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South India and her Muhammadan Invaders c12: Lecture V. The Tughlak Invasions

South India and her Muhammadan Invaders c12

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Lecture V. The Tughlak Invasions

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*Ghiyasu-d-din Tughlak.*—The accession of Ghiyasu-d-din Tughlak marks the beginning of a period that promised an ordered administration for Hindustan, and a re-assertion of the hold of the Muhammadans upon the Dakhan and South Indian kingdoms. Almost the first act of the reign of this king was the discovery of the relatives of Alau-d-din and the making of adequate provision for them. He bestowed as usual honours and titles upon his friends and relations, among the latter, the five sons of his. He gave his eldest son the title of Ulugh Khan and a royal canopy, at the same time declaring him heir-apparent. He made his friend Bahram Abiya of Uch, Kishlu Khan, and honoured him with the name of brother, adding to his province of Uch both Multan and Sind. He made his sister's son Bahau-d-din, Muster-master (Ariz-i-Mamalik) with the territory of Samana. He ordered other measures which undoubtedly were of benefit to the people, and showed unmistakably the statesman in the ruler. The revenue assessment was fixed at a tenth or eleventh of the produce either by estimate or by actual measure. His officers were ordered to see that cultivation increased year by year, and taxation was regulated so as to leave a margin of prosperity to the rayats. Even the Hindus were allowed to benefit by his rule, though they were taxed so that they might not be ‘blinded with wealth’. His civil measures were so excellent that Amir Khusru embodied his judgment in verse as follows:—

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He never did anything that was not replete with wisdom and sense.
He might be said to wear a hundred doctors' hoods under his crown.

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[Figure: Warangal : Fort, temple, gateways (by permission of H.E.H. the Nizam's Archæological Department)]

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These arrangements apparently brought under his control without question all Hindustan excepting distant Bengal, the Government of which continued to be under men who claimed kinship with the family of Ghiyasu-d-din Balban. The province of Deogir in the Dakhan placed under a Muhammadan governor by Sultan Mubarak continued loyal.

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Invasion of Warangal under Ulugh Khan.—The first disturbance seems to have arisen in Warangal where Rudra Deo seemed inclined to shake himself free from the subordination to the Muhammadans. An invasion therefore had to be fitted out under his son Ulugh Khan. The great expedition started forward under the chief command of the heir-apparent, but assisted by a staff of able officers. If the description of the operations round Warangal and the resulting failure could be accepted as fact, the so-called previous conquests of the place could not have been as thorough as our Muhammadan authorities claim them to have been. The fortifications were of the same strength and were composed of the same double line of walls, mud and stone. The siege operations had to be conducted as elaborately now as ever before. After the usual operations the besieged were reduced to extremities and sued for peace, when the intrigues and dissensions which broke out in the camp made the continuance of the siege impossible. Some among the officers that constituted his staff took advantage of the absence of letters from head-quarters, and circulated a rumour that a revolution had taken place at head-quarters, as a result of which, they said Ghiyasu-d-din was killed or set aside, and another ruler was occupying the throne. The army broke up, and Ulugh Khan had no alternative but to retreat upon Deogir. But among the conspirators themselves there were dissensions, and they dispersed with the consequence that most of them were defeated in detail, and either killed by the Hindus or taken prisoner and sent over to Ulugh Khan. This latter remained for four months at Deogir, during which time he received communications and reinforcements from his father. The culprits taken alive were sent to Delhi and received exemplary punishments. This is the account of Barni who undoubtedly is apologist for Muhammad Tughlak. According to Ibn Batuta however, the disturbance was due to an actual effort on the part of Ulugh Khan to set up independently of his father, who himself is said to have been aware of it. But all the same the father sent the reinforcements to enable the invasion to be successful. Ulugh Khan returned to the siege, and, taking the fort of Bidr (Bider, the Badrakot of Ibn Batuta), proceeded thence to the siege of Warangal. The outer fort was taken, and the whole of the royal family and treasure fell into the hands of the besiegers. Ulugh Khan sent a despatch of victory, together with the Raja of Warangal, his family and treasure. He changed the name of Warangal to Sultanpur, and conquering the country of Tilang (Telingana) marched forward towards Jajnagar, the capital of Orissa. He captured forty elephants there and returned to head-quarters by way of Telingana.

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An abortive Mughal Invasion.—About this time the Mughals made an effort to get across the frontiers into India, but Ghiyasu-d-din’s generals succeeded in defeating them and keeping them out, sending two of their generals prisoners to Delhi. Ghiyasu-d-din made Tughlakabad his capital where he remained till certain nobleman came from Lakhnauti complaining of oppression by the Sultan of Bengal. The Sultan resolved to march upon Lakhnauti, and sent to Ulugh Khan at Warangal summoning him to the capital. When he returned the Sultan made him his vice-gerent and started on his expedition to Lakhnauti.

