a 4 Tel & uh zs wea SUD UUD LULU "TAA Le va dae 5 PASO Pernt) Petes A Oa Pere ie Sant Pl 7 fai Rie eee Rie aerwiaieee Cu) CURA g a Goes Garnell University Library Sthara, Nem York CHARLES WILLIAM WASON COLLECTION CHINA AND THE CHINESE THE GIFT OF CHARLES WILLIAM WASON CLASS OF 1876 1918 THRE INDIAN FMPIRE History, Topography, Geol@gy, Climate, Population, Chief Cities and Provinces; Tributary and Protected States; Military Power and Resources; Religion, Education, Crime; Land Tenures Stable Products; Government, Finance, and Commerce RELATING TO CHINA AND THE CHINESE Peis R. MONTGOMERY MARTIN 4 Vatetia = ta pee pee «- Fa ‘2 THE LONDON PRINTING AND PUBLISHING COMPANY, LIMITED Lc. 1860] & CONTENTS Early History, mythological and traditional - Persian and other Invasions - Greek Expedition and Conquests of Alexander - Plundering Incursions of Mahmood the Ghuznivede - Mohammedan Conquests, Dominion, and Downfall ~ Rise and Progress of British Power and Supremacy Intercourse between India and China ~ Fifth Century . . 39 Architecture, Fetes, Police System, and Coinage ‘ ‘ - 47 Tyrannical and desolating Rule of Mohammed Toghlak ‘ « 75 Invasion of India by Timor or Tamerjane - A.D. 1398 . « 77 Kootb Shah dynasty at Golconda - established A.D. 1512 «100 Shah Jehah subjugates Ahmednuggur, A.D. 1637. oof . 130 Dangerous illness of Aurungzebe, 1662 . ae. rye a «140 European Intercourse « Rise and Growth of British Power Trade under Henry VII. and VIII., and Edward VI ar 197 First English Expedition to India = 1577 to 1596 Ot 199 Proceedings of the Ostend E. I. Cy. - 1716 to 1726 : 241 England and France Struggle for general Supremacy . 254 Vansittart appointed Govermor of Bengal + 1760 ‘ ‘ 290 Lord Ellenborough superseded by Sir H. Hardinge - 1844, 453 Topography - Mountains and Passes - Rivers - Plateaux - Provinces, and Chief Towns = Climate and Diseases ~ Geology - Soil - Mineralogy ‘ ‘ ‘ . ‘ . i . ‘ . . 464 Population - Numbers - Distribution - Density to Area ~ Proportion of Hindoos to Mohammedans = Varities of Race = Diverse Languages - Aborigines - Slavery - Past and present Condition of the People. Density of Population of India to each Square Mile . 499 Proportion of Moslems to Hindoos « Twenty Languages / 503 Region = Christian Missions ~ Education - The Press - and Crime Rapid Extension of Printing in India - 1854 - '55 ‘ 540 Commerce - Imports - Exports - Shipping - Valuable Products = Capability of greatly increased Traffic Immense value of Indian Comrerce to England . ‘ ‘ 561 Indian Banks - Coins, weights and Measures ‘ : ; 565 3 The Land-Tenures of British India ~ Zemindar, Ryotwar, and Village Settlements Amount ot Land+Tax in different Countries ‘ ‘ ‘ - 568 ‘Alleged Causes of Discontent ~ oppressive and pauperising - Penure of Land - inet icient Administration of Justice Exclusion of Natives from all Share in the Government - Ignorance of the Languages, and aversion evinced towards the Natives - Education, Religion, and Missionary Operations - Caste - free Press + defective Currency - Opium Monopoly Neglect of Public works - Repression of British Enterprises recent Annexations - infraction of the Hindoo law of in- heritance-EFxtinction of native States - Sattara, Nagpoor, Carnatic, Tanjore, Jhanso, Oude, etc. - State of the Bengal Army; relaxed Discipline; Removal of regimental Ofticers to Statt and civil Employments; Paucity of European Troops; Sepoy Grievances; greased Cartridges - Mohammedan Conspiracy - for- eign Intrigues; Persian and Russian The Opium Monopoly . : : ; ‘ . ; ‘ ‘ . 24 Repression of British Enterprise . : ‘ ; . » 3l January to May, 1857 Circulation of the Chupatties . ; : ‘ , : . 138 Calcutta; Arrival of Sir Colin Campbell from England, and Reinforcements from the Colonies; Revolt in Behar, Patna, and Dinapoor; Relief of Arrah; The Vengenance-cry; govern= ment Instruction regarding Mutineers; Kolapoor ana Sattara; Berhampoor, Rohnee, and Bhaugulpoor, July to October, 1857 Aid from the colonies - Elgin, Peel, anda Outram ‘ Fi 3597 . DEDICATED BY AUTHORITY TO HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY THE QUEEN. THE INDIAN EMPIRE: HISTORY, TOPOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, CLIMATE, POPULATION, ‘CHIEF CITIES AND PROVINCES / TRIBUTARY AND PROTECTED STATES ; MILITARY POWER AND RESOURCES; RELIGION, EDUCATION, CRIME; LAND TENURES ; STAPLE PRODUCTS ; GOVERNMENT, FINANCE, AND COMMERCE. WITH A FULL ACCOUNT OF THE MUTINY OF THE BENGAL ARMY; OF THE INSURRECTION IN WESTERN INDIA; AND AN EXPOSITION OF THE ALLEGED CAUSES. BY R. MONTGOMERY MARTIN, AUTHOR OF THE ‘' HISTORY OF THE BRITISH COLONIES,” ETC. ILLUSTRATED WITH MAPS, PORTRAITS, AND VIEWS. VOL. I. . HISTORY, TOPOGRAPHY, POPULATION, GOVERNMENT, FINANCE, COMMERCE, AND STAPLE PRODUCTS. THE LONDON PRINTING AND PUBLISHING COMPANY, LIMITED: 97;-98, 99, & 100, ST. JOHN STREET, LONDON; AND 55, DEY STREET, NEW YORK. DEDICATED, BY AUTHORITY, TO HIS EXCELLENCY JAMES BUCHANAN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. THE INDIAN EMPIRE: ITS HISTORY, TOPOGRAPHY, GOVERNMENT, FINANCE, COMMERCE, AND STAPLE PRODUCTS. MOTINY OF THE NATIVE TROOYS, AND AN EXPOSITION OF THE SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS STATE OF ONE HUNDRED MILLION SUBJECTS OF THE CROWN OF ENGLAND, BY R. MONTGOMERY MARTIN, ESQ, LATE TREASURER TO THE QUEEN AT HONG KONG, AND MEMBER OF HER MAJESTY’S LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL IN CHINA, Hlustrated With Bays, Portraits, Vietws, Ke, from Original Sketches. NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY S. D. BRAIN, 55, DEY STREET. fitout ite Le Gp. € VOL. ANY LIMITED 5 “TH LONDON PRINTING AND PUBLISHING COME * THE INDIAN EMPIRE. CHAPTER I. Ap 29,47,947%, 14, 130, rp EARLY HISTORY, MYTHOLOGICAL AND TRADITIONAL—PERSIAN AND OTHER INVA- SIONS—GREEK EXPEDITION AND CONQUESTS OF ALEXANDER—PLUNDERING INCURSIONS OF MAHMOOD THE GHUZNIVEDE—MOHAMMEDAN CONQUESTS, DOMINION, AND DOWNFALL—RISE AND PROGRESS OF BRITISH POWER AND SUPREMACY. Ancient History, TO THE TIME OF ALEX- ANDER.—India or Hindoostan, with its noble rivers, diversified climate, productive soil, and extensive coast-line, offered advantages for colonization, which were availed of at a very early period in the history of the human race. Ofits first inhabitants we know little, beyond their being, as it is generally believed, still represented by various bar- barous tribes who yet inhabit the mountains and forests, and follow rude religious prac- tices that are no part of the primitive Hin- doo system. By whom or at what time these were subdued or expelled there is no ground to rest anything more than a sur- mise; and of the many that have been, or might be, hazarded on this difficult but in- teresting subject, perhaps. not the least rea- sonable is the supposition based on the varied craniological development, and distinct lan- guages of the existing Hindoo race—that they were originally composed of numerous migrating hordes who, at intervals, poured in from the wild Mongolian steppes and Turkomanian ranges, from the forests of Scythia, the arid shores of the Caspian, and the sunburnt plains of Mesopotamia; from the plateaux of Persia, the deserts of Arabia, and even from the fertile valley of the Nile, allured by the extraordinary fertility of this most favoured portion of the Asiatic con- tinent, or driven from their native land by tyranny or want. Time and circumstances || gradually fused the heterogeneous mass into something like homogeneity; the first step to which was probably made by the introduc- tion, in a rude form, of that village system which so markedly characterises India when viewed as a whole, and which, under the scourge of sanguinary wars, and the heavy D exactions of native or foreign rulers, has ever been the mainstay of the people. The invaders, if such they were, probably brought with them the elements of civilisation; and the peaceful pursuits of pastoral and agri- cultural life would necessitate a certain amount of concentration, as no single man or family could dwell alone in a country whose dense jungle required combined la- bour, both to clear it for use and guard it from wild beasts. All this, however, relates to a period concerning which we possess no historical record whatever—in which must have originated what may be termed Brah- minical Hindooism, whose rise and early progress is shrouded in dense obscurity. From the internal evidenee afforded by the system itself, so far as we are acquainted with it during its early purity, it would seem to have been framed by a small confederacy of persons, whose knowledge, both religious and secular, being far in advance of their age, had enabled them to draw up rules for the guidance of their countrymen, both as regarded their duty to God and. their fel- lows. Fully aware, as it would appeat, of the great fact, that human institutions have strength and permanence only when based, on a religious principle, they set forth their own scheme as the direct ordination of the “ Self-Hxistent One,” the “Great First Cause,” whose attributes they described in a tone of solemn grandeur not unbefitting their. high theme; and to enforce their precepts and heighten their influence, made much use of the rude lyrics extant among the people, to which they added others. These were com- piled under the name of the Vedas (a word derived from a Sanscrit root, signifying fo know), by one Vyasa, who lived in the four- 14 CODE OF MENU—NINTH CENTURY, B.C. teenth century before the Christian era. In describing the religious creed of the Hindoos, and commenting on the opinions entertained respecting the comparative an- tiquity of Brahminism and Boodhism, the most ancient sacred writings of each of these great sects will be noticed; but here it is only necessary to remark, that the Vedas bear incontestable evidence of having been written at different periods, some being in very rugged Sanscrit, others, though an- tiquated, coming within the pale of that language in the polished form in which Sir William Jones found it, when he declared it to be “of a wonderful structure, more per- fect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either.”* One only of the Vedas, the Sama Veda, has yet been translated into English. The translator, Dr. Stephenson, of Bombay, leans to the opinion of its having been com- posed out of India, but brought there by the Brahmins from some northern country at | a very remote period. Another authority, | after a careful examination of the same book, _ has arrived at a directly opposite conclusion.t+ | Be this as it may, there are expressions in | the Vedas which prove that the majority of the detached pieces of different kinds of poetic composition which they comprise, were written in a country where maritime commerce was highly esteemed, where a sa- crificial ritual had already been fixed, and mythological legends abounded. The fre- quent reference to war and to chariots in- dicate, moreover, the previous establishment of separate states, and the cultivation of military art. The first comprehensive view of the state of society among the Hindoos is afforded by the code of laws which bears the name of Menu, and is supposed, but not on very convincing data, to have been compiled in or about the ninth century, z.c.t Whe- ther Menu himself were a real person- age or no is an open question, and one of little importance, since his appearance is merely dramatic, like that of the speakers * Asiatic Researches, vol. i., p- 422, 7 Arthur’s Mission to the Mysore, p. 441. t Sir W. Jones supposed the Code to have been compiled about 300 years after the Vedas (4s. R., vol. vii., p. 283); but Elphinstone fixes the date at some time about half-way between Alexander, in the fourth century, B.c., and the Vedas in the four- teenth. (Vol. i., p. 480.) : § Cast, the common word, is not Indian, but Eng- | lish; and is given in Johnson’s Dictionary as derived from the Spanish or Portuguese, casta,a breed. In in the dialogues of Plato or of Cicero. No hint is given as to the real compiler, nor is there any clue to the ancient commentator Calluca, whose endeavours to gloss over and explain away some doctrines of Menu, seems to indicate that opinion had already begun to change, even in his day; while many suc- ceeding commentators, and some of very ancient date, speak of the rules of Menu as applicable to the good ages only, and not extending to their time. The chief feature in the code is its di- vision of the people into four classes or casts;§ namely, the Brahmins or sacer- dotal; the Cshatriya or ee the Vai- syas or industrial ; and the Soodras|| or ser- vile. The three first classes were termed the “twice-born,” their youths being admitted, at certain ages, by a solemn ceremony, to participate in the religious and social privi- leges of their elders; but the fourth and low- est cast was rigidly excluded from all these. The degradation of the Soodras has given rise to the idea of their being the people whom the superior classes had conquered ; and similar inferences may be drawn from the fact that, while the “ twice-born” were all strictly forbidden, under any circumstances, to leave, what, for want of a better term, may be styled Hindcoostan Proper; the Soodra, distressed for the means of sub- sistence, might go where he would. It ap- pears, however, from the code, that there were still cities governed by Soodra kings, in which Brahmins were advised not to re- side. From this it seems probable that the independent Soodra towns were situated in such of the small territories into which Hindoostan was divided as yet retained their freedom, while the whole of the tracts south of the Vindya mountains remained un- touched by the invaders, and unpenetrated by their religion. On the other hand, it is remarkable that neither the code of Menu, nor the more ancient Vedas, so far as we are at present acquainted with their con- tents, ever allude to any prior residence, or to a knowledge of more than the name of Sir W. Jones’ Translation of Menu, the word em- ployed is “class :” the Brahmins constantly use the Sanscrit term as signifying a species. || There are few things more perplexing in the study of Indian history than the various modes of spelling proper names and other words, which have resulted from the difficulty of representing them in the characters of our alphabet. la the present work, the author has deemed it advisable to adopt that best known and most easily read, in preference to what might have been more critically correct. HINDOO CHRONOLOGY. SOLAR AND LUNAR DYNASTIES. 15 any country out of India. Even mytho- logy goes no farther than the Himalaya mountains for the location of the gods. With regard to the condition of the Sgodras, it appears. to have been. in many ‘points similar, but in some decidedly: preferable, to that of the helot, the slave, or the serf of the Greek, the Roman, and the feudal sys- tems, excepting only its stern prohibition of any share in the ordinances of religion. But this might have originated in the probable circumstance. of the conquered people having a distinct creed of their own, to prevent the spreading. of which among their disciples, . the Brahmins* (in whom, Elphinstone has well said, the common interests of their class, mingled, probably, with much pure zeal for their monotheistic-faith, was deeply rooted) united religion. and rank so closely in their able scheme, that to break through, or even in minor observances to. deviate from the strict rules of duty laid down forthe guidance of the several regenerate classes, was to forfeit’ position, and literally to incur the penaltyof a civil death, far passing excommunication in severity,,.and to place themselves under a ban which wearisome penance could alone remove. One passion—and it: would seem only one—was strong enough to. break down the barriers of cast., A mixed race sprang up,. who. were gradually formed into classes, and divided and subdivided, until the result is. now seen in an almost countless number of small communities. In subsequent sections, in. describing, manners, customs, laws, and. government, it will be necessary to show what these were in the days of Menu, and the. changes which gradually took. place up to the period.of English dominion; but at present we are more immediately concerned with that difficult subject, the chronological succession, of events in Hindoo history. Oriental research has, as yet; revealed to- us but one Hindoo work that can be strictly considered historical, the Annals of Cash- mere, ably translated by Professor Wilson, | which refers chiefly to a limited territory on the extreme northern frontier of India, and | contains little more than incidental men- tion of Hindoostan and the Deccan. is, besides, an evident and not unnatural desire on the part. of the native writer to agerandize the rulers of Cashmere at the * Elphinstone suggests a doubt “whether the | conquerors’ were a foreign peop.e or a local tribe, like the Dorians in Greece; or whether, indeed; they were not,merely a portion of one of the native states {a religious sect, for instance,) which had outstripped There | expense of the neighbouring princes, which gives an impression of one-sidedness to a production possessed, notwithstanding, of much value and interest. The student is, therefore, compelled to fall back upon the wide field, as yet but very partially explored, presented in the sacred books, the legislative records, and the two great epic poems. The knowledge obtainable from these sources is, in too many cases, rendered comparatively useless; by the misleading chronology taught by the Brahmins, apparently as a means of sustaining the claim of their nation to a fa- bulous antiquity. The periods employed in the computation of time are equally strange and unsatisfactory, and are rendered pe- culiarly puzzling by the astronomical data on which they are partially founded. A complete revolution of the nodes and ap- sides, which: they suppose to be performed in. 4,320,000,000. years, forms a calpa, or day of Brahma. In this are included four- teen manwantaras, or periods, each contain- ing seventy-one maha yugas, or great ages, which again comprise, respectively, four yugas, or ages, of unequal length. These last bear some resemblance to the golden, silver, brazen, and iron ages of the Greeks, and are alone considered by the Brahmins as marking the periods of human history since the creation of the existing world, which they believe to have occurred about four million years ago. The first, or satya yuga, lasted 1,728,000 years, through the whole of which a king named Satyavrata, otherwise called Vaivaswata, lived and reigned. This monarch is described as having escaped with his family from an uni- versal. deluge, which destroyed the rest of the world. From him descended two royal lines, one of which, under the designation of Soorya, the children of the sun, reigned at Ayodhya or Oude; the other, Chandra, or the children of the moon, at Pratisht’hana or Vitora, in the tract between the Jumna and Ganges, through the 1,296,000 years of the second, or treta yuga; the 864,000 years of the third, or dwapar yuga; and the first 1,000 years of the present, or cali yuga, at which time both the solar and lunar races became extinct; as also a distinct cotempo- rary race, the descendants of Jarasandha,who began to reign in Magadha or Behar, at the their fellow citizens in’ knowledge, and appropriated all the advantages of the society to themselves.”— History of India, vol.i., p. 96. + It is evident that in the time of Menu there were no slaves attached to the soil. 16 RESIDENCE OF EARLY HINDOO PRINCES AND BRAHMINS. commencement of the cali yuga. The last reigning prince of the Jarasandha family was slain by his prime minister, who placed his own son, Pradyota, on the throne. Fifteen of the usurping race enjoyed the sovereignty to the time of Nanda, who, in extreme old age (after a reign, it is said, of 100 years), was murdered by a Brahman, by whom a man of the Maurya race, named Chandara- Gupta, was placed on the vacant throne.* The genealogies of the two parallel lines of the sun and moon are derived from the sacred writings called the Puranas.t Sir William Jones framed his list from the Bha- gavat Purana; Captain Wilford subsequently collated his genealogical table of the great Hindoo dynasties from the Vishnu and other Puranas;t and, if critical research should eventually succeed in enabling us to correct the errors of Indian chronology, much information may be obtained by means of those lists respecting the early rulers. Wanting this clue, the student will find abundant material for theory, but the historian little that he dares make his own; for the narratives given in the Puranas abound in discrepancies regarding time and place, and are so blended with myths and allegories, that it is next to impossible, at present, to separate truth from fiction, until theperiod ofthe Maha Bharat or Great War.§ The scene of the adventures of the first princes, and the residence of the most fa- mous sages, appears to be uniformly placed, both in the Puranas, and the far older in- * According to Mill (vol.i., p. 160); but Elphin- stone states Chandra Gupta to have been ninth in succession from Nanda.—Vol. i., p. 261. . + There are eighteen Puranas, which are considered to have been composed between the eighth and six- teenth centuries, A.D.; but several of the authors appear to have made use of much more ancient MS. histories to interweave among their own. } The lines of the Sun and Moon, and the Magadha dynasty, are given at length by Colonel Tod, in the first volume of his valuable and voluminous work the Annals of Rajasthan. They were extracted from the Puranas by a body of pundits, and differ more or less in various parts from those published by Sir W. Jones, Mr. Bentley, and Colonel Wilford. Tod’s view of the vexed question of early Hindoo records may be understood from his careful enume- ration of various traditions which all “appear to point to one spot, and to one individual, in the early history of mankind, when the Hindoo and Greek ap- proach a common focus, for there is little doubt that Adnath, Adiswara, Osiris, Baghes, Bacchus, Menu, Menes, designate the patriarch of mankind, Noah” (vol. i, p. 22). The solar and lunar lines he con- siders to have been established 2,256 years, B.C., about a century and a half after the flood, the former by Ichswaca the son of Vaivaswatoo Menu, the latter stitutes of Menu, in a tract called Bramha- verta, because of its sanctity, situated be- tween the rivers Seraswati (Sersooty) and Drishadwati (Caggar), 100 miles to the north- west of Delbi; and about 65 miles long by 20 to 40 broad.|| Probably the next territory ac- quired lay between that above-mentioned and the Jumna, and included North Behar, this country being mentioned in the second place under the honoured name of Brahmar- shi, while Brahmins born within its boun- daries were pronounced suitable teachers of the several usages of men. At Oude, in the centre of Brahmarshi, the Puranas, (in which the preceding early stages are not noticed,) fix the origin of the solar and lunar races, from one or other of which all the royal families of ancient India were de- scended. Some fifty to seventy generations of the solar race, who, in the absence of re- liable information, appear little better than myths, bring down the Purana narrative to Rama, the ruler of a powerful kingdom in Hindoostan, and the hero of the oldest Hindu epic—the Ramayana, The chief incident is the carrying off of Sita, the queen of Rama, by Ravana, the king of the island of Lanka, or Ceylon. Rama leads an army into the Deccan, penetrates to Ceylon, and, with the assistance of a strange people allegorized as an army of monkeys, led by Hooniman, their king, gains a complete victory over the ra- visher, and recovers his wife, who vindicates her fidelity by successfully passing the or- deal of fire. According to the system of by Boodha, who married Ichswatoo’s sister Ella, asserted to be the earth personified—Boodha hint- self being “the parent and first emigrant of the Indu [Sanscrit for the moon] race, from Saca Dwipa or Scythia to Hindust’han” (p. 45). In another place Tod describes Boodha as the great progenitor of the Tartars, Chinese, and Hindus, “Boodha (Mercury), the son of Indu (the moon), [a male deity] became the patriarchal and spiritual leader, as F'o in China; Woden and Teutates of the tribes migrating to Europe. Hence it follows that the religion of Boodha must be cceval with the existence of these nations; that it was brought into India Proper by them, and guided them until the schism of Crishna and the Sooryas, worshippers of Bal, in time depressed them, when the Boodha religion was a: into the present mild form, the Jain” (p. 58). § See Prinsep’s Useful Tables, Professor Wilson’s edition of the Vishnu Purana, Sir W. Jones and Colonel Wilford’s articles in Asiatic Researches, vols. ii, and y., and Dr. H. Buchanan’s Hindoo Genealogies. | Menu, book ‘ii., v. 17, 18: Wilson, preface to Vishnu Purana, p.\xvii. q Menu, book ii., v. 19, 20; Elphinstone, vol. 1, p. 388. NATIVE PRINCES MENTIONED IN THE RAMAYANA. 17 deifying great. men after their decease, which gradually crept into Brahminism, Rama, upon his death, was honoured as a god, and his image worshipped, his natural form being declared to have been an incarnation (the seventh) of Vishnu, one of the three persons, or principles, of the Hindoo Trinity. A remarkable passage occurs in the Rama- yana, in which mention is made of certain foreign princes,who were invited by Dasaratha (the father of Rama) to be present at the As- wamedha* or solemn sacrifice of a horse about to be offered up by the aged monarch, to procure from the gods the blessing of male posterity. The names mentioned are the “sovereign of Kasi or Benares, the rajahs of Magadha or Behar, of Sindu and Su- rashta (Sinde and Surat), of Unga and Savira (of which one is conjectured to mean Ava, the other some district situated on the Persian frontier), and, in fine, the princes of the south or the Deccan. Heeren, who cites the above passage from the Ramayana, adds—“ they are represented as the friends, and some of them also as the relations of Dasaratha, by no means however as his vassals. It is therefore evident that the author. of the most ancient Hindoo epic poem considered India to be divided into a number of separate and independent princi- palities.”+ This opinion, however, is not founded cn indisputable grounds, for many of his auxiliaries appear to have stood to Dasaratha in the relation of viceroys, or at least inferior chieftains. The antiquity of the poem is unquestioned ; the author, Val- miki, is said to have been cotemporary with the event he has so ably commemo- rated,{ but we have no means of fixing the date of either poem or poet except as some- where between that of the Vedas and the Maha Bharat, since king Dasaratha is de- scribed, as deeply versed in the precepts of * Aswa is thought to be the etymon of Asia, medha signifies “ to kill.” + Heeren’s Historical Researches, Oxford Transla- tion; 1833: vol. iii., p. 291. : { “Rama preceded Crishna: but as their histo- yians, Valmika and Vyasa, who wrote the events they witnessed [this point is, however, questioned], were cotemporaries, it could not have been by many years.”—(Tod’s Annals of Rajasthan, vol.i., p. 457. § The origin of the Pandon family is involved in fable, invented, evidently, to cover some great dis- grace. According to tradition, Pandoo, whose capi- tal was at Hastinapoora, being childless, his queen, by a charm, enticed the deities from their spheres, and became the mother of Yoodishtra, Bhima, Ar- joona (the famous archer), Nycula, and Sideva. On the death of Pandoo, Yoodishtra, with the aid of tke priesthood, was declared king, although the ille- the Vedas and Vedangas, while on the other hand an epitome of the Ramayana is given in the Maha Bharat. After Rama, sixty princes of his race ruled in succession over his dominions, but as no more mention is made of Ayodha (Oude) it is possible that the kingdom (which was at one time called Coshala) may have merged in another; and that the capital was transferred from Oude to Canouj. The heroic poem, entitled the “ Maha Bharat” or Great War, affords an account of many historical events, in the details of a contest between the lines of Pandoo§ and of Curoo, two branches of the reigning lunar race for the territory of Hastinapoora, supposed to be a place on the Ganges, north-east of Delhi, which still bears the ancient name.|| The rivals are supported by numerous allies, and some from very remote parts. The enumeration of them appears to afford evidence similar to that deducible from the above cited pas- sage of the Ramayana, that there were many distinct states in India among which a con- siderable degree of intercourse and connec- tion was maintained. Not only are princes from the Deccan and the Indus mentioned, as taking part in the struggle, but auxilia- ries are likewise included belonging to na- tions beyond the Indus,. especially the Yavans, a name which most orientalists consider to apply exclusively to the Greeks. The Pandoos are eventually conquerors, but are represented as having paid so dearly for their victory, in the loss of their friends and the destruction of their armies, that the chief survivors quitted their country, and are supposed to have perished among the snows of the Himalaya.** The hero of the poem is Crishna, the great ally of the Pan- doos, who was deified after his death as having been an incarnation of Vishnu, or even Vishnu himself. He was born of the gitimacy of himself and his brothers was asserted by Duryodhanu, the nephew of the deceased sovereign, who, as the representative of the elder branch, re- tained his title as head of the Curoos. For the whole story of the Maha Bharat, and it is a very interesting one, see the Asiatic Researches, and the comments of Tod in the early part of his Annals of Rajasthan. || Elphinstone, vol. i., p. 390. G The Greeks, or Ionians, are descended from Javan, or Yavan, the seventh from Japhet.—(Tod’s Rajasthan, vol. i., p. 51. ** Tod surmises that they did not perish thus, but migrated into the Peloponnesus, and founded the colony of the Heraclide, stated by Volney to have been formed there 1078 years, B.c. See the reason for this conjecture, based chiefly bn the supposition of the Pandoos being the descendants of the Indian Hercules, pp. 48, 51. 18 MAGADHA KINGS TO CHANDRA GUPTA, OR SANDRACOTTUS. royal family of Mattra on the Jumna, but brought up by a herdsman in the neigh- bourhood, who concealed him from the tyrant why sought to slay him. This phase of his life is a very favourite one with the Hindoos, and he is worshipped in an infant form by an extensive sect, as also under the figure of a beautiful youth, in commemoration of the time he spent among the “ gopis” or milkmaids, dancing, sporting, playing on the pipe, and captivating the hearts alike of rural maidens and princesses. Among the numerous exploits of his more mature age was the recovery of his usurped inheritance, whence, being driven by foreign foes, he removed to. Dwarika, in Guzerat, where he founded a principality. He soon however became again involved in civil discord, and, according to Tod, was slain by one of the aboriginal tribes of Bheels. The Maha Bharat describes the sons of Crishna as finally returning to the neighbourhood of the Jumna. The war is supposed to have taken place in the fourteenth century, B.c., about 200 years before the siege of Troy; and the famous and lengthy poem in which it is commemorated is, as before stated, attri- buted to Vyasa, the collector of the Vedas. The princes who succeeded the Pandoos, are variously. stated at from twenty-nine to sixty-four in number; they appear to have transferred the seat of their government to Delhi; but little beyond a name is recorded of any of them. The kings of Magadha or Behar (the line mentioned as cotem- porary with the latter portion of the dy- nasties of the sun and moon), play a more conspicuous part in the Purana records; they afford a connected chain from the war of the Maha Bharat to the fifth century after Christ, and present an appearance of proba- bility, besides receiving striking confirma- tions from various quarters. They are fre- quently referred to in inscriptions sculptured on stone, or engraved on copper plates, conveying grants of land, or charters of privileges and immunities, which are very numerous, and not. only contain the date of the grant, and the name of the prince by whom they were conferred, but in most cases enumerate, also, certain of, his pre- decessors. The first of the Magadha kings, Jara- sandha, is mentioned in the Maha Bharat as the head of a number of petty princes.. The ruling monarch at.the conclusion of the war was Sahadeva ; the thirty-fifth in suc- cession from him was Ajata Satru; and in his reign, according to high authority,* Sakya, or Gotama, the founder of the. Boodha religion flourished, and died about: 550, B.c. This date, if reliable, does good’ service by. fixing the era of Satru; but | other eminent writers consider Boodhism of much earlier origin; and some as coeval with, or even older than Brahminism.t The sixth in succession from Satru was Nanda, who, unlike his long line of regal: ancestors of the Cshatriya, or military class, was born ofa Soodra mother; his ninth sue- cessor, who bore his name, was murdered by Chandra Gupta,t a man of low birth who usurped the throne. This Chandra Gupta-has been, after much research, identi- fied with Sandracottus, the cotemporary of Alexander the Great, and thus a link -had been obtained’ wherewith to connect India with European history, and also with that of other Asiatic nations. The foregoing particulars have been given on strictly In- dian authority, for although much extrane- ous information may be obtained from early foreign writers it is difficult to ascertain how to separate truth from fiction.§ Ac- cording to Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, and Cicero, the first Indian conqueror was Bacchus or Dionysus, afterwards deified, who led an army out of Greece, subdued’ India, taught the inhabitants the use of wine, and built the city of Nysa. The Egyp- tians, who spared no pains to fortify their claim to the highest antiquity and earliest, civilization, and never scrupled to appro- priate. the great deeds of the heroes of other countries, as having been performed by their own rulers, maintained that Osiris, their conqueror, having first added Ethi- opia to his dominions, marched thence to India through Arabia, taught the use of wire, and’ built the city of Nysa. Both these stories evidently refer to the same person; namely, the Indian prince Vaisva- wata Menu; whom Tod, the pains-taking but wildly theoretical Maurice, and, other | writers, affirm to have been no other: than the patriarch Noah. Be this as it: may, one of the most valuable of ancient writers, Diodorus the Sicilian, declares, on the authority of, Indian tradition, that Bacchus (Vaisvawata Menu) belonged to their own: nation, was a lawgiver, built many stately * Elphinstone, vol. i, pp. 209, 261. + See note to page 14. { Chandra Gupta signifies “protected by the moon.” § Justin states that the Scythians conquered a great part of Asia, and penetrated to, Egypt 1,500 years before Ninus, first king of Assyria. INDIAN INVASIONS.—SEMIRAMIS, SESOSTRIS, HERCULES, & CYRUS. 19 cities, instituted divine worship, and erected everywhere courts of justice. The alleged invasions of Semiramis,* Se- sostris,t Hercules,t and Cyrus, are all dgnied by Arrian, except that attributed to Her- cules. Strabo disputes even that, adding that the Persians hired mercenaries from India but never invaded it.§ The whole question respecting the nature of the alleged con- nection existing between India and Persia, is one which scarcely admits a satisfactory explanation. Before the time of Cyrus the Great (the son of King Cambyses, the con- queror of Babylon and the Shepherd whose coming to perform the pleasure of the om- nipotent God of the Hebrews, was foretold by Isaiah) ||, Persia was no more than an * The Assyrian invasion, according to the chrono- 1 logy of Capellus, took place about 1970, A.M. It was planned by Semiramis, the widow of Ninus, who, after consolidating her husband’s Bactrian conquests, resolved to attempt the subjugation of India, being led thereto by the reported fruitfulness of the soil and the riches of its inhabitants. She spent three years in assembling an immense army, drawn from all the provinces of her extensive empire, and caused the shipwrights of Pheenicia, Syria, and Cyprus, to send to the frontier 2,000 ships or large barks, in ieces, so that they might be carried thence to the ndus, and there put in array against the naval force cf the Indians. All things being ready, Semiramis marched from Bactria (Balk) with an army, which it has been well said, “ the Greek historians have, by their relations, rendered less wonderful than incré- dible ;” for they describe it as having consisted of 3,000,000 foot, 500,000 horse, 100,000 war chariots, and 100,000 cainels, a portion of the latter being made to resemble elephants—by means of a frame- work being covered with the skins of oxen; this device being employed to delude the Indians into the belief of the invaders being superior to them | even in this respect. Stabrobates, the king of the | countries bordering the Indus, on receiving intelli- | gence of thé intended invasion, assernbled his troops, | augmented the number of his elephants, caused 4,000 boats to be built of cane (which is not subject to rot, ot to be eaten by worms, evils known to be very prevalent at the present day), to o¢cupy the Indus; and headed his army on the eastern bank, in readi- ness to support them. The attacking fleet being victorious, Stabrobates abandoned his position, leav- ing the enemiy a free passage; and Semiramis, mak- ing a bridge of boats; crossed over with her whole force. The counterfeit elephants, which play an important part in the narrative, were tharched in front, and at first created great alarm; but the eception being revealed by some deserters from the camp, the Indians recovered their Spirits. A fierce coritest ensued, in which the Assyrians had at first the advantage, but were eventually totally over- thrown, and Seniiramis fled, accompanied by a very slender retinue, and escaped with great difficulty to her own dominions. Such is the tale related by Diodorus Siculus; and, however little to be relied on | in many respects, it may at least be cited in testi- mony of the reputation for wealth and civilization ‘inconsiderable kingdom, ufterwards compre- hended in a single province, retaining the ancient name of Fars; but the conquests of the youthful general, on behalf of his uncle and father-in-law, Cyaxares, King of Media, whom he ‘succeeded, enabled him to unite the thrones of Persia and Media, as well as to sway neighbouring and distant states, to an extent which it is at present not easy to define, though it was amply sufficient to form what was termed the Persian empire, 557, B.c. His eastern frontier certainly ‘touched the verge of India; but whether it encroached yet farther, is a matter of doubt, and has been so for centuries. Nor is it even an established point where India itself terminated; for although Elphinstone and ‘enjoyed by India at a very early period. With regard to Semiramis, recent discoveries of, ruins and de- ciphering of inscriptions havé placed her existence as an historical personage beyond a doubt. + The invasion of Sesostris, king of Egypt, a.m. 3023, is alleged to have. been as successful as that of Semiramis had proved disastrous. Desiring to render his subjects a commercial people, he fitted out a fleet of 400 ships in the Arabian Gulf or Red Sea (being the inventor, it is alleged, of ships of war), by means of which all the countries stretching along the Ery- threan or Arabian Seato India were subjugated. Mean- while he led his army through Asia, and being every- where victorious, crossed the Ganges and advanced to the Indian Océan. He spent nine years in this expedition, but exacted no other tokens of submis- sion from the conquered nations than the sending annually of presents to Egypt. Perhaps this story; recorded by Diodorus Siculus, and quoted by Harris and by Robertson (who discredits it), in his Histo- récal Disquisition concerning Ancient India, p. 6, may have originated in the efforts of Sesostris for the extension of commerce; but the success of his plans, whether pursued by warlike or peaceful means, could liave been at best but short-lived, since, after his death the Egyptians relapsed into their previous anti-maritime habits; and centuries élapsed before their diréct trade with India became of importance. ; t The Greek accounts of Hercules having been in India is thought to have arisen from the fact of there having been a native prince of that name, who, according to the Hindoo traditions cited by Diodorus Siculus (who wrote 44, B.C.), was after his death honoured as a god, having in life excelled all mere men in strength and courage; cleared both the sea and land of monsters and wild beasts; founded many cities, the most famous of which was Palibothra, where he built a stately palace strongly fortified, and rendered impregnable by being surrounded by deep trenches, into Whichi he let an adjacent river. When his numerous sons were grown up, he divided India equally among them; and they reigned long and happily, but never engaged in any foreign expe- ditions, or sent forth colonies into distant countries, being content with the resources of their own fertile domains. ; § Arrian’s Indica: Strabo, lib. xv.; Elphinstone, | vol. i., p. 440. " Isaiah ; chap. xliv., v. 28. 20 DARIUS CODOMANUS OF PERSIA PHILIP OF MACEDON—x.c. 337. ' other writers follow Strabo in declaring the Indus, from the mountains to the sea, to have formed its western limit, other autho- rities consider the territory of the Hindoos to have stretched far beyond. Colonel Wil- ford adduces a verse in their Sacred Writ- ings, which prohibits the three upper, or “ twice-born” classes, from crossing the In- dus, but says that they were at liberty to pass to the other side, by going round its source.* Amid so many difficulties and con- tradictory statements, it is only possible to note the points which seem most reasonable and best authenticated. Darius, the son of Hystaspes, was raised to the throne of Persia, B.c. 521, by the seven nobles who conspired against Gomates, the Magian, by whom it had been usurped after the death of Cambyses, the son and successor of Cyrus, whose daughter Atossa he afterwards married. Desiring to know the termination of the Indus, and the state of the adjacent countries, with a view to their conquest, Darius built a fleet at Cas- patyrus, in the territory of Pactyica on that river, which he entrusted to a skilful Greek mariner named Scylax, who fulfilled his in- structions by sailing down the whole length of the Indus, thence coasting to the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, and ascending the Arabian gulf to the port at its northern extremity. The account given by Scylax of the fertility, high cultivation, and dense population of the country through which his route lay, incited Darius at once to attempt its acquisi- tion. By the aid of the Tyrians, who were intimately acquainted with the navigation, he brought a numerous force on the coast, while he himself headed a land attack. According to Dr. Robertson, he subjugated “the districts watered by the Indus ;’+ while Colonel Chesney speaks of his conquests as limited to the “Indian territory westward of the Indus.{” Both appear to rely exclu- sively on the testimony of Herodotus, who states that “the Indians” consented to pay an annual tribute of 360 Eubcean talents of * Asiatic Researches, vol. vi., p. 585. + Dr. Robertson’s Historical Disquisition, p. 12. J Colonel Chesney’s Survey of the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates. London: 1850; vol. ii., p. 180. § Herodotus, lib. iii. and iv. || During the reign of Artaxerxes, the third son of Xerxes (the Ahasuerus of the book of Esther), Ctesias, the king’s physician, and the author of a voluminous history of the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian empires, wrote a book on India, founded upon the accounts he obtained from the Persians. His works are not now extant. though various extracts are to be gold, or a talent a day—the Persian year being then considered to comprise only 360 days. The sum would appear to be over- stated; for a single talent, at the lowest computation, was equal to £3,000 English money ; and even, though India may have then deserved its high reputation as a gold- producing region, this tax would have been very onerous. It is, however, certain, that at this time the force of Persian gold was known and feared by neighbouring states, and had a powerful share in enabling the successors of Darius to keep together the chief part of the widely-scattered dominions, which he displayed great ability in even par- tially consolidating and dividing into satra- pies, or governments; of these his Indian possessions formed the twentieth and last.§ Xerxes, the son and successor of Darius, had a body of Indian troops in his service ; but he discouraged maritime intercourse, considering traffic by land more desirable; and indeed he and his successors are said to have adopted the Babylonian policy of pre- venting invasions by sea, by blocking up the navigation of some of the chief rivers, in- stead of guarding the coast with an efficient naval force. We find but few traces of India|| during the remaining reigns of the Persian mo- narchs, until the time of their last ruler, Darius Codomanus, who succeeded to the sway of a disorganized territory, consisting of numerous provinces, or rather kingdoms, | differing in religion, languages, laws, cus- toms, and interests; and bound together by no tie of a permanent character. A power- ful enemy was at hand, in the neighbouring kingdom of Macedon, which had sprung into importance almost as rapidly as Persia, and in a similar manner, having been raised by the talents of a single individual. Philip had acceded to the government of an ordinary state, weakened by war and dissension; but taking full advantage of the commanding geographical position of the country, and the warlike spirit of its hardy sons, he ren- found in different authors. They are all unfavour- ably commented on, especially that on India, by se- veral Greek writers, who pronounce them fabulous. Plutarch, Aristotle, and even Strabo, notwithstand- ing their severe censures, have, however, not scrupied to borrow from the pages of Ctesias such statements as appeared to them probable; and Diodorus, as well as Herodotus and Athenzus, are said to have drawn largely from the same source. Xenophon, who was personally acquainted with Ctesias, speaks of him with great respect, though differing from many of his opinions. * ALEXANDER CROSSES THE HELLESPONT TO INVADE ASIA. 21 dered it the centre of arts and civilization, second only to Persia in power, and supe- rior even to Persia in infiuence, on account of the state of corruption and exgessive luxury into which that empire had fallen. The free Grecian republics, weakened by strife and division, became for the most part subject to Macedonia, whose ancient consti- tution—a limited monarchy, which it was the interest of the community at large to maintain—proved a source of strength alike in offensive aud defensive warfare. Still Macedonia appears to have been in some sort tributary to Persia; and it.was pos- sibly a dispute on this point which had led Philip to form the hostile intentions he was preparing to carry out, and which Arses, King of Persia, was occupied in endeavour- ing to prevent, when both were suddenly arrested in the midst of their schemes; Philip, who had escaped so many dangers in the battle-field, being stabbed in his own -palace during the bridal festivities of his daughter Cleopatra, by Pausanias,* a Mace- donian youth of rank; and Arses was poi- soned about the same time. The tender age of Alexander was for- gotten in the enthusiasm raised by his manly and powerful eloquence. He assured the assembled Macedonians, previous to the funeral obsequies of his father, that though the name was changed they would find the king remained;—and he: kept his. word, elevating none of his personal friends, but continuing the able statesmen and generals in the positions in which he found them. -By extraordinary address, this youth (for * The motive of Pausanias is variously stated as having been the instigation of the Persian monarch (in which light Alexander chose to view it); a desire to revenge a personal insult; or otherwise, from un- governable passion for Olympias, the mother of Alex- ander.—Sir John Malcolm’s History of Persia, vol. i, p. 54. Justin attributes the deed to the incitement of the vindictive Olympias, who, immediately after her husband’s assassination, caused his youngest wife and child to be put to a cruel death. + Historians agree in describing Darius as amiable and equitable. The tale related by the Persian au- thor, Zeenut-ul-Tuarikh, concerning his message to Alexander, is therefore inconsistent with his cha- racter. According to this writer, Philip had agreed to furnish an annual subsidy of 1,000 eggs-of pure gold. The Persian envoy, sent to demand the tri- bute from his successor, received the jeering reply that “the birds that laid the eggs had flown to the other world.” Darius thereupon despatched an am- bassador, with a bat and ball, as a fit amusement for the youthful monarch, and a bag of very small seed, called gunjud, as an emblem of the innumerable Persian army. Alexander taking the bat, said— “This is my power with which I will strike your E he was but twenty years old (succeeded in stifling the disturbances which followed the catastrophe at home, and in establishing his ascendancy as chief, by the free choice of the majority of the Grecian republics, notwith- standing the unremitting exertions of De- mosthenes and his party. Once firmly seated on the throne, having brought the Illyrian war to a rapid and suc- cessful conclusion and captured Thebes, Alexander made ready for a hazardous con- test with his powerful’ compeer Darius, the successor of Arses; who, previous to his ac- cession to the throne of Persia, had been distinguished for the judicious government of a large tract of country of which he had been satrap (viceroy). Although ‘averse to war,t he had nevertheless distinguished himself in the conduct of military ‘pro- ceedings with hostile nations; and he lost no time in preparing for the threatened invasion. In the spring of the year 334, B.c., Alexander, with very limited resources in his possession, but with the riches of the East in prospect, crossed the Hellespont at the head of a confederated{t army, variously Lestimated at 30,000 to 43,600 infantry, and 5,000 cavalry; and after a severe contest, defeated a Persian army 110,000 strong, ‘who disputed with him the passage of the river Granicus, near Zelia, in Bithynia. In eastern warfare the first victory is of incalculable importance—for the satraps and inferior governors are ever ready to transfer their allegiance to the conqueror, consider- ing that he could be such only by the will of God, to which they are bound to submit. sovereign’s dominion; and this fowl,” pointing to one which had been brought at his command, and rapidly devoured the grain, “shows what a mere morsel his army will prove to mine.” Then, giving the ambassador a ar melon, he desired him to tell Darius what he had heard and seen, and to give him that fruit, the taste of which might indicate the r bitter lot that awaited him.