The Gazetteers Department

In 1294 Ala-ud-din, governor of the province, of which Kara on the Ganga, 42 miles north-west of Allahabad, was the capital, and nephew and son-in-law of Jalal-ud-din Firoz Sah Khllji, the reigning emperor of Delhi, having assembled an army ostensibly for the purpose of punishing a refractory Hindu chief on the borders of his province, suddenly invaded the Deccan without the knowledge or consent of his uncle. His objective was Devagiri, of the wealth of which kingdom he had heard in the course of his forays in Central India. He marched from Kara to Canderi, and thence across the Satpudas to Ellicpur, where he halted for two days, explaining his presence by saying that he was one Malik- Ala-ud-din, who had been one of the nobles of the emperor of Delhi, but was now leaving his master with the intention of taking service with the raja of Rajamahendri in Telangana. His story served its purpose and he was not molested at Ellicpur, which he left suddenly at midnight, advancing by forced marches towards Devagiri. It is unnecessary to recount the details of his successful raid. Ala-ud-din not only carried off from Devagiri an enormous quantity of plunder, but was strong enough to insist on the assignment of the revenue of Ellicpur and the districts attached thereto, which probably included the whole of the Amaravati district and the rest of northern Berar. Annexation was not attempted, nor were Muhammadans introduced into the administration [W. Haig, pp. 96-97.]. Treasure was all that Ala-ud-din required for his immediate needs, and this the adventurer obtained in plenty.

Ala-ud-din ascends the throne.

Ala-ud-din on his return marched through Berar [ Yadav Madhav Kale, Varhadacha Etihasa, (1924), p. 81.]. He murdered his uncle and ascended the throne of Delhi on October 3, 1296. During his reign Berar was traversed by Muhammadan armies from Delhi marching on expeditions to the Deccan, but we find no special mention of the province. In 1306, an expedition under the African, Kafur Hazardinari was sent against Devagiri in consequence of Ramacandra having failed to remit tribute and having allied himself with Rai Karna of Gujarat, who had refused to send his daughter Deval Devi to Delhi [Briggs, I, p. 366; Haig, p. 112.]. Ramacandra and his family were captured and sent to Delhi, but the emperor pardoned him and restored him to his throne, and it does not appear that the arrangement under which Ellicpur and northern Berar remained under Hindu administrators charged with the remission of the revenue to Delhi was disturbed.

Ramacandra died in 1310 and was succeeded by his eldest son Sankar, who rebelled against Delhi and refused to remit the tribute. In 1312 Kafur, now entitled Malik Naib, led an expedition to Devagiri, defeated and slew Sankar, and annexed his kingdom, including Berar, to the empire. The Amaravati district thus came for the first time directly under Muhammadan administration.

Rebellion in Devagiri.

Ala-ud-din Khilji died on January 2, 1316, and in the confusion which followed his death and the subsequent assassination of Malik Naib, Harpal, the son-in-law of Ramacandra, seized Devagiri and ruled it for a short time as an independent king, bringing Berar once again under Hindu rule; but by 1316 affairs at Delhi had been settled and Kutub-ud-din Mubarak Sah, who was then on the throne, marched southwards, attacked Harpal, captured him and caused him to be flayed, and placed his head above one of the gates of Devagiri [Briggs.p. 389; Haig, p. 121.]. Amaravati thus passed again, with the rest of Berar, into the hands of the Musalmans, and the province remained nominally under Muhammadan rule and administration until it was assigned under the treaty of 1853 to the East India Company.

Rebellion in Devagiri.

Malik Yaklaki was appointed governor of the reconquered provinces and shortly afterwards rebelled. We are not told what part the officers in Berar took in the rebellion, which was suppressed.

Kutub-ud-din Mubarak Sah was assassinated by Malik Khusrav on April 14. 1320. Khusrav ascended the throne but he was defeated and slain on September 5, 1320, by Ghazi-Beg Tughlak, the Turki Governor of the Punjab [Haig, pp. 125-26.], who was raised to the imperial throne under the title of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlak Sah. The expeditions to the Deccan in his reign are not directly connected with the history of Berar, but the resources of the province were doubtless taxed in an effort to furnish supplies for the armies from Delhi. Tughlak died in February or March, 1325 and was succeeded by his son, Muhammad-bin-Tughlak, who in 1339 transferred the capital of the empire from Delhi to Devagiri, which he renamed Daulatabad [Haig, p. 150.]. It is likely that the importance of Berar, which now adjoined the district in which the capital of the empire was situated, was temporarily enhanced by this change, but Daulatabad did not long remain the capital.

Organization of the provinces of the Deccan.

Maharastra was now divided into four sikks or provinces, and though the limits of these are not mentioned it is probable that they corresponded roughly with the four tarafs or provinces into which the Bahamani kingdom was afterwards divided, and that Berar, with its capital at Ellicpur, formed one of them. The land revenue of the whole tract was assessed at seven crores of 'white tankas' of 175 grains each, or about Rs. 35,00,000. This assessment seems to have been excessive, for we read that the action of the sikkdars or provincial governors in collecting it caused widespread discontent and a partial depopulation of the country. The sikkdars were Malik Sardavatdar, Malik Mukhlis-ul-Mulk, Yusuf Bughra, and Aziz Himar or Khammar, but the names of their provinces are not given. All were subordinate to Kutlugh Khan, governor of Daulatabad, whose deputy was Imad-ul-Mulk, but Kutlugh Khan was recalled very soon after his settlement had been made, and it was then that the oppression of the sikkdars became unbearable. Immediately subordinate to these sikkdars was a class of officials styled centurions, military officers who also performed such civil duties as the collection of the revenue, the prevention and detection of crime, and the maintenance of order.

Rebellion of Amirs of theDeccan.

In 1347 Muhammad-bin-Tughlak marched to Gujarat to quell a rebellion which had broken out among the centurions of the province and, having quietened Gujarat, summoned the centurions of the Deccan, intending to replace those of Gujarat with them but the officers of the Deccan whose loyalty was not above suspicion feared that they were being called for punishment, and when they had travelled one day's march towards Broach, where they had been ordered to assemble, they slew the officers who had been sent to summon them and returned to Daulatabad. Here they rose in rebellion and elected Ismail Fateh, the Afghan, king of the Deccan, with the title of Nasir-ud-din [So styled by Ferishta; Badaoni and the author of the Burhan-i-Maasir call him Nasir-ud-din. Briggs, I, p. 438; II, 289.] Sah. This news at once brought Muhammad-bin-Tughlak from Broach to Daulatabad. He defeated the rebels in the field, but the new king took refuge in the fort and Muhammad was unable to capture the place. Besides, news soon arrived that a rebellion had broken out afresh in Gujarat [Haig., Turks and Afghans, 169.], which compelled him to return thither, leaving an army to besiege Daulatabad. This army was defeated and the amirs of the Deccan, on Nasir-ud-din abdicating, elected as their king, Hasan, styled Zafar Khan, who ascended the throne as Ala-ud-din Bahman Sah [This was his correct title, as a contemporary inscription and legend on coins show. The fantastic epithets bestowed on him by various historians are connected with foolish stories. Haig, Turks and Afghans, f. n., pp. 170-71; 372-73.] on August 3, 1347.

The Bahamanis.

Bahman Sah, the founder of the Bahamani dynasty of the Deccan, divided his kingdom into four tarafs or provinces, each under the governorship of a tarafdar or provincial governor. The provinces were Berar, Daulatabad, Bidar, and Gulburga [Haig, pp. 374-75.]. We have, unfortunately, very little information as to the details of provincial administration, but it is known that the powers of the tarafdars were very extensive. The tarafdars of Berar, whose headquarters were at Ellicpur, governed a tract of country far larger than the modern province. Berar which, east of Burhan-pur, was bounded on the north by the Tapi and on the east by the Wardha and Pranhita rivers, and extended on the south to the southern Purna and Godavari rivers and on the west approximately to its present limits [Haig, op. cit., pp. 374-75.]. In this large province the governor was almost independent. He commanded the provincial army, collected the revenues, and made all appointments, both civil and military, including appointments to the command of forts, which were among the most important of all. His duties to the central authority seem to have been confined to the regular remission of a proportion of the revenue and to attending on his sovereign with the army of the province, whenever he might be called upon to do so. We know little or nothing of the administrative divisions of Berar in these early days, but it was probably divided into two principal divisions, one on the north, with its capital at Ellicpur and one on the south with its capital at Mahu [Haig, p. 383.] The existing paraganas date, almost certainly, from the period of Hindu rule, and the sardars described in the Ain-i- Akbari were perhaps a legacy from the days of the Bahamanis.

Muhammad Sah Bahamani, who succeeded his father in 1358, elaborated the organization of the four tarafs and gave to each tarafdar a distinctive title, the governor of Berar being styled Majilis-i-Ali.

Safdar Khan, Governor of Berrar.

The first governor of Berar under the Bahamanis was a Persian, Safdar Khan Sistani. In 1362 he commanded the army of the province in Muhammad Sah's expedition into Telangana and was absent from Berar on this occasion for two years [Haig, I, pp. 305, 309.]. In 1366, while Muhammad Sah was waging war against Vijayanagar, Bahrain Khan Majindarani, deputy governor of Daulatabad, broke into rebellion at the instigation of Kondba Dev, a Maratha, and several of the nobles of Berar, who were related to Bahrain Khan, were involved in the rebellion with him. The rebellion was suppressed and its leaders made good their escape into Gujarat. At this time highway robbery seems to have been rife in the Deccan, for Muhammad Sah found it necessary to issue special orders to the tarafdars for the suppression of the crime. The remedy was drastic. The malefactors were beheaded and their heads were sent to the capital. Twenty thousand heads were thus collected at Gulburga, and we may presume that Safdar Khan sent his share [Briggs, II, pp. 325, 326; Haig, p. 383.]

The provinces were not neglected in the reign of Muhammad I, who toured in one of them every year unless occupied in war, and hunted for three or four months. This information may appear trifling, but it enables us to understand to some extent how Berar was governed in former days and how it was that a kingdom organized as was that of the Bahamani did not fall to pieces sooner than it did.

Mujahid Sah.

Muhammad I died in 1377 [Ferishta however refers to 21st March 1375 as the date of death of Muhammad hah I.] and was succeeded by his elder son, Mujahid Sah, who made war against Bukka 1 of Vijayanagar. Safdar Khan was summoned to the capital with the army of Berar and was sent to besiege Adoni. Bukka I was defeated before this fortress fell and the siege was relinquished. Mujahid Sah returned slowly through the Raicur Doab, hunting as he went, and Safdar Khan and the governor of Bidar, knowing his rash and impetuous disposition, exerted themselves to restrain him from running needless risks in his sport. The king wearied of their good advice and much against their will, ordered them to return to their provinces. The two governors pursued their way slowly and unwillingly, and shortly after their departure Mujahid was assassinated, on April 15, 1378 [Haig, 384; Ferishta, however, gives the date as April 14, 1378.], at the instigation of his uncle, Daud, whom he had offended during the campaign against the Hindus. Daud hastened to Gulburga in order to ascend the throne, but Safdar Khan and the governor of Bidar refused to attend him there and turned aside to Bijapur, where the royal elephants were stationed. They seized these, divided them between themselves, and returned to their provinces with them. Daud Sah was assassinated on May 20, 1378 [Ferishta gives the date as May 21, 1378.] and was succeeded by his nephew, Muhammad Sah II [Most English writers, in deference to Ferishta who is obstinately mistaken as to this king's name, style him Mahmud, inspite of the evidence of coins, inscriptions, and other historians. Mahmud was his father's name-Vide Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. LXXIII, Part I.]

The Bahamanis.

Muhammad Sah II.

On the accession of Muhammad II, Safdar Khan and the governor of Bidar made their submission and hastened to the capital to offer him their congratulations. Early in his reign there was a severe famine in Berar and the Deccan. A school for famine orphans was established at Ellicpur, where the children were brought up in the Muhammadan faith, and special allowances were given in all towns to religious teachers and to the blind.

Salbat Khan, Governor of Berar.

Muhammad II died on April 20, 1397, and was succeeded by his elder son, Ghiyas-ud-din, who was 17 years of age [Briggs, II, p. 353.]. In his reign Safdar Khan Sistani, the governor of Berar, died in Ellicpur. His son, Salabat Khan, who had been a playfellow of the young king, was appointed governor of Berar in his father's place, with the title of Majilis-i-Ali. On June 14, 1397, Ghiyas-ud-din was blinded and deposed and his brother Sams-ud-din was placed on the throne. He, however, was deposed and imprisoned at the end of the year and was succeeded by his cousin, Taj ud-din Firoz Sah. The army of Berar, under Salabat Khan, took part in Firoz Sah's campaign against Hari-hara II of Vijayanagar in 1398-99.

War with Kherla.

The campaign was eminently successful and Firoz Sah on his return left Pulad Khan, another son of Safdar Khan Sistani, in charge of the Raicur Doab [Briggs, II, p. 375.] But on this occasion the absence of the governor from Berar produced disastrous results, for Narsingh Dev, the Gond Raja of Kherla, had overrun the province from north to south and occupied it. Firoz Sah hastened northwards and, after recapturing Mahur, pressed on towards Kherla by way of Ellicpur. Here he halted and sent on an army under the command of his brother Ahmad Khan, the Khan-i-Khanan, to punish the Gonds. Ahmad advanced to within a short distance of Kherla and was met by the Gond troops under Narsingh Dev. The Gonds fought with great determination and broke the centre of the Musalmans, slaying Sujat Khan, Rustam Khan, and Dilavar Khan [Briggs, II, pp. 376-77.]. The right under the command of Ahmad Khan, and the left under the command of Mir Fazl-ullah Anju Siraji still stood fast. Fazl-ullah was told that Ahmad Khan had fallen, but wisely forbade his informant to circulate the rumour, which turned out to be false. He then caused it to be proclaimed that Firoz Sah had come in person to the relief of his troops and caused the great drums to be beaten. The scattered forces of the Muslims rallied to the sound and Mir Fazl-ullah and Ahmad Khan managed to join the forces and to attack the enemy. Gopal Rai, the son of Narsingh Dev, was taken prisoner, and the Gonds were pursued with great slaughter to the gates of Kherla, whither Narsingh Dev arrived only just in time to save his life. Ahmad Khan and Fazl-ullah then besieged the fortress and after a lapse of two months the Gonds offered to surrender on conditions. The Muhammadan generals replied that they had no power to offer terms, and that if Narsingh Dev desired to obtain them it was necessary that he and his chief nobles should make their submission to Firoz Sah in Ellicpur, to which place they were offered a safe conduct. This advice was followed, and the raja swore at the foot-stool of Firoz in Ellicpur that he and his successors would be faithful liegemen of the Bahamanis as their predecessor had been in the days of Bahman Sah. Narsingh Dev was dismissed with honour after paying tribute.

The names of the Muhammadan nobles killed at the battle of Kherla are worthy of attention for, as we have seen, they probably provided the apocryphal Abdur Rahman with a local habitation and a name. They were four in number and it appears probable that the requisite tale of five was completed by Salabat Khan, the governor of Berar, for no more is heard of this tarafdar, and Firoz Sah, immediately before he left Ellicpur for Gulburga, appointed the gallant Mir Fazl-ullah Anju, governor of Berar.

