Firishta's History (Gulshan-i Ibrāhīmī) 203: AHMUD SHAH I.
History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India (Briggs) 203
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Contents
AHMUD SHAH I.
203.1.1
Ahmud, the son of Tartar Khan, ascends the throne, agreeably to the will of his grandfather. — His uncles collect a force at Cambay to dispute his claim. — The confederates proclaim Feroze King — they solicit aid from Sooltan Hooshung of Malwa — they disagree, and dissolve their union. — Feroze retires into Baroach — he submits, and is pardoned. — Ahmud Shah builds the city of Ahmudabad. — The Prince Feroze again urges his pretensions to the throne, and unites with Ray Runmul, the exiled Raja of Idur. — Feroze is joined by his brother, Futteh Khan, and occupies Rungpoor. — Rungpoor taken. — Feroze and Ray Runmul of Idur make their escape. — The King proceeds against the Raja of Jhalode. — The latter is supported by Sooltan Hooshung, King of Malwa. — An insurrection created by Ahmud Sheer Kutchy. — The King marches against the King of Malwa, and deputes his brother, the Prince Luteef, against the insurgents under Ahmud Sheer Kutchy. — Ahmud Sheer is defeated, and flies to the Raja of Girnal (Joonagur). — The King proceeds to that fort. — The Raja becomes tributary. — Military operations carried on against the Hindoo chiefs of Guzerat. — The King proceeds to Kandeish and Buglana, where he hears of a formidable confederacy of the Hindoo rajas, in which Sooltan Hooshung of Malwa is connected. — The King returns to Guzerat. — Battle of Kaliada — the Malwa troops are defeated. — Peace concluded.
203.1.2
— Ahmud Shah levies tribute from the Ray of Champanere — besieges Mando — raises the siege, and proceeds to Sarungpoor. — Battle of Sarungpoor. — Pestilence in the Guzerat army. — Ahmud Shah retreats — proceeds to attack Idur, which had been recovered by the Hindoos. — The King constructs a fort near it to watch the garrison, to which he gives the name of Ahmudnuggur. — The Ray agrees to pay tribute. — The King marches to Julwara. — Kanha Ray of Julwara flies to Kandeish — is supported by Nuseer Khan, and by Ahmud Shah Bahmuny, King of Bidur. — The Deccanies are defeated. — A second campaign. — Battle of Manukpoonj. — Bombay and Tanna taken by the Deccanies — recovered by the Guzerat troops. — Ahmud Shah marches to Champanere. — The Deccan army invades Buglana. — The King countermarches and opposes the Deccanies at Tumbole. — Peace concluded. — Ahmud Shah marches into Malwa to support the claims of Musaood Ghoory. — Plague in Malwa. — The King retreats to Guzerat. — His death.
203.1.3
Ahmud Shah was born at Dehly, A.H. 793 (A.D. 1390), and ascended the throne at the early age of twenty-one. During the year A.H. 813 (A.D. 1410), Feroze Khan, the eldest of the sons of the late Moozuffur Shah, hearing of the accession of his nephew Ahmud Shah, collected together some of the discontented nobles, such as Hissam-ool-Moolk, Mullik Sheer, Mullik Kureem, Mullik Khoosrow, Jeevundas, and Vinaikdas Kuhtry, and through their means raised a force and marched to Cambay, where they formed a junction with Ameer Mahmood Toork and the Prince Heibut Khan, who had also formed an army at that spot. Upon this intelligence being made known to the other brothers, the Princes Sadut Khan and Sheer Khan also joined; and a council being held, it was resolved to march, in the first instance, with their army (consisting of between seven thousand and eight thousand men) to Baroach, where they encamped on the Nerbudda. Feroze Khan was proclaimed king, and assumed the white canopy and scarlet pavilion. He invited Sooltan Hooshung of Malwa to march to his assistance; but the latter required a promise from him that in case of success the confederates should pay him one hundred thousand tunkas for every march that his army made.
