5. Volume 1 — part 5

were suing for peace, very nearly a month had passed since any couriers had arrived from the Sultan, although the Khan had previously received two or three letters every week. This want of intelligence from the court caused some uneasiness in the minds of the Khan and his officers ; they imagined that some of the posts on the road had been destroyed, and that conse- quently the couriers had been unable to prosecute their journeys with the news. It also caused apprehension and misgivings to spread among the troops, and stories were carried from one to another. ’Ubaid the poet, and Shaikh Zada-i Dimashki, two evil- disposed, turbulent fellows, who by some means had been introduced to the Khan, fanned the strife, and spread false re- ports among the soldiers, to the effect that the Sultan was dead, that the government had been overthrown, that a new prince now sat upon the throne of Dehli, and that the way was quite closed against all couriers and messengers. So every man took his own course. These two malicious men trumped up another false story. They went to Malik Tamar, Malik Tigin, Malik Mall Afghan, and Malik Kafur, keeper of the seal, and told these nobles that Ulugh Khan looked upon them with envy and suspicion, as generals and nobles of the reign of Alau-d din, and as obstacles to his attaining the throne ; that their names were written down in a list as men to be disposed of, and that they would be all seized at once and beheaded. These nobles were aware that these two treacherous men were con- stantly about Ulugh Khan, and so they credited their statements. They therefore agreed to take flight, and, joining together their followers, they left the camp. Through this defection a panic fell upon the army, trouble, and tumult arose, and no man thought of another. This event was very opportune for the besieged Hindus, and saved them. They sallied forth and plundered the baggage of the army, and Ulugh Khan with his immediate followers re- treated to Deogir. The soldiers were worn out, and fell in all directions. As they retreated, couriers arrived from the court, bringing news of the health and safety of the Sultan.

Differences arose among those 'Alai nobles •who had fled from the army, each of them pursued his own course. Their soldiers and servants perished, and their horses and arms fell into the hands of the Hindus. Ulugh Khan reached Deogir in safety. Malik Tamar, with a few horsemen, plunged into the Hindu territories, and there perished. Malik Tigin of Oudh was killed by the Hindus, and his skin was sent to Ulugh Khan at Deogir. Malik Mall Afghan, ’Ubaid the poet, and other revolters, were made prisoners, and were also sent to Deogir. The prince sent them on alive to his father. The wives and children of the revolters had been already seized. The Sultan held a public darbar in the plain of Siri, when ’Ubaid, the poet, and Kafur, the seal-keeper, and other rebels, were impaled alive some of the others, with their wives and children, were thrown under the feet of elephants. Such a terrible punislftnent was inflicted as long inspired terror in the breasts of the beholders. All the city trembled at the vengeance taken by the Sultan.

Four months afterwards the Sultan sent strong reinforcements to the prince, and directed him to march against Arangal once more. He accordingly entered the country of Tilang, took the fort of Bidr, and made its chief prisoner. From thence he pro- ceeded to Arangal for the second time. He invested the mud fort, and after plying it for a few days writh arrows from the ndwaks, and stones from the maghnbis, he captured the whole place. Bai Laddar Deo, with all his rats and mukaddims, their wives and children, elephants and horses, fell into the hands of the victors. A despatch of victory was sent to Dehli, and at Tuglilikabad and Siri there were great rejoicings. The prince sent Laddar Deo Bai, of Arangal, with his elephants and treasures, relations and dependents, to the Sultan, under the charge of Malik Bedar, who had been created Kadar Khan, and Khwaja Haji, na'ib of the ’ariz-i mnmalik. The name of Arangal was changed to Sultanpur, and all the country of Tilang was conquered. Officers

1 Zindah bardar kardand, — that is, crucified or impaled alive. Firishta says they were buried alive.

were appointed to manage the country, and one year’s tribute was taken. The prince then marched towards Jajnagar,1 and there took forty elephants, with which he returned to Tilang. These he sent on to his father.

At the time when Arangal was taken, and the elephants arrived from Jajnagar, several Mughal armies attacked the frontiers, but the armies of Islam defeated them and sent their two generals as prisoners to the court. The Sultan had made Tughlikabad his capital, and the nobles and officials, with their wives and families, had taken up their abode there, and had built houses.

About this time certain noblemen came from Lakhnauti, com- plaining of the oppressive laws under which they were suffering, and informing the Sultan of the distress and tyranny under which they and othef Musulmans laboured. So the Sultan resolved to march against Lakhnauti, and he sent couriers to summon Ulugh Khan from Arangal. He made him his vice- gerent, and placed all the affairs of the kingdom under his management during his own absence. He then marched to Lakhnauti, and so conducted his forces through the deep waters and mire and dirt, on this distant march, that not a hair of any man’s head was hurt. Fear and respect for the Sultan had spread through Khurasan and Hindustan, and all the countries of Hind and Sindh, and the chiefs and generals of east and west, had trembled in fear of him for many a year {karri). When the Sultan reached Tirhut, the ruler of Lakhnauti, Sultan Nasiru-d din, came forth with great respect to pay homage to the Sultan ; and without the sword being called into requisi- tion, all the rats and ranas of the country made their submission. Tatar Khan, foster-son ( pisar i khivanda ) of the Sultan, held the territory of Zafarabad ; and a force having been assigned to him, he brought the whole country under the imperial rule. Bahadur Shah, the ruler of Sunar-ganw made some resistance ; but a cord was thrown upon his neck, and he was conducted to the Sultan.

1 The Jajnagar on the Mahanadi in Cuttack referred to by Briggs. Firishta, I., 260.

All the elephants of the country were sent to the royal stables, and the army acquired great spoil in the campaign. Sultan Nasiru-d din had shown great respect and submission, so the Sultan gave him a canopy and a baton, sent him back, and placed Lakhnauti under his rule. Bahadur Shah, the ruler of Sunar-ganw, was sent to Dehli with a rope round his neck, and the Sultan returned towards his capital triumphant. * * *

When Ulugh Khan received information of the Sultan’s hastening homewards to Tughlikabad, he ordered a temporary erection to be raised at Afghanpur, about three or four kos from the city, where the Sultan might stay for the night and take rest, before marching on the following day into the city with pomp and triumph. * * * Sultan Tughlik Shah arrived in the afternoon and stopped. Ulugh Khan, and all the great nobles and officers, had gone forth to meet him, and had con- ducted him thither with great ceremony. The Sultan’s table had been spread, and he took food ; the nobles came out to wash their hands. A thunderbolt from the sky descended upon the earth, and the roof under which the Sultan was seated fell down, crushing him and five or six other persons, so that they died.1

Sultanu-l Mujahid Abu-l Fath Muhammad Shah ibn Tughlik Shah.

Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlik Shah, the heir apparent, suc- ceeded his father, and ascended the throne at Tughlikabad in the year 725 H. (1325 a.d.). On the fortieth day after, he proceeded from Tughlikabad to Dehli, and there in the ancient palace took his seat upon the throne of the old Sultans. * * * 2

In the caligraphy of books and letters Sultan Muhammad abashed the most accomplished scribes. The excellence of his hand-writing, the ease of his composition, the sublimity of his

1 The reticence of Barni upon this catastrophe favours the suspicion that it was the work of design ; not an accident. Firishta, however, notices this suspicion, but to discredit it.

2 A long strain of eulogy follows, from which one or two passages have been selected.

style, and the play of his fancy, left the most accomplished teachers and professors far behind. He was an adept in the use of metaphor. If any teacher of composition had sought to rival him, he would have failed. He knew by heart a good deal of Persian poetry, and understood it well. In his epistles he showed himself skilled in metaphor, and frequently quoted Persian verse. He was well acquainted with the Sikandar nama, and also with the Buni-i salim Namah and the Tarikh-i Mah- mudi. * * * No learned or scientific man, or scribe, or poet, or wit, or physician, could have had the presumption to argue with him about his own special pursuit, nor would he have been able to maintain his position against the throttling arguments of the Sultan. * * *

The dogmas of philosophers, which are productive of in- difference and hardness of heart, had a powerful influence over him. But the declarations of the holy books, and the utterances of the Prophets, which inculcate benevolence and humility, and hold out the prospect of future punishment, were not deemed worthy of attention. The punishment of Musulmans, and the execution of true believers, with him became a practice and a passion. Numbers of doctors, and elders, and saiyids , and su/is, and kalandars , and clerks, and soldiers, received punishment by his order. Not a day or week passed without the spilling of much Musulman blood, and the running of streams of gore before the entrance of his palace. * * *

In the course of twenty-seven years, a complete karn, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords made him to prevail over the dominions of several kings, and brought the people of many coun- tries under his rule in Hindustan,. Gujarat, Malwa, the Mahratta (country), Tilang, Kampila, Dhur-samundar, Ma’bar, Lakhnauti, Sat-ganw (Chittagong), Sunar-ganw, and Tirhut. If I were to write a full account of all the affairs of his reign, and of all that passed, with his faults and shortcomings, I should fill many volumes. In this history I have recorded all the great and im- portant matters of his reign, and the beginning and the end of

every conquest; but the rise and termination of every mutiny, and of events (of minor importance), I have passed over. * * * Sultan Muhammad planned in his own breast three or four projects by which the whole of the habitable world was to be brought under the rule of his servants, but he never talked over these projects with any of his councillors and friends. Whatever he conceived he considered to be good, but in promulgating and enforcing his schemes he lost his hold upon the territories he possessed, disgusted his people, and emptied his treasury. Em- barrassment followed embarrassment, and confusion became worse confounded. The ill feeling of the people gave rise to outbreaks and revolts. The rules for enforcing the royal schemes became daily more oppressive to the people. More and more the people became disaffected, more and more the mind of the king was set against them, and the numbers of those brought to punishment increased. The tribute of most of the distant countries and districts was lost, and many of the soldiers and servants were scattered and left in distant lands. Deficiencies appeared in the treasury. The mind of the Sultan lost its equilibrium. In the extreme weakness and harshness1 of his temper he gave himself up to severity. Gujarat and Deogir were the only (distant) possessions that remained. In the old territories,' dependent on Dehli, the capital, disaffection and rebellion sprung up. By the will of fate many different projects occurred to the mind of the Sultan, which appeared to him moderate and suit- able, and were enforced for several years, but the people could not endure them.2 These schemes effected the ruin of the Sultan’s empire, and the decay of the people. Every one of them that was enforced wrought some wrong and mischief, and the minds of all men, high and low, were disgusted with their ruler. Territories and districts which had been securely settled

2 The two MSS. differ slightly from each other, but both contain many words not in the printed text. I have taken what appears to be the general sense of what was evidently deemed an obscure and doubtful passage.

were lost. When the Sultan found that his orders did not work

so well as he desired, he became still more embittered against his

people. He cut them down like weeds and punished them. So

many wretches were ready to slaughter true and orthodox Musul-

mans as had never before been created from the days of Adam.

• • • If the twenty prophets had been given into the hands of

these minions, I verily believe that they would not have allowed

The first project which the Sultan formed, and which operated to the ruin of the country and the decay of the people, was that he thought he ought to get ten or five per cent, more tribute from the lands in the Doab. To accomplish this he invented some oppressive abicabs 1 (cesses), and made stoppages from the land- revenues until the backs of the raiyats were broken. The cesses were collected so rigorously that the raiyats were impoverished and reduced to beggary. Those who were rich and had property became rebels ; the lands were ruined, and cultivation was entirely arrested. When the raiyats in distant countries heard of the distress and ruin of the raiyats in the Do&b, through fear of the same evil befalling them, they threw off their allegiance and betook themselves to the jungles. The decline of cultiva- tion, and the distress of the raiyats in the Doab, and the failure of convoys of corn from Hindustan, produced a fatal famine in Dehli and its environs, and throughout the Doab. Grain became dear. There was a deficiency of rain, so the famine became general. It continued for some years, and thousands upon thousands of people perished of want. Communities were re- duced to distress, and families were broken up. The glory of the State, and the power of the government of Sultan Muham- mad, from this time withered and decayed.

The second project of Sultan Muhammad, which was ruinous to the capital of the empire, and distressing to the chief men of the country, was that of making Deogir his capital, under the

1 This is the first time that this word, since so well known, has come under my observation in these histories.

title of Daulatabad. This place held a central situation : Dehli, Gujarat, Lakhnauti, Sat-ganw, Sunar-gamv, Tilang, Ma’bar, Dhur-samundar, and Kampila were about equi-distant from thence, there being but a slight difference in the distances. Without any consultation, and without carefully looking into the advantages and disadvantages on every side, he brought ruin upon Dehli, that city which, for 170 or 180 years, had grown in prosperity, and rivalled Baghdad and Cairo. The city, with its sardis, and its suburbs and villages, spread over four or five kos. All was destroyed. 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. Troops of the natives, with their families and dependents, wives and children, men-servants and maid-servants, were forced to remove. The people, who for many years and for generations had been natives and inhabitants of the land, were broken-hearted. Many, from the toils of the long journey, perished on the road, and those who arrived at Deogir could not endure the pain of exile. In despondency they pined to death. All around Deogir, which is an infidel land, there sprung up graveyards of Musulmans. The Sultan was bounteous in his liberality and favours to the emi- grants, both on their journey and on their arrival; but they were tender, and they could not endure the exile and suffering. They laid down their heads in that heathen land, and of all the multitudes of emigrants, few only survived to return to their home. Thus this city, the envy of the cities of the inhabited world, was reduced to ruin. The Sultan brought learned men and gentlemen, tradesmen and landholders, into the city (Dehli) from certain towns in his territory, and made them reside there. But this importation of strangers did not populate the city ; many of them died there, and more returned to their native homes. These changes and alterations were the cause of great injury to the country.

The third project also did great harm to the country. It increased the daring and arrogance of the disaffected in Hin-

dustan, and augmented the pride and prosperity of all the Hindus. This was the issue of copper money.1 The Sultan, in his lofty ambition, had conceived it to be his work to subdue the whole habitable world and bring it under his rule.. To accomplish this impossible design, an army of countless numbers was necessary, and this could not be obtained without plenty of money. The Sultan’s bounty and munificence had caused a great deficiency in the treasury, so he introduced his copper money, and gave orders that it should be used in buying and selling, and should pass current, just as the gold and silver coins had passed. The promulgation of this edict turned the house of every Hindu into a mint, and the Hindus of the various pro- vinces coined krors and lacs of copper coins. With these they paid their tribute, and with these they purchased horses, arms, and fine things of all kinds. The rats, the village headmen and landowners, grew rich and strong upon these copper coins, but the State was impoverished. No long time passed before distant countries would take the copper tanka only as copper. In those places where fear of the Sultau’s edict prevailed, the gold tanka rose to be worth a hundred of (the copper) tankas. Every gold- smith struck copper coins in his workshop, and the treasury was filled with these copper coins. So low did they fall that they were not valued more than pebbles or potsherds. The old coin, from its great scarcity, rose four-fold and five-fold in value. When trade was interrupted on every side, and when the copper tankas had become more worthless than clods, and of no use, the Sultan repealed his edict, and in great wrath he proclaimed that whoever possessed copper coins should bring them to the treasury, and receive the old gold coins in exchange. Thousands of men from

various quarters, who possessed thousands of these copper coins, and caring nothing for them, had flung them into comers along with their copper pots, now brought them to the treasury, and received in exchange gold tankas and silver tankas , shash-ganis

1 Tlie printed text adds, “his interference with buying and selling,” but this is not to he found in either of my MSS., and is certainly superfluous.

and du-gdnis, which they carried to their homes. So many of these copper tankas were brought to the treasury, that heaps of them rose up in Tughlikabad like mountains. Great sums went out of the treasury in exchange for the coppei', and a great deficiency was caused. When the Sultan found that his pro- ject had failed, and that great loss had been entailed upon the treasury through his copper coins, he more than ever turned against his subjects.