Wars with Vijayanagar and Gondwana.

In 1406 Firoz Sah was at war with Vijayanagar and the army of Berar under Fazl-ullah was employed in the siege of Banka- pur. The expedition was successful. Bankapur, with the country surrounding it, was annexed to the Bahamani dominions [Briggs, II, 384; Haig, p. 392.], and Fazl-ullah and his army returned to Berar. In 1412 Firoz Sah indulged in an apparently purposeless campaign in Gondwana in which the army of Berar probably took a principal part [Haig, p. 393.]

In 1417 Firoz embarked on a disastrous war against Vira Vijaya of Vijayanagar, near Pangal. Mir Fazl-ullah Anju who, with the army of Berar, played a dominant role in the decisive battle of the campaign, in which the Muslims were defeated, was treacherously slain by a Kanarese attendant who had been bribed by his co-religionists. The affairs of the kingdom fell into great confusion and nobody was immediately appointed to succeed the gallant tarafdar of Berar, but the government of the province was probably carried on by the deputy whom Fazl-ullah had left behind him when he set out on the fatal expediton.

The Khan-i-Jahan appointed Governor of Berar.

In 1422 Ahmad Khan deposed his brother Firoz Sah and ascended the throne in Gulburga as Ahmad Sah I on September 22, 1422. His first care was to bring the war with the Hindus to a successful conclusion, and in the attainment of this object he laid waste the territories of Vijayanagar. After one of his actions he was separated from his army while hunting and nearly fell into the hands of a band of resolute Hindu warriors, but was rescued by Abdul Kadir, a commander of 200 horse and captain of the guard, whose soldierly precautions averted the disaster which Ahmad's foolish behaviour courted. Abdul Kadir's reward was the vacant governorship of Berar with the title of Khan-i-jahan [Briggs, II, pp. 402-03; Haig, pp. 397-98.] in addition to the ex-officio title of Majilis-i-Ali. Abdul Kadir, who held the governorship of Berar for nearly forty years, was the son of Muhammad Isa, the son of Mahmud, the son of a Turk named Malik Hindui who received the title of Imad-ul-Mulk from Bahman Sah, and held under that king the appointment of inspector-general of the forces. The Khan-i-Jahan was thus a Deccani of Turki descent.

Ahmad Sah made peace with Vira Vijaya and then set out to capture Warangal, which fell into the hands of Abdul Latif Khan-i-Azam, the governor of Bidar. The king then returned to his capital.

Ahmad sah visits Ellicpur.

In the confusion which followed on the rout of the Muslims at Pangal affairs in the provinces of the kingdom had fallen into great disorder and the Hindus of the greater part of Berar seem to have risen in rebellion. In 1426 Ahmad Sah was compelled to march northwards to restore order. After capturing Mahur and Kalam, which had fallen into the hands of the Gonds or Hindus, he inarched to Ellicpur, where he halted for a year. His object in making this long halt in the capital of his northern province is said to have been the preparation for the extension of his kingdom towards the north. His brother Firoz Sah had sent a complimentary letter with expressions of submission by Mir Fazl-ullah Anju to Amir Timur when Amir Timur invaded India in 1398 and the conqueror acknowledged the letter by bestowing on Firoz the sovereignty of Gujarat and Malva in addition to that of the Deccan, and Ferista supposes that Ahmad now proposed, if possible, to turn this empty grant to some account [Briggs, II, pp. 378-79.]. The theory is a most improbable one. Ahmad Sah, as we shall see, had conscientious scruples against attacking brother Muslims, and to the south of his kingdom lay an unconquered Hindu empire which was both lawful prey and a source of danger in case of difficulties in the north, and he had very little chance of success against the combined forces of Gujarat and Malva, which would certainly have been joined by Khandes. The more reasonable view is that Ahmad was merely strengthening his northern frontier in order to prevent inroads during his southern wars, and to this end he built the fort of Gavil and repaired that of Narnala. These expressions, which are Ferista's, seem to imply that Narnala was an older fort than Gavilgad which was probably fortified long before the time of Ahmad Sah. Its name points to its having been at one time like Gaoligad in Khandes and Asirgad (Asa Ahir Gad), the strong- hold of a local Gavali chieftain before the advent of the Musalmans. Whatever Ahmad's object may have been Hosang Sah of Malva disapproved of his preparations, and invited Narsingh Dev of Kherla, who had been reduced to vassalage by Firoz, to transfer his allegiance to Malva [Haig, p. 399.] Narsingh Dev refused to listen to Hosang who, after consulting Nasir Khan of Khandes, without whose acquiescence he could not afford to act, twice attacked Kherla and was twice defeated. Ahmad Sah rendered no material assistance to his vassal and Hosang's third attempt on Kherla was more successful. His officers wrested some districts from the Gonds and Hosang prepared to follow up this advantage by marching on Kherla in person. Narsingh Dev considered that it was high time to appeal to his suzerain and in 1428 sent messengers to Ahmad Sah, who had returned to his capital, to ask for help. Ahmad Sah ordered the Khan-i-Jahan to march to the assistance of Narsingh Dev with the army of Berar and himself marched northwards in a leisurely fashion, as though bent only on sport, until he reached Ellicpur. Meanwhile Hosang, attributing Ahmad's comparative inaction to fear, advanced on Kherla and after ravaging the country, laid siege to the fortress, boasting that Ahmad Sah Bahamani was afraid to meet him in the field. Ahmad Sah was much incensed when he heard of Hosang's boast, and at once set forth from Ellicpur to encounter him. While he was yet forty miles distant from Hosang's army the doctors of religion in his camp approached him, reminded him that no Bahamani had ever yet declared war on a Muhammadan king and advised him that it ill became him to attack Hosang in support of an infidel. Following their advice Ahmad Sah sent an envoy to Hosang apprising him that Narsingh Dev was a vassal of Gulburga and requesting him not to molest him. After the despatch of the envoy Ahmad Sah began to retire and this retrograde movement combined with his spiritless policy confirmed Hosang in the belief that Ahmad feared him, and emboldened him to pursue the Deccanis so closely that he halted each evening on the ground which they had occupied in the morning. This insolence transgressed the hounds of even the pious Ahmad's forbearance, and when Hosang crossed the frontier the doctors of religion were sent away from Ahmad's camp and the Deccanis instead of pursuing their way halted to receive the invader who advanced without any apprehension of resistance. Ahmad Sah drew up his forces on the bank of a river [Ferishta mentions that no historian has named the river but Haig mentions the river Tapi in this connection.], unfortunately not named. The governor of Berar commanded the right wing, Abdullah Khan, a grandson of Ismail Fateh, the left, and Ala-ud-din Ahmad, the king's eldest son, the centre. Ahmad Sah himself, with 2,000 picked cavalry and twelve elephants, lay in ambush far to the left. Hosang with no more than 17,000 cavalry, suddenly came upon the Deccanis in a carefully chosen position. He had no choice but to attack them and did so, and while action was at its height Ahmad Sah suddenly fell upon Hosang's rear. The army of Malva was routed and Hosang Sah fled so precipitately that he left the ladies of his harem in Ahmad's hands. Meanwhile Narsingh Dev had heard of his enemy's disaster and, emerging from Kherla, fell upon the beaten army and completed the heavy talc of slaughter, while Hosang and the remnant of his force made the best of their way to Mandu. The loss suffered by Musalmans at the hands of an unbeliever again aroused Ahmad Sah's scruples and to console his adversary he returned his ladies to him under a trusty guard, accompanied by a present of many eunuchs. Ahmad then returned to Gulburga. A less probable account of this campaign represents Ahmad Sah as the aggressor. According to this account he was preparing to attack Narsingh Dev when Hosang Sah marched to the latter's aid. Whichever version be accepted Ahmad Sah was victorious. He left Berar in 1429 and in the same year transferred his capital from Gulburga to Bidar [The account of the confrontation between the Bahamanis and the Kingdom of Malwa given by Sayyad Ali is more or less the same.].

War with Gujarat and Malva.

In 1430, the daughter of Nasir Khan, the ruler of Khandes, was married to Ala-ud-din Ahmad, the eldest son of Ahmad Sah. The marriage is of local interest for it afterwards led to a war between Ala-ud-din Ahmad and his father-in-law. In the same year Khalaf Hasan Basri, entitled Malik-ut-Tujjar, who had been one of Ahmad Sah's earliest partisans, was made governor of Daulatabad. Here his zeal in his master's service [He occupied the island of Mahim (Bombay).] brought on a war between Ahmad Sah of the Deccan and Ahmad Sah of Gujarat which lasted for a year and exhausted both sides. In 1433 Hosang Sah of Malva, taking advantage of the enfeebled condition of the Deccan, attacked and annexed Kherla, slaying Narsingh Dev. Ahmad Sah marched into Berar and was on the points of attacking Hosang when Nasir Khan of Khandes [Briggs, II, pp. 415-16.] intervened and proposed terms of peace which were accepted by both sides. These terms were that Hosang Sah should return to Kherla and that Berar should remain a part of Ahmad Sah's dominions. The acceptance of these terms by Ahmad Sah indicates the extent to which he had been weakened by the war with Gujarat, for it would have been unnecessary to introduce into the treaty the article relating to Berar unless Hosang Sah had been prepared, with some hope of success, to attempt its annexation, and Ahmad Sah actually gave up all that he was prepared to fight for.

Ahmad Sah I died on 19th February 1435 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Ala-ud-din Ahmad Sah II, who had married the daughter of Nasir Khan. This lady, in a fit of jealousy, complained to her father that her husband was neglecting her for a Hindu mistress [Briggs, II, p. 424.], and Nasir Khan prepared to invade his son-in-law's dominions. Having obtained the assent of Ahmad Sah of Gujarat to his enterprise he began to prepare his way by detaching the nobles of Berar from their allegiance to the Bahamani king. Nasir Khan claimed descent from the second Khalifa, Umar-ul-Faruk, and succeeded in persuading many of the officers in Berar that the one who fell fighting in the cause of the descendants of the greatest of the prophet's successors would receive the reward promised to martyrs for the faith. It is not easy to understand how the officers of Berar were deceived; for Nasir Khan allied himself with Gonds and probably with the Korkus of the Melghat also, but many fell into the trap and formed a strong party in Berar against the Bahamani king. Nasir Khan accordingly entered into Berar with all the troops of Khandes, a considerable force having been also sent to his aid by the Raja of Gondwana. The treacherous officers attempted to seize the governor, Khan Jahan, who was too firmly attached to the house of Bahamanis to join the invaders; and he, obtaining information of their designs, tied to the fortress of Narnala, where he shut himself up, and wrote accounts of the state of affairs to his court. The traitors, meanwhile, joined Nasir Khan, and not only read the Khutba in his name as king of Berar, but marched with him to besiege Narnala.

Ala-ud-din Sah, on receiving this intelligence called a council of his ministers and military chiefs, to concert measures for acting at such a critical moment. It was recommended that the king should proceed in person against the enemy, it being probable that both the kings of Gujarat and Malva, as also the rais of Gondwana, were prepared to aid in assisting Nasir Khan. The king, however, suspecting the fidelity of his chiefs, appointed Malik-ut-Tujjar, then governor of Daulatabad and leader of the foreigners, to conduct the campaign. He requested the king to give him the command of the household troops, and all the foreigners, without any Deccanis or Abyssinians, to bring the royal affairs in Berar to a prosperous issue [Khalaf Hasan Basri, (Malik-ut-Tujjar) was a foreign merchant. The hostility of the Deccanis and Abyssinians to the Persians and Turks seems to have prevailed throughout the long period of the reign of the Deccan kings.]. 'Ala-ud-din Sah consenting, directed three thousand Moghal bowmen from the body-guards [Among these body-guards were two princes, Majnun Sultan and Shah Kully Sultan, both lineal descendants from the great conqueror Chungiz Khan.] to attend him, as also many Moghal officers, who had been brought up in the service of Firoz Sah and Ahmad Sah. Malik-ut-Tujjar left Daulatabad with 7,000 foreign horse, despatching an army on observation to the frontiers of Gujarat and Malva and entered into Berar. Khan Jahan, also, having found an opportunity of quitting Narnala, joined the king's army at Mehkar. Malik-ut-Tujjar now detached Khan Jahan with his troops to Ellicpur and Balapur, in order to prevent the Rais of Gondawana from entering Berar by that route, while himself moved with the main body towards the Rohankhed Ghat, where the enemy was encamped. The campaign did not take place in the Amaravati district but in Buldhana and Khandes, whither Nasir Khan was driven, and ended in the complete discomfiture of the invaders, [Bahamani Rajyacha Itihas, pp. 95-96.] but before engaging Nasir Khan, Khalaf Hasan Basri found it necessary to strengthen the garrison of Ellicpur, in order to prevent the Korkus from descending on the plains.

The Bahamanis.

War with vijayanagar.

In 1443 the army of Berar was employed, with the armies of the other provinces or the kingdom [Briggs, II, p. 432.], in driving Devaraya II of Vijayanagar out of the Raicur Doab, which he had occupied, but Berar does not seem to have been settled enough to spare its governor for this expedition; for the Khan-i-Jahan did not accompany the army. In 1453, a dangerous eruption breaking out in the king's foot which baffled the art of the surgeons, he was necessarily confined to his private apartments, and reports, were often spread through the provinces of his death. Among other persons, one Jalal Khan, a Sayyad, who had married a daughter of Ahmad Sah, being assured of his decease, seized on many districts around his government of Nowalgund, which he gave in charge to his son Sikandar Khan, grandson of the late Ahmad Sah [Khan Azim, governor of Telangana, also dying at this time, and no officer of sufficient influence being on the spot to assume the charge, the officers of the province submitted to the authority of Sikandar Khan.]. Ala-ud-din Sah, in spite of his indisposition, prepared to inarch in order to reduce the rebels, on which Jalal Khan and Sikandar Khan agreed that, the former should remain in Telangana and the latter proceed to Mahur, with a view to distract the motions of the royal army. The king sent offers of pardon [If the rebels would lay down their arms; but Sikandar Khan, having on a former occasion joined the prince Mahammad Khan in his insurrection and having been guilty of many other offences, refused to rely on the king's promises.] but Sikandar Khan refused to rely on the king's promises. Sikandar Khan represented to the king of Malva, Sultan Mahmud I, that Ala-ud-din Sah had been long dead, but that the ministers, pretending he was still alive, had resolved to destroy the principal nobles, and to divide the kingdom among themselves; that, under these circumstances, if the king of Malva chose to undertake the project, the provinces of Berar and Telangana would fall without a blow into his hands. Sultan Mahmud I, crediting these assurances, so flattering to his ambition, marched in conjunction with the ruler of Khandes, in the year 1456, to invade Berar. They were joined by Sikandar Khan, who advanced with a body of one thousand horse to meet them.

'Ala-ud-din Sah. on receiving the intelligence, changed his design of going in person to Telangana, whither he deputed Khvaja Mahmud Gilani (commonly called Gavan), with a considerable army, to attack Jalal Khan. At the same time, Khan Jahan, governor of Berar, was directed to watch the motions of the ruler of Khandes, while Kasim Beg, governor of Daulatabad, advanced with a corps of observation towards the division led by the king of Malva, the king of the Deccan being with the main army, consisting chiefly of the Bijapur division, following at a distance of ten miles [Briggs, op. cit, II pp. 448-49.].

