330 G ANGE TIC HINDOOSTA N. 



who ever heard of a man being hanged in England who was 



worth one miUion and forty thouland pounds ? 



SARACE^^^JIc I SHALL here give a brief view of the early conqueft of this 



Conquests. ^ _ 



vaft empire. The Saracens, loon after the deceafe of their great 



impoftor, made inroads into Hindoojian, inroads of pillage and 

 maffacre, but none of them of permanent conqueft. The firft 

 monarch who ever made an eftablifliment in India, was Mah- 

 mood, emperor of Gbizni, a country lying between the antient 

 Oxus and the Indus, comprehending the modern Turkejlan, the 

 UJbecks, and Bucbaria ; the capital was Gbizni or Gafna, a little 

 to the fouth of CahuL Mabmood made feveral incurfions before 

 he could fix his ftandard in Hindoojlan. In the year loii he 

 penetrated as far as Debli\ in 1018 he took the antient city 

 Canoge, fee p. 289 of this volume, and deftroyed the Pagodas 

 of Matura, the Methora of Pliny, not remote from Canoge. 

 Ferijhta, i. 73, fays, he found there five idols of pure gold, with 

 eyes of rubies of immenfe value. Mabmood, as much adtuated 

 by a bigoted zeal againft the religion of the Hindoos, as by am- 

 bition, maffacred its votaries by thoufands, and deftroyed all 

 their temples. He died in 1028, before which time he had 

 reduced India from the weftern part of the Ganges to Guzerat. 

 This enormous mafs of empire often fell to pieces by its own 

 weight, and was as frequently re-confolidated by the valour and 

 prudence of fome of the fucceeding emperors. The lives of the 

 monarchs of this vaft empire were fcenes of warfare, trouble, 

 and flaughter. The provinces were perpetually revolting, and 

 conquered again at a great expenfe of blood and treafure. 

 Akbar the great had re-united moft of them ; his great grandfon 



Auren^zebe 