—Malcolm’s Persia, vol.i., p. 55. t The Grecian republics, excepting Lacedemonia, were favourable to Alexander’s proposition of an Asiatic expedition; and his own hopes of success rested upon the jealousy and dissension which he knew existed among the numerous satraps or vice- roys of Damascus, over whom the supreme authority of “the king of kings,” as the Persian monarch was grandiloquently styled, sat lightly enough. The zeal of his officers, to whom rewards, almost princely, were held out in the event of success, and the admir- able discipline of his troops, would, he trusted, pre- vail over the opposing force, and probably cause the defection of the bands of Greek mercenaries employed against him, as well as gain the suffrages of the Greek settlements in Asia, whose release from Persian rule was one of his avowed objects. 22 BATTLE OF ISSUS, IN CILICIA—s.c. 333. The consequence of this brilliant opening must have exceeded the hopes even of the Macedonian, who conducted himself with singular moderation—treating the people everywhere as subjects, not enemies; exact- ing from them no additional tribute to that previously claimed by Darius; and strictly forbidding pillage or massacre. Having ob- tained the “ sinews of war’’ in the treasury of the Persian monarchs at Sardis, through the treachery of Mithrenes, the governor, Alexander proceeded on his brilliant career, until he became master of the whole of Lesser Asia. The possession of Cilicia was the next point necessary to his purpose, as it comprised the most practicable route be- tween Greater and Lesser Asia, as well as the communication with Syria by land and with Greece by sea. The province was gained without difficulty; and Alexander (when recovered from a dangerous fever, which for a time checked his impetuous career) employed himself in securing his position, while Darius was straining every nerve to form an army, which should deci- sively defeat his adversary and re-establish the tottering fabric of the Persian empire. According to Arrian, he increased his Greek mercenaries to 30,000, to whom were joined about 60,000 Asiatics, called Cardacs, trained like the Greeks for close fight, and the middle and light-armed made up a total (including the followers) of 600,000, of whom perhaps 150,000 to 200,000 were fighting men. Darius crossed the Euphrates, and with his immense force covered the plains of Cilicia. After a fierce struggle between the Mace- donian phalanx* and the Persian-Greeks, the powerful monarchs met face to face: Darius, in the centre of the line, in a strik- ing costume, and seated on a splendid chariot drawn by four horses abreast, had been from the first a special object of attack : Sabaces, the satrap of Egypt, and many illustrious Persians, perished by his side, * The famous Macedonian or quadruple phalanx, as it was sometimes called, to mark its division into four parts, consisted of a body of 18,000 men, each defended by helmet, breast-plate, greaves, and the large shield called the aspis, and armed with a long sword and with the famous sarissa, a spear measur- ing four-and-twenty feet. The ordinary depth of the phalanx was sixteen ranks, the best soldiers being placed in the foremost and hindmost ranks, which formed as it were the framework of an engine whose efficiency depended on its compactness and uniformity of movement.—Rev. Connop (now Bishop) Thirlwall’s Greece, vol.vi., p. 147. until his wounded horses became so un- governable among the heaps of slain by which they were hemmed in, that the mo- narch was with difficulty rescued from the mélée, by the valour of his brother Oxathres, and placed in another chariot, in which he fled, hotly but unsuccessfully pursued by Alexander, who had himself been slightly injured in the thigh.+ The loss of the Persians is stated by Arrian at 100,000, including 10,000 horse ; the most valuable part of the baggage had been conveyed to Damascus, but was soon after captured by Parmenio, Alexander’s ablest general, through the treachery of its governor.t Meanwhile the family of Da- rius—his mother, wife,§ and children—fell into the hands of the conqueror, who showed them much personal kindness; but when earnestly solicited to release them at the price of any ransom he might name, haugh- tily replied, that he would listen to that request only if asked in person, and on con- dition of being addressed as king of Asia, and lord of all once possessed by Darius. The insulted monarch had no resource but once more to prepare for war, which he had still ample opportunities of doing with a fair prospect of success, for the troops of the eastern satrapies, including some of the most warlike in his dominions, were on their way towards Babylon, and a few months might again see him at the head of a more nu- merous and more powerful host than that defeated at Issus, and Alexander might yet meet the fate of the younger Cyrus. Nearly two years elapsed before the kingly rivals again met. Meanwhile the conqueror pursued his meteor-like course, astonishing the world by his unequalled daring, yet consolidating his successes as he proceeded, by the consummate and thoroughly con- sistent policy with which he used all things as instruments of his great designs; dili- gently and ably promoting the material wel- fare of subjects (made such by the sword), ¢ Arrian, lib. ii, cap. xii. t A loyal subject, moved with indignation, slew the traitor, and laid his head at the foot of his injured master. § Statira, the beautiful and beloved wife of Darius, died soon afterwards in childbirth, and Alexander caused her to be interred with every mark of honour; his conduct towards her throughout, so different from the usual licentious cruelty of Asiatic con- querors, excited a feeling of lively gratitude in the breast of her ill-fated husband, who never forgot this one redeeming feature in the conduct of his un relenting opponent. TYRE, JERUSALEM AND EGYPT SUBDUED, s.c. 332-1. 23 humouring prejudice, flattering national vanity, rewarding individual service with unbounded munificence, but at the same time violating in every action the throughout utterly unscrupulous as to the amount of suffering he inflicted, whether in subduing patriots to his will, or inflicting signal vengeance on those who, from the purest motives, ventured to oppose him. The island-city of Tyre, after a seven months’ siege, was conquered by him, through the unconscious fulfilment of a scripture pro- phecy, in joining the island to the main, by a causeway 800 yards in length. The Ty- yians defended themselves to the last with unfaltering determination ; and, probably to check all thoughts of capitulation, executed their Macedonian prisoners and cast them into the sea in the sight of the besiegers, who, when their hour of triumph arrived, made this cruel act the excuse for the most unmitigated ferocity. With the exception of the king and some of the principal people, all were involved in a fearful doom; 8,000 perished in the first slaughter, 2,000 pri- soners were crucified by order of Alex- ander, and 30,000 (including a number of foreign residents) were sold into slavery.* Gaza was next subdued: the citizens, to the last man, died in its defence, and their women and children were sold as slaves. Alexander then marched upon Jerusalem, whose high priest Jaddua, had excited his wrath by refusing to violate the fidelity due to the Persian monarch in furnishing the invader with a supply of troops and pro- visions during the siege of Tyre. The Chaldeans and Phoenicians — ancient ene- mies of the Jews—accompanied the con- queror, buoyed up with the hope of sharing in the anticipated plunder, but they were witnesses of a very different result. When the army approached the Holy City, the High Priest, attended by the priests and Levites in their sacerdotal vestments, fol- lowed by a multitude of the inhabitants, decked in white feast-day robes, came out to meet Alexander, who, recognising, as he afterwards declared, in Jaddua, a figure shown to him in a dream at Dios, struck with pious awe, went up to the temple as a worshipper, and sacrificed according to the * Avrian. Curtius, however, states that 15,000 persons were rescued by the Sidonians. + They probably showed him Daniel, chaps. 7 & 8. { Whiston’s Josephus, book xi., chap. viii. § The approach to the harbour of Alexandria was Og - | nised rights of men, and showing himself] Jewish ritual. The priests informed him of his position as the fulfiller of the prophecy of Daniel,t than which nothing could be more gratifying, either to the ambitious ‘designs or superstitious tendencies of Alex- ‘ander, who took his departure, after making /munificent offerings, and bestowing extra~ |ordinary privileges on the Jewish nation. In January, 331, the Greeks penetrated ‘into. Egypt; and the people, whose reli- gious prejudices had been cruelly insulted by their Persian masters, welcomed the }approach of the conciliating conqueror, whose late worship of the God of Israel did not hinder him from sacrificing to their monstrous idols—even to Apis. Sailing }down the western or Canobic arm of the Nile, he proceeded to found the greatest of the many noble cities which bore his name, on a site§ which he saw would render it an }emporium for the commerce of the eastern ‘and, western world; it was colonised with a ‘mixed population of Greeks and Romans— ‘the abolition of the alienating prejudices of race being a marked feature in his mighty |plan for the establishment of an universal empire. After imitating the exploits attributed by Greek legends to his famous predecessors, Hercules and Perseus, braving the bare rocks and burning sands of the Libyan desert, and questioning the oracle of the temple of Ammon, erected in its famed Oasis, he re- turned to Memphis, completed the arrange- ments needful for the peaceable government of Egypt, and proceeded to Tyre, the ap- pointed rendezvous of his fleet and army, to prepare for a final contest with Darius. In the autumn of the same year (331) he crossed the Euphrates, advanced at full speed towards the Tigris, where he had expected to meet the hostile force, but bemg disappointed, rested a few days on the left bank, and then, continuing his march, came up with Darius, whom he found encamped in one of the wide plains between the Tigris and the mountains of Kurdistan, at a village named Gaugamela (the camel’s or dromedary’s house), about twenty miles from the town of Arbela, which gaye its name to the battle. To the last, Darius had endeavoured to make peace with Alexander, offering him the hand ot dangerous; for this reason the famous beacon tower, reckoned among the seven wonders of the world, was built by the first Ptolemy, on a rock near the eastern point of the island of Pharos, and threw a light to a distance, it is said, of nearly forty miles. 24 BATTLE OF ARBELA, 831, B.c.—DEATH OF DARIUS. his daughter, with a dower of 30,000 talents in gold, and intimating even willingness to divide the empire; indeed it was probably the hope of some suck compromise being effected that induced him to allow the Greeks to cross the Euphrates and Tigris unmolested. The numbers of the respective armies would seem to have warranted him in the expectation of being able to dictate rather than solicit peace ; but his munificent terms were not the less unhesitatingly re- jected by the invader, though Parmenio and the Council urged their acceptance. Accord- ing to Arrian, Alexander’s force amounted to no more than 40,000 foot, and 7,000 horse ; but this is evidently exclusive of the Asiatic levies, which there is reason to be- heve he had raised. The Persian army has been variously stated by Curtius, Diodorus Siculus, and others, at from 200,000 to $00,000 infantry, and from 40,000 to 200,000 horse, besides the Indian contingent of 200 war chariots and fifteen elephants, ranged in the centre of the mighty host, near the per- son of the monarch. During the weary night preceding the combat, Darius passed along the line by torch-light, cheering his soldiers, all of whom were, by a mistaken policy, kept continuously under arms, from momen- tary fear of a surprise. The dreaded attempt is said to have been actually suggested by Parmenio to his sovereign after the latter had retired to his tent, but rejected on the ground that it would be alike ignoble and impolitic to steal a victory, instead of gain- ing it by a fair trial of strength. In the morning the battle commenced, and was long and stoutly contested; the Indo-Scy- thian troops being, we are expressly told by Arrian, among the flower of the Persian army, and fighting valiantly to the death. The strife became very intricate, hostile bodies intermingled with each other in fierce combat, and the issue seemed to promise little short of annihilation to both parties, when a circumstance, slight in itself, turned the scale. A dart flung by Alexander, who was on horseback, killed the charioteer of Darius; and the confusion thus occasioned gave rise to the general belief that the king himself was slain. A complete panic en- sued; the Persians fled in irremediable con- fusion, followed by Alexander—who was, however, obliged to renounce the pursuit and return to rescue Parmenio, who com- manded his left wing, from the critical position in which he had been placed by the resistless onset of the Massagetian horse. There is no credible statement of the amount of life sacrificed on this eventful day; for that of Arrian, which records the loss of the Persians at 40,000, and the Greeks at 100, can scarcely be entertained. This contest sealed the downfall of one powerful empire, and crowned the conqueror with the fallen diadem, although the escape of Darius was still felt as affording serious cause for anxiety. After allowing his army a brief revel among the luxuries of Babylon, and drain- ing the treasury of Susa of its vast stores of unwrought ingots and golden darics, Alex- ander proceeded to Persepolis, and though he met with no resistance, suffered the | stately city to be plundered by his soldiers, excepting only its magnificent palace, (which he afterwards set on fire with his own hand,)* and the citadel, which ancient writers agree in stating to have contained the pro- digious sum of 120,000 talents, or more than £27,000,000 sterling.t Four months elapsed before he resumed the pursuit of Darius, who had meanwhile gathered together a small force, and intended to take refuge in the Bactrian satrapy of Bessus ; but this dis- loyal servant, considering his master’s for- tunes desperate, conspired with the satraps of Arachosia and Aria either to kill or to deliver him to the Greeks, according as might best serve their private purpose—the securing independent possession of their satrapies. Alexander, after marching rapidly through Media, had reached a mountain pass called the Caspian Gates, before intelli- gence arrived of the plot; he exclaimed bitterly against the treachery to which his own am- bition had subjected the royal fugitive, and pressed eagerly onwards to his rescue. The conspirators fled before him, and Darius re- solutely refusing to accompany them, was left mortally wounded in his chariot, where his lifeless body was found by Alexander, who buried it with regal honours, provided for the maintenance of Sisygambis (his mother), married his daughter Statira, took charge of the education of his other children, and declared his determination of punishing the assassins. Artabazus, the faithful and long- tried adherent of Darius, then ninety-five years of age, he took into his own service, and evinced his respect for his fidelity by unremitting kindness to him and to his sons. * At the suggestion, it is said, of Thais, an Athe- nian courtesan, made to him when heated with wine. Both Plutarch and Arrian record bis immediate and undisguised regret for the deed. t Quintus Curtius, lib. v., cap.5; Diodorus Sicu: | lus, lib. xvii., cap. 18; Tustin, lib. xi, cap. 14. GREEKS CROSS THE PAROPAMISUS, * AND CAPTURE BACTRIA, 320, 8.c. 25 Bessus finding himself disappointed in his hopes now braved the worst, by boldly as- suming the tiara, and the title of Artaxerxes King of Asia, in defiance of the pretensjons of Alexander, who wished to be considered as the avenger and rightful successor rather than the conqueror of Darius, and to receive even from his Macedonian subjects the spe- cies of adoration offered by the Persians to their king, as a preliminary to the divine honours, to which an oracle had declared him entitled. The Macedonians viewed these pretensions with undisguised aver- sion, and several of his bravest subjects, including Philotas and his father Parmenio, the beloved general of Philip,* became, under different pretences, victims to their opposition to this glaring impiety.t Bar- zaentes, one of the confederates of Bessus, took refuge among the Indians on the bor- der of his eastern satrapy of Arachosia, but was delivered up by them to Alexander, who caused him to be put to death; Sartabar- zanes, another of the traitors (and a double- dyed one, for he had voluntarily sworn alle- giance to the conqueror), was slain in battle, and the arch conspirator Bessus alone remained. He had consulted his personal safety by fleeing across the vast mountain barrier of India, a part of which is there called the Paropamisus,{ trust- ing that the natural difficulties of the coun- try would greatly impede, if not entirely block up, the pursuit of a hostile force. He probably little knew the zeal with which, from very childhood, Alexander had striven for accurate geographical knowledge, eagerly questioning the ambassadors of his father’s court as to the routes they had traversed, or heard of, so as to give the wisest of them some partial insight into the schemes even then passing through his brain. On arriving at the root of the chain, he was probably well acquainted with its general direction, as well as the defiles by which it might be traversed, especially since, during his so- journ in Pheenicia, he had had abundant opportunity of ascertaining the nature of * It is recorded by Plutarch, that Philip once said the Athenians were lucky to be able to find ten gen- erals every year; he, in the course of many years, had only found one, Parmenio. t The famous quarrel in which, during a carousal, Alexander slew his tried friend Cleitas, who had pre- served his life in battle at the risk of his own, arose from the same cause; as did also the execution of Callisthenes, though on the. avowed charge of having incited a conspiracy among the royal pages. t This range (according to Masson) is distinct from the true Indian Cancasus, or. Hindoo Koosh;— the trade with India, and the means by which it was carried on, by land as well as by sea. At the foot of the pass by which he intended crossing, Alexander founded an- other Alexandria (ad Caucasum), where he planted a colony of Macedonian veterans ; then, undeterred by the severity of the yet unexpired winter, he avoided the dangerous period of the melting snows, by commenc- ing his mountain march, which lasted fifteen days, and was rendered arduous and haras- sing, not only from the natural causes of cold and fatigue, but also by scarcity of pro- visions. Bessus had laid waste the whole country between the lower valleys on the northern side, and the left bank of the Oxus, before he passed over with his troops, after which he burned the boats which had conveyed them. Alexander having captured the town and fortress of Aorni, and Bactra the chief city of Bactria (supposed to be the modern Balk), committed the charge of the newly-acquired territory to the venerable Artabazus; then dismissing some of the more infirm, or least willing, of the Mace- donian troops and Thessalian volunteers, he proceeded across a strip of the great desert, which stretches from the Caspian to the high table-land, containing the sources of the Oxus and Jaxartes. On arriving at the former river, no boats or building materials could be procured, and the breadth was little less than 800 yards; but even this obstacle was overcome, and the whole of the troops transported safely over on skins stuffed with straw. The passage being accomplished after six days’ labour, the Greeks pushed across the desert in a northerly direction, but were met by envoys from two of the chief followers of Bessus, who fell a victim to the same treachery he had practised to. wards Darius; and being delivered up by his followers, Spitamenes and others, suffered a cruel and ignominious death.§ The ob- tainment of the avowed object of the expe- dition did not put a stop to Alexander’s progress. According to Plutarch it was about this period that he first entertained the name is derived from “par” and “pam,” signify- ing Atl and flat—the region around consisting of flat-topped hills. § He was publicly stripped and scourged, his nose and ears were cut off, and (according to Curtius and Diodorus) he was eventually surrendered to Oxa- thres and other kinsmen of Darius to be executed; but by some accounts he is represented as having’ been, by order of Alexander himself, torn limb from, limb, by means of two trees, to which he was bound, being first bent and then suffered to spring back.—See. Langhorne’s Plutarch, Life of Alexander ,vol.iv.,p. 186 26 COUNTRY OF TAXILAS, AND SITE OF ITS ANCIENT CAPITAL. the idea of following up his conquests by that of India. He had now reached a de- lightful region of great beauty and exuberant fertility, whose pastures afforded him fresh horses to supply the loss sustained in march- ing through mountains and deserts; thence he advanced to the capital of Sogdiana, called Maracanda, since known as Samar- cand, in whose citadel he placed a Greek garrison. Still proceeding northwards, he founded another Alexandria on the Jaxartes, and was involved in some sharp contests with the Asiatic Scythians, in one of which a body of Macedonian horse were surprised and, slain, and in another he was himself wounded. After repressing disturbances among the Sogdians, on whom he wreaked a cruel vengeance for what he thought fit to call rebellion to his self-constituted autho- rity, he proceeded at the close of 329 to take up his winter quarters at Bactria or Zayiaspa. For the next twelve months he found ample employment in stifling the efforts for independence of the Scythians, Sogdians, and the Bactrians, incited by Spitamenes, the most active and determined enemy he had yet encountered in Asia. This chief’s motive appears to have been dissatisfaction at receiving less reward than he had expected for the surrender of Bessus. By a remarkable retribution he was in turn betrayed by his own troops, who, desirous * Taxila must have been a large and splendid city, but its site is still a matter of dispute. Schlosser places it at Attock, and Rennell at or near the same place. On the route leading thence to Lahore, are the ruins of a very ancient town of unknown name and origin, which is also supposed to have been Taxila. Abundance of Greek and Bactrian coins have been found in the numerous ruins and cupolas or topes which are scattered over the plain on which the present small village of Manikyala stands. One of these topes or tumuli (examined in 1833-34, by Mons. Court, an engineer officer then in the service of Runjeet Sing) was 80 feet high, with a circum- ference of 320 feet, solidly built of well-dressed quarried stones, some of huge size, cemented with lime; while a range of small columns, the capitals ornamented with rams’ heads, surrounded the base. The Hindoos resort to the spot to offer up the first cuttings of the hair of their male children, a custom said to have been prevalent in ancient Greece. There are about fifteen smaller topes near the principal one; and, indeed, similar tumuli abound in different a of Affghanistan, at Cabool, J ellalabad, in the hyber hills, &c. They are generally constructed of sandstone, and of a nummulitic limestone (full of shell impressions), such as is found in the Egyptian pyramids. In one of the topes, which had a height of sixty or seventy feet, a cell was discovered at ten feet from the ground-level, whose four sides corre- sponded with the cardinal points; it was constructed in a sclid manner, and covered with a massive slab of conciliating their powerful foe, cut off the head of their leader, and offered it as their own propitiation. Several of his confede- rates still lived and took refuge in the mountainous region about the upper valleys of the Oxus, with other chiefs who perse- vered in the struggle for liberty. They were not, however, of sufficient importance to detain Alexander any longer in the coun-’ tries where he had already spent nearly two years, and which had been subdued only with much difficulty and large expenditure of blood and treasure, as well as by diplomacy; for example, by his marriage with Roxana, the daughter of Oxyartes, an influential Bactrian chief, he converted a dangerous enemy to a firm friend. Grezx Invaston or Inp1a.—In the spring of 327, Alexander prepared to attempt the conquest of the almost unknown countries bordering and beyond the Indus. The pres- tige of his success, and the generosity with which he treated all who submitted to his sway, induced a native ruler to send a friendly embassy before the army quitted Sogdiana. The name of this prince was recorded by the Greeks (who are unfortunately prover- bial for the manner in which they distorted foreign words to suit their own pronuncia- tion) as Omphis, or Mophis; but he was commonly called Taxiles, from Taxila,* the capital of his country, which lay between containing inscriptions, some resembling the writings of the Rajpoots of the Himalaya, others the Ethio- pian character. In the centre was a copper urn or cylinder, encircled by eight copper medals, (some apparently of the Winged-cap Sassanian dynasty?) with a wrapper of white linen tightly adhering to the surface, which fell into shreds on being exposed to the air. The copper enclosed a silver urn, the in- tervening space being filled with a moist paste, devoid of smell, of the colour of raw umber, in which lay a thread of cotton gathered up into aknot, The silver, from age, had become quite brittle, and crum- bled into bits between the fingers, as the metals found. at Nineveh have since done. Within the silver ves- sel was a much smaller golden one, and seven silver medals with Latin characters. The gold cylinder contained four small, worn, golden coins of the Greco-Seythian, or Greeco-Indian type, but of a far inferior fabrication to the silver ones; there were also two precious stones and four perforated pearls (which had been pendants of ear-rings), fragments of a vitreous nature, and small transparent yellow substances, with decayed organic matter. The country around, as proved by the quantity of ruins of old houses, must have once been very populous. Whether these topes or mounds served for royal mausolea, or Boodhistical shrines, or both, is doubtful : they were possibly the consecrated tombs of kings or of per- sons of distinction. Some curious coincidences are observable between the ancient monuments and the sepulchral tumuli or barrows discovered in Essex ALEXANDER’S CAMPAIGN IN AFFGHANISTAN, 327, s.c. 27 the upper Indus and the Hydaspes (Behut or Jhelum), the westermost of the five great tributaries, from which the whole eastern basin of the Indus, down to their confluepce, is called the Punjaub (five rivers). From Bactria and Sogdiana, as also from the neighbouring Scythian hordes, auxil- jaries were raised to the amount of 79,000 persons, of whom 30,000 were youths, levied to serve at once as hostages and soldiers. Altogether the Greek force (exclusive of a corps of 10,000 infantry and 15,000 cavalry’ left in Bactria, under the command of the satrap Amyzntas) consisted of 120,000 foot. and 15,000 horse. After crossing the Para- pamisan chain, in ten days, (apparently by a different route to that which had been taken in the winter of 329,) through a pass de- scribed by Arrian as “high, narrow, and short,” the troops reached Alexandria ad. Caucasum, and from thence proceeded to a town named Nysa,* whick would appear to have been the same city alleged to have been founded by the Indian Bacchus, or Dionysus. The inhabitants are said to have dexterously turned Alexander’s claim to be considered as a son of Jupiter to advantage by entreat- ing him to spare and protect the ‘city founded by his “celestial brother;” and as. an‘evidence of the truth of their statement, they pointed to the abundance of vines, wild and uncultivated, growing in their valleys, and to the ivy and laurel first planted by the hand of Bacchus, of which the Mace- donians had, until then, seen none since they left Greece. Alexander offered sacrifices in honour of his divine predecessor, and per- mitted Nysa, which is described as an aris- ‘tocratical republic under a discreet ruler named Acuphis, to retain its liberty and laws.t On proceeding to the banks of the river Cophenes, he was met at his own re- quest by Taxiles, and several chiefs from the and other parts of England, which contained, like those of the Punjaub, various'bronze urns, enclosing. fragments of burnt bones, coins, -glass, and even a, ‘similar brown or light yellow liquid or paste. Virgil, also, in the-Hneid (vi, 215), doccrine: the Roman custom of ‘burning the dead; milk, wine, blood, and other munera, supposed to be grateful to the de-. ceased, were poured on or mingled with the ashes, and money was usually added to défray the fee of Charon for ferrying the departed spirit across the Styx. * The locality of the different towns and rivers mentioned by Alexander’s historians, is much con- ‘tested by-modern geographers. The site of Nysa is pointed out by M. Court, at Ashnagur (whose sub- urbs are scattered over with vast ruins of unknown date); that ef Alexandria ad Caucasum is variously placed at Ghuznee and at a place cailed Siggan; while the Cophenes is supposed to denote either the region west of the Indus; they brought him presents, and promised to gratify his desire for trained elephants, by the gift of all they possessed, which, however, amounted only to five-and-twenty. The army was then divided ; one portion, under Hephzstion and Perdiccas, took the direct road to the Indus, with orders there to prepare a bridge of boats for the passage of the main body, which Alexander conducted by a more nor- thern route over difficult mountain paths, to meet the hardy avd warlike tribes, men- tioned by Arrian under the names of the Aspii, the Thryzi, and the Arsei. In a contest with the inhabitants’ of one of the towns, he was wounded, and the Greeks in their rage (having carried the double walls,) gave no quarter, but slaughtered all without | distinction, and reduced the place to ashes. The whole of this campaign in the high lands of Affghanistan was marked by de- termined bravery on the part of the moun- ‘taineers, and sanguinary cruelty on that of the invader, who had no other plan for sub- duing a people, who desired—not.generosity but justice, not to be well governed after his fashion, but to remain independent after their own. In the country of the unoffend- ing Assacenest he behaved with especial barbarity. Having encamped before their capital, Mazagu, he made three determined attacks with battering-engines on different days, during which he was wounded in the leg and arm; the result of a fourth assault was yet doubtful, when the Affghan chief was slain, and the garrison were suffered to capitulate on the condition that 7,000 mer- cenaries from the Punjaub, who had -been ‘engaged in the service of the deceased leader, should join the Greek army. They accordingly marched out and encamped on a hill for the ‘night, but evinced so much reluctance at the thought of fighting against river-formed by the confluence of the Cabool with the Pendjsher, or else the eastern branch of the Hel- ‘mund, now -known as the Yarniuch. The -reader ‘desirous of understanding the ‘grounds upon which ‘these and other opposite opinions rest, will find them ‘fully discussed by the highest Indian authorities ‘in'the pages of the various Asidtic journals, and in the works of Rennell, Vincent, Elphinstone, Vigne, ‘Burnes, Chesney, Masson, Long, &e. + Recorded by Arrian, Quintus Curtius, and Plu- tarch in his Life of Alexander. { Arrian says they had been subject to the Assy- rians, then to the Medes, and subsequently to the ‘Persians. The Ortte are described by the same authority, as a nation whose country extended along the sea-coast for about 150 miles; ‘and who wore ‘the dress and arms of the other Indians, but differed from them in language and manners, 28 AORNUS CAPTURED—THE INDUS CROSSED. their countrymen, that Alexander, suspect- ing them of an intention to desert, caused them to be suddenly surrounded and cut to pieces. He then set at nought the capitu- lation by storming the defenceless city. The strongholds of Ora and Bazira were next reduced, the inhabitants of the latter place fled to a hill-fort on the right bank of the Indus, whose name seems to have been lost by the Greeks in that of Aornus,* a term indicative of its extraordinary height, above the flight of a bird. . Here Hercules was said to have been defeated, and Alex- ander, desirous of excelling the exploits of even fabled heroes, and of proving himself not to be deterred by natural difficulties, pro- ceeded to the attack; passing, it would ap- pear, through the district of Peucelaotis, and taking possession of the chief city, Peucela, whose ruler, Astes, had fallen in the thirty days’ siege of the force under Hepheestion and Perdiccas on their march eastward. Aornus he captured by forming a mound across a hollow of no great depth, but of considerable width, which separated a neighbouring hill from the pyramidical rock itself; thus a vantage-ground was gained to the surprise and terror of the besieged, * Aornus was probably a general name for a stockaded mountain, such as that already mentioned in Bactria, and most likely Hellenized from the Sanscrit Awara, or Awarana, an enclosure. Its position is considered by some authorities to have been a little distance above Attock, while others con- sider it to be found.at Peshawer, in front of the Khyber Pass, and reconcile this opinion with the statement of Arrian and Strabo, that the Indus flowed at the base of Aornus, by declaring that these writers evidently deemed the Cabool river the true Indus. + It seems to have been during his stay at Taxila that Alexander had first the opportunity of gratifying his curiosity respecting the doctrine and practice of the Hindoo ascetics called gymnosophists by the Greeks. At Corinth, struck by the imperturbable stoicism of a man, who had nothing to ask, but that he should stand from betwixt him and the sun, he is reported to have exclaimed, that were he not Alex- ander he would wish to be Diogenes. In India he must have witnessed a far more interesting spectacle. The Greek philosopher had no higher object in his dogged abstinence from the comforts of civilized life than to place himself beyond the reach of what, in his blindness, he called chance or fortune; but the Brahmins sought, by self-inflicted tortures, and un- ceasing exposure to the severe influences of their burning sky, to win by slow degrees a release from mortality, and absorption into the Divine essence. Alexander was utilitarian in all his views; it might therefore be supposed he could have little sympathy with men whom he might have considered as visionary enthusiasts, but he was also extremely superstitious: his great intellect groped in darkness, unenlightened by any ray of revealed truth, which could show him the fundamental error of striving to found a univer- ca], or at least an Asiatic empire, by means of un- who endeavoured to escape at night-fall, but were pursued with great slaughter into the plains beneath. The accounts given by Arrian of the next steps of Alexander’s pro- gress are scarcely reconcileable with those of Diodorus and Curtius; but it appears that he was compelled to return to the moun- tains to suppress insurrection, and that the people fled before him. He despatched his generals, Nearchus and Antiochus, to scour the country towards the north-west, while he himself opened a road, which no army had ever before trodden, to the banks of the Indus, and on his way captured some of the fugitives, who, among other information, told him that their elephants had been left in the thickets on the west side of the river. These animals having been obtained by the aid of native hunters, vessels were con- structed, in which the force dropped down the stream to the bridge prepared for them by Hephezstion and Perdiccas, with the assistance of Taxiles, who came out with his army and elephants to meet Alexander on his arrival at the eastern shore of the Indus, and conducted him with much pomp to his capital.~ Taxiles appears to have been very desirous to obtain the assistance of the limited conquests, gained at a terrible cost of blood, tears, and moral degradation. Still he was no mere conqueror; it was not simply a selfish ambition that | prompted him—far less any brutal, or rather demonia- cal, love of fighting. He ever strove to conciliate ||! strange nations, by respecting their religious obser- | | vances, as the best means of retaining permanent |) dominion over them; and it was probably a high political metive which rendered him solicitous to converse with the Brahmins (or rather Yogees), fifteen of whom were congregated in a grove near the city. The eldest and most honoured, calied by the Greeks, Dandamis, refused either to visit or write to Alexander, declared (according to Strabo) to a total disbelief of his alleged Divine origin, and expressed’ equal indifference to persuasions or threats; gifts he needed not, and he added, alluding to the Hindoo doctrine of metemp- | ‘|: sychosis—“ If he should put me to death, he will _ only release my soul from this old decrepit body, .| |" which will then pass into a freer and purer state; so that I shall suffer nothing by the change.” One of the Yogees, named Sphines, called Calanus by the Greeks was, however, prevailed upon to go to Alex- ander, who, being much pleased with his discourse, = carried him with him throughout his expedition, and . even back to Persia. Calanus was there attacked with illness; and considering it as a summons from above, being then seventy-three years of age, pre- a to terminate his life. Alexander having vainly aboured to dissuade him, moving, was consumed in the sight of the king and the whole army.—(Vide Arrian, Strabo, and Plutarch.) caused a magnificent | funeral pile to be raised, which Calanus, though | weak with pain and illness, ascended with unfalter- | ing resolution, singing hymns of prayer and praise. { He then calmly composed his limbs, and without |-j5 PROGRESS FROM THE INDUS TO THE HYDASPES OR JHELUM. 29 Greeks in carrying on war with a neighbour- ing and powerful prince, whose proper name has not descended to us, but only that of his family, Porus.* Alexander sent a pe- remptory summons, requiring tribute and allegiance, to which the Indian prince replied that he weuld come to the borders of his kingdom to meet the inyader, but it should be in arms. His kinsman, a neighhouring ruler of the same name, whether from jealousy or induced by the munificent pre- sents made to Taxiles, despatched an em- bassy with offers of submission. It is probable that Taxiles received an enlarge- ment of his territory by the annexation of some of the newly-conquered districts on the west of the Indus; but the price paid by him was nothing less than the loss of liberty, since a Greek satrap was appointed for this part of India, and a Greek garrison stationed in his chief city. With forces strengthened by 5,000 Indian recruits, led by Taxiles, Alexander resumed his march in the middle of the year 326; for so it would appear from the statement of Aristobulns, that he expe- rienced the commencement of the summer rains, which are not known to fall in the Punjaub before June or July. On his road to the Hydaspes he was interrupted, in a defile through which his road lay, by a nephew of Porus named Spittacus, or Spi- taces, with a body of troops. These he soon dispersed, and arrived without further oppo- sition on the right bank of the river, where he beheld the hostile army drawn up on the opposite side, the intervening stream being deep, rapid, and, at the time he reached it, probably little less than a mile broad. Al- though well provided with boats, rafts, and floats, Alexander was too prudent to attempt forcing a passage in the face of an equal if not superior enemy, and had therefore re- course to stratagem to disarm the vigilance of his antagonist. After making excursions in various directions, as if uncertain where to attempt crossing, he ordered magazines of provisions to be formed, as if for a long * Tod says that Porus was a corruption of Pooru, the patronymic of a branch of the royal Lunar race Rajast’han, vol. i.); and Rennell states that the pre- decessor of the prince in question reigned in Canoge or Canouj, on the Ganges, which, according to Fe- rishta, was then the capital of all Hindoostan (Me- motr of a Map of Hindoostan, p. 54). The precise spots at which the army encamped upon the Hydaspes, and crossed it, are not ascer- ‘tained. Strabo points out that Alexander marched | as near as possible to the mountains, and this useful indication is considered by Masson to establish his having followed the high road from Attock to F sojourn, and gave out that he intended awaiting the termination of the monsoon, which it is probable he would have really done but for intelligence that auxiliaries were on their way to strengthen the enemy. Night after night, bodies of cavalry rode noisily up or down the right bank, and Porus repeatedly drew up his elephants and proceeded towards the quarter whence the clamaur arose ; until, wearied by false alarms, he paid no attention to the movements upon the opposite shore. Alexander having selected a spot a day’s march distance above the camp,} where the river made a westerly bend, and a thickly-wooded island divided the stream, left a strong division at the first station with orders to remain there until the elephants should be withdrawn from their menacing position, in which case they were to attempt the passage forthwith. The same command was given at the series of posts (horse and foot), stationed between the camp and the place of embarkation. Here preparations were made, under cover of the wood which clothed the projecting bank of the river, the din of axes and hammers, which might otherwise have attracted atten- tion, (notwithstanding the feints previously resorted to) being overpowered by pealing thunder and torrents of rain, that lasted through the night hours, but ceased at day- break. Alexander set out, accompanied by Perdiccas, Lysimachus, and Seleucus, with the flower of the Macedonian cavalry, and the Bactrian, Sogdian, and Scythian aux- iliaries. In passing the wooded island before mentioned, they were first seen by the In- dians, who immediately gave the alarm. The invaders landed, on what they thought to be the river bank, but really on another island, separated from the main by a channel swollen by floads into a formidable stream, which however proved fordable, and the whole division was, after some delay, landed, and drawn up in order of battle. The cav- alry numbered about 5,000, the infantry probably nearly 20,000. Porus, perceiving Jhelum, which probably was then as now the most northerly of the Punjaub routes, and the one almost exclusively practicable during the monsoons. Con- sequently Porus took up his position on the eastern bank of the Jhelum at the point to which he knew Alexander must come, that is near the present vil- lage of that name, in whose locality, the sites of Niceee. and Bucephala, (though on different sides of the river) must be sought for. Rennell places the encampment opposite where the fortress of Rotas afterwards stood; and Vincent (who supposes the wooded island passed by Alexander to_ have been Jamad) about twenty-eight miles below Rotas.. 30 BATTLE BETWEEN ALEXANDER AND THE INDIAN KING PORUS. that Alexander’s tent remained in its place, and that the main body were apparently still at the encampment, regarded his actual approach as a stratagem to tempt him from an advantageous position, and merely sent forward his son or brother Hages with 2,000 horse and 120 war chariots, whom Alexander charged fiercely, with the whole of his cavalry. Hages and some 400 of his followers were slain, and the chariots, which had been with great difficulty brought over ground turned into a swamp by the rains, were all captured. Porus, on learning this disastrous commencement, left a part of his elephants to contest the passage of the Greeks stationed under Craterus at the en- campment, and advanced to the decisive con- flict, with a force (according to Arrian) of 30,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry, and 300 cha- riots. Beyond the swampy ground, near the river, lay an open sandy tract, affording firm footing, and here he awaited Alexander’s approach; his 200 elephants, bearing huge wooden towers, filled with armed men, being drawn up in front of the line, at intervals of a hundred feet, occupied with infantry ; while one-half of the cavalry was posted at each flank, and the chariots (each containing six armed men) in front of them. After a long and quick raarch, Alexander arrived in sight with his cavalry, and halted to allow time for the foot to jom him. Observing the disposition of the enemy, he instantly apprehended the necessity of depriving Porus of the advantage he must obtain from the almost invincible strength of the elephants and chariots when brought to bear in a direct attack, as well as the superior num- bers of the opposing infantry, by a skilful use of the mounted troops, in which his strength lay. An attack on the enemy’s left wing, would, he foresaw, draw the cavalry into action for its protection. Therefore, ordering the horse-bowmen to advance, he followed up the slight disorder caused by their arrows, by charging with the rest of the cavalry ; while the Indian horse from the right being brought up, as foreseen, Coenus, in accord- ance with previous orders, charged them in the rear, and the Macedonian phalanx ad- vanced to take advantage of the confusion that ensued. The engagement became very complex; the elephants hemmed in and maddened by wounds, turned their fury in- discriminately against friend and foe, until many were killed, and the rest, spent with pain and toil, ceased to be formidable. Another general charge of horse and foot was made by the Greeks; the troops of Porus were completely routed, and fled, pur- sued by Craterus and the division from the right bank, who, having by this time effected their passage, engaged with ardour in the san- guinary chase. As is usuai with Alexander’s historians,* his loss is stated at an extremely. small, and that of the enemy, at a proportion. | |: ably large amount. The more moderate statement of Diodorus Siculus, gives the number of the slain on the side of Porus, at 12,000, including two of his sons and great part of his chief officers, besides 9,000 taken prisoners. The loss of the Macedo- nians is given at less than 1,000. himself, mounted on an elephant, to the last directed the movements of his forces; and, although wounded in the shoulder, (his body was defended by a corslet of curious work- manship which was proof against all mis- siles,) would not retire until his troops were hopelessly dispersed ; then he turned his elephant for flight, but, being a conspicuous object, was speedily captured, and carried, while senseless from loss of blood, into the conqueror’s presence. Alexander, who had observed his gallant bearing during a con- flict of seven or eight hours’ duration, asked him how he desired to be treated, but could cbtain no other answer than “as a king ;” and, on observing that “this a king must do for his own sake,” Porus replied that, “nevertheless in that all was included.” The quick perception of character, which was one of Alexander’s distinguishing and most ser- | viceable qualities, taught him that Porus might prove a valuable and trustworthy auxiliary. He reinstated him in royal dignity, added considerably to his dominions, and brought about a reconciliation, in form at least, with Taxiles. On the Hydaspes or Jhelum, the conqueror founded two cities ; one near the field of battle, named Nicza, and another near his landing-place, named Bucephala, in honour of his famous horse, which, having accompanied him thus far, sank from fatigue, wounds, and old age, in the hour of victory. Craterus was left to superintend the building of these cities; and the main body were allowed a month’s rest, probably chiefly on account of the continu- ance of the heavy rains. Alexander himself, with a select division of horse and foot, pur- sued his aggressive march through the rich and populous valleys on the north of the * The details recorded by Arrian, Diodorus Sicu- lus, Quintus Curtius, and Plutarch, vary conside- rably, but the general tenor is the same, Porus | REFUSAL OF GREEK ARMY TO MARCH TO THE GANGES. 31 territory of Porus, to the river Acesines or (Chenab,)* receiving, according to the Greek historians, the submission of thirty-seven cities—none containing less than 5,000 in- habitants,—all of which he annexed to the kingdom of Porus. The younger Porus, called the coward, fled from his dominions, from the fear that the favour shown to his kinsman portended his ruin, and took re- fuge af the court of Nanda, the reigning monarch of the Prachii or Prasii—who swayed nearly the whole of Eastern India. Ambisares, the king or chief of a tribe of mountaineers, and Doxareus, another native rajah or prince are mentioned by Arrian, as tendering their allegiance; the former sent a present of forty elephants. After crossing the Hydraotes (Ravee), Alexander traversed the country of the Catheans to attack San- gala, a city of great strength and impor- tance, which seems to have occupied nearly the same site as the modern capital of the Sikh monarchy, Lahore, on a branch of the Ravee, near the edge of a small lake.t The Cathzans or Catheri, (supposed, by Sanscrit scholars, to be a corruption of Cshatra, a mixed race, sprung from females of the warrior class, and men of inferior cast,) t had confederated with the Malli and Sudrace, or Oxydrace, that is, the people of Moultan and Outch. On approaching Sangala, the Greeks found the Cathzans entrenched on an isolated hill, behind a triple barrier of waggons. Alexander, at the head of the phalanx, forced the three lines, and car- ried the place by storm; but with the loss of 1,200 killed and wounded. This vigorous resistance was revenged by sanguinary car- nage—17,000 of the Cathzans were slain, 70,000 made prisoners, and Sangala razed to the ground. Despatching Porus (who had | arrived during the siege with about 5,000 men) to place garrisons in the Cathean towns, Alexander continued to advance to the south-east, received the submission of two princes, called by the Greeks Sopithes§ and Phegelus, and arrived at the banks of the Hyphasis (Beyah), just above its junc- tion with the Hesudrus (Sutlej). The limit of his eastern progress was at length reached, for, even under his leadership, the weary and home-sick army would pro- ceed no farther. He could have given * Alexander called it Acesines; the ancient native name was Chandrabagha—the moon’s gift. + Burnes, vol. i., p. 156.