vasions. Throughout the greater part of this reign the CHAPTER II. Punjab was exposed to raids from the Moghuls. Moghul inEver since the time of Chenghiz Khan, armies of Moghul horsemen appeared at intervals and laid the whole country waste. They plundered towns and villages; they carried away women and children. Their faces were hideous. Their skins were like leather. Their eyes were small, piercing, and very far apart; their noses were flat and ugly; their mouths stretched from one cheek-bone to the other. They were covered with vermin, and their smell was detestable.48 Many times the armies of Alá-ud-dín routed these savage hordes. Thousands were slain in battle. Thousands were carried away prisoners, and trampled to death by elephants; towers and pyramids were built with their heads at the gates of Delhi, "New Mussul All this while the "New Mussulmans," who had Massacre of enlisted in the army of the Sultan, were growing mans." more and more refractory. At last Alá-ud-dín ordered them to be disbanded. Subsequently they tried to murder him; he ordered them all to be massacred; he sold their wives and children into slavery. Thousands were put to death, but many survived; the "New Mussulmans " were mixed up with different rebellions for generations afterwards. willed sovereign. The lawyers withheld their opinions until they were asked. 48 This description of the Moghuls is based on that of Amír Khuzru the poet, who on one occasion was taken captive by these repulsive barbarians. See Elliot's History of India, vol. iii., Appendix. Such invasions must have been regarded as the greatest of calamities. CHAPTER II. Alá-ud-din's aspirations: conquers the and Karnata countries. Meantime Sultan Alá-ud-din was prosperous. He had subjugated Maharashtra, Guzerat, and RajTelinga, Tamil, pootana. He had put down rebellions, driven out the Moghuls, and strengthened his rule. He had extended his suzerainty over Bihár and Bengal. The Sultan of Gour had seen his greatness; he had laid aside the insignia of royalty, and professed himself to be a vassal of Delhi.49 Alá-ud-dín thus became puffed up. He thought to be a prophet like Muhammad, and a conqueror like Alexander; after a while he quieted down.50 However, he sent out armies under his vizier Malik Káfúr to conquer the Telinga country, the Tamil country, and the Kanarese country. Malik Káfúr defeated the Rajas and captured their forts. He brought away their horses and elephants, their hoards of gold and jewels. He compelled them to pay a yearly tribute to Delhi. Contemporary state of Peninsular India. The expeditions of Malik Káfúr throw some 49 Stewart's History of Bengal, sect. iii. Alá-ud-dín only permitted the Gour Sultan to retain the city of Gour and the south-western districts of Bengal. The eastern districts were placed under another governor, who held his court at Sunergong. This city has dwindled into a village; before the rise of Dacca it was the capital of eastern Bengal. Alá-ud-dín divided Bengal into two governments, in order to render it more subservient to the court of Delhi. 50 Alá-ud-dín is said to have been argued out of the vain ambition of becoming another Muhammad or Alexander. He was told that it was the duty of kings to govern; that they should leave matters of law and religion to prophets and apostles; that they would never become prophets, although prophets might become kings. As an example, Chenghiz Khan had caused blood to flow in rivers, but could not establish the religion of the Moghuls amongst Mussulmans; many Moghuls had become Mussulmans, but no Mussulmans had become Moghuls. (See Elliot, vol. iii., Barní's history.) There is a flaw in the argument, for Chenghiz Khan had no desire to promulgate any particular religion beyond the recognition of one God; on the contrary, he was tolerant of all religions. See History of Chenghiz Khan, by M. Petis de la Croix. As regards becoming another Alexander, Alá-ud-din was told that times had changed; that he could not find a vizier like Aristotle; that he had other duties to fulfil nearer home, namely, the destruction of every rebel in Hindustan, and the complete defence of the Punjab against Moghul invasion. light upon the condition of the people of Peninsular CHAPTER 11. India; and that too, about the very time that Marco Polo was voyaging round the coasts of Coromandel and Malabar.51 Deoghur was the basis of operations; it was from Deoghur that Malik Káfúr set forth to plunder the cities of the Peninsula. Aláud-dín did not plan a regular campaign; probably he was only half acquainted with the geography of the country. He conquered a great part of the Dekhan and Peninsula. He sent out successive armies under Malik Káfúr; each army was connected with Delhi by a line of posts with relays of horsemen and runners. He thus guarded against false reports; news was constantly reaching Delhi respecting the progress of the army; news was constantly reaching the army respecting the health of