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IITSTOJIV OF IVDTA.
[Bof»K I.
A U. 1260.
Miiiz ii-din Itelintm Kucceeds liezia.
Reign of Nasir-i-din Mahmood.
Embassy from the King of Persia.
bloody I Kittles, lo.st them, .'ind was t;iken jtrLsoner with lier hiwhand. Both were put to death. She had reigned three years and a half.
In 1239, when Uczia was deposed, her brother Moiz-u-din Behnim was placed on the throne. He was alto<:^etlier unworthy of it; and endeavoured to rid himself of the importunities of tho.se to whom he owed his elevation, by treachery and assas.sination. He was imprisoned and put to death after he had reigned little more than two years. The only event of importance in his reign was an irruption of the Moguls into the Punjab. Another reign, equally short and worthless, followed. The niler was Ala-u-din Masaood, a son of Ilukn-u- din. His crimes were soon terminated by a violent death. During his reign two irruptions of the Moguls took place ; the one into the north-west, and the other by a route which they had not previously attempted — through Thibet into Bengal.
Nasir-u-din Mahmood, grandson of Altam.sh, after a short interval, was raised to the throne in 1246. He was of retired and studious habits, and rid himself of the cares of government by devolving them on his vizier Gheia.s-u-din Bulbun. The Moguls were now the great enemies to be feared. The pro'inces of Herat, Balkh, Kandahar, Cabool, and Ghuznee were in their posse&sion; and as India was constantly threatened by them, it was nece.ssary to keep up a. standing army along the frontier. Several of the earlier years of this reign were employed in suppressing disturbances which had arisen, chiefly in ilooltan and the Punjab generally. The events of the latter years are, generally, unim- portant. In 1259, the Rajpoots of Meerut, ha'ing risen in insurrection, the Vizier Bulbun led an army against them; and, having obliged them to take refuge among the mountainous districts, continued for four months to ravage the country by fire and sword. The barbarities thus committed, however, made the Rajpoots desperate, and they nished down with aU their forces into the plain, attacking the Mahometans so suddenly and fiercely that Bulbun had great difficulty in keeping his men together. Superior discipline finally prevailed, and the Rajpoots were driven back to their fastnesses with great slaughter. Above 10,000 fell on the field; 200 chiefs, taken prisoners, were put to death; and the great body of their followers were condemned to slavery. Shortly before this formidable outbreak, an ambassador arrived at Delhi from Hoolakoo, King of Persia, and grandson of Ghenghis Khan. On his approach, the vizier went out in state to meet him, with a train of 50.000 foreign horse, then in the service of the Delhi government, 2000 elephants, and 3000 carriages of fireworks. What these last were is uncertain. They may have been merely for display, but more probably consisted of the Greek fii-e, with which the Mahometans, even of the far east, were then well acquainted. A series of reviews and sham fights were performed ; and the ambassador was thep led through the city to the palace, where everything was arranged for his ^'eception in the most gor- geous style. Among those who graced the ceremony, and stood next the throne,