203.1.4
Ahmud Shah, however, took timely precautions for the security of his crown. In the first place, he sent deputations to his uncles, and at the same time caused a small force to advance and keep the confederates in check; but this detachment was attacked and defeated by Raja Vinaikdas. Dissensions, however, shortly after arising among the pretenders, an affray ensued, in which Vinaikdas lost his life, and many of the troops went over to the King’s army, so that Feroze Khan was obliged to break up his camp on the Nerbudda, and to take post in the fort of Baroach. Ahmud Shah, respecting the ties of blood which subsisted between him and the pretender, sent people into Baroach, urging Feroze Khan and his brothers to desist from further hostility, and they, finding themselves daily deserted by their troops, and that their finances were much reduced, submitted to the King’s clemency. Ahmud Shah received them kindly, and restored them to the respective estates which they had held under the late king. Sooltan Hooshung of Malwa, however, who had not yet effected a junction with the army of the insurgents, was employed in devastating the eastern provinces of Guzerat; and Ahmud Shah sent Imad-ool-Moolk to expel him, an object which was not effected without difficulty.
203.1.5
The King, who had always professed himself extremely partial to the air and situation of the town of Yessavul, situated on the banks of the Saburmutty, in the latter end of this year (being 815) laid the foundation of a new city, which he caused to be called Ahmudabad; and the town of Yessavul formed one of the mohullas or parishes in the suburbs of that city, which afterwards became the capital of the kings of Guzerat. The houses of Ahmudabad are in general built of brick and mortar, and the roofs tiled. There are three hundred and sixty different mohullas, each mohulla having a wall surrounding it. The principal streets are sufficiently wide to admit of ten carriages abreast. It is hardly necessary to add that this is, on the whole, the handsomest city in Hindoostan, and perhaps in the world. Feroze Khan, in the latter end of this year, having again set up his pretensions to the crown, was joined by Rookn Khan, the governor of Mahrasa, with a considerable force, and he even promised to reinstate Raja Runmul in his possessions at Idur, on condition of his joining his standard with five or six thousand horse, and a number of foot. In the mean time, Ahmud Shah having collected a large force, marched to Mahrasa, where the rebels had taken post.
203.1.6
Futteh Khan, the younger brother of the pretender, was sent in advance against him, but he treacherously deserted with his whole party to Feroze Khan, who having left Mullik Budr and Rookn Khan to defend Mahrasa, marched with Ray Runmul to Rungpoor, a town situated at the distance of ten miles. Meanwhile Ahmud Shah employed persons to induce Rookn Khan and Mullik Budr to abandon the cause of the pretender; but finding his remonstrances of no avail, the King quitted Mahrasa, and invested Rungpoor. On the following day, Rookn Khan, Mullik Budr, Zungy Khan, and Seif Khan, made a sally on the King’s troops, but were repulsed. Ahmud Shah continued during the siege to send messengers to the fort, dissuading his uncle, in vain, from further resistance; till at length Mullik Budr and Zungy Khan, having stated that they were empowered to enter into negotiations with certain officers of the royal army whom they named, and who were sent for that purpose; on approaching the fort-gate near the ditch, a party sallied and succeed in taking some of the King’s deputies prisoners. Notwithstanding this act of treachery, Rungpoor was carried by storm two days afterwards, and both Rookn Khan and Mullik Budr fell in the assault, while Feroze Khan and Ray Runmul fled for refuge to the hills.
203.1.7
These circumstances are otherwise related by different historians; but I have selected the authorities which I consider best entitled to credit. It is said that soon after Ray Runmul and Feroze Khan had some disagreement, and the former seized the horses, elephants, and other effects of the latter; and in order to gain favour with the King he sent them to him. Feroze Khan fled to Nagoor, where he was put to death by the governor.
203.1.8
In the following year, Ahmud Shah proceeded to attack the Raja of Julwara. The latter solicited the assistance of Sooltan Hooshung of Malwa, who accordingly marched and plundered some of the eastern provinces of Guzerat; in which direction Ahmud Shah no sooner moved, than his attention was distracted by commotions in another quarter. Ahmud Sheer Kutchy, and Sheer Mullik, the son of Sheikh Mullik Adum of Bhukkur, officers of the late court, taking advantage of the King’s absence, committed depredations on Guzerat; and though Ahmud Shah had actually marched towards Malwa, he was compelled, on arriving in the district of Champanere, to make two detachments from his army: the one under the command of Mullik Imad-ool-Moolk Samarkandy, to attack Sooltan Hooshung, and the other under the command of his younger brother, the Prince Luteef Khan, whom he appointed, under Nizam-ool-Moolk, to attack Ahmud Sheer Kutchy and Sheer Mullik. Sooltan Hooshung, too well acquainted with the troops of Guzerat in the time of Moozuffur Shah, fled on the approach of the detachment, without halting till he arrived at the fort of D’har; while the other detachment under the Prince Luteef Khan defeated and pursued the rebels so closely as to take all their baggage. The author from whom I write states, that Sheer Mullik having escaped, found refuge with the Raja of Girnal.
