Riyaz al-salatin 102: VICEROYALTY OF NAWAB MU'AZZAM KHAN, KHAN-I-KHANAN.
The Riyazu-s-salatin (Abdus Salam) 102
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VICEROYALTY OF NAWAB MU'AZZAM KHAN, KHAN-I-KHANAN.
102.1
When Nawab Mu'azzam Khan was appointed Subadar of Bengal, he marched towards Bengal with a large army. As the passes of Teliagadhi and Sakrigali had been fortified by Shah Shuj'a, viewing the forcing of those defiles to be a difficult operation, with twelve thousand soldiers he swiftly marched to Bengal by way of Jharkand and the mountains. When the contending armies approached each other, Shah Shuj'a finding it impracticable to tarry at Akbarnagar (Rajmahal) caused 'Alivardi Khan, who was the root of all this mischief, to be slain, himself retired to Tandah, and erecting redoubts, fortified himself there. When the two forces approached each other, separated by the river Ganges, one day Sharif Khan, who was a source of mischief, and Fateh Jang Khan, getting into boats, crossed over to the northern bank, and they were similarly followed by others. From the northern side of the bank, as soon as Sharif Khan landed, the soldiers of Shah Shuj'a gave battle. Nearly seventy persons who had reached the banks were killed and slaughtered. The remaining boats retired from the middle of the river. Sultan Shuj'a ordered the wounded persons to be killed; but Shah Neamatullah Firuzpuri expostulated. Shah Shuj'a who had great faith in this Saint made over to the latter Sharif Khan together with other wounded prisoners. The Saint nursed them, and after their wounds had healed up sent them back to their army.
102.2
But Sultan Muhammad, desiring to desert to his uncle, came alone to meet the latter, and receiving much kindness from his uncle, stayed on with him. Sultan Shuj'a gave his daughter in marriage to him. Sultan Muhammad, on the side of Sultan Shuj'a, fought several battles with the Imperialists, consisting of the Khan-i-Khanan and Diler Khan, &c. At length, on finding Sultan Shuj'a negligent and apathetic, Sultan Muhammad went over again to the side of the Imperialists, and from thence to the presence of Emperor Aurangzeb at Shah Jahanabad, where he was imprisoned. And orders were repeated to the Khan-i-Khanan to pursue Sultan Shuj'a. In short, one day when Diler Khan, &c., crossed the river at Paglaghat, Diler Khan's son, with a number of efficient men, was drowned. Sultan Shuj'a with his dependants and adherents, getting into war-vessels which had been brought up from Jahangirnagar (Dacca), set out for the latter place. The Khan-i-Khanan also followed him up by land. Finding it impossible to make a stand at this place either, Sultan Shuj'a with a number of followers took the road to Assam, and from thence proceeded to Arrakan, and took shelter with the ruler of that tract, who was a Syed, and in a short time he died there, either owing to the treachery of the ruler of that tract, or from natural disease.
102.3
When in the period of anarchy under Sultan Shuj'a, Bhim Narain, Rajah of Kuch Behar, becoming daring, with a large force attacked Ghoraghat, and foresight, and as a general, he was matchless in his day. (See Maasir-ul-Umara, p. 555, Vol III, Pers. text). he captured a large number of the Musalman residents, male and female, of that place, and with the object of conquering Kamrup, to which Province pertained the tracts of Hajo and Gauhati, and which was included in the Imperial domains, he despatched his minister named Sahuanath with a large force. On the news of this invasion, the Rajah of Assam shewing short-sightedness sent also a large force by land and water towards Kamrup. Mir Lutfullah Shirazi, who was Faujdar of the Province of Kamrup, seeing from both sides torrents of invasion overtaking him, and despairing of relief, and being certain about the absence of Imperial auxiliaries, quickly got into a boat, and reached Jahangirnagar or Dacca, and rescued himself from the impending danger. And Sahuanath, not being able to cope with the Assamese, acting up to the saying "To return is better," retired to his own country. The Assamese, without contest, conquered the province of Kamrup, swept it with the broom of plunder, carried by force to their own country all and everything, including the moveable and immoveable effects of the people, pulled down the edifices, left no trace of fertility, and reduced the whole province to one plain, level ground.
102.4
As Sultan Shuj'a was occupied with his own affairs, the infidels of Assam finding an opportunity conquered the environs of mauza Kadi Bari, which is five stages from Jahangirnagar, and placing a garrison at the village of Tabsilah near Kadibari, raised the standard of daring and insurrection. Consequently, when the Khan-i-Khanan reached Jahangirnagar, after devoting himself for some time to administrative business, he collected war-vessels and artillery and other armaments, and leaving Ihtisham Khan to protect Jahangirnagar (Dacca) and its environs, and appointing Rai Bhogati Das Shujai to charge of financial and internal affairs, in the 4th year of Emperor Aurangzeb's accession, corresponding to 1072 A.H., he set out on an expedition towards the conquest of the Kingdoms of Kuch Behar and Assam, sending forward by the river-route, artillery, &c, and himself pushing on by land with a force of twenty thousand efficient cavalry and numerous infantry, via a hill which was frontier of the Imperial dominions. In a short time, he subdued the Kingdom of Kuch Behar up to Gauhati. After this, he pushed on with his forces to conquer Assam. In the meanwhile, the Emperor's order came, directing him to march to Arrakan, in order to rescue the children and ladies of the household of Shah Shuj'a from distress and from imprisonment at the hands of the Arrakanese, and to send them up to the Imperial presence.
102.5
The Khan in reply to the Imperial order, represented that the Imperial troops were busy in fighting to conquer the provinces of Kuch Behar and Assam, and that to march to Arrakan, without accomplishing the conquest of the aforesaid two provinces, was opposed to expediency, and that he would postpone the expedition to Arrakan to next year, and that this year, he would set about subjugating the provinces of Kuch Behar and Assam. After this, on the 27th Jamadialsani of the aforesaid year, marching from Gauhati, he entered Assam. Fighting by water and by land, he pushed through the jungles, mountains and rivers. And wherever he went he established a garrison. Storming the citadel and palace of the Rajah of that country after much fighting, he gained much booty. After successive battles, the hapless Assamese, being routed, fled and escaped to the hills of Bhutan, and the whole of Assam was conquered. At length, the Rajah of Assam drawing the rein of submission to the neck, and wearing the ring of obedience on the ear, deputed a trustworthy envoy to wait on the Khan-i-Khanan with gifts and presents, and agreed to pay tribute to the Emperor, and also sent his own daughter with goods, rare silk-stuffs, elephants and other rarities in charge of Badli Phukan, for Emperor Aurangzeb. The aforesaid Phukan, with all the presents, reaching the outskirts of the city of Dacca, encamped and prepared to set out for the Imperial capital.
102.6
In that the sorcery of the Assamese is well known, the Khan-i-Khanan was affected by their sorcery. For some time he was laid up with pains on the liver and heart ; daily these increased, and pointed to a fatal termination. Although he got himself treated, no beneficial effect was perceptible. He was, therefore, obliged to leave behind Mir Murtaza and other commanders. Leaving garrisons at every strategic point, he proceeded to a hill, and from thence, owing to his illness increasing, he set out on a barge for Jahangirnagar (Dacca). At a distance of two kroh from Khizrpur, on the 2nd of the month of Ramzan 1073 A.H., corresponding to the 5th year of Emperor Aurangzeb's accession, he died on board the vessel. Subsequently, the garrisons of the outposts evacuated their outlying posts, but the Rajah's daughter stayed behind with the tribute, as the Rajah refused to take her back into his household.