Describing some conquests of the king of the age and time Firoz Shah al Sultan and the account of the march of the royal standards towards Lakhnauti, conquest of Lakhnauti and capturing the mountain-like elephants and enormous booty from those regions and subservience and submission of the ruler of that region to the royal court
In the very first year of the accession of Sultan Firoz Shah, while he was busy in matters of state and putting affairs of the inhabitants of the world to some kind of order and system with his justice and compassion, it was brought to the royal notice that Ilyas, the ruler (zabit) of Lakhnauti, who had usurped that region by force, had during this period collected a large number of payak and dhanuk of the waterlogged Bangala and out of sheer shortsightedness invaded the region of Tirhut causing much agony to both Muslims and non-Muslims (zimmis) of those territories.
Intoxicated by rebellion and lust for plunder and pillage and also having captured power through force, he had lost his senses and was busy destroying and despoiling those regions and causing much harassment to Muslims and other subjects. Due to the extreme depravity that had got hold of that most wicked person, he was devastating cities of Muslims. Since concern for religion, an honourable sense of duty towards the defence of the territories of Islam, kingly traits of vengefulness and conquest and royal qualities of the lord of the world that Firoz Shah had imbibed from the Prophet's cousin and Commander of the faithful in matters of kingship and affairs of the state, he came out of the capital city of Delhi with mighty armies and marched towards Lakhnauti and Pandawa. With forced marches he reached the region of Awadh. All the rayas, ranas and muqaddams of Hindustan who had resorted to rebellion and hid themselves for years before the accession of Sultan Firoz Shah, followed the royal standards towards Lakhnauti with their horsemen and infantry willingly and on their own accord. As a result, there was a very large number of people who assembled in the royal camp. The royal standard crossed the river Sarju with a great multitude of people for which it is difficult to form an estimate. Ilyas, the ruler of Lakhnauti, and his supporters came to know about the arrival of the royal standards in the region and consequently returned from these territories to Tirhut. In his fermented mind he was toying with the idea of giving fight to the imperial troops but now realized the gravity of the situation and opted to escape. When under divine protection, the King of Islam crossed river Sarju and the sky-reaching imperial standard cast its shadow over the regions of Kharosa and Gorakhpur and the victorious armies entered the territories of the Rayas, Ilyas, the ruler of Pandawa lost hope and speedily retired from Tirhut to Pandawa and got busy strengthening his position. When the royal standards reached Gorakhpur and Kharosa, the Rai of Gorakhpur who is a very powerful rai as also the Rai of Kharosa, who have been paying revenue to the shiq of Awadh before the general discord has set in that resulted into conflict and disturbances and now for several years had taken resort to rebellion and had withheld the revenue. When the royal standard reached there, these rais presented themselves before the imperial threshold and made enormous offerings that could not be counted and kissed the dust of the court. The Rai of Gorakhpur, besides other offerings, also presented elephants. The Sultan bestowed upon him chatr, crown, a bejewelled and goldplated gown, and good horses. Some other big muqaddams who had the status of rana were also granted robes. The Rai of Kharosa also made offerings commensurate with his chieftaincy and was granted a robe along with the muqaddams of his territory and received a robe of special favour. These rais, out of sincerity turned obedient and submissive to the sublime court. They paid to the treasury of the army many lakhs of silver tankas in the arrears of the last several years and for the future accepted a fixed amount of revenue and gave a written bond of their obligation of revenue to the Diwan. The collectors of revenue for their regions were appointed by the Sultan. These rais followed the royal army towards Lakhnauti and Pandawa with all their horsemen and foot soldiers.
The royal armies rested for few days in the territories of these rais and they exerted themselves to the best of their abilities in acts of obedience and submission. Out of regard for their obedience and submissive attitude as well as out of royal kindness and compassion, orders were issued to the victorious armies not to subject any of their villages to plunder and pillage and they were directed to be set free if any one had been taken as slave from there. When the royal standard commenced its march from the territories of those Rais towards Lakhnauti and Pandawa and Ilyas came to know about the imminent arrival of the royal troops, he abandoned the extravagant idea of giving fight and preferred to run away as soon as possible and retired to Pandawa. However, overcome by the fear of the imperial armies, he did not stay even there. There is a place near Pandawa by the name of Ekdila, which is surrounded by water on one side and forests on the other. He went to this place, fortified himself there and took all the able-bodied men along with women and children and hiding himself there, engaged in ensuring his protection. Due to the fear and terror of the King of Islam and the forays and raids of victorious armies, one would say that his soul had left his body and the bodies of his horsemen and footmen. In fact they saw their death in the mirror of experience and spent their days in Ekdila under conditions of extreme bewilderment and panic. The royal standards reached from Gorakhpur to Jagat and from there leisurely marched to Tirhut. The rai of Tirhut and ranas and zamindars of those territories presented themselves at the court and made offerings and were awarded robes of honour. The region of Tirhut therefore turned to be obedient and submissive to the imperial authority as it ever has been and it did not receive any injury from the hands of the armies of Islam. Officers to oversee implementation of the Shari'at and other affairs were appointed by royal decree and that region was reconciled and reorganized.
