History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c62.s2: § 2. The greatness of Bijapur under Muhammad Adil Shah.
History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c62.s2
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§ 2. The greatness of Bijapur under Muhammad Adil Shah.
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We have seen how the treaty of 1636 (Vol. I., Ch. 3 § 3) had settled all causes of dispute between the Mughals and the Bijapuri king, and, by clearly defining his northern boundary, had left Adil Shah free to extend his dominions, east and south and west. We have seen, how in the next 20 years the kingdom of Bijapur reached its greatest expansion, and stretched from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal, across the entire Indian peninsula. (Vol. I., Ch. 11 § 1.) At Muhammad Adil Shah's death, in November 1656, his realm had an annual revenue of 7 *krores* and 84 *lakhs* of Rupees, besides 5¼ *krores* of tribute due from vassal Rajahs and zamindars. The strength of the army establishment was 80,000 cavalry and 250,000 infantry, besides 530 war elephants. The exact extent of the kingdom can be judged from the fringe of dependent and tributary States around it, covering the Kanara and Dharwar districts of Bombay, the Bellary and Karnul districts of Madras, and much of the kingdom of Mysore.*
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∗ B S 346—348 Ishwardas (106a) gives the revenue of Bijapur as 1,32,00,000 *hun*, excluding Konkan, which was then in Maratha possession. *Dilkasha* (203) puts the armed strength of the kingdom under Muhammad Adil Shah at 1,20,000 cavalry; under Ali II. at 80,000; and at the fall of the capital 2,000 only
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§ 3. Reign of Ali Adil Shah II., 1656-1672.
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The accession of Ali Adil Shah II., a youth of 18, in November 1656, was followed by quarrels among his nobles for the division of power, and some rebellions in the frontier provinces, especially in the newly conquered Karnatak. The evil was aggravated by Aurangzib's wanton invasion of Bijapur (January 1657) and his seduction of its officers. But the kingdom, thus unfairly attacked, made a heroic defence, and the danger ceased altogether at the end of the year when the contest for the throne of Delhi suddenly recalled Aurangzib from the Deccan. The storm of foreign invasion having blown over, the Bijapur State next showed a revival of power for some time. Ali Adil Shah II. developed great capacity and enterprising spirit from 1661 to 1666. He took the field in person, curbed the growing power of Shivaji, forced the refractory Abyssinian officers of the N. E. province
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B.S. (347) names the dependent zamindars thus;—Srirangapatan, Sunda (in N. Kanara), Chitaldurg, Habri (? s.e. of Bankapur), Tarikhera (s. e. of Shimoga), Ratangiri (13·50 N. 77·10 E.), Sarhashi (?), Paogar (14·6 N. 77·20 E.), Manikpala (?), Chak-bala (? Chak Balapur), Kuntikhera (13·30 N. 76·30 E.), Manori (? north of Goa), Hagalwari (s. of Kuntikhera), Harpanhali (14·50 N. 76 E.), Anigundi (n. of Vijaynagar), Kapkuri (?), Kanakgiri (15·35 N. 76·26 E.), Ballary, Gudikota (14·50 N. 76·40 E.), Sagar-gar (the Berad capital.) Fryer (ii. 56-57) mentions only the ten chief grandees of Bijapur, including the Sunda Rajah and the Rajah of Kanara (? Bednur.)
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(Karnul) back into submission, humbled the rebel Rajah of Bednur, and finally rolled back the flood of Mughal invasion under Jai Singh. Thereafter the Sultan gave himself up to the pleasures of the harem and the wine-cup, for the rest of his life; but his able wazir, Abdul Muhammad, continued to carry on the administration with great success.
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With the death of Ali Adil Shah II. on 24th Nov. 1672, the glory of Bijapur departed. His son Sikandar, a boy of four, was placed on the throne, and the reign of selfish regents commenced which finally ruined the monarchy. The expert and successful wazir Abdul Muhammad, with his 12 years' experience in guiding the State, was ousted by Khawas Khan, the leader of the Deccani party. This man "held supreme power for three years, but during that period, owing to his indolence and incompetence, affairs went from bad to worse." (B.S. 447.) At last Abdul Karim Bahlol Khan, the head of the Afghan faction, imprisoned the drunken wazir (11th Nov. 1675), seized the regency and for two years governed in the king's name amidst constant fights with the Deccani party and a war with the Mughals, while the people groaned under the misery of Afghan rule. On his death, 23rd December, 1677, Siddi Masaud, the leader of the Abyssinians, succeeded to the wazir-ship and the control of the puppet king (21st Feb. 1678),