Part 45

"Aryan civilisation was … germinating, but it was in uncongenial soil. Like the descendants of Abraham and Jacob, the invaders mingled with the heathen and learned their ways. The older inhabitants were barbarous, multilingual, indolent; worshippers less of many gods than of many devils. The fusion that ensued was not happy; though the origin and growth of the caste system prevented complete union, it facilitated some of its evils; the character of the Aryan settlers became disastrously affected; the want of commercial communication by land and sea tended to perpetuate stagnation. This was the state of things upon which the rising tide from Central Asia began to flow with resistless pertinacity after the Mongolo-Turkish power became established on the Oxus and the Helmand. It was not to be wondered at if the Arabs made no wide or lasting Indian conquests in the early ages of the Musulman era. At a time when they were engaged with the Christian Empires of the East and the West, when they were spreading the power of the crescent from the borders of Khorásán to the Pillars of Hercules, the warriors of Islam had perhaps but little temptation to undertake further adventure. Certain it is that beyond the confines of Makran and a part of Sindh (occupied less than a hundred years after the Hijra)—the Arab conquests did not spread in India. It was Nasir-ud-Din Sabuktigin—certainly a Merv captive and popularly believed a scion of the Sassanian dynasty that once ruled Persia—by whom the first Muslim invasion of Hindustan was made in durable fashion. His master, Alptigin, having fled from the oppression of the Samani dynasty of Bukhara in 962 A. D., had founded a principality at Ghazni. Sabuktigin acquired his favour, and was able, soon after his death, to acquire the succession in 977 A. D. He established his power in the Punjab; and his armies are said to have penetrated as far as Benares. On his death, 997 A. D., his son, the celebrated Sultan Mahmud, succeeded to the Empire extending from Balkh to Lahore, if not to Hansi [see TURKS: A. D. 999-1183]. During a reign of over thirty years he invaded Hindustan twelve times, inflicting terrible carnage on the Hindus, desecrating their idols, and demoralising their temples. Mathura, Kanauj, Somnath; to such distant and divergent points did his enterprises reach. Mahmud died 1030 A. D., and was buried at Ghazni, where his monument is still to be seen. For about one hundred years the dynasty continued to rule in the Punjab and Afghanistan, more and more troubled by the neighbouring tribe of Ghor, who in 1187 A. D. took Lahore and put an end to the Ghaznavide dynasty. A prince of the Ghorians—variously known, but whose name may be taken as Muhammad Bin Sam—was placed in a sort of almost independent viceroyalty at Ghazni. In 1191 A. D. he led an army against Sirhind, south of the Sutlaj river. Rai Pithaura, or Pirthi Rai, a chief of the Chauhans (who had lately possessed themselves of Dehli), marched against the invaders and defeated them in a battle where Bin Sam had a narrow escape from being slain. But the sturdy mountaineers would not be denied. Next year they returned" and defeated Pithaura. "The towns of Mirat and Dehli fell upon his defeat; and their fall was followed a year later by that of Kanauj and Benares. The Viceroy's brother dying at this juncture, he repaired to his own country to establish his succession. He was killed in an expedition, 1206 A. D., and the affairs of Hindustan devolved upon his favourite Mameluke, Kutb-ud-din Aibak. … When Muhammad bin Sam had gone away, to rule and ultimately to perish by violence in his native highlands, his acquisitions in Hindustan came under the sway of Kutb-ud-din Aibak, a Mameluke, or Turkish slave, who had for a long time been his faithful follower. One of the Viceroy's first undertakings was to level to the ground the palaces and temples of the Hindus at Dehli, and to build, with the materials obtained by their destruction, a great Mosque for the worship of Allah. … From 1192 to 1206, the year of Bin Sam's death, Kutb-ud-din Aibak ruled as Viceroy. {1706} But it is recorded that the next Emperor—feeling the difficulty, perhaps, of exercising any sort of rule over so remote a dependency—sent Aibak a patent as 'Sultan,' accompanied by a canopy of state, a throne and a diadem. Becoming Sultan of Hindustan, the distinguished and fortunate Mameluke founded what is known as 'the Slave dynasty.' … Aibak died at Lahore, in 1210, from an accident at a game now known as 'polo.' He was contemporaneous with the great Mughul leader Changiz Khan, by whom, however, he was not molested. The chief event of his reign is to be found in his successful campaigns in Behar and Northern Bengal. … The Musulman power was not universally and firmly established in the Eastern Provinces till the reign of Balban (circ. 1282). At the death of Aibak the Empire was divided into four great portions. The Khiljis represented the power of Islam in Bihar and Bengal; the North-West Punjab was under a viceroy named Ilduz, a Turkman slave; the valley of the Indus was ruled by another of these Mamelukes, named Kabacha; while an attempt was made at Dehli to proclaim an incompetent lad, son of the deceased, as Sultan. But the Master of the Horse, a third Mameluke named Altimsh, was close at hand, and, hurrying up at the invitation of influential persons there, speedily put down the movement. … Altimsh, having deposed his feeble brother-in-law, became Suzerain of the Empire. His satraps were not disposed to obedience; and bloody wars broke out, into the details of which we need not enter. It will be sufficient to note that Ilduz was defeated and slain A. D. 1215. Two years later Kabacha came up from Sindh, and seems [to] have enlisted some of the Mughul hordes in his armies. These formidable barbarians, of whom more anon, were now in force in Khorasan, under Changiz in person, assisted by two of his sons.

