History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c65.s4.5

v4.c65.s4.5

The Mughals were proverbially slow and clumsy in taking forts by siege. The soil round Bijapur was, in addition, extremely hard; only a foot or two below the surface one strikes solid rock. (B.S. 536-'39.) The Mughal advance was, therefore, extremely slow and laborious. And the garrison gave them no rest. Following the time-honoured Deccani plan of war, Adil Shah kept 30,000 men in the fort for resisting the besiegers, while another and equally large army was sent out to cut the Mughal communications and raid the imperial territory. For more than a year after its commencement, the siege of Bijapur was in no sense an investment. The Mughals simply made lodgements in the suburbs at two points and tried to batter down or undermine the wall opposite. It was beyond their power to hem the fort round and prevent all ingress and egress. The garrison sallied out whenever they liked, and attacked the siege trenches, while reinforcements and provisions freely entered the fort from outside.