82
JllWTUitV OF 1N1;1A.
[I'AXJK I.
A.i). imi.
'rvTiiiiiiy of Al 1-11 din.
Chittoor attacked.
Delhi blockaded by the Moguls.
Huch ail extent, >y ;ill classeH of jtcojilc, tliiit lor Hcveral days the comiaou sewers ran wine.
As too often happens under despotiHins, tlie radical refonns of Ala-u-din degenerated into unmitigated tyranny and rapacity. As a means of keeping the nobility in check, he emicUtd that they should Vje incapable of contnicting marriage without the previous consent of the crown, and prohibited them from holding private meetings, or engaging in political discuasions. To such a length was this prohibition carried, that no man durst entertain his friends without a written permission from the vizier. His rapacity he gratified by seizing the private property and confiscating the estates of Mussulmans and Hindoos, without distinction, and cutting down the salaries of public offices, till the}' were filled only by needy men, ready to act as his servile instruments. Noi- did he confine himself to officials ; for all classes and employments were subjected to minute and vexatious regulations. His views in regard to ecclesiastical matters are evinced by a common saying attributed to him, "that religion had no connection with civil government, but was only the basiness, or rather the amusement of private life."
In 1303, Ala-u-din having set out to attack the strong fort of Chittoor, in Rajpootana, Toorghay Khan, a Mogul chief, took advantage of his ab.sence, to
prepare a new ex- pedition into Hin- doo.stan. He ac- cordingly entered it at the head of twelve tomans of horse (120,000) ; and, proceeding directly towards Delhi, encamped on the banks of the Jumna. Ala- u-din, having been made aware of his intention, had has- tened home by forced marches, and arrived before him. He was unable, how- ever, to take the open field, as great part of his anny had been left behind All he could do was to entrench himself on a plain beyond the suburbs, where he remained two months; wliile the Mogul, in possession of the sur- rounding country, cut off all suppUes, and phmdered up to the very suburbs of the capital. From some cause never understood, and therefore ascribed to the
' Cbittooi- was also taken by Akbcr (1507); by Azim I pluiiclered, and (1700), by Sindia, from Blieum Singh, Ushaun, son of Aurungzebe (IGSO), by whom it was I the rebellious subject of the Rana of Odeypoor.
Ruins of the Palace of Rana Bheum, Chittoor.' — From Tod's Annals of Rajastlian.