—Masson does not con- ‘sider the Sangala of Ayrian to have denoted the Indian city of Sagala, whose site is now indicated by that of Lahore, but places it at Hareepah. them, at best, but unsatisfactory grounds of encouragement to continue their course. The narrow boundaries assigned by the geo- graphers of the day to India, and the eastern side of the earth, were manifestly incorrect ; the ocean which he had been taught to be- lieve was separated by no very vast distance from the banks of the Indus, had receded, as he advanced to an immeasurable dis- tance; and he had learned that beyond the Hydaspes a desert, more extensive than any yet encountered, parted the plains of the Punjaub from the region watered by the tributaries of the Ganges—a river superior to the Indus, having on its banks the capi- tal of a great monarchy, that of the Prasii and Gangaride, whose king could bring into the field 200,000 foot, 20,000 horse, and several thousand elephants. The king himself is however represented to have been looked upon as an upstart and a usurper ; and Alexander might probably have hoped to be enabled to carry out his object, by similar divisions among the natives to those which had materially aided him in his par- tial conquest of the Punjaub. The very dangers and difficulties of the attempt were but incitements to one whose object was universal empire—to be attained at the hazard of life itself, which he unhesitatingly imperilled in every battle. With passionate eloquence he reminded the Macedonians that the Hydraotes had already become the limit of their empire, which extended west- ward tothe Aigean Sea, and northward to the river Jaxartes; and he urged them to cross the Hyphasis ; then, having added the rest of Asia to their empire, to descend the Ganges, and sail round Africa to the pillars of Hercules.—(Arrian, lib. v., cap. 25.) Finding this appeal without effect, or at least overborne by the recollection of the ‘fatigues and privations undergone during the preceding campaign in the rainy season, Alexander angrily declared that he should proceed, attended only by those who de- sired to accompany him; the rest might return home, and say that they had forsa- ken their king in the midst of enemies. The silence and deep gloom which pervaded the camp at length convinced Alexander that no considerable portion of the army could be prevailed upon to cross the Hy- t Masson dissents, believing them to have been the Catti, a nomadic Scythian tribe. § According to Arrian, Sopithes submitted in the descent of the fleet from Bucephala, whence three days’ journey brought Alexander to the territory of this prince, where Strabo says there were famous salt 82 DESCENT OF THE INDUS COMMENCED BY ALEXANDER. phasis. He found either a pretext or a reason for yielding to the general wish, in the unfavourable auspices which attended the sacrifices offered for the purpose of con- sulting the gods respecting his future ad- vance; and, after erecting twelve colossal towers or altars, in token of his gratitude for having been brought thus far safe and victorious, and reviving, by horse-races and gymnastic exercises, the drooping spirits of his troops, he conferred on Porus the gov- ernment of the country towards the Hypha- sis,* and commenced retracing his steps. At the Acesines he found the city which Hepheestion had been ordered to build, ready to receive a colony, and there he left the disabled mercenaries, and as many natives of the neighbouring districts, as were willing to join them. At the Hydaspes, he re- paired the injuries caused by floods to Niczea and Bucephala, and was reinforced from Greece by 6,000 horse and 7,000 in- fantry.t The fleet, (comprising 2,000 ves- sels of various kinds, whereof eighty were war galleys, which part of the army had been employed all the summer in construct- ing, while the rest, wanted for transport and provisions, had probably been seized from the people of the country,) was completed and manned, and the command entrusted to Nearchus. Having divided his army into four corps, of which the main body, with about 200 elephants, were to advance along the eastern bank, Alexander himself em- barked, and proceeded without impediment to the confluence of the Hydaspes and Acesines, where, owing to the narrow chan- nel and high banks between which the united rivers were then pent up, rapid and strong eddies were formed, which so asto- nished the sailors as to deprive them of the self-command necessary to fulfil the instruc- tions previously given by the Indian pilots. Several of the long galleys were much shat- tered, two sank with the greater part of their crews, but the shorter and rounder vessels sustained no injury.t A headland on the right bank afforded shelter to the fleet, which Alexander left to undergo the neces- sary repairs, while he proceeded on an inland expedition to the westward against the Seevi or Saivas, a people evidently thus named from their worship of the second member of mines ;—this seems to refer to the Salt range of Pindi Waden Khan. * According to Arrian (lib. vi., cap. 2), by the final arrangement of the affairs of the northern Pun- jeub, Porus gained a fresh addition of territory, the Brahminical Triad, whose symbol they marked upon their cattle. Then, crossing the river, he marched eastward against the Malli and Sudrace, the latter of whom ap. pear from their designation to have been derived from the Soodra casté, while among the former the Brahmins decidedly pre: dominated. They did not intermarry, and had little or no friendly intercourse. The sudden danger which threatened their inde- pendence had driven them to a partial junc- tion, and their aggregate forces are stated at the lowest at 80,000 foot, 10,000 horse, and 700 chariots, but want of unanimity in the choice of a leader had prevented their combination. The Malli especially seem to have relied confidently on the strength of their fortified towns, and on thé natural advantages of their péninsula, which was protected to the north by a desert of con- siderable extent. As it was on this side that they might be expected to feel most secure, Alexander struck across the desert into the heart of the country with a division of light troops, while two separate corps, un- der Hephestion and Ptolemy, traversed it in other directions to intercept the fugitives he might drive before him. By marching day and night, with a very short intermission, he appeared early on the second morning before one of the strongholds, in which, as likely to be last attacked, many of the natives had taken refuge. A great number were surprised unarmed without the walls, many were put to the sword, the rest fled into the town, which, notwithstanding a gallant defence, was speedily stormed, and the people massacred without distinction. The inhabitants of the neighbouring villages forsook them, and some fled to the Hy- draotes, pursued in a forced night march by Alexander, who, on coming up to the ford, made considerable slaughter among those who had not yet crossed, and then, plunging in the stream, pursued the fugitives on the opposite side. Many took refuge in an- other fortified town, which is described by the Greeks as if inhabited by Brahmins only, and these are mentioned as a different race from the Malli, who fled, to them for shelter. Here the most determined resis- tance was offered; when the besieged could no longer defend their walls against the and became lord of (in all) seven nations and 2,000] | cities. + Quintus Curtius, lib. ix., cap. 3. } The chief obstructions appear to have been worn away, for the passage is no longer formidable. ig CONTESTS WITH THE MALLI—ALEXANDER WOUNDED. a superior skill of the assailants, they ré- treated to the citadel, and this being ‘stormed, set fire to their houses; and almost all, to the number of 5,000, perished figpt- ing, cr in the flames. The last memorable contest with the Malli, occurred in the taking of their capital, which Burnes con- siders to be represented by Moultan, but Rennell supposes to have been at Tolumba, nearer the Hydraotes. Having dispersed the hostile army drawn up on the high and steep banks of this river, Alexander en- circled the town -with his cavalry, and the next morning commenced the attack on two sides. The besieged retreated to the citadel, end the king and his troops, cutting their way with the hatchet through a postern, arrived at the foot of the wall. Here Alexander eagerly called for scaling lad- ders, but these, from the supposition that ail resistance was over, had been mostly left behind. Two or three were however brought ; seizing the first, Alexander fixed it himself, mounted and gained the top of the - wall, which it seems was narrow and with- out battlements. The soldiers, alarmed for his safety, crowded after him with such im- patience that the ladders broke with their weight, and Alexander, in his splendid armour, with but three companions, stood a mark for the enemy’s missiles from the nearest towers and the adjacent parts of the fortress. The Macedonians beneath, en- treated him to throw himself into their arms. He hesitated a moment, but to turn his back upon his foes, even under such cir- cumstances as these, was a step he could not bring himself to take; and, probably remembering that his guards would dare a thousand deaths for his rescue, he leapt down into the citadel, and alighting on his feet, took his stand against the wall, shel- tered also by the trunk and spreading boughs of a tree. Here he defended him- self, until joined by his three associates, one of whom (Abreas) speedily received a mortal wound from an arrow, in the face. Almost immediately afterwards another arrow pierced Alexander’s corslet, lodging deep in the right breast ; and, after a short struggle, fainting through loss of blood, he sank upon his shield. His remaining companions, ‘‘Peucestes and Leonnatus, though both | wounded, stood over him until they were * Jt must be remembered that cities, so called, are very easily founded in the east. For this purpose a fort or castle, and walls of brick or mud, marking out the limits of “the Pettah” or town suffice fora alte. 83 joined by their friends, who, by various ex- pedients, (such as driving pegs into the clay walls,) had climbed the top, and forced a gate from the inside, through which num- bers pouréd in, carried off their king, and in their fury slaughtered every man, woman, and child without exception. For some time the conqueror lay in his tent, reduced. to the last extremity by the great loss of blood which followed the extraction of the barbed steel, while deep anxiety prevailed in the camp—inspired partly by true affec- tion, and partly'by fear for themselves, in the event of the death of the only man théy believed capable of leading them back safely through the strange lands they had traversed as victors, At length Alexander rallied ; during his tedious convalescence, such of the Malli and Sudracze as had remained in arms, tendered submission, The envoys consisted of above 100 of their chief men; they were persons of lofty stature and bear- ing, all rode in chariots, were clad in linen robes embroidered with purple and gold, and bore magnificent presents. According to Curtius, a tribute of the same amount as they had previously paid the Arachosians was imposed upon them; and a thousand of their bravest warriors were demanded as hostages, or, if they were willing, to serve in the Greek army. These were immedi- ately sent, together with 500 chariots as a free gift, and, among other rarities, several tamed lions and tigers. Alexander, pleased with their readiness, accepted the chariots and sent back the hostages. At the con- fluence of the Acesines with the Indus, he ordered a city,* with docks and arsenals, to be constructed ; and sailed down the latter river to the chief place of a people, called, by the Greeks, Sudracee or Sogdi. Here he planted a colony; changed the name to Alexandria, built an arsenal, refitted a part of his fleet, and, proceeding southward, en- tered the rich and fertile territories of a powerful ruler, whose real name has been apparently perverted into that of Musi- canus. This prince proffered allegiance, which Alexander accepted, but ordered a fortress to be built in his capital, which was occupied by a Macedonian garrison ; thence, marching to the. westward, he advanced against a chief, spoken of under the name of Oxycanus, or Porticanus, who was con- commencement, and population soon follows, brought either by compulsion or attracted by the natural ad- vantages of the site, to erect there the mud hovels which form their ordinary dwellings. 34 EXPLORATION OF THE MOUTH OF THE INDUS—z.c. 3825. sidered to have held himself suspiciously aloof, and stormed two of his cities—in one of which, Oxycanus was himself taken or slain; upon this all the other towns sub- mitted without resistance. In the adjacent high-lands, a chief, called Sambus, whose territory is now known as Sinde, fled from his capital (according to Arrian) at the ap- proach of the invader; who took possession of his elephants and treasure, and proceeded to capture a town which ventured to oppose him, at the instigation of some Brahmins, whom he slew. The same influence, during Alexander’s absence, had been exerted in the court of Musicanus, and he revolted, in an evil hour, for himself and his country: Being taken prisoner he was crucified with the leading Brahmins, and the chief towns razed to the ground, or subjected to the stern surveillance of foreign garrisons. The submission of the king of Pattala, named or entitled Mceris, whose rule ex- tended over the Delta of the Indus, com- pleted Alexander’s command of that river. At Pattala, (thought to be now represented either by Tatta or Allore,) he immediately prepared to fortify a citadel, form a harbour, and build docks sufficient for a large fleet, and likewise to dig wells in the neighbouring districts, where there was great scarcity of water, to render the country habitable, and suitable for the passage of troops or tra- vellers. According to a modern writer, (Droysen,) Alexander’s object in so doing was nothing less than to facilitate the com- munication between Pattala and the east of India, and to open it for caravans from the countries on the Ganges and from the Dec- can; but even supposing him to have obtained sufficient geographical knowledge for the formation of this plan, he had no present means of executing it, and must have con- tented himself meanwhile in surveying the mouths and delta of the Indus, and taking measures for the establishment of com- mercial intercourse with the West. With a squadron of fast sailing galleys he prepared to explore the western branch of the river to the sea; but the voyage proved disastrous, the native pilots brought from Pattala made their escape, and on the second day a violent gale meeting a rapid current of the Indus, caused a swell in which most of the galleys were severely injured and many went to pieces. While the shipwrights were engaged in repairing this misfortune a few light troops were sent up the country in search of pilots, who being obtained, con- ducted Alexander safely almost to the mouth, when the wind blew so hard from the sea, that he took refuge in a canal (nullah) pointed out by them. Here the Macedonians, first beheld the phenomenon called the “ Bore,” and witnessed with extreme consternation the sudden rush of a vast volume of water from the ocean up the river-channel, with such violence as to shatter the galleys not previously firmly imbedded in the mud. After again refitting, the fleet was moored at an island named Cilluta, but Alexander, |: with the best sailors, proceeded to another isle, which lay beyond in the ocean. Here he offered sacrifices to various deities; then, |’ putting out in the open sea, to satisfy him- |, self that no land lay within view to the southward, he celebrated different rites in honour of the sea-god Neptune, whose pro- per realm he had now entered. The victims, and the golden vessels in which the libations had been offered, having been thrown into the deep, he rejoined the squadron, and re- turned by the same arm of the Indus to Pattala. The navigation of the rivers had employed about nine months; and nearly four appear | to have been spent in and near Pattala. It was toward the end of August 325 B.c.,* when the preparations were completed for the departure of the fleet and army from the Indus; the former, under Nearchus the Cretan, being destined to undertake a voy- |- age of discovery to the Persian Gulf; the latter, under Alexander, to march along the coast—an enterprise of little less danger, in which, according to tradition, the armies f || Semiramis and Cyrus had perished almost to a man. Of the real difficulties of the route Alexander had probably but a vague conception, but he was incited to encounter them, by a desire to provide for the exigen- cies of the fleet, and to explore and consoli- date a portion of the empire which he had hitherto at most but nominally subjected. The force of either armament is not re- corded. On invading India it would ap- pear the army had consisted of 120,000 men, and while there had received rein- forcements ;~ allowing therefore for the numbers lost or left behind in garrisons and colonies, and for the division previously | sent from Pattala under Craterus, (through Arachosia to Carmania,) probably, at least | _ * Dr. Vincent in his Voyage of Nearchus, vol. i. p. 180, fixes the time of departure at a year earlier, but I have preferred following Thirlwall’s reading or rather correction of Arrian’s chronology. a te yas on ee aaa HOMEWARD ROUTES OF ALEXANDER AND NEARCHUS. 35 50,000 remained under the immediate com- mand of the king. Respecting the squadron under Nearchus, we have no other guide than the list of the thirty-three galleys be- fore referred to as equipped on the Hyddt- pes; many of these were fitted out by in- dividuals at their own cost, for it would appear that at that period the finances of their leader were at a very low ebb, pro- bably owing to the unbounded munificence with which he lavished upon his friends what he had acquired by the sword. Some weeks had yet to elapse before the trade- winds would set in from the north-east, and so become favourable to the voyage. The departure of the army was not however de- layed on this account, and Alexander set out on his return to the West, leaving the admiral and fleet to follow at leisure. His route need be here but briefly noticed. Crossing the chain of mountains which descends west of the Indus from the Paro- pamisus to the sea, he entered a region sur- rounded on three sides by lofty ranges, tra- versed by a river called the Arabius, (Poor- allee or river of Sonmeany,) which separated the territory of two independent tribes—the Arabite and Orite, the former of whom fled to the adjacent desert, but the-latter, who were more civilised and their lands better cultivated, offered a formidable resist- ance, fighting desperately with poisoned arrows. Their country was however overrun by the cavalry ; and, in what seems to have been the largest of the villages in which they lived, named Rambacia, Alexander planted a colony. Thence advancing through a difficult pass in the western mountains, he arrived at about the begin- ning of October in the wild barren region of Gedrosia, the southern Mekran; the whole coast of which as far as Cape Jask, is called by the Greeks, the land of the Ichthyoplagi or Fish-eaters. The heat, though beginniag to subside, was stil] ex- cessive ; the troops generally moved during the night, but often at daybreak were obliged to prolong their weary march under a burning sun, until they should reach the next watering-place. Yet their road seems to have seldom diverged more than two or three days’ journey from the sea —being frequently within sight of it—with- out crossing any part of the Great Sandy Desert, bounded by the mountains of southern Mekran; except perhaps for a short distance near the confines of Gedrosia and Carmania (Kerman). In the latter fruitful* and well-watered province, Alex- ander was soon after his arrival joined by Craterus and his division, and all anxiety respecting Nearchus was subsequently dis- pelled by tidings that the admiral had landed on the coast within five days’ march of the camp. He had been compelled by the hostility of the natives at Pattala, to start before the proper season had arrived ; and, though he waited four-and-twenty days on the Arabite coast, three of his vessels were afterwards lost in the adverse monsoon. On the coast of the Oriteet he met Leonnatus, who had been left in Rambacia to furnish him with a ten days’ supply of corn, and who had been meanwhile engaged in a sharp conflict with the natives. Nearchus does not appear to have lighted on any of the magazines stored at various points by Alexander for his use; but, after manifold |. hardships and perils from the dangers of an unknown sea, the barrenness of the. coast, the hostility of the people, and the despondency of his own crews, he at length with the aid of a Gedrosian pilot reached the mouth of the Persian Gulf, and eventually landed near the mouth of the river Anamis (Ibrahim), not far to the west of the island of Ormuz. These happy events were celebrated by a solemn festival and triumphal procession—enlivened, as usual, by gymnastic games, musical and poetical contests, which probably gave rise to the idea of the march through Carmania having been one continued Bacchanalian revel. The king urged Nearchus to allow some other officer to conduct the fleet to the mouth of the Tigris and not expose himself to further danger and fatigue; but he would not consent to let another complete his glo- rious expedition, and rejoined the squadron with orders to meet Alexander at Susa. As it was winter the main body of the army proceeded thither along the Persian Gulf where the climate was mild, and Alexander with some light troops and cavalry took the upper road through Persepolis. At Susa we take leave of this great man; his career so far as India was concerned was quite ended, indeed life itself was fast ebbing away. In the spring of 323 3.c., in the second year after his return .to Babylon, while planning a fresh capital for his Asiatic empire, he caught a fever in the Mesopo. tamian marshes, and this disorder being in- creased by one of the drinking matches * Strabo says the grapes hung in clusters three feet long. + See note to page 27. 36 DEATH OF ALEXANDER, 38.c 323.—STATE OF THE HINDOOS. which disgraced his court, abruptly termi- nated an eventful career at thirty-two years of age, the solace of his last days being to hear Nearchus relate “the story of his voyage, and all that was most observa- ble with respect to the ocean.”* The long and sanguinary contests which ensued among his generals,—commencing while his body lay unembalmed and ending not until the majority of those disputants themselves, as well as all of his kin, (including his half- brother and successor Arridzeus, his wives Statira and Roxana, his posthumons son Alexander, and his beloved though wicked and intriguing mother Olympias,) had fallen victims to the treacherous plots formed by the majority of them against each other— have no place in these pages. The history and triumphs of Alexander have been nar- rated at some length, for the sake of show- ing the manner in which he was led on, first by the pursuit of Darius, and after- wards of. Bessus, to Bactria and to the verge of India. His progress is no mere matter of antiquarian research,+ but exer- cises an important bearing on the political question of the present time, respecting the possible advance of an European army through central Asia to the Indus, or via Syria, the Euphrates, and the Persian Gulf, to the shores of the Indian Ocean; a sub- ject which will be discussed when examining the motives of the British incursions into Afghanistan, in 1839-40. In the history of the civilized world, the epoch of Alexander would ever be memora- ble were it only for his exploits in India, * Langhorne’s Translation of Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, p. 218 ; + It may be here well to observe, that in the fore- going brief sketch of Alexander’s march, written for general readers, no attempt has been made to enter upon the discussion of the disputed localities at which he conquered or founded cities. One such point would involve as much,space as ean here be devoted to the whole march—at least, if the varying opinions of the several authorities ancient and modern, were to be fairly and fully stated. I have, therefore (with some slight exceptions), merely given the probable sites, leaving the reader to prosecute further inquiries in the pages of the oriental scholars already repeatedly named. It is greatly to be re- gretted that the works of none of the primary his- torians have descended to us, save some fragments preserved by their successors. Of these last, Arrian, who wrote in the early part of the second century B.C., is recognized as the most trustworthy, though his bald outline contrasts forcibly with the more highly-coloured pictures of Quintus Curtius, who seems to have flinged Alexander’s campaigns with much diligence. Strabo also is a most valuable authority on this as on other geographical questions. since by them this great country was first | placed as it were within reach, and some firm ground afforded to European geogra- phers whereon to set foot in future investi. gations. The Greek historians though often contradictory, and censurable in many re. spects, have yet recorded much valuable information respecting the Indians (as they term the Hindoos), the accuracy of which js attested by the ancient records revealed to us by the labours of oriental students, and further by the striking resemblance which their descriptions bear, even after the lapse of two thousand years, to the existing. cha, racteristics of the inhabitants of the coun, tries then visited. Thus Arrian, whose account of Ancient India is unquestionably |. the most to be relied on of any now extant, |'|: notices among other points the slender form of the Hindoos, the classes or sects into which they were divided, and the pro- hibition of intermarriage, widow burning, | perpetuation of trades in families, vegetable | ' diet, faces streaked with colours, men wear- ing earrings, veils covering the head and shoulders, parti-coloured shoes, umbrellas earried only over principal personages, cot- | ton manufactures of great fineness and |: whiteness, two-handed swords, and other matters. The people appear to have been extraordinarily numerous, and to have made considerable progress in the arts of civilised life. Their bravery was strikingly manifest ; and it is remarkable, that notwithstanding the numbers recorded as having fallen in their engagement with Alexander, are as usual incredibly greater on their side than Yet the loss of the writings of Baton or Biton the om authorised recorder of the marches, is irreparable, | (especially when we consider the importance attached by Alexander to accurate geographical information) as also those of the first Ptolemy, and of Apol- lodorus the famed historian of Bactria, No conclu- sive opinion can be formed regarding the knowledge possessed by the Hindoos of this invasion, until we are better acquainted with the records still stored up and hidden from usin various places. ‘Thus, the literary treasures of the libraries of Patan (a city in Rajpootana) of Jessulmer (a town north-west ot Joudpore) Cambay, and the Thibetian monasteries remain to be explored, as also many other valuable MS. collections, including those of the travelling Jain and Boodhist bishops. According to Tod and other writers, Alexander is known in India under the name of Escander Dhulearnein (two-horned), in allusion to his dominions in what they considered the eastern and western extremities of the earth. The rajahs of Chittoor are also said to boast of de- scent from the sovereign termed Porus who opposed the Macedonian conqueror. } In the country of Taxiles, but only however as an exceptional instance. INTERCOURSE BETWEEN SELEUCUS AND CHANDRA GUPTA. 37 his; yet he lost a larger proportion of troops in battle with them than had previously fallen in the Persian war. The office of the husbandman was invariably held sacred among the Hindoos, he was never @is- turbed in his labours, and to root up or wilfully injure growing crops was a breach of a recognised natural law no native prince would have ventured to commit. On the whole the impression of the Indian charac- ter left on the mind of the Greeks was de- cidedly favourable; the people were described as sober, moderate, peaceable, singularly truthful, averse to slavery in any form, and attached to liberal municipal institutions. The productions of India had by tedious routes (which it will be necessary to point out in a subsequent section, when depicting the present state of their commerce), long found a ready market in Europe. The de- sire for them now increased tenfold. The foresight of Alexander was fully vindicated by the rapidity with which the Egyptian Alexandria began, under the first Ptolemy, to receive and pour forth its full tide of wealth; and Babylon also became a great emporium. His characteristic policy* in freeing the Euphrates and Tigris from the physical impediments to navigation placed by a weak restrictive government, shattered the fetters which had long bound the enter- prising spirit of trade in these countries, and enabled it to find vent in the passage opened up with India, both by sea and land. The cities or military stations placed near the Indus soon languished, for the Europeans left there by the king, on hear- ing of his death hastened to escape from what they had from the first considered no better than hopeless exile. But commerce had received a powerful stimulus, and cotton ‘and silk manufactures, ivory, gems richly set, costly gums, pepper and cinnamon, dyes and drugs, were poured rapidly into Europe in return for the precious metals,+ which entered India in coins of many forms (now vainly sought for by antiquarians), and were there melted down to be shaped into idols, or to deck unhallowed shrines, and be thus stored up to an incalculable extent, to gorge eventually the avarice of the ruthless Mussulmans of a later age. * Alexander’s conquests were intended, as has been repeatedly stated, as a means of carrying out his vast commercial schemes. He hoped out of war to bring peace; and one of his favourite plans to promote this ultimate object was, the founding of several new cities in Asia and in Europe, the former to be peopled with Europeans, and the latter with a Taz Greek to tHe Monammenpan Inva- stions.—The king of the Prasii (as the Greeks termed the Prachi or East) at the time of Alexander’s campaign in the Pun- jaub, was the last Nanda, who, as has been shown, both Greek and Hindoo writers agree in describing as of low birth. He was slain by his successor, Chandra Gupta, or San- dracottus, about 310, B.c., who appears to have spent a short time when a youth in the. Macedonian camp, whence he fled to avoid the wrath of Alexander, which he had roused in some unexplained manner. Chandra Gupta was king when Seleucus, to whom in the division of power Syria and the Bactrian and Indian satrapries had fallen, proceeded to claim the sovereignty, though at first under the name of the governorship of these territories. He marched in person to reduce the local authorities to obedience, and flushed with victory proceeded at the head of a considerable force to India, B.c. 308. The brief and conflicting accounts of his progress which have descended to us, indicate that he ‘advanced even to the Ganges, but was deterred from warlike pro- ceedings, either by the necessity of turning back with his strength unimpaired to defend another portion of his dominions attacked by Antigonus, or else by the formidable array drawn out against him by Chandra Gupta, who had previously greatly extended and consolidated his kingdom. The result appears to have been that Seleucus made over to the Hindoo sovereign, not only all the country conquered by Alexander eastward of the Indus, but also that to the westward as far as the river Aradius; while Chandra Gupta on his part acknowledged this con- cession by a present of 500 war chariots. How far Porus and Taxiles, or their succes- sors, were consulted in this proceeding, or how they aeted, is not stated; but in their conduct immediately after the king’s death, they showed themselves faithful and much at- tached to the Greeks. A family connection is alleged to have been formed between Seleucus and Chandra Gupta, by the marriage of a daughter of the former with the latter, (who being a Soodra might marry as he pleased ;) and it is certain that friendly intercourse ex- isted between them, an ambassador named Asiatics, so that “ by intermarriages and exchange of good offices the inhabitants of those two great con- tinents might be gradually moulded into a similarity of sentiments, and become attached to each other with mutual affection.”—(Diod. Sic., lib. xviii., c. 4.) {+ Pliny, writing in the first century of the Chris- tian era, complains that Rome was exhausted by a 38 Megasthenes having been sent to Palibothra, the capital of the Prasii, where he resided many years. It is further stated that the Hindoo monarch had Greek mercenaries n his service, and placed Greek governors in some of his provinces; that during his reign the foreigners were much respected, but afterwards brought general odium upon their nation throughout Western India by their treacherous and cruel rapacity. Their language must have spread and taken root in the land—for according to Masson, one of our best authorities on this head, “ there is suf- ficient testimony that the Greek language was studied and well known by the fashion- able and higher classes during the first and second centuries of the Christian Era.” The embassy of Dimachus to the son and successor of Chandra Gupta (called Allitro- chidas by the Greek writers), is the last transaction recorded between Syrian and Indian monarchs, until the lapse of about 80 years, when Antiochus the Great, after the close of his war with the revolted pro- vinces of Bactria and Parthia, entered India, and made peace with a king named Sophra- gasenus (supposed to be Asoca), after exact- ing from him elephants and money. The descriptions given by Megasthenes,* who had the best means of judging correctly on the subjects of which he wrote, are cal- culated to convey a high opinion of the wealth and power of the kingdom generally, but especially of Palibothra.t Yet, ac- cording to this writer, India comprised no less than 118 independent states; but this however he only gives on hearsay, and, sup- posing the number to be unexaggerated, we cannot tell how small the territories may have been which this enumeration included, drain equal to £400,000 per annum, required for the purchase of luxuries—the produce of India, Seres, and Arabia; and Robertson, writing in 1791, says— “India, from the age of Pliny to the present time, has been always considered and execrated as a gulf which swallows up the wealth of every other country, that flows incessantly towards it, and from which it never returns.”—(Historical Disquisition, p. 203.) Since the commencement of the present century, the | golden current has changed its course, and flowed with increasing volume from Hindoostan to Britain, not, however, by the channel of commerce merely, but of compulsory tribute, to an extent and in a manner which will be subsequently shown. * Megasthenes wrote many works, of which only scattered fragments have been preserved. His dis- position to exaggerate, and undue love of the mar- vellous, were urged as reasons for this neglect; but it is to be doubted whether the critics were always competent judges of what they rejected. As it is, enough remains to testify, in connection with exist- RECENTLY DECIPHERED EDICTS OF ASOCA. The Soodra successors of Chandra Gupta certainly exceeded him in power—and in the hyperbolical language of the Puranas, are said to have brought the “ whole earth under one umbrella.”{ Asoca, the greatest of that line, exercised command over the states to the north of the Nerbudda river; and the edicts§ graven on columns at remote points prove not merely the extent of his dominions but also the civilized character of his government, since they include orders for the establishment of hospitals and dis- pensaries throughout his empire, as well as for planting trees and digging wells along the public highways. And this too was to be done, not only in Asoca’s own pro- vinces, but also in others occupied by “the faithful,” (meaning the Boodhists, of whom this king was the great patron), “even as far as Tambapanni; (Taprobane, or Ceylon,)” and “moreover within the do- | minions of Antiochus the Greek [Antiochia |: Yona Raja] of which Antiochus’s generals are the rulers.” An edict found on a rock, | | and from its shattered state only partially | legible, expresses exultation at the ex- tension of the doctrines of Asoca (?) Pryadarsi (especially with regard to sparing | ' the life of animals, which however is not a Boodhist tenet) in foreign countries; and contains a fragment translated thus :— “and the Greek king besides, by whom the chapta (?) kings Turamayo, Gongakena, and | | Maga.’’|| Turamayo was considered by the | late Mr. James Prinsep to denote Ptolemy |" Philadelphus, who had a brother named ‘a Magas, married to a daughter of Antiochus | | I., which would establish that the Antiochug,| | referred to in the edict previously quoted, was either the first or the second of that ing Hindoo records, ruins, and inscriptions, that, the writer was a keen observer, and a valuable witness, | | although occasionally led into the narration of | | fables, or at least gross exaggerations. “ye + Palibothra was described by Megasthenes as being eight miles long, and one and-a-half broad, defended by a deep ditch, and a high rampart, with 570 towers and 64 gates. Its site is placed by Ren- nell at Patna, by D’Anville at lishabai, and by Wilford at Raj-mehal. ; } Wilson’s Hindoo Theatre, vol. iii., p. 14. § Similar mandates are inscribed on a rock on Girnar, a mountain in Guzerat; and on a rock at Dhauli in Cuttack on the opposite side of India. They were deciphered by Mr. Prinsep, and are writ- | |< ten in Pali, the dialect in which the sacred books | |" of the Boodhists are composed. || At Kapur di Ghari, the entire edict exists, in the Arian language, the word translated by Prinsep “ Chapta” is there “ chatare,” four, Gongakena reads Antakana and Maga, Maka.—Masson. a INTERCOURSE BETWEEN INDIA AND CHINA—FIFTH CENTURY. 39 name; that is, either the son or grandson of Seleucus. It is remarkable that Asoca, in his youth, was governor of Oojein or Malwa, which must therefore have been possessed by his father. The reigning family was succeeded by three other Soodra | dynasties, the last of which, the Andras, acceded to power about the beginning of our era; and, according to two Puranas, terminated in Pulimat or Pulomarchish, 4.D. 436. By a curious coincidence, the Chinese annals* translated by De Guignes, notice in a.p. 408, the arrival of ambassa- dors from the Indian prince, Yue-gnai, King of Kia-pi-li, evidently Capili (the birth-place of Boodha or, according to Colonel Sykes, the seventh Boodha, Sukydartuun’), which the Chinese have put for all Magadha. Yue-gnai again bears some resemblance to Yaj-nasri, or Yajna, the king actually on the throne of the Andras at the period re- ferred to. A confused enumeration of dynasties succeed, with little attempt at historical order, from which a foreign in- vasion, followed by a long period of disorder, has been inferred, though perhaps not on sufficient grounds. At length, after an interval of several centuries, Magadha is spoken of as subject to the Gupta kings of Canouj, and from that period is no more distinctly noticed; but its fame has been preserved, from its having been, as before mentioned, the birth-place of Boodha, and from its language (Magadhi, or Pali) being * Chi-fa-Hian, a Chinese Boodhist priest, visited India at the beginning of the fifth century, on a pil- grimage to the chief seats of the religion of Boodha, where he spent six years. His travels have been translated from the Chinese by M. Remusat. The Boodhisticai religion, according to his account, had then suffered a serious and irreparable decline at Mathura and in the eastern districts of Hindoostan ; and the Brahminical faith was in the ascendant. Temples and towers of past ages still existed, but the population had disappeared, and the country was in many such places a wilderness. Rajagriha, the abode of Jarasandha, the first of the Magadha kings, and the ancient capital, then exhibited the ruins of a large city, of which traces were still visible to Dr. Buchanan, in 1807-1814. The palace of Asoca, or A-yu, at Patali-pootra, or Kusuma-pura, built of stone, was entire when seen by Fa-Hian, and presented such superior specimens of sculpture and engraving, that they were ascribed to superhuman architects— genii, who laboured for the patron of Fo. The city of Ni-li, built in the neighbourhood by Asoca, was embellished by a handsome column, surmounted by a lion. Other columns, with lion capitals, were seen in different places. Central India is spoken of as under the government of one king; the cities and towns large, the people rich, charitable, and just in their actions, but given to discussion. In the month of May (the birth-day of Sakya-muni) four-wheeled employed in the writings of that extensively diffused religion, as well as in those of the Jains. The claim of universal monarchy in India, is found advanced in records and inscriptions, not only by princes of the Magadha dynasty, but also by those of Cashmere, of Delhi, Canouj, Bengal, Malwa, Guzerat, and other places; but the evidence cited in favour of their respective claims, is pretty generally deemed insufficient, and is frequently contradictory. To attempt re- ducing the histories of these kingdoms and their pretensions into form, would be a long and tedious task; which, even if suc- cessfully accomplished, could have little interest for the general reader, for at best, it would be but like arranging the scattered fragments of a child’s puzzle, of which the chief pieces are wanting. At a future but perhaps not distant day, the patient and able research already so successfully directed to the study of oriental literature, may enable us to decide upon many points now involved. in numberless difficulties and to draw a correct picture of India, without the dan- ger, at present inevitable, of giving undue prominence to events of minor interest; and omitting altogether many important features. Before passing entirely from the subject of the condition of India between the time of Alexander and the Mohammedan era, it is, however, necessary to add a few remarks on the chief kingdoms of Hindoostan and the Deccan, so as to afford the reader cars were drawn about the streets; they had each a building of five stages which looked like a tower, were ornamented with gold, silver, coloured glass, and embroidery, and hung with carpets and white felt, adorned with painted figures of the celestial divinities ; on the summits were a figure of Boodha. This was a season of great festivity, the streets were filled with people who flocked in from the neigh- bouring country; there were theatrical representa- tions, feats of the athlete, concerts of music and nightly illuminations; hospitals were opened for the sick, cripples, and orphans, who were solaced and relieved by the representatives of the different chiefs. At Magadha the priest sat himself down in a monastery for three years to study the sacred lan- guage and copy the MSS. Bengal then carried on extensive maritime traffic with the south-west regions and other places. Fa Hian took a passage ina large trading ship to Ceylon, which he reached (during the north-west monsoon) in fourteen days; thence he sailed for Java in a Hindoo ship, with 200 people, provisioned for ninety days. Altogether the travels of this intélligent Chinese abound in curious infor- mation; they corroborate the accounts of cities, and of the manners and customs of their inhabitants, given by native writers, and prove the Hindoos were then merchants, and even navigators on a consider- able scale.—(Abstracted from notes on Ancient India. By Colonel Sykes. London, 1841; p. 6 to 76.) 40 KINGDOMS OF INDIA DURING THE DARK AGES. some slight clue to their relative impor- tance, antiquity, and position.* That of Bengal is mentioned in the Maha Bharat, and the Ayeen Akbery con- tinues the succession through five dynasties up to the Mohammedan conquest. These lists are to some extent supported by the inscriptions found in various places, which among other matters refer to a series of princes with names ending in Pala, who reigned apparently from the ninth to the latter part of the eleventh century, and are asserted to have ruled all India from the Himalaya to Cape Comorin, and from the Brahmapootra to and even beyond the Indus. They are also asserted to have sub- dued Tibet. The dynasty of Pala was suc- ceeded by one whose names ended in Sena, and this last was subverted by the Moham- medans about a.p. 1203. The kingdom of Malwa is far less ancient than those already mentioned. Its famous monarch, Vicramaditya, is the Haroun al Raschid of Hindoo tales, of which a great number have been collated by the inde- fatigable zeal of Colonel Wilford. He is said to have passed the early part of his life among holy men in austere seclusion, and even when arrived at regal power, to have eschewed all pomp, using utensils of earth rather than of gold, and sleeping on a mat instead of a bed. There is reason to believe that this hero of romance was really a pow- erful monarch and conqueror, who ruled a civilised and prosperous country, extended his sway over the Deccan and even over Cabool, and was a distinguished patron of literature. Oojein became populous on account of the great image of Maha-Cali, or Time, which he erected there; but he himself worshipped only one invisible God. He was slain, 56 B.c., in old age, in battle with Salivahana, aprinceof the Deccan, who will be subsequently referred to; and his death formed the commencement of an era, which is still current among the * The authorities mainly relied on being the valu- able summary contained in Elphinstone’s India, vol.i., pp. 388 to 425; the Ayeen Akbery ; Brigg’s transla- tion of Ferishta; Todd’s Rajast’han; and Grant Duff’s History of the Mahrattas. + Vincent’s translation of the Periplis, p. 111. t{ Malcolm’s Persia, vol. i., p. 112.—* The coun- tries beyond the Oxus, as far as Ferghana, all those to the Indus, some provinces of India, and the finest districts of Arabia, acknowledged the sway of the mighty monarch of Persia.” Sir John adds that the emperors of China and India sent presents, the description of which reads more like a chapter from the Arabian Nights than the page of even a Persian historian. Among the gifts of the first potentate countries northward of the Nerbudda. It is of Vicramaditya that the traditions of uni- versal empire are most common in India. A long period of anarchy ensued in Malwa upon this abrupt conclusion of his able gov- ernment. The next epoch is that of the re- nowned Rajah Bhoja; whose reign of forty years terminated about the end of the eleventh century. His grandson was taken prisoner, and his country conquered by the Rajah of Guzerat ; but Malwa soon reco- vered its independence, which was finally destroyed by the Mohammedans, a.p. 1281. |: In Guzerat, from its having been the re- |’ sidence of Crishna, and other circumstances, . an early principality would appear to have existed ; and the whole is spoken of as un- der one dominion, by a Greek writer of the second century.t Colonel Tod mentions | another principality, founded at Ballabi, in the peninsula of Guzerat, in the middle of the second century, B.c., by an emigrant of the Solar race, which reigned in Oude. This dynasty was expelled in 524, by an army of barbarians, variously conjectured to have | been Parthians, Persians of the Sassanian |, dynasty, and Indo-Bactrians. The second |: supposition is probably correct, as Sir Join |. Malcolm asserts on the authority of various |* Persian writers, that Nousheerwan, who | | reigned at or about this period, carried his victorious arms into India; but that the tri- bute, which was the fruit of his conquest, | | was after his death no longer paid to his | degenerate son“*and successor.t Another Rajpoot tribe, called the Chauras, succeeded | |i to the rule of Guzerat, and finally estab- | | lished their capital in a.p. 746, at Anhal-* wara, now Pattan. Failing Chaura, in a.p.. 931, through the death of the last rajah without male issue, the succession devolved on his son-in-law, a prince of the Rajpoot tribe of Salonka ; whose family were chiefs of Callian, in the Deccan, above the Ghauts. The kingdom was absorbed by the Mussul- | was the image of a panther, the body covered with pearls, and the eyes formed of rubies; a wonderful robe, the border of which was of celestial blue, while the centre was occupied by a representation of the king himself, clothed in his royal robes, and sur- rounded by his attendants; and lastly, enclosed in the same golden box as the robe Was a female figure, the beauty of the face veiled by long tresses, and “ overpowering as a flash of day during a dark night.” The Indian offerings were a thousand pounds’ weight of aloe-wood, a vase filled with pearls, [© and formed of one precious stone, on which was engraven the figures of a maiden seven hands in height, and of a lion; anda carpet made of a set- pent’s skin, delicately fine and exquisitely tinted. Res: = ecto e a —____— * CANOUJ, CASHMERE, DELHI, BENARES, SINDE, THE PUNJAUB. 41 man conquests of 1297. Canouj, in early times, was called Panchala, and seems to have been a long but narrow territory, ex- tending on the east of Nepaul (which it in- cluded) ; and on the west, along the Chun» bul and Bunnass as far as Ajmeer. Notwith- standing the notice it has attracted as one of the most ancient, wealthy, and magnifi- cent places in India, its early history is very little known.