Sultan Mahmud I of Malva, now satisfied that the Deccan king was still living, and actually marching against him, retreated with the greater part of his army, leaving an officer, under pretence of assisting Sikandar Khan, hut with secret instructions, in case of his attempting to join the Deccanis, to seize his person, and bring him prisoner to Mandu with all his treasure. Sikandar Khan gaining timely information of this design, escaped from the Malva army with two thousand Afghans and Rajputs to Balkonda, to which place Khvaja Mahmud Gavan was then about to lay seige. Shortly after this, Sikandar Khan delivered up the fortress, on condition of a free pardon. On going to court with Khvaja Mahmud Gavan, he was again received into favour, and Balkonda was restored to him [Bahamani Rajyacha Itihas, p. 107. ]. The king having left Fakhr-ul-Mulk Turk in the government of the Mahur district and Furhut-ul-Mulk in command of the garrison of Mahur, returned to his capital.

Invasion of the Deccan by Mahmud of Malva.

Ala-ud-din Ahmad II, died in 1458 and was succeeded by his son Humayun " the Tyrant " who had hardly ascended the throne when Jalal Khan and Sikandar Khan, the two nobles who had rebelled in the previous reign, again rose in rebellion. The governor of Berar who had visited the capital for the purpose of offering his congratulations to the new king was employed against the rebels, but was defeated, and the rising was ultimately suppressed by Humayun [Ibid p. 114.]. We hear no more of Berar during this brief and troubled reign. When Humayun Sah was taken ill and thought that he would die, he appointed his eldest son, Nizam Sah, then only eight years of age, his successor. Having summoned Khvaja Jahan Turk from Berar, and Khvaja Mahmud Gavan from Telangana [Haig mentions that Khvaja Jahan, the Turk, and Nizam-ul-Mulk were sent to Warangal to fight the Hindus of Telangana and especially those of the district of Deurkonda, who had supported Sikandar Khan. One of the Rajas of Orissa helping the Hindus, Khvaja Jahan and Nizam-ul-Mulk were defeated. Khvaja Jahan basely attributed the disaster to his colleague, and Nizam-ul-Mulk was put to death by Humayun Shah. Khvaja Jahan was imprisoned. Haig, op. cit; pp. 410-11.] he made his will, constituting them regent, and guardians of his son during his minority and commanding them strictly, at the same time, to transact no business without the cognisance of the Queen-mother. [Makhaduma Jahan Nargis Begam.] Humayun Sah died on September 4, 1461 and was succeeded by his son Nizam Sah, aged eight. In 1462 Mahmud Sah of Malva, taking advantage of the new king's young age, invaded the Deccan by way of western Berar. The army of Bidar was employed in keeping off the rajas of Telangana and Orissa, who had invaded the Bahamani dominions of the east, and the armies of Berar, Daulatabad and Gulburga marched to meet Mahmud Sah. A battle was fought at Kandhar about seventy miles north of Bidar, and the Bahamani forces were defeated. Nizam Sah was carried off by his mother to Firozahad near Gulburga while Mahmud Sah of Malva sacked Bidar. He had begun to lay siege to the citadel when he heard that Mahmud Sah of Gujarat, to whom Nizam Sab's mother had appealed for help, had reached the north-western frontier of the Bahamani kingdom with 80,000 horse. Mahmud Gavan, one of the chief nobles of Bahamani kingdom, joined the Gujaratis with five or six thousand cavalry, and continued to raise and borrow troops until he was able to take the field with an army of 40,000 Deccani and Gujarati horse. He sent 10,000 Deccani horse into Berar to cut off the invader's retreat and marched towards Bidar with the remainder of his force. Encamping between Bid and Kandhar he cut off the besiegers' supplies but would not risk a battle, though Mahmud Sah of Malva could not put more than 30,000 horse into the field. At length the army of Malva was starved out and Mahmud Sah of Malva, after blinding his elephants and burning his heavy baggage, retreated northwards through eastern Berar. He was pursued and harassed throughout his retreat by Mahmud Gavan and the ten thousand horse which had been awaiting him in Berar. In order to avoid Mahmud Gavan on the one hand and escape Mahmud Sah of Gujarat on the other, he resolved to retreat through the hills of the Melghat and engaged one of the Korku rajas of that tract as a guide. After leading him by Ellicpur and Akot the raja took him into the hills and there intentionally led him astray. In the Melghat the army of Malva perished by the thousands from heat and thirst and by the attacks of the Korkus, who were instigated bv their raja. When the remnant of the army at length emerged from the wild hilly country, Mahmud Sah of Malva had the Korku raja put to death [Bahamani Rajyacha Itihas, p. 134.].

In the following year Mahmud of Malva again invaded the Bahamani dominions and advanced as far as Daulatabad, but retreated on hearing that Mahmud of Gujarat was again marching to the support of the Deccanis.

Nizam Sah died on July 30, 1463 and was succeeded by his brother Muhammad III, surnamed Laskari or " the soldier ".

War with Kherla.

In 1467 Nizam-ul-Mulk, the Turk, who had commanded the left wing in the battle of Kandhar against Mahmud Sah of Malva, was appointed governor of Berar and was ordered to capture Kherla, where a Gond prince still owed allegiance to Malva. The army of Berar marched against Kherla and besieged it and the army of Malva, in an attempt to raise the siege, was signally defeated. Kherla fell, but two Rajputs [Haig, p. 480. Sayyad Ali says that he was killed by the commadant of the fort.] of the place approached Nizam-ul-Mulk under the pretence of making their submission to him and assassinated him. They then attacked his attendants and were put to death. The two officers next in authority to Nizam-ul-Mulk were Yusuf Adil Khan [There is some conflict of authorities here. Some historians give the name of Yusuf Adil Khan, the Deccani, a much less distinguished person, but a bitter enemy of Yusuf Adil Khan Savai, as he was called. On the whole the account given in the text is the more probable.], afterwards the founder of the Adil Sahi dynasty of Bijapur, and Darya Khan, the Turk. These nobles argued that the desperate enterprise of the two Rajputs could not have been undertaken otherwise than at the instigation of some of the inhabitants of Kherla and a massacre of these unfortunates, with their wives and children, followed. Yusuf and Darya left a force to hold Kherla and returned to Bidar with the body of their late leader. Muhammad Sah approved of their action and bestowed Kherla upon them in jahagir. Mahmud Sah of Malva now sent an embassy to Muhammad Sah and reminded him of the treaty between Ahmad Sah Bahamani and Hosang Sah of Malva, in which it was stipulated that Kherla should belong to Malva and Berar to the Bahamanis. He besought Muhammad Sah not to be a breaker of treaties, or the means of stirring up strife between Musalmans. Muhammad Sah returned to him a dignified reply by Saikh Ahmad, the Sadr, and Sarif-ul-mulk. He thanked God that no one of the race of Bahaman had ever been known to break a treaty and reminded Muhammad Sah that when the affairs of the Bahamani kingdom were in confusion after the accession of the boy-king Nizam Sah it was Mahmud himself who had broken faith by invading the Bahamani dominions. In every corner of the empire of Karnata, which was still in the hands of the infidels, there were many fortresses like Kherla and since these were ready to his hand he had no wish to deprive a brother Musalman of his fortresses. A new treaty was concluded whereby either sovereign bound himself by the most solemn oaths not to molest or invade the dominions of the other, and Kherla, which had been annexed to Berar, was handed back by Muhammad Sah to the king of Malva. [Bahamani Rajyacha Itihas, p. 140.]

Fateh-ullah Imad-ul-Mulk.

The governorship of Berar seems to have remained vacant for a few years after the death of Nizam-ul-Mulk, the Turk until in 1471 Fateh-ullah Imad-ul-Mulk was made governor. This amir is worthy of special notice for he founded the Imad Sahi dynasty, which reigned in Berar for a period of eighty years. He was a Brahman of Vijayanagar who was captured by the Musalmans in 1422 early in the reign of Ahmad Sah and was bestowed on the Khan-i-Jahan, who was appointed governor of Berar immediately after the conclusion of the campaign, and was brought up as a Musalman, but never forgot his Brahman descent or his native land. More than sixty years after his capture when, as governor of Berar, he strengthened the fortifications of Gavilgad, he adorned the northern gate, afterwards known as the Delhi gate, with representations of the emblem of Vijayanagar, the ganda-bherunda, a fabulous two-headed bird which was said to prey upon elephants, and these representations still remain, almost as clearly cut as when Fateh-ullah set them up as his boast that though a Musalman and the faithful servant of a Musalman he was by blood a twice-born Brahman and a native of the great Hindu empire of Vijayanagar. Fateh-ullah had spent all his service, if we except temporary periods of absence in the field, in Berar and was a very fair instance of the strength and the weakness of the provincial system of the Bahamani kingdom. He seems to have been sincerely attached to the province, despite his pride of race and descent, and to have been at the same time a faithful servant of the Bahamanis. In his later years, when troubles gathered thick and fast around the head of the descendant of Bahman Sah and when the provincial governors were driven rather than tempted to rebellion, he was regarded as the Nestor of the Deccan, and his entire freedom from party prejudice was displayed in his grief and anger at the unjust execution of Mahmud Gavan, a foreigner, and in his unwavering friendship for Yusuf Adil Khan Savai another foreigner, who differed from him in religion, being a staunch Siah while Fateh-ullah was an equally staunch Sunni.

Berar suffered, with the rest of the Deccan, from the terrible two years of famine in 1473, and 1474, and most of those who escaped death from starvation fled to Malva and Gujarat. In the third year rain fell, but prosperity was slow to return, for there were few left to till the soil and the wanderers returned by slow degrees [Haig, 417.].

Redistribution of provinces.

In the campaigns of Muhammad III in Orissa, Telangana, and the Peninsula, Fateh-ullah, with the army of Berar, bore a share. In 1480, before these campaigns had been brought to a close, the four provinces into which the Deccan had been divided by Bahman Sah were sub-divided into eight. Berar was divided into the two new provinces of northern Berar, named Gavil, and southern Berar, named Mahur, the whole of the Amaravati district being included in the former, which remained under the governorship of Fateh-ullah Imad-ul-Mulk, while Khudavand Khan, the African, was made governor of Mahur. At the same time the powers of the provincial governors were much curtailed. Many paraganas of the provinces were made khas and were administered by officers appointed direct by the crown, while the governors were allowed to appoint a commandant only to the chief fort in each province, all other commandants of forts being appointed direct by the king. These belated reforms caused much dissatisfaction among some of the tarafdars, but the faithful Fateh-ullah, though stripped of half his province, seems to have taken no exception to them. The malcontents, however, entered into a conspiracy against Mahmud Gavan, the author of the reforms, and compassed his death on April 5, 1481 [Bahamani Rajyacha Itihas, p, 160.]. Muhammad III who was their dupe discovered his minister's innocence when it was too late and bitterly repented his action. Fatehullah Imad-ul-Mulk and Khudavand Khan, with the troops of Berar, left the royal camp and encamped at a distance of two leagues from it. When asked the reason of this move Fateh-ullah boldly replied that when so old and faithful a servant as Mahmud Gavan could be murdered on the lying reports of false witnesses nobody within the king's reach was safe. The wretched king, now smitten with remorse, sent a secret message imploring them to return that he might take counsel with them regarding the punishment of those who had brought Khvaja Mahmud to his death, but Fateh-ullah and Khudavand Khan replied that they would shape their conduct on that of Yusuf Adil Khan, who was then absent on a distant expedition. Yusuf was at once recalled and joined Fateh-ullah and Khudavand Khan. The three tarafdars then entered the royal camp and made their demands. They did not succeed in bringing the ringleaders of the conspiracy to punishment, but Yusuf obtained the province of Bijapur, which enabled him to make provision for the followers of the deceased minister. Shortly after this the tarafdars were dismissed to their provinces.

Disaffection of the tarafdars of Berar.

Fateh-ullah and Khudavand Khan were recalled from Berar shortly afterwards in order that they might attend Muhammad III on a progress through the province of Bijapur. They obeyed the summons, but both on the march and in camp placed a distance between themselves and the royal camp, and saluted the king from afar when he marched. In this manner the armies reached Belganv, whence the tarafdars were ordered to accompany the king to Goa and the Konkan, which they refused to do. Yusuf Adil Khan, however, marched to the aid of Goa, then besieged by Rajasekhara of Vijayanagar, while Muhammad III marched to Firozabad. Fateh-ullah and Khudavand Khan refused to accompany him any further, and returned to Berar without leave. Muhammad felt their defection deeply, but dared not resent it, for he knew that their mistrust of him was justified, and that civil war would but hasten the disruption of his kingdom.

Accession of Mahmud Sah.

Muhammad Sah died of drink on 22nd March 1482, and was succeeded by his son Mahmud Sah, a boy of twelve; all power in the capital was held by Malik Hasan Nizam-ul-Mulk [Dr. B. G. Kunte: Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 2.], the principal enemy of the late Mahmud Gavan who was now minister of the kingdom. Fateh-ullah Imad-ul-Mulk, on visiting the capital to congratulate the young king on his accession, was made titular minister of the kingdom, his son Saikh Ala-ud-din being appointed his deputy in northern Berar, but the intrigues and massacres of the capital were not to the veteran's taste [Haig, p. 423.], and he returned to Ellicpur without having exercised the duties of his post at the capital [Briggs, II, p. 528.].

Imad Sahi of Berar.

Malik Hasan Nizam-ul-Mulk was assassinated before 1485 and affairs in Bidar went from bad to worse. The young king showed a precocious bent towards debauchery and the administration passed into the hands of Kasim Barid, a Turk. The tarafdars, well aware that all orders issued were the orders of Kasim Barid, ignored messages from the capital, and were practically independent, attending only occasionally with their armies when summoned to do so. This attendance only accentuated the humiliation of the nominal ruler, whose splendour was utterly eclipsed by that of the armaments which the tarafdars brought into the field.

Fateh-ullah Imad-ul-Mulk independent.

In 1490 Malik Ahmad, the son of Malik Hasan Nizam-ul-Mulk, having founded Ahmadnagar and made preparations for secur-ing his independence, invited Yusuf Adil Khan of Bijapur and Fateh-ullah Imad-ul-Mulk of Gavil to join him in assuming the style and insignia of royalty [Haig, pp. 425-26, foot note.]. The compact was sealed by the consent of each of these three provincial governors, and each had the khutbd read in the mosques of his kingdom in his own name, omitting that of Mahmud Sah Bahamani. Henceforth these rulers wil1 be known by the titles Yusuf Adil Sah, Ahmad Nizam Sah, and Fateh-ullah Imad Sah, though Yusuf and Fateh-ullah appear to have been very chary of using the royal title.

The supremacy of Kasim Barid in the capital had, however, convinced Fateh-ullah of the necessity for some decisive step, and the veteran statesman had already prepared himself for possible opposition by improving the defences of Gavilgad and Narnala.

