No More Learning

439 (#487) ############################################

XVII)
IBRĀHİM ADIL SHAHI
439
as
suddenly died. Asad Khān sent the body to Gogi for burial, raised
the siege, and retired to Gulbarga, where, with many misgivings he
gave effect to his late master's will by raising to the throne his
cldest son, Mallū Khān, a worthless and debauched youth, and
retired to Belgaum, leaving the youth king's grandmother, Punjī
Khātūn, to manage the affairs of the kingdom as best she could.
Mallu's licentiousness, which did not spare the honour of the leading
families of the kingdom, soon convinced her of the futility of the
attempt and early in March, 1535, Mallū was deposed, with the
approval of Asad Khān, and his next brother was raised to the throne
as Ibrāhim 'Adil Shāh I.
Ibrāhim had imbibed the Sunni doctrines, and on his accession
established that religion in place of Shiah faith, dismissed the
Foreign officers and troops to make way for the less efficient but
more orthodox Deccanis and Africans, and struck a further blow at
foreign influence in the state by substituting the vernacular
languages, Canarese and Marathi, for Persian the official
languages. This measure facilitated the employment of native
Brāhmans in the administration and excluded foreigners,
The first of Ibrāhim's many wars was a campaign against
Vijayanagar, for which the intestine affairs of that state furnished
a pretext. For some years past the actual rulers had been the
ministers, and when Venkatarāya, the regent, attempted in 1530
to assume the style of royalty, public opinion obliged him to en-
throne a child of the royal house, and to appoint as his guardian
his maternal uncle, Hoj Narmal Rāj. While the regent was engaged
with a reſractory chieftain in a remote part of the kingdom the
mob at Vijaya nagar rose in the interests of their young raja, and
Hoj Narmal, intoxicated by the prospect of power, put his nephew
to death and usurped the throne. The people, disgusted by this
outrage, opened communications with Venkatarāya and Hoj Narmal
sought aid of Ibrāhim. Venkatarāya, anxious to prevent, at all
costs, Muhammadan invasion, feigned submission to the usurper
and reminded him of the excesses committed in past time by their
hereditary enemies. Hoj Narmal, beguiled by the regents profes-
sions and terrified by his warnings, assured Ibrāhīm that he had no
need of his services and bribed him with a large sum of money to
retire, and Venkatarāya marched on Vijayanagar. Hoj Narmal's
fantastic tyranny had rendered him odious to all, and when he
discovered that he would probably be surrendered and called to
account for the murder of his nephew the wretched maniac ham-
strung the royal horses, blinded the elephants, ground the jewels to


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440
( ch.
THE FIVE KINGDOMS OF THE DECCAN
powder, and plunged a dagger into his own breast. Venkataraya
ascended the throne of Vijayanagar without opposition, and Ibrāhīm,
on the pretext that he had broken faith with his late ally, sent an
army under Asad Khān Lāri to besiege Adoni, where he was defeat-
ed by Venkatādri, brother of Venkatarāya. The story told by
Muslim chroniclers of a successful night attack on the Hindu camp,
which redeemed his defeat, is to be regarded with suspicion, for he
was obliged to obtain his master's sinction to a treaty of peace.
In 1537 Burhān Nizām Shāh was converted to the Shiah faith
by Shāh Tāhir, who had taken advantage of his successful treatment
of the dangerous illness of 'Abd-ul-Qādir, a favourite son, to in-
fluence a grateful father. The conversion did not improve Burhān's
relations with his Sunni neighbour, Ibrāhīm, and gave the enemies
of Asad Khān Lări, one of the few Foreign Shiahs left in the
kingdom of Bijāpur, an opportunity of compassing his downfall
by accusing him of being in treasonable correspondence with the
Shiah Burhān. The accusation was false, but it suited Burhān to
assert its truth and in 1540 he marched, with Amir 'Ali Barid, to
Parenda, annexed Sholāpur, and advanced towards Belgaum. His
dexterous use of the false accusation paralyzed resistance, for
Ibrāhīm saw in his advance confirmation of Asad Khān's treason,
and Asad Khān was not strong enough to meet him in the field and
dared not, for fear of misconstruction, march to his master's assist-
ance, and the only course left open to him was to join the invader
with a view to using his influence in his direction of peace.
Ibrāhīm retired to Gulbarga, where he was joined by Daryā
'Imad Shāh, who had succeeded his father in Berar in 1529, and
Burhān and Amir 'Ali occupied and burnt the city of Bījāpur, but
abandoned the siege of its citadel in order to pursue Ibrāhim.
As they approached Gulbarga, Asad Khān, with his 6000 horse,
deserted them and joined his master, and Ibrāhīm and Daryā thus
reinforced, compelled Burhān and Amir 'Ali to retire towards Bir,
and followed them closely. From Bir they were driven to the
hills above Daulatābād where, in 1542, Amir 'Ali Barid died, and
was succeeded in Bidar by his son 'Ali Barid Shāh. Burhān pur-
chased peace by the retrocession of Sholāpur and a promise never
again to molest Bījāpur.
Sultan Quli Qutb Shāh of Golconda had reached the great age
of ninety-eight, and Jamshid, his second surviving son, who had
grown grey in the expectation of succeeding him, caused him to be
assassinated on September 3, 1543, and ascended the throne.
Sultān Quli had been in alliance with Burhān, who, eager to


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XVII )
CONFEDERACY AGAINST BIJĀPUR
441
avenge his recent defeat and humiliation, easily persuaded Jamshid
to renew the treaty, and, by inviting the raja of Vijayanagar to
join the alliance against Ibrāhim, committed an act of treachery and
folly which he afterwards had cause to repent bitterly.
In 1543 the kingdom of Bījāpur was invaded by a Hindu army
which besieged Rāichûr, by Jamshid, who occupied the Gulbarga
district and besieged Hippargi, and by Burhān and 'Ali Barid Shāh,
who besieged Sholāpur. Ibrāhim, thus beset, knew not whither to
turn, but by means of flattery and concessions eventually succeeded
in persuading Burhān and Sadāshivarāya of Vijayanagar to retreat,
and left Asad Khān Lāri free to attack Jamshid. He destroyed a
fort which Jamshid had built at Kakni, twice defeated him in the
field, and drove him almost to the gates of Golconda, where he again
defeated him and in single combat, after the manner of the Deccan,
wounded him severely in the face. After such victories it was easy
to enforce satisfactory terms.
In the following year the confederacy was renewed, and Burhān,
at the instance of Sadāshivarāya, besieged Gulbarga, but was
defeated by Ibrāhīm and driven from the kingdom. Burhān en-
deavoured to reconstruct the confederacy, but 'Ali Barid Shāh had
come to the conclusion that it was his duty to support the Sunni
rather than the Shiah, and insulted Shāh Tāhir, Burhān's envoy,
who returned to Ahmadnagar breathing vengeance. Burhān then
invaded the kingdom of Bidar and, in spite of the assistance which it
received from Bījāpur, captured the fortresses of Ausa, Udgir, and
Kandhār.
Ibrāhīm attributed these defeats to the treachery of his own
servants, and put to death without trial seventy Muslim and forty
Brāhman officials whom he suspected, so enraging his courtiers and
officers that they entered into a conspiracy to depose him and raise
to the throne his brother ‘Abdullāh. Asad Khān, who had fallen
under suspicion and retired to Belgaum, opened communications
with the Portuguese of Goa, Burhān, and Jamshid, with a view to
enlisting their support. Ibrāhim's discovery of the plot was followed
by a number of ruthless executions, and 'Abdullāh fled to Goa and
was well received by the Portuguese, who prepared to espouse his
cause in consideration of the cession of the Konkan, which had been
promised to them as the price of their support.
When Burhān and Jamshid marched in person on Bījāpur Asad
Khān refused to join them, fearing lest they should divide the
kingdom between themselves, and while they retired to their own
dominions the Portuguese withdrew their support from the pretender,