* Its wars with the neighbour- ing state of Delhi contributed to accelerate the ruin of Hindoo independence; and it was conquered by the Mussulmans in 1193. Cashmere is asserted, by its historians, to have existed 2,600 years B.c. Its last monarch was subdued by Mahmood, a.p. 1015. Its an- nals, as before stated, have been written care- fully and at length; and placed within reach of the British public by Professor Wilson. Dethi is first named in the Maha Bharat; it was governed by a Rajpoot line, whose last prince was dethroned, a.p. 1050, by an ancestor of the Prithwi Rajah, conquered by the Mussulmans, a.p. 1192. The earliest mention of Benares is found in the same poem; and its independence terminated contemporaneously with that of Delhi. Mithilt existed in Rama’s time, and was the capital of his father-in-law, Sita. It was famous for a school of law, and gave its name to one of the chief Indian lan- guages. Gour, named in the Maha Bharat, seems to have lasted up to about a.p. 1231. Sinde, referred to in the same record, was independent in the time of Alexander (325 B.c.); and was finally conquered by the Mo- hammedans. Mewar, Jessulmer, and Jeipur, founded respectively in a.p. 720, 731, and 967, still exist as distinct states. Ajmeer is traced back by Tod, for seven generations before a.p. 695; it fell at the same time as Delhi. The Punjaud can hardly be spoken of as a distinct kingdom, since it appears to have been generally broken up into various small states; but from a very remote time a great city is thought to have existed near Lahore,} though under a different name. Our insight into the history of the Deccan commences, for the most part, at a much later date than that of Himdoostan. The five distinct languages—Tamul, Canarese, Telugu, Mahratta, and Urya, are considered to denote an equal number of early na- tional divisions, the first-mentioned indicating * The Pala dynasty at Canouj are thought to have displaced as paramount rulers in India, the Gupta dynasty of Prayaga and Delhi. Prayaga or Allaha- bad, the ancient Gupta capital, contains a column the most ancient, viz., the country of Dravira, which occupied the extreme south of the peninsula; the earliest colonists from Hin- doostan haying traversed the bleak plateaux of the upper Deccan, and settled down on the fruitful plains of the Carnatic and-Tanjore. The kingdom of Pandya was formed about the fifth century. In the time of the “ Pe- riplis” it comprehended a part of the Malabar coast; but it was usually pounded by the Ghauts to the westward, and occupied only the territory now known as the dis- tricts of Madura and Tinivelly. The seat of government was at Madura, in Ptolemy’s time, and remained there until about a cen- tury ago. The last prince was conquered by the nabob of Arcot,in 1736. The neighbour- ing kingdom of Chola was at one time of considerable extent, its princes having, it is supposed, about the middle of the eighth century, possessed large portions of Carnata and Telingana. Their sway was greatly diminished in the twelfth century, being re- duced to the limits of the Dravira country. Chola lost its separate existence about the end of the seventeenth century. The capital was, for the most part, at Conjeveram, west of Madras. Chera comprehended Travan- core, part of Malabar, and Coimbatore, and seems to have existed about the commence- mencement of our era. It was subverted in the tenth century, and its lands portioned among the surrounding states. Kerala included Malabar and Carnara. About the first or second century of the Christian era a colony of Brahmins from Hindoostan settled here, divided the country into sixty-four districts, and governed it by means of a general assembly of their cast ; renting allotments to men of the inferior classes. The executive government was held by a Brahmin elected every three years, and assisted by a council of four of the same tribe; but in the course of time, a chief of the military class was appointed. The northern division appears to have been ruled by a dynasty of its own till the twelfth century, when it was overturned by the Be- lala rajahs; and subsequently became sub- ject to the rajahs of Vijayanagar. The Concan, in early times, was a wild forest tract (as great part of it still remains), thinly inhabited by Mahrattas. Carnata seems to have been originally with an een of Samadras Gupta’s, which has been translated by Mr. Prinsep. + When the Pala princes held Canouj, members of the family ruled at Lahore, and thence extended 42 ANCIENT DIVISIONS OF THE DECCAN, CARNATA, ORISSA, &e. divided between the Pandya and Chera princes and those of Carnara (the northern half of Kerala). It was afterwards par- titioned among many petty princes, until the middle of the 11th century, when one considerable dynasty arose—the family of Belala—who were, or pretended to be, Raj- poots* of the Yadoo branch, and whose power at one time extended over the whole of Carnata, together with Malabar, the Tamul country, and part of Telingana. They were subverted by the Mussulmans about a.p. 1810. The eastern part of Te- lingana appears to have been, from the be- ginning of the ninth to nearly the end of the eleventh century, in the hands of an obscure dynasty known by the name of Yadava. A Rajpoot family of the Chalukya tribe reigned at Callian, on the borders of Carnata and Maharashta. They are traced by inscrip- tions, from the tenth to the end of the twelfth century ; are supposed to have possessed the whole of Maharashta to the Nerbudda,t and even to have been superior lords of the west of Telingana.t The last king was deposed by his minister, who was in turn assassinated by some fanatics of the Lingayet sect, which was then rising into notice, and the kingdom fell into the hands of the Ya- doos of Deogiri (Doulatabad). Another branch of the Chalukya tribe ruled over Calinga, the eastern portion of Telingana, which extends along the sea from Dravira to Orissa, The dynasty perhaps began about the tenth century, and certainly lasted through the whole of the twelfth and thir- teenth; it was greatly reduced by the Gana- pati kings of Andra, and finally subverted by the rajahs of Cuttack. _ Andra is the name of all the inland part of the Telingana country, the capital being at Varangul, about eighty miles north-east of Hyderabad. Its kings, Vicrama and Sali- vahana, alleged to have been connected with the Andra race in Magadha, are among the earliest mentioned. After them, ac- cording to local records, the Chola rajahs succeeded ; then a race called Yavans,§ who reigned from 515, a.p., till 953; next came the family of Ganapati, who attained great their sway to Cabool, where they remained up to the time of Sultan Mahmood, the then rajah being named _ Jaya Pala.— Masson. * “Some of the Hindoos assert that the tribes of Brahmin and Kshetry [Cshatriya] existed from time immemorial, but that the Rajpoots are a modern tribe, ouly known since the beginning of the Kulyoog (Cali Yuga, A.M. 3215.) The rajahs, not satisfied with their married wives, had frequently children by power about the end of the thirteenth cen- tury, and are even affirmed to have possessed the whole of the peninsula south of the Godavery. In 1332 the capital was taken ‘by a Mohammedan army from Delhi, and the state merged at length in the Mussul- man kingdom of Golconda. The history. of Orissa, like all others in the Deccan, begins with princes mentioned in the Maha Bharat, describes in a very con- fused manner the successive occupation of the country by Vicramaditya and Sali- vahana, and the repeated invasions of Ya- vans from Delhi, from a country called Babul (supposed to mean Persia), from Cashmere and from Sinde, between the sixth century before, and the fourth after, Christ. The last invasion was from the sea, and in it the Yavans were successful, and kept possession of Orissa for 146 years, being expelled, a.p. 473, by Yayati Kesari. This point is thought — to be the first established, for the traditions regarding the Yavans cannot be satisfactorily explained. The natives suppose them to have been Mussulmans, but the first Arab invasion was not till the seventh century after Christ. Others apply the story to Seleucus, or to the Bactrian Greeks 3 while Masson suggests the possibility of the people of Yava or Java being meant. The Kesari family lasted till a.p. 1131, when their capital was taken by a prince of the house of Ganga Vansa ; his heirs were supplanted by a Rajpoot dynasty, of the Sun or Surya race. The government having fallen into confusion about 1550, was seized on by a Telingu chief, and ultimately annexed to the Mogul empire by Akber, in 1578. The greatest internal prosperity and improve- ih ment seems to have been enjoyed towards | |, the end of the twelfth century ; but during several years before and after that date, the people of Orissa claim to have made exten- sive conquests, especially to the south. In the middle of the fifteenth century the gov- ernment of Orissa sent armies ‘as far as Conjeveram, near Madras; and about the same time their rajah advanced to the neigh- bourhood of Bidr to assist the Hindoo princes of those parts against the Mohammedans. their female slaves, who, although not legitimate successors to the throne, were styled Rajpoots, or the children of the rajahs.”—(Briggs’ Translation of Ferishta.—Introduction, p. Ixiii.). t Vide Mr. Walter Elliot’s contributions to Jour- nal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 1v., p. 1. { Wilson, Introd. to Mackenzie papers, Pp. cxxix, § The country north of Peshawer was anciently called Yava, perhaps these Yavans came thence. ence ANCIENT STATE OF MAHARASHTA OR MAHRATTA COUNTRY. 7 43 Maharashta or the Mahratta country, though situated on the frontier of the Deccan, and of great size, if we may judge from the wide extent over which the lan- guage bearing that name is spoken, is on vaguely noticed in early records. After the legends regarding Rama, whose retreat was near the source of the Godavery, the first fact mentioned is the existence of Tagara, which was frequented by Egyptian mer- chants 250 years B.c. It is alluded to in inscriptions, as a celebrated place in the twelfth century, and is still well known by name. It is mentioned by the author of the “ Periplés,”* but in such a manner as to certify little more respecting its site than that it lay about 100 miles to the eastward of Paitan, on the Godavery. Grant Duff supposes it to have been somewhat to the north-east of the modern town of Bheer.t It is said to have been a very great city, and one of the two principal marts of Dachana- bades, a country so called from Dachan, which in the “ Periplis” is stated to be the native word for south. The other mart was named Plithana.t Tagara, wherever situated, became the capital of a line of kings of the Rajpoot family of Silar. The reign of their most famous monarch, Salivahana, gave rise to a new era, commencing a.p. 77. He is stated to have been the son of a potter, and to have headed an insurrection which over- turned the existing government (whatever it might have been), and removed the capital to Prutesthan or Paitan, on the Godavery. From this period nothing is known of the history of Maharashta (except by the in- scriptions of the petty princes of Callian and Pernala) till the beginning of the twelfth century: a family of Yadoos then became rajahs of Deogiri, and continued to reign until 1317, when the country, which had been previously invaded by the Mohammedans from Delhi, was finally subjugated. About this time the Mussulman writers begin to mention the Mahrattas by name ; before they had been noticed only as mhabitants ‘of the Deccan. Our information regard- * The “Periplis [deseriptian of the Erythrean . Sea,” is the title of a Greek work, issued in 1533, from the printing-press of Froben, at Basle. It con- “|. tains the best account extant of the commerce car- ' yied on from the Erythrean or Red Sea and the coast of Africa, to the East Indies, during the time that Egypt was a Roman province. Dr. Vincent, the learned Dean o* Westminster, who, in 1800, wrote | ( an, elaborate treatise, in two vols., 4to., to elucidate a translation of the “ Periplis,” says—“I have never been able to discover from what manuscript the work was first edited;” neither could he ascertain ing their early attainments so utterly fails to elucidate the testimony which the famous cave temples of Ellora and elsewhere, bear to the capabilities and numbers of the people by whom such mighty works were planned and executed, that, notwithstanding the use- ful labours of their historian (Grant Duff) ,we may believe there is yet much to be learned respecting them, probably a very interesting portion of their existence as a nation. Re- cently they have played a prominent but deso- lating and destructive part, which has drawn from the pen of a modern writer a denunci- ation of “those southern Goths, the Mah- rattas.”—(Tod’s Rajasthan. Introduction.) Concerning the social condition of the inhabitants of Hindoostan and the Deccan during these dark middle ages, we have certainly not sufficient data on which to. found any general conclusions, except those which may be deduced from the edicts of such exemplary monarchs as Asoca—unhap- pily rare in all countries—and other col- lateral evidence. Our present information divides itself into two classes; and comes either through the channel of poetry, that is, of history travestied into fable; or else through the medium of Brahmin or Bood- ‘hist priests:.it must consequently be well ‘searched and sifted before it can be relied ‘on as unbiassed by political motive or sec- tarian prejudice. But search and sift as we may, little light is thrown on the condi- ‘tion of the people, nor probably ever will be, ‘at least in the sense given to that phrase in ‘the present era of European and American ‘civilization. The states noticed in the fore- going sketch would each one of them afford /matter for a volume, full of wars, usurpa- ‘tions, change of dynasty, and, above all, ex- tension of dominion ; all this resting on local |records, and reading on smoothly enough ; ‘but much of it entirely incompatible with ‘the equally cherished traditions of neigh- ‘bouring states. The code of Menu is per- ‘haps an exception to this censure, but the ‘uncertainty attached to the epoch at which it was written, and the extent to which its the name of the author, generally supposed to be Arrian the historian, but who, in his opinion, must | have lived a century before. There is internal evi- dence, according to the Dean, that the writer was a | Greek, a merchant of Alexandria, and that he ac- tually made a voyage on board the fleet from Egypt as far as the Gulf of Cambay, if not to Ceylon.— See Vincent, vol. ii.) + History of the. Mahrattas, vol. i.,.p. 25. t Elphinstone conjectures Plithana to be a mis- take of the Greek copyist for Paithana or Paitan. The word occurs but once in the “ Periplis.” 44 EARLY CIVILIZATION, RELIGION AND LAWS OF THE urNDoos. | institutes were ever observed, greatly im- pairs its value. The first objection applies also to the Ramayana and Maha Bharat. Thus much perhaps may be reasonably inferred, from the concurrent testimony of Hindoo and foreign records, of inscriptions, and much incidental evidence of various kinds—that, at a period long antecedent to the Christian era, and while the natives of Britain were nude, nomadic savages, the people of India had attained a high position in arts, science, literature, and commerce, and lived under the hereditary rule of their own kings or rajahs ; the evils attendant on the otherwise irresponsible power of a patri- archal and despotic ruler being probably ccunterbalanced by the respective rights of the chiefs of the sacred, and of the warrior casts, but ‘still more by the municipal insti- tutions which seem to have been general throughout the country. In many smaller states the government appears to have been a sort of oligarchical republic. The manners and customs of the Hindoos, the influence of cast, and the changes gradually brought about by Mussulman and British conquerors, will, if space permit, be specially though briefly narrated in another section. Between the time of Menu and the Mohammedan epoch, the religious and social habits of the people had sadly deteriorated. Their belief in an omnipresent or “all-pervasive’ God had gradually been warped by perverted but plausible reasoning, into a belief that be- cause God was in everything, therefore any- thing might be worshipped, not simply as His representative, but actually as Himself. Be- ginning probably with those glorious natural objects of the Sabzean heresy, the sun, moon, and stars, they had at length become so de- graded as to fall down before images of wood and stone, and had lost sight almost wholly of their original doctrine of an indivisible triad, by ignoring Brahma (the creating prin- ciple) and according to Vishnu (the preserv- ing) or Saiva (the destroying),* a paramount place in the pantheon of hero-gods, sacred animals, and grotesque, or often (to Euro- pean eyes) immodest figures, which gradually arose, and swallowed up in the darkness of heathenism the rays of light which pos- sibly shone upon the earliest of the Hindoo race in the patriarchal age. Their religious observances involved a tedious and almost * These are mythologically represented as having wives, namely, Seraswati or Devi, Lakshmi or Bha- vani, and Parvati or Durga, considered metaphysi- cally as the active powers,which develop’ the prin- ciple represented by each member of the triad. impracticable ritual, with abstinence from . many things which in the christian dispen: |, sations are treated as harmless—but the | character of Brahmin and also of Boodhist |: teaching, generally distinct, was alike in being, with some great and glaring excep. tions, merciful and even comparatively moral, | The laws of the Hindoos, especially for civil judicature, have been eulogized by Sir W. Jones, Munro, and other authorities, |: though severely criticised by Mill, who on this subject was prejudiced, and in fact pos- sessed but a small part of the information since revealed. The equal partitionment of: property, and the consequent disability of willing away land or money, has been much canvassed as to its effect in preventing the accumulation or improvement of possessions. It undoubtedly stimulated the dedication of large sums to religious, charitable, or public purposes; to the building of temples, of ‘choultries or houses of refreshment for tra- vellers,’ and to the formation of tanks and | canals—most necessary works in a land where such means, under Providence, can alone * prevent hundreds, nay thousands, not only of | cattle, but of human beings, from perishing?} by the maddening pangs of thirst, or in the |’ more prolonged agonies of hunger, when the |: parched earth, gaping in deep chasms, plainly. |: bids man, if he would be sustained by her | | increase, use the energy and ability with which God has blessed him, to supply as best he can, the want of kindly dew and rain, to renew her strength and fertility. The position of women was decidedly supe- rior to that of the weaker sex in almost any other ancient nation, with regard to the hereditary laws of property: they were, if unmarried, to receive portions out of their brothers’ allotments. Menu ordains that whoever accosts a woman shall do so by the title of “sister,” and that way must be made for her, even as for the aged, for a priest, for a prince, or a bridegroom; and in his text on the laws of hospitality he enjoins | that “ pregnant women, brides and damsels, shall have food before all the other guests.” The seclusion and ignorance to which females are now subjected had their origin in the like Mohammedan custom. Formerly they were taught to read and write, they were the ornament and delight of the social circle; and historic or traditionary annals abound in records of their virtuous and noble deeds. Suttee or widow-burning; infanticide; the carrying out of the sick, when deemed past recovery ; suicide under the same or different pike eS e ASTRONOMY, GEOMETRY, ALGEBRA, AND CHRONOLOGY. 45 circumstances, including immolation be- neath the car of Juggernaut and self- inflicted tortures are almost entirely inno- vations which gradually crept in: Jugger- naut.especially—being of quite modern date. The extent of scientific knowledge acquired by the Hindoos and the date of its attain- ment, is a source of endless discussion; yet the subject is too important to be wholly passed over, even in this intermediate stage of their history. _In astronomy, much merit is assigned them by Cassini, Bailly, and Playfair, who assert that a considerable degree of progress had been made 8,000 years before the Christian era, as evidenced by observa- tions still extant. La Place, De Lam- bre, and others dispute the authenticity of these observations, but all agree in ad- mitting agreat antiquity. Mr. Bentley, who has examined the ealculations very minutely, and is one of the most strenuous opponents of the claims of the Hindoos, pronounces their division of the Ecliptic into twenty- seven lunar mansions, to have been made B.c. 1442. Mr. Elphinstone is of opinion that the Indian observations could not have commenced at a later period than the fif- teenth century, B.c., or one or two centuries before the first mention of astronomy in Greece. In the fifth century the Brahmins discussed the diurnal revolution of the earth on its axis, and they were more cor- rect than Ptolemy in their notions regard- ing the precession of the Equinoxes. In an Indian work (the Surya Sidhanta) to which the date of the fifth or sixth century is generally assigned, a system of frigono- metry is laid down which involves theorems that were not known in Europe until the sixteenth century. Geometry was probably studied long previous to the date of the above book, as exemplified in the demonstrations of various properties of triangles, the pro- *“Mr. Colebrooke has fully established that algebra had attained the highest perfection it ever reached in India before it was known to the Arabians, and, indeed, before the first dawn of the culture of the sciences among that people.”—(Hl- phinstone, vol. i., p. 250). ' + The Samaritan is the most ancient of the orien- . tal versions of the Scriptures, but its exact age is unascertained; it contains only the Pentateuch. { The anonymous writer of a Key to the Chrono- logy of the Hindoos, whose opinions are set forth in 2 vols. 8vo., printed at Cambridge in 1820; under- takes to convince his readers that “the Hindoo dates correspond with the Hebrew texts of our Scriptures, and that they date the Zotos or creation 8,817 years from the present time, which is only six H portion of the radius to the circumference of the circle, and other problems. The in- vention of decimal notation is ascribed to the Hindoos, who, even itt algebra, so early as the sixth century,* under a celebrated teacher, (Brahma Gupta,) excelled all their cotemporaries, not merely in propounding problems, but in its application to astrono- mical investigations and geometrical demon- strations. Their chronology has long been a stumbling-block (see p. 15), but it is never- theless considered by several critical in- quirers to admit of satisfactory explanation by means of astronomical and arithmetical calculations. Megasthenes expressly declares that the Indians and the Jews were the only nations possessed of a rational chronology, and that they agreed. Mr. Masson remarks, on this statement,—“ when I look at the enormous sums given of millions of years elapsed during the three first yugas, and ask how can they be reconciled with the dictum of Megasthenes, I call to mind a verse somewhere in Menu, which tells us that a year of a mortal is but a day with the gods, and conceit that these large num- bers have been calculated on some such base as there suggested—just as in the Hebrew Prophets, Daniel, &c., periods are ex- pressed by days, weeks, &c.—only in these, multiplication is needful, and with the Hin- doos division.” In the private letter from which I have ventured to quote the preced- ing passage, Mr. Masson adds, that by the use of the multiple 360 and the divisor nine (the sacred number of the Tartars and other nations), the Hindoo statement can be made to agree with that found in one (? the Samaritant+ version) of the Scriptures within a single year.[ And he considers that the system of Indian chronology was framed in some manner intelligible to the initiated,§ by whom the sacred writings were solely, or at least particularly, intended tc years from the true period, according to the best calculations we have, and only two years according to the vulgar era of Christ, am. 4004.” In an elaborate disquisition he contends that the com- mencement of the fourth historical age, Cali yuga, “is correctly placed at B.C. 3182;” the three pre- vious ages “contain a period of 900 years only; and by adding 900 years to the current year of the fourth, or Cali age, we get the true epoch of creation, according to all oriental chronology.” The year of the world is computed by the Greek church at B.C. 5509; by the Abyssinian church, 5492; by the Jews, 3760. The Bible chronology gives it as 4004 B.c. § It is stated in the “ Key” that some European suggested to Sir W. Jones an explanation by cutting the ciphers off the numerals. 4 46 GEOGRAPHY, MEDICINE, LANGUAGES, AND LITERATURE. be read, the Brahmins in this respect differ- ing essentially from the Boodhists. In geography they had, as a nation, made little progress, and though unquestionably engaged in traffic more or less direct with the nations of Europe, Asia, and Africa, pro- bably entered, at the utmost, only as indivi- duals on the carrying trade beyond their own coast, and gave little thought to the position or affairs of other countries; and this accords with the metaphysical, rather than practical, turn of their minds. There is, however, a passage in Menu which shows that marine insurance was practised his time ; and various writings, poems, plays, and tales written during different periods from the first to the twelfth century, detail adventures at sea, in which Indian sailors and ships are immediately concerned. That the Hindoos established colonies in Java and other places there is reason to believe, though we cannot tell at what time, or under what circumstances. Bryant, who, contends that Chaldea was the parent coun- try of the Hindoos, asserts, in his Analysis of Ancient Mythology, that these people were | found in Colchis, in Mesopotamia, and even in Thrace. Recently they have been met with | in Arabia, Armenia, and Astracan. _ In medicine they had not merely studied the virtues of simples, but had also attained considerable skill in chemistry, and knew how to prepare (for the most part in modes peculiar to themselves) sulphuric, nitric, and muriatic acid; oxides of copper, iron, lead (of which they had both the red oxide and litharge) tin, and zinc; the sulphurets of copper, zinc, and iron, and carbonates. of lead and iron. They employed minerals internally, giving both mercury, arsenic, and arsenious acid; cinnabar was used for fumi- gations, to produce safe. and speedy saliva- tion. They also practised inoculation for small-pox. Their surgery is still more re- markable, from their ignorance of anatomy— dissection or even the touch of dead bodies, being deemed the extreme of pollution—yet they cut for the stone, couched for cataract, and performed other delicate operations ;* and their early works enumerate no less than 127 sorts of surgical instruments, which, however, were probably always rude. Of the languages and literature of India, it would be impossible to convey any idea in few words, without appearing to assume a dogmatic attitude on the many difficult * Vide Dr. Royle’s Essay on the Anti wit th Indian Materia Medica. J LY ie questions involved therein. The transla- tions of Sir William Jones from the Sanscrit, of Sacontala, a pastoral drama of great anti- quity, and other poems, together with the Hindoo Theatre of Professor Wilson, enable English readers to form their own opinions of the degree of dramatic excellence very early attained in India. Portions of the Ramayana, of the Maha Bharat, and the whole of the Sama Veda have also been translated; the fourth, or Antharva Veda, (whose authenticity is disputed), being still | | sedulously withheld by the Brahmins, and denounced as a “ Black Book,” teaching as- trology and witchcraft. The six Angras }or Shastras, are supposed to have been written by inspiration to elucidate the sub- lime mysteries contained in the Vedas. They treat of theology and ritual observances; of | grammar, metre, astronomy, logic, law, |the art of government, medicine, archery, }the use of arms, music, dancing, and the drama. With the eighteen Puranas we are not immediately concerned, for two reasons, | They must be subsequently referred to as ex- ; planatory of the present (would to. God that |: we could say the past) idolatrous polytheism of the Hindoos ; and moreover in the opinion | ‘of Professor Wilson, none of them assumed their existing state until the time of Sankara | |! Acharya, the great Saiva reformer, who flourished about the eighth or ninth cen- tury, and consequently, subsequent to the period of which we are now treating: Wilson traces several of them to the twelfth, four- teenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries of our era. The Puranas have been already frequently quoted, because they comprise the genealogies of various dynasties, especi- ally of the solar and lunar races; which are valuable, although sometimes. misleading, being evidently a compilation of fragments obtained from family records, Many historical documents probably yet remain uninjured, hidden away from the desolating torch of the soldiers of the Crescent, who generally did their utmost to destroy the. writings of an idolatrous people, at least any that might appear connected with their creed, which all were more or less, Doubtless much valuable data has thus. ut-. terly perished; and the loss is nowirreparable.. ||| The remark made by the people of Rajasthan to Colonel Tod, when he complained of the numerous deficiencies in their annals, was sufficient explanation and apology. “When our princes,” said they, “were in | | exile, driven from hold to hold, and com- ARCHITECTURE, FETES, POLICE SYSTEM, AND COINAGE. 47 pelled to dwell in the clefts of the moun- tains, often doubtful whether they would not be obliged to abandon the very meal preparing for them—was that a time tg think of historical records ?”* In the lighter department of literature they excel; and, indeed, in tales and fables appear to have set the example to the rest of mankind, since to them may be traced the subjects of the most popular Oriental and even European fictions.f __ Their music is said.to have been syste- matic and refined, but it has since greatly de- teriorated: painting was probably always at a low ebb, unless beautifully Ulustrated manu- scripts may form an exception—in which, however, the figures are the worst executed portion of the ornaments. Their ancient sculpture often presents spirited and some- times exceedingly graceful groups; but is generally rendered unpleasing, not only by the grotesque and many-limbed forms of the gods and goddesses, but also by their igno- rance of anatomy, and inattention, even as copyists, to the symmetrical arrangement of the limbs and muscles, and to the mainte- nance of proportion between different figures, Architecture early became a favourite and practicalstudy,t butvaried greatly in different parts of India (vide section on topography). It is said that the arch was not understood before the Mussulman era, but this seems to be contradicted by the age of some speci- mens which still exist. Tanks or reservoirs for irrigation or for bathing were made on a scale of great extent and magnificence, and also wells of considerable depth and breadth, . the more ancient of which were square and surrounded by galleries, with a broad flight of steps from top to bottom. Their triumphal columns and massive gateways and pagodas take rank among the finest specimens of the architecture of any nation. Their manufactures and commerce have been noticed sufficiently for the present purpose: their mode of agriculture was so nearly what it is at present, that that sub- ject, together with their rights in the land and the revenue system generally, may be best deferred for examination to a future chapter. Chariots were drawn in war by horses, but on a march by oxen and sometimes by camels. Elephant chariots were also kept as a piece of extraordinary magnificence, used "* Rajasthan, vol. i. p. ix. + Vide Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Sootety, vol. i. p. 166, on the Indian origin of European fables, , in their famous festivals, when well appointed troops marched in procession ; and thrones, tables, goblets, lavers, set with precious stones, and robes of exquisite colours richly em- broidered with gold,were borne along in state. Tame lions and panthers formed part of the show which birds, remarkable for gorgeous plumage or sweet song, were made to enliven; being conveyed on trees transported on large waggons. In short, a Hindoo féte in the ancient days, was a thing that even a Parisian of the time of the second Buonaparte might |sigh for—always excepting fireworks, for it does not appear that they had any knowledge of gunpowder, although in war they are said to have used arrows tipped with some com- | bustible or explosive compound. The police system Megasthenes declared to be excellent; royal roads are spoken of by Strabo, in one place, and mile-stones in ano- ther.§ The dress, as described by Arrian, || was precisely the two wrappers of cotton eloth, still worn by the people of Bengal and by strict Brahmins everywhere. It is asserted that no Indian coinuge existed prior to the introduction of that of the Greeks or Bactrians. This, if proved; would be no criterion of barbarism: the | Chinese, at the present day, have no gold or Silver pieces—their only coin being a small alloyed copper “cash,” of which about a thousand are equal. to one Spanish dollar. All sales have for ages been regulated by bars or blocks of the precious metals, with a stamped attestation of their respective purity; and it is possible that in ancient times a similar course was pursued in India. There are however passages in a Sanscrit play and in the penal code of the Hindoos which refer, not only to the standard, but to the fabric and stamp of coin, and to the punish- /ments due to the fabricators and falsifiers of the public monies. Small flat pieces of silver, square, round, or oblong, weighing from forty- eight to fifty grains, with a rude punch, symbo- lical of a sun, moon, or star, or a nondescript figure, of an unknown age, have been found in considerable quantities in various localities. Hindoo gcld and silver coins, tolerably well executed, have been discovered at Beghram, Cutch, Benares, and other places appertaining to the Balhara dynasty ; which fis thought to have ruled the country from Oojein to the Indus, 375 years posterior to the { Essay on Hindoo Architecture by Ram Ray, | published by the Oriental Translation Fund. § Strabe, lib. xv., pp. 474494, ed. 1587, |] Indiea, cap. xvi. 48 KINGDOMS OF BACTRIA, ARIA, AND PARTHIA. Vicramaditya era. Coins of the Chandra Gupta dynasty have been collected from the ruins of Behat near the Doab Canal, and at Canouj; others, of a Jain or Boodhistical type, have been procured at Rajast’han and at Hurdwar on the Ganges. Recent investigations* have brought to light no inconsiderable quantity of Indo- Scythian and Sassanian coins, which gradu- ally mixed with and at length merged into a distinct Hindoo type. This, with modifi- cations, lasted to the time of the Moham- medan conquerors. A very curious Eng- lish collection of Hindoo silver monies con- nects two dynasties; indeed, there are not many links wanting to form an entire series of Greek, Bactrian, Nyszan,t Sassanian, Indo-Scythian, and Hindoot (Guzerat, Raj- poot, Canouj, or Rahtore, &c.) coins, from the time of Alexander to that of the Moslems in the eleventh century. The Roman coins discovered in India extend in antiquity through a period of more than 1,000 years, from the Augustan age down to the decline of the Lower empire; those generally found are of the smaller denominations, consisting of the common currency of the eastern parts of the empire: many of the copper coins are of Egyptian fabrication. Bactria, Aria, and Parthia.—The two first-named countries, comprising the terri- tory lying on either side of the Hindoo Koosh, between the Oxus and Indus Rivers, are on the high road of Asiatic conquest, and have been the battle-field of every tribe and nation that has risen to dominion in the East. Parthia has been always intimately connected with them, and the three have jointly and severally exercised an influence in India, the extent and nature of which is still but imperfectly understood. Recent discoveries of coins (above re- ferred to) have confirmed and augmented the information bequeathed by ancient *See Ariana Antiqua, a descriptive account of the antiquities and coins of Afghanistan, with a memoiz of the buildings, called topes, by C. Masson, Esq. Edited by Prof. Wilson, 4to, 1841. Also the expositions of J. Prinsep in the Journal of the Bengal Asiatic Society; and H.T. Prinsep’s Hist. Results. + The features of the sovereigns of the various dynasties stamped on these coins are quite distinct, and they are generally well executed. The Nyssan have a fillet or diadem round the head; reverse, a horseman ; the Indo-Scythian an erect figure of Her- cules resting on his club: the Sassanian, a fire altar on the reverse. The legends are generally in Greek, or in Pehlevi, a language which was contemporary with the Parsi (of Persia), and the Zend (of Media), five or six hundred years, B.c. It was used in authors, and thrown a new light on the connection which existed with the kingdom’ of Bactria—that is, of the country watered by the Oxus and its tributaries, and sepa- rated from Hindoostan by the range of mountains whence the Oxus and Indus derive their respective sources. It has been already stated, that after the first contest for the partition of the vast empire of Alexander, all his eastern conquests, including Hyrca- nia, Parthia, Bactria, Aria,§ &c., were ap- propriated by Seleucus. Bactria remained subject to his descendants, until civil wars and the impending revolt of the Parthians induced Diodotus, or Theodotus, the satrap or governor of the province, to assert his independence and become the first king, about 250, or, according to Bayer, 255, B.c. Parthia also successfully revolted from the sway of the Seleucid, under Arsaces, || who, according to Strabo, was by birth a Bac- trian, but is called by other writers a Da- hian, that is, a native of Sogdiana :{ who- ever he was, he appears to have used Greek only on his coins and in his public letters and correspondence. Bactria itself, however, cannot be sup- posed to have been colonised by any great body of Greeks, but probably received many of. the partially-disciplined recruits raised by Alexander during the later part of his progress. Even the Greeks, by intermar- riage with Persian, and doubtless with In- dian wives, would soon lose their distinctive character; and after the establishment of Parthian power, the immigration of adven- turers from Greece, and, indeed, all commu- nication with that country would cease. This accounts for the total silence of Greek authors respecting the termination of the Bactrian kingdom. Its limits, during the most flourishing period, included some parts of India. Strabo quotes an ancient author; who asserts that the Bactrians possessed the region round Assyria, and probably in Assyria itself, —but together with the Zend has been a dead language for more than two thousand years. ft The ancient Hindoo coins have various devices— a horseman, a horse, an elephant, « lion, a bull, an antelope, a goat, the Sankh, or sacred shell, or the hieroglyphic called Swastika. § Aria is the territory of which Herat is the capital. Ariana (Eeran) is the general name for the country east of Persia and Media to the Indus. | Sogdiana designates the mountains which feed the Jaxartes and divide that river from the Oxus. {| Arsaces was the title of Parthian princes. The Parthians were the Sacw of Asia, and Saca-dwipa (the country of the Sacee) lay about the fountains of of the Oxus.—Conder’s Modern Traveller. (India.) ~ BACTRIA OVERRUN BY SCYTHIAN HORDES.—s.c. 125. + 49 the most conspicuous part of Ariana” (Khorasan), and conquered more nations in India than even Alexander. In this last achievement the principal actors were Me- uander, Appollodotus, and Demetrius, who are mentioned together by Strabo; but their date and the limits of their sway are not clearly stated. Demetrius is a puzzle, or rather the site of his kingdom, for he once had one, and was a conqueror besides. Two or three of his coins have been found in Cahool, not sufficient to establish the fact of his rule there, but rather the reverse; two or three others—of silver—have been brought from Bokhara. Appollodotus and Menander* certainly ruled over Cabool, their copper coins being found in such numbers, and so constantly, as to prove they were once a currency there; but then, as regards Appollodotus, Cabool is held to have been merely a province, his capital being established elsewhere, to be looked for, perhaps, where his copper money was circular instead of square, as at Cabool, and such circular coins are discovered more eastward in the Punjaub, and even at Muttra (the old Methora), on the Jumna. Masson strongly suspects the kingdom of Appollodotus and Menander to have been rather Indian than Bactrian; and Professor Lassen supposes three kingdoms to have existed besides that of Bactria, of which the eastern, under Menander and Appollodotus, comprehended the Punjaub and the valley of the Indus, with Caboo! and Arachosia, or Candahar, added in times of prosperity. The western kingdom, he places conjecturally at Heerat and in Seestan, and the third would include the Paropamisan region, which, however, Prinsep inclines to attribute to Bactria.t Unfortunately, no information has been obtained to prove how far north or west of Cabool the currencies of the aforesaid kings spread, otherwise the limits of their rule might have been partially traced in those directions. The Greeks, under Menander, made extensive conquests, subduing the Seres and Shauni to the north and north-east of India; crossing the Hy- panis (Hyphasis, or Beyah), and proceeding as far as the Isamus to the south-eastward ; and * Whether Appollodotus succeeded or preceded Menander is uncertain, but an opinion may be raised that although always mentioned first, he really fol- lowed Menander, because his circular coins so osely resemble in style and fabric those of Azes (in Bac- tro-Pali, Aya) that it is evident the one currency followed the other, in the Punjaub and to the east, but not in Cabool, where that of Hermias prevailed. on the south-westward reducing Pattalene, that is, the country about Tatta, forming the Delta of the Indus. All the interme- diate territory appears, from the statement of Strabo, to have been vanquished; and we might form a tolerably satisfactory conclu- sion as to its extent, but for doubts suggested of the meaning of the word Isamus. This is by some considered to denote the Jumna River, by others the Himalaya Mountains (sometimes called Imaus), and, thirdly, with perhaps better reason, the Isamutti River, which falls into the Hooghly, a western branch of the Ganges. Bactria Proper, as established by Diodotus, appears to have continued through his suc- cessors Diodotus II., Euthydemus, Eucra- tides, and his successor (supposed by De Guignes and Bayer to have been his son and murderer, Eucratides II., but by Mas- son, Heliocles), until about 125 years B.c., when, (according to Chinese records, quoted by De Guignes) a great movement which took place in Central or Eastern Tartary impelled across the Jaxartes (Sir) an irre- sistible torrent of Scythian hordes. This statement is corroborated by the testimony of Strabo, who gives the names of the four principal tribes by whom the overthrow of the Greek kingdom was effected. From these names they would appear to have been composed of a mixture of Getz or Goths, Dahi or Dacians, Sakarauli or Sakas, and Tochari, perhaps, but not certainly, Turks. All seized portions of Bactria; and after some time the Getz subdued the others, and advanced ‘upon India. Crossing the Hindoo Koosh, they dispossessed the suc- cessor of Hermias, if not the old king him- self; and their presence is very clearly indicated by those coins bearing the name of that king, with the prefix Su. Soon after the coinage was varied; busts probably in- tended to represent their own kings or chiefs were introduced, and Bactro-Pali legends on the reverse, much differing from the Greek ones encircling the busts—the latter, indeed, becoming unintelligible. The Getz, more- over, we are assured, retained power in the countries bordering on the Indus for four centuries—liable, necessarily, to vicissitudes, For this remark, as well as other information inter- woven in the text conveying a brief sketch of Bac- trian affairs, I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. Charles Masson. is + Because of the bilingual as well as pure Greek: coins of Heliocles and Antimachus, kings of Bactria. Historical Results deducible from recent discoveries. in Afghanistan, by H. Prinsep, Esq., p. 66, 50 but still maintaining themselves until finally overcome by the Huns. The Parthians benefited by the occasion of attacking Eu- cratides, and deprived him of two satrapies ; but although certain coins bearing a national tinge, with an attempted imitation of the names and titles of Heliocles are fouad in Cabool, there is little other evidence of Parthian rule there—while in the Pun- jaub, immediately on the banks of the Indus, there is more. It is not impro- bable, that they contested the possession of Cabool with the Getee, but were unsuccess- ful, and directed their attention rather to Sinde, and thence ascended the Indus; but it may be doubted if these Parthians were those established in Persia—although of the same or kindred race—they may have been Dahe. Though weakened and disorgan- ised, Bactria cannot have been entirely oyerwhelmed by Scythian or Parthian in- cursions, that is not in the time-of Eucra- tides or Heliocles, since Horace, 120 years later, deemed it of sufficient importance to engage the attention of Augustus. Its final disruption by Parthian agency must have been of considerably later date. The fortunes of Parthia likewise under- went considerable vicissitudes. Arsaces pos- sessed only Parthia and Hyrcania, the nucleus of his sovereignty being the colo- nies planted by Alexander eighty years be- fore. His immediate successors were brave and valiant, and their empire at one time ex- tended from the Euphrates to the Jaxartes ; but whether it included. or received tribute from the ancient soil of the Hindoos is little better than matter of conjecture.* The scepire of Persia continued to be wielded by this line until a.p, 2385, when Ardeshur Babakun, or Artaxerxes, a distinguished officer of the Parthian army—having been slighted by the reigning monarch, Arsaces- Artabanus—revolted, and after three severe battles, conquered and slew Artabanus, and * Mithridates IL, who reigned in the early part of the century before the Christian era, and whose death was followed by an interregnum of civil war, or doubtful sovereignty, in Parthia, was the first of the Arsacide who adopted the title of “ Great King of Kings,” which is believed to be of Indian origin, and was probably assumed after the acquisition of coun- tries bordering on India.—Prinsep’s Historical Re- sults, p. 67. t Vide Prinsep’s Historical Results, for much in- teresting discussion regarding Bactrian coins, espe- cially the opinions of Wilson, Masson, and Lassen; also regarding the newly-deciphered language gene- rally used in writing, when Greek became quite extinct, called Arian, Arianian, Bactrian, and Ca- PERSIA AND CENTRAL INDIA SUBDUED BY THE CALIPHS. established his own dynasty, the Sassanian, being crowned at Balkh, where his last vic- tory was gained. Thus closed the Greco- Parthian dominion in central Asia, after a continuance of very nearly 500 years; and the same date marks the end of the tran- sition of Parthia back from Hellenism to an entirely Asiatic sovereignty and condition of society. ‘The system of government had been always purely Asiatic; that is, by sub- ordinate satraps or viceroys invested with full and absolute authority over the person and property of the people committed to their charge. Alexander had experienced the evils of thus forming an Imperium in imperio in every province, in the misconduct of several satraps during his absence in the Indian campaign; and, had he lived, would probably have introduced a sounder system ; but his successors had neither the ability to plan, nor perhaps opportunity to execute, any such radical change in their respective governments. They lacked, moreover, the prestige of their great master’s name and character, which had alone enabled him to check the ambition or rapacity of his vice- gerents, by the exercise of an arbitrary power |. : of removal. After his death, the method generally adopted of controlling, removing, or punishing a military satrap, was to turn against him the arms of a rival neighbour. The result was, of course, the origin of a number of irresponsible despots. Keeping this in mind, it is the less surprising that Parthian coins should be found, asserting independence and bearing arrogant titles, in Afghanistan, since these may indicate nothing but the temporary successes or pre tensions of various petty satraps.t The most celebrated of the later Sassanian kings was Chosroes, who reigned from 581 to 571; his grandson was deposed in 628, and after a few years of tumult and distraction, Persia fell under the power of the Caliphs, by whom it has ever since been ruled. boolian, according to the supposed locality of its native use. Mr. James Prinsep, (whose laborious investigations had before been mainly instrumental in restoring the language of the ancient Indian kings who made treaties with Antiochus and Seleucus,) while examining coins with bilingual inscriptions, used the names given in Greek on one side, te find out those of the unknown language on the other. He thus obtained a key to the alphabet, and deciphered words which proved to be Pracrit (the vernacular form of Sanscrit), written semitically from right to left. There are still, however, some inscriptions in the Arian characters upon rocks and on the relics of topes and tumuli, remaining to reward further research. * _ RISE OF MOHAMMEDANISM IN ARABIA—SEVENTH CENTURY. 51 MowamMepaN To British Erocu.—In the | beginning of the seventh century, when the Christian church was torn by dissensions and perplexed by heresies, and when the greater part of the inhabitants of Asia and ofAfrica were sunk in barbarism, enfeebled by sen- suality, or enslaved by idolatry, there arose on the shores of the Red Sea, a Power, at once religious and militant, which rapidly attained and has since continued to exercise | an extraordinary influence on the condition of one-third of the human race. Arabia is considered by oriental writers to have been originally colonised by the pos- terity of Shem and Ham, the former having followed pastoral, the latter agricultural pur- suits; to these were subsequently added a mixed race—the descendants of Abraham, through Ishmael, the son of Hagar the bond- woman.* The posterity of Ham, through Cush and Nimrod, his son and grandson, brought with them from Mesopotamia one of the most ancient languages (supposed to be the Himyaritic, still spoken in parts of the country), and: the creed of the Patriarchs, or at least a portion of it; that is, the exist- ence of one God, the Creator and Governor of the world, and the doctrine of the resur- rection of the dead, of future rewards and punishments. A sense of sin and unwor- thiness:probably induced “the adoration of heavenly spirits as mediators between man and one immutable Holy Being; and to these they raised temples and altars for sacrifices and supplications, to which were subsequently added fastings.’+ The sun and moon next became the objects of wor- ship, at first probably as symbols; next followed the seven planets, the twelve signs of the zodiac, and the twenty-four constella- tions. Almost every tribe had its peculiar idol, dead men were worshipped, and also angels:or genii; some even denied all kinds of revelation, having sunk into the’ lowest depths of idolatry; but the descendants of Shem passed’ from pure Theism into Sabe- ism, or a belief in the peopling of the heavenly bodies with superior intelligences, by whom the lives and actions of men were regulated. The immigration of a few Jewish and Christian tribes had introduced among the more thoughtful, purer’ notions both of faith and: practice; but these had made little progress among the mass of the people, * Ishmael is said to have married the daughter of Mozauz or Modhaugh,,. the sovereign of Hijaz.