11. Volume 3 — part 11

The third Biwdm, is the Ghurratu-l-lcamdl, "perfect light," con- taining poems written from the 34th to the 42nd year of his life. It opens with an interesting preface, containing some autobio- graphical notices, of which I have availed myself in another article. These poems comprise panegyrics upon Nizamu-d din Aulya, Sultan Kai-kubad, Shayista Khdn, who for a short time ruled the state in the name of Shamsu-d din, the son of Kai-kubad, and afterwards became king under the title of Jalalu-d din. Sultan Euknu-d din . Ibrahim, youngest son of Jalalu-d din, who sat for a short time on the throne of Dehli after the murder of his father Sultan 'Alau-d din, Ikhtiyaru-d din 'All bin Aibak, Saifu-d-daula Barbak, Taju-d din. Alp Khan Ghazi, and Taju-d-daula Malik Ohhajju; an elegy upon the death of Khan-i Khanan Mahmud, Sultan Ikhtiydru-d din the son of Jalalu-d din, and benedictions addressed to his other sons, Khan-i mu'azzam Arkalah Khan and Khan-i 'a'zam Kadr Khan. This JDiwdn contains also odes on new year festivals and the 'Tds, and, besides the Masnavis mentioned above, the poet addresses one to his brother Zahid Khan, descriptive of his accompanying the royal army in 687 h. to Oudh. Another is in praise of the palace at Kllukhari and of its founder Sultan Kai-kubad. Size of the work, 4to. ; 694 pages of an average of 15 lines.

The fourth Biwdn is called the Bdkiya nakiya, "the pure rem- nant," containing poems written by Amir Khusru from the 50th to the 64th year of his age. There are in it panegyrics on Nizamu-d din Aulya, Shaikh 'Alau-d din, grandson of Shaikh !Faridu-d din Ganj-i shakar. Sultan 'Alau-d dfn, Sultan Kutbu-d din Mubarak Shah, Shamsu-1 Hakk Khizr Khan, eldest son of Sultan 'Alau-d din, Nasiru-1-Mulk Haji, Hamidu-d-daula, Taju-d-daula, Takhru-d din

Pulad Tughlik, Mu'izzu-1 Hakk, A'zam Alp Khan, Malik Ikhtiyaru-d din Sa'di, Malik Hisamu-d din Khan-i 'a'zam and Nasiru-d din. There is an elegy on the Sultan's death on the 8th of Shawwal,. 715 H. and some Masnavis on the marriage of the princes and other matters.

Praise of God and the Prophet. — Panegyric upon Sultan Jalalu-d din Firdz Shah Khilji. — Concise account of the four victories of Firoz Shah.

" Hail to Sultan Firoz ! who rapidly accomplished four victories in one year. In the first victory, he made the head of one rebel roll upon the dust. In the second victory, he moistened the point of his spear with the head of a second rebel. By the third victory, he cleansed Hindustan from the darkness of his enemy. The fourth victory was achieved in another way, when he fell like a hurricane on Jhain. But what are four victories for such a hero as his majesty ! he has a thousand others in his sleeve. Long may he survive to rule with conquest and kingly pomp, and may the key of the capital of the seven climates remain secure in the hands of his slaves ! "

The accession of Tiroz Shah to the throne of Dehli, on Tuesday, the 3rd of the second Jumad, 689 h. " He despatched his orders to the comers of the world, and established the hhutha on a new foun- dation. The turbulent throughout the whole world rubbed their faces upon the earth in respect and obedience. They girt up their loins and placed their heads upon the ground, and then stood obedient in the audience-chamber. They proclaimed the sound of the hhutba above the moon. They distributed gold in the name of the king of kings. They all made effort to show their obedience, except the faithless Chhajju, the Mir of Karra. Pride had inflated his brain with wind, which extinguished the light of his intel- lect, and a few sip&Ms from Hindustan, without any religion, had supported the credit of his authority. Neither fear nor hope was able to inform them that a particle cannot contend with the sun."

" The Shah received intelligence of that new disturbance, and how

tliat Chhajju was advancing expeditiously with the Hindu thieves. Outrageous like a male lion, he became greatly perturbed, and ex- claimed, in the violence of his anger, ' Bravo ! Is there any man in in the world who dares to raise dust in my plain ? What weakness has that wretch seen in me, that he dares to peer where my arrow can penetrate ? If he has not seen the splendour of my sword, he must have heard its renown from afar. He must have heard how from Ghazna, Kirman, and Barghand, I have extended my conquests as far as Darband ; how I have issued orders for the shedding of the blood of my enemies, who have become like worms, when they hear the whizzing of my Kirmani blade ; how, at one time, from the heads of the Mughals, I have filled my cup with blood, and stuck their inverted skulls upon the top of my standards ; how, at another time, my spears have wounded the Afghans, until the hills resounded with lamentations (afghdn) ; how, at another time, I made the blood flow in Janjuha, so that a boat might have glided within the hills of Jud. The Hindus themselves cannot conceive how full I have made hell. What did that ignorant thoughtless man imagine, that he dared advance his foot into my territory ? '

" When he had thus given vent to his anger, he forthwith ordered the prince to advance. Arkali Khan proceeded, swift as the wind, accompanied by an army like a hill of steel. He then directed that gold, to any amount that was necessary, should be distributed to the army, from the treasury of his mercy. Although only eight months' pay was due from the royal coffers, yet ten months' pay was bestowed upon the troops. The body of each man as he carried away his wealth was bent down by the load, like the crescent of the new moon. The sipdMs stood ready before the commander, as a hill of iron or a sea of flame." * * * '' In this order, the king of the fourth inhabited portion of the earth carried forth his standards outside the capital. He made one or two halts to adjust the affairs of the army." «* « «

" The king remained in the rear, the prince was in advance. The king made two marches in one, and the prince marched even quicker. Mile after mile he hastened on, and rapidly passed the Jumna and Ganges towards his destination," and then encamped on the bank of the Eahab.

The enemy was encamped on the opposite side, and had seized all the boats on the river, hut "the royal army crossed the river on a few boats, called zaurdks, like the wind, and spread confusion through the camp of the enemy. They fell on the evil-disposed crowd, and dyed the earth everywhere with their blood. When they were satiated with that victory, they returned in triumph. On their arrival, they placed their heads on the ground in token of respect, and proclaimed the first victory of the king, who rewarded them with gifts beyond calculation. ** •* Jn the depth of night that stony-hearted rebel, oppressed with grief, fled towards the hills, leaving his camp on the bank of the river, and took the road of Jubala. The com- mander remained two days plundering the camp, and then, hastening in pursuit, came up to them while retreating in confusion." ** *• **

" In the centre of the line was the great Arkali Khan, whose stan- dards were united with victory." Mir Mubarak Barbak commanded the right wing, and Malik Mahmud the left. On the left near the prince, was Malik Fakhr Dawwal, and Mu'azzam Ahmad on his right.

In the front of the array were two champions, the nephews of the king : one Malik Katlagh-tigin, " who could split a spear with an arrow ; " ' the other 'Alau-d din. Another attendant was his son Kaji ; another, Eiki Malik, the governor of Kol ; another was Malik Nusrat Mu'azzam, the chief ddwat-ddr. The contending parties fought the whole day, " during which the sword found no rest," and at night the Khan of Karra, hearing that the king himself was on the point of joining the prince's army, fled with a few attendants to Inji, concealing his departure by the beating of drums, as if he was preparing to renew the combat on the morrow.

His army, thus deserted by its leader, came over to the king and begged forgiveness. Some were bound as prisoners, and some kept under surveillance, but the rest were admitted into the favour of the king.

The Sultan, on leaving the city, went towards the Ganges, and remained some time encamped at Baglana. After that he departed

' The same expression occurs in the Bostdn,

^ In the Wastu-l-haydt KhusriS calls him Maliku-s shark, King of the East, and the son of Azhdar KhEin.

towards Bhojpur,' and his light illumined the banks of the Ganges. By his hands a work was completed, which had been difficult of accomplishment to former kings ; for when he arrived at the Jumna and Ganges, by the power of his art he constructed a bridge over both those rivers. He collected gold from the rdis of the Ganges, for he had the power of crossing the river at his pleasure. Like Dara, he went on full of hope, and his faithful sipdMs accompanied him as far as Kabar." When the Shah arrived at the land of Kabar, a contest ensued, and the " Musulmans made their swords rusty with the blood of the Hindus." The king was here joined by his son, " who gave the first congratulation after the victory, and was then appointed to the government of the Province of Multan, and his father gave him power from the river to the hill of Jud."

"Whatever live Hindu fell into the king's hands was pounded into bits under the feet of elephants. The Musulmans, who were Hindis (country-born), had their lives spared," and were distributed amongst the chiefs as slaves ; and he made many over to the son of the Tcotwdl, that he might parade them through the cities. "No one of these slaves was slain by the sword, except Alp Gh^zi, who suffered on account of his misdeeds ; for he had, without just cause, killed Chahaltan,' and the wretch received this retribution from fate." » «

When the Shah had made the country over to his own friends, he determined to proceed towards Hindustan, and open a way through the forest to Lakhnauti. He cut the. jungle that in- tercepted his passage, and cleared the road of the robbers who infested it, and suspended them from boughs, so that they looked like the trees of Wakwak.* " When the Shah had cut down this jungle of Taraya, he created an earthquake in the walls of life, that is, slaughtered many of the inhabitants, and as he was about to lay his axe upon Eupal, that chief protected himself by an advance of gold. His heaven-like umbrella then advanced to Kashun,

' This is not the Bhojpiir of Beh&r, but a place near rarrukha.bS.d, in the central DoS.b.

• See extract from Kazwini in Gildemeister, De rehmlndicis, p. 196, respecting the island of W^kw^k, and the trees which produced that sound.

for the purpose of plunder and punishment, and he collected such wealth from the rdis, rdos, and rdnas, that his treasury was over- flowing.''

" Thence he went towards Balaghatrak, as it was necessary to dis- charge his arrows against the Mughals. Hail glorious morn of prosperity, for that sun rose on high ! His standards ascended rapidly, stage by stage, for a period of one month, and the road was illumined by the light of his army."

