Wars And Battles

""He reached Somnat on a Thursday in the middle of Zi-l Ka'da, and there he beheld a strong fortress built upon the sea shore, so that it was washed by the waves. The people of the fort were on the walls amusing themselves at the expense of the confident Musulmans, telling them that their deity would cut off the last man of them, and destroy them all. On the morrow, which was Friday, the assailants advanced to the assault, and when the Hindus beheld the Muhammadans fighting, they abandoned their posts, and left the walls. The Musalmans planted their ladders against the walls and [p. 52] gained the summit: then they proclaimed their success with their religious war-cry, and exhibited the prowess of Islam. Then followed a fearful slaughter, and matters wore a serious aspect. A body of Hindus hurried to Somnat, cast themselves on the ground before him, and besought him to grant them victory. Night came on, and the fight was suspended."

"Somanath: “They made the temple prostrate itself towards the Kaaba. You may say that the temple first offered its prayers and then had a bath (i.e. the temple was made to topple and fall into the sea)… He (Ulugh Khan) destroyed all the idols and temples, but sent one idol, the biggest of all idols, to the court of his Godlike Majesty and on that account in that ancient stronghold of idolatry, the summons to prayers was proclaimed so loudly that they heard it in Misr (Egypt) and Madain (Iraq)” (Tarikh-i-Alai)."

"He several times waged war against the infidels of Hindustan, and he brought under his subjection a large portion of their country, until, having made himself master of Somnat, he destroyed all idol temples of that country'."

"Ibn-ul-Athir, writing two hundred years later, mentions the same reason for Mahmud’s retreat, and corroborates Al-Gardizi: “The Sultan raised his standard with the intention of returning, but as Param Deo, one of the most powerful of the Rajas of Hindustan, had to be met on the way, he did not consider it advisable to fight with him at that time, under all elrcumstances; he turned towards Multan by way of Sindh. Tis troops suffered great privations en route, in some places, on account of scarcity of water, and in others, for want of fodder, but at last, after suffering great distress and hardship, he reached Ghazni in the year 417 A.H. (1026)."

"Shah Mahmud took to his heels in dismay and saved his life, but many of his followers of both sexes were captured....Turk, Afghan and Mughal female prisoners, if they happened to be virgins, were accepted as wives by the Indian soldiers....The bowels of the others, however, were cleansed by means of cmetics and purgatives, and thereafter the captives were married to men of similar rank.’’ ‘‘ Low females were joined to low men. Respectable men were compelled to shave off their beards, and were enrolled among the Shekavat and the Wadhel tribes of Rajputs; whilst the lower kinds were allotted to the castes of Kolis,Khantas, Babrias and Mers.’’"

"Kitab Zan-ul-Akhbar, the earliest source, gives the following account : ‘From that place Mahmud turned back, and the reason was that Param Deo, who was the king of the Hindus, was in the way, and the Amir Mahmud feared lest this great victory might be spoiled. He did not come back by the direct way, but took a guide and marching by the way of Mansura and the bank of the Sihun, went towards Multan. His soldiers suffered heavily on the way, both from the dryness of the desert and from the Jatts of Sind. Many animals and a large number of men of the Muslim army perished on the way, and most of the beasts of burden died, till at last they reached Multan.’’ (Kitab Zan-ul-Akhbar, , 86-7)"

"“SOMNÃT-A celebrated city of India, is situated on the shores of the sea, and washed by its waves. Among the wonders of that place was the temple in which was placed the idol called Somnãt… When the Sultãn Yamînu-d Daula Mahmûd bin Subuktigîn went to wage religious war against India, he made great efforts to capture and destroy Somnãt, in the hope that Hindus would become Muhammadans. He arrived there in the middle of Zîl K’ada AH 416 (December AD 1025). The Indians made a desperate resistance… The number of slain exceeded 50,000…”"

"The link with Manat added to the acclaim for Mahmud. Not only was he the prize iconoclast in breaking Hindu idols, but in destroying Manat he had carried out what were said to be the very orders of the Prophet."