—(See tabular genealogies of these three tribes in Colonel Chesney’s work on the Euphrates and. Tigris, vol. i.) who, as regarded their political and social state, were still, as they had been for ages, to a great extent isolated by poverty and by geographical position, from the rest of the world. Their country, consisting of some mountain tracts and rich oases, sepa- rated or surrounded by a sandy desert, has’ been aptly compared to the coasts and islands of a seat The desert was thinly scattered with small camps of predatory horsemen, who pitched their tents wherever a well of water could be found; and aided by the much-enduring camel, overspread ex- tensive regions, to the great peril and anx- iety of peaceful travellers. The settled in- habitants, though imore civilized, were searcely less simple in their habits; the various tribes formed distinct communities, between whom there could be little commu- nication except by rapid journeys on horse- back or tedious marches, in the present caravanseray fashion. Each tribe acknow- ledged: as its chief the representative of their common ancestor; but probably little check was ever imposed upon the liberty of indi- viduals, save in rare cases, when the general’ interest imperatively demanded such inter- ference. ‘The physical features of the land and its scanty agricultural resources helped’ to foster the hardy and self-reliant character of its sons, who, unconnected by the strong ties of religious or commercial fellowship, and never compelled to unite against a foreign foe, found vent in the innumerable feuds which constantly spring up between independent tribes and families, for the warlike and roving instincts which seem so inseparably bound up with the wiry, lithe- some, supple frame, and the fiery, yet ima- ginative and sensuous temperament, of the Arab. Such a people, united for a common pur- pose under a common leader, might, it was evident, accomplish extraordinary results ; and purpose and leader were presented to them in the person of a man, whose fame as a subjugator may be mentioned in the same ‘page with that of Alexander the Great, and ‘who, as a lawgiver, takes much higher rank— ‘higher, that is, in'the sense of having used ‘and abused powers never entrusted to the ‘Macedonian. Mohammed the False Pro- ‘phet, was, beyond all doubt, intimately acquainted with both the Jewish and Chris- ‘The sons of Ham, Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan peopled parts of Western Asia, as well as Africa. + Ecchellensis, Chron. Orien., App., ¢.6, p. 148. } Elphinstone, vol.i., p. 488. 52 MOHAMMED, THE FALSE PROPHET. tian scriptures, he recognised the mighty truths they contained, and the sharp wea- pons those truths would afford, wielded against idolatry. Incited by strangely- blended motives of ambition and fanaticism, he boldly defied the curse pronounced on those most impious of all deceivers, who shall dare to add unto, or take away from, the revealed word of God. (Revelation, ch. xxii. v. 18, 19.) , It is necessary to know something of his private life, hefore we can understand the steps by which an unknown enthusiast sprang suddenly into importance ; and, gathering together with marvellous skill and energy the scattered tribes, formed them into a nation, prohibited retaliation without the previous sanction of a trial and a sentence, and in short, induced them to abandon intes- tine strife and combine in a religious crusade. Mohammed was born a.p. 569, at Mecca, one of the oldest cities in the world, and belonged to the head family of the tribe of Koreish, who were the hereditary guardians of the great temple of Caaba, which is built round a well, supposed to be that miraculously pointed out to Hagar to save the life of Tshmael. Tradition declares the temple itself, or at least the first temple which existed on this site, to have been vouchsafed in answer to the prayer of Adam, who im- plored that he might be permitted to have a sanctuary like that in which he had wor- shipped in Eden. The prayer was granted, and in curtains of light a model of the para- disaicaltemplewas let down, precisely beneath the spot where the original had stood. On this model Seth built a temple, which was swept away by the deluge, but rebuilt by Abraham and Isaac. The worship offered in the Caaba was at the beginning of the sixth century idolatrous, the chief objects being Abraham and Ishmael, to whose images, each holding a bunch of arrows, such as the Arabs use for divining, regular worship was offered. Thus Abraham, the divinely-com- missioned witness against idolatry, became in process of time the object of the very crime he had so zealously condemned. - With him and his son there appear to have been in all 860 gods, the number having pro- bably reference to the days of the Persian year. The chief command of the Caaba and of the city were vested in the same person, and to this double office of priest and chief Mo- hammed was presumptive heir, when the death of his father Abdallah before his grandfather, cut him off from the succession, and threw him a destitute orphan on the care of his uncle, Abu Taleb, who taught him the business of a merchant, and carried him on long trading journeys into Syria, thus giving him early insight into foreign countries and creeds. When but fourteen, Mohammed entered into a rancorous war that had broken out among the tribes, and greatly dis- tinguished himself for courage and ability. Till twenty-five he remained in the service of his uncle, and then married Kadijah, the richly-endowed widow of a merchant of Mecca. Thus raised to independence, he was enabled to pursue the objects most con- genial to his own mind; but the nature of his occupations for many years is unknown. Some suppose him to have employed that long interval in the study of various manu- scripts, although throughout his life he con- stantly affirmed himself unable to read or write* a single word. Itis very possible that, by the aid of a retentive memory, he might have obtained orally a great part, or even the - whole, of the information he possessed, espe- cially with regard to the unity of God, by intercourse with a cousin of his wife’s, named Warka ben Naufel, who was skilled in Jewish learning, and is said to have.translated the Scriptures from Hebrew into Arabic. He withdrew himself at length from all society, and spent long periods in complete solitude in the cave of Hara, near his native city, giving free scope to meditations, which brought him to the verge if not actually into the abyss of insanity, and opened a door for fancied visions and every species of mental delusion. At length, when about forty years of age, he declared his alleged mission to his wife, and afterwards to a few of his family; and, some three or four years after, publicly announced himself as “ the last and greatest of the prophets.” He is represented as having been a man of middle size, singularly mus- cular, with a very large head, prominent forehead, eyebrows nearly meeting, but di- vided by a vein, which in times of excite- ment throbbed violently, black flashing eyes, aquiline nose, full and florid cheeks, large mouth, and small teeth of the most exquisite whiteness; glossy black hair fell over his shoulders, and a full beard flowed down upon his chest. His countenance is alleged to have been beautiful in the extreme, and to * Perhaps the strongest presumption against the truth of this assertion, is the circumstance of his calling for a pen that he might write, while delirious, during his last illness. The request was refused. THE HEJIRA OR FLIGHT FROM MECCA—a.p. 622. F 53 have added not a little to the effect produced by his insinuating address and consummate eloquence upon the impressionable natures of his countrymen.* The creed he firgt taught was simply this:—“ There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his prophet ;” and all who received and repeated this compre- hensive formula were styled “true believers.” The Koran he declared to be a perfect book, already written in heaven, but communicated to him in portions only, through the medium of the angel Gabriel. This provision enabled him to disseminate his doctrines gradually, to observe the manner in which they were received, and to modify and even change them at successive periods; but, at the same time, the very facility of obviating imme- diate difficulties, led to many discrepancies | and contradictions in his pretended revela- tions. In spite, however, of much extrava- gance, of the wildest dreams related as if sober realities, and, worse than all, of the glaring impiety of pleading the Divine com- mand as a reason for intolerance and immo- rality, many chapters of the Koran are still remarkable as compositions.t They stamp their author as far superior to any existing writer of his country, and even exhibit him in the light of a reformer—for his religion was founded on the sublime theology of the Old Testament, and his morality, faulty indeed in comparison with the Christian code, was yet far purer than that then general in Arabia, for it must be remem- bered that Mohammed represented himself as privileged to break through at pleasure the very rules he most strenuously enforced on others. The Koran abounds in ad- monitions to spiritual and moral excellence, enunciates the necessary laws and directions for the guidance of Mohammedans, and especially enjoins the worship and reverence of the only true God, and resignation to his will, In the course of its 114 chapters, Adam, Noah, Moses, Joseph, David, Solo- mon, and other patriarchs, prophets, and kings, are referred to by name, the facts being evidently derived from the Jewish Scriptures, the fictions in which they are enveloped, from tradition, or more fre- quently from the teeming brain of the im- * Fora graphic and condensed account of the im- ostor and his early proceedings, see a published ecture on Mohammedanism, by the Rev. W. Arthur. Major Price’s:compendious Mahommedan History is an excellent book of reference, as well as of agree- able reading. + “The style of the Koran,” says its able trans- lator, Mr. Sale, ‘is generally beautiful and fluent, I postor. It seems almost profanation to mention the sacred name of the Great Redeemer in connection with the lying tales of the False Prophet. Suffice it to- say that His divine mission is recognised in the Koran, but His divinity denied. For ten years after the first public an- nouncement of his alleged calling, Moham- med continued to play the part of a zealous and enduring missionary, suffering himself “to be abused, to be spit upon, to have dust thrown upon him, and to be dragged out of the temple by his own turban fastened to his neck.”{ Persecution had its usual effect of drawing its object into notice; his doctrines gradually took root, until, upon the death of his uncle and protector, Abu Taleb, the rulers of Mecca determined on his destruction. He lost his faithful wife and earliest convert, Kadijah, about the same time, and a complete change came over him. At Medina, 270 miles from Mecca, his doctrines had been favourably received, and a deputation from that city invited him to become its governor. He gladly fled thither, escaping, by stratagem, from a con- spiracy formed in Mecca, leaving his young cousin Ali lying on his bed, covered with his well-known green robe. The Hejira or flight forms the era from which Mohammedans date; it occurred a.p. 622. On his arrival at Medina, whither all his converts followed him, he was immediately made governor. Many Jews and Christians then resided there, the latter he rather favoured, but the former as a nation incurred his bitter enmity, by indignantly rejecting his overtures to, become proselytes, or to aid in making Jerusalem the head-quarters of the new creed. Once established at Medina he built, a mosque, threw off his submissive attitude, and declared his intention of having recourse to arms in his own defence, and also for the conversion or extermination of infidels. He strengthened his cause by several mar- riages, and subsequently added to the num. ber, as policy or inclination prompted, until he had fifteen, or as some say, twenty- one so-called legitimate wives—other men being allowed four at the utmost. The true secret of his success probably lay in the especially where it imitates the prophetic manner. and scripture phrases: it is concise and often obscure, adorned with bold figures after the Eastern taste, and in many places, especially where the, majesty and attributes of God are described, sublime and magnificent.”—(Preliminary Discourse, z 44), { Tarikhi Tabari; quoted by Col. Kennedy, in the Bombay Literary Transactions, vol. iii. ; 54 force of his grand doctrine of the unity and omnipotence of God, as contrasted with idolatry. This he declared was to be in- sisted upon everywhere, at the cost of life itself, which it was meritorious to lavish freely, whether that of believers in spreading the right faith, or of infidels to lessen their number. The enthusiastic Arabs were easily induced to unite as fellow-workers in an enterprize they believed enjoined by the direct command of God, and eagerly dared the fiercest contest in the battle-field, intoxicated by the lying words which as- serted that “the sword is the key of heaven and of hell; a drop of blood shed in the cause of God, or a night spent under arms, is of more avail than two months of fasting or prayer. Whoever falls in battle, his sins are forgiven at the day of judgment; his wounds shall be resplendent as vermillion and odoriferous as musk; the loss of his limbs shall be supplied by the wings of angels and cherubims.’’* The first contest, which took place at Beder between 300 of the Mohammedans and 900 of the Koreish tribe, terminated in favour. of the new sect, and laid the foundation of a great military empire, of such rapid growth, that when in the tenth year of the Hejira, and the sixty-third of his age, Mohammed lay writhing in the last strug- gles of the long agony of four years’ duration, which followed the eating of the poisoned dish prepared by the persecuted Jews of Chaibar—not only was all Arabia united under his sway, but the king of Persia, the emperor of Rome, and the king of Ethiopia had been called upon to acknow- ledge his divine mission and receive the Koran : the dominions of the emperor (Hera- clius) had indeed been actually invaded by a successful expedition into Syria. Yet this was but the nucleus of the singular power exercised by his successors, for instead of falling to pieces like a snow-ball in the contest for its possession, as might have been expected, since Mohammed, like Alex- ander, left no undoubted heir, the reins of government were placed by his followers in: the hand of Abubekir, one of the carliest of the so-called “ true believers,” in spite of the opposition of Ali, the cousin and son-in- law of Mohammed, who had expected to be * The Decline and Fall contains a detailed account of the rise and prog of the Moslem empire, written with all ite oan and caustic irony peculiar to Gibbon. { That is, civil and spiritual ruler, or high-pontiff, of the Roman Empire, DEATH OF MOHAMMED, a.v. 782.—HIS SUCCESSORS. chosen caliph and imaum.t+ Abubekir, fearing the revival of the domestic feuds of tribes or clans, forthwith proclaimed anew throughout the Arabian peninsula the favourite and convenient doctrine of the False Prophet, that fighting for religion was the most acceptable service which man could render to his Maker, and declared hig intention of sending an army for the com- plete subjugation of Syria. The life and rule of Abubekir terminated in two years, In accordance with his desire, Omar, a noble citizen of Mecca, acceded to the supreme authority, with the title of “commander of the faithful.’ Under his vigorous rule the Arabs invaded Persia and utterly destroyed the second or Parthian empire, gained complete possession of Syria, after defeating 40,000 Greeks in a severe | contest on the Yermuk, a river running into the lake of Tiberias, and, as a crowning triumph, compelled the surrender of Jerusa- lem, for which, as the “city of the pro- phets,’” Mohammed had always professed high veneration. Egypt was over-run by Khaled, a general ae whose victories had procured from Moham- med the title of “the sword of God,” and Alexandria was speedily added to the bril- liant roll of Mussulman conquests. The great abilities, united to extreme simplicity and purity of life, which distinguished Omar, doubtless contributed to the spread of the doctrines and temporal sway of the | | people he governed. At the expiration of ten years he was slain while praying in the mosque, by a Persian, whose rage was ex- cited by being obliged to pay two pieces of silver daily, as a penalty for refusing to abjure his faith—the alternatives offered by the Mohammedans, being “the Koran, tribute, or the sword.” The large majority of the conquered chose the first, especially in Persia, where a lifeless form of govern- ment and a fantastic and superstitious creed, needed buf a slight shock to hasten the pro- gress of decay, and crumble into dust, to be | moulded anew and receive vital energy, in greater or less degree, according to the will and ability of the first dominant power which might be brought to bear upon it. The doctrine of the unity and omnipotence of God was received by the Persians as a mighty truth, divinely revealed to man, as it really was, notwithstanding the false and distorted medium through which it reached them, and it must have peculiarly commended itself to all who had seriously considered the * FORTUNES OF THE ARAB EMPIRE—a.p. 644 to 1258. 55 subject of religion, by freeing them from the enthralment of a cowardly and degrading system, which taught men to seek the aid or deprecate the wrath of beings who added to superhuman influence the worst vices of fallen creatures. Othman succeeded Omar, but quickly displeased his generals, and at the close of a turbulent reign of twelve years, was besieged in his own house, and after a long defence, murdered with the Koran on his knee. Ali was at length elected caliph, not- withstanding the rivalry of Mauwiyah, the lieutenant of Syria, but assassinated within five years in Persia, while entering a mosque for evening worship. His son and successor Hassan, was defeated by Mauwiyah and abdicated in his favour. The new caliph, the founder of the dynasty of the Ommiades, extended the dominion of the Arabs to the Atlantic, having subjugated all Roman or Northern Africa. In a.p. 713, Spain was subdued, and the Mussulmans continued to advance until they had reached the heart of France, but were met on the Loire, in 782, between Poitiers and Tours, by Charles Martel, and utterly routed. The last caliph of the dynasty of the Ommiades (Merwan) was slain in a sedition raised by the descendants of Abbas, Moham- med’s uncle. The second prince of this dynasty built the city of Bagdad and re- moved the seat of government thither; the fifth was the famous Haroun al Raschid. Under the A bbassides learning flourished and the original simplicity of the court gave way to luxury and magnificence, but the coherent strength of the now vast empire was on the decline, and a gradual but sure progress of dismemberment commenced. In Spain, a branch of the Ommiades maintained an independent sway; Khorassan and Trans- oxiana became virtually independent, and in Egypt, descendants of Fatima, (daughter of Mohammed and wife to Ali,) established a | distinct ealiphate, The fortunes of these new powers will be noticed when connected with India, as also those of the Seljuk tribe, whose barbarities at Jerusalem (under the * Islam, derived from an Arabic root, signifies “the true faith,” Moslem or Mussulman a believer therein. + Mohammed Kasim, surnamed Ferishta, resided ‘at the court of Ibrahim Adil Shah II., at Beejapoor, about the close of the sixteenth century, and, sus- tained by royal patronage and assjstance in collecting authorities, wrote a history of the rise of the Moham- medan power in India till the year 1612, which has been ably translated from the original Persian by dreaded name of Saracens) provoked the nations of Christendom to attempt the rescue of the Holy Land; but the struggle carried on there for nearly three centuries, never imme- diately affected the centre of the Moham- medan empire, which continued at Bagdad for about 500 years. Mustassem was caliph when Hulaku, a descendant of the cele- brated Jengis Khan, besieged and captured Bagdad: The cruel victor, after mocking his wretched prisoner with vain hopes until he had obtained his hidden treasures, ex- posed him for some days to the lingering torments of starvation, and then, under the pretence of unwillingness to shed his blood, caused him to be wrapped in coarse camlet, and rolled about on the ground until he expired. Thus perished the last of the Abbassides, a.p. 1258. In the city alone, 800,000 persons, or according to some au- thorities, a much greater number were slain, so that the Tigris was dyed with gore. Indo-4Arabie Conquesis. —In a.p, 664, a large force marched from Meru to Cabool, and made converts of upwards of 12,000 persons. At the same time, Mohalib, (after- wards an eminent commander in Persia and Arabia,) proceeded thence with a detach- ment in the direction of India, penetrated to Moultan, and having plundered the country, triumphantly rejoined the army at Khoras- san, bringing with him many captives, who were compelledto declare themselves converts to the Moslem* creed. No further attempt is recorded as having been made on the north of India during the continuance of the Arab rule, but the prince of Cabool appears to have been rendered tributary, if not subject to the caliphs, since his revolt is mentioned by Ferishta,t as the occasion of a new in- vasion of his territories eighteen years later. The Arabs at this period met with an unex- pected check: they were drawn into a de- file, defeated, and compelled to surrender, and to purchase their freedom by an ample ransom. One old contemporary of Moham- med is said to haye disdained all compro- mise, and to have fallen by the swords of the infidels. This disgrace was immediately revenged by the Arab governor of Seestan, Colonel Briggs. A considerable portion of it had been ‘previously rendered into English by Colonel Dow, but the value of his work is lessened by mis- translations, and also by being largely interspersed with reflections and facts collated from other sources, which, though often interesting and important in themselves, are so closely interwoven with the text as to leave the reader in doubt regarding the portion which actually rests on the testimony of Ferishta. ek oe 56 ARAB INVASIONS OF WESTERN INDIA—a.p. 699 to 710. and yet more completely by Abdurehman, opdator of Khorassan, who in A.D. 699, led a powerful army in person against the city, and reduced the greater part of the country to subjection. A quarrel with Hejaj, the governor of Bassora, led Abdurehman into rebellion against the reigning caliph (Abdel- melek, one of the Ommiades), whereupon he formed an alliance with his former enemy, the prince of Cabool, in whose dominions he was compelled to take re- fuge, and at length, to avoid being given up to his enemies, committed suicide.* The nation to which this prince of Cabool belonged is rendered doubtful by the posi- tion of his capital at a corner where the countries of the Paropamisan Indians, the Afghans, the Persians, and the Tartars are closely adjoining each other. Elphinstone ‘supposes him to have been a Persian, and considers it very improbable that he could have been an Afghan, as Cabool is never known to have been possessed by a tribe of that nation. At this period the northern portion of the tract included in the branches of the Hindoc Coosh, and now inhabited by the Eimaks and Hazarehs, was known by the name of the mountains of Ghor, and probably occupied by Afghans, as also the middle part, all of which seems to have been ineluded in the mountains of Solimau.¢ The southern portion,{known by the name of the mountains of Mekran, were inhabited by Beloochees as at present; and the other ridges connected with the same range as those of Ghor, but situated to the east of the range of Imaus and Soliman, were probably tenanted by Indians, descendants of the Paropamisade. Ferishta seems to have been led by their traditions to believe the Af- ghanst to have been converted to Moham- medanism in the life-time of its originator, and represents them as invading the terri- tory of the Hindoos as early as a.u. 63, and * Kholasat al Akhbar, and the Tarikht Tabari, quoted by Price (vol. i., pp. 455—463). + Elphinstone, vol. i., 496. I am informed by Mr. Masson, on the authority of Mirza Sami, the minister of Dost Mohammed, who corrected the mistake made by Sir A. Burnes on the subject in his presence, that the term Hindoo Coosh is especially given to the high peak of the range to which it belongs, immediately overhanging Ghosband, although it is applied, in ordinary parlance, to some extent of the range stretching east or north-east. { Ferishta records, on the anthority of the Mutla- ool-Anwar, a work supposed to be no longer extant, but which he describes as written by a respectable author, that the Afghans are Copts of the race of the as afterwards continually engaged in _hos- tilities with the Rajah of Lahore, until, in conjunction with the Gukkurs (a people on the hills east of the Indus), they obtained. from him a cession of territory, secretly engaging in return to protect him from the attacks of other Mussulmans. It was owing to this compact that the princes of the house of Samani never invaded the north of India, but confined their predatory incursions to Sinde. Ferishta further mentions that the Afghans gave an asylum to the remains of the Arabs who were driven out of Sinde in the second century of the Hejira.§ This account is on the whole sufficiently probable. The Afghans may have willingly received the Koran || long before their subju- gation by Sultan Mahmood. On the sub- ject of their early religion, Mohammedan historians afford no light, owing to their not distinguishing denominations of infidels. Arab descents on Sinde by sea are men- tioned as early as the caliphate of Omar, but they were probably piratical expeditions, undertaken for the purpose of carrying off the women of the country, whose beauty seems to have been much esteemed in Ara- bia. Several detachments were also sent through the south of Mekran (the Gedrosia of Alexander), during the reigns of the early caliphs, but all failed owing to the impracti- cable character of this barren region. At length, in the reign of the caipk Walid, an Arab ship laden with slave-girls and rarities from Sinde having been seized at Dival or Dewal, a sea-port connected with Sinde (supposed to be the site af the modern Kurrachee), the rajah, named Dahir by the Mussulmans, was called on for resti- tution. The capital of this prince was at Alor, near Bukkur, and he possessed Moul- tan and all Sinde, with, perhaps, the adjoin- ing plain of the Indus, as far as the moun- tains at Calabagh. His territory was por- tioned out among his relations, probably Pharaohs, many of whom, after the overthrow of the infidel monarch and his host in the Red Sea, became converts to the true faith; but others, stubborn and seif- willed, continued obstinate, and, leaving their country, came to India and settled in the Soliman Mountains under the name of Afghans. (Briggs’ Ferishta, vol.i., p.6.) ‘The people themselves claim descent from Afghaun, grandson of Saul, king of Israel. § A quarter of the Balla Hissar, or citadel of Ca- bool, retains the name of Arabah, and its occupants are of Arabic descent. || The Tartar nations, China, the Malay country and the Asiatic islands, afford evidence of the propae gation of the religion of the Mussulmans, inde- pendent of their arms. PEE as LES Ym N) \ nt e Q i DR A MA [ O|F VIEW « 2 we CAPTURE OF THE- FORT OF ALOR BY CASIM—a.p. 711. 57 on the feudal tenure «still common among the Rajpoots.. Dahir refused compliance with the demand of Walid,:on the’ ground that Dewal was not subject to his authomity ; the excuse was deemed unsatisfactory, and | a body of 1,000 infantry and 300 horse were despatched,.to- Sinde; but this inade- quate force perished like its. predecessors on the road. Hejaj, the before-mentioned governor of Bassofa, prepared a regular army of 6,000 men at SHiraz, and entrusted the command to .his’ sop-in-law; Mohammed Casim, then only twenty years of age. By him the troops were-safely :conductéd to the walls of Dewal, a.u..92 (a.p.711). Casim, being provided with’ catapultas: and. other engines, commenced operations by attacking a celebrated pagoda»without the city, sur- rounded by a high, enclosure of hewn stone, and occupied, in addition to the numerous Brahmin inhabitants, by a strong garrison of Rajpoots. ‘The Arab leader having learned that the safety of the place was believed to be conneeted, with that of the sacred standard displayed’on the tower of the temple, directed his engines against this object, and having succeeded in bringing it to the ground, the dismay of the besieged: soon terminated in surrender. The town was like-' wise taken, and a rich booty obtained. The Brahmins rejected the proposed test of con- version—circumcision: all above.the age:of seventeen were put to. death, and the-re-; mainder, with the women, reduced to slavery.: Brahmanabad, Neron Kow (now Hyderabad), Sehwan, and Salem* were in‘ turn reduced, and Casim, strengthened by a reinforcement’ of 2,000 horse from Persia, continued to advance, notwithstanding the opposition of a powerful force under. the rajah’s eldest son, until he reached ‘the neighbourhood of Alor or Abhor, where he. was confronted by the rajah himself, at the head of 40,000 men. The disproportion of numbers. rendered retreat or advance equally hazardous for the invader, who prudently ensconced his small forcet in a strong position, and awaited the attack of the Hindoos, anxiously watching for any error or disaster which, might create * The site of Brahmanabad is sipposéd by Burnés to bé marked by the ruins close to thé modern town of Tatta (Travels, vol. iii., p. 31),-but -Captain M’Murdo te A.8. Journal, No. I., p. 28), thittks it must have been situated on the other side of, the: pre- sent course of the Indus, much farther to the north- east. Sehwan still retains‘its ancient name. site of Salem is doubtful. ° + It is stated in a work, abstracted from the family annals of Nawab Bahawal Khan, and translated and M4 The | disorder among their unwieldy ranks. Such a circumstance occurred at an early period of the. engagement. A -naptha fire-ball struck:the rajah’s elephant, and the terrified animal becéming.-absolutely ungovernable, rushed from the field of battle and plunged into the adjacent river Indus.’ Dahir, al- though severely .wounded by an arrow, mounted his -war-horse and returned imme- diately to the scene of action, but the dis- appearance of the leader had produced its usual effect on an Asiatic army; the fortune of the day was already decided; and the brave rajah, after vainly attempting to rally his panic-stricken foxces, plunged into the midst of the Arab cayalry, and, with a small band of trusty followers, fell covered with wounds. His son fled to Brahmanabad, but his widow collected the remains of the routed army and suceessfully defended the city, until famine within the walls proved a more powerful enemy than the sword with- out; Inflamed by her example, a body of Raj- poots resolved to devote themselves and their families to death, after the manner of their tribe. When all hope of deliverance had fled, they bathed, and with other ceremonies took leave of each other and the world; the women and children were then sacrificed on a fune- real pile, and the men, headed by the widow of Dahir, flung open the gates, of the for- ress, and all perished in an attack on the Mohammedan camp. The city was then car- ried by storm, those who remained in arms -were slaughtered, and their families reduced ‘to bondage. om A last desperate stand was made at.Ash- candra, after which Moultan seems to have fallen without resistance, and every part of the dominions of the ill-fated Dahir} was gradually subjected. Each city was called upon to embrace the religion of Mohammed or to pay tribute; in défault of bothy an assault was commenced, and unless saved’ by timely capitulation, the fighting men were put to death and their: families sold for slaves. Four cities held out to the ‘last extremity; and in two of them themumber | of. soldiers who were refused quarter is esti- published by Shahamet.Ali((a native gentleman in the service ‘of the British "government), under the title of the History of Bahawalpur (London, 1848), | that a Brahmin of-great ability forsook .his master, the rajah, previous to the final conflict, and afforded great aisistance to Casim; if so, he was probably accompanied by other deserters. : Tape? t In the history of Sinde, translated by the late epee Postans, it is asserted that Dahir’ riled Ca ool, as well as Sinde, and coins have been found 58 mated at 6,000 each. The merchants, arti- zans, and such like were exempt from moles- tation, beyond what must have been insepa- rably connected with the storming of a town. When the payment of tribute was agreed to, the sovereign retained his territory, sim- ply becoming amenable to the usual rela- tions of a tributary prince, and the people retained all their former privileges, including the free exercise of their religion. Casim himself, notwithstanding his ex- treme youth, seems to have united to mili- tary talents of the first order, discretion and ability to keep by conciliatory measures what he had gained by violence.* Several Hindoo princes were induced fo join him during the war, and at its conclusion he re-appointed the Hindoo prime minister of Dahir to his previous office, on the express ground that he was best qualified to protect old rights, and maintain established institutions. The conquest and occupation of Sinde being completed, the victor organised an army on a large scale.t By some writers he is alleged to have accomplished a trium- phant march to Canouj on the Ganges, estab- lishing a Mohammedan garrison in every large town on his route, when a sudden blow from a most unexpected source terminated at once his projects and his life. Among the females captured at Sinde were the two daughters of the ill-fated rajah, who, from their beauty and high rank, were deemed worthy to grace the seraglio of the Com- mander of the Faithful. There they re- mained until the year of the Hejira 96 (a.D. 714), when Walid became enamoured of the elder sister, who vehemently declared herself unworthy of his notice, having been dishonoured by Casim before being sent from her own country. The enraged caliph, in the first headlong impulse of passion, wrote with his own hand an order to Casim, that he should cause himself to be sewn up in a raw hide and thus embrace the fate which he deserved. The faithful subject literally obeyed this tyrannical mandate, and his body was sent to Damascus, The caliph showed it to the princess, as evidence of the fate which attended those who dared insult the “deputy of the prophet,” upon which she exultingly declared that his ill- fated servant was wholly innocent of the crime attributed to him, and had fallen a with Nagari legends, which Mr. Masson reads as refer- ning to Sri Dahir, but Professor Wilson, to Sri Mahe. * A Persian MS., the Turikhi Hind o Sind, pre- served in the India House, is the source whence most EXTINCTION OF ARAB POWER IN INDIA. victim to her successful stratagem, planned to revenge the death of her father, mother, brother, and countrymen. This strange and romantic incident is recorded with little variation by Mohammedan historians, and it is perfectly consistent with the determined character of the Hindoo women, where the objects of their affections are concerned, and also with the pure and wnhesitating self- devotion repeatedly evinced by the servants of the caliphs. t The conquests of Casim were made over to his successor Temim, whose family pos- sessed them for about thirty-six years, that is, until the downfall of the house of Ommia, 4.D. 750, when the Mussulmans were ex- pelled by the Rajpoot tribe of Sumera, and their territories restored to the Hindoos, who retained possession for nearly 500 years, Part of the expelled Arabs found refuge, (as before stated) among the Afghans. Such is the account given by Elphinstone, on the authority of Ferishta and the Ayeen | Akbery—but in the History of Bahawalpur, | since published, it is asserted that on the ex- pulsion of the Ommia dynasty and the ac- cession of Abul Abbas, governors were sent out by him to Sinde and the Punjaub. But little resistance was made, and the Abbas house continued in the enjoyment of their Indian acquisitions without molestation, until the caliphate of Kader-Bellah, that is, for a period of 286 lunar: years, at the ex- piration of which the formidable enemy of Hindoo independence, Mahmood of Ghuz- nee, appeared on the stage. These statements are quite contradictory ; but whatever degree of influence or authori the Arabs may have retained after the check given by the death of their leader, Casim, it is certain that neither their power nor their creed spread, but rather diminished from that moment. The passive courage of the Hindoos generally, as well as the more active bravery of the Rajpoots, associated especially with a devoted attachment to a religion closely interwoven with their laws | and ecustoms—opposed great obstacles to in- vaders, even more desirous of converting than of conquering them. Besides this, | the great change which took place in the spirit of the Mohammedan rulers, rendered their antagonism far less dangerous. The © rude soldiers of Arabia, who had raised the accounts of Casim’s military transactions are derived. + About 50,000 Mohammedans are said to have collected around his standard on this occasion. } Briggs’ Ferishta, vol. iv., p, 410. RISE OF THE KINGDOM OF GHUZNEE. 59 wild war cry of Islam, passed away ; succeed- ing generations filled their place, reared less hardily, while their chiefs in an absorbing desire for luxury and magnificence at home, cared little for the dear-bought triumphs of victory and the glory of their standard abroad. Omar set out to join his army at Jerusalem, (in compliance with the stipulation of the Christians that he should perscnally receive the surrender of the holy place), with his arms and provisions on the same camel with himself; and Othman ex- tinguished his lamp, when he had finished the necessary labours of the day, that the public oil might not be expended on his enjoyments. Al Mahdi, within a century from the last-named ruler, loaded 500 camels with ice and snow; and the profusion of one day of the Abbassides would have de- frayed all the expenses of the four first caliphs. Thus it was left to other Mus- sulman nations, and to dynasties formed during the gradual dismemberment of the great Arab empire, to establish permanent dominion in India. House of Ghuznee.*— To understand the origin of this powerful family, it is necessary to retrace our steps, and briefly notice the country from whence they came. After the conquest of Persia, the Oxus became the northern Arab frontier: on the opposite side lay a tract of country (bounded on the north by the Jaxartes, on the west by the Caspian Sea, and on the east by Mount Imaus,) to which they gave the name of Mawer ul Nahr, literally Beyond the River, but commonly translated Trans- oxania. intermingled with tracts of remarkable fer- tility, and was occupied partly by settled in- habitants, who were chiefly Persians, and partly by nomadic and pastoral tribes, com- prehended under the vague and general name of Tartars.t To which of the three great nations, commonly included in Euro- pean writings under this head, the people of Transoxania belonged at this period, whether Turks, Moguls, or Manchoos, is still unde- termined; but the first-named people are generally supposed to have formed the bulk ‘of the wandering and also a section of the * Ghuznee, otherwise spelt GAzznt and Ghaznt. + Tod, referring to De Guignes, says—the Heong- nou and the Ou-houn, the Turks and Moguls, were called “ Tatar,” from Tatan, the name of the country from the banks of the Irtish, along the mountains of Altai, to the shores of the Yellow Sea. De Guignes invariably maintains Heong-nou to be but another namé for the Turks, among whom he places Attila It comprised much desert ground, permanent population, It was more than half a century after the subjugation of Persia and five years before the occupation of Sinde, that the Arabs crossed the Oxus under Catiba, governor of Khorassan, and after eight years spent in a contest, with varying success, Transoxiana was subjected to the sway of the caliphs, ap. 713. In 806, a revolt occurred, which the son and successor of Haroun al Raschid, Mamoon, was enabled to quell, and afterwards by residing in Khorassan, to retain authority over that province. But on the removal of the court to Bagdad, Taher, who had been the principal instrument of Mamoon’s eleva- tion to the caliphatez to the detriment of his brother Ameen, established indepen- dent authority in Khorassan and Trans- oxiana, which were never again united to the rapidly decaying empire. The family of Taher were deposed after about fifty years’ rule, by the Sofarides, whose founder Yacub ben Leith, a brazier of Seestan, commenced by raising a revolt in his native province, afterwards over- ran Persia,t ard died while marching to attack the caliph in Bagdad. At the ex- piration of forty years, the Samanis, a family of distinction, whose members had held gov- ernments under Mamoon while he resided in Khorassan, and afterwards under the Taher- ites, superseded the Sofarides and took pos- session of their territory, nominally in behalf of the caliph, but really without any refer- ence to his authority. It was in the reign of Abdelmelek, the fifth prince of this dynasty, that Aluptugeen, the founder of the kingdom of Ghuznee, rose into impor- tance. He was of Turkish descent, and had been a slave, but his royal master recognising his ability, had appointed him to various offices of trust, and at length to the govern- ment of Khorassan. On the death of his patron, a deputation was sent to consult Aluptugeen respecting the choice of a suc- cessor from the royal family, and having given his suffrage against Mansoor the presumptive heir, on account of his extreme youth, he incurred the ill-will of this prince, (whohad meantime been raised to thethrone,) was deprived of his office, and but for the and the majority of his army, whose hideous physi- ognomy and savage manners lent a fearful prestige to their desolating marches. Another division of the same branch of the Heong-nou had previously settled among the Persians in Transoxiana, and acquired the name of the White Huns, from their changed complexion.—( Histoire generale des Huns.) t He likewise subjugated Cabool.—( Mr. Thomas.) 60 fidelity of a trusty band of adherents, aided by his own military skill, would have lost liberty, if not life. At Ghuznee, in the heart of the Soliman mountains, the fugi- tive found safety, accompanied by 3,000 dis- ciplined slaves (Mameluks). Here he was probably joined by soldiers who had served under him, as well as by the hill Afghans, who, even though they might not acknow- ledge his authority, would be readily in- duced by wages to enter his service. In his flight Aluptugeen was attended by a faith- ful slave named Subuktugeen, brought by a merchant from Turkistan to Bokhara.* Following the example of his early bene- factor, he had fostered the abilities of the youth until, on the establishment of a king- dom in Ghuznee, he rewarded the service of his adherent, both as a counsellor and general, by the titles of Ameer-ool-Omra (chief of the nobles) and Vakeel-i-Mootluk (representative). He is even said to have named him as his successor, but authorities differ on this point, some stating that Subuk- tugeen acceded immediately to the throne on the demise of Aluptugeen, a.p. 975; others, that he was chosen, on the death of that monarch’s son and successor, two years later, by general consent of the chiefs, and then married the daughter of his patron. Having been recognised by the caliph Man- soor as governor of Ghuznee, he had, con- sequently, nothing to dread from that quar- ter, but was speedily called upon to make preparations against Jeipal (Jaya Paia), rajah of Lahore, who, alarmed by the growing power of a Mohammedan ruler so near his frontier, and already harassed by frequent incursions, determined in turn to become the assailant. At the head of a large army he crossed the Indus, marched to Laghman at the mouth of the valley which extends from Peshawer to Cabool, and was there met by Subuktugeen. Some skirmishes ensued, but a general engage- ment was prevented by a terrible tempest of thunder, wind, and hail, in which some thousands of both armies were said to have perished. This disaster was attributed to supernatural causes ;+ and the Hindoos, less accustomed than their hardy foes to the * He is alleged to have been lineally descended from Yezdijerd, the last of the Persian monarchs, who when flying from his enemies during the cali- phate of Othman, was murdered while sleeping at a water-mill near the town of Meru, His family being left in Turkistan formed connections among the people, and his descendants became Turks, | + Prince Mahmood learning that in the camp of DEFEAT OF JEIPAL, RAJAH OF LAHORE—a.p. 978. extreme vicissitudes of climate, and probably | more superstitious, proposed terms of peace, to which Subuktugeen, notwithstanding the opposition of his warlike son Mahmood, then a mere boy, at length consented, on representation being made to him of the determined courage of the Hindoos, espe- cially the Rajpoots, when driven to the last extremity. Jeipal surrendered fifty ele- phants, and engaged to pay a large sum of money, but on regaining the shelter of his I own dominions, fear gave way to resent- ment, and, forfeiting his pledge, he impri- soned the messengers sent to demand its redemption. Hostilities re-commenced 3 the rajahs of Delhi, Ajmeer, Calinjar, and Canouj,{ made common cause with their countrymen; and when the rival forces again met in Laghman, the Ghuznee sove- reign, having ascended a height to ascertain the disposition of the enemy, beheld the whole plain covered with an almost count-_ less host, comprising 100,000 horse and a prodigious number of foot soldiers. Un- daunted by the prospect, and considering himself “ as a wolf about to attack a flock of sheep,” Subuktugeen divided his troops’ into squadrons of 500 men each, and di- rected them to attack successively one par- ticular point of the dense line of the enemy, | which would thus be continually compelled |‘: to encounter fresh troops. The manceuvre succeeded in occasioning some disorder, which was the signal for a general assault; the Hindoos gave way, and were driven with dreadful slaughter beyond the Indus, up to which point Subuktugeen at once took pos- session, levied heavy contributions in addi- tion to the plunder found in the camp, and left an officer, supported by 10,000 horse, as governor of Peshawer. The Afghans and Khiljis (a distinct Tartar tribe) tendered allegiance, and furnished useful recruits. He then employed himself in consolidating his own dominions, which now extended on the west beyond Candahar, until an appeal for h@lp from his nominal sovereign Noah (the seventh of the Samanis) against the inroads of the Hoeike Tartars, who then possessed all Tartary as far east as China, induced him again to have recourse to arms. Jeipal was a spring, into which, if a mixture of or- dure were thrown, a fearful storm would arise, caused this to be done and the predicted result im- mediately followed.—(Ferishta.) The fact of there being near Laghman, a spot subject to tempests of extraordinary severity, renders this tale interesting. } These princes were all of the Pala family, and consequently related to the rajah of Lahore. , ACCESSION OF MAHMOOD OF GHUZNEE—a.p. 998. 61 So efficient was the assistance rendered, that Noah, reinstated in his authority, recognised the right of Subuktugeen over all his acqui- sitions, and conferred the government of Khorassan on Mahmood, with the title of Syf-ood-Dowla (Sword of the State). This arrangement was almost immediately dis- turbed by the death of the two chief parties, and the changes and dissensions which arose in their dominions. Mahmood, being absent at the time of his father’s demise, was supplanted in his claim to the succession by his brother Ismael, whom, after defeating in a pitched battle, he captured and imprisoned for the rest of his life, mitigating however the severity of the sentence by every indulgence consistent with such a situation. During the seven months spent in establishing himself in Ghuznee, events occurred in Bokhara very detrimental to his interests. The new king, Mansoor II., fell into the power of the old enemies of his family, and by the influence of Elik Khan the Tartar sovereign, was compelled to receive Faik, one of his most turbulent and rebellious nobles, as his prime minister or rather master. The ap- plication of Mahmood to be continued in the government of Khorassan was abruptly rejected, and soon afterwards some court intrigues led to the unhappy Mansoor’s being dethroned and blinded, whereupon Abdulmelek was elected his successor as the instrument of Faik, a.p. 999. On this, Mahmood ordered the name of the Samanis to. be omitted in the public prayers; took possession of Khorassan in his own behalf; and having received an investiture from the reigning caliph (the dispenser of powers which he himself no longer enjoyed) pro- claimed the independence of his sway. He is henceforth commonly termed Sultan, an old Arabic word signifying king, but this title is not found upon his coins.