check  and  strictly  enforced  his 
orders.  He  ordered  an  examination  of  the 
tiotdmini8tra"  accounts  of  Afghan  governors  and  fief-holders, 
and  punished  those  who  were  found  guilty 
of  embezzlement.  The  provincial  governors  feared  him 
and  loyally  carried  out  his  orders.  The  Sultan  took  special 
care  to  protect  the  interests  of  the  poor.  He  abolished 
the  corn  duties  and  took  steps  to  encourage  agriculture. 
The  roads  were  cleared  of  robbers,  and  the  Zamindars 
who  had  been  notorious  for  their  lawless  habits  were 
sternly  put  down.  The  author  of  the  Tarikh-i-Daudi 
writes  of  Sikandar's  administration  : 

"  The  Sultan  daily  received  an  account  of  the  prices 
of  all  things  and  an  account  of  what  had  happened 
in  the  different  districts  of  the  empire.  If  he  perceived 
the  slightest  appearance  of  anything  wrong,  he  caused 
instant  inquiries  to  be  made  about  it.  .  .  In  his  reign, 
•business  was  carried  on  in  a  peaceful,  honest,  straightfor- 
ward way.  The  study  of  belles  lettrea  was  not  neglected. 
...  Factory  establishments  were  so  encouraged  that 
.  ^11  the  young  nobles  and  soldiers  were  engaged  in  useful 


AN  BRA  OF  DECLINE  239 

works. ...  All  the  nobles  and  soldiers  of  Sikandar  were 
•satisfied  :  each  of  his  chiefs  was  appointed  to  the 
government  of  a  district,  and  it  was  his  especial  desire 
to  gain  the  goodwill  and  affections  of  the  body  of  the 
people.  For  the  sake  of  his  officers  and  troops  he  put 
an  end  to  war  and  dispute  with  the  other  monarchs  and 
nobles  of  the  period,  and  closed  the  road  to  contention 
and  strife.  He  contented  himself  with  the  territory 
bequeathed  him  by  his  father,  and  passed  the  whole 
of  his  life  in  this  greatest  safety  and  enjoyment,  and 
gained  the  hearts  of  high  and  low." 

Sikandar  was  a  man  of  handsome  appearance,  fond  of 

base,  and  well-versed  in  the  accomplishments  suited  to  men 

^  of  his  rank.    He  was  intensely  religious,  and 

kkandar.fcer°f    allowed  himself  to  be  guided  and  dominated 

by  the  ulama  in  every  detail  of  government. 

He  persecuted  the  Hindus  and  desired  to  banish  'idolatry 

from  the  land.    So  great  was  his  zeal  for  the  faith,   that  he 

once  ordered  the  temples  of  Mathura  to  be  destroyed,  and 

sarais  and  mosques  to  be  built  in  their  stead.    The  Hindus 

were  not  allowed  to  bathe  at  the  ghats  on  the  bank  of  the 

Jamna,  and  an  order  was  passed  prohibiting  barbers  from. 

shaving  the  headland  boards  olthe  Hindus  in  accordance 

with  their  religious  customs. 

The  Sultan  loved  justice.  He  listened  to  the  complaints 
of  the  poor  himself  and  tried  to  redress  them.  He  kept 
himself  informed  of  everything  that  happened  in  his  empire. 
The  market  was  properly  controlled,  and  all  cases  of  fraud 
or  deceit  were  reported  to  the  Sultan. 

The  Sultan  was  well-known  for  his  sobriety  and  wisdom, 
He  never  allowed  men  of  dissolute  character  to  come  near 
Aim.  Himself  a  man,  of  literary  tastes,  he  extended  his 


240  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

patronage  to  learned  men,  and  often  invited  them  to  his- 
palace  to  listen  to  their  discourses. 

During  his  lifetime  Sikandar  maintained  order  by  his- 
firm  policy  and  held  the  turbulent  barons  in  check,  but 
after  his  death  when  the  crown  passed  to  a  man,  who  was- 
inferior  to  him  in  ability  and  character,  the  forces  which 
he  had  controlled  broke  loose,  and  undermined  the  founda- 
tions of  the  empire. 

The  character  of  the  Afghan  government  changed  under 
Ibrahim.   He  was  a  man  of  headstrong  and  irritable  temper, 
who  by  his  insolence  and  hauteur  alienated 
sympathies  Of  the  Afghan  nobles.    The 


Afghan    gov-     Afghans  looked  upon  their  king  as  a  comrade 
emmen  .  s  ^  master,  and  willingly  accorded  to 


him  the  honours  of  a  feudal  superior.  Men  of  the  Lohanu 
Farmuli,  and  Lodi  tribes  held  important  offices  in  the  state. 
They  had  always  been  turbulent  and  factious  ;  and  their 
position  and  influence  had  enabled  them  to  form  conspiracies 
against  the  crown.  Their  loyalty  to  their  king  fluctuated 
according  to  the  strength  or  weakness  of  the  latter.  Sikan- 
dar had  kept  them  under  firm  control,  'and  severely  punished 
them  when  they  flouted  his  authority.  But  when  Ibrahim 
attempted  to  put  down  their  individualistic  tendencies  with 
a  high  hand,  in  order  to  make  his  government  strong  and  effi- 
cient, they  protested  and  offered  resistance.  As  Erskine  ob- 
serves, the  principal  fief-holders  looked  upon  their  jagirs  'as 
their  own  of  right,  and  purchased  by  their  swords  rather 
than  as  due  to  any  bounty  or  liberality  on  the  part  of  the 
sovereign.'  Ibrahim  was  confronted  with  a  difficult  situation. 
The  territory  of  the  empire  had  increased  in  extent  ;  the 
feudal  aristocracy  had  become  ungovernable  ;  and  the  ele- 
ments of  discontent,  which  had  accumulated  for  years  silently 


AN  ERA  OF  DECLINE  241 

beneath  the  surface,  began  to  assert  themselves.  The  Hindus, 
dissatisfied  with  Sikandar's  policy  of  religious  persecution, 
heartily  hated  the  alien  government  which  offended  against 
theirmost  cherished  prejudices.   The  problem  before  Ibrahim 
was  somewhat  similar  to  that  which  confronted  the  Tudors 
in  England  towards  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century.  But  he 
lacked  that  tact,  foresight,  and  strength  of  will  which  en- 
abled Henry  VII  to  put  down  with  a  high  hand  the  overween- 
ing feudal  aristocracy,  which  tended  to  encroach  upon  the 
royal  domain.  His  drastic  measures  provoked  the  resentment 
of  the  half-loyal  nobility  and  paved  the  way  for  the  disruption 
of  the  Afghan  empire.    But  Ibrahim  is  not  wholly  to  blame. 
The  break-up  of  the  empire  was  bound  to  come  sooner  or  later, 
for  even  if  Ibrahim  had  kept  the  nobles  attached  to  himself, 
they  would  have  tried  to  set  up  small  principalities  for  them- 
selves, and  reduced  him  to  the  position  of  a  titular  king,  a 
mere  figurehead  in  the  midst  of  warring  factions  and  cliques. 
Though  Ibrahim  was  jealous  of  the  influence  of  the 
barons  and  tried  to  crush  them  with  a  high  hand,  he  never 
neglected  the  interests  of  the  people.  During 

prices? ne88  °f  his  rei£n» the  cr°Ps  were  abundant,  and  the 
prices  of  all  articles  of  ordinary  use  were 
incredibly  low.  The  Sultan  took  grain  in  payment  of  rent, 
and  all  the  fief-holders  and  nobles  were  asked  to  accept 
payments  in  kind.  No  scarcity  of  grain  was  ever  felt,  and 
the  author  of  the  Tarikh-i-Daudi  writes  that  a  respectable 
man's  services  could  be  obtained  for  five  tankGs  a  month, 
and  a  man  could  travel  from  Delhi  to  Agra  on  one  Bahloli 
which  was  sufficient  to  maintain  himself,  his  horse  and  his 
small  escort  during  the  journey. 

As  has  been  said  above,  Ibrahim  had  by  his  indiscrimi- 
nate severity  talienated  the  sympathies  of  the  Lodi  Amirs, 

P.  16 


242  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

who  conspired  soon  after  his  accession  to  place  his  brother 
Prince  Jalal  upon  the  throne  of  Jaunpur.    In 
Jaiai's     pursuance  Of  thjs  pian    the  prince  marched 

from  Kalpi  and  assumed  charge  of  the  govern- 
ment of  Jaunpur.  But  this  arrangement  was  highly  disap- 
proved by  Khan-i-Jahan  Lodi,  one  of  the  most  high-minded 
Amirs  of  Sikandar.  He  sharply  reprimanded  the  nobles  for 
their  impolitic  conduct,  and  pointed  out  the  dangers  of  a 
dual  sovereignty  to  the  empire.  The  Afghan  nobles  ac- 
knowledged their  mistake,  and  tried  to  persuade  Prince 
Jalal  to  withdraw  from  Jaunpur,  but  he  refused  to  do  so. 
Negotiations  having  failed,  Ibrahim  issued  a  farman  in 
which  he  ordered  the  Amirs  not  to  pay  any  heed  to  Jalal's 
authority  and  threatened  them  with  severe  punishments,  if 
they  failed  to  comply  with  the  royal  mandate.  The  more 
influential  among  the  Amirs  were  conciliated  by  gifts  and 
presents,  and  were  detached  from  Prince  Jalal.  Deprived  of 
this  support,  he  allied  himself  with  the  Zamindars,  and  with 
their  help  improved  the  condition  of  his  army  Ibrahim 
confined  all  his  brothers  in  the  fort  of  Hansi,  and  himself 
inarched  against  Jalal,  whose  strength  was  considerably 
diminished  by  the  desertion  of  Azam  Humayun,  his 
principal  supporter.  Kalpi  was  besieged  ;  the  contest  was 
carried  on  with  great  vigour  for  some  time,  and  the  fort  was 
dismantled.  Jalal  fled  towards  Agra  where  the  governor 
opened  negotiations  with  him,  and  offered  him  the  undis- 
turbed possession  of  Kalpi,  if  he  waived  all  claims  to 
sovereignty.  When  Ibrahim  came  to  know  of  this  treaty 
which  was  concluded  without  his  consent,  he  disapproved 
of  it,  and  issued  orders  for  the  assassination  of  the 
rebellious  prince.  Jalal  fled  to  the  Raja  of  Gwalior  for 
protection. 


AN  ERA  OF  DECLINE  243 

Having  set  the  affairs  of  the  capital  in  order,  Ibrahim 
sent  his  forces  to  reduce  the  fort  of  Gwalior.  Jalal  fled 
towards  Malwa  but  he  was  captured  by  the  Zamindars  of 
Gondwana,  who  sent  him  in  chains  to  Ibrahim.  The  Prince 
was  conveyed  to  Hansi,  but  on  his  way  to  that  abode  of 
misery  he  was  assassinated  by  the  Sultan's  orders. 

The  Sultan  dismissed  Azam  Humayun  from  command 
and  deprived  his  son  Islam  Khan  of  the  governorship  of 
Kara  Manikpur.  His  disgrace  alarmed  the 
Huma-  other  nobles»  who  Joined  his  banner  and 


run.  incited  him  to  raise  the  standard  of  rebellion. 

So  great  was  the  discontent  caused  by  Ibra- 
him's policy  that  in  a  short  time  the  rebels  collected  a  large 
army  which  consisted  of  40,000  cavalry,  500  elephants  and  a 
large  body  of  infantry,  while  the  royal  forces  numbered 
only  50,000.  A  desperate  fight  raged  between  the  royalists 
and  the  rebels  of  which  a  graphic  account  is  given  by  the 
author  of  the  Makhzan-i-Afghana. 

"  Dead  bodies,  heap  upon  heap,  covered  the  field  ;  and 
the  number  of  heads  lying  upon  the  ground  is  beyond  the 
reach  of  recollection.  Streams  of  blood  ran  over  the  plain  ; 
and  whenever  for  a  length  of  time,  a  fierce  battle  took  place 
in  Hindustan,  the  old  men  always  observed  that  with  this 
battle  no  other  one  was  comparable  ;  brothers  fighting 
against  brothers,  fathers  against  sons,  inflamed  by  mutual 
shame  and  innate  bravery  :  bows  and  arrows  were  laid  aside, 
and  the  carnage  carried  on  with  daggers,  swords,  knives 
.and  javelins.  "  At  last,  Islam  Khan  lay  dead  on  the  field 
x>f  battle  ;  Said  Khan  was  captured,  and  the  rebels  were 
-defeated  with  heavy  losses. 

Ibrahim  now  tried  to  destroy  the  feudal  chieftains  in 
his  empire  in  order  to  strengthen  his  position,  but  the 


244  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

attempt  recoiled  on  himself  and  led  to  his  ruin.    The  cruel 
treatment  he  meted  out  to  them  has  already 


Ibrahim  and  fa^  mentioned.  The  veteran  Mian  Bhua  had 
barons.  *  &*  fallen  a  victim  to  his  wrath,  and  Azam  Huma- 
yun  had  been  treacherously  assassinated  in 
prison.  Even  the  greatest  barons  trembled  for  their  safety, 
and  Dariya  Khan,  Khan-i-Jahan  Lodi,  and  Husain  Khan  Far- 
muli,  fearing  lest  a  similar  fate  should  overtake  them,  broke 
out  into  open  rebellion.  Husain  Khan  Farmuli  was  assassinat- 
ed in  his  bed  by  some  holy  men  of  Chanderi,  and  his  tragic 
death  made  the  Afghan  nobles  bitterly  hostile  to  the  Sultan 
and  convinced  them  of  his  perfidious  designs.  Dariya  Khan's 
son,  Bahadur  Khan,  assumed  the  title  of  Muhammad  Shah, 
struck  coins  in  his  name,  and  collected  a  large  force  with 
which  he  successfully  resisted  the  attempts  of  the  Sultan  to 
crush  him.  The  baronial  discontent  reached  its  climax  when 
Ibrahim  cruelly  treated  the  son  of  Daulat  Khan  Lodi.  The 
latter  was  summoned  to  the  court,  but  he  excused  himself  on 
the  ground  that  he  would  come  later  with  the  treasure  of 
the  state,  and  sent  his  son  Dilawar  Khan  to  avert  the  wrath 
of  the  Sultan.  He  was  taken  to  the  prison  where  he  was 
shown  the  victims  of  royal  caprice,  suspended  from  the  walls. 
To  the  young  Afghan  who  trembled  with  fear  at  this  awful 
spectacle,  the  Sultan  observed  :  "Have  you  seen  the  condition 
of  those  who  have  disobeyed  me  ?  "  Dilawar  Khan,  who  under- 
stood the  warning  these  ominous  words  conveyed,  bowed 
his  head  in  profound  submission,  and  quietly  escaped  to  his 
father  to  whom  he  communicated  all  that  he  had  seen  at 
the  capital.  Alarmed  for  his  safety,  Daulat  Khan  addressed 
through  his  son  Dilawar  Khan  an  invitation  to  Babar,  the 
ruler  of  Kabul,  to  invade  Hindustan.  The  story  of  Babar's- 
conquest  of  Hindustan  will  be  related  in  another  chapter*. 


CHAPTER  X 
SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES 


Muslim  state  in  India,  as  elsewhere,  was  a  theo- 
jra'cv.  The  king  was  Caesar  and  Popejcombined  in_  one,  but 

his  authority  in  religious  matters  was  strictly 
stabte.  I9lami°  limited  by  the  Holy  Law.  "  He  is  the  shadow 

of  God  upon  earth  to  whose  refuge  we  are  to 
fly  when  oppressed  by  injury  from  the  unforeseen  occurH 
rence  of  life."  But  he  is  merely  to  carry  out  God's  will,  and; 
the  civil  law  which  he  administers  is  to  be  subordinated  to 
the  canon  law.  In  such  a  state,  naturally,  the  priestly  class 
will  have  a  powerful  voice.  The  Muslim  kings  of  Hindus- 
tan were  sovereign  in  their  own  person  ;  they  struck  coins 
and  caused  the  Khutba  to  be  read  in  their  names,  though 
some  of  them  invoked  the  Khalifa's  aid  to  cement  their 
title  as  was  done  by  Iltutmish,  Muhammad  Tughluq,  and 
Firuz  Tughluq.  The  state  rested  upon  the  support  of  the 
military  class  which  consisted  exclusively  of  the  followers 
of  the  faith.  Their  fanaticism  was  stirred  up  by  the  Ulama 
who  impressed  upon  them  the  duty  of  fighting  under  the 
sacred  banner  by  telling  them,  that  death  on  the  field  of 
battle  will  be  rewarded  with  the  honours  of  martyrdom. 
Apart  from  the  love  of  adventure  and  the  hope  of  material 
advantage,  the  prospect  of  posthumous  canonisation  in  case 
they  died  in  battle  led  many  an  ardent  spirit  to  risk  his  life 
in  the  cause.  The  Ulama  naturally  came  to  possess  enor- 
mous influence  in  such  a  state.  The  extirpation  of  idolatry. 
the  extinction  of  every  form  of  dissent  from  the  accepted 
dogma,  the  conversion  of  the  infidel  population—  these  came 
to  be  looked  upon  as  the  functions  of  an  ideal  Muslim  state.  ' 

245 


246  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Most  of  the  Muslim  rulers  attempted  to  conform  to 
ideal  of  the  orthodox  canonists  according  to  their  lights 
and  opportunities.    Those  who  tried  to  meet  their  wishes 
were  praised  lavishly  by  historians  who  were  mostly  mem- 
bers of  the  class  of  Ulama.    But  among  the  earlier  kings 
in  India  Alauddin  struck  a  new  line.    Like  Akbar  after 
him,  he  was  opposed  to  the  interference  of  the  Ulama  in 
matters  of  state.    His  political  theory  is  clearly  set  forth 
in  the  words  which  he  addressed  to  Qazi  Mughis,  whom  he 
consulted  about  the  legal  position  of  the  sovereign  in  the 
state.     Fully    aware    of    the    evils  of  a    church-ridden 
monarchy,  he  enunciated  a  new  doctrine  of  sovereignty 
'and  claimed  to  be  "  God's  vicar  in  things  temporal,  as  is 
(the  priest  in  things  spiritual."    The  people  acquiesced  in 
this  doctrine,  merely  because  the  political   situation  of  the 
time  needed  a  strong  man  at  the  helm  of  the  state,  who 
would  repel  the  Mongol  attacks  and  keep  order  at  home. 
Muhammad  Tughluq's  rationalism  on  which  Barani  pours 
his  cold  scorn  brought  about  a  war  between  him  and  the 
Ulama  with  the  result  that  the  latter  conspired  against 
him  and  th^rted  all  his  plans.    Under  his  weak  successor 
they  easily  gained  the  upper  hand,  and  persuaded  him  to 
adjust  the  institutions  of  the  state  in  accordance  with  the 
principles  laid  down  in  the  Quran.  The  taxes  were  reduced 
to  the  number   prescribed  in  the  Law  ;  and  the   official 
agency  was  freely  used  to  put  down  heresy  and  infidelity. 
After  the  period  of  anarchy  which  followed  the  death  of 
Firuz,  when  the  empire  regained  a  settled  form,  the  E/Zawa, 
recovered  their  ascendancy  ;  and  under  Sikandar  Lodi  a  cam- 
paign of  bitter  persecution  was  revived  against  the  Hindus. 
On  the  whole,   during  this  period  the  Ulama  continued  to 
exercise  much  influence    on  political  affairs.     Indeed,  it 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES     247 

required  an  extraordinary  strength  of  will  to  discard  their 
advice  and  follow  a  line  of  action  in  opposition  to  the  tradi- 
tions and  dogmas  of  the  orthodox  church.  That  the  influ- 
ence of  the  priestly  order  was  injurious  to  the  interests  of 
the  state  cannot  be  denied. 

The  state  imposed  great  disabilities  upon  the  non- 
Muslims.  Forcible  conversions  were  ordered,  but  they  were 
neither  frequent  nor  systematic  owing  to  the  pressure  of 
war  and  the  recurrence  of  Mongol  raids,  which  often  com- 
pelled  the  suspension  of  all  other  activities  of  the  adminis- 
tration. The  non-Muslims,  technically  called  the  Zimmis, 
had  to  pay  a  poll-tax  called  the  Jezi,ya  for  the  protection  of 
their  lives  and  property.  It  was  a  sort  of  commutation  money 
which  they  had  to  pay  in  lieu  of  military  service.  Humility 
and  submissiveness  are  mentioned  as  their  duties  in  the 
sacred  law.  The  Quran  says,  '  Let  there  be  no  compulsion  in 
religion.  Wilt  thou  compel  men  to  become  believers  ?  No  soul 
can  believe,  but  by  the  persuasion  of  God.' 

It  may  be  conceded  at  once  that  the  Prophet  for- 
bade conversion  by  force  and  enjoined  preaching  and 
persuasion  as  the  sole  method  of  propagating  the  faith, 
but  his  commands  were  not  carried  out  by  his  zealous 

1  According  to  the  Hanafi  doctors  Jeziya  is  paid  by  the  Zimmis  as 
a  compensation  for  being  spared  from  death.  By  the  payment  of  the 
Jeziya  the  non-Muslims  purchase  their  lives  and  escape  death.  Agh- 
nides,  Muhammadan  Theories  of  Finance,  LXX,  pp.  398,  407.  This 
may  not  _be  accepted  on  all  bands.  The  correct  view  seems  to  be  that 
the  Jeziya  was  a  military  tax  levied  upon  the  Zimmis. 

The  capitation-tax  which  is  levied  by  a  Muslim  ruler  upon  subjects 
who  are  of  a  different  faith*  but  claim  protection  (aman)  is  founded 
upon  a  direct  injunction  of  the  Quran  : — 

"  Make   war  upon  such   of  those  to  whom  the   scriptures  have  been: 

given  as  believe  not  in  God  or  in  the  last   day,  and  forbid  not  that  which 

God  and  his  apostles  have  forbidden,  and    who  profess  not  the  profession 

of  truth,  until  they  pay  tribute  out  of  their  hand  and  they  be  humbled."" 

Hughes,  Dictionary  of  Islam,  p.  248. 


248  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

followers.  Instances  are  not  rare  in  which  the  non-Muslims 
were  treated  with  great  severity.  They  were  not  allowed 
to  enlist  in  the  army  even  if  they  wished  to  do  so.  The 
practice  of  their  religious  rites  even  with  the  slightest 
publicity  was  not  allowed,  and  cases  are  on  record  of  men 
who  lost  their  lives  for  doing  so.  Some  of  these  kings  were 
so  bigoted  that  they  did  not  allow  any  new  temple  to  be 
built  or  an  old  one  to  be  repaired.  There  were  others  like 
Sikandar  Lodi  who  were  so  intolerant  of  idolatry  as  to  order 
a  wholesale  demolition  of  temples.  Toleration  under  Muslim 
domination  in  India  in  the  early  middle  ages  was  not  the 
rule  but  the  exception.  A  liberal-minded  ruler  like  Muham- 
mad Tughluq  would  be  traduced  and  condemned  by  the 
Ulama  and  charged  with  bartering  away  the  honour  of 
Islam.  What  the  orthodox  party  wanted  was  conformity 
to  their  interpretation  of  the  law,  no  matter  what  the 
consequences  might  be. 

The  Islamic  state  fostered  luxury  among  the  members  of 
the  ruling  class.    The  highest  offices  in  the  state  were  held 

by  Muslims,   and    elevation    to    positions   of 
n  the     honour  was  generally  determined    by    royal 

will  and  not  by  merit.  The  easy  acquisition 
of  wealth  and  the  participation  in  the  festivities  of  the  court 
led  to  great  vices,  and  the  Muslims  towards  the  close  of  the 
fourteenth  century  lost  their  old  vigour  and  manliness.  The 
•early  Muslim Twho  served  Iltutm.ish,  Balban,  and  Alauddin 
were  soldier-martyrs  who  cheerfully  braved  risks  for  the 
glory  of  Islam,  but  their  descendants  who  had  no  induce- 
ment to  work  degenerated  into  mediocres,  who  had  neither 
the  ability  nor  the  enthusiasm  of  their  ancestors.  The 
partiality  of  the  state  towards  them  destroyed  their  spirit  of 
independence,  and  the  large  Khanqahs  or  charity  establish- 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES      249 

merits  reduced  them  to  the  position  of  the  hangers-on  of  the 
state,  utterly  devoid  of  self-respect,  energy,  or  initiative.  As 
the  Muslims  were  few  in  number,  they  escaped  the  rough 
toil  which  was  the  inevitable  lot  of  the  average  non- 
Muslim  husbandman.  They  held  land  and  paid  only  one- 
tenth  as  tax  (ashr)  to  the  state,  and  could  thus  enjoy  a 
degree  of  affluence  to  which  non-Muslims  in  the  empire 
could  never  aspire.  The  effects  of  Muslim  domination  upon 
the  Hindus  were  of  a  different  kind.  They  fretted  and 
chafed  against  the  disabilities  imposed  upon  them.  They 
were  overtaxed,  and  Zia  Barani  writes  that  Alauddin  took 
from  the  Hindus  of  the  Doab  50  per  cent  of  their  produce. 
They  had  no  inducement  to  accumulate  wealth,  and  the 
bulk  of  them  led  a  life  of  poverty,  want,  and  struggle,  earn- 
ing just  sufficient  to  maintain  themselves  and  their  family. 
The  standard  of  living  among  the  subject  classes  was  low, 
and  the  incidence  of  taxation  fell  mainly  upon  them.  They 
were  excluded  from  high  offices,  and  in  such  circumstances 
of  distrust  and  humiliation,  the  Hindus  never  got  an  oppor- 
tunity of  developing  their  political  genius  to  its  fullest  extent 
The  Muslims  were  the  favoured  children  of  the  state. 
As  everything  depended  upon  the  valour  and  strength  of 
*•  the  faithful,  the  state  accorded  to  them  a  pre- 

tionCial  C°ndi"  ferential  treatment.  From  time  to  time  con- 
cessions had  to  be  made  to  their  religious 
demands  by  the  state,  and  their  interests  had  to  be  consult- 
ed before  all  others.  Social  distinctions  prevailed  among 
the  Muslims,  and  some  of  t^g  kings  <npv*»r  appoint^  any  bvifr 
men  of  noble  birth  to  high  offices.  Balban,  who  was  highly 
punctilious  in  observing  the  etiquette  of  the  court  never 
•encouraged  upstarts,  and  on  one  occasion  refused  a  large  gift 
fipm  a  man  of  low  origin  who  had  amassed  a  large  fortune 


260  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

/ 

by  means  of  usury  and   monopolies.     Wine-drinking  and*, 
gambling  seem  to    have  been  the  common  vices  in   the 
twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries.    Balban  issued  an  edict 
prohibiting  the  use  of  liquor,  "and  the  example  of  his  son, 
Muhammad,  who  drank  wine  with  moderation  and  never- 
encouraged  any  kind  of  foolish  talk  in  his  presence,  had  a 
salutary  effect  upon  the  manners  and  morals  of  the  society 
which  gathered  round  him  at  Lahore.    Alauddin  also  adopt- 
ed drastic  measures  to  combat  the  evil  of  drink,  and  for- 
bade gambling  and  all  kinds  of  social  intercourse  among  the 
nobles.    As  long  as  he  lived,  he  strictly  enforced  his  rules, 
but  after  his  death  the  usual  laxity  prevailed.    A  small 
band  of  the  old  Alai  nobles  wondered  at  the  depravity  of 
Qutb-ud-din  Mubarak's  court ;  and  Barani  writes  that  the 
price  of  a  boy,  or  handsome  eunuch,  or  beautiful  girl  varied 
from  500  to  1,000  and  2,000  tanJcas.    But  the  social  tastes 
improved  considerably  under  Tughluq  Shah  and  his  illustri- 
ous son  Muhammad  Tughluq,  both  of  whom  were  free  from 
the  grosser  vices  of  the  age.    The  character  of  the  state  did 
not  wholly  deteriorate  even  under  Firuz  Tughluq,  though  its- 
military  vigour  declined  and,  barring  a  few  exceptions,  me- 
diocrity took  the  place  of  genius  in  all  departments  of  the  ad- 
ministration.   The  pomp  and  magnificence  of  the  state  was 
fully  maintained,  and  Afif  tells  us  that  on  every  Friday  after 
public  service  musicians,  athletes,  story-tellers,   numbering 
about  two  or  three  thousand  used  to  assemble  in  the  palace- 
and  entertain  the  populace  with  their  performances.    Slav- 
ery was  common,   and  slaves  of  ability  like  Khan-i-Jahan 
MaqbQl  could  rise  to  the  highest  position  in  the  state.    As  ] 
wealth  increased  in  Muslim  society,  the  hold  of  religion 
became  somewhat  weaker,  and  superstition  and  ignorance 
began  to  gain  ground.    Firuz  in  his  Fatuhat-i-Firuz  Shahi 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES     251 

speaks  of  a  number  of  heretical  sects  which  he  suppressed 
with  a  high  hand,  and  whose  leaders  he  caused  to  be  im- 
prisoned, or  put  to  death.  The  liberty  of  women  was  re- 
stricted ;  they  were  not  allowed  to  go  to  visit  the  tombs  oi 
holy  men  outside  the  city,  and  Firuz  showed  his  intolerance 
by  prescribing  drastic  penalties  against  those  women  who 
disobeyed  his  edict. 

The  Hindus  had  becomejieggiigEate  with  the  loss  of  poli- 
tical power.  They  were  looked  upon  as  the  worst  enemies 
of  thejilien  government  that  had  been  set  up  in  their  midst. 
With  rare  exceptions,  they  were  invariably  excluded  from 
high  offices,  and  toleration  was  granted  to  them  only  on  con- 
dition of  paying  the  Jeziya.  During  the  reign  of  Alauddin 
the  Hindus  of  the  Doab  were  treated  with  severity,  and  the 
khuts,  balahars,  chowdhris  and  muqaddams  were  reduced 
to  a  state  of  abject  misery.  Qazi  Mughis-ud-dinfo  opinion 
about  the  position  of  the  Hindus  in  a  Muslim  state,  which 
has  been  explained  in  a  previous  chapter,  was  the  view  of 
the  average  mediaeval  canonist  and  was  acted  upon  by 
Muslim  rulers  in  normal  circumstances.  Barani  writes  that 
no  Hindu  could  hold  up  his  head  ;  and  in  their  houses  no 
sign  of  gold  or  silver  tankas  or  jitals  was  to  be  seen ;  and 
chowdharis  and  khuts  had  not  means  enough  to  ride  on 
horseback,  to  find  weapons,  to  get  fine  clothes,  or  to 
indulge  in  betel.  So  great  was  the  destitution  of  these  people 
writes  the  same  authority,  that  their  wives  went  to  serve 
in  the  houses  of  the  Muslims.  The  state  encouraged  con- 
versions, and  in  describing  the  reign  of  Qutb-ud-din  Mubarak 
Shah  Ibn  BatutS  writes,  that  when  a  Hindu  wished  to  be- 
come a  Muslim,  he  was  brought  before  the  Sultan  who  gave 
him  rich  robes  and  bangles  of  gold.  The  orthodox  party  had 
such  a  great  aversion  for  the  Hindus  that  Barani  on  seeing. 


252  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

their  slightly  improved  condition  under  Qutb-ud-din  Mubarak 
Shah,  which  was  due  partly  to  the  relaxation  of  the  rules 
of  Alauddin  and  partly  to  the  pro-Hindu  policy  of  Khusrau, 
laments  that  the  "  Hindus  again  found  pleasure  and  happi- 
ness and  were  beside  themselves  with  joy."  There  was  no 
active  persecution  under  the  first  two  Tughluqs,  but  Firuz 
reversed  the  policy  of  his  predecessors.  He  crowned  his 
policy  of  bigotry  by  levying  the  Jeziya  upon  the  Brahmans, 
who  had  hitherto  been  exempt.  When  the  Brahmans  re- 
monstrated against  this  step,  the  Sultan  reduced  the  scale 
•of  assessment  but  retained  the  tax.  The  Hindus  profited 
much  by  the  disorders  that  followed  the  death  of  Firuz,  but 
when  the  Lodis  established  their  power,  they  were  again 
persecuted  by  Sikandar,  and  although  there  was  no  econo- 
mic distress,  they  had  to  live  like  helots_within  the  empire. 
Ibn  Batuta  has  given  us  an  interesting  picture  of  India 
in  the  fourteenth  century,  and  from  his  narrative  we  learn  a 
great  deal  about  the  social  customs  and  manners  of  the 
time.  The  learned  class  had  lost  its  prestige,  and  Mu- 
hammad Tughluq,  who  was  terribly  stern  in  administering 
justice,  freely  punished  Shaikhs  and  Maulvis  for  their  mis- 
conduct. Slavery  was  common,  but  the  state  encouraged 
the  practice  of  manumission. !  To  keep  slave  girls  was  a 
recognised  fashion  of  the  time,  and  Badr-i-Chach,  the  famous 
poet,  had  to  offer  on  one  occasion  900  dinars  for  a  beautiful 
and  accomplished  girl.  The  traveller  praises  the  hospitality 
•of  the  Hindus,  and  observes  that  caste  rules  were  strictly 
observed.  The  Hindus  were  treated  as  inferior  to  the  Mus- 
lims. When  a  Hindu  came  to  offer  his  presents  to  the  Sul- 
tan in  the  Durbar,  the  Hajibs  shouted  out  'Hadnk  AllahS 

1    Ibn  BatUta,  III,  p.  236. 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES      25$ 

or  may  God  bring  you  to  the  right  path.  Moral  offences 
were  severely  punished,  and  even  members  of  the  royal 
family  were  dealt  with  like  ordinary  men.  Prince  Masud's 
mother  was  stoned  to  death  in  accordance  with  the  law  for 
committing  adultery.  The  use  of  wine  was  interdicted, 
and  the  author  of  the  Masalik-al-absar  writes  that  the  in- 
habitants of  India  have  little  taste  for  wine  and  content 
themselves  with  betel  leaves. l  The  same  authority  says,  the- 
people  love  to  hoard  money,  and  whenever  a  man  is  asked 
about  the  extent  of  his  property,  he  replies  :  "  I  do  not 
know,  but  I  am  the  second  or  third  of  my  family  who  has 
laboured  to  increase  the  treasure  which  an  ancestor  deposit- 
ed in  a  certain  cavern,  or  in  certain  holes,  and  I  do  not  know 
how  much  it  amounts  to."2  Men  buried  their  wealth,  as 
they  do  even  now,  and  accepted  nothing  but  coined  money 
in  their  daily  transactions.  Ibn  Batuta  has  given  an  interest- 
ing account  of  the  law  of  debt  as  it  prevailed  in  the  four- 
teenth century,  and  he  is  supported  by  Marco  Polo  who- 
visited  India  before  him.  The  creditors  resorted  to  the  court 
to  seek  the  king's  protection  in  order  to  recovertheir  money. 
When  a  big  Amir  was  in  debt,  the  creditor  blocked  his  way 
to  the  royal  palace  and  shouted  in  order  to  implore  the 
Sultan's  help.  The  debtor  in  this  awkward  situation  either 
paid  or  made  a  promise  to  pay  at  some  future  date.  Some- 
times the  Sultan  himself  interfered  and  enforced  payments.3 
Thejpractice  of  Sati  and  self-destruction  was  in  vogue,  but 

l    Masalik,  Elliot,  III,  p.  581. 
a  Masahk,  Elliot,  III,  p.  584. 
Moreland,  India  at  the  Death  of  Akbar,  p.  284. 

He  says,  the  accumulation   of     large    hoards  was  essentially   a 
feature  of  Hindu  civilisation. 

8  Ibn  Batuta,  III,  p.4 11. 
Yule,  Marco  Polo,  II,  pp.  279-80. 


254  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

no  woman  could  become  a  Sati  without  obtaining  the  king's 
permission.1  Riding  on  ass  was  looked  upon  with  con- 
tempt as  it  is  today,  and  a  man  was  flogged  and  paraded  on 
an  ass  when  he  was  punished  for  some  offence  proved 
against  him.a  Men  believed  in  witchcraft,  magic,  and 
miracles  as  they  did  in  mediaaval  Europe,  and  the  per- 
formances of  the  Hindu  ascetics  called  Jogis  by'/Ibn  BatutS 
were  witnessed  even  by  the  Sultan.  Charity  was  practised 
on  a  large  scale,  and  men  endowed  large  khanqahs  (charity- 
houses)  where  food  was  distributed  gratis  to  the  poor. 
Though  the  Sultan's  purity  of  character  had  a  wholesome 
effect  on  Muslim  society,  it  does  not  appear  that  the 
sanctity  of  the  marriage  tie  was  always  recognised.  A 
man  like  Ibn  Batuta  married  more  than  four  times  in  a 
most  irresponsible  manner  and  abandoned  his  wives  one 
after  another. 8  The  education  of  women  was  not  altogether 
neglected,  and  the  traveller  writes  that  when  he  reached 
Hanaur.  he  found  there  13  schools  for  girls  and  23  for 
t>oys— a  thing  which  agreeably  surprised  him. 

The  customs  and  manners  of  the  people  of  the  Deccan 
were  in  many  respects  different  from  those  of  the 
north.  The  customs  of  self-immolation  and  Sati  prevailed, 
^nd  numerous  stone  obelisks  are  still  found  commemorating 
the  latter  practice.  The  Brahmans  were  treated  with 
special  respect,  and  the  Guru  was  held  in  high  esteem. 
The  dues  payable  from  Brahmans  were  touched  and  remit- 
ted. Polyandry  prevailed  among  the  Nairs  of  Malabar  and 
excited  no  scandal.  From  Ibn  Batata's  account  it  appears 

1  Ibn  Batuta,  III,  pp.  137—89. 

Men  drowned  themselves  in  the  Ganges  and  looked  upon  it  as  an 
•act  of  piety.    This  was  called  Jal  Samadhi. 
*  Ibn  BatUta,  III,  p.  441. 
8  Ibid.,  Ill,  pp.  887-38. 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES      255 

*that  punishments  were  extremely  severe  in  Malabar  even 
for  the  most  trivial  offences.  A  man  was  sometimes  punish- 
ed with  death  even  for  stealing  a  cocoanut 

During  the  early  days  of  the  Muslim  conquest  the 
inhabitants  of  India  were  robbed  of  their  wealth  by  the 
Muslim  invaders,  and  Firishta  has  mentioned 
•condition.1"1"0  the  vast  booty  which  was  carried  off  by 
Mahmud  of  Ghazni  from  this  country.  The 
early  Muslim  rulers  were  occupied  too  much  with  conquest. 
Balban  was  the  first  ruler  who  paid  attention  to  the  mainte- 
nance of  internal  peace  and  order.  He  cleared  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Kampila  and,Patiali  of  robbers  and  highwaymen 
so  that  cultivation  flourished,  and  merchants  could  take 
their  goods  from  one  place  to  another  without  much 
-difficulty.1  Under  the  Khiljis  the  economic  conditions 
radically  changed.  They  have  been  mentioned  in  a  previous 
•chapter.  A  famine  occurred  in  Firuz's  reign,  and  Barani 
writes  that  grain  in  Delhi  rose  to  a  jital  per  sir.  The 
appalling  hardship  caused  by  the  scarcity  of  food  and  fodder 
was  so  great  in  the  Siwalik  hills,  that  the  Hindus  of  that 
-country  came  to  Delhi  with  their  families,  and  twenty  or 
thirty  of  them  drowned  themselves  in  the  Jamna  when 
they  found  life  unbearable.2  But  it  does  not  appear  that 
the  administration  exerted  itself  to  mitigate  human  suffer- 
ing. The  next  ruler,  the  greatest  of  the  line,  was  a  daring 
political  economist  and  a  bold  tariff -legislator.  His  ambi- 
tion of  world-conquest  led  him  to  build  up  an  economic 
system  which  is  one  of  the  marvels  of  mediaeval  statesman- 
ship. There  was  no  scarcity  of  wealth  in  the  country,  and 
Alauddin's  state  entry  into  Delhi  soon  after  his  accession 

1  Elliot,  III,  p.  105. 
1  Barani,  p.  212. 


266  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

was  marked  by  the  distribution  of  rich  gifts  among  the- 
people.  Five  mans  of  gold  stars  were  placed  in  a  majniq 
and  were  discharged  upon  the  spectators  who  had  thronged 
in  front  of  the  royal  canopy.  *  The  revenue  system  was- 
thoroughly  organised,  and  the  distant  provinces  in  the  empire 
were  correctly  surveyed  and  assessed.  The  khuts,  chowdhri* 
and  muqaddams  were  reduced  to  a  state  of  abject  poverty, 
and  Barani  expresses  great  satisfaction  at  their  miserable 
condition.  The  most  remarkable  achievement,  however, 
of  Alauddin  was  his  tariff -legislation.  The  prices  were  so 
low  that  a  soldier  with  one  horse  could  live  comfortably  with 
234  tankas  a  year,  i.e.,  less  than  twenty  tankas  per 
mensem,  which  will  barely  suffice  to  meet  even  the  cost  of 
a  horse  in  these  days.  Grain  was  stored  in  royal  granaries- 
and  was  sold  to  the  people  at  low  rates  in  times  of  scarcity. 
Ibn  Batuta  relates  that  he  witnessed  with  his  own  eyes 
in  Delhi  rice  which  had  been  stored  in  the  cellars  of 
Alauddin.  The  economic  system  of  Alauddin  collapsed 
after  his  death,  for  it  rested  upon  a  complete  disregard  of 
the  laws  of  political  economy.  The  reaction  began  after 
his  death.  The  bazar  people  rejoiced  and  sold  their  goods 
at  their  own  price.  The  tariff  laws  fell  into  disuse,  and 
Barani  laments  the  disappearance  of  cheap  prices  ;  but  there 
was  no  deficiency  of  crops,  and  the  state  never  experienced 
any  financial  break-down.  Nasir-ud-din  Khusrau  squandered 
the  treasures  of  the  state  in  order  to  win  adherents  from 
among  the  nobles,  and  yet  Muhammad  Tughluq  found 
sufficient  money  to  enable  him  to  embark  upon  costly  ex- 
periments. Muhammad's  economic  measures  failed  disas- 
trously, but  his  financial  position  remained  unshaken.  The 

1  Barani,  p.  245. 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES      25T 

failure  of  the  token  currency  did  not  affect  the  stability 
of  the  state  or  destroy  its  credit,  for  the  Sultan  at  once 
repealed  his  edict  and  permitted  the  people  to  exchange 
gold  and  silver  coins  for  those  of  copper.    For  about  a 
decade,   famine  stalked  the  land  and  reduced  the  people 
to  a  state  of  utter  helplessness.    A  vigorous  famine  policy 
was  adopted  by  the  administration,  and  Barani  writes  that 
in  two  years  about  70  lakhs  of  tankaa  were  advanced  as 
Sondhar  or  Taqavi  to  the  agriculturists.    Ibn  BatutS  dwells 
at  length  upon  the  Sultan's  famine  policy  and  says  that 
grain  was   supplied    from    the  royal  stores,   and  the  faqias 
and  qazis   were  required  to  make  lists  of  needy  men  in 
each  parish,  which  were  submitted  to  the  Sultan  for  orders. 
On  another  occasion  when  dire  distress  prevailed,  the  Qazis, 
clerks,   and   Amirs,   went  from  parish  to  parish,  and  gave 
relief  to  the  famine-stricken  people  at  the  rate  of  one  and  a 
half  western  ritals  per  day.     Large  khanqahs  assisted  the 
state  in  administering  relief,   and  Ibn  Batuta  writes  that 
hundreds  of  men  were  fed  at  the  khanqahs  of  Qutb-ud-din,. 
of  which  he  was  the  mutwalli,  and  which  contained  a  staff 
of  460  men.     The  state  gave    liberal   encouragement    to 
industry.    There  was  a  state  manufactory  in  which  400  silk 
weavers  were  employed,  and  stuff  of  all  kinds  was  prepared. 
There  were  also  500  manufacturers  of  golden  tissues  in 
the   service  of  the  Sultan,  who  wove  gold  brocades  for  the 
royal  household  and  the  nobility.     Trade  was  carried  on 
with  foreign  countries ;  and  Marco  Polo  and  Ibn  Batuta 
both  speak  of  ports  which  were  visited  by  merchants  from 
foreign  countries.  Broach  and  Calicut  were  famous  centres 
of  trade,  and  Ibn  BatutS  says  of  the  latter  that  merchants 
from    all    parts    of     the     world    came    there    to    buy 
goods. 

F.  17 


258  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

The  trade  conditions  were  favourable  in  the  thirteenth 
and  fourteenth  centuries.  Wassaf  describes  Gujarat  as  a  rich 
and  populous  country  containing  7,000  villages  and  towns  and 
the  people  rolling  in  wealth.  The  cultivation  was  prosperous. 
The  vineyards  yielded  blue  grapes  twice  a  year.  The  soil  was 
so  fertile  that  the  cotton  plants  spread  their  branches  like 
willows  and  plane  trees,  and  yielded  crops  for  several  years 
in  succession.  Marco  Polo  also  speaks  of  extensive  cotton 
cultivation,  arid  says  that  the  cotton  trees  were  full  six  paces 
high  and  attained  to  the  age  of  twenty  years.  Pepper,  ginger, 
and  indigo  were  produced  in  large  quantities.  The  local 
manufacturers  prepared  mats  of  red  and  blue  leather,  inlaid 
with  figures  of  birds  and  beasts,  and  embroidered  with  gold 
and  silver  wires.  Cambay  is  also  described  as  a  great  centre 
of  trade  where  indigo  was  produced  in  abundance.  Merchants 
came  with  ships  and  cargoes,  but  what  they  chiefly  brought 
into  the  country  was  gold,  silver,  and  copper.  The  traveller 
writes  :  "the  inhabitants  are  good  and  live  by  their  trade  and 
manufacture. "  Mabar  was  full  of  wealth,  but  much  of  it,  as 
Marco  Polo  says,  was  spent  in  purchasing  horses  which  were 
very  scarce  in  that  country.  Bengal  is  described  by  Ibn 
Batuta  as  a  rich  and  fertile  province.  Prices  were  cheap, 
and  men  could  live  in  ease  and  comfort  with  small  incomes. 

From  1351  to  1388  the  economic  prosperity  remained  at 
a  high  level.  The  irrigation  facilities  provided  by  Firuz 
Tughluq  gave  a  great  stimulus  to  agriculture,  and  the 
revenue  multiplied.  The  revenue  of  Delhi  and  its  territories 
rose  to  six  crores  and  85  lakhs  of  tank&s,  while  the  revenue 
of  the  Doab  alone  amounted  to  85  lakhs  of  tankas.  The 
cheapness  of  prices  enabled  officials  of  the  state  and  Amirs 
to  amass  large  fortunes.  Prices  were  so  cheap  that  men 
could  go  from  one  place  to  another  with  paltry  amounts. 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES      259 

A  man  going  from  Delhi  to  Firuzabad  had  to  pay  four 
silver  jitals  for  a  carriage,  six  for  a  mule,  12  for  a  horse, 
and  half  a  tanka  for  a  palanquin.  Coolies  were  found  ready 
for  employment,  and  the  contemporary  chronicler  writes 
that  they  earned  a  decent  income. 

The  age  of  economic  distress  began  towards  the  close 
or  the  fourteenth  century.  The  empire  broke  up  into  several 
independent  states,  and  Timur's  invasion  in  1399  caused 
much  confusion  and  drained  the  wealth  of  the  country. 
Trade  and  agriculture  were  dislocated,  and  the  cities  that 
lay  on  the  route  of  the  invader  were  robbed  of  their  wealth. 
The  empire  of  Delhi  lost  its  importance,  and  provincial 
kingdoms  became  famous  for  their  wealth,  military 
resources,  and  architectural  activities,  which  have  been 
described  in  their  proper  place. 

Art  flourished  remarkably  in  the  early  middle  ages. 
The  debt  of  Indo-Moslem  art  to  India  is  a  matter  of  contro- 
versy. There  are  some  who  hold  that  it  is 

Art 

a  variety  of  Islamic  art,  while  others  like 
Havel  1  maintain  that  it  is  a  modified  form  of  Hindu  art. 
The  truth  lies  midway  between  these  two  extreme  views. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  Islamic  art  was  considerably 
modified  by  Hindu  master-builders  and  architects,  but  it  is 
wrong  to  suppose  that  it  had  no  ideals  of  its  own.  By  the 
time  the  Muslim  power  was  established  in  India,  the 
Muslims  had  acquired  a  fine  taste  for  buildings  and  had 
developed  their  own  notions  about  architecture*  The  condi- 
tions in  which  the  Jndo-Moslem  art  grew  up  madte  it 
necessary  that  there  should  be  a  fusion  of  tb*v  two 
ideals.  Hinduism  recommended  idolatry  whiM  .  Islam 
forbade  it;  Hinduism  favoured  decoration  and 
ness  white  Islam  enjoined  puritanical 


260  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

These  different  ideals,  so  strangely  in  contrast  with  each 
other,  produced  by  their  junction  a  new  kind  of  art  which 
for  the  sake  of  convenience  has  been  called  the  Indo- Mos- 
lem art.  Gradually  as  the  Hindu  master-builders  and  crafts- 
men began  to  express  Islamic  ideas  in  the  shape  of  brick 
and  stone,  the  process  of  amalgamation  set  in.  Both  learnt 
from  each  other,  and  though  the  Muslim's  handling  of 
ornament  was  not  so  exquisite,  he  derived  the  fullest  advan- 
tage from  the  new  ideas  and  materials  supplied  to  him  by 
the  Indian  conquest.  Sir  John  Marshall  describes  with  clear- 
ness the  process  of  fusion  in  these  words : — 

"  Thus,  a  characteristic  feature  of  many  Hindu 
temples,  as  well  as  of  almost  every  Muslim  mosque— 
a  feature  derived  from  the  traditional  dwelling 
house  of  the  East  and  as  familiar  in  India  as  in  other 
parts  of  Asia — was  the  open  court  encompassed  by 
chambers  or  colonnades,  and  such  temples  as  were  built 
on  this  plan  naturally  lent  themselves  to  conversion 
into  mosques  and  would  be  the  first  to  be  adopted  for 
that  purpose  by  the  conquerors.  Again,  a  fundamental- 
characteristic  that  supplied  a  common  link  between  the 
two  styles  was  the  fact  that  both  Islamic  and  Hindu  art 
were  inherently  decorative.  Ornament  was  as  vital  to 
the  one  as  to  the  other ;  both  were  dependent  on  it  for 
their  very  being." 

The  Arabs  reared  no  buildings,  but  they 'appreciated 
Hindu  culture  and  admired  the  skill  of  the  Indian  architects 
and  craftsmen.  Mahmud  of  Ghazni  was  so  struck  with  the 
skill  of  Hindu  architects  that  he  carried  to  Ghazni  thousands 
of  masons  and  artisans  whom  he  employed  in  building  the 
famous  mosque  known  as  the  'celestial  bride.'  He  was 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES       261 

followed  by  other  warriors  of  Islam  like  Muhammad  of 
Ghor  and  his  gallant  slaves  Qutb-ud-din  and  Iltutmish  who 
accomplished  the  conquest  of  Northern  India  during  the 
years  1193—1236  A.D.  The  principal  monuments  erected 
during  the  reigns  of  Qutb-ud-din  and  Iltutmish  were  the 
mosque  at  Ajmer,  the  Qutb  mosque  and  Minar  at  Delhi 
and  certain  buildings  at  Badaon.  Hindu  craftsmen  were 
employed  to  construct  these  buildings,  and  the  influence  of 
Hindu  architecture  is  still  traceable  in  them.  The  most 
striking  thing  in  the  Qutb  mosque  is  the  screen  of  eleven 
pointed  arches  of  which  Fergusson  speaks  in  terms  of  great 
admiration.  The  Qutb  Minar  was  begun  by  Qutb-ud-din 
who  built  the  first  storey,  but  it  was  finally  completed  by 
Iltutmish.  It  was  named  after  the  famous  saint  Qutb- 
ud-din  who  is  popularly  known  as  Qutb  Shah.  It  is  nearly 
242  feet  high,  and  is  still  looked  upon  as  a  great  work  of 
art.  The  minar  was  struck  by  lightning  in  the  time  of 
Firuz  Tughluq  who  ordered  the  fourth  storey  to  be  dis- 
mantled, and  replaced  by  two  smaller  storeys  as  is  shown  by 
an  inscription  of  the  same  king.  In  1503  the  upper  storeys 
were  again  repaired  by  Sikandar  Lodi.  The  adhai  din  ka 
jhonpara  at  Ajmer  built  by  Qutb-ud-din  was  beautified 
by  Iltutmish  with  a  screen  which  still  exists.  The  story 
that  it  was  constructed  in  two  and  a  half  days  seems  to  be 
a  myth,  for  no  amount  of  skill  or  industry  could  have  reared 
a  building  of  this  kind  in  such  a  short  time.  Probably  the 
name  dates  from  the  Maratha  times  when  an  annual  fair  was 
held  there  which  lasted  for  two  and  a  half  days.  Other  not- 
able buildings  of  this  period  are  the  Hauz-i-Shamshi  and  the^ 
Shamsi  Idgah  built  by  Iltutmish  during  his  governorship 
of  Badaon  (1203—9)  and  the  Jam»i-masjid  which  was  built 
in  1223  twelve  years  after  his  accession  to  the  throne. 


262  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

Under  Alauddin  Khilji  the  power  of  the  Sultanate  of 
Delhi  increased  enormously.    Though  his  time  was  largely 
spent  in  wars,  he  ordered  the  construction  of  several  forts, 
tanks,   and  palaces.    The  fort  of  Siri  was  built  by  him  near 
a  village  of  the  same  name  at  a  distance  of  two  miles  to 
the  north-east  of  Qila  Rai  Pithaura.    The  walls  of  the  fort 
were  built  of  stone  and  masonry,  and  its  fortifications  were 
extremely  strong.    The  palace  of  Hazar  Situn  (or  thousand 
pillars)  was  built   by   Alauddin,  and  Barani  writes   that 
the  heads  of  thousands  of  Mughals  were  buried  in  the  found- 
ations and  walls  of  this  magnificent  building.    The  Alai 
Darwaza  which  was  built  in  1311  is  '  one  of  the  most  trea- 
sured gems  of  Islamic  architecture ' ;  other  notable  monu- 
ments are  the  Hauz  Alai  and  the  Hauz-i-Khas  which  are  so 
famous  in  history.    The  fourteenth  century  was  a  period  of 
great  stress  and  storm  in  the  history  of  the  Delhi  Sultanate. 
The  Mongols  constantly  hammered  at  the  gates  of  Delhi,  and 
the  Hindu  Rajas  defied  the  authority  of  the  central  power 
The  result  of  this  was  that  the  architecture  of  the  Tughluq 
period  became  massive  and  simple.    The  most  typical  build- 
ing of  this  style  is  the  tomb  of  Tughluq  Shah  which  still  exists 
near  the  old  fort  of  Tughluqabad.    Firuz  was  a  magnificent 
builder,  who  spent  vast  sums  of  money  on  towns,   palaces, 
mosques,   tanks,  reservoirs  and  gardens.    Many  new  build- 
ings were  constructed,  and  old  ones  were  repaired.    He 
founded  the  city  of  Firuzabad,  the  ruins  of  which  still- 
exist  near  the  modern  Shahjahanbad,  and  supplied  it  with 
abundant  water  by  means  of  a  well- managed  canal  system/ 
He  built  two  other  cities  Fatahabad  and  Hisar  Firoza,  and 
laid  the  foundations  of  a  third  called  Jaunpur  on  the  bank 
of  the  Gomti  to  commemorate  the  name  of  his  illustrious, 
cousin  Muhammad  Tughluq.    He  caused  two  Asokan  pillars. 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTUKE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES     263 

to  be  removed  to  Delhi,  one  from  Tobra  in  the  Ambala 
district  and  the  other  from  a  village  in  the  Meerut  district. 
The  contemporary  chronicler  Afif  has  given  a  highly  in- 
teresting account  of  the  transfer  of  these  monoliths.  The 
Sultan's  interest  in  buildings  was  so  keen  that  he  never 
permitted  the  construction  of  any  building  unless  its  plan 
was  carefully  scrutinised  by  the  Diwan-i-wizarat  and  finally 
approved  by  him.  As  Firuz  was  an  orthodox  Muslim,  the 
austerity  of  the  new  style  remained  undisturbed,  and  it  was 
left  for  the  provincial  dynasties  which  came  into  existence 
after  his  death  to  give  an  impetus  to  the  development  of 
art. 

The  kings  of  Jaunpur  were  great  patrons  of  art  and 
literature  Their  buildings  exist  to  this  day,  and  are  fine 
specimens  of  the  Indo-Muhammadan  art  The  Atala 
masjid  which  was  completed  in  the  reign  of  Sultan  Ibrahim, 
the  Jam-i-masjid,  built  under  the  patronage  of  Husain  Shah, 
the  Lai  Darwaza  mosque,  and  the  broken  fagade  of  the 
Jahangiri,  the  Khalis  Mukhlis  are  some  of  the  most  remark- 
able specimens  of  Indian  architecture.  Similar  interest  in 
art  was  shown  by  the  Sunni  rulers  of  Gaur  who  developed  a 
style  different  from  that  of  Delhi  and  Jaunpur.  The  build- 
ings of  Gaur  are  made  entirely  of  brick,  and  seem  to  bear 
traces  of  the  imitation  of  Hindu  temple  architecture.  The 
most  remarkable  buildings  are  the  tomb  of  Husain  Shah, 
the  greater  and  lesser  Golden  Mosques,  and  the  Qadam 
Rasul  built  by  Sultan  Nusrat  Shah.  The  small  Golden  or 
Eunuch's  Mosque  is  a  solidly  constructed  building  whichi 
'  is  carved  inside  and  out  with  beautifully  chiselled  designs, 
including  the  Indian  lotus. '  But  the  most  striking  of  all 
is  the  Adina  Mosque  at  Pandua,  twenty  miles  from 
which  was  built  by  Sikandar  Shah  in  1368  A.D. 


264  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

The  most  beautiful  of  all  provincial  styles  of  architecture 
was  that  of  Gujarat.  Before  the  Muslim  conquest,  Gujarat 
was  under  the  influence  of  Jainism,  and  naturally  when  the 
country  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Muslims,  the  master- 
builders  whom  the  Muslims  employed  to  construct  their 
buildings  adopted  Hindu  and  Jain  designs  with  necessary 
modifications  to  suit  the  puritanical  tastes  of  Islam  Ahmad 
Shah  was  a  great  builder.  He  founded  the  city  of  Ahmada- 
bad  in  the  first  half  of  the  15th  century  and  built  mosques 
and  palaces.  Numerous  buildings  were  erected  during  the 
15th  century  at  Ahmadabad,  Cam  bay,  Champanir  and  other 
important  places.  One  of  the  most  beautiful  buildings  is  the 
mosque  of  Muhafiz  Khan  which  was  built  towards  the  close 
of  the  century.  Besides  mosques  and  tombs  Gujarat  is  fa- 
mous for  its  step-wells,  irrigation  works,  and  public  orchards. 

Mandu  was  equally  famous  for  its  buildings  in  the  15th 
century.  The  massive  buildings  that  exist  to  this  day  bear 
testimony  to  the  power  and  magnificence  of  the  Sultans  of 
Mandu.  Some  of  the  most  remarkable  buildings  are  the 
Jam-i-masjid,  the  Hindola  mahal,  the  Jahaz  mahal,  the 
tomb  of  Hushang  Shah,  and  the  palaces  of  Baz  Bahadur 
and  Rupmati. 

It  was  not  only  in  North  India  that  art  made  progress, 
but  in  the  Deccan  also  it  received  encouragement  from  the 
Bahmani  and  Vijayanagar  kings.  The  Bahmani  kings  found- 
ed cities  and  built  mosques  and  fortresses.  The  mosques  at 
Gulburga  and  Bidar  are  noble  specimens  of  Deccan  art. 
Some  of  the  important  buildings  constructed  by  them  are' 
the  Jam-i-masjid  at  Gulbarga,  built  by  Persian  architects, 
the  Ghand  Minar  at  Dauiatabad,  and  the  college  of  Mahmud 
GSwan,  also  built  in  the  Persian  style.  But  the  Bahmanids 
are  famous  in  history  for  their  fortresses,  the  chief  of  which 


I 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  THE   MIDDLE  AGES     265 

those  of  Gwaligarh,  Narnala  and  Mahur  in  the  Adilabad 
district  which  was  built  as  an  outpost  against  the  Hindu 
-chiefs  of  the  Satpura  ranges.  The  fortresses  of  Parenda, 
Naldurg,  and  Panhala  were  built  by  them  to  consolidate 
their  power.  At  Gulburga  there  are  two  groups  of  import- 
ant buildings.  One  group  contains  the  tombs  of  Alauddin 
Hasan  Bahman  Shah,  Muhammad  Shah,  Muhammad  Shah 
II,  and  two  others  of  a  later  date.  The  other  group  known 
-collectively  as  the  Haft  Gumbad  or  seven  domes  contains 
the  tombs  of  Mujahid  Shah,  Daud  Shah,  Ghiyasuddin  and 
his  family,  and  Firuz  Shah  and  his  family.  All  these  bear  a 
great  resemblance  to  one  another  The  city  of  Bidar  was 
laid  out  by  Ahmad  Shah.  It  has  a  fort  and  contains  two 
other  buildings  of  note,  the  tomb  of  Ahmad  Shah  Wali  and 
the  Sola  mosque  which  was  built  in  the  reign  of  Muhammad 
Shah  III.  The  most  remarkable  architecture  is  that  of  Bija- 
pur  among  the  Deccan  kingdoms.  The  tomb  of  Muham- 
mad Adil  Shah,  known  as  the  Gol  Gumbaj,  is  a  stately 
•edifice,  scarcely  inferior  to  any  other  building  of  the  same 
kind. 

The  kings  of  Vijayanagar  were  in  no  way  behind  the 
Bahmanids  in  this  respect.  They  had  a  great  enthusiasm  for 
building  council  chambers,  public  offices,  irrigation  works, 
aqueducts,  temples  and  palaces  which  were  richly  deco- 
rated. There  is  evidence  to  prove  that  an  excellent 
system  of  irrigation  prevailed  throughout  the  city,  and 
large  tanks  were  built  for  the  storage  of  water.  Numer- 
ous temples  were  built,  the  most  famous  of  which  was  the 
Vithala  temple  described  by  Fergusson  as  a  most  characteris- 
tic specimen  of  the  Dravidian  style.  Sculpture  and  painting 
were  not  unknown,  and  it  appears  that  artists  acquired 
considerable  proficiency  in  these  branches  as  is  shown  by 


266  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

the  accounts  of  the  Portuguese  chroniclers  and  the  Persian 
envoy  Abdur  Razzaq. 

It  is  impossible  to  give  here  an  exhaustive  account  of 

the  various  branches  of  mediaeval  literature,  and  all  that  can 

be  done  here  is  to  give  a  succinct  summary 

iterative,       ^  ^e   work  (jone  by    famous  writers  and 

scholars.  Persian  literature  flourished  remarkably  under 
court  patronage.  Amir  Khusrau,  the  poet  laureate  of  the 
empire  under  the  Khiljis  and  Tughluqs,  was  the  greatest 
poet  of  the  time.  He  wrote  copiously,  and  his  numerous 
works  are  still  read  with  interest  His  contemporary, 
Mir  Hasan  Dehlvi,  was  also  a  poet  of  no  mean  order. 
He  enjoyed  the  patronage  of  Muhammad,  the  martyr 
prince,  and  Sultan  Muhammad  Tughluq.  He  composed  a 
Diwan  and  wrote  the  memoirs  of  his  patron  saint  Shaikh 
Nizam-ud-din  Aulia.  The  works  of  the  court  historians  are 
too  many  to  mention  The  most  famous  of  them  are  the 
Tarikh-i-Firuzshahi  of  Zia-ud-din  Barani  and  Shams-i-Siraj 
Afif  and  the  Tarikh-i-Mubarakshahi  of  Yahya  bin  Abdullah 
and  the  works  of  Afghan  historians.  Jaunpur  was  a  famous 
seat  of  learning  in  the  middle  ages,  and  Ibrahim  Shah 
Sharqi  was  a  generous  patron  of  letters.  Several  literary, 
philosophical,  and  theological  works  were  written  during 
his  reign. 

The  Muslim  scholars  were  not  wholly  unacquainted 
with  Sanskrit.  Al  Biruni  who  came  to  India  in  the  tenth 
century  was  a  profound  Sanskrit  scholar  who  translated 
several  works  on  philosophy  and  astronomy  from  Sanskrit 
into  Arabic.  His  Tarikh-i-Hind  is  still  a  mine  of  information 
about  Hindu  civilisation.  In  the  14th  century  when  Firuz 
Tughluq  captured  the  fort  of  Nagarkot,  he  ordered  a  work 
on  philosophy,  divination  and  omens  to  be  translated  into 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES     267 

Persian  and  named  it  Dalayal-i-Firuzshahi.  Literary  ac- 
tivity did  not  altogether  cease  under  the  Lodis.  During 
Sikandar's  reign  a  medical  treatise  was  translated  from 
Sanskrit  into  Persian. 

The  Hindus  were  not  behind  the  Muslims  in  literary  ad- 
vancement. Though  court  patronage  was  denied  to  them,  they 
continued  to  produce  high  class  literature  both   in  Sanskrit 
and  Hindi  in  centres  away  from  Muslim  influence.     Rama- 
nuja  wrote  his  commentaries  on  the  Brahma  Sutras  in 
which  he  expounded  the  doctrine  of  Bhakti.    In  the  twelfth 
century  Jayadeva  wrote  his  Gita  Govinda,  a  noble  specimen 
of  lyrical  poetry   which  describes  the  love  of  Krisna  and 
Radha,  their  estrangement  and  final  union,  and  the  sports 
of  Krisna  with  the  milkmaids  of  Vraj.  The  Drama  flourished 
in  those  parts  of  India  where  the  Muslim  power  was  slow 
to  reach.    Some  of  the  Dramas  worthy  of  mention  are  the 
Lalita   Vigraharaja   Nataka,  Harikeli  Nataka,  Parvati- 
parinaya,  Vidagdha  Madhava  and  Lalita  Madhava.     Re- 
garding legal  literature  it  may  be  said  that  some  of  the  best 
commentaries  were  written  during  this  period.     Works  on 
astronomy  were  also  written,  but  Hindu  scholars  paid  little 
attention  to  history.    The  only  work  which  has  any  claim  to 
be  called  a   historical  treatise  is  Kalhana's  Rajatarangini 
or  *  River  of  Kings  *    which  was  composed   towards  the 
middle  of  the  twelfth  century. 

A  word  may  be  said  about  the  development  of  verna- 
cular literature  during  this  period.  The  earliest  writers  of 
Hindi  are  Chandbardqj.  Jagnayak.  the  author  of  Alahkhand, 
Amir  Khusrau,  the  parrot  of  Hind,  and  Baba  Gorakhnatb. 
who  flourished  in  the  fourteenth  century.  Later  the  BhaktL 
cult  gave  a  great  impetus  to  the  Hindi  literature.  Jtabir, 
Nanak,  and  Miraba^composed  their  hymns  and  devotional 


268  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

songs  in  Hindi,  and  their  contributions  greatly  enriched  the 
literature  of  the  language.  The  preachers  of  the  Radha 
Kri§na  cult  wrote  and  sang  in  Vrajbha$a  and  consider- 
ably helped  the  growth  of  Hindi  literature.  In  Bengal,  Guja- 
rat, Maharashtra,  and  even  in  the  distant  south  the  verna- 
culars made  much  progress.  In  Bengal,  a  vernacular  transla- 
tion of  the  Sanskrit  Ramayana  was  prepared  by  Krittivasa 
whose  work  is  '  in  fact  the  Bible  of  the  people  of  the  Gange- 
tic  valley. '  The  Bhagwat  and  the  Mahabharata  were  also 
translated  under  the  patronage  of  the  state.  Namadeva, 
the  Maratha  saint,  largely  wrote  in  Marathi,  and  some  of  his 
hymns  are  still  preserved  in  the  Granth  Sahib,  the  Bible  of 
the  Sikhs.  In  the  South,  the  earliest  works  in  Tamil  and 
Kanarese  were  produced  by  the  Jains,  but  in  the  13th  and 
14th  centuries  a  great  impetus  was  given  to  literary  effort  by 
the  £aiva  movement.  It  was  during  this  period  that  Sayana 
and  Madhava  Vidyaranya,  two  brothers,  wrote  their  works 
which  have  placed  them  among  the  leaders  of  Sanskrit  scho- 
larship. The  former  wrote  his  famous  commentary  on  the 
Vedas,  and  the  latter  followed  his  brother's  example  by  writ- 
ing several  philosophical  works.  The  Telugu  literature 
received  much  encouragement  from  the  kings  of  Vijayana- 
gar.  Krisna  Deva  Raya  took  a  keen  interest  in  letters,  and 
was  himself  the  author  of  several  works  of  merit. 

The  advent  of  Islam  wrought  great  changes  in  the 
religious  and  social  outlook  of  the  people  of  India.  Hindu- 
ism failed  to  absorb  the  Muslims  as  it 
had  absorbed  the  Greeks,  Huns,  Scythians 
and  Sakas,  who  became  completely  merged 
in  the  native  population.  It  was  because  the  Muslim 
had  a  clear,  definite  faith  of  his  own  to  which  he 
adhered  with  a  tenacity  and  enthusiasm  unknown  to 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES       269* 

the  Hindus.  He  considered  his  religion  to  be  in  no  way 
inferior  to  that  hydra-headed  Hinduism  which  he  found 
prevalent  among-  the  vanquished  races  in  India,  and  this 
conviction  of  superiority  further  strengthened  bis  belief 
in  the  Quran  and  the  Prophet.  The  idolatry  and  elaborate 
ritual  of  the  Hindus  suggested  to  him  by  contrast  the 
value  of  his  own  religion,  which  mainly  consisted  in  its 
simplicity  and  emphasis  on  the  unity  of  the  God-head.  But 
in  spite  of  these  differences  it  was  inevitable  that  the 
Hindus  and  Muslims  should  come  in  contact  with  each  other 
Time  applied  its  healing  balm  to  old  bitternesses,  and  culti- 
vated minds  on  both  sides  began  to  desire  some  sort  of 
rapprochement  between  the  two  peoples  The  early  Turks 
who  invaded  Hindustan  did  not  bring  their  wives  with 
them.  They  married  in  the  country,  and  their  offspring 
naturally  became  less  Turkish  and  more  Indian  in  their 
habits  and  sentiments.  The  Indian  women  who  dominated 
the  Turkish  household  exerted  a  potent  influence  in  mould- 
ing the  character  of  the  future  generation  of  Musalmans, 
and  as  Havel  1  puts  it  :  '  the  traditional  devotion  and  tender- 
ness of  Indian  motherhood  helped  greatly  to  soften  the 
ferocity  of  the  Turki  and  Mongol  nomad.'  There  were  other 
factors  which  helped  the  process  of  reconciliation.  Royal 
patronage  and  sympathy  won  the  goodwill  of  the  Hindus 
in  certain  cases,  and  improved  the  social  relations  between 
the  two  races.  The  Musalman  realised  the  impossibility  of 
completely  crushing  out  the  Hindus,  while  the  Hindu  learnt 
by  slow  and  painful  experience  that  it  was  useless  to  wage 
perpetual  war  against  foes  who  had  come  to  stay  in  the 
land.  The  Hindu  converts  who  were  obliged  to  renounce 
their  faith  from  political  pressure  or  economic  necessity 
did  not  wholly  give  up  their  habits  and  usages.  Their 


270  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

contact  with  Muslims  naturally  produced  an  intermingling 
of  the  two  faiths  and  removed  many  angularities  on  both 
sides.  It  created  a  sympathetic  frame  of  mind  which 
greatly  assisted  the  forces  that  were  steadily  working  to 
bring  about  a  better  understanding  between  the  two  peoples. 
Islam  held  out  a  new  hope  of  progress  and  social  justice  to 
the  low  caste  Hindus,  who  were  inclined  to  regard  it  with- 
out feelings  of  aversion  or  contempt.  Then,  there  was  the 
influence  of  Muslim  saints  like  Parid  Shakarganj  of  Pak- 
patan  and  Nizamuddin  Aulia  of  Delhi  in  Northern  India 
and  of  Ghisudaraz  in  the  south.  They  counted  their 
•disciples  among  the  members  of  both  communities,  and 
their  teachings  appealed  to  all  men  without  distinction  of 
caste  or  creed.  All  differences  were  overlooked  in  their  pre- 
sence, and  a  new  bond  of  sympathy  was  created  which 
united  those  who  offered  homage  to  them. 

The  Muslims  introduced  a  new  spirit  into  Hindu  society 
by  laying  stress  on  the  Unity  of  God.  The  doctrine  of  the 
Unity  of  God  was  not  unknown  to  the  Hindus,  but  its 
emphatic  assertion  in  Islam  had  a  great  effect  on  teachers 
like  Namadeva,  Ramanand,  Kabir  and  Nanak  in  whom  we 
see  a  happy  blending  of  Hindu  and  Muslim  influences. 
Impressed  by  the  simplicity  of  the  Muslim  creed  and  its 
insistence  on  the  oneness  of  God,  they  denounced  idolatry 
and  caste  and  preached  that  true  religion  did  not  consist  in 
meaningless  ritual  and  empty  forms  but  in  Bhakti  or  true 
devotion  to  God.  The  Bhakti  cult  made  great  progress 
under  the  influence  of  the  great  masters  who  followed 
Ramanuja,  and  who  dominated  the  religious  mind  of  India 
during  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries. 

The  first  great  exponent  of  Bhakti  was  Ramanuja 
who  lived  in  the  twelfth  century  and  preached  the  worship 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES     271 

of  Visnu  in  Southern  India.  His  work  marks  a  reaction 
against  Ankara's  advait  doctrine.  He  maintained  that 
individual  souls  are  not  essentially  one  with  the  Supreme, 
though  they  all  emanate  from  him  as  sparks  from  fire,  and 
that  the  Supreme  is  not  purely  abstract  Being,  but 
.possesses  real  qualities  of  goodness  and  beauty  in  an  infinite 
degree.  Thus  he  inculcated  devotion  to  a  Saguna  I&vara9 
endowed  with  a  number  of  beautiful  qualities,  and  his 
teachings  appealed  to  large  numbers  of  men  in  South  India. 

Another  teacher  who  laid  stress  on  Bhakti  was  Rama- 
nand  —fifth  in  apostolic  succession  from  Ramanuja— who 
flourished  in  the  fourteenth  century  in  Northern  India. 
The  special  feature  of  Ramanand 's  teachings  is  that  he 
entirely  discarded  caste  rules,  enjoined  in  the  Brahmanical 
system.  He  wandered  about  the  country,  visiting  holy 
places  and  establishing  the  worship  of  Rama  and  Sita.  He 
admitted  to  his  discipleship  men  of  all  castes,  and  is  said 
to  have  twelve  chief  disciples  (chelas)  among  whom  were 
included  a  barber,  a  chamar  and  a  weaver.  Ramanand  was 
the  first  reformer  who  employed  Hindi,  the  chief  vernacular 
of  Northern  India,  to  interpret  his  doctrines,  and  therefore 
acquired  much  popularity  with  the  submerged  classes  among 
the  Hindus.  His  followers  worship  Visnu  under  the  form 
of  Ramchandra  with  his  consort  Sita,  and  their  chief  centre 
^s  Ajodhia,  the  ancient  capital  of  Kosala  in  the  United 
Provinces.  Of  all  the  disciples  of  Ramanand  Kabir  was 
the  most  famous. 

Another  offshoot  of  Vaisnavism  was  the  Kri§na  cult  of 

which  Vallabhacharya  was  the  most  distinguished  preacher. 

He  was  a  Tailang  Brahman  and  was  born  in   1479  in  the 

Telugu  country  in  the  south.    From  his  early  boyhood  he 

.showed  signs  of  genius,  and  in  a  short  time  acquired  an 


272  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

immense  amount  of  learning.  He  visited  Mathura,  Brinda- 
ban,  and  many  other  sacred  places,  and  finally  settled  in 
Benares  where  he  wrote  his  philosophical  works.  Vallabha 
Swami  taught  that  there  is  no  distinction  between  the 
Brahma  and  the  individual  soul,  and  that  the  latter  could 
get  rid  of  its  bondage  by  means  of  Bhakti.  In  one  of  his- 
works  he  says  that  the  home,  the  centre  of  all  worldly 
desires,  should  be  renounced  in  every  way,  but  if  it  be 
impracticable,  one  should  dedicate  it  to  the  service  of  God, 
for  it  is  He  alone  who  can  free  man  from  evil.  The  wor~ 
ship  of  Krisna  was  inculcated,  and  the  disciples  were 
required  to  offer  everything  in  his  service.  The  formula  of 
dedication  had  no  other  meaning  except  that  the 
disciple  should  consecrate  everything  to  his  God.  But 
those  who  came  after  Vallabhacharya  departed  from 
the  true  spirit  of  his  teachings.  They  interpreted  them  in 
a  material  sense.  And  hence  the  system  lent  itself  to- 
great  abuse.  They  taught  by  precept  and  example  that 
God  should  be  pleased  not  by  self-denial  and  austerities, 
but  by  sanctifying  all  human  pleasures  in  his  service* 
This  interpretation  appealed  to  their  rich  followers  mostly 
of  the  commercial  classes  who  lacked  the  necessary 
intellectual  equipment  to  ascertain  the  true  doctrines  of 
the  founder  of  the  sect.  A  movement  has  recently  been 
set  on  foot  to  reform  the  evil  practices  which  have  crept 
into  the  system,  and  a  number  of  devoted  workers  have 
made  efforts  to  restore  it  to  its  original  purity  and 
vigour. 

The  great  Vaisnavite  teacher  Lord  Chaitanya  of  Nawa- 
dwipa  was  a  contemporary  of  Vallabha  Swami.  Born  in  1485, 
he  renounced  the  world  at  the  early  age  of  25,  and  became  a 
Sanyasi.  He  wandered  about  the  country,  preaching  the 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES     278 

doctrine  of  love  and  the  worship  of  Krisna.  The  mesmeric 
influence  of  his  presence  was  felt  wherever  he  went,  and 
thousands  of  men  fell  at  his  feet  in  reverential  devotion  as 
they  heard  from  his  lips  the  thrilling  message  of  love 
and  peace.  Love  was  so  great  a  passion  with  him  that  the 
thought  of  Krisna  playing  upon  his  flute  in  the  wild  woods 
of  Brindaban  threw  him  into  an  ecstasy.  He  laid  stress  on 
humility  and  said  that  a  Vai§nava  should  be  absolutely 
without  pride.  '  Krisna  dwells  in  every  soul  and  therefore 
gives  respect  to  others,  without  seeking  any  for  himself.' 
As  he  uttered  these  words  a  feeling  of  humility  over- 
powered his  soul,  and  he  broke  forth  : 

'  Neither  do  I  want  followers,  nor  wealth,  nor 
leartring,  nor  poetical  powers,  give  unto  my  soul  a  bit 
of  devotion  for  thee.  Great  pride  never  produces  any 
good.  How  will  He  who  is  called  the  vanquisher  of 
the  proud  bear  with  your  pride  ?  ' 

His  heart,  full  of  compassion  for  the  poor  and  the 
weak,  melted  with  pity  as  he  saw  the  sorrows  of 
mankind.  He  denounced  caste  and  proclaimed  the  universal 
brotherhood  of  man  and  the  worship  of  Hari  as  the  only 
means  of  attaining  the  highest  bliss.  Krisna's  name  knew 
not  the  barriers  of  caste  and  race.  He  asked  his  disciples  to 
teach  unto  all  men  down  to  the  lowest  Chandala  the  lesson 
of  devotion  and  love.  He  freely  touched  Haridas,  one  of 
his  disciples,  who  was  outcasted  by  his  fellows.  He 
begged  the  master  not  to  touch  him  for  he  was  unclean 
and  outcasted.  There  was  fire  in  the  master's  eye;  his 
heart  welled  up  with  emotion  ;  and  he  rushed  forward  in 
wild  joy  to  embrace  the  outcast  and  said  :  '  you  have  dedi- 
cated yourself  to  me ;  that  body  of  yours  is  mine  in  every 
respect ;  an  all-sacrificing  and  all-loving  spirit  dwells  in  it ; 

F.     18 


274  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

it  is  holy  as  a  temple.  Why  should  you  consider  yourself  un- 
clean ?  '  That  is  why  the  high  and  the  low,  the  Brahman 
and  the  Sudra  listened  to  his  message  and  followed  him. 
He  was  the  very  image  of  love  and  often  exhorted  his 
followers  to  sacrifice  everything  on  the  altar  of  love.  A 
true  devotee  must  show  his  love  for  Krisna  by  offering  his 
services  day  and  night  to  him  as  well  as  to  the  world. 
Vaisnavism  was  to  be  a  living  force,  a  rule  of  life  and  not 
merely  a  religion  to  be  practised  by  ascetics  and  recluses. 
To  religious  teachers  his  advice  was  : — 

11  Do  not  take  too  many  disciples,  do  not  abuse  gods 
worshipped  by  other  peoples  and  their  scriptures,  do 
not  read  too  many  books  and  do   not  pose  as  a  teacher 
continually  criticising  and  elucidating  religious    views. 
Take  profit  and  loss  in  the  same  light.   Do  not  stay  there 
where  a  Vaisnava  is  abused.    Do  not  listen  to  village 
tales.    Do  not  by  your  speech  or  thought  cause  pain  to 
a  living  thing.    Listen  to  the  recitation  of  God's  name. 
Recollect  his  kindness,  bow   to  him  and  worship  him. 
Do  what  He  wills  as  a  servant,   believe  Him  to  be  a 
friend  and  then  dedicate  yourself  to  Him." 
Chaitanya's  name  is  a  household  word  in  Bengal,    and 
there  are  millions  of  men  who  still  worship  him   as  an  in- 
carnation of  Sri  Kri§na  and  utter  his  name  with  a  feeling 
of  devotion  and  love. 

The  influence  of  Islam  is  clearly  manifest  in  the  teachings 
of  Naraadeva,  Kabir  and  Nanak,  who  all  condemned  caste, 
polytheism  and  idolatry  and  pleaded  for  true  faith,  sincerity 
and  purity  of  life.  The  cardinal  doctrine  on  which  they  laid 
stress  was  that  God  is  the  God  of  Hindus  as  well  as  Muslims, 
of  Brahmans  as  well  as  of  Chandalas  and  that  before  Him 
.all  are  equal.  The  trammels  of  caste  and  superstition  must 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES      275 

foe  discarded,  if  the  worshipper  wants  to  know  the  true 
path.  The  first  in  point  of  time  was  Namadeva,  the  Maratha 
saint,  a  man  of  low  origin,  whose  probable  date  of  birth 
must  be  fixed  sometime  early  in  the  15th  century.  Nama- 
deva preached  the  unity  of  God,  deprecated  idol-worship 
and  all  outward  observances.  He  feels  his  dependence  on 
God  and  thus  gives  expression  to  it : 

"  Of  me  who  am  blind  thy  name,   O  King,   is  the  prop 

I  am  poor,  I  am  miserable,  thy  name  is  my  support. 

Bountiful  and  merciful  Allah,  thou  art  onerous  ; 

Thou  art  a  river  of  bounty,  thou  art  the  Giver,   thou  art 
exceeding  wealthy  ; 

Thou  alone  givest  and  takest,  there  is  none  other ; 

Thou  art  wise,  Thou  art  far-sighted,  what  conception 
can  I  form  of  thee. 

0  Nama's  lord,  Thou  art  the  Pardoner,  0  God." 

Kabir  was  the  greatest  disciple  of  Ramanand.  He  was 
>born  about  1398.  His  origin  is  shrouded  in  mystery.  Tradi- 
tion says,  he  was  born  of  a  Brahman  widow  who  cast  him 
off  near  a  tank  in  order  to  escape  social  odium.  The  child 
was  picked  up  by  a  weaver,  Niru,  and  was  brought  up  by 
his  wife  with  great  affection  and  care.  When  he  grew  up, 
he  took  up  his  father's  trade,  but  found  time  to  moralise 
and  philosophise. 

The  whole  back-ground  of  Kabir's  thought  is  Hindu. 
He  speaks  of  Rama.  He  seeks  freedom  from  transmigration, 
and  hopes  to  attain  the  true  path  by  means  of  Bhakti. 
He  has  an  aversion  for  theological  controversy  and  con- 
demns all  insincerity  and  hypocrisy,  which  are  mis- 
taken for  true  piety.  He  makes  no  distinction  between 
the  Hindu  and  the  Turk,  who,  he  says,  are  pots  of  the 
/same  clay,  and  who  are  striving  by  different  routes  to 


276  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

reach  the  same  goal.  He  pointed  out  the  futility  of 
mere  lip-homage  to  the  great  ideals  of  truth  and  religion. 
Of  what  avail  is  the  worship  of  stone  and  bathing  in, 
the  Ganges,  if  the  heart  is  not  pure?  Of  what  avail 
is  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  if  the  pilgrim  marches  towards, 
the  Kaaba  with  a  deceitful  and  impure  heart?  Men 
are  saved  by  faith  and  not  by  works.  None  can  under- 
stand the  mind  of  God ;  put  your  trust  in  Him  and  let 
Him  do  what  seemeth  Him  good.  He  condemns  idolatry 
and  says :  '  If  by  worshipping  stones  one  can  find  God, 
I  shall  worship  a  mountain;  better  than  these  stones- 
(idols)  are  the  stones  of  the  flour  mill  with  which  men  grind 
their  corn/  He  reproached  Brahmans  and  Maul  vis  alike  for 
their  theological  controversies  and  asked  them  to  give  up- 
their  petty  pride.  He  denounced  caste  and  emphatically 
declared : 

"Vain    too    are    the    distinctions    of    caste.    All 

shades    of    colour    are  but  broken  arcs  of  light ;    all 

varieties    in    human    nature    are    but    fragments   of 

humanity.    The    right    to    approach    God    is   not  the 

monopoly    of   Brahmans   but  is  freely  granted  to  all 

who  are  characterised  by  sincerity  of  heart/' 

No  modern  crusader  against  caste  can  equal  the  fervour 

of    these    inspiring    utterances    which    came    from    the 

deepest  depths   of  the  master's  soul.    Caste  could  be  no 

obstacle   in    the    way    of  God.    Forms  of  worship  were 

immaterial  to  him  for  he  says : 

"Suffer  all  men  to  worship  God  according  to  their 
convictions.  Be  not  the  slaves  of  tradition  and  love- 
not  controversy  for  its  own  sake.  Fear  not  to  walk 
upon  unbeaten  tracks,  if  such  tracks  bring  you  near  to 
Him  who  is  the  truth." 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES     277 

Kabir's  great  disciple  was  Nanak,  the  founder  of  the 
Sikh  religion,  who  was  born  in  1469  A.D.  at  Talwandi,  a 
village  in  the  Lahore  district.  From  his  boyhood  Nanak 
showed  a  religious  bent  of  mind  and  paid  no  attention  to  his 
studies.  Like  Kabir,  he  also  preached  the  unity  of  God, 
condemned  idolatry,  and  urged  that  the  barriers  of  caste  and 
race  must  give  way  before  the  name  of  God  who  transcends 
them  all.  He  exhorted  men  to  give  up  hypocrisy,  selfish- 
ness, worldliness,  and  falsehood  for  "all  men's  accounts 
shall  be  taken  in  God's  court  and  no  one  shall  be  saved 
without  good  works."  He  laid  stress  on  love  and  purity  of 
life  and  preached  that  good  deeds  were  more  efficacious 
in  securing  salvation  than  metaphysical  discussions.  His 
<crp*/1  is  summed  up  in  these  words  : 

"  Religion  consisteth  not  in  mere  words  ; 
He  who  looketh  on  all  men  as  equal  is  religious. 
Religion  consisteth  not  in  wandering  to  tombs  or 
places  of  cremation,  or  sitting  in  attitudes  of 
contemplation. 

Religion    consisteth   not  in  wandering    in  foreign 
countries,  or  in  bathing  at  places  of  pilgrimage. 
Abide  pure    amidst  the  impurities  of  the   world; 
^  Thus  shalt  thou  find  the  way  to  religion." 
The  movement  of  reform  did  not  end  with  Nanak.    The 
stream  of  thought  continued  to  flow  on  ;  a  number  of  saints 
and  reformers  arose  whose  achievements  will  be  discussed 
later.    We  may  again  emphasise  the  harmonising  tendency 
of  the  social  and  religious  movements  in  mediaeval  India.  At- 
tempts were  made  to  bridge  the  gulf  between  the  Hindus 
and  Muslims,  and  although  the  Sultans  of  Delhi  were  mostly 
-cruel  and  bigoted  tyrants,  there  were  a  few  who  listened 
to  the  voice  of  reason  and  tried  to  promote  concord  and 


278  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

co-operation  between  the  two  races.  Religious  teachers  ren- 
dered a  great  service  to  the  cause  of  unity.  The  Hindus 
began  to  worship  Muslim  saints,  and  the  Muslims  began  to 
show  respect  for  Hindu  gods.  And  this  mutual  goodwill  is 
typified  in  the  cult  of  Satyapir,  founded  by  Husain  Shah  of 
Jaunpur,  which  represents  a  synthesis  of  the  two  religions. 
But  the  age  was  not  yet  ripe  for  introducing  political  re- 
forms along  these  lines.  For  this  a  mighty  man  of  genius 
was  needed,  and  India  had  to  wait  till  the  advent  of  Akbar 
for  the  realisation  of  the  dreams  of  her  great  teachers.  It 
was  only  then  that  the  Hindus  and  Muslims  stood  shoulder 
to  shoulder  in  the  service  of  a  common  empire,  and  shed  their 
religious  prejudices  to  an  extent  never  reached  before  since 
the  Islamic  conquest  of  our  country.  It  was  the  voice  of 
Kabir  and  Nanak  which  spoke  through  the  imperial  lips 
and  created  a  storm  in  orthodox  circles. 


CHAPTER  XI 

INDIA  AT  THE  OPENING  OF  THE 
SIXTEENTH  CENTURY 

At  the  opening  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  kingdom 
of  Delhi  was  considerably  reduced  in  extent.  Ibrahim's 
sway  did  not  extend  beyond  Delhi,  Agra,  the 
India'* hern  Doab>  Biyana  and  Chanderi.  The  Punjab 
was  held  by  Daulat  Khan  and  his  son  Ghazi 
Khan  and  Dilawar  Khan  who  were  alarmed  at  the  un- 
bridled tyranny  of  Ibrahim,  and  who  eagerly  waited  for 
an  opportunity  to  deliver  themselves  from  his  yoke.  Like 
other  Afghan  nobles  they  thought  rebellion  safer  than 
subordination  to  a  prince,  whose  capricious  temper  put 
their  lives  and  property  in  peril.  Sindh  and  Multan  to- 
wards the  west  and  Jaunpur,  Bengal  and  Orissa  towards 
the  east  had  formed  themselves  into  independent  princi- 
palities. In  the  central  region  lay  the  kingdoms  of  Malwa 
and  Khandesh,  which  were  ruled  by  Muhammadan  princes. 
Between  the  kingdoms  of  the  north  and  the  central  region 
lay  the  Rajput  states,  whose  strength  had  silently  increas- 
ed owing  to  the  decline  of  the  power  at  Delhi  and  the 
unending  quarrels  of  the  Muslim  states  of  the  north. 

To  the  south-east  lay  the  kingdom  of  Jaunpur,  which 
corresponded  roughly  to  the  districts  now  included  in  the 
eastern  portions  of  the  province  of  Agra  and  Oudh.  The 
resources  of  its  kings  were  by  no  means  inconsiderable. 
They  possessed  large  armies  and  fought  against  the 
Afghan  power  at  Delhi  with  great  tenacity  and  vigour.  In 
1491  Sikandar  Lodi  extended  his  conquests  over  the  whole 
of  Bihar  and  drove  away  Husain  Shah,  the  last  ruler  of 
Jaunpur,  to  seek  refuge  with  the  ruler  of  Bengal. 

279 


280  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Ibrahim  Lodi  bungled  as  was  his  wont  in  the  affairs  of 
Jaunpur,  where  the  Afghan  vassals  had  always  been  very 
powerful.  At  the  earliest  exhibition  of  Ibrahim's  haughty 
meddlesomeness  in  their  affairs,  the  Afghan  barons  re- 
belled under  the  leadership  of  Nasir  Khan  Lohani  of 
Ghazipur,  Maruf  Farmuli,  and  others. 

Darya  Khan  Lohani  of  Bihar  became  the  leader  of  the 
confederacy  of  rebels,  and  inflicted  several  defeats  upon 
the  forces  sent  by  Ibrahim  to  quell  the  rebellion.  After 
his  death  his  son  was  acclaimed  as  their  leader  by  the 
rebels,  who  continued  to  fight  as  before  against  the  ruler 
of  Delhi.  Bengal  had  separated  from  the  empire  of  Delhi 
during  the  reign  of  Firuz  Tughluq  who  had  recognised 
its  independence.  Sikandar,  son  of  Ilyas  Shah,  had 
brought  nearly  the  whole  of  Bengal  under  his  sway  as  is 
testified  by  hia  coins.  At  the  opening  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  the  Husaini  dynasty  had  well  established  its 
power,  and  its  first  ruler  Alauddin  Husain  Shah  (1493—1519 
A.D.)  was  a  remarkable  man  who  greatly  enlarged  his 
kingdom  by  conquest.  His  son  Nusrat  Shah  maintained 
a  splendid  court  and  commemorated  his  regime  by  raising 
noble  works  of  art.  He  is  mentioned  by  Babar  in  his 
Memoirs  as  a  prince  of  considerable  substance  in  Hindus- 
tan. In  the  central  region  there  were  three  important 
Muslim  states  which  will  be  described  below. 

The  dynasty  of  the  independent  kings  of  Gujarat  was 
founded  by  Zaf ar  Khan  who  was  appointed  to  the  charge 
in  1391  A.D.  The  dynasty  produced  a  num- 
ber  of  able  and  ambitious  rulers  like  Mah- 
mud' Ahmad  Shah  and  Mahmud  Blgafla,  who 
Khan-  greatly  increased  its  power  and  influence. 
desh-  After  the  death  of  Sultan  Mahmud  Blgafla, 


INDIA  IN  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY  281 

Muzaffar  Shah  II  succeeded  to  the  throne  in  1511  A.D. 
He  had  to  contend  against  formidable  rivals,  the  prince 
of  Malwa,   Sultan  Mahmud  Khilji  II  (1510-31  A.D.),  the 
last   ruler  of  the  independent  Malwa  dynasty,   and  the 
Rajput  ruler  of  Mewar.    In  1518  the  ruler  of  Gujarat  in 
response  to  the  request  of  Mahmud,  the  legitimate  ruler, 
who  was  thrown  into  the  shade  by  his  powerful  minister 
Medini  Rao,  a  Rajput  chief,  who  had  usurped  all  authority 
in  the  state  marched  into  Malwa  at  the  head  of  a  large 
army  and  captured  the  fort  of  Mandu.  The  Rajputs  offered 
a  gallant  resistance,  and  it  is  said  that  nearly  19  thou- 
sand perished  in  the  final  encounter  with  the  Gujarat 
forces,  and  Medini  Rao's  son  was  among  the  slain.   Medini 
'Rao  lost  his  hard-won  influence,  but  he  was  reinstated 
in  Chanderi  by  Rana  Sanga,   the  redoubtable    chief    of 
Mewar.    His  gratitude  found  expression  in  his  adhesion 
to  the  Rana's  cause,   when   the  latter  marched  against 
Babar  to  fight  the  historic  battle   at  Kanwah  in  1527. 
Feelings   of   jealousy  had  existed  between  Gujarat  and 
Mewar  for  a  long  time,  and   Rana  Sanga  got  his  long- 
'  desired  opportunity  through  the  indiscretion  of  the  Muslim 
governor  of  Idar.    The  latter  used  abusive  language  to- 
wards the  Rana  which  was  communicated  to  him.    The 
Hana  marched  against  Idar  at  the  head  of  40,000  brave 
Rajputs,  and  obtained  a  victory  over  the  Gujarat  forces. 
:Sanga's  generals  urged  him  to  advance  upon  Ahmadabad, 
the  capital  of  the  Gujarat  kings,  but  he  felt  reluctant  to 
-do  so  and  returned.    We  do  not  know   what  relations 
-existed  at  this  time  between  the  kingdoms  of  Delhi  and 
-Gujarat.    The  author  of  Mirat-i-Sikandari  writes  (Bay ley , 
B>p.  276-77)  in  recording  the  events  of  the  year  1525  that 
Alam  Khan,  uncle  of  Sultan  Ibrahim  of  Delhi,  paid  a 


282  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

visit  to  Muzaffar  and  sought  his  help  against  his  over- 
weening nephew.  Apparently  no  help  seems  to  have 
been  given,  and  Alam  Khan  was  dismissed  with  an  escort 
courteously  provided  by  his  host.  About  the  same  time 
Prince  Bahadur,  the  second  son  of  Muzaffar,  reached 
Delhi  to  seek  protection  against  the  hostile  designs  of  his 
elder  brother  Sikandar.  He  was  well  received  at  the 
court,  but  when  Ibrahim  suspected  him  of  siding  with  dis- 
affected persons  he  left  for  Jaunpur.  Soon  after  came 
the  news  of  his  father's  death,  and  the  ambitious 
Bahadur  hastened  back  to  Gujarat. 

To  the  north  of  Khandesh  lay  the  important  kingdom 
of  Malwa.  The  origin  of  the  kingdom  has  been  described 
before.  The  founder  of  the  independent  line  of  kings  was 
Dilawar  Khan  Ghori  who  was  a  feoffee  of  Sultan  Firuz 
Tughluq  of  Delhi.  Dilawar  Khan  threw  off  the  imperial 
yoke  in  1398  during  the  anarchy  which  followed  the  in- 
vasion of  Timur.  The  Ghori  dynasty  ended  in  1435  A.D. 
when  power  was  usurped  by  Mahmud  Khan,  the  minister 
of  the  Ghori  chieftain,  who  ascended  the  throne  under 
the  title  of  Mahmud  Khilji.  Mahmud  was  a  remarkable 
ruler  who  ceaselessly  fought  against  Gujarat  and  Me  war, 
and  passed  during  his  life  through  vicissitudes  of  no  mean 
order.  Firishta  rightly  says  that  his  tent  was  his  home 
and  the  field  of  battle  his  resting  place.  During  the  reign 
of  Mahmud  II  (1512-30),  the  fourth  ruler  of  the  Khilji 
dynasty,  the  Rajputs  dominated  the  affairs  of  Malwa,  and 
the  gallant  chief  Medini  Rao,  who  had  helped  him  in 
securing  the  throne,  had  fully  established  his  as- 
cendancy. But  the  Rajput  influence  was  an  eyesore 
to  the  Muslims,  and  they  conspired  to  drive  Medini  Rao* 
from  the  position  he  occupied  in  the  state.  The  Sultan. 


INDIA  IN  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY  283 

secretly    escaped   to   Gujarat   to    seek   help  from  the 
ruler  of  that  country.     Muzaffar   received   him  well  and 
promised  assistance  against  the  '  infidels/     He  marched 
upon  Gujarat  at  the  head  of  a  large  army  and  reinstated 
Mahmud  at  Mandu.    Soon  afterwards  Mahmud  marched 
against  Medini  Rao  who  received  assistance  from  Rana. 
Sanga  of  Chittor.      A  fierce  battle  raged  between  the 
Rajputs  and  the  Malwa  forces  which  suffered  a  total  defeat, 
and  the  Sultan  was  himself  wounded.    The  magnanimous 
Rana  treated  him  with  great  kindness,  took  him  to  his  tent 
where  he  ordered  his  wounds  to  be  dressed,  and  released 
him  from  captivity,  when  he  became  convalescent.    Such 
was  the  state  of  Malwa  in  the  year  1525.  Mahmud  was  dis- 
tracted by  internal  dissensions,  and  the  country  was  torn 
by  civil  war.     Meanwhile  a  fresh  calamity  came  from  an- 
other quarter.  In  1526  Mahmud  offered  shelter  to  Bahadur's 
brother,  Chand  Khan,  who  had  succeeded  Muzaffar  in  the 
gaddi  of  Gujarat.  He  had  listened  also  to  the  overtures  of  one 
Razi-ul-Mulk,  a  nobleman  from  Gujarat,  who  had  espoused 
the  cause  of  Chand  Khan  and  had  applied  to  Babar  for  aid. 
Bahadur  advanced  upon  Mandu  and  inflicted  a  sharp  defeat 
upon  Mahmud  and  his  forces.  Mahmud  was  put  in  chains, 
and  sent  as  a  prisoner  along  with  his  sons  to  Champanir  in 
the  custody  of  Asaf  Khan.    Five  days  later  the  escort  led 
by  Asaf  Khan  was  attacked  by  2,000  Bhils  and  Kols  in  camp 
at  Dohud.     Asaf  considered  it  an  attempt  to  deliver  the 
royal  family  from  his  custody,  and  ordered  the  king  and 
his  sons  to  be  put  to  death.    Thus  ended  the  Khilji  dynasty 
of  Malwa,   and  the  territories  over  which  it  held  swajr 
became  subject  to  the  ruler  of  Gujarat. 

The  other  state  lying  in  the  central  region  was  Khan- 
desh.    Khandesh  was  formerly  a  province  of  the  Delhi 


284  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

-empire,  but  it  became  an  independent  principality  under 
Malik  Raja  FarQqi  who  was  appointed  governor  of  the  place 
by  Firuz  Tughluq  in  1370.  After  Malik  Raja's  death  in  1399 
his  more  able  and  ambitious  son  Malik  Nasir  Khan  suc- 
ceeded to  the  throne.  The  treacherous  manner  in  which  he 
overpowered  Ssa  Ahlr  and  his  men  has  been  described  in 
a  previous  chapter.  Asirgarh  fell  into  the  hands  of  Nasir, 
but  he  shrank  from  using  the  treasures  found  in  the  fortress. 
The  last  notable  ruler  of  Khandesh  was  Adil  Khan  Faruqi 
(1457—1503  A.D.)  who  did  much  to  increase  the  material 
prosperity  of  his  kingdom.  Under  Adil  Burhanpur  grew  to 
be  one  of  the  most  beautiful  cities  in  India.  It  was  he  who 
completed  the  fortifications  of  Asirgarh.  The  manufactures 
of  gold  and  silver  thread  and  brocaded  silks  and  muslins 
reached  a  high  degree  of  development  under  the  Faruqi 
kings,  and  are  still  in  a  flourishing  condition.  The  annals 
of  the  dynasty  have  no  special  importance.  The  Faruqi 
Kings  allied  themselves  with  the  rulers  of  Gujarat  by 
means  of  matrimonial  connections,  and  often  received 
support  from  them  in  their  wars  against  the  Muslim  states 
of  the  south.  At  the  time  of  Babar's  invasion  of  Hindustan 
Khandesh  was  ruled  by  Miran  Muhammad  who  had 
succeeded  to  the  throne  in  1520  A.D.  The  commonplace 
character  of  the  history  of  this  dynasty  obtrudes  itself 
upon  our  notice  as  we  read  through  the  pages  of  Firishta, 
and  we  feel  relieved  to  see,  in  the  words  of  a  modern 
writer,  Khandesh  affording  a  good  example  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  amenities  of  life  may  flourish  under 
conditions  which  prohibit  the  exercise  of  the  arts  of 
politics. 

Ever  since  the  death  of  Alauddin  Khilji  the  states  of 
.Rajputana  bad  played  no  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  Delhi 


INDIA  IN  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY  285 

Empire.    Alauddin  had  entrusted  the  fort  of  Chittor  to, 
Rajputana.        the  Soni*ra  <*feftain  Maldeva  of  Jalor,  but 
the  latter  seems  to  have  lost  all  influence- 
after  the  death  of  the  war-lord  of  Delhi.    TheSisodia. 
Prince  Hamir  who  had  remained    in  a  state  of  sulleiL 
hostility  all  this  time  increased  his  resources  and  began  to 
seize  portions  of  the  Mewar  territory  during  the  lifetime 
of  Maldeva.     Gradually    after  the  death  of  the  latter 
Hamir  defeated  Maldeva's  son,  Jaisa,  and  acquired  pos- 
session of  the  entire  principality  of  Mewar.    Hamir  was  a 
powerful  prince,  who,  according  to  the  Rajput  chronicles 
seems  to  have  encountered  with  success  the  forces  of  the 
Delhi  Sultan.  That  may  or  may  not  be  correct,  but  in  an  in- 
scription of  Maharana  Kumbha's  time  dated  1438  A.D. 
Hamir  is  described  as  the  achiever  of  renown  by  slaying 
countless  Muslims  in  the  field  of  battle. '     There  is  other 
evidence  to  prove  that  Hamir  conquered  Jilwara  from  the 
mountaineers  (Bhils)  on  whom  he  inflicted  a  crushing 
defeat,   and  similar  success  attended  his  arms  when  he 
marched  against  Jitkarna,  the  prince  of  Idar.    Tod's  state- 
ment that  the  ancestors  of  the  present  princes  of  Marwar 
and  Jaipur  brought  their  levies,  paid  homage,  and  obeyed 
the  summons  of  the  prince  of  Chittor  as  did  the  chiefs  of 
Bundi,  Gwalior,  Chanderi,  Raisin,  Sikri,  Kalpi,  Abu,  etc., 
is  doubtless  an  exaggeration.    Hamir  died  about  the  year 
1364  A.D.  leaving  Mewar  a  fairly  large  and  prosperous 
kingdom.  His  son  K?etra  Singh  worthily  upheld  the  tradi- 
tions of  his  father  and  made  his  power  felt  by  the  neigh- 
bouring chieftains.   His  son  Lskha  who  ascended  the  gaddi 
in  1382  A.D.  distinguished  himself  by  winning  victories 

1  Bombay  Branch  A.  8.  J.,  XXXIII,  p.  50. 


286  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

-over  his  foes  and  by   raising  works    of  public  utility. 

But  when  LakhS's  grandson,  Rana  Kumbha,  who  is  so 

famous   in  the    annals    of    Mewar,    succeeded    to  the 

throne  in  1433  A.D.  the  position  of  Mewar  was  seriously 

affected  by  the  rise  of  the  Muslim  states  of  Malwa  and 

Gujarat.    The  Muslim  rulers  were  eager  to  extinguish  the 

independence  of  Mewar  and  left  no  stone  unturned  to  reduce 

her  power.    It  is  needless  to  enter  into  a  detailed  account 

of  the  struggle  between  these  rival  powers  in  which  victory 

rested  sometimes  with  the  Muslims  and  sometimes  with  the 

Rajput  chieftain.  The  Rana  was  assassinated  in  1468  A.D. 

by  his  son  Uda  who  was  probably   impatient   to  obtain 

possession  of  the  gaddi  of  Mewar.    The  people  of  Mewar 

rightly    refused  to    see  the  face  of  the   parricide  and 

denounced  his  unfilial  and  inhuman   conduct.     Want  of 

confidence  made  his  task  difficult,   and  the  throne  was 

seized  by  his  brother  Raimal  after  a  period  of  five  years 

in  1473.    After  his  death  in  May  1509,  Sangram  Singh,  his 

youngest  son,  succeeded  to  the  gaddi  of  Mewar.     His 

accession  marked  the  dawn  of  a  new  era  in  the  history  of 

that  country. 

The  empire  of  Delhi  had  lost  much  of  its  former  great- 
ness, and  Sangram  Singh  had  little  to  fear  from  Sikandar 
Lodi  who  had  his  own  difficulties  to  overcome,  but  Malwa 
and  Gujarat  were  ruled  at  this  time  by  Nasir  Shah  and 
Muhammad  Blga^a  who  were  bound  to  come  in  conflict 
with  him.  During  the  early  years  of  his  reign,  Sangram 
Singh  established  his  prestige  by  defeating  the  forces  of 
Gujarat,  and  by  effective  interference  in  the  affairs  of  Idar. 
The  Rana  had  been  grabbing  for  several  years  small  por- 
tions of  the  Delhi  territory,  but  when  Ibrahim  Lodi  came 
to  the  throne,  he  led  an  attack  against  Mewar  at  the  head 


INDIA  IN  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY  287 

•of  a  considerable  force.  Victory  rested  with  the  Rajputs, 
•and  the  Rana  ended  the  conflict  with  the  seizure  of  certain 
•districts  of  Malwa,  which  had  been  annexed  to  Delhi  by 
Sikandar  Lodi. 

Next  came  the  turn  of  Malwa.  The  Sultan  of  Malwa 
Mahmud  II  had  admitted  the  Rajput  chief  Medini  Rao  of 
Chanderi  to  his  councils  to  act  as  a  counterpoise  to  the 
influence  of  his  turbulent  amirs.  The  amirs  appealed  to 
the  rulers  of  Delhi  and  Gujarat  for  help  against  the 
'  infidels. '  But  Medini  Rao  proved  equal  to  the  occasion. 
He  defeated  the  allied  forces  of  Delhi  and  Gujarat  and 
re-established  the  authority  of  Mahmud.  Thus  foiled  in 
their  designs,  the  hostile  amirs  intrigued  with  success 
to  poison  the  ears  of  Sultan  Mahmud  against  Medini  Rao. 
The  Sultan  appealed  to  Muzaff ar  Shah  of  Gujarat  for 
aid,  and  the  latter  escorted  him  back  in  triumph  to 
Mandu  and  reinstated  him  in  his  throne.  Medini  Rao 
sought  the  help  of  Sanga  who  marched  against  Mahmud 
at  the  head  of  50,000  men,  and  in  the  encounter  that 
followed  the  Sultan  of  Mandu  was  badly  wounded.  The 
Rana  conveyed  the  royal  captive  to  his  camp,  and  finally 
took  him  to  Chittor  where  he  was  kept  as  a  prisoner  for 
three  months.  He  was  afterwards  liberated  on  the 
payment  of  an  indemnity  (the  expenses  of  war)  and  the 
surrender  of  a  prince  as  a  guarantee  for  his  good  behaviour 
in  the  future.  This  misplaced  generosity  aggravated  the 
Rana's  difficulties  and  afforded  encouragement  to  his 
avowed  enemies. 

Sultan  Muzaffar  of  Gujarat  combined  with  the  Sultan 
of  Malwa  against  the  Rana  to  wipe  out  the  disgrace  of  his 
former  defeat.  Malik  Ayaz,  the  governor  of  Sorath,  who 
had  joined  with  20,000  horse  and  some  field  pieces  was 


288  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

placed  in  command.  The  Rana  was  put  on  his  mettle  byr 
the  preparations  of  his  allies,  and  marched  against  them 
at  the  head  of  a  large  army.  Ayaz  retreated  to  his  charge- 
without  risking  an  engagement  with  the  Rana,  and  the 
Sultan  of  Mandu  did  likewise.  What  the  Muslim  historians- 
have  described  as  a  retreat  compelled  by  the  dissensions  of 
the  military  officers  was  in  all  probability  a  defeat  at  the 
hands  of  the  Mewar  forces. 

These  campaigns  spread  Rana  Sanga's  fame  far  andi 
wide.  Foreign  princes  feared  him,  and  Mewar  became  the 
refuge  of  dispossessed  or  disinherited  heirs  By  the  year 
1525  it  had  developed  into  a  first  class  military  state.  Her 
resources  were  thoroughly  organised,  and  it  was  clear  that 
any  foreigner  who  attempted  the  conquest  of  Hindustan 
will  have  to  grapple  with  the  warlike  ruler  of  Mewar. 

The  Haras  of  Bundi  had  begun  to  assert  themselves 
against  the  dominant  influence  of  Mewar,  but  they  had  no> 
connection  with  the  Muslim  government  at  Delhi.  The 
Rathor  monarchy  at  Jodhpur  under  Rao  Ganga  (1516—32) 
was  weakened  by  internecine  civil  strife  towards  the  begin- 
ning of  the  sixteenth  century,  but  the  sons  of  Jodha  united 
their  forces  against  the  Chaghtai  invader  and  joined  the- 
confederacy  of  Rana  Sanga. 

The  province  of  Sindh  was  too  far  away  from  Delhi  to 

exercise  any  influence  on  the  politics  of  Hindustan.  Early 

in  the  14th  century   it  formed  a  part  of 

8indh<  the  empire  of  Alauddin  Khilji,  and  Alaud- 

din's  brother  Ulugh  Khan  held  the  governorship  of  Multan. 

Later  it  was  included  in  Muhammad  Tughluq's  empire, 

but  towards  the  close  of  his  life  the  Sumras  had  given 

shelter  to  Taghi  who  had  rebelled  against  the  Sultan.   The 

latter  pursued  the  rebel  and  died  in  Thatta.    The  Jama 


INDIA  IN  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY  289 

got  their  long-desired  opportunity,  and  it  is  said    that 
after  the  death  of  Muhammad  Jam  Khairuddin  adopted  a 
sulky  attitude  and  refused  to  pay  homage  to  Firuz.    Piruz 
marched  against  his  son   Jam  Babiniya  and  conquered 
Sindh,  though  he  afterwards  restored  him  to  office.    The 
Sumras  soon  lost  their  ascendancy,   and  their  place  was 
taken    by  the  Samtna   dynasty  towards    the  middle  of 
the   fourteenth  century.     The   fortunes  of  the  Sammas 
were   seriously  affected    by  the   turn  affairs  were  tak- 
ing in  the  Afghan    regions.     In    1516  Babar    marched 
against    Shah  Beg    Arghun,   the    governor  of  Qandhar 
and  laid  siege  to  the  fort.      Unable   to  withstand  the 
rising  power   of  Babar,     Shah    Beg    Arghun     made  a 
treaty    with    him     by    which    he     was     compelled    to 
surrender  Qandhar  to  Babar's  officers.    The  Shah  ratified 
the  cession  by  sending  to  the  conqueror  the  keys  of  the 
fortress.    The"  loss  of  Qandhar  obliged  the  Shah  to  seek 
another  field  of  activity,  and  he  turned  towards  Sindh. 
Thatta  was  occupied  and  given  up  to  plunder  in  1520. 
The  Jam  made  his  submission,  and   with  every  mark  of 
abject  humility    implored    the    forgiveness  of  the  con- 
queror.   The  Arghun  dynasty    was  thus  established  in 
Sindh,  and  its  power  was  considerably  increased  by  Shah 
Beg's  son  Shah  Husain,  who  annexed  Multan  and  ex- 
tinguished the  Langah  dynasty.    At  the  time  Babar  was 
planning  his  invasion  of  Hindustan,  these  two  dynasties 
were  grappling  with  each  other  in  order  to  establish  their 
ascendancy   in  Sindh.    There    seems    to  have  been  no 
connection  between  the  decrepit   empire  of    Delhi  and 
the  desert  province. 

The  history  of  the  southern  plateau  is  interesting  only 
in  ao  far  as  it  shows  the  growth  of  the  imperialistic  idea  in 

F.    19 


290  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

the  Deccan,  while  it  was  steadily  declining  in  the  north. 
m.     _  The    Afghan  empire    in   Hindustan     had 

The    Deccan.       ,     .    ,.    ,   ...../.  ,       T.       ,  . 

dwindled  into  insignificance  under  Ibrahim, 
but  below  the  Vindhyas  two  formidable  empires  had  risen 
into  prominence,  the  empire  of  the  Bahmanids  and  the 
Hindu  empire  of  Vijayanagar.  Their  political  designs 
brought  them  inevitably  into  conflict,  and  backed  by  their 
unlimited  zeal  they  engaged  in  wars  which  caused  much 
suffering  and  loss  to  the  combatants  on  either  side.  They 
fought  long  and  hard  for  supremacy  but  exercised  little 
or  no  influence  on  the  political  affairs  of  northern  India. 
The  kingdom  of  Vijayanagar  was  founded  as  has  been 
said  before  by  two  brothers  Harihar  and  Bukka,  who 
were  in  the  service  of  the  Raja  of  Telingana  in  1336, 
and  since  then  it  had  developed  its  territory  and  its 
prestige  owing  to  the  efforts  of  a  series  of  remarkable 
rulers.  {The  reign  of  Krigna  Deva  Raya  which  lasted 
from  1509  to  1580  A.D.  is  a  glorious  period  in  the  annals 
of  the  empire  of  Vijayanagar.  Krisna  De\/a  Raya  orga- 
nised a  large  army,  and  waged  several  wars  against  the 
Muslim  powers  of  the  south.  His  conquest  of  the  Raichur 
valley  greatly  increased  his  prestige!  and  so  weakened  the 
power  of  Adil  Shah  that  he  ceased  to  think  for  the  time 
being,  at  any  rate,  of  any  conquest  in  the  south.  It  seared 
upon  the  minds  of  the  Muslims  the  lesson  that  their 
separatist  tendencies  greatly  injured  their  interests  and 
that  unity  was  essential  for  effectively  curbing  the 
"  arrogance  and  insolence  "  of  the  Hindus.  When  Abdul 
RazzSq,  the  Persian  ambassador,  visited  the  Deccan  in 
1542—44  the  Hindu  empire  was  at  the  height  of  its  power. 
He  has  given  an  elaborate  description  of  the  glory  and 
grandeur  of  the  great  city,  which  has  been  reproduced  in 


INDIA  IN  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY  291 

a  previous  chapter  in  this  volume.    The    empire    was 
destroyed  by  the  Muslims  in  1565  at  the  battle  of  Talikota, 
but  at  the  opening  of  the  16th  century  it  was  in  the 
plenitude  of  power.    It  is  true,  it  had  no  connection  with 
the  Muslim  empire  of  the  north,  but  as  Professor  Rush- 
brook-Williams  suggests  with  great  force  it  effectively 
prevented  the  states  of  the  Deccan  from  acquiring  such 
ascendancy     as      would     have    jeopardised  the   inde- 
pendence  of  the  Rajput  states.    It  checked  the  north- 
ward expansion  of  the  Muslim  states  which  in  turn  pre- 
vented it  from  seeking  a  field  of  conquest  in  the  trans- 
Vindyan  region  like  Indra  and    Tailapa,   who    carried 
their  arms  triumphantly  into  the  territory  of  Malwa  and 
Dhar.    The  Bahmani  kingdom  which  was  founded  in  1347 
by  Hasan  Kangu,  an  Afghan    officer  in  the  service  of 
Sultan  Muhammad  Tughluq  of  Delhi,  broke  up  into  five 
[independent  principalities    after  the  execution    of    tfre 
[famous  minfofcr  Mahmnd  C5w5n  in  Uftl  fl,]).  The  resour- 
ces  of  the  Bahmanids  enabled  them  to  fight  on  equal  terms 
with  the  empire  of  Vijayanagar,  but    notwithstanding 
their  vast  territories,  riches,   and   power  they  failed  to 
attain  much  political  importance  in  the  south.    Surprising 
as  it  may  seem,  it  was  the  result  of  the  restraint  which  was 
imposed  upon  their  activities  by  the  rulers  of  Vijayanagar 
who  vigilantly    watched  their    movements  and  applied 
the  break  whenever  it  was  felt  necessary.    The  dismem- 
berment of  the  Bahmani  kingdom  reduced  Muslim  energy 
in  the  Deccan  to  fragments,  and  the  small  states  which 
took  its  place  could  never  acquire  that  eminence  which 
concentration  and  consolidation  alone  can  give  to  a  vast 
dominion,  acting  under  undivided  leadership  and  follow- 
ing a  common  principle. 


292  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Babar  gives   an  account  of  Hindustan  on  the  eve  of 

his  invasion.    He  speaks  of  five  Muslim  and  two  Hindu 

kings  of  substance.     The  greater  part  of 

Babar's    ac-     Hindustan,  says  he,  was  in  the  possession 

count  01   rim- 

duetan.  of  the  empire  of  Delhi,  but  in  the  country 

there  were  many  independent  and  powerful 
kings.  The  leading  kingdoms  noted  by  him  are —the 
Afghan  kingdom  which  extended  from  Behreh  to  Bihar; 
of  Jaunpur  and  Bengal  in  the  east ;  of  Malwa  in  Central 
India ;  of  Gujarat  with  the  Muslim  kingdoms  of  the  Deccan 
which  arose  out  of  the  ruins  of  the  Bahmani  kingdom. 
The  two  pagan  princes  mentioned  by  him  are  the 
Raya  of  Vijayanagar  and  Rana  Sanga  of  Chittor.  Of 
these  princes  Babar  writes  :— 

"The   five  kings  who  have  been  mentioned  are 

great  princes,  and  are  all  Musalmans,  and  possessed 

of  formidable  armies  and  rulers  of  vast  territories. 

The  most  powerful  of  the  pagan  princes,   in  point  of 

territory  and  army,  is  the  Raja  of  Bijanagar.    Another 

is  the  Rana  Sanga,  who  has  attained  his  present  high 

eminence,  only  in  these  later  times,  by  his  own  valour 

and  his  sword.    His  original  principality  was  Chitur." 

India  was  thus  a  congeries  of  states  at  the  opening 

of  the  sixteenth  century  and  likely  to  be  the  easy  prey 

of  an  invader  who  had  the  strength  and  will  to  attempt 

her  conquest. 


CHAPTER  XII 

FOUNDATION  OF  THE  MUGHAL  EMPIRE 

Babar  was  born  on  Friday,  the  24th  of  February, 
1483  A.D.  He  was  descended  from  Timur,  the  Lame,  in 
the  fifth  degree  on  his  father's  side,  while 
through  his  mother  he  could  trace  descent 
from  the  great  Mongol  conqueror  Chingiz, 
Khan. '  His  father  Umar  Shaikh  Mirza  held  the  small 
kingdom  of  Farghana  which  is  now  a  small  province  of 
Russian  Turkistan  about  50,000  square  miles  in  extent. 
In  1494,  after  his  father's  death  which  was  caused 
by  an  accident,  Babar,  though  only  eleven  years 
of  age,  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Farghana.  The  early 
training  of  the  young  prince  must  have  been  exceptionally 
well  managed,  for  in  later  years  he  had  little  time  to 
devote  himself  to  intellectual  pursuits,  During  these 
years  he  acquired  mastery  over  Turki  and  Persian,  the 
two  languages  which  he  wrote  and  spoke  with  great  ease 
and  facility.  His  maternal  grandmother,  a  lady  of  much 
sense  and  sagacity,  moulded  and  shaped  his  character  in 
early  boyhood  and  instilled  in  him  the  love  of  virtue, 
valour  and  devotion.  ' 

Though  master  of  FarghSna,  Babar  who  was  only 
a  tender  stripling,  was  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  formi- 
dable enemies.  These  were  his  own  kinsmen  and  the 

1  Babar  was  not  a  Mughal.  He  was  a  Ohaghtai  Turk  descended 
from  Ohingiz  Khan  on  his  father's  side.  His  mother  was  a  daughter  of 
YUnus  Khan,  a  Mongol  or  Mughal  chief  of  Central  Asia.  The  so-called 
Emperors  of  India  were  in  reality  Turks. 

293 


294  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Uzbeg  chief  Shaibani  Khan  with  whom  he  had  to  fight 

for  his  very  existence.   Though  young  in  years,  Babar 

formed  the  resolve  of  conquering  Samarkand  and  seating 

himself  in  the  throne  of  the  mighty  Timur.    He  advanced 

upon  Samarqand  and    was  unsuccessfully    opposed  by 

Shaibani  Khan,  the  Uzbeg  chief.    He  entered  the  city 

in  triumph  and  received  the  homage  of  'nobles  and  braves, 

one  after  the  other.'    But  these  triumphal  scenes  were 

soon  disturbed  by  the  news  that  a  conspiracy  was  formed 

in  Farghan§  to  deprive  him  of    his    patrimony.     Babar 

hurried  to  the  scene,  but  as  soon  as  he  turned  his  back 

Samarqand  was  lost.    He  again  attempted  an  invasion  of 

Samarqand  and  captured  the  city  with  a  small  force  of  240 

men.    Once  more  did  he  instal  himself  on  the  throne  of 

Timur  and  received  the  homage  of  the  nobles  and  grandees. 

But  the  throne  of  Samarqand  was  not  a  bed  of  roses.   The 

f  Uzbeg  chief  collected  a  large  army  and  defeated  Babar  in 

y  highly  contested  battle  at  Archian  (June  1503).    Babar 

^ucceeded  with  difficulty  m  saving  his  life  and  wandered 

as  a  homeless  exile  for  about  a  year  in  great  misery,  but 

not  even  these  reverses  could  destroy  the  serenity  jand 

cheerfulness  of  his  temper.  -  Farghana  was  also  lost. 

Shaibani  Khan  had  in  the  meantime  acquired  easy 
possession  of  the  whole  country  of  Khorasan,  and  there 
was  none  to  check  his  rising  power.  Even  Babar  trembl- 
ed for  his  safety,  and  anxiously  watched  the  movements 
of  his  foes,  who  had  ravaged  Transoxiana,  Khwarizm, 
Farghfina  and  Khorasan,  and  had  driven  the  Timurids 
from  their  thrones.  The  Uzbegs  advanced  upon  Qandhar 
and  their  approach  alarmed  Babar  who  retired  towards 
Hindustan.  But  luckily  for  him  a  rebellion  occurred  in 
another  part  of  Shaibani's  dominions  which  obliged  him  to 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  MUGHAL  EMPIRE  295 

raise  the  siege  of  Qandhar.  This  hasty  retreat  enabled 
Babar  to  return  to  his  capital  soon  afterwards.  It  was  at 
this  time  that  he  assumed  the  title  of  Padshah— '  emperor, ' 
a  title  not  yet  adopted  by  any  Timurid.  Though  his 
throne  was  far  from  secure,  the  adoption  of  this  new 
title  marked  an  important  change  in  his  political  ideas. 

Having  established  himself  firmly  at  Kabul,  Babar 
once  again  tried  to  conquer  Samarqand.  The  destruction 
of  Shaibani  Khan  at  the  hands  of  Ismail,  the  founder  of  the 
Saf  vi  line  of  the  kings  of  Persia,  encouraged  him  in  his 
designs.  With  his  help  Babar  marched  against  the  Uzbegs. 
His  name  worked  like  magic,  and  the  people  of  town  and 
countryside  extended  to  him  a  cordial  welcome.  Bokhara 
was  soon  reached,  and  Babar  acquired  it  without  encoun- 
tering any  resistance.  From  Bokhara  he  advanced  upon 
Samarqand  and  entered  it  in  triumph  in  October  1511, 
after  an  absence  of  nine-years. 

But  his  position  was  far  from  secure.  The  fates  had 
ruled  that  Babar  should  not  sway  Timur's  sceptre.  His 
outward  conformity  to  the  Shia  formulae,  which  was  one 
of  the  conditions  of  his  treaty  with  Shah  Ismail,  provoked 
the  resentment  of  his  subjects  who  lost  confidence  in  him 
and  began  to  look  upon  him  as  a  heretic.  For  eight  months 
he  enjoyed  himself  in  the  capital  of  Timur,  but  he  was  soon 
alarmed  by  the  news  that  the  Uzbegs  under  Shaibani's 
son  were  about  to  march  against  Bokhara.  Forthwith  he 
proceeded  against  them  ;  but  in  the  battle  that  followed  he 
was  utterly  routed  in  1512.  Thus  defeated,  he  withdrew  to 
the  fortress  of  Hisar,  The  Persian  force  sent  by  Shah 
Ismail  to  aid  him  was  defeated  by  the  Uzbegs,  and  its 
general  was  slain  in  battle.  Babar  was  reduced  to  great 
straits  and  in  despair  he  once  again  turned  to  Kabul.  He 


296  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

was  now  convinced  of  the  impossibility  of  gaining  success 
in  the  west,  and  therefore  made  up  his  mind  to  try  his. 
luck  in  the  east. 

Babar's  final  invasion  of  Hindustan  was  preceded  by  a 
number  of  preliminary  raids  in  Indian  territory  which 

deserve  a  passing  mention.  The  fortress  of 
Raid?  Indian  Bajour  was  captured  after  a  gallant  defence 

by  the  beleagured  garrison  and  Babar  right* 
ly  regarded  it  as  the  first.  He  marched  against  Bhira 
(1519)  on  the  Jhelam  which  he  captured  without  encounter- 
ing any  resistance.  The  people  were  treated  kindly  and 
the  soldiers  who  were  guilty  of  excesses  were  put  to 
death.  At  the  suggestion  of  his  advisers  he  sent  an 
ambassador  to  Sultan  Ibrahim  Lodi  to  demand  the  restoration 
of  the  '  countries  which  from  old  times  had  belonged  to 
the  Turks,  '  but  he  was  detained  by  DaulatKhan  at  Lahore 
so  that  he  returned  after  five  months  without  a  reply. 
Having  subdued  Bhira,  Khushab  and  the  country  of  the 
Chenab,  Babar  returned  to  Kabul  by  the  Kurram  Pass. 
During  this  period  he  had  a  surfeit  of  pleasure  and  merri- 
ment. He  became  a  hard  drunkard  and  began  to  drug  him- 
self with  opium.  In  the  cwnpany  of  his  friends  and  generals 
Babar  held  drinking  boufs  which  often  grew  so  uproarious 
and  noisy  as  to  become  '  burdensome  and  unpleasant. ' 

Though  Babar  frequently  gave  a  free  rein  to  mirth  and 
excess,  he  was  not  a  slave  to  his  senses.  The  Bacchanalian 
revels  of  which  the  Memoirs  speak  with  striking  candour, 
did  not  interfere  with  the  progress  of  his  expeditions.  In 
1520  Badakhshan  was  seized,  and  Prince  Humayun  was 
appointed  to  its  charge.  Two  years  later  he  wrested 
Qandhar  from  the  Arghuns  and  entrusted  it  to  his 
younger  son  Kamran  Mirza. 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  MUGHAL  EMPIRE  297 

Freed  from  danger  in  the  Afghan  region,  Babar  again 
turned  his  attention  towards  Hindustan.  The  government 
of  Ibrahim  Lodi,  the  Afghan  ruler  at  Delhi,  was  deservedly 
unpopular,  and  the  leading  Afghan  barons  were  driven  into 
revolt  by  his  hauteur  and  policy  of  persecution.  The  dis- 
content of  the  barons  reached  its  highest  pitch  when 
Ibrahim  cruelly  treated  Dilawar  Khan,  son  of  Daulat  Khan 
Lodi.  Annoyed  at  this  treatment,  the  latter  sent  through 
his  son  an  invitation  to  Babar  at  Kabul  to  invade  Hindustan. 

Such  a  proposal  was  welcome  to  Babar  who  had  long 
cherished  the  dream  of  the  conquest  of  Hindustan.  Babar 
started  from  Kabul  in  1524  and  advanced  upon  Lahore 
where  he  routed  an  Afghan  army  The  city  fell  into  his 
hands,  but  Daulat  Khan  who  had  masked  his  allegiance 
under  the  cloak  of  ambition  disapproved  of  these  proceed- 
ings. Babar  did  not  mind  his  murmurs  and  entrusted  to 
him  the  fief  of  Jalandhar  and  Sultanpur,  but  Daulat  Khan 
soon  fell  out  of  favour  owing  to  his  hostile  intrigues.  He 
was  deprived  of  his  jagir  which  was  conferred  upon 
Dilawar  Khan  who  had  revealed  Daulat's  hostile  plans  to 
Babar.  Having  made  over  Dipalpur  to  Alam  Khan, 
Babar  returned  to  Kabul 

Babar's  departure  brought  Daulat  Khan  once  more 
upon  the  scene.  He  wrested  Sultanpur  from  his  son  and 
drove  AlamKhan  from  Dipalpur.  Alam  Khan  fled  to  Kabul 
and  made  a  treaty  with  Babar  by  which  he  agreed  to  cede 
to  him  Lahore  and  the  country  to  the  west  of  it,  if  he  were 
seated  upon  the  throne  of  Delhi.  Alam  Khan,  who  was  a, 
nerveless  ad  venturer,  shortly  afterwards,  broke  this  treaty 
at  the  instigation  of  Daulat  Khan,  and  both  together  made 
a  joint  attack  upon  Ibrahim  Lodi,  but  the  latter  drove 
them  from  the  field  of  battle  with  heavy  losses. 


298  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Babar  was  eager  for  the  conquest  of  Hindustan  but 

as  Professor   Rushbrook-Williams,  rightly    observes    the 

intrigues  of  Daulat  Khan  and  the  faithless* 

PanlpaV  I62°6f    ness    of  Alam    Khan    had    jmodified  ito 

~wKole  situation.    He  could  no  longer  act  in 

collaboration  with  them,  and  therefore  decided  to  striice 

unaided  for  the  empire  ofHindustan.  When  he  reached 


Daulat    Khan    made  fresh    overtures  and 
implored  forgiveness.    With  his   usual  magnanimity  he 
pardoned  his  offences  and  allowed  him  to  retain  possession 
of  his  tribal  villages,  but  deprived  him  of  the  rest  of  his 
property.    The  Punjab  easily  came  into  his  hands,  but  the 
more  difficult  task  was  to  conquer  Delhi     His  resources 
were  inadequate  for  this  enterprise  ;  he  had  to  fight  not 
only  against  frontier  tribes  but  against  the  whole  might  of 
an  organised  empire  in  a  country  with  which  he  was  but 
imperfectly  acquainted.    These  seeming  disadvantages  did 
not  damp  his  enthusiasm,  and  he  embarked  on  his  task 
with  his  usual  courage  and  optimism,  as  is  shown  by  the 
following  passage  which  we  come  across  in  the  Memoirs  : 
"  Having  placed  my  foot  in  the  stirrup  of  resolu- 
tion and  my  hand  on  the  reins  of  confidence  in  God,  I 
marched  against  Sultan  Ibrahim,  son  of  Sultan  Sikan- 
dar,  son  of  the  Sultan  Bahlal  Lodi    Afghan,  in  whose 
possession  throne  of  Delhi  and  the  dominions  of  Hindus- 
tan at  that  time  were.  "  l 

Babar  's  approach  was  welcomed  by  the  discontented  ele- 
ments in  the  country.  It  appears  that  at  this  time  he 
received  a  message  from  Rana  Sangram  Singh  of  Mewar, 
he  afterwards  accused  of  the  non-fulfilment  of  his 

1  King,  Memoirs  II,  p.  174. 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  MUGHAL  EMPIRE  299 

promise.1  Hearing  the  news  of  Babar's  approach, 
Ibrahim  sent  two  advance  parties  to  deal  with  him,  but 
both  of  them  were  defeated  and  Babar  advanced  un- 
hindered as  far  as  Sirsawah  Here  he  busied  himself  in 
making  preparations  for  a  decisive  contest  with  the 
Afghans.  As  the  latter  outnumbered  him  by  thousands, 
he  realised  that  he  could  defeat  them  only  by  an  effective 
•combination  of  his  highly  trained  cavalry  and  his  new 
artillery.  His  generals  Ustad  Ali  and  Mustafa  could 
easily  scatter  an  undisciplined  host,  if  they  were  proper- 
ly assisted  by  infantry  and  cavalry  men,  and  on  this 
Babar  concentrated  his  full  attention  He  collected  700 
gun  carts  which,  fastened  together  by  twisted  raw  bull 
hides,  were  to  form  a  laager  for  the  protection  of  the 
musketeers  and  matchlockmen.  Between  each  pair  of 
waggons  were  constructed  small  breastworks  (tura)  in 
large  numbers  along  that  portion  of  the  front  which 
Ustad  Ali  and  Mustafa  were  to  occupy. 

Two  marches  brought  Babar  and  his  army  to  Panipat 
4  small  village  near  Delhi,  where  the  fate  of  India  has  been 
thrice  decided,  on  April  12,  1526.  He  took  up  a  position 
which  was  strategically  highly  advantageous.  His  right 
wing  was  to  be  sheltered  by  the  town  of  Panipat;  in  the 
•centre  were  posted  cannon  and  matchlockmen,  and  he 
.strengthened  it  with  the  line  of  breastworks  and  waggons, 
which  he  had  already  prepared.  The  left  was  strengthened 

1   In  recording  the  events  which  occurred  after  the  battle  of  Panipat 
•Babar  writes : — 

"  Although  Rana  Sanga,  the  Pagan,  when  I  was  in  Kabul*  had  sent  me 
an  ambassador  with  professions  of  attachment  and  had  arranged  with 
me,  that*  if  I  would  march  from  that  quarter  into  the  vicinity  of  Delhi, 
the  would  march  from  the  other  side  upon  Agra  ;  vet  when  I  defeated 
Ibrahim,  and  took  Delhi  and  Agra,  the  Pagan,  during  all  my  operations, 
did  aot  make  a  single  movement."  King,  Memoirs,  II,  p.  254. 


800  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

by  digging  a  ditch  and  constructing  an  abatis  of  felled 
trees.  The  line  which  protected  the  centre  was  not  conti- 
nuous, and  Babar  took  care  to  leave  gaps,  at  intervals  of  a 
bowshot,  large  enough  for  a  hundred  or  hundred  and  fifty 
men  to  charge  abreast.  Such  were  the  preparations  which 
Babar  made  for  his  coming  encounter  with  the  enemy. 

Sultan  Ibrahim  had  also  reached  Panipat  at  the  head 
of  a  large  army.  Babar  estimated  that  he  had  with  him 
one  hundred  thousand  men— a  formidably  large  number 
—which  must  have  included  non-effectives  also*  He  writes 
in  his  Memoirs  that  Ibrahim  might  have  collected  a  large 
force  still  had  he  not  been  so  niggardly  in  spending 
money,  for  in  Hindustan,  it  is  easy  to  obtain  soldiers  for 
hire.  The  Afghan  side  was  weaker  partly  because 
Ibrahim's  soldiers  were  mostly  mercenaries  and  partly 
because  the  Sultan  himself  was  an  inexperienced  man, 
'  who  marched  without  order,  retired  or  halted  without 
plan  and  engaged  in  battle  without  foresight. H 

The  two  armies  faced  each  other  for  eight  days  but 
neitl  er  side  took  the  offensive.    At  last  Babar 's  patience- 
was  tired  out,  and  he  resolved  on  prompt  action.  He  divided 
his  men  after  the  traditional  manner  of  the  east  into  three 
sections -the  right,  centre  and  left  -and  posted  flanking 
parties  of  Mongols  on  the  extreme  right  and  left  to  effect 
the  charge  of  the  tulughma—a  well-known  Mongol  ma- 
noeuvre in  order  to  produce  a  deadly  effect  on  the  enemy. 
The  army  of  Delhi  advanced  to  attack  Babar's    right' 
whereupon  he  ordered  the  reserve  to  march  to  its  rescue. 
The  Afghans  pressed  on,  but  when  they  approached  the- 
ditches,  abatis  and  hurdles,  they  hesitated  for  a  moment,. 

1  King,  Memoirs  II,  p.  183. 


FOUNDATION  OP  THE  MUGHAL  EMPIRE  301 

not  knowing:  whether  they  should  attack  or  retire.    The 
rear  ranks  pushed  forward,    and  their   pressure   from 
behind  caused  some  disorder  of  which  Babar  took  full 
advantage.   His  flanking  parties  on  both  extremes  wheeled 
round  and  attacked  the  enemy  in  rear,  while  the  right  and 
left  wings  pressed  forward  and  the  centre  discharged  fire 
with  deadly  effect.    The  battle  raged  fiercely,   and  the 
Afghan  wings  were  driven  into  hopeless  confusion    by 
Babar's  flankers.    They  were  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  and 
attacked    with     arrows  and  artillery.     Ustad    Ali    and 
Mustafa,  Babar's  captains  of    artillery,    poured    death 
upon  the  disorderly  Afghan  crowd  which  was  now  unable 
to  advance  or  retreat.    The  men  fought  with  great  cour- 
age but  hopeless  confusion  followed.    The  carnage  last- 
ed some  hours,   and  the  troops,  pressed  from  all  sides, 
sought     refuge  in  flight.     Ibrahim's  army   was   utterly 
-defeated,   and  the  losses  on  his  side  were   appallingly 
heavy.    According  to  the  calculation  of  Babar's  officers 
about  15  or  16  thousand  men  perished  on  the  field  of  battle. 
Ibrahim   died  fighting  like  a  valiant   Afghan,  and   his 
xiead  body  was  discovered  amidst  a  heap  of  corpses  that 
lay  near  him.     Babar  learnt  afterwards  at  Agra  that 
altogether  forty  or  fifty  thousand  men  had  fallen  in  this 
battle. !    The  success  of  Babar  was  due  to  skilled  general- 
ship and  a  scientific  combination  of  cavalry Hand  artillery. 
IbrafimP's  head  was  brought  to  Babar  along  with  a  large 
number  of  prisoners  and  spoils  of  all  kinds.    The  battle 
lasted  till  mid-day  and  Babar  writes  that  by  the  grace 
and  mercy  of  Almighty  God  the  mighty  army  of  Delhi  was 
in  the  space  of  half  a  day  laid  in  the  dust. 

1  Babar  writes  that  on  reaching  Agra  he  found  from  the  accounts 
of  the  natives  of  Hindustan  that  forty  or  fifty  thousand  men  had  fallen 
in  the  field.  Memoirs  II,  p.  187. 


„   802  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

The  battle  of  Panipat  placed  the  empire  of  Delhi  in 
Babar's  hands.  The  power  of  the  Lodi  dynasty  was  shat- 
tered to  pieces,  and  the  sovereignty  of  Hindustan  passed 
to  the  Chaghtai  Turks.  Babar  distributed  the  vast  booty 
that  came  into  his  hands  among  his  kinsmen  and  officers.. 
Offerings  were  sent  to  Mecca  and  Medina,  and  so  great 
was  the  generosity  shown  by  the  conqueror  that  every 
living  person  in  Kabul  received  a  silver  coin  as  a  token 
of  royal  favour.  Immediately  after  the  battle  he  sent 
Prince  Humayun  to  capture  Agra  and  followed  himself 
soon  afterwards.  Humayun  accorded  to  him  a  warm  wel- 
come and  presented  to  him  the  famous  diamond  which  he 
had  obtained  from  the  Raja  of  Gwalior,  but  Babar  with 
his  usual  generosity  gave  it  back  to  his  son. 

Babar  was  not  yet  firmly  seated  upon  the  throne  of 
Delhi.  He  had  to  wrest  the  country  from  the  Afghan 
barons  who  held  large  fiefs  all  over  Hindustan.  How 
was  this  to  be  accomplished  ?  His  officers  dreaded  thejhot 
weather  and  felt  anxious  to  get  back  to  their  homes.  A 
war  council  was  summoned  and  Babar  appealed  to  his  Begs 
to  stay  and  to  renounce  their  seditious  purposes.  The 
appeal  produced  the  desired  effect,  and  with  the  exception 
of  one  man  all  expressed  their  determination  to  remain 
with  him.  This  decision  of  Babar  was  momentous  for  two 
reasons.  In  the  first  place,  itjogened  the  eyes  of  the  Raj- 
puts to^  the  greatjangerjhat  loomed  on  the  horizon,  and 

the  submission  of  several 


notable  chiefs  in  the  Doab  and  elsewhere.  His  own  chiefs* 
werTsaHsiie*  tjr  the  grant  of  jagirs  and  helped  him  in 
reducing  a  large  part  of  the  country  to  submission.  Biyana, 
Gwalior  and  Dholpur  were  all  subdued.  Jaunpur,  Ghazipur 
and  Kalpi  were  conquered  by  Humayun,  while  Babar 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  MUGHAL  EMPIRE  303 

remained  at  Agra  thinking  out  ways  and  means  of  dealing 
with  the  Rajputs.  It  was  at  this  time  that  an  unsuccess- 
ful attempt  was  made  to  poison  him  by  the  mother  of 
Ibrahim  Lodi.  Had-  her  nefarious  design  succeeded,  the 
histORMtfJndfe  would  .have  been  different. 

)(The  most  formidable  chieftain  against  whom  Babar 
had  still  to  fight  was  Rana  Sangram  Singh,  better  known 

to  fame  as  Rana  Sanga,  of  Mewar. )  He  came 
the  Rajput  °f  the  noble  ^tock^of  Sisodja  andwasTe^ 

nownecT  alFover  RajastKan  as  a  prince  of 
great  intellect,  valour  and  virtue,  and  occupied  a'premier 
position  among  his  f  ellow-princes.J  His^gmi^exploits  are 
commemoratecLJn  the  Rajput  Saga,  ^ndlhe^Dards  of 


Rajasthan  still  relate  the  tale  ofhis  heroic  achievements. 
He  waged  wars  against  his  neighbours,  and  by  his  con- 
quests greatly  enlarged  the  small  principality  of  Mewar. 
He  had  undertaken  several  successful  campaigns  against 
the  ruler  of  Malwa.  He  had  conquered  Bhilsa,  Sarangpur, 
Chanderi  and  Ranthambhor  and  entrusted  them  to  vassals 
of  his  own.  The  princes  of  Marwar  and  Amber  acknow- 
ledged his  preeminence  and  the  Raos  of  Gwalior,  Ajmer, 
Sikri,Raiseen,Kalpi,  Chanderi,  Bundi,Gagraon,  Rampura, 


and  Abu  paid  homage  as  his  feudatories.  MThe 


a 
M 


the  Delhi  empire  and  the  constant  quarrels  of  the  Afghan 
Barons  had  indirectly  strengthened  Sanga  by  giving  him 
an  opportunity  of  developing  his  power  unhindered.^  His 
military  resources  exceeded  those  of  all  other  princes  of 
his  time,  and  Tod  writes  that  eighty  thousand  horse,  seven 
Rajas  of  the  highest  rank,  nine  Raos  and  one  hundred 
and  four  chieftains  bearing  the  titles  of  Rawal  and  Rawat 

1  Tod,  Annals  and   Antiquities  of  Rajasthan,  edited  by  Grooke,  I, 
pp.  848-49. 


304  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

with  five  hundred  war  elephants  followed  him  to  the  field 
of  battle.  '  He  made  his  power  felt  in  Central  India  and 
Gujarat  and  greatly  added  to  the  prestige  of  his  house,  so 
much  so  indeed,  that  even  Bqbar.  who  found  injiim  a  foe 
worthy  ofjhisjgteel,  ^admits  that  the  position  '•to*  which  he 
won  by  his  valour  and  sword.  Our 
admiration  for  him  increases  all  the  more  when  we  learn 
how  much  his  wars  had  cost  his  iron  frame.  He  had  lost 


one  eye,  one  arm  and  one  If^  in  han-io  all  of  which  con- 
stituted proofs  of  his  unremi^tijo^exertions  in  war.  No 
wonder,  then,  if  the  spirits  of  Babar  's  soldiers  aricl  officers 
sank  before  the  men  who  swept  like  an  avalanche  towards 
the  battlefield  of  Kanwah  under  the  leadership  of  the 
greatest  Hindu  warrior  of  the  age. 

The  Rana  had  opened  negotiations  with  Babar  when 
he  was  at  Kabul,  but  had  not  kept  his  promise.  Erskinein 
his  History  of  India  puts  forward  the  view  that  it  seems  to 
have  been  arranged  between  the  parties  that  while  Babar 
attacked  Sultan  Ibrahim  from  the  Delhi  side,  Rana  Sanga 
was  to  attack  him  from  the  side  of  Agra.2  Both  accused 
each  other  of  bad  faith,  and  the  Rana  claimed  Kalpi, 
Dholpur,  and  Biyana  which  had  been  occupied  by  Babar's 
officers.  The  Rana  advanced  towards  Biyana  and  was 
joined  by  Hasan  Khan  Mewati.  One  of  his  sons  had  been 
captured  by  Babar  in  the  battle  of  Panipat  and  detained 
as  a  hostage.  At  Hasan's  presistent  entreaties  he  was 
released  in  the  belief  that  this  act  of  magnanimity  will  be 
appreciated  by  the  Mewati  chieftain.  But  it  turned  out  a 
vain  hope.  No  sooner  was  the  young  man  released  than 

1  Tod,  1,  p.  848. 

1  History  of  India,  Vol.  I,  p.  462. 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  MUGHAL  EMPIRE          305 

his  father  joined  Rana  Sanga  and  made  common  cause 
with  him. 

The  alliance  of  these  two  formidable  antagonists 
greatly  perturbed  Babar  and  on  the  llth  of  February, 
1527.  he  marched  out  of  Agra  to  take  the  field  against 
na  Sanga  and  encamped  at  Sikri,  a  village  near  Fateh- 
pur,  the  deserted  city  of  Akbar.  Hitherto  he  had  fought 
against  Muslims  ;  he  had  met  the  Uzbeg,  the  Afghan  and 
the  Turk  in  battle,  but  he  had  never  encountered  such 
dauntless  fighters  as  the  Rajputs  who  were  asjainous  for 
their  chivajry^  pjid  jg^lla,ntry  as  f^TK^^complete"3is- 
regard^o^Tlife.  ItL1^!!!^^-^^! 
Rajput  defied  death  and  destruction  even  when  matched 

•KT~^       ||.    — •***-•        ^*~*— - .-  *-»— — •?•"*•• "— «v^ v*r  -v^_  f^*^^^^1'^^^11^ 

agai^nstjxfiav^odds.  The  Rana  was  near  "at  hand,  and  the 
Rajputs  succeeded  in  repelling  an  attack  by  one  of  Babar's 
detachments. 

Babar  engaged  himself  in  making  preparations  for 
battle,  but  his  men  were  affrighted  by  the  reports  of 
Rajput  strength  and  valour*  Just  at  this  time  came  an 
astrologer,  whom  Babar  describes  as  a  '  rascally  fellow/ 
from  Kabul  who  began  to  disconcert  the  army  by  his 
ominous  predictions.  Without  heeding  the  forecasts  of 
thi^bird  of  evil  presage  Babar  took  steps  to^sj^lj^fragb 
hjfpe.and,  ardpurjinto  the  hearts  of  Jus _  s^j.^rs.  Hej 
renounced  wine,  poured  out  large  quantities  on  the 
ground,  broke  all  his  costly  vessels,  and  took  a  solemn  vow 
not  to  indulge  in  liquor  again.  At  the  same  time  to  mark 
his  penitence  he  remitted  the  stamp  dutv^  in  case  of 
Muslims  and  issued  a  farman  in  which  he  made  several, 
important  concessions  to  his  co-religionists. 

Babar  reinforced  this  act  of  abstinence  with  a  direct 
appeal.  Calling  together  his  officers  and  men  he  spoke  ia 

F.  20 


306  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

words  which  recall  to  our  minds  the  melodramatic  elo- 
quence of  Napoleon  Bonaparte  on  such  occasions.  This 
is  what  he  said  : 

"  Noblemen  and  soldiers  !  Every  man  that  comes 
into  the  world  is  subject  to  dissolution  When  we  are 
passed  away  and  gone,  God  only  survives,  unchange- 
able. Whoever  comes  to  the  feast  of  life  must,  before 
it  is  over,  drink  from  the  cup  of  death.  He  who  arrives 
at  the  inn  of  mortality  must  one  day  inevitably  take 
his  departure  from  that  house  of  sorrow — the  world. 
How  much  better  is  it  to  die  with  honour  than  to  live 
with  infamy  ! 

\  With  fame,  even  if  I  die,  I  am  contented  ; 
\  Let  fame  be  mine,  since  my  body  is  death's. 
The  Most  High  God  has  been  propitious  to  us,  and 
has  now  placed  us  in  such  a  crisis,  that  if  we  fall  in  the 
field,  we  die  the  death  of  martyr  ;  if  we  survive,  we 
rise  victorious,  the  avengers  of  the  cause  of  God.     Let 
us,  then,  with  one  accord,  swear  on  God's  holy  word, 
that  none  of  us  will  even  think  of  turning  his  face  from 
this  warfare,  nor  desert  from  the  battle  and  slaughter 
that  ensues,  till  his  soul  is  separated  from  his  body. " 
This  appeal  produced  the  desired  effect  and  the  officers 
as  well  as  the  men  swore  by  the  Holy  Book  to  stand  by 
him. 

