The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c18: Chapter VII. Shāh Jahān
The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c18
- Language
- English
Chapter VII. Shāh Jahān
v4.c18.2
According to the rules of Muslim law Shāh Jahān was now the rightful heir to the throne, as both his elder brothers had died, and their sons had no claim. In dynastic successions this rule has often yielded to force. The position was, however, favourable to Shāh Jahān, who was openly supported by Mahābat Khān, the most eminent soldier of the day, and secretly by his father-in-law Āsaf Khān, who had the largest influence at court. In the country generally he had the favour of the Rājputs and some reputation in the Deccan. Elsewhere the people were indifferent, and officials and soldiers other than those who were personally related or otherwise attached to Nūr Jahān were inclined to side with any successful claimant. Āsaf Khān was not prepared to act on behalf of Shāh Jahān in an open manner. He placed his sister the empress under guard, removing Shāh Jahān’s sons from her charge, and with the approval of officers at headquarters proclaimed Dāwar Bakhsh (also known as Bulāqī) the son of Khusrav as emperor. Prayers were read and coins were struck in his name, but the briefness of his rule and its scanty extent are shown by the rarity of the coins and the fact that they bear the name of only one mint town, Lahore.
v4.c18.3
Meanwhile messengers were despatched by Āsaf Khān to Shāh Jahān and by Nūr Jahān to Shahryār. The latter at once assumed the title of emperor and seized the treasure at Lahore, distributing large sums to gain support and to raise forces, which he placed under the command of a son of his uncle Dāniyāl. Āsaf Khān had little difficulty in defeating the hastily recruited troops who met him on his approach to Lahore, and Shahryār was given up by the guardians of the harem in which he took refuge on learning of the defeat of his army. He was made to do homage, and then cast into prison and blinded. The long journey to the Deccan was performed in twenty days by a fleet messenger, who carried Āsaf Khān’s signet to Shāh Jahān and arrived in time to stop him from a project he was meditating of another expedition to Bengal. Khān Jahān was still opposed to him, so he made a *détour* through Gujarāt, where the Dutch and English both sent him presents and congratulations. He passed on through Mewār where he had always received support and hastened to Āgra. There he was welcomed and proclaimed emperor with suitable pomp. Determined to avoid the dynastic strife which had marked his father’s accession he had sent orders to Āsaf Khān suggesting the murder of all possible claimants, which were carried out by the execution of Dāwar Bakhsh and another son of Khusrav, of Shahryār, and of two sons of Dāniyāl. Nūr Jahān alone was spared, perhaps in memory of the support she had given her stepson in early life, and certainly in the full conviction that a woman with no son or near male relative could not be dangerous to the new emperor. She received an adequate pension and was allowed to spend the rest of her life in or near Lahore, building and ornamenting the tomb for her husband at Shāhdara, a few miles from the city, and carrying on the works of charity for which she had been famed during her husband’s lifetime.
v4.c18.4
At his accession Shāh Jahān had a stronger position than his father had held at the death of Akbar. He had ruthlessly disposed of a brother and nephews who might have continued, like Khusrav, to be a focus of intrigue. The more distinguished officers of the army were on his side, and Āsaf Khān, the most able statesman of the time, was his father-in-law and had been active in obtaining his succession to the throne. He himself was a capable leader, and in particular had won the support of the Rājputs, with whom he had close blood affinities through his mother and grandmother. With all these advantages he had to administer a state which had been shaken and impoverished by his own rebellious acts. No body politic convulsed as India had been during the last few years could settle down at once to a peaceful existence. Khān Jahān Lodī, headstrong and fickle, as many Pathāns were, believed that Shahryār or Dāwar Bakhsh was more likely to succeed, and while Shāh Jahān was on his way to Āgra, Khān Jahān left a small garrison in his headquarters at Burhānpur and marched himself to seize Māndū. When news came that Shāh Jahān had reached Ajmer he was abandoned by some of his Hindu supporters and sent in a humble submission, which was accepted. He was forgiven and confirmed in his governorship of the Deccan and ordered to return to Burhānpur.
v4.c18.5
Nearer the capital a fresh anxiety arose before a year had passed. Bīr Singh Deo, the Rājā of Bundelkhand who had ministered to the revenge of Jahāngīr by the murder of Abu-’l-Fazl, died a few months before his patron, and was succeeded by his son Jujhār Singh, who at first came to court leaving his son Bikramājīt Singh to administer the country. Bundelkhand was a wild tract, especially difficult of access in the rainy season, and its chiefs after centuries of obscurity were rising in importance. Bikramājīt Singh showed himself harsh and rapacious and his father was alarmed by the enquiries made into past collections of revenue. Jujhār Singh, therefore, left Āgra and proceeding to his fort at Orchha began to prepare for independence. For a time no action was taken, as a Jānid chief of Transoxiana had made a raid on Kābul territory. This was beaten off by the local governor and Mahābat Khan, who had been hastily despatched to defend the frontier, was recalled and took a large force to subdue the rebel in Bundelkhand. Another force under ‘Abdullah Khān was to march from the east, and Khān Jahān was ordered to advance from the Deccan with Rājā Bharat who also aspired to the chieftainship of the Bundelas. Shāh Jahān himself left Āgra and arrived at Gwalior at the beginning of January, 1629. Abdullah Khān promptly attacked and took Erachh,¹ while Khān Jahān approached from the south and began to ravage the country. Jujhār Singh had also to face opposition among his own people. Suspecting his wife of an intrigue with his brother Hardaur Singh, he had poisoned the latter, who had a considerable following.² Opposition to the imperial forces being thus hopeless, he made his submission to Mahābat Khān and his offences were pardoned on condition that he gave up some of his assignments and proceeded on service to the Deccan.