" On Monday, the last day of Muharram, 690 h., the neighbour- hood of the city was blessed by the king's arrival. He did not delay and plant his flags in the city, because another victory was urging him on ; but during the month of Safar he gave himself up to enjoyment at Siri, near the city." « » «

On Thursday, the 18th of Eabi'u-1-awwal, the Shah held a darhdr, distributed robes of honour, and gave red umbrellas, dMrhdshes, and standards to two of his confidential servants, and selected also Euknu-d din Ibrahim for marks of special favour. "The rmdiks of the kingdom, according to their respective ability, showered gold upon the head of the king."

The king then marched from Siri towards Kanthambor. The first march was to Sohrait, thence to Chandawal, "where he encamped for some time." * « <* Thence to Eewari in two marches. Thence to the country of Narnaul. " Thence the march was to Beohan, where the peojde had their mouths shut through thirst. The earth was dry, and in it not a blade of grass had sprung up anywhere, through drought. The sipdMs, whom a river would not have satisfied, how could they procure enough water from two or three wells ? " A hundred camels, however, were here laden with water, to satisfy the necessities of the army. The king killed several tigers on this expedition. Hills were o;n each side covered with peacocks. "Two weeks he was employed in passing this hilly tract, when the Shah arrived on the borders of Eanthambor." The Turks began to plunder on every

' The original says "conquest of Eanthambor," but this heading is not suited to the text.

side, "and the king sent out horsemen to collect information." The Hindus were killed or enslaved, as far as within four parasangs of Jhain.

From this place, Karri Bahadur was sent on with a few archers to reconnoitre as far as the hiUs of Jhain, from which place 500 Hindus made a sally. "They were wounded with the poisoned arrows of the Turks, and exclaimed in Hindi, ' Strike, strike.' Seventy were killed and forty wounded, and, though they were Teiuforced, they retreated to the hills, and the royal troops returned to camp, and reported to the king what had occurred. Next day, the king despatched 1,000 men under Malik Khurram 'A'riz Malik, the chief Karfbak, Malik Katlagh-tigin, 'itzam Mubarak, the amir of of Narnaul, Ahmad Sarjandar, Mahmud Sarjandar, the chief hunts- man Ahmad, and Anku and Abaji Akhurbak. They advanced at full speed to within two parasangs of Jhain, when they entered a narrow pass ia the hills, and alarm spread in Jhain."

The rdi was in affright, and sent for Gurdan Saini, who was the most experienced warrior amongst the 40,000 rdwats under the rdi, and " had seen many fights among the Hindus. Sometimes he had gone with the advance to Malwa; sometimes he had gone plundering in Gujarat." The Saini took 10,000 rdwats with him from Jhain, and advanced against the Turks, and, after a severe action, he was slain. Upon which the Hindus fled, and in the pursuit many were slain and many taken prisoners, but only one man was wounded among the royal troops.

Great consternation spread in Jhain, and at night the rdi, and all the Hindus with him, fled to the hills of Eanthambor, and the victorious troops returned to the king, and presented the plunder they had obtained, the heads which they had cut off, armour, horses, swords, and " a string of rdwats with their hands bound." The king allowed them to retain their booty, and distributed gold to them besides, and robes of honour.

Three days after this, the king entered Jhain at mid-day, and occupied the private apartments of the rdi, where he admired the ex- quisite colours and carving on the stone, "on which the figures were

so beautifully cut, that they could not be exceeded in wax. The plaister was so beautifully made, that it reflected the image of one looking at it, and the mortar was mixed with sandal. The wood- work was all of 'ud (aloe-wood)."

He then visited the temples, which were ornamented with elabo- rate work in gold and silver. Next day he went again to the temples, and ordered their destruction, as well as that of the fort, and set fire to the palace, and "thus made a hell of paradise." The foundations of Jhain were so destroyed, that the army of the Shah was enriched by the discovery of burnt treasures, and '' so much gold was laden upon elephants, that who could teU its amount ? This enormous wealth made rich men of beggars, for in every ruin a treasure had been found. While the soldiers sought every oppor- tunity of plundering, the Shah was engaged in burning the temples, and destroying the idols. There were two bronze images of Brahma, each of which weighed more than a thousand mans. These were broken into pieces, and the fragments distributed amongst the officers, with orders to throw them down at the gates of the Masjid on their return."

Malik Khurram then departed in pursuit of the infidels to their retreat in the hills, and took countless prisoners. Another party was detached under Sarjdnddr, " across the Ohambal and Kuwari, to plunder Malwa, and shed the blood of the false religionists. When he was two parasangs beyond the Kuw&ri, he came upon an open plain to which a narrow pass led. Here he found a crowd collected who had escaped the sword of the malik, and he plundered them to such an extent, that it is beyond my power to describe." The party returned, and met the king on the banks of the Chambal, to. which river he had moved his camp. Thence Mubarak Barbak was detached in another direction towards the Bands, where he plun- dered according to the fashion of the time. Malik Jandarbak Ahmad was detached in another direction. He also plundered and massacred " from the hill of Lara to the borders of Mara."

The king returned towards Dehli, with " an army so encumbered by booty, that it could not proceed more than a mil a day." He

first yisited on Ms route the Mils of Bayand, and as the road was " difficult on account of rivers and hills," he allowed his officers to march in any direction they chose. The Sultan proceeded more leisurely in the rear.

On the king's return to Dehli, he held the second anniversary of his accession, on the 3rd of Jumada-1 akhir, in the palace of Siri. Description of the festival. " Each bride who witnessed the pro- cession from the housetop, when she gazed at the countenance of the king, tore up her marriage settlements," in love and despair. — Con- cluding praises of the king, " who achieved two victories in different quarters of the country in one year." The author speaks of his work. "When I commenced this history, I thought of writing falsehoods, but truth seized my hand and restrained me." The poem was finished on the 20th of Jumada-1 akhir, 690 h.

Conquests of SuUdn 'Aldu-d din Khiljl. <» O «» O « 0 o

" 'Alau-d din, that king whose court is like Jamshid's, who has conquered the east and protects the west, whose fortune is lofty, whose commands are obeyed." «»•»**" He who has been honoured by the chief of the 'Abbas is, who has destroyed the country of the sun-worshippers. When the arm of his fortune was raised, he became the ruler of Hindustan. When he advanced from the capital of Karra, the Hindus, in alarm, descended into the earth like ants. He departed towards the garden of Behar, to dye that soil with blood as red as a tulip. He cleared the road to Ujjain of vile wretches, and created consternation in Bhilsan. When he effected his conquests in that country, he drew out of the river the idols which had been concealed in it.

As this was but a small adventure in his sight, he determined to proceed towards Deogir, "where he overcame Earn Deo." "But see the mercy with which he regarded the broken-hearted, for, after seizing that rdi, he set him free again. He destroyed the temples of the idolaters, and erected pulpits and arches for mosques. He captured two-and-twenty elephants, in battles raging like the stream of the Nile. He captured also Bengal elephants from Lakhnauti, but those of Deogir were of a different stamp, — not such as knew

only how to eat their full, but such as could discharge arrows and brandish swords.' Were I to attempt to recount the plunder of jewels and gold, no measure or balance would sufSce, for the treasure had been accumulated by the rdia from of old. Camels and mules were laden with rubies and diamonds, and every kind of precious stone, and the most experienced jewellers were unable even to guess at their value, and who can tell of the heaps of amber, and the costly silks? He returned victorious with this booty, in order to accomplish new conquests."

He advanced again from Karra, with iron in one hand and gold in the other; he gave a crown to one chief, while he took off the head of another. He marched to Dehli and set up his kingly throne, while all the world were in astonishment at the marvel that Dehli should be taken by Karra. The whole city declared that no one bad ever been blessed with such good fortune. When he had es- tablished himself upon the throne, he began to think of the neigh- bouring countries. All the independent chiefs bowed down their heads, except the ill-fortuned Mir of MultSn. That wretch was not of such importance that the Shah should himself undertake any expedition against him." So Ulugh Khan was despatched with orders to conclude the business speedily, and, on its accomplishment, he returned to Court ; and "all, both young and old, were astonished at the success of the universe-conquering Sultan."

3. 'ASHIKA OF AMIE KHIISEU'. [" L'Innamorata." This, like the Eirdnu-s Sa'dain, is a kind of epic or historical poem, having for its main subject the loves of Dewal Eani, daughter of the Eai of Gujarat, and Khizr Khan, eldest son of Sultan 'Aldu-d din. Khizr Khan, as told by Barni, fell under his father's displeasure and was put in confinement. Upon the death of 'Alau-d din, the traitor and would-be-usurper, Malik Naib Kafur, caused the eyes of the prince to be put out When Kutbu-d din Mabarak Shah had ascended the throne, to secure his own position, he had Khizr Khan and other of his

1 That elephants were once taught these useful exercises is evident from a similar passage in the Sikandar-ndma, of Niztoi.

brothers murdered. The fate of Dewal Eani is doubtful. Khusru {infra p. 555) says that her hands were out off while she was clinging to her husband's body, and implies that she was left among the slain, though he says not so distinctly. Tirishta asserts that she was taken into Kutbu-d din's harem, and that she was also taken after his death by the villain, Khusru Khan. Barni, who was intimately acquainted with the facts, is silent upon the subject, so that it may be hoped that the high-bom damsel escaped that union with "the foul Parwari," which would have been worse than death.]

Praise of G-od and the Prophet. — Panegyric on the author's spiritual teacher, Nizam-d din Aulya and on the Emperor 'Alau-d din Khilji.

The author a captive in the hands of the Mughah.

" At the time that this learner of evil, the author, was a captive in the hands of the Mughals,' may such days never return ! travelling in a sandy desert, where the heat made my head boil like a cauldron, I and the man who was with me on horseback arrived thirsty at a stream on the roadside. Although the naphtha of my life was heated, I would not inflame it with oil by drinking a draught of water. I merely wetted my lips, and obtained a little relief after my exhaustion. But my thirsty guard dismounted from his horse, and both he and his horse drank their fill of water and expired immediately."

