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Muhammad of Ghor

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Muhammad of Ghor (1149 – March 15, 1206) was Sultan of the Ghurid Empire along with his brother Ghiyath ad-Din Muhammad from 1173 to 1202, and as the supreme ruler of the Ghurid Empire from 1202 to 1206.

Quotes

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  • Other monarchs may have one son or two sons; I have thousands of sons, my Turkish slaves who will be the heirs of my dominions, and who, after me, will take care to preserve my name in the Khuṭbah (Friday sermon) throughout these territories
    • Jackson, Peter (2003). The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History. Cambridge University Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-521-54329-3.
  • Since the time of my defeat in Hindustan, I have never slumbered in ease, or waked, but in sorrow and anxiety. I have, therefore, determined, with this army, to recover my lost honour from those idolaters, or die in the attempt.
    • in Elliot and Dowson, The History of India as Told by Its Own Historians, Vol. 2, 174 ff quoted in Sandeep Balakrishna - Invaders and Infidels_ From Sindh to Delhi_ The 500-Year Journey of Islamic Invasions. Bloomsbury India (2020)

Quotes about Muhammad of Ghor

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  • The editor introduces Muhammad Ghuri in the Taj-ul-Maasir of Hasan Nizami as follows: 'After dwelling on the advantage and necessity of holy wars, without which the fold of Muhammad's flock could never be filled, he says that such a hero as these obligations of religion require has been found, 'during the reign of the lord of the world Mu'izzu-d dunya wau-d din, the Sultan of Sultans, Abu-l Muzaffar Muhammad bin Sam bin Husain' the destroyer of infidels and plural-worshippers etc.,' and that Almighty Allah had selected him from amongst the kings and emperors of the time, 'for he had employed himself in extirpating the enemies of religion and the state, and had deluged the land of Hind with the blood of their hearts, so that to the very day of resurrection travellers would have to pass over pools of gore in boats, - had taken every fort and stronghold which he attacked, and ground its foundations and pillars to powder under the feet of fierce and gigantic elephants, - had sent the whole world of idolatry to the fire of hell, by the well-watered blade of his Hindi sword, - had founded mosques and colleges in the places of images and idols'.'The narrative proceeds: 'Having equipped and set in order the army of Islam, and unfurled the standards of victory and the flags of power, trusting in the aid of the Almighty, he proceeded towards Hindustan...
  • 'Such was the man who was sent on an embassy to Ajmir, in order that the Rai (Pithaura) of that country might see the right way without the intervention of the sword, and that he might incline from the track of opposition into the path of propriety, leaving his airy follies for the institutes of the knowledge of Allah, and acknowledging the expediency of uttering the words of martyrdom and repeating the precepts of the law, and might abstain from infidelity and darkness, which entails the loss of this world and that to come, and might place in his ear the ring of slavery to the sublime Court (may Allah exalt it!) which is the centre of justice and mercy, and the pivot of the Sultans of the worldand by these means and modes might cleanse the fords of good life from the sins of impurity'...'The army of Islam was completely victorious, and 'an hundred thousand grovelling Hindus swiftly departed to the fire of hell'... After this great victory, the army of Islam marched forward to Ajmir, where it arrived at a fortunate moment and under an auspicious bird, and obtained so much booty and wealth, that you might have said that the secret depositories of the seas and hills had been revealed....'While the Sultan remained at Ajmir, he destroyed the pillars and foundations of the idol temples, and built in their stead mosques and colleges, and the precepts of Islam, and the customs of the law were divulged and established'
    • About the conquest of Ajmer (Rajasthan) Hasan Nizami: Taju’l-Ma’sir, in Elliot and Dowson, Vol. II : Elliot and Dowson, History of India as told by its own Historians, 8 Volumes, Allahabad Reprint, 1964. pp. 213-216. Also quoted (in part) in Jain, Meenakshi (2011). The India they saw: Foreign accounts.
  • After settling the affairs of Ajmir, the conqueror marched "towards Dehli (may God preserve its prosperity and perpetuate its splendour !) which is among the chief (mother) cities of Hind. When he arrived at Dehli, he saw " a fortress which in height and strength had not its equal nor second throughout the length and breadth of the seven climes." The army encamped around the fort. " A torrent of blood flowed on the field of battle, and it became evident to the chiefs that if they did not seek for safety from the sword of the king of the earth, and if they should deliver into the hands of Satan the time of option and the reins of good counsel, the condition of Dehli would be like that of Ajmir ; so from the dread of kingly punishment, the Rai and mukaddams of that country placed their heads upon the line of slavery, and their feet within the circle of obedience, and made firm the conditions of tribute [mdlguzdrt) and the usages of service. The Sultan then returned “towards the capital of Ghazna (may God preserve it in prosperity!)” but “the army remained encamped within the boundary of Dehli, at the mauza of Indarpat (Indraprastha).”
