so HINDO 
by his vizier as lieutenant-general, appeared at the head 
of the main body of his troops, while the right and left 
wings were commanded by princes of approved fkill and 
courage. And now only a fmall fpace leparated the two 
armies; Timour, with his ufual ardour, rode from rank 
to rank,' encouraging both officers and men to do their 
dirty, and offering to their view the greeted of all incen¬ 
tives to warfare, the rich fpoil and dazzling wealth 
which victory would infure. He pointed to the towers of 
Delhi with a kind of triumph predictive of victory; and 
with a fcornful air towards the comparative handful of 
men, who were to defend againlt fuch fuperior fkill and 
force that immenfe magazine of the riches of India. 
Timour confided to Pir Mohammed the command of 
the right wing; to the mirzas, fultan Huffayn, and 
Khalil, he gave the direction of the left; referving to him- 
felf the command of the centre of his army. But, not- 
withftanding thefe judicious arrangements, there was an 
unufual gloom that evidently faddened the afpeCt of his 
foldiers, whofe zeal for engaging was damped by the fight 
of the formidable' elephants, whom they had never but 
once before, and then only in a fmall number, feen op- 
pofea to them in war. To remove this conbernation, Ti¬ 
mour inftantly gave orders to fink a deep foffe in the front 
of his army, fkreened by a rampart of bucklers ; he then 
ordered a number of buffaloes to be tied with leathern 
thongs clofe to each other, with brambles placed on their 
heads and between each, to be fet fire to, when the fignal 
fhould be given. He alfo caufed iron hooks, with three 
prongs, and wooden Itakes with the ffiarpened points up¬ 
wards, to be planted in the ground; and corrtbultibles of 
various kinds were ordered to be kindled at the ap^ >ach 
of the elephants, their great abhorrence of fire being well 
known to Timour. 
The fignal for battle being given, both armies rufhed 
on each other with a dreadful fliock. Mohammed, the 
grandfon and chief general of Timour, firft fell upon the 
Indian left wing, which he routed with great daughter, 
arid drove beyond the bafon of Havifkas, that furnifhes" 
Delhi with water. With almoft equal rapidity Hufiayn 
and Khalil attacked and defeated the right wing of the 
Indians, driving it back to the very gate of Delhi. Thefe 
appeared as but eafy cohquefts ; but when the centre of 
the Indian army, fuftained by the elephants, and led on 
by the intrepid Mellou Khan, advanced to meet the main 
body of the Tartars, the fcene was Tanguinary beyond 
conception, and the carnage on both rides dreadful. 
“ Never (fays Sherefeddin) was a conteft between unequal 
forces for a time fo defperately maintained ; never were 
fuch prodigies of bravery performed. So loud and terrific 
a clangour of warlike inftrurnents, of various nations, and 
difcordant notes, formed of the mingled founds of cym¬ 
bals,' d turns, and trumpets, refponfive to thole of the great 
brazen kettle-drums beaten on the backs of the elephants, 
tire bells which the Indians -rang, and the fhouts of the 
foldiers, was never before heard on any field, nor on any 
occafion.” The valour .and fortune of Timour, however, 
at length prevailed : the-elephants, thrown into utter con- 
fufion by the fttamgem above- recited, were driven back on 
their own armv, and trampled whole ranks to death. The 
Indians being thus completely routed, fultan Mahmud,with 
his body guard, retreated into the city, whither he was fiome 
time after followed by his general Mellon Khan, who had 
performed feats of valour that afeonifned his enemies. Dread¬ 
ing, however, the vindictive fpi-rit and favage cruelty of the 
conqueror, they took advantage of the approaching night, 
and fled into the deferts. Timftur, elated with his viftory, 
fpurred on his iiorfe to the gate of Delhi, which he en¬ 
tered in triumph; and, having carefully examined the for¬ 
tifications, returned- to receive the congratulations of his 
camp. Mo defence vvas attempted by the inhabitants; for 
with Malirn'ud and his gallant vizier were fled every 
■hopeef preferving the empire, and every effort for defend¬ 
ing it. The next morning, January the 4th, 1399, the 
Mogul banners were beheld dreaming on the walls of 
O S T A N. 
