Fall of the Mughal Empire v1.c9.s4.4

v1.c9.s4.4

Next morning, when the officers of the fort came to interview the Nawāb, Sayyid Nur and Dharmadās were made prisoners by previous order of Alivardi, while Sarāndāz Khān who resisted arrest was cut down. The garrison shut the gates and showed fight, and so the Nawāb had to invest the fort. He entered the city of Katak (c. 18 May), and fifteen days later received the surrender of Barābāti. Thus, the reconquest of Orissā was complete. But to the ruler of Bengal Katak was easier to conquer than to hold, with the Marāthas permanently in occupation of its southern and western flanks, innumerable tracks through the jungles leading out of these places, and a single long and difficult route connecting Katak with Bengal which was closed by floods during half the year. Noble after noble declined the governorship of Orissā offered to them by the Nawāb, as they knew that with the small provincial contingent they would not be able to hold out against the Marāthas for a week after the Nawāb had set out on his return to Bengal with his army. At last a thoughtless beggar named Shaikh Abdus Subhān, who was serving in Durlabhrām's squadron, jumped at the prospect of becoming a Deputy Nawāb, and was appointed governor of the province. Alivardi quickly left Katak and hastened towards Bengal, in order to avoid the coming rainy season which would render the innumerable streams across his path impassable. [Siyar, ii. 175—177.]