The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c25.24

v3.c25.24

In 1436 Mas‘ūd Khān of Mālwa arrived at Ahmadābād as a suppliant seeking redress. His father, Ghaznī Khān, had ascended the throne of Mālwa in 1435 and had been poisoned in the following year by his cousin, Mahmūd Khaljī, who had ascended the throne and deprived him of his inheritance. Ahmad welcomed the opportunity of intervening, and in 1438 invaded Mālwa with a view to seating Mas‘ūd on the throne of that kingdom. After many months of fruitless campaigning he was obliged to retire owing to an outbreak of pestilence in his army, and died on August 16, 1442, before he could fulfil his promise to restore Mas‘ūd. He was succeeded in Gujarāt by his eldest son, who ascended the throne under the title of Mu‘izz-ud-dīn Muhammad Shāh. Soon after his accession to the throne Ahmad had begun to build the town of Ahmadābād on the site of the old city of Asāwal, and in spite of the constant military activities of his reign he was able to devote much of his time to the establishment of this city, which even to-day bears witness to the taste and munificence of its founder.