## p. 442 (#490) ############################################

442
( ch.
THE FIVE KINGDOMS OF THE DECCAN
whose party, both in Bījāpur and in Goa, dissolved, but the Konkan,
disappointed of annexation by the Portuguese, revolted against
Ibrāhīm, who crossed the Ghāts with a large army and crushed the
rebellion. The veteran Asad Khān was reconciled to his master, who
visited him on his deathbed on March 4, 1546.
In 1547 Burhān returned to the fatal policy of an alliance with
Sadāshivarāya and besieged Sholāpur. By his ally's advice he
determined to deal first with 'Ali Barīd Shāh, and, having raised
the siege of Sholāpur, opened that of Kaliyāni. Ibrāhīm marched
to its relief, but was surprised by Burhān on November 14, the
festival which terminated the month of fasting, and his army,
which had neglected every military precaution, fled in confusion.
Kaliyāni fell, but Ibrāhīm, reassembling his army, marched on
Parenda. His troops, finding the gates open, occupied the fortress,
slew some of the garrison and put the rest to flight, and Ibrāhīm,
leaving a Deccani officer in command of the place, retired to Bījāpur.
Rumours of the approach of Burhān so terrified this officer that
without awaiting an attack he fled precipitately, with the garrison,
to Bījāpur, and was executed on his arrival there. According to
the facetious account of the foreigner Firishta, 'the valiant Deccani
was disturbed in the night by the buzzing of a mosqutio, imagined
that he heard Burhān's trumpets, and, mounting his horse, rode for
his life. '
In 1552 Burhān joined Sadāshivarāya in the Rāichūr Doāb,
which was conquered and annexed to Vijayanagar, and afterwards
took the fortress of Sholāpur. In the following year he and his ally
besieged Bījāpur while Ibrāhim withdrew to Panhāla, but a severe
illness with which Burhān was smitten compelled him to return to
Ahmadnagar, where he died on December 30, his last moments be-
ing embittered by open strife between his sons, two of whom, Husain
and 'Abd-ul-Qādir, contested the succession to the throne. The
former, with the aid of the foreign faction, was victorious, and the
latter fled to Berar. Of his four other sons Haidar, with the aid of
his father-in-law, Khvāja Jahān of Parenda, made an abortive
attempt to seize the throne, and on its failure fled to Bījāpur,
whither he was followed by his brothers 'Ali and Muhammad Bāqir,
and Khudābanda, another son, fled to Bengal.
Jamshid Qutb Shāh, after his defeat by Asad Khān Läri, fell
sick in Golconda, and his malady so embittered his temper as to
render him obnoxious to his courtiers, who conspired to raise to
the throne his brother Haidar. The conspiracy was discovered, and
Haidar fled to Bidar, while Ibrāhim, the king's youngest brother,
>


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xvii)
REBELLION OF SAIF AIN-UL-MULK
443
>
fled to Vijayanagar and enjoyed the protection and hospitality of
Sadāshivarāya. Jamshid died in 1550, and the Foreign party en-
throned his son, Subhān Quli, a child of two years of age, but
discovering that without royal support, which a child could not
give them, they were unable to cope with the Deccani faction,
invited Ibrāhim to return. He responded with alacrity, entered
Golconda, and on October 28, 1550, deposed his young nephew and
ascended the throne.
Fresh strife was now brewing between Ahmadnagar and Bījāpur.
In 1551 Khvāja Jahān of Parenda, attacked by Husain Nizām
Shāh I, fled to Bījāpur, and at the same time Saif 'Ain-ul-Mulk, a
Turk who had espoused the cause of 'Abd-ul-Qādir, left Berar and
took refuge with Ibrāhīm 'Adil Shāh, who bestowed on him the
fieſs of the late Asad Khān Lārī, so that he became the richest
and most powerful noble of Bījāpur. The two refugees easily per-
suaded Ibrāhīm to espouse the cause of his nephew 'Alī, half-brother
of Husain, who also had taken refuge at his court, and the prince
was supplied with a small force and was sent to invade his half-
brother's kingdom, where he hoped to find many partisans, while
Ibrāhim besieged Sholāpur, but ‘Ali was disappointed and Husain
marched with Daryā 'Imād Shāh to Sholāpur. Ibrāhīm sent Saif
'Ain-ul-Mulk, with the advanced guard, to check the advance of
Husain and Daryā, and the Turk rashly attacked the whole of
Husain's army. His small force was enveloped, and an officer, who
,
fled panic-stricken, falsely reported to Ibrāhīm that he had seen
Saif 'Ain-ul-Mulk dismount and do reverence to Husain, who had
received him kindly.
Ibrāhīm, without attempting to verify this story, retreated
towards Bījāpur, his march being accelerated by a report that Saif
*Ain-ul-Mulk, who was attempting to rejoin him, was pursuing him
with hostile intent. Husain, whose army had been severely handled,
retired to Ahmadnagar, and Saif 'Ain-ul-Mulk sent a message to
his master assuring him of his unwavering loyalty and asking for
an advance from the treasury to enable him to equip his exhausted
troops, but Ibrāhīm coldly replied that he had no longer any need of
his services, and 'Ain-ul-Mulk, thus summarily dismissed, became
a rebel and a free lance, and in March, 1555, occupied the fertile
Mān district, in the north-western corner of the kingdom, where he
supported his troops by levying taxes on the cultivators. He gained
more than one victory over the royal troops, declared for 'Abdullāh,
who was still at Goa, and at length singally defeated the royal army,
led by Ibrāhīm in person, followed the fugitives as far as Torwa,


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444
(CH.
THE FIVE KINGDOMS OF THE DECCAN
within four miles of Bījāpur, and there proclaimed 'Abdullāh king.
Ibrāhīm, in his extremity, appealed to Sadāshivarāya, who sent his
brother Venkatādri, with 15,000 horse, to his assistance. 'Ain-ul-
Mulk made a night attack on the Hindu army, but Venkatādri,
accustomed to the tactics of Asad Khān Lāri, was on the alert, and
'Ain-ul-Mulk's force was nearly annihilated. Ibrāhim captured
'Abdullāh and imprisoned him, and Saif 'Ain-ul-Mulk and his
nephew Salābat Khān fled to the borders of Ahmadnagar and
begged to be readmitted to the service of that kingdom. Husain
treacherously returned a favourable answer, and caused 'Ain-ul.
Mulk to be assassinated as he made his obeisance. Some of his
followers saved their lives by accepting service under Husain, but
the rest, including Salābat Khān, were murdered. The ladies of
the murdered man's harem found an asylum at Golconda through
the interest of his principal wife, who was a sister of Ibrāhim Qutb
Shāh.
During the last two years of his reign Ibrāhim 'Adil Shāh
waged unsuccessful warfare against the Portuguese in the northern
Konkan, and in 1558 died at Bījāpur. It had been his intention to
disinherit his eldest son 'Ali, who was a Shiah, in favour of the
younger, lahmāsp, but on discovering that Tahmāsp was even a
more bigoted Shiah than 'Ali he let matters take their course. 'Ali
'Adil Shāh I re-established the Shiah religion and Foreigners were
again encouraged to enter the service of the state, and regained
their old ascendancy.
'Ali immediately sought the assistance of Sadāshivarāya for the
recovery of Sholāpur, and Husain Nizām Shāh and Ibrāhim Qutb
Shāh invaded his kingdom and besieged Gulbarga, but Ibrāhīm,
urged by Sadāshivarāya, who had claims on his gratitude, and
suddenly doubtful of the wisdom of crushing Bijapur, now once
more a Shiah state, in the interests of Ahmadnagar, deserted
.
Husain, who was obliged to raise the siege and retire. In the
following year 'Ali endeavoured to persuade Husain to restore to
him Sholāpur and Kaliyāni, but Husain, though embroiled at the
time with the Portuguese and warned by his advisers that 'Ali was
creating a powerful coalition against him, steadfastly refused to
cede either fortress.
The Portuguese had sought permission to build a fort at Reve
danda, near Chaul, but Husain detained their envoy and sent a
force to build a ſort on the site which they had chosen. Francisco
Barreto, governor of Goa, caused the port to be blockaded until he
could arrive with 4,000 Portuguese and a force af native troops,


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XVII ]
CONFEDERACY AGAINST AHMADNAGAR
445
and Husain sued for peace, which was concluded on the condition
that neither party fortified either Chaul or Revdanda.
‘Ali Ādil Shāh had succeeded in drawing Golconda into the
confederacy against Ahmadnagar, and Husain, who stood alone,
looked round for an ally, but could find none better than his
neighbour of Berar. He and Daryā 'Imād Shāh met at Sonpet on
the Godāvarī, where he married Daulat Shāh, Daryā's daughter.
‘Ali nɔw addressed to Husain a more peremptory request for
the surrender of Sholāpur and Kaliyāni, and on receiving an
insulting reply prepared to enforce his demand. He marched
northwards, accompanied by Sadāshivarāya with a large army, and
was joined on his frontier by Ibrāhīm Qutb Shāh. As the allies
advanced towards Ahmadnagar, Husain, leaving a garrison in the
fortress, retired to Paithan, on the Godāvarī, and summoned to his
aid Daryā 'Imād Shāh, who was, however, dissuaded from joining
him by Khānjahān, brother of 'Ali Barid Shāh of Bidar, who joined
'Ali 'Ā lil Shāh, while Daryā's minister, Jahāngir Khān the Deccani,
invaded Ahmadnagar with the army of Berar.
Meanwhile the invaders were laying waste the country which
they occupied, and the Muslims of all the armies were scandalised
by the insults offered by the Hindus to their religion. Mosques
were used as stables, or destroyed, and Muslim women were violated
and enslaved by misbelievers. Ibrāhim Qutb Shāh again began to
tremble for the balance of power, and entered into correspondence
both with the garrison of Ahmadnagar, which he aided with supplies,
and with Husain, whom he assured of his goodwill. This correspond-
ence was discovered, and 'Ali and Sadāshivarāya bitterly upbraided
Ibrāhim, who deserted them by night and retired rapidly to Gol.
conda, while one of his nobles joined the garrison of Ahmadnagar
and eventually entered Husain's service.
Meanwhile Jahāngir Khān of Berar received orders from his
master to change sides, and proceeded to intercept all grain and
provisions coming from the south for the allies. The invaders,
reduced to great straits, raised the siege of Ahmadnagar and
marched to Ashtī, whence an army was sent to besiege Parenda.
Husain, with whom was his ally Daryā, sued for peace, and Sadā.
shivarāya, the dominant partner in the confederacy, insisted on
three conditions, the surrender of Kaliyāni to 'Alī, the death of
Jahāngir Khān, whose interception of convoys had caused famine
and much distress in his camp, and the personal submission of Husain.
The second of these, the execution of an ally for faithful and
efficient service, was impossible of acceptance but by one dead to all


