pressing forward as if they courted death, obliged the enemy to give
ground, and pursued them in full retreat to the gates of the city.

The Emperor having next morning invested the place, gave orders to make
preparations for filling up the ditch, which task in a few days was
nearly completed. Bakhera, finding he could not long defend the city,
determined to leave only a small garrison for its defence; and
accordingly, one night, he marched out with the rest of his troops, and
took position in a wood on the banks of the Indus. Mahmud, being
informed of his retreat, detached part of his army to pursue him.
Bakhera, by this time, was deserted by fortune and consequently by most
of his friends; he found himself surrounded by the Mahometans and
attempted in vain to force his way through them. When just on the point
of being taken prisoner, he turned his sword against his breast, while
the most of his adherents were slaughtered in attempting to avenge his
death. Mahmud, in the mean time, had taken Tahera by assault; and found
there one hundred and twenty elephants, many slaves, and much plunder.
He annexed the town and its dependencies to his own dominions, and
returned victorious to Ghazni.

In the year A.H. 396 he formed the design of reconquering Multan, which
had revolted from his rule. Achmet Lodi, the regent of Multan, had
formerly acknowledged the suzerainty of Mahmud, and after him his
grandson Daud, till the expedition against Bakhera, when Daud withdrew
his allegiance. The King marched in the beginning of the spring, with a
great army from Ghazni, and was met by Annandpal, the son of Jipal,
Prince of Lahore, in the hills of Peshawur, whom he defeated and obliged
to fly into Cashmere. Annandpal had entered into an alliance with Daud;
and as there were two passes only by which the Mahometans could enter
Multan, Annandpal had taken upon himself to secure that by the way of
Peshawur, which Mahmud chanced to take. The Sultan, returning from the
pursuit, entered Multan by the way of Betanda, which was his first
intention. When Daud received intelligence of the fate of Annandpal,
thinking himself too weak to keep the field, he shut himself up in his
fortified place and humbly solicited forgiveness for his fault,
promising to pay a large tribute and in the future to obey implicitly
the Sultan's command. Mahmud received him again as a vassal, and
prepared to return to Ghazni, when news was brought to him from
Arsallah, wh