    • About the conquest of Delhi. Hasan Nizami. Elliot and Dowson, Vol. II : Elliot and Dowson, History of India as told by its own Historians, 8 Volumes, Allahabad Reprint, 1964. pp. 216. Also quoted in Jain, Meenakshi (2011). The India they saw: Foreign accounts.
  • 'The Government of the fort of Kohram and of Samana was made over by the Sultan to Kutbu-d din... [who] by the aid of his sword of Yemen and dagger of India became established in independent power over the countries of Hind and Sind' He purged by his sword the land of Hind from the filth of infidelity and vice, and freed the whole of that country from the thorn of God-plurality, and the impurity of idol-worship, and by his royal vigour and intrepidity, left not one temple standing'
    • Kuhram and Samana (Punjab) . Hasan Nizami: Taju’l-Ma’sir, in Elliot and Dowson, Vol. II : Elliot and Dowson, History of India as told by its own Historians, 8 Volumes, Allahabad Reprint, 1964. pp. 216-217 . Also partially quoted in B.R. Ambedkar, Pakistan or The Partition of India (1946)
  • When the honoured month of Ramazdn, 588 H., the season of mercy and pardon, arrived, fresh intelligence was received at the auspicious Court, that the accursed Jatwan, having admitted the pride of Satan into his brain, and placed the cup of chieftainship and obstinacy upon his head, had raised his hand in fight against Nusratu-d din... The armies attacked each other "like two hills of steel, and the field of battle became tulip-dyed with the blood of the warriors." ... The Hindus were completely defeated, and their leader slain." Jatwan, who was the essence of vice and turbulence, and the rod of infidelity and perverseness, the friend of grief, and the con- panion of shame, had his standards of God-plurality and ensigns of perdition lowered by the hand of power;" "and the dust of the field of battle was commingled with the blood of that God- abandoned wretch, and the whole country was washed from the filth of his idolatry.'"
    • About the flight of Jatwan and his death in battle, Kutbu-d din (general of Muhammad of Ghor). Hasan Nizami. Elliot and Dowson, Vol. II : Elliot and Dowson, History of India as told by its own Historians, 8 Volumes, Allahabad Reprint, 1964. pp. 217-218. Also quoted in Jain, Meenakshi (2011). The India they saw: Foreign accounts.
  • 'Kutbu-d din marched from Kohram 'and when he arrived at Mirat -which is one of the celebrated forts of the country of Hind, for the strength of its foundations and superstructure, and its ditch, which was as broad as the ocean and fathomless-an army joined him, sent by the dependent chiefs of the country'. The fort was captured, and a Kotwal appointed to take up his station in the fort, and all the idol temples were converted into mosques.'
  • 'The conqueror entered the city of Delhi, which is the source of wealth and the foundation of blessedness. The city and its vicinity was freed from idols and idol-worship, and in the sanctuaries of the images of the Gods, mosques were raised by the worshippers of one Allah'...'Kutub-d-din built the Jami Masjid at Delhi, and 'adorned it with the stones and gold obtained from the temples which had been demolished by elephants,' and covered it with 'inscriptions in Toghra, containing the divine commands.
  • 'He then marched and encamped under the fort of Delhi' The city and its vicinity were freed from idols and idols-worship, and in the sanctuaries of the images of the Gods, mosques were raised by the worshippers of one God.'...
    'Kutbu-d din built the Jami' Masjid at Delhi, and adorned it with stones and gold obtained from the temples which had been demolished by elephants, and covered it with inscriptions in Toghra, containing the divine commands.'
  • When the army was mustered, it was found to amount to "fifty thousand mounted men clad in armour and coats of mail," with which they advanced to fight against the Rai of Benares... The Rai of Benares, Jai Chand, the chief of idolatry and perdition, advanced to oppose the royal troops with an army... The Rai of Benares, who prided himself on the number of his forces and war elephants," seated on a lofty howdah, received a deadly wound from an arrow, and "fell from his exalted seat to the earth." His head was carried on the point of a spear to the commander, and " his body was thrown to the dust of contempt." "The impurities of idolatry were purged by the water of the sword from that land, and the country of Hind was freed from vice and superstition."... From that place the royal army proceeded towards Benares, “which is the centre of the country of Hind,” and here they destroyed nearly one thousand temples, and raised mosques on their foundations; and the knowledge of the law became promulgated, and the foundations of religion were established;” “and the face of the dinar and the diram was adorned with the name and blessed titles” of the king.
