Page:A Brief History of the Indian Peoples.djvu/113

 Muhammadan Influence on Hinduism.—Hinduism was for a time submerged, but never drowned, by the tide of Muhammadan conquest, which set steadily towards India about iooo a.d. At the present day, the south of India remains almost entirely Hindu. By far the greater number of the Indian Feudatory Chiefs are still under Brahman influence. But in the north-west, where the first waves of invasion have always broken, about one-third of the population now profess Islám. The upper valley of the Ganges boasts a succession of Musalman capitals; and in the swamps of Lower Bengal, the bulk of the non-Aryan or aboriginal population have become converts to the Muhammadan religion. The Musalmans now make 57 millions of the total of 288 millions in India.

Early Muhammadan Dynasties, 714-1526 A.D.—The present chapter is devoted to the early Muhammadan conquerors in the north of India before the rise of the Mughal Empire. But it is convenient to give in this place a chronological list of all the Muhammadan dynasties, whose succession makes up so large a part of the history of mediaeval India.

I. House of Ghazni (Tiirki). 1001-1186. Mahmiid of Ghazni to Sultan Khusrd. II. House of Ghor (Afghan). 1186-1206. Muhammad of Ghor (Shahab-ud-din). III. Slave Kings (chiefly Tiirki). 1206-1290. Kutab-ud-din to Balban and Kaikubad. IV. House of Khilji. 1290-1320. Jalal-ud-dintoNasir-ud- din Khusni. V. House of Tughlak (Punjab Turki). 1320. Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlak. 1325. Muhammad Tughlak. 1351. Firuz Shah Tughlak. 1414. End of the Tughlak dynasty.