i
SULTAN MAHMOOD.
53
Chap. II.]
lome wife, complained to the king that one of his courtiers, who had conceived ad, io3o. a passion for her, took forcible possession of his house every night, and turned him into the street, where he was obliged to remain till the intruder chose to take his departure. He had sought redress from the proper judges, and failed summary
1*1 justice
to obtain it. The sultan, indignant, ordered the man to say nothing, but to hasten back to him the first time the gross outrage was repeated. He had not long to wait. The sultan, on being informed, wi'apped a loose cloak about him, and was con- ducted to the house. On enter- ing the chamber he found the guilty parties asleep. A light was bm-ning. He extinguished it; and then, going up to the bed, cut off the adulterer's head at a stroke. This done, he called for a light, and on ex- amining the features of the adulterer, threw himself pros- trate on the ground, and gave utterance to his joy in thanks- giving. The audacious manner in which the offence was committed had con- vinced him that the offender must be one of his sons, or near relatives. He had extinguished the light lest natural affection might stay his hand from doing justice; and now that it was done, he was rejoiced to find that his suspicions were unfounded, and that he had not been under the necessity of staining his hands with the blood of one of the members of his o^vn family.
Sultan Mahmood left a will appointing his son Mahomed his successor. Musaood Another son, Musaood, Mahomed's twin brother, but born some hours later, conceived he had as good a title. Both sons were absent at the time of their father's death, but Mahomed, on his arrival in Ghuznee, was crowned. JMusaood, however, was the favourite both of soldiers and people, and the household troops marched off in a body to join him. A large force, headed by an Indian chief, and composed principally of Hindoo cavalry, was sent in pursuit, but in the encounter which took place, the king's party was defeated. Meanwhile Musaood was hastening on to assert his claim, and was met by the household troops at 1^ Nishapoor. Before actually appealing to arms, he offered to divide the empire,
Interior of Sultan Mahmood's Tomb.'— iiiirt's Al'ghaii Scenery.
all other creeds, even though unbelievers be adverse thereto" {Koran, Surah ix. 33, and Ixi. 9). On the obverse, " Dominion both past and future is of God, and in that day the Faithful shall rejoice in the aid of the Lord" (Koran, Surah xxx. 4, 5). — Silver coin of Mahmood — weight, 50 grains. — On the Coins of the Kings of Ohuzni, by Edward Thomas. Lon. 1848.
' The inscription, in Kufic characters, on the sar- cophagus of Mahmood'a tomb is to the following efTect : — " Jlay there be forgiveness of God, upon liini who is the great lord, the noble Nizam-u-din Abul Casim Mahmood, the son of Sebektegin. May God have mercy upon him." — Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1843.