the Sultan. The cities actually reached by Malik Káfúr were Warangal, Madura, and Dhúrsamundar. Warangal was the capital of Telinga, or Telingana; it was situated between the rivers Godavari and Krishna, in what may be called the south-eastern Dekhan. Madura was the capital of the Tamil country; it was situated in the southern part of the great Karnatic plain, which occupies the eastern side of the Peninsula. Dhúr-samundar was seated in the heart of the Kanarese table land of Mysore, which occupies the western side of the Peninsula; its ruins may still be traced about a hundred miles to the north-west of Seringapatam. The Belál Raja of Karnata is said to have been carried prisoner to Delhi.52 The treasuries at these capitals appear to 51 See ante, vol. iii. chap. viii. 52 Native traditions of the Belál Raja are preserved in the Mackenzie manuscripts at Calcutta. They are of little historical value. A story is told that a CHAPTER II. have been rich in gold and jewels; the Mussulman historians expressly say that there was no silver money. The pagodas were crowded with Brahmans, idols, offerings, and temple girls. The Rajas of the Tamil country were the black and naked barbarians described by Marco Polo; they wore bracelets and necklaces of pearls and precious stones; they were attended by thousands of wives and concubines.53 Rebellions in the Dekhan and Peninsula: dín, 1316. The latter years of Alá-ud-dín were disturbed death of Ala-ud- by revolts and losses. Maharashtra, Guzerat, and Telingana were in frequent rebellion. The Rajpoots recovered Chítor. The Sultan grew sour and suspicious of all around him, excepting Malik Káfúr. He did whatever Malik Káfúr told him. He imprisoned his queen and elder sons lest they should plot against him. He died in 1316. He is said to have been poisoned by Malik Káfúr. Political ideas of Alá-ud-din. Alá-ud-din belongs to a strange type. His military genius is unquestionable. He was the first Sultan who planned the conquest of all India. The idea may have flickered before Mahmúd; Alá-uddín thought it out, and nearly realized it. The Rana of Chítor was the head of the Rajpoot dominion, the suzerain of the Rajpoot league. Aláud-dín surrounded Chítor by the conquest of Bundelkund, Malwá, the Mahratta country, and Guzerat; he then captured the ancient fortress. Alá-ud-dín is the first Sultan on record who entered the Dek daughter of the Sultan fell in love with the Raja. The story is not altogether impossible. The harem had been Hinduised by the Rajpoot ladies. It will be seen hereafter that twenty-four years after the death of Alá-ud-dín a Belál Raja was still reigning over Karnata. 53 See ante, vol. iii., chap. viii. A further account of these kingdoms partly based upon the data preserved in the Mackenzie manuscripts, will be found in a future chapter. han; he is the first who sent an army into the Pen- CHAPTER II. insula. Apart from his genius his character was detestable. He displayed every vice which can disgrace an oriental. There are three points in the life of Alá-ud-dín, which are very suggestive. He is the first Sultan of India who married a Hindú princess; he is the first who set aside the authority of the Koran as upheld by the Ulamá; he is the first who sought to become a prophet and found a new religion. Possibly his Hindú wife upset his religious Religious faith faith; he drifted into a sea of speculation. Such Hindu maran inference will seem far fetched in dealing with the single reign of Alá-ud-dín; its significance will be apparent in dealing with the Hindú reaction which took place after his death; more so in reviewing the reign of the emperor Akber, which belongs to another chapter.55 upset by his riage. tions: murder The death of Alá-ud-dín was followed by revolu- Palace revolu tions; they lasted over four years, namely, from of Malik Káfar. 1316 to 1320. Malik Káfúr was bent upon becoming the sole ruler of the state. He produced a will of Alá-ud-dín; it set aside all the princes, except the youngest, who was a child of five. He im 54 There are vague Hindú traditions of previous Mussulman invasions towards the south as far as the Karnata country in Peninsular India, but the chronology is unreliable. See Appendix II., Hindú Annals. 55 The analogy between the religious developments of Alá-ud-dín in the fourteenth century, and those of the emperor Akber in the sixteenth century, is somewhat startling. In Alá-ud-dín the cause and its effects are obscure. He was advanced in manhood when he married the wife of the Rajpoot Raja of Guzerat. He never came into direct and open conflict with the Ulamá; he was induced to abandon his design of becoming a prophet. Akber, on the other hand, was married to Rajpoot princesses when he was young and impressible. He broke up the authority of the Ulamá, and banished its leaders to Mecca. Finally, he founded a new religion, known as the Divine Faith; he allowed himself to be worshipped as a representative of deity. |