CHAPTER 11. regarded as atonements for sin; if therefore the Sultan has been guilty of murder, his charities have expiated the crime.42 Conquers Marries a Rajpoot queen. When Alá-ud-dín was established on the throne of Delhi, he sent an army to conquer Guzerat. The campaign was of small importance; its results were extraordinary. The Raja was a Rajpoot, named Rai Karan. He was defeated and driven into exile in the Mahratta country; he left his queen and all his treasures behind. The queen was taken to Delhi and became the wife of Alá-ud-dín. A Hindú slave boy was taken from a merchant of Cambay, the capital of Guzerat, and presented to Alá-ud-dín; he afterwards became a great favourite, and was made vizier under the name of Malik Káfúr. The after life of that Rajpoot queen can never be told. She was a Hindú, but the Sultan was smitten with her beauty. She was a captive and helpless. She could never return to her husband; she could not refuse to be the wife of her conqueror. She pined, however, for a little daughter whom she had left in Guzerat; the Sultan sent messengers to bring the child. The girl was named Dewal Deví. Her adventures were of the strangest. She had accompanied her father Rai Karan in his flight to the Mahratta country. Ram-deva, the Mahratta Raja, wished to marry her to his son. Rai Karan was proud of his Rajpoot blood; he 42 It should be added that the crime of Alá-ud-dín is by no means ignored by Mussulman historians. Mussulmans, and indeed orientals in general, are warmhearted and affectionate in their family relations. The details of the murder of the uncle by the nephew are related by Ferishta and others with every mark of horror and detestation. Indeed, there is reason to believe that Alá-ud-dín was demoralized during his camp life in the Dekhan, or he would scarcely have contemplated such a cold-blooded murder. refused to give his daughter to a Mahratta. CHAPTER IL Then the messengers came from the Sultan ; Rai Karan changed his mind; he made over Dewal Deví to the Mahratta prince, rather than send her amongst Mussulmans. Some Mussulmans stopped the wedding train and carried her off to Delhi. She was only eight years of age; she was betrothed to Khizr Khan, the eldest son of the Sultan, who was aged ten. The two were allowed to play together in the harem; after a while they were in love with each other. The mother of Khizr Khan opposed the match, and married him to a niece. The lovers were miserable for awhile; they were consoled after oriental fashion. Dewal Deví became the second wife of Khizr Khan. Her further adventures will be told hereafter.42 quest of Raj When Alá-ud-dín had conquered Guzerat, he plans the conbegan to invade Rajpootana. Hitherto his con- pootana. quests seem to have been pursued after a regular plan. His ultimate object was the subjugation of Rajpootana. He had conquered Bundelkund and Malwá to the east of Rajpootana. He had reduced the Mahratta Raja to the southwards. He had conquered Guzerat to the westward. Having thus isolated or surrounded Rajpootana, he struck at the heart by the capture of Chítor.44 The siege of Chítor, and other operations in 43 The details in the text respecting the early life of Dewal Deví are based on the authority of the Mussulman historian Ferishta. The story of her marriage forms the subject of a poem by the celebrated Persian bard Amír Khuzru, who was supplied with the details of the love passages by Khizr Khan himself. An abstract of the poem is given in the Appendix to Elliot's History of India, vol. iii. 44 The story of the capture of Chitór has been related elsewhere. See vol. iii. chap. 7. sulmans.' CHAPTER II. Rajpootana lasted many months. During the interval there were several plots against the Sultan. A number of Moghuls had been converted to Islam and settled in the Punjab; they had become The New Mus- most refractory. They were called "New Mussulmans." Many had enlisted in the royal army; others had entered the service of princes or nobles. Their character was utterly bad. They were ready to commit any villany. When in fear of punishment they deserted to the Rajpoots, or joined any enemy or rebel who had taken the field. Plot of Akat The plot of Akat Khan is a type of others. He was a nephew of the Sultan. He sought to murder Alá-ud-dín during the war against the Rajpoots, just as Alá-ud-dín had sought to murder his own uncle. He entertained a number of "New Mussulmans;" he attacked the Sultan outside the camp, and left him for dead. The incidents which followed furnish a striking example of the instability of