History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c10.16

c10.16

The rebellion was caused by the Sultan’s embarrassments in Northern India, and Ahsan Shah seems to have been convinced of the possibility of establishing his own independent power without opposition.¹⁷ The long distance of his province from Dihli, the large extent of the territory over which he ruled, and the disturbed condition of the northern part of the kingdom favoured his designs. When the Sultan heard of the revolt, he started from Dihli and stayed for eight days in a palace called *Kushk-i-Zar* or golden palace not far from Dihli in order to collect supplies and provisions. Khwajah Jahan had preceded the Sultan, but when he reached Dhar and stopped there, his spirited nephew (sister’s son) with four or five nobles, who had been arrested a short time before, made a conspiracy to take the life of the Wazir on Friday at the time of prayer. They determined to seize the royal treasure and then decamp to the rebellious governor of Ma‘bar. When the plot was ripe, one of the conspirators whose name was Malik Nusrat Hajib informed the Wazir of the murderous intent of his nephew. Apprised of the danger, Khwajah Jahan called the conspirators, and a search of their persons revealed that they wore helmets under their cloaks.