South India and her Muhammadan Invaders c12.35

c12.35

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.