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Ghiyasu-d-din’s Invasion of Bengal.—Bengal at that time formed two governments with capitals at Lakhnauti and Sunargaon. Lakhnauti was under the rule of Sultan Shamsu-d-din, son of Sultan Nasiru-d-din, son of Sultan Ghiyasu-d-din Balban. Shamsu-d-din died soon after, and was succeeded by his son Shahabu-d-din. His younger brother Ghiyasu-d-din seized the kingdom and killed most of his brothers. Two of them, however, Shahabu-d-din and Nasiru-d-din, fled to the Tughlak and urged him to march against the fratricide. It was in these circumstances, according to Ibn Batuta, that the invasion against Lakhnauti was undertaken. Lakhnauti readily surrendered, but Ghiyasu-d-din Bahadur made some resistance at Sunargaon. He was at last defeated and taken prisoner, and sent over to Delhi. The conquered territory, however, was made over to Nasiru-d-din the fugitive brother, and the Sultan set forward on his victorious return to Delhi. The Sultan was received on his return in a wooden structure, called ‘Kushk’, specially erected for the occasion at Afghanpur, about a march from the city. After dinner when the nobles came out to wash their hands the building collapsed, and among the victims were the Sultan and his favourite son Mahmud. Barni ascribes this to an accident and Ferishta apparently agress with him. Ibn Batuta, however, makes a detailed narration of the circumstances that brought this fateful catastrophe about. He apparently had no doubt that it was brought about by Ulugh Khan’s design, and quotes the authority of Shaik Ruknu-d-din who was then ‘near the Sultan, and that the Sultan’s favourite son, Mahmud was with them.’ The circumstance that Ahmad, the son of Ayyaz who, as Malik Zada, constructed the structure for Ulugh Khan, became afterwards, under Sultan Muhammad, Khwaja-i-Jahan is perhaps decisive in favour of the collapse having been brought about by design.¹ Whether it was brought about by accident or design Ghiyasu-d-din Tughlak died as a result of the occurrence, and Ulugh Khan ascended the throne as Sultan Abu-l-Mujahid Muhammad Shah, ordinarily known Muhammad-bin-Tughlak.

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¹ Elliott, iii. 610-11.

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Sultan Muhammad.—Sultan Muhammad ascended the throne at the camp of Afghanpur and removed to Delhi on the fortieth day after. With his accession the spread of Muhammadan power in the Dakhan reached its greatest extent, though its unending character was even then apparent. Sultan Muhammad was an accomplished scholar, philosopher, and mathematician, and wrote Persian poetry. He excelled in letter-writing and his epistles became a pattern for subsequent ages. He was religious-minded and simple in his habits, and had all the virtues of a devout Musalman. His character was disfigured however, by a strain of cruelty and impetuosity of temper which caused inordinate blood-shed. He was a man of ideas, several of them in advance of his age. Once he made up his mind he wanted that his ideas should be carried out at all costs. Any failure of his schemes resulted in the most cruel punishments of those entrusted with their execution.

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The extent of his Empire, the highest reached under the Muhammadans.—At the outset of his reign he had formed certain plans in his own mind and turned his energies to the successful carrying out of these. The first almost to call for his attention was the revenue administration of the empire. In the year or two following, Sultan Muhammad exerted himself to bring under control, the more distant provinces which were halting in their allegiance. It was about this time A.D. 1327-28 that he undertook an invasion of Warangal¹ and Dvārasamudra, and brought them back into allegiance, so that at the end of the first period, about A.D. 1330, his empire attained to the greatest extent Muhammadan empire ever did in India extending as it did from Sonargam to Gujarat, and from Lahore to Ma'bar. At this time his empire was composed of twenty-three provinces enumerated as follows by one of the historians of his reign :—Shahubu-d-din Abul Abbas Ahmad : (1) Delhi, (2) Dawakir (Deogir), (3) Multan, (4) Kahran (Kuhram), (5) Samana, (6) Siwistan, (7) Uch, (8) Hasi (Hansi), (9) Sarsuti (Sirsah), (10) Ma'bar, (11) Tilank (Telingana), (12) Guzarat, (13) Badaun, (14) Oudh, (15) Kanauj, (16) Lakhnauti, (17) Bihar, (18) Karra, (19) Malwa, (20) Lahore, (21) Kalanor (possibly Kalanjar rather than Gwalior), (22) Jajnagar, (23) Tilang-Darusamand (the country between Telingana and Dvārasamudra).¹

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¹ Elliott, iii. Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi of Shamasu-i Siraj 'Afif, p. 367.

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¹ Elliott, iii. 574-5.

