Sultan Mahmood, who had seated himself on the throne of Delhi, heard one of the boasts uttered by the priests of this temple, and there and then vowed its destruction, placed himself at the head of his troops, and, marching four hundred miles overland through a barren and almost impassable country, advanced upon the environs of the temple, which were strongly fortified and garrisoned by Rajpoot soldiers. Twice the priests and soldiers of Swayan Nath beat back the Moslems, but in the third onslaught the latter bore down everything before them. In vain the Brahman priests implored them to spare the idol, offering the conqueror large sums of money for its ransom. Mahmood, regardless of their prayers and offers, gave the signal for its destruction. In an instant the huge god of stone was battered to pieces, and out of its hollow sides there rolled an immense treasure, jewels of inconceivable value. The spoils of this temple alone rendered the Mohguls all but invincible in the East. After sacking the temple they bore off in triumph its wondrous gates of sandal-wood inlaid with gold, and at the death of Mahmood, in 1030, these gates adorned the splendid mausoleum erected over his remains. Eight hundred years after they were captured by the English troops and restored to the temple of Swayan Nath by the order of Lord Ellenborough, then governor-general of India. The Mohammedan capital in India was established at Delhi by Khottub, who made himself master of that city, of which he had been governor, about the year 1215. He was succeeded by Altinash, who, like Khottub, rose to the state of an emperor from the condition of a slave. The capital was now permanently fixed at Delhi, and it was in the reign of this king that the beautiful round tower of Khottub Minar, the highest known column in the world, was built. It is a minaret of fine red granite inlaid with white marble and crowned with a magnificent dome. This Altinash was succeeded by his daughter Rhezeah, a woman of great natural ability, who administered the affairs of the kingdom with remarkable wisdom. Dressed as a sultan, she gave audience to her nobles and officers and heard and redressed the wrongs of her people. Nevertheless, the authority of these Mohammedan kings over the Rajpoot chiefs was very uncertain, for at every change in the government, which was very frequent, the Hindoo princes attempted to recover their independence. Thus when the Gheiyas Tooklak (or Toghlak) possessed himself of the throne of Delhi, the greater part of India was in a state of revolt.