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446
[CH.
THE FIVE KINGDOMS OF THE DECCAN
sense of honour and of shame, but Husain accepted it and caused
Jahāngir Khān to be put to death, while his master, being to some
extent in the murderer's power, could do nothing to save his servant,
but retired sullenly to Berar. Husain's humiliation before Sadā.
shivarāya was a fitting punishment for his turpitude. The haughty
Hindu refused to acknowledge his salutation otherwise than by
giving him his hand to kiss, and Husain in his wrath called for
water and washed his hands. The insult was returned by the in-
furiated Sadāshivarāya, who uttered the threat, in Canarese, that
if Husain had not been his guest the largest part of him that would
have been left whole would have been his finger tips. The quarrel
was composed, and Husain was compelled to surrender the keys of
Kaliyāni.
Sadāshivarāya, on his way back to Vijayanagar, treated 'Alī, as
his servant, and the result of this unfortunate campaign was an
increase of the bitterness between the Muslim kings and the
humiliation of all before the Hindu.
Husain's first thought on reaching his capital was revenge, and
his first act was to dismantle the mud fort of Ahmadnagar and to
build in its stead a stronger and inore spacious structure of stone,
known as the Bāgh-i-Nizām. In 1561 he opened negotiations with Ibr-
āhim Qutb Shāh, who had earned his gratitude in the late campaign
and in 1562 the two kings met before Kaliyāni, where Husain's
diughter, Jamāl Bibī, was married to Ibrāhim and the siege of the
fortress was opened. 'Ali and Sadāshivarāya marched to its relief
and the armies of Berar and Bidar set out to join them. Daryā
'Imād Shāh had died in 1561 and had been succeeded by his infant
son, Burhān, but Berar w. is ruled by the minister, Tafā'ul or Tufāl
Khān, who acted as regent and was in this campaign unanimously
supported by the nobles of Berar, who resented the murder of
Jahāngir Khān.
Husain and Ibrāhīm raised the siege of Kaliyāni and marched
to meet their enemies. The rainy season of 1562 was now past, but
an unseasonable storm had filled the rivers and converted the
country into a quagmire. Husain's wonderful train of 700 guns
stuck ſast in the mire, and he found it impossible to extricate more
than forty of them, with which, abandoning his intention of attacking
the enemy on that day, he returned to his camp. 'Ali's advanced
guard discovered the abandoned guns and waggons, and the arm-
ies of Bijāpur and Vijayanagar, having secured them, attacked the
camp of Ibrāhīm Qutb Shāh, who fled.
Having lost nearly all his artillery and discovered Ibrāhim to


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XVII]
MUSLIM CONFEDERACY
447
be a broken reed, Husain was constrained to retire. His camp and
that of Ibrāhīm were plundered, and their armies were much
harassed during their retreat. At Ausa Ibrāhīm took his leave, but
left the greater part of his army, under Murtazā Khān Ardistānī,
with Husain, who continued his retreat to Junnār, leaving a garrison
in Ahmadnagar, which was besieged by 'Ali and Sadāshivarāya.
The Hindus repeated, on a more extensive scale, the outrages
which they had committed during the former campaign. Mosques
were desecrated, defiled, or destroyed, the palaces of Ahmadnagar
were thrown down, and the wives and daughters of Muslims were
violated. 'Ali, who was powerless to restrain his allies, persuaded
Sadāshivarāya to raise the siege and join him in pursuing Husain,
who retired to the hills as they approached Junnār, but detached
his light troops to harass them and cut off their supplies.
The rainy season of 1563 was now approaching, and as Husain
was inaccessible in his retreat in the Western Ghāts the allies
returned to the siege of Ahmadnagar. Sadāshivarāya foolishly
permitted his army to encamp in the dry bed of the river, and
when the rains suddenly broke a flood carried away large numbers
of his army. He was already weary of the campaign, and returned
to his own country, while 'Ali retired to Naldrug and rebuilt that
fortress.
The Barīd Shāhi kings, who first committed the error of inviting
the intervention of Vijayanagar in the affairs of the Muslim king-
doms, could plead their own weakness and the neighbourhood
of comparatively powerful states whose rulers they regarded as
heretics; but the kings of Ahmadnagar and Bījāpur, who followed
their example, had no such excuse. The arrogance of Sadāshivarāya
.
had humiliated and disgusted both his allies and his enemies, the
excesses of his troops had horrified all Muslims, and he now
demanded the cession of extensive tracts of territory, from Bījāpur
as the price of his assistance to 'Ali, and from Golconda as the
penalty of Ibrāhīm’s duplicity and hostility.
It was apparent to all that unless prompt measures were taken
to curb his ambition the end of Muslim rule in the Deccan was at
hand; but nothing could be effected without co-operation, and 'Ali
was loth to approach Husain. Ibrāhīm acted as mediator and the
differences between Ahmadnagar and Bijāpur were composed by
two matrimonial alliances, Hadiyya Sultān, 'Ali's sister, being
given in marriage to Murtazā, Husain's heir, and Chānd Bībi,
Husain's daughter, to 'Ali. By this latter alliance the vexed question
of Sholāpur was temporarily laid to rest, and the fortress con-


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448
[CH.
THE FIVE KINGDOMS OF THE DECCAN
stituted the dowry of Chānd Bībi, 'the Noble Queen'. 'Ali Barid
Shāh was drawn into the alliance and overtures were made to
Berar, but the murder of Jahāngir Khān was not yet forgotten,
and Tufāl Khān would join no confederacy which included the
treacherous and ungrateful Husain.
The offensive alliance of the four kings was formed in the summer
of 1564, on December 12 they assembled at Sholāpur, and on
December 24 marched thence to Talikota, on the Khon river, near
the Krishna.
Sadāshivarāya had been fully informed of what
was going
forward, and had not been idle. He sent his brothers, Tirumala
and Venkatādri, with 32,000 horse, 300,000 foot, and 1,500 elephants,
to hold the fords of the Krishna, and encamped with the rest of
his army, which brought the strength of the Hindus up to 82,000
horse, 900,000 foot and 2,000 elephants, at a distance of ten miles
from that river.
The allies, having discovered that there was no practicable ford
for a great distance, other than that held in force by the Hindus,
marched upstream and induced the enemy to follow them, leaving
the ford unguarded. After three days' march they suddenly turned
in their tracks, and not only covered, between sunrise and sunset,
the whole distance, but sent their advanced guard across the river
by the deserted ford. During the night the rest of the army crossed,
and advanced towards Sadāshivarāya's camp. The armies were
drawn up for battle on that day, but the Hindus failed to attack,
and on the following day, January 5, 1565, the allies again drew up
their forces. Their centre was commanded by Husain, their right
by 'Ali, and their left by Ibrāhim and 'Ali Barid Shāh. The Hindu
right, 20,000 horse, 200,000 foot, and 500 elephants, was commanded
by Tirumala, their centre by Sadāshivarāya in person, with 37,000
horse, 500,000 foot and 1,000 elephants, and their left by Venka-
tādrī, with 25,000 horse, 200,000 foot, and 500 elephants. The
Muhammadan heavy field and light artillery, the arm in which they
were strongest, was in the centre, under the command of Chalabi
Rūmi Khān, the master of Husain's ordnance.
Sadāshivarāya indulged both his pride and his infirmities by
being borne to the field in a magnificent litter, and when urged to
mount a horse declared that a horse was not necessary against an
enemy so contemptible. He ordered that Husain should be slain
and beheaded, but that 'Ali and Ibrāhim should be taken alive.
The Hindu inſantry, in the first line, opened fire with rockets,
matchlocks, and light guns, and their cavalry then charged the