The fourth project which diminished his treasure, and so brought distress upon the country, was his design of conquering Khurasan and ’Irak. In pursuance of this object, vast sums were lavished upon the officials and leading men of those countries. These fjreat men came to him with insinuating proposals and deceitful representations, and as far as they knew how, or were able, they robbed the throne of its wealth. The coveted countries were not acquired, but those which he possessed were lost ; and his treasure, which is the true source of political power, was expended.

The fifth project * * * was the raising of an immense army for the campaign against Khurasan. * * * In that year three hundred and seventy thousand horse were enrolled in the muster- master’s office. For a whole year these were supported and paid; but as they were not employed in war and conquest and enabled to maintain themselves on plunder, when the next year came round, there was not sufficient in the treasury or in the feudal estates ( ikta ) to support them. The army broke up ; each man took his own course and engaged in his own occupations. But lacs and krors had been expended by the treasury.

The sixth project, which inflicted a heavy loss upon the army, was the design which he formed of capturing the mountain of Kara-jal.1 His conception was that, as he had undertaken the conquest of Khuras&n, he would (first) bring under the dominion of Islam this mountain, which lies between the territories of

1 The printed text has “ Farajal,” and this is favoured to some extent by one MS., but the other is consistent in reading Kara-jal. See supra, Vol. I., p. 46, note 2. •

Hind and those of China, so that the passage for horses and soldiers and the march of the army might be rendered easy. To effect this object a large force, under distinguished amirs and generals, was sent to the mountain of Kara-jal, with orders to subdue the whole mountain. In obedience to orders, it marched into the mountains and encamped in various places, but the Hindus closed the passes and cut off its retreat. The whole force was thus destroyed at one stroke, and out of all this chosen body of men only ten horsemen returned to Dehli to spread the news of its discomfiture. * * *

Revolts. — * * The first revolt was that of Bahrain Abiya at Multan. This broke out while the Sultan was at l)eogir. As soon as he heard of it he hastened back to his capital, and collecting an army he marched against Multan. When the opposing forces met, Bahram Abiya was defeated. His head was cut off and was brought to the Sultan, and his army was cut to pieces and dis- persed. * * * The Sultan returned victorious to Dehli, where he stayed for two years. He did not proceed to Deoglr, whither the citizens and their families had removed. Whilst he re- mained at Dehli the nobles and soldiers continued with him, but their wives and children were at Deogir. At this time the country of the Doab was brought to ruin by the heavy taxation and the numerous cesses. The Hindus burnt their corn stacks and turned their cattle out to roam at large. Under the orders of the Sultan, the collectors and magistrates laid waste the country, and they killed some landholders and village chiefs and blinded others. Such of these unhappy inhabitants as escaped formed themselves into bands and took refuge in the jungles. So the country was ruined. The Sultan then proceeded on a hunting excursion to Baran, where, under his directions, the whole of that country was plundered and laid waste, and the heads of the Hindus were brought in and hung upon the ramparts of the fort of Baran.

About this time the rebellion of Fakhra broke out in Bengal, after the death of Bahram Khan (Governor of Sunar-ganw).

Fakhra and his Bengali forces killed Kadar* Khan (Governor of Lakhnauti), and cut his wives and family and dependents to pieces. He then plundered the treasures of Lakhnauti, and secured possession of that place, and of Sat-ganw and Sunar- ganw. These places were thus lost to the imperial throne, and, falling into the hands of Fakhra and other rebels, were not recovered. At the same period the Sultan led forth his army to ravage Hindustan. He laid the country waste from Kanauj to Dalamu, and every person that fell into his hands he slew. Many of the inhabitants fled and took refuge in the jungles, but the Sultan had the jungles surrounded, and every individual that was captured was killed.

While he was engaged in the neighbourhood of Kanauj a third revolt broke out. Saiyid Hasan, father of Ibrahim, the purse- bearer, broke out into rebellion in Ma’bar, killed the nobles, and seized upon the government. The army sent from Dehli to recover Ma’bar, remained there. When the Sultan heard of the revolt he seized Ibrahim and all his relations. He then returned to Dehli for reinforcements, and started from thence to Deogir, in order to prepare for a campaign against Ma’bar. He had only marched three or four stages from Dehli when the price of grain rose, and famine began to be felt. Highway robberies also became frequent in the neighbourhood. When the Sultan arrived at Deogir he made heavy demands upon the Musulman chiefs and collectors of the Mahratta country, and his oppressive exactions drove many persons to kill themselves. Heavy abivdbs also were imposed on the country, and persons were specially ap- pointed to levy them. After a short time he sent Ahmad Ayyaz (as lieutenant) to Dehli, and he marched to Tilang. When Ayyaz arrived in Dehli he found that a disturbance had broken out in Lahor, but he suppressed it. The Sultan arrived at Arangal, where cholera ( waba ) was prevalent. Several nobles and many other persons died of it. The Sultan also was at- tacked. He then appointed Malik Kabul, the naib-wazir , to be ruler over Tilang, and himself returned homewards with all

speed. He was ill .when he reached Deogir, and remained there some days under treatment. He there gave Shahab Sultani the title of Nusrat Khan, and made him governor of Bidar and the neighbourhood, with a fief of a lac of tankas. The Mahratta country was entrusted to Katlagh Khan. The Sultan, still ill, then set off for Dehli, and on his way he gave general permission for the return home of those people whom he had removed from Dehli to Deogir. Two or three caravans were formed which returned to Dehli, but those with whom the Mahratta country agreed remained at Deogir with their wives and children.

The Sultan proceeded to Dhar, and being still indisposed, he rested a few days, and then pursued his journey through Malwa. Famine prevailed there, the posts were all gone off the road, and distress and anarchy reigned in all the country and towns along the route. When the Sultan reached Dehli, not a thousandth part of the population remained. He found the country desolate, a deadly famine raging, and all cultivation abandoned. He employed himself some time in restoring cultivation and agriculture, but the rains fell short that year, and no success followed. At length no horses or cattle were left ; grain rose to 16 or 17 jitals a sir, and the people starved. The Sultan advanced loans from the treasury to promote cultivation, but men had been bi’ought to a state of helplessness and weakness. Want of rain prevented cultivation, and the people perished. The Sultan soon recovered his health at Dehli.

Whilst the Sultan was thus engaged in endeavouring to restore cultivation, the news was brought that Shahu Afghan had re- belled in Multan, and had killed Bihzad, the ndib. Malik Nawa fled from Multan to Dehli. Shahu had collected a party of Afghans, and had taken possession of the city. The Sultan pre- pared his forces and marched towards Multan, but he had made only a few marches when Makhduma-i Jahan, his mother, died in Dehli. * * The Sultan was much grieved. * * He pursued his march, and when he was only a few marches from Multan, Shahu

submitted, and sent to say that he repented of what he had done. He fled with his Afghans to Afghanistan, and the Sultan pro- ceeded to Sannam. From thence he went to Agroha, where he rested awhile, and afterwards to Dehli, where the famine was very severe, and man was devouring man. The Sultan strove to restore cultivation, and had wells dug, but the people could do nothing. No word issued from their mouths, and they continued inactive and negligent. This brought many of them to punishment.

The Sultan again marched to Sannam and Samana, to put down the rebels, who had formed mandals (strongholds ?), with- held the tribute, created disturbances, and plundered on the roads. The Sultan destroyed their mandals , dispersed their fol- lowers, and carried their chiefs prisoners to Dehli. Many of them became Musulmans, and some of them were placed in the service of noblemen, and, with their wives and children, became residents of the city.1 They were torn from their old lands, tire troubles they had caused were stopped, and travellers could pro- ceed without fear of robbery.

While this was going on a revolt broke out among the Hindus at Arangal. Kanya Naik had gathered strength in the country. Malik Makbul, the ndib-wazir, fled to Dehli, and the Hindus took possession of Arangal, which was thus entirely lost. About the same time one of the relations of Kanya Naik, whom the Sultan had sent to Kambala,2 apostatized from Islam and stirred

1 The work is not divided into chapters, or other divisions, systematically, in a way useful for reference, so the occasional headings have not been given in the translation. But the heading of the section in which this passage occurs is more explicit than the narrative ; it says — “ Campaign of Sultan Muhammad in Sannam, Samana, Kaitkal and Kuhram, and devastation of those countries which had all become rebellious. Departure of the Sultan to the hills; subjugation of the ranas of the hills ; the carrying away of the village chiefs and head men, Birahas, Mandh- hars, Jats, Bhats, and Manhis to Dehli. Their conversion to Islam, and their being placed in the charge of the nobles in the capital.”

2 Kampala is the name given in the print, but both MSS. read “ Kambala,” making it identical with the place mentioned directly afterwards. I have not been able to discover the place. The author probably took the name to he identical with that of Kampila in the Doab.

up a revolt. The land of Kambala also was thus lost, and fell into the hands of the Hindus. Deogir and Gujarat alone re- mained secure. Disaffection and disturbances arose on ever}r side, and as they gathered strength the Sult&n became more ex- asperated and more severe with his subjects. But his severities only increased the disgust and distress of the people. He stayed for some time in Dehli, making loans and encouraging cultiva- tion ; but the rain did not fall, and the raiyats did not apply themselves to work, so prices rose yet higher, and men and beasts died of starvation. * * * Through the famine no business of the State could go on to the Sultan’s satisfaction.

The Sultan perceived that there was no means of providing against the scarcity of grain and fodder in the capital, and no possibility of restoring cultivation without the fall of rain. He saw also that the inhabitants were daily becoming more wretched; so he allowed the people to pass the gates of the city and to remove with their families towards Hindustan, * * * so many proceeded thither. The Sultan also left the city, and, passing by Pattiali and Kampila,1 he halted a little beyond the town of Khor, on the banks of the Ganges, where he remained for a while with his army. The men built thatched huts, and took up their abode near the cultivated land. The place was called Sarg- dwari (Heaven’s gate). Grain was brought thither from Karra and Oudh, and, compared with the price at Dehli, it was cheap. While the -Sultan was staying at this place ’Ainu-1 Mulk held the territory of Oudh and Zafarabad. His brothers had fought against and put down the rebels, thus securing these territories, * * and the Malik and his brothers sent to Sarg- dwari and to Dehli money, grain and goods, to the value of from seventy to eighty lacs of tankas. This greatly increased the Sultan’s confidence in ’Ainu-1 Mulk, and confirmed his opinion of his ability. The Sultan had just before been apprized that the officials of Katlagh Khan at Deogir had, by their rapacity, re- duced the revenues ; he therefore proposed to make ’Ainu-1 Mulk

governor of Deogir, and to send him there with his brothers and all their wives and families, and to recall Katlagh Khan with his adherents. When ’Ainu-1 Mulk and his brothers heard of this design, they were filled with apprehension, and attributed it to the treachery of the Sultan. They had held their present territories for many years, and many nobles and officials of Dehli, through fear of the Sultan’s severity, had left the city, alleging the dearness of grain as the reason, and had come to Oudh and Zafarabad, with their wives and families. Some of them became connected with the Malik and his brothers, and some of them received villages. * * The Sult&n was repeatedly informed of this, and it made him very angry, but he kept this feeling to himself, until one day, while at Sarg-dwari, he sent a message to ’Ainu-1 Mulk, order- ing that all the people of note and ability, and all those who had fled from Dehli to escape punishment, should be ai’rested and sent bound to Dehli. * * * This message, so characteristic of the Sultan’s cruelty, enhanced the fears of the Malik and his brothers, and they felt assured that the Sultan’s intention was to send them to Deogir and there perfidiously destroy them. They were filled with abhorrence, and began to organize a revolt.

About this time, during the Sultan’s stay at Dehli and his temporary residence at Sarg-dwari, four revolts were quickly re- pressed. First. That of Nizam Ma-in at Karra. * * * ’Ainu-1 Mulk and his brothers marched against this rebel, and having put down the revolt and made him prisoner, they flayed him and sent his skin to Dehli. Second. That of Shahab Sultani, or Nusrat Khan, at Bidar. * * * In the course of three years he had misappropriated about a kror of tankas from the revenue. * * The news of the Sultan’s vengeance reached him and he rebelled, but he was besieged in the fort of Bidar, * * * which was captured, and he was sent prisoner to Dehli. Third. That of ’Alisha, nephew of Zafar Khan, which broke out a few months afterwards in the same district. * * * He had been sent from Deogir to Kulbarga to collect the revenues, but finding the country without soldiers and without any great men, he and his

brothers rebelled, treacherously killed Bhairan, chief of Kulbarga, and plundered his treasures. He then proceeded to Bidar and killed the ndib, after which he held both Bidar and Kulbarga, and pushed his revolt. The Sultan sent Katlagh Khan against him * * * from Deogir, and the rebel met him and was de- feated. * * * He then fled to Bidar, where he was besieged and captured. He and his brothers were sent to the Sultan, * * * who ordered them to Ghazni. They returned from thence, and the two brothers received punishment. Fourth. The revolt of ’Ainu-1 Mulk and his brothers at Sar°-dwari. The Malik was

an old courtier and associate of the Sultan, so he feared the weakness of his character and the ferocity of his temper. Con- sidering himself on the verge of destruction, he, by per- mission of the Sultan, brought his brothers and the armies of Oudh and Zafarabad with him when he went to Sar<r- dwari, and they remained a few kos distant. One night he suddenly left Sarg-dwari and joined them. His brothers then passed over the river with three or four hundred horse, and, pro- ceeding towards Sarg-dwari, they seized the elephants and horses which were grazing there, and carried them off. A serious revolt thus arose at Sarg-dwari. The Sultan summoned forces from Santana, Amroha, Baran, and Kol, and a force came in from Ahmadabad. He remained a while at Sarg-dwari to arrange his forces, and then marched to Kanauj and encamped in its suburbs. ’Ainu-1 Mulk and his brothers knew nothing of war and fighting, and had no courage and experience. They were opposed by Sultan Muhammad, * * * who had been victorious in twenty battles with the Mughals. In their extreme ignorance and folly they crossed the Ganges below Bangarmu, * * * and thinking that the Sultan’s severity would cause many to desert him, they drew near to offer battle. * * * In the morning one division of the Sultan’s forces charged and defeated them at the first attack. ’Ainu-1 Mulk was taken prisoner, and the routed forces were pur- sued for twelve or thirteen kos with great loss. The Malik’s two brothers, who were the commanders, were killed in the fight.