"The later Muslim chronicler Firishta portrays the same vandalism of the Somanatha Temple in this fashion: Having now placed guards round the walls and at the gates, Mahmud entered Somnat accompanied by his sons and a few of his nobles and principal attendants. On approaching the temple, he saw a superb edifice built of hewn stone.... In the center of the [Temple] hall was Somnat, a stone idol, five yards in height, two of which were sunk in the ground. The King, approaching the image, raised his mace and struck off its nose. He ordered two pieces of the idol to be broken off and sent to Ghazni so that one might be thrown at the threshold of the public mosque, and the other at the court door of his own palace [emphasis added]. These identical fragments are to this day (now six hundred years ago) to be seen at Ghazni. Two more fragments were reserved to be sent to Mecca and Medina…. The next blow broke open the belly of Somnat, which was hollow, and discovered a quantity of diamonds, rubies, and pearls."

"SOMNAT. A celebrated city of India, situated on the shore of the sea, and washed by its waves. Among the wonders of that place was the temple in which was placed the idol called Somnat. This idol was in the middle of the temple without anything to support it from below, or to suspend it from above. It was held in the highest honour among the Hindus, and whoever beheld it floating in the air was struck with amazement, whether he was a Musulman or an infidel."

"A sacred city like … Somanatha armoured principally by the devotion and reverence of the whole country, fell prey to an army pledged to fanatic destruction of alien shrines."

"It is said by Lane Poole that Muhammad of Ghazni " who had vowed that every year should see him wage a holy war against the infidels of Hindustan " could not rest from his idol-breaking campaign so long as the temple of Somnath remained inviolate. It was for this specific purpose that he, at the very close of his career, undertook his arduous march across the desert from Multan to Anhalwara on the coast, fighting as he went, until he saw at last the famous temple: "There a hundred thousand pilgrims were wont to assemble, a thousand Brahmins served the temple and guarded its treasures, and hundreds of dancers and singers played before its gates. Within stood the famous linga, a rude pillar stone adorned with gems and lighted by jewelled candelebra which were reflected in rich hangings, embroidered with precious stones like stars, that decked the shrine..... Its ramparts were swarmed with incredulous Brahmins, mocking the vain arrogance of foreign infidels whom the God of Somnath would assuredly consume. The foreigners, nothing daunted, scaled the walls; the God remained dumb to the urgent appeals of his servants; fifty thousand Hindus suffered for their faith and the sacred shrine was sacked to the joy of the true believers. The great stone was cast down and its fragments were carried off to grace the conqueror's palace. The temple gates were setup at Ghazni and a million pounds worth of treasure rewarded the iconoclast ""

"Dr. Mishra has also given a detailed account of Hindu heroism in defence of Somanath which Mahmud had attacked in AD 1026. According to Firishta, “The battle raged with great fury, victory was long doubtful.” According to another Muslim account, “Fifty thousand infidels were killed round about the temple.” Dr. Misra comments: “The like of this faith which inspired these fifty thousand sons of the soil to embrace death will be hard to find in the annals of any other land.”"

"Even a sufi of the stature of Fariduddin Attar relates with great approval the following tale in his Mantiq-ut-Tãir: “It is said that when the Sultan (Mahmud Ghaznavi) captured Somnath and wanted to break the idol, the Brahmins offered to redeem it with its weight in gold. His officers pointed out to him the advantage of accepting the offer, but he replied: ‘I am afraid that on the day of judgement when all the idolaters are brought into the presence of God, He would say, bring Adhar and Mahmud together; one was an idol-maker, the other an idol-seller.’ The Sultan then ordered a fire to be lighted round it. The idol burst and 20 manns of precious stones poured out from its inside.”"

"Mahmud’s sack of Somnath is too well-known to be retold here. What needs emphasising is that the fragments of the famous Šivaliñga were carried to Ghazni. Some of them were turned into steps of the Jama Masjid in that city. The rest were sent to Mecca, Medina, and Baghdad to be desecrated in the same manner."

"While rejecting the offer of the BrãhmaNas to ransom the idol of Somnath with its weight in gold, Mahmûd is supposed to have said, “I am afraid that on the Day of Judgment when all the idolaters are brought into the presence of Allãh, He would say, ‘Bring Ãdhar and Mahmûd together one was idol-maker, the other idol-seller’... The Sultãn... then ordered a fire to be lighted round it. The idol burst and 20 manns of precious stones poured out from its inside. The Sultãn said, ‘This (fire) is what Lãt (by which name ATTãr calls Somnãth) deserves; and that (the precious stones) is my guerdon from my God.”"

