MUSLIM RESISTANCE TO MUGHUL IMPERIALISM (II) part 2

MUSLIM RESISTANCE TO MUGHUL IMPERIALISM (I)  here

MUSLIM RESISTANCE TO MUGHUL  IMPERIALISM (II) part 2  here

In the meantime, another force had been despatched against Burhanpur, the Mughul commander of which, unable to resist, re¬ tired into the fort which was besieged. 

When ‘Ambar was thus in a favourable position, Shah Jahan, driven from the north, again came to the Deccan and an alliance was formed between them. According to the arrangement, the Prince co-operated with the Nizam Shahl force in pressing the siege of Burhanpur. Despite three successive efforts the fort could not be taken, and with the approach of Prince Parviz and Mahabat Khan, who had been chasing the rebel prince, the siege was abandoned. Later on, the rebellion of Mahabat Khan and the close attention of the Mughuls to subdue him, afforded a suitable opportunity to ‘Ambar to drive away the Mughuls from the Deccan, but his death in May, 1626, put an end to this checkered career. Before his death he had the satisfaction of seeing that he left intact the independence of the Ahmadnagar kingdom. 

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Malik ‘Ambar was one of the greatest personalities that Islam produced in the Deccan and his wonderful abilities drew admiration even from his enemies, the Mughuls. From obscurity he rose to a position of the highest distinction, re-established and rejuvenated a fallen kingdom in the teeth of opposition of the Mughuls at the height of their power, gave it a well-organized government and con¬ solidated it as far as practicable. He was a man of undaunted hero¬ ism, indefatigable energy and uncommon perseverance. He was a general of rare genius who remodelled the militia on a sound basis, best suited to the hilly regions of his adopted country. The guerilla tactics, so well organized by him with the Maratha bands, highly strengthened his position, and at times, the Mughuls showed their bankruptcy in dealing with him. 

Great as he was as a general, he was no less famous as; a politi¬ cian. His actions were always characterized by due caution and foresight. He showed his skill not only in the revival of the fallen kingdom but also in the formation of a powerful anti-Mughul coali¬ tion with the neighbouring States of Bijapur and Golconda and it was only at the fag end of his career that a rift occurred with Ibra¬ him II “which threw the latter into their common enemy’s arms.” 

He was also undoubtedly one of the greatest statesmen in the Deccan. By removing lawlessness and other disintegrating forces he established a strong but benign government, based on sympathy and goodwill of the people, both Hindus and Muslims. He was tole¬ rant to the Hindus, and no historian has stigmatized him for the demolition of any temple or other place of worship. The Hindus and the Muslims were equally eligible for government service and many Marathas like Shahji, the father of Shivaji, Sharifjl and Vithal raj occupied high rank in the Nizam Shahi government. 

His wise revenue system is another instance of his farsighted¬ ness and constructive genius. Although new in the Deccan, it was based primarily on what Raja Todarmal had introduced in northern India and some parts of Gujarat and Khandesh. ‘Ambar’s objects “were threefold: first, the good of the peasantry, secondly, encourage¬ ment and promotion of agriculture, and thirdly, enhancement of the Government revenue.”63 

Lands were classified as good or bad according to their fertility and he took great pains and a number of years to ascertain the average yield of lands. He abolished revenue farming and relieved the peasantry from oppression of the land farmers. At first, reve¬ nue was fixed as two-fifths of the actual produce in kind, but later on, the cultivators were allowed to pay in cash “representing about one-third of the yield.” Although an average rent was fixed for each plot of land, actual collections depended on the condition of crops, and they varied from year to year.64 Such kind and sympa¬ thetic consideration on the part of the government gave satisfaction to the peasants, and encouraged cultivation of waste land.65 This not only enhanced production but also augmented government re¬ venue. 

Malik ‘Ambar was the last prop of the Ahmadnagar kingdom and his death was the beginning of its end. His eldest son, Fath Khan, was unscrupulous and incapable of holding the position of his father. Dissatisfied with his king, Murtaza II, he opened nego¬ tiations with the Mughuls, and at their suggestion, put him to death, and raised his son, Husain, a boy of ten, to the throne, with the title of Husain Nizam Shah III. 

Husain Nizam Shah III (1630-1633) 

Fath Khian was not sincere to the Mughuls and did not act up to his promise. So, Shah Jahan, who was then the Mughul Emperor, took steps to punish him, and along with the boy king, he had to take shelter in the fortress of Daulatabad. Unable to resist for long, he was compelled to submit before the superior arms of the Mughuls (1631). But he again broke his pledge to them and they then pro¬ ceeded against him and besieged Daulatabad. After a blockade of about four months they succeeded in capturing it (1633). The young king Husain was sent as a State prisoner to the fort of Gwa  lior for the rest of his life and Fath Khan taken into the Mughul service.653 

Thus came to an end the kingdom of Ahmadnagar, and although an attempt was afterwards made by ShahjI with the assistance of Bijapur to revive it by setting up a scion of the Nizam Shah! dynasty, it proved abortive (1636). 

III. THE ‘ADIL-SHAH1 DYNASTY OF BIJAPUR Yiisuf ‘Adil Khan (1490-1510) 

The founder of this dynasty was Yusuf ‘Adil Khan, the Bah manl governor of Bijapur, who assumed independence in 1490. In his early life he was a Georgian slave and sold to Mahmud Gavan at Bidar, but according to Firishta, he originally belonged to a royal family, being the son of Sultan Murad II of Turkey, who died in 1451 and was succeeded by his eldest son Muhammad. On his ac¬ cession, the latter gave orders for the execution of his brothers, in¬ cluding Yusuf, who was saved by the extraordinary skill of his mother. She managed to substitute a slave boy for execution and sent her own son to Persia with the help of a Persian merchant. He was secretly brought up in Persia, and when he was seventeen years of age, he came to India and was sold as a Georgian slave to the BahmanI minister Mahmud Gavan. From Firishta’s writings it appears that he was satisfied as to the truth of the story.66 

By dint of his abilities as well as patronage of his new master, Yusuf rose from one position to another till he became a person of prominence in the BahmanI kingdom. Finally, he occupied the high position of the provincial governor of Bijapur, and taking advantage of the weakness of the BahmanI Sultan, he assumed a position of independence, in reality, though not in name. 

The city of Bijapur was made the seat of his government. He had a formidable enemy in Qasim Barld, the powerful minister and de facto ruler of the BahmanI kingdom, who was extremely jealous of his growing power. Qasim Barld formed an alliance with Na rasa Nayaka, the Regent of Vijayanagara, and Bahadur GllanI, the ruler of Konkan, and they invaded Bijapur. Narasa Nayaka at¬ tacked the Krishna-Tungabhadra doab and captured both the fort¬ resses of Raichur and Mudgal. Unable to repel all the attacks of his enemies at a time, Yusuf made peace with Vijayanagara by the ces¬ sion of the above two forts and then drove away Bahadur GllanI. Next, he marched against Qasim Barld who, in the meantime, had joined with Malik Ahmad Nizam-ul-Mulk and Khvaja Jahan of Parenda. He met them in the vicinity of Naldurg where Qasim Barid was defeated, and after this, a treaty was made between Yusuf and Malik Ahmad. 

As soon as he got rid of his enemies, Yusuf directed his atten¬ tion to recover Raichur and Mudgal, and Narasa Nayaka marched to oppose him. In the battle which ensued, ‘Adil Khan was severe¬ ly defeated and, driven to a precarious condition, he took recourse to a stratagem, inviting Narasa Nlayaka and his young king Saluva Timma, with the nobles and officers for a peace conference and kil¬ ling most of them by a treacherous attack; the king and the regent anyhow escaped death. After this, Yusuf recovered both Raichur and Mudgal.663 

In response to a request for assistance by Mahmud Shah, the Bahmanl Sultan, in his campaign against Bahadur GllanI, ‘Adil Khan despatched a contingent of five thousand cavalry to him. This helped his own cause as well, as it was with the assistance of the Bahmanl Sultan and his minister Qasim Band that he got back the fortress of Jamkhandi which Bahadur had occupied. 

In 1504, ‘Adil Khan succeeded in gaining possession of the pro¬ vince of Gulbarga, then held by Dastur Dinar, an Abyssinian, who was defeated and killed. This acquisition enlarged his territory on the east. 

Due to his long stay in Persia in his early life, Yusuf was deeply attached to the Shiah faith and cherished the idea of esta¬ blishing it in his dominion, but so long he could not put his ideas into action, as he was preoccupied with manifold difficulties. Now that he felt secure and strong enough to carry out his contemplated project, he made this creed the State religion, but perfect tolera¬ tion was allowed to his Sunni subjects. This innovation created enmity not only at home but also abroad, and a formidable con¬ federacy was formed against him by some of his Muslim neighbours, viz., Malik Ahmad, the ruler of Ahmadnagar, and Mahmud Shah, the nominal Bahmanl Sultan, under instruction of his minister Amir Barid; and, on their request, Sultan Qull Qutb-ul-Mulk, the gover¬ nor of Telingana, too, joined them. Unable to cope with them Yusuf fled to Berar, and, on the advice of Ala-ud-dln ‘Imad-ul-Mulk, gave orders for the restoration of the Sunni faith and withdrew to Burhanpur. ‘Imad-ul-Mulk pointed out to Malik Ahmad and Qull Qutb-ul-Mulk that Amir Barid had been on the look out for the annihilation of ‘Adil Khan for his own selfish motive and not for religion, and as ‘Adil Khan had already restored the Sunni creed, there was no valid ground for continuing the war against him. Con¬ vinced of these arguments they left the confederacy, and ‘Adil Khan  with the assistance of ‘Imad-ul-Mulk, defeated Mahmud Shah and Amir Barld who fled to Bidar. Thereupon Yusuf returned in triumph to Bijapur, and “being no longer apprehensive of his enemies, he re¬ newed the public exercise of the Shiah religion/’67 

Goa, which was within the territory of Bijapur, was a very im¬ portant port on the Malabar coast. It “was more favourably situated than Calicut or Cochin as far as the trade of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf was concerned, and it was for this reason that Albu¬ querque, the governor of the Portuguese possessions in the East, desired to possess it.”68 He made a surprise attack on it and occu¬ pied it without any difficulty (1510), but it did not remain long in his possession, as it was shortly recovered by ‘Adil Khan.69 

‘Adil Khan died in October, 1510, and was buried at Gogi, to the east of Bijapur city. Firishta praised him highly for his good qualities. He was handsome, brave, a skilled musician, “eminent for his learning, his liberality”, and “intimately acquainted with human nature.” 

“Although he mingled pleasure with business, yet he never allowed the former to interfere with the latter. He always warned his ministers to act with justice and integrity, and in his own per¬ son showed them an example of attention to these virtues. He in¬ vited to his court many learned men and valiant officers from Persia, Turkistan, and Room, also several eminent artists, who lived happily under the shadow of bounty/"70 

Isma‘il Adil Khan (1510-1534) 

During the minority of Isma‘Il, Kamal Khan, an experienced officer whom Yusuf had appointed regent before his death, carried on the affairs of the government. He established the Sunni faith as the State religion. 

Albuquerque was on the look out for an opportunity to recover Goa, and in November, 1510, when most of its army was away in Bijapur to attend a State ceremony, he made a surprise attack on it and re-occupied it. Goa was thus lost for ever to Bijapur. 

Concentration of too much power in the hands of Kamal Khan made him highly ambitious. He entered into a conspiracy with Amir Band and made an attempt to oust Isma‘Il and seize the reins of government in his own hands. But it proved futile and he was assassinated. 

Amir Band was bent on curbing the power of Bijapur. Jahan¬ gir Khan, the adopted son of Dastur Dinar, was given all possible  assistance to recover Gulbarga which his father had once held and which Kamal Khan had also secretly promised to cede to Amir Band. It was recovered and Jahangir was placed in charge of it as a provincial governor. But Bijapur retook it, whereupon, Amir Barld, in the name of the BahmanI Sultan, Mahmud Shah, appealed for aid to Ahmadnagar, Golconda and Berar, all of whom responded to the call. Accompanied by their forces, Barld, along with the Sultan marched against Bijapur. But Ismail inflicted a severe de¬ feat on them, and Mahmud and his son Ahmad fell into the hands of the Bijapur forces. ‘Adil Khan showed proper respect to the Sultan and at the request of the latter, Bibi Musity, the sister of Ismail, who had been affianced to Ahmad, was married to the latter at Gulbarga. After the ceremony, five thousand Bijapur cavalry were sent to escort Mahmud Shah to Bldar. On the approach of this army, Amir Barld fled away but as soon as they left Bldar, he came back, and resumed control of all affairs of the BahmanI King¬ dom as before.71 

Ismail had also the privilege of receiving high honour from Shah Isma‘11 Safavl, the Sultan of Persia, in return for his assist¬ ance in relieving a Persian ambassador from unnecessary detention at Bidar by the Sunni bigot, Amir Barid. Highly satisfied, the Persian king sent him rich presents and addressed him as an inde¬ pendent ruler.72 

The minority of the Sultan and Kamal Khan’s hostile activities against him had afforded an opportunity to Krishnadevaraya, the king of Vijayanagara, to invade the Bijapur kingdom. He attack¬ ed and occupied Raichur (1512). Getting rid of his internal trou¬ bles and in an opportune moment when Krishnadevaraya was busy in his war against Orissa, Ismail marched towards Raichur and captured it. Highly incensed at this, Krishnadevaraya again pro¬ ceeded there with a large army and invested this fort (1520). Ismail also moved against him, and in the battle which ensued, he sustained a severe defeat with heavy losses. He had no alternative but to take to his heels, and while retreating, many of his troops were swept away by the strong current of the Krishna. But the Bijapur army in the fort did not yield and fought valiantly, till their commander’s death paralysed the defence, and made them surrender. 