    • About the fight with the Rai of Banares and capture of Asni and of Benares. Hasan Nizami: Taju’l-Ma’sir, in Elliot and Dowson, Vol. II : Elliot and Dowson, History of India as told by its own Historians, 8 Volumes, Allahabad Reprint, 1964. pp. 222-223 Also quoted in Jain, Meenakshi (2011). The India they saw: Foreign accounts.
  • 'There was a certain tribe in the neighbourhood of Kol which had' occasioned much trouble' 'Three bastions were raised as high as heaven with their beads, and their carcases became the food of beasts of prey. That tract was freed from idols and idol-worship and the foundations of infidelity were destroyed.
  • 'When Kutbu-d din beard of the Sultan's march from Ghazna, he was much rejoiced and advanced as far as Hansi to meet him' In the year AH 592 (AD 1196), they marched towards Thangar, and the centre of idolatry and perdition became the abode of glory and splendour.
  • When the afiairs of this tract was settled, the royal army marched, in the year 592 h., (1196 a.d.) "towards Galewar (Gwalior), and invested that fort, which is the pearl of the necklace of the castles of Hind, the summit of which the nimble-footed wind from below cannot reach, and on the bastion of which the rapid clouds have never cast their shade, and which the swift imagination has never surmounted, and at the height of which the celestial sphere is dazzled."...In compliance with the divine injunction of holy war, they drew out the bloodthirsty sword before the faces of the enemies of religion...Solankh Pal who had raised the standard of infidelity, and perdition, and prided himself on his countless army and elephants, and who expanded the fist^ of oppression from the hiding place of deceit, and who had lighted the flame of turbulence and rebellion, and who had fixed the root of sedition and enmity firm in his heart, and in the courtyard of whose breast the shrub of tyranny and commotion had shot forth its branches, when he saw the power and majesty of the army of Islam," he became alarmed and dispirited. " Wherever he looked, he saw the road of flight blocked up." He therefore " sued for pardon, and placed the ring of servitude in his ear," and agreed to pay tribute...
    • About the capture of Gwalior. Hasan Nizami. Elliot and Dowson, Vol. II : Elliot and Dowson, History of India as told by its own Historians, 8 Volumes, Allahabad Reprint, 1964. pp. 227-228 Also quoted in Jain, Meenakshi (2011). The India they saw: Foreign accounts.
  • 'In the middle of the month of Safar, 593 H. (Jan. 1197), the world-conquering Khusru departed from Ajmir, and with every description of force turned his face towards the annihilation of the Rai of Nahrwala.... A severe action ensued from dawn to mid-day when 'the army of idolatry and damnation turned its back in flight from the line of battle. Most of their leaders were taken prisoners, and nearly fifty thousand infidels were despatched to hell by the sword, and from the heaps of the slain, the hills and the plains became of one level... More than twenty thousand slaves, and twenty elephants, and cattle and arms beyond all calculation, fell into the hands of victors.' You would have thought that the treasures of the kings of all the inhabited world had come into their possession'
  • The fort of Kalinjar which was celebrated throughout the world for being as strong as the wall of Alexander was taken. 'The temples were converted into mosques and abodes of goodness and the ejaculations of the bead-counters and the voices of the summoners to prayer ascended to the highest heaven, and the very name of idolatry was annihilated.' 'Fifty thousand men came under the collar of slavery, and the plain became black as pitch with Hindus.' Elephants and cattle, and countless arms also, became the spoil of the victors.
    • Kalinjar (Uttar Pradesh) . Hasan Nizami: Taju’l-Ma’sir in Elliot and Dowson, Vol. II : Elliot and Dowson, History of India as told by its own Historians, 8 Volumes, Allahabad Reprint, 1964. pp. 231 Also quoted in Jain, Meenakshi (2011). The India they saw: Foreign accounts.
  • 'The Sultan then returned to Delhi, 'which is the capital of prosperity and the place of glory,' and after his arrival, 'not a vestige or name remained of the idol temples which had reared their heads on high; and the light of faith shone out from the darkness of infidelity, like the sun from a curtain of sorrow, or after its emerging from an eclipse, and threw its shade over the provinces of Hind and Sind, the far and near countries of idolatry; and the moon of religion and the State became resplendent from the heaven of prosperity and glory'.'