Although Fateh-ullah had declared himself independent he still regarded himself, to some extent, as a vassal of the Bahamani king. Thus in 1494, when a rebel named Bahadur Gilani, who had established himself on the western coast of the Deccan, committed in Gujarat, excesses which caused Mahmud Sah of that country to demand his punishment at the hands of Mahmud Sah Bahamani, Fateh-ullah Imad Sah, together with Yusuf Adil Sah and Ahmad Nizam Sah, responded to his old master's appeal and aided him against the rebel, who was defeated and slain after a long and arduous campaign. But the aid thus rendered differed from the submissive attendance of the tarafdars for the Sultans did not attend in person but sent contingents.

Combination against Bijapur.

In 1504 Yusuf Adil Sah, who was a Siah, had the khutba read in the mosques of the Bijapur kingdom after the Siah fashion, he being the first Muhammadan ruler in India to make this public profession of the Siah faith. Amir Barid who had succeeded his father, Kasim Barid, in that same year sent notices in Mahmud Sah's name to Fateh-ullah Imad Sah, Khudavand Khan of Mahur, and Sultan Kuli Kutub-ul-Mulk, who had been appointed governor of Telangana and had established himself at Golconda, asking them to combine to stamp out the heresy. The result of the appeal was curious. Sultan Kuli Kutub-ul-Mulk who was himself a devoted Siah, responded to it at once, apparently on the ground that Yusuf Adil Sah's act was a more pronounced declaration of opposition to Bahamani traditions than his mere assumption of independence, and possibly from the motive which led Innocent XI to advise fames II to moderate his zeal for the propagation of Roman doctrine and practice in England. Fateh-ullah Imad Sah, and Khudavand Khan on the other hand, though both were professed Sunnis, showed very clearly their disinclination to act against their old ally, and excused themselves. As to what followed, there is a conflict of authority. Ferista says that Amir Barid was much perplexed by the contumacy of the two chiefs of Berar and applied to Ahmad Nizam Sah for aid which was promptly rendered. Ali-bin Aziz-ullah Tabatabai, whose dates do not agree with those of Ferista, though he is clearly referring to the same incident, writes that Mahmud Sah, on becoming aware of Fateh-ullah Imad Sah's refusal to take the field against Yusuf Adil Sah, marched into Berar, whereupon Fateh-ullah, who was no more willing to take up arms against the Bahamani than against Yusuf, made his submission to him. Ferista's account is to be preferred, for he was, though sometimes misinformed, always impartial, whereas the author of the Burhan-i-Maasir was an uncompromising partisan of the Nizam Sahi kings and also strangely enough, a strenuous supporter of the fiction that Mahmud Sah was as independent a king as any of his forefathers. Moreover, immediately after its account of these events, the Burhan-i-Maasir goes wildly astray in its references to Fateh-ullah Imad Sah and Yusuf Adil Sah. The following is the true account of what happened. Amir Band with Mahmud Sah, Sultan Kuli Kutub-ul-Mulk, Ahmad Nizam Sah, and Fakhr-ul-Mulk. the Deccani marched against Yusuf Adil Sah, who, finding that his external foes and the Sunnis in his own kingdom were too strong for him, left Fakhr-ul-Mulk the Turk, to hold Gulburga and the surrounding country, sent his infant son Ismail with Kamal Khan, the Deccani, to Bijapur, and made the best of his way, with 5,000 horse, to the territories of his old friend Fateh-ullah Imad Sah, closely pursued by the allies who followed him almost to the gates of Gavilgad. Fateh-ullah was again greatly perplexed [Briggs, II, p. 548.]. He would not give up the refugee, he would not fight for the Siah religion, and in no circumstances would he draw the sword against the Bahamani king. He, therefore, despatched Yusuf Adil Sah, to Daud Khan of Khandes, while he proceeded to make terms with the invaders of Berar. His methods are a fair example of the astuteness which he seems always to have brought into play in the interests of justice and toleration. He sent envoys to Ahmad Nizam Sah and Suhan Kuli Kutub-ul-Mulk to apprise them of his view of the quarrel which was that Amir Band, well-known, he said, as 'the fox of the Deccan ', was not actuated in his persecution of Yusuf Adii Sah by religious scruples, but merely desired to gain possession of Bijapur. Should he attain his object, the old diplomatist added, the position of those who held the other provinces of the kingdom would not be enviable, for Amir Barid already filled the Bahamani king in the hollow of his hand and wanted but an addition to his territorial possessions to make him supreme in the Deccan. This entirely correct view of the situation impressed itself on Ahmad Nizam Sah and Kutub-ul-Mulk, who at once returned to their provinces without even going through the form of bidding Mahmud Sah farewell. The Sultan of Berar was now free to deal with the Sultan of Bidar. He represented to Mahmud that there was nothing to be gained by prosecuting the war and that the wisest course was to proclaim that Yusuf was pardoned and to return to Bidar. Mahmud Sah was inclined to accept this counsel, but Amir Barid did not intend to let Bijapur slip through his fingers so easily and was about to carry Mahmud off to besiege Bidar, but meanwhile Yusuf Adil Sah had heard of the retreat of Ahmad Nizam Sah and Kutub-ul-Mulk and returned with all haste from Burhanpur to Gavilgad. He now took the field against Mahmud Sah, or rather against Amir Band, who perceiving that he was no match for Yusuf and Fateh-ullah in combination, hurriedly retreated to Bidar, leaving Berar in peace. The minister Amir Band put the king under great restraint than before. Weary of the situation Mahmud Sah found the means to effect his escape to Gavil in Berar where he procured assistance from Imad-ul-Mulk who marched with him towards the capital. Amir Barid shutting himself up in the citadel, applied for relief to Burhan Nizam-ul-Mulk, the son of the late Ahmad Nizam Sah [In 1509 Ahmad Nizam Shah died and was succeeded by his son, Burhan I.], who despatched Khvaja Jahan to join him with considerable force. Amir Barid and his ally now rallied forth against the troops of Imad-ul-Mulk, who prepared to receive them, and drew up his army for action [It happened that the king was bathing at the time; and the messenger sent by Imad-ul-Mulk to inform him of the enemy's approach insolently remarked, within his hearing, that it was no wonder a prince who could be so employed at such a critical moment should be the derision of his nobles. The king, stung with the reproof and enraged at what he thought proceeded from the insolence of Imad-ul- Mulk, joined Amir Barid's army-Briggs, op. cit.; II, p. 551.]. The king joined the line as soon as possible, but suddenly spurring his horse, galloped over to Amir Band's army. Imad-ul-Mulk immediately retreated with precipitation towards his own country and the minister returned triumphantly into the city with the king. Amir Band, in 1517, found it necessary to march with the king to Mahur against Basir Khan [Sharza Khan, the son and successor of Khudavand Khan of Mahur. Sharza Khan and one of his brothers were slain. Ala-ud-din Imad Shah marched to the relief of Mahur and compelled Amir Barid to retire.], who with his son. was slain in the battle and Mahur was conferred on Ghalib Khan, another son of Khudavand Khan.

Death of Fateh-ullah Sah.

The date of the death of Fateh-ullah Imad Sah is variously given as 1504 and 1510. The latter seems to be a mistake. His age when he was taken from Vijayanagar in 1422 is not given, and we are merely told that he was then a boy [Briggs, III, pp. 485-86.]. Assuming his age to have been ten years at that time he must have been 82 years of age at the time of his death. Fateh-ullah was succeeded by his son Ala-ud-din Imad Sah, of whom Ferista contradictorily says that he was the first of the dynasty to use the royal title. There can be little doubt that his father used it occasionally, certainly in his correspondence with Yusuf Adil Sah and Ahmad Nizam Sah, to whom he would not have admitted himself to be inferior, but it is likely that he refrained from using it in correspondence with the Bahamani king.

Ala-ud-din Imad sah.

The early part of Ala-ud-din's reign is obscure. According to one authority he quietly succeeded his father, but according to another he was a prisoner in the fort of Ramgiri, in Telangana, at the time of his father's death, in the power of Amir Barid and remained in captivity until he was rescued by one of the sons of Khudavand Khan of Mahur. On his release Ala-ud-din is said to have proceeded at once to Gavilgad and to have assumed the government of his father's kingdom while Mahmud Sah Bahamani, at the request of Yusuf Adil Sah, conferred upon him his father's title of Imad-ul-Mulk. This story is improbable. In the first place the dates are all wrong, for Fateh-ullah is represented as having died before 1500, whereas he was certainly alive in 1504, and in the second place it is highly improbable that Fateh-ullah, who had, as we have seen, great power and influence in the Deccan would have left his son-his only son so far as we know-in the hands of his grestest enemy, ' the fox of the Deccan '. The more probable story is that which represents Ala-ud-din Imad Sah as quietly succeeding his father in Ellicpur.

War with Ahmadnagar.

In 1509 Burhan Nizam Sah succeeded his father Ahmad in Ahmadnagar at the age of seven [Briggs, III, p. 211.]. The administration of that kingdom was in the hands of Mukammal Khan [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 41.], who had been Ahmad's minister, and the Deccani nobles of the State, whose predominance was distasteful to the ' foreigners', i.e., the Persian and Turki soldiers of fortune who always formed a political party of their own in the Deccan. The foreigners conspired to overthrow the Deccanis, and on the failure of their plot [Ibid, p. 41.] fled from Ahmadnagar with 8,000 horse and took refuge with Ala-ud-din Imad Sah in Ellicpur. They found no difficulty in persuading him that the affairs of Ahmadnagar were in hopeless confusion and that the conquest of that kingdom would be an easy task.

Ala-ud-din, without waiting to consider how far the interests of the fugitives had coloured their story, collected his troops from Gavilgad and Ellicpur and marched for the frontier. Mukammal Khan was prepared and met him. After a severely contested battle victory declared itself for Ahmadnagar [Ibid pp. 41-42.], and Ala-ud-din with the army of Bcrar fled to Ellicpur. The army of Ahmadnagar followed up its victory and laid waste the greater part of south-western Berar, pressing Ala-ud-din so hard that he deserted his country and fled to Burhanpur, where he besought Adil Khan III, the ruler of Khandes, to use his good offices in the cause of peace [Briggs III, P. 214.]. Adil Khan of Khandes and his doctors of religion brought about a peace, but quarrels soon broke out afresh.

The affair of Pathri.

Burhan Nizam Sah's grandfather, Malik Hasan Nizam-ul-Mulk, was descended of a Brahman family which had held the hereditary office of kulkarm or patvari in Pathri, near the Godavari river. For some reason or another, probably the proselytizing zeal of one of the Bahamani kings, the ancestor of Hasan had fled from Pathri and taken refuge in the Hindu kingdom of Ahmdnagar. Malik Hasan, whose original name was Tima Bhat, had been captured, like Fateh-ullah Imad-ul-Mulk, in one of the campaigns against Vijayanagar, and brought up as a Muslim. When he attained power, and the governorship of a province to the border of which his ancestral home was adjacent, his relatives flocked from Vijayanagar to Ahmadnagar and urged his son, Ahmad Nizam Sah, to include in his dominions the town of Pathri which lay on the southern border of Berar. Mukammal Khan wrote, by command of Burhan Nizam Sah, proposing that Ala-ud-din Imad Sah should cede Pathri to Ahmadnagar in exchange for a richer paragana. Ala-ud-din refused to listen to this proposal and began to fortify Pathri. Mukammal Khan then complained that the establishment of a military post so close to the frontier would give rise to depredations on the part of the more lawless members of the garrison and consequent hostilities between Ahmadnagar and Berar. Ala-ud-din paid no heed to the protest, completed his fort and returned to Ellicpur [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 48 f. n.]. In 1518 Mukammal Khan, under the pretence that Burhan Nizam Sah wished to enjoy the cool air of the hills above Daulatabad and visit the caves of Ellora, collected a large army and marched in a leisurely way to Daulatabad, whence he made a sudden forced march on Pathri. The town was taken by escalade and the army of Ahmadnagar possessed itself of the whole paragana. Burhan having attained his object returned to his capital leaving Miyan Muhammad Ghori, an officer who had greatly distinguished himself in the assault, to govern the paragana with the title of Kamil Khan [Ibid, p. 48.]. Ala-ud-din Imad Sah was not strong enough to resent this aggression at the time, and though it rankled in his memory he suffered himself to be cajoled six years later by Mulla Haidar Astrabadi, an envoy from Ahmadnagar, into an alliance with Burhan Nizam Sah, who was then engaged in an acrimonious dispute with Ismail Adil Sah regarding the possession of the fortress of Solapur [Briggs, III, pp. 216-17.]. In 1524 a battle was fought at Solapur and Ala-ud-din, whose army was opposed to a wing of the Bijapuris commanded by Asad Khan of Belganv, was utterly defeated and withdrew by rapid marches and in great disorder to Gavilgad, forsaking his ally. Burhan Nizam Sah was defeated and forced to retreat to Ahmadnagar.

Pathri recovered. War with Ahmadnagar and Bidar.

Ala-ud-din Imad Sah now perceived his error in allying himself with Burhan, and Ismail Adil Sah, anxious to weaken Ahmadnagar as much as possible, persuaded Sultan Kuli Kutub Sah in 1527 to aid Ala-ud-din in recovering Pathri [Briggs, III, p. 217.]. The allies succeeded in wresting Pathri for a time from Burhan, but he entered into an alliance with Amir Barid of Bidar and marched from Ahmadnagar to Pathri, the fortifications of which place, in the course of a cannonade of two months' duration, he succeeded in destroying. The place fell again into his hands and once more the paragana was annexed to Ahmadnagar and bestowed upon some cousins of Burhan Nizam Sah who still adhered to the faith of their fathers. Burhan was not disposed to regard the recapture of Pathri as a sufficient punishment for Ala-du-din, and having captured Mahur occupied southern Berar. He now turned his eyes towards Ellicpur and formed the design of annexing the whole of Berar to his kingdom. Ala-ud- din, who had been deserted by Sultan Kuli Kutub Sah, was in no position to face the allied armies of Ahmadnagar and Bidar. He, therefore, fled from Ellicpur to Burhanpur and sought assistance from Miran Muhammad Sah of Khandes. Miran Muhammad responded to the appeal and marched with his unfortunate ally into Berar. The armies of Berar and Khandes met the allied armies of Ahmadnagar and Bidar in battle and were utterly defeated [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 51 f. n.]. We are not told where this battle was fought, but it was probably not far south of Ellicpur, towards which place the invaders had marched from Mahur, and may have been in the immediate neighbourhood of the town. Burhan Nizam Sah now held practically the whole of Berar and captured 300 elephants and the whole of Ala-ud-din's artillery and stores. Ala-ud-din and Miran Muhammad Sah fled to Burhanpur and thence sent a message to Bahadur Sah of Gujarat, imploring his assistance. Bahadur Sah snatched at the opportunity of interfering in the affairs of the Deccan and in 1528 sent a large army by way of Nandurbar and Sultanpur towards Ahmadnagar, and also entered Berar. Burhan Nizam Sah was much perturbed by the appearance of this formidable adversary on the scene. He made a wild appeal for help to Babar, not yet firmly seated on the throne of Delhi, and more reasonable appeals to Sultan Kuli Kutub Sah of Golconda and Ismail Adil Sah of Bijapur. The former was engaged in warfare with the Hindus of Telan-gana and professed himself unable to send assistance, but Ismail sent 6,000 picked horse and much treasure [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, pp. 51-52 f. n.].