Many of the fugitives, in their panic, cast themselves into the river and were drowned. The pursuers obtained great booty. Those who escaped from the river fell into the hands of the Hindus in the Mawas and lost their horses and arms. The Sultan did not punish ’Ainu-1 Mulk, for he thought that he was not wilfully rebellious, but had acted through mistake. * * * After a while he sent for him, treated him kindly, gave him a robe, promoted him to high employment, and showed him great indulgence. His children and all his family were restored to him.

After the suppression of this revolt, the Sultan resolved on going to Hindustan, and proceeded to Bahraich, where he paid a visit, and devoutly made offerings to the shrine of the martyr Sipah-salar Mas’ud,1 one of the heroes of Sultan Mahmud Subuk- tigin. * * *

When the Sultan returned to Dehli, it occurred to his mind that no king or prince could exercise regal power without con- firmation by the Khalifa of the race of ’Abbas, and that every king who had, or should hereafter reign, without such confirma- tion, had been or would be overpowered. The Sultan made diligent inquiries from many travellers about the Khalifas of the line of ’Abbas, and he learned that the representatives of the line of ’Abbas were the Khalifas of Egypt. So he and his ministers and advisers came to an understanding with the Khalifa that was in Egypt, and while the Sultan was at Sarg-dw&ri he sent despatches to Egypt about many things. When he returned to the city he stopped2 the prayers of the Sabbath and the ’ l'ds. He had his own name and style removed from his coins, and that of the Khalifa substituted ; and his flatteries of the Khalifa were so fulsome that they cannot be reduced to writing. In the year 744 h. (1343 a.d.) Haji Sa’id Sarsari came to Dehli, from Egypt, bringing to the Sultan honours and a robe from the Khalifa.

1 The tomb of Mas’ fid had thus become a place of sanctity at this time. See Yol. II. App., pp. 513, 549.

2 Bar tawakkuf ddsht, probably meaning that he substituted the name of the Khalifa of Egypt for that of the Khalifa of Baghdad.

The Sultan, with all his nobles and saiyids and * * *, went forth to meet the Haji with great ceremony, * * * and he walked before him barefoot for the distance of some long bow-shots. * * * From that date permission was given, that out of respect the Khalifa’s name should be repeated in the prayers for Sabbaths and holydays, * * * and it was also ordered that in mentioning the names of the kings in the khutba , they should be declared to have reigned under the authority and confirmation of the ’Abbasi Khalifas. The names of those kings who had not received such confirmation were to be removed from the lthutba, and the kin^s were to be declared to be superseded ( mutagliallab ). * * * The name of the Khalifa was ordered to be inscribed on lofty build- ings, and no other name besides. * * * The Sultan directed that a letter acknowledging his subordination to the Khalifa should be sent by the hands of Haji Rajab Barka’i, * * * and after two years of correspondence the Haji returned from Egypt, bringing a diploma in the name of the Sultan, as deputy of the Khalifa.1 * * After the Sultan returned from Sarg-dwari, he remained for three or four years at Dehli, where he devoted himself to sundry matters which he considered to be for the good of the State. Firstly. He did his best for the promotion of agriculture, and for the encouragement of building. * * * The officers entrusted with the distribution of the loans from the public treasury took care of themselves, and appropriated the money to their own wants and necessities. Much of the pasture land being unfit for cultivation remained uncultivated, and the superintendents were in dread of punishment. In the course of two years about seventy lacs of tankas had been issued from the treasury to the superinten- dents of the cultivation of waste lands, and not one hundredth or a thousandth part of what was disbursed was reproduced in agriculture. If the Sultan had returned from his campaign against Thatta, not one of these superintendents and managers

1 In the translation of Firishta it is made to appear that it was the Khalifa of Arabia who was thus recognized : the text, however, says correctly that it was he of Egypt.

would have remained alive. Secondly. The Sultan supported and patronized the Mughals. Every year at the approach of winter, the amirs of tamans (of men) and of thousands etc., etc., received krors and lacs , and robes, and horses, and pearls. During the whole period of two or three years, the Sultan was intent upon patronizing and favouring the Mughals. Thirdly. * * * He was diligently engaged in drawing out plans and schemes for increasing his revenue and army, and for pro- moting agriculture. Fourthly. He applied himself excessively to the business of punishment, and this was the cause of many of the acquired territories slipping from his grasp, and of troubles and disturbances in those which remained in his power. * * * The more severe the punishments that were inflicted in the city, the more disgusted were the people in the neighbourhood, insur- rections spread, and the loss and injury to the State increased. Every one that was punished spoke evil of him. * * * Fifthly. The exertions which he made in the latter part of these years to promote the settlement and prosperity of Deogir and the country of the Mahrattas. The Sultan and the evil counsellors who found favour in his si^ht came to the conclusion that vast sums of the revenues of Deogir were lost through the peculations of Katlagh Khan’s officials. * * * He divided the Mahratta country into four provinces ( shikk ). * * * The officers who were sent thither received orders to exterminate all those who had revolted or were inimical to the Sultan’s rule. * * * Towards the end of the year Katlagh Khan, with his family and suite, were recalled to Dehli, and ’Aziz Him&r, a low fellow, depraved and foolish, was sent to Dhar, and made governor of all Malwa. The recall of Katlagh Khan quite disheartened the people of Deogir, and they saw themselves upon the very brink of ruin. They had enjoyed tranquility under the just and benevolent rule of that nobleman, and they had looked to him as their defence against the cruel punishments of the Sultan. The accounts which they heard of his severity had disgusted all the people of Deogir, both Hindus and Musulmans, and many of them broke out into rebellion. * * * Maulana

Nizamu-d din, a simple inexperienced man, and brother of Kat- lagh Khan, was sent from Bahruj (Broach) to succeed him. * * * The cash raised from the revenues under Katlagh Khan had been accumulated at Deogir, for it was not possible to convey it to Dehli in consequence of the badness of the roads, the dis- tress in Malwa, and the disaffection of the village chiefs. Orders were therefore given to secure it in Dhara<nr, a strong fort. * * *

The Sultan having thus appointed the base-born ’Aziz Himar to Dhar and Malwa, gave him several lacs of tankas on his departure, in order that he might proceed thither with befitting state and dignity. * * * He said to him, “ Thou seest how that revolts and disturbances are breaking out on every side, and I am told that whoever creates a disturbance does so with the aid of the foreign amirs.1 * * * Revolts are possible, because these amirs are ready to join any one for the sake of disturbance and plunder. If you find at Dhar any of these amirs , Who are dis- affected and ready to rebel, you must get rid of them in the best way you can.11 ’Aziz arrived at Dhar, and in all his native ignorance applied himself to business. The vile whoreson one day got together about eighty of the foreign amirs and chiefs of the soldiery, and, upbraiding them with having been the cause of every misfortune and disturbance, he had them all beheaded in front of the palace. * * * This slaughter of the foreign amirs of Dhar, on the mere ground of their being foreigners, caused those of Deogir, and Gujarat, and every other place to unite and to break out into insurrection. * * * When the Sultan was informed of this punishment, he sent ’Aziz a robe of honour and a complimentary letter. * * *

I, the author of this work, have been for seventeen years and three months at the court of Sultan Muhammad, and have re-

1 The printed text, the MSS., and the text of Firishta all agree in this word & , m the plural j+s»\ . It is the Mughal title for a centurion

or commander of a hundred. Briggs converts it into “ Amir Judeeda,” and trans- lates it “foreign chiefs.” He is probably not far wrong in the popular meaning he has assigned to it, but he is not justified in his alteration of the original word.

ceived many favours and gifts from him, * * * and I have often heard him speak with contempt of low-born, mean men. * * * Now when I see him promoting and honouring low and unworthy persons, I am lost in amazement. * * *

About the time when this horrid tragedy was perpetrated by ’Aziz Himar, the naib-ivazir of Gujarat, Mukbil by name, having with him the treasure and horses which had been procured in Gujarat for the royal stables, wTas proceeding by way of Dihui and Baroda to the presence of the Sultan. When he came near Dihui and Baroda, the foreign amirs of those places, who, alarmed by the act of ’Aziz, had been impelled into rebellion, attacked Mukbil, and carried off all the horses and treasure. They also destroyed all the goods and stuffs which the merchants of Gujarat were carrying under his convoy. Mukbil returned to Nahrwala, and his party was dispersed. The amirs having ac- quired so many horses and so much property grew in power and importance. Stirring up the flames of insurrection, they gathered together a force and proceeded to Kanhayat (Cambay). The news of their revolt spread throughout Gujarat, and the whole country was falling into utter confusion. At the end of the month of Ramazan, 745 h. (Feb. 1345), the intelligence of this revolt and of the defeat and plunder of Mukbil was brought to the Sultan. It caused him much anxiety, and he determined to proceed to Gujarat in person to repress the revolt.

Katlagh Khan, who had been his preceptor, sent a communi- cation to the Sultan by Zia Barm, the author of this history, saying, “What are these amirs of Dihui and Baroda, and in what position are they that the Sultan should proceed in person against them?” * * “ If permission is granted I am willing to raise an army from the resources which I have received through the Sult&n’s bounty, and to march to Gujarat, to repress this revolt.” * * * The author of this work delivered the letter, * * * but it did not meet with the Sultan’s approval, and he vouchsafed no answer. He gave orders, however, for pressing on the prepara- tions for his campaign. Before the news of the revolt arrived,

he had appointed Shaikh Mu’izzu-d din, son of Shaikh ’Alau-d din Ajodhani, to be naib of Gujarat. He now ordered three lacs of tankas to be given to the Shaikh for enabling him to raise in two or three days a thousand horse to accompany the royal army. He appointed Firoz, afterwards Sultan, Malik Kabir, and Ahmad Ayyaz to be vicegerents in the capital during his absence. He commenced his march and proceeded to Sultanpur, about fifteen kos from Dehli, where he remained a short time. This was just at the end of Ramazan. Here a letter reached him from Dhar from ’Aziz Himar, stating that * * * as he was nearer to the rebels, and was ready with the forces of Dhar, he had marched against them. The Sultan was not very pleased with this movement, and became very anxious, for ’Aziz knew nothing of warfare, and the Sultan feared that he might be cut up by the rebels. This letter was followed immediately by the news that ’Aziz had engaged the enemy, and, having lost his head during the battle, he had fallen from his horse, and being senseless and helpless he had been taken by the rebels and put to an ignominious death.

Insurrection followed upon insurrection. During the four or five days of Ramazan that the Sultan halted at Sultanpur, late one evening he sent for the author of this work, Zia Barni. When he arrived the Sultan said, “ Thou seest how many revolts spring up. I have no pleasure in them, although men will say that they have all been caused by my excessive severity. But I am not to be turned aside from punishment by observations and by revolts. You have read many histories ; hast thou found that kings inflict punishments under certain circum- stances?” I replied, “I have read in royal histories that a king cannot carry on his government without punishments, for if he were not an avenger God knows what evils would arise from the insurrections of the disaffected, and how many thousand crimes would be committed by his subjects. Jam- shid was asked under what circumstances punishment 1 is ap- 1 “Siydsat .” Capital punishment is evidently meant, in a limited sense of the word.

proved. He replied, { under seven circumstances, and what- ever goe3 beyond or in excess of these causes, produces dis- turbances, trouble, and insurrection, and inflicts injury on the country : 1. Apostasy from the true religion, and persistence therein ; 2. Wilful murder ; 3. Adultery of a married man with another’s wife ; 4. Conspiracy against the king ; 5. Head- ing a revolt, or assisting rebels ; 6. Joining the enemies or rivals of the king, conveying news to them, or aiding and abet- ting them in any way ; 7. Disobedience, productive of injury to the State. But for no other disobedience, as detriment to the realm is an essential. The servants of God are disobedi- ent to him when they are disobedient to the king, who is his vicegerent ; and the State would go to ruin, if the king were to refrain from inflicting punishment in such cases of disobedience as are injurious to the realm.’” The Sultan then asked me if the Prophet had said anything about these seven offences in respect of their punishment by kings. I replied “ that the Prophet had declared his opinion upon three offences out of these seven — viz., apostasy, murder of a Musulman, and adultery with a married woman. The punishment of the other four offences is a matter rather of policy and good government. Referring to the benefits derivable from the punishments prescribed by Jamshid, it has been remarked that kings appoint ivazirs , advance them to high dignity, and place the management of their kingdoms in their hands in order that these wazirs may frame regulations and keep the country in such good order that the king may be saved from having to stain himself with the blood of any mortal.” The Sultan replied, “ Those punishments which Jamshid prescribed were suited to the early ages of the world, but in these days many wicked and turbulent men are to be found. I visit them with chastisement upon the suspicion or presumption of their rebellious and treacherous designs, and I punish the most trifling- act of contumacy with death. This I will do until I die, or until the people act honestly, and give up rebellion and contumacy. I have no such waz'ir as will make rules to obviate my shedding

blood. I punish the people because they have all at once become my enemies and opponents. I have dispensed great wealth among them, but they have not become friendly and loyal. Their temper is well known to me, and I see that they are dis- affected and inimical to me.”

The Sultan marched from Sultanpur towards Gujarat, and when he arrived at Nahrwala he sent Shaikh Mu’izzu-d din, with some officials, into the city, whilst he, leaving it on the left, proceeded into the mountains of Abhu,1 to which Dihui and Baroda were near. The Sultan then sent an officer with a force against the rebels, and these being unable to cope with the royal army, were defeated. Many of their horsemen were killed, the rest were dispersed, and with their wives and chil- dren fled to Deogir. The Sultan then proceeded from the mountains of Abhu to Broach, from whence he sent Malik Makbul,2 naib-wazir-i mamalik , with some of the soldiers from Dehli, some of the foreign amirs of Broach, and the soldiers of Broach, in pursuit of the fugitives. Malik Makbul ac- cordingly followed the fugitives as far as the Nerbudda, where he attacked and utterly routed them. Most of them were killed, and their wives, children, and goods fell into the hands of the victors. Some of the most noted of the rebels fled upon bare-backed horses to M&n Deo, chief of the mountains of Salir and Malir. Man Deo made them prisoners, and plundered them of all the valuables they possessed. Their evil influence in Gujarat was thus put an end to. Malik Makbul remained for some days on the banks of the Nerbudda, and under royal commands he seized most of the foreign amirs of Broach who had been sent to him, and put them to death. Of those who escaped the sword, some fled to Deogir, others to the chiefs ( mukaddims ) of Gujarat.

The Sultan remained for some time at Broach, busily engaged in collecting the dues of Broach, Kanhayat (Cambay), and

1 Mount AM. Print y , MS. 1. caret; 2. J..A . Firislita, Aboogur.

2 He is called Kabul in page 243 and Mukbil in page 253.

Gujarat, which were several years in arrear. He appointed sharp collectors, and rigorously exacted large sums. At this period his anger was still more inflamed against the people, and revenge filled his bosom. Those persons at Broach and Cambay, who had disputed with Malik Makbul, or had in any way encouraged insurrection, were seized and consigned to punishment. Many persons of all descriptions thus met their ends.