  • Mahomed Ghoory, in the mean time returning from Ghizny, marched towards Kunowj, and engaged Jye-chund Ray, the Prince of Kunowj and Benares' This prince led his forces into the field, between Chundwar and Etawa, where he sustained a signal defeat from the vanguard of the Ghiznevide army, led by Kootbood-Deen Eibuk, and lost the whole of his baggage and elephants' He marched from thence to Benares, where, having broken the idols in above 1000 temples, he purified and consecrated the latter to the worship of the true God...'Mahomed Ghoory, following with the body of the army into the city of Benares, took possession of the country as far as the boundaries of Bengal, without opposition, and having destroyed all the idols, loaded four thousand camels with spoils.'
    • Tarikh-i-Firishta, translated by John Briggs under the title History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India, first published in 1829, New Delhi Reprint 1981, Vol. I, p. 100-108
  • Next year he [Muhammad of Ghor] defeated Jayachandra of Kanauj. A general massacre, rapine, and pillage followed. The Gahadvad treasuries at Asni and Varanasi were plundered. Hasan Nizami rejoices that in Benares which is the centre of the country of Hind, they destroyed one thousand temples and raised mosques on their foundations. According to Kamil-ut-Tawarikh of Ibn Asir, 'The slaughter of Hindus (at Varanasi) was immense; none were spared except women and children, and the carnage of men went on until the earth was weary.' The women and children were spared so that they could be enslaved and sold all over the Islamic world. It may be added that the Buddhist complex at Sarnath was sacked at this time, and the Bhikshus were slaughtered.
    • Sita Ram Goel, The Story of Islamic Imperialism in India
  • Mohammed Ghori had the Hindu temples of Ajmer demolished and ordered the construction of mosques and Quran schools on their ruins. ... He plundered Kanauj and Kashi and destroyed their temples.... [His generals] destroyed in passing the remaining Buddhist communities of Bihar and destroyed the universities of Nalanda.
    • Louis Frédéric, L'Inde de l'Islam, quoted in Koenraad Elst, Decolonizing the Hindu Mind, Rupa (2001)
  • “The victorious army on the right and on the left departed towards Ajmer… When the crow-faced Hindus began to sound their white shells on the backs of the elephants, you would have said that a river of pitch was flowing impetuously down the face of a mountain of blue… The army of Islam was completely victorious, and a hundred thousand grovelling Hindus swiftly departed to the fire of hell… He destroyed (at Ajmer) the pillars and foundations of the idol temples, and built in their stead mosques and colleges, and the precepts of Islam, and the customs of the law were divulged and established.”
    • Hasan Nizami, Taj-ul-Maasir,about the conquest of Ajmer by Muhammad Ghauri in 1192: E and D, II, pp.214-15. quoted from Lal, K. S. (1992). The legacy of Muslim rule in India. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan. Chapter 2
  • Ibn-ul-Asir says that Qutbuddin Aibak made “war against the provinces of Hind… He killed many, and returned home with prisoners and booty.” In Banaras, according to the same authority, Muhammad Ghauri’s slaughter of the Hindus was immense. “None was spared except women and children." No wonder that slaves began to fill the households of every Turk from the very beginning of Muslim rule in India. Fakhr-i-Mudabbir informs us that as a result of the Muslim achievements under Muhammad Ghauri and Qutbuddin Aibak, “even a poor householder (or soldier) who did not possess a single slave before became the owner of numerous slaves of all description (jauq jauq ghulam har jins)…”
    • Lal, K. S. (1992). The legacy of Muslim rule in India. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan. Chapter 7 (quoting Kamil-ut-Tawarikh, E and D, II, p. 250-1; Tarikh-i-Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah, p. 20.)
  • Mohammed Ghori had the Hindu temples of Ajmer demolished and ordered the construction of mosques and Quran schools on their ruins…He plundered Kanauj and Kashi and destroyed their temples... [While his generals] destroyed in passing the remaining Buddhist communities of Bihar and destroyed the universities of Nalanda.... Bakhtiar Khilji “established a Muslim capital in Lakhanauti (Gaur) on the Ganga and destroyed, in 1197, its basalt temples. In Odantpuri, in 1202, he massacred two thousand Buddhist monks....
    • Louis Frederic, L'Inde de l'Islam, p. 42-49, (quoted from: Decolonizing the Hindu Mind - By Koenraad Elst p. 328)
  • "Sirsuti, Samana, Kuhram, and Hansi were captured in quick succession with ruthless slaughter and a general destruction of temples, and their replacement by mosques. The Sultan then proceeded to Ajmer which too witnessed similar scenes. In Delhi an army of occupation was stationed at Indraprastha under the command of Qutub-ud-din Aibak who was to act as Ghauri's lieutenant in Hindustan. Later on Aibak became the first Sultan of Delhi."