* He next made peace with, and married the daughter of Elik Khan, who had secured his share in the spoil of a falling dynasty by seizing on Transoxiana, and had thus put an end to the dominion of the Samanis after it had lasted 120 years. Mahmood was now little more than thirty years of age. The vigour and ambition of his mind were in accord- ance with his athletic and well-proportioned * Sultan, first stamped by the ae Toghral Beg, was assumed in Ghuznee some fifteen years later by Ibrahim, a.p. 1060. (Thomas, on Ghazni Coins.) + Alexander was reproached by his mother for placing his friends on a level with princes, by his | 5B frame, but, greedy of personal distinction of every kind, he considered the mens sana in corpore sano insufficient compensation for an ordinary stature, and features dis- figured with the small pox in a manner, which at least in his youth, he bitterly re- gretted, as calculated to mar the effect of the splendid pageants in which he delighted to form the chief object. For Mahmood, famous warrior as he afterwards and had indeed already proved himself, could not as a legislator bear comparison with his vaunted teacher Mohammed, and was very far from uniting the comprehensive ability of the statesman to the sword of the conqueror, like his mighty predecessor in India, Alex- ander; who, heédless of the externals of royalty, lavished gold and jewels upon his followers until his own coffers were empty,7 and—superior to the vanity which led his successors to stamp their resemblance on coins and images, cared so little for this species of notoriety, that of his kingly form no popular notion remains, save that con- nected with the keen intelligence of the eye, and the peculiar carriage of the head, dwelt on by cotemporaries as his peculiar characteristics. The vice of covetousness, in the indul- gence of which Mahmood’s intense selfish- ness found constant gratification, gradually swallowed up the higher qualities of his intellect, as well as the better feelings of his heart. It had probably been early stimu- lated by the rich booty captured during his father’s war with Jeipal, and by reports of the immense stores of wealth heaped around idolatrous shrines, which it was the duty of every “ true believer” to pillage and destroy. The unsettled state of the surrounding na- tions offered a wide scope for his ambition, but Indian conquest appears to have been his paramount desire. Having therefore, as before stated, entered into a friendly alli- ance with Elik Khan and made arrange- ments for the government of his own domi- nions, he proceeded with 10,000 chosen horse to invade India, a.p. 1001. Near Peshawer he was met by his father’s old antagonist, the rajah of Lahore, whom, after totally defeating, he made prisoner. From thence the conqueror pursued his victorious march beyond the Sutlej, to the fort of Ba- unbounded generosity. Mahmood when dying or- dered his treasures to be spread out before him, and shed bitter tears at the thought of parting with them, but distributed no portion among the faithful adherents who had cme him in their acquisition. 62 MAHMOOD’S EARLY EXPEDITIONS TO INDIA—a.v. 1001—1005. tinda,* which he stormed, and then returned to Ghuznee with the rich spoils of the camp and country, including sixteen necklaces, one of which, belonging to Jeipal, was valued at 180,000 dihnars,t or £81,000. ; In the ensuing spring the Hindoo pri- soners were released on payment of a heavy ransom, but the Afghan chiefs who had joined them were put to death. Jeipal him- self returned to his kingdom, and having made over his authority to his son Anung Pal, bravely met the fate a mistaken creed assigned as a duty to a sovereign twice con- quered by a foreign foe; and mounting a pyre which he had caused to be prepared, set it on fire and perished in the flames. Anung Pal (Ananda Pala) appears to have at first endeavoured to fulfil his father’s engagement, but the rajah of Bhatia,} a dependency of Lahore, on the eastern side of Moultan, refused to furnish his quota of the stipulated tribute, upon which the sultan proceeded in person to enforce it (a.p. 1004), and drove the offending rajah, first from a well-defended intrenchment, and then from a strong fortress, until the fugitive, in des- pair, finding himself pursued even among the thickets of the Indus, where he had hoped for refuge, and being at the point of cap- ture, turned his sword against his own breast: the majority of his remaining ad- herents perished in vainly endeavouring to avenge his death. After annexing Bhatia and its dependen- cies the conqueror departed, bearing away as usual much booty of various kinds, in- cluding 280 elephants and many captives. A third expedition into India was soon * Situated in an almost inaccessible tract inhab- ited by the Bhattis or Shepherds. Though sur- rounded by a sort of desert, the rajah resided here, alternately with his capital Lahore, probably as a measure of security. Bird’s History of Gujarat, from the Persian of Ali Mohammed Khan. + Valuing the dihnar at nine shillings. { Site disputed, generally considered to be the present Bhulneer. § Brigg’s Ferishta, vol. i. p. 40. This expression probably alludes to a supposed falling into hetero- doxy rather than paganism. Sects and dissensions had early arisen among the Mohammedans, and in- creased until they amounted to seventy-three, the number said to have been foretold by Molnaeds nese may be classed under two heads, The be- lievers, generally deemed orthodox, are included under the term Sonnites (or traditionists), because they acknowledge the authority of the Sonna, a collection of moral traditions of the sayings and actions of their founder, which is a sort of supplement to the Koran, answering in name and design to the Mishna of the Jews. The Sonnites regard the Koran as uncreated and eternal, in opposition to the Motazalites (or sepa- undertaken against the Afghan ruler ot Moultan, Abul Futteh Lodi, the grandson of the chief who had joined Subuktugeen after his first victory over the Hindoos, Abul, although educated as a Mussulman, had “ abandoned the tenets of the faithful,’’§ and what Mahmood considered of more im- portance, thrown off his political allegiance, | | and entered into aclose alliance with Anung Pal, who, on learning the approach of their joint foe, advanced to intercept him, but was defeated near Peshawer, pursued to Sodra (near Vizirabad) on the Chenab, and compelled to take refuge in Cashmere. Moultan was then besieged, but at the end of seven days a compromise was effected, the revolting chief promising implicit obedi-| | ence for the future and the payment of an annual tribute of 20,000 golden dirhems ;|| terms which Mahmood was only too glad to grant, having received intelligence of a for- midable invasion of his dominions by the armies of Elik Khan. The ties of relation- ship had not sufficed to prevent the en- croaching Tartar from endeavouring to take advantage of the unprotected state in which | his son-in-law had left his home possessions, | |. while intent on aggressive incursions abroad. | Hoping to acquire Khorassan without diffi- culty, he despatched one force to Herat and another to Balkh to take possession. But he had formed too low an estimate of the energy of the opponent he had. wantonly provoked. Committing the charge of his acquisitions on the Indus to Sewuk Pal, a Hindoo who had embraced Mohammedanism, | | . Mahmood immediately proceeded by long and rapid marches to Ghuznee, and thence to ratists) and others, who maintain such an assertion to be rank infidelity; and some caliphs of the Abbas family (Motassem and Wathek) endeavoured. to sup- press it by punishing its advocates with whipping, im- prisonment, and even death. An account of the numerous false prophets who sprang up, in imitation of the arch-deceiver himself, is ably given in the in- troduction to Sale’s Koran; among them figures Mokanna, the veiled prophet, the hero of Moore’s most popular production. The Sheiahs, a term sig nifying sectaries or adherents in general, is pecu- liarly applied to the followers of Ali, who hold him to have been the rightful Caliph and Imaum, or high pens (by virtue of his birth, of his marriage with atima, and of his having been the first independent | | person who recognised the mission of Mohammed,) and consider the supreme authority both temporal and spi- ritual inalienably vested in his descendants. The Per- sians are mostly Sheiahs; the'Turks generaily come un- der thehead of Sonnites, and these, fice many less con- spicuous sects, are in direct opposition to each other. || The value of the silver dirhem is about five pence ; that of the golden one, Colonel Briggs states, is not estimated in any work he has examined. * HOSTILITIES IN MOULTAN AND THE PUNJAUB—a.v. 1008. 63 Balkh, whence the intruders fled, as did the troops at Herat, before the force detached for their expulsion. ; Elik Khan, alarmed at the turn oftaffairs, applied for assistance to Kadr Khan of Khoten, who marched to join him with 50,000 men. Thus strengthened he crossed the Oxus and was met near Balkh by Mah- mood, who had employed even more than wonted skill in the arrangement of his re- sources. Not the least of these was a body of 500 elephants, captured at various times from the Hindoos, the mere sight of which would, he rightly conjectured, check the fury of the Tartar charge, and probably suc- ceed in breaking their line: but being well aware that failing in this, these timid and unwieldy, though sagacious and gentle crea- tures, would, as he had often witnessed, becoming alarmed and injured, rush back furiously on their masters, he stationed them at intervals among the troops, leaving free way for their retreat in the event of a re- pulse. This forethought, however, proved needless. Both armies advanced with im- petuosity to the charge, and Elik Khan, attended by his guards, attacked the centre of the army of Mahmood, who, perceiving his intention, leaped from his horse, and after (as was his wont, on the eve of any great struggle) prostrating himself on the ground and invoking the aid of the Al- mighty,—mounted an elephant and ad- vanced to meet his assailant. The well- trained animal seizing the standard-bearer of the enemy in his trunk, tossed him aloft, to the dismay. of his companions. The Ghuznevides urged on the other elephants and pressed forward themselves to support their leader; the Tartars were driven off the field with prodigious slaughter, and Elik Khan escaped across the Oxus with a few attendants, having received a severe lesson not again to meddle with the dominions of his warlike relative. But for the incle- * On the third night of the pursuit a violent storm of wind and snow occurred. The army remained unsheltered, but the royal tents had with much difficulty been pitched and heated by stoves, so that many of the courtiers began to throw off their upper garments. One of them came in shivering with cold, which Mahmood perceiving, addressed him with— “Go, Dilchuk, and tell Winter that he may burst his cheeks with blustering—here we defy his power.” Dilchuk went out, and returning, declared that he had delivered his message, and the surly season replied, that though he might fail to touch royalty or its immediate retainers, yet he would so evince his, power over ‘the army that in the morning the mency of the season, it being the winter of 1006, he might have fared still worse; for Mahmood, after two days’ pursuit, was not without great reluctance compelled to return to his capital by the intense cold, from which some kundreds of his men and horses perished.* Meanwhile Sewuk Pal, the renegade Hindoo governor, had relapsed into ido- latry and expelled all the officers appointed by Mahmood, who, marching to India, de- tached a body of cavalry in advance, by whom the offender was surprised and cap- tured. His sentence was a heavy fine and imprisonment for life.+ In the spring of 1008, the Sultan as- sembled a large army and set out on his fourth Indian expedition, on the plea of revenging the opposition he had received during the hostilities in Moultan from Anung Pal, who, on becoming aware of his danger, sent ambassadors to the Hindoo princes on all sides, urging them to unite for the protection of their religion and in- dependence. The appeal was successful ; the rajahs of Oojein, Gwalior, Calinjar, Canouj, Delhi, and Ajmeer entered into a confederacy, and collecting their forces, ad- vanced into the Punjaub with an army, whose magnitude so astonished Mahmood, that instead of displaying his usual alacrity to meet danger, he halted in the presence of the enemy, took up a position near Peshawer, and remained forty days in a de- fensive attitude. It must have seemed to him as if the whole male population of Hindoostan had come, en masse, to obstruct his progress, and to die, if necessary, in the attempt. Their numbers and enthusiasm daily increased, contributions constantly rarrived from the women of. distant parts, who sold their jewels and melted down their ornaments to provide ample resources for the defence of their country, and the Gukkurs and other warlike troops rallying round the With all his faults, Mahmood seems to have been neither irascible nor tyrannical in his bearing to- wards those about him. The reproof thus wittily conveyed is said to have induced him to renounce the idea of further advance, but the distressing scenes of death and suffering manifested by the dawn of the following day must have sufficed to afford reason for retreat.—(Briggs’ Ferishta, vol.i., p. 44.) + In the text I have followed the example of Elphinstone in adopting the statement of Ferishta ; but Mr. Bird asserts, on the authority of older Per- sian writers, that there was no such person as Sewuk Pal, and that the mistake arose from placing the expedition to Moultan before, instead of after, the sultan might. be compelled to saddle his own horse. | war with Elik Khan.—(History of Gujarat, p. 23.) 64 DEFEAT OF CONFEDERATED HINDOO RAJAHS—a.p. 1008—’10. popular standard, encompassed the Moham- medans, who were compelled to intrench their camp. Mahmood perceiving the in- creasing danger, strove to profit by the strength of his defences, and sent out a body of 6,000 archers to provoke an attack. The success of this stratagem had well nigh proved fatal to the schemer, for the hardy Gukkurs having repulsed the archers, pur- sued them so closely, that in spite of the sultan’s personal efforts, a numerous body of these mountaineers, bare-headed and bare-footed, variously and strangely armed, passed the entrenchments on both flanks, and throwing themselves among the cavalry with irresistible fury, proceeded to cut down and maim both horse and rider, until in a very short space of time between 3,000 and 4,000 Mohammedans were slain. The assailants however, after the first onset, were checked and cut off as they advanced, till, on a sudden the elephant on which the Hindoo leader rode becoming unruly * turned and fled, and his followers thinking themselves deserted, gave way, and were easily routed. Mahmood immediately de- spatched 10,000 men in pursuit of the re- treating army, of whom nearly twice as many were slain before they could reach a place of safety. Then, without allowing the scat- tered hosts time to reassemble, he followed them into the Punjaub, and on their effectual dispersion, found himself at liberty to give free scope to his plundering propensities in the rifling of the fort of Bheem (now Nagar- cot), a fortified temple on a steep mountain connected with the lower range of the Himalaya. This edifice was considered to derive peculiar sanctity from a burning foun- tain or natural flame, which issued from the ground within its precincts, and was en- riched by princely offerings, besides being the depository of the wealth of the neigh- bourhood ; so that, according to Ferishta, such an amount of treasure was never col- lected by any prince on earth. It would seem incredible that a place of the first import- ance should be left unguarded, but its * In various copies of Ferishta, the cause of the elephant’s alarm is ascribed to guns and muskets, As no Persian or Arabic history speaks of gunpowder before the time assigned to its European invention, A.D. 1317, Briggs, by a slight change of the diacrital points in the manuscripts, renders it—* naptha balls and arrows.” Elphinstone deems the expression. an anachronism of the author; but as there is every reason to believe that this explosive material was then used in China, it seems just possible that it might have been obtained from thence. garrison having been drawn off during the late effort to free Hindoostan from her per- secutor, the rapidity of his movements had cut off any chance of reinforcement; and when, after having laid waste the surround- ing country with fire and sword, he ap- proached the walls, no opposition was at- tempted by the defenceless priests, who glad- ly capitulated on the condition of their lives being spared. Entering the temple with the chief officers of his court and household, Mahmood gazed in delighted amazement at the vast stores garnered up therein. Gold and silver, wrought and unwrought, in dih- nars, plate and ingots; pearls, corals, dia- monds, rubies and various other jewels,t accumulated since the time of Rajah Bheema, in the heroic ages, became the prize of the royal marauder, who returned with his booty to Ghuznee, and in a triumphal festival held during three days on a spacious plain, displayed on golden thrones and tables manufactured from his Indian spoils, the richest and rarest of his acquisitions. Sumptuous banquets were provided for the spectators, alms liberally distributed among the poor, and magnificent | | presents bestowed on persons of distinction ; all this display being at once very gratifying to the sultan’s love of magnificence, and well calculated to contribute to his popularity, and the maintenance of internal tranquillity during his frequent absence. In a.p. 1010, Mahmood proceeded against the strong country of Ghor, in the moun- tains east of Herat. The inhabitants were Afghans, and had been converted and sub- dued by the caliphs in the commencement of the second century of the Hejira. Their chief, Mohammed Soor, strongly posted, and at the head of 10,000 men, repelled the attacks of his assailant from early morning till noon, but was eventually tempted from his secure position, by the pretended dis- orderly retreat of the Ghuznevides, in pur- suit of whom the Ghorians sallied forth, but were speedily made aware of the trap into which they had fallen, by the sudden halt + There are said to have been 700,000 golden dihnars, 700 mauns : S20 of gold and silver plate, 200 mauns of pure gold in ingots, 2,000 mauns of un- wrought silver, and 20 mauns of jewels. There are several kinds of maun; the smallest, that of Arabia, is two pounds; the most common, that of Tabriz, | | eleven pounds; and that of Taking the smallest’ weight, gold and silver plate, 4,000 lb. of silver bullion, and 40 lb. weight of jewels.—(Briggs’ Ferishta, vol. i, p. 48.) India. eighty pounds. we have 1,400 1b. of 400 lb. of geen ingots, i, _& SURRENDER OF CANOUJ—DEVASTATION OF MUTTRA—a.p. 1017. 65 and fierce onset of the foe, by whom they were competely defeated. Their chief being taken prisoner, swallowed some poison, which he always kept about him in ring, and died in a few hours. His country was annexed to the dominions of Ghuznee, but it is worthy of note that by his descendants the conquering dynasty was at length utterly overthrown. Two years afterwards, the mountainous country of Jurjistan,* adjoining Ghor, was reduced, and another attack made upon Moultan, which had revolted. In the words of Ferishta, who, as a Mussulman historian, chooses very gentle phrases in which to ex- press the sanguinary deeds of fellow-believers, *a number of the infidel inhabitants were cut off,’ and Abul Futteh Lodi brought to Ghuznee as a captive, and doomed to languish in the gloomy fort of Ghooruk for life. In the following year, 1011, Mahmood undertook an expedition of unusual length to Tanesur (thirty miles west of Delhi). He was met by the urgent entreaties of the Hin- doos that he would spare the temple, which they held in great veneration, and accept a ransom, but he replied, “the Koran declared ‘that the extent to which the followers of the prophet exerted themselves for the sub- version of idolatry would be the measure of their reward in heaven,—it therefore be- hoved him, by Divine assistance, to root out the worship of idols from the face of all India.” Proceeding forthwith to Tanesur, before its defenders had time to assemble, he plundered the temple, destroyed the idols, sacked the town, and carried away 200,000 captives and much treasure, so that throughout the camp “no soldier was with- out wealth or many slaves.”’+ Two predatory incursions into Cashmere were next attempted, the second of which proved disastrous from the difficulties of a march commenced when the season was too far advanced.t A brief interval of repose for India followed, during which Mahmood took advantage of the disturbed state of the affairs of Elk Khan’s successor in Tartary to acquire possession of Transoxiana, and extend his dominion to the Caspian Sea. From this period his Indian exploits were on a grander scale, and ‘he seems to have united a much stronger desire for the per- * Mistaken by D’Herbelot and others for Georgia. + Briggs’ Ferishta, vol. i. p. 58. { Stewart’s History of Bengal, pp. 10, 11. § Mahmood writing to Ghuznee declared that Muttra contained a thousand edifices “as firm as the manent possession of conquered territories, to his zeal for the destruction of idols, and the appropriation of their spoils. Assem- bling an army of 100,000 horse and 20,000 foot, drawn more especially from his newly- acquired dominions, he made judicious ar- rangements for the home government dur- ing his absence, placed his two sons in important governments aided by trusty counsellors, and then commenced carrying out the plans which, after much careful in- vestigation, he had devised for the prosecu- tion of a three months’ march to the Ganges, across seven great rivers, in an unexplored country. Leaving Peshawer in the spring of 1017, he passed near the confines of Cashmere, and being joined by the prince whom he had established there, proceeded on his way, keeping close to the mountains until he had crossed the Jumna. Then turning south, and driving all opposition before them, the Mussulmans presented themselves unexpectedly before the walls of Canouj; a city, says Ferishta, “ which raised its head to the skies, and, in strength and beauty, might boast of being unrivailed.” The rajah, taken by surprise, made no attempt at defence, but came out with his family and surrendered himself to Mah- mood, who, on this occasion, (either from a motive of policy, or possibly actuated by one of the kindly impulses in which his nature, though warped by bigotry and ava- rice, was by no means deficient,) showed unusual clemency, and after three days’ tarry, left the stately city uninjured. Other places and their rulers were less fortunate—many were bravely defended. At Mahawan, near Muttra, terms had been entered into, when an accidental quarrel among the troops led to the massacre of the Hindoos, whose leader, conceiying himself betrayed, destroyed his wife and family, and then committed suicide. Muttrag itself, the famous seat of the Hindoo religion, was completely devastated by the excesses of the troops during a twenty days’ halt, the hor- rors of a conflagration being added to the ordinary sufferings of the, people of a sacked city. Idols of gold and silver, with eyes of rubies, and adorned with sapphires and pre- cious stones, were demolished, melted down, and packed on camels; destined perhaps to faith of the faithful,” mostly of marble, besides in- numerable temples, and considered that many mil- lions of dihnars must have been expended on the city, the fellow to which could not be constructed under two centuries.—(Ferishta, vol. i. p. 58.) 66 MAHMOOD AND FERDOUSI, THE PERSIAN POET. excite scarcely less censurable feelings in the breasts of their new possessors, than formerly as the unhallowed mediums, or too often the actual objects, of Hindoo worship. The temples were however left standing, either on account of the excessive, and, in one sense at least, unprofitable labour ne- cessary to their destruction, or else for the sake of their extraordinary beauty. The fort of Munj was taken after a siege of twenty- five days, its Rajpoot defenders at length ending the long struggle by rushing through the breaches on the eneray, springing from the works, or meeting death in the flames of their own houses, with their wives and children; so that not one remained to be enslaved. Various other towns were reduced and much country laid waste, before the vic- torious army leaving the beautiful plains of ul-fated, because idolatrous, Hindoostan steeped in blood and tears, returned to their homes in triumph, carrying with them many prisoners.* New tastes had been acquired to- gether with the means for their gratification, and incited by the recollection of the stately structures they had ruthlessly despoiled, the rough soldiers so lately accustomed to make the saddle their seat by day, their pillow by night, now, following the example of their king, employed the wealth, labour, and talents of their wretched captives, in rearing palaces for their private abodes as well as public buildings for the adornment of the capital, which soon became orna- mented with mosques, porches, fountains, aqueducts, and reservoirs beyond any city then existing. Mahmood himself erected a magnificent mosque cf marble and granite, called “the Celestial Bride,” which was in that age the wonder of the East; and founded a university, supplied with an extensive and valuable library, and a museum of natural curiosities. To the maintenance of this establishment he appropriated a large sum of money, and formed a permanent fund for the support of the students and the salaries of qualified instructors. He also set aside a sum nearly equal to £10,000 a-year, for pensions to learned men—and through this munificence his court became as celebrated through Asia for its brilliant literary circle, as was afterwards that of the Medici in * Ferishta’s confused account of their route is dis- cussed in Bird’s History of Gujarat, p. 31. } The ruling dynasty was Turkish, but Mahmood was the illegitimate son of a Persian mother, and in language and manners identified with that nation. Europe. The liberality thus evinced con- trasted strongly with his usual parsimony, : and it was well directed, for it did much to | |: secure for him the present and posthumous fame which he ardently desired. Large re- wards were offered for the production of an historical poem which should embody the achievements of ancient Persian+ heroes ; and the author who commenced the work (Dakiki) having been assassinated when he had finished about a thousand couplets, the continuation was entrusted to the celebrated Ferdousi, who performed his task with such ability that, although so obsolete as to re- quire a glossary, it is still the most popular of all books among his countrymen.t The sultan was delighted with the poem; but when, after thirty years’ labour, it was at length concluded, his characteristic failing prevailed over justice, and the proffered reward was so disproportioned to the expec- tations held out, that the disappointed Fer- dousi indignantly rejected it, and withdrew to his native city of Tus, whence he launched |. a bitter satire at Mahmood, who on mature | | reflection evinced no ordinary amount of magnanimity by passing over the satire || (which is still extant), and remitting for the epic, what even its author must have con- sidered, a princely remuneration. But it came too late; the treasure entered one door of Ferdousi’s house as his bier was borne out of another. His daughter proudly rejected the untimely gift, but was eventu- ally prevailed upon by Mahmood to accept it, as a means of procuring an abundant supply of water for the city where ‘her father had been born, and to which he had been always much attached. In 1022, the sultan was roused from the unusual quiet in which he had remained for five years, by advices from India that a@ con- federacy had been formed against the rajah of Canouj by the neighbouring princes to avenge his alliance with the enemy of his country. Mahmood immediately marched to his relief, but on arriving found that the unfortunate prince had been defeated and slain by the rajah of Calinjar, against whom the Mohammedan arms were directed, but without any remarkable result.§ This cam- paign is however memorable as marking the establishment of the first permanent garri- } The Shah Namah or Book of Kings. § In the kingdom of Ghuznee at this time, many soldiers and magistrates were Arabs by descent, buta great portion of the court and army were Turks, and the rest, with almost all the people, were Persians, ed eee ae er a ll LAHORE OCCUPIED BY MAHMOOD—SOMNAUTH TAKEN—a.p. 1024, 67 son on the east of the Indus; for the new rajah of Lahore (Anung Pal’s successor) having ventured to oppose the invader, was driven from his country, which was d&poiled and annexed to Ghuznee. In 1024, Mah- mood performed, if not the greatest, at least the most famous of his Indian exploits. At the head of an immense army, swollen ‘by a crowd of volunteers from beyond the Oxus, and attended by 20,000 camels bear- ing supplies, he set off, nerved to encounter a long march, partly through hostile terri- tories and partly through a desert 350 miles broad, of loose sand or hard clay, almost entirely without water or forage. Having overcome these obstacles he sud- denly appeared before Ajmeer to the con- sternation of the rajah and inhabitants, who fled, leaving the Mussulmans to ravage the country and pursue their desolating course, to Anhalwara, the capital of Guzerat, whose rajah, also taken by surprise, was con- strained to abandon it precipitately, and leave the way clear for the invaders to the great object of their hopes, the famous temple of Somnauth, the richest and most frequented place of worship in the country.* It stood at the southern extremity of Guze- rat, on a peninsula connected with the main land by a fortified isthmus, the battle- ments of which were guarded at every point by armed men; who, on witnessing the ap- proach of the Moslems, loudly asserted, in the name of their object of worship, that this great force had been drawn together only to be utterly destroyed as a retribution for the desecrated shrines of India. Nothing deterred, Mahmood brought for- ward his archers, who commenced mounting the walls with their accustomed war-cry, « Alla h4 Akbur!” (God is supreme !), but the Rajpoots having prostrated themselves before the idol, hurried to the defence and drove back the enemy with heavy loss. The next day brought a more signal repulse, and on the third the neighbouring princes presented themselves in order of battle. In the furious conflict which ensued victory was doubtful, when the arrival of the rajah of Anhalwara with a strong reinforcement * For its maintenance, the revenues of 2,000 vil- lages had been granted by different princes ; 2,000 priests, 500 dancing-women, and 300 musicians offi- ciated in its ceremonies, at which 200,000 to 300,000 votaries used to attend during the eclipses. The chain supporting a bell which the worshippers struck during prayer weighed 200 mauns of gold, and the idol itself was daily washed with water brought from the Ganges, a distance of 1,000 miles. . brought the invaders to the verge of de- feat. Mahmood, leaping from his horse, prostrated himself, invoking Divine aid; then, remounting and taking a Circas- sian general by the hand, he advanced against the foe, loudly cheering the troops who had so often fought and conquered with him, and who now, excited to renewed exer- tion, rushed forward with unlooked-for im- petuosity, broke through the opposing line, and in a single charge laid 5,000 Hindoos dead or dying at their feet. The rout be- came general; the garrison of Somnauth beheld it with dismay, and renouncing all hopes of further defence broke up, and, to the number of 4,000, made their way to their boats, some of which were intercepted and sunk by the enemy. Mahmood then entered the temple, ac- companied by his sons and chief nobles, and gazed with astonishment on the stately edifice. The spacious roof was supported by fifty-six pillars, curiously carved and set with precious stones, and illuminated (the light of heaven being excluded) by a lamp suspended by a golden chain, whose flame, re- flected from the numerous gems, shed bright gleams around. The idol itself stood in the centre, and was of stone, five yards in height, ° two of which were sunk in the ground. Ac- cording to Ferishta, it is a well authenti- cated fact that Mahmood was entreated by a crowd of Brahmins to accept a costly ransom and spare the object of their venera- tion, but after some hesitation, he exclaimed that were he to consent, his name would go down to posterity as an idol-seller instead of destroyer, he therefore struck the face of the image with his mace, and his example being followed by his companions, the figure, which was hollow, burst open and exposed to view a store of diamonds and other jewels, far surpassing in value the sum offered for its preservation.t Altogether, the treasure taken is said to have exceeded that acquired on any former occasion. Mahmood next captured Gundaba, a fort supposed to be protected by the sea, by en- tering the water at the head of his troops during a low tide. He appears to have passed + Besides this idol, we are told there were some thousands of smaller ones, wrought in gold and silver, and of various shapes and dimensions; but no description is given of the especial object of worship, a simple cylinder of stone, the well-known embiem of Saiva or Siva, from whose designation Sama N&- tha, Lord of the Moon, the temple derives its name. The famous sandal-wood gates carried by Mahmood to Ghuznee will be subsequently alluded to. 68 MAHMOOD’S THIRTEENTH EXPEDITION TO INDIA—a.p. 1025. Anhalwara, with whose mild climate, beauty, and fertility he was so much delighted, as to entertain thoughts of transferring the seat of government thither, at least for some years, and making it a point of departure for further conquests. ‘Among his projects, was that of the forma- tion of a fleet for maritime invasions; the pearls of Ceylon and the gold mines of the Malayan peninsula offering cogent reasons for the subjugation of these countries. These schemes his counsellors earnestly and successfully opposed, and as the rajah of Anhalwara still kept aloof and refused submission, Mahmood selected a new ruler, a man of royal descent, who, though living the life of an anchorite, was not proof against the attractions of a throne, though clogged with the humiliating conditions of subjection and tribute to a foreign foe.* The homeward route of the Mussulmans was fraught with toil and suffering—the way by which they had come was occupied by a strong force under the rajah of Ajmeer and the rightful, though fugitive prince of Anhalwara. Mahmood, with an army already wasted by the casualities of war and chmate, did not care to risk a conflict, the effect of which, even though successful, would still further thin the ranks and di- minish the energy of those who had after- wards a long and weary march to encounter, besides risking the rich booty with which they were encumbered. He therefore avoided further hostilities, by returning a different road, through the sands to the east of Sinde. The hot season was advanced when the troops started, and their sufferings for want of water and forage increased, until they * The conclusion of the new rajah’s history affords a remarkable instance of retributive justice, even ailowing for oriental embellishment. Fearing the rivalry of a relation, he prayed Mahmood to deliver him into his custody, promising to spare his life, and kept his pledge by causing a cell to be dug under his own throne, in which his victim was to linger out the remainder of his existence. A sudden revolution occurred, which is said to have been occasioned by a vulture having flown upon the rajah while lying asleep under a tree with his face covered with a red handkerchief, and totally blinded him by fixing its talons into his eyes; thus rendering him, by the laws of his country, incapable of reigning. The position of the parties was immediately reversed, the cruel schemer being forthwith removed to the dun- geon which he had himself prepared; thus, says Ferishta, fulfilling the Scripture, in which it is written—“ He who digs a pit for his brother, shall himself fall therein.” —(Briggs, vol. i., p. 80.) T It is surprising that the passage along the Indus should not have been chosen by Mahmood, who must have been acquainted with it, both from the the rainy season at reached a climax in three days of in- tense agony, during which they wandered through the worst part of the desert, wil- fully misled, it is said, by their guides, who after severe torture, were brought to confess themselves disguised priests of Somnauth. Many of the soldiers perished miserably, some died raving mad, and when at length they came upon a pool of water, itwas received ‘ with inexpressible transport as a miraculous interposition of Providence in their favour. Eventually they reached Moultan, and from thence proceeded to Ghuznee,t but before the expiration of the year, their rest- less leader was once more in arms to avenge the molestation offered by a body of Juts,t in the Jund mountains, to his forces during their march to Somnauth. Foreseeing the expedient to which the Juts would have re- course, he was provided with an extensive flotilla; and when they took refuge in the islands of the Indus, hoping to elude pur- suit by repeatedly shifting their position, he pursued them so pertinaciously that though not without a desperate defence, the men were mostly destroyed and the women and children enslaved. Thus terminated Mahmood’s thirteenth and last expedition to India. Hostilities were then directed against the Turki tribe of Seljuk,§ whose growing power he had incautiously favoured, until they became too unruly to be restrained by his local repre- sentatives; nor were they without difficulty compelled to respect his immediate autho- rity. The next act was the seizure of Persian Irak (extending from the frontier of Khorassan, westward to the mountains of Koordistan, beyond Hamadan). This he account of Mohammed Casim’s proceedings and from the neighbourhood of the Afghans. Elphin- stone, in commenting upon this circumstance, sug- gests the existence of physical obstacles now re- moved, adding, that the Runn of Cutch, now a hard desert in the dry season, and a salt marsh in the rains, was, doubtless, formerly a part of the sea; and remarks, that the changes which have taken place | | under our own eyes prepare us to believe that still | | greater may have occurred in the 800 years that have elapsed since the fall of Somnauth. (Vol. i., p. 558.) { Probably a Tartar horde of the Gete stock, widely disseminated over India, and, according to Tod, called by their ancient name of Jits in the Pun- jaub, Jats on the Jumna and Ganges, and Juts on the Indus and in Saurashtra. § The tribe is supposed to have originated in a chief who held a high station under one of the great Tartar princes, but having incurred the displeasure of his sovereign was driven into exile, and his sons and adherents became subject to Mahmood in Trans- oxiana, frequently however, carrying on wars and incursions on their own account. DEATH OF MAHMOOD—a.v. 10830—HIS SUCCESSORS. 69 eccomplished by taking advantage of the disturbances which occurred in the reign of one of the representatives of a branch of the family of Buya, called also the Deilqmites ; the person of the prince being treacherously seized in the Moslem camp. The resistance of the people of Ispahan and Cazvin was cruelly revenged by the massacre of several thousands in each city. The ordinary excuse of zeal for the glory of Islam—that is to say, the bigotry which has sometimes really prompted cruel aggres- sions, but has far more frequently been assumed as a mask to cover ambition or rapacity, cannot in this case be urged in palliation of these grasping and sanguinary transactions, probably the worst, as they were the last, of the life of Mahmood. Re- turning triumphant to Ghuznee, he was attacked by a disease which soon completely prostrated his extraordinary physical and mental energies, and of which he died, after a reign of thirty-three years. During pa- roxysms of excruciating agony, he might well have envied even the wretched slaves whom his marauding incursions had made so cheap that purchasers could not be found for them at ten dirhems (about 4s. 7d.) a head. At such moments his hundred measures of jewels * could afford but poor consolation ; even the delusive doctrine of the Koran con- demned alike the means by which they had been acquired, and the master-passion whose strength was never manifested more forcibly than in the closing scenes of his eventful career. When taking a sorrowful leave of his ~reat possessions, the dying Sultan per- haps .::ought bitterly of a sentiment some of the numerous poets of his court might have rhymed, though scarcely so sweetly as our own Southey : “In heaven ambition cannot dwell, Nor avarice in the vaults of hell —” He had ample reason to regret leaving a world in which he had—with reverence for the sacred text be it spoken, “laid up much treasure for many years ;” nor is it probable that be could look for reward or even pardon in another, on the ground of faithful service to the cause of Islam. Notwithstanding his character for bigotry, and frequent and public invocations of Divine assistance, a careful review of Mahmood’s * Hearing of the wealth of the Samani_ princes, who had accumulated jewels enough to fill seven measures, he exclaimed exultingly, that he possessed sufficient to fill an hundred. + On this point, see Elphinstone, vol. i., p. 569. L actions renders it more than doubtful whe- ther all these were not hollow pretences to raise the enthusiasm of his more truthful followers who, it must be borne in mind, had been accustomed from the earliest times to prayer before battle, and thanks- giving in the hour of victory. If he were really a sceptict regarding the creed which he made the pretext for destroying or en- slaving unoffending multitudes, his condition was wretched indeed ; but if he did actually believe it an imperative duty to increase the numbers of “the faithful,” at all costs, then at least his conduct, with the exception of some few memorable instances, was very unaccountable; for, besides his apathy in not endeavouring to establish Moslem colo- nies in India, schools, or other means of instruction, it appears that he never hesi- tated to exercise perfect tolerance whenever it suited his views. The rajah of Canouj, for instance (his only ally), was an uncon- verted Hindoo; he appointed a strict de- votee to the throne of Guzerat ; employed a large body of native cavalry, without regard to their religion, and contrary to orthodox Mohammedanism — circumstances which would testify liberality of feeling, but for their manifest inconsistency with other parts of his conduct, for which excessive zeal is urged in apology. The house of Ghuznee reached its culmi- nating point in the person of Mahmood’s turbulent son, Masaud, who, having deposed and blinded his brother Mohammed, after five months’ rule, mounted the throne, and completed the remaining conquest of Persia, except the province of Fars. He made three expeditions into India, during which he captured Sersooty on the Sutlej, quelled a rebellion at Lahore, and stationed a garri- son in Sonpat, near Delhi. In the mean- while the Seljuks completely defeated his general, and compelled Masaud, on his return, to march against them in person. After two years of indecisive operations a battle took place near Meru, in which the Ghuznevides were totally routed. The sul- tan returned to Ghuznee, but finding it hopeless to restore order there, determined. to withdraw to India. All respect for his authority was however destroyed, and soon after crossing the Indus, the remnant of his forces mutinied against him, and placed the injured Mohammed on the throne, .p. 1040. This prince being rendered incapa- ble by blindness of conducting the govern- ment, transferred the administration to his 70 TERMINATION OF THE HOUSE OF GHUZNEE---s.p. 1160. son Ahmed, one of whose first acts was to put his uncle the deposed king to death. But the sins of this family, committed on the plea of just retaliation, did not end here. Modood, the son of Masaud, on hearing of his father’s: murder, quitted Balkh, where he had been engaged in watching the pro- ceedings of the Seljuks, and with a small body of troops made his way from Ghuznee to Lahore. At Futtehabad, in the valley of Laghman, he was met by Mohammed with Ahmed and other relatives, who after a fierce contest were defeated, taken prisoners, and all put to death by the conqueror, with the exception of Prince Abdool, a son of Mo- hammed’s, who was spared for the sake of kindness shown to Masaud during his capti- vity. Modood had not yet removed all domes- tic foes—the opposition of his own brother, Madood, was still to be overcome, and it threatened to be troublesome, this prince having obtained possession of Lahore ana its dependencies. The armies of the rival brothers were marshalled for action when the dispute for superiority was suddenly terminated by the death of Madood and his vizier (prime minister) apparently by poison. The forces then coalesced under Modood, who contrived not only to occupy Ghuznee, but to recover Transoxiana, which he was perhaps enabled to do the more readily from having espoused the daughter of a Seljuk chief. But while thus successful in the west, the rajah of Delhi recovered the terri- tory seized by Masaud beyond the Sutlej; and elated by this first success, pushed his forces to the very gates of Nagarcot. Volun- teers crowded into the Punjaub, and entered with such ardour into the enterprise that the temple-fortress, despite its strong posi- tion and garrison, became again their own. The Moslems driven thence took refuge in Labore, and after a seven months’ siege, during which no succour arrived from Ghuz- nee, were well nigh reduced to despair, when swearing to stand by each other to the last they rushed out upon the enemy, and by one determined effort induced the Hindoos to disperse, and raise the siege. Modood died a.p. 1049, one of his last acts of trea- chery being to render Ghor tributary and in some sort dependent on himself, by per- fidiously murdering the prince whom he bad promised to assist in recovering possession of the throne. The speedy decline of the house of Ghuznee from this period would be of little interest but for its important bear- ing on the fortunes of Hindoostan, nor does it seem necessary to follow in detail the tedious and distasteful accounts of con- spiracies and assassinations which too gene- rally form the staple of oriental historians, the progress and condition of the people being rarely even alluded to. Suffice it to say, that the second successor of Modood succeeded in recovering Nagarcot from the Hindoos, but being compelled to oppose the sedition of a chief named Toghral in Seestan, marched to attack the rebels, leaving the bulk of his army in India. His force proved unequal to the task, and he was compelled to shut himself up in Ghuznee, where he was seized and put to death with nine princes of the blood-royal. Toghral seized upon the vacant throne, but was assassinated within forty days; and the army, having by this time returned from India, resolved upon continuing the crown in the family of the founder of the kingdom. Three princes of his lineage were discovered imprisoned in a distant fort, and their claims being nearly. equal were decided by lot. The chance fell on Farokhzad, whose brother and successor. Ibrahim, celebrated for sanctity, captured || several cities on the Sutlej. In the follow- ing ‘reign (that of Masaud IT.) the royal residence began to be transferred to Lahore (about a.p. 1100.) Behram, a prince of great literary renown, acceded to the throne in 1118, but after thirty years of peace and prosperity, com- mitted an act of cruel injustice, which led to his own ruin and the extinctionof his dynasty. | Having had a difference with his son-in- law, the prince of Ghor, he caused him: to be put to death; and after a long contest with the brother of his victim, succeeded in defeating and slaying him also, under cir- cumstances of aggravated barbarity. Ala- || oo-deen Soor, indignant at the fate of his murdered brothers, entered the territories of their destroyer at the head of a small but determined force, compelled him to fly for his life, and seizing on Ghuznee, devoted the magnificent city, and its miserable in- habitants, for three (or some say nine days) to the desolating effects of flame, slaughter, and pillage. The superb monuments of its kings were utterly demolished, except those of Mahmood, Masaud, and Ibrahim. Beh- ram strove to take refuge in India, but died on his way, worn out by fatigue and disap- pointment. His son Khosru continued the retreat to Lahore, and there established himself, a.p. 1152. The next king, Khosru Malik, the last of the race of Subuktugeen “ INDIAN CONQUESTS OF THE HOUSE OF GHOR—a.p. 1202. 71 reigned in tranquillity for twenty-seven years, and was then defeated and taken prisoner, with his family, and eventually slain by the Ghor princes, from whem his house thus received the final blow, in return for a long series of injuries and aggressions. House of Ghor.