While the Sultan was at Broach he appointed Zin-banda and the middle son of Bukn Thanesari, two men who were leaders in iniquity and the most depraved men in the world, to inquire into the matters of the disaffected at Deogir. Pisar Thanesari, the vilest of men, went to Deogir; and Zin-banda, a wicked iniquitous character, who was called Majdu-1 Mulk, was on the road thither. A murmuring arose among the Musulmans at Deogir that two vile odious men had been deputed to investi- gate the disaffection, and to bring its movers to destruction. One of them was before their eyes, and they heard that the other had arrived at Dhar. It so happened that just about the same time the Sultan sent two well-known noblemen to Deogir with an order to the brother of Katlagh Khan, directing him to send to Broach fifteen hundred horsemen from Deogir with the most noted of the “foreign amirs." They accordingly proceeded to Deogir, and presented the order to Nizamu-d din, brother of Katlagh Khan. In accordance therewith, he commissioned fifteen hundred horse, and despatched with them the chief foreign amirs under the conduct of the two nobles who had been sent for them- They marched toward Broach, but at the end of the first stage the foreign amirs, who were attended by their own horsemen, con- sidered that they had been summoned to Broach in order to be executed, and if they proceeded thither not one would return. So they consulted together and broke out into open resistance, and the two nobles who had been sent for them were killed in that first march. They then turned back with loud clamour and entered the royal palace, where they seized Maulana Nizamu-d din, the governor, and put him in confinement. The officials, who had

been sent by the Sultan to Deogir, were taken and beheaded. They cut Pisar Thanesari to pieces, and brought down the trea- sure from (the fort of) Dharagir. Then they made Makh Afghan, brother of Malik Yak Afghan, one of the foreign amirs , their leader, and placed him on the throne. The money and treasure were distributed among the soldiers. The Mahratta country was apportioned among these foreign amirs , and several disaffected persons joined the Afghans. The foreign amirs of Dihui and Baroda left Man Deo and proceeded to Deogir, where the revolt had increased and had become established. The people of the country joined them.

The Sultan, on hearing of this revolt, made ready a large force and arrived at Deogir, where the rebels and traitors confronted him. He attacked them and defeated them. Most of the horsemen were slain in the action. Makh Afghan, their com- mander, who had received a royal canopy, and had called himself Sultan, escaped, with his confederates and his wives and children, to the fort of Dharagir, and there took refuge. Hasan Kangu, and the rebels of Bidar, and the brethren of Makh Afghan, fled before the royal forces to their own countries. The inhabitants of Deogir, Hindus and Musulmans, traders and soldiers, were plundered. ’Imadu-1 Mulk, Sar-tez i Sultam , with several other amirs , was sent by the Sultan to Kulbarga, with instructions to occupy that place and to secure the neighbouring country. He was also directed to hunt up the fugitives who had fled before the royal forces, and to put a stop to their machinations. The Sultan stayed for a while at Deogir, in the royal palace, and on New Year’s Day all the Musulmans in the place went to wait upon him. * * *

While the Sultan was engaged at Deogir in settling the affairs of that place and in providing for the settlement of the Mahratta country, and before he had finished the business of the amirs and the army, news arrived of the revolt, excited by the traitor Taghi, in Gujarat. This man was a cobbler, and had been a slave of the general, Malik Sultani. He had

won over the foreign amirs of Gujarat, and had broken out into rebellion. Many of the mukaddims of Gujarat joined him. He marched to Nahrwala, killed Malik Muzaffar, the assistant of Shaikh Muhzzu-d din (the governor), and made the latter and his officers prisoners. Taghi then proceeded, at the head of his rebels, to Cambay, and, after plundering that place, he proceeded with a body of Hindus and Musulmans to the fort of Broach. They attacked the fort, and every day had conflicts with the defenders. The Sultan, upon receiving intelligence of this rising, left the affairs of Deogir half settled, and placing certain officers in charge, departed with all speed towards Broach to meet the rebels. All the Musulmans of that place who had remained in Deogir, high and low, marched with the royal army to Broach. Grain was very dear, and the army suffered great privations. I, Zia Barni, the author of this history, just at this time joined the Sultan, after he had made one or two marches from Ghati-sakun towards Broach. I had been sent from the capital by the present Sultan (Firoz), Malik Kabir, and Ahmad Ayyaz, with letters of congratulation on the con- quest of Deogir. The Sultan received me with great favour. One day, as I was riding in his suite, the Sultan conversed with me, and the conversation turned upon rebellion. He then said, “ Thou seest what troubles these traitorous foreign amirs have excited on every side. When I collect my forces and put them down in one direction, they excite disturbances in some other quarter. If I had at the first given orders for the de- struction of all the foreign amirs of Deogir, Gujarat, and Broach, I should not have been so troubled by them. This rebel, Taghi, is my slave ; if I had executed him or had sent him as a memorial to the King of Eden, this revolt would never have broken out.” I could not help feeling a desire to tell the Sultan that the troubles and revolts which were breaking out on every side, and this general disaffection, all arose from the excessive severity of his Majesty, and that if punishments were suspended for a while, a better feeling might spring up, and mistrust be removed from

the hearts of the people. But I dreaded the temper of the king, and could not say what I desired, so I said to myself, What is the good of pointing out to the Sultan the causes of the troubles and disturbances in his country, for it will have no effect upon him p The Sultan arrived at Broach, and encamped on the banks of the Nerbadda, which flows by the town. When the rebel Taghi was apprized of the approach of the Sultan, he abandoned the town, with a party of his adherents not numbering more than three hundred horse. The Sultan then placed Malik Yusuf Baghra in command of two thousand horse, and sent him with some other amirs to Cambay. In four or five days he drew near to that place and encountered Taghi, when he and several other amirs were slain, and the army being routed, fled to Broach. Instantly upon hearing this, the Sultan crossed the river, and re- mained two or three days in Broach. Although he made every exertion to get to Cambay, Taghi heard of his advance and fled from that place to Asawal.1 Thither the Sultan pursued him, but the rebel again fled and went to Nahrwala. Before the Sultan left Broach, Taghi had executed Shaikh Mu’izzu-d din and several other officials whom he had made prisoners. * * * The Sultan arrived at Asawal and had to stay there about a month, on account of the ill-condition of his horses and the fall of rain. While the rains were still prevailing, news came from Nahrwala that Taghi had marched from thence with a party of horse towards Asawal and had arrived at the town of Karra. The Sultan marched from Asawal in the very height of the rains, and on the third or fourth day reached Karra. Next day he drew out his forces and attacked the rebel. Taghi, on seeing the approach of the royal force, plied his men with wine and made them drunk. The foreign horsemen ( saicdri sadi ) then made an impetuous and reckless charge with their drawn swords on the royal forces, but they were encountered by the elephants and overthrown. They then ran among the trees, dispersed and fled towards Nahrwala. Several were made prisoners, and all the

baggage fell into the hands of the victors. Four or five hundred men, combatants and non-combatants,1 were taken with the bag- gage, and were all put to the sword. The Sultan then placed the son of Malik Yusuf Baghra at the head of a force, and sent him in pursuit of the fugitives, but night came on, so he and his troops halted to rest. Taghi, with his remaining horse- men, reached Nahrwala; there he collected all his family and dependents, and proceeded to Kant-barahi,2 where he stayed some days. From thence he wrote to the Rai of Karnal, im- ploring assistance in his flight, and proceeded to Karnal. Then he went to Thatta and Damrila, where he found refuge.

Two or three days after, the Sultan arrived at Kahrwala, and alighted at the garden of the reservoir of Sahsilang. There he applied himself to settling the affairs of Gujarat. The mukaddims, the ranas, and the mahants of Gujarat, came in and paid their homage, and received robes and rewards. In a short time the inhabitants wTho had been scattered abroad returned to their homes and were delivered from the ravages of the rebels. Several of Taghi’s chief supporters left him and went to the Rana of Mandal and Teri,3 but that chief slew them and sent their heads to the Sultan. He also seized upon all their wives and children. For this service he received robes and rewards, and being so favoured he came to the Court.

While the Sultan was engaged in settling the affairs of the country, and was about to enter Nahrwala, news came from Deogir that Hasan Kangu and other rebels, who had fled before the royal army in the day of battle, had since attacked Tmadu-1 Mulk, and had slain him and scattered his army. Kiwamu-d din and other nobles left Deogir and went towards Dhar. Hasan Kangu then proceeded to Deogir and assumed royal dignity. Those rebels who had fled before the Sultan’s army to the summit of Dharagir, now came down, and a revolution was

2 So the print. One MS. has “ Katab and Barai,” the other “ Kanhan and Barahi.”

3 So the print. One MS. says “ Mandal Tabri,” the other “ Mandal Pari.”

effected in Deogir. When intelligence of this reached the Sultan’s ears, he was very disheartened, for he saw very well that the people were alienated. No place remained secure, all order and regularity were lost, and the throne was tottering to its fall.

During the months of the Sultan’s stay at Nahrwala no one was sent to execution ( siydsat ). He summoned Ahmad Ayyaz and other nobles, with an army, from the capital, with the in- tention of sending them to Deogir,^ and they, having made every preparation, came to the Sultan. But news now arrived that Hasan Kangu had drawn together a large force at Deogir. The Sultan therefore did not deem it advisable to send them there, and gave up the idea of attacking it. He determined that he would free Gujarat, take Karnal, and put down the traitor Taghi; after which he would march to Deogir, overthrow the rebels, and remove every cause of trouble and anxiety. In pursuance of this plan he first directed his attention to the taking of Karnal and the fort of Khankar.1 The mukaddims of Deogir, who had come from that place to wait upon the Sultan, now saw that the busi- ness of their country was postponed ; so they went off by ones and twos, and, meeting at a rendezvous, they returned to Deogir.

The success of the rebels, and the loss of Deogir, greatly troubled the king. One day, while he was thus distressed, he sent for me, the author of this work, and, addressing me, said : “My kingdom is diseased, and no treatment cures it. The physi- cian cures the headache, and fever follows ; he strives to allay the fever, and something else 2 supervenes. So in my kingdom dis- orders have broken out ; if I suppress them in one place they appear in another ; if I allay them in one district another be- comes disturbed. What have former kings said about these disorders?” I replied, “Histories record many remedies which kings have employed in these disorders. Some kings, when they have perceived that they do not retain the confidence of

1 This is a personal name, see infra. The spelling is that of one of the MSS. The print has “ Kanhgar ” and “ Khankar.”

s “ Sadah ” in the print and in one MS., “ chize digar ” in the other.

their people, and have become the objects of general dislike, have abdicated their thrones and have given over the government to the most worthy of their sons. Retiring into privacy, and occupying themselves in innocent pursuits, they have passed their time in the society of sympathizing friends, without troubling themselves about matters of government. Other kings, when they have found themselves the objects of general aversion, have taken to hunting, pleasure, and wine, leaving all the business of the State to their wazirs and officers, and throwing off all concern in them. If this course seems good 1 to the people, and the king is not given to revenge, the disorders of the State may be cured. Of all political ills, the greatest and most dire is a general feeling of aversion and a want of confidence among all ranks of the people.” The Sultan replied, “ If I can settle the affairs of my kingdom according to my wish, I will consign my realm of Dehli to three persons, Firoz Shah, Malik Kabir, and Ahmad Ayyaz, and I will then proceed on the pilgrimage to the holy temple. At present I am angry with my subjects, and they are aggrieved with me. The people are acquainted with my feelings, and I am aware of their misery and wretchedness. No treatment that I employ is of any benefit. My remedy for rebels, insurgents, opponents, and disaffected people is the sword. I employ punish- ment and use the sword, so that a cure may be effected by suffer- ing. The more the people resist, the more I inflict chastisement.”

When the Sultan gave up Deogir and applied himself to the settlement of Gujarat, he passed three rainy seasons in that country. The first he passed at Mandal and Teri,2 devoting his time to the affairs of the country and the equipment of his army. The second he passed near the fort of Karnal. When the mukad- dim of that place saw the numbers and strength of the royal army, he resolved to make Taghi prisoner and deliver him up; but the rebel got notice of his intention, and fled to Thatta, where he found refuge with the Jam. After the rains were over, the

1 The text has a negative here, which seems to mar the sense.

2 “ Mandal ba Teri." “ Mandal pari’’ in one MS.

Sult&n took Karnal, and brought all the coast into subjection. The ranas and mukaddims came in and made submission, where- upon they received robes and rewards. A commissioner was sent to take charge of Karnal. Khankhar and the Rana of Karnal, being taken prisoners, were brought to the court, and all that country was completely subdued. The third rainy season the Sultan passed at Kondal. This is a place in the direction of Thatta, Sumarg&n,1 and Damrila. At Kondal the Sultan fell sick with fever, which obliged him to remain there for some time. Before the Sultan went to Kondal he received from Dehli the intelligence of the death of Malik Kabir, which deeply grieved him. Thereupon he sent Ahmad Ayyaz and Malik Makbul from the army to take charge of the affairs of the capital. He summoned Khudawand-zada,3 Makhdum-zada, and many elders, learned men and others, with their wives and families, to Kondal. Every one that was summoned hastened with horse and foot to join the Sult&n at Kondal, so that a large force was gathered there and was formed into an army. Boats were brought from Deobalpur, Multan, Uch, and Siwistan to the river. The Sultan recovered from his disorder, and marched with his army to the Indus. He crossed that river in ease and safety with his army and elephants. He was there joined by Altun Bahadur, with four or five thousand Mughal horse, seut by the Amir of Farghan. The Sultan showed great attention to this leader and his followers, and bestowed many gifts upon them. He then advanced along the banks of the Indus towards Thatta, with an army as numerous as a swarm of ants or locusts, with the intention of humbling the Sumras and the rebel Taghi, whom they had sheltered.

As he was thus marching with his countless army, and was thirty kos from Thatta, the ’ ashura or fast of the 10th of Muharram happened. He kept the fast, and when it was over he ate some fish. The fish did not agree with him, his illness returned and fever increased. He was placed in a boat and con-

1 Var : “ Siyumgan ” and “ Siyumragan.” 2 See page 276 infra.

tinued his journey on the second and third days, until he came to within fourteen kos of Thatta. He then rested, and his army was fully prepared, only awaiting the royal command to take Thatta, and to crush the Sumras of Thatta and the rebel Taghi in a single day, and to utterly annihilate them. But fate ruled it otherwise. During the last two or three days that he was encamped near Thatta, the Sultan’s malady had grown worse, and his army was in great trouble, for they were a thousand kos distant from Dehli and their wives and children, they were near the enemy and in a wilderness and desert, so they were sorely distressed, and looking upon the Sultan’s expected death as preliminary to their own, they quite despaired of returning home. On the 21st Muharram, 752 h. (1350 A.D.), Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlik departed this life on the banks of the Indus, at fourteen kos from Thatta. * * *

I, the author of this Tarikh-i Firoz Shahi , have written all that I have witnessed during six years of the personal character of the reigning sovereign, and of the events which have occurred during that time. I have included these in eleven chapters, and if I live some years longer I intend to write ninety more chapters, so that the complete history of the reign may consist of one hundred and one chapters ( mukaddamas ). * * *

Chapter 1. Account of the Accession of Firoz Shah.