See MONGOLS: A. D. 1153-1227.

They drove before them the Sultan of Khwarizm (now Khiva), and occupied Afghanistan. The fugitive, whose adventures are among the most romantic episodes of Eastern history, attempted to settle himself in the Panjab; but he was driven out by Altimsh and Kabacha in 1223. Two years later Altimsh moved on the Khiljis in the Eastern Provinces, occupied Gaur, their capital; and proceeding from thence made further conquests south and north at the expense of the Hindus. In 1228 he turned against Kabacha, the mighty Satrap of Sindh, who was routed in battle near Bakkhar, where he committed suicide or was accidentally drowned. In 1232-3 the Sultan reduced Gwalior (in spite of a stout resistance on the part of the Hindus under Milak Deo), slaying 700 prisoners at the door of his tent. In 1234 he took the province of Malwa; where he demolished the great temples of Bhilsa and Ujain. In the following year this puissant warrior of the Crescent succumbed to the common conqueror, dying a natural death at Dehli, after a glorious reign of twenty-six (lunar) years. … His eldest son, who had conducted the war against the Khiljis, had died before him, and the Empire was assumed by a younger son, Rukn-ud-din Firoz. … [In 1241] Lahore was taken by the Mughols with terrific carnage. Troubles ensued; Dehli was besieged by the army that had been raised for its defence against the Mughols; in May 1242 the city was taken by storm and the new Sultan was slain. His successor, Ala-uddin I., was a grandson of Altimsh, incompetent and apathetic as young men in his position have usually been. The land was partitioned among Turkish satraps, and overrun by the Mughols, who penetrated as far as Gaur in Bengal. Another horde, led by Mangu, grandson of Changiz, and father of the celebrated Kiblai Khan, ravaged the Western Punjab. The Sultan marched against them and met with a partial success. This turned into evil courses the little intellect that he had, a plot was organised for his destruction. Ala-ud-din was slain, and his uncle Nasir-ud-din was placed upon the vacant throne in June 1246. Nasir's reign was long, and, so far as his personal exploits went, would have been uneventful. But the risings of the Hindus and the incursions of the Mughols kept the Empire in perpetual turmoil." Nasir was succeeded in 1286-7 by his grandson, Kai Kobad. "This unfortunate young man was destined to prove the futility of human wisdom. Educated by his stern and serious grandfather, his lips had never touched those of a girl or a goblet. His sudden elevation turned his head. He gave himself up to debauchery, caused his cousin Khusru to be murdered, and was himself ultimately killed in his palace at Kilokhari, while lying sick of the palsy. With his death (1290) came to an end the Mameluke Empire of Hindustan."

_H. G. Keene, Sketch of the History of Hindustan, book 1, chapters 1-2._

ALSO IN: _J. T. Wheeler, History of India, volume 4, part 1, chapter 2._

_A. Dow, History of Hindustan (from the Persian of Ferishta), volume 1._

INDIA: A. D. 1290-1398. From the Afghans to the Moghuls.