Hostilities continued between Ismail and Krishnadevaraya in which the former suffered several reverses, and even the city of Bijapur was once occupied by the enemy. But after the death of Krishnadevaraya, ‘Adil Khan again invaded the Raichur doab 

(1530) and succeeded in gaining possession of both Raichur and Mudgal.723 

His relations with the neighbouring Muslim States have most¬ ly been described in connection with the history of Ahmadnagar and Bldar. While he was conducting the siege of Kovelakonda, a fortress on the border of Golconda, he was attacked with a high fever which proved fatal (1534). He was interred at Gogi, close to the tomb of his father. 

He was just, kind, magnanimous, averse to harsh language, and fond of wit and humour. He was also a poet and patron of the learned, a skilled musician, and an expert painter. 

Mallu ‘Adil Khan (1534-1535) 

According to the will of Ismall, his son Mallu Khan was ele¬ vated in his place with the assistance of Asad Khan, the most in¬ fluential Bijapur noble, who became protector of the State. The latter had been entrusted by Isma‘fl to prosecute the siege of Kovela¬ konda, but it was abandoned, and the Bijapur forces retreated to Gulbarga. 

Mallu was unfit to reign. He neglected his duties and indulged in low vices, the result of which was discontent and confusion in the kingdom. Finding this a suitable opportunity to recover the Raichur doaby Achyutadevaraya, the king of Vijayanagara, invaded and succeeded in wresting it from Bijapur, compelling Mallu to accept his terms.73 

The excesses of the latter became so intolerable that even his grandmother went against him and had him removed and blinded, raising his younger brother Ibrahim in his place. 

Ibrdhim ‘Adil Shah I (1535-1557) 

The first act of Ibrahim was to establish the Sunni faith, to which he belonged, as the State religion, and to discontinue the use of the head-dress of the Shiahs in his army. He then dismissed a large number of foreigners and appointed Deccanis and Abyssinians in their places. Another innovation which also went against the foreigners was the introduction of the Deccani languages like Marathi and Kannada, instead of Persian, for maintenance of Govern¬ ment accounts which were then kept by the Brahmins in exclusion of the foreigners. The Brahmins thus got a good opportunity of acquiring considerable influence in the government. 

Ibrahim I took advantage of the internecine quarrels in Vijaya nagara during the reign of Achyutadevaraya and invaded that king¬ dom. Nagalapur, a town near Vijayanagara, was “razed to the ground” and both Achyutadevaraya and Ramaraj&, who were at enmity with each other, were afraid lest he should join hands with the other side. ‘Adil Shah besieged the city of Vijayanagara, and, by negotiations with the contending parties, settled their differences after which he returned to his kingdom on receipt of a large sum of money, twelve fine elephants, and some horses as a reward for his services.74 

Later on, his attempt to take possession of the fortress of Adoni from Vijayanagara appeared to have ended in fiasco. His relations with Ahmadnagar and other States of the Deccan have already been discussed in the section on Ahmadnagar and need not be repeated here. 

Suspecting treachery on the part of some of his officers he put to death seventy Muslims and forty Hindus of high rank in course of two months. Such cruel action did not go without serious re¬ action, and a conspiracy was formed to depose him and place his brother ‘Abdullah on the throne (1545). But the matter leaked out and most of the conspirators were put to death. It was with great difficulty that ‘Abdullah managed to escape to the Portuguese at Goa. 

Although the relation between Bijapur and the Portuguese was friendly for a considerable time, it was disturbed by the presence of Prince ‘Abdullah at Goa, as Ibrahim I was anxious to gain pos¬ session of his rebel brother. He proposed to cede Salsette and Bardez to the Portuguese on condition of the surrender of his brother. But without complying with it, they proposed to send him to Malacca. They did not act up to this proposal even, but occu¬ pied Salsette and Bardez, and this finally brought Bijapur and Goa into conflict. Ibrahim I was ultimately forced to give up his claim on these places and conclude peace with the Portuguese in August, 1548, mainly for two reasons: he had become anxious when he heard of the separate treaties of Vijayanagara and Ahmadnagar with the Portuguese, and moreover, he was aware that enmity with Goa would mean loss of maritime commerce, as it was the Portuguese navy which then controlled the trade of the Arabian Sea.75 

‘Abdullah’s case never prospered, and, in 1555, when his cause was championed by Saif ‘Ain-ul-Mulk, then a hostile Bijapur noble, he was captured and imprisoned.76 

At the fag end of his career, Ibrahim I led a dissipated life which hastened his death. He fell ill and died in 1557. It has already been stated that he was the first ruler of this dynasty to assume the title of “Shah”. 

‘All ‘Adil Shah I (1557-1580) 

Ibrahim I had a mind to nominate his younger son Tahmasp as his successor in preference to his eldest son ‘All who was a Shiah, but when it came to his knowledge that Tahmasp was a more zea¬ lous Shiah than ‘All, he became highly incensed and left the matter of succession without any decision. On his decease, ‘All ascended the throne with the aid of the influential ‘Adil Shahl nobles. 

‘All ‘Adil Shah’s first act was the re-establishment of the Shiah faith as the State religion and encouragement to the foreigners to enter his service. 

It has been stated in the history of Husain Nizam Shah (1553- 1565) that ‘AH I formed an alliance with Vijayanagara against Husain (1558) and humbled him. The confederate army, particularly the Vijayanagara army, carried on depredations on an extensive scale in the territories of Ahmadnagar and these were highly resented by the neighbouring Muslim kingdoms. These, along with other reasons, which brought about a coalition of the four Deccani Muslim States including Bijapur against Vijayanagara and the parts played in the formation of this alliance as well as in the battle of Talikota by ‘All I, have also been discussed above.763 

In 1569, ‘All formed alliances with Murtaza Nizam Shah I and the Zamorin of Calicut against the Portuguese with a view to re¬ covering Goa. The plan was quite sound, as it was decided to attack both Chaul and Goa simultaneously, thus dividing Portuguese military strength in two places at the same time. The military operations began in January, 1570. Chaul, which was a Portuguese outpost in the Ahmadnagar kingdom, was besieged by Murtaza I and Goa by ‘All I. But none of the operations succeeded, as the Portuguese repulsed all their attacks. The siege of Chaul was abandoned after seven months and ‘All also ultimately gave up the siege of Goa and retreated. 

After this, ‘All decided to extend his kingdom in the south and moved against Adoni, the hill fortress of Vijayanagara, and suc¬ ceeded in capturing it after prolonged siege. His enhancement of power in this region was looked upon with disfavour by Murtaza Nizam Shah I, but instead of coming to arms both of them decided amicably to allow each other to extend their respective frontiers in the areas which each coveted. A treaty was concluded permitting Murtaza I to annex Berar and Bidar, and ‘All I to conquer an equivalent territory in the Western Carnatic.77 

In accordance with the above arrangement, ‘All I marched with his minister Mustafa Khan to the Western Carnatic and conquered many places one after another, some of which were kept under his direct administration and others allowed to remain under their respective local chiefs who paid him tribute. Mustafa Khan was appointed Governor of the conquered territories with his head¬ quarters at Chandraguni and ‘All returned to Bijapur (1575) after an absence of more than three years. 

Next year, he marched to Adoni and thence to Penukoiida, the capital of Srlrahga I of Vijayanagara. On his approach, the latter retired with his treasures into the fort of Chandragiri, leaving the defence of the capital to his general Chennappa. ‘All laid siege to it but the garrison held out for three months, and when they were almost ready to surrender, &rlranga bought over a Maratha com¬ mander of ‘All. This desertion helped the cause of Vijayanagara which received help from Golconda also, and Chennappa N'ayaka succeeded in defeating ‘Adil Shah who was compelled to raise the siege (1576) and retire to Bijapur.773 

Having no issue, ‘All nominated his nephew Ibrahim, the son of Tahmasp, as his successor. Within a few months, ‘All was assassinat¬ ed by one of the two eunuchs whom he had brought from Bidar (1580) as a price for his help to ‘All Band against an Ahmadnagar invasion. 

It was during the reign of ‘All ‘Adil Shah that the wall of Bijapur city was constructed, and arrangements were made for ample supply of water in the walled city by cutting an aqueduct and con¬ structing a large reservoir. He showed his fine taste for architec¬ ture, specially by the construction of buildings like Jami Masjid, Mecca Masjid, and Gagan Mahal or Hall of Audience. Although not fully completed, Jami ‘Masjid “is the best proportioned building in the city” of Bijapur and “for simplicity of design, impressive gran¬ deur and the-solemn hush of its corridors” it “stands unrivalled.”78 

Ibrahim ‘Adil Shah II (1580-1627) 

Ibrahim ascended the throne at the age of nine. Kamil Khan Deccani was appointed regent and Chand Sultan, the widow of ‘All I and daughter of Husain Nizam Shah I, was entrusted with the edu¬ cation of the minor Sultan. But the regent having shown disrespect to Chand Sultan, she and Haji Kishvar Khan, another Deccani of high rank, planned to remove him, and one evening, while Kamil Khan was engaged in an official work in the palace, Kishvar Khan attempted to seize him whereupon he took to flight but was seized and beheaded.79 

Kishvar Khan was then appointed regent, and, following in the footsteps of Kamil Khan, he also exercised uncontrolled sway in the kingdom. Taking advantage of these internal troubles in Bijapur, Ahmadnagar invaded it, but Bihzad-ul-Mulk, the commander of the Nizam Shah! army, sustained a heavy defeat at Dharaseo and all his artillery and elephants fell into the hands of his enemies. The victory was again followed by an internecine quarrel in consequence of an order issued by the Regent to the military officers to give up the elephants, captured in the last campaign, to the Sultan. This gave offence to the nobles concerned who not only refused compliance but determined to oust him from the regency and instal Mustafa Khan, another nobleman, in his place. Informed of these designs, Kishvar Khan made a conspiracy against Mustafa and had him assas¬ sinated.80 

Highly enraged at this cold-blooded murder, Chand Sultan up¬ braided Kishvar Khan who, in retaliation, had her confined in the fortress of Satara. This and some other high-handed acts made him extremely unpopular and a strong party was formed against him. Feeling his position insecure and resistance impossible, he fled to Ahmadnagar, but being unable to find a shelter there he went to Golconda where he was assassinated by a relative of Mustafa. Al¬ though Chand Sultan was released from Satara, the situation in Bija¬ pur did not improve; party strife continued, and encouraged by such internal dissensions, Ahmadnagar, in conjunction with Golconda, in¬ vaded Bijapur and laid siege to the fortress of Naldurg. The garrison defended it with all their might and its commandant resisted every effort of the enemy to reduce it. Finding difficulty in capturing it and expecting that dissensions prevailing at the capital would help its fall and hasten the conquest of other places of the ‘Adil Shah! State, the confederate army raised the siege of Naldurg and proceed¬ ed towards the capital. There were then only two to three thou¬ sand troops to defend the city, and although reinforcements arrived within a few days, there was lack of concerted action and desertions followed from their camp. On the other hand, the Ahmadnagar camps, too, were suffering from discords and dissensions which de¬ layed their assault on the walled city. 

Chand Sultan entrusted the work of defence to an able officer named Abu-’l-Hasan who saved the situation by summoning the Maratha forces from the Carnatic and employing them in harassing enemies by cutting off their supplies and in all other possible man¬ ner. Both the forces of Ahmadnagar and Golconda began to feel badly the pinch of starvation and they were compelled to retreat. The Nizam Shahl army retired to Ahmadnagar after plundering some places of Bijapur on the way, while the forces of Golconda were defeated and driven out of Bijapur, even to the gates of Golconda. 

When Bijapur was free from foreign aggression, internal dis¬ orders again vitiated its atmosphere. It was Dilavar Khan who had driven back the Qutb Shahl forces; and, on return from this success¬ ful campaign, he coveted the high position of minister by ousting Ikhlas Khan who was captured, blinded, and kept in confinement, and Dilavar Khan became all powerful in the kingdom. Abu-’l Hasan was also blinded and put to death. Chand Sultan’s power was curtailed and the Sunni faith established as the State religion. Dilavar remained the dominant force in Bijapur for eight years from 1582 to 1590 and, during this period, matrimonial alliances were formed with Golconda and Ahmadnagar. Ibrahim II married a sister of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, and his sister Khadija was married to Miran Husain, the son of Murtaza Nizjam Shah I. But within a few years, war again commenced between Ahmadnagar and Bijapur and Dilavar Khan was defeated at Dharaseo (1591). This led to his fall and he was forced to leave Bijapur and take shelter in Ahmadnagar where he entered the service of Burhan Nizam Shah II. The latter refused to send him back to Bijapur and his instigation led to a renewal of war between these two kingdoms, but Burhan sustained a serious defeat. These have already been stated in the history of Ahmadnagar. 