Bahadur Sah entered Berar on the pretext of restoring Pathri and southern Berar to Ala-ud-din, but having seen the country he desired it for himself and made no haste to leave. This was very soon perceived by Ala-ud-din, who repented of his folly and ventured to suggest to Bahadur Sah that the Ahmadnagar kingdom should be the theatre of war. He promised that if Bahadur Sah would conquer that kingdom for him he would resign the kingdom of Berar. Bahadur Sah accepted the offer and advanced against Burhan Nizam Sah, who was now encamped on the plateau of Bid. Amir Band fell upon the advancing foes and slew two to three thousand of the Gujaratis. This enraged Bahadur Sah, who sent 20,000 horse against Amir Barid. The battle soon became general, and the Deccanis were defeated and fled to Paranda. Being pursued thither they again fled to Junnar, while Bahadur Sah occupied Ahmadnagar. Here he remained until supplies, which the Deccanis cut off, became scarce. He then marched to Daulatabad and left Ala-ud-din Imad Sah and the amirs of Gujarat to besiege that fortress while he encamped on the plateau above it. Burhan Nizam Sah now made a fervent appeal to Ismail Adil Sah for further assistance. Ismail replied with expressions of goodwill, sent five hundred of his most efficient cavalry, and expressed regret that the hostile attitude of the Raja of Vijayanagar prevented him from leaving his capital. Burhan wanted the prestige of Ismail's presence with his army, not a regiment of cavalry. In the circumstances he did the best he could, collected all the troops that could he raised between Junnar and Ahmadnagar and ascended into the Daulatabad plateau. Here a battle was precipitated by the incautious valour of Amir Barid, and although the issue hung for some time in the balance, the Deccanis were again defeated.

The problem now was not an equitable decision of the dispute between the kings of Berar and Ahmadnagar, but the expulsion of an inconvenient intruder who was strong enough to upset entirely the balance of power in the Deccan. Burhan Nizam Sah opened negotiations with Ala-ud-din Imad Sah and professed himself ready to restore all that had been captured by him. Ala-ud-din and Miran Muhammad Sah were now as apprehensive as their former enemies of Bahadur Sah's intentions and approached Khudavand Khan, the latter's minister, with a request that his master would leave the Deccan. Khudavand Khan replied that Bahadur Sah had not come uninvited, and that if the Sultans of the Deccan composed their differences all would be well. The intimation was sufficient. Ala-ud-din Imad Sah sent his surplus supply of grain to the defenders of Daulatabad and returned to Ellicpur. Bahadur Sah and Miran Muhammad Sah decided that they would do well to return to their capitals before the rains rendered both the country and the rivers impassable. They retreated after stipulating that the boundaries of Berar and Ahmadnagar should remain in status quo ante bellum, that the khutba should be read in both kingdoms in the name of Bahadur Sah and that both Ala-ud-din and Burhan should pay a war indemnity. Miran Muhammad Sah, after his return to Burhanpur, called upon Burhan Nizam Sah to fulfil his obligations by restoring to Ala-ud-din Pathri and Mahur and all the elephants and other booty which had been captured near Ellicpur. Burhan's reply to this message was to return to Miran Muhammad some elephants which had been captured from him, on receiving which Miran Muhammad desisted from urging on Burhan the fulfilment of his compact with Ala-ud-din [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 55 f.n.]. The inveterate plotter Amir ' Ali' Barid had tried to tamper with the loyalty of the contingent sent from Bijapur to the assistance of Ahmadnagar, and Ismail, to punish him, marched to Bidar. Amir Barid, now an old man, left the defence of thc fortress to his sons and sought help of Sultan Kuli Kutub Sah. Ismail defeated a relieving force from Golconda and Amir Alt withdrew to Udgir and begged ' Ala-ud-din ' Imad Sah to help him. ' Ala-ud-din ' would not oppose Ismail, but he marched to Bidar and interceded with him, but Ismail refused to hear of any negotiations until Bidar should have surrendered. It was surrendered when Amir ' Ali', was about to he trampled to death by an elephant, and Ismail entered the capital of the Deccan and took his seat upon the turquoise throne. He made Amir 'Ali' a noble of the kingdom of Bijapur, and it was agreed that he and 'Ala-ud-din' Imad Sah should aid in recovering the Raicur Doab and then march northwards to recover Mahur and Pathri for Ala-ud-din [Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagar had recently died and in the confusion which followed his death, Ismail was able to reduce both Raichur and Mudgal within three months; Haig, p. 437.].

The recovery of the Doab released Ismail from his vow of abstinence and he celebrated the occasion by a select symposium, at which only 'Ala-ud-din' and Asad Khan Lari at first sat with him, but both begged him to admit Amir ' Ali' and he consented, but when "the Fox" entered quoted from the chapter " The Cave " in the Koran the words, " their dog, the fourth of them". Amir Ali did not understand Arabic. But a burst of laughter from ' Ala-ud-din ' apprised him that he was the victim of a jest, and he wept with humiliation and resentment, while the others laughed. Disturbing rumours that Bahadur meditated another invasion of the Deccan postponed the joint expedition for the recovery of Mahur and Pathri. and ' Ala-ud-din ' hastily returned to Berar [Ismail restored Bidar to Amir Ali.].

war with Golconda.

This was not the last campaign in which the warlike hut: unfortunate Ala-ud-din was engaged. Sultan Kuli Kutub Sah of Golconda. who had proclaimed himself independent in 1512 [Briggs, III, p. 323.]. was for many years troubled by a Turk entitled Kivam-ul-Mulk who had been appointed by Mahmud Sah Bahamani governor of eastern Telangana and resisted Sultan Kuli's claims to dominion over that tract [Briggs, II, p, 527,]. He maintained a guerilla warfare for years, with intermittent encouragement from Bidar and perhaps from Berar also. until he was defeated by Sultan Kuli at Gelgandal when he fled and took refuge with Ala-ud-din Imad Sah in Bcrar. Sultan Kuli sent an envoy to Berar to demand the delivery of the fugitive and also the restoration of certain districts of south-eastern Berar which in the time of the Bahamams had belonged to Telangana. On Ala-ud-din's refusal to satisfy these demands Sultan Kuli marched northwards and Ala-ud-din marched from Ellicpur to meet him. A battle was fought near Ramgiri and the Beraris were utterly defeated. Ala-ud-din fled to Ellicpur and Sultan Kuli possessed himself of the disputed territory and returned to Golconda. Unfortunately the date of these operations is not given, but it appears probable that they took place after the departure of Bahadur Sah of Gujarat from the Deccan. The date of the death of Ala-ud-din Imad Sah is not certain, but he probably died in 1529 and was succeeded by his son Darya Imad Sah [Briggs, III, p. 489.].

Darya imad sah.

The early years of Darya Imad Sah's reign were uneventful and his kingdom enjoyed a much needed rest. On December 30, 1553 Husain Nizam Sah succeeded, not without opposition, to the throne of Ahmadnagar [Briggs, III, pp. 257-58.]. His younger brother, Abdul Kadir, was induced to make a fight for the throne but was overcome and took refuge with Darya Imad Sah, under whose protection he remained until his death [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 101.]. Shortly after Miran Abdul Kadir's flight, Saif Ain-ul-Mulk, who had been commander-in-chief of the army of Ahmadnagar in the latter part of the reign of Burhan Nizam Sah and on his death had espoused the cause of Abdul Kadir, became apprehensive lest Husain Nizam Sah should punish him for his defection, and fled to Ellicpur, where he took refuge with Darya Imad Sah [Briggs, III, p. 105.]. He did not remain long in Berar but took service under Ibrahim Adil Sah of Bijapur, who interested himself in plots to dethrone Husain Nizam Sah. Ibrahim's interference brought about a war between Bijapur and Ahmadnagar and Husain sent a Brahman envoy named Visvas Rav to Darya Imad Sah to ask him for aid. Darya sent 7,000 cavalry to his neighbour's assistance [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 110.] and Husain then advanced to Solapur, which place Ibrahim was besieging [Briggs, III, p. 490.]. In the battle which ensued the armies of Ahmadnagar and Berar were on the point of fleeing when Ibrahim Adil Sah was attacked by doubts of the loyalty of Saif-Ain-ul-Mulk, who commanded a large body of his cavalry, and suddenly returned to Bijapur, leaving the allies in possession of the field. Husain then returned to Ahmadnagar and sent the cavalry of Berar back to Ellicpur.

Alliance with Ahmadnagar.

After the death of Ibrahim Adil Sah I in 1558 Husain Nizam Sah persuaded Ibrahim Kutub Sah of Golconda to join in an attempt to capture Gulburga and the eastern districts of the Bijapur kingdom. The attempt failed owing to Ibrahim Kutub Sah's distrust of his ally and Ali Adil Sah, who had succeeded to the throne of Bijapur, resolved to revenge himself on Husain Nizam Sah. who sought strength in an alliance with Darya Imad Sah [Briggs, III, p. 239.]. In 1558 the kings of Berar and Ahmadnagar met at Sonpeth on the Godavari where Daulat Sah Begam, Darya's daughter, was married to Husain, Sonpeth receiving the name of Isratabad in honour of the event [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 118.].

Invasion of Ahmadnagar.

Meanwhile Ali Adil Sah had formed an alliance with Ibrahim Kutub Sah and Sadasivaraya of Vijayanagar and in 1560 these allies invaded the dominions of Ahmadnagar. Husain Nizam Sah's trust lay in Alt Band Sah of Bidar, Darya Imad Sah of Berar. and Miran Mubarak II of Khandes. Unfortunately for him influences had been at work to break up this alliance. The Khan-i-Jahan. brother of All Band Sah, was friendly with Ali Adil Sah and had entered the service of Darya Imad Sah, whom he dissuaded from joining Husain Nizam Sah. He then led an army of 5,000 cavalry and infantry from Berar into the Ahmadnagar kingdom and laid waste those northern tracts which lay out of the way of the more powerful invaders from the south. Against this force Husain Nizam Sah sent nearly 3,000 horse under Mulla Muhammad Nisaburi [Briggs, III, p. 240.]. The army of Berar was utterly defeated and the Khan-i-Jahan, ashamed to return to Berar, joined the army of Ali Adil Sah [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 122 f.n.]. Jahangir Khan the Deccani now became commander-in-chief of the army of Berar, and had an easier task than his predecessor, for by this time the members of the southern alliance had closed round Ahmadnagar and left Darya Imad Sail's army little occupation but that of plundering a defenceless country. The allies, however, quarrelled. Ibrahim Kutub Sah. who had gradually been drawn into sympathy with Husain Nizam Sah, withdrew rapidly and secretly to Golconda, leaving behind him a small force which joined Husain. Jahangir Khan with the army of Berar also went over to Husain who was enabled, by this accession of strength, to cut off the supplies of Al7 Adil Sah and Sadasivaraya, who were besieging Ahmadnagar. Sadasivaraya, who perceived that he had been drawn by Alt Adil Sah into no easy undertaking, was now in a mood to entertain proposals of peace, and when Husain Nizam Sah sued for peace he agreed to retire on three conditions, one of which was that jahangir Khan, whose activity in intercepting the supplies of the besiegers had caused much suffering among them, should he put to death. Husain was base enough to comply and the commander of the army of Berar was assassinated [Ibid, p. 123 f.n.]. Fortunately for Husain his father-in-law was either too weak or too poor spirited to resent this act of gross ingratitude, and the kingdom of Ahmadnagar was by these shameful means, freed of its invaders. Darya Imad Sah did not long survive his disgraceful acquiescence in his servant's death. He died in 1561 and was succeeded by his son, Burhan Imad Sah.

Burhan Imad Sah.

We have no certain information of the age of Burhan when he succeeded his father. He is described as a boy or a young man, but he was not too young to resent the murder of Jahangir Khan [Briggs, III, p. 243.] for when Husain Nizam Sah and Ibrahim Kutub Sah invaded the territory of Bijapfir in 1562 and Alt Adil Sah and Sadasivaraya of Vijayanagar marched against them, Burhan not only refused to respond to Husain's appeal for assistance but prevented Ali Band Sah of Bidar from joining him. Husain Sah then abandoned the siege of Kalyani, in which he was engaged, and sent his ladies and heavy baggage to Ausa. The kings of Ahmadnagar and Golconda now found themselves opposed by Ali Adil Sah of Bijapur, Sadasivaraya of Vijayanagar, All Band Sah of Bidar, and Burhan Imad Sah of Berar. and advanced to meet them halting within twelve miles of their camp. On the following day Hiusain and Ibrahim advanced against the enemy, the former making the camp of Sadasivaraya and the latter that of Ali Adil Sah, All Barid Sah, and Burhan Imad Sah his objective. When they were well on their way heavy rain fell, and Husain's artillery and elephants stuck fast in the mire [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 125 f.n.]. Any further advance was out of the question, and Husain returned to his camp with only forty out of seven hundred guns. Meanwhile Murtaza Khan with the Maratha officers of Bijapur had been sent by Ali Adil Sah to warn the allies to prepare for battle. On his way he came upon the abandoned guns of Husain Nizam Sah, and learnt that Husain had returned to his camp. Murtaza informed his master of what he had found and Alt Adil Sah and Sadasivaraya sent troops to take possession of the guns. After securing the guns these troops fell in with the forces of Ibrahim Kutub Sah, attacked them, and defeated them. Ibrahim reformed his beaten army in rear of Husain Nizam Sah's camp and made a stand which enabled Husain Nizam Sah to come to his aid. The troops of Bijapur and Vijayanagar were repulsed, but Husain Nizam Sah was much dispirited by the result of the day's fighting and by Ibrahim's failure, and on the following day, when the armies of Bijapur, Vijayanagar, Berar and Bidar advanced to the attack, he and Ibrahim Kutub Sah fled in the direction of Ahmadnagar, leaving their camps in the hands of the enemy. At Ausa they separated, Ibrahim returning to Golconda, while Husain retired to his capital, followed by the allies. Husain did not venture to defend his capital but, having provisioned the fortress, fled onwards to Junnar. The allies sat down to besiege Ahmadnagar. Ali Adil Sah however persuaded Sadasivaraya to leave Ahmadnagar and to pursue Husain Nizam Sah to Junnar [Briggs, III, pp. 245-46.], but before the allies left Ahmadnagar Burhan Imad Sah and Ali Band Sah having quarrelled with the Raja of Vijayanagar, retired to their own kingdoms.

On Burhan's return to Berar he was seized and imprisoned in Narnala by Tufal Khan, the Deccani, one of his own amirs, who henceforth exercised regal functions in Berar [Briggs, III, p. 47.]. Tufal Khan refused to join the confederacy of the Muhammadan Sultans of the Deccan which was formed in 1564 for the purpose of overthrowing the power of Vijayanagar and Berar had, therefore, no share in the decisive victory of Talikota [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, pp. 140-41 f.n.]. Tufal Khan's refusal to join the Muhammadan league may he attributed to his sense of the insecurity of his position as an usurper, to apathy, to Hindu sympathies, or to the view that the power of Vijayanagar could always be usefully employed for the maintenance of the balance of power between the Muhammadan kingdoms of the Deccan, but the refusal, whatever the motive may have been, brought much trouble and suffering to Berar.