Rana  Sanga  brought  into  the  field  an  army  which  far 
jxceedecTthat  of  Jiis  adversary  in  numerical  strength.  The 
menace  ota  foreign  invasion  had  called  into  existence  a 
powerful  confederacy  of  Raiputchief a  under  the  leadership 
of  the  redoubtable  sanga.  Silahadi,  the  chief  of  Bhilsa, 
joined  the  confederacy  with  30  thousand  horse,  Hasan 
Khan  of  Mewat  with  12  thousand,  Medini  Rao  of  Chanderi 


FOUNDATION  OP  THE  MUGHAL  EMPIRE  307 

with  12  thousand  and  Rawal  Udai  Singh  of  Dungarpur  with 
ten  thousand,  and  Sultan  Mahmud  Lodi,  a  son  of  Sultan 
Sikandar  Lodi,  who  had  been  acknowledged  as  king  of 
Delhi  by  the  Rana  also  came  to  take  part  in  the  battle  at 
the  head  of  ten  thousand  mercenaries.  There  were  minor 
chiefs  who  brought  their  forces  from  four  to  seven 
thousand  men  to  swell  the  ranks  of  the  army.  According 
to  Babar's  estimate  the  Rajput  army  numbered  two 
hundred  and  one  thousand.  This  is  doubtless  an 
exaggerated  estimate  The  numbers  are  overrated  so  far 
as  fighting  men  are  concerned.  There  may  have  been 
numerous  camp  followers  and  others,  but  the  main  army 
consisted  of  nearly  120  thousand  horse— a  figure 
mentioned  in  the  Tabqat-i-Akbari  and  accepted  by 
Erskine.  Babar's  army  was  encamped  near  Kanwah,  a 
village  at  a  distance  of  ten  miles  from  Sikri.  Preparations 
were  vigorously  made  to  put  the  troops  in  order.  Babar 
divided  them  into  three  sections — the  right,  centre  and 
left.  He  entrusted  the  right  wing  to  Humayun,  the  left 
to  his  son-in-law  Saiyyad  Mehdi  Khwaja,  both  of  whom 
were  assisted  by  tried  and  capable  officers.  The  centre 
was  commanded  by  himself  with  his  trusty  Begs,  and  on 
the  right  and  left  were  posted  two  flanking  parties 
(tulughma)  to  charge  on  the  enemy's  flank  and  rear  in  the 
heat  of  battle.  The  artillery  men  and  musketeers  were 
posted  along  the  front  of  the  line  protected  by  chained 
waggons  and  breastworks,  and  Ustad  Ali  was  ordered  to 
occupy  a  position  in  front  of  the  centre  with  the  heavy 
ordnance. 

It  was  on  Saturday  the  16th  of  March.  1527.  that  the 
two  armies  came  face  to  face  with  each  other.  The  battle 
i>egan  at  9  or  d-30  in  the  morning  and  lasted  till  evening. 


808  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Babar  employed  the  same  tactics  as  at  Panipat  and  caused 
a  terrible  confusion  in  the  Rana's  army.  But  nothing  could 
bend  the  spirit  of  the  Rajputs  who  at  first  swept  away  the 
enemy  by  the  sheer  weight  of  numbers.  Towards 
evening  the  day  was  decided.  The  Rajputs  suffered  a 
terrible  defeat  and  broke  up  in  panic.  The  field  wag- 
strewn  with  human  corpses  and  so  were  the  roads  to 
Biyana  and  Alwar.  The  slaughter  was  fearful,  and 
among  those  who  perished  in  the  conflict  were  Hasan 
Khan  Mewati,  Rawal  Udai  Singh  of  Dungarpur  and  a 
number  of  lesser  chieftains.  Rana  Sanga  escaped  from 
the  field  through  the  efforts  of  his  followers  and  sought 
jrefuge  in  one  of  his  hill  fortresses.  Babar  ordered  a 
tower  of  skulls  to  be  built  on  a  mound  near  the  camp 
and  assumed  the  title  of  Ghazi  or  champion  of  the  faith. 
The  Rajput  annals  ascribe  Sanga's  defeat  to  the 
treachery  of  a  Rajput  chief  who  had  joined  as  an  ally, 
but  there  is  no  foundation  for  this  view.  However  that 
may  be,  the  battle  of  Kanwah  is  one  of  the  decisive 
battles  of  Indian  history.  Professor  Rushbrook- Williams 
has  described  its  importance  in  a  passage  which  is  worthy 
of  reproduction  :  — 

"In  the  first  place,  the  InetiaW  of  Rajput 
supremacy  which  had  loomed,  large  before  the  eyes  of 
Muhammadans  in  India  for~the  last  few  years  was 
removed  once  for  all.  The  powerful  confederacy, 
which  depended  so  largely  for  its  unity  upon  the 
strength  and  reputation  of  Mewar,  was  shattered  by  a 
single  great  defeat,  and  ceased  henceforth  to  be  a  domi- 
nant factor  in  the  politics  of  Hindustan.  Secondly,  the 
MughaUniEire  ofjndia  was  soon  firmly  established? 
fiabaiThad  definitely  seated  himself  upon  the  throne  of 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  MUGHAL  EMPIRE  309 

Sultan  Ibrahim,  and  the  sign  and  seal  of  his  achieve- 
ment had  been  the  annihilation  of  Sultan  Ibrahim's^ 
most  formidable  antagonists.  Hitherto,  the  occupation 
of  Hindustan  might  have  been  looked  upon  as  a  mere 
episode  in  Babar's  career  of  adventurel  but  from 
henceforth  it  becomes  the  keynote  of  his  activities  for 
the  remainder  of  his  life.  His  da^s  of  wandering  in 
search  of  a  fortune  are  now  passed  away  :  the  fortune 
is  Ms,  jand^  he  has  but  to  show  himself  worthy  ofltr 
And  it  is  significant  of  the  new  stage  in  his  career 
which  this  battle  marks  that  never  afterwards  does  he 
have  to  stake  his  throne  and  life  upon  the  issue  of  a 
stricken  field.  Fighting  there  is,  and  fighting  in  plenty, 
to  be  done  :  but  it  is  fighting  for  the  extension  of  his 
power,  for  the  reduction  of  rebels,  for  the  ordering 
of  his  kingdom.  It  is  never  fighting  for  his  throne. 
And  it  is  also  significant  of  Babar's  grasp  of  vit§J 
issues  that  from  henceforth  the  Centre  of  gravity  _of 
his  power  is  shijted,fs)i^^  l 

'The  Rajput  confederacy  was  broken  up  but  Babar 
was  not  yet  complete  master  of  Hindustan.     He  must 
subdue  several  chieftains  before  he  could 


<;on-     claim  to  be  a  sovereign  in  the  full  sense  of 
Kingship.  the  term.    Professor  Rushbrook-Williams  in 

reviewing  Babar's  position  after  the  battle 
of  Kanwah  argues  that  he  had  not  merely  to  conquer  a 
kingdom  but  to  recreate  a  theory  of  kingship.  He  speaks 
of  Ibrahim's  failure  to  restore  to  the  Sultanate  of  Delhi 
that  absolute  authority  which  it  had  possessed  in  the 
days  of  the  Tughluqs.  He  found  it  impossible  to  do 

1  Empire  Builder  of  the  Sixteenth  Century,  pp.    156-57. 


810  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

so  because  his  government  was  not  a  *  divine  inheritance ' 
but  a  *  human  concession. '  The  Afghan  ruler  was  only 
Primus  inter  vares,  and  the  division  of  the  empire  into 
Heta  managed  by  barons  who  were  virtually  independent 
further  tended  to  undermine  people's  belief  in  the 
mysterious  divinity  that  hedgeth  round  the  person  of  a 
king.  Babar  discarded  the  title  of  Sultan  and  called 
himself  a  PadshajffT  It  is  not  that  this  declaration  made 
the  oriice  sacrosanct  in  the  eyes  of  ambitious  men,  for 
I  only  after  ten  years  Humayun  was  expelled  from  the 
(throne  in  spite  of  his  '  divine  inheritance  and  Timurid 
descent/  But  it  served  a  great  need  of  the  time.  It 
proclaimed  to  the  world  that  Babar  meant  to  be  some- 
thing more  than  a  mere  Sultan,  a  full-fledged  despot 
determined  to  sweep  away  all  vestige  of  independence 
and  co-ordinate  authority  It  emphasised  his  appreciation 
of  the  need  for  a  centralised  government  in  the  midst  of 
warring  factions  and  tribes.  Ideas  rule  mankind-  and 
subsequent  generations  wec^delighted  to  snatch  a  glimpse 
of  their  king  from  the  Jhlrokha  window  with  the  same 
reverence  and  devotion  as  they  showed  towards  the  Deity. 
One  of  the  chief  strongholds  of  the  Rajputs  was  Chan- 
deri  which  was  in  the  possession  of  Medini  Rao.  Babar 
marched  against  him  and  reached  Chanderi 
Reduces  the  on  January  20,  152&  Medini" Rao  shut. 'him"- 

fort    of  unan-       —  *        T       ™  ••  - 

deri.  .         self  inj:hejfort  with  5.QOQ  pf   his    followers. 

'  "BaBar^offered  him  a  Jagir  in  lieu  of  Chan- 

deri  but  he  refuse? to  enter  iffEoTa  treaty  with  hmT  Just 
at  this  time  news  came  from  the  east  that  the  Afghans 
had  defeated  the  royal  army  and  compelled  it  to  leave 
Lakhnau  (Lucknow)  and  fall  back  on  Kanauj.  Babar 
kept  his  head  cool  in  spite  of  this  disquieting  news, 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  MUGHAL  EMPIRE  811 

and  pushed  on  the  siege  of  Chanderi.  The  fort  was 
attacked  on  all  sides  with  such  vigour  that  the  Rajputs, 
when  they  saw  no  hope  of  escape  practised  the  usual 
rite  of  Jauhar^  and  with  great  gallantry  drove  the 
enemy  along  the  rampartg.  A  brilliant  assault  followed, 
ancPEKe  Tort  "was  captured  by  Babar.  Soon  after  this 
died  the  valiant  Rana  Sanga  and  his  death  marked  the 
final  collapse  of  the  Rajput  confederacy.  The  rebellious 
Afghan  barogs  were  subdued,  and  Babar  enjoyed  an 
interval  of  quiet  till  the  end  of  the  year  1528. 

But  the  Afghan  danger  was  not  yet  over.  Mahmud 
Lodi,  brother  of  Ibrahim,  had  seized  Bihar  and  a  large 
part  of  the  eastern  country  had  declared  for 
l1  him.  Babar  sent  his  son  Askari  with  a  force 
-  against  the  rebellious  leader  and  himself 
followed  a  little  later.  On  hearing  of  his  approach  the 
enemy  melted  away,  and  as  Babar  passed  Allahabad, 
Chunar  and  Benares  on  his  way  to  Buxar  several  Afghan, 
chiefs  waited  upon  him  and  made  their  submission.  Mah- 
mud, deserted  by  his  chief  supporters,  found  refuge  in 
Bengal.  The  ruler  of  Bengal,  NusratShah,  had  given  Babar 
an  assurance  of  his  good-will,  but  his  troops  gave  shelter 
to  the  fugitive  Afghan  prince.  Babar  marched  towards 
Bengal,  and  defeated  the  Afghans  in  the  famous  battle  of 
the  Gogra  on  May  6,  1529.  This  victory  ruined  the  hopes  o£ 
trie  jjoais,  ana  Drought  to  Babar  the  submission  of  several 
leacting  AtghanHSarSfis.  TTaBaFmarched  back  to  Agra 
evidently  satisfied  with  ihe  result  of  his  brilliant  campaign. 

After  the  battle  of  Kanwah  Humayun  had  been  sent 

to  Kabul  wher«  trouble  was  apprehended,  but  his  failure 

iasty«ars       a£ainst   the    Uzbegs  greatly  disappointed 

Babar,  and  he  determined  to  set  out  in  person 


812  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

to  put  in  order  the  trans-Hindukush  part  of  his  empire. 
He  proceeded  as  far  as  Lahore,  but  declining  health  pre- 
vented him  from  going  further.  About  this  time  a  plot 
was  formed  to  place  on  the  throne,  to  the  exclusion  of 
Babar's  legitimate  heirs,  Mir  Muhammad  Khwaja,  a 
brother-in-law  of  Babar's  and  a  nobleman  of  high  rank, 
who  held  the  fief  of  Etawah.  When  Humayun  learnt  of 
this  plot,  he  left  Badakhshan  in  spite  of  the  requests  of 
the  Badakhshanis  to  the  contrary  and  arrived  at  Agra 
and  successfully  frustrated  the  attempts  of  the  conspira- 
tors. He  went  to  his  Jagir  at  Sambhal  where  after  some 
time  in  the  hot  weather  of  1530  he  fell  seriously  ill.  Babar 
was  much  upset  by  this  illness  and  ottered  to  sacrifice  his 
life  in  order  to  save  that  of  his  son.  His  nobles  implored 
him  to  desist  from  such  a  course  and  suggested  that  the 
precious  diamond  seized  at  Agra  might  be  given  away, 
but  he  held  it  a  poor  compensation  for  the  life  of  his  son. 
It  is  said  he  walked  three  times  round  the  bed  of  Humayun 
and  prayed  to  God  to  transfer  the  disease  to  him.  Im- 
mediately he  was  heard  to  say,  so  strong  was  the  force  of 
will,  "I  have  borne  it  away !  I  have  borne  it  away ! "  From 
that  moment,  Muhammadan  historians  tell  us,  Humayun 
recovered  his  health  and  Babar  declined  more  and  more. 

A  sudden  disorder  of  the  bowels  completely  pro- 
strated him  and  he  felt  certain  of  approaching  death 
Calling  his  chiefs  together  he  asked  them  to  acknowledge 
Humayun  as  his  successor  and  to  co-operate  with  him  in 
managing  his  kingdom.  Then  he  turned  towards  Huma- 
yup  and  addressed  to  him  the  following  words  :— 

"  I  commit  to  God's  keeping  you  and  your  brothers 
and  all  my  kinsfolk  and  your  people  and  my  people  ; 
d  all  of  these  I  confide  to  you."  * 


FOUNDATION  OP  THE  MUGHAL  EMPIRE  313 

Three  days  later  he  passed  away  on  December  26, 
1530.  His  death  was  at  first  kept  a  secret,  but  after  some 
time  Araish  Khan,  one  of  the  nobles  of  Hind,  pointed 
•out  the  unwisdom  of  such  an  act.  He  reminded  the 
nobles  of  the  practice  of  the  bazar  people  to  rob  and  steal 
in  such  circumstances  and  warned  them  of  the  conse- 
quences of  concealment.  He  suggested  that  a  man  should 
be  seated  on  an  elephant,  and  he  should  go  about  the 
town  proclaiming  that  the  emperor  had  become  a  darvesh, 
and  had  given  the  kingdom  to  his  son  Humayun.  Humayun 
agreed  to  this.  The  populace  was  reassured  by  the  pro- 
clamation, and  all  prayed  for  his  welfare.1  Thus  Humayun 
ascended  the  throne  on  December  29,  1530,  and  gave 
assurance  of  his  sympathy  and  good-will  by  allowing  every 
one  '  to  keep  the  office  and  service,  and  lands,  and  residence 
which  he  had  enjoyed  during  his  father's  regime.'2 

Babar's  body  was  first  laid  in  Rambagh  or  Arambagh 
at  Agra  on  the  bank  of  the  Jamna,  but  later  it  was 
removed  to  Kabul  according  to  his  instructions  and  was 
buried  in  a  place  chosen  by  himself.  3 

Babar  had  no  time  to  devise  new  laws  or  establish 
institutions  for  the  governance  of  the  wide  dominions 
which  he  had  won  by  the  power  of  his 
sword.  He  accepted  the  system  which  he 

found  in  vogue  in  Hindustan,  and  parcelled 
^^^^^ 


1  Gulbadan,  Humayunnaraa,  pp.  109-10. 
8  Ibid  ,p.  ItO. 

3  Kabul  was  the  place  he  loved  most  in  his  dominions.  He 
was  enthusiastic  in  its  praise  and  wrote  :  '  The  climate  is  extremely 
delightful,  and  there  is  no  such  place  in  the  known  world  '  On  another 
occasion  he  said  :  *  Drink  wine  in  the  Citadel  of  Kabul,  and  send  round 
the  cup  without  stopping,  for  it  is  at  once  mountain  and  stream,  town 
desert.' 


314  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

out  his  empire  into  fiefs  which  he  entrusted  to  Jagirdar& 
dependent  upon  himself.  It  is  true  they  did  not  enjoy  the 
same  degree  of  independence  as  they  had  enjoyed  under 
the  Lodis,  but  the  defects  of  the  system  were  obvious. 
What  strikes  us  in  Babar's  reign  is  the  financial  Deficit 
caused  by  his  lavish  generosity  and  the  unsettled  condition 
of  the  country!  H^ad  remitted  the  stamp  djt£  levied 
on  the  Muslims  on  the  eve  oFti^  He 

had  so  recklessly  distributed  the  treasure  founcTat  Delhi 
and  AgnTtihat  he  was  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  adiji- 
tional  taxation  in  order  to  obtain  the  necessary  equipment 
for  the  army?"  Ev^yTn'anTia^fi^an  office  in  the  various 
departments  of  the  state  was  required  to  bring  to  the 
Diwan  a  hundred  and  thirty  instead  of  a  hundred  to  help 
in  procuring  the  right  kind  of  arms  and  supplies  for  the 
^  army.  2  The  results  of  this  financial  breakdown  were  seen 
in  the  reign  of  his  successor  and  we  may  agree  with  Pro- 
fessor Rushbrook-Williams  when  he  says  that  he  *  beque- 
athed to  his  son  a  monarchy  which  could  be  held  together 
only  by  the  continuance  of  war  conditions,  which  in  times 
of  peace  was  weak,  structureless  and  invertebrate  '  ' 

Babar  briefly  dwells  upon  the  political  situation  at  the 
time  of  his  invasion  and  gives  a  highly  detailed  and 
minute  account  of  the  flora  and  faun%_  of 
a  r  of     Hindustan-    He  makes  mention  of   moun- 


tains,  rivers,  jungles  and  the  various  kinds 
of  vegetables,   fruits  and  food-stuffs.    He 
expresses  a  poor  opinion  of  the  people  of  Hindustan  which. 

1  King,  Memoirs  II,  p.  281. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  345. 

3  Empire  Builder  of  the  Sixteenth  Century,  p.  I6j. 


FOUNDATION  OP  THE  MUGHAL  EMPIRE  31& 

is  wjiolly  exaggerated.  His  stay  in  India  was  much  too 
short  to  enable  him  to  acquaint  himself  fully  and  accu- 
rately with  the  ideas  and  habits  of  the  natives  of  the 
country.  This  is  what  he  writes  :— 

"Hindustan  is  a  country  that  has  few  pleasures  to 
recommend  it  The  people  are  not  handsome.  They 
have  no  idea  of  the  charms  of  friendly  society,  of 
frankly  mixing  together  or  of  familiar  intercourse. 
They  have  no  genius,  no  comprehension  of  mind,  no 
politeness  of  manner,  no  kindness  or  fellow-feeling,  no 
ingenuity  or  mechanical  invention  in  planning  or 
executing  their  handicraft  works,  no  skill  or  knowledge 
in  design  or  architecture  ;  they  have  no  horses,  no  good 
flesh,  no  grapes  or  musk-melons,  no  good  fruits,  no  ice 
or  cold  water,  no  good  food  or  bread  in  their  bazars,  no 
baths  or  colleges,  no  candles,  no  torches,  not  a 
candlestick.  Instead  of  a  candle  or  torch,  you  have 
a  gang  of  dirty  fellows,  whom  they  call  divatis,  who 
hold  in  their  left  hand  a  kind  of  small  tripod,  to  the 
side  of  one  leg  of  which,  it  being  wooden,  they  stick  a 
piece  of  iron  like  the  top  of  candlestick  ;  they  fasten  a 
pliant  wick,  of  the  size  of  the  middle  finger,  by  an  iron 
pin,  to  another  of  the  legs.  In  their  right  hand  they 
hold  a  gourd,  in  which  they  have  made  a  hole  for  the 
purpose  of  pouring  out  oil,  in  a  small  stream,  and 
whenever  the  wick  requires  oil,  they  supply  it  from 
this  gourd.  Their  great  men  kept  a  hundred  or  two 
hundred  of  these  divatis."  l 

He  goes  on  to  add  that  they  have  no  aqueducts  or  canals 
in  their  gardens  or  palaces  and  in  their  buildings  there  is 
neither  elegance  nor  regularity.  Their  peasants  and  the 

1  King,  Memoirs  II,  pp.  241-42. 


lower  classes  all  go  about  naked  and  use  only  a  langoti  to 
•cover  their  nakedness.  The  chief  excellence  of  Hindustan 
consists  in  tfte  fact  that  there  is  an  abundance  of  gold  and 
silver  in  the  country.  The  climate  is  very  pleasant  during 
the  rains.  There  is  no  dearth  of  workmen  of  every  profes- 
sion and  trade  and  they  are  always  open  to  engagement. 
Occupations  are  mostly  hereditary  and  for  particular 
foinds  of  work  particular  sets  of  people  are  reserved. 

According  to  Babar  the  countries  from  Bhereh  to 
Bihar  which  were  included  in  his  empire  yielded  a  revenue 
•of  52  crores  of  which  parganas  yielding  about  eight  or  nine 
crores  are  in  the  possession  of  Rajas  and  Rais  who  had 
always  been  loyal  to  the  power  at  Delhi.  ! 

Babar's  autobiography  (Babarnamah)  originally  writ- 
ten in  Turki  is  a  book  of  surpassing  interest.  Itjaithf  ftlly 
describes  the  worlds  in  whlclTBabar  lived  and 

—  -.  -         -  -  •  .    -  „    „_  "—  ^—  .».  «. 


K     >  o 

a  D  a  r     B 


—  ~  —      -.  -„  ^  -  -•  -  ,  .  «.,  ^  ^ 

autobio  g  r  a-      the  persons  with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 
phy  *  As^wiT  n£c^  of  his 


intejligent  mind 

"grasping  military  situations  with  the  acuteness  of  a 
•consummate  general.  No  eastern  prince  has  written 

VV!'"\^"*'"PI«C  *"""-"«v  p****<****>J"''^*~*-~^   """•*~*w  -1''        ^*>-—  u-n  ____ 

such  a  vivid,  interesting  anqver'acipus  account  ;  of  his  li&ajis 
BSgar"  He  describes  his  own  shortcomings  with  a  candour 
whicB  greatly  impresses  us.  His  style  is  not  pompous 
•or  ornate  like  that  of  the  Persian  writers.  It  is  simple, 
clear  and  fpmbl<3  and  its  effect  is  considerably  enhanced 

Jby  the  utter  lack  of  cant  and  hypocrisy,, 

s'  •*-„       -  ""-  "*~  -  -       *" 

1  King,  Memoirs  I,  pp.  242—4.  These  figures  are  unreliable  though 
Babar  says  (II,  p.  425)  he  has  verified  them.  The  detailed  statement  of 
Babar's  revenue,  though  not  given  in  the  Persian  version  of  his 
Memoirs,  is  found  in  the  Turki  original  and  is  reproduced  in  the  French 
edition.  King  has  given  an  English  translation  of  it  in  his  edition  of  the 
Memoirs.  Vol.  II,  pp.  244-45. 


FOUNDATION  OP  THE  MUGHAL  EMPIRE  317 

Babar  had  a  great  regard  for  truth  for  he  writes :  '  I 
do  not  write  this  in  order  to  make  complaint ;  I  have  written 
the  plain  truth.  I  do  not  set  down  these  matters  in  order 
to  make  known  my  deserts ;  I  have  set  down  exactly  what 
happened.  In  this  history  I  have  held  firmly  to  it  that  the 
truth  should  be  reached  in  any  matter,  and  that  every 
act  should  be  recorded  precisely  as  it  occurred. '  Itjs  thia 
whichhasjnade  ihe Jfemoj^  a  tjiii^^ 
4C^S§^95l^PH^Jt_in  his  own  felicitous  languageTthe 
pom|^  dynasty  are,  gpne^  but  tEe 

record  oT^Jife-the  littera  scripta  th^t^ra^cfis^f 
tSn^remains  unaltered  and  imperishable          — -— —- 

Hie  Merftoirs  were  *  translated^  by  Humayun  from  an 
original  in  Babar's  own  handwriting  in  1553  and  were 
afterwards  translated  into  Persian  by  Abdur  Rahim  Khan- 
i-Khanan  in  the  time  of  Akbar  in  1590.  The  Persian 
translation  is  faithful  and  accurate,  and  the  variations  that 
occur  are  of  idiom  and  not  of  detail  Several  translations 
of  the  Memoirs  have  appeared  in  European  languages  in 
modern  times. 