v4.c18.6
¹ Now in the north of Jhānsī district; sometimes transliterated as Irij or Irichh.
v4.c18.7
² Popular tradition still keeps the memory of Hardaur Singh, who is regarded as a martyr and demi-god, while Jujhār Singh is an object of execration.
v4.c18.8
Shāh Jahān was thus able to return to Āgra in a few weeks, and devoted his attention to the affairs of the Deccan. In restoring Khān Jahān to the governorship of that province he had directed him to recover the Bālāghāt which Khān Jahān had corruptly surrendered in the previous reign. As no effort had been made to carry out this instruction Khān Jahān was recalled to headquarters and Mahābat Khān replaced him as governor, being represented at first by his son Khān Zamān. Though he was subjected to no punishment beyond the loss of office Khān Jahān remained at Āgra, moody and discontented, and ready to listen to the mischievous remarks which were passed about at court. One evening his son heard a report that he and his father were to be imprisoned at once. Khān Jahān ceased to attend the daily court and kept in his own quarters with a guard of two thousand fellow Afghāns. The emperor, noticing his absence, sent to enquire the reason and hearing of his suspicions had a letter despatched to him forgiving his offences. On receipt of this Khān Jahān again began to visit the court, but consciousness of his own treachery and a suspicious nature prevented him from wholly trusting the emperor. In October, 1629, Āsaf Khān reported that he had received news that Khān Jahān was preparing to fly. Shāh Jahān, who was not inclined to go back on his promise of forgiveness, decided to wait on events. That same night Khān Jahān rode out with his followers and took the road to the south. He was immediately followed and overtaken near the Chambal river. His force was attacked and though he inflicted much loss on the imperial troops he thought it safe to escape, and with his sons and a few followers managed to cross the swollen stream, leaving his treasure and harem behind. While the pursuers were collecting boats he gained sufficient time to evade them, and being guided by Bikramājīt, son of Jujhār Singh, through the by-paths of Bundelkhand, he crossed Gondwāna and safely reached Ahmadnagar and Daulatābād. Here he was well received by the king, who placed him in charge of Bīr and nominally assigned to his friends tracts which were actually held by the Mughuls, with instructions to conquer them.
v4.c18.9
Shāh Jahān, with the energy which marked the early days of his rule, left Āgra for the Deccan in December, 1629. Early in the following year the Mughul forces invaded the Bālāghāt but were not well organised and after gaining one success suffered a defeat by Khān Jahān. The emperor therefore laid his plans for a concentrated attack after the rains. In dealing with the rebel Khān Jahān he also had to take account of the three kingdoms of the south, Ahmadnagar, Bījāpur and Golconda, which though jealous of each other could on occasion form alliances to repel the Mughuls. Experience had also shown that the Marāthās could not safely be neglected. One force under Khvāja Abu-’l-Hasan was sent west to Dhūlia to command the route for supplies from Gujarāt and to threaten Ahmadnagar from the north-west, while the main army was concentrated at Dewalgāon in the south of Berār ready when the time came to attack from the north-east. A third force was sent towards Telingāna (north of Hyderābād state). At the beginning of the reign the Marāthās had accepted posts under the Mughuls, but their leader Jadu Rāi, desiring to keep on terms with the ruler of Ahmadnagar, had sent sons and relations to take service with him. The king, knowing his duplicity, resolved to arrest Jadu Rāi and summoning him to court had him murdered, thereby driving the Marāthās for the time being into the Mughul camp.
v4.c18.10
The rains of 1630 failed completely in Gujarāt, the Deccan and the country extending across India to the east coast. For three previous years the seasons had been unfavourable and the result was a terrible famine, aggravated by a campaign in part of the territory affected.¹ Muqarrab Khān, commander of the Ahmadnagar forces, had been holding Jālna a few miles south-west of the main Mughul army. When in the autumn A‘zam Khān moved out of Dewalgāon, Muqarrab Khān withdrew to the south, closely followed by the Mughuls. Khān Jahān remained at his headquarters at Bīr, awaiting the scattered parties he had sent out to collect revenue, a difficult task in time of famine, and hoping to receive reinforcements from Muqarrab Khān. Hearing of A‘zam Khān’s approach he decided to move, but before he started A‘zam Khān made a night march and drew an attack by sending a small force while holding his main body in reserve. The attacking force withdrew in disorder when it found the whole of the imperial army was coming against it. Khān Jahān, finding that his retreat was cut off, determined to make a stand. He sent away his women towards the north-west and rallied his troops, sending a nephew against one of the smaller detachments of the Mughuls, with some preliminary success. A fierce battle raged and though the rebels fought bravely they were defeated and pursued till the tired horses of the Mughuls, who had traversed sixty miles in twenty hours, could go no farther. Khān Jahān with a few followers, who were mostly wounded, escaped on fresh horses with his ladies, who had to abandon their elephants and also ride on horseback.
