1871.] 
The reign of Mu'izz-uddin. 
189 
and pillars of the royal State, were one and all troubled and dis¬ 
composed at liis rise. (And not without cause for) the lust of 
sovereignty had settled in his head, and while the Emperor was 
lost in dissolute pleasures, the more experienced of the chiefs of 
the household, men who had tasted the vicissitudes of life, finding 
out that there was no immunity for themselves to be expected from 
Nizam-uddin, split into factions, and this discordancy of the maliks 
with their wide family connections, threw the whole course of things 
in the palace into confusion. Several of the leading maliks began 
to aspire to empire. Nizam-uddin in particular, observing the 
abandoned dissipation and reckless indifference of the Emperor, 
whetted his tusks in anticipation of a struggle for power. He 
reflected and not unjustly, that Emperor Balban, the wily old wolf, 
who for sixty years had held the empire of Dihli in check, and in 
one way or another brought the nobles into absolute submission, 
was now out of the way ; his son, the only one who had an apti¬ 
tude for command, had been martyred in his father’s lifetime, 
Bagharra Khan was helpless at Lak’hnauti, the roots of the empire, 
which the old man had carried deep, were daily slacking their 
hold, while Mu’izz-uddin, the emperor, was so conquered by self- 
indulgence that he no longer cared to rule. Hence if he could 
only get rid of Kai Khusrau, the son of the martyred prince, and 
detach some of the old maliks from Mu’izz-uddin, the empire of 
Dihli would easily fall into his hands. With ideas like these, the 
keynotes of rebellion, Nizam-uddin entered for the stakes of the em¬ 
pire of Dihli, and taking up first the subject of Kai Khusrau, he 
spoke on this wise to the Emperor ; “ Kai Khusrau is your rival in 
“the empire, he is distinguished by kingly qualities, and there is 
“ a decided leaning on the part of the maliks to his side. They 
“ know he is the proper heir to the Emperor Balban, and if a few 
t£ of Balban’s maliks fraternise with him, it will not take them a 
“ day to thrust you aside and bring him in and seat him on the 
“ throne of Dihli. The true policy for you, therefore, is to send for 
“ him from Multan and remove him out of your path.” 
Bent on the destruction of Kai Khusrau, and resolved not to be 
thwarted, they despatched a firman requiring the presence of the 
martyr Prince’s son, and then Nizam-uddin, taking advantage of a 