Invasion of berar.

On June 6, 1565. Husain Nizam Sah died and was succeeded in Ahmadnagar by his son, Murtaza Nizam Sah I, who persuaded Ali Adil Sah to join him in invading Berar in order to punish Tufal Khan for his refusal to join the league against Vijayanagar. In 1566 the allies invaded the kingdom from the south and south- west and devastated it with fire and sword as far north as Ellicpur, destroying all standing crops. They remained in Berar, wasting the country and slaughtering its inhabitants until the approach of the rainy season, when Tufal Khan approached Ali Adil Sah with an enormous quantity of treasure and besought him to use his influence to induce Murtaza to retire. Ali undertook the task and succeeded in persuading Murtaza, on the pretext that the rains would render marching and campaigning on the black cotton soil of Berar a difficult task, to retire to Ahmadnagar, while he himself returned to Bijapur [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 141.].

Annexation of Berar by Ahmadnagar.

The unfortunate little kingdom was not, however, destined to enjoy a long rest. In "1572 Cangiz Khan, Murtaza Nizam Sah's minister, brought about a meeting between his master and Adil Sah at which the two kings entered into a treaty under the terms of which Murtaza was to be allowed to annex Berar and Bidar without hindrance from Bijapur while Ali was to be allowed to appropriate so much of the dismembered kingdom of Vijayanagar as should be equal in revenue to those two kingdoms [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 160.]. Ibrahim Kutab Sah was left out of the arrangement. In the same year Murtaza Nizam Sah. in pursuance of the treaty, encamped at Pathri and prepared to invade Berar. A pretext was not wanting. He sent Mulla Haidar of Kas to Tufal Khan to call him to account for keeping Burhan Imad Sah in confinement. Tufal Khan was ordered to release his king, to be obedient to him in all things, and to refrain from interfering in the government of Berar. The letter concluded with a threat that disobedience would entail punishment and with three couplets warning Tufal Khan against undertaking a task which was beyond his power. Tufal Khan was much alarmed by this message and took counsel of his son. Satnsir-ul-Mulk, who had a reputation for valour and was astute enough to detect Murtaza's object. The solicitude for Burhan Imad Sah, he said, was a mere pretence, and Murtaza's object was the annexation of Berar to Ahmadnagar [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, pp. 162-63 f.n.]. He bade his father take heart, assuring him that the resources of Berar were equal to those of Ahmadnagar, which was not the case, and advised him to send Murtaza's envoy back unanswered. Murtaza, as soon as he heard of Mulla Haidar's dismissal, marched from Pathri towards Ellicpur, and Samsir-ul-Mulk, who commanded the advanced guard of the army of Berar, marched to meet him. The site of the battle is. unfortunately, not recorded [The battle was fought near Bidar, so tells Sayyad Ali Tabatabai-Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 163.], but the armies must have met either in the Amravati district or the Akola district. Samsir-ul-Mulk fell upon the advanced guard of the army of Ahmadnagar and defeated it. Cangiz Khan threw forward reinforcements and Samsir-ul-Mulk called upon his rather for support.

Tufal Khan at once marched to support his son and Cangiz Khan, being apprised of the approach of the main body of the army of Berar, sent forward Khudavand Khan, Jamsid Khan, Bahri Khan, Rustam Khan, and Canda Khan to the support of the African amirs of Ahmadnagar, on whom the brunt of the fighting was falling, and followed them in person with Murtaza's guards and three thousand mounted 'foreign' archers, who were evidently regarded as the flower of the army of Ahmadnagar. The battle soon became general. Cangiz Khan, who had as his body-guard five hundred of his own followers, spared no efforts to win the day. With his own hand he cut down Tufal Khan's standard bearer, and the army of Berar was routed. Tufal Khan and his son fled to Ellicpur and Cangiz Khan returned with 270 captured elephants to the camp of Murtaza Nizam Sah, who no longer made any attempt to conceal the real object of his enterprise. He did not hasten in pursuit of his defeated enemy or attempt to gather at once the fruits of victory, but remained in his camp and issued farmans to all the Hindu revenue officials of Berar informing them that they had nothing to fear, and that if they would tender their allegiance to him they would find him a lenient and sympathetic master. The descendant of a line of Brahman patvaris knew with whom he had to deal. The hereditary Hindu officials cared little for Burhan, Tufal, or Murtaza but much for the blessings of peace, and they were not slow to perceive which was the stronger side. They hastened to the camp of the invader, where they were received with honour and whence they were dismissed with rewards and promises [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 166.]. Murtaza Nizam Sah, having thus made sure his foothold, advanced on Ellicpur, whereupon Tufal Khan and Samsir-ul-Mulk, whose power had been so utterly broken in the field that the respite afforded to them by Murtaza's delay had profited them nothing, filed into the Melghat. Through the hills and jungles of this tract they were pursued for six months at the end of which time they found themselves hemmed in by the forces of Ahmadnagar in a position whence no outlet was apparent. The invader refrained from pressing his advantage and Tufal Khan succeeded in extricating himself and escaped to Burhanpur. Murtaza, having pursued him as far as the Tapi, sent a letter to Miran Muhammad Sah II, king of Khandes, threatening to invade his country if the fugitives were harboured. Miran Muhammad sent the letter, without comment, to Tufal Khan, who at once understood that he could find no asylum in Khandes and returned by an unfrequented road to Berar. At the same time he sent a letter to Akbar [Briggs, III, pp. 255-56.], then seated on the throne of Delhi, saying that he regarded himself as one of the emperor's soldiers and Berar as a province of the empire, which had been invaded by the Deccanis. He sought, he said the appointment of warden of the marches and asked for assistance, promising to surrender Berar to Akbar's officers when they should arrive. Akbar was not at this time prepared to undertake an expedition to the Deccan and no immediate answer was returned to Tufal Khan's effusion. Meanwhile both Tufal Khan and his son Samsir-ul-Mulk now separated were hard pressed by Murtaza and were fain to seek the protection afforded by stone walls. Tufal Khan shut himself up in Narnala while Samsir-ul-Mulk sought refuge in Gavilgad [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 167.], and Murtaza Nizam Sah laid siege to Narnala. Meanwhile Tufal Khan's letter had reached Akbar's camp in Gujarat and one of the emperor's amirs wrote to Murtaza Nizam Sah saying that Tufal Khan, having submitted to the emperor, was one of his vassals and that Murtaza would do well to desist from harassing him, and that Berar, which was a province of the empire, should be evacuated at once [Briggs, III, pp. 255-56.]. This absurdly bombastic message was treated with the contempt which it deserved and both Narnala and Gavilgad were closely besieged. The former fell before the end of the year, and Tufal Khan and Burhan Imad Sah fell into Murtaza's hands. Samsir-ul-Mulk on hearing of the fall of Narnala and the capture of his father surrendered Gavilgad to Murtaza's officers on condition that his life should be spared [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 171.]. Murtaza Nizam Sah sent Burhan Imad Sah, Tufal Khan, Samsir-ul-Mulk, and all their relatives and attendants, to the number of about forty souls, to a fortress in the Ahmadnagar kingdom where, after a short time, they ail perished. We have various accounts of the manner of their death and in one passage it is hinted that they may possibly have died a natural death, but the sudden, simultaneous, and convenient extinction of so large a number of obnoxious persons cannot have been fortuitous. Another story is that the whole party was confined in a small room and the windows were shut upon them, the result being a tragedy similar in all respects to that of the Black Hole of Calcutta, save that in this case there were no survivors. Elsewhere it is said that the whole party was strangled or smothered individually. The Black Hole story appears to be the most probable, but whichever story is true the fact remains that the Imad Sahi dynasty was utterly extinguished in 1572 [There is a discrepancy as to this date. From the detailed account of the siege of Narnala it appears that the fortress did not fall until 1574, but the date of its fall is also given in a chronogram which works by 982-1572 A.D.] and that Berar became a province of the Nizam Sahi kingdom of Ahmadnagar.

Nizam Sahi of Ahmadnagar. Berar, a province of Ahmadnagar.

Murtaza apportioned the districts of Berar to his nobles, and now wished to return to Ahmadnagar and enjoy the fruits of victory, but Cangiz Khan incited him to further exertions. Ali Adil Sah, he said, was occupied with the siege of Bankapur, and the opportunity of gaining possession of Bidar, to which as well as to Berar, his treaty with Bijapur entitled him, was too good to be lost. Murtaza was thus persuaded to march against Bidar, and while he was thus employed affairs in Berar took a new turn. Miran Muhammad II of Khandes seized the opportunity of harassing an inconveniently powerful neighbour, and, as soon as Murtaza Nizam Sah was engaged with Bidar, set up the son of Burhan Imad Sah's foster mother as king of Berar alleging that he was a son of Darya Imad Sah and sent the pretender to the frontier of Berar with 6,000 horse [Briggs, III, p. 256.]. Many adherents of the extinct family either believed the fable or were willing to adopt any pretext for maintaining the independence of Berar, and rose in rebellion, driving the officers of Murtaza Nizam Sah from their military posts. A revolt in which the governor recently appointed by Murtaza lost his life, encouraged Muhammad to intervene, and he sent an army under the command of his minister Zain-ud-din into Berar to support the cause of the pretender [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 172.]. The rebels numbered eight or nine thousand, and their activity was a serious menace to the stability of the newly established authority. Khudavand Khan and Khursid Khan, the two officers who had been appointed to administer Berar, sent a message to Murtaza Nizam Sah imploring him to return. The king recalled Cangiz Khan, who had preceded him to Bidar, despatched Sayyad Murtaza Sabza-vari. with 8.000 horse to Berar and followed him with the main body of the army [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 1 74.]. Cangiz Khan returned from Bidar by forced marches and begged the king to make a short halt in order that the troops might rest. Murtaza Nizam Sah refused to listen to the proposal and pressed on. Miran Muhammad Sah, who was hovering on the border of Berar, ready to make a descent as soon as Murtaza Nizam Sah should be safely out of the way, was much disconcerted by his adversary's activity and fled in haste to his fortress capital of Asirgad. Sayyad Murtaza, who preceded Murtaza Nizam Sah, having come up with the Berar Pretender, at the head of eight thousand horse. obliged him to flee, and his adherents to disperse. The army of Ahmadnagar now invaded and laid waste Khandes and Asirgad was on the point of falling into their hands when Miran Muhammad Sah bought off Murtaza Nizam Sah with a large sum of money [Haig, p. 455.]. Murtaza Nizam Sah now returned to Berar where, in the course of a complicated intrigue connected with the invasion of Bidar, he poisoned CangTz Khan in 1574. He then returned to Ahmadnagar and in 1575 appointed Sayyad Murtaza Sabzavari governor of Berar [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 181.]. The new governor was assisted in his administration of the province by a large number of amirs, the chief of whom were Khudavand Khan, the Muvallad, Jamsid Khan, Bahri Khan Kazibas, Rustam Khan, the Deccani, Caghtai Khan, the Turkman, Tir Andaz Khan Astrabadi, Sir Khan Tarsizi, Husain Khan Tuni, Canda Khan, the Deccani, and Dastur. the eunuch.

Rumours of invasion from the north.

Another pretender, styling himself ' Firuz' Imad Sah, arose in Berar but was captured and put to death by Sayyad Murtaza. In 1576 it was reported that Akbar was preparing to invade the Deccan [Haig, p. 456.]. Murtaza Nizam Sah, now sunk in sloth and debauchery, made a feeble and confused effort to take the field. He moved to the north, with a few troops, but in a covered litter, to observe the movements of the Moghal army, and to be in readiness to defend his dominions [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 183.], and would have marched to attack the Emperor, had he not been prevented by the entreaties of his nobility. Berar was placed in a state of defence, one of the officers employed there being Akbar's rebellious kinsman, Muzaffar Husain Mirza. The Imperial troops were withdrawn and the danger passed but the restless and turbulent Muzaffar Husain Mirza turned against those who had befriended him and attempted to make himself master of Berar, but Sayyad Murtaza defeated him at Anjanganv [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, p. 184.] and he fied into Khan-des [Raja ' Ali ' Khan seized him and surrendered him to Akbar.]. He was better served in Berar than he deserved. Bahrain Khan, who was commandant of Gavilgad under Sayyad Murtaza Sabzavari, put the fortress into a state of thorough repair and has left a record of his zeal in an inscription on the bastion which bears his name. The chronogram in the inscription gives the date A.M. 985 equivalent to A.D. 1577. Fortunately these precautions were unnecessary, for Akbar's journey was no more than a trip from Agra to Ajmer and Ahmadnagar and Berar were left for a time in peace. The rumour of danger from the north had, however, galvanized the wretched Murtaza Nizam Sah into something like activity, and early in 1578 Sayvad Murtaza Sabzavari was summoned to Ahmadnagar in order that he might parade the army of Berar before the king. This effort to secure military efficiency in the frontier province had most unfortunate results. Murtaza Nizam Sah's unworthy favourite Sahib Khan, a Deccani, grossly insulted one of the foreign officers of the army of Berar, with the result that the old quarrel between the foreigners on one side and the Deccanis and the Africans on the other was renewed [Briggs, III, p. 262.]. A fight followed in which the king identified himself with the Deccanis, whereupon most of the foreign officers left his service and entered that of Golconda and Bijapur. In the confusion which followed, Salabat Khan grasped the reins of government and Murtaza Nizam Sah was left powerless. He attempted to recover possession of Sahib Khan and bespoke the good offices of Sayyad Murtaza Sabzavan to this end, but Sayyad was unable, and probably unwilling to save the wretch and Sahib Khan was ultimately slain by Khudavand Khan, one of the amirs of Berar [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, pp. 197-98 f.n.]. Salabat Khan was now regent of Ahmadnagar and Sayyad Murtaza Sabzavari retained the governorship of Berar.

In 1584 Salabat Khan sent an order to Jamsid Khan Sirazi, who has been already mentioned as one of Sayyad Murtaza's officers, directing him to join an embassy which was about to leave Ahmadnagar for Bijapur. As the order had not been countersigned by Murtaza Nizam Sah, Jamsid Khan replied that he could not obey it without the sanction of his superior officer, Sayyad Murtaza. The latter was much annoyed by Salabat Khan's assumption of the right to communicate an order to Jamsid direct, and refused to permit Jamsid to leave his post in Berar. The quarrel reached such a point that Sayyad Murtaza Sabzavari assembled the army of Berar and marched towards Ahmadnagar with the intention of overthrowing Salabat Khan, but the amirs at the capital intervened and brought about a temporary peace, and Sayyad Murtaza returned to Berar.

Towards the end of the same year the quarrel was renewed and Sayyad Murtaza of Berar again marched on Ahmadnagar. Salabat Khan advanced to meet him, defeated him, and pursued him through Berar, and Sayyad Murtaza and his lieutenant fled by way of Burhanpur to the court of Akbar [The battle was fought at Jeurghat, a distance of a few miles from Ahmadnagar. For further details see Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, pp. 232-35.]. Meanwhile Sahzada Burhan, a brother of Murtaza Nizam Sah, had been persuaded by a party in Ahmadnagar to make an attempt to dethrone Murtaza and seize the throne. The plot was frustrated by Salabat Khan and Burhan was forced to flee in the guise of a darves to the Konkan whence he reached Gujarat and joined Akbar's court.

