Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (17/489)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

and by their envoys.

He was then borne along just as he was until he was set down in front of the Sultan. The Indian asked him, “What sort of man are you?” He replied, “I call people to Allah and wage jihad against whoever opposes the religion of Islam.” “Then what do you want from us?” the Indian said. He answered, “That you abandon idol-worship, submit to the stipulations of the religion, and eat the flesh of cattle.”

Their conversation went back and forth until Maḥmūd intimidated and threatened him. The chamberlain said to the Indian, “Do you realise to whom you are speaking and in whose presence you now stand?”

The Indian retorted, “If he is truly inviting people to Allah, as he claims, this is not one of the conditions of that call; but if he is a domineering ruler who grants no justice, that is another matter altogether.”

The vizier said, “Leave him.”

News then arrived that Khurāsān had fallen into turmoil; matters grew tight for the ruler of India, and he saw his lands being ruined. He therefore sent another envoy, adopted a conciliatory tone and said, “It is impossible for us to abandon our religion, and we have no money with which to conclude a treaty. Instead, let us establish a truce between us, and we shall place ourselves under your authority.”

Maḥmūd replied, “I want one thousand elephants and one thousand manns (1) of gold.”

He answered, “We are incapable of that.”

In the end they agreed on delivering five hundred elephants and three thousand manns of silver. Maḥmūd further proposed to King Baydā that he don the robe of honour, gird himself with the sword and the minṭaqa (2), and strike coinage in his own name.

The king consented but asked to be excused from minting coin. The robe of honour consisted of a gold-brocaded qabāʾ, a fine turban of reed cloth, an ornamented sword, a horse, a pair of boots, and a ring bearing his name. Maḥmūd said to his envoy, “Do not return until he has put all that on, descended to the ground, severed his ring and the finger on which it is worn, and handed them to you; that will be the token of assurance.”

He added that Maḥmūd already possessed a considerable number of fingers from the kings who had made peace with him.

The vizier Ibn al-Mimandī relates: “So I set out with ten Turkish mamlūks, and we arrived…

(1) A mann is a traditional measure of weight.
(2) A ceremonial belt or girdle.

(1) al-mana (opening with a fatḥa on the mīm and written with a final alif): a balance for weighing or a measuring vessel for ghee and similar goods; it may also be made of iron and serve as weights. Its dual forms are manwān and maniyān, the former indicating the larger measure. (2) al-mintaqa: any band or belt tied around the waist.

برُسُله. قَالَ: فَحُمِلَ عَلَى حَالَتِهِ حَتَّى صَارَ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ، فَقَالَ لَهُ الهنديُّ: أَيُّ رَجُلٍ أَنْتَ؟ قَالَ: أَدْعُو إِلَى اللهِ، وَأُجَاهِدُ مَنْ يُخَالِفُ دِيْنَ الإِسْلاَم. قَالَ: فَمَا تُرِيْد منَا؟ قَالَ: أَنْ تَتْرُكُوا عبَادَةَ الأَصْنَام، وَتَلْتَزِمُوا شُرُوط الدِّيْنِ، وَتَأكُلُوا لحم البَقَر. وَتردَّد بينهُمَا الكَلاَمُ، حَتَّى خَوَّفَهُ مَحْمُوْدٌ وَهدَّده، وَقَالَ الحَاجِبُ للهِنْدِي: أَتَدْرِي لِمَنْ تُخَاطِبُ؟ وَبَيْنَ يَدَيْ أَيِّ سُلْطَانٍ أَنْتَ؟ فَقَالَ الهنديُّ: إِنْ كَانَ يدعُو إِلَى اللهِ كَمَا يَزْعُمُ، فلَيْسَ هَذَا مِنْ شُرُوط ذَلِكَ، وَإِنْ كَانَ سُلطَاناً قَاهِراً لاَ يُنصف، فَهَذَا أَمرٌ آخر. فَقَالَ الوَزِيْرُ: دَعُوهُ. ثُمَّ وَرد الخَبَرُ بِتَشْوِيشِ خُرَاسَان، وضَاقَ عَلَى صَاحِب الهِنْدِ الأَمْرُ، وَرَأَى أَنَّ بلاَدَهُ تَخْرَبُ، فَنَفَّذَ رَسُولاً آخر، وَتَلَطَّفَ، وَقَالَ: إِنَّ مُفَارقَة دينِنَا لاَ سَبِيْل إِلَيْهِ، وَلَيْسَ هُنَا مَال نُصَالِحُكَ عَلَيْهِ، وَلَكِن نجعلُ بَيْنَنَا هُدْنَةً، وَنكُونُ تَحْتَ طَاعَتِك. قَالَ: أُريد أَلفَ فيل وَأَلف مَناً (١) ذهباً. قَالَ: هَذَا لاَ قُدرَة لَنَا عَلَيْهِ. ثُمَّ تقرّر بينهُمَا تَسْلِيمُ خَمْس مائَة فيلٍ وثَلاَثَةِ آلاَف مِنْ فِضَّة، وَاقترح مَحْمُوْدٌ عَلَى الْملك بَيْدَا أَنْ يلبس خِلْعَتَه، وَيَشُدَّ السَّيْفَ وَالمِنْطَقَة (٢) ، وَيضرب السِّكَةَ باسمه. فَأَجَابَ لَكِنَّهُ اسْتَعفَى مِنَ السِّكَة، فَكَانَتِ الخِلْعَةُ قَبَاءً نُسِج بِالذَّهَبِ وَعِمَامَةَ قصبٍ، وَسَيْفاً مُحَلَّى، وَفرساً وَخُفّاً، وَخَاتَماً عَلَيْهِ اسْمُه، وَقَالَ لرَسُوله: امضِ حَتَّى يَلْبَس ذَلِكَ، وَينزِلَ إِلَى الأَرْضِ، وَيقطعَ خَاتَمَه وَأُصْبُعَهُ، وَيُسَلِّمهَا إِلَيْك، فذَلِكَ علاَمَةُ التَّوثِقَة. قَالَ: وَكَانَ عِنْد مَحْمُوْدٍ شيءٌ كَثِيْرٌ مِنْ أَصَابع المُلُوك الَّذِيْنَ هَادنَهَم. قَالَ ابْنُ المِيمندِي الوَزِيْرُ: فَذَهَبْتُ فِي عَشْرَة مَمَالِيْك أَترَاك، وَجئنَا

(١) المنا، بفتح الميم مقصور يكتب بالالف: ميزان يوزن به، والمكيال الذي يكيلون به السمن وغيره، وقد يكون من الحديد أوزانا، وتثنيته: منوان ومنيان. والاول أعلى. (٢) المنطقة: كل ما شد في الوسط.