The Seven Cities of Delhi
collect it. His army he recruited from the sons and relatives of those of his soldiers who had to retire from age or infirmity, a system which largely obtains to-day. Although not a great king — indeed, rather a weak one — he was one of the most enlightened rulers that India has seen — kindly, courteous, and liberal, even if he had faults in religious bigotry, and an undue affection for wine. He endowed many colleges and hospitals, laid out many a garden and vineyard, and repaired the tombs and monuments of his predecessors in a manner which is emulated with some success to-day. He instituted the practice, copied afterwards by the Moghal emperors, of having three courts of audience — the outermost for the general public, the innermost for nobles and ministers of state, and the
intermediate one for personal attendants and the better classes of the people. The Egyptian khalifa, unsolicited, sent him a robe of honour,and others for his son and for his minister.
He was also a great sportsman, and within his park, on the Ridge, he had a hunting-seat, a darbar hall (on the top of which there was a chiming clock),and a menagerie, with a small collection of "freaks." Many mosques were built during his reign, some by his minister Khan Jahan, a Hindu convert; the number198