"The city of Taneshar is highly venerated by Hindus. The idol of that place is called Cakrasvamin, i.e. the owner of the cakra, a weapon which we have already described. It is of bronze, and is nearly the size of a man. It is now lying in the hippodrome in Ghazna, together with the Lord of Somanath, which is a representation of the penis of Mahadeva, called Linga."

"The Hindus used to go on pilgrimage to it whenever there was an eclipse of the moon, and would then assemble there to the number of more than a hundred thousand. They believed that the souls of men used to meet there after separation from the body, and that the idol used to incorporate them at its pleasure in other bodies in accordance with their [p. 134] doctrine of transmigration. The ebb and flow of the tide was considered to be the worship paid to the idol by the sea. Everything of the most precious was brought there as offerings, and the temple was endowed with more than 10,000 villages. There is a river (the Ganges) which is held sacred, between which and Somnat the distance is 200 parasangs. They used to bring the water of this river to Somnat every day, and wash the temple with it. A thousand brahmans were employed in worshipping the idol and attending on the visitors, and 500 damsels sung and danced at the door-all these were maintained upon the endowments of the temple. The edifice was built upon fifty-six pillars of teak, covered with lead. The shrine of the idol was dark, but was lighted by jewelled chandeliers of great value. Near it was a chain of gold weighing 200 mans. When a portion (watch) of the night closed, this chain used to be shaken like bells to rouse a fresh lot of brahmans to perform worship."

"“It is stated, that shortly after the birth of Mahmûd, the astrologers of India divined that a prince had been born at Ghazna who would demolish the temple of Somnãth. They therefore persuaded Rãjã Jaipãl to send an embassy to Mahmûd while he was still a boy, offering to pay him a large sum of money if he promised to return the idol to the Hindûs whenever he captured it. When Mahmûd captured Somnãth the Brahmins reminded him of his promise and demanded the idol in compliance with it. Mahmûd did not like either to return the idol or to break his promise. He therefore ordered the idol to be reduced to lime by burning and when, on the following day, the Brahmins repeated their demand, he ordered them, to be served with betel-leaves which had been smeared with the lime of the idol. When the Brahmins had finished the chewing of the betel-leaves they again repeated their demand, on which the Sultãn told them that they had the idol in their mouths.”"

"Munshi’s novel provides a poignant account of how Somnath was both a witness to, and a target of, foreign invasions during the medieval period. Mahmood Ghazni, a Turkish sultan of the province of Ghazni in Afghanistan, attacked India seventeen times in a span of twenty-five years between the years AD 1001-26. Somnath was a particularly coveted target for him. Muslim chronicles indicate that 50,000 Hindus died in the battle for Somnath in AD 1024. The Shiva lingam was destroyed by the sultan himself. After the battle, Mahmood and his troops are believed to have carried away vast amounts of gold and other riches stored in the temple. They are also said to have taken Hindu statues and buried them at the entrance of a mosque in Ghazni so that the faithful could trample on them. Munshi’s novel describes not only the destruction and pillage of the Somnath temple, and the betrayal by some Hindus on account of petty caste considerations, but also the heroic defence by its devotees, who would reconstruct it after each successive attack."

"From the time Muslims started arriving, around 632 AD, the history of India becomes a long, monotonous series of murders, massacres, spoliations, and destructions. It is, as usual, in the name of 'a holy war' of their faith, of their sole God, that the barbarians have destroyed civilizations, wiped out entire races. Mahmoud Ghazni was an early example of Muslim ruthlessness, burning in 1018 of the temples of Mathura, razing Kanauj to the ground and destroying the famous temple of Somnath, sacred to all Hindus."

"There are various accounts of why and how Mahmood Ghazni attacked Somnath. In his book Pakistan or The Partition of India, Dr B.R. Ambedkar refers to the raids on Somnath and quotes the description given by Al’Utbi, the historian of Mahmood Ghazni: ‘He demolished idol temples and established Islam. He captured…cities, and destroyed the idolaters, gratifying Muslims. He then returned home and promulgated accounts of the victories obtained for Islam…and vowed that every year he would undertake a holy war against Hind.’"

