Firishta's History (Gulshan-i Ibrāhīmī) 228: SOOLTAN MAHMOOD II.
History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India (Briggs) 228
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Contents
SOOLTAN MAHMOOD II.
228.1.1
Ascends the throne, and secures the person of his brother Sahib Khan. — Sahib Khan is released, and is proclaimed King. — Mahmood retires from Mando, and meets with assistance from Medny Ray, an officer of his government. — The Prince Sahib Khan is defeated, and flies. — The Prince Shahab-ood-Deen dies on his road from Kandeish to Malwa, leaving a son, the Prince Musaood. — The governor of Bhilsa espouses his cause, while the governor of Chundery espouses that of Sahib Khan. — The King of Dehly joins the league in favour of Sahib Khan, but it is dissolved by the ability of Medny Ray, who obtains an entire supremacy in the government. — Sooltan Mahmood retires to Guzerat, and obtains the aid of Moozuffur Shah. — Mando taken from the Hindoos, and Sooltan Mahmood is replaced on his throne. — The Guzerat army retires. — Sooltan Mahmood is defeated and taken prisoner by the Hindoos, but is restored to his government. — The King of Guzerat dies. — Contests for the throne. — Sooltan Mahmood of Malwa receives one of the pretenders at his court, where he carries on intrigues against Bahadur Shah of Guzerat. — War ensues. — Mando taken by the King of Guzerat. — Sooltan Mahmood and his family fall into the hands of Bahadur Shah — they are sent to Champanere, and are put to death on the road thither. — Extinction of the race of Khiljy.
228.1.2
ON the news of the death of Sooltan Nasir-ood-Deen reaching his son Shahab-ood-Deen, he relinquished the idea of prosecuting his journey towards Dehly, but returning to Malwa, arrived at the capital, while his young brother, Mahmood, still remained at Nalcha. The commandant of Mando, Mahafiz Khan, having refused him admittance, the Prince fled to Aseer on the approach of his brother Mahmood, who, on entering Mando, was formally crowned with great pomp; upon which occasion no fewer than seven hundred elephants, with velvet housings embroidered in gold, formed part of the procession. Shortly after his accession, a conspiracy was formed against one Buswunt Row, a personal favourite of the King, who had attended him from the period of his birth; and he was put to death by the conspirators, who declared that he had laid a scheme to overturn the government: they also stated, in an address to the crown, that one Nizam-ool-Moolk, another of the King’s friends, had trodden in the footsteps of Buswunt Row, and they consequently insisted on his being delivered over to them for trial. The King was alarmed at these desperate encroachments on his prerogative, but thought it advisable to give up Nizam-ool-Moolk to be tried, reserving the punishment in his own hands; but in spite of his wish to spare him, the King was constrained to banish him.