Delhi; and the Tartarian conqueror, having entered with 
his mirzas and emirs by the principal gate of the city, was 
foon feated on the auguft throne of its ancient monarchs. 
This principal gate was fituated in the quarter of Gehan- 
penah, direftly oppofite the bafon of Havifkas, where the 
Mogul army was now encamped; .here a ftately tent and 
lofty tribunal were ereCled, to give magnificence and fo- 
lemnity to the new fovereign of Hindoodan; before whom 
the great lords of the kingdom, the miniders of juftice, 
and the principal inhabitants of the city and didridl, 
flocked in multitudes at his command, prodrated them- 
felves at his feet, and humbly implored his mercy, on 
paying an adequate ranfom for their lives. After having 
thus given audience to the wretched fuppliants of the hu¬ 
man race, he commanded to his prefence the more favoured 
animals of fultan Mahmud’s babies. The royal rhinoceros, 
and the train of date-elephants, adorned with rich trap¬ 
pings of gold and filver, and fparkling with precious 
bones, were brought to the foot of the throne; where, 
indrufted by their keepers, tliofe docile animals fell pro- 
drate, and uttered, as Sherefeddin expreffes it, “ a doleful 
cry, as if demanding quarter.” Thefe one hundred and 
twenty elephants, on Timour’s return, were taken to Sa- 
marcand, in order to augment the glory of his triumph. 
Thofe brave generals and captains who had fhared in 
the toils of battle, were now to be rewarded by the plea- 
fures of the banquet, and the fpoils of the capital of India. 
This entertainment, unequalled in fplendour and magni¬ 
ficence, in the codlinefs and variety of the viands ferved 
up in diflies of maffive gold, and the wines fparkling in 
cups of cry dal, enriched with the diamonds of Golconaa, 
is laid to have laded many days: but the fedival was pol¬ 
luted and difgraced by the murder of one hundred thou- 
fand of the poor miferable idolatrous Hindoos, whom the 
victor had collefted together in the progrefs of his march, 
and who were now to be maffacred, as a lelfon to,the 
country not to oppofe the mild doElrines of the Koran. 
Yet a fcene of outrage- and violence was to follow, in 
which thefe pious Mudulmen, with equal indifference, and 
with more lavage ferocity, cut the throats of thofe alfo 
who profeffed the fame religion. The fecretaries of the 
divan, who were bationed at the gate of Delhi, being ftre- 
nuous in collecting the ranfom-money, and the foldiers 
attending to enforce the demand treating the inhabitants 
of the luburbs with infolence, a great tumult was excited 
in that quarter, and blood mutually filed. Timour, on 
receiving intelligence of this tumult, lent orders to the 
omrahs to curb the fury of the foldiery, and allow the 
Modern inhabitants to pay in peace and fecurity the al¬ 
lotted tribute; but unfortunately all the efforts of their 
commanders to redrain their outrages proved ineffectual.. 
The embers of fedition, thus kindled, foon broke forth 
into ail. ungovernable flame, and an opportunity prefently 
offered for that flame to fpread in a degree at once the 
molt fatal and extenfivc. Impatient to fee fo celebrated a 
metropolis and .the curiofities which it contained, parti¬ 
cularly its lofty palace banding on a thou land columns,, 
the Julianas, who attended the army, obtained permiffioiv 
from Timour to enter the city. On this occafion, the 
great gate being thrown open, a body'or fifteen thoufand 
foldiers contrived to enter with them, who, joining a 
fnuch larger body which had already found means to get 
within the. walls, began to commit the mod dreadful out¬ 
rages on the affrighted (inhabitants. Provoked to venge¬ 
ance, and urged by defpair, they attacked the military, 
and Pome of the more daring aggreffors fell the victims 
of their own rafhnefs. To prevent any farther increafe of 
the tumult by the entrance of more foldiers, the omrahs 
ordered all the gates of the city to be fhut; but, inflamed 
with the defire of giving their comrades a fhare of the 
plunder, the foldiers within role upon their officers, burft 
open the gates, and, by the morning of the 13th, the whole 
arrm/had gained admiffion. A fcene blocking, to humanity 
now took place: a general maffacre and devaluation reigned 
at once in every quarter. The iioufes of the citizens were 
- * firft 