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Financial needs and revenue measures.—The government of this vast empire called for qualities which were not among those possessed by Sultan Muhammad. Such good influences as could be brought to bear upon him, could not prevail against his own schemes for the extension and maintenance of his empire. At the very outset of his reign he adopted a wrong policy in regard to the Mughals. When they first invaded under Tumarshirīn, instead of leading an army against them as Alau-d-din did before, he bought them off by a heavy payment which only tempted them to appear again.² He was naturally liberal and rewarded those that sought his patronage lavishly. This liberality together with the price which he had to pay for purchasing peace from the Mughals emptied his treasury. To make up for this depletion he adopted methods for enhancing the land revenue which had grave consequences. If Barni is to be believed, the Hindus abandoned cultivation and fled to the jungles, a procedure which they adopted only in great extremities. It was in this extremity that he had recourse to the mad project of going on a hunting excursion against these ryots, and carrying it out literally.

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² Brigg's Ferishta, i. 413, Cambray's edition, Calcutta.

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*His ambitious projects.*—Two magnificent projects, one against Khorassan and Persia, and the other against China had formed in his mind, which, as usual with him, he determined to carry out. He raised an army of three hundred and seventy thousand soldiers who, after waiting for a year, found their pay falling into arrears and became clamorous. They had to be disbanded and the project was abandoned for the time. But a year’s maintenance of such a vast army must none the less have exhausted the treasury. He then had recourse to the other expedient of issuing token coins. Instead of copying the Chinese practice of issuing paper notes he adopted copper tokens to pass as silver *tanka*. This naturally led to false coinage. All genuine coin passed out of circulation and the currency got completely discredited. Quite naturally this was the occasion for revolts and the more distant provinces began first.

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*The revolt of Bengal.*—The first to revolt must have been Bengal to which Ghyasu-d-din Bahadur Bura was restored by Muhammad. He seems to have rebelled, was taken prisoner, flayed alive and his stuffed skin sent round to the various provinces, as a warning against similar acts. His successor Fakhru-d-din followed his example in Bengal, but remained unconquered.

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*Rebellion in Ma’bar.*—What happened in Bengal happened also in distant Ma’bar. An army sent to punish the rebels remained there and did not return, and Jalalu-d-din Ahsan Khan set up independently there.¹ We have coins of Muhammad bin Tughlak of dates A.D. 1330 and 1333; but those of date A.D. 1335 and after, are issued in the name of the rebel, so that this rebellion in South India must have taken place in or a little before A.D. 1335. According to Ibn Batuta, Muhammad himself marched to put down this rebel. At Badrakot (Bider) pestilence broke out in camp, he himself having had an attack of the disease. A rumour got abroad he was dead and even Deogir broke out in rebellion. When he reached Daulatabad, the rebel fled to Konkan. These rebellions followed, according to Ibn Batuta that of the king's cousin Bahau-d-din Gushtasp the muster-master under Ghyasu-d-din,¹ now Governor of Sagar near Gulbarga as otherwise the friendly hospitality of the Raja of Kampili at such a great cost would be difficult to understand. Ferishta actually notes that the place was in the ‘Carnatic’ and that Bahau-d-din was defeated before Deogir.² Muhammad bin Tughlak set forward to suppress the rebellion, defeated the rebel at Deogir and sent forward an army to lay siege to Kampili, where Bahau-d-din had fled for shelter. The fugitive was given asylum, and the Rajah resolved to stand the siege and take the consequences rather than surrender the fugitive. When the siege was prosecuted with vigour and had reached the last stage, the Raja sent forward Bahau-d-din to his neighbour Ballāḷa Rāja of Dvārasamudra, and killing his women and younger children, rushed upon the besiegers and died fighting. Eleven of the sons of the late Raja were among the prisoners taken who were compelled to become Muhammadans. Some among them rose to important positions in the service of Muhammad.³ Before the army set forward on the march to Dvārasamudra, the Hoysala king found it prudent to surrender the fugitive Bahau-d-din who was brought before the Sultan, and by his orders was flayed alive. His skin was stuffed and sent to the various provinces, in the same manner as was done in the case of the rebellious Governor of Bengal. The Sultan perpetrated the atrocity of even cooking the flesh of the cousin and serving it to the wife and children of the victim. These incidents are ascribed to the date equal to A.D. 1342 by Ferishta. He is wrong by over seven years, as the coins of Madura Sultans prove beyond a doubt. Ibn Batuta appears to place the rebellion of Bahau-d-din quite early in the reign, if he meant any sequence in his narrative.¹ It was during his stay in Deogir while on this campaign that the thought struck the Sultan that Deogir would be much more centrally situated for the capital of his vast empire than Delhi, according to Ferishta ² who seems to make Muhammad’s invasion of A.D. 1327-28 the same as the one against Bahau-d-din.

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¹ Hultzsch in *J R A S*, 1909, pp. 667-83. We have an inscription of his ninth year in Rāngiam (Rājasingamangalam) in Pon-Amarāvati nāḍu in the Pudukoṭṭa colln.

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¹ Elliott, iii. 618-19.

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² I. 418.

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³ Ibn Batuta : Elliott, iii 615.

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¹ Hultzsch’s article in the J R A S, referred to above.

