Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/117

CHAP, V.] crushing blow which might win for him peace and the growth of revenue. The enemy had "no forts or towns or immovable property, worthy of the name, for an invader to destroy, and no stationary population, left undefended, upon whom he might wreak his vengeance Mobility must have been the quality they relied on more than any other, both in attack and retreat, and we find them baffling their enemies more by their movements than by their fighting power." When reduced to the worst, they fled across the Oxus to their homes. Mughal troops who had served in the Deccan, immediately noted that the Uzbaks fought like the Marathas but were far more hardy.

Savage and uncouth as the Uzbaks were, they had at least the faith of Islam in common with their foemen from India. But the Turkoman tribes (miscalled Alamans) were worse still. They had not yet accepted the creed of Muhammad, but clung to their old heathenism. Plunder was their sole livelihood. In their forays they burnt the Quran