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XVII ]
BATTLE OF TALIKOTA
449
Muslims, and pressed them so hard that “Ali, Ibrāhīm and 'Ali
Barid turned to flee, and were only arrested by encouraging
messages from Husain, who stood his ground. The first discharge
of his artillery did great execution among the Hindus, and Sadā.
shivarāya, perceiving that victory was to be contested, left his
litter and ascended a magnificent throne, which had been erected
for him beneath a rich canopy, behind the position of his army,
and here, surrounded by piles of jewels and gold and silver money,
he caused proclamation to be made that any notable success against
the enemy would be rewarded by him on the spot.
Chalabi Rūmi Khān caused the heavier guns to be loaded, for their
second discharge, with copper coin', and this ammunition tore great
gaps in the Hindu ranks, which were now at close quarters. Husain
followed up the advantage with a general charge of his cavalry,
which rode through the shattered ranks of the enemy, and Sadā.
shivarāya, now in personal peril, quitted his throne for his litter,
and though his guards offered a determined resistance they were
thrown into confusion by the repeated charges of the Muslim horse,
supported by the elephants. One of these, driven beyond the rest,
came up with the litter, and the driver, remarking its rich and
costly adornment, but not knowing whom it contained, drove the
elephant against it and overturned it, intending to secure it as
spoil. The raja ſell to the ground, and an attendant Brāhman cried
to the driver, ‘This is Sadāshivarāya. Save his life and he will
make you the greatest man in his kingdom ! The driver at once
caused the elephant to pick the raja up in his trunk and carried
him to Rūmi Khān, who led him before Husain Nizām Shāh. He
was beheaded on the spot, and the spectacle of his head, raised on
a spear, completed the rout of the Hindus, who fled, without striking
another blow, pursued by the victors as far as Anagondi. The
number slain in the battle and the pursued was computed at
100,000, and the spoil, which included large numbers of captives
consigned to slavery, enriched the whole of the Muslim armies, for
the troops were permitted to retain the whole of the plunder except
the elephants.
The victors destroyed Vijayanagar, which they occupied for six
months, plundered the countıy, and completed the reconquest of
the Doāb where Rāichūr and Mudgal held out for some time.
Venkatādri retired to Penukonda, nearly 120 miles south of the
former capital, and established himself beyond the reach of the
1 The copper coinage of the Deccan consisted not of flat discs, but of small, thick
ļumps, most suitable for Rūmi Khān's purpose.
C. H, I, III,


## p. 450 (#498) ############################################

450
[CH.
THE FIVE KINGDOM OF THE DECCAN
as
>
victors, and Tirumala was permitted to establish himself in Anagondi
a vassal of Bījāpur. The head of the Hindu King', stuffed with
straw, was sent as a warning to Turā) Khān of Berar, who had not
only stood aloof from the confederacy, but had, at the instigation
of Sadāshivarāya, plundered Husain's kingdom as far as Ahmad-
nagar,
Talikota was one of the decisive battles of India, and broke for
ever the power of the great kingdom of Vijayanagar, which had
maintained for a century and a half an equal warfare with the
Bahmani kingdom and threatened to devour piecemeal the smaller
kingdoms into which it had been divided. The victory of the Muslims
against such overwhelming odds has the appearance of a miracle,
but the superiority of their artillery and of their troops, especially
the Foreigners helps to explain it. Their cavalry was better armed,
better mounted, and excelled in horsemanship, and the mounted
archers, of whom the Hindus seem to have had none remaining,
were probably at least twice as efficient as cavalry equal to them
in other respects but armed only with sword or lance. The main
strength of the Hindu army was its infantry, ill-armed, ill-clad, ill-
trained, and deficient in martial spirit. The capture of Sadāshivarāya
was fortuitous, but no oriental army would have stood before the
sight of its lifeless leader's head, carried before an enemy.
Husain died on June 6, 1565, shortly after his return, from the
effects of debauchery, and was succeeded by his son, Murtazā Nizām
Shāh I, a dissipated and self-indulgent young man who, for the first
six years of his reign, left the management of all public business
to his mother, Khānzāda or Khūnza Humāyān, who caused much
discontent by preferring the interests of her brothers, 'Ain-ul-Mulk-
and Tāj Khān, on whom she bestowed vast estates, to those of the
kingdom, but her power could not be broken without the aid of her
son, who was too indolent to stir himself.
In 1566 'Ali `Ādil Shāh joined Murtazā Nizām Shāh with the
object of punishing Tufāl Khăn for his treason to the cause of Islam
and his depredations in Ahmadnagar. The two kings invaded Berar
and advanced as far as Ellichpur, the capital, laying waste the
country. Tufāl Khān retired into fortress of Gāwil and opened
negotiations with ‘Ali, whose heart was not in the campaign, and who,
in consideration of fifty elephants and the equivalent of 40,000 in
1 A stone representation of the head, which still exists, was set up on the
wall of the citadel of Bījāpur and unless it is a gross libel, Sadāshivarāya had a
heavy bestial face with a thick, coarse nosc, practically no forehead, goggle eyes,
and tusks like a boar,
a


## p. 451 (#499) ############################################

xv1]
BIJĀPUR AND AHMADNAGAR AT WAR
451
cash, made the approach of the rainy season a pretext for returning
to his own country and left Murtazā in the lurch.
In 1567 'Alī, provoked by Murtazā's persistent hostility, invaded
his kingdom and captured the fortress of Kondhāna, now Sinhgarh,
and sent a force under Kishvar Khān towards Bīr. Kishvar Khăn
defeated some of Murtazā's troops at Kāij and built there the fort-
ress of Dhārür.
Ahmadnagar was ill-prepared for war. The great fiefs were in
the possession of the brothers and favourites of the queen-mother.
who failed to maintain their contingents, and the situation was so
desperate that even the Africans combined with the Foreigners to
destroy her power, and were frustrated only by the king's cowardice
and treachery. The principal conspirators, among whom was Sayyid
Murtazā Sabzavārī, an able and energetic Persian, fled to Bījāpur
and Gujarāt. A second attempt was, however, more successful than
the first, and she was arrested and imprisoned in Shivner, and her
brothers fled.
Murtazā, emancipated from his mother's control, exhibited un-
usual energy and spirit, and marched on Dhārür with such speed
that he arrived there without artillery. The suddenness of his
appearance startled the garrison, but he would undoubtedly have
been defeated had not one of his officers, Chingiz Khān, mortally
wounded with an arrow Kishvar Khān, who was standing at a
window or loophole. The death of the leader had the usual result,
and the panic-stricken garrison evacuated the fortress and fled, pur-
sued by the victors, who slaughtered many and took much booty.
Chingiz Khān was sent against 'Ain-ul-Mulk of Bījāpur, who
was marching with 10,000 horse to relieve Kishvar Khān, and de-
feated and dispersed his troops, thus enabling Murtazā to invade
the kingdom of Bījāpur. He was joined at Wākdari by Ibrāhīm
Qutb Shāh, but Bījāpur was saved by a series of intrigues. Ibrāhīm,
who was trimming as usual, sent a friendly letter to 'Ali `Adil Shāh.
‘Ali suspected his minister, Shāh Abu-'l-Hasan, a son of Shāh Tāhir,
of being in league with Murtazā, and of having instigated the inva-
sion, and Abu-l-Hasan, who was innocent, sent Murtazā Nizām
Shāh a message through Sayyid Murtazā Sabzavārī, begged him to
avert, by retiring, the danger in which his master's suspicions placed
him, and supported the request by warning him that his ally in-
tended to play him false and sending him a copy of Ibrāhīm's letter
to ‘Ali. Murtazā in his wrath made a night attack on his ally's camp,
captured his elephants, and drove him in headlong flight to Gol-
conda, whither a detachment pursued him, but after returning to
29-2


