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Delhi before the Moghal Conquest


includes the Chauburji Mosque, on the Ridge; the Kalan Masjid; the Jama Masjid, in his kotila; the Sanjar and Jamat Khana Mosques, near the tomb of Nizam-ud-din Aulia; the Begampur Mosque, and the Khirki Mosque. The Kadam Sharif enclosure also dates from his reign, as does the shrine of Keshan Chiragh Delhi. Altogether, it was a time of busy building, and the total population of Delhi must have been very great, for the old cities were not abandoned when Firozabad was occupied. He died in A.D. 1388, and was buried on the edge of the Hauz Khas of Ala-ud-din.

There is a Hindi proverb to the effect that "human beings differ in their constitution; while the one is a diamond, the next is but a common stone." To say that Firoze Shah was a diamond is, perhaps, to go too far; but his immediate successors were, by comparison, mere clods of earth. Firoze Shah was succeeded by his grandson, GHIAS-UD-DIN TUGHLAK SHAH II.,but he was shortly afterwards killed by the adherents of ABU BAKR SHAH, his cousin. This king managed to establish himself in Firozabad, but his rule extended no further; the streets often saw fighting between his troops and those of Mahomed Shah, his uncle, whom Firoze Shah had at one time associated with himself as king.199