by admin » Sun Oct 31, 2021 3:58 am
TIMUR’S INVASION.
"In the4 [Ibidem, pp. 34, 35 and 36.] month of Safar 801 H. (Oct. 1398 A.D.) intelligence came that Amir Timur, King of Khurasan, had attacked Talina, and was staving at Multan, and that he had put to the sword all the soldiers of Sarang Khan, who had been taken prisoner by Pir Muhammad (Timur’s son). This intelligence filled Ikbal Khan (the wazir) with dread and anxiety. Amir Timur continuing his march, besieged Bhatnir, took the Rai Khul Chain prisoner, and put the garrison to the sword. From thence he marched to Samana, and many inhabitants of Dibalpur, Ajodhan, and Sarsuti fled in terror to Delhi. Many prisoners were taken and most of them received the glory of martyrdom. Then he crossed over the Jumna into the Doab, and ravaged the greater part of the country. He made a halt at the town of Loni, and there he put to the sword all the prisoners whom he had taken between the rivers Sind and Ganges, in all 50,000 men, more or less: God knows the truth. Such was the terror inspired by him, that Musulmans and Hindus fled before him, some to the mountains, some to the deserts, some to the waves of the rivers, and some to Delhi. In Jumada-Rawwal, having crossed the Jumna, he halted at Firozabad, and next day he took up his position at the top of the Hauz-i Khas. Ikbal Khan (the wazir) came out with his elephants, and gave battle to Amir Timur in the maidan. At the first charge, he was defeated by the warriors of Timur, and escaped through a thousand difficulties with his elephants into the city. But as they retreated into the city, many men were crushed under their foot and died, and heaps of dead were left. When night came on, Ikbal Khan and Sultan Mahmud, leaving their wives and children behind, came out of the city. The Sultan fled to Gujrat, and Ikbal Khan crossed the river Jamna and went to Baran. Mext day Amir Timur granted quarter to the city, and took the ransom money1 [It was out of the collection of this ransom that the massacre of the inhabitants of Delhi arose.] from the inhabitants. On the fourth day he gave orders that all the people in the city should be made prisoners, and this was done”.
Timur in his memoirs (Malfuzat-i-Timuri) speaks of ‘‘a plundering excursion against the palace of Jahannuma, a fine building erected by Sultan Firoz Shah on the top of a hill by the banks of the Jamna which is situated 3 miles from Delhi. It was from this hill that Timur reconnoitred the ground on which to join battle with the Delhi forces: and he mentions that he encamped before the battle in a position opposite to Jahannuma. It was at this camp that the 100,000 “infidels” captured on his way to Delhi were massacred in cold blood. Such was the orgy of slaughter, that Timur gloatingly tells of a "Maulana2 [Elliot and Dowson, Vol. III. Malfuzat-i-Timuri, p. 436.] Nasiru-d-din Umar, a counsellor and a man of learning, who, in all his life had never killed a sparrow, now in execution of my order slew with his sword fifteen idolatrous Hindus who were his captives".
"After3 [Elliot and Dowson, Vol. III, Malfuzat-i-Timuri, p. 441.] the defeat of Sultan Mahmud at the Maidan in the neighbourhood of Hauz Khas, Timur marched towards the fort (Jahanpanah) and carefully reconnoitred its towers and walls, and returned to the side of Hauz Khas. This is a reservoir which was constructed by Sultan Firoz Shah and is faced all-round with stone and cement (gatch). Each side of that reservoir is more than a bow shot long, and there are buildings placed around it. This tank is filled by the rains in the rainy season, and it supplies the people of the city with water throughout the year. The tomb of Sultan Firozshah stands on its bank. When I had pitched my camp here, the princes and amirs and nuyans, and all the generals and officers, came to wait upon me to pay their respects and offer their congratulations on this great victory". The Delhi Sultan and his wazir had escaped “through the Hauz Rani and Baraka gates of Jahanpanah, both of which are to the south of the Jahanpanah4". [Elliot and Dowson, Vol. III, Zafarnama, p. 501.] Timur's camp at Hauz Khas was to the east.
