1854.] A Sketch of the Malwmedan History of Cashmere. 413 



proposals of marriage, which being rejected with scorn, he prepared 

 to extort her consent by force of arms and invested Indr Kote 

 with a large army. The heroic Eajpootnee made every effort to de- 

 fend herself and sustain a siege, but at length, her brother Kawun- 

 chund being dead and finding herself unsupported and declining in 

 power, she, in the last extremity, consented to espouse the successful 

 usurper. Upon this, hostilities ceased, and preparations for the 

 marriage were commenced, A. D. 1341, but the devoted princess 

 despairing and indignant, surrounded by her train of maidens, rode 

 slowly forth from the beleaguered fort, advanced into the presence of 

 the usurper, and upbraiding him for his ingratitude and treachery, 

 stabbed herself before him. Thus perished by her own hand the 

 last Hindoo sovereign of Cashmere and Prince Shahmir ascended 

 the throne as Sultan Shums-ood-deen. 



Independent Kings. 



Prince Shahmir, usually considered the 1st Mahomedan King of 

 Cashmere, ascended the throne in the year of the Hejira 742, 

 A. D. 1341, and assumed the name of Sultan Shums-ood-deen, 

 but died after a short reign of three and half years. He was 

 succeeded by his eldest son Jumshed, A. D. 1344, who however 

 after enjoying the throne for little more than a year, was defeated 

 and slain by his younger brother Ala-ood-deen, who forthwith 

 ascended the throne. Of this prince little is recorded except that 

 he reigned in peace for twelve and a half years, and was succeeded 

 by his son Shahab-ood-deen, A. D. 1356, who having repaired 

 the devastations caused by the former invasions of the Turks, 

 which had impoverished the country for the last few reigns, turned 

 his attention to foreign conquest and during the succeeding ten 

 years subdued A. D. 1350, Thibet, Kashgar, Budukshan and 

 Cabul. He then, according to the historian Hyder Malek, with 

 an immense army (of 50,000 horse and 500,000 foot) invaded 

 Hindustan by way of Kishtewar and Nugger Kote, and is said to 

 have worsted Firoz-shah, King of Delhi, in a pitched battle on the 

 banks of the Sutlej, the result of which was to cause that potentate 

 to acknowledge his supremacy. Shahab-ood-deen then returned 

 to Cashmere, where his religious zeal led him to destroy the idol 



