Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v3.c41.s1.55

v3.c41.s1.55

Mān Singh, c. A.D. 1592-1614.—Man Singh, nephew ² and successor of Bhagwandas, was the most brilliant character of Akbar’s court. As the emperor’s lieutenant, he was entrusted with the most arduous duties, and added conquests to the empire from Khotan to the ocean. Orissa was subjugated by him,³ Assam humbled and made tributary, and Kabul maintained in her allegiance. He held in succession the governments of Bengal and Behar,⁴ the [354] Deccan and Kabul. Raja Man soon proved to Akbar that his policy of strengthening his throne by Rajput alliances was not without hazard; these alliances introducing a direct influence in the State, which frequently thwarted the views of the sovereign. So powerful was it, that even Akbar, in the zenith of his power, saw no other method of diminishing its force, than the execrable but common expedient of Asiatic despots—poison : it has been already related how the emperor’s attempt recoiled upon him to his destruction.⁵