"The most famous anecdote of Mahmud at Somanatha involved the priests’ attempt to ransom their idol. The twelfth-century mystic poet Farid al-Din “Attar first narrated this tale in his Mantik al-Tayr. It was repeated in the authoriative account of Firishta, and then in the West by Edward Gibbon, James Mill, and many others up to the present... Most important, it provided the theme for the issue of Mahmud’s motivation, answering a question historians have long since debated. Were his campaigns primarily concerned with plunder and economic gain, or did he attach real importance to the iconoclastic policy prescribed as proper to an Islamic warrior faced with the objects of polytheism?!” Refusing to view the Somanatha icon as a commodity reducible solely to an economic value, Mahmitid insisted that it was primarily a Hindu religious object, and his first duty as a Muslim was to destroy it. The story then rewarded his righteousness with wealth, just as Allah bestowed his mercy on those who acted as his servants."

"'The celebrated temple of Somnat, situated in the province of Guzerat, near the island of Dew, was in those times said to abound in riches, and was greatly frequented by devotees from all parts of Hindoostan' Mahmood marched from Ghizny in the month of Shaban AH 415 (AD Sept. 1024), with his army, accompanied by 30,000 of the youths of Toorkistan and the neighbouring countries, who followed him without pay, for the purpose of attacking this temple'...'Some historians affirm that the idol was brought from Mecca, where it stood before the time of the Prophet, but the Brahmins deny it, and say that it stood near the harbour of Dew since the time of Krishn, who was concealed in that place about 4000 years ago' Mahmood, taking the same precautions as before, by rapid marches reached Somnat without opposition. Here he saw a fortification on a narrow peninsula, washed on three sides by the sea, on the battlements of which appeared a vast host of people in arms' In the morning the Mahomedan troops advancing to the walls, began the assault...'"

"The battle raged with great fury: victory was long doubtful, till two Indian princes, Brahman Dew and Dabishleem, with other reinforcements, joined their countrymen during the action, and inspired them with fresh courage. Mahmood at this moment perceiving his troops to waver, leaped from his horse, and, prostrating himself before God implored his assistance' At the same time he cheered his troops with such energy, that, ashamed to abandon their king, with whom they had so often fought and bled, they, with one accord, gave a loud shout and rushed forwards. In this charge the Moslems broke through the enemy's line, and laid 5,000 Hindus dead at their feet' On approaching the temple, he saw a superb edifice built of hewn stone. Its lofty roof was supported by fifty-six pillars curiously carved and set with precious stones. In the centre of the hall was Somnat, a stone idol five yards in height, two of which were sunk in the ground. The King, approaching the image, raised his mace and struck off its nose. He ordered two pieces of the idol to be broken off and sent to Ghizny, that one might be thrown at the threshold of the public mosque, and the other at the court door of his own palace. These identical fragments are to this day (now 600 years ago) to be seen at Ghizny. Two more fragments were reserved to be sent to Mecca and Medina. It is a well authenticated fact, that when Mahmood was thus employed in destroying this idol, a crowd of Brahmins petitioned his attendants and offered a quantity of gold if the King would desist from further mutilation. His officers endeavoured to persuade him to accept of the money; for they said that breaking one idol would not do away with idolatry altogether; that, therefore, it could serve no purpose to destroy the image entirely; but that such a sum of money given in charity among true believers would be a meritorious act. The King acknowledged that there might be reason in what they said, but replied, that if he should consent to such a measure, his name would be handed down to posterity as 'Mahmood the idol-seller', whereas he was desirous of being known as 'Mahmood the destroyer': he therefore directed the troops to proceed in their work'...'The Caliph of Bagdad, being informed of the expedition of the King of Ghizny, wrote him a congratulatory letter, in which he styled him 'The Guardian of the State, and of the Faith'; to his son, the Prince Ameer Musaood, he gave the title of 'The Lustre of Empire, and the Ornament of Religion'; and to his second son, the Ameer Yoosoof, the appellation of 'The Strength of the Arm of Fortune, and Establisher of Empires.' He at the same time assured Mahmood, that to whomsoever he should bequeath the throne at his death, he himself would confirm and support the same.'"

"At that date, the Mohammedan conqueror, Mahmoud of Ghizni, crossed India; seized on the holy city of Somnauth; and stripped of its treasures the famous temple, which had stood for centuries--the shrine of Hindoo pilgrimage, and the wonder of the Eastern world."

""Mahmud captured the place [Somanath] without much difficulty and ordered a general slaughter in which more than 50,000 persons are said to have perished. The idol of Somanath was broken to pieces which were sent to Ghazni, Mecca, and Medina and cast in streets and the staircases of chief mosques to be trodden by the Muslims going there for their prayers."