203.2.1
Ahmud Shah having a great curiosity to see the hill-fort of Girnal pursued the rebel in that direction; and as none of the former rajas had yet bent their necks to the Mahomedan yoke, he took advantage of the circumstance of the Raja having afforded an asylum to Sheer Mullik to make it a plea for invading his country. On his arrival at the hills in its vicinity, the King was opposed by the Hindoo prince, who, unaccustomed to the brunt of Mahomedan warfare, was defeated, and pursued to the fortress of Girnal, now called Joonagur. After a short time, the Raja, having consented to pay an annual tribute, made a large offering on the spot. Ahmud Shah left officers to collect the stipulated amount, and returned to Ahmudabad; on the road to which place he destroyed the temple of Somapoor, wherein were found many valuable jewels, and other property. In the year 817, Mullik Tohfa, one of the officers of the King’s government, was ennobled by the title of Taj-ool-Moolk, and received a special commission to destroy all idolatrous temples, and establish the Mahomedan authority throughout Guzerat; a duty which he executed with such diligence, that the names of Mawass and Girass were hereafter unheard of in the whole kingdom.
203.2.2
In the year 819, Ahmud Shah marched against Nagoor; on the road to which place he plundered the country, and destroyed the temples. After his arrival there, he attacked the fort, and carried it by storm; but hearing that Khizr Khan, who had at this time assumed the government of Dehly, was on his march towards it, he retreated, and passing along the confines of Malwa, returned towards Ahmudabad. In the year 821, the King learned that Mullik Nuseer of Aseer and Sooltan Hooshung of Malwa had united and committed depredations on the districts of Sooltanpoor and Nundoorbar. He in consequence marched in that direction; whence he proceeded to the fort of Tumbole, and compelled the Raja to pay a considerable sum of money. The rains having set in, Ahmud Shah was desirous of retiring to his capital, but he obtained information which induced him to prepare for war in another quarter. During his absence in Buglana, the rajas of Idur, Champanere, Mundulgur, and Nadoot, had written petitions to Sooltan Hooshung, inviting him to the invasion of Guzerat. This intelligence was confirmed by a letter which the King received about the same time from his cousin Feroze Khan, the son of his uncle Shums Khan, which was brought in nine days from Nagoor to Nundoorbar; in which he stated positively, that Sooltan Hooshung, taking advantage of the King's absence, contemplated the conquest of Guzerat;
203.2.3
that he had made overtures to him for that purpose, setting forth, that he had been invited by frequent applications from the zemindars to invade the kingdom, and that he had now absolutely commenced his march. Feroze Khan also adds, "The King of Malwa, calcu- “culating on my not being on good terms with your Majesty, proposes to add the district of Nehrwala to my estates.” The movements of Sooltan Hooshung confirmed this information; so that the King, notwithstanding the rains, crossed the Nerbudda, and encamped his army on the banks of the Mehndry; from whence, having selected a small force, he made rapid marches towards Ahmudabad, and thence to Mhowrasso. The Raja of Sorut having heard of the projected invasion by Sooltan Hooshung, refused to pay the usual tribute. Mullik Nuseer, also, taking advantage of the moment, attacked his brother Mullik Iftikhar in the fort of Talnere, with whom he had previously consented to divide the province of Kandeish, and to whose aid Sooltan Hooshung had detached his son Ghizny Khan. These confederates now invaded the district of Sooltanpoor. Such was the state of affairs when Ahmud Shah returned to Guzerat. He therefore deputed Mahmood Toork to levy the tribute from the Raja of Sorut, and Mahomed Toork and Mokhlis-ool-Moolk to disperse the forces of Mullik Nuseer and Ghizny Khan. These officers succeeded in effecting the object on which they were employed;
203.2.4
but the King reserved the punishment of Sooltan Hooshung of Malwa till the following year, when he marched in person against that prince, leaving Nizam-ool-Moolk in charge of the affairs of his government, with orders to attack the Raja of Mundalgur. Having thus provided for his absence, Ahmud Shah marched by the route of Mahrasa into Malwa, and found Sooltan Hooshung with a large army posted in a strong position, with his rear thrown back on the village of Kaliada, having a number of low prickly hedges partly protecting his front. Ahmud Shah, after reconnoitring his position, made immediate dispositions to attack the enemy. Mahomed Toork commanded the right wing, and Mullik Fureed, the son of Imad-ool-Moolk, the left. The action commenced by the Guzeratties skirmishing, in order to draw the enemy from his strong position, a manoeuvre which only partially succeeded, till one of the Guzerat elephants becoming furious, charged the enemy’s line, broke through it, and opened a passage to the cavalry. On this occasion, Ghizny Khan, Prince of Malwa, received an arrow-wound which obliged him to fall back with his elephants; and this circumstance having caused some confusion, was taken advantage of by Mullik Fureed, who galloping round the village fell upon the rear of the Malwites, and completed the defeat. Sooltan Hooshung fled to Mando, and the Guzerat troops pursued the flying enemy till within a few miles of that place.