Babar  is  one  of  the  ^  most  interestjjag^f^uyr^ 
whole  rangej>f  mediaeval  history!  "As  a  prince,  warrior! 
~~~"^  and  scholar  he  is  fit  to  take  rank  with  the 
of Babaraht7  greatest  rulers  of  mediaeval  times.  The 
trials  and  adventures  of  his  early  life  had 
strengthened  every  fibre  of  his  bodily;  frame  and  had 
developed  in  him  the  quaiities  of  patience^  endurance, 
courage  and  self-reliance^  XcTversTty"  is  a  true  school  of 
greatness,  and  Babar  had  fully  profited  by  the  good  and 
bad  chances  of  life He  loved  game  and  hunting  expedi- 
tions, and  often  in  the  coldest  winter  he  rode  long  dis- 
tances in  pursuit  of  wild  animals,  and  fully  enjoyed  hia 


£18  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

excursions  with  his  comrades.    So  great  was  his  physical 

strength  that  with  one  man  under  each  arm_  he  could  run 

along    the    rampart    without  ~~tlie   least    inconvenience 

and  risk.     He  wasTon3T6f  river  bath,  and  was  once  seen 

plunging  recklessly  into  an  ice-bound  stream  with  tem- 

perature below  zero.     He  was  gifted  by  nature  with  an 

extraordinary  amount  of  energy,  self-confidence,  and  the 

power  to  instil  hope  anTenthusiasm  into  the  hearts  of  his 

men,  when  they  failed  or  faltered  before  a  formidable  foe. 

He  loved  field  sports  and  was  a  skilful  swordsman  and 

archer.    The  elasticity  of  his  mind  enabled   him  to  pass 

from  the  wine  cup  to  the  blockade  of  a  fortress  with  the 

greatest  alacrity  and  cheerfulness     His  methods  of  war 

were  those  that  had  been  prevalent  in  Central  Asia  among 

the  Mongols  and  Turks,  but  he  had  brought  about  altera- 

tions in  them,  and  had  so  perfected  his  artillery  branch 

that  he  was  hard  to  beat  in  battle.    His  military  discipline 

was  severe,  *and  though  .at  times  he  burst  into  ferocity  he 

was  generally  humane  and  kind-hearted.  jHe  did   not 

allow  his  soldiers  to  devastate  the  conquered  ^countries 

and  severely  punished 


He  ^was  ±he  Jhappy  compound^)?  a^g^eat^  prince  and  a 
good^man.   His  temper  was  frank,  jovial,  and  buoyaniFand^ 
it  retained  its  buoyancy  to  the  end  of  his  life.    No  distress 
or  misfortune  could  disturb  its  equanimity  and  whether  on 
the  field  of  battle  or  on  the  edge  of  a  precipice  in  the  hilly 
country  hgjnoved  forward  with  a  merry  heart.  He  strictly 
sred  the  sanctity  of  the   plighted  wordf  and  even  in' 
ling  with  his  enemies  he  never  had  recourse  to  treachery 
loul  play*    He  hated  ingratitude  and  expected  all  men 
to  stand  by  their  friends  in  time  of  need  and  to  keep  their 
word. 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  MUGHAL  EMPIRE  319 

He  treated  his  enemies  with  a  magnanimity   rare> 

>*^^~^^^L**^~~-~-~^"'^^f**^~-  >.  ' — -  -        *  -      °-       .  '-^    **   -s^/,fc  ,    - 

among  his  ^contejg^oranes^  in  Central  ^.Asia.  He  was 
Mfid'^Tiis  brothers  and  wHen  urged  to  get  rid  of 
his  brother  Jahangir  by  one  of  his  advisers  he  replied  : 
'  Urge  it  as  he  would,  I  did  not  accept  his  suggestion, 
because  it  is  against  my  nature  to  do  an  injury  to  my 
brethren,  older  or  younger,  or  to  any  kinsmen  so  ever, 
even  when  something  untoward  has  happened.'  HJJJ 
loyalty  towards  W^Jkinsmen^and ,  |riends  was  conspj- 
cuousT  fie  treated  his  Chaghtai  kinsmen  with  great 
kincfness,  and  Mirza  Haidar  Daghlat  effusively  speaks  o£ 
thejgenerous  treatment  which  Jie^  received  at  his  hands. 
The  hardships  of  life  had  perhaps  convinced  him  of  the 
necessity  of  affection  and  of  nurturing  kindly  sentiments 
wTthiiT  Kim.  "Prom  his  own v  experience  heJbad  learnt 
tlrtf~yatue~of  kindness^aiid  fidelity,  and  recognised  the 
importance  of  mutual  good-will  in  social  welfare.  He 
writes  of  his  father,  mother,  grandmothers,  and  sisters 
in  terms  of  affection,  and  weeps  for  days  together  for  a 
playmate  of  his  earlier  days.  It  is  this  humaixJt£ait.j3a 

W»"  —tM^^"-**^  ..-r*~'    *^*%w--»-"-*^  ™        l""*">' 

rwe^mong^tlje^Mongols  and  Turfe^wmch,  jn^keg^abar's 
personality  a  subject  of^ absorbing  interest 
1  A  word  might  Be^saidliBout  BaBa?sattitude  towards 
the  three  common  things  in  which  the  Muslim  world  of 
gaiety  and  fashion  took  delight —wine,  women,  and  song,1 
Wine-drinking  was  a  universal  practice  in  Babar's  day 
and  the  Memoirs  speak  with  perfect  frankness  of  Babar's 
own  indulgence  in  liquor.  But  even  in  drink  he  observed 
decorum  and  asked  his  followers  '  to  carry  their  liquor 
like  gentlemen.  '  When  they  became  senseless  under  the 
influence  of  liquor  and  *  foul-mouthed  and  idiotic/  he 
•disliked  them  and  disapproved  of  their  conduct.  We  find 


3ZU  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

him  at  these  drinking  parties  a  strange,  happy  figure. 
jfle  drinks  copiously  but  never  neglects  his  business  and 
'is  seen  at  a  bound  in  his  saddle  when  his  services  are 
needed  in  a  raid  or  campaign.  Several  times  he  resolved 
to  abstain  from  liquor,  but  such  vows  were  more  honour- 
*ed  in  the  breach  than  in  the  observance.  He  would  keep 
the  vow  for  two  or  three  days  amTtlien  break  it  at  the 
sight  of  the  crystal  waters  of  a  limpid  stream  or  a  moun- 
tain spring.  It  was  at  Sikri  when  he  found  himself 
against  the  Rajput  odds  that  he  made  a  vigorous  effort 
of  will  to  give  up  wine  and  asked  his  friends  and  follow- 
ers to  do  likewise.  This  was  his  final  renunciation.  Even 
as  a  drunkard  Babar  is  i  fascinating  ri 


arid  illustrious  drinkers'    who  regarded    wine    as    the 


ly  acknowledged  his  debt  to  his  grandmother 
and  showed  much  filial  devotion  towards  his  parents, 
but  like  Napoleon  Bonaparte  he  held  in  contempt  those 
who  allowed  women  to  interfere  in  political  affairs  or  in- 
volved themselves  in  feminine  mtrigoes.  He  disliked 
termagant  wbmerT  anil  favoured  the  repression^  of 


feminine  loquacity. 

TheT  Mongols  and  Turks  of  the  fifteenth  century 
were  not  very  particular  about  their  morals.  Pederasty  was 
a  common  vice  among  the  Turks  and  Babar  speaks  oi  the 
practice  with  his  usual  frankness.  It  was  a  fashion  to 

1  About  such  women  be  endorsed  the  view  expressed  in  the.se- 
words  : 

"  A  bad  wife  in  a  good   man's  house 

Even  in  this  world,  makes   a  hell  on  earth." 

"May  the  Almighty  remove  such  a  visitation  from  every  good  Mus- 
lim ;  and  God  grant  that  such  a  thing  as  an  ill-tempered,  cross-grained 
e  be  not  left  in  the  world." 

Kin*.  Memoirs.  I.    D.  206. 


)UNDATION  OF  THE  MUGHAL  EMPIRE  321 

"keep  concubine/  and  prostitutes,  but  Babar *s  life  was  so' 
occupied  in  sieges  and  battles  that  he  had  no  timejto 
enjoy  himself  like  other  eastern  rulers.  The  exigencies 
-of  the  situation  at  any  rate  in  Hindustan  enforced  abs- 
tinence  from  sensual  pleasures,  and  Babar  always  exer- 
-cised  self-restraint  when  it  was  necessary  to  do  so.  He 
was  fond  of  music  both  vocal  and  instrumental,  and  him- 
self composed  songs,liome of  w^iciymyg^come  down  to  us. 

Babar  was  an  orthodox  SunnTiFhis  religious  viewg,  but 
his  culture  saved  him  from  beingj.  zealot  or  a  fanatic  like 
Mahmud  of  GhazKTorlTruthless  conqueror  like  his  great 
ancestor  Timur,  the  Lame.  He  looked  upon  Shias  as  'rank 
heretics'  and  the  '  followers  of  an  evil  belief  opposed  to 
the  pure  faith.'  He  writes  of  the  Hindus  with  contempt 
and  recognises  Jihad  as  a  sacred  duty.  In  describing 
Rana  Sanga's  military  resources  and  his  gallantry  in  the 
field  of  battle  he  uses  language  which  does  little  credit 
to  his  culture,  but  that  was  the  usual  practice  of  the  age. 
He  ordered  towers  of  '  pagan  skulls  '  to  be  built  both  at 
Sikri  and  Chanderi  and  showed  no  quarter  to  the  idolaters 
who  opposed  him.  But  there  was  no  systematic  persecu- 
tion of  the  Hindus  during  his  reign  and  he  never 
punished  men  merely  on  grounds  of  religion.  Himself  a 
great  believer  in  Allah  he  ascribed  all  His  success  to  Hia 
goodness  and  mercy  and  regarded  sovereignty  as  a  gift 
from  Hii£-  In  the  heat  of  battle  he  looked  to  God  for 
help  for  all  his  battles  were  fought  in  His  cause.  His 
belief  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer  was  immense  as  is  illus- 
trated by  the  manner  in  which  he  sacrificed  himself  to 
save  the  life  of  his  son. 

He  wflg  ji^pasgionate  lover  of  nature  wh&_found  jfre 
greatest  pleasure  m  the  streams^  "meaaows  andj>asture 


322  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

lands  of  his  native  country.  Springs,  lakes,  plants,. 
flowers  and  fruits—  all  had  their  charm  for  him,  so  much: 
so  indeed,  that  even  when  he  was  in  Hindustan  he- 
never  forgot  the  melons  of  Fargkana,  thejgape&_And 
pomegranates  Of  Kabul  and  the  lands  beyond  the  Oxus. 
Itwaslllly  luvti  61  Rftture  which  called  into  play~"his. 
poetic  powers.  He  possessed  a  fine  intellect  and  a  rich 
imagination  which  were  utilised  to  the  best  advantage 
in  depicting  the  scenes  amidst  which  he  moved  and 
in  portraying  the  persons  whom  he  knew. 
was  a  poet  of  nomeajx^jorder.  He  had 


^         and  his  Diwan  or  collection 


of  Turki  poems  is  regarded  as  a  work  of  considerable 
merit..  He  wrote  in  a  pure  and  unaffected  style  and 
composed  odes  and  songs  with  great  facility.  He  knew 
the  sacred  function  of  poetry,  and  writes  that  it  would  be 
a  pity  if  the  tongue  is  wasted  on  satirical  or  frivolous 
poems.  HejilwaYg  adhgredjp  the  viewJJiaLthe_foniniage 

vehicle  of  noble  thought    His 


mastery  over  prose  was  equally  remarkableT^He  could 
write  with  ease  both  in  Turin  and  Persian,  and  like  all 
cultured  men  of  the  east  practised  calligraphy.  He  was 
an  adept  in  describing  countries,  their  climate  and  peculiar 
geographical  features,  and  his  fastidiousness  in  valuing 
the  compositions  of  others  would  call  forth  the  blushes 
of  a  tutor  in  a  modern  university.  On  one  occasion  he 
reprimanded  Humayun  for  writing  his  letters  carelessly 
and  advised  him  to  cultivate  a  plain  and  unaffected 
style.  The  most  remarkable  of  his  prose  work  is  the 
Memoirs  of  his  own  lire,  whicli  will  remain  for  all  time 
a  first-rate  authority  on  the  history  of  Bazar's  reign  and 
a  'source  of  inspiration  to  those  wno  wisn  to  carve  out 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  MUGHAL  EMPIRE 


323 


a  career  for  themselves  notwithstanding    adverse    cir- 
cumstances. 

Babar    was    unquestionably    superior   to  the  other 

"TirisTrueT  he  was  sometimes 


le  of  human  life,  but  such  occasions 
were  few  and  far  between.  As  a  rule  he  never  slew 
men  wantonly.  Butjwhat  endears  him  to  us,  in  spite  of 
the  lapse  of  centunesHs  his  cfeei 


nobility  of  his 

i*-*y~*j  ^-*t:  ^*~  j.i   -  — : —    •H>.v^"^^r^v"7^^^r-^ 

Indeed,  there  are  few  princes  in  Asiatic  history  who  can 

be  ranked  higher  than  Babar  in  genius  and  accomplish- 
ments. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
HUMAYUN  AND  SHER  SHAH 

yHumayun  ascended  the  throne  at  Agra  on  the  29th 
December,  1530,  in  the  midst  of  great  public  rejoicings. 
He  had  been  charged  by  Babar  on  his  death- 
bed  to  treat  his  brothers  with  affection  and 
Humayun  acted  on  this  advice  to  his  great 
detriment.  Most  of  his  troubles  and  misfortunes  sprang 
from  his  brothers,  and  his  own  treatment  was  responsible 
for  their  sinister  designs.  The  first  thing  which  he  did 
after  the  fashion  of  the  Timurids  was  to  divide  his  father 's 
dominions  among  members  of  the  blood  royal.  Kamran 
was  confirmed  in  his  possession  of  Kabul  and  Qandhar  ; 
fe>amphal  was  given  to  Mirza  Askari,  and  Alwar  and 


Mewat  were  allotted  to  Mirza  Hindal,  while  Badakhshan 
was  entrusted  to  the  charge  of  his  cousin  Sulaiman  Mirza. 
The  leading  nobles  and  military  leaders  were  conciliated 
by  means  of  large  gifts  and  rewards. 

Soon  after  his  accession  Humayun  discovered  that  the 
throne  of  Delhi  was  not  a  bed  of  roses.  The  difficulties 
which  surrounded  the  new  king  were  of  no  mean  order. 
There  was  no  law  of  primogeniture  among  the  Muslims, 
and  every  prince  of  the  royal  house  aspired  to  dominion. 
Often  the  claims  of  rival  aspirants  were  settled  by  an 
appeal  to  the  sword.  The  large  gifts,  granted  to  princes, 
stimulated  their  political  ambitions  and  furnished  them 
with  the  sinews  of  war  which  they  freely  employed  against 
their  opponents.  The  loyalty  of  the  army  could  not  always 

324 


HUMAYUN  AND  8HER  SHAH  325 

be  relied  upon.  It  was  a  heterogeneous  mass  of  men  be- 
longing to  various  nationalities.  The  Chaghtai,  the  Uzbeg, 
the  Mughal,  the  Persian  and  Afghan  soldiers  fought  well, 
but  they  were  too  pro^e  to  quarrel  amongst  themselves, 
and  their  counsels  were  almost  always  characterised  by  a 
woeful  lack  of  unanimity.  They  plotted  and  intrigued  to 
push  forward  their  own  men  and  frequently  sacrificed  the 
interests  of  the  whole  for  the  interests  of  the  part.  There 
were  powerful  Khans  at  court  who  did  not  consider  the 
acquisition  of  a  kingdom  or  empire  beyond  the  scope  of 
their  ambitions.  The  intrigues  of  these  men  were  bound 
to  embarrass  any  ruler,  however  capable  or  vigilant. 

There  were  other  difficulties.  Babar  had  no  time  to 
consolidate  his  possessions,  and  the  majority  of  his  subjects 
who  were  Hindus  looked  upon  their  conquerors  as  success- 
ful barbarians.  In  the  East  the  Afghans  were  fomenting 
strife,  and  Mahmud  Lodi  was  wandering  in  Bihar  trying 
to  rally  to  his  side  the  Afghan  nobles  who  were  anxious 
to  regain  their  lost  power.  Sher  Khan  had  already 
entered  upon  a  military  career  of  great  promise  and  was 
making  efforts  to  organize  the  Afghans  into  a  nation.  In 
Gujarat  Bahadur  Shah  had  greatly  increased  his  po^er  and 
was  maturing  his  plans  for  the  conquest  of  Rajputana.  He 
possessed  enormous  wealth  which  afterwards  enabled  him 
to  finance  the  anti-Mughal  movement  started  in  Bihar 
and  Bengal  by  the  great  Afghan  who  finally  succeeded  in 
expelling  Humayun  from  Hindustan. 

At  the  time  of  Babar's  death  Kamran  was  in  Kabul. 

Having  entrusted  his  territories  to  the  care  of  Askari,  he 

marched  towards  Hindustan  at  the  head 

£  Kamrln!  °  *    of  a  considerable  force  and  gave  out  that  he 

was  coming  to  congratulate  his  brother  on 


326  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

the  assumption  of  royal  dignity.  Humayun  who  knew 
him  too  well  to  be  deceived  by  these  effusive  expressions 
of  loyalty  sent  an  envoy  in  advance  to  inform  him  that 
he  had  already  decided  to  add  Peshawar  and  Lamghan 
to  the  fief  of  Kabul.  But  Kamran  was  not  satisfied 
with  this  offer  and  marched  down  to  the  Indus.  He 
captured  Lahore  and  brought  the  whole  of  the  Punjab 
under  his  sway.  Humayun  who  was  not  prepared  for 
war  acquiesced  in  this  forcible  seizure,  and  allowed  him  to 
enjoy  the  kingdom  of  Kabul,  Qandhar  and  the  Punjab. 
It  was  a  mistake  on  Humayun' s  part  to  make  these 
concessions  because  they  erected  a  barrier  between  him 
and  the  lands  beyond  the  Afghan  hills  Kamran  could 
henceforward,  as  Professor  Rushbrook- Williams  observes, 
cut  the  taproot  of  Humayun's  military  power  by 
merely  stopping  where  he  was.  Besides,  the  cession 
of  Hisar  Firoza  was  a  blunder  for  it  gave  Kamran 
command  of  the  new  military  road  which  ran  from  Delhi 
to  Qandhar. 

One  of  the  most  formidable  enemies  of  Humayun  was 
Bahadur  Shah  of  Gujarat.  He  was  making  vigorous  efforts 
Bahadur  to  in<*ease  his  power.  Early  in  ^531  he 
Shah  ofGuja-  invaded  Malwa  along  with  the  Rana  of 
Mewar  on  the  ground  that  the  ruler  of  that 
country  had  given  shelter  to  his  brother,  Chand  Khan,  a 
rival  claimant  to  the  throne  of  Gujarat.  Malwa  was  con- 
quered and  the  Sultan  was  sent  as  a  prisoner  to  Cham1- 
panir.  The  kings  of  Khandesh,  Ahmadnagar  and  Berar 
were  humbled  by  him  and  made  to  acknowledge  his 
supremacy.  The  Portuguese  also  feared  his  growing 
power  and  paid  homage  to  him.  With  great  resources  at 
his  command,  Bahadur  turned  against  the  Rana  of  Chittor 


HUMAYUN  AND  SHER  SHAH  327 

ivho  was  compelled  to  agree  to  terms  which  were '  ruinous 
alike  to  his  pride  and  his  pocket. ' 

Emboldened  by  this  success  Bahadur  began  to  prepare 
himself  for  bigger  enterprise.  The  Afghan  chiefs  like 
Alam  Khan,  the  uncle  of  Ibrahim  Lodi,  who  had  sought 
refuge  with  him,  solicited  his  aid  in  driving  the  Chaghtais 
out  of  India.  Equally  dangerous  were  the  intrigues  of 
the  Mughal  nobles  who  had  fled  to  his  court  and  who 
confirmed  the  view  that  the  conquest  ,of  Hindustan  could 
be  easily  accomplished.  Humayun  wrote  to  Bahadur  to 
dismiss  the  fugitives  but  he  refused  to  do  so.  This  was 
the  immediate  cause  of  war. 

Humayun  marched  against  the  nobles  of  Gujarat  and 
defeated  them.  Bahadur  hurried  back  to  the  scene  of 
action  from  Chittor  on  hearing  this  news  but  he  was 
defeated  and  the  Mughals  captured  immense  booty.  He 
fled  to  Champanir  but  Humayun  followed  close  upon  his 
heels  with  a  powerful  force.  Bahadur  then  left  for  Diu 
without  offering  any  resistance ,  and  opened  negotiations 
with  the  Portuguese. 

Humayun  meanwhile  laid  siege  to  the  fort  of  Cham- 
panir and  captured  it  after  four  months'  blockade.  But 
the  Mughals  were  so  elated  with  success  that  they  wasted 
their  time  in  feasting  and  merriment.  Bahadur  profited 
by  this  supine^  inaction  of  his  enemies  and  at  once  sent 
his  officer  Imad-ul-mulk  who  occupied  Ahmadabad  and 
collected  a  large  army  to  fight  for  his  master.  The 
Portuguese  governor  also  promised  aid  in  return  for  the 
permission  which  he  had  given  to  fortify  his  settlement. 

This  roused  Humayun  from  his  lethargy.  He  marched 
.against  Imad-ul-mulk  and  defeated  him.  The  country 
was  made  over  to  his  brother  Mirza  Askari  who  proved 


328  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

an  incapable  and  tactless  governor.  He  quarrelled  with  his 
own  officers  and  did  nothing  to  effect  a  peaceful  settlement 
of  the  country.  Bahadur  took  advantage  of  these  dis- 
sensions in  the  enemy's  camp  and  advanced  towards 
Ahmadabad.  The  Mughal  general  surrendered  Champanir 
into  his  hands,  and  gradually  the  whole  country  came  into 
his  hands  but  he  did  not  live  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his 
victory.  He  was  invited  by  the  Portuguese  governor  to  a 
conference  but  in  a  scuffle  which  ensued  between, 
the  Portuguese  and  his  men  Bahadur  who  suspected 
treachery  fell  into  the  sea  and  was  drowned  in  1537. 
Humayun  who  was  at  Mandu  withdrew  to  Agra,  and  as 
soon  as  he  did  so  Malwa  was  also  lost. 

Thus  the  emperor's  own  lethargy  and  indecisioa 
ruined  his  prestige  in  the  north.  The  Afghans  slowly 
increased  their  strength,  and  with  the  help  of  their  leader 
Sher  Khan  began  to  prepare  themselves  fora  trial  of 
strength  with  the  Mughals. 

/*Y  The  original  name  of  Sher  Shah  was  Farid.  His 
father  Hasan  was  a  Jagirdar  of  Sasram  in  Bihar.  The 
"^  exact  date  of  his  birtlTis  not  known,  but  it 
ShaiT  *s  Pr°bable  that  he  was  born  some  time 
about  the  year  1486A.D.  In  his  early  boy- 
Farid  was  neglected  by  his  father  who  was  $  alava 
to  his  youngest  wife  and  showed  a  preference  to  his  sons 
I>y  the  latter.  But  this  petticoat  influence  proved  a  bless- 
ing in  disguise.  Disgusted  by  the  conduct  of  his  step- 
mother and  infatuated  father,  Farid  left  his  home  and 
went  to  Jaunpur  where  he  applied  himself  to  the  study  of 
letters.  Being  a  precocious  lad,  he  devoted  himself  to  the 
study  of  Arabic  and  Persian  with  great  zeal,  and  soon 
acquired  a  mastery  over  these  two  languages.  He- 


HUMAYUN  AND  SHERSHAH  829 

committed  to  memory  the  Gulistan,  Bostan  and  Sikandar- 
namahand  enriched  his  wonderfully  quick  mind  with 
vast  stores  of  polite  learning.  He  studied  literature 
and  history  and  took  a  keen  delight  in  reading  of  the 
noble  deeds  and  virtues  of  great  rulers  in  the  past. 
Impressed  by  Farid  's  talents  his  father's  patron  Jamal 
Khan,  the  governor  of  BiharT  asked  him  to  behave 

fU^^^fft^^  ••••  ......       JL[        111         i  __     -  _-  -  -«—*• 

better  towards  his  son  who  held  out  ample  promise  of 
future  greatness. 

Hasan  was  reconciled,  and  he  entrusted  his  jagir  to 
his  ambitious  son.  Farid  managed  the  jagir  well,  but  the 
jealousy  of  his  step-mother  again  drove  him  into  voluntary 
He  took  service  under  Bahar  Khan,  son  of  Darya 


Khan  Lohani,  governor  of  Bihar,  who  was  much  impressed 
by  his  talents.  On  one  occasion  when  Bahar  went  out  on 
a  hunting  expedition  Farid  slew  a  tiger  and  in  recognition 
of  this  brave  deed  his  master  gave  him  the  title  of  Sher 
Khan.  But  differences  having  arisen  soon  afterwards  be- 
tween him  and  Farid,  the  latter  resigned  his  service  and 
went  to  Agra  where  he  was  introduced  to  Babar  by  one  of 
his  leading  nobles.  When  Babar  undertook  the  subjugation 
of  the  Afghans  in  the  east,  Sher  Khan  rendered  him  great 
assistance  and  received  in  return  his  father's  jagir. 

Babar  had  restored  Jalal  Khan,  son  of  Bahar  Khan,  to 
his  father's  possessions  after  the  death  of  the  latter,  but 
he  was  a  minor  and  his  affairs  were  managed  by  Sher 
Khan.  When  Jalal  came  of  age  he  wished  to  free  himself 
from  the  galling  tutelage  of  the  powerful  Afghan  chief 
who  held  him  in  leading  strings.  He  sought  the  help  of 
the  ruler  of  Bengal  in  accomplishing  his  object  but  all  hia 
efforts  failed.  Sher  Khan  defeated  the  forces  of  the  two 
allies  and  Bihar  easily  came  into  his  hands. 


330  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 


Sher  Khan  was  not.tlie^man  to  rest^gnjhi^^  He 
now  turned  his  attention  towarcls  Bengal.  He  dashed 
through  the  country  and  easily  overpowered  the  resistance 
offered  by  the  Bengal  troops  so  that  by  the  end  of  February 
1536,  he  appeared  before  the  walls  of  Gaur.  Mahmud, 
the  king  of  Bengal,  offered  no  resistance  and  bribed  Sher 
Khan  to  retire.  Next  year  Sher  Khan  again  marched 
towards  Gaur,  but  the  Bengalis  showed  little  courage,  and 
the  Afghans  entered  the  city  in  triumph.  When  Huma- 
yun  heard  of  Sher  Khan's  success  in  Bengal,  he  advanced 
towards  Gaur,  but  the  wily  Afghan  retreated  towards 
Bihar  and  eluded  his  pursuers.  The  Mughals  captured 
Gaur  and  re-named  it  Jannatabad.  Sher  Khan  tried  tx> 
compensate  himself  for  this  loss  by  seizing  imperial  terri- 
tories in  Bihar  and  Jaunpur  and  plundered  the  country 
as  far  as  Kanauj. 

As  soon  as  Humayun  heard  of  Sher  Khan's  activities 
in  Bihar  and  Jaunpur,  he  left  Gaur  and  marching  hastily 
along  the  bank  of  the  Ganges  crossed  near  Munghir.  He 
was  confronted  with  a  difficult  situation.  Attempts  were 
made  to  make  peace  with  Sher  Khan  but  in  vain.  The 
Afghans  rallied  round  their  leader  in  large  numbers  and 
defeated  the  Mughals  at  Chausa.  The  emperor  fought 
with  great  gallantry  but  his  example  produced  no  effect 
on  his  followers.  At  last  he  plunged  into  the  river  on 
horseback  and  was  about  to  be  drowned  when  he  was 
saved  by  a  water-carrier,  Nizam.  r  whom  he  afterwards 
allowed  to  sit  on  the  throne  for  two  days,  and  asked  the 
nobles  to  make  obeisance  to  him. 

The  battle  of  Chausa  was  a  clear  advantage  to  Sher 
Khan^  He  now  took  the  title  of  SKer  Shah  and  srdegal 
the  coinsjtojse  jstruckjandjfche  Khqtba  to  bq  read  in  hia 


HUMAYUN  AND  SHER  SHAH  331 

•own  name.  All  thought  of  acknowledging  the  emperor's 
-suzerainty  now  vanished  from  his  mind  and  in  order  to 
legalise  his  assumption  of  the  royal  title  he  went  through 
all  the  formalities  of  kingship. 

Humayun  was  now  convinced  of  Sher  Shah's  formid- 
able power.    He  saw  clearly  that  success  against  him  was 

impossible  without  unity  of  plan  and  purpose. 

Battle       of     He  tried  his  best  to  win  his  brothers  to  his 

i540.aUJ'      ay     side  but  they  were  so  faithless  that  they  not 

only  refused  him  co-operation  but  positively 


hampered  him  in  his  preparations.  Encouraged  by  the 
dissensions  ol  the  brothers,  Sher  i^liah  advanced  to  the 
bank  of  the  Ganges  and  crossed  it  with  his  forces.  Huma- 
yun also  led  his  army  to  the  Ganges  near  Kanauj  and 
encamped  opposite  to  Sher  Shah.  The  two  armies,  the 
strength  of  which  is  estimated  by  Mirza  Haider,  the  author 
of  the  Tarikh-i-Rashidi,  at  200,000  men  remained  in  this 
position  for  one  month.  But  desertions  in  the  imperial 
army  added  to  the  anxiety  of  Humayun,  and  he  decided  to 
risk  a  battle  rather  than  allow  the  army  to  be  destroyed 
without  fighting.  The  Mughals  employed  their  usual 
tactics  but  they  were  severely  beaten  by  the  Afghans. 
Mirza  Haider  who  took  part  in  the  campaign  writes  : 
"  .  .  .  .  Sher  Khan  gained  a  victory,  while  the  Chaghtais 
were  defeated  in  the  battlefield,  where  not  a  man  either 
friend  or  foe  was  wounded.  Not  a  gun  was  fired  and  the 
chariots  (Gardun)  were  useless." 

Now  this  statement  of  Mirza  Haider  may  be  exag- 
gerated, but  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  battle  was  not  half 
so  bloody  as  the  battles  of  Panipat  and  Kanwah.  The 
imperialists  were  driven  into  the  river,  and  the  Afghans 
inflicted  heavy  losses  upon  them  from  behind.  The 


832  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Mughals  failed  disastrously  to  retrieve  their  position  and 

Humayun  was  reduced  to  the  position  of  a  helpless  fugitive. 

During  his  pursuit  of  the  emperor  in  the  'Punjab  Sher 

Shah  turned  his  attention  to  the  Gakkar  country,  a  moun- 

tainous region  between  the  upper  courses  of 

°*ertS2n<'     the  rivers  Indus  and  Jhelum.    The  occupa- 

queets  of  Sher 

Shah.  tion  of  this  tract  of  land  was  highly  impor- 

tant for  strategic  reasons.  An  invader  from 
the  north-west  could  easily  pass  through  this  country  and 
establish  himself  in  the  Punjab.  Sher  Shah's  fears  were 
well-founded,  for  Kamran  and  Mirza  Haider,  two  of  his 
important  enemies,—  who  held  Kabul  and  Kashmir  respec- 
tively, might  combine  at  any  time  and  jeopardise  his  safety. 
Sher  Shah  ravaged  the  country,  but  he  was  suddenly 
called  away  by  the  rebellion  of  the  governor  of  Bengal. 
He  left  his  able  generals  behind  with  50,000  men  to 
subdue  the  country  of  the  Gakkars. 

Malwa,  Raisin,  and  Sindh  were  conquered  next  and 
then  Sher  Shah  turned  against  Maldeva  of  Jodhpur  .  It  was- 
impossible  for  him  to  tolerate  the  existence  of  a  powerful 
chieftain  whose  kingdom  was  situated  not  far  from  the 
capital.  He  marched  towards  Marwar  at  the  head  of  a  large 
army  and  pushed  on  to  Mairta  42  miles  west  of  Ajmer. 
'  The  Rajputs  had  gathered  in  large  nurnhpr^  and  ^re  an 
well  organized  tJnttJSker  •  Shah  began  to  feel  doubts. 
about  his  success  in  the  campaign.    Hefaad  recourgfcto 


useless. 

~~  '  He  caused  letters  to  be  forged  in  the  name  of  Maldeva's. 
nobles  to  the  effect  :  '  Let  not  the  King  permit  any  anxiety 
or  doubt  to  find  its  way  to  his  heart.  During  the  battle  we 
will  seize  Maldeva  and  bring  him  to  you.  '  '  Having 

1  Elliot,  IV,  p.  406. 


HUMAYUN  AND  SHER  SHAH  383 

•enclosed  these  letters  in  a  kharita  (a  silken  bag)  he  gave  it 
to  a  certain  person  and  directed  him  to  drop  it  near  the  tent 
of  the  vakil  of  Maldeva.  When  the  contents  of  these 
letters  became  known  to  him  he  suspected  treachery  on  the 
part  of  his  nobles.  He  forthwith  decided  to  retreat  in  spite 
of  their  assurances  that  their  loyalty  was  as  firm  as  a  rock. 
But  Maldeva  who  was  seized  with  panic  did  not  listen  to 
their  protestations.  The  pride  of  the  Rajputs  was  touched 
to  the  quick  and  some  of  his  chiefs  felt  this  stain  on  their 
honour  to  be  unbearable.  With  desperate  courage  they 
fell  upon  the  enemy  and  according  to  Abbas  *  displayed 
exceeding  valour. '  A  deadly  encounter  followed  (March 
J544)  and  though  the  noble  band  perished,  the  Afghans 
were  slain  in  large  numbers.  The  valour  of  the  Rajputs 
deeply  impressed  Sher  Shah  who  was  heard  to  say,  '  I 
had  nearly  lost  the  empire  of  Hindustan  for  a  handful  o? 
Bajra  (millet!.' 

After  this  victory  Sher  Shah  captured  Mount  Abp 
and  from  there  proceeded  against  Marwar.  Maldeva  fled 
from  Jodhpur  and  retired  to  the  fort  of  Siwana  whither 
he  was  not  followed  by  the  Afghans.  The  fort  of  Chittor 
was  captured  soon  afterwards  and  was  entrusted  to  an 
Afghan  nobleman.  In  this  way  Sher  Shah  succeeded  in 
establishing  his  hold  on  Rajputana. 

The  last  expedition  in  which  Sher  Shah  took  part 
was  against  the  Raja  of  Kalanjar.  The  Rajputs  rolled 
down  stones  upon  the  besiegers  from  the  parapet  of 
the  fortress  and  made  their  task  exceedingly  difficult. 
The  siege  was  pushed  on  but  when  victory  was  in  sight, 
Sher  Shah  was  suddenly  burnt  by  an  explosion  of  gun- 
powder, ^tie  fort  was  captured  and  the  Afghans  entered 
it  in  triumph.  Sher  Shah's  condition  grew  worse  and 


884  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

he  died  on  May  22,   1545,  with  the  laurels  of  yjctorv  on, 
his  brojy. 

The  government  of  Sher  Shah,  though  autocratic  was- 
vigorous  and  enlightened.  He  was  not  content  merely  with 
the  establishment  of  peace  and  order,  but 
Sh^r  tur8hah°sf  reconstructed  the  machinery  of  administra- 
despotism.  tion.  In  spite  of  the  limitations  which  ham- 
pered a  sixteenth  century  king  in  India  he 
brought  to  bear  upon  his  task  the  intelligence,  the  ability, 
the  devotion  of  the  enlightened  despots  of  the  eighteenth 
century  in  Europe.  He  did  not  listen  to  the  advice  of  the 
Ulama  and  adopted  a  policy  of  religious  toleration  towards- 
the  Hindus.  He  looked  into  the  pettiest  details  of  adminis- 
tration and  steadily  fixed  his  eye  on  the  public  weal.  He 
kept  a  vigilant  watch  on  his  walls,  iqtadars  andrcai&s  and 
freely  punished  them  when  they  transgressed  his  rules. 
The  Afghans  fully  appreciated  his  creative  genius  and 
looked  upon  him  as  a  saviour  of  their  race.  It  was  this 
sense  of  thoughtful  gratitude  fortified  and  developed  by 
his  comprehensive  and  liberal  administrative  reforms 
which  led  them  to  render  u$to  him  their  sincere  homage 
and  goodwill. 

The  whole  empire, was  jJJHded  into  47  divisions  each  of 
which  comprised  a  large  number  of  par g anas.    Abbas 
writes  that  there  were  113,000  parganas,  but  he 
has  Probably  made  a  confusion  between  the 
parganas  and  villages.  This  figure  represents- 
the  number  of  villages  in  the  empire  and  not  ofparganaa, 
which  could  not  have  been  so  many   at  the  time.    Each 
pargana  had  a  shiqdar,  an  aminf  a  treasurer,  a  munsif,  a 
Hindi  writer  and  a  Persian  writer  to  write  accounts.    Be- 
sides these  officers  of  the  state  there  were  the  Patwari, 


HUMAYUN  AND  SHER  SHAH  335- 

Chowdhri  and  the  Muoaddamwho  acted  as  intermediaries- 
between  the  people  and  the  state.    The  shiqdar  was  a 
soldier,  the  amin  a  civilian  whose  main  function  was  the 
assessment  and  collection  of  land  revenue.    The  shiqdar's 
duty  was  to  enforce  the  royal  farmans  and  to  give  military 
assistance  to  the  Amin  when  he  needed  it.    The  Amin 
was  the  principal  civil  officer  and  was  responsible  to  the 
central  government  for  his  actions.    The  parganas  were^ 
grouped  into  sarkars.  each  of  which  had  a  shiqdUr  j- 
shiqdaran    (Shiqdar-in-chief)  and   a  Munsif-i-munsifdn 
(Munsif-m-chief)  who  looked  after  the  w6^K  61  Ihe  pargana 
officers  throughout  their  division.  Their  duty  was  to  watch 
,the  conduct  of  both  the  amilg'  and  'the  people,  to  settle 
disputes  regarding  the  boundaries  of  the  parganas  and  to 
punish  any  acts  of  lawlessness  on  the  part  of  the  people. 
The  amil$  were  frequently  transferred  after  one  or  two 
years  from  one  place  to  another  and  loyal  and  experienced 
officers  were  treated  with  special  favour. 

Before  the  time  of  Sher  Shah,  the  land  was  not  measured 
and  the  present,  past  and  probable  future  state  of  a  pargana 
was  ascertained  from  the  Qanungo.    Sher 
venue!*     Re"     Shah  ordered  an  accurate  survey  of  all  land  , 
\  in  the  empire.  The  land  was  measured  at  bar- 

vest  time  and  the  state  demand  was  fixed  at  one-third  of 
the  expected  produce. ]  It  was  j>ay able  in  cash  or  kind.  The 
revenue  was  realised  by  the  muqaddams  who  were  given 
a  share  oi  the  produce,  but  "tHe"  ryots'  were  sometimes 

1  It  is  stated  in  the  Ain  that  cash  rates  were  fixed  for  a  few 
special  crops,  mainly  vegetables,  but  for  all  the  principal  staples,  the 
*  good, '  *  middling, '  and  4  bad  '  yields  per  bigha  were  added  up,  one- 
third  of  the  total  was  reckoned  as  the  average  produce  (mahsul),  and 
one-third  of  this  was  fixed  as  the  state  demand.  In  certain  parts  of 
the  empire  such  as  Mulfcan  the  state  demand  was  fixed  at  one-fourth 
also.  Moreland,  The  Agrarian  System  of  Moslem  Indiar  p.  76% 


336  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

allowed  to  pay  to  the  treasury  direct.  Sher  Shah  was  very 
careful  of  the  interests  of  the  cultivators.    The  revenue 
officers  were  asked  to  be  lenient  at  the  time  of  assessment 
but  they  were  to  show  no  mercy  at  the  time  of  collection. 
When  there  was  drought  or  any  other  unforeseen  calamity 
advances  were  made  to  the  cultivators  to  relieve  distress. 
Sher  Shah  was  much  impressed  by  Alauddin's  military 
isystem  and  adopted  its  main   principles.    He  wished  to 
"""  make  the  army  efficient  and  truly  imperial 

inspirit.  The  mansabdari  system  did  not 
exist,  for  the  Afghans  were  too  proud  to  accept  such 
gradations  of  service.  The  army  was  distributed  over 
different  parts  of  the  country  and  was  stationed  in  canton- 
ments of  which  Delhi  and  Rohtas  were  the  most  important. 
One  such  division  was  called  fauj  and  was  under  the 
command  of  a  faujdar  whose  duties  were  entirely  military. 
As  the  clan-Feeling^  was  very  powerful  among  the 
Afghans,  the  more  important  tribal  chiefs  were  allowed  to 
keep  large  forces  in  their  service.  The  king  had  also  a 
large  army  under  his  direct  command  ;  it  amounted  to 
150,000  cavalry  and  25,000  infantry,  well  trained  and  ac- 
<x>utred  with  muskets  and  bows.  The  cavalry  was  highly 
efficient ;  horses  were  trained  and  their  descriptive  rolls 
were  prepared.  The  soldiers  were  directly  recruited  by 
the  king  himself  and  salaries  were  fixed  after  personal 
inspection,.  Sher  Shah  treated  his  soldiers  with  kindness 
and  supplied  those  who  were  poor  with  arms  and  horses. 
But  his  discipline  was  very  severe.  They  were,  during 
their  marches,  particularly  enjoined  not  to  do  any  injury 
to  the  crops  of  the  cultivators.  If  the  crops  of  any  culti- 
vator were  destroyed,  he  was  recompensed  by  the  state 
for  his  loss  and  the  wrong-doers  were  severely  punished. 


HUMAYUN  AND  SHERSHAH  387 

When  the  king  accompanied  the  army,  he  used  to  look 
to  the  right  and  left  and  if  he  saw  any  man  injuring  the 
crops  he  cut  off  his  ears  with  his  own  hand,  and  hanging 
the  corn  round  his  neck  ordered  him  to  be  paraded  in  the 
camp,  feven  when  the  crops  were  damaged  owing  to  the 
narrowness  of  the  road,  he  sent  his  officers  to  estimate 
the  value  of  the  crop  and  give  compensation  in  money. 

Sher  Shah  dealt  out  even-handed  justice  to   the  high 
and  low,  and  no  man  could  escape  punishment  by  reason 
of  hisHbirth  or    rank.    There  were  courts 
and     called  the  Darul-adalat  in  which  the  Qazi 


and  the  Mir  Adi  tried  civil  cases  and  adminis- 
tered justice.  The  Hindus  probably  settled  their  disputes 
relating  to  inheritance,  succession  and  the  like  in  their 
Pancfiayats^  but  in  criminal  cases  they  were  amenable  tQ 
the  law  of  jh£7k*gjj^"'"  The  criminal  law  was  severe; 
punishments  were  harsh  and  cruejLand  their  object  was 
not  to  refornftHelcuIpiFit  but  *  t(T~set  an  example.'  Even 
tKett  aridTlroBEery  were  treated  as  capital  offences. 

The  police  organisation  of  Sher  Shah  though  primitive 
in  many  respects  was  highly  efficient.  He  tried  to  enforce 
the  principle  of  local  responsibility  in  the  matter  of  pre- 
venting crimes.  If  a  theft  or  robbery  occurred  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  an  amil  or  shiqdar,  and  the  culprits  were 
not  traced,  the  muqaddams  were  arrested  and  compelled 
to  make  good  the  loss.  When  a  murder  occurred  and  the 
murderer  was  not  traced,  the  muqaddams  were  seized  as 
before  and  asked  to  produce  him.  If  they  failed  to 
produce  him  or  to  give  his  whereabouts,  they  were  them- 
selves put  to  death.  Inanv  case  the  responsibility  of 


and  the  regulations  of  the  state  operated  harshly  upon 

B1.  22 


388  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

them.  But  the  system  resulted  in  the  complete  security 
<>f  life  and  property.  ~  The  travellers  andwayfarers  slept 
"witnout  the  least  anxiety  even  In  a  desert,  and  the 
Zamindars  themselves  kept  watch  over  them  for_fear  of 
the  king]  Besides  the  regular  police  there  were  the 
censors  of  public  morals,  whose  duty  was 


to  prevent*  sudcrimes  "as  drinking  and  adultery  and  to 
^enforce  tffe  Observance  of  religious  laws.  Spies  are  in- 
evitable in  a  despotic  state,  and  Sher  Shah 


diligent  spies  whojcept  him  informed  of  all  that  happened 
in  his  dominions. 

The  means  of  communication  were  very  inadequate 
in  the  middle  ages.    Sher  Shah  was  jhe  first  ^slini  ruler 
The   Means     w^°  unSertooITth?  construction  of.  rgads.-on 
of   Communi-     a/Jarg^^  The 

cation.  longest    road    was   that   which   ran    from 

Sonargaon  to  the_jndug^^bout  1500  krohs  in  length. 
There  were  others,  the  chief  of  which  were  one  from  Agra 
to  Burhanpur;  another  from  Agra  via  Biyana  to  the 
frontier  of  Marwar  and  to  the  fort  of  Chittor^and  a  fourth 
from  Lahore  to^litultan,  a  city  of  considerable  military 
importance  on  the  western  frontier.  Trees  were  planted 
on  both  sides  of  the  roads,  and  saraig  were  built  at  inter- 
vals of  every  two  krohs,  and  separate  accommodation  was 
provided  for  Hindus  and  Muslims.  Brahmans  were  em- 
ployed for  the  convenience  of  thellindus  to  supply  them 
with  water  and  to  cook  their  food.  For  the  upkeep  of  the 
sarais  villages  were  granted  by  the  state.  Every  sarai 
had  a  well,  a  mosque  and  a  staff  of  officers  who  were 
generally  an  imam,  amuazzin  and  a  number  of  watermen, 
wfwM*^^ 
;thtTSarat8._As  MrTQanungo  observes  these  saraiB  became 


HUMAYUN  AND  SHER  SHAH  389 

4  the_veritable  arteries  of  the  empire,  diffusing  a  new 
life  among  its  hitherto  benumbed  limbs."*    Market  towns 


grew"up  around  these  sarais  and  a  brisk  trade  developed. 
They  served  also  the  purpose  of  dak  chowkis^  and  through 
them  news  came  to  the  emperor  from  the  remotest  parts 
of  his  dominions. 

Sher  Shah  made  liberal  grants  for  charitable  purposes 

but  he  exercised  a  personal  supervision  over  their  manage- 

Charitabie       ment-     He  often  said  that  it  was  incumbent 

endowments       upon  kings  to  give  grants  to  imams  and  holy 

and  grants.         men  jor  upQn  t^em  depended  the  happiness 

:  and  prosperity  of  a  state.  He  patronised  art  and  letters 
and  held  that  it  was  the  duty  of  kingsTto  ktfOf d  rulfaf  RT 
the  poor  and  the  destitute.  The  whole  system  of  grants 
was  carefully  examined  and  the  imams  and  holy  men  who 
had  by  bribing  the  amils  acquired  possession  of  more  land 
than  really  belonged  to  them,  were  deprived  of  such  illegi- 
timate acquisitions.  To  check  the  fradulent  practices  of 
the  grantees  he  ordered  the  mwnshis  to  prepare  the 
farman^^fimmed  and  sealed  them  himself  and  then  sent 
them  to  his  shiqdarsfpr  distribution.  All  grants  made  by 
rulers  other  than  the  Afghans  were  cancelled,  though  the 
grantees  were  not  wholly  deprived  of  their  lands.  The 
principle  which  he  generally  observed  was  that  no  deserv- 
ing person  should  go  unrewarded  and  no  one  should  have 
a  superfluity  of  state  benefactions.  JMadrasas  and 
mosques  were  maintained  and  ^stipends  were  granted  to 
teachers  "and  students.  The  state  established  a  number 
of  free  kitchens  the  annual  expenditure  of  which  in  those 
days,  when  the  value  of  money  was  much  higher  than  it 
is  now,  amounted  to  180,000  asharfU.^Eut  in  dealing 
His  own  tribesmen  Sher  Shah  adopted  a  policy  of 


840  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 


To  the  men  of  the  Sur  tribe  and  his  own 
kinsmen  his  bounty  flowed  generously  irrespective  of 
desert,  and  every  pious  Afghan  who  came  to  Hindustan 
was  granted  an  annuity  from  the  royal  treasury.  This 
must  have  caused  discontent  among  his  subjects  of  which 
contemporary  historians  have  given  no  account. 

Sher  Shah  has  rightly  been  called  one  of  the  greatest 
rulers  o  j  mediaeval  India.  He  cherished  a  lofty  ideal  of 

kingship  and  used  to  say  that  'it  behoves  the 
^ShCer  srhah.r  °f   jgreat  to  be  always  active.'    He  lived  for  the 

state  and  worked  hard  for  the  welfare  of  his 
subjects.  He  looked  into  every  detail^  of  government  and 
supervised  the  activities  of  the  various  departments  with 
incessant  care.  He  rose  every  day  ^arly  in  the  morning 
before  sunrise,  took  his  bath  and  said  his  prayer.  For 
tour  hours  he  transacted  the  business  of  the  state  and 
then  watched  the  branding  of  horses  and  the  preparation 
of  descriptive  rolls.  After  breakfast  he  rested  for  a  while 
and  then  again  turned  to  business.  The  evenings  were 
set  apart  for  reading  the  Quran  and  for  attending  the 
public  praysy.f  No  branch  of  the  administration  was 
neglected  and  the  ministers  were  asked  to  report  to  him 
everything,  He  hated  corruption  and  injustice  and  severely 
punished  those  who  made  unlawful  gains.  The  interests 
of  the  peasantry  were  well  protected  and  any  damage  to 
crops  was  visited  with  a  drastic  punishment.  To  the 
poor  and  the  destitute  he  was  particularly  generous,  and 
at  all  hours  the  royal  kitchens  distributed  food  to  those 
who  were  in  need  of  it. 

As  a  soldier  he  was  superb.  In  strategy  andjactics 
he  outgeneralled  the  MughalaT  His  soldiers  reposed  confi- 
dence in  him  and  served  him  with  devotion  and  l&yalty. 


HUMAYUN  AND  SHER  SHAH  341 

His  methods  of  war  were  mild  and  humane,  and  the 
soldiers  were  never  allowed  to  commit  acts  of  rapine  and 
plunder.  At  times  he  was  cunning  and  perfidious,  but 
•probably  because  like  other  men  of  his  age  he  believed 
that  nothing  was  wrong  in  war. 

Although  a  strict  Sunni,  he  was  well  disposed  towards 
other  sects  and  religions.  The  jeziya  was  not  abolished, 
but  the  Hindus  were  treated  with  Justice  and  toleration. 
To  encourage  education  among  his  Hindu  subjects,  he 
granted  them  wagfs  and  allowed  them  a  free  hand  in 
tfieir  management.  For  this  liberal  and  beneficent  policy 
he  was  liked  by  his  subjects  of  all  castes  and  creeds. 

Sher  Shah  deserves  a  high  place  in  history.  By  his 
political^  reforms  and  the  policy  of  religious  tolera- 
tion, ieinconcousl  of  Akbar's 


^ 

greatness^  His  organisation  of  theTaniT^evienue  system 
was  a  precious  legacy  to  the  Mughals.  They  followed  his 
plan  and  perfected  it.  Todarmal  and  others  adopted  his 
methods  of  administration,  and  modified  them  according  to 
the  needs  of  the  situation.  |  Indeed,  Sher  Shah's  achieve- 
ments place  him  in  the  forefront  of  mediaeval  history, 
and  his  policy  of  religious  toleration  will  ever  remain  a 
shining  example  of  his  far-sighted  statesmanship.  J 

Having  crossed  the  Ganges,  Humayun  proceeded  to- 
wards Agra,  and  taking  his  family  and  treasure  went 

to  Delhi,  but  when  he  found  it  impossible 
fligb£mayun'9  to  recapture  the  city,  he  left  for  Sarhind. 

His  brothers  gave  him  no  help,  and  Kamran 
proved  a  source  of  great  trouble  and  anxiety.  Humayun 
marched  towards  Sindh  and  laid  siege  to  Bhakkar,  but  here 
too  his  ill-luck  followed  him.  It  was  during  this  period  that 
he  married  HamidS,  daughter  of  Shaikh  Ali  Akbar  Jami, 


342  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

who  afterwards  became  the  mother  of  Akbar.  Disappoint* 
ed  at  the  conduct  of  his  brother,  he  sought  the  help  of 
Maldeva  of  Jodhpur  who  had  written  to  him  promising 
to  lend  him  a  contingent  of  20,000  Rajputs.  But  Maldeva 
did  not  keep  his  word.  When  Humayun  reached  the 
Raja's  territory,  he  offered  him  no  welcome,  and  the  spies 
who  were  sent  to  fathom  his  mind  brought  the  news  that 
he  meant  treachery.  Humayun's  old  librarian  who  had 
taken  service  with  Maldeva  sent  a  message  to  him  in  these 
words  :  '  March  at  once  from  wherever  you  are,  for 
Maldeva  intends  to  make  you  prisoner.  Put  no  trust  in 
his  words.'  This  change  in  Maldeva's  attitude  was  due 
to  his  fear  of  Sher  Shah  and  the  utter  hopelessness  of 
Humayun's  cause.  Amarkot  was  the  next  place  of  refuge 
where  the  royal  party  was  treated  well  by  Rana  Prasad 
who  promised  to  assist  the  emperor  in  conquering  Bhak- 
kar  and  Thatta.  It  was  here  in  a  desert  castle  that  the 
greatest  of  the  Mughal  emperors  was  born  on  November 
23,  1542  A.  D. 

Soon  after  this  happy  event  Humayun  left  Amarkot, 
and  marched  towards  Bhakkar  with  ten  thousand  men. 
But  Rana  Prasad 's  men  deserted  him  one  night  owing 
to  a  quarrel  between  the  Rana  and  the  Muslim  officers  in 
the  imperial  train.  The  chief  of  Bhakkar  was  tired  of 
war,  and  a  treaty  was  made  by  which  he  agreed  to  furnish 
him  with  30  boats,  10,000  miahkals,  2,000  loads  of  grain 
and  300  camels  to  enable  him  to  proceed  to  Qandhar. 
Kamran  had  become  master  of  the  entire  Afghan  region, 
and  was  acting,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  an  inde- 
pendent ruler.  His  brother  Askari  and  Hindal  had  become 
his  vassals  and  greatly  feared  him.  Humayun  found  no 
shelter  with  these  faithless  men,  and,  leaving  his  one-year 


HUMAYUN  AND  SEER  SHAH  343 

old  child  Akbar  at  Qandhar,  he  decided  to  leave   for 
Persia  where  he  hoped  to  obtain  succour  from  the  Shah. 
Humayun  was  hospitably  received  bv  Shah  Tah^pagn 
who  was  a  young  man  of  27  years  of  age.    He  issued 
instructions  to  all  the  local  governors  and 
in    officers  in  his  kingdom  to  accord  a  warm 
welcome  to  Humayun.    But  the  effect  of 
his  hospitality  was  marred  by  his  desire  to  convert  the 
emperor  to  the  Shia  faith.  With  becoming  dignity,  Huma- 
yun affirmed  his  belief  in  the  Sunni  doctrine,  but  the 
Shah  continued  to  embarrass  him  with  his  importunities. 
Evasive  replies  proved  of  no  avail,  and  since  escape  was 
impossible,    the  emperor's  well-wishers  advised  him  to 
enter  into  an  agreement  with  the   Shah,   embodying  a 
declaration  of  his  acceptance  of  the  Shia  creed.    A  formal 
treaty  was   concluded  through  the   intercession  of  the 
Shah's  sister  between  the  two  sovereigns  by  which  the 
Shah,   agreed  to  help  Humayun  with  a  contingent  in 
conquering  Bokhara,  Kabul,  and  Qandhar  on  condition 
that  the  last  place  should  be  ceded  to  him  in  the  event  of . 
success^  Humayun  was  to  declare  himself  a  Shia  and 
tbiiave  the  Shah's  name  proclaimed  in  the  khutba.  a 
condition  to  which  he  agreed  with  considerable  reluctance. 
Encouraged  by  the  Shah's  promise  of  help  and  its  partial 
fulfilment  in  the  supply  of  a  force  of  14,000  men,   Huma- 
yun proceeded  to  invade  the  dominion  of  Kamran. 

Humayun  reached  Qandhar  in  March  1545,  and  laid 
siege  to  the  town.  The  capture  of  Qandhar  considerably 
improved  his  position,  and  having  gathered 
a11  his  forces  he  advanced  upon  Kabul.  Kam- 
ran  was  defeated  and  the  city  fell  into  his 
hands.  Prince  Akbar  whom  Kamran  had 


844  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

once  exposed  on  the  ramparts  of  the  fort  of  Kabul  was 
now  restored  to  his  father  after  a  long  separation.  Though 
Kamran  was  defeated,  he  still  entertained  hopes  of 
recovering  his  lost  kingdom .  He  was  defeated  again, 
and  in  a  night  encounter  Mirza  Hindal  was  killed.  The 
vanquished  prince  fled  to  the  court  of  Salim  Shah  Sur, 
but  the  latter  treated  him  so  roughly  that  he  was  obliged 
to  seek  refuge  in  the  Gakkar  country  in  disgust.  The 
Gakkar  chief  made  him  over  to_Humayun  who,  in 
obedience  to  nla  father's  command,  refusljcTtb  put  an 
end  to  ms  lire.  A  consultatioiTWg^tiield^with  the*  ISmrs, 
ancTTt  was  finally  decided  that  jiis  life  should  be  spargd 
but  he  should  be  rendered  incapable  of  further  mischjef 
'by  being  deprived .of  _ji  is  jg^gsight.  Kamran  expressed 
ajwish  tcTgo  to  Mecca^  which  was  granted.  His  wife 
accompanied  him  and  served  him  with  fidelity  and 
devotion  until  his  death  in  1557.  Mirza  Askari  who  had 
frequently  changed  sides  was  also  captured  and  allowed 
to  proceed  to  Mecca!  Having*'  got  rid  of  all  his  rivals  in 
the  north-west,  Humayun  began  to  make  preparations  for 
the  reconquest  of  Hindustan. 

Sher  Shah's  death  was  an  irreparable  blow  to  the 

Afghans.    He  had  nominated  no  successor  and  his  young 

son  Jalal  Khan  who  happened  to  reach  the 

Best<«Siio  ™'8  camP  in  time  was  Proclaimed  king  under  the 
title  of  Salim  Shah.  It  was  beyond  the  new 
monarch's  power  to  control  the  turbulence  of  the  Afghans, 
and  therefore  he  was  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  drastic 
measures  to  strengthen  his  position.  Several  Amirs  were 
imprisoned  and  put  to  death.  The  first  victim  of  his 
wrath  was  Shuiaat  Khan,  governor  of  Malwa.  whose  chief 
offence  was  that  he  had  hoarded  enormous  wealth  and 


HUMAYUN  AND  SHERSHAH  345 

Affectively  reduced  the  country  to  ordqr.  Shujaat's  infor- 
mants c6mmunicated  to  him  the  intentions  of  the  court, 
and  he  managed  to  escape  the  wrath  of  Salim  by  sub- 
missive and  respectful  representations.  But  Azim  Huma- 
yun,  the  governor  of  the  Punjab,  acted  with  little 
prudence  and  caution.  When  he  was  summoned  by  the 
king,  he  sent  a  substitute  for  himself  which  Salim  regard- 
ed as  an  act  of  gross  insubordination.  Fearing  drastic 
action  on  the  part  of  the  king,  Azim  broke  out  into  open 
rebellion,  but  he  was  defeated  by  the  royalists  in  the 
battle  of  Ambala.  He  fled  for  his  life,  and  the  Punjab 
was  occupied  by  the  Sultan.  Again  he  gathered  strength 
and  fought  an  action  with  the  royal  forces  but  he  was 
defeated.  He  fled  to  Kashmir  where  he  was  shot  dead 
by  certain  tribesmen. 

Salim  continued  his  policy  of  repression.  He  devised 
new  laws  and  maintained  an  efficient  army  to  curb  the 
power  of  the  nobles  He  deprived  them  of  their  war- 
like elephants,  kept  the  revenues  of  the  state  in  his  own 
hands  and  abolished  the  practice  of  supplying  money  in 
exchange  for  a  certain  fixed -quota  of  mounted  men.  He 
established  a  system  of  espionage  which  enabled  him  to 
know  all  that  happened  in  his  kingdom.  Justice  was  ad- 
ministered according  to  a  new  code  of  regulations  which 
were  interpreted  by  a  Munsif  and  not  by  a  Qazi  or  Mufti. 
To  enforce  these  laws  he  stationed  troops  in  the  various 
parts  of  his  dominions  and  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost 
to  see  that  the  machinery  of  government  worked  with 
efficiency  and  vigour. 

Salim  died  in  November  1554.  He  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  Firuz  Khan  but  the  latter  was  soon  murdered  by 
his  maternal  uncle  Mubariz  Khan  who  ascended  the 


346  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

throne  under  the  title  of  Muhammad  Shah  5dil.  Muham- 
mad Shah  5dil  was  a  worthless  debauchee,  but  he  had  a. 
capable  minister  in  Hemu,  a  Hindu,  who  manaped_his 
affairs  with  great  ability  and  vigour^ But  even  he  found 
it  difficult  to  keep  in  check  the  forces  of  disorder  which 
were  slowly  undermining  the  empire.  Rebellions  broke 
out  on  all  sides,  and  Muhammad's  cousin  Ibrahim  Khan 
Sur  seized  Delhi  and  Agra,  but  he  was  soon  defeated 
by  another  brother  Sikandar  Sur  who  acquired  pos- 
session of  the  whole  country  between  the  Indus  and  the 
Ganges. 

Humayun  was  all  along  watching  the  chaotic  con- 
dition of  the  Afghan  empire.  In  November  1554,  he 
marched  towards  Hindustan  and  the  vanguard  of  the 
imperial  army  entered  Lahore  in  February,  1555.  Sikan- 
dar advanced  to  give  battle  at  the  head  of  a  large  army 
but  he  was  defeated  near  Sarhind.  He  fled  from  the  field 
of  battle  and  Humayun  was  restored  without  further 
opposition. 

The  emperor  did  not  live  long  to  enjoy  the  honours  of 
royalty  which  he  had  won  by  the  sheer  force  of  his  arms. 
One  day  as  he  was  descending  from  the 
°  f  terrace-roof  of  his  library,  he  knelt  down  on 
the  stairs  on  hearing  the  call  for  prayer,  but 
his  staff  slipped  on  the  polished  marble,  and  he  fell  head- 
long on  the  ground.  All  medical  aid  proved  unavailing, 
and  he  died  on  January  24,  1556.  His  death  was  con- 
cealed for  some  time,  and  it  was  after  17  days  that  the- 
Khutba  was  read  in  the  name  of  Jalal-ud-din  Muhammad 
Akbar. 

Humayun  was  by  nature  a  kind,  gentle  and  affection- 
ate monarch.  He  was  well  disposed  towards  his  kinsmen, 


HUMAYUN  AND  SHBRSHAH  347 

and  treated  them  with  generosity  and  leniency  even 
when  they  conspired  to  bring  about  his  ruin. 
°f  When  the  nobles  made  an  impassioned  appeal 
to  him  to  slay  his  arch-enemy  Kamran 
he  replied  :  *  Though  my  head  inclines  to  vonr  wnrdjyHny 
heart  does  nflt, '  and  refused  to  stain  his  hands  with  the 
murder  of  a  brother.  He  was  not  lacking  in  physical 
courage,  and  had  given  a  good  account  of  himself  during 
his  father's  campaigns.  But  his  general  indolence  and 
quixotic  generosity  frequently  spoiled  the  fruits  of  victory 
and  deprived  him  lit  times  of  his  most  valued  acquisitions. 
He  had  not  inherited  from  his  father  that  invincible 
courage  and  strength  ot"  will  which  had  led"  him  to  attempt 
thrice  the  conquest  oi  Samarqand  HOP  was  he  ao  skilled 
in  adjusting  his  means  tojiis  endst?=rHe~never  ~made"~ftTe 
f uHest  use  of  his  victories  and  often  began  a  new  plan 
before  executing  the  one  he  had  already  in  hand.  Besides, 
he  wasaddicted  to  opium_which  did  not  a  little  to  impair 
his  mental  and  bodily  strength.  But  Humayun  was  not 
wholly  devoid  of  noble'  qualities.  He  possessed  ability  and 
intelligence  of  no  mean  order.  He  loved  literature  and 
extended  his  patronage  to  men  of  Fetters.  Like  his 
father  he  was  fond  of  poetry  and  took  delight  in  com- 
posing  verses.  He  was  interested  in  mathematics  and 
astronomy,  and  his  plan  of  constructing  an  observatory" 
at  Delhi  was  interrupted  by  his  sudden  deatfc  But  what 
endears  Humayun  to  us  is  his  buoyancy  o'f  temper,  his 
cheerfulness  of  spirit  under  desperate  situations.  Through 
all  his  vicissitudes  he  preserved  his  native  goodness  and 
remained  a  bon  comrade  ±Q  his  officers  and  men.  His  bro- 
thers played  the  traitor  again  and  again,  but  he  never  dis- 
regarded his  father's  dying  injunction,  and  treated  them 


348  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

with  a  kindness  which  has  few  parallels  in  Mughal 
history.  For  fifteen  years  he  was  persecuted  by  the 
malice  of  destiny,  but  he  never  lost  the  equanimity  of 
his  temper  and  endured  his  misfortune  with  great  patience 
and  fortitude.  Throughout  his  life  Humayun  behaved 
as  an  indulgent  master,  a  warm-hearted  friend  and  an 
amiable  gentleman,  always  willing  and  prompt  to  show 
gratitude  to  those  who  rendered  him  service. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION 

At  the  time  of  Humayun's  death  Akbar  was  absent 
in  the  Punjab  whither  he  had  gone  with  Bairam  Khan  to- 
put  an  end  to  the  misgovernment  of  Abdul- 
Alba*881011  °f  mali»  the  local  ^vernor.  As  he  was  re- 
turning from  there  he  received  at  Kalanur, 
an  express  informing  him  of  the  sad  event.  There  was 
much  commotion  in  the  camp  but  the  chiefs  and  nobles 
after  the  customary  rites  of  mourning  proceeded  to  the 
coronation  ceremony  which  took  place  in  a  modest  garden 
on  February  14,  1556.  As  the  Prince  was  a  mere  boy  of 
thirteen,  his  father's  old  and  faithful  friend  Bairam  Khan 
undertook  to  act  &s  regent  for  him,  and  formally  assumed 
charge  of  the  affairs  of  the  empire 

India  was  neither  homogeneous  nor  well-governed  in 
1556.    The  provinces  of  Hindustan  were  in  a  state  of  dis- 
order and  the  country  round  Delhi  and  Agra 

dft^n  oflndil  was  in  the  throes  of  a  terrible  famine.  The 
late  emperor  had  all  his  life  wandered 
from  place  to  place  and  had  found  no  time  to  organise 
and  consolidate  his  empire.  After  his  death  the  whole 
country  was  reduced  to  a  congeries  of  states.  Towards 
the  north-west,  Kabul  with  its  dependencies  was  under 
Mirza  Muhammad  Hakim,  Akbar's  brother,  who  acted  aa 
an  independent  ruler,  and  the  empire  of  Hindustan  did 
not  lie  beyond  the  scope  of  his  "ambition.  Kashmir  had 
also  become  an  independent  state  under  a  local 

349 


•350  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Muhammadan  dynasty,  and  the  Himalayan  states  in  the 
neighbourhood  enjoyed  a  similar  position.  Sindh  and 
Multan  had  separated  from  the  empire  of  Delhi  after 
the  death  of  Sher  Shah  and  formed  themselves  into 
independent  kingdoms.  Bengal  was  ruled  by  kings  of 
the  Sur  dynasty ;  Muhammad  Adil  ever  since  his 
•expulsion  from  Delhi  by  his  powerful  relative  Ibrahim 
Khan  had  retired  to  the  east,  but  his  indomitable  minister 
Hemu  was  already  in  the  field  at  the  head  of  a  large  army 
to  prevent  Akbar  from  taking  quiet  possession  of  his 
father's  dominions.  Another  Sur  claimant  was  Sikandar 
who  since  his  defeat  by  Bairam  Khan  in  the  battle  of 
-Sarhind  in  1555  was  wandering  in  the  Punjab,  cherishing 
the  hope  that  by  a  stroke  of  fortuitous  good  luck  he  might 
be  able  to  recover  the  throne  of  Sher  Shah.  To  the  west 
of  Delhi  the  Rajput  princes  exercised  independent  sway  in 
their  mountain  fastnesses.  The  most  important  states  at 
this  time  were  Mewar,  Jesalmir,  Bundi  and  Jodhpur,  ren- 
dered illustrious  in  the  annals  of  Rajasthan  by  the  heroic 
•exploits  of  their  warriors.  Indeed,  Humayun's  reign  had 
given  the  Rajput  princes  an  opportunity  of  increasing  the 
area  of  their  influence,  and  since  they  had .  no  reason  to 
fear  the  Mughal  government  at  Delhi,  they  had  developed 
their  military  resources  to  such  an  extent  that  they  felt 
afterwards  strong  enough  to  try  conclusions  even  with 
the  empire.  In  the  central  region  Humayun's  efforts 
had  failed  owing  to  his  own  woeful  lack  of  decision  and 
promptitude.  Malwa  and  Gujarat  had  become  inde- 
pendent states  with  considerable  territories  included  in 
their  jurisdiction.  Their  rulers  acted  as  independent 
kings,  made  wars  and  treaties  on  their  own  account,  and 
established  diplomatic  relations  with  foreign  powers. 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  351 

Gondwana  was  subject  to  a  kind  of  tribal  rulership  but 
its  affairs  were  efficiently  managed  by  Rani  Durgavati  for 
her  minor  son.  Across  the  Vindhyas,  Khandeah,  Berar, 
Bidar.  Ahmadnagar,  Bijapur  and  Golkunda  were  ruled  by 
their  own  Sultans  who  had  absolutely  no  concern  with 
the  rulers  of  Delhi.  Ever  since  the  break-up  of  the 
Bahmani  kingdom  towards  the  close  of  the  15th  century 
these  states  had  been  pre-oecupied  with  their  own  affairs 
and  had  taken  no  interest  in  the  politics  of  Hindustan. 
Further  south,  the  whole  country  from  the  Krisna  and 
Tungbhadra  rivers  to  Cape  Comorin  was  under  the  sway 
of  the  kings  of  Vijayanagar  whose  hostilities  towards  the 
Muhammadan  sultanates  are  a  matter  of  common  know- 
ledge in  Indian  history.  The  Portuguese  had  established 
themselves  on  the  western  sea-coast  and  possessed  a  few 
ports  like  Goa  and  Diu.  They  were  powerful  in  the 
Arabian  sea  and  the  Persian  gulf,  and  could  give  trouble 
to  Muslims  starting  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca. 

But  for  the  present  Akbar's  task  was  exceedingly 
difficult  and  to  all  appearance  beyond  the  powers  of  a  boy 
of  thirteen.  He  was  fortunate  in  having  in  his  atallq  a 
consummate  general  and  administrator,  who  •  not  only 
secured  his  throne  from  formidable  rivals,  but  also  held 
the  elements  of  disorder  in  check  at  a  critical  juncture  in 
the  empire's  history  until  the  reins  of  office  were  snatched 
from  him  by  his  impatient  and  ambitious  ward. 

Akbar  had  first  to  deal  with  the  Sur  Afghans.  Muham- 

mad Adil  had  not  yet  given  up  the  hope  of  regaining  the 

empire  over  which  Sher  Shah  had  once  ruled. 


A  aand     He  had  sti11  in  his  service  Hemu,  a  consum- 

t  h  e         8  u  r  -.*,*«  . 


„ 

Afghans.  125,*?  generaL??^  ,stat?l?man>  w^°  ^splayed 

orgahlsmg  capacity  "  and  valour  of  a  high 


352  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

order.  Originally  a  petty  shopkeeper  of  Rewari  in  Mewat, 
Hemu  was  a  man  of  humble  origin.  By  sheer  dint  of  merit 
he  had  risen  from  obscurity  to  high  position  and  had 
become    under    Adali  the  chief  minister.  Gradually  his 
influence    grew  at  the  Afghan  court;  he  granted  and 
resumed    jagirs    at  will  and  assumed  the  title  of  Raja 
Vikramaditya.    Even  Abul  Fazl  admits  that  he  managed 
the  affairs  of  state  with  rare  ability  and  success.    He  was 
one  of  the  greatest  men  of  his  day  and  among  Akbar's  op- 
ponents throughout  Hindustan  there  was  none  who  could 
excel  him  in  valour,  enterprise,   and  courage.    He  had 
earned  for  himself  unique  military  distinction  by  winning 
22  pitched  battles,   and  had    defeated  his  master's  rival 
Ibrahim  Sur.    Humayun's    sudden  death    aided  by  the 
circumstance  that  his  son  was  a  mere  lad  of  13,   revived 
Hemu's  hopes  of  securing  the  empire  of  Hindustan.     He 
was  sent  by  Adali,  who  was  in  the  east  at  this  time  with  a 
force     consisting    of  50,000    horse    and    500    elephants 
towards  Agra,  which  he  occupied  without  encountering 
any  serious  resistance  from  the  Mughal  generals.   Then  he 
marched  upon  Delhi  following  close  upon  the  heels  of  the 
retreating  army,  and  then  he  was  opposed  by  the  veteran 
Tardi  Beg  who  happened  to  be  in  charge  of  the  capital  at 
the  time.    Tardi  Beg  suffered  severe  defeat  at  the  hands 
of  Hemu  who  easily  acquired  possession  of  the  capital. 
Tardi    Beg    fled    to    the   imperial  camp  where  he  was 
put  to  death  by  the  orders  of  Bairam    Khan,  and  his 
action  was  approved  by  the  youthful  emperor.    As  Abui 
Pazl  very  pertinently  observes,  a  disapproval  of  Bai ram's 
action  would  have  caused  disorder  in  the  country  and 
mutiny  in  the  army.    Whatever  may  be  said  about  the 
effect  produced  by  the  murder  of  a  general,  who  had 


BRA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  358 

been  driven  from  the  field  of  battle  by  a  powerful  enemy, 
the  deed'  is  a  stain  on  the  memory  of  Bairam  Khan. 
Akbar  is  not  to  blame,  for  he  was  still  in  statu  pupillari, 
and  it  would  have  been  an  act  of  unexampled  folly  to 
override  the  wishes  of  the  regent  whose  co-operation  was 
needed  to  save  the  kingdom  from  ruin  at  such  a  crisis. 
There  is  great  force  in  Dr.     Vincent  Smith's  contention 
that  those  who  condemn  the  execution  as  a  mere  murder 
do  not  sufficiently  appreciate  the  usage  of  the  times,   nor 
do    they   fully  understand  the  difficulties   and  dangers 
which  confronted  the  regent  and  his  youthful  ward. '  But 
the  manner  in  which  Bairam  brought  about  the  murder 
admits    of  no  palliation  even  on  the  ground  that    the 
interests  of  the  state  demanded  the  crime. 

Master  of  Delhi  and  Agra,  Hemu  set  his  forces  in 
order,  and  made  a  bold  bid  for  the  empire  of  Hindu- 
stan. There  was  at  this  time  a  serious  famine  in  Agra, 
Biyana,  and  Delhi,  and  Badaoni  writes  that  one  sir  ofjwar 
sold  for  2i  tank  as,  and  men  of  wealth  and  position  closed 
their  houses  and  died  by  tens  or  twenties  or  even  more  in 
one  place, '  getting  neither  grave  nor  shroud/ ~  The  Hindus 
also  suffered  miserably,  and  he  saw  with  his  own  eyes 
man  eating  his  fellow-man  in  sheer  desperation.  But 
Hemu  whose  heart  was  aflame  with  ambition  cared  nothing 
for  the  misery  and  Buffering  around  him  and  pushed  on 
his  preparations.  At  the  head  of  a  large  army  which 
included  1,500  war  elephants,  he  proceeded  to  the  field  of 
Panipat.  His  superior  numbers  filled  the  Mughals  with 
dismay,  and  in  the  first  charge  he  routed  the  right  and 

1  Akbar,  the  Great  Mughal,  p.  86. 
*  Al-BadftonT,  1,  pp.  549—61. 
F.  23 


354  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

left  wings  of  the  imperial  army.  But  before  he  could 
press  on  the  centre  with  his  elephants,  he  was  struck  in 
the  eye  with  an  arrow  which  made  him  sink  in  the  howdah 
in  a  state  of  unconsciousness.  Hemu's  disappearance 
caused  a  panic  in  the  army,  and  it  fled  in  pell-mell  confu- 
sion. The  gallant  leader  whose  *  virile  spirit '  is  praised 
even  by  such  a  hostile  writer  as  Abul  Fazl  was  captured 
and  brought  before  Akbar. '  Bairam  asked  the  young 
emperor  to  smite  the  head  of  the  infidel  and  earn  the  title 
of  Ghazi,  but  the  generous  lad  refused  to  do  so,  and 
observed  that  it  was  unchivalrous  to  slay  a  defenceless 
enemy.  Thereupon  Bairam  Khan  himself  thrust  his  sword 
into  Hemu's  body  and  killed  him.  His  head  was  sent  to 
Kabul,  and  his  body  was  gibbeted  at  Delhi  by  way  of 
giving  a  warning  to  other  like-minded  persons.  * 

Akbar  entered  Delhi  in  triumph  and  received  a  warm 
welcome  from  the  inhabitants  of  all  classes.  Agra  was 
soon  occupied,  and  officers  of  the  imperial  army  were 
deputed  to  seize  the  goods  and  treasures  of  Hemu  in 
Mewat. 

Hemu's  death  dashed  to  the  ground  the  hopes  of  the 
Sur  dynasty.  Bairam  and  his  royal  ward  after  a  month's 
stay  in  the  capital  marched  towards  Lahore  in  pursuit  of 
Sikandar  Sur  who  was  still  at  large.  He  shut  himself  up 
in  the  fort  of  Mankot9  which  he  surrendered  after  a  long 
siege  in  May  1557.  He  was  treated  with  generosity,  and 
Bairam  Khan  respected  his  rank  by  assigning  to  him  certain 
districts  in  the  east  where  he  died  twelve  years  later. 

1  Akbaraama,  II  p.  69- 

*    Akbar,  the  Great  Mughal,  p.  86. 

2  It  it  a  fort  in  the  lower  hills  now  included  in  Jammu  territory  in 
Kashmir  State. 


BRA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  355 

The  defeat  of  Sikandar  was  followed  by  the  conquest 
of  Gwalior  and  Jaunpur,  and  the  regent  took  vigorous  mea- 
sures to  consolidate  the  empire.  But  he  soon  came  into 
conflict  with  his  growing  ward  who  had  already  begun  to 
-chafe  against  his  tutelage.  The  fall  of  Bairam  Khan  is  one 
of  the  most  interesting  episodes  in  the  early  history  of 
Akbar's  reign. 

feairam  Khan  was  left  master  of  the  situation  after 

Hu may un's  death,  and  was  allowed  to  assume  the  office 

of  the  vakil-i-saltnat  (chief  minister)  without 

rfm1  K°hai?ai"  any  °PPosi^on  I  He  was  an  able  and  experi- 
enced man  of  affairs,  who  rose  to  the  highest 
position  in  the  state  by  sheer  dint  of  merit.  /  He  had 
retained  his  loyalty  through  trying  times,  and  served  his 
late  master  Humayun  with  a  fidelity  and  devotion  which 
elicited  the  admiration  of  such  a  man  as  Sher  Shah.  Even 
Badaonl  who  is  an  orthodox  Sunni  praises  the  Shia 
minister's  upright  character,  love  of  learning  and  devout- 
ness,  and  expresses  regret  at  his  fall. I  But  excess  of  power 
leads  to  abuse,  and  Bairam  adopted  a  harsh  and  barbarous 
policy  towards  his  supposed  and  suspected  enemies.  He 
became  oversensitive  in  matters  regarding  himself,  and  in 
trivial  accidental  mishaps  saw  the  signs  of  a  sinister  con- 
spiracy to  compass  his  ruin.  Such  a  frame  of  mind  is  not 
likely  to  inspire  confidence  or  smooth  the  difficulties  which 
beset  on  every  side  a  great  public  servant,  whose  career  is 
.bound  to  be  a  series  of  studied  compromises  and  cautious 
measures.  Abul  Fazl  relates  the  causes  which  brought 
about  estrangement  between  Bairam  Khan  on  the  one  hand 
and  the  emperor  and  the  court  party  on  the  other.  Bairam 
had  appointed  Shaikh  Gadai  who  was  a  Shia  to  the  office 
of  Sadr-i-Sadttr,  and  this  was  construed  by  the  Sunnis  as  a 


856  BISTORT  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

concession  to  the  creed  professed  by  the  regent.    In  addi- 
tion to  this  high  office  he  allowed  the  Shaikh  to  endorse 
decrees  with  his  seal,    and    exempted    him  from    the 
ceremony  of  homage,  and  granted  him  precedence  over 
the  Saiyyads  and  the  Ulama.    He  had  conferred  the  titles 
of  Sultan  and  Khan  upon  his  menial  servants,  and  showed 
an  utter  lack  of  propriety  in  disregarding  the  claims  of 
the  servants  of  the  royal  household.    He  granted  the 
Panjhazari  (5000)  mansab  to  no  less  than  25  of  his  own 
favourites  and  ignored  the  just  claims  of  others.    He 
punished  the  emperor 's  servants  severely,  when  they  were 
found  guilty  of  the  most  trivial  misconduct  or  dereliction 
of  duty,  while  his  own  servants  were  allowed  to  escape 
scot  free  even  when  they  committed  grave  offences.    In 
a  fit  of  rage  he  had  ordered  the  emperor's  own  elephant- 
driver  to  be  put  to  death  without  any  fault.     The  execu- 
tion of  Tardi  Beg  had  also  caused  alarm  among  the  nobles, 
who  considered  their  position  at  court  highly  precarious 
as  long  as  Bairam  was  in  power.    A  more  serious  reason 
for  the    growing   estrangement    between    Akbar    and 
Bairam  was  the  suspicion  that  the  latter  was  harbour- 
ing the  intention  of  placing  on  the  throne   Abul  Qasim, 
son  of  Kamran.    Lastly,  Akbar  had  grown  tired  of  his 
tutelage  and  wished  to  be  a  king  in  fact  as  well  as 
in  name.    Like  others  he  disliked  Bairam's  arrogance  and 
unbridled  exercise  of  authority,  and  desired  to  put  an  end 
to  it,  as  is  shown  by  the  farman  which  he  issued  when 
the  Khan-i-Khanan's  rebellious  intentions  became  mani- 
fest afterwards. 

A  conspiracy  was  formed  in  which  the  principal  part- 
nerd  were  Hamida  B5nQ  Begum,  the  dowager  queen, 
MBham  Ankah,  the  fostermother  of  Akbar,  her  son  Adam 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  357 

* 

Khan  and  her  relative  Shibabuddin,  governor  of  Delhi. 
The  plan  was  discussed  with  the  emperor  at  Biyana 
whither  he  had  gone  on  the  pretext  of  hunting. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  the  emperor  was  too  deeply 
immersed  in  hunting  expeditions  to  give  thought  to  such 
matters.  These  arguments  are  scarcely  tenable  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  he  had  begun  to  take  a  keen  interest  in 
political  affairs,  and  was  fully  alive  to  the  importance  of 
asserting  his  own  authority.  Hunting  afforded  a  good 
pretext  as  it  well  might  under  such  circumstances.  The 
plot  was  carried  out  without  the  slightest  slip  from  start 
to  finish,  and  the  perfect  accordance  of  its  execution  with 
the  original  plan  shows  that  the  emperor  was  fully  aware 
of  it,  and  followed  the  details  with  his  usual  intelligence 
and  alertness. 

It  was  arranged  that  Akbar  should  go  to  Delhi  on  the 
pretext  of  seeing  his  mother  who  was  reported  to  be  ill. 
When  he  was  there,  Maham  Ankah  employed  all  the  arts 
of  a  clever  and  intriguing  woman  to  foment  ill-feeling 
against  the  Khan-i-Khanan,  and  magnified  his  indiscreet 
utterances  into  insults  towards  the  royal  authority. 
Bairam  who  soon  discovered  what  was  passing  behind 
the  scenes  offered  '  supplication  and  humility, '  but  Akbar 
had  resolved  to  end  his  unpopular  regime.  His  friends 
advised  him  to  seize  the  person  of  Akbar  and  crush  the 
conspirators  by  a  coup  de  main,  but  he  refused  to  tarnish 
his  record  of  faithful  service  by  a  seditious  act.  Akbar 
sent  him  a  message  that  he  had  determined  to  take  the 
reins  of  government  in  his  own  hands,  and  that  he 
desired  him  to  proceed  on  pilgrimage  to  Mecca.  He 
offered  him  a  jagir  for  his  maintenance  the  revenue  of 
which  was  to  be  sent  to  him  by  his  agents. 


358  HISTORY  Otf  MUSLIM  RULE 

Bairam  received  Akbar's  message  with  composure  and 
prepared  to  submit  to  his  fate.  When  he  moved  towards 
Biyana  in  April  1560,  the  court  party,  perturbed  by  the 
anxiety  lest  the  Khan -i-Kh  an  an  should  rebel,  induced  Akbar 
to  send  a  certain  Pir  Muhammad,  a  former  subordinate  of 
Bairam's,  with  a  force  '  to  hasten  the  latter's  departure 
for  Mecca  '  or  as  BadaonI  puts  it *  to  pack  him  off  as  quickly 
as  possible* to  Mecca  without  giving  him  any  time^for 
delay. ' 1  Bairam  was  annoyed  at  the  insult  and  decided  to 
breakout  into  open  rebellion.  He  proceeded  towards  the 
Punjab,  and  having  left  his  family  and  goods  in  the  fort  of 
Tabarhindah,  resumed  his  journey.  Akbar  sent  his  generals 
to  deal  with  the  insurgent  minister,  and  in  an  action  fought 
near  Jalandhar  he  was  defeated  and  driven  to  seek  refuge 
in  the  Siwalik  hills.  The  emperor  himself  started  for 
the  Punjab,  and  marched  in  pursuit  of  the  Khan-i-Khanan. 
Driven  to  bay,  Bairam  offered  submission  and  implored 
forgiveness.  Akbar  who  fully  appreciated  his  services  to 
his  dynasty  readily  agreed  to  pardon  him,  and  received 
him  *  with  the  most  princely  grace,  and  presentedJum 
with  a  splendid  robe  of  honour. ' a  He  was  allowed  to 
depart  for  Mecca  wftlfsuitable  dignity,  and  the  emperor 
returned  to  Delhi. 

Bairam  marched  through  Rajputana  en  route  to  Mecca, 
and  reached  Patan  in  Gujarat,  where  he  stayed  for  a  short 
time.  The  governor  received  him  well,  but  made  no 
arrangements  for  his  safety.  Probably  he  apprehended  no 
danger  as  the  minister  had  expressed  contrition  for  his 
rebellious  conduct.  To  the  surprise  of  all,  he  was  murder- 
ed by  an  Afghan,  whose  father  had  been  killed  in  an 

1  Al-Badtonl,  II,  p.  33, 
f  Elliot,  V,  p.  268. 


BRA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  359 

f 

action  with  the  Mughals  under  the  command  of  Bairam 
Khan.  Bairam's  camp  was  plundered,  but  his  son  Abdur 
Rahim  who  was  then  a  child  of  four  years  of  age  was 
rescued  from  the  ruffians,  and  sent  to  court,  where  by  hia 
great  talents  and  devotion  to  the  throne  he  rose  to  a  position 
of  great  eminence  and  earned  the  title  of  Khan-i-Khanau 
in  recognition  of  his  valuable  services  to  the  empire. 

Bairam's  fall  cleared  the  way  for  the  party  of  MSharo 
Ankah,  a  fostermother  of  Akbar,  whose  real  capacity  for^ 

intrigue  soon,  gained  for  her  aa 


The  so-caii 
ed     petticoat     important  position    in  the  state.    Several 


e  n  *'  historians  write  that  she  became  the  empe- 
ror's prime  confidante  in  all  matters  and 
held  the  reins  of  government  in  her  hands.  Dr.  Vincent  ' 
Smith  concludes  his  observations  on  the  fall  of  Bairam  by 
saying  that  Akbar  shook  off  the  tutelage  of  the  Khan-i- 
Khanan  only  to  bring  himself  under  the  'monstrous 
regiment  of  unscrupulous  women,  '  and  expresses  the 
view  that  Maham  proved  unworthy  of  the  trust  reposed 
in  her.  He  repeats  the  usual  charge  that  she  bestowed 
offices  on  her  worthless  favourites,  and  cared  for  nothing 
except  her  own  interests. 

Now,  this  is  not  quite  correct  If  she  had  really  domi- 
nated Akbar,  as  is  frequently  supposed,  she  would  have 
advanced  the  claims  of  her  own  son  Adham  Khan,  who  had 
distinguished  himself  as  a  soldier  against  the  Bhadauria 
Rajputs  at  Mankot.  Then,  Akbar's  treatment  of  Bairam 
after  his  rebellion  militates  against  the  view  of  Dr.  Smith, 
MSham's  party  had  planned  the  ruin  of  the  Khan-i-Khanan, 
and  no  one  would  have  been  more  gratified  than  Mfiham 
to  see  the  old  minister  disgraced  and  condemned  to  death. 
But  Akbar  acted  according  to  his  own  judgment,  and 


360  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

granted  pardon  to  his  old  tutor  irrespective  of  the  wishes 
of  Maham  and  her  associates.  It  has  been  seriously  argued 
that  her  object  was  merely  to  further  the  interests  of  her 
own  son  and  relatives.  But  facts  do  not  warrant  this  view. 
No  title  or  Jagir  was  conferred  upon  Adham  Khan  during 
this  period.  It  is  true,  he  was  entrusted  with  the  command 
of  the  expedition  against  Malwa,  but  after  the  conquest  he 
was  not  appointed  sole  governor  of  the  province.  Again, 
when  reports  reached  the  emperor  of  his  misappropriation 
of  booty,  he  marched  in  person  from  Agra  on  May  13, 
1561,  to  punish  him,  but  the  culprit  obtained  a  pardon 
through  the  intercession  of  his  mother.  Later,  when 
Adham  murdered  Shamsuddin  Atka  Khan  (May  16,  1652) 
on  whom  the  emperor  proposed  to  confer  the  office  of 
vakil  in  spite  of  Maham's  opposition  Akbar  ordered  him  to 
be  thrown  down  twice  the  ramparts  of  his  fort  in  a  terrible 
rage  so  that  his  brains  were  dashed  out  and  he  was  killed. 
The  emperor  himself  broke  the  news  to  Maham  who  is 
reported  to  have  uttered  the  words :  '  Your  Majesty  did 
well. '  Life  ceased  to  have  any  interest  for  Maham  who 
followed  her  son  to  the  grave  within  40  days  of  his  death. 
If  Akbar  had  been  under  Maham's  influence,  Adham 
would  not  have  suffered  such  a  cruel  fate. 

A  few  events  of  this  period  deserve  to  be  noticed.  An 
expedition  against  Malwa  was  sent  (1560  A.D.)  under 
Adham  Khan  and  Pir  Muhammad  Sherwani  who  defeated 
Baz  Bahadur,  the  ruler  of  the  country,  and  seized  much 
booty.  The  conquest  was  accompanied  by  acts  of 
ruthless  cruelty  and  the  misappropriation  of  booty  by 
Adham  Khan.  Akbar  marched  in  person  to  punish  him, 
but  as  has  been  said  before,  it  was  through  his  mother's 
intercession  that  he  secured  his  pardon. 


I ; «W-t •*>£'*  JJ^E    ^*  * 

mjiMu*«»i*s,   ~*w+*+'"**  *vf»C    vV   ^>' 
r«wi»^^  < .  _  -;  vi^v.    *?*  r/, 


ERA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  361 

After  some  time  Adham  Khan  was  recalled  from  Malwa 
"which  was  entrusted  to  Pir  Muhammad.  But  the  latter  so 
hopelessly  mismanaged  things  that  war  broke  out  again, 
and  Baz  Bahadur  once  more  recovered  his  lost  kingdom. 
He  found  it  difficult  to  maintain  his  position,  and  was 
expelled  from  the  country.  He  was  finally  sent  to  the 
court  where  the  emperor  conferred  upon  him  a  mansab 
of  1,000,  which  was  afterwards  raised  to  2,000.  Adham 
Khan  was  at  this  time  thrown  down  the  ramparts  of  the 
fort  for  the  murder  of  Shamsuddin  Muhammad  Atka 
Khan,  who  had  been  appointed  to  the  office  of  minister 
(vakil)  in  November  1561  A.D. 

Akbar  was  a  man  of  strong  imperial  instinct,  and  wish- 
ed to  make  himself  the  supreme  ruler  of  Hindustan. 

With  this  object  in  view  he  set  himself  to 
m"     the  task  of  destroying  the  independence  of 

every  state  in  India,  and  this  policy  was  con- 
tinued until  1601 ,  when  the  capture  of  Asirgarh  crowned 
his  career  of  unparalleled  military  glory  and  conquest. 

He  began  by  ordering  an  unprovoked  attack  upon 
the  small  kingdom  of  Gondwana  in  the  Central  Provinces 

which  was  then  ruled  by  a  remarkable 
^ondwfins^  °f  Queen,  the  gallant  Rani  Durgawati,  so  well 

known  in  history,  who  acted  as  regent  for 
her  minor  son.  Asaf  Khan,  the  governor  of  Kara, 
inarched  against  her.  The  Rani  bravely  defended  herself, 
but  in  a  battle  between  Garh  and  Mandal  in  the  modern 
Jabalpur  district  she  was  defeated  by  the  imperialists 
who  far  exceeded  her  in  numbers.  Like  queen  Boadicea 
of  the  Celts,  Durgawati  preferred  death  to  dishonour, 
and  perished  on  the  field  of  battle,  fighting  to  the  last. 
The  country  was  laid  waste,  and  immense  .booty  was 


862  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

captured  by  the  invaders.  Bir  Narayan,  the  young  Raja,- 
turned  out  a  true  son  of  her  mother.  Realising  the  impos- 
sibility of  success  against  his  enemies,  he  performed  the 
rite  of  Jauhar,  and  then  died  fighting  bravely  in  defence- 
of  the  honour  of  his  house. 

The  conquest  of  GondwSna  synchronised  with  three 
important  rebellions  in   Hindustan  which  were  all  effect- 
ively suppressed.    Abdulla    Kb  an  Uzbeg 
who     had    superseded     Pir  Muhammad 
rebelled  in  Malwa,  but  he  was  defeated  and  driven  into' 
Gujarat.    Early  in   1565  broke  out  the  rebellion  of  Khan 
Zaman,    another    Uzbeg    leader    of    Jaunpur.     Akbar 
himself  marched  to  the  east,    and    drove    the   rebels 
towards  Patna.    Khan    Zaman  made  peace   which    he 
violated  soon  afterwards. 

More  serious  than  these  was  the  invasion  of  the 
Punjab  by  Akbar 's  brother  Mirza  Hakim  who  was  en- 
couraged in  his  designs  by  the  Uzbegs.  The  half-subdued 
rebel  Khan  Zaman  acknowledged  his  claim  to  the  throne 
of  Hindustan  and  caused  the  Khutba  to  be  read  in. 
Hakim's  name.  Mightily  offended  by  his  brother's 
hostile  move,  Akbar  marched  towards  the  Punjab.  The 
news  of  his  approach  frightened  Hakim,  and  he  beat  a 
hasty  retreat  across  the  Indus.  Akbar  returned  to  Agra 
in  May,  1567,  and  resolved  to  deal  with  Khan  Zaman.  He 
rode  across  the  Ganges  on  the  back  of  his  elephant  at  the 
head  of  a  considerable  force  and  inflicted  a  severe  defeat 
upon  the  rebellious  Uzbeg.  He  was  killed,  and  his  brother 
Bahadur  was  captured  and  beheaded.  Their  accomplices 
were  severely  punished,  and  several  of  them  were  trampl- 
ed under  the  feet  of  elephants.  The  emperor  obtained  a 
large  number  of  the  heads  of  the  enemy  by  offering  a 


BRA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  36a 

gold  mohar  for  the  head  of  a  Mughal  rebel  and  a  rupee 
for  that  of  a  Hindustani. 

Akbar  was  by  nature  a  tolerant  and  broad-minded 

ruler.  Born  under  the  sheltering  care  of  a  Hindu,  when  hia 

father  was  wandering  as  an  exile,  disowned 

tifekRajput8nd  by  those  who  had  enjoyed  his  favour,  Akbar 
sympathised  with  the  Hindus  and  sought 
their  friendship.  The  Rajputs  were  the  military  leaders 
of  the  Hindu  community.  They  were  the  best  fighting 
men  of  India,  and  must  needs  be  subdued  or  conciliated,  if 
his  empire  was  to  rest  upon  solid  foundations.  His  associa- 
tion with  cultivated  men  enlarged  his  natural  sympathies- 
and  convinced  him  of  the  futility  of  sectarian  differences. 
Men  like  Todarmal  and  Birbal  who  joined  his  service 
impressed  him  with  the  genius  and  ability  of  the  Hindus, 
and  the  Emperor  became  more  and  more  inclined  to 
extend  his  favour  to  them  and  to  make  them  sharers  in 
developing  the  grandiose  plan  of  an  empire,  knowing  na 
distinction  pf  caste  and  creed,  which  he  was  maturing  in 
his  mind.  IThere  could  be  no  Indian  empire  without  the 
Rajputs,  no  social  or  political  synthesis  without  their 
intelligent  and  active  co-operation.  The  new  body  politic 
must  consist  of  the  Hindus  and  Muslims  and  must 
contribute  to  the  welfare  of  both.  The  emperor's  lofty 
mind  rose  above  the  petty  prejudices  of  his  age,  and 
after  much  anxious  thought  he  decided  to  associate  the 
Rajputs  with  him  on  honourable  terms  in  his  ambitious 
enterprises.  The  first  Rajput  to  join  the  imperial  court 
was  BhSrmal,  the  KachwShS  Raja  of  Amber.  In  January, 
1562,  when  the  emperor  was  going  to  Ajmer  to  visit  the 
holy  shrine  of  Khwaja  Muinuddin,  he  was  informed  that 
BhSrmal  was  hard  pressed  by  Sharafuddin  Husain,  the 


364  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Governor  of  Mewat  at  the  instigation  of  Suj§,  son  of  his 
brother  Puranmal.  At  Sgnganlr,  Bharmal  with  his  family 
waited  upon  His  Majesty  and  was  received  with  honour. 
He  expressed  a  wish  to  enter  the  imperial  service  and 
strengthened  his  relationship  by  means  of  a  matrimonial 
alliance.  His  wish  was  granted,  and  on  his  return  from 
A  jmer  Akbar  received  at  S§mbhar  the  Raja's  daughter 
whom  he  married.  Bharmal  with  his  son  Bhagwan  Das 
and  grandson  Man  Singh  accompanied  the  emperor  to 
Agra  where  he  was  given  a  command  of  5,000,  and  his 
son  and  grandson  were  granted  commissions  in  the 
imperial  army.  This  marriage  is  an  important  event  in 
our  country's  history.  It  healed  strife  and  bitterness, 
and  produced  an  atmosphere  of  harmony  and  good  will 
where  there  had  been  racial  and  religious  antagonisms 
•of  a  most  distressing  character.  Dr.  Beni  Prasad  rightly 
observes  that  '  it  symbolised  the  dawn  of  a  new  era  in 
Indian  politics  ;  it  gave  the  country  a  line  of  remarkable 
sovereigns  ;  it  secured  to  four  generations  of  Mughal  em- 
perors the  services  of  some  of  the  greatest  captains  and 
-diplomats  that  mediaeval  India  produced.' 

The  Rana  of  Mewar  was  the  greatest  prince  in  Raj- 
putana.  He  traced  his  descent  from  Rama,  the  hero  of  the 
great  epic,  Ramayana,  and  was  the  acknow- 

°f  led«ed  head  of  K*Wrt  chivalry.  Akbar, 
who  had  received  the  homage  of  the  Raja 
of  Amber,  clearly  saw  that  his  aim  of  being  the  para- 
mount lord  of  Northern  India  could  not  be  realised  unless 
lie  captured  the  famous  fortresses  of  Chittor  and  Ran- 
thambhor.  The  conquest  of  Mewar  was  therefore  part  of 
.a  larger  enterprise,  and  the  emperor  intended  to  treat 
It  as  a  stepping  stone  to  his  further  conquest  of  the 


SHER  SHAH'S  EMPIRE,  1540  A.D. 


BRA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  36& 

whole  of  Hindustan.  Besides,  the  Rana  had  given  offence 
to  the  emperor  by  giving  shelter  to  Baz  Bahadur,  the 
fugitive  king  of  Malwa,  and  by  assisting  the  rebellious 
Mirzas.  In  August  1567,  when  the  emperor  was  encamped 
at  Dholpur  on  his  way  to  'Malwa,  Shakti  Singh,  a  son  of 
the  Rana  of  Mewar,  who  had  fled  from  his  father  in 
anger,  waited  upon  him.  One  day  Akbar  told  the  young 
prince  in  jest  that  all  the  important  chieftains  of  India 
had  offered  submission,  but  Rana  Udaya  Singh  had  not 
yet  done  so,  and  therefore  he  proposed  to  march  against 
him.  The  prince  quietly  escaped  from  the  royal  camp 
at  night  and  informed  his  father  of  the  emperor's  inten- 
tions. Akbar,  when  he  came  to  know  of  Shakti  Singh's 
departure,  was  filled  with  wrath,  and  resolved  to  humble 
the  pride  of  Mewar. 

In  September,  1567,  the  emperor  started  for  Chittor, 
and  on  October  20,  1567,  reached  near  the  fort 
and  encamped  his  army  in  the  vast  plain  that  still  sur- 
rounds it.  The  Rana  had  already  left  Chittor,  and  retired 
to  the  hills  with  the  advice  of  his  chiefs,  entrusting  the 
fort  to  the  care  of  Jayamal  and  Patta  with  8,000  brave 
Rajputs  under  their  command. '  The  names  of  these  two 
warriors  are,  as  Colonel  Tod  enthusiastically  records, 
household  words  in  Mewar,  and  will  be  honoured  while 
the  Rajput  retains  a  shred  of  his  inheritance  or  a  spark 
of  his  ancient  recollections. 

1  Colonel  Tod  speaks  of  two  invasions  of  Mewar  but  this  is  prob- 
ably an  invention  of  the  bards. 

Udaya  Singh  did  not  runaway  from  Chittor  as  is  sometimes  suppos- 
ed. He  called  a  council  of  his  Chiefs  when  he  heard  of  A k bar's  intention 
to  invade  his  country.  They -told  him  that  Mewar  had  exhausted  her 
strength  in  fighting  against  Gujarat  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  resist 
Akbar  who  was  so  powerful.  They  advised  him  to  retire  to  the  hills 
with  his  family. 

Gauri  Shankar  Ojha,  Rajputana  ka  Itihas  (Hindi),  Pb.  II,  pp.  724-25. 


366  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

The  imperialists  laid  siege  to  the  fortress,  and  Akbar 
ordered  Sabats  to  be  constructed.  The  Rajputs  fought 
with  great  gallantry,  and  the  emperor  himself  narrowly 
escaped  death  several  times.  So  gloomy  was  the  prospect 
that  the  emperor  vowed  to  undertake  a  pilgrimage  on 
foot  to  the  Khwaja's  shrine  at  Ajmer,  if  God  granted 
him  victory  in  the  war.  Fighting  went  on  ceaselessly 
until  February  23,  1568,  when  Jayamal  was  shot  in  one 
of  his  legs  by  a  bullet  from  the  Emperor's  gun.  His  fall 
was  a  great  blow  to  the  Rajputs  but  they  did  not  lose 
heart.  Suffering  from  a  mortal  wound,  Jayamal  called 
together  his  men  and  asked  them  to  perform  the  last  rite 
of  jJauhar  and  to  prepare  for  the  final  charge.  The 
ghastly  tragedy  was  perpetrated,  and  many  a  beautiful 
princess  and  noble  matron  of  Mewar  perished  in  the 
flames. 

Next  morning  the  gates  were  opened,  and  the  Rajputs 
rushed  upon  the  enemy  like  mad  wolves.  Jayamal  and 
Patta  bravely  defended  the  honour  of  Mewar,  but  they 
were  at  last  slain  in  the  action.  The  entire  garrison 
died  fighting  to  a  man,  and  when  Akbar  entered  the 
city,  he  ordered  a  general  massacre.  Abul  Fazl 
writes  that  30,000  persons  were  killed,  but  this  seems 
to  be  an  exaggeration.  Having  entrusted  the  fort  to 
his  own  garrison,  the  emperor  returned  to  Ajmer 
and  fulfilled  the  vow  which  he  had  made  during  the 
Biege.  He  was  so  struck  by  the  valour  of  the  Rajputs 
that  when  he  reached  Agra  he  ordered  the  statues 
of  Jayamal  and  Patta  to  be  placed  at  the  gate  of  the 
fort. 

A  year  after  the  conquest  of  Chittor,  the  emperor  sent 
his  generals  against  Ranthambhor,  the  stronghold, of  the 


BRA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  367 

Hara  section  of  the  Chohan  clan,  deemed  impregnable  in 
Rajasthan.    In  December  1568,  the  emperor 

set  out  m  person  and  **r™e&  at  the  scene 
-and  Kaiinjar.      of  action  in  February  1569.    The  fort  was 

situated  on  a  hill  so  high  that  ascent  was 
impossible,  and  manjniqa  were  of  little  use.  The  imperi- 
alists managed  to  get  some  guns  to  the  top  of  another  hill, 
which  existed  very  near  When  bombardment  began 
from  this  hill,  the  walls  began  to  give  way,  and  the  edi- 
fices in  the  fort  crumbled  down  to  the  earth.  The  chief 
of  Ranthambhor  Surjana  Kara,  seeing  the  superior 
strength  of  the  imperial  army,  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
further  resistance  was  impossible.  Through  the  inter- 
cession of  Rajas  BhagwSn  Das  and  Man  Singh  he  sent  his 
sons  Duda  and  Bhoja  to  the  emperor,  who  granted  them 
robes  of  honour  and  sent  them  back  to  their  father. 
Touched  by  the  emperor's  magnanimity,  Surjana  Kara 
expressed  a  desire  to  wait  on  him.  His  wish  was  granted, 
and  escorted  by  Husain  Quli  Khan,  the  Rai  paid  his  res- 
pects to  Akbar  and  surrendered  to  him  the  keys  of  the 
fortress.  He  accepted  the  service  of  the  emperor,  and  was 
posted  as  a  qiladar  at  Garhkantak,  and  w&s  afterwards 
appointed  as  governor  of  the  province  of  Benares  and  the 
fort  of  Chunar. 

When  Akbar  left  Agra  for  Ranthambhor,  he  had  sent 
Man  jnu  Khan  QBqshSl  at  the  head  of  a  large  army  to  re- 
duce the  fort  of  Kaiinjar  in  Bundelkhand.  The  news  of 
the  fall  of  Chittor  and  Ranthambhor  had  already  reached 
Raja  Ramchandra  and  he  surrendered  the  fort  to  the  im- 
perial commandant  in  August  1569.  Friendly  greetings 
were  sent  to  the  Rana  who  was  given  a  jagir  near 
Allahabad,  and  the  fort  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  general 


368  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

whose  valour  had  captured  it.    The  conquest  of  Kalinjar 
g-ave  to  Akbar  an    important  fort   which  considerably 
strengthened  his  military  position  in    Northern    India. 
Henceforward  he  could  proceed  with  his  other  plans  of 
conquest  without  fearing  any  trouble  from  the  Rajputs. 

Several  other  Rajput  chiefs  offered  their  submission 

after  these  conquests.    Chandra  Sen,  son  of  Raja  Maldeva 

Submission      of  JodhPur>  waited  upon    His   Majesty   at 

of    their     Nagor,   but  his  friendship  does  not  seem  to 

chiefs.  have  laste(J  long     Chandra  Sen  defied  the 

authority  of  the  emperor  afterwards  and  retired  to  the 
hill  fort  of  Siwana.  The  emperor  ordered  an  attack  on 
Jodhpur,  and  gave  it  to  Rai  Rai  Singh  of  Bikanir.  Rai 
Singh's  father  Rai  Kalyan  Mai  also  came  to  pay  homage 
to  the  emperor  at  Nagor  with  his  son.  The  Raja  presented 
tribute,  and  the  loyalty  of  both  father  and  son  being 
manifest,  the  emperor  married  Kalyan  Mai's  daughter 
As  Kalyan  Mai  was  too  fat  to  ride  on  horseback,  he  was 
permitted  to  go  back  to  Bikanir,  while  his  son  remained 
at  court,  and  received  a  mansab  from  the  emperor. 

Akbar's  policy  towards  the  Rajputs  originated  in  am- 
I  bition,  but  it  was  more  generous  and  humane  than  that  of 
1  Reflection^  other  Muslim  rulers.  His  predecessors  had 
,  on  A  k  b  a  r's  <  humiliated  the  princes  whom  they  conquered 

Rajput  Policy.       md  rayaged    their    lands.     Akbar    wag    en. 

dowed  with  the  higher  qualities  of  statesmanship,  and  he 
resolved  to  base  his  empire  on  the  goodwill  of  both  Hindus 
and  Muslims.  He  adopted  a  policy  of  conciliation,  and 
refused  to  treat  them  as  inferiors  because  they  were 
*  infidels '  or  '  unbelievers. '  He  waged  relentless  wars 
against  them,  but  when  they  offered  -submission,  he 
sheathed  his  sword  with  pleasure.  No  desecration  or 


ERA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION 

religious  persecution  marred  the  glory  of  his  triumphs,  and 
he  refrained  from  doing  anything  that  might  wound  the 
feelings  of  his  Rajput  enemies.  Equality  of  status  with 
the  Muslims  steeled  the  loyalty  of  the  Rajput  chiefs  and 
they  shed  their  lifeblood  in  the  service  of  the  empire  in 
distant  and  dangerous  lands.  The  friendship  was  further 
cemented  by  matrimonial  alliances  which  brought  advan- 
tages to  both  sides,  and  opened  new  avenues  of  honour  to 
the  Rajput  princes.  They  found  scope  for  themselves  as 
soldiers  who  might  have  otherwise  lived  out  their  life  in 
glorious  obscurity  in  their  mountain  or  desert  fastnesses. 
The  rapid  growth  of  the  empire  and  the  success  of  their 
mighty  hero,  a  worthy  object  of  devotion  and  loyalty, 
stirred  their  martial  spirit,  and  led  them  on  to  new  fields 
of  glory  and  renown,  and  made  them  forget  whatever 
humiliation  their  discomfiture  or  surrender  implied. 
Many  of  them  loved  art  and  literature,  and  their  presence 
added  to  the  magnificence  of  the  imperial  court  which  be- 
came famous  in  Asia  and  Europe,  and  by  their  levies  in- 
creased the  strength  of  the  legions  of  the  empire.  Most 
of  them  enrolled  themselves  as  mansabdars,  and  fought  in 
battles  and  sieges  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  Mughal 
officers.  They  secured  for  the  emperor  the  good  will 
of  Hindus  of  whom  they  were  the  acknowledged  political 
leaders.  Through  them  the  millions  of  Northern  India 
became  reconciled  to  Akbar's  government  and  prayed  for 
its  welfare.  It  was  they  who  aided  to  a  large  extent  the 
synthesis  of  religions  and  cultures  in  which  the  emperor 
took  delight,  and  by  their  acceptance  of  Muslim 
ideas  of  political  and  social  organisation  they  made 
possible  the  fusion  of  the  Hindus  and  Muslims.  No 
impartial  historian  can  fail  to  give  credit  to  these  pioneers 


370  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

of   Indo-Muharamadan    culture,    which  is  the   greatest 
legacy  of  the  Mughals  to  this  country. 

Hitherto  all  the  children  born  to  Akbar  had  died  in 
infancy,  and  it  was  his  great  desire  to  have  a  son  on  whom 

he  would  bestow  the  care  and  affection  of 
Prhice  s^iim?f    a  Iovin2  father.    Every  year  he  paid  a  visit 

to  the  Khwaja's  holy  shrine  at  Ajmer,  and 
vowed,  as  was  his  wont,  to  make  a  pilgrimage  on  foot,  if 
he  were  blessed  with  a  son.  Many  a  time  he  went  to 
Sikri  where  lived  Shaikh  Salim  Chishti,  the  venerable 
sage  whose  saintliness  and  austere  penances  drew  to  him 
many  admiring  disciples  from  far  and  near.  Early  in 
1569  it  was  reported  that  his  first  Hindu  wife,  the  daughter 
of  Raja  Bharmal  of  Jaipur,  was  with  child.  She  was 
removed  to  Sikri  for  confinement  with  all  her  attendants, 
where  on  August  30,  1569,  she  gave  birth  to  a  boy,  it  was 
believed  everywhere,  through  the  prayers  of  the  holy 
Shaikh.  The  child  was  named  Salim  after  the  saint, 
though  Akbar  always  addressed  him  by  his  pet  name  Shai- 
khu  Babg.  The  pious  father  fulfilled  his  vow  by  making 
a  pilgrimage  on  foot  to  Ajmer  in  1570,  and  presented  his 
offerings  at  the  shrine. 

The  blessing  of  Shaikh  Salim  Chishti  so  filled  the  heart 
of  Akbar  with  gratitude  that  he  decided  to  leave  Agra 

and  transfer  his  court  to  Sikri.    Here  in 

course  of  time  a  lar*e  ci*y  *rew  UP>  adorned 
and  beautified  by  the  emperor's  lavish 
bounty.  The  constructions  extended  over  nearly  fourteen 
years  and  reached  completion  in  1574.  The  Shaikh  died 
in  1572,  and  over  his  remains  Akbar  built  a  fine  mau- 
soleum of  pearls,  which  by  reason  of  its  elegance  and  deli- 
*cate  design  still  excites  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  art 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  371 

-critics.  The  Great  Mosque  which  is  supposed  to  be  a 
"  duplicate  of  the  holy  place  "  at  Mecca  was  finished  in 
1572,  and  is  one  of  the  finest  examples  of  Mughal  archi- 
tecture. But  nothing  excels  in  grandeur  and  stateliness 
the  Buland  Darwaza  or  Lofty  Gateway  which  was  com- 
pleted in  1575-76,  though  designed  in  1573,  to  commemorate 
the  imperial  conquest  of  Gujarat. 

It  was  after  the  conquest  of  Gujarat  that  the  city 
came  to  be  called  Fatehpur  though  the  emperor  had  given 
it  the  name  of  Fatehabad.  The  numerous  buildings  of 
this  noble  city,  erected  by  the  bounty  of  a  generous 
monarch,  are  still  visited  by  thousands  of  visitors  from  all 
parts  of  the  globe.  The  palaces,  baths,  reservoirs,  offices, 
halls  and  their  huge  corridors  make  the  deserted  city 
even  in  its  ruins  an  abode  of  romance  and  wonder,  which, 
while  enabling  us  to  form  an  idea  of  the  greatness  and 
glory  of  the  Mughals,  remind  us  forcibly  of  the  ephemeral 
nature  of  worldly  possessions  and  the  emptiness  of  all 
our  earthly  vanities. 

The  emperor  lived  at  Fatehpur  from  1569  to  1585  for 
about  17  years.  In  1582  the  dam  of  the  lake  of  Fatehpur 
was  broken,  and  the  whole  town  was  inundated.  He 
decided  to  leave  the  beautiful  city  and  transferred  the 
court  to  Agra  in  1585.. 

Having  conquered  Malwa  and  broken  the  power 
of  the  Rajputs,  Akbar  resolved  to  lead  an  expedition 
to  Gujarat.  The  province  had  been  con- 
°f  <luered  by  Humayun,  but  he  had  lost  it 
owing:  to  his  own  lethargy  and  inaction. 
Akbar  naturally  felt  desirous  of  recovering  the  lost 
province  of  his  father's  empire.  Besides,  Gujarat  was  a 
Jand  of  plenty  whose  prosperity,  fertility  and  wealth  had 


872  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

deeply  impressed  all  European  and  Asiatic  travellers  who 
had  visited  it.  The  ports  of  Gujarat  were  the  emporia 
of  trade  with  the  west  and  Broach,  Cambay,  and  Surat 
had  carried  on  lucrative  trade  with  the  countries  of  Asua 
and  Europe  since  the  earliest  times.  They  are  frequently 
mentioned  in  the  literature  of  the  ancient  Hindus  as. 
centres  of  sea-borne  trade,  and  it  was  for  this  reason 
that  ever  since  the  days  of  Mahmud  of  Ghazni  the 
Muslim  rulers  of  Hindustan  had  sought  the  conquest 
of  Gujarat.  The  ruler  of  Gujarat  at  this  time  was 
Muzaffar  Shah  II,  a  weak  and  incompetent  man, 
whose  authority  was  not  respected  even  by  his  own 
subjects. 

Muzaffar  was  a  king  merely  in  name,  and  all  real 
power  was  in  the  hands  of  certain  nobles.  The  whole 
country  was  in  a  state  of  complete  disorder,  and  its  most 
important  provinces  were  held  by  chiefs  who  were  anxious 
to  establish  their  own  independent  power.  Then,  there 
were  the  Mirzas  who  were  related  to  the  emperor,  and 
who  created  strife  and  offered  help  by  turns  to  rival 
chieftains.  Muzaffar  found  it  impossible  to  control  the 
forces  of  disorder,  and  when  Akbar  marched  against 
him,  he  fled  from  the  capital  and  took  refuge  in  a  corn 
field.  The  emperor  pitied  him  and  granted  him  a  paltry 
allowance  of  Rs.  30  per  month.  The  chiefs  of  Gujarat 
offered  their  submission,  and  Akbar  placed  the  town  of 
Ahmadabad  under  Khan-i-Azam  Aziz  Koka,  his  favourite 
foster-brother.  While  he  was  engaged  in  settling  the 
affairs  of  Gujarat,  news  came  that  one  of  the  Mirzas  had 
slain  a  certain  amir,  who  wished  to  pay  homage  to  Akbar. 
The  emperor  started  forthwith  to  chastise  the  rebellious 
Mirza,  and  inflicted  a  crushing  defeat  upon  him  at 


ERA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  373 

SarnaL l  This  victory  was  followed  by  the  siege  of  Surat 
which  surrendered  after  a  periopl  of  one  month  and 
seventeen  days.  The  Mirzas  again  stirred  up  strife,  but 
they  were  defeated  by  Aziz  Koka,  who  was  assisted  by 
the  chiefs  of  Malwa,  Chanderi  and  other  important  states. 
Having  subjugated  the  country,  the  emperor  returned  to 
Sikri. 

No  sooner  did  the  emperor  turn  his  back  than  trouble 
broke  out  afresh  in  Gujarat,  and  the  imperial  garrison 
suffered  heavily  at  the  hands  of  the  local  rebels.  Akbar 
was  mightily  offended  at  this,  and  he  resolved  to  finish 
the  Gujarat  affair  once  for  all.  He  set  out  with  a  well- 
organized  force  for  Ahmadabad  where  he  reached  after 
an  arduous  journey  of  eleven  days.  The  Mirzas  were  up- 
set by  the  news  that  the  emperor  had  come  in  person  to 
deal  with  them.  They  were  severely  defeated  along  with 
their  allies,  and  the  emperor  commemorated  his  victory 
by  constructing  a  tower  of  human  skulls  which  numbered 
about  2,000. 

Akbar  was  now  complete  master  of  Gujarat.  There 
was  no  man  of  substance  left  to  challenge  his  authority, 
and  therefore  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  work  of  civil 
organization.  Arrangements  were  made  forthwith  for 
the  settlement  of  the  country,  and  Raja  Todarmal  was 
entrusted  with  the  management  of  the  finances,  which 
had  been  in  a  state  of  disorder  for  a  long  time.  He  made 
a  land  survey,  and  reorganized  the  entire  revenue  system 
so  that  the  country  yielded  a  net  annual  income  of  five 
millions  to  the  imperial  exchequer.  His  work  was  after- 
wards continued  by  another  able  officer  Shihab-ud-din 

1  It  is  five  miles  to  the  east  of  Kharia. 


874  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

Ahmad  Khan,  who  held  the  charge  of  the  province  front 
1577  till  1584  A.D. 

With  the  laurels  of  victory  on  his  brow,  the  emperor 
rode  back  to  Sikri  (October  5,  1573),  where  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill  he  was  accorded  a  grand  reception  by  his  nobles 
and  officers,  whose  vociferous  greetings  were  drowned  in 
the  noise  of  the  kettle-drums,  which  proclaimed  from  the 
portals  of  the  newly-built  Jam-i-masjid  the  happy  news  of 
the  conquest  of  one  of  the  richest  and  most  fertile  pro- 
vinces of  Hindustan.  The  new  city  which  the  emperor  had 
built  near  Sikri  was  henceforward  called  Fatehpur. 

Bengal  had  always  been  a  most  refractory  province 

of  the  empire  of  Delhi.    It  was  held  by  the  Afghan  chiefs 

in  the  time  of  Sher  Shah,  but  in  1564  Sulai- 

°f  man  Khan>  chief  of  Bihar»  occupied  Gaur, 
and  became  the  ruler  of  both  provinces. 
After  his  death  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Bayazid,  but 
he  was  murdered  by  his  ministers  who  placed  on  the 
throne  his  ytmnger  son  Daud,  whom  the  author  of  the 
Tabqat  describes  as  a  "  dissolute  scamp  who  knew  nothing 
of  the  art  of  governing.  "  The  possession  of  an  immense 
treasure  accumulated  by  his  father  and  a  large  army 
turned  the  head  of  Daud,  and  he  soon  incurred  the  wrath 
of  the  emperor  by  seizing  the  fort  of  Zamania  on  the 
eastern  frontier  of  the  empire. 

The  emperor  sent  Munim  Khan,  an  old  and  experienced 
general,  against  Daud  at  the  head  of  a  large  army,  but  in- 
fluenced by  his  friendship  with  the  rebel's  father  he  made 
peace  with  him.  The  emperor  highly  disapproved  of  his 
action,  and  ordered  him  to  prosecute  the  campaign  with 
greater  vigour.  When  Munim's  efforts  failed  against  Patna* 
the  emperor  himself  marched  to  the  scene  of  action.  Daud 


ERA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  375 

fled,  leaving  Patna  to  its  fate,  and  the  imperialists  entered 
the  city  in  triumph  without  encountering  any  opposition. 
Munim  Khan  was  made  governor  of  Bengal,  and  was 
invested  with  ample  authority  to  deal  with  the  situation. 
Daud  was  forced  to  make  peace,  but  his  restless  spirit 
again  got  the  better  of  him,  and  he  began  slowly  to  grab 
the  territory  which  had  been  snatched  away  from  him. 
Munim  Khan  who  was  already  eighty  years  of  age  died 
in  October,  1575,  and  his  death  gave  Daud  the  opportunity 
which  he  so  eagerly  desired.  He  gathered  his  forces 
again,  and  taking  advantage  of  the  situation  reoccupied 
the  whole  country. 

The  emperor  was  enraged  beyond  all  bounds  at  the 
news  of  Daud's  audadty.  He  sent  another  general  who 
routed  the  Afghans  in  a  battle  near  Raj  Mahal,  and  took 
Daud  prisoner.  His  head  was  cut  off,  and  was  sent  to  the 
emperor,  while  the  rest  of  his  body  was  gibbeted  at  Tanda. 

With  Daud  fell  the  independent  kingdom  of  Bengal 
which  had  lasted  for  nearly  240  years.  The  whole  country 
of  Bengal  and  Bihar  became  subject  to  Akbar,  and  was 
henceforward  governed  by  the  imperial  viceroys. 

Ran  a  Udaya  Singh  died  in  1572,  and  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  Pratap,  who  embodied  in  his  person  the  spirit  of 
Rajput  freedom.  He  called  to  his  mind  the 
with  deeds  of  Rana  Sanga  and  Rana  Kumbha,  his 
great  ancestors  who  had  held  aloft  in  their 
day  the  banner  of  freedom,  and  had  made  the  force  of 
their  arms  felt  by  their  Muslim  contemporaries.  He 
was  often  heard  to  exclaim  in  bitterness  and  sorrow, '  Had 
Udai  Singh  never  been  or  none  intervened  between  him 
and  Rana  Sanga,  no  Turk  should  ever  have  given  laws  to 
Rajasthan. '  He  saw  the  influence  of  the  poison  which 


376  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

was  insidiously  working  its  way  into  the  Rajput  society, 
and  while  his  fellow-princes  vied  with  one  another  in 
promoting  the  glory  of  the  empire,  he  resolved  to 
redeem  the  honour  of  his  race.  It  was  not  an  easy  task  ; 
in  the  event  of  war  he  will  have  against  him  not  only 
the  organised  might  of  Akbar  who  was  at  this  time 
'  immeasurably  the  richest  monarch  on  the  face  of  this 
earth, '  *  but  nearly  all  the  leading  chiefs  of  Rajputana, 
who  had  considerable  forces  at  their  command,  and  who 
were  desirous  of  seeing  Rana  Pratap  humbled  like  them- 
selves. The  chronicles  of  Rajasthan  relate  an  anecdote 
which,  whether  true  or  not,  illustrates  the  Rajput  mental- 
ity of  the  time  2  On  one  occasion,  when  Raja  Man  Singh 
of  Amber  was  returning  from  some  campaign,  he  sought 
an  interview  with  Rana  Pratap  on  the  bank  of  the  Udaya- 
sagar  lake.  A  feast  was  arranged  in  honour  of  the 
distinguished  Kachwaha,  but  the  Rana  did  not  attend,  and 
excused  himself  on  the  ground  of  indisposition.  Raja  Man 
divined  the  reason  of  his  absence,  and  said,  '  If  the  Rana 
refuses  to  put  a  plate  before  me,  who  will  ? '  The  Rana 
expressed  his  regret,  but  added  that  he  could  not  dine  with 
a  Rajput  who  had  married  his  sister  to  a  Turk,  and  had 
probably  eaten  with  him.  Stung  to  the  quick  by  this 
insulting  remark,  Raja  Man  left  the  dinner  untouched,  and 
observed  as  he  was  preparing  to  leave  the  place  ;  'It  was 
for  the  preservation  of  your  honour  that  we  sacrificed  our 
own  and  gave  our  sisters  and  daughters  to  the  Turk ;  but 
abide  in  peril,  if  such  be  your  resolve,  for  this  country 
shall  not  hold  you. '  As  he  leapt  on  the  back  of  his  horse, 

1  Akbar,  the  Great  Mughal,  p.  148. 

2  Annals,  I,  pp.  891-92. 


BRA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  377 

he  turned  to  the  Rana  who  appeared  just  in  time  to  hear 
the  remark  and  said  :  '  If  I  do  not  humble  your  pride, 
my  name  is  not  Man/  To  this  Pratap  replied  that  he 
should  always  be  happy  to  meet  him,  while  some 
irresponsible  person  from  behind  whispered  an  undignified 
rebuke  in  asking  the  Raja  not  to  forget  to  bring  his 
Phupha  (father's  sister's  husband)  Akbar  with  him. 

The  anecdote  goes  on  to  add  that  the  ground  on  which 
the  board  was  spread  was  washed,  and  Ganges  water  was 
sprinkled  over  it,  while  the  chiefs  who  were  present  bathed 
themselves,  and  changed  their  garments  to  wash  away  the 
pollution  caused  by  the  presence  of  one  whom  they  con- 
sidered an  '  apostate/  Such  were  the  sentiments  of 
Rana  Pratap  and  the  other  men  of  mighty  resolve,  who 
scorned  the  offers  of  wealth  and  power,  and  clung  to  their 
chief  with  a  devotion  the  memory  of  which  will  ever 
remain  a  proud  possession  of  their  descendants. 

The  Rana  who  foresaw  the  danger  at  once  took  steps 
to  organise  his  government,  and  devised  regulations  to 
make  his  army  more  efficient  and  better  equipped.  He 
strengthened  fortresses  like  Kumbhalmir  and  Gogunda, 
and  decided  to  adopt  the  method  of  guerilla  warfare  in 
dealing  with  the  Mughals. 

Abul  Fazl  speaks  of  the  Rana's  '  arrogance,  presump- 
tion, disobedience,  deceit  and  dissimulation,  '  but  it  was 
impossible  for  a  courtier  like  him  to  appreciate  the  great- 
ness of  Rana  Pratap  and  the  loftiness  of  the  purpose  for 
which  he  waged  a  life-long  war  against  the  empire. 
Dr.  Vincent  Smith  puts  in  a  nutshell  the  casus  belli  when 
he  says  : 

"His  (Rana  Pratap's)  patriotism  was  his  offence. 
Akbar  had  won  over  most  of  the  Rajput  chieftains 


STB  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM   RULE 

by  his  astute  policy  and  could  not  endure  the  inde- 
pendent attitude  assumed  by  the  Rana  who  must  be 
broken  if  he  would  not  bend  like  his  fellows.  " 

Akbar  resolved  to  destroy  the  Rana's  independence 
and  to  annex  Mewar  to  the  empire,  and  in  this  task  he  was 
assisted  by  the  Rajputs  themselves.  The  Rana,  who  knew 
beforehand  the  danger  that  loomed  on  the  horizon,  vowed 
to  preserve  the  purity  of  bis  blood  and  once  more  ta 
uphold  the  traditions  of  the  Sisodias  by  sacrificing  himself 
in  the  service  of  the  land  that  gave  him  birth. 

Akbar  sent  Man  Singh  and  Asaf  Khan  in  April,  1576, 
from  Ajmer  against  the  Rana.  They  arrived  via  Mandal- 
garh  at  the  pass  of  Haldighat  where  a  great  battle  was 
fought.  The  historian  BadSonl  has  given  a  graphic  account 
of  this  battle,  which  will  be  read  with  great  interest.  He 
was  himself  present  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  writes, 
from  personal  observation.  The  Rana  came  out  of  the 
mountains  with  300  horse,  and  in  the  first  attack  the 
vanguard  of  the  imperial  troops  '  became  hopelessly  mixed 
up  together,  and  sustained  a  complete  defeat '  The 
Rajputs  on  the  Mughal  left  '  ran  away  like  a  flock  of 
sheep,  and  fled  for  protection  towards  the  right  wing/ 
It  was  on  this  occasion  that  the  historian  asked  Asaf 
Khan  how  they  were  to  distinguish  between  the  hostile 
and  friendly  Rajputs  in  such  a  confused  mass  whereupon 
the  general  replied,  'on  whichever  side  there  may  be 
killed,  it  will  be  a  gain  to  Islam.' 

The  Rana  retreated  into  the  hills  but  the  Mughals  did 
not  pursue    him.1  Next    day,  the  imperialists  reached 

1  It  is  related  by  BadSont  (Lowe  II,  p.  247)  that  the   emperor  was 
displeased  with  Man  Singh   because  he  did   not  pursue  the  Rana  and 


ERA    OF  RECONSTRUCTION  379" 

Gogunda  which  was  guarded  by  the  Rana's  men  who 
died  bravely  fighting  in  their  defence. 

The  Mughals  had  gained  a  complete  victory,  and  the 
bigoted  Badaon!  was  commissioned  by  Man  Singh  to  convey 
the  gladsome  tidings  to  the  emperor  at  Fatehpur.  Rana 
Pratap's  spirit  was  not  damped  by  this  defeat.  He  soon 
recovered  all  Me  war  except  Chittor,  Ajmer  and  Mandal- 
garh,  and  the  annals  relate  that  he  raided  the  state  of  Am- 
ber and  sacked  its  chief  mart  of  Malpura.  The  Rana  died 
in  1597,  and  the  final  scene  has  been  pathetically  described 
by  Tod.  The  dying  hero  is  represented  in  a  lowly  dwelling  ; 
his  chiefs,  the  faithful  companions  of  many  a  glorious 
day,  awaiting  round  his  pallet  the  dissolution  of  the 
prince,  when  a  groan  of  mental  anguish  made  Salumbar 
inquire,  "  what  afflicted  his  soul  that  it  would  not  depart 
in  peace?"  He  rallied.  "It  lingered,"  he  said,  "for 
some  consolatory  pledge  that  his  country  should  not 
be  abandoned  to  the  Turk";  and  with  the  death-pang 
upon  him,  he  related  an  incident  which  had  guided 
his  estimate  of  his  son's  disposition,  and  tortured  him 
with  the  reflection  that  for  personal  ease  he  would 


because  be  being  a  Rajput  himself,  did  not  allow  the  troops  to  plunder 
the  Rana's  country  When  the  news  of  the  distressed  condition  of  the 
army  reached  him,  he  sent  for  Man  Singh,  Asaf  Khan  and  Qazi  Khan 
from  the  scene  of  war  and  excluded  them  from  the  court  for  some  time. 
Nizamaddin  expresses  a  more  balanced  view  when  he  says  that  what 
displeased  the  emperor  was  that  they  would  not  allow  the  troops  to 
plunder  the  Rana's  country. 

Elliot,  V,  p.  401. 

The  cause  of  the  emperor's  displeasure  is  thus  described  by  Abu! 
Pazl: 

*  Turksters  and  time-servers  suggested  to  the  royal  ear  that  there 
had  been  slackness  in  extirpating  the  wretch,  and  the  officers  were- 
'  ready  incurring  the  King's  displeasure.'  But  His  Majesty  understood 
the  truth  and  attached  little  value  to  what  the  backbiters  told  him. 


380  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

forego  the  remembrance  of  his  own  and  his  country's 
ivrongs.  At  this  time  Prince  Amar  whose  (Rana's 
son)  turban  was  dragged  off  by  a  projecting  bamboo 
in  the  hut  experienced  an  emotion  which  was  noticed  with 
pain  by  the  dying  Rana  who  is  reported  to  have  said : 
'  These  sheds  will  give  way  to  sumptuous  dwellings,  thus 
generating  the  love  of  ease  ;  and  luxury  with  its  con- 
comitants will  ensue,  to  which  the  independence  of 
Mewar,  which  we  have  bled  to  maintain,  will  be 
sacrificed  ;  and  you,  my  chiefs,  will  follow  the  pernicious 
example."  They  gave  the  needed  assurance  and 
solemnly  declared  by  the  throne  of  Bappa  Rawal, 
that  they  would  not  permit  mansions  to  be  raised  until 
Mewar  had  recovered  her  independence.  The  soul  of 
Pratap  was  satisfied,  and  with  joy  he  expired. 

Rana  Pratap  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Amar  Singh 
in  1597.  He  reorganised  the  institutions  of  the  state, 
made  a  fresh  assessment  of  the  lands,  and  regulated 
the  conditions  of  military  service.  The  Mughals  took  the 
offensive  again,  and  in  1599  Akbar  sent  Prince  Salim  and 
Raja  Man  Singh  to  invade  Mewar,  The  Prince  frittered 
away  his  time  in  the  pursuit  of  pleasure  at  Ajmer,  but 
the  v  aliant  Raja  aided  by  other  officers  did  a  great  deal. 
Amar  led  the  attack,  but  he  was  defeated,  and  his  country 
was  devastated  by  the  imperialists.  The  campaign  came 
to  an  end  abruptly,  when  Raja  Man  Singh  was  called 
away  by  the  emperor  in  order  to  quell  the  revolt  of 
Usman  Khan  in  Bengal.  Akbar  contemplated  another 
invasion  of  Mewar,  but  his  illness  prevented  him  from 
putting  his  plan  into  execution. 

Akbar 's  alleged  apostasy  of  which  an  account  will  be 
given  later  had  caused  alarm  in  orthodox  circles.  During 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  881 

the    years  1578-79  debates  were  held  at  Fatehpur  Sikri 

in  the  Ibadat  Khana  with  great  zeal  among^ 

eff°eo1t8C*f    the  protagonists    of    rival    sects.    Akbar 


had  himself  assumed  the  position  of  the 
Imam-i-jSidil,  and  read  the  khutba  from  the 
pulpit.    The  so-calledjr^l^lite^ 


^ 

and  civil^raised  a  storm  among  the  ulama.^  The  emperor'a 
3isSre^Sr3  oForthodoxy  ,  which  was  manifest  in  the  rulea 
and  regulations  issued  by  him,  further  exasperated  the 
learned  in  the  law,  and  produced  a  great  uneasiness  in 
the  minds  of  the  Muslims.  The  more  desperate  began 
to  devise  ways  and  means  of  getting  rid  of  the  heretical 
emperor.  It  was  in  such  a  position  that  Akbar  found 
himself  in  1580-81.  T^4??lf|^1^^ 
cwsed^jprofojandjdjsmay  in  orthodox  quarters,  and^$he 
history  of  the  rebellion^^tbat_  fpltoTOcf  is  closelyboiuid 
•  up  with  the  growth  pi  the  religious  policy 


emperor  adopted  under  theJnfluence  ol^EnsT  advisers^ 

Ithan-i-Jahan,  who  was  placed  in  charge  of  Bengal 
after  the  suppression  of  Daud,  died  in  May,  1579,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Muzaftar  Khan  Turbati  who  is 

in      degcribed    by  Nizamuddin    as    a    man    harsh 

in  his  measures  and  offensive  in  his  speech. 
The  imperial  Diwan  at  this  time  was  Shah  Mansur, 
an  expert  account  officer,  who  ordered  a  careful  enquiry 
into  all  titles  and  tenures  with  a  view  to  confiscate  all 
unauthorised  holdings.  The  new  regulations  were  en- 
forced in  Bengal  with  great  severity.  What  caused  dis- 
content among  the  Jagirdars  was  the  evident  injustice  of 
the  method  of  assessment  followed  by  the  administration. 
Each  case  was  not  examined  on  the  merits  but  an  average 


382  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

was  fixed  which  meant  that  every  Jagirdar,  whether  his 
title  was  valid  or  not,  had  to  restore  some  extra  land  to 
the  crown  or  to  pay  for  it.  The  result  of  this  was  that  the 
assessed  value  of  Jagirs  in  Bengal  rose  by  one- fourth  and 
of  those  in  Bihar  by  one-fifth.  There  was  another  'griev- 
ance. Having  regard  to  the  bad  climate  of  Bengal. 
Akbar  had  increased  the  allowances  of  soldiers  serving  in 
Bengal  and  Bihar.  Mansur,  who  was  a  strickler  for  admi- 
nistrative uniformity,  reduced  these  allowances  by  50  per 
cent  in  Bengal  and  by  30  per  cent  in  Bihar.  Even  the 
Sayurghnl  lands  were  not  exempt  from  this  inquest,  and 
the  ulama  were  greatly  agitated  over  what  they  regarded 
as  an  improper  interference  with  their  sacred  rights. 

There  was  yet  another  cause  which  aggravated  the 
turmoil  in  the  east.  It  was  the  emperor's  religious  policy, 
and  Abul  Fazl  clearly  states  that  the  establishment  of  the 
principle  of  universal  toleration  (Sulh-i-Kul)  was  looked 
upon  by  the  unthinking  people  as  an  abandonment  of  Islam. 
TheQaziof  Jaunpur,  Mulla  Muhammad  Yazdi,  had  issued  a 
fatwa  (a  solemn  declaration)  early  in  1580,  declaring  it 
lawful  for  Muslims  to  take  up  arms  against  the  emperor 
whose  measures  threatened  the  very  existence  of  Islam  in 
India.  With  these  causes  at  work,  the  actual  outbreak 
of  rebellion  could  not  be  long  delayed  in  the  east. 

The  immediate  cause  of  the  revolt  was  the  harsh  policy 
of  Muzaffar.  He  deprived  the  amirs  of  their  jagirs,  and 
enforced  the  dagh  system  with  needless  severity.  The  first 
to  revolt  were  the  Qaqshals,  an  important  Chaghtai  tribe, 
whose  leader-Bab^  Khan  resented  the  demand  of  the  dagh 
tax.  Muzaffar's  insulting  language  towards  Baba  Khan 
roused  the  ire  of  the  whole  clan,  and  the  Turks  advanced 
upon  the  city  of  Gaur  with  arms  in  their  hands,  and 


BRA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  383 

destroyed  the  property  of  the  governor.  They  were  joined 
by  others  who  had  their  own  grievances  against  the  state. 
The  emperor,  on  hearing  the  news  of  the  revolt,  sent  Raja 
Todarmal  with  some  other  officers  to  restore  order  in  the 
province,  but  they  failed.  Soon  after  Muzaff ar  was  put  to 
death,  and  the  whole  country  of  Bengal  and  Bihar  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  rebels.  Todarmal  tried  to  conciliate  the 
rebels  but  failed.  They  gathered  so  much  strength  that  the 
imperial  general  had  to  shut  himself  up  for  four  months  in 
the  fort  of  Mungher  which  was  besieged  by  them.  The 
emperor  sent  Aziz  Koka  to  Bengal,  and  the  two  generals 
with  their  combined  forces  crushed  the  Qaqshals.  But  soon 
after  this  a  new  danger  appeared  on  the  horizon.  This 
was  the  rebellion  of  Masum  Farankhudi,  the  -  Jagirdar  of 
Jaunpur.  He  was  defeated  by  Shah  Baz  Khan,  and  com- 
pelled to  seek  refuge  in  the  Siwalik  hills.  Through  the  good 
offices  of  Aziz  Koka  the  emperor  pardoned  him,  but  he  did 
not  live  long  to  enjoy  the  imperial  favour.  He  was  mur- 
dered by  a  man  who  had  a  private  grudge  against  him. 
Fighting  went  on  in  the  east,  but  the  force  of  the  rebel- 
lious movement  was  considerably  weakened. 

More  serious  than  the  rebellion  in  the  east  was  the 
invasion  of  Muhammad  Hakim,  Akbar's  brother,  who  ruled 
at  Kabul.  Mirza  Hakim's  mind  was  inflam- 
^phedeitioKnaabnd  *  **  the  '  idle  talk  of  the  rebels  of  the 
the  execution  eastern  provinces  '  who  made  no  secret  of 
Manser! WaJ  *  ^eir  designs  to  place  him  on  the  throne  of 
Hindustan  in  place  of  his  heretical  brother. 
Akbar  was  informed  of  Hakim's  designs,  but  he  had 
always  overlooked  his  faults  saying,  "He  is  a  memorial 
of  H.  M.  Jahanbani  (Humayun  Padshah).  A  son  can  be 
acquired  but  how  can  a  brother  be  obtained  ?  "  The 


384  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

Bengal  rebels  were  not  alone  in  opening  negotiations* 
with  Hakim;  they  were  joined  by  certain  officials  of  Akbar'a 
court,  one  of  whom  was  the  Diwan  of  the  empire,  Khwaja 
Mansur.  The  conspirators  had  pledged  their  adhesion  to  a 
bad  cause.  Hakim  was  a  debauchee  and  a  drunkard  'wholly 
incapable  of  meeting  his  brother  either  in  statecraft  or  in 
the  field/  The  court  officials  were  opportunists  or  turn- 
coats, who  will  have  no  qualms  of  conscience  in  transfer- 
ring their  allegiance  to  the  man,  who  established  his  title 
to  the  throne  by  success  in  battle. 

What  was  Hakim's  motive  ?  Nizamuddin  clearly  states 
that  he  set  out  from  Kabul  with  the  object  of  conquering 
Hindustan.  In  the  middle  of  December  1580,  Hakim  sent 
one  of  his  officers  to  invade  the  Punjab,  but  he  was  driven 
back.  A  second  inroad  followed  under  Shadman,  but  he 
l^as  defeated  and  killed  by  Raja  Man  Singh.  In  Shadman  '& 
baggage  were  discovered  three  letters  from  Mirza  Hakim, 
one  of  which  was  addressed  to  Shah  Mansur,  purporting  to 
be  a  reply  to  an  invitation  to  invade  Hindustan.  Man 
Singh  sent  these  letters  to  the  emperor  who  did  not  disclose 
their  contents  to  any  one. 

After  Shadman 's  repulse,  the  Mirza  himself  marched 
into  the  Punjab  at  the  head  of  15,000  cavalry  and  advanc- 
ed upon  Lahore.  All  attempts  to  induce  the  local  chiefs  to- 
join  him  having  failed,  the  Mirza  hastily  withdrew  to  his 
country. 

On  hearing  the  news  of  the  Mirza's  advance,  Akbar 
reluctantly  decided  to  march  against  him.  He  gathered  a 
force  consisting  of  about  50,000  cavalry,  500  elephants  and 
countless  infantry.  To  guard  himself  against  conspiracy 
the  emperor  took  Khwaja  MansOr  with  him,  and  princes 
Salim  and  Mured  also  accompanied  him.  When  the  army 


BRA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  385 

reached  Panipat,  Malik  Sani  Kabuli,  Diwan  of  Mirza 
Hakim  came  to  the  imperial  camp,  and  stayed  with  the 
Khwaja  and  through  him  opened  communications  with 
the  emperor  against  his  master.  The  emperor's  suspicions 
against  the  Khwaja  were  confirmed.  Another  batch  of 
letters  was  discovered  which  convinced  the  emperor  of  the 
Khwaja's  guilt,  and  he  ordered  him  without  further  en- 
quiry to  be  hanged  on  a  tree  to  the  great  joy  of  the  officers 
of  the  state,  who  had  their  own  grievances  against  him. 

Akbar  continued  his  march  towards  Ambala  and 
Sarhind,  and  crossed  the  Indus  on  his  way  to  Kabul. 
Prince  Salim  entered  the  Khaibar  Pass  and  marched  upon 
Jalalabad,  while  Murad  advanced  towards  Kabul.  The 
Mirza  attacked  him,  but  he  was  defeated  and  put  to  flight. 
When  the  emperor  heard  that  Hakim  intended  to  take 
refuge  with  the  Uzbegs,  he  pardoned  his  offences,  and 
restored  his  kingdom  to  him  on  condition  that  he  will 
remain  faithful  to  his  sovereign. '  The  success  of  the  Kabul 
expedition  was  a  great  blow  to  the  orthodox  rebels,  and 
henceforward  the  emperor  was  free  to  deal  with  religion 
as  he  liked 


1  Dr.  V.  Smith  relying  upon  Monserrate  says  (Akbar,  p.  200)  that 
Kabul  was  not  conferred  upon  Hakim  directly.  As  he  did  not  wait  on 
the  emperor  in  person,  it  was  offered  to  his  sister  the  wife  of  Khwaja 
Hasan  of  Badakhshan,  when  she  came  to  see  him.  She,  however,  allowed 
Hakim  to  recover  quiet  possession  of  the  country.  Abul  Fazl  does  not 
mention  this.  Nizamuddin  supports  Abul  Fazl  by  saying  (Elliot,  V,  p.  426) 
that  His  Majesty  having  conferred  Kabul  rmmj  frfiril"  I!n1~Trn  turned 
towards  Hindustan.  From  Akbar's  attitud^TO^|SiSa!™^  think  that 
the  Indian  historians  are  right.  AgajX^tfofwWcvV^Sliave  the 
statement  of  Abul  Fazl  (A.  N.  Ill,  jpwffrjfa'ftogTJ^ 
emperor  that  he  regretted  that  he  coufil  notllmng  his  sisteund  IQrwaja 
Hasan  to  make  apology  for  him,  for  ifteJ9p£JB,  out  of  /ear  &&£  on\eeing 
his  evil  day,  gone  to  Badakhshan. 

There  is  no  reason  why  Abul  Fa 
the  truth   in  a  matter  like  this. 
Uzbeg  further  explains  Akbar's  lenid 


886  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

A  word  may  be  said  about  Khwaja  Mansur's  death. 
He  was  executed  hastily  without  sufficient  proof.  The 
letters  were  not  examined  with  care,  and  na 
attempt  was  made  to  identify  the  Khwaja's 
handwriting.  The  letters  seized  by  Man 
Singh  in  Shadman's  baggage  do  not  seem  to  have  been  of 
a  serious  nature  for  on  their  discovery  the  emperor  took 
no  action  against  the  culprit,  and  kept  the  contents  to 
himself.  The  last  letters  which  sealed  the  fate  of  the 
Khwaja  were  a  clear  forgery,  as  is  proved  by  the 
evidence  of  Nizamuddin  who  was  an  eye-witness  of 
these  events.  He  was  present  in  the  royal  camp.  There 
is  no  evidence  to  prove  that  the  earlier  letters  were 
genuine,  and  Dr.  Smith  uncritically  accepts  Monserrate's 
testimony. 

It  is  difficult  to  set  aside  Nizamuddin  who  positively 
states  that  the  emperor  regretted  his  execution  of  the 
Khwaja.  Regarding  the  early  letters,  Abul  Fazl,  who  is 
not  in  any  way  partial  to  the  Khwaja,  says  that  the 
sovereign  regarded  them  as  the  work  of  forgers,  and  for 
this  reason  did  not  show  them  to  the  Khwaja  Dr.  Smith 
convicts  the  Khwaja  on  the  evidence  of  the  first  batch  of 
letters  which  Abul  Pazl  unequivocally  describes  as 
forgeries.  We  cannot  accept  Monserrate's  account  in  the 
face  of  two  contemporary  writers  one  of  whom  says 
clearly  that  the  first  batch  of  letters  (which  Smith  holds 
to  be  genuine)  was  a  forgery  and  the  other  who  asserts 
that  the  last  batch  of  letters  on  the  evidence  of  which  the 
Khwaja  was  executed  was  forged  by  his  enemies.  The  real 
explanation  of  the  Khwaja's  death  is  to  be  found  in  his  own 
unpopularity  and  the  jealousy  of  his  fellow-officers.  Abul 
Fazl  says  that  from  love  of  office  and  cupidity  he  waa 


BRA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  387 

always  laying  hold  of  trifles  in  financial  matters  and 
displaying  harshness.  Those  who  felt  aggrieved  by  his 
harsh  policy  committed  forgeries  to  bring  about  his  fall. 
The  emperor  found  himself  in  a  difficult  situation.  He 
was  threatened  with  the  invasion  of  his  kingdom,  and 
hence  no  scrutiny  was  ordered  into  the  correspondence  of 
the  Khwaja,  and  he  was  forthwith  ordered  to  be  hanged. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Akbar  had  granted  a 
paltry  allowance  to  Muzaffar,  king  of  Gujarat,  when  he 
conquered  that  country.  Muzaffar  escaped 
Gujarat™ in  f rom  surveillance  in  1578,  and  took  refuge  at 
Junagarh  in  Kathiawad.  In  a  short  time 
he  collected  a  large  force,  and  with  its  help  captured 
Ahmadabad  in  September  1583,  and  proclaimed  himself 
king  of  Gujarat  He  seized  Cambay,  and  then  marched 
to  Baroda  which  he  easily  occupied.  Broach  followed  suit, 
and  the  vast  treasure  which  it  contained  was  seized. 
Probably  the  whole  of  Gujarat  fell  into  his  (Muzaffar's) 
hands,  and  his  force  quickly  numbered  30,000. 

The  emperor  was  disconcerted  by  the  news  of  Muzaf- 
far's success,  and  he  appointed  Mirza  Abdur  Rahim  as 
governor  of  Gujarat.  He  defeated  Muzaffar  in  the  battle 
of  Sarkhej  in  January  1584,  and  made  amends  for  the 
mistakes  of  the  previous  governors.  He  entered  the  capi- 
tal in  triumph,  and  pleased  all  by  his  urbanity,  tolerance 
and  culture.  Muzaffar  was  pursued  by  the  imperialists, 
and  was  again  defeated  at  Nadot  in  Rajpipla.  As  a  result 
of  this  battle  the  entire  mainland  of  Gujarat  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  imperialists  except  Baroda,  which  was  also 
surrendered  after  a  prolonged  siege  of  seven  months. 

The  emperor  was  delighted  to  receive  the  tidings  of 
victory,  and  bestowed  lavish  favours  upon  his  officers,  who 


988  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

had  given  proof  of  their  loyalty  and  courage  in  Gujarat* 
Mirza  Abdur  Rahim  was  given  the  title  of  Khan-i-Khanan, 
and  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  5,000.  The  emperor 
granted  him  also  a  horse,  a  robe,  and  a  jewelled  dagger 
as  a  mark  of  favour.  But  Abdur  Rahim  did  not  enjoy  the 
emperor's  bounty  alone.  Others  who  had  bravely  fought 
during  the  war  were  rewarded,  and  their  services  were 
duly  recognised.  The  Khan-i-Khanan  was  recalled  by  the 
emperor  in  August  1585,  and  after  his  departure 
Muzaffar  made  frantic  efforts  to  regain  his  power.  But 
he  was  at  last  captured  in  1592  by  the  imperialists. 
Finding  it  impossible  to  bear  the  humiliations  which 
he  thought  were  in  store  for  him,  he  ended  his  life  with  a 
razor  which  he  had  kept  concealed  on  his  person.  Aziz 
Koka,  the  imperial  general,  who  had  succeeded  Abdur 
Rahim  left  for  Mecca,  and  Gujarat  was  entrusted  to 
Prince  Murad. 

The  North-West  Frontier  problem  has  always  been  a 

source  of  great  anxiety  to  Indian  governments.    In  the 

thirteenth   and  fourteenth  centuries  when 


North-West  ^e  jy[ongOls  again  and  again  invaded  Hin- 
Po'iicy.  *  *  *  *  dustan,  the  rulers  of  Delhi  found  it  necessary 
to  take  effective  measures  to  safeguard 
their  frontier.  There  was  an  important  military  outpost 
at  Dipalpur,  which  was  once  held  by  such  a  redoubtable 
general  as  Ghazi  Malik,  better  known  in  history  as  Sultan 
Ghiyas-uddin  Tughluq.  Since  Balban's  day,  the  western 
frontier  had  always  been  guarded  by  distinguished  officers 
and  a  chain  of  military  outposts  was  erected  to  guard 
the  route  of  the  invader.  It  was  quite  natural  for 
Akbar  to  establish  his  firm  hold  on  the  countries  in  the 
inorth-west. 


BRA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  389 

The  elements  of  danger  were  two —the  Uzbegs  and 
the  wild  and  turbulent  Afghan  tribes  who  lived  all  along 
the  north-west  border.  Abdulla  Uzbeg  was  a  formidable 
rival,  and  was  likely  to  gain  the  sympathies  of  the  ortho- 
dox Sunnis  against  the  heretical  emperor.  The  tribea 
were  no  less  troublesome.  They  knew  nothing  of  the 
sentiments  of  honour  and  chivalry,  and  cared  nothing  for 
treaties  and  engagements.  Their  restlessness  always 
caused  disturbance  on  the  frontier,  and  Akbar  was  the 
first  to  curb  their  unruly  habits.  The  task  though 
extremely  difficult  was  accomplished,  when  Mughal  arms 
were  reinforced  by  Rajput  valour  and  skill.  Mirza  Hakim 
died  of  his  excesses  in  July  1585,  and  Kabul  was  annexed 
to  the  empire.  The  government  of  the  country  was 
entrusted  to  Raja  Man  Singh,  and  the  imperial  generals 
were  sent  to  subdue  the  ruler  of  Kashmir  and  the  wild 
tribes  of  Swat  and  Bajaur.  The  Roshniyas1  were  defeated, 
and  their  enthusiastic  leader,  Jalal,  who  had  planned  an 
invasion  of  Hindustan  was  killed  at  Ghazni  towards  the 
close  of  1600.  His  wives  and  children  were  captured,  and 
his  brother  with  other  relatives  numbering  14,000  was  sent 
to  the  court 

Another  tribe  which  caused  much  trouble  was  that 
of  the  Yusufzais,  whom  it  was  necessary  to  suppress,  in 
order  to  deprive  Abdulla  Uzbeg  of  an  opportunity  of 
fishing  in  troubled  waters.  Zain  Khan  and  Raja  Birbal 
marched  against  them,  but  their  mutual  quarrels  greatly 

1  The  Roshmyas  were  the  followers  of  Bayazid,  a  religious  fanatic 
who  preached  doctrines  subversive  of  the  religion  of  the  Prophet  of 
Arabia.  He  claimed  to  be  a  prophet  himself  and  attached  no  impor- 
tance to  the  teachings  of  'the  Quran. 


890  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

hampered  the  progress  of  military  operations.  The 
Afghans  profited  by  the  divided  counsels  of  the  imperial 
generals,  whom  they  attacked  with  great  force  with 
arrows  and  stones.  Nearly  8,000  soldiers  were  killed,  and 
Raja  Birbal  was  himself  among  the  slain.  The  emperor 
was  deeply  grieved  to  hear  of  the  death  of  his  dear  friend, 
and  for  two  days  and  nights  he  did  not  eat  or  drink  any- 
thing. After  this  disaster  Raja  Todarmal  and  Prince 
Murad  were  sent  against  the  Afghans  at  the  head  of  a 
large  army.  Todarmal  succeeded  in  crushing  the  rebels 
completely,  and  Abul  Fazl  records : 

"A  large  number  were  killed,  and  many  were  sold 
into  Turan  and  Persia.  The  country  of  Sawad  (Swat), 
Bajaur  and  Buner  which  has  few  equals  for  climate, 
fruits  and  cheapness  of  food,  were  cleansed  of  the 
evil  doers. " 

The  success  of  the  imperialists  made  a  great  impres- 
sion upon  Abdulla  Uzbeg  who  was  now  convinced  of  the 
impossibility  of  the  Indian  conquest.  He  opened  friendly 
negotiations,  and  sent  his  envoy  to  wait  upon  the 
emperor. 

Raja  Bhagwan  Das  was  sent  by  the  emperor  at  the 
head  of  5,000  men  to  accomplish  the  conquest  of  Kashmir. 
The  moment  was  opportune,  for  the  Rosh- 
Ka°sE? i68e!  niy»s  and  *he  Yusufzais  had  been,  by  this 
time,  put  down,  and  Abdulla' s  party  at 
Kabul  was  paralysed  by  the  vigour  and  enterprise  of  the 
imperialists.  The  Raja  along  with  Qasim  Khan  pressed 
on  in  spite  of  difficulties,  and  compelled  Yusuf ,  the  king 
of  Kashmir,  to  submit.  Yusuf 's  son  Yaqub  escaped  from 
custody,  and  desperately  struggled  in  vain  to  check  the 
advance  of  the  invaders.  He  was  defeated  and  compelled 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  391 

to  surrender.  Kashmir  was  annexed  to  the  empire,  and 
made  a  part  of  the  Suba  of  Kabul.  Yaqub  and  his  father 
were  sent  as  prisoners  to  Bihar,  and  were  placed  under 
the  custody  of  Raja  Man  Singh  who  was  transferred  to  the 
charge  of  Bengal.  The  emperor  paid  a  personal  visit  to 
Kashmir  in  the  summer  of  1589,  and  made  arrangements 
for  the  proper  administration  of  the  country.  On  his 
way  back  he  received  at  Kabul  the  news  of  the  deaths  of 
Rajas  Bhagwan  Das  and  Todarmal 

In  Northern  India  only  Sindh  and  Bilochistan  were 

still  outside  the  pale  of  the  empire.  The  island  of  Bhakkar 

had  been  subdued  in  1574,  but  a  large  part 

Conquest  of    Of  southern  Sindh  was   still  independent 

•Sindh,       1691  ,  .    ,  .  .       ,     ,  .... 

A.D.  The  emperor  highly  valued  the  acquisition 

of  Sindh  and  Bilochistan,  for  they  would 
furnish  him  with  an  excellent  point  d'  appui  for  the  con- 
quest of  Qandhar.  In  1590  Mirza  Abdur  Rahim  was 
appointed  governor  of  Multan,  and  ordered  to  extinguish 
the  independence  of  the  principality  of  Thatta,  ruled  at 
this  time  by  Mirza  Jani,  the  Tar  khan.  He  was  defeated 
in  two  well  contested  engagements,  and  was  compelled 
to  surrender  both  Thatta  and  the  fort  of  Sehwan.  Jani 
Beg  was  taken  to  the  court,  and  through  the  good  offices 
of  the  Khan-i-Khanan  he  was  treated  with  consideration. 
The  principality  of  Thatta  was  restored  to  him  as  a  mark 
of  royal  clemency,  and  he  was  elevated  to  the  rank  of  a 
grandee  of  5,000. 

Akbar  had  long  desired  the  possession  of  Qandhar 
which  was  the  key  to  the  north-western  position.  It  was 
not  difficult  to  conquer  it  as  the  Shah  was 
troubled  at  this  time  by  the  Turks  and  the 
Uzbegs,  who  were   constantly    fomenting 


392  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

strife  in  his  dominions.  It  was  this  weakness  of  the  Shah 
which  induced  the  emperor  to  send  an  expedition  against 
Qandhar.  The  campaign  was  opened  in  1590,  but  the 
final  conquest  was  not  accomplished  until  1595,  when 
Qandhar  was  annexed  to  the  empire  without  disturbing 
the  friendly  relations  with  the  Shah.  It  was  undoubtedly 
a  master-stroke  of  diplomacy. 

Towards  the  north-west  the  demonstration  of  the 
military  strength  of  the  empire  had  produced  a  good  im- 
pression on  Abdulla  Uzbeg.  He  dreaded  a  combination 
of  Akbar  and  Shah  Abbas  against  himself,  and  the  con- 
clusion of  Akbar's  campaigns  must  have  given  him 
much  satisfaction.  Henceforward,  he  tried  to  maintain 
friendly  relations  with  the  empire.  There  was  no  possibility 
of  an  Uzbeg  invasion  of  India  and  of  taking  advantage 
of  the  emperor's  difficulties  with  his  own  co-religionists. 

Having  made  himself  master  of  the  whole  of  Hindus- 
tan and  the  Afghan  regions  beyond  the  Hindukush, 
Akbar  turned  towards  the  Deccan.  It  was 
the  dissensions  of  the  Muhammadan  king- 
doms which  paved  the  way  for  the  conquest. 
The  first  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  imperial  force  was 
the  small  state  of  Ahmadnagar  which  was  torn  by  internal 
dissensions.  Taking  advantage  of  these  quarrels,  the 
Mughals  laid  siege  to  Ahmadnagar,  but  they  encountered 
a  formidable  resistance  at  the  hands  of  the  famous  prin- 
cess Chand  Bibi,  sister  of  Burhan  Nizam  Shah.1  The 


1  Burhan  Nizam  Shah  II  died  on  April  13,  1595,  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  son  Ibrahim  Nizam  Shah  who  was  not  liked  by  a  majority  of  the 
Amirs,  because  he  was  born  of  an  African  woman.  Ibrahim  was  slain  in- 
a  battle  against  the  Bijapuris  on  August  7,  1505,  and  his  Wazir  Miyan, 
Manjhu  raised  to  the  throne  a  supposition  son  of  Muhammad  Khuda- 
banda,  sixth  son  of  Burhan  Nizam  Shah  I  (1509 — 53)  and  imprisoned 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  393 

gallant  princess  herself  conducted  the  defence,  and 
throughout  the  siege  displayed  uncommon  powers  of  com- 
mand and  organisation.  Treachery  at  last  brought  about 
her  fall.  She  was  murdered,  and  the  town  was  captured 
by  assault  in  1600,  and  Ahmadnagar  was  annexed  to  the 
empire.  There  are  few  examples  of  such  heroism  and 
self-sacrifice  in  Mughal  history,  and  Chand  Bibi  is  still 
remembered  for  her  courageous  attempt  to  roll  back  the 
tide  of  Mughal  conquest  in  the  deccan. 

Miran  Bahadur,  the  new  ruler  of  Khandesh,  enter- 
tained no  friendly   feelings  towards  the  Mughals,   and 
felt  anxious  to  shake  off  the  imperial  yoke. 
Aelrgarh.6  °f      The  emperor  had  already  occupied  Burhan- 
pur,  but  Miran  relied  for  his  safety  upon  the 
fortress  of  Asirgarh  which  was  deemed  impregnable  in 
the  south.    It  commanded  the  main  road  to  the  Deccan. 

There  are  three  conflicting  accounts  of  the  siege 
given  by  Abul  Fazl,  Faizi  Sarhindi,  and  the  Jesuits  of 
which  the  last  has  been  accepted  in  its  entirety  by  Dr. 
Vincent  Smith  But  there  is  no  reason  why  the  account 
of  the  Jesuits  should  be  preferred  to  that  of  the  Muslim 
historians.  There  is  an  air  of  unreality  about  the  Jesuit 
version,  which  will  be  easily  understood  by  any  one  used 
to  weigh  historical  evidence. 

Abul  Fazl's  version,  shorn  of  its  verbiage,  establishes 
these  facts.  Some  time  after  the  siege  sickness  broke 
out  in  the  fortress  which  caused  many  deaths.  The 

Bahadur,  son  of  Ibrahim  Nizam  Shah,  in  the  fort  of  Jond.  The  African 
Amirs  who  knew  Ahmad  to  be  a  boy  of  spurious  origin  refused  to  recog- 
nise him  and  broke  out  into  open  rebellion.  They  gave  their  support 
to  Ohand  Bibi,  daughter  of  Husain  Nizam  Shah  I  and  widow  of  AH  AdiL 
Shah  I  of  Bijapur,  who  had  returned  to  Ahmadnagar  after  her  husband's 
death  and  who  now  espoused  the  cause  of  the  lawful  heir,  the  infant 
Bahadur  Nizam  Shah.  Unable  to  cope  with  this  powerful  coalition  the* 
Wazir  Solicited  the  aid  of  Prince  Murad  who  was  then  in  Gujarat. 


394  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

capture  of  Maligarh  disconcerted  the  besieged  garrison 
by  stopping  their  exit  and  entrance.  Through  the  efforts 
of  certain  imperial  officers  an  agreement  was  made  with 
Bahadur  who  presented  himself  at  the  court.  The  garri- 
son was  tampered  with  by  the  besiegers,  and  Bahadur 
was  pressed  against  his  will  to  write  a  letter  to  his  men 
asking  them  to  make  a  surrender.  Reading  this  with  Faizi 
Sarhindi's  narrative,  we  may  be  able  to  reconstruct  a 
true  account  of  the  siege.  Bahadur  was  induced  to  open 
terms  with  the  enemy,  and  an  agreement  was  entered 
into  with  him  which  was  perhaps  violated  by  the  emperor. 
The  garrison  was  seduced  from  loyalty  to  Bahadur  by 
means  of  bribery  and  not  by  honeyed  words  as  Abul 
Fazl  characteristically  puts  it.  Bahadur  was  coerced 
when  he  was  in  the  hands  of  the  emperor,  to  sign  a 
letter  to  the  garrison  of  which  mention  has  already 
been  made.  The  surrender  was  in  part  influenced  also 
by  the  fall  of  Ahmadnagar  in  1600,  which  must  have 
greatly  damped  the  spirits  of  Miran's  captains  and  men. 
Dr.  Smith  charges  the  emperor  with  perfidy,  and  says 
that  he  employed  treachery  to  capture  the  fortress.  He 
disbelieves  the  Muslim  chroniclers  whom  he  accuses  of  de- 
liberate falsehood,  and  writes  that  they  invented  the  story 
of  the  epidemic  in  order  to  hide  the  treachery  of  their 
patron.  This  is  not  quite  correct. 

No  attempt  is  made  in  the  Akbarnamah  to  disguise  the 
fact  that  Bahadur  was  induced  to  come  out  of  his  fortress 
and  his  troops  were  tampered  with.  Dr.  Smith's  statement 
that  Abdul  Fazl  attributes  the  surrender  of  the  fort  to 
pestilence  is  wholly  unfounded.  The  Akbarnamah  does  not 
say  anything  of  the  kind.  It  simply  says,  the  garrison  was 
attacked  by  a  pestilence  which  killed  25,000  people. 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  395 

Dr.  Smith  looks  upon  the  pestilence  as  an  invention  to  hide 
Akbar's  treachery,  but  it  is  not  clear  why  all  these  writers 
should  indulge  in  wanton  falsehood.  Firishta  whose  sources 
for  the  Deccan  history  are  reliable  supports  Abdul  Fazl,  and 
says  that  on  account  of  congestion  in  the  fort  a  pestilence 
broke  out  which  '  swept  off  several  of  the  garrison.' 
Dr  Smith  attaches  little  value  to  the  Akbarnamah  of  Faizi 
Sarhindi,  because  he  uncritically  accepts  Prof.  Dowson's 
view  that  it  is  nothing  more  than  a  compilation  based  in 
part  on  the  Akbarnamah  of  Abul  Fazl,  Now,  a  comparison 
of  the  two  texts  will  make  it  clear  that  they  differ  materially 
from  each  other.  Faizi  says  many  things  which  are  omitted 
in  Abul  Fazl  whose  account  of  the  siege  is  a  highly  condensed 
one.  Dr.  Smith  condemns  in  strong  language  the  action  of 
the  emperor,  though  at  the  end  of  his  narrative,  he  adds 
that  such  practices  were  common  in  India  and  elsewhere 
in  Akbar's  age,  and  are  still  prevalent  in  Europe.  There  is 
no  need  to  set  up  a  defence  of  the  emperor's  conduct  during 
the  siege.  It  is  true  that  Bahadur  was  detained  in  the 
imperial  camp,  that  the  garrison  was  enticed  by  means 
of  bribery,  and  that  the  Sultan  was  coerced  into  writing 
letters  of  authority  for  the  garrison  to  surrender  against 
his  will.  Probably  the  emperor  was  excited  to  a  high  pitch 
by  the  stubborn  resistance  of  the  beleaguered  garrison,  and 
found  the  prolongation  of  the  siege  inadvisable  in  view  of 
Salim's  revolt  in  Northern  India.  The  prestige  of  the 
empire  also  demanded  that  Asirgarh  should  be  captured  by 
any  means.  Considerations  such  as  these  urged  the  emperor 
to  employ  bribery  to  gain  his  end,  and  in  apportioning  blame 
we  ought  to  bear  in  mind  the  difficulties  and  anxieties  of  a 
statesman,  whose  reputation  was  staked  on  the  success  or 
failure  of  a  single  siege. 


396  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Akbar's  whole  career  of  conquest  may  be  conveniently* 
divided  into  three  periods,   the  conquest  of  Northern  India 
from  1558—76,  the  subjugation  of  the  North- 
W6St Fr°ntier  tribes  fr°m  158°— 96»    and    *h« 

conquest  of  the  Deccan  from  1598—1601  A.D. 

The  expansion  of  the  empire  began  early  in 
the  reign  (1558—60)  with  the  reconquest  of  Gwalior  in. 
Central  India,  Ajmer  in  the  heart  of  Rajputana,  and 
Jaunpur,  the  stronghold  of  the  Sur  Afghans  in  the  east. 
The  conquest  of  Malwa  was  effected  in  1561-62  by  Pir 
Muhammad  and  Adham  Khan,  and  the  fort  of  Mairta  in> 
Rajputana  which  commanded  an  important  military 
position  was  captured  about  the  same  time.  In  1564  the 
country  of  Gondwana,  ruled  by  the  noble  Rani  Durgavati, 
was  invaded  by  Asaf  Khan,  and  its  independence  was 
destroyed.  After  his  alliance  with  Bharmal  of  Amber,  the- 
numerous  chieftains  of  Rajputana  came  under  his  vassalage. 
The  first  to  be  conquered  was  the  fort  of  Chittor  in  1567, 