## p. 452 (#500) ############################################

452
[CH.
THE FIVE KINGDOMS OF THE DECCAN
Ahmadnagar repented of his hasty action and, fearing lest Ibrāhīm
should ally himself with 'Ali, strove to conciliate him. He discovered
that Ibrāhīm attributed the sudden and treacherous attaek on his
camp to the machinations of Mullā Husain Tabrizī, Khān Khānān,
lieutenant of the kingdom of Ahmadnagar, and, as the Mullā's recent
conduct supplied a pretext, Murtazā conciliated Ibrāhīm by dis-
missing and imprisoning him, and appointed in his stead, in 1569,
Shāh Haidar, a son of Shāh Tāhir.
In the same year 'Ali, Murtazā, and the Zamorin of Calicut
formed an alliance for the purpose of expelling the Portuguese from
India and dividing their possessions. In January, 1570, the siege
of Goa was opened by 'Ali and that of Chaul by Murtazā, each
placing in the field all his available forces. The indomitable viceroy,
Dom Luiz de Atayde, Conde de Atouguia, not only maintained him.
self in Goa, but, in spite of the pressure brought to bear on him by
his more timorous compatriots, sent aid to Chaul.
The account of the operations resembles a mediaeval romance.
At Chaul an army of 150,000 men, under the eye of their king, be-
sieged for nine months a garrison which never exceeded 3000 and
slew considerably more than its own number of the enemy, com:
pelling him to raise the siege. At Goa, besieged by an army more
numerous than that before Chaul, the heroic viceroy, with a force
which at first numbered 1600 and never exceeded 4000, withstood
the enemy for ten months and finally compelled him to retreat after
he had lost 12,000 men, 300 elephants, 4000 horses and 6000 oxen.
These victories were due no less to the skill with which the
Portuguese exploited the corruption and dissensions of their enemies
than to their valour and discipline.
At Chaul most of Murtazā's
nobles supplied the Portuguese not only with intelligence, but with
provisions, and, despite the leniency with which such treachery was
ordinarily regarded in the Deccan, even the foolish Murtazā was
constrained to banish the highly respected Inju Sayyids. At Goa
there were instances not only of information being sold to the Portu-
guese, but of a conspiracy headed by Nüri Khān, commanding the
army of Bījāpur, to assassinate 'Ali 'Ādil Shāh.
Through these mists of treachery, venality, and corruption the
valour and steadfastness of Dom Luiz the Viceroy shone undimmed.
He refused, in Goa's sorest straits, to abandon Chaul, and sent aid
not only to that port, but to the southern settlements attacked by
the Zamorin, to the Moluccas, and to Mozambique. He even re.
fused to delay the sailing to Portugal of the annual fleet of merchant-
men, whose crews would have formed a valuable addition to his


## p. 453 (#501) ############################################

XVII)
INVASION OF BERAR
453
garrison, and he carried the war into the enemy's country by a
successful attack on Dābhol, led by Dom Fernando de Vasconcellos.
'Alī, after his defeat, concluded on December 17, 1571, a new
treaty with the Portuguese, and Murtazā, after losing 3000 men
in one day before Chaul, entered into an offensive and defensive
alliance with Dom Sebastião, King of Portugal. Chingiz Khān,
the only officer who had refrained, during the siege of Chaul, from
treasonable correspondence with the Portuguese, became lieutenant
of the Ahmadnagar kingdom, which received a further accession of
strength by the return from Bījāpur of the able and energetic Sayyid
Murtazā of Sabzāvār.
'Ali `Adil Shāh consoled himself for his defeat by capturing
Adoni and annexing many other districts of the former kingdom of
Vijayanagar, and Murtazā, alarmed by the increase of his rival's
power and by an alliance which he had formed with Golconda,
assumed a menacing attitude and advanced towards his frontier.
'Ali marched to meet him, but Chingiz Khān and Shāh Abu-'l-Hasan
averted hostilities and concluded a treaty which permitted Ahmad.
nagar to
annex Berar and Bidar and Bijāpur to annex in the
Carnatic the equivalent of those two kingdoms.
In pursuance of this treaty Murtazā sent an envoy to Tufāl Khăn,
demanding that he should resign his power to Burhān 'Irād Shāh,
who was now of full age. His solicitude for the young king was
rightly estimated by Tufāl Khān, who dismissed the envoy without
an answer and prepared to resist invasion. Murtazā was already at
Pāthrī, on the frontier, when the envoy returned and reported the
failure of his mission.
Tufāl Khān first marched towards Bidar, hoping to secure the
co-operation of ‘Ali Barid Shāh, who was threatened, equally with
himself, by the recent treaty, but 'Ali Barid showed no inclination
to assist him and aſter an indecisive action with Murtazā's advanced
guard he retired rapidly on Māhūr, Murtazā, leaving a force at
Kandhār to oppose an anticipated invasion from Golconda, started
in pursuit of him and after another indecisive action he again re-
treated, and Murtazā, after masking the fortress of Māhūr, advanced
into Berar. He received an unexpected reinforcement. In No-
vember, 1572, Akbar had conquered Gujarāt and captured its king
Muzaffar III, and had subsequently been compelled to attack his
rebellious cousins, 'the Mirzās'. They were defeated, and many of
their followers ensured their safety by entering Murtazā's service.
Tufāl Khān sought an asylum with Muhammad II of Khāndesh,
but was expelled by him and shut himself up, with Burhān 'Imād


## p. 454 (#502) ############################################

4$4
[CH,
THE FIVE KINGDOMS OF THE DECCAN
Shāh, in Narnāla sending his son, Shamshir-ul-Mulk, to hold
Gāwil.
The siege of Narnāla was protracted until the end of April, 1574,
and during its course the troops of Ibrābim Qutb Shāh invaded the
kingdom of Ahmadnagar, but were defeated and expelled on May 11,
1573.
Long before Narnāla ſell the vacillating Murtazā grew weary
of the siege, and proposed to evacuate Berar and return to Ahmad-
nagar. His desire to return was shared, and perhaps prompted, by
a new favourite, a boy named Husain, who had been a hawker of
fowls in the camp and eventually received the title of Sāhib Khān
and rose to a high position in the state, but his pretext was his
longing to see his own infant son, Husain, at Ahmadnagar. Chingiz
Khān was despairing of success in combating his master's resolve
when a stratagem enabled him to bring the protracted siege to a suc-
cessful conclusion. In April, 1574, a merchant from Lahore arrived
in the camp with horses and other merchandise for Turāl Khān, and
was perinitted to enter the fortress on agreeing to take with him
Khvāja Muhammad Lārī, Murtazā's agent. The agent, who was well
supplied with money, did his work so well that many of Tufāl Khān's
officers deserted to the besiegers and the garrison lost heart. At
the same time the artillery of Ahmadnagar was more vigorously
served and a practicable breach encouraged Murtazā to order an
assault. Tufāl Khān displayed great valour, but his men had no
stomach for the fight, the besiegers entered the fortress, and he was
forced to flee. He was pursued and captured, and his son, on learning
his fate, surrendered Gāwil, and the conquest of Berar was com-
plete. Both father and, son, with Burhān 'Imād Shāh and his family,
were imprisoned in a fortress in the kingdom of Ahmadnagar, where
all died shortly afterwards, not without suspicion of violence.
‘Ali Adil Shāh had meanwhile been pursuing a career of con-
quest in the western Carnatic, and on returning to his capital in
1575, after an absence of more than three years, he left Sayyid
Mustafā Ardistāni at Chandraguni as governor of his southern
conquests, which included, besides extensive tracts administered
directly by his officers, the dominions of numerous petty rajas who
enriched his treasury by the payment of tribute. After his return
he besieged Bālkonda, where Venkatādri had established himself.
Venkatādri escaped to Chandragiri, but leſt a garrison to hold the
fortress, and when, after a siege of three months, it was on the point
of surrendering owing to the failure of its supplies, he saved the
place from falling into the hands of the Muslims by bribing 'Ali's
a


## p. 455 (#503) ############################################

XVI)
INVASION OF KHĀNDESH
455
Marāthā troops, 9000 in number, to change sides. The defection of
this large force, which immediately harassed its former comrades by
cutting off their supplies, rendered the maintenance of the siege im.
possible and 'Alī returned to Bījāpur in 1578.
Murtazā's recent conquest aroused the hostility of Ibrāhīm Qutb
Shāh and Muhammad II of Khāndesh, who regarded with appre-
hension the extension of his kingdom northward, its apparenlty
imminent extension eastward, by the absorption of Bidar, and the
immediate proximity of a neighbour so much more powerful than
themselves. A revolt in which the governor recently appointed by
Murtazā lost his life encouraged Muhammad to intervene, and he
sent an army under the command of his minister Zain-ud-din into
Berar to support the cause of a pretender, probably a genuine scion
of the 'Imād Shāhī family, who had taken refuge at his court. Zain-
ud-din besieged Narnāla, and the officers left by Murtazā in Berar
fled to his camp, now at Māhūr. He retraced his steps, and as he
approached the Tapti Muhammad withdrew from Burhānpur to
Asīr, his fortress-capital, whither the army of Ahmadnagar followed
him, and he purchased peace by the payment of an indemnity of
·1,000,000 muzaffaris of Gujarāt, of which 600,000 went into Mur-
tazā's treasury and 400,000 to Chingiz Khān.
Ibrāhim changed his policy at the same time, and with some
reason began to regard 'Ali Ādil Shāh's southern conquests as a
more real and present danger than the menace to Bīdar. Sayyid
Shāh Mirzā, his envoy, was authorized to conclude an alliance with
Murtazā and to offer a subsidy of 20,000 hūns daily for any army
invading the kingdom of Bijāpur, and an agent from Venkatādri
promised a contribution of 900,000 hūns towards the expenses of
a war on 'Alī. Sayyid Shāh Mirzā found Chingiz Khān inaccessible
to a bribe of 200,000 hūns, to be paid for a guarantee that Murtazā
should be restrained from attacking Bidar, and revenged himself
by compassing his destruction. He found a willing confederate in
Husain, the king's vile favourite, whom the minister had severely
punished for some insolence, and who warned his master that
Chingiz Khān was scheming to establish his independence in Berar,
and, when the king scouted the malicious accusation, appealed for
corroboration to Sayyid Shāh Mirzā. The envoy, by ingeniously
marshalling some specious evidence, persuaded the king of his
minister's guilt, and Murtazā caused his faithful servant to be
poisoned. He died in 1575, leaving a letter protesting his innocence
and commending to his ungrateful master the foreigners in his ser-
vice. His innocence was established after his death, and his master,