228.1.3
Mahafiz Khan, the governor of Mando, presuming on the King’s easy temper, had the boldness to address him one day in open durbar in the following words: “Your elder brother is now in confinement in this fort, and only waits for an opportunity to put you to death, and ascend the throne. If you have any desire to retain your crown, your only chance of securing it is to order his immediate execution. If not, you will merit the fate which awaits you.” The King was at first confounded with this language, and asked the governor in an angry tone how he presumed thus to address him? Mahafiz Khan, seeing he had gone too far to retreat, continued to answer the King in a disrespectful tone and manner. The King, unable to restrain himself, seized the sword which lay by his side, and without drawing it from the scabbard struck Mahafiz Khan two blows on the head with all his strength. The blood flowed from the wound, and Mahafiz Khan made his escape home, where collecting all his personal attendants and guards, he marched to the palace. The nobles, who rather promoted than wished to suppress the rebellion, remained quiet in their houses; while the King, collecting his bodyguard, consisting chiefly of foreigners, such as Arabs, Persians, and Abyssinians, made a stand in the palace-yard, and compelled Mahafiz Khan, after having lost many men, to retreat to his own house. The King now used his endeavours to collect a larger force, but in vain;
228.1.4
for most of the officers with their retainers had joined Mahafiz Khan. The royal party remained under arms all night, and in the morning, assisted by some of the inhabitants, forced their way out of the fort. The King’s departure was the signal for Mahafiz Khan to release the Prince Sahib Khan, and to place the crown on his head. Sooltan Mahmood, having encamped on the plain, summoned the chiefs of provinces to attend him; and the first person of rank who joined his standard was Medny Ray, a Rajpoot chief, accompanied by all his family, and a large force of his tribe. After him came Shirza Khan, governor of Chundery, and subsequently many other nobles of the surrounding districts. The King now issued a proclamation, inviting, with promises of promotion, all persons who should quit the standard of Sahib Khan and Mahafiz Khan, and join the royal army. At the same time he marched towards the capital, and was opposed by the rebel forces. A severe engagement took place, during which the Prince Sahib Khan charged in person at the head of a small body of cavalry, and attacked the King’s personal guard, but he was repulsed. The fate of the action was eventually decided by the gallant conduct of Medny Ray and the Rajpoot infantry, who preserved a compact phalanx, and with spears and daggers broke the enemy, and obliged Sahib Khan to take refuge in the fort of Mando, many of his troops being compelled to seek protection in the caves surrounding the hill.
228.1.5
Sooltan Mahmood, unwilling to drive his brother to extremity, sent word to him, that notwithstanding what had happened he forgave him on account of their mother, and promised to allow him a stipulated annual amount, which he might receive wheresoever he chose, provided he relinquished the idea of ascending the throne, which, the King observed, he considered it his duty to defend with his life. Sahib Khan, relying on the strength of the fort, refused to accede to terms. Sooltan Mahmood now closely invested the place, and received overtures from some of the chiefs within, that they would admit him into the fort by a certain gate. The Prince Sahib Khan, and Mahafiz Khan, discovering the correspondence, and placing no further reliance on their adherents, secured all the jewels they could collect, and made their escape to Guzerat in the month of Shuval, in the year 917; where a dispute having arisen between the Prince Sahib Khan and the ambassador of Shah Ismael of Persia, he was compelled to quit Guzerat also, and go to Aseer; where having collected three hundred cavalry he went to Gavul, and solicited the assistance of Imad Shah. That prince being on friendly terms with Sooltan Mahmood refused his aid to replace him on the throne, though he assigned to him an estate and the revenue of a few villages. Meanwhile, Sooltan Mahmood, having been re-established on his throne, gave a new form to his government.
228.1.6
