History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c62.s4: § 4. Khawas Khan's regency, 1672—1675.
History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c62.s4
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§ 4. Khawas Khan's regency, 1672—1675.
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On 20th June 1672, Ali Adil Shah II. had a stroke of lateral paralysis, as the effect of excessive drinking. For five months he lingered in bed, and at last, losing all hope of recovery, proposed to crown his son Sikandar, a boy of four, and entrust the regency to his old wazir Abdul Muhammad. The latter declined the task and proposed that Khawas Khan, the Abyssinian chief of the Deccani Muhammadans, should be regent instead, and the kingdom should be divided among the four leading nobles: he himself becoming warden of the north-eastern side (to oppose the Mughals), Bahlol Khan that of the western side (to watch Shivaji), and Muzaffar Khan the viceroy of the southern side (to control the newly conquered Hindus of Mysore), while the regent would hold the capital and the country round it. (B.S. 434-436.)
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Even before the sick king had closed his eyes, quarrels broke out among the nobles for the division of his territory. Abdul Muhammad alone remaining true to the interests of the State. Ali Adil Shah II. died on 24th Nov. 1672, and immediately afterwards Khawas seized the supreme power with the help of the late king's favourite body-servant Mirza Yusuf, and crowned the boy Sikandar, the last of the Adil-Shahis, destined to reign as the captive of his ministers and to die as the captive of the Mughals. The new prime minister broke his word to the other nobles and refused to yield to them the forts he had promised. At this, the able and experienced ex-wazir Abdul Muhammad left the Court in disgust. "The infancy of the king and the incapacity of the regent threw the monarchy into a decline. Disturbances broke out on all sides." First Shivaji, "the enemy at the elbow," made large conquests at the expense of Bijapur. As for the Mughal Emperor, the Bijapur Government tried to propitiate him by offering him presents worth 4 lakhs of Rupees, as a sort of succession fee, (11th January, 1673.) But, "though all Mughal invasions had hitherto been defeated, now with a boy-king on the throne, weak counsels at Court, and and for the next five years misgoverned the unhappy and disunited country, deserting his post only on the eve of the extinction of the dynasty by Aurangzib.
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The history of Bijapur from 1672 to 1686 is really the history of its wazirs. It was a period marked by chronic civil war among the factious nobles, independence of the provincial governors, paralysis of the central administration in the capital itself, occasional but indecisive Mughal invasions, and a secret alliance but pretended hostility with the Marathas.
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On 20th June 1672, Ali Adil Shah II. had a stroke of lateral paralysis, as the effect of excessive drinking. For five months he lingered in bed, and at last, losing all hope of recovery, proposed to crown his son Sikandar, a boy of four, and entrust the regency to his old wazir Abdul Muhammad. The latter declined the task and proposed that Khawas Khan, the Abyssinian chief of the Deccani Muhammadans, should be regent instead, and the kingdom should be divided among the four leading nobles: he himself becoming warden of the north-eastern side (to oppose the Mughals), Bahlol Khan that of the western side (to watch Shivaji), and Muzaffar Khan the viceroy of the southern side (to control the newly conquered Hindus of Mysore, while the regent would hold the capital and the country round it. (B.S. 434-436.)
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Even before the sick King had closed his eyes, quarrels broke out among the nobles for the division of his territory. Abdul Muhammad alone remaining true to the interests of the State. Ali Adil Shah II. died on 24th Nov. 1672, and immediately afterwards Khawas seized the supreme power with the help of the late King's favourite body-servant Mirza Yusuf, and crowned the boy Sikandar, the last of the Adil-Shahis, destined to reign as the captive of his ministers and to die as the captive of the Mughals. The new prime minister broke his word to the other nobles and refused to yield to them the forts he had promised. At this, the able and experienced ex-wazir Abdul Muhammad left the Court in disgust. "The infancy of the king and the incapacity of the regent threw the monarchy into a decline. Disturbances broke out on all sides." First Shivaji, "the enemy at the elbow," made large conquests at the expense of Bijapur. As for the Mughal Emperor, the Bijapur Government tried to propitiate him by offering him presents worth 4 lakhs of Rupees, as a sort of succession fee, (11th January, 1673.) But, "though all Mughal invasions had hitherto been defeated, now with a boy-king on the throne, weak counsels at Court, and worthless nobles [in office], came the Mughal's opportunity." (B.S. 442.) Aurangzib appointed the energetic and successful general Bahadur Khan (surnamed Khan-i-Jahan Bahadur Kokaltash) as viceroy. The mild and supine administration of Prince Muazzam was to be replaced by a forward policy in the Deccan. (M.A. 123-'4.)