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² I. 419 Edn. quoted above.

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Change of capital from Delhi to Deogir.—When the idea entered his head he resolved at once to transfer his capital to Deogir. He appears, however, to have made a point of consulting his ministers who thought Ujjain would serve the purpose equally well. But Muhammad, as usual, had made up his mind before, and in the year A.D. 1328 ordered the change of capital from Delhi to Deogir.³ This order did not mean merely the transference of the Imperial Headquarters from Delhi to Deogir, but the transfer of the whole body of inhabitants in the city which entailed untold misery upon the people. The order was carried out, however to the degree of thoroughness that involved the firing off of a maimed man from a catapult, and the dragging of a blind man by the leg, as these were the only two inhabitants of Delhi who remained behind without obeying the order. The Sultan was about to remove himself to Deogir when he had to march northwards to meet the rebellion of Kishlu Khan and pass on from there to Delhi because of a serious distress and a possible disturbance. It was then that the [Figure: Daulatabad Fort. General View (by permission of H.E.H. the Nizam's Government Archaeological Department)]

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³ There is a gold coin of date A.H. 727 (A.D. 1326) struck at Deogir, No, 174 of Thomas, p. 209.

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expedition of the one hundred thousand sent against China having laboured up the Himalayas, reached the other side only to meet a powerful army of the Chinese; and, turned back by the opposing Chinese, it had to return when the monsoon rains broke in. Very few of this magnificent army of invasion returned to tell the tale, and these few that took the pains to do so were decapitated for having brought the bad news. That was the signal for a rebellion in the home provinces, and so much distress prevailed that the king had to remove himself from Delhi. He formed the camp in the Doab where he was furnished with supplies by Einu-l-Mulk, the governor of Oudh. It was apparently during his stay in Delhi after putting down Kishlu Khan’s rebellion that he made the last effort to recover his authority in the distant south, but the invasion stopped short at Deogir. Muhammad sent forward a party which reached Madura but made common cause with the rebels. It was while returning from this abortive invasion that he ordered the return of the inhabitants of Deogir back to Delhi.

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*Interference in Provincial Administration.*—When the Sultan was at Deogir on the occasion of the rebellion of Ma’bar, he had placed the Government of Deogir under Katlagh Khan. At the same time he appointed Malik Kabil, Governor of Tilang, made Nusrat Khan, Governor of Bidar, and created another Sub-Governor for Berar. Katlagh Khan carried on the administration so well that he infused some confidence in the people, and was able to amass a considerable amount of wealth in the treasury. He found it, however, impossible to transmit the accumulated wealth to Delhi as the roads were unsafe owing to the prevalence of famine in Malva. But the distress that prevailed at the head-quarters was taken advantage of by mischief-makers to prejudice the king against Katlagh Khan. The Sultan now perpetrated the double blunder of recalling Katlagh Khan from Deogir, and proposing to appoint instead Einu-l-Mulk of Oudh. This naturally dissatisfied both, and had dangerous consequences upon the empire. Einu-l-Mulk and his brothers revolted, fell upon the camp of the king himself and captured many of his elephants. The rebellion was at last got under, and several of the rebels punished. Einu-l-Mulk was however pardoned, and he retained his position in the King’s favour. Katlagh Khan’s position at Deogir was taken by a brother of his own who was governor of Broach, by name Maulana Nizamu-d-din. This latter had none of the qualifications required in a governor of Deogir, and let the vast province get out of hand. Einu-l-Mulk not being appointed, the king had now recourse to a new device which like so many others of Sultan Muhammad defeated its own ends.

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Parties among the Muhammadans in the Empire.—Ever since the days of Jalalu-d-din there were three sections of Muhammadans who perhaps had not yet hardened into three distinct parties. In the reign of Sultan Muhammad they were getting to be distinct and held themselves aloof from each other, perhaps with some hostility of interests against one another. There were the hereditary Muhammadan noble families who, having been companions in arms with the members of the ruling dynasty, looked upon themselves generally as pillars of the empire. These were naturally men of influence, each one with his own particular following. Then there was the body of men, usually slaves, taken prisoners in war, or purchased, as Malik Kafur ‘hazardinari’ (he who cost 1,000 dinars). These were dependent entirely upon royal favour and could be dealt with more summarily by the sovereign for the time being. They were found to be efficient instruments of the monarchs against the influential nobles of the empire. Lastly, since the days of Jalalu-d-din Khilji a certain number of ‘Amirs of Hundred’ from the Mughal armies, had settled in the country. These were commanders of a hundred or more in the Mughal Army, who resolved to settle in the country becoming Mussalmans after the Mughal defeat. They were given various settlements, and provision was made for their maintenance by Jalalu-d-din. His successor dispossessed such of them as were within his reach, and perpetrated a massacre of a considerable number of them. Ever since this event these men perhaps considered themselves free from any allegiance to the monarch, and conducted themselves like the famous ‘Knights of the Empire’ of Europe. They were the cause of great trouble at this time though they conducted themselves well enough when they were treated with consideration.

