Firishta's History (Gulshan-i Ibrāhīmī) 223: SOOLTAN HOOSHUNG GHOORY
History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India (Briggs) 223
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Contents
SOOLTAN HOOSHUNG GHOORY
223.1.1
Ascends his father's throne — is accused of poisoning his father — is attacked by Moozuffur Shah I. King of Guzerat — is taken prisoner, and the government placed in the hands of Noosrut Khan. — The inhabitants of Malwa revolt from Noosrut Khan, who is obliged to fly. — Sooltan Hooshung is released, and restored to his throne — he invades Guzerat, and supports a pretender to the crown. — Ahmud Shah invades Malwa. — Battle of Sarungpoor. — Retreat of Ahmud Shah. Sooltan Hooshung besieges Gualiar — besieges Kalpy, and makes the governor submit to his authority — wrests Kehrla out of the hands of the Hindoo raja. — Sooltan Hooshung appoints his son, Ghizny Khan, his successor, and dies. AFTER the death of his father, Alp Khan assumed the title of King of Malwa, under the name of Sooltan Hooshung Ghoory, and the nobles coming to court, paid their allegiance; but a rumour being prevalent at the time, that his father had been assassinated by him, Moozuffur Shah of Guzerat, in consideration of the intimacy which had subsisted between him and the late king, marched against Sooltan Hooshung; and in the beginning of the year 810, Moozuffur Shah reached the fort of D’har without resistance, where Sooltan Hooshung opposed him.
223.1.2
The armies came to action on the plain in front of the town, and engaged with mutual ardour; on which occasion Moozuffur Shah was wounded, and Sooltan Hooshung was unhorsed; but the troops still continued to fight desperately, till at length fickle fortune, who does not always favour the bravest, turned the scale in favour of Guzerat. Sooltan Hooshung threw himself into the fort of D’har, wherein he was closely besieged by the Guzeratties; but conceiving himself unable to cope with success against Moozuffur Shah, he surrendered at discretion. Sooltan Hooshung was delivered over in charge to some of the Guzerat nobles, and Noosrut Khan, the victorious King’s brother, was left in charge of the government of Malwa, with a strong detachment from the Guzerat force; and the Malwa troops were directed to obey him as their leader. Moozuffur Shah then retired to Guzerat. Noosrut Khan, extorting large sums of money, and otherwise oppressing the inhabitants, created universal disaffection; so that Moozuffur Shah had scarcely retired from Malwa when Noosrut Khan, apprehensive of remaining longer in D’har, commenced his retreat to Guzerat; while the Malwa army, taking advantage of the circumstance, attacked and destroyed part of his force. The Malwites, however, dreading the vengeance of Moozuffur Shah, abandoned D’har, and took refuge in Mando, where they considered themselves safe, and created Moosy Khan, nephew of the late Dilawur Khan, their leader.
223.1.3
When this information reached Guzerat, Sooltan Hooshung, although a state-prisoner, wrote a letter with his own hand to Moozuffur Shah, saying, "Considering your Majesty as my father and uncle, I am induced thus to address you. The insinuations with which interested persons have assailed your royal ear, I take God to witness, are false. It is now reported that the chiefs of Malwa, forgetting their duty to the respectable Noosrut Khan, have insulted him by electing Moosy Khan as their leader, and that having usurped the control over the territory of Malwa, they breathe the spirit of defiance. If your Majesty will condescend to raise me from the dust to which I have fallen, it is possible that I may recover the usurped dominion." Moozuffur Shah, after imposing certain conditions on Sooltan Hooshung, released him from confinement, and ordered his grandson, the Prince Ahmud, to reinstate him on his throne. In the year 811, Prince Ahmud, accompanied by Sooltan Hooshung, left Guzerat, and proceeded direct to D'har, which they soon reduced; and, having reinstated Sooltan Hooshung in his authority, the Prince Ahmud returned to Guzerat.
223.1.4
Sooltan Hooshung remained for some days in the city of D'har, where being shortly after joined by many of the Malwa officers, he sent communications to those in Mando, many of whom rejoiced at his arrival, and were ready to join him: but their families being in the fort they were unwilling to abandon them, and were, therefore, unable immediately to form that junction which they so much desired. Sooltan Hooshung collected a small force and laid siege to Mando; but having lost a number of men without gaining any advantage, he conceived it better to disperse his army into separate detachments, in order to occupy the towns in the different districts.