Timur goes on to recount that he "mounted his horse and rode towards the gate of the maidan (This gate5 [Elliot and Dowson. Vol. III. Zafarnama, p. 502.] is one of the gates of Jahanpanah and opens towards Hauz (Khas). I alighted at the Idgah, a lofty and extensive building, and I gave orders for my quarters to be moved there, and for my throne to be set up in the Idgah.1 [This idgah is not to be confused with the Idgah of Kharera which was built after Timur’s departure in 1404-5 A. D. by Iqbal Khan; although it was probably in the vicinity of this latter. List of Monuments Mahrauli Zail, Vol, III, p. 164.] I took my seat on the Throne and held a court." Timur speaks of 120 enormous elephants and rhinoceroses which were brought out of the fort (Jahanpanah) and paraded before him. “As the elephants passed me I was greatly amused to see the tricks which their drivers2 [Elliot and Dowson, Vol. III, Malfuzat-i-Timuri, p. 444.] had taught them. Every elephant at the sign of the driver bowed his head to the ground, made his obeisance, and uttered a cry. At the direction of their drivers they picked up any object from the ground with their trunks and placed it in their drivers hands, or put it into their mouths and kept it. When I saw these mighty animals so well trained and so obedient to weak men, I was greatly astonished, and I ordered that they should be sent to Turan and Iran, to Fars, and Azur, and Rum, so that the princes and nobles throughout my dominions might see these animals”.
In alluding to the several causes which led to the sack of Delhi and the wholesale massacre of its inhabitants, Timur mentions a “palace of Hazar Situn (thousand columns) which Malik Juna (Muhammad Tughlaq) built in the fort called Jahanpanah: and in lamenting this event, Timur writes: “By the will of God, and by no wish or direction of mine, all the three cities of Delhi by name Siri, Jahanpanah, and Old Delhi had been plundered”. It is noteworthy that Firozabad is not specifically included in this catalogue, and, it is to be assumed, escaped the general pillage.
“When my mind was no longer occupied with the destruction of the people of Delhi, I took a ride round the cities. Siri is a round city. Its buildings are lofty. They are surrounded by fortifications built of stone and brick and are very strong. Old Delhi has also a similar strong fort, but it is larger than Siri”.
“From the fort of Siri to that of Old Delhi, which is a considerable distance, there runs a strong wall built of stone and cement. The part called Jahanpanah is situated in the midst of the inhabited city (Shahr-i-abadan). The fortifications of the three cities have thirty gates. Jahanpanah has thirteen gates, seven on the south side bearing towards the east, and six on the north side bearing towards the west. Siri has seven gates, four towards the outside and three on the inside towards Jahanpanah. The fortifications of old Delhi have ten gates, some opening to the exterior and some towards the interior of the city. When I was tired of examining the city I went into the Masjid-i-Jami3." [Elliot and Dowson, Vol III. Malfuzat-i-Timuri, pp. 447-48.]
I had4 [Elliot and Dowson, Vol. III, Malfuzat-i-Timuri, p. 448.] been in Delhi fifteen days, which time I passed in pleasure and enjoyment, holding royal Courts and giving great feasts. I then reflected that I had come to Hindustan to war against infidels..... Having made these reflections I again drew my sword to wage a religious war. I started from Delhi and marched three kos to the fort of Firozabad, which stands on the banks of the Jamna, and is one of the edifices erected by Sultan Firozashah. I halted there and went in to examine the palace. I proceeded to the Masjid-i-Jami, where I said my prayers and offered up my praises and thanksgivings for the mercies of the Almighty. Afterwards I again mounted and proceeded to pitch my camp near the palace of Jahannuma (on the Ridge). Here Bahadur Nahir sent to me as a tribute two white parrots which could talk well and pleasantly. The envoys presented them to me, and told me that these two parrots had belonged to Sultan Tughlaq Shah, and that they had lived at the courts of the Sultans ever since. The sight of these parrots and the sound of their voices gave me great satisfaction, so I gave directions that they should be brought before me in their cages every day that I might listen to their talk1." [Elliot and Dowson, Vol. III, Malfuzat-i-Timuri, p. 449.]
Timur says "I had determined to build a Masjid-i-Jami in Samarqand, the seat of my empire, which should be without rival in any country; so I ordered that all builders and stone masons (among the artisans and mechanics enslaved during the sack of Delhi) should be set apart for my own special service."
"From Delhi, Timur returned by the skirt of the hills." "Then he marched through Kabul to his own territories, and arrived at his capital, Samarqand, after ravaging the Hindu shrines at Meerut and Hardwar and plundering Lahore en route.
"After2 [Elliot and Dowson, Vol. IV, Tarikh-i-Mubarakshahi, p. 36.] the departure of Timur, the neighbourhood of Delhi, and all those territories over which his armies had passed, were visited with pestilence (waba) and famine. Many died of the sickness, and many perished with hunger, and for two months Delhi was desolate."