"In 1290 the last Sultan of the Afghan slave dynasty was assassinated, and a Sultan ascended the throne at Delhi under the name of Jelal-ud-din. He was an old man of seventy, and made no mark in history; but he had a nephew, named Ala-ud-din, who became a man of renown," and who presently acquired the throne by murdering his uncle. "When Ala-ud-din was established on the throne at Delhi he sent an army to conquer Guzerat." This conquest was followed by that of Rajputana. "Meanwhile the Moghuls [Mongols] were very troublesome. In the previous reign the uncle of Ala-ud-din had enlisted 3,000, and settled them near Delhi; but they were turbulent, refractory, and mixed up with every rebellion. Ala-ud-din ordered them to be disbanded, and then they tried to murder him. Ala-ud-din then ordered a general massacre. Thousands are said to have been put to death, and their wives and children were sold into slavery. Ala-ud-din was the first Muhammadan sovereign who conquered Hindu Rajas in the Dekhan and Peninsula. … Ala-ud-din sent his general Malik Kafur to invade these southern countries, ransack temples, and carry off treasure and tribute. The story is a dreary narrative of raid and rapine. … Ala-ud-din died in 1316. His death was followed by a Hindu revolt; indeed Hindu influences must have been at work at Delhi for many years previously. Ala-ud-din had married a Hindu queen; his son had married her daughter. Malik Kafur was a Hindu converted to Islam. The leader of the revolt at Delhi in 1316 was another Hindu convert to Islam. The proceedings of the latter rebel, however, were of a mixed character. He was proclaimed Sultan under a Muhammadan name, and slaughtered every male of the royal house. Meanwhile his Hindu followers set up idols in the mosques, and seated themselves on Korans. {1707} The rebels held possession of Delhi for five months. At the end of that time the city was captured by the Turkish governor of the Punjab, named Tughlak. The conqueror then ascended the throne of Delhi, and founded the dynasty of Tughlak Sultans. The Tughlak Sultans would not live at Delhi; they probably regarded it as a Hindu volcano. They held their court at Tughlakabad, a strong fortress about an hour's drive from old Delhi. The transfer of the capital from Delhi to Tughlakabad is a standpoint in history. It shows that a time had come when the Turk began to fear the Hindu. The conqueror of Delhi died in 1325. He was succeeded by a son who has left his mark in history. Muhammad Tughlak was a Sultan of grand ideas, but blind to all experiences, and deaf to all counsels. He sent his armies into the south to restore the Muhammadan supremacy which had been shaken by the Hindu revolt. Meanwhile the Moghuls invaded the Punjab, and Muhammad Tughlak bribed them to go away with gold and jewels. Thus the imperial treasury was emptied of all the wealth which had been accumulated by Ala-ud-din. The new Sultan tried to improve his finances, but only ruined the country by his exactions. … Then followed rebellions and revolutions. Bengal revolted, and became a separate kingdom under an independent Sultan. The Rajas of the Dekhan and Peninsula withheld their tribute. The Muhammadan army of the Dekhan broke out into mutiny, and set up a Sultan of their own. Muhammad Tughlak saw that all men turned against him. He died in 1350, after a reign of twenty-five years. The history of Delhi fades away after the death of Muhammad Tughlak. A Sultan reigned from 1350 to 1388, named Firuz Shah. He is said to have submitted to the dismemberment of the empire, and done his best to promote the welfare of the subjects left to him; but it is also said that he destroyed temples and idols, and burnt a Brahman alive for perverting Muhammadan women. In 1398-99, ten years after the death of Firuz Shah, Timur Shah invaded the Punjab and Hindustan [see TIMOUR]. The horrors of the Tartar invasion are indescribable; they teach nothing to the world, and the tale of atrocities may well be dropped into oblivion. It will suffice to say that Timur came and plundered, and then went away. He left officers to rule in his name, or to collect tribute in his name. In 1450 they were put aside by Afghans;—turbulent Muhammadan fanatics whose presence must have been hateful to the Hindus. At last, in 1525, a descendant of Timur, named the Baber, invaded India, and conquered the Punjab and Hindustan."

_J. T. Wheeler, Short History of India, part 2, chapter 1._

ALSO IN: _M. Elphinstone, History of India: Hindu and Mahometan, book 6. chapters 2-3._

INDIA: A. D. 1398-1399. Timour's invasion of the Punjab.

See TIMOUR.

[Image: Map of India, about the close of the Sixteenth Century, and map of the growth of the Anglo-Indian Empire.]

INDIA: A. D. 1399-1605. The Saiyid and the Lodi dynasties. The founding of the Moghul Empire by Babar and Akbar.