and  its  fall  was  followed  by  the  surrender  of  Ranthambhor 
and  Kalinjar,  and  the  submission  of  the  princes  of  Jesalmir, 
Bikanir,  and  Jodhpur.  Gujarat  was  annexed  to  the  empire 
in  1573  after  an  arduous  military  campaign,  and  was  entrusted 
to  Aziz  Koka,  the  emperor's  foster-brother  and  a  nobleman, 
of  great  ability  and  distinction.  This  was  followed  by  the: 
conquest  of  Bengal  in  1576  and  the  extinction  of  the 
independent  Afghan  dynasty.  Orissa  long  remained  outside 
the  empire,  and  was  conquered  sixteen  years  later  by  Raja 
Man  Singh  in  1592.  Having  mastered  the  Doab,  the  Punjab, 
Rajputana,  Bengal,  Gujarat  and  the  central  region,  the  em- 
peror turned  his  attention  towards  the  north-west.  Kabul 
passed  under  imperial  control  after  the  death  of  Mirza. 
Hakim  in  1585,  and  the  Yusufzais  were  suppressed  in  1586. 


$£:.: ..!?. ; M :  r 

f^O^AOa^/1^^    ^ J    *T*    ^  I 


AKBAR'8  3UBAHS 
-  10,  Malwi 


Lahore      11.  Behar 
Mu/tan     12.  Bengal 
Dolhi       13.  Khandes 
Agra        14,  Berar     j 
Oudh       15.  Ahmatfnagir 
Allahabad  16,  Orissa  | 


ERA   OF  RECONSTRUCTION  897 

The  frontier  trouble  was  set  at  rest  by  the  conquest  of 
Kashmir  in  1586  and  the  separation  of  the  local  Muham- 
madan  dynasty.  The  imperial  cordon  was  completed  towards 
the  north-west  by  the  incorporation  of  Sindh  in  1591,  of 
Balochistan  and  the  coast  of  Mekran  in  1594  and  the  province 
•of  Qandhar  in  1595.  The  danger  from  Abdulla  Uzbeg  was 
at  an  end,  and  Akbar  felt  completely  secure  in  the  pos- 
session of  his  dominions.  The  Uzbeg  chief's  death  in  1598 
added  further  to  his  security  by  removing  from  his  path  a 
formidable  rival,  in  whom  were  centred  the  hopes  of  the 
orthodox  Sunni  revivalists,  and  by  the  close  of  the  year  the 
empire  included  the  whole  of  Kabulistan  and  Kashmir 
and  the  entire  northern  region  north  of  the  Narbada 
river,  from  Bengal  and  Orissa  in  the  east  to  Sindh  and 
Balochistan  in  the  west. 

Having  rid  of  all  his  rivals  in  the  north-west,  the 
-emperor  set  out  to  conquer  the  Deccan.  The  Nizam-Shahi 
kingdom  found  it  difficult  to  resist  the  advance  of  the 
Mughals,  and  after  the  death  of  Chand  Bibi  Ahmadnagar 
was  annexed  in  1600.  Finally,  the  capture  of  Asirgarh  in 
1601  completed  the  process  of  imperial  expansion  which  had 
begun  in  1558,  and  the  empire  became  the  largest,  the  most 
powerful,  and  the  richest  in  the  world. 

Akbar  was  by  nature  a  man  of  liberal  ideas  and  his  out- 
look on  social  and  religious  matters  was  considerably  chang- 
ed by  his  marriage  with  the  Rajput  princesses 
forms"'8  Ie"*  an(*  his  constant  association  with  Hindu 
officers,  thinkers,  and  religious  preachers. 
He  introduced  a  number  of  regulations  to  mitigate  the  evil 
influence  of  the  unwholesome  social  usages  that  had  existed 
in  India  since  the  beginning  of  Muslim  rule.  He  abolished 
the  enslavement  of  the  conquered  enemies,  and  issued  an 


398  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

order  that  no  soldier  of  the  victorious  armies  should  in  any 
part  of  his  dominions  molest  the  wives  and  children  of  the 
vanquished. '  Soon  after  his  marriage  with  the  princess  of 
Amber  he  remitted  in  1563  the  pilgrim  tax  which  yielded 
an  income  of  crores.  In  1564  the  emperor  abolished  the 
jJeziya  throughout  his  dominions,  and  by  doing  so  soothed 
the  hearts  of  the  Hindus  who  disliked  this  tax  more  than 
anything  else.3  Knowing  full  well  what  the  abolition 
of  such  an  impost  meant,  the  emperor  described  his  edict 
as  '  the  foundation  of  the  arrangement  of  mankind/  He 
carried  the  measure  through  in  the  teeth  of  the  opposition, 
of  his  statesmen,  and  revenue  officers  and  the  '  chatter  of 
the  ignorant/  3  The  system  of  administration  was  consider- 
ably reformed,  and  the  plans  of  improvement  were  formu- 
lated during  the  years  1573-74.  With  the  advice  of  Todar- 
mal  the  emperor  issued  the  branding  regulations,  and  put 
an  end  to  the  evil  of  the  Jagir  system  by  converting  the 
jagirs  into  crown  lands  and  by  paying  salaries  to  his 
officers.  *  The  imperial  mint  was  thoroughly  reorganised, 
and  the  new  regulations  ensured  the  excellence  of  the 
coinage.  The  coins  were  of  pure  metal  and  exact  weight, 
and  were  manufactured  by  skilled  workmen. 

The  emperor  did  not  neglect  social  reform.  He  condemn- 
ed the  practice  of  Sati,  and  issued  a  decree  that  no  woman 
should  be  burnt  against  her  will,  and  in  one  case  he  per- 
sonally intervened  to  save  the  life  of  a  Rajput  lady,  whose 
relatives  forced  her  to  perish  in  the  flames  along  with  her 


1  A.  N.,  II,  p.  246. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  316. 
8  Ibid.,  p.  316. 

*  A.  N.,  Ill,  p.  06. 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  399> 

husband, l  In  every  city  and  district  *  vigilant  and  truth- 
ful '  inspectors  were  appointed  to  distinguish  between 
voluntary  and  forced  Sati  and  to  prevent  the  latter.2 
The  Kotwals  were  ordered  to  stop  the  evil,  and  one  of  the 
Ains  clearly  states  that  they  were  not  to  suffer  a  woman 
to  be  burnt  against  her  inclination.3  The  emperor  held 
highly  progressive  views  on  the  question  of  marriage.  He 
disapproved  of  marriage  before  the  age  of  puberty.  *  He 
looked  with  disfavour  on  marriages  between  near  relations 
and  high  dowries,  though  he  admitted  that  they  were 
preventives  against  rash  divorce  *  In  theory  he  condemned 
polygamy,  for  '  this  ruins  a  man's  health,  and  disturbs  the 
peaceo£ the  home. '  He  looked  upon  tne  marriage  oFold 
women  with  young  men  as  highly  undesirable,  and  appoint- 
ed  officers  to  enquire  into  the  circumstances  of  the  brides 
and  bridegrooms/'  His  views  on  educational  matters  were  < 
better  and  more  tolerant  than  those  of  other  Muslim 
rulers.  He  encouraged  the  study  of  Sanskrit,  and  extended 
his  patronage  to  Hindu  scholars.  Among  the  21  men  of 
learning,  placed  by  Abul  Fazl  in  the  first  class,  nine  are 
Hindus 7  Hindu  physicians  are  mentioned  in  the  Ain> 
and  one  Chandra  Sena  who  was  patronised  by  the  court 


1  When  Jayamal,  a  cousin  of  Raja  Bhagwan  Das,  died  in  the 
eastern  provinces,  his  widow,  a  daughter  of  Udaya  Singh  or  Mota  Raja, 
refused  to  be  a  Sati.  Akbar  rode  hastily  to  the  spot,  and  prevented 
her  relatives  from  compelling  her  to  burn  herself  on  the  funeral  pyre 
of  her  husband. 

a  Jarrett,  Ain,  III,  p.  42. 
3  Jarrett,  II.  p.  696. 

*  Ain,  I,  p.  277. 
6  Ibid.,  I,  p,  278. 

*  Ain,  I,  p.  278. 
1  Ibid.,  p.  638. 


400  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

is  described  in  the  Tabqat  as  an  excellent  surge3l&  Une 
innovation  which  was  much  disliked  by  the  orthodro  was 
the  Sijdah  or  the  ceremony  of  prostration  which  he 
encouraged  among  the  members  of  the  Din-i-Ilahi.1 
Abul  Fazl  writes  that  as  there  was  opposition  to  it  on 
the  ground  that  it  savoured  of  '  blasphemous  man- worship/ 
the  emperor  discontinued  it,  and  did  not  allow  even  his 
private  attendants  to  do  it  in  the  Durbar-i-am.z  But 
•even  he  admits  that  in  the  private  apartments  of  the  em- 
peror the  Sijdah  continued,  and  men  were  allowed  '  to 
participate  in  the  halo  of  good  fortune/3  Besides  these 
there  were  several  ordinances  relating  to  the  religious  and 
.social  practices  enjoined  by  Islam  which  will  be  discussed 
in  giving  an  account  of  the  emperor's  religious  views. 
The  first  Muslim  ruler  who  proclaimed  peace  and  good 
will  as  the  foundation  of  his  government  was  Sher  Shah 
who  effaced  all  distinctions  between  the 
otlheiTmdus.  Hindus  and  Muslims.  Akbar  went  farther 
than  Sher  Shah,  and  renounced  the  principle 
of  Sulh-i~kul  (universal  toleration)  which  at  once  went  to 
strike  deep  into  the  hearts  of  his  subjects  the  roots  of  his 
empire.  Under  the  influence  of  his  Hindu  wives,  he 
tolerated  the  Hindu  mode  of  worship,  and  openly  listened 
to  the  teachings  of  Hindu  saints  and  philosophers.  His 
marriage  policy  left  no  bitterness  behind  in  the  minds  of 
the  Hindus,  and  proved  a  healer  of  ancient  discords  and 
deep-rooted  antagonisms.  The  ladies  admitted  into  the 


1  Ibid,,  I,  pp.  168-9. 
*  Ibid.,  I,  p.  159. 

The  Sijdah   was   stopped   but  the  taslim   or  Cornish  continued 
throughout  the  reign. 

8  Ibid.,  p.  169. 


ERA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  401 

imperial  haram  were  accorded  the  highest  honours,  and 
the  emperor  lavished  his  care  and  affection  upon  them 
without  the  slightest  consideration  of  caste  or  creed. 
There  had  been  marriages  before  between  the  Hindus  and 
Muslims  in  the  north  as  well  as  in  the  south,  but  they 
were  not  accompanied  by  a  policy  of  conciliation,  and  their 
result  was  often  to  widen  the  breach  between  the  two 
parties.  Akbar'sjiolicy  is  in  striking  contrast  with  that 
of  Ghiyasuddm"^!^  or  theBahmam 

andfVijayanagar  kings.     The  Rajputs,   w1fu>  entered  into 

*~     *"'     '  •*  m^a+f"  ^^^"Hr 

marriage  ^reflations  with  Akbar,  were  treated  as  equals  for 
all  practical  purposes.  They  were  admitted  to  the  highest 
offices  in  the  state.  They  were  granted  mansabs,  and 
were  entrusted  with  the  command  of  the  most  important 
expeditions.  RajaBirbal,  Raja  Todarmal,  Raja  BhagwSn 
Das,  Raja  Man  Singh  were  the  trusted  servants  and 
intimate  friends  of  the  emperor,  who  fully  recognised 
their  talents  and  conferred  upon  them  the  highest  distinc- 
tions. The  results  of  this  policy  were  seen  in  the  improved 
methods  of  administration  and  the  willing  homage  of  the 
non-Muslim  population  all  over  Hindustan. 

Uncler  Akbar's  patronage  the  Hindu  JSSIUusjsoaredJx)  a 
highpitch,  ancl  the  Hmdu  mindjleyelc^^  f  ullestTex- 


tent.  It  \vas  not  only  Hindu  statesmen  and  generals 
who  contributed  to  the  glory  of  the  empire  but  also  the 
numerous  poets,  scholars,  musicians  and  painters  who 
flocked  to  his  court  and  looked  upon  it  as  a  privilege  to  seek 
his  favour.  Some  of  the  greatest  Hindi  poets  lived 
during  his  reign,  and  their  works  furnish  evidence  of  the 
•conditions  which  made  them  possible.  Akbar's  sympathy 
with  Hindu  religion  and  his  patronage  of  Hindi  literature 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  the  Hindus.  The  memories 

F.  26 


402  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

of  the  past  were  forgotten!  and  in  their  emperor  they  saw 
tKelirstTia^^  ^-~-     •— ~ 

''"^''liVIieir^^  he  placed  Salim  in 

charge  of  the  capital  and  asked  him  to  commence  operations 
against  Mewar  along  with  Raja  Man  Singh 
a*"1  Shah  Quli  Kh*n-  But  Salim  did  not  carry 
out  his  father's  orders.  His  impatience  to  seize 
the  throne  urged  him  to  make  an  attempt  at  usurping  the 
insignia  of  royalty  before  his  time.  When  he  was  reproached 
for  his  misconduct  by  the  dowager  queen  Mariyam  MakSnl, 
he  left  Agra  and  went  to  Allahabad  where  he  declared  his 
independence  and  bestowed  jagirs  and  titles  on  his  asso- 
ciates and  supporters.  Akbar,  on  hearing  the  news  of  this 
rebellion  in  the  Deccan,  returned  to  the  capital,  and 
issued  an  order  to  Salim,  who  was  advancing  towards  Agra, 
asking  him  to  dismiss  his  men  and  wait  upon  him  or  to 
go  back  to  Allahabad.  Salim  retreated  to  Allahabad,  but 
there  he  set  up  as  king,  and  opened  intrigues  with  the 
Portuguese,  and  solicited  their  assistance  in  his  designs 

The  emperor  in  this  crisis  summoned  Abul  Fazl  from 
the  Deccan,  but  the  latter  was  murdered  on  his  way  by  Bir 
Singh  Bundela  whom  Salim  had  hired  for  the  purpose  in 
August,  1602.  Akbar's  grief  was  terrible.  He  passed  24 
hours  in  a  writhing  agony  and  exclaimed,  '  If  Salim  wished 
to  be  emperor  he  might  have  killed  me  and  spared  Abul 
Fazl.' 

Akbar  sent  his  officers  to  punish  the  murderous  Bundela 
chief,  but  he  successfully  eluded  his  pursuers.  Salim  escaped 
punishment  through  the  good  offices  of  Sultana  SalimSS  Be- 
gum, who  brought  about  a  reconciliation  bet  ween  father  and 
son.  Out  of  his  usual  generosity  the  emperor  pardoned  his 
offence,  and  once  again  publicly  declared  him  as  his 


ERA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  40$ 

heir-apparent.  But  this  kindness  had  no  effect  on  Salim.  He 
went  to  Allahabad,  and  again  set  up  an  independent  state. 

Meanwhile  the  imperial  court  was  the  scene  of  the 
worst  intrigues.  A  plot  was  formed  to  deprive  Salim  of 
succession  to  the  throne,  and  was  joined  by 
against  Salim8.  such  grandees  of  the  empire  as  Raja  Man 
Singh  and  Aziz  Koka.  They  were  actuated 
by  personal  and  political  reasons  to  set  aside  the  claims  of 
Salim  in  favour  of  Khusrau,  Salim 's  eldest  son,  a  young 
lad  of  17,  who  had  married  Aziz  Koka's  daughter.  Khusrau 
keenly  interested  himself  in  the  schemes  of  the  con- 
spirators, and  disregarded  his  mother's  advice  to  give 
up  his  unfilial  designs.  Prince  Daniyal  died  of  the 
effects  of  intemperance  in  April  1604,  and  his  death 
removed  from  Salim's  path  one  more  rival.  But  he 
did  not  desist  from  his  evil  course. '  At  last  Akbar  started 
for  Allahabad  in  person  (August  1604)  to  chastise  the 
prince,  but  he  had  not  gone  far  when  the  news  of 
the  serious  illness  of  his  mother  obliged  him  to  come 
back  hastily  to  Agra.  Frightened  by  the  emperor's 
decision  to  deal  with  him  in  person  and  by  the  news  of  the 
conspiracy  of  Man  Singh  and  Aziz  Koka,  Salim  also  came 
to  Agra  with  the  ostensible  purpose  of  expressing  his 
sorrow  at  the  death  of  his  grandmother.  A  reconciliation 
was  brought  about  by  the  ladies  of  the  imperial  haram,  and 
Salim  was  pardoned  and  restored  to  the  honours  he  had 
enjoyed  before.  But  nothing  served  to  heal  the  breach 
between  the  prince  and  his  son  Khusrau,  who  continued 
to  thwart  his  father's  wishes  and  indulge  in  acts  of 
ungratefulness.  The  unworthy  conduct  of  these  princes 
greatly  disturbed  the  emperor's  peace  of  mind,  and  he 

1  Prince  Murad  had  already  died  in  May  1599  in  the  Deccan. 


404  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM   RULE 

fell  ill.  Fever  accompanied  by  diarrhoea  or  dysentery 
confined  the  emperor  to  bed,  and  in  a  few  days  his  condition 
became  so  bad  that  his  physicians  gave  up  all  hope  of 
recovery. 

Meanwhile  the  plot  to  supersede  Salim  had  been  going 
on.  The  leaders  of  the  conspiracy  tried  to  effect  their  pur- 
pose by  arresting  Prince  Salim,  but  he  proved 
too  clever  for  them.  Foiled  in  this  attempt, 
they  held  a  conference  of  the  nobles  and 
officers  of  the  realm,  and  openly  urged  the  supersession  of 
Salim  by  Khusrau.  The  proposal  was  opposed  by  several 
officers  on  the  ground  that  it  was  against  the  princi- 
ples of  natural  justice  as  also  the  laws  of  the  Chagtai  Turks 
to  set  aside  a  son  in  favour  of  a  grandson  The  opponents 
of  Salim  gradually  melted  away,  and  many  of  them 
gave  their  adhesion  to  the  prince  whose  claims  they  had 
so  stoutly  resisted  a  short  time  before.  Aziz  Koka  himself 
acknowledged  the  prince's  claim,  and  Raja  Man  Singh 
left  for  Bengal  with  Prince  Khusrau. 

Having  received  the  support  of  the  nobles  and  grandees 

of  the  empire,  Salim  screwed  up  courage  to  wait  on  his 

father.     Akbar's  malady  had  far  advanced, 

of      an(j  jt  wag  cjear   tjiat    tjje    en(j     was    not  far 

off.  He  could  not  speak,  but  he  retained 
enough  consciousness  to  understand  what  was  passing 
-around  him.  When  Salim  had  apologised  for  his  misconduct 
by  prostrating  before  him,  he  beckoned  to  him  to  don  the 
imperial  robes,  and  to  gird  himself  with  the  sword  of 
Humayun  which  lay  near  his  bed.  Salim  obeyed  the 
-command,  and  left  the  room  in  accordance  with  the  royal 
wish.  Soon  afterwards  the  emperor  died  early  in  the 
morning  on  October  17, 1605.  A  stately  funeral  was 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  405 

arranged  in  which  the  highest  dignitaries  of  the  empire 
took  part,  and  Salim  himself  like  a  dutiful  son  carried  the 
bier  on  his  shoulders  to  some  distance.  The  emperor's 
body  was  buried  in  a  tomb  at  Sikandara  which  he  had 
commenced  to  build  during  his  lifetime.  It  was  completed 
by  his  son,  and  still  remains  a  striking  example  of  Mughal 
architecture. 

Among  all  theJVIi^njJdn^  the  scegtre 

in  HinSu^iPTCtbar    was  the  most  liberfl^exponent  of 
religious  toleration.    The^lGth  cgntur^  waa 
tic?  of  rthceeage"     w^W^  an^kbarJ55S 

its  most  perf^rrepr^sentoUyC^The  ground 
had  already  been  prepared  for  him  by  Kabir,  Nanak,  Chai- 
tanya  and  other  reformers  who  had  inveighed  against  the 
tyranny  of  caste,  emphasised  the  unity  of  the  Godhead,  and 
pointed  out  the  utter  hollowness  of  distinctions  between 
man  and  man.  AtterBjrtg Iradjbeen  rogde  jnjthe  past  to  bring 
the  Hindus  and  Muslims, in  closer  contact,  and  although 
they  pai<yifi2ia^ 

sTirmesT  noapp^  of  "success  was  achieved 

in  the^el^Df^olitics.  T^g^still  stoqii^ apart  fiWjgach 
other,  and  the  Muslim  divines  still  i!QQl^ended±hat  any 
concession  t(^]^  jrrfj^ 

frS£[^  The  IJlamsT  dominated 

thTstate  and  acted  as  the  guides  of  rulers  and  statesmen. 
Akbar  who  fully  understood  the  centrifugal  tendencies  of 
Indian  history  saw  the  need  of  reconciling  the  Hindus  to 
Muslim  rule,  and  resolved  to  shake  off  the  yoke  of  the 
canonical  order  and  to  evolve  a  policy  which  would  ulti- 
mately lead  to  the  fusion  of  the  two  races. 

Besides  this  political  and  mundane  motive  there  was  the 
eager  craving  of    his  soul  to  know  the  truth.    BadSoni 


406  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

relates  that  often  in  the  early  hours  of  the  morning  he  would 
sit  on  a  large  flat  stone  of  an  old  building, 
.         which  lay  near  the   palace  at  Fatehpur  in 
a  secluded  spot  with  his  head  bent  over  his 
chest,  and  meditated  on  the  eternal    mystery.4lL.Jife.    His 

The  SunnT&T 

is,  aridTS'ufis'*Tieid  divergent  doctrines  and 
often  quarrelled  amongst  themselves.  He  hoped  to  end 
their  quarrels,  and  cherished  the  dream  of  arriving  at  a  syn- 
thesis of  the  warring  creeds  and  to  unite  into  an  organic 
whole  the  heterogeneous  elements  which  constituted  his 
vast  empire.  The  bigotry  of  the  Ulama  disgusted  him  and 
alienated  him  from  Islam.  He  developed  eclectic  ten- 
dencies, and  began  to  indulge  in  metaphysical  discussions,  the 
result  of  which  soon  became  manifest  in  a  complete  re- 
versal of  the  traditional  policy  of  the  Muslim  State  in  India. 
It  is  interesting  to  trace  the  history  of  the  development 
of  the  emperor's  religious  ideas.  First,  there  was  the 
influence  of  heredity  which  did  not  a  little 
to  make  his  attitude  liberal  in  matters  of 
faith.  His  father  and  grandfather  were 
never  orthodox;  his  mother  was  a  Shia  lady  who  impressed 
upon  his  imittLjn  .eariy  youth  the  value  and  necessity  _of 
toS^nce.  Then  there  was  his  marriage  with  the  Rajput 
princesses  whose-  entry  into  the  imperial  haram  by  means 
of  lawful  nikah  wrought  a  profound  change  in  his  life. 
The  emperor  continued  to  conform  to  the  Sunni  formulae 
in  all  outward  observances  until  1575*  but  a^eat_ghange 
camejN^^  SJ^&ikh  JftfehaigJ^^^  sons  Faizi 

and   Abul    Fazl,    who  ""were 


led  him^js&tj$y    from    orthodox    Islam, 


ERA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  407 

and  opened  to  him  a  new_  wqrld^  of  thought  and  action. 
Thgy  w~ercT^^  the  diverse  creeds  were 

only  manifestations  of  ^^de^rejo^^lcnow ^  thejruth^nd 
stress  upoiLthe^lK^ 
uponThe  forffis  jnjjh|cjhrthjg^^  The  Sufi  doc- 

trine "Imarfced  a  rebellion  against  the  letter  of  the  law,  and 
its  exponents  urged  free  thought  as  the  primary  condition 
of  spiritual  advancement.  Sufism  i$  very  much  like  Ved- 

"  *  '  «*  i>  *&•  *K>  ^  ^tr*"***™*®**^  t-f^iff  tn&fi&tflt**    I!" 

antic  philosophy,  which  teaches  that  the  individual  souls 


Sufismlrom  his  early  youth 
of  Mubarak  and  his  soj)&  who  were  assisted  in  their  endea- 
v^rs^^SEaikhlKjuddin  of  Delhi,  who  enjoyed  the  Emper- 
or's confidence.  Like^Jiis,  friends  he^desired  „  to  attain 
eternal  beatitude  T>y  having  direct  communion  with  the 


ve^n  °^  ^^e  emPeror  developed  as   time 


passed.  In  1575  ^(TorBferedTa  riew^BuiiHing  £obe  construct- 
ed  at  Fatehpur-Sikri  called  the  IbcLdat  kkana 
at  where  the  Professors  of  different  faiths  were 
to  assemble  and  to  hold  religious  discussions. 
Itjyas  Lto  be  '  a  refuge  for  Sufis  and  a  home^fpj*,  hgl^^men 
into  whiclx^none  should  __be  allowed  to  enter  but  Sayyads 
ofj^h^j^^^learned  men  and^Shaikh^nfferie  ftittie  pro* 
fessors  of  different  creeds,  BrahmansT^ains,  Parsis,  Chris- 
tians and  Muslims  from  all  parts  of  the  country  to  assist 
the  emperor  in  finding  a  solution  of  the  problem  that 
oppressed  his  soul.  The  author  of  the  Zabd-ut-tawarikh 
writes  that  he  gave  the  most  deliberate  attention  to  all 
that  he  heard,  for  his  mind  was  solely  bent  upon  ascer- 
taining the  truth.  To  the  assembled  doctors  he  said  :  "My 


408  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

sole  object,  Oh  Wise  Mullas!  is  to  ascertain  truth,  to  find 
out  and  disclose  the  principles  of  genuine  religion,  and  to 
trace  it  to  the  divine  origin.  Take  care,  therefore,  that 
through  the  influence  of  your  human  passions  you  are  not 
induced  to  conceal  the  truth :  and  say  nothing  contrary  to 
the  almighty  decrees.  If  you  do,  you  are  responsible 
before  God  for  the  consequences  of  your  impiety. "  The 
theological  debate jgagedjk^^  and  the  prota- 

gonists olTnval  sects  tried  to  tear  one  another  in  argument. 
They  found  it  difficult  to  control  their  passions  which  often 
burst  out  in  highly  undignified  scenes.  The  leaders  of  the 
orthodox  party  were  Shaikh  Makhdum-ul-Mulk  and  Shaikh 
Abdunnabi  whereas  the^  free  th]in.ke^JEere  ^represented 
by  such  men  as  Mubarak.  AbiiTFaiz,  Abul  Fazl  and  gaia. 

**£,   ^  *„,,    -        ,„-  .     -"-    '  -^  s.***yr  .  ^^^-^"^tiv^^^  .Df^****^.U*»#*f<*Lm***KK-rn''       j^T 

Blrbal.  The  orthodox  quarrelleoamong  themselves,  and  the 
most  notable  quarrel  was  that  of  these  two  Shaikhs, 
They  engaged  themselves  in  a  violent  controversy  in  which 
they  used  abusive  language  towards  each  other  to  the 
delight  of  their  opponents.  But  more  violent  and  bitter 
were  the  attacks  made  on  the  heterodox  section  by  the 
canonists,  who  waxed  eloquent  with  fury  in  denouncing 
their  ways  and  practices.  The  Shias  looked  on  with  secret 
satisfaction,  while  the  blows  were  delivered  upon  their 
Sunni  opponents,  and  helped  in  the  circulation  of  lampoons 
and  satires.  The  Mullas  expressed  their  disapproval  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  most  solemn  subjects  were  discussed, 
and  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  emperor  was 
present  throughout  the  discussions  they  often  indulged  in 
abusive  and  filthy  language.  Badfioni  has  described  the 
scene  in  his  own  way ; 

"  The  learned  men  used  to  draw  the  sword  of  the 
tongue  on  the  battlefield  of  mutual  contradiction  and 


Pillar  in  the  Diwan-i-Khas,  Fatehpur  Sikn 
To  /at  e  pa^e  408 


BRA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  40* 

opposition,  and  the  antagonism  of  the  sects  reached 
such  a  pitch  that  they  would  call  one  another  fools  and 
heretics.  The  controversies  used  to  pass  beyond  the 
differences  of  Sunni  and  Shiah,  of  Hanafi  and  Shafi,  of 
lawyer  and  divine,  and  they  would  attack  the  very 
bases  of  belief.  "' 

His    Majesty    propounded  ^  s^^-jquisgtipns  Jo  the 
Musjim  doctors  of,  the  orthodox 


did  not  satisfy  him.  He  becam^onvip£&d.of 
th«  futility.  j>f  jthfiir^doctriii^anC  tonal  to 
other^teach^^for  li&ht.  There  were  Hindu. 
spiritualists  who*  explained  to  him  the  tenets  of  their  faiths^ 
and  urged  him  on  to  pursue  the  quest  of  truth  with  great- 
er enthusiasm  and  determination.  The  emperor  granted 
interviews  to  learned  Brahmans,  the  chief  of  whom  werfe 
Pursho  ttjanL.  ~and±JPebi  who  were  invited  to  explain  the 
principles  of  their  religion.  Debi  was  pulled  up  the  wall 
of  the  palace  in  a  ckarpai  to  the  balcony  where  the  emperor 
used  to  sleep,  and  suspended  thus  between  heaven  and  earth, 
the  Brahman  philosopher  '  instructed  His  Majesty  in  the 
secrets  and  legends  of  Hinduism,  in  the  manner  of  worship- 
ping idols,  the  fire,  the  sun  and  stars  and  of  reverencing  the 
chief  gods  of  the  Hindus—  Brahma,  Vi?nu,  Mahes,  Krisna, 
Rama  and  the  goddess  Mahamai.'  He  expounded  to  him, 
the  doctrine  of  metampsychosis  which  the  emperor  ap- 
proved by  saying,  *  there  is;  w^jreligion  in  which  the  doc- 
trine of  Jnmsn^ 

not  Brahmanism  alone  to  the  doctrines  of  wfiich  he  lent  a~ 
willing  ear.     Hejtgjj^equal  interest  in  Jainism,  Zoroastrian- 

and  SilcKism 
he  extended  av^grm  welcome. 

1  Al-Badaoni,  II,  p.  262. 


410  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

The_Jain  teachers  who  are  said  to  have  greatly  in- 
fluenced the  emperor's  religious  outlook  were  Hlravijaya 

BhSnuchandra  UpadKyaT 


l^  one  or  two  Jain  teachers 

always  remained  at  the  court  of  the  emperor.  From  the 
first  he  received  instructions  in  the  Jain  doctrine  at  Fateh- 
pur,  and  received  him  with  great  courtesy  and  respect. 
The  last  is  reported  to  have  converted  the  emperor  to 
Jainism,  but  this  statement  cannot  be  accepted  any  more 
than  the  belief  of  the  Jesuits  that  he  had  become  a  Chris- 
tian. Yet^the  Jajnsjjxercisedji,  far  j[reater  influencejyijhi§ 

^  Jesuits.  _  InJ.582^  the_em- 

fowhjsjCQiirtf  and  it  was  at 


*  w 

his  instance  that  hg  ^released  prisoner  a^ 
proEIbitecf    the     slaughter   of   animals  on    certain    days. 

*-   %    -'  ***,,*-**!«•**•  -4  ««^        ^v,*      ,,    ^v      »-Sf  ^  <  ,  „   ^    ^       ^,v,  „.*«,>  ^^         ^  * 

Eleven  years  later  another  Jain  teacher  Siddhachahdra 
paid  a  visit  to  the  emperor  at  Lahore,  and  was  fitly 
honoured.  He  obtained  several  concessions  for  his 
co-religionists.  The  tax  on  pilgrims  to  the  Satrunjaya 
hills  was  abolished,  and  the  holy  places  of  the  Jains  were 
placed  under  their  control.  In  sljgrtj  Akbar's  giyin&  up  of 
meatjndjhg^^  due 

to  the  influence  of  Jain  teachers. 

"^  The  Parsis  or  followers  lit  Zoroaster  also  attended  the 
imperial  court  and  took  part  in  the  religious  debates. 
BadSoni  writes  that  they  '  impressed  the  emperor  so 
favourably  that  he  learned  from  them  the  religious  terms 
land  rules  of  the  old  Parsis  and  ordered  AbuLJfcz]  to  make 
'arrangements  that  sacred  fire  should  be  kept  burning  at 
the  court  at  all  hours  of  the  day  according  to  their  custom.  ' 
The  Parsi  theologian  Dastur  Meheijee  Rana^who^  lived  at 
Navasari  in  GuiaraL  initiated  tne  emoeror  in  the  mysteries 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  411 

-ofZoroastrianism.     He    was  received  well  at  court  and 

(was  granted  200  bighas  of  land  as  a  mark  of  royal  favour. 

f  The  emperoradopted^the  worship  of  the  sun,  the  principal 

fountamof_air^rg,   and  in  this^he  was^nciSuraged  by  Tiis 

friend      ancf    companion     Ra^^Kllbal,       His     interest 


equally  keen.  He  sent  for  the  Chris- 
tian Fathers  from  Goa  to  instruct  him  in  the  tenets  of  their 
faith.  But  the  Fathers^werejtactless  enough  to  abuse  the 
indulgence  shown  to  themj>y  the  i  emgeror  by  vilifying  the 
Prophet,  afTd^matcing  ~un  worthy  ^  att^ks  upp^h^^uran.  so^ 
nauch  so  indeed,^aT^lone  occasion  the  life  of  J?gther 
Rodolfo  was  in  peril,  and  JJb&jBmperor  ha(LJaj)rovide  a 
spe'cian^jr^  It  does  not  appear  that 

the  Jesuits    Bid    anything    more  than  gjye     intellectual 
satisfaction  to  the  emperor,  whose  philosophical  earnest 
knew  no  bounds,  and  who  wished 


fs  u^oubtedJFguity  of  exaggera- 

tion when  he  says  that  the  contribution  made  by  the 
Christians  to  the  debates  at  Fatehpur-Sikri  was  an  im- 
portant factor  among  the  forces  which  led  Akbar  to 
renounce  the  Muslim  religion. 

TbgjBmperor^felt  a  ^reat_regard  for  the^Sikh  jGurus 
ajsp,  and  pn^  one  jDccasion  at  the  Guru  ^request  he  "remitted 
a  year's  revenue  for  the  benefit  of  The  ryots  injthe  Punjab. 
He  felt  a  great  admiration  for  the  GrantlTSahib,  and  once 
observed  that  it  was  '  a  volume  worthy  of  reverence.' 

The  causes   that  have  been  mentioned  before  ,  shook 

•  t|ie  emperor's  ToyaKyTio  ^~of  tHo^FTsIanu    He  clearly  saw 

the  danger  of  allowinglbo  much  power  to  the 

Khuetbamperial    Ulama-    He  would  not  allow  them  to  be  the 

sole  arbiters  of  disputed  questions,  and  wished 

*to  unite  in  his  own  person  the  power  of  the  state,  and  the 


412  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

functions  of  the  supreme  Pontiff  of  the  Muslim  Church. 
He  proposed  to  read  the  Khutba  from  the  pulpit  in  the- 
Fatehpur  mosque  which  was  composed  by  Faizi  for  the- 
occasion.  It  ran  as  follows : 

''In  the  name  of  Him  who  gave  us  sovereignty, 
Who  gave  us  a  wise  heart  and  a  strong  arm, 
Who  guided  us  in  equity  and  justice, 
Who  put  away  from  our  heart  aught  but  equity; 
His  praise  is  beyond  the  range  of  our  thoughts, 
Exalted  be  His  Majesty—  'Allah-u-Akbar  !'  " 

According  to  BadSoni,  as  the  emperor  began  to  read  the- 
Khutba,  he  became  nervous,  and  his  voice  trembled  and  he 
handed  over  the  duties  of  the  Imam  to  the  royal  Khatlb, 
but  he  is  not  supported  by  Abul  Fazl  who  asserts  that  the 
emperor  '  several  times  distributed  enlightenment  in  the 
chief  mosque  of  the  capital  and  the  audience  gathered, 
bliss/  There  was  flutter  in  the  orthodox  circles  at  the 
incident,  but  the  emperor  was  not  to  be  deterred  by 
the  clamour  of  bigots  and  zealots  from  the  path  he  had 
chosen  for  himself.  The  phrase  AllSh-u-Akbar  was  con- 
strued to  mean  that  Akbar  is  God,  and  the  orthodox  insist- 
ed on  this  interpretation  with  characteristic  pertinacity 
in  spite  of  the  emperor's  avowals  to  the  contrary. 

But  more  objectionable  than  the  reading  of  this  Khutba 
was  the  emperor's  assumption  of  the  role  of  mujtahid  at  the 
The  8o-caii-  suggestion  of  Shaikh  Mubarak.  As  a  result 
ed  infaiiibili-  of  this  step  he  was  to  become  the  supreme 
ty  Decree.  arbiter  in  all  causes,  whether  ecclesiastical 
or  civil,  like  Henry  VIII  of  England,  jn  \$1$  frfreJfffluy 
Ulama  agreed  to  declare  Jbim  the  Imnm-i-Qdil  (mujtahid), 
the  final  interpreter  of  Muslim  Law.  Shaikh  Mubarak 


ERA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  413 

hastily  drew  up  a  document  which  he  signed  "with  the 
utmost  willingness.'  An  English  translation  of  the  docu- 
ment is  given  below : 

'Whereas  Hindustan  is  now  become  the  centre  of 
security  and  peace,  and  the  land  of  justice  and  beneficence,  a 
large  number  of  people,  especially  learned  men  and  lawyers, 
*ave  immigrated  and  chosen  this  country  for  their  home. 

'  Now  we  the  principal  Ulama  who  are  not  only  well- 
versed  in  the  several  departments  of  the  Law  and  in  the 
principles  of  Jurisprudence,  and  well-acquainted  with  the 
•edicts  which  rest  on  reason  or  testimony,  but  are  also  known 
for  our  piety  and  honest  intentions,  have  duly,  considered 
the  deep  meaning,  first,  of  the  verse  of  the  Koran  :— 

"Obey  God,  and  obey  the  Prophet,  and  those  who 
have  authority  among  you,"  and  secondly,  of  the 
genuine  tradition : 

"  Surely  the  man  who  is  dearest  to  God  on  the  day 
of  judgment  is  the  Imam-i-§dil  ;  whosoever  obeys  the 
Amir,  obeys  Thee,  and  whosoever  rebels  against  him, 
rebels  against  Thee.  " 

"And  thirdly,  of  several  other  proof  s  based  on  rea- 
soning or  testimony;  and  we  have  agreed  that 
the  rank  of  SultSn-i-adil  is  higher  in  the  eyes  of 
God  than  the  rank  of  a  Mujtahid." 

1  Further,     wejieclaretljat  the^. J£ing_ J2|JtheJDslamf 
Amir  of  the  FaithIi2^HaHow^  God  in  .thajworld,  Abul 

Padshah 
(whose  Tctngdoih  God  perjpetuate)  is_jun^^ 

w}Sfi*-aiuL§J^  "* ~~         ~~ 

'  Should,  therefore,  in  future  a  religious  question  come 
up,  regarding  which  the  opinions  of  the  Mujtahids  are  at 


414  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

variance,  and  His  Majesty,  in  his  penetrating  understanding- 
and  clear  wisdom  be  inclined  to  adopt,  for  the  benefit  of  the* 
nation  and  as  a  political  expedient  any  of  the  conflicting- 
opinions  which  exist  on  that  point,  and  should  issue  a  decree 
to  that  effect - 

'  We  do  hereby  agree  that  such  a  decree  shall  be  bind- 
ing on  us  and  on  the  whole  nation. 

1  Further,  we  declare  that  should  His  Majesty  think 
fit  to  issue  a  new  order,  we  and  the  nation  shall  likewise 
be  bound  by  it;  Provided  always,  that  such  order  be  not 
only  in  accordance  with  some  verse  of  the  Quran,  but  also 
of  real  benefit  to  the  nation  ;  and  further,  that  any  opposi- 
tion on  the  part  of  his  subjects  to  such  an  order  passed  by 
His  Majesty  shall  involve  damnation  in  the  world  to  come 
and  loss  of  property  and  religious  privileges  in  this. 

4  This  document  has  been  written  with  honest  intentions, 
for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  propagation  of  the  Islam,  and 
is  signed  by  us,  the  principal  Ulama  and  lawyers,  in  the 
month  of  Rajab  in  the  year  nine  hundred  and  eighty-seven 
(987).' ' 

This  document  acted  like  a  bombshell  in  orthodox 
circles.  It  declared  the  emperor  the  spiritual  as  well 
as  the  temporal  head  of  his  subjects.  Hence- 
forward  he  was  to  be  the  umpire  in  all 
religious  disputes,  and  his  interpretation  was 
binding  on  all,  if  it  was  not  in  conflict  with  the  Quran,  and 
if  it  was  not  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the  nation. 
It  was  this  qualifying  clause  which  really  limited  the 
emperor's  authority,  but  the  orthodox  refused  to  notice  it 


J  BadSoni,  II,  p.    279. 
The  year  987  began  on  February,  28, 1679. 


ERA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  41& 

and  levelled  all  kinds  of  charges  against  him.  Dr.  Vincent 
Smith,  following  Badaoni  and  the  Jesuits,  writes  that  in  the 
course  of  a  year  or  two  Akbar  definitely  ceased  to  be  a 
Muslim,  and  adopted  a  policy  of  calculated  hypocrisy. 
There  is  no  evidence  to  justify  this  assertion.  The  orthodox 
section  didjiot^ 

"  quest  of  trutK~asTa  step"  towar3s^^tbe 


of  IslrnSSuFa  cause  of  dissatis- 

faction with  the  emperor's  policy  when  he  says: 

"  An  impure  faction  reproached  the  caravan-leader 
of  God-knowers  with  being  of  the  Hindu  (Brahman) 
religion.  The  ground  for  this  improper  notion  was 
that  the  prince  out  of  his  wide  tolerance  received  Hindu 
sages  into  his  intimacy,  and  increased  for  administrative 
reasons  the  rank  of  Hindus,  and  for  the  good  of  the 
country  showed  them  kindness.  Three  things  supported 
the  evil-minded  gossips.  First,  —the  sages  of  different 
religions  assembled  at  court,  and  as  every  religion 
has  some  good  in  it,  each  received  some  praise.  Prom 
a  spirit  of  justice,  the  badness  of  any  sect  could  not 
weave  a  veil  over  its  merits.  Second,  —  the  reason  of 
'  Peace  with  all,  (sulh  kul}  was  honoured  at  the  court 
of  the  Caliphate,  and  various  tribes  of  mankind  of 
various  natures  obtained  spiritual  and  material  success. 
Third,  —the  evil  nature  and  crooked  ways  of  the  base 
ones  of  the  age."1 

The  truth  of  the  matter  is  that  the  emperor  was 
disgusted  with  the  bigotry  of  the  Ulama,  and  was  planning 
a  new  synthesis  of  the  conflicting  creeds  with  a  view  to 
find  a  common  basis  which  might  be  acceptable  to  all. 

1  Akbarnamah,  III,  p.  400. 


416  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

He  did  not  claim  to  be  a  prophet  nor  did  he  approve  of 

his  own  apotheosis.    His^belief  in  Divine  Rjght_ 

toe  confounded  with  claim  to  be  ^ 


all  IBCh  cffAtllry  Kings  heTield  kTifgsHTp  to  be  divinely 
ordained,  and  this  belief  was  shared  by  his  Hindu  and 
Muslim  contemporaries  all  over  Hindustan.  His  real 
object  was  to  unite  the  peoples  of  his  empire  into  an 
•organic  whole  by  supplying  a  common  bond.  This  he 
hoped  to  accomplish  by  founding  the  Din-i-Ilahi  or  the 
Divine  Faith. 

The    new  religion  was  officially  promulgated   in  the 

year  1581.    It  was  an  eclectic  pantheism,  containing  the 

good  points  of  all  religions—  a  combination^ 

Promulgation     mysticism,  philosophy  and  nature  worsTiip. 

01     tne   Dm-i-       Tr--*^.  —  -^*  —  ~  ~  -         .-____^»-T—  —__-—-  —  «  --       -.  — 
ilahi.  ItBjtiSS^J^ 

jQ^r  prophets,    and  the 


emperor^was  its^chief  exponent.  Badaoni's  description  of 
tKenew  faith  by  the  phrase  Tauhid-i-Ilahi,  a  divine 
monotheism,  is  incorrect,  for  as  Count  Von  Noer  says  all  the 
practices  and  observances  of  this  new  cult  indicated  that 
it  was  based  upon  a  pantheistic  idea.  The  emperor's  Sufi 
leanings,  his  appreciation  of  Hindu  religion,  and  his  keen 
interest  in  rational  enquiry  and  philosophical  discussion  led 
him  to  i^gard^n^eligions  as  different  roads^leading  to  the 
goal.  Abul  FazTthus^atesTiis"pbsition  :  ~  ~  ~ 

"  He  now  is  the  spiritual  guide  of  the  nation  and  sees 
in  the  performance  of  this  duty  a  means  of  pleasing 
God.  He  has  now  opened  the  gate  that  leads  to  the 
right  path,  and  satisfies  the  thirst  of  all  that  wander 
about  panting  for  truth."1 

*  Aim  I,  P.    164. 


BRA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  41T 

Again  the  following  inscription  penned  by  Abul  Fazl 
for  a  temple  in  Kashmir  expresses  with  great  force  the 
emoeror's  attitude  in  religious  matters. 

'  O  God,  in  every  temple  I  see  people  that  seek  Thee, 
And  in  every  language  I  hear  spoken,  people  praise  Thee  ! 
Polytheism  and  Islam  after  Thee, 
Each  religion  says,  "  Thou  art  one  without  equal." 
If  it  be  a  mosque,  people  murmur  the  holy  prayer, 
And  if  it  be  a  Christian  church,  people  ring  the  bell  from  love  to 

Thee, 

Sometimes  I  frequent  the  Christian  cloister,  and  sometimes  the 

mosque* 
But  it  is  Thou  whom  I  search  from  temple  to  temple. 

Thy  elect  have  no  dealings  with  either  heresy  or  orthodoxy  ;  for 

neither  of  them  stands  behind  the  screen  of  Thy  truth. 
Heresy  to  the  heretic,  and  religion  to  the  orthodox, 

But  the  dust  of  the  rose  petal  belongs  to  the  heart  of  the  perfume* 

seller/ 

Abul  Fazl  gives  an  account  of  the  Divine  Faith  in  Ain 
No.  77  and  describes  the  rite  of  initiation  and  other  observ- 

ances to  which  a  person  desiring  to  become 
S-iiahithe     a  member  had  to  conform.    The  members 

of  the  Divine  Faith  on  meeting  each  other 
uttered  the  words  Allah-u-Akbar  and  Jalla  Jallalhu.  A 
dinner  during  lifetime  was  to  take  the  place  of  the  dinner 
usually  given  after  a  man's  death.  Members  were  fa 
abstain  Jrom  meat,  although  they  were  asked  to  allow 
others  to  eat  it,  but  during  the  month  of  their  birth  they 
were  not  allowed  even  to  approaclTmeSE'^  T^^i^re  Act 
to  Ulne  TwltlrtKi"  butcheTST^^ 

otESrTof  sucVlow^  give  ft  fi?rty 

anaiyersary^of^is  birthday  ancJLjriye  a 

to  bestowlalms  and  prepare  provisions 
long  journeyT"  There  weiSTSur^aeiBSees  of  devotion  to  His 


.  and  A!D,  77. 
F.  87 


418  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Majesty.  BadSoni  writes  of  them  :  '  The  four  degrees 
consisted  in  readiness  to  sacrifice  to  the  Emperor,  Property, 
Life,  Honour,  and  Religion.  Whoever  had  sacrificed  these 
four  things  possessed  the  four  degrees  ;  and  whoever  had 
sacrificed  one  of  these  four  possessed  one  degree.  All  the 
courtiers  now  put  down  their  names  as  faithful  disciples  of 
the  Throne!' 

The  emperor  did  not  promulgate  the  new  faith  in  the 

spirit  of  a  nTiSsionary,   zealous  for  obtaining  recruits.    His 

object    wasfnot  prbselytisation  but  a  new 

The  Emperor,     synthesis   of  the  warring  creeds.    He    ap- 

not  a  mission-  .      ,  .  .         .     .  .  .     .  .    , 

ary.  proachedthe  whole  question  m  what  we  might 

call  a  theosophical  spirit,  and  inculcated  no 
'rigid  formulae  ;  instead  he  appealed  to  the  judgment  of 
those  who  listened  to  him.  Itejas  Bhagwan_D§SL%nd  Man 
Singh,  if  BadSoni  is  to  be  believed,  gave  a  curt  refusal  when 
^^^S^h^mto  .join  the  new  cult.  Tleliever  compelledjais 
numerous  oBJcenT  IxT&jIow  him  thougTT  nochmg^woiild  have 


been  easier  for  him  to  do.  On  thjM^irtn^^ 
the  value  of  independent  judgm^a^  and  appealed  to  men's 
higher  j5^sciences  to  ^see  throj^h  the  veil  of  superstition, 
dogma^  and  ecclesiastical  formQll'ctTtl  The  Ain  mentions  18 
members^of  the  Din-i-Ilahi  among  whom  th^jnost^gromi- 
nent  are  Abul  JFazl,  FaizT,  Shaikh  Mubarak,  MirzaJani  of 
Thatta  and  Aziz  Itoka^wTTnse^raith  in  IslanTwas  shaken  by 
the  greed  of  the  harpies  of  the  Meccan  shrines.  The  only 
Hindu  to  join  was  Raja  Birbal  whose  cosmopolitan  views  won 
forhim  the  confidence  and  ^affecli;^^  Accord- 

ing  to  BadSoni  members  had  to  signal?  ecFafStion  to  the 
effect  that  they  had  abjured  Islam  for  he  says  in  one  place  : 
"Ten  or  twelve  years  later  things  had    come  to 
such    a    pass    that   abandoned    wretches    like    Mirza 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  419 

Jam',  Governor  of  Thatta,  and  other  apostates  wrote 
their  confession  to  the  following  effect—  this  is  the 
form:— 

"  I,  who  am  so  and  so,  son  of  so  and  so,  do  voluntarily 
and  with  sincere  predilection  and  inclination,  utterly 
and  entirely  renounce  and  repudiate  the  religion  of 
Islam  which  I  have  seen  and  heard  of  my  fathers  and 
do  embrace  the  '  Divine  Religion  '  of  Akbar  Shah,  and 
do  accept  the  four  grades  of  entire 
fice  of  Property.  Life.  Honou?-  an 


Accord  ing"  to  tire  same  writer  this  declaration  was 
handed  over  to  Abul  Fazl  and  '  became  the  source  of 
confidence  and  promotion/ 

The  promulgation  of  the  Din-i-Ilahi  was  followed  by 
a  number  of  decrees  against  Islam  of  which  BadSoni  has 
Ordinances  given  a  detailed  account.  An  orthodox  Mus- 
against  Islam  ]jm>  he  looked  upon  the  emperor's  ways  with 
great  abhorrence  and  felt  much  'heart-burning  for  the 
deceased  religion  of  Islam/  It  would  be  tedious  to  detail 
all  the  regulations  issued  by  the  emperor  which  BadSoni 
mentions,  but  it  is  necessary  to  refer  to  some  of  them  in 
order  to  understand  the  ^charge  of  seeking  to  destroy 
Islam,  brought^_against_  Ifim^^  orthodox 

section. 

s*^T?Ee  Era  of  the  Thousand  was  stamped  on  the  coins, 
and  a  Tarikh-i-Alfi  commencing  with  the  death  of  the 
Prophet  was  to  be  written. 

Sijdah  was  to  be  offered  to  Kings. 

Circumcision  was  forbidden  before  the  age  of  12  and 
was  then  left  to  the  will  of  boys. 

Beewas  prohibitec 

wives    hadcreated   a 


420  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

prgj5d|cejnjiigjnind  against  garlic  and  onions  which  were 


The  jgearing  of  beards  was  discouraged. 

The  wearing  of  gold  and  silk  dresses  forbidden  by  the 
shariat  was  made  obligatory. 

The  flesh  of  the  wild  boar  and  tiger  was  permitted, 
and  the  emperor  ordered  swine  and  dogsjo  be  kept  in  the 

regaf&ejfihe  going  t 


at  them  every  morning  as  a  religious  service. l 

PubHc_prayers  and  the  azan  (call  to  prayer)  were 
abolished.  MuslinTTlames  such  as  AJlQlgd,  MuhammaJTarffl 
*"  ~"  "  "  """  ^M^estj^that  he  got 

The  fast  of^R^nzSn  and 


Arabic  was  looked  upon  as  a  'crime'  and  Muslim  Law,  the 
Quran  and  the  Hadis  were  all  tabooed.  Their  place  was 
taken  by  mathematics,  astronomy,  poetry,  medicine,  history 
and  fiction  which  were  assiduously  cultivated. 

Rnya  werg  nnM^j^jmarri^  before  tfag  affe  of  *fi  and 
girls  before  14,  because  the  offspring  of^  such  marriages 
o  be  wg^klmd  aicklv, 


Mosques  and  prayer  rooms  were  changed  into  store 
rooms  and  guard  rooms. 

As  the  reader  will  easily  perceive,  some  of  these  regu- 
lations are  absurd.  Is  it  conceivable  that  a  tolerant  and 
liberal-minded  ruler  like  Akbar,  who  respected  all  religions, 
should  have  regarded  the  going  to  look  at  swine  and  dogs 
as  an  act  of  religious  merit  ? 

BadSoni's  diatribe,  couched  in  language  worthy  of  a 
gloomy  religious  fanatic,  Whose  heart  is  entirely  unillumined 

1  Al-Badioni,  II,  p.  314. 


BRA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION 


421 


by  the  light  of  reason,  and  whose  intellect  is  cramped  by 
sectarian  studies  as  his  own  admissions  so 
fiadsonim  °f  Profusely  illustrate  extends  over  hundreds 
of  pages,  and  his  narrative  is  frequently  dis- 
figured by  his  ravings  against  the  Hindus  whom  he  cannot 
bear  to  see  in  positions  of  power  and  influence  at  court. 
The  only  other  evidence  which  supports  him  is  that  of 
the  Jesuits,  but  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  they  took 
their  cue  from  the  orthodox  section,  which  had  declared 
war  against  the .  emperor.  Most  of  BadSoni's  statements 
are  based  upon  hearsay,  as  is  shown  by  the  trend  of  his 
narrative.  There  is  no  evidence  to  prove  that  he  had 
personal  knowledge  of  all  the  facts  which  he  relates,  or  that 
he  ever  tried  to  ascertain  the  truth. 

It  is  idle  to  discuss  whether  Akbar  renounced  Islam 

or  not.  /If  P  nrffiiysed  ft  hr^^yhgnd  in  whiqji  tfeg  intellectuals 

•could  join.     It  was  an^  association  J^gtudmts  ~anc 

thinkers^fioTiaS  "transcended  the  barriers  of 
sect  and"  creed  and  shaken  off  the  tyrannous 
yoke  of  age-long  customs^  It  is  not  necessary 
for  us  to  probe  too  closely  into  the  rules 
and  regulations  for  its  organisation  and  discipline.  .Imper- 
fections are  insepjaql^e  J:ron^  of 
do  well  to  keepm Tmi^tESnoft 


Din-i-Ilah  i, 
a  broth  er- 
"h  o  o  d  of  in- 
tellectuals. 


^ 

•emperor  and  the  steadfastness  with  which  he  pursued  it. 
******¥&  success  or  failure  of  the  Din-i-llahi  as  a  cult  is  not 
a  matter  of  importance.    Politically    it    produced    wholly 
beneficial  results* //Dr.  Vincent 

ift 


I  m  p  o  r  t- 
anoe   of   Din- 


monstr       growKjf^ 

another  Iglg^^^yry^s  that  it  wag^4  monument 
of  Akbar's  folly,  not  of  his  wisdom^^o  one  will  doubt  that 


422  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

this,  view  is  wholly  erroneous,  and  no  one  acquainted  with 
the  history  of  Akbar's  reign  will  endorse  this  unjust 
criticism  of  a  great  manrof  highjaims  and  noble  aspirations. 
The  German  historian  of  Akbar  does  him  greater  justice 
than  Dr.  Smith,  and  his  estimate  is  well  worthy  of  re* 
production.  He  concludes  his  well-known  work  with 
these  words  : 

"  Badaoni  certainly  takes  every  <-•  opportunity  of 
raking  up  the  notion  of  Akbar's  apotheosis  for  the 
purpose  of  renewing  attacks,  upon  the  great  emperor. 
He  however  was  never  in  intimate  relation  to  the 
Din-i-Ilahi,  he  repeats  the  misconceptions  current 
among  the  populace  marred  and  alloyed  by  popular 
modes  of  perception.  (_Akbar  might  justly  have 
contemplated  the  acts  of  his  reign  with  legitimate 
pride,  but  many  incidents  ofjus  jife  prove  him  to 
hqve  been  jimong  the  most  nSbdest'^of_men.^  It 
w#s  the  people  who  made  ^a  GSdTlJF^the  man  who 
was  the  founder  and  head  of  an  order  at  once  poli- 
tical, philosophic  and  religious.  One  of  his  creations 
will  assure  to  him  for  all  time  ft  pre-eminent  place 
among  the  benefactors  of  humanity— greatness  and 
universal  tolerance  in  matters  of  religious  belief. 
If  in  very  deed  he  had  contemplated  the  deification 
of  himself,  a  design  certainly  foreign  to  his  character, 
these  words  of  Voltaire  would  serve  as  his  vindica^ 
tion."  "  G&st  le  privilege  du  vrai  g£nie  et  surtoftt 
du  g£nie  qui  ouvre.  une  carr&re,  de  faire  impund- 
ment  de  grandes  fautes." ' 

'  1  Von  Noer,  I,  p.  848. 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  428 

It  was  Akbar's  interest  in  religious  matters  and  his  eager 
desire  to  know  the  truth  that  brought  him  in  contact 
with  the^Jesuits.     Ttjgy  were  invited  to  take 
part  in  the  debates  at  Fft*gh™"  **«"'-  and  the 
emperor  granted  them    interviews,  treated*, 
them  with  kindness,  and  shbwed  interest  in  the  Christiani 
doctrine,^although  Dr.^yincent^  Smith  wrongly^  asserts  that 
the  contribution  ma3e  Jp""fiSe  debates  by  the  missionaries 
|  was  an  T^Srtai^Jactor  ^whichTecJ  Akbar  to  renounce  rhe- 
Musiilm^seligionr    Akbar^l1?^^  him  ham, 

discussed  before,  and  it  will,  therefore,  suffice  to  remind  the 
reader  that  the^^suitjpriests  who  came  Jojijs  court  with- 
the  avowed  object  of  convertmgTnni  to  their  faith  fell, 
^1  religious^  fanatics,  int^"tEe"erfor 
emperor  was  really  willing  to  embrace  th 
All  their  correspondence  betrays  their  amazing  credulity. 
Obsessed  by  religious  zeal,  they  accepted  every  rumour  cur- 
rent at  Goa,  Delhi  or  Lahore  about  the  emperor,  and  gave  it 
wide  publicity  without  trying  to  ascertain  the  truth.  |jhree 
missions  were  sent  from  Goa  to  the  imperial  court  in  the 
hope  of  persuading  the  emperor  to  introduce  the  Christian 
religion  in  his  dominions.j  The  first  mission  started  from 
Goa  on  November  17,  157$,  and  reached  Fatehpur  Sikri  after 
a  journey  of  a  little  mere  than  she  weeks.  The  leaders  of 
the  mission  were  Father  Rudolf  Acquaviva  and  Father 
Monserrate1  both  of  whom  were  distinguished  by  enthus- 
iastic devotion  to  their  faith.f  Akbar  treated  them  with 
kindness  and  called  them  in  his  palace  A  where  he  talk- 
ed to  them  with  great  politeness.)  When  fte  time  came  to 

1  Monserrate  who  was  a  scholar  acted  as  the  historian  of  the  mission. 
His  chief  work  is  the  Mongolical,  Lagationis  Commentarious,  which; 
contains  an  account  of  Northern  India  and  the  Imperial  Court.  The  world 
lias  been  translated  into  English  by  Mr.  Hoyland  of  the  Nagpur  College. 


424  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

take  leave  of  their  royal  host,  the  Fathers  were  offered  a  large 
quantity  of  gold  and  silver,  which  they  refused  on  the  ground 
that  their  calling  did  not  allow  the  acceptance  of  such  gifts. 
Two  or  three  days  later,  they  presented  him  with  a  copy  of 
the  Bible  in  four  languages  and  also  portraits  of  Jesus  and 
Virgin  Mary  which  he  received  with  great  reverence.  The 
Fathers  were  full  of  proselytising  zeal,  so  much  so  indeed, 
that  they  described  the  Prophet  of  Islam  as  Anti-christ, 
and  Acquaviva  wrote  in  his  letter  to  the  Rector  of  Goa  that 
'in  honour  of  this  infernal  monster  they  bend  the  knee, 
prostrate,  lift  up  their  hands,  give  alms,  and  do  all  they  do/ 
They  talked  much  against  Islam  and  denounced  its  observ- 
ances, and  by  thgir_ind  iscreet^^ 

iogges  of  discontent  which,  as  Dr.  Vincent  Smith  admits, 
f niinH j^prPfiaTmTiyTtwn  fonflifiahTq  j^fcell  fo 

JigBerillef|KgTKro^  and  life  of  Akbar.  But  in  spite  of 
their  zeal  and  vilification  of  the  Prophet  in  which  they 
indulged  to  excess  at  times,  they  did  not  accomplish 
much,  and  When  they  asked  the  emperor  to  adopt 
the  Christian  law,  he  replied  with  his  habitual  courtesy 
that  'the  matter  was  in  the  hands  of  God,  who  possessed 
the  power  to  accomplish  what  they  desired,  and  that  for 
his  part  there  was  nothing  in  the  world  he  desired  more.' 
These  polite  refusals  were  interpreted  by  the  Fathers  as  the 
emperor's  willingness  to  embrace  the  Christian  doctrine) 

'  Negotiations  were  opened  again  in  1590.    The  emperor 

sent  theMlciHdngJefteii^o  the  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Goa. 

"  In  the  name  of  God.  *" 

The  exalted  and  invincible  Akbar  to  those  that  are  in 

God's  grace  and    have   tasted   of    his  Holy  Spirit 

and  to  those  that  are  obedient  to  the  spirit  of  the 

Messiah  and  conduct  men  to  good,  I  say  to  you, 


ERA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  425 

learned  Fathers,  whose  words  are  heeded  as  those  of 
retired  from  the  world,  men  who  have  left  the 
pomps  and  honour  of  earth  ;  Fathers  who  walk  by 
the  true  way,  I  would  have  your  reverences  know 
that  have  knowledge  of  all  the  faiths  of  the  world, 
both  of  various  kinds  of  heathen  and  of  the  Moham- 
medans, save  only  that  of  Jesus  Christ  which  is  the 
faith  of  God  and  as  such  recognised  and  followed  by 
many.  Now  in  that  I  feel  great  inclination  to 
the  friendship  of  the  Fathers,  I  desire  that  by  them 
I  may  be  taught  this  faith. 

There  has  recently  come  to  our  court  and  Royal  Palace 
one  Dom  Leo  Grimon,  a  person  of  great  merit  and 
good  discourse,  whom  I  have  questioned  on  sundry 
matters  and  who  has  answered  well  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  myself  and  my  doctors.  He  has  assured  me 
that  there  are  in  India  (Scil-Goa)  several  Fathers 
of  great  prudence  and  learning,  and  if  this  be  so 
your  reverences  will  be  able  immediately,  on  re- 
ceiving my  letter  to  send  some  of  them  to  my  Court 
with  all  confidence,  so  that  in  disputations  with  my 
doctors  I  may  compare  their  several  learning  atid 
character,  and  see  the  superiority  of  the  Fathers 
over  my  doctors,  whom  we  call  Qazis,  and  whom  by 
this  means  they  can  teach  the  truth. 

If  they  will  remain  in  my  court,  I  shall  build  them 
such  lodging  that  they  may  live  as  nobly  as  any 
Father  now  in  this  country,  and  when  they  wish  to 
leave,  I  shall  let  them  depart  with  all  honour.  You 
would,  therefore,  do  as  I  ask,  and  the  more  willingly 
because  I  beg  of  you  the  same,  in  this  letter 
written  at  the  commencement  of  the  moon  of  June." 


426  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

This  offer  gladdened  the  hearts  of  the  Fathers  who  wel- 
comed the  opportunity  of  teaching:  the  emperor  the  tenets  of 
their  faith.  A  second  mission  consisting  of  Fathers  Edward 
Leiton  and  Christopher  de  Yoga  was  sent  which  waited 
on  the  emperor  at  Lahore  in  1591.  He  treated  the  Fathers 
with  great  courtesy,  allotted  to  them  quarters  in  his  own 
palace  and  started  a  school  in  which  the  sons  of  nobles  and 
the  emperor's  sons  and  grandson  (Prince  Khusrau)  were 
taught  to  read  and  write  the  Portuguese  language.  But  a 
few  days'  stay  convinced  them  that  ibe  emperor  had  no 
intention  to  embrace  the  Christian  faith.  Dr.  Vincent  Smith 
says  that  Akbar  was  never  perfectly  sincere  when  he  used 
expressions  implying  belief  in  the  Christian  religion,  but  he 
does  not  blame  the  Fathers  for  their  childlike  simplicity  in 
mistaking  the  emperor's  latitudinarianism  for  a  desire  to- 
change  the  faith.  The  Fathers  ought  to  have  known  by  this 
time  that  his  expanding  soul  could  not  be  confined  within 
the  strait  waistcoat  of  a  formula,  nor  could  his  eager  and 
inquisitive  mind,  longing  to  know  the  truth,  find  satisfaction 
in  the  narrow  sectarianism  of  the  Jesuits.  Thejangifiror's. 
^t^egLJII^iirisManity  wjas^jnerely^Jj^llgctual,  but  the 
FatKers  were  obtuse  enough  to  think  that  he  seriously 
thought  of  declaring  himself  a  follower  of  Christ.  Their  cre- 
dulity is  revealed  in  their  readiness  to  accept  the  orthodox 
gossip  that  was  current  in  Hindustan  about  the  emperor 
The  following  is  an  instance  : 

"  The  emperor  turned  all  the  mosques  of  the  city 
where  he  lived  into  stables  for  elephants  or  horses  on 
the  pretence  of  preparation  for  war.  Soon,  however,, 
he  destroyed  the  Alcorans  which  are  the  turrets  from* 
which  the  priests  call  with  loud  voices  on  Mohammed 
saying  that  if  the  mosques  could  no  longer  be  used 


ERA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  42T 


for  prayer  there  was  no  need  for  the  turrets,  and 
he  did  in  his  hatred  for  the  Mohammedan  sect  and4 
in    his    affection    for    the   Gospel.      The   sub-deacon 
also  said  that  the  name  of  Mohammed  was  as  hated4 
at   the   Mughal's  court  as  in  Christendom,   and  that 
the  emperor  had  restricted  himself  to  one  wife,  turn- 
ing out  the   rest   and   distributing   them   among   his* 
courtiers.  Moreover,  that  he  had  passed  a  law  that  no- 
Mohammedan  was  to  circumcise    his   son    before   the 
fifteenth  year  of  his  age,  and  that  the  sons    should: 
be   at   liberty   on    attaining    years    of    discretion    to* 
enribrace  what  religion  they  chose." 
It  will  be  clear  from  the  above  extract  that  thejtesuit 
^  truths  and^urv  truths^  and  yet  Dr. 

Vijyjent  ^j^xJooke^^  sources 

of  information.  antL  b  y  placi  ng  too  jmc  h 


them  gave  to  th^jworid  a  highly  distorted  Digtyrq  of  the- 
greatest  Mughal  ei^^rg^f  41iHduBfcan. 
"'*  Aftersbrhe  time  the  Fathers  were  called  back,  and  the- 
mission  abruptly  came  to  an  end. 

In  1574  the  emperor  sent  another  ambassador  to  Goa  to* 
ask  the  Provincial  to  send  a  fresh  mission  to  instruct  him 
in  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian  faith.    The  Provincial  who 
knew  the  fate  of  the  first  two  missions  did  not  feel  inclin- 
ed to  comply  with  the  request,  but  after  consultation  with 
his  colleagues  agreed  to  do  so.    The  leader  of  the  new 
mission  was  Jerome  Xavier,  grand-nenhew  of  SjL  Francis* 
Xavier,    ancT^e^^as^'li^islEecr  by    others.    The  T5*atEers 
founff  the  emperor  at  Lahore  in  May  1595.    They   were- 
hospitably  received,  and  the  emperor  treated  them  with  a 
consideration  which  he  did  not  even  show  to  ruling  chiefs. 
But  like  their  predecessors,  they  also  made  the  mistake  of 


428  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

supposing  that  the  emperor  intended  to  accept  the  Christian 
faith,  when  they  beheld  him  doing  reverence  to  Christ  and 
Virgin  Mary  and  attending  a  litany  service  on  bended  knees, 
f  nd  with  clasped  hands  after  the  fashion  of  the  Christians. 
The^jscfijej^on  disillusioned  ;  and  Father  Xavier  j?JwjK?s 
greatly  disappoiflte<ar  "wrote  jrf^  him  tliat  he  was  drifting 

make     orl     He    listened    to 


Christian  faith,  but  showed  no  sign 
of  abandoning  his  superstitious  worship  of  the  sun,  which 
he  adored  every  day  at  sunrise,  and  an  image  of  which 
he  constantly  kept  near  him.  He  allowed  the  Fathers 
to  build  a  church  and  to  baptise  all  who  desired  to 
embrace  Christianity  of  their  own  free-will,  but  when  they 
asked  him  to  publish  broadcast  this  permission,  he  replied 
that  it  was  unnecessary  to  do  so.  The  idea  of  conversion 
was  not  likedjfry  the  people  of  Hindustan,  and  the  Fathers 
soon  despaired  of  securing  a  large  number  of  converts. 
The  members  of  the  third  mission  also  dwell  upon  the 
•emperor's  hostility  to  Islam,  and  their*  remarks  have  an  echo 
of  Badaoni's  diatribes  against  him. 
One  of  them  writes  :— 

"  This  king  has  destroyed  the  false  sect  of  Muham* 
mad  and  wholly  discredited  it.  In  this  city  there  is 
neither  a  mosque  nor  a  Quran,  the  book  of  their  law, 
and  the  mosques  that  were  there  have  been  made 
stables  for  horses  and  store-houses  and  for  the  greater 
shame  of  the  Mohammedans,  every  Friday  it  is 
arranged  that  forty  or  fifty  boars  are  brought  to 
iight  before  the  king,  and  he  takes  their  tusks  and 
has  them  mounted  in  gold.  This  king  has  made  a 
sect  of  his  own,  and  makes  himself  out  to  be  a 


ERA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION 

'prophet.  He  has  already  many  people  who  follow  him, 
but  it  is  all  for  money  which  he  gives  them.  He 
adores  God,  and  the  sun,  and  is  a  Hindu  (Gentile)  ; 
he  follows  the  sect  of  the  Jains  (Vertei)."1 
No  contemporary  Muslim  writer  corroborates  this  account 
except  Badaoniwhojtfas^ 

It  appears,  the  Fathers  heard  from  certain  Muslims  about 
these  matters  and  accepted  their  statements  without  a  critical 
examination.  They  fitted  in  so  well  with  their  hatred  towards 
Islam  that  they  readily  put  implicit  faith  in  all  the  reports 
that  reached  them  about  the  emperor's  alleged  apostasy. 

I^Akbar  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  kings  not  only 
in  the  history  of  India  but  of  the  whole  world .J  His  great 
qualities  are  amply  revealed  in  the  pages  of 
of  Akbwnality     the  Ain-i-Akbari  and  the  Atcbarnftmah,  and 
even  Badaoni's  hostile  pen  has  not  succeeded 
injbglittlinfr  the~lrrandeu^  Abul  Fazl's 

account  of  the  emperorV  cEaracter  and  habits  is  very 
largely  confirmed  by  Father  Monserrate  who  was  personally 
acquainted  with  him^)  Jahangir  also  describes  his  father 
in  the  Memoirs,  and  his  remarks  deserve  to  be  quoted, 
writes  : 

"  In  his  august  personal  appearance  he  was  of  middle 
height,   but    inclining   to   be   tall  ;   he    was    of    the 

1  Compare  with  the  above  Badioni's  calculated  misrepresentation 
of  what  the  emperor  did.  He  says  :  "  The  real  object  of  those  who 
became  disciples  was  to  get  into  office*  and  though  His  Majesty  di<J 
reerything  to  get  this  out  of  their  heads,  he  acted  very  differently  in  the 
case  of  Hindus,  of  whom  he  could  not  get  enough,  for  the  Hindus,  of 
course,  are  indispensable  ;  to  them  belongs  half  the  army  and  half  the 
land.  Neither  the  Hindustanis  nor  the  Mughals  can  point  to  such  grand 
lords  as  the  Hindus  have  among  themselves.  But  if  other  than  Hin4uf 
came  and  wished  to  become  disciples  at  any  sacrifice  His  Majesty 
reprovf  d  or  punished  them*  For  their  honour  and  zeal  he  did  not  Qfirev 
nor  did  he  notice  whether  they  fell  in  with  his  views  or  not."  Comment- 
upon  this  is  superfluous.  The  reader  may  be  left  to  draw  his  own 
inference. 


480  .HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

hue  of  wheat  ;  his  eyes  and  eyebrows  black 
and  his  complexion  rather  dark  than  fair  ;  he  was 
lion-bodied,  with  a  broad  chest,  and  hands  and  arms 
long.  On  the  left  side  of  his  nose  he  had  a  fleshly 
mole,  very  agreeable  in  appearance,  of  the  size  of 
half  a  pea.  Those  skilled  in  the  science  of  physiog- 
nomy considered  the  mole  a  sign  of  great  prosperity 
and  exceeding  good  fortune.  /[His  august  voice  was 
very  loud  and  in  speaking  and  explaining  had  a 
peculiar  richness.  In  his  actions 


^ 
he  WJISL   nqj:    li|lg  tfrq  p^^le^of^Jbhe   world,   and  the 


^ 
glory  of  God  mamfes^^  j 

""~~rr  Th^gooSTqualities  otTn^revered  father  arfe  beyond 

the  limit  of  approval  and  the  bounds  of    praise.    If 

books  were  composed  with  regard  to  his  commendable 

dispositions,  without    suspicion    of    extravagance,   and 

he  be  not  looked  at  as  a  father  would  be  by   his  son 

even  then  but  a  little  out  of  much  could  be  said." 

The  emperor's  features  were  so  majestic  and  impressive 

that  one  could  easily  recognise  at  the  first  glance  that  he 

was  a  king.     His  shoulders  were  broad,   and  his  legs  were 

somewhat  turned  inwards  and  were  well-suited  for  exercises 

in  horsemanship.    His  forehead  was   broad  and  open,   and 

liis  eyes  so  bright  and  flashing   that    they    looked    like 

the  sea  shining  in  the  light  of  the   sun.    His  nose  was 

•straight  and  small,  and  his  nostrils  were  widely  open.    He 

was  clean-shaven     except    for  a    moustache    which    he 

wore  after  the  fashion  of  the  Turkish  youths  who  had  hot 

yet  attained  to  manhood*    He  was  neither  too  stout  nor 

too  thin,  and  possessed  a  healthy  and  robust  constitution. 

His  countenance  was  highly  dignified,  and  the  Jesuit  writer 

1  Kogers  and  Beveridge,  I,  pp.  88,  84,  37. 


ERA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  431 

• 

-who  saw  him  in  his  38th  year  writes  that  his  expression 
^was  tranquil,  serene  and  open  and  full  of  dignity  and  in 
moments  of  anger,  of  awful  majesty.  He  laughed  heartily, 
-cracked  jokes  and  enjoyed  every  kind  of  entertainment, 
-but  when  he  was  offended,  his  wrath  was  terrible.  He  was 
^amiable,  polite  and  accessible  as  few  other  monarchs  in 
Muslim  history  have  been.  He  granted  audiences  to  the 
nobles  and  the  common  .people  alike  and  spoke  gently  to 
them.  His  manners  were  highly  pleasant,  so  much  so 
-indeed,  tha^ather  Jerome  Xavier  writes  of  him  that  'to 
*rutiasCTeat  with  the  greatand^ 

^  towards  him 

in^spite^of  his  heterodox  views,  and  the  Jesuit  writer  is 
surprised  that  he  was  not  assassinated  for  his  aberrations 
from  orthodoxy.  He  was  extremely  intelligent,  far-sighted 
•and  shrewd  and  was  capable  of  understanding  the  most 
difficult  problems  of  the  state  without  much  effort.  No 
•question,  philosophical  or  political,  could  baffle  his  intellect 
*nd  the  astute  statesmen  in  the  realm  found  in  him 
a  rival  in  quickness  of  perception,  industry  and  capacity  for 
ready  decision.  He  could  manage  a  theological  debate,  a 
military  campaign  in  a  far-off  province,  and  a  reform  in 
some  branch  of  the  administration  with  equal  easef  and  his 
highest  officers  always  valued  his  advice  and  suggestions. 

In  his  dress  he  followed  the  fashion  of  Muslim  kings. 
His  garments  were  made  of  silk  beautifully  embroidered 
in  gold.  He  was  fond  of  jewellery  and  wore  a  great  deal 
of  it  on  ceremonial  occasions.  His  headgear  was  a  turban, 
tightly  bound  and  decked  with  pearls  and  jewels.  He  liked 
European  dress  too  and  sometimes  put  it  on  in  private. 
He  always  carried  arms  on  his  person,  and  was  surrounded 
even  in  his  private  apartments  by  armed  bodyguards. 


482  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

£The  imperial  kitchen  was  a  huge  establishment,  but  the 
emperor  wa^extremely  temperate  in  matters  of  eating  and 
drinking.  He  took  only  one  meal  a  day^and  left  off  before 
he  was  fully  satisfied.  No  hours  were  fixed  for  his  meals  ; 
they  were  served  whenever  he  called  for  them.  He  was  sa 
gentle  and  unassuming  that  the  words  '  what  dinner  has  been 
prepared  today, 9  never  passed  from  his  lips.  But  his  table 
was  sumptuous,  and  great  precautions  were  taken  against 
poisoning.  I^JHe  gave  up  beef,  garlic  and  onions  in  order  to- 
avoid  giving  offence  to  his  Hindu  wives  and  friends.^e 
cared  little  for  meat,  and  in  his  later  years  completely  gave 
it  up/  On  the  question  of  meat  he  expressed  himself  in 
these  words : 

"  Men  are  so  accustomed  to  eating  meat  that  were 
it  not  for  the  pain,  they  would  undoubtedly  fall  to  on 
themselves.  Would  that  my  body  were  so  vigorous  aa 
to  be  of  service  to  eaters  of  meat  who  would  thus  forego 
other  animal  life,  or  that  as  I  cut  off  a  piece  for  their 
nourishment,  it  might  be  replaced  by  another. 

14  Would  that  it  were  lawful  to  eat  an  elephant,  so- 
that  one  animal  might  avail  for  many.  Were  it  not  for 
the  thought  of  the  difficulty  of  sustenance,  I  would 
prohibit  men  from  eating  meat.  4lhe  reason  why  I  do 
not  altogether  abandon  it  myself  is,  that  many  others 
might  willingly  forego  it  likewise  and  be  'thus  cast  into 
despondency  & 

Q"  From  my  earliest  years,  whenever  I  ordered  animal 
food  to  be  cooked  for  me,  I  found  it  rather  tastele^ 
and  cared  little  for  it.  I  took  this  feeling  to  indicate 
a  necessity  for  protecting  animals,  and  I  refrained  from 
animal  food," 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  488 

"  Butchers,  fishermen  and  the  like  who  have  no 
other  occupation  but  taking  life,  should  have  a  separate 
quarter  and  their  association  with  others  should  be 
prohibited  by  fine. 

"It  is  indeed    from  ignorance    and    cruelty  that 

although  various  kinds  of  food  are  obtainable,  men  are 

bent    upon    injuring  living  creatures    and    lending  a 

ready  hand  in    killing  and  eating  them  ;  none  seems 

to  have  an  eye  for  the  beauty  inherent  in  the  prevention 

of  cruelty,  but  makes  himself  a  tomb  for  animals." 

(jle  drank  much  in  his  early  youth  but  in  later  years 

he  rarely  did  so.    The  Jesuit  writer  says  4hat  he  quenched 

his  thirst  with  poft  or  plain  water!)He  generally  dined  alone, 

reclining  on  an  ordinary  couch  which  .was  covered  with 

silk  and«£ushions  stuffed  with  the  soft  fibres    of  some 

imported  plant. 

He  was  a  man  of  deep  affections.  iHe  enjoined  obe- 
dience to  parents,  and  regretted  that  his  father  Humayun 
died  so  early  that  he  could  render  him  no  faithful  service 
Towards  his  mother  and  other  relatives,  he  showed  a  great 
kindness  and  looked  after  their  comforts.    He  treated  his 
brother  Hakim  kindly  even  when  the  latter  rebelled  against 
him,  and  showed  favour  to   his  foster-brother  Aziz  Koka, 
whom  he  entrusted  with   important  military  commands. 
'He  loved  little  children,)and  used  to  say  that  love  towards 
Ttem  often  turned  the  mind  towards  the  Bountiful  Creator. 
He  had  a  great  love  for  Bibi  Daulat-ShSd's  daughter  \whora 
Tie  gave  the  name  of  Aram  Banu  Begum.    Often  he  said  to 
his  son  Salim  :  Baba  I  for  my  sake  be  as  kind  as  I  am,~  after 
me,  to  this  sister,)  who  in  Hindi  phrase  is  '  my  darling.' 
He  hated  pride  and  arrogance  and  behaved  as  the  humblest 

F.  28 


484  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

of  men.  When  he  organised  his  religious  order,  many  ex- 
pressed a  wish  to  become  his  disciples  but  he  refused 
to  admit  them  and  said  :  '  Why  should  I  claim  to  guide 
men,  before  I  myself  am  guided/1  Jahangir  writes  in  his 
Memoirs  that  notwithstanding  his  kingship  and  bound- 
less wealth  he  never  '  placed  his  foot  beyond  the  base  of 
humility  before  the  throne  of  God  but  considered  himself 
the  lowest  of  created  beings  and  never  for  one  moment 
forgot  God.'8 

His  time  was  carefully  mapped  out  so  that  not  a  minute 
was  wasted.  He  slept  only  for  a  few  hours  in  the  night, 
and  spent  most  of  his  time  in  philosophical  discussions  and 
listening  to  historians  who  related  the  events  of  bygone 
ages  'without  adding  or  suppressing  facts.'  After  day- 
break peasants,  soldiers,  tradesmen,  merchants  and  men 
of  other  avocations  gathered  near  the  walls  of  the  palace 
and  were  allowed  to  make  the  kornish.  During  the  day 
the  emperor  was  busy  in  transacting  the  business  of  the 
state.  He  himself  looked  into  every  detail  of  the  adminis- 
tration which  was  greatly  improved  by  his  methodising 
genius 

Though  himself  illiterate,  the  emperor  was  endowed  by 
nature  with  extraordinary  intellectual  powers.  He  had  a 
marvellous  memory  which  enabled  him  to  store  his  mind 
with  all  kinds  of  useful  knowledge.  He  knew  a  great  deal 
of  philosophy,  theology,  history  and  politics  and  could  easily 
give  his  opinion  on  the  most  abstruse  subjects.  Never 
before  in  the  history  of  Muslim  rule  in  India  had  so  many 
scholars,  poets  and  philosophers  gathered  round  a  king  and 


I,  p.  165. 
Rogers  and  Beveridge,  I,  p.  87. 


ERA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  486 

-enjoyed  his  patronage.  He  had  a  large  library  in  his  palace 
which  contained  books  on  all  subjects.  Learned  men  were 
.asked  to  read  these  books  to  the  emperor  from  the  begin- 
ning to  the  end.  He  made  a  sign  with  his  own  pen  every  day 
at  the  place  where  his  readers  stopped  and  paid  their  wages 
according  to  the  number  of  pages  read.  Thus  he  had  acquir- 
ed a  sufficiently  wide  knowledge  of  Asiatic  literature  which 
included  a  deep  study  of  Sufi  poets.  He  had  heard  the 
gospel  from  the  lips  of  the  Jesuit  Fathers  and  seems  to  have 
greatly  liked  its  teachings.  His  interest  in  art  was  keen  ;  he 
loved  calligraphy  and  employed  a  large  number  of  skilled  calli- 
graphists  in  his  service.fHe  was  fond  of  music  and  song,  and 
a  large  number  of  musicians  lived  at  his  court.  \  He  was  not 
devoid  of  a  knowledge  of  architecture,  and  the  buildings  of 
his  reign  testify  to  his  good  taste.  It  is  really  a  marvel  that 
he  should  have  drawn  in  so  much  knowledge  through  the  ear. 
Even  Dr.  Vincent  Smith  who  is  in  no  way  partial  to  him 
-acknowledges  his  great  Tntellectual  powers.  He  says  : 

"  Anybody  who  heard  him  arguing  with  acuteness 
and  lucidity  on  a  subject  of  debate  would  have  credited 
him  with  wide  literary  knowledge  and  profound 
erudition,  and  never  would  have  suspected  him  of 
illiteracy."  ' 

-He  knew  the  mechanical  art  and  himself  devised  several 


He  was  possessed  of  incredible  bodily  strength.  The 
Mongol  and  Turkish  elements  were  mixed  up  in  his  nature, 
and  he  displayed  the  qualities  of  both  races.  He  was  devoted 
from  his  childhood  to  hunting  excursions,  and  when  he  grew 

1  Akbar,  p.  838. 


4S6  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

to  man's  estate,  they  became  a  passion  with  him.  Sport  was 
a  source  of  delight  to  him,  and  nothing  gave  him  greater 
pleasure  than  the  chase  of  wild  and  ferocious  animals.  No- 
lion,  tiger  or  elephant,  however  fierce,  could  frighten  him, 
and  no  amount  of  fatigue  could  make  him  give  up  the  pur- 
suit of  his  game.  Fear  was  unknown  to  his  nature,  and 
whether  he  was  in  the  thick  of  battle  or  in  the  breathless, 
chase  of  some  wild  animal,  he  dashed  with  full  vigour,  and 
never  faltered  or  hesitated.  He  enjoyed  elephant  fights 
and  gladiator  combats,  but  had  an  abhorrence  of  bloodshed. 
He  was  at  times  so  reckless  of  his  own  life  that  he  plunged 
his  horse  into  the  Ganges,  when  it  was  in  full  flood  during 
the  rainy  season,  and  successfully  crossed  to  the  other  side. 

The  emperor  held  a  lofty  ideal  of  kingship.  Ever  devot- 
ed to  the  service  of  God  and  the  quest  of  truth,  he  had  a 
real  affection  for  his  people  and  a  genuine  desire  to  establish 
a  just  and  efficient  government  He  exerted  himself  to  the 
utmost  to  promote  this  end.  His  ideal  of  kingly  duty  is 
well  reflected  in  his  sayings  : 

"  A  monarch  is  a  pre-eminent  cause  of  God.  Upon  his 
conduct  depends  the  efficiency  of  any  course  of  action. 
His  gratitude  to  his  Lord,  therefore,  should  be  shown 
in  just  government  and  due  recognition  of  merit ;  that  of 
his  people  in  obedience  and  praise." 

"  Tyranny  is  unlawful  in  every  one,  especially  in  a 
sovereign  who  is  the  guardian  of  the  world.  " 

"  Falsehood  is  improper  in  all  men  and  most  unseemly 
in  monarchs.  This  order  is  termed  the  shadow  of  God, 
and  a  shadow  should  throw  straight.  " 

Dr.  Vincent  Smith,  relying  upon  Jesuit  sources,  dwells 
at  length  upon  Akbar's  artfulness  and  duplicity  in  state  craft 


BRA  OF  RBCONSTByCTION  437 

and  speaks  of  his  '  tortuous  diplomacy  and  perfidious 
action.  '  But  we  feel  much  relieved  to  read  in  his  work  a 
little  later  that  (Mgrtfljn  amount  Af  finQgq*  ™  inflvltahlft  in 
nd  politics,  and  that(Jiis  policy  was  not  more 


tortuous  than  that  of  the  European  princes  of  his 
The  same  learned  historian  goes  on  to  add  that  in  all  countries 
it  is  necessary  for  statesmen  to  practise  an  economy  of  truth, 
but  the  sense  of  racial  superiority  gets  the  better  of  his  judi- 
cial fairness,  and  leads  him  to  say  that  it  would  not  be  rea- 
sonable to  expect  an  Asiatic  potentate  like  Akbar  to  be  in 
advance  of  his  European  contemporaries  in  respect  of  straight 
dealing.  Dr.  Vincent  Smith  forgets  that  Akbar's  great  con~ 
t^mporarv  Elizabeth  lied  fthame1easlyT  and  Green  goes  so  far 
as  to  assert  that  in  the  profusion  and  recklessness  of  her  lies 
she  stood  w1'*1™^  a  pm*  in  Christendom. 

The  vile  methods  and  intrigues  of  other  monarchs  in 
France,  Spain  and  elsewhere  are  too  well  known  to  need 
mention.  Akbar  was  undoubtedly  superior  to  his  contem- 
poraries both  in  intellect  and  character,  and  his  policy  was 
far  more  humane  than  theirs.  Against  the  few  acts  of 
inhumanity  and  breach  of  faith  attributed  to  him  by 
Dr.  Smith,  it  is  possible  to  mention  a  hundred  deeds  of 
generosity  and  benevolence.  Accurate  and  impartial  re- 
search by  whomsoever  conducted  will  reveal  Akbar  to 
have  been  in  many  respects  a  greater  man  thap  his  Euro- 
pean contemporaries. 

The  greatest  title  of  Akbar  to  fame  is  his  policy  of 
religious  toleration.  He  was  tolerant  of  other  faiths.  No 
doctrinal  dissent  could  drive  him  into  fury  nor  could 
differences  of  opinion  make  him  lose  his  temper  or  disturb 
the  natural  serenity  of  his  philosophical  mind.  He  allowed 
JFathullah  Shirazi  who  was  a  Shia  to  say  his  prayers  in  the 


488  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

hall  of  audience  and  connived  at  his  practices,  because  he 
thought  it  good  to  encourage  a  man  of  talent.  On  the 
j&ygrgtri  dav  he  helfl  a  meeting-  Of  Higflu  ascetics  and  ate 
land  drank  with  them.  In  the  matter  of  worship  he  allowed 
the  utmost  freedom  to  non-Muslims.  He  never  countenanced 
forcible  conversions.  On  the  other  hand,  if  a  Hindu  had 
been  converted  to  Islam  by  force  in  his  childhood,  he  was 
allowed,  if  he  liked,  to  go  back  to  the  religion  of  his  fathers. 
JThere  was  a  standing  ordinance  of  the  emperor  to  the 

effect    that    TIP    nr^"    afrnnld    hp  intPrforpd  with   rm  jMwnfljt 

QfJiis-celigion,  and  every  one  should  be  free  to  settle  his 
own  convictions.  \  Another  "decree  laid  down  thaCif  the 
infidels  built  a  church  or  a  synagogue  or  an  idol  temple  or  a 
fire  temple,  no  one  should  molest  them.\  Himself  a  man 
of  catholic  views,  he  associated  with  the  learned  of  all  racea 
and  religions  and  comprehended  fully  the  meaning  of  their 
subtle  doctrines.  Abul  Fazl  tells  us  that  though  occa- 
sionally he  joined  public  worship  in  order  to  hush  the 
slandering  tongues  of  the  bigots  of  the  age,  his  ardent 
feeling  for  God  and  his  desire  to  know  the  truth  led  him 
to  practise  great  inward  and  outward  austerities.  This 
intimate  contact  with  the  learned  of  the  age  developed 
his  understanding  and  sharpened  his  intelligence  to  such 
an  extent  that  nobody  could  believe  that  he  was  illiterate. 
He  fully  realised  the  weakness  of  human  nature  and  used 
to  say  : 

"  It  is  my  duty  to  be  in  good  understanding  with  all 
men.    If  they  walk  in  the  way  of  God's  will   inter- 
ference with  them  would  be  in  itself  reprehensible  ; 
and   if  otherwise,    they   are     under  the    malady   of 
.    ignorance  and  deserve  my  compassion/' 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  439. 

He  was  sincerely  religious  and  devoted  to  God,  so  much 
so  indeed,  that  Abul  Fazl  writes  that  he  '  passed  every 
moment  of  his  life  in  self-examination  or  in  adoration  of 
God/    Dr.    Vincent    Smith    greatly   underrates   Akbar's 
attempt  to   organise   a   religious   order   with   a   view  to 
unite  his    subjects    of    diverse   races   and   creeds.    One 
wishes  that  the  distinguished  historian  had  paid   a  just 
tribute  to  his  genius  for  proclaiming  the  Sulh-i-kid  _  (uni- 
versal  peace)  at  a  time  when  in  Europe   the   principle 
enforced  was  cujus  regio  ejua  religio.    From  the  diet  of 
Augsburg,  which  met  a  year  before  the  imperial  accession  to* 
the  Treaty  of  Westphalia  in  1648,  Europe  knew  no  peace,  and 
the  religion  of  the  subjects  was  regulated  by  the  state.  The 
dissenter  could  only  choose  between  submission  to  the  dic- 
tation of  the  civil  ruler  or  emigration  from  his  territorial 
bounds.  (JEven  in  Dr.  Smith's  own  country  during  the  reign 
of  Elizabeth  Protestantism  was  imposed  by  force  upon  the 
Irish  people.    Philip  II  of  Spain  who  was  a  bigoted  papist 
openly  declared  that  it  was  better  not  to  rule  at  all  than  to 
rule  over  heretics.^  A  comparison  of  European  monarchs 
with  Akbar  easily  establishes  the  superiority  of  the   latter 
both  in  genius  and  achievement,  and  there  is  no  warrant  for 
the  disparaging  remarks  which  Dr.    Vincent  Smith  makes 
under  the  cloak  of  judicial  impartiality.  Qta  mental  power 

Akbar    waSJIpdnnhfcedly  thft  pppr    nf  ^ 


All  things  considered,  h^  will  r^nk  a^o^g  thp 
Iginffs  of  historv.)and  his  claim  to  this  pre-eminent  position 
will  always  rest  upon  his  grand  and  original  intellect* 
force  of  character,  and  the  solid  results  of  his  statesman- 
ship. 

The  Mughal  system  of  administration  was  not  original. 
The  methods  followed  all  over  the  Muslim  world  were 


440  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

t 

those  of  the  Abbasid  Khalifas  of  Iraq   or   the   Fatimid 
Nature      of     #balif5s   of  Egypt.    But    when   the  early 
iiughai  Gov-     Turfcs  came  to  India,  their  ideas  became  inter- 
ernmen  .  fused  with  the  customs  and  usages  of  the 

country.  The  Hindus  continued  to  be  employed  in  the 
revenue  department,  and  their  customs  and  practices 
exercised  a  powerful  influence  on  administrative  arrange- 
ments. Prhe  Mughal  administration  was  therefore  a  mixture 
of  Indian  a^jforeign  elemerits,knd,  to  use  Professor  Sarkar's 
expressive  phrase,  it  was  '  Fe^o-Arabic^  systgiguii^Indian 
getting.*  Its  elaborate  organization  entailed  much  record- 
keeping,  and  required  the  monarch  to  be  constantly  vigilant. 
Butjtjvasnot  who^Jbarajd  on..  jgrce.  (There  was  partial 
acquiescence^  the  people,  because  the  new  government  was 
more  humane,  tolerant  and  Beneficent.  It  respected  social 
the  villages  to  enjoy  their  time-honoured 


right^of  ^elf  :gp  y  ernment  \ 

The  head  of  the  administration  was  the  king  himself. 

In  theory  he  had  unlimited  powers,  but  in  practice  he  always 

_,     tr.  deferred  to  the  wishes  of  those   who  were 

The  King. 

*  near  him  or  who  were  affected  by  his  decrees. 
Even  the  most  absolute  monarch  has  to  consult  the  wishes 
of  the  clique  that  supports  him.  (AJk^bar  was  an  autocrat  but 
~  '  ;  did  not  ^  jmjfrte  ^irresponsibility  A  His  methods 

llffered"  from  Itlibse  of  the  ~  rulers  of  tHe  pre-Mughal  days. 
At  a  very  early  age  he  was  complete  master  of  his  kingdom^ 
and  annomi^^a^dicy  which  w?is  based_upon  liberal  and 
hiunamteri^^inciplesr  The  dis^iiiities  imposed  upon  the 
UntJfeiievertirwere  removed,  and  the  admimstratfon!*^ 
the  Hindus  and  Muslims  alike  in  all  matters.)  There  was  no 
exclusion  from  the  offices  of  the  state  on  religious  grounds, 
and  the  Hindusjvere  granted  complete  liberty  of  worship. 


ERA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  441 

The  principle  of  religious  toleration  glided  the  policy  of 
Akbar  and  augmented  the  gloryjc)f  his  empire.  Some  of  his 
ablest  ministers  "  radln^rtSniii^  friends  were  Hindus,  and 
the  emperor  always  consulted  them  before  taking  action  in 
important  matters. 

|    Never  during  his  reign  did  he  levy  extra  tax$&}although 
his  pSpert^^rs^impliedTa  heavy  strain  on  his  resources. 


It  is  true  he  tried  jo  repress  the  bigotry  oi[the^  Ujama  but 
he  did  so  in  order  to  ~end  their  interference  in  political 
affairs.  Much  of  the  careful  organisation  which  he  effected 
to  govern  his  vast  empire  was  the  outcome  of  his  own 
genius.  He  was  often,  as  Dr.  Vincent  Smith  says,  the 
teacher  rather  than  the  pupifof  his  ministers^"  Hisbureau- 

•a^ttMUftMIUwM-*  w.^v4-**»          •  —*"•-•       "  ~     •"•        '       ^  -fc.—..*      -v_  t    ,^~        ,.«,„  tww^.^  ,„.   .,  KJ,..   g^^BM—  I  ml***m*mmi  i     n  m 

^retcyT  nal  f-ci  vil  ,  half-military  admirably  seryed.his  purpose, 
and  .  administrative  efficiency  reached  its  high,  water-mark 
for  the  first  time  under  Muhammadan  rufe.  /Th 


himself  was  the  guiding  spirit  oj^^ll  i^formsand  policies, 
and  it  was  his  master-mind  whichjjirasped  the  minutest 
details  of  government,^  and  made  possiWe^±0^snioofIi 
working  of  the  whole  machinery.  Below  the  kingjkhe. 
Vakil  was  Jthe_pJQ,ncigal  executive  officer.  He  was,  as 
it  were,  tl^oltgf^o  of  the  emperor  and  was  consulted  in 
all  matters.  This  office  was  in  the  early  years  held  by 
Bairam  Khan,  the  tutor  and  guardian  of  the^emperor.  f 

•  Organisation          ^he  chief  departments  of  the  Mughal 
^f  civil    Go-     government  were  :  — 

vernment. 

(1)    Finance  (under 


(2)    The  military,  Pay  and  Accounts  office  (under 
JheMir  Bakhshi). 

1  There  were  no  departments  like  those  of  the  British  Government 
in  those  days.    This  is  only  a  rough  classification  to  assist  clear  under* 


442  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

(3)  The  Imperial  Household  (under  the  Khan-i-Snmnn 

or  Lord  High  Steward). 

(4)  Judicial  (under  the  chief  Qazi  known  as  the 

ul-Quzm).  ~  ~   1 

(5)  Religious  endowments  and  charitable  grants  (under 

the  Sadr-i-Sudur). 

(6)  Censorship  of  Public  Morals  (under  the  Muhateify. 
Somewhat  inferior  to  these  were  the  following  :— 

(7)  Artillery  (under  the  Mir  "Atish  or  Darogha-i-Top- 

khanah).  J 

(8)  Intelligence  and  Posts  (under  the 

Chowki). 


(9)    Mint  (under  its  own 

Abul  Fazl  describes  the  Diwan  as  the  emperor's 
lieutenant  in  all  financial  matters,  who  superintended  the 
imperial  treasuries  and  checked  all  accounts. 
f  Se  wai  the  head  of  the  revenue  department, 
ancTall  questions  pertaining  to  the  assessment 
and  collection  of  revenue  were  decided  by  himj  All 
revenue  papers,  returns  and  despatches  from  the  different 
parts  of  the  empire  were  ^gceived  in^ 


forjpaymftnt  except  those  regarding  petty  sums  of  money 
^ereinade  by  him^(The  Wazir  was  like  other  officers  a. 
nwwabctor,  i.e.,  holder  of  a  military  rank  in  the  armyA&nd 
sometimes  did  actually  command  armies,  though  usually  he 
had  to  remain  at  the  capital  by  reason  of  the  peculiar  nature 
of  his  business.") 


standing.    It  would  be  proper  to  name  the  powerful  officers  of  the- 
administration  and  to  detail  the  duties  assigned  to  them. 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  448 

f  There  was  no  clear  division  between_,the_ciyij  smd 
military  "branches  of  the  administration.  Every  civil 
^rfficer  jwras  a  mansabdar  in  the  iingerial 
^army/and  his  Vnatwaft  "determined  his  salary 
and  position  in  the  official  hierarchy.)  The 
salary  bills  of  all  officers  had  to  be  scrutinised  and 
passed  by  the  paymaster  of  the  army.  He  assigned  posts 
to  several  commanders  in  the  van,  centre  wings  and  rear 
guards  before  battle.  The  Ain  defines  the  Mir  .Bakb&hi 
as  an  officer  in  charge  of  the  personal  army  j>fjthe 
e  exercised  a  general  control  ~oveF  the  whole 
"and^saw  that  the  mansabdars  kept  their  horses  in 
the  proper  condition.  He  looked  after  the  recruitment 
of  soldiers  also. 

He  was  the  head  of  the  emperor's  household  estab- 

lishment, and  accompanied  him  during  his  journeys  and 

campaigns.    Blochmann    translates  him  JOB 

c£h  x  Kh?n'i:     Superintendent  of  Stores.  LHe  was  the  head 

SSmSn  or  Lord          -      -  -     ^     -.w—~~~~  —  -—"•-"*• 

High  steward.    j>f  ta&fijpaperor's  personal  fita&Lft& 

his  food,  tents  and  stores,  and  looked 
his  messing  arrangements.  N  According  to  Manucci  he  was  in 
charge  of  the  entire  expenditure  of  the  royal  household  in 
reference  to  both  great  and  small  things.  (The  office  of  the 
Khan-i-Sam&n  was  an  important  one,  and  only  men  of  trust 
were  appointed  to  it.S 

Qlejjrasjhe  highest  judicial  officer  of  the  realm  CQffe-. 
sponxfingto  the  LoVd  CHief  Justice  of  England)  The  emperor 
^~"  as  the  KhalifS  of  the  age  was  the  supreme 

°hief  in  all  cases,  but  generally  he  acted  a& 


the  highest  court  of  appeal.  \The 
the  ChiefJudge  in  criminal  cases  which  he  decided  accord- 
ing  to  Muslim.  I^w, 


444 


HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 


(3)    The  N5zir-i-Buyutatl 


This  is  a  very  old  office.  It  had  existed  in  the  time  of 
the  Khiljis  and  Tughluqs.  In  old  times  the  state^  was^the 
mu  TUT  i.  ^-u  custodian  of  men's  life  and  property  as  well 

Tne  Munateib.          ^_--"^    — . — >***-* — - — -^-*r~-     .  _  *-,   ^     _  * 

as  their  morals. ---The  Muhatsib's  duties  were 

"**^^>^*^*^*-""*<Vs^-x*"~"^^'-'  ZZ-Jtllirff"1^  "**   "      - i.Mgmr--         mi  |          -  "i""  "^.l'"?* 

to  see  that  the  people  led  their  lives  in  accordance  with  the 
law  of  the  PropheU  to  put  down  the  practices ''con53emned 
in  ffife  Shariat,  ancf  in  general  to  prevent  immorality. 

^Besides  theseTKere i  were  many  otEer  officers^who  held 
responsible  positions  in  the  stateS   Some  of  these  are  :— 

(1)  TheMustaufi  ...    Auditor-General. 

(2)  The    Awarjah  Nawis    Superintendent      of      daily 

expenditure  at  the  court. 
Superintendent       of     the 

Imperial  Workshop. 
Revenue  Secretary. 
Chief  Admiral  and  Officer 

of  the  Harbours. 
Superintendent  of  Forests. 
Superintendent  of  the  Royal 

Stud. 
Superintendent  of  the  Royal 

Stud. 
Superintendent  of  the  Royal 

Kitchen. 

The  News-recorder, 
who  presented  all  petitions 

to  the  emperor  brought 

by  suitors  who  wished  to 

place    them  before  His 
t 

1  Buyutat  is  derived  from  the  Arabic  word  bait  meaning  4  house.9 
This  officer  looked  after  the  workshops  and  also  registered  the  property 
of  deceased  persons  in  order  to  clear  their  accounts  with  the  state. 


(4) 
(5) 

(6) 
(7) 


The  Mushrif 
Mir  Bahri 

Mir  Barr 
Qur  Begi 


<8)    AkhtBegi 
(9)    Khwan  Salar 


(10) 
(11) 


The  Waqa-i-Nawis 
Mir  Arz 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  445 

i 

Majesty.  At  one  time 
Mirza  Abdur  Rahim  was. 
appointed  as  the  principal 
Mir  Arz  of  the  realm. 

The  officer  who  was  responsible  for  maintaining  peace 
Kotwal.^His  duties  are  enumerated  at 
length  in  the  Ain, [   the  most  important  of 

Public  peace.  ,  .   , 

which  are:— 

(1)  to  keep  watch  at  night  and  patrol  the  city ; 

(2)  to  keep  a  register  of  houses  and  frequented  roads  ;. 

(3)  to  employ  a  spy  from  among  the  obscure  residents 

and  to    observe  the  income  and  expenditure  of 
the  various  classes ; 

(4)  to  discover  thieves  ; 

(5)  to  examine  weights  and  measures ; 

(6)  to  make  a  list  of  the  property  of  those  who  have 

no  heir  and  of  deceased  and  missing  persons. 

(7)  not  to  allow  a  woman  to  be  burnt  against  her  will 

and  to  prevent  circumcision  below  the  age  of  12*. 
There  are  many  other  duties  assigned  to  the  Kotwal 
Indeed,  the  catalogue  is  so  long  that  Professor  Jadunath 
Sarkar  is  inclined  to  think  that  the  passage  in  the  Ain 
represents  an  ideal  rather  than  an  actual  state  of  things* 
The  Eotwal  is  still  a  familiar  figure  in  big  cities  in  Northern 
India,lind  he  still  performs  most  of  the  duties  entrusted  to 
his  Mughal  prototype.  At  was  the  Kptwal's  duty  in  Akbar's 
day  tojprevent  and  detect  crime,  to  trace  the  whereabouts 
oTbffenders ^  and  to  look  after  the  daily  life  of  the  people  in 
the£ town.  Hejwas  to  discover  stolen  goods,  and  If  he  failed 
tcTdo  so  he  hadTtolnaEe'good  the  loss.)  He  had  to  patrol  at 

1  Jarrett,  II,  pp.  41—48. 


446  HISTORY  OF^MpSUM  OT3MSL 

night  to  note  the  movements  of  strangers,  tosettheidleto  work 
and  to  fix  the  places  of  men  following  different  occupations 
in  the  town  such  as  butchers,  washermen,  etc^^This'macte 
the^Kotwal  unusually  alerJ^nd  he  became  a  terror  to  all 
vagabonds  and  tramps,  who  roamed  about  without  a$y 
jjjtensibleTm^  Espionage  is  an  inevitable 

corollary  of  despotism,  and  "the  Kotwal  employed  spies  to 
obtain  information  about  the  doings  of  the  people  in  the  city. 
Bri^erj^was  prevalent,  but  the  dread  of  the  emperor  exer 
cised  awE^som¥7estrainj^an  Jin  many  cases  the^Kotwals 


-discharged  their  (9^^s~w3r4go«nis  efficiency.^  Order  and 
^security  prevailed  in  cities.  ^Business  was_saf  e,  ^anJ^reign 
merchants  were  jy  ell  protects.  JThe  office  of  Kotwal  existed 
throughout  the  Mughal  ruJeriima  Manucci  has  described  its 
duties  from  personal  observation.  ' 

f  The  emperor  was  the  fountain  of  all  justice.     He^waa 

I  S^,  ,-^^~-  ---  -•"-      --  -       v  _  ~-       ~     .  „,-----  -—  .      r  _        --------  *~—  '  —  - 

the  higEest  court  of  appeal,  and  the  people  had  boundless  con- 
"  fidence  in  his  jusfice^;  HeTieard  original  suits 

biw*106  and  of  a  certain  VmH"as  well  as  appeals  ^ent  for  dis- 
posal by  provincial  governments.  I  On  a  fixed 
•day  all  people,  the  high  and  low,  were  permitted  to  enter  the 
Court  of  Justice  and  lay  their  complaints  before  him.  Even 
when  His  Majesty  was  on  tour,  he  held  his  court  reaularly 
^md  received  complaints  against  his  officials  also./  The 
Mir  Arz  had  to  be  present  at  the  palace  all  day  ana  night, 
<and  at  one  time  seven  Mir  Arzes  were  appointed  with 
Abdur  Rahim  as  the  Head  Mir  Arz,  because  one  mai)  could 
Tiot  cope  with  the  increased  volume  of  work. 

r  BeloyL.t^q  qpU^flO?a&lh£  Sadr-i-SudUr  who  decided 
-important  civil  cases  especially  of  a  religious    character. 

1  Storia  de  Mogar,  II,  pp.  420-21. 


RECONSTRUCTION  447 

The  yazi-ul-quz&t  was^&jiig&e^  ~ia  the 


realm,  who  was  responsible  for  the  efficient  administration 
<xf  justicO  There  were  no  law  courts  in  those  days  with 
•definite  codes  of  law  to  guide  the  presiding  officers.  (The 
functionaries  who  were  mainly  concernejLgjth.the  disposal  of 
cases  were—  ffiTRieQazi,  (tythejdufti> 


tt  expounded  the  law  ;  the  Qazi  investigated  the 
eviHence  ;  and  the  Miradl  delivered   tfie  "judgment.)  The 

<  '  *~*'V'MtHll**Hltt~<™<'*     >Jf 

Miradl  was  specially  enjoined  to  look  after  the  general 
interest  of  the  state  and  to  act  as  a  counterpoise  to  the 
'Qazi's  influence.  There  were  no  professional  lawyers, 
trained  in  law  and  conversant  with  social  usages  and  regula- 
tions of  the  state,  and  since  the  parties  had  to  plead  their 
cause  in  person,  we  may  presume  that  justice  was  not 
always  done  to  the  simple  villager  who  was  helpless  against 
a  rapacious  official  or  an  influential  opponent.  The  number 
of  Miradls  in  Akbar's  time  was  not  very  large.  They 
were  generally  associated  with  the  Qazis  who  were  more 
conservative  in  their  outlook  and  unresponsive  to  the 
larger  considerations  of  public  welfare.  At  one  time  the 
emperor  dismissed  all  reactionary  Qazis,  not  to  destroy  the 
Muslim  law  as  is  too  readily  assumed  by  his  orthodox 
critics,  but  to  induce  a  chastened  mood  in  judges  who 
considered  themselves  infallible. 

The  Qazi's    court  had  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction 

^i^M.pJyifaWI  -----  **    """""  '  f->     H--"     "  «•*••*>»  •£.    ,     ,,„      Vf**J«    •<** 

tried  cases  of  both  Hindus  and  Muslims.  Bat  in  deciding 
thosif  cases  in  which  the  parties    were  Hindus,  he  was 

customYand  usages 


oFthe  Hindu  community.  It  does  not  appear  that  he  was 
supplied  with  any  official  agency  to  explain  the  Hindu 
customs,  but  there  is  evidence  to  show  that  such  usages 
were  respected  by  government.  The 


448  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

to  be   just,    honest,  and    impartial    and     to   hold   trials 
In  the  presence  of  parties    at    the  .Beat  of   the  court- 


House jmd  not  jnjuay~-priy,ate  place. /He  was  ordered  not 
to  accept  presents  or  to  attenB^Mfetammerits  given  _hy 
"Sit  Slid  sundry,  and  was  asked  to  be  proud  pf  his  poverty* 
Bui  IfcEese  Injunctions  were  more  honoured  in  the  breach 
than  in  the  observance.    Most  of  the  Qazis  were  haughty 
and  corrupt  and  gave  perverse  verdicts* 
***    There  was  no  written  code  of  law  which  the  judges, 
had  to  administer  in  Akbar's  empire.     The  Quran  was  the 
ultimate  authority  to  which  all  questions  had  to  be  referred. 
But  the  Quran  could  not  be  applied  to  all  conceivable  cases, 
and  therefore  its    provisions  were    supplemented  by  the 
Hadis  or  sayings  of  the  Prophet.    The  Fatwa*  or  decrees 
of  eminent  judges   or    the    Ulama  constituted     another 
source  of  law,   but  they  were  not  binding  upon  the  Qazi, 
who  might  or  might  not  accept  them.(  The  criminal  law 
was  the  same  for  ally  and  in  the  matted  of  punishmenfTno 
distinctjpns  were  made  on  religious  grounds".    IrTcivil  cases 
in  which  the  parties  were  Hindus  full  regard  was  paid  to 
their  customary  and  traditional  law,  and  the  Qazi  was 
expected  to  acquaint  himself  with  Hindu    usages.     The 
courts  had  to  follow  the  regulations  laid  down  by    the 
emperor  in  revenue  cases.    But  the  emperor  was  above  the 
law.  .-JBt^could^freely  annul_or  jeverse  the  decisions  of  his. 
judges-jyjio  were    always  careful  to  avoid  ~thfr"imperial 
displeasure. 

fThejMnishments  inflicted  by  courts  were  often  severe^ 
Amputation  ofllmBs~v^irer^ 
could  not  be  inflicted  without  the  em^or'sSSifioK^There 

Was  no  regl^fiLMLsySt^fn,    an3H|nnj^1^ym^  pri'onnara  ^rg^ 

Confined  in  forts;    Those  who  were  guilty  of  particularly 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  449 

/ 

heinous  offences  were  thrown  into  dungeons,  and 
were  treated  with  great  rigour.  T  Fjnesjvere  jRQt^unknovn, 
^ndLirtjgertajr^  cases  exorbitant  demands  were  made  to 
meet  the  ends  JD£  jjistice.,  J 

Father  Monserrate's  account  of  the  King's  justice  is 
well  worth  quoting.  Here  is  a  summary  of  his  observa- 
tions :  - 

The  King's  regard  for  right  and  justice  in  the  affairs 
of  government  is  remarkable.  He  takes  a  very  strong  view 
of  errors  and  misdemeanours  committed  by  his  officials  in 
discharging  their  duties.  He  is  sincerely  anxious  that 
guilt  should  be  punished  without  malice  indeed  but  without 
undue  leniency.  All  important  cases  he  decided  himself, 
and  punishments  were  awarded  after  great  deliberation. 
Moral  offences  were  severely  dealt  with.  Seducers  and  adul- 
terors  were  either  strangled  or  gibbeted.  He  had  such  a 
hatred  of  debauchery  and  adultery  that  neither  influence 
nor  entreaties,  nor  the  great  ransom  which  was  offered 
would  induce  him  to  pardon  his  chief  trade  commissioner, 
who  had  outraged  the  rhodesty  of  an  unmarried  girl.  The 
wretch  was  remorselessly  strangled.  The  chief  executione 
was  provided  with  many  barbarous  instruments  to  inflict 
punishments  upon  malefactors,  but  no  one  was  actually 
punished  with  them,  and  they  seemed  to  be  intended  rather 
to  inspire  terror  than  for  actual  use. 

(  It;  ma3Lbe  said  that  jinder  Akb^^some^ol^th^  worst 
features  61  despotism  ,were  minimised.)  It  is  the  curse  of 
despotism  that  the  claims  of  men  of  merit  are 
always  ignored  or  neglected.   But  the  guiding 
maxim  of  Akbar's  government  like  that  of 
Napoleon    Bonaparte    in    France     was    'career  openjto- 
Able  men  from  distant  countries  of  Asia  ttune 
"F.  29 


450  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

i 
to  India  in  search  of  employment,  and  found  shelter  at  his 

court.C  AlXthosewho  were  entitled  to  be  called  great  or 
noble  in  the  courftry^^^ 

Therewas  no  rank  or  dignity  outside  the  pale  of  the  im- 
perial service.    Appointment  to  every  post  rested  with  the 
emperor.    His  will  was  law.    He  could  elevate^  a.jna»-4o 
.ppsitjprL  straigfolway  ^without  jrafoTfTilg  ^him 
lower  ranks  or  degrade  a  man  from  the' 
highest  office  as  he  did  in  the  case  of  Shaikh  A&dunhabi.  3Br 
to  qualifications  there  was  no*  hard  and  fast  rule.    There 
was  no  specialisation  in  the  various  branches  of  the  ad- 
ministration, and  the  modern  device  of  testing  a  candidate's 
fitness  for    public    service  by   competitive    examinations 
was  altogether   unknown.\The  emperors  judgment  .was 
foe  jaole  jgRidgjr    Aliens  were  admitted  in  the  service,  and 
in  Akbar's  ti(pe  their  number  considerably  increased.  QNear- 
Iy_S£Kenty  per  cent  of  the  officers  were  foreignersNdescend- 
ants  of  families,   that  had  come  to  India  with  Humayun  or 
afterwards,  and  only  thirty  per  cent  of  them  were  Indians 
proper.    There  was  no  ban  on  the  Hindus.     Many  of  them 
entered  the  Imperial  service,  and  the  feverrue  department 
was  largely  manned  by  them.  (The  higher  posts  were  open 
only  to  the  Rajputs^  the  only  exceptions  being  Todarmal, 
Birbal  and  their  sons.    Officers  were  not  confined  to  duties 
of  one  kind  only.    They  were  transferred  by  the  emperor 
to  perform  duties  which  were  diametrically  opposite  to  the 
duties  of  the  office  which  they  actually  held.  JRaja  Birbal, 
a  court  wit,  was  sent  by  the  emperor  to  command  an  ex- 
pedition agamst  the  Yusufzais  with  fatal  results.    Abul 
Fazl  who  was  a  literary  man  par  excellence  was  sent  to 
the  Deccan  against  Bahadur  of  Khandesh,  and  Raja  Todgtr- 
Was  deputed  to  deal  with  the  insurgents  in  Bengal  and 


ERA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  451 

i 

Bihar.  Abdur  Rahim  Khan-i-Khanan  won  his  early  spurs 
in  Gujarat  as  a  warrior,  (jt  segjatf^all  offices  were  inter- 
changeable^* There  were  no  rules  of  promotion  or  pension. 
Everything  depended  upon  the  emperor's  sweet  will.  ^Once 
a  man  joined  the  service,  he  was  sure  of  a  rise  and  was 
rapidly  promoted  from  grade  to  grade,  sometimes  at  once 
from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  .\The  highest  ambition  of 
every  aspiring  youth,  Hindu  oymuslim,  was  to  Jget  an 
opportunity  of  serving  the  state,  because  it  meanThonqur^ 
prestige,  and  higR"  emoluments,  and  tp  men  pf  talent  like 
ES'faTodarmal  it  afforded  ample  scope  for  the  exercise  gf^ 
their  special  genius.  But  there  was  one  serious  disability 
under  which  all  officers  of  the  state  laboured.  They  could 
eat,  drink  and  be  merry  and  amass  large  fortunes 
during  their  lifetime,  but  they  jsould  nj>t  Jransmit  their 
accumulated  hoards  to  their  children  after  death.  Almost 
inevitably,  the  son  of  ^a  noble  had  .to  begin  life  anew,  for 
the  property  of^  his  parent  lapsed  to  the  &feate,  hy_the 
law  of  escheat  Under  such  circumstances  ' 


grandees^  lived  luxurious  and  wasteful  lives,  and  lavishly 
Bgen^mon^^in.gwmg^b/ibes  to  secure  the  emperor's, 
favourT  As  Mr.  Moreland  rightly  observes  money 
saved  was  money  lost  unless  it  could  be  concealed 
from  the  knowledge  of  the  world.  Corruption  was 
rife,  and  other^  qualities  than  honesty  .were  needed  /to 
ensure  advancement  in  life.  These  were  readineg/  of 
speech,  capacity  for  ingratiating  one's  selL  wftj{  the 
clique  or  coterie  that  was  in  power  at  court.  AH  these 
circumstancesjireyented  the  rise  of  an^  independent  Jiere^ 
ditary  ari^crac^j^hich  ^erves  JLS  a,  check^pn^autocracy. 
Tfie  hope^that  the  law  ~  of  escheat  would  finally  lead  to 
-the  survival  of  the  fittest  proved  chimerical,  and  the 


452  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

i 

mighty  Muslim  nobility,  Ldepriyed  of  its  patrimony,  became 
selfish,  unscrupuTous  M^jnediocre. 
"~^The^^ 

sense^  before  .AkbaxJ  ^tlncter  Sher  Shah  the  whole  country 

was  divided  into  Sarkars  and  Parganas  with 

Provinc  i  a  i     their   own   officers   of    which   an   account 

A  d  m  i  nistra-      ,        ,  .  .  ,  TTT.,  i 

tion.  has  been  given  in  a  previous  chapter.    With 

Humayun's  restoration  a  fresh  arrangement 
became  necessary.  He  parcelled  out  the  whole  country 
among  his  generals,  but  the  system  did  not  work  well  in< 
practice  and  the  fief  holders  increased  their  lands  and  made 
attempts  to  shake  off  the  imperial  yoke./Akbar  abolished  the 
systemof  jagirs  and  divided  the  whole  empire  into  twelve 
SubaHsTjLater  when  Ahmadnagar  was  conquered,  three  more 
Subahs  -'were  added  thus  raising  the  total  to  fifteen.  /The 
Subah  was  a  replica  of  the  empire  in  every  respect,  aiuTthe 
^baTbdffwEo  was  officially  styled  as  the  Sipahsalar  enjoyed 
unlimited  powers,  while  he  remained  in  office 


provinces,  away  from  the  capital,  he  behaved  for  all  practical 
purposes  like  a  miniature  king./JThe  Subahs  were,  further 
divided  into  sarkars  and  parganas,  but  the  former  seem  to 
have  been  fiscal  andj^  jidmjr^st^  The  officers 

of  the  earkar  are  not  mentioned  in  the  Ain,  and  from  the 
manner  in  which  Abul  Fazl  speaks  of  the  Sarkar  we  may 
reasonably  conclude  that  it  was  an  aggregation  of  pargana* 
having  similar  customs  and  usages  for  revenue  purposes/T 
SipafaQl&r  was  the  head  of  the  Provincial 


1  The  Subahs  comprised  in  the  empire  were  — 

1-    Agra                           2.     I  la  bas  or  Allahabad  3,    Oudh 

j.     Velbi                          5.     Lahore      6.  Multan  7.     Kabul 

o.     Ajmer                        9.    Bengal  10      Bihar 

IL.     Ah  mad  ab  ad            12.     Malwa  13     Berar 

14.     Khandesh  16.    Ahraadnagar 

The  last  three  were  added  after  the  Deccan  conquest. 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  463 

and  had^Jbpth  civil    and    military..  Juoisdictipn^ 
usually  a  favourite  of  the  emperor  who.  had  risenj 


by  reason  of  his  meritorious  services  to  t&$  £tate*^,Age  did 
not  matter,  for  Aziz  Koka  and  Abdur  Rahim  were  elevated 
to  gubernatorial  positions  while  they  were  quite  young. 
The  Sipahatilftr  was  the  emperor's  representative  in  the  Su- 
bah,  and  the  Persian  writers  described  his  position  by  employ- 
ing a  significant  metaphor.  They  said  that  just  as  the  moon 
derives  its  light  from  the  sun  so  did  the  provincial  governor 
derive  his  authority  from  the  emperor.  Heh^ld.hiajowiLCOurt, 
but  he  could  not  sit  in  the  jarokha  or  .declare  war  or  peace 
withoutjthe  Qmpjeror'^.pujrmiSjSion.  Hgjyas  the  head  of  the 
Judicial  and  military  .  departments.  He  heard  appeals  from 

V—  ^~-         ~  "         "  {7 

the  decisions  of  theQazis  and  Miradls.  \  As  the  highest  mili- 
tary  officer  jiy;hejgro^ 

forces^  and  was  responsible  ior  their  maintena^cevand  proper 
equipment.  He  could  appoint  and  dismiss  all  his  st^  except 
the  officers  Tri  '  the  higher  gradjes/lSle  was  not  aHowgdJo 
interfere  jnj^i&i^  any  religious 

question  requiring  settlement,  it  w^jreferrjed^tojbhe  Sadr 
or  other  officers.  Though  head  of  the  judiciary  ^ 

inflict  capital  ^i^i^r^jjyj^pjgt^  sanction. 

He~TTeptTa    large  number    of  spies 


with  information  of  all  kinds  about  the  people  within  his 

jurisdiction. 

_     Below  him  were  (1)  the  Diwan,  (2)  the  Sadr,  (3)  the 

Amil  or  revenue  collector,  (4)  the  Bitikchi,  (5)  the  Potdar  or 

Khizandar,  (6)  the  Faujdar,  (7)  the  Kotwal,  (8)  the  Waqa- 

i-naufl*,  and  (9)  other  officers  of  the  revenue  department 

like  the  qanungo  and  the  patwari. 

(1)  Diwan.—  Next  in  importance  is  the  Diwan  who 
was  the  rival  of  the  SipahscLl&r.    Formerly  the  provincial 


454  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Diwans  were  selected  by  the  governor  himself,  but  in  1579* 
when  the  crown  lands  had  greatly  increased,  the  appoint- 
ments were  made  by  the  central  government.  The  Diwan'& 
duty  was  to  watch  the  conduct  of  the  SipahsalUr  and  to 
co-operate  with  him  in  running  the  administration.  He 
possessed  the  power  of  the  purse,  and  all  bills  of  payment 
were  signed  by  him.  He  tried  all  revenue  cases  except 
those  in  which  his  department  was  concerned.  Where 
there  was  a  difference  of  opinion  between  the  Subahdar 
and  the  Diwan.  the  matter  was  referred  to  the  central 
government.  The  Diwan  acted  as  a  check  on  the  governor 
and  prevented  the  latter  from  becoming  too  powerful. 

(2)  Sadr. — The  provincial  Sadr  was  appointed  by  the 
central   government  and  his  chief  duty  was  to  govern  the 
Sayurghals.    He  was  more  independent  than  the  Diwan 
in  his  relations  with  the  Sipahsalnr  and  had  a  separate 
office  of  his  own.  As  the  Sadr  was  generally  a  man  of  piety 
and  learning,  and  could  grant  lands  and  allowances  on  his 
own  initiative,  he  was  held  in  great  esteem  by  the  people. 
The  Qazis  and  Miradls  were  under  him 

(3)  The  "Amil  or  the  revenue  collector.— Probably  the 
description  of  the  collector  in  the  Ain  represents  an  ideal 
state  of  things,    but  his  functions  are  clearly  indicated. 
The  ~Amil  had  multifarious  duties  to  discharge.     He  was 
asked  to  deal  with  the  refractory  severely,  without  the  least 
apprehension  of  the  land  remaining  uncultivated.    He  was 
to  ascertain  the  quality  of  the  land  actually  under  culti- 
vation and  to  reclaim  the  waste  lands.     He  was  also  to  as- 
sist in  the  maintenance  of  the  general  peace  by  punishing 
highway  robbery  and  other  like  crimes,  and  was  to  show 
consideration  to  peaceful  and  law-abiding  citizens.    He  was 
to  take  security  from  land  surveyors,  assessors,  and  other 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  456 

officers  and  was  to  see  that  in  measuring  the  land  not  a 
bigha  was  concealed  or  overlooked.  The  revenue  was  to 
be  collected  in  an  amicable  manner,  and  the  treasurer  was 
not  to  demand  an  extra  coin  from  the  husbandmen.  The 
'Amil  was  to  examine  the  registers  maintained  by  the 
Karkun,  the  muqaddam  and  the  patwari  and  to  report,  if 
any  untoward  event  affecting  cultivation  happened  in  his 
jurisdiction.  He  was  to  submit  monthly  statements  regard- 
ing the  condition  of  the  people,  the  jagirdars,  the  residents 
of  the  neighbourhood,  the  market  prices,  the  current  rates 
of  tenements,  etc.  He  was  required  to  tour  in  the  country 
and  warned  not  to  make  his  visits  an  occasion  for  exacting 
money  or  receiving  presents  from  the  peasantry. 

(4)  The  Bitikchi. — He  was  of  the  same  status  as  the 
"&mil  and  served  as  a  check  on  him.    He  supervised  the 
work  of  the   Qanungos  and  was  required  to  be  a  good 
writer  and  a  skilful  accountant.    He  was  expected  to  be 
fully  acquainted  with  the  customs  and  regulations  of  the 
district  in  his  charge  and  was  to  keep  a  record  of  all  engage- 
ments entered  into  by  the  peasant  with  the  government. 
It  was  also  his  duty  to  prepare    detailed  statements  of 
arable  and  waste  land  and  of  income  and  expenditure.    He 
made  revenue  abstracts  every    season  and  submitted  an 
annual  report  to  the  court. 

(5)  The  Potdar  or  Khizandar.—He  was  to    receive 
money  from  the  cultivators  and  to  keep  the  treasure  of 
the  state  securely  locked.     He    issued  receipts  for  every 
payment  and  kept  a  ledger  to  avoid  mistakes  in  accounts. 
He  was  ordered    not  to  make  any    payment    without  a 
voucher  signed  by  the  Diwan. 

(6)  The  Faujdar.-As  a    subordinate  and  assistant, 
writes  Abul  Fazl,  the  Faujdar  holds    the    first   place. 


466  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  BULB 

He  was  the  commander  of  the  provincial  forces  and  assist- 
ed the  Subahdar  in  maintaining  peace  and  discharging  his 
executive  functions.  There  were  several  Faujdars  in  a 
province,  who  held  charge  of  a  number  of  parganas. 
When  the  ~Z.mil  found  difficulty  in  realising  the  state  reve- 
nue from  a  defaulting  or  refractory  village,  the  Faujdar 
was  to  furnish  military  aid  but  only  on  a  written  re- 
quisition. His  appointment  or  dismissal  rested  with  the 
Subahdar  whom  he  was  to  assist  in  every  way  The 
Faujdar's  duties  were  of  a  military  character  and  as  Prof. 
J.  N.  Sarkar  writes,  "he  was  the  only  commander  of  a 
military  force  stationed  in  the  country  to  put  down  smaller 
rebellions,  disperse  or  arrest  robber  gangs,  take  cogniz- 
ance of  all  violent  crimes,  and  make  demonstrations  of 
force  to  overawe  opposition  to  the  revenue  authorities  or 
the  criminal  judge  or  the  censor.1' 

(7)  The  Kotwal. — The  KotwaVs    duties  are  described 
at  length  in  the  Ain.    He  was  essentially  a  police  officer 
of  the  towns,   but  also  exercised  magisterial  authority  in 
certain  cases.     He  was  responsible  for  the  maintenance  of 
law  and  order  in  cities,   and  had  several  assistants  under 
him  to  secure  this  end.    His  important   functions     have 
already  been  mentioned  in  discussing  the  central  government. 

(8)  The    Waqa-i-Na/wis  or  recorder  of  occurrences. — 
These  were  officers  through  whom  the    central  govern- 
ment kept  itself  in  touch  with  provincial  administration. 
When  the  provincial  viceroy  held  his  court,   this  officer 
recorded  the  occurrences  on  the  spot,  and  forwarded  his 
letters  to  the  imperial  government.    It  was  through  these 
officers  that  the  emperor  kept  himself  informed  of  every- 
thing that  occurred  in    the    provinces.    They    continued 
throughout    the    Mughal     period     and    acquired    much 


,  BBA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  457 

importance  under  Aurangzeb.  who  booked  upon  them  as 
his  eyes  and  ears.     The  following  advice  given  to  a  newly 
-appointed     Waqa-i-Nawia    will    show    what    his    duties 
were  :— 

Report  the  truth,  lest  the  emperor  should  learn 

the  facts  from  another  source  and  punish  you.    Your 

work  is  delicate  ;   both  sides  have  to  be  served.     Deep 

sagacity  and  consideration   should  be  employed  so  that 

both  the  Shaikh  and  the  book  may  remain  in  their  proper 

places.  In  the  words  of  most  of  the  high  officers,  forbidden 

things  are  done.     If  you  report  them  truly,   the  officers 

will  be  disgraced.     If  you  do  not,   you  yourself  will  be 

undone.  Therefore,  you  should  tell  the  Lord  of  the  Ward 

'In  your  ward  forbidden  things  are  taking    place,  stop 

them/    If  he    gives  a  rude  reply,  you  should  threaten 

the  Kotwal  of  the  ward  by  pointing  out   the  misdeed. 

The  lord  of  the  ward    will  then  know  of  it.    Although 

the  evil  has  not  yet  been  removed  from  the  ward,  yet, 

if  any  one  reports  the  matter  to  the  Emperor,  you  can 

easily  defend  yourself  by  saying  that  you  have  informed 

the  master  of  the  ward  and  instructed  the  Kotwal.     In 

every  matter  write  the  truth,  but  avoid  offending  the 

nobles.  Write  after  carefully  verifying  your  statement/' 

Besides  these  there  were  many    other    officers    who 

*  carried  on  the  work  of  administration  in  the  provinces. 

These  were  the  KZrkuns,  the  Qanungos  and  the  Patwaris 

who  were  all  revenue  officers.    The   Qanungo  was  a  Par- 

.gana  officer  acquainted  with  all  rural  customs  and  rights  of 

the  peasantry.    His  pay  ranged  between  20  and  25  rupees. 

The  parganas  were  divided  into  villages,  and  each  village 

*had  a    muqaddam    (headman)  and  a  patwari  who  kept 

records   of   revenue.     The    muqaddam  is  an  old  officer 


458  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

well-known  in  Indian  history.  His  function  was  to  keep* 
order  in  the  village  and  to  help  in  the  collection  of  the  state 
dues. 

The  courts  of  justice  were  pretty  much  the  same  as 
at  the  capital.  The  Qazi  assisted  by  the  Mufti  and  the- 
Miradl  administered  justice  to  the  people. 
titn^f  Justlct  (  The  Subahdar  was  the  highest  court  of  appeal 
Mn  the  province.  When  there  was  a  differ- 
ence of  opinion  between  the  judicial  officers,  the  decision  of 
the  central  government  was  final.)  The  Kotwal  was  to 
bring  the  offenders  to  the  court,  and  trials  were  to  be  held 
promptly/  No  culprit  could  be  detained  in  prison  for 
more  than  one  night  without  a  trial.f  Appeals  could  be  made 
to  the  emperor  in  important  cases,  but  their  number  cannot 
have  been  very  large.  * 

fThe  administration  was  a  carefully  devised  system  of 
checks  and  counterchecks,  but  most  of  these  were  in  prac- 
tice illusory.)  The  long  distances,  the  absence 
°*  means  °f  communication,  and  the  stress  of 
war  made  it  impossible  for  the  emperor  to 
exercise  vigilant  control  over  the  provincial  satraps.  (They' 
acted  on  their  own  responsibility,  and  though  theirvpower 
was  limited  in  theory,  they  enjoyed  ample  discretion}  Bri- 
bery was  common,  and  offence's  gilded  hand  not  infre- 
quently succeeded  in  stifling  justice  even  in  cases  where 
prompt  redress  was  necessary.  { 

The  first  Muslim  ruler,  who  made  a    systematic  /larfd 
was Sher •Shahfyvho  laid  down  the    main  principles^ 
jvjjfefr werg  followed  in  the    time  of_Akbar. 
Revenue  ^8y8-    fhe  state  demand  was  fixed  at  one-thin}/  and* 
Akbar.  regulations  were  devised  for  the  collection    of 

the  revenue,  of  which  an  account  has  already 


,  BRA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  459* 

been  given*  But  Sher  Shah's  regime  was  too  short-lived1 
to  put  the  whole  system  in  working  order.  Much  of  the 
excellent  work  that  had  been  done  by  him  was  upset  during 
the  anarchy  that  followed  after  his  death,  and  the  laws 
which  he  had  made  fell  into  disuse.  (When  Humayun  was 
restored  to  the  throne,  the  empire  was  divided  into  twa 
parts  -  the  Khalsa  or  crown  land  and  Jagir  landA  A  large 
portion  of  the  empire  was  cut  up  in  jagirs  held  by  his. 
nobles  and  amirs  who  paid  a  stipulated  amount  to  their 
patron  and  emperor.  The  Khalsa  land  seems  to  have 
followed  the  time-honoured  practice  of  crop  division. 


difficulty  was  felt  because  the  empire  was  rather  small, 
and  its  problems  were  of  a  simple  nature.  ,; 

Akbar's  accession  to  the    throne  marked  a  new  era 
in  the  history  of  administrative  reform.    Like  everything 

else  the  revenue  department  also   felt   the 
^ffort^'8  earl7     master's  touch.  When  Khwaja  Abdul  Majid 

Khan  became  Diwan,  the  total  revenue  was 
taken  after  estimate,  and  the  assignments  were  increased 
as  the  caprice  of  the  moment  suggested.  An  attempt  was 
made  to  fix  roughly  the  revenue  of  the  various  aarkars, 
and  to  ascertain  the  prices  of  food-stuffs,  but  no  appreciable 
success  was  achieved.  (More  definite  steps  were  taken  to 
settle  the  revenue,  (when  Muzaffar  Turbati  became  Diwan 
in  the  15th  year  of  the  reign.  With  the  help  of  Todarmal 
he  tried  to  organise  the  whole  systemJ^Ten  Qanungos 
were  appointed  to  collect  the  data  relating  to  the  revenue 
matters  and  were  asked  to  find  out  the  exact  nature  of  the 
land  tenure^)  The  assessment  was  to  be  made  on  the  basis 
of  the  estimates  furnished  by  the  provincial  Qanungos, 
which  were  revised  and  checked  by  the  ten  Qanungos, 
at  the  imperial  headquarters.  These  labours  produced  no- 


460  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

important  results,  because  the  whole  scheme  was  interrupted 
by  the  Uzbeg  rebellion.  ^When  Gujarat  was  conquered  in 
1573,  Todarmal  was  sent  to  bring  about  a  peaceful  settle- 
ment of  the  country.^  He  carried  out  for  the  first  time  a 
regular  survey  of  land,  and  the  assessment  was  made  after 
taking  into  consideration  the  area  and  quality  of  land. 
In  1575  the  whole  empire  was  brought  under  the  exchequer 
with  the  exception  of  Bengal  and  Bihar,  and  the  Jagirs  were 
abolished.  (The  whole  area  included  in  the  empire  at  that 
time  was  divided  into  182  parganas,  each  of  which  yielded 
a  crore  a  year  as  revenue.  The  officers  placed  in  charge  of 
these  parganas  were  called  Crories^  They  seem  to  have 
been  greedy  and  corrupt  officers,  and  were  severely  punished, 
for  their  malversation  by  Todarmaly  It  appears  that  after 
some  time  their  office  was  abolishedjor  held  in  abeyance,  for 
there  is  no  mention  of  them  in  theZin.  Abul  Fazl  is  silent 
about  them  either  because  they  had  ceased  to  exist  at  the 
time  when  he  wrote  his  work,  or  because  they  were  corrupt 
officers,  and  therefore  deserving  of  contemptuous  omission. 
'But  they  are  again  mentioned  in  the  time  of  Jahangiii  which 
shows  that  they  continued  to  serve  in  the  revenue  depart- 


(The  revenue  system  was  thoroughly  reorganised,  when 
Todarmal  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  DiwQn-i-Ashraf 
in    the    year   1582.  ^The   increased  size  of 
Todarmai's     the    empire   made  some   reform   inevitable^ 

Reforms.—  The       „.  ,  ,  .        ,      ,    ,  „         . 

3abti  system.  Hitherto  the  practice  had  been  to  fix  the 
assessment  every  year  on  the  basis  of  yield 
and  prices  which  made  the  demand  variable  from  year  to 
year.  The  collectors  could  not  proceed  with  their  work 
until  the  officers  at  the  headquarters  had  fixed  the  rates  to 
be  demanded  from  the  ryot.  To  obviate  the  difficulty  and 


BRA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  461 

0 
inconvenience  caused  by  the  yearly  assessment,  Todarma! 

laid  down    the    following  principles    which    Abul    FazJ 
describes  in  these  words  :— 

"When  through  the  prudent  management  of  the 
Sovereign  the  empire  was  enlarged  in  extent,  it  became 
difficult  to  ascertain  each  year  the  prices  current  and 
much  inconvenience  was  caused  by  the  delay.  On  the 
one  hand,  husbandmen  complained  of  excessive  exac- 
tions, and  on  the  other  hand,  the  holder  of  assigned 
lands  was  aggrieved  on  account  of  the  revenue  balances. 

His  Majesty  devised  a  remedy   for    these  evils  and 

in  the  discernment  of  his  world-adorning  mind  fixed  a 

settlement  for  ten  years  ;  the  people   were  thus  made 

contented  and  their  gratitude  was  abundantly  manifested. 

From  the  beginning  of    the  15th  year  of  the   Divine 

Era    (1570-71  A.D.)    to  the    24th    (1579-80  A.D.),     an 

aggregate  of  the  rates  of  collection    was  formed  and 

a  tenth  of  the  total  was  fixed  as  the  annual  assessment  ; 

but  from  the  20th  (1575-76)   to  the  24th,    an  aggregate 

of  the  rates  of  collection  was  formed,   and  a  tenth  of 

the  total  was  fixed  as  the  annual  assessment  ;  but  from 

the  20th  to  the  24th  year  the  collections  were  accurately 

determined  and  the  five  former  ones   accepted  on  the 

authority  of  persons  of  probity.    The  best  crops  were 

taken  into  account  in  each  year,   and  the  year  of  the 

most  abundant  harvest  accepted,  as  the  table  shows."1 

To  obviate  the  difficulty  and  inconvenience  caused  by 

the  yearly  assessment  His  Majesty  ordered  '  the  ten-year 

assessment '  and  not  as  Jarrett  translates  (Ain  II,  p.  88> 

the  decennial  settlement.  There  was  no  decennial  settlement 

1  Ain  II,  p.  88,  Ain,    16. 


462  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

as  is  generally  supposed.    What  Todarmal  did  was  to  fix  the« 
assessment  by  averaging  the  assessments  for  ten  years,  i.e., 
from  the  15th  to  the  24th  year  (157—189)  of  the  reign. 

The  survey  (Paimaiah)  of  the  entire  land  under  culti- 
vation was  carefully  done.  Formerly  hempen  ropes  were 
used  which  were  liable  to  contract  or  lengthen,  when  the 
atmosphere  was  heated  or  moist.  Todarmal  used  a  Jarib 
of  bamboos  joined  together  by  iron  rings.  ^Land  was  divid- 
ed into  four  classes)  — 

(1)  Polaj  which  was  annually  cultivated  for  each 

crop  in  succession  and  was  never  allowed 
to  be  fallow.  This  was  land  under  con- 
tinuous cultivation  and  yielded  revenue 
from  year  to  year. 

(2)  Parauti  which  was  occasionally  left  fallow  in 

order  to  recover  its  strength. 

(3)  Chachar  which  remained  fallow  for  three  or 

four  years. 

(4)  Ban  jar  which  remained  uncultivated  for  five 

years  or  more. 

The  first  two  classes  of  land,  namely,  the  Polaj  and 
Parauti  were  divided  into  three  grades— good,  middling  and 
bad  according  to  their  yield.  The  average  of  the  three  was 
to  be  the  estimated  produce  which  was  to  be  taken  as  the 
basis  of  the  assessment.  It  will  be  clear  by  an  illustration. 

Here  is  land  Class  (I)  producing  wheat  :— 
good  :  20  mds.  per  bigha 
middling  :  15  mds.  per  bigha 
bad  :  10  mds.  24  srs.  per  bigha 
Total  :  45  mds.  24  srs.    One-third  of  this  is  15  mds. 
8  srs.  which  was  the  estimated  average  produce 


BRA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  468 

,  (mahaul)  and  of  this  one-third  i.e.,  5  mds.  2i  srs. 

was  to  be  fixed  as  the  state  demand. 

The  other  two  classes  of  land  were  dealt  with  different- 
ly. As  they  were  not  on  a  par  with  the  first  two  classes 
in  point  of  quality  or  produce,  their  revenue  was  to  be  in- 
creased by  progressive  stages. 

Having  ascertained  the  average  produce,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  fix  the  state  demand  in  cash  or  as  we  might  say  to  fix 
the  cash  rates.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  old  practice 
was  to  commute  the  produce  into  cash-rates  according  to 
the  prices  current  at  the  time,  but  this  was  very  trouble- 
some as  the  periodical  ascertainment  of  cash-rates  entailed 
much  unnecessary  expenditure  and  caused  a  lot  of  delay  in 
collections,  \£odarmal's  solution  of  this  difficulty  was  to 
fix^  cash-rates  on  the  average  of  ten  years'  actualg)  Abul 
Fazl  tells  us  in  the  Ain,  how  it  was  done.  He  says  : 

' '  From  the  beginning  of  the  15tb  year  of  the 
Divine  Era  to  the  24th  an  aggregate  of  collection  was 
formed  and  a  tenth  of  the  total  was  fixed  as  the 
annual  assessment  ;  but  from  the  20th  to  the  24th  year 
the  collections  were  actually  determined  and  the  five 
former  ones  were  accepted  on  the  authority  of  persons 
of  probity.01 

(The  share  of  the  statef  was  unalterably  fixed  at  one-third) 
It  was  no  longer  liable  to  fluctuation  year  after  year.  The 
farmer  was  given  the  option  of  paying  (in  cash  or  kind.^ 
The  cash-rates  were  fixed  by  state  officers,  and  they  were 
different  for  different  crops.  The  rates  for  sugarcane 
and  indigo,  for  example,  were  different  from  the  rates 
for  wheat  and  barley. 

1  AinII,p.88. 


464  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

The  process  may  be  summed  up  thus  : 
When  the  season  arrived,  a  staff  of  officers  toured  in  the 
villages  to  ascertain  the  exact  area  of  land  under  cul- 
tivation with  a  view  to  prepare  the  crop-statement. 
The  area  of  each  crop  in  each  holding  having  been  found 
out,  the  Bitikchi  applied  the  prescribed  rates  and  cal- 
culated the  revenue  due  from  the  cultivator.  I/" 

\This  was  called  the  Zabti  system  of  assessment.Jy  It 

prevailed  in  the  Subahs  of  Bihar,  Allahabad,  Multan,  Oudh*. 

Agra,   Malwa,  Delhi,  Lahore^ and  in  certain 

Various  sys-     parts  Of  Ajmer  and  Gujarat.  \  The  essence  of 

terns   of  reve-  ,        V      \ 

nue.  it   was^that  each  plot  oX  land  was  to    be 

\  ~""\ 

Charged  with    a  fixed  assessment  in   cash) 

which  was  determined  according  to  the  nature  of  the  crop. 
Besides,  (there  were  other  systems  of  assessment  prevalent 
in  the  empire])  These  were  the  Ghallabakhsha  and  Nasaq 
and  certain  others  of  which  we  find  mention  in  the 
contemporary  records.  \The  Ghallabakhsha  was  the  old 
Indian  system  of  assessment  by  crop  division)  and  it 
prevailed  in  Thatta  and  parts  of  the  Subahs  of  K!abul  and 
Kashmir.  \The  Nasaq  was  a  ryotwari  rather  than  a 
Zamindari  arrangementN  In  this  system  there-  was  no 
intermediary  between  tfie  ryot  and  the  state.\  None  of 
these  had  the  same  elaborate  organisation  as  the  Zabti 
system  which  prevailed  in  the  greater  part  of  the 
empire.^ 


1  The  Zabti  system  prevailed  very  largely  in  Bihar,  Allahabad, 
Oudht  Agra,  Malwa,  Ajmer,  Delhi,  Lahore,  Multan  and  parti  of 
Gujarat. 

The  reader  will  bear  in  mind  that  there  was  no  uniform  system 
of  land  revenue  in  the  empire.  But  the  administrative  ideal  is  to  be 
found  in  the  Zabti  system. 


BRA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  465 

• 

^Farming   was   not   allowed^  The    government    dealt 
directly  with  the  agriculturists.    The  "Amil  or  the  revenue 
Officers      of     c°Nectx>r  was  assisted  by  the  Bitikchi,  the 
Revenue   De-     Potdar,  the   Qanungo,  the  Patwari  and  the 
partment.  Muqaddams,  whose  duties  have  been  describ- 

ed before.  The  instructions  issued  to  these  officers  reveal 
the  emperor's  solicitude  for  the  well-being  of  the 
peasantry.  Much  of  what  Abul  Fazl  says  may  be  an  ideal, 
but  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  peasant  was  looked  upon 
as  an  object  of  tender  care  and  sympathy A^In  times  of 
drought  advances  were  made  to  the  cultivators  and 
public  works  were  constructed  to  afford  relief 
to  the  poor.^  Remissions  were  also  made  and  there 
is  a  Sikh  tradition  that  Akbar  once  remitted  the  revenue 
of  the  Punjab  at  the  instance  of  Guru  Arjuna.  (The  collec- 
tor was  ordered  to  collect  the  revenue  in  an  amicable 
manner,  and  '  not  to  extend  the  hand  of  demand  out  of 
season.'^)  The  peasant  could  pay  his  rent  into  the  treasury 
himself,  and  the  treasurer  was  not  to  demand  a  single  extra 
coin.  The  Patwari  was  to  give  a  detailed  receipt  stating 
the  amount  of  rent  and  the  area  of  land  cultivated  and 
the  name  of  the  village  to  which  the  cultivator  belonged. 

Reviewing    the    revenue     administration     of    Akbar 
.  Dr.  Vincent  Smith  writes  :    "  In  short,  the  system  was  an 

admirable  one.}  The  principles  were  sound, 
re"     and  the  Practical  instructions  to  officials  all 

that  could  be  desired.  But  a  person  wha 
has  been  in  close  touch,  as  the  author  has  been,  with  the 
revenue  administration  from  top  to  bottom,  cannot  help- 
feeling  considerable  scepticism  concerning  the  conformity, 
of  practice.with  precept.  " l  Now  this  is  a  mere  surmise^ 

1  Akbar,  pp.  866-67 
F.  80 


466  HISTOKff  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

» 

There  are  no  specific  instances  cited  by  Dr.  Smith  to  prove 
that  the  revenue  administration  worked  to  the  detriment 
of  the  ryot,  and  in  his  anxiety  to  prove    that  Akbar's 
administration  was  in  no  way  better  or  more  beneficent 
than  the  Anglo-Indian  administration  of  which  he  was  such 
a    brilliant    member,    he  draws  the  inference    that  the 
benevolent  intentions  of  the  autocrat  were  commonly  de- 
feated   by    his  governors   in  the  provinces.     Dr.  Smith 
may  be  excused  this  natural  and  perhaps  legitimate  vanity. 
But  there  is  nothing  to  support  the  statement  of  Anglo- 
Indian  historians  that  Todarmal's  system  was  devised  to 
prevent  the  state  from  being  defrauded  rather  than  to 
protect  the  interests  of  the  ryot.    The  pages  of  the  Ain 
are  replete  with  information  regarding  the  details  of  the 
revenue  system,  and  it  appears  that  on  the  whole  it  worked 
well,  and  took  sufficient  care  of  the  interests  of  the  people. 
An  ounce  of  fact  is  worth  a  ton  of  theory.     Born  and  bred 
among  the  peasantry    of    the    United    Provinces  where 
Dr.  Vincent  Smith  spent  the  best  part  of  his  life,  the  present 
Writer  can  affirm  from  his  own  experience  that  the  con- 
dition, of    the    peasantry  has    considerably    deteriorated 
during  the  last  40  years.  There  must  have  been  abuses  in 
Akbar's  day  as  they  are  now,  and(those  who  have  any 
experience  of  village  life  must  have  seen  people  beaten  and 
kicked  by  the  underlings  of  the  revenue  department  even 
in  these  days  when  the  Taqavi  loans  are  realisey-and  that 
is  one  of  the  few  occasions  when  the  government  officials 
come  in  direct  contact  with  the   bulk  of  the  agricultural 
population— and  redress  becomes  impossible  even  in  just  cases 
owing  to  the  cumbrous  legal  procedure  that  we  have  to 
follow  and  the  indifference  of  the  highest  officials,  whose 
trust  in  the  man  on  the  spot  is  simply  pathetic.  /The 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  467 

necessaries  of  life  were  cheap);  and  the  Indian  peasant 
lived  under  much  better  conditions,  and  enjoyed  greater 
happiness  than  is  possible  to  him  under  a  '  low  assessment 
and    a    well-organised  administration/    The  productivity 
of  the  soil  was  much  greater  than  it  is  now.    Social  needs 
were  simple,  there  was  no  false  dignity  to  maintain,  and 
what  is  now  spent  in  upholding  social  prestige  and  in 
purchasing  foreign  articles  of  fashion  was  utilised  in  procur- 
ing things  that  helped  to  make  life  healthy  and  vigorous. 
Even  the  labourers  lived  in  a  state  of  comfort,  and  Mr. 
Moreland  admits  that  towards  the  close  of  the  16th  century 
a  rupee  purchased  in  the  vicinity  of  the  capital  at  least 
seven  times  as  much  grain  as  could  be  bought  in  Upper 
India  in  the  years  1910—12.    Things  have  grown  worse 
since    Mr.   Moreland  wrote.    There    was  no    dearth    of 
grazing  fields,  and  milk  and  ghee  were  obtainable  cheaply 
and  in  plenty.    The  result  of  this  is  to  be  seen  in  the  poor 
physique  of  our  people  and   their  utter  inability  to    resist 
disease.    Akfcar's  system  conferred  a  great  boon  on  the 
peasantry.  A^The  state  demand  was  fixed,  and  every  peasant 
knew  what  he  had  to  pay^   Adequate  safeguards  were 
provided,  so  far  as  human  skill  and  statesmanship  can  go, 
to   prevenL  fraud  and  corruption  on  the  part  of  officers  of 
the  state.  VThe  highest  officials  of  the  crown  were  honest, 
and    the    Argus-eyed    Todarmal    watched     every    detail 
of  the  management  with  a  meticulous  care/^Exactions  and 
extortions,  when  brought  to  light  were  severely  punished 
and  offenders  did  not  escape  scot-free,  as  they  often  do  now 
by  engaging  the  services  of  clever  counsels.    The  emperor's 
wishes  may  not  have  been  wholly  fulfilled,  and  there  may 
have  been  abuse  of  power  in  the  remoter  provinces,  but 
•there  is  no  evidence  to  warrant  the  conclusion  that  the 


468  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

assessment  weighed  heavily  on  the  peasantry,  and  that 
the  revenue  officers  habitually  disregarded  the  instructions 
issued  to  them. 

QWhen  Akbar  ascended  the  throne,  the  condition  of  the 
army  was  far  from  satisfactory.^ The  empire  was  divided 
into  Jagirs,  and  the  Amirs  who  held  them 
were  reQu*red  to  keep  a  certain  number  of 
horsemen,  and  were  bound    to    serve    the 
empire  in  time  of  need.    The  soldiers  whom  those  fief- 
holders  kept,    were     mostly    inefficient    men,    absolutely 
unfit  for  active  service.    The  state  was  constantly  defraud- 
ed by  its  own  officers.    Whenever  there  was  a  muster, 
these  men  gathered  together,  as  Badaoni  says,  lots  of  low 
tradesmen,  weavers,  cotton-cleaners,  carpenters  and  green- 
grocers, both  Hindu  and  Muslim,  for  review,  and  then  they 
disappeared.    They  lacked  discipline  and  equipment,  and 
were  at  best  a  disorganised  rabble.  v^Akbar's  attention  was 
early  drawn  to  the  imperative  necessity  of  military  reform." 
In  1571  when  Shahbaz  Khan  was  appointed  to  the  office 
of  Mir  Bakhshi,  the  emperor  drew  up  a  scheme  of  reform. 
The    entire    military    organisation    was    based  upon  the 
Mansabdari   system.    Now,   there  is  a  great  divergence 
of  opinion  regarding  the  actual  working  of  this  system,   and 
all  that  can  be  done  here  is  to  state  its  broad  features, 
What  did  the  Mansab  mean  ?  (jThe  word  Mansab  means 
rank,  dignity  or  office.^)  Irvine  who  has  made  a  close  study 
of  the  military  system  of  the  Mughals  writes,  that   its 
object  was  to  settle  precedence  and  fix  gradation  of  pay. 
It  only  implied  that  the  holder  of  a  Mansab  was  in  the 
service  of  the  state,  and  was  bound  to  render    service 
military  or  otherwise,  when  he  was  called  upon  to  do  so. 
Abul  Fazl  states  in  the  Ain  that  there  were  66  grades  of 


BRA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  469 

Mansabdars  in  all,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  there  were 
more  than  33  grades  in  actual    existence.-fejhe    lowest 
Mansab  was  that  of  20  men  rising  to  5,000,  though  towards 
the  close  of  the  reign  there  were  created  Mansabs  of  7,000 
for  officers  highly  honoured  by  the  state.  ^JThere  was  a 
special  Mansabdari  grade  of  10,000,  which  was  exclusively 
reserved  for  the  scions  of  the  royal  family.^  The  7,000 
-grade  was  also  reserved  at  first  for  royal  princes',  although 
an  exception  was  made  in  the  case  of  certain  officers  like 
Mansingh,   Todarmal  and  Qulich  Khan.N  The  appointment, 
promotion,  suspension,  and  dismissal  01  Mansabdars  rested 
entirely  with  the  emperor.    No  portion  of  a  Mansabdar's 
dignity  was  hereditary.  ijHis  children,  as  was  the  custom, 
had    to    begin    life  anew  after  their  father's  deathp  A 
Mansabdar  did  not  always  begin  at  the  lowest  grade.    If 
he  happened  to  be  a  favourite  of  the  emperor  or  a  man 
whom  the  emperor  was  delighted  to  honour,  he  could  be 
appointed  to  any  rank  open  to  him,  which  means  that  a 
man    could    get    the    highest    Mansab  without  passing 
through  the  various  grades  by  long  and  faithful  service. 
Then    the  Mansab  was  not  granted  merely  to  military 
officers.    As  has  been  observed  before,  no  such  distinction 
was    made   between  the  military  and  civil  departments. 
Officers  both  civil  and  military  held  Mansabs J  and  were 
frequently  transferred  from  one  branch  of  the  admi^ist ra- 
tion to  the    other.^feach    Mansabdar    was  expected  to 
maintain  a  certain  number    of  horses,   elephants,   beasts 
of  burden,  and  carts  according  to    his  rank  and  dignity^) 
but   whether    the   Mansabdars  actually   maintained  the 
number    indicated  by  their    rank  is    a  moot    point.    It 
appears    that    originally    the    emperor    strictly  enforced 
Jiis  regulations,  but  later  relaxed  them  to  some  extent, 


470  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

and  the  Manaabdars  kept  much  less  than    their   fixed 
quota. ] 

£  There  is  a  difficulty  in  connection  with  the  Mansabdari 

system  which  has  baffled  the  ingenuity  of  scholars.    It  is 

the  distinction  between  the  Zat  and  Sawar 

Distinction     ranks.}  Attempts  have  been  made  to  define 

of      Zat     and  .,,     "^  ^  , 

Sawar.  with  accuracy  the  two  ranks,   but  it  is  im- 

possible in  the  state  of  our  present  knowledge 
to  express  final  views  in  regard  to  them.  \The  Zat  was  the 
personal  rank  of  Mansabdar,  but  to  this  was  added  a 
number  of  extra  horsemen  for  which  an  officer  was  allowed 
to  draw  extra  allowance,  and  this  was  called  his  Sawar 
rank^  A  Mansabdar's  rank  according  to  this  arrangement 
might  be  2,000  Zat  and  2,000  Sawar.  On  the  basis  of  this 
distinction  the  officers  excepting  those  who  held  mansabs  of 
5,000  were  placed  in  three  classes,  and  the  scale  of  Zat  pay 
was  reduced  proportionately.  A  mansabdar  belonged  to 
the  first  class,  if  his  rank  in  Zat  and  Sawar  were  equal,  ta 
the  second  class,  if  his  Sawar  was  half  his  Zat  rank,  and 
to  the  third  class,  if  his  Sawar  were  less  than  half  the  Zat, 
or  there  were  no  Sawar  at  all.  Blochmann's  view  that 
Zat  indicated  the  number  of  soldiers  a  mansabdar  was 
expected  to  keep,  and  Sawar  indicated  the  number  actually 
maintained  by  him  does  not  seem  to  be  correct.  The  reason 
for  this  is  that  the  Sawar  rank  was  introduced  by  Akbar 
later  in  his  reign  some  time  about  1603-4  at  the  time  of  the 
Deccan  war  and  the  rebellion  of  Salim.  The  word  occurs 

1  Irvine  says  that  in  spite  of  musterings  and  brandings  we  may 
safely  assume  that  very  few  mansabdars  kept  up  at  full  strength  even 
the  quota  of  horsemen  fpr  which  they  received  pay.  The  same  writer 
goes  on  to  add  that  Lutfullah  Khan  who  held  the  rank  of  7000  never 
entertained  even  seven  asses  much  less  horses  or  riders  on  horses. 
The  Army  of  the  Indian  Moghuls,  p.  69. 

•  Ibid.,  p.  6. 


ERA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  471 

i 

in  the  Ain,  but  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Ain 
is  not  a  chronological  summary  of  Akbar's  administrative 
measures.  It  seems  probable  that  the  Deccan  campaigns 
drove  home  to  the  emperor  the  necessity  of  keeping  the 
army  satisfied,  and  therefore  he  devised  this  method  of 
increasing  their  emoluments  by  granting  an  extra  allow- 
ance. (The  Sawar  rank  was  an  additional  distinction, 
and  there  seems  little  doubt,  that  some  allowance,  which 
cannot  be  exactly  determined,  was  paid  to  the  officer 
concerned^) 

Besides  the  Mansabdars^ihere  were  certain  other  sol* 
diers  called  the  Dftkhilis  and  Ahadis.^fhe  Dskhills  are 

defined  in  the  Ain  as  a  fixed  number  of 
andeAhad£!18  tro°Ps  handed  over  to  the  Mansabdars,  but 

paid  by  the  state.1  The  A hadls ,  formed  a 
class  by  themselves^  They  were  gentlemen  troopers,  re- 
cruited by  the  emperor  himself  to  serve  as  his  bodyguards. 
The  Ain  describes  them  as  follows  :— 

"There  are  many  brave  and  worthy  persons  whom 
His  Majesty  does  not  appoftifto  a  Mansab,  but  whom 
he  frees  from  being  under  the  orders  of  any  one.  Such 
persons  belong  to    the  immediate    servants  of    His 
Majesty  and  are  dignified  by  their  independence/*  * 
There  was  a  separate  office  (DlwWri)  and  a  paymaster 
(Bakhehl)  for  the  Ahadis,  and  one  of  the  distinguished 
nobles  of  the  court  was  appointed  as  their  chief.    They 
were  all  horsemen,  and  the  branding  and  muster  regula- 
tions applied  to  them,  as  they  did  to  the  Mansabdars.    The 

1  Ain  I,  p.  254. 
*  Ibid.,  pp.  249-60. 

The  word  Ahadi  literally  means  sinffe  of*pJGbe.  and  it  1*J4?C  Cjear 
why  the  term  was  applied  to  these  soldiffstf*  T 


472  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

« 

process  of  admission  to  the  rank  of  Ahadis  was  rather  ela- 
borate and  is  set  forth  in  the  Zm  in  great  detail.  UThe 
Ahadis  were  better  paid  than  common  soldiers,  and  some- 
times they  drew  as  much  as  Rs.  500  per  month,  j 

Qlhe  usual  mode  of  paying  the  officers  before  Akbar  was 
by  grant  of  lander  assignment  of  the  government  revenue 
from  land,  (jhe  state  and  the  officers  both 
g?ay  and  Ja~  liked  the  system)-the  former  because  it  escap- 
ed from  the  worry  and  bother  of  collecting 
its  taxes  in  distant  and  intractable  provinces,  and  the  latter 
because  they  were  sure  of  their  income  and  rid  of  their 
dependence  upon  the  court.  Sometimes  a  noble  got  a  valu- 
able jagir  by  bribing  the  officials,  who  had  influence  with 
the  emperor.  Akbar  did  not  approve  of  the  Jagir  system, 
because  a  Jagir  very  often  amounted  to  a  kind  of  imperium 
in  imperio  or  a  state  within  a  state.  The  Jagirs  were  turn- 
ed into  Crown  (Khalsa)  lands  and,  so  far  as  possible,(Akbar 
paid  his  Mansabdars  in  cash  and  not  by  grantgjajf/fcgu^d.  JJMj 
system  worked  well^nd  the  Empero£>found  t"hedirec1 
administration  of  land  more  profitable  and  less  fraudulent 
The  salaries  of  officers  were  counted  in  dams,  forty  of  whict 
went  to  make  a  rupee,  but  it  is  wellnigh  impossible  to  deter- 
mine the  exact  salary  of  a  Mansabdar. 

\  The  Mansabdari  system  was  open  to  great  abuse./)  Th( 

officers  felt  no  qualms  of  conscience  in  cheating  a  government 

which  did  so  much  for  them.    False  mustei 


xvw      uf     was  a  common  phenomenon.  On  the  day  fixed, 

the     Mansab-  ,  .  __  ._.  *  ' 

dan  System.  vagabonds,  tramps,  idlers,  riding  on  small 
ponies  and  dressed  in  the  uniform  of  soldiers, 
were  brought  for  review.  These  passed  for  efficient  soldiers 
and  allowance  were  drawn  with  an  easy  conscience.  To 
check  this  evil  practice,  the  Emperor  introduced  branding 


BRA  OP  .RECONSTRUCTION  473 

i 

'  $nd  the  system  of  descriptive  rolls  of  men  and  horses* 
Branding  was  not  a  new  thing,  It  was  first  introduced  by 
Alauddin  Khilji  when  he  reorganised  his  army,  and  was 
-continue^  by  Ghiyasuddin  Tughluq.  Sher  Shah  also 
revived  W  and  found  it  highly  useful.  (Akbar  created  a 
.separate  department  of  branding  under  its  ownBakhshi 
with  a  darogha,  and  issued  rules  and  regulations  for 
the  guidance  of  his  officers^  Nobles  holding  the  rank  of 
5,000  or  more  were  exempted  from  the  operation  of 
these  rules,  but,  if  required,  even  they  had  to  comply 
with  the  demands  of  the  branding  department.  A  des- 
criptive roll  (Chihrah)  of  the  officer  was  prepared  in 
which  were  entered  his  name,  his  father's  name,  his  tribe 
or  caste,  his  place  of  origin  and  details  of  his  personal 
appearance.  L-Elaborate  descriptions  of  horses  were  also 
prepared/}  and  the  minutest  details  were  .recorded  in  order 
to  minimise  the  chances  of  deception.1  VThe  emperor  did 
his  best  to  check  corruption  in  his  service,  but  the  purity 
which  he  desired  ever  remained  a  far-off  adorable  dream, 
The  officers  often  misconducted  themselves,  pnd  even  those 
"who  were  highly  placed  connived  at  the  Wickedness  of  the 
lower  ranks';  The  strict  enforcement  of  the  state  regula- 
tions was  a  highly  odious  task,  and,  as  Dr.  Vincent  Smith 
pertinently  observes,  the  Bengal  revolt  of  1580  was  partly 
due  to  the  Emperor's  insistence  on  the  resumption  of  Jagirs, 

1  Here  is  a  specimen  of  the  descriptive  rolls. 

Qamar  Ali,  son  of  Mir  Ali,  son  of  Kabir  Ali,  wheat  complexion, 
broad  forehead,  separated  eye-brows,  sheep's  eyes,  prominent  nose, 
beard  and  moustache  black,  right  ear  lost  from  a  sword  cut,  total  height 
about  40  Shanah. 

Horse — colour  Kabud  (iron-grey);  Mark  on  left  breast ;  Mark  on 
thigh  on  mounting  side  ;  Laskar  (?)  on  thigh  on  whip  side  ;  Brand  of 
four-pointed  stamp. 

Irvine,  p.  48. 


474  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM    RULE 

the  preparation  of  descriptive  rolls  and  the  systematic  brand- 
ing of  horses.  Official  greed  and  rapacity  neutralised  all 
precautions. 

CThe   Imperial   Army    was  composed  of  :  (IMInfantry, 
(2)  artillery,  (3)  cavalry,  and  (4)  the  navy}    From  the  prefa- 
tory remarks  in  the  Ain  (6,  Book  II)  it  appears- 


Branches   of     ^a^  much  importance  was  not  attached  to- 

the     Imperial  .  * 

Army.  the  infantry  arm.    It  was  largely  composed 

of  a  multitude  of  men,  assembled  together 
without  regard  to  rank  or  file  —a  mere  rabble  inadequately 
equipped  with  arms  supplied  in  times  of  need  by  petty  Zam- 
indars  or  forest  chieftains.  The  word  was  not  used  in  the 
same  sense,  as  it  is  done  in  our  times.  It  had  a  wider  connota- 
tion. It  included  foot-soldiers,  transport-bearers,  camp-fol- 
lowers, and  others  utterly  ignorant  of  the  art  of  fighting.  The 
principal  parts  of  the  infantry  arm  were  the  Banduqchis  or 
match-Iockmen  under  the  supervision  of  a  separate  Bitikchi 
and  Darogha  arranged  in  grades  and  the  Shamsherbftz,  who- 
fought  with  their  swords.  Besides  these  there  were  :  (l)the* 
darbans  or  porters  who  were  employed  to  guard  the  palace; 

(2)  the  Khidmatiyas  who  guarded  the  environs  of  the  palace  ; 

(3)  the  Pahalwans  or  wrestlers  ;  and  (4)  the  Kahars  or  palki- 
bearers. 

(^The  composition  of  the  infantry  reveals  its  character.  It 
included  all  kinds  of  men,  who  simply  swelled  the  ranks  with- 
out adding  anything  to  military  efficiency.  The  only  effective 
part  was  the  Shamsherbaz  who  fought  with  swords  and 


