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22 MAHMUD OF GHAZNI treasure, and hither the triumphant Moslems came, hot with pursuit and victory. The panic that had dis- solved the hosts of the Panjab seized the garrison of the fortress, weakened as it must have been by the general levy to oppose the invaders. At Mahmud's blockade the defenders " fell to the earth like sparrows before the hawk." Immense stores of treasure and jewels, money and silver ingots, were laden upon cam- els, and a pavilion of silver and a canopy of Byzantine linen reared upon pillars of silver and gold were among the prizes of the Holy War. The booty was displayed in the court of the palace at Ghazni, " jewels and un- bored pearls and rubies, shining like sparks or iced wine, emeralds as it were sprigs of young myrtle, dia- monds as big as pomegranates." The Eastern chroni- clers tell of seventy million silver dirhams, and hun- dreds of thousands of pounds' weight of silver cups and vessels; and, with every allowance for exaggera- tion, the spoils must have been colossal. All the world flocked to Ghazni to gaze upon the incredible wealth of India. Such rewards were incentives enough to carry on the pious work. Year after year Mahmud swept over the plains of Hindustan, capturing cities and castles, throwing down temples and idols, and earning his titles of "Victor" and " Idol-breaker, " GJiazi and But-sMkan. Little is known about the political condition of India at the time of these raids, but it is evident that after the great rout in the Panjab there was no concerted resistance. The country was split up into numerous