12th Century Persian Poets

"Sultan Mahmud’s “court was guarded by four thousand Turkish good looking and beardless (ghulam turk washaq) slave-youths, who, on days of public audience, were stationed on the right and left of throne,- two thousand of them with caps ornamented with four feathers, bearing golden maces, on the right hand, and the other two thousand, with caps adorned with two feathers, bearing silver maces, on the left… As these youths attained into man’s estate and their beards began to grow, they were attached to a separate corps, and placed occasionally under the command of rulers of provinces.”"

"'When Sultan Mahmud ascended the throne of sovereignty, his illustrious deeds became manifest unto all mankind within the pale of Islam when he converted so many thousands of idol temples into masjids. He led an army to Nahrwalah of Gujarat, and brought away Manat, the idol, from Somnath, and had it broken into four parts, one of which was cast before the entrance of the great Masjid at Ghaznin, the second before the gateway of the Sultan's palace, and the third and fourth were sent to Makkah and Madinah respectively."

"After he had reached the capital he sent, in A.H. 6324 (1234 A.D.), the army of Islam [went] towards Malwa and took the fort and city of Bhilsa.5 There was a temple there which was three hundred years in building. It was about one hundred and five gaz high. He demolished it. From thence he proceeded to Ujjain, where there was a temple of Mahakal, which he destroyed, as well as the image of Bikaramajit, who was king of Ujjain, and reigned 1316 years before this time. The Hindu era dates from his reign. Some other images cast in copper were carried with the stone image of Mahakal to Delhi.."

"It is related that this Muhammad Bakhtiyar was a Khil-ji, of Ghor, of the province of Garmsir. He was a very smart, enterprising, bold, courageous, wise and experienced man. .... Being a bold and enterprising man he used to make incursions into the districts of Muni (Monghir), and Behar, and bring away much plunder until in this manner he obtained plenty of horses, arms, and men. The fame of his bravery and of his plundering raids spread abroad, and a body of Khiljis joined him from Hindustan. His exploits were reported to Sultan Kutbu-d din, and he sent him a dress and showed him great honour. Being thus encouraged, he led his army to Behar and ravaged it. In this manner he continued for a year or two to plunder the neighbourhood, and at last prepared to invade the country.... Muhammad Bakhtiyar with great vigour and audacity rushed in at the gate of the fort and gained possession of the place. Great plunder fell into the hands of the victors. Most of the inhabitants of the place were Brahmans with shaven heads. They were put to death. Large numbers of books were found there, and when the Muhammadans saw them they called for some persons [p. 55] to explain their contents, but all the men had been killed. It was discovered that the whole fort and city was a place of study (madrasa). In the Hindi language the word Behar (vihar) means a college."

"[L]ike fish out of water, and sick men without slumber, from night till morn, and from morn till night, they offered up their prayers to the Creator, supplicating him to let the dawn of Ulugh Khan’s prosperity break forth in splendour, and dispel with its brilliant light the gloom occasioned by his rival Rihan. The Almighty graciously gave ear to the prayers…. The nobles and servants of the State were all Turks of pure origin and Taziks of good stock, but ’Imddu-d din was an eunuch and impotent; he, moreover, belonged to one of the tribes of Hindustan. Notwithstanding all this he exercised authority over the heads of all these chiefs [emphasis added]. They were disgusted with this state of affairs and could no longer endure it. They suffered so much from the hands of the bullies who were retained by ’Imadu-d din, that for six months they could not leave their houses, nor could they even go to prayers on Fridays. How was it possible for Turks and Maliks, accustomed to power, rule, and warfare, to remain quiet under such ignominy?"

"Subuktigin greatly rejoiced, and said, I name the child Mahmud. On the same night that he was born, an idol temple in India, in the vicinity of Parshawar, on the banks of the Sind, fell down. Mahmud was a man of great abilities, and is renowed as one of the greatest champions of Islam... His influence upon Islam soon became widely known, for he converted as many as a thousand idol temples into mosques, subdued the cities of Hindustan, [p. 14] and vanquished the Rais of that cpuntry. He captured Jaipal, who was the greatest of them, kept him at Yazd (?) in Khurasan, and gave orders so that he was bought for eighty dirhams. He led his armies to Nahrwala and Gujarat, carried off the idol (manat) from Somnat, and broke it into four parts. One part he deposited in the Jami Masjid of Ghazni, one he placed at the entrance of the royal palace, the third he sent to Mecca and the fourth to Medina."

"Ulugh Khan Balban attacked Karra in 1248; there, records Siraj, his ‘taking of captives and his capture of the dependents of the great Ranas (Hindu princes) cannot be counted.’ In attacking the Rana Dalaki wa Malaki, ‘He took prisoners the wives, sons, and dependents of that accursed one, and secured great booty.’dccx In 1252, Balban attacked and defeated the great Rana, Jahir Deo, of Malwa; ‘many captives fell into the hands of the victors,’ records Siraj."

"Ulugh Khan ravaged the whole of the hills with the sword, and penetrated as far as the town of Salmur, in the defiles and fastnesses of the mountains. No king had ever laid hold upon Salmur nor had any Musulman army reached it. He now plundered it, and carried on a devastating warfare. So many of the rebellious Hindus were killed that the numbers cannot be computed or described."

