The Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts of the Bombay Presidency from the Earliest Historical Times to the Musalman Conquest c8.s17.183

c8.s17.183

city; and the city itself was easily taken, entered, and pillaged by Allâ-ud-dîn’s troops. Allâ-ud-dîn having given out that his force was only the advance-guard of the emperor’s army,—the neighbouring chiefs, each busy with his own preparations for defence, were prevented from coalescing with Râmachandra against the invaders; and Râmachandra, seeing that he must soon be obliged to surrender, and apprehending that the king of Delhi intended to make an entire conquest of the Dekkan, became anxious to secure peace before any other forces arrived. He accordingly offered a large amount of gold and jewels, sufficient, with the booty that Allâ-ud-dîn had already obtained, to indemnify him for the expenses of his expedition; and his proposals were accepted by Allâ-ud-dîn, who released his prisoners, and promised to quit the town on the morning of the fifteenth day from his first entrance. Meanwhile, Râmachandra’s son Saṃkara, who, on the first appearance of the enemy, had retired to collect troops, advanced with a large army to within a few miles of the city. Râmachandra sent word to him that peace had been concluded. But Saṃkara, relying on the numerical superiority of his forces, disregarded the injunctions of his father, and sent a message to Allâ-ud-dîn, calling on him to restore whatever plunder he had taken, and to leave the province quietly. Thereupon, Allâ-ud-dîn left a force of a thousand horse to invest the fort and prevent a sally, and marched with the rest of his army to attack Saṃkara. A battle ensued, in which the Musalmân troops, overpowered by numbers, fell back on all sides. They were joined, however, by the force which had been left to invest the fort. And the Hindûs, supposed that the king’s army, of which they had heard, had arrived. A panic seized them; and they broke and fled in all directions. Allâ-ud-dîn did not think it prudent to pursue them, but returned and again invested the fort. Râmachandra now found himself to be in great difficulties; especially because a number of bags, supposed to contain grain, which had been taken into the fort for the support of the garrison, were found to contain only salt. He accordingly again commenced negociations. And peace was ultimately concluded; the terms being that Allâ-ud-dîn should receive, on evacuating the country, “six hundred maunds of pearls, two maunds of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, one thousand maunds of silver, and four thousand pieces of silk, besides,” says Ferishta, “a long list of other precious commodities, to which reason forbids us to give credit.” Also, the cession of Ellichpûr and its dependencies was demanded, in order that Allâ-ud-dîn might leave there a garrison for the collection of the revenues which were to be remitted to him at Karrah-Mânikpur. Allâ-ud-dîn, accordingly, released all his prisoners, and, on the twenty-fifth day from his first arrival before Dêvagiri, marched in triumph out of the city and proceeded on his return to Karrah.