A DEMON WITH RUBY EYES 125structures in Chachnama is a social hierarchy where the Jats appear
to be subjugated. This subjugation begins with Chach and is main-
tained under Qasim.
Who were the Jats and why are they addressed in the history of
Chach? In the thirteenth century, Chachnama presents the Jats as a
nomadic people.^37 For Chachnama nomadic populations are a political
problem. The Jats are described most often as the itinerant people who
resist even after the fall of the fort. They exist outside of fort cities,
and throughout Chachnama their movement is destabilizing. They are
a danger to the prosperity of the urban polity. To curtail their threat
requires specific le&al structures. Chachnama addresses this challenge
cyclically, first with Chach and then with Qasim. After Chach con-
quers the city of Brahmanabad, he imposes a tax on the people and
makes a special arrangement for the Jats from Lohana who opposed
him. Chachnama narrates,
Then Chach stayed in the fort of Brahmanabad and, for the sake of
commerce and the safety of the people, he instituted a tax. Then he
called forth and humiliated the Jats of Lohana and punished and im-
prisoned their leader. He prohibited them from carrying swords or
wearing clothes of silk or spun cotton. Their upper covering could
be sewn, but their lower covering could not be sewn and could be of
only black or red color. They could not put saddles on their horses.
They could never cover their heads or their feet. When they left their
houses, they had to be accompanied by a dog. They would supply the
administrator's kitchen with cooking wood. They would be employed
as guides and spies. And they would cultivate such qualities so that
when an enemy approached the fort, they would be able to defend it
on their own honor. 38
We can see this account as a demonstration of Chach's political
power. Chach dictates everything from clothing to movement of the Jats.
We can understand this account as making a case for the settlement of a
previously nomadic people in order to govern them and provide political
stability. The nomadic population is sanctioned-they are required to
report directly to the city's administration and to be employed as spies
and guides. Thus Chach transitions them from nomadism to his own
subjects. To cement this political subjugation, he marries a Jat woman.^39