14 
H1NBO 
filla, on hearing of his departure, collefled all the troops 
in the Gaznavide provinces of Hindodltan, and haftened 
had?, at their head, to recover his capital. Succefs for a 
time crowned his expedition} but Sinjar, again marching 
to Gazna, drove him once more from its walls; upon 
which, his omrahs, confpiring againft him, in order to 
fcreen themfelves from the vengeance of Sinjar, feized on 
the wretched Arfilla, and delivered him bound and cap¬ 
tive to that prince ; who, a tiling on the lex talicnis of blood 
for blood, ordered him to be put to death, after a turbu¬ 
lent reign of only three years. 
Byram, the twelfth king of Gazna and India, who now 
peacefully afcended the throne, was in every refpefl the 
counterpart of the blood-thirfty Arfilla. He was the 
friend of literature, and a liberal encourager of the ufeful 
arts. Though naturally inclined to peace, he was twice 
obliged to march into Hindooftan to chaftife his refractory 
fubjefts, and fupport the collectors of the imperial reve¬ 
nue. The firft time he marched to reduce Balm, who 
held polTciTion of Lahore in right of his brother Arfilla, 
the former emperor. Him he defeated and took ; but hav¬ 
ing pardoned him,"upon fweari.ig allegiance, he was again 
reinftated in his government, and the king returned to 
Gazna. In the mean time, Balin built the Itrong fort of 
Nigore, whither he conveyed all his wealth, family, and 
cffefts; and then, raifmg an army, compofed of Arabs, 
Perfians, Afghans, and Chilligies, he committed great de- 
vaftations upon the Indian independent princes 5 which 
mightily inflaming his ambition, he afpired at length to 
the empire. Byram, apprifed of the intentions of Balin, 
collected an army, and marched a fecond time towards 
Hindooftan. Balin, w ith his ten ions, who had each the 
command of a province, advanced to meet the king, as far 
as Moultan. A dreadful battle now enfued; but the 
curfe of ingratitude was poured upon the head of the per¬ 
fidious rebel; who, in his flight, with his ten fons and at¬ 
tendants, were driven headlong into a deep morafs, where 
they perifhed miferably. 
Byram, after this viftory, fettled the affairs of his In¬ 
dian provinces, and appointed Huffein to the government; 
returning himfelf to Gazna. He foon after caufed to be 
publicly executed, Mohammed, prince of Gaur, fon-in- 
law to the rebel Balin ; an unjuft and impolitic meafure, 
which involved him in frefh warfare; for Seif ul Dien, 
prince of Gaur, brother to the deceafed, railed a great 
army to revenge his death. He marched dire&ly to Gaz¬ 
na ; which Byram, unable to defend, immediately evacu¬ 
ated, and fled to the ftrong hold of Kirma, which had 
been built by the Afghans, to guard a pafs in the moun¬ 
tains. The prince of Gaur, without oppofition, entered 
the capital, where he eftablilhed himfelf by the confent of 
the people; fending Alla, his brother, to govern his na¬ 
tive* principality of Gaur. Notwithftanding, however, 
every effort to render himfelf popular, the people, from 
long attachment to the Gaznavian family, began to dif- 
like his government, and fecretly wifned the re-eftabliih- 
ment of their former king. Some of the omrahs, taking 
advantage of this favourable difpofition, informed Byram 
of their readinefs for an infurreClion. It was now the 
depth of winter, and moft of the followers of the prince 
of Gaur had returned, upon leave, to their families 5 when 
Byram unexpectedly appeared before Gazna, with a great 
army. Seif ul Dien, being in no condition to refill him, 
was preparing to retreat to Gaur, when the Gaznians en¬ 
treated him to engage Byram, affuring him they would 
exert themfelves to the utmoft in his fervice; but this 
was only a feint to deceive him. As the unfortunate 
prince, therefore, was advancing to engage Byram, he was 
furrounded by the people of Gazna, and taken. The un¬ 
happy captive was inhumanly put to the torture, and his 
head fent to Sinjar, king of Perfia} while his vizier, Seid 
Mujud, was impaled alive. 