v4.c18.11
¹ W. H. Moreland, *From Akbar to Aurangzeb*, pp. 210 *sqq.*
v4.c18.12
They hastened north to Vaijāpur hoping to find refuge in Daulatābād. A‘zam Khān after giving his troops time to rest again advanced north, and Khān Jahān with another Afghān leader named Daryā Khān moved restlessly from place to place round Daulatābād where the king of Ahmadnagar had shut himself up in the fort. Shāhjī Bhonsle, son-in-law of Jadu Rāi, who had withdrawn Marāthā support from Ahmadnagar after the murder of Jadu Rāi, now offered his services to Shāh Jahān, who accepted them gladly. The rebels attempted a diversion by sending Daryā Khān with a force of Afghāns north-west between Chāndor¹ and Chālisgāon,² where they raided the country for provisions, as scarcity round Daulatābād had been intensified by the presence of troops, but they returned on the news that ‘Abdullah Khān had been ordered to follow them. Owing to the desolation of the country A‘zam Khān thought it wiser not to besiege the king but to turn back upon the forces under Muqarrab Khān, so he marched south to Jāmkhed,³ intending to attack Muqarrab Khān who was still on the northern edge of the Bālāghāt. As the imperial forces approached them the Ahmadnagar troops withdrew towards Bīr, and when followed up by A‘zam Khān they fled towards Daulatābād, but were unable to stay owing to the failure of supplies and again went south. Meanwhile, A‘zam Khān despatched Shāhjī Bhonsle to secure the country west and north of Ahmadnagar.
v4.c18.13
¹ 20° 21′ N., 74° 15′ E.
v4.c18.14
² 20° 27′ N., 75° 1′ E.
v4.c18.15
³ 18° 49′ N., 75° 23′ E.
v4.c18.16
With his country stripped bare of the necessities of life, and almost completely surrounded by hostile forces, the king of Ahmadnagar repented of his support to the rebel Khān Jahān, whose help against the Mughuls during the last year had been almost negligible. Khān Jahān and Daryā Khān with their followers were turned out and decided to pass through Mālwā to the Punjab, hoping to find allies among the disaffected Afghāns on the frontier who would support their insurrection. Shāh Jahān, who was at Burhānpur in close touch with the operations, and able to draw supplies from tracts in northern India untouched by the famine, had foreseen this and detached forces to catch them. The fugitives arrived in central India hotly pursued and resisted by the local garrisons. They hoped to find aid and refuge in Bundelkhand where they had been assisted on their flight from Āgra. Bikramājīt Singh had, however, learned that his previous assistance to them had brought the royal censure on his father Jujhār Singh. To atone for this, he attacked the rear-guard and killed Daryā Khān and his son with many of their followers early in January, 1631. Khān Jahān escaped but was again worsted in a sharp fight and finally brought to bay and killed at Sihonda.¹
v4.c18.17
¹ Now in the Bānda district, U.P., 25° 27′ N., 83° 24′ E.
v4.c18.18
Meanwhile, Aʻzam Khān had again opened the campaign against the army of Ahmadnagar. The strong fort of Dharūr, full of treasure and munitions, was taken without an assault, after the town and market below it had been plundered, and Parenda² was invested. Attempts were also made to take advantage of the dissension which usually existed between the kingdoms of Ahmadnagar and Bījāpur.³ During the later years of Jahāngīr's reign when Mughul pressure was slight Malik ʻAmbar, the capable Ahmadnagar general, had invaded Bījāpur and plundered Nauraspur, the new capital which the king was building. Ibrāhīm ʻĀdil Shah II of Bījāpur died in 1627, shortly before Jahāngīr, and his eldest son Darvesh was blinded and set aside in favour of Muhammad ʻĀdil, a younger son aged only fifteen, through the influence of a clique headed by Mustafa Khān, a capable minister, and Daulat (or Khavāss) Khān, a man who had risen from a low origin. The succession was recognised by Shāh Jahān but not by the king of Ahmadnagar, who favoured Darvesh, and invaded Bījāpur to support his claim. Shāh Jahān, busy with consolidating his own position, tried to make peace, but the quarrel was embittered by a dispute about Sholāpur which Malik ʻAmbar had taken from Bījāpur. When Shāh Jahān came to the Deccan to suppress Khān Jahān's rebellion, and if possible to crush Ahmadnagar, the rival ministers of Bījāpur were still divided over the attitude which the kingdom should assume. Mustafā Khān, whose father-in-law had been executed by Malik ʻAmbar, was in favour of supporting the Mughuls, but Randola Khān, the commander-in-chief, felt that the Mughuls were the enemy most to be feared. Aʻzam Khān's reduction of Dharūr increased the hope that Bījāpur might regain some of the territory taken by Malik ʻAmbar and terms were considered. But Randola Khān demanded an excessive area including Dharūr, and refused to furnish troops in aid of Aʻzam Khān when he was pursuing Muqarrab Khān and the army of Ahmadnagar. Being in great straits Muqarrab Khān offered to restore Sholāpur to Bījāpur, and Aʻzam Khān feared an alliance between the two kingdoms. His assaults on Parenda had failed, and the drought had so parched the country that even grass for horses could not be found within a range of forty miles. He therefore withdrew to Dharūr, losing rear-guard actions on the way. More success attended the other divisions of the Mughul troops, as Nasīrī Khān, though resisted by combined forces of Bījāpur and Ahmadnagar, took the strong fortress of Kandhār on the eastern edge of Bālāghāt, Berār was cleared, and Khvāja Abu-’l-Hasan, though with great difficulty, had reduced Nāsik and Sangamner on the north-west of Ahmadnagar. In the midst of these successes the emperor sustained a blow which left an impression never effaced in the death of his favourite wife, Mumtāz Mahall, on 17 June, 1631.¹ She was buried at first in a garden called Zainābād near Burhānpur, and afterwards her remains were removed to Āgra, where they lie with those of Shāh Jahān in a beautiful tomb.
v4.c18.19
² 18° 16′ N., 75° 27′ E.
v4.c18.20
³ See chap. ix.
v4.c18.21
¹ The chronogram recording the date in the Hijrī era is the single word *Gham*, meaning sorrow, the numerical value of the two Arabic letters used in writing it being equal to 1040.