It is proper to observe here, that at the period when Sooltan Mahmood made his escape from the capital, his eldest brother, the Prince Shahab-ood-Deen, who had taken refuge with the ruler of Kandeish, marched towards Mando, for the purpose of bringing forward his claims to the throne, both as the eldest son of the late Sooltan Nasir-ood-Deen and because he had been originally declared heir-apparent: His constitution, however, being weak, and the heat of the weather excessive, he contracted a fever on the road, which terminated his existence; leaving his son, Mukhsoos Khan, under the care of his minister, Yekbal Khan, who instantly proclaimed the boy’s title to the throne, under the name of Sooltan Hooshung II. Finding, however, on his arrival in Malwa, that Sooltan Mahmood was firmly seated on the throne, after showing some trifling opposition, the Prince and his minister threw themselves on the King’s mercy. Shortly afterwards Medny Ray, who had gained an undue influence in the King’s councils, persuaded him that both Yekbal and Mukhsoos Khan were carrying on a treasonable correspondence with the King of the Deccan. Sooltan Mahmood, too easily giving credence to these insinuations, ordered Yekbal Khan to be killed the next day as he came to the durbar, a sentence which was carried into execution before all the by-standers. Sooltan Mahmood, at the instigation of Medny Ray, sent for Bohjut Khan, governor of Chundery, and some other chiefs, to the capital;
228.1.7
but they were so much alarmed, both at the influence of Medny Ray and at the sudden execution which had just taken place, that Bohjut Khan, in particular, pleaded the near approach of the rainy season as an excuse for non-attendance at court. The King took no measures against Bohjut Khan, but deputed Munsoor Khan, a nobleman of rank, to reduce Sikundur Khan of Bhilsa, and bring him to court. On hearing of this, Sikundur Khan abandoned Bhilsa, and proceeding to the south, occupied the country lying between Kyhndwa and Shahabad, where the rays of Gondwana brought a large force to assist him. Under these circumstances, Munsoor Khan wrote to court that the troops with him were insufficient to oppose the united arms of the rays of Gondwana and Sikundur Khan. Medny Ray, wishing to see the whole of the old officers disgraced, in order to secure to himself all the court influence, answered the letter in the King’s name, telling Munsoor Khan that the appearance of the royal troops alone would be sufficient to deter the enemy from attack, and that his application for a reinforcement was merely a subterfuge to avoid fighting. Munsoor Khan, astonished at the tenour and style of this letter, marched instantly with Bukhtiar Khan, and joined Bohjut Khan at Chundery. The King, hearing of the assemblage of troops at that place, took the field in person, and proceeded to D’har, having previously sent Medny Ray with his own adherents and one hundred and fifty elephants against Sikundur Khan.
228.1.8
Medny Ray soon induced the forces of Sikundur Khan to disperse; and having made terms with the latter chief, both returned with Medny Ray to Bhilsa, which was again restored to Sikundur Khan. The influence of Medny Ray after this event increased daily. On his return to camp, he heard that a faction at Mando had created one of their party king, and had placed on his head the white canopy, from off the tomb of Sooltan Gheias-ood-Deen; but the kotwal of the city having behaved with much presence of mind and resolution, had put a stop to the commotion, and restored order. Bohjut Khan of Chundery and his party, perceiving the inordinate and increasing power and influence of Medny Ray, were more than ever alarmed; and they accordingly deputed persons to Gavul, inviting the Prince Sahib Khan to return, and to assume the reins of government; writing, at the same time, a petition to Sikundur Lody of Dehly, stating that the infidel Rajpoots had gained an alarming ascendency over the Mahomedans in Malwa; and that one Medny Ray, a chief of that tribe, had virtually become master of the country and its resources, having persuaded the King to destroy many of the old and confidential officers of the state, while those who were left had taken the alarm, and fled to different parts of the kingdom.
228.1.9
The petition proceeded to state, that although Sooltan Mahmood now regretted having exalted Medny Ray, and having placed all his reliance on the Rajpoots, yet he had so given himself up into that chief’s hands, that he not only refused to listen to his Mahomedan officers and subjects, but seemed willing, in concert with his Hindoo minister, to cut off the few who remained. That as for the laws of the prophet, and the true worship, they had been wholly abandoned every where, and that the mosques had been converted into receptacles for infidels. It was indeed expected that Ray Rayan, the son of Medny Ray, would in a short time openly declare his accession to the throne. “If, then,” says the petition, “your Majesty will condescend to send a force, around which the faithful may rally, Sahib Khan, the brother of the present king, will enter the country, and public prayers may be read in his name as King of Malwa in Chundery and in the surrounding districts.” Mahafiz Khan, the partisan of Sahib Khan, who defended the fort of Mando, and had fled to Guzerat with that prince, was now at Dehly; and a force consisting of twelve thousand cavalry, under the command of Imad-ool-Moolk Lody and Syeed Khan, accompanied by Mahafiz Khan, marched to raise Sahib Khan to the throne of Malwa, with the title of Sooltan Mahomed.
