South India and her Muhammadan Invaders c10.16

c10.16

*Invasion of Deogir.*—It was in these circumstances that the matter was brought home to the Sultan that Ram Deo of Deogir had neglected to pay his tribute for the last three years. Before the year A.D. 1300 Alau-d-din made two attempts to get into Telingana by the eastern route, but neither of them advanced beyond Jajnagar,¹ the capital of Orissa in those days. Ram Deo, of Deogir, who had been sending his yearly tribute regularly, took advantage of the disturbances in the first years of Alau-d-din’s rule and withheld the tribute. An expedition to punish this remissness and exact the much-needed tribute was necessary. A great expedition was therefore sent out under Malik Kafur, the most esteemed Muhammadan general of the time, Kwaja Haji being made second in command. Ein-ul-Mulk, Governor of Malva, and Alaf Khan, Governor of Gujarat, sent their troops to reinforce the invading army. This expedition was commissioned to take Dēval Dēvi from Rai Karan, and send her over to Delhi. Rai Karan, who was paying the penalty for a bad act of his, had on a previous occasion declined to give his daughter in marriage to Shanker Deo, the son of Ram Deo of Deogir. Knowing the danger in which she was at the time and having had a renewal of that request from Shanker Deo, he agreed to send her over under an escort provided by Shanker Deo and commanded by his younger brother Bhim Deo. The expedition went into Gujarat defeated Rai Karan, but failed in the principal purpose of the expedition as Dēval Dēvi had been for sometime on the march to Deogir. By an unfortunate accident, a body of three or four hundred of the army who went out on a holiday in the region of the Ajanta caves, met the escort, took the princess and sent her over to Delhi, thus fulfilling the first object of the expedition. Kafur’s expedition marched south to Deogir, laying waste the country on the way and round the city itself. Ram Deo sued for terms. Malik Kafur sent him to make his personal submission to Sultan Alau-d-din, who received him kindly and made him stay in Delhi for six months. At the end of this period he dismissed him with marks of honour, and gave him the title of ‘Rai Raiyan’ with ‘a red-canopy.’ According to Ferishta even the district of Nausari taken from Gujarat was given over to Ram Deo as a personal estate. Ram Deo continued to send his tribute regularly afterwards. This was in the year A.D. 1306 according to Ferishta, A.D. 1307 according to Amir Khusru, and A.D. 1308 according to Barni.