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 88

JIISTOliy OF INDIA.

[Book I.

A.D. 1327.

Toghlak's Hon succuods iiiuler tlie title of Mahomed Toglilak.

Mogul incursions resumed.

Mahomed 's grinding taxation and cruelty.

for his recei)tion. Here a sj>k;ndid eritei'taininent ha<l been given; and the kinj^, having ordered his equipage, was in the act of (quitting the building to wjiitinue 1 lis journey, wlien the roof suddenly gave way and cnwhed liirn, with five of }m attendants, in the ruins. The cause lias been variously explained Most attri- bute it to accident: some even to design. One author, not satinfied with either explanation, offers one of his own, and asserts, " that the building had been raised by magic, and the instant the magical cliarm which upheld it was dis- solved, it fell."

Aluf Klian, the late king's eldest son, succeeded, under the title of Mahomed Toghlak. He is said to have been the most learned, eloquent, and accomplished prince of his time. He was well versed in history, having a memorj'^ so reten- tive that every date or event of which he once read, remained treasured up in it; wrote good poetry; and had made logic, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine his special study. The philosophy of the Greek schools was well known to him. With aU these literary accomplishments, he was a skilful and valiant warrior, and thus united qualities so opposite that his contemporaries describe him as one of the wonders of the age. They also extol him for his piety, which he e'inced by a careful observance of the rites enjoined, and strict abstinence from drunken- ness and other vices forbidden by the Koran. This is the fair side of his character : for it had also its darker features. He was stem, cruel, and vindic- tive. As Ferishta expresses it, " So little did he hesitate to spill the blood of Gods creatm-es, that when anything occuiTed which excited him to that horrid extremity, one might have supposed his object was to extinguish the human species altogether."

In 1 327 the Moguls, who Ijad ceased their incursions for many years, resimied them; and a celebrated leader, called Toormooshreen Khan, belonging to the tribe of Choghtay, made his appearance in Hindoostan at the head of a va.st army. Province after province was overrun, and he advanced rapidly towards Dellii. Mahomed Toghlak, unable to meet him in the field, saved his capital by the fatal and humiliating expedient of bujdng him ofi" by a ransom so large as to be almost equal to the price of his kingdom. The Mogul withdrew by way of Gujerat and Scinde, but plundered both, and carried off an immense number of captives.

To compensate for what he had thus lost, Mahomed turned his eyes to the Deccan, the greater part of which he is said to have as effectually incoi^orated with his dominions as the villages in the vicinitj^ of Delhi. All these conquests, however, were destined to be wrested from him in consequence of liis gidnding taxation, cruelty, and inordinate ambition. So heavy were the duties rigorously levied on the necessaries of life, that the industrious, having no security that they would be permitted to reap the fruits, ceased to labour. The farmers, flying to the woods, lived by rapine ; and the fields remaining uncultivated, whole pro- vinces were desolated by famine. The currency, too, was tampered with; and