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Rebellion of Kishlu Khan of Multan.—Muhammad Tughlak now fetched up a grievance against the hereditary nobles because an intimate friend of his father, who fought with him against Khusru, Bahram Abiya, Governor of Multan and Sindh, revolted against him. This governor was given the title of Kishlu Khan and the dignity of being addressed brother, by the late Sultan, and had his government extended by the addition of both Multan and Sindh to his original Uch. He caused no trouble till the stuffed bodies of both Ghiyasu-d-din Bahadur Bura of Bengal and Bahau-d-din of Sagar were sent in exhibition to his province. When they entered his capital he actually ordered the remains to be buried, and since then was preparing himself for the worst. An agent sent by the Sultan behaved impertinently, and provoked the noble into cutting off his head. That was the signal for his rebellion. Muhammad marched forward to put down the rebellion and returned victorious to Delhi. This must have happened before A.D. 1334 when Ibn Batuta passing through Sindh saw the head of Behram exhibited in front of his own hall of audience in Multan.¹ But soon after, a rebellion broke out in the same province from one Sahu Afghan whom the emperor succeeded in turning back into Afghanistan itself. He thereafter preferred to appoint slaves and servants of his to various important governments, rather than hereditary noblemen. When Katlagh Khan was recalled from Deogir he split the governorship of the Dakhan into two, Deogir and Malva, and sent one Aziz Himar to the government of Malva. This appointment was practically the beginning of the end of Muhammad’s rule and came sometime about A.D. 1343.

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¹ Elliott, iii. 616.

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*Affairs in the Dakhan.*—In regard to the Dakhan, however, we have to go back a little earlier. The emperor was still engaged in putting down the rebellion of Sahu Afghan in Multan and later in Sannam and Samana, when rebellion broke out among the Hindus of Warangal. Katlagh Khan was at Deogir and Malik Makbul was the naib Vizier in Warangal. Here is what took place in the words of Barni:—‘While this was going on a revolt broke out among the Hindus of Warangal. Kanya Naik had gathered strength in this country. Malik Makbul, the Naib Vizier, fled to Delhi, the Hindus took possession of Arangal, which was thus entirely lost. About the same time one of the relations of Kanya Naik whom the Sultan had sent to Kambala, apostatized from Islam and stirred up a revolt. The land of Kambala also was thus lost, and fell into the hands of the Hindus, Deogir and Guzarat alone remained secure.’¹ It was after this that the Sultan moved into the Doab and erected his head-quarters at Sarg-Dwari. Soon after Nasrat Khan revolted at Bidar, and Ali Shah, nephew of Zafar Khan, at Gulbarga. The Sultan ordered Katlagh Khan to proceed against the latter who had not only taken possession of Gulbarga but even made himself master of Bidar. Katlagh Khan put down the rebellion successfully and returned to Deogir. The recall of Katlagh Khan and the appointment of the weak Nizamu-d-din at Deogir together with the appointment of Azir Himar to the governorship of Malva with instructions to get rid of the foreign Amirs there, certainly set in train a movement which brought about the final destruction of the vast empire of Sultan Muhammad.

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¹ Elliott, iii. 245.

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Mission from the Khalifa of Egypt.—In A.D. 1343, however, the Sultan received a mission from the Khalifa of Egypt which satisfied him that his title to rule the Indian Empire received the confirmation of the head of Islam. The interval between this transaction and the final recall of Katlagh Khan in or soon after A.D. 1345, the Sultan made use of for reorganizing the revenue system and reforming it with a certain amount of success. Therefore about the year A.D. 1345, the empire was apparently at peace, only Bengal and Ma'bar being successfully held by the rebels.