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"The Emperor began to send Bahadur Khan repeated orders for invading Bijapur." But the task was obviously impossible. With the ordinary contingent of a provincial governor, Bahadur Khan was expected to curb the overgrown power of Shivaji,—then at the height of his greatness,—and at the same time conquer Bijapur, though in the last-named enterprise Jai Singh with much larger forces and the co-operation of Shivaji had failed. What Bahadur Khan did was to advance from the seat of his government to Pedgaon (afterwards named by him Bahadur-garh), a strategic point on the Bhima river 55 miles due east of Puna and nearly midway between Aurangabad and Bijapur. His aim was to direct his main forces against Shivaji and win territory from Bijapur by corrupting its nobles and threatening war, rather than by actual invasion. "Malik Barkhurdar, the Mughal envoy at the Adil-Shahi Court, began to seduce the Bijapuri nobles from their loyalty day and night."
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Khawas Khan saw no other means of saving the monarchy than to propose peace with the Emperor by promising the hand of Sikandar's sister to one of Aurangzib's sons and active co-operation with the Mughals in a campaign for the extirpation of Shivaji. For this last object the Emperor was ready to concede very liberal terms. But these negotiations, when about to mature, were upset by an envious faction at Bijapur, who took advantage of the regent's incompetence and credulity, and by the lawless outbreak of the Afghan mercenaries.
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The Afghans formed "more than half the Bijapuri army" (H.A. 82 b.) Their leader was Abdul Karim, surnamed Bahlol Khan II., whose fief lay at Bankapur, and who had bravely fought against Jai Singh and recently against Shivaji. Their harsh demand for arrears of pay and open opposition to his administration had driven the regent to secretly beg the aid of the Mughal viceroy i. "pacifying the Afghans or extirpating them."
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Meantime, Bahadur Khan, too, was eager for a hearty alliance with the Bijapuris. He had recently been duped by Shiva's pretended offer of submission and had made himself an unconscious helper of the wily Maratha in his conquest of Phonda and other districts (April-May, 1675). Then Shivaji had thrown off the mask, and Bahadur Khan found that the only means of saving his credit with the Emperor was to make a vigorous attack on Shivaji in co-operation with the Adil-Shahi troops. So, he advanced to the bank of the Bhima river, met Khawas Khan (19th October), and arranged terms for suppressing the Afghan faction at Bijapur and making war on Shiva.
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§ 5. Regency of Bahlol Khan, 1675—1677.
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Sure of Mughal support, the regent formed plans for overthrowing Bahlol Khan, who was commander-in-chief and "used often to disobey and oppose Khawas Khan." (B.S. 446.) The Afghan chief, getting scent of the matter, forestalled the blow. Inviting Khawas to a dinner, he plied him with wine, seized him, (11th November), and sent him off as a prisoner to Bankapur. He then entered the citatdel of Bijapur and made himself wazir without a blow. "Khawas Khan had been prime minister and virtual king for three years, during which, owing to the Khan's indolence and incompetence, affairs went from bad to worse. His wife, Habiba Sultan, managed the revenue and the administration and used to look after public business with full power. With all her wisdom, she was a woman, and the Adil-Shahi officers were impatient of feminine rule. Khawas spent his days in pleasure and ease, not caring for anybody." (B.S. 447.)
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But bad as this Abyssinian's regency had been, the rule of Bahlol Khan and his Afghans was even worse. After seizing the regency he began to place his Afghan followers and relatives in power* and removed the Deccanis from office, one by one, and even expelled them from the city. Great disorder broke out throughout the kingdom. The Deccani party was up in arms and so also were the old servants of the king.
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Bahlol Khan's administration rested on the ability and vigour of one man, his chief counsellor Khizr Khan Pani. On 12th January 1676, this man was stabbed to death in his tent (between Sangula and Gherdi) by a Deccani named Shaikh Minhaj Junaidi, who wanted to put an end to Afghan rule. Bahlol immediately murdered the helpless captive Khawas Khan (18th Jan.) and then set out from Bijapur to punish Minhaj and other Deccanis. A civil war now openly broke out between the two factions.
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§ 6. War renewed by Bahadur Khan, 1676.
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On 21st March† a bloody battle was fought between the men of Sharza Khan and the army of the regent near Mokah, in which the Afghans triumphed. Sharza took refuge with Bahadur Khan at Sholapur, who now sided with the Deccani party and denounced Afghan rule at Bijapur. He assembled his own forces and those of his allies among the dispossessed Deccani nobles, and marched southwards from Sholapur, crossing the Bhima near Halsangi on 31st May. There was now no physical barrier between him and the walls of Bijapur,* and his cavalry began to ravage the environs of that city. On 13th June, on a plain between Aliabad and Indi (30 miles north-east of Bijapur), Bahlol Khan offered him battle. The brunt
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∗ "Abdul Karim on becoming wazir, gave his kinsmen the best jagirs It was Afghan rule at Court The Deccanis were dispossessed Even Sayyid Makhdum Sharza Khan was alienated " (B S 450)
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† This date, which is taken from the Persian Basatin, is probably wrong being a month too early Or another battle (not recorded in the Basatin) was fought in April which the English factors of Rajapur
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in a letter to Surat on 1 May 1676, thus describe, "The Nawab [Bahlol Khan] hath a bloody fight with the Deccans. They killed him about a thousand horse; many of his chiefest friends fell; himself much wounded. The Deccans are headed by Shaikh Minhaj and assisted by Siddi Mazhar and Sharza Khan &c. The Nawab hath none [that] sticks to him but the Pathans. Report speaks [of] him [as] in a great strait whilst these fight." (F.R. Surat, Vol. 89.) The place of battle is spelt as Mukah in both MSS. of B.S., but Dil. 138 says that it was "near fort Shah-dongar (? Shahdurg), 12 kos from Adoni." There is a Mokay, 11 m. n. e. of Bellary. (Ind. Atlas, Sh. 58.)