    • K.S. Lal, Theory and Practice of Muslim State in India (New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan, 1999), pp. 20-21. also quoted in Bostom, A. G. M. D., & Bostom, A. G. (2010). The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims. Amherst: Prometheus.
  • The beef-eating Mleccha, Shihab-ud-din has pillaged and burnt most of our cities, defiled our women and has reduced them to a miserable plight. There is scarcely a mountain-pent valley in which his brutal tyranny has not suffocated the noblest of Rajputs who have fled here for protection from him. Scores of these noble Rajput families have disappeared before him and he has now established his capital at Multan. He is an unrelenting enemy.
    • Chandraraja, the son of Govindaraja, the governor of Delhi and trusted vassal of Prithviraja. in Majumdar, The History and Culture of the Indian People, Vol. 5, 110. quoted in Sandeep Balakrishna - Invaders and Infidels_ From Sindh to Delhi_ The 500-Year Journey of Islamic Invasions. Bloomsbury India (2020)
  • Flushed with the decisive victory over Prithviraja Chahamana, Muhammad marched into Ajmer, captured it, slaughtered thousands of its inhabitants who had dared to oppose him, and ‘reserved the rest for slavery’. Scores of ‘idol temples’ were demolished, and the famous Sanskrit college of Vigraharaja IV was converted into a mosque. Hasan Nizami is ecstatic.
    The victorious army on the right and on the left departed towards Ajmer. When the crow-faced Hindus began to sound their white shells on the backs of the elephants, you would have said that a river of pitch was flowing impetuously down the face of a mountain of blue. The army of Islam was completely victorious, and a hundred thousand grovelling Hindus swiftly departed to the fire of hell. He destroyed (at Ajmer) the pillars and foundations of the idol temples, and built in their stead mosques and colleges, and the precepts of Islam, and the customs of the law were divulged and established.37
    • Hasan Nizami, Hasan Nizami, “Taju-l Ma’asir,” in The History of India as Told by Its Own Historians, Vol. 2, 214–15. quoted from Sandeep Balakrishna - Invaders and Infidels_ From Sindh to Delhi_ The 500-Year Journey of Islamic Invasions. Bloomsbury India (2020)
  • In the year after this victory he conducted his army by way of Uch and Multan towards Nahrwala. The Rai of Nahrwala, Bhim-deo, was a minor, but he had a large army and many elephants. In the day of battle the Muhammadans were defeated and the Sultan was compelled to retreat. This happened in the year 574 H. (1178 A.D.).
    • Muhammad Ghori’s defeat by the Rai of Nahrwala, Minhaju-s Siraj Elliot and Dowson, vol. II quoted from Jain, M. (editor) (2011). The India they saw: Foreign accounts. New Delhi: Ocean Books. Volume II Chapter 11
  • Rai Kolah Pithaura came up against the fort, and the Sultan returned and faced him at Narain. All the Rais of Hindustan were with the Rai Kolah. The battle was formed and the Sultan, seizing a lance, made a rush upon the elephant which carried Gobind Rai of Delhi. The latter advanced to meet him in front of the battle, and then the Sultan, who was a second Rustam, and the Lion of the Age, drove his lance into the mouth of the Rai and knocked two of the accursed wretch’s teeth down his throat. The Rai, on the other hand, returned the blow and inflicted a severe wound on the arm of his adversary. The Sultan reined back his horse and turned aside, and the pain of the wound was so insufferable that he could not support himself on horseback. The Musulman army gave way and could not be controlled. The Sultan was just falling when a sharp and brave young Khilji recognised him, jumped upon the horse behind him, and clasping him round the bosom, spurred on the horse and bore him from the midst of the fight.
    When the Musulmans lost sight of the Sultan, a panic fell upon them; they fled and halted not until they were safe from the pursuit of the victors. A party of nobles and youths of Ghor had seen and recognised their leader with that lionhearted Khilji, and when he came up they drew together, and, forming a kind of litter with broken lances, they bore him to the halting-place. The hearts of the troops were consoled by his appearance, and the Muhammadan faith gathered new strength in his life. He collected the scattered forces and retreated to the territories of Islam, leaving Kazi Tolak in the fort of Sarhind. Rai Pithaura advanced and invested the fort, which he besieged for thirteen months.