v4.c18.22
The kingdom of Ahmadnagar, like that of Bījāpur, was under a nominal ruler, swayed against his will by factions among the nobles. Muqarrab Khān had superseded and strictly confined his brother-in-law, Fath Khān, who was a son of Malik ‘Ambar. While Muqarrab Khān was attempting to resist the Mughal forces, the king of Ahmadnagar asserted himself for a brief space and released Fath Khān. Feeling that resistance was useless, Muqarrab Khān, who was of Persian origin and had no hereditary connection with the kingdom, changed sides and offered his services to the emperor, which were accepted, and he was shortly afterwards transferred to Katehr (now Rohilkhand) in northern India. Fath Khān himself, knowing his master’s changeable mood, placed the king in confinement, as his father had done, and reported this to Āsaf Khān; expecting some mark of favour. Āsaf Khān, who was ruthless in such matters, suggested that his sincerity would be best proved by murder, and Fath Khān poisoned the king and replaced him by Husain, a boy of ten. With the hesitation usually found in traitors he delayed the surrender of treasure and elephants he had agreed to give up, and Shāh Jahān despatched Muqarrab Khān, now dignified by the title of Rustam Khān, to reduce Daulatābād which had become the actual headquarters of the Ahmadnagar kingdom. This fresh danger alarmed Fath Khān, who submitted.² Randola Khān, the Bījāpur general, had still shown opposition to the Mughals and had detained an envoy who was carrying presents to the emperor. Hearing of the collapse of resistance in Ahmadnagar, he also offered peace and promised allegiance to the emperor and that he would let the envoy pass. A‘zam Khān, however, rejected the terms and marched south but suffered losses and fell back. In December, 1631, the emperor deputed Āsaf Khān to invade Bījāpūr. Taking a route farther east than that followed by A‘zam Khān in the earlier campaign, Āsaf Khān reached Bhālkī³ and took it. A message of submission from Bījāpur was rejected and the Mughals marched on, sacking Gulbarga and massacring the population. The army camped between Nauraspur and Shāhpur, a few miles north-west of Bījāpur, and opened the siege. Fresh negotiations were set on foot and Mustafā Khān, who headed the party favourable to the Mughuls, came into the camp of the besiegers to discuss terms. His offer seemed favourable, but his colleague, Khavāss Khān, declined to concur in them, and made a fresh suggestion, which Āsaf Khān was disposed to accept, owing to his difficulties in obtaining supplies, as the Bījāpur army, while falling back, had destroyed whatever the famine had left. During the truce and parley, however, the straitened circumstances of the besiegers had become known to the garrison, and a letter dropped in the Mughul camp by an adherent of Mustafā Khān warned Āsaf Khān that he was merely being played with till exhaustion should overcome his force. During the short siege of twenty days no grain had been brought in and the provisions which had been carried with the army were almost finished. Āsaf Khān therefore retreated west to Mīrāj,¹ seeking supplies, plundering the country and killing or enslaving the population. He then struck north past Sholāpur, where the pursuing army of Bījāpur turned back, and he returned to the Mughul territories. The emperor was by this time disgusted with the Deccan where his wife had died, his plans had not succeeded and the desolation of famine still continued. He was persuaded by Mahābat Khān that the conquest of Bījāpur was not impossible, and entrusted to him the command in the Deccan, recalling to court Āsaf Khān, who was more distinguished in political craft than as a general in the field.
v4.c18.23
² The histories record that he struck coin in the name of Shāh Jahān, but the issue seems to have been confined to Ahmadnagar dated about October, 1631. Shāh Jahān’s suzerainty at his accession had been recognised by striking coins at Daulatābād in his name, dated 1037 Hijrī, though the issue was not continued.
v4.c18.24
³ 18° 3′ N., 77° 12′ E.
v4.c18.25
¹ 16° 49′ N., 74° 41′ E.
v4.c18.26
Although the Deccan had hitherto been the scene of the most important events affecting the empire military operations had been undertaken elsewhere, especially in Bengal. Nearly a century earlier the Portuguese had obtained a footing at Hooghly, whence they traded to other parts of India, to China, the Moluccas and Manilla. They had a monopoly of the manufacture of salt and practically exercised their own administration in the settlement. Converts and half-castes were numerous, and the new port gained at the expense of Sātgāon a little higher up the river and Sonārgāon in eastern Bengal. Some of the inhabitants joined the half-castes of Chittagong, descended from Portuguese refugees from Goa, who were notorious pirates and ravaged the rich districts of eastern Bengal. During the reign of Jahāngīr the Portuguese had been left very much to themselves by the Mughul governors, who moved their headquarters from Sonārgāon in 1608 to Dacca, calling it Jahāngīrnagar, after the emperor. Qāsim Khān, who became governor soon after the accession of Shāh Jahān, reported to the emperor that the Portuguese were a danger as they had fortified their settlement, levied tolls on ships that passed it, and had ruined Sātgāon. He also called attention to their complicity in piracy¹ and their practice of kidnapping or purchasing children and disposing of them as slaves. These statements reminded the emperor of his own personal reasons for disliking the foreigners. During the first successes of Shāh Jahān's rebellion against his father the governor of Hooghly, who was afraid of an attack on that place after Burdwān had fallen, visited the prince. Shāh Jahān had a high opinion of the value of the European gunners employed by the Portuguese and offered great rewards for their services. The governor, while sensible of the immediate danger to his settlement during the temporary collapse of imperial power in Bengal, did not believe in the possibility of the ultimate success of the rebel. Unfortunately for the Portuguese the language of his refusal to help was reported to have been very insulting. At a later stage the Portuguese gave some assistance to Parvīz. When Shāh Jahān succeeded to the throne the foreigners omitted to recognise the accession by the usual presents. The late empress had also had a personal grievance during the flight, as one of the Portuguese had first given some help and had then deserted, carrying off boats one of which contained two slave girls who belonged to her. A striking example of the lawlessness of the time occurred in 1629, when a Portuguese from the Magh territory in eastern Bengal plundered a village near Dacca and violently assaulted a Mughul lady.² Shāh Jahān thus welcomed the proposal of Qāsim Khān that these troublesome aliens who did not conform to Islām and who were actively injurious to the realm should be suppressed.
