The End of the Buddhist Monks, AD 1193 (litho)

The End of the Buddhist Monks, AD 1193. By the time Muhammad Ghori overran Northern India and founded Muhammaddan rule, the only princes still protecting Buddhism were the Palas of Bengal, whose capital was Bihar. One of the invading generals, Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khilji, boldly attacked Bihar with a few followers, whereon the Pala king fled and left the monks to their fate. Most of them were slaughtered, and Buddhism finally disappeared from India. Their sacred books, which no one left behind could read, much puzzled the conquerors from the West. Illustration for Hutchinson's History of the Nations (Hutchinson, c.1920). Note: Image has been digitally enhanced to facilitate repro.