SUCCESS OF RIHA^, ULUGH'S RIVAL 123 prisoners, after which they returned to Nagor, which had become a place of great importance in consequence of Ulugh Khan's presence. At the opening of the year 651 A. H. (1253 A. D.) those who had suffered oppression and hardship through the disgrace of Ulugh Khan retired to their homes, and like fish out of water, and as sick men without slumber, from night till morn and from morn till night, they offered up their prayers to the Creator, implor- ing Him to let the dawn of Ulugh Khan's prosperity break forth in splendour and dispel by its brilliant light the darkness due to his rival Imad-ad-din Rihan. The Almighty graciously gave ear to the prayers of the wretched and harkened to the cries of the distressed, so that the victorious banners of Ulugh Khan were carried out from Nagor, and he went to Delhi, the capital. The circumstances of his coming were as follows. The nobles and servants of the State were all Turks of pure origin and Arabs of good stock, but Imad-ad- din Rihan was a eunuch and belonged to one of the tribes of Hindustan. Notwithstanding all this, he exer- cised authority over the heads of all those chiefs until they became disgusted with the state of affairs and could no longer endure it. They suffered so much from the hands of the bullies who were retained by Imad- ad-din Rihan, that for six months they could not leave their houses nor even go to prayers on Fridays. The chiefs of Hindustan, Karra, Manikpur, Oudh, and the upper country as far as Badaun, Tabarhindh, Sanam,