203.2.5
The rainy season having set in, Ahmud Shah returned to Guzerat, and rewarded in the most liberal manner all those officers who had distinguished themselves in the late action. After the rains, the King having caused the fortress of Soangur to be repaired, proceeded in person to Idur, from whence he detached a force into Malwa to lay waste that country. On the following year an envoy arrived from Sooltan Hooshung, and a peace was concluded between the Malwa and Guzerat sovereigns; but the latter resolved to punish the Ray of Champanere, one of the confederates, who had originally invited Sooltan Hooshung to the invasion of Guzerat. He therefore marched and invested that place, and the Ray consented to pay an annual tribute. Notwithstanding the recent treaty which had been formed, such was the restless character of Sooltan Hooshung, that in the course of two years Ahmud Shah was again compelled to take the field against him. He marched a force directly to Mando, without meeting opposition; and having encamped opposite the Sarungpoor gate of the fort, he commenced the siege by regular approaches.
203.2.6
Sooltan Hooshung, confident in the strength of the fortress, left Mando, and taking six thousand horse with him, went to Jajnuggur, where he intended to obtain some elephants, in order to make a stand in the field against Ahmud Shah. For this reason he left the place in charge of a confidential officer, and returned at the expiration of six months, during which time the siege continued; but it is most extraordinary, that he marched out and came back without the besiegers being aware he had left the garrison. The first intimation which Ahmud Shah received of the circumstance was on the return of Sooltan Hooshung, which was announced by flags being hoisted on the bastions, accompanied with the sound of drums and trumpets. Ahmud Shah, ashamed and vexed, raised the siege, and vented his rage in plundering the country. In this warfare he was frequently opposed by the Malwites, but the Guzeratties were, in general, victorious. The following is an extract from the Tareekh Alfy of Moolla Ahmud, which appears to give a clear and more probable account of the whole campaign, and the cause of its commencement: —
203.2.7
“In the year 825,” says Moolla Ahmud, “Sooltan Hooshung having assumed the dress of a horse-merchant, went to Jajnuggur in order to procure elephants. Ahmud Shah of Guzerat having heard that he had left his kingdom, and that his officers had divided it among themselves, took advantage of this state of affairs to invade Malwa. In the first place, he reduced the fort of Meheswur, and thence marched to Mando, detaching, at the same time, small bodies of cavalry to plunder the country. He continued the siege of Mando but a short period, when the rains setting in, he proceeded to Oojein, leaving detachments in the several districts of Malwa, to assist in collecting the revenues of the khurreef or autumnal crop. Meanwhile, he ordered bat- “tering rams and engines to be brought from Guzerat, for the purpose of besieging Mando; which having arrived under Mullik Mokurrib from Ahmudabad, he renewed the siege, detaching Mullik Mokurrib to secure the approach by the Tarapoor gate.
203.2.8
“At this period intelligence was received that Sooltan Hooshung was on his return to Malwa; Ahmud Shah therefore raised the siege of Mando, and calling in his different detachments, marched with the whole army towards Sarungpoor. Sooltan Hooshung, having timely intimation of Ahmud Shah’s movement, made rapid marches, and reached Sarungpoor before him. Whence he deputed messengers to Ahmud Shah, to endeavour to detain him by negotiation, till he should have time to repair the ditch and the boundary hedge of Sarungpoor.
