robber barons of the Middle Ages. Their overthrow was accordingly a public necessity. The most powerful of these Rajput chiefs was the Prince of Mewar who had particularly attracted the attention of the Emperor by his support of the rebels. The control of Mewar rested upon the possession of the fortress Chitor which was built on a monstrous cliff one hundred and twenty meters high, rising abruptly from the plain and was equipped with every means of defence that could be contrived by the military skill of that time for an incomparably strong bulwark. On the plain at its summit which measured over twelve kilometers in circumference a city well supplied with water lay within the fortification walls. There an experienced general, Jaymal, "the Lion of Chitor," was in command. I have not time to relate the particulars of the siege