    Next year the Sultan assembled another army, and advanced to Hindustan to avenge his defeat. A trustworthy person named Mu’inu-d din, one of the principal men of the hills of Tolak, informed me that he was in this army, and that its force amounted to one hundred and twenty thousand horsemen bearing armour. Before the Sultan could arrive the fort of Sarhind had capitulated, and the enemy were encamped in the vicinity of Narain. The Sultan drew up his battle array, leaving his main body in the rear, with the banners, canopies, and elephants, to the number of several divisions. His plan of attack being formed, he advanced quietly. The light unarmoured horsemen were made into four divisions of 10,000, and were directed to advance and harass the enemy on all sides, on the right and on the left, in the front and in the rear, with their arrows. When the enemy collected his forces to attack, they were to support each other, and to charge at full speed. By these tactics the infidels were worsted, the Almighty gave us the victory over them, and they fled.
    Pithaura alighted from his elephant, mounted a horse, and galloped off but he was captured near Sarsuti, and sent to hell. Gobind Rai, of Delhi, was killed in the battle, and the Sultan recognised his head by the two teeth which he had broken. The capital, Ajmir, and all the Siwalik hills, Hansi, Sarsuti, and other districts were the results of this victory, which was gained in the year 588 H. (1192 A.D.)
    • Battle of Tarain, Minhaju-s Siraj Elliot and Dowson, vol. II quoted from Jain, M. (editor) (2011). The India they saw: Foreign accounts. New Delhi: Ocean Books. Volume II Chapter 11
  • He accordingly prepared for an expedition against the Rai [of Ajmer], and mounted his steed, of which there is a poetical description “The victorious army on the right and on the left departed towards Ajmir.” “When the Kola (natural son) of the Rai of Ajmir, the vaunts of whose courage had reached the ears of far and near, heard of the approach of the auspicious standard and the victorious armies, he advanced for the purpose of fighting, and having adjusted the robe of slaughter and the arms of battle, marched on over hills and deserts with a well-equipped army, the number which cannot be conceived in the picture gallery of the imagination.”…
    The army of Islam was completely victorious, and “an hundred thousand grovelling Hindus swiftly departed to the fire of hell.” The Rai of Ajmir was taken prisoner during the action, but his life was spared. After this great victory, the army of Islam marched forward to Ajmir, where it arrived at a fortunate moment and under an auspicious bird, and obtained so much booty and wealth, that you might have said, that the secret depositories of the seas and hills had been revealed.”
    While the Sultan remained at Ajmir, “he destroyed the pillars and foundations of the idol temples, and built in their stead mosques and colleges, and the precepts of Islam, and the customs of the law were divulged and established.”
    • Conquest of Ajmer by Muhammad Ghori, Hasan Nizami Elliot and Dowson, vol. II quoted from Jain, M. (editor) (2011). The India they saw: Foreign accounts. New Delhi: Ocean Books. Volume II Chapter 11
  • “When the honoured month of Ramazan, 588 H., the season of mercy and pardon, arrived, fresh intelligence was received at the auspicious Court, that the accursed Jatwan, having admitted the pride of Satan into his brain, and placed the cup of chieftainship and obstinacy upon his head, had raised his hand in fight against Nusratu-d din, the Commander, under the fort of Hansi, with an army animated by one spirit.”
    Kutbu-d din mounted his horse, and “marched during one night twelve parasangs.” “The accursed Jatwan, when he heard the news of the arrival of the victorious armies, felt himself compelled to depart from under the fort,” and fled. “The soldiers of Islam came up to the army of Hind on the borders of Bagar; and although Jatwan saw there was no chance of successful opposition in battle, yet as he saw destruction impending on him from the throat of the dragon, and the road for flight was blocked up, and the standards of the State and royal victory were unfurled, yielding to the necessity of the case, and not at his own option,” he prepared for fight, and the noise of the hautbois and shells confounded the world, the thunder of the drums ascended to heaven, and the blast of the brazen clarions resembled the sounding trump (of resurrection.)”
    The armies attacked each other “like two hills of steel, and the field of battle became tulip-dyed with the blood of the warriors.” The Hindus were completely defeated, and their leader slain. “Jatwan, who was the essence of vice and turbulence, and the rod of infidelity and perverseness, the friend of grief, and the companion of shame, had his standards of God-plurality and ensigns of perdition lowered by the hand of power;” “and the dust of the field of battle was commingled with the blood of that God- abandoned wretch, and the whole country was washed from the filth of his idolatry.”