223.1.5
In the mean time, Mullik Mogheis, the cousin of Sooltan Hooshung, held a private consultation with Mullik Khizr, commonly called Meean Agha, saying, “Notwithstanding Moosy Khan is a fine young man, and is also my cousin, yet in point of courage, ability, and good judgment, Hooshung has borne away the palm from the rest of the family. We have the means of putting him in possession of the throne, and I am desirous of promoting the object, both on account of his character and claims, as well as on account of my affection for him, for he was brought up principally under my own mother’s charge.” Meean Agha approving of the measure, they both quitted the fort during the night, and came direct to Sooltan Hooshung, who appointed Mullik Mogheis his minister and deputy during his absence, if such ever took place again. Moosy Khan having learned what had occurred, and despairing of maintaining his authority, abandoned the fort to Sooltan Hooshung, who assumed the government of Malwa.
223.1.6
In the year 813, Moozuffur Shah of Guzerat dying, his grandson, the Prince Ahmud, succeeded to the throne, according to the will of his grandsire. On this occasion Feroze Khan and Heibut Khan, sons of the late king, and uncles to Ahmud Shah, having determined to oppose him, raised troops in Baroach, and invited Sooltan Hooshung to march to their assistance. Hooshung, unmindful of the generosity of Moozuffur Shah, and forgetting the personal obligations he owed to Ahmud Shah, recollected only the first cause of the invasion of Malwa, and therefore resolved to march and lay waste part of Guzerat. Ahmud Shah having taken timely precautions, marched with a large force direct to Baroach, where the pretender and his brother were reduced to throw themselves on his mercy, while Sooltan Hooshung returned immediately to D’har. But so restless was the disposition of this prince, or so inveterate his enmity to the King of Guzerat, that he shortly afterwards involved himself in a new war. In the year 816, having heard that Ahmud Shah had marched against the Raja of Julwara, and invested his capital, Sooltan Hooshung, in spite of the gratitude he owed the King of Guzerat, led an army into his territory, and laid it waste. Ahmud Shah for the present postponed the attack on Julwara, and sent his troops to the east, towards Champanere, when Sooltan Hooshung fled with precipitation to Malwa.
223.1.7
At this period, Mullik Nuseer, the elder son of the late ruler of Kandeish, having seized on Talnere, the hereditary estate of his younger brother, Mahomed Iftikhar, the latter solicited the aid of Sooltan Hooshung, who sent his son Ghizny Khan with fifteen hundred cavalry to the south, when having secured the fort of Talnere, he proceeded to attack Sooltanpoor, a district of Guzerat; but on the approach of Ahmud Shah, the Prince of Malwa retreated. Ahmud Shah had no sooner gone to Sooltanpoor than the rajas of Guzerat, particularly those of Julwara, Champanere, Nandote, and Idur, taking advantage of his absence, wrote letters to Sooltan Hooshung, saying, that although they had not succeeded in their last attempt, yet if he would now invade Guzerat, they were prepared to assist him with all their forces; promising, at the same time, that they would furnish guides to lead his army by an unfrequented route into the centre of Guzerat, without Ahmud Shah’s knowledge. Sooltan Hooshung, resolved to wipe away the stain which his character had sustained in his late unsuccessful invasion of Guzerat, collected his army, and marching in the year 821, entered the country by the route of Mahrasa. Meanwhile, Ahmud Shah having reached Sooltanpoor, Ghizny Khan fled precipitately to Malwa, and Mullik Nuseer to Aseer; but Ahmud Shah was surprised to hear that the King of Malwa had in the interim arrived at Mahrasa.
223.1.8
Without a moment’s delay, Ahmud Shah commenced his return to Guzerat, in spite of the heavy rain which fell at that time; and by rapid marches arrived in the vicinity of his capital, before information of his approach was brought to Sooltan Hooshung by the rajas. He accordingly sent for those chiefs at whose invitation he had entered into the confederacy, and accused them of treachery in concealing from him the fact of Ahmud Shah’s near approach, and made their silence an excuse to retreat by the same route he had advanced, abandoning the rajas, and leaving them to make their way to their different districts, overwhelmed with chagrin and disappointment.