By a stratagem, Ibrahim II inflicted a befitting punishment on the traitor, Dilavar Khan, when he came back to Bijapur on assu¬ rances of safety as well as of reinstatement to his former position. He was blinded and confined in the fortress of Satara, till his death.81 

Relieved of the control of Dilavar, Ibrahim II assumed charge of the government, but even then, he was not free from domestic troubles. In 1594 his brother, Isma‘il, rebelled against him, and al¬ though the situation became very serious owing to the defection of ‘Ain-ul-Mulk, the Amir-ul-Umara, and the advance of Burhan II to aid the rebels, Ibrahim succeeded in quelling the rebellion before the Nizam Shahl army could actually come to the assistance of his enemies. Both Isma‘il and ‘Ain-ul-mulk were captured and put to death. 

Subsequent relations of Ibrahim II with Burhan II and his son Ibrahim Nizam Shah have already been described in the history of the Nizam Shahl kingdom.813 When, on the death of the last named Ahmadnagar Sultan, that kingdom was convulsed by party strife as well as Mughul invasion, Ibrahim II, at the request of Chand Sultan, rendered necessary assistance to it to tide over the difficulties. Although the kingdom could not be saved, the fact remains that ‘Adil Shah was not slow in lending aid to his neigh¬ bouring State in its hour of peril in spite of long-standing enmity existing between them. Subsequently, when Malik ‘Ambar appear¬ ed as a saviour on the political arena of Ahmadnagar and sought his assistance, he helped him in his efforts to revive the fallen fortunes of the State, and like that astute politician, he, too, rea¬ lized the necessity of mutual aid and co-operation with a view to protecting their kingdoms against Mughul aggression. At the re¬ quest of ‘Ambar he allowed ‘All, a scion of the Nizam Shah! dynasty, then at Bijapur, to proceed to Parenda and ascend the throne of the newly revived Ahmadnagar kingdom with the title of Murtaza Shah Nizam-ul-Mulk. 

Ibrahim II also joined hands with ‘Ambar in his conflicts with the Mughuls on many occasions, and it was unfortunate that a rift occurred between them at the fag end of their career, but it must be said to their credit that they foiled the Mughul efforts to annex the south for a considerable time.81b 

It was during the reign of this monarch that Bldar was annexed to the ‘Adil Shahl kingdom (1619). 

In spite of his preoccupations in war, Ibrahim II devoted his time to the civil administration of his country. In this connection Mea¬ dows Taylor says: “He applied himself to the civil affairs with much care, and the land settlements of the provinces of his kingdom, many of which are still extant among district records, show an admirable and efficient system of registration of property and its valuation. In this respect, the system of Todar Mai introduced by the Emperor Akbar seems to have been followed with the necessary local modifications.”82 

About his tolerance and broadness of mind the same writer says: “Although he changed the profession of the State religion immediately upon assuming the direction of State affairs from Shiah to Sunni, Ibrahim was yet extremely tolerant of all creeds and faiths. Hindus not only suffered no persecution at his hands, but many of his chief civil and military officers were Brahmins and Marathas.”83 His liberal views were testified to by Firishta aswell,84 and he was known as the “Jagadguru”, or “spiritual guide of the world.” 

He was a man of culture, patron of the learned and fond of music and poetry. It was during his reign that Muhammad Qasim Firishta wrote the famous Tdr^ikh, better known as the Tdrlkh-i Firishta. He was also a great builder and several ornate buildings erected by him show his fine taste. Of these, the Ananda Mahal or palace of delight, built in 1589, is a very conspicuous palace in the Bijapur fort; the Mihtar Mahal, Malika Jahan Masjid and the mausoleum of his queen Taj Sultan also deserve special mention. 

He died in September, 1627, and was buried at a short distance from the walled city of Bijapur. His own mausoleum in the group of buildings known as the Ibrahim Rauza is a richly decorated structure. It was not quite finished during his life-time and was completed during the reign of his son Muhammad ‘Adil Shah. 

Muhammad iAdil Shah (1627-1656) 

Although Darvesh was the eldest son of the late Sultan, his claim was set aside by the joint intrigues of the minister Mustafa Khan and another influential Bijapur noble named Daulat Khan. Darvesh was blinded, and his younger brother Muhammad, a boy of fifteen, was raised to the throne, under the title of Muhammad ‘Adil Shah. 

Early in his reign, the Nizam Shah! army under Hamid Khan invaded Bijapur, but they were defeated and compelled to retreat to their territory. 

On his accession to the throne, Shah Jahan started a vigorous policy against the Deccan States.84a In 1631, Bijapur was invaded, and although the Mughul army scored some successes at the early stages of the campaign and laid siege to the fort of Bijapur, they were ultimately compelled to withdraw, due to acute shortage of supplies. 

Shah Jahan, who was bent upon annexing the Deccan States, was highly dissatisfied at this discomfiture. The conduct of Muham¬ mad ‘Adil Shah and ‘Abdullah Qutb Shah, who tried to seize some of the territories of the fallen Nizam Shah! kingdom and offered secret aid to Shahji in his effort to revive that kingdom, further annoyed him. Besides, the emperor, who was a staunch Sunni, bore hatred against these States, many of whose princes, nobles and peo¬ ple professed the Shiah faith. Both Bijapur and Golconda were asked to accept Mughul suzerainty and some other terms. Shah Jahan personally went to the Deccan for better conduct of affairs (1636), and three armies of 50,000 men in all were kept ready for action against them. 

Golconda submitted in terror, but ‘Adil Shah decided to resist Mughul aggression. Bijiapur was invaded from three sides and the Mughul armies carried on extensive devastations in the towns and villages, mercilessly massacring the inhabitants. Although the Sul¬ tan fought with great valour and defended his capital by cutting the dam of the Shahpur lake and flooding the surrounding country-side, he was eventually compelled to sue for peace, and a treaty was concluded between them in May, 1636. The Sultan of Bijapur ac¬ knowledged the “overlordship” of the Mughul emperor, promised not to cause any annoyance to the Sultan of Golconda, now his (em¬ peror’s) vassal, and agreed to pay a sum of twenty lakhs of rupees as an annual tribute. In return, Shah Jahan assigned to Bijapur a part of the recently conquered Ahmadnagar territory consisting of fifty pargands which included Sholapur and vangi mahals, the par gands of Bhalki and Chidgupa, north Konkan, and the Poona dis¬ trict, yielding an annual revenue of eighty lakhs of rupees, while the Mughuls annexed the rest of Ahmadnagar. The Sultan was ordered to abstain from aiding ShahjI in any hostile activity.8413 

After this, friendly relations prevailed between Muhammad ‘Adil Shah and the Mughul emperor, and there were exchanges of presents between the two. Thus feeling secure on the north, ‘Adil Shah diverted his attention towards the extension of his frontiers on the other three sides, viz., the east, south and west. 

“The principality of Ikkeri had been raided in 1635 at the invita¬ tion of a local faction, and a heavy fine of 30 lakhs of hurts imposed on its Raja Virabhadra Nayak.”85 In 1637 the invasion was renewed at the invitation of Kenge Hanuma, chief of Basavapattanam and Tarikere, a recalcitrant feudatory of Ikkeri.85a Randaulah Khan, with a huge force consisting of 40,000 cavalry, besides infantry and elephant corps, invaded Ikkeri. He proceeded as far as Ikkeri, the capital city, and, unable to resist long, Virabhadra retreated to the fortress of Bhuvanagiri. After occupying the capital city, the Bija¬ pur army laid siege to Bhuvanagiri, whereupon he was compelled to sue for peace, and, according to the terms of the treaty, he had to surrender the forts already occupied by the Bijapur army and acknowledge the overlordship of the Sultan of Bijapur. Shortly after this, Ikkeri helped Bijapur to crush Tarikere and Basavapatta¬ nam.86 

In 1647, Mustafa Khan, the Bijapur general, marched against Srlranga III of Vijayanagara, and took several places including Kri shnagiri and Deva Durga. In the same year he arrived at Vellore where he met Mir Jumla, the Golconda general, and it was arranged that they would wrest the territories of £>riranga and divide them between Bijapur and Golconda. Vellore was besieged and occupied by Mustafa Khan whose victorious army took possession of many other places including Kaveripattanam, Hasan, Kanakagiri, Ratna giri and Arjunakote, all belonging to Vijayanagara.87 

On Mustafa Khan’s death in November, 1648, the command of the Bijapur expeditionary forces devolved on Khan Muhammad (Khan Khanan) who succeeded in capturing the fortress of Gingee in December, 1649. The victors received a rich booty consisting of gold, silver and precious stones worth several crores of rupees. The Nayakas of Madura and Tanjore then offered their submission,88 and towards the west, the ‘Adil Shahi army obtained some successes against the Portuguese of Goa also. The territories of Bijapur now extended “from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal, across the Indian Peninsula.”89 

It was during this reign that Shivaji started his activities against Bijapur and the serious illness of Muhammad ‘Adil Shah in 1646 afforded him a grand opportunity for the same. He occupied many forts, one after another, like Torna, Kondhana (Simhagarh), Chakan and Purandar; but, for these acts of disloyalty, his father Shahj® was arrested and Shivaji secured his release with great difficulty. 

Muhammad ‘Adil Shah breathed his last in November, 1656. It was during his reign that the ‘Adil Shahi kingdom attained its greatest extent and power. At the time of his death it “had an annual revenue of seven krores and eighty-four lakhs of rupees, be¬ sides five krores twenty-five lakhs of tribute due from vassal rajahs and zamindars. The strength of the army establishment was 80,000 cavalry and 2,50,000 infantry, besides 530 war elephants. The exact extent of the kingdom can be judged from the fringe of dependent and tributary states around it, covering the Kanara and Dharwar districts of Bombay, the Bellary and Karnool districts of Madras, and much of the kingdom of Mysore.”90 

Muhammad ‘Adil Shah was well known for piety, justice and love for his subjects, and was a patron of arts, literature and science. He also earned great reputation as a builder; the most conspicuous building erected by him in Bijapur was his own mausoleum, the great Gol Gumbaz, which contains one of the greatest domes in the world. He also erected the Asar Mahal within which was enshrined two hairs of the Prophet’s beard. 

‘All ‘Adil Shah II (1656-1672) 

‘All Adil Shah II, the only son of the late Sultan, was then placed on the throne with the help of Queen Bari Sahiba and prime minister Khan Muhammad. He was only eighteen years of age and incapable of controlling different factions within the kingdom. Disorders fol¬ lowed in some of the newly conquered territories and consequent loss of them, and the nobles began to quarrel among themselves for power. Aurangzlb, who was then Mughul viceroy of the Deccan, considered it a convenient time for the invasion of Bijapur, and with the sanction of the emperor, on the plea that ‘All was not really a son of the late king, he opened his campaign against ‘Adil Shah and laid siege to the fort of Bidar. In the meantime, he had been able to seduce some of the ‘Adil Shah! nobles; Mir Jumla, who had deserted his master, the Sultan of Golconda, and joined the Mughuls, render¬ ed immense help to him. 

But this declaration of war against Bijapur on an issue which was purely its own concern, was wholly unjustified. Bidar fell after a gallant resistance of twenty-seven days (1657). Bijapur could not check the advance of the Mughuls who ravaged an extensive area of the kingdom and laid siege to Kalyani, forty miles west of Bidar, and once the capital of the Chalukya kings, which also fell (1657). ‘All ‘Adil Shah II was compelled to sue for peace, and on the inter¬ cession of Daria, Shah Jahan agreed to conclude a treaty with Bija¬ pur. ‘Adil Shah consented to surrender Bidar, Kalyani and Parenda, and pay an indemnity of one crore of rupees to the Mughuls. 

After these, the news of serious illness of Shah Jahan and Aurangzlb’s march towards the north to contest the throne, and quar¬ rels among the Bijapur nobles, culminating in the murder of Khan Muhammad, gave ShivajI an opportunity for his ambitious projects. He hurried to Konkan and occupied Kalyan, Bhivandi and the fort of Mahuli. 

In 1659 the Bijapur government sent Afzal Khan, a noble of high rank, with 10,000 cavalry against ShivajI with instruction to capture him dead or alive. It has been already narrated how Afzal Khan opened negotiations with the Maratha chief, met him in a con¬ ference, and was killed by ShivajI (pp. 258-9). 

The leaderless Bijapur army became panic-stricken and had no courage to oppose the enemy. Many of them were killed and others surrendered. Their losses were heavy and all their artillery, am¬ munition, and camp equipage fell into the hands of the Marathas (1659). 

After this triumph, Shivaji captured the fort of Panhala and obtained more successes against Bijapur. To avenge these losses and drive away the rebel, ‘All II sent Fazl Khan and SidI Jauhar, now entitled Salabat Khan, and Shivaji was defeated and forced to take shelter in the fort of Panhala which was also besieged. It was with difficulty that the latter managed to escape. 