    • The flight of Jatwan [probably a leader of the Jats] and his death in battle, Hasan Nizami Elliot and Dowson, vol. II quoted from Jain, M. (editor) (2011). The India they saw: Foreign accounts. New Delhi: Ocean Books. Volume II Chapter 11
  • When the army was mustered, it was found to amount to “fifty thousand mounted men clad in armour and coats of mail,” with which they advanced to fight against the Rai of Benares. The king ordered Kutbu-d din to proceed with the vanguard, consisting of one thousand cavalry, which fell upon “the army of the enemies of religion,” and completely defeated it. On its return to the king, the officers were presented with robes of honour.
    “The Rai of Benares, Jai Chand, the chief of idolatry and perdition, advanced to oppose the royal troops with an army, countless as the particles of sand,” and the noise of the war-drum proclaimed to the ears of the worshippers of one God, aid comes from the Almighty, and the sound of the silver kettledrum and the blast of the brazen trumpets resounded to heaven.” “The Rai of Benares, who prided himself on the number of his forces and war elephants,” seated on a lofty howdah, received a deadly wound from an arrow, and fell from his exalted seat to the earth.” His head was carried on the point of a spear to the commander, and “his body was thrown to the dust of contempt.” “The impurities of idolatry were purged by the water of the sword from that land, and the country of Hind was freed from vice and superstition.”
    “Immense booty was obtained, such as the eye of the beholder would be weary to look at,” including one (some copies say three) hundred elephants. The royal army then took possession “of the fort of Asni where the treasure of the Rai was deposited,” and there much more precious spoil of all kinds rewarded the victors.
    • Fight with the Rai of Banaras and capture of Asni, Hasan Nizami Elliot and Dowson, vol. II quoted from Jain, M. (editor) (2011). The India they saw: Foreign accounts. New Delhi: Ocean Books. Volume II Chapter 11
  • When the affairs of this tract was settled, the royal army marched, in the year 592 H., (1196 A.D.) “towards Galewar (Gwalior), and invested that fort, which is the pearl of the necklace of the castles of Hind, the summit of which the nimble-footed wind from below cannot reach, and on the bastion of which the rapid clouds have never cast their shade, and which the swift imagination has never surmounted, and at the height of which the celestial sphere is dazzled.”...
    “Rai Solankh Pal who had raised the standard of infidelity, and perdition, and prided himself on his countless army and elephants, and who expanded the fist of oppression from the hiding place of deceit, and who had lighted the flame of turbulence and rebellion, and who had fixed the root of sedition and enmity firm in his heart, and in the courtyard of whose breast the shrub of tyranny and commotion had shot forth its branches, when he saw the power and majesty of the army of Islam,” he became alarmed and dispirited. “Wherever he looked, he saw the road of flight blocked up.” He therefore “sued for pardon, and placed the ring of servitude in his ear,” and agreed to pay tribute, and sent ten elephants as a peace offering, in which he was graciously admitted to protection, and was allowed to retain his fort. “When the neighbouring country was freed from the enemies of religion, and the Rai of Hind became enrolled amongst the number of servants and friends,” the Sultan prepared to return to Ghazna, and Kutbu-d din, after his departure, returned to Dehli, where festivities were celebrated on his arrival. – Praise of wine-bibbing and cup-bearers.
    • The capture of Gwalior, Hasan Nizami Elliot and Dowson, vol. II quoted from Jain, M. (editor) (2011). The India they saw: Foreign accounts. New Delhi: Ocean Books. Volume II Chapter 11
  • “In the middle of the month of Safar, 593 H. (Jan., 1197), the world-conquering Khusru departed from Ajmir, and with every description of force turned his face towards the annihilation of the Rai of Nahrwala.” When he reached the lofty forts of Pali and Nandul, he found them abandoned, and the abode of owls, for the people had fled at the approach of the Musulmans, and had collected under their leaders Rai Karan and Darabars, in great numbers” at the foot of Mount Abu, and at the mouth of a pass stood ready for fight and slaughter.” The Musulmans did not dare to attack them in that strong position, especially as in that very place Sultan Muhammad Sam Ghori had been wounded, and it was considered of bad omen to bring on another action there, lest a similar accident might occur to the commander. The Hindus seeing this hesitation, and misconstruing it into cowardice and alarm, abandoning the pass, “turned their faces towards the field of battle and the plain of honour and renown;” for “they were persuaded that fear had established itself in the hearts of the protectors of the seared enclosure of religion.” “The two armies stood face to face for some time, engaged in preparations for fight, and on the night preceding Sunday, the 13th of Rabi’u-l awwal, in a fortunate moment the army of Islam advanced from its camp, and at morn reached the position of the infidels.” A severe action ensued from dawn to mid-day, when “the army of idolatry and damnation turned its back in flight from the line of battle. Most of their leaders were taken prisoners, and nearly fifty thousand infidels were despatched to hell by the sword, and from the heaps of the slain, the hills and the plains became of one level.” Rai Karan effected his escape from the field. “More than twenty thousand slaves, and twenty elephants, and cattle and arms beyond all calculation, fell into the hands of the victors.” “You would have thought that the treasures of the kings of all the inhabited world had come into their possession.”