223.1.9
On Ahmud Shah’s arrival at Mahrasa he halted only a sufficient time to refresh his troops, and then marching into Malwa, he penetrated as far as the town of Calliada near Oojein. Here he was opposed by Sooltan Hooshung, who was defeated, and fled to Mando, pursued by the Guzerat cavalry to the very gates of the fort, while Ahmud Shah followed as far as Nalcha. At this place he halted for some time, sending his light cavalry to scour the country, aware that the fort of Mando was too strong for him to attack with success. Ahmud Shah, therefore, conceived it prudent to confine his operations to D’har, to which place he marched; thence he intended to return to Oojein, but the rainy season setting in, his ministers advised him to defer the conquest of Malwa till the next year, when the campaign might be opened under every advantage; so that he returned to Guzerat in the year 822.
223.2.1
Sooltan Hooshung had long evinced great partiality towards Mullik Mahmood, the son of his cousin Mullik Mogheis, and was at this time induced to confer on him the title of Khan, and the office of his father’s deputy. He also directed that whenever he should take the field this young man should accompany him, while Mullik Mogheis remained at the capital. In the latter end of the year, Ahmud Shah returned for the purpose of completing the conquest of Malwa; but on Sooltan Hooshung sending ambassadors with magnificent presents to appease his wrath, he accepted terms, and returned to Ahmudabad. In the year 823, Sooltan Hooshung marched to the fort of Kehrla, on the frontier of Berar, and the Raja, Nursing Ray, opposed him with an army of fifty thousand men. A severe action ensued, wherein the Mahomedans were victorious; and Nursing Ray being slain, they besieged the fort of Sarungur, and took eighty-four elephants, together with all the Ray’s treasures. Nursing Ray’s son, being in this fort, signed a treaty, by which he consented to pay an annual tribute to the King of Malwa, after which the latter returned to Mando laden with booty. In the year 825 he left Mando with one thousand chosen cavalry, assuming the character of a merchant, and marched to Jajnuggur, one month’s journey from Malwa. In order the better to conceal his object, he took with him horses of different colours; viz.
223.2.2
bright bay, bright chestnut, and different shades of grey, such as the Prince of Jajnuggur was known to admire most, and many other kinds of merchandise considered scarce in his country, which the King intended to barter for elephants. The pretended merchants having arrived, the Raja, according to the custom of his country, intimated his intention first of all to inspect the linen goods, and then either to purchase them with money, or to barter elephants for them. The appointed day arrived, and the goods were spread out on the ground; but on account of the heavy appearance of the weather, Sooltan Hooshung told the people that the articles would be damaged if rain came on. The Raja’s servants, however, insisted on their remaining exposed till their master came; at the same time, the horses also were all saddled for inspection. The Raja at length arrived, and a thunder-storm coming on shortly after, the elephants of his cavalcade trampled over the merchandise, which was much damaged. Sooltan Hooshung, smarting under the loss he had sustained, ordered his followers to mount, and without hesitation attacked the Raja’s escort, many of whom were slain, and the Prince himself taken prisoner; after which Sooltan Hooshung informed him of his real rank. Thus situated, the Raja of Jajnuggur purchased his liberty with seventy-five large elephants;
223.2.3
but Sooltan Hooshung obliged him, as a measure of precaution, to accompany him as far as the confines of his country, whence he permitted him to return, but not without having received from him a few more of his finest elephants. On his approach to Malwa, Sooltan Hooshung, hearing that Ahmud Shah of Guzerat had invaded the kingdom, and was now absolutely employed in the attack of Mando, entertained fears for the fate of the capital. On his arrival at Kehrla he induced the Raja to join him with his troops, after which Hooshung seized his person, and placed him in close confinement, by which means the King secured the fort of Kehrla, and left a garrison of his own troops therein, in order to ensure a position to fall back upon in case Mando should fall. Having taken these steps he marched to Mando, and entered the fort by the Tarapoor gate, on the south face. This fortification being one of the most extraordinary in the world, I think it proper in this place to give some description of it. It is built on the summit of an insulated mountain, said to be nineteen coss in circumference (28 miles). The place of a regular ditch is supplied by a deep ravine, formed by nature round the fortification, which is so deep that it seems impossible to take the fort by regular approaches. Within the fort is abundance of water and forage, though there is not sufficient space for the purposes of cultivation. Any army besieging Mando must confine its operations chiefly to blockading the roads;