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∗ Dutch Records, Vol. 34, letter from Batavia, 28 Nov. 1676,—"Bahadur Khan approached within half a day's journey [of Bijapur], but having lost fully 4000 men, much baggage and four distinguished captains, retired to the town of Sholapur, where Bahlol Khan sent him a considerable embassy with rich presents and great promises, especially to the prejudice of Shivaji......The Golkonda militia is in motion to help the young Prince of Bijapur.
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of the Deccani attack fell on the Mughal Right under Islam Khan (governor of Malwa) and his Turks, who repelled two onsets. But their ammunition was exhausted, and when a fresh store of gunpowder was being distributed in the field in front of Islam Khan, it exploded; his elephant stampeded into the enemy's ranks, and Islam Khan and his son were slain. The exultant Bijapuris next attacked the Mughal Left and Extreme Right. Here the Rajputs offered an obstinate resistance, and lost many of their officers. The field was covered with the dead on both sides. The Mughals halted there and entrenched their position, which was invested and attacked by the Afghans ceaselessly for three days, "there being no respite even at night." The Mughal base camp on the other side of the Bhima was looted by the Afghans and its guards put to the sword, while the flooded river prevented Bahadur Khan from sending succour to it. The viceroy escaped from this perilous position only by making terms with the Afghans. (B.S. 450-451, M.A. 151, Dil. 141—143. Jedhe's date is 1 June.)
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He moved on to Akalkot and laid siege to Naldurg (about August, 1676), which was held by the sons of Khizr Khan Pani. A relieving army from Bijapur, led by Bahlol Khan, fought the Mughals six miles from the fort, inflicting heavy losses on the brave Rajputs, entered Naldurg and forced Bahadur Khan to raise the siege. The Mughals merely roamed round the fort for a few days more and then halted at Kambhgaon, 16 miles off.*
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Bahadur Khan’s position was further endangered by the arrival of a vast Golkonda army, under the premier Madanna Pandit, to reinforce the Bijapuris. But the new-comers were bribed by the Mughal general, and had also (as I suspect) some difference with Bahlol Khan, and therefore retreated without doing anything. Bahadur Khan marched on to Halsangi, where he assembled a vast force, consisting of his own troops, contingents sent by the faujdars of imperial territory and discontented Bijapuri nobles like Siddi Masaud and Sharza Khan, and the bribed forces of Golkonda. He even made friends with Shivaji to guard against any diversion in his rear.
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This huge demonstration of strength cowed Bahlol Khan, who then secured safety for himself by agreeing not to hinder the Mughal conquest of certain Bijapuri districts. Bahadur Khan now took easy possession of Naldurg (14th May 1677) and Kulbarga (7th July) by bribery. But these successes came too late to save him; he had fallen under the Emperor's suspicion* and displeasure by reason of his utter failure against Shivaji and severe reverses at the hands of the Bijapuris. The viceroy's position was rendered untenable by a conflict of policy between him and his second in command, Dilir Khan, (arrived in June 1676), who as an Afghan became the bosom friend of Bahlol Khan and the patron of the Afghan faction at Bijapur. Dilir and Bahlol wrote to the Emperor accusing Bahadur Khan of having formed a secret understanding with the three Deccani Powers and of being really hostile to the success of the imperial enterprises there. Bahlol Khan also offered to conquer Haidarabad if he were reinforced with imperial troops, and to crush Shivaji if the Mughals guaranteed the Afghan chief his position and property (Dil. 146—151.)
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∗ In my account of this campaign I have depended upon the narrative (Dilkasha) of "Eye-witness" Bhimsen, who served in the Mughal camp. The Bijapur official history, Basatin-i-salatin (p. 451) is much briefer, but gives some useful additional information. I have rejected it where it conflicts with Dilkasha (p. 144.) M.A. 155, 160. Bahadur's son Md. Muhsan was slain at Naldurg.
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∗ Bahadur Khan began his viceroyalty of the Deccan with great promise. In Sep 1673 he made a forced march of 120 miles and defeated Shivaji. In July 1675 he was rewarded by the Emperor for repeated victories over Shiva and success in collecting tribute from the Deccani kingdoms (M A 142). But now the Emperor suspected him of being in the pay of Adil Shah (Cf Ruqat No 127). M A 160 gives the date of the capture of Naldurg as 14 May. B.S 452 tells us that Kulbarga fell on 7 July and Shahdurg on 2 August. But Shahdurg seems to be only another name of Naldurg. Jedhe's dates (month only given) agree with B.S.