15 
H I N D O 
mountains, and cutoffChofro from Lahore, by furrounding 
his little camp in the night. The emperor, awakening in 
the morning, and being informed of this diabolical fnare, 
law no poflibility of efcape; and therefore threw himfelf 
upon the mercy of his adverfary. The • fultan perempto¬ 
rily demanded poffeffion of the capital, as the price of the 
king’s life. Accordingly the gates of that noble city v/ere 
thrown open to receive him j and thus, without a blow, 
did this vail empire pafs for ever from the celebrated and 
illuftrious houfe of Gazna. 
The GAURIDE DYNASTY. 
Mohammed, becoming thus poffeffed of the city of La¬ 
hore, affumed to himfelf the fovereign authority; and af¬ 
ter bellowing the government of that province on Ali, 
viceroy of Moultan, he returned to his brother, the empe¬ 
ror, at Gazna. In the year of the hegira 587, or A. D. 
11 g 1, he is laid to have marched an army into Hindoo- 
ltan ; and proceeding to Agimere, to have taken the ca¬ 
pital of Miberhind ; where he left Malleck Zea, with a 
thoufand chofen horfe, and fome foot, to garrifon the 
place. He v/as hallening upon his return to Gazna, when 
he heard that Pittu Rai, the rajah of Agimere, with his 
brother Candi Rai, king of Delhi, and fome other Indian 
princes, were marching to recover Tiberhind, with two 
hundred thoufand horfe, and three thoufand elephants. 
Mohammed inftantly returned to the relief of the garri¬ 
fon. He met the enemy at the village of Sirauri, fourteen 
miles from Tannalar, and eighty from Delhi, where he gave 
them battle. Upon the firll onfet his right and left wings 
were turned, being outflanked by the enemy ; till, join¬ 
ing in the rear, his army was gradually formed into a cir¬ 
cle. Mohammed, who was in the centre of the line, was 
told that his right and left wings were defeated, and ad- 
vifed to provide for his own immediate fafety. Enraged 
at this counl'el, he fmote the adviler, and rulhed on to¬ 
wards the enemy ; among whom he commenced, with a 
few followers, a moll dreadful daughter. The eyes of 
Candi Rai, king of Delhi, perceiving him, he drove the 
elephant, upon which he was mounted, direflly againll 
him. Mohammed, rifing from his horfe, threw his lance 
with fuch force at the elephant, that he drove out fome 
of his teeth. In the mean time the king of Delhi pierced 
the fultan through the right arm, and bad aimolt thrown 
him to the ground ; when fome of his chiefs, advancing to 
his refcue, bore him from the lieldof battle, which by this 
time was deferted almoit by his whole army ; and the Hin¬ 
doos purfued them near forty miles. 
Upon the retreat of Mohammed, the allied rajahs con¬ 
tinued their march to Tiberhind, which they belieged for 
thirteen months, and at lall obliged it to capitulate. Mo¬ 
hammed, in the mean while, recovering from his wounds, 
raifed a frelh army, confining of a hundred thoufand chofen 
horfe, Turks, Perlians, and Afghans, many of whom had 
their helmets ornamented with jewels, and their armour in¬ 
laid with filver and gold. Withthele he marched in martial 
fplendour to Moultan, where he conferred titles and em¬ 
ployments upon all who he had reafon to expeft would be 
firm to his interell. He then proceeded to Lahore, from 
whence he difpatched an ambaffador to Agimere, with a 
declaration of war, fhould the Hindoos continue to rejefl 
the Mohammedan faith. Pittu Rai, king of Agimere, re¬ 
turned an infulting anfwer to the embaify ; and immedi¬ 
ately wrote for fuccours to all the neighbouring princes. 
Nor did his allies delay their march; and therefore he 
foon advanced to meet Mohammed, with an army faid to 
confifl of three hundred thoufand horfe, befides three thou¬ 
fand elephants, and a great body of infantry. The Hin¬ 
doos again waited to receive Mohammed upon the former 
field of battle. The two armies at length encamped in 
fig-ht of each other, with the river Surfutti between them. 
