B. KHANDESH
The principality of Khandesh was established by one Malik Raja, the son of Khan Jahān Faruqi, a nobleman who flourished in the time of 'Alä-ud-dîn Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq. As Malik Raja claimed descent from Caliph 'Umar Faruq, the dynasty is known as Faruqi. Malik Raja had in his youth attract- ed the notice of Firuz Tughluq during a chase where he was able to supply the hungry Sultan with some food. As a reward the grate- ful monarch conferred on Malik Raja the districts of Thalner and Kuronde situated on the borders of the Deccan.1
Malik
Raja took possession of Thälner in A.D. 1370 and soon after forced the Hindu
king of Baglana to pay an annual tribute to the Sultan of Delhi. Firuz Tughluq
was so pleased with the young officer that he honoured him with the title of
Sipah Sālār of Khändesh and raised him to the rank of a commander of three
thousand horse. Within a few years the enterprising Sipah Sālār was able to
muster twelve thousand horse and raise contributions from neighbouring Hindu
kings.
After the death of Firuz Tughluq, Malik Raja seems to have declared his independence, and in order to strengthen his position, entered into a matrimonial alliance with Malwa, his son Nasir Khän being married to the daughter of Sultan Dilavar Shah of Malwa. Soon after, Malik Raja, relying on the support of Dilävar, invaded Gujarat, but was forced to retreat and seek refuge in the fort of Thalner where he was closely besieged by Muzaffar Shah of Gujarat. Later, however, he was able to conclude peace with Muzaffar.
The
rest of his life Malik Raja spent in developing his kingdom. He became a
disciple of saint Zain-ud-din of Daulatābād from whom he received the
"garb of desire and assent", which became an insignia of the chiefs
of Khandesh. Shortly before his death which took place in A.D. 1399 he
nominated his elder son Nasir Khän as his successor and gave him the robe, but
bestowed on his younger son, Iftikhär,2 the fort and district of Thalner.
Nasir
Khan began his reign by treacherously capturing the strong fortress of Asir
from its Hindu chieftain, for which he was warmly congratulated by the saint
Zain-ud-din who came up to the eastern bank of the Tapti to see Nasir. As the
saint refused to cross the river, a city was built there called Zainābād, while
on the west- ern bank, where Nasir was camped, was constructed the more famous
city of Burhanpur, named after another saint, Shaikh Burhan-ud-din.
In
1417, Nasir was able to secure help from his brother-in-law, Sultan Hüshang of
Malwa, for an attack upon Thälner, his brother's domain. Iftikhar remonstrated
with his brother and then sought in vain the help of Ahmad Shah of Gujarat.
Soon the fort of Thalner fell, and Nasir imprisoned Iftikhar. The combined
Mälwa and Khandesh army then invaded Gujarat and invested the fort of
Sultanpur. This forced Sultan Ahmad of Gujarat to take prompt action. He
collected a considerable army and marched south, which forced the Malwa general
to flee with his contingent, and Nasir to retire to the fort of Thälner. Soon
Nasir was reduced to such a state that he had to conclude peace, which was
granted to him on his acknowledging the suzerainty of the Sultan of Gujarāt,
who bestowed on him the title of Khan, the white canopy and scarlet pavillion.
As the descendants of Nasir always called themselves Khan, the country came to
be known as Khandesh (country of the Khäns),
A
few years later Nasir formed a matrimonial alliance with Ahmad Shah Bahmani by
marrying his daughter to latter's son 'Ala- ud-din. Thus when, in 1429, Kanha
(Krishna), the king of Jhalawar, fled from Gujarat, as mentioned above, and
arrived at Asir seek- ing help, Nasir, afraid of Gujarat's power, sent Kanha
with a letter to the Bahmanī king. Ahmad Shah Bahmani immediately took up
Kānha's cause and helped him with a small force which ravaged Nandurbar, but
soon after was severely defeated by the Gujarat army. To retrieve his honour,
Ahmad Shah Bahmani sent larger force under the command of his son 'Ala-ud-din
who was joined by his father-in-law, Nasir. The allied army then marched on to
Gujarat, but again suffered a defeat. The war between the Bah- manīs and
Gujarāt continued for some time after this, but Nasir took no further part in
their quarrel.