223.2.4
for it is scarcely possible to invest a place of such extent. Many of the roads from the fort are steep, and difficult of access. That leading to the south, known by the name of the Tarapoor gate, is so rough and steep that cavalry can with difficulty be led up, and on whatever side it is approached a pass must be surmounted; so that the enemy’s force, though it occupies the several accessible roads, is necessarily divided, and one party may be cut off without receiving assistance from another. The road on the north leading to the Dehly gate is by far the most easy of access. Ahmud Shah, finding it useless to besiege a fort of this nature, sent out detachments from the army to occupy the surrounding country, himself marching through Oojein towards Sarungpoor. Sooltan Hooshung took advantage of his retreat to make forced marches by a more direct route; and reaching Sarungpoor before him, he sent a communication to the King of Guzerat, in order to delay his approach, saying, “The blood of the faithful depends on us; ‘let us restrain, then, our hands from mutually destroying the true believers. I beseech you, therefore, to desist from this warfare, and return to Guzerat; meanwhile let hostilities cease, and receive my ambassador with the usual offerings, who has power to conclude an eternal peace between us.” Ahmud Shah, relying with confidence on so solemn an appeal, neglected the ordinary military precautions necessary in an enemy’s country;
223.2.5
and Sooltan Hooshung, availing himself of the circumstance, marched with his army on the 14th of Mohurrum, in the year 826, and made a night-attack upon the Guzerat camp; the consequence was, that many of the Guzeratties were killed without opposition. The Malwites penetrated to the royal pavilion of Ahmud Shah, which was guarded by five hundred Rajpoots under the command of Savunt Ray, Raja of Dundooka, afterwards known by the name of the Kurry Raja. These brave men fought desperately, and were nearly all destroyed. Their gallantry alone enabled Ahmud Shah to make his escape under cover of the night; but he remained on the skirts of the camp, actively employed in collecting his dispersed soldiers, and at day-break he led a small but resolute party against the victorious Malwites. Sooltan Hooshung behaved with great bravery, and fought desperately: both he and Ahmud Shah were wounded; but the King of Malwa, on whom the face of victory never smiled, was defeated, and threw himself into the fort of Sarungpoor. Ahmud Shah, by this event, not only recovered all the property he had lost, but in addition took twenty elephants from Sooltan Hooshung, besides seven of those he had lately brought from Jajnuggur, and which conveyed his treasure.
223.2.6
On the 4th of Rubbee-oos-Sany Ahmud Shah commenced his retreat towards Guzerat; and Sooltan Hooshung, elated by this movement, pursued and harassed the rear of his army daily. He compelled him at length to halt, and await the result of an action. The Malwites at first succeeded in breaking one wing of the Guzerat line; but it was so well supported by Ahmud Shah in person, that he repelled the onset, and was at length victorious, obliging Sooltan Hooshung to fly to Sarungpoor. The Malwa army lost, in killed, wounded, and missing, on this occasion, four thousand nine hundred men, and Ahmud Shah reached his frontier without further molestation. Sooltan Hooshung repaired to Mando, and recruited his defeated army. With respect to the journey of Sooltan Hooshung to Jajnuggur, a different account is given of it by one historian; but as I conceive that narrative not to be so authentic as this, and having given both accounts at length in my Guzerat history, I shall content myself with what has been already said on this subject.
223.2.7
Sooltan Hooshung, having recruited his forces, marched to besiege the fort of Gagrone, which shortly fell into his hands; from thence he proceeded to attack Gualiar, and had closely invested it for one month, when he heard that Syud Moobarik, the son of Khizr Khan, was on his march to the assistance of the Raja, by way of Byana. Having raised the siege, Sooltan Hooshung advanced as far as Dholpoor to meet him, when, after a few days’ negotiation, a peace was concluded, mutual presents were exchanged, and both returned to their respective countries.
