1885 .] 
the Sultans of Kashmir , 
101 
Sikandar at once sent in his submission and gave Taimur’s ambassadors 
much gold and many presents. Sikandar was ordered to present him¬ 
self with proper presents on Taimur’s return from Dehli. He got 
ready all he could. But he was told by sone of Taimdr’s servants that 
he must give at least 3,000 horses 1,00,000 ashrafis. These vast num¬ 
bers of to him valuable things were unobtainable. He therefore excused 
himself to Taimur by saying that he had nothing worthy of being 
offered to so great a sovereign, but that he would return to his home and 
prepare a right royal present for him. Taimur guessed that his nobles 
had been trying to squeeze all they could out of Sikandar and accepted the 
excuse. Sikandar got all ready, but when he got out of Kashmir with 
his gifts, by the pass of Baramiila be found Taimur had crossed the 
Indus and was on his way to Samarqand. Thither he sent ambassadars 
with his offerings and he himself returned to Kashmir. 
Sikandar was an exceedingly generous man. Hearing of this, 
learned men from Iraq and Khorasan and Mavara-un-Nalir flocked to his 
court in such numbers that it became an example to the courts of those 
provinces. Sayyid Muhammad, one of the learned men, instructed tho 
king in all the rites of the Muhammadan religion. But Syah But a Brah¬ 
man convert to Islam was made prime minister and to him were con¬ 
signed all the affairs of the state. This minister signalized his term of 
office by a zeal in the persecution of his former co-religionists such as 
has seldom been seen in the history of religious turn-coats. The king 
(of course acting on the advice of his prime minister) ordered all Hindus 
to become Musalm&ns or leave the country. He forbad the use of tho 
tika on the forehead and commanded that women should not be burned 
along with their husbands. All idols of silver and gold were ordered to 
be melted down. Many of the Brahmans rather than obey these orders 
committed suicide. Other preferred exile. Some few became Musalmans. 
The Sultan used every exertion to destroy idols. One famous Maha 
Deo and one Chakk Deo were destroyed by his orders, "When these 
idols were broken flames issued from the fracture. These flames were 
supposed by the Hindus to be miraculous, but the Sultan rightly 
judged they were caused by the superior science of the Brahmans, and 
stayed not his hand until all were destroyed. Under one of these 
temples it was said a copper plate was found with an inscription on it 
to the effect that the temple had been built by Lilitawat Baja who had 
consulted the astrologers as to whether it would remain and how long. 
The answer was that it should stand 1,001 years and then be destroyed 
by a person of the name of Sikandar. The Baja ordered this to be 
recorded on a copper plate and that this plate should be put in a copper 
box for safety under the temple. The Sultan is said to have remarked 