"The invasion of Taimur … dealt a fatal blow to an authority already crumbling. The chief authority lingered indeed for twelve years in the hands of the then representative, Sultan Mahmud. It then passed for a time into the hands of a family which did not claim the royal title. This family, known in history as the Saiyid dynasty, ruled nominally in Northern India for about 33 years, but the rule had no coherence, and a powerful Afghan of the Lodi family took the opportunity to endeavour to concentrate power in his own hands. The Muhammadan rule in India had indeed become by this time the rule of several disjointed chiefs over several disjointed provinces, subject in point of fact to no common head. Thus, in 1450, Delhi, with a small territory around it, was held by the representative of the Saiyid family. Within fourteen miles of the capital, Ahmad Khan ruled independently in Mewat. Sambhal, or the province now known as Rohilkhand, extending to the very walls of Delhi, was occupied by Darya Khan Lodi. … Lahore, Dipalpur, and Sirhind, as far south as Panipat, by Behlul Lodi. Multan, Jaunpur, Bengal, Malwa, and Gujarat, each had its separate king. Over most of these districts, and as far eastward as the country immediately to the north of Western Bihar, Behlul Lodi, known as Sultan Behlul, succeeded on the disappearance of the Saiyids in asserting his sole authority, 1450-88. His son and successor, Sultan Sikandar Lodi, subdued Behar, invaded Bengal, which, however, he subsequently agreed to yield to Allah-u-din, its sovereign, and not to invade it again; and overran a great portion of Central India. On his death, in 1518, he had concentrated under his own rule the territories now known as the Punjab; the North-western Provinces, including Jaunpur; a great part of Central India; and Western Bihar. But, in point of fact, the concentration was little more than nominal." The death of Sikandar Lodi was followed by a civil war which resulted in calling in the Tartar or Mongol conqueror, Babar, a descendant of Timour, who, beginning in 1494 with a small dominion (which he presently lost) in Ferghana, or Khokland, Central Asia, had made himself master of a great part of Afghanistan (1504), establishing his capital at Kabul. Babar had crossed the Indian border in 1505, but his first serious invasion was in 1519, followed, according to some historians, by a second invasion the same year; the third was in 1520; the fourth occurred after an interval of two or three years. On his fifth expedition he made the conquest complete, winning a great battle at Panipat, 53 miles to the north-west of Delhi, on the 24th of April, 1526. Ibrahim Lodi, son and successor of Sikandar Lodi, was killed in the battle, and Delhi and Agra were immediately occupied. "Henceforth the title of King of Kabul was to be subjected to the higher title of Emperor of Hindustan." Babar was in one sense the founder of the Mughal (synonymous with Mongol) dynasty—the dynasty of the Great Moguls, as his successors were formerly known. He died in 1530, sovereign of northern India, and of some provinces in the center of the peninsula: But "he bequeathed to his son, Humayun, … a congeries of territories uncemented by any bond of union or of common interest, except that which had been concentrated in his life. In a word, when he died, the Mughal dynasty, like the Muhammadan dynasties which had preceded it, had shot down no roots into the soil of Hindustan."

_G. B. Malleson, Akbar, chapters 4-5._

{1708}

Humayun succeeded Babar in India, "but had to make over Kabul and the Western Punjab to his brother and rival, Kamran. Humayun was thus left to govern the new conquest of India, and at the same time was deprived of the country from which his father had drawn his support. The descendants of the early Afghan invaders, long settled in India, hated the new Muhammadan hordes of Babar even more than they hated the Hindus. After ten years of fighting, Humayun was driven out of India by these Afghans under Sher Shah, the Governor of Bengal. While flying through the desert of Sind to Persia, his famous son Akbar was born in the petty fort of Umarkot (1542). Sher Shah set up as emperor, but was killed while storming the rock fortress of Kalinjar (1545). His son succeeded. But, under Sher Shah's grandson, the third of the Afghan house, the Provinces revolted, including Malwa, the Punjab, and Bengal. Humayun returned to India, and Akbar, then only in his thirteenth year, defeated the Afghan army after a desperate battle at Panipat (1556). India now passed finally from the Afghans to the Mughals. Sher Shah's line disappears; and Humayun, having recovered his Kabul dominions, reigned again for a few months at Delhi, but died in 1556. … Akbar the Great, the real founder of the Mughal Empire as it existed for two centuries, succeeded his father at the age of fourteen. … His reign lasted for almost fifty years, from 1556 to 1605, and was therefore contemporary with that of our own Queen Elizabeth (1558-1603). His father, Humayun, left but a small kingdom in India, scarcely extending beyond the Districts around Agra and Delhi. … The reign of Akbar was a reign of pacification. … He found India split into petty kingdoms, and seething with discordant elements; on his death, in 1605, he bequeathed it an empire. The earlier invasions by Turks, Afghans, and Mughals, had left a powerful Muhammadan population in India under their own Chiefs. Akbar reduced these Musalman States to Provinces of the Delhi Empire. Many of the Hindu kings and Rajput nations had also regained their independence: Akbar brought them into political dependence upon his authority. This double task he effected partly by force of arms, but in part also by alliances. He enlisted the Rajput princes by marriage and by a sympathetic policy in the support of his throne. He then employed them in high posts, and played off his Hindu generals and Hindu ministers against the Mughal party in Upper India, and against the Afghan faction in Bengal. … His efforts to establish the Mughal Empire in Southern India were less successful. … Akbar subjugated Khandesh, and with this somewhat precarious annexation his conquests in the Deccan ceased. … Akbar not only subdued all India to the north of the Vindhya mountains, he also organized it into an empire. He partitioned it into Provinces, over each of which he placed a governor, or viceroy, with full civil and military control."

_W. W. Hunter, Brief History of the Indian People, chapter 10._