223.2.8
In the year 832, Ahmud Shah Bahmuny, King of the Deccan, made an attack on the fort of Kehrla with a large force. Sooltan Hooshung obtaining information of this event from the late Nursing Ray’s son, marched to his assistance; but the Deccanies, hearing of his approach, commenced their retreat, and were pursued by the King of Malwa. Ahmud Shah Bahmuny, however, being hard pressed, caused the army to move on by rapid marches, and remained in the rear with a select body of troops. At length the Deccanies offered Sooltan Hooshung battle. The conflict was not declined; but Ahmud Shah Bahmuny remained in ambush with a select body of cavalry. The King of Malwa (as had been anticipated) attacked the main body with fury, but was steadily received by the Deccanies; and being unprepared for the ambuscade into which he had been drawn by his enemy, was attacked in the rear, and his troops, according to custom, fled in great disorder, leaving in the hands of the enemy all their heavy baggage, and the followers of the army. Among the latter were the females of Sooltan Hooshung's family; to whom, after treating them with every respect, and allowing them a few days' rest, Ahmud Shah Bahmuny gave an escort of five hundred cavalry, with orders to convey them back to Mando.
223.3.1
In the year 835, Sooltan Hooshung marched for the purpose of taking the fortress of Kalpy, then in charge of one Abdool Kadur, a Dehly officer. On arriving within a few miles of the place, he heard that Ibrahim Shah Shurky of Joonpoor was also on his march to reduce Kalpy; and conceiving it necessary to defeat him in the first instance, Sooltan Hooshung marched to oppose him. The Malwa and Joonpoor armies were within sight of each other, and a battle was hourly expected, when Ibrahim Shah Shurky (hearing that Syud Moobarik, King of Dehly, was on his march to attack Joonpoor,) commenced his retreat to his capital without delay, leaving Sooltan Hooshung to return to Kalpy, which shortly after surrendered. Having ordered public prayers to be read in his name, and having received homage from Abdool Kadur, Sooltan Hooshung delivered over the charge of the government to him, as before, and returned to Malwa. On the road, he obtained information that a band of daring freebooters from the Jam hills had taken up their abode at the Houz-i-Bheem, and infested the country of Malwa. He consequently marched in that direction; and having destroyed the Houz-i-Bheem, he returned to Mando, from whence he proceeded to Hooshungabad, where he remained during the rainy season. It is related, that about this period Sooltan Hooshung, being one day on a hunting-party, lost a ruby from his tiara.
223.3.2
On the third day it was found and brought to him by a foot-passenger, who received five hundred tunkas for his honesty. Sooltan Hooshung observed, "This circumstance puts me in mind of a similar event which happened to Feroze Toghluk, King of Dehly, previously to his death. One day that king having lost a ruby from off his head on a hunting-party, gave five hundred tunkas to a peasant who found it. Sometime after, Feroze said, 'This is a hint to me to prepare for my long journey into the other world, when I must part “with all the rubies and other jewels which I possess?” Sooltan Hooshung also remarked, that he was sure this circumstance portended his own dissolution. The courtiers observed, that he should recollect that when Feroze made this speech he was upwards of ninety years of age, and it was not surprising, therefore, that death very shortly verified his prediction. “Your Majesty,” they said, “is, by the blessing of God, just now in the prime of life, the circumstances, therefore, appear altogether different.” He was, however, shortly after afflicted with a violent attack of the stone. On the approach of this dangerous disease, he marched towards Mando, having formally proclaimed his eldest son, the Prince Ghizny Khan, his successor; and laying hold of the young man’s hand in public durbar, delivered him into the hands of his favourite minister, Mahmood Khan, who promised to support his right to the throne, even to the last drop of his blood.
223.3.3
The King then dismissing the durbar, sent for Mahmood Khan, whom he knew to be ambitious, and suspected that he might some day take advantage of the division of interests among the young princes to usurp the government. He told him plainly of his apprehensions, and made him again swear to defend Ghizny Khan, and also to be vigilant in watching the motions of Ahmud Shah of Guzerat, who, he observed, was “an ambitious and enterprizing prince, and contemplated the eventual conquest of Malwa.” Mahmood Khan swore the most implicit obedience to Ghizny Khan, and the whole of the present royal family; and the King, at his instance, consented to release the young Prince, Oothman Khan, from confinement, and to give him an estate on which he might reside, and have no plea for disturbing the reign of Ghizny Khan. The heir-apparent, having heard what was in contemplation, sent for Mahmood Khan, and proposed that his brother should be required to take the oaths of allegiance to him in the King’s presence. Mahmood Khan returned to his own house, where he received a secret deputation from Mullik Oothman Julwany and the Prince Oothman Khan. The agents commenced by flattering Mahmood Khan, and observing, that they were surprised at a person of his discretion recommending Ghizny Khan as the King’s successor, who, although the elder, was by no means to be compared, either in courage or talents, to his younger brother.