In
1436, Nasir received complaints from his daughter that she was being ill
treated by her husband 'Ala-ud-din, now the Bahmani king. Nasir thereupon
suspended all friendly relations with the Deccan kingdom, and next year
attacked it at the instance of the king of Gujarāt. He first entered Berar, and
exploiting the differ- ences that existed amongst the Deccani nobles, gained
some notable successes and had the khutba read in his own name. But soon after
he had to retire precipitately in face of a large Bahmani army under
Malik-ut-Tujjär. Nasir was pursued to Burhanpur, which was sacked by the Deccan
army, and ultimately had to take refuge in his frontier fortress, Laling, and
appealed to Gujarat and Malwa for help. But Malik-ut-Tujjär, determined to
attack him before any outside help could arrive, pushed on by forced marches
and reached Laling with only about three thousand men. Nasir, who had only
about two thousand men with him, immediately attacked Malik-ut- Tujjar, but
after a severe action was forced to retreat. He died a few days later (A.D.
1437). In spite of this reverse, Nasir Khan had been able to secure the
position of his house and kingdom. He had wisely acknowledged the supremacy of
Gujarat which saved his successors on several occasions.
Nasir
was succeeded by his son Mirän 'Adil Khan who sought the aid of Gujarat and
Mälwa. Shortly after a Gujarat army, arriv- ing at Sultanpur, compelled
Malik-ut-Tujjar to raise the siege of Laling and retire to Deccan. After this,
Miran 'Adil Khän reigned for about three years and was most probably
assassinated in A.D. 1441. He was succeeded by his son Miran Mubarak who
reigned peacefully for sixteen years except for two campaigns against Bag- lāna
mentioned below. (p. 178). After his death in A.D. 1457, his eldest son 'Adil
Khan II came to the throne, and under him Khandesh attained greater prosperity
than ever before.
Adil
Khan forced the Rajās of Gondwana and Garha-Mandla to acknowledge fealty to him
and freed his country from the depre- dations of the Kolis and Bhils. He also
undertook considerable building activities, constructed the citadel of
Burhanpur, and consi- It was in conse- derably strengthened the fortifications
of Asir. quence of the great strength which he had acquired that he assumed the
title of Shah-1-Jharkand (King of the Forest)3 and, contrary to the practice of
his ancestors, not only withheld the annual tribute to the king of Gujarat, but
openly declared that he owed no allegi- ence to that monarch. As a result
Mahmud Begarha of Gujarat marched to Khandesh with his army and forced 'Adil to
pay the rears of tribute (A.D 1498). Thereafter, till his death, five years
la.er (April 8, 1503), 'Adil maintained friendly relations with Gujarā.
'Adil
Khăn died without any male issue, and was succeeded by his younger brother,
Daud. Daud fell completely under the con- trol of two brothers, Husain 'Ali and
Yar 'Ali, and appointed the 101mer as the wazir with the title Hisäm-ud-din. At
the instigation of Hisām-ud-din, Daud declared his intention of attacking
Ahmad- nagar, whereupon Ahmad Nizam Shah invaded Khandesh. Däūd then retired
into the fort of Asir and solicited help from Sultan Nasir-ud-din of Malwa. Nasir-ud-din
sent him sufficient help to in- duce the Nizam Shahi army to leave Khandesh,
but Daud had to pay its price by having the khutba to be read in the name of
Nasir- ud-din. His inglorious reign came to an end with his death in A.D. 1510.
His son Ghazni Khan succeeded him but after two days was poisoned by
Hisäm-ud-din.