\  The  Artillery  was  called  by  the  name  of  Topkh&ncL\  It 

Artillery        was  introduced  in  Northern  India  by   Babar 

who  made  extensive  use  of  it.    Humayun  had' 

a  good  park  of  artillery,  and  Bahadur  Shah  of  Gujarat,  a 


BRA  OP  RECONSTRUCTION  475 

contemporary  and  a  rival  of  the  former,  also  employed 
ordnance  in  his  wars  against  his  enemies.  (Guns  were  not 
only  imported  into  the  country,  but  were  also  cast  in  the 
southJ^But  they  were  too  heavy  to  be  K>rne  Jfc&Veniently  from 
one  place  to  another.*}  Akbar, ,  who  was  himself  a  skilled 
mechanic,^made  these  guns  gfe  light  as  possible  j  Detach- 
able guns  were  manufactured,  which  could  be  broken  inta 
parts  so  as  to  be  easily  portable.  This  greatly  improved  the 
mobilization  of  the  artillery,  and  made  its  extensive  use  in 
battles  and  sieges  possible. 

4/The  Mughals  were  not  themselves  much  advanced  m 
artillery f)  They  depended  upon  the  help  of  the  Rumis,  ^.e.9 
Muhammadans  from  Constantinople  or  Farangis  mostly  sailor 
refugees  from  Surat  or  Portuguese  half-castes.  They  distrust- 
ed the  Europeans,  and  treated  them  with  contempt  possibly 
because  they  did  not  like  their  '  abhorrent  ways.'  {  The  chief 
artillery  officer  was  the  Mir  Atastyor  DaroghcL-i-TopkhanH, 
(Superintendent  of  Ordnance  Department),  {who  was  a  Man- 
sabdar  of  5, 000.) The  Mir  ~Atash  was  assisted  by  a  Mushrif 
in  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  His  duties  are  defined  as 
follows  :— 

"  The  Mir  Atash  laid  before  the  Emperor  all  de- 
mands made  on  his  department ;  all  orders  to  it  pass- 
ed through  him.  He  checked  the  pay  bills  and  in- 
spected the  diaries  of  the  Arsenal  before  sending  them 
on  to  the  Khan-i-Saman  or  Lord  Steward.  He  saw  to 
the  postings  of  the  artillery  force  and  received  reports 
as  to  losses  and  deficiencies.  The  agent  at  the  head  of 
the  artillery  pay  office  was  nominated  by  him.  The 
descriptive  rolls  of  artillery  recruits  passed  through  his- 
hands ;  all  new  appointments  and  promotions  were  made 
on  his  initiative.  " 


476  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

(The  cavalry  was  the  most  important  branch  of  the 
imperial  army,y  The  Mansabdari  system  was  notWng  but 


Cavalry  *^e  or£anisation  of  the  cavalry  arm.v  Akbar 

paid  special  attention  to  it^and  strained  every 
nerve  to  raise  it  to  the  highest  pitch  of  efficiency.  The 
branding  regulations  were  devised  for  this  purpose,  that  is,  to 
compel  the  mansabdars  to  keep  the  required  number  of  horse- 
men and  to  maintain  horses  of  good  quality.  The  import- 
ance of  the  cavalry  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  Abul  Fazl 
devotes  several  Ains  to  the  discussion  of  the  cavalry  organi- 
sation and  equipment.  Minute  rules  are  laid  down  regard- 
ing admission,  muster,  review,  and  the  like,  of  horses,  and 
officers  of  the  state  were  strictly  enjoined  to  look  after  them. 
The  emperor  personally  inspected  the  horses  in  the  royal 
stables,  and  cashiered  his  officers,  if  he  found  their  manage- 
ment unsatisfactory.) 

(The  Mughals  were  not  a  naval  power.    They  had  little 

experience  of  the  sea  except  for  purposes  of  traded  But 

Akbar's  struggles  with  the  Portuguese  show 

that  he  fully  perceived  the  importance    of 

building  up  his  naval  strength.  Dr.  Vincent  Smith,  who  puts 

implicit  reliance  on  the  Christian   sources  of  information, 

underrates  the  emperor's  naval  resources.  But  we  learn  from 

the  Ain  that  (there  was  an  Admiralty,  department,  which 

controlled  and  managed  a  fleet  of  boats.)  This  department 

performed    important    duties  :  (1)   the   fitting   of   strong 

boats  capable  of  carrying  elephants  ;  (2)  the  appointment  of 

experienced  seamen  having  knowledge  of  the  ebb  and  flow 

of  the  ocean  ;  (3)  supervision  of  the  rivers  ;  and  (4)  the  re- 

mission of  tolls  so  as  to  enable  boatmen  to  earn  proper 

wages.  '     We  read  of  boats  fitted  with  light  guns  and  other 

1  Ain  I,  p.  270. 


ERA  OP  RECONSTRU9TION  47T 

necessary  equipments  which  were  used  in  fighting.  The 
main  rivers  of  Northern  India  were  navigable  in  those  days, 
and  much  of  the  traffic  was  carried  on  by  boats.  (jTh^ 
emperor  gave  encouragement  to  the  shipbuilding  industry^ 
There  were  shipbuilding  centres  at  Lahore,  Allahabad  and 
Kashmir,  but  the  best  sailors  came  from  Malabar  and 
Cambay.  ^There  were  ships  of  all  kinds,  and  sizes,  manned 
by  trained  sailors,  whose  grades  and  ranks  were  regulated 
like  those  of  the  other  officers.} 

^Akbar    maintained  also  all  elephant    corps.     He   was 
very  fond  of   elephants  and  made  much  use  of  them  in 

his  battlesj  The   elephants   used    by    him 
p  h  a  n  t     personally  were  called  Khasah  (special) ;  the 

rest  were  arranged  in  groups  of  ten,  twenty  or 
thirty  called  halqahs  (or  circles).  The  Mansabdars  were 
required  to  maintain  a  certain  number  of  -  ^lephants,  and 
Abul  JG^u^atates  in  the  Ain  that  the  empercfc^  '  put  several 
halqnhs  in  charge  of  every  grandee,  and  required  him  to 


look  after  them.^J(All  elephants  had  names,  and  the  practice 
is  still  common  in  India j 

What  was  the  total  strength  of  the  army  ?  It  is  a  diffi- 
cult question  to  answer,  and  opinion  is  sharply  divided  on  it 
rAs  Dr.  Smith  says,  Akbar  did  not  keep   a 
tbf  A™?  °f      Iar^e  standing  army  like  the  Mauryan  kings 
of  old, /and  his  forces    consisted  of    three 
elements  : 

(1)  The  retainers   of  the  Mansabdars  including  the 

Dakhili  and  the  Kumuki  or  auxiliary  forces. 

(2)  Ahadls  or  gentlemen  troopers,  mostly  those  who 

failed  to  secure  a  mansab. 

(3)  The  levies  furnished  by  Rajput  chiefs.    These  ren- 
•    dered  active  service  in  time  of  war,  and  Akbar  was 


478  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

sure  of  their  loyal  support,  because  he  always 
meted  out  to  them  a  generous  treatment.  - 
Blochmann  estimates  the  strength  of  the  regular  army 
paid  directly  from  the  royal  treasury  at  25,000,  but  this 
figure  seems  to  be  far  short  of  the  reality.  Dr.  Horn 
tried  to  calculate  the  strength  of  Akbar's  army  on  the 
•basis  of  the  Zat  list  in  the  Ain,  and  reached  the  con- 
clusion that  it  contained  384,758  cavalry,  and  3,877,557 
infantry,  but  these  figures  are  rejected  by  Irvine.  Accord- 
mg  to  Monserrate,  who  writes  from  personal  observation, 
the  imperial  army  which  marched  to  Kabul  against  Mirza 
rHakim,  contained  45,000  cavalry,  5,000  elephants  and 
tnany  thousand  infantry,  paid  directly  from  the  royal 
treasury. ^ 

Von  ^Noer,  relying  on  the  testimony  of  some  Jesuit 
writer,  estimates  the  strength  of  the  cavalry  at  40,000 
without  specifying  details.  None  of  these  writers  helps  us 
to  determine  with  precision  the  actual  numbers  of  the 
imperial  army.  (^  Dr.  Vincent  Smith's  suggestion  that  in 
normal  times  Akbar  did  not  incur  the  expense  of  keeping 
a  force  as  large  as  that  raised  to  defeat  his  brother's  attack, 
does  not  seem  to  be  warranted  by  facts)  Then,  the  figures 
-are  not  abnormally  high.  (The  Khiljis  and  Tu^nqs  before 
him  had  maintained  large  armies!)  Sher  Shah*  had  done  the 
same.  (The  military  situation  in  Akbar's  reign  was  serious 
enough,  and  the  emperor  was  always  engaged  either  in 
•Duelling  a  revolt  or  in  making  a  new  conquest)  How  could 
he  have  done  so  without  a  large  army  ever  ready  for  active 
service?  Besides,  Hawkins  who  held  a  mansab  under 
Jahangir  says  that  the  army  in  his  time  numbered  three  to 
four  lakhs.  Such  an  abnormal  rise  in  the  figures  would  be 

1  Commentaries,  pp.  88- 89. 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  479 

impossible,  unless  there  were  some  extraordinary  reasons 
for  increasing  the  military  strength  of  the  empire.  But 
we  know  that^ttie  military  problems  of  Jahangir's  reign 
were  far  less  serious  than  those  of  Akbar.^  It  seems,  there- 
fore, admissible  on  a  modest  computation  that  ijhe  army 
inAkbar'sday  was  much  larger~than  25,000  and  that  it 
•could  not  have  been  less  than  three  lakhs^ 

(j?he  camp  was  a  normal  feature  of  Mughal  military  life. 
It  was  the  result  of  the  nomadic  influences  that  had  sur- 
rounded their  ancestors  in  Central  Asia.   They 
amp'  (joved    camp    life^)  and    the    Mughal  camp 

became  a  moving  city,  where  every  comfort  was  provided, 
and  the  nobles  vied  with  one  another  in  displaying  their 
wealth  and  splendour.  The  emperor  was  accompanied  by 
his  wives  with  their  numerous  female  attendants,  protected 
by  a  guard  of  fqin1  hundred  men  commanded  by  able  cap- 
tains. The  carrip  had  several  advantagesjlt  brought  the 
emperor  into  touch  with  his  soldiers  as  well  as  his  subjects, 
-and  enabled  him  to  acquire  knowledge  of  the  country  at  first 
hand.  Encampment  in  open  plains,  away  from  the  dirt  and 
filth  of  cities,  improved  the  health  of  the  soldiers  and  in- 
creased their  efficiency  and  vigour.C  Everything  was  well 
looked  after  in  Akbar's  time.\  Discipline  was  strictly  en- 
forced, and/the  European  travellers,  who  lived  in  Jahangir's 
i-eign,  write  that  in  the  camp  they  felt  as  secure  as  in  their 
homes^  But  in  later  years  the  camp  became  unwieldy,  and  its 
leisurely  movements  made  it  a  hindrance  rather  than  a  help 
to  the  emperor  in  time  of  war.  (Women  were  allowed  to 
•accompany  their  husbandsjand  Ufceir  presence  not  only 
lowered  the  morale  of  the  army,  but  also  added  to  its  anxiety, 
for  the  enemy  could  raid  the  camp  and  capture  the  womeiu 
The  insidious  poison  of  luxury  undermined  military  vigour,  and 


480  HISTOftY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

the  ever-increasing  fondness  for  the  amenities  of  life  inter* 
fered  with  the  performance  of  duty.  The  evil  became  so 
serious  in  the  time  of  Aurangzeb  that  his  armies  found  it 
impossible  to  cope  with  the  light  Maratha  horsemen  and 
suffered  irreparable  ruin  at  their  hands. 

We  may  sum  up  these  observations  by  making  a  few 
general    remarks  about  the  Mughai  army.    Dr.    Vincent 

Smith  who  describes  Akbar's  military  organi- 
Re~      sation  as  '  intrinsically  weak  '  expresses  the 

view  that  his  army  could  not  have  stood 
for  a  moment  against  the  contemporary  European  troops. ' 
He  does  not  mention  specifically  any  trials  of  strength  be- 
tween the  Portuguese  and  the  Mughal  forces,  although  he 
overrates  the  military  strength  of  the  former.  Such  a  sur- 
mise is  unnecessary  as  well  as  irrelevant.  We  may  ignore 
this  usual  device  of  proving  the  inferiority  of  orientals  by  a 
comparison  with  Europeans.  The  Portuguese  were  superior 
to  the  Mughals  in  naval  equipment,  but  from  this  it  would 
be  unfair  to  generalise;  about  the  efficiency  of 
the  army  as  a  whole.^^n  army  which  conquered 
Hindustan,  a  part  of  the  Deccan  and  the  Afghan  regions, 
and  which  quelled  formidable  revolts  in  the  most  outlying 
provinces  of  the  empire  and  overawed  the  Uzbegs  and 
Persians,  cannot  have  been  so  poor  and  incompetent  as 
Dr.  Smith  supposes.  Yet  it  was,not  without  defects.  The 
loyalty  of  the  soldier  towards  the  emperor  was  not  direct ; 
and  he  depended  far  too  much  upon  the  intermediate  leader. 
The  death  of  a  general  caused  a  panic  in  the  army,  and  was! 
a  signal  for  flight.  (The  success  of  the  army  was  often 
hampered  by  dfvidea  command.  Two  generals  were  en- 
trusted with  the  same  expedition,  and  they  often  quarrelled 

1  Akbar,  3  pp.  68-67. 


ERA  OF  RECONSTRUCTION  481 

between  themselves)  as  happened  during  the  campaign 
against  the  Yusiifzais.  Then,  there  was(jjo  common  plan 
of  action  agreed  to  by  the  various  sections  of  the  army;)  The 
Rajputs  adhered  "to  their  own  manoeuvres,  and  at  times 
greatly  embarrassed  their  allies.  /As  years  passed,  the  army 
became  more  and  more  cumbrous,  and  during  the  reigns  of 
Shahjahan  and  Aurangzeb  it  became  a  huge,  undisciplined 
rabble,  incapable  of^swjft  actign  o£  brilliant  adventure/. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH 

JAHANGIRAND  SHAHJAHAN 

All  political  intrigues  having  failed^  Jahangir  ascended 
the  throne  o!4^xMher^^tetober  24,  1605)  at  Agra  in  the 
<^v  rhiclst^of  "great  rejoicings.    He  was  at  this 

f     time  36  years  of  age  and  in  the  ful1  vi£°ur  of 
manhood. yjlis  liberal  education,  hip  natural 

shrewdness,  and  his  strong  commonsense  well  qualified 
him  to  carry  on  the  statesmanlike  policy  of  his  father 
Soon  after  his  accession,  he  caused  the  famous  chair 
of  justice  to  be  fastened  between  the  Shahburj  in 
the  fort  of  Agra  and  a  stone  pillar  fixed  on  the  bant 
of  the  Jamna. '  His  object  in  doing  so  was  to  'enable 
aggrieved  persons  to  lay  their  petitions  before  him 
and  to  obtain  redress.  The  chain  was  doubtless  prompt- 
ed by  the  emperor's  high  sense  of  justice,  but  it  does  not 
Beem  to  have  been  pulled  frequently  in  practice  by  suppli- 
ants, who  must  have  greatly  dreaded  the  wrath  of  the  auto- 
crat. This  was  accompanied  by  the  celebrated  twelve  ordi- 
nances, which  the  emperor  commanded  to  be  observed  as 
rules  of  conduct  (da&tur-ul-amal)  in  his  wide  dominions/ 

1  Jahangir  himself  describes  this  chain.  It  was,  says  he,  of  pure 
gold,  80  gaz  in  length  and  contained  60  bells.  It  weighed  4  Indian 
maunds  equal  to  42  Iraqi  maunds.  R.B.,  I,  p. 7. 

*  Memoirs,  I,  pp.  7—10. 

Sir  Henry  Elliot  (VI, pp.  498—515)  has  commented  upon  these  ordi- 
nances at  length,  but  his  criticism  is  not  correct  in  every  respect.  It  is 
true,  some  of  these  regulations  were  mere  pious  wishes,  but  there  is  no 
-reason  to  suppose  that  every  one  of  them  was  a  piece  of  futile  legislation. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  483 

The  emperor  freely  showered  his  gifts  both  upon  the 
Hindus  and  Muslims^  A  general  amnesty  was  granted  to 
-all  his  former  opponents,  and  they  were  restored  to  their 
titles  and  dignities.  (Abdur  Rahman,  the  son  of  Abul  Fazl, 
was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  2,000,  and  Aziz  Koka  who  had 
conspired  against  him,  was  allowed  to  retain  his  rank  and 
jagirsl]  There  were  several  other  notable  officers  who  shared 
in  the  royal  bounty.  ^Ghiyas  Beg,  the  father  of  Nurjahan. 
was  appointed  to  the  rank  of  1,500,  and  was  given  the  title 
of  Itmad-ud-dowlah.^  The  officers  of  Akbar's  time  were 
treated  with  kindness,  and  Jahangir  openly  declared  that  a 
whole  class  should  not  be  condemned  for  the  faults  of  a  few 
malcontents.  But  the  most  undeserved  elevation  was 
\hat  of  Cfeaja  Bir  Singh  Bundela,  the  jiwrderer  of  Abul 
Fazl,  who  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  3,000. 

u  Securely  seated  on  the  throne,  Jahangir  celebrated  the 
first  fiauroz  with  great  eclat  and  splendour  in  March  160(£) 
The  festivities  lasted  for  17  or  18  days,  and  were  finally 
closed  by  the  bestowal  of  generous  gifts  on  the  loyal  and 
distinguished  servants  of  the  state. 

It  will  be  remembered  that/Vhen  Akbar  lay  on  his 
•death-bed,  Raja  Man  Singh  had  formed  a  conspiracy  to  set 
1  Rebellion  of  as^e  t^e  claims  of  Salim  and  to  place  his  son 
Prince  Khus-  Khusrau  on  the  throne  in  his  stead^  After 
Tau'  Akbar's  death  a  reconciliation  was  effected 

between  the  valiant  Raja  and  Salim,  and  Khusrau  was  pre- 
sented at  court.  The  emperor  treated  him  with  affection, 
and  granted  a  lakh  of  rupees  to  provide  him  with  a  suit- 
able mansion,  befitting  his  high  rank  and  dignity.  But  this 
reconciliation  was  merely  on  the  surface.  The  father  and 
son  were  completely  estranged  from  each  other,  and  no 
amount  of  diplomacy  or  persuasive  pleadinc  could  heal 


484  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

their  lacerated  hearts.  Jahangir  thought  that  his  son  had 
irreparably  wronged  him,  while  Khusrau  who  was  a  fiery 
and  impetuous  youth,  scarcely  able  to  appraise  the  conse- 
quences of  his  own  actions,  still  hoped  to  make  an  attempt  to 
realise  his  dream  of  getting  the  throne.  He  looked  upon  the 
emperor's  kindness  and  favours  as  a  snare  to  catch  him  in 
his  meshes,  and  longed  to  be  free.  His  engaging  manners, 
his  lovely  presence,  and  his  high  station,  all  made  him  a 
fit  centre  of  political  intrigue  and  disaffection.  In  no  time, 
he  gathered  around  him  a  few  hundred  adherents,  who 
swore  fidelity  to  him,  and  promised  him  aid  in  the  desperate 
enterprise  on  which  he  had  set  his  heart. 

It  is  true  that  Khusrau  was  much  distracted.  He  spent 
days  and  nights  in  brooding  over  the  misery  and  grief  that 
lay  in  store  for  him.  One  night,  he  quietly  stole  away  from 
the  fort  of  Agra  at  the  head  of  350  horsemen  on  a  pretence 
of  visting  the  tomb  of  his  grandfather. 

When  he  reached  Mathura,  he  was  joined  by  Husain  Beg 
Badakhshani  with  nearly  3,000  horsemen.  The  prince  and 
his  adherents  plundered  and  laid  waste  the  neighbouring 
country,  and  the  mercenaries  who  had  joined  his  banner, 
tried  to  satisfy  their  greed  for  gold  by  practising  tyranny 
and  oppression  upon  those  who  came  in  their  way.  The 
prince  marched  on,  and  at  Panipat  he  was  joined  by  Abdur 
Rahim,  Di^an  of  Lahore,  who  was  coming  towards  Agra 
to  wait  ofl  the  emperor.  The  Diwan  received  a  warm 
welcome  from  the  prince  who  made  him  his  Wazir,  and 
conferred  upon  him  the  title  of  Malik  Anwar.  The  imperial 
officers  whom  the  prince  encountered  in  his  onward  march, 
could  not  impede  his  progress,  and  at  Taran  Taran  he  received 
the  blessing  of  Guru  Arjuna.  the  Adifay_of  the  Granlh 
who  took  pity  on  him  in  his  wretched  and  forlorni 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  485 

condition,  and  gave  him  some  monetary  help.  From  thence 
Khusrau  marched  towards  Lahore,  but  the  city  was  guarded 
by  Dilawar  Khan  who  had  reached  there  in  advance.  The 
bastions  of  the  fort  were  repaired,  and  cannon  and  swivel 
guns  were  kept  in  readiness  for  battle.  Dilawar  Khan 
was  reinforced  by  Said  Khan,  who  happened  to  be  encamped 
at  this  time  on  the  bank  of  the  Chenab. 

Khusrau  laid  siege  to  the  city,  and  burnt  one  of  its  gates 
in  rage,  and  told  his  men  that  after  the  capture  of  the  fort 
he  would  give  the  city  up  to  plunder  for  seven  days  and 
throw  the  women  and  children  into  prison. 

The  siege  went  on  for  nine  days,  when  the  prince  was 
informed  that  the  emperor  had  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of 
Lahore  at  the  head  of  a  cavalry  force. 

The  flight  of  the  prince  was  a  serious  matter,  and  what 
Jahangir  feared  most  was  his  junction  with  Raja  Man 
Singh  in  Bengal  or  the  Uzbegs  and  Persians  towards  the 
North-western  border;  having  placed  Agra  in  charge  of 
Nazirulmulk  and  Itmad-ud-dowlah,  the  emperor  started 
in  pursuit  of  the  prince,  and  reached  the  place  with  a  consi- 
derable force.  Negotiations  were  opened  with  the  prince 
but  to  no  purpose.  He  persisted  in  his  evil  course  and  pre- 
pared for  battle.  A  battle  was  fought  at  Bharowal  in 
which  the  rebels  were  severely  defeated.  About  four  hun- 
dred of  them  were  slain  in  battle,  and  those  that  survived 
were  terribly  affrighted.  Khusrau  himself  escaped  from 
the  field  of  battle,  and  his  box,  containing  jewellery  and 
other  precious  articles,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  imperialists, 
but  Khusrau  was  not  yet  safe.  The  divided  counsels  of 
his  own  followers  distressed  him  most.  The  Afghans  and 
Hindustanis  wished  '  to  double  back  like  foxes  into  Hindus* 
tan'  and  to  stir  up  strife  there.  Husain  Beg  whose  family 


486  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

e 

had  already  left  towards  the  west  suggested  that  they 
should  betake  themselves  to  Kabul.  At  last  his  advice  was 
accepted,  but  when  the  party  attempted  to  cross  the 
Chenab,  they  were  arrested  by  the  imperialists. 

Jahangir  received  the  news  of  Khusrau's  capture  with 
great  delight.  Little  did  he  reck  of  the  tie  which  bound 
him  to  the  prince,  and  steeled  his  heart  to  vindicate  the 
authority  of  the  state  and  to  safeguard  its  interests.  The 
people  of  Lahore  as  well  as  the  officers,  civil  and  military 
of  the  empire,  watched  in  anxious  suspense  the  fate  of 
the  royal  captive.  Jahangir  too  was  overcome  with  emotion, 
but  he  pulled  himself  up  and  ordered  the  prince  to  be 
presented  in  the  open  Darbar.  XThe  prince  appeared 
before  his  august  sire,  handcuffed  and  enchained,  weeping 
profusely,  and  trembling  like  a  willow  leaf.  The  pathetic 
scene  moved  the  hearts  of  all  who  were  present,  but  the 
emperor  was  implacable.  He  reprimanded  Khusrau  in 
strong  terms,  and  ordered  him  to  be  thrown  into  prison 
without  betraying  the  least  emotion  or  perturbation.  The 
prince's  followers  were  punished  with  jn human  barbarity, 
and  he  himself  was  subjected  to  unspeakable  insults  and 

indignities.  X 

Guru  Arjuna,  who  had  shown  compassion  to  Khusrau 
in  his  dire  distress,  was  summoned  to  court  to  answer  for 
his  conduct.  His  property  was  confiscated,  and  he  was 
ordered  jo  Jpgjput  to,  death.  The  murder  of  the  Guru, 
although  it  was  due  to  political  reasons,  was  a  heinous  crime. 
It  embittered  the  feelings  of  the  Sikhs,  and  gave  evidence 
of  reaction  against  the  tolerant  policy  of  Akbar.  Dr.  Beni 
Prasad's  statement  that  Guru  Arjuna  himself  would  have 
ended  his  days  in  peace,  if  he  had  not  espoused  the  cause  of 
a  rebel,  is  a  poor  vindication  of  imperial  high-handedness. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  487 

He  seems  to  regard  the  execution  of  the  holy  man,  who 
was  the  recognised  spiritual  head  of  a  large  section  of  the: 
people,  as  a  trivial  matter.    Bu^Jhe  blcxy}  of  the  martyrs  * 
isjbhe-j  cpmpint~o£.  the  .  church,  and  Jahangir  made  a  great  ', 
mistake  in  treating  the  Guru  like  an  ordinary  culprit.    The] 
Sikh  opposition  to  the  Mughal  empire  began. 
A^$!Qandhar  occupies  a  highly    important    and    strategic- 
position  towards  the  North-West  Frontier.    In  the  17th 
century,  it  was  an  important  gateway  of  com- 
°f    merce>   and  Jt  *s  sai<*  that  every  year  nearly 
14  thousand  camels,  laden  with  merchandise, 
passed  from  India  via  Qandhar,   into  Persia.    The  strong 
and  enviable  position  of  this  mart  of  the  east  made  it  a 
bone  of  contention  between  ^Persia  and  Hindustan.    Babar 
had  conquered  Qandhar.   and  on  his  death  it  had  passed  to 
his  son    Kamran.    Humayun  wrested  it  from  his  brother 
Askari  in  1545  with  Persian  aid,   but  after  his  death  the 
Persian   King    again  conquered  it  in  1558,  when  Akbar 
turned  his  attention  towards  the  North-  West  Frontier.   The 
Persian  governor  Muzaffar  Husain  surrendered  it  to  the 
imperialists,  and  offered  himself  to  be  enrolled  among  the 
grandees  of  the  empire.    Qandhar  remained  a  part  of  the 
Mughal  Empire  until  the  death  of  Akbar. 

But  the  Persians  never  forgot  the  loss  of  such  a  valu- 
able place.  Jahangir  writes  in  his  Memoirs  that  the  death 
of  Akbar  and  the  disturbance  caused  in  the  country  by 
Khusrau's  revolt  '  put  an  edge  on  their  design,  '  and  they 
resolved  on  reconquest.  The  kipg  of  Persia  was  at  this 
time  Shah  Abbas,  who  ranks  among 


Asiatic  rulers  ofjiis  time.  His  vast  resources  encouraged  him. 
to  try  conclusions  with  the  Mughal  Empire.  The  Persians, 
made  the  attack,  but  it  was  gallantly  repelled  by  Shah  Beg; 


488  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Khan,  who  treated  the  enemy  with  contempt,  and  fortified 
his  position  against  further  venture.  When  the  news 
reached  Jahangir,  he  sent  a  reinforcement  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Mirza  Ghazi,  son  of  Mirza  Jani  TarkhSn,  the  ruler 
of  Thatta.  The  Persians  were  frightened,  and  they  raised 
the  siege.  Shah  Abbas  diplomatically  expressed  his 
'disapproval  of  the  conduct  of  his  subjects,  and  the  emperor 
who  was  not  inclined  to  take  any  further  action  was  satis- 
fied with  the  explanation. 

The  Persians,  however,  did  not  give  up  all  hope  of 
regaining  Qandbar.  Shah  Abbas,  having  failed  to  win  the 
place  by  open  war,  employed  diplomacy  to  further  his  end. 
He  sent  several  embassies  to  the  Mughal  court,  and  ex- 
changed the  most  fulsome  and  adulatory  compliments  with 
the  emperor.  Soft  words  and  rich  presents  threw  the 
Mughals  off  their  guard,  and  they  neglected  the  defences 
of  Qandhar.  sX 

In  1622  the  Shah  again  attempted  the  conquest  and  laid 
siege  to  the  fort  Jahangir  and  Nurjahan  who  happened 
to  be  at  this  time  in  Kashmir,  quitted  the  place  immediate- 
ly, and  began  to  make  preparations  for  the  campaign.  The 
princes  and  generals  of  the  army  were  ordered  to  put 
their  troops  in  readiness  and  to  march  to  the  scene  of  action. 
But  the  imperial  plan  was  unexpectedly  frustrated  by 
Shahjahan's  refusal  to  accompany  the  expedition.  He 
was  alarmed  for  his  own  safety.  He  knew,  that  during 
his  absence  from  the  capital,  Nurjahan  and  Asaf  Khan 
would  do  their  best  to  ensure  his  exclusion  from  the 
throne,  and  to  push  the  claims  of  Shahariyar,  his  rival 
and  opponent.  There  was  another  reason.  He  felt  that 
unless  he  was  given  the  chief  command,  he  would  not 
be  able  to  make  headway  against  the  Persians  who  had 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  489 

•  t 

-concentrated  on  the  siege  in  full  strength  and  vigour.     His 

refusal  gave  Nurjahan  her  long-desired  opportunity  of 
inflaming  her  husband's  mind  against  him.  She  convinced 
the  latter  that  the  prince  meditated  treason.  An  order 
was  forthwith  issued,  asking  the  prince  to  send  to  court 
all  the  leading  officers  and  the  forces,  which  he  had  with 
him  in  the  Deccan.  Shahjahan  did  not  promptly  obey  the 
royal  command,  and  the  crisis  was  aggravated  when  Nur- 
jahan secured  from  Jahangir  the  fief  of  Dholpur  for  Shah- 
arjyar,_  which  Shahjahan  had  long  coveted.  Not  content  with 
this,  she-persuaded  l^er^dotuigJaiLsdMwid  to  raise  her  son-in- 
law's  rank  to  12,000  Zat  and  8,000  Sawar  and  to  entrust 
him  with  the  supreme  command  of  the  Qandhar  campaign. 
The  hasty  and  ill-advised  resumption  of  the  prince's  jagirs 
in  the  north  proved  the  proverbial  straw  that  broke  the 
-camel's  back.  The  prince  made  apologetic  protestations  of 
his  devotion  to  the  throne,  but  nothing  served  to  allay  the 
wrath,  kindled  by  Nurjahan's  backstair  intrigues.  How- 
ever hard  the  consequences,  he  found  rebellion  as  bis 
inevitable  choice  in  these  circumstances. 

While  the  Nurjahan  clique  was  planning  the  ruin  of 
Shahjahan,  Qandhar  had  been  captured  by  the  Persians  after 
a  siege  lasting  over  a  month  and  a  half.  This  was  followed 
by  the  despatch  of  a  fresh  embassy  to  convince  Jahangir 
that  the  Persian  King  had  a  rightful  claim  to  Qandhar. 

The  Shah's  effusive  expressions  of  loyalty  and  friendship 
were  taken  at  their  proper  value  by  the  emperor,  who 
rebuked  him  for  his  breach  of  faith,  and  accused  him  of 
duplicity  and  insincerity.  An  expedition  was  forthwith 
-ordered  to  punish  the  insolent  and  deceitful  Persians,  but 
no  sooner  was  the  command  settled  than  the  news  came 
that  Shahjahan  had  raised  the  standard  of  revolt. 


490  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

• 

After  the  first  capture  of  Qandhar,   Jahangir  spent  a 
summer  at  Kabul  for  the  benefit  of  his  health.    He  left 
that  place  some  time  in  August  1607,  for 


the  wnp^or?8      Lahore,  but  on  his  way  he  received  informa- 


tion that  a  plot  was  formed  to  assassinate 
him.  Prince  Khusrau  was  the  centre  of  the  plot.  Hi& 
charming  manners  had  won  the  hearts  of  his  captors  so 
much  that  they  entered  into  a  conspiracy  to  murder  the 
emperor  and  to  proclaim  him  as  emperor  of  Hindustan. 
The  plan  was  thoroughly  ill-conceived  ;  it  was  known  to 
many  people  long  before  it  matured,  and  in  no  time  the 
whole  thing  was  divulged  to  the  emperor.  The  ringleaders 
were  arrested,  but  they  were  dealt  with  leniently.  Only 
four  were  6xecuted  ,  and  one  was  seated  on  an  ass  with  his, 
face  towards  the  tail  and  paraded  in  this  sorry  condition 
from  house  to  house.  Khusrau  was  blinded  by  Mahabat 
Khan,  who  was  commissioned  by  Jahangir  to  do  the  ghastly 
deed.  '  But  his  vision  was  not  altogether  destroyed,  and 
later  when  his  father  relented,  it  was  partially  restored 
through  the  skill  of  a  competent  physician. 

Jahangir's  marriage  .with  Nurjahan  is  one  of  the  most 
important  events  in  Mughal   history.    Few  women  in  the 


1  Authorities  differ  as  to  the  mode  of  blinding  the  prince.  But  we- 
read  in  the  2ntikhab-i-J ahangiri  that 4  when  jbhe  wire  was  put  in  his 
6768,  such  pain  was  inflicted  on  him,  that  it  is  bj^ond  all  expression.' 

Experienced  physicians  were  employed  to  cure  the  eyes  of  the- 
prince  when  paternal  love  asserted  itself.  A  Persianphysician  Sadra 
by  name  treated  the  prince,  and  we  are  told  that  in  six  months  the 
original  vision  of  one  of  his  eyes  was  restored.  The  other  remained 
defective  and  became  somewhat  shorter  in  size.  The  physician  waa 
rewarded  with  the  title  of  Masih-uz-Zaman^  Elliot,  VI,  pp.  448-49. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  491 

world's  history  have  displayed  such  masterful    qualities: 
of  courage  and  statesmanship  as  this  extra- 
Quinary  woman,  who  held  her  husband  in 
leading  strings  and  dominated  the  state  for  a 
number  of  years.    Students  of  Indian    history   kre    welF 
familiar  with  the  romantic  story  of  her  birth,  which  has  been 
related  with  great  embellishments  by  Muslim  chroniclers. 
But  modern  research  has,  discarded  the  legendary  account, 
and  placed  before  usjjie  plam_iacta^  regarding  her  early 
Her   father^Mirza^jGrhi^as    Beg,    son  _  of 


^^  _  . 

MuhammaJ^Sliarif,  was  a  native  jofJTehran.  Driven 
by  the  pressure  6f~ad  verse  ""circumstances,  Ghiyas  Beg 
turned  his  thought  towards  Hindustan  whither  he  pro- 
ceeded with  his  wife,  who  was  big  with  child,  in  search 
of  employment.  When  he  reached  Qandhar,  his  wife- 
was  delivered  of  a  female  child.  As  the  family  waa 
in  great  straits,  a  certain  wealthy  merchant  named  Malik 
Masud  under  whose  protection  they  were  coming  to  India 
took  pity  on  them,  and  offered  his  help.  It  was  a  veritable 
God-send  to  Ghiyas,  whose  heart  was  broken  by  the  suffer- 
ings and  troubles  through  which  he  had  passed.  The 
merchant  who  had  some  influence  at  the  Mughal  court, 
introduced  Ghiyas  to  Akbar,  and  got  him  a  handsome 
employment  in  the  state.  By  sheer  ^\\{  of 
^ 


n^iyOT  nf  KQNlT-  Ghiyas's  talents  shone  to  the  best 
itage,  while  he  was  in  office.  He  cultivated  after 
the  fashion  of  the  time  calligraphy  and  poetry,  and. 
acquired  a  reputation  for  elegant  diction.  He  showed 
great  skill  in  transacting  public  business,  and  came  to  be 

looked    Upon  as  One  Of  jj)f   ^^yproftf-    nflgWrs  nf   the 


492  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  was  bgld  and  daring  in 
lading,  bribes-  The  little  child  who  was  named  Miherun- 
nissa  by  her  parents  grew  up  in  the  meantime,  and  at  the 
age  of  17  was  married  to  AHj^uH^jgojlu,  a  Persian  adven- 
turer, who  is  better  known  in  history  as  Sher  Afgan. 

AH  Quli  IstSjlS  was  a  man  of  humble^  origin,  fie  was 
a  safarchi  (table.  -servant)  of  Shah  Ismail  II  of  Persia. 
A  strange  turn  of  fortune  drove  him  from  his  native  coun- 
try, and  like  many  others  of  his  kind,  he  also  sought  refuge 
in  India.  On  reaching  Multan,  he  met  the  Khan-i-Khanan 
through  whose  good  offices  he  was  granted  a  military  rank 
at  the  Mughal  court  in  the  time  of  Akbar.  When  Prince 
Salim  was  ordered  to  march  against  the  Rana  of  Mewar, 
Ali  Quli  was  appointed  to  his  staff.  The  proud  and  manly 

soldigrjpgased  th^princr^yho  con- 


o£  gher,Afgan  for^  slay  ing  atiger.  ' 

During  thePrince's  rebellion  againstThis  father,  Tnost  of 
his  friends  deserted  him,  and  considerations  of  prudence  led 
Sher  Afgan  also  to  follow  their  example.  But  after  his 
accession,  Jahangir  forgave  his  offences,  confirmed  his  jagir, 
and  sent  him  to  the  Subah  of  Bengal. 

Bengal  was  at  this  time  seething  with  discontent. 
The  turbulent  Afghans,  who  still  hoped  to  revive  their  lost 
supremacy,  gathered  there  from  all  parts  of  the  country, 
and  fomented  intrigues  against  the  state.  Report  came 
that  £her  Afgan  was  '  insubordinate  and  disposed  to  be 
rebellious/  How  could  the  emperor  brook  such  designs 
•on  the  part  of  one,  whom  he  had  rajafld  ff"™  nh«u»nriiy  rn 
high  military  rank  ?  The  governor  Qutbuddin,  who  had 
-succeeded  Raja  Man  Singh  in  August  1606,  was  commanded 

1  Sher  Afgan  dpfiMjA*)  literally  means  one  who  ^jlls  down  a  lion. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  493: 

j  > 

to  send  the  suspected  officer  to  court.    The  .governor  took 
the  somewhat  foolish  step  of  making  an  attempt  to  arrest 
him.  Sher  Afgan's  blood  boiled  at  this  indignity,  and  when 
he  saw  Qutbuddin's  men  surrounding  him  on  all  sides,   he 
exclaimed  with  rage  '  what  proceeding  is  this  of   thine? ' 
He  was  so  shocked  by  this  treachery  that  when  Qutbuddin 
advanced  forward  to  explain  his  conduct,  he  attacked  him 
with  his  sword,  and  inflicted  mortal  injuries  on  his  person. 
This  unexpected  attack  infuriated  the  Mughal  retainers, 
of  the  governor,    who  fell  upon  Sher  AfofliTi  Hlf0  ^BPfTT 
wolves,  and  hacked  him  to  pieces.  Miherunnissa  along  with 
her  daughter  was  sent  to  court,  where  she  was  entrusted  ta 
the^custody  of  the  dowager-Queen  Sultap  Saliipji  JPqgupi 
In  March  1611,   i.e.,  four^years  after  the  death  of  her 
hiisbandLuJahangir  once  chanced  toTsee    her  at    the  fancy 
bazar,  and^ was  charmed  by  herjreautiful  appearance.  Time 
assuaged  her  grief,     and    she    became  reconciled  to  her 
imperial  lover.    Towards  the  close  of  May,  ^he_bgcame  the^ 
legally  in5med  jwifgjof_the  lord  of  jiindustan.     A  new 
chapter ^openedjinj^  family     Her  father  and 

weSfexalted  to  high  positions,  and   were  granted 
titles  and  jagirs. ""    ~~  ~"~          ""        ~~ 

WhetheFJahangir  had  a  hand   in  the;  mnrrtf™^* 

Afcpan  is  a  matter  of  (^1^™^  Dr-  Beni  Prasad  in 
able  monograph  on  Jahangir  seriously  contends  that  the 
story  of  the  murder  is  a  pure  myth  invented  by  later 
chroniclers. 1  He  argues  that  there  is  no  confirmation  of 
this  story  in  contemporary  writings,  nor  is  there  any 
mention  of  it  in  the  accounts  of  European  travellers,  wha 
were  too  eager  to  seize  upon  scandals  relating  to  members 

1  History  of  Jahangir,  pp.  178—88. 


494  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

of  the  royal  family.  The  improbabilities  of  the  story 
itself  on  which  he  dwells  at  length,  are  of  little  value 
in  helping  us  to  form  a  correct  judgment.  The  evidence 
of  the  emperor^  ,  innocence  adduced  by  Dr.  Bern  PrassiL 
is  of  a  negative  character,  and  we  cannot  lightly  brush 
^side_Jlie-  positive  assertions  of  later  historians,  who  were 
in  a  better  position  to  state~the  truth  in  a  matter  like 
"tHis  than^  their  predecessors.  There  are  other  considera- 
tlonTwhich  militate  against  the  theory  of  innocence.  The 
•chief  offence  of  Sher  Afgan  is  said  to  be  that  he  was 
.guilty  of  treason,  but  no  details  of  his  participation  in  sedi- 
tious conspiracy  are  disclosed.  The  emperor.vhad  merely 
a  suspicion,  and  all  authorities  agree  in  saying  that  Qutb- 
uddin  was  ordered  to  punish  Sher  Afgan,  if  the  latter 
'showed  any  futile,  seditious  ideas.'  It  is  not  clear  how 
<}utbuddin  satisfied  himself  on  his  arrival  in  Bengal,  that 
the  Afghan  officer  actually  harboured  treasonable  designs, 
The  cause  of  royal  displeasure  was  not  even  communicated 
to  him,  and  our  suspicions  are  confirmed  by  the  suddenness 
with  which  his  arrest  was  nttrmptrri  /jghiinrcir  wha  in 
-usually  so  frank  in  relating  his.  Moratory,  does  not  say  a 
word.^bout  this  incident  for  the  obvious  reasont.th»t  jQQjpan 
wouldjpglgte  scandals  about  himself  »j>ut  his  silencejregard- 
Jng  the  fact  of  his  marriage  with  Nurjahan,  jvhich  j&as 

inf  in  his  career,  is 


whollyLiinintelligible.  '    Why  were  royal  commands  issued  to 
•send  Miherunnissa  to  court,  when  her  father  was  living 

Nurjahan'a  name  _for_Jhe-^-fljfliL.  iamfiL  Jff 
j_  ear  J6  1  4  tEreeyearg^after  liis  ^ajriage. 
There  are  many  trivial  details,  but  not  a  word  is  said  about  Nurjahan. 
BIB  acfiouaii  -ttt,.8h^T_A.fgani^.death  j^entjrgl^jdgvoijLjQf^^mgptiQn  of 
Nurjahari.  B,B.  Memoirs,  I,  p.  266* 


THE. EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  485 

&t  the  capital,  and  held  an  important  office  in  the  state  V 
There  was  no  question  about  his  loyalty,  and,  surely,  he 
could  be  safely  trusted  to  take  care  of  his  daughter  and  her 
•little  child  in  their  sorrowful  plight.  Such  a  thing  wag 
never  done  in  the  case  of  other  noblemen  and  officers, 
charged  with  sedition.  WhyjcUc^  take  the 

somessJiaL  _  unusual  step  of  entrusting  the  widowed 
lady  to  the  care  of  the  dowager-Queen  Jn  the  imperial 
K^qm?  But  it  may  be  asked  whzJJifi^em^erorxif-  he_  was 
an  impetuous  lover,  waited  for.iom-lQWE  .years,  when  the^ 
object  of  his  desire  was  well  within,  hj^reach  ?  Probably 
he  did  so  for  two  reasonsf  HNuriahan  was  overpowered  by 
the  tragic  death  of  her  husband^and  her  sorrow-laden  heart 
;  for  some  time,  from  all  thought  of  love~and 
perhaps  the  emperor  did  not  interfere 


with  her,  because  he  wished  to  lull  all  suspicions  regarding 
the^death  of  Sher  Afgan,^  which  was  so  unexpected  an3 
precipitate.  The  T)utch  writer  De  Laet  says  that  Jahangir 
had  been  in  love  with  Nurjahan,  even  when  she  was  a 
maiden  during  the  lifetime  of  Akbar,  but  her  betrothal  to 
Sher  Afgan  proved  an  obstacle -in  the  way  of  marriage.  V  A 


1  MutamSd  Khan  writes  :    "  After  the   death   of  Kutub-uddin,  the 
officials  of  Bengal,  in  obedience   to  royal  command,  sent  to  court  the 
daughter  of  Ghiyas  Beg,  who  had  been  exalted  to  the  title   of  fc  Itimad-J 
nd-do  wlah/  and  the   King,   who  was  greatly  distressed  at  the  murder  of 
Kutub-uddin,  entrusted  her  to  the  keeping  of  his  own  royal  mother," 

Elliot,  VI,  p.  404. 

9  Description  of  India  and  Fragment  of  Indian  History,  p.  181. 
De  Laet  relates  at  some  length  the  story  of  Jahangir's  marriage 
with  Nurjahan.  He  says  :  *'  He  (Jahangir)  hadJtfteuiinlQv^  witfr  hgg 
when  shewas  still  a  maiden.-tnn^ff  ^  MhAinigTkf  A^hahftr  YAkbarl 


to  theJi^rkChftej[_A8egbaP  (She 
wouTd  naotigTowTum 


- 

he  sfla^fjen^slT^oat  hia  ipye  ror  ner«  '*    This  is  oorrogofaTect  j>y"lJMnr 
mSSanrnsTonans  also.    If  this  were  true,  the  motor  e  for  the  murder 


496  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

careful  perusal  of  contemporary  chronicles  leaves  upon  our 
minds  the  impression,  that  the  circumstances  of  Sher 
Afgan's  death  are  of  a  highly  suspicious  nature,  although 
there  is  no  conclusive  evidence  to  prove  that  the  emperor 
was  guilty  of  the  crime. 

Atjthejtime^f  Jier  ^jnarriage  wjth^Jaha^^ 
was  in  her  thirty-fifth  year,  but  ajdvancingjage  LhaOone- 
"~  """  "       nothing  to  mar  fHfrPshnaarvf  JiPr 

°f 


beauty  of  her  early 

youth  and  the  portraits  that  have  come  down. 
to  us  are  indicative  of  her  superb  loveliness.  Nature  rein- 
forced by  art  had  greatlyadded[to  jier  charms,  and  made  her 
nafiuT  famous  ifafjgll  that  isjovable  arid  liftracti  ve  fif  wbrffan- 
kind.  She  possessed  a  strong  and  virile  intellect,  and  could 
understand  the  most  intricate  political  problems  without 
any  difficulty.  No  political  or  diplomatic  complication  was 
beyond  her  comprehension,  and  the  greatest  statesmertand 
ministers  bowed  to  her  decisions.  J3he  was  fond  of  .poetry 
and  wrote  verses  which  are  still  admired.  Sh_e__was_a 
genumeJnvfir  of  beauty,  and  did  much  to  increase  the  splen- 
dour and  glory  of  the  Mughal  court.  She  set  the  fashions 
oTlEeTage,  designed  new  varieties  of  silk  and  cotton  fabrics,. 
and^suggested  new  mod^of  jewellery  ,  hitjierto  unknow  n 
in  Hindustan 

of  G^ajHerahle  ^  physical 


Courage,  ^nd^went  out  on  hunting  tnura  wit^ 

.  On  more  than  one  occasion,  she  shot  ferocious  tigers,  and 
Jahangir  was  so  pleased  by  her  feat  of  valour  that  he  gave 
her  a  pair  of  bracelets  of  diamonds  worth  1,00,000  rupees, 
and  distributed  1,000  asharafte  among  his  servants  and 
the  poor  to  mark  his  pleasure.  Her  presence  of  mind  was 
remarkable,  as  is  illustrated  by  her  rebuke  to  Asaf  Khan, 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS^ZENITH  497 

when  the  emperor  was  made  a  prisoner  by  Mahabat  Khan. 
J4eye£jii<ljier  activity,  resgurcefulness^nd^ 
more  manifest^than  in  thejiour  of  danger.  HeFspints 
rose  in  difficult  situations,  and  experienced  generals  and 
soldiers  were  amazed  to  see  her  seated  on  an  elephant  in 
the  thick  of  the  fight,  discharging  a  shower  of  arrows  at 
She  worked  hard,  and  no  detail  of  administra- 


tion  escaped  her^  vigilant  eye.  ^Although  she  meddled 
in~~pn1iHpg.  plotter  and  int.ri>iu»d  to  obtainjjower.  she  was 
not  devoid  of  human  feelings.  She  was  generous  and 
o  a  fault-.  She  was  the  ref^g^irP  the  tyior  and 


her  kindness  towards.  ]&&p-  sex  manifested 


itself  in  numberless  acts_of^  charitg.  Sjxe  J™?Y  l^fl  J?ftTI  Ay 
J2LJ11?  ma™0^  of  ™*phgn  M"«1"rn  girljV  qgj*  extended 
herprotection  to  the  weak  and  the  oppressed.  Towards 
her  kith  and  kin,  she  entertained  the  warmest  feelings. 
Her  father  and  brother  rose  to  the  highest  positions  in  the 
state  mainly  through  her  influence, 


She  loved  him  with  alljthe  intensity 


charms  that  he  became  a  submissive  tool  in  her  hands.  The 
(fogh^^dignitaries  of  the  empire  sought  her  good  offices 
and  a  word  from  her  jsouldjnake  or  mar  the  career  of*x*y~ 
one  of  them.  Rebels  againstTthe  state  implored  her  "Help 
in  securing  royal  forgiveness,  as  is  illustrated  by  the  case  of 
Jagat  Singh,  the  hill  chieftain  of  the  Punjab.  £  It  was 
through  her  intercession  that  the  'pen  of  pardon_jgas 
drawn  tjij&ughjjie  record  j>f  jiis  faultsv£~ 

/But  Nurjahan's  influence  wasfnSt^all  for  the  good  of 
the  state.  Her  inordinate  loye-ef  powe^,  ****  ^romanly 
''MnitiYr  ^nd  her  g^htle  ^fiyiV^a  f:o  to^ke  the  emperor  her 

slave  jglLto  troubles^  which  seriously  threatened  the  peace 

p  3a  -  --  "~ 


496  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 


ofjthejsmiBEe*  ^It  is  true,  she  had  a  fine  intellect,  but  she 
lacked  that-jeapacjty  foLJudgment  and  correct  decision, 
which  is  a  sine  qua  non  of  success  in  public  affairs.^  She. 
went  too  farjn_jdealing  with  her  enemies,  and  j^either.  jrank 

/  nor  birth  could  shield  a  man  against  her  revengeful  spirit. 
Itwas  her  arrogance,  her  natural  habit  of  suspicion,.  Jier 
constant  desire  to  humble  the  ablest  officers  of  the  crown 
that  goaded  Mahabat  Khan  into  rebellion,  and  produced 
disorder  in  the  country.  The  haram  and  the  court  ali^e 

I  became  centres  of  intrigue,  and  it  was  her  machinations 
that  drove  Prince  Khurram  to  unfurl  the  banner  of  revolt 
against  his  father.  '  The  loss  of  Qandhar  in  1622  was  due 
to  her  mischievous  influence.  Despite  her  knowledge  that 
KHiirram  was  the  acknowledged  heir  to  the  throne,  and 
was  the  ablest  among  Jahangir's  sons,  she  put  forward 
in  preference  to  him  the  claims  of  her  own  creature 


was  destitute  of  brains  and  character,  and 
whom  his  contemporaries  rigfitly  gave  the  nickname 
of  Naqhudani  or  'good  for  nothing."  The  prince  refused 
to  march  to  Qandhar,  because  he  knew  that  the  imperious 
Begum  had  spread  the  net  of  her  intrigue  wide, 
and  swept  into  it  the  leading  nobles  of  the  court. 
Even  Dr.  Beni  Prasad  admits  that  during  his  absence 
Nurjahan  was  sure  to  push  her  creature  Shahariyar  to  the 
front,  and  undermine  his  own  (Khurram's)  power  by  replac- 
ing his  adherents  with  hers  in  high  offices  of  state,  by 

1  Professor  J.  N.  Sarkar  puts  the  blame  entirely  on  Nurjaban, 
He  writes  : 

"From  1622  till  almost  the  end  of  his  father's  reign  Shahjahan 
<vras  under  a  cloud  ;  the  infatuated  old  emperor,  entirely  dominated  by 
his  selfish  and  imperious  consort  Nurjahan,  deprived  Shahjahan  of  his 
posts  and  fiefs,  and  at  last  drove  him  into  rebellion  in  self-defence." 

History  of  Aurangzeb,  Vol.  I,  p.  2. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  499 

playing  upon  the  feelings  and  fancies  of  her  husband  and 
toy  taking  full  advantage  of  any  opportunities,  which 
might  present  themselves  in  the  meanwhile.1  It  was 
under  her  influence  that  Jahangir  hegfimp.  SL  thorough-bred 
pleasure-seeker,  and  so  far  forgot  the  duties  of  his  exalted 
office  as  to  say  that  Nurjahan  was  wise  enough  to  conduct 
the  matters  of  state,  and  that  ^  wntp^  only  «  hnH-.l*  of 
yine  and  a  PIPPP  of  meat  to  kqep  himself  merry.  The 
remark  may  have  been  made  in  jest,  ,  but  it  indicates 
well  enough  the  easy-going  habit  of  the  man,  who  was 
by  no  means  lacking  in  intelligence,  and  who  had  given 
proof  of  his  far-sightedness  by  proclaiming  that  he  meant 
to  adhere  to  the  policy  of  his  great  father.  His  innate 
fondness  for  pleasure  was  developed  by  Nurjahan  to  a 
perilous  extent,  and  if  Jahangir^  f  qjgn  fnrma 
period  in  the  annals  nF  tfhp  Mughal  dynasty. 


the  responsibility  in  no  small  measure.  The  new  fashions 
and  tastes  which  she  fostered,  are  a  poor  compensation  for 
the  lack  of  military  achievement  or  administrative  reform, 
which  must  always  remain  the  supreme  test  of  the  great- 
ness of  rulers  and  statesmen.  The  dominating_Begum 

made  her  husband  travel  fast  on  the  path  of  ease^  jiixtil.Jie 

—  —  .—  ^     _.,-  •^~~~-~—  ~"  ~-—  .  -  _  -          "~  —  —  •  ~  -^""  ^^   *  '•".«——•'  »  ......  *•"      ™* 

ceasea  to  take  all  interest  in  pubHc^.business,  jnd  bej&n  to 
look  upon  alcohol  as  a  'prudent  friend/  Most  of  his 
regulations  remained  in  abeyance,  and  the  Nurjahan  clique 
managed  or  mismanaged,  as  it  chose,  the  affairs  of  the 
empire.  The  era,  of  brilliant  or  heroic  enterprise^  was 
clqsedJEor  the  June,  and  the  vanous  paffiSf  and  fectionF 
at  court  were  consumed  with  a  feverish  activity  to 
-oust  their  rivals  from  positions  of  power  and  influence. 

1  History  of  Jahangir,  p.    849. 


500  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Akbar  had  annexed  Bengal  to  the  empire  in  1575 
after  the  defeat  of  Daud  but  the  Afghans  were  not  com- 
UsmSn's  Pletely  crushed.  They  found  an  able  and 
Rebellion  in  ambitious  leader  in  Usman  who,  though  out- 
Bengal.  Wardly  loyal  to  the  Mughals,  cherished  the 
dream  of  restoring  Afghan  independence.  He  had  rebelled 
once  before  in  1599  in  the  reign  of  Akbar,  but  he  was  sup- 
pressed by  Raja  Mansingh.  The  rapid  change  of  governors 
in  Bengal  encouraged  him  in  his  hostile  designs/  and 
when  Islam  Khan  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  governor 
after  the  death  of  Jahangir  Quli  who  had  succeeded 
Qutbuddin, 1  the  Afghans  and  Zamindars  of  Bengal  showed 
open  hostility  to  the  central  government.  The  Afghans 
rallied  under  the  banner  of  Usman,  and  prepared  them- 
selves for  a  trial  of  strength  with  the  imperialists.  Both 
sides  engaged  each  other  in  battle,  and  after  a  strenuous 
day  on  the  field,  he  was  fatally  wounded  on  the  head,  but 
so  great  was  his  composure  that  even  in  this  condition  he 
contmued  to  direct  the  movements  of  his  men  for  six  hours. 
The  battle  ended  in  the  defeat  of  the  Afghans  who  retreat- 
ed to  their  entrenchments.  Here  Usman  died,  leaving  his 
followers  in  a  state  of  disorder. 

The  news  of  this  victory  was  received  at  court 
(April  1,  1612),  with  great  delight,  and  Jahangir  suitably 
rewarded  the  officers,  who  had  distinguished  themselves  in 
the  campaign.  Islam  Khan's  rank  was  raised,  and  the 
other  officers  who  had  rendered  him  loyal  assistance 
were  fitly  honoured.  The  political  power  of  the  Afghans 
was  destroyed,  but  they  were  treated  well  by  Jahangir,  who 


*  This  Qutbuddin  is  the  same  person  who  lost  his  life  in  the  scuffle- 
with  Sher  Afgan,  the  first  husband  of  Nurjahan. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  501 

allowed  them  with  pleasure  to  enter  the  service  of  the 
state.  As  a  result  of  this  humane  policy,  writes  the 
author  of  the  Makhzan-i- Afghan,  the  Afghans  abolished 
all  treasonable  designs  from  their  minds,  and  considered 
it  their  duty  to  remain  subservient  and  loyal  to  the  throne 
even  at  the  sacrifice  of  their  lives. 

Soon  after  his  accession  to  the  throne,  Jahangir 
resumed  his  father's  policy  in  regard  to  the  principality  of 
Mewar.  Prince  Parwez  was  appointed  to  the 
of  UM^S°n  command,  and  with  him  were  associated  well- 
tried  officers  who  had  given  proof  of  their 
valour  in  several  campaigns.  The  first  battle  was  an  in- 
decisive one,  and  ended  in  a  truce  between  the  two  parties. 
Two  years  later,  the  emperor  sent  Mahabat  Khan  at  the 
head  of  a  considerable  force,  and  the  latter  succeeded  in 
inflicting  a  defeat  on  the  Rajputs.  Frequent  changes  in 
command  seriously  hampered  the  progress-of  operations, 
*nd  nothing  substantial  was  achieved  until  prince 
Khjjrram  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  expedition. 
Assisted  by  some  of  the  ablest  military  officers,  the  prince 
opened  the  campaign  in  full  vigour.  The  Mughal  soldiers 
who  were  exasperated  by  prolonged  Rajput  resistance, 
carried  fire  and  sword  in  their  train,  and  rendered  large 
tracts  of  land  desolate.  The  prince  established  military 
posts  in -favourable  localities  in  order  to  cutoff  the  supplies 
of  the  enemy  and  to  starve  them  into  submission. 
Still  the  Rajputs  did  not  desist  from  fighting,  and  their 
reckless  daring  made  an  impression  on  the  Mughals.  But 
the  tactics  of  the  latter  succeeded.  The  moving  columns 
of  the  Mughal  army  captured  the  families  of  several  chiefs, 
And  reduced  the  Rana  to  such  straits  that  he  began  to 
•desire  the  termination  of  the  campaign.  From  all  sides  came 


502  &ISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

t  ; 

the  demand  that  peace  should  be  made.  The  Rana  sent 
his  maternal  uncle  Shubh  Karap  and  his  trusty^^gerJJma 
Das  J§la  to  settle  the  terms  of  the  treaty.  He  agreed  to> 
payliomage  to  the  emperor  and  to  send  his  son  to  the 
imperial  court,  but  himself  begged  to  be  excused  from 
personal  attendance  on  account  of  old  age.  Jahangir  gladly 
accepted  the  terms  of  peace  for  he  writes:  *JMy  loftyjnind 
was  always  desirous,  as  far  as  possible,  not  to  destroy  the 
ojdjamilies."1  Chittor  was  restored  to  the  Rana,  but  he 
was  asked  not  to  fortify  it.  No  matrimonial  alliance  was 
forced  on  him  ;  he  was  simply  asked  to  supply  a  contingent 
of  1,000  horse,  and  his  son  was  enrolled  as  a  mansabdarof 
5,000.  A  meeting  was  arranged  between  Prince  Khurram 
and  the  Rana  at  which  they  exchanged  greetings,  and 
offered  valuable  presents  to  each  other. 2 

The  Rana's  heir-apparent  Prince  Karan  also  waited  on 
Prince  Khurram,  and  received  as  a  mark  of  favour  a 
superb  dress  of  honour,  a  jewelled  sword  and  dagger,  and 
horse  with  a  gold  saddle  and  a  special  elephant. ' 

Jahangir's  conduct  in  this  affair  is  wholly  worthy  of 
praise.  Mewar  had  given  the  Mughals  no  small  amount  of 
trouble,  but  the  emperor  forgot  the  past  and  adopted  a  con- 
ciliatory policy  in  dealing  with  the  Rana.  He  was  so 
pleased  at  this  achievement,  that  heordered  two  full-sized 
mublejstatues  of  the  Bana  and  his  son  to  be  made  in  order 
to  be  placed  at  Agra  in  the  garden  below  the  Jharokha. 

1  B.  B.,  I,  pp.  273-74. 

Jahangir  says  (B.  B.,  I,  p.  276)  that  the  Rana  clasped  his  (Khur- 
ram s)  feet  and  asked  forgiveness  for  his  faults.  This  does  not  seem  to 
be  likely.  In  the  first  place  no  Bajput  however  humbled,  would  con- 
descend to  show  such  servility,  and  secondly,  it  was  not  a  recognised 
mode  of  paying  respect  to  kings  or  princes. 

3  According  to  the  Bajput  usage   the  prince  did   not  go  with  his. 
father  to  pay  respects  to  the  prince. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  50& 

'  These  elephants  were  removed  from  Agra  by  Aurangzeb 
in  1668,  but  no  trace  is  to  be  found  of  them  now. 

When  the  emperor  was  returning  from  a  tour  in 
Gujarat,  news  came  that  the  bubonic  plague  had  broken 
out  in  Hindustan. '  Jahangir  briefly  describes 
°f  the  disease  by  saying  that  '  under  the  arm- 
pits, or  in  the  groin,  or  below  the  throat, 
buboes  formed,  and  they  died.'2  The  contemporary 
chronicler  Mutamad  Khan  writes  that  the  fell  disease  first 
began  in  the  Punjab,  spread  to  Sarhind,  and  then  through- 
out the  Doab  as  far  as  Delhi  and  its  neighbouring  cities 
and  villages.  His  account  of  the  disease  is  as  correct  today 
as  it  was  when  he  wrote  it.  This  is  what  he  says  : 

f  "  When  it  was  about  to  break  out,  a  mouse  would 
run  out  of  its  hole  as  if  mad,  and  striking  itself  against 
the  door  and  the  walls  of  the  house,  would  expire.  If, 
immediately  after  this  signal,  the  occupants  left  the 
house  and  went  to  the  jungle,  their  lives  were  saved;  if 
otherwise  the  inhabitants  of  the  whole  village  would 
be  swept  away  by  the  hand  of  death. 

If  any  person  touched  the  dead,  or  even  the  clothes 
of  a  dead  man,  he  also  could  not  survive  the  fatal 
contact.  The  effect  of  the  epidemic  was  comparatively 
more  severe  upon  the  Hindus.  In  Lahore  its  ravages 
were  so  great,  that  in  one  house  ten  or  twenty  persona 
would  die,  and  their  surviving  neighbours,  annoyed  by 
the  stench,  would  be  compelled  to  desert  their  houses 
full  of  habitations.  The  dead  were  left  locked,  and 
no  person  dared  to  go  near  them  through  fear  of  his 

1  The  author  of  the  Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri   calls    this    epidemic 
Wala-o-taaun. 

2  R.  B.,  II,  p.  66. 


504  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

t  ( 

life.  It  was  also  very  severe  in  Kashmir,  where  its 
effect  was  so  great  that  (as  an  instance)  a  darvesh, 
who  had  performed  the  last  said  offices  of  washing 
the  corpse  of  a  friend,  the  very  next  day  shared  the 
same  fate.  A  cow,  which  had  fed  upon  the  grass  on 
which  the  body  of  the  man  was  washed,  also  died. 
The  dogs,  also,  which  ate  the  flesh  of  the  cow,  fell  dead 
upon  the  spot.  In  Hindustan  no  place  was  free  from 
this  visitation,  which  continued,  to  devastate  the 
country  for  "  l 


It  broke  out  again  in  1618-19  in  Agra,  and  spread  to 
all  the  villages  and  towns  in  the  neighbourhood,  although 
Fatehpur  was  quite  free  from  it.  The  emperor  was  inform- 
ed by  loyal  persons  that  the  daily  average  of  deaths  was 
nearly  100.  2  The  houses  of  the  rich  and  the  poor  were 
equally  affected,  and  thousands  of  lives  were  destroyed. 
The  people  were  simply  bewildered  by  the  appearance  of 
this  fell  disease,  but  there  is  nothing  to  show  that  the  state 
devised  any  preventive  measures  against  its  deadly  visi- 
tations. Mutamad  Khan,  the  historian  of  Jahangir's 
reign,  writes  that  it  exceeded  everything  known  and 
recorded  in  former  ages. 

Captain  William  Hawkins  came  to  Jahangir's  court  in 

1608  from  England  with  a  letter  from  James  I  in  order  to 

obtain  facilities  for  trade.    In  spite  of  Por- 

SbawkTnh8oma8    tuguese  opposition,  he  succeeded  in  having 

8oe.  an  audience  of  the  emperor,  who  received  him 

graciously,  and  accepted  the  costly  presents 

offered  by  him.    He  was  apppintedjo.  Jie^ajnanagbdar^of 

400  with  a  nominal  salary  of  l&TOOO.    The  emperor  liked 

1  Elliot,  VI,  p.  406. 
•  B.  B.  II,  p.  65. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  505 

him  much,  and  invited  him  to  be  present  at  his  drinking 
parties.  The  trade  facilities  which  he  sought  were  readily 
-granted. 

Hawkins  writes  at  length  about  the  enyaergoi^sjiajjits^ 
the^tiguette  of  the  court^  and  the  system  of  administration 
and  the  social  condition  of  the  people.  The  emperor  drank 
hard,  kept  a  sumptuous  table,  and  gave  feasts,  the  most 
important  of  which  was  the  feast  of  Nauroz.  T 


. 

JSacheat  was  prevalent  in  the  country,  jand  the  emperor 
was  thej^y^^  grandeesT^^^racquisi- 

tidns "after  deathlpassed  to  him,  andfin  this^  way  his  trea- 
sures mulljpIie^L^beyo^fl  reckoning.  Tie  ^mentions  four 
causes  of  this  abundance  of  wealth  :  (1)  the  treasure  and 
jewels  of  tfs  ancestors  ;  (2)  the  property  of  nobles  passing 
into  his  hands  after  their  deaths  ;  (3)  money  brought  into 
the  country  by  foreign  merchants,  and  (4)  the  possession 
of  land.  Deeds  of  cruelty  were  common  at  court,  and] 
Hawkins  observes  that  he  saw  with  his  own  eyes  the 
victims  of  royal  wrath,  destroyed  in  a  savage  manner  by 
heartless  ruffians. 

Sir  Thomas  Roe  was  the  accredited  representative  of 
the  King  of  England,  who  visited  Jahangir's  court  in 
1615  with  the  object  of  obtaining  some  concession  for  the 
English  trade.  When  he  camejp  Imlifr,  Jie ;  was  Jiulhe 
prime  of  life,  of  pleasing  manners  and  a  prepossessing 
ifislg^ 

and  diplomatice3cence,  eminently 


lim  for  the^asE^Tnereal object ofTiis 

-gmum  a,  i-nu _    „      „  r.  \v_-p  **  -.^  -    -         _.,^  *.^~~* - 

'cSlfimerciaTTreaty  wilH  the  ruler  of 
r-aiT^x^ 

jntrigues  of  rival  parties  and  the  misgivings  of  the  imperial 
•court,  yet  Sir Tfionifcs  Roe  (JiaTiotlfincIi f romhis  duty, 


506  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

\ 

in  spite  of  refusals  and  disappointments  persevered  in  his- 
attempts  to^^curej^va^  forjbis  nation.  The 

Nurjahan  clique  was  in  power  at  thlslime,  andTit  was  im- 
possible to  get  anything  done,  without  the  help  of  Asaf 
Khan,  the  chief  minister  of  Jahangir,  and  Prince  Khurram. 
The^a^bassadorjiadjo  sellji  valuable  pearl  to  Asaf  Khan 
ajt^a  reducecT  price  and  to  offer  similar  presents  to  his- 
sister,  who  was  won  over  to  the  side  qf^the  English. 
T|i^u^h  AsafltKIn^s  "help,  an  interview  was  arranged 
with  Khurram,  ^d^EReTPrinC^  promised  to~  obtain^  for 
fee  not  only  aJ^jmaij^^jBengal  but  jL^QS^^iJommgnd 
andTgranfloffree  privileges  in  all  the  Mughal  dominions,  j 
A  hope  was  also  held  out  that  the  prince  would  make  over 
the  port  of  Surat  to  the  English^jyhen  he  assumed  charge 
o£^e^rovi^^j)j^Gujarat.  The^  Portuguese  were  great 
rivals  of  the  English,  and  their  intrigues  hampered  the 
British  ambassador  considerably  in  persuading  the  emperor 
to  grant  his  terms.  The  draft  of  the  treaty,  which  Roe 
submitted,  was  rejected  with  scorn,  and  it  was  after  long 
delay  and  evasions  that  a  farman  was  granted,  allowing 
some  concessions  to  the  English.  The  Prince  adopted  a 
friendly  attitude  to wardsjthe  British  mercEantsT^ind  in- 
formed them,  that  in  case  they^were  attacked  by  the 
Portuguese,  the  local  governor  would  assist  them  with 
boats  and  any  other  requisites.  They  were  allowed  to  trade 
freely,  and^abi^esjofjthe  customs  houses  were  put  an  end 
to.  No  tolls  were  to  be  levied  on  goods,  entering  into  a 
port,  and  the  merchants  were  permitted  to  hire  any  housfc 
they  pleased  for  establishing  a  factory.  They  were  to  en- 
joy the  right  of  self-government,  and  no  English  refugee 
was  to  be  detained,  even  if  he  accepted  the  Muslim  faith. 
The  Mughal  government  was  so  Hiatrnstfial  nf  the- 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  507 

I  • 

intentions  of  th^EpgUabJthat-itdid  not  allowthem  to  build 

orTm;Fa^  the  nujBB^fof  Engli§h- 

men,  who  could  weaFamsJnJthe  city.   Roe  strongly  ob- 
jec^^jEfie^inserfion  of  the  clause,,  and 
hyyjgrsi^nt  remonsteancea^tbat  it  was  dropped. 
^  i 


of  the  English  relations  with  India.  Roe  fought  hard 
against  adverse  circumstances,  and  in  the  long  run  succeed- 
ed in  partially  gaining  his  object.  His  countrymen^  at 
Suratjtrmde  light  of  his  diplomatic  servicesTbut  jbjlj^aver- 
looked  the  fact  that  though  SirTJhomas  ^e_couWjiot 
achieve  what  he  desired,  lie  enhanggd,|jxe^  REfiatige  .of  the 
English  in^Injifa,  ancTwon  resgggt  for_  thenpuat  titieji|ughal 
court.  Tfie  Portuguese  were  humbled,  and  the  provincial 
governors  were  askeiaTto"  stay  the  hand  of  oppression, 
which  resulted  in  giving  time  to  the  English  to  establish 
their  influence  on  a  secure  basis. 

Roe's  Journal  gives  us  a  vjyid^picture^of  the  court 
and  faithful  character!  alcetchesjf  jail  the  p^mmeiiLmem*- 
bers  of  the  royal  f  amil^^  whoni^  Jie  joeyer 

saw.     He^dwells^at  length^  upon  the  pomjj^.aiuL  magnifi- 

^  de- 


scribes the  festivities  and  pleasure  parties  in  which  the 
grandees  took  part.  But  he  dpjs_Jiot_fprget  tqjdescribe 
the  squalor  and  ^misery^of  the,  ^easaiitry, 


of  th§  p^blicLhiglmays^nd   the  generaL-Utegciejxcy  and 
supineness  of  the  local  administraitqns.  Corruption  was 


prevalent,  ana^uTTi^  of  the  state  were 

not  above  reproach.  There  was  _  no  written^law  in 
the,  jpountry,  ajnd  .  the  ^JT^T^Ikdr  hv  ^  hia  ward.  •Jhf 
S£us$Ol-3!ji§^  but  the  Jmperjal 

supervision  over  provinces  was  lax,  and  the  provincial 


$08  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

<  | 

governorsbehaved  as  despots.    The  emperor  was  every 

man>g1iei5^  by  the  law  oflEscheat  the  property  of  a 
noble  passed  to  him.  The  greatjnen  about  him  were  jnot 
men  of  noble  birth^liiltJayourites  often  raisecfto  eminence 

-^•t. 0f—        I,     _,,,     *~"~~~~-~~"*     '"  **•»• —-"— -»^.   „     .„,.   »•*  — .^_. — '     *— I--"  "       —      — •-" 

By  caprice.  He  des^ribesjahangir  as  ajsheerful.  amiable 
man^entirelyj ree^jfrom : J>rid^ and  jsfincfiit^  He  praises  the 
"Inanner  in  which  he  was  received  at  court,  and  goes  on  to 
add  that  no  ambassador,  Turkish  or  Persian,  was  ever  re- 
ceived with  so  much  courtesy.  Roe^was  invitedjnQEe  than 
<opg^tobepresent  in  tjie  Durbar  j)y  Jahangir,  and  on  one 
occasion  he  presented  him  with  a  picture,  which  the  king 
greatly  appreciated.  Writing  about  court,  the  ambassador 
says  that  he jvitnessed  inter^stingjfcenes  of  drunkenness 

nd  reyelr^duringln^site  aiTnight. "" ^^ralEi^mperor 
became  dead^rlu^  wejg^putj^ut  anCthe  tipsy 

^olirtiefs  welfE T^y'toT^eirliomes.  At  oneof  the  drinking 
bouts  Roe  was^offervBcTTiquoKT)ut^it  wasTso^  strong  that  it 
maaeTuSTsneeze,  on  whichjthe  ^mperbfjlaughed  heartily 
tmJ^engun^^  SirYhomasRoe  was  a  dex- 

terous diplomatist,  endowed ._with  plenty ^of  naturaLghrewd- 
S^Jt^^business^ ^  capacity,  "and  ^KIs  Journal  is  full  of 
interestingdetaiTs  about  court  fife  during  Jahangir's  reign. 
"jAikbar  had  captured^the  fort^oO^sffgarhrbut  he  was 
obliged  to  leave  suddenly  for  the  north  owing  to  Salim's 
rebellion.  His  departure  seriously  affect- 

TheDecoan.  ed  the  Mughal  position  in  the  Deccan,  and 
nothing,  substantial  was  achieved  by  the  imperialists. 
After  the  death  of  the  emperor  in  1605,  when  Jahangir 
succeeded  to  the  throne,  he  resumed  his  father's  policy, 
but  he  was  confronted  by  JO&ry  able  statesman L_and . Jtnili- 
tary  leader  in  Malik  Ambar,  the  Abyssinia^  miBfetet.  and 
general  of  the  Nizamshahi  kings  of  A,hraadnagar. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  509- 

Malik  Ambar^was _not_ ,a  man  of  ordinary  .talents. 
Possessed  of  rare  mtellectual  powers  and  force  of  charac- 
ter, he  was  equally  at  home  in  civil  and  miTitary"~ai0PiairsT 
Long  experience  of  administrative  work  had  ripened  his- 
judgment,  and  given  him  an  insight  into  matters  of  high 
state  policy,  which  had  secured  for  him  a  position  of  con- 
siderable influence  in  the  state.  He  had  introduced  sever- 
al reforms,  but  the  most  notable  of  them  was  his  organ- 
isatipnjxf  the  revende  system  after  the  model  followed  by 
JRaja  Todarmal  in  the  north.  Even  the  Mughal  historians 
who  speak  of  him  in  terms  of  contempt,  praise  him  for  his- 
ability,  political  acumen,  and  resourcefulness  in  times  of 
danger  and  difficulty.  His  activities  were  not  confined  to 
the  civil  administration  alone.  He  was  a_general  of  jao 
mean  repute.  He  developed  the  military  strength  of  the 
Nizamshahi  kingdom,  and  revolutionised  the  methods  of 
warfare  in  the  Deccan.  He  was  the  first  to  train  the 
Marathas  in  the  guerilla  method  of  warfare,  which  they 
carried  to  perfection  afterwards,  and  which  greatly  helped 
them  in  destroying  the  Mughal  empire.  To  fight  with 
such  a  formidable  enemy  was  no  easy  task,  and  Malik 
Ambar  taxed  to  the  uttermost  the  military  resources  of 
the  empire  for  well-nigh  two  decades. 

Malik  Ambar  speedily  began  to  recover  the  lost  terri- 
tory, and  sharply  checked  the  Mughal  advance,  which  was. 
partly  due  also  to  the  inaction  of  the  officers  themselves. 
To  retrieve  the  position,  Jahangir  sent  the  Khan-i-Khanan, 
at  the  head  of  a  large  force,  consisting  of  12,000  men,  ta 
carry  on  the  war  in  the  Deccan.  The  supreme  command 
was  entrusted  to  Prince  Parwez,  and  with  him  were  asso- 
ciated other  military  officers  of  renown.  As  no  improve- 
ment in  the  situation  was  effected,  the  emperor  despatched 


HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

I 

Khan  Jahan  Lodi.  who  was  accompanied  by  several  distin- 
guished generals,  both  Hindu  and  Muslim.  On  reaching 
the  Deccan,  they  came  to  know  that  the  Mug  Jmls.  had,  been 

an<*  were  compelled  to  beat  a 


^ 
dishonourable  retreat.    The  generals  accused  each  other  of 

bad  plans  and  defective  strategy,  and  Khan  Jahan  urged 
the  recall  of  the  Khan-i-Khanan.    He  implored  the  emperor 
to  place  him    in    chief    command,   and  added  that  he 
would  not  show,  his  face  to  the  servanfc  of  the  court,  if  h€ 
failed  in  the  enterprise.  v     In  the  face  of  such  opposition, 
the  emperor  considered  it   advisable    to    withdraw    the 
Khan-i-Khanan  from  the  scene  of  operations.    With  Khan 
Jahan  as  their  chief  commander,  the  Mughals  assumed  the 
•Offensive  in  full  vigour  in  1611,   but  they  were  forced   to 
retreat  towards  Gujarat  by  the  Maratha  horsemen  who 
inflicted  heavy  losses  on  them.    On  hearing  the   news  of 
tfils  mishap,  Jahangir  himself  resolved  to  go  to  the  Deccan 
and  '  destroy  root  and   branch  those  servants,   who  had 
become    masters,'    but    the  nobles  were  not  agreeable 
to  the  proposal.    The  Khan-i-Khanan  was  reappointed  to 
the  command.    Ever  loyal  to  the  empire  in  which  he   had 
risen  to  such  eminence,  the  veteran  warrior  forgot  past 
insults  and  injuries  and  proceeded  to  the  Deccan.     He  de- 
feated the  Deccanis  in  a  hotly  contested  engagement,  but 
•even  this  brilliant  success  failed  to  silence  his  enemies 
wlia  accused  him  of  having  accepted  the  Deccan  gold. 
Once  again,  he  was  called  back,  and  the  command  was 
•entrusted  to  Prince  Khurram. 

The  prince  marched  to  the  Deccan  via  Ajmer  and 
reached  Burhanpur  on  March  6,  1617,  accompanied  by 
the  most  valiant  imperial  generals.  He  offered  terms  of 

1  R.  B.f  I,  pp.  179-80. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  511 

*peace  to  the  enemy,  which  were  immediately  accepted. 
Adil  Shah  waited  on  the  prince  in  person  with  presents 
worth  15  lakhs,  and  promised  to  restore  all  the  territory, 
which  had  been  seized  by  Malik  Ambar.  The  treaty  was 
ratified  by  the  emperor  who  bestowed  the  title  of  Farzand. 
(son)  upon,  ^dil  Khan,  and  expressed  niiicITsatisfaction  at 
his  submission.  The  officers  of  the  state  who  had  taken 
part  in  the  war  were  suitably  rewarded,  and  Prince 
Khurram  was  given  the  title  of  Shahjahan,  and  his  mansab 
was  raised  to  30,000  Zat  and  20,000  Sawar.  Other  gifts 
followed,  and  j^a  jmark  of  special  honour  the  emperor 
himself  came  down  from  the  Jharokha,  and  '  poured  over 
his  head  a  small  tray  of  jewels  and  a  tray  of  gold  (coins). ! 
Wealth  was  heaped  in  abundance  upon  the  prince,  and  his 
triumph  was  celebrated  in  the  right  Roman  fashion. 

Nurjahan  Begum  also  shared  in  the  rejoicings  ;  she 
held  a  feast  in  honour  of  the  prince,  and  conferred  upon 
him  dresses  of  honour  and  jewels,  and  pearls  of  great 
value.  The  total  cost  of  this  entertainment  according  to 
Jahangir  was  3,00,000  rupees. 2  Behin4jall^the§e  ^profjjse 
gifts  and  rewards  lay  the  hard  fact,  that  the  Deccan  was 
not  conquered,  and  that  the  spirit  of  Malik  Ambar  was 
as  unbroken  as  ever. 

The  most  remarkable  exploit  of  Jahangir 's  reign  is 
the  conquest  of  the  famous  fortress  of  Kangra  in  Novem- 
ber 1620.    The  fort  was  situated  on  a  lofty 
K°angrae8t  °'      hffl»  and  was  strongly  fortified  by  nature. 
It  was  surrounded  by  a  number  of  fortresses 
which  were  in  the  possession  of  hill  chiefs.    Near  by  was 
the  famous  Jberagle  of  JwalaiauldaL^t;  Nagarkot,  where 
thousands  of  devotees  came  from  all  parts  of  the  country 

1  B.  B0  I,  p.  896.  *  K.  B.,  I,  p.  397. 


512  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

to  offer  worship.  The  temple  was  plundered  by  Mahmud' 
of  Ghazni  in  1009,  but  as  soon  as  the  whirlwind  of  his- 
invasion  was  over,  the  Hindu  Rajas  of  the  Kangra  region 
again  recovered  their  lost  power.  Firuz  Tughluq  led  an 
expedition  to  Kangra,  but  its  natural  fortifications  baffled 
all  his  efforts,  and  he  had  to  be  content  with  the  nominal 
homage  of  the  local  chieftain.  During  Akbar's  reign,  an 
attempt  was  made  to  conquer  the  fortress,  but  the  imperial 
generals  accomplished  nothing,  though  the  siege  lasted 
for  a  long  time.  When  Jahangir  came  to  the  throne,  he 
also  thought  of  the  conquest  of  Kangra.  Murtaza  Khan, 
governor  of  the  Punjab,  was  appointed  to  the  command* 
but  his  efforts  failed  owing  to  the  jealousy  and  opposition 
of  the  Rajput  chiefs,  who  were  associated  with  him.  After 
some  time  he  died,  and  Shahjahan  was  entrusted  with  the 
command  of  the  expedition.  The  imperialists  assumed  the 
offensive  in  full  vigour,  and  the  hill  chiefs  were  thoroughly 
humbled.  The  siege  of  Kangra  was  pushed  on  for  weeks- 
together  ;  the  supplies  were  cut  off,  and  the  beleaguered 
garrison  had  to  live  on  boiled  dry  grass.  Death  and 
starvation  stared  them  •  in  the  face.  After  a  prolonged 
siege  of  14  months,  when  they  saw  no  hope  of  deliverance, 
they  surrendered  on  November  16,  1620. : 

Khusrau  remained  a  solitary  prisoner  in  his  gloomy 
dungeon,  and  his  soul  sank  under  the  accumulated  weight  of 

sorrow  and  misfortune.    The  ladies  of  the 
°f     haram,  moved  to  pity  by  the  prince's  miser- 

able  plight,  requested  the  emperor  that  the 
repentant  sinner  deserved  to  be  forgiven.    Permission  was 

1  A  fall  account  of  this   campaign  will  be  found  in  Sash  Fatah-i- 
Kangra  extracts  from  which  are  given  in  Elliot,  VI,  pp.  617—81. 
The  Memoirs  also  contains  an  account,  B.  BM II,  pp.  i 83—86. 
For  a  d  ascription  of  the  fort  see  Memoirs,  II,  pp,  223-24. 


THE  EMPIREj  AT  ITS*  ZENITH  518 

given  him  to  attend  the  Durbar  in  1613,  but  Khusrau's 
appearance  "  showed  no  signs  of  openness  and  happi- 
ness and  he  was  always  mournful  and  dejected  in  mind/* 
Nothing  availed  to  brighten  up  his  life,  which  seemed  to 
him  a  cheerless  blank.  The  emperor  cancelled  his  previous 
order  in  disgust,  and  forbade  his  entry  into  the  durbar.  * 
Nurjahan's  plans  succeeded  well  enough,  and  in  October 
1616  the  hapless  prince  was  entrusted  to  the  custody  of 
his  mortal  enemy  Asaf  Khan,  who  made  him  over  to  his 
rival  Shahjahan. 2  The  latter  took  him  to  the  Deccan,  when 
he  marched  against  Malik  Ambar,  the  Abyssinian,  Luckily 
peace  was  made,  and  the  cessation  of  hostilities  enabled 
Shahjahan  to  organize  the  territories  under  his  control. 
As  Khusrau  was  still  popular,  Shahjahan  thought  it  pru- 
dent to  remove  him  from  his  path.  ^AjMBurhanpj^ 
prince  was  murdered  by  Shahjahan's  order  early  in  1622, 
and  the  emperor  was  informed  that  he  had  died  of  coli 
pain. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Sha.hjahan  was  the 
.Khusrau's  death.  Jahangir  in  his  Memoirs  gives  us  no 
clue  to  the  tragic  event  and  simply  writes :  'At  this  time 
a  report  came  from  Khurram  that  Khusrau  on  the  8th 
(20th  of  the  month)  had  died  of  the  disease  of  colic  pain 
(Qulanj),  and  gone  to  the  mercy  of  God.3  Several  years 
agqjifc  Beveridge  expressed  the  view,  that  there  was  no 
-evidence  worthy  b?  the  name,  that  Khusrau  was  murdered 
or  strangled/  There  is  a  mass  of  evidence  to  prove  that  j 
Khusrau  was  killed  by  Shahjahan's  orders.  Besides  the 

E.  B.,  I,  p.  261. 

R.  B0  I,  p.  336. 
!  B.B.,  II,  p.  228. 
•J.  B.  A.8.,  1907,  p.699. 


Oft 


614  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

testimony  of  the  later  Muslim  chroniclers  and  European 
travellers  there  is  contemporary  evidence,  which  holds- 
Shahjahan  responsible  for  the  crime. 

The  murdered  prince  was  liked  by  all  classes  of  men 
\  of  him  : 


"  For  that  prince,  he  was  a  gentleman  of  a  very 
lovely  presence  and  fine  carriage,  so  exceedingly 
beloved  of  the  common  people,  that  as  Saetonigs 
writes  of  Titus,  he  was  amor  et  deliciae,  etc.,  the 
very  love  and  delight  of  them,  aged  then  about  thirty- 
five  years.  He  was  a  man  who  contented  himself 
with  one  wife,  who  with  all  love  and  care  accompanied 
him  in  all  his  straits,  and  therefore  he  would  never 
take  any  wife  but  herself,  though  the  liberty  of  his 
religion  did  admit  of  his  plurality  " 

Khusrau  was  given  a  second  burial.  By  the  command  of 
his  father,  whose  wrath  seems  to  have  been  allayed  in  the 
awful  presence  of  death,  his  remains  were  conveyed  to 
Allahabad,  where  they  were  interred  by  the  side  of  his 
mother  in  a  garden  near  Khuldabad.  The  walled  garden 
known  asJKhusrau _Bagh  still  stands^in  its  melancholy 
gr&ndeur  to  remind  the  visitor  of  those  unhappy  events, 
which  led  to  the  tragic  end  of  the  prince,  who  has  been 
rightly  described  as  one  of  the  most  interesting  jypd 
pathetic  figures  in  Indian  history.  """ 

M<<^TCsTasTeen  said  before,  Nurjahan's^backstair  intri- 
gues had  driven  Shahjahan  into  revolt  His  hostility  to  the 

imperious  Begum  was  no  longer  a  Secret, 
*  *'*    and  'lt  was  kn°wn  to  all  that  the  prince  would 

have  to  take  prompt  action,  if  he  wished  to 
safeguard  his  person  and  property.    Both  sides  prepared 


THE  EMPIRE  ^AT  ITS.  ZENITH  515 

Shahjahan  had  several 


prominent   nobles  to  back  up  his  cause,  white  Nuriahati 
could  j?ounjL<^  veteran  officers  liHjuAaaf 

MgJiaJ>gJL_  Khun.    und   f»M*fa   %*   *hp   Prin^g,  nf 
Marwar.  Kptft,  Rnnrii    anrl    Raja    Kir    Singh    Rnni 

dela,  jtfa^jtnurderer  gf  AbuLEazI,    along  with  several 
others.    The  entire  military  and  financial  resources  of  th< 
empire  were  at  her  disposal,  and  even  the  supporters  oi 
the  prince  felt  that  their  patron  had  embarked  upon 
hazardous  enterprise. 

The  first  decisive  battle  between  the  imperialists  and 
Shahjahan  was  fought  at  Bilochpur  to  the  south  of  Delhi 
(1623)  in  which  the  rebels  were  defeated.  Raya  Rayan 
Raja  Bikramajit,  '  the  gallant  soldier,  whose  valour  had 
been  proved  in  many  an  arduous  campaign,  fell  in  battle, 
and  his  hgadjvas  cut  off  by  the  imperialists.  It  was  sent 
to  Jahangir  who  is  reported  to  have  expressed  much  grati- 
fication at  the  death  of  such  a  deaclly  enemy.  Shahjahan 
was  pursued  by  the  imperialists,  and  skirmishes  took 
place  between  him  and  Mahabat's  troops.  The  situation 
was  deemed  so  serious  that  Jahangir  Jiimself  proceeded  to 
Ajmer  to  direct  the  campaign  in  person.  The  prince 
betook  himself  to  Asir,  which  he  captured  without  striking 
a  blow,  but  desertions  in  his  army  filled  him  with  anxiety. 
He,  turned  to  Malik  Ambar  foj;  help,  but  thejatter  returned 
a  curt  refusal.  Pressed  hard  by  the  imperialists,  he  crossed 
theTapti,  although  it  was  in  heavy  floods,  and  sought 
refuge  in  Golkunda.  But  the  Sultan  af  Golkunda  offered 
him  jiq  help^  land  asked  him  to  quit  his  country  vrithout 


1   He  was  deputy  of  Bhahjahan  and  was  once  appointed  viceroy  of 
Gujarat  by  biin.    He,  was  known  aa  Sundar.    This  is  Brahman  8 and**. 


516  HISTORYr  OF  MlfSLIM  RULE 

delay.  Greatly  disappointed,  the  prince  marched  across 
Telingana  into  Orissa  which  was  a  Mughal  province.  He 
reduced  the  whole  of  Bengal  and  Bihar,  and  brought  them 
under  his  sway.  Master  of  a  valuable  province,  he  attempted 
to  seize  Oudh  and  Allahabad,  but  he  encountered  stubborn 
resistance  at  the  hands  of  the  imperial  garrison.  When 
valour  proved  unavailing,  treachery  was  employed.  The 
Zamindara  who had  espoused  the  prince's  cause  were  made 
to  desert  him  by  means  of  bribes  and  deceitful  representa- 
tion^ '  "  Reduced  to  sore  straits,  Shahjahan  made  one  more 
desperate  attempt  to  beat  the  enemy,  but  he  was  severely 
defeated.  He  retreated  hastily  to  the  fortress  of  Rohtas, 
and  thence  proceeded  to  the  Deccan. 

I  Malik  Ambar,  the  old  enemy  of  the  empire,  who  was 
waging  war  against  Bijapur,  and  who  had  just  stormed 
the  fort  of  Sholapur,  accorded  a  cordial  welcome  to  the 
fugitive  prince,  and  formed  an  alliance  with  him  against 
the  emperor.  Shahjahan  laid  siege  to  Burhanpur,  but  he 
abandoned  it  when  Parwez  and  Mahabat  Khan  appeared 
on  the  scene.  He  retired  to  Rohangarh,  and  his  valiant 
general  Abdullah  Khan  renounced  the  world  and  buried 
himself  in  penance  and  prayer. 

Shahjahan  found  himself  in  an  unfortunate  predica- 
ment. It  was  difficult  for  him  to  make  headway  against 
the  imperialists  with  their  undoubted  superiority  in  numbers 
in  spite  of  Ambar's  alliance.  His  generals  had  gone  over 
to  the  side  of  the  enemy,  and  Abdullah  on  whose  fidelity 
he  could  always  count  had  taken  to  the  life  of  a  recluse 
and  a  hermit.  It  is  true  he  still  held  the  forts  of  Rohtas 
in  the  north  and  Asir  in  the  Deccan,  but  these  could  hardly 
stand  a  prolonged  and  concentrated  siege  by  the 
imperialists.  Reduced  to  sore  straits,  Shahjahan  was 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  517 

nothing  but  failure  starinfe  him  fa  the  face.  He  wrote 
to  Jahangir  to  forgive  his  unfilial  conduct.  Nurjahan 
who  feared  Mahabat's  growing  influence  and  his 
alliance  with  Parwez  readily  grasped  at  the  opportunity* 
and  agreed  to  the  proposal  advanced  by  the  rebellious 
prince  (March  1626).  He  was  asked  to  surrender  the 
forts  of  Rohtas  and  Asir,  and  as  a  guarantee  of  frfc  ff<*** 
behaviour  he  was  to  send  his  two  sons  Para  and  Aurangz&b* 
boys  of  ten  and  eight  respectively,  to  court  a*  hftfttaggg 
Shahjahan  made  due  obeisance  to  the  royal  farman  and 
offered  rich  gifts  valued  at  ten  lakhs  of  rupees.  He  him- 
self repaired  to  Nasik  with  his  wife  and  his  youngest  son 
Murad. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Nuriahan  was  anyinna  tn> 

secureMbhe  succession  Jor.  her  aon-in-law  Shahriyart    He  was 

a  good-for-nothing  mediocrity,  but  the  death 

*  a  b  a  b        of  Khusrau  and  the  humiliation  of  Shahjahan 


once  again  encouraged  the  empress  to  revive 
Tier  plans.  The  only  other  rival  was  Parwez,  who  was  at 
this  time  closely  associated  with  Mahahat  K^an,  the  most 
redoubtable  general  and  diplomatist,  "f  **»*  *™pi>  It  is 
easy  to  imagine  what  Mahabat  could  do  with  Parwez  as  a 
tool  in  his  hands,  particularly,  when  the  emperor  was 
rendered  incapable  of  exertion  by  continued  ill-health. 
Nurjahan  kept  quiet  as  long  as  Mahabat's  services  were 
needed  to  cope  with  Khurram's  rebellion,  but  the  moment 
it  was  suppressed,  she  renewed  her  intrigues  and  attempt- 
ed to  deprive  Mahabat  Khan  of  all  power  and  influence. 
He  was  asked  to  resign  the  imperial  command  and  to  go» 
over  to  Bengal  to  assume  charge  of  the  governorship  of 
that  province.  Prince  Parwez  expressed  his  unwillingness. 
to  allow  him  to  go,  and  Nurjahan  issued  an  order  in  wrath 


518  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

that  Mahabat  Khan  must  return  to  court,  and  the  prince 
'should  stay  at  Burhanpur.  Fearing  his  brother's  fate 
Parwez  yielded,  and  Mahabat  Khan  also  bowed  to  the  royal 
command. 

Nurjahan    did    not   rest   content    with   the    recall  of 
Mahabat.     She  had  the  audacity   to    bring    against    him 
charges  pf  embezzlement  and  corruption.     A  royal   message 
required  him  to  send  to  court  the  elephants  he  had  seized 
in  Bengal  and  to  account  for  the  moneys  which  had  come 
into  his  hands  by  reason  of  the  dismissal  of  fief-holders. 
Another  charge  the  preposterousness  of  which  is  obvious 
was  that  Mahabat  had  affianced  his  daughter  without  royal 
permission  to  the  son  of  Khwaja  Umar  Nakshabandi.  The 
emperor  disapproved  of  the  betrothal,  sent  for  the  young- 
man,  and  treated  him  with  studied  insults.    His  hands  were 
tied  to  his  neck,  and  he  was  escorted  bareheaded  to  prison. 
An  officer  of  the  crown,  Fidai  Khan,  was  deputed  to  bring 
to  the  imperial  exchequer  all  the  wealth  which  had  been 
given  by  Mahabat  to  his  prospective  son-in-law.    Failing 
this,  he  was  asked  to  send  him  to  court.    Mahabat  was 
mortally  offended  by  this  outrageous  treatment.  Jt  brought 
into  clear  relief  jhejpaneful  results  of  petticoat  influence 
in  affairs  of  great  pith  and  moment,  and  strengthened  the 
general's  convictions,  regarding  the  inefficiency  of  the  pres- 
ent regime.  Jahangir  was  too  enfeebled  in  health  to  look  into 
these  matters,  and  blindly  assented  to  the  wishes  of  his 
imperious  wife.    Mahabat  was  taken  aback,  as  any  man 
would  have  been  in  his  position,  by  the  ingratitude  shown 
by  the  powers-that-be  in  dealing  with  him.    As  he  looked 
back  to  his  relations  with  Nurjahan  in  the  past.  aLjnoment'8 
reflection  convinced  him  that  his  life  and  honouFwg§BJD 
and  that  nothing  short  of  a  drastic  and  timely  move 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  519 

could  save  him  from  imminent  ruin.    Fully  prepared  for 
any  contingency,  Mahahat  rollfvt^d   four  or  five  thousand 

fiajptitsy  and  jrtftrtgj  Hrnr   court. 

The  emperor  had  just  returned  from  Kashmir,  and  after 
a  few  months'  stay  at  Lahore  started  for  Kabul  in  March 
1626.  He  was  encamped  on  the  bank  of  the  Jhelam  when 
Mahabat  arrived  with  his  sturdy  and  well-armed  Rajputs. 
How  was  he  to  secure  his  position  ?  He  could  only  do  so 
by  seizing  the  emperor  and  weaning  him  completely  away 
from  the  sinister  influence  of  Nurjahan  and  Asaf  Khan. 
When  the  emperor's  party  was  to  cross  the  Jhelam,  Mahabat 
Khan  came  quietly  with  his  men,  and  surrounded  the 
imperial  camp,  and  made  His  Maiestv  a  captivre. 

Nurjahan  whom  the  general  was  anxious  to  catch 
crossed  the  bridge  on  the  Jhelam  in  jlisguise,  and  escaped 
his  clutched  Shahariyar  too  disappeared  in  the  confusion 
that  followed  Mahabat's  coup.  Nurjahan,  on  reaching  the 
other  bank,  called  a  council  of  war  to  devise  means  of 
releasing  the  emperor.  She  rebuked  her 


Khan  and  said  to  him  :  "All  this  has  happened  througl 
your  neglect  and  stupid  arrangements.    What  never  enterec 
into  the  imagination  of  any  one  has  come  to  pass,   and  n 
you  stand  stricken  with  shame  for  your  conduct  before 
God  and  man.  You  must  do  your  best  to  repair  the  evil 
and  advise  what  course  to  pursue.^  There  could  be  bu 
one  answer  to  this  passionate  reproach.  All  agreed  with 
her  that  they  should  go  to  the  other  bank  to  overpower 
Mahabat  and  release  the  emperor  from  his  custody. 

When  Jahangir  heard  of  this  resolution,  he  felt  anxious 
for  his  own  position.  The  Mughals  were  no  match  to  the 
Rajputs  who  could  easily  give  them  a  short  shrift  in  open 
-battle.  They  were  well  armed  and  disciplined,  and  it  was 


520  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

an  act  of  utter  folly  to  go  to  fight  against  them.  Messages 
were  exchanged  with  the  emperor  who  tried  to  dissuade 
his  adherents  from  attack,  but  they  paid  no  heed  to  his 
advice.  Fidai  Khan's  dash  to  rescue  the  emperor  failed, 
but  his  example  served  to  inflame  the  ardour  of  the  im- 
perialists. Next  morning  they  resolved  on  attack  come 
what  might.  Nurjahan's  masculine  qualities  shone  to  tfa^ir 
fullest  advantage  in  this  hour  of  crisis.  Regardless  of  her 
own  life,  the  high-spirited  lady  attempted  to  cross  the  river 
on  the  back  of  ar^  elephant,  with  the  infant  daughter  of 
Shahriyar  in  JheiLarmsi  But  the  ford  proved  a  treacherous 
one.  It  contained  several  deep  pits  in  which  men  were 
drowned  so  that  "all  order  was  lost,  and  each  party  got 
over  as  best  it  could."  On  the  other  side  of  the  river  the 
Rajputs  who  were  lined  in  battle  array  discharged  their 
arrows  at  the  imperialists.  The  great  need  of  the  hour  was 
to  cross  to  the  opposite  bank  and  keep  off  the  enemy,  but 
the  greatest  confusion  prevailed,  and  the  panic-stricken* 
officers  rushed  off  in  disorder,  not  knowing  whither  they 
went,  or  where  they  led  their  men. 

wifh    Pytranrrijnarv     courage     and 


coolness  in  thi>  <»riaigT  but  her  men  could  offer  only  feeble 
resistance  to  organised  and  disciplined  Rajput  valour.  The 
imperialists  lost  their  nerves  and  fled  in  all  directions. 
Asaf  Khan  himself  sought  refuge  in  the  fort  of  Attock  with. 
nearly  3,000  soldiers,  some  camp  followers,  and  attendants. 
Such  was  the  courage  olthe  moat  Baited  granrfp^nf  the 
empire. 

The  Begum  had  no  option  but  to  surrender  to  Mahabat 
who  allowed  her  to  join  her  husband  in  captivity,  fllahabat 
Kfran'q  ftq/»f»ndancy  was  fully  established,  and  there  was- 
none  to  dispute  his  authority  in  the  empire.  A  punitive 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  521 

'force  was  sent  against  Asaf  Khan  who  surrendered  without 
much  opposition.  Though  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of 
Mahabat,  Nurjahan  busied  herself  in  devising  means  of 
escape  from  the  clutches  of  her  captors  and  finally  suc- 
ceeded in  the  attempt.  Mahabat  Khan  was  asked  to  proceed 
to  Thatta  to  counteract  the  plans  of  Shahjahan  who  had 
gone  in  the  same  direction.  The  general  turned  off  in  the 
direction  of  Hindustan,  where  he  hoped  'to  push  his 
fortune.'  But  he  was  rendered  powerless  by  royal  party 
which  plundered  the  rich  convoy  of  treasure,  he  ha& 
received  from  Bengal  to  aid  him  in  his  plans. 

After  Mahabat 's  recall,  Nurjahan  appointed  Khan 
Jahan  Lodi  to  the  Deccan  command,  but  he  was  no  match 
to  Malik  Ambar  and  would  have  suffered* 
Demean  Ware.6  heavy  losses,  had  not  the  latter  died  in  May 
1626.  Malik  Ambar's  death  was  an  irre- 
parable  blow  to  the  Nizamshahi  dynasty.  The  official 
chronicler,  who  is  in  no  way  partial  to  the  Abyssinian, 
writes  of  him  /'  Ambar  was  a  slave,  but  an  able  man.  In< 
warfare,  in  command,  in  sound  judgment,  and  in  adminis- 
tration, he  had  no  rival  or  equal.  He  well  understood  that! 
predatory  warfare,  which  in  the  language  of  the  Dakhin] 
is  called  bargi  giri.  He  kept  down  the  turbulent  spirits  of 
that  country,  and  maintained  his  exalted  position  to  the 
end  of  his  life,  and  closed  his  career  in  honour.  History 
records  no  other  instance  of  an  Abyssinian  slave  arriving  at 
such  eminence.1 

War  broke  out  again  in  the  Deccan  and  went  on  for 
some  time  with  varying  fortunes.  Ambar's  place  was  taken 
by  another  slave  HBmid  Khan  who  was  equally  able  and 

1  Iqbaluamah,  Elliot,  VI,  pp.  428-29. 


522  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

unscrupulous.  The  imperial  t  commandant  Khan  Jaham 
Accepted  a  huge  bribe  from  Hamid  and  left  to  him  the 
whole  country  of  Balaghat  as  far  as  Ahmadnagar.  Jahan- 
gir's  Deccan  policy  had  miserably  failed, 

When  Shahjahan  heard  of  Mahabat's  revolt  in  the 
Deccan,  he  marched  towards  the  north  and  reached  Thatta 
in  Sindh.  He  tried  to  capture  the  fort  which 
was  ably  defended  by  the  governor  who  was 
a  supporter  of  Nurjahan.  Foiled  in  these  at- 
tempts, he  thought  of  going  to  Persia,  but  he  was  too 
fatigued  by  his  ceaseless  marches  to  start  on  such  a  long 
and  arduous  journey. 

Once  more  he  went  to  the  Deccan,  disappointed  and 
crest-fallen,  and  was  obliged  by  ill-health  to  travel  in  a 
palanquin.  The  route  followed  by  him  was  the  same  as 
adopted  by  Mahmud  of  Ghazni,  when  he  marched  against 
the  temple  of  Somnath  in  Kathiawad. 

Meanwhile  Mahabat's  treasure  Kor*  KaQn  Hwute™^  hv 
thejnujfirialiste.  Deprived  of  his  money,  he  betook  himself 
to  the  woods  and  hills  of  Mewar,  and  from  thence  proceed- 
ed to  the  Deccan.  There  he  concluded  an  alliance  with 
Shahjahan  which  was  cemented  by  rich  presents  and  gifts 
on  both  sides. 

The  emperor's  health  was  now  completely  shattered. 
On  his  return  journey  from  Kashmir  whither  he  had  gone 
with    Nurjahan  and  Asaf  Khan  in  March 
Jahangirh  °*    1627,  he  stopped  at  Bairamkala1   to  indulge 
a  angir.  £  gportg<    ^he  death  of  an  unfortu- 


nate foot-soldier  here  stirred  him  to  his  deepest  depths.   He 
lost  his  peace  of  mind  and  felt  as  if  he  had  seen  the  angel 

1  Bairamkala  is  now  known  as  Bahramgulla.    It  was  the  emperor's 
-hunting  ground  on  the  Kashmir  route. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  523 

t>f  death-  The  cleverest  physicians  failed  to  effect  a  cure. 
Towards  the  close  of  day  he  sent  for  a  glass  of  wine,  but 
was  unable  to  send  it  down  his  throat.  During  the  night 
his  condition  grew  worse,  and  he  expired  early  in  the  next 
morning  on  October  28,  1627. 

Who  was  now  to  succeed  to  the  throne  ?  garwez^who 
had  become  a  hopeless  decrepit  at  the  early  age  of  37 
The  ques-  had  died  of  excessive  drink  in  October  1626. 
tions  of  sue-  Shahriyar  was  still  alive,  and  with  a  few 
cession.  other  princes  of  the  royal  family  might  be 

a  serious  rival  of  Shahjahan.  Soon  after  the  emperor's 
death  Asaf  Khan^sent  a  courier  named  Banarasi  with  his 
signet  ring  to  the  Deccan  to  inform  Shahjahan  of  the  sad 
event^  Meanwhile  Asaf  's  natural  diplomacy  suggested  to 
him  a  means  of  easing  the  situation.  He  brought  out  of 
prison  Dawarbakhsh^son  of  the  ill-fated  Khusrau,  and  pro- 
claimed him  emperor  Nurjahan  made  frantic  efforts  to 
see  her  brother,  but  the  latter  evaded  her  on  one  pretext 
or  another.  After  this,  the  funeral  rites  of  the  emperor 
were  performed,  and  he^was  buried  in  Shahdara  near  Lahore 
in  the  Dilkusha  garden  of  Nurjahan.  The  devoted  lady 
afterwards  erected  a  mausoleum,  which  lies  in  the  open 
without  a  dome  in  obedience  to  the  wish  of  her  husband, 
who  was  a  greatjover  of  natural  beautv. 

While  the  body  of  the  emperor  was  being  interred  at 
Shahdara,  the  fate  of  the  empire  hung  in  the  balancg. 
Nurjahan  had  sent  word  to  Shahriyar  to  make  a  bold  bid 
for  the  throne.  He  was  egged  on  by  his  wife  to  proclaim 
himself  emperor  at  Lahore  and  to  seize  the  royal  treasure. 
This  he  did,  and  his  efforts  were  seconded  by  one  of  the  sons 
of  Prince  Danyal.  Asaf  Khan  did  his  best  to  thwart  the 
plans  of  Shahriyar  and  marched  towards  Lahore  at  the 


524  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

head  of  a  considerable  force.  Lahore  was  besieged,  and  the 
craven-hearted  prot6g6  of  Nurjahan  surrendered  without 
resistance.  He  was  thrown  ipto  prison  anfl  Minded 

Shahjahan  on  receiving  the  news  hurried  towards 
the  north,  and  sent  a  farman  to  Asaf  Khan  that 
all  his  rivals  *  should  be  sent  out  of  the  world/  Anxioua 
to  secure  the  position  of  his  son-in-law,  the  wily  minis- 
ter readily  carried  out  his  behest  and  rid  him  of  all 
his  rivals.  This  being  done,  Shahjahan  made  hjs^jatate 
entry  into  the  capital  on  January  24.  1628.  In  recognition 
of  his  great  services  Asaf  Khan  was  loaded  with  honours 
and  distinctions  ;  he  was  created  Yamin-ud-dowlah  and 
his  rank  was  raised  to  8,000  Zat  and  8,000  Sawar.  Great 
honours  awaited  him  in  the  future,  and  he  lived  to  reach 
the  summit  of  official  greatness  in  the  Mufthal  empire. 

Nurjahan  retired  from  public  life.  Although  she  had 
plotted  and  intrigued  against  Shahjahan  the  latter  treated. 
her  well  and  granted  her  a  pension  of  two  lakfrfi  *  ypar 
Now  she  ffave  up  pll  invnry  and  pnjnyfflgnt  and  dressed  in 
plain  white  cloth,  passgd_her  daysjn  Jjgrrow_at  T^hore. 
Tier  ^nly^companion  being  her  daughter,  the  widow  of 
J3hahrix§r.  She  died  on  Shawwal  29,  1055  A.H.  (December 
8,  1645  A.D.  ),  and  was-kuried  beside  her  husband  in  the 
m^ianlpnTyi  which  had  been  built  by  hen  ~~ 

/  Jahangir  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  figures  in 
Jlughal  history.  The  ordinary  view  that  he 


pleasure-seeker  and  a  callous  tyrant  does  him 
oF6jlhangbir.       less'lEanjustice.    All  accounts  agree  that  he 

was^Jnteyig§nt^..shrewd,    and   capable  ^of_ 
understanding    the  most  complex  l>roHm 
without  anynaiificiilty.    Though  not  so  great  fn  Intellect 
an9  character  as  his  illustrious  father,  he  had  unconsciously 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  525 

2  I  • 

imbibed  the  influences,  which  surrounded  him  in  early  youth. 
The  brilliant  court  of  Akbar  to  which  flocked  the  greatest 
wits,  philosophers,  religious  leaders,  statesmen  and  generals 
from  all  parts  of  India  and  Central  Asia  could  not  fail  to 
leave  its  impress  upon  the  ductile  mind  of  the  prince.  He 
acquired  much  practical  knowledge,  though  he  had  never 
shown  the  assiduity  of  a  pupil. 

He    had    no    cabinet    or  council  to  guide  him.    He 
^cted    as    his    own    guide  in  matters   of  state  and  was 

latterly  ipfrplftrant.  nf  nppnaitirm.      No    minister    Could    brOW- 

foeat    or  deflect  him   from  the  course  he    had  fixed  for 
himself.    He  was  anjenthusiastic  hunter,  a_Jme 


^ 

pa[gns,  though  in  later  Tifelie  lost  much  -of  the  physical 
vigou^^d^hardihpod,  which  had  characterjsedMhun  in  his 
early  days.  As  he  advanced  in  age,  the  old  impetuosity 
of  his  temper  was  sobered  down,  and  his  outlook  was  modi- 
fied by  the  appreciation  of  the  responsibilities  of  his  exalted 
office. 

Kg  was  .stern  in  administering  justice^aud^pllLjdown 
tyranny  with  a  high  hand.  Law  ;  jand  oirdgr  were  not 
neglected^  even  in  the  ..remote  4>artaL  of  the_empire»_as  is 
sKown  bxjus.  efforts,  to  suppress.  ;theJ3ewras  in  Gujarat. 
Punishments  w^r£  pfte"  sfcvfirfii  and  in  impiSfEant  cas<BS~that 
called  for  redress  the  emperor  himself  intervened.  Capital 
punishment  was  not  rashly  or  hastily  carried  out. 

When  an  order  for  the  execution  of  a  culprit  was  issued, 
the  officers  were  required  to  wait  till  sunset  before  putting 
him  to  death.  Though  fair-minded  and  considerate  to  a 
degree^ah8«^ 

&nd  one  writer  who  failed  to  understand  his  contradictory 
^qualities  describes  him  as  the  "  mixture  of  opposites."  He 


526  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

•  . 

was  needlessly  cruel  at  times  and  inflicted  punishments- 
entirely  disproportionate  to  the  offences  committed.  But 
it  would^be  wrong  to  conclude  that  he  had^a^thirst  for 
hloodshgd^  he  tppk  delight  Tri  "tormenting  the  hum§B 

species.  There  Ts  'evidence  to  prove  that  he  wasTTnghly 
generous  and  charitable.  He  rewarded^jri^^ 
service  moS^suitebly ,  "and  l^eTMemoirs  relate  numerous- 
mstianc^iof  hislginevolence  and  good  will.  '  A  slight  claim 
olHservice  is  a  great  thing  with  us,f  he  used  to  say,  and 
men  of  all  grades  and  vocations  were  honoured  by  him, 
when  he  was  convinced  of  their  loyalty  or  worth.  Jfe  was 
kind  to  therpoor  and  was  pleased  to  Jresto^jgjfts^.  on  .  them. 
in_gggat^esteem  and  freely  associated  with 
to  them,  as  is  illustrated  by  his 
several  visits  to  Jadrup,  the  famous  Hindu  ascetic  of  Ujjain. 
On  one  occasion  at  Ajmer  he  fed  5,000  people  to  their  hearts* 
content,  and  then  distributed  money  with  his  own  hand.1 

and  affectionate  heart ;   towards 


his  kinsmen  he  behaved  with  kindness,  althc^gE~he  ruth- 
le^ly^gu^heiiheir  political  off ericesV  T5ut  in  every  j^ase 
he_gaye  an.  opportunity  of -xep^ftncCTSuT  correction, 
though  disobedient  during  hjs  Jifetinofi,,  Jahangir  j&peaks 
ofjiisJaJtiier jn. terms  of  gre§tjreverencejind  lovingly  dwells 
di^tjbg., excellence  of  jils ^character.  More^than  once  he 
walked  barefooted  to  the  sepulchre  at  Sikgftdara  and  duti- 
fully offered  homage.2  He  was  a  doting  father  and  devoted 

1  R.  B.,  i,  p.  266. 

Once  he  gave  to  faqirs  and  deserving  people  44,786  bighas  of 
land  and  two  entire  villages,  with  320  ass-loads  of  grain  from  Kashmir 
and  seven  ploughs  of  land  in  Kabul.  R.  B.,  II,  p.  84. 

8  Referring  to  the  tomb  he  says:  *I  rubbed  the  head  of  suppli- 
cation on  the  threshold,  the  abode  of  angels,  and  presented  100  rnuhur* 
as  nazar.'  R.  B.,  I,  p,  101. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  52T 

husband*    He  forgave  Jhis  sons  foy  their  treason,  and  j| 

ffhnaran's  fatp  was  tragic,  thejilairi£-^^ 

with  the  emperor.    Shahjahan's  rebellion  greatly  mortified 

him,  andjhe^aiHetic  lament  in  wWch/helbe^ 

dutiful  behaviourjs^hje^outppuijbig^of  the  gentle  heart  of  agi 

injuredpareijt.    To  Nurjahan  he  was  passionately  attached, 


tcT6e1;o  the  day  of  his  death  his  greatest  friend  and 
He    allowed   her  to  share  with  him  the  sovereignty  of 
Hindustan,  aSdTnevef  heeded  the  pTOtest^mafte^gS^ 
ascendancy  by  her  enemies. 

These  noble  qualities  of  his  charactej  Jahangii:  owed 
in  no  small  mggsure  to  his^eiiuPJdtiQli.  He  had  learntjt 
great  jdeal  of.  Persian  lij-.eratnj-e  and  made  himself  an 
aSejpt  in  the  art  of  composition.  He  could  speak  Turki, 
although  he  could  not  write  it  He  tnnk 


songs  and  munificently  rewarded  HindLBafits.-  .He 
loved  poetry  and  himself  composed  odes.  Besides  the 
cultivation  of  belles  lettres,  he  interested  himself  in  a 
number  of  other  subjects.  He  studied  history, 
and  biography,  and  his  intima^  kngwleflgq  of  fog  flfff^ 

other  parts  of  Hindustan  will  cause 


surprisejto  a  naturalist  in  these.  days*  —  Any  one.  who  reads 
fijs  Memoirs  .wiJLb^.coavinc^i  of  his  pw^^^f-expression. 
his  scienUfic^  spirithis  inquisitivene 


aesthetic  f  acultiesaTaoTFTft  IftyftirrSwlnrif^ot.nrft  and  paiy>t[ng 

and  bad  points  of  a  work  of  art 


with  the  confidence  of  a  professional  connoisseur.    Painters 
were  generously  rewarded  at  his  court^  They    receive*! 


528  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

titles  from  him  and  considered  it  an  honour,  if  he  condes- 
cended to  scan  with  care  their  productions. 

But  these  noble  qualities  were  to  some  extent  neutra^ 
lised  by  his  habit  of  drink.  He  had  never  tasted  liquor 
until  he  was  15  years  of  age.  He  began  it  in  .yojitii,  and 
as  hje^adva^ced  in  years,  the  appetite  grew  by  what  it  fed 
on.  His  potions  during  nine  years  rose  to  20  cups  of  doubly 
distilled  liquor,  fourteen  of  which  he  drank  during  the  day- 
time, and  the  remainder  at  night.  Later,  he  reduced  his 
potions  and  observed  the  highest  decorum  during  the  day. 
But  intemperance  ^aflEgcted  his  health  to  such  an  extent 
that  JiiLCOuld-iiot  drink  with  his  own  hand  and  had  to  be 
helped  by  others. 

This  evil  habit  contracted  in  early  youth  stuck  to  him 
to  the  end  of  his  life.  Once  he  resolved  to  abstain  from 
liquor  altogether,  but  he  could  not  keep  his  vow.  His 
constitution  was  completely  undermined,  but  ~it  must  be 
said  to  his  credit  that  he  behaved  with  greater  decency 
than  Mnrad.  Danvalr  and  Parwez  who  had  ftll 


Another  weakness  which  seriously  interfered  with  the 
•efficiency  of  the  administrationjpv^s^his  willingness  to  allow 
himself  to  be  controlled  by  others.  N^Rh^rT^^Sn^ 
yghftTi  dominated  him  an  rwnpioihgiy  that  he  delegated  all 
his  powers  and  functions  to  them,  and  accepted  their 
-decisions  without  reservation.  LQVP  nf  P^QP  and  indifferent 
fo  PBhlfc  fr™fa*f^  ™***  *"™  ,™™»  and^mor^Jndolent^  until 

and  energetic  action,    the 


-decline  of  physical  and  mental  vigour  was~the  chief  cause 
-of  two  formidable  rebellions  of  the  reign. 

It  is  sometimes  asked  what  was  Jahangir's   religion. 
Was  he  an  orthodox  Sunni  or  an   eclectic  pantheist  like 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  529 

his  father  ?  It  is  not  easy  to  state  his  positive  religious 
beliefs.  The  opinion  which  his  contemporaries  formed  of 
him  was  strongly  coloured  by  their  own  predilections. 
Some  looked  upon  him  as  an  athejstj  or  an  eclectic  or  a 
d£yout31uslinu  while  others  thought  that  he  believed  in 
Ther§  were  yet  others  who  considered 


hiyn  &  mnfkpr  at  all    religinna    after  the    fashion  nf  Vnlf.aire. 

None  of  these  opinions  is  wholly  true* 

Though  pledged  to  maintain  Sunni  orthodoxy,  Jie^never 
persecuted  the  Shias  or  Hindus.  It  was  impossible  for  a 
man  like  him,  nurtured  amidst  the  most  liberal  influences 
to  subscribe  to  a  dogma  or  creed.  But^  he  retained  intact 
Ijis^ith^m  God*  and  said  ,his_Brayf«rs_likfi^a  Muslim.  He 

tnnlf  a  IfQPn  intfttwrt  in  thq  tiftpchiflga  of 


and  found  delight  in  the  company  of  those  who  were 
conversant  with  them.  Still,  he  was  not  loth  to  punish 
those  who  interfered  with  orthodox  Sunnism.  Once  when 
he  came  to  know  that  certain  Muslims  had  become  attached 
to  a  Sanyasi,  whose  words  made  a  great  impression  upon* 
them,  he  laid  his  hands  heavily  on  them  and  enforced  the 
Divine  Law.  J 

He  had  a  feeling  of  contempt  for  .the^  Hindu  ^isIigioBr- 
of  which  he  knew  little.  Once  at  Ajmer  he  caused  the 
image  of  Varah,  the  boar  avatar  of  the  Hindus  to  be  broken 
and  thrown  i  into  the  tank.    Again  on  visiting  the  temple 
of  Jwalamukhi  at  Kangra  in  1622  he  observed  :  'A  world 
has  here  wandered  in  the  desert  of  error.'    HeJid4jbhe 
Christians  in  esteem  and  allowed  them  to  preach^jtheir 
religion  in  his  dominions.    Hajadh^ed.^  his  lather'a  policy 
ofJhilh-i,-Kul  (PgacjBjmtQjaUIandJ:          except  in  a  few 
cases,  to  give  effect  to  the  policy  of  religious  toleration." 
-^  TZ.  B".,  ;f,  p.  171. 
F.  34 


580  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

< 

Jahangir  as  revealed  in  the  Memoirs  is  a  typical  auto- 
crat, a  warm-hearted, friend  and  generous  patron,  a  lover 
•of  nature  and  its  wonderful  beauty,  a  cherisher  of  ease 
and  indolence  with  faults  and  virtues  strangely  intermixecf, 
jys'gjratjinces^^  he  la  "a"  TbYer^  of  filings 

_i  and  feel^e%htjn^  Indian  surroundings?^  There*"ifi 
much  in  his  character  that  deserves*  to rbe^rondemned,  but 
there  is  a  great  deal  that  entitles  him  to  be  placed  among 
the  most  fascinating  personalities  of  Indian  History.    C^ 
Shahjahan  was  the  third  soft  of  the  emperor  Jahangir. 
He  was  born  of  the  Rajput  princess  Jagat  Gosain  in  1592. 
when  his  grandfather  Akbar  was  still  alive. l 
crueviif ^  v,    ?f     Akbar  had  a  great  liking  for  Khurram  as  he 

o  n  a  n  3  anan  s 

Early  Career.  was  then  called,  and  considered  him  superior 
to  the  other  sons  of  Jahangir.  The  prince 
was  given  a  liberal  education  such  as  his  high  station 
deserved,  and  in  a  short  time  stored  his  mind  with  plenty  of 
useful  knowledge.  He  was  naturally  possessed  of  a  strong 
will  and  character,  and  ^yhile  t;he  other  princes  drank  hard 
and  indulged  in  detach  r  Prinr>P  TChnrram  ^jpypd  a  reputa- 
tion for  being  a  total  abstainer  from  Alcohol.  Since  Khurram 
had  lost  favour  with  the  emperor  and  Parwez  was  a  brain- 
less and  sottish  mediocrity,  the  world  looked  upon  him 
as  the  future  emperor  of  Hindustan.  Circumstances 
strengthened  the  belief  that  Jahangir  intended  Khurram  to 
be  treated  as  the  heir-apparent  to  the  throne.  In  1607  the 
prince's  mansab  was  raised  to  8.000  Zat  and  5,000  Sawarand 

1  She  was  the  daughter  of  Raja  Udaya  Singh  of  Marwar.  Prince 
Khurram  was  born  on  the  last  day  of  Rabi  I  in  the  year  1000  A.  H. 
(January)  4, 1592,  at  Lahore.  Abul  Pazl  says  in  the  36th  year  of  Akbar's 
reign  and  the  year  1000  A.  H.  a  son  was  born  to  Salim  of  the  daughter 
•of  Mota  Raja.  Rejoicings  and  festivities  were  performed  and  the  Prince 
»was  christened  8ultan  Khurram,  i.e.,  *  Joyous/ 

Akbarnamah,  III,  p.  603. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  531 

^a  year  later  the  aarkar  of  Eisar  Firoza  was  conferred  upon 
him.    Three  years  later  the  emperor  signified  his  good  will 
by  raising  his  rank  to  10,000  Zat  and  5,000  Sawar.    When 
the  Prince  grew  to  man's  estate,  he  was  married  in  April 
1612,  to  Arjumand  Banu  Begum,  better  known  to  fame  as 
Mumtaz  Mahal  or  thejady  of  the  Taj,  who  was  the  daughter 
<>£Asaf  Khari^  one  of  the  noblest  grandees  of  the  empire, 
It  was  a  time  when  Nurjahan  was  fast  rising  into  promi- 
nence.   The  astute  lady  soon  formed  an  alliance  with  Khur- 
ram,  who  seemed  to  be  a  formidable  rival,  for  the  further- 
ance of  her  ambitious  projects.    To  win  him  to  her  side, 
she  persuaded  the  emperor  in   1617  to  raise  the  prince's 
mansab  to  30,000  Zat  and  20,000  Sawar,  an  honour  usually 
reserved  for  men  whom  His  Majesty  especially  delighted  to 
honour.     He   had    distinguished    himself    in    the  Mewar 
campaign    against-^  the    Rajputs,   and    had  succeeded  in 
dictating  terms  to  the   valiant    Abyssinian   who   had  long 
defied  the  imperial  generals.    These  successes  gained  in 
difficult  regions  against  heavy  odds,   convinced  Jahangir 
of  the  prince's  aptitude   for  military    generalship,   and  to 
mark  his    pleasure,   he  bestowed  upon  him  the  title  of 
Shah  jahan^  and  allotted  to  him  a  chair  near  the  throne  in 
the  Durbar—  a  favour  which  Shahjahan  afterwards  extended 
to  his  son  Dara  Shukoh.    It  was    a    lucky    moment   in 
Khurram's  life.    The  emperor  heartily  lavished  his  affection 
on  him,  and  loaded  him  with  honours  and  distinctions. 

But  a  dark  shadow  cast  its  gloom  on  the  prince's  career. 
Jealous  of  his  growing  fame,  Nurjahan  wished  to  oust 
lim  from  the  throne,  and  began  secretly  to  push  forward 

When  Khurram  learnt  of  her 


!  secret  design,  he  refused  to  qo  to  Qandhar.   whither  the 
peror  had  ordered  him  to  proceed,  and 


532  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

open    rebellion.    The  'empiref    was    convulsed    by  this* 
unhappy  event,  and  Jahangir  was  grieved  at  the  unfilial 
behaviour  of  the  most  promising  of  his  sons.    A  slave  to  1 

1JTgjyft1npt.no11  ?  wn™nn  wlift     nftW    Wig1d<aH    fho    qpppfofl    flf  1 

ffipdngten  he  did  nothing  to  remove  the  just  grievance 
of  Khurram,  and  readily  believed  what  she  told  him. 
War  began,  but  the  prince  was  soon  tired  of  resisting  the 
might  and  majesty  of  the  empire,  and  offered  an  apology 
to  the  emperor,  which  was  readily  accepted. 

Jahangir's  health  was  rapidly  declining,  and  Nurjahan 
knew  that  her  supremacy  would  come  to  an  end,  if  she 
did    not    stir   betimes   to  exclude  Shahjahan  from  the 
succession.    It  was  a_  highly  dangerous  move,   but  the 
ambitious  lady  found  it  impossible  to  reconcile  herself  to 
Shahjahan,  whom  she  knew  to  be  both  able  and  unscrupu- 
lous.   After  Jahangir's  death  in  October  1627.  she  formed 
a  definite  plan  to  give  effect  to  her  wishes.     She  put 
forward  Shahriyar  as  her  candidate  for  the  throne  in  the 
belief  that  he  would  be  a  pliable  instrument  in  her  hands, 
while  Asaf  Khan  pressed  the  claims  nf  gffrfthjahan,  and  by 
every  means  in  his  power  tried  to  obtain  recognition  for 
them.    Once  more  Nurjahan ,   whose  mordinatejove_of 
power  blinded  her  to  the  most  obvious  prudential   con- 
siderations, decidedjbfiLjglunge  the  ergPJ££Jnto  the  throes  of 
a  civil  wai\    What  did  it  matter  to  heFTmpeiHf^ 
if  blood  was  shed  in  profusion  and  the  treasure  of  the  state 
wasted  in  abundance  to  back  the  claims  of  an  imbecile 
aspirant  to  the  throne  ?    Luckily  Asaf  Khan  successfully 
checkmated  his  sister's  plans,  and  made   the  field  clear 
for  his  son-in-law  by  removing  his  rivals  from  the  path. 
The  princes  of  the  royal  family  were  Jbutchgre^  wfriinn^ 
ruth,  and  ra&nj  of  their  partisans  and^upporters  were 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  533 

killed.  Some  of  the  royal  ladies  who  were  deeply  affected 
by  jhese  ghastly  tragedies,  ended  thdr  lives  by  commifr* 
tjng  suicid^Troly;  Shaft] atian~~wadea"  to  tne  thrdfte 
through  thel)lood  of  his  own  kinsmen,  and  this  will  ever 
remain  an  indelible  stain  on  his  memory.  He  formally 
ascended  the  throne  on  February  6,  1628^  and  assumed  the 
title^of  Abul  Muzaffar.  Shihab^uddin  Muhammad  Sahib-i 
Qiran  II  Shahjahan  Badshah  Ghazj.  The  Khutba  was 
read,  and  the  coins  were  struck  in  his  name,  and  Nur  jahan 
was  asked  with  becoming  dignity  to  quit  the  political 
field.  All  coins  bearing  her jiame  wgrejmmediatelv  with- 
drawn. Odes  and  panegyrics  were  showered  upon  the 
new  emperor  by  literary  wits  and  others  from  far  and 
wide.  The  ceaseless  round  of  festivities  and  the  grant  of 
liberal  promotions  and  rewards  to  the  nobility  proclaimed 
to  the  world  amidst  the  beat  of  drums  that  a  new  era  had 
begun  in  the  history  of  the  Mughal  dynasty. 

The    chronicler  of  the  reign,  Abdul  Hamid  Lahori, 

highly  praises  Shahjahan's  orthodoxy,  and  writes  that 

soon  after  his  accession  he  devoted  his  atten- 

Early  *  a?6?"     ti°n  to  '  the  strengthening  of  the  foundations 

sures  of  onah- 

jahan.  of  the  Law  of  the  Prophet,  -which  was  in  a 

sta te  of  decline.  '*-<The  first  imperial  decree 
consequently  modified  the  calendar.  The  solar  computa- 
tion was  lookeJ  upon  by  the  orthodox  as  a  religious 
innovation  («**>>),  and  was  therefore  stopped.  All  official 
events  and  transactions  were  to  be  recorded  according  to 
lunar  years,  and  preference  was  to  be  given  to  the  Hijri 
era.  The  Sijdah  (prostration)  which  had  been  in  vogue 
during  the  reigns  of  Akbar  and  Jahangir  was  discontinu- 
ed, because  the  new  emperor  regarded  it  as  contrary  to 
the  Shariyat.  Mahabat  Khan  Khan-i-Khanan,  one  of 


584  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

the  leading  nobles,  urged  that  Zanfinbos^  (kissing  the 
ground)  might  be  substituted  for  the  Sijdah,  for  it  was 
necessary  to  maintain  the  distinction  between  the  sover- 
eign and  subject,  the  patron  and  client,  and  the  noble  and 
the  humble,  on  which  the  stability  of  the  state  depended. 
The  emperor  agreed  to  this,  and  ordered  that  they  should 
touch  the  ground  with  their  right  hand  and  then  kiss  its 
back  as  a  mark  of  obeisance.1  The  Saiyyids  of  high 
rank,  learned  men,  pious  saints,  and  those  who  had  taken 
to  solitude  for  prayer  and  meditation  were  exempted  from 
this  mode  of  salutation.  But  after  some  time  it  was  felt 
that  the  Zaminbos  also  resembled  the  Sijdah,  and  there- 
fore it  was  abolished.  Its  place  was  taken  by  the  Chahnr 
la&lim.*_ 

(V/"The  city  of  Agra  was  renamed  AkbarabacL  in  honour 
of  his  grandfather  for  whom  Shahjahan  always  cherished 
a  deep  regard.  Certain  changes  were  effected  also  in  the 
administration  of  the  provinces  of  the  empire. 

The  nobles  and  grandees  of  the  empire  were  munifi- 
cently rewarded,  and  generosity  was  shown  even  towards 
opponents.  Asaf  Khan  became  the  recipient  of  unparal- 
leled honoui^nd^dignitles.  His  mansab  was  raised  to 
8,000  Zat  and  8,000  Sawar,  and  he  was  given  the  title  of 
unqje  (^)  as  a  special  piark  of  royal  iagonr.  With  charac- 
teristic ardour  the  emperor  devoted  himself  to  the 
business  of  the  state,  and  looked  minutely  into  the  details- 

1  Abdul  Hamid  (Padshahnama,  Biblioth.  Ind.,  I,  p.  112)  says  that 
they  were  to  touch  the  ground  with  both  hands,  but  Amin  Qazwim 
(All.  U.  MS.,  f.  36b)  who  compiled  the  history  of  the  first  ten  years  of 
the  reign  writes  that  only  the  right  ban  d  (lA-J^i^td)  was  to  touch  the- 
ground. 

*  Abdul  HamTd,  Biblioth.    Ind.,  I,  p.  112. 

The  Chahar  taslim  literally  means  '  four  bows/ 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  535 

•» 

of  administration.  He  began  his  reign  well,  and  his  re- 
actionary tendencies  in  religious  matters  gladdened  the 
hearts  of  the  orthodox  party,  which  had  been  neglected 
by  the  state  for  more  than  half  a  century. 

Soon  after  the  coronation  of  the  emperor,  the  peace 
of  the  realm  was  disturbed  for  a  short  time  by  the  rebel- 
lion of  the  Bundela  clan.  The  Bundelashad  risen  to  power 

The  Bundela     an(*  ^ame  un(*er  Bir  Singh  Deva,  the  murder- 
Rebellion,  1628     er  of  Akbar's  famous  minister  Abul  Fazl* 
'  on  whom  Jahangir  had  lavishly  bestowed 

honours  and  jagirs.  The  lax  supervision  of  the  central' 
government  towards  the  close  of  Jahangir's  reign  enabled 
the  Bundela  chieftain  to  increase  his  power  and  riches  by 
blackmailing  his  neighbours,  who  patiently  endured  the 
wrongs  ihflicted  on  them  by  the  imperial  protkgk.  After 
Bir  Singh's  death  in  1627,  his  vast  wealth  and  possessions 
passed  to  his  son  Jujhar  Singh,  who  gave  offence  to 
Shahjahan  by  leaving  the  capital  without  permission. 
According  to  Qazwini  he  felt  afraid  lest  he  should  be 
called  upon  to  account  for  his  misdemeanours,  and  this 
led  him  to  entertain  evil  fancies.  Knowing  full  well  that 
his  country  was  inaccessible,  and  that  he  had  considerable 
money  and  forces  at  his  disposal,  he  found  no  difficulty  in 
coming  to  the  conclusion  that  he  could  easily  defy  the 
Mughal  power.  Abdul  Hamld  Lahori  writes  that  "the 
wealth  and  property  which  Bir  Singh  had  amassed 
without  labour  and  without  trouble  unsettled  the  mind  of 
his  worthless  successor  Jujhar,  and  at  the  accession  of 
Shahjahan  ...  he  left  the  capital  Agra  and  proceeded  to 
Undcha  (Orcha),  his  stronghold  where  he  set  about  raia- 
ing  forces,  strengthening  the  forts,  providing  munitions 
of  war  and  closing  the  roads. " 


€36  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

Shahjahan  lost  no  time  in  making  preparations  to 
deal  with  the  rebels.  The  imperial  army  marched  against 
him  from  three  directions.  Mahabat  Khan  Khan-i-Khanan 
started  at  the  head  of  10,000  horse,  2,000  musketeers  and 
500  sappers,  and  he  was  assisted  by  Saiyyid  MuzaffarKhan 
of  BSrha,  Raja  Ram  Das  of  Gwalior,  Habib  Khan  Sur  and 
many  other  feudatories  and  mansabdars  of  high  rank. 
As  the  Khan-i-Khanan  was  a  man  of  headstrong  and 
irritable  temper,  the  emperor  associated  with  him  in 
command  Islam  Khan  with  a  view  to  maintain  harmony 
among  the  generals.  Khanjahan  proceeded  from  Malwa 
ma  Chanderi  at  the  head  of  8,000  horse,  2,000  musketeers 
and  5,000  sappers,  and  he  was  also  assisted  by  Hindu 
chiefs  and  mansabdars  of  the  state.  Another  contingent 
consisting  of  7,000  horse,  2,000  musketeers  and  500 
sappers  under  Piroz  Jung,  the  fief-holder  of  Kariauj, 
marched  into  Bundelkhand  from  the  east.  The  entire 
royal  force,  including  Asaf  Khan's  cavalry,  consisted  of 
27,000  horse,  6,000  foot,  and  1,500  musketeers.  Jujhar 
Singh,  who  had  hopelessly  miscalculated  the  situation,  was 
frightened  out  of  his  wits  at  the  sight  of  this  army.  He 
made  desperate  efforts  to  avert  the  disaster  but  in  vain. 
His  fort  was  captured,  and  in  the  battle  nearly  two  or 
three  thousand  of  his  men  were  slain.  At  last  he  offered 
submission,  and  presented  himself  before  the  emperor. 
He  was  required  to  pay  1,000  gold  muhars  as  present 
and  15  lakhs  of  rupees  as  fine,  and  had  to  yield  40 
•elephants.  He  was  allowed  to  retain  as  much  jagir  as 
would  have  enabled  him  to  enjoy  the  rank  of  4,000  SSat 
And  4,000  Sawars,  and  the  rent  was  distributed  among 
Khanjahan  Lodi,  Abdulla  Khan,  Saiyyid  Muzaffar  Khan, 
and  Raja  PahSr  Singh  Bundela.  JujhSr  Singh  was  ordered 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  IT?  ZENITH  537 

'to  Tceep  in  readiness  2,000  cavalry  and  2,000  infantry  to 
.-aid  the  Deccan  expedition  of  the  emperor. 

Another  rebellion  which  deserves  to  be  noticed  was 

that  of  Khanjahan  Lodi  in  the  second  year  of  the  reign. l 

He  had  counted  on  the  uncertainty  of  suc- 

Khanjahan     cession    to    the    throne    after    Jahangir's 

Lodis     rebel- 
lion, death,   but  Shahjahan's  rapid  and  triumph* 

ant  march  from  Ajmer  to  Agra  convinced 
him  of  the  futility  of  his  intentions,  and  he  implored  for- 
giveness. His  offence  was  pardoned,  and  a  royal  farman 
confirmed  him  in  the  governorship  of  the  Deccan.  After 
some  time  he  was  summoned  to  court,  but  it  was  found 
that  he  still  harboured  mischievous  designs. 

For  seven  or  eight  months  he  remained  at  court,  and 
was  treated  well  by  the  emperor,  but  he  always  remained 
gloomy  and  dejected,  and  found  no  pleasure  in  the  life  of 
the  court.  He  was  terribly  affrighted,  when  a  certain 
stupid  royal  officer  informed  his  sons  that  they  would  be 
thrown  into  prison  along  with  their  father  in  a  short 
time.  At  Asaf  Khan's  suggestion,  the  emperor  issued  a 
letter  of  assurance  bearing  his  own  signature,  but  nothing 
served  to  allay  Khanjahan 's  suspicions.  He  was  alarmed 
for  his  safety  and  once  again  sought  refuge  in  flight. 

The  emperor  despatched  Hindu  and  Muslim  generals 
to  deal  with  him,  and  they  overtook  him  near  Dholpur. 
But  Khanjahan  hastily  crossed  the  Chambal,  and  passing 
through  the  Bundela  country  and  Gondwana,  proceeded 

1  Khanjahan  Lodi  was  originally  called  Pir  Khan  Lodi.  He  was 
the  second  son  of  Daulafc  Khan  Lodi,  one  of  Akbar's  officers,  Abdul 
Hamld  contemptuously  calls  him  Pira.  He  was  an  able  man.  His 
^military  talents  won  him  the  title  of  Salabat  Khan.  In  1608  he  became 
Khanjahan  and  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  5,000.  He  was  sent  by 
Jahangir  to  fight  in  the  Deocan. 


588  HISTOR^  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

to  the  Deccan,  where  he  joined  his  old  friend  and  ally- 
Nizamulmulk.  The  imperialists  followed  him  thither  and 
defeated  him  in  a  number  of  skirmishes.  But  Khanjahan 
was  still  as  undaunted  as  ever.  He  turned  back,  and 
crossing  the  Narbada  reached  the  outskirts  of 
Ujjain,  where  he  engaged  himself  in  plundering 
the  inhabitants.  The  imperialists  again  drove  him  into- 
the  Bundela  country,  where  a  well-contested  engagement 
was  fought  in  which  both  sides  suffered  heavy  losses, 
Khanjahan  fled  to  Kalinjar,  but  there  also  he  suffered  a 
defeat  at  the  hands  of  the  local  qiladar.  In  great  despair 
he  betook  himself  to  Tal  Sehonda, '  where  the  final 
encounter  took  place  in  which  he  was  completely  defeated 
by  the  imperialists.  His  head  was  cut  off  and  sent  to  the 
imperial  court.  The  same  fate  was  shared  by  nearly  a 
hundred  of  his  followers.  The  heads  of  the  victims  were 
suspended  from  the  gate  of  the  fort  to  serve  as  a  warning 
to  othdr  like-minded  miscreants  in  the  country.  Abdulla 
and  Muzaffar,  the  imperial  generals,  who  had  acquitted 
themselves  with  great  distinction  in  tedious  and  ceaseless 
campaigns,  were  fitly  rewarded  by  the  emperor  for  their 
patience,  courage,  and  endurance.  Abdulla 's  mansab 
was  raised  to  6,000  Zat  and  6,000  Sawar,  and  the  lofty 
title  of  Firoz  Jung  was  conferred  upon  him.  Muzaffar's 
services  too  were  duly  recognised  ;  he  was  promoted  to- 
the  rank  of  5,000  Zat  and  5,000  Sawar  and  became  the 
recipient  of  the  title  of  Khanjahan. 

In  the  month  of  Rajab  Shahjahan  held  the  feast  of 
Nauroz  with  great  pomp  and  splendour.    A  magnificent. 


1  It  is  north  of  Kalinjar  on  the  bank  of  the  river  Ken. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH,  539 

canopy  was  constructed  in  ^the  courtyard  of  the  Daulat 
Khana,  and  the  ground  was  covered  with 
carpets  of  variegated  hues.    No  effort  wa 
spared  in    making    the  place  look    gram 
and  beautiful.    The    four   princes    stood    on    the  fou 
corners  of  the  throne,  and  Asaf  Khan  and  other  noble 
occupied  the  places  allotted  to  them.    The  emperor  made 
liberal  gifts  to  the  members  of  the  royal  family.    He  gave 
fifty  lakhs  to  Mumtaz  Mahal,  twenty    lakhs  to  Jahanara 
Begum,  five  jakha^to^aushanara  Begum,  and  five  lakhs  to 
each  of  the  princes.    Asaf  Khan  's  mansab  was  raised  to 
9  ,"000  Zat  and  9,000  Sawar.    Altogether  from  the  day  of 
coronation  to  the  Nauroz,   the  emperor  spent  from  the 
public  treasury  1  crore  and  60  lakhs  in   granting  rewards- 
and  pensions. 

During  the  year  1630  a  terrible  famine  occurred  in  the* 
Deccan  and  the  countries  of  Gujarat  and  Khandesh.  Thou- 
sands   of    people  died  of  starvation,  and 
and     parents  consumed  their  own  children—  allr 


Gujarat,  1630  feeling  of  parental  love  being  destroyed  by  the 
pangs  of  hunger.  Mirza  Amin  Qazwini,  who 
was  an  eye  witness  of  these  lieart-rending  sufferings, 
writes  thaFTinspeakable  distress  prevailed  everywhere, 
and  that  in  the  bazar  the  grocers  and  traders  mixed 
powdered  bones  with  flour,  .and  sold  dog's  flesh  which 
was  mistaken  for  meat  by  the  poor  and  ignorant.  Pesti- 
lence followed  in  the  wake  of  famine.  It  raged  with  suck 
fury  that  whole_yillages  became  desolate.  Streets  and 
lanes  were  glutted  with  human  corpses,  and  the  high- 
ways were  so  covered  with  filth  that  they  became  im- 
passable. Many  people  fled  towards  Hindustan  to  save 
their  lives,  and  many  gave  up  the  ghost  in  despair  in  their 


540  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

own  country,  when  they  failed  to  procure  anything  to  eat. 
Abdul  Hamld  Lahori  writes  : 

"  Destitution  at  length  reached  such  a  pitch  that 
men  began  to  devour  each  other,  and  the  flesh  of  a 
son  was  preferred  to  his  love.  The  numbers  of  the 
dying  caused  obstructions  in  the  roads,  and  every  man 
whose  dire  sufferings  did  not  terminate  in  death  and 
/who  retained  the  power  to  move  wandered  off  to 
^the  towns  and  villages  of  other  countries.  Those 
lands  which  had  been  famous  for  fertility  and  plenty 
now  retained  no  trace  of  productiveness/'1 
The  emperor  was  moved  to  pity  by  this  widespread 
human  suffering,  and  he  ordered  langars  or  public  kitchens 
to  be  opened  in  Burhanpur,jAJhmadabad,  and  the  province 
of  Surat^where  fcwcTwas  distributed  every  day  gratis  to 
the  poor  and  the  indigent. 

On  every  Monday  at  Burhanpur  5.000  rupees  were 
distributed  among  jhe  famished  population.  ThusTln 
twenty  weeks  the  emperor  spentTa  lakh  of  rugees.  For 
the  relief  of  the  sufferersTin  Ahmadabad  where  misery 
.exceeded  all  bounds,  he  sanctioned  another  50,000  rupees. 
Besides  this  charity,  the  emperor  was  pleased  to  remit 
70  lakhs  of  government  revenue  in  the  crown  lands 
which  amounted  to  nearly  one-eleventh  of  the  total 
revenue  of  the  empire.2  His  benevolent  example  was 
followed  by  the  mansabdars,  who  made  similar  remissions 
in  their  jagirs. 

Pe^er  IjJundy.  the  European  traveller,  who  happened 
to  be  in  the  Deccan  in  November  1630,  describes  the 

1  Elliot,  VIi;  p.  24. 

2  Elliot,  VII,  p.  25.  Qazwini  says  50  lakhs  of  rupees  which  amounted 
to  one-fifth  of  the  assessment. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  541 

horrors  of  this  calamitous  yisitation.  The  highways  were- 
strewn  with  corpses  which  emitted  intolerable  stench.  In 
the  towns  especially  they  drag  them  (dead  bodies)  out  by 
the  heels  stark-naked,  of  all  ages  and  sexes,  till  they  are 
out  of  the  gates,  and  then  they  are  left,  so  that  the  way 
is  half  barred  up. l  Mundy  is  supported  by  other  European 
writers.  The  dearth  of  provisions  was  so  great  that  even 
the  English  factors  felt  the  pinch.  Their  correspondence 
reveals  the  dire  distress  that  prevailed  in  the  country. 
Prides  rose  seven-fold,  and  the  poorer  classes— trades- 
men, artisans,  mechanics,  washermen,  and  dyers — left  their 
homes  jn  despair  and  perished  in  the  fields  for  want  of 
sustenance.  Pestilence  destroyed  hundreds  of  lives,  and 
large  numbers  of  people  were  found  in  the  streets  dead 
or  dying.  The  English  and  IJutch  settlements  jvgre 

affected.    Eleven  English  factors  and  three  Dutch  factors 

"*- — i      -— — ~— - 

died,  and  the  President  of  the  English  Factory  Rastall 
also  succumbed  to  t¥e  "fell  "disease.  The  streets"  Became 
impassable  on  account  of  the  crowds  of  famished  people, 
who  cried  out  to  the  passers-by,  '  Give  us  food  or  kill  us.' 
The  floods  greatly  aggravated  their  misery,  and  whole 
tracts  of  land  became  desolate. 

Dr.  Vincent  Smith  discounts  the  efforts  of  the  state  to 
afford  succour  to  the  famine-stricken  people.  He  says  that 
the  remission  of  one-eleventh  of  the  assessment  implies 
that  attempts  were  made"  to  collect  ten-eleventh,  a 
burden  which  could  not  be  borne  by  a  country  reduced 
to  '  th&  w  direst  extremity'  and  retaining  '  no  trace  of 
productiveness.  'a  Dr.  Smith  relying  obviously  on  Elliot's, 

1  Travels  of  Peter  Mundy,  II,  p.  44. 

2  Oxford  Histou,p.  394. 


HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

imperfect     translation-  of    the    Padshahnamah    thinks 
that  a  remission  of  a  little  more  than  an  anna  in  the 
rupee  was  allowed.    This  view  is  not  in  agreement  with 
the  text.  Abdul  Hamld  clearly  states  that  nearly  70  lakhs 
-of  rupees,  out  of  the  80  crore  dams  (2  crores  of  rupees) 
which  were  equal  to  one-eleventh  of  the  total  assessment 
(880  crores  of  dams  according  to  the  same  writer)  of  the 
empire,  were  remitted.     It   means   that   the   remission 
amounted  to  nearly  one-third  of  the  total  demand,  i.e., 
five  annas  four  pies  in  the  rupee,  which  is  not  so  baa  as 
Dr.  Smith  supposes.  It  is  true,  the  concession  was  not  com- 
mensurate with  the  appalling  misery  that  prevailed  in  the 
country,  but  it  was  not  altogether  insignificant.    Even  if 
we  assume,  as  the  chronicler  suggests,  that  larger  remis- 
sions were  made  by  mansabdars  and  jagirdars,  the  relief 
could  not  have  been  sufficient  to    cope  with  the  terrible 
situation.    But  the  charity  flf  thg  pmpm>r  dpfmrvffi  tin 
be  commended.    He  was  not  unmindful  of  the  interest  of 
the  poor  people,  and  tried  to  mitigate  human  suffering 
-according  to  mediaeval  methods.     It  would  be  unfair  to 
apply  to  his  conduct  the  standards  which  we  must  employ 
in  judging  the  British  administration,  rightly  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  scientific,  efficient,   and   well-organised 
systems  of  the  world. 

No  woman  of  high  rank  has  acquired  such  celebrity 

jn  hjsiQiy.  as  Shahjahan's  dearly  loved  queen  Arjumand 

Banu  Begum,  familiarly  known  as  Mumtaz 

»?  a r  e  e  r™of    Mahal  or  the  lady  of  the  Taj.    She  was  the 

Mumtaz     Ma-  *  ,      ,      ,      .  «  .    i 

bai.  daughter  of  Asaf  Khan  who  had  risen  high 

enough    by   his   talents  to  mould  a  mighty 

state's  decrees.     She  was  born  in   1594  A.D.  and  was 

.betrothed  to  Prince  Khurram  in  1606-7,  when  he  was  not 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  543 

*full  16  years  of  age.1  The*  Prince*  was  already  married  to 
<Jandhari  Begum,  but  that  was  no  obstacle  to  a  fresh 
marriage  according  to  Mughal  custom.  Arjumand  Banu 
was  well  educated  by  her  father. 


thejaualjties  and  accomplishments  which  add  to 
of  womanhood.  Thea|game  of  her  beauty  had  jpread  far, 
and  wide,  and  was  the^uBjec'foT  talk  in  tHeTamily  circles 
of  the  dignitaries  of  the  empire,  Jahangir  also  heard  of  the 
superb  loveliness  and  charms  of  Asaf  's  daughter,  and  was 
induced  to  give  his  consent  to-he^niarriage  with  his 
favourite  son  Khurram.  The  jiuptiaLrwere  celebrated 
with  great  pomp  and  splendour  in  April  1612  A.D.  and  the 
emperor  and  empress  took  a  leading  part  in  marriage 
festivities.  Fewjnarriages  in  polygamous  households  have 
resulted  in  soltnuch  happiness  as  the  marriage  .oJE  Shabiahan 
"with  Arjumand  Banu.  Like  her  aunt,  she  captivated  her 
fiusband^^sTeaftby  her  charms.  She  loved  him  passionate- 
ly, and  he  fully  reciprocated  her  love.  She  continued  to 
enjoy  in  the  fullest  measure  his  confidence  to  the  day  of 
her  death.  Through  sunshine  and  storm/  through  good 
and  evil  days,  she  always  behaved  like  a  dutiful  wife, 
cheerfully  sharing  her  husband's  joys  and  sorrows.  When 
Shahjahan  was  a  homeless  exile  for  eight  years  during  his 
father's  reign,  the  Begum  weathered  the  buff  ets  of  poli- 
tical life  with  a  serenity  which  is  fully  deserving  of  our 
admiration.  She  always  acted  as  his  best  friend  and 
guide.  Her  advice  he  valued  most,  and  even  in  matters  of 
high  policy  he  never  took  any  initiative  without  consult- 
ing her.  With  his  accession  to  the  throne  she  rose  to 
the  full  zenith  of  her  fame. 

2  Shahjahan  was  born  on  30th  Rabi,  I,  1000  A.H.=5th  January,  1592. 


544  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Her  allowances  and  jagirs  were  increased,  and  she 
was  given  precedence  over  all  the  other  ladies  of  the- 
imperial  household.  The  title  of  Malik-i-Zamap  was  con- 
ferred upon  her,  and  as  the  prime  confidant  of  the  Mughal 
sovereign,  she  was  entrusted  with  the  custody  of  the  royal 
seal,  which  was  afterwards  transferred  to  her  father  at 
her  own  request. 

Mjn&taz's  character  never  shone  more  brilliant  than, 
in  the  heyday  of  prosperity.  Weal^nSHjj^^md^Bel^ 
like  Marie  Antoinette  of  Prance,  toTTiuman  misery  and 
want.  Her  tender  heart  was  moved  to  pity  wheifshe 
saw  poor  widows  and  orphans  in  distress.  There  was  no 
miserable  and  oppressed  man  or  woman  in  the  empire, 
but  appealed  to  her  with  success.  She  gave  away  large 
sums  in  charity  and  provided  money  for  the  marriages  of 
many  a  poor  orphan  girl.  Her  mercy  rescued  many  a 
criminal  who  had  despaired  of  life,  and  restored  to  their 
rank  and  dignity  officers  of  the  state,  who  had  incurred 
royal  displeasure,  fn  theharamshe  was  a  warmth  diff  ua- 
ing^bliss  all  round.  Herliumberless  acts  of  kindness  and 
generosity  had  won  her  the  love,  respect,  and  devotion  of 
other  ladies  in  an  unequalled  measure.  She  was  encouraged 
and  assisted  in  her  humanitarian  endeavours  by  her  lady- 
in-waiting,  Sati-un-nissa  Khanum. !  who  retained  her  native 
virtue  in  spite  of  the  allurements  of  the  Mughal  zenana. 
After  her  death,  the  noble  lady  was  honoured  by  being 
buried  near  the  grave  of  her  adored  mistress.  For  jigr 

religion.  Mumtaz  cherished  a  deep  regard.    She  said  her 

"*"  ~-  —  ~~  „  j~ 

1  Sati-un-nissa  Khanum  belonged  to  a  noble  family  of  Mazandaran, 
in  Persia.  Her  brother  was  a  poet  at  Jahangir's  court  and  was  given 
the  title  of  Malik-al-Shaura.  Sati-un-nissa  Khanum  entered  the  service- 
of  Mumtaz  Mahal,  and  by  her  abilities  and  accomplishments  gained  her 
favour  and  confidence. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  545 

,  » 

prayers  and  observed  her  fafsts  regularly,  and  the  Muslim 
chronicler  warmly  speaks  of  her  piety,  because  her  reli- 
gious views  were  strongly  tinged  with  orthodoxy.  Shah- 
jahan's  harsh  measures  against  Christians  and  idolaters 
must  be  ascribed  in  part  to  her  influence,  although  he  was 
astute  enough  to  realise  the  disastrous  consequences  of  a 
wholesale  crusade  against  infidelity.  But  this  was  a  petty 


, 
in  the  hfeartTof  her  husband  andthe 


affections  ofhjs  subjects,  she  did  so  by  the  nobility  of  her 

!5Kari^^ 

emperor  fully  requited  her  devotion  by  building  the  Taj, 

which  will  remain  for  all  time  to  come  as  the  noblest 

monument  of  conjugal  love  and  fidelity.  ' 

In  1630  when  Shahjahan  was  conducting  operations 
against  Khanjahan  Lodi  from  his  camp  at  Burhanpur, 
Mumtaz  gave  birth  to  a  daughter,  her  fourteenth  child. 
The  delivery  was  neither  easy  nor  safe  ;  some  internal 
disorder  brought  on  fainting  fits,  and  the  queen  felt  that 
the  remorseless  iron  hour  had  arrived.  She  asked  her 
daughter  Jahanara  to  call  the  emperor  from  his  apart- 
ments. As  the  emperor  entered  the  room  and  seated 
himself  by  her  side,  she  piteously  gazed  at  him  with 
tearful  eyes  and  whispered  that  lie  would  be  pleased  to 
take  care  of  her  children  and  her  aged  parents,  when 
she  had  passed  into  the  other  world.8  With  these  words 


1  Dr.  Vincent  Smith  writes  (Oxford  History,  p.  395)  that  little  is 
known  of  the  personal  character  of  Mumtaz  Mahal.  He  did  not  utilise 
the  Persian  sources.  The  contemporary  chroniclers  Mirza  Amin  Qae- 
wini  and  Abdul  HamTd  write  at  length  about  the  noble  qualities  and 
accomplishments  of  the  queen. 

8  Abdul  Ham! d  Labor!  writes  (I,  p.  885)  X^U  felt,  only. 
P.  85 


546  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

1  (\  ' 

the  Begum  closed  her  eyes  in  death  (17th  Zilqada—  1040  A.  H. 

—7th  June,  1681  A.D.)  leaving  the  emperor  in  a  state  of 
stupefaction.  ! 

Pate  could  not  have  dealt  ajnore  cruel  blow  to  Shah- 
jahanT  ^Kege^was^no"  dearth  oF  wives,  but  Mumtaz's 
death  causedja  void  in  his  life  which  coufiTnot  be  filled. 
bacTTtoTlie  past,  his  sense  of  loss  increased 


a  hundredfold,  and  the  recollection  of  her  constant  love 
and  devotion  made  his  grief  more  poignant  and  bitter. 
The  entire  court  went  into  mourning,  and  the  emperor  did 
not  appear  in  the  Jharokha  for  one  week  and  transacted  no 
public  business.  Often  did  he  exclaim  in  bitter  anguish 
of  the  soul,  that  it  was  only  his  regard  for  the  sacred  trust 
of  empire,  which  no  one  can  throw  aside  at  his  pleasure, 
that  prevented  him  from  renouncing  the  world  and 
taking  to  a  life  of  secluded  asceticism.  Whenever  he 
went  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  Begum's  tomb,  streams  of  tears 
came  out  of  his  eyes,  and  he  expressed  his  grief  by  saying, 

life  itself  has  no  relish  left  for 


found  nothing  irf  the  haFamThat  couIcTafford 
him  pleasure,  and  he  returned  saying,  '  nobody's  face  can 
delight  me  now.'  He  gave  up  costly  dress,  jewellery, 
and  perfumes,  and  eschewed  every  kind  of  pleasure  for  a 
period  of  two  years.  Sorrow  proved  jto  him  a  cruel 
-companion  indeed  ;  he  had  so  farps^s^the  SJuslim  chro- 
nicler, only  a  few  grey  hairs  in  his  beard,  but  now  it 


1   Abdul  HamTd   Lahori  gives  the  age  of  the  queen  at  this  time  as 
£8  years  and  2  months   Shamsi. 

Padshahnamah,  Vol. I,  p.  889. 

Elliot's   statement  that  the  queen  was  in  her  40th  year  is  not  in 
.agreement  with  the  text    History  of  India,  VII,  p.   27. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  647 

• 

all  became  silver  grey  in  a  sliort  time.  l  Mumtaz's  remains 
were  brought  to  Akbarabad  after  six  months  and  were 
provisionally  interred  in  the  gardens  of  the  Taj.  Later, 
they  were  removed  to  the  place  where  the  mausoleum  now 
stands.  In  the  palace  her  place  was  taken  by  Jahanara 
Begum.2 

The  Portuguese  had  established  themselves  at  Hugli 
with  the  permission  of  the  former  rulers  of  Bengal,    In 

Wa*  with  the  course  °'  ^me  they  developed  their  power 
Port  uguese,  and  influence,  and  built  a  number  of  sub- 
1631-32.  ^  stantial  buildings  which  they  fortified  with 

cannon,  muskets  and  other  fighting  material.  Surrounded 
on  one  side  by  the  river  and  on  three  sides  by  a 
deep  moat  full  of  water,  the  port  of  Hugli  occupied  a 
strong  position  and  could  successfully  hold  at  bay  an 
invading  army.  Foreigners  took  the  lease  of  the  villages 
on  both  sides  of  the  river  at  a  low  rent,  and  thus  gave 
them  an  opportunity  of  tyrannising  over  the  poor  people. 
Besides,  they  levied  customs  duties  through  their  own 
officers  to  the  great  detriment  of  the  revenue  of  the  state 
and  engaged  in  slave  trade,  which 


much  cruelty  and  torture.  With  such  nefarious  practices, 
they  were  bound  sooner  or  later  to  draw  down  upon  them 
the  wrath  of  the  imperial  government. 

The  misbehaviour  of  the  -Portuguese  at  Hugli  was  not 
-a  solitary  instance  of  their  highhandedness.    They  had 

1  A.H.,  Padshahnama,  I,  p.  388. 

Qazwini  says  the  emperor  had  not  more  than  ten  or  twelve  grey 
hair  in  his  beard,  but  nearly  one-third  of  it  became  completely  white. 

3  Jahanara  henceforward  held  a  position  of  pre-eminence  in  the 
royal  palace.  Mumtaz's  tarkah  (  &£  )  was  divided  among  her  chil- 
dren. Half  of  it  was  given  to  Jahanara  Begum  and  the  rest  to  the 
other  children.  Her  allowance  was  increased  by  four  lakhs  a  year. 


548  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

been  making  mischief  for  some  time  past  not  only  in 
Bengal  but  also  in  other  parts  of  India.  Their  Jesuit 
priests  tried  to  impose  their  beliefs  on  the  people  in  a 
most  fanatical  spirit  and  caused  much  embarrassment  to 
their  government.  In  1629  the  Archbishop  of  Goa  wrote 
to  the  king  of  Portugal  complaining  in  strong  terms  of  the 
conduct  of  the  ecclesiastics  who  invariably  disregarded 
the  civil  power.  Sometimes  they  intrigued  with  the  Dutch 
and  the  Muhammadans  even  against  their  own  govern- 
ment, and  did  more  harm  to  their  country  than  its 
avowed  enemies.  They  behaved  in  like  manner  at  Hugli, 
and  when  their  insolence  reached  its  highest  pitch,  the 
emperor  took  vigorous  measures  to  suppress  them. 

The  Portuguese  had  shown  much  audacity  in  seizing 
.two  slavejrirls  belonging  to  Mumtaz  Mghgtl,  when  Shah- 
jahan  was  in  retelliorfagainstTiis  father,  and  refused  ta 
release  them.  Mumtaz  was  greatly  offended  and  resolved 
to  chastise  them.  The  misdeeds  of  the  Portuguese  had 
been  brought  to  Shahjahan's  notice  even  before  his 
accession,  and  he  was  only  waiting  for  an  opportunity 
to  root  out  their  power. 

Soon  after  his  accession,  the  emperor  appointed  Qasim 
Khan  as  governor  of  Bengal  in  1631,  and  ordered  him  to 
take  steps  to  exterminate  the  infidels.  The  royal  forces 
marched  into  Bengal  by  land  and  sea  under  Qasim's  son 
Inayat-Ullah  and  another  general  Bahadur  Kambu.  When 
all  the  forces  had  reached  the  mouth  of  the  river,  the 
imperialists  assumed  the  offensive  on  the  2nd  Zil  Hijja, 
1041  A.H.  The  Portuguese  living  in  the  villages  on  both 
sides  of  the  river  were  attacked  and  '  sent  to  hell'  The 
capture  of  Bengali  boatmen  led  to  serious  defections  in 
their  ranks,  and  about  4,000  men  went  over  to  the  enemy. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  549 

The  siege  of  Hugli  lasted  for  three  and  a  half  months. 
The  crafty  Portuguese  feigned  submission  and  offered  a 
lakh  of  rupees  and  tribute,  but  secretly  they  put  their 
forces  in  order  and  arranged  that  7,000  gunners  should 
open  fire  on  the  Mughals.  After  a  good  deal  of  strenuous 
fighting  their  tactics  were  foiled,  and  they  were  over- 
powered. Many  rushed  into  the  waters  and  were  drown- 
ed, and  those  that  escaped  were  captured  by  the  enemy. 

.The  Portuguese  losses  were  heavy;  about  10,000  of 
their  men,  women,  and  children  were  jkUled,  and  about 
4^400  were  made  captives,  while  on  the  Mughal  side,  the 
chronicler  remarks  that,  nearly  one  thousand  men  *  ob- 
tained the  glory  of  martyrdom/  The  Portuguese  tyranny 
was  thus  ended,  and  about  ten  thousand  inhabitants  of 
the  neighbouring  country  who  had  been  confined  by 
them  in  prison  were  set  at  liberty. 

What  displeased  the  emperor  most  was  the  fanaticism 
of  the  Portuguese.  To  the  captives  a  choice  was  offered 
between  Islam  and  life-long  imprisonment  or  slavery. 
They  had  been  used  to  make  conversions  by  force,  and 
now  the  imperial  government  paid  them  back  in  their 
own  coin  with  compound  interest.  Some  who  valued 
their  lives  more  than  their  beliefs  readily  embraced  Islam, 
but  there  were  many  who  suffered  torture  and  cruelty 
with  undaunted  courage  and  "passed  from  prison  to 
hell."  Their  idols  were  either  thrown  into  the  Jamna  or 
broken  into  pieces.  Those  who  survived  this  cruel  treat- 
ment were  permitted  to  occupy  Hugli  again,  but  the  port 
never  recovered  its  former  prosperity  despite  the  efforts 
of  the  local  administration. 

A  word  must   be  said    about  the    manner    of  this 
campaign.    The    emperor   was   ruthlessly  vindictive  in 


HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

bis  attitude  towards  the  Christians,  and  the  punishments1 
which  he  inflicted  upon  them  were  disproportionate  to 
their  guilt.  It  is  true,  they  had  grossly  misbehaved, 
their  audacity  and  insolence  were  reprehensible  in  the 
highest  degree,  but  to  impose  upon  helpless  men,  women, 
and  children  the  choice  between  Islam  and  death  was 
a  proceeding  of  which  there  can  be  no  justification.  If 
the  emperor  had  been  more  tolerant  and  generous,  he 
might  have  achieved  his  end  with  a  lesser  sacrifice  of 
innocent  lives.  His  treatment  of , the  vanquished  took  'the 
colour  of  a  religious  persecution,  but  in  criticising  the 
emperer's  policy  we  should  bear  in  mind  the  impertinences 
of  the  Portuguese  not  only  in  Bengal  but  all  over  India. 

Shah  jahan's  reign  marks  a  reaction  against  the  liberal 
policy  of  Jahangir.    The  contemporary  Muslim  chronicler 

describes  him  with  pleasure  as  Shahanshah 
Orthodox^!'8  Din-i-Panahr  and  speaks  with  approbation 

of  kis  measures  against  Hindu  orthodoxy. 
In  1682  the  etnperor  was  informed  that  the  *  wealthy^ 
infidels  '  in  Benares  were  desirous  of  completing  the  idol 
temples  which  had  begun  during  the  reign  of  his  predeces- 
sor. An  order  was  issued  that  in  Benares  and  in  other 
parts  of  the  empire  the  temples,  whose  construction  had 
commenced,  should  be  razed  to  the  ground.  The  local 
officers  perhaps  literally  carried  out  the  imperial  command, 
and  shortly  afterwards  news*  came  from  Allahabad  that 
in  the  country  of  Benares  seventy-six  temples  had  been 
completely  demolished.1  This  was  a  foretaste  of  that 
fanaticism  which  afterwards  wrecked  the  empire.  Shah- 
jahan's  bigotry  manifested  itself  in  his  dealing  with  the 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  65t 

ruler  of  Golkunda.    As  an  prthodox  Sunni,  he  forbade  the 
tabarra  (fe)_or  the  abuse  of  the  first  three  Khalifas  in 
the  dominions  of  the  Qutb  Shah.  l    A  clause  to  this  effect 
was  included  in  the  treaty,  and  henceforward  the  names- 
of  the  first  three  Khalifas  were  to  figure  in  the  Khutba. 
of  the  ruler  of  Golkunda.    The  imperial  farman  clearly 
states  that  the  emperor  regarded  this  as  a  sacred  duty. 

Shahjahan  like  his  predecessors  was  anxious  to  con- 
QUQT  the  Muslim  kingdoms  of  the  Deccan,  and  he  waged 
wars  against  them  pertinaciously  for  a  num- 
^  Deccan    P0-     ber    of  yearg     A^bar  and  Jahangir  -were  7 

•  actuated  by  political  motives  in  their  Deccan 

campaigns.  But  a  change  came  over  Mughal  policy  i& 
Shah  jahan's  time.  Asa  champion  of  ,  Sunni  ^orthodoxy,, 
he^fglt  ,it  his  duty  to  exterminate  the  Shia  heresy  in  the 
south.  Hence  his  wars  were  prompted  by  political  and 
religious  "motives.  His  spn.AuranggebLl  olio  wed  the  same 
policy  on  a  more  comprehensive  scale. 
"""**  Before  entering  on  a  discussion  of  Shahjahan's  plans 
and  policies  in  the  Deccan  it  would  be  well  to  examine  the 
relations,  which  subsisted  between  the  Deccan  states  and 
the  Mughals  prior  to  his  accession  to  the  throne. 

Akbar  had  conquered  Khandesh  (1599)  and  Ahmad- 
nagar  (1600),  and  annexed  them  to  the  empire.    When  he 


A.  H.  Padshahnama,  I,  p.   402. 

1  Tabarra  literally  means  complete  dissociation  from  something 
that  is  bad  or  highly  objectionable.  The  Shias  were  in  the  habit  of 
abusing  the  first  three  Khalifas,  Abu  Bakr*  Omar,  and  Osman  and  oi 
introducing  the  name  of  the  Persian  king  in  the  Khutba.  The  emperor 
as  a  champion  of  Sunni  orthodoxy  strongly  objected  to  this  and  asked 
the  Deccan  Sultans  to  give  up  this  practice.  A  clause  to  this  effect 
was  added  in  the  treaty.  A.  H.  Pad  shah  nama,  Vol.  II,  p.  131. 


552  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

was  at  A  sir  gar  h,  Salim  revolted  in  the  north,  and  thd 
operations  had  to  be  suspended.  Though  Ahmadnagar 
was  a  part  of  Akbar's  dominion,  it  was  never  effectively 
brought  under  his  sway,  and  in  many  districts  ambitious 
men  acted  as  they  pleased.  Taking  advantage  of  the 
distracted  condition  of  Ahmadnagar,  the  rulers  of  Gol- 
kunda  and  Bijapur  enlarged  their  territory  at  its  expense. 

During  Jahangir's  reign,  the  Mughals  made  no  sub- 
stantial progress.  Their  advance  was  checked  by  Malik 
Ambar,  the  Abyssinian  minister  of  the  Nizam  Shahi 
kings,  of  whom  some  account  has  been  given  before.  He 
employed  the  light  Maratha  cavalry,  and  with  its  help 
recovered  the  lost  Ahmadnagar  territory,  and  drove  the 
Mughals  back  to  Burhanpur.  It  was  seriously  feared  at 
onetime  that  the  Mughal  frontier  might  again  recede 
backwards  to  the  Vindhyas.  To  manage  this  disquieting 
state  of  affairs,  Jahangir  sent  Shahjahan  to  the  Deccaru 
The  Prince  succeeded  by  his  gallantry  in  the^Jd^fJbattle 
in^  dictating  tenasjto^  aaved  Jthe 

prestige  of  the  empire  tfomj^im.  But  this  was  a  short- 
lived triumph.  Shahjahan's  rebellion  and  Mahabat's 
•disgrace,  which  followed  soon  afterwards,  convulsed  the 
empire,  and  seriously  interrupted  the  activities  of  the 
Mughal  generals  in  the  Deccan.  The  Sultanates  got  their 
opportunity  and  again  began  to  defy  the  imperial  power. 

With  Shahjahan's  accession  to  the  throne  commenc- 
