Twilight of the Sultanate c15.s1.48

c15.s1.48

Jalāluddīn learnt of the sad fate of Kalpi when he was besieging Agra. He was determined to wreak his vengeance for the sack of Kalpi by ravaging the capital of Ibrāhīm. But he was dissuaded from doing so by Malik Ādam Kākar, who had been rushed to its defence by Sultan Ibrāhīm. Ādam Khan kept him off by such soft words and speeches as were pleasing to him, and gained thereby time for saving the city from pillage. Later when Malik Ism‘aīl, son of ‘Alāuddīn Jalwānī, Kabīr Khan Lodī and Bahādur Khan Nūhānī with their contingents amounting to 18,000 horse and fifty elephants⁴⁸ arrived from Qannauj, he sent word to Jalāl to give up all pretentions to sovereignty and come to terms with Sultan Ibrāhīm. If Jalāl was agreeable to it, Ādam Khan promised to persuade the Sultan to keep him in possession of his old Jagīr of Kalpi. Jalāl Khan was advised by his leading nobles and well-wishers not to accept any humiliating terms but to offer fight, for Ibrāhīm was revengeful and devoid of all good feelings.⁴⁹ But the Prince lacked both ability and strength. He was in a very good position to fight, having 30,000 brave horsemen and 160 war elephants, but even amidst vehement protests from his officers and men, he agreed to Ādam Khan's condition.⁵⁰ He gave the insignia and paraphernalia of royalty to Ādam Khan upon which his officers left him and his army dispersed. Ādam Khan took Jalāluddīn's Umbrella and Kettledrum to Sultan Ibrāhīm Lodī, who had arrived at Etawah from Qannauj, and conveyed to him the terms of agreement. Ibrāhīm was unwilling to come to any terms with Jalāl. He knew that safety lay in completely destroying his enemy and thereby once for all putting an end to the intrigues of the Afghan nobles. But his attitude was very unfair to Jalāluddīn. Ni‘āmatulla avers that “out of self-conceit, arrogance, youthful vanity and abundance of military equipments”, Sultan Ibrāhīm rejected these terms.⁵¹ Jalāl was now without any army and was in no position to demand fulfilment of Ādam Khan's promise. But in turning down the representation of Ādam Khan, Ibrāhīm was both indecorous and impolitic. Soon the nobles, who had served the Sultanate for long, came to know one thing—Sultan Ibrāhīm could not be trusted.