LETTER XI. THE first attempt of the Mahomedans towards the conquest of India was made during the reign of the Kalif Omar*, who sent Maganeh Abul Aas, from Bahrein to the mouth of the Indus; but the expedition failed of success, and it was not till the reign of the Kalif Walid † that Sind was occupied by the Mussulmans, from which period their incursions into the fertile countries of Hindostan became more frequent and successful, till they at length obtained complete possession. The first Mussulman prince however who made a serious impression on India, was the Sultan Mahmud Sebectaghin, who reigned at Ghazna. His father Sebectaghin appears to have been a soldier of fortune, and being too far from the seat of the Kalifat to fear its power, he erected an independent sovereignty at Ghazna, nominally however subject to the Kalif; for on the accession of Mahmud to his father's power, after a successful expedition to Balk, we find him receiving the robe of honour and the investiture as Sultan, from Kalif Cader, in the year of the Hegira 389 ‡. *A. D. 636. A. H. 15. †A. D. 717. A. H. 99. ti. e. A. D. 998-9. Three years after this event he made his first expedition into India with considerable suc cess*, but remained but a short time in that country, as he made a conquering excursion into Segestan the following year, whence he returned to India in 1005 of our æra †, and seized Habeth and Multan. No sooner had he completed this expedition, than he was obliged to turn his arms against Ilek Khan, who had profited of his absence in India to invade Khorassan, and besiege Balk; but the victorious Mahmoud overcame and slew the invader and drove his army beyond the Oxus ‡, when he returned to India to spread his conquests and his faith, it being no less his object to make converts to Islam than to extend his dominions. A. D. 1014 and 1018§ he again visited or rather overrun the north of India, taking among other cities, Benares and Patna; but in the latter year allured by the reputed treasures of the South, he left the northern provinces to a tranquillity they enjoyed for near a century, while his successors on the throne of Ghazna were continually employed in protecting Khorassan, or in incursions towards Syria and the frontiers of Arabia. In 1025|| Mahmoud invaded Guzerat, which appears to have fallen an easy prey. * A. D. 1001. A. H. 392. †A. H. 396. § A. H. 405 and 409. The most remarkable events of that expedition were the destruction of the famous Hindû temple of Soumenat, and the choice made by Mahmoud of a descendant of the ancient rulers of the country of the race of Debschelim, to be its governor and king. After an active and successful reign of thirtyone years, this great prince died in the year of the Prophet 421. Amid the constant activity as a warrior which distinguished Mahmoud, we feel almost surprised to contemplate the elegance of his court, which was not only the theatre of magnificence, but the temple of the muses. It was by his order that the materials of the Shahnameh were collected, and under his eye that Ferdousi composed that immortal poem, where the wisdom of the sage and the genius of the poet combine to preserve and adorn the early history of his native country. I once before referred you to the Chevalier D'Ohsson's interesting account of the life and character of Ferdousi prefixed to his Tableau Historique de l'Orient, a work confessedly taken from the Shahnameh. The Negharistan from which D'Herbelot chiefly takes his account of Mahmoud, which you will perceive I scrupulously follow, relates many interesting anecdotes of this prince, but none which pleases me so much as the following, which, while it shews the virtues of the Sultan most conspicuously, displays the vices of the oriental government and administration of justice, holding out little safety to the wretched except from the private virtues of the judge! A poor man complained to Mahmoud that a Turk had broken into his house in the night, and after robbing him, had beaten and abused him cruelly. After every inquiry that might lead to the detection of the culprit, without effect, Mahmoud desired the poor man not to oppose the thief the next time he came, but to come instantly to him. It was not long before the Turk repeated his attack. The sufferer immediately gave information to the Sultan, and led him to his house. Mahmoud having surrounded it with his guards, caused all the lights to be extinguished and the robber slain, which being done, he called eagerly for a lamp, examined the person of the wretch, and exclaiming, God be praised, he fell upon his knees, returned a thanksgiving, and called for food. The poor man had nothing but the coarsest bread and water to offer, but Mahmoud ate and drank eagerly, and prepared to depart, when the man to whom he had done justice, entreated to be informed why he had caused the lights to be put out, why he had thanked God, and called for food. "I caused your lamp to be extinguish ed," said the Sultan, "because I thought that none could dare to commit so flagrant a piece of injustice but one of my own sons, and I was not willing that the sight of my child should prevent me from inflicting the punishment such a crime deserved; when I thanked God, it was because I discovered the body to be that of a stranger, and I called for food, because, since the day you preferred your complaint, fearing that it might be my son, I have fasted while I doubted of his virtue !" Of the successors of Mahmoud on the throne of Ghazna little need be said. They were constantly occupied either in petty warfare at home, or in the defence of their distant provinces with various success; and the usual intrigues of the Harems and the viziers, rebellion and slavery are not likely to furnish pictures of a pleasurable nature. Thirteen monarchs of the dynasty of Sebectaghin reigned at Ghazna*, but with very various Yrs. Mths. *Mahmoud Sebecta Yrs. Mths. Massoud III............18... 0 ghin reigned....31... 0 Schirzad...................................... 1... 0 |