<§<^  a^Sew  era  of  TDecca&^jOlicy.  Fully  aware  of  the 
strong  and  weak  points  of  the  Deccan  States,  he  was  quali- 
fied to  undertake  operations  on  a  large  scale.  In  1629 
ghanjahan  I^di'sjrebellioirwas  suppressed,  but  a  year 
later  the  combined~efforts  of  Bijapur  and  Ahmadnagar 
•gave  Shahjahan  an  opportunity  to  interfere  effectively  in 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  553 

W  »  *•    •'.?'. 

Deccan  politics.  Fatah  Khan^the  son  of  Malik  Ambar. 
who  had  taken  his  faEEeSpi^ce  after  Jiis  death,  inform- 
ed Asaf  Khan  that  the  fear  for  his  own  life  had  led  him 
to  throw  into  prison  the  Nizam  Shahi  king.  A  reply  was 
sent  to  him  that  he  '  should  rid  the  world  of  such  a  worth- 
less and  wicked  being.' "Tafah  Khan  promptly  carried 
3ut  the  atrocious  suggestionTandplaced  on  the  throne 
NizanijShjd^^  a  boy  of  ten  years.  In  this 

scEame  he  had  the  full  support  of  the  Mughal  govern- 
ment. 

The  presence  of  a  roi  faineant  at  Ahmadnagar  once 
again  emboldened  Bijapur  and  Golkunda  to  enrich  them- 
selves at  the  expense  of  their  neighbour.  Shahjahan 
'called  upon  the  Sultan  of  Bijapur  who  'had  shown 
himself  unfaithful  to  the  imperial  throne  '  to  renew  his 
allegiance  to  the  Mughals,  and  deputed  Asaf  Khan  to 
awaken  him  to  a  sense  of  his  duty.  The  general  forthwith 
proceeded  to  execute  his  mission,  and  laid  siege  to  Bijapur 
(1631  A.D.).  The  Mughals  enjoyed  a  '  warm  interchange 
of  rockets,  arrows,  and  musketry  '  with  the  enemy,  and 
the  siege  went  on  for  20  days.  But  the  exhaustion  of 
supplies  alarmed  Asaf  Khan,  and  his  anxiety  increased 
considerably,  when  he  learnt  that  grain  had  risen  to  one 
rupee  per  sir,  and  that  men  and  cattle  had  already  begun 
to  die  of  hunger.  The  siege  was  raised,  and  the  Mughal 
army  started  in  search  of  provisions.  It  freely  engaged  in 
plunder,  and  '  on  whatever  road  they  (the  soldiers)  went 
they  killed  and  made  prisoners  and  ravaged  and  laid 
waste  on  both  sides/  The  Bijapuris  were  made  to  feel 
the  hoofs  of  Mughal  horses,  and  the  most  flourishing  part 
of  their  country  was  'trodden  under/  The  royal  forces 
withdrew  to  Mughal  territory,  and  the  emperor  left  for 


554  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

the  north  on  the  24th*Ramzan,  1041  A.H.  (=4th  April* 
1632  A.D.).  As  Asaf  Khan  had  not  been  able  to  manage- 
the  Deccan  affairs  properly,  Mahabat  Khan  was  directed 
to  take  his  place. 

Malik  Ambar's  son  Fatah  Khan  had  received  from 
the  emperor  in  lieu  of  his  submission  certain  districts 
^  x-  A-  *  which  had  really  belonged  to  him,  but  had 

Extinction  of      .  .     _  .  _ 

the       Nizam     latterly  been  given  to  ShjtfyiL    Deeply  in- 

Shahi       king-      censed  at  thig>   Shahj{  calle(J    in    the    aid    of 

Adil  Shah  to  assist  him  in  wresting  the  fort 
of  Daulatabad  from  the  Nizam  Shahis.  Fatah  Khan, 
who  was  alarmed  for  his  safety,  wrote  to  Mahabat  Khan 
that  he  intended  to  deliver  the  fortress  to  the  imperialists 
on  which  Mahabat  sent  his  son  with  a  force,  and  himself 
followed  a  little  later.  The  Bijapuris  were  defeated  in  a 
well-contested  engagement,  and  a  bastion  of  the  fort  was 
stormed  by  a  mine.  A  breach  was  effected  in  the  walls 
of  the  fort,  but  the  brave  men  of  Bijapur  '  kept  up  such  a 
rain  of  arrows,  bullets,  and  rockets,  that  the  storming 
party  was  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  the  trenches/ 
Urged  by  the  Khan-i-Khanan,  the  imperialists  rushed  to 
the  breach,  forceffTheSerilry  into  the  fort,  and  applied 
their  swords  with  deadly  effect.  The  fortifications  of 
Ambar,  14  gaz  in  height  and  10  in  thickness,  were  destroy- 
ed by  the  besiegers. 

The  imperialists  laid  another  mine  under  the  fortress, 
and  Fatah  Khan  was  so  alarmed  that  he  removed  his 
family  to  a  place  of  safety.  He  sent  word  to  the  Khan-i- 
Khanan  to  postpone  the  explosion  of  the  mine  for  a  day 
to  give  him  time  to  consult  the  Bijapuris  about  terms. 
The  Khan-i-Khanan  who  was  now  convinced  of  his 
duplicity  and  bad  faith,  replied  that  he  should  send  his* 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  55& 

as  a  hostage,  if  he  desired  the  explosion  to  be  post- 
poned. 

Fatah  Khan  certainly  did  not  mean  to  keep  his  word. 
He  was  simply  temporising  with  his  opponents.  When  a 
fresh  breach  was  effected  in  the  wall,  he  realised  that 
further  resistance  was  impossible.  He  wanted  a  week'& 
time  to  remove  his  own  and  the  royal  family  out  of  the 
danger  zone,  and  sent  his  eldest  son  as  a  security  for  the 
fulfilment  of  his  word.  His  request  was  granted,  and  the 
Khan-i-Khanan  showed  his  kindness  by  sending  him  ten 
lakhs  and  fifty  thousand  rupees  as  desired.  It  was_an  act 
of  sbarfeful.  cowardice  on  the  part  of  Ambar's  son  to- 
accetsuch  aTiuglTHrl^^ 

^         theTraysTTx)  "  tHeTKfia^j^KHan  an  ^and^  ^withj  JLI& 
pockets  full  of  imperial  j^ld*,^ 
exit  from"the  fort  on  thVTgth  Zifhijjah,  1042  A.H.  (=18th 


The  Mughal  banner  was  planted  on  the  ruined  ram- 
parts of  Daulatabad,  and  the  Khutba  was  read  in  the 
emperor's  name.  Husain  Shah*  the  puppet  king  whom 
Fatah  Khan  had  placed  upon  the  throne,  was  handed  over 
to  the  Mughals.  He  was  condemned  to  imprisonment, 
and  sent  to  the  fortress  of  Gwalior  to  sigh  out  his  life 
in  deep  despair.  The  kingdom  of  Ahmadnagar  came  to 
an  end. 

The  Bijapuris  again  laid  siege  to  Daulatabad,  but 
they  were  compelled  to  withdraw  by  the  imperialists.  The 
baffled  the  attempts  of  the  Khan-i- 


Khanan  to  reduce  it.  The  siege  went  on  for  seven  months- 
with  heavy  losses  on  both  sides.  At  last  the  advent  of  the 
rains  obliged  the  Mughals  to  retreat  to  Burhanpur.  The 
veteran  Mahabat  Khan  died  on  14th  Jamad  I,  1044  A.H. 


556  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

=26th  October,  1634  A.D.  Aa  a  temporary  measure  the 
Khan-i-Dauran,  the  governor  of  Malwa,  was  appointed  to 


Jujhar  Bundela  rebelled  a  second  time.    His  offence 

<3onsisted  in  slaying  the  Raja  of  Chauragarh  and  in  for- 

cibly seizing  the  vast  treasures  of  the  latter. 

J  a  j  bar'  s      The  murdered  Raja's  son  appealed  to  Shah- 

second  rebel-        .  _          _      ,    ,      .         .  -      -  .    .      .         ,  , 

lion,  1635-36.  jahan  for  help,  but  instead  of  bringing  the 
offender  to  book  the  latter  demanded,  of 
Jujhar  a  share  of  the  booty.  This  was  refused  and  war 
became  inevitable. 

The  emperor  sent  three  armies,  numbering*  nearly 
28,000  men,  into  Bundelkhand  territory,  ostensibly  to  back 
up  the  cause  of  Devi  Singh,  a  rival  claimant  to  the 
Bundela  throne,  but  in  reality  to  humble  Jujhar.  Jujhar 
and  his  son  Bikramajit  fled  from  the  field  of  battle  and 
were  killed  by  the  Gonds.  Their  heads  were  cut  off  and 
sent  to  the  emperor  (December,  1635). 

An  unhappy  tragedy  followed  the  deaths  of  Jujhar 
and  his  sons.  Juj  bar's  mother  Rani  Parbati,  Bir  Singh's 
widow,  who  had  been  hit  by  the  Mughals  during  her  son's 
flight,  died  of  her  wounds,  but  the  other  ladies- 
daughters  of  proud  chiefs  and  warriors  of  ancient  lineage 
—were  captured  and  introduced  into  the  Mughal  haram  to 
pass  their  lives  in  gilded  misery.  Two  sons  of  the  rqbel 
were  converted  to  Mainland  a  third  Udavabhan  was  but- 
chered in  cojd^blQfld,  because  he  had  the  effrontery  to 
persist  in  his  beliefs.  ThoJjemple  of  Orchha  was  tucned 
into  a  mosoue.  and  the  hidden  treasures  of  Jujhar  were 
taken  possession  of  by  the  victors.  Devi  Singh  got  the 
crown  of  Orchha  as  the  reward  of  his  treachery,  but  all 
the  other  Bundela  chiefs  refused  to  acknowledge  him  as 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  557 

their  overlord.1  Champat*Rao  of  Mahoba,  who  disap- 
proved of  Devi  Singh's  disgraceful  conduct,  did  not  submit 
to  him  and  remained  aloof.  His  son  Chatrasal  turned  out 
a  chip  of  the  old  block  ;  he  carried  on  the  the  war  of  inde- 
pendence against  the  empire  for  years,  though  he  failed 
to  organise  the  Bundelas  into  a  solid  union. 

Shahjahan's  wars  in  the  Deccan  which  have  been 
described  before  did  not  result  in  a  complete  conquest  of 

•  the  Muslim  States  of  Bijapur  and  Golkunda. 

i636-C36n  His  Sunni  heart  was  disappointed  to  find 
that  heresy  was  still  faffipSnf ^^In"theT)eccian, 
and  he*  must  needs  employ  his  vast  resources  inputting 
an  end  to  it.  Besides,  he  was  deeply  enraged  at  Shahjj!s_ 
attempts  to  create  trouble  in  Ahmadnagar.  The  Maratha 
leader  had  set  up  a  boy  of  the  Nizam  Jihs^irfamily  as. 
king  in  direct  opposition  to  the  imperial  government. 
The  emperor  sent  his  generals  to  chastise  the  rebels  and 
ravage  the  country  of  Shahji.  Soon  after  it  transpired 
that  the  king  of  Bijapur  had  sent  men  and  money  to  aid 
the  Ahmadnagar  rebels  in  their  designs.  These  intrigues 
accelerated  the  emperor's  decision  to  launch  a  vigorous 
campaign  in  the  Deccan.  He  called  upon  Bijapur  and 
Golkunda  to  acknowledge  his  suzerainty,  to  pay  Khiraj  as  a 
mark  of  submission,  and  abstain  from  every  kind  of  inter- 
ference  in  the  affairs  of  Ahmadnagar.  The  emperor 
himself  proceeded  to  Daulatabad  in  February,  1636,  and 
mobilised  a  host  of  50,000  men  to  deal  with  the  hostile 
powers.  Thejgiler  of  Golkunda,  j>venyhelixied 
presence  of  such  a  powerful  armyTjudged  discretion 


1  The    reader    will   do  well  to  read  Sir  J.  N.  Sarkar's  account  of  the 
war.     History  of  Aurangzeb,  I,  pp.   13—26.     . 


558  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

the  better  part  of  valour,  an*  made  his_submi$sion.  Tne 
imperial  envoy  AbduTXatif  was  received  at  a  distance 
of  ten  miles  from  the  capital  by  the  Qutb  Shah,  who 
acknowledged  the  suzerainty  of  the  Mughal  emperor, 
and  agreed  to  have  the  Khutba  read  and  the  coins  struck 
in  the  latter's  name.  With  a  servility  which  did  little 
credit  to  his  high  rank,  the  Qutb  Shah  accepted  all  the 
humiliating  terms  proposed  by  the  emperor.  He  agreed 
to  the  inclusion  of  the  first  three  Khalifas  in  the  Khutba 
and  the  removal  of  the  name  of  the  Persian  ruler,  to 
whom  the  Shias  had  turned  for  help  and  guidance. 

The  emperor  informed  the  Sultan  of  Bijapiir  of  the 
consequences  of  defiance  and  disobedience,  but  no  reply 
was  received.  Three  imperial  generals  marched  into 
Bijapur  territory  from  three  sides— Khan jahan  by  way  of 
Skolapiir,  Khan-i-Zaman  by  way  of  Ind^i^ 
i-Baurati  from  the  side  of  Bidar  in  the 
The  country  was  encircled  on  all  sides  by  the  Mughal 
soldiery  and  was  ruthlessly  devastated.  Thousands  of 
men  were  captured  and  killed,  and  many  forts  were 
wrested  from  the  enemy's  possession.  Both  sides  soon 
grew  tired  of  war,  and  negotiations  for  peace  began. 
The  terms  of  the  treaty  were  settled.  A^i^Shah^acknow- 
ledged  the  suzerainty  of  the  emperor,  and  promised  to 
abstain  from  all  interference  in  the  affairs  df  Ahmad- 
nagar,  the  territory  of  which  was  divided  between  the  two 
parties— the  share  of  Bijapur  being  50  parganas  yield- 
ing an  income  of  20  lakhs  of  huns  (=80  lakhs  of  rupees). 
A  sum  of  20  lakhs  of  rupees  in  cash  and  kind  was  de- 
manded as  tribute,  and  the  Sultan  was  warned  not  to 
molest  the  sister  kingdom  of  Golkunda  which  had  accept- 
ed the  imperial  vassalage.  Both  sides  recognised  the 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  559 

importance  of  faithful  service  and 'bound  themselves  not 
to  tamper  with  the  loyalty  of  their  respective  officers  and 
men.  A  clause  was  embodied  in  the  treaty  defining  the 
relations  of  the  Sultan  towards  Shahji.  He  was  not  to  be 
admitted  in  the  service  of  the  Bijapur  State,  nor  was  any 
favour  to  be  shown  to  him,  if  he  refused  to  abandon  the 
Nizam  Shahi  forts  which  he  had  seized  during  the  war. 

The  Sultan  felt  much  disturbed  by  the  emperor's 
presence  near  the  scene  of  action,  and  prayed  that  his 
Majesty  be  pleased  to  depart  from  the  place  so  that  the 
fears  and  anxieties  of  his  subjects  might  be  set  at  rest 
His  wish  was  granted,  and  the  emperor  set  out  for  Mandu 
•on  July  11,  1636. 

This  treaty  sealed  the  humiliation^fijMBijapur.  God 
and  the  Prophet  were  made  witnesses  to  its  solemn  con- 
tents which  were  never  to  be  departed  from  by  either  party. 
The  Sultan  showed  his  obsequiousness  further  by  request- 
ing the  jemperor  to  send  him  a  portrait  of  his,  adorned 
with  jewels,  rubies,  and  precious  diamonds.  Before  the 
Mughal  envoy,  who  conveyed  to  him  this  token  of  imperial 
favour,  the  Sultan  swore  on  the  Quran  that  he  would 
always  adhere  to  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty.  The 
ruler  of  Golkunda  followed  the  example  of  the  '  elder 
brother/  and  sent  a  rich  tribute  in  gold.  Aurangzeb, 
the  third  son  of  Shahjahan,  who  was  merely  a  lad  of  18 
years,  was  appointed  as  viceroy  of  the  Deccan.  ^/ 

Aurangzeb's 
first    Viceroy-  A  .  ,          ,  .  J     ,       -    , , 

aity    of    the  Aurangzeb's    charge  consisted  of  the 

P«K* ^n  (July,     following  provinces :— 

163  6 — May? 
1644). 

(1)  Daulatabad  with  Ahmadnagar  and  other  districts 
with  its  capital  first  at  Ahmadnagar  and  later  at 


660  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Daulatabad.  This  was  called  the  Subah  of  the 
Dec  can. 

(2)  Telingana    situated    in  the  country  of  Balaghat 

extending  from  the  Chand  and  the  Wainganga 
river  to  the  north  and  north-eastern  frontiers 
of  Golkunda. 

(3)  Khandesh  or  the  Tapti  valley  with  its  capital  at 

Burhanpur  and  fort  at  Asir. 

(4)  Berar,  south-east  of  Khandesh,  with  its  capital  at 

Elichpur  and  fort  at  Gwaligarh  well-known  for 
its  natural  strength  and  solidity. 

These  four  provinces  contained  64  forts,  and  their  total 
revenue  amounted  to  two  arab  dams  which  was  equal  to 
five  crores  of  rupees. 

The  imperial  generals  sent  by  Shahjahan  reduced  the 
Ahmadnagar  forts  and  Khan-i-Zaman  succeeded  in  com- 
pelling Shahji's  submission.  The  supposititious  heir  to 
the  Nizam  Shahi  kingdom  was  made  over  to  the  Mughals 
who  threw  him  into  prison. 

The  district  of  Baglana  with  its  34  parganas  was  sub- 
dued by  Aurangzeb,  and  its  forts  of  Salir  and  Malir  which 
enjoyed  a  position  of  great  advantage  were  captured  by 
the  enemy.  The  ruler  of  the  place  Bharji  submitted  and 
offered  to  join  the  imperial  service,  if  the  pargana  of 
Sultanpur  was  left  to  him,  The  emperor  made  him  a 
mansabdar  of  3,000  Zat  and  2,500  Sawar  and  confirmed 
him  in  the  possession  of  the  fief  of  Sultanpur. 

A  strange  mishap  occurred  at  the    capital    which 

furnished  the  occasion  for  Aurangzeb 's  resignation  of  the 

Aurangzeb's     viceroyalty    of    the   Deccan.    Shahjahan's 

resignation.        daughter  Jahanara  styled   as  the    Begam 

Sahib,  a  kind-hearted  and  generous  lady,  was  badly  burnt 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  561 

on  the  night  of  March  26, 16J14,  her  'fine  garment  of  muslin- 
richly  perfumed  with  attar,  having  caught  fire  from  the 
flame  of  a  candle  in  one  of  the  passages.    At  one  time 
there  was  no  hope  of  her  life,   and  physicians  from  all 
parts  of  the  empire  gathered  at  the  capital  to  save  the 
life  of  the  princess.  Shahjahan  stopped  all  public  business, 
and  bestowed  his  best  care  and  attention  on  her.    He 
himself  attended  her  sick-bed,   and  applied  the  medicine 
with  his  own  hands.    Every  night  a  purse  of  one  thou- 
sand* rupees  was  placed  below  the  pillow  of  the  princess, 
and  was  in  the  morning  distributed   among  the  poor  and 
the  indigent,   so  that  their  united  prayers  might  assist 
the    speedy    recovery    of    the    royal    patient.     Officers 
who    had    been    thrown   into  prison   on  the  charge   of 
embezzlement  of  public  funds  were  released,  and  their 
liabilities  amounting  to  seven  lakhs  of  rupees  were  paid 
by  the  emperor.    Every  day,  with  tears  in   his  eyes,  the 
emperor  sighed  out  prayers  from  sunset  till  midnight  for 
his  dearly  loved  daughter's  recovery.    But  she  remained 
in  a  critical  condition    for  four  months    and    was   not 
completely  cured  until  after  nine  months.    The  medicines 
of  the  most  competent  physicians  failed  to  produce  any 
effect.    At  last  a  slave  named  5rif  prepared  an  ointment 
which  healed  the  sores,  and  afforded  her  much  relief. 
The  recovery  of  the  princess  was  celebrated  with  great 
pomp  and  magnificence  by  her  affectionate  father,  and 
festivities  continued  for  eight  days.  Huge  sums  of  money 
were  distributed  to  the  poor,  and  large  gifts  were  made  to 
the  nobles  and  officers  of  the  state.  5rif,  the  healer  of  the 
princess's  wounds,  was  weighed  in  gold,  and  the  emperor 
gave  him  an  amount  of  money  equivalent  to  its  value 
together  with  robes  of  honour,  horses,  and  elephants. 

F.  36 


562  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Aurangzeb  went  tb  Agr^  in  May  to  see  his  sistel 
who  was  in  such  a  dangerous  condition.  Three  weeks  after 
his  arrival,  he  was  dismissed  and  deprived  of  his  rank 
and  jagir  by  his  father.  What  was  the  cause  of  this 
sudden  dismissal  ?  The  Muslim  chroniclers  write  that  he 
was  punished,  because  Ve  had  taken  to  the  life  of  ajiermit 
of  which  the  emperor  thoroughly  disapproved.  This  may 
or  may  not  be  a  cause  of  his  resignation.  It  is  not  entire- 
ly improbable  in  view^pf  the  fact  that  Aurangzeb  was  a 
gloomy  f  anattej  who  lived  throughout  his  life  like  a  faqir. 
But  injthis  case  the  deciding  factor  was  Djara's jgalojjsy 
and  distrust  of  his  able  and  intrepid  brother.  He.  had  in- 
sulted him  on  more  than  one  occasion,  poisoned  the  ears  of 
the  emperor  against  him,  thwarted  his  measures,  and  su- 
perseded his  orders— indignities  which  had  sunk  deep  into 
his  heart.  He  felt  that  he  was  treated  unjustly  and  un- 
generously by  his  brother,  who  was  misusing  his  position  as 
the  emperor's  right-hand  man,  and  that  he  could  no  longer 
govern  the  Deccan  under  such  humiliations.  Thoroughly 
disgusted  with  Dara's  veiled  hostility  and  "stuctted 
insults^ the high-spjrited viceroy  resigne<^mJMay  1644. 

Through  Jahanara's  good  offices  he  was  again  restored 
to  favour,  and  was  appointed  to  the  governorship  of 
Gujarat  on  February  16,1645,  where  he  gave  proof  of  his 
ability  and  energy,  and  two  years  later  he  was  sent  as 
governor  to  the  province  of  Balkh  and  Badakhshan. 

During  Jahangir's  reign  Qandhar  had  been  seized  by 

Persians  In  1622.    Shahjahan  was  asked  to  guard  the  fort 

against  the  Persians,  but  he  refused  to  move 

o^Th  a°*    owing  to  a  serous  misunderstanding  caused 

1687*68$.  a  ri     by  Nurjahan's  intrigues.  Since  then,  it  had 

been  in  the  hands  of  the  Persians.  It  was 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  $69 

t 

held  at  this  time  by  Mi    Mardan  Khan,  the  Persian 
governor.  — -~  --— 

Shahjahan,  having  settled  the  affairs  of  the  empire, 
turned  his  attention  towards  the  north.  Said  Khan,  the 
governor  of  Kabul,  was  sent  to  reconnoitre  the  fortress 
•and  to  estimate  the  strength  of  the  garrison  posted  there. 
A  temptation  was  offered  to  Ali  Mardan,  and  he  was  asked 
to  submit.  But  his  loyalty  was  firm  and  he  promised  that 
Tie  would  send  a  reply  later.  The  governor  was  informed 
that  he  should  not  make  such  overtures  in  the  future. 
When  this  refusal  was  communicated  to  Shahjahan,  he 
determined  to  lead  an  expedition  to  Qandhar.  Ali  Mardan, 
thereupon,  began  to  build  another  fort  on  a  mountain 
ridge  and  to  make  preparations  for  his  defence.  He  wrote 
to  his  master  for  help,  but  the  latter  misunderstood  his 
motives.  Autocrats  are  always  jealous  and  suspicious,  and 
the  Persian  ruler  thought  that  Ali  Mardan  wished  to 
strengthen  his  own  power  and  to  create  an  imperium  in 
imperio.  The  Shah's  suspicions  were  confirmed  by  the 
enemies  of  Ali  Mardan  at  court.  An  order  was  sent  to  the 
governor  to  send  his  son  as  a  hostage,  which  he  imme- 
diately did,  and  forwarded  a  substantial  peshkash  as  a 
proof  ol  his  loyalty.  But  nothing  availed  to  set  at  rest- 
the  doubts  of  the  Shah  who  sent jone  of  his  g^neralsjsdth 
an  arinj^pstensibly  to  help  Ali  Mardan,  "tut"  in  reality  to 
bring  him  in  chains  to  court  or  to  cut  oJEJhisJtfi&jL  It  was 
a  stupt^^liH^^  brought  about  an 

unexpected^cbange  in.  .the situation.  Ali  Mardan  sent  a 
a'message  to  Said  Khan  to  inform  the  emperor  that  he 
was  willing  to  surrender  the  fortress.  The  imperialists 
inarched  upon  Qandhar  and  easily  acquired  possession  of 
the  fort.  The  Persian  general,  who  was  encamped  at  a 


564  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

* 

distance  of  6  Krohs  from  Qandhar,  was  defeated,  and 
much  booty  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Mughals.  Ah 
MardaiLjgas jpaidjj^la&h_  of  rupees  by_  Said  Khan,  and 
was  enroUed  among  the  grandees  of  the  empire.  After 
a  series  of  skirmishes  andT>attles  with  "tHe "  Persians  and 
their  supporters  among  the  Afghan  tribes,  the  dependen- 
cies of  Qandhar  along  with  60  forts  passed  under  imperial 
control. 

Ali  Mardan  was  received  well  by  the  emperor.  Latter 
he  was  appoin^d^gqvernor  of  Kashmir,  and  his  mansab 
was  raised  to  6,000  Zat  and  6,000  Sawar.  The  emperor 
paid  him  a  large  sum  of  money  and  honoured  his  house 
with  a  visit.  As  time  passed,  Ali  Mardan  rose  still  higher 
in  the  service  of  the  state.  He  was  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  7,000  iZat  and  7,000  Sawar  and  was  entrusted  with  the 
governorship  of  the  Punjab  in  addition  to  Kashmir.  A 
lakh  of  rupees  were  advanced  to  him  (Jamad  II,  1049= 
October  1639  A.H.)  from  the  treasury  for  the  construction 
of  a  canal  from  the  Ravi  river  to  the  city  of  Lahore,  a 
distance  of  49  Krohs. 

Sadullah  Khan  joined  the  imperial  service  in  1640. 
At  first  he  was  paid  a  monthly  salary,  but  later  a  mansab 
was  granted  to  him,  and  in  a  year's  time  he 
roseto  be  an  officer,  holding  the  rank  of 
1,000  Zat  and  2,000  Sawar.  Later  he  became 
Darogha  of  the  Ghusalkhana  and  for  some  time  held  the 
post  of  Khansamah  or  Lord  High  Steward.  The  emperor 
was  impressed  by  his  great  ability  and  integrity,  and  recog- 
nised his  administrative  talents  by  appointing  him  to  the- 
office  of  the  Chief  Wazir  of  the  empire.  In  the  seventh 
year  his  rank  was  raised  to  7,000  Zat  and  7,000  Sawar 
and  siaspah),  and  he  was  awarded  two  crores  of 


THE  EMPIRE  At  ITS  ZENITH  565 

dams  (5  lakhs  of  rupees)  'in  cash.  Sadullah  continued  to 
rise  in  royal  favour,  and  his  power  and  influence  increased 
to  such  an  extent  that  even  Dara,  the  heir-apparent  to  the 
throne,  envied  him. 

Abdul  Hasan,  surnamed  Asaf  Khan,  was  the  son  of 
Itmad-ud-dowlah  and  brother  of  Nurjahan  Begum.     He 

V,^*^>*^j*Sfc^*«***<(«a»»*NWlt, 

Life     and     rose  to  ^ame»  during  the  reign  of  Jahangir, 
death  of  Asaf     but  reaped  greater  honours  on  Shahjahan's 
an*  accession     to     the    throne.    The    title   of 

Yamin-ud-dowlah^  (right  hand  of  the  state)  was  conferred 
upon  £im,  and  he  was  granted  a  jagir  of  50  lakhs  a  year. 
Gradually  he  rose  to  be  the  prime  minister  of  the  empire, 
and  his  mansab  was  raised  to  9,000  Zat  and  9,000  Sawar. 
He  was  an  officer  of jrreat_ability  who  served  the  state  all 
his  life"  with  unrivalled  devotion  jmdjoyalty.  Shahjahan, 
too,  on  his  part  fully  recognisecf  the  services  of  the  minis- 
ter who  had  helped  him  to  secure  the  imperial  throne. 
Asaf  Khan  often  acted  as  the  chief  agent  of  the  emperor 
in  diplomatic  negotiations,  and  never  betrayed  the  trust 
reposed  in  him.  Failing  health  compelled  hte  retirenient 
from  official  life,  and  he  died  at  Lahore  in  1641  A.D.,  which 
is  recorded  in  the  chronogram  _Zihe  afaos  Asaf  Khan. 

Asaf's  remains  were  buried  near  Jahangir's  tomb  in 
a  building  and  garden  which  he  had  himself  erected.  As 
the  distinguished  nobleman '  lay  on  his  death-bed  in  the 
grip  of  a  mortal  disease,  the  emperor  paid  him  a  visit 
at  his  residence.  Thejninister's  loyalty^  which  had  stood 
map^  a  Jiard.  lest,  ^sh^^IlilHl^S*  eyegT^^ 
qjoments^  He  spontaneously  offered  to  the  emperor  the 
vast  riches  and  property,  which  he  had  accumulated 
during  his  official  career.  His  Lahore  house  alone  was 
worth  20  lakhs,  and  he  had  stately  residences  in  other 


566  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

cities.  Besides,  he  told  the  emperor  that  he  had  in  his 
possession  jewels  and  cash,  amounting  to  2croresand 
jjjMakhs  wfrich  he  begged  him  to  confiscate.  Out  of 
this  huge  sum,  the  emperor  gave  only  20  lakhs  to  his 
cWldren*  an(j  the  rest  passed  to  the  state  by  the  law 
of  escheat,, 

To  the  north  of  the  country  now  called  Afghanistan, 
lay  the  provinces  of  Balkh  and  Badakhshan,  jammed  in 

Oxus  and    the  Hinflu- 


Sbahjahan's 
Centrai  Asian     kush    mountains.    In    the     middle     ages 

0  1C7'  they     were     neither     civilised    nor^  pros- 

perous  and  had  been  ruthlessly  ravaged  by  the  Mongols, 
Uzbegs,  and  Turkomans,  who  had  all  inflicted  untold 
misery  on  the  native  population.  Like  his  predecessors- 
Shahjahan  felt  a  desire  to  conquer  the  lands  of  Trans- 
oxiana,  where  his  ancestors  had  once  exercised  their 
sway.  He  looked  back  Jo  the  glories  of  Timur,  and  his 
heart  longed  to  achieve  renown  in  these  distant  lands. 
Sapiarqand  was  one  of  the  capitals  of  the  Titnurids,  and 
the'  Indian  Mughals  at  times  cherished  the  dream  of  re* 
gaining  possession  of  the  city  which  Babar  had  thrice  won 
and  lost.  With  such  thoughts  in  his  mind,  Shahjahan 
attempted  the  conquest,of  Balkh  L^  andJB|dakbahgr^,  depen- 
dencies of  the  kingdom  of  Bokhara,  without  adequate 
means  of  defending  themselves  against  a  powerful  invader. 
Shahjahan^s  motive  was  purely  lust  of  conquest,  for 
/  Balkh  ^and  Badakhshan  had  given  him  no  troubiie  what- 
ever. A  dispute  in  the  royal  family  of  Balkh  encouraged 
Shahjahan  in  his  designs.  Nazr  Muhamm^dJChan,  ruler 
of  Bokhara,  was  in  difficulties  owing  to  the"rebellious 
<50HdtiCt  of  his  son  ^MulA^iz.  He  had  ended  the  quarrel 
by  keeping  Balkh  anJ  Ba3atlishan  for  himself  and  giving 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  567 

» 

Transoxiana  to  the  rebel.  *  Shah  jahan  judged  this  a  good 
opportunity  for  interference. 

But  the  imperial  project  wasthoroughly^  jll-conceived. 
To  mobilise  an  Indian  army  through  the  Hindukush  in 
sufficient  numbers  for  thejxmquest  of  Central  Asia  was 
a  foolhardy  enterprise  without  any  chance  of  success,  and 
Prof.  J.  N.  Sarkar  rightly  observes  that  the  prosperity  of 
his  reign  anS'TEe"  flattery  of  his  courtiers 
^TShali jaliariys)  headland  that  he  was  dreamin 
of^vain  dreams. '  No  amount  of  effort 'could  ensure  sue- 
cess  in^siicK  a  hazardous  enterprise  in  a  most  difficult  and 
inhospitable  region,  far  away  from  the  principal  reservoir 
of  imperial  strength  and  power  The  whole  scheme  was 
foredoomed  to  failure  from  the  very  outset: 
"~~~~  Prince  MuYad  marche<T( June  1646)  into  Balkh  at  the 
head  of  50,000  horse  and  10,000  foot,  accompanied  by  some 
of  the  most  distinguished  generals  of  the  empire.  All 
M^^anJChan,  who  knew  the  country  well,  also  went  with 
the  prince.  Tlie  city  of  Balkh  was  entered  on  July  2,  1646, 
without  encountering  any  opposition.  Nazr  Muhammad 
had  fled  to  Persia,  but  finding  it  difficult  to  obtain  support 
there  came  back.  He  left  his  vast  wealth  amounting  to 
70  lakhs  to  be  plundered  by  the  Mughal  soldiery.  In  the 
general  scramble  that  followed  the  flight  of  Nazr,  the 
Mughals  were  able  to  seize  ortly  12  lakhs  of  rupees,  2,500 
horses  and  300  camels.  ^CMurad,  who  lacked  a  determined 
willj  pinect  ;foE^yjjLJ^  and  begged 

the  emperor's  penmssioiTtoleave  thejplace. 
"""  His  officers^^  ~ 

rugged  and  hilly  country  where  the  delights  of  social  life 

1   History  of  Aurangzeb,  I,  p,  81. 


368  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 


€ 


were  denied^jo  them.  The  'prince  left  for  Hindustan 
iiTspite15ftheemperor*s  repeated  refusals.  SadullalijChan 
was  immediately  ordered  to  proceed  to  Balkh.  He  postecf 
the  imperial  officers  in  important  centres,  and  finished 
the  settlement  of  the  whole  country  in  22  days,  and  then 
returned  to  Kabul.  Murad  was  deprived  of  his  rank  and 
waa^gfused  admission  to  court . 

Meanwhile  tEe  emperor  made  preparations  for  a 
vigorous  campaign  Shuja  and  Aurangzeb  were  called 
from  their  provinces  to  lead  the  command.  The  expedition 
was  liberally  financed,  and  the  emperor  himself  proceeded 
to  Kabul  to  direct  operations  in  person. 

But  Aurangzeb  suffered  from  a  serious  handicap  His 
position  was  not  so  strong  as  that  of  the  enemy.  The 
Uzbegs  numbered  about  100,000  while  the  Mughal  force 
consisted  only  of  25,000  men.  The  generals  who  held  dis- 
tricts assigned  to  them  by  Sadullah  Khan  were  kept,  but 
they  did  not  leave  their  posts  promptly,  when  their  services 
were  required  elsewhere.  The  Uzbeg  mode  of  fighting 
also  added  to  the  difficulties  of  the  Mughals.  The  nomad 
savages  never  risked  an  open  engagement,  and  the 
Mughals  found  that  they  were  powerless  against  their 
"  Cossack  tactics/'  But  Aurangzeb  was  not  the  manjEQ 
flinch  from  his  rggolyg.  In  the  first  battle  the  Uzbegs 
fled  from  the  field,  when  the-  Mughals  and  Rajputs  opened 
fire  on  them.  They  attacked  the  imperialists  again  but 
only  to  sustain  a  severe  defeat.  Aurangzeb  entered 
Balkh  in  triumph,  and  placed  it  under  the  command  of 
the_Rajput  chief  Madhu  Singh  Hjda. 

Aurangzeb  proceeded  from  'Balkh  to  Aqcha  to  deal 
with  the  Uzbegs  who  were  hovering  round  the  Mughal 
army.  Fighting  went  on  incessantly,  and  the  Mughals 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  569 

*had  to  endure  much  hardship  an'd  misery.  The  Uzbegs 
attacked  the  moving  columns  of  the  Mughal  army,  but 
the  onward  march  continued.  News  from  Balkh  that  a 
large  army  was  coming  from  Bokhara  to  its  rescue  alarmed 
Aurangzeb,  and  he  retreated  forthwith.  The  Bokhara 
army  under  its  ablest  leaders  again  gave  battle,  but  it 
had  to  give  way  before  the  fiery  onset  of  the  Mughal 
musketeers.  Convinced  of  the  superior  strength  of  the 
opppsing  force,  the  king  of  Bokhara  sent  friendly  message, 
and  negotiations  for  peace  began.  Aurangzeb  safely 
reached  Balkh. 

Tlfe  Mughals  had  put  forth  a-Strenuous  fight  against 
heavy  "oflfl."  '  They  faced  the  direcc  hardship  with  great 


"composure  and  fortitude,  and  never  allowed  hunger  or 
sickness  to  interfere  with  the  progress  of  the  operations. 
But  the  soul  of  this^  deadly  resistance  was  Aurangzeb  him- 
self. "Even  the  ruler  of  BokKafa*~wltS  impressed  T)y~his 
coolness  and  courage,  when  he  saw  him  in  the  thickf  of  the 
fight  spreading  his  carpet  on  the  blood-stainedj^Pjind  to 
say^Tus  prayers  despite  the  clash  of  arms  and  the  cries  of 
warriors  around  him.  To  fight  with  a  iMn  o  hig  kind 


^  ^ 

was  to  court  surejleajfch  and  rum,  ^exclaimed  Nazr's  son 
iuLAziz  in  wqnfler^and  ordered  all  further  fightinglb 
•be  stopped.  ~~  "*"    "  """  --  — 

*~~  the  battle  was  over,  but.it  was  difficult  to  settle  the 
terms  of  a  lasting  peace  Shahjahan  was  inclined  to  give 
the  country  back  to  Nazr  Muhammad^  but  he  insisted  on 
the  condition  that  he  should  first  make  his  submission. 
Three  months  were  wasted  in  negotiations,  but  the  ex-king 
•of  Balkh  could  not  make  up  his  mind  to  accept  the  terms 
•offered  to  him.  Still  in  a  state  of  doubt  and  uncertainty, 
Jie  sent  his  grandsons  to  wait  on  the  prince  and  excused 


570  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

himself  on  the  gtound  of  illness.  As  the  prince  wanted  to 
leave  the  place  quickly^  he  made  over  the  fort  and  city  of 
Balkh  to  Nazr  Muhammad's  grandsons,  and  made  prepara- 
tions for  his  homeward  journey.  t 

The  Mughal  army,  bj|^^Jts  retreat  towardp  Kabul. 
It  was  attacked  by  thef^^B^  called  the  Hazards  who- 
proved  as  heartless  as  th^^Jzbegs.  The  prince  and  his 
entourage  slowly  wended  their  walkthrough  snow  and 
reached  JCabul.  But  the  Rajputs  who  were  left  behind 
suffered  untold  misery^  Men  and  beasts  fell  down  head- 
long into  the  depths  and  died  without  food  or  shelter.  It 
was  a  terrible  retreat  resembling  in  its  horrors  the  'British 
withdrawal  from  Kabul  in  1842. 

The  enterprise  failed  dismally  and  caused  heavy  loss 
in  men  and  money.  To  the  havoc  wrought  by  famine  were 
added  the  rigours  of  a  cruel  winter,  and  hundreds  perished 
in  the  snow.  The  state  had  to  spend  in  two  years  nearly 
four  crores  of  rupees  whereas  the  return  in  the  shape  of 
revenue  from  conquered  lands  amounted  only  to  221 
lakhs— poor  compensation  indeed  for  arduous  toils  and 
heroic  sacrifices.  "There  was  no  increase  in  prestige,  nor 
^5^'aif  lllrtrof  land  added  to  the  imperial  dominions.  The 
historian  of  Aurangzeb  sums  up  the  result  of  the  campaign 
in  these  words : 

"  Thusjnded  Shahjahan's  fatuous  war  ji>. Balkh,— a 

war  in^which  the  Indian  treasury  spent  four  crores  of 

rupees  in  twoj^ears,  ajnd^reafoei^ 

country,  a  revenue  of  22i  lakhs  only.    Not  an  inch  of 

territory  was  annexed,  nor  dynasty  changed,  andjio 

enemy  j^placed  byan  aUxJSOl^^ 

The  grahf  store  in  Balkh  fort,  worth  5  lakhs,  and  the 

provisions  in  oth6r  forts  as  well,  were  all  abandoned 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  571 

to  the  Bukharians,  besides  its.  5fr,QOO  in  cash 
presented  to  Nazr  Muhammad's  grandsons  and 
Rs.  22,500  to  envoys.  Five  hundred  soldiers. fell  in| 
battle,  and  ten  times  that  number  (including  camp 
followers)  were  slainl^^rild,  and  snow  on  the 
mountains.  Such  is  ™^Hp|ble  price  that  aggres- 
sive imperialism  makes  ^mdia  pay  for  wars  across 
the i  JNorthrW^stem  Frontier. ' ' ' 

Sultan  Firuz  Tughluq  had  constructed  a  canal  from 
the  river  Jamna  near  Khizrabad  to  Safidun,  his  hunting 
ground.  After  his  death  the  canal  fell  out  of 
Canal.  Shahl  repairs,  and  became  useless  until  it  was. 
restored  by  Shihab-ud-din  Ali  Khan,  hakim 
of  Delhi,  during  the  reign  of  Akbar.  It  was  known  as 
Nahr-i-Shihab  (canal  of  Shihab).  Again  it  became  useless 
through  neglect  and  was  repaired  by  Shahjahan's  orders. 
A  new  canal  was  constructed  from  Safidun  to  the  royal 
palace,  extending  over  a  distance  of  30  Kos.  To  this  canal 
was  given  the  name  of  Nahr-i-Bihisht  (celestial  canal). 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  1638  Ali  Mardan  Khan, 
the  Persian  governor,   had   surrendered    Qandhar  into 
Mughal  hands.    But  the  Persians  had  never 
of  Qan-     abandoned  the  hope  of  regaining  it.    Shah 

Abbas  II,  who  had  come  to  the  throne  in 
1642,  made  vigorous  efforts  to.  collect  men  and  money  for 
the  recapture  of  Qandhar  which  was  a  valuable  possession 
from  the  commercial  and  strategic  point  of  view.  Steps 
were  taken  to  store  up  grain  at  Farah,  Sistan,  and  other 
important  centres,  and  a  detachment  was  sent  to  Herat 
to  interrupt  the  communications  on  that  side.  Aa 

1  Sarkar,  History  of  Aurangzeb,  1,  pp.  90-100. 


£72  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

the  winter  was  appro  aching,  (the  Shah  himself  intended 
to  proceed  towards  the  city)  knowing  full  well  that  the 
fall  of  snow  would  make  it  impossible  for  reinforcements 
to  come  from  India.    When  Shahjahan  learnt  of  these 
preparations,    he    took  counsel  with  his  nobles  on  the 
subject,  and  they  advised  him  to  postpone  the  campaign 
until    the    winter    was    over.     The    emperor    accepted 
their  advice,  and  the  result  was  that  the  forces  of  the 
Shah,  careless  of  the  rigour  of  winter,  marched  against 
the  fort    The  Mughal  garrison  fought  with    desperate 
courage  for  57  days,  but  when  they  saw  that  no  relief  was 
Doming  from  India/they  capitulated  on  February  11,  1649. 
The  court  chroniclerlnayat  Khan  has  related  the  circum- 
stances which  led  to  this  ignominious  surrender.  He  writes: 
"At  length  a  number  of  the  garrison,   from  want 
of  spirit,   lost  the  little  courage,  they  possessed,  and 
Shadi  Uzbek,   having  entered  into  a  conspiracy  with 
the  Kazalbashis,   seduced  Kipehak  Khan   (a  Mughal 
officer)  from  his  duty.      Though  the  latter  was  not 
naturally    inclined  at  heart  to  this  course  of  behav- 
iour, yet  as  his  companions  had  their  families   with 
them,    through  dread  of  losing  their  wealth,   their 
lives,   and    their    good   repute,  they    would  not  let 
him  follow  the  bent  of  his  own  disposition,  so  he 
was  necessarily  compelled  to  ally  himself  with  those 
unfortunates.     Some    of    the    Mughal  rnansabdars, 
ahadis,   and  matchlockmen,  Too,  having  sprinklgdjhe 
dust    of    treason    on  the  headsjof  loyalty,  entered 
into  a  league  with  thTeifnT^and  hiTvinglcome  in  front 
of  the  fort,  declared  that  in  consequence  of  all  the 
roads  being  closed,  from  the  vast  quantity  of  snow  on 
the  ground,  there  was  no  hope  of  the  early  arrival  of 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  57& 

succour,  and  that  it  was*  evident  from  the  untiring: 
efforts  of  the  Kazalbashis,  that  they  would  very 
shortly  capture  the  fort,  and  after  its  reduction  by 
force  and  violence  neither  would  there  be  any  chance 
of  their  own  lives  being  spared,  nor  of  their  offspring 
being  saved  from  captivity.  The  wretcfyed-JBaulat 
Khan,^who  ought  instantly  to  haye_  extinguished  the 
flames"  bOHis  sedition  with  the  water  of  jjfie  .sword, 
sliojved  an  utter  want  of  spirit  by  contenting  himself 
with  offering  advice  in  reply.  This,  however,  made  no 
impression  on  the  individuals  in  question,  who  got 
up,  arifl  departed  to  their  respective  homes,  so  that 
nought  but  a  scanty  force  being  left  in  the  intrench- 
ments,  the  Kazalbashis  entered  the  Sher  Haji  in, 
several  places  "' 

If  the  (X>mmanderjo£tke^airi&on  JQaulat  Khan  had 
held  out  a  little  longer,  the  Persians  woulcl  fiave  raised 
the  siege  owing  to  shortage  of  supplies.  But  he  was  want- 
ing In  the  higher  qualities  of  generalship;  he  failed  to 
enforce  discipline  among  his  men  and  .divided  counsels 
fatally^  hampered  his  action.  B\it  the  real  jrespoinsibility 
for  the  fall  of  Qandhar  rests  upon  Shahjahan  and  hi3, 
ignorant  courtiers,  who  were  more  anxious  to  protect 
themselves  from  snow  than  to  serve  the  interest  of  the 
empire  in  a  difficult  and  dangerpus  crisis. 

The  emperor  sent  a  large  army  consisting  of  60,000« 
horse  and  10,000  foot  under  the  command  of  Prince 
Aurangzeb  who  was  accompanied  by  Sadullah  Khan.  The 
army  largely  consisted  of  the  Saiyyids  of 
Barha'  Uzbe£s»  Afghans,  and  Rajputs,  and 
its  heterogeneous  character  induced  the 

1  Bhahjahannamah,  Elliot,  VII,  p.  91. 


574  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

«  t 

emperor  to  make  some  concessions  to  the  soldiers.  A  sub- 
sidy of  Rs.  100  per  Sawar  was  granted  to  mansabdars, 
holding  jagirs,  and  to  those  who  were  drawing  monthly 
salaries  three  months'  pay  was  given  in  advance.  A 
similar  aid  was  granted  to  the  ahadis  and  matchlockmen 
who  numbered  about  fifty  thousand.  These  liberal  con- 
cessions were  obviously  intended  to  keep  the  army  satisfied 
and  to  mitigate  the  suffering  that  might  be  caused  by  the 
shortage  of  supplies,  if  it  occurred.  • 

Aurangzeb  marched  from  Multan  and  Sadullah  Khan 
from  Lahore  towards  Kabul,  from  whence  they  were  to 
advance  upon  Qandhar  via  Ghazni.  The  emperbr  himself 
crossed  the  Chenab  in  Rabi  1,  1059  (= April  1649)  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Kabul  to  direct  the  operations  in  person.  After 
a  fortnight's  stay  at  Kabul,  which  was  utilised  in  purchas- 
ing horses  and  beasts  of  burden,  the  seven  divisions  of  the 
imperial  army  marched  towards  Qandhar.  On  reaching 
the  city  they  found  that  the  Persians  had  strongly 
fortified  themselves  against  attack.  They  had  a  large 
number  of  field  pieces,  whereas  the  Mughals  had  only  a 
few.  With  this  advantage  on  their  side,  the  Persians 
opened  fire  on  the  enemy,  and  the  Mughals  found  it 
impossible  to  make  headway  against  their  heavy  ordnance. 
Still  Rustam  Khan  did  his  part  well,  and  attacked  the 
centre  of  the  Persian  army  and  killed  a  large  number  of 
men. 

After  a  futile  siege  of  3  months  and  20  days  Aurang- 
zeb was  ordered  by  Shahjahan  to  withdraw  from  Qandhar. 
The  departure  of  the  Prince  was  accelerated  by  the 
approach  of  winter  and  the  news  that  a  force  of  20,000 
was  coming  from  Persia  to  the  relief  of  the  beleaguered 
.garrison  at  Qandhar. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  575 

Aurangzeb  was  mortifie4  by  the  defeat  which  he  had 

.sustained  at  the  hands  of  the  Persians.    The  prestige  of 

the  empire  had  fallen  low,  and  the  Prince 

Second  Siege     must  needs  exert  himself  to  the  utmost  to 

of      Qandhar,  .          ,  .  .  .   .  , 

1662.  retrieve  his  reputation  which  was  seriously 

damaged  by  the  first  siege. 

Shahjahan,  grown  wiser  by  the  failure  of  the  first 
siege,  organised  a  large  invading  force,  which  consisted 
of  55  thousand  horse  and  10  thousand  foot.  New  cannon 
were  cast  for  the  siege,  and  the  troops  carried  with  them 
10  the  front  30  cannon  of  big  size  and  20  smaller  ones. 
Besides  these,  there  were  war-elephants  and  camels  to- 
gether with  a  huge  transport,  which  was  specially  got  to- 
gether for  the  siege.  The  emperor  granted  two  crores  of 
rupees  for  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  war,  and  himself 
proceeded  to  Kabul  with  nearly  50  thousand  men  to  rein- 
force the  invading  host.  Prince  Aurangzeb  was  appointed 
to  the  command,  and  he  was  assisted  by  generals  like 
Sadullah  Khan,  Rustam  Khan,  and  two  sons  of  the  former. 

The  siege  began  on  the  2nd  of  May,  1652,  and  the 
Mughal  commanders  occupied  the  places  allotted  to  them. 
The  Persians  had  a  powerful  park  of  artillery  and  knew 
how  to  make  the  best  use  of  it.  The  Mughal  gunners 
were  highly  inefficient,  and  therefore  failed  to  breach  the 
walls  of  the  fort.  Raja  Raj  Rup  tried  to  climb  the  ram- 
parts of  the  fort,  but  the  enemy  opened  fire  and  repulsed 
the  valiant  Raja.  A  serious  fight  began  from  the  top  of 
the  fort.  The  Persians  continued  ceaselessly  to  pour  fire 
on  the  besieging  army  with  the  result  that  hundreds  were 
•wounded  and  killed.  When  valour  proved  unavailing, 
the  Mughals  had  recourse  to  treachery.  They  offered  a 
bribe  to  the  Persian  commander,  who  replied  that  when 


576  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

they  had  succeeded  in  weakeniijg  the  fort  or  injuring:  the1 
garrison  in  any  way,  it  would  be  time  for  him  to  think  of 
desertion.  The  Mughals  failed  in  spite  of  their  desperate 
attempts  to  effect  a  breach  in  the  wall,  and  though  two 
months  and  eight  days  had  elapsed,  success  was  yet  as  far 
off  as  ever. 

Shahjahan  ordered  the  siege  to  be  abandoned,  partly 
because  the  Mughal  artillery  had  proved  ineffective,  and 
partly  because  the  supplies  were  nearing  exhaustion. 
Sadullah  Khan  had  spoken  to  him  of  the  dark  prospect 
that  lay  before  the  Mughal  army,  if  it  persevered  in  the 
attempt  Aurangzeb  implored  his  father  to  allow  him  to 
renew  his  attempt  to  capture  Qandhar  and  to  recover  his 
reputation.  He  was  prepared  even  to  forego  the  Deccan 
Subahdarship  to  which  he  was  appointed.  What  he  wished 
to  do  was  to  wipe  out  the  disgrace  of  defeat  and  to  foil  the 
intrigues  of  his  enemies  at  court,  who  made  jests  about 
his  valour  and  strategical  skill. 

But  Shahjahan  was  adamant.  The  courtiers  had 
magnified  the  risks  of  the  campaign,  and  he  paid  no  heed 
to  Aurangzeb 's  repeated  assurances  that  the  situation  was 
not  so  hopeless.  The  Prince  had  to  obey,  and  the  imperial 
forces  withdrew  to  Kabul  under  the  strict  orders  of  the 
emperor.  The  conquest  of  Qandhar  was  postponed. 

So  far  as  Aurangzeb  was  concerned,  the  result  of  the 
failure  was  serious  enough.  Shahjahan's  confidence  in 
his  generalship  was  shaken.  When  Aurangzeb  had  begged 
permission  to  stay  a  little  longer,  the  emperor  replied :  '  If 
I  had  believed  you  capable  of  taking  Qandhar,  I  should 
not  have  recalled  your  army.  Every  man  can  perform 
some  work.  It  is  wise  sayincr  that  men  of  experience 
need  no  instruction.' 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  577 

Aurangzeb  was  appointed  governor  of  the  Deccan 
and  he  left  for  his  charge  in  August  1652.  The  province 
of  Kabul  was  entrusted  to  Dara  and  Prince  Sulaiman 
Shukoh  was  ordered  to  act  as  his  agent. 

Dara  rejoiced  over  the  defeat  of  his  rival,  and  in 
order  to  humiliate  him  further  he  requested  the  emperor 
to  renew  the  siege  of  Qandhar.  Like  a 
Qandhfr,ef653f  braggart,,  he  boasted  that  he  would  accom- 
plish within  a  week  the  conquest  of  the 
P^^an^city j^hichjiad  baffledjthe  attempts  of  Aurangzeb, 
Actuated  by  a  desire  for  military  distinction  and  more  by 
hisjhosvility  towards  his  brother^  Dara,  who  shortly  after- 
wards received  the  title  of  Shah  Buland  Igbalu  exerted 
Himself  to  the  utmost  to  make  grand  preparations  for 
the  siege. 

The  strength  of  Dara's  army  is  fully  described  by 
Inayat  Khan,  the  author  of  the  Shahjahannamah.  It 
consisted  of  70  thousand  horse  supplied  by  the  mansab- 
dars,  5  thousand  foot,  3  thousand  Ahadis,  and  10  thousand 
artillery  men,  6  thousand  sappers  and  500  stone-cutters. 
Arms  and  ammunition  were  supplied  in  abundance.  More 
attention  was  paid  to  the  artillery  branch  and  a  fairly 
good  park  was  provided  consisting  of  about  60  cannon, 
big  and  small.  The  Mir  Atish  got  50  thousand  cannon 
balls  manufactured  and  stored  up,  5,000  mans  of  gun- 
powder, 2,500  mans  of  lead,  and  14,000  rockets.  War- 
elephants  numbering  sixty  were  also  procured,  and 
adequate  arrangements  were  made  for  supplies.  The 
emperor,  who  was  deeply  interested  in  the  success  of  his 
f avourite  son,  granted  one  cro re  of  rupees  for  defraying 
the  expenses  of  the  campaign,  and  supplied  him  with  a 
huge  army.  Fully  equipped  with  men  and  munitions  of 
p.  37 


578  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

war,  the  Prince,  miscalled  Shafc  Buland  Iqbal,  started  forf 
Kabul  ^NovembeTS,  1662  ATJ3.  TRaETTs,  1063  A.H.). 
Rustam  Khan,  Bahadur  Najabat  Khan,  and  Qasim  Khan 
had  already  preceded  him  at  the  head  of  3,000  horse, 
which  constituted  the  vanguard  of  the  royal  army  with  in- 
structions to  begin  the  siege  promptly.  On  the  2nd  Jamad 
II  Bustam  Khan  reached  the  fort,  and  had  a  sharp 
skirmish  with  the  Persian  garrison.  The  prince  joined 
them  on  the  8th,  and  pitched  his  camp  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  fort  which  was  surrounded  on  all  sides  by 
the  imperialists. 

The  Mughals  attacked  the  fort  four  times  with  great 
intrepidity  and  vigour,  but  they  were  successfully  en- 
countered by  the  enemy.  They  advanced  forward  for 
the  fifth  time  with  renewed  determination  and  courage. 
A  heavy  cannonade  began  from  both  sides,  and  the 
Mughals  suffered  heavy  losses  in  men,  and  several  of 
their  leaders  were  slain  in  the  fight. 

Dara  had  all  along  lived  in  a  fool's  paradise.  Accus- 
tomed to  the  most  fulsome  flattery,  he  found  it  impossible 
to  appraise  exactly  the  magnitude  of  the  formidable  task 
.  that  lay  before  him.  Man  and  nature  conspired  to  frustrate 
his  schemes  in  this  expedition  with  the  cruel  inevitableness 
of  a  Nemesis. 

The  siege  had  already  lasted  for  seven  months  and 
the  Mughal  army  was  seized  with  despair.  The  supplies 
were  running  short ;  the  cannon  balls  were  used  up,  and 
there  was  no  fodder  for  the  cattle.  Privation  stared  the 
soldiers  in  the  face,  and  the  approach  of  winter  further 
added  to  their  anxiety.  Besides,  the  dissensions  of  the 
Mughal  generals  disturbed  all  plans  of  action,  and  in- 
creased the  difficulties  of  the  situation  still  further. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  579 

t  * 

The  three  sieges  of  Qartdhar  cost  the  imperial  treasury 
about  12  crores  of  rupees  without  increasing  the  territory 
of  the  empire  by  an  inch.  Men  and  beasts  were  thought- 
lessly  sacrificed  to  gratifyjtha  j£anitju>i 


well-organised  plan  of  campaign,  and  who  failed 
to  realise  thelmportance  of  the  unity  of  command  and 
prompt  action.  The^military  prestige  of  the  empire 
suffered  considerably.  The  final  retreat  of  Dara  prpclaim- 
eTte  thejvorldthe  military  ineffictency  ajrid  weakness  of 
tfij_^ughais.  Success  against  the  mighty ^emperofol 
jKjn<Lustexurc  and  lent  a  keen 

edge  to  her  ambitions.  Throughout  the  seventeenth 
century  the  danger  of  a  Persian  invasion  kept  the  rulers 
of  Delhi  in  a  state  of  chronic  anxiety  and  suspense. 
Ultimately,  it  was  the  irresistible  pressure  of  these 
invasions  that  accelerated  the  ruin  of  the  empire. 

Aurangzeb  assumed  charge  of  the  governorship  of 
the  Deccan  in  November  1653,  in  obedience  to  his  father's 
command.  During  the  nine  years  that  had 
eIaPsed  since  h's  resignation  in  May  1644, 
the  Deccan.  the  condition  of  the  Deccan  provinces  had 
grown  from  bad  to  worse.  The  imperial 
J^icerpys^who  had  succeeded  the  Prince  in  rapid  succession 
one  after  jhe  other,  squeezed  money  from,  the  peasantry 
in  a  pitiless  manner  and  did  nbthing  to  promote  agricul- 
ture.  Whole  tracts  of  land  became  desolate  under  this 
tyrannous  policy,  ^ndfjjjnce  therelwas  ^nothing  to  attach 
tEe  peasant /  Itpljthe^gafl,  there  was  a:  marked  decline  in 
the  revenue  of  Jthe  state*  The  Deccan  became  a  source 
ojp^ inconvenience  rather  than  income  to  the  empire.__Its 
adminiixAtion,(X)^  The 

Jarge  force  that  was  stationed  there  for  the  maintenance 


580  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

*  g 

of  pence  and  order  was  paid  from  the  imperial  treasury, 

and  the  governors  found  it  impossible  to  make  any 
remittances  to  the  capital.  The  estimated  revenue  of 
the  four  provinces  of  the  Deccan  was  3  crores  and 
62  lakhs  of  rupees  a  year,  but  in  practice  the  realisations 
seldom  amounted  to  more  than  one  crore.  Large  sums 
were  consumed  by  the  governor  and  his  sons,  who  held 
jagirs,  with  the  result  that  the  cost  of  administration  had 
to  be  met  by  contributions  from  the  other  provinces  rlike 
Malwa  and  Gujarat.  Only  one  governor  tried  to  send 
money  to  the  imperial  treasury,  but  he  did  so  by  rack- 
renting  the  peasantry.  In  short,  the  province,  3,yja^  in 
a  state  of  decay  ;  the  land  w§s  sucked  dry,  and  the  deficit 
^continued  to  increase  from  year  to.  year  so  that  the  new 
viceroy  found  himself  confronted  with  a  serious  financial 
situation.  "~ 

"  When  Aurangzeb  reached  the  Deccan,  he  found  that 
the  jagirs  did  not  yield  enough  to  maintain  the  office  and 
their  retainers.  New  fiefs  were  granted  to 
difficuitifsz.eb'8  enable  them  to  pay  their  way  in  a  remote 
and  unproductive  region.  The  income  of 
thejrtate  was  at  a  Jow  jgbb.  The  actual  collections 
sometimes  amounted  to  only  one-tenth  of  the  assessment. 
Even  in  the  most  fertile  districts  there  was  a  fall  in  the 
revenue.  Aurangzeb  found*it  impossible  to  carry  on  the 
administration  with  his  slender  resources,  and  therefore 
had  to  draw  on  the  cash  reserves  accumulated  in  the  forts 
of  Daulatabad.  In  two  years  he  spent  about  40  thousand 
from  this  source  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  administration. 
The  low  cash  balances  were  a  cause  for  grave  anxiety. 
Besides,  the  Jagirdars  could  not  maintain  themselves  with 
the  income  of  their  fiefs.  Aurangzeb  suggested  to  the 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  581 

emperor  that  he  should  be  given  productive  jagirs  which 
were  then  in  the  hands  of  his  incompetent  officers. 
Shahjahan  agreed  to  this  suggestion,  but  the  Jagirdars 
complained  to  him  of  the  selfish  motives  of  the  Prince, 
and  represented  his  efforts,  made  solely  for  the  good 
government  of  the  province,  as  devices  to  enrich  himself 
at  the  expense  of  the  other  fiefholders.  Aurangzeb 
explained  his  position,  and  the  emperor  confirmed  the 
new  arrangement.  The  transfer  of  jagirs  was  sanction- 
ed, but  Aurangzeb' s  request  for  monetary  assistance  was 
rejected.  The  dispossessed  Jagirdars  created  a  misunder- 
standing between  the  father  and  son  by  complaining  to 
the  former  that  the  Prince  had  unfairly  treated  them, 
and  that  he  had  appropriated  to  himself  lands  yielding 
much  more  than  his  actual  pay.  Like  all  autocrats, 
Shahjahan  lent  a  ready  ear  to  these  backbiters  and 
indignantly  wrote  to  Aurangzeb  : 

"It  is  unworthy  of  a   Musalman  and  an  act  of 

injustice  to  take  for  yourself  all  the  productive  villages 

of  a  pargana  and  to  assign  to  others  only  the  less 

productive  lands.  I  order  you  to  take  half  a  lakh  worth 

of  less  productive  land  in  the  pargana  of  Asir,  and 

decrease  your  cash  by  the  same  amount,  so  that  your 

actual  income  may  be  made  normal." 

Aurangzeb  addressed  a  dignified  remonstrance  to  the 

emperor,  and  pointed  out  the  injustice  of  the  allegations 

made  against  him.  The  Prince*  whose  ability  was  equalled 

by  hisjj^MdaoiL  to  duty,  wasnotto.be  cowed  down  in 

such  a    manner  by  the  frowns  of  the  emperor  or  the 

machinations  of  vile  intriguers. 

As  soon  as  the  financial  situation  was  well  in  hand, 
Aurangzeb  devoted  himself  with  his  wonted  energy  to  the 


582  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  peasantry  and  the 
extension  of  cultivation.  Shahjahan,  who  did  not  appre- 
ciate the  difficulties  of  the  task,  charged  him  with  slack- 
ness, and  af  one  time  even  threatened  to  reduce  his  allow- 
ances. But  the  Prince  j)$rsevered  in  his  attempt,  and  in 
this  work  he  was  assisted  by  Murshid  Quli  Khan,  an 
officer  of  rare  administrative  geniu6. 

The  Deccan  province  was  divided  into  two  parts  for 
the  purposes  of    revenue  administration— the  Painghat 
and  the  Balaghat.     In  the  former  were  in- 
e*     cluded  the  whole  of  Khandesh  and  one-half 

System.  of  Berar,  while  the  rest  of  the  territories 
were  comprised  in  the  latter.  Both  divi- 
sions had  their  own  Diwans  who  collected  the  revenue 
and  looked  after  their  finances.  Murshid  Quli  Khan,  the 
Diwan  of  Balaghat,  was  not  merely  a  financial  genius, 
but  a  great  administrator  endowed  with  the  highest 
capacity  for  organization  and  zeal  for  reform. 

Murshid  Quli  Khan  introduced  TodarmaFs  revenue 
system  in  the  Deccan.  Amirs  and  Amils  were  appointed  to 
measure  the  land,  to  ascertain  the  area  under  cultivation, 
and  to  mark  out  the  arable  from  waste  lands.  Muqad- 
dams  were  appointed  in  the  villages  who  helped  in  the 
collection  of  revenue,  and  looked  after  the  interests  of 
the  peasantry.  Loans  were  advanced  to  poor  cultivators 
to  purchase  seed  and  cattle,  and  they  were  permitted  to 
repay  them  by  instalments.  So  anxious  was  the  Diwan 
for  justice,  that  h,e  did  not  grudge  the  meanest  labour 
and  "often  dragged  the  measuring  chain  with  his  own 
hands."  The  chaotic  revenue  system  that  was  in  vogue 
rested  on  no  principle  and  put  the  state  to  a  heavy  loss. 
The  whole  thing  was  reorganised  with  the  necessary 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  583 

modifications  which  were  suggested  by  local  conditions. 
Altogether  there  were  three  systems  which  were  adopted 
by  Murshid  Quli.  The  old  practice  of  fixing  the  share  of 
the  state  per  plough  was  retained  in  certain  backward  areas 
with  due  allowance  for  difference  in  soil  and  the  yield 
thereof.  It  was  a  rough  and  ready  system  involving  risks 
both  to  the  state  and  the  peasant.  The  other  system  was 
the  Batai  which  was  determined  in  the  following  manner : — 
.(1)  The  share  of  the  state  was  one-half,  where  the 
crops  depended  entirely  on  rainfall. 

(2)  In  places  where  irrigation  was  done  by  wells,  the 
*     state  took  one- third  both  for  the  Kharif  and  Rabi 

crops.  But  in  the  case  of  grapes,  sugarcane,  and 
other  high-class  crops  the  share  of  the  state  varied 
from  one-ninth  to  one-fourth  with  full  regard  to 
the  facilities  or  difficulties  of  irrigation  and  the 
length  of  time  taken  by  the  crops  to  mature. 
In  lands  irrigated  from  canals,  tanks,  or  river- 
channels,  the  share  of  the  state  was  fixed  some* 
times  at  a  higher  rate  and  sometimes  at  a  lower 
rate  than  in  lands  irrigated  otherwise. 

(3)  The  third  method  of  assessment  was  that  which 

prevailed  in  Northern  India.  This  was  called 
Jarib.  The  land  was  surveyed,  and  the  state 
demand  was  fixed,  per  bigha  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  crop  sown. 

This  carefully  organised  system  worked  well  and  resulted 
in  the  improvement  of  agriculture.  Jhe  peasantry  lived 
a  happy  and  contented  life,  and  were  no  longer  at  the 
mercy  of  the  revenue  department.  Much  high-handed- 
ness and  oppression  came  to  an  end,  and  the  Deccan 
provinces  attained  a  high  level  of  prosperity. 


584  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

As  has  been  said  beforet  one  of  the  avowed  objects 
of  Mughal  policy  in  the  Deccan  was  the  destruction  of  the 
^  kingdoms  of  Golkunda  and  Bijapur.  Their 

perors  of  the  north,  and  their  indepenji^Difie 

^Jh^irjpostHIs.    Then,   they  professed  the  Shia 

creed  which  amounted  to  rank  heresy  in  the  eyes  of  the 
orthodox  Sunnis.  In  several  farmans  and  letters  Shah- 
jahan  had  made  it  abundantly  clear  to  the  Sultana  of 
these  two  kingdoms  that  the  extirpation  of  Shia  dissent 
was  a  matter  of  religious  duty  with  him,  which  he  must 
discharge  to  the  best  of  his  power.  Apart  frohi  this 
general  aspect  of  Mughal  policy  towards  the  Deccan 
States,  there  were  other  causes.  The  Sultan  of  Golkunda 
had  not  paid  his  tribute,  and  had  always  evaded  the  im- 
perial demand  with  dilatory  pleas.  Aurangzeb  informed 
him  that  if  he  was  unable  to  pay  the  arrears  of  tribute, 
he  should  cede  to  the  Mughal  government  a  portion  of  his 
territory  in  lieu  thereof.  The  _jconquestj>f  Karnatik  by 
the  Sultan  of  Golkunda  wa^ngL approved  by 
j9fjno*ifiy--waa~ 


tEe  alleged  TsrTnie.  But  what  precipitated  the  crisis  was 
the  treatment,  meted  out  by  the  Sultan  to  his  minister  Mir 
Jumla,  who  sought  the  protection  of  the  emperor  to  es- 
cape the  wrath  of  his  sovereign. 

Mr,  Muhammad  Saiyyid,  better  known  to  fame  as  Mir 
Jumla.  was  a  native  of  Ardistan  and  belonged  to  the 
Saiyykt  family  or  is'f han.    Like  many  other 
Mirarjtunia.°f    adventurers,  he  came  to  India  as  the  serv- 
ant of  a  jewel  merchant  who  brought  him 
to  Golkunda.    After  the  death  of  his  master  who  treated 
him  as  his  own  child,  Mir  Muhammad  inherited  his  vast 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  585 

fortune  which  brought  him  into  prominence.  Success  in 
business,  resulting  in  his  unequalled  prosperity,  attracted 
the  attention  of  Abdullah  Qutbshah,  the  ruler  ofGol- 
kunda,  who  made  him  his  prime  minister.  Endowed 
with  uncommon  qualities  of  character  and  intellect,  Mir 
Jumla,  who  had  an  inborn  aptitude  far  ^ministration 
and  military  leadership,  rapidly  secured  his  master's 
favour,  and  was  entrusted  by  him  with  the  most  impor- 
tant, duties. 

He  conquered  the  Karnatik  which  had  so  long  baffled 
the  Mughals,  and  inflicted  a  severe  defeat  upon  the  Raja 
of  Chdhdragiri.  He  increased  his  wealth  enormously  by 
plundering  the  temples  of  the  Deccan  and  by  working  -foe 

jnjn£S_  which  existed  in  his  master's  territories.  He 
carved  out  for  himself  by  sheer  force  of  arms  a  dominion 
150  Krohs  in  length  and  20  or  30  Krohs  in  breadth,  yielding 
a  revenue  of  40  lakhs  of  rupees  a  year.  For  the  defence 

-  of  his  wealth  and  possessions,  he  had  built  up  a  consider- 
able army  consisting  of  5,000  well-trained  cavalry  and 
20,000  inf  anjry^m  addition  to  the  troops  of  Golkunda  which 
he~"hacT  seduced.  He  had  a  strong  park  of  artillery  and 
a  number  of  war-elephants.  This  was  truly  an  imperium 
and,  no  wonder,  if  the  Sultan  of  Golkunda  was 


alarmed  at  the  rise  of  a  formidable  rival,  who  was  sure  to 

challenge  his  authority  and  create  disorder  in  his  kingdom. 

Mir  Jumla's  enemies  at  court  successfully  poisoned 

the  mind  of  the   Qutbshah  and  planned  his  ruin.    The 

author  of  the  Shahjahannamah  obseryes  with  regret,  that 

in  spite  of  the  meritorious  services  he  had  rendered  to  the 

.state,  Mir  Jumla  had  to  suffer  cruel  disappointment.  l    But 

1  Shahjahannamah,  Elliot,  VII,  p.  108. 


586  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

•  * 

the  Sultan  is  not  wholly  to  blame.  Any  man  in  his  posi- 
tion would  have  resented  the  over-bearing  attitude  which 
was  adopted  by  the  minister.  The  easiest  method  of  en- 
suring his  safety  suggested  itself  to  the  Sultan.  He 
conspired  with  some  of  his  courtiers  to  put  Mir  Jumla  in 
prison  anfl  blind  hinvNhnt  Mir  Jumla  got  wind  of  his 
designs,  and  refused  to  wait  on  his  master  in  spite  of  the 
latter's  importunities.  He  opened  communications  with 
the  Sultan  of  Bijapur  and  the  Shah  of  Persia,  whose 
assistance  he  invoked  in  this  hour  of  distress.  Aurangzeb 
judged  it  a  good  opportunity  to  offer  his  aid  to  the  dis- 
contented nobleman.  Mir  Jumla,  on  his  part,  negotiated 
with  several  allies  without  coming  to  a  decision.  At  last 
the  matters  were  brought  to  a  crisis  by  the  insolence  of 
his  son  Muhammad  Amin,  who  .went  so  far  as  to  insult 
the  Sultan  in  the  open  Durbar.  The  Sultan  whose 
forbearance  was  too  sorely  tried  found  Amin's  arrogance 
intolerable.  An  order  was  passed  forthwith  to 
throw  into  confinement  the  imprudent  youth  and  liis 
family,  and  to  get  hold  of  his  property  on  November 
21,  1655. 

f  This  was  done  without  exciting  any  surprise  or  in- 
dignation at  Golkunda.  But  Aurangzeb  turned  this  inci- 
dent  to  his  best  account  He  informed  Shahjahan  of 
these  developments,  and  sought  his  permission  to  interfere 
in  the  affairs  of  Golkunda.  The  emperor  peremptorily 
issued  an  order  asking  the  Qutbshah  to  release  the  family 
of  Mir  Jumla,  and.  authorised  Aurangzeb  to  march  an 
army  against  the  Sultan  in  the  event  of  non-compliance. 
Tk^ambitious  princejgjiojvas  fired  by  a  fanatical  hatred 
of  thg^ShfcLp^^  QulbSSSh's  reply , 

and  declared  war  against  him. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  587 

Aurangzeb  sent  his  son.Prince  Muhammad  at  the  head 
of  a  large  army  on  January  10,  1656,  and  himself  joined 

Invasion      of      Soon     afterwards.      "Abdullah    Qnthflhflhr" 

Golkunda,  the  court  chronicler  writes,  "  awoke  from  his 
deep  sleep  of  arrogance  and  conceit' '  and  released  Mir 
Jumla's  son  with  his  mother  and  other  relatives.  He  also- 
sent  a  letter  to  the  emperor  offering  submission,  and 
expressing  his  willingness  to  pay  homage. 

yet  the  Prince  pushed  on  towards  the  capital  on  the 
pretext  that  the  Sultan  had  not  restored  the  property  of 
Muhammad  Amin.  Qutb-ul-mulk  at  the  approach  of  the 
imperial  army  proceeded  to  Golkunda  with  his  family,  leav- 
ing the  capital  to  be  defended  by  a  valiant  force  consisting 
of  17,000  soldiers.  He  removed  his  precious  treasures  also 
to  Golkunda,  and  charged  his  chief  officers  to  encounter 
the  enemy  without  fear  or  cowardice. 

The  arrival  of  the  Mughal  forces  frightened  the  Sultan,, 
who  ffcTE  t  more  helpless  than  a  child  aftd  more  unnerved 
than  a  woman?'  His  officers  waited  on.  tBe  prince  with 
jewelifand  gems  but  to  no  purpose.  The  Mughals  plund- 
eredjhe  city,  and  rifled  the  rich  treasures  which  the  Qutb- 
shahs  had  hoarded  during  successive  genfiratians.  The 
soldiers  were  warned  not  to  molest  inhabitants  of  the 
city  or  to  destroy  their  property.  Abdullah  again  sent  200 
caskets  full  of  gems  and  jewelled  trinkets  together  with 
well-decorated  horses  and  elephants  in  the  hope  of  appeas- 
ing the  prince's  wrath.  Costly  presents  continued  to 
pour  injm  the  Prince^  but  they  had  no  effect  orfhtm.  While 
making  these  overtures,  the  Sultan  did  not  neglect  the 
defences  of  Golkunda,  and  despatched  letters  to  the  Adil 
Shah  (Sultan  of  Bijapur)  to  aid  him  in  his  struggle  with 
the  Mughals. 


588  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

The  imperialists  laid  siege  to  Golkunda.  Aurangzeb 
wa^j^nse(LbyJiia..w,e&lth  and  feililit^xxf._t]ier  capital, 
anTcoveted  itgjjpssesgion  more  thanany  thing  ^Ise.  *  Such 
aTnone^^ 

^OinmionsTlie^wrote  to  his  father,  '  has  fallen  into  this 
wretch's  hands,  and  urged  him  to  order  its  complete  con- 
quest and  annexation.'  He  further  implored  the  emperor 
not  to  pay  attention  to  the  Qutbsbah's  requests  for  peace 
^nd  pardon,  nor  to  Dara's  recommendations  on  his  behalf. 

The  siege  of  Golkunda  continued  with  unabated  vigour, 
and  sharp  skirmishes  were  fought  between  the  two  parties. 
Aurangzeb's  maternal  uncle  Shayasta  Khan  came  from 
Malwa  to  reinforce  Prince  Muhammad,  and  both  made  a 
determined  effort  to  annihilate  the  enemy's  kingdom. 
<jutbnil-mulk.  finding  further  resistance  impossible,  offer- 
and  .  sued  for  peace.  Eich  presents  were 
as  tokens  of  sincerity,  and  money  too  was 


.sent  in  part  payment  of  the  arrears  of  tribute.  Shah- 
jahan  who  was  more  influenced  by  the  recommedations  of 
Dara  and  Jahanara  than  by  Aurangzeb's^  jippeals  to 
orthodoxy,  ordered  the  cessation  of  hostilities  on  payment 

mt, 

of  a  heavy  indemnity. 

Abdullah  begged  permission  to  send  his  mother  to 
secj^jB§rdonTIor"Kis  offences  and  to  consult  Aurangzeb  on 
thesubjectpfMsJ^ughter's  marriage  with  Prince  Muham- 
mad. The  '  Chaste  matron'  was  escorted  with  becoming 
"honour  ancTdignity  to  Shayasta's  camp.  An  interview 
was  arranged  with  Aurangzeb,  and  the  lady  pleaded  Jor 
kindness  to  her  son.  Aurangzeb  agreed  to  restore  the 
kingdom  to  Abdullah  on  condition  that  he  should  pay  one 
crore  of  rupees  as  indemnity  and  arrears  of  tribute,  and 
-consent  to  Muhammad's  marriage  with  his  daughter. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH 

Mean  while  ^Mullah  ! 
succeeded  in  winning  for,  their  masteiLt^^j&p^^ 
Dara  arid  Jahanara.    The^  pitiless  condition 
was  explained  to  the  emperor,  and 
and  low  cunning  in  "pressing  pn  a  JaJJen  .(OJiemx  were  laid 

~  wftk  t'ie  embellishments  and 


exaggerations  of  a  sworn  enemy.  It  is  truejthat  Aurangzeb 
ha,d  bahaved  -treacherously   throug&qut 
and  b$d  shown 


Shahjahan  was  moved  J;o  indignatipjp^jDj^^ 

h^Json.    Forthwith  he  ordered  him  to  raise""the  siege 

of   Golkunda  and    leave   the    country    without    further 

delay. 

Aurangzeb    obeyed     the    imperial     command,     and 
concluded  a  peace  with  the  Sultan  of  Golkunda.    After  a 

week,  Prince  Muhammad  was  married  to 
GToikaundaWith  the  Qutbshah's  daughter  by  proxy,  and  the 

bride  was  escorted  to  her  husband's  camp 
by  his  Diwan  and  the  royal  Bakhshi.  Costly  jewels  and 
presents  worth  ten  lakhs  were  sent  as  dowry  by  her  father. 
The  Sultan  swore  on  the  Quran  that  he  would  never 
disobey  the  emperor  in  future,  and  gratefully  received  the 
imperial  farman  containing  an  assurance  of  pardon  and 
the  rich  Khilat  bestowed  upon  him  by  the  emperor. 
Aurangzeb  relented,  and  remitted  10  lakhs  out  of  the  25 
lakhs  of  indemnity,  which  had  been  promised  by  the 
Sultan.  Further  remissions  were  made  a  little  later,  and 
certain  districts  were  also  ceded.  Golkunda  's  humiliation 
was  complete  ;  henceforward  it  became  a  vassal  of  the 
Mughal  empire. 

Mir  Jumla  waited  on  the  emperor,  and  was  received 
well  at  court   His  presents  to  the  emperor  which  included. 


«90  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

9 

£  valuable  diamond  were  worth  15  lakhs.    The  title  of 
Mir      Jumia     Muazz'am  Khan  was  bestowed  on  him  along 
received      at     with  a  mansabof  6,000  Zat  and  6,000  Sawar, 
"courfc'  and  he  was  appointed  Prime   Minister  in 

Sadullah's  place.      His  eldest  son  Muhammad  Amin  was 
similarly  honoured  and  was  given  the  title  of  Khan. 

Aurangzeb  now  turned  his  arms  against  Bijapur.    The 
campaign  of  1636  had  been  abruptly  brought  to  a  close, 

and  Bijapur  had  been  allowed  to  exist  &s  an 
BijaapuragaiD9fc  independent  state.  Muhammad  Adil  Shah, 

who  was  reputed  for  his  justice  and  benevo- 
lence, jnaintained  friendly  relations  with  the  emperor  of 
DelET  But  hi&. exercise  of  sovereignty  deeply  offended 
*Shahjahan,  who  reminded  him  in  a  letter  of  the  humble 
practices  of  his  forefathers,  and  rebuked  him  for  his  pre- 
sumptuousness.  The  Sultan  was  warned  not  to  imitate  the 
ways  of  Mughal  royalty.  The  Bijapur  warriors,  when  they 
learnt  of  the  contents  of  this  insulting  letter,  requested 
their  'chief'to  adhere  to  his  court  ceremonial  and  titles, 
and  expressed  their  determination  to  cross  swords  with  the 
Muglials,  if  the  emperor  persisted  in  his  insolent  demand. 
This  decision,  taken  in  a  moment  of  tense  excitement,  was 
soon  given  up  by  Adil  Shah  who  clearly  visualised  the 
horrors  of  a  Mughal  invasion.  He  apologised  to  the 
-emperor  for  his  mistake  and  offered  submission.  Muham- 
mad Adil  Shah  died  on  November  4,  1656,  after  a  glorious 
and  prosperous  reign  of  30  years,  and  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  Ali  Adil  Shah  II,  who  was  a  mere  lad  of  18  at  the 
time  of  his  accession  to  the  throne. 

As  soon  as  Aurangzeb  came  to  know  of  the  accession 
of  the  boy-king  at  Bijapur,  he  wrote  to  Shahjahan  begging 
-him  to  order  an  invasion  of  that  country  on  the  ground 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  591 


tilat  the  new  king  was  n^t  really  ajw^^ 
Adil  Shah,  butja  bpy_of  spurious  ilrigin,  raised.  ta^the 
throne  by  court  intriguers.  The  disorders  of  the  kingdom, 
-caused  by  IKe  death  of  the^late  Sultan,  further  encouraged 
Aurangzeb  in  his  hostile  designs.  Shahjahan  granted  his 
request,  and  permitted  him  to  '  settle  the  affair  of  Bijapur 
in  any  way  he  thought  fit.'  The  Mughal  forces  in  the 
Deccan  were  to  be  reinforced  by  a  fresh  levy  of  20,000 
soldiers  under  the  command  of  well-tried  officers,  and  Mir 
Jumla  who  knew  the  country  well  was  ordered  to  assist 
the  prince  in  his  campaigns.  Th^  emperor  Desired  npierely  s 
the  conquest  of  Bijapur,  while,,  Aurangzeb  thirsted  for  its 
annexation.  The  milder  course  suggested  to  the  prince 
tlmtlie^should  leniently  deal  with  Bijapur,  if  the  Adil  Shah 
paid  one  and  a  half  crores  as  indemnity  and  recognised 
Mughal  suzerainty  in  the  approved  manner,  did  not  appeal 
to  him,  and  he  pushed  on  his  preparations  for  attack.  He 
sent  an  express  to  Mir  Jumla  to  join  him  without  delay. 

The  war   was  unjust.     The  historian  of  Aurangzeb 
thus  describes  the  casus  belli  : 

"The  war  jhus  saiictianed  ^was  wholly- 


Bijapur  was  not  a  vassal  state,  but  an  independent  and 

equal  ally  of  the  Mughal  Emperor,  and  the  latter  had 

no  lawful  right  to  confirm  or  question  the  succession 

at  Bijapur.    The  true  reason  of  the  Mughal  interfer- 

ence was  the  helplessness  of  its  boy-king  and  the  dis- 

cord among  his  officers,  which  presented  a  fine  '  oppor- 

tunity '  for  annexation,  as  Aurangzpb  expressed  it."1 

Mir  Jumla  and  Aurangzeb  with  their  combined  forces 

inarched  in  the  direction  of  Bijapur,  and  on  reaching  Bidar 

laid  siege  to  it.    The  city  of  Bidar  had  a  strong  fortress, 

1  Sarkar,  History  of  Aurangzeb,  I.  p.  287. 


592  HISTORY  OF.  MUSLIM  RULE 

4,500  yards  in  circumference  apd  12  yards  in  height.    It 
was  surrounded  by  thick  deep  ditches  each  25  yards  deep, 
hewn  out  of  the  solid  rock.     Inside  the  fort  were  many 
palaces,  baths,  pleasure  gardens  and  a  number  of  public 
offices  built  by  the  munificence  and  devotion  of  successive 
monarchs.    It  was  well-fortified  and  possessed  a   large 
supply  of  arms  and  ammunition.  No  wonder,  if  the  men  of 
the  middle  ages  looked  upon  it  as  an  impregnable  fortress. 
The  Qiladar  of  the  fort  was  Sidi  Marjan,  an  old  Adil 
Shahi  officer,  who  had  under  his  command  1,000  horse  and 
4,000  foot  including  musketeers,  rocket-mer  and  gunners. 
Accompanied  by  Muazzam  Khan,  Aur£ngzeb  went  to  survey 
the  position  and  settled  the  plan  of  attack.     Sidi's  men 
opened  fire  from  the  bastions  of  the  fort,  but  the  imperial- 
ists pushed  forward  in  spite  of  the  shower  of  shot  and  shell,, 
and  reached  the  ditch  which  they  began  to  fill  up.  Several 
sorties  took  place  in  which  the  advantage  lay  alternate- 
ly with  the  Bijapuris  and  the  Mughals.    But,  in  the  end, 
theMughalsby  their  superiority  in  numbers  carried  the 
day.  They  were  helped  by  an  explosion  of  powder  magazine 
in  the  fortress,  which  destroyed  a  large  number  of  Bija- 
puris.   Sjdi^Marjan^and  two  of  his  sons  were  badly  burnt. 
Be  wild  ered  by  this  disaster,  the  garrison  conveyed  their 
heroic  commander  and  his  sons  to  the  citadel.    The  Mu- 
ghals, taking  advantage  of  this  unfortunate  incident,  made 
a  dash  into  the  fortress,  and  '  killed  or  bore  down  all  who 
resisted,  and  raised  the  flag  of  victory/    Sidi  Marjan,  who 
was  mortally  wounded,  saw  no  alternative  but  to  submit  to 
the  invaders.    He  sen^his  sons  wjth  the  keygjof  the  fort 
to  Aurangzeb  who^eceived  them  wShpT^ 
Thus  was  the  fort  of  Si3arlaken  after  a  siege  of  27  days. 
The  imperialists  seized  a  large  booty  consisting  of  12 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  593 

lakhs  of  rupees  in  cash,  8  lakhs  worth  of  lead,  powder,  and 
other  ammunition,  besides  250  pieces  of  ordnance. 

Aurangzeb_  entered  the  city  in  triumph,  and  caused 
the  Khutba  to  be  read  in  the  name  of  the  emperor  of  Delhi 
in  the  historic  mosque  of  the  Bahmanids,  the  silent  wit- 
ness of  a  hundred  political  revolutions.  The  gallant  Sidi 
Marjan  died  of  his  wounds  soon  afterwards. 

The_B_iiapnris,  anxious  to  wipe  out  the  disgrace  of 
deffeat,  began  to  collect  their  troops  at  Gulburga.  Aurang- 
zeb  sent  Mahabat  Khan  with  15  thousand  well-equipped 
horsemen  to  deal  with  the  enemy.  A  party  of  2,000  men 
advanced  within  six  miles  of  the  Mughal  camp,  and 
seized  the  bullocks  of  the  Banjaras,  which  were  used  as 
means  of  transport  for  carrying  grain  and  fodder.  Maha- 
bat's  men  rushed  forward  in  great  haste  and  released  the 
cattle.  The  Bijapur  forces  numbering  20,000  under  their 
famous  generals  Khan  Muhammad,  Afzal  Khan,  ^and 
others  delivered  a  bold  attack  on  the  Mughals,  which  "was 
successfully  repelled. .  The  Mughals  closely  pursued  the 
vanquished  army,  and  many  of  the  fugitives  were  slain  in 
the  attempt  to  escape. 

Shortly  after  this  victory  Aurangzeb  arrived  at  Kal- 
yani,  the  ancient  capital  of  the  Chalukyas,  40  miles  west 
of  Bidar.  The  town  was  besieged,  and  day  and  night  the 
garrison  poured  fire  upon  thev  imperialists  from  the  walls 
of  the  fort.  Mahabat -Khan,  assisted  by  Rajput  valour, 
succeeded  in  breaking  up  the  ranks  of  the  enemy,  and 
'Ikhlas  Khan  drove  them  back  with  heavy  losses.  The  fight 
continued,  and  the  two  armies  engaged  each  other  in  a 
death-grapple.  The  battle  lasted  six  hours,  and  the  Dec- 
canis,  following  their  customary  tactics,  baffled  and  bar* 
assed  the  Mughals,  but  in  the  end  they  were  overpowered 

F.  38 


594  HISTORY  OF   MUSLIM  RULE 


o 


by  the  Hindustani  horsemen.  *  The  enemy  suffered  heavy 
losses,  and  Aurangzeb  rejoiced  at  the  success  of  his 
generals. 

The  siege  was  pushed  on  with  great  vigour.  The  de- 
fence was  bravely  conducted  by  Dilawar  Khan,  the  Abys- 
sinian commander,  whose  men  rained  on  the  besiegers 
napthaballs,  burning  grass  and  lighted  gunpowder  from  the 
walls  of  the  fort.  Fighting  raged  furiously  on  both  sides. 
At  last,  when  Dilawar  saw  that  further  resistance  was 
useles^  he  offered  to  surrender  the  fort  on  condition  that 
.  the  governor  and  the  garrison  should  be  allowed  to  depart 
from  the  fortress  with  their  families  and  goods  in  safety. 
The  keys  of  the  fortress  were  surrendered  to  the  Mughals 
on  Zilqadah  1,  1068  A.H.-21st  July,  1658  A.D.,  and  once 
again  the  Prince  caused  the  Khutba  to  be  read  in  the 
emperor's  name. 

The  Mughals  had  captured  Bidar  and  Kalyani,  and 
were  ready  to  march  upon  Bijapur,  when  an  order  was 
received  from  the  emperor  that  the  campaign  should 
be  stopped.  The  emissaries  of  the  Sultan  at  court  had  per- 
suaded the  emperor  to  change  his  mind,  and  Shah  Buland 
Iqbal's  jealousy  of  his  able  brother  had  worked  to  the 
same  end.  Shahjahan  committed  a  blunder ;  he  did  not 
fully  realise  what  Aurangzeb 's  diplomacy,  courage,  and 
^unmngjuftd  achieved,  injthfe  Deccan.  But  nothing^ can 
justify Jthis  war  of  aggression,  which  was  prompted jwjely 
by  the  love  of  conquest  and  the  greed  for  gold. 

Peace  was  made*  with  the  Sultan.  He  agreed  to  pay 
li  crores  of  rupees  as  indemnity  and  to  surrender  to  the 
Mughals  the  forts  of  Bidar,  Kalyani  and  Parenda.  Shah- 
jahan graciously  remitted  half  a  crore  from  the  indemnity, 
spoke  approvingly  of  the  settlement  of  peace* 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  595 

• 

-Aurangzeb  was  commanded  to  return  to  Bidar  and  the 
other  officers  to  withdraw  to  their  respective  charges. , 

Sadullah  Khan,  surnamed  '  AllSml,'  the  premier  noble* 

man  of  the  empire,  died  on  Jamad  II,  22,   1066  A.H. 

(7th  April,  1656).   For  about  four  mouths  he 

Khan  Aiiami's     had  been  suffering  from  a  severe  attack  of 

d^ea  t  h,  1656      ^j^  pajn>  but  ^jg  devotion  to  duty  was  so 

great  that '  for  the  first  two  months,  he  used 
to  attend  daily  in  the  auspicious  presence  and  uttered 
no  exclamation  of  pain.'  All  medicines  failed  to  cure  the 
fatal  disease,  and  at  last  he  succumbed  to  it.  The  emperor 
expressed  deep  regret  at  the  passing  away  of  such  a  loyal 
and  capable  minister,  and  generously  treated  his  survivors. 
Ali  Mardan  Khan  was  the  son  of  Ganj  Ali  Khan,  who 
was  descended  from  the  Kurdish  tribe  of  Zig  in  Persia. 
Life  and  Originally  Ganj  Ali  occupied  the  humble 
Death  of  Ali  position  of  chief  servant  under  Shah 
Mardan  Khan.  Abbag>  but  by  dint  of  merit  and  his  gallant 
fight  against  the  Uzbegs  he  rose  to  honour  and  eminence. 
His  devoted  services  to  the  state  won  him  the  title  of 
Arjamand  Baba  (honoured  father),  and  the  Shah  signified 
his  confidence  by  entrusting  to  him  the  governorship  of 
Kirman.  When  Shah  Abbas  captured  Qandhar  during 
Jahangir's  reign,  he  made  over  the  fort  to  this  veteran 
officer.  After  Ganj  All's  death  in  1625,  which  was  caused 
by  an  unhappy  accident,  the  Shah  allowed  his  son  Ali 
Mardan  to  inherit  his  honours  and  dignities,  and  conferred 
upon  him  the  title  of  B^ba  Sani  (Baba-.  the  second). 

But  Shah  Abbas's  death  caused  a  great  change  in 
policy.  His  successor  laid  his  hands  heavily  upon  the  sup- 
porters of  the  late  regime,  and  Ali  Mardan  was  one  of 
those  who  apprehended  peril  to  their  lives.  Forthwith  he 


696  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

began  to  strengthen  the  fortifications  of  Qandhar  in  self- 
defence  and  opened  negotiations  with  Shahjahan.  The 
Shah  flew  into  a  rage,  when  he  heard  of  AH  Mardan's 
treason,  and  resolved  on  his  destruction.  AH  Mardan 
solicited  Mughal  protection,  and  offered  to  surrender  the 
fort  of  Qandhar  as  its  price. 

A  tempting  offer  of  this  kind  was  enough  to  gratify 
Shahjahan *s  vanity.  He  was  filled  with  joy  at  the  golden 
prospect  of  obtaining  without  war  or  bloodshed  a  fortress 
against  which  his  father  had  striven  in  vain.  The  Per  ;an 
governor's  wish  was  granted,  and  he  was  enrolled  among 
the  Panjhazari  grandees  of  the  empire,  and  subsequently 
the  rank  of  7,000  Zat  and  7,000  Sawar  was  conferred 
upon  him. 

The  battles  and  sieges  in  which  AH  Mardan  Khan 
took  part,  along  with  the  scions  of  the  royal  house,  have 
been  described  before.  The  Balkh  expedition  was  a  disas- 
trous failure,  but  the  responsibility  for  it  rests  in  no  small 
degree  upon  the  emperor,  who  often  disturbed  the  plans 
of  his  generals  and  neutralised  their  efforts  by  his  ill-timed 
interference.  Though  AH  Mardan  was  got  a  highly 
successful  military  general,  his  talents  shone  conspicu- 
ously in  the  field  of  civil  administration.  He  was  given 
charge  of  the  Subah  of  Kashmir— an  important  province, 
on  the  Northern  frontier  of  the  empire,  and  he  ruled  it 
wisely  and  well  for  several  years.  As  minister  of  the 
state,  his  advice  was  sought  in  the  weightiest  matters, 
and  his  wise  and  sagacious  counsels  were  seldom  reject- 
led.  His  greatest  achievement  was  the  canal  which  wa& 
constructed  mainly  through  his  efforts.  His  love  of  beauty 
«rad  natural  scenery,  which  he  had  cultivated  in  Persia  and 
[Kashmir,  led  him  to  plan  the_Shalimar  gardens  on  the  bank 


THE  EMPIRE  AJL 

-of  -this  canal,  which  are  still  the  favourite  resorts  of  men, 
•de&irous  of  snatching  an  interval  of  quiet  repose  from  the 
din  and  strife  of  life,  and  of  tourists  from  all  parts  of  the 
world.  The  gardens  were  beautifully  laid  out,  and  a  num- 
ber of  reservoirs  and  fountains  were  constructed, to  add 
to  their  loveliness  at  a  cost  of  eight  lakhs  of  rupees  under 
the  supervision  of  Khalil-Ullah  Khan. '  As  the  canal  did 
not  supply  sufficient  water  for  the  gardens,  a  lakh  of 
rupfees  was  advanced  from  the  treasury,  of  which  fifty 
thousand  were  recklessly  spent  only  on  repairs.  Then, 
under  expert  advice  steps  were  taken  to  improve  the 
irrigation,  and  the  gardens  began  to  get  an  unfettered 
supply  of  water.2 

Ali  Mardan  Khan  was  called  away  from  his  Subah  of 
Kashmir  towards  the  close  of  1656,  but  the  heat  of  the 
plains  seriously  affected  his  health.  He  had  an  attack  of 
•dysentery,  and  was  therefore  allowed  to  go  back  to  his 
charge  to  enjoy  the  bracing  climate  of  the  happy  valley. 
But  before  he  reached  his  destination,  he  died  at  Machi- 
wara  on  April  16,  1657,  and  his  body  was  brought  to 
Lahore  where  it  was  buried  in  his  mother's  tomb. 
His  vast  wealth  amounting  to  q  flfnrA  nf  ruPppq  WM 
ponfiscatfiiL  by  the  state  in  accordance  with  the  law  of 
escheat. 

Shahjahan  was  a  magnificent  monarch.  During  his 
reign  he  constructed*  a  number  of  noble  edifices  which 


1  Abdul  Hamid  writes  in  the  Padshahnamah  that  the  gardens  took 
1  year  4  months  and  5  days  to  be  completed  and  cost  6  lakhs  of  rupees. 
The  two  parts  of  the  garden  were  called  Farahbakhah  and  Faitbahhah 

8  I*  is  stated  in  the  Masir-iA-Umrah  (English  Trans.,  Vol.  I,  p.  198) 
that  of  5  Krohs  of  the  old  oanal  were  preserved  and  82  new  Krohs  were 
made.  The  Padshahnamah  says  the  same  thing. 


508  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

exist  to  this  day.  But  in  no  wdy  less  important  was  the 
Peacock  throne  on  which  he  lavished  large- 
sums  of  money  ou*  of  the  Public  treasury. 
In  course  of  time,  writes  Abdul  Hamid 
hprL  precious  jewels  of  great  value  had  collected  in" 
the  royal  treasury,  and  Shahjahan  intended  to  utilise  them 
so  that/  sightseers  might  share  the  beauty  of  those  pro- 
ducts of  the  mine  and  ocean,  and  also  that  a  fresh  glory 
might  be  added  to  the  Sultanate. '/The  object  of -the 
emperor  was  twofold :  to  exhibit  his  hoard  of  precious 
jewels  and  to  augment  the  grandeur  of  the  empire.  Set- 
ting apart  the  jewels  which  were  in  the  private  apart- 
ments of  the  emperor,  an  order  was  passed  that  out  of  the 
jewels  valued  at  two  crores,  which  were  in  the  outer 
palace  in  the  custody  of  Khan  Zaman,  some  exquisite 
jewels  worth  86  lakhs  of  rupees  should  be  picked  up  and 
made  over  to  Bebadal  Khan '  the  darogha  of  the  goldsmith's 
department,  together  with  one  lakh  tolas  of  gold  valued 
at  14  lakhs  of  rupees  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a 
throne  3?  yards  in  length,  2i  yards  in  width,  and  5  yards 
in  height.  The  outside  of  the  canopy  was  to  be  inlaid  with 
rubies  and  cornelians,  while  the  inside  was  chiefly  made 
Of  enamelled  work  with  gems  studied  here  and  there,  and 

1  Bebadal  Khan's  real  name  ^according  to  the  Masir  vas  Saidi 
Gulani.  He  was  a  poet  He  came  to  India  in  the  time  of  Jahangir  and 
was  included  among  the  court  poets.  Hs  rose  to  fame  during  8hah- 
jahan*s  reign  and  obtained  the  title  of  Bebadal  Khan  (incomparable 
lord).  He  held  the  office  of  the  Darogha  of  the  goldsmith's  department 
for  a  long  time.  » 

Masir,  I  (Eng.  Trans.),  PP.   396-97. 

Prof.  J.  N.  Sarkar  in  his  Stud^M  in  Mughal  India  (p.  18)  writes 
that  out  of  the  jewels  (worth  two  crores),  in  the  outer  palace,  the  very 
best  valued  at  16  lakhs  were  chosen.  Abdul  Hamid  clearly  says  86,  and 
he  is  supported  by  the  Mulakkhas  and  other  authorities.  16  is  obvious- 
ly a  misprint. 


!l  flKiCs*  ,  •.  *'  .  -^".  ji*    ,c .    .^     : 


To  face  page  598 


Shahjahan  on  tho  Poaoonk  Throiu1 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  59» 

it  was  to  be  supported  ^on  twelve  emerald  pillars.    On 
each  pillar  there  were  two  peacocks1  inlaid  with  gems  and 
between  every  two  peacocks  there  was  a  tree  set  with 
rubies,  diamonds,  emeralds  and  pearls.    The  ascent  to 
the  throne  was  made  by  three  steps  which  were  thickly 
studded  with  jewels.  The  middle  one  of  the  planks  (takhts) 
which  were  on  all  sides  of  the  throne— the  plank  on  which 
His  Majesty  used  to  rest  his  arm  was  worth  ten  lakhs  of 
rupees.    Among  the  jewels  with  which  it  was  decked, 
there  was  a  ruby  valued  at  one  lakh,  which  had  been 
sent  by  Shah  Abbas  to  Jahangir  through  Zanbil  Beg,   and 
which  Jahangir  had  given  to  Shahjahan  in  recognition 
of  the  military  successes  achieved  in  the  Deccan.    On  this- 
were  inscribed  the  names  of  Sahib  Qiran  Timur,  Mirzas 
Shahrukh  and  Ulugh  Beg,   Shah  Abbas,   Jahangir,  and 
ShUijahan.     The  throne  took  seven  years  to  be  completed 
and  cost  one  crore  of  rupees. a 

Haji  Muhammad  Jan  Qudsi  composed  a  poem  in  praise 
of  the  throne  the  last  three  words  of  which  (iW*  «»£*<*  «-£)3t) 
give  the  date  (1044  A.H.— 1634  A.D.)  of  its  construction.3 

1  Tavernier  (I,  pp.  383-84)  speaks  only  of  one  peacock  for  he  says  : 
*  On  both  sides  of  the  peacock  throne  there  is  a  large  bouquet  of  the 
same  height  as  the  bird,  and  consisting  of  many  kinds  of  flowers  made 
of  gold  inlaid  with  precious  stones.'  The  Muslim  authorities  speak 
of  more  than  one,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  their  statement  in 
regard  to  this  matter. 

2  As  regards  the  cost  of  the  throne  Tavernier  says,  *  Those  who  keep 
the  account  of  the  Kind's  jewels,  and  of  what  this  great  work  has  cost,, 
have  assured  me  that  it  amounts  to  one  hundred  and  seven  thousand 
lakhs  of  rupees.'  This  is  incredible.  It  is  very  much  greater  than  the 
figure  mentioned  in  the  Padshahnamah  of  Abdul  Hamid. 

Cal.  text,  I.  Ft.  IT,  pp.  78-79. 

Masir-ul-Umra,  I,  pp.  396-99. 

Mulakkhas,  p.  79. 

A.  U.,U.  MS. 

3  Haji  Muhammad's  poem  is  reproduced  in  extenso  in  the  Archaeo- 
logical Survev  Report,  Vol.  1911-12,  pp.  18-19. 


HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

,  The  peacock  throne  was  carried  by  NadirShah  at  the 
time  of  his  invasion  of  India,  'me  tnrone  no  longer 
exists  in  Persia.  Lord  Curzon's  enquiries  revealed  the 
fgefthat  the  T?akfat-i-Taous  of  Persia  Js  not  an  Indian 
throne  at  all.  It  was  constructed  by  Muhammad  Husain 
Khan,  Sadr  (High  Priest)  of  Isfahan,  for  Path  All  Shah, 
when  the  latter  married  a  young  Isfahani  lady  whose 
popular  name  was  Taous  Khanun  or  the  Peacock  lady. 
The  original  Peacock  throne  of  Shahjahan  was  recovered 
in  a  broken  condition  from  his  grandson  Shah  Rukh,  and 
its  portions  were  made  up  into  the  throne  of  modern  style 
which  now  stands  in  the  New  Museum  in  the  palace  of 
Tehran. 

The  emperor  rose  early  in  the  morning  2  gharis  before 
sunrise,  and  after  performing  his  prayers  began  the 
day's  work.  First,  he  went  to  the  Jharokha 
da?iyaiifehan  8  (window)  to  show  himself  to  his  subjects 
who  gathered  in  large  numbers  below  the 
fort  to  have  a  glimpse  of  their  sovereign.  From  there 
he  proceeded  to  the  Hall  of  Public  Audience  where  the 
distinguished  officers  of  the  state  were  presented  to  him 
and  received  Khilats  and  rewards.  Petitions  from  man- 
sabdars  in  the  provinces  were  laid  before  the  emperor, 
and  often  he  wrote  on  them  orders  with  his  own  hand. 
Having  finished  his  work  in  the  Hall  of  Audience,  the 
emperor  went  to  the  Danlat  Khanah-i-Khas,  called  the 
fihusal  Khanah  in  Akbar's  time,  where  he  scrutinised 
the  orders  of  his^otticers, and  examined  jewellery  and 
plans  of  buildings  submitted  to  him  for  approval.  After 
this  he  went  to  the  Shahburj  where  business  of  a  confi- 
dential nature  was  transacted,  and  only  a  few  trusted 
oflhcers  were  admitted. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  6.01 

At  about  midday  the  emperor  retired  to  the  haram/ 
but  business  followed  liim  there  also.  Mumtaz  Mahal 
placed  before  him  the  petitions  of  orphans,  widows,  and 
-other  destitute  persons,  and  the  emperor  graciously  grant- 
•ed  them  stipends  and  allowances.  In  the  latter  part  of 
the  day  the  emperor  transacted  business  again  in  'the  Hall 
•of  Public  Audience  and  the  Shahburj. 

Having  spent  a  strenuous  day  in  work,  which  must 
have  not  a  little  taxed  his  physical  and  intellectual  powers, 
the  emperor  retired  to  his  private  chambers,  and  here 
for  a  couple  of  hours  he  enjoyed  the  performances  of 
women  singers.  It  was  now  time  to  go  to  bed.  Books 
on  history,  travel,  and  the  lives  of  prophets  were  read  to 
him  from  behind  a  curtain  till  sleep  was  induced.  He  was 
particularly  fond  of  the  Zafarnamah^jiTiA  the 


^ 
JrBabari  which  were  read  to  him  every  day. 

ShahJahan  was  a  magnificent  builder.  A  detailed 
account  of  his  buildings  will  be  given  later  in  describing  the 
development  of  the  Mughal  art  under  his 
Patronage.  It  will  suffice  here  to  make  a  bare 
mention  of  the  various  edifices  constructed  by 
him.  The  most  beautiful  of  all  his  buildings  is,  of  course, 
the  Taj  T  the  famous  mausoleum  which  stands  over  the 
grave  of  his  dearly  loved  wife  Mumtaz  Mahal.  The  Begum 
died  in  1630,  and  the  construction  of  the  Taj  was  not  begun 
until  the  next  year.  The  work  was  carried  on  over  a 
number  of  years,  find  the  inscription  on  the  gateway, 
which  is  dated  1647  A.D.,  shows  that  the  principal  dome 
was  finished  in  that  year.  AbdufHamid  Lahori  and  the 
-author  of  the  Mulakkhas,  both  contemporaries,  state  that 
it  was  built  in  12  years  and  coat  50  lakhs  of  rupees.  But 
-evidently  this  refers  only  to  the  marble  monuments  on  .the 


602  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

inner  platform.    The  buifdings  on  both  sides  of  the  white  • 
dome  and  in  the  outer  quadrangle  must  have  taken  some 
years  to  be  completed.     Tavernier   who  was  present  in 
India  in  1653  writes  that  it  was  completed  in  22  years 
and  cost  three  crores  of  rupees. 

Shahjahan  built  a  number  of  other  buildings  in  Agra 
Fort  of  which  the  Musamman  Burj  and  the  Moti  Masjid 
are  worthy  of  special  mention.  The  Musamman  Burj  is 
a  beautiful  structure  of  marble  facing  the  river  side 
of  the  fort  and  is  decorated  with  precious  stones.  It 
was  here  that  the  old  emperor,  a  prisoner  in  the  hands 
of  his  own  son,  died  having  the  last  glimpse  of  the 
mausoleum,  which  his  love  and  devotion  had  reared  to  the 
memory  of  his  dear  wife.  The  Moti  Masjid  is  situated 
to  the  north  of  the  Diwan-i-am  and  measures  187  by 
234  feet.  It  was  commenced  in  1648  A.D.  and  was 
completed  in  1652,  the  total  cost  being  3,00,000  rupees. 
Besides  these  buildings  Shahjahan  built  in  the  fort  the 
Jharokha-i-Khas-o-am  and  the  Daulat  Khanah-i-Khas, 
which  were  formerly  made  of  cloth  and  wood,  at  an  enor- 
mous cost.  As  there  was  no  building  in  front  of  the  fort 
at  Agra,  Shahjahan  built  a  big  chowk  in  which  Begum 
Sahib's  piety  reared  a  noble  mosque  which  was  complet- 
ed in  five  years  at  a  cost  of  five  lakhs  of  rupees  in  1648. 

Agra  was  not  found  suitable  for  imperial  residence, 
and,  therefore,  the  emperor  decided  to  transfer  the  capital 
to  Delhi,  the  seat  of  many  an  empire  in  history.  A  site 
was  chosen,  and  with  the  approval  of  architects  and 
astrologers  the  foundations  of  Shahjahanbad  were  laid 
(May  12, 1639)  in  an  auspicious  moment  and  skilled  artisans, 
masons,  and  workmen  were  called  from  far  and  wide  to 
assist  in  the  building  of  the  grandest  city  of  the  empire. 


To  face  page  602 


Taj  Mahal 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  60$ 

The  opening  ceremony  was  performed  in  1058  A.H.  (1648 
LD.)  in 'the  midst  of  great  pomp  and  splendour.  The 
buildings  iAside  the  fort  were  sumptuously  decorated,  and 
ime  the  envy  of  the  art  galleries  of  China.  The 
Shahburj,  the  Rang  Mahal,  the  Mumtaz  Mahal  and  the 
)iwan-i-am,  the  Diwan-i-Khas,  and  a  number  of  other 
3uildings  were  constructed  at  an  enormous  cost.  The 
)iwan-i-Khas  was  the  most  highly  ornamented  of 
Shahjahan's  buildings,  and  contains  the  finest  specimens 
of  pietra  dura. !  A  marble  water  channel  runs  through  the 
hall  which  greatly  increases  the  beauty  of  the  buildings. 
The  marble  slab  on  which  the  Peacock  throne  used  to  be 
placed  is  still  seen  in  the  Diwan-i-Khas,  but  it  is  certain 
that  it  could  not  have  been  permanently  confined  to  one 
particular  place. 

,*        Another  noteworthy  building  with  which  Shahjahan 

v  adorned  his  newly  built  city  is  the  Jam-i-Masjid  also  called 

^the  Musjid-i-Jahan  Numa,   which  is  one  of  the  largest 

mosques  in  India.      Its  foundations  were  laid  in  October 

^650  A.D.,  and  it  was  completed  in  six  years  at  a  cost  of 

ten  lakhs  of  rupees  under  the  supervision  of  Sadullah  KhW 

,  The  mosque  stands  on  rocky  ground,   and  is  built  of  red 

sandstone.     It  has  an  imposing  entrance  to  which  ascent 

f  is  made  by  a  flight  of  35  steps. 

Besides  these  large  edifices  Shahjahan's  piety  and 
generosity  added  to  the  beauty  and  splendour  of  many  a 
minor  building  in  the  vicinity  of  the  capital  as  well  as 
beyond  its  limits.  The  tomb  of  NiVmiarffiflS^Sftefl.  was 

1    On  the  walls  of  the  Diwan-i-Khas   anfifetiiTjprbe  read 
ful  lines  composed  by  Sadullah  Khan   in  Mraiae/of  the  build  in 
by  his  patron's  bounty. 


'604  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

built  of  pure  white  marble,  and  situated  in  a  cosy  corner* 
away  from  the  din  and  bustle  of  life,  it  still  insyres  alike 
the-  devout  pilgrim  and  the  lover  of  art.  gftt  Ajmer 
Shahjahan  built  a  number  of  buildings.  On  the  embank- 
ment of  the  Anasagar  lake  constructed  by  Anaji,  the 
Hindu  king  at  Ajmer,  Shahjahan  built  in  1637  A.D.  a 
marble  platform  1,240  feet  long  and  five  pavilions 
(baradaris)  of  polished  marble  and  a  hammam  or  Turkish' 
•bath.  Besides  these  Shahjahan  showed  his  devotion  to 
•Khwaja  Muinuddin  Chishti,  whose  shrine  was  deeply 
revered  by  his  ancestors,  by  building  a  splendid  dome  and 
a  Jam-i-masjid  to  the  west  of  the  tomb  in  1638.  Though 
inferior  in  beauty  to  the  pearl  mosque  which  the  emperor 
built  at  Agra,  it  is  a^beautif  ul  and  ornamental  addition  to 
the  mausoleum.  \/ 

According  to  Abdul  Hamid  Lahori,  Shahjahan's  empire 

extended  from  the  Lahiri  port  in  Sindh  to  Sylhet  in  Assam, 

a  distance    of  2,000    Krohs    (5,000  yards) 

and  from  the  fort  of  Bist  in  the  Af*han 
region  to  Ausa  in  the  Deccan  a  distance  of 

Krohs.  It  contained  22  subahs  which  yielded  an 
income  of  880  crore  dams  (=22  crores  of  rupees). 1  The 
general  framework  of  the  machinery  of  government  was 
the  same  as  under  Akbar,  though  modifications  were 
made  by  Shahjahan  to  suit  his  convenience.  The  admini- 
stration was  still  of  a  feudal  and  military  type,  and 

1  The  22  Subahs  of  the  empire  are  as  follows: — 

1.  Delhi.  8.     Malwa.  15.  Orissa. 

2.  Akbarabad.             9.    Khandesh.                16.  Baglana. 
8.    Lahore.  -                 10.     Ahmedabad.            17.  Thatta. 

4.  Ajmere.  11,  Oudh.  18.  Kabul. 

5.  Daulafcabad.  12.  Bihar.  19.  Balkh. 

6.  Allahabad.  13.  Multen.  20.  Qandhar. 

7.  Berar.  14.  Telingana.  21.  Badakhshan. 

22.    Kashmir. 


''ft 

II 


THE' EMPIRE  AT  ITS>ZENITH  605 

Shahjahan  maintained  a  huge  army  for  the  maintenance 
of  his  power.  But  he  treated  his  subjects  well,  and 
Tavernier  ascribes  him  as  ruling  over  his  subjects  with 
a  mildness  uncommon  among  sovereigns.  He  punished 
his  nobles  when  they  neglected  their  duties,  and  arranged 
all  things  for  the  comfort  of  the  people  who  cherished  a 
genuine  aif  ection  for  him. 1  The  mansab  and  jagir  system 
pervaded  the  empire.  The  imperial  service  contained, 
men  of  various  nationalities,  whom  the  Great  Mughal 
'  raised  to  dignities  or  degraded  to  obscurity  according  to' 
his  owr>  pleasure  and  caprice/2  These  officers  were  paid 
both  in  cash  and  jagir,  but  they  were  invariably  in  debt 
owing  to  the  costly  presents  they  had  to  make  to  the- 
emperor3  and  had  to  keep  large  establishments  of  wives, 
servants,  camels  and  horses.  The  law  of  escheat  weighed 
heavily  upon  them,  and  the  dark  prospects  of  their  descend- 
ants after  their  death  always  haunted  their  minds. 

The  most  important  source  of  the  income  of  the  state 
was  the  land  revenue.  Shahjahan  enjoined  on  his  officers 
the  duty  of  looking  after  the  interests  of  the  ryot,  but 
his  instructions  were  not  faithfully  observed.  A  story  is 
related  of  him  which  illustrates  his  solicitude  for  the  well- 
being  of  the  peasantry.  One  day,  while  the  emperor  was- 
examining  the  records  of  the  revenue  department,  he 
found  that  in  a  certain  village  the  revenue  had  increased 
by  a  few  thousands,  forthwith  he  asked  his  high  diwan 
Sadullah  Khan  to  explain  the  cause  of  this  increase.  The 
minister  who  had  bdeiv  poring  over*  the  papers  in  his 

office  day  and  night  appealed  before  the  August  Presence- 

* 

1  Travels,  I,  pp.  343-44. 

2  Ibid,  p.  212. 

8  Bernier,  Travels,  p.  213. 


-606  HISTOFY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

with  his  eyes  still  dozing  and  replied  that  owing  to  a 
-change  in  the  course  of  the  river  a  piece  of  land'  had  been 
^added,  which  increased  the  cultivated  area  of  {he  village. 
The  emperor  enquired  if  the  land  in  question  was  Khalsa  or 
*aima  (rent-free  grant),  and  it  was  found  that  it  belonged  to 
the  latter  class.  At  this  Shahjahan  exclaimed  in  wrath  : 
'The  water  over  that  tract  of  land  has  dried  in  response  to 
the  lamentations  of  the  orphans,  widows,  and  poor  (of  the 
place) ;  it  is  a  divine  gift  to  them,  and  you  have  dared  to 
appropriate  it  to  the  State  !  If  a  desire  to  spare  God's 
•creation  had  not  restrained  me,  I  styuld  have  ordered  the 
-execution  of  that  second  Satan,  the  oppressive  faujdar 
(who  has  collected  revenue  from  this  new  land).  It  will 
be  enough  punishment  to  dismiss  him  as  a  warning  to 
others  to  refrain  from  such  wicked  acts  of  injustice. 
Order  the  excess  collections  to  be  immediately  refunded 
to  the  peasants  entitled  to  them.' ! 

The  anecdote  whether  true  or  not  clearly  illustrates 
that  in  popular  estimation  Shahjahan  was  known  as  a 
just  and  generous  ruler,  was  always  anxious  to  protect 
the  interests  of  his  subjects.  His  diwan  Sadullah  had  a 
high  conception  of  his  duties.  He  used  to  say  that  a 
diwan  who  was  unjust  towards  the  peasant  was  a  demon 
sitting  with  a  pen  and  inkpot  before  him.  Besides  the 
land  tax  the  state  levied  a  number  of  awabs,  which  were 
-afterwards  abolished  by  Aurangzeb.  These  may  be 
iroughly  classified  under  the  following  heads  :— 

1.  Duties  on  the  sale  of  produce. 

2.  Duties  on  the  sale  of  property. 


Sarkar,  Mughal  Administration,  p.  82. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS,  ZENITH  607 

i 

3.  Fees  or  commissiohs  of  the  state  and  perquisites 

of  officials. 

4.  License  tax  on  trades  and  professions. 

5.  Forced  subscriptions,  gifts,  and  services. 

6.  Imposts  on  the  Hindus. 

Tax  on  bathing  in  the  Ganges  and  other  sacred 
waters.  The  Mughal  government  charged  Rs.  6-4as. 
from  every  pilgrim  at  Allahabad.  Tax  on 
carrying  the  bones  of  dead  Hindus  for  being 
thrown  into  the  Ganges. 

ThQ  administratimi  of  justice  was  carried  on  by  the 
<Jazis  and  Miradls,  but  the  emperor  was  not  unmindful  of 
his  own  duty  in  the  matter.  As  the  Khalifa  of  the  age, 
he  was  the  highest  judge  in  the  empire,  and  appeals 
in  important  cases  were  made  to  him.  The  emperor 
did  not  go  to  the  Jharokha-i-Khas-o-am  on  Wednesday, 
which  was  set  apart  for  administering  justice.  On  that 
day  at  the  appointed  hour  the  emperor  pame  straight  from 
the  Jharokha-i-darshan  to  the  Hall  of  Audience,  popularly 
known  as  the  Ghusalkhanah,  and  disposed  of  the  cases 
that  were  submitted  to  him  by  the  Daroghas.  The 
emperor-  sought  the  advice  of  the  Ulama,  who  expressed 
the  view  of  the  Shariyat  and  gave  their  verdict. 

The  cases  which  required  local  investigation  were  sent 
to  the  provincial  governors  wi£h  instructions  to  find  out 
the  truth  and  to  do  justfee  and  submit  their  report  on  them. 
The  author  of  the  Lubb-ut-Tawarikh  who  was  a  Hindu 
intimately  acquainted  with  Shahjahdn's  reign,  highly 
praises  his  administration  of  justice,  and  says  that  judg- 
ments were  awarded  with  great  care  and  discrimination. 

Manucci  corroborates  the  Hindu  writer,  and  records 
several  instances  in  which  Shahjahan  interfered  to 


608  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

© 

vindicate  the  claims  of  justice/    Even  the  highest  officials, 
were  punished  when  their  wrongs  were  brought  to  light. 
Once,  it  is  said,  certain  actors  sought  the  king's  permis- 
sion to  stage  a  play.    Their  request  was  granted,  but 
the  performance  exposed  the  iniquities  of  the  governor 
of  Gujarat.     The  emperor  exclaimed  in  utter  amazement : 
'  Can  there  be  a  man  in  the  world  to  do  such  wrongful 
acts  ?  '    Enquiries  were  made,  and  when  the  allegations, 
against  the  governor  were  proved,  he  was  condemned  10 
life-long  imprisonment  in  the  fort  of  Rohtasgarh,  and  hi& 
effects  were  seized. a    Bernier  writes  that  the  nower  of 
the  local  authorities  over  the  peasantry  was  so  absolute, 
that  there  was  no  one  before  whom  the  injured  peasant, 
artisan,  or  tradesman  could  lay  his  complaints.     It  may 
have  been  so  in  the  remoter  parts  of  the  empire,  but 
wherever  the  eye  of  the  emperor  could  reach,   wrongs 
were  righted  and  justice  was  done.    There   was  no  craze 
for  litigation,  and  ^ven  Bernier  admits  that  there  were  few 
law  suits,  fewer  lawyers,  and  justice  was  expeditious.  *  The 
anecdotes   related  by  Manucci  of  Shahjahan's  rigorous 
justice    present    his    character  in    a  highly  favourable 
light. 

The  punishments  inflicted  upon  the  culprits  were  bar- 
barous. Minor  offences  wers  punished  with  the  mutilation 
of  limbs,  whereas  for  the  more  serious  crimes  death  and 
imprisonment  for  life  were  laid  dovni  as  penalties.  Peter 
Mundy  speaks  of  great  barbarities  practised  by  provincial 
satraps,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  some  of  them  were 

1  Storia  do  Mogor,  I,  p.  197. 
*  Storia  do  Mogor,  I,  pp.  198-99. 
3  Bernier,  p.  361. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  609 

» 

<Jruel  and  savage. '  But  fo  generalise  about  the  whole 
administration  from  the  cruelties  of  one  or  two  governors 
would  be  hardly  justifiable. 

The  Mughals  were  essentially  an  urban  people.  They 
derived  their  revenue  from  the  villages,  but  as  Professor 
Jadunath  Sarkar  remarks,  they  dreaded  them  as  a  punish- 
ment. The  provincial  government  was  largely  govern- 
ment of  the  capital  cities  of  the  provinces.  The  Subahdar 
acquainted  himself  with  the  condition  of  the  villages 
through  the  faujdar  and  the  officers  of  the  revenue 
department  and  by  paying  personal  visits  to  the  rural 
areas,  *but  so  far  as  governmental  activity  was  concern- 
ed, the  villagers  were  left  to  themselves  and  were  taken 
no  notice  of  as  long  as  they  did  not  disturb  the  public 
peace.  The  chief  officers  who  controlled  and  guided  the 
administration  of  the  provinces  were  (1)  the  Subahdar, 
(2)  the  provincial  diwan,  (3)  the  faujdar,  (4)  the  Kotwal, 
and  (5)  the  Waqianavis. 

Their  functions  have  been  described  before  in  a 
previous  chapter.  The  accounts  of  European  travellers 
throw  a  lurid  light  upon  Shahjahan's  provincial  adminis- 
tration. Peter  Mundy  describes  the  governors  as  cruel 

1  The  traveller  speaks  of  chor  minors  (tower  of  skulls  for  thieves) 
which  he  saw  with  his  own  eyes.  This  punishment  was  intended  to 
banish  theft  from  the  country,  and  the  result  was  undoubtedly  whole- 
some. ^  * 

Manucci  (I.  pp.  197 — 208)  relates  several  instances  in  which  Draco- 
nian punishments  were  inflicted  upon  the  culprits.  Some  of  them  are 
obviously  incredible.  Nobles  and  commoners  were  punished  alike  for 
their  misconduct,  and  the  emperor  freely  laid  his  hands  upon  those  who 
acted  against  his  wishes  or  oppressed  his  poor  subjects.  A  Hindu  olerk, 
whose  wife  had  been  forcibly  seized  by  a  soldier,  appealed  to  the 
emperor  for  protection.  The  slave  girl  was  sent  into  the  palace,  and  the 
emperor  asked  her  to  put  water  into  the  inkpot  which  she  did  with 
great  cleverness.  The  emperor  who  watched  the  manner  of  the  girl  in 
doing  the  errand  felt  convinced  that  sho  belonged  to  the  scribe,  and 
dismissed  the  claim  of  the  soldier  and  banished  him  from  the  city. 

F.  39 


€10  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

V 

and  capricious  tyrants  who  acted  callously  in  their  dealings 
with  the  people.    The  governor  of  Patna,  Abdullah  Khan, 
ill-treated  Mundy,    connived    at  peculation,  and  levied 
customs  duties  even  upon  milk-sellers. 1    At  Benares  the 
traveller  saw  a  man  hanging  on  a  tree   by  the  heels—a 
punishment  inflicted  for  disobeying  the  royal  edict  about 
the  demolition  of  temples. 2  Between  Biyana  and  Fatehpur 
Sikri  during  the  years  1632-33  he  saw  250  or  300  men  set 
on  stakes  by  Mirza  Lashkar,   the  governor,    who  recked 
nothing  of  human  lives. '    The  customs  duties  were  levied 
in  many  places,  and  thieves  abounded  in  the  country,  and 
made  the    highways   unsafe   for    traffic   from  Agra  to 
Ahmadabad.    The  country  was  a  barren  desert,  and  no 
meat  or  drink  was  procurable  and  there  were  no  sarais.* 
The  char  minars  of  which  Mundy  speaks  have  already 
been  alluded  to  before.    Mandelslo  has  drawn  a  similar 
picture.    Bernier  who  reached  India  towards  the  close  of 
Shahjahan's    reign  speaks   of  provincial    governors  as 
petty  tyrants,  possessing    boundless    authority.     There 
was  none  to  whom  the  oppressed  subject   could  appeal 
and  he  had  no  hope  of   redress  '  let  his  injuries  be  so 
grievous   or   ever  so  frequently  repeated.'5      True,  the 
Waqianavis  were  there  to  inform  the  emperor   of  the 
doings    of    the    governor,    but    there   was   '  generally 
a     dangerous    collusion    between     these    officers    and 
the   governor/  with  the    result  k  that    the  wrong-doers 
escaped  unpunished,  and  tyranny  continued  to  be  prac- 
tised without    let*  or  hindrance.    Manucci  who  praises 


i  Travels,  II,  p.  160. 
1  Ibid.,  IIt  p,  178. 
9  Ibid.,  II,  p.  284. 
4  Ibid.,  II,  p.  364. 
6  Bernier,  p.  281, 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  611 

• 

Shahjahan's  severe  justice  contradicts  Mundy  in  one 
important  point.  He  gives  a  long:  account  of  the  Sarais 
and  their  management.  There  were  Sarais  throughout 
the  empire,  which  could  accommodate  800  to  1,000  persons 
with  their  horses,  camels,  carriages  and  their  guar4s. l , 

The  accounts  of  European  Travellers  are  in  conflict 
with  one  another,  and  it  would  be  unfair  to  generalise 
about  the  administration  as  a  whole  from  their  observa- 
tions. It  may  be  conceded  at  once  that  punishments  were 
severe,  and  that  provincial  governors  must  have  acted 
in  certain  places  like  tyrants,  but  it  would  be  unfair  to 
conclude  from  this  that  there  was  grinding  oppression 
throughout  the  country.  The  author  of  the  Lubb-ut- 
Tawaritch  writes  that  Shahjahan  employed  intelligent  and 
-capable  officers,  showed  affection  towards  the  people, 
examined  the  accounts  himself,  and  tried  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  the  agricultural  population  in  every  way,  The 
prosperity  of  the  empire  increased,  and  the  pargana 
which  had  an  income  of  3  lakhs  in  the  time  of  Akbar  now 
.yielded  10  lakhs.  Manucci  also  clearly  states  that  the 
-emperor  removed  just  grievances  and  severely  punished 
•his  governors,  when  they  oppressed  the  people.  The 
Muslim  citizens  lived  in  ease  and  comfort,  and  though 
agricultural  labourers,  who  were  mostly  Hindus,  were  not 
.so  well  off,  it  should  be  boroe  in  mind  that  Shahjahan's 
buildings  must  have  afforded  ample  occupation  to  artisans, 
masons,  and  labourers,  who  were  brought  together  from 
different  parts  of  the  country.  In  times  of  famine  the 
emperor  did  much  to  alleviate  human  suffering.  When  a 
severe  famine  occurred  in  the  Punjab  in  the  19th  year  of 

1  Storia  do  Mogor,  I,  pp.  68-69. 


612  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

• 

6 

the  reign,  the  emperor  issued  an  order  that  the  children 
sold  off  by  starving  parents  should  be  purchased  at  the 
expense  of  the  state,  and  again  made  over  to  them.  Ten 
public  kitchens  were  opened  at  Lahore  by  the  imperial 
command,  where  food  was  distributed  gratis  to  the 
famished  population. 

No  clear  line  of  demarcation  can  be  drawn  between 
the  civil  and  military  departments.  The  mansab  and  jagir 
were  the  determining  factors  in  the  administration*  but 
the  correspondence  between  the  mansab  and  the  number 
of  horsemen  indicated  by  it  had  ceased  by  the  time  Shah- 
jahan  came  to  the  throne.  The  Zat  and  Sawar  ranks  still 
continued  but  it  is  positively  certain  that  the  figures  of 
the  rank  did  not  imply  that  a  particular  mansabdar 
kept  the  number  prescribed  by  his  mansab.  To  check 
fraudulent  practices  Shahjahan  revised  the  branding 
(dagh)  regulations.  An  officer  in  the  Subah  to  which  he 
was  appointed  was  required  to  have  Ird  of  his  horses 
branded,  and  if  he  was  deputed  on  state  duty  in  another 
province  in  Hindustan  ith,  i.  e.,  in  the  first  case  a 
mansabdar  holding  rank  of  3,000  Zat  and  3,000  Sawar 
was  required  to  get  1,000  horses  branded,  and  in  the 
second  case  only  750.  The  number  to  be  branded  in  the 
case  of  officers  who  were  sent  to  Balkh  and  Badakhshan 
in  time  of  war  was  fixed  rft  £th,  owing  to  the  difficulties 
of  the  journey  and  the  rigours  of  tthe  climate. 

According  to  Abdul  Hamid  Lahori,  the  imperial  army 
in  1648  consisted  of  2,00,000  cavalry,  8,000  mansabdars, 
7,000  Ahadis  or  gentlemen  troopers,  40,000  foot  musketeers 
and  artillery  men  and  1,85,000  cavalry  under  the  princes 
and  nobles,  making  a  total  of  4,40,000.  Besides  these 
there  were  troops  in  the  parganas  under  the  command 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  618 

6f  the  faujdars.krorig,  and  amjls,   anc 

of  thFroyararfi^r  must  Rave  been  considerably 
greater  than  the  figure  stated  above.  The  various 
branches  of  the  army  continued  to  work  as  before,  and 
there  was  no  dearth  of  fighting  material  and  during  the 
Qandhar  campaign  special  efforts  were  made  to  secure  it 
by  the  government.  Dara  carried  with  him  to  Qandhar  a 
large  army  consisting  of  four  heavy  guns,  30,000  ironshots, 
great  and  small,  1,500  mans,  5,000  mans  of  gunpowder, 
5,000  artillery  men,  10,000  musketeers,  6,000  pioneers, 
sappers  and  axemen,  500  pakhalis,  3,000  ahadis,  60  war 
elephants  and  a  great  number  of  Banjaras  for  transport. 

Though  numerically  the  army  of  Shahjahan  was  very 
large,  its  efficiency  was  by  no  means  proportionate  to  its 
numbers,  as  is  shown  by  its  repeated  failures  against 
Qandhar  and  the  disaster  that  followed  the  Balkh  cam- 
paign. 

On  the  whole  then  it  may  be  affirmed  that  Shahjahan 
exercised  his  sway  in  a  beneficent  manner.  Tavernier 
writes  that  the  police  was  so  strict  in  all  things  and  parti- 
cularly with  reference  to  the  safety  of  the  roads  that  there 
was  no  necessity  for  executing  a  man  for  having  com- 
mitted theft. }  Both  Muslim  and  Hindu  chroniclers  agree 
in  saying  that  the  country  was  prosperous.  The  emperor 
possessed  enormous  wealth,  ^which  enabled  him  to  adorn 
his  capital  cities  with  noble  edifices  which  stand  to  this 
day/  Abdul  Hamid  Lahori  writes  that  Shahjahan  had 

1  Travels,  I,  p.  325. 

8  Shabjahan  spent  9J  crores  of  rupees  in  rewards  and  gifts  in  the 
first  twenty  years  of  his  reign  and  more  than  three  million  on  his  buil- 
dings. Beroier  writes  (p.  223)  that  Shahjahan  never  amassed  six  ororea 
of  rupees,  although  he  was  a  great  economist.  He  does  not  include  in 


614  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

jewels  worth  ten  crores  at  the  Jtime  of  his  accession.  Out 
of  these  he  spent  jewels  worth  two  crores  in  gifts  and 
rewards  and  about  50  lakhs  worth  in  medicines.  In  1644 
he  had  in  his  possession  jewels  worth  five  crores  in  the 
Jawahar  Khanah-i-Inam  and  had  two  rosaries  valued  at 
20  lakhS  of  rupees. 

From  the  vast  riches  of  the  emperor  the  people  at 
large  derived  no  small  benefit.  Shahjahan's  love  of  magni- 
ficence created  numberless  facilities  of  employment.  The 
state  promoted  industries,  and  in  its  workshops  at  Lahore, 
Agra,  Fatehpur,  Ahmadabad,  Burhanpur  and  Kashmir 
costly  fabrics  of  great  beauty  were  made  for  the  'use  of 
the  royal  family  and  the  officials.  Bernier  speaks  of  Kar* 
khanahs  in  the  fortress  where  goldsmiths,  painters,  varni- 
shers,  tailors,  shoe-makers,  manufacturers  of  silk,  brocade 
and  other  pieces  of  cloth  exhibited  their  skill  and  power 
of  invention. '  Still,  labour  in  the  bazars  was  not  free,  and 
the  traveller  observes  that  the  artisans  were  not  adequate- 
ly paid  by  the  Omrah,  who  sometimes  applied  the  Korah 
instead  of  paying  fair  wages.2  The  Hindu  merchants  were 
well  off,  but  many  of  them  in  the  country  districts  conceal- 
ed their  wealth,  buried  it  deep  in  the  ground.  In  the 
cities  the  merchants  had  considerable  influence  with 
the  government.  Santi  Das,  a  wealthy  Jain  merchant  of 
Ahmadabad  who  built  a  large  temple  in  1638,  enjoyed  the 
favour  of  the  court  and  was  given  the  title  of  Nagar 
Beth.' 

his  estimate  the  gold  and  eilver  articles  of  various  kinds,  covered  with 
precious  stones,  pearls  and  other  valuable  stuff.  Bernier  forgets  that 
Bhahjahan  had  spent  lavishly  on  wars  and  buildings. 

1  Travels,  p.    269. 

'Ibid., p.  266. 

9  Foster,  English  Factories,   1684—86,  p.  196. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  615 

On  the  6th  September,  1657,  '  Shah  jahan  fell  ill  of 
strangury  and  constipation  and  was  confined  to  bed. 
After  a  week  he  appeared  in  the  Jharokha 
to  allay  the  Public  disquietude  caused  by 
the  rumour  of  his  death,  but  weakness  per- 
sisted, and  even  the  physicians  did  not  feel  sanguine  about 
his  recovery.  Knowing  death  to  be  a  certainty,  the  emperor 
made  his  last  will  and  testament,  and  commended 
his  ^Idest  son,  Dara,  to  his  nobles  and  officers  and  asked 
them  to  look  upon  him  as  their  sovereign  lord.  He  advised 
the  Prince  to  so  order  his  conduct  as  to  please  God,  to 
cherish  'his  subjects,  and  to  look  after  the  welfare  of  the 
peasantry  and  army.  The  affairs  of  the  state  were  man* 
aged  by  Dara  in  the  emperor's  name,  but  the  atmosphere 
was  surcharged  with  suspicion,  and  to  the  distant  parts 
of  the  empire  the  news  travelled  with  lightning  speed 
that  Shahjahan  was  no  longer  alive,  and  that  Dara  was 
concealing  the  fact  of  his  usurpation  of  sovereign  power. 
With  the  advice  of  his  physicians,  Shahjahan  left,  for 
Agra  for  a  change  of  air  on  the  18th  October,  and  took  up 
his  abode  in  the  Agra  fort,  where  he  was  to  pass  the 
remainder  of  his  life  as  a  captive  in  the  hands  of  his 
ambitious  son. 

Shahjahan  had  four  sons,   Para,  Shuja,  Aurangzeb 

and  Murad,  and  two  daughters  Jahanara^  known  as  the 

o^  u.  t.    ,      Begum  Sahib,  who  was  a  strong  partisan  of 

Shahjahan's      _r  -  -x:  —  , 

family—  Oha-      Dara  and  jtenahflnara,  who  backed  the  claims 


the    of  her  third  brother,  and  kept  him  informed 

of  everything  that  went  on  in  the  palace. 
Dara,  who  had  just  completed  his  42nd  year,  was  a  man 
of  eclectic  views  in  religious  matters.    He  freely  associat- 
ed with  Muslim  Sufis  and  Hia^Vprlimtintoi  listened  with 


«16  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

f 

equal  interest  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Talmud  and  the 
New  Testament  With  the  help  of  Brahman  scholars  he 
translated  the  Upanishada  into  Persian,  and  attempted 
to  discover  a  modus  vivendi  between  irreconcilable  doc- 
trines which  divided  mankind  into  hostile  groups. '  To  him 
there  was  no  difference  between  the  essentials  of  Islam 
and  Hinduism  His  lack  of  sympathy  with  the  orthodox 
point  of  view  was  enough  to  damn  him  in  the  eyes  of 
the  champions  of  bigoted  Sunnism,  and,  no  wondeir,  if 
Aurangzeb  could  successfully  rally  the  hatred  and  spite 
of  his  co-religionists  against  him, 

Para  was  his  father *s  favourite.  He  had  always 
lived  at  court,  and  though  polite  in  conversation  and 
*  affable  in  manners,  he  had  not  acquired  the  qualities  of  a 
statesman.  Power  and  wealth  had  engendered  in  him 
much  conceit  of  himself  and  rendered  him  disdainful 
of  advice,  even  when  it  was  offered  by  his  well-meaning 
friends.  He  was  ignorant  of  the  art  of  war,  and  had 
neYfimon  lan™*1g  ^P  ***  figMjvf  feffg  TheTlattery  of 
•courtiers  had  blinded  him  to  his  faults,  and  seriously 
impaired  his  capacity  for  correct  judgment.  In  an  open 

1  Para,  was    no    apostate    from      Islam.     Aurangzeb's     manifesto 
pointed  out  the  following  facts  : — 

*  («)    He  conversed   with  Brahmans,    Yogis  and    Sannyasis 
and  looked  upon  them  as  spiritual  guides.     He  regarded 
the  Veda  as  a  divide  hook  and  studied  it. 
)    He  wore  rings  and  jewels  on   which  was  inscribed  in 

Hindi  letters  the  word  Prabnu  or  Lord, 
(e)     He  discarded   the   Bamean  and  other  observances  of  the 

faith. 
He  wrote  a  number  of  works  some  of  which  are  the  following  :— 

1.  &trr-trf-o«r5r  which  is  a  translation  of  the  Upani- 
ehade. 

2.  Safinat-ul-Aulia  which  is  a  hagiological  treatise 
containing  the  lives  of  Muslim  saints. 

8.    Afajmua-ul-Baharin,  a  treatise    on  the  technical 
terms  of  Hindu  pantheism  and  their  Sufi  synonyms. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  617 

t 

encounter,  he  had  no  change  of  success  against  a  practis- 
ed warrior  and  consummate  diplomatist  like  Aurangzeb. 

Shuja  was  an  intelligent  man  of  refined  tastes.  He 
was  not  lacking  in  courage,  but  he  was  a  slave  to  his 
pleasures,  and  like  most  other  high-born  youths  of  his  age 
frittered  away  his  time  in  the^company  of  women  in  thfc 
haram.  No  business  of  state  could  draw  him  away  from 
his  drinking  bouts,  and  no  courtier  could  remonstrate 
with  him  regarding  the  follies  which  he  practised  un- 
abashed. The  climate  of  Bengal  had  undermined  his 
bodily  strength,  and  made  him  incapable  of  strenuous 
exertion.  But  he  was  not  wholly  devoid  of  mental 
power,  and  in  times  of  crisis  he  could  display  a  strength 
-of  will  and  resourcefulness,  which  took  his  contempora- 
ries by  surprise. 

Aurangzeb  was  the  ablest  of  Shahjahan's  sons.  He 
lacked  the  affable  manners  and  the  tolerant  spirit  of 
Dara,  but  his  judgment  was  sound,  and  he  had  a  great 
capacity  for  discerning  the  character  of  men  with  whom 
he  had  to  deal.  He  was  '  a  perfect  master  of  the  art  of 
-dissimulation,9  and  not  even  his  most  intimate  friends  could 
fathom  the  depth  of  his  heart,  when  he  chose  to  be  reserv- 
ed and  incommunicative.  He  was  well-versed  in  politics, 
and  had  acquired  considerable  experience  of  administra- 
tion. He  was  essentially  of  «  religious  turn  of  mind,  and 
was  the  only  man  whp  could  successfully  lead  the  Sunni 
opposition  to  Dara's  genuine  liberalism. 

*  Murad  was  a  fool  in  politics."  His  one  thought  was 
pleasure,  and  he  left  nothing  undone  to  satisfy  his  grosser 
appetites.  He  was  frank  to  a  degree,  despised  intrigue, 
and  prided  himself  on  hiajitter  laek  of  secrecy.  But  his 
character  had  o ther  traits  wKich  d6S&V£  to,  b£. admired. 


618  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

He  was  generous  and  amiable, ,.  and  extended  his  favours 
to  those  who  served  him,  but  in  doing  so  he  did  not  act 
with  discrimination.  He  was  not  wanting  in  courage,  and 
his  love  of  ease  vanished  at  the  sight  of  an  enemy  arrang- 
ed in  battle'array.  Regardless  of  risk,  he  would  rush  into 
the  thick  of  the  fight  and  satiate  his  fury  by  the  slaughter 
of  his  opponents.  But  he  lacked  the  qualities  of  leader- 
ship, and  his  personal  daring  was  not  of  much  use  against 
well-organised  armies,  controlled  and  guided  by  cqm- 
manders  of  ability,  foresight,  and  capacity  for  combina- 
tion. Bernier  is  wrong  in  saying  that  he  would  have  re- 
mained the  undisputed  master  of  Hindustan,  if  his  courage 
had  been  under  the  guidance  of  a  little  more  discretion. 

The  rumour  of  Shahjahan's  death  spread  all  over  the 

empire,  and  since  there  was  no  law  of  succession  among 

the  Mughals,   the  rival  claimants  appealed 

War       of    to  tjje  arbitrament  of  the  sword.    During 

[succession  be- 

fgins*  the  emperor's  illness,  Dara  remained  by  his 

side,  and  transacted  all  public  business  in 
his  name.  '  To  safeguard  his  own  interests/  writes  Khafi 
Khan,  '  he  exacted  pledges  from  ministers  not  to  publish 
what  passed  in  council  and  closed  the  roads  of  Bengal, 
Ahmedabad  and  the  Deccan  against  messengers  and 
travellers.  The  Amirs,  Zamindars,  and  ryots  resented 
Dara's  impolitic  action,  and  turbulent  spirits  in  all  parts  of 
the  country  raised  their  heads  in  expectation  of  strife.'1 

When  the  news  reached  the  provinces,  Murad  and. 
Shuja  assumed  the  .  imperial  title  in  Gujarat  and 
Bengal  respectively,  and  had  the  coins  struck  and  th& 
Khutba  read  in  their  names.  Dara  feared  Aurangzgfr 
most,  andhe  had^liceady  persuaded  the  emperor  to  recall 

-fifiiot.  vn,  P.  *it 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH 


tike  nobles  an^enerals^^ 

in  the^sS^^olBijaEur.  Murad  collected  a  large  army,  and 
sentTff^^  to  pinner  fl>p  port  pf 

Surat,  which  was  an  appanage 


slew  her  Diwdn  TBFrJO!  ^Tagfi  with^hjs  pwn^ 

a    maiting'     gsmis.     He    rebuked 


Murad  for  his  precipitate  action  and  aslce^Jiimto  wait  till 
the  newsof  Shahja'han's  death  was  confirmed.  ButJduracl 
urgsiJ  tbat  the  results^  of  '3^1a£f  would  be  fatal.  They 
entered  into  an  agreement  in  orderjto  partition  ihe.  empire 
between  themselves.  Murad  was  to  take  the  northern 
provincesT  t.e.,  the  Punjab,  Afghanistan,  Kashmir,  and 
Sindh,  and  the  rest  were  to  belong  to  Aurangzeb.  Dara 
was  denounced  as  a  Kafir,  and  Aurangzeb  expressed  his 
firm  resolve  to  free  the  country  from  his  evil  influence. 
The  partition  treaty  was  solemnly  agreed  to,  and  God  and 
thelProphet  were  made  witnesses  to  it.  Murad  marched 
out  of  Gujarat,  and  joined  Aurangzeb  in  the  environs  of 
Dipalpur  near  Ujjain.  The  combined  forces  then  pro- 
ceeded towards  Ujjain  and  encamped  at  the  village  of 
Dharmat,  ready  to  give  battle  to  the  enemy. 
*'s:^teShuja  crowned  himself  at  Rajmahal  and  started  for 
Delhi  attheheadof  a  large  army,  which  included  also  a  fleet 
of  boats.  He  ravaged  the  districts  of  Bihar 
jttuja's  ad-  and  reached  Benares  on  January  24,  1658. 

Dara  sep£  an  army  under  his  son  Sulaimaa 
Sfrnkoh  and  Raja  Jaisingh  Kachwaha  to  deal  with  Shuja. 
The  imperial  army  met  Shuja's  force  ^t  Bahadurpur,  five 
miles  north-east  of  Benares  and  defeated  it.  Shuja  fled 
from  the  field  of  battle  and  hastily  embarked  for  Bengal. 

Dara  had  also  sent  an  army  under  Maharaja  Jaswant 
Singh  and  Qasim  Khan  to  deal  with  the  combined  forces 


620  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

of  Murad  and  Aurangzeb.    ^ttgmpt^wgrg^a4g  on  botn 
sides  tawrt^ 


f 
April  11U668 

defeated 


where  he  founH^pie^tie^gates  shut  ag^st  him 

^  a  "Rajput  he  TfadTTed  from 

T^raj^fledLSulain^Bn 

•Shukoh  from  Bihar,  but  he^mY^J^lSi^ 
^fhe^e^^  does  not  rest  with 

the  .Raja.  He  had  under  his  comman  d~ari~~arniy,  which 
was  ^^heterojgenebus  mags  ^  without  T  cohesion  or  common 
loyaltx.  The  Rajputs,  belonging  to  the  different  clans, 
were  swayed  by  considerations  of  privilege  and  preced- 
ence, and  did  not  render  ungrudging  obedience  to  the 
<5ommands  of  their  leader.  The  Hindus  and  Muslims  had 
their  own  differences,  and  their  separatist  tendencies 
destroyed  the  unity  of  command,  which  was  essential 
to  success.  TheJ&uslims  scorned  to  fight^under^  Hindu 
hus  within  Tangle*  army  there  were  seen 
authorities,  which  fatally  hampered  the 

drawEacEi; 

the  imperial  army  was  weakened  by  the  intrigues  which 
its  own  officers  carried  with  Aurangzeb. 

The  victory  at  Dharmat  increased  Aurangzeb's  pres- 
tige and  brought  to  him  much,  treasure  and  fighting 
material  The  victorious  prince  proceeded  towards  Gwa- 
Jior,  and  after  crossin^the  Chambal  encamped  near  the 
plain  of  Samugarh.  1 


1   Prof.  J.  N.  Sarkar  identifies  Samugarh  with  Samogar,  a  small 
-village  eight  miles  due  east  oi  Agra  Fort. 

According  to  Bernier  Samugarh  is  the  modern  Fatehabad,  21  miles 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  621 

,  • 

When  Dara  heard  of  the  crushing  defeat  of  Jaswant 

Singh's  army,  he  was  completely  unnerved.    Shahjahan, 

>  who  had  started  for  Delhi  on  April  11,  1658, 

'   Battle      of    to  escape  the  heat  of  the  Agra  summer,  re- 

Samugarh,  29th       M  .  *         _..      ,  J      .  . 

,  1668.  turned  from  Bilochpur  to  Agra,  where  vigor- 


ous efforts  were  made  to  crush  Aurdngzeb. 
He  was  opposed  to  war,  but  he  did  not  assert  himself  and 
take  steps  to  nip  th&strife  in  the  budT.  He  wjis  s 
ly  jn  Dara's  hands  that  Jbue.dicJ  not  stir  out 
suspicions  x>f  .his  .sons,  who  were  tired  of  their  elder  bro- 
ther's mischief.    At  last  Dara's  army  which-  numbered 
aboutl50,000  reached  the  plain  of  Samugarh  towards  the- 
close  of  May,  and  arranged  itself  in  battle  array.    The 
Rajputs  formed  the  vanguard,  the  left  andjright  wings 
were  commaiu^^  son, 

and  Khalilullah  Khan  respectively,  while  in  the  centre 
was  posted  Dara  himself  seated  on  a  lofty  elephant 
covered  with  barbed  steel.  The  numbers^of  para's  army 
areL.no  index  to  its  strength  and,  efficiency.  He  was  not 
a  great  general  himself,  and  his  commander  Khalilullah 
Khan  was  one  of  those  men  whom  Intrigue  can  seduce 
aadL-fflJjL  can  ^y-  ^e  &a3Puts  after  the  fashion  of 
their  tribe  followed  their  own  tactics,  and  did  not  act  in 
harmony  with  Muslim  soldiers.  Aurangzeb's  forces  were 
led  by  tried  warriors  both.  Hindu  and  Muslim,  who  had 
proved  their  valour  .in  many  an  arduous  campaign,  and 
his  artillery  was  better  organised  than  that  of  his- 


south-east  of  Agra,  where  he  found  a\8arai  and  a  mosque  called  the 
Mubarak  Manzil.  v 

The  author  of  the  Khulasat,  who  is  a  contemporary,  writes  thafr 
Agra  was  ten  Kos  (30  miles)  from  the  battlefield.  Tradition  stronger 
supports  the  view  that  Samugarh  is  the  modern  Fatehabad. 


*622  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

-opponent.    With  these  adyaut&ges  on  Aurangzeb's  side, 
the^  issue  of  the  battle  was  a  foregone  cpncfusjon,  " 

TEe  Battle  Hbegan  with  a  heavy  discharge  of  rockets 
-and  guns,  and  thousands  of  arrows  were  hurled  from 
both  sides.  Siphir  Shukoh  and  Rustam  Khan  with  10 
or  12  thousand  horse  rushed  with  great  force  towards 
Prince  Muhammad  and  caused  much  confusion  in  the 
army,  but  a  ball  from  the  enemy's  guns  struck  Rustam's 
elephant,  who  instantly  fell  on  the  ground.  Rustam 
withdrew  in  fear  from  further  attack,  but  reinforcements 
on  both  sides  again  made  the  contest  warm.  Rustam 
Khan  was  defeated,  and  Siphir  Shukoh  was  driven^back. 

Mortified  by  Rustam's  discomfiture,  Dara  led  the 
-centre  which  consisted  of  20,000  horse  against  the 
victorious  wing  of  the  enemy,  but  he  was  repulsed.  This 
was  followed  by  a  terrific  attack  of  the  Rajputs  upon 
Prince  Murad.  The  elephant  of  Murad  was  about  to  run 
-away  from  the  field,  but  a  chain  was  thrown  round  his 
legs  to  fix  him  to  the  spot,  where  he  stood.  Raja  Ram 
Singh  Rathor  dashed  at  the  elephant  of  Murad  and  cried 
'Out:  "What!  do  you  contest  the  throne  with  Dara 
Shukoh?  "  Then  the  Rajputs  rushed  upon  the  elephant, 
but  they  were  cut  down,  and  their  robes  'made  the 
ground  as  yellow  as  a  field  of  saffron.9 

Aurangzeb  and  Murad  both  displayed  nnPY«mpteA 
<xmrage  in  fighting,  and  inflicted  heavy  losses  on  Dara's 
menT^Iinl^eat  despair  Dara  got  down  from  his  elephant 
and  mounted  a  hocse  without  arms  but  the  sight  of  the 
empty  howdah  caused  a  panic  in  his  army,  and  the 
result  was  a  general  stampede  from  the  field.  Aurang* 
zeb  obtained  a  clear  victory  and  received  congratulations 
from  all  sides.  Dara  and  Siphir  Shukoh,  dumbfounded 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  623 

their  defeat,  took  the  road  for  Agra,  where  they 
reached  late  in  the  night. 

Aurangzeb  entered  Dara's  camp,  and  seized  all  his 
baggage  and  artillery.  He  offered  congratulations  to 
Murad  on  the  acquisition  of  sovereignty  and  appointed 
skilled  surgeons  to  dress  his  wounds. 

No  words  can  adequately  describe  Dara's  miserable 

plight  at  this  time.  Most  of  his  adherents,   tormented  by 

.  ^  thirst  and  heat,  gave  up  the  ghost  in  despair 

towards  Agra*    on  enterin£  the  town.    He_w£&_sa-ashamed 

that  he  did  not  go  even  ^to  see  Shahjahan, 

who  was  deeply  touched  by  his  defeat.  An  express  was 

senTtoTJelhi  to  order  the  local  governor  to  place  all 

the^treasure  "in  the  fort  at  Dara's  disposal.    But  all  this 

availed  nothing  against  the  relentless  pressure  of  fate  and 

the  vindictive  fury  of  Aurangzeb. 

After  his  victory  the  Prince  started  for  Agra  and 

encamped  in  the  Bagh-i-Nur  outside  the  town  from  where 

he  sent  a  petition  (arzdcL8ht)JoJhe  ^emperor, 

Aarangzeb's     begging  to  be  excuse<3Tfor  the  war  wKich 

Marchto-  &e     & 

^wards  Agra.       was  forced  upon  him  by  his  enemies.  Shah- 

jahan  who  was  anxious  to  make  the  best  df  a 

bad  job  sent  him  a  sword  named 


looked  upon  as  a  ^ood  omen/and  e^ressed  a  desire  to  see 
him.  But  Aurangzeb's  friends  told  him  that  t^eiflp'OAr 
had  formed  a  plot  to  tftfes  his  ItfeTIEIiiynX^^  him 

thatjt.ww^ecessary.for  liis  safety  that  Shah  jahan  should 

.be  imprisoned.     ThAjprnpngn]  Wfta_we1mpwv^Q^  Anrangzieb 

who  at  once  sent  Prince  Muhammad  to  xeznov^^^h&ai^* 
B  and  teke  poasessioiv^  The  siege 


beg&n,  and  the  imperialists  defended 

«reat  gallantey,  but  wltiexi  tha,  water  ^supply  ^  from  4he 


624  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

» 

Jamna  was  cutjoff  ,  theysurregdered.  *    The  old  emperor 

none  but 


a  few  private  servants  were  allowed  to  sfigakiaiiim.  His 
deaHj^toved_  daughter  Jahanara  shared  his  captivity  and 
served  him  with  unequalled  devotion.  She  tried  to  bring 
about  a  reconciliation  between  father  and  son,  but  her 
efforts^f  ailed.  A  secret  letter  written  by  the  emperor  to 
Dara,_asking  him  to  stay  at  Delhi,  was  betrayed  into 
Jturiaiufzeb's  hands,  and  his  suspicions  were  fully  confirmed. 
EteTfelt  convinced  of  the  emperor's  duplicity  and  turned 
a  deaf  ear  to  alljxmnsete  of  peace  and  conciliation. 
*"  ~  Aurangzeb  was  now  de  facto  master  of  the  empire. 
He  held  a  grand  Darbar,  and  his  officers  and  men  saluted 

him    as    their  liege-lord.    But  Murad  felt 
ofMurrldnment     dissatisfied  with  his  brother's  attitude.    He 

gathered  round  him  a  force  of  20,000  men 
and  began  'to  assert  his  own  will.'  When  Aurangzeb' 
left  for  Delhi,  Murad  followed  him  and  added  to  the 
confusion  of  the  time  by  setting  up  a  new  rivalry. 
But  Aurangzeb  was  equal  to  the  occasion.  At  Mathura  he 
invited  Murad  to  a  feast  which  he  heartily  enjoyed.  Wine, 
Murad's  greatest  foible,  proved  a  fatal  snare.  Dead  drunk. 
he  fell  asleep,  and  in  a  short  time  found  himself  a  prisoner 
in  his  brother's  hands.  Gold  fetters  were  thrown  round 
his  legs,  and  he  fretted  and,  fumed  with  the  impotent  rage 
of  a  caged  tiger,  and  heaped  curses  on  Aurangzeb  for 

1   Shahjahan  was  compelled    to   quench  his   thirst  in   the   scorching^ 
heat  of  June    with   bitter    well-water..      He  wrote   a   pathetic   letter  to 
Aurangzeb  in  which  the  following  verse  occurs  :  — 
I  Praised  be  the  Hindus  in  all  cases, 
I  As  they  ever  offer  water  to  their  dead. 
I  And  thou,  my  son,  art  a  marvellous  Musaknan, 
lAs  thou  eausest  me  in  life  to  lament  for  (lack  of  )  water  I 
To  this  Aurangzeb's  reply  was,  "  It  ia  vour  own  doing." 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  625 

violating  his  solemn  oaths  on  the  Quran.  The  captive 
Princejyas  sent  to  the  fort  of  Gwalior,  where  after  some 
abortive  attempts  at  escape,  he  was  tried  for  the  murder 
of  his  Diwan,  Ali  Naqi,  and  was  condemned  to  death.  _The 
Qazfs  verdict  was  forthwith  executed,  and  the  unhappy 
Prince  was  murdered  in  his  prison  celHDecember  4;  1661), 
and  hisHbody  was  Juried  in  the  fort. 

Aurangzeb  continued  his  march  towards  Delhi  where 
on  July  21,  1658,  he  crowned  himself  as  emperor,  and 
assufned  the  title  of  Alamgir  (world  compeller).  The  usual 
rites-of  coronation  were  put  off  to  a  later  occasion. 

Dasa  did  not  stay  long  at  Delhi.    He  fled  to  the  Pun: 

jab^wherehe  thought  he  might  escape  from  the  clutches 

of  his  mortal  enemy.    But  the  latter  follow- 

attempt  *  **  *  eA  close  upon  his  heels  and  compelled  .him  to 
seek  refuge  in  Gujarat.  The  Governor  „  of 
Ahmedabad  received  him  well,  and  placed  at  his  disposal 
ten  lakhs  of  rupees,  which  belonged  to  Murad.  With,  jthis 
money  he  raised  a  force  of  20,000,  and  once  more  decided 
to  grapple  with  Aurangzeb.  Raja  Jaswant  Singh  Rathor 
invited  Dara  to  hasten  towards  Ajmere  and  promised  him 
support.  Dara  forthwith  set  out  on  his 


hopes  were  dashed  to  the  ground,  when  he  learnt  that 
Jaswant  had  been  won  over  by  Aurangzeb.  Through  the 
good  offices  of  Raja  Jai  jJingh^  the  Raja's  offences  were 
forgiven  by  Aurangzeb,  and  he  was  reinstated  in  ,his 
mansab.  Dara  appealefl  to  the  Raja  to  honour  his  plighted 
word,  but^his  entreaties  produced  no  effect.  At  last,^he 
resolved  to  hold  the  pass  of  Deorai,  an'd  was  defeated  by 
Aurangzeb's  army. 

Dara  again  nought  refuge  in_  flight-  He  fleA-Jowards 
Gujarat*  hut  the  followers  of  Aurangzeb  allowed 

" 


€26  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

He  reached  Ahmedabad,  but#  the  governor  refused  him 
permission  to  enter  the  town.  Driven  from 
Dftdarghtt°  pillar  tojpost,  the  unfortiHiateJErince.pro- 
ceedecT towards  Dadar,  to  seek  shelter  with 
the  Baluchi  ChiefTliraTTk  Jiwan,  whorifhe  had  once  saved 
from  the  imperial  wrath.  Bernier  writes  that  his  wife, 
daughter  and  his  son,  Siphir  Shukoh,  implored  him  on 
bended  knees  not  to  go  to  the  Pathan  Chief,  but  Dara  did 
not  believe  it  possible  that  he  would  be  betrayed  by  a  man 
'  boundJoJiim  by  such  strong  ties  of  gratitude.'1*  The 
journey  to  Dadar  was  a  terrible  misfortune.  Dara's  wife, 
Nadira  Begum,  the  unhappy  lady,  who  had  shared  her 
husband's  vicissitudes  with  a  fidelity  which  compels  our 
admiration,  died  of  diarrhoea  on  the  way,  -and  her  body 
was  sent  to  Lahore  to  be  buried  according  to  her  wish. 
"  Mountain  after  mountain  of  trouble  "  writes  Khafi  Khan, 
"  thus  pressed  upon  the  heart  of  Dara,  grief  was  added  to 
grief,  sorrow  to  sorrow,  so  that  his  mind  no  longer  retained 
its  equilibrium/'  The^  Baluchi  Chief,  instead  of  giving 
him,  shelter,  betrayed  him  into  the  hands  of  Aurangzeb's 
generals.  Dara  was  stunned  by  this  act  of  crowning 
treachery,  but  he  was  powerless  against  his  evil  ^destiny 
which  frustrated  all  his  plans  and  turned  friends  into  foes. 
Both  father  and  son  were  made  captives  and  taken  to 
Delhi,  where  they  reached  on  August  23,  1659. 

The  news  of  Dara's  capture  filled  Aurangzeb's  heart 

with  joy,  but  he  carefully  concealed  his  feelings.  When  it 

was  confirmed,  he  ordered  him  to  be  brought 

Dara's  d  i  s-      out  Oj  prfgon  an(j  subjected  to  unspeakable 

disgrace.    The  Prince  was   paraded   on   a 

1  Bernier,  Travels,  pp  "65-96. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  '  627 

filthy  elephant  with  his  son,  Sip&ir  Shukoh,  through  the 
•streets  of  Delhi.  What  a  terrible  ordeal  it  mu^  have  been 
tojme  who  had  entered  that  city  many  a  time  at  the  head 
^_stafely^pn>cesai(SLS,  decked  in  all  the  magnificent 
trappings  of  Mughal  royalty  ?  It  was  a  spectacle  which 
aroused  pity  in  the  stoniest  hearts,  and  Bernier,  who  was 
an  eye  witness,  has  described  the  scene  in  these  ^words  : 

41 . . . .  and  everywhere  I  observed  the  people  weep- 
t  ing,  and  lamenting  the  fate  of  Dara  in  the  most 
touching  language.  I  took  my  station  in  one  of  the 
most  conspicuous  parts  of  the  city,  in  the  midst 
of  the  largest  bazar;  was  mounted  on  a  good  horsei, 
and  accompanied  by  two  servants  and  two  intimate 
friends.  From  every  quarter  I  heard  piercing  and 
•distressing  shrieks,  for  the  Indian  people  have  a 
very  tender  heart;  men,  women,  and  children 
waiTmgrS§~Tf  some  imglity  calamity  had  happened 
to  themselves.  Gionkan  (Malik  Jiwan)  rode  near  the 
wretched  Dara;  'and  the  abusive  and  indignant 
cries  vociferated,  as  the  traitor  moved  along,  were 
absolutely  deafening.  I  observed  some  Fakires 
and  several  poor  people  throw  stones  at  [the 
infamous  Patan ;  but  not  a  single  movement  was 
made,  no  one  offered  to  draw  his  sword,  with 
a  view  of  delivering  9  the  beloved  and  compas- 
sionate Prince.  WheiL^thiaL  disgraceful  procession 
liacL  jgassed  through  every  part  of  nDtthJ,~3^i>oor 

own  gardens, 
~~ 


Para's  noble  qualities  did  not  deaert  him  even  in  this 
\y  nf     misfortune.      Mqnucci  relates    that   when   the 
1  Khafi  Khan  says  Ehairabad.  Bernier,  Travels,  pp.'96— 100- 


628  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Prince  was  in  front  of  the  fortress,  a  f  aqir  shouted  to  himc: 
'O  Dara!  when  you  were  master,  you  always  gave  me  alms; 
to-day  I  know  well  thou  hast  naught  to  give  me.'  The 
Prince  responded  to  the  beggar's  wish,  drew  off  his  dingy, 
dark-coloured  shawl  from  his  person,  and  threw  it  down  to 
the  faqir.  But  Bahadur  Khan,  Aurangzeb's  general,  who 
had  arrested  him  ordered  the  shawl  to  be  seized,  saying 
that  a  prisoner  had  no  right  to  give  anything.  ' 

What  was  to  be  done  with  Dara  ?    Hisjate  WJ&&J}Qily 
discussed  in  the  Hall  of  Private  ^udifiucfi.    Danishmand 

Khan  pleaded  that  his  life  might  be  spared, 
fete!*'8  tragic  but  Shayasta  Khan  and  others  urged  that  he 

was  a  Kafir,  and  death  was  the  only  fit 
punishment  for  infidelity.  They  were  strongly  supported 
by^Raushanara^  whose  hatred  for  Jier  jfallen^brath^r  was 

byJiis.  terrible  sufferings.    The  con- 


venient plea  of  Kufr  was  turned  to  the  best  account  The 
Ulama  gave  the  verdict,  that  Dara  was  an  apostate  from 
Islam,  and  therefore  deserved  to  die.  The  judgment  was 
merely  an-echo_of  Aurangzeb's  real  inclinations,  apd  he 
decidgd  tQ^desfarcr^  Dara  both  on  the  ground  of  infidjelity 
and  public  necessity.  DaraJtooRejcl  about  iornEHp  in  all 
quarters,  but  what  hopejwa^rtiere,  jwhesjio  pity  could  be 
ftaHUdj^  His  petition  for  mercy  to 

4grangzeb    only    brought  „  the  callous  answer  that  '  a 
usurper^  deserved  no  pardon.'    The 

populace  jwas  ^sympathetic,  but  it  could  do  nothing  to  save 
him  A  riot  occurred  in  the  streets,  and  Malik  Jiwan's 
threatened.  The  disgrace  61  the  newly 


ennobled  traitor  only  accelerated  the  doom  of  hjsJiaptess 
.  victims* 

1  Storia  do  Mogor,  I,  p.  855* 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  629 

The  atrocious  duty  of  murdering  Dara  and  his  son  was 
assigned  to  Nazr,  a  ruffianly  slave,  utterly  devoid  of 
human  feelings.  When  he  tried  to  separate  Dara  from 
his  son,  who  was  confined  in  the  same  room,  the  two 
clasped  each  other  in  a  tight  embrace  and  shrieked  aloud 
with  grief.  Dara  attacked  the  slave  with  a  small  knife, 
which  he  had  concealed  under  his  pillow,  and  struggled 
to  save  himself,  but  he  could  not  resist  single-handed  his 
ferocious  assailants  who  were  used  to  commit  such  bloody! 
deeds.  In  a  few  minutes  the  ghastly  tragedy  was  over, 
and  the  room  became  perfectly  still. 

Dara's  head  was  sent  to  Aurangzeb,  who  after  identi- 
fication ordered  that  his  corpse  be  paraded  again  through 
the  streets  of  Delhi,  to  leave  no  doubt  in  the  popular 
mind  about  his  death.  Such  wasjhejg engeance  Aurangzeb 
e^a^ted^for  his  wrongs,  fancied  or  real.  Dar^wasTburied 
in  the  tomb  oTTIumayun,  where  he  still  rests  amidst  a 
number  of  princes  of  imperial  descent.  His  second 
exposure  through  the  streets  of  Delhi  in  the  midst  of 
much  humiliation  and  contempt  points  to  his  popularity, 
which  even  Aurangzeb  feared  in  spite  of  his  great 
abilities  and  devotion  to  Sunni  orthodoxy. 

Dara  had  sent  Sulaiman  Shukoh  to  the  east  to  deal 
with  Shuja.  On  hearing  of  the  battle  of  Dharmat,  peace  was 
made,  and  the  Prince  began  his  march  to- 
wards Delhi.  At  Kara  he  received  the  news 
of  Dara1  s  disastrous  defeat  at  Samugarh  and 
a  letter  from  Shahjahan,  asking  him  to  bring  all  his  forces 
back  to  help  his  father.  The 
generals  to  -accompany,  Jn?k Jbut 

on  the  losing  side.    Attheadvicejalihe 


Saiyyids  of  Barah,  he  marched  to  Allahabad,  and  from  there 


680  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 


proceeded  to  Hardwar  via  Lucktiow  and  Moradabad,  so  as 
to  be  able  to  join  his  father  in  the  Punjab.  But^Shasrasta 
Khan  j>ursued_hu^  and  drove  Jiim^  into  the  Gfarhwal 
territory*  When  Aurarigzeb  rid  himself  of  all  his  rivals, 
he  turned  towards  Sulaiman  Shukoh,  and  asked  the  Hindu 
chief  with  whom  he  had  sought  shelter,  to  surrender  him. 
The  Raja  refused  to  do  so,  but  his  son  yielded  to  Aurang- 
zeb's  threats.  Sulaiman  tried  to  escape  to  Ladakh,  but 
he  was  captured  after  a  brief  resistance  and  brought  to 
thefbrtoTSalimgarh  (January  2,  1661)  by  Ram  Singh, 
the  son  of  Raja  Jai  Singh. 

Sulaiman  Shukoh  was  broughtiji  cha^^bQfoj:eAyrang- 
zeb  iriT£e  open.  DdTbar.  The  sight  of  the  handsome 
young^Prince  in  such  a  miserable  condito^^ 
with  pitjTexcept  his  uncle,  who  would  suffer  no  rival  to 
exist. '  The  Prince  bowed  Jto  the^empe^r^uid-pwtyed  that 
he  would  prefer  immediate  death  ^tCL  slow^poisoning  by 
means  of  post.  Aurangzeb  solemnly  promised  j;hat  post 
would  not  be  administered  to  him,  and  that  he  should  feel 
no  anxiety  „  on  that  account.  The  Prince  bowed  again, 
and  was  sent  to  the  fort  of  Gwalior  the  next  day.  There 
in  that  gloomy  dungeon  the  '  wretched  beverage  '  was  ad- 
ministered to  him  every  morning  until  he  died. a  No  qualms 
of  conscience  seem  to  have  troubled  Aurangzeb,  who  broke 
the  promise  he  had  made  of  his  own  free  will  in  a  most 
solemn  manner.  , 


1  Bernier  has  pathetically  described  (pp.  105-6)  the  scene.  He- 
describes  also  the  process  of  slow  poisoning  by  post  which  was 
common  in  Mughal  India.  '  This  drink/  says  he, '  emaciates  the  wretched 
victims;  who  lose  their  strength  and  intellect  by  slow  degrees,  be- 
come torpid  and  senseless,  and  at  length  die.'  Travels,  p.  107. 

1  In  May  1662,  'he  was  sent  to  the  next  world  through  the- 
exertions  of  his  keepers.' 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  631 

After  the  battle  of  Bahadurpur,  Shuja  fled  to  Patna 
and  thence  to  Mungher.    But  Sulaiman  Shukoh  pressed 
Shu'a  hard,  and  finally  a  peace  was  made  (May 

U3a'  1658)  by  which  Bengal,  Orissa  and  Bihar  to 

the  east  of  Munjrher  were  to  be  given  to  Shuja  in  full 
sovereignty.  Aurangzeb,  after  his  coronation  at  'Delhi, 
wrote  a  letter  to  Shuja  in  which  he  expressed  warm 