The Indian princes, of whom there are laid to have been 
no lei's than one hundred and fifty in this great armament, 
being lulled into fecurity by an artful propofal of a truce 
from the invader, the Hindoos fpent the night in riot and 
O 3 T A N. 
revelry., while Mohammed v/as preparing to take them by 
furprife. He accordingly forded the river a little before 
the morning dawn, and had entered part of the Indian 
camp before the treachery was difeovered. Notwith- 
flanding the confufion that enfued among the Hindoos, 
their camp was of fuch an amazing extent, that the greater 
part had fufficient time to form, and to cover the rout; 
lb that they loon advanced with great refolution in four 
powerful divifions. Mohammed, upon feeing this, order¬ 
ed his troops to halt; and his army, which had been alfo 
divided into four columns, were commanded to renew the 
attack by turns, wheeling off to the rear after they had 
difeharged their bows a certain number of times, and then 
to give ground gradually as they advanced with their ele¬ 
phants. In this manner he retreated and fought, till the 
fun was nearly fet; when thinking he had fufficiently 
wearied the enemy, and deluded them with a confidence 
of viflory, he put himfelf at the head of a referve of 
twelve thoufand horfe, whofe riders were covered with 
Iteel; and, giving orders to his omrahs to fecond him, he 
made a refolute charge, and carried death and confufion 
among the Hindoo ranks. The diforder became general; 
theMuffulman troops made fuch a dreadful daughter, that 
this prodigious army was completely routed, and fled in. 
every direction. 
Candi, king of Delhi, and many other princes, were 
llain in the field ; while Pittu Rai, king of Agimere, was 
taken in the purfuit, and put to death. The lpoil of the 
camp, which was immenfely rich, fell into the hands of 
the conquerors; and the forts of Surlutti, Samana, Ko- 
ram, and Haiti, furrendered after the vidlory. Moham¬ 
med marched to Agimere, and took poffeffion of it; but, 
upon the promife of a large annual tribute, he gave up the 
countiy to Gola, the fon of Pittu Rai. He then turned 
his arms towards Delhi; but was prevailed upon by the 
new king, with the weight of prefents, to abandon that 
enterprife. He left his faithful (lave Cuttub, whom he 
had advanced to a genera), in the town of Koram, with a 
confiderable detachment; and marched himfelf towards 
the mountains of Sewalic, which lie to the north of In¬ 
dia; deftroying and plundering all the countiy in his way. 
His general Cuttub, by the fultan’s orders, raifed an army, 
and took the fort of Merat, and the city of Delhi, from 
the family of Candi Rai. He alio, in the year of the he¬ 
gira 589, or A. D. 1193, took the fort of Kole ; and, mak¬ 
ing Delhi the feat of his government, he there eltablilhed 
himfelf in fecurity, obliging all the diftrifts round to ac¬ 
knowledge the Mohammedan religion. It was from this 
circumltance proverbially faid, “ that the great city of 
Delhi was founded by a slave.” 
Mohammed, in the mean time, marched towards Ca- 
nouge, and engaged Rai Joi, who v/as rajah of Canouge 
and Benares, and poffeffed a numerous army of horfe, be¬ 
fides four hundred elephants. This prince led his forces 
into the field between Chundwar and Atava, where he 
was attacked in his rear by Cuttub, and all his baggage 
and elephants were taken. Mohammed then marched to 
the fort of Alii, where Rai Joi kept his treafures, which 
in a few days he took ; and found there, gold, filver, and 
precious (tones, to an incalculable amount. He marched 
from thence to Benares, and is faid to have broken down 
the idols in above one thoufand temples, which he puri¬ 
fied and confecrated to the true God. He returned then 
to the fort of Kole, v/here he again confirmed Cuttub in 
the viceroylhip of that part of India; and from thence, 
laden with treafure, he took the route to Gazna. 
In the year of the hegira 59a, Mohammed refolved upon 
another campaign in Hindooftan, and directed his arms 
againll Biana. He took that rich province, and conferred 
the government upon Togrol; who reduced the almolt- 
impregnable fort of Gwalior, after a long fiege. Moham¬ 
med was in the mean time engaged in an expedition to¬ 
wards the frontiers of Perfia. News was there brought 
to him of the death of his brother Yeas ul Dien, who had 
long pofieffed nothing of the empire but the name. Mo~ 
hammed. 
