Fall of the Mughal Empire v1.c7.s7.6

v1.c7.s7.6

13 miles north of Murādābād, in great poverty. His ambition was to recover his family possessions and power, now that the field was left clear by the Ruhela usurper. He, therefore, obstructed Hedāyet Ali on his arrival at Barily; but the latter acted with great tact and combination of force and diplomacy and after laying siege to his little fort won him over. Hedāyet Ali also enlisted the Ruhela headmen of the different villages in his service in order to ensure their help in controlling their clansmen. The chief of such auxiliaries was Pir Ahmad Ruhela (a Pir-zāda of the Afghāns); but he soon turned against his employer, partly because of his Sunni bigotry,—Hedāyet Ali being a Shia. Pir Ahmad's band of 1,700 men soon proved the nucleus of an Afghān army hostile to the new collector of Barily, though in their first encounter Ahmad was defeated.