brotherly  feelings,  and  promised  to  give  him  anything  he 
wanted  after  getting  rid  of  Dara  Shukoh.  Shuja  knew 
Aurangzeb  too  well  to  misunderstand  his  real  intentions 
and  prepared  for  war.  A  great  battle  was  fought  at 
Khajwah1  (January  1659^,  in  which  Shuja's  army  was 
completely  defeated. 

Pressed  hard  by  Aurangzeb's  troops  Shuja  fled  to 
Bengal  and  thence  to  Arakan,  where  he  was  killed  by  the 
Maghs  for  planning  a  conspiracy  to  overthrow  the  ruler 
of  that  country.2 

Why  did  Aurangzeb  outdistance  all  his  rivals  in  the 
war  of  succession  ?     The  Muslim  chroniclers  lay  much 
Causes  of     emPhasis  on  his  iqbal,    but    the    modern 
Aurangzeb'H     historian  must  find  other  explanations  of 
success  hig  succegg     Nothing  contributed  more  to 

Aurangzeb's  rapid  rise  than  Shahjahan's  weakness  and 
incapacity.  His  illness  caused  the  rumour  to  spread 
{Rattle  was  dead,  and  this  «vil  report  was  confirmed  by 
Dara 'sown  impolitic  Conduct.  He  stopped  the  commu- 
nications from  ,the  various  provinces,  and  employed 

1  Khajwah  is  in  the  Fatehpur  district  in  the  United  Provinces,  fire 
miles  8.-W.  of  theBindki  Road  Station  on  the  E.  I.  Ry. 

*  Khafi  Khan  says,  '  all  traces  of  Shuja  disappeared  in  Ajakan, 
The  information  that  he  was  killed  by  the  Maghs  is  supplied  by  Sir 
J.  N.  Sarkar  on  the  authority  of  a  Dutch  merchant  named  Jan  Tak. 
History  of  Aurangzeb,  I,  pp.  611-12. 


632  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

« 

his  men  to  intercept  the  letters  of  the  other  Princes 
to  their  agents  and  nobles  at  Court.  We  cannot  blame 
Shahjahan  for  appointing  Dara  as  his  successor,  when 
physicfans  had  despaired  of  his  life,  for  even  among 
the  Mughals  the  law  of  primogeniture  had  its  conscious 
or  unconscious  influence  in  determining  the  succession 
to  the  throne.  A  partition  of  the  empire  at  that  stage 
was  out  of  the  question,  and  the  only  thing  Shahjahan 
could  do  was  to  ensure  the  succession  of  Dara  in  the  event 
of  his  death.  But  when  he  had  completely  recovered 
after  ten  weeks,  he  ought  to  have  asserted  his  ovyn  will 
and  strongly  put  down  the  attempts  of  the  Princes  to 
snatch  power  from  his  hands. '  The  author  of  the  Khula- 
sat-ut-Tawarikh  writes  that  the  emperor  dissuaded  Dara 
from  fighting  and  told  him  that  no  harm  could  be  done 
by  their  coming  to  the  capital,  but  more  than  this  he  did 
not  do.8  Perhaps  Dara  kept  the  emperor  uninformed  of 
the  dismay  caused  by  the  rumour  of  his  death.  Even  after 
the  battle  of  Dharmat,  which  must  have  opened  his  eyes 
to  the  seriousness  of  the  situation,  he  did  not  stir  out  to 
meet  Aurangzeb,  who  was  on  the  bank  of  the  Chambal, 
not  very  far  from  Agra.  If  he  was  too  weak  from  the 
effects  of  his  illness,  he  could  have  called  a  council  of 
war  to  deal  with  the  situation  and  rally  to  his  side  those 


1  Prof,  J.  N.  Sarkar  writes  (History  of  Xurangzeb,  Vol.  I,  p.  283)  :— 
*  By  the  middle  of  November  Shahjahan  was  completely  recovered  and 
important  matters  wkich  had  hitherto  been  kept  from  him,  could  no 
longer  be  withheld  '  c 

*  When  Aurangzeb  reached  the  Chambal,  writes  the  author  of  the 
Khulatat,  the  emperor  sent  word  to  Dara,  who  was  at  Dholpur,  not  to 
fight  with  Aurangtseb,  and  though  he  was  weak,  he  wished  to  go  to  the 
scene  of  action  to  stop  the  war.  The  imperial  peshkhanah  proceeded  in 
advance,  but  Dara  did  not  heed  the  emperor's  advice  and  prepared  for 
war. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  683 

ministers,  generals,  and  officers  whose  loyalty  was  yet 
unshaken.  But  unfortunately  he  misjudged  the  -trend 
-of  events,  and  continued  to  give  support  to  Dara,  which 
exasperated  the  other  Princes  and  shook  their  faith 
in  their  father's  justice.  He  was  still  popular  and  it 
would  have  been  difficult  for  the  Princes  to  deprive 
him  of  his  throne,  if  he  had  really  willed  to  keep  it  for 
himself,  and  declared  his  resolve  to  curb  their  ambitious 
spirit. 

Dara  was  not  a  general  himself.  Fondled  and  favour- 
ed by  Ijis  father,  and  surrounded  by  all  the  influences 
that  foster  love  of  flattery  and  self-conceit,  he  had  not 
cultivated  those  qualities,  which  bring  to  men  the  prizes 
of  a  competitive  warfare.  His  helplessness  after  Samu- 
garh  is  a  fair  measure  of  his  incapacity  as  general  and 
statesman.  His  ally  Raja  Jaswant  Singh  at  first  treated 
with  scorn  Aurangzeb's  overtures  for  peace,  and  persisted 
in  his  resolve  to  fight.  Too  late  did  he  realise  the  un- 
wisdom of  his  act,  and  found  that  the  Prince  was  put  on 
his  mettle  by  his  imprudent  refusal.  Dara's  forces  too 
were  not  well  organised.  There  was  division  and  strife 
in  his  ranks.  The  Rajputs  were  not  wanting  in  valour, 
but  their  peculiar  notions  of  precedence  and  prestige 
fatally  marred  their  heroic  attempts  to  serve  the  cause 
*of  their  patron.  The  Muslims  on  Dara's  side  were 
treacherous  and  corrupt  and  were  seduced  by 
Aurangzeb's  offer  of  money  and  honour.  Among  his 
rivals  there  was  none  who  could  £qual  Aurangzeb  in 
diplomacy,  statecraft,  and  generalship.  His  victory  in 
the  war  of  succession  was  the  victory  of  action  over 
^upineness,  of  intrepidity  over  inertia,  and  of  organisation 
•and  discipline  over  confusion  and  incoherence. 


634  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

< 

Aurangzeb's  forces  were  well  equipped,  and  he  wast 
constantly  drawing  men  from  the  ranks  of  his  opponents. 
His  personal  gallantry  stood  him  in  good  stead,  and  his 
capacity  for  strategic  combinations  and  dexterity  in 
arranging  the  positions  of  his  forces  on  the  field  of  battle 
greatly  added  to  his  strength.  His  reckless  courage  called 
forth  the  heroic  qualities  of  his  followers,  who  showed 
much  determination  and  endurance  in  his  service.  Then, 
there  was  his  championship  of  Sunni  orthodoxy.  °By 
talking  about  Dara's  alleged  apostasy  and  intimate 
association  with  the  Hindus,  he  had  struck  a  responsive 
chord  in  orthodox  hearts.  Shahjahan's  own  policy  had 
strengthened  the  forces  of  reaction,  and,  n<5  wonder,  if 
the  officers  and  nobles  of  the  empire,  who  weighed  the 
pros  and  cons  of  Dara's  assumption  of  imperial  dignity  felt 
afraid  as  to  the  future  of  Muslim  interests.  In  fact,  Shah- 
jahan  fell  by  the  force  of  passions  he  had  himself  aroused 
by  discarding  the  policy  of  Akbar  and  Jahangir.  His 
continued  support  to  Dara,  even  when  his  cause  was 
hopeless,  increased  the  anxiety  of  the  Sunni  section,  and 
convinced  it  of  the  correctness  of  its  attitude 

Dara's  popularity  with  Shahjahan's  subjects  proved 
of  no  avail.  It  was  an  age  in  which  the  leaders  counted^ 
for  everything,  the  people  for  nothing.  The  latter  shedi 
tears  for  Dara  ;  there  was  a  £mall  riot  too  to  express  the 
popular  hatred  for  Malik  Jiwan,  but>  beyond  this  nothing 
was  done  to  save  the  unhappy  Prince.  The  loyalty  of 
chiefs  and  officers  reoted  on  no  principle.  They  readily 
transferred  their  allegiance  to  the  successful  man  of 
action.  By  attaching  these  to  his  side,  Aurangzeb  could 
successfully  defy  public  opinion  and  disregard  the  claims 
of  natural  kinship. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  63& 

t  • 

Shahjahan  was  closely  guarded  in  the  fort  of  Agra, 
where  he  lived  as  a  prisoner  with  M*  f™tf*+*»  Jahanara 

for  eight  ]ft"g  ypars    He  made  attempts  to 
°f    regain  his  liberty  but  in  vain.    His  enemies- 

became  more  vigilant  in  keeping  watch,  and 
added  to  his  bitterness  and  grief  by  denying  to  him  "even 
the  most  trivial  conveniences.  No  one  could  see  the 
emperor  without  the  agents  of  Aurangzeb  being  present, 
and  r*>  letters  were  allowed  to  pass  unopened.  Later,  the 
captive  was  forbidden  to  write  letters  with  his  own  hand, 
and  had  to  dictate  to  a  eunuch.  When  he  needed  a  pair 
of  slippers,  he  was  supplied  "shoes  neither  of  eight  rupees 
nor  of  four  nor  of  two,  but  the  common  leather  shoes  "  ' 
Aurangzeb  opened  a  bitter  correspondence  with  him  about 
the  jewellery  in  the  fort  of  Agra,  which  was  carefully 
locked  and  sealed  by  his  men,  although  the  aged  emperor 
was  allowed  to  have  a  look  at  his  precious  hoard. J  But 
to  the  treasure  inside  the  private  rooms  of  the  haram, 
the  emperor  had  full  access  Tavernier  writes  that  when 
Aurangzeb  asked  Shahjahan  at  the  time  of  his  coronation 
to  send  some  of  his  jewels  to  be  used  on  that  auspicioua 
day,  he  regarded  it  as  an  insult,  and  became  so  enraged 
that  for  some  days  he  behaved  like  a  mad  man,  and 
was  nearly  dead.  He  frequently  called  for  a  pestle  and 
mortar  to  pound  up  all  his  precious  stones,  but  Jahanara 
dissuaded  him  from  dqjing  so. 3  Aurangzeb  blamed  him 


1   Stona  do  Mogor,  II,  p.  77. 

s  Sarkar,  III,  p.  130.  Aurangzeb  had  sealed  up  all  jewels  and 
treasure  after  the  surrender  of  the  Agra  Port  (8th  June,  1668).  Alf 
property  was  attached  by  his  orders.  Prince  Muhammad  was  asked  to 
manage  things  in  such  a  way  that  Shahjahan  might  not  be  pained  in 
mind  by  the  occurrence. 

9  Travels,  I.  p.  871. 


-686  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

ffor  partiality  towards  Dara  and  neglect  of  government, 
and  declared  that  the  responsibility  for  the  fratricidal  war 
entirely  rested  on  him.  He  urged  that  he  was  compelled  to 
join  in  it  in  defence  of  himself  and  the  interests  of  Islam, 
and  that  it  behoved  a  king  like  Shahjahan  to  submit  with 
resignation  to  the  Divine  will.  The  fallen  emperor  was 
deeply  touched  by  these  reproaches.  He  described  his 
son  as  a  robber  who  had  usurped  the  throne  to  which  he 
had  no  moral  or  legal  right,  and  charged  him  with  being 
a  hypocrite.  But  reproaches  like  entreaties  failed  to 
produce  any  effect,  and  the  most  magnificent  ruler  of 
the  Mughal  line  "  ceased  to  complain  like  a  child  that 
cries  itself  to  sleep." 

The  war  of  succession  had  resulted  in  the  deaths  of 
his  dearest  children,  but  Shahjahan  bore  up  against  these 
blows  of  fate  with  a  patience  and  fortitude  which 
deserve  to  be  admired.  In  these  days  of  distress, 
he  never  forgot  God  and  spent  his  time  in  meditation 
and  prayer.  The  constant  companionship  of  two  saintly 
souls,  Saiyyid  Muhammad  of  Qanauj  and  his  own 
•daughter  Jahanara  assuaged  his  grief,  and  kept  him  alive. 
Like  Cordelia,  Jahanara  showed  true  filial  piety  and 
-devotion  towards  her  forlorn  father.  She  nursed  him 
with  the  tender  care  of  a  mother,  and  did  her  best  to 
make  him  forget  the  cruel  bereavements  that  fate  had 
inflicted  on  him.  In  January  1666,  he  again  fell  ill,  and 
it  became  certain  that  his  end  was  near.  He  retained  his 
consciousness  to  the  last,  and  with  low  breath  directed 
Jahanara  as  to  how  his  last  rites  were  to  be  performed. 
Then  having  made  his  will  and  charged  Jahanara  to  treat 
his  wives  and  servants  with  kindness,  he  expired  on 
January  22,  1666,  at  the  age  of  74.  with  his  eyes  fixed  on 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  637* 

ttfe  Taj  Mahal,  where  he  expressed  a  desire  to  be  buried. 
Jahanara's  wish  to  take  the  corpse  in  a  stately  procession 
to  the  mausoleum  was  frustrated  by  Aurangzeb.  The 
latter  did  not  even  come  to  see  the  dying  man,  and  the 
once  majestic  '  king  of  the  kings  '  was  carried  to  his  last 
resting  place  by  eunuchs  and  low  class  menials  through 
a  private  door,  broken  open  in  the  wall  of  the  fort 
below  the  Musamman  Burj,  '  in  a  manner  unlike  the 
funeral  of  other  emperors  and  unworthy  of  his 
ancestry.' 

The  funeral  was  simple  enough.  Manucci  says  that 
Jahanara  sent  2,000  gold  coins  to  be  scattered  among  the 
poor,  but  the  guards  seized  the  money,  saying  that 
prisoners  could  not  give  anything. '  Insolence  could 
not  have  gone  further.  To  leave  his  father  even  in  death 
to  the  mercies  of  eunuchs  and  slaves  was  a  proceeding  *6f 
which  there  can  be  no  justification.  Whatever  the  feel- 
ings of  Aurangzeb,  Shahjahan's  death  plunged  Agra  into 
grief,  and  in  all  parts  of  the  town  the  great  qualities  and 
noble  deeds  of  the  deceased  were  on  everybody's  lips.  A. 
kind  and  just  ruler,  who  never  oppressed  his  subjects,  he 
was  bemoaned  universally  by  them,  and  according  to  the 
Muslim  chronicler,  k  the  cry  of  lamentation  rose  up  from 
every  house  in  the  lanes  and  market  places  alike/ 
Jahanara's  feelings  on  this  occasion  can  better  be  imagin- 
ed than  described. 

A  month  later,  Aurangzeb  entered  the  fort  and  if 
Manucci  is  to  be  believed,  the  Begum  presented  to  him 
the  letter  of  pardon  which  she  had  obtained  for  her  brother 
from  Shahjahan  together  with  the  valuable  jewels  in  his. 

1  Storia  do  Mogor,  II,  p.  126. 


<638  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

.possession.1  Aurangzeb  did  not  pause  to  examine  the 
genuineness  of  the  document,  and  deemed  it  "enough  to 
justify  him  with  the  populace/  The  Begum  Sahib  was 
requested  to  go  to  Delhi,  and  was  allowed  to  retain  the 
honours  and  dignities,  which  she  had  enjoyed  during  her 
father's  lifetime.  At  Delhi  the  noble  Princess  continued 
to  enjoy  the  position  of  the  First  Lady  in  the  Court  till 
her  death  on  6th  September,  1681.  She  acquired  a  great 
•celebrity  for  her  charity  and  piety,  and  like  a  faithful 
disciple  of  Mian  Mir,  spent  her  time  in  meditation  and 
prayer.  On  her  death  she  was  buried  in  the  tomb  of 
Nizamuddin  Aulia.  her  revered  saint,  and  the?  modest 
stone  inscription  beside  her  grave  still  shows  how  pious 
•and  gentle  of  spirit  she  was. 2 

1  Ibid. 

2  Here  is  the  inscription  of  Jahanara's  tomb. 


.  I  •  i  r  ^  «S(t>^ 

Translation.— "  He  is  Hying  and  self-subsisting.  Let  naught  cover 
my  grave  save  the  green  grass  :  for  grass  well  suffices  as  a  covering  for 
the  graves  of  the  lowly.  The  humble  and  mortal  Jahanara,  the  disciple 
of  the  Khwajas  of  Chisht,  and*  the  daughter  of  Shahjahan,  the  king 
and  champion  of  faith.  May  Qod  illuminate  his  demonstrations.  The 
year  1092  (1681  A.D.)." 

Jahanara  was  born  on  the  21st  of  Safar,  1023  A.H.  (2nd  April,  1614 
A.D.).  She  was  first  *  given  the  title  of  Begum  Sahib  and  then  of 
Padshah  Begum,  and  for  a  long  time  was  the  chief  lady  in  the  im- 
perial haram.  When  Shahjahan  was  imprisoned  by  Aurangzeb,  she 
voluntarily  shared  his  imprisonment  with  him.  She  died  on  the 
3rd  of  Ramzan,  1092  A.H.  (16th  September,  1661  A.D.). 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  689 

»     Shahjahan  at  the  time  of  his  imprisonment  was  in  bis 
<66th  year.    Few  men  in  history  have  had  their  patience  put 

Character  and  *°  suc^  a  test  as  *^s  most  magnificent  ruler 
-personality  of  of  the  Chagtai  dynasty.  His  misfortunes 
a  Ja  an  like  his  enjoyments  were  of  an  extraordinary 
character.  From  the  meridian  of  splendour,  he  had 
all  of  a  sudden  sank  to  the  position  of  a  miserable 
captive.  His  portrait  handed  down  to  us  by  Amin  Qazwini 
shows  him  to  have  been  a  handsome  man  of  winsome 
manners,  excelling  all  his  contemporaries  in  culture  and 
refinement,  and  intensely  devoted  to  his  religious  and 
secular  duties.  He  was  of  a  moderately  tall  stature,  and 
his  complexion  was  somewhat  white.  He  had  a  broad 
forehead  and  good  black  eyes,  and  his  ears  and  nose  were 
neither  too  long  nor  too  short.  He  had  one  mole  on  the 
right  eye  and  four  on  the  four  fingers  of  his  hand  and  one 
on  the  sole  of  his  left  foot  He  had  a  large  wart  below 
his  eye  near  the  nose  which  was  considered  auspicious. 

The  drama  of  Shahjahan's  life,  which  began  amidst 
scenes  of  unparalleled  brilliance  and  enjoyment,  ended 
like  one  of  the  tragedies  of  Euripides.  He  had  to  taste  in 
equal  measure  the  sweetness  as  well  asjbhe  bitterness  of 
the  cup  of  fashionable  life  and  to  bearwith  patience  flie 
vicissitudes,  which  an  unkind  fate  had  reserved  in  store 
for  him.  In  his  boyhood,  he  was  ^  favourite  of  his  grand- 
father.  Akbar.  who  frequently  told  Salim  that  he  was 
the  best  of  his  sonrf.  The  child  fully  returned  the  old 
man's  love,  and  did  not  leave  his  bed  qven  when  he  was 
about  to  die.  When  four  years,  f&ur  months,  and  four 
-days,  of  age,  he  began  his  education,  and  was  entrusted 
to  the  care  of  such  well-known  teachers  as  Mulla  Qaaim 
Beg  Tabrezif  **ftkim  T>*™«"',  Shaikh  Abdul  Khair,  and 


640  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Shaikh^  Sufi,  and  by1  reason  of  his  great  intelligence 
acquired  much  useful  knowledge  in  a  short  time.  He  was 
an  absolute  teetotaller  till  the  age  of  24,  and  Jahangir 
tells  us  in  his  Memoirs  that  he  was  with  difficulty  per- 
suaded to  taste  alcohol  for  the  first  time.  He  practised 
all  the.manly  exercise  in  which  the  princely  youth  of 
that  day  took  delight.  He  passionately  loved  hunting, 
swordfencing.  elephant  fights,  horse-riding,  and  re- 
tained his  fondness  for  game,  even  when  be  was 
engrossed  in  the  busy  duties  of  the  kingly  office.  Like 
other  scions  of  the  royal  house,  he  had  cultivated 
the  qualities  of  a  soldier  and  distinguished  himself 
in  Mewar  and  the  Deccan,  though  in  his  later  years 
after  his  accession  to  the  throne  his  successes  were  neither 
rapid  nor  brilliant.  His  direction  of  the  campaigns  in 
Balkh,  Qandhar,  and  the  Deccan  deserves  to  frg  jrwiamWl 
from  the  military  point  of  view.  To  the  accomplishment 
Of  a  soldier  he  added  the  graces  of  a  literary  man.  He 
could  speak  Persian  with  fluency  and  ease,  and  conversed 
in  Hindi  with  those  who  were  not  acquainted  with  that 
language.  Having  been  brought  up  in  his  childhood  by 
Ruqayya  Begum,  he  could  speak  in  Turkish,  and  under- 
stand many  Turkish  words  without  difficulty.  He  was 
a  fine  calligraphjst.  took  delight  in  poetry  and  song,  and 
evinced  an  extraordinary  interest  in  art.  He  was  a  great 
patron^of  mua}c.  and  himsel'f  knew  how  to  play  with  skill 
and  proficiency  upon  musical  instruments.  His  inventive 
genius  exhibited  itself  in  the  finished  products  of  hia 
workshops.  He  was  by  nature  a  lover  of  ark  fo*niaLail'1 
wealth.  He  loved  cleanliness  and  made  a  lavish  use  of 
perfumes.  So  punctilious  was  he  in  these  matters,  that 
he  used  to  wash  his  hands  even  after  touching  pearls  and 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  641 

jewels.  Of  his  exquisite  architectural  tastes,  an  account 
will  be  given  in  a  different  place.  Here  it  will  suffice  to 
say  that  no  emperor  of  Hindustan  before  him  had  spent 
so  lavishly  in  adorning  the  great  cities  of  his  empire  with 
palaces,  mosques,  mausoleums,  canals,  gardens,  baths 
and  reservoirs.  Some  of  these  buildings  remain, to  this 
day  to  remind  our  humdrum  world  of  the  wealth,  splend*- 
our,  and  glory  of  their  builder.  The  modern  critic  may 
condemn  his  lavish  expenditure  as  a  criminal  waste  of 
public  money,  but  in  Shahjahan's  day  such  phrases  carried 
no  meaning,  and  any  one  who  employed  them  in  relation 
to  kings  and  governments  would  have  lost  his  head  with* 
out  even  the  semblance  of  a  trial. 

Shahjahan  was  a  man  of  strong  family  affections  An 
indulgent  father  and  a  doting  husband,  he  had  a  tender 
heart  which  was  easily  moved  to  pity  at  the  sight  of 
poverty  and  distress.  Though  the  practice  of  the  age  did 
not  condemn  a  plurality  of  wives,  he  lavished  his  affec- 
tion in  an  unequalled  degree  on  Arjumand  Banu,  and 
raised  a  memorial  of  her  which  the  world  would  not  let 
willingly  die.  After  the  Begum's  death,  he  transferred 
his  affection  to  his  eldest  daughter— a  pious  and  cultured 
lady— who  most  appropriately  filled  her  mother's  place 
in  the  imperial  haram.  With  what  tender  care  he  had 
nursed  her  during  her  illness  and  besieged  the  ears  of 
heaven  with  prayers  day*  and  night  for  her  speedy 
recovery?  Bernier  amd  Tavernier  have  positively  stated 
that  the  emperor  carried  on  incest  with  his  daughter,  but 
all  evidence  goes  to  prove  that  this  unnatural  scandal 
was  a  mere  bazar  gossip.  Among  his  sons  he  loved  Dara 
best,  and  though  an  orthodox  Sunni,  he  tolerated  his 
Sufi  proclivities  to  the  utter  disgust  of  his  other 

P.  41 


642  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

The  charge  of  cruelty  brought  against  him  on  the  ground 
of  the  murder  of  his  brothers  tan  not  be  refuted,  but  it 
may  be  urged  in  extenuation  that  his  atrocities  were 
due  in  a  great  measure  to  necessity  and  the  custom  of 
the  dynasty  to  which  he  belonged.  The  hidden  powers 
that  control  the  destinies  of  man  fully  punished  him  for 
his  misdeeds,  and  though  we  are  shocked  at  the  inhu- 
manity which  he  showed,  we  lose,  as  Dow  says,  half  our 
rage  in  the  pressure  of  circumstances  wnich  drove  him 
to  such  a  ghastly  step.  Shahjahan  was  not  naturally 
cruel,  and  for  these  early  crimes  Ee  made  ample 
amends  by  the  strict  justice  and  clemency  of  his 
government  and  his  solicitude  for  the  well-being  of  his 
subjects. 

Unlike  Jahangir  Shahjahan  was  an  orthodox  Musal- 
man.  The  details  of  his  daily  life  supplied  by  Amin 
Qazwini  furnish  proof  of  his  devotion  to  the  faith.  He 
used  to  offer  prayers  regularly  four  times  a  day,  and 
observe  fast^during  the  whole  of  Ramzan.  'Though 
friendly  towards  the  Hindus  in  his  personal  relations,  he 
was  hostile  to  thei>  re]iginnr  hut  lift  never  allowed  his 
bigoted  iSunni  instincts  to  override  considerations  of 
statesmanship.  Early  in  his  reign  he  had  ordered  the 
•demolition  of  76  new  t»*pplft«  1>T1  fhe  district  of  Benares 
alone,  and  it  was  by  his  command  that  the  wonderful 
temple  of  Orcha  was  razed  tdf  the  gromidby  the  Mughal 
soldiery,  and  thejwomen  of  Sir  SjngSTBundela  were  treat- 
ed in  a  manner^hjgb  shocka  oqy  sense  of  decoru^  He 
Jtoted  the  Christiana,  waged  war  against  them,  but  in 
this  he  was  not  much  to  blame!  In  the  account  of  the 
English  factors  we  are  told  that  he  was  a  great  enemy  of 
Christianity,  and^that  the  Christians  never  felt  secure 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  643 

•against  the  outbursts  of  his  wrath.1    T<aJfceJ3hias  he 
was  equally  hostile.    His  wars  against  them  were  under- 
taken  not  merely  for  conquest,  but  for  the  extirpation  of 
/heresy  and  the  triumph  of  the  true  doctrine.    The  social 
legislation  which  he  undertook  reveals  his  attitude  towards 
religious  dissent.    When  the  emperor  was  informed  that. 
in  the  district  of  Burhanpur  mixedjn^jgr|aggff  pfftvailad 
amonglhe  mndus  and  Muslims,  andthat  women  after 
deatfr  were  buried  or  burnt  according  to  the  religion  of 
theirjiusbands.  he  issued  an  order^hat  jno  MusIimTgirl 
should  remain  in  the  house  of  a  Hindu  and  if  the  husband 
dpairpd'tn    l^pp  her,  he  shoul^jginbrace  Islam.  *  The 
Zamindar  of  the  place  accepted  Islam  and  received  the 
title  of  Raja  Daulat-i-mand.    All  such  practices  were 
abolished,  and  Qazis  and  Maulvis  were  appointed  from  the 
Khalsa  lands  to  teach  the  ignorant  the  tenets  of  the  faith. 
The  Hindus  of  the  Punjab  were  ^severely  punished  for 
marrying    Muslim    women,    whcPwere  snatched  away 
from  them  and  made  over  to  Muslims^  About  400  Hindu 
husbands  who  could  not  bear  the  disruption  of  their 
homes  embraced  Islam,  and  one  who  had  insulted  the 
Holy  Book    was  put   to  death.    About  seven  mosques 
were  redeemed,   and  three  temples  ^were    turned  in'tq^ 


Gift?  were  sent  to  Mecca  and  Medina.    In  the  24th 
year  of  the  reignthe  Subahdar  of  Gujarat  was  ordered  to 


1  The  English  Factories,  1634—36,  p.  241. 

8  A  detailed  account  of  them  is  given  in  Qazwini's  Padshahnamci 
and  also  in  the  Mulakkhas.         • 

Padshahnama,  A.U.  MS.,  p.  85,  Mulakkhaa,  A.U.  M.S.,  pp.  197-96. 


644  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

• 

purchase  goods  worth  one  an<J  a  half  lakhs,  out  of  whifik 
50  thousand  worth  were  to  be  sent  to  the  Sheriff  of  Mecca 
and  50  thousand  worth  to  the  Saiyyids  and  Ulama  of 
Medina  and  the  rest  waa  to  be  distributed  among  the 
poor  and  the  indigent.  When  the  emperor  was  in- 
capacitated by  old  age  to  observe  fasts,  he  paid  sixty 
thousand  rupees  as  the  fidiah  to  be  distributed  among 
the  poor. 3 

As  Shahjahan  advanced  in  years,  he  lost  his  old  vigour 
and  enterprise.    ManuccLdwells  at  length  upon  his  licenti- 
ousness and  senile  revels,  and  repeats  the  gossips  which 
he  found  current  at  Delhi  and  Agra/    There  is  no  doubt 
the  emperor  drank  wine,  indulged  his  appetites,  and  like 
other  men  whom  the  full  lustre  of  woman's  love  has 
dazzled  in  youth,  still  found  pleasure  in  amorous  adven- 
tures.    He    neglected    the  Business  o£  government  for 
which    he  was  blamed  afterwards  by  Aurangzeb.    He 
became  so  indolent  and  ease-loving  that  he  could  not 
control  even  his  sons,  and  helplessly  allowed  power  to 
be  snatched  from  his  failing  hands.    With   the  loss  of 
capacity  for  hard  work,  his  old  vigilance  too  was  gone. 
Corruption  and  treachery  became  rife  at  court,  and  his 
own  ministers  and  nobles  ceased  to  dread  his  power. 
But    the  trials   and  sufferings  of  his  last  days  called 
forth  the  strongest  traits  pf  his  character .}  He  resigned 
himself  to  the  will  of  God  in  a  manner   rare    among 
crowned   heads.     Misfortune  failed  to  bend  his  proud 
spirit,  and  he  scorned  to  treat  with  his  son  on  terms  of 
^quality.    He    once  sharply  rebuked  him  for   advising 

1  Mulakkhas,  A.U.  MS.,  p.  584. 
*  Btoria,  II,  p.  199. 


THE  EMPIRE  AT  ITS  ZENITH  645 


t 


him  like  a  father,  and  preyed  his  superiority  over  him 
I  in  epistolary  controversyX 

Little  did  Aurangzeb  realise  that  his  old  age  would  be 
more  lonely  and  miserable  than  that  of  his  father,  whom 

he  had  confided  to  the  tender  mercies  of  eunuchs  and 

• 

slaves,  and  that  his  last  moments  would  know  nothing  of 
that  serene  cqi^lati^and  joyous  confidence  with  which 
the  aged  monarch  passed  into  the  world  of  ever-lasting 
peace,  gazing  with  his  fast  closing  eyes  upon  the  marble 
monument  beyond  the  Agra  fort.  The  wrongs  done  to 
him  by  Aurangzeb  were  fully  avenged  in  the  rebellious 
conduct  of  the  latter's  sons  and  the  collapse  of  the  great 
empire  before  his  very  eyes. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE 

Having  freed  himself  from    all  his  rivals,  Aurangzek 

ascended  the  throne  on  July  2^.  165JL  though  his  formal 

accession  did  not  take  place  until  the  5th  of 

June'    1659'       The    Coronation 


with  great  eclat,  and  Shahjahan's  vast 
wealth  in  gold,  silver,  pearls,  jewels  and  diamonds  added 
to  the  splendour  of  the  occasion.  After  the  fashion  of 
oriental  monarchs,  Aurangzeb  seated  himself  on  the  throne 
of  his  ancestors  at  the  hour  fixed  by  the  astrologers  of  the 
state,  and  assumed  the  title  of  Alamgir.  F6tes  and  festivals 
followed  in  rapid  succession,  and  no  expenditure  was 
grudged  to  make  the  occasion  a  source  of  happiness  to 
all  sections  of  the  populace  in  the  empire. 

The  civil  war  among   the  brothers  had  thrown  the 
administration  out  of  gear,  and  caused  widespread  misery 

among  the  population.     The  numerous  tolls 
mea"      an(*  taxes  which  the  people  had  to  pay  added 

to  their  woes,  and  seriously  interfered  with 
the  progress  of  trade.  The  movement  of  large  armies  in 
the  different  parts  of  the  country  damaged  the  crops,  and 
in  certain  provinces  owing  to  drought  prices  rose  and  food 
became  dear.  To  alleviate  the  sufferings  of  his  subjects, 
Auransrzeb  abolished  the  r&hddri  (toll)  which  was  collected 

646 


THE  TURN  IN  THR  TIDE  647 

on  every  highway,  frontier  t>r  ferry,  and  brought  a  large 
revenue  to  the  state.  He  abolished [also  th^yjwddri,  which 
was  a  kind  of  ground  or  house  tax,  levied  throughout  th€ 
empire  from  all  traders,  from  the  vegetable  hawker  and  the 
potter  to  the  richest  jeweller  and  banker. l  Maijy  other 
cesses,  lawful  and  unlawful,  levied  from  Hindus  as  well  as 
Muslims,  numbering  80,  were  abolished.  Among  those 
specially  worthy  of  mention  are  the  cesses  collected  at  the 
faift  held  in  honour  of  Musljm  saints  and  at  the  Jatras  of 
Hindus  near  their  temples,  and  the  taxes  on  alcohol,  gaming 
house^  and  brothels.  To  lower  the  price  of  food  the  duty 
on  corn  was  also  remitted.  Out  of  the  80  cesses  abolished  by 
the  emperor,  Khafi  Khan  mentions  only  14  by  name,  and 
writes  that  in  spite  of  the  stringent  orders  of  the  emperor 
to  enforce  his  edicts,  most  of  these  taxes  continued  to  be 
levied  by  the  Zamindars  in  the  distant  provinces. 

One  of  the  factors  in  Aurangzeb's  success  in  the  civil 
war  was  his  avowed  solicitude  for  Sunni  interests.  Now 
that  he  was  securely  seated  on  the  throne,  -he  .tried  to 
please  his  supporters  by  issuing  certain  ordinances  intended 
to  bring  the  lives  of  the  people  into  conformity  with  ortho- 
dox Islam.  He  forbade  the  use  of  the  Kalima  on  the  coins 
to  prevent  their  defilement  by  the  touch  of  non-Muslim 
hands.  He  abolished  the  Naurozjvhich  Akbar  had  borrow- 
ed from  the  rulers  of  Persia.  *  ! 

The  Islamic  state  te  a  theocracy  concerned  also  with 
the  manners  and  morals  of  the  community.  Aurangzeb 
appointed  censors  of  public  morals  (mmatasibs)  to  look 
after  the  conduct  of  the  people  and  to  enforce  obedience 

to  the  Holy  Law.    Their  duty  was  to  put  a  stop  to  the  use 

• 

1  Elliot,  VII,  p.  247, 


€48  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 


of  alcohol.  miywiWHflgr  Hnifffl|  aVid  such  other  things  as  are 
forbidden  in  the  Quran.  The  mosques  and  Khanqahs^  which 
were  in  a  dilapidated  condition^  were  ordered  to  be  repaired. 
and  Imams  and  Muazzins  were  regularly  paid.  _  Harsh 
measures  were  taken  against  the  Sufi  associates  nf  Dam, 
and  the  chief  of  these,  Sarmad,  was  crqe]|y  oy^^fH  after 
the  mockery  of  a  trial. 

•  Mir  Jumla,  Aurangzeb's  commander,  who  had  been  his 

naost  valuable  helper  in  the  war  of  sqggflsaJQT).  was  appoint" 

ed  governor  of  Bengal.    It  was  wise  to  keep 

in  ^8ream.Umla  such  a  P°werful  and  ambitious  nobleman  at 
a  distance  from  the  capital.  The  Raja  of 
Kuch  Bihar  and  Assam  had  seized  some  Mughal  territory, 
and  Mir  Jumla  was  ordered  to  chastise  him.  He  started 
in  November^  1661,  at  the  head  of  a  large  force  and  a 
flotilla  of  boats.  In  spite  of  the  difficulties  which  man 
and  nature  placed  in  his  way,  the  viceroy  pushed  on,  and 
conquered  both  Kuch  Bihar  and  Assam.  Then  he  proceed- 
ed to  invest  the  capital  of  Assam,  but  his  troops  suffered 
heavily  from  the  outbreak  of  an  epidemic,  which  destroyed 
men  and  beasts  in  large  numbers.  The  prices  rose  high 
owing  to  famine,  and  the  army  endured  great  privations. 
But  the  viceroy  was  not  deterred  in  his  plans  by  this 
unforeseen  calamity,  and  commenced  operations  after  the 
rainy  season.  He  himself  was  attacked  by  fever,  but  still 
he  pressed  on.  At  last  the  Assamese;  when  they  despaired 
•of  resistance,  sue4  for  peace  and  a  treaty  was  made  with 
them.  The  unhealthy  air  of  thTcounto;  and  oveJ^exJertion 
in  this  campaign  aggravated  Mir  Jumia's  illness^  and  he  died, 
while  returning  towards  Dacca  by  bait  on  March  31,  1663. 

Mir  Jumla  was  succeeded  by  Aurangzeb's  maternal 
uncle  Shayasta  Khan  in  the  governorship  of  the  province. 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TflDB  ^  649 

In  1666  the  new  governor  captured  Chatgaon,  drove  away 
the  Portuguese  pirates  from  the  delta  of  the  Brahmaputra, 
and  inflicted  sharp  defeats  on  the  Raja  of  Arakan. 

The  Marathas  were  the  most  determined  enemies  of 
Aurangzeb.  His  war  against  them  lasted  for  nearly  a 
"""] *  quarter  of  a  century  and  resulted  in  nothing 
iMarathaa.'  tbe  but  defeat,  humiliation,  and  disaster.  The  real 
leader  oi  the  iviarathas,  who  infused  a  fresh 
life  and  vigour  into  them  and  united  the  scattered  elements 
of  their  race,  was  Shivaji,  a  born  military  commander  and 
an  administrator  of  undoubted  genius.  J3ut  JShivaji's  rise 
to  power  cannot  be  treated  as  an  isolated  phenomenon 
in  Marat  ha  history.  It  was  as  much  the  result  of 
personal  daring  and  heroism  as  of  the  peculiar  geogra- 
phical situation  of  the  Deccan  country,  and  the  unifying 
religious  influences,  that  were  animating  the  people 
with  new  hopes  and  aspirations  in  the  15th  and  16th  cen- 
turies. Before  describing  Shivaji's  career,  it  will  be  worth 
while  to  say  something  about  the  physical  features  of  the 
country  and  the  forces  which  prepared  the  way  for  his 
emergence. 

The  Maratha  country  is  very  different  from  the  north. 

It  lies  in  the  m|flptnf  i^ptnrfti  h^ypiftypj  which  have  developed 

certain  peculiar  physical  features  and  moral 

tureh878io0fal  the"  Qualities»    whicft  distinguish    the  Marathas 
country.  from  the  rest    of  .  their  countrymen.    The 

Vindhya  and  Satpura  ranges  and  the  Nar- 
bada  river  form  a  triple  line  of  barricades,  which  divides 
the  Deccan  from  the  high  table-land  of  Central  India  and 
the  vast  low-lying  plains  of  the  north.  The  Western  Ghat 
or  the  Sahyadri  range  which  runs  like  a  wall  along  the 
entire  western  coast,  and  the  Vindhyas  running  from 


650  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

to  west  have  not  only  added  to4  the  security  of  the  country, 
but  have  also  produced  a  climate,  which  hqs  greatly  influ- 
enced the  character  and  habits  of  the  people.  The  hill  forts 
in  these  mountains  have  played  an  important  part  in  Mara- 
tha  history,  and  it  is  with  their  help  that  the  Marathas 
have  successfully  defied  the  invaders  from  the  north.  The 
rugged  and  the  even  nature  of  the  country  has  given 
the  inhabitants  a  special  advantage  over  men  accustomed 
to  fight  in  the  open  field.  Their  guerilla  tactics  baffled'  the 
strategy  of  their  opponents,  and  even  the  Mughals  with  their 
enormous  resources  in  men  and  money  found  it  impossible 
to  conquer  them.  The  bracing  climate  of  the  country 
ftddpd  to  thpir  phvaiWl  vi>nur,  and  rendered  them  capable 
of  much  initiative  and  enterprise.  The  scanty  rainfall 
and  poverty  of  the  soil  compelled  a  simplicity  of  life,  which 
doubled  their  chances  of  success  against  men,  enfeebled 
by  luxury,  indolence  and  ease  They  never  shrank  from 
the  hardest  and  roughest  toil,  and  no  thought  of  pleasure 
or^  temptation  could  shake  their  inflexible  resolve. 
Riding  on  their  small  ponies  and  subsisting  on  raw  or 
parchea~mlllet,  they  traverse^ong^tlm^irdes  and  strugF 
terror  into  the  hearts  o?  their  enemies.  The  Mughals  dis- 
covered  to  their  cost  after  much  suffering  that  to  fight  with 
men  like  these  was  to  fight  with  air  and  to  prolong  a 
bootless  campaign,  entailing  much  misery  and  loss. 

There  was  a  great  religious  stir  in  Maharashtra  in  the 
15th  and  16th  centuries.    An  account  has  been  given  before 

of  *the«.  teachings  of  Ram  an  an  dr   Kabir  and 

Religious  stir   Nanak,  who  saw  good  in  all  religions,  con- 

rashtra.  demned  superstition  and  ritual,  and  did  much 

for  the  fusion  of  the  various  castes  and  creeds. 
The  Deccan  witnessed  the  rise  of  a    similar    protestant 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  651 

movement,  and  the  new  prophets  and  saints  of  Maharashtra, 
sprung  from  the  lower  orders,  condemned  forms  and  cere- 
monies,  and  the  distinctions  of  caste,  based  on  mere  bjrth.  l 
The  most  famous  of  them  are  Tukaram,  Ram  Das,  Vaman 
Pandit  and  Eknath—  -all  of  whom  launched  a  crusade  against 
the  existing  abuses  of  religion,  and  preached  the  gospel  of 
Bhakti  or  personal  devotion  to  God.  They  laid  stress  upon  the 
equality  of  all  men  before  God  and  held  that  by  means  of 
Bhakti  a  Sudra  or  a  Chandal  could  qualify  himself  for  God's 
favour  quite  as  munh  as  a  Brahman.  Their  doctrine  made 
no  distinction  between  the  high  and  the  low,  and  the  only 
bond  \Vhich  united  their  followers  was  Bhakti.  Among 
these  seers  Ram  Das  Samarth,  whom  Shivaji  treated  as 
his  Guru,  exercised  the  most  poweriui  mnuence  on  the 
thought*  of  the  time.  He  established  his  maths  (or 
monasteries)  and  allied  himself  with  those  who  were 
interested  in  political  and  social  affairs.  The  Swami 
was  not  merely  a  religious  preacher  ,*  he  was  a  nation- 


builder  also.  His  enthusiasm  for  national  reffefteratiofl  is 
revealed  in  his  writings  and  the  comprehensive  scheme  of 
reform  which  he  conceived  touched  all  aspects  of  the  coun- 
try's life  In  his  famous  work,  J;he  Dasbodh,  he  preached 
the  philosophy  of  action  and  progress,  and  exhorted  his  fol- 
lowers  to  work  for  the  diffusion  of  the  new  spirit  far  and 
wide.  With  all  the  fire  and  passion  of  his  soul  Samarth 
Ram  Das  urged  his  enthusiastic  disciples  to  follow  the  new 
path  and  to  utilise  their  energies  in  developing  the  power 
of  the  nation.  The  seed  did  not  fall  on*  barren  soil,  and 
at  last  he  found  in  Shivaji  a  man  of  genius  who  gave  to  hia 

1  The  centre  of  these  new  ideas  was  Pandharpur,  a  seat  of  pilgri- 
mage in  the  Deocan.  The  Pandharpur  movement  was  a  powerful  factor 
in  unifying  the  Maharashtra  country. 


<J52  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

• 

visions  a  practical  shape,  and  applied  his  ideas  in  political 


Ranade  writes  of  this  new  movement  :— 

"Like  the  Protestant  Reformation  in  Europe 
in  the  16th  century,  that  was  a  religious, 
social  and  literary  revival  and  Reformation 
in  India,  but  notably  in  the  Deccan  in  the 
15th  and  16th  centurie^.  This  religious 
revival  was  not  Brahmanical  in  its  oijtho- 
doxy  ;  it  was  heterodox  in  its  spirit  of 
protest  against  forms  and  ceremonies  and 
class  distinctions  based  on  birth*  and 
ethical  in  its  preference  of  a  pure  heart, 
and  the  law  of  love,  to  all  other  acquired 
merits  and  good  works.  This  religious 
revival  was  the  work  also  of  the  people, 
of  the  masses,  and  not  of  the  classes.  At 
its  head  were  saints  and  prophets,  poefo 
and  philosophers,  who  sprang  chiefly  from 
the  lower  orders  of  society,—  tailors,  car- 
penters. potters,  gardeners,  shopkeepers,  bar- 
ybers,  and  even  mahars  (scavengers),  more 
often  than  Brahmans,"1 

To  the  influence  of  religion  was  added  that  of  literature 
agd  language.  The  lyrical  hymns  of  Tukaram  breathing 
of  sincere  and  fervent  devotion  to  <God  were  sung  by  all 
classes,  and  served  as  a  bond  of  unity  among  the  various 
sections  of  the  'community.  Without  this  homogeneity, 
caused  by  the  diffusion  of  a  common  culture,  it  would-have 
been  impossible  for  Shivaji  to  build  up  the  national  state, 

1  Rise  of  the  Marfctha  Power,  p.  10. 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  65& 

i 

Shivaji  was  greatly  helped  in  his  political  and  social^ 
synthesis  by  men  who  had  received  ample  training  in 
arts  of  administration  and  war  in  ifrq 

Sultan"ates     Qf 


Deccan.  In  the  kingdom  of  Golkunda  and 
Bijapur,  the  Marathas  were  largely  employed  in  the 
revenue  departmenf  and  held  important  posts  in  the  army. 
Some  of  them  held  even  ministerial  portfolios,  and  coBi- 
manfled  much  influence  in  the  states  in  which  they  served.) 
The  Deccani  Brahmans  were  often  entrusted  with  diplo^ 
mabV  jpiaainM,.  and  took  part  in  the  most  confidential 
business  of  ffovernmept.  The  Maratha  Slledars  and  Bargirs 
were  employed  in  the  military  department  by  the  Bah- 
manids  and  their  political  successors—  the  rulers  of  the  five 
states  into  which  that  kingdom  was  split  up—  and  thus 
acquired  wealth  and  power  which  made  them  a  factor  to 
be  reckoned  with  in  Deccan  politics.  The  knowledge  and 
insight  which  they  gained  while  in  office  stood  them  in 
good  stead^when  they  had  to  oppose  the  Muhammadan. 
kings  who  employed  them.  During  the  reign  of  Shahjahan, 
when  the  kingdom  of  Bijapur  and  Golkunda  were  threa- 
tened with  extinction,  these  Jagirdars  obtained  an 
opportunity  of  advancing  their  own  interests.  They 


and  changed  sides  as  conve- 
nience required,  and  tried  tc\  secure  advantageous  terim 
for  themselves  from  jjl  parties.  One  of  these  Jagirdars 
was  fihjvftji'g  fatl^pr.  Shahii  Bhon^la.  who  had  entered  the 
service  of  the  Bijapur  State  in  1682,  and  had  risen  to  power 
through  the  favour  of  Murari  Jagdeva  who  enjoyed  the 
confidence  of  the  Wazir  Khawas  Khan. 

Shivaii  was  born  iq  the  hill  fqtfr  ^f  Shiv^gr  on  April 
10,  1627.    Hia  mother  JljabSi  was  a  woman  of  uncommon. 


154  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

talents  and  brought  up  her  child  with  great  care  and  affec- 

tion.   Shahji's  neglect  of  his  wife,  followed 

^  rih  'life*  3  i  '  B     by  ^fresh  marriage  alliancfl  iyith  a  young  and 

womQ1^   made  JijsbSi  concentrate 


all  her  energies  on  bringing  up  her  son,  for  whom  ^shfi  felt 

Being  a  woman  of  ft  religions  turn 


of  mind,  familiar  witfr  f>nram>  legends,  she  filled  her  son's 
nninil  wi»|  j;|ie  fltnrieg  nf  f,|]ft  renowned  heroes  and  warriors 
of  bygone  ages.  The  lad's  spirit  was  stirred,  as  he  listened 
to  these  tales  of  human  achievement  and  grandeur,  and 
he  felt  a  desire  to  imitate  the  example  of  the  heroes  of 
•old.  Luckily,  his  father  found  a  teacher  of  great 
ability  in  Dadoji  Kondadeva,  whose  constant  vigilance  and 
^care  exerted  a  highly  beneficial  influence  on  Shivaji's  charac- 
ter. XA11  evidence  tends  to  confirm  the  view  that  Shivaji 
never  received  like  Akbar  formal  instruction  in  letters,  but 
he  assimilated  with  great  zeal  the  contents  of  the  Ram  ay  an 
and  the  Mahabharat,  and  the  wisdom  and  knowledge 
enshrined  in  the  numerous  discourses  on  Dharma,  and  the 
arts  of  government  and  war.  He  learnt  horse-riding,  the 
use^ofjnns^and  other  manly  exercises,  which  made  in 
Muhammadan  India  the  staple  education  of  the  scions  of  the 
aristocracy,  both  Hindu  and  Muslim.  Shivaji's  stay  at  the 
Bijapur  court  made  him  acquainted  with  the  strength  and 
weakness  of  that  *  great  but  (Wenerate  c^pifoP  He  fully 
realised  the  forces  o?^ecadence  that  ivere  working  in  that 
Sultanate,  and  this  first-hand  knowledge  greatly  helped 
him  in  his  future  plpns.  Gifted  with  a  kfifin  fami1ir  Af 
-observation^  he  took  a  great  interest  in  examining  horses 
and  munitions  ofjgaL  and  asked  questions  about  political 
affairs^  His  contact  with  Hindu  ffigep  convinced  him  of 
the  necessity  of  doing  something  for  the  protection  and 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  655 


regeneration  of  Hinduism.  Swami  R^^  D**r  hia 
preceptor  and  guide,  instilled  into  his  mind  a  love  of  Hindu 
religion  and  charged  him  with  the  duty  of  protecting  foe 
cow  and  the  Brahman— the  only  cry  that  could  appeal 
powerfully  to  his  contemporaries.  Some  modern  writers 
have  tried  to  prove  that  it  was  Ram  Das  who  gave  his 
disciple  the  ideal  of  an  independent  Hindu  monarchy,  but 
the  evidence  in  support  of  this  view  is  neither  sufficient 
nor  convincing. '  It  may  be  conceded  at  once  that  the 
abasehient  of  the  Hindu  religion  at  the  hands  of  the 

1  Sarkar,  Bhivaji  and  His  Times,  pp.  S81-82. 

Mr  G.  S.  Sardesai  maintains  that   Shivaji's    aim   was  ultimately^  to 
-establish  a   Hindu   empire   of  ptiEftra.in   p^^r  rr>r"CTr 


*  M 
or 'hi 


feh 


reasons  tor  nis  opinion 

<1J  The  atmospnere  in  which  Shivaji  was  born  and  bred  formed 
the  development  of  such  an  aim.  All  North  India  was 
ground  to  dust  under  the  Muhammad  an  yoke  and  some  one 
was  needed  to  champion  the  cause  of  Hinduism. 
<2)  His  wars  and  campaigns,  his  plans  and  movements,  and  his 
words  and  arrangements  do  not  show  that  he  restricted  his 
vision  to  the  Maharashtra  or  Deccan  only. 

id)  His  introduction  of  the  Sardeshmukhi  and  the  Chauth  furnishes 
a  clue  to  his  future  aims.  He  claimed  Sardeshmukhi  from 
Shahjahan  as  early  as  1648 ;  the  latter  he  revived  in  1660  when 
he  conquered  the  Konkan.  He  employed  these  to  enable  his 
nation  to  establish,  in  the  long  run,  a  Hindu  empire. 

(4)  He  befriended  Hindu  princes.     Even  when  he  was  fighting  the 
Mughals,  he  never  fought  against  the  Rajput  generals. 

(5)  Shivaji    purposely  undertook   his   visit  to   Agra  in  order  to 
acquaint  himself    with  the    condition  of    the  country.      He 
returned  home  after  a  year  gaining  valuable  experience   of 
which  he  made  use  afterwards.    This   shows   Shivaji *s   plan 
included  an  all-India  movement 

These  arguments  are  not  Convincing.  Sir  J.  N.  Sarkar'a,  view  comes 
very  near  the  truth : — 

"For  one  thing,  he  never  had  peace  to  work  out  bis  political  ideas. 
The  whole  of  his  short  life  was  one  struggle  with  enemies,  a  period  of 
preparation  and  not  of  function.  All  his  attention  was  necessarily 
devoted  to  meeting  daily  dangers  with  daily  expedient,  and  he  had 
not  the  chance  of  peacefully  building  up  a  well-planned  political 
edifice.  " 

Shivaji  and  His  Times,  p.403  (1929  edition). 


656  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Muslims  led  Shivaji  to  prepare  himself  for  its  defence,  bat 
it  is  too  much  to  assert  that  hft  desire  for  political  dominion 
owed  its  origin  to  the  inspiration  of  Swami  Ram  Das. 
Anyway,  the  defence  of  the  Hindu  religion  and  the 
foundation  of  political  power  were  inseparable  things  ;  the 
one  could  not  be  done  without  the  other.  The  environment 
fully  reacted  upon  his  vigorous  mind  and  deeply  roused 
his  hatreds  and  resentments  Altogether  the  influences  of 
heredity,  education,  temperament,  and  environment  drove 

him  to  OPDQfift  thft  Mncrhalg  anH  t,f)  makft  a.  dpapp>ra.t*.e  attempt 

to  rid  the  land  of  their  domination. 

Before    beginning   his  military  career,    Shivaji  fully 

acquainted  himself  with    the    country,   and  secured    the 

0  ,  .       .  .  ,     devotion  and  attachment  of    the  Mavalea— 

O  D  1  V  aj  1    8  ........ 

military  career  the  people  inhabiting  the  Maval  country 
begin8'  running  along  the  Western  Ghats  for  about  90 

miles  in  length  and  12  miles  in  breadth.  They  left  the 
plough^  and  joined  his  service^  and  helped  him  in  his  preda- 
tory excursions  and  conquests.  From  his  boyhood,  Shivaji 
longed  to  carve  out  for  himself  an  independent  kingdom, 
but  his  tutor  and  guardian,  Dadoji  Kondadeva  advised  him 
to  be  more  mndegt.  jp  hia  amfyfoinn  A  man  of  limited  ideas, 
Dadoji  could  not  sympathise  with  Shivaji's  dreams  of  con- 
quest, and  suggested  to  him  that  he  should  rest  satisfied 
with  serving  the  Sultan  of  Bijapur  like  his  ancestors.  But 
Shivaji  was  destined  for  greater  things.  To  him  it  was 
nothing  short  of  dishonour  to  enter  the  service  of  a  decrepit 
state,  which  was  a  prey  to  intrigue  and  foreign  war. 

The  serious  illness  of  the  Sultan  of  Bijapur  in  1646  and 
the  consequent  disorder  in  his  kingdom  gave  Shivaji  the 
longed  esired  opportunity.  He  ftftPtU1^  ***** 


20  miles  &  W.  of  Poona  in  the  same  year  and  then  raided 


THE  TURN  IN  THE,  TIDE  657 

the  fort  of  Raigarh,  five  mites  east  of  Torna,  which  easi- 
ly fell  into  his  hands.  After  Dadoji's  death  in  1647,  Shivaji 
became  the  virtual  master  of  his  father's  western  Jagir,. 
and  brought  the  fort  of  Chakan  and  the  outposts  of 
Baramati  and  Indapur  under  his  control.  Soon  after  he 
seized  the  forts  of  Singarh,  Kondana,  and  Purandhar,  which 
secured  his  Jagir  on  the  southern  frontier. 

The  Sultan  of  Bijapur  had  come  to  know  of  Shivaji's 
dariiig  acts,  but  his  ministers  persuaded  him  that  the 
matter  was  not  serious.  Shivaji  continued  his  raids,  but 
when  he  seized  Kalyan  and  hurried  the  Konkan,  the  Sultan 
was  roused  from  his  slumber,  and  felt  that  some  action 
was  inevitable.  About  the  same  time  his  father  Shahji 
was  arrested  and  imprisoned  by  Mustafa,  the  Commander- 
in-Chief  of  Bijapur,  for  misbehaving  in  the  siege  of  Jinji 
in  the  South  Arcot  district,  and  his  Jagir  was  confiscated. 
Shivaji  was  upset  by  the  news  of  his  father's  imprisonment, 
and  for  the  time  being  gave  up  his  predatory  raids.  He 
negotiated  with  Prince  Murad,  the  Mughal  viceroy  of  the 
Deccjiu  and  expressed  a  wish  to  join  the  imperial  service. 
The  Bijapur  Government  was  alarmed  at  this  diplomatic 
moveof  Shivaji.  and  at  once  ordered  the  release  of  his 
father.  The  release  was  not  due  to  Mughal  pressure,  for 
Shahjahan  was  bound  by  treaty  not  to  encourage  the 
rebellious  officers  of  the  Sultan,  but  to  the  good  offices 
of  certain  Bijapuri  ntfbles,  who  were  Muslims.  Shahji 
promised  to  curb  the  unruly  spirit  of  this  son  and  to 
ask  him  to  keep  the  peace  for  $fa  years.  Shivaii  kept 
quiet^  and  did  little  to  give  offence  to  the  Sultanate  of 
Bijapur.  He  spent  his  time  in  developing  his  resources 

for    a   mor*    HAtPrfm'npH      atm^!*    urith    Vrifl    ^fo    jn 


F  42 


$58  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

These  rivals  were  the  ruler  of  Biiaour  and  the 


Without  coming  into  conflict  with  them,  it  was  impossible 
to  build  up  an  independent  state—  the  supreme  object  of 
his  desire.  When  Adil  Shah  died  in  November,  1656, 
Prince  „  Aurangzeb  advanced  against  Bijapur.  Shivaji 
judged  it  a  good  opportunity  to  plan  a  fresh  move  on  the 
diplomatic  qfieyphoarfl  Sure  of  a  response  from  the  Mughal 
Prince,  who  was  naturally  interested  in  encouraging  the 
discontented  officers  of  Bijapur,  he  opened  negotiations 
with  Aurangzeb,  but  these  proved  of  no  avail  owing  to  the 
lack  of  mutual  confidence.  Shivaji  raided  the  Mughal  terri- 
tory, but  when  the  Sultan  of  Bijapur  made  peace  with  the 
Mughals,  he  saw  no  other  alternative  but  to  follow  suit. 
Before  peace  could  be  signed  between  him  and  the  Mughals, 
Aurangzeb  left  for  the  north,  on  hearing  of  Shahjahan's 
illness,  to  take  part  in  the  war  of  succession. 

The  cessation  of  hostilities  between  the  Mughals  and 
the  Sultan  of  Bijapur  gave  the  latter  sufficient  time  to 
deal  with  Shivaji,  whose  increasing  power  was  a  source  of 
chronic  anxiety  to  him.  Shahji  was  asked  to  stop  his 
son's  hostile  activities,  but  he  excused  himself  on  the 
ground  that  his  son  was  not  amenable  to  his  control. 
When  persuasion  failed,  the  government  was  constrained 
to  employ  force.  Afzal  Khan  was  sent  at  the  head  of  a 
•considerable  force  '  to  bring  back  the  rebel  dead  or  alive.  ' 
He  was  commissioned  by  the  dowager-Queen  to  effect  the 
purpose  by  feigning  friendship  with  Shivaji  and  by  promis- 
ing him  a  pardon  for  his  wrongdoings. 

Afzal    Khan    W9ft    fr    hmyyArt     He    had    boastfully 
jn  flpfln   Darhar    that  he    would    capture    foe 
bandit  without  firing  A  shot.     But   on  reaching 
the  hilly  country  in  which  Shivaji's  power  was  centred 


THE  TURN  IN  MB  TIDE  659 


he  realised  the  follv  gf  hia  ****?  s^finn  He  sent  a  Brahman 
officer  of  his,  Krishnaji  Bhaskar,  with  a  letter  for  Shivaji 
in  which  he  promised  the  grant  of  forts  and  districts 
seized  by  him  and  the  conferment  of  titles  and  distinctions 
as  a  mark  of  honour.  On  the  receipt  of  this  letter',  Shivaji 
found  himself  on  the  horns  of  a  dilemma.  If  he  accepted 
Afzal's  seductive  offer,  there  would  be  an  end  to  all  his 
cherished  dreams  of  independent  dominion  ;  and  if  he 
adopted  an  irreconcilable  attitude  towards  Bijapur,  he 
would  have  to  face  the  wrath  of  the  Sultan  and  the  emperor 
•of  Delhi  and  to  fight  for  his  very  existence  in  the  Deccan. 
His  ministers  urged  a  compromise,  but  he  was  firm.  Quietly 
he  organised  his  forces  and  resolved  to  go  to  war  in  self- 
defence. 

Though  fully  prepared  for  a  contest,  Shivaji  received 
Afzal's  envoy  with  great  courtesy,  and  bv  means  of 
honeved  words  and  offer  of  gold  he  succeeded  in  eliciting 
from  him  the  real  secret.  He  was  informed  that  Afzal 
meant  treachery,  and  wished  to  capture  him  by  throwing 
hjm^off  his  guard.  A  spot  was  fixed,  and  a  conference  was 
accanged**  It  was  agreed  that  both  parties  should  meet 
unattended  by  their  troops.  Afzal  who  was  a  sturdy,  well- 
-built man  advanced  to  embrace  the  short  slim  Maratha, 
who  only  reached  up  to  Ijis  shoulders.  Gradually  he 
tightened  his  clasp,  and  holding  his  neck  in  a  firm  grip 
with  his  left  arm,  he  cfrew  his  dagger  with  a  view  to  finish 
his  opponent.  But  Shivaji^  was  not  tfag  rpftn  tn  ^°  fakftp 
unawares.  With  the  help  of  his  Baahnakh  (tiger-claw), 
he  forced  the  Khan  to  relax  his  grip,  and  thrust  it  into 
his  breast  po  that  he  fell  wounded  on  the  ground.  The 
Mpmthflp  rushori  nnnn  fan  Mnaalmons  who  were  carrying 
the  Khan  in  a  Palki,  and  cut  off  his  head,  which  they 


660  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

t 

carried  in  triumph  to  their  master,  Afzal's  officers  and 
men  were  dumb-founded  by  the  news  of  their  leader's, 
tragic  end.  They  engaged  the  Marathas  in  a  death  grapple, 
but  suffered  a  miserable  defeat.  They  were  mercilessly 
butchered,  and  their  baggage  and  artillery  train  was  cap- 
tured by  the  enemg. 

Was  Afzal's  death  an  act  of  treachery  on  the  part  of 
Shivaji  ?  The  Marathas  justified  the  murder,  and  looked 
upon  it  as  an  act  of  national  liberation.  Their  historians 
have  described  the  deed  as  merely  an  act  of  vengeance 
upon  the  sworn  enemies  of  their  gods  and  the  defilers  of 
their  shrines.  Khafi  Khan  puts  the  entire  Jblame  upon, 
Shivaji,  and  accuses  him  of  base  treachery  and  deceit 1 
Grant  Duff  repeats  the  charge,  and  his  views  are  echoed 
by  all  other  European  writers  who  have  followed  him.  But 
modern  research  has  established  the  fact  that  Shivaji  per- 
petrated the  murder  in  self-defence. 2  The  English  factory 
record  shows  that  the  Khan  was  asked  by  his  sovereign  to 
capture  the  Maratha  chief  by  feigning  friendship  with  him, 
and  his  envoy  also  informed  Shivaji  that  treachery  was 
intended.  Shivaji  followed  the  good  old  principle  pf  *  anfoty 
first/  and  forestalled  his  opponent  in  the  execution  of 
his  sinister  designs.  Kincaid  and  Parasanis  relate  the 
story  of  the  manner  in  which . the  j£han  insulted  Shfoajj  on. 
seeing  his  splendour,  and  was  confronted  with  an  equally 
unpleasant  retort.  There  is  no  need  to  waste  much  time 

1  He  writes  :  "  The  designing  rascal  by  sending  various  presents  and 
fruits  of  the  country  and  by  bis  humbleness  and  submission*  conciliated 
Afzal  Khan,  who  fell  into  the  snare,  believing  all  his  false  and  deceiving 
statements,  and  observing  none  oi  that  caution  which  the  wise  com* 
mend."  Elliot,  VII,  p.  269. 

*  For  a  fuller  examination  of  the  subject  see  8arkar*s  '  Shivaji  and 
His  Time*,*  pp.  63—73.  *  History  of  the  Maratha  People  '  by  Kincaid  and' 
1*  PP.  1577-64. 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  €61 

'over  the  old  controversy  as  to  who  struck  the  first  blow. 
Evidence  has  now  become  available  which  proves  that  it 
was  Afzal  who  acted  as  the  aggressor.  The  old  Maratha 
chroniclers  who  never  conceal  Shivaji's  crimes  have  record- 
ed the  same  thing,  and  their  statements  cannot  be  lightly 
brushed  aside  like  the  patriotic  effusions  of  modern  writers, 
who  refuse  to  see  any  fault  or  blemish  in  their  adored  hero. 
Shivaji's  preparations  were  made  in  self-defence.  If  he 
had  not  taken  the  necessary  precautions,  he  would  have 
been  slain  by  the  general,  who  had  already  a  design  on 
his  life.  But  in  one  thing  the  Bijapuris  were  taken  by 
surprise.  They  never  expected  the  fearful  attack  which 
the  Marathas  delivered  upon  them,  and  perished  with- 
out much  resistance.  AfzaJ  Khan  did  not  take  anv 
piw.aiit.i9pa.  because  he  thought  that  his  murderous  intent 
would  be  kept  a  secret  to  the  last  He  felt  sure  that 
Shivaji's  followers  would  disperse  in  panic  after  their 
leader's  death.  What  a  pity  !  the  veteran  general  had  so 
hopelessly  undervalued  his  opponent's  capacity  for  meeting 
•an  emergency  fraught  with  such  dire  consequences  to 
himself. 

The  murder  of  Afzal  Khan  and  the  complete  rout  of 
Bijapur  forces  encouraged  Shivaji  in  his  designs,  and  he 
began  to  carry  his  depredations  into  the 
Mu£hal  country.  Aurangzeb  who  was  by  this 
Shayasta  time  securely  seated  on  the  throne  of  Delhi 
against  him.  sen*;  his  maternal  uncle>  ShavfiataKhan.  who 
was  appointed  to  the  viceroyal^v  of  t^e 
Deccant  to  deal  with  him.  Shayasta  occupied  Poona, 
captured  the  fort  of  Chakan,  and  the  Mughals  after 
two  years  of  desultory  warfare  established  their  hold  on 
the  North  Konkan,  including  the  district  of  Kalyan,  while 


662  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

the  south  remained  in  Shivaji's  hands.    Shayasta  returned* 
to  Poona  after  the  capture  of  Chakan  to  stay  there  during: 
the  rainy  season,   but  Shivaii  had  recourse  to  a  cgriflus- 
stratagem  tn  gfif;  t.hft  hflf.frpr  of   hia   flppQppnfai.     A   band   of 
400  picked  Maratha  soldiers  feiqrifld  to  hft  a  marriage  parfcv. 
and  with  a  bnv  dressed  nn  as  a  hrjj|pprnnm  in  their  midst, 
they  entered  the  town,  and  at  midnight  raiflpfl  the  gover- 
nor's   residence,,    a    hnngg    in  yrhi'nh  Shivq.]]'  frftrl  lived  in  his 

childhood.^These  were  the  d»yfl  ^f  P^^^an.  and  the  gover- 
nor and  his  guards  had  gone  to  sleep  after  a  heavy  m£al. 
The  Marathas  began  »  %trfn1  «^"prllt^rr  and  made  a  breach 
into  the  wall  through  which  Shivaji  with  200  men  entered 
the  haram.1  A  consternation  ftpgnpd  and  the  Nawab 
was  roused  from  his  slumber  by  one  of  his  slave  girls.  He 
got  up,  and  hastily  seized  a  bow,  arrows,  and  a  spear,  but 
before  he  could  fftritoy  Shivaji  cut  off  his  thumb.  Just  at 
this  time  the  lights  were  put  out  by  one  of  the  Nawab's 
servants,  and  in  this  darkness  he  was  carried  by  two 
of  his  slave  girls^.  who^retained  their  presence  of  mind. 
The  Marathas  entered  the  guard-house,  and  slew  every 
one  whether  awake  or  asleep,  shouting  all  the  time* 
"  This  is  how  you  keep  watch/'  Shayasta's  son.  Abul 
Fatah,  rushad-forward  to  attack  the  assailants  and  struck 
down  two  or  three  men,  but  he  could  not  cope  with  them- 
single-handed,  and  was  wounded  and  killedl  The  Marathas,. 
having  finished  their  work,  left  the  haram  and 
th?  Mughal^  frntny  not 


The  night  attack  was  a  complete  success,  and  greatly 
.enhanced  Shivaji's  prestige, 


1  Khafi  Khan  gives  a  highly  interesting  account  of  the   episode- 
Elliot,  VH,  pp.  289-71. 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  66$ 

•ftas  sent  by  the  emperor)  to  assist  the  viceroy,  came  to 
condole  with  him  in  the  morning,  but  he  was  confronted 
with  a  sarcastic  remark,  'I  thought,  the  Maharala  had 
died  fighting  for  me  in  the  last  night's  ftttmfr.'  Popular 
suspicion  fell  upon  the  Raja,  and  in  the  Mughal  camp  his 
bona  fides  were  seriously  doubted.  As  for  the  Marathas. 
they  looked  upon  their  success  as  nothing  short  of  a  miracle, 
performedj)vj;he  aid  of  divine  inspiration. 

^Deeply  mortified  by  defeat  and  humiliation,  Shayasta 
Khan  retired  to  Aurangabad,  but  immediately  afterwards 
he  was  recalled  by  the  emperor,  and  transferred  (Decem- 
ber 1;  1663),  to  the  governorship  of  Bengal.  Prince 
Muazzam  was  appointed  to  succeed  Shayasta  in  the 
Deccan. 

No  less  daring  was  the  sack  of  Surat  perpetrated  by 
Shivaji  in  January  ififtl.  At  the  head  of  4,T)00  picked  ment 
we11-gqi?ipppd  wiffr  ^rm|?i  he  advanced  upon 

Surat'  and  sent  word  to  the  g°vern<>r  and  the 
wealthiest  Muslim  merchants  that  they  should 
immediately  satisfy  him,  or  he  would  set  fire  to   their 
town^and  loot  all  their  pi^p.  fifty NQ  reply  was  received 
to  this  threatening-  dfimaT^   and  Shivaji  ordered  the  sack 
of  the  city  with  ruthless  vengeance.    When  he  raided  the 
house  of  a  Muhammadan  merchant  near  the  English  fac- 
tory, the  English  traders  offered  succour  to  the  unfortunate 
victim  of  his  greed.  §  Exasperated  by  their  resistance,  he 
asked  them  to  keep  aloof  or  to  pay  three  lakhs  of  rupees,  and1 
in  case  they  failed  to  do  either,  he  threatened  to  kill  them 
all  and  raze  their  factory  to  the  grpqnd.    The  President 
of  the  factory,  Oxenden.  adopted  a  firm  ffltitnde.  He  refused 
to  comply  with  his  insulting  demand,  and  informed  him  that 
they  were  ready  to  take  up  the  challenge.    By  this  time 


664  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Shivaji  had  obtained  enough  to  satiate  his  thirst  for  wealth, 
and  with  a  booty  amounting  *tn  ^flrp  than  —  *  pmrpi  ^f 
rupees,  he  left  Surat,  carrying  away  gold,  silver,  pearls. 
tiiamoncis  and  other  articles  of  incalculable  value. 

a  second  army  under  the  best  and  most  trusted  officers 
like  Mirza  Raja  Jaisingh,  assisted  by    Dilir    Khan,    was 

sent  early  in  1665  to  deal  with  Shivaji. 
Jai  Singh  Aurangzeb  had  appointed  Rajq  JaiaingrK  to 
against  Shiva-  take  the  place  of  Jaswant  after  his  sorrv  part 

in  the  Poona  episode*  Jaisingh,  the  Kach  \fraha 
Prince  of  Jaipur,  was  a  man  of  great  talents,  well-versed  in 
Turki,  Persian,  Sanskrit,  and  Urdu,  an  adept  in  conversation. 
ana  a  Porn  diplomatist  and  tactician,  well  afrle  to  do*]  wif)i 
the  intricacies  of  political  affairs.  His  intimate  contact 
witn  court  life  hadjnade  frin?  familiar 


foj-ms  of  Mqsiim  etiquette,  and  had  given  him  a 
into  Muslim  character,  which  doubly  increased  his  useful- 
ness as  a  general  of  combined  armies  and  a  renm^ntativA 
of  the  emperor  in  treating  with  foreign  powers.  The 
Mughal  army  entered  the  Maratha  country  without  much 
opposition,  and  laid  siege  to  the  fort  of  Purandhar.  The 
Prabhu  Commander.  Murar  Baji  Deshpande  of  Mahadf 
offered  a  gallant  resistance  in  spite  of  his  inadequate  forceg. 
but  hewasjcilled  in  action^  .  Even  Raigarh,  Shivaji's 
chief  seat  of  power,  was  threatened.  Convinced  of  the 
futility  of  further  resistance,  *the  Maratha  leader  offered  to 
make  peace  with  the  Mughals.  The  treaty  of  Purandhar 
was  concluded  ,(June  1665),  by  which  he  agreed  to 
surrender  23  of  his  foVts,  yielding  a  revenue  of  four  lakhs  of 
torn  a  year,  keeping,  for  himself  12  forts  with  "  moderate 
revenues.  "  His  son,  Shambhuji.  was  to  be  enrolled 

ammigr   the   Panjhaza^    ManMhHorfl   fff   faft   ^mnirP    with 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  665 

*  suitable  Jagir,  while  Shivaii  was  to  he  excused  bv  reason 
of  his  "  late  unwise  and  disloyal  acts."  Another  clause  was 
added  to  the  treaty  which  provided  that  Shivaji  would  pay 
to  the  emperor  40  lakhs  of  hun  in  13  yearly  instalments, 
if  he  were  confirmed  in  the  possession  of  certain  lands 
in  the  Konkan  and  Balaghat  by  means  of  an  .imperial 
farman.  Further,  he  agreed  to  assist  the  Mughals  in 
their  war  against  Bijapur._ 

The  treaty  was  a  great  diplomatic  triumph  for  Jai- 
sip&h,  and  marks  a  decisive  Stage  in  Shivaji's  struggle 
with  the  empire.  A  great  enemy  was  placated,  and  his 
co-operation  was  secured  in  Mughal  attempts  against 
Bijapjir.  Shivaji,  on  his  part,  proved  as  good  as  his  word. 
He  flfgg^jjLppfirml  honours  apd  p-ifta.  and  with  his  troops 
helped  Raja  Jaisingh  in  invading  the  Adil  Shah's  territories. 
The  crowning  triumph  of  Jaisingh's  diplomacy  was  soon 
reache^.  when  he  PersuadecLJShivaji  to  pay  a  visit  to  thg 
Imperial  Court. 

Why  did  Shivaji  agree  to  go  to  the  imperial  court  in  spite 
of  the  treaty  of  Purandhar  to  the  contrary  ?  Mr.  Sardesai 
suggests  that  he  strongly  wished  to  see  for 
to  the  imperial     himself  what  the  emperor   and    his    cou  rt 
were  **ke»  w^at  were  t^e  so^ces  of  their 
strength,    and    how  he  should  behave  to- 
wards them    in  future^Such  a  minute  study  at  first 
hand,   he  says,  was    necessary    for   carrying  into  effect 
the  grandiose  plans  of  conquest  which  he  was  revolving 
in  his  mind.    But  against  this  view,  we  f\nd  that  he  agreed 
to  Raja  Jaisingh's  proposal  with  cdnsiderable  reluctance. 
The  Raja  "  used  a  thniigapfl  devices  "  to  overcome  his 
,  deep-rooted  repugnance,  and  held  out  to  him  the  hopes  of 

1  Main  Currents  of  Maratha'History,  p.  71. 


666  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

great  reward  and  honour.  Perhaps  the  glittering  bait  of" 
the  Deccan  viceroyalty  was  dangled  before  his  eyes,  and 
the  solemn  assurances  <?f  the  Rajput  Raia  dianelled  what- 
ever doubts  he  had  in  his  mind  about  the  emperor's  sincerity 
and  good  faith.  Besides,  Shivaji  wanted  the  little  island 
of  Jinjiga,  which  was  an  imperial  possession.  He  carefully 
weighed  the  pros  and  cons  of  his  visit.  The  ministers 
whom  he  consulted  decided  by  a  majority  in  favour  of  the 
acceptance  of  the  proposal.  Since  Raja  Jaisingh  and 
his  son,  Kunwar  Ramsingh,  had  made  themselves  personally 
responsible  for  his  safety  at  the  imperial  court,  the 
Marathas  suspected  no  foul  play. 

Shivaji  reached  Agra  on  the  9th  of  May  along  with 
his  son  Shambhuji,  and  three  davpj  tat*1*  ™*<*  granted  y\ 
interview  in  the  Hall  of  Public  Audience.  Kunwar 
Ramsingh  offered  1,500  gold  muhars  as  present  (nazr)  and 
Rs.  6,000  as  an  offering  (nisar)  for  His  Majesty's  well-being 
after  the  customary  fashion  of  the  Indians,  but  the 
emperor's  behaviour  was  highly  impmppr  He  greeted 
Shivaji  by  exclaiming  from  his  throne  "Come  up,  Shivali 
RajaJ '  Shivaji  advanced  forward^  and  when  he  had  made 
his  obeisance,  he  was  escorted  back  to  take  his  stand 
among  the  third  grade  mansabdarsl  and  no  further  notice 
wag  taken  of  him. ] 

Shivaji  was  beside  himself  with  wrath  to,find  that  he 
was  accorded  a  place  among  the  Panjhazari  nobles,  and 
remonstrated  with  Kunwar  Ramsingh  in  a  loud  voice. 
He  cried  out  in  *  anger  that  he  would  prefer  death  to 
dishonour  and  fell  into  a  fainting  fit.  His  outburst  was. 


1  Kbafi  Khan  corroborates  this  account,  Elliot,  VII,  pp.  276-77. 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  667 

heard  by  Aurangzeb  who  enquired  what  the  matter  was. 
The  Rajput  prince  diplomatically  answered:  "  The  tiger 
is  a  wild  beast  of  the  forest.  He  feels  oppressed  by  heat 
in  a  place  like  this  and  has  been  taken  ill."  Aurangzeb 
ordered  rose  water  to  be  sprinkled  on  his^ace,  and  asked 
Ramsingh  to  convey  him  to  his  residence.  All  explanations 
of  the  Prince  failed  to  allay  Shivaji's  resentment,  and  he 
openly  charged  the  emperor  with  breach  of  faith.  The 
words  were  reported  to  Aurangzeb  by  court  spies,  and 


Shiva,]!  found  himself  placed  undernolW 

While  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  emperor.  Shivaji 
taxed  hig  brains  to  hit  upon  a  device  to  get  out  of  this  difficult 
situation.  He  feigned  illness,  and  began  to  send  haskqt- 
fuls  of  sweetmeats  to  be  distributed  among  the  Brafrmana 
and  other  meffldiflantp.  At  first,  the  baskets  were  searched 
by  the  guards,  but  after  some  time  they  slackened  their 
watch,  and  allowed  the  baskets  to  pass  unexamined.  One 
day  Shivaji  and  his  son  seated  themselves  in  these  baskets 
and  effected  their  escape.  They  galloped  to  Mathura  on 
horses,  which  they  found  ready  at  a  distance  of  six  miles 
from  Agra.  There,  Shambhuji  was  entrusted  to  the  care  nf 
a  Maratha  Brahman  who  was  asked  to  keep  their  escape 
as  secret  Shivaji  besmeared  himself  with  ashes  like  Hindu 
agcetic&^nd  in  this  holy  disguise^,  passing  through  Allaha- 
bad, Benares,  Gaya,  the  GondwamT  country,  and 


territory  of  Golkunda  and  Biiapuy  gp  his  way,  reached  the 
Dgccan. 

Tb  his  great  surprise  he  found  no  sedition  or  treason 
in  his  dominion  on  his  arrival.  His  government  was 
Carried  on  by  his  ministers,  as  if  nothing  serious  had  happen- 
ed. Soon  after  his  return,  war  was  recommenced  with 
renewed  energy  and  determination. 


668  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Jaisingh  was  greatly  perturbed  by  the  turn  affairs 
had  taken  in  the  north.  His  son  Ramsingh  was  suspected 
of  conniving  at  Shivaji's  escape,  and  was 
threatened  with  the  loss  of  his  mansab. 
Shivaji's  arrival  in  the  Deccan  added  to  the 
Raja's  difficulties,  and  he  was  filled  with  anxiety  about  the 
Mughal  position.  He  suggested  to  the  emperor  a  plan * 
by  which  to  murder  Shiva]iT  but  it  did  not  materialise,  and 
the  Mirza  Raja  was  recalled  in  May  1667.  His  place  was 
taken  by  Prince  Muazzam  with  Raja  Jaswant  Singh  as 
the  second  in  command.  The  aged  Mirza  Raja  set  out 
for  the  north,  but  died  on  the  way  at  Burhanpur  on  July 
2, 1667. 

Shivaji  made  peace  with  the  Mnghaja  and  during  the 
years  1667 — 69  he  kept  quiet,  and  employed  all  his  energies 
in  consolidating  his  government.  Aurangzeb  was  induced 
by  Prince  Muazzam  and  Raja  Jaswant  Singh  to  confer 
upon  him  the  title  of  Raja  and  to  assign  Jagirs  in  Berar 
to  Shambhuji,  who  was  again  elevated  to  the  rank  of 
a  Panjhazari  noble.  But  the  peace  was  nothing  more 
than  a  truce,  and  war  was  renewed  again  in  1670.  The 
Mughal  position  was  weaker  than  it  was  four  years  ago, 
and  Shivaji  succeeded  in  capturing  the  forts  of  Kondana, 
Purandhar,  Mahuli,  and  Nander,  and  expelled  the  Mughal 

1  Jaisingh  had  written  to  Jafar  Khan,  the  minister,  to  obtain  the 
•emperor's  sanction  to  a  marriage  betwern  Shivaji's  daughter  and  the 
Raja's  son.  These  are  the  Raja's  words  ; 

"  I  am  arranging  matters  in  such  a  way  that  the  wicked  wretch 
Shiva  will  come  to  soe-  me  once,  and  in  the  course  of  his  journey  or 
return  (our)  clever  men  may  get  a  favourable  opportunity  (of  disposing 
of)  that  luckless  fellow  in  his  unguarded  moment  at  that  place  .  .  .  ." 
It  was  a  mesalliance  which  a  Rajput  would  have  spurned,  but  Jaisingh 
reconciled  himself  to  it  for  the  benefit  of  the  emperor. 

Sarkar,  *  Shivaji  and  His  Times/  tf.  160. 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  66J> 

Faujdar  from  the  Konkail.  The  quarrels  among  the 
imperial  generals  rendered  the  Mughal  position  worse  in 
the  Deccan,  and  Shivaji  derived  the  fullest  advantage 
from  their  weakness.  In  October  1670,  he  ggain  looted 
Surety  ransacked  the  shops  and  houses,  and  carried  off  a 
booty  amounting  to  66  lakhs  of  rupees.  Tl^  trade  of  the 
port  was  completely  paralysed,  and  the  f^gf  of  the  Mara- 
thas  killed  all  enterprise  and  ambition.  So  great  was  the 
dread  of  a  recurrence  of  the  visitation  that  whenever 
the  alarm  was  raised  that  the  Marathas  were  coming, 
the  people  deserted  the  town  and,  found  refuge  in  distant 
places. 

From  1670  to  1674  war  continued  without  cessation 
and  the  Marathas  won  -brilliant  successes.  Diler  Khan's 
defeat  in  1674  further  crippled  the  Mughal  power  in  the 
Deccan.  Just  at  this  time  a  rebellion  of  the  Afghans 
occurred  on  the  North- West  Frontier,  and  Diler  Khan  was 
recalled  by  Aurangzeb. 

The  brilliant  successes  gained  by  Shivaji  and  the  lull jn 

the^srtuation  suggested  to  him  the^grand  idea  of  assuming 

the  title  of  king.    The  formal  ceremony  took 

Shivaji  crowns    15 lace    in  .Tnnft   1R74-.  at  RtiicyarKL_-A^ nn- 
himself,       June  "Tl  "ll    ^    IL  " 

1674.  equalled  pomp  and  splendour.    The  celebra- 

tion was  accompanied  by  Vedic  rites,  and 
proclaimed  to  the  world  around that  an  independent  Hindu 
kingdom  had  been  established  in  the  teeth  of  Muslim  opposi- 
tion. The  achievement  implied  a  bold  challenge  to  Mughal 
imperialism,  and  must  have  caused  .profound  dismay  at 
Delhi.  To  the  Hindu  mind  it  recalled  the  greatness  and 
grandeur  of  the  empire  of  Vijayanagar  and  its  unending 
wars  with  the  Muslim  powers.  Hiatnrv  was 


<670  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Shivaji's  treasury  was  depleted  by  the  huge  expenditure 

incurred  on  the  celebration  of  the  coronation,   and  he  now 

found  it  necessary  to  renew  his  raids.    Wars 

The  last  six     were  fought  with  the  Mughals,  the  Sultan  of 

years  of  Shiva-'  —  -  .   T     —        —  —  n  -  r~  . 

Lji,  1674-80.  Bijapur^  and  the  Abyssmians  of  Jimira.  but 
the  grandest  feat  of  Shivaji's  military  general- 
ship was  the  invasion  of  th^  Kflrna*"ilr  in  1677-78  in  alii- 
ance  with  the  Qutb  Shah.  He  captured  Jinji,  Vellore,  and 
a  number  of  other  forts  which  considerably  added  «to  his 
prestige  in  the  Deccan.  Diler  Khan  was  again  sent  to 
deal  with  Shivaji,  but  his  triumphs  continued  uninterrupt- 
ed. His  last  campaign  was  in  the  Mughal  Deccan,  where 
his  soldiery  plundered  and  devastated  a  number  of  villages 
and  towns.  Shivaji  had  great  plans  against  the 
Mughals,  but  they"  were  cut  short  hy  hin  nntiriHy  4ftftth 
orTApril  4,  1680,  atTthe  age  o£Ji3- 

Shivaji's  kingdom  consisted  of  a  narrow  strip  of  land, 
comprising  the  Western  Ghats  and  the  Konkan  between 
Kalyan  and  Goa,    and  towards  the  east 
's  Kingdom*   jt    included  Baglana  in    the    north,    and 


then  it  ran  southwards  through  the  Nasik 
and  Poona  districts,  enclosing  the  entire  territory,  now 
-covered  by  the  Satara  and  Kolapur  districts.  Towards  the 
south  his  recent  conquests  brought  under  his  sway  the  whole 
of  the  western  Karnatik,  extending  from  Belgaum  to  the 
bank  of  the  Tungbhadra  opposite  to  the  Bellary  district  of 
the  Madras  Presidency. 

view  that  the 


Marathica^  was  vj>ased    on    plundfi?l_and^  iollowed 
jCflrociple_p£.    demanding    payment 
not    ruling.      This    charge    cannot 
and  his  Council       be  brought"  against  Shivaji's  government, 


KINGDOM  OF  SHIVAJI 


>  KatnagirpjJVZA***^*  I      ^ 

I      ViziadrugWM6  ^^SK 

C04r-    n.     U-^-^^Mudbol^^ 


\*** iV"*"?  t^  ^^'^^ 

ftpa^          T     ,^J       , 

-     J  i«i    i 


^SHAHJT'S  JAGHIRS 
CZ38IVAJI'S  TERRITOKTE5 
THE  MARATTACOUNTB 


To  face  paqe  670. 


THE  TURN  IN  TH]5  TIDE  671 

whatever  its  validity  in  regard  to  later  Maratha  rule. 
"Shivaji  was  a  great  general  and  statesman  who  fully 

understdoidrthe  need  of . JhejtiypaaEbu^^  which 

^e_estaEI!shed  were  jin  improvement  upon  the  existing 
Border,  and_were  well-adapted  to  proimpte  the  well-being  of 

his  subjects  and Jbo  protect  thenTfrom  the  aggressions  of 
.his  Muslim  contemporaries. 

The  Raja  was  an  autocrat,  but  he  was  assisted  by  a 
-council  of  eight  ministers  called  £he  Ashta ~Pradhan^  It 
was  only  an  advisory  body,  and  had  none  of  the  characteris- 
tics of  A  modern  cabinet.  The  eight  ministers  were  :— 

(1)  Peshwa    f Prime  Minister)  who  looked  after  the 

welfare  of  the  state  generally. 

(2)  Amatya  or  the  Finance  Minister,  who  checked  the 
income  and  expenditure  of  the  state. 

(3)  Mantri  or  the  Chronicler,  who  kept  a  diary  of 
the  .king's  daily  doings  ^nd  recorded  everything 
that  happened  at  Court. 

•(4)  Sumant  or  the  Foreign  Secretary  who  kept  an 
account  of  the  king's  relations  with  foreign 
powers.  ; 

(5)  Sachiva  or  the  Home  Secretary  who  had  charge 

of  the  king's  correspondence.  He  supervised  the 
draft  of  letters  and  alfixed  his  seal  on  such  letters 
and  official  documents* 

(6)  Pandit  Rao  and    Danadhyaksha    or    the    Head 

of  the  Ecclesiastical  Department  who  like 
the  Mughal  $ydr-i-Sudfi.r  looked  after  the 
grants  to  religious  and  learned  men,  decided 
theological  disputes  and  questions  relating  to 
custom. 


672  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

(7)  Senapati  or  the  Commander-in-Chief    who    was 

the  general-in-chief  of  Shivaji's  forces. 

(8)  ffyayadhish  or  the  Chief  Judge. 

There  were  18  departments  in  the  state,  which  were  looked 
after  by  the  ministers  under  the  guidance  of  the  King. 
The  Swaraj  territory,  which  was  directly  under  the  rule 
of  Shivaji,  was  divided  into  a  num her  of  JPran ts  (districts), 
which  were  afl^ltygre^atedjnto  three  provinces,  each  be- 
Jng  placed  ujider_  j^J/icerov.  The^ystem  of  Jagirs  was 
abolished,  and  the  officersTwere  paid  in  cash  —a  practice 
which  resulted  in  ^eat^adjninistrative  efficiency..  Though 
Tlie~Maratha  bureaucracy  was  well-adapted  to  meet  the 
needs  of  the  time,  i^cont^njd^wjtjiin^jtself  the  seeds_of_ 
dissolution.  _ All  member^oTthe_Council  except*  tEe  Pandit 
Rao  and  the  T^yaKadhisJhi^  Jjyere  expected  to  be  fiK~lTie 
Mughal  officers,  military  commanders,  who,  when  they  got 
an  opportunity,  Tried  to  set  up  their  own  independent 
power,  as  happened  during  the  later  period  of  Maratha 
history.  Shivaji  guarded  against^  this  dangerjby  making 
arnte-that  none  of  thesFoTfTcea^shnnld  he  hereditary r  but 
after  his  death  this  practice  was  departed  from  with  the 
result  that  all  his  plans  were  \ipset. ] 

As  has  been  said  before^^Shivaji  abolished  the  Jagir 
System,  because  it  tended^  toHSreeH  sedition  ancf  revolt. 
_.  .  He  even  confiscated  lands  given  to  religious 

Fiscal  system.      ; -.     -v^^* — ; — ^ : —,        ,  «  "  ' 

• ^jns titutions^and^su  bstituted  cash  payments  for 

the  farming  system  and  introduced 
away  with  the  Patel_andthe 
Kulkyni  in  the  villagp  apdthe  Deshmukh  and  Deshpande  in' 
the  district,  and  himself  appointed  new  collectors 

1  Ranade, 4  Rise  "of  the  Maratha  Po^er/  p.  125. 

2  Sardesai, '  Main  Currents/  p.  85. 


THE  TUKN  IN  THE  TIDE  67$ 

• 

division  of  the  country  into^gubahs,  Sarkars,  Parganas,  and 
Mauzas  was  placed  by  a  fresh  division  into  Prants,  Tarafe, 
anTMauz^the  Taraf  was  under  a  Havaldar  or  a  Karkun, 
the  Prant  uncffiVS^  Mukhiya  Desha- 


dhikan,  and  sometimes  several  Prants  were  entrusted  to 
a  Subahdar.  The^salary  of  a  Subahdar  was400Vwtt8a 
year  with  a  palanquirTanoVance  of  another  400  ft^  The  land 
was  surveyed  by  means  of  a  Kathi  or  measuring  rod,  and 
^record  jw  as  Jeep  t_  of  field^^an^anhual  Kabuliyats  were 
taken^from  those  who  held  them.  The  state  demand  was 
at  first  fixed  atJtOjaer  ceqf,  butjater  It  was  raised  to  40  per 
"cent  ^fry^liivaiirwhen  all  other  taxes  and  cesses  had  been 
abolished.  '  The  peasant  was  not  left  in  a  state  of  uncertain- 
£%j  he  knew  wKiatTKe  hadlo  pay  and  as  Pringle  Kennedy 
rightly  observes,  he  seems  to  have  been  able  to  pay  it 
without  any  great  oppression.  a  The  accounts  were  care- 
fully  kept  and  examined  by  officers  under  the  king's 


personal  contyol.ujAgrieulture  was  encouraged,  and_jn 
times  of  famine  grain r  and  money  for  buying  seed  were 
advanced  to  the  peasants,  and  this  amount  was  realised  in 
instalments  according  to  the  ~  means  ~of  the  debtor. 3  The 
English  traveller  Fryer  flas  drawn  a  highly  unfavourable 
picture  of  Shivaji's  revenue  administration.  He  says  that 
thfe  officers  were  dishonest  and  selfish;  the  peasants  were 
oppressed  and  cruelly  torturedLandJi^  fact  '  the  great  fish 
prey  on  the  little  and_evfir^Bijapur^rule  wag  milder  than 

seertrtorftave 

observation.  •  The  stories  of 
Shivaji's  benevolence  and  generosity,  and  his  solicitude 
for  the  welfare  of  the  peasantry,  that  are  current 

1     Sen,  Maratha  Administration,  p.  73. 
9     "History  of  the  Mughals,',!!,  p.  125. 
3     Sen,  Maratha  Administration,  p.  73. 
F.  43 


674  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

in  Maharashtra  even  to  this  day,  point  to  the  fact  tha£jifi_ 

Jflfl     ttjOapable    and  humfrnfl   fldminifli-rftfnr  and  nnt  ft  TUCT? 

crushed  _the    race   of    mortals    to    dust. 
French  physician,  who  visitect  tfie  western  coast 


looked    upon  as  one  of  the  most  politic  princes  in  those 

|       ^*-'  ......    r          -yg-^^^i^.-.  .  ,     „  ...  __  ,-,[|TI|,|g^|  ........  _____  J^twrrl1   riY       m.rtf   IV  •  r~r  I    •  ""-1*  «i*M*IWl.  (K*»«9»«»t  ul  HI  I  MMMMINmMWMiii 

~  TBere  were  abuses  in  the  government,  and  officers 
must  have  practised  tyranny  in  many  places,  but  to  say 
that  the  whole  country  was  in  a  state  of  terrible  misery  is 
an  assumption  not  founded  on  facts.  Even  Grant  Dnff 
admits  that  the  districts  were  well  managed,  and  derived 
mucn  benent  Jrom  his  wise  and  efficient  administration. 
^\  No  accoufttj)!  Shi  vaji's  fiscal  system  would  be  complete 
Without  T^wjgrd  ^bo.Ut.the  .....  Chauth  ' 


..... 

great  divergence  of  opinion  among  scholars 
about  the  levy  of  Chauth,  and  all  that  can  be  done  here  is 
to  give  the  views  of  leading  writers  on  the  subject. 

Ranade  savs  that  the  Chauth  was  not  merely  a  military 
contribution  without  any  moral  or  legal  obligation,  but  a 
payment  in  lieu  of  protection  against  the  invasion  of  a 
third  power.  He  compares  it  with  Wellesley's  policy  of 
Subsidiary  alliances  and  goes  on  to  add  :— 

41  The  demand  for  Chauth  was  subsequently  added 
with  the  consent  of  the  powers  whose  protection 
was  undertaken  against  foreign  aggression,  on 
payment  'of  -fixed  sums  for  the  support  of  the 
troops  maintained  for  such  services.  This  was  the 

1    Sen,  p.  90. 

*  The  Ohauth  was  l/4th  of  the  revenue  of  a  district  that  was 
invaded  by  the  Marathas. 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  675 

t 

original  idea  as  worked  out  by  Shivaji,  and  it 
was  the  same  idea  which  in  Marquis  of  Wellesley's 
hand  bore  such  fruit  a  hundred  and  twenty-five 
years  later."1 

According  to  Mr.  Sardesai  it  was  a  tribute  exacted  from 
^hostile  or  conquered  territories.2  The  practice  had* existed 
in  the  western  parts  of  India  before  Shivaji.  He  applied 
it  to  the  countries  which  he  overran,  and  promised  in  return 
imnfunity  from  further  exaction  and  protection  against  any 
other  conqueror.  Mr.  Surendra  Nath  Sen  differs  from 
this  viqw  and  holds  that  the  Chauth  was  nothing  but  a 
contribution  exacted  by  a  military  leader,  but  he  apologe- 
tically adds  that  such  exactions  are  not  uncommon,  and 
that  this  blackmail  was  justified  by  the  exigencies  of  the 
situation. '  Prof.  J.  N.  Sarkar  has  reached  a  different  con- 
clusion. He  writes : 

"  The  payment  of  Chauth  merely  saved  a  place  from 
the  unwelcome  presence  of  the  Maratha  soldiers 
and  civil  underlings,  but  did  not  impose  on  Shivaji 
any  corresponding  obligation  to  guard  the  district 
from  foreign  invasion  or  internal  disorder.  The 
Marathas  looked  only  to  their  own  gain  and  not  to 
the  fate  of  their  prey  after  they  had  left.  The 
Chauth  was  only  a  means  of  buying  off  one  robber, 
and  not  a  subsidiary  system  for  the  maintenance 
of  peace  and  order  against  all  enemies.  The  lands 
subject  to  the  Chauth  cannot  therefore  be  rightly 
called  spheres  of  influence,  "4  " 

1  Rise  of  Maratha  Power,  pp.  324-25. 

"•  Main  Currents,  pp.  76-77. 

•  Maratha  Administration,  p.  100. 

*  Shivaji  and  His  Times,  p.  369. 


676  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Whatever  the  theory  of  the  ^Chauth,_  it_  appears  ir> 

practice  to  have  been  a  tnerely  military  contribution  Jtt  jvap 

pai(J  tojcard  ^ff  an  attack  dfthe  Marathas  and  perhaps  to 

"prevent  their  reappearance  in  a  cwrffryT" 

^^TJesaF  Its  the  corrupt  form  of  the  Sanskrit  word  Desh- 

swamT  also  called  Jfteahnnikb"    The  Sardeshmukh  stood  above 

several  besais  or;  Deshmukhs,  and  "Tils  diK^was^  fo  logic 

afteiL  the  -work  of  the  latter?    He  was  paicf  for  his  services, 

Jand  this  payment  was  called  Sardeshmukhi.    Shivyii  <»lfli?npfli 

to  be  the  hereditary  fifp-HpHhmnkh  nf  ^I«  ^|?ntrv 

Jheadministration  of  iuatice  was  of  a  primitiv     kind. 


There  were  Wh  reff^»r  r>nnrte  and  no  systematic  nrn^pHnrP 
In  villages  the  elders  held   Pandm^a  to- 
^J?  *«  deputes  submitted  to  them.  Ordeal 
was  common,  and  we  read  of  men  fearlessly 
grasping  red-hot  iron  or  plunging  their  hand   into    boiled 
water  or  oil.    Criminal  cases  were  heard  by  the  Patel  who 
was  an  officer^  having  the  qualifications  of  a  modern  Tahsil- 
dar.    Appeals  in  civil  and  criminal  cases  were  heard  by  the 
"BraHman  Nyayadhish,   whose  decisions  were  based    upon 
the  ancient  Smritis.    Tfhfi-  final,  court  of  appeal  was  the 
Majlis    who    seems    to   have    disappeared   after 


Shivaji  was  a  born  general  and  captain  pf 
organised  the  military  system^  which  he  had  inherited  from 
~"His  predecessors,  and  effected  several  improve- 
ments   in   ^-^OwJtoLJ^ 


^f  ^ture  .  of  his  "military  administration.  The- 
chronicles  mention  that  there  were  about  280  forts  in  his 
possession,  b^ac^hejh^l^  witktbs  adioiningJtemtory 
under  a  flo^gW^r  Jp^rmed  the  unit  of  Shiyaji/a 
He  spent  a  large  sum  of  money  in  repairing  some  of  the 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TID«  677 

important.  forts  like  Rajgarfr,  Raigarh,  Torna,  and 
was  sparecLtQ 


good  condition,    *JThe  people 


___ 
the 


resorted  in  time  Qf.,jnyagigiuL  .Each    fort  was    ttnjsr  a 

LSghom  were  associated  a  Brahman 


Subahdar  responsible  for  civil  and  revenue  administr^om 
jandtan  officer  of  the  Prabhu  (Kayastha)  caste^  vduil5i^ 
charge  of  the  grain  and  fodder  supply,  and  of  the  military 
stores/  The  Havaldar  had  a  garrison  under  his  command, 
recruited  from  the  various  castes.  Shivaji's  political  wisdom 
]§„  reflected  in  the  rastp  halanre  w^iclti  ^  trJQc|  to 
i|i_orderjtp  prevent  conspiracy  ^.nd  jrgvolj:  ffl  t^?e  Par<: 


maintained    a    regular,    standing  army,  and 
durmgthe  ramv  seasonrAlrtfae  time 


of  his  death,  his  army,  whichf  was"6rigin5ny^  small  force, 
consisted  of  30  to  40  thousand  cavalry,  and  one  lakh  of 
infantrv^drawn  from  the  ranks  of  the  peasantry.  He  had  an 
elephant  corps,  which  numbered  1,260  according  to  the 
Sabhasad  Bakliar,  and  also  a  fleet  which  contained  about  200 
•"^-^-ffaff  TEQ  strength  of  his  artillery  arm  is  not  pre- 
cisely known,  though  Orme  writes  that  '  he  had  previously 
purchased  eighty  pieces  o£  cannon  and  lead  suffi- 
cient lor  all  his  matchlocks  from  the  French  Director  at 
Surat."  The  Sabhasad  mentions  the  use  of  fire  arms  in 
battles,  and  says  that  the  enemies  were  attacked  with 
rockets,  musket  shots,  bombs  and  stones. 

The  army  had  the  same   gradation    of    officers    as 
obtained  JIT^  foe,   civil  administration.    The  cavalry    was 

1  Fragments,  p.  88. 


678  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

• 

divided.  into  twiL-Classes-  the  JBargir^  and  the  Shiledars* 
The  fonngr  was  supplied  with  horses  and  arms  by  the  state, 
whijejbhgjatter  had.  to  finil  his_own  equipment  TKejjnit 
in  the  cavalry  was  formed  by  25  troopers,;  over  them  was 
placed  a  liavaldar,  and  five  Havaldars  formed  one  Jumla 
under  a'  Jumladar.  Ten  Jumladars  made^  a  Hazari  charge, 
and  five  Hazaris  were  placed  under  a  Panjhazari,  whojwas 
given  a^salary  of  2,000  huns.  JJLb&JZa&jhazaris  were  under 
the  command  of  a  Sarnobat.  For  every  25  troopers,  a  farrier 
and  a  water-carrier  were  provides  by  jyi^sUrwr^^  ---- 

TBelnfantry  arm  was  similarly  organised.  It  was  divided 
|nto  regiments,  bnga3eTlina  "3Tyisions.  'Tn^amalle&t*  unit 
was  fwinleSISy  ^n^soldiers  who  were  under  the  command 
of  a  ISTaik.  Over  five  such  NaikTwas  placed'  aTHavaldafr  two 
or  three  of  whom  formed  the  charge  of  a  Jumladar.  Ten 
Jumladarsfwere  under  the  command  of  a  Hazari,  and  over 
seven  Hazaris  was  placed  a  Sarnobat. 

The  army  consisted  of  both  Hindus  and  Muhammadans 
and  mgde  no  dist?'flctiQr\s  In  time  of  need  Shivaji  could 
also  call  the  feudal  forces  of  the  Maratha  Wattandars,  but  he 
did  not  place  reliance  upon  them.  Soldiers  were  paid  in 
cash  or  by  an  assignment  on  the  district  governments. 
J*hey  had  full  confidence  in  their  leader,  and  loved  to  follow 
him  to  the  field  of  battle.  JHhtose  who  served  him  loyally 
were  rewarded,  and^tfeg^jefaildren  and  widows  of  those 
whojell  m  battle  were  well  looked  after  by 


^ 

liberality  attracted  men  from  far  and  wide,  and  even  veteran 
warriors  felt  the1  magic  of  his  powerful  personality,-  and 
regarded  it  a  privilege  to  follow  him.  Shivaji's  military 
camp  was  much  better  than  that  of  later  times.  He 


always  anxious  to  maintain  discipline  in  the  army  and  nevpr 
allowed  anything  which  might  lower  the  morale  nf  MA. 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE 
t  • 

troops^  HeJiad  drawn  gp ^elaborate  j'egulationsjfor^hia  army 
which  may  be  summarised  thus  :  

"  The  army  should  return  to  cantonments  in  the 
home  territory  during  the  rainy  season.  Grain,  fodder, 
and  medicines  were  to  be  stored  for  the  horses  and 
thatched  huts  for  the  troopers.  Soon  after  Dashehra 
the  army  marched  out  of  the  cantonments  and  for 
eight  months  it  subsisted  in  foreign  territories.  Na 
Tfromenr  female  slaves,  or  dancinp  girls  should  be  permit- 
ted.. Any  one  breaking  the  rule  should  be  put  to  death 
Wogien  and  children  of  the  enemv  should  bemq- 
tected.  Brahmans  were  to  be  let  alone  and  should 
not  be  accepted  as  sureties^  when  contributions  were 
levied  from  a  conquered  country.  Precious  articles 

Seized    bjLlke    tmnpa  during  thpir  onjnnrn    ahrnaH  aVinnl/? 

be  sent  to  the  treasury.     Those  who  kept  back  anything 
shoukUbg  severely  dealt  with." 

These  regulations  were  strictly  enforced.    Khafi  Khan 
writes  in  this  connection  : 

"  He  (Shivaji)  laid  down  the  rule  that  whenever  a 
place  was  plundered,  the  goods  of  poor  people,  ^pulsiyah 
(copper  money),  and  vessels  of  brass  and  copper,  should 
1  belong  to  the  man  who  found  them j:Jb,fl^^^^ 
^eld  and  silver,  coined  ctf  uncoined,  gems,  valuable 
stuffs  and  jewels, 'were  not  to  belong  to  tHe^ "finder,, 
tu t^v^erfi  Jo  i)e^iven  up  without  the  smallest  deduction 
to  the  officers,  and  to  be  by  them  pafd  over  to  Shivaji  'a 
government."1 


Elliot,  VII,  p.  261. 


680  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

During  the  sack  of  Surat  the  Marathas  did  not  touch 
cloth,  copper  utensils,  and  other  insignificant  articles. '  No 
soldier  was  enlisted  in  fc  J&e  ,  aoawLJaniggs^^  furnished 
security  for  good  behaviour.  The  officers  were  paid  in 
advance^  and  _had  to  account  .for  the  Chauth  and 
Sardeshmukhi  collected  by  them.  Merit  was  "recognised. 
ISaSfffitSfui  service  was  fitly  rewarded . 

Khafi  Khan's  condemnation  of  Shivaji,  reiterated  by 
European  writers,  has  been  proved  to  be  baseless  by  modern 

_ research,  and  thanks  to  the  labour  of  Indian 

scholars,  that  we  have  been  able  to  form  a 


and     charac-     just  estimate  of  his  character    and  policy 
Like  Haider  Ali  and  Ran  jit  Singh  after  him, 


Shivjm  jMggessed  yr^lYe  gefllns  of  a-liifph~-Qgdflr-.  From 
the  son  of  a  petty  Jagirdar  in  a  Muslim  State,  he  rose  to 
the  position  of  a  powerful  k^g,  who  qfoiick  t^yrnr  jnto  fche 
hearts  of  his  opponents,  and  fovmded  an  independent 
Hindu_S£at£  in  thejeeth^of  Muslim^oppjaisition.  The  reader 
will  easily  gather  from  the  account  of  his  life  given  before 
what  a  great  statesman  and  general  he  was.  ^He  evolved 
order  out  of  cha.QSL,ua^ed  the  scattered  f  raftromt?  .  Qf  ^ 
Maratha  people  into  a  jaation.  and  by  the  example  of  his 
own  personal  heroism,  led  them  on  to  heights  of  glory,  of 
had  never  dreamt  before.  3>  Every  jrgjd  brought 
every  conquest  extended  the  boundaries 


of  his  gmall  kingdom,  which  becamet  an  eyesore  not  only 
to  the  Sultanate  of  Bijapur^  Jbut  also  to  tha  mighty,  Mughal 
empire  tl|  Shi  vajj  :wa^  B  rare  admixture  of  the  ideal  and 
the  practical.  A^^Uie  champion  of  cows  and  Bralimans,  he 
appealed  to  the  traditionaLreligioua  impulses  of  the  Hindu 

**"    '        '"  ..>«.«»  *fc.-*,.<  .....  ,,r*»'»v*  ""-  -f          ««•«.•>  *• 

1  Bawlinson,  Bhivaji,  p.  98. 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  681 

»  x  • 

jace.  and  succeeded  remarkably  in  organising  an  effactive 

which  overshadowed  the 


entire  land  from  Delhi  to  Daulatabad.  He  saw  clearly 
the  consequences  of  the  imperial  policy  of  annexing  the 
south,  and  strove  all  his  life  to  make  it  impossible  of 
realisation.  ^^Iftar^iin  his  ideals,  whirh  he  pursued  with  a 
steadfastness  which  has  few  parallels  in  the  political 
annals^j)fj>ur  country,  Shivaji  possessed  in  a  rare  measure, 


wh%t_Professor  J,  N.  Sarkar  nil™  ^7  nnfnilinrr  tiPim  i?f 
reality  in  politics.  The  task  of  a  statesman  is  not  merely 
to  envisage  a  great  purpose,  but  to  see  how  far  his.  resources 
carT  carry  him.  Shivaji  bad  the  gift  of  grasping  quickly 
the  possibilities  of  a  situation,  and  knew  where  he  must 
stop.  It  is  true  he  followed  the  maxim  of  'safety  first,' 
"ljutjeven  here  his  actions  were  not  the  results  of  rmean  and 
grovelling  calculations  '  ^  Hje  organised  an  administration 
which  was  in  many  respects  more  efficient  than  that  of  the 
Mughals,  The  welfare  of  the  common  people  was  ever  dear 
to  his  heart,  and  there  is  ample  evidence  of  his  charity. 
justice,  and  benevolence.  It  is  this  which  led  the  Marathas 
tojregard  him  '  as  a  supermlfflT-a-tlmire^ 
from  the  yoke~"of  Muslims/  It  would  not  have  been  so,  if 
Shivaji  were  a  tyrant  or  a  mere  robber  chief,  equal  in 
treachery  and  finesse  only  to  the  devil,  as  Khafi  Khan  would 
have  us  believeT^Shjvaji  gave  the  Marathas  peace  and  order, 
arjd^to  a  persecuted  community  he  appeared  asjhe  star  TTfg 
new  hope  before  whom  all  ugly  shadows  melted  away,  and 
theJigarts  of  his  ^-religionists  were  fruoyed  up  with  joy  in 
expectation  of  the  fulfilment  of  a  great  purpose.  It  was  the 
strength  and  yiggurjuW^ich  he  imparted  to  the  political^ 
social  system  of  the  M^arathas,  wjiich  defied  Aur 
might  even  after  his  dea»._jrhe  abandonment  of  his  policy 


682  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 


t 


by  his  successors  precipitated  tfce  ruin  of  the  state,  which  he 
had  founded  with  so  much  energy,  statesmanship  and 
foresight.^  * 

I  In  private  life  Shivaii  maintained  a  hifth  standard  of 
morality,  considering  the  times  in  which  he  lived.  Polygamy 
and  cortcubinage  were  common  among  men  of  high  stations,, 
but  all  authorities  agree  that  his  elevated  morality  and 
loftiness  of  purpose  were  in  striking  contrast  with  the  sen- 
sual indulgence,  meanness,  and  trickery  of  his  contemgora- 
ries*  He  was  illiterate,  but  his  powerful  mind  was  capable 
of  comprehending  the  most  intricate  questions  of  politics. 
He^jKas  a  shrewd  Judge  of  men,  and  his  discernment;  Qf 
human  character  was  as  unerring  as  it  was  quick.  By  the 
'  sheer  force  of  his  native  genius,  he  outshone  all  his  minis- 
ters, and  successfully  imposed  his  will  upon  them.  In 
Diplomacy  and  statecraft^ he  had  £ew  equals  in  his  age,  and 
his  enemies  were  taken  by  surprise  at  tfag^  rapiffityjindi 
suddenness  with  which  he  altered  his  positions  and  execut- 
ed^ tiis  plans.  He  was  intensely  devoted  to  his  religion. 
TOUT  plant  of"  orthodoxy  nurtured  by  his  mother  with 
tender  care  and  affection  amidst  circumstances  of  depres- 
sion, which  were  enough  to  crush  all  enterprise  out  of  an 
ordinary  woman,  at  last  grew  into  a  tree,  and  bore  rich 
fruit.  He  became  a  champion  of  Hinduism,  and  his  readiness 
to  defend  it  at  all  times  against  Muslim  aggression  brought 
to  him  the  sympathy  of  Hmdus  all  over  Hindustan.  His 
Guru  Bam  Das,  by  his  influence,  fed  this  fountain  of  faith, 
and  when  Shivaii  organised  his  government,  he  devised 
measures  to  promote  the  interests  of  Hindu  religion.  He 
granted  pensions  to  learned  Brahmans.  ^ascetics,  built  hermi- 
tages, and  offered  encouragement  to  SanskrilTstudies.  ~~5ne 
lice  \  was  every  year  si-anted  to  a  Brahman  who 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  688 

mastered  one  of  fthe  Vedas,  sgid  two  to  him  who  studiedtwo 
and  so  onjnjncreasin&'  proportion.  Students  were  given 
stigepdaZand  scholars  from  distantlands ^^^camelo^^seek  K? 
patronage.  He  was  interested  in  the  cause^oTlearning  and 
employed  learned  brahmans  to  find  synonyms  for  current 
PersiaiTworcls,  and  their  labours  resulted  in  the  compilation 
'of  the  Rajvyavahar  TtGStFT  "  ~"* 

But  Shivaji  was  not  a  bigot  He  treated  even  Muslim 
sainte  wTtF  respect,  and  granted  lands  and  annuities  to- 
Muslim  shrines.L_JEIe  waged  relentless  war  against  the 
Musalmans,  but  Ke  stopped  it  as  goon  as  they  acknowledged 
hisj^erlordsliijx  Even  Khafi  Khan  ^w  ho  is  in  no  way  friendly 
to  him  speaks  of  his  great  qualities  in  eulogistic  terms  : 

" But  he  made  it  a    rule  that  whenever  his 

followers  went  plundering,  they  should  do  no  harm  to 
the  mosques,  the  Book  of  God,  or  the  woman  of  any  one. 
Whenever  a  copy  of  the  sacred  Kuran  came  into  his 
hands  he  treated  it  with  respect,  and  gave  it  to  some  of 
his  Musalman  followers.  When  the  women  of  any  Hindu 
or  Muhammadan  were  taken  prisoners  by  his  men,  he 
watched  over  them  until  their  relations  came  with  a 
suitable  ransom  to  buy  their  liberty."1 

The  same  writer  says  in  another  place  : 

"  Shivaji  had  always  striven  to  maintain  the  honour 
of  the  people  in  his  territories.  He  persevered  in  a  course 
of  rebellion,  in  plundering  caravans,  and  troubling 
mankind  ;  but  he  entirely  abstained  •from  other  dis- 
graceful acts,  and  was  careful  to  maintain  the  honour 
of  women  and  children  of  Muhammadans  when  they  fell 

1  Elliot,  VII,  p.  260. 


684  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

i 
into  his  hands.    His  injunctions  upon  this  point  were 

very  strict,  and  any  one  who  disobeyed  them  received 
punishment.  Ml 

Shivaji  well  merited  the  kingship  which  was  adorned  by 
his  valour  and  virtue-  He  was  ambitious,  but  ambition  did 
not  blind  him  to  moral  considerations  v^be  was  generous  Jbo 
his  foe^  and  chivalrous  to  women,  when  they  fell  into  his 
hands.  The  charges  of  fraud  and  treachery,  brought  ^against 

to  stand  the  test«of  a 


critical  examination^  Indeed,  the  unbiassed  enquirer  is  often 
struck  byliis  regard  for  Muslim  religion  and  his  generous 
treatment  of  the  weak  and  the  defenceless.  Mr.  Rawlinson 
is  right  when  he  says 

Jle  was  never  deliberately  or  wantonly  cruel.  . 


respectj^omen,  mosques,  and  non-combatants,  to.jgtop 
promiscuous  slaughter  after  a  battle,  to  release  and  dis- 
fiusFwith  honour  captured  men  and  officers.  .  .  .  these 
arFsurely  no  light  virtues."2 

The  Maratha  State  built  up  by  Shivaji  did  not  last  be- 
yond his  lifetime.  It  y  a*  a  military^gapisa*^  like  tbato£ 
Ranjit  Singh,  and  ^^swept  away  by  the  very  forces  which 
had^brouS^iHflHo  existence.  Caste  cannot  be  said  to  have 
beelfthe  chief  cause  of  its  decline.  The  real  causes  were 
the  autocratic  character  of  government,  and  the  reappear- 
ance of  feudalism  after  Sfiivaji's  death.  The  tendency 
towards  disintegration  became  more'and  more  manifest  as 
time  passed,  and,  Marat  ha  Jagirdars  began  to  act  as  inde- 
pendent despots,  concerned  with  their  selfish  interests  and 
not  with  those  of  the  larger  group  to  which  they  belonged. 

1  Elliot,  VII,  p.  806. 
*  Shivaji,  p.  99, 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  685* 

» 
t 

The  state  perished  in  the  scramble  of  rival  chiefs  for  power 
and  wealth.  Treachery  and  cunning  were  commonly  used  aa 
political  weapons,  and  the  virtues  of  truthfulness  and  honesty 
were  ignored  by  those  who  wielded  power.  The  dearth  of 
a  leader  like  Shivaji  disorganised  the  national  life  which 
he  had  created.  Lastly,  the  wars  waged  by  the  Marathas 
and  Mughals  against  each  other  did  harm  to  both  parties. 
They  destroyed  the  stability  of  the  Maratha  State  and 
seriously  hindered  national  consolidation  and  growth. 

Mention  has  previously  been  made  of  the  new  regula- 
tions which  Aurangzeb  issued  soon  after  his  accession  to 
the  throne.  They  were  followed  by  certain 
others,  which  reveal  his  serious  and  gloomy 
outlook  on  life  and  his  desire  to  make 
everything  conform  to  orthodox  Islam.  In  the  eleventh 
year  of  the  reign,  he  banned  mpsic  at  Court  on  the  plea 
that  he  had  no  time  for  amusements,  and  dismissed  the 
court  singers  and  musicians,  who  had  been  employed  by 
former  kingsXThe  musicians  about  a  thousand  in  number 
gathered  together  on  a  Friday,  having  2()  biers  in  tneir 
midst,  and  cried  aloud  with  grief  after  the  fashion  of  the 
Hindus,  when  they  carry  the  dead  body  to  the  burning 
gipund.  The  emperor  who  happened  to  go  to  the  mosque 
at  the  time  enquired  the  cause  of  this  sorrow,  whereupon 
the  bewailing  musicians  replied  that  they  were  going  to 
bury  music.  Aurangzeb's  wit  flew  to  his  rescue,  and  he 
observed,  '  Bury  her  deep  so  that  she  may  not  raise  hep 
head  again.  The  nobles  and  Amirs,  coritinued  to  enjoy 
music,  and  the  regulation  remained  a  dead  letter  except  in* 
large  cities  of  the  empire. 

Other  regulations  follpwed  in   rapid   succession.    The 
weighing  of  the  emperor  on  his  birthdays  was   stopped,. 


686  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

«  c 

-and  the  Hindu  mode  of  saluting  each  other  was  no  longer 
to  be  followed  by  the  courtiers.  They  were  to  repeat  the 
formula  '  Salam  alekum  '  (Peace  be  on  you)  in  saluting 
each  other,  but  its  use  in  the  presence  of  the  emperor  was 
forbidden.  Astrology  was  treated  with  contempt.  Astro- 
logers §  were  not  allowed  to  prepare  almanacs,  but  belief 
in  their  knowledge  was  so  deep-rooted  that  it  could  not  be 
•done  away  with  by  legislation.  The  birthday  and  corona- 
tion festivals  were  simplified,  and  the  darshan  »was 
^bolished^  Wine  drinking  was  forbidden,  and  the  Kotr^al 
was  ordered  to  cut  one  hand  and  one  foot  of  all  thqafc-who 
•dealt  in_spirituousliquor.  BhaMg^w^  similarlyjgndgmned, 
and  not  a  day  passed,  whien  the  pots  and  vessels  in  which 
it  was  prepared  were  not  broken  by  the  police.  Like  Firuz 
Tughlaq  before  him,  the  emperor  forbade  women  from 
visiting  the  shrines  of  holy  men. 

Besides  these  purely  Islamic  ordinances,  the  emperor 
issued  certain  rules  to  improve  the  manners  and  morals 
-of  his  subjects  of  all  classes.  Dancing-girls  and  public 
women  were  allowed  to  choose  between  marriage  and 
egilejjut  the  Amirs  and  nobles  of  Mughal  India  could  not 
do  withogUJisBi.  Fashion  wasdiscouraged,  and^ettimmacy 
in  dress  was  ridjcule3I  Gaming  halls  were  penalised,  and 
•drastic  penalties  were  laid  down  for  breaches  of  this  law. 

During    the    Holi    festival  ^ghypnP    aftngq    \j\    nnhlip.  strata 

were  not  permitted,  and  those  who  cnatched  faggots  from 
the  people  by  force  were  punished.    The 


-cessions  were  jailso  .stopped.  Sati  ^ya«  farhifrten,  but  the 
royaFedict  remained  a  mere  pious  wish,  as  is  clear  from  the 
testimony  of  European  travellers. 

The  reaction  against  the  spirit  of  toleration,   begun  in 
'the  reign  of   Shahjahan,   now   became  more  pronounced, 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  687 


and  the  character  of  the  sydministration  assumed  a  theo- 
cratic  appearance.  Aurangzeb  had  given 
evidence  of  bigotry  in  his  early  life,  when 
as  Viceroy  of  Gujarat,  hedesecrated  the 
temple  ftf  flhjntama|ii  in  1644  by  slaughtering  a  cow  in  it 
-and  turning  it  into  a  mosque.  Now,  he  found  an  Opportu- 
nity to  give  a  free  rein  to  his  orthodox  ideas.  On  the  9th 
April,  1669,  he  issued  a  general  order  *  to  demolish  all  the 
schopls  and  temples  of  the  infidels  and  to  put  down  their 
religious  teaching  and  practices/  Some  of  the  most 
famous  shrines  like  the  temple  of  Somnath  in  Gujarat. 
Vishwanath  in  Benares,  and  Keshava  Rai  in  Mathura  were 
'demolish ed^  and  the  Faujdar  of  the  last  place  was  order- 
ed to  put  down  with  a  high  hand  all  protests  on  the  part 
of  the  Hindus  against  the  imperial  policy.1  Later,  an 
order  was  sent  to  destroy  the  temple  of  Keshava  Rai 
completely  and  rename  Mathura  as  Islamabad.  Officers 
were  employed  to  enforce  the  emperor's  regulations,  and 
their  activities  assumed  such  proportions  that  a  darogha 
.had  to  be  appointed  to  supervise  their  work. 

The  custom  duty  on  all  commodities  for  sale  was  fixed 
-at  2i  per  cent  of  the  value  in  the  case  of  Muslims  and  5  per 
cent  in  the  case  of  Hindus.  Later  in  May  1667,  the  Muslims 
were  wholly  exempted  from  such  duty,  and  the  state 
had  10  forego  a  large  income,  Another  device  by  which 
the  emperor  sought  tp  induce  conversion  to  Islam  was  to 


1  A  full  account  of  these  measures  is  given  in  t"he  Masir-i-Alamgiri. 
—Elliot,  VII,  pp.  184-86.  Also  J.  N.  Sarkar's  History  of  AuraAgzeb,  III,  pp. 
348—90.  Raja  Hirsingh  Bundela  had  spent  33  lakhs  of  Rupees  on  the 
temple  of  Keshava  Rai.  It  was  a  splendid  temple,  and  Ms  destruction 
led  to  a  fanatical  outbreak  of  the  Jats  at  Mathura. 

Aurangzeb  built  a  mosqjie  which  still  stands  on  the  site  of  the 
temple  of  Vishwanatha  destroyed  in  1669. 


688  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 


€ 


offer  rewards  and  posts  to  tfrose  Hindus  who  renounc- 
ed their  faith.  The  state  became  a  large  missionary 
institution  which  extended  its  favour  to  renegades, 
and  made  liberal  promises  irrespective  of  merit  and 
efficiency. 

This  was  not  all.  In  1668  Hindu  fair?  were  qJao 
stopped  throughout  the  empire,  and  the  famous  festival  of 
Diwali  (ffmt  of  Inmpi) — wnn  forhiddftn,  and  could  be 
celebrated  only  outside  cities.  The  emperor  committed 
a  great  blunder  in  excluding  the  Hindus  from  public 
offices.  The  acquisition  of  a  Qanungoship  on  condition 
of  embracing  Islam  passed  into  a  proverb,  and  Prof.'Sarkar 
observes  that  there  are  still  in  the  Punjab  families  in  whose 
farmans  this  condition  is  clearly  laid  down. l  In  1671 
the  emperor  issued  an  order  that  the  rent  collectors  in 
the  Khalsa  lands  must  be  Muslims,  and  that  all  viceroys- 
and  taluqdars  must  dismiss  their  Hindu  peshkars  (Readers) 
and  Diwans  (Accountants).  But  the  provincial  adminis- 
tration could  not  get  on  without  Hindu  peshkars,  and  the 
emperor  afterwards  allowed  half  the  posts  to  be  held  by 
Hindus. 2 

It  is  astonishing  that  a  great  king  like  Aurangzeb 
should  have  lost  all  sense  of  proportion  in  the  glare  of  reli- 
gious zeal.  He  ordered  the  converts  from  Hinduism  to  fie 
seated  on  fllfiphftTjfrf  ^  <*mM  in  procession  with  con- 
siderable display  through  the  streets^  JQ£  the  tow,n.  In 
March  1695,' all  Hindus  except  the  Rajputs  were  forbidden 
to  ride  palkis  or  elephants,  or  horses  and  to  terry 
arms.9 

1  History  of  Aurangzeb,  III,  p.  277. 
*  History  of  Aurangzeb,  IIIt  p.  277. 
8  History  of  Aurangzeb,  III,  p.  978. 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  68ft 

*  Aurangzeb's  anti-Hindu  measures  caused  much  dis- 
content, and  provided  several  fearful  risinps.  The  first 

Rebellion  of  *n  P°*nt  °f  time  was  the  rebellion  of  Gokal 
Gokal  Jat,  Jat  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mathura  against 
***  the  policy  of  Abdunnabi,  the  faujdar  of  that 

city,  from  August  1660,  till  May  1669.  He  was^a,  trusted 
agent  of  the  emperor,  and  enjoyed  the  reputation  of  being 
Soon  after  taking  charge  of  his  office, 


he  built  a  mosque  in  the  heart  of  the  c.ity  (1661-62)  on  the 
ruirfs  of  a  Hindu  temple,  and  in  1666,  he  removed  the  carved 
stone  railing  which  had  been  presented  to  Keshava  Rai'a 
temple  by  Para  Shukoh.  This  infuriated  the  Jat  peasantry 
of  the  district  and  their  leader  Gokal.  They  ki1)fiH  thg 
faujdar.  and  plundered  the  pargana  of  Sadabad.  The 
emperor's  anger  was  roused  when  lawlessness  spread  on  to 
other  districts.  Several  generals  were  sent  against  the 
Jats,  and  in  a  bloody  encounter^which  took  place  20  miles 
from  Tilpat,  Gokal  was  captured  with  his  fa^ijlv  He  was 
brought  to  Agra  where  on  the  platform  of  the  police  office 
his  limbs  were  hacked  to  pieces,  and  his  family  was  forced 
to  embrace  Islam.  But  Gokal's  death  did  not  end  the 
trouble.  Other  leaders  took  his  place,  and  the  insurrec- 
tionary movement  continued  by  fits  and  starts  till  1686, 
when  the  Jats  again  rose  in  revolt  under  the  leadership  of 
Raja  Ram.  Raja  Ram  was  defeated  and  slain  by  the 
imperialists,  but  his  nephew'  (brother's  son)  Churaman 
carried  on  the  resistance  on  a  large  scale  to  the  end  of 
Aurangzeb's  reign.  The  Jats  after  the  emperor's  death 
became  very  powerful,  and  their  part  in  the  destruction 
of  the  Mughal  empire  will  be  described  in  another  place. 
Another  formidable  rebellion  was  that  of  the  S 


in  the  districts  of  Narnol  and  Mewat.    They  were  also 

F.  44 


690  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

called  mvtnd'-Wti  because  they  completely  shaved  off  the\r 


Satnami  Re-  ^air'  ^e  word'S&tnami  means  a  believer 
Uoit,  May  in  Satnam  or  the  G?ftd  name  (of  God). 
I1872'  A  Hindu  historian,  who  probably  had  bitter 

sectarian  prejudice  against  them,  describes  them  as  '  filthy 
and  watched  people  who  made  no  distinctions  between 
Hindus  and  Musalmans  and  who  ate  pigs  and  the  unclean 
animals,  and  saw  nothing  blameworthy  in  sin  and  im- 
morality.' But  Khafi  Khan's  picture  of  the  Satnamisis 
not  so  bad.  He  says: 

"  These  men  dress  like  devotees  but  they  neverthe- 
less carry  on  agriculture  and  trade,  though  their  trade 
is  on  a  small  scale.  In  the  way  of  their  religion  they 
have  dignified  themselves  with  the  title  of  'Good 
name/  this  being  the  meaning  of  Satnam.  They  are 
not  allowed  to  acquire  wealth  in  any  but  a  lawful 
calling.  If  any  one  attempts  to  wrong  or  oppress  them 
by  force,  or  by  exercise  of  authority,  they  will  not 
1  endure  it.  Many  of  them  have  weapons  and  arms."  ' 

The  description  of  an  unfriendly  Muslim  writer  shows 
the  Satnamis  to  have  been  a  respectable  and  valiant  sect. 
The  immediate  cause  of  the  revolt  was  a  di§EutfiJbfitween  JL 
Sqtnami  cultivator  and  a  foot-soldier;  who  was  keeping 
watch  over  a  field.  The  spldier  broke  the  Satnamfs  head 
and  thus  stirred  the  fanaticism  of  the  whole  tribe. 
They  belaboured  the  soldier  who  veifr  nearly  died.  When 
the  local  Shiqdar  tried  to  arrest  the  culprits,  the  Satnamis 
assembled  in  large  numbers  and  broke  out  into  open 
rebellion.  The  faujdar  of  Narnol  marched  against  them, 

1    Elliot,  VII,  p.  304. 


THE  TUEN  IN  THE  TIDE  691 

• 

tout  he  was  repulsed  and  .compelled  to  seek  refuge  in 
flight.  When  the  emperor  heard  of  this  outbreak,  he 
sent  forces,  but  they  were  all  beaten  by  the  zealous 
sectaries.  So  helpless  was  the  Mughal  army  against 
them  that  it  began  to  credit  the  rebels  with  magic  and 
witchcraft,  and  incredible  stories  about  them  'became 
current  in  the  country.  The  emperor  who  was  known 
as  a  living  saint  (Zinda  pir)  tried  to  beat  them  with 
their  own  weapons.  He  wrote  some  prayers  and  incantations 
with  his  own  hand,  and  had  them  sewn  in  the  imperial 
banners.  A  terrible  battle  followed  in  which  about  2,000 
Satnaitfis  were  slain,  and  the  rest  fled  from  the  field  of 
battle.  The  rebellion  was  quelled  with  ruthless  violence, 
and  the  country  was  cleared  of  the  infidels. 

The    Sikhs    also  made    an  effective    protest   against 

Aurangzeb's  high-handed  policy.    A  brief  sketch  of  their 

^  relations  towards  the  empire  of  Delhi  will 

The  resist-     suffice  to  enable  the  reader  to    understand 

ance    of    the          ,  .     _     . 

Sikhs.  the    genesis  of  their    revolt,    (guru  Nanak. 

the  founder  of  the  sect^  was  essentially 
a  practical  reformer.  The  only  way  of  salvation  according 
to  him  lay  through  devotion  to  God  combined  with  good 
actions.  He  had  no  faith  in  Brahma^  and  Mniia^o  and 
attached  ho  value  to  the  externals  of  religion.  The  out- 
standing features  of  the  system  propounded  by  him  were 
'its  non-sectarian  character'  and  its  reconciliation  with 
secular  life. 1 

The  next  three  gurus  who  followed  him  walked  in  his 
footsteps  and  addressed  themselves  *  mainly  to  religious 
and  social  reform.  The  fourth  guru  Ram  Das  had  an 

1    Narang,  Transformation  of  Sikhiam,  pp.  11,  13. 


692  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

« 

interview  with  Akbar,  who  w$s  much  pleased  with  him 
and  granted  him  a  piece  of  land  on  which  he  dug  a  tank 
called  Amritsar  or  the  *  Pool  of  immortality. '  The  fifth  guru 
Arjun  who  succeeded  to  the  gaddi  in  1581  was  a  powerful 
organiser.  He  edited  thp  ffrfi.ttrt.flflft.tft  and  transformed  the 
Sikhs  into  a  compact  community  with  definite  ideals.  He 
incurred  Jahangir's  displeffinrfl  hy  ff"""!?  ^p  tn  hia  refr*1- 
lious  son  Khusrau.  and  was  thrown  into  prison  where  he 
was  tortured  to  death  in  1606. 

The  Sikhs  wereexasperated  at  this  murder  of  their 
guru,  and  they  began  to  cherish  a  grudge  towards  the 
Muslim  empire.  They  formed  themselves  into  a  military 
community  under  their  guru  Har  Govind  (1606—45)  who 
combined  in  himself  the  qualities  of  a  warrior,  saint,  and 
sportsman.  Nothing  worthy  of  mention  was  done  by  his 
two  immediate  successors,  but  matters  reached  a  crisis 
when  the  ninth  guru  Tegh  Bahadur  was  murdered  by 
Aurangzeb  in  1675. 

The  cajjse  of  this  ghastly  tragedy  was  the  guru's 
protest  against  the  attacks  on  Hinduism  and  the  desecra- 
tion of  holy  shrines.  He  was  summoned  to  Delhi  to 
answer  the  charge  of  fomenting  sedition  in  the  country 
and  was  thrown  into  prison,  where  on  his  refusal  to 
^rnfrrace  Islam,  he  was  tortured  to  death  after  a  few  davk 
According  to  another  account,  he  was  asked  either  to 
accept  Islam  or  to  perform  a  miracle  to  prove  his  ffuru* 
ship.  He  chose  the  latter  alternative,  and  wrote  a  charm- 
with  his  hand  on  a  piece  of  paper,  which,  he  said,  would 
save  his  neck  from  the  sword.  When  his  head  was  struck 
off  by  the  executioner,  the  paper  was  found  to  contain  the 
words  :  Sir  dig  aar  na  dia,  i.e.,  he  j?ave  his  head  but 
not  his  secret. 


TBE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE 
•  • 

Whatever  the  manner  of  the  guru's  death,  it  sent  a 
thrill  of  horror  through  the  Punjab,  and  the  whole  country 
began  to  burn  with  indignant  revenge.  }  His  son  and  suc- 
cessor Guru  Govind  Singh  swore  to  avenge  his  father's 
4sath.  But  how  could  "a  religious  fraternity  contend 
against  the  might  and  majesty  of  the  Mughal  empire? 
After  a  serious  examination  of  the  whole  position,  he  reach- 
ed the  conclusion  that  success  could  be  gained  only  Jby  turn- 
ing gikhism  into  a  military  creed.  He  grimly  resolved  to 
subvert  the  empire,  and  by  his  example,  as  Cunningham 
says,  from  the  midst  of  social  degradation  and  religious 
corruption,  he  called  np  simplicity 


of  purpose,  and  enthusiasm  of  desire.  a  The  ceremony  of 
baptism  which  he  introduced,  consisted  in  the  drinking  of 
water  consecrated  by  a  sword  or  dagger.  Caste 


demned^  and  those  who  took  part  in  the  communion  had 
to  eat  something  prepared  by  mixing  flour,  butter  and 
sugar.  The  new  brotherhood  came  tqbe  known  as  Khalsa, 
and  the  guru  made  it  obligatory  for  every  member  to  carry 
always  on  his  person  fiveTKIngs,  aU  beginning  with  K— 
Kqpak<i  fanmhv  Kach  (breeches  reaching  to  the  knee), 
Jforrf.  (knife)  ,  JCesh  (hair),  JSTngon  (sword).  The  members 
of  the  Khalsa  now  dedicated  their  lives  like  the  followers 
of  Ignatius  Loyola  to  the  service  of  the  mother  church, 
and  vowed  vengeance  upon  h§r  enemies. 

The  guru  wholly  .changed  his  mode  of  life.  He  lived 
like  a  prince  amidst  regal  pomp  and  splendour,  organised 
an  army,  builL,  hill  forts,  and  began  to  fight  with  theTull 
<&ieftains  whom  he  defeated  in  battle.  The  Mughal 
government  was  roused  by  his  conquest,  and  forces 

1     Transformation  of  Sikhism,  p.  67. 
1    History  of  the  Sikhs,  £.  67. 


694  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 


t 


were  sent  to  suppress  him.  <He  suffered  a  defeat ;  twa 
of  his  sons,  capfored  bv  the  Mughals.  were  executed 
with  great  cruelty,  and  the  guru  was  himself  a  fugitive 
for  some  time  The  imperialists  kept  up  the  pur- 
suit, but  they  were  defeated  at  Muktesar,  where  the 
guru  built  a  tank  which  is  still  held  sacred  by  the 
Sikhs. 

Now  Aurangzeb's  end  was  drawing  nigh.  After  a 
stormy  career  Guru  Govind  Singh  had  settled  peacefully  at 
Anandpur,  where  he  received  the  imperial  summons  ta 
present  himself  at  Court.  He  expressed  his  readiness  to  go, 
but  enumerated  the  wrongs  which  he  had  suffered  at  the 
hands  of  the  Mughals.  The  emperor  promised  him  an 
honourable  reception  and  the  guru  started  to  meet  him  in 
the  Deccan,  but  on  his  wa^he  received  the  news  (1707) 
that  the  emperor  had  died. 

Aurangzeb's  successor  BalRrour  Shah  invited  the  guru 
to  accompany  him  to  the  Deccan,  where  a  year  after  he  was 
murdered  (1708)  by  an  Afghan  fanatic. 

The  guru,  who  was  a  far-sighted  man,  nominated  Banda 
as  his  military  successor,  but  fearing  the  disputes  that 
might  arise  about  the  gaddi  of  guru-ship  he  abolished  it, 
and  entrusted  the  spiritual  headship  of  the  Sikhs  to  five 
of  his  disciples,  saying,  "I  shall  ever  be  present  among  five 
Sikhs.  Whenever  there  are  .five  Sikhs  of  mine  assembled, 
they  shall  be  priests  of  all  priests  "  e 

But  the  most  important  of  all  these  measures  was  the 
revival  of  tfre  Jeziva  on  April  2,  1679,  throughout  all  the 

prnvinrw  "  wjtfa  ftfrg  pftjffft  pfpnrhinpr   fh*    mfiHolgj     and    of 

diatingmahiflg  tha  fond  nf  thf  faithful  from  an  infidel 
land."1  The  Hindus  of  Delhi  and  the  neighbouring 

1     Elliot  VII,  p.  296. 


TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  695 

• 

country  assembled  in  large  numbers  on  the  river  front  of 
the  palacejo  beseech  the  emperor  to  withdraw  his  edict. 
But  no  heed  was  paid  to  their  entreaties.  Then  they  had 
recourse  to  another  form  of  protest,  and  Khafi  Khan  haa 
described  the  scene  in  these  words  : 

"One  day,  when  he  went  to  public  prayer  in  the 
great  mosque  on  the  Sabbath,  a  vast  multitude  of 
Hindus  thronged  the  road  from  the  palace  to  the  mosque 
«with  the  object  of  seeking  relief.  Money-changers  and 
drapers,  all  kinds  of  shopkeepers  from  the  Urdu  bazar, 
mechanics,  and  workmen  of  all  kinds,  left  oft  work  and 
business,  and  pressed  into  the  way.  Notwithstanding 
orders  were  given  to  force  a  way  through,  it  was 
impossible  for  the  emperor  to  reach  the  mosque.  Every 
moment  the  crowd  increased,  and  the  emperor's 
equipage  was  brought  to  a  standstill.  At  length,  an 
order  was  given  to  bring  out  the  elephants  and  direct 
them  against  thfr — mob.  Many  ufell  trodden  to  death 
under  the  feet  of  the  elephants  and  horses.  For  some 
days  the  Hindus  continued  to  assemble  in  great  num- 
bers and  complain,  but  at  length  they  submitted  to  pay 
the  Jeziya.™ 

The  Jeziya  was  levied  with  great  rigour  and  a  large 
staff  of  officers  was  employed  to  collect  it,*  The  revenue 
yielded  was  considerable,  andf  in  Gujarat  alone  it  amounted 
to  five  lakhs  of  rupeeS  a  year.  According  to  Professor  J.  N. 
Sarkar,  the  policy  underlying  the  Jeziya  was  to  increase  the 
number  of  Muslims  by  putting  pressure  upon  the  Hindus.8 

1     Elliot,  VII,  p.  296. 

8  In  countries  where  the  standard  was  a  silver  one  it  was  15* 
dirhams  for  ordinary  men  and  24  for  simmis  in  better  circumstances* 
and  for  the  rich  48.  Encyclopaedia  of  Islam,  p.  1051. 

3    History  of  Aurangzeb,  III,  p.  274. 


696  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

«  f 

Manuccj  says  Aurangzeb  did  jit  for  two  reasons  :  first* 
because  by  this  time  his  treasures  had  begun  to  shrink 
owing  to  expenditure  on  his  campaigns  ;  secondly,  to  force 
•  the  Hindus  to  bec^ypg  MnhamrryMjiina.  Many  who  were 
unable  to  pay  turned  Muhammadans  to  obtain  relief  from 
the  insults  of  the  tax-collectors. 1  In  Aurangzeb's  defence 
it  may  be  said  that  he  was  exasperated  by  the  formidable 
risings  of  the  Hindus  that  had  broken  out  both  in  the  north 
and  the  south.  War  with  the  Marathas  was  going  on  ;  tthe 
Satnami  Brahmans  had  revolted  in  1672  ;  and  the  Sikhs  had 
declared  open  war  upon  the  empire  in  1675  after  the 
murder  of  their  guru  Tegh  Bahadur.  The  emperor  had 
outraged  the  cherished  prejudices  of  the  Hindus,  and  the 
Hindus  had  aroused  his  fierce  wrath  by  their  defiance. 
Conciliation  between  the  two  was  impossible.  The  result 
was  a  cruel  misunderstanding  and  a  sanguinary  conflict 
between  the  opposing  forces,  which  paved  the  way  to 
complete  ruin. 

The  veteran  Raja  Jaswant Singh,  who  had  been  appoint- 
ed faujdar  of  Jamrud,  a  Mughal  outpost  on  the  Khaibar 

Pass,  died  there  on  the  10th  December,  1678. 
I  War!  1679?U        Aurangzeb   who  had  already    launched  his 

crusade  against  the  Hindus,  welcomed  the, 
event,  and  forthwith  began  to  make  preparations  to  bring 
the  state  of  Marwar  under  his  control.  Muslim  officers  were 
appointed,  and  the  whole  country  *was  brought  under 


*    Storia,  II,  p.  284.'       • 

**  The  Jeziya  existed  in  Turkey  down  to  the  time  of  the  Crimean 
War.  By  the  law  of  10th  May,  1886,  the  Jeziya  as  a  tax  on  the  free 
exercise  of  religion  was  replaced  by  a  tax  for  exemption  from  military 
service.  The  last  trace  of  it  only  disappeared  after  the  Revolution  in 
Turkey  since  when  Christians  also  do  military  service."  Encyclopaedia 
of  Islam,  p.  1062. 


TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  697 

•  » 

direct  Mughal  rule.  Orders  »were  issuedffor  the  demolition 
of  temples  and  the  revival  of  the  Jeziya,  Indra  Sinyhf  a 
.grand-nephew  of  Jaswant  Singh,  was  made  the  Raia_pf 
Jodhpur  on  payment  of  36  lakhs  of  rupees.  ' 

In  February  1679,  the  two  widowed  Ranis  of  Jaswant 
Singh  arrived  at  Lahore,  and  gave  birth  to  two  sctos,  one 
of  whom  died,  and  the  other  Ajit  Singh  lived  to  secure  th^ 
gaddi  of  Marwar  after  terrible  fighting  by  the  aid  of  the 
skill*  valour,  and  devotion  of  Durga  Das,  a  son  of  the  late 
Raja's  minister  Askaran.  Aurangzeb  wished  to  keep 
Ajit  Singh  in  his  haram  and  to  bring  him  up  after  the 
fashion  of  Mughal  princes. '  His  intention  is  corroborated 
by  the  fact  that  the  fictitious  Ajit  Singh,  whom  he  caused 
to  be  smuggled  into  his  palace,  was  brought  up  as  a  Muslim 
and  was  given  a  Muslim  name.  The  Rajputs  were  be- 
wildered at  this  extraordinary  proposal  of  the  emperor. 
They  pleaded  with  him  to  recognise  the  legitimacy  of  Ajit's 
claim,  but  he  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  all  their  entreaties.  The 
Rathors,  determined  to  fight  to  the  last  man  in  defence  of 
the  honour  of  their  ruling  house,  turned  to  Durga  Das, 
for  help  in  this  crisis.  Durga  Pas's  name  will  ever  rank 
among  the  immortals  of  Rajput  history.  Devoted  to  the 
royal  house  of  Marwar  and  endowed  with  valour  and 
statesmanship  of  no  mean  order,  Durga  Das  was  a  man  of 
stainless  honour,  who  never  b»oke^his  word,  and  even  in 

*  Contrast  with  this  the  treatment  which  Durga  Das  meted  out  to 
Aurangzeh's  grandson  and  grand -daughter  ( Akhar,'s  children)  who  were 
completely  in  his  hands  after  their  father's  flight.  The  Begum  who  was 
only  14  years  of  age  was  properly  looked  after  and  restored  to  Aurangzeb. 
When  the  emperor  spoke  of  appointing  a  tutoress  for  her,  she  informed 
him  that  Durga  Das  had  been  so  attentive  to  her  welfare  that  he  had 
secured  for  her  a  Muslim  mistress  from  Ajmer  under  whose  tuition  she  had 
already  studied  the  Quran  and*  committed  it  to  her  memory.  Sarkar, 
History  of-Aurangzeh,  V,  p.  282. 


698  HISTOJRY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE  f 

dealing  with  his  enemies,  rfever  employed  treachery,  or 
base  intrigue  to  accomplish  his  ends.  At  considerable- 
personal  risk,  he  carried  on  the  battle  of  Marwar's  freedom 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  scorned  the  temptations, 
which  the  wealth  and  power  of  the  Mughals  placed  in  his. 
way.  "He  hit  upon  a  stratagem  to  escape  from  the  embar- 
rassing situation  in  which  he  was  placed.  With  the  Ranis 
dressed  in  male  jittire,  Durga  Das  escaped  with  Aiit  Singh 
and  safely  conveyedThim  to  Jodhpur  in  July  1679^  Aufeng- 
zeb  quietly  substituted  a  milkman's  little  son  for  Ajit,  and 
declared  that  the  boy  whose  cause  Durga  Das  had  espoused 
was  not  a  true  son  of  Jaswant  Singh. 

Aurangzeb  at  once  ordered  an  invasion  of  Marwar, 
and  himself  proceeded  to  direct  the  operations  from 
Ajmer.  The  forces  were  under  the  command  of  Prince 
Akbar  and  Tahawur  KhanT  the  fauidar  of  Ajmer.  The- 
Rajputs  were  defeated,  and  Aurangzeb  divided  the  whole 
country  into  districts,  each  of  which  was  entrusted  to 
a  Mughal  faujdar.  It  was  a  clear  case  of  wanton  annexa- 
tion. 

The  Rani,  who  was  a  Mewar  princess,  appealed  to 
Rana  Raj  Singh  for  help,  and  the  latter  like  a  true  Sisodia 
took  up  the  cause  of  the  orphan  prince.  Mewar  could  not 
be  safe,  if  Marwar  was  annexed  to  the  empire.  Like 
other  Hindus  Jeziya  was  demanded  from  the  Rana,  who- 
was  already  alarmed  at  the  fanatical  policy  of  Aurangzeb. 
Some  of  the  holiest  shrines  of  the  Hindus  had  been  de- 
secrated^ and  as  'theTprem'ier  chief  in  Rajasthan,  the  Rana 
fell  it  his  duty  to  rise  up  in  defence  of  the  ashes^qfUbis 
fatbgrgjind  the  temples  of  his  gods.  Self-interest  as  well 
as  higher  considerations  impelled  him  to  make  common* 
cause  with  Durga  Das. 


TURN  IN  THE  TJDE  69$ 

Aurangzeb  left  for  Udarpur,  and  a  large  Mughal  army 
poured  into  Mewar  territory.  The  Rana  fled  into  the  hills, 
and  the  emperor  satiated  his  wrath  by  seizing  all  his 
property  and  ordering  the  demolition  of  123  temples  in 
the  environs  of  Udaipur  and  63  at  Chittor. !  The  state  of 
Amber,  though  friendly  to  the  emperor,  was  also  treated 
severely  and  66  temples  were  destroyed.  Having  left  Prince 
Akbar  in  charge  of  Chittor,  Aurangzeb  returned  to  Ajmer. 

The  Rajputs  continued  fighting  and  struck  terror  into- 
the  hearts  of  their  opponents.  Indignant  at  the  failure 
of  Akb^r,  Aurangzeb  sent  his  son,  Azam,  to  deal  with 
Mewar,  and  transferred  Akbar  to  Marwar.  There  the 
prince  entered  into  a  treasonable  conspiracy  with  the 
Rajputs  and  declared  that  Aurangzeb  *  had  forfeited  tHe 
throne  by  his  violation  of  the  Islamic  canon  law/  He 
crowned  himself  emperor,  made^fahawur  Khan  his  premier 
nobleman,  and  raised  him  to  the  rank  of  7~000  horse.  The 
Rajputs  stimulated  his  hopes  by  dwelling  upon  the  splendid 
results  of  the  co-operation  of  Mughals  and  Rajputs. 
Aurangzeb  was  dumb-founded  at  the  news  of  Akbar *s 
treason  and  cried  out  in  wild  despair,  "  I  am  now  defence^ 
less"."  The  young  hero  has" got  a  fine  opportunity.  Why 
then  is  he  delaying  now  ?"  If  Akbar  had  quickly  marched 
towards  Ajmer,  he  would  have  defeated  his  father  and 
greatly  strengthened  his  position. 

But  he  wasted  hfe  time  in  pleasure,  and  Aurangzel> 
speedily  arranged  for  the  defence  of  Ajmer.  Prince 
Muazzam  joined  him  with  a  large  army',  and  other  rein- 
forcements  also  arrived  which  considerably  swelled  the 
numbers  of  the  imperialists.  Akbar  was  ready  to  begin. 

• 

1  Sarkar,  History  of  Aurangzeb,  III,  p.  341. 


700  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 


r 


'the  attack,  when  Aurangzeb's  diplomacy  frustrated  all 
his  plans.  He  wrote  a  letter  to  the  prince  and  managed 
that  it  should  reach  Durga  Das.  He  congratulated  the 
prince  on  having  befooled  the  Rajputs  in  accordance  with 
his  instructions  and  asked  him  'to  bring  them  into  a 
positioh  where  they  would  be  under  the  fire  of  both 
armies.'  Khafi  Khan  discredits  the  story,  but  it  was 
current  in  the  Mughal  camp  at  the  time.  ! 

This  letter  caused  a  division  in  the  ranks  of  Akirar's 
supporters.  His  army  was  broken  up  and  he  himself  fled 
from  the  field  of  battle.  But  Durga  Das  and  Jai  Singh 
(Raj  Singh's  successor)  loyally  stood  by  him,  and  honoured 
their  pledges  to  the  last  by  giving  him  shelter.  When 
they  saw  that  the  prince  would  not  be  free  from  danger 
in  Northern  India,  they  safely  escorted  him  to  Shambhuji, 
son  of  Shivaji,  in  the  Deccan.  From  there  he  fled  to 
Persia  where  he  died  in  1704. 

War  with  Mewar  continued,  and  both  sides  suffered 
heavy  losses.  At  last  a  peace  was  patched  up  between  the 
two  in  1681  by  which  Jai  Singh  ceded  certain  districts  in 
lieu  of  the  Jeziya.  He  was  made  Rana  and  received  a 
mansab  of  5,000. 

Akbar's  junction  with  Shambhuji  upset  Aurangzeb,  apd 
he  concentrated  all  his  energy  on  the  Deccan  war,  and 
slackened  his  efforts  in  Rajputana.  Thejlathors  employed 
tflr»H<»Q  under  the  leadership  of  Durga  Das,  who 


carried  on  the  war  of  independence  for  30  years  till  1709. 
After  Aurangzetfs  cjeath  his  son  Bahadur  Shah,  acknow- 
ledged the  claim  of  Ajit  Singh  to  the  gaddi  of  Mewar. 

The  Rajput  war  drained  Aurangzeb's  resources  in  men 
and  money  and  lowered  his  prestige  all  over  Hindustan. 

1  Elliot,  VII,  p.  804. 


TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  701 

The  defection  of  Akbar  encouraged  the  enemies  of  the 
empire  to  count  upon  the  dissensions  of  the  royal  family 
for  the  success  of  their  plans.  The  Rajputs  were  alienated*. 
In  the  past  men  like  Mirza  Raja  Jai  Singh  and  Jaswant 
Singh  had  shea  their  blood  in  the  service  of  the  empire, 
buTlienceforward  the  Rajputs  withheld  their  support,  and 
Aurangzeb  had  to  carry  on  the  war  in  the  Beccan,  single- 
handed.  The  ruin  that  followed  was  inevitable,  A  great 
empire  and  little  minds  go  ill  together,  and  Aurangzeb  wha 
wasT  a  zealous  Puritan  turned  friends  into  foes  by  his 
ungenerous  treatment.  The  pursuit  of  a  wrong  ideal  in 
full  disregard  of  political  expediency  strengthened  the 
forces  of  reaction,  and  anarchy  began  to  raise  its  head, 
where  at  one  time  peace  and  loyalty  had  reigned  supreme. 

Shah jahan  was  induced  to  attempt  the  conquest  of 
the  Deccan  by  political  andjgligious  motives.    The  Deccan. 
7"" S^ntanFwere  Shias,  and  as  an  orthodox  Sunni 
I  and  the  Shias     the  emperor  felt  bound  to   extinguish  their 
I  of  the  Deccan.     power-    The  Sultan  of  Golkunda  had  made 
\peace,  and  the  siege  was  raised  on  March  30,   1656.    The^ 
kingdom  of  Bijapur  was  also  invaded  by  Aurangzeb,   and 
his  task  was  rendered  easier  by  the  co-operation  of  Mir 
Jumla,  whom  he  had  detached  from  the  Qutb  Shah.    The 
cbuntry  was  ravaged,  but  when  conquest  was  almost  within 
reach,  Shahjahan  intervened  and  peremptorily  commanded 
Aurangzeb  to  stop  the  war/  The  serious  illness   of  the 
emperor  in  September  1657  postponed  the  Deccan    con- 
quest to  a  subsequent  date. 

After  his  accession  to  the  throne  Aurangzeb  did  not 
pursue  a  vigorous  policy  in  the  Deccan  during  the  first  half 
of  his  reign.  But  with  the  end  of  the  Rajput  war  in  1681 
he  felt  himself  free  to  turn  his  attention  to  the  Deccan*  He 


702  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

was  specially  filled  witfe  dismay  at  the  junction  of  Prirfce 
Akbar  with  Shambhuji,  the  Mbratha  chieftain,  which  he 
described  as  an  alliance  between  the  '  disturber  of  India  ' 
and  '  the  infernal  son  of  the  infernal  infidel/  But  for 
this  the  emperor  might  have  allowed  the  affairs  in  the 
Deccan  to  take  their  course.  Another  motive  was  furnished 
by  the  hostility  of  the  empire  to  the  Shias  of  the  Deccan. 
To  Aurangzeb  they  were  as  distasteful  as  the  Hindus,  and 
he  spoke  of  them  as  '  corpse-eating  demons  '  and  *  mis- 
'believers.'  War  was  sanctioned  as  much  by  munflane 
motives  as  by  the  desire  to  obtain  religious  merit,  and 
Aurangzeb  spent  the  remaining  26  years  of  his  life  in  the 
endeavour  to  crush  the  Shias  and  the  Marathas.  First 
he  directed  his  arms  against  Bijapur.  l 

What  had  happened  in  Bijapur  since  the  abrupt  termi- 
nation of  Aurangzeb  's  campaign  in  1657  ?  Ali  Adil  Shah  II 
was  a  capable  monarch.  He  died  on  the 
2*th  November,  1672,  and  with  his  death 
began  the  era  of  decline.  His  son  Sikandar 
who  was  a  mere  lad  of  four  years  of  age  was  placed  on  the 
throne  by  self-seeking  politicians,  whose  intrigues 
brought  about  the  ruin  of  the  state.  The  government  was 

1  *  There  is  one  interesting   point  in   connection   with  Aurangzeb  's 
Deccan  policy.     Many  writers  on  Indian  history  have  expressed  the  view 

fthm  kingdoms,  which  would 


f.hRf.he  ffifffitflftfiftd  a 
have  greatly  helped 


agf">*1?  *.h^M«™>-hfls.  '    Sir  J.  N.  Sarkar  taTEes  a 

different  view.  He  says  that  an  alliance  between  the  Mughals  and  the 
Shia  rulers  of  the  Deccan  was  impossible.  Since  A  k  bar's  day  they  had 
never  been  able  to  get  rid  of  the  notion  that  the  Mughals  aiined 
at  the  annexation  of  their  kingdoms.  He  further  contends  that  the  national 
state  of  the  Marathas  was  already  formed,  and  that  Bijapur  and  Golkunda 
were  in  a  state  of  decline,  incapable  of  holding  them  in  check. 

Whatever  the  condition  of  the  Deccan  kingdoms,  had  Aurangzeb 
used  them  as  bulwarks  against  the  rising  power  of  the  Marathas,  he 
would  have  postponed  the  evil  day  for  some  time  at  least.  The  destruc- 
tion of  the  kingdoms  opened  the  flood-gates*  of  Anarchy  in  the  Dec-can. 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  703 

<ca?ried  on  by  regents  who  fought  amongst  themselves  and 
spasmodically  waged  war  •  against  the  Mughals .  and 
Marathas.  Apart  from  the  internecine  strife  of  rival  fac- 
tions, there  were  certain  general  causes  of  decay  in  the  body 
politic  itself.  The  state  was  a  military  despotism  which 
rested  on  the  bayonets  of  the  generals,  who  acted  pretty 
much  like  the  feudal  barons  of  mediaeval  Europe.  The 
bureaucracy  was  selfish  and  greedy,  and  cared  only  for  per- 
sonal gain.  The  common  people  were  indifferent  to  political 
revolutions,  and  were  willing  to  transfer  their  allegiance  to 
any  conqueror  who  established  his  right  to  the  throne  by 
his  sword.  The  dissolution  of  such  a  decadent  state  was 
-only  a  question  of  time. 

Aurangzeb  sent  Diler  Khan  to  the  Deccan,  and  he  laid 
siege  to  Bijapur  in  1679,  but  he  failed  to  capture  it.  The 
soldiers  in  the  army  mutinied,  and  openly  abused  the  general 
who  had  forfeited  all  claim  to  the  emperor's  good  will  by 
reason  of  his  failure.  Diler  Khan  was  disgraced  and  re- 
called in  February  1680 

From  1680  to  1683  the  Sultan  of  Bijapur  enjoyed 
an  interval  of  repose.  The  Mughals  were  busy  with 
Shambhuji  who  had  resumed  his  father's  policy  of  raid- 
ing the  imperial  territories.  Aurangzeb  sent  his  two 

S01JS    MuaZZam    and  Aza^  against  Rijapnr  and     ghamfrhnji 

but  they  could  do  nothing  except  capturing  a  few 
Maratha  forts.  On  the  13th  November,  1683,  the  emperor 
arrived  at  Ahmednaga*  to  direct  the  campaign  in  person. 
Prince  Azam  captured  Sholapur ;  but  his  attempt  to 
advance  on  Bijapur  was  frustrated  by  tfie  enemy.  The 
emperor  also  proceeded  to  Sholapur  where  he  reached  on 
May  24,  1685.  The  siege  of  Bijapur  had  already  begun  in 
April. 


t04  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

The  situation  from  the  Mughal  point  of  view  was  hot 
very  hopeful.  Sikandar's  appeal  for  help  met*  with 
response  form  the  Qutb  Shah  and  Shambhuji.  The  siege 
continued  for  a  long  time,  but  the  appearance  of  famine 
in  his  army  filled  Aurangzeb  with  despair,  and  he  ordered 
Prince  Azam  to  retire  from  Bijapur.  But  the  prince 
was  firm,  and  told  his  council  of  war,  which  advised 
retreat,  that  with  his  Begum  and  two  sons  he  would 
stick  to  the  post  of  duty  as  long  as  there^was^  foggth 
in  his  body.  Meanwhile  Aurangzeb  sent  reinforcements, 
and  the  siege  dragged  on  for  a  year.  Later  he  himself 
proceeded  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Bijapur  to  .superin- 
tend the  siege  in  person.  Hisdetgrmination  shook  the 
nerves  of  the  Bijapuris,  and  the  shortag^ojrprovisjons  soon 
decided  the  issue.  They  capitulated  nn  -September  12,. 
' 


Sikandar  was  broughtto  the  imperial  camp,  and  was  duly 
Ushered  into  the  Hall  of  Public  Audience.  Even  Aurangzeb 
was  touched  byjhgjight^pjf  this  handsome  young  prince 
deprived  of  all  his  earthly  pogagggiong^  and  re^cedjgjjhe 
position  ol  a  "mere  captive.  He  spoke  a  few  words  to  console 
htm,  sealed  trim  on  his  rig^jandjsn^^  among^the 

granaees~bf  theTempire  with  an  annual  pension  of  a  lakh  of 
rupees.  ETjapur  ~was  annexed  to  the  Mughal  empire,  and 
its  King,  the  descendant  of  a  long  line  of  rulers,  was  reduced 
to  the  status  of  a  Khan. 

Aurangzeb  was  vociferously  "greeted  by  a  host  of 
admirers.  A  we§k  after  the  fall  of  the  city,  he  entered  it  in 
triumph,  offered  thanks  to  GodTn  the  Jam-i-Masjid  for  the 
victory  that  had  been  vouchsafed  to  him.  In  the  Adil  Shahi 
palace,  adorned  by  the  lavish  bounty  of  successive  monarchs, 
his  bicrotrv  manifested  itself  in  the  destruction  of  all  wall- 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  705 

• 

paintings  which  were^injgontravention  of  the  command  of 
the 


The  city  was  ruined.  The  loss  of  independence  spelled 
also  the  ruin  of  her  culture,  for  the  provincial  viceroy  whom 
Aurangzeb  appointed  simply  squeezed  money  from  the 
people,  and  remitted  it  to  the  imperial  headquarters. 

Sikandar's   fate  mayj>e  told  in  a  few  words.     He  was 

irpprisoned  in  the  fort  of  Daulatabad,  where  he  spent  many 

years  of  his  life  in  a  bitter  agony  of  despair  in  the  company 

of  *  another    exalted  captive,  Abul  ^jjasan,_the  king    of 

Golkun3aT     tie  was   afterwards  carried  about  with   the 

imperial  camp,   and  in   this  wretched  condition  came  the 

final   happy  release  in   April  1700,  when  he  was  barely  32 

years  of  age.     His  death  caused   profound    grief  at  Bijapur, 

I  an(*  '  thousands  of  women  wept,  broke  their  bracelets  and 

I  performed  such    Qther_cerenignies_as^  if  jhey   had   been 

widowed/1  " 

Ever  since  the   peace  made  with  Aurangzeb  in  1656, 

Abdullah  Qutb  Shah  had  ceased   to  govern,   and    conse- 

quently misrule  and  anarchy  had  spread  in  the 

Conquest  of     country.    He  had  no  son,  and  after  his  death 

Golkunda, 

1887.  in  1672  was  succeeded  by  Abul  Hasan,  who 

was  descended  from  the  royal  family  on  his 
father's  side,  with  the  help  of  self-seeking  politicians  who 
hoped  to  find  in  this  imbecila  child  of  fortune  a  tool  for  the 
f  ^urtherance  of  their  cwn  ends.  Abul  Hasan  was  a  pleasure- 
loving  man  whose  sensuality  seemed  revoking  even  to  the 
mg^fjb^ime.  Mastgjg^^  nch  In  resources 

and  the  accumulated  wealth  of~  «ie~Qutb  Shahi  dynasty, 
he  gave  "himself  up"  completetr  to~  d^baudh  and  resfgned 

i  Btymsen  in  Sarkar,  IV,*  P.  329. 
F.45 


706  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

+• 

the  affairs  of  the  kingdom  to  his  Brahman  ministers. 
Madanna  and  his  brother)F-Akanna^  who  held  the  post  of 
Wazir  and  Commander-in-Chief  respectivejy.  This  'frater- 
nising with  infidels '  was  enough  to  damn  him  in  the  eyes 
of  Aurangzeb  who  was  a  bigoted  Sunni,  intolerant  of  all 
forms  of  dissent.  Besides,  Abul  Hasan  had  given  help  to 
that  'helpless  orphan'  Sikandarof  Bijapur—a  fact  estab- 
lished "By  a  letter,  addressecTBy  tffe  Sultan  to  his  agent 
in  the  Mughal  camp  and  intercepted  by  Mughal  officers. 
Aurangzeb  himself  described  the  Casus  belli  in  a  letter  to 
Abul  Hasan  : 

"  The  evil  deeds  of  this  wicked  man  pass  beyond 
the  bounds  of  writing,  but  by  mentioning  one  out  of  a 
hundred,  and  a  little  out  of  much,  some  conception  of 
them  may  be  formed.  First,  placing  the  reins  of 
authority  and  government  in  tjje^hands  ofviletyran- 
nical  infidels  ;  oppressing  and  afflicting  the  Saiyids, 
ShaiKfts,  and^other  holy  men  ;  openly  giving  himself 
up  to  excessive  debauchery  and  depravity  ;  indulging 
in  drunkenness^  ancTTwi^^^npfiff  njght  and  day ; 
making  no  distinction  between  infidelity  and  Islam, 
tyranny  and  lusttee;  ^ejpravlty  and  devotion  :  waging 
obstinate  ~war  in  defence  of  infidels  ;  want  of  obedience 
to  the  Divine  commands  and  prohibitions,  especially 
to  that  command  which  forbids  ^assistance  to  an 
enemy's  country,  the  disregarding  of  which  had 
cast  a  censure  upon  the  Holy  Book  in  the  sight  both 
of  God  and  man.  Letters  full  of  friendly  advice  and 
warning  upon  these  points  had  been  repeatedly  written, 
and  had  been  sent  by  the  hands  of  discreet  men.  No 
-attention  had  been  paid  to  them  ;  moreover  .it  had 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  707 

• 

lately  become  known  tfcat  a  lac  of  pagodas  had  been 
sent  to  the  wicked  Sambha.  That  in  this  insolence  and 
intoxication  and  worthlessness,  no  regard  had  been 
paid  to  the  infamy  of  his  deeds,  and  no  hope  of  deliver- 
ance in  this  world  or  in  the  next."  l 

From  Aurangzeb's  point  of  view  there  was  ampte  justifi- 
cation for  war.  The  kingdom  possessed  great  natural 
resources;  its  rich  mines  of  diamonds  and  iron,  i 


ports  added  to  her  wealth  and  excited  the  cupidjtyjof  foreign 
invaders!  The  treaty  which  the  Qutb  ahah  had  made  with 
Auran^zebwasjiot  f  aJtHSTly  observed.  The  war  indemnity 
still  remained  unpaid,  and  the  annual  tribute  of  two  lakhs  of 
huns  was  in  arrears.  Besides,  the  Sultan  had  appropriated 
the  fruits  of  Mf/Jumla's  jagirs  in  the  Karnatik,  which  really 
belonged  to  the  Mughal  government.  Rut.  the  worst 
offence  of  Abul  Hasan  was  the  ascendancy  which  he  had 
allowed  the  brahman  mmistersjto  acqutrFftrthe  ~affalfs  of^ 
the  ^Muslim,  State  ^^6]¥u¥da.  ~~ 

While  the  siege  of  Bijapur  was  going  on,  a  force  under 
Prince  Muazzam  styled  Shah  Alam  was  sent  to  Golkunda 
to  prevent  the  junction  of  the  Qutb  Shahi  forces  with  the 
Bijapuris.  But  the  progress  of  the  Mughals  was  much 
hampered  by  the  jealousy  of  the  imperial  officers  and  the 
'supineness  of  the  chief  commander,  Shah  Alam.  Aurang- 
zeb  brought  the  Prince  to  a  sonse  of  duty  by  a  '  stinging 
rebuke/  and  the  wajr  was  renewed  with  great  energy  and 
vigour.  Abul  Hasan  had  already  fled  to  Golkunda  against 
the  'wish  of  Mydanna,  who  had  advised  him  to  betake 
himself  to  Warrangal  or  some  other  fort.  The  .Prince 
pressed  on  and  captured  Haiderabad  on  October  8,  1685. 

1  Khafi  Khan,  Elliot,  VII,  p.  325. 


708  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

c 

<< 

The  government  of  Golkurda  fell  into  complete  dis- 
order, and  the  wrath  of  the  nobles  and  officers  fell  upon 
the  devoted  head  of  Madanna.  One  night  (March  1686) 
he  was  murdered  by  certain  conspirators  in  the  streets 
of  GolkunHa,  and  his  brother  too  shared  the  same  fate. 
The  death  of  the  infidel  minister  was  a  great  relief  to- 
Aurangzeb,  who  now  left  the  Golkunda  territory  and 
concentrated  his  forces  on  Bijapur. 

The  fall  of  Bijapur  in  1686  left  Aurangzeb  free  to,deal 
with  Golkunda.  Undaunted  as  ever,  he  himself  went  to- 
Golkunda  in  January  1687,  and  ordered  the  siege  of  the 
town.  At  this  time  a  misunderstanding  occurred  between 
the  emperor  and  the  prince,  who  had  begun  to  treat  with* 
Abul  Hasan  without  his  father's  permission,  and  encouraged 
him  '  to  look  up  to  him  as  his  only  friend  at  Court. '  The 
emperor  was  deeply  incensed  at  this  secret  parley  of  the 
prince  and  threw  him  into  prison,  where  he  remained  for 
seven  years.^  The  siege  went  on,  but  the  Mughals  suffered 
much  from  famine,  and  the  enemy  inflicted  heavy  losses 
upon  them.  An  outbreak  of  epidemic  further  added  to 
their  sufferings,  and  destroyed  men  and  beasts  by  hun- 
dreds. Aurangzeb's  good  luck  helped  him  considerably. 
Treachery  succeeded  where  courage  had  failed,  and  one  of 
Abul  Hasan's  officers,  who  was  bribed,  left  the  postern  gate 
of  the  fortapp",  **&  ftiiimr<A.  th^Mughals  to  enter^(21st 
September)  without  much  opposition.  But  the  fortress 
was  not  taken  without  stubborn  fight.  The  last  brave 
struggle  between  the  Mughals  and  the  forlorn  hope  of 
Golkunda  was  brightened  by  the  golden  deed  of  Abdur 
Razzaq.  As  the  chronicler  says,  like  a  drop  of  water 
falling  into  the  sea,  or  an  atom  of  dust  struggling  in  the 
rays  of  the  sun,  he  threw  himself  upon  the  advancing  foe* 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  709 


and  fought  with  inconceivable  fury  and  desperation,  shout- 
ing that  he  would  fight  to  the  death  for  Abul  Hasan.  He 
spurned  the  bribes  and  the  preferred  honours  and  dignities 
with  which  Aurangzeb  tried  to  seduce  him.  His  heroism 
astonished  even  his  enemies,  and  Khafi  Khan  has  graphi- 
cally described  the  manner  of  his  valiant  fight : 

"  Abdur  Razzak  Lari  heard  this,  and,  springing  on 
^  horse  without  any  saddle,   with  a  sword  in  one  hand 
and  a  shield  in  the  other,  and  accompanied  by  ten  or 
twelve  followers,  he  rushed  to  the  open  gate,  through 
which  the  imperial   forces  were  pouring  in.    Although 
his  followers  were  dispersed,  he  alone,  like  a  drop  of 
water  falling  into  the  sea,  or  an  atom  of  dust  struggling 
in  the  rays  of  the  sun,  threw  himself  upon  the  advanc- 
ing foe,  and  fought  with  inconceivable  fury  and  desper- 
ation, shouting  that  he  would  fight  to  the  death  for  Abul 
Hasan.    Every  step  he  advanced,  thousands  of  swords 
were  aimed  at  him,  and  he  received  so  many  wounds 
from  swords  and  spears  that  he  was  covered  with  wounds 
from  the  crown  of  his  head  to  the  nails  of  his  feet.    But 
