Robert Sewell’s A Forgotten Empire, Vijaynagar, has this rather gruesome bit of history referred to as the best known of Muhammad bin Tughluq‘s inhumane eccentricities. MBT was the Sultan of Delhi from 1325-1351 and has been described as a a scholar versed in logic, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy and physical sciences, with knowledge of medicine and skilled in dialectics. The said incident concerns the Sultan’s decision to move the capital from Delhi to Devagiri (later renamed Daulatabad) located about 600 miles away. Sewell quotes Ibn Battuta, the Moroccan scholar and traveler, who was in Delhi at that time.
“The Sultan ordered all inhabitants to quit the place (Delhi), and upon some delay being evinced he made a proclamation stating that what person soever, being an inhabitant of the city, should be found in any of its houses or streets should receive condign punishment. Upon this they all went out; but his servants finding a blind man in one of the houses and a bedridden one in the other, the Emperor commanded the bedridden man to be projected from a balista, and the blind one to be dragged by his feet to Daulatabad, which is at a distance of ten days, and he was so dragged; but his limbs dropping off by the way, only one of his legs was brought to the place intended, and was thrown into it; for the order had been that they should go to this place. When I entered Delhi, it was almost a desert.”
Battuta relates that during the interval of desolation, the king mounted on the roof of his palace, and seeing the city empty and without fire or smoke said, “Now my heart is satisfied and my feelings are appeased”.
.
I am not half-way through the book; the numerous references to blindings, flayings, bodies being chopped into pieces, and villages massacred in their entirety makes one really appreciate the times in which we live.
7 comments
Comments feed for this article
April 9, 2010 at 8:27 am
Parth
Interesting; this reference to Ibn-e-Battuta. I just used a question on him in a Bollywood quiz 🙂 Yes, democracy certainly has some advantages. No one will wake you up one day and ask you to leave your city 🙂
April 12, 2010 at 7:40 pm
Niranjan
Wonder if the Battuta-Bollywood connection concerns lyrics for a song that Gulzar has been accused of plagiarizing? I encountered that reference while looking Battuta up.
True, we all share a certain global conscience; and one hopes that this kind of history never repeats itself!
April 9, 2010 at 11:15 am
Pallavi
Your post reminds me of Steven Pinker’s talk (on ted) where he tells about decline of violence from biblical times and argues that we live in more peaceful time now. Seems so difficult to believe but I guess its true.
April 12, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Niranjan
I remember that talk by Pinker (for those interested, link here). We are more peaceful than our forefathers, so much for ancient wisdom 😉
April 30, 2010 at 9:11 am
Anonymous
heard the story…
on the side… fav delhi man: william dalrymple. city of djinns then last mughal
April 30, 2010 at 9:18 am
duhita
sorry, forgot to leave a name… duhita
April 30, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Niranjan
The closest I have come to reading Dalrymple was when I scanned through the photographs in the Last Mughal (was surprised to find a rather grim photo of Bahadur Shah Zafar in there) at the public library almost a year ago. I intended to borrow it on the next visit, but never got around to doing so. Thanks for the reminder!