Taking advantage of ill-feeling between the Nayakas of Madura and Tanjore, ‘All II despatched a large army against them. A sur¬ prise attack was made on Tanjore upon which its Nayaka, Vijaya> raghava, fled to Vallam and the Bijapur force occupied Tanjore with¬ out much difficulty (1659). The fort of Vallam also fell without any resistance, as the Nayaka had fled to the forests of Talavarayan and the garrison did not defend it. The victors then proceeded to the fort of Trichinopoly and laid siege to it, but due to famine and troubles created by the Kallars (robber chiefs), they had to retire on receipt of a sum of money only from the Nayaka of Madura. Soon after, Vijayaraghava reoccupied Tanjore. In 1663, another expedition was sent to Trichinopoly which was besieged, and the surrounding regions were plundered. But in spite of repeated at¬ tacks, the fort could not be occupied and the Bijapur army had to retire on receipt of a large sum of money from the ruler of Madura.91 

The Nayaka of Ikkeri had recovered several forts like Ikkeri, Soraba, Udugani, Mahadevpura and Ambaligolla from Bijapur, and ‘Ali II led a campaign against him, defeated him near Ambaligolla, and occupied Bednor, the then capital of Ikkeri. The fort of Bhuva nagiri was then invested, but Bhadrappa Nayaka, the Nayaka of Ikkeri (1662-64), adopted guerilla tactics and cut off all communi¬ cations of the Bijapur forces who were obliged to make peace with him and retire. ‘All II sent another expedition against Ikkeri and occupied three of its forts (about 1668).92 

In the meantime, Bijapur had to face another Mughul invasion, and this was led by Jay Singh (1665-66). Although the Mughul ad¬ vance was rapid for some time, it soon received a serious set-back through the exertions of ‘All II, and Jay Singh was compelled to retire without achieving anything. “Not an inch of territory, not a stone of a fortress, not a pice of indemnity was gained.”93 

After this, ‘Ali II did not at all attend to his duties but spent his time in idle pleasures. Fortunately for him, he had an able prime  minister in ‘Abdul Muhammad who conducted the administration with efficiency. 

The Sultan died of paralysis in 1672 and was succeeded by his son Sikandar, a boy of four only. ‘All was a patron of Urdu litera¬ ture. Among the court-poets who flourished during his reign and wrote in Deccani Urdu were Mian Nusrali, Mian Hansi and Mirjan Marsiya. “Besides the two memorable works Gulshan-i-Ishq and All Noma, Nusrali composed numerous Qasidahs and Diivan-i-Gha zals full of beauty and virility. Mian Hansi’s solid contributions to literature are his story of Yusuf and Zulaikha, Gkazals and other poems. Mirjan Marsiya, the third notable poet and writer, wrote verses in praise of the Prophet, Hasan and Husain, and the Imams.”94 

Sikandar ‘Adii Shah (1672-1686) 

Sikandar was the last of the ‘Adil Shahi Sultans, and as he was a minor, the administration of the kingdom was run by its wazirs or prime ministers who also acted as regents. “The history of Bijapur from 1672 to 1686 is really the history of its v^azirs. It was a period marked by chronic civil war among the factious nobles, indepen¬ dence of the provincial governors, paralysis of the central adminis¬ tration in the capital itself, occasional but indecisive Mughul inva¬ sions, and a secret alliance but pretended hostility with the Mara thas.”95 

Immediately after the death of ‘All II, Khavass Khan, the Abys¬ sinian leader of the Deccani party, seized the real powers of the State and became prime minister and regent. But due to his in¬ capacity and indolence there were disturbances in the kingdom, and taking advantage of this situation, ShivajI conquered some of its territories and the Mughuls began to seduce its nobles. Khavass Khan was in power for three years, and when he had quarrels and bitter animosity with ‘Abdul Karim Buhlul Khan, the commander in-chief and leader of the Afghan party, the latter invited him to a dinner and imprisoned him in a drunken state (1675). Buhlul then stepped into his position but his regime of two years was worse. He raised his own men to high posts and expelled those of the Dec¬ cani party. Disorders followed in the kingdom and his chief ad¬ viser, Khizr Khan, was murdered; in revenge, Buhlul murdered Khavass Khan. The Mughuls took up the cause of the Deccani party who had sought their assistance and occupied Naldurg and Gulbarga (1677). 

Under the Afghan regime the sufferings of the people knew no bounds, and, at last, on the death of Buhlul (1678), Sddi Mas‘ud, another Bijapur! noble, with the assistance of the Mughuls, became prime minister and regent. He made peace with the Mughuls, one of the conditions of which was that Shahr Banu Begam, Sikandar’s sister, was to be married to a son of Aurangzlb, and, according to this, she left the city of Bijapur in 1679 and was married to Prince A‘zam in July, 1681.95a 

The condition of Bijapur went from bad to worse. The govern¬ ment was bankrupt, and disorder and anarchy prevailed in the State due to quarrels between Mas‘ud and Sharza Khan, an influential noble. The Regent could not, in the least, improve the dilapidated condition of the kingdom and its future seemed to be doomed. 

After a bitter experience of five years as wazir and regent, Mas‘ud resigned his office early in 1684. Aqa Khusrav, who then occupied his place in March, 1684, died in October of the same year. The time was extremely ominous and dark clouds were hanging on the political horizon of Bijapur. The most intrepid general, Sayyid Makhdum surnamed Sharza Khan, was entrusted with the defence of the kingdom. 

In the meantime, the Mughuls had been appropriating Bijapur territories and establishing their outposts in them. Mangalvide and Sangola were conquered in May, 1684. Aurangzlb, who was deter¬ mined to annex this kingdom both on political and religious grounds, took vigorous steps to prosecute his plans. Acrimonious letters passed between him and Sikandar, and a serious rupture seemed imminent, although some months passed before the formal out¬ break of war. In such a critical time, the Sultan of Golconda pro¬ mised aid to Bijapur and a Maratha contingent also arrived there from ShambhujI. 

In April, 1685, the Mughuls laid siege to the fort of Bijapur, and Prince A‘zam reached there in June to take charge of the ope¬ rations. The Bijiapuris fought valiantly for the defence of their capital and within a month three severe battles were fought. They cut off the supplies of the Mughuls who suffered terribly for want of provisions, but the prince was resolute and conducted the siege in¬ spite of his father’s order to return. Aurangzlb then sent sufficient provisions, money and reinforcements which saved the besieging army, but even after a siege of fifteen months, there was no real progress owing to discord and jealousy among the officers. So, the Emperor himself went to Rasulpur, a suburb west of the fort, (1686),95b and pressed the siege in right earnest. His personal pre¬ sence and firm determination to capture the fort cowed down the courage of the Bijapurls. They lost heart, as they saw no hope of saving their capital city. The garrison had shrunk to two thousand men only and there was no possibility of assistance from outside. The scarcity of provisions due to famine made their position still more intolerable and it was not possible to resist any longer. 

In September, 1686, Sikandar surrendered to the Mughul Em¬ peror.950 Thus, the ‘Adil Shahi kingdom lost its independent existence and was annexed to the Mughul Empire. Sikandar was enrolled as a Mughul peer, with an annual pension of one lakh of rupees, but he had to suffer life-long imprisonment and died in April, 1700, when he was less than thirty-two. 

With the loss of independence, Bijapur, which was once “the queen of southern India”, wore the look of a desolate city. 

IV. THE TMAD-SHAHI DYNASTY OF BERAR 

The founder of this dynasty, Fath-ullah Tmad-ul-Mulk, was ori¬ ginally a Hindu from Karnatak. In his boyhood, he was taken prisoner by the BahmanI army, converted to Islam and appointed one of the body-guards of Khan Jahan, the governor of Berar. By dint of his abilities he rose to positions of distinction and received the lofty title of Tmad-ul-Mulk. He also became the governor of Berar, the most northern province of the BahmanI kingdom, and the weak¬ ness of the central government encouraged him to assume indepen¬ dence in 1490.96 

He exerted his utmost to improve and strengthen the newly founded autonomous State, and after his death in 1504, his eldest son, ‘Ala-ud-dln Tmad Shah, succeeded him as the ruler of Berar. 

IAld-ud-dln Tmad Shah (1504-30) 

During ‘Ala-ud-dln’s time started the long-drawn struggle with Ahmadnagar, culminating in the annexation of Berar by the former. Various factors were responsible for this conflict. First, the rela¬ tion between these two kingdoms was strained due to an invasion of Ahmadnagar by Berar with a view to rendering assistance to some disaffected Nizam Shahi nobles who had taken shelter in it. Al¬ though the invasion was repulsed by the Nizam Shahls (1510) and a peace concluded between these kingdoms, it did not last long, and they again came to arms for another and more important cause. Burhan Nizam Shah I coveted Pathrl, his ancestral home, situated in the kingdom of Berar, but bordering on Ahmadnagar and, in lieu of it, he offered another place to Tmad Shah “yielding even a greater revenue,”963 but the latter rejected the proposal and fortified it, whereupon the former made a sudden attack and took it (1518).97 

Ala-ud-dm contracted a matrimonial alliance with Isma‘11 kAdil Khan by marrying his sister Khadija and also concluded a friendly alliance with Golconda. With a combined army of these States, he recovered Fathrl, but within a short time, Burhan again took it (1527). 

The third cause of conflict between Berar and Ahmadnagar was over the possession of Mahur. Burhian strengthened his position by an alliance with Bidar and invaded Berar. He took possession of Mahur, and then proceeded as far as Ellichpur, its capital. At this critical juncture, Ala-ud-dm sought the aid of Muhammad I, the ruler of Khandesh, but this also did not improve his position, as both of them sustained a serious defeat, with the loss of all their camp equipage and three hundred elephants. Many places of Berar were occupied by the allied armies of Ahmadnagar and Bidar. The two vanquished Sultans then sought the assistance of Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, who, finding it a suitable opportunity for extending his power in the south, responded to their appeal, and proceeded to the Deccan (1528). Alarmed at this Burhan requested Bijapur, Golconda and Bidar for help, and both Bijapur and Bidar responded to his appeal and sent him necessary assistance. Bahadur, who moved against Ahmad¬ nagar, was defeated twice, but the allied army could not cope with him when further reinforcements joined the Gujarat army. Both Burhan and Amir Barid were compelled to fall back on Parenda and thence to Junnar, and began to harass the enemy by night attacks and cutting off their supplies. Bahadur occupied the city of Ahmad¬ nagar and, entrusting the siege of the fort to Ala-ud-din, moved to Daulatabad. Burhan’s position became critical and he had no alter¬ native but to sue for peace. On the other hand, Bahadur's policy of aggrandizement in the Deccan had caused grave concern to his allies who no longer wanted to act in concert with him. On his side, the latter, too, was anxious for his own safety lest he should be cut off from his country in the ensuing monsoon. Cessation of war thus be¬ came the prime consideration of both the parties and a peace was therefore effected. Burhan caused the khutba to be read in the name of Bahadur and returned the elephants seized from Muhammad I during the war but did not fulfil his promise in respect of restora¬ tion of Mahur and Pathri to Berar.98 

Ala-ud-dm died in 1530 and was succeeded by his eldest son Darya ‘Imad Shah. 

Darya Tmad Shah (1530-62) 

During the reign of Darya ‘Imad Shah the kingdom enjoyed peace and tranquillity. In the wars between Bijapur and Ahmad  nagar, he sided once with Bijapur but helped Ahmadnagar on three occasions, once in 1543 and twice during the reign of Husain Nizam Shah I. 

After his death in 1562 his infant son Burhan succeeded him to the throne. 

Burhan ‘Imad Shah and Tufal Khan 

Burhan ‘Imad Shah’s minister, Tufal Khan, a man of high ambi¬ tion and of extraordinary courage, became regent. He confined the king in the fort of Narnala and seized the reins of government in his own hands. 

As he had reasonable cause of resentment against Husain Nizam Shah I for the cruel murder of Jahangir Khan, he not only held aloof from the confederacy formed by the four Deccani Muslim powers against Vijayanagara, but also carried on depredations in the Nizam Shahl kingdom. ‘Adil Shah and Nizam Shah were highly incensed at these and they invaded Berar. It was impossible for Tuflal to fight against such heavy odds and he managed to purchase peace from ‘Adil Shah in secret on payment of a heavy sum of money and fifty elephants (1566). Finding himself deserted by ‘Adil Shah, Nizam Shah also retired. 

Although Tufal saved himself from this crisis, other serious dan¬ gers awaited him. A treaty was concluded between Murtaza I and ‘All Adil Shah I, defining their sphere of aggrandizement. The former was allowed to annex Berar and Bldar, and the latter to “con¬ quer as much of the Carnatic as would produce a revenue equal to Berar and Bldar.”98a Then followed their activities. As a pretext for invasion of Berar, Tufal was asked to re-instate his sovereign in his position, but when this was not complied with, Murtaza I in¬ vaded Berar. Unable to check his advance, Tufal allowed Ellichpur to be occupied by his enemies and fled from place to place. Leaving Berar, he tried in vain to take shelter in Khandesh and ultimately took refuge with Burhan ‘Imad Shah in the hill-fort of Narnala, while his son went to Gawilgarh. 