228.2.1
At this period, also, Moozuffur Shah, King of Guzerat, with a large army arrived at D’har, and Sikundur Khan having again raised the standard of revolt, plundered the country. Medny Ray, aware that every thing depended upon his exertions, directed Mullik Lado, the governor of Kuhndwa, to oppose Sikundur Khan, while he himself marched, accompanied by the King, against the forces of Guzerat, which had now arrived within a short distance of Mando; but being attacked and defeated, Moozuffur Shah retreated to Ahmudabad. Mullik Lado defeated Sikundur Khan; but one of his dependents, who had suffered from Mullik Lado, attacked him unawares, and stabbed him to the heart. Sikundur Khan, in consequence, rallying his troops, attacked and defeated the King’s forces, who were now without a leader, and having taken six elephants, together with other booty, he returned to Seevas. Sooltan Mahmood, deferring the punishment of Sikundur Khan for the present, marched against the forces under Bohjut Khan at Chundery. On the road to which place he heard that Sahib Khan had, at the instigation of the Chundery confederates, arrived near his army, and had assumed the title of king, supported by a force from Dehly under Imad-ool-Moolk Lody, and accompanied by Mahafiz Khan. This intelligence occasioned the utmost distress to Sooltan Mahmood; added to which, two parties of cavalry, the one under Suddur Khan, and the other under the Prince Mukhsoos Khan, deserting the royalists, joined the enemy.
228.2.2
Sahib Khan now detached a force under one Mahmood Khan to occupy Sarungpoor; but that officer, alarmed at the approach of the King’s army, fled disgracefully. Affairs were in this state when Imad-ool-Moolk and Syeed Khan, at the secret instigation of Medny Ray, recommended Bohjut Khan to read public prayers, and to coin money, in the name of their own master, Sikundur Lody of Dehly; a measure calculated, of all others, to separate the interests of the Dehly and Chundery chieftains. The proposal being made to Bohjut Khan, he spurned the idea of deserting the cause of Sahib Khan, which opened to him no advantage whatsoever, and he accordingly made an excuse to separate himself from the Dehly forces, the object of all others which Medny Ray desired. Meanwhile an order arrived for the recall of the Dehly troops. It is stated that public prayers were actually read, and coin struck, in the name of Sikundur Lody; but on hearing that Sooltan Mahmood of Malwa, with a large army, was on his march to oppose his small detachment, and being unable to spare more troops at the time, Sikundur ordered his army to fall back on Dehly. At all events, Sooltan Mahmood, on the retreat of the Dehly troops, considering it a mark of the intervention of Divine favour, offered up prayers on the occasion, while, in the mean time, Mahafiz Khan and Khwaja Jehan, taking a circuitous route, marched by order of Sahib Khan to invest Mando.
228.2.3
The King, obtaining intelligence of this movement, detached Hubeeb Khan with a large force of Rajpoots to oppose the Prince; and in the neighbourhood of Nalcha an action took place, in which Mahafiz Khan was killed, and his force dispersed. The Prince Sahib Khan and Bohjut Khan, deprived of all hopes of assistance, now thought it advisable to make overtures for peace; and one Sheikh Owlia was deputed as envoy to the King for that purpose. Sooltan Mahmood, who prayed for nothing more, gladly ceded the forts of Raiseen, Bhilsa, and Dhamony, to Sahib Khan for his support; at the same time presenting him with ten lacks of copper tunkas and twelve elephants; after which conciliatory letters were written to the different officers who had espoused the cause of Sahib Khan. On the King’s return to his capital he was guided entirely by the advice of Medny Ray, who was daily employed in the destruction of one or other of the Mahomedan chiefs. They were frequently put to death without cause, their houses plundered, and their estates confiscated. At last the King evinced his dislike for all the nobles, and for Mahomedans in general, so that most of the officers who held situations under the late Nasir-ood-Deen and Gheias-ood-Deen were put to death, and their offices filled by Rajpoots. The very Mahomedan females who had been educated in the seraglio of Sooltan Gheias-ood-Deen now became the mistresses of Medny Ray and the rest of the Rajpoot officers.