From Tirhut the royal standards proceeded towards Pandawa with forced marches. Ilyas, the ruler of Lakhnauti, had earlier vacated Pandawa along with his troops and inhabitants of Pandawa and had hid himself in Ekdila. Ilyas and his counsellors concluded among themselves that the rainy season was approaching and as the entire region is extremely low lying it could get waterlogged and become a breeding ground for big gnats, so much so that the royal armies would not be able to stay there or the horses withstand them. With the monsoons set to begin soon, they felt the Sultan would be forced to return from these lands along with his armies. With this calculation Ilyas went to Ekdila along with the people and his troops and made it his safe haven. When the royal armies reached Pandawa, the lord of the world issued orders to the effect that those hapless people who had remained there should not be harmed in any way. Moreover, the gardens of Ilyas were not to be burnt and destroyed and no injury was to be caused to Pandawa. Some of the horsemen and soldiers of the infantry of the vanguard entered Pandawa but did not cause any harm to the people of Pandawa. Some of the foot soldiers, however, put to sword the rebels who were hiding in the residence of Ilyas and plundered the horses which they found there. The royal troops alighted near the bank of the river opposite Ekdila and the armies of Islam pitched their camp in the plain. Orders were issued from the court for people to construct Kankhar and make preparations to cross the river. They were asked to build ships, bridges and other means that could facilitate people to cross the water in all haste. The lord of the world observed that when the preparations for the crossing were complete, orders would be issued for people to cross it in one go and launch a ferocious attack against Ekdila and overrun the place and turn it upside down. When the people had constructed the Kankhar, preparations were set afoot for crossing the water as soon as possible and overrun Ekdila. Due to the piety of the king, it occurred to him that when the royal army would cross the river and overrun the place, that kind of general assault will lead to the massacre of a large number of people, both guilty and innocent, and due to the rebellion of Ilyas, the blood of many innocent Muslims would be shed. Muslim and Sunni women would fall into the hands of ruffians, payaks and dhanuk, polytheists and idolaters and their chastity would be violated. The lives of Alavis, learned (danishmand), Sufis, students, durweshes, recluses, strangers and travellers would be wasted and the properties of the innocent, oppressed and hapless people would be pillaged by the reckless troopers. This was especially so in a situation when the evil of the rebels and the crime of the seditious could not be dealt with effectively without a general assault as they had fortified their position with the jungles and the river. Preoccupied with such thoughts, which are the consequence of piety and right faith, he used to supplicate after every prayer with great humility and earnestness to the Almighty to inspire Ilyas to come out of Ekdila with the rebel army and confront the army of Islam. These night prayers of the King of Islam were graced with acceptance. The noise and tumult of the people gave Ilyas and those close to him an impression that the army had returned to the city. And since divine perdition had caught up with them they did not investigate the news of the return of the army. Because of the intoxicated and fermented condition of mind and conceit, Ilyas came out of Ekdila along with his elephants, cavalry and infantry and with the intention of giving fight, took up position in the plain and put the elephants in front. Due to great conceit and arrogance he stood up in front of the army of Islam commenced fighting. The king of Islam first offered two rak'ats of prayer for thanksgiving that his prayers had met with divine acceptance, because of which the wicked were separated from the innocent and the rebels did come to the plain ready to give fight. He thanked and praised Allah for this and rode with the intention of offering battle.