2. March of the Sultan from Siwistan to Dehli.

3. Eulogy of the personal character qf the Sultan.

4. His bounty in the grant of pensions and inams.

9. Arrival of letters and robes from the Khalifa.

11. Defeat of the attacks of the Mughals.

• • • On the third day after the death of Muhammad Tughlik, the army marched from (its position) fourteen kos from Thatta towards Siwistan, on its return homewards. Every division of the army marched without leader, rule, or route, in the greatest disorder. No one heeded or listened to what any one said, but continued the march like careless caravans. So when they had proceeded a kos or two, the Mughals, eager for booty, assailed them in front, and the rebels of Thatta attacked them in the rear. Cries of dismay arose upon every side. The Mughals fell to plundering, and carried off women, maids, horses, camels, troopers, baggage, and whatever else had been sent on in advance. They had very nearly captured the royal harem and the treasure with the camels which carried it. The villagers (who had been pressed into the service) of the army, and expected the attack, took to flight. They pillaged various lots of baggage on the right and left of the army, and then joined the rebels of Thatta in attacking the baggage train. The people of the army, horse and foot, women and men, stood their ground ; for when they marched, if any advanced in front, they were assailed by the Mughals ; if they lagged behind, they were plundered by the rebels of Thatta. Those who resisted and put their trust in God reached the next stage, but those who had gone forward with the women, maids, and baggage, were cut to pieces. The army continued its march along the river without any order or regularity, and every man was in despair for his life and goods, his wife and children. Anxiety and distress would allow no one to sleep that night, and, in their dismay, men remained with their eyes fixed upon heaven. On the second day, by stratagem and foresight, they reached their halting ground, as- sailed, as on the first day, by the Mughals in front and the men of Thatta in the rear. They rested on the banks of the river in the greatest possible distress, and in fear for their lives and goods. The women and children had perished. Makhdum Zada ’Abbasi, the Shaikhu-s Shaiyukh of Egypt, Shaikh Nasiru-d

din Mahmud Oudhi, and the chief men, assembled and went to Firoz Shah, and with one voice said, “Thou art the heir apparent and legatee of the late Sultan ; he had no son, and thou art his brother’s son ; there is no one in the city or in the army enjoy- ing the confidence of the people, or possessing the ability to reign. For God’s sake save these wretched people, ascend the throne, and deliver us and many thousand other miserable men. Redeem the women and children of the soldiers from the hands of the Mughals, and purchase the prayers of two lacs of people.” Firoz Shah made objections, which the leaders would not listen to. All ranks, young and old, Musulmans and Hindus, horse and foot, women and children, assembled, and with one acclaim declared that Firoz Shah alone was worthy of the crown. “It he does not assume it to-day and let the Mughals hear of his doing so, not one of us will escape from the hands of the Mughals and the Thatta men.” So on the 24th Muharram, 752 h. (1351 a.d.), the Sult&n ascended the throne.

On the day of his accession the Sultan got some horse in order and sent them out to protect the army, for whenever the Mughal horse came down they killed and wounded many, and carried off prisoners. On the same day he named some amirs to guard the rear of the army, and these attacked the men of Thatta when they fell upon the baggage. Several of the assailants were put to the sword, and they, terrified with this lesson, gave up the pursuit and returned home. On the third day he ordered certain amirs to attack the Mughals, and they accordingly made several of the Mughal commanders of thousands and of hundreds pri- soners, and brought them before the Sultan. The Mughals from that very day ceased their annoyance ; they moved thirty or forty kos away, and then departed for their own country.

11. — Stoppage of the evils inflicted by the Mughals of Changiz

All men of intelligence in Hind and Sind have seen and re- marked the stop which has been put to the inroads of the Mughals

of Changiz Khan in this auspicious reign. They have not been able to attack and ravage the frontier territories, nor have they been permitted to come in with professions of friendship and employ their arts to carry off the wealth of the country. They had the presumption to make two attacks. Once they crossed the Sodra and came into the neighbouring country. There they were met by the forces of Islam and were defeated. Many were killed and many were taken prisoners. These latter were placed upon camels, and were paraded in derision 'round Dehli, with wooden collars on their necks. Those who escaped from the battle fled in the greatest precipitation and confusion, and many were drowned in the passage of the Sodra. On the other occa- sion they made a rapid dash into Gujarat. Some perished from thirst, some died by the hands of the soldiers, and some fell in a night attack which the natives of the country made upon them. Not one-tenth of these accursed followers of Changiz Khan reached their own country.

[This History of Firoz Shah is devoted exclusively to the reign of that monarch, and therefore has a better right to the title than Barni’s history, which embraces only a small por- tion of the reign of Firoz, and bears the title simply because it was written or finished during his reign. Little is known of Shams-i Siraj beyond what is gleaned from his own work. He was descended from a family which dwelt at Abuhar, the country of Firoz Shah’s Bhatti mother. His great grandfather, he says, was collector of the revenue of Abuhar, and was intimate with Ghiyasu-d din Tughlik before he became Sultan. He himself was attached to the court of Firoz, and accompanied him on his hunting expeditions.]

The work has met with scarcely any notice, whilst every historian who writes of the period quotes and refers to Ziau-d din Barni. The reason of this may be that Shams-i Siraj enters more than usual into administrative details, and devotes some chapters to the condition of the common people — a matter of the utmost indifference to Muhammadan authors in general. His untiring strain of eulogy could not have condemned him in their eyes, as they were accustomed to little else in all the other histories they consulted ; so that we must either attribute the neglect of this work to the cause assigned, or to the fact of its having at a comparatively late period been rescued from some musty record room. The work, consisting of ninety chapters, contains an ample account of this Akbar of his time ; and, making due allowance for the prevalent spirit of eulogium and exaggeration, it not only raises in us a respect for the virtues

and munificence of Firoz, and for the benevolence of his character, as shown by his canals and structures for public accommodation, but gives us altogether a better view of the internal condition of India under a Muhammadan sovereign than is presented to us in any other work, except the Aym-i Akbari.

[In style, this history has no pretensions to elegance, being, in general, very plain. The author is much given to reiterations and recapitulations, and he has certain pet phrases which he con- stantly uses. Sir H. Elliot desired to print a translation of the whole work, and he evidently held it in high estimation. A por- tion of the work had been translated for him by a munshi, but this has proved to be entirely useless. The work of translation has, consequently, fallen upon the editor, and he has endeavoured to carry out Sir H. Elliot’s plan by making a close translation of the first three chapters, and by extracting from the rest of the work everything that seemed worthy of selection. The transla- tion is close, without being servile; here and there exuberances of eloquence have been pruned out, and repetitions and tauto- logies have been passed over without notice, but other omissions have been marked by asterisks, or by brief descriptions in brackets of the passages omitted. Shams-i Siraj, with a better idea of method than has fallen to the lot of many of his brother his- torians, has divided his work into books and chapters with appropriate headings.

[Besides this history of Firoz Shah, the author often refers to his Manakib-i Sultan Tughlik , and he mentions his intention of writing similar memoirs of the reign of Sultan Muhammad, the son of Firoz Shah. Nothing more appears to be known of these works. Copies of the Tarikh-i Firoz Shahi are rare in India, and Colonel Lees, who has selected the work for publication in the Bibliotheca Indica, has heard only of “ one copy in General Hamilton’s library, and of another at Dehli, in the possession of Nawab Ziau-d din Loharu, of which General Hamilton’s is perhaps a transcript.'”1 The editor has had the use of four 1 Jour. R. A. S., New Series, iii., 446.

copies. One belonging to Sir H. Elliot, and another belong- ing to Mr. Thomas, are of quite recent production. They are evidently taken from the same original, most probably the Dehli copy above mentioned. The other two copies belong to the library of the India Office, one having been lately purchased at the sale of the Marquis of Hastings’s books. These are older productions ; they are well and carefully written, and although they contain many obvious errors, they will be of the greatest service in the preparation of a correct text. None of these MSS. are perfect. The two modern copies terminate in the middle of the ninth chapter of the last book. The Hastings copy wants several chapters at the end of the first and the beginning: of the second book ; but it extends to the eleventh chapter of the last book, and has the final leaf of the work. The other MS. ends in the middle of the fifteenth chapter of the last book, and some leaves are missing from the fourteenth. For- tunately these missing chapters seem, from the headings given in the preface, to be of no importance.

[A considerable portion of the work was translated in abstract by Lieut. Henry Lewis, Bengal Artillery, and published in the Journal of the Archaeological Society of Dehli in 1849.]

Firoz Shah was born in the year 709 h. (1309 A.D.). It is recorded that his father was named Sipah-salar Rajab, and was brother of Sultan Ghiyasu-d din Tughlik Ghazi. The writer of this work has given a full account of their parentage in his Memoirs of Sultan Tughlik ( Manakib-i Saltan Tughlik). The three brothers, Tughlik, Rajab, and Abu Bakr, came from Khurasan to Dehli in the reign of ’Alau-d din, and that monarch, under Divine guidance, treated them with great kindness and favour. All three were taken into the service of the Court, and the Sultan, observing their courage and energy, conferred upon Tughlik the country of Dipalpur, and employed all the brothers in public business. Tughlik was desirous that his brother Sipah-

salar Rajab should obtain in marriage the daughter of one of the Rais of Dipalpur ; and while he was seeking a suitable match, he was informed that the daughters of Rana Mall Bhatti were very beautiful and accomplished. In those days all the estates, from the highest to the lowest, and all the jungle belonging to the Mini and Bhatti tribes, were attached to the town of Abuhar, which was one of the dependencies of Dipalpur. The author’s great-grandfather, Malik S’adu-1 Mulk Shahab ’Afif was then ’amaldar of Abuhar, and Tughlik Shah, after consultation with him, sent some intelligent and acute persons to Rana Mall with a proposal of marriage.

When the messengers delivered Tughlik’s message, Rana Mall, in his pride and haughtiness, uttered unseemly and improper observations. This, together with the Rana’s refusal, was com- municated to Tughlik Shah, who then again took counsel with the author’s ancestor, and after much debate it was decided that Tughlik Shah should proceed to the villages ( talwandi ) belonging to Rana Mall, and demand payment of the year’s revenue. Next day Tughlik proceeded thither and demanded payment in ready money of the whole amount. The mukaddims and chaud- haris were subjected to coercion, and payment in full was insisted upon. The Rana’s people were helpless and could do nothing, for those were the days of ’Alau-d din, and no one dared to make any outcry. In the course of two or three days they were reduced to extremities and suffered much hardship. Some trust- worthy and precise persons told the author that the mother of Rana Mall, who was an old woman, when she heard of Tughlik Shah’s severity to the people, proceeded at the time of evening prayer into the house of her son, weeping and tearing her hair, and spoke most feelingly upon the matter. At that time Rana Mali’s daughter, the future mother of Firoz Shah, was in the court-yard. When that fortunate damsel heard the wailing and crying of the Rana’s mother, she inquired what was the cause of her grief ; and the dame replied, “ I am weeping on your account, for it is through you that Tughlik Shah is weighing so heavily on the

people of this land.” The author’s veracious informer said that the high-spirited, noble girl exclaimed, “If the surrender of me will deliver the people from such misery, comply instantly with the demand, and send me to him; consider then that the Mughals have carried off one of your daughters.” The old lady went and told the Rana of his daughter’s resolution, and he gave his assent. The R&na communicated the fact to the author’s great-grandfather, when a messenger was sent to Tughlik Shah announcing the Rana’s assent to the marriage, and the damsel herself was brought to Dipalpur. Before her marriage she was called Bibi Naila, but on entering the house of Sipah-salar Rajab, she was styled Sultan Bibi Kadbanu.

After the lapse of a few years she gave birth to Firoz Shah in a most auspicious hour, and Tughlik Shah distributed his bounty on all sides in token of his joy. On the very day that Firoz Shah was born, the author’s grandfather, Shams-i Shahab ’Afif, also came into the world. The females of the author’s ancestors then lived at Dipalpur, and constantly visited the female apart- ments of Tughlik Shah, and often in talking of these matters the author’s great-grandfather used to say that he had frequently given Firoz Shah a cup of milk ; and Firoz Shah himself, when he had reached the summit of his power and glory, used to tell the author’s father that he had sucked at the breast of his grand- mother.

When Firoz Shah was seven years old his father, Sipah-salar Rajab, died, and Tughlik Shah made great mourning for him. The widowed mother was in great distress as to the education and training of her son, but Tughlik Shah consoled her, and told her that he would look upon the child as his own, and treat him with every kindness so long as he lived. The mother of Fii-oz Shah had no other child, either son or daughter. Those who say that Malik Kutbu-d din was brother of Firoz Shah speak the truth, but he was born of another mother. The same was the case with Malik Naib Bar-bak ; he also was his brother, but by a different mother.

Firoz Shah received instruction in the duties of royalty and the functions of sovereignty from two kings, Sultan Tughlik Shah and Sultan Muhammad Shah, and he became thoroughly conversant with all affairs of State. Tatar Khan Buzurp- used to say upon this subject that Firoz Shah ought to be acquainted with regal and political duties, and that no one should feel any apprehension about him.

Second Mukaddama. — Firoz Shah's Education in the Duties of

Firoz Shah was fourteen years old when Sultan Tughlik Shah ascended the throne. The Sultan was engaged for four years and a half in travelling about his dominions, and during that time Firoz Shah attended him, obtaining full knowledge of all public business transacted by the Sultan. On the death of Sultan Tughlik he was succeeded on the throne of Dehli by Muhammad Shah. At the accession of this monarch Firoz Shah was eighteen years of age. He was appointed deputy of the lord chamberlain ( naib-i amir-hajib ), with the title of Naib Bar-bak , and received the command of 12,000 horse. The Sultan was exceedingly kind and generous to him, and keeping him con- stantly near his person he used to explain to him, with much intelligence, all affairs of State that came up for consideration. Even at this period Firoz Shah showed himself very kind and generous to the poor, and when any case of distress came before him he was prompt to relieve it. When Muhammad Shah divided the territories of Dehli into four parts, as the author has fully explained in his Manakib-i Sultan Muhammad , he placed one part under the charge of Firoz Shah, so that he might acquire experience in the art of government. The w'ise have said that the man who can perform the duties of one charge may guide the affairs of a State and accomplish the government of a kingdom. So the clear-sighted Sultan Muhammad placed Firoz Shah over a fourth part of his kingdom, in order that, with the Divine favour, he might become an adept in all political matters.

