The Army of the Indian Moghuls: Its Organization and Administration c24.23

c24.23

Ambush (ba kamīn-gāh nishistan) was not an uncommon stratagem. Matchlockmen were hidden in high crops, or on the edge of a ravine, at a spot where the opposite leaders would most probably pass. At the proper moment a volley would be discharged, and occasionally with deadly effect. It was in this manner that Qāim Khān, nawāb of Farrukhābād, and many of his chief officers lost their lives on the 12th Zu,l Hijjah, 1162 H. (22nd Nov. 1749), see J. A. S. B. for 1878, p. 381. An ambush was not unfrequently supplemented by pretended flight, so arranged as to draw the pursuers on and bring them under fire. We have an instance of this in Nizām-ul-mulk’s fight with Sayyad Dilāwar ʿAlī Khān in Barār on the 19th June 1720.