The Author relates t}i^ cause of writing this Poem. He states that he went one day to visit Khizr Khan, who asked him to write a poem upon that prince's love for Dewal Eani ; and Khizr Khan causing the account which he had himself written descriptive of his own passion to be produced, he consigned it to the author, who agreed to versify it.

■Mteomium on Sindiistan. " Happy Hindustan, the splendour of Eeligion, where the Law

1 He gives a brief notice of this captivity and of the hardships which he endured ftom exposure, boils upon his feet, fatigue, and thirst, in his second Diwdn, called Wastu-l-haydt. He was taken prisoner on the borders of Multin, in the 34th year of his age, or 684 H. (1285 a.d.). See supra, p. 122.

finds perfect honour and security. In learning Detli can now compete with Bokhara, for Islam has been made manifest by its kings. The whole country, by means of the sword of our holy warriors, has become like a forest denuded of its thorns by fire. The land has been saturated with the water of the sword, and the vapours of infidelity have been dispersed. The strong men of Hind have been trodden under foot, and all are ready to pay tribute. Islam is triumphant, idolatry is subdued. Had not the law granted exemption from death by the payment of poll-tax, the very name of Hind, root and branch, would have been extinguished. From Grhazni to the shore of the ocean you see all under the dominion of Islam. Cawing crows ' see no arrows pointed at them ; nor is the Tarsd (Christian) there, who does not fear (taras) to render the servant equal with God ; nor the Jew who dares to exalt the Pentateuch to a level with the Kuran; nor the Magli who is delighted with the worship of fije, but of whom the fire complains with its hundred tongues. The four sects of Musulmans are at amity, and the very fish are Sunnis."^

The Ohorian Emperors of Behli. Mu'izzu-d din Muhammad bin Sam, Kutbu-d din Aibak ; " That flaming wave drove the Eai of Kanauj into the Ganges, where he was drowned, and took from him fourteen hundred elephants." Shamsu-d din Altamsh, — Euknu-d din Firdz. — Sultan Eaziya. — Mu'izzu-d din Bahram. — 'Alau-d din Mas'ud. — ^Nasiru-d din Mah- mud ; " It was a wonderful time, one career of victory ; in every house was joy and gladness. The Musulmans were powerful, the Hindus peaceful, and no one knew even the name of Mughal." Ghiyasu-d din Balban ; " He was a king bounteous and powerful, an elephant in his time would avoid treading on an ant. During his reign the Mughals found entrance to these parts, sometimes they ravaged the country, sometimes they professed allegiance. In anger

1 Hindus. Badr Ghi-cb. tas the same expression to signify Hindus ; and Hasan Niz&mf, in the preface to the Toy«-/: -Ma-aitV, speaks of the 1.;:^^^ cU ^^X-Sb

" crow-like Hindus ; " and again in the chapter on the conquest of Ajmir " Hindus crow-faced," ij^,~^c, \j ^],i\x& .

CEime they on with inflamed visage and obtained gifts from the king. Whether this invasion was a loss or a benefit, it passed away, and what was destined came to pass." — Mu'izziu-d din Kai-kubad. — Shamsu-d din Kai-kubad.

" He made the blood of the- infidels to flow in streams, and formed bridges with their heads. He went from Multan to Ghazni, and thence invaded the Tatars, dyeing the country with their blood and covering the whole land with their heads. He made Turkistan so entirely Hindi, that he took the life from the Turks by means of his Hindus. When he again turned his face this way from that country, he stretched his arm to slaughter the Khokhars,' and shed blood on all the five rivers of the Panjab." "By his wise measures he forged for the Mughals chains both of iron and gold."

'AMu-d din Khi^i. "He was the first who, while yet only an Amir, placed an 'amdri upon his elephants."^ On his advance to Dehli he lavished money profusely on the way. " The fort of Dehli fell before the mangonel of his gold. His largesses offered him the aid of catapults, and presents of jewels yielded him as much victory as balistas." Shortly after his accession, he despatched troops to Multan and Sind, where he was victorious.

"Shortly after, the Sultan of religion determined to wreak the vengeance of a hundred years upon the Mughals. They were coming on to be destroyed by his beheading sword, like moths in the flame of a candle. First they came to the borders of Manjur

2 It is usual in India to say that 'Al&,u-d din was the first who used an 'amdri, or canopied seat upon an elephant, but, as here stated, he was the first to use one while yet only a Prince. In the preceding reign we read in the Miftdhu-l Putuh of golden 'amdris.

and CMran, and Ulngli Khan^ attacked them like Karan, and by tlie force of his sword made them food for jackals.

"After that, the audacious iafidel Katlak Khwaja,'* one of the strongest branches of that accursed tree,^ advanced that year to Kaili, and the Shah regarded that boldness as a happy omen. The king moved on for two parasangs, in order that he might come to action wSthin the borders of Kaili. The vile Katlak Khwaja was confident and bold, but it was as if an owl were contending with a falcon. The king ordered Ulugh Khan and Zafar Khan to advance with determiaation to the fight, and those two rapid dragons made the hills and forests quake. Ulugh Khan pursued the Mughals like a panther after its prey, and those who escaped the sword fell victims to the arrows. The hill of Kaili* was drowned in a torrent of blood and the heads of the gabrs rolled down like a weighing pan (hail)." "After that, Targhi, the headstrong, bit the dust when he was struck with a hatchet, and for a time religion was freed from the troubles caused by the infidels."

" Afterwards the sand of the desert was saturated with the blood of the armies of Turtak and 'Ali Beg.^ The army of religion came rushing on like a river, overwhelming the Mughals in its waves. The two Turk Khans were suddenly captured by a Hindu servant of the Court."

" Subsequently, three other active warriors, who outstripped the wind in their fleetness, came rapidly to the neighbourhood of Multan, and lit up the flame of insurrection on the banks of the Eavi. One was Tihii, another Ikbal the stubborn, the third Kabak determined both in fight and hatred. Their soldiers were countless as the sand, and infuriated by the fate of Turtak and 'All Beg. His majesty despatched his principal minister, Kafur (camphor), the splendour of IsMm, against them, in order that by his fragrance he might

^ [I have no complete copy of this poem, tut only some extracts and abstracts. In some tlie name is written Alaf KhS.n, in others Ulugh KhSu ; the latter is certainly right. See stiprd pp. 43 and 162.]

^ [This is here the spelling ; not " Katlagh."]

' He was son of Amir DS.tid [or Baw&] Rh&n, ruler of Turkistan, and M&war&u-n nahr.

^ [This name has hitherto been given as " Kill," bat this shows what Khusrti's pronunciation was. See stjprd p. 166, and Beng. Jour., 1869, p. 199.]

dispel the offensive smell arising from their dead bodies. He went so expeditiously that, in ten nights, he performed the journey of a whole month. The blood of the Tatars flowed in such torrents that it reached to the girths of the horses. Ikbal and Tihu fled together towards the rivers, and were glad to save their lives by abandoning the plunder which they were carrying off. But Eabak was taken like a partridge (kabalc),^ and that learned dog was sent with a collar round his neck to the king of the world. The victory was obtained by the aid of God, and the Mughal had enough of his attempts at revenge.

" Prom that day the torrent of the Jihiin had no power to carry away even an ant from Hindustan. Behold a great marvel which marked the good fortune of 'Alau-d din, may he always remain king ! A deadly blast from hell blew over that country, and dis- solved by its fire even iron into wax. They all died, and though Biiyahia escaped, as he had the life of a dog, yet his power was ignominiously destroyed; and so entirely had all their turbulence subsided in this country, that no one heard anything more about them."

Conquest of Gujarat, Chitor, Mdlwa, SiwAna.

The poet passes to the conquests of 'Alau-d din, in Hindustan. Ulugh Khan sent against the Eai of Gujarat, " where the shores of the sea were filled to the brim with the blood of the gabrs." The conquest of Somnat, Jhain, and Eanthambor, whose ruler was "Pithu Eai, descended from Pithaura, but an hundred hundred thousand times more proud than he. Ten thousand swift Arabian horses were his, and elephants with 'amdris on their backs. Soldiers and rdwats and rdmas were beyond number. This fort was two weeks' journey dis- tant from Dehli, and its walls extended for three parasangs. Terrible stones were sent against them with such force that the battlements were levelled with the dust. So many stones were thrown, pile upon pile, that it would have required thirty years to clear the road to one of the gates." The king took the fort in one month, and made it over to Ulugh Khan.

1 [The name 'is given as "Kank" (or Kanak) in Bamf (suprd p. 199), 'but this proTes it to be Kabak. See also p. 73.]

The conquest of Chitor, wMch was named KUzrabad, after Kliizr Khan, who was here honoured with being allowed to bear a red canopy over his head.

" After that, the king's attention was directed towards the south, in order that he might seize the country of the Southern rdis. Koka, the wazir, commanded the army, and he was stronger in the country of Malwa than the rdi He had more than 40,000 cavalry, and his infantry were without number. 10,000 men were sent against him by his majesty, and they destroyed his entire force. The Hindus were captured and slaughtered in heaps, and only the rdi, Malhak^ Deo, escaped to the hills." This conquest was effected by 'Ainu-1 mulk. Mandu taken, "a wonderful fortress io\tr parasangs in circumference."

Siwana is next proceeded against by his majesty in person. "The strong-armed rdi of that place was Satal ^ Deo. Many iron-hearted gabrs were in his service. The army sat down before it for five or six years, and did not, during that time, succeed in destroying half a bastion, but after one attack made upon that hill by the king, it was moved from its foundations by the troops like a flowing river."

The conquest of Telingdna, McHlar, Fatan.

The conquest of Tilangi, where the rdi is made to send "a golden idol and an hundred elephants, and treasure beyond all calculation."

The army proceeded to Ma'bar, that it might " take the shores of the sea as far as Lanka, and spread the odour of the amber-seented faith," and thence returned to Deegir, from which place the rdi fled at their approach, and, after plundering the country, they proceeded towards the sea-coast.

