History of India

»•*!.-»,-» fie* mmm wM s • -..-' , >fli^ IBS 3 . i Vgr' \ &1 '/** rr> I*he Lake of Udaipur the Udaipur, capital of the ancient stale of Mewar, is the centre " of what has been called the Lake District India." of The lake itself, on which the city is is one located, of the most picturesque sheets of water IM the world.- The dassHttg warble of royal palaces, imaged in its mirror- like face, stands out in contrast to the dark hills in the background. I STORY of INDIA Edited h A. V. WILLIAMS JACKSON, Ph.D.,LL.D. Profenor o( lndo-Iranian Language! in Columbia Univertity VOLUME V The Mohammedan Period as Described by its Own Historians Selected from the Works of the late SIR HENRY MIERS ELLIOT, K.C.B. 1 Ea«t India Company ! Bengal Civil Service LONDON THE GROLIER SOCIETY PUBLISHERS "523648 lEtiitton lie Huxe Limited to One Thousand Copies for England and America &<b 55 Copyright, 1907, by The Groliek Society EMnborn Jrraa INTRODUCTION BY THE EDITOR This volume, consisting of selections from Sir Henry M. Elliot's great work on the history of Moham- medan India as told by its own historians, may be re- garded as a new contribution, in a way, because it pre- sents the subject from that standpoint in a far more concise form than was possible in the original series of translations from Oriental chroniclers, and it keeps in view at the same time the two volumes of Professor Lane-Poole immediately preceding it in the present series. Tributes to the value of Elliot's monumental work are many, but one of the best estimates of its worth was given by Lane-Poole himself, from whom the following paragraph is, in part, a quotation. " To realize Mediaeval India there is no better way than to dive into the eight volumes of the priceless His- tory of India as told by its own Historians, which Sir H. M. Elliot conceived and began, and which Professor Dowson edited and completed with infinite labour and learning. It is a revelation of Indian life as seen through the eyes of the Persian court annalists. As vi INTRODUCTION a source it is invaluable, and no modern historian of India can afford to neglect it. It is, however, a mine to be worked, not a consecutive history, and its wide leaps in chronology, its repetitions, recurrences, and omissions, render it no easy guide for general readers." On this latter point I desire to lay emphasis and also to add that in order to bring so extensive a mass of material within the compass of a single volume I have been obliged to exercise the utmost circumspec- tion and to confine the selections simply to those which would represent the main outlines of the most impor- tant reigns, spread over nearly a thousand years, keep- ing in view at the same time the aim of supplementing the two preceding books in the series without undue crossing or unnecessary repetition. In discharging this somewhat difficult task I have received material aid, which I desire to acknowledge, from my friend and pupil, Dr. Louis H. Gray. I hope that those who may use the book will find that fair justice has been done to the merits of the various Mohammedan historians included in it. We owe much to their records as a means of understanding the Moslem conquest of Hin- dustan better than would otherwise be possible, and we also find them helpful in preventing us from being led away too far in other directions, if former prejudice might incline us to be biassed or to see only the side of the conquered. In dealing with the text of the excerpts, consider- able latitude has been used— an example which was set by Sir Henry Elliot himself, as well as by Pro- INTRODUCTION vii fessor Dowson and the various translators who lent their aid in converting the original Oriental accounts into English. Condensation was essential, excisions were often necessary, while certain changes in phrase- ology seemed frequently advisable; but never has the tone or spirit of the original been departed from, as will be clear to any one who will take the trouble to consult Elliot's complete work, which must always re- main the standard and the ultimate source for the spe- cial student and historian to use. In arranging the selections I have tried to make the story a more or less continuous one and have endeav- oured to make the connections clear by introductory ' and transfer paragraphs, indicating also by single ' quotes the point where the account of the native an- nalist begins and ends. The story as told by these Oriental writers has a quality of its own; and that will best be appreciated when the events described are read in connection with the two preceding volumes, to which this volume forms a supplement and sequel. The pho- togravures, half-tones, and cuts which serve as illustrations have been selected with the same attention as throughout the rest of the series. With these words I leave the Eastern chroniclers to narrate their own events after their own manner. A. V. Williams Jackson. CONTENTS OHAPTEK PAOB I. Arab Conquest of Sind II. The Holy Wars of Isla'V Waged against Hindustan by Sabuktagin and Mahmud of Ghazni .... 