New History of the Marathas v1.c6.33

v1.c6.33

The history of the Marathas would possibly have taken a different turn if Akbar had been succeeded by a more competent ruler than the slothful, easy-going, pleasure-seeking Jahangir. This trait of his character paved the way for the Maratha ambitions, which came to be fostered, although for his own ends, by the astute Malik Ambar, an Abyssinian Muslim in origin, who when young had been made a slave and brought to India by a merchant of Baghdad and sold to Chengiz Khan a minister of the Sultans of Ahmadnagar. The latter detected Ambar's capacity and trained him for the service of the Nizamshahi State. In a short time he became a power in the Deccan and set at defiance all Emperor Jahangir's efforts for over fifteen years. He practically re-made the history of the Deccan for that period with the help of many Maratha captains. The Abyssinian emigrants here gained opportunities unequalled elsewhere for displaying their rare capacity for sea-faring, land warfare, management of men and civil administration. They were no longer household slaves and palace eunuchs as in the north, but regents of kingdoms, generalissimos of armies, admirals of fleets, viceroys of provinces.