"There was another rdi in those parts, whose rule extended over sea and land, a Brahmin, named Pandya G-urii. He had many cities in his possession, and his capital was Patan,^ where there was a temple with an idol in it laden with jewels. He had many troops and ships; and Musulmans, as well as Hindus, were in his service. He had a thousand elephants of Ma'bar and innumerable horses. The rdi, when the army of the Sultan arrived at Fatan, fled away,

1 [Or " Mahlak." See suprd p. 76.] ' [Or " Sutal." See siiprd p. 78.]

and wliat can an army do without its leader ? The Musulmans in his service sought protection from the king's army, and they were made happy with the kind reception they met with. 600 elephants also were taken. They then struck the idol with an iron hatchet, and opened its head. Although it was the very Kibla of the ac- cursed gahrs, it kissed the earth and filled the holy treasury. Wealth and jewels were taken from it in such quantities that they would have outweighed a mountain. After the business of the rdi of Ma'bar was completed, the army returned victorious, and received due rewards from the fortunate king. May God grant him .success, that he may take a whole world without moving from his throne ! May he, sitting at Dehli, be able to plunder the country of Ma'bar and the seas, with a mere movement of his eyebrow!"

The author proceeds to the more immediate subject of his poem. Shortly after 'Alau-d din's accession to the throne, he sent his brother, Ulugh Khan, with a large army towards Gujarat and Somnat. The ruler of those countries was .Eai Karan. In an action between him and the Khan he sustained a defeat and fled, and his treasures, wives and concubines fell into the enemy's hands. On his return from Gujarat, the Khan presented aU the booty he had taken to the king, and amongst other captives was the wife of Eai Karan, Kanwala Di, celebrated for her beauty, who was taken into the king's Seraglio.

The Eani had two daughters by Eai Karan ; both had been carried off by their father in his flight. The eldest died, but the youngest, Dewal Di, survived.

Kanwala Di solicited of the king that this daughter might be sent for and made over to her, and as the king was well disposed to meet her wishes, he demanded her from Eai Karan, who was preparing to send her, accompanied with many presents, to the king, when he took alarm at the large army which had marched under Ulugh Khan and Panchami for the conquest of the whole of Gujarat, and fled with his daughter and private attendants to seek the protection of the r&i of Deogir, by name Sankh Deo, the son of the Eai-Eayan, Earn Deo.

When the chief of Deogir learnt the approach of Eai Karan,

he sent his brother, Bhelam Deo, to demand Dewal Di in marriage. Eai Karan felt himself compelled to accede to the proposal, and he was preparing to send his daughter when he was attacked by the king's army, and Panchami, who commanded the advance-guard, seized Dewal Di, whose horse had been wounded and lamed by an arrow. She was taken to Ulugh Khan, and Eai Karan fled. Accord- ing to the king's order, Dlagh Khan sent Dewal Di to Dehli, where she was made over to her mother in the palace. She was then eight years of age.

Loves of Khhr Khan and Dewal SdnL The Sultan wished to betroth Dewal Eani to his son Khizr Khan, who was then ten years old, and Kanwala Di agreed to the marriage, as she had an affection for Khizr Khan in consequence of his resemblance to her brother. The children were accordingly admitted to each other's presence, and indulged in youthful gambols, and became attached to each other.

The mother of Khizr Khan objected to this match, and was desirous of betrothing him to the daughter of her brother Alp Khan, who was himself anxious to speed the preparations for the ceremony. Upon which it was represented to the mother, that as Khizr Khan had conceived an. affection for Dewal Di, he ought to be separated from her. This was accordingly done, and they were placed in different apartments, but as they were able to have occasional interviews, their growing attachment ripened, and four go-betweens on each side conveyed affectionate messages from one to the other.

The queen-mother, apprehensive of these interviews, determined to send the girl to the Eed Palace. Khizr Khan's distress iipon the occasion, when he tears his clothes and exhibits other signs of frantic grief. The queen foregoes her intention, when Khizr Khan recovers his serenity. The young pair contrive a secret assignation, when they become senseless through emotion. The queen again determines on sending Dewal Di to the Eed Palace. On her way there she has an interview with Khizr Khan, when he presents her with a lock of his hair to preserve as a memento, and she in return gives him a ring.

Marriage of Khizr EMn with the datcghter of Alp Khan. This mairiage wa8 solemnized in Eamazan, 711 h. (Jan. 1312 a.d.). The decorations of the city upon the occasion. Triumphal arches, dancing, singing, music, illuminations, rope-dancing, jugglery. "The juggler swallowed a sword like water, drinking it as a thirsty man would sherbet. He also thrust a knife up his nostril. He mounted little wooden horses and rode upon the air. Large bodies were made to issue out of small ones ; an elephant was drawn through a window, and a camel through the eye of a needle.' Those who changed their own appearance practised all kinds of deceit. Sometimes they transformed themselves into angels, sometimes into demons. Balls were made to be sometimes white and sometimes black, in imitation of the fitful vicissitudes we are subject to upon earth. They sang so enchantingly that they could make it appear as if a man was dying, and as if after an interval he was again made alive."

The marriage of Khi%r Khan with Dewal JSdni. Dewal Di, on learning Khizr Khan's marriage, writes him a letter full of reproaches, to which he replies by excuses. The grief of the two lovers and their solicitations to heaven. The deep distress of Khizr Khan is reported to the queen-mother, and it is repre- sented to her, that as it is lawful for a Musulman to marry four wives, he might be allowed to marry Dewal Di also. She relents, and as the Sultan has from the beginning given his consent to Khizr Khan's marriage with Dewal Di, she is sent for from the Eed Palace and married to him. — The complete happiness of the lovers at their union. — Khizr Khan becomes one of the disciples of the Saiat Nizamu-d din Aulya.

Bupture between 'Aldu-d din and Khi%r Khan. The poet again proceeds to some historical details. — Misunder- standing between the Sultan and Khizr Khan, and the imprisonment of the latter. — ^The cause was this : the Sultan being Ul of fever, Khizr Khan made a vow that, in the event of his recovery, he would

' This is in the original, and shows that those who object to the common reading of the Bihie have no good ground for any alteration. The phrase is uniyersal in the East to express any difficulty.

proceed bare-footed on a pilgrimage to some shrines. When the Sultan recovered in some degree, KMzr Khan set out on his expedi- tion to Hatanpiir, but in consequence of his feet getting blistered he was persuaded by his attendants to mount on horseback. Amir Khusru here observes that when the prince had such a spiritual teacher as Nizamu-d din Aulya, he should have performed his pilgrimage to him, and not have sought out other shrines; that it was to this that his ill-fortune is to be ascribed. Malik Kafur, the eunuch, was not slow to take advantage of this indiscretion of the Khan, and represented that this non-fulfilment of his vow was a personal insult to the Sultan.

The Sultan first wreaked his vengeance on the Khan's maternal uncle and father-in-law, Alp Khan, who was assassinated in Dehli by his orders. He then caused an angry letter to be written to his son, telling him not to return to his presence without orders, and assigning Amroha to him as a residence, and the country from the Ganges to the foot of the hills as his hunting-ground, where game was so plentiful that "he might kill ten antelopes with one arrow.'' He was directed to remain there for two months, after which he would be summoned, when the king had recovered his composure. Meanwhile, he was to send back the royal insignia he had received, the canopy, durhdsJi, standards, and elephants, which would be retained by the king -until he had again restored the Khan to his good graces.

This farmdn was sent by an ugly courier called 'Ambar, who brought it in one night from Dehli to beyond Meerut, where the Prince was encamped. The Prince was deeply afflicted at the contents, but returned the royal insignia under the charge of Malik Hisamu-d din, while he himself, with tears in his eyes, crossed the Ganges and went to Amroha.

He had only been there two or three days, when his agitation was so great that, without a summons, he determined to return to his father, who, being on the point of death, received him Idndly, his aifection for him having revived in this extremity. MaHk Kafur, agaia successfully practising his wiles, persuaded the Sultan that tUl his recovery it would be wise to confine the Khan in the fort of Gwalior. The Sultan consented, but bound Kafur by solemn

oaths not to attempt the life of the Prince, who -was accordingly carried off from Dehli to Gwalior in two days. There his faithful Dewal Eani became the companion to and solace of his miserable imprisonment.

Death of 'AMu-d din and sulsequent massacres.

'Alau-d din, partly through bodily infirmity and partly through mental distress, died on the 7th Shawwal, 715 h. (Jan., 1316 a.d.), when Malik Kafur placed the king's youngest son, Shahabu-d-din 'Umar, upon the throne, and despatched Sumbul to Gwalior to blind Khizr Khan. "When Sumbul had completed his inhuman deed, he was promoted to the ofBce of Ndih-Mjib.

A short time afterwards, the slaves and guards of the late king slew Malik Kafur, and conveyed the intelligence to Khizr Khan, to show that the curse that he had pronounced against Kafur had been fulfilled.

Kutbu-d din Mubarak Shah then ascended the throne in the begin- ning of 716 H. (1316 A.D.). After displacing his brother, 'Umar, he sent to demand Dewal Eani from his brother Khizr Khan, who returned an indignant refusal. Vexed at this opposition, and determined to rid himself of all rivals, the wretch Mubarak Shah sent a ruffian named ShadI to Gwalior, to murder the three princes Khizr Khan, Shadi Khan, and 'Umar. After this butchery had been committed, the garrison violated the ladies of their households. The devoted Dewal Eani, in clinging to the body of her husband, was wounded in the face and had her hands cut off by the assassins. Not long after the murder of the princes, the villains went into the zendna and murdered all the females. All the members of the royal family were buried in the Bijymandar bastion of the fort of Gwalior. The conclusion.

" Prince Khizr Khan then ordered a confidential servant to place me near the narrative of his love, without attracting the attention of the 'bystanders. When my eyes fell on the heart-exciting tale, tears fell from them involuntarily. I immediately assented with aU my heart, to the wish of the prince, the apple of the eye. My head was exalted by the honour of my selection, and I retired with the narrative in my hand."