"The new year opened auspiciously. On the 16th Ramazan Ulugh Khan was sent into the hills of Delhi, to chastise the rebel inhabitants of Mewat, and to intimidate their Deo. Ten thousand horsemen in armour, and a large army of brave and warlike soldiers were under his command. Great booty was gained, and many cattle captured. Defiles and passes were cleared, strong forts were taken, and numberless Hindus perished under the merciless swords of the soldiers of Islam... I have resolved, upon reflection, to close my history at this place and with this victory. If life and opportunity are given to me, I may hereafter record any remarkable events that may happen. I beg the indulgent reader to forgive my errors, faults, and omissions, I pray that God may preserve in continued prosperity my gracious Sultan, and I hope that my composition of this work may be deemed meritorious both in this world and the next."

"The perseverance and resolution of Ulugh Khan had been the means of showing to the army of Turkistan and the Mughals such bravery and generalship that in the course of this year no one came from the upper parts towards Sindh. So Ulugh Khan represented to his Majesty, in the month of Sha’ban, that the opportunity was favourable for making an expedition into Hindustan. The Mawas and Ranas had not been pinched for several years, but some coercion might now be exercised on them, by which spoil would fall into the hands of the soldiers of Islam, and wealth would be gained to strengthen the hands of the State in resisting the Mughals. The royal armies accordingly marched to Hindustan, passing down the Doab between the Ganges and Jumna. After some fighting, the fort of Nandana8was captured, and Ulugh Khan was sent with some other generals and a Muhammadan force to oppose Dalaki wa Malaki. This was a Rana in the vicinity of the Jumna, between Kalinjar and Kara, over whom the Rais of Kalinjal and Malwa had no authority. He had numerous followers and ample wealth; he ruled wisely; his fortresses were strong and secure; in his territories the defiles were arduous, the mountains rugged, and the jungles many. No Muhamlnadan army had ever penetrated to his dwelling place. When Ulugh Khan reached his abode, the Rana took such care for the safety of himself and his family, that he kept quiet from the dawn till the time of evening prayer, and when it grew dark he fled to some secure place. At daybreak, the Muhammadan army entered his abode, [p. 123] and then pursued him, but the accursed infidel had escaped into the lofty mountains, to an inaccessible spot impossible to reach except by stratagem, and the use of ropes and ladders. Ulugh Khan incited his soldiers to the attempt, and, under his able direction they succeeded in taking the place. All the infidel’s wives, dependants, and children fell into the hands of the victors with much cattle, many horses and slaves. Indeed, the spoil that was secured exceeded all computation. At the beginning of Shawwal 645 H. (Feb. 1248), the force returned to the royal camp with their booty, and after Id-i azha’ the whole army marched towards the capital, which it reached on the 4th Muharram, 646 H. (April 1248). A full poetical account of this campaign, in which the several victories are recounted, has been composed; the book is called Nasiri nama...."

"In Sha’ban, 646 H. (Nov. 1248), the royal army marched through the upper country to the neighbourhood of the Biyah, and then returned to the capital. Ulugh Khan with several nobles under him, was sent with an ample force towards Rantambhor, to overrun the mountains of Mewat and the country of Bahar-deo, who was the greatest of the Rais of Hindustan. He ravaged the whole of those territories and gained a large booty. Malik Bahau-d din Aibak was slain under the fort of Rantambhor, on Sunday, in the month of Zi-1 hijja 646, while Ulugh Khan was engaged fighting in another quarter. The Khan’s soldiers showed great courage and fought well; they sent many of the infidels to the hell, and secured great spoil; after which they returned to the capital...."

"The elephants were prepared and the Turks made ready their trenchant swords. By royal command many of the rebels were cast under the feet of elephants, and the fierce Turks cut the bodies of the Hindus in two. About a hundred met their death at the hands of the flayers, being skinned from head to foot; their skins were all stuffed with straw, and some of them were hung over every gate of the city. The plain of Hauz-rani and the gates of Delhi remembered no punishment like this, nor had anyone ever heard such a tale of horror."

"Let us return to the thread of our history. The last event which I have to record is this. When Ulugh Khan carried war into the hills, and punished the rebels in the way we have related, a number of them escaped by flight. They now again took to plundering on the highways, and murdering Musulmans, so that the roads became dangerous. This being reported to the Khan, he sent emissaries and spies to find out the places where the rebels had taken refuge, and to make a full report of their state and condition. On Monday, 24th Rajab, 658 (July, 1260), he marched from Delhi with his own forces, the main army, and the forces of several chiefs. He hastened towards the hills, and accomplishing more than fifty kos in one day’s journey (!) he fell upon the insurgents unawares and captured them all, to the number of twelve thousand –men, women, and children– whom he put to the sword. All their valleys and strongholds were overrun and cleared, and great booty captured. Thanks be to God for this victory of Islam!"

"Being the companion of the folk of this world is fire. There must be an Abraham if the fire is not going to burn [you]."

"When you oppose the shaykh, it's like the slave who kills himself over a quarrel with his master. Hey, why are you killing yourself over a quarrel? He says, So my master will suffer loss."

"He said The Sufi is the son of the moment."

"There may be one fault in a man that conceals a thousand qualities, or one excellence that conceals a thousand faults. The little indicates much."

"You have to live with the people in hypocrisy for them to stay happy with you."

"Alms in secret extinguish the wrath of the Lord means you are so immersed in sincerity and in preserving that sincerity that you have no pleasure in giving alms."

"Nothing kills the soul that commands to evil (Nafs al Ammarra) like seeing the beauty of the heart."

"Whoever lives as he sees fit will not die as he sees fit."

"The salat can be made up for, but there is no making up for false show or outward worship without presence."

"Intellect takes you to the door, but it doesn't take you into the house."