Due to its natural position, the fort of Narnala was favourable for defence, and here Tufal repulsed the attacks of his enemies with great valour, but was troubled by paucity of provisions. On the other hand, Murtaza, too, got tired of the protracted siege, and un¬ able to occupy the fort by arms, he took the golden means of seduc¬ ing the garrison. This produced its desired effect. Finding it im¬ possible to defend any longer, Tufal fled into the neighbouring hills but was soon captured. Thus fell Narnala (April, 1574), and shortly after this, Tufal’s son surrendered Gawilgarh. Burhan ‘Imad Shah along with the usurper Tufal Khan and his son Shamshir-ul-Mulk were taken to Ahmadnagar and confined in a fortress where all of them subsequently died. It is said that their death was caused either by the Sultan’s order or cruel treatment in the prison. 

Thus disappeared Berar as an independent State from the map of the Deccan. 

V. THE BARID-SHAHI DYNASTY OF BIDAR 

Mahmud Shah Bahmani, who reigned from 1842 to 1518, was un¬ fit to hold the sceptre during that troublesome period. He could not cope with the situation, and disorder and confusion increased on all sides. The real power passed into the hands of Qasim Band, his prime minister, who had risen to that high position by dint of his extraordinary abilities. Originally, he was a Turk, domiciled in Georgia. He came to the Bahmani kingdom in his early boyhood and then entered the service of Muhammad Shah III. By and by, he rose to positions of distinction till he became prime minister, ex¬ ercising regal power, in fact, though not in name. 

Qasim Barid died in 1504, and was succeeded as prime minister by his son Amir Barid, who, too, like his father, wielded uncontrolled sway in the kingdom. Mahmud Shah died in 1518, and was succeeded by four sultans, one after another, but all of them were mere tools in the hands of Amir Barid. Kalimullah, the last of them, tried in vain to regain his power with the help of Babur. At last, he fled to Bijapur and thence to Ahmadnagar; he breathed his last in 1538, but with his flight from Bidar in 1528 Amir Barid became practically independent, although he never formally asserted his independence nor assumed the title of “Shah”. 

Amir Barid was very cunning, and hence he was known as Robah-i-Deccan or the Fox of the Deccan." He knew well how to play one party against the other, but such cunning brought him dis¬ grace also and he had to suffer humiliation at the hands of Isma‘il ‘Adil Khan against whom he had plotted. Apart from political diffe¬ rences, the two had religious differences as well; Isma‘Il ‘Adil Khan was a Shiah, whereas Amir Barid was a bigoted Sunni. The former was highly incensed when, in 1529, it was reported to him that Amir Barid had attempted to incite a part of his soldiery against him, and observed, “it was contrary to wisdom to treat the wolf with gentle¬ ness, or the snake with kindness.”100 At his request, when Burhan Nizam Shah promised to remain neutral, Isma‘fl ‘Adil Khan started against Amir Barid. The fort of Bidar was besieged, and Amir  Band, who was then old, withdrew to the fortress of Udgir, leaving the defence of Bidar to his eldest son ‘All Band. However, Amir Band’s position became very perilous, and, in spite of the assistance of Golconda and intercession of Ala-ud-dln ‘Imad Shah, he was un¬ able to save his own position. Isma‘11 was not willing to accept any terms short of complete surrender of Bidar. On hearing of it, Amir Barld came out of Udgir to entreat ‘Imad Shah once more to effect a peace, but when this was not possible, he went back to his camp close to that of the former and “to drown his cares he gave himself up to pleasures.”100*1 Asad Khan, the general of Isma‘11, took him by surprise while he was in a drunken and senseless condition and carried him away to his master who gave order for his execution. On the earnest entreaty of Amir Barld, ‘Adil Khan agreed to spare his life on condition of surrender of the fortress of Bidar, but as his son refused to give it up, Isma‘11 ordered that he (Amir Barld) should be trampled to death by a furious elephant. Finding no alternative, his son evacuated the fort and retired to Udgir, with as many jewels of the BahmanI Sultans as was possible to carry in concealment. Thus ‘Adil Khan got possession of Bidar.101 

Amir Barld was made a peer of Bijapur, and after his assist¬ ance to Isma‘11 ‘Adil Khan in taking possession of Raichur and Mudgal (1530), Bidar was restored to him on condition of cession of Kalyani and Qandahar to Bijapur. But as he did not keep his promise Isma‘Il set out with his army to occupy them, and, although Burhan I came to the aid of Amir Barld, both of them sustained a severe defeat near Naldurg. 

Not long after, Amir Barld was reconciled to Isma‘11 ‘Adil Khan whom he helped in his struggle against Golconda. But he again severed his connection with Bijapur and joined Ahmadnagar. While he and Burhan Nizam Shah I, were retreating towards Daulatabad closely pursued by the armies of Bijapur and Berar, he suddenly expired (1542). 

Amir Barld was succeeded by his son ‘All Barld, who ruled till 1580. Among the rulers of Bidar he was the first to assume the title of “Shah”. His relations with the other Deccani powers have mostly been described in the history of Ahmadnagar. In 1564, he join¬ ed the confederacy of the Muslim States of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Golconda against Vijayanagara and took part in defeating the latter in the famous battle (popularly known as the battle of Tali kota) fought at Rakshasi-Tangadi (January, 1565). 

He was a man of culture and fond of poetry and calligraphy and his tomb at Bidar and Rangin Mahal (“painted palace”) built by him bear testimony to his fine taste for architecture.101a 

On the death of ‘All Band his son Ibrahim Band Shah ascend¬ ed the throne and reigned till 1587. He was succeeded by his younger brother Qasim Band Shah II. After the battle of Rakshasi Tangadi, the strength of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar and Golconda in¬ creased so much that it was not possible for a small kingdom like Bldar to cope with them and naturally it gradually dwindled in ex¬ tent. Qasim Barid II died in 1591 and was succeeded by his infant son, but one of his relatives named Amir Barid dethroned him and became king under the title of Amir Barid II. After a reign of about ten years he, too, was expelled by one of his relatives—Mirza ‘Ali Barid (1601). He reigned till 1609 and was succeeded by Amir Barid Shah III, the last Sultan of Bidar. He joined the confederacy of the Deccani powers, viz., Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Golconda, organized by Malik ‘Ambar and fought with them against the Mughuls (1616). 

As his relation with Ibrahim ‘Adil Shah II was far from cor¬ dial, the latter invaded Bldar, and after defeating him, annexed it to Bijapur (1619). He and his sons were brought to Bijapur and kept “under surveillance.”10113 

VI. THE QTJTB-SHAH1 DYNASTY OF GOLCONDA 

Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk,102 who laid the foundation of a sepa¬ rate dynasty of rulers in Golconda, belonged to a Turki family and was born at Hamadan in Persia. He came to the Deccan in his youth during the reign of the BahmanI Sultan, Muhammad Shah III, and started his career as a body-guard of this monarch. By his extraordinary courage, skill, and sagacity, he rose from one posi¬ tion to another till he became the Governor of Telingana, the eastern province of the BahmanI kingdom. He had also received the lofty title of Qutb-ul-Mulk.103 

When the weakness of the BahmanI government encouraged different provincial governors to become autonomous within their jurisdictions, Sultan Quli also took advantage of the situation and assumed a similar position on the death of Mahmud Shah BahmanI in 1518. He never assumed the title of “Shah” or the royal dignity. Neither the assertion of Firishta that he declared independence in 1512 nor the view of some modern historians that he severed his con¬ nection with the BahmanI kingdom and became independent in 1518 is tenable. The decipherment of the inscription of the Jami ‘Masjid at Golconda, built by Sultan Quli, commemoration tablet of which bears the date 924 A.H. or A.D. 1518, proves that the ruling monarch was then Mahmud Shah BahmanI and not Sultan Quli, but it does not go to prove in any way that he asserted his independence some  time that year on the demise of that monarch. On the contrary, available evidences show that he never assumed the royal title.104 

During the long period of his rule, he devoted most of his ener¬ gies in extending the frontiers of his kingdom. On the north, he took possession of the district of Haft Tappa from Berar, and, on the south, he conquered various places one after another including Rajconda, Devarconda, Ganpura, Kovelaconda, and Pangal. 

He tried his utmost to bring as much of the Telugu-speaking country as possible in his possession and continued his campaigns one after another. He defeated Shitab Khan (i.e., Sitapati) of Bhogikula and captured Bellamconda, Indraconda, Kambhammet and Warangal, etc., and it was not possible for Shitab Khan to check his advance, as the power of Shitab’s ally, Gajapati Prataparudra, the king of Orissa, on whom he depended, had been greatly weak¬ ened by his recent discomfiture at the hands of Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara. Sultan Qull then occupied Kondapalli, Ellore, and Rajahmundry belonging to the Gajapati, and compelled him, by a treaty, to give up his territories between the mouths of the Krishna and the Godavari. Next, he laid siege to the fortress of Kondavidu belonging to Vijayanagara, but here he ultimately sustained a serious defeat. 

Sultan Qull had troubles with Bijapur and Bldar whose rulers made a joint effort to take the fortress of Kovelaconda, but their plan was upset by the sudden death of IsmaTl ‘Adil Khan (1534). Sultan Qull retaliated on Bldar by carrying on depredations in it and besieging Kohir. It was at last agreed that this fortress should be ceded to him. 

Sultan Qull lived till the age of ninety-eight when he was assassinated at the instigation of his second surviving son Jamshid (September, 1543).105 

Sultan Qull was not only a skilful general and a strategist, but also an efficient ruler who established law and order in his country. He was a great builder as well. The Golconda fort was, to a large extent, built by him and the city was beautified with mosques, palaces and gardens. Jami ‘Masjid, a very beautiful structure, out¬ side the fort, was erected by him. 

He was a devout and God-fearing man and belonged to the Shiah creed which was established as the State religion. 

Jamshid Quth Khan (1543-1550) 

Sultan Qull was succeeded by his son Jamshid, who caused his elder brother Qutb-ud-din to be blinded and plotted to seize his younger brother Ibrahim, who, coming to know of his brother s in¬ tention, fled to Bidar for protection and assistance. He was cor¬ dially received by ‘All Barld Shah who championed his cause and proceeded with the Prince against Jamshid. They marched trium¬ phantly to the very gates of the fort of Golconda which was be¬ sieged. At this juncture, Jamshid sought the assistance of Burhan Nizam Shah I, who immediately sent an army to Golconda. Un¬ able to oppose these combined forces, ‘All Barld retreated towards Bijapur, but on the way, as he attempted to seize the properties of Ibrahim, the latter left him and retired to Vijayanagara where he was cordially received and given a jaglr. He remained there for seven years. 

Jamshid possessed great tact and foresight, and was an astute diplomat. When he came to the throne, it was Burhan I only who offered his congratulation by sending his envoy Shah Tahir, and there was practically no Deccani power whom he could count as his ally, but he soon changed his position. As has been related in the history of Burhan Nizam Shah I, he became a party to the quad¬ ruple alliance (1543) and joined Ahmadnagar against Bijapur. But it was in 1548 that he gained a very advantageous position and raised the prestige of Golconda above all other Deccani kingdoms. Both Bijapur and Ahmadnagar were then in earnest to win his sup¬ port, and ‘All Barld, who had been imprisoned by Ibrahim ‘Adil Shah I, also made entreaties to him, to secure his release. The posi¬ tion of Jamshid was thus almost similar to that of an arbiter in the Deccan. He then exhibited his greatest tact and diplomacy. In¬ stead of incurring the displeasure of any party, he maintained his neutrality, and, at the same time, won over ‘All Barld by securing his release and placing him back on his throne. 

After these, he returned to his capital, but was attacked with cancer and, after suffering for about two years, died in 1550. 

His minor son, Subhan Qull, was then raised to the throne but he had soon to make room for his uncle Ibrahim, who came from Vijayanagara, deposed him, and ascended the throne. 

Ibrahim Qutb Shah (1550-1580) 

Ibrahim Qutb Shah received the support of all sections of the people and established law and order in the kingdom. As has been mentioned above, he was the first Sultan of the Qutb-Shahi dynasty to assume the title of “Shah”. 

His inter-state relationship, including the part he played in con¬ nection with the battle of Talikota, has been described at length in the history of Ahmadnagar. 

Continuing the policy of Sultan Quli, he carried on conquests in the Telugu-speaking areas, and invaded the kingdom of Vijayanagara. The famous temple of Narasimha at Ahobalam was sacked by his commander, Murhari Rao, a Maratha Brahmin (1579), who also in¬ vaded Udayagiri, Vinukonda and Kondavidu. There is no doubt that as a result of these invasions Ibrahim gained possession of consider¬ able territories from Vijayanagara.106 

The Sultan also devoted much time and energy for the consoli¬ dation of his kingdom. All rebellions and lawlessness were sup¬ pressed wtih a stern hand. Telingana was full of highway robbers and thieves, and travelling was fraught with great risks, but it was to his credit that he cleared the roads from the oppression of these marauders. 

Jagdeva Rao Naikwari, the prime minister, made a conspiracy to depose him and place his brother Daulat Quli on the throne. The Sultan executed one of the accomplices of Jagdeva, who, being afraid of his own safety, fled to Berar, but there, too, when his manners became overbearing, he was ordered to quit immediately, and, this he did, but came back to the Qutb Shah! territory. Being defeated here, he finally left for Vijayanagara. 