v4.c18.27
¹ For the damage done by the pirates of eastern Bengal see *J.A.S.B.* 1907, p. 422.
v4.c18.28
² See Manrique, II, 318. She was subsequently baptised and married a Portuguese.
v4.c18.29
An opportunity for action soon presented itself. A Portuguese merchant at Sātgāon named Afonso, who had made a claim to certain land in Hooghly, applied to Qāsim Khān in 1632 and held out the promise of rich booty if the settlement were taken, which would be an easy task. The governor acted cautiously, as the Portuguese were known to be capable soldiers, and he feared that if he became involved in a long struggle the Magh king would take advantage of his concentration of forces at Hooghly to attack and plunder Dacca. He therefore assembled a considerable force under the pretext of coercing refractory landholders near Murshidābād north of Hooghly and Hijilī to the south, and he also collected boats, as the Portuguese were particularly redoubtable on the water. Warnings had been received from priests at Dacca and Āgra, but were disregarded, and when the large Mughul army approached Hooghly at the end of June, and it was known that the fleet was not far away, barricades and palisades had to be improvised, and a Jesuit was sent to parley. Bahādur Khān, who was in command, detailed the offences described above and proposed to search for Bengali slaves and punish those who had purchased them. The Portuguese declined to allow a search, and after some preliminary skirmishing an attack was launched by both land and the river, which was repulsed. A few days later the besieged sent out fresh envoys to sue for peace, and were bidden to despatch four of the principal residents with power to make terms. These agreed to give up the slaves, but surrendered only a small number. Further hostages were obtained and a large ransom demanded from the church with half the property of the inhabitants, and the hostages were fettered and threatened with death. The negotiations were being prolonged as reinforcements were expected by the Mughuls, who soon attacked again and obtained a footing in part of the settlement. For about five weeks the siege continued till artillery was brought up and trenches were dug. During a fresh armistice the Portuguese gave up 200,000 rupees with which the Mughuls paid their troops, Afonso tried to block the river with a bridge of boats and a chain, and prepared a number of fire-boats to burn the Portuguese ships. Finally the Portuguese decided to evacuate the town in their boats, but delayed and were attacked before the boats cast loose. A running fight ensued, and about 3000 refugees escaped down the river, while 400 Christian prisoners were taken the long slow journey to Āgra.¹ Most of them refused to apostasise and were imprisoned. While the emperor had substantial reasons for coercing the Portuguese, evidence of his religious intolerance at this period exists in orders issued for the demolition of newly built Hindu temples, particularly in and near the sacred city of Benares, where seventy-six were said to have been destroyed.
v4.c18.30
¹ For a contemporary Portuguese account of the siege see Manrique, II, App. 392.
v4.c18.31
Apart from a slight insurrection among the Bhīls of Mālwa, which was easily suppressed, the internal peace of the empire was unbroken at the end of 1632. The southern border was, however, far from quiet. Shāhjī the Marāthā chief, when he first made his submission to the Mughuls, had been rewarded with grants of land which had been held by Fath Khān of Ahmadnagar. These grants were restored to Fath Khān as a reward for his murder of the king. Enraged by this alienation Shāhjī offered his services to the king of Bījāpur, promising to take Daulatābād from Fath Khān if an army from Bījāpur would help him. Daulatābād was not ready to stand a siege and Fath Khān addressed Mahābat Khān, offering to make it over to the imperial forces, and to proceed himself for service at the court. A force under Khān Zamān, son of Mahābat Khān, defeated the troops from Bījāpur, and their general Randola Khān, having lost in the field, had resort to intrigue. He offered Fath Khān a considerable sum of money and supplies, and was successful in getting him to break his pledge to the Mughuls. On hearing of this treachery Mahābat Khān decided to take Daulatābād by storm, a task which had never been accomplished since the construction of the central fortress by Muhammad bin Tughluq three centuries earlier.¹ It was protected by a number of later fortifications, especially the works known as ‘Ambar Kot, which had been built by Malik ‘Ambar. The place was invested under the direct supervision of Mahābat Khān who proceeded by sapping and mining. At the same time, having an army of about 20,000 cavalry in the field against him, he maintained a large mobile force to prevent the reinforcement of the garrison and the entry of supplies which were badly needed. Within six weeks a large mine was exploded which tore down a long stretch of the outer wall and part of a bastion. As the explosion had been premature the storming troops were not ready and a fierce struggle ensued before the defences made by Malik ‘Ambar were taken. Diversions made in Berār, and attempts by Randola Khān and Shāhjī to relieve the garrison, all failed. The small contingent of Bījāpur troops within the fortress, dispirited alike by the straits to which they had been reduced, and by the success and vigour of the besiegers, asked to be allowed to escape secretly. Mahābat Khān sent a written consent and received them kindly when they made their way down a ladder and gave them presents. In less than two months after the penetration of the outworks, a mine was ready for exploding under the next line of defences. Communications between opposing forces were more frequent than in modern warfare, and Fath Khān, aware of the instant danger, asked for a day to arrange for terms with his Bījāpur allies. His treachery had been exposed so often that Mahābat Khān declined to allow any terms unless Fath Khān would send his son as a hostage. The son did not appear and the mine was sprung, tearing down a bastion and part of the wall. Fresh trenches were started within the wall, and renewed attempts by the Bījāpur army were defeated. An epidemic had broken out in the fortress, and Fath Khān was now alarmed for the safety and honour of his own ladies and the harem of the king. To save them he sent his son with a prayer for forgiveness and help to remove the women. Exulting in his victory Mahābat Khān was generous, and not only provided his own elephants and camels with several litters for the women, but also restored some of the treasure already taken. At the end of June, 1633, after a siege of three and a half months, Fath Khān yielded up the stronghold with all the guns and munitions of war, and Mahābat Khān, entering, had prayers read in the name of the emperor. Fath Khān and Husain Nizām Shāh, the boy king, were sent to court; their lives were spared but Husain was committed to the state prison in the Gwalior fort for life, while Fath Khān was allowed to live at Lahore with an ample pension.