When the fighters and the rank breakers of the army of Islam happened to see those luckless people whose fortunes had deserted them, it was like hunters seeing the herds of deer and stags in the plain and being gladdened because they visualized them as already tied to their saddle straps. Similarly, they were also pleased and imagined these rebels to have been trampled under the hooves of their horses and reduced to smithereens. Since they were convinced that they were in the right and the rebels were in the wrong and they had transgressed the limits of propriety and equity, therefore, they were strengthened by the hope of divine help. In the meanwhile those unfortunate people advanced a distance of a few arrow shots in front of the armies of Islam. The world-conquering king issued orders to some of the troops to launch an assault upon those ill-fated ones. Surrounding them, the armies of Islam took their swords out of their sheaths and raising their voices with takbir, in their very first assault completely defeated the armies of Ilyas, the ruler of Lakhnauti, who out of sheer arrogance nursed vain ideas about his entitlement to rule, with all his helpers, supporters, cavalry and infantry and completely routed it, caused rivers of blood to flow. In the very beginning of the battle, they seized chatr, fly whisk, kettledrum, and the standard of the ruler of Lakhnauti along with 40 elephants. Ilyas, who had insolently entertained absurd ideas of sovereignty was defeated in the twinkle of an eye and fled in such a disorderly manner that he could not distinguish the bridle from the crupper and stirrup from the wing.
The warriors of the army of Islam cut and hacked the heads of the horsemen and footmen of Ilyas as ripe grain is cut by the sickle and in a very little time huge piles of the bodies of the slain came up. The awe of the warriors of Islam had rendered the rebels dumb and deaf, so much so that they lost their senses and became so confused that they were unable to find a way of escape and could not distinguish the right from the left and discern a way of retreat. They received the blows of the swords of the warriors of Islam and soldiers of the religion and surrendered their souls to the custodians of hell. The renowned payaks of Bengal, who for years had got themselves addressed as the fathers of Bengal, and posed as brave men and had taken the bira from Ilyas the sweeper to prove their bravery, in front of that mad man they exerted themselves along with the reputed Rayas of Bengal. However, on the day of encounter confronted with the vanquishers of lions, they were so overawed that they threw swords and arrows from their hands, rubbed their foreheads on the ground and were consumed by the swords of the royal army. Hardly a watch (pas) of the day had passed and the entire plain was already full of the slain and everywhere mounds and heaps appeared. The army of Islam emerged victorious and countless booty fell into their hands, while not a single hair on the head of any one of them was twisted. They returned triumphant and laden with spoils of war.
When the time of the evening prayer drew near and that kind of great victory was achieved by the grace of the Almighty and signs of victory became quite visible, the king alighted in the royal pavilion and orders were issued to the victorious troops to rest in their own camps. Those important people of the ruler of Lakhnauti who were taken as prisoners were brought before the royal pavilion with their hands tied to their necks or behind their backs along with the chatr, fly whisk, other insignia of royalty and 44 elephants, as well as horses with saddles and without saddles. The elephants were paraded before the Sultan's throne and the spectators were struck with awe at seeing such mountain-like elephants. Old elephant keepers and elephant drivers of the royal stables were unanimous in declaring that they had never seen such magnificent elephants, every one of which was a mountain of iron and had a body of brass. Such elephants have never been brought to Delhi at any time and in any age. While watching the parade of elephants in front of the throne with the amirs and maliks, the Lord of the world observed that:
These elephants were in fact the cause of the affliction of Ilyas, the ruler of Lakhnauti and nurtured kingly arrogance in his mind. This put him on the course of conflict with the armies of Delhi. Now that he has been relieved of them he would not be lured by these temptations any more. He would now approach the royal court with complete sincerity and would invariably send all kinds of offerings and gifts to Delhi. Elephants and that too mount-like elephants like these are bound to breed vain ideas in the mind, particularly if they fall in the hands of a person who is not trained to think about the consequences of matters. Great kings have observed that elephants are meant only for the imperial stables because the kingship of such kings belongs as a matter of right. But in case few elephants fall into the hands of a reckless usurper one does not know how many calamities would lay their eggs in his head and it is more likely that these few elephants would lead to his downfall and destruction and he would be no more.