—Shahab-oo-deen, the conqueror of Malik, on taking possession of Lahore, was supported by an army drawn from all the warlike provinces between the Indus and Oxus, and accustomed to contend with the Seljuks and the northern hordes of Tartary. Being at liberty to direct his ex- clusive attention to India, he probably ex- pected to subjugate extensive territories with ease and rapidity, owing to the peace- ful character of the people, the more so as their chief rulers were at variance with one another. Of the existing kingdoms the greatest were those of Delhi, held by the ‘clan of Tomara; Ajmeer, by that of Chou- han; Canouj by the Rahtores, and Guzerat by the Baghilas, who had supplanted the Chalukas. The Tomara chief dying with- out male issue, adopted his grandson Prithwi rajah of Ajmeer, who thus acceded to the double authority, greatly to the mor- tification of the rajah of Canouj, another grandson of the deceased ruler’s. These internal differences did not how- | ever prevent very determined resistance being offered to a foreign foe, though it probably marred the effect which might have resulted from a more united plan of defence. None of the Hindoo principalities fell without a severe struggle, and some were never entirely subdued, owing chiefly to the essentially warlike habits, and pecu- liar social position of the Rajpoots, whose almost feudal system of government, led them to contest the ground, not so much in a single great action, as inch by inch, each : man fighting for his own chief, and his own hearth and home. The origin of this still powerful and interesting class has been alluded to (see p. 42), and will be more par- ticularly mentioned in commenting on the characteristics of the Hindoo population. Here it may be observed, that had their prac- tical ability and energy in time of peace kept’ pace with their chivalrous enthusiasm and unswerving resolution under the stimulus of war, India might have spurned the hateful yoke of the Moslems. But the constant ‘use of pernicious drugs, seconding only too ‘effectually the enervating tendencies of an eastern clime, brought indolence and sen- snality in their train, and while rendering their victims daily more infatuated with the varied forms of idolatry, which rapidly multi- plied, to the extinction of more spiritual aspirations—induced also inertion and list- lessness with regard to material dangers, until the hour for preparation was passed, and no alternatives remained save death, slavery, or apostacy. Then indeed they kept the foe at bay with the courage of the lion, and braved their fate with more than Spar- tan fortitude. Thus Shahab-oo-deen and his successors found their task long and tedious, and repeatedly contested the pos- session of the same ground. ‘The first attack was directed against Prithwi rajah, and took place at Tirouri, between Tanesur and Kurnaul, on the great plain where most of the conflicts for paramount power in India, have been decided. The Hindoos succeeded in outflanking and completely routing the Mussulmans, who charged after their usual method with successive bodies of cavalry. Shahab himself was dangerously wounded, and after a pursuit of forty miles escaped with difficulty to Lahore, where, having col- lected the wreck of his army, he crossed the Indus, and after visiting his brother at Ghor, settled at Ghuznee. Two years later (1193) having recruited a fresh force he again encountered Prithwi rajah, whom he overcame by the dangerous stratagem, so frequently recorded in Moham- medan annals, of a pretended flight. The immense Hindoo army followed in headlong pursuit, when a body of Afghan horse 12,000 strong, suddenly wheeled round and charged upon them with terrible effect ; the viceroy of Delhi and many chiefs were slain on the field, and the braye rajah him- self being captured, was put to death in cold blood by his merciless opponent, who soon afterwards, having taken Ajmeer, massacred some thousands of its inhabitants, reserving the rest for slavery. In 1194, Jaya Chan- dra, the rajah of Canouj, was defeated and slain on the Jumna;* Canouj and Benares were taken by Shahab, whose power was. thus extended into Behar. In the follow- ing year Gwalior, in Bundelcund, and several other strong positions there, as also in Ro-. hilcund, were successively seized, and the. invader pursued his conquering career until the death of his brother placed him on the throne of Ghor, 4.p. 1202. His four years’. * The body was recognised by the false teeth, or according to other writers, by the golden studs re- quired to fix the natural ones into their sockets, on account of extreme age. 72 reign was full of vicissitudes. A report of his death during a war with the king of Kharizm,* occasioned the defection of seve- ral of his western tributaries, and the wild tribe of the Gukkurs issued from their mountains in the north of the Punjaub, took Lahore, and devastated the whole pro- vince. Kootb-oo-deen, originally a Turki slave, but raised by Shahab to the govern- ment of his Indian possessions, remained faithful to his patron, aided him in recover- ing the Punjaub, and induced the Gukkurs to embrace Islamism. Shahab was, however, slain in his camp on the Indus by a band of these mountaineers, who, stimulated by the desire of revenge, having lost relations in the late war, swam across the river at midnight, and entered the royal camp unopposed.t He left no son; and, although his nephew Mahmood was proclaimed throughout the whole of his uncle’s dominions, yet these broke up without a struggle into separate states. The deceased monarch had care- fully trained several Turki slaves, of whom three were in possession of extensive govern- ments at the time of his death. The most noted, Kootb-oo-deen, was invested by Mah- mood with the insignia of royalty, a.p. 1206, and thus commenced the line, named from the seat of government, the Slave-kings of Delhi. The whole of Hindoostan Proper (of course excluding the Deccan), except Malwa and some contiguous districts, had now been subjugated in a greater or less degree; Sinde and Bengal were in rapid course of reduction, but in Guzerat little dominion had been acquired beyond that connected with the possession of the capital, which was for a short time retained. ‘Thus an Indian empire was established, of which the Indus formed the western boundary, though before this epoch there seems reason to believe that “India,” in the common acep- tation of the term, had a far wider extent. Altamsh acceded in 1211; he was of a noble family, but had been sold as aslave by his envious brothers. During his reign tle whole face of Asia was changed by a terrible scourge. Jengis Khan, originally a petty chief among the Moguls, having subdued the three nations of Tartary and swelled * Kharizm, the Chorasmia of the ancients, which gives its name to the province, eee under Atziz, Selj a city became in- the revolting governor of a eljuk Sultan, by the aid of the Khitans, a Tartar tribe. The Kharizm kings conquered Ghor, and were overthrown by Jengis Khan. | By another account, the death of Shahab is at- tributed to one of the Fedeyan or zealots of Almo- SLAVE-KINGS OF DELHI—1206 ro 1288, his bands with their united hordes, swept like a desolating torrent over the Moham- medan kingdoms. Altamsh, by politic con- duct, succeeded in shielding most of his ter- ritories from the fury of Jengis and his myriads; but Sinde and Moultan, under the dominion of a refractory Moslem governor, did not escape so easily. In the former place, 10,000 prisoners were massacred on account of a scarcity of provisions in the Mogul camp. Altamsh employed the last six years of his life in completing the conquest of Hin- doostan Proper, that is, in bringing the principalities into partial dependence, in which state they continued during the whole period of Tartar and subsequently of Mogul supremacy, the degree of subjection | | varying greatly with the character of the reigning prince, and being occasionally in- terrupted by isolated attempts at freedom on the part of native rulers. The caliph of Bagdad formally recognized the new king- dom, in which, during the general subver- sion of Mohammedan governments, no less | | than fifteen sovereign princes (of Ghor, Kha- | | rizm, Bagdad, &c.,) took refuge at one time, | | during the reign of Bulbun or Balin (1266 |'| _ to 1286). The only monarch of this line claiming especial notice is the Sultana Rezia, who, Ferishta writes, “ was endowed | with every princely virtue, and those who scrutinise her actions most severely will find in her no fault but that she was a woman.” So great was the confidence of her father Altamsh in her practical ability, that during his campaigns he left Rezia in charge of the home authority in preference to his sons. Her administration when raised to the throne (after the deposition of her brother, | | a weak and incompetent prince) is repre-. sented as unexceptionable; but the faction by whom her accession had been opposed raised a rebellion, on the pretext of the undue partiality evinced to an Abyssinian slave who had been elevated to the rank of Ameer- ul-omra. The sultana marched for its sup- pression, but the army mutinied and delivered up their sovereign to the hostile leader, a Turki chief, who, becoming enamoured of his captive, married her and proceeded to assert her rights against his former confederates. wut (Eagle’s nest), a famous fortress in the Kohistan, tenanted by a cruel and powerful set of fanatics, who for more than a century and-a-half were the dread of orthodox Mohammedans; the caliph on his throne and the dervise in his cell, alike falling victims to the knives of these midnight assassins, who were at length extirpated by Hulaku Khan. Their chief was termed the Sheikh-ul-Jubbul, or Old Man of the Mountain. HOUSE OF KHILJI—a.v. 1288.—ALA-OO-DEEN. 93 After two severe conflicts, both Rezia and her husband were taken and put to death in cold blood, a.p. 1239. The short reigns of the two succeeding kings both eyed in deposition and murder: that of the latter is memorable for a Mogul incursion through Tibet into Bengal, the only one recorded from that quarter during the period of authentic history; on the north-western frontier they were frequent and destructive. The assassination of Kei Kobad (a cruel and dissolute monarch) in 1288, paved the way for a new dynasty. House of Khilji.—Jelal-oo-deen was placed on the throne by his tribe, the (Khilji*) when seventy years of age, in spite of his own reluctance. At the end of his reign the Deccan was invaded by his nephew, Ala-vo-deen, who, diverting the attention of the Hindoo princes by a pretence of having quarrelled with his uncle and being about to jom the Hindoo ruler of Raja- mundri, succeeded in marching at the head of a chosen body of 8,000 horse to Deogiri (Doulatabad), a distance of 700 miles, great part of it through the moun- tains and forests of the Vindya range. Deogiri, the capital of Ramdeo, rajah of Maharashta, once reached was taken with- out difficulty, as Ramdeo, utterly unpre- pared for an assault, had no means of de- fending it, but retired to a hill-fort with a body of 3,000 or 4,000 citizens and domes- tics, The town was pillaged and the mer- chants tortured to make them surrender their treasurés. The fortress might have held out successfully, but that in the hurry of victualling the garrison sacks of salt had been taken in mistake for grain. The rajah was consequently obliged to make the best terms he could, which involved the payment of gold and jewels to an immense amount, and the cession of Elikpoor and its depen- dencies. Ala-oo-deen returned in triumph through Candeish into Malwa, but his am- bition, stimulated by the success of his late unjust proceedings, prompted the seizure of the throne of India. For this end, he scrupled not at the commission of a crime, heinous in itself to the highest degree, and aggravated, if possible, by the circumstances under which it was perpetrated. The counsellors of the aged monarch had emphatically warned him of the crafty and unscrupulous character of his nephew, but * A tribe of Tartar descent long settled among the Afghans, with whom their name is almost in- variably found associated. could not shake his faith in one whom he had reared from infancy. He therefore crossed the Ganges with very few attendants to meet and welcome the conqueror, whom he was fondly embracing at the moment when the heartless ingrate, by a preconcerted sig- nal, summoned the assassins posted for the purpose, who, coming forward, stabbed the king to the heart, and fastening his head upon a spear, carried it through the city. The two sons of the rajah he inveigled into his power, and caused to be put to death. He then strove, by lavish gifts and profusion in shows and festivals, to reconcile the people to his usurpation. Public granaries were constructed, prices fixed for all commodities, importation encouraged by loans to mer- chants, and exportation prohibited ; the origin of these measures being a desire to reduce the pay of the troops and the con- sequent necessity of diminishing the expence of living. Although, during his prolonged administration, Ala-oo-deen showed himself ignorant and capricious, as well as cruel and arbitrary; though his arrogance and covetousness constantly increased, yet his twenty years’ reign left the country in a far better condition than it had been under the sway of his kind but weak predecessor: so true it is that in despotic governments, oné vigorous tyrant, whose will is the law of all, generally occasions less suffering than the feeble though gentle sovereign, who, inca- pable of swaying an undivided sceptre, shares his power with a crowd of petty despots, by whose harassing exactions the strength and wealth of the nation is gradually frittered away. Several Mogul invasions from Trans- oxiana (the last for many years) were re- pelled by Ala; the most serious occurred A.D. 1299, and was attended with great suf- fering to the people of Delhi. A fierce con- vest took place between armies of extraordi- nary magnitude, and was gained chiefly by the valour of the Moslem general, Zafar Khan, who, having become an object of jealousy to his treacherous master, was pur- posely left, unsupported. Perceiving his situation, the flying foe turned back and cut him and his small detachment to pieces, after a resistance worthy of his character. The Mogul chiefs taken at this and other times were trampled to death by elephants, and the men butchered in cold blood, to the number of 9,000 in a single instance. Fear- ing, perhaps, the spirit of vengeance to which such ferocity might give rise, Ala suddenly discharged the whole of the Mogul converts 74 from his service, a violent and imprudent measure, for which, though habitually tur- bulent, they appear to have given no imme- diate cause. Driven to despair, some of them entered into a conspiracy to assassinate the king, who, detecting the plot, caused the whole, to the number of 15,000, to be mas- sacred, and their families sold into slavery. Very extensive conquests were made in the Deccan by the Moslems under the leadership of Cafur, a slave and eunuch, taken in the capture of Guzerat, but pro- moted by Ala to high command. Maha- rashta and Carnata were subjugated, the princes who still retained their dominions being compelled to pay tribute, while the suc- cessor of Ramdeo (the rajah of Deogiri, pre- viously conquered) having refused to do So, was put to death. The spirit of the Hin- doos was however yet far from being com- pletely bowed under the Mussulman yoke. Guzerat revolted ; Chittore (a celebrated hill- fort in Mewar) was recovered by Rana (prince) Hamir; and Harpal or Hari Pala (son-in-law to Ramdeo) raised an extensive insurrection in the Deccan, and expelled many of the foreign garrisons. These ill-tidings coming one upon an- other, produced in the mind of Ala-oo-deen transports of rage, which a constitution weakened by habitual intemperance and un- ceasing anxiety could ill bear. Conspiracies and insurrections, real and imaginary, em- bittered every hour of his life; and the well- nigh successful attempt of his nephew prince Soliman, to seize the throne by a plot similar in its perfidy to his own, inspired constant suspicions of domestic treachery. The only being in whom he trusted, Cafur, his victorious general, proved to be a hypo- crite, designing and ambitious as himself ; who, after alienating from his master the chief nobility, induced him, by innumerable artifices, to imprison the unoffending queen and her children, and then hastened his decease by poison. Under the alleged authority of a forged will, (by which Ala bequeathed the throne to an infant son, and appointed Cafur regent,) the traitor assumed the reins of government, caused the eyes of the captive princes to be put out, and sent assassins to dispatch a | third named Mobarik. The plot failed 5 Cafur was himself murdered by the royal guard ; and Mobarik succeeded to the throne, A.D. 1317, after blinding his infant brother, who was immured in a hill-fort for life. Under a government where the extirpation HOUSE OF TOGHLAK—a.p. 1321. of possible rivals was deemed a matter of expediency (that lying word so often used in diplomacy to make wrong seem right, or at least disguise its full wickedness), even such barbarity as this might create little aversion, but to provide against any such feeling, i while yet unsettled on the throne, Mobarik set free all prisoners, to the amount of 17,000, restored the lands confiscated by his father, removed his oppressive taxes, and abo- lished all restrictions on trade and property, He then marched to the Deccan and captured Harpal, who was inhumanly sentenced to be flayed alive. A converted Hindoo slave, styled Khosru Khan, was made vizier; by him Malabar was conquered, and this service so won upon Mobarik, that confiding the whole administration to his favourite, he commenced a course of the most odious and |, degrading debauchery. A continual suc- cession of disturbances and rebellions fol- lowed, attended with all the pernicious ex- |: citement of cruel tortures and executions; | | but the king, like his wretched father, was doomed to receive his death-blow, not at the hands of his indignant and cruelly in- | | jured subjects, but from the serpent whom |. he had cherished in his bosom. Khosru occupied the palace with his creatures, filled the capital with Hindoo troops of his own caste, and then, the web being woven, murdered his infatuated victim and seized the vacant throne. After completely extir- | pating the house of Lodi, the usurper strove to gain over the ameers or nobles, and some of them consented to take office under him. Others refused, and joined Toghlak, || governor of the Punjaub, who marched tp |: Delhi, and after the defeat and death of Khosru, was proclaimed king, a.p. 1321. - House of Toghiak.—The new ruler (the ’ son of a Turki slave by an Indian mother) proved a blessing to the people by whom he had been chosen, Order was restored to the internal administration, and the threatened invasion of the Moguls on the north-west checked by a line of defences formed along the Afghan frontier; Telingana | A was conquered, as also Dacca ; Tirhoot (for- merly Mithila) reduced, and the rajah taken | | prisoner by Toghlak, who, when returning victorious to his capital, a.p. 1325, was crushed to death, with five other persons, by the fall of a wooden pavilion, erected to re- ceive him by his son and successor, to whom a treacherous design is attributed. Moham- med Toghlak, on whose reputation the stigma of parricide is thus affixed, was re- _|| are Te TYRANNICAL AND DESOLATING RULE OF MOHAMMED TOGHLAK. 75 markable for great talents, often wickedly, and sometimes so wildly used, as to render his sanity a doubtful question. In languages, logic, Greek philosophy, mathemati@s and medicine, his attainments were extraordi- nary; in war he was brave and active; in domestic life devout, abstinent and moral. Notwithstanding all this, he proved one of the worstkings under whose scourge India has ever bled and suffered. When released from the fear of invasion on the part of the Moguls, whose absence was obtained by an enormous bribe—he completed the reduction of the Deccan; and then gave the rein to his ambitious but ill-digested schemes, by as- sembling an army (comprising, according to Ferishta, 370,060 horse), intended for the conquest of Persia, but which, after it had consumed his treasures, broke up for want of pay, carrying pillage and disorganization in every quarter. Next followed an at- tempt upon China. For this 100,000 men were sent through the Himalaya Mountains, and having with loss and difficulty effected a passage, were met on the enemy’s frontier by a powerful force, with whom fatigue and want of provisions rendered the invaders unable to cope. The approach of the wet season compelled a speedy retreat, which the pursuit of the Chinese, the difficulties of the route, famine and heavy rains, made so disastrous, that at the end of fifteen days, scarcely a man survived to tell the tale, and many of those left behind in garrisons during the advance of the ill-fated force, were put to death by the unreasoning rage of the disappointed king. An endeavour to fill the royal treasury, by substituting paper, for copper, tokens,* utterly failed in its object, from the known insolvency of the govern- ment, and it seriously injured trade and impoverished the people; who, no longer able to endure the increasing pressure of taxation, deserted the towns and fled to the woods, in some places maintaining them- selves by rapine. The infuriated despot ordered out his army,.as if for a great hunt, surrounded an extensive tract of country, as is usual in an Indian chase, and then com- manded the circle to close and slaughter all within it (mostly inoffensive peasants), like. wild beasts. More than once was this hor- rible performance repeated; and on a sub- * With regard to coinage, it may be remarked that at the time of Cafur’s invasion, there was, according to Ferishta, no silver coinage in the Carnatic; and colonel Briggs remarks that the same was true, to a ‘certain extent, till very lately, the common coin sequent occasion, its atrocities were paral- leled by a general massacre of the inhabi- tants of the great city of Canouj. Famine, induced by cruelty and misgovernment, brought to a climax the miseries of the nation, and various attempts were made to break the fetters of such unbearable oppression. Mohammed’s own nephew took up arms in Malwa, but was defeated and flayed alive; the governor of the Punjaub next rebelled, and he also was subdued and slain. Bengal, and soon afterwards the Carnatic, revolted under Moslem governors, and were never again subdued; Carnata and Telin- gana combined succesfully under native rajahs for the recovery of their indepen- dence ; and ‘lesser struggles took place in every quarter. The Ameert Judeeda, or new nobles (the name given to the Mogul chiefs and their descendants, who, having invaded India, had embraced Islamism and the service of the kings of Delhi at the same time), became seditious in the Deccan; and in Malwa, seventy of them were treacherously massacred by the new governor, a man of low origin, desirous to show his zeal—upon which the officers of the same nation in Guzerat, prevailed on the rest of the troops to join them in insurrection. Mohammed in person advanced for its suppression, and ravaged his own province as if it had been that of an enemy, devoting the rich towns of Cambay and Surat to plunder. With equal vigour he proceeded to quell a general rebellion in the Deccan ; but no sooner was seeming quiet restored in one place by a costly effusion of blood, than new distur- bances broke out in another. The king, wearied out with marching and counter- marching, fell a victim to a fever, caused, it is said, by a surfeit of fish, but more pro~ bably by political anxiety, added to the habitual tumult of his own ungovernable passions. He died at Tatta, whither he had proceeded in pursuit of some fugitives from Guzerat, who had taken refuge with the _Rajpoot princes of Sinde. The only marvel is, that he should have been permitted to reign twenty-seven years, and yet escape the common fate of Asiatic tyrants—poison or the sword. Few could ever have provoked such an end more pertinaciously than Mohammed Toghlak,. who, in spite of his being the pagoda; there was also another gold coin called a fanam, in value about equal to a sixpence. + Ameer, Emir or Mir alike signify noble, com- mandef, chief. Thus, Ameer-ool-omra, means head of the nobles, or commander-in-chief, 76 FEROZE TOGHLAK AND HIS intellectual gifts and personal bravery, alternately excited emotions of horror and contempt in the breasts of his subjects, evincing alike in his extensive projects or less disastrous follies, the same utter reck- lessness with regard to their lives and pro- perties. Thus—desiring to transfer the capital from the magnificent city of Delhi to Deogiri, as being a more central position, he proceeded to attempt the execution of this design, by ordering all the inhabitants of the former, to remove at once to the latter place, to which he gave the name of Doulatabad, and there built the massive fort still existing. After this the people were twice permitted to return to Delhi, and twice compelled, on pain of death, to leave it: these movements being all, more or less, attended with the horrors of famine, occasioning the death of thou- sands, and ruin and distress to many more. As an instance of his minor freaks, may be noticed that of having a stately mausoleum erected over a carious tooth, extracted dur- ing his campaign in the Carnatic, and this too at a time when his troops, ravaged by pestilence and decimated by civil war, found full employment in heaping a little earth over their fallen comrades. In the early part of this reign, the Mohammedan em- pire east of the Indus, was more extensive than at any other period; but the provinces lost during its continuance were not all regained till the time of Aurungzebe, and the royal authority received a shock which the iron grasp of the Mogul dynasty alone sufficed to counterbalance. Feroze Toghlak succeeded to the throne, in the absence of direct heirs, chiefly by the influence of the Hindoo chiefs, and after some disturbances raised by the Mogul mercenaries. His reign stands out in pleasing contrast, not only to that of his predecessor; but to despotic rulers in general. Rejecting the pursuit of what is commonly called glory, he recognised the independence of Bengal and the Deccan, and without seeking to extend the empire by the sword, employed himself in its consolidation and improvement. The diminution of capi- tal punishments, the abolition of torture and mutilation, the removal of numerous vexa- tious taxes, alterations in the collection of the revenue, the abrogation of fluctuating and precarious imposts—all spoke the earnest solicitude of the ruler for the welfare of the people. Reservoirs and canals for irrigation, mosques, colleges, caravanserais, hospitals, public baths, bridges, and many other edifices SUCCESSORS—a.p. 1351 to 1394. were erected, and the revenues of certain lands assigned for their maintenance. The chief of these works still remains a noble monument to the memory of its founder— viz., a canal extending from the point where the Jumna leaves the mountains by Kurnaul to Hansi and Hissar. It reaches to the river Gagar, and was formerly con- nected with the Sutlej. A portion, extend- ing about 200 miles, has been restored by the British government, and will be described in the topographical section. Feroze long retained his energies ; but in his eighty-seventh year, increasing infirmities compelled him to abdicate in favour of his eldest son, Nasir-oo-deen, a.p. 1885, This prince was displaced in little more than a year by two of his cousins, who having secured the person of the old king, proclaimed his grandson, Gheias-oo-deen, sovereign ; soon after which event, Feroze died, aged ninety. Gheias, in five months, was de- posed and murdered by the kinsmen who had placed him on the throne. His suc- viously exiled monarch, Nasir-oo-deen, after a long and severe contest, during which Delhi repeatedly changed hands. The to the conqueror, were banished the city, none being permitted to remain if incapable. | of pronouncing a certain letter peculiar to the languages of Hindoostan, of Nasir was weak and inefficient, and that of his son, Mahmood, who acceded! to power in 1394, while yet a minor, em- barrassed yet more the public affairs. Mozuffer Khan, the governor of Guzerat began to act as an irresponsible ruler; while Malwa and the little province of Can- deish permanently threw off the yoke, and remained independent principalities until the time of Akber. The vizier of Mahmood, with peculiar disloyalty, seized on the pro- vince of Juanpoor and founded a kingdom. The remaining territories were torn with the dissensions of jarring factions, and each party was occupied with its own quarrels, when the fierce onslaught of a foreign foe involved all in a common calamity. , Ameer Timur, better known as Timur Beg (chief or commander) or as Tamerlane, has been designated “ the fire-brand of the uni- verse,” “the apostle of desolation,” and by various other opprobrious epithets, allof which his own autobiography, if its authenticity may cessor, Abu-bekir, was displaced by the pre- | } Hindoos took an active part in the struggle, | | and the household troops, who were all |}. foreigners, having shown particular hostility: | | The rule | | INVASION OF INDIA BY TIMUR OR TAMERLANE—a.p. 1398. zt 77 be trusted, proves to have been fully merited.* He claimed a remote descent from the same stock as Jengis Khan, whom he in many points resembled; for, though borft near Samarcand, in a comparatively civilized -country, and a zealous Mussulman by pro- fession, Timur was as barbarous in his war- fare, and as short-sighted (though more treacherous and wily) in his policy as the ferocious Mogul. Both were unprincipled marauders, who overran countries and slaughtered unoffending myriads, for plun- der; but the latter, while everywhere carry- ing anarchy, famine, and pestilence in his train, and sparing neither nation nor creed, invariably asserted zeal for Islam as the main spring of his actions, and by a strange mixture of superstition and egotism, seems to have succeeded in deceiving himself at least, as to the true character and conse- quences of his career. The Seyeds or legi- timate descendants of “his holiness the prophet” (through Ali and Fatima), were the exclusive objects of his protection, and their exemption from a personal share in the horrors of war, he considered, or pretended to consider, a certain means of absolution for a life spent in unceasing aggression on the individual and collective rights of the rest of mankind. Having united the hordes of Tartary in the same manner, though not to the same extent as Jengis had. done, Timur, after conquering Persia and Transoxiana, ravaged Tartary, Georgia, and Mesopotamia, with parts of Russia and Siberia. Candahar, Ghuznee, and Cabool, to the frontiers of Hindoostan, were also subjugated and placed under the government of Peir Mohammed, the grandson of Timur, who endeavoured to extend his dominions to the south-east by an attack on the Afghans in the Soliman mountains; which proving successful, the invader eventually proceeded to cross the Indus and occupy the city of Ouch, whence he marched to invest Moultan. The place was bravely defended, and Peir lay for six months before its walls. Meanwhile Timur, learning the doubtful state of affairs, re- nounced his intention of invading the more distant provinces of the Chinese empire, and conducted his forces to India, a.p. 1398, * Vide Mulfuzat Timuri (printed at the cost of the Oriental Translation Fund). Originally written in Turki, a language as distinct from the modern Turkish as Saxon from English ; translated into Per- sian by Abu Talib Hussyny, and thence into our tongue by Major Stewart. These memoirs afford atrong internal evidence of having been actually dic- af : ‘being, he alleged, stimulated thereto by accounts of the gross idolatry still suffered to extend its influence throughout: the countries swayed by Moslem rulers. Fol- lowing the usual route to Cabool, he marched by Haryub and Bunnoo to Dinkot, a place on the Indus to the south of the Salt range, whose exact position is not known. After crossing the river, by a bridge of rafts and reeds, he advanced to the Hydaspes, and marched down its banks, ravaging the country as he passed, as far as Toolumba, where a heavy contribution proved insuffi. cient to save the city from pillage, or the people from massacre. Moultan had by this time been taken by blockade, famine having conquered where external force had utterly failed; and Peir, leaving a garrison there, joined his grand- father on theSutlej. At the head of a detach- ment of 11,000 chosen horse, Timur took possession of Adjudin, where the few remain- ing inhabitants threw themselves upon his mercy, and being chiefly Seyeds, were spared. and shielded from the excesses of the sol- diery—a very rare case, for although the promise of similar. forbearance was often obtained from the fierce invader, it was almost invariably violated; whether from inability or disinclination to restrain his.tur- bulent associates matters little, since it scarcely affects the degree of. guilt involved in giving, or rather selling an immunity which, from one cause or another, he well knew, would not be preserved. His deso- lating career in Hindoostan may be briefly told; for the terrible details of pillage and slaughter recur again and again, until the mind, sickening with an unbroken chain of similar scenes, has the sense of their atrocity almost dulled by the monotonous repetition, At Bhutneer, the country people who had taken refuge under the walls were mas- sacred ; in spite. of their capitulation, the inhabitants shared the same fate, and the town was burned. Thence Timur’s detach- ment marched to join the main force, slaying the people of every place traversed, as far as Samana, where the towns being absolutely deserted, the swords of these mur- derers had some rest, but only sufficient to tated by Timur; to quote the words of an able critic, any doubt on the subject “ would be removed by the unconscious simplicity with which he [Timur] relates his own intrigues and perfidy; taking credit for an excess of goodness and sincerity which the boldest flatterer would not have ventured to ascribe, to him.”—(Elphinstone’s Indva, vol. ii., p. 79.) 78 CRUELTIES OF TIMUR—GOVERNMENT OF THE SEYEDS—a.v. 1412, prepare them for renewed exertion, since, on reaching Delhi, all prisoners above fifteen years of age were put to death, from the fear of their taking part with their country- men. The number was doubtless very great, even after making large deductions from the accounts of Mussulman writers, who state it at 100,000. Upon the defeat of the Indian army, the reigning prince of Delhi, Mahmood Toghlak, fled to Guzerat, and the city was surrendered under a solemn assurance of protection. ‘Tamerlane was proclaimed em- peror of India, and while engaged in cele- brating a triumphal feast, his ferocious hordes, laughing to scorn the dearly-bought promise of their leader, commenced their usual course of rapine and plunder, upon which the Hindoos, driven to desperation by witnessing the disgrace of their wives and daughters, shut the gates, sacrificed the women and children, and rushed out to slay and be slain. The whole Mogul army poured into the town, and a general massacre followed, until several streets were rendered impassable by heaps of slain. At length the wretched inhabitants, stupified by the over- powering number and barbarity of the foe, flung down their arms, and “ submitted themselves like sheep to slaughter ; in some instances permitting one man to drive a hundred of them prisoners before him.” Delhi yielded an enormous booty in gold, | silver, and jewels, especially rubies and dia- monds; the historian* above quoted, de- clares that the amount stated by his autho- rities so far exceeds belief, that he refrains from the mention—neither does he give the number of men and women, of all ranks, dragged into slavery ; but it must have been immense. Among them were many masons and other artificers, competent to the con- struction of a mosque, similar to the noble edifice of white. marble built by Feroze, on the Jumna: in which the sanguinary Timur, on the eve of departure from the blasted city, had the audacity to offer up public thanks for the wrongs he had been permitted to inflict. , Merut next fell beneath the same terrible * Briggs’ Ferishta, vol.i., p.494. For the career of Timur, see Elphinstone’s able summary—JIndia, vol. i., pp. 75 to 80; Price’s Mohammedan History, vol. iil., pp. 233, 243; and Rennell’s Demoir of a Map of Hindoostan, PP. 116, 121. T In Catrou’s Mogul Empire, (a work published in 1709, and alleged to be founded on data collected by a Venetian named Manouchi, who acted as physician to Aurungzebe,) the troops of Timur are represented as commenting severely on the person of their leader, scourge: the walls were thrown down by mines, and every soul put to the sword. The invaders then crossed the Ganges, and proceeded up its banks to near Hurdwar, where the river leaves Several minor contests took place with bodies of the Hindoos in the skirts of the hills, in which Timur, although suffering from illness, and burdened with the weight of more than seventy years, took his full share of danger and fatigue, never scrupling to hazard his own persont equally with that of the meanest individual of his force. From Jammu or Jummoo, north of Lahore, he turned south, and reverting to the route by which he had entered India, took his final departure, having occasioned, during the short space of five months, an almost in- credible amount of ruin and bloodshed. For many weeks Delhi remained un- governed and nearly uninhabited. A chief named Ecbal at length obtained possession, but being slain on an expedition to Moultan, the authority reverted to Mahmood, who, having returned from Guzerat, had taken refuge at Canouj, then held by the king of Juanpoor. Mahmood. died, a.p, 1412. His successor, Doulat Khan Lodi, at the expi- ration of fifteen months, was expelled by Khizer Khan, the governor of the Punjaub. | The Seyeds.—The new ruler, though born in India, was descended from Mohammed, and for this cause found favour with Timur, to whom he complained of having had the governorship of a portion of the Punjaub unjustly taken from him, and was thereupon appointed to the undivided rule of the whole. He affected to recognize his patron as emperor, and did not assume the title or style of royalty on taking possession of the government, which now comprised little be- yond Delhi and the adjacent territory. The Punjaub was temporarily re-annexed by him, but the eastern portion, with the coun- try about Sirhind, revolted and severed itself from Delhi, despite the opposition of Khizer, who made spirited efforts to main- tain and extend his authority. Tribute was levied from the Rahtores in Rohilcund, and incited by a strong dread of Rana (the title signify- ing prince being mistaken for the name), whose do- minions are described as “almost situate in the midst of Hindoostan,” and whose Rajpoot soldiers had the reputation of being invincible. “Have we not,” said they (the Tartars], one to another, “ seryed this hair- brained cripple long enough, who, to the loss of a leg, | has now, in this last battle, added the loss of an arm.” They are, however, induced to persevere, and complete victory is the result. (p. 16.) the mountains. | ry HOUSE OF LODI TO THE INVASION OF BABER—a.p. 1450—1524, 79 from other Hindoos near Gwalior, but the war with the king of Guzerat, though dili- gently prosecuted, had no important: result, and that state retained its independéfice, as did also the permanent monarchies in the Deccan, together with Malwa, Bengal, Juan- poor (comprehending Oude and Canou)), and the governments of Samana, Biana, and Calpee (m Bundelcund). Khizer died in 1421—his three Seyed successors were en- gaged in struggles, first, with the Mogul ruler of Cabool (Shah Rokh, the son of Timur), who occasionally took part with the Gukkurs in ravaging the Punjaub; and afterwards with the kings of Juanpoor and Malwa. ruler, Ala-oo-deen, the territory appertain- ing to Delhi had become so reduced as in one direction to extend for only twelve miles from the capital, and in another scarcely a mile. Moultan, among other places, had become’ independent, but Bada- yoon beyond the Ganges being still pos- sessed by Ala, he removed to that place, and having abdicated in favour of Behlol Khan Lodi, who forthwith assumed the title of king, a.p. 1450, he was suffered to remain unmolested in Badayoon for the remaining twenty-eight years of his life. House of Lodi.—The grandfather of Beh- lol Lodi had been governor of Moultan under Feroze Toghlak, the great patron of the Afghans, and his father and uncles held commands under the Seyeds. Their wealth and power as military chieftains, together with the calumnies of a disaffected relation, at length excited the jéalousy of the then sultan (Mohammed Seyed), by whom the Lodis were driven into the hills, where they successfully resisted his authority. Behlol found means to occupy, first, Sirhind, then the whole of the Punjaub, and eventually (by. a treacherous use of the influence of Hameed the vizier or prime minister of his predecessor Ala), gained possession of Delhi, to which the Punjaub became thus re-an- nexed, as also Juanpoor, after a contest: carried on with little intermission’ for twenty-seven years. By this last acquisi- tion, together with others of less import- ance, the dominions of Behlol were extended, until, at his death in 1488, they reached from the Jumna to the Himalaya mountains as far east as Benares, besides a tract on the west of the Jumna stretching to Bun- delcund. regained Behar as far as the frontiers of Bengal, and increased his territories in the Under the sway of the last Seyed. The next king, Secander Lodi, | direction of Bundelcund. Secander was a just and merciful prince, a poet, and a munificent patron of letters. The single reproach on his character, one rarely brought forward against the Moslem sovereigns of India, is that of bigotry, evinced in the de- struction of idolatrous temples in the towns and forts captured from the Hindoos, and in the prohibition of pilgrimages and cere- monial bathings on certain festivals at places situate on the sacred streams within his dominions. His conduct in this respect was at least in accordance with the teaching of the Koran, and greater tolerance would have been contrary to his views of duty. The zeal of Secander is once, and only once, al- leged to have prompted an act of cruelty, namely, the execution of a Brahmin who had sedulously propagated the doctrine that “all religions, if sincerely practised, were equally acceptable to God.” Ibrahim Lodi, the son and successor of Secander, early offended his family and clansmen, by de- claring that a king should acknowledge no such relationship, but should place all the subjects of the state on the same footing. The Afghan chiefs whom his father and grandfather had suffered to sit in their pre- sence, were henceforth commanded to stand in front of the throne with folded arms. The proud Lodi tribe enraged by the ‘contumelious treatment they received, re- solved to leave Ibrahim in possession of Delhi, and to raise his brother Julal Khan to the throne of Juanpoor. After a twelve- month’s contest, Julal was taken prisoner and put to death by Ibrahim, who impri- soned the remainder of his brothers, and endeavoured by violence and treachery, to keep under the disaffected and rebellious spirit which his arrogance and distrust per- petually excited among his nobles. At length the whole of the eastern part of his dominions was formed into a separate state under Deria Khan Lohani, whose son after- wards took the title of king. Doulat Knan Lodi, the governor of the Punjaub, dreading the fate of other viceroys, revolted and in- voked the aid of a neighbouring potentate who had already evinced his desire to take advantage of the distracted state of India by marauding incursions into the Punjaub. The celebrated Baber—sixth in descent through his paternal ancestors from Timur the Tartar or rather Turk, and connected through his mother with Jengis Khan the Mogul—acceded, at twelve years of age, by the death of his father to the throne of Fer- 80 ghana,* (a.p. 1494), which, nothwithstand- ing his extreme youth, he struggled long and ably to retain, against his own relatives, and the Uzbeks,t who were then founding the dominion which they still possess in Transoxiana. 5 In the defence of his rightful inheritance Baber appears to have been at first success- ful, but the death of his uncle, the king of Samarcand, and the confusion which ensued, induced him to attempt the conquest of that city, and after more than one failure, this boy of fifteen became master of the famous capital of Timur. He had however bartered the substance of power for the shadow. The resources of Samarcand, already drained by war, afforded little as- sistance in the payment of the army, dis- affection ensued, which spread to the troops left in Ferghana, and Baber prostrated for a time by dangerous sickness, arose stripped | alike of the territory to whichhe had rightfully succeeded, and that acquired by the sword. After various attempts, both on Samarcand and Ferghana, Baber succeeded in regain- ing his native kingdom, but being again induced to leave it by the hope of securing the former place also, he finally lost both, and after several years of trial and vicissi- tude, was betrayed by some Uzbeks whom he had tempted to forsake their ally Tambol (his own rebel general), into the hands of this powerful enemy. Escaping from cap- tivity, Baber, accompanied by his mother, bade a last farewell to Ferghana, with all the bitter feelings of an exile, aggravated by his own peculiar trials, and carrying with him fond recollections of that beautiful land which were never obliterated by the excite- ment of the brilliant career that awaited him beyond the range of the Hindoo Koosh.t{ The princely adventurer was weli received in Bactria, and the Moguls flocked round his standard, until his small force of 200 or’300 men (many of them only armed with clubs) had become the nucleus of a regular and well-equipped army. At this time the des- cendants of Timur had been expelled from Cabool, which was occupied by the Mogul or Turki family of Arghoon, who had been for some time in possession of Candahar. Baber invaded Cabool, and found little difficulty in * A small but rich and beautiful country situated on the upper course of the river Sirr or Jaxartes. t The Uzbeks (so called from one of their khans or sovereigns) were what the geologists would call “‘a conglomerate” of tribes of Turki, Mogul, and pro- bably of Fennic origin, the former greatly prepon- BABER—HIS EARLY HISTORY AND INDIAN INVASION. ; securing the sceptre, which he swayed for twenty-two years before his conquest of India, and then bequeathed to heirs of his own lineage, by whom it was enjoyed until the end of the seventeenth century. His long reign was spent in contests with in- ternal and external foes. The rebellion of his brother, Jehangeer, and the attempts of two of his cousins to regain the sovereignty for this branch of the family of Timur, were with difficulty subdued. The victor freely forgave his brother, and spared the lives of his other relatives, thus evincing a clemency very unusual in an oriental despot, and the more to be admired since his power, and even existence, were repeatedly in jeopardy, and only rescued from destruction by the great skill and courage with which he never failed to govern and animate his troops. The conquest of Candahar and expeditions into the mountains of the Afghans and Hazarehs, occupied the first years of his sway in Cabool. In all these journeyings great perils and hardships were endured, and once he nearly perished in the snow during a winter march | to Herat, undertaken to secure the co-opera- | tion of the members of the Timur house || then ruling there, against the Uzbeks. With these old and determined enemies, Baber | | had many severe contests, until, happily for him, their leader Sheibani Khan, went to war with Shah Ismael Saffavi, king of Persia, | and was defeated and slain in 1510. By this event the tide of Tartar conquest was turned, and Baber, aided by the Persian monarch, occupied Bactria and made im- portant conquests in Transoxiana, but thesé were wrested back again by the Uzbeks, by whom his army was completely routed, .p. 1514, Baber now turned his attention to India, and after an invasion of the Punjaub, already alluded to, but attended with no important result, gladly accepted the invitation of its rebellious governor, Doulat Khan Lodi, to return under the pretext of claiming this part of the inheritance of Timur. Some of the Afghan chiefs remained loyal, drove out Doulat Khan, and opposed the assumption of the foreign usurper, but were totally overpowered, and Lahore itself reduced to ashes. Debalpoor was next stormed, and derating. They had before been settled on the Jaik, and had possessed a large tract in Siberia. Vide Memoirs of Baber, written by himself in Turki, translated by Dr. Leyden and Mr. Erskine; see also Mr. Caldecott’s Life of Baber; Price, and the Ferishtas’ of both Briggs and Dow. BABER GAINS THE BATTLE OF PANIPUT—a.p. 1526. 81 the garrison put to the sword. Baber pur- sued his conquering course to Sirhind, when a quarrel with Doulat Khan, who fled to the hills, obliged him to retrace his steps, leawing Debalpoor in chargeof Ala-oo-deen,a brother of king Ibrahim, who, having escaped from captivity, had joined the invader. Doulat Khan was checked by one of Baber’s generals, but Baber himself, fully occupied in defend- ing Balkh (the capital of Bactria) against the Uzbeks, deputed to Ala-oo-deen the charge of advancing upon Delhi, which he did, and the insurgents being increased to 40,000 by the disaffection prevalent among the king’s troops, defeated the latter in an engagement under the walls of the city. To- wards the close of the year 1525, Baber, having settled Balkh, and finally subdued Doulat Khan who was compelled to sur- render his hill fort and library of valuable books—rather a singular possession for an Afghan chief of the sixteenth century— proceeded from Ropur on the Sutlej, above Lodiana, and from thence nearly by the direct road to Delhi. At Paniput, he learned the advance of Ibrahim at the head of an army, which, by his own account, numbered 100,000.men, with 1,000 elephants. One quarter that amount, under an able and popular leader, might have sufficed to in- spire the opposing force, of but 12,000 men, with despondency ; buteven if the numbers are correctly stated, the characters of the respective leaders render the result easy to be conjectured. Baber took up a position, linked his guns together with ropes of twisted leather, and lined them with infantry, strengthening his flanks by field-works of earth and fascines. Ibrahim, on first ap- proaching the enemy, seemed inclined to stand on the defensive likewise; but, chang- ing his mind, after a few days’ skirmishing, led out his army to a general engagement. * This coin is only about tenpence or elevenpence in value, yet the total sum must have been,very great. + The terms Turk, Tartar, and Mogul afford in- exhaustible food for controversy to scholars versed in oriental learning; and to convey in few words anything like a clear idea of the different meanings severally attached to them, is utterly impracticable. . For the sake of readers unversed in such discus- sions, it may however be useful to remark that Tar- tary is the general term now applied by Europeans to the extensive but little-known country whence, under the name of Scythia, barbarian hordes have from very early times issued forth to desolate the fairest portions of Asia and even Europe. Of these a passing mention has been made in noticing the events of the second century of our era (p. 49); the Tochari, named by Strabo as one of the four chief tribes by whom the Greek kingdom of Bactria was While attempting to storm the hostile front, the flanks and rear of the assailants were at- tacked by the right and left wings of Baber, whose advance, showering flights of arrows, was seconded by an occasional discharge of cannon. After a protracted struggle, Baber, perceiving the success of his counter-move- ment, ordered his centre forward, and com- pleted the rout of the Indian army. Ibrahim was killed, and his force having been nearly surrounded in the contest, which lasted from sunrise till noon, suffered prodigious loss, 15,000 being left dead on the field, of whom a third part lay in one spot around their king, while their total loss in the battle and pursuit was reported at 40,000. Baber mentions especially that his guns were dis- charged many times with efficiency, these engines of destruction having at this period (1526) attained neither in Asia or Europe their present terrible pre-eminence among the weapons of war. Delhi surrendered, and Baber advanced to occupy Agra, the late royal residence, where his first act was to distribute the spoil among his adherents, in a manner which procured for him the nick-name of “the Calender,” in allusion to a religious order whose rules forbade them to make provision for the morrow. To his son Humayun was given a diamond of ines- timable value, and a shahrukri* to every man, woman, and child in the country of Cabool. House of Timur.