v4.c18.32
¹ See vol. III, p. 141.
v4.c18.33
Mahābat Khān’s brilliant conduct of the siege was the last success of a great soldier who, throughout his career, had excelled as tactician rather than strategist. The capture of Daulatābād by no means won the whole territory of Ahmadnagar for the Mughuls. In the west the Marāthās had a firm hold over the northern half of the present Poona district and the Konkan. Parts of the Bālāghāt were still in the hands of Ahmadnagar officers who maintained their loyalty to a phantom ruler or denied allegiance to the Mughuls for their own benefit. Parenda, which A‘zam Khān had failed to take two years before, had been made over to Bījāpur by its commander, and Mahābat Khān now proposed to the prince Shāh Shujā‘ that the Mughul forces should take it in order to subdue the outlying portions of Ahmadnagar and to establish a base for the reduction of Bījāpur. He detached his son Khān Zamān to ravage the frontier districts of Bījāpur and he established outposts along the line from Daulatābād towards Parenda so as to shut off the Marāthās. Shāhjī, however, announced the succession of another member of the Nizāmshāhī dynasty of Ahmadnagar and by raiding continually tried to break the Mughul line and thus relieve the pressure on Parenda. To counteract these movements a Mughul force was sent to force Shāhjī back to Junnar and to sack or capture some of his strongholds.
v4.c18.34
As Khān Zamān’s attempt to take Parenda was not successful, Mahābat Khān himself with Shāh Shujā‘ left the Mughul headquarters established at Malkāpur. The effects of the great famine had not yet passed away. Thousands of cultivators had perished, and many of the survivors had moved to districts which had suffered less. In the absence of proper organisation supplies for the army in the field were lacking, and foraging parties had to go to distant places where they were subject to attack. Mahābat Khān himself narrowly escaped capture, being rescued by Nasīrī Khān who had now received the title of Khān Daurān for his services in the capture of Daulatābād. The incident caused jealousy, as Khān Daurān continued to boast of his exploit. The hot weather was well advanced, and as the rains were due Mahābat Khān advised Shāh Shujā‘, who was unable to control his generals, to raise the siege and retire to Burhānpur. The failure vexed the emperor, who recalled Shāh Shujā‘ and Khān Zamān to court and censured Mahābat Khān. The old general was suffering from fistula, and distracted by his sufferings and the failure of his enterprise behaved madly till his death in October, 1634.
v4.c18.35
While affairs had been progressing so badly in the Deccan the emperor had been making his first visit to Lahore since his accession. On his return to Āgra he conferred on Āsaf Khān the title of Khān Khānān which had been held by Mahābat Khān. A fresh insurrection now broke out in Bundelkhand. For five years Jujhār Singh had served in the Deccan and had assisted in the capture of Daulatābād. He then returned to Orchha, leaving his son and the Bundelā contingent with Mahābat Khān. Reviving his old ambition he sought to extend his authority over Gondwāna, the hilly tract lying south of Bundelkhand, which had never been brought under direct Mughul rule, though one of Akbar's generals had raided it and stormed the extensive fortress of Chaurāgarh. Jujhār Singh laid siege to this place and, though he received warnings from the emperor not to persist, he took it and treacherously put to death the Gond Rājā Prem Nārāyan. The son of the dead raja appealed to Shāh Jahān, who called on Jujhār Singh to surrender the conquered territory to the imperial officers, or to give up his own lands, and also to pay a fine of a million rupees. Jujhār Singh refused to obey and sent a message to his son to bring back his troops from the Bālāghāt. On their way back they were attacked by imperial forces and lost heavily, but the son escaped, though wounded, and joined his father. Prince Aurangzīb was now deputed with an army to suppress the rebellion. The force concentrated at Bhānder and marched south on Orchha, which was surrounded by thick jungle not traversed by open roads. Making slow progress through this, the troops were subject to constant attacks by the Bundelās, but still pressed on. Alarmed by their progress, Jujhār Singh left Orchha in charge of a garrison and with his son, their families and valuables retreated south to Dhāmonī.¹ Orchha was stormed and the prince drew near Dhāmonī, when news was received that Jujhār Singh had left for Chaurāgarh which he hoped to be able to hold against all attacks, if the Mughuls pursued him into such difficult country. Dhāmonī was stormed and the imperial army still advanced. Dismayed at last, Jujhār Singh abandoned Chaurāgarh and hastened towards the Deccan with a force about 6000 strong, and sixty elephants carrying his family and valuables. The rebels had a fortnight's start and travelled speedily, but were pursued and pressed. Jujhār Singh put to death several of his women whose horses had foundered and turned on the Mughuls, but was beaten and his men scattered in the jungles. The remnants made for Golconda and were again taken by surprise. They had not time to perform the full rites of *jauhar* (the Rājput sacrifice of women in such an emergency) but stabbed a number, and were about to fly when they were forced to fight. The Mughuls took several male relatives of Jujhār Singh prisoners, and picked up the wounded women. While they rested after their long marches news came that Jujhār Singh and one of his sons had been murdered by the Gonds in the jungles where they had sought to hide. Shāh Jahān himself had proceeded towards Orchha and just before Christmas, 1634, came news of the capture of the strong fort of Jhānsī, a few miles away. For several years following these defeats the Orchha branch of Bundelās had no chief recognised by the emperor.