34 III. Rise of the House of Ghor .... 77 IV. KUTB - - AD DIN AYBEK AND ALTAMISH — TWO OF THE SLAVE Kings g7 V. Raziya, the Mohammedan Empress of India . 103 VI. The Earlier Career of Ulugh Khan, afterwards Em- peror Balban 2I0 VII. Ala -ad -din's in the Conquests Deccan . .141 VIII. Some Measures of Mohammad Taghlak and of Firoz Shah 154 IX. Timur's Account of His Invasion of India and Sack of Delhi .-. X. The Memoirs of the Emperor Babar .... 223 XI. Beginning of the Reign of the Emperor Humayan . 263 XII. Akbar's Religious as Views, Described by Badauni . 277 XIII. From the Memoirs of the Emperor Jahangir . .294 XIV. Some Incidents of Shah Jahan's Reign 320 XV. .... AURANGZIB go. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS * MM The Lake of Udaipur Frontispiece from a Arabesque Mohammedan Tomb j Seals of Early Caliphs 3 A of Type Ceylon Beauty g The Manjanik, a Catapult or Ballista g Jat Peasants and Landlords in A Tomb at Multan 10 An Indian Barber ,* Arab Armour »g Mohammedan Traders and Escort at Kathiawar .... 24 An old Pavilion at Thatta in Sind 26 to the ' Sind, Arab Ibn Haukal . according Geographer . 29 A Ruined Mohammedan at Haidarabad Mosque in Sind . 32 Gold Coin of Mahmud, struck at Naishapur in Khorasan, 402 a. h a. (1011-1012 d.) 34 A of Species Indian Dagger ..... 37 Hindu Idols on Afghan Types .. An Indian Necklace The River Indus at Attok 47 Exterior of Sultan Mahmud's Tomb at Ghazni ... 50 An Afghan Boy ...... -o Fort of Jodhpur .. Interior of Sultan Mahmud's Tomb at Ghazni .... 53 A Sketch of the Khaibar Pass 59 Indian Armour ...... 04. An Indian Dagger .... »7 A Burning-ghat on the Bank of the Ganges at Benares 70 The .... Sacred Ganges at Benares 72 Crossing the River Sutlaj on Skins 75 The Bala Hissar at Peshawar 79 A Khalji Chieftain and his Wife 84 xi xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE the Minaret of Kutb-ad-din Aybek .... Arabesque Scroll from A Hindu Musician Minar of Kutb-ad-din at Delhi A Pious Mendicant The Kutb Minar at Delhi View of Lahore from the Palace in the Fort A House at Multan * The Road near a Ruined Temple at Ujjain Tomb . .103 Painted Decoration on the Ceiling of Itmad-ad-Daulah's A Mohammedan Woman . An Arab Projectile 112 The Diwan-i-Aam at Delhi A Scene at Lahore Exterior of the Jami' Masjid at Delhi Indian Village Women . " The Tower of Victory at Chitor A Mohammedan Tomb at Delhi An Engine of War IBS*«™ The Tomb of Mohammad Ghaus at Gwalior A Group of Afghans A Silver Coin of Ala-ad-din The so-called Gates of Somnath A Group of Indian Mussulmans A richly Caparisoned Elephant The Temple at Madura h. a. 154 Gold Coin of Firoz, struck at Ahsanabad, 807 a. (1404-1405 ».) A Peasant Woman grinding Corn A Goldsmith at Lucknow 163 A Mohammedan Tomb at Thatta 164 View of Agra with the Jami' Masjid A Minar at Ahmadabad • • " * A Mohammedan Tomb 170 Teaching Islam to the Youth An Indian Decorative Design 176 The River Indus at Khushalgarh Shah Timur 1 84 Ruins at Kabul An Afghan Fortress 191 An Afghan Pass lao Indian Children Mussulman Priests of India 202 Mohammedan Armour . 203 An Indian Dagger • 209 Gateway of the Mosque of Ala-ad-din at Delhi ....•• LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xiii Hn Toral of Firoz Shah at Delhi 211 Apprjach to the Palace at Udaipur 212 Hindu Women 217 The Mausoleum of Timur at Samarkand 219 Interior of Timur's Tomb at Samarkand 221 Mohammedans at Noonday Prayers 226 A Gate at Kabul 228 A Distant View of Kabul 230 A Glimpse of Lahore 236 Indian Tents and Pavilions ......... 240 Modern Tribesmen of Afghanistan 242 A Chain-work Helmet 247 A Procession of Elephants 251 The Kanch Mahal, or Crystal Seraglio, at Amber 254 The Great Howitzer called Malik-i-Maidan 257 Tomb of Babar at Kabul 261 An Indian Decorative Design 263 Babar, Humayun, Akbar and Jahangir 267 The Tomb of Humayun at Old Delhi 272 The Pachisi Court of Akbar at Fathpur-Sikri 277 Gold Coins of Akbar 279 Akbar's Tomb at Sikandra 280 Akbar's Tomb at Sikandra 283 House of Akbar's .

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