After this, orders were issued to take these elephants and the horses to the royal stables and the amirs and elders of the army of the ruler of Lakhnauti who were apprehended were to be given under the care of a commander (salar). Most of the time the Lord of the world remained awake and continued to offer prayers of thanksgiving and rendered thanks to the Almighty for this divine victory. The day after this victory, the common people of the victorious army, may God help them, both elite and commoners, horsemen and footmen, Muslims and Hindus, the bazaar people and troopers formed a crowd in front of the royal tent and submitted that Ekdila should be ravaged and this place along with the supporters of Ilyas be turned upside down. However, due to extreme piety, the Lord of the world did not allow the people of the army to ravage Ekdila. He observed that the majority of those who had rebelled and were at the root of the sedition were killed in the course of the battle. Moreover, the elephants which were the cause of the rebellion and disloyalty of Ilyas have been taken over in their entirety. It was being said, 'Almighty had granted us victory and now the rainy season is at hand. Now our sole concern is that all the Muslims and those who are present in the army of Islam and are safe till now should remain safe and may reach their hearth and home safe and sound. After such victory, taking such extreme postures is not desirable.'
The crowd that had assembled in front of the royal tent were turned back. The royal army headed for the capital city of Delhi and with forced marches reached the vicinity of Tirhut and Jagat. During that time officials were appointed in those territories. A general order was issued to free all the slaves who had fallen in the hands of the army of Islam from the territories of Bengal. From there the royal standards reached the banks of Sarju and the victorious army crossed the river with ease and riding the crest of victory, reached Zafarabad. Here the governors, amirs, rayas and muqaddams of the territories of Hindustan who were requisitioned for the campaign of Lakhnauti and Pandawa, were allowed to return to their own territories. When the royal standard reached the territories of Kara and Manikpur and crossed the Ganges, the elders and eminent people of Manikpur were honoured and many of them were granted 'iqtas, positions and retinue, the requests of the Saiyids, ulama and the people of Kara and Manikpur were acceded to. The poor and the needy of those regions were given ample alms. From there the royal standard reached Kol under divine protection. The poor and the needy people of the towns received royal alms. The elders, eminent people, officials and officers began to arrive at Kol in great numbers and in groups to offer congratulations for the victory. They were received with consideration and granted robes of honour. Azam Humayun Khan-i Jahan arrived in the vicinity of Jhajjar and Chandosh to offer congratulations accompanied by maliks, amirs, officers of Diwan-i Wizarat, kotwals, shahnas of the city, sadrs and sadr-i jahan and kissed the ground in front of the royal tents. The royal standard crossed the river at the ford of Qabulpur under divine protection and security. While the royal army was camped at Qabulpur, Azam Humayun made so many precious offerings including gold, silver, horses of Arab and Tartarian extraction of wide girth and with their backs without saddles in such numbers that the plain could hardly contain them. The eyes of spectators were dazzled from the spectacle of such a great variety of offerings. On 12 Sha'ban 757 royal standards arrived in the capital city of Delhi in a most auspicious and propitious moment after having achieved a great victory.
The elephants and horses had reached the royal stables from the victory of Lakhnauti and Pandawa and the nobles, elders and those who were close to Ilyas, the ruler of Lakhnauti, who were taken into custody were paraded in thoroughfares of the capital city of Delhi and the spectators of the city, both elite and masses, troops and market people, Muslims and Hindus, men and women as well as children and aged people rejoiced over the booty of Lakhnauti. Arches were erected in the city and [/size] offerings were made for the safe arrival of the Lord of the world with such a great victory. In every locality there were feastings, songs were sung and people danced for joy on roads and in the streets. Since the overwhelming majority of people are sincere well wishers and completely devoted to the imperial court of Firoz Shah, [size=115]they could not contain their happiness and the hearts of the Sunnis were overjoyed at the spectacle of the booty that was captured from the rebels. They prayed for the Lord of the world and praised him.
The Lord of the world, may Allah perpetuate his authority and kingdom, granted imperial favours to the citizens of the city. Orders were issued to take big bags, full of money, to the congregational mosques and big graveyards and give alms to the needy, poor, paupers, indigent and destitute of the capital city of Delhi who had remained engaged in praying for the victory of the religion protecting king. The ulama of the capital received gifts, khanqahs of the saints received futuh, and astanadars received tabarruk. The King of Islam visited the mausoleums of the saints along with the army that was blessed with divine victory and distributed alms there. The safe, victorious and triumphant arrival of the royal standards laden with booty set the hearts of the people of the capital and the imperial dominions at rest. After this victory, Ilyas, the ruler of Lakhnauti, witnessing the might of the armies of Islam turned obedient and expressed sentiments of sincerity and well wishing. He had twice sent offerings and plenty of gifts at the hands of trusted people of those lands to the court and also wrote a letter of submission.