## p. 456 (#504) ############################################

456
( ch.
THE FIVE KINGDOMS OF THE DECCAN
overcome with grief and shame, expelled the envoy from his court
and withdrew from affairs, on the ground that God had withheld
from him the faculty of discriminating between truth and false-
hood, and of executing righteous judgment, but his infatuation
for the worthless Husain remained unchanged. The administration
of the kingdom fell into the hands of Salābat Khān the Circassian
and Sayyid Murtazā of Sabzavār.
Another pretender, styling himself Firūz 'Imad Shāh, arose in
Berar, but was captured and put to death by Sayyid Murtazā, who
was appointed to the government of the province. The Deccan
was, however, almost immediately disturbed by Akbar's move.
ments, which appeared to menace it. He left Āgra in 1576 on his
annual pilgrimage to Ajmer, and in February, 1577, sent a force
into Khāndesh to punish Raja ‘Ali Khān, who, having succeeded
his brother, Muhammad II, had withheld payment of tribute.
Murtazā took the field and Berar was placed in a state of defence,
one of the officers employed there being Akbar's rebellious kinsman,
Muzaffar Husain Mirzā, but Raja 'Ali Khān paid the tribute, the
imperial troops were withdrawn, and the danger passed. The rest- .
less and turbulent Muzaffar Husain Mirzā turned against those
who had befriended him and attempted to make himself master of
Berar, but Sayyid Murtazā defeated him at Anjangāon and he fled
into Khāndesh, where Raja 'Ali Khān seized him and surrendered
him to Akbar.
The favourite Husain, who received the title of Sāhib Khān,
became involved in a bitter quarrel with Husain Khān Turshizi,
one of the Foreign nobles in Berar, and shortly afterwards aroused
the wrath of the whole of the Foreign party by his treatment of
Mir Mahdi, a Sayyid of the family to which the Shāhs of Persia
belonged. After an unsuccessful attempt to abduct his daughter
he attacked and captured his house and slew him. Dreading the
vengeance of the Foreigners, he persuaded the king that they were
conspiring to depose him, and to raise to the throne his son Husain,
and many of the party, perceiving that they were suspected, left
Ahmadnagar and retired to Golconda or Bījāpur, or to Berar, where
they entered the service of Sayyid Murtazā Sabzavārī. A massacre
of those who remained took place at Ahmadnagar, and the favourite
endeavoured to persuade the king to order a general massacre
throughout the kingdom, and especially in Berar, the Foreigners'
stronghold, but even Murtazā was able to understand that such a
measure was beyond his power, and that if it were possible it would
1 In 21° 9' N. and 77° 21' E.


## p. 457 (#505) ############################################

XVII ]
REBELLION OF BURHAN
457
destroy the military strength of his kingdom, and Sāhib Khān,
resenting his master's refusal to comply with his wishes, fled by
night, with 3000 horse, towards Parenda. He was pursued and
overtaken, but the infatuated king refused to punish him, and he
sulked, and would not be reconciled until his master promised to
capture Bidar and appoint him to its government, and to cause
Sayyid Murtazā and the Foreigners of Berar to be massacred when
they joined the royal army.
Murtazā, by some means, persuaded Ibrāhim Qutb Shah to aid
him in his design against Bidar, and to send a contingent to join
the small army of 20,000 horse destined for the enterprise, but Ali
Barid Shäh succeeded in obtaining, on humiliating conditions, the
assistance of ‘Ali Ādil Shāh. He was the owner of two handsome
eunuchs, the possession of whom 'Ali `Ādil Shāh had long coveted
in vain, but their surrender was now made a condition of assistance,
and he was obliged to comply. The assistance given by 'Ali to
Bidar was a violation of the treaty between Bījāpur and Ahmad.
nagar, but Murtazā was compelled to raise the siege and endeavour-
ed in vain to allay his favourite's resentment of the failure to fulfil
the promise made to him. Sāhib Khān left the royal army during
its retreat and retired to his fief, plundering and slaying his master's
subjects on his way. He issued decrees in the regal manner, but
Murtazā, in his infatuation, would take no steps against him, and
mourned, in seclusion, his estrangement, until it began to be
rumoured that the king was dead.
Burhān-ud-din, Murtazā's brother, had been confined in the
fortress of Lohogarh, where he had married the daughter of his
gaoler, Jūjār Khān, who released him and led him towards Ahmad-
nagar, with a view to placing him on the throne. The capital
became the goal of a race, which was won by the king, who, on his
arrival, mounted an elephant and rode through the streets to con-
vince his subjects that he still lived, but his brother was no more
than three leagues distant when he entered the city, and on June 7,
1579, he marched out and defeated him, and Burhān fled to
Bījāpur.
Murtazā would not take the field against his rebellious favourite,
but ordered Sayyid Murtazā of Subzavār to take him alive or expel
him from the kingdom. The foreign officers joyfully accepted the
task and, having induced Sāhib Khān to receive them stabbed him
to death and reported to the king that he had attacked them and
had been slain in the combat that ensued. Murtazā mourned his
favourite, while his subjects rejoiced at his death,


## p. 458 (#506) ############################################

458 THE FIVE KINGDOMS OF THE DECCAN (ch.
Ali Ādil Shāh was engaged, after the failure of his attempt to
capture Bālkonda, in hostilities with the Marāthā officers who had
played him false, and were now settled in the neighbourhood of
Vijayanagar. Military operations against them were unsuccessful,
and the king, not without difficulty, persuaded them to visit him at
Bījāpur, where he blinded one of their leaders and put the rest to
death with torture.
In November, 1579, 'Ali `Ādil Shāh, who was childless, made
Ibrāhim, the son of his brother Tahmāsp, his heir, and on April 9,
1580, met his death. The two eunuchs from Bidar ſelt their dis-
honour deeply, and the unfortunate creature first selected for
presentation resented, with a spirit which demands respect, the
proposals made to him, and, drawing a dagger which he had con-
cealed about his person, inflicted on the king a mortal wound. He
and his fellow were, of course, murdered, and the monster who had
so richly deserved his fate is bewailed by Muslim historians as a
martyr.
'Ali Barid Shāh died in 1579, immediately after the raising of
the siege of Bidar, and was succeeded by his son, Ibrāhim Barīd
Shāh.
Ibrāhīm "Ādil Shāh II was but nine years of age when he
succeeded to the throne, and his education became the charge of
Chānd Bībi, the widow of 'Ali I and sister of Murtazā Nizam Shāh,
but the regency was assumed by Kāmil Khăn the Deccani, who
slighted her and treated her with disrespect. Chānd Bībi, a high-
spirited woman had recourse to another Deccani, Hāji Kishvar
Khān, son of that Kamal Khān who had perished in Ismāʻil's reign.
Kishvar Khān compelled Kāmil Khān to flee from the citadel, and
in attempting to make his escape from Bijāpur he was intercepted
and beheaded.
Bījāpur's troubles were Ahmadnagar's opportunity, and Salābat
Khān sent an army to besiege Naldrug and induced Ibrāhīm Qutb
Shāh to supply a contingent of 8000 horse, but committed a serious
error in giving the command of the expedition to Bihzād-ul-Mulk,
an inexperienced countryman of his own, to whom the veteran,
Sayyid Murtazā, commanding the army of Berar, found himself
subordinate. The interests of his king were of course, sacrificed to
his private resentment, and he not only connived at the discomfiture
of the army of Ahmadnagar, but cherished ever after the bitterest
animosity against Salābat Khān.
Hāji Kishvar Khān sent from Bijāpur a force which intercepted
and put to flight the contingent coming from Golconda and 'Ain-ul-


