The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c16.172

v4.c16.172

The jealousy of the Fārūqī kings confined in the fortress of Asīr all males of the royal house except the reigning monarch, and there were at this time nearly fifty princes so imprisoned, among them seven near in blood to Bahādur. Yāqūt released them and implored one of them to ascend and defend the throne, but none replied. “Would to God that ye were women!” ejaculated the brave old African, and, turning away, took poison and died. The fortress surrendered to Akbar on 6 January, 1601, and Khāndesh was annexed to the empire. On 7 March Dāniyāl arrived in his father’s camp and was received with the honour due to the conqueror of Ahmadnagar. He was appointed to the government of Khāndesh, which was fancifully renamed Dāndesh after him, and before leaving the Deccan Akbar formed the provinces of Khāndesh and Berār, together with so much of the kingdom of Ahmadnagar as had been conquered, into the viceroyalty of the Deccan, to which the prince was appointed. In Daulatābād, now the capital of the remnant of the kingdom of Ahmadnagar, the son of Shāh ‘Alī, third son of Burhān I, was raised to the throne as Murtazā Nizām Shāh II, and Malik ‘Ambar the African, long the virtual ruler of the state, defeated the imperial troops in south-eastern Berār and rose into prominence. Both parties in the Deccan were now weary of the strife, and on 3 January, 1602, some months after Akbar’s departure for Āgra, Abu-’l-Fazl made peace with Murtazā II.