Jignasa Journal Of History Of Ideas And Culture Part 02

Author(s): Vibha Upadhyaya and Others
Publisher: University of Rajasthan

Page 74

290/ Jijñāsā
About neighbouring countries, Battuta tells that
"the countries contiguous to India like Yamen, Khurasan and Fars are filled with anecdotes about him. i.e., Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq, which they believe to be really true specially those about his generosity to the foreigners in so far as he prefers them to the Indians, honours them, confers on them great favours and makes them rich presents and appoints them to high offices and awards them great benefits. One of these is that he calls them by the name ofAizza1 and prohibits their being called 'ghuraba He says that when a person is called 'gharib', his heart breaks and his mind is distracted".
Sultan Muhammad Tughlaq was particularly fond of the Arabs whom he preferred to all others. and acknowledged their merit. He married his sister Firuz Khunda to an Arab Amir Saif ud din Gadda of the Araba of Syria. He was lodged in Sultan Jalaluddin's palace in the interior of the city of Delhi called Kushak-i-l'al, that is, the red palace. Ibn Battuta describes this palace thus,
"It is a large palace containing a very huge courtyard and vestibule ending with a gate surmounted with a cupola which commands a full view of the said courtyard as well as of the second courtyard which leads to the palace. Sultan Jalal ud din used to sit in that cupola and watch polo being played in the second courtyard (mashwar)".
Saif-ud-din's wedding feast took place in the same palace. This wedding took place with gaiety, pomp and show. Battuta has painstakingly described in detail the social customs observed at the time of royal wedding. His description gives chance to the readers to peep into contemporary society's cultural ethos.
Ibn Battuta's disliking/ biases against the Arabs are manifested in his writing when he tells us about the same Amir Saif-ud-din Gadda that.
"Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq showed exceedingly great honour to his brother-inlaw, but the latter was an uncouth and stupid Arab who could not appreciate the value of this. The uncouthness of the people of the desert got the better of him and brought him to grief twenty nights after his wedding".
Ibn Battuta described his assault on a noble for which he was punished, and
"The Sultan wrote personally that 'the bastard, that is Mughis (Sultan's another Arab brother-in-law) be exiled, and so be exiled the mushkhwar, that is the rat-eater' by which expression he meant Amir Gadda, because the Arabs of the desert eat the lizard which is similar to the rats and he ordered the expulsion of both. The palace officers came to Amir Ghadda to drag him out. He desired to enter his house and bid his wife adicu. but the palace officers poured in rapid succession to search him out, and he emerged weeping".
Further about same Amir Saif-ud-din Ghadda, our author writes,
"The Sultan ordered Amir Ghadda's recall and commanded him to remain in the service of the Amir Malik Qabula of Lahore. He remained in his service for four years, and he used to ride on horse back with him and to accompany him in his journeys until he learnt manners and became cultured. Then the Sultan restored him to his original position and assigned to him the administrative charge (iqtā) of some territory and placed him in command of the troops and raised his position".