v4.c18.36
¹ 24° 14′ N., 78° 45′ E.
v4.c18.37
The death of Mahābat Khān and the removal of Mughul forces from the Deccan had the usual result of causing the rival factions in the Bījāpur state to renew their bickering. For a time, Khavāss Khān obtained the upper hand and imprisoned Mustafā Khān in the fort of Belgaum, as he had refused to give up the royal seals when ordered by the king. An intrigue was started which ended in the murder of Khavāss Khān and his right-hand man Murārī Pandit. Mustafā Khān obtained his release and was restored to the position of Peshwā or chief minister. The emperor now took the opportunity of obtaining renewed pledges of allegiance from Bījāpur and Golconda, and himself came south to direct what operations might be necessary, crossing the Narbadā early in 1636, and proceeding to Daulatābād. He called on the king of Bījāpur to be regular in payment of tribute and to make over to imperial officers the Ahmadnagar territories which Bījāpur had seized. In particular he demanded that the Marāthās and other supporters of the evicted Ahmadnagar dynasty should be turned out of Bījāpur. To strengthen his demands he detached a force towards the Bālāghāt with instructions to take the forts of Udgīr and Ausā, which had belonged to Ahmadnagar. Mustafā Khān, who had always favoured the Mughuls, agreed to the terms, and sent apologies for recent contumacious behaviour for which he had not been responsible. The envoy who returned to the imperial camp reported that there were still dissensions among the leading nobles and, as it was discovered that money had been sent to the commandants of Udgīr and Ausā, Shāh Jahān decided to invade Bījāpur. This danger induced the general Randola to unite with Mustafā Khān in suing for peace. Delay and secret contumacy had made the emperor inclined to greater severity and his first impulse was to execute the envoys to prove the reality of his intentions. Āsaf Khān, however, succeeded in dissuading him and the entreaties of Mustafā Khān's son, who had come to court, appeased his anger. The terms were, however, severe. Bījāpur was to acknowledge Mughul supremacy, to pay an annual tribute of two million rupees, and to keep the peace with Golconda, submitting to the emperor's arbitration any dispute with that kingdom. The boundary of the old Ahmadnagar state, now Mughul, was settled, and Bījāpur was confirmed in the possession of Parenda, and of the Konkan, while that state agreed to assist the Mughuls if Shāhjī did not surrender his chief possessions near Junnar and Trimbak. The peace thus concluded (May, 1636) continued till the death of Muhammad 'Ādil Shāh of Bījāpur in November, 1656, though Mughul authority had to be asserted on one or two occasions.
v4.c18.38
The settlement of affairs with Golconda was an easier task as the king had usually been more complaisant than the rulers of other Deccan states. Friendship with Shāh Jahān had been shown by help given to him during his rebellion against his father, and his gratitude was expressed in 1626 when 'Abdullah Qutb Shāh succeeded his father. The emperor on his arrival in the Deccan to crush the rebel Khān Jahān sent an envoy to the Golconda court who returned with presents early in 1631. Some alarm was, however, felt at Golconda when in the operations which ensued one of the Mughul divisions took the fort of Kandhār, and troops were sent to patrol the frontier in that direction. Further mistrust of the imperial designs was caused by the governor of Orissa, who took a fort on the northern borders, but the emperor stayed a further advance by him. When another envoy was sent at the end of 1631 Āsaf Khān was starting on his unsuccessful expedition against Bījāpur and the envoy was detained in Golconda and finally dismissed without the usual presents on the receipt of news of Āsaf Khān's failure and return to the north. Either the old friendship or fear of Mughul prowess held back the king two years later from joining the Bījāpur forces which tried to relieve the Daulatābād garrison during the siege by Mahābat Khān. Fugitive relatives of Jujhār Singh who succeeded in reaching Golconda when he met his death in the jungles were made over to the Mughul commander.
v4.c18.39
These bonds of friendship and complaisance were, however, strained by the force of religious difference. While Shāh Jahān was a strict Sunnī the kings of Golconda belonged to the Shiah sect and for more than thirty years had included the name of the reigning Shāh of Persia in the weekly Friday prayers, as a recognition of his authority. The demands on Golconda thus included the abolition of Shiah practices and an explanation why the authority of the Shāh was respected, besides the usual request for presents. Some show of resistance was made as had been the case with Bījāpur. Judges of the Islamic law and divines were assembled at Golconda and they advised compliance. Shāh Jahān's name was inserted in the Friday prayers, and the Mughul troops were withdrawn from the frontiers, without having to make the show of force which had been necessary at Bījāpur. As the Golconda kingdom was weaker than Bījāpur the terms imposed on it were harder. They included the abolition of the Shiah formula and the use of the emperor's name on coins,¹ payment of an annual tribute of 200,000 *hūns*,² with arrears then due, continued loyalty, and the promise of help if Bījāpur attacked the imperial forces. Among the presents taken to the emperor with the written treaty (May, 1636) were included coins of Mughul type bearing his name for the first time. His return presents included his portrait and a gold tablet on which the details of the treaty were engraved.
v4.c18.40
¹ Golconda, unlike Bījāpur, had very little distinctive coinage of Muhammadan style, but appears to have used coins of the southern Indian Hindu types as did the Dutch, the Danes and the English. Cf. W. H. Moreland, *Relations of Golconda*, p. 91 *sq.*
v4.c18.41
² A well known gold coin in South India, worth at this period about 7*s.* to 7*s.* 6*d.* or three rupees.
v4.c18.42
While these arrangements were being concluded with the feeble kings of Golconda and Bījāpur, more trouble was being experienced in subduing the hardy Marāthās. As he approached Daulatābād the emperor despatched one force under Khān Zamān to occupy the home land of Shāhjī south and south-east of Ahmadnagar and afterwards to clear the Konkan of Marāthās. Another division under Shāyista Khān invaded the districts north and west of Ahmadnagar. Shāyista Khān’s enterprise was successful and he rapidly won over a Marāthā leader and a Muslim commandant serving under the nominal Ahmadnagar ruler, and his troops stormed or compelled the surrender of a number of forts. Khān Zamān found himself opposed to Shāhjī, who had crossed the line of his advance and was making for Parenda to join the Bījāpur forces, followed by Khān Zamān. When Shāhjī passed over the Bhīmā and entered Bījāpur territory where Khān Zamān had been ordered not to follow him, the latter halted. Receiving permission later, he took Kolhāpur and plundered Mirāj and Rāybāg though constantly harassed by the Bījāpur troops. While he halted on his return journey northwards he received news that Bījāpur had submitted to terms and he was ordered to take Junnar from Shāhjī, to whom an offer of service was made by Bījāpur if he would peacefully surrender his fortresses. Shāhjī, however, continued to hold out after the treaty with Bījāpur had been concluded and a further campaign was necessary to reduce him, which was prolonged by the setting in of the rainy season. Khān Zamān invested Junnar, but Shāhjī made rapid marches and counter-marches, evading both the Mughul troops and the Bījāpur forces which were now co-operating with them. Finally Shāhjī took refuge in a small fort, and after sustaining a siege by the combined armies, and haggling long over terms, he surrendered all his strongholds and agreed to enter the service of Bījāpur. Early in 1637 when Aurangzīb returned to court to be married, he brought with him the boy whom Shāhjī had set up as ruler of Ahmadnagar and had made over to the Mughul general when he surrendered. The boy was imprisoned in Gwalior, where there were already two of his predecessors.
v4.c18.43
While affairs in the Deccan had been the chief preoccupation of the Mughuls other projects for extension of territory had also been launched. For a hundred years they had coveted the barren and inhospitable country of Tibet, and in spite of the record of constant disaster renewed their attempts from time to time. An expedition under the governor of Kashmīr failed in the preceding reign and was obliged to retreat with great loss and much difficulty. Shāh Jahān’s expedition was less ambitious and was directed against Abdāl the ruler of Bāltistān or little Tibet, who had offended him by giving refuge to the turbulent Chakks.¹ Abdāl had submitted in 1634 but again showed a recalcitrant spirit and the governor of Kashmīr was directed to enforce his obedience. Bāltistān lies among massive ranges with lofty peaks and vast glaciers and a campaign is possible only during two months of the year. A fort held by a young son of Abdāl capitulated after a short siege and the failure of a sortie to drive off the besiegers. The surrender of a second fort and the knowledge that his people were not prepared to support him compelled Abdāl to yield and he agreed to pay an indemnity, while the leader of the Chakks was also secured. A new governor was appointed, and a year later sent news that Tibet proper was aggressive. In a short campaign, however, the Tibetan forces were routed and peace was restored.
v4.c18.44
¹ For the earlier activities of this tribe see vol. III, chap. XII.
v4.c18.45
An event of greater importance was the recovery of Qandahār, the possession of which was so long disputed by the rulers of Persia and India, even after its importance on a trade route had diminished. During the first ten years of Shāh Jahān’s reign he lost no opportunity of trying to impress the Shāh of Persia with his own prowess. Persian envoys were received with great pomp and costly gifts were made to them. After each success in putting down rebellions or coercing the kings in the Deccan an Indian ambassador was sent to the Shāh to magnify the achievement. Shāh ‘Abbās, the great Persian monarch, died a year after Shāh Jahān ascended the throne. His young successor was occupied for a number of years in contests with the Turks, and in suppressing the revolts which inevitably followed the death of a strong and merciless ruler. On the Indian border ‘Alī Mardān Khān upheld Persian interests as governor of Qandahār, and was successful in subduing Sher Khān Tārīn of Qoshanj who had been oppressing travellers on the trade route. In 1632 Sher Khān appealed to Shāh Jahān, who granted him an interview and gave him a post in the Punjab. Though the Persian monarch was gradually improving his position, the Turks on the west and the Uzbegs on the north-east were still troublesome, and the Mughuls followed up their Indian successes by intrigues with ‘Alī Mardān. He had a personal grievance against Sārū Taqī, the minister of the Shāh, who had called him to account for his governorship and when met by prevarication despatched a force to ensure compliance. Alarmed by this insistence ‘Alī Mardān Khān asked help from the Mughul officers at Ghaznī and Kābul, and impressed by Shāh Jahān’s recent successes offered to surrender Qandahār to him. Early in 1638 the commandant of Ghaznī arrived and was allowed to enter the fortress. He was followed in a few days by the governor of Kābul and ‘Alī Mardān Khān publicly acknowledged his change of allegiance by having the name of Shāh Jahān recited in the Friday prayers and stamped on the coinage of the city, while the fortress was formally handed over to the Mughuls, though a party within it was still in favour of the Persians and corresponded with the leader of the force which had been sent to secure it. In a short campaign the surrounding district was again brought under Mughul sway. ‘Alī Mardān Khān was handsomely rewarded and later in the year was made governor of Kashmīr, and honoured by a visit from the emperor.
First 44 of 124 passages. Read on