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The foreign Amirs, ‘Amir Judeida’.—We have already pointed out that of the three parties of Muhammadans in the country, the foreign Amirs, Amir Judeida as they are called, proved the most troublesome when they felt they were not properly treated. The reorganization of the Government of the Dakhan consequent on the recall of Katlagh Khan was taken advantage of by the Sultan to get rid of these foreign Amirs who had made themselves most obnoxious in Gujarat and Malva. One of the confidential instructions given to his favourite Aziz Himar was to get rid of these foreign Amirs. Aziz Himar managed to call together a large number of them at his headquarters under some pretext, and charging them with being responsible for the disturbances in the empire got them all beheaded. The favourite was of course rewarded by the Sultan, but the news of this perfidious massacre set the smouldering discontent of these Amirs aflame. The foreign Amirs in Gujarat defeated Mukbil, the Naib Vizier, and carried off all the horses and treasure, destroying at the same time all the goods that merchants carried under the Naib’s convoy. Securing so much useful material of war, the rebels proceeded to Cambay as a place of refuge. But the Sultan promptly marched to put down the insurrection in spite of the faithful Katlagh Khan volunteering to lead the punitive expedition. He appointed another governor for Gujarat, and entrusted the government of Delhi to his nephew Feroz and two others, Malik Kabir and Ahmad Ayyaz. Before, however, the Sultan could march towards Gujarat, Aziz Hamir, Governor of Malva, marched against the insurgents, was defeated and put to death. This new success of the insurgents put more heart into those of the foreign Amirs who still hung back from open rebellion. When at last the Sultan arrived at Nahrwala, the capital of Gujarat, he left a detachment under the new governor there, and proceeded against the rebels towards Abugir. There he defeated and dispersed them. The remnants of the Amirs of Gujarat fled with their wives and property towards Deogir. The Sultan sent Malik Makbul, with some of the foreign Amirs of Broach and with the fresh troops from Delhi, in pursuit of the fugitives. They were overtaken on the banks of the Narbada, were defeated and in great part destroyed, and their wives and children fell into the hands of the Naib. Such of them as managed to escape fled for protection to the Hindu chief Man Deo, the Raja of Baglana, who made them prisoners and plundered them in his turn. The evil influence of the Amirs of Gujarat was put an end to, as Barni says. Here again the Sultan perpetrated another act of faithlessness against these Amirs by ordering Malik Kabul to seize and put to death all the foreign Amirs of Broach who were in his camp. The few that escaped this massacre fled to Deogir or dispersed themselves among the chiefs of Gujarat.

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The Dakhan Amirs driven into Revolt.—The Sultan remained sometime in Gujarat conducting a rigorous enquiry into the arrears of revenue, and making arrangements to collect them. As was usual with him he punished those that had shown opposition to his or his governor's actions with his accustomed cruelty, thereby creating a considerable volume of general discontent. He ordered a similar inquiry in respect of the province of Deogir, and entrusted this important commission to two men whom Ziau-d-din Barni refers to with the utmost contempt. The deputation of these two creatures of the Sultan, of whom one had already appeared and the other one was on his way sent a thrill into the hearts of the Musulmans of Deogir. At the same time the Sultan sent two well-known noblemen to Deogir with a military commission to Maulana Nizamu-d-din, who was the governor at the time. The governor was asked to despatch fifteen hundred chosen horse under the two noblemen sent. He was also to send along with them the chief foreign Amirs. Those ‘at Rachoor (Raichur), Moodkul (Mudkal), Koolburga (Gulbarga), Bidur (Bidar), Bejapoor (Bijapur), Gunjouti (Gangavati), Raibagh, Gilhurry, Hookerry, and Berar,’¹ responded to the governor's summons and came with their followers. When these appeared at Deogir they were sent along with the fifteen hundred horse, under the conduct of the two nobles who carried the king's commission. They marched towards Broach, and at the end of the first day's journey, the foreign Amirs suspected that they were being led to their execution. They therefore broke out into open resistance, killed the two nobles under whose conduct they were proceeding and returned to Deogir. They entered the royal palace there, seized Nizamu-d-din the governor, and put him in confinement. They cut to pieces the agent of the king who had already arrived there, and took possession of the treasures kept in the citadel of Dharagir. Distributing the treasures among themselves, they made one of themselves, Ismail Makh Afghan, called Ismail Fath in Ferishta, their leader, placed him on the throne, and distributed the Mahratta country among themselves. These transactions naturally brought them a fresh accession of strength, as all the foreign Amirs of Gujarat, who had survived the massacres and the war, proceeded to Deogir and joined their confreres. The Sultan on hearing of the revolt marched at the head of a large force, and, arriving at Deogir, attacked and defeated them. The newly elected king with his family and treasure immured himself in the fort of Dharagir, and the other Amirs dispersed to their own Jagirs. After plundering Deogir the Sultan sent Imadu-l-Mulk after the insurgents who fled to their Jagirs towards Gulbarga.

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¹ Brigg's Ferishta, i. 437. Cambray's Edition.

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Rebellion of Taghi in Gujarat.—While the Sultan was engaged at Deogir settling the affairs of the place and providing for the settlement of the Mahratta country, information reached him that a slave by name Taghi had raised a revolt in Gujarat. This slave of one of the ‘foreign Amirs’ in Gujarat who still retained any power, marched to Nahrwala and made the governor and his officers prisoners. With a following of Hindus and Muhammadans he plundered Cambay and marched upon Broach itself. On hearing of what had taken place the Sultan marched immediately to Broach in spite of the want of supplies for the army. He arrived at Broach and encamped on the banks of the Narbada. On hearing of the arrival of the Sultan the rebel abandoned the town and fled with three hundred horse. The Sultan sent forward a detachment of cavalry which overtook the rebel, defeated him and dispersed his followers. After spending two or three days in Broach, the Sultan marched forward towards Cambay, and thence proceeded to Ahmadabad, hearing that the rebel was there. When the Sultan arrived at Ahmadabad the rebel fled to Nahrwala wherefrom he made bold to march against the Sultan in Ahmadabad. The rebel army was easily defeated by the Sultan and cut to pieces. Several of the ‘foreign Amirs’ in the army of Taghi became prisoners, and the whole of his baggage was captured. The remnant of the army was put to the sword. Taghi, however, managed to escape, and fleeing across Gujarat ultimately found refuge in Sindh. The Sultan spent some time in Gujarat receiving the submission of the various chiefs and rulers.