228.2.4
The guards at the gates were composed entirely of Hindoos, and the old system of government was completely subverted. Ghalib Khan, the late governor of Mando, became so offended at the ascendency obtained by the Hindoos, that when the King was out on a hunting party with his infidel Rajpoots he shut the gates of the garrison, and refused them admittance. Sooltan Mahmood immediately proceeded to invest the fort. Ghalib Khan, unable to hold out against the royalists, escaped; but the King sent a party of Rajpoots to seize him, by which he was overtaken in a few days and brought into Mando, where he was executed. After this, Medny Ray removed the few remaining Mahomedans from their public situations, so that excepting the personal servants of the King, amounting to about two hundred, the whole of the offices of government were filled with Rajpoots. Affairs had now assumed a very alarming appearance in the mind of the King, who, for the first time, began to reflect seriously on the situation to which he was reduced, and resolved to dismiss all the Rajpoots. It is customary in India, when a servant is discharged, for his master to give him a leaf of pan, as a token that he has received his formal dismissal, and that he bears him no malice;
228.2.5
so Sooltan Mahmood having ordered forty thousand packets of pan to be brought him, he sent them in a basket by the hands of Araish Khan to Medny Ray, stating that it was his Majesty’s pleasure to discharge the whole of the Rajpoot army, consisting of so many persons; and he directed Medny Ray to distribute the pan amongst them, and to disband them accordingly. The Rajpoots declared to a man that they were prepared to shed the last drop of their blood for the King; that they had always defended his person and kingdom with bravery, and were not aware of what they had been guilty, to be thus discharged at a moment’s warning. But they went to Medny Ray, and proposed to remove Sooltan Mahmood and place Ray Rayan, the son of Medny Ray, on the throne. The wily statesman replied, “As to the government of Malwa, it has long been in my hands; but if I were to usurp the crown, the kings of Guzerat, of Kandeish, and of the Deccan uniting, would very soon reduce Malwa to their subjection, in spite of every effort on our part: the best thing that can now be done, is to go and beg the King to forego his intention of discharging you.” Medny Ray succeeded in his wish, which was granted, on condition that the personal offices of the state should be filled by Mahomedans; that the old officers still alive should be replaced in their former situations; that all Mahomedan women should be released from the seraglios of the Rajpoots; and that no Hindoo should hold any civil office at court.
228.2.6
These terms being acceded to by Medny Ray, he was more than ever assiduous in gaining the King’s good will. But Salb’han, a Rajpoot officer of rank, provoked him by repeated insults, till at last Sooltan Mahmood, who had only two hundred personal attendants, ordered them to waylay both Salb’han and Medny Ray, and to murder them. They were accordingly attacked: the former was killed, but the latter made his escape to his house, though covered with wounds. The Rajpoots who were devoted to both these officers, on hearing of the death of Salb’han, and the attack made on Medny Ray, proceeded to assault the palace. Sooltan Mahmood, who though a fool in the cabinet, had not his equal in courage in the hour of danger, girt on his sword, and sallying forth with sixteen horsemen and a few infantry attacked the Rajpoots with desperate resolution, many of whom he slew with his own hands, and absolutely beat them back from the palace. After being checked, they collected at Medny Ray’s house, and called on him to head them. He replied, that although the King his master had sought his life, he had no right to take up arms against him: he said, moreover, that he was ready, even now, to submit to any punishment which the King chose to inflict, rather than head an army against him. Medny Ray concluded this address by ordering the troops instantly to retire to their quarters;
228.2.7
and sent word to the King, informing him that he was out of danger from the wounds which he had received from the King’s servants, who had waylaid him for the purpose of putting him to death; that he was ready, for the good of the state, to lay down his life; and that if his Majesty was of opinion that his death was necessary for the promotion of that object, he was prepared to submit himself to execution. Sooltan Mahmood, convinced of Medny Ray’s fidelity, again received him into favour; but the latter being ever after suspicious of the King’s intentions, went in future to the palace attended by an escort of five hundred men. This measure so greatly disturbed the King’s mind, that one night leaving the fort of Mando with one horseman and a few foot-attendants, he did not draw rein till he arrived on the confines of Guzerat. The officers on the frontier, after hearing his story, received him with the utmost respect, and wrote to Moozuffur Shah, who immediately despatched Keisur Khan and Taj Khan to put themselves under his orders for the present; and after his army was collected, the King of Guzerat marched thither himself, and placing Sooltan Mahmood on his right hand on his own throne treated him in every respect as an equal.