his  time  was  not  yet  come,  and  he  fought  his  way  to  the 
gate  of  the  citadel  without   being  brought  down.    He 
received  twelve  wounds  upon  his  face  alone,  and  the  skin 
of  his  forehead  hung  down    over  his  eyes  and    nose. 
One  eye  was  severely  wounded,  and  the  cuts  upon  his 
body  seemed  as  numerous  as  the  stars.    His  horse  also 
was  covered  with  wounds  and  reeled  Under  his  weight, 
BO  he  gave  the  reins    to    the    beast,    and  by  great 
exertion  kept  his  seat.    The  horse    carried  him  to  a 
garden  called  Nagina,  near  the  citadel,  to  the  foot  of  an 
old  cocpanuttree  where* by  the  help  of  the  tree,  he  threw 


710  H1STQRY  OF  MUSLIM  BULE 

himself  off.  On  the  morning  of  the  second  day  a  party 
of  men  belonging:  to  Husaini  Beg  passed,  and  recognizing 
him  by  his  horse  and  other  signs,  they  took  compassion 
upon  him,  and  carried  him  upon  a  bedstead  to  a  house. 
When  his  own  men  heard  of  this,  they  came  and  dressed 
his  wounds."1 

Aurangzeb  ordered  that  two  surgeons,  one  a  European 
and  the  other  a  Hindu,  should  attend  on  the  wounded 
warrior  and  report  his  condition  every  day.  The  surgeons 
reported  that  they  had  counted  nearly  70  wounds  on  his 
person  besides  many  wounds  upon  wounds  which  could  not 
be  counted.  Aurangzeb  directed  them  to  cure  his  wounds, 
and  after  sixteen  days  when  the  patient  opened  one  of  his 
eyes  and  muttered  a  few  words,  Aurangzeb  sent  a  message 
to  him  to  send  his  sons  to  receive  mansaba  from  the 
emperor.  When  the  message  was  communicated  to  that 
*  devoted  and  peerless  hero '  he  expressed  his  gratefulness, 
but  added  : 

"  If,  however,  it  pleased  the  Almighty  to  spare  him 

and  give  him  a  second  life,  it  was  not  likely  that  he  would 

be  fit  for  service  ;  but  should  he  ever  be  capable  of 

service,  he  felt  that  no  one  who  had  eaten  the  salt  of 

Abul  Hasan,  and  had  thriven  on  his  bounty,  could 

the  service  of  King  Alam^r  (Aurangzeb)/' 

A  cloud,   writes  Khafi  Khan,  passed  over  the  face  of  the 

emperor,  as  he  heard  these  words  and  he  observed,  "  Let 

me  know  when  *  he  has  completely  recovered."    Sacrifice 

like  Jhat  of  Abdur  'Razzaq  was  rare  in  the  Mughal  camp 

where  an  atmosphere  of  treachery  and  intrigue  prevailed. 

It  made  a  profound  impression  upon  friends  and  foes,  and 

1  Elliot,  VII,  pp.  882-833. 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  711 

»  » 

the  emperor  signified  his,  good  will  afterwards  by  raising 
him  to  a  mansab. 

Now  there  was  no  hope  for  Abul  Hasan.  The  epicure 
in  him  vanished  at  the  sight  of  danger,  and  he  prepared  to 
submit  to  his  fate  with  the  resignation  and  courage  of  a 
martyr.  He  begged  leave  of  his  captors  to  finish -his  meal 
and  bade  them  partake  of  it.  Not  a  harsh  word  fell  from, 
his  lips ;  not  a  muscle  of  his  face  moved  ;  he  remained 
sergne  and  dignified,  as  if  nothing  had  happened,  speaking 
to  the  Mughal  officers  with  the  greatest  gentleness  and 
courtesy.  He  told  them  that  there  was  no  occasion  for 
grief  ;*  for  he  "  knew  how  to  take  pleasure  and  pain  with 
equal  indifference  as  gifts  of  God." 

Enormous  booty  was  seized,  amounting  to  nearly  seven 
crores  of  rupees  in  cash,  besides  gold,  silver,  jewels  and 
other  articles  of  value.  Golkunda  was  annexed  to  the 
empire  (1687),  and  Abul  Hasan  was  sent  as  a  prisoner  to 
the  fort  of  Daulatabad,  and  a  pension  of  50,000  a  year  was 
settled  on  him.  • 

The  preliminary  engagements  against  the  Marathas  in 
1682-83  had  borne  little  fruit.  The  troops  in  the  Konkan 

War  with  ha(*  suffere(^  much  at  the  hands  of  the 
the  Marathas  Marathas.  But  now  that  Bijapur  apd 
tenewed.  Golkunda  had  been  conquered,  Aurangzeb 

was  free  to  deal  with  the  Mcyathas.  Shivaji's  son  Sham- 
bhu  was  a  brave  but  .voluptuous  man,  who  wasted  his  time 
in  pleasure,  when  he  ought  to  have  everted  himself  to  take 
advantage  of  Aurangzeb's  difficulties.  Heir  to  a  large  king- 
dpm  and  vast  treasure,  hoarded  by  a  lather  who  jiad  16d 
many  predatory  excursions,  he  gave  himself  UP  entirely  to 
debaudr  and  lost  that  moral  grit  qgdjturdv  vigour,  which 
liad  legl  his  father  to  c&rve  out  an  independent  kingdom  for 


712  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

t* 

himself  in  the  teeth  of  Muslirp  opposition.  The  emperor 
captured  several  forts,  and  Shambhuji  took  up  his  abode 
at  Sangameshwara  where  he  thought  he  would  be  safe. 
But  he  was  soon  disillusioned,  and  the  imperial  general 
Muqarrab  made  a  surprise  attack,  and  cantured  Sfcambhu 
andjiis  friend  Kavi  Kulesh  and  others  with  their  wives 
and  daughters.  The  prisoners  were  brought  in  heavy  chains 
to  the  imperial  camp,  where  the  victory  was  celebrated 
in  the  midst  of  great,  rejoicings.  Professor  J.  N.  Sarkar 
describes  how  they  were  presented  to  emperor : 

11  Four  miles  outside  the  encampment,    Shargbhuji 
and  Kavi  Kulesh   were  dressed  as  buffoons^  with  long 
fool's  caps  and  bells  placed  on  their  heads,  mounted 
on  camels,  and   brought  to  Bahadurgarh  with  drums 
beating  and  trumpets  pealing.    Hundreds  of  thousands 
of  spectators  lined  the  roads,  to  gaze  at  Shambhu  as  at 
a  new  kind  of  wild  beast  or  demon.    Thus  degraded, 
the  captives  were  slowly  paraded  through  the  entire 
camp  and  finally  brought  to  the  emperor  who  was  sitting 
in  full  durbar  for  the  occasion.    At  the  sight  of   the 
prisoner,  Aurangzeb  descended  from    his  throne    and 
kneeling  down  on  the  carpet   bowed  his  head  to  the 
ground    in  double  thankfulness  to  the  Giver  of  this 
Crowning  Victory.    After  he  had  looked  at   them,  the 
captives  were  removed  to  prison."1 
Khafi  Khan  writes  that  Kavi  Kulesh,   who  was  a  Hindi 
poet,  on  seeing  Aujrangzeb's  devotion,  addressed  to  Shambhu 
verses  to  this  effect :  0  Raja,  at  the  sight  of  thee  the 
King  klamgir  (Aurangzeb),  for  all  his  pomp  and  dignity, 
cannot  keep  his   seat  upon  his  throne,  but  has  perforce 

1  History  of  Aurangzeb,  IV,  pp.  401-2. 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  713 

descended  from  it  to  do  thee  honour."1  According  to  one 
authority  Aurangzeb  sent  *  an  officer  to  ask  Shambhu 
where  he  had  hidden  his  treasures,  and  which  officers 
of  the  emperor  had  intrigued  with  him.  The  Maratha 
-chief  abused  the  emperor  and  his  Prophet^ 


the  hand  of  Aurangzeb's  daughter  as  the  price  of  his 
friendship^ The  purport  of  the  conversation  was  reported , 
and  Aurangzeb  took  the  ominous  decision.  Shambhu  and 
his  companion  both  were  subjected  to  unspeakable 
tortures,  and  then  'jheir  limbs  were  hacked  off  one  by 
one,  and  IReir  flesh  was  thrown  to  the  dogs.1  (llth  March, 
1689.)*  The  heads  of  the  culprits,  after  the  fashion  of 
the  Mongols  of  Central  \sia  in  the  middle  ages,  were 
stuffed  with  bran,  and  exposed  to  public  gaze  in  the 
•chief  centres  of  the  Deccan.  Such  was  the  inglorious 
end  of  the  licentious  Shambhu  who  had  disgraced  his 
father's  memory,  and  cast  to  the  winds  the  noble 
principles  which  had  inspired  his  policy  throughout  his 
career. 

War  was  carried  on  with  great  vigour  against  the 
Marathas,  and  a  number  of  forts  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Mughals.  The  imperialists  then  laid  siege  to  Shambhu 's 
capital  Raigarh.  Raja  Ram,  his  brother  (a  son  of  Shivaji 
*  by  another  wife),  escaped  in  the  disguise  of  a  mendicant. 
but  his  and  Shambhu's  family  including  the  latter's  son 
Shahu  were  captured.  T&e  women  were  treated  with 
becoming  dignity,  and  Shahu  was  created  a  mansabdar 
of  7,600.  He  was  kept  in  custody,,  although  'suitable 

teachers  were  appointed  to  educafte  him. '    By  the  end  of 

• 

1    Khafi  Khan,  Elliot,  VII,  p.  840 
1     Sarkar,  History  of  Aurangzeb,  IV,   p.  403. 
Storia,  II,  p.  811.     • 


714  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

1689  Aurangzeb  had  reached  the  apogee  of  power,  andt 
none  could  challenge  his  claim  to  sovereignty,  in  the  north 
andthe  souths  But  the  empire  of  the  sword  could  not 
last  long,  and  its  dissolution  was  only  a  question  of  time.  ^ 
The  barbarous  execution  of  Shambhuji  and  the  impri- 
sonment of  his  son  Shahu  in  the  imperial  camp  did  not 
crush  the  spirit  of  the  Marathas,  and  they 


o       strength1     renewed  their  struggle  with  greater  deter 
with    the     mination  than  before.     In  the    absence    of 

Marathas       cn_    i_        ^i_  j_  •    j         *u 

1691—1707.  Shahu,  the  government  was  carried  on  by 
Raja  Ram,  the  younger  brother  of  the  great 
Shivaji.  After  his  escape  from  Rajgarh,  he  had  betaken 
himself  to  Jinji,  where  he  exerted  himself  vigorously  to 
consolidate  his  power.  His  efforts  were  ably  seconded  by  a 
band  of  patriotic  Maratha  leaders,  who  had  resolved  to 
wrest  the  Maratha  country  from  the  Mughals,  and  to' 
figlit  against  heavy  odds  for  their  national  independence. 
When  Jtiaja  Ram  sent  his  military  officers  to  raise  their 
own  forces  and  to  exact  chauth  and  sardeshmukhi  not  only 
in  the  six  Deccan  Subahs,  but  also  in  the  older  Mughal 
provinces,  Aurangzeb's  ire  was  roused,  and  he  felt  convinc- 
ed of  the  necessity  of  planning  a  fresh  campaign  to  uproot 
the  Maratha  power.  He  despatched  Zulfiqar  Khan,  son  of 
Wazir  Asad  Khan  to  lay  siege  to  Jinji.  The  fort  of  Jinji' 
surrounded  by  a  number  of  other  forts,  was  well  furnished 
with  provisions  and  munitions*  of  war,  and  therefore,  in 
a  position  to  defy  the  besiegers.  T*he  Zamindars  of  the 
country  in  the  neighbourhood  joined  the  Maratha  forcfes, 
surrounded  the  imperial  army,  and  '  showed  great  audacity 
in^  cutting  off  supplies/  The  siege  began  in  1691,  but  it 
was  prolonged  by  the  gallant  resistance  offered  bx_£aot4ji 
Ghorpare  and  Dhanaji  Jadhava,  who  baffled  the  Mughal 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  71& 

attempts  to  capture  the  fort.  Fighting  went  on  on  both 
sides  with  unabated  vigour  without  achieving  any  ap- 
preciable measure  of  success.  It  was  at  this  time  that 
Rrince  Kambaksh  opened  correspondence  with  Raja  Ram, 
but  the  secret  leaked  out  through  Zulfiqar's  spies,  and  the 
prince  was  at  once  placed  under  surveillance.  He  was  taken 
as  a  prisoner  to  the  imperial  camp,  and  was  presented  to 
the  emperor  in  the  haram  through  the  intercession  of  his 
sister  Zinat-un-nissa  Begum.  There  the  misguided  youth 
sought  to  justify  his  own  treason  by  dwelling  upon 
the  treachery  and  rapacity  of  Zulfiqar  Khan,  but  the 
empeh>r  was  too  experienced  in  political  affairs  to  credit 
the  story  which  was  a  pure  fabrication.  Zulfiqar  and  the 
other  generals  persevered  in  their  attempt  notwithstanding 
the  serious  difficulties,  placed  in  their  way  by  the  nature 
of  the  country  and  the  tactics  of  their  enemies,  and  at  last 
succeeded  in  capturing  the  fort  of  Jinji  by  escalade  in 
January,  1698.  Raja  Ram  escaped  to  Satara,  but  his  family 
was  seized  and  kept  in  honourable  captivity.  The  treasures 
and  the  materials  of  war  found  in  the  fort  were  captured 
by  the  Mughals,  and  Zulfiqar  who  had  suffered  much  at  the 
hands  of  the  Marathas,  satiated  his  fury  by  putting  to 


death  many  j>f  the  officers  who  had 

T&Ja~~Ram  soon  organised  ~a  large  *  army-at— Satara 
consisting  of  the  veteran  .Jtroopers,  Silahdars  and  Bargirs 
of  Shivaji's  time.  One  by  one  the  Maratha  generals  joined 
him,  and  with  their  help  he  carried  predatory  excursions, 
into  Khandesh,  Berar  and  Baglana,  and  levied  chauth  and 
Wi T. f/f P ^ •***  *'  ^rfi  JT  * k ngp  districts.  * 

In  1699  Aurangzeb,  intent  on  the  ruin  of  the  Marathas, 
left  Islampuri  on  the  19th  of  October  in  order  to  direct  the 
campaign  in  person,  *  He  knew  well  enough  the  disastrous. 


716  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

• 
Consequences  of  the  mutual  bickerings  of  his  generals,  and 

therefore  kept  the  supreme  command  in  his  own  hands. 
He  was  now  eighty-one  years  of  age,  but  with  the  undaunt- 
ed courage  of  a  tried  warrior  he  prepared  himself  for  the 
arduous  duties  of  the  battlefield.  The  imperialists  laid  siege 
to  Satara,  whither  the  emperor  himself  had  proceeded  and 
encamped  at  the  village  of  Karanja,  a  mile  and  a  half  to 
the  north  of  the  fort  walls.  The  siege  began  in  December, 
and  the  garrison  offered  a  heroic  resistance.  The  Mugjial 
attempts  to  take  the  fort  by  storm  failed,  but  Raja  Ram's 
•death  in  March,  1700,  altered  the  situation,  and  damped 
the  ardour  of  the  beleaguered  garrison.  The  Maratha  Teader 
made  peace  with  the  emperor  through  the  good  offices  of 
Prince  Azam,  and  on  April  21,  the  imperial  flag  was  hoisted 
on  the  ramparts  of  the  fort  of  Satara. 

Raja  Ram  was  succeeded  by  his  natural  son  Kama,  but 
he  died  of  small-pox  after  a  brief  reign  of  three  weeks. 
The  dowager-queen  Tarabai,  then,  placed  on  the  throne 
her  own  son,  a  legitimate  son  of  Raja  Ram,  under  the  title 
of  Shivaji,  and  herself  assumed  the  duties  of  regent.  She 
was  a  capable  and  sagacious  woman  who  understood  the 
business  of  state,  and  even  the  hostile  Khafi  Khan  admits 
that  she  was  a  '  clever,  intelligent  woman,  and  had 
obtained  a  reputation  during  her  husband's  lifetime  for  her 
knowledge  of :  civiJLap^  rm'iitAry  ^^tfirgxIIL^hfiJnfused  a 
new  vigour  into  the  Maratha  affairs,  and  by  her  masterful 
courage  kept  together  the  discordant  elements  in  the  state. 
The  results  of  capable  and  efficient  organization  soon 
became  manifest,  and  •  Khafi  Khan  is  constrained  to 
observe  :• 

1  Elliot,  VII,  p.  867. 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  71T 

O 

"  She  took  vigorous  measures  for  ravaging  the  im- 
perial territory,  and  sent  armies  to  plunder  the  six 
Subahs  of  the  Deccan  as  far  as  Sironj,  Mandisor,  and  the 
Subahs  of  Malwa.  She  won  the  hearts  of  her  officers, 
and  for  all  the  struggles  and  schemes,  the  campaigns 
and  sieges  of  Aurangzeb  up  to  the  end  of  his  reign  the 
power  of  the  Marat  has  increased  day  by  day  .... 
They  divided  all  the  districts  (parganas)  among  them- 
sglves,  and  following  the  practice  of  the  imperial  rule, 
they  appointed  their  Subahdars  (provincial  governors), 
kamaishdars  (revenue-collectors)  and  rghdars  (toll- 
collectors)/7  {  . 

The  fall  of  Satara  was  a  great  blow  to  the  Marathas, 
but  they  carried  on  the  struggle  with  the  same  determina- 
tion as  before.  The  imperialists  captured  the  forts  of 
Parli  (1700),  Panhala  (1701),  Kondana  (1701),  Khelna  (1702), 
Rajgarh  and  Torna  (1704),  some  by  fighting  the  enemy 
in  the  open  field  and  others  by  treachery  and  bribe.  These 
victories  did  not  satisfy  Aurangzeb's  restless  ambition. 
He  now  proceeded  to  lay  siege  to  the  fort  of  Wagingera, a 
which  belonged  to  the  Berads,  a  low-caste  tribe,  who  had 
on  a  former  occasion  submitted  to  the  emperor.  Their 
loader  Pidia  Nayak  (Parya  Naik  in  Elliot),  finding  the 
Mughals  irresistible.  Jled  bv  a^hackdnnr  at  night  with  his 
companions.  They  carried  tBeir  women,  children,  and 
treasure  with  them  anti  set  fire  to  what  they  had  to  leave 
behind.  When  the  Mughals  entered  the  fort,  they  '  found 
only  disabled  and  wounded  persons,  who  were  unable  to 
fly  !  '  The  fort  was  captured  (1705),  but  the  victor^  was. 

1  Elliot,  VII,  p.  374.  f 

s  Twelve  miles  south-west  of  Sagar. 


718  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

wholly  disproportionate  to  the  sacrifice  of  men  ana  money 
incurred  in  achieving  it.  The  siege  of  Wagingera  was  the 
last  military  exploit  of  Aurangzeb  on  this  side  of  the 
grave. 

Aurangzeb's  war  in  the  Deccan,   lasting  for  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  had  brought  him  no  permanent  advantage. 

The  army  was  in  a  wretched    condition  ;  it 
the^eccan.  °f     ha<*  endured  great  misery  and  privations,  and 

its  morale  Had  become  low  on  account  of 
f  failure  and  want  ordiscipline.  The  roads  were  flooded  and 
transport  difficulties  enormous.  The  Marathas  were'jflomi- 
nant  throughout  the  Deccan  They  had  acquired  much 
wealth  by  piunaeTand  rendered  the  highways  unsafeTThe 
price  of  grain  had  risen,  and  theimperial^camp  felt  the 
pinch  more  than  any  one  else. 

'  In  the  Mughal  provinces  too  the  Zamindars  joined  the 
Marathas,  and  peace  and  order  came  to  an  end.  Some  of 
the  village  Muqaddams  who  were  encouraged  in  their 
designs  by  the  Maratha  Subahdars  ceased  to  pay  revenue 
to  .the  Mughal  government,  and  openly  defied  its  authority. 
The  country  was  completely  desolated,  and  there  was  no 
trace  of  crops  of  any  kind.  Manucci  writes  that  the  entire 
land  had  become  so  depopulated  that  neither  fire  nor  light 
could  be  found  in  the  course  of  a  three  or  four  days' 
journey.1  The  same  writer  goes  on  to  add  :  "In  the 
Deccan  there  was  no  rain  from  .1702  tfl  1704  but  instead 
plague  prevailed.  In  these  two  years  have  expired  over  two 
millions  of  souls ;  fathers  compelled  by  hunger,  offering  ±o 
sell ,  their  children  for  a  quarter  to  half  a  rupee,  and  vet 
forced  to  go  without  food,  finding  no  one  to  buv  them."' 

1  Sfcoria  do  Mogort  IV,  p.  252. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  97. 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  719 

,  ^ 

Thus  plague  and  famine  .added  to  the  horrors  of  war, 
•and  the  sufferings  of  men  and  beasts  became  unendurable, 
•as  the  huge  armies,  ill-controlled  and  ill-disciplined,  pro- 
gressed from  one  stage  to  another  in  quest  of  the  final 
triumph,  which  seemed  to  recede  further  and  further  in 
the  distance. 

After  the  siege  of  Wagingera,  the  aged  emperor  retir- 
ed to  Devapur,  a  village  eight  miles  south  of  the  fort,  in 

+  order  to  pass  the  rainy  season.    Here  he  was 

the  seized  with  fever>  and  though  he  concealed  it 
as  long  as  he  could,  fainting  fits  supervened, 
and  he  was  prevented  from  appearing  in  public  for  ten  or 
twelve  days.  When  he  felt  a  little  relieved,  he  broke  up 
the  camp  at  Devapur,  and  left  for  Ahmadnagar,  where 
he  reached  on  the  20th  January,  1706.  The  deepening 
gloom  of  his  last  years  constitutes  one  of  the  most  tragic 
features  of  his  distinguished  public  career.  His  sons 
-expressed  a  wish  to  attend  on  him,  but  the  fate  of 
Shahjahan  haunted  his  mind,  and  he  sent  them  away 
to  their  respective  charges.  Political  considerations 
overbore  paternal  love,  and  even  from  his  beloved 
Kambakhsh  the  dying  emperor  parted  with  a  heavy  heart, 
to  ensure  the  young  prince's  safety  against  Azam's  im- 
p&tleftce  and  ambition  Deprived  of  that  tender  nursing 
and  devoted  care,  which  reduce&half  the  misery  of  a  patient, 
when  he  is  surrounded  by  his  own  kith  and  kin,  the  emperor 
felt  lonely  and  bitter,  but  he  must  pay  the  penalty  of  his 
exalted  office.  His  malady  increased,  and  he  was  again 
attacked  by  a  severe  fever.  For  three  days  he  continued  to 
transact  the  business  of  the  state  and  performed  his  prayers 
as  usual.  It  was  in  this  condition  that  he  was  requested 
to  give  away  an  elephant  and  a  valuable  diamond  in  charity 


720  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

to  ward  off  the  influence  of  evil  stars.  But  he  replied  that 
it  was  the  practice  of  the  Hindus,  and  ordered  four  thousand 
rupees  to  be  distributed  among  the  poor  for  the  benefit  of 
his  soul.  On  the  same  letter  he  wrote  :  "  Carry  this  crea- 
ture of  dust  quickly  to  the  first  (burial)  place  and  consign  " 
He  is  Said  to  have  written  a  will  also,  containing  the  dis- 
position of  his  wide  dominions. ' 

There  was  no  hope  of  recovery,  and  all  felt  that  the  end 
was  near.  On  the  20th  of  February,  1707,  the  emperoj*  said 
the  morning  prayers  as  usual,  and  began  to  count  the  beads 
of  his  rosary,  but  gradually  he  became  unconscious  and 
expired,  indomitable  and  implacable  to  the  last.  His 
pious  wish  that  he  should  die  on  a  Friday  was  granted  by 
a  propitious  God  in  Ivhose  cause  he  had  unceasingly  laboured 
all  his  life.  He  was  buried  near  Daulatabad  in  the  precincts 
of  the  tombs  of  Shaikh  surhanuddm,  ShahZari  Zar  Bakhsh, 
"and  other  holy  merT  feucn  was  the  end  of  the  last  great 
emperor  01  tne  house  of  Babar. 

The  tribes  that  inhabit  the  North- West  Frontier  have 

always  been  a  wild  and  turbulent  race.    They  have  never 

made  any  attempt  at  forming  themselves  into 

The      North-  .  ,    ,,         ,.    .  . 

West  Frontier     a  nation,  and  the  divisions  among  various 
policy  of  AU-     c]ans  have  made  it  impossible  for  them  to 

rangzeb.  r  . 

combine  under  a  common    leader.    In    the 

1  He  directed  in  his  will  tnat  four  rupees  and  two  annas  out  of 
the  price  of  the  caps  sewn  by  him,  should  tee  spent  on  his  shroud,  and 
three  hundred  and  five  rupees,  from  the  wages  of  copying  the  Quran, 
should  be  distributed  among  the  poor.  The  money  obtained  by  popying 
the  Quran  was  not  to  be  spent  on  his  shroud. 

He  gave  the  following  advice  to  his  sons  : 

**  Never  trust  your  sons,  nor  treat  them  during  your  lifetime  in  an 
intimate  manner,  because,  if  the  Emperor  Shahjahan  had  not  treated 
Dara  Shukoh  in  this  manner,  his  affairs  would  not  have  come  to  sucth 
a  sorry  pass.  Ever  keep  in  view  thd  saying,  '  The  word  of  a  king  is- 
barren.' 


INDIA  OF  AURANGZEB,  1700  A.D. 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  721 

16th  and  17th  centuries  the  Afghans  were  wilder  and  more 
restless  than  they  are  today,  and  constantly  gave  trouble 
to  the  government  at  Delhi.  They  took  to  highway  robbery 
as  their  profession,  and  organised  raids  into  the  territories 
of  their  rivals.  They  did  not  spare  even  the  Mughal 
provinces,  and  often  came  into  collision  with  the  local 
authorities.  The  Mughal  government  sometimes  employed 
military  force  to  crush  them,  and  at  other  times  it  had 
recourse  tcHbribery  in  order  to  tame  their  fierce  and  lawless 
spirit. 

Akbar  was  the  first  to  make  an  attempt  to  enforce  peace 
on  the  North- West  Frontier.  The  Mughal  commanders 
suffered  heavy  losses,  but  with  the  help  of  the  Rajputs  the 
emperor  succeeded  in  holding  them  in  check.  During  the 
reigns  of  Jahangir  and  Shahjahan  the  campaign  in  Qandhar, 
Balkh,  and  Badakhshan  impressed  for  a  time  these  irrepres- 
sible hillmen  with  the  might  and  majesty  of  the  empire, 
but  as  soon  as  the  authority  of  the  central  government 
became  lax  towards  the  close  of  Shahjahan's  reign,  they 
raised  their  heads  again  and  stirred  up  strife. 

in  1667  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Yusufzais,  Bhagu, 
brought  together  some  of  their  clans  under  his  control,  crown- 
ed one  Muhammad  Shah  as  their  king,  and  arrogated  to 
himself  the  functions  of  wazir.  The  rebellion  soon  assumed 
formidable  proportions.  The  f  tbels  crossed  the  Indus,  and 
invaded  the  Hazara  district,  where  they  established  their 
sway^,  -and  levied  rent  from  the  helpless  peasantry.  The 
Mughal  outposts  were  attacked,  and  [n  the  extremity  of 
peril  the  wardens  appealed  to  the  emperor  for  help.  • 

The  emperor  sent  three  of  his  generals  to  deal  with  the 
situation.  After  a  stubborn  fight  the  Yusufzais  were  driven 
into  the  river,  and  large  numbers  of  them  were  wounded 

P.  46 


722  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

• 

and  slain.  But  the  imperialists  did  not  stop  at  this.  They 
pressed  on  the  enemy,  and  the  Mughal  generals  Kamil  Khan, 
Shamsher,  and  Muhammad  Amin  Khan,  son  of  Mir  Jumla, 
ravaged  the  villages  and  inflicted  heavy  losses  upon  them. 
The  Afghans  became  quiet  for  the  time  being,  and  Raja 
Jaswant  Singh  was  deputed  by  the  emperor  to  command 
the  outpost  of  Jamrud. 

In  1672  occurred  the  rising  nf  the  Afridia  under  their 
chief,  Acmal  Khan,  who  assumed  the  title  of  king,  declared 
war  upon  the  Mughals,  and  invited  the  other  tribes  to  join 
them.  The  imperial  general  Muhammad  Amin  Khan,  who  was 
a  man  of  impetuous  temper,  disregarded  the  advice  oi:  Raia 
Sinprh  and  marched  against  them,  but  he  met  with 


heavy  losses,  and  with  difficulty  escaped  to  Peshawar.  Ten 
thousand  man  nf  the  Mnpjml  flrmv  wfir^  naptnrflj  and  fMmfr 
as  slaves  to  Central  ft.sia  for  sale  The  family  of  Amin  was 
captured,  and  he  had  to  pay  a  large  ransom  for  its  release. 
But  the  proud  and  noble  lady,  the  wife  of  Amin.  refused 
to  return  after  this  disgrace,  and  took  trO  a  life  nf  qy^'figm 
in  a  local  monastery.  This  victory  brought  a  great  ad- 
vantage to  the  Afridi  leader.  His  prestige  rose  high,  and 
many  an  ardent  Afghan  youth  joined  his  banner  in  the  hope 
of  obtaining  money  and  military  distinction. 

Another  formidable  revolt  with  which  the  imperial 
government  had  to  deal  was  that  of  Khush-hal  Khan,  the 
chief  of  the  Khataks—  a  warlike  clan  Inhabiting  the  country 
now  comprised  in  the  districts  of  Peshawar,  Bannu,  and 
Kohat.  He  was  invited  to  a  darbar  at  Peshawar,  and  was 
treacherously  arrested  by  the  orders  of  the  Mughal  govern- 
ment. He  was  detained  in  prison  at  Delhi  and  Ranthambhor, 
and  was  not  reconciled  to  his  captors  until  1666,  when  he  and 
his  son  both  were  enrolled  in  the  Mughal  army,  and  were 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  72$ 

»  • 

sent  to  fight  against  their  hereditary  enemies,  the  Yusuf- 
zais.  But  the  sight  of  the  Afghan  country  stirred  new 
hopes  and  yearnings  in  Khush-hal's  heart.  He  joined 
Acmal  and  himself  became  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  tribal 
•confederacy  which  was  organised  to  destroy  the  power  of 
the  Mughals  in  the  Afghan  region. 

The  emperor  at  once  sent  Fidai  Khan,  the  governor  of 
Lahore,  to  Peshawar  and  Mahabat  Khan  to  Kabul  to  guard 
thg  Mughal  territories.  Mahabat  Khan  proved  faithless, 
and  began  to  parley  secretly  with  the  enemv.  His  conduct 
was  reported  to  the  emperor,  who  in  great  wrath  sent 
another  general,  Shujaat  Khan,  to  take  his  place.  He  was 
savagely  attacked  ut>V4)  by  tne  Afghans,  and  his  army  was 
very  nearly  destroyed. 

Aurangzeb  now  decided  to  take  the  field  in  person. 
He  himself  proceeded  to  Hasan  Abdal  (June,  1674)  at  the 
head  of  a  large  army,  and  was  accompanied  by  Aghar  Khan, 
Prince  Akbar,  Wazir  Asad  Khan,  and  several  other  dis- 
tinguished generals.  Mahabat  was  removed  from  his 
command  on  account  of  his  treachery.  Diplomacy  and 
valour  both  did  their  work,  and  many  clans  were  won  over 
by  means  of  pensions,  jagirs,  and  commands  in  the  Mughal 
Army.  Yet  fighting  went  on  incessantly  with  the  tribes, 
and  the  Mughals  suffered  heavy  losses,  but  by  the  end  of 
the  year*  1675,  the  strength  ef  the  opposition  was  consider- 
ably diminished,  anfl  the  emperor  left  for  Delhi.  The 
governor  of  Kabul,  Amir  Khan,  who  was  appointed  in  1678, 
pacified  the  country  by  his  policy  of  conciliation. 

The  Khatak  Chief  Khush-hal  f£han  was  still  at;  large, 
though  his  son  had  joined  the  imperial  service,  Ilisjiostii- 
Jity  to  the  Mughals  was  rendered  more  bitter  by  his 
of  prison-lffe  in  Hindustan.  The  thought  of 


724  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

V 

vengeance  filled  his  mind,  and-  he  ever  kept  his  pen  and 
sword  ready  *?  ai»hi*w  fr™  **A  While  other  chiefs  had 
accepted  or  offered  to  accept  the  imperial  vassalage,  he  alone 
held  aloft  the  banner  of  freedom,  and  never  allowed  a 
craven  thought  to  enter  his  mind.  But  our  worst  enemies 
are  sometimes  our  own  kinsmen,  and  after  years  of  gallant 
struggle  for  freedom,  the  undaunted  warrior,  who  had 
at  fl|e  mip-ht  nf  the  Pmpirer  was  betrayed  into  thfr 

K,Y  hl' 


The  Mughal  success  in  the  northern  region  can  in  no 
way  be  described  as  brilliant.  The  hardy  mountaineers 
baffled  the  tactics  of  the  imperial  army,  accustomed  to 
fight  in  open  plains  against  well-organised  forces.  The 
loss  in  men  and  money  was  by  no  means  inconsiderable 
and  at  last  the  emperor  had  to  employ  a  policy  of  reconcili- 
ation to  win  over  to  his  side  the  recalcitrant  tribal  chiefs. 
Subsidies  were  paid  and  pensions  granted  to  calm  down 
their  lawless  spirit.  The  league  of  Acmal  was  broken  up> 
and  the  Afridis  made  peace  with  the  Mughals.  The  war 
caused  much  trouble  and  anxiety  to  Aurangzeb,  and  taxed 
his  resources  to  the  uttermost.  It  drained  the  imperial 
finances,  and  weakened  the  Mughal  plans  in  other  parts 
of  India!  As  Prof.  J.  N.  Sarkar  rightly  observes,  frhe  with- 
drawal Of  the  best  fcronna  from  the  De^n  left  Shivaji  free 
to  pursue  his  aggressive  designs  and  enabled  him  to  swetep 
adross  the  Deccan  country  with  irresistible  force  and  vigour. 
The  Afghans  would  have  been  valuable  allies  of  AurangzQb 
in  fighting  against  "the  Rajputs,  but  now  it  was  impossible 
to  expect  that  they  would  undergo  the  sufferings  of  war 
in  a  desert  country  for  the  sake  of  one,  who  had  deprived 
them  of  their  much-loved  freedom  and  reduced  them  to  the 
status  of  subordinate  vassals. 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  725 

»  • 

As  has  been  said  before,  the  English  had  been  allowed 

certain  trade  concessions  by  Jahangir  in  1615  at  the  time  of 
Sir  Thomas  Roe's  visit  to  his  court.    A  little 

andAt^anEneb      Iat6r  *n  1616  ttl6y    SOUght  Permission  to  buil<* 

Hah.  6  ng~  a  factory  at  Masulipatam,  and  in  1639  with  the 
permission  of  the  Raja  of  Chandragiri  built 
a  factory  and  a  fort  at  Madras,  which  was  afterwards  named 
as  Fort  St.  George.  Shahjahan,  although  hostile  to  the 
Portuguese,  was  friendly  towards  the  English,  and  in  1651 
an  English  factory  was  set  up  at  Hugli,  and  certain  fresh 
privileges  of  trade  were  conceded.  In  1658  all  the  English 
factories  were  placed  under  Surat,  and  in  1664  Aurangzeb 
reduced  the  import  duty  on  their  goods  as  a  reward  for  the 
gallant  resistance,  which  they  offered  to  Shivaji,  when 
he  sacked  that  town.  On  the  West  coast  the  English 
position  improved,  when  Charles  II  made  over  to  the  com- 
pany in  1668  the  islands  of  Bombay  and  Salsette,  which 
he  had  received  as  part  of  the  dowry  of  his  wife,  Catherine 
of  Braganza.  By  a  fresh  charter  Charles  conferred  upon 
the  company  certain  privileges,  which  advanced  its  constitu- 
tional position,  and  made  it  a  real  power  in  the  land. 

The  company  now  began  to  fortify  its  possessions  and 
(in  1684  the  Directors  approved  of  the  policy  of  their  factors. 
In  1685  Shayasta  Khan,  the  governor  of  Bengal,  levied 
certain  local  duties  from  the  .English,  which  they  resented 
as  contrary  to  the  farmans  of  Shahjahan.  War  broke  out 
between  the  English  company  and  the  Mughal  government. 
The  exponent  of  this  war  policy  was  Sir  Josia  Child,  the 
governor  of  the  company,  who  was  anxious  to  found  s  large, 
well-grounded,  sure  English  dominion  in  India  for  all  time 
to  come.  When  the  English  under  Sir  John  Child, 
the  President  of  Surat,  attacked  the  Mughal  ships  on  the 


726  HISTORY  f  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

<& 

western  coast,  the  emperor  erdered  the  arrest  of  all 
Englishmen  and  the  seizure  of  all  English  factories 
throughout  his  dominions.  The  factories  at  Hugli  and  Ma- 
sulipatam  were  seized,  and  all  trade  with  the  '  audacious 
foreigners  '  was  forbidden.  But  since  the  emperor  could 
ill  afford 'to  lose  the  customs  revenue,  which  accrued  from 
trade,  he  pardoned  the  English  and  ordered  Ibrahim,  the 
successor  of  Shayasta  Khan  in  Bengal,  to  invite  Job  Char- 
nock,  the  chief  of  the  English  factory  at  Hugli,  to  return 
to  his  settlement  early  in  October,  1690.  Charnock  came 
to  Bengal  and  a  few  miles  below  Hugli,  near  the  village  of 
Kalikata,  he  built  a  small  station  which  .afterwards  deve- 
loped into  the  famous  city  of  Calcutta  and  the  capital  of 
the  Indian  Empire. 

On  the  west  coast  also  Sir  John  Child  who  had  begun 
the  war,  was  obliged  to  sue  for  peace,  and  Aurangzeb 
was  pleased  to  pardon  the  offences  of  the  English  who 
were  allowed  to  trade  as  before  on  payment  of  1,50,000 
rupees.  After  the  failure  of  the  war-like  policy  of  the  two 
Childs  and  the  amalgamation  of  the  two  English  companies, 
the  English  confined  themselves  to  trade,  and  for  nearly  half 
a  century  abstained  from  interference  in  political  affairs. 
Towards  the  middle  of  the  18th  century  they  were  drawi\ 
into  the  vortex  of  Indian  warfare  by  the  activities  of  their 
rivals,  and  the  decline  of  political  authority,  consequent 
upon  the  break-up  of  the  Mughal  empire. 

The  reaction  which  began  after  the  death  of  the  Great 
Akbar  reached  its  Righ,  watermark  in  the  reign  of  Aurangzeb. 
AdminiBtra-     R^fei0118  considerations  coloured  the  policy  of 
tion  under  Au-     the  State,  andjbhe  empernr  Hid  hia 
iang*eb.  form  to  the  orthodox  standard. 

the  flAffffyrf  in  fivflrriftiTigr,  and  himself  lived  all  his  life  like 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  727 

t  • 

a  pious  Muslim.  His  ideal  of  kingship  was  very  high,  and 
unlike  many  other  rulers,  he  devoted  his  best  care  and  atten- 
tion to  the  business  of  the  state.  All  authority  was  concen- 
trated in  his  own  hands,  and  like  Louis  XIV  of  France  he 
was  his  own  minister.  He  looked  into  the  minutest  details, 
of  administration,  and  so  indefatigable  was  hi?  industry! 
that  he  himself  dictated  the  orders  passed  on  the  petitions 
submitted  to  him,  and  despatches  that  were  sent  to  foreign 
rulers  or  his  own  generals  and  officers.  He  could  never 
tolerate  a  rival  authority  in  the  state,  and  was  punctiliously 
severe  in  enforcing  the  royal  etiquette.  No  infringement  of 
the  royal  prerogative  even  by  his  sons  was  allowed  to  go  un- 
punished, and  nothing  displeased  the  emperor  more  than  the 
violation  of  a  rule  or  law  which  he  had  made.  So  strict  was 
he  that  he  often  used  to  say  :  "  If  a  single  rule  is  disregarded, 
all  the  regulations  will  be  destroyed.  Though  I  have  not 
allowed  the  violation  of  any  rule  of  the  court,  men  have  grown 
so  bold  that  they  request  me  to  set  rules  aside." l  Again  when 
he  came  to  know  that  Bahadur  Shah  performed  prayers 
after  setting  up  canvas  screens  he  wrote  : 

"  How  did  he  dare  do  a  thing  which  is  the  special 
prerogative  of  kings  ?  The  late  Emperor  Shahjahan 
was  negligent  towards  his  sons,  so  that  matters  came  to 
pass  that  is  notorious."3 

"  Ibrahim  Khan,  the  governor  of  Bengal,  held  court 

like  kings,  seated  on  a  couch  with  the  Qazi  and  other 

•officers  sitting  humbly  on  the  floor.  The  emperor  ordered 

the  Prime  Minister  to  write  to  him  in  a  caustic  vein  that 

if  he  was  unable  to  sit  on  the  ground  by  reasofi  of  any 

1     Anecdotes,  p.  122.  m 
»  .Ibid., p.  58. 


728  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

'  i 

disease,  he  was  excused  till  Jiis  restoration  to  his  health, 
and  he  should  urge  his  doctors  to  cure  him  soon/'1 
Himself  hardworking,  he  exacted  hard  work  from  his 
officials,  and  indeed  throughout  his  reign  the  state  seemed 
to  be  a  huge  machine  of  which  the  main  spring  was  the 
emperor '  himself.  But  as  in  the  case  of  Philip  II  of  Spain  his 
industry  was  like  that  of  a  clerk  or  a  bureaucrat  and  not 
like  that  of  a  statesman,  who  enunciates  principles  that 
grow  from  age  to  age,  and  strengthen  the  roots  of  kingdoms 
and  empires.  The^  sphere  of  the  authority  of  the  state  was 
widened  under  him.  Like  the  mediaeval  European  state,  he 
sought  to  govern  the  bodies  as  well  as  the  consciences  of 
his  subjects,  and  gave  priority  to  theological  considerations 
in  discharging  his  secular  duties. 

The  empire  was  divided  into  subahs  as  before,  but  their 
number  was  now  21  as  the  result  of  the  rearrangement  of  the 
territorial  limits  of  the  older  provinces.  The  extent  of  the 
empire  was  larger  than  at  any  time  under  Mughal  rule,  and 
the  imperial  authority  was  widely  respected.  The  highest 
offices  of  the  state  continued  to  function  as  in  Akbar's  day, 
but  the  principle  of  appointment  was  no  longer '  Career  open 
to  talent.'  The  theocratic  character  of  the  state  necessitated 
the  employment  of  Muslims  and  Hindu  renegades  irrespec- 
tive of  their  fitness  for  public  office,  and  the  results  of  this 
pernicious  practice  were  manifest  everywhere.  The  state 
regulated  the  private  life  of  the  community.  The  censor 
of  public  morals  became  very  active  ;  he  went  through  the 
streets  demolishing  newly-built  temples  and  punishing  heresy 
and  other  vices  condemned  in  the  Holy  Book.  As  an  ortho- 
dox Sunni,  the  emperer  held  the  Shias  in  contempt  and  called 

1    4n*edo***  &  128, 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  729 

them  '  carrion-eating  demqns.'  The  Shia  officers  tried  to 
-conceal  their  faith  from  him,  and  on  one  occasion  he  was 
alarmed  to  find  that  the  paymaster  and  the  two  Ntizims  of 
Lahore  professed  the  Shia  faith.  The  emperor  considered 
this  a  sufficient  ground  for  their  immediate  transfer.  The 
Hindus  were  excluded  from  the  offices  of  the  state,  and 
the  preferential  treatment  shown  to  renegades  often  re- 
sulted in  the  employment  of  men  of  inferior  talents.  The 
Mughal  nobility  and  officialdom  still  lived  in  dread  of  the 
Law  of  Escheat.  Bernier  writes  : 

u  The  king  being  the  heir  of  all  their  possessions  no 
family  can  long  maintain  its  distinction,  but  after  the 
Umrah's  death  is  soon  extinguished,  and  the  sons  or  at 
least  the  grandsons,  reduced  ^generally  to  the  beggary 
and  compelled  to  enlist  as  mere  troopers  in  the  cavalry. 
The  king,  however,  usually  bestows  a  small  pension  on 
the  widow,  and  often  on  the  family,  and  if  the  Umrah's 
life  be  sufficiently  prolonged,  he  may  obtain  the  advance- 
ment of  his  children  by  royal  favour."  * 

This  is  corroborated  by  Aurangzeb's  own  letters.    In  one 
*of  them  we  come  across  the  following  passage : 

"  Amir  Khan  (the  governor  of  Afghanistan  for  20 
years)  is  dead.  I,  too,  shall  die.  Write  to  the  Diwan  of 
Lahore  to  attach  the  property  of  the  deceased  with 
extreme  diligence  and  effort,  so  that  nothing  great  or 
small,  not  even  a*  blade  of  grass,  may  escape.  Get 
information  from  outside  sources  and  tyke  possession  of 
everything  found  at  any  place  wi^t^^iM^^  the 
rightful  due  of  God's  slaves."8 

1  Travels,  pp.  21 1-12.       . 
'*  Ruqqat-i-Alamgiri,  Letter  99. 


780  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

There  was  a  regular  department  of  the  state  called  the 
Bait-ul-mal,  where  the  property  of  all  heirless  persons  was 
deposited.  The  escheated  property  of  noblemen  was  also 
kept  there.  The  Bait-ul-mal  was  God's  treasury,  and  the 
emperor  always  endeavoured  to  increase  its  property.  The 
bulk  of  the  nobles  were  in  debt  notwithstanding  their 
Jagira,  and  did  nothing  to  improve  the  lot  of  their  peasan- 
try. The  bankruptcy  of  the  aristocracy  compelled  it  to 
reduce  its  armed  strength  with  the  result  that  lawlessness 
spread  in  many  places,  and  the  revenue  of  the  state  was 
considerably  diminished.  Bribery  was  common,  although  it 
was  universally  condemned.  The  clerks  and  accountants  in 
the  various  departments  of  the  state  took  bribes  to  eke  out 
their  income,  and  presents  were  demanded  even  by  very 
highly  placed  officers.  The  emperor  himself  sold  titles  and 
received  Rs.  50,000  from  Manohar  Das,  Subahdar  of  Shola- 
pur,  for  conferring  upon  him  the  title  of  Raja.  A  purse 
of  Rs.  30,000  was  offered  to  the  Wazir  by  Jai  Singh  to 
induce  the  emperor  to  retain  him  in  the  Deccan  command. 
The  lower  officials  were  as  corrupt  as  their  higher 
brethren.  They  drank  hard,  held  pleasant  parties,  and 
made  ill-gotten  gains,  regardless  of  the  injury  that  they 
did  to  the  administration.  The  administration  of  police  and 
justice  received  full  attention  from  the  emperor.  From 
Manucci's  account  it  appeara-KII,  420-21)  that  the  Kotwal 
still  discharged  most  of  the  duties,,  which  are  mentioned, 
in  the  Ain,  and  was  a  busy  and  active  officer.  Justice 
was  administered  according  to  the  Quranic  Law.  As  in 
Shahjiahan's  time,  Wednesday  was  reserved  for  Justice- 
and  on  that  day  the  emperor  went  straight  from  the 
Jharokha  to  the  Hall  of  Private  Audience,  and  decided 
cases  with  the  advice  of  the  Qazis,  Muftis,  scholars,. 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  731 

» 

theologians,  and  the  prefect  pf  the  city  police.    Bernier  has* 

described  Aurangzeb's  manner  of  dispensing  justice  :  ' 

"  All  the  petitions  held  up  in  the  crowd  assembled: 
in  the  Am  Kas  (Hall  of  Public  Audience)  are  brought  to 
the  king  and  read  in  his  hearing,  and  the  persons  con- 
cerned being  ordered  to  approach  are  examined  "by  the 
monarch  himself,  who  often  redresses  on  the  spot  the 
wrongs  of  the  aggrieved  party.  On  another  day  of  the 
v*eek  he  devotes  two  hours  to  hear  in  private  the  peti- 
tions of  ten  persons  selected  from  the  lower  orders  and 
presented  to^the~king  by  a  good  and  rich  old  man.  Nor 
does  he  fail  to  attend  the  Justice  Chamber,  called  Adalat 
Khanah,  on  another  day  of  the  week,  attended  by  the 
two  principal  Qazis  or  chief  justices/'1 

Manucci  supports  Bernier  and  says  that  the  suitors 
appeared  before  the  emperor,  and  laid  before  him  their 
grievances.  He  goes  on  to  add  : 

"  The  king  ordains  with  arrogance,  and  in  few 
words,  that  the  thieves  be  beheaded,  that  the  governors^ 
and  faujdars  compensate  the  plundered  travellers.  In 
some  cases  he  announces  that  there  is  no  pardon  for  the 
transgressor,  in  others  he  orders  the  facts  to  be  investi- 
•  gated  and  a  report  made  to  him.  "* 

The  Qazis  according  to  Berjiier  were  not  invested  with 
sufficient  authority  to  $ nforce  their  decrees,  and  the  weak 
and  the  injured  were  left  without  any  refuge  whatever  and 
the  only    law  that    decided    all  controversies    was    the 
cane  and  the  caprice  of  a  .governor/1  Either  the  traveller 

1  Travels,  p.  263. 

*  Storia  do  Mogor,  II,  p.  462. 

*  Travels,  pp.  285-86. 


732  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

*  c 

is  incorrect  or  he  has  generalised  from  some  particular 
instance.  The  Qazi's  jurisdiction  was  unquestionably 
-exercised  in  all  cases  that  could  be  brought  under  the 
•Canon  law.  Probably  his  statement  refers  to  revenue  cases 
which  were  disposed  of  by  the  governor.  Aurangzeb  took 
.good  oare  to  see  that  the  Qazis  did  their  duty  properly. 
About  1671  when  he  learnt  that  the  Qazis  of  Gujarat  used  to 
hold  court  only  two  days  in  the  week,  he  wrote  totheDiwan 
to  order  them  to  sit  in  their  offices  for  five  days  in  the  week 
from  2  gharis  after  daybreak  to  a  little  after  midday  and 
go  to  their  houses  at  the  time  of  Zuhr  prayer. 

The  fiscal  system  of  Aurangzeb  was  pretty  irtuch  the 
same  as  that  of  his  predecessors.  He  had  abolished  a  number 
*of  cesses  at  the  time  of  his  accession,  but  had  created  certain 
new  sources  of  revenue.  The  Jeziya  was  revived,  and  it 
brought  in  a  large  income  to  the  state.  Elaborate  regula- 
tions were  issued  for  the  guidance  of  his  revenue  officers 
which  cannot  be  summarised  here  for  want  of  space.1  The 
actual  revenue-collector  was  the  Krori  who  is  mentioned 
in  the  Ain,  and  was  assisted  by  a  large  staff.  The  subor- 
dinates in  the  revenue  department  added  to  their  perquisites 
by  demanding  the  Haqq-i-tahrir  from  those  who  had  to  do 
business  with  them.  Even  the  British  Government  has 
failed  to  stamp  out  this  pernicious  habit.  When  the 
emperor  embarked  on  his  Peccan  wars,  the  administration 
in  Northern  India  was  neglected.  TJhe  local  jagirdars  and 
faujdars  were  ill-equipped  to  cope  with  the  high-handed 
zamindars  who  oppressed  the  peasants,  and  squeezed  money 
fronvthem  with  impunity. 

There  was  no  change  in  the  working  of  the  provincial 

administration.    Here  as  at  the  capital  espionage  was  brisk, 

t» 

1  Sarkar,  Administration,  pp.  197—328.  • 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  733 

i  ' 

and  the  Waqianavis  and  the  Khufianavis  became  more 
active  in  sending  their  reports  to  the  imperial  headquarters. 

Aurangzeb's  ambition  to  conquer  the  Deccan  led  him  to 
build  up  a  huge  army.  It  would  be  wearisome  to  repeat  all 
the  regulations  which  he  devised  for  the  organization  and 
control  of  the  army.  But  it  may  be  asserted,  that  ifl  spite 
of  all  this,  discipline  in  the  army  was  lax,  if  not  entirely 
absent.  Bernier  who  gives  a  detailed  account  of  the  military 
systejn  of  his  time  says  that  when  once  thrown  into  confu- 
sion, it  was  impossible  to  restore  a  Mughal  army's  disci- 
pline,1 while  during  the  march  they  moved  without  order,, 
with  the  irregularity  of  a  herd  of  animals.  Prolonged  cam- 
paigns in  distant  lands  ending  in  failure  seriously  impaired 
the  morale  of  the  army.  Soldiers  and  generals  carried  their 
wives  and  concubines  with  them  and  enjoyed  every  kind  of 
luxury  that  was  possible.  Military  inefficiency  was  one  of 
the  chief  causes  of  the  downfall  of  the  empire. 

Towards  the  close  of  Aurangzeb's  reign  the  administra- 
tion rapidly  declined.  The  imperial  government  recklessly 
offered  money  to  traitors  who  surrendered  the  forts  of  their 
masters,  and  the  burden  ultimately  fell  on  the  peasantry. 
No  fort  in  the  Deccan  was  captured  without  a  bribe,  and 
the  huge  sums,  offered  by  the  emperor,  exhausted  the 
wealth  of  the  state.  The  faujdars  in  the  provinces  oppress- 
ed the  people,  and  no  redrew  could  be  obtained.  Khafi 
Khan  relates  the  story  of  an  old  woman  who  complained 
of  the  exactions  of  a  certain  faujdar.  The  emperor  sent 
an  order  that  the  money  of  the  woman  should  be  returned 
to  her*  But  after  some  time  she  came  again  and  statedtthat 

1     Travels,  p.  55. 

For  a  detailed     account  of  the  military    system  see   Travels* 
pp,21l— 21. 


734  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

*  • 

instead  of  returning  her  mogey  the  faujdar  had  treat- 
ed her  with  greater  severity.  The  emperor  issued  an 
order  of  transfer,  but  the  new  faujdar  proved  more 
•exacting  and  tyrannical.  When  the  old  woman  appeared 
again  to  complain,  the  emperor  angrily  retorted,  "  Go,  thou, 
old  woman,  and  pray  to  God  that  He  may  send  thee  an- 
other king.  "  Thus  the  faujdars  practised  oppression  with- 
out fear  of  punishment,  and  bribed  the  officers  who  were 
sent  to  warn  them  of  the  consequences  of  their  conduct. 
The  pampered  Mughal  aristocracy  lost  its  moral  grit,  and 
the  emperor  felt  himself  powerless  to  chastise  the  offend- 
ers. The  Prime  Minister's  grandson  Mirza  Tafakkhur  used 
to  molest  and  dishonour  the  women  in  the  streets,  as  they 
went  to  the  river,  and  the  emperor  could  do  nothing  but 
to  refer  the  matter  to  his  grandfather.  It  was  only  when 
a  Hindu  artilleryman's  wife  was  abducted,  and  his  comrades 
threatened  to  break  out  into  open  mutiny,  that  the  emperor 
passed  an  order  that  the  licentious  youth  should  not  be  per- 
mitted to  go  out  of  his  mansion.  The  destruction  of  a  state, 
whose  officers  played  in  such  a  shameless  manner  with  the 
honour  of  their  subjects,  could  not  be  long  delayed.  Divine  re- 
tribution followed  with  the  inevitable  swiftness  of  Nemesis. 
Aurangzeb  is  one  of  the  greatest  rulers  of  the  Mughal 
dynasty.  As  prince  in  his  father's  day,  he  had  given 
ample  promise  of  future  greatness,  and 
even  Shshjahan  was  impressed  by  his 
ability,  daring,  and  political  astuteness.  His 
brother  Para  feared  him  as  a  great  rival,  ana  regarded 
him  jas  a  serious  obstacle  to  his  accession  *n  ****  thr^n* 
He  was  endowed  with  great  phvaic&l  course,  and  had 
given  proof  of  his  prowess  in  many  an  arduous  campaign. 
As  A  milifory  general,  he  had  established  his 


THE  TURN  IN  THE  TIDE  786 

*ncl  never  was  he  more  cool  and  self-possessed  than  in  the 
tieat  of  battle,  when  he  was  surrounded  by  the  enemy  on 
all  sidgs.  During  the  Balkh  campaign,  he  astonished  friends 
and  foes  alike  by  his  presence  of  mind,  when  he  dismounted 
his  horse  on  the  battlefield  against  the  advice  of  his  friends 
and  comradg&^tcF  say^the  ZuHr  -prayers.  Great  generals 
and  soldiers  wondered  at  his  strategical  acumen,  and 
admired  the  care  and  skill  with  which  he  planned  and 
executed  a  campaign.  In  diplomacy  and  statecraft  he  had 
few*  equals,  and  the  most  experienced  ministers  of  the 
Crown  feared  his  power  of  resolve  and  respected  his  judg- 
ment. •  Besides  being  a  distinguished  soldier  ^nd  adminis- 
trator^ he  was  an  accurate  scholar.  He  was  ^well-versed 
ii^  Muslim  theology,  and  had  studied  a  good  deal  of  ethics. 
Arabic  jurisprudence,  and  Persian  litpratnrp  The  greatest 
digest  of  Muslim  Law,  the  Fatwa-i-Alamgiri,  was  compiled 
under  his  patronage.  He  knew  the  Quran  by  heart  and 
made  copies  of  it  with  his  own  hand,  which  he  sent  to 
Medina  as  tokens  of  his  piety  and  devotion.  He  was  a 
practised  calligraphist,  and  wrote  both  Shikast  and  Naat&lla 
with  wonderful  ease  and  skill.  He  wrote  and  dictated 
letters  and  despatches  with  astonishing  facility  in  Persian, 
and  could  compose  verses,  but  he  refrained  from  doing  so. 
because  he  thought  that  poets  dealt  in  falsehoods.  He  had 
no  liking  for  music  and  bapished  it  from  fy'a  co^rt.  as 
we  have  seen  before.  TTi^  lifp  \yp«  aimpio  em/3  onct-pjy 
He  ate  little,  slept*  only  three  hours,  and  completely 
abstained  from  drink.  He  did  not  wear  gaudy  clothes. 
made  a  sparing  use  of  jewellery,  flnH  Trgpt  asl^e  ftfl  gold  a^d 
silver  veaaelg.  He  regarded  the  public  treasury  as  a  sacred 
and  stitched  ^pa  wjtf]  hi0  *mn 


personal  expenses.  ^UnHke  other  kings  he  was  free  from 


786  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

• 
lust,  and  the  number  of  his  wives  fell  short  even  of  the* 

prescribed  standard.  In  his  presence 
falsehood  or  indulge  in  improper  language.  He  was  so 
stern  and  dignified  that  none  ventured  to  make  a  feat  in  his 
presence,  or  speak  ill  of  another  man.  His  self-control  was 
remarkable.  He  listened  to  the  irrelevant  data}]  a  of  peti- 
tioners with  great  patience,  and  treated  joys  and  sorrows 
with  equal  indifference.  He  cherished  a  lofty  ideal  of  king- 
ship, and  worked  like  the  Puritan,  as  ever  in  the  gpeat 
Taskmaster's  eye.  '  An  emperor,  '  he  used  to  say.  *  should 
never  allow  himself  to  be  fond  of  ease  and  retirement,  be- 
cause the  most  fatal  cause  of  the  decline  of  kingdoms  and  the 
destruction  of  roval  power  is  this  undesirable  habit/  He 
was  a  great  lover  of  justice,  and  made  no  distinction  between 
therich^and  the  DQgr.  the  noble  and  the  commoner.  He 
alwaysreminded  his  officers  to  combine  gentleness  with 
firmneggT  an  advice  which  they  wnafnlly  npprlpptpd  in  ^{\\\f\ 
practififi. 

Aurangzeb  wasjiot  a  man  of  strong  family  affections. 
His  imprisonment  of  Shahjahan  and  the  murder  of  his 
brothers  and  nephews  in  some  cases  in  clear  violation 
of  his  solemn  word  will  ever  remain  an  indelible  stain  on 
his  memory.  He  was  suspicious  of  his  own  sons,  and  was. 
unhappy  as  long  as  they  were  with  him.  He  kept  his  eldest 
acm~Sultan  in  prison  till  his  death  and  disgraced 


who  was  jtept  in  prison  for  eight  yeara  for  intriguing  with 
the  rulers  of  Bijapur  and  Golkunda.  His  dearly-loved 
Kambakhsh  also  incurred  his  displeasure  during  Jfr?  aifg^ 
ofJinji,  and  '  was  put  under  restraint.'  JZebunnissa,  hia 
daughter,  who  wasa  gifted  poetess.  WM  confined 


fortretJifl  Of  SaliiiiBai'inFor  sympathising  with  her  rebel|ioufl 
brother  Akbar,  and  remained 


THE  TURN  IN  TH£  TIDE  787 

* 

There  in  that  wretched  loaeliness  she  poured  out  her  soul 
ULexquisite  melody,  the  pathos  of  which  still  move  the 
heart.  More  unsympathetic  was  his  attitude  towards  those 
who  were  not  of  his  own  kith  and  kin.  Unforgiving  towards- 
his  enemies,  he  was  cold  and  reserved  in  his  dealings  with 
his  friends.  Generosity  in  politics  was  folly  to  him,  as  is 
shown  by  his  treatment  of  Shivaji  and  the  Rathor  Princes. 
Nor  was  he  always  fair  and  clean  in  his  political  methods. 
He  pould  employ  treachery  and  intrigue  without  scruple  to 
serve  his  end,  and  sometimes  TiTs  bigotry  and  narrow- 
mindedness  made  him  forget  the  most  obvious  considerations 
of  justice. 

He  was  a  man  of  de?p  reliyinnfi  rfmvifltimn  Indeed 
he  was  the  most  orthodox  nnri  hipitrd  nilrr  nf  hin  Hnr  He 
rigidly  followed  the  fl**yrivfft  and  tabooed  everythingnghich 
is  forbidden  by  it.  He  was  very  particular  about  prayer, 
fast,  Hajj,  Zakat  and  Tauhid  (faith  in  God)—  the  five  things 
ordained  in  Islam.  He  observed  fast  during  the  whole 
month  of  Ramzan,  and  the  last  ten  days  he  spent  in  the 
mosque  in  the  adoration  of  God.  He  had  a  great  desire  to 
perform  Hajj,  but  he  was  prevented  from  fulfilling  his  wish 
by  the  political  troubles  of  his  reign.  He  made  amends  for 
tfiis  onoiissionby  giving  everyjrind  ofjjd  to  Hajj  pilgrims 
and  by  sjadjngv^  gifts  to  the  shrines  of  the  Prophet- 


amhitinn 


^ 

his^nnciples  and 


738  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

'    The  great   qualities   of   Aurangzeb   were   neutralised 
by  his  proneness   to   suspicion,    his   hinted 


and  his  mplacable  viridgtivenegfg.  Over-centralisation, 
espionage,  and  ruthless  repression—  all  created  enemies 
for  him.  Personal  purity  and  jndustry  are  poor  substitutes' 
for  broad^miBflea  sympathy  limd  tolerance.  There 
was  no  human  touch  in  all  his  dealings.  &e  alienat- 
ed the  Hindus  and  Shias,  and  they,  in  turn,  did  their 
best  to  undermine  the  foundations  of  his  empire. 
He  lacked  statesmarwhyxand  though  a  man  of  deep 

"""^ll       ^"•%|_I<J'^>L_||I  --  UllL.LII'-***fc—  II"-  ^*^*~^«^J^       ••'»IIIM«ll*«'-"^fc-JJfc^  ^  ^ 

religious    convictions,   he  knew  not  the  sovereign  quali- 
ty of  forgiveness.    The  change  of  policy  proved  fatal  to  his 
own  interests,  and  discerning  men  in  his  own  lifetime  per- 
ceived the  beginning  of  the  end.    Towards  the  close  of  the 
18th  century  the  empire  seemed  to  many  a  huge  engine  of 
oppression,  and  ceased  to  exercise  its  sway  for  the  benefit 
of  the  people  who  were  comprised  in  it.    Khafi  Khan's 
praise  is  not  without  a  note  of  disappointment.   "  Of  all  the 
sovereigns  of  the  House  of  Timur—  nay,  of  all  the  sovereigns 
of  Delhi  ........   no  one,     since    Sikander    Lodi,    has 

ever  been  apparently  so  distinguished  for  devotion,  austerity 
and  justice.  In  courage,  long  suffering,  and  sound  judg- 
ment he  was  unrivalled.  But  from  reverence  for  the  injunc- 
tions of  the  law,  he  did  not  make  use  of  punishment  and 
without  punishment  the  administration  of  a  country  cannot 
be  maintained.  Dissensions  had  arisen  among  his  nobles 
through  rivalry.  So  every  plan  and  project  that  he  form- 
ed came  to  little  £ood  ;  every  enterprise  which  he  undertook 
was  tong  in  execution,  and  failed  of  its  object.'" 


1  Elliot,  VII,  pp.  386-87. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  MUGHAL  INDIA 

The  history  of  India  is  essentially  a  history  of  kings, 
their  wars  and  conquests,  and  not  of  the  people.  Muslim 
chroniclers  give  detailed  accounts  of  court 
Iife»  battles  and  sieges,  but  write  'nothing 
about  the  people,  obviously  because  the 
latter  counted  for  nothing  in  their  day.  Except  Abul  Pazl 
no  jnediseval  chronicler  has  given  an  exhaustive  survey 
of  -non-political  matters.  But  some  very  valuable  infor- 
mation can  be  gleaned  about  the  social  and  economic  con- 
dition of  the  people  from  the  writings  of  European  tra- 
vellers, who  visited  India  in  the  16th  and  17th  centuries. 
Society  in  Mughal  times  was  organised  on  a  feudal 
king  was  the  apex  of  the  system,  and  below 
him  were  his  mansabdars  or  nobles,  who 
held  high  offices  in  the  state.  There 
was  little  honour  or  dignity  outside  the 
imperial  service,  and  every  talented  youth  aspired 
to  join  it.  This  privileged  position  of  extraordinary  re- 
spectability created  a  great  divergence  in  the  standards 
of  those  who  lived  at  court  and  those  who  were  away 
from  it.  The  cpnrt  vyps=s  the  centre  of  wealth  and  cuj&ire, 
whereas  away  in  the  country  we  find  modest  competence 
-and  wretched  misery  existing  Bide  by  side. 

The  Mughal  npbles  who  generally  followed  the 
example  of  their  patrons  were  extra- 
va£ant'  and  lived  luxurious  lives.  They 
kept  large  establishments,  which  absorbed 
all  the  income  they  earned.  Besides  their  own  un- 
usually heavy  expenditure,  they  had  to  make  presents 

789 


740  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

*  o 

to  the  court,  which  impoverished  even  the  wealthiest 
among  them.  They  made  a  lavish  use  of  imported 
goods,  which  resulted  in  stimulating  foreign  trade.  Drink 
was  a  common  evil,  but  it  was  /Kmfiyififl  only  to  the  tipqer 
classes.  In  fact  many  a  man  of  high  station  died  of 
intemperance.  All  the  Mughal  emperors  indulged  in 
liquor  more  or  less  with  the  exception  of  Aurangzeb,  who 
was  a  total  abstainer.  The  harams  were  a  common 
feature  of  the  time.  Akbar^  himself  maintained^  a 
seraglio  in  which  there  were  5,000  women,  and  it  had 
a  separate  staff  of  women-officers  who  looked  after  its- 
management.1  The  nobles  followed  the  king's  example, 
and  spent  lavishly  on  mistresses  and  dancing  jgMs. 
Dinnerswere  sumptuous,  and  dainty  dishes  were  provided, 
as  is  shown  by  the  description  of  the  dinner  given  by 
Asaf  Khan  to  Sir  Thomas  Roe.  Meat  was  a  common 
article  of  food,  but  thecowwas  respected,  and  Am  66 
(Blochmann,  pp.  148-49)  says  that  it  is  held  in  great  rever- 
ence, *  because  by  means  of  this  animal  tillage  is  carried 
on,  the  sustenance  of  life  rendered  possible,  and  the  table 
of  the  inhabitants  is  filled  with  milk  and  butter/  Fresh 
fruits  were  brought  from  Bokhara  and  Samarqand.  and 
ice  was  also  used.  It  is  stated  in  Ain  22  (I,  p.  56)  that 
all  ranks  used  ice  in  summer,  and  the  nobles  used  it* 
throughout  the  year.  The  gcdinary  rate  at  which  it  wa& 
sold  was  ten  dams  a  sir,  which  means  that  it  was  a 
luxury.  The  magnificence  of  the  court  compelled  the 
use  ofcostly  dress  and  iewelleryp  and  Abul  Fazl  inforim 
us  tbatnl,000  complete* suits  of  precious  stuff  were  made 
up  for  His  Mgjesty  eveyy  yejE  Most  of  them  were 

1  Blochmann,  Ain-i-Akbari,  I.  Ain  15,'  pp.  44-45. 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  MUGHAL  INDIA  741 

t 

distributed  among  the  persons  who  paid  a  visit  to  the  court 
The  nobles  did  likewise,  and  we  learn  that  Abul  Fazl  at 
the  end  'of  the  year  gave  away  all  his  clothes  except  his 
trousers  which  were  burnt.  There  were  many  kinds  of 
sports  and  amusements  in  which  the  nobles  took  part. 
Gambling  was  not  prohibited,  and  in  certain  cftses  the 
amount  of  bets  was  limited  by  regulation,  but  it  is  not 
known  how  far  it  was  enforced.  The  houses  were  pala- 
tial^  and  ^umptuously  decorated.  The  fear  p*  *hg  lay 
of  escheat  forbade  economy,  and  those  who  hoarded  money 
spent  it  on  personal  comforts  or  in  giving  large  dowries 
like  Kaja  Bhagwan  Das.  No  officer  or  nobleman  was 
permitted  to  take  his  accumulated  hoard  out  of  the 
country  to  his  home  in  Persia  or  elsewhere.  Thus  the 
incorEe  of  the  aristocracy  was  spent  as  quickly  as  it  was 
acquired. 

The  life  of  the  middle  classes  was  free  from  ostenta- 
tion.   The     lesser    officials    of    the    court 
The  middle     iive(j    according     to    the    standard    which 

blasses.  ,  ,      ,  _  _ 

was  determined  by  the  nature  of  the 
lwork  they  had  to  do.  It  is  impossible  to  ascertain 
their  salaries,  but  this  much  is  clear  that 


stances  were  not  easy  or  prosperous.  The  chroniclers 
who  generally  belonged  to  the  middle  classes  found  life 
hard,  as  is  evidenced  by  *tiieir  observations  regarding 
the  prices  of  food  under  different  dynasties.  As 
Mr.  Moreland  suggests,  the  way  in  which  they  write  about 
this  indicates  that  the  subject  was  vital  to  them.  The 
subordinates  in  the  lower  grades  felt  no  pinck  and 
judging  from  the  fact  that  they  passed  their  days 
merrily  during  the  last  years  of  Aurangzeb's  reign,  when 
there  was  widespread  economic  distress  in  the  country, 


742  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

« 

the  conclusion  may  be  hazarded  that  their  life  was  toler- 
ably comfortable.  The  merchants  concealed  their  wealth 
lest  they  should  be  deprived  of  it  by  the  local  governor 
or  faujdar.  They  lived  highly  frugal  lives,  and  Terry 
noticed  that  it  was  not  safe  for  them  to  appear  as  riqfr 
lest  they  should  be  used  as  flU'd  sponges. Bernier  also 
observed  that  whatever  the  profits  of  trade,  the  commer- 
cial classes  lived  in  a  state  of  '  studied  indigence.  >  There 
were,  however,  merchants  on  the  West  coast,  who,  did 
business  on  a  large  scale,  and  enjoyed  theii*  riches  without 
fear  of  losing  them.  They  maintained  a  higher  standard 
of  living,  and  made  a  greater  use  of  luxuries— a  fact  noted 
by  several  European  travellers. 

The  life  of  the  lower  classes  was  hard  in  compari- 
son with  that  of  the  classes  above  them. 
clThe     lower     Their      clothing      was      scanty;      woollen 
garments  were  not  used  at  all   and  shoes 
were  not  much  in   evidence  in  certain  parts  of  India.    But 
no  scarcity  of  food  except  in  times  o 


and  consequently  no  starvation  under  normal  conditions. 
There  is  no  evidence  that  the  peasantry  in  Akbar's  day 
lived  a  hard  and  pinched  life.  The  state  demand  was 
fixed,  and  the  highest  officers  of  the  Crown  were  actuated 
by  the  most  benevolent  intentions.  Among  the  Hindus 
Safi  pnd  child-marriage  still  prevailed.  Jgw^llflrv  and 
metallic  ornaments  were  worn  both  by  Hindis  and 
Muslims*  Restriction  against  liquor,  oninm  and  othor 
drugs  does  not  seem  to  have  been  rigorously  enforced 
Akbar  was  interested  in  learning,  but  there  wan  no 
scheme  of  popular  education.  A  new  curriculum  waa 
suggested  by  the  emperor,  but  nothing  worth  mention 
was  done. 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  MUGHAL  INDIA  748 

About  the  condition  in  Jahangir's  time  much  infor- 
mation is  obtained  from  *the  Remonstrantie  of  Pelsaert 
.  and  De  Laet's  Description  of  India,  which 
on  TociafSfe.8  contain  the  accounts  of  eye-witnesses.  The 
nobles  were  well  off,  and  their  luxury  was 
fcgyond  description,  as  was  that  of  the  court.  De  Laet  is 
right  in  saying  that  their  one  concern  in  life  was  *  ta 
secure  a  surfeit  of  every  kind  of  pleasure,  a  judgment 
which  may  be  compared  with  Roe's  dictum,  that  they  are 
ndthing  but  voluptuousness  and  wealth  confusedly  inter- 
minglecL  From  Pelsaert's  \ 


three  classes  of  people  whose  status  was  little  removed 
frnm  a1avp1T  These  were  the  workmen,  peons  or  servants* 
and  shopkeepers. 

The  workmen  were  not  paid  adequate  wages.  Their 
services  were  not  voluntary.  They  were  aeiaed  by  force, 
and  made  to  work  in  the  house  of  a  nftfrlp  ftr  nffi/wr  who 
paid  them  what  he  liked.  They  took  only  one  meql__a 
daj,  and  this  consisted  of  Khichri,  i.e.,  rice  mixed  with 
pulse  with  a  little  butter,  and  only  once  a  day.  Their 
houses  were  built  of  mud  with  thatched  roofs,  and  there 
was  scarcely  any  furniture  in  them.  The  number  of 
servants  was  larger,  because  the  wages  were  low.  When 
they  were  attached  to  a  powerful  officer,  they  oppressed 
the  innocent^  and  "  sinned,  on  the  strength  of  their 
master's  greatness. "  Hone'sty  was  rare  among  them, 
and  they  demanded  dasturi  to  supplement  their  insuffi- 
cient wages.  The  shopkeepers  concealed  their  wealth, 
because  informers  "  swarm  like  flies  found  the  governors, 
and  give  false  information."  They  had  to  suff&  much 
loss,  as  they  had  to  supply  goods  to  th?  king  ftnl*  hlP 
h*n  .the  market  rates..  The  Hindus  were 


'  744  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 


r 


clever  businessmen,  but  the  Muslims  scarcely  practised 
any  crafts  except  dyeing  and  weaving. 

The  Hindus  believed  in  the  sanctity  of  the  Ganges. 
and  went  sometimes  500  or  600  hoses  to  have  a  dip  in  the 
sacred  waters.  Child-marriage  was  prevalent,  and  Delia 
Valle  makes  mention  of  the  marriage  of  two  boys,  who 
had  to  be  held  up  by  grown-up  men  on  horseback.1 
Belief  in  astrology  was  common  to  both  Hindus  and 
Muslims.  The  Brahmans  had  much  influence  with  the 
latter,  who  never  undertook  a  journey  without  enquiring 
about  the  auspicious  date  and  hour.  The  Muslims  wor- 
shipped a  number  or  firs  and  Prophets,  and  on  the 
occasion  of  Id,  it  appears,  the  onw  wg*  nnfe  ^or\^f\t  for 
we  are  told,  "  On  that  day  (Id)  every  one  who  is  able, 

sacrifice  a  goat  in  his  house,  and  keep  the  day  as  a 
festival."*  The  hatred  between  the  Shias  and 


Sunnis  was  as  great  as  ever,  and  they  palled  each  other 


Shahjahan's  reign  was  a  peaceful  and  prosperous 
one.  His  magnificent  tastes  afford 
to  the  working  classes,  and  brought  them  good  wages  for 
a  numDer  of  years.  BuLJxiwarda  the  doff*  <**  hfc  rftigp, 
idjtionjof  the  people  became  worse.  The  peasants 
were  badly  treated  by'"  provincial  governors,  and  arts  and 
-crafts  were  in  a  state  of  decline.  The  highways  were 
unsafe  in  certain  parts  of  the  country,  and  Tavernier 
writes  that  whoever  wishes  to  travel  in  India,  whether 
by  carriage  or  palanquin,  ought  to  take  with  him  20  or"30 

armed  men  with  kowc,   arrows  and  muskets.  *  Beggary 

* 

1  Trarefc,  p.  81. 
f  Pelsaert,  p.  74. 
8  Travels,  I,  p.  46. 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  MUGHAL  INDIA  745 

Tvjts  widely  prevalent^,  and  he  says  that  there  were  in 
India  800,000  Muhammadan     arg    gnr*  1 


mendicants-  figures  which  it  is  impossible  to  verify.1 
Like  TerryL  Delia  Valle,  and  others.  Tavernier  praises 
the  Hindus  aa  ^  thrifty  ,  iiohnrj  find  hnnoit  pppplft,  and 
says  :  "  Hindus  are  morally  well.  When  married,  they 
are  rarely  unfaithful  fa  foejr  wives;  adultery  is  rare 
among  them,  and  one  never  hears  unnaturaLjsrimea 


^During  Aurangzeb's  reign  the  condition  of  the  people 
steadily  declined.  The  author  of  the 
de  KhulaRat-ut-Tawarikh  who  wrote  his  his- 
tory in  1690  A.D.  paints  a  rosy  picture 
of  the  condition  of  the  empire,  but  his  observations  are 
in  conflict  with  those  of  European  travellers.  Of  course, 
he  cannot  be  expected  to  criticise  the  government  of 
Aurangzeb  under  which  he  lived.  But  about  certain 
matters  of  trade  he  supplies  valuable  information.  The 
bankers  of  this  country  are  so  hmip^r  he  says,  that  even 
strangers  deposit  lakhs  of  rupees  with  them  without  any 
document  or  witness,  and  the  money^is  immediately  re- 
turngd  on  demand.  The  hundis  whicJi  they  issulTare 
honoured  all  over  the  country,  and  can  be  cashed  any- 
tyhere  after  paying  a  little  discount.  Merchants  deposit 
their  goods  with  them  owing  to  the  insecurity  of  roads, 
and  receive  them  at  their  destination  without  any  injury 
or  damage,  and  this  practice  is  calle^  fttma,  or  in- 


surance. * 


Society  had  greatly  deteriorated    under   Aurangzeb, 
although    the    Khulasat    is  silent  on  the  subject?    The 

1  Ibid.,  p.  892.  •       8  Khulasafc,  Delhi  edition,  p.  26. 


746  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

Mughal  aristocracy  had*  lost  its  moral  stamina,  and  thfere* 
was  no  hope  of  its  turning  oVer  a  new  lease  of  life.  The 
sons  of  the  nobility  were  brought  up  in  thft  ^QTnpanv  of 
women  and  eunnflftfif  and  imbibed  their  dejarradingjices. 
Pederasty,  so  common  among  the  Mughals  of  Central 
Asia,  corrupted  Muslim  flnftjoty,  and  Auranpzeb's  Muhat- 
sibs  could  do  nothing  to  stop_ths  evil.  Both  Hindus  and 
Muslims  believed  in  astrology,  and  worshipped  Saints  and 
Faqirs.  Human  beings  were  sacrificed  to  ensure  the 
success  of  experiments  in  alchemy. 


craf  t  were  still  held  to  be  potent  instruments  of 
evil.  Originality  and  intellectual  vigour  were  unkpown  to 
the  pampered  minions  of  the  court,  who  wasted  money 
like  water  onjaleasure^.  but  did  nothing  for  the  education 
orgnliglrtenment  of  the  people.  Slavery  still  existed,  and 
eunuchs  were  treely^ma3e  and  sold.  The  standard  of 
public  morality  was  not  high,  and  the  lesser  officials 
accepted  bribes  without  shame  or  scruple.  But  from 
this  corruption  we  turn  with  great  relief  to  the  life 
of  the  masses  who  were  free  from  the  vices  which  had 
eaten  into  the  vitals  of  the  Mughal  aristocracy,  at  one 
time  capable  of  producing  men,  who  would  have  made 
their  mark  in  any  age  or  clime  as  statesmen  and 
generals.  The  Hindus  were  lifted  up  by  a  new  moral 
and  religious  fervour,  while  tthe  Muhammadans  gathered 
at  the  tombs  of  saints  and*  offered  worship.  The  Indian 
society  in  North  India  in  1707  wlus  in  the  process  of 
dissolution,  and  its  decrepit  character  was  clearly 
revealed  during  tire  invasions  of  the  Persians  and 
Maralhas. 

We  know  very  little  about  the  economic  condition  of 
the  people  during  the  reigns  of  Babar   and    Humayun. 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  MUGHAL  INDIA  747 

i  > 

Babar  has  given  a  description  of  the  people  of  India  in  his 

Memoirs,  but  it  is  far  from  accurate.    There 

Economic  «on-   js  a  passing  mention  in  Gulbadan  Begam'a 

dition       before  *  &  _      _  .  .,     , 

Akbar.  humayuwnamah  of  the  cheap  prices    that 

prevailed  in  Hindustan,  and  we  are  told 
that  at  Umarkot,  where  Akbar  was  bom,  four  goats  could 
be  had  for  one  rupee.  When  Sher  Shah  became  emperor 
of  Hindustan,  he  abolished  the  old  mediaeval  currency, 
and^issued  a  copper  coin  called  the  dam.  The  dam  varied 
in  weight  between  311  grains  and  322  grains.  He 
abolished  all  the  internal  customs,  and  levied  duties  only 
at  the  'forntier  and  the  place  of  sale  within  the  empire. 
After  Sher  Shah's  death,  great  changes  took  place  in  the 
economic  condition  of  the  people,  and  we  get  a  glimpse 
of  these  in  the  Ain-i-Akbari  of  Abul  Fazl. 

The  dam,  paisa,   or  fulus  was  continued.    It  was  a 
copper  coin  which  weighed  5  tanks  or  1  tola,  8  mashas* 
and  7  surkhs,  and  was  the  40th  part  of  the 
rupee.    A  rupee  (of  silver)  was  11|  mashas 


ces,    Weights     m  weight,   and  was  first  introduced  by  Sher 

and  Measures.        -,,     _        „„          7  ,  .  .. 

Shah.  The  dam  was  the  com  generally 
used  by  the  people,  and  the  revenue  of  the  empire  down 
to  the  days  of  Aurangzeb  was  calculated  in  dams.  The 
wages  were  low.  An  unskilled  labourer  usually  earned 
2  dams  or  ,2\jth  of  a  rupee  §  per  day  whereas  a  highly 
skilled  labourer  (say  a  carpenter)  was  paid  7  dams  or 
about  3  annas  a  day  in  terms  of  modern  money.  These 
low*  wAffpg  pnafrfed  the  workmen  to  Jive,  because  the 
prices  were  very  low. 

Abul  Fazl  has  given  an  exhaustive  list  of  prices* which 
is  too  largje  to  be  reproduced  here.  The  prices  of  some  of 
the  mopt  important  articles  are  given  below  to  enable  the 


748 


HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 


, reader  to  form  an  idea  of  the  cheapness  that  prevailed  in 
Akbar's  time. 


Article. 

Price  per 
man  in 
dams 

Article. 

Price  per  man  in 
dams. 

Wheat 

12 

Wheat-flour 

22 

Barley 

8 

Coarse-flour 

15 

Oram 

164 

Barley-flour 

11      < 

J  war 

10 

Ghee      ... 

105 

Best  rice 

110 

Oil 

80' 

Worst  rice 

20 

Milk       ... 

25 

Mash 

16 

Curd        ..                ...                18 

Moth 

12 

Refined  sugar          ...                  6  per   sir 

Millet 

8 

\ 
White  eugarcandy  ...                5J    „        „ 

Mung 

18 

White  sugar 

128    „    man 

Brown  sugar 

56    „      „ 

The   vecretahl^  anld   vary   ch§al?lvr    *nd    qp     did    the 

living  anirpfllfl.    A    Hindustani    sheep    could  be  had  for 

Rs.  1-8  and  a  cow  in  the  province  of  Delhi  for  Rs.  10, 
Mutton  was  sold  at  65  dams  per  man. 

Akbar's  man  was  equal  to  55&  pounds  or  nearly 
two-thirds  of  the  present  man  of  82  pounds.  The  modern 
sir  is  a  little  more  than  2  pounds  in  weight,  whereas  t  the 
sir  of  Akbar  was  slightly  more  than  two-thirds  of 
2  pounds.  The  value  of  the  rupee  in  English  money  was 
generally  2s.  3d. 

From  these  prices  it  is  clear  that  in  the  capital  and 
its  neighbourhood,  a  rupee  could  purchase  ten  times  more 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  MUGHAL  INDIA  749* 

of  grain  than  it  does  at  the    present  day  in  Northern 
India. 

Mr.  Mflreland  and  Dr.  Vincent  Smith  both  admit  that 
the  ordinary  labourer  in  Akbar's  day  had  more  to  eat 
than  he  has  now,  and  was  happier  thap  hia  pnmp^rint 
today.  In  our  tinies,  while  the  price  of  grain  has  con- 
siderably gone  up»  ghee  and  milk  have  become  so  scarce 
as  to  be  entirely  beyond  the  means  of  ordinary  people. 

There  was  not  much  alteration  in  the  currency  after 
Akbar's  death.  The  rupee  contained  175  grains  of  silver 
and  was  equal  to  2s.  6d.  or  2s.  3d.  in  English  money.  The 
rupee  was  worth  40  dams  up  to  1616,  and  from  1627  on- 
wards its  value  was  80  dams  or  a  little  more  or  less. 
There  were  rupees  of  several  denominations  and  weights, 
but  the  chalanl  (current)  was  accepted  as  the  standard 
coin.  The  rupees  were  of  pure  metal— a  fact  noted  by 
all  foreign  travellers.  The  man  was  still  equal  to  40  sirs, 
but  the  sirs  differed.  Akbar's  sir  weighed  30  dams, 
Jahangir's  36  and  Shahjahan's  40. 

Famines  were  more  frequent  than    they    are    now. 
and    caused    much     suffering     to     the     population.     A 
famine  broke  out  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Famines.          Agra   and    Biyana    in    1555-56,    of    which 
*  Badaoni  has  given  an  account.    "  Men  ate 

their  own  kind,"  writes  the  .historian,  "  and  the  appear- 
ance of  the  famished  sufferers*  was  so  hideous  that  one 
could  scarcely  look  upon  them.  The  whole  country  was  a. 
desert."  In  1578-74  a  serious  famine  occurred  in  Gujarat, 
and  was  followed  by  a  pestilence,  prices  rose  high^  and 
the  people  suffered  qrievfljislv.  There  was  a  famine  again 
which  lasted  for  four  years  from  1595  till  1598.  "  Men  ate 
their  own  kind,  and  streets  were  blocked  up  with  dead 


750  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

.foodies  and  no  assistance  9<>uld  be  rendered  for  the 
removal. "  Epidemics  and  floods  added  to  the  misery  of 
the  population.  AkbaT^wasJ^g  fi^t  r^]pr  tn  ata^  relief 
measures  in  famine-stricken  areas,  and  an  officer  was 
appointed  by  him  for  this  purpose.  But  the  succour 
afforded  by  the  state  was  hardly  commensurate  with  the 
widespread  misery  that  prevailed  in  the  country. 

No  serious  famine  is  recorded  in  Jahangir's  reign, 
although  there  is  mention  of  deficiency  ot  ram  at  times. 
A  terrible  epidemic  called  waba_  (bubonic  plague)  tfroke 
-out  in  Northern  India  in  1616,  and  swept  away  large 
numbers  of  men.  In  1630,  during  the  reign  of  Shahjahan, 
a  terrible  famine  broke  out  in  the  central  parts  of  India. 
An  account  of  this  famine  and  the  relief  measures  of 
Shahjahan,  has  been  given  in  a  previous  chapter.  The 
effect  of  the  famine  on  trade  was  disastrous.  Indigo,  the 
principal  article  of  export,  became  scarce,  and  arrange- 
ments were  made  to  buy  it  in  Agra  instead  of  Ahmadabad. 
The  price  of  cotton  cloth  went  up,  and  that  of  gold  and 
other  imports  fell.  The  yield  of  indigo  in  Gujarat  was 
considerably  reduced,  and  all  business  came  to  a  stand- 
still. Roads  were  infested  with  robbers,  and  it  was 
difficult  to  send  goods  from  one  place  to  another. 

From  1635  to  1643  famine  raged  in  different  parts 
of  India  intermittently,  aqd  scarcity  was  felt  by  the 
people.  But  in  1645-46  there  was  &n  intense  far^ine  on 
the  southern  section  nf  the  fffln)Tflflpflpl  Cnaat.  The 
distress  was  so  severe  that  the  people  offered  themselves 
as  slftves  to  any  one  who  gave  them  food  to  eat.  The 
rains  foiled  again  in  1646  and  great  misery  prevailed  on 
the  Madras  coast*  In  1650  the  Surat  factors  reported 
-deficiency  of  rain  in  all  parts  of  India  and  the  consequent 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN^MUGHAL  INDIA         751 

rise  in  prices.  Again  in*  1658  the  prices  of  provision*, 
-doubled  in  Surat,  and  large  numbers  of  men  were  swept 
away  by  famine  and  disease.  Distress  in  Sindh  was  acute, 
ancl  grain  was  sent  by  the  Surat  factors  to  Lahori  Bandar 
to  be  distributed  among  the  famished  weavers  and  arti- 
sans. A  year  later  scarcity  was  experienced  'in  the 
Deccan  again,  and  in  Gujarat  prices  rose  very  high  in 
1660,  while  Sindh  was  still  in  the  throes  of  a  dire  famine. 
Writing  of  the  year  1659  Khafi  Khan  says  that  want  of 
rain  combined  with  war  and  movements  of  armies  made 
grain  very  dear,  and  many  districts  became  entirely  deso- 
late. *No  serious  famine  like  that  of  1630-31  broke  out 
during  Aurangzeb's  reign,  but  his  perpetual  wars  caused 
much  distress,  and  resulted  in  the  bankruptcy  of  his 
government  and  the  impoverishment  of  the  people. 
Cultivation  was  neglected  ;  industries  died  out,  and  thou- 
'Sands  of  men  were  reduced  to  a  state  of  destitution 
•and  misery. 

The    state    epgonraged    prodqction   in    its  karkhanas. 

where  valuable  kinds  of  stuff  were  prepared.    Abul  Fazl 

Trade  Manu-     writes  that  His  Majesty  paid  much  attention 

iacture'       and      to     various     kinds    of     Stuffs,    ftnd_frmp]flYfflj 

Agriculture.  skilful  masters  and  workmen  to  teach  people 
an  improved  system  of  manufacture.  The  imperial  work- 
shops  at  Lahore.  Agra.  Fatehpur.  and  Ahmadabad  turped 
out  exOLftllAfl*-  w<n*k-  The  result  of  this  was  improvement 
in  ttaste  and  the  high  quality  of  production.  Cloth 
was  also  manufactured  privately,  as  for  instance,^  shawls 
at^  Lahore,  carpets  at  Fatehnnr  Sikrj,  and  cottoa  cloth 
in  Gujarat  and  Burhanpur,  and  Dacca  was  famous  for 
fabrics  India  imported  articles  of  luxury 


from  foreign  countries  such  as  porcelain  of  high  quality 


752  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

from  China.  The^usftft]mg|^ntifiTnTTni«n  nnfr  hurh-  and  this- 
afforded  a  great  encouragement  to  foreign  traders.  But 
merchants  were  forbidden  to  carry  bullioft  aiit  of  the 
country.  The  principal  exports  of  India  were  indigo  and 
wool.  Akbar  did  much  to  encourage  cultivation,  and 
under  the  direction  of  Raja  Todarmal  much  waste  land 
was  reclaimed.  Tobacco  was  introduced  either  late  in 
1604  or  early  in  1605.  Akbar  himself  made  an  experiment 
in  smoking  tobacco  against  the  advice  of  his  physicjan, 
but  h£Jiever  adopted,  it.  After  this  tobacco  began  to  be 
cultivated  and  sold  in  India,  and  more  and  more  people 
gradually  took  to-k. 

The  karkhanas,  of  which  mention  has  been  made 
before,  continued  to  function  down  to  the  days  of  Aurang- 
zeb.  In  the  17th  centurv^Bernier  saw  many  of  them 
in  which  artisans  of  all  kinds  did  work  for  the  state. 
The  governors  of  provinces,  following  the  example 
of  the  court,  patronised  local  products,  as  they  had  to 
supply  the  emperor  with  the  choicest  articles  produced 
in  their  charges.  But  at  the  capital,  says  Berhier,  the 
artisans  and  manufacturers  were  not  treated  well.  The 
Amirs,  like  the  lesser  officials  today,  wanted  everything 
at  a  cheap  rate,  and  seldom  rewarded 
Under  such  circumstances  th*  q**1'0*  hafi 


to  produce  the  best  thing  he  could.  The  only  artists  who 
attained  to  eminence  in  their  craft  were  those,  who  were 
in  the  pay  of  the  emperor  or  some  wealthy  nobleman. 
/  The  bankruptcy  and  decline  of  the  administration. 
during  %Aurangzeb's  reign,  spelled  the  ruin  of  arts  and 
crafts,  and  agriculture  :  The  peasant's  prosperity  in  India 
is  the  foundation  of  the  prosperity  of  the  other  classes 
of  the  population,  but  the  peasant  suffered  most  from  the 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  yUGHAL  INDIA         758 

chronic  wars  and  military  *  marches,  which  did  a  great  • 
injury  to  his  crops.  Public  peace  and  security  of  high- 
ways are  necessary  for  trade,  but  these  were  disturbed 
by  wars  and  rebellions.  In  thp  Dpr^r.  the  denmaaiqn 
in  trade  was  most  severe.  Village  industries  died  out 
altogether,  and  the  Industrial  classes  suffered  miserably. 
Bemier  dwells  at  length  upon  fche  decline  of  arts  and 
crafts  and  the  unsettled  condition  of  the  country,' 
which  was  inimical  to  all  trade  and  commerce.  Prof. 
J.  N.  Sarkar  rightly  observes  :  "Thus  ensued  a  great 
economic  impoverishment  of  India  —not  only  a  decrease 
of  the  •'  National  stock,'  but  also  a  rapid  lowering  of 
mechanical  skill  and  standard  of  civilisation,  a  dis- 
appearance of  art  and  culture  over  wide  tracts  of  the 
country.  "  ' 

The    Mughals    were  great    builders!      The  buildings 
which  they  erected  in  all  parts  of  the  country  bear  testi- 
mony   to  .their    magnificent     architectural 
ar"     tastes.     Fergusson's  theory  of  the  foreign 


origin  of  the  Mughal  atvle  of  architecture 
has  been  nrit.imgeri  bv  Havell  who  maintains  that  India 
had  connection  with  foreign  countrtep  ffW"  tim* 
rifllT  find  that  TnHian  pnlrnra  had  a 


absorbing  foreign  elements.  The  art  and  culture  of  these 
countries  had  its  influence  upon.the  art  of  India,  but  it  can- 
not be  said  that  the  inspiration  of  Indian  master-builders 
was  wholly  foreign.  This  fusion  of  cultures  was  greatly 
helpe'd  by  the  Mughal  emperors  whg  wfire  more  Indian 
than  foreign.  We  cannot,  however,  fix  upon  any  Wyle 
and  say,  '  this  is  Mughal  style.'  In  fact,  as  Sir  John 

1    History  of  Aurangzeb,  V,«p-  445. 
P.  48      * 


764  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

t 

Marshall  says,  in  a  country- so  vast  and  diversified  as 
India,  it  cannot  be  said  that  architecture  ever  conformed 
to  a  single  universal  type.  Much  depended  upon  the 
personal  tastes  of  the  emperors.  After  Babar^  Persian^ 
influence  on  Indian  art  increased  and  continued  to  the 
end  of  Akbar's  reign.  Humavun  liked  the  Persian  style* 
and  his  son  Akbar  was  influenced  by  Persian  ideals. 
although  his  genius  adapted  them  to  the  Indian  craft 
tradition.  In  the  hands  of  Akbar's  successors,  Indian 
architecture  and  painting  became  essentially  Indian  in 
character,  and  in  the  exquisite  creations  of  their  reigns 
we  find  nothing  that  is  distinctly  Persian.  The  Mughal 
style,  which  was  an  amalgam  of  many  influences,  was  more 
sumptuous  and  decorative  than  the  style  that  preceded 
it,  and  its  delicacy  and  ornamentation  furnish  a  striking 
contrast  to  the  massiveness  and  simplicity  of  the  art  of 
pre-Mughal  days. 

Babar  did  not  feel  satisfied  with  the  buildings  he 
found  at  Delhi  and  Agra,  though  he  admired  the  buildings 
he  saw  at  Gwalior.  He  had  a  poor  opinion  of  Indian 
art  and  skill,  and  imported  pnnila  nf  Sjopn.  the  famous 
architect  fop™  r,ftnflfontinnple  to  construct  his  buildings. 
In  his  Memoirs  he  writes  :  "  In  Agra  alone,  and  of  the 
stone-cutters  belonging  to  that  place  only,  I  every  day 
employed  on  my  palaces  680  persons  ;  and  in  Agra,  Sikri, 
Biana,  Dholpur,  Gwalior,  and  KoH,  there  were  every  day 
employed  on  my  works  1,491  stone-cutters."  Most  of 
Babar's  buildings  have  perished,  but  two  have  survived 
to  this  day.  These  are  the  large  mosque  in  the  Kabul 
Bagh  at  Panipat  and  the  Jam-i-Masjid  at  Sambhal, 
Humayun's  life  was  spent  in  great  anxiety  and  trouble, 
and  he  found  little  time  to  indulge  his  artistic  fpncy.  A 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  MUGHAL  INDIA  755 

"> 

mosque  of  his  time  is  still*  seen  at  Fatehabad  in  the.Qisar 
distnct  in  the  Punjab,  and  is  decorated  in  the  Persian 
style  with  enamelled  tiles.  The  Surs  who  snatched  power 
from  Humayun's  feeble  hands,  were  great  hnildqpL  Be- 
sides the  mighty  forts  in  the  Punjab,  Rohtas,  and  Mankot, 
they  have  left  us  some  of  the  finest  specimens  of  mediae- 
val architecture.  The  two  most  remarkable  buildings 
of  Sher  Shah's  time  are  the  mosque  in  the  Qila  Kohna 
or  Parana  Qila  near  Delhi  and  the  tomb  of  the  mighty 
monarch  at  Sasaram.  The  mosque  reflects  Persian  in- 
fluence in  its  recessed  portal,  small  minarets  round  the 
dome,  and  in  its  fine  masonry,  though  in  other  respects  it 
is  Indian  The  tomb  is  '"  one  of  the  best  designed  and 
most  beautiful  buildings  in  India  unequalled  among  the 
earlier  buildings  in  the  northern  provinces  for  grandeur 
and  dignity  ..."  It  is  situated  on  a  terrace  30  feet 
high  and  about  3,000  square  in  the  middle  of  a  tank, 
and  produces  a  picturesque  impression. 

&kbar  took  a  keen  interest  in  buildings,  and  accord- 
ing to  Abul  Fazl  '  he  was  a  great  friend  of  good  order 
and  propriety  in  business,'  and  kept  control  over  the 
price  of  building  materials,  the  wages  of  craftsmen,  and 
collected  data  for  framing  proper  estimates.  His  spirit 
of  tolerance  guided  all  his  actions  and  during  his  reign 
Persian  and  Hindu  influences  had  their  full  play.  The 
Hindu  style  was  favoured  as  is  shown  by  his  palace  in  the 
Agra^fort  commonly  called  the  Jahangiri  Mahal.  The 
earliest  building  of  Akbar's  reign  is  rfumayun's  tomb 
which  was  completed  in  1565.  It  is  more  Persian*than 
Indian  in  design,  and  its  principal  novelty  consists  in  its 
four  towers  at  the  four  angles  of  the  main  building  and 
the  narrow-necked  dome— features  which  reached  their 


756  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

4 

•high  watermark  during  Shahjaiian's  reign:  It  is  different 
from  the  Persian  style  in  that  it  has  no  coloured 
tiles,  and  marble  has  been  freely  used  in  it.  The  art  of 
stone  .inlay  in  this  building  indicates  a  type  of  decoration, 
which  found  its  fullest  development  in  the  reign  of 
Shahjahan* 

The  most  important  buildings  of  Akbar's  reign  are 
his  palaces  at  Fatehpur  Sikri.  In  1569,  on  his  return 
from  Ranthambhor,  the  emperor  laid  the  foundations 
of  his  new  city  on  the  summit  of  a  hill  near  Sikri  in 
honour  of  Shaikh  Salim  Chishti.  Numerous  buildings  were 
constructed  in  the  new  city  during  the  years  1569—71. 
The  influence  of  the  Hindu  art,  is  clearly  reflected  in  these 
buildings,  and  there  is  ample  internal  evidence  of  the 
part  played  by  Hindu  master-builders  in  their  construc- 
tion. The  most  impressive  buildings  of  Fatehpur  Sikri 
are  the  Jam-i-Masjid  and  the  Buland  Darwaza,  the  latter 
being  one  of  the  most  perfect  architectural  achievements 
in  the  whole  of  India.  Its  total  height  from  the  road 
is  176  feet,  and  it  is  still  the  highest  gateway  in  India, 
and  one  pf  the  hifflffigt  in  the  world.  It  was  constructed 
in  1602  to  commemorate  the  emperor's  conquests  in  the 
Beecan.  The  mosque  has  rightly  been  described  as  '  the 
glory  of  Fatehpur/  scarcely  surpassed  by  any  in  India. 
It  is,  as  an  inscription  sstys,  'a  duplicate  of  the  Holy 
Place/  but  except  in  its  general  ^design  it  is  'perfectly 
original/  It  was  built  in  1571,  and  it  was  in  the  quad* 
ranffle  facing  this* mosque  that  the  emperor  read  the 
ftmiiis  khutba  to  which  allusion  has  been  made  before. 
The  *tb«r  interesting  buildings  of  Fatehpur  ar€L  BirtaaTs 
j^jfifejtfaa  Sonhla  Makaa  or  the  Jiouae  af  the  Princess  of 
Amber,  the  palace  of  the  Turkish  Sultana,  the  Khwrnbgah. 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  MUGHAL  INDIA         757 
t  • 

the  Diwan-i-Khas  with .  its  beautiful  pillar  and  four; 
galleries,  which  has  been  identified  by  some  writers  •  witli 
the  historic  Ibadat  KhanaJi.  They  are  small  in  size,  but 
it  is  impossible  to  conceive  anything  so  picturesque  in 
outline  or  any  building  carved  or  ornamented  to  such  an 
extent  with  the  smallest  approach  to  being  overdone. 
Equally  interesting  are  the  buildings  used  for  offices  and 
courts,  though  from  the  architectural  point  of  view,  they 
are  inferior  to  the  buildings  already  described.  Every- 
thing considered,  Fatehpur  is.  to  use  Dr.  Vincent  Smith *s> 
phrase,  a  romance  in  stone,  inconceivable  and  impossible 
at  any  other  time  or  in  any  other  circumstances.  Shaikh 
Salim  Chishti's  tomb  is  one  of  the  most  elegant  shrines  in 
India. 

But  the  most  characteristic  of  Akbar's  buildings  is 
the  tomb  at  Sikandara,  which  is  unique  among  the 
sepulchres  of  Asia.  Its  construction  was  begun  by  the 
emperor  himself,  but  it  was  completed  by  Jahangir,  who- 
says  in  his  Memoirs  that  in  1608  he  saw  the  works  in 
progress,  and  was  so  dissatisfied  that  he  caused  them  to 
be  demolished  and  reconstructed  at  a  cost  of  15  lakhs  of 
rupees.  This  seems  to  be  a  modest  estimate  far  short  of 
the  actual  amount  of  expenditure.  The  tomb  is  built 
after  the  model  of  Buddhist  Vihars  ;  the  five  square 
terraces  emerging  from  thje§  ground,  rise  one  upon  the 
other,  diminishing  as  they  ascend  upwards.  Originally  a 
marble  dome  with  a  golden  ceiling  was  intended  to  crown 
thfc  uppermost  storey,  and  if  this  had  b§en  done,  the  tomb 
of  the  greatest  Muslim  emperor  of  Hindustan  would  have 
ranked  among  the  greatest  mausoleums  of  the  work£  second 
only  to  the  Taj.  But  even  without  the  dome  it  is  a  monu- 
ment worthy  of  the  man  whose  remains  are  enshrined  in 


758  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

c 

it.  A  close  study  of  Akbar's  buildings  justifies  Abul 
Fazl's  observation  that  "  His  Majesty  plans  splendid  edifices 
and  dresses  the  work  of  his  mind  and  heart  in  the  garments 
of  stone  and  clay/1  """  "" 

Akbar  adorned  his  capital  Agra  by  erecting  a  number 
of  buildings.  The  foundations  of  the  Agra  Fort  were  laid 
in  1564  and  it  was  completed  in  eight  years.  Inside  the  fort 
are  the  Diwan-i-flpi  the  Diwan-i-Khas.  and  the  palace 
commonly  called  the  Jahangiri  Mahal. 

Jahangir's  tastes  were  different  from  those  of  his 
father.  He  showed  a  greater  love  for  painting  than  for 
architecture,  and  did  not  care  even  to  complete  the  tomb 
of  his  father  by  giving  it  a  donde.  But  the  gifted  empress, 
Nurjahan,  made  up  to  some  extent  the  neglect  on  her 
husband's  part.  She  erected  a  noble  tomb  known  as  the 
Itmaduddo w lah  in  the  memory  of  her  father,  which  was 
finished  towards  the  end  of  Jahangir's  reign.  It  is 
wholly  built  of  marble  and  possesses  rare  beauty  in  spite 
of  its  unsatisfactory  architectural  design.  In  one  respect, 
however,  it  is  unique.  It  is  one  of  the  earliest  buildings 
in  which  the  pietra  dura  is  employed.  The  art  of  '  inlay  ' 
and  '  overlay  '  I3~"found  in  the  buildings  of  Akbar's  times 
as  in  Chishti's  tomb  at  Fatehpur,  but  was  superseded 
by  the  introduction  of  the  metro,  dura^  that  is  to  say,  in-" 
laying  of  precious  stones  of  Different  colour  in  a  most 
delicate  manner.  Some  write'rs  say  that  it  was  introduced 
in  India  by  the  Florentines,  but  there  is  no  evidence  To 


Another  important  building  is  Jahangir's  tomb  on 
the  opposite  bank  of  the  Ravi,  three  miles  north-west  of 
Lahore,  built  by  Nurjahan.  jrftfrftngfr,  who  was  a  lover 
pf  nature,  had  willed  that  his  tomb  should  be  erected  in 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  MUGHAL  INDIA         759 


.  t 


the  open  air  ^  *****  the  rain  and  dew  of  heaven 
might  fall  on  it,  but  Shahjahan  built  a  mausoleum  at 
a  cost  of  ten  lakhs  of  rupees,  which  is  one  of  the 
finest  buildings  in  Lahore.  The  tombs  of  Jahangir, 
Nurjahan.  and  Asaf  Khap  suffered  mucn  damage  at  the 
hands  of  the  Sikhs.  The  marble  was  removed  by  Ranjit 
Singh  who  used  it  in  his  own  buildings  (see  Shahjahan's 
reign). 

The  most  magnificent  builder  among  the  Mnghala  was 
Shahjahan  whose  buildings  have  been  described  before. 
He  carried  the  decorative  architecture  to  perfection,  and 
made  •  an  extensive  use  of  marble  and  the  pietra  dura 
which  characterised  the  buildings  of  Nurjahan.  The  arts 
of  the  jeweller  and  painter  were  successfully  blended  into 
unity. 

The  chief  buildings  of  Shahjahan's  time  are  the 
Diwan-i-flm^and  J)iwan-i-Khas  in  the  fort  of  Delhi,  the 
Jam-i-Masjid,  the  Moti  Masjid,  the  Taj I ,  and  a  number 
of  minor  buildings  in  various  parts  of  the  empire.  The 
palace  of  Delhi  is  the  most  magnificent  in  the  East  or 
perhaps  in  the  world.  The  Diwan-i-Khas  is  more  highly 
ornamented  than  any  building  of  Shahjahan,  and 
nothing  can  exceed  the  beauty  of  the  inlay  of  precious 
'stones  with  which  it  is  adorned  or  the  general  poetry  of 
the  design.  Rightly  was  it^  regarded  by  Shahjahan  as  a 
^paradise  on  earth. '  Shahjahan's  mosques  represent  two 
different  types^  The  beauty  of  the  Moti  Maaiid  or  pearl 
mcteque  lies  in  its  nurity  and  simplicity.  It  has  none  of 
the  magnificence  or  rich  ornamentation  usually  associated 
with  the  gorgeous  buildings  of  Shahjahan.  Nevertheless 
.the  perfection  of  proportions  tad  the  harmony  of  con- 
structive designs  make  it  one  of  the  purest  and  most 


760  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

elegant  buildings  of  its  class  to  be  found  anywhere.  The 
tlam-j-Masjid  is  more  impressive  and  pleasing  than  the 
Moti  Masjid.  It  was  designed  '  to  attract  the  eye  of  the 
faithful  from  afar  and  proclaim  the  glory  of  Islam.'  This 
is  true.  But  the  interior  of  the  Delhi  mosque  unlike  the 
interior  gf  the  pearl  mosque,  is  austere  and  simple.  Its- 
designers  probably  intended  it  to  be  so  '  lest  the  fineness  of 
art  should  disturb  the  people  assembled  to  pray.' 

The  most  important  building  of  Shahjahan's  time  is 
the  Taj,  the  mausoleum  which  he  erected  to  the  memory  of 
His  dear  wife,  Arjumand  Banu.    The  Begum  died  in  1630, 
and  the  following  year  the  construction  was  commenced. 
Eminent  artists  were  invited  from  Persia,  Arabia,   Turkey, 
and  the  various  parts  of  the  empire  to  assist  in  the  execu- 
tion  of  the  plan.    Numerous  plans  were  submitted,  ideas 
suggested,  and  criticised,  and  after  a  pretty    long   dis- 
cussion among  experts,  there  emerged  a  plan  which  was 
finally  embodied  in  marble.    At  first  a  model  in  wood  was 
prepared,  which  was  followed  by  architects.    The  master- 
architect  under  whose  guidance  the  work  was  done  was 
Ustgd  IsS.   who  was  paid  a  salary  of  Rs.  1,000  per  month. 
On  the  authority  of  a  statement  made  by  Father  Manrique 
of  Spain  who  visited  Agra  in  1641,  it  6as  been  suggested 
that  the   designer   of   the   Taj   was^a  certain   Venetian 
It  is  quite  possible   that   Shahjahan 


who  was  anxious  to  utilise  the  services  of  the  best  archi- 
tects he  could  find  might  have  given  the  Italian  artist  also 
an  opportunity  to  make  his  suggestions,  just  as  he  had 
probably  utilised  the  services  of  Austin  de  Bordeaux.  a 
French  goldsmith,  in  preparing  the  peacpck  forone  and 
the  saver  domes  of  the  Taj.  Bat  the  view  that  the  design- 
er of  the  Taj  was  a  foreigner  ia  unacceptable.  Father 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  MUGHAL  INDIA  761 

»  • 

Manrique's  information  canqot  have  been  obtained  direct*. 

ly  from  Veroneo,  who  had  died  at  Lahore  on  the  2nd  of 
August,  1640,  before  the  arrival  of  the  monkish  traveller 
(24th  December,  1640— January,  1641).  No  other  European 
writer  makes  mention  of  any  foreigner  being  the  designer 
of  the  Taj.  Peter  Mundy  who  knew  Veroneo  and  saw 
him  at  Agra  says  nothing  about  his  taking  part  in  the 
building.  Tavernier  who  visited  India,  while  the  Taj  was 
being  built,  makes  no  mention  of  any  foreign  designer, 
nor  does  Bernier  write  a  word  to  suggest  that  the  design 
was  originally  made  by  an  Italian.  They  would  have 
surely* given  credit  to  a  European,  if  the  Taj  had  been 
designed  by  a  European.  Besides  these  another  French- 
man Thevenot  who  visited  the  Taj  in  1666  writes  :  "  This 
superb  monument  is  sufficient  to  show  that  the  Indians 
are  not  ignorant  of  architecture,  and  though  the  style 
may  appear  curious  to  Europeans,  it  is  good  taste  and 
one  can  only  say  that  it  is  very  fine." 

No  Indian  historian  has  made  the  slightest  allusion 
to  an  Italian  having  assisted  in  the  preparation  of  the 
plan.  The  Pad^hn^^^n^  r£ — Abdul — M«m44 — Lahori 
says : 

<k  It  may  be  observed  that  bands  of  sculptors, 
lapidaries,  inlayers  and  fresco-makers  came  from  the 
different  parts  of  His* 'Majesty's  dominions.  The 
experts  of  each  «t  together  with  their  assistants 
.busied  themselves  in  the  task."1 

The  internal  evidence  of  the  building  itself  disproves. 
e  theory  of  foreign  origin.    The    unity  of   the  ttesign, 


1    Padshahnamah,  Vol,  II,  p.  328. 


762  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

the  artistic  synthesis  of  execution,  the  unquestionably 
Asiatic  style,  and  the  existence  of  like  decorations  in  the 
tombs  of  Humayun  and  Itmad-ud-dowlah  all  go  to 
prove  that  there  was  little  or  no  European  influence. 
In  fact  there  is  more  of  Persian  influence  than  European. 
The  mosaic  work  in  the  Taj  was  executed  largely  by 
Indian  craftsmen  under  the  superintendence  of  Ustad  IsS 
and  his  son  Mjihammad  Sharif.  Havell  observed  in  this 
connection,  that  there  is  no  evidence  worthy  of  considera- 
tion to  support  the  common  Anglo-Indian  belief  tfnat 
Veroneo  designed  the  Taj  or  superintended  the  pietra 
dura,  which  is  entirely  of  the  Persian  school.  The  total 
cost  of  the  building  is  estimated  at  three  crores.  It  was 
-completed  in  22  years. l 

The  emperor  set  apart  landed  property  yielding  an 
income  of  one  lakh  a  year  for  the  maintenance  of  the  mau- 
soleum. The  endowment  consisted  of  30  villages,  and 
the  income  from  these  was  supplemented  by  an  equal 
amount  of  receipts  from  the  rents  of  shops,  bazars,  and 
inns. 

The  Taj  still  remains  the  finest  monument  of  conjugal 
love  and  fidelity  in  the  world.    No  one    who    has    not 


1  As  to  the  cost  of  the  monument  Abdul  Hamid  Lahori  writes  (II, 
p.  830)  - — u  The  cost  of  building  the 'several  edifices  which  are  detailed 
above,  and  which  were  completed  in  nearly  12  years  under  the  super- 
vision of  Makramat  Khan  and  Mir  Abdul  Kafom,  amounted  to  50  lakhs 
of  rupees." 

This  probably  refeis  to  the  central  dome.  The  time  which  the  edifice 
took  for  its  completion  is  variously  recorded.  The  inscription  on  the 
entrance  gate  is  dated  1057  A.  H.  (1647  A.  D.)  which  gives  a  period  of 
17  years,  but  the  work  seems  to  have  continued  for  two  or  three 
years  more.  Tavernier  who  was  in  India  in  1658  says  that  the  building 
was  completed  in  22  years  and  his  statement  seems  to  be  correct.  Travels 
in  India,  Pt,  II,  Book  I,  p.  50.  * 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  MUGHAL  INDIA         768 

visited  it    can  have  any  idea  of  its  superb  beauty  and 
•enduring  charm. l 

With* Shah jahan's  death,  art  declined  for  his  successor 
Aprangzeb  was  a  Puritan,  who  had  neither  the  will  nor 
the  money  to  patronise  art.  The  only  notable  buildings 
reared  by  his  piety  are  the  little  marble  mosqu§  in  the 
fortj)f  JDelhi  for  his  private  use,  the  mosque  in  Benares 
-on  the  ruins  of  the  'Vishwanath  temple  (1669),  and  the 
Badshahi  mosque  in  Lahore  (1674),  which  is  regarded 
a's  the  latest  specimen  of  the  Mughal  style  of  archi- 
tecture. 

The  Sultans  of  Bijapur  and  Golkunda  were  also  men 
of  fine  tastes.  The  famous  buildings  at  Bijapur  are  the 
Jam-i-MasJid  of  Ali  Adil  Shah  I  (1557—79),  the  tomb  of 
Adil  Shah  II,  and  the  royal  palaces  such  as  the 
Gagan  Mahal  and  Asar  Mahal  in  which  wood  is  used. 
The  Satmanzila  or  a  seven-storeyed  building  in  the 
city  and  a  little  gateway  called  the  Mithari  Mahal, 
which  is  a  mixture  of  Hindu  and  Muhammadan  styles, 
are  most  elegant  and  richly  carved  with  ornament. 
At  Golkunda  the  tomb  of  Quli  Qutb  Shah  erected  in 

\    Shahjahan  himself  described  the   Taj   in   verse  quoted   by  Abdul 
liamid  Lahori.     A  few  lines  may  be  reproduced  here  : 
"  Should  guilty  seek  asylum  here. 
Like  one  pardoned,  he  becomes  free  from  sin. 
Should  a  sinner  make  hfs.way  to  this  mansion, 
All  his  past  sins  are  sure  to  be  washed  away, 
/f~The  sight  of  this  mansion  creates  sorrowing  sighs 
//'  £nd  makea  8un  and  moon  shed  tears  from  their  eyes. 
•         j\  In  this  world  this  edifice  has  been  made 

/   To  display  thereby  the  creator's  glory.* 
Sir  Edwin  Arnold  echoes  Shahjahan's  praise  : 
44  Not  architecture  !  as  all  others  are, 
But  the  proud  passion  of  an  emperor's  love, 
Wrought  into  living  stone,  which  gleams  and  soars 
Watn  body  of  beauty  shrining  soul  and  thought" 


764  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

1625  is  one  of  the  largest  and  finest   buildings  in    ftie 
'  Deccan. 

Painting  was    not  unknown    to   the  Hindus,  but  it 

found  no  encouragement    at    the    hands    of    the  Muslim. 

rulers  of  pre-Mughal  days.    We  find  Sultan 

Painting. 

Firuz  Tughluq  in  the  14th  century  pro- 
hibiting painting  of  portraits  and  wall-decorations  in  hia 
palace.  The  art  of  painting  owes  its  revival  in  India  to* 
the  Mughals.  The  ancestors  of  the  Mughals  were  lovers 
of  art.  Shahrukh  Mirza,  son  of  Timur, 


and  Husain  Baiqra  of  Herat  were  great  patrons  of  the 
artjpf  painting.  At  the  court  of  the  last-named  prince 
flourished  Bihzad.  thejfephflfl  nf  thg  F,ggf  ,  in  whom  the 
Persian  and  Chinese  arts  were  so  exquisitely  blended. 
Babar  inherited  the  artistic  tastes  of  his  forefathers. 
He  was  a  great  lover  of  beauty  and  art,  and  found  the 
keenest  delight  in  flowers,  running  streams,  and  bubbling 
springs  Humayun  developed  a  taste  for  painting  during 
his  exile  in  Persia,  and  on  his  return  to  India,  he  brought 
with  him  Mir  Saiyyid  Ali  Tabrizi  and  Khwaiah  Abdua 
Sagaad,  two  master-painters  of  the  neo-Persian  school 
of  painting,  to  prepare  for  him  a  fully  illustrated  copy 
of  the  Daat&n-i-Amir  Hamzah.  It  is  said  the  emperor 
and  his  little  son  Akbar  took  lessons  in  drawing,  and 
greatly  interested  themselves  ui  painting.  But  Humayun's 
early  death  did  not  permit  of  any  great  work  of  art  being 
planned.  This  glory  was  left  to  his7  son  Akbar  who  did 
much  to  encourage  the  fine  arts.  From  his  early  youth  the 

emperor  had  a  great  liking  for  painting.    Abul  Fazl  says  i 

i 

"He  (Akbar)  givefe  it  every  encouragement,  as  he 
looks  upon  it  as  a  means  both  of  study  and  amusement. 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  MUGHAL  INDIA          765 

• 

Hence  the  art  flourishes,  and  many  painters  have, 
obtained  great  reputation.  The  works  of  all  painters 
are  wteekly  laid  before  His  Majesty  by  the  Daroghas 
and  the  clerks  ;  he  then  confers  rewards  according  to 
excellence  of  workmanship,  or  increases  the  monthly 
salaries.  Much  progress  was  made  in  the  commodities 
required  by  painters,  and  the  correct  prices  of  such 
articles  were  carefully  ascertained.  The  mixture  of 
Colours  has  especially  been  improved.  The  pictures  thus 
received  a  hitherto  unknown  finish.  Most  excellent 
painters  are  now  to  be  found,  and  masterpieces  worthy 
of  *a  Bihzad  may  be  placed  at  the  side  of  the  wonder- 
works of  the  European  painters  who  have  attained 
world- wide  fame  The  minuteness  in  detail,  the  general 
finish,  the  boldness  of  execution,  etc.,  now  observed  in 
pictures  are  incomparable  ;  even  inanimate  objects  look 
as  if  they  had  life.  More  than  a  hundred  painters  have 
become  famous  masters  of  the  art,  while  the  number 
of  those  who  approach  perfection,  or  of  those  who  are 
middling,  is  very  large.  This  is  especially  true  of  the 
Hindus ;  their  pictures  surpass  our  conception  of 
things.  Few  indeed  in  the  whole  world  are  found  equal 
totherii."1 

The    emperor    greatly    valued    painting.     Abul    Fazl 
records  what  he  said  :         •  • 

"  It  appears»to  me,  as  if  a  painter  had  quite  pecu- 
•  liar  means  of  recognising  God,  for  a  painter  in  sketch- 
ing anything  that  has  life,  ai\d  in'  devising  the  limbs 
one  after  another,  must  come  to  feel  that  he  cannot 

*    Ain.  Vol.  I,  p.  107* 


766  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

bestow  personality  on  his  wo-k,  and  is  thus  forced  to 
think  of  God,  the  giver  of  life,  and  thus  increase  his 
knowledge/* 

The    new    environment    m  which    the  emperor  deli- 
berately placed  himself,  the  active  association  of  Hindus 
and  Muslims,  and  the  adoption  of  the  enlightened  principle 
of  religious   toleration  had  their  influence  on  the  art  of 
the  age,  and  the  result  of  this  was  the  fusion  of  Indian 
and    Persian    traditions    in    the  technique,   variety,   and 
quality  of  colours.    The  emperor  extended   his  patronage 
to  Hindu  and  Muslim  painters,  examined  every  week*  their 
works,  and  offered  criticisms  and  suggestions.    More  than 
a  hundred  painters  acquired  great  eminence  in   the  art, 
while  the  number  of  lesser  men  rose  by   hundreds.    The 
leading  painters  were  Ahflna  Samad.  Mir  Saiyyid  Ali,  and 
Farrukh    Beg  among  Muslims  and    Das  want.    BasiSwan, 
Sanwal   Das,   Tarachancj,    Jagannath,   and   a  number    of 


others  among  the  Hindus.  Basawan  excelled  in  the  paint- 
ing of  backgrounds,  the  drawing  of  features,  the  dis- 
tribution of  colours  and  portraiture.  Daswant  his  rival* 
was  still  more  famous.  He  belonged  to  the  caste  of  palki- 
bearers  (Kahars),  but  from  his  boyhood  he  had  a  passion 
for  painting.  Akbar  discerned  his  gift  and  placed  him 
under  the  care  of  Abdus  Samad.  His  work  was  much 
appreciated,  but  when  he  was  at  the  height  of  his  fame, 
he  became  insane  and  killed  himself. 

By  the  emperor',8  orders  the  master-painters  illustrated 
several  ^well-known  wfcrks  as  the  Chingeznamah,  the 
Zafarnamah,  Razmnamah,  Ratnayana,  Naldaman. 
Kaliyadaman,  and  Ayardbniah,  and  the  pictorial  section 
of  the  imperial  library  contained  books  and  manuscripts 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  MUGHAL  INDIA          767 

with  pictures  of  all  kinds.  .The  best  work  was  done  during: 
the  emperor's  stay  at  Fatehpur.  When  the  court  was- 
transferred  to  Lahore,  a  few  artists  accompanied  the 
emperor,  but  the  majority  were  sent  to  Agra  to  carry  on 
their  work  in  the  royal  palaces  in  the  fort. 

Jahangir  was  a  great  lover  of  nature  and  beauty. 
The  school  of  painting  received  a  fresh  stimulus  in 
his  reign,  and  two  factors  aided  its  development — the 
artistic  personality  of  the  monarch  and  the  settled  condi- 
tion of  the  country  Jahangir  was  a  connoisseur  and  a  keen 
collector  of  historical  paintings.  He  boasted  of  his  skill  in 
judging  the  value  of  portraits.  He  says  : 

"  As  regards  myself,  my  liking  for  painting  and  my 
practice  in  judging  it  have  arrived  at  such  a  point  that 
when  any  work  is  brought  to  me,  either  of  the  deceased 
artists  or  those  of  the  present  day,  without  the  names 
being  told  me,  I  say  on  the  spur  of  the  moment  that  it 
is  the  work  of  such  and  such  a  man  And  if  there  be 
a  picture  containing  many  portraits,  and  each  face  be 
the  work  of  a  different  master,  I  can  discover  which 
face  is  the  work  of  each  of  them.  If  any  other  person 
has  put  in  the  eye  and  eyebrow  of  a  face,  I  can  perceive 
whose  work  the  original  face  is,  and  who  has  painted 
the  eyes  and  eyebrow. " 

This  may  be  exaggerated  self-praise,  but  there  is 
no  doubt  that  Jahangir  possessed  the  skilled  knowledge 
oi  an  expert.  Sir  Thomas  Roe  bears  testimony  to  the 
keen  interest  shown  by  Jahangii;  in*  the  pictures  which 
he  presented  to  him.  The  leaders  of  the  art  in  Jahangir's 
day  were  Farr^kh  Beg,  Muhammad  Nadir,  and  Muham- 
mad^MaiajjL  Abul  Hasan's  son  Aqa  Riza,  was  one  of 
the  fnost  distinguished  painters  of  the  age  on  whom  the 


768  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

emperor  conferred  the  title  of{Nadir-uz-Zam&n.    About 
his  work  the  emperor  says :  'At  the  present  time  he  has 
no  equal  or  rival.    If  at  this  day  the  masters  Abdul  Hay 
and  BihzSd  were  alive,  they  would  have  done  him  justice.' 
TJstad  MansOr  who   enjoyed  the  title  of  Nadir-ul-asar, 
was  a  renowned  artist  who  portrayed  birds  with  wonder- 
ful skill.    The  Hindu  artists,  were  not  favoured  much  at 
court,    though    Jahangir    refers    to    one^Bishen  pas,  a 
portrait-painter,    who    was   '  unequalled  -in    his  age  for 
taking  likenesses/    Other  Hindu  painters  were   Keshava 
the    elder,    Keshava    the    younger.  JManohar,  Madhava, 
Tulsi  ancl  others.    Natural    scenes    were    the    favourite 
subjects  of  Jahangir 's    painters  who  were  fully  imbued 
with    the     spirit    of    their    patron.    Painting  of  plants, 
flowers,    animals,      birds,    and    other     natural     objects 
reached  the  highest    stage  of  development.    An   impor- 
tant   fact    worth    mention    in    Jahangir's    reign  is  the 
elimination  of  Persian  influence.     The  art  becomes  essen- 
tially Indian  in  character,   and    Indian  genius  triumphs 
over  the  Persian.    With  the  death  of  Jahangir  the  art  of 
painting  declined  in  importance,  and  Percy  Brown  rightly 
observes  :   "  With    his  (Jahangir's)    passing  the   soul  of 
Mughal  painting    also    departed  ;    its  outward  form  re 
mained  for  a  time,  in  gold  and  lavish  vestments  it  lived  on 
under  other  kings,  but  its  real  spirit  died  with  Jahangir/' ' 
Shahjahan  was   a   great    lover  of    art,  but  he  was 
more  interested  in  buildings  than  in  painting.    He  lack- 
ed that    passion    for    painting    which   characterised  his 
predecessor,  although  he  took  pleasure  in  the  creations 
of  his  'court    painters.    He  reduced  the  number  of  the 

1  Moghul  Painting,  p.  86. 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  MUGHAL  INDIA         769 

latter  who  now  sought  the  patronage  of  the  nobles  and*' 
officers  of  the  state.  Asaf  Khan  was  one  of  them.  Hte 
house  at*  Lahore  was  elegantly  decorated,  and  was  one 
of  the  finest  mansions  in  the  country.  Para  was  a  great 
patron  of  the  pictorial  art»  A  pygmon**  alhnm  Of  hift  *ft 
still  preserved  in  the  library  of  the  India  Office.  The 
chief  director  of  artists  in  Shahiahan's  time  was  Faair- 
ullah,  and  the  most  well-known  painters  were  Mir  Hashim. 
'  Anup  Chitca.  and  Chitramani. 

Bernier  writes  that  art  suffered  much  towards  the 
close  of  Shahjahan's  reign,  but  his  statement  seems  to 
apply  *to  ordinary  bazar  artists.  Eminent  artists  still 
continued  to  be  employed  by  the  court  and  the  great 
nobles  who  treated  them  well  and  appreciated  their  work. 
Even  under  Aurangzeb  the  painters  did  not  wholly  dis- 
appear. There  are  pictures  of  Aurangzeb's  battles  and 
sieges  still  extant  which  show  that  he  did  not  wholly  dis- 
courage the  art. 

The  Rajput  princes  did  not  neglect  the  art  of  painting. 
Following  the  example  of  the  Mughal  court,  they  extend- 
ed their  patronage  to  it.  A  school  of  painting  grew  up, 
which  has  been  called,  on  account  of  certain  distinctive 
features,  the  Rajput  school.  It  treated  of  popular  and 
flamiliar  themes,  and  expressed  through  line  and  colour 
the  emotions  of  a  race  distinguished  for  its  noble  qualities. 
It  mirrors  the  life  of  the  simple  villager,  his  religion, 
and  his  pursuits  and  pastimes.  In  this  school,  religion 
is  closely  associated  with  art,  and  it  has  *>een  rightly  said 
that  with  its  spiritual  and  emotional  inspirations  it  super* 
sedes  the  secular  and  matter-of-fact  Mughal  style. 

The  art  of  painting  owed  much  to  Mughal  patronage 
in  India.  The  Mughal  'emperors  saved  it  from  decay, 
F.  49  * 


77Q  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

,  u 

1  f 

'end  through  their  liberality  it'  attained  to  a  high  level  of 
excellence.  The  empire  of  the  Mughals  has  become  a  thing 
of  the  past,  but  the  exquisite  creations  of  th£  master- 
artists  of  their  time,  still  bear  testimony  to  their  refined 
culture  and  the  magnificence  of  their  tastes.  Indeed  they 
occupy  a  position  unique  among  all  Asiatic  rulers. 

Music  was  actively  patronised  by  the  Mughals.    Indeed 

it  was  a  part  of  the  general  accomplishment  of  a  Mughal 

w    .  prince.    Stanley  Lane-Poole  writes  that  the 

Music. 

artoi  improvising  a  quatrain  on  the  spot. 
quoting  Persian  classics,  writing  a  good  hand,  and  singing 
ajgood  song  was  much  appreciated  in  Babar's  world  . 
Babar  was  himself  fond  of  music,  composed  songs,  and 
several  of  his  airs  have  survived  him.  Humayun  enjoyed 
the  company  of  singers  and  musicians,  and  listened  to 
music  on  Mondays  and  Wednesdays.  During  the  capture 
of  Mandu  in  1535,  when  he  ordered  a  general  massacre 
of  the  prisoners,  he  was  informed  that  there  was  a 
musician  called  Bacchu  among  the  captives.  The  emperor 
granted  him  an  audience,  and  was  so  pleased  with  his 
performance  that  hejgdered  him  to  be  enrolled  among 
the  magicians  of  the  court.  j?he  Surs  were  notj^iind 
the  JMughals  in  their  patronage  ~ofjart,  aiid]]Ba3aoni 
complains  that  they  '  were  enticed  from  the  path  of  foi4 
titude  and  self-restraint  by  all  sorts  of  sense-ravishing 
allurements.'  Islam  Shah  and  Adil  were  both  lovers  of 
muBic^and  it  is  said  that  at  one  time  the  latter  granted  to 
a  Bhagat  boy,  who  was  a  skilled  musician,  a 


Akbar  wqs.a  great  lover  of  the  fine  arts,  "  His 
Majesty/'  says  Abul'Fazl,  "  pays  much  attention  to  music 
and  is  the  patron  of  ail  who  practise  this  enchanting  art. 
There  are  numerous,!  musicians  at  the  court—  gindus, 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  INJMUGHAL  INDIA         771 


Iranis.  Tura,nifl,  Kflflhrnirig,  Imth  men  and  women/  '  The 
court  musicians  were  arranged  in  seven  groups,  one  for 
eacli  day  in  the  week.  The  emperor  had  a  knowledge  of 
tKe~~technique  of  music,  and  played  exquisitely  on  the 
waqarrah.  He  is  said  to  have  composed  tunes  which  were 
the  delight  of  the  old  and  young.  The  emperor's  keen 
interest  in  music  drew  to  his  court  musicians  from  all 
parts  of  India.  The  most  famous  of  these  was  Miyan 
Tangen  of  Gwalior,  who  was  originally  a  Hindu.  Abul 
Fazl  describes  him  as  '  the  foremost  of  the  age  among 
the  Kalawants  of  Gwalior/  At  the  imperial  court  Tansen 
rose  into  prominence,  and  enjoyed  his  patron's  favour 
throughout  his  life.  So  sweet  and  rapturous  was  his 
melody  that  it  induced  '  intoxication  in  some  and  sobriety 
in  others.'  He  died  at  Gwalior  in  1588.  His  grave  is  still 
visited  by  musicians,  and  the  leaves  of  the  tamarind  tree 
overhanging  it  are  chewed  to  make  the  voice  rich  and 
melodioag"  The  courtiers  of  Akbar  with  the  exception 
of  Mubarak  and  Abul  Fazl  also  patronised  music.  There 
were  many  books  on  music  and  painting  in  Faizi's  library. 
Abdur  Rahim  Khan-i-Khanan  was  a  poet  and  music-com- 
poser himself,  and  had  in  his  service  half  a  dozen  skilled' 
musicians.  Rajas  Bhagwan  Das  and  Man  Singh  were  equally 
interflatfld  in  rpnaiV,  and  extended  their  patronage  to 
musicians,  coming  from  such  dietaifr  parts  of  the  country 
as  Khandesji.  The  Hindus  and  Muslims  borrowed  ideas 
from  each  other,  and  by  their  joint 
much  to  the  advancement  of  the 
varieties  of  Rags  were  introduced 
Sanskrit  works  on  music  we*** 
and  a  large  number  of  songs  were 
use  to  this  day. 


772  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

Jahangir  maintained  the  *  traditions  of  bis  father's- 
court,  and  the  Iqbalnamah-i-Jahangiri  makes  mention 
of  the  musicians  whom  he  patronised,  Shahjahan  was- 
a  great  lover  of  the  fine  arts.  He  heard  music  both  vocal 
and  instrumental,  and  enjoyed  it.  He  was  himself  the 
author  of  certain  Hindi  songs  which  were  so  sweet  and 
charming  that  '  many  pure-souled  Sufis  lost  their  senses- 
in  the  ecstasy  produced  by  his  singing/1  The  historian 
Muhammad  Salih  and  his  brother  both  were  accomplished 
in  Hindi  song.  Hindu  performers  were  also  patronised  by 
the  court  and  among  the  leading  men  the  names  of 
Jagannath  and  Janardan  Bhatta  of  Bikaner  are  worthy 
of  mention.  After  Shahjahan's  death  the  art  of  music 
declined.  Aurangzeb,  though  he  was  well-versed  in  the 
science  of  music,  was  averse  to  practical  performance, 
and  by  his  orders  poets  and  singers  were  banished  from 
the  court. 

The  Mughal  period  marks  a  new  era  in  the  literary 
'  history  of   India,    the   tolerant   policy   of   the  Mughals 
made  possible  the  conditions  in  which  art 
t£aturen      K"     and  literature  thrives.    BafraiLjgas  himself 
a   refined   scholar,    well-versed  in   Arabic, 
Persian,  and  TurkL    He  composed  poems  and  valued  tSe 
writings  of  other  qr^p  wjth  the  fastidiousness  of  a  literary 


critic^  His  greatest  achievejmgntr  however,  is  liis 
Memoirs,  which  he  wrote  in  the  Turkish  language  His 
full  and  frank  account  of  his  own  life—  one  of  the 
in  Eastern  literature-  is  f  ree^Jrogi  cant  and 
nd  js  of  great  value  from  the  historical 
[>int  of  view,  tie  t66k  delight  in  the  society  of  learned. 

1  Sarkar,  Studies  in  Mughal  India,  pp.  12-13. 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE.  IN  MUGHAL  INDIA  773 

t  t 

men,  and  in  holding  discussions  with  them  he  found  the  , 
best  intellectual  satisfaction,  jlumayun.  though  unfor- 
tunate im  his  political  plans,  was  a  well-read  scholarLwho 
adorned  his  court  with  poets,  philosophers,  and  divines,  with 
wfiom  he  used  to  hold  converse  like  his  father.  He  was 
interested  in  geography  and  astronomy,  and  was*  so  fond 
of  books  that  healways  used  to  carry  a  library  with  Jiim 
even  during  his  expeditions.  Jauhar,  the  celebrated  author 

was  a  servant  of  Humayun. 


Akbar's  reign  was  the  golden  age  of  Indo-Muslim 
art  and  literature.^  The  Hindu  and  Muslim  genius  soared 
fiftfie  highest  pitch,  and  produced  work  of  which  any  coun- 
try may  feel  proud.  The  Imperial  patronage  was  freely 
extended  to  Persian  and  Hindi  literatures,  and  the  emper- 
or showed  an  equal  interest  in  both.  The  Persian  litera- 
ture of  Akbar's  time  may  be  considered  under  two  heads— 
(1)  historiography,  and  (2)  literature  proper,  which 
includes  poetry  and  prose,  not  directly  historical.  The 
-most  well-known  historical  works  of  the  time  are  the 
Tarikh-i'Alfi  of  Mulla  DaBj.  the  Ain-i-Akbari  and  Akbar- 
namah  of  Abul  Fazl,  Jhe  Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh  of 
Badaoni,  the  TabQat-i-AMn'rirf  Mfogmnfldin  Ahmad,  the 


Akbarnamah  ^  ^BiV  fiartiitiH^  the  Mavir-i-Rahimi, 
which  was  compilecMander  the  patronage  of  jAbdur 
iCahim  Khan-i-Khanan.  Thd  ^greatest  writer  of  the  age 
was  Abul  Fazl,  ^w  ho  was  a  poet,  essayist,  critic,  historian 
and  ftian  of  letters.  *He  wad  ft  master  of  prose,  whose 
mind  was  richly  stored  with  knowledge  of  all  kinds.  He 
wrote  with  a  facility  and  ease  which  has  never  been 
surpassed  in  the  East.  His  letters  are  still  studiecf  in  all 
Indian  madrasahs,  and  thougH  somewhat  difficult  to 
understand,  they  are  perfect  models.  Abul  Fazl's  style 


774  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

appears  inflated  and  verbose  to  Western  readers,  but  in 
chasteness  and  elegance  it  is  unsurpassed.  An  important 
feature  of  his  works  lies  in  the  purity  of  their  contents. 
A  SSfi  by  conviction,  ready  to  embrace  truth  wherever 
found  and  eager  in  thg 


never  expresses  an  impure  thought,  and  Mr.  Blochmann 
positively  asserts  that  there  is  no  passage  in  his  works 
wliere  woman  is  lightly  spokgiLflL  or  where  immorality  ia 
passed  over  with  indifference.  AbufFazl's  fame  rests  on 
hrs  two  worKsT-the  Ain-i-Akbari  and  the  Akbarndmah 
written  in  singularly  elegant  Persian  and  containing  valu- 
able information  about  Akbar's  reign.  Want  of  space 
forbids  a  detailed  criticism  of  Abul  Fazl's  works,  but 
this  much  may  be  said  that jna  prosq  is  vigorous,  elegant 
and  free  from  solecisms  and  other  defects.  He  uses  rare 
similes  and  metaphors  with  admirable  ease  and  grace, 
though  his  rhetoric  sometimes  obscures  in  a  labyrinth 
of  words  the  argument  which  he  seeks  to  elucidate. 
Abdulla  Uzbeg  used  jtosay,  'I  am  notso  afraid  of  the 
sword  of  Akbar  as^l  am  ot  tne  pen  01  Abui  Fazl.  What 
could  be  a  greater  tribute  to  Abul  Fazl's  literary  skill  than 
this? 

By  the  emperor's  orders  many  Sanskrit  works  were 
translated  into  Persian.  Abdul  Qadtr  Ka^ry^  (1540—94 
A.D.),  an _  orthodox  Mulla.,  .was  employed  to  translatg_ 
Valmiki's  Ramayana  into  Persian,  and  also  a  portion  of 
the  Af  atiabtiarata,  and  in  his  history  lie  often  complains  of 
the  sacrilegious  task  on  which  he  was  engaged.  The 
Atharva  Veda  was  translated  by  Haji  Ibrahim  Sarhindi 
and  tfie  bulk  of  thj^Jtoatiabtiarata  renamed  Mazmnavqah 
jy  Naqib  Khan.  ILilatiati,  a  work  on  arithmetic,  was 
rendered  into  Persian  by  Faizi. 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  MUGHAL  INDIA  776T 

• 

Coming  to  literature  .proper,  we  find  a  number  of 
first-rate  poets  and  prose-writers,  who  produced  their  work 
under  ceurt  patronage.  Among  poets,  the  name  of  Ghizali 
stands  first.  Persecuted  in  his  native  country,  Persia, 
he  came  to  the  Deccan,  but  failed  to  secure  royal  patron- 
age. Then  he  went  to  Jannpnr  from  which  place  he  pass- 
ed on  to  theimperi^^  where  he  made  such  an  im- 
pression* that  he  was  raised  to  the  position  of  Poet-laureate, 

"  He  held  that  office  till  1572.  He  was  a  man  of  Sufi  lean- 
ings, liberal  in  outlook,  and  independent  in  judgment. 
His  famous  works  are  the  Miralrul-Kainat,  Naqsh-i- 
Baditi*  and  Israr-i-Mak£ub. 

"  Next  to  Ghizali  comes  Abul  Faiz.  better  known  as 
Faizi.  brother  of  Abu^  Fazl  and  son  of  Shaikh  Mubarak, 
who  was  alscT  raised  to  the  office  of  Poet^laureal^.  He 
possessed  a  wide  knowledge  of  Arabic  literature,  the  art 
of  poetry,  and  the  science  of  medicine,  and  used  to  treat 
the  poor  without  accepting  any  payment.  He  wrote  many 
works,  the  most  famous  of  which  are  Masnavi  Nala-o- 
Daman,  Markaz-i-Adwar,  Mawarid-ul-Kalaw ,  and 
Sawati-ul-Ilham.  The  first  is  regarded  as  the  best  of  his 
works.  Even  Badaoni.  who  looked  upon  him  as  a  heretic, 
praises  the  last  work,  and  says  that  such  Masnavi  was 

'  not  written  in  India  since  the  days  of  Amir  Khusrau. 
Another  important  work  $  the  Sawati-ul-Ilham  (rays  of 
inspiration)  which  is  a  commentary  on  the  Quran  ifi 
Arabic  in  which  the'poet  employs  such  letters  as  have  no 
dots.  The  industry  and  scholarship,  revealed  in  this 
Book  are  beyond  all  praise. 

Faizi  shone  brilliantly  as  a  poet  and  in  all  *that  he 
wrote  there  is  enthralling  charm.  His  style  is  chaste, 
pure, ,  and  free  from. all  kinds  of  vulgarism,  and  in  all 


776  HISTOBY  OP  MUSLIM  RULE 

<•  < 

his  works  we  find  the  noblest;  sentiments^xpressed  in  a 
most  Beautiful  language,  ~~ ~* 

Other  poets  of  distinction  were  Muhammad  *  Wirepin 
Naziri  of  Nisbamir  who  wrote  ghazals  of  rare  merit,  and 
Saiyyid  Jamaluddin  Urfi  ofL_Shiraz  who  joined  the  court 
of  the  Khan-i-Khanan  in  1581.  He  wrote  some  qasidas 
in  praise  of  the  Khan-i-Khanan  and  the  emperors  Akbar 
and  Jahangir  He  was  not  much  esteemed  at  the  imperial 
court,  because  the  qasida  was  not  in  vogue  at  the  time. 
Besides,  his  proud  and  egotistical  nature  repelled  all  those 
who  came  in  contact  with  him.  As  a  writer  of  qasidas 
he  occupies  the  highest  place  among  his  contemporaries. 

Jahangir  was  in  intellect  and  character  inferior  to 
his  great  father.  But  he  was  not  devoid  of  literary 
taste.  He  had  received  an  excellent  education  under  the 
care  of  tutors  like  Maulana  Mir  Kalan  Muhaddis  and 
Mirza  Abdur  R^him,  He  had  a  good  knowledge  of  Persian, 
and  was  also  acquainted  with  Turki  which  he  could  under- 
stand. His  autobiography  ranks  second  to  thatofBafrar 
in  frankness,  sincerity,  and  frpRhnpaq  apd  charm  of  style. 
Among  the  learned  men  who  lived  at  his  court  were 
Mirza  Ghiyas  Beg,  Naqib  Khan,  Mutmad  Khan^Niamat-- 
ullah,  Abdul  Haq  DeKlwi  ancTothers.  Several  historical 
works  were  compiled  during  Jahangir 's  Teign,  the  most* 
important  of  which  are  the  Igbalnamah-i-J 'qfeongm,  the 
Ma*ir-i*Jahangiri,  and  the  Zubd-ut-Tawarikh.  "* 

Shahjahan  carried  on  the  traditions'  of  his  forefathers. 
He  extended  his  patronage  to  men  of  letters  and  among  the 
chief  men  of  the  time*  are  Abdul  Hamid  Lahori.  author 
of  the  'iPadshahnamah.  Amin  Qazwini,  author  of  another 
Padthahnamah,  Inayat  Khftn,  author  nf  tho  $1^^*. 
and  Muhammad  Salih,  author  of  the  Amal  Salih. 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  MUGHAL  INDIA  777 

wliich  are  all  histories  of  Shahjahan's  reign.  Besides. 
these  historiographers-royal  there  were  numerous  poets 
and  theologians  at  court  whose  names  are  mentioned  at 
great  length  both  by  Qazwini  and  Abdul  Hamid.  Among 
the  emperor's  sons  D^ra  was  a  great  scholar  interested  in 
religious  and  philosophical  studies,  Like  his  great-grand- 
father Akbar,  he  was  an  ardent  Sufi  who  sought  to  create 
a  bridge  between  the  warring  creeds.  He  caused  the 

and  the    Yoga  Vasi^ha 


^ 

to  t5etranslated  into^Persi&n,  and  engaged  Himself 
the  compilation  of  a  number  of  works,  the  chief  of  which 
-are  the  Majmua-al-Bahrin,  a  treatise  on  the  technical 
terms  of  Hindu  pantheism  and  their  equivalents  in  Sufi 
phraseology,  the  Safinat-al-Aulia,  a  biography  of  the 
saints  of  Islam,  and  the  Sakinat-ul-Auliat  which  contains 
an  account  of  saint  Mian  Mir  and  his  disciples.  Aurangzeb, 
though  a  bigoted  Sunni,  was  an  accurate  scholar  well- 
versed  in  theology  and  Islamic  jurisprudence.  It  was  at 
his  instance  that  the  Fatwa-i-Alamgiri  was  compiled. 
He  disliked  poetry  and  was  opposed  to  the  writing  of  a 
history  of  his  reign.  The  Muntakhab-ul~Lubub  of  Muham- 
mad  Hashim  (Khafi  Khan),  which  is  an  exhaustive  survey 
•ofJfiiT  reign,  was  prepared  in  secrecy.  The  other  well- 
tcnown  histories  of  his  reign  are  the  Alamgirnamah^  the 
Ma8ir-i-Alamgiri9the  Khulgsat-ut-Tawarikh  i>f^Suian  Rai 
and  the  works  of  Bhimsen  and  Ishwar  Das.  TSe 
i  is  a  collection  of  the  emperor's  letters 
wfilch  shows  his  mastery  over  simple  an$  elegant  Persian. 

The  Mughal  government  did  ftot  recognise  popular 
•education  as  one  of  its  duties.  Madrasah*  were  maintained; 
stipends  were  granted  to  scholars*;  but  nothing  was  done  to 
organise  a  system  of  public  education.  Not  even  a  printing 


778  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

'  .  * 

,press  was  introduced  to  make  the  diffusion  of  learning  pos- 

sible. 'The  Hindus  fared  badly  during  Aurangzeb's  reign- 
Their  schools  were  closed  down,  and  much  of  the  good 
work  accomplished  by  his  predecessors  was  undone. 

A  word  must  be  said  about  the  literary  labours  qf 
Mughaljprincegsfia.  Gulbadar^  Begum  the  daughter  of 
ar,  was  an  accomplished  lady  who  wrote  the  Humayun- 
ttcma^jB^iich  still  remains  an  authority  for  Humayun'a 
reign.  Sultana  Salima,  daughter  of  Humayun's  sister 
Gulrukh,  Maham-Anga,  Nurjahan^  Mumtaz  Mahal,  and 
JahanaraJEfegufli  were  all  accomplished  ladies  who  took  a 
keen  interest  in  art  and  literature.  Aurangzeb's  daughter 
Zebunnissa  was  a  gifted  poetess,  well-versed  in  Arabic 
and  Persian,  and  the  Diwan-i-Makhfi,  is  a  noble  monu- 
ment of  her  genius. 

In  a  previous  chapter  the  rise  and  growth  of  Hindi 
literature  has  been  traced  to   the  times  of    Kabir    and 
Nanak,     who     preached     in   the   language 
of   the  PeoP16-    Kabir  contributed  a_great 
deal  to  Hindi  pogti^^and  his    dohas    snd 


sakhis,  breathing^  an  intense  moral  fervour,  are  among 
the  priceless  gems  of  Hindi  literature.  The  first  author 
of  note,  whom  we  come  across  in  this  period,  is  «Maljk 
Muhammad  Jayasi,  who  wrote  his  Padmavat  obviously 
in  thg  frjyffl?  ^t  ShPr  Rhabr  because  he  speaks  of  him  in, 
terms  of  high  praise.  The  Padmavat  describes^  the  story 
of  Padmini,  the  queen  of  Mewar,  in  highlyjmbellishef 
language,  but  beneath  the  tenderness  and  love  with 
which  The  whole  poem  is  suffused,  there  is  a  remarkable 
philosophical  depth^  which  profoundly  impresses  us. 
With  the  accession  of  Akbar  to  the  Mughal  throne,  the 
history  of  Hindi  literature  entered  upon  a  new  epoch, 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  MUGHAL  INDIA         7T&- 

The  emperor  was  keenly  «  interested  in  Hindi  poetry  and 
song,  and  his  tolerant  spirit  attracted  to  his  court  the 
most  eminent  poets  and  singers  from  all  parts  of  the 
country.  The  association  of  the  most  talented  Hindus 
of  the  age  with  the  emperor  secured  official  support  for  a 
class  of  writers  who  had  been  so  far  neglected  or  treated 
with  contempt.  The  brilliant  conquests  and  administra- 
tive reforms  of  Akbar  inaugurated  a  new  era  ;  and  the 
latter  half  of  the  16th  century  became  an  age  of  exuber- 
ant imagination,  gorgeous  display,  and  romance— an 
age  of  heroic  deeds  and  gallant  adventure,  which  like 
the  'Elizabethan  age  called  forth  the  best  powers  of  man. 
The  sweetness  and  melody  of  Brij  Bha§a  appealed  power- 
fully to  the  nobles  of  the  imperial  court  at  Agra,  and  their 
contact  proved  highly  beneficial  to  its  growth.  In  the 
hands  of  Hindu  officers  who  had  learnt  Persian,  the 
language  lost  much  of  its  old  crudity,  and  became  sweet, 
chaste,  and  artistic.  No  less  was  the  influence  exerted 
upon  it  by  Muslim  officers  like  Mirza  Abdur  Rahim,  who 
composed  verses  in  Hindi  and  appreciated  the  work  of 
Hindi  poets.  Among  the  courtiers  of  Akbar,  Todar  Mai, 
Rajas  Bhagwan  Das  and  Man  Singh  wrote  verses  in  Hindi , 
and  BjrbaTs  poetical  talent  wonjiim  the  title  of  Kam 
Raya  from  the  emperor.  The  most  distinguished  Hindi 
poet  among  Akbar's  ministers  was  Abdur  Rahim  Khan-i- 
Khanaa,  whose  dohgs,  mwhich  is  enshrined  the  quintes- 
sence of ^^Jiumanjwi^om^nH^experience,  are  still  f§acl-  and 
aamiredall  over  Northern  India]  He  was  a  great  scholar, 
ancfamong  his  many  worksTs~the  Rahim  Sataai,  a  collec- 
tion of  dohas,  which  contains  poetry  or  a  liigh  order. 
Other  poets  at  Akbar's  court  *  whose  names  may  be  men- 
tioned areJCaran  and  Nar  Hari  Sahai,  the  latter  of  whom 


780  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  BULB 

received  from  the  emperor  the  title  of  MahnpUtra  or  the 
great  vessel 

Most  of  the  poetry  of  the  time  was  religious.  Its 
themes  were  borrowed  from  the  cults  of  Krisna  and  Rama, 
which  flourished  side  by  side.  The  poets  of  the  former 
school  weje  the  A§tacchap  of  Vallabhacharya  among  whom 
the  most  famous  is  Sur  Das,  the  blind  h*r^  9?  Ag™-  In 
his  Sursaaar  he  wrote  about  the  sports  of  Krigna's 
childhood,  and  composed  hundreds  of  verses  in  describing 
the  beauty  of  Krisna  and  his  beloved  Radha.  He  wrote 
in  Brij  Bha$a  and  made  a  lavish  use  of  imagery.  The 
following  words  of  praise  about  Sur  Das  are  in  everybody's 
mouth  : 

"Sur  is  the  sun,  Tulsi,  the  moon,  Kesava  is  a 
1  cluster  of  stars,  but  the  poets  of  the  modern  age  are 
'like  so  many  glow-worms  giving  light  here  and  there."1 

Other  writers  of  this  school  are  Nand  Das,  author  of  the 
Ras-panchadhyayi,  Vithal  Nath,  author  of  the  Chaura&i 
Vaignava  ki  Varta  in  prose,  Parmanand  Das,  and  Kum- 
.bhan  Das.  Eumbhan  Das  was  a  man  of  great  renuncia- 
tion. Tradition  says,  he  was  once  invited  by  Akbar  to 
Jtetehpur  Sikri,  but  he  regretted  his  visit  as  is  shown 
by  the  following  verse  : 


if 

irror  srni  iffcrf  gzf  flraft  *IM?  fffcn?  n 

*$  j^r  trot? 
srwr  fiww  fig  ^?f  ^  i  *m  u 

n 

Hindi  verse  runs  thus  : 


irw  i  ¥^  ireta 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  MUGHAL  INDIA  781 

[What  have  the  saints  got  to  do  in  Sikri  ?  In  going 
and  returning  shoes  were  worn  out,  and  the  name 
6f  Hari  was  forgotten.  Greetings  had  to  be 
offered  to  those  the  sight  of  whose  faces  causes- 
pain.  Kumbhan  Das  says,  without  Girdhar  all 
else  is  useless.] 

JgaSLKhas»  another  well-known  Hindi  poet,  who  was 
a  Muslim,  was  a  disciple  of  Vithal  Nath  and  a  worshipper 
o^Krisna.  His  name  is  mentioned  in  the  Doso  Vai^nava  ki 
Varta.  One  of  his  works  is  Premvatika  which  was  com- 
posed about  1614  A.D.  The  Kabittas  and  Savaiyas  are  full1 
of  love  and  are  written  in  happy  and  attractive  style. 

Among  the  poets  who  popularised  the  cult  of  Rama 
the  foremost  is  Tulsi  Das  (1532-1623  A.D.),-  whose  name 
is  a  household  word  among  the  millions  in  Northern 
India.  There  is  no  mention  of  him  in  the  Ain-i-Akbari, 
the  Akbarnamah,  or  any  other  contemporary  Muslim 
chronicle.  Probably  he  never  visited  the  imperial  court, 
and  in  all  his  works  there  is  not  even  a  casual  reference 
to  the  government  of  the  day.  The  empire  of  Akbar 
has  passed  away,  but  the  empire  of  Tulsi  Das  over  the 
hearts  and  minds  of  millions  in  India  still  continues. 
He  was  gifted  with  wonderful  poetic  powers  which  he 
used  to  the  best  advantage  in  achieving  the  object  so* 
dear  to  his  heart.  Sir  George  Grierson  writes  of  him  : 

tf  One  of  th^  greatest  reformers  and  one  of  the 
greatest  poets  that  India  has  produced—to  the  present 
'  writer  he  is,   in  both  characters  JtA*  ^fctest-he  dis- 
dained to  found  a  church,  and  %con^gp|Riims^lf  with 

telling  his  fellow-countrymen  hop^-fo  work  out  each, 

*        k  i    *    ' 

his  own  salvation  amongst  his  own  kith  find  kin. " 1 

1  Jmp.  Gaz.,  II,  p.  418.* 


782  HISTORY  OP  MUSLIM  BULB 

f 

He  goes  on  to  add  : 

11  Pandits  may  talk  of  Vedas  and  Upani§ad§,  and  a 
few  may  even  study  them  ;  others  may  say  they  find 
their  faith  in  the  Pur  anas,  but  to  the  vast  majority  of 
the  people  of  Hindustan,  learned  and  unlearned  alike, 
their  sole  norm  of  conduct  is  the  so-called  Tulsikrita 
Ramayana." 

What  is  Tulsi  Das's  teaching  ?    He  lays  stress  upon 
the  worship  of  Rama.    Though    he    accepts    the    pan- 
theistic teaching  of  Vedanta,  he  had  faith  in  a  personal 
•God    who    is   none  other  than    Rama.    Man   is  sinful 
by    nature    and     unworthy     of     salvation.     Yet     the 
Supreme  Being  in  his  infinite  mercy  assumed  a  human 
form  in  the  person  of  Rama  for  the  redemption  of  the 
world's  misery.    He  emphasises  the  value  of  a  moral 
life  and  inculcates  virtues  which    every  human  being 
ought  to  possess.    Tulsi  Das  founded  no  church  or  sect 
and  was  satisfied  with  preaching  the  highest  ritorality  to 
man.    He  wrote  a  number  of  works  of  which  the  most 
famous  is  the  Ramcharitmanas  or '  The  Lake  of  the  Deeds 
of  Rama.'   The  subject  of  the  poem  is  the  story  of  Rama's 
life.    The  great  ideals  of  conduct  and  duty— obedience 
to  parents,  devotion  to  husband,  affection  towards  bro- 
thers, kindness  to  the  poor  and  faith  in  friendship  are 
all  inculcated  here  with  a  beauty  apd  skill  rare  in  the 
history  of  the  world's  literature.     Tulsi    Das  was  not 
a  mere  ascetic.    He  had  experienced  the  joys  and  sorrows 
of  married  life,  and  knew  the  temptations  and  weaknesses 
of  ordinary  men.  That  is  whj  he  could  appeal  with  success  . 
to  the  multitude  who .  cried,  *  Here  is  a  great  soul  that 
knows  us.    Let  us  choose  him  for  our  guide/ 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN  MUGHAL  INDIA  783* 


Another  poet  whose  »name  deserves  mention  in 
place  jg  Nabhaii,  the  author  of  the  Bhaktamfila,  '  which 
•contain*  notices  of  principal  devotees  and  saints,  whether 
worshippers  of  Rama  or  Krisna. 

The  poets  who  have  been  described  before  were 
religious  par  excellence,  and  their  principal  theme  was 
Bhakti  or  devotion  towards  Rama  or  Krisna.  Besides 
0  these  there  were  others  whose  works  determined  the 
•canons  of  poetic  criticism  The  most  remarkable  of  this 
group  is  Kesava  Das,  a  Sanadhya  Brahman  of  Orcha, 
who  died  about  1617  A.  D.  He  wrote  on  poetics  and  his 
works  are  still  read  with  great  interest.  The  most  admir- 
ed of  his  works  is  the  Kavi  Priya  in  which  he  describes 
the  good  qualities  of  a  poem  and  other  matters  connected 
with  the  art  of  writing  poetry.  It  was  dedicated  to  a 
courtesan,  who  was  also  the  author  of  a  number  of 
short  poems.  The  other  works  of  Kesava  are  Rama 
Chandrika,  a  story  of  the  life  of  Rama,  Rasik  Priya, 
a  treatise  on  poetical  composition,  and  Alankrit  Manjari, 
a  work  on  prosody.  These  have  placed  Kesava  in  the 
forefront  of  Hindi  poets,  and  though  his  poetry  is  not 
easy  to  understand,  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  shows  very 
great  skill  and  scholarship  in  treating  his  subject. 

The  successors  of  Kefeva  in  Hindi  poetry  were  Sundar, 
SenSpati,  and  the  Tripathi  bipthers,  who  flourished  in  the 
reign  of  Shahjahan  and  Aurangzeb.  Sundar  was  a 
Brahman  of  Gwalior,  who  received  the  titles  of  Kavi 
Enya  and  Mahakavi  Rnya  from  Shahjahan.  In  1631  he 
wrote  the  Sundar  Srangar,  a  work  on  poetical  composi- 
tion, and  prepared  a  Brij  Bk&$3,  version  of  the  Simhasan 
Battisi.  Senfipati  was  a  devotee  of  Kri§na.  His  principal 
work  ;s  Kabitta  Ratrtakar  which  deals  with  the  various 


784  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

ftspects  of  the  art  of  poetry.  The  beautiful  description  of 
nature  in  his  Satritu  Varnan  excels  all  other  Hindi  poets 
except  Devadutta.  Among  the  Tripathi  brothers  the 
most  'famous  is  Bhusan  Tripathi,  whose  patrons  were 
Shivaji,  the  Maratha  ruler,  and  J2hatrasal  Bundela^  of 
Panna.  Bhusan  was  a  pro-Hindu  poet  who  is  especially 
concerned  with  the  glory  and  greatness  of  his  own  com- 
munity. His  principal  works  are  Shivavali,  Chatrasal- 
da&aka,  and  Shivarajabhu$ana,  a  treatise  on  alankara, 
illustrated  by  heroic  poems  in  praise  of  Shivaji.  Other 
important  poets  of  the  period  are  Mati  Ram^JTripathi 
who  is  famous  for  the  excellence  or  his  similes,  'Deva 
Kavi  of  Etawah,  and  Behari  Lai  Chaube,  author  of  the 
well-known  Behari  Satsai.  Behari  Lai  lived  during  the 
years  1603—1663.  His  patron  was  Mirza  Raja  Jai  Singh  of 
Jaipur  who  is  said  to  have  given  him  a  gold  asharfi,  for 
every  doha.  Behari  Lai's  fame  as  a  poet  rests  upon  hia 
satsai  (1662  A.D.),  a  collection  of  about  700  dohas  and 
sorthas,  which  are  undoubtedly  the  '  daintiest  pieces  of 
art  in  any  Indian  language/  The  verses  are  mostly  the 
amorous  utterances  of  Radha  and  Krigna,  and  their 
meaning  is  not  easy  to  comprehend.  The  Satsai  has  had 
many  commentators  to  elucidate  the  obscurities  insepar- 
able from  a  work  in  which  each  couplet  is  a  complete 
whole  in  itself,  but  no  one  who,  reads  it  can  fail  to  recognise 
the  poet's  skill  and  felicity  of  expression  and  the  masterly 
way  in  which  he  depicts  the  natural  phenomena  as  when 
he  speaks  of  the  ecent-laden  breeze  under  the  guise  of  a 
way-worn  pilgrim  from  the  south. 

The' decline  of  Hindi  poetry  set  in  during  the  reign  of 
Aurangzeb.  The  court  patronage  was  not  entirely  with- 
drawn, but  the  era  of  great  poets  was  closed,  The 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  Itt  MUGHAL  INDIA       785 

dissolution  of  the  Mughaf  empire  had  a  disastrous.  effect' 
on  the  fine  arts,  and  Hindi  literature  like  others  suffered 
a  heavy  set-back.  We  do  not  find  much  Urdu  poetry 
written  in  the  north  during  this  period.  The  real  rise  of 
Urdu  took  place  in  the  Deccan  under  the  patronage  of  the 
Sultans  of  Bijapur  and  Golkunda,  some  of  whom  were  men 
of  great  culture  and  refinement.  Wali  of  Aurangabad  who 
was  born  in  1668  was  a  celebrated  poet  who  wrote  ghazals, 
mcu,navis,  rubiyats  in  a  simple,  natural,  and  elegant  style. 
He  is  said  to  have  visited  Delhi  twice  His  diwan  aroused 
great  interest  at  the  Mughal  capital  and  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  Urdu  poetry.  Several  poets  wrote  in  imitation  of 
his  work.  The  most  important  of  them  are  Hatim  (1699— 
1792),  Khan  Arzujl689—  1756),  and  Abru  and  Mazhar  (169F 
—1781),  who  have  rightly  beerTcalled  the  fathers  of  Urdu 
poetry  in  the  north. 

The  sixteenth  century  like  the  fifteenth  was  an  age 
of  great  religious  stir,  when  Vaisnavism  made  a  powerful 

appeal  to  the  hearts  of  millions  in  Northern 
<mr?entls.igious     India  and  Bengal.    The  devotees  of  Rama 

and  Krisna  cults  branched  off  into  a 
number  of  sects  and  inculcated  worship  according  to  their 
ideas.  The  founder  of  the  Krigna  cult^  Vallabhacharva. 
was  succeeded  by  Hiajjop  Vithal  Ejath,  and  his  disciples 
were  called  the  AtfacKhap  3(eight  seals)  among  whom 
Sur  Das  is  the  moat  famous.  They  wrote  and  preached 
in  Brij  Bkasq  and  dwelt  with  great  fervour  and  devotion 
upon  the  sports  of  Krigna's  childhood.  A  number  of 
works  appeared  which  laid  stress  on  the  erotic  side  of 
Krigna1  s  life,  the  most  important  of 


Nath^s  Cfiaurasi  Vai^nava  ki  Vartg  (talk  of  eiprhty-foiir 
Vaignavas)    written    some   time   about   1551    A.D.    The 

F.  OU 


786  HISTORY  OF  MUSLIM  RULE 

f 

Radha  Ballafrfri  sect  was  founded  byvHari  Vamsa  about 
1585  A.D.,  and  the  chief  temple  of  its. followers  at  Brinda- 
ban  is  dedicated  to  RSdha.  They  worship  Rsdha  and 
seek  to  gain  the  favour  of  Krisna  through  her. 

The  Jeading  exponent  of  the  Rama  cult  was  Tulsi  Das 
who  preaches  the  worship  of  Rama  as  an  incarnation  of 
Vignu.  Though  he  is  a  believer  in  Advait  philosophy,  he 
accepts  the  principles  and  practices  of  orthodox  Hindu- 
ism. He  upholds  caste,  lays  stress  upon  Brahmanical 
superiority,  deprecates  the  freedom  of  women,  but  while 
doing  all  this  he  puts  forward  in  words  that  mo^e  the 
heart  the  doctrine  of  Bhakti  or  devotion  to  a  personal 
God.  He  did  not  found  a  sect,  but  he  acted  as  a  reformer 
and  teacher  and  loved  the  people  whom  he  taught  the 
very  best  he  knew  in  their  own  language. 

Besides  Tulsi  Das  there  were  other  reformers,  who 
departed    from   orthodox    Hinduism  and   founded   their 
own  sects.    Their  teachings  bear  the  impress  of  Muslim 
influence.  Dadu  (1544-1603),  better  known  as  Dadu  Dayal 
by  reason  of  his^  kindness  towards  all     living  beings, 
denounced  idolatry~and  caste,  rejected  thejformal  ritual 
of  Hinduism^  and  laid  stress^upoiTthe  simple  faith  in  God. 
The  Laldasis  emphasised  the  value  of  Ramantima,  and  the 
Sadhs  and  Dharamdasis  pointed  out  the  valne  of  repeating 
the  name  of  God  and  the  duty  of  leading  pure  and  clean 
lives.    Most  of  these  saints  sprang  from  the  lower  orders* 
and  their  philosophy    is  a     protest    against    orthodox 
Hinduism. 

In  Bengal  the  followers  of  Chaitanya  Carried  on  the 
great  master's  work.  To  them  Bhakti  yaa  all  in  jdl. 
There  could  be  no  deliverance  without  Bhakti.  Even 
without  knowledge  Bhakti  could  ensure  a  man's  salvation. 


SOCIETY  AND  CULTURE  IN*  MUGHAL  INDIA        787 

Kri?na  is  the  Paramfitma,  the  supreme  soul  and  the 
supremg  object  of  worship.  The  leaders  of  the  Vai?navas 
in  Brindaban  were  Rupa  and  Sana  tan,  and  with  them 
was  associated  a  nephew  JivaGMwamjl  who  founded  the 
temple  of  Radha  DamocfeF~amr  flopa!  Pftattp  Their 
names  are  mentioned  in  the  Bhaktamala 

The  Deccan  also  witnessed  the  rise  of  a  great  religious 
movement  in  the  16th  century.  Eknath  was  one  of  ita 
pi<fr>eers.  He  laid  stress  on  Bhakti  by  means  of  which 
women,  Sudras,  and  all  others  '  could  cross  to  the  other 
bank*'  Tuka  Ram  who  was  born  about  1600  A.D.  is  the 
leading  saint  of  Maharashtra.  His  love  for  God  knows 
no  bounds,  and  religion  has  no  other  meaning  for  him. 
He  enjoins  worship  with  a  clean  and  lofty  heart,  and 
exhorts  men  to  show  kindness  according  to  their  powers. 
This  is  how  heaven  is  easily  attained.  The  following 
words  contain  the  essence  of  Tuka  Rarn^s  teachings  : 

"  rfe  who  calleth  the  stricken  and  heavily  burden- 
ed his  own  is  the  man  of  God  ,  truly  the  Lord  must 
abide  with  Jiim.     He  that  taketh   the  unprotected  to 
his  heart  and  doeth  to  a  servant  the  same  kindness  aa 
•  to  his  own  children  is  assured  by  the  image  of  God  " 

Tuka  Ram 's  Abhangas  or  unbroken  hymns,  whose  fervent 
piety  elevates  the  soul  and  prfrifies  the  emotions,  are  still 
sung  all  over  Maharashtra,  and  give  solace  to  millions  in 
distress  and  sorrow. 

Another  saint  who  had  a  profound  influence  on  the 
lives  of  the  Maratha  people  was  Ram  Das,  the  spiritual 
guide  of  Shigflji  He  was  a  Veddntist  anfl  p  Vinging.vA  wtin, 
conformed  to  the  orthodox  formulae.  "  He  thus  expresses 
the  do&trine  of  Bhakti  : 


78§  HISTORY,  OR  MUSLIM  RULE 

o 

Oh  Rama,  every  day  I  have  been  consumed  by 
repentance  and  my  unsteady  mind  cannot  be  restrain- 
ed. 0  thou  who  art  merciful  to  the  poor,  *  remove 
from  me  this  may  a  which  produces  illusion,  and 
hasten  to  me,  for  without  thee  I  am  fatigued  " 

Salvation  according  to  him  is  to  be  found  in  Rama 
alone.    Purity  in  thought  and  deed^jmselfistmess,  trutjr^ 
fulness,    forgivei^ss.^jmmjli^ 
towards  all  are  the  surest  passport  to  heavenly  bliss  •  * 


\\BIS