Fall of the Mughal Empire v3.c42.s2.36

v3.c42.s2.36

What was Ismail Beg Hamadāni doing while the drunken Ruhela was thus rioting in the palace? Their contract was that the spoils should be shared between them, one-third going to the Mughalia leader and two-thirds to the Ruhela Chieftain. When Shah Alam was deposed on 31st July and ill-treated, Ismail Beg remonstrated with his colleague, but in vain. When nothing was paid to him out of the plunder of Delhi palace which had now begun, Hamadāni left Ghulām Qādir in anger and encamped in a distant quarter of the city. His ally’s attempts to conciliate him failed, as Ghulām Qādir would not give him his full share, but offered small sums only. Henceforth there was an armed neutrality between the two new lords of Delhi, the wards and gates of the city being divided between them, while Ghulām Qādir alone occupied the fort. At one visit paid by the Ruhela to Ismail, the Mughalia officers tried to seize him and hold him to ransom for their master’s dues, but Ghulām Qādir was saved by his sepoy commandant Maniyār Singh who formed a square round the Afghan’s person. [Ibr. 163.] At last on 25th September, he sent to Ismail Beg Rs. 40,000 out of the spoliation of the nāzir, a ridiculously small sum when compared with his gains from the palace hoards.*