There was a revolt of the Naikwaris under the leadership of Suria Rao, the commandant of the Naikwaris in the fort of Gol conda, but this rising was suppressed with a strong hand and Suria Rao and other Naikwaris of this fort were executed. 

Not only did Ibrahim establish peace and security in his king¬ dom but also made it prosperous. Trade and commerce increased enormously. “Telingana, like Egypt, became the mart of the whole world. Merchants from Toorkistan, Arabia and Persia, resorted to it; and they met with such encouragement that they found in it in¬ ducements to return frequently.”107 

Ibrahim was a great patron of art and architecture and erected several beautiful buildings. The fortifications of Golconda were extended and strengthened, and the city was beautified with gar¬ dens, hammams, wide streets, and shops of various kinds. He esta¬ blished alms-house (or the Lungur), numerous colleges, one dam at Budwal and two tanks, one at Ibrahimpattam and the other called Husain Sagar. He constructed also a strong bridge, 600 feet long and 36 feet wide, on the Musi, originally called Narva, known later on as “Purana Pul” or “old bridge”. It was supported by twenty two pointed arches.108 

This reign saw the beginning of Dakhani Urdu poetry at Gol conda, and four poets viz., Mulla Khiyali, Mahmud, Firuz and Ahmad composed their poems in this language. 

Of all his actions, Ibrahim is remembered by the Hindus of Telingana specially for his patronage of Telugu literature. Many Telugu poets like Addanki Gangadhar Kavi, Pannaganti Telega narya, and Kandukuri Rudra Kavi flourished in his court. Addanki Gangadhar Kavi, the most well-known of them, composed an elegant poem Tapatisama-Varanamu Upakhyanamu and dedicated it to the Sultan, who is called Malkibharam in Telugu literature. Among other things it gives accounts of the conquests of Sultan Qull and those of Ibrahim in the Telugu areas. The poet says that many learned men well-versed in Hindu scriptures adorned the court of this Sultan. He was very liberal in his rewards to the Telugu poets and tried his best to encourage them. Amir Khan, a Qutb Shah! officer of high rank, was also a patron of Telugu literature. 

Though Ibrahim took a prominent part in bringing about the fall of the Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagara, his treatments of his Hindu subjects, specially his patronage of their literature and their appointment to high posts, show that he tried to gain the goodwill and sympathy of the bulk of his population—the most essential re¬ quisites of a stable government.109 

He died in 1580 at the age of fifty and was succeeded by his son Muhammad Qull Qutb Shah. 

Muhammad Quit Qutb Shah (1580-1612) 

Muhammad Qull Qutb Shah inherited a peaceful and prospe¬ rous kingdom, which enjoyed peace and happiness during his reign. In 1586, an alliance was formed with Bijapur by the marriage of the Sultan’s sister, Malika Zaman, with Ibrahim ‘Adil Shah II, and thus, an attempt was made to establish a feeling of cordiality between the two kingdoms. 

As the walled city of Golconda became congested and un¬ healthy, and there was scarcity of water in it, shifting of the capital appeared to be a necessity, and in 1590, the plan for the construc¬ tion of the new capital at Hyderabad, on the river Musi, was ready for execution. Muhammad Qull tried his utmost to make the city as grand as possible. It was embellished with fine palaces, gardens,  and baths, and proper arrangements were made for supply of water in all its parts. Two stately edifices, viz., the Jdmi9 Mosque and the majestic Chahar Minar or ‘four minarets’—“a square building of four broad and very lofty open arches, with four minarets 220 feet high at each corner” were built in the centre of the city, add¬ ing to the grandeur and beauty of the capital. Besides, hospitals and colleges were also established for the benefit of the people.110 

Venkata II, the king of Vijayanagara, tried to recover the Kondavidu areas, but Muhammad Qull proceeded with a big army and defeated him. The Sultan occupied Kurnool, Nandial, Gandi kota and Cuddapa and laid siege to Penukonda. Venkata II was forced to sue for peace, and although there was a temporary respite, the war was soon renewed. Muhammad Quli again laid siege to Penukonda, but scarcity of provisions in his camp and apprehension of inundation of the Krishna due to approach of the monsoon which would cut off his retreat, compelled him to raise the siege and retire to his capital, after making necessary arrangements for protection and administration of the newly conquered areas. But Venkata II soon started the offensive and laid siege to Gandikota, which, in spite of the utmost efforts of the Qutb ShahJi forces, could not be saved. Although the Vijayanagara army recovered some other forts also, the Kondavidu areas remained in possession of the Sultan of Golconda, but Qutb Shah was forced to recognize the Krishna as the boundary between the two kingdoms. 

During the reign of this Sultan, Shah Abbas, the Safavi King of Persia (1587-1629) sent Aghuzlu Sultan, one of his relatives, in 1603, on an embassy to Muhammad Qull, with valuable presents of 

jewels, carpets and horses etc., and on his arrival at Golconda, the ambassador was accorded a grand reception. He stayed at Hydera¬ bad for six years and then returned to Persia with suitable presents for the Shah. The principal object of the embassy, as has been re¬ lated, was to put the proposal of marriage of one of the sons of the Shah with Hayat Baksh Begam, the Sultan’s daughter, but the mis¬ sion was not successful.1103 

In 1609, a conspiracy was made to dethrone Muhammad Quli and place his brother Muhammad Khudabanda on the throne, but the Sultan seized the ringleaders before they could create any mischief. They, along with Khudabanda, were imprisoned in the fort of Gol conda where the Prince died in 1611. 

In this year, the English East India company established a fac¬ tory at Masulipatam, an important port in the Qutb Shahx kingdom.

 As Pratap Shah, the Raja of Bastar, revolted, the Sultan sent an army against him. Being defeated, the Raja fled to an impregnable fortress in the forest, and in spite of reinforcements, the Qutb Shah! army could not force him to surrender, and a sudden heavy rain¬ fall, spoiling a great part of the gunpowder, and want of provisions, compelled them to retreat. It was with great difficulty that they returned to Golconda. 

The Sultan died in 1612, after an illness of two days only. Mu¬ hammad Quli Qutb Shah has left to posterity a great name for town planning and architecture. The foundation of Hyderabad and con¬ struction of fine buildings, gardens and baths etc., with which his new capital was embellished, show his excellent taste as a builder, and he spent a big amount every year for the construction of public buildings. Of the palaces erected by him, special mention may be made of Chandan Mahal, Hira Mahal and Nadi Mahal. 

Pie was a man of charitable disposition and a lover of justice. A sum of sixty thousand hurts or two lakhs and forty thousand rupees was distributed to the poor every year. 

‘‘Intelligent and learned,. . . .and of literary bent of mind, Mu¬ hammad Quli kept company with the learned.,,110b He established several khankas and madrasas at Hyderabad and gave rewards libe¬ rally to distinguished literary men. “It is related, that out of four lacs of hurts secured as revenue collection from the city, a large and a greater portion was disbursed in rewarding the Saiyids and Ule¬ mas and supplying them with two free meals per day.”111 

Muhammad Qutb Shah (1612-1626) 

As Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah left no son, his nephew Mu¬ hammad Qutb Shah, son of Mlrza Muhammad Amlin, succeeded him to the throne. He was also the son-in-law of the late Sultan, whose daughter Hayat Baksh Begam he had married. 

He joined the confederacy of the Deccani powers against the Mughuls and tried to put a stop to Mughul aggression in the south. Although prior to/ the battle of Bhatvadi, Ibrahim ‘Adil Shah II join¬ ed the Mughuls with a view to strengthening his position against ‘Ambar, Muhammad Qutb Shah did not forget the interests of the Deccan, and fully aware of the strength of the Mughuls and the Bijapurls, he formed a defensive and offensive alliance with ‘Ambar. He remained firm to Ahmadnagar and fought on its side in the battle of Bhatvadi (1624). 

But he was more inclined towards the pen than the sword. He had received proper education in his young age and was fond of the association of the learned. He was well acquainted with various arts and sciences and could write both in prose and verse. Among his writings were ghazl, tarkib band and rubaiya; “his pen name was Zil-ul-lah (the shadow of God)”.112 It was in the fifth year of his reign that the Tdrlkh-i-Muhammad Qutb Shah, the well-known history of the Sultans of Golconda, was completed. 

To add to the beauty and grandeur of the capital city, he erected buildings and laid out gardens. 

He died in 1626, and was succeeded by his son ‘Abdullah Qutb Shah, at the age of twelve. 

‘Abdullah Qutb Shah (1626-1672) 

During ‘Abdullah’s long reign of forty-six years, the kingdom had to face serious problems, but he was quite incapable of wielding the sceptre at such a critical time. He was indolent, and sensual,1123 and the administration was practically run by his mother Hayat Baksh Begam till her death in February, 1667, and then by Sayyid Ahmad, his (‘Abdullah’s) eldest son-in-law. “The clever diplomacy of these two had for half a century saved the Qutb Shahi State from being annexed by the Mughuls.”112b 

After his accession to the throne, Shah Jahan, who was well acquainted with the Deccan politics, made up his mind to press for¬ ward his policy of annexation there. The first victim was Ahmad nagar which was incorporated in his empire in 1633. Next, he turn¬ ed towards Golconda, and ‘Abdullah, in terror, accepted the terms dictated by the Mughul Emperor. He acknowledged the Mughul suzerainty and agreed to pay an annual tribute of eight lakhs of rupees (1636). 

Thus barred in the north, Golconda engaged in a career of aggrandizement in the Carnatic and the conditions there were very favourable. Shorn of all its past glory and strength, the kingdom of Vijayanagara was confined to a small area. ‘Abdullah sent an army against it in April, 1642, and captured some of its territories, Venkata III, the reigning king, having fled to the forests. Golconda made repeated attacks on the tottering Hindu kingdom, and, in this work, Mir Jumla, the prime minister of ‘Abdullah, played an im¬ portant role. 

Muhammad Sayyid, who is known as Mir Jumla, came to Gol¬ conda as an adventurer from Ardistan in Persia. He was a man of wonderful talents, and, making the best use of his opportunities, he made his mark as a diamond merchant and rose to power and wealth. His extraordinary abilities attracted the attention of ‘Abdullah who made him his Wazir. He proved his efficiency both in civil and mili¬ tary administrations and wielded great influence in the kingdom, but it was in the Carnatic that he showed his real mettle by his military exploits which enhanced the territories of Golconda and made him fabulously rich. Both the Sultans of Golconda and Bijapur were active in devouring the dilapidated kingdom of Vijayanagara. Mir Jumla wrested parts of Neilore and Cuddapa and occupied the terri¬ tories on the eastern coast up to Pulicat. He penetrated further south and proceeded as far as Vellore, where he met Mustafa Khan, the ‘Adil Shah! general, and arrived at a settlement with Bijapur, defining their respective spheres of aggrandizement in the Carnatic. 

By plundering Hindu temples and searching out hidden trea¬ sures, Mir Jumla accumulated a vast fortune, and according to The venot,112c he had twenty maunds of diamonds in his possession. His jagir in Carnatic was like a kingdom, three hundred miles in length and fifty miles in breadth, with an annual revenue of forty lakhs of rupees, and it contained several valuable diamond mines. He had under his command 5,000 cavalry, 20,000 infantry, and an excellent park of artillery. He was almost like an independent ruler and ab¬ sented himself from the court of Golconda. Alarmed at the growing power of the Wazir, the Sultan attempted to bring him under his control, but Mir Jumla entered into intrigues with Bijapur and Persia. 

Aurangzib, who was then Mughul viceroy of the Deccan and eager to conquer Golconda, wanted to win him over to his side with a view to utilizing his services in the projected invasion. The wealth of Golconda, prevalence of Shiahism among its inhabitants, frequent arrears in payment of its annual tribute, and above all, the imperia¬ listic policy urged Aurangzib to pursue an offensive action. He open¬ ed negotiations with Mir Jumla, when an incident furnished the cause of immediate military operations, so desired. Muhammad Amfn, son of Mir Jumla, who had been his father’s deputy at the court of Golconda, was arrested and imprisoned with his family for his in¬ solent behaviour to the Sultan (1655). 

Aurangzilb utilized the situation to his advantage and obtained orders from his father directing ‘Abdullah Qutb Shah to release Mir Jumla’s family, and in case of his non-compliance, to invade Gol¬ conda. Without allowing a reasonable time to Qutb Shah, Aurang¬ zib sent his eldest son Muhammad Sultan against him (1656). All efforts of the Sultan to prevent hostility was nullified by him, as he was bent upon crushing this kingdom.113 Hyderabad was attacked and occupied, and the Mughul soldiery plundered it. Aurangzlb him¬ self arrived there and besieged the fort of Golconda where the Sultan had retired. 

