Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924024153987).pdf/657

 GOP

579

"In the year 1193, A.D., Shahab-ood-deen, conquered and slew the Hero of the Eajpoot Chronicles, Raja Prithora of Delhi, and in the next year he overthrew his great rival, Raja Jei Chund of Canouj. These important victories were followed up by vigorous attacks in every direction. The sacred mount Abu, the impregnable Gwalior, the holy cities of Banares, Gya and Ajmere and Anhulwara Patun, all the great centres of Rajpoot power and Hindu devotion, were startled by the appearance before their walls of "the uncouth barbarians;" all after a brave, but vain resistance fell before his sword. The Brahmin folded his hands and cursed the " Mulich," but not openly. The merchant sought to turn an honest penny by him, and was oftener paid with iron than with gold. The Shoodur served the strange highlanders much as he had before obeyed his Aryan master. But to the Rajpoot this upsetting of all his received ideas was intolerable. It was part of his religion that his race should be lords of the land, and to see his raja bow before a barbarian was desecration and impiety. By mutual jealousies, by incapacity for combination, and by fatuous negligence the country had been taken from him, and the lives of his two great rajas had been lost. Now at last, thoroughly roused when it was too late, he felt that it was impossible to remain quiet under defeat. If he could not fight, at least he could fly some place, might be found where, though only for a little space, he might be beyond the conquerors' reach. Southward then across the Vindhya hills, northward to Kumaon and the Sub-Himalayan ranges, eastward to Ajoodhia their old seat of empire whence the Bhurs had driven them, spread the various colonies of Rajpoots. The Rahtore of Canouj and the Tonwar of Delhi, migrated in a body and left not a man behind. Others felt the disturbing influence in less degrees, but did history supply the mater-ial, we should propably be able to trace a direct relation between the amount of pressure exercised on each clan by the Muhammadan conquerors, and the quantity of colonies it threw out. Thus the Chouhan Raja Prithora's clan is scattered over a wide extent of country and broken up into many small estates, while the powerful Gehlote of

Cheetore and Cuchwaha of Amber maintained their independence for (Chronicles of three centuries more, and sent out hardly any colonies."

Oonao

p. 28.)

The next

historical event after the

coming of the Chhattri clans

is

the

Ahbans of the adjacent pargana of Bhurwara to IsMmism, " Kala Pahar" nephew of Bahlol Lodi was the missionary of Islam to whose persuasion Miil Sah succumbed in A.D., 1488, (see Kheri History.) An account of the intercourse still kept up between the Hindu Ahbans and

conversion of the

their converted brethren will be found in General Sleeman's Tour II, p. 97. The next event is the footing gained by the Shekhs when Humaytin appointed Shekhs Mubarak and AbduUa qazis of Gopamau.

Apparently, says Mr. Camegy (Notes on Tribes p. 69) they were cadets of the Amethi family of Shekh Sallm, who about 1550 A.D., had been granted pargana Amethi in Lucknow on condition of driving out the still troublesome Bhars. The Kasmandi taluqa is still held by their descendant

Murtaza Bakhsh.

The Kasmandi family account

is

that

its

most distinguished ancestor

2