228.3.1
In the year 923, the two kings proceeded at the head of the Guzerat army towards Malwa. Medny Ray having left his son Bhew Ray in the fort of Mando, collected twelve thousand cavalry and a large force of infantry, and marched to occupy D'har, and to repair its fortifications. On the near approach of the two kings, he reconnoitred their forces, and conceiving he could not oppose them with success in the field, sent five or six thousand cavalry, and about ten thousand infantry, consisting of bowmen, musketeers, and artillery-men, to reinforce the garrison of Mando, and quitting D'har left Malwa, and went to Chittoor, in order to obtain assistance from Rana Sanka. The Guzerat army having arrived before D'har, it instantly opened its gates, after which the two kings marched to Mando, and laid siege to that fortress, which had hitherto proved impregnable. At the same time the King of Guzerat detached Adil Khan, ruler of Aseer, at the head of his own troops and a detachment of Guzerat cavalry, to watch the movements of Medny Ray. After a close siege for some months, in the year 924, the fort of Mando was taken by assault, and nineteen thousand Rajpoots were slain, including those who were destroyed in the performance of the Jowhur, a ceremony involving the sacrifice of their women and children on a funeral pile.
228.3.2
Sooltan Mahmood, who entered in rear of the storming party, after the capture of the fort went up to Moozuffur Shah, and having congratulated him on his victory, asked what was to become of him. He answered in the most noble manner, “I congratulate you on the acquisition of your kingdom, which I have now restored to you,” and immediately quitting the fort, the King of Guzerat returned to his own camp. On the following day he communicated to the King of Malwa, that as the latter might require some time to arrange his affairs in the fort, he would march on to Oojein, and reduce the Rajpoots in that quarter. Moozuffur Shah proceeded, however, in the first place, to D’har, where he received information that Adil Khan’s detachment was still at Depalpoor; for the Rajpoots, having heard of the fall of Mando, had dispersed. Moozuffur Shah now halted for some time at D’har, till joined by Sooltan Mahmood, who requested him to return and spend a few days with him at his capital, to which he assented. On his arrival, a magnificent festival was prepared, upon which occasion the King of Malwa brought in a tray, and waited on the King of Guzerat. After which, having accompanied him as far as the borders, and having received from that monarch an auxiliary force of three thousand cavalry, under Asuf Khan Guzeratty, to be stationed at Mando, Sooltan Mahmood returned to his capital.
228.3.3
The forts of Chundery and Gagrone being in possession of Medny Ray’s soldiers, and those of Bhilsa, Raiseen, and Sarungpoor in that of Silhuddy Poorby, it was resolved to wrest them out of their hands; for which purpose the King marched to Gagrone against Medny Ray, who being joined by Rana Sanka now returned with an immense army. The Malwa force had marched several miles, and had but just arrived at its ground, when the King was surprised to hear that he was close to the enemy; on which he immediately ordered the line under arms, and insisted on bringing on an action, a measure to which Asuf Khan, the Guzerat general, objected, representing that both horse and foot were fatigued, and had been long without food, so that it would be better to delay the action till they were refreshed. The King, whose temper was impatient and sanguine, and himself as brave as a lion, insisted on engaging the enemy, which remained steady and ready to receive him, while the forces of Malwa were neither properly drawn up nor in a condition to attack. The Guzerat cavalry, headed by the King in person, commenced the attack by charging the Rajpoot horse, estimated at nearly fifty thousand men. On this occasion Asuf Khan’s son and almost the whole of the Guzeratties were killed, after behaving in the most gallant manner. The King’s life was saved only by the strength of the armour he wore, and he was left on the field with only ten horsemen.