But Golconda was saved this time by the intervention of Dara Shukoh and Jahanara whom ‘Abdullah’s agent at Delhi convinced of Aurangzlb’s most unjust and unwarranted attack on it. On re¬ ceipt of his father’s direction, Aurangzlb was compelled to raise the siege (1656). The Sultan of Golconda promised to pay a consider¬ able war indemnity, and arrears of tribute which amounted to one crore of rupees, and surrender the district of Ramgir (modern Manikdurg and Chinoor). He had also to give his second daughter in marriage to Muhammad Sultan and promise in secret to make him his heir. Mir Jumla, who had already joined the imperialists, was appointed prime minister. 

After this, the affairs in the Qutb Shahl State went from bad to worse. ‘Abdullah, who had narrowly escaped death at the hands of his enemies in 1656, was so frightened that he never afterwards ap¬ peared in public even to administer justice, and spent his time in frivolous sensuality, the natural consequences of which were mis¬ rule and confusion in the kingdom. Even his own family was not free from discord and unrest.113a Amidst these, he breathed his last in 1672. 

Abu-l Hasan Qutb Shah (1672-1687) 

‘Abdullah had no male issue but three daughters only, the eldest of whom had been married to Sayyid Ahmad, who became prime minister and virtual ruler of the kingdom; the second daughter was married to Muhammad Sultan, and the third to Abu’l Hasan, who, on his father’s side, was a descendant of the Qutb Shahl family. On the death of ‘Abdullah, there was a contest between the first and third sons-in-law for the throne in which Sayyid Ahmad was defeat¬ ed and imprisoned, and Abu-’l Hasan elevated to the throne.114 

Sayyid Muzaffar, a leading general, who had taken the most important role in the overthrow of Sayyid Ahmad, became prime minister, but he concentrated all power in his own hands, and the king became a nominal figure-head. Abu-’l Hasan could not long reconcile himself to this lot, and with the help of Madanna, “the Brah¬ man factotum of Muzaffar,” he deprived the latter of the premier¬ ship. Madanna was raised to his master’s place and conferred the title of Surya Prakash Rao, while his brother Akkanna was appointed commander-in-chief. But the Sultan did not gain by this change of premiership and the power exercised by Muzaffar passed into the hands of Madanna. The king led a dissipated life and disorders and oppressions were rampant. “With a grasping and suspicious para¬ mount Power, a sensual king, a venal aristocracy, and an ignorant and timid people, the reform of the kingdom was hopeless,”115 and its fate was sealed. 

Aurangzfb’s long-cherished desire of annexing Golconda had not yet been fulfilled, and he therefore turned towards giving effect to his ambition. Grounds for invasion were not wanting. The Sultan was leading a dissolute life, leaving the administration of the kingdom in the hands of the infidels, Madanna and his brother Akkanna. “In 1677 he had given Shivaji a more than royal wel¬ come on his visit to Hyderabad and promised him a regular subsidy of one lakh of hurts for the defence of Golconda. After Shivajis death the alliance had been renewed with his successor and the sub¬ sidy continued.”116 On his part Shivaji consented to pay to Qutb Shah an annual tribute of six lakhs of hurts. Such “fraternizing with infidels” was the worst offence of Abu-’l Hasan.117 In 1685 he had also acted against the Mughuls by sending military assistance to Bijapur against them, and lastly, the war indemnity promised in 1656 and the annual tribute of eight lakhs of rupees, according to the terms of the treaty in 1636, were long in arrears. 

Open rupture occurred as a result of interception of a letter of Abu-’l Hasan to his agent in which he had accused the emperor of attacking Sikandar ‘Adil Shah and promised to send an army of 40,000 men to his assistance. Enraged at this, Aurangzib sent hiis son Shah ‘Alam against Hyderabad (1685) and although, at the out¬ set, he could not make much headway, the seduction and consequent defection of Mir Muhammad Ibrahim, the commander-in-chief of Gol¬ conda, largely decided the fate of the campaign. The resistance fell through and the Mughuls proceeded to Hyderabad. No defence of the city was organized and the Sultan fled to the fortress of Golconda. 

The Mughul army occupied Hyderabad and carried on extensive plunder there.118 Placed in such a critical position, Abu-’l Hasan made repeated entreaties for peace, which was at last concluded but did not last long. 

One of the conditions of the peace was that Madanna and Akkanna should be dismissed, but the Sultan having put off the matter, the discontented Muslim nobles and two widows of the late king formed a plot and caused their assassination in the streets of Golconda (March, 1686).119 

After the fall of Bijapur in September, 1686, Aurangzlb was free to concentrate his attention on the Qutb.Shahl kingdom, and, in February, 1687, he reached the outskirts of the fort of Golconda. In the meantime, Abu-’l Hasan had again taken shelter in this fort and the Mughuls took possession of Hyderabad for the third time. The regular siege of Golconda lasted for seven months and a half. The fort had sufficient stocks of food and ammunition to stand a long siege, and the garrison fought with great valour and successfully resisted all efforts of Aurangzlb to capture it. Despite sufferings due to heavy rains, famine, pestilence and incessant attacks of the ene¬ mies, he tried all possible means with grim determination to paralyze the defence, but they proved futile. At last, gold wrought wonders120 and ‘Abdullah Pani, surnamed Sardar Khan, a high officer of the fort, was seduced. He treacherously opened the postern gate of the fort, thus allowing the enemies to enter into it and overpower the defenders. 

By way of contrast to this traitor shines forth an instance of undaunted heroism and noble self-sacrifice, rare in the annals of any country; ‘Abd-ur Razzaq Lari, surnamed Mustafa Khan, a devoted and faithful noble, spurned all tempting offers of Aurangzlb and fought valiantly till he was seriously wounded. 

Thus was Golconda captured by Aurangzlb (1687) and Abu-’l Hasan made a captive. The latter was sent as a State prisoner to the fort of Daulatabad for the rest of his life on a pension of Rs. 50,000 a year, and the kingdom annexed to the Mughul Empire. 

APPENDIX I 

Notes on the chronology adopted in this Chapter 

The dates of some of the rulers given in this Chapter differ from those mentioned in the Cambridge History of India (CHI), Vol. Ill, pp. 704 and 708, as shown in the following list. The justification of the dates adopted in this Chapter, in each case, is indicated below. 

 

Serial No. 

Name of the ruler Date in CHI Date in this Chapter 

I. Murtaza Nizam Shah I 1565—1586 1565—1588 II. Murtaza Nizam Shah II 1603—1630 1600—1630 III. Mallu ‘Adil Shah 1534 1534 1534—1535 IV. Ibrahlim ‘Adil Shah I 1534 1558 1535—1557 V. Muhammad ‘Adil Shah 1627—1657 1627—1656 VI. ‘Ala-ud-din Tmad Shah 1504—1529 1504—1530 

I. The date given in CHI. Ill, p. 461, of the ruler’s death is 1588, and this agrees with the date of Firishta. 

II. According to CHI. Ill, the fall of Ahmadnagar and the ac¬ cession of Murtaza both took place in A.D. 1603. The date 1600 for the fall of Ahmadnagar is supported by Akbar-nama (Translation of Beveridge, Vol. Ill, p. 1159 footnote). On p. 148 of CHI. IV it is clearly stated that Murtaza was on the throne in January, 1602. 

III. It is stated in CHI. Ill, p. 439, that Malta was deposed in March, 1535, and this agrees with Firishta’s account. 

IV. The date 1557 is supported by Firishta (Cf. Briggs, III. 112). 

V. The date of the death of Muhammad ‘Adil Shah is given by Sir Jadunath Sarkar as November, 1656 (Aurangzib, IV, 2nd Edi¬ tion, p. 155). 

VI. In CHI. Ill, p. 708 the date of the death of Ala-ud-dTn is given as A.H. 937 and it is equated with A.D. 1529. But the A.H. 937 really corresponds to the period 25 August, 1530, to 14 August, 1531. 

APPENDIX II 

The causes of the Grand Alliance of the Muslim States in the Deccan against Vijayanagara which destroyed that empire require a little more elaboration. According to Firishta, Ibrahim Qutb Shah of Golconda sent an envoy named Mustafa Khan to Husain Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar to induce him to join the confederacy. The arguments advanced by the envoy may be summed up as follows in the words of Firishta: The ruler of Vijayanagara, “who had re¬ duced all the rajas of the Carnatic to his yoke, required to be check¬ ed and his influence should be removed from the countries of Islam in order that their people might repose in safety from the oppres¬ sions of unbelievers, and their mosques and holy places no longer be subject to pollution from infidels.”121 This implies that apart from the obvious and the generally accepted view that the object of the confederacy was merely political, namely to destroy a power¬ ful Hindu ruler in the neighbourhood, the sacrilege of Muslim holy places by the troops of Vijayanagara was another cause. Prof. H. K. Sherwani probably voiced the opinion of many when he dis¬ believed the statement of Firishta and observed: “It is hardly thinkable that with the ‘Adil Shah as an ally and colleague there should have been desecration of mosques.”122 But it is somewhat curious that in the same article Sherwani gives a different opinion later. Describing the second invasion of Ahmadnagar he writes: “It is related that the army of Vijayanagara, led by Ramraj, again perpetrated every possible atrocity on the people, laid waste the countryside and did not spare even mosques. Naturally, it was not to the liking of ‘All ‘Adil Shah that crimes committed on the oc¬ casion of the first invasion of Ahmadnagar should be repeated and this time he had allied with Ramraj on the express condition that mosques and other sacred edifices should not be desecrated.” In his support Sherwani states in f.n. 26, p. 263: “Fer. II, 127, Briggs, 

III, 224, Basatin, 89, is quite explicit that it was ‘against the under¬ standing with ‘Add Shah that Ramraj’s army caused such depreda¬ tions to mosques and Qurans’ during his attacks on Ahmadnagar. This must have been one of the potent causes of the eventual al¬ liances of the Deccani Sultans against Vijayanagara.”123 

It is evident from the above that during the first invasion of Ahmadnagar the Vijayanagara troops had desecrated mosques and Qur‘ans, otherwise such an understanding would be entirely uncal¬ led for. 

Sherwani is, however, even more explicit while stating the im¬ mediate causes of the Battle of Talikota. On p. 360 (JIH, XXXV) he writes: “No state had suffered more than Ahmadnagar at the hands of the armies of the Southern Empire, for they polluted the mosques and dishonoured women and put to fire and sword every¬ thing and every person who came in their way. . . . Ramraj’s men who had committed great outrages at Ahmadnagar, and omitted no mark of disrespect to the religion of the faithful, singing and per¬ forming. .. .their worship in every mosque.” Though Sherwani does not give any reference, the last passage is from Firishta (Briggs, III, p. 122), and there is a similar account on the preceding page. It is evident, therefore, that though Sherwani dismisses Firishta’s account as exaggeration on p. 259, he accepts the same on p. 361 (JIH, XXXV). 

The historian is thus faced with two intriguing questions: (1) Did the troops of Vijayanagara desecrate the mosques? 

(2) If so, can this be regarded as a ‘potent cause’ of the Muslim confederacy against Vijayanagara? 

As regards the first, all that can be said is that though we have no conclusive evidence to support it, it is not unlikely that the Hindu troops did retaliate, on occasions, against the systematic sacrilege of the Hindu temples and images of gods by Muslim troops and even kings. 

As regards the second, the answer must be in the negative, for it is unreasonable to look for a hypothetical cause when we have obvious explanations for the rivalry between Hindu and Muslim rulers. The view that the sacrilege of the Hindu troops of Vijaya¬ nagara was the reason for the deliberate destruction of the city of Vijayanagara by the Muslim rulers after their victory, is hardly worth serious consideration and cannot be accepted as justification or even excuse for acts of unparalleled vandalism of the Muslims, particularly as the alleged grievance is not yet definitely proved. 

1. H. K. Sherwani, The Bahmanis of the Deccan, p. 394. 

la. For references see below footnote No. 104. 

2. G. Yazdani, Bidar, Its History and Monuments, p. 13. 

Briggs III, 497; the date of the death of Amir Barid given here is wrong but the date in p. 92 (Briggs III) is correct. 

3. Zafar-ul-Walih, 170, quoted by H. K. Sherwani in his article “Independence of Bahmani Governors” PIHC, 1945, p. 161. 

3a. Ibid., 161. 

4. Madsir-i-Rahimi, II, 526. 

5. Basatin-us-Salatin, 272. 

6. Haig: Historical Landmarks of the Deccan, 18, 101. 

7. Sarkar: History of Aurangzih, IV, 2. 

8. “Foreword” by Sir Jadunath Sarkar in J. N. Chowdhuri’s Malik Ambar. 9. Tarikh-i-Firishta, Vol. II, 93; Chowdhuri, Malik Ambar, pp. 5-6. 10. Tarikh-i-Firishta, II, 93. 

11. Briggs: Firishta, III, 206. 

12. Ibid., 207-209. 

13. Ibid., 214. 

13a. For details see below section on Berar. 

14. Briggs. Ill, 52, 216. 

14a. Ibid., pp. 52, 216-7. The complaint made by Isma‘Il about the treatment he received at Ahmadnagar might have served as an additional cause of friction between Bijapur and Ahmadnagar. 

14b. Cf. Chapter XIII, section on Gujarat. 

15. Briggs. Ill, 71. 

16. Sherwani, Telingana under Ibrahim Qutb Shah, JIH, XXXV, p. 42. 17. Tarikh-i-Muhammad Qutb Shah, 113-115. Briggs, III, 382-84. 18. Briggs III, 387. 