It is commonly said that Sultan Muhammad Shah used to keep Firoz Shall continually at work in various matters, and the state- ment is true. But this labour was not imposed upon him out of any ill-feeling, for, had the king disliked him, he would have sent him far from his court. Muhammad Shah was an illustrious king, and a most intelligent and able man, so much so that he was remarkable for his talents anions; the great men of Dehli. His object was to train Firoz Shah, so that he might become thoroughly versed in the duties of royalty. Thus Firoz Shah completed his forty-fifth year under the tuition of Sultan Mu- hammad Shah.

Third Mukaddama. — Accession of Firoz Shall.

When Sultan Muhammad Shah died, a body of Mughals plundered the baggage train and went off towards their own country. At this conjuncture all the Khans and princes, the learned men, shaikhs , and officials who were with Sultan Muhammad at Thatta, met in council and decided that nothing could be done without a leader, saying, “Dehli is distant,1 and these things have happened. Sultan Muhammad is gone to Paradise, and the Mughals have taken the field and have come up against us.112 In fine, a Mughal band plundered the baggage, and their in- satiate desires being unsatisfied with the plunder thus wickedly obtained, they approached closer in search of further booty. The nobles of Sultan Muhammad Shah then assembled in council, and, after a long and anxious deliberation, the nobles and the administrative officers both agreed that the proper course was to place the reins of government in the hands of Firoz Shah.

Firoz Shah, through fear of God, was averse to being made sovereign, and stated that he had formed the design of making the pilgrimage to Mecca. But the divine approval of the suc- cession of Firoz Shah was from the first made known by means of the shaikhs, because in attaining royalty the mode of its acqui- sition is an important point. Sometimes when an elder is about

1 A proverbial expression. 2 Du-ba-du-i ma dar-dmadah.

to quit the world, he authoritatively places one of his disciples in his place, and hands over to him his prayer- carpet, although the disciple may be reluctant to undertake the serious charge. This mode of appointment is called authorization by investiture with the religious garment, and is highly honoured among shaikhs. So all the princes, and judges, and doctors, and shaikhs , and officials who had gone to Thatta with Muhammad Shah, agreed unanimously upon choosing Firoz Shah, but he was reluctant to assent, feeling the weight of the responsibility to God. This however, is a feeling which can only be allowed to saints, because the burden of royalty is an arduous one. Every one approved the choice, and all men set their hearts upon its acceptance.

When this election was made known, Khudawand-zada, daughter of Tughlik Shah and mother of Dawar Malik, sent a message to the nobles, urging that it was not right to prefer the Amir-hajib to her son by Malik Khusru, seeing that she was daughter of Sultan Tughlik, and sister of Sultan Muhammad. Whilst her son lived, how could any stranger sit upon the throne ? Some historians add that Khudawand-zada used indecorous lan- guage upon the matter. On her message being delivered to the nobles, they all winced as if snake-bitten. It pleased nobody, but all the assembly agreed to send Malik Saifu-d din Khoju to her. The Malik was a celebrated man, and whatever he said, he said well, with dignity and firmness. He accordingly pro- ceeded to Khudawand-zada, and addressed her in polite, though decided, language, saying, “0 woman, if thy son had been chosen instead of Firoz Shah, thou wouldst have no home to look upon, nor should we have wives or children to gladden our eyes, because thy son is an incompetent person, incapable of governing. We have come into this foreign country, and a large Mughal army confronts us ; if thou wisliest to save thyself from that army, do thou acquiesce in what we all have deter- mined, and the office and title of Naib Bar-bak shall be conferred upon thy son.” Khudawand-zada was silent, and Malik Saifu-d din returned.

All the nobles then agreed upon choosing Firoz Shah, but still he would not consent. Writers of credit report that Tatar Khan, who was president of the meeting, then stood up, and taking the arm of Firoz Shah, forced him to sit upon the throne. Upon this Sultan Firoz said to Tatar Khan, “Since you have placed this heavy trouble and grievous labour upon my shoulders, you must be patient for a while till I have performed my de- votions.” He then went through his ablutions, and repeated the regular form of prayer in singleness of heart. Afterwards, bowing his head to the ground, he, with tearful eyes, poured forth his supplications to the Almighty, saying, “ 0 Lord ! the stability of states, the peace, regulation, and occupations of governments do not depend upon man. Permanence of dominion depends upon thy behests. Oh God, thou art my refuge and my strength.” After this they placed the crown of empire upon his head, and invested him with the robes of sovereignty. Many persons who were present in this assembly have told the author that Sultan Firoz Shah put on the robes of royalty over his garments of mourning, and although the nobles of the late Sultan Muhammad Shah wished to remove the dress of mourn- ing, he would not allow them, and said : “ Although in com- pliance with your counsels I have assumed the robes of sove- reignty, still I cannot throw off my garments of mourning, for Sultan Muhammad was my lord, my teacher, and my guide in all things. It was my earnest desire to make the pilgrimage to the holy temple, but I have yielded to your strenuous opposi- tion ; it will be well, therefore, that the robes of royalty should cover the garments of mourning.” He was so attired, when an elephant was brought, which he mounted, and went forth in state. The heralds and attendants shouted in loud acclaim, the drums were beaten in exultation, and universal joy prevailed.

The first public act of Sultan Firoz Shah was to invest Shir- abru Chashm with the duties of Tmadu-1 Mulk.1 The date of his accession to the throne was the 24th Muharram, 752 h.

1 “ Pillar of the state ” — i.e. minister.

(March 23rd, 1351 a.d.). Firoz Shah, the sovereign elect, pro- ceeded on his elephant to the female apartments, and threw him- self at the feet of Khudawand-zada. She embraced him, and with her own hands placed upon his head a crown, valued at a lac of tankas , which had belonged to Sultan TWhlik Shall and Sultan Muhammad Shah. The Sultan Firoz Shah then re- turned, and general satisfaction prevailed.

Fourth Mukaddama. — Firoz Shah tears with a Mughal force.

The accession of Firoz Shah made the people glad, because they were in great alarm about the Mughal hordes. After plundering the baggage train, the Mughals had come within sight of the camp at Dehli. The khans and nobles assembled, and the opportunity was deemed favourable for an attack upon the invaders. The Sultan accordingly assembled his forces of horse, foot, and elephants, and attacked the enemy. A fierce battle ensued, and the slaughter was great, but victory inclined to the Sultan, and the Mughals fled, abandoning their camp and baggage. The victory was complete, and all the people of the great bazar ( bazdr-i buzurg ) who had been taken prisoners by the Mughals were set free. This was the first victory of the reign of Sultan Firoz, and he proceeded to Delhi amid general rejoicings and acclamations.

Fifth Mukaddama. — On the mistake made by Khwdja-i Jahdn Ahmad Ayyaz in setting up the son of the late Sultan Mu- hammad Shah.

When Sultan Muhammad Shah, in the latter days of his reign, proceeded to Daulatabad (Deogir), he left three persons in (charge of) Delhi; — Malik Kabir, Katlagh Khan, and Firoz Shah, who was then Naib-i amir hajib (deputy of the lord cham- berlain). The two former died before their master, and the latter was summoned to attend his person in Thatta. Delhi being thus left vacant, Khwdja-i Jahdn was sent thither from Thatta as representative of the absent sovereign. With him were several

other nobles, Malik Kiwamu-1 Mulk the Klian-i Jahan, Malik Hasan, Malik Hisamu-d din Uzbek, and others. It is commonly- reported that when the Khwaja-i Jalian heard that Sultan Muhammad Shah was dead, and that Sultan Firoz Shah had been chosen by the nobles and chief men to succeed him, he set up the son of Muhammad Shah in opposition at Dehli, and gained the people over to his side. But this commonly received story is not true. The author here gives the true account of this transaction just as he heard it from Kish war Khan, son of Kishlu Khan Bahrain, one of the servants of the Court.

When Sultan Muhammad Shah died at Thatta, the chiefs of the Hazara of Khurasan, who had come to assist him, as soon as they heard of his death, plundered the chief bazar, as the author has related in his Manakib-i Sultan Muhammad Shah. In those days the baggage belonging to the forces, which were at detached stations, was plundered, and the men of these de- tachments all fled to the city. Firoz Shah had not yet been placed on the throne. A slave named Malih Tuntun1 had been sent from Dehli by Khwaja-i Jahan to Sultan Muhammad, and just at this juncture, when the alarming news was coming in from the army, he started on his return to Dehli. On his arrival he unfolded to Khwaja-i Jahan the intelligence of the death of the Sultan, the attacks of the Mughals upon the army, the plundering of the bazar, and the disaffection and bloodshed among the royal forces. He then proceeded to add that Tatar Khan and the Amir-hdjib Firoz Shah were missing, and it was not known whether they had been taken prisoners or killed by the Mughals ; that many other nobles had been slain ; and that such untoward events had happened in the royal army.

When the Khwaja-i Jahan heard this news, he mourned for the death of Sultan Muhammad, and also for Firoz Shah. There was great affection between the Khwaja and Firoz Shah, so that they had no reserve with each other, and it reached to such an extent that the Khwaja called Firoz his son. After the duties 1 Yar. “ TtinCm.” Barm calls him “ Altun,” which is more likely.

of mourning were completed, the Khwaja, believing the report brought by Malih to be correct, placed a son of Sultan Mu- hammad Shall upon the throne, and thus, through adverse fate, committed a blunder. When he heard that the Lord Chamber- lain was alive and well, he perceived his error. But he proceeded to collect an army, and thought his best policy was to be pre- pared, because in affairs of State no one believes acts like his to be be mistakes and errors ; and until peace is made between the two parties, neither ought to be free from apprehension of grievous consequences. So the Khwaja assembled a strong force in Dehli, and took men into his service, until his army amounted to about 20,000 horse. He distributed large sums among the people, although the treasury was then at a very low ebb, in consequence of the lavish liberality of Sultan Muhammad Shah during his reign of twenty-seven years. When the money was exhausted, he gave away the gold and silver utensils, and when these had come to an end, the jewels. This profusion attracted crowds from all directions, but it was a curious fact that while they ac- cepted the Khwaja’ s bounty, their hopes and prayers were in favour of Firoz Shah.

Sixth Mukaddama. — Khicaja-i Jahan hears of the accession of Sultan Firoz Shah.

When Khwaja- i Jahan heard of the succession of Sultan Firoz Shah, he lamented the mistake he had made. Conflicting rumours were afloat in the two armies. It was said to be the Khwaja’s determination that, as soon as the Sultan’s army reached Dehli, he would place all the dependents of the nobles who were in that army on the tnanjaniks , and shoot them away. Another rumour said that the Khwaja had a powerful army and would offer a stout resistance.

When these proceedings and rumours were reported to Sultan Firoz, he called a council of all the princes and nobles in his army. It was unanimously agreed that Sultan Muhammad Shah had no son, but only a daughter, who was born in the reign

of Sultan Tughlik. Where, it was asked, had the Khwaja-i Jahan found the pretended son ? All wise men spoke in the same strain, expressing their astonishment at the Khwaja’s error, and agreeing that his actions were quite unworthy a man of his age. Sultan Firoz finished the discussion by expressing his own surprise, and resolved upon marching to Dehli. The chiefs and men of the army warmly supported him, and on the other side the people of Dehli anxiously watched for his arrival. He accordingly marched on and arrived at Multan. Up to this time he had never talked to any one, small or great, about the Khwaja-i Jahan, but had acted in the most politic manner and in strict accordance with the examples of the wisest kings. It was now fully confirmed that the Khwaja was resolved upon opposition. Sultan Firoz knew that the army of Thatta had suffered many hardships and troubles, and through the prodi- gality of Sultan Muhammad Shah the treasury was empty. The army had also been reduced to great straits by the assaults of the Mughals, and had been compelled to retire towards Dehli ; and, besides this, the wives and children of the men were there ; hence Firoz Shah was apprehensive that if the Khwaja-i Jahan’s antagonism became the talk of the army, the men would be di- spirited, and would think the Sultan was afraid of the Khwaja. For these reasons Sultan Firoz never talked on the subject until he reached Multan.

Seventh Mukaddama. — March of Firoz Shah from Thatta to Dehli.

When the Sultan was about to march upon Dehli, a consulta- tion was held as to the most suitable route. The council was in favour of proceeding by way of Gujarat, so that the riches of that country might be secured. But the Sultan took another view, and said, “ When Sultan Tughlik Shah marched to repress the insurrection of Khusru Khan, he went by way of Dipalpur, and by God’s favour obtained the victory. I am therefore re- solved upon pursuing the same route by Dipalpur and Multan,

hoping that I, in like manner, shall be brought in safety to Dehli.” So he began his march by that road. When the news of his approach by way of Multan, with the elephants and baggage, reached Delili, the people rejoiced, and many of the nobles and principal men of the place went forth to meet him. The Khwaja, on seeing this defection, was sorely troubled, but he said nothing, and did nothing to prevent it. His counsellors pointed out to him that the fugitives were carrying off the wealth of Dehli to Firoz Shah, and urged him to put a stop to it by detaining their wives and children. To all this Khwaja-i Jahan gave no answer, and things went on until every one who had the power joined Sultan Firoz, and those who had not the power looked in anxious expectation of his arrival. * * *

When the Sultan arrived near Multan, while he was on the march, Malih Tuntun, the slave of Khwaja-i Jahan was perceived approaching at a distance. He came as a messenger and carried in his sword-belt a letter from the son of Sultan Muhammad. Sultan Firoz recognized him when a long way off, and reining up his horse, he doubted in his mind whether Khwaja-i Jahan might not be dead. He then ordered the mes- senger to be stopped, and inquiry to be made of him as to whether the Khwaja was well. The attendants went forward and inquired as to the state of the Khwaja and of the people of Dehli. Malih replied in very haughty terms, and his answer was conveyed to the Sultan, who observed, “We must trust in God’s mercy — what can Khwaja-i Jahan or others do?”

The Sultan at length entered Multan, and behaved very liber- ally to the shaikhs of the city. From thence he proceeded to Ajodhan, and made a pilgrimage to the tomb of Shaikhu-1 Islam Faridu-1 liakk. He next marched to Sarsuti, which is ninety kos from Dehli. The bankers and merchants of the place assembled and brought several lacs of tankas to the Sultan who accepted the money as a loan, and promised to repay it after his arrival at Dehli, making Malik Tmadu-1 Mulk responsible for its discharge. All the money thus received was paid to the army. * * *

Eighth Mukaddama. — Kiwamu-l Mulk the Khan-i Jahan Makbul joins Sultan Firoz.

