Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/197

CHAP. VIII.] money you are engaging highly paid soldiers. Evidently you want to recover Oandahar. God assist you! Herein he recognised that the conquest of Qandahar was an impossible feat.

The three sieges of Qandahar cost the Indian treasury more than ten krores of

rupees. In addition to this sum, the new fortifications built by the Mughals on taking possession of it from Ali Mardan Khan and the treasure, arms, munitions, and provisions that fell into the hands of the Persians on its capture, must have cost more than a krore. Thus the Indian tax-payer poured into the sands of Afghanistan about 12 krores of rupees, and more than half the gross annual