The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c20.214

v4.c20.214

Mubāriz Khān attempted, by passing far to the east of Aurangābād, to draw him away from the city, hoping to be able to descend on Aurangābād from the north and occupy it before his intentions were ascertained. He evaded Nizām-ul-Mulk, but the viceroy turned northward to meet him. The two armies met at Shakarkhelda¹ in Berār on 11 October. The historians represent the battle as having been fiercely contested. Nizām-ul-Mulk's army was at one time thrown into some confusion by the unsuccessful attempt of a force of the enemy to plunder its camp and baggage, a stratagem usual in the Deccan. But the losses of Nizām-ul-Mulk, which amounted to only three officers and a few rank and file, indicate that he met no very desperate resistance. Mubāriz Khān and two of his sons were killed and two other sons taken prisoners, and the losses in killed amounted to three thousand, including many officers.