As Sultan Firoz advanced, the people of Multan, Dipalpur, Sarsuti, and other places, joined his army, just as they had flocked to the support of Sultan Muhammad Shah. Men of all classes came in, nobles and plebeians, soldiers and officials. Thirty-six rajas of the neighbourhood joined him, and his forces greatly increased. The Sultan addressed them all in friendly, conciliatory terms, and held out promises of favours to come. The people in Dehli were anxious about the progress of the Sultan, and at length Kiwamu-l Mulk, the Khan-i Jalian Mak- bul, took the lead, and addressed a letter to him relating how matters stood, and announcing his intention of joining him. In every letter he expressed his ardent good-will, and the Sultan, according to his request, wrote to him in reply. It began to be whispered about in the city that Khan-i Jahan was in corre- spondence with Firoz Shah, and would soon be off to join him. Khwaja-i Jahan was satisfied of this being his intention by many palpable proofs, and resolved to seize the Khan and to frustrate his design. * * *

Early one morning Kiwamu-l Mulk got into a chaudol (kind of sedan), and with his armed retinue, his wives, children, friends, and dependents proceeded to the gate of the maidan. When he reached it, the sentinels attempted to bar it, but the horsemen rode up with drawn swords and frustrated their design. So Kiwamu-l Mulk, the Khan-i Jali&n, then went leisurely out of the city to meet Sultan Firoz Shah. The Sultan had left Sarsuti, and, having made several marches, had reached Ikdar, where he was joined by, and received homage from, Khan-i Jahan. Another pleasure which the Sultan received on the same day at this place was the birth 1 of a son, who was named Fath Khan. The Sultan founded a town there, to which he gave the name of Fath-abad (Futtehabad).

1 The text says “ in the house of Prince Firoz Khan,” but these words hare been omitted to prevent confusion.

Ninth Mukaddama. — Khwaja-i Jahan meets the Sultan.

Khwaja-i Jahan heard that Kiwamu-1 Mulk Khan-i Jahan had joined the Sultan. * * * His mind became greatly troubled, and he reflected that as his proceedings had originated in error, no good could come of them. He resolved, therefore, to go to the Sultan and explain his error, trusting in God’s protection. Accordingly he started from Dehli on a Thursday, and on the same day arrived at Isma’il,1 which is twenty-four hos distant. On the next day, being Friday, after prayers, he proceeded to Hauz-i Khass-i ’Ala. Here the nobles, who were faithful to him, Malik Hasan, Malik Khattab, Malik Hisamu-d din Uzbek, and others, being uneasy in their minds, went to him and said that they perceived he was resolved upon going to Sultan Firoz, and inquired what he advised them to do. He told them that in preferring the son of Sult&n Muhammad Shah, he had no object or design of his own in view. * * * When he heard that Sultan Muhammad was dead, that the Mughals were pressing on, and that Firoz Shah and Tatar Khan were missing, he acted as he thought best for the public welfare and the safety of the country. He had been guilty of many faults and errors, but the cries and pressure of the people on all sides had urged him on ; otherwise he would have taken no part in the matter. He then went on to say that during the late reign he had called Firoz Shah his son, and had been addressed by him as father, and his wives had been in the custom of going to the house of Firoz. He knew not what God had decreed for him, but Sultan Firoz was a kind man, and would listen to what he had to say. He would also extend his pardon to the Khwaja’s supporters.

Khwaja-i Jahan was more than eighty years old. His frame was wasted and feeble, and his hair was white. * * * He was a kind-hearted man, and when his followers heard of the resolution

1 This is a large village on the road ftom Dehli to Eansi. It is now open, but, apparently, was once strongly fortified.

he had taken, they wept for him, and told him that in affairs of royalty no consideration is paid to the relation of father and son, and no excuses of error can be admitted. Sultan Firoz, althouo-h a good man, could not act differently from kings in general. The Khwaja replied, “I may turn back and fortify myself in Dehli, but although I have an army and elephants, Sultan Firoz will take the place, and Muhammadan ladies will fall into the hands of the ruffians of his army. In my old age I should do that for which I should be called upon to account in the judgment. I have not much longer to live ; come what may, Grod’s will be done!” His adherents seeing him thus resolved, some accom- panied him to Sultan Firoz, and some fled.

Khwaja-i Jahan accordingly proceeded to Fathabad. The author has been informed that, on his arrival, the Sultan was seated on his throne holding a court, and the Khwaja went into his presence with a chain around his neck, his turban off, a tdlika (?) on his head, and a naked sword fastened to his throat, and took his standing low down among the attendants. * * * The Sultan directed his turban to be replaced upon his head, and sent his own chaudol to convey him to the grass plot, where he promised to meet and converse with him. * * *

Tenth Mukaddama. — Conversation of the Sultan with his nobles about Khwaja-i Jalian.

Sultan Firoz was desirous that no evil should come to Khwaja-i Jahan, and wished to reinstate him as wazir, * * * but the Khans, nobles, and officials, having met and consulted, arrived at the unanimous opinion that it was improper to look over such a political offence. * * * They accordingly went to the Sultan and said that as Dehli had now come into his hands, and the Khwaja-i Jahan had joined him, all apprehension upon that ground was removed ; they therefore desired the royal permission to set out on a pilgrimage to Mecca. The Sultan perceived their meaning, and, speaking in kind and gentle words, said : “ It was a high duty of kings to overlook any irregular acts of their officers.”

• • • They replied, “ That the offences of royal servants were of two classes — one small, the other great. The venial offences were those against property, the graver, those against authority ; the former might be excused, but the latter ought not to be for- given. Clemency in such cases was sure to be followed by re- pentance. The Khwaja, in his inordinate thirst for distinction, had raised a child to the royal dignity, and had squandered vast wealth among the people.” * * * Sultan Firoz saw that they were resolved, heart and soul, upon the destruction of the Khwaja. This made him very anxious and thoughtful, so that he grew pale. In this state he remained for some days — his heart rent with sorrow. At length he called Tmadu-1 Mulk to a private interview, and told him to go to the friends and supporters of the throne and tell them that the Sultan placed the case of Khwaja-i Jahan in their hands. They might do with him what seemed to them best, for the Sultan had given up the case. * * * They accordingly agreed that as the Khwaja was aged, the estate of Samana should be assigned to him in in' dm , and so he was ordered to go there and devote his days to religion. * * * The Khwaja set out for Samana, and had made some stages when Slier Khan overtook him, but did not go to see him. * * * So the unfortunate noble saw plainly that the Khan had come on no errand of mercy, but rather to effect his destruction. * * Next day he asked Slier Khan for some tents, into one of which he went, performed his ablutions and said his prayers. * * * He then looked at the executioner and asked if he had a sharp sword, and the executioner, who was a friend of the Khwaja’s, showed his weapon. The old man then told him to make his ablutions, say his prayers, and use his sword. When the man had com- pleted his devotions, the Khwaja bowed his head to his prayer- carpet, and while the name of God was on his lips his friend severed his head from his body.

Eleventh Mukaddama. — Arrival of Sultan Firoz at Hdnsi.

The Sultan being relieved from all apprehension on account of Dehli, marched in great state from Karoda towards the city.

After several stages he arrived, at Hansi, where he went to wait upon the Shaikhu-1 Islam Shaikh Kutbu-d din. * * * The Shaikh said to him, “ I have heard it said that you are addicted to wine ; but if Sultans and the heads of religion mve themselves up to wine-bibbing, the wants of the poor and needy will get little attention.” * * * The Sultan thereupon said that he would drink no more. After this the Shaikh said that he had been informed that the Sultan was passionately fond of hunting ; but hunting was a source of great trouble and distress to the world, and could not be approved. To kill any animal without neces- sity was wrong, and hunting ought not to be prosecuted farther than was necessary to supply the wants of man — all beyond this was reprehensible. The Sultan, in reverence of the Shaikh, promised to abstain from hunting. * * *

Ticelfth Mukaddama. — Interview with Shaikh Kutbu-d dxn-i Munawwar and Shaikh Nasiru-d din Mahmud at Hansi.

Thirteenth Mukaddama. — Arrival of Sultan Firoz Shah at Dehli.

When the Sultan reached Dehli, the drums of joy were beaten, and the citizens decked themselves out in their jewels and best clothes. Pavilions ( kaba ) were erected and were decorated accord- ing to the custom prevailing in the times of former kings. Six of these pavilions were raised, and for twenty-one days a continual festival was maintained. One lac of tankas was expended in each pavilion in food and sherbet, and no one was excluded. * * *

Fourteenth Mukaddama. — The Sultan’s fostering care of the people of Dehli and his remission of arrears.

• • • In those days Khwaja Fakhr Shadi was accountant- general. After Sultan Muhammad returned from Daulatabad,

he lent the people of Dehli property equivalent to two krors (of tankas ?) 1 for the purpose of restoring the land, villages, and quarters which had fallen into ruin during the days of the famine.

This money remained in the hands of the people, and Khwaja-i Jahan, after the death of Sultan Muhammad, took the people of Dehli under his protection, and they in their greediness joined themselves to him. When Sultan Firoz ascended the throne at Thatta, the Khwaja distributed jewels and diamonds among them. All the money lent and the jewels stood against the names of the parties concerned in the government books. FakhrShadi, the accountant, brought the fact to the notice of Firoz Shah. After thinking over the matter, the Sultan consulted Kiwamu-1 Mulk as to what ought to be done, * * * and that minister re- plied, “ That Sultan Muhammad had deemed it expedient to make loans to the people, and that the Khwaja-i Jahan had squandered the jewels and wealth in prosecution of his projects and vain desires; therefore it would not be seemly to demand their res- toration. The people were in great distress and poverty ; if such a claim were made, they would be reduced to utter helplessness and ruin, and not one jot of the debt and jewels would be realized.” * * * The Sultan then asked him how he ought to pro- ceed, and the Khan advised him to have all the accounts brought into the public court, and there to destroy them in the presence of all the people, so that they might be relieved from their great anxiety. The Sultan heartily approved of this advice, and by his direction the records of the debt and of the jewels were brought into his court, where they were publicly cancelled. * * * At this time the Sultan appointed Kiwamu-1 Mulk his wazir, and bestowed upon him the insignia of his office. * * * The revenues of Dehli, during the forty years which Sultan Firoz reigned, amounted to six krors and seventy-five lacs of tankas (67,500,000).

Fifteenth Mukaddama. — Sultan Firoz makes neve rules for grants

The Sultan showed great liberality in his grants of revenue, and excited the cupidity of a host of expectants. To some he

1 11 Nan ha” — plural of nan, a loaf. Grants of revenue instead of salaries or pecuniary allowances.

gave 10,000 tankas , to others 5,000, and to others 2,000, accord- ing to the respective ranks and claims of the different office- bearers. This method (of paying officials) was introduced by Sultan Firoz, and remains as a memorial of him. In the reigns of former rulers of Dehli it had never been the rule to bestow villages as stipends upon office-bearers. The author has under- stood from various historians that Sultan ’Alau-d din used to speak of this practice with disapprobation, and say that in every village granted there would be two or three hundred residents, all of whom would receive pay (from the grantee). Such a number of pensioners would give rise to pride and insubordination, and if they were to act in concert, there would be danger of rebellion. With these feelings there is no wonder that ’Alau-d-din refused to make grants of villages, and paid his followers every year with money from the treasury. But when Sultan Firoz came to the throne, he dismissed such thoughts from his heart, and during the fortj* years of his reign he devoted himself to generosity and the benefit of Musulmans, by distributing villages and lands among his followers. In the whole of these forty years not one leaf of dominion was shaken in the palace of sovereignty.1 These facts are among the glories of his reign. * * *

Another law made by Firoz Shah was this : If an officer of the army2 died, he was to be succeeded by his son ; if he had no son, by his son-in-law ; if he had no son-in-law, by his slave ( ghulam ) ; if he had no slave, by his nearest relation ; and if he had no relations, by his wives. During the whole of his reign he made it a rule that, under all circumstances, the succession of every person should be clearly defined. * * *

Sixteenth Mukaddama. — Sultan Firoz’s fostering care of his

• • • TJnwise regulations had been made in former reigns, and the raiyats and subjects were oppressed in the payment of the revenue. Several writers told the author of this work that it

1 That is, there was no rehellion. 2 Yoke az jumlah i ydran i hashm.

was the practice to leave the raiyat one cow and take away all the rest. Sultan Firoz made the laws of the Prophet his guide, acting zealously upon the principles they laid down, and pro- hibiting all that was inconsistent therewith. No demand in excess of the regular government dues was to be made, and the officer who made any such exaction was to make full reparation. Brocades, silks, and goods required for the royal establishments were to be purchased at the market price, and the money paid.

• • • Such rules were made that the raiyats grew rich, and were satisfied. * * * Their homes were replete with grain, property, horses, and furniture ; every one had plenty of gold and silver ; no woman was without her ornaments, and no house was want-

in" in excellent beds and couches. Wealth abounded and com- ©

forts were general. The whole realm of Dehli was blessed with the bounties of the Almighty.

Seventeenth Mukaddama. — Perfidy of Khusru Malik and Khuda-

While Firoz Shah was engaged at Dehli in arranging the affairs of government, Khudawand-zada, daughter of Sultan Tughlik Shah, was also residing there with her husband, Khusru Malik, in a palace which had belonged to the late Sultan Mu- hammad. Sultan Firoz had made it his custom to go every Friday after prayers to pay a visit to Khudawand-zada, and whenever he saw her he treated her with the greatest possible respect. She also, on her part, shewed every mark of respect to him. The Sult&n and Khudawand-zada used to sit down together in the robe-room ; Khusru Malik used to stand ; and Dawar Malik to sit behind his mother, Khudawand-zada. When their conversation was over, the princess used to present pan , and the Sultan departed. So it went on every Friday. Under the decrees of God envy and rancour still lurk in the constitution of man, and so Khusru Malik and Khudawand-zada conceived the idea of hastening the end of Sultan Firoz, and of killing him treacherously in the place where he was in the habit of visiting Khudawand-zada on Fridays.

In the palace there was a long room, having two lateral chambers. These rooms Khusru Malik filled with men armed from head to foot, and gave them instructions that when Khuda- wand-zada adjusted the garment round her head, they were to rush forth and cut off the Sultan’s head. Khusru Malik also concealed some more armed men under the floor of the outer gateway, who were directed to fall upon the Sultan and despatch him should he succeed in escaping from the inside of the palace. * * * When Friday came, the Sultan paid his accustomed visit, and sat down to converse as usual. Dawar Malik, son of Khuda- wand-zada (but, as the author has been informed, by another husband than the base Khusru Malik), sat behind his mother. He took no part in the plot, and when he saw the Sultan, he made signs that he should depart quickly and secure himself in his own palace. The Sultan took the hint and rose to depart. Khudawand-zada pressed him to wait until the pan was served, but he said that Fath Khan was sick, and he must hasten away, but that he would come another day. The armed men in concealment were not informed of what passed, and so the Sultan escaped from the room. The men who were hidden in the gateway knew the Sultan had gone in, but they were unaware of his having come out, and so, by the grace of God, the Sultan got away safe from the house of Khudawand-zada.

As soon as he got outside the house (into the court-yard), the Sultan raised a loud cry for his followers, but as it was Friday most of the nobles had gone back ; Rai Bhiru 1 Bhatti remained in attendance. When the Sultan came forth very excited, he cried out in a fierce tone, “ Rai Bhiru, give me the sword which thou hast in thine hand ! ” The Rai perceived that he was in a state of great excitement, and replied, “ I will draw my sword and will follow your Majesty ; will you not proceed home ?” With- out heeding what was said, the Sultan snatched the sword from the hands of the Rai, and drew it ; then getting safely away from the buildings of Sultan Muhammad’s harem, he mounted 1 This name is written .

to the top of the kushk (palace). The princes and nobles were instantly summoned, and they surrounded the dwelling of Khusru Malik and Khudawand-zada. The armed men were brought forth, and, on being questioned, told all the truth of the matter. The Sultan asked if they were not aware of what had passed. They replied with one voice that the Almighty had closed the eyes of their perception, so that they were aware of the Sultan’s going into the house, but did not know of his coming out.