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Muhammad in Gujarat, successful rebellion in Deogir.—Close upon the heels of Taghi the Sultan set forward and arrived at Nahrwala two or three days after. There he spent sometime in settling the affairs of Gujarat. ‘The Mukadams, the Ranas, and the Mahants of Gujarat came in and paid their homage and received robes and rewards. In a short time the inhabitants who had been scattered abroad returned to their homes and were delivered from the ravages of the rebel.’ While he was thus engaged at Nahrwala information came from Deogir that Hasan Kangu and other rebels, who had fled from Deogir towards Gulbarga, returned at the head of a large army, attacked Imadu-l-Mulk and slew him in battle, scattering his army. The remnant of the imperial army left Deogir and retreated towards Dhar. Hasan Kangu then proceeded victoriously to Deogir and was proclaimed king, his predecessor in that dignity resigning his title and retiring into private life. Intelligence of the whole transaction was conveyed to Muhammad. He could see very well that he had lost the affections of the people, and this made a very deep impression upon him. He still continued in Nahrwala and had summoned from head-quarters Ahmad Ayyaz and other nobles with an army with a view to sending them against Deogir. In the meanwhile information arrived that Hasan Kangu, the successful rebel at Deogir, had drawn together a very large army round him at Deogir. Prudently resolving to leave him alone for a time, the Sultan resolved to put down the traitor Taghi first, before he took any steps against Deogir, and moved forward with the reinforcements towards Karnal (Girnar). It was in these circumstances that the Sultan felt so depressed as to consult Barni in regard to what kings did in similar circumstances. Barni offered the advice, which was quite sound in the circumstances, that he should abdicate in favour of his heir-apparent, or should retire from active exercise of authority, leaving it to his ministers to carry on the business. The Sultan, however, in sheer desperation came to the opposite resolution, quite in keeping with his character, of continuing to scourge the people till he had chastened them by constant suffering. According to Barni the Sultan spent three years in Gujarat. The first he spent in settling the affairs of the country round Mandal and Teri. The second he passed near the fort of Karnal (Girnar) where the rebel Taghi was at the time. The Hindu chief of Karnal was about to surrender Taghi who having got wind of his host's intention, fled to the Sumera Rajputs of Thatta. After the rainy season of that year was over the Sultan took Karnal and brought all the coast under subjection to him. He passed from there to Kondal (Gondal) where he fell ill of fever and had to remain there for some time to recover. While there, he heard of the death of Malik Kabir who was his regent in Delhi. Sending forward Ahmad Ayyaz and Malik Makbul to take charge of the capital, he gathered as large a force as he possibly could at Kondal, and marched towards Thatta crossing the river by means of boats requisitioned from Deobalpur, Multan, Uch and Siwistan. When near Thatta he was joined by a contingent of Mughals under Altun Bahadur sent by the Amir of Farghana. While about three or four days march from Thatta he contracted a fever by eating some fish. The fever increased in violence during the last two or three days of his illness and before he could give final orders for the siege of Thatta, he died on the 21st of Muharram A.H. 752, A.D. March 1351.

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Muhammad's Empire at his death.—At his death the empire which, about twenty years previously in the reign of Sultan Muhammad himself, extended from Madura in the south to Kashmir, and from the western passes to the mouths of the Ganges, had shrunk to comparatively narrow dimensions. Muhammad's authority certainly did extend over the country north of the Vindhyas, the western boundary remained intact. The smaller half in the east, the Bengals had effectively cut themselves off and had not been brought under his authority again. For more than fifteen years the province of Ma'bar had remained quite independent of him. His authority over the territories of the Hoysalas was but nominal. The Sultan's overlordship was perhaps a little more recognized by the Raja of Warangal at least in name; the province of the Dakhan or Deogir had stood defiant and practically independent during the last three or four years of his life. Muhammad Tughlak therefore had, among the Muhammadan monarchs, the credit of having ruled over the greatest extent of India, his empire exceeding in extent even that of Aurangzeb. He had also the misfortune to see before he died that that vast empire had shrunk to something smaller than that to which the slave kings laid claim. For this calamity he himself was in the main responsible. He made an attempt to expand his empire, in days when communications were at the very best imperfect, to a distance of six months' journey from headquarters in spite of the declared policy of Alau-d-din to the contrary. He succeeded in this effort; but he tried to maintain this vast empire by a policy of mistrust and repression which carried its own condemnation; and with such a policy failure was inevitable.