" When I came to examine it from beginning to end, I fonnd most of tlie names (words ?) in it were Hindi. I pondered a long- time with, myself how I might join the coarse cloth with the fine, but as some kind of junction was requisite, I thought that no wise man would regard a necessity as a fault. But I was in error, for if you ponder the matter well, you will not find the Hindi words (language) inferior to the Parsi. It is inferior to the Arabic, which is the chief of all languages. The prevalent languages of Eai and Eam, I know, from reflecting well on the matter, to be inferior to the Hindi. Arabic, in speech, has a separate province, and no other language can combine with it. The Parsi is deficient in its vocabu- lary, and cannot be tasted without Arabic condiments ; as the latter is pure, and the former mixed, you might say that one was the soul, the other the body. With the former nothing can enter into com- bination, but with the latter, every kind of thing. It is not proper to place the cornelian of Yemen on a level with the pearl of Dari.

" The language of Hind is like the Arabic, inasmuch as neither admits of combination. If there is grammar and syntax in Arabic, there is not one letter less of them in the Hindi. If you ask whether there are the sciences of exposition and rhetoric, I answer that the Hindi is in no way deficient in those respects. Whoever possesses these three languages in his store, will know that I speak without error or exaggeration.

" If I were with reason and justice to speak to you of the merits of Hindi, you would object to what I advance ; and if I were to swear to the truth of my assertions, who knows whether you would credit me or not ? It is true, I know so little, that my acquaintance with it is but as a drop in the ocean ; yet from tasting it, I am well aware that the fowl of the desert is deprived of the waters of the Tigris. He who is far from the Ganges and Hindustan can boast himself of the Nile and Tigris. When a man sees only the night- ingale of China in a garden, how does he know what the parrot of Hindustan is ? • ' * He who ha;s placed only guavas and quinces in his throat, and has never eaten a plantain, wiU say it is like so much jujube. The Khurasani who considers every Hindi a fool will think even a pdn leaf of no more value than grass. A wise and

just man, and he who has travelled through several countries ob- servantly, will believe these assertions of Khusru ; for if the con- versation should turn on Hind or Earn, he will speak fairly, and not without ground asseverate his own opinion, like the man who said that Basra was superior to Syria. And if any one chooses to speak with partiality, no doubt he will be ready to class my (Indian) mangoes below (foreign) figs. They call Hind black, and that is true enough, yet it is the largest country' in the world. You should look on Hindustan as Paradise, with which it is in fact connected, for, if not, why did Adam and the peacock come to adorn it from that blissful spot ?

[" The Nine Heavens (or Spheres)." This is one of the separate poems of Amir Khusru, written, as he tells us, in his old age. Its historical notices relate to the reign of Kutbu-d din Mubarak Shah, in whose time it was written."^

Praise of God and the Prophet, and of the author's spiritual teacher, Nizamu-d din Aulya. Panegyric on the reigning monarch, Mubarak Shah. The author tells us that he was more than sixty years old when he wrote this poem, and had already written poems on the three preceding monarchs : Kai-kubad, respecting whom he had written the Kirdnu-s Sa'dain; Jalalu-d din Firoz, on whom he had written Kasidas and Masnavis ; 'Alau-d din Khilji, to whom he had dedi- cated his Khamsa, and addressed panegyrical poems.

The accession of Kutbu-d din Mubarak Shah on Sunday, the 24th* of Muharram, 716 h.' (April 18th, 1316 a.d.). After remaining in Dehli for a year, he proceeded to the Dekhin for the conquest of Deogir, at the head of a large army. His first march was to Tilpat, about seven Tcos from Dehli, and, after a march of two months, he

1 A play upon smodd, meaning botli "black" and "country." 3 Ferislita says, the 7tli.

3 This is the date given in the MS. used, but in some loose extracts the date is 717 (April 9th, 1317 a.d.). See suprd pp. 211 and 555.

arrived on the borders of Deogir, where he received the submission of all the rdis and rdnas of those parts, except Eaghu, the deputy and minister of the late Eai Earn Deo. Eaghu, on learning the approach of the king, fled to the hills in open rebellion.

Khusru Khan was detached with a powerful army to repel him, and a royal tent accompanied, in order to do honour to the expedi- tion. One of his of&oers, named Katlagh, the chief huntsman, seized some of E%hu's adherents, from whom it was ascertained that he had nearly 10,000 Hindu cavalry under him. Khusru Khan attacked him in a defile, and completely routed him. "The Hindus, who had pretended to independence, were either slain, captured, or put to flight. Eaghu himself was most severely wounded ; his body was covered with blood ; his lips emitted no breath. He entered some cave in a ravine, which even a snake could scarcely penetrate. Khusru Khan, with thanks to God after his glorious victory, looked towards the royal tent and kissed the earth. He made over the charge of the army to the 'Ariz, and returned expeditiously to the seat of the throne, for his majesty had urgently summoned him. The king received him with a hundred flattering distinctions, and raised him to the highest honours. May his good fortune always so prevail, that he may bestow benefactions upon his slaves !"

Khusru Khan is despatched for the conquest of Arangal (Warangal), in TUang,^ with an army consisting partly of Hindus. " The king said, ' Turn your face to Tilang to demand jizya.' " " The royal pavilion was pitched at the end of the street, and on each side were ranged the other tent«." The army advanced march by march, and the Hindus committed as many ravages as the Turks. Wherever the army marched, every inhabited spot was desolated. " Arangal had two walls, the centre of mud, the inner of stone." "When the army arrived there the Hindu inhabitants concealed themselves in the hiUs and jungles." " The Hindu horsemen of the rdi vaunted themselves in every direction that they were as bold as lions, and the heralds, whom they call har&s,^ surrounded them, singing their

1 There is no account of this expedition in Ferishta.

praises. The singers kept on resounding the pseans whioli they use in the wars of their rdis. The Brahmans, after their own fashion, offered up their prayers, accompanied by the voices of the minstrels." " The chiefs, in appearance, were valiant, but trembling in their hearts. Hindus made an attack upon Hindus, to try their respective strength. If the Turks had charged, they would have annihilated the enemy, for, from time immemorial, the Hindus have always been the prey of the Turks."

The army encamped three bow-shots from Arangal, and the Khan ascended an eminence from which he might examine the fort. "On all sides of it, for the distance of two mils, there were fountains and gardens, calculated to gratify those who are in search of pleasure. All its fruits were mangoes, plantains, and jacks ; not cold apples or icy quinces. All the flowers which he saw were Hindu; the champa, Tceora, and jasmine. When the great Khan witnessed all this, he prayed Almighty God for assistance, and then returned to his camp."

A skirmish described. "The Hindu horsemen were more than 10,000; the foot soldiers were beyond all calculation. The horse- men on our side were altogether only 300, or even less." Notwith- standing these disproportionate numbers, the Hindus were completely routed, when great booty in jewels and gold fell into the hands of the victors. " They pursued the enemy to the gate, and set every- thing on fire. They burnt down all those gardens and groves. That paradise of idol- worshippers became like hell. The fire-worshippers of Bvd were in alarm, and flocked round their idol."

In the morning Khusru Khan attacked the outer wall, and obtained possession of part of it, when the Hindus sallied from the inner fortress in order to repel the Musulmans. The Khan ordered many of his horsemen to dismount, and made such a vigorous onset that he seized the principal bastion of the outer fortress, which was crowded with Hindus, many of whom were slain, and many taken prisoners ; among the latter was Antil Mahta, the commander of the Eai's forces.

Next morning, the Khan advanced to the ditch and besieged the inner fortress. He ordered Khwaja Haji, the 'A'riz, "to distribute the army to the proper posts, to dig the trenches, and spring a mine,

tlie length of which was equal to 150 yards at that time." When the rdi witnessed these bold advances, he became alarmed, and " sent wise messengers with expressions of his submission and duty to the powerful one, sapng, 'If I have wealth, or elephants, or country, it is mine only through the protection of the king. I will give all my wealth, my gold, my elephants, if I am allowed to escape with my life.' When the great Khan heard that message, he thanked Almighty God for his victory." The Khan replied : " The Khalffa who sent me to this country ordered me to demand three conditions from the Hindus : First, that they should make profession of our faith, in order that its saving tidings may be proclaimed throughout the world; second, that, in the event of refusal, a capitation tax should be levied ; the third is, if compliance with these demands be refused, to place their heads under the sword. It is my recom- mendation that the rdi come forth and place his face upon the ground, in front of the royal pavilion."

The rdi, in apprehension of his life, refused to leave the fort, but sent jewels, clothes, sandal, gold, horses, elephants, and other valuables to the Khan, by way of jizya. There were one" hundred elephants and twelve thousand horses. The rapacious Khan, how- ever, was not satisfied with all this, but sent a message to intimate that what had been sent was but " a leaf in the garden of the rdi's wealth;" he therefore enjoined him to send everything in his pos- session, or to prepare for war. The rdi solemnly afSrmed that he had nothing left of all his former wealth, " As I am rdi and have a regard for my own fair name, I would not tell a lie, which would not obtain credence."

To this the Khan replied that if the rdi were speaking truth, he could have no objection to submit to an ordeal. " He should thrust his hand into hot oil, and if he sustain no injury from the heat, no suspicion wiU exist against him." To this the rdi would not consent, but on the demand of the Khan, made over some of his relations as hostages, and wrote a letter, saying, " If any concealed treasure should hereafter be discovered, the fault will be with me, and I am responsible. This written promise soon arrived from Arangal, and it was stamped with the seal of Mahadeo."

The Khan then received from the rdi, five districts {mauza') of his

country {ahtd'), an annual tribute of " more than a hundred strong elephants, as large as demons, 12,000 horses, and gold and jewels and gems beyond compute. The rdi assented to the whole, with heart and soul, and wrote an engagement to this effect and confirmed it." He then made a long speech, entreating the consideration of the king, in the course of which he observes, that " the relation between Turk and Hindu is that of a lion and antelope, and the Turks, when- ever they please, can seize, buy, or sell any Hindu." The Khan relinquished all the ceded and conquered territory, except " Badr- kot, a fort as high as heaven, which the Khan had an object in demanding."