## p. 459 (#507) ############################################

XVII)
TROUBLES IN BIJAPUR
459
con-
Mulk Kan'āni, commanding the army sent to Naldrug, fell on the
enemy near Dhārāseol just before dawn, when Bihzād-ul-Mulk
-
was still drinking. He and his boon companions displayed personal
courage,
but the army was routed and fled towards the camp of
Sayyid Murtazā, who rejoiced in his rival's discomfiture and ordered
a retreat.
The success bred strife among the victors. Kishvar Khān
demanded the 150 elephants taken, and the officers in the field
resolved to compel him to relinquish the regency, but the Foreigners
and the Africans quarrelled over the reversion of the post, the
former demanding the reinstatement of Sayyid Mustafā Ardistāni
and the latter the appointment of one of their own number. They
parted in anger, 'Ain-ul-Mulk and the Foreigners returning to their
fiefs and the Africans marching to Bijāpur.
Kishvar Khān removed Sayyid Mustafā by assassination and
rendered himself odious to all parties in the state; and Salābat
Khān again sent an army from Ahmadnagar to besiege Naldrug,
but entrusted the command on this occasion to Sayyid Murtazā
Sabzavārī, to whose assistance Muhammad Quli Qutb Shāh, who
had succeeded his father in Golconda on June 6, 1580, led a
tingent of 20,000 horse.
No relief could be sent to Naldrug, but the fortress was strong
and its garrison faithful, and the besiegers suffered heavy losses.
The officer in command resisted all attempts to sap his fidelity and
rejected with scorn offers of wealth and high rank at Ahmadnagar.
Matters were going from bad to worse at Bijāpur.
None re-
sented more than Chānd Bībi the murder of the faithful Sayyid,
and Kishvar Khān attempted to carry things with a high hand,
and deported her to the fortress of Satāra, but his unpopularity
increased daily, and curses and abuse followed him as he rode
through the streets. The African nobles, Ikhlās Khān, Dilāvar
Khān, and Hamid Khān assumed a menacing attitude and he leſt
the city with the young king on the pretext of a hunting tour, but
permitted him to return to the city and fled to Ahmadnagar,
whence, being ill-received there, he continued his flight to Gol.
conda, where he was slain by a native of Ardistān in revenge for
his murder of Sayyid Mustafa.
Ikhlās Khān assumed the regency, but Chānd Bibi returned
from Satāra, dismissed him, and appointed Afzal Khān Shīrāzī in
his place. The Africans were, however, too strong for her, slew
Afzal Khān, and expelled the leading Foreigners from the city.
1 Now Osmanābād, in 18° 11' N. and 76° 3' E.


## p. 460 (#508) ############################################

460
(CH.
THE FIVE KINGDOMS OF THE DECCAN
Ikhlās Khān summoned 'Ain-ul-Mulk from his fief with the object
of imprisoning or removing him, but he brought his whole con-
tingent to the capital, seized the African nobles when they came
out to meet him, and led them as prisoners through the streets, but
was stricken with sudden panic by a rumour that the royal guards
were about to rise on their behalf, and fled with his troops to
Belgaum, leaving his prisoners, who were released and restored to
power.
These disorders encouraged the army besieging Naldrug to
advance on Bijāpur, and when it appeared before the walls no
more than two or three thousand troops could be assembled for
the defence of the city, but within a few days the Foreign nobles
arrived from their fiefs with 600,000 men. Even in this extremity
they would not make common cause with the Africans, but remained
without the city, while "Ain-ul-Mulk Kan'āni and Ankas Khân
joined Sayyid Murtazā Sabzavāri. This was not treachery accord-
ing to the code of the Deccan, but merely a justifiable precaution
on the part of the leaders to ensure the ascendency of their party.
Their apparent defection convinced the people that the Africans
could not save the city, and the Africans furnished the only
example of self-denying patriotism to be found in the history of
this strife of factions by tendering their resignation to Chānd Bībi.
The Foreigners of Bijāpur had, for the moment, gained their end.
Marāthā and Canarese troops, skilled in the guerrilla warfare of the
Deccan, were summoned to the aid of the beleaguered city, and
‘Ain-ul-Mulk easily persuaded the Foreigners of Ahmadnagar and
Golconda to retire before their armies were starved. The army
of
Golconda, which occupied Gulbarga during its retreat, was pursued
and defeated, but that of Ahmadnagar retired unmolested.
The retirement of the enemy revived the striſe of factions.
Ikhlās Khān attacked Dilāvar Khān, the leader of the moderate
party among the Africans, in the citadel, but was deserted by all
his officers and captured and blinded by his rival, who became
supreme in the state. Shāh Abu-'l-Hasan was blinded and shortly
afterwards put to death, and the Shiah religion was suppressed and
persecuted.
Dilāvar Khān remained in power from 1582 to 1590, and though
he established the Sunni religion in Bījāpur he sought peace with
the Shiah kingdoms, and endeavoured to secure it by means of
matrimonial alliances. Ibrāhim II married a princess of Golconda,
and his sister Khadīja was given in marriage to Husain, son and
heir of Murtazā Nizām Shāh, but this alliance bred nothing but


## p. 461 (#509) ############################################

XVII]
RETURN OF BURHĀN
461
strife, and the princess of Bījāpur was neglected until her brother,
by invading Ahmadnagar and besieging the fortress of Ausa, com-
pelied Murtazā to celebrate her marriage with Husain.
Murtazā, whose behaviour had always given indications of
insanity, entirely lost his reason. He attempted the life of his son
Husain by setting fire to his bedclothes, but the prince escaped,
and shortly afterwards, on June 14, 1588, put his father to death
by suffocating him in a heated bath. Ibrāhim II, who was still before
Ausa, upbraided the parricide, but retired to his own dominions in
accordance with the treaty which he had made with Murtazā.
Husain II was a dissolute and bloodthirsty youth who had in-
herited his father's malady, and his deeds of violence and dark
threats so alarmed his nobles that they deposed, imprisoned, and
finally murdered him, and on April 1, 1589, raised to the throne
his cousin Ismāʻil, the younger son of Burhān-ud-din, who had fled
from the wrath of his brother Murtazā and was now in the service
of the emperor Akbar.
During the short reign of Ismā'īl all power in Ahmadnagar was
in the hands of Jamāl Khān, a native Muslim who was followed
by the Deccani party. He belonged to a sect which then, in the
closing years of the tenth century of the era of the Hijra, had
some vogue. These heretics were the Mahdavis, who confidently
expected the manifestation, in the year 1000 of the Islamic era, of
the Mahdī, the twelfth Imām, who was to establish Islam through-
out the world. Jamnāl Khān disestablished the state religion and
persecuted both orthodox Sunnis and heterodox Shiahs.
Ibrāhīm II, moved by these innovations, and by the desire of
liberating his widowed sister, to intervene in Ahmadnagar, sent
Dilāvar Khān to invade that kingdom, and Jamāl Khān purchased
peace by the surrender of Khadīja and the payment of 70,000 hūns.
The advancement of Ismāʻīl to the throne aroused his father,
Burhān, to the assertion of his rights, and he sought and obtained
Akbar's permission to make an attempt to gain his throne. Akbar
indeed pressed upon him, to serve his own ends, the co-operation of
an imperial army, but Burhān wisely declined assistance which
would render him odious in the eyes of his subjects and of the
other kings in the Deccan and would involve him in humiliating
obligations. He believed that his subjects longed for his return,
and that he had only to appear in order to be acclaimed, but a
premature invasion of Berar with an insufficient force ended in his
defeat and his flight into Khāndesh. Here Raja 'Ali Khān assembled
his army to assist him, and secured the co-operation of Ibrāhīm II,


## p. 462 (#510) ############################################

462
(CH.
THE FIVE KINGDOMS OF THE DECCAN
who sent an army under Dilāvar Khān to invade Ahmadnagar from
the south. Jamāl Khān first faced this danger and, having inflicted
a crushing defeat on Dilāvar Khān at Dhārāseo, turned northward
to meet Raja 'Ali Khān and Burhān, who had invaded the kingdom
from the north.
The armies met on May 7, 1591, at Rohankhed", and Jamāl
Khān, who had exhausted his troops by a long forced march
through the burning heat, was defeated and slain. The young
Ismā'il was captured, and Burhān marched on to Ahmadnagar and
took possession of his kingdom under the title of Burhān Nizām
Shāh II. He re-established the Shiah religion and recalled the
Foreigners, who had been ruthlessly expelled.
Dilāvar Khān's defeat had led to his downfall, and he fled from
Bījāpur and entered the service of Burhān II. Ibrāhīm II protested
against his employment by Burhān and demanded the restitution of
300 elephants taken at Dhārāseo. Burhan's reply was a declaration
of war, and on March 15, 1592, he invaded the kingdom of Bījāpur
and restored the old Hindu fort to the south of the Bhima. A force
of Marāthā cavalry sent against him cut off his supplies and com-
pelled him to retire towards his own frontier to revictual his troops,
and the army of Bījāpur followed him and inflicted a severe defeat
on him. Muhammad Quli Shāh and Raja 'Ali Khān exerted them.
selves to restore peace, and Ibrāhīm accepted their conditions,
which obliged Burhān to superintend in person the demolition of
his works at Mangalvedha.
Burhãn in spite of his brother's treaty with the Portuguese,
assembled, in April, 1592, an army which attacked the weakly
garrisoned fortress of Chaul. The Portuguese were hard pressed,
but defended themselves with great vigour until reinforcements
arrived from their other settlements on the coast, when they
assumed the offensive and carried, with a loss of only twenty-nine
men, a fortress held by the Muslims on the opposite bank of the
creek, slaying ten or twelve thousand of Burhān's army. Farhād
Khān, who commanded the Muslims, was captured, with his wife
and daughter. His wife was ransomed, but he and his daughter
were converted to Christianity and went to Portugal.
This disastrous defeat was attributed in great measure to the
treachery of the officers, who, having learned that Burhān was
engaged in intrigues with their wives and daughters at Ahmad-
nagar, betrayed their trust. They belonged to the Deccani faction
and their master rejoiced in their defeat.
1 In 20° 37' N. and 76° 11 E,