228.3.4
With these few men, whom he addressed and exhorted to die as martyrs against the infidels, he again charged and fell into the hands of the enemy covered with wounds, the whole of his small party being killed. The astonished Rajpoots, surrounding him as they perceived him weltering in his blood, looked on him as more than mortal. His enemy, Rana Sanka of Chittoor, caused him to be brought into his own tent, dressed his wounds, attended him in person, and showed him every mark of attention; and after his recovery, he furnished him with an escort of one thousand Rajpoot horse, and sent him to Mando, where he re-assumed the reins of government. During the commotion which of late had shaken the very foundation of the Malwa monarchy, many of the districts had been occupied and retained by the different chiefs, who appropriated the revenues to their own use. Of these especially were the following:—Sikundur Khan of Seevas; Medny Ray, who held possession of Gagrone, Chundery, and other places; Silhuddy, who occupied Bhilsa, Raiseen, and Sarungpoor, besides many others holding small jageers; so that by this means the finances of the state were reduced to a low ebb.
228.3.5
Sooltan Mahmood, contrary to the practice of the other kings of glorious memory, without exercising his reason or judgment, conceived kingdoms were to be ruled by the edge of the sword; and in the year 926, he marched against Silhuddy of Sarungpoor, but miscalculating his strength, he was attacked by the Rajpoots, by whom he was completely defeated. In this situation, rallying a few troops, while the enemy were engaged in plunder, he again charged and dispersed them, and pursued the fugitives so closely into the fort of Sarungpoor, that he obtained possession of it as also of twenty-four elephants. Silhuddy made his escape; and without attempting to regain Sarungpoor was content to occupy Bhilsa and Raiseen. The King now returned to Mando. In the year 932, the government of Guzerat, on the death of Moozuffur Shah, devolved on his son, Bahadur Shah, whose younger brother, Chand Khan, fled, and sought protection with Sooltan Mahmood at Mando; who, on account of the personal obligations he owed to his father, received him with kindness and paid him the utmost attention. At the same time, also, Ruzy-ool-Moolk, one of the Guzerat nobles, having gone to Dehly to induce Babur Padshah to dethrone Bahadur Shah, and to place Chand Khan on the throne, now arrived at Mando; and being permitted to have a private and secret conference with that prince, returned to the Mogul court at Agra.
228.3.6
Bahadur Shah, hearing of these circumstances, wrote to Sooltan Mahmood, reproaching him for giving countenance to the intrigues carrying on by Ruzy-ool-Moolk; who subsequently arriving a second time at Mando, and communicating with the Prince Chand Khan, after the remonstrances of Bahadur Shah, again returned to Agra. Bahadur Shah, though he took no immediate steps, resolved to be revenged on the King of Malwa for supporting these treasonable proceedings against him. The fall of the house of Khiljy appearing now to be inevitable, Sooltan Mahmood did not adopt measures to prevent its occurrence, or even to ward off the impending destruction which seemed to threaten him. Rana Sanka of Chittoor dying about this period was succeeded by his son, Rana Ruttun See; and Sooltan Mahmood, without any provocation, deputed Shirza Khan with a force from Mando to attack that prince; for which purpose the Malwa troops marched and laid waste some of the Chittoor districts. Ruttun See, fully aware of the dissensions which existed between the Malwa and Guzerat sovereigns, proceeded towards the former kingdom; and Sooltan Mahmood made a movement, by the route of Oojein and Sarungpoor, to oppose him. On reaching the latter place, the King summoned Silhuddy of Bhilsa and Moyin Khan, the adopted son of the late Sikundur Khan of Seevas, to join his army, to oppose the Chittoor forces under Ruttun See.
