Márdain took refuge in a fort. The Sultán destroyed its walls by means of elephants, and thus gained possession of the fort. In a house there were found some inscriptions on a stone, giving the date of the erection of the fort, which they carried so far back as 40,000 years. Upon this all were convinced of the folly of the idolaters; as, from the creation of Adam, the age of the world did not (as it is generally understood) reach 7,000 years; nor is it probable, according to the opinion of the learned, that a building could remain in a state of repair so long; but as their ignorance is carried to such a degree that they worship idols instead of the Supreme Being, it is not improbable that they really did entertain such a belief."

67

XIV.

TARIKH-I 'ALAY.

OR

KHAZAINU-L FUTUH,

OF

AMIR KHUSRU.

THE history which goes by both these names is a work in prose, by Mír Khusrú, who died in 1325 a.d. It contains an interesting account of the first years of the reign of Sultán 'Aláu-d dín Khilji (whom he also styles Muhammad Shah Sultán), from his accession to the throne in 695 H. (1296 A.D.) to his conquest of Ma'bar at the close of 710 H. (1310 A.D.) It is most probably the same work as that which is quoted by some of the general historians, under the name of Táríkh 'Aláu-d din Khilji; but, if so, it has not been closely examined, for several facts of interest have escaped the compilers.

It will be observed that this small work contains much information on the subject to which it relates. The mode of warfare of that period, especially, receives illustrations such as can be obtained from no other work. The style in which it is composed is for the most part difficult, as the whole is constructed of a series of fanciful analogies, in the same manner as the preface to the Bakiya Nakiya and the I'jáz-i Khusruvi of the same author, and the Odes of Badar-cháchí, and the treatises of Mirzá Katil and several other works, in which fancy is predominant over sense. Every portion is devoted to a selection of words connected with one particular subject. For instance, among the

passages translated below, one portion, p. 69, is composed of words derived from architecture; another, p. 71, is derived from words descriptive of the powers and anatomy of the hand; another, at p. 73, is composed of words used in the game of chess. I have not thought it necessary to adhere closely to the similes in every part. Those which are used in the passages noted above are of themselves sufficiently tedious in translation, though certainly ingenious in the original.

It may easily be conceived that a work so composed contains much that is forced, trivial, and unnatural; but we can forgive that for the solid information we are occasionally able to extract from it. Indeed, these puns, riddles, and analogies, are even valuable on one account, for the author rarely mentions a date which is not comprised in a sentence containing some kind of enigma, so that we can easily ascertain the correctness of a date, if we have reason to doubt the correctness of the numerals. The following are instances:-"When the boat of the moon's crescent entered the stream of clouds (abr)”—of which the initial letter being alif, or one, the first day of the month is signified. Again, "When the computation of the month Ramazán had reached that stage, that the first period of the fast (syám) had departed, and the last had not yet arrived"—that is, that eleven days of the month had elapsed. Meaning, that by rejecting the first and last letters of syám, only yá remains, of which the numerical value is eleven.

The Khazáínu-l Futúh contains many Hindí words, shewing how partial the author was to that language compared with his Muhammadan contemporaries. Thus we have Kath-garh, pardhán, basith, már-á-már, and others. The work is not written. in chronological order, but, as in the case of the Mughal invasion, the author has grouped together the series of events which occurred over several years in one particular part of the empire.1

1 The work is rare, and, being in prose, is not contained in the Kulyát or complete (poetical) works of the author. The MS. used is an 8vo. of 188 pages, 15 lines to a page. [Mr. Thomas has a copy, and there is also a copy at King's College, Cambridge, Jour. R.A.S. Vol. III. p. 115, N.S.]

Mír Khusrú's authority is great as a narrator, for he was not only contemporary with the events which he describes, but was a participator in many of them; and his friend, the historian Zíá Barní, appeals to him frequently for confirmation of his own

assertions.

ABSTRACT.1

The Accession of Sultán 'Aláu-d din to the Throne.

'Aláu-d dín Khiljí, on the 19th of Rabí'u-l-ákhir, 695 н. (Feb. 1295), left Karra Mánikpúr, of which he was then governor, on his expedition to Deogír, and after taking immense booty from Rám Deo, the Ráí of that country, he returned to Karra on the 28th of Rajab of the same year. His accession to the throne on the 16th of Ramazán, 695 H. (July, 1296), after murdering his uncle and father-in-law, Sultán Jalálu-d dín. His arrival at Dehli, where he again mounted the throne, on the 22nd of Zí-l hijja of the same year. His rules, regulations, justice, and liberality. The cheapness which prevailed in his time.

Edifices Erected and Repaired by the Sultán.

The Sultán determined upon adding to and completing the Masjid-i Jámi' of Shamsu-d dín, "by building beyond the three old gates and courts a fourth, with lofty pillars," "and upon the surface of the stones he engraved verses of the Kurán in such a manner as could not be done even on wax; ascending so high that you would think the Kurán was going up to heaven, and again descending, in another line, so low that you would think it was coming down from heaven. When the whole work was complete from top to bottom, he built other masjids in the city, so strong that if the nine-vaulted and thousand-eyed heavens were to fall, as they will, in the universe-quake, on the day of resurrection, an arch of them would not be broken. He also repaired the old masjids, of which the walls were broken or inclining, or of which the roof and domes had fallen.”

1 [Prepared by Sir H. M. Elliot.]

"He then resolved to make a pair to the lofty minár of the Jámi' masjid, which minár was then the single (celebrated) one of the time, and to raise it so high that it could not be exceeded. He first directed that the area of the square before the masjid should be increased, that there might be ample room for the followers of Islám.”

"He ordered the circumference of the new minár to be made double that of the old one, and to make it higher in the same proportion, and directed that a new casing and cupola should be added to the old one." The stones were dug out from the hills, and the temples of the infidels were demolished to furnish a supply. The building of the new fort of Dehli, and the repairs of the old one. "It is a condition that in a new building blood should be sprinkled; he therefore sacrificed some thousands of goat-bearded Mughals for the purpose." He also ordered repairs to be made to all the other masjids and forts throughout the kingdom.

As the tank of Shamsu-d dín was occasionally dry, 'Aláu-d dín cleaned it out and repaired it, and erected a dome in the middle of it.

Mughal Invasion under Kadar.

"The following is the account of the victory which the champions of the triumphant army obtained, on the first occasion, during the reign of this Sanjar-like Sultán, may God protect his standards! over the soldiers of the accursed Kadar, in the land of Járan Manjúr, when the subtle (mú-shikáf) Tátár, accompanied by an army, like an avenging deluge, came as presumptuous as ever from the Júdí mountain, and crossed the Bíáh, and Jelam, and Sutlej,' and the advancing wave of the hellites burnt down all the villages of the Khokhars in such a way that

1 This is the order observed in the original.

2 The word is talwárá, a common name for a village in many parts of the Upper Panjab. The talwandi of the Khokhars is a local word similarly applied.