Early History of the Dekkan down to the Mahomedan Conquest c21.95

c21.95

Râmachandra was the last of the independent Hindu sovereigns of the Dekkan. The Mussalmans had been firmly established at Delhi for about a century, and though they had not yet turned their attention to the Dekkan it was not possible they should refrain from doing so for a long time Alla-ud-dîn Khiljî, the nephew of the reigning king, who had been appointed governor of Karra, was a person of a bold and adventurous spirit In the year 1294 A D or Śaka 1216 he collected a small army of 8000 men and marched straight to the south till he reached Ellichpur, and then suddenly turning to the west appeared in a short time before Devagiri The king never expected such an attack and was consequently unprepared to resist it According to one account he was even absent from his capital He hastily collected about 4000 troops, and threw himself between the city and invading army But being aware he could not hold out for a long time, he took measures for provisioning the fort and retired into it The city was then taken by the Mahomedans and plundered, and the fort was closely invested Alla-ud-dîn had taken care to spread a report that his troops were but the advanced guard of the army of the king which was on its way to the Dekkan Râmachandra, therefore, despairing of a successful resistance, began to treat for peace Alla-ud-dîn, who was conscious of his own weakness, received his proposals with gladness and agreed to raise the siege and retire on condition of receiving from the king a large quantity of gold In the meantime, Râmachandra's son Śaṁkara collected a large army and was marching to the relief of the fort, when Alla-ud-dîn left about a thousand men to continue the siege and proceeded [119] with the rest to a short distance from the town and gave battle to Śaṁkara's forces The Hindus were numerically superior and forced the Mahomedans to fall back, but the detachment left to observe the movements of the garrison joined them at this time, and Śaṁkara's followers thinking it to be the main army that was on its way from Delhi were seized with a panic, and a confusion ensued which resulted in the complete defeat of the Hindus