228.3.7
On their arrival, he conferred the title of Musnud Ally on Moyin Khan, and presented him with the scarlet pavilion, only used by kings. Moyin Khan was the son of a butter-man, but adopted by Sikundur Khan. The King also conciliated Silhuddy, by giving over to him in perpetuity some villages contiguous to Raiseen and Bhilsa. These honours, so unexpectedly bestowed upon two persons who so little deserved them at Sooltan Mahmood’s hands, were followed by circumstances which roused their suspicions; and they concluding the gifts were only intended to lull them into security, deserted the King’s camp, and joined the forces of Ruttun See; after which Silhuddy, with his son Bhowput, Moyin Khan, and Ruttun See, all went and paid their respects to Bahadur Shah of Guzerat, then encamped on the banks of the river Gurchy. Sooltan Mahmood, hearing of the circumstance, deputed Duria Khan Lody to wait on the King of Guzerat; acquainting him, that owing to the obligations conferred on him by the late Moozuffur Shah of Guzerat, he wished to show the respect he owed to his family, by going to pay his personal respects to his son, and to congratulate him on his accession to the throne. Bahadur Shah received the messenger with great coolness, but said that he should be glad to see the King of Malwa. Rana Ruttun See returned to Chittoor; but Silhuddy continued in the Guzerat camp till the meeting between the two kings should take place.
228.3.8
Sooltan Mahmood, however, ashamed to visit Bahadur Shah after his conduct in giving countenance to the intrigues carried on between Ruzy-ool-Moolk and the Prince Chand Khan against the King of Guzerat, evaded the meeting, under the plea of the necessity of his proceeding against Seevas. Having marched thither, and being out on a hunting party, his horse fell, and he broke his right arm; on which he sent an excuse to the King of Guzerat for his non-attendance, and returned to Mando, where he employed himself in repairing the fortifications. Bahadur Shah now plainly perceiving it was the intention of Sooltan Mahmood to avoid a meeting, marched towards the capital. On his entering Malwa, he was daily joined by deserters from Sooltan Mahmood’s army, and among those of note was Shirza Khan, governor of D’har. Bahadur Shah having reached Mando surrounded it; and making his observations, marked out the ground for the mines and batteries. Sooltan Mahmood with three thousand men defended the place; but they were much harassed by the attempts made night after night by the besiegers to carry the fort by escalade; and though invariably repulsed, the garrison was worn out by incessant watching, till on the 9th of Shaban, in the year 932, the banners of Guzerat appeared at daylight waving on the battlements.
228.3.9
The Prince Chand Khan, the brother of Bahadur Shah, fled to the Deccan, and Sooltan Mahmood retired to his palace, which he resolved to defend till the last, but was at length induced to surrender. Bahadur Shah was disposed to treat him kindly, and even to restore to him his government; but the irritability of Sooltan Mahmood’s temper and his pride combined hurried him away so far, that he abused Bahadur Shah grossly to his face. He was in consequence ordered into confinement with his seven sons, and sent to the fort of Champanere under Asuf Khan, who attended them with an escort. Five days afterwards, viz. on the 14th of the same month, the detachment was attacked by two thousand Bheels and Kolies in camp at Dohud; and Asuf Khan, supposing this formidable assault was made for the purpose of effecting the release of the Malwa royal family, ordered the King and his sons to be put to death; so that (excepting Sahib Khan, who had been formerly created Sooltan Mahomed, and was then in attendance on Babur Padshah,) not a single male of the house of Khiljy remained; and the kingdom of Malwa, in the year 941, became incorporated with that of Guzerat, until it was eventually conquered in the year 978, by Akbur Padshah, Emperor of Dehly.