—The conqueror assumed the supreme authority in India, and became the founder of what is universally called the Mogul empire. Yet Baber, although con- nected through his mother with the royal race of the Moguls, never names that people in his writings but with undisguised aver- sion, and always makes mention of himself as a Turk,t and the representative of Timur, whose barbarous massacres he too frequently overthrown, being supposed to signify the Turks. Timur, in his Memoirs (p. 27,) and a Persian author quoted by Price in his Mossmensdan History, ascribe the origin of the Khans or sovereigns of the wide- spread Tartar nations to Turk, the son of Japhet, the son of Noah. The great grandson of Turk, Alonjah Khan (during whose reign the people forsook the worship of the living God and became idolators), had twin sons named Tartar or Tatar, and Mogul or Mongol, and the quarrels of their immediate de- scendants gave rise to the inextinguishable animosi- ties which have ever since prevailed among their respective tribes. Mogul is said to be derived from Mungawul, signifying abject or simple-hearted. Tartar, according to the traveller Carpini, a.D. 1246, was the term app".ed to the Su or Water Mongols, one of four chief tribes then inhabiting Central Tar- tary, from the name of a river which ran through | | | 82 imitated wherever the slightest resistance was offered ; probably desiring by this fero- city to inspire a degree of terror not war- ranted by his limited force. Yet Baber was in domestic life kind and affectionate; his Memoirs offer repeated evidence of feelings unchilled by ambition and grandeur, of sen- sibility to the beauties of nature and art retaining its freshness amid the declining years of pampered royalty, and of a temper whose sweetness remained to the last un- marred, even by the thorny pillow of an usurper, or the excesses into which his social temperament helped to draw him. “Tt is a relief,” says Mr. Erskine, “in the midst of the pompous coldness of Asiatic history, to find a king who can weep for days, and tell us that he wept for the com- panion of his boyhood.” And Mr. Elphin- stone, when citing this remark, adds—“ He [Baber] speaks with as much interest of his mother and female relations as if he had never quitted their fire-side, and his friends make almost as great a figure in the per- sonal part of his narrative as he does him- self. He repeats their sayings, records their accidents and illnesses, and sometimes jokes on their eccentricities.” Yet this same indi- vidual, in many points so estimable, never- theless deserved the degrading surname of Baber (the Tiger), which has superseded his more flattering designations,* for in his cha- racterofconqueroreven he couldseldom afford to be merciful and still more rarely to be just. To return to the narrative—the occupa- tion of Agra was far from carrying with it the conquest of the kingdom, and before that could be accomplished Baber had three their territory (Hakluyt, vol. i., p. 30), while Gmelin (Decouvertes Russes, vol. iii., p. 209) gives the deriva- tion of the word from tatano?, to collect, used in a reproachful sense to denote robbery, and declares that the Moguls and Calmucks, who are doubtless closely allied, have not the shadow of a tradition which favours the idea of their having ever composed one nation with the Tartars (meaning Turks). De Guignes, on the contrary, recognizes only the Eastern and Western Tartars—the first the Manchoos, the se- cond Turks and Moguls, whom he looked upon as one race, the latter descended from the former. His authority, though usually of much weight, is in this respect diminished by the mistakes committed in confounding distinct races, and likewise in the indis- tinct geography of Tartary—defects scarcely to be avoided even by writers of the present day on this dark and difficult subject. The tribes now inhabiting Tartary are very numerous and various: language is the chief, if not the only guide by which Europeans have been enabled to class them under the heads of —lst, Manchoos, who extend over the region called Mantchouria, stretching from the Eastern Ocean along the north of China, and whose influence is CHARACTER OF BABER, FOUNDER OF THE MOGUL EMPIRE. = ——« distinct obstacles to overcome; namely, the opposition offered by the Moslem viceroys, who had revolted in the time of Ibrahim, as well as by Afghan and Fermuli chiefs, at- tached to the late government; secondly, the deep aversion of the Hindoos, evinced by the abandonment of the villages near the spot where the army was encamped, and the con- sequent difficulty of procuring grain or forage. In the third place, the troops them- selves became disaffected, and the weather being unusually sultry and oppressive, so aggravated the sufferings necessarily expe- rienced by natives of cold countries during an Indian summer, that at length all ranks united in demanding to be led back to Cabool. Baber declared his unalterable determination of remaining in India, but gave to all who chose permission to return. The majority decided to stay and share his fortunes, but a part persisting in their former desire, were dismissed with honour under the authority of Khaja Khilan, who was ap- pointed to a government beyond the Indus, | |. This arrangement produced a change of feel: | ing throughout the kingdom, and dissipated the general idea that Baber would depart as Timur had done. Some governors vo- luntarily tendered submission, detachments were sent to reduce others, and in the course of four months, not only had the country’ held by Sultan Ibrahim been secured, but all the revolted provinces ever possessed by the house of Lodi, including the former kingdom of Juanpoor, were conquered by Prince Humayun. The supremacy of Baber, being thus established over the Moslems, his arms were next directed against the Hindoos. confined chiefly to that country, where at the present moment (1853) a severe struggle is taking place for their extirpation ; 2nd, Moguls, who occupy the cen: tral portion (Mongolia) between the other two; 3rd, Lartars or Turks, (of Toorkistan,) whose boundary is the Muz Tagh (ice mountains), the Belut Tagh (dark or cloudy mountains), Hindoo Koosh, &. ‘The Turki is the language of the Tartars as distinguished from that of the Moguls, but whether these two differ essentially or only as very different dialects of the same tongue is perhaps yet to be decided (Erskine’s Baber, p. xxi.) Whatever may be the barrier be- tween the Turks and Moguls, it’ is certainly a great one and of ancient origin. In appearance the con- trast is most striking between the short, square, and athletic though disproportioned body, bullet-shaped head, small angular eyes, scanty beard and eyebrows, high cheek-bones, flat nose, and large ears of a Mogul or Calmuck, and the comely form of a Turk, whose well-known Caucasian features and flowing beard in many points resemble those of a European, the exception being the contraction of the eyes. * His original name was Zehir-oo-deen (protector of the faith) Mohammed (greatly praised). STRUGGLES OF HINDOO PRINCES FOR INDEPENDENCE. 83 _Sanga, the Rajpoot prince of Mewar (sixth im succession from Hameer Sing, the recoverer of Cheetore or Chittoor in 1316), had immediately before the arrival of Baler been engaged in hostilities with Mahmood, king of Malwa, whom he had defeated and taken prisoner. The king of Delhi was likewise the enemy of Sanga, who opened a friendly communication with Baber while marching against Ibrahim, but on finding him established on the vacated throne, transferred his enmity to the new ruler, and proceeded to combine against him with the Lodi chiefs (previously defeated by Hu- mayun) and Hasan Khan, rajah of Mewat, a hilly tract extending towards the river Chumbul, from within twenty-five miles of Delhi, and including the petty state now called Macheri or Alwa, The first move- ments of the Hindoos were successful; the. garrison of Biana (within fifty miles of Agra) were driven with loss into their fort, and communication cut off between them and the capital. Baber marched forward with all his forces, and at Sikri, about twenty miles from Agra, found himself in the vici- nity of the enemy, by whom his advanced guard was immediately attacked, and though supported by the main body, was defeated with heavy loss. The assailants, instead of following up the victory, withdrew to their encampments, and thus gave Baber time to fortify his position, and revive, by his own indomitable energy, the drooping spirits of the troops. This was no easy task; for the Indian auxiliaries began to desert or give way to hopeless despondency, and the feel- ing spread throughout all rarks, being deep- ened by the unlucky arrival of a celebrated astrologer from Cabool, who announced, from the aspect of Mars, the inevitable de- feat of the Moslem army, which was drawn up in an opposite direction to that planet. Baber cared little for soothsaying, but fully recognised the perils of his position, and, by his own account, repented of his sins, forswore wine, gave away his gold and silver drinking-vessels to the poor, and remitted the stamp-tax on all Moslems (that is, the re- venue collected by means of a stamp or mark affixed on all imported articles), Assembling all the officers, from the highest to the lowest, he addressed them in glowing terms—not, however, in the usual inflated style regard- ing the rewards, temporal and eternal, awaiting the champions of Islam, but ap- pealing almost exclusively to their sense of honour, and setting the chance of military glory, in plain terms, against the risk of death. With one accord they swore on the Koran to conquer or to die, and Baber de- termined to bring matters to an immediate crisis, a step rendered the more expedient by the daily accounts of fresh disturbances in the provinces. A desperate battle en- sued; rajah Sanga was defeated, and escaped with difficulty; Hasan Khan and many other chiefs were slain. The mistaken astro- loger ventured to congratulate Baber upon his victory, but received in return a sharp lecture for perversity, conceit, and mischief- making, with a command to quit the royal dominions, accompanied, however, by a libe- ral present in acknowledgment of long ser- vice, faithful though not discreet. Mewat was next reduced and settled. In the beginning of the following year | (1528) Chanderi, ‘on the borders of Bun- delcund and Malwa, was attacked. It was held by Medni Rai, a Rajpoot chief, who had escaped from the late battle, and des- perately but vainly defended by the Raj- poots, who, on perceiving the troops of Baber mounting their works, slew their women, rushed forth naked, drove the enemy before them, leaped from the ramparts, and continued to fight with unabated fury until all had found the death they sought: 200 or 800 had remained to defend Medni Rai’s house, who for the most part slew one another sooner than fall into the hands of the enemy. An Afghan insurrection occurred simultaneously with this siege. The latter was no sooner ended than Baber marched to the Ganges, where the Afghans were drawn up, threw a bridge over the river under cover of artillery, and compelled the insurgents to disperse and take refuge in the dominions of the king of Bengal. It was probably on this occasion that he re- duced South Behar, which was subsequently seized by the Lodi prince, Sultan Mahmood, who being once more forced to fly, all that country south of the Ganges reverted to Baber; but North Behar remained in the possession of the king of Bengal, with whom a treaty of peace was formed. The health of Baber now began to fail, and its decline was hastened by circum- stances connected with the dangerous ill- ness of Humayun. The physicians had declared the condition of that prince to be beyond the help of their art, upon which the fond father resolved to devote his own life to the preservation of his son’s, in con- formity with a superstition still prevalent in 84, the East. His friends, who do not seem to nave in the least doubted the efficacy of the measure, entreated him to forbear for the sake of the millions whom he ruled, but without effect. After the customary for- mula of walking three times round the couch of the prince, Baber spent some moments in earnest prayer to God, and then, impressed with a conviction of the fulfilment of the desired sacrifice, exclaimed, “YT have borne it away! I have borne it away!” All historians agree that Huma- yun began from that time to recover, and Baber to sink rapidly, which latter result may be readily believed. Calling together his sons and ministers, he enjoined con- cord among them all, and affection among his children, and soon afterwards expired at Agra, a.p. 1530, and was buried in Cabool, at a spot selected by himself, and still marked by a small mosque of marble, above which rises a hill, from whence a noble prospect is obtained. Though he did not attain to the age of fifty years, Baber had, in one sense, lived many lives, from the incessant activity of both mind and body.* On his last journey, when his constitution was evidently giving way, he rode in two days from Calpee to Agra (160 miles), without any particular motive for despatch, and swam twice across the Ganges, as he mentions having done every other river he traversed. Besides the neces- sary business of the kingdom, the intervals of peace were occupied by planning aque- ducts, reservoirs, and other improvements, and in the introduction of new fruits and other productions of remote countries. Yet he found time to indite many elegant Persian poems, and compositions in Turki, which entitled him to distinction among the writers of his age and country. His contemporaries were, in England, Henr VII. and VIII.; in France, Charles VIII., Louis XII., and Francis I.; in Germany, Maximilian and Charles V.; in Spain, Fer- dinand and Isabella, and Charles. Thus the career of Baber formed part of a me- morable epoch, of which the great events were—the discovery of America by Co- lumbus; of the passage to India, via the Cape of Good Hope, by Vasco di Gama; * Towards the close of his life, Baber observed that since his eleventh year he had never kept the annual fast of the Ramzan twice in any one place—a strong proof of the roving, warlike disposition which brought him to India. And it should be remembered that, in spite of many attractive qualities, Baber comes under the same condemnation, for lawless usurpation and REMARKABLE DEATH OF BABER—a.p. 1530.—HUMAYUN. the increase of the power of France by the annexation of the great fiefs to the crown, and of Spain by the union of its kingdoms under Charles; the destruction of the em- pire of Constantinople ; the influence of the art of printing; and the rise and progress of the Protestant reformation. (Luther and Baber were born in the same year.) Baber left three sons besides Humayun, but as he made no declaration in their favour he probably intended the empire to descend undivided to the child for whose life he had evinced such tender solicitude. Of the three younger brothers, one named Kamran was governor of Cabool and Candahar, and being firmly seated there, appeared disposed | | © to maintain his position if necessary by a’ degree of force with which Humayun could ill cope, since to assemble an army for action in Cabool would necessitate the evacuation of the lately-acquired and disaffected pro- vinees. Kamran was therefore recognized as the independent ruler of his previous govern- ment, to which was added the Punjaub and | the country on the Indus. The other || brothers, named Hindal and Askeri, were appointed to the sway of Sambal and Mewat. By the cession to Kamran, Humayun was deprived of the trusty and warlike retainers | who had long been the hereditary subjects of his family, and left to govern new con- quests, unsupported by the resources which had materially contributed to their acquisi- tion. At first, by the aid of the veteran army of his father, he succeeded in putting down the Afghan insurrections, which were among the early disturbances of his reign, and came to terms with his future rival, Sheer Khan (an influential Afghan, claiming descent from the kings of Ghor), who sub- mitted on condition of being suffered to retain the hill-fort of Chunar, near Benares. His next struggles were with Bahadur Shah, king of Guzerat, one of the most powerful of the states formed out of the fragments of the empire of Delhi, and which had been recently increased in size and influence b the annexation of Malwa, and the vassalship — or fiefdom promised by the princes of Can- deish, Berar, and Ahmednugger. Bahadur had taken under his protection Ala-oo-deen, the brother of Sultan Ibrahim Lodi, who had bloodshed, as his ferocious ancestors, Jengis and Timur. Nor is his private character free from heavy reproach. Drinking he eventually renounced, but cantinyed to use intoxicating confections; and this, with other practices yet more degrading, he refers to with as little regret as to the “ erection of minarets of human heads,” and other common incidents of war. PORTUGUESE ASSIST BAHADUR AGAINST HUMAYUN. 85 played so conspicuous a part during that monarch’s disastrous reign, and he assisted him with troops and money to assemble a force for the attack of Agra, a.v. 9534. The attempt failed, for the army was as speedily dispersed as it had been collected, and Tatar Khan, the son of Ala, fell bravely fighting at the head of a division which had remained faithful amid the general deser- tion. Humayun proceeded against Bahadur, who was engaged in besieging Chittoor or Cheetore, then held by the Rana of Mewar, but was induced, (by the remonstrances of Bahadur against the impiety of molesting a Mussulman prince while engaged in war with infidels, or else by his own dilatory habits), to retard his march until the place was taken, and the besieger prepared to receive him in an intrenched camp at Mandesor, rendered formidable by artillery, commanded by a Constantinopolitan Turk, and partly served by Portuguese prisoners.* These advantages were however wholly neu- tralized by the enemy’s success in cutting off the supplies, and thus making the position untenable, upon which Bahadur blew up his guns, and, leaving the army to disperse as they chose, fled by night almost unattended to the sea-port of Cambay, whither he was followed by Humayun, who reached that town on the evening of the day on which the fugitive had departed for a more secure place *In the Memoirs of Humayun, written by Jouher the ewer-bearer, (a faithful servant who attended that monarch during his adversity, and was eventually re- warded by a treasurership in Lahore) and translated by Major Stewart, it is asserted that Bahadur had entered into a treaty with the Portuguese, (estab- lished at Surat some time before), and had by their assistance raised a force of 6,000 Abyssinians or negroes. Price, on the authority of Abu Fazil, states, that Bahadur had sent a deputation to Diu to solicit the aid of the Portuguese viceroy, or captain- general of the possessions of that nation on the western side of India, requesting his assistance in waging war against the house of Timur. The Por- tuguese commander accordingly assembled at Diu a considerable body of troops, and a powerful naval armament, in readiness to meet Bahadur, on whose arrival, it is said, some cause of suspicion, not satis- factorily explained, induced the European chief, in- stead of coming to meet his ally, to remain on board ship on pretence of illness. Bahadur, with a degree of confidence which seems to indicate the whole affair to have originated, not in a misunderstanding, but in systematie treachery.on the part of the Por- tuguese, put himself on board a galley to visit the alleged invalid; but had no sooner reached the admiral’s vessel, than, perceiving the deceit practised upon him, he endeavoured to return to the shore. The Portuguese had however resolved on first ob- taining from him the cession of certain ports at Guzerat, and endeavoured to detain him by fair N of refuge at Diu, in the remotest part of the peninsula of Guzerat. While the pur- suers were encamped at Cambay,.a night attack was made by the Coolis, a.forest-tribe, still famous for similar exploits in this part of India, with such silence and wariness, that the royal tent itself was plundered, and the baggage and books carried off—among the latter was a copy of the History of Timur, illustrated with paintings. Humayun, in un- just retaliation for the conduct of these mountaineers, gave up the town to plunder, and then quitting the peninsula, proceeded to occupy the settled part of Guzerat.. The hill fort of Champaneir, he surprised by a stratagem, having, with 300 chosen men, scaled the walls in the night by means of iron spikes, fixed in an almost perpendicular rock; the daring besiegers, including the king, ascending separately during an attack made on one of the gates: by the army.+ Shortly after this suecess, and before suf- ficient time could elapse for the consolidation of his new conquests, Humayun was re- called to Agra by intelligence of the pro- ceedings of Sheer Khan, who had made himself master of Behar, including the strong fortress of Rohtas,{ and was successfully pro- secuting the invasion of Bengal. The mea- sures of this usurper had been laid with much skill and circumspection, his hope being, by the union of the Afghans, to words, entreating a moment’s delay while they brought a present in token of profound respect; but Bahadur desired that the present might be sent after him and persisted in making for the ship’s side. The Portuguese Cazi (probably the fiscal) now interposed and forbade his departure, upon which the Sultan in a paroxysm of indignation drew his scimitar, clove him in twain, and succeeded in gain-~ ing his own galley, which was speedily hemmed in by the enemy’s fleet. An unequal conflict ensued, and Bahadur, perceiving the inevitable result, sprang into the sea, and is generally supposed to have been drowned. The date of this event, A.D. 1537, is pre- served in the Persian characters comprised in the sentence, “ Feringuian Bahadur Kosh,”— Portuguese butchers of the hero.—(Price, vol iii. p. 751). + After its capture the stronghold was vainly searched for the treasure it was believed to contain ; one officer alone knew the secret, which it was pro- posed to draw from him by torture, but to this Humayun refused to consent, and directed that wine and good cheer should be tried instead. The ex- pedient proved successful, and the officer willingly revealed the existence of a large amount of gold and silver at the bottom of the reservoir, which was at once apparent on the water being drawn off. { Rohtas was taken by treachery from a Hindoo rajah, Sheer Khan, having besought an asylum for his family, introduced two armed soldiers in each of the covered litters supposed to contain women, and then easily overcame the unsuspecting garrison. 86 drive the Moguls out of the country, and re-establish a Patan dynasty.* ‘To retard the advance of Humayun he had strongly garrisoned the famous fortress of Chunar, which stands on a rock close to the Ganges, on what may be termed a detached portion of the Vindya mountains. As Humayun marched along the river, and conveyed his guns and stores by its waters, he was com- pelled to commence hostilities with the siege of this fort. By a cruel stratagemt} infor- mation was acquired regarding the state of the defences, and attempts were made to mine the accessible portions of the walls on the land side, and by floating batteries to bear upon the face fronting the river.—These failed, but the garrison, after several months’ resistance, were starved into surrender, and the right hands of all the gunners, to the number of 300, cut off, without the consent of Humayun, by his chief engineer Rumi Khan, who soon afterwards, through the malice of rival courtiers, perished by poison. At the defile of Sicragali, a detachment of the imperial army, sent to take possession, were attacked and repulsed with con- siderable loss by the son of Sheer Khan, who then rejoined his father in the hills, leaving the pass unobstructed, having fol- lowed out the well-devised policy of im- peding Humayun as far as possible without hazarding any decisive conflict. During the protracted siege of Chunar, Mahmood had been defeated and Gour reduced by Sheer Khan, who having removed the captured trea- sures to the before-mentioned fort of Rohtas, whither he had previously assembled his family, now left Gour undefended. Hu- mayun took possession, but gained little ad- vantage thereby, for the rains had attained their climax, the Delta of the Ganges was one vast sheet of water, and in the country beyond the reach of inundation every brook and channel had become an impassable flood. It was impossible to carry on operations in Bengal, and extremely difficult to commu- nicate with upper India. Several months of forced inactivity elapsed, rendered doubly wearisome by the moist and sultry climate. The sickly season that followed the heavy rains thinned the ranks of the soldiers, and depressed their spirits so greatly that when * According to Ferishta, the pro Afghans is balled Roh, andr aes aoe ine In us; but, subsequent to the introduction of Islam, having settled at Patna on the Ganges, they gra- dually acquired the appellation of Patans. t Rumi Khan (originally a Turki slave named Soghrauk, but promoted for his ability, and thus SHEER KHAN AND AFGHANS ATTEMPT TO EXPEL MOGULS. the roads became again traversible they began to desert in numbers—Prince Hindal, who had been left in North Behar, setting the example. Meanwhile Sheer Khan issued from his retreat, seized Behar and Benares, recovered Chunar, laid siege to Juanpoor, and pushed his forces up the Ganges as far as Canouj. Humayun once more found his communication with the capital intercepted, and leaving a detachment which he could but ill spare to guard Gour, he reluctantly set out to return to Agra with the remainder of his diminished army, but was intercepted between Patna and Benares by Sheer, who had raised the siege of Juanpoor and ad. vanced by forced marches for this purpose. Instead of at once attacking the troops of his rival while suffering from fatigue, Hu- mayun suffered many valuable hours to elapse, and the next morning found Sheer (who had now assumed the title of Shah or king) so skilfully intrenched that he could neither be passed nor attacked with any prospect of success. Humayun therefore, in turn, fortified his position and began to col- lect boats, with a view of forming a bridge across the Ganges, and then pursuing his way along the opposite bank. Sheer Shak suffered this work to proceed for two months, but when it approached completion, he at- tacked Humayun about day-break in three colums, and completely surprised the camp. Humayun attempted to rally his troops, but with little effect, and after receiving a wound in the arm was prevailed on by three of his favourite officers to seek safety in flight, and plunge at once into the Ganges.t Here his career had nearly terminated, for before reaching the opposite bank his horse sunk from exhaustion, but the royal rider was saved by the exertions of a poor man opportunely crossing at the time with a leathern bag or water-skin inflated like a bladder. Thus rescued, Humayun, accompanied by a very small retinue, fled to Calpee, and thence to Agra, (4.p. 1539.) Almost the whole army had been slain or drowned, and the queen, who having been early surrounded it had been the object of his last exertion to re- lease, remained in the hands of the enemy, but was treated with great delicacy and con- sideration. By some accounts, Sheer Shah entitled by the Guzerat princes), severely flogged a negro slave, and sent him to play the part of a deserter in the fort. The Afghans received him kindly, and suffered him to examine their works, which aving done, he returned to his intriguing master. t The three officers returned to the battle and nobly perished in attempting to rescue the queen, £. WANDERINGS IN THE DESERT OF THE EXILED HUMAYUN. 87 is said to have gained this important victory by treachery, having broken an armistice, which from his character is very probable— but by others it is asserted that he never promised to suspend hostilities, but only contrived to delude his adversary into so doing by delusive negotiations and other pretexts, which war is too generally supposed to justify and even necessitate. On reach- ing Agra, Humayun found Hindal in open rebellion, and Kamran preparing to take a similar course, but his sudden arrival forced them to come to terms, and the three brothers, after spending eight or nine months in preparation, assembled a fresh army to attack Sheer Shah. Kamran remained to guard Agra while Humayun crossed the Ganges near Canouj by means of a bridge of boats, at the head of 90,000 cavalry, with kettle-drums beating and trumpets sounding. A general action ensued (a.p. 1540), the imperial troops were again utterly routed and driven into the Ganges, and Humayun himself escaped with extreme difficulty. After exchanging his wounded horse for an elephant, he crossed the stream, and was drawn up the steep bank by two fugitive soldiers, who having reached the shore in safety, twisted their turbans together, and threw the ends to his assistance. After this discomfiture, Humaynn, with Hindal and Askeri, took refuge in Lahore, where Kam- ran had previously retreated, but this prince, having made peace with the conqueror by the cession of the Punjaub, retired to Cabool, leaving his unfortunate brother to provide as best he could for his own safety. The succeeding adventures of the royal wanderer would form a fitting pendant to those of the English Stuarts, from the instances of un- wavering loyalty, connected with his hair- breadth escapes—while his character as a Mussulman, though far from faultless, will et well bear comparison with that of the pro- essedly Christian but licentious Charles, or even of the “ bonnie Prince,” for whom Scot- tish chivalry and misfortune have combined to win a place in the page of history, which would probably have been very differently filled had the Young Pretender been des- * These names, like almost all Eastern appellaticns, have each a distinct signification. Thus, Humayun, means auspicious ; Kamran, successful ; Hindal, In- dian, and Askeri, born in the camp. + At one time they are stated to have travelled twenty-seven hours without finding water, and at the expiration of that time, having at length come vpon a well and rivulet, Humayun alighted, and after prostrating himself in gratitude to the Al- tined to become a crowned king instead of dying in exile. After the desertion of Kamran, which was followed by that of Hindal and Askeri, Humayun* sought to obtain the recognition of his authority in Sinde, then ruled by Hussyn, the head of the Arghoon family—but after a year and-a-half wasted in alternate negotiations and hostilities, he found his funds exhausted, and the adventurers who had rallied round his standard dispersed, just as Hussyn approached to venture a de- cisive conflict. During the previous inter- val, Humayun, then about three-and-thirty years of age, had married a beautiful girl of fourteen, with whom he had become ena- moured at an entertainment prepared for him in the apartments of the mother of Prince Hindal. Carrying with him his young bride Hameida, he fied to Ouch, and thence proceeded to ask the protection of Maldeo, rajah of Marwar, but on reaching Joudpoor, after a toilsome journey over the desert, during which he lost many of his followers from thirst and fatigue,t a new disappointment awaited him in the discovery of the unfriendly disposition of the rajah, The royal fugitive, again driven to seek com- parative safety amid the dreary sands, now led his little band towards Amercot, a fort in the desert, not far from the Indus. In this route they experienced yet greater trials than during the one previously taken. Be- fore quitting the inhabited country, the vil- lagers repelled all approaches to their wells, which were to them precious possessions, and it was not without a conflict and blood- shed that the travellers were enabled to slake their burning thirst. After leaving behind the last traces of human culture, their obstacles and difficulties increased ten-fold until, one morning, when faint and weary with a long night march, Humayun, who had remained behind with the females and servants, while the few chiefs marched on at some distance in front, perceived the ap- proach of a considerable body of horse, under the command of the son of Maldeo, and prepared to meet a fate similar to that of the Imaum Hussyn and his ill-fated com- mighty, ordered all the water-bags to be filled, and sent back on his own horses for the use of those who had fallen exhausted by the way, adding at the same time a melancholy but needful command, for the burial of “all the ‘persons whe had died from thirst.” A very unpleasing anecdote is however re- lated by Jouher, of Humayun’s having taken ad- vantage of the thirst of a Mogul merchant who had lent him money, to oblige him to cancel the debt. 88 panions.* The valour of Sheikh Ali Beg, one of Humayun’s bravest and most faith- ful followers, appears to have warded off the immediate danger, and soon afterwards the Hindoo leader, bearing in his hand a white flag, approached the party, and having re- presented that they had wilfully done wrong in killing kine in a Hindoo country, and likewise in entering his father’s territory without leave, supplied them with water for their immediate relief, and then permitted them to proceed without further molestation. Several weary marches, with intense suffer- ing from thirst, further diminished the small but faithful band, before Humayun with seven mounted horsemen reached Amercot, where the Ranat (Pursaud) welcomed the dethroned monarch with most courteous and generous hospitality. The remainder of the fugitives found refuge within the walls of the fortress on the same day, and thankful indeed must Hameida have been to quit her horse, and find at length an interval of rest. Pursaud offered to assist Humayun in a fresh endeavour to establish himself in Sinde, placing at his service 2,000 horsemen of his own tribe (Rajpoots), and 5,000 cav- alry belonging to his allies. These auxili- aries, or a portion of them, were gladly accepted, and Humayun, accompanied by the Rona, with about 100 Moguls, whom he had himself succeeded in assembling, marched towards Tatta. Hameida remained at Amercot, and on the following day gave birth tc the celebrated Akber (a.p. 1542). The joyful intelligence was immediately for- warded to Humayun, who unable to practise the munificence customary in the East on these occasions, called for “a china plate,” and breaking a pod of musk, distributed it among the chiefs who came to offer their congratulations, saying—‘ this is all the present I can afford to make you on the birth of my son, whose fame will I trust be one day expanded all over the world, as the perfume of the musk now fills this apart- ment.” Joon or Jiun (a place not marked on the maps, but supposed to have been situated on a branch of the Indus, half-way between Tatta and Amercot, was captured *In the desert of Kerbela, a.p. 680, Hussyn, the son of Ali and Fatima, with seventy-three persons of his family, including his infant child, were cruelly massacred. Several heroic youths, his sons and ne- phews, perished singly in defending the venerated person of the Imaum; who after a protracted defence at length sunk, mutilated of an arm and covered with wounds, of which thirty-six were counted on his dead body, before it was finally crushed by REIGN OCF SHEER SHAH THE AFGHAN—a.». 1540 to 1544. after an action with the officer in charge, and though harassed by the troops of the Arghoons, Humayun’s party held their ground, and were strengthened by the neigh- bouring princes until they amounted to about 15,000 horse. Hameida and the in- fant prince (by this time about six weeks old) joined the camp, and all seemed pros- pering, when Rana Pursaud received an affront from a Mogul, aud was so dissatis- fied by Humayun’s conduct in the matter, that he indignantly quitted Joon, with all his followers and friends. Humayun, thus rendered too weak to contest with Hussyn Arghoon, proceeded to Candahar, but was compelled by his turbulent brothers to escape to Seestan with Hameida, and thence to seek refuge in Persia, the infant Akber falling into the hands of his uncle Mirza Askeri, who showed more kindness on the occasion than might have been expected. Afghan tribe of Soor.—Sheer Shaht as- sumed, as has been shown, the title of king in 1540, and took possession of all Humayun’s territories. After commencing the famous fort of Rohtas on the Hydaspes, on which he expended an enormous sum of money, and named after that in Behar, he returned to Agra, and there found employment in sub- duing the revolt of his own governor of Bengal. He conquered Malwa in the course of the year 1542, and soon afterwards re- duced the fort of Raiseen, held by a Hindoo chief. The garrison surrendered on terms, but after they had left the fort, the capitula- tion was declared void on some quibbling legal pretext, and the Hindoos were attacked and cut to pieces after a brave resistance. Barbarous as the Mchammedans too often showed themselves in India, yet treachery such as this can hardly be paralleled, save in the career of Timur. 1n1544, Sheer marched into Marwar, which was desperately defended by rajah Maldeo, who, though able to collect only 50,000 men wherewith to oppose his adversary’s powerful army, estimated at 80,000, and probably well-provided with artillery, appears to have at first succeeded in overawing the invader, aided by the na- tural obstacles offered by the sterility of his twenty horsemen, and then left to be devoured by wild beasts. The unfortunate females were thrown across the backs of camels and afterwards stripped and publicly exposed—all these atrocities being com- mitted by Mohammedans. (Price, vol. i. p. 410.) + The patronymic of the princes of Mewar. } His name was changed from Fureed, to Sheer Khan, or Lion-knight, from his slaying a wild beast while hunting with the king of Berar. SHEER SHAH KILLED, a.v. 1545—SELIM SHAH, a.v. 1558. 89 territory and the want of water in many parts of it. At length Sheer Shah, always a cunning schemer, contrived to sow divi- sion in the hostile camp by the conifnon expedient of letters written on purpose to be intercepted. The rajah’s suspicions were raised against some of his chiefs, and he commenced a retreat. -One of the suspected leaders, indignant at the imputation, deter- mined, in the true Rajpoot spirit, to give incontestable proof of its injustice, and quit- ting the army at the head of his own tribe fell with such impetuousity on the enemy, that Sheer Shah with difficulty and severe loss succeeded in repelling the assailants. He was, however, eventually victor here, as also at Chittore; but at Calinjer, to which he laid siege, a striking retribution awaited him. The rajah, warned by the breach of faith committed at Raiseen, refused to enter into any terms with his perfidious foe, and Sheer, while superintending the batteries, was so scorched by the explosion of a maga- zine struck by the rebound of a shell, that he expired in a few hours, but continued to direct the operations of the siege during his mortal agonies, his last words being an ex- clamation of pleasure at learning that the place was taken. This ambitious, cruel, and vindictive man, nevertheless evinced considerable ability in civil government, and, happily for the sub- jects of his usurped authority, seems to have recognised the promotion of their wel- fare as his best means of security. He caused a high road to be constructed, ex- tending from Bengal to the western Rohtas, near the Indus, a distance of about 3,000 miles, with caravanserais at every stage, all furnished with provisions for the poor, and attendance of proper casts for Hindoos as well as Mussulmans. An Imaum (priest) and Muezzin (crier to call to prayers) were placed at the numerous mosques erected on the route; wells were dug at distances of a mile and-a-half, and the whole way planted with fruit-trees for refreshment and shade. Sheer Shah was buried in a stately mausoleum still standing at Sahseram, placed in the. centre of an artificial piece of water, a mile in circumference, which is faced by walls of cut stone, with flights of steps descending to the water. Previous to his death, his eldest son had been the recognised heir to the throne, but being a prince of feeble charac- ter was supplanted by his brother, who reigned for nine years, under the title of Selim Shah. On his decease, a.p. 1553, his son, a boy of twelve years old, was mur- dered by his uncle, who seized the throne under the name cf Mohammed Adili,* but was prevented from using the powers of a ruler by natural incapacity, increased by habits of the most odious debauchery. His extravagance speedily emptied the royal cof- fers, upon which he resumed the governments and jaghirest+ of the nobles and bestowed them on the lowest of his creatures. The proud Afghans, stung even more by the in- sulting bearing of their unworthy ruler than by the injuries they suffered at his hand, fled in numbers, and raised the standard of revolt at Chunar. Meanwhile, the person of the king was protected and his authority upheld by the exertions of Hemu, his chief minis- ter, a Hindoo of mean appearance and low origin, who had formerly belonged to the very lowest class of small shopkeepers, as a retailer of salt, but who had been gradually raised to power by the late king, and now displayed a degree of zeal and ability, which would have honoured a better cause. From some weakness or physical defect Hemu was unable to sit on horseback, but | he directed all military operations, and | fought with unfailing intrepidity from his | litter mounted on an elephant. Not the least extraordinary part of his history is the manner in which he succeeded in recon- ciling such of the haughty Afghans and un- ruly Moguls as still remained with Adili, to his authority; this he appears to have done chiefly by the munificence with which he distributed whatever treasure or revenue came into his hands—for his objects and motives, though scarcely indicated in the contemptuous and calumnious mention made of “this swarthy upstart” by Mussulman historians, unquestionably soared far above the mere accumulation of wealth. Delhi and Agra were seized on by Ibrahim Soor, a member of the reigning family, who at. tempted to assume the supreme authority under the name of Ibrahim III., but was opposed by Hemu, and also by Secander Soor, another relative of Adili’s, who caused himself to be proclaimed king in the Pun- jaub. Ibrahim was defeated first by Secan- der and then by Hemu. The adventurous minister next marched towards Bengal, to. *This wretch, known before his usurpation as Moobariz Khan, is alleged to have dragged the prince from his mother’s arms, that mother heing his own sister and tried friend. (Herishta, vol. ii. p. 142.) + The revenues of certain lands granted by the king, sometimes in perpetuity but generally revo- cable at pleasure, and on military tenure. ? = 90 HUMAYUN AND SHAH TAHMASP, KING OF PERSIA—a.p. 1545. oppose the governor, Mohammed Soor, who had assumed the rank of an independent ruler. Hemu was again victorious,‘ this new adversary being defeated and slain ; but struggles in other quarters still continued, and a more formidable foe than any yet dealt with, arose in the person of the de- throned Humayun, who had gradually re- established himself in the Punjaub, where Secander, who had occupied Agra and Delhi on the defeat of Ibrahim, now marched for his expulsion. Before narrating the success of Humayun and Akber, and the fate of Ibrahim and of Hemu and Adili, it is neces- sary to revert to previous events and sketch the chain of circumstances which ended in the restoration of the exiled monarch. House of Timur restored— Humayun en- tered Persia in much uncertainty regarding the reception he should receive from Shah Tahmasp, the son and successor of Shah Ismael, the first of the Saffavi or Sophi kings. Though both were zealous Moham- medans, they belonged to distinct sects, characterised by a degree of mutual ani- mosity, for which the difference of opinion existing between them on doctrinal points far less than those which divide the churches of England and Rome, is quite insufficient to account.—(See note to p. 62). Shah Tahmasp was a strenuous advocate of the Sheiah doctrine, which had been widely disseminated through Persia by the instru- mentality of his ancestors, dervises much famed for sanctity, while Humayun was a Sonnite, and this was doubtless one cause of the want of cordiality which marked the private intercourse of the two monarchs, whose connexion was really, on both sides, an interested one. At first Humayun seems to have been inclined to put in practice his cherished desire of ceasing, at least for a time, the weary struggle for power, in which he had been so long engaged, and proceeding | on a pilgrimage to Mecca, but his faithful tollowers urgently dissuaded him from this project, pleading the disastrous results it would have on the fortunes of Akber. The reception met with in Persia successfully seconded their arguments—the governors of each province received him with regal hon- ours, the people came out to bid him wel- come, and palaces were prepared for his * The cap which Humayun so reluctantly assumed was that called Taji Hyder, in honour of Hyder, the father of Shah Ismael, by whom it was first adopted. It consisted of a tiara of crimson silk, richly or- namented with gold aud jewels, of a high conical accommodation at Cazvin and elsewhere, But the splendour with which the Persian despot thought proper to gild the fallen majesty of his unfortunate compeer, was un- accompanied by a single ray of true sym. pathy; for many months Humayun was not suffered to appear before the Shah, and his brave-hearted envoy, Behram Beg, was harshly treated for refusing to wear the peculiar-shaped cap,* from which the Per. sians have acquired the title of Kuzilbash (Red-heads), in allusion to its colour, and which was expressly designed for a sectarian symbol. Behram urged that he was the servant of another prince, and not at libert to act without orders. He persisted in de- clining to assume this badge, unawed by the displeasure of Tahmasp, who strove to intimidate the refractory ambassador, by the summary execution of some prisoners brought before him for the purpose. This incident was a sufficiently significant prelude to the long-delayed interview, during which Tahmasp affected to receive Humayun as his equal, but in reality took ungenerous | | advantage of his defenceless position, by, compelling him, by means of threats affect-. ing life itself, to assume the obnoxious cap. Nor even after this concession could Tahmasp resist taunting his guest with having, during his prosperity, when prac- tising the favourite Arabian form of divina- tion by arrows, to discover the destiny of reigning princes, placed the name of the king of Persia in a rank inferior to his own. Humayun frankly acknowledged that he had done so, and gently urged in justifica- tion his hereditary rank as Padshabt or Emperor of India, whereupon Tahmasp broke out into violent and unjust invective against the arrogance which had rendered him a fugitive, and thrown his femaie rela- tives and infant heir into the hands of his enemies. Notwithstanding the humiliations suffered in private from what he justly termed “the meanness of this Persian monarch,” Hu- mayun continued to receive every outward mark of unbounded munificence in the fes- tivals prepared in his honour, especially the military diversion of great circular hunts, so famous in the annals of Timur. All the expenses thus incurred are however said to shape and divided into twelve segments, in honour of the twelve Imaums, from whom the reigning family claimed descent. + This title was exclusively assumed by the dy- nasty of the Great Mogul. HUMAYUN CONQUERS CABOOL AND CANDAHAR. 91 have been repaid two-fold by the gift of a few rich gems, which the exiled monarch had brought with him from Hindoostan. One of these was a diamond, which the jeweflers of Tahmasp declared to be above all price, it was perhaps that obtained at Agra, and there estimated in a somewhat indefinite manner as equal in value “to the purchase of a day’s subsistence for one-half the in- habitants of the terrestrial globe.” Behram Beg, the bearer of this costly offering, was dignified by the title of Khan, and another officer with that of Sultan, but it was not without far heavier sacrifices that the as- sistance, from the first promised to their sovereign, was at length afforded. He was compelled to sign a paper, the contents of which, though not precisely stated, involved a pledge, in the event of success in regaining the sceptre of Baber, to cede to Persia the province or kingdom of Candahar, and like- wise to introduce among the Mussulmans of India the profession of the Sheiahs in oppo- sition to that of the Sonnites. Orders were then given for the assemblage of 14,000 horse in Seestan, under the command of Murad Mirza, the son of Tahmasp, and after some more bickering the monarchs parted, and Humayun proceeded again to try his fortune in war, his private forces amounting only to about 700 men. At this period (1545) Sheer Shah was still alive, Kamran swayed Cabool, and his younger brothers, after the settlement of their private quar- rels, received appointments under him; Hindal being governor of Ghuznee, and Askeri of Candahar, which latter place was attacked by Humayun and captured after a siege of five months. Askeri was taken and kept in close captivity for the next three years. The fort and treasures were made over to the Persians, on which the greater part of them returned home, leaving a gar- ‘yisoti under Murad Mirza. Aceording to Abul Fazil* the conduct of the Persians to the inhabitants was so cruelly oppressive as to justify Humayun, on the sudden death of Murad, in treacherously seizing the fortress ; his troops obtaining entrance thereto on the * Abul Fazil, the famous minister of Akber, re- corded the leading events of the reigns of this | sovereign and his father in an heroic poem com- rising 110,000 couplets; from which Ferishta has hareowed largely. Although a man of extraordinary ability, he was, unfortunately for the students of his- tory, an accomplished courtier and professed rheto- rieian, delighting in the cumbrous and inflated style still in vogue in India. His account of important events is therefore often unsatisfactory, and, unless plausible pretext of placing Askeri in charge of the Persian governor. Some of the gar- rison offered resistance on discovering what was really intended, but their opposition was soon silenced in death, and the re- mainder were suffered to return to Persia. From Candahar, Humayun marched to Cabool, of which he took possession without a struggle, for Kamran, finding himself de- serted by Hindal and many other chiefs who had gone over to the now successful brother, had sought refuge in Sinde. With Cabool, Humayun recovered Akber, then between two and three. years of age, but both the city and the young prince were subsequently re-captured by Kamran, who long held his ground against all attempts for his expulsion. Prisoners taken during this siege were slain in cold blood by the assailants, and treated with yet greater bar- barity by Kamran, who threatened, if the firing were not discontinued, to expose Akber on the walls. Eventually, being un- able to continue the contest, he escaped by night, and by the aid of the Uzbeks again made head against his brother for about eighteen months, but was, at the expira- tion of that time, compelled to surrender. Humayun behaved on this occasion very nobly, treated Kamran with great kindness, released Askeri, and, accompanied by Hindal, sat down with them at a feast. The four brothers having eaten salt} together, seemed for the time entirely reconciled, but during Humayun’s subsequent absence in Trans- oxiana, the conquest of which he had resolved on attempting, Kamran once more rebelled, and after many vicissitudes, (during which Cabool and the young prince were again lost and won, and Hindal fell in the cause of Humayun,) was finally betrayed by the sultan of the Gukkurs, with whom he had taken refuge, into the hands of his much- injured brother. Some chiefs, whose wives and children had been savagely disgraced and murdered by order of Kamran during the siege of Cabool in 1547, now loudly urged that his life should pay the forfeit of his crimes. This Hnmayun steadfastly refused, carefully weighed, misleading ; but, notwithstanding their defects, his works (the Akber Namah and Ayeen