As
Ghazni Khan had no near male relations, some of the nobles selected one 'Alam
Khan, a scion of the Farüqi dynasty then re- siding at Ahmadnagar, as the king
of Khandesh. 'Alam Khan was backed by Ahmad Nizām Shah of Ahmadnagar and
'Imād-ud-Mulk of Berar. But 'Adil, son of Hasan and grandson of Nasir Khan,
also advanced his claim to the throne and was supported by his maternal
grandfather Mahmud Begarha of Gujarat. 'Alam received some help from Ahmadnagar
and Berar but the Gujarat army was too powerful for him, so that he fled to
Ahmadnagar. Mahmud there- upon placed 'Adil on the throne of Khandesh with the
title of A'zam Humayun.
'Adil
Khan III had some trouble with his nobles. Early in his reign he was faced with
the disaffection of Hisäm-ud-din, one of the most powerful nobles. 'Adil Khän
had him murdered by some as- sailants, but some time later he found that the
two Gujarati officers, whom he had left in charge of the fort of Asir, had been
conspiring with Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar and the latter had actually arrived on
the frontiers of Khandesh with 'Alam Khan.
'Adil
Khan immediately secured adequate help from his father- in-law, Muzaffar Shah
II of Gujarat, and Ahmad Nizam Shah retreated.
In
1517, 'Adil Khan accompanied his father-in-law Muzaffar Shah to Malwa and
distinguished himself in that campaign. The rest of his reign is uneventful. He
died in 1520 and was succceded by his son Miran Muhammad whose mother was the
daughter of Muzaffar Shāh and sister of Bahadur Shāh of Gujarāt.
Reference
1.
Thalner, 75° 7′ E., 22° 21' N., Kuronde, 73° 28′ E., 21° 18′ N. According to
Sir Denison Ross, the name of the founder of the principality of Khandesh was
Malik Ahmad, who was called Malik Raja and Raja Ahmad. Having joined Bahräm
Khan Mazandarani in his unsuccessful rebellion against the Bahmani king, Malik
Ahmad fled and established himself at Thalner (CHI, III. 294). But Sir Denison
has not given any reference for this version, and I have not been able to find
any. Dr. H. K. Sherwani, also, has not been able to verify this statement (The
Bahmanis of the Deccan, p. 109, f.n. 55). I have, therefore, followed the
version of Firishta (Briggs, IV. 280-327) which has been followed by later
writers and gives the most detailed account of the origin of Khandesh as an
independent State.
[According
to the Ãïn-i-Akbarī, Malik Raja fell on evil days when he was in Bidar. So it
is likely that he began his career there. In the account of the rebellion of
Bahrām Khān the name of Malik Raja does occur, but there were two contemporary
noblemen bearing the name Ahmad, and it is quite likely that Ross confused one
of them with Malik Raja. I am indebted for this informa- tion to Prof. Abdur
Rashid.-Ed.1
2.
According to Firishta (Briggs, IV. 283) the name of Malik Raja's younger son
was
Iftikhar. Ross gives the name as Hasan (CHI, III. 296),
3.
Firishta (Briggs, IV. 298). Ross writes that 'Adil Khan II "carried his
arms as far as Jharkhand, the modern Chota Nagpur, from which circumstance he
is known as Jharkhandi Sultan" (CHI, III. 313). As usual, Ross does not
reveal his source, and it is not possible to check this statement. It is,
therefore, safer to follow Firishta.
4.
Firishta gives the date of his death as Rabi-ul-Awal 14, 909 A.H. which falls
in A.D. 1503. Ross gives the date as A.D. 1501 (CHI, III. 313). There is
similar discrepancy of two years in the reign-period of his successor.
5.
Sir E.Dension Ross, possibly following the Mir'at-i-Ahmadi, has referred to
‘Adil Khan III as 'Alam Khan and states that after coming to the throne he
assumed the title of 'Adil Khan (CHI, III. 313-314). This is, however, at
variance with Firishta (Briggs, IV, 303-4) and Nizam-ud-din (TA, III. i, 282).
6. Nizam-ud-din refers to Miran Muhammad as 'Adil Khan (TA, III, i, 344) but this seems to be a mistake
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