Moghal raid on Berar.

Akbar now resolved to attempt the conquest of the Deccan and ordered his foster-brother, Mirza Aziz Kuka entitled Khan-i-Azam, who was then governor of Malva to assemble the army of Malva and march against Ahmadnagar taking Burhan with him. Salabat Khan replied by sending 20,000 horse to Burhanpur. Mirza Muhammad Taki, who commanded this force, succeeded in attaching Raja Ali Khan of Khandes to the cause of Ahmadnagar despite an attempt by the Khan-i-Azam to secure his adherence to the imperial cause. The Khan-i-Azam's expedition was delayed by a quarrel between him and Sahb-ud-din Ahmad Khan, the governor of Ujjain and Mirza Muhammad Taki and Raja Ali Khan carried the war into the enemy's country and encamped over against the Khan-i-Azam at Handia. The Khan-i-Azam was unwilling to risk a battle, but by a rapid night march eluded the Deccanis and entered Berar by a circuitous route. The Moghal horse plundered Ellicpur, hastened thence to Balapur, and before the Deccanis, who had turned back from Handia to meet them, could come up with them, retreated by way of Nandurbar into Malva [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, pp. 236-37.]. Raja Ali Khan then returned to Burhanpur and Mirza Muhammad Taki to Ahmadnagar. Akbar did not at once pursue his project of adding the Deccan to his empire and Berar had peace for a few years.

Accession of Ismail Nizam sah.

In June, 1588, Murtaza Nizam Sah, who had attempted to destroy his son Miran Husain by setting fire to his bedding, was, in return, suffocated in his bath by the prince, who succeeded him as Husain Nizam Sah II. Husain II was put to death after a reign of less than ten months on April 1, 1589 and the amirs of Ahmadnagar raised to the throne Ismail, the son of the fugitive Burhan [Briggs, III, pp. 271-73.]. Jamal Khan, who had been one of Sayyad Murtaza's lieutenants in Berar, was now regent in Ahmadnagar. He belonged to the heretical sect of the Mahdavis and in the name of Ismail Nizam Sah, who was too young to understand theological disputes, established their religion in Ahmadnagar with the result that the kingdom Akbar's puppet and declined the proffered aid. Akbar then became a refuge for most of the Mahdavis throughout India. The amirs of Berar were much annoyed by the spread of the heresy and in 1589 released Salabat Khan [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, pp. 266-67.], who had been imprisoned by Murtaza Nizam Sah in Kherla, and induced him to lead them against Ahmadnagar, while Ibrahim Adil Sah II of Bijapur invaded the kingdom from the south. Jamal Khan defeated the amirs of Berar at Paithan on the Godavari, then the southern boundary of the province, and the Bijapuris at Asti. Salabat Khan made his peace with Jamal Khan and returned to his jahagir to die.

Burhan's first attempt to gain his kingdom.

In 1590 the time was ripe for the invasion of Berar and the Deccan by Akbar. The amirs of Berar were disaffected and disgusted with the heterodox doctrines now fashionable at the court of Ahmadnagar and the elevation to the throne of the nished Akbar with a pretext for aggression. He offered Burhan young Ismail, the son of the emperor's protege Burhan, furas many troops as he should consider necessary for the purpose of gaining the throne of his ancestors, now unjustly held by his son, but Burhan had no desire to reign at Ahmadnagar as bestowed upon him the paragana of Handia in jahagir and gave him letters to Raja Ali Khan of Khandes, who was ordered to render him all the assistance in his power. Burhan took up his quarters at Handia and issued letters to the principal officers and landholders of Berar and the rest of the Ahmadnagar kingdom reminding them that he was their lawful king and exhorting them to be faithful to him. These letters were well received and Burhan received many assurances of loyalty and offers of assistance, including one from Jahangir Khan, the African, warden of the northern marches of Berar. Burhan now entered Berar, with a small force of horse and foot which he had collected, by way of the Melghat, but Jahanglr Khan had repented of his promise, and attacked and defeated the small army, forcing Burhan to retire to Handia in great disorder. From Handia he went to Burhanpur where he sought assistance from Raja Ali Khan who received him kindly and not only promised him aid but invoked the aid of Ibrahim Adil Sah II of Bijapur who, smarting under the recent defeat of his forces by Jamal Khan, readily sent an army northwards.

Jamal Khan again defeated the Bijapuris [Ahmadnagarchi Nizamshahi, pp. 272-74.] but had not recovered from the fatigue of the fight when he heard that the nobles or Berar had declared for Burhan, who was on the point of entering Berar. The story of the campaign which followed need not be recounted in detail here. Burhan and Raja Ali Khan defeated and slew Jamal Khan at Rohankhed in the Buldhana district and captured the young Ismail [Ibid, p. 275.]. The whilom protege of Akbar now ascended the throne of Ahmadnagar as Burhan Nizam Sah II, and appointed Nur Khan, governor of Berar.

The Moghals invited to Ahmamagar.

Burhan died on April 28, 1595, after a troublesome reign of rather more than four years, and was succeeded by his elder son Ibrahim Nizam Sah, who had been previously passed over in favour of his younger brother Ismail on the score that his mother was a negress and his personal appearance unkingly. The affairs of the State were now in the utmost confusion. Rival factions contended at the council board while Ibrahim Adil Sah on the south and Akbar on the north prepared to invade the kingdom. Ibrahim Nizam Sah after a reign of less than four months was slain in battle with the Bijapuris, and a faction attempted to raise to the throne Ahmad, son of Sah Tahir, who had pretended to be the son of Sultan Muhammad Khudavand [Ibid, p. 282 f.n.] on August 16, 1595, one of the sons of Burhan Nizam Sah I. But the circumstances of Sah Tahir's birth had already been secretly investigated, and there were those at the capital who knew the details of the inquiry and published them. Nevertheless the impostor's faction held the field for a time, and when they were hard pressed in Ahmadnagar they sent a message to Sultan Murad, Akbar's fourth son, and implored him to come from Gujarat to their aid. Murad had a general commission from his father to attempt the conquest of Berar and Ahmadnagar whenever the time should seem propitious and at once made preparations to invade the Deccan. Meanwhile, however, an unexpected quarrel in the camp of those who opposed the impostor's claims enabled Miyan Manju, his chief supporter, to emerge from Ahmadnagar and attack them. He defeated them on October 1, 1595, and, deeming himself now strong enough to dispense with foreign aid, began to regret his invitation to Murad. Murad, however, was already on his way and when he reached the borders of the Ahmadnagar kingdom with the Khan-i-Khanan, Abdur Rahim and Raja Ali Khan of Khandes, Miyan Manju leaving Ansar Khan, in whose charge was Cand Bibi, in command of Ahmadnagar, fled with his protege Ahmad to Ausa, where he attempted to raise an army and to enlist the aid of Ibrahim Adil Sah II and Muhammad Kuli Kutub Sah of Golconda.

Moghals

Cession of Berar to Akbar.

Cand Bibi soon asserted her supremacy in Ahmadnagar and had Bahadur, the infant son of Ibrahim Nizam Sah, proclaimed king in place of the impostor set up by Miyan Manju. The imperial army meanwhile closely besieged Ahmadnagar, and though Sultan Murad did not succeed in capturing the city he was only bought off by a treaty of peace concluded in April, 1596, one of the conditions of which was the cession of Berar to the empire. On the conclusion of peace Murad occupied Berar which thus became once more, after the lapse of two centuries and a half, an appanage of the crown of Delhi. After the withdrawal of the imperial army Bahadur Nizam Sah was seated on the throne of Ahmadnagar while the pretender Ahmad was provided for by the Sultan of Bijapur.

During the early days of the Moghal occupation of Berar the old capital, Ellicpur, lost some of its importance. In the first place its distance from the Ahmadnagar frontier and from the high road between Hindustan and the Deccan, which ran through the western corner of Berar, rendered its selection as a military capital impossible, and in the second, although Berar had been ceded to the empire by a treaty, the fortresses of Gavilgad and Narnala were held by amirs of Ahmadnagar [Haig, p. 465.] and the slothful Murad was not anxious to besiege them. He therefore made Balapur his principal military post, and built himself a palace at a village about twelve miles west of that town.

Death of Murad and fall of Ahmadnagar.

Hostilities with Ahmadnagar were renewed by an attempt to seize Pathri, and on February 8, 1597, the Khan-i-Khanan was defeated at Sonpeth on the Godavari by the troops of Ahmadnagar aided by contingents from Bijapur and Golconda. On the following day, however, he retrieved his defeat and put the allied Deccanis to flight. Having returned to Jalna, his headquarters, the Khan-i-Khanan ordered the despatch of troops to Gavilgad and Narnala, but Murad now interfered, and announced his intention of taking the field against Ahmadnagar, and when the Khan-i-Khanan insisted that the fortresses of Northern Berar should first be reduced Murad wrote to his father and complained of the Khan-i-Khanan's apathy. In 1598 that officer was recalled and Abul Fazl was sent to the Deccan in his place with orders to reduce Gavilgad and Narnala, which duty he carried out. He failed, however, to send aid to the Moghal governor of Bid who, having been defeated and wounded in the field, was besieged in that fortress, and reported to Akbar, Abul Fazl's failure to come to his aid. Akbar now recognised that the only officer capable of managing affairs in the Deccan was the Khan-i-Khanan, whose only fault was his intolerance of the slothful and drunken Murad. The difficulty was solved by the death of Murad in 1599 at Sahpur, his palace near Balapur, from the effects of drink and incontinence. Sultan Daniyal, Akbar's youngest son, was now sent to the Deccan under the tutelage of the Khan-i-Khanan. In the year 1600 A.D. Ahmadnagar was captured by the Khan-i-Khanan and Asirgad by Akbar and Sultan Daniyal became governor of Khandes-now renamed Dandes-Berar and Ahmad-

Moghals

The Ain-iAkbari.

A detailed account of Berar was added to the Ain-i-Akbari in 1596-97, immediately after the treaty of Ahmadnagar under which the province was ceded to the empire, and as the Moghal officers cannot have had time, before the account was written, to settle the province and readjust boundaries of its administrative divisions we may regard this description as an account of the province as it was administered by the Nizam Sahi and Imad Sahi kings, and probably also by the Bahamanis. It was divided into thirteen sarkars or revenue districts, of which the largest and richest was Gavil which contained forty-four paragands and corresponded roughly with the Amaravati district. Some of its paragands lay beyond the present limits of the district, e.g., Sirson (Murtizapur), Mana, Karanja Bibi, Manba, Papal and Kamarganv, now in the Akola district, Ner Parsopant in the Yeotmal district, and Arvi and Asti in the Central Provinces. The district was assessed at rather more than 28 lakhs of land revenue and 2¹/2 lakhs of suyarghal or assignments for the pay of troops. Amaravati, not being a paragand town, is not mentioned. Ellicpur is described as 'a large city and the capital' and Gavilgad as 'a fortress of almost matchless strength' containing a spring at which weapons of steel were watered. Against two of the paragands of the Melghat we find such entries as '100 cavalry, 2,000 infantry-Gonds', which indicate that the Korkus of the Melghat, described by Abul Fazl as by the Deccani historians and by British administrators of a later day or 'Gonds' were duly assessed for military service.

Malik Ambar.

After the imprisonment of Bahadur Nizam Sah in Gvalior in 1599, Malik Ambar, the African, the most powerful remaining adherent of the Nizam Sahi dynasty, raised to the throne Murtaza Nizam Sah, the son of Sah Ali, one of the sons of Burhan I, and established him in the fortress of Ausa. It is unnecessary to pursue through all its details the story of the long conflict which Ambar carried on with the amirs of the empire, but reference will be made to the struggle so far as it affected the Amaravati district.

In 1605 Sultan Daniyal died of drink at Burhanpur and in October of the same year Akbar died and was succeeded by his eldest son, Salim, who assumed the title of Jahangir.

In 1610 Malik Ambar recaptured Ahmadnagar, which had been held for the emperor by Khvaja Beg Mirza Saffavi, and overran nearly the whole of Berar which for the greater part of Jahangir's reign was more often in the hands of Malik Ambar than in those of the imperial officers. So far as the land revenue was concerned the administration was probably do-amli each party collecting what it could, but the Moghals regarded Burhanpur as their chief stronghold in the Deccan, and though a military post was usually maintained at Balapur their hold in Berar can have been but slight. In 1616 Prince Khurram, Jahangir's third son, was appointed to the command of the troops in the Deccan, and on the arrival of this energetic prince the imperial cause revived and the Moghals strengthened their hold on Berar. Sultan Khurram was recalled later in the year and received the title of Sah Jahan.

Malik Ambar occupies Berar.

In 1620 Malik Ambar surrounded Khanjar Khan [The Moghal Governor was besieged in Ahmadnagar.] and capturing the whole of Balaghat, drove out the Moghal army, which escaped to Darab Khan at Balapur. Darab Khan collecting fresh army attacked Malik Ambar but he had to retreat to Balapiir. Darab Khan faced the Marathas on the Mehekar Ghats for three months and more but the Moghal commanders who succeeded in pitched battles lost ground after each and were so harried by the marauding bands that they were forced to fall back on Burhanpur. Jadhavrav, the Maratha chief, in the meanwhile, not being on good terms with Malik Ambar, joined the Moghals and hence the Moghals strengthened their position in the South Berar. Sah Jahan was now sent to Burhanpur with a large force. He relieved that city, which was beleaguered by the Deccanis and drove the latter through Berar, pursuing them as far as Khirki [Afterwards named Aurangabad.] which place he laid waste after defeating Malik Ambar in the field. Feeling further resistance hopeless, Malik Ambar sent envoys to express repentence and promised ever afterwards to remain loyal and to pay tribute. Sah Jahan accepted Malik Ambar's submission. Berar was thus once more in the hands of the Moghals. In 1622 Sah Jahan rebelled against his father, drawing into rebellion with him, Darab Khan, the governor of Berar. After extensive operations in Hindustan and Gujarat the prince was pursued by his brother Parvez through Berar to Mahur, whence he fled to Golconda. The Deccanis, in spite of Sah Jahan's rebellion, effected no lodgment in Berar, which remained in the hands of Parvez who appointed Asad Khan Mamuri, governor of Ellicpur [Kale p. 37.]. In 1624, however, Yakut Khan, the African, marched through Berar and besieged Burhanpur, but fled when he heard of the approach of the Khan-i-Khanan and Parvez who had been temporarily transferred to Bengal in consequence of Sah Jahan's appearance in arms in that province.

Treachery of the Khan-i-Jahan.

In 1625 Sah Jahan submitted to his father and was pardoned, and in 1626 Parvez, now governor of Berar and the Deccan, died in Burhanpur of colic and epilepsy brought on by excessive drinking. In the same year Malik Ambar died, in the eightieth year of his age, and his place was taken by his son Fateh Khan. Later in the same year Umdat-ul-Mulk Khan-i-Jahan, who had been sent to the Deccan in consequence of the renewed activity of Murtaza Nizam Sah and Fateh Khan, sold the Balaghat of Berar to the Deccanis for three hundred thousand rupees. This treasonable bargain did not directly affect the Amaravati district, but it must have thrown the affairs of the whole province into great confusion.