When the facts were proved, the Sultan ordered Khudawand- zada into retirement and settled an allowance upon her. She had very great wealth, by the power of which Khusru Malik had hoped to effect his designs ; all this was brought into the public treasury. Khusru Malik was banished, and Dawar Malik was directed to pay a visit to the Sultan at the beginning of every month, wearing an overcoat and slippers on his feet.1

Eighteenth Mukaddama. — Sultan Firoz adopts a Khutba, including the names of former Sultans for the public prayers of Fridays and Festivals. Account of the edicts issued by him. *******

1. On the names used in the khutba. — It had been a rule among the Sultans of Dehli that the name of the reigning monarch only was mentioned in the prayers of Sabbaths and Festivals, and no reference was made to former Sultans. When Sultan Firoz came to the throne, they were about to follow the same rule, and to mention his name only in the khutba ; but he disapproved of the omission of former kings, and ordered that a khutba should be said first in the names of former kings, and then one in which his own name should be mentioned. In accordance with this decree, the Sultans in the following list were specially selected to be named in the khutba: — 1. Sultan Shahabu-d din Muhammad Sam; 2. Shamsu-d din Altamsh ; 3. Nasiru-d din Mahmud ; 4. Ghiyasu-d din Balban ; 5. Jalalu-d din Firoz ; 6. ’Alau-d din Muhammad Khilji ; 7. Kutbu-d din Mubarak ; 8. Gliiyasu-d

din Tughlik Shah ; 9. Sultan Muhammad ; 10. Firoz Shah. Two names were selected to be mentioned after that of Sultan Firoz Shah; viz., 1. Muhammad bin Firoz Shah; 2. ’Alau-d din Sikandar Shah ; and till the end of the reign these names were mentioned in the prayers. * * *

2. Account of the edicts on matters of royalty. — Sultan Firoz Shah issued twenty-one edicts ( sikka ) and thirty-one instructions Calamat) upon matters of royalty. The author here inserts their titles for the benefit of his readers. 1. On the khutba ; 2. On the sandal-wood throne ; 3. On the imperial cornelian signet, etc., etc.1

Kism II. — The Two Expeditions to Lakhnauti and the Campaigns against Jajnagar and Nagarkot.

First Mukaddama. — The first expedition to Lakhnauti.

About 70,000 men of the khans and maliks having assembled, Firoz Shah marched with his nobles and great men to Lakhnauti. * * * j^han-i Jahan remained behind at Dehli.

Second Mukaddama. — The Sultan lays siege to Lakhnauti.

Shall Firoz marched triumphantly through Hindustan and reached Bengal in great strength. * * * When he arrived on the banks of the Kosi, after resting for a short time, he found the army of Shamsu-d din posted in force on the other side of the river, near its junction with the Ganges.2 The passage ap- peared difficult, so the Sultan marched 100 kos up the Kosi, and

1 This list of sikkas has puzzled the copyists, from their having apparently under- stood the word sikka in its common signification of *' coin,” not in that of “ rule, regu- lation.” Taken in this latter sense, the title of the list quite agrees with its contents. TheJMS. of the East India Library, No. 1002, gives interlineary explanations of some of the words, which explanations are copied as part of the original text hy the copyists of Sir H. Elliot’s and Mr. Thomas’s MSS. Sir H. Elliot’s scribe appends a mar- ginal note that “ the whole is evidently erroneous, and a correct list is desirable,” and the writer of Mr. Thomas’s copy thought the list so manifestly wrong that “ he has not entered it in the book, hut copied it on a separate piece of paper.”

2 This sentence is derived from another passage which says the position was “ on the banks of the Saru and Ganges, and on the Kosi, etc.

crossed it below Champaran,1 at the place where the river issues from the mountain. Here a ford was found, but the waters ran with such force that stones of five hundred mans weight were borne along like straws. The Sultan ordered a line of elephants to be drawn across the river, both above and below the ford, to facilitate the passage. The upper line was to break the force of the current ; the lower line was furnished with ropes, to which men carried away by the stream might cling. * * * When Shamsu-d din heard that the Sultan had succeeded in crossing the river, he fled in great alarm with all his forces to Ikdala, and the Sultan followed by way of Cham- paran and Rachap.2 Shamsu-d din abandoned the town of Pandwah, and shut himself up in Ikdala, pursued by the Sultan, who closely besieged the place and threw up batteries ( kungura ), and dug entrenchments all round it. The forces of Shamsu-d din came out daily from Ikdala to make a display, and were received with showers of arrows. They were at length compelled to take shelter in the islands ( jazair ) of Ikdala. The country was overrun by the troops of the Sultan, and all the raos, ranas , and zammdars of Bengal, who joined the Sultan, were favourably received. Many people of the country of Bengal also came over to him.

When hostilities had thus gone on fiercely for some time be- tween the two sovereigns, unfriendly weather sowed the seed of heat in the moist earth, and the sun was about to enter the sign Cancer. The Sultan therefore called a council, and after much secret debate it was resolved that Shamsu-d din had taken refuge and fortified himself in the islands of Ikdala, with the belief that when the rains came on, and the country became inundated, the

1 So in Sir H. Elliot's MS. Mr. Thomas’s has , and that of the East

2 Var. : , CL! i '■ ■ - \ , . Barni does not mention these

places, but says simply the march was through Gorakhpur, Kharosa, and Tirhut. He represents the rais of Gorakhpur and Kharosa as making their submission to the Sultan and following him to Lakhnauti.

Sultan would be obliged to retreat. It was therefore expedient that the Sultan should fall back strategically a few kos and see what would happen.1 This plan was approved, and accordingly next day the Sultan retreated seven kos towards Dehli. Some kalandars were then craftily sent to Ikdala, with instructions that if they were brought before Shamsu-d din, they were to report that the Sultan was in full retreat, with all his forces and baggage, towards Dehli. The kalandars , being captured, were taken into the presence of Shamsu-d din, to whom they told the story they had been taught, and he, believing it, * * * de- determined to go out of Ikdala and harass the retreat.

Third Mukaddama. — Battle between Sultan Firoz and Shamsu-d din. Capture of fifty elephants and slaughter of one lac of the people of Bang and Bang&la.

When Shamsu-d din heard that Sultan Firoz had retreated towards Dehli, he made up his mind to pursue him. Some writers say that Firoz Shah left his camp ( rakht ) standing, others that he caused part of his baggage to be burned. Sultan Shamsu-d din came out in pursuit with a force which consisted of 10,000 horse, 200,000 infantry like the infantry of Subuk- tigin, and fifty mighty elephants. Firoz Shah had marched seven kos , and the place where he was lying in ' wait was on the bank of the river where the eddies had formed a ford. His baggage was in the act of crossing at this ford, when, unexpectedly, the Sultan of the Bengalis came up and rushed to the attack. * * * * When the Sultan heard that the enemy had arrived in great force, he proceeded to draw up his army in three divisions. Malik Dilan, the Mir-shikar, had command of the right wing, consisting of 30,000 horse, and the left wing, also consisting of 30,000 warriors, was commanded by Malik Hisam Nawa. The centre, consisting likewise of 30,000

1 Barni says the rains were at hand, and the country was low and liable to deep inundations. The mosquitos also were so large and numerous that neither men nor horses would hare been able to endure their stings.

men, was under Tatar Khan. The Sultan himself proceeded from one division to another, encouraging his men. * * * The elephants were divided among the three divisions. * * * All preparations being made, the drums were beaten, and the din of war arose between the two armies. When Shamsu-d din perceived the Sultan’s army drawn up in battle array, he feared and trembled like a willow-leaf, for he found that he had been deluded by the kalandars to bring his forces out of his strong- hold ; all he could now do was to resign himself to the decrees of fate.

The fight began with the left wing under Hisamu-d din Nawa, and was stoutly maintained. The right wing also under Malik Dilan became hotly engaged. * * * When the time for shooting arrows was past, they used their spears and swords, and when the conflict became even yet closer, the brave warriors seized each other by the waistbands, and grappled in deadly strife. * * * After much fighting and slaughter, Shamsu-d din retreated and fled towards his own city. Tatar Khan, with the centre of the Sultan’s army, strongly reinforced from both wings, pursued ; and the Bengali army having abandoned Pandwah, continued its flight to Ikdala. Tatar Khan cried, “0 Shams-i siyah (Black Sun), whither art thou running \ A man ought to show his face, not turn his Fack : stop for a moment and feel the strength of Firoz Shah’s lads!” Shamsu-d din, however, pursued his flight, heedless of everything. Forty-eight elephants were taken, and three were slain. The King of Bengal, out of all his enormous force, fled with seven horsemen, and his whole army was scattered. The place where Firoz Shah had taken his position on the river was seven Icos from Ikdala. * * * Sultan Shamsu-d din took refuge in the fort of Ikdala, and by dint of great exertion the commander succeeded in closing the gate, but Firoz Shah’s forces occupied the town. When the arrival of Firoz Shah became known, all the ladies and respectable women went to the top of the fort, and when they saw him they uncovered their heads, and in their distress made great lamentation. The Sultan saw

their state and heard their wailings ; he thereupon reflected that he had occupied the city, had overcome many Musulmans. had taken possession of the country, and that the Khutba would be said in his name. To storm the fort, put more Musulmans to the sword, and expose honourable women to ignominy, would be a crime for which he could not answer in the day of judg- ment, and which would leave no difference between him and the Mughals.

Tatar Khan repeatedly urged the Sultan to retain the territory he had conquered, but the Sultan was adverse to annexation, observing that many of the sovereigns of Dehli had come into this country and had subdued it, but none of them had deemed it prudent to remain there long. For Bengal was a land of swamps,1 and the nobles of the country passed their lives in their islands (t jazairat ). It would not do therefore for him to act differently from all his sovereign predecessors, so Firoz Shah turned back after having changed the name of Ikdala to Azadpur. Tatar Khan acted with great bravery in this war, and pressed the retreat of Sultan Shamsu-d din with great vigour. He at one time during the pursuit resolved to put the fugitive prince to the sword, but he abandoned that design and fell back slowly to Firoz Shah. * * *

Fourth Mukaddama. — Return of Firoz Shah to Delhi.

When the Sultan resolved upon returning home from Bengal all his followers were much pleased. An order was given for collecting the heads of the slain Bengalis, and a silver tanka was offered for every head. The whole army went busily to work, and brought in the heads of the slain and piled them in heaps, receiving in payment the silver tankas. The heads were counted and amounted to rather more than 180,000, for the battle had raged for a whole day over an extent of seven kos. * * *

1 Three MSS. agree in reading or words which have no appropriate

meaning. A note in the margin of one MS. suggests “ mud, ” and that

The Sultan then turned with his army and marched quickly towards Dehli. When he reached Pandwah,1 the khutba was said in his name, and he changed the name of the place to Firozabad. The new names which he gave to Ikdala and Pandwah were made permanent and were entered in the Government records as “ Azad-pur, otherwise Ikdala, ” and “ Firozabad, otherwise Pandwah.” When the Sultan arrived on the banks of the Kosi the rains came on, and orders were given for the troops to embark in boats ( kishtiha-i band-kusha). The whole army thus crossed over. When Shamsu-d din entered Ikdala, he seized the Governor, who had shut the gates, and had him executed.

As the Sultan was returning, he sent forward to Dehli a despatch announcing his conquest of Lakhnauti. Khan-i Jahan Makbul had been left in Dehli as deputy, and when the news of the victory arrived, great rejoicings were carried on for twenty-one days, * * * and great preparations were made for the reception of the Sultan. * * * When he entered the city, forty-eight elephants, captured at Lakhnauti with their howdahs and housings, marched at the head of the victorious army. * * * In this, the Sultan’s first expedition to Lakhnauti, he was engaged eleven months.

Fifth Mukaddama. — Founding of the city of Hisar Firozah.

After returning victorious from Bengal, Sultan Firoz passed several successive years riding about Dehli. The author wras told by his father that, in the second year after the Bengal campaign, the Sultan was in the neighbourhood of Hisar Firozah, and exerted himself actively and liberally in endeavouring to provide for the needs of the country. It was at this time that Hisar Firozah was founded. * * * In the place now occupied by the city two large and populous villages formerly stood, which were called Great Laras and Little Laras. There were fifty kharaks included in Great Laras, and forty in Little Laras. In this country there

1 S»X, j Stewart calls it “ Pimdua,” and says it is near Malda. — “History of Bengal,” p. 84.

is no other village than the kharak.1 The neighbourhood of Great Laras greatly pleased Sultan Firoz, and he thought it would be well to build a city there, for it was very deficient in water, and during the hot season travellers who came from ’Irak and Khurasan had to pay as much as four jitals for a pitcher full. So the Sultan resolved to build a city, being filled with hope that if he built a town for the benefit of Musulmans, God would provide it with water. He therefore began the work, and persevered in it for several years, assisted by his nobles and great men. Hard stone was brought from the hills of Narsai, and was used with strong quicklime and burnt bricks. A fort of great extent and height was com- menced. Various officers were appointed to superintend different portions of the work, and busied themselves in their respective duties, so that in course of time the fort was completed. The Sultan gave to the place the name of Hisar Firozah. When the fort was finished, a ditch was dug round it, and the earth, which was taken from its bed was spread on each side of the ditch, and along the banks of the ditch battlements were built. Inside the fort a large and deep tank was formed, the water of which ran into the ditch and replenished it from year to year. Inside the fort a palace was built, which had no equal in the world, and the various apartments of which were contrived with infinite pains. One of the arrangements of this palace was that any person, having a general acquaintance with the place, after passing through several apartments, would arrive at the centre. This central apartment under the palace was very dark, and the passages were narrow, so that if the attendants did not guide the visitor he would never be able to find his way out. Indeed, it is said that a servant once went into that place, and after he had been missing for some days, the guards went there in search of him and rescued him from the darkness. * * *

The Sultan, perceiving that there was a great scarcity of water, resolved in his munificence to bring a supply thither. He ac- cordingly conducted two streams {jut) into the city from two rivers; one from the river Jumna, the other from the Sutlej.1 That from the Jumna was called Rajiwah, and (the other) Alagh- khani. Both these streams were conducted through the vicinity of Karnal, and, after a length of about eighty kos, discharged their waters by one channel into the town. The author’s father was then in the service of the Court, and held the office of Shab- navts. He informed the author that Sultan Firoz was occupied two years and a half2 in building the town. When it was built he laid out many gardens and planted many trees, including all sorts of fruit trees. * * * Previous to this time there had been an autumn harvest, but the spring harvest failed, because wheat would not grow without water. After the canals had been dug, both harvests came to maturity.