    • 9. The conquest of Nahrwala, the most celebrated city of Gujarat, Hasan Nizami Elliot and Dowson, vol. II quoted from Jain, M. (editor) (2011). The India they saw: Foreign accounts. New Delhi: Ocean Books. Volume II Chapter 11
  • In the year 599 H. (1202 A.D.), Kutbu-d din proceeded to the investment of Kalinjar, on which expedition he was accompanied by the Sahib-Kiran, Shamsu-d din Altamsh. ‘The accursed Parmar,’ the Rai of Kalinjar, fled into the fort after a desperate resistance in the field, and afterwards surrendered himself, and “placed the collar of subjection” round his neck, and, on his promise of allegiance, was admitted on the same favours as his ancestor had experienced from Mahmud Subuktigin, and engaged to make a payment of tribute and elephants, but he died a natural death before he could execute any of his engagements. His Diwan, or Mahtea, by name Aj Deo, was not disposed to surrender so easily as his master, and gave his enemies much trouble, until he was compelled to capitulate, in consequence of severe drought having dried up all the reservoirs of water in the forts. “On Monday, the 20th of Rajab, the garrison, in an extreme state of weakness and distraction, came out of the fort, and by compulsion left their native place empty,” “and the fort of Kalinjar which was celebrated throughout the world for being as strong as the wall of Alexander” was taken. “The temples were converted into mosques and abodes of goodness, and the ejaculations of the bead-counters and the voices of the summoners to prayer ascended to the highest heaven, and the very name of idolatry was annihilated.” “Fifty thousand men came under the collar of slavery, and the plain became black as pitch with Hindus.” Elephants and cattle, and countless arms also became the spoil of the victors.
    • 10. Capture of the fort of Kalinjar, Hasan Nizami Elliot and Dowson, vol. II quoted from Jain, M. (editor) (2011). The India they saw: Foreign accounts. New Delhi: Ocean Books. Volume II Chapter 11
  • On the king’s return from Lahore towards Ghazni, he had fixed his camp “within the borders of Dhamek, and his tent was pitched on the bank of a pure stream in a garden filled with lilies, jasmins,” and other flowers. Here while he was engaged in his evening prayer, “some impious men (God’s curse and destruction on them!) came running like the wind towards his majesty, the king of the world, and on the spot killed three armed attendants and two chamber-sweepers. They then surrounded the king’s own tent, and one or two men out of these three or four conspirators, ran up towards the king, and inflicted five or six desperate wounds upon the lord of the seven climes, and his spirit flew above the eight paradises and the battlements of the nine heavens, and joined those of the ten evangelists.”
    • 11. Death of Sultan Muhammad Sam, Hasan Nizami Elliot and Dowson, vol. II quoted from Jain, M. (editor) (2011). The India they saw: Foreign accounts. New Delhi: Ocean Books. Volume II Chapter 11
  • In the year 602 H. (1205 A.D.), Muhammad Ghori determined on prosecuting a holy war in Hind, in order to repair the fortunes of his servants and armies; for within the last few years Khurasan, on account of the disasters it had sustained, yielded neither men nor money. When he arrived in Hind, God gave him such a victory that his treasures were replenished, and his armies renewed. On his return, after crossing the Jailam, he was encamped on the banks of the Jihun (Indus), so that one-half of the royal enclosure, where the private apartments were, was in the water. In consequence of which no precaution had been taken to ensure their protection. About the time of the mid-day siesta, two or three Hindus came through the water, and falling like fire upon the royal tent, slew the Sultan, who was entirely unprepared for such a treacherous attack.
    • Death of Muhammad Ghori, Alau-d din Juwaini Elliot and Dowson, vol. II quoted from Jain, M. (editor) (2011). The India they saw: Foreign accounts. New Delhi: Ocean Books. Volume II Chapter 11
  • But to his own capital Ajmer which the Sultan captured after slaying thousands of its heroic defenders reserving the rest for slavery...The pillars and foundations of its temples were destroyed, and it was despoiled of the greater part of the wealth accumulated in the days of its prosperity
    • Early Chauhan Dynasties by Sharma,dasharatha [2] [3]
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