Page:History of India Vol 3.djvu/128

 98 ALA -AD -DIN KHALJI raoh was guilty of. Fate at length placed a betrayer in his path, by whom his family was destroyed, and the retribution that fell upon it never had a parallel in any infidel land." Nevertheless, for twenty years Ala-ad- din ruled Hindustan with unprecedented vigour, and broadened the borders of his kingdom. He had already a reputation as a soldier, and found no opposition worth mentioning to his accession. The widow of Firoz, a woman who is described as " the silliest of the silly," did indeed set up one of the late monarch's sons as king at Delhi; but Ibrahim was a mere stripling, and a much more capable brother, Arkali Khan, was far away in Multan. The GOLD COIN OF ALA -AD -DIN, STRUCK AT DELHI, WHOlC famHV WQTQ S6~ A.H. 698 (A.D. 1298-9). ^ cured under promise of safety, and once caught were blinded and imprisoned. The mouths of the people were closed with gold. As Ala-ad-din marched to Delhi, a catapult showered pounds of " gold stars '" among the crowd at every halt. Recruits flocked to such a Pactolian stream, and before he reached the capital he had a following of fifty-six thousand horse and sixty thousand foot. The officers and nobles of the late king, to their credit be it said, wavered before they threw in their lot with his assassin; but gold and numbers told in the end. In November, 1296, Ala-ad-din entered Delhi un- opposed, seated himself with all pomp upon the throne,