A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c16.5

c16.5

As sultan, Ala-ud-din pursued a policy of plunder and loot in the South in preference to the extension of his territories. In 1303-4 he sent an expedition against Warangal by way of Bengal. It was led by Malik Fakhr-ud-din Juna (later Muhammad bin Tughlak) and ended in failure; the Telugu army met the invader before he could reach Warangal, inflicted severe losses on him, and compelled him to retreat. This disaster so lowered the prestige of the sultanate in the Deccan, that Sangama of Devagiri withheld the tribute his father had agreed to pay and gave shelter to the refugee king of Gujarat and his daughter who had fled their country to escape falling into the hands of the sultan's forces. Either out of loyalty to Ala-ud-din or pursuit of a deeper policy, Rāmadeva denounced his son, and asked Ala-ud-din to take steps to restore his authority before it was too late. An army was sent immediately (1307) under the sultan's favourite slave Malik Kafur; Sangama was defeated near Devagiri and fled. Malik Kafur plundered the city, took possession of the kingdom in the name of his master and carried off Rāmadeva and his family as prisoners to Delhi. But the sultan treated Rāmadeva with great kindness; he kept him by his side for six months before sending him back, loaded with money and presents, to rule over a kingdom extended by the addition of portions of Gujarat. The sultan's generosity was rewarded, for Rāmadeva remained loyal to him for the rest of his life and gave valuable aid to his forces in their operations in the South.