19. Ibid., 387. 

20. Ibid., 387-388. 

21. Ibid., 238. 

22. Ibid., 397. 

23. Ibid., 118. 

23a. For a different version, see Sherwani, JIH, XXXV, p. 260 (Ed.). 24. Parenda is situated about seventy-five miles south-east of Ahmadnagar. 25. Ausa is situated about one hundred and thirty miles south-east of Ahmadnagar. 26. Briggs, III, 241. 

27. Ibid., 408-409. Sherwani, JIH, XXXV, p. 265. 

28. Briggs, III, 125. 

29. Briggs, III, 123-125. 

30. Ibid., 126. 

31. JIH, XXXV, 374-375. 

32. Purchas His Pilgrims, X, 93: K.A.N. Sastri, A History of South India (2nd edition), 284; Briggs, III, 130 footnote. 

33. Briggs, IH, 130. 

34. Robbert Sewell, A Forgotten Empire, pp. 206-208. The Portuguese historian Faria-y-Souza says: “The Muhammadans spent five months in plundering Vijayanagara.... In his share of the plunder, ‘Adil Shah got a diamond, as large as an ordinary egg and another of extraordinary size, though smaller, together with other jewels of inestimable value.” Commentaries of Alfonso Albuquerq, Hakluyt Society, II, pp. CXII, CXIII. 

34a. For details see below p. 451. 

35. Chowdhuri, Malik Ambar, 8-9. 

36. Briggs, III, 257-259. 

37. Ibid., 269. 

37a. Some confusion may be caused by the fact that Briggs in one place mentions the lady as Khadlia (III. 161) but in another place (III. 278) names her as Chand Blbi. Khadlja became a widow only a short time ago and it is more likely that Ibrahim wanted her back in Bijapur. This view is also taken in CHI. Ill, p. 461. 

38. Ibid., 284. 

39. Ibid, 287. 

39a. The name is written as Ahang Khan in CHI. Ill, p. 464 with a footnote that it is also written as Abhang Khan. But the latter form is found in the Tazki rat-ul-Mulk (Sarkar’s copy, pp. 511, 573) and the Futuhat-i-Adil Shahi (pp. 267a, 268a), both written in the first half of the seventeenth century A.D. 

40. The Burhan-i-Maasir says that Bijapur sent thirty thousand cavalry and Qufb Shah ten thousand cavalry and twenty thousand infantry to Ahmadnagar. Burhan-i-Maasir, Sarkar’s MSS. Vol. Ill, 1475. These figures appear to be an exaggeration. 

41. Madsir-i-Rahimi, II, 479-481; Tdrikh-i-Firishta II, 158-162; Burhan-i-Maasir, Sarkar’s MSS, III, 1475, 1492; Beveridge, Akbarnama, III, 1028, 1045-1048, 1050. 41a. Briggs, III, 306-309, CHI, III, 465. 

41b. Akbamama of Shaikh Faizi Sirhindi, Elliot VI, 144; Akbamama of Abu-’l-Fazl tr. by H. Beveridge, p. 1159. 

42. Maasir-i-Rahimi, Ii, 482, 484-495, 497-499. Beveridge, Akbamama, III, 1114, 1128-1129,1132,1142- 1144, 1157-1159; Tdrikh-i-Firishta, II, 162-164. 43. Tazkirat-ul-Mulk, Sarkar’s MSS. 571-572; Futuhat-i-Adil Shahi, 267a-267b (Sarkar’s copy); Maasir-ul-Umard III, 7. 

44. Tdrikh-i-Firishta, II, 165. 

45. Chowdhuri, Malik Ambar, 23-25; Tazkirat-ul-Mulk, 576-577; Tdrikh i-Firishta, II, 164; Futuhat-i-Adil Shahi, 269b, 270a (Sarkar’s copy). 46. Tdrikh-i-Firishta, II, 165; Beveridge, Akbamama, III, 1212; Ma’dsir-ul-Umard, III, 7-8; Tazkirat-ul-Mulk, 574. 

47. Basatin-us-Salatin, 270; Tdrikh-i-Firishta, II, 166. 

48. Tazkirat-ul-Mulk, 576-578. 

49. Maasir-i-Rahimi, II, 511. 

50. Futuhat-i-Adil Shahi, 271a, translated by Sarkar. 

51. Chowdhuri, Malik Ambar, 52-53; Futuhat-i-Adil Shahi, 271a; Basatin-us Salatin, 263-264. 52. Tazkirat-ul-Mulk, 578-581; Futuhat-i-Adil Shahi, 271a, 271b; Basdtin-us Saldtin, 263-265, 267. 53. Iqbalnama, 44-45; Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, pers. text (Syed Ahmad’s edition) 85-86, 

88; tr. (R and B, Vol. I), 178-179, 183; William Finch in Purchas His Pilgrims, IV, 39. Chowdhuri, Malik Ambar, 58. 

54. Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, pers. text 107-108; tr. (R and B, Vol. I) 219-21; Iqbalnama, 65-66; Maasiri-Rahimi, II, 520; Basatin-us-Salatin, 271-272. 

55. Chowdhuri, Malik Ambar, 70; Madsiri-i-Rahimi, II, 527. Later on, Khirki was named Aurangabad, according to the name of Aurangzlb. 56. Tuzuk-i-Jahdngiri, pers. text 153-154; tr. (Vol. I) 312-14; Iqbalnama, 84-87; Ma'dsir-i-Rahimi, II, 523-531. 

56a. Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, tr. Vol. I, 338. 

57. Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, pers. text 188, tr. (Vol. I) 380; Iqbalnama, 100; Khafi Khan I, 291. 

58. Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, pers. text 305, 321-322, 330-331 tr. (R and B, Vol. II) 155- 57, 188-90, 206-8; Iqbalnama, 175-176, 181-182; English, Factories in India (1618- 1621), 207 , 210-211,-217-218, 231, 240, 243, 249, 257 , 259, 287 , 296—for disloca¬ tion of trade. 

59. Futuhat-i-Adil-Shahi, 287a, tr. by Sarkar. 

60. Tatimma-i-Tuzuk-i-Jahangir! (Printed in Syed Ahmad’s edition) 386, 391; Iqbalnama 224, 234. 

60a. Chowdhuri, Malik Ahbar, p. 116. 

61. Futuhat-i-Adil-Shahi, 289a, 289b, 290b, 291a, 291b; Tatimma-i-Tuzuk-i-Jahan¬ gir!, 391-392; Iqbalnama, 234-237; Dilkasha, Sarkar’s MSS., 90-92. 62. Tatimma-i-Tuzuk-i-Jahangir!, 392-393; Iqbalnama, 237-238. 

63. Chowdhuri, Malik Ambar, 163. 

64. Ahmadnagar Gazetteer, 395; 423-424. 

65. Tazkirat-ul-Mulk, 578; Futuhat-i-Adil-Shahi, 268a, 270b. 

65a. For details of the fall of Ahmadnagar, see above, pp. 207-8. 66. Briggs, III, 4-8. 

66a. See above, Vol. VI, pp. 304-05. 

67. Briggs, III, 22-29. 

68. P. M. Joshi: Relations between the Adil-Shahi Kingdom of Bijapur and the Portuguese at Goa during the 16th century, NIA, II, (1939-40), 363. 69. Ibid., 363; Briggs, III, 29-30; CHI. Ill, p. 434. 

70. Briggs, III, 30-31. 

71. Ibid., 46-47. 

72. Ibid., 47-48. CHI. Ill, 434-435. 

72a. For details see above, Vol. VI, pp. 314-16 and Ch. XV. 

73. K. A. N. Sastri, A History of South India, 276. For details, see Ch. XV. 74. For details, see Ch. XV. 

75. NIA. II, 364-365. 

76. CHI., Ill, 443-444. See above, section on Ahmadnagar, p. 421. 76a. See above, pp. 424 ff. 

77. Briggs, III, 135, 254-255. 

77a. See Ch. XV. 

78. Bijapur by H. Cousens, 17, 60; Architecture at Bijapur by M. Taylor and J. Fergusson, 32. 

79. Briggs, III, 144-146. 

80. Ibid., 146-148. 

81. Ibid., 171-173. 

81a. See above pp. 430ff. 

81b. See above pp. 437ff. 

82. Meadows Taylor: A student’s Manual of the History of India (4th Edition), (1879), pp. 304-305. 

83. Ibid., 305. 

84. Briggs, III, 169-170. 

84a. For details, see above, chapter on Shah Jahan. 

84b. Khafi Khan I, 531-534, 537. Sarkar: Aurangzih, I, 32-4. 

85. Sarkar, History of Aurangzih I, 253-254 (1912 edition). 

85a.Further sources of Vijayanagara History (K. A. N. Shastri) p. 341. 86. K. D. Swaminathan, The Nayakas of Ikkeri, 73-74; Proceedings of Indian History Records Commission, XVI 50-51. (For other campaigns of Ran daula based on Macleod: De Oost-Indische Campagnie, II, See the chapter on Vijayanagara.—Editor). 

87. K. D. Swaminathan: The Nayakas of Ikkeri, 89. See pp. 498 ff. 88. Ibid., 89; C. S. Srinivasachari: A History of Jinji and, its rulers, 174-186; Sarkar, History of Aurangzih, I, 254. For details, see the Chapter on Vijaya¬ nagara. 

89. Sarkar, History of Aurangzih, IV, 155. 

90. Ibid., 155; Basdtin-us-Salatin, 346-348. 

91. V. Bridhagirison: The Nayaks of Tanjore, 141-144. 

92. K. D. Swaminathan: The Nayakas of Ikkeri, 95, 106-107, 110. 93. Alamgirndma, 988-1021; Sarkar, Aurangzih, IV, 118-144. 

94. K. K. Basu, Some court poets of Ali Adil Shah II of Bijapur (Summary) PIHC (1943), p. 379. 

95. Sarkar, Aurangzih, IV, 158. 

95a. Ibid., 181. _ 

95b. Maasir-i-Alamgiri, tr. by Sarkar, p. 169. 

95c. Ibid., 171; Dilkasha; 202-203; Basatin-us-Saldtin, 540. 

96. Briggs, III, 485-486; CHI., Ill, 398. 

" 97. Briggs, III, 214-215; CHI., Ill, 435. 

98. Briggs, III, 217-221; CHI., Ill, 436. 

98a. Briggs, III, 254-255. 

99. G. Yazdani, Bidar, its history and monuments, 13. For Amir Band’s activi¬ ties, see above pp. 466-7. 

100. Briggs, III, 57. 

100a. Ibid., 60. 

101. Ibid., 60-64. 

101a. G. Yazdani, Bidar, its history and monuments, p. 13. 

101b. Basatin-us-Saldtin, 272-273; G. Yazdani, Bidar, its history and monuments, p. 14. 

102. “Sultan” does not signify his royal title; it was a part of his name. 103. Briggs, III, 321-322; 339-345. 

104. Ibid., 323, Journal of the Hyderabad Archaeological Society (1918), p. 89; JIH, Vol. 33, pp. 281-283; PIHC (1945), p. 159-162. 

105. Briggs, III, 323-324, 377. 

106. N. Narayana Rao, Two Muhammadan patrons of Telugu literature in the 16th century, PIHC (1945), p. 297; Briggs, III, 438; K. A. N. Sastri, A History of South India, 287. 

107. Briggs, III, 446. 

108. Tarikh-i-Muhammad Quth-Shdhi, 165; Briggs III, 446; JIH, XXXV, p. 266; Sherwani: “Cultural and administrative set up under Ibrahim Qutb Shah,” Islamic Culture (1957), p. 242. 

109. Islamic Culture (1957), 130-131, 246; PIHC (1945), 296-298. 110. Briggs, III, 451-452; M. Taylor and J. Ferguson, Architecture at Bijapur, 48; Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society, Vol. VI, pp. 224-253. 110a. H. K. Sherwani, “Political and military aspects of the reign of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah,” JIH, April, 1962. 

110b. K. K. Basu, “A chapter from Golconda History”, Journal of Bihar and Orissa Research Society, XXVIII, pt. II, 179. 

111. Ibid., 179. 

112. Hadigat-us-Saladn, Sarkar’s MSS., 65; Journal of Bihar and Orissa Research Society, XXVIII, pt. II, 180. 

112a. Bernier, pp. 194-5; Tavernier, I, p. 158. 

112b. J. N. Sarkar, History of Aurangzib, IV, 395. 

112c. Indian Travels of Thevenot and Careri, edited by S. N. Sen (Published by the National Archives of India, 1949), p. 144. 

113. For details see chapters on Shah Jahan. 

113a. Bernier, 194-195; Tavernier, I, 158. 

114. Khafi Khan, II, 309-313. 

115. Sarkar, Aurangzib, IV, 400. 

116. Ibid., 401. 

117. Ibid., 402; Maasir-i-Alamgiri, tr. by Sarkar, 175. 

118. Khafi Khan, II, 306. 

119. Ibid., 308. 

120. Ibid., 361. 

121. Briggs, III, 125. 

122. JIH, XXXV, 259. 

123. Ibid., p. 263.