"The Muslim troops then marched towards Asaval, after establish- ing military post (tha@na) at Patanagarh. Everywhere in Gujarat, terror spread following Turkish conquest of Patana.‘” Asaval, Dholka, Khambat, Strat and Raner—how many other towns may be mentioned—Champaner including—all these began to tremble (on hearing of the fall of Patana). The coastal towns alike were utterly shaken and terrorised. The Turks saw there vast stores, like sea itself, full of gold, silver, silk, and raw camphor."

"The scene in Gujarat had changed suddenly. The ravaging and plundering Turkish troops were now roaming about all over the country. They plundered grain, seized cattle of good breed, and made people prisoners.” They behaved with great severity in Gujarat and took away everything. Drums were now struck and the Khan set out with his army for Somanatha Patana (Somaiya).”!"

"After the flight of Karna, Patana fort was destroyed, its well-filled stores and treasures were captured, and excellent horses of fine breed in the royal stables taken away by Ulugh Khan.™ What took place in Anhalapur (Patana) had never happened earlier, nor would ever happen again. Where formerly temples stood, now the call to prayer (bang) by Musalmans (Sillari) could be heard. Ulugh Khan first destroyed Patanagarh and then dwelt on its good aspects. He then had Alauddin's sovereignty proclaimed there."

"The Sultan's army burnt down the villages and devastated the country (desu). They completely destroyed several towns, spread constemation in Soratha region, and plundered the property of the people.’ They made people captive — Brahmanas and children, and women, in fact, people of all the eighteen varnas, huddled them and tied them by straps of raw hide. The number of prisoners made by them was beyond counting.'*"

"Padmanabha, in his Kanhadade Prabandha, presented a noticeably different account of the attack on Somnath. He composed his work in 1455 ck, at the behest of the fifth in descent of Raval Kanhadade Chauhan of Jalor, who had fought the Khalji forces. "he work recounted the heroic tale of Kanhadade and the people of Jalor, who resisted the Delhi armies till the very end (Padmanabha 1991: vii-xxii). The text stated, Profound calamity had fallen upon Lord Somanatha’s temple. The locks (of the doors) were broken open and the enemy rushed through the doors tumultuously, and took possession of the temple drum and Kansala. The Mlechchha (asura) stone-breakers climbed up the sikhara of the temple (to take off the golden kalasa) and began to rain blows on the stone idols on all the three sides (pasa) by their hammers, the stone pieces falling all around. They loosened every joint of the temple building, and then began to break the different layers (thara), and the sculptured elephants and horses on them by incessant blows of their hammers. Then, amidst loud and vulgar clamour, they began to apply force from both the sides to uproot the massive idol by means of wooden beams and iron crowbars. Such strange and improper happenings were taking place: the kaliyuga was, no doubt, showing its true temper: Lord Siva, leaving the earthly abode, went away to Kailasa. Ulug Khan now ordered: ‘The temple will remain without its God idol! Despatch the idol (bhuta) to Delhi where I will have it crushed and made into lime.’ Half cart (Faraka i.e. Firg) and rekhala, with wheels fitted with iron rims, were brought to place the idol with the help of strong wooden beams. Dark coarse Bhoias loaded the linga on the huge cart to which were yoked three pairs of bullocks, and the idol was sent off towards Delhi (Padmanabha 1991: 10). The next day, the Rauts surveyed the battlefield. The palhans of the horses, turrets (panjari) carried by the elephants, and slaughtered horses were lying scattered all over the ground... Also could be seen severed heads and torsos lying here and there. The ground had become wet and miry with flesh and gore of the slain. The Raval secured back Lord Somanatha’s idol and then washed his weapons... No sooner the people of Jalor came to know of Kanhadade’s victory, they came to greet him and offer felicitations... (Padmanabha 1991: 25-27). At Jalor, Kanhadade now worshipped Lord Somanatha, daily bathing the idol with panchamrita, performing all the sixteen rituals, and adorning the idol with sandal paste, flowers, tilaka, etc... Of the Ekalinga, which saves one from falling into the hell and dire troubles and afflictions, five idols were carved out; there is no sixth one like them. One of these was ceremoniously installed at Soratha and another at Lohasing in Vagada. One was sent to a pleasant spot on the Abu hill for consecration, while one was installed at Jalor where the Rai built a temple and one was sent to Saivadi (Jalor district). At all these five places, worship of Lord Siva is performed"

"This is contrary to our dharma! The Kings do not give passage when by doing so villages are devastated, people are enslaved, ears of women torn (for omaments), and cows and Brahmanas are tortured."