Jahangir died on November 7, 1627, and in the course of the ensuing disputes regarding the succession, the affairs of the Deccan fell into great confusion, and between the Khan-i-Jahan, who was plotting with the enemy entirely for his own hand and other imperial officers who favoured the cause of Sahriyar, Sah Jahan's youngest brother, the fortunes of the Moghals in Berar and the Deccan were at a very low ebb.

Accession of Sah jahan.

Sah Jahan ascended the imperial throne in Agra on February 4,1628, and was thereafter, free to attend to the affairs of the empire [The Badshah-Nama gives the date as February 15th. The Muntakhab-ul-lubab has February 14th and the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri March 5th]. At the beginning of his reign the Khan-i-Jahan was still governor of Berar and Khandes, but his bargain with the Deccanis was disturbed; for the officers of Murtaza Nizam Sah evacuated the Balaghat in obedience to an imperial farman. The Nizam Sahi commandant of Bid alone held out and the Khan-i-Zaman was sent against him.

When this officer advanced, Murtaza Nizam Sah sent a force of 6,000 Maratha horse under Sahaji Bhosle to threaten his line' of communication with Burhanpur and this force operated in the northern tahsils of the Amravati and Akola districts and in Khandes. Unfortunately for the schemes of the Deccanis, the commandant of Bid surrendered, and Darya, the Rohilla, who held a jahagir in the Amaravati district, fell upon Sahaji's Maratha horse and dispersed them [Y. M. Kale, p. 139.]. The Khan-i-Jahan was now summoned to court and deprived of his title, whereupon he fled to the Deccan and entered the service of Murtaza Nizam Sah and on Murtaza refusing to surrender him Sah Jahan set out for the Deccan at the end of 1629, reaching Burhanpur early in 1630, where he was joined by Iradat Khan who had been appointed governor of Berar, Khandes, and the Deccan in the place of the disgraced Khan-i-Jahan. In the campaign which followed Sah Jahan's arrival at Burhanpur the Deccanis were driven from the Balaghat of Berar which they had again occupied, but it does not appear that the Amaravati district was the scene of hostilities unless the village of Taleganv, which was captured and burnt by the Daccanis, was Taleganv Dasasar. The war lasted until the fall of Daulatabad in 1633, but the Moghals had now advanced well into the Deccan and though the Amaravati district, with the rest of Berar, suffered severely from demands for supplies for the forces in the field it was freed from the curse of war within its borders.

Famine.

In 1630 the rains failed completely in Berar and the Deccan and partially elsewhere, and this calamity, combined with the heavy tax which the war had placed upon the tracts which it most affected, produced one of the most severe famines ever known in Berar. "Buyers were ready to give a life for a loaf, but seller was there none. The flesh of dogs was sold as that of goats and the bones of the dead were ground with the flour sold in the market, and the punishment of those who profited by this traffic produced yet direr results, men devoured one another and came to regard the flesh of their children as sweeter than their love. The inhabitants fled afar to other tracts till the corpses of those who fell by the way impended those who came after and in the lands of Berar, which had been famous for their fertility and prosperity, no trace of habitation remained " [Elliot and Dowson, vol, VII, p. 24 o/f Abdul Hamid Lahori, Badshah-Nama.]. This account, taken from the official record of Sah Jahan's reign, is obviously hyperbolical, but cannot be dismissed as entirely imaginary. Berar had suffered much from protracted hostilities during which it had been the prey of hostile armies which had little respect for the rights of property, and the measures of relief undertaken were utterly inadequate.

Redistribution of Deccan provinces.

On November 27, 1634, Sah Jahan issued a farman reorganizing his territories in the Deccan. Hitherto the three subhas of Khandes. Berar, and the conquered districts of Nizam Sahi dominions had formed a province under one provincial governor, whose headquarters were usually at Burhanpur. Under Sah Jahan's redistribution scheme those paraganas of the sarkar of Handia which lay to the south of Narmada were transferred from Malva. Khandes and Berar. Khandes and the districts taken from Ahmadnagar, were formed into two subhas or divisions, the Balaghat on the south and the Payanghat on the north. This arrangement [Y. M- Kale, pp. 140-41,] dismembered, for a time, the old province of Berar, for the line dividing the two new subhds followed the line of the edge of the plateau of the Balaghat, running, approximately, from Rohankhed on the west to Savarganv on the Wardha river, on the east. The Amaravati district was thus included in the Payanghat division, the subhedar of which was the Khan-i-Dauran, while Sipahdar Khan, a valiant soldier, was subordinate to him at Ellicpur.

The Deccan provinces again redistributed by Auragzeb.

This scheme of reorganization was very soon amended. In 1636 Sah Jahan appointed his third son, Aurangzeb, to the viceroyalty of the Deccan, where the possessions of the empire were redistributed into four subhas or divisions [Y. M. Kale, p. 141.]:

(l) Daulatabad and Ahmadnagar, the nominal capital of which was Daulatabad, while Aurangzeb resided at Khirki. which he renamed Aurangabad, (2) Telangana which included those tracts of north-western Telangana, which had been annexed to the empire, (3) Khandes, the administrative capital of which was Burhanpur, while its principal military post was Asirgad, and (4) Berar, the capital of which was Ellicpur, 'in the neighbourhood of which lay the fortress of Gavil, situated on the crest of a hill and noted for its great Strength [Y. M. Kale, p. 142.].' Each of these division was governed by a subhedar in immediate subordination to Aurangzeb as viceroy, and the Khan-i-Dauran was retained as subhedar of Berar, with Sipahdar Khan as deputy governor in Ellicpur. Campaign in Golconda. and Gondwana.

In 1637 the Khan-i-Dauran with Sipahdar Khan and the army of Berar undertook an expedition through the northern district of the Kingdom of Golconda, where they collected tribute and thence they marched 'through the sarkdr of Pavnar to besiege' Nagpur, which was held for Kokiya, the Gond ruler of Devgad. The army of Berar was joined by Kiba, the Gond ruler of Canda and Nagpur was taken. It was probably at this time that the sarkar of Devgad was added to the province of Berar [Y. M. Kale, p. 28.].

In 1642 Sah Beg Khan, a commander of 4,000 horse, was appointed subhedar of Berar in place of the Khan-i-Dauran and two years later Allah Vardi Khan was made a commander of 5,000 horse and received Ellicpur in jahagir on the death of Sipahdar Khan.

Accession of Aurangzeb and siege of Golconda.

Early in 1658 Aurangzeb left the Deccan in order to participate in the contest for the imperial throne which ensued on the failure of Sah Jahan's health and in 1659 having worsted his competitors he gained the prize. He appointed Raja Jai Singh to the viceroyalty of the Deccan and made Irij Khan subhedar of Berar. At this time a new power was gaining ascendency in the Deccan, viz., that of the Marathas under the leadership of Sivaji. Inspired by the ideal of carving a separate State, and backed by the zeal of his followers he had made deep incisions in the Adil Sahi kingdom of Bijapur and had carried out daring attacks against the Moghal possessions in the Deccan. Aurangzeb had sensed this danger and had sent his generals, Saista Khan, Mirza Raja Jai Singh and Diler Khan to contain Sivaji's activities in 1665. Sivaji realizing the tactical superiority of the Moghals, submitted and entered into an understanding with the Moghals under the terms of the treaty of Purandar. But the struggle with the Moghals which had begun was to last till the death of Aurangzeb in 1707. In 1667 Mirza Raja Jai Singh was recalled from the subhedari of Deccan and Prince Muazzam was appointed in his place. Sivaji while carrying out preparations for war with the Moghals adopted a conciliatory tone and came to terms with the new viceroy. Sambhaji was made a Moghal mansabdar and was given a jahagir in Berar. Sambhajl visited prince Muazzam at Aurangabad on 4th November 1667 and after a short stay returned to Rajgad while Maratha officers continued to stay in Aurahgabad. Within two years Sivaji had made thorough preparations for war with the Moghals. In 1670 he attacked and drove away the Moghals from the Svardjya. He also invaded the Imperial Moghal territory in all directions and carried daring raids into Khandes and Berar. In December 1670. he attacked, when least expected, the rich city of Karanja in Berar and looted it completely [Sarkar, Shivaji, p. 178.]. Sivaji died in 1680. His son Sambhajl succeeded him. Soon after his accession, early in 1681 Sambhaji's generals invaded Berar. They then moved with 20,000 troops towards Burhanpur attacked and sacked it. The Marathas kept up a continuous pressure on Khandes and Berar. In 1684 they attacked Dharanganv in Khandes. Sambhaji was captured and executed in 1689 by Aurangzeb. His son Sahu was made a prisoner. Sambhaji's brother, Rajaram and his able comman- dants Santaji, Dhanajl, Parasojl and Nemaji made relentless attacks against the Moghals. Aurangzeb was forced to deploy his best officers as subhedars in the provinces of Khandes and Berar [The following Moghal officers administered Berar as subhedars from 1675 till the death of Aurangzeb in 1707. Khan Zaman was appointed subhedar in Decem ber 1675. He was succeeded by Irij Khan who died on 13th August 1685. In August 1686 Hasan Khan was appointed subhedar. He was succeeded by Mahabat Khan (appointed in September 1686) and prince Kam Baksh (appointed on 26th September 1686) and again on 24th December 1697). In 1698 Askar Ali Khan was appointed subhedar. He was succeeded by the leading Moghal General Firoz Jang.], and renowned Moghal generals like Zulfikar Khan and Ghazi-ud-din Firoz Jang were continuously striving to contain the Maratha activities in the Deccan. After the fall of Jinji in the South in 1698. Rajaram returned to the Svarajya territory and reached Visalgad in February 1698. Meanwhile Bakht Buland, the Gond Raja of Devgad was carrying on struggle against the Moghals. Rajaram's generals, Nemaji Sinde and Parasojl Bhosle, were successfully ravaging Khandes and Berar exacting cauth from the Imperial territory. In 1699 Rajaram himself planned an invasion of Berar. This was checked by the Moghals under prince Bedarbakht and Zulfikar Khan. Rajaram returned to Sinhgad where he died on 2nd March 1700. The death of Rajaram brought about no lull in the fighting between the Marathas and the Moghals. The Marathas, under the able leadership of Tarabai (widow of Rajaram), Ramcandrapant Amatya, Sankaraji Narayan, Dhanajl Jadhav and others, continued the struggle vigorously. They ravaged Moghal territory in Malva and Gujarat. In 1703 Berar was again raided when Sarza Khan, the Deputy Governor of Berar was captured by Nemajl Sinde. The struggle continued till the death of Aurangzeb on February 20, 1707.

At the time of Aurangzeb's death Ghazi-ud-din Firoz Jang was the governor of Berar.

Accession of Bahadur Sah.

On 20th February 1707 Aurangzeb died at Ahmadnagar and was shortly afterwards buried at Rauza afterwards called Khuldabad, near the caves of Ellora and about seven miles from Daulatabad. The usual conflict for the throne followed the death of the emperor and victory finally declared for Sah Alam, the eldest surviving son, who ascended the throne under the title of Bahadur Sah. Firoz Jang at first held Berar for prince Muhammad Azam by whom he was transferred, as subhedar, to the province of Gujarat, but the cautious amir was a lukewarm partisan and readily made his peace with Bahadur Sah who confirmed him in his appointment in Gujarat.

Towards the end of 1707 Zulfikar Khan Nusrat Jang was viceroy of the whole of the Deccan, and it was now that the officers of the imperial army first began to enter into regular agreements with the Marathas for the payment of cauth and sardesmukhi. It may here be mentioned that alter the capture of Sambhaji in 1689, Rayagad fort, the capital of the Marathas, fell to the Moghals. Sahu, the son of Sambhaji along with his mother Yesubai, was made a prisoner. He remained with Aurangzeb till the latter's death in 1707.

Parasoji Bhosle 1699-1709.

Sahu was allowed to go back to the Deccan from the imperial camp [From the river Narmada.] in 1707. Parasoji Bhosle hastened to West Khandes with his army to join Sahu, whereupon Sahu, along with other prominent Maratha chiefs crossed the Godavari and reached Satara. Tarabai, widow of Rajaram however, not desiring to acclaim Sahu. had won over Parasuram Pratinidhi and Bapuji, elder brother of Parasoji, to her side. Tarabai, under the pretence of ascertaining whether Sahu was real, sent Bapuji who was the eldest person known in the Bhosle House, to Sahu's camp. But Bapuji not only joined Sahii's forces but partook food in the same dish with Sahu and convinced all other Maratha chiefs of his blood royal, who now readily joined his standard. Sahu in appreciation of Parasoji's services to his cause, granted him Sanad for Gavil, Narnala, Mahur, Khedale, Pavnar and Kalarhb, and declared him "Send Saheb Subha" in 1707 [Y. M. Kale, History of the Nagpur Province, p. 47,]. Parasoji collected tributes from Berar but in 1709, on his return from Satara, died at Khed near Wai.

Accession of Farrukhsiyar.

Bahadur Sah died in 1712 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Muizuddin who took the title of Jahandar Sah. On his death the two Sayyad brothers of Barha, who were now all-powerful at Delhi, raised to the throne Farrukhsiyar. It was in his reign, in 1719, that the imperial court formally acknowledged the claim of the Marathas to cauth and sardesmukhi. In consideration for refraining from ravaging Berar and the other five Subhds of the Deccan they were allowed to collect one-quarter of the revenue under the name of cauth and in addition to this a further proportion of one-tenth under the name of sardesmukhi, which was regarded as a recompense for the trouble and expense of collecting the cauth. It was the imperial recognition of these claims which laid the foundation of that system of government known as do-amli.

Plots of the Sayyads and accession of Muhammad Sah.

It is not necessary to follow in detail the course of the intrigues of the Sayyad brothers at Delhi. After deposing Farrukhsiyar and setting up two nonentities to succeed him, they raised to the throne in 1719 Rausan Akhtar, who took the title of Muhammad Sah. In 1720 they hatched a plot against Asaf Jah Nizam-ul-Mulk, son of Ghazi-ud-din Firoz Jang; and sent him as subhedar to Malva in the hope that he would either be disgraced in the vain attempt to quell the disturbances which they fomented against him or would rebel. To their disappointment he was joined by all the men of importance in Malva and also by his uncle Ivaz Khan, subhedar of Berar. Alam Ali Khan, the nephew of the Sayyads, who was viceroy of the Deccan, now appointed Anvar Khan subhedar of Berar but he too joined Asaf Jan. The plot of the Sayyads failed. Asaf Jah met their nephew, Alam Ali Khan, at Balapur on 31st July, 1720 and there defeated and slew him. He then returned to Delhi and was appointed subhedar of Gujarat while his son Ghazi-ud-din Khan Firoz Jang was appointed to Malva.

The Nizams.

Sahu granted a sanad to Ranoji (Savai Santaji) on 9th October 1722 for Amaravati in Berar. Thereafter Sahu gave further grants to this Bhosle house of AmaravatI for Taleganv near Nagpur, Giroli, Arvi, Nachanad, Kurhe, Pahur, Virul, Firad, Kelzar. After the death of Sabaji, his jahