The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c18.12

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 Shāhjī Bhonsle, son-in-law of Jadu Rāi, who had withdrawn Marāthā support from Ahmadnagar after the murder of Jadu Rāi, now offered his services to Shāh Jahān, who accepted them gladly.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.