223.3.4
Mahmood Khan was not disposed to dispute the qualifications ascribed to Oothman Khan, but was unwilling to have his courage or abilities brought in competition with those plans which he himself meditated on the throne; being fully convinced, that neither the disposition nor ability of Ghizny Khan were calculated to withstand the efforts he had resolved to make to forward his own views for the eventual usurpation of the government. Mahmood Khan therefore replied to the deputies, that it was his business to obey the will of his sovereign, who had declared Ghizny Khan his successor, and remarked that he had never presumed to oppose his wishes. Zuffur Khan, a person of Prince Oothman’s party, despairing of the King’s life, fled from camp, in order to induce the keepers of the Prince, then in confinement at Mando, to release him, and give him an opportunity of disputing the crown with his brother. The minister, Mahmood Khan, hearing of this circumstance, informed the heir-apparent, Ghizny Khan, who ordered a party of fifty men of the royal guards to overtake and bring back Zuffur Khan and those who had accompanied him. The officer commanding the guard being well disposed towards the Prince Oothman refused to allow the horses to be saddled without an order from the King himself; and communicating the circumstance to one of the officers of the household, who was also inclined to favour Prince Oothman, he told the master of the horse to speak so loud that the King might overhear him;
223.3.5
hoping that he would be provoked with the Prince, Ghizny Khan, when he heard that even before his death he had usurped all authority over his own household troops. The scheme succeeded; and Sooltan Hooshung, rousing himself, called for his bow and quiver, and swore he would put the Prince Ghizny Khan to death. On this occasion he summoned all the officers into his presence; but they, fearing he was really dead, and that Ghizny Khan had sent for them, in order to seize those who were unfavourable to his views, declined going. When the Prince heard of this he became much alarmed; and not possessing sufficient judgment to act with propriety, he fled to Gagrone, three marches from camp. From whence he deputed Oomdut-ool-Moolk to wait on Mahmood Khan, and to acquaint him with his suspicions of the officers who conspired to raise Prince Oothman to the throne, at the same time assuring the minister, that excepting himself he believed he had no friend. The message went on to say, that the fact of the King calling for his bow and arrows convinced him that his Majesty intended at least to seize and confine him, if not to put him to death. Mahmood Khan was obliged to send several persons to the Prince before he could be induced to return to camp. Meanwhile the King’s life was despaired of;
223.3.6
and the officers of his household, fearing lest Ghizny Khan should succeed to the crown, consulted together, and resolved to remove the King, even in his weak state, to Mando, where they proposed releasing the Prince Oothman, and placing him on the throne. On the following morning, being the 9th of Zeehuj, they carried their purpose so far into effect, as absolutely to place the King (who was quite senseless) in his palanquin, and to take him away from the camp on the road to Malwa; but they had not gone far before he died, — after a reign of thirty years. Mahmood Khan, accompanied by the Prince Ghizny Khan, followed the King’s palanquin to bring it back; but the officers of the household declared that it was his Majesty’s pleasure that he should be removed towards Mando, and that they had only acted in compliance with his orders. On the King’s death, Mahmood Khan issued a proclamation in the name of the Prince Ghizny Khan, setting forth the circumstance, and declaring the nomination of his eldest son to the succession. After which his Majesty, being laid out in state, was conveyed to Mando, where his body was buried in a stone vault, which is still to be seen. The date of his death will be found in the three last words of the following distich: — cys lle 3% ge SEBS ge LESS lo Sgaw Fidyd lb 205 LS dol $03
223.3.7
When death had sealed the glorious Hooshung’s fate, And he prepared to tread on Lethe’s shore, I asked a poet to record the date, Who briefly said, ‘* Shah Hooshung is no more.” The author of his history relates, that water constantly ouses from the sides of his vault, between the apertures of the masonry, which falls in drops; that this phenomenon ceases in the four rainy months, but is unremitting in the dry season; which is absurdly attributed, by the natives of India, to the supernatural intervention of Sooltan Hooshung, for whose death, say they, ‘‘ the rocks even appear to shed tears.”