"How to deal with the war, now raging like a forest fire fanned by a strong wind! How to save oneself from the Turks who had descended with their swords on this fair and beautiful land! Junagarh and Gimar were destroyed, the land of Kachchha (Cutch) overrun, and Kanthagehadi, Parkar and Thatta were trembling with fear.”"

"(Now, coming back to the doings of the Turks, a sorry and dark narration indeed). People were made prisoners, Modasa was destroyed, and the villages set on fire. The plunderers, taking advantage of the confusion and fleeing of people from their villages., rushed about looting and pillaging.*” Kahanama (Kanam) and Charottara regions (defa) were thoroughly destroyed. So also were Bavan and Khedara (Kheda) regions of Gujarat. And yet there was no end to violence and destruction by the invaders. The Muslim troops overran Dandahi and Dahottara, Dhanadhara, and Dhan-dhol, spreading consternation everywhere."

"Jalaluddin’s nephew and successor Alauddin Khalji (1296-1316) turned out to be a very strong king. He marched against Devagiri in 1296. On his way through Gondwana and Khandesh he took prisoners a large number of Mahajans and cultivators, and ransomed them for wealth.33 At Devagiri he enslaved a number of the Raja’s relatives, and Brahmans and Mahajans. He put them in shackles and chains and paraded them in front of the fort to pressure the besieged king. After victory, he released many of the captives because of compulsions of the situation. He was only a prince who had marched to the Deccan without the Sultan’s permission. But his taking of slaves in large numbers was in consonance with the policy of Muslim sultans and gave a foretaste of what was to follow during the course of his reign.... In 1299 he despatched a large army for the invasion of Gujarat. There all the major towns and cities like Naharwala, Asaval, Vanmanthali, Surat, Cambay, Somnath etc. were sacked. There the temples were broken, wealth looted and large numbers of captives of both sexes captured, including the famous Malik Kafur and the Vaghela king’s consort Kamala Devi. In the words of Wassaf, the Muslim army in the sack of Somnath “took captive a great number of handsome and elegant maidens, amounting to 20,000, and children of both sexes… the Muhammadan army brought the country to utter ruin, and destroyed the lives of inhabitants, and plundered the cities and captured their offspring…” In 1301 Ranthambhor was attacked and in 1303 Chittor. In the invasion of Chittor, 30,000 people were massacred in cold blood and obviously females and minors of their families were captured.38 Slaves were also taken in large numbers in the expeditions to Malwa, Sevana and Jalor (1305-1311); these will be referred to again in the course of this study. Maybe the number of captives obtained from Rajasthan was not that large knowing the bravery and chivalry of the Rajputs and their prevailing customs of Jauhar and Sati. But the highly successful Deccan campaigns of Malik Kafur must have supplied a large corps of captives. Besides, Alauddin did not confine to obtaining Hindu slaves....“The Mongol invaders were certainly infidels,” says Mahdi Husain."

"Minhaj Siraj writes that "Ulugh Khan Balban's taking of captives, and his capture of the dependents of the great Ranas cannot be recounted". Such was the scale of slave-taking by Muslims in Hindustan that information about it travelled abroad, so that Wassaf writes that in the sack of Somnath in 1299 the Muslim army "took captive a great number of handsome and elegant maidens, amounting to 20,000 and children of both sexes"."

"Alauddin became Sultan in 1296 AD. In 1298 AD he equipped an expedition to Gujarat under his generals Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan. The invaders plundered the ports of Surat and Cambay. The temple of Somnath, which had been rebuilt by the Hindus, was plundered and the idol taken to Delhi for being trodden upon by the Muslims. Kamala Devi, the queen of Gujarat, was captured along with the royal treasury, brought to Delhi and forced into Alauddin’s harem."

"Barni endorsed the statement that the image was taken to the imperial capital, .. and the idol which after the victory of Sultan Mahmud and his destruction of (the idol) Manat, the Brahmans had set up under the name Somnath for the worship of the Hindus, was removed and carried to Dehli, where it was laid down for people to tread upon ."

"“The destruction of the temple of Somnãth, was looked upon as the crowning glory of Islam over idolatry, and Sultãn Mahmûd as the champion of the Faith, received the applause of all the Muslim world. Poets vied with each other in extolling the real or supposed virtues of the idol-breaker and the prose writers of later generations paid their tribute of praise to him by making him the hero of numerous ingenious stories.”"

