The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c16.148

v4.c16.148

The peace procured by the cession of Berār was of short duration, and in the war which broke out between the imperial troops and those of the kingdoms of the Deccan, a battle was fought in the neighbourhood of Sonpet on 8 and 9 February, 1597.² On the afternoon of the first day both wings of the imperial army were put to flight, and in the left wing Rājā 'Alī Khān of Khāndesh, who attempted to make a stand, was slain, with thirty of his officers and 500 of his men. The centre, under the Khān Khānān, stood fast and the wings rallied during the night, and, finding the Khāndesh camp empty, concluded that their ally had either fled or deserted to the enemy, and plundered his camp. After the battle, which was resumed on the following day and ended in a decisive victory for the imperial troops, the corpse of the valiant and unfortunate prince was discovered, and those who had plundered his camp were overcome with shame. It was the behaviour of the imperial troops on this occasion that embittered Qadr Khān, who succeeded his father on the throne of Khāndesh under the title of Bahādur Shāh, against Akbar.