Page:History of India Vol 3.djvu/260

 212 THE EMPEROR BABAR low Moslems; now, for the first time, he was marching against " heathens; " it was the Jihad, the Holy War. Moreover, these " heathens " were fighting men of the first class. Babar had some experience of the warlike capacities of various races. He knew the Mongol wheel- ing swoop, the Uzbeg charge, the Afghan skirmish, and RAJPUT SOLDIERS. the steady fighting of his own Turks; but he was now to meet warriors of a higher type than any he had encountered. The Rajputs, energetic, chivalrous, fond of battle and bloodshed, and animated by a strong national spirit, were ready to meet face to face the boldest veterans of the camp, and were at all times prepared to lay down their life for their honour. The emperor camped at Sikri afterwards Akbar's