88 TWO OF THE SLAVE KINGS Sultans, although his rule as an independent sovereign at Delhi (1206 - 1210 A. D.) was too short to enable him to consolidate an empire. There is a concise account of his short career written by Minhaj-as-Siraj, who was quoted in the preceding chapter, and it is repro- duced in the following paragraphs. 1 Sultan Kutb-ad-din was a brave and liberal king, and the Almighty bestowed on him such courage and generosity that in his time there was no king like unto him from the east to the west. When the Almighty God wishes to exhibit to His people an example of great- ness and majesty He endows one of His slaves with the qualities of courage and generosity, and then friends and enemies are influenced by His bounteous generosity and warlike prowess. So this king was generous and brave, and all the regions of Hindustan were filled with friends and cleared of foes. His bounty was continuous and his slaughter was unceasing. When Kutb-ad-din was first brought from Turkis- tan, his lot fell in the city of Naishapur, where he was bought by the chief judge, Kadi Fakhr-ad-din Abd-al- Aziz of Kufa, one of the descendants of the great Imam Abu Hanifa of Kufa and governor of Naishapur and its dependencies. Kutb-ad-din grew up in the service and society of his master's sons, and with them he learned to read the Koran and also acquired the arts of riding and archery. In a short time he became re- markable for his manly qualities. When he had nearly arrived at the age of manhood, merchants brought him to Ghazni, and Sultan Ghazi Mu'izz-ad-din Moham-
