The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c20.469

v3.c20.469

Muhammad meanwhile advanced to Pātan, where he received the submission of the Hindu chieftains of the province, and from the raja of Mandal and Pātrī² an offering of the heads of some of the rebels who had taken refuge with him. While at Pātan he received the news that the Deccan, where everything had gone ill with his cause since his departure, was lost to him. The ‘centurion’ Hasan, who had received from the Afghān king the title of Zafar Khān, had marched to Bīdar and, with the help of reinforcements received from Daulatābād and from Kānhayya Nāik of Warangal, had defeated and slain ‘Imād-ul-Mulk Sartīz and dispersed his army. His victory was the death-blow to the royal cause in the Deccan, and as Hasan approached Daulatābād the royal troops raised the siege and hastily retreated on Dhār. Nāsir-ud-dīn Ismā‘īl Shāh left the citadel and met the conqueror at Nizāmpur, about three and a half miles from the fortress, where he entertained him for fourteen days. Ismā‘īl, an old man who loved his ease, clearly perceived that Hasan was the man of the hour, and resolved to descend gracefully from a throne which he had not sought and professed not to desire. Summoning his officers, he announced to them his intention of abdicating and professed his readiness to swear allegiance to any, worthier than himself, on whom their choice might fall. The election of Hasan was a foregone conclusion. It was he who had driven the royal troops from the Deccan, and his claim to descent from the half-mythical hero, Bahman son of Isfandiyār, seemed to mark him out for the honour of royalty. On August 3, 1347, he was acclaimed by the assembled nobles of the Deccan under the title of Abu’l-Muzaffar ‘Alā-ud-dīn Bahman Shāh³, and founded a dynasty which ruled the Deccan for nearly a hundred and eighty years.