History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c11.156.2

c11.156.2

Alarmed for their safety by the appearance of this un-called-for commission, they began to prepare themselves for the worst. When this state of affairs was reported to the Sultan, he was naturally filled with wrath and sent two noblemen Ahmad Lāchin and Malik ‘Ali Sarjāmdār,⁷⁰ who were related to Amir Khusrau, to the governor at Devagiri, asking him to dispatch without delay a contingent of 1,500 horsemen together wth the most distinguished of the ‘Centurions’ to join the Sultan’s camp, and it was given out that they were required to suppress disorder in Gujarat. Whether it was only a subterfuge to remove these men from the stronghold of their power, or the Sultan really wanted to utilise their services in restoring order is not clear. The hold of the Muhammadan empire was still considerable in the Deccan, and Maulana Nizam-al-Din, the governor, in accordance with the royal mandate, summoned the amirs from Raichur, Mudgal, Kulburga, Bidar, Bijapur, and other places.⁷¹ Malik ‘Ali Sarjāmdār and Ahmad Lāchin exerted themselves to the utmost and got together amirs like Nasīr-al-Din Tughlji, Qazalbāsh Hājib, Hisām-al-Din, Ismail Makh, Hasan Kāngu, Nur-al-Din and ‘Ālim-al-Mulk and sent them to Daulatabad. The “Centurions” proceeded in their journey towards the royal camp though not without a feeling of mistrust and fear. Ahmad Lāchin, the royal emissary, showed a curious lack of prudence in behaving towards these men in an insulting manner.