The rdi then ascended the rampart of the fort of Arangal, and turning his face towards the royal pavilion, he bowed to the earth. " Thus did he for three days, out of respect to the pale of religion ; he turned towards the pavilion, and kissed the earth. He then again, tremblingly, addressed the commander in these words : ' I hold from the late Sultan several emblems of military pomp and dignity. What order is there respecting them ? shall I continue to use them, or return them to you ? ' The Khan replied, ' As these were bestowed on you by the late Sultan, why should the reigning one wish to take them back from you ? But it is right to pay due respect to his majesty, by sending the canopy {durhdsh) and standard to the royal pavilion, in order that the former may be replaced by a new one, as the beams of the former sun no longer shine.' " The rdi accordingly returned the insignia, which were lowered before the empty pavilion of the king, and were then returned to the rdi, with the standard unfurled, and a new canopy.

Khusrii Khan, after this ceremony, returned in triumph to the king, by whom he had been summoned in haste. But before his arrival, Mubarak Shah had departed from Deogir, towards Dehli, in the month of Jumada-1 akhir, 718 h. (August 5th, 1318 A.D.).

"When Mubarak Shah arrived at Dehli, he gave orders for the building of a Jdmi' Masjid, by the most skilful architects, and when that was completed, he gave orders for completing the city and fort of Dehli, which his father, 'Alau-d din, had left in an unfinished state.

Praises of Hindustan. — Its Climate. — ^Animals. — Learning and Languages.

"This is a well-known fact, that the language spoken by con- querors who have established themselves, when it has been dissem- inated amongst people, great and small, has become the common language of the country. Just as in Baghdad, where originally but little Persian was spoken, when the Khalifa's dynasty was over- thrown, the Parsis established themselves in it. Thenceforward, everything that was Arab, became subject to Parsi rules, and the herd acquired respect for the language of the shepherds. The city, which was called Baghdad in Arabic, became converted in its first sj'Uable into Baghchadad. Turki became just as prevalent, when the Turks conquered the country, and the language of the chiefs bore fruit in a new soil."

" Hind has observed the same rule in respect to language. In olden time it was Hindui. When the tribes, great and small, became intermixed, every one, bad and good, learnt Parsi, and all the other languages which existed never moved from their bounds. As God had taught them all, it is not proper to call them all bad. With the exception of Arabic, which, in consequence of the Kuran being written in it, is the most excellent and eloquent of languages, aU the tongues differ from one another, and each one has some peculiar merit of its own. This one exclaims, ' My wine is better than all others.' Every one loses himself in his own cup, and no one admits that his own wine is vinegar. In short, it would be useless to enter into further discussion respecting Parsi, Turki, and Ara,bic."

"As I was born in Hind, I may be allowed to say a word respecting its languages. There is at this time in every pro- vince a language peculiar to itself, and not borrowed from any other — Sindi, Lahori, Kashmiri, the language of Dugar," Dhur Samundar, Tilang, Grujarat, Ma'bar, Gaur, Bengal, Oudh, Dehli and its environs. These are all languages of Hind, which from ancient times have been applied in every way to the common pur- poses of life.

' This may be considered the country hetween Lahore and Kashmir. Though now used by us in a more restricted sense, the natives assign to it wider limits.

"But tliere is aaatter language more select than the others, which all the Brahmans use. Its name from of old is Sahaskrit, and the common people know nothing of it. A Brahman knows it, but Brahmani women do not understand a word of it. It bears a re- semblance to Arabic in some respects, in its permutations of letters, its grammar, its conjugations, and polish. They have four books in that language, which they are constantly in the habit of repeating. Their name is Bed. They contain stories of their gods, but little advantage can be derived from their perusal. Whatever other stories and fables they have, is contained in habits, parwAnas, and ndmaJis. The language possesses rules for composition and eloquence. The language is very precious, inferior to Arabic, but superior to Dari ; and though the latter is certainly sweet and melodious, yet even in that respect this language does not yield to it."

Mention of some of the powers of sorcery and enchantment possessed by the inhabitants of India. " First of all, they can bring a dead man to life. If a man has been bitten by a snake and is rendered speechless, they can resuscitate him after even six months. They put him on a river which flows towards the East, and he speeds on his voyage as swift as lightning. When he arrives on the borders of Kamru, an experienced witch instils life into him."

" Another mode is this, and the power is possessed by the Brah- mans as a secret ; namely, that they can bring a man to life after his head has been cut off. I will tell you another story, if you will not be alarmed at it, that a demon gets into one's head and drinks as much wine as satisfies him, and whatever he utters in this state, is sure to become true. Another is, that through their art they can procure longevity by diminishing the daily number of their ex- pirations of breath. A Jogi who could restrain his breath in this way lived in an idol to an age of more than three hundred and fifty years."

"Another process is, that they can tell future events by the breath of their nostrils, according as the right or left orifice is more or less open. They can also inflate another's body by their own breath. In the hills on the borders of Kashmir there are many such people. Another is, that they know how to convert themselves into wolves, dogs, and cats. They can also extract by their power

the blood from one's body and infuse it again. They can also, even while moving, affect a man, whether old or young, with bodily disease. They can also make a body float from shore to shore. They can also fly like fowls in the aiar, however improbable it may seem. They can also, by putting antimony on their eyes, make themselves invisible at pleasure. Those only can believe all this who have seen it with their own eyes."

" Though this be all sorcery and incantation, yet there is one marvel which you must acknowledge to be fact, that is, that a woman in her senses will burn herself on the funeral pile of her husband, and that a man wUl burn himself for his idol or for his master. Though this be not legitimate in Islam, yet see what a great achieve- ment it is ! If this practice were lawful amongst us, pious devotees might surrender their lives to the air."

When Khusru Khan was returning to the king after the defeat of Eaghi, he received intelligence on the road that Eana Harpal had rebelled, and taken up a position in the hUls at the head of a power- ful army. The Khan went in pursuit of him, and was vigorously attacked two or three times by the rebel, who, in the end being desperately wounded, was taken captive, and his army put to flight. He was brought, bound hand and foot, before the king, who gave orders that he should be put to death ; after which his body was delivered to his attendants to be burnt. " When his way had been taken towards hell by the sword, the king gave his body to the other hellites, that this great infidel and little Satan might become one of its chief ornaments of their kingdom. The heUites who had accom- panied him out of regard and had fought by his side, also afforded food to the flames of the infernal regions. Those hellites did not desire that he should be burnt by himself alone, so they accompanied him into the flames, and hell was gratified by that sacrifice."

In the beginning of the month of Eajab, 718 H., the king, on his return towards Dehli from Deogir, crossed the Nerbadda in a boat. " Nerbadda is a river which flows very rapidly, and is so deep that it cannot be fathomed. Swifter than an arrow, and about two bow-shots broad from shore to shore, even an expert swimmer dare not attempt to cross it." On the day of the passage of the river, the captured elephants arrived in the royal camp from Telingana.

Admonitions and precepts for kings, chiefs, soldiers, fflad' the common people.

"I have heard a story that, in Dehli, about five or six hundred years ago, there was a great rdi, called Anangpal. At the entrance of his palace he had placed two Kons, sculptured in stone. He fixed a bell by the side of the two lions, in- order that those who sought justice might strike it, upon which the rdi would order them to be summoned, would listen to their complaints, and render justice. One day, a crow came and sat on the bell and struck it ; when the rdi asked who the complainant was. It is a fact, not unknown, that bold crows will pick meat from between the the teeth of lions. As stone lions cannot hiint for their prey, where could the crow obtain its usual sustenance ? As the rdi was satisfied that the crow justly- complained of hunger, having come to sit by bis stone lions, he gave orders that some goats and sheep should be killed, on which the crow might feed himself for some days."

The Fifth. Sphere. The king's fondness of hunting. — His preserves. — Praise of the seasons of Hindustan. — ^Dialogue between- the king's bow and arrow.

The Sixth Sphere. Birth of Prince Sultan Muhammad on the 23rd of Eabi'u-1 awwal, 718 H. (June 25th, 1318 a.d.). — The king distributes gold and jewels among the nobles after seeing the child. — Its education.

The Seventh Sphere. Encomium upon spring and new year's day ; on flowers and birds. — The king's public audience, and the honours and robes be- stowed by him upon the nobles, especially upon Khusru Khan.

The Eighth Sphere. The king's skill in the game of chaugdn. — Dialogue between the bat and the ball.

The Ninth Sphere: The poet exalts his own merits, and boastingly says that though at that time, in all 'Ajam and Tran, the two poets of chief celebrity

were Shaikh Sa'di Shirazf and Hakim Hum£m Tabrizi, yet he ex- celled them both ; because, whatever might be the merit of their verses, they possessed not the same multifarious accomplishments as himself.

He tells us that he was sixty-five years of age, and becoming infirm, when he concluded this poem on the 30th of Jumada-s sani, 718 H. (August 24th, 1318 a.d.), and that it contains 4,509 lines.

5. I'JA'Z-I KHUSEUWr. [This work, sometimes called Inshd-i Amir Khusru, is a collection oi farmdns, despatches, and letters by Amir Khusru. It is rather an extensive work. A MS. belonging to Nawab Ziau-d din, of Dehli, consists of 382 pages of small writing, nineteen lines in the page. The documents it contains are, as usual, written in the most grandiloquent style, a very small amount of information being wrapped up in a bewildering maze of words. The following abstract, made by a munsM, of a portion of one despatch, relates to a matter upon which the historians are silent. Barni says nothing of 'Alau-d din's ascendancy at Ghazni, and Firishta (I. 364) speaks only of plundering expeditions into that and the neighbouring countries.]

Abstract (Book IV., Sec. iii.. Letter 3) of part of an Arz-ddsht of Hajib Badr to the address of Prince Khizr Khan, the eldest son •of Sultto 'Alau-d din Khilji. The letter has no date.