203.3.1
“Ahmud Shah, however, marched on; but he had no sooner reached the place than Sooltan Hooshung made a night-attack on his camp, though his ambassador was still with him. The Gujeratties being surprised, were many of them cut to pieces, and Ahmud Shah made his escape with difficulty, attended by only one domestic. When he had got clear of the camp he halted, and ordered his attendant to go and bring him in- “formation how the Malwites were engaged. The messenger returned, and reported that they were chiefly employed in plunder. On which, collecting his scattered army during the night, he was enabled to muster one thousand horse. With this small body, he anxiously waited on the confines of the camp till daybreak, when he attacked it. The Malwa troops, fatigued with the former night’s work, had, for the most part, given themselves up to sleep, while some few were still engaged in plundering; they consequently made but feeble resistance, and the slaughter among them was severe. Ahmud Shah not only recovered on this occasion all the elephants he had formerly lost, but he acquired seven other large ones, which had been brought from Jajnuggur.
203.3.2
“Sooltan Hooshung fled to the fort of Sarungpoor, to which Ahmud Shah laid siege; but he was obliged, in consequence of an epidemic that raged in the camp, to abandon his purpose, and commence his retreat; in which he was closely pursued by Sooltan Hooshung, who hung upon his flanks, and harassed him on the line of march. At length Ahmud Shah halting, brought on a general action, in which Sooltan Hooshung was defeated with the loss of four thousand nine hundred men; which enabled Ahmud Shah, though not without much difficulty, to bring off his army; and, in consideration of what his troops had suffered during this campaign, he abstained from any foreign attacks for some years.” In the year 829, he marched to retake Idur. On the banks of the river Hatmutty, in the vicinity of Idur, he constructed a fort, which he called Ahmudnuggur, and then returned to his capital. On this occasion the Raja Poonja Ray made some defence; but being defeated, fled to the hills of Beesulnuggur.
203.3.3
In the year 830, the King was induced to return to the country of Idur, having heard that Poonja Ray had collected a force in that neighbourhood. The two armies meeting, a severe conflict ensued, in which the Ray’s army was defeated, and himself killed; when Ahmud Shah ordered a detachment to lay waste the country of Beesulnuggur. Meanwhile the son of Poonja Ray promised to pay into the treasury of Guzerat an annual tribute of three lacks of tunkas of silver. From Idur the King marched into the district of Gilwara. In the year 832 he marched again to Idur; and on the sixth of Suffur carried by storm one of the principal forts in that province, wherein he built a magnificent mosque. In the following year, Kanha Ray, the Raja of Jhalode, perceiving the system which Ahmud Shah pursued towards the Hindoos, fled with his family and property to Aseer, and presented Nuseer Khan, the Prince of Kandeish, with two elephants, which he had succeeded in bringing away with him when he escaped from a detachment sent in pursuit by Ahmud Shah.
203.3.4
The Ray having thus secured the interest of Nuseer Khan (who was connected with Sooltan Ahmud Shah Bahmuny), that chief prevailed on the King of the Deccan to furnish a small body of troops to accompany the Ray, in order to recover his country. Instead of marching towards Jhalode, however, the Raja plundered the districts of Sooltanpoor and Nundoorbar, on which Ahmud Shah sent a force under Mullik Mokurrib, with his son the Prince Mahomed Khan, to punish the invaders. The armies met near Sooltanpoor: the Deccany troops were defeated, and the few who escaped fled to Dowlutabad.
203.3.5
This intelligence reaching the ears of Ahmud Shah Bahmuny, he appointed his son Alla-ood-Deen, accompanied by a force commanded by Khan Jehan and Kuddur Khan, to retrieve the character of the Deccany arms. This force assembled under the walls of Dowlutabad, where it was joined by the Raja of Jhalode and by Nuseer Khan Farooky of Aseer, whose daughter was married to the Prince Alla-ood-Deen. It moved several marches in the direction of the Guzerat troops, and encountered them on the top of the Manukpoonj pass, where an action ensued, in which the two commanders-in-chief, Mullik Mokurrib of Guzerat and Kuddur Khan of Deccan, were personally opposed to each other. The latter being unhorsed was killed in the fall; but the Deccanies, who were retreating, rallied, and forming into a solid body, made a desperate charge on the Guzeratties. They were, however, so steadily opposed that they fell back, and became subsequently completely routed. The Prince of the Deccan fled to Dowlutabad, and the Raja of Jhalode and Nuseer Khan took refuge in the hills of Kandeish; after which the Prince Mahomed Khan returned to Ahmudabad.
