80 THE TURKS IN DELHI army. The next, Mas'ud, " acquired the habit of seiz- ing and killing his nobles," and spent his time in aban- doned pleasures. It was no time for weak rulers, for the Mongols were again on the march, and had massa- cred the inhabitants of Lahore in December, 1241, estab- lishing themselves on the Indus with every appearance of permanent conquest. At this juncture another remarkable slave came to the rescue of the state. The nominal king was Nasir- ad-din, a third son of Altamish; but the reins of power SILVER COIN OP QUEEN RAZITA, STRUCK AT LAKHNAUT1. were in the strong hands of Balban. He was a Turk of the same district as Altamish, and boasted his descent from the Khakans of Albari; his father ruled ten thou- sand kibitkas, or tents of nomad families, and his kins- men still governed their ancestral tribes in Turkistan. But Balban was not to enjoy such obscure distinction. " The Almighty desired to grant a support to the power of Islam and to the strength of the Mohammedan faith, to extend His glorious shadow over it, and to preserve Hindustan within the range of His favour and protec- tion. He therefore removed Balban in his youth from Turkistan, and separated him from his race and kin- dred, from his tribe and relations, and conveyed him