When this news reached his brother Alla, his foul 
burned -with rage and indignation. Determined to take 
a deep revenge, he inftantly, with all his united powers, 
©STAN. 
invaded Gazna. Byram, informed of his approach, intre¬ 
pidly advanced to give him battle. At firft the troops of 
Gazna, by their fuperior numbers, bore down thofe of 
Gaur; till Alla, feeing his fituation becoming defperate, 
called out to two gigantic brothers, of the name of Chir- 
mil, whom he faw in the front, like two rocks, ftemming 
the torrent of the battle. He forced on his elephant to¬ 
wards Byram, thefe two heroes clearing the way before him. 
Byram, obferving him, flood aghaft; but his fon Dowlat, 
accepting the challenge, advanced to oppofe him. The el¬ 
der of the valiant Chirmils, ruftiing forward, ripped up the 
belly of Dowlat’s elephant} but was himfelf killed by its 
fall. Alla, in the mean time, engaged the brave prince, and 
with his fpear fixed him to the ground. The younger Chir- 
mil furicufly attacked the elephant of Byram ; and after 
infiiCling many defperate wounds, brought the enormous 
animal down: but with it he alfo fell} and Byram ef- 
caped with his life, and, mounting a horfe, joined in the 
flight of his army, which' was difcomfiteff on all fides. 
Byram, with the Scattered remains of his army, found an 
afylum in Hindooftan ; but he was overwhelmed with mif- 
fortunes, and funk under the hand of death, in 1152, af¬ 
ter a reign of thirty-five years. Chofro I. the fon of By¬ 
ram, and the thirteenth king of Gazna and India, upon 
the death of his father, was inverted with the fovereignty 
at Lahore, leaving the city of Gazna to the favage-minded 
Alla, who gave it up to the accumulated horrors of daughter, 
rapine, and devaftation. The maffacre continued for fe- 
ven days ; after which, it is faid, this inhuman monfter car¬ 
ried a number of the moft venerable priefts and aged citi¬ 
zens in chains to Gaur, to adorn his triumph. There, 
horrible to relate ! he ordered their throats to be cut, tem¬ 
pering the earth with their blood, as mortar to cement 
the walls of his city ! 
Soon after the return of Alla to Gaur, Chofro, in the 
hope of recovering Gazna, and depending upon the aflift- 
ance of Sinjar, king of Perfia, colleCled all his forces, and 
marched from Lahore. But, when he had arrived upon 
the borders of that province, he received intelligence that 
Sinjar had begn defeated and taken prifoner by the Selju- 
kian Turks, who were then marching down with a great 
army to Gazna. This obliged him to retreat agaiif to La¬ 
hore ; where he died A. H. 555, A. D. 1159, having reign¬ 
ed but feven years. 
Chofro II. the fourteenth and laft king of the Gazna¬ 
vide dynalty, on the death of his father, afcended the 
throne at Lahore, which he adorned with equal benevo¬ 
lence and juftice ; extending his dominions over moft of 
the provinces formerly poffefied by the emperors Ibra¬ 
him and Byram. But Mohammed, brother to the prince 
of Gaur, with an infatiable rage, attacked and ravaged 
the kingdom of Gazna, which he wholly reduced; after 
which he marched an army into India, over-running 
the provinces of Peifhore, Afghaniftan, Moultan, and the 
Panjab. He then advanced to Lahore ; and, in the year 
of the hegira 576, befieged the emperor Chofro in that ca¬ 
pital ; but, finding it impofiible to take the city, he enter¬ 
ed into a treaty with the befieged prince. Mohammed in 
confequence evacuated the country, carrying away Chof¬ 
ro, the fon of the emperor, a child of four years of age, 
as an hoftage for the performance of the treaty. But the 
terms of that treaty not being fulfilled by Chofro, Moham¬ 
med determined to put an end to the dynafty of Gazna¬ 
vide fultans. For this purpofe he had recourfe to treachery. 
While he was preparing for the expedition, he gave out 
that it was only intended againft the Seljuks 5 at the fame 
time informing Chofro, by letter, that he was defirous of 
accommodating all their differences by a lalting and friend¬ 
ly peace. To convince him of the fincerity of his inten¬ 
tions, he now fent back his fon Chofro, with a fplendid 
retinue ; but he ordered that retinue to linger by the way, 
and make very fhort marches ; fo that the emperor, his fa¬ 
ther, impatient to fee him, advanced a part of the way, 
unguardedly, to meet him. In the mean time, Moham¬ 
med, with twenty thoufand horfe, galloped round the 
1 ' mountains, 
