Page:History of India Vol 5.djvu/90

62 THE HOLY WARS OF ISLAM by showers of .arrows upon their trunks and eyes. When Abu Abdallah had bravely advanced into the midst of the infidels, he was wounded in his head and body; but Sultan Mahmud, seeing the extreme danger to which his general was exposed, despatched some of his own guards to his assistance, and they rescued him from the conflict. They then brought him to the Sultan, who ordered him to be placed on an elephant to relieve him from the pain of his wounds, and thus he was exalted like a king above all the leaders of the army. The conflict continued as before until God blew the gale of victory on his friends, and the enemy were slain on the tops of the hills, and in the valleys, ravines, and beds of torrents. A large number of elephants, which the enemy had regarded as strongholds to pro- tect them, fell into the hands of the victors, as well as much other booty. Thus God granted the Sultan the victory of Nardin and added to the adornment of the mantle of Islam, which had not hitherto extended to that place. On his return, the Sultan marched in the rear of his immense booty, and slaves were so plentiful that they became very cheap; and men of respectability in their native land were degraded by becoming slaves of common shopkeepers. But this is the goodness of God, who bestows honours on his own religion and degrades infidelity. Sultan Mahmud learned that in the country of Thane- sar there were large elephants of the Ceylon breed, celebrated for military purposes. On this account the