Page:History of India Vol 3.djvu/121

 THE DEATH OF BALBAN 91 that if the governors of Hind or Sind, Malwa or Gujarat, Lakhnauti or Sonargaon, shall draw the sword and be- come rebels to the throne of Delhi, then such punish- ment as has fallen upon Tughril and his dependents will fall upon them, their wives and children, and all their adherents." After this deadly warning, he tenderly embraced his son with tears, and bade him farewell, knowing only too well that all counsels were thrown away upon a prince whose whole soul was in his pleasures. Never- theless, Bughra Khan and five of his descendants ruled in Bengal for more than half a century (1282-1339), while in Delhi the house of Balban did not survive his death three years. In suppressing a rebellion in the remote eastern province, the Sultan had really founded his dynasty in the only part where it was free to hold its own. He did not long enjoy the memories of his terrible campaign. The death of his first-born, the popular and promising " martyr prince " Mohammad, in battle against the Mongols near Dipalpur, in 1285, broke his heart. During the day he struggled against his grief, held his court with all his wonted punctilious etiquette and splendour, and transacted the business of state; but at night he wailed and cast dust upon his head. In 1287 Balban died, after forty years of rule, half as minister, half as king. No one understood better than he the conditions of kingship in India, or how to impress himself upon his subjects. He maintained a rich and ceremonious state among a people always