## p. 463 (#511) ############################################

XVII
CIVIL WAR IN AHMADNAGAR
463
In 1594 Ismā'il, the elder brother of Ibrāhīm II, rose in rebellion,
and Burhān, who had assembled an army of Foreigners to attack
the Portuguese, marched to his aid, but Ismāʻīl was defeated and
slain before Burhān had advanced beyond Parenda, and the army
of Bījāpur, freed from its preoccupation with the rebel, attacked
him and once more defeated him. He was in weak health, and this
fresh disaster threw him into a state of nervous irritability. He
designated as his heir his elder son, Ibrāhīm. whose mother had
been an African, on which account his younger brother, Ismā'il,
had been preferred to him. Ismā'il was still attached to the Mahdavi
faith and the Deccani faction, and when his father put him to death
for these offences the Deccanis with the army in the field suspected
the Foreigners of complicity in the crime, and began to devise a
fresh massacre of their opponents, but the Foreigners left the army
and joined the king, who had already reached Ahmadnagar. Ikhlās
Khān led the Deccanis back to the capital with the object of de-
throning Burhān, but the king attacked him and drove him back
to Parenda. The exertion and the heat were too much for a frame
enfeebled by excess, disease, and mental anxiety, and on April 28,
1595, Burhān died.
Miyān Manjhū the Deccani, who became minister on the acces-
sion of Ibrāhīm Nizām Shāh, granted an amnesty to Ikhlās Khān
and his faction, and Ikhlās Khān returned to the city and, although
he was a member of the Deccani party and was under an obligation
to the minister, arrayed himself against him. He persuaded the
dissolute young king to declare war on Bījāpur, and, despite Miyān
Manjhū's efforts to avoid actual hostilities, the armies met and
Ibrāhīm was slain. His death was the signal for anarchy in the
kingdom. Chārd Bibi, who had returned to the home of her youth,
stood forth as the champion of order and supported Ibrāhīm's
infant son, Bahādur, but Ikhlās Khān produced a man named
Ahmad, whom he put forward as the son of the sixth son of
Burhān Nizām Shāh I, Khudābanda, who had taken refuge in
Bengal, and on August 16, 1595, proclaimed him king under the
title of Ahmad Nizām Shāh II. Inquiries proved him to be an
impostor, but he was supported by Miyān Manjhū, and civil war
broke out.
The Africans and Deccanis who supported Ahmad soon quar-
relled, and the former proclaimed as king, under the title of Moti
Shāh, a child of unknown origin, and Miyān Manjhū appealed for
help to Sultān Murād, Akbar's second son, who was now governor
of Gujarāt.


## p. 464 (#512) ############################################

464
(CH.
THE FIVE KINGDOMS OF THE DECCAN
?
Akbar, resenting the refusal of Burhān II to swear fealty to him,
had already decided to attack the kingdom of Ahmadnagar, and
the Khăn Khānān in Mālwa as well as the prince in Gujarāt had
been preparing for a campaign in the Deccan, and on receiving
Miyān Manjhū's appeal both set their armies in motion.
Fighting continued at Ahmadnagar and Miyān Manjhū, having
gained a success over the Africans, repented too late of his appeal
to the prince, who, with the Khān Khānān, arrived before the city
on December 26.
There were now four parties in the kingdom. (1) Miyān Manjhū
and the Deccanis, acknowledging the pretender Ahmad II, were on
Bījāpur frontier, seeking help from Ibrāhīm Il; (2) Āhang
Khān' and Habashi Khān, the Africans, acknowledging the third
son of Burhān Nizām Shāh I, the old prince 'Alī, whom they had
summoned from Bījāpur, were also on the southern frontier, with
the same object ; (3) Ikhlās Khān, at the head of another African
faction, acknowledging the child Moti Shāh, was in the neighbour-
hood of Daulatābād ; and (4) Chānd Bibi with the infant king
Bahādur was in Ahmadnagar. All sent envoys to Ibrāhīm II who,
perturbed by a peril which menaced the whole of the Deccan,
begged them to sink their differences and to present a united front
to the invader, and assembled, under the command of the eunuch,
Suhail Khān, an army of 25,000 horse, besides a contingent of 6000
horse contributed by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shāh.
Raja 'Ali Khān of Khāndesh had been obliged to join the
imperial army, but his sympathies lay with the kingdoms of the
Deccan, and his secret messages to the defenders of Ahmadnagar
encouraged them in their resistance.
For this reason, and also owing to the jealousy and the disputes
of Sultān Murād and the Khān Khānān, the siege progressed but
slowly. Ikhlās Khān marched from Daulatābād with 10,000 horse
to relieve the city, but was defeated at Paithan, on the Godāvari.
Āhang Khān then marched from the southern frontier with 7,000
horse, accompanied by Prince 'Ali and his son, Prince Murtazā,
but was so stoutly opposed by the Khān Khānān's troops that he
and the younger prince led no more than 400 horsemen into the
city, after cutting their way through the enemy. The rest of his
force, with the aged Prince 'Ali, fled back to the frontier.
Sultān Murād was much perturbed by the menace of the armies
of Bījāpur and Golconda, which had reached Naldrug, and en-
deavoured to hasten the fall of the city by mining the defences,
1 Also described as Abhang Khān.


## p. 465 (#513) ############################################

XVII)
CESSION OF BERAR
465
but treachery was at work, and secret information enabled the
defenders to remove the charges by countermining, and render the
mines harmless. One, however, remained intact and this, when
exploded, killed many of the garrison and destroyed fifty yards of
the curtain between two bastions, but the breach was so gallantly
defended by Chānd Bībi in person that the assailants were repulsed
and night permitted the defenders to repair the damage.
When Suhail Khān, responding to the urgent appeals of Chānd
Bibi and encouraged by a treacherous message from the Khān
Khānān, whose chief concern was to deprive the prince of the
credit of capturing the city, was within thirty miles Sultān Murad
sent an envoy to Chānd Bībi, offering to raise the siege in return
for the cession of Berar. The garrison was suffering from famine,
but it was with difficulty that the noble queen could be induced
to save the capital by the surrender of the province. After some
hesitation, she consented, and early in April the imperial army
withdrew to take possession of its new conquest.
On the retirement of the besiegers Bahādur Shāh was proclaimed
king Miyān Manjhū attempted to renew the civil war, but was
summoned, with Ahmad II, to Bījāpur by Ibrāhim, who took them
both into the service.
The arrogance and oppressive behaviour of the new minister,
Muhammad Khān, so alienated the nobles and enfeebled the state
that Chānd Bībi was obliged to appeal for assistance to Ibrāhim II,
who sent a force under Suhail Khān, instructing him to place him-
self entirely at her disposal. Muhammad Khān, after being besieged
for four months in Ahmadnagar, sent a message to the Khān Khānān,
begging him to come to his aid, but the garrison on discovering
this act of treason, arrested him and delivered him to Chand Bibi,
who appointed Ahang Khān lieutenant of the kingdom in his place.
War soon broke out again between the empire and Ahmadnagar.
There were complaints on both sides. Gāwil and Narnāla, the great
fortresses of Berar, were still held by officers of Ahmadnagar. On
the other hand the imperial troops had occupied the Pāthri district,
which, they plausibly contended, was part of Berar.
Āhang Khān again appealed to Bījāpur, and Suhail Khān was
sent to his aid, but the armies of Bījāpur and Golconda were
utterly routed by the Khān Khānān in the neighbourhood of Sonpet,
on the Godāvarī, after a battle lasting for two days, on February 9,
1597.
Ahang Khăn quarrelled with Chānd Bībi and besieged her in
the ſort of Ahmadnagar. The disputes between Murād and the
30
C. H. I. III.