"He made efforts at the proclamation of the word of God (confession of the Muslim faith). He led an army for plundering the temple of Somnat, that is, Pattan Dev. He spread Islam at most of the places."

"When Sultan ‘Alau-d din, the Sultan of Dehli, was well established in the centre of his dominion and had cut off the heads of his enemies and slain them, and had imparted rest to his subjects from the fountain of his kindness and justice, the vein of the zeal of religion beat high for the subjection of infidelity and destruction of idols, and in the month of Zi’l-hijja 698 H. (1298 A,D.) his brother [p. 47] Malik Mu’izzu-d din3 and Nusrat Khan, the chief pillar of the state and the leader of his armies, a generous and intelligent warrior, were sent to Kambayat, the most celebrated of the cities of Hind in population and wealth. Its air is pure, its water clear, and the circumjacent country beautiful and charming both in scenery and buildings. With a view to holy war, and not for the lust of conquest. he enlisted under their banners about 14,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry, which, in their language, are called dakk.” They went by daily marches through the hills, from stage to stage, and when they arrived at their destination at early dawn they surrounded Kambayat, and the idolators were awakened from their sleepy state of carelessness and were taken by surprise, not knowing where to go, and mothers forgot their children and dropped them from their embrace. The Muhammadan forces began to kill and slaughter on the right and on the left unmercifully, throughout the impure land, for the sake of Islam, and blood flowed in torrents. They plundered gold and silver to all extent greater than can be conceived, and an immense number of brilliant precious stones, such as pearls, diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, etc., as well as a great variety of cloths, both silk and cotton, stamped, embroidered, and coloured. They took captive a great number of handsome and elegant maidens amounting to 20,000, and children of both sexes, more than the pen can enumerate, and thirteen enormous elephants; whose motions would put the earth in tremor.” In short, the Muhammadan army [p. 48] brought the country to utter ruin, and destroyed the lives of the inhabitants, and plundered the cities, and captured their offspring, so that many temples were deserted, and the idols were broken and trodden under foot, the largest of which was one called Somnat, fixed upon stone, polished like a mirror, of charming shape and admirable workmanship. It stood seven yards high. Its position was such as if it was about to move, and its expression such as if it was about to speak. If the introducer of idolatry were to look on it he would become enamoured of its beauty. The infidels objected to people going near it. Its head was adorned with a crown set with gold and rubies and pearls and other precious stones, so that it was impossible for the eyes to trace the redness of the gold on account of the excessive lustre of the jewels, and a necklace of large shining pearls, like the belt of Orion, depended from the shoulder towards the side of the body. The Muhammadan soldiers plundered all those jewels and rapidly set themselves to demolish the idol. The surviving infidels were deeply affected with grief, and they engaged to pay a thousand thousand pieces of gold as a ransom for the idol, but they were indignantly rejected, and the idol was destroyed, and its limbs, which were anointed with ambergris and perfumed, were cut off. The fragments were conveyed to Dehli, and the entrance of the Jami’ Masjid was paved with them, that people might remember and talk of this brilliant victory. “Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds. Amen!” After some time, among the ruins of the temples, a most beautiful jasper-coloured stone was discovered, on which one of the merchants had designed some beautiful figures of fighting-men and other ornamental figures of globes, lamps, etc., and on the margin of it were sculptured verses from the Kuran. This stone was sent as an offering to the shrine of the pole of saints, Shaikh Murshid Abu Is’hak Ibrahim bin Shahriar. At that time they were building a lofty octagonal dome to the [p. 49] tomb. The stone was placed at the right of the entrance. At this time, that is, in the year 707 H. (1307 A.D.), ‘Alau-d din is the acknowledged Sultan of this country. On all its borders there are infidels, whom it is his duty to attack in the prosecution of a holy war, and return laden with countless booty."