This servant, Badr, begs to state, for the information of his high- ness Prince Khizr Khan, son of Iskandar-i sani ('Alau-d din), that, according to the royal orders, he marched with an army, and, after travelling through the various stages, he reached the banks of the Indus. He crossed the river in boats, and, proceeding onwards, arrived at Ghaznin in winter. The season was exceedingly cold. The Mughals of the place were in great alarm, from fear of the Musulmto. army. But when the purport of the royal farmdn was read to them, they became comforted, expressed their obedience, and were happy. As the king had ordered that the hhutba of his name should be read in Ghaznin, all the Muhammadans, who had con-

oealed ttemselves in mountains and ravines, as well as all the elders and principal Musulmans of Ghaznln, who were looking with the eye of expectation towards Dehli, assembled in the 'J6mV Masjid of the city, and on Friday the Miutba was read in the name of Sultan 'Alau-d din. The noise of the acclamations of joy and congratulations rose high from all quarters. The vest of honour, which was sent by the king for the reader of the Ichutba, was put on his shoulders. One of the walls of the mosque, which was decayed and had fallen down, was newly raised.

On the same Friday, before the assembly of the Muhammadans, when the name of the king was pronounced in the kJiutba, he (Badr) offered, near the pulpit, the jewels which he had brought with him, and also one plate full of gold. He threw them down on the earth, and people fell on them and picked them up. The Mughals saw this from the top of the walls of the Masjid, and spoke something in their own tongue. In these days some of the infidels have embraced the Muhammadan faith.

B.— KASAID OF BADE CHA'CH. [The author of these Odes, whose real name was Badru-d din, "the full moon of religion," was more familiarly known as Badr-i Ohach, from his native country of Chach, or Tashkand. He came to India and attracted some notice at the Court of Muhammad Tughlik, as may be gathered from the following extracts of his poems. His Kasdid, or Odes, were lithographed at Luoknow in 184-5, and there is a short notice of them in Stewart's Catalogue of Tippoo's Library, and in Sprenger's Catalogue of the Oude Libraries, p. 367. Beyond this, nothing is known of him. The following extracts and notes are entirely the work of Sir H. Elliot.]

Congratulations on the Arrival of a KMldt from the 'Ahbdsi Khalifa. Gabriel, from the firmament of Heaven, has proclaimed the glad tidings, that a robe of honour and Patent have reached the Sultan from the Khalifa, just as the verses of the Kuran honoured Mu- hammad by their arrival from the Court of the immortal God. » » IS The Imam has given the Shah absolute power over all the world, and this intelligence has reached all other Shahs throughout

the seven climates. The Patent of the other sovereignB of the world has been revoted, for an autograph grant has been despatched from the eternal Capital. The wells of the envious have become as dry as that of Joseph, now that the Egyptian robe has been received in Hindustan from Canaan. <»««> A veritable 'I'd has arrived to the Faithful, now that twice in one year a Tehila't has reached the Sultan from the Amiru-l Muminin. <»«»» Eajab arrived here on his return in the month of Muharram, 746 h.' (May, 1345 a.d.). * « « The king now never mentions his desire of sitting on an ivory throne, since his enemies sit on the point of elephants' tusks.^ « » e Be happy, oh Badr, for by the grace of Grod, and liberality of the king, your difficulties have ceased, and the period of benefactions has arrived.

Decorations of Dehli upon the same occasion.

Yesternight, at the time that the sun, the king with the golden garments, invested itself with a black mantle, and the king of the host of darkness,'' whose name is the moon, filled the emerald vault with sparks of gold, a robe of honour and a patent of sovereignty arrived, for the king of sea and land, from the lord Khahfa, the saint of his time, Ahmad 'Abbas, the Imam of God, the heir of the prophet of mankind. An order went forth that the embroiderers of

' This is a yery difficult passage, and variously interpreted. I have made as muoh sense of it as it seems capable of bearing. The literal translation is : " On the very date on which one month was in excess of the year 700 from this journey, in the month of Muharram, the before Sha'b^n arrived." The chronogrammatic value of " one month " is forty-six ; some copies, by the omission of the cUif, make it "forty-five," and some only " nine," which latter is out of the question. Eajab is the month before Sha'bin, and that is also the name of the ambassador who had been sent by Muhammad Tughlik to the Khalifa. Firishta says one khila't arrived in 744 H., and another in 747 h. Here a contemporary says the second arrived in 746 H., or it maybe 745 h., and that both khila'ts arrived within one year. The introduction of the Khalifa's name upon Muhammad Tughlik's coins begins as early as 741 H. ; but this must have occurred before the arrival of an ambassador, and sufficiently accounts for the errors in the name of the reigning Khalifa, which do not occur at a period subsequent to this embassy. See E. Thomas, Goms of the JPatcm Sultans, New Edition, pp. 254, 259, and Praehn, Eecensio, p. 177.

^ That is, your enemies are placed before elephants, to be gored or trampled to death by elephants.

' There is a double meaning here— the " host of darkness" being, in the original, "the army of Hind;" and the "black mantle," "the hhila't of the 'Abb&sls;" which image also occurs in the preceding ode.

curtains should prepare a beautiful and costly pavilion in the centre of four triumphal arches, which were so lofty that the vault of heaven appeared in compariBon like a green fly. Each arch was adorned with golden vestments, like a bride. The floors were spread with beautiful oarpetSj and there were ponds of water to excite the envy of Kansaf^ the tivulet of paradise. In the chambers poets recited verses ; songsters, like Venus, sang in each balcony. The chamberlains were in attendance, with their embroidered sleeves ; the judges, with theil' turbans ; the princes, with their waistbands. All classes of the people assembled round the buildings to witness the scene. This gay assemblage had collected because a hhila't and Patent had iseen sent by the lord Imam. The con- tents of it were : " May etery thing on the face of the earth, in the firO and in the water, relSiain under the protection of the king — Turk, Bum, Khurasan, Chin, and Sham — ^both that which is good, and that which is bad I If an azure canopy be granted, the heaven is at his command ; if a red Crown be desired, the sun will provide it. Let his titles be procMmed from every pulpit — the Sultan of East and West, the King of Kings by sea and land, the Defender of the Faith, Muhammad TUghlik, the Just, in dignity like Saturn, in splendour like the Messiah 1 " The Imam has sent a TcMla't black as the apple of the eyfl) calculated to spread the light of the law through the hearts of men. For fear of the justice of thy government, the hart and the lion consort in the forest. May the eyes of thy enemies shed tears of blood. May he who raises his head against thy authority, have his face blackened, and his tongue slit, like a pen-iteed ; and so long as the moon is sometimes round as a shield, and sometimes bent like a bow, may arrows pierce the heart of thy ruthless enemies. May every success attend Badr through thy good fortune, and may he never be visited by any calamities of the time 1

Doubtless, this festival appears as if it were held in Paradise, in which armies of angels stand on the right and left. A thousand crowned heads are bowed in reverence ; a thousand throned warriors stand awaiting orders; a thousand stars (armies) are there, and

under each, star are arranged a thousand banners. In each course behind the screens are a thousand songsters, melodious as night- ingales. If the palace of a thousand pillars were not like Paradise, why should rewards and punishments be distributed there like as on the day of judgment? Certainly this abode of happiness, Khur- ramabad, is chosen as a royal residence, because there the king, by his execution of the laws, acknowledges his subservience to the Khalffa of the world, Abu-1 Eabi' Sulaiman, the celebrated Imam, to whom the Khusru Of Hind is a servant and slave in body, heart, and soul. This Khusru is a holy warrior, Muhammad Tughlik, at whose gate the King of Chin and Khita is in waiting, like a Hindu porter. * ® '» The blade of thy sword smites the necks of thy enemies, and virith equal power does thy hand wield the pen, clothed in a yellow tunic, like a Hindu. ,

On the Capture of Nagarhot. When the sun was in Cancer, the king of the time took the stone fort of Nagarkot, in the year 738 h. (1337 a.d.). « » «» It is placed between rivers, like the pupU of an eye, and the fortress has so pre- served its honour, and is so impregnable, that neither Sikandar nor Dara were able to take it. Within are the masters of the mangonels ; within also are beauties resplendent as the sun. Its chiefs are aU strong as buffalos, with necks like a rhinoceros. Its inhabitants are all travelling on the high road to hell and perdition, and are gMls, resembling dragons. The exalted king of the kings of the earth arrived at night at this fortress, with 100,000 champions. His army contained 1,000 stars, and under each star 1,000 banners were displayed. * •■"' * Muhammad Tughlik is obedient to the laws of Muhammad, the apostle, and the orders of his vicegerent, Abu-1 Kabi' Sulaiman Mustakfi, the essence of the religion of the prophet, the light of the family of Khalifas, the Imam of God, to whom the king is a servant and slave in body, heart, and soul.

The Author is despatched to Deogir. On the 1st of Sha'ban, in the year 745, represented by the letters in " The power of the king," orders were issued that I should go to

the country of Deogfr, and I was thus addressed : " Oh, Badr, accompanied by Jamal Malik, the poet, and Nekroz, the slave, take thy departure with a pomp worthy of Eustam. May he who accom- plishes all designs aid thee; may the God of both worlds protect thee; but speak not of Deogir, for it is Daulatabad to which I allude, a fort exalted to the heavens ! Although it is but a point in my kingdom, it comprises what is equal to 1,000 kingdoms of Jam- shid. * • ** Go to the court of the governor of the -country, Katlagh Khan, and acquire honour by this presentation, and having thy mouth in honey, say thus from me : ' Oh thou, from whose lips sugar distils, in whose fortunate ' breast the light of the flame of the knowledge of God is reflected ; thou, that art the best of those pos- sessed of gold ; thou, that art the essence of those who are excellent among men ; thou, whose bounteous hand is so munificent that the fathomless ocean is but a drop compared with it ; come, and gratify me by your arrival, as water does the thirsty. If thou hast any desire to reach the summit of thy exaltation, proceed towards the north.' Come and feast thy eyes upon the black khila't, so pro- pitiously sent by the Imam of the time, and look with due reverence on the Patent which has issued from the Khalifa Abu-1 'Abbas Ahmad, the sun of the earth, and the shadow of God. It is through his justice that an antelope is able to seize the tail of a wolf. Use every exertion to come to the royal court, for henceforward you and I have obtained everlasting salvation.'

