"The first place which was conquered was the country of Tilink [the Kakatiya kingdom of Telengana, was conquered by Muhammad bin Tughluq before his accession]. It is an extensive province with many villages, the number of which is nine hundred thousand and nine hundred. Then the province of Jajnagar [capital of Orissa] was conquered. In it there are 70 fine cities all ports on the sea, the revenue of which consists of pearls, elephants, different kinds of cloth, perfumes and aromatics. Then the province of Lakhnauti [Bengal, it was conquered by the Sultan’s father] was conquered which has been the seat of nine kings. Then the province of Devagir [the northern most Hindu kingdom of the south] was conquered. It has 84 strong hill forts. Sheikh Burhanuddin Abu Bakr bin al-Khallal aI-Bazzi related that there are one crore and two lakh villages in it. Then the province of Dursamand [Dwarasamudra] was conquered where Sultan Bilal Deo [Vira Ballala III, the Hoysala king of Dwarasamudra] and five infidel kings reigned. Then the province of Mabar was conquered. It is a big country having ninety ports on the seacoast the revenue of which is derived from perfumes, muslin (lains), various kinds of cloth and other beautiful things.… The Sufi Shaikh Burhanuddin Abu Bakr bin al-Khallalh Muhammad al-Bizzi has related to me the following: This Sultan sent his army to the province of…[ name cannot be deciphered, Telingana?] and it is in the neighbourhood of Dewogir, in the extremity of its frontiers. The people were infidels and every king was called ‘rai’. When the troops of the Sultan took the field against him he sent a messenger saying: Say to the Sultan that he should refrain from us and whatever he wishes in the form of wealth it will be given to him, he should send as many beasts of burden as he likes to carry away. The commander of the army sent information to the Sultan as to what he (the rai) had said. His answer came back that he should refrain from fighting them and give quarter to the Rai. When he presented himself before the Sultan, he honoured him very much and said to him: I have never heard the like of what you have said. What is the amount of wealth you have got that you have told me to send you as many beasts of burden as I like to carry that. The Rai replied: Seven rais have preceded me in this country and everyone of them collected 70,000 Babin and all of them are still with me. He said: A bobin is very wide cistern from the four sides of which one descends into it with ladders. The Sultan was surprised at his speech and ordered the sealing of the babins with his name (to preserve them). So they were sealed with the name of the Sultan. Then he ordered the Rai to nominate a viceroy in his country and that he himself should reside in Delhi and he offered him Islam, but he refused. So he let him act freely in the matter of his religion and he stayed in his court appointing a regent for him in his country and the Sultan assigned attendants for him, suitable for one like him and sent to that country great sums to be distributed to his people as alms saying that they were counted amongst the number of his subjects. The Sultan did not interfere with the babins, but only put on them the seal and left them in the same condition under his seal. I have related this according to what al-Bazzi related and he is known for his veracity. The responsibility is with him. He who wants further information should turn to him."
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(l) Conquests of Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq, Shihabuddin al Umari Zaki, M., Arab Accounts of India (during the fourteenth century), Idarah-I Adabiyat- I Delli, 1981. 8-10, 53. quoted from Jain, M. (editor) (2011). The India they saw: Foreign accounts. New Delhi: Ocean Books. Volume II Chapter 12
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Muhammad bin Tughluq
Muhammad bin Tughluq (also Prince Fakhr Malik, Juna Khan, Ulugh Khan; died 20 March 1351) was the Sultan of Delhi from 1325 to 1351.
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