A Note on the Chronology of Muhammad Tughlak's Reign

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The central fact of Muhammad Tughlak's reign is the revolt of Ma'bar and its setting up independently of him with a sultanate at Madura under the general sent by Muhammad-bin-Tughlak himself. This was Jalalu-d-din Asan Shah, who was the father-in-law of the traveller Ibn Batuta, and whose coins are extant in some number. Dr. E. Hultzsch who examined these coins and published the results of his study in the *Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society* for 1909 ascribes this event to A.D. 1335. The latest coin of Muhammad-bin-Tughlak he finds in the south is of date A.D. 1334. The earliest of Jalalu-d-din is dated A.D. 1335 and carries on it the superscription of which the details are given by Ibn Batuta himself. Dr. Vincent Smith in his recent publication *The Oxford History of India* has the following on page 242. 'The turning point was reached in A.D. 1338-9 equal to A.H. 739 when both Bengal and Ma'bar or Coromandel revolted and escaped from the Delhi tyranny.' The grounds upon which he gives the actual date A.D. 1338-9 are not clear. There is no reference in the chapter to Dr. Hultzsch's article and perhaps he bases this actual date on older information. On the following page 243, he has the following sentence apparently taken from Ferishta, in substance at any rate, 'about the same time approximately 1340, Saiyid Hasan, the Governor of Ma'bar or Coromandel revolted and slew the Sultan's officers.' This date is far too late on the evidence of South Indian coins. Similarly in regard to the change of capital to Deogiri this book has adopted the date A.D. 1326-27 (A.H. 727), admittedly on the basis of the account as given in Ibn Batuta, it may be that Ibn Batuta's narrative in this part is arranged chronologically. Ziau-d-din Barni who certainly did know what he was writing about says actually that the change of capital had taken place when the Sultan went against Kishlu Khan. His rebellion apparently was what directly encouraged the movement in Ma'bar, particularly as the exhibition of Bahau-d-din's corpse brought about the rebellion of this powerful governor of Sind. This diverted the attention of the Sultan to such a degree, 'that he did not proceed to Deogir whither the citizens and their families had removed. Whilst he remained at Delhi, the nobles and the soldiers continued with him, but their wives and children were at Deogir.' The change of capital therefore must have taken place soon after, and in consequence of, the rebellion of Bahau-d-din and in the interval between that and the rebellion of Kishlu Khan in Sind, whose head was seen by Ibn Batuta in Multan on his journey up to Delhi in A.D. 1333-34. We may perhaps date the change of capital in A.D. 1327-8 of which year A.H. 727 we have one gold coin of Muhammad bearing upon it the name Deogir.

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This arrangement receives unlooked for confirmation from an inscription at Panaiyūr in the Tirumeyyam Talūk of the Pudukoṭṭa State which refers itself to the ninth year of ‘Muhammadi Surattān’ (Muhammad Sultan). This would be the year A.D. 1334 when his authority was acknowledged as a matter of course in the southern part of the Pudukoṭṭa State. The Sultanate of Madura then must be held to have begun in A.D. 1335 and that is the beginning of the end of Muhammad’s empire. There are a number of inscriptions which refer themselves to the Hijira year in the district of Ramnad, of which one is published along with this. They refer themselves in general terms to the rule of Rājādhirāja Sakala Nṛpakulakkōn; the dates given are 732, 761 and 771 in these records which have been referred to the Kollamāṇḍu (Malabar era) in the Epigraphist’s report. But the record from Kaṇḍadēvi published in this work makes it clear that it is the Muhammadan era that is referred to, as the Muhammadan month and its equivalent Tamil month are given in the inscription itself. The record of 732 refers itself to the time of ‘Ādi Surattān’ (First Sultan). These finds put it beyond doubt that the era under reference is the Hijira era, and that the authority of Muhammad Tughlak was acknowledged in the far south up to the year A.D. 1334, and the authority of the Muhammadans, apparently the Sultans of Madura, up to A.D. 1371.

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Both Ziau-d-din Barni and Ibn Batuta agree that on hearing of the rebellion of Ma’bar, the Sultan marched at the head of his army to put down the rebellion. They again agree that he took ill at Bidar and had to abandon the enterprise, contenting himself with sending an army. When he was in Deogir on his return journey he ordered the inhabitants of Delhi then in Deogir to return, himself advancing slowly owing to illness. This must have been in the year or two following the revolt of Ma'bar in A.D. 1335. After some time came the rebellion of Sahu Afghan in Multan. In the course of Muhammad's suppression of this rebellion came the organized revolt of the Southern Hindus, Warangal, Kampli with perhaps Dvārasamudra behind them. The foundations of Vijayanagar were laid in the fortification of Virūpākshapaṭṭaṇa and the installation of the Hoysala Prince there in the position of heir-apparent respectively in A.D. 1339 and A.D. 1340.

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