The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c27.81

v3.c27.81

After his return the famous saint Jamāl-ud-dīn¹ Husainī, nicknamed Gīsū Darāz (‘Long ringlets’), arrived from Delhi and established himself at Gulbarga, where he was received with great honour. The cultured Fīrūz soon wearied of the society of the ignorant and unlettered saint, but the simpler and more pious Ahmad took much delight in his discourse, and gained his support, which contributed largely to his success in the impending contest for the throne. From this time both Ahmad and the saint, who was indiscreet enough to prophesy his disciple’s success, became objects of suspicion and aversion to Fīrūz, who, though no more than forty years of age, was worn out by his pleasures and delegated much of his authority to others. Ahmad, who had served his brother faithfully in the past, now lost his confidence, and the king’s choice fell upon Hūshyār and Bīdār, two manumitted slaves whom he ennobled under the titles of ‘Ain-ul-Mulk and Nizām-ul-Mulk, and into whose hands, as habits of indolence grew upon him, he gradually resigned the entire administration of the kingdom.