203.3.6
In the same year, Kootb Khan, the governor of Mahim, dying, Sooltan Ahmud Shah Bahmuny thought this a favourable opportunity to obtain possession of that island, which he effected without loss. Ahmud Shah instantly deputed his youngest son, Zuffur Khan, with a force commanded by Mullik Iftikhar Khan, to retake it. For this purpose, orders were sent to Diu, Gogo, and Cambay, to collect shipping; and a fleet was formed, consisting of seventeen sail, on which part of the army embarked, while the remainder marched to Tanna by land, which had now also fallen into the hands of the Deccanies. In the first place, Tanna was invested by Mullik Iftikhar, and the fleet anchoring off the port, all communication was cut off both by sea and land. The officer commanding the garrison made two or three vigorous sallies; but being always repulsed with loss, and finding himself incapable of making any effectual defence, and despairing of succour, he fell back on Mahim. The fort of Tanna capitulated next day, and Mullik Iftikhar marched on to the attack of Mahim. On his arrival, he found that Mullik-oot-Toojar, the Deccany general, had formed a very strong wattled breast-work on that face of the island by which the Guzeratties must necessarily approach; and though this barrier proved a very serious obstacle, it was by no means insuperable. The Guzerat troops stormed and carried the stockade with great gallantry, but not without considerable loss.
203.3.7
They now found themselves opposed to the whole of the Deccan line. A severe action ensued, which was undecided at night-fall; on which occasion, the heroes on both sides lay down on the variegated carpet, deeply tinged with each other’s blood. During the night, Mullik-oot-Toojar retreated to the contiguous island; which being closely blockaded by the fleet and by the troops which were also landed, he escaped to the continent, where he effected a junction with a body of Deccanies, consisting of ten thousand horse and sixty elephants, under the command of Khwaja Jehan, accompanied by the Bahmuny Prince Mahomed Khan. This force had been sent in consequence of Mullik-oot-Toojar’s requisition for reinforcements, even before the attack on Mahim. With this army the Deccany prince marched to retake Tanna; but the Guzerat prince having intimation of his movement, proceeded in person with a strong detachment to intercept the Deccanies. Both armies arrived before Tanna on the same day; and another action ensued, which lasted from break-of day till sunset, when the Deccanies were ultimately defeated, and dispersed. Mullik-oot-Toojar took refuge in Chakun, while the Prince and Khwaja Jehan did not halt till they reached Dowlutabad. Among the articles taken at the island of Mahim were some beautiful gold and silver embroidered muslins, with which vessels were laden and sent to Ahmudabad. In the year 835, Ahmud Shah, leaving his eldest son at the capital, marched in person to Champanere;
203.3.8
and Ahmud Shah Bahmuny, in order to have his revenge, also marched at the head of an army to Buglana, a district contiguous to Surat, which he completely devastated. The King receiving information of this attack countermarched from Champanere to Nundoorbar, destroying Nadout on his march. Ahmud Shah Bahmuny, who was at this period engaged in the siege of Tumbole, retreated to his capital, and Ahmud Shah of Guzerat returned towards Ahmudabad; but he had scarcely reached the river Tapty, when he received intimation that Ahmud Shah Bahmuny had returned to the attack of Tumbole, a measure occasioned, it seems, by the King of the Deccan mistaking for pusillanimity the offers made by Ahmud Shah to negotiate a peace. Ahmud Shah of Guzerat now returned towards the enemy, and arrived within a few miles of the town of Tumbole, when Ahmud Shah Bahmuny resolved to make an attempt to carry the place by escalade that night. A few Naigs were in consequence selected for this service; some of whom succeeded in gaining a footing on the ramparts before they were discovered; but the alarm being once given, the commandant of the garrison, Mullik Sadut Sooltany, having collected a small party, attacked the assailants, and nearly destroyed the whole. A few threw themselves over the works.