"When thou, oh Badr, hast delivered this address to the Khdn, kiss his hands and bow down, like a pen dipping into an inkstand. Obey every order that he gives, and deem yourself honoured with every gift that he presents. ** * ** When the equipage of Jalalat Khan proceeds in state to the throne of the Sultan, the king of earth and sea, proclaim to the world that the Khwaja is coming, like the resplendent sun, with 100,000 footmen, 100,000 horsemen, 100,000 spears, and 100,000 bows, sitting in his silver ambdri, like the moon in the milky way."

1 Mubdralc is the Persian translation of Katlagh.

• The annotator says, " Proceed on a mission to the Khalifa ;" hut this is a very imperfect interpretation.

In Commemoration of the Building of Khwramdldd.

The inscriptions over its gateway record, in verse, the praise of the Khalifa repeatedly ; may his throne he established to eternity, as well as that of the King of the World, who has declared that it is his pleasure to serve the Imam of God. The Shah has given it the name of Khurramabad, and Zahiru-1 Jaiush was its architect, the slave of the lord of the universe, the prelate of religion, the most select among the pious^ This fortunate building was completed in Muharram, in the year 744 h. (June, 1343 A.D.). Badr has strung the pearl of this ode in one night, and made it worthy of ornament- ing the ears of the nobles of the land.

Without, though the courts, full of armies, are raising a tumult and uproar, yet within it is so quiet, that prayers for pardon can be offered up.^ * * * All is so still and clear that the ear of man might hear the humming of a fly's wing reverberate like music. * « » Speak not of a fort, speak not of a sarai, for in appearance and stability it is like the Ka'bah of Paradise. Zahiru-d din erected this blessed structure by the propitious order of the Khusru of the time, the director of the architects, and in the name of the Khalifa. May his life be prolonged for the confirmation of the religion of Muhammad, the Apostle of God. It was completed on the date, " Enter thou into Paradise," or, that I may explain more openly, 744 H. I have been entitled by the king, Fakhru-z zaman ; call me not by that name, but rather the sweet-noted parrot.

In Celelration of the Completion of the Shah-ndmm. In the year of Arabia, represented by "the power of the king" (745 H., 1344 A.D.), heaven completed the verses which I had strung together. Every line was like a pearl, which dazzled the eye in the dead of night. '* '* * The whole of the poem is filled with praises of the king, Shah Muhammad, the defender of the law

^ In aUusiou to the mode in which these mnlti-columned buildings are constructed, so as to render the centre compartments private, while externally all appears exposed.

of the Prophet, and by right the ruler of the earth, by order of the Imam. Everywhere crowned heads swear fealty to him, every- where celebrated men are the slaves of his behests.

[" Travels of the Eyes into the Kingdoms of Different Countries." This is the work of Shahabu-d din 'Abu-1 'Abbas Ahmad, also called 'Umari and Dimashki, or native of Damascus. He was born in the year 697 h. (1297 a.d.), and died at Damascus in 749 (1348 a.d.). Shahabu-d din says Kttle about himself and his family, but he mentions that his ancestors were, like himself, employed in the service of the Sultan of Egypt. His father, Kazi Mohiu-d din, was secretary of secret despatches at Damascus, and after being dis- missed from that office, and remaining some time without employ, became chief of the department of secret correspondence in Egypt. Shahabu-d din assisted his father in both his offices, but he incurred disgrace, and retired into private life at Damascus, and so lived until his death.

Shahabu-d din was a man of very considerable learning and ability. He studied different sciences under men of celebrity, and his extensive works testify to his learning, research, and literary activity. He is known to have written seven different works inclusive of the one now under notice. Most of his writings have perished, or are at least unknown, but the Masdlih, which is the most important of them in its extent and research, has come down to us in an imperfect state. The complete work consisted of twenty volumes, but of these only five are known to be extant. They are in the Biblioth^que Imperiale at Paris, and in 1838 M. Quatremere published in Tome XHI. of the Notices et Extraits des MSS. his description and specimens of the work, from which the present notice and the following extracts have been taken by the Editor. So early as 1758 Deguignes gave a short notice of the MS. in the

Journal des Savants, and he frequently refers to the author under the surname of MarahasM in his Eistoire des Ewns ; but M. Quatre- mere shows this title of MarahasM, or " native of Morocco," to be a mistake.

The MS. is a small folio of 231 leaves, and consists of six chapters. 1. Description of Hind and Sind. 2. The Empire and family of Changiz Khan. 3. The Kingdom of Ji'lan. 4. The Kurds, Lurs, and other mountain tribes. 5. Turk states in Asia Minor, with notices of the empires of Trebizond and Constantinople. 6. Egypt, Syria, and Hijjaz.

At the close of his notices of India, he mentions the name of Muhammad Tughlik as the reigning sovereign, and the general tenor of his observations points unmistakably to that able but perverse ruler. The author quotes occasionally the works of other authors on geography and history, and among them Abu-1 Fida and Juwaini ; but he depends principally on the oral information sup- plied by intelligent and learned travellers with whom he had come in contact. His method of gathering and using information is apparent in the following extracts. The work stood high in Oriental estimation, and was often quoted by later writers — among others by the author of the Nuzhatu-l Kulub.J

India is a most important country, with which no other country in the world can be compared in respect of extent, riches, the numbers of its armies, the pomp and splendour displayed by the sovereign in his progresses and habitations, and the power of the empire. * * * The inhabitants are remarkable for their wisdom and great intelligence ; no people are better able to restrain their passions, nor more willing to sacrifice their lives, for what they consider agreeable in the sight of God.

According to the information of Siraju-d din Abu-1 Fath 'Umax, a lawyer, and a native of the province of Oudh, who had lived long at the court of the Sultan of Dehli, the dominions of that monarch consisted of twenty -three principal provinces. 1. DehU. 2. Dawakir (Deogir). 3. Multan. 4. Kahran (Kuhram). 5. Samana. 6. Siwistan. 7. Uch. 8. Has! (Hansi). 9. Sarsuti (Slrsah). 10. Ma'bar.

11. Tilank (Telingana). 12. Gujarat. 13. Badaun. 14. Oudh. 15. Kanauj. 16. Lakhnautf. 17. Bihar. 18. Karra. 19. Malwa. 20. Labor. 21. Kalanor (Gwalior?). 22. Jajnagar. 23. Tilanj Darusamand (Telingana (?) and Dwara-samudra).

According to the account of Shaikh Mubarak, the city of Dehli is the capital of the kingdom of India. Next comes Bawdkir (Deogfr), which was founded by the Sultan of that empire, and named by him " Kalibatu-l Isldm, or the Metropolis of Islam." This place, said the Shaikh, is situated in the third climate. When I left it six years ago the buildings were not completed, and I doubt if they are yet finished, the extent it covers being so great, and the number of its intended edifices so vast. The king divided it into quarters, each of them intended for men of the same profession. Thus there was the quarter of the troops, that of the ministers and clerks, that of the Tcdzis and learned men, that of the shaikhs and fakirs, and that of the merchants and those who carry on trades. Each quarter was to contain within it everything necessary for its wants, mosques, minarets, markets, baths, mills, ovens, and workmen of every trade, including even blacksmiths, dyers, and curriers, so that the inhabi- tants should have no necessity to resort elsewhere for buying or selling, or the other requirements of life. Each quarter was to form a separate town, entirely independent of those surrounding it. «:$ 0 Hi a % a <»

I questioned the Shaikh Mubarak about the city of Dehli and the court of its sovereign, and I obtained from him the following details. " Dehli consists of several cities which have become united, and each of which has a name of its own. Dehli, which was one among them, has given its name to all the rest. It is both long and broad, and covers a space of about forty miles in circumference. The houses are built of stone and brick, and the roofs of wood. The floors are paved with a white stone, like marble. None of the houses are more than two stories high, and some only one. It is only in the palace of the Sultan that marble is used for pavement. But if I can believe the Shaikh Abu Bakr bin Ehallal, this description applies only to the old houses of Dehli, for the new ones are built dififerently. According to the same informant, Dehli comprises an aggregate of twenty-one cities. Gardens extend on three sides of

it, in a straight line for twelve thousand paces. The western side is not so furnished, because it borders on a mountain. Dehli con- tains a thousand colleges, one of which belongs to the SM/a'is, the rest to the Hanafis. In it there are about seventy hospitals, called Ddru-sh SMfd, or houses of cure. In the city, and those dependent upon it, the chapels and hermitages amount to 2,000. There, are great monasteries, large open spaces, and numerous baths. The water used by the people is drawn from wells of little depth, seldom exceeding seven cubits. Hydraulic wheels are placed at their tops. The people drink rain-water, which is collected in large reservoirs constructed for that purpose, the distance across each of them being a bowshot, or even more. The chief mosque is celebrated for its minaret, which, in point of altitude, is said to have no equal in the world. If the statement of Shaikh BurhSnu-d din Bursi can be believed, the height of this part of the edifice is 600 cubits.

According to Shaikh Mubarak, the palaces of the Sultan of Dehli are exclusively occupied by the Sultan, his wives, concubines, eunuchs, male and female slaves, and mamluks. None of the Khwns and amirs are permitted to dwell there. They make their appearance there only when they come to wait upon the Sultan, which they do twice a day, morning and afternoon. Afterwards, each one of them retires to his own house.

As regards the great officers of State, those of the highest rank are called hhdns, then^the maliks,^ then the amirs, then the isfdh- sdldrs (generals), and, lastly, the officers {jand). The court of the sovereign comprises eighty khdns, or even more. The army con- sists of 900,000 horsemen, some of whom are stationed near the prince, and the rest are distributed in the various provinces of the empire. All are inscribed in the registers of the State, and partake of the liberality of their sovereign. These troops consist of Turks, inhabitants of Khata, Persians, and Indians. Among them are to be found aihleta (pahlawdn), runners, (shattdr), and men of every kind. They have excellent horses, magnificent armour, and a fine costume. ' ' '* The Sultan has 3,000 elephants, which, when ao-

1 The French translation says "rois," but I have no hesitation in substituting " mali/e," which is no doubt the original word.