oriental sovereignties. Akat Khan returned to the camp, and was proclaimed Sultan. The army accepted him without hesitation, presuming that Alá-ud-din was really dead. He took possession of the royal pavilion; he received the homage and offerings of all the chief men; he even tried to enter the royal harem. The chief eunuch, however, was versed in court assassinations. He would not admit Akat Khan into the harem, unless the prince brought the head of Alá-ud-dín. At this moment Alá-ud-dín approached the camp with the canopy of royalty. The troops saw that he was alive; the tide of public feeling turned in a moment. The army deserted Akat Khan and thronged round Alá-ud-dín. Akat Khan fled for his life; some horsemen galloped after him and brought CHAPTER II. back his head upon a spear. After this, news reached the camp that Delhi Revolt in Delhi. had revolted. The rabble had killed the Kotwál, or head of the police. They had broken into the palace, released the state prisoners, and placed one of them upon the throne. The rebel Sultan opened the treasury, scattered the money amongst the people, and held the throne for seven days. Then the city was retaken by a party of horse. The ringleaders were slain; the head of the rebel Sultan was paraded on a spear. The multitude were so terrified that they carried back the money which had been scattered amongst them to the royal treasury. measures of When the war was over in Rajpootana, Alá- Repressive ud-din took strong measures for preventing fur- Alá-ud-din ther outbreaks. He employed spies to report all that was said and done in the streets and bazaars, and even in the private houses. He suppressed wine-bibbing with a strong hand. All who imported wine, sold it, or drank it, were flogged and sent to prison. When the prisons were full, great pits were dug outside the city of Delhi for the incarceration of offenders. Many perished from the exposure; others were brought out half dead. Drinking was checked; it could not be stopped altogether. At last the Sultan ordered that when liquor was distilled privately, and drank in private houses without any drinking parties, the informers were not to interfere. He forbade all visiting, feasting, and meetings of every kind. Hospitality fell into disuse; strangers were refused admittance into the houses of the nobles. He CHAPTER II. forbade all intermarriages between noble families, unless his consent had been first obtained. He resumed all lands and pensions; the rich became poor; they could no longer ride horses, or carry arms, or wear fine clothing. He punished bribery and dishonesty so severely that no one cared to be a revenue officer, or to betroth his daughter to a revenue officer. He fixed the price of grain so that it was always cheap. When the rains were plentiful the dealers bought rice of the villagers, whilst the Sultan hoarded up large stores in the royal granaries. When the rains were scarce the dealers bought rice at the same low rates at the royal granaries. In like manner he fixed the price of everything that was to be sold or hired; he punished all who altered the prices, or used false weights or measures. Ignores the 46 Alá-ud-din was not a learned man, nor did he associate with men of learning. He could not read or write. He never asked for legal opinions; he never considered whether his commands were lawful or unlawful. He punished all offenders of every degree as he thought proper. Sometimes he was told that his orders were contrary to law, but he took no heed. He cared for nothing so long as he was obeyed.47 45 It is difficult to say how far this measure was carried out. He could scarcely have resumed military jaghirs, or lands for the maintenance of bodies of horses. 46 For an exhaustive history of the administration of Alá-ud-dín, see the history of Barní, translated by Professor Dowson in Elliot's History, vol. iii. 47 A long discussion upon this feature in the character of Alá-ud-din has been preserved by Barní. (See Elliot's History, vol. iii.) The point is of small consequence except as an illustration of the relations between the Sultan and the Ulama. The Ulamá was the name given to the collective body of doctors and lawyers resident at the capital. The influence of the Ulamás has always been considerable; their opinion has generally had great weight with the reigning Sultan. Indeed, whether the Sultan was good or bad, he always tried to keep on good terms with the Ulamá. Alá-ud-dín was the first Sultan of Delhi who came in conflict with the Ulamá. The Ulama were afraid to oppose such a self |