ever, had the effect of exciting such suspicion in his mind that he, from that time, was desirous of peace, and abandoned his expedition. Ibraheem, thus freed from apprehensions of the Suljooks, sent an army to India, and conquered many places in that country, which before had not been visited by the Mussulman arms.

A. H. 472.

A. D. 1079.

In the year 472, he marched in person to that quarter, extending his conquests to the fort of Ajoodhun, called now Puttun of Sheikh Fureed Shukr Gunj. This place being taken, he returned to another fort, called Roodpal*, situated on the summit of a steep hill. A river embraced it on three sides, and a small peninsula connected it with other hills, entirely covered with an impervious wood, and much infested by venomous serpents. These circumstances did not discourage the King from his attempt, who ordered some thousand pioneers to clear the wood, which they effected in spite of opposition. The rock on which the fort stood being soft, the miners carried their galleries in the course of time under the walls, which were brought down in ruins, and the garrison surrendered. The King marched from thence to another town in the neighbourhood, called Dera †, the inhabitants of which came originally from Khorassan; and were banished thither with their families by Afrasiab, for frequent rebellions. Here they had formed themselves into a small independent state; and being

*The situation of this place has not been fixed.

† Dera seems a common name in the vicinity of Mooltan for

a town.

cut off from intercourse with their neighbours, by a belt of mountains nearly impassable, had preserved their ancient customs and rites, by not intermarrying with any other people. The King, having with infinite labour cleared a road for his army over the mountains, advanced towards Dera, which was well fortified. This place was remarkable for a fine lake of water about one parasang and a half in circumference; the waters of which did not apparently diminish, either from the heat of the weather, or from being used by the army. At this place the King was overtaken by the rainy season; and his army, though greatly distressed, was compelled to remain before it for three months. But as soon as the rains abated, he summoned the town to surrender and acknowledge the faith.

Sooltan Ibraheem's proposal being rejected, he renewed the siege, which continued some weeks, with great slaughter on both sides. The town, at length, was taken by assault, and the Mahomedans found in it much wealth, and 100,000 persons, whom they carried in bonds to Ghizny. Some time after, the King accidentally saw one of those unhappy men carrying a heavy stone with great difficulty and labour, to a palace which he was then building. This exciting his pity, he commanded the prisoner to throw it down and leave it there, at the same giving him his liberty. This stone happened to be on the public road, and proved troublesome to passengers, but as the King's rigid enforcement of his commands was universally known, no one attempted to touch it. A courtier

one day having stumbled with his horse over this stone, took occasion to mention it to the King, insinuating, that he thought it would be advisable to have it removed. To which the King replied, "I commanded it to be thrown down and left "there; and there it must remain as a monument "of the calamities of war, and to commemorate "my sense of its evils. It is better for a king "to be pertinacious in the support even of an "inadvertent command, than that he should depart "from his royal word." The stone accordingly remained where it was; and was shown as a curiosity in the reign of Sooltan Beiram several years afterwards.

A. H. 492.

Ibraheem had 36 sons and 40 daughters by a variety of women: the latter of whom he gave in marriage to learned and religious men. The death of this monarch, according to some authors, took place in the year 481, which would limit his reign to 31 years; others fix it in the year 492, which extends it to 42 years. In the A. D. 1098. early part of his reign the vizarut was conferred successively on Aboo Soheil Khoojundy, and Khwaja Musaood Ruzehy; and in the latter part of his reign it was exercised by Abdool Humeed Ahmud, Bin Abdool Sumud, who became the subject of a poem from the pen of Abool Furreh, who flourished in his time. This famous author was a native of Seestan, according to some, but according to others, of Ghizny.

SOOLTAN MUSAOOD III. BIN IBRAHEEM

·

GHIZNEVY

Succeeds his father marries the daughter of Sooltan Sunjur Suljooky-deputes his general, Hajib Toghantugeen, to make conquests in India. Death of Sooltan Musaood the Third.

MUSAOOD, the son of Ibraheem, ascended the throne on the demise of his father. He was endowed with a benevolent and generous disposition, nor was he less celebrated for his justice than for his policy. He revised the ancient laws and regulations of the state, he abrogated such as he thought objectionable, and substituted others founded on better principles. He espoused the Princess Mehd-Irak, sister of Sooltan Sunjur Suljooky.

In his reign Hajib Toghantugeen, an officer of his government, proceeded in command of an army towards Hindoostan, and being appointed governor of Lahore, crossed the Ganges, and carried his conquests farther than any Mussulman had hitherto done, except the Emperor Mahmood. Like him he plundered many rich cities and temples of their wealth, and returned in triumph to Lahore, which now became in some measure the capital of the empire, for the Suljooks having deprived the house of Ghizny of most of its territory both in Eeran and Tooran, the royal family went to reside in India.