A History of the Mahrattas v1.c16.5

v1.c16.5

At Golcondah the Moghul influence had long preponderated; the death, however, of Abdool Kootub Shah in 1672 had not been attended with the advantages which Aurungzebe may have anticipated. The nearest heir, Abou Hussein, the son-in-law and successor of the late king, notorious for dissipated habits in his youth, was, on ascending the throne, completely reclaimed. Although a weak prince, he on some occasions asserted the dignity of his high place; but he was under the influence of two brothers, Mahdhuna Punt and Akhana Punt; who, although reckoned men of ability, particularly the former, had all that disposition to refinement in intrigue which constitutes a principal defect in Bramin statesmen. Aurungzebe’s measures partake precisely of that character; and the result proves not only the insignificance of the deepest cunning, but how much a homely maxim might serve as a lesson for kings. The Emperor did not contemplate the whole effects of his system; and the treachery and corruption, encouraged or tolerated at this period, were a principal cause of irretrievable confusion in the latter part of his reign.