"When the Sultan Yaminu-d Daula Mahmud bin Subuktigin went to wage religious war against India, he made great efforts to capture and destroy Somnat, in the hope that the Hindus would then become Muhammadans. He arrived there in the middle of Zi-l k'ada, 416 A.H. (December, 1025 A.D.). The Indians made a desperate resistance. They would go weeping and crying for help into the temple, and then issue forth to battle and fight till all were killed. The number of the slain exceeded 50,000. The king looked upon the idol with wonder, and gave orders for the seizing of the spoil, and the appropriation of the treasures. There were many idols of gold and silver and vessels set with jewels, all of which had been sent there by the greatest personages in India. The value of the things found in the temples of the idols [p. 135] exceeded twenty thousand thousand dinars. When the king asked his companions what they had to say about the marvel of the idol, and of its staying in the air without proper support, several maintained that it was upheld by some hidden support. The king directed a person to go and feel all around and above and below it with a spear, which he did, but met with no obstacle. One of the attendants then stated his opinion that the canopy was made of loadstone, and the idol of iron, and that the ingenious builder had skilfully contrived that the magnet should not exercise a greater force on anyone side-- hence the idol was suspended in the middle. Some coincided, others differed. Permission was obtained from the Sultan to remove some stones from the top of the canopy to settle the point. When two stones were removed from the summit the idol swerved on one side, when more were taken away it inclined still further, until at last it rested on the ground."

"For an entire century after 1815, by contrast, there was a remarkable absence of lengthy coalition wars. A strategic equilibrium existed, supported by all of the leading Powers in the Concert of Europe, so that no single nation was either able or willing to make a bid for dominance. The prime concerns of government in these post-1815 decades were with domestic instability and (in the case of Russia and the United States) with further expansion across their continental landmasses. This relatively stable international scene allowed the British Empire to rise to its zenith as a global power, in naval and colonial and commercial terms, and also interacted favorably with its virtual monopoly of steam-driven industrial production. By the second half of the nineteenth century, however, industrialization was spreading to certain other regions, and was beginning to tilt the international power balances away from the older leading nations and toward those countries with both the resources and organization to exploit the newer means of production and technology. Already, the few major conflicts of this era—the Crimean War to some degree but more especially the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War—were bringing defeat upon those societies which failed to modernize their military systems, and which lacked the broad-based industrial infrastructure to support the vast armies and much more expensive and complicated weaponry now transforming the nature of war."

"Although 50 years of European peace since the end of World War II may augur well for the future, it must be remembered that there were also more than 50 year of peace between the Congress of Vienna and the Franco-Prussian War. Moreover, contrary to the hopes and assumptions of Jean Monnet and other advocates of European integration, the devastating American Civil War shows that a formal political union is no guarantee against an intra-European war."

"The collapse at Sedan, like that of the Prussians at Jena sixty-four years earlier, was the result not simply of faulty command but of a faulty military system; and the military system of a nation is not an independent section of the social system but an aspect of it in its totality. The French had good reason to look on their disasters as a judgment. The social and economic developments of the past fifty years had brought about a military as well an industrial revolution. The Prussians had kept abreast of it and France had not. Therein lay the basic cause of her defeat."

"I never doubted that the victory over France must precede the restoration of the German kingdom, and if we did not succeed in bringing it this time to a perfect conclusion, further wars without the preliminary security of our perfect unification were full in view."

"[T]he Franco-Prussian war was an expensive one; but it was worth to France all it cost her people. It was the completion of the downfall of Napoleon III. The beginning was when he landed troops on this continent. Failing here, the prestige of his name—all the prestige he ever had—was gone. He must achieve a success or fall. He tried to strike down his neighbor, Prussia—and fell."

"We as Jews cannot stand idly by when faced with images of Kosovo, with thousands of refugees expelled from their homes, with frightened faces looking out from railway trains, with children who have lost their parents. As Jews, these images touch us more than any other people, and we as Jews have a special responsibility to remember, understand and act."

"The current fascination among Muslims with the history of the Crusades, the vast literature on the subject, both academic and popular, and the repeated inferences drawn from the final extinction of the Crusading principalities throw some light on attitudes in this matter. Islam from its inception is a religion of power, and in the Muslim world view it is right and proper that power should be wielded by Muslims and Muslims alone. Others may receive the tolerance, even the benevolence, of the Muslim state, provided that they clearly recognize Muslim supremacy. That Muslims should rule over non-Muslims is right and normal. That non-Muslims should rule over Muslims is an offense against the laws of God and nature, and this is true whether in Kashmir, Palestine, Lebanon, or Cyprus. Here again, it must be recalled that Islam is not conceived as a religion in the limited Western sense but as a community, a loyalty, and a way of life—and that the Islamic community is still recovering from the traumatic era when Muslim governments and empires were overthrown and Muslim peoples forcibly subjected to alien, infidel rule."