203.3.9
At the same time the garrison made a sally on the enemy’s camp, by which the besiegers suffered severely before they could oppose the attacking party, which escaped back to the fort under cover of the night, without loss.
203.4.1
On the next morning the Guzerat army arrived; and Ahmud Shah Bahmuny, stung with vexation at the repeated defeats his arms had suffered during the late campaign, seemed determined to retrieve the character of the Deccanies in a general action. When the two lines were drawn out opposite to each other, Ajdur Khan, a young Deccany nobleman, galloped forth and challenged any of the nobles of Guzerat to meet him singly. The offer was accepted by Azd-ool-Moolk of Guzerat, and they both fought as the opposing armies advanced. Ajdur Khan was severely wounded, and taken prisoner, soon after which the action became general. It was severe on both sides, and continued till sunset, when the retreat was mutually sounded; and this would have been considered a drawn battle, but the King of the Deccan having experienced a very heavy loss in killed and wounded, commenced his retreat during the night. Ahmud Shah on the next day went into the fort of Tumbole, and with his own hands conferred donations and titles on Mullik Sadut and his brave garrison, which he reinforced, and then marched to Talnere; whence he proceeded to Nadout; and having left Ein-ool-Moolk in charge of that district, returned to Ahmudabad. In the Siraj-oot-Tareekh Bahmuny, the account of the siege of Tumbole is somewhat differently related; but I think the Deccan historian is not so clear in his account as the Guzerat author, to whose text I have adhered, though God only knows which authority is most to be relied on.
203.4.2
In the year 836, Ahmud Shah having contracted his son Futteh Khan in marriage with the daughter of the Ray of Mahim, marched towards Nagoor and Mewat. On his arrival at Dongurpoor, he received large presents, and exacted tribute from the Raja; thence entering the country of the Kolies and Bheels, subject to Rana Mokul of Chittoor, he laid it waste; and proceeding into the district of Meywar, he levied contributions from the rays of Kota, Boondy, and Novylaye. During this campaign he was joined by Feroze Khan of Nagoor, who made an offering of several lacks of tunkas, which, however, were not accepted by Ahmud Shah. He now returned to Ahmudabad. In the year 839, Mahmood Khan Khiljy, one of the officers of the Malwa government, having rebelled, drove Musaood (the grandson of Sooltan Hooshung Ghoory) from the throne, who sought protection at the court of Guzerat. In the following year, Ahmud Shah felt himself bound to march an army in order to reinstate him. On his arrival at Basowda he detached part of the force in advance towards Mando to intercept Khan Jezhan, the father of the usurper, then on his march from Chundery; but when the latter heard of the movement of Ahmud Shah, he made forced marches to the capital and reinforced his son, now styling himself Sooltan Mahmood Khiljy. Ahmud Shah at length arrived before Mando, and the Malwites made several trifling sallies;
203.4.3
but in a night-attack, of which Ahmud Shah obtained previous information, they were so completely repulsed that they almost all fell victims to their temerity. On the following morning Ahmud Shah detached his son Mahomed Khan, with a body of five thousand horse, to plunder the country of Sarungpoor, with orders to join Oomr Khan, a son of the late King of Malwa, who, having raised a force, was also on his march from Chundery to the capital. Sooltan Mahmood Khiljy, in spite of these disadvantages, was enabled to hold out in the fort; for he had laid in store a large quantity of ammunition and provisions, while the besiegers found it difficult to subsist. In this state of affairs he made a sally from the Tarapoor gate, leaving his father in charge of the fort, and marched to Sarungpoor. On the road, having encountered Mullik Hajy Ally of Guzerat, who was posted to guard a ford on the Chumbul, he attacked and completely defeated him, compelling him to seek refuge in Ahmud Shah’s camp. Sooltan Mahmood, following up his success, attacked the Prince Oomr Khan, whom he also defeated and slew, and eventually established himself on the throne of Malwa. At this time the plague (a disease very unusual in India) broke out in the army of Ahmud Shah, so that many of the dead remained unburied.
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The King of Guzerat was, therefore, induced to quit Malwa, and to retreat to Ahmudabad, where he eventually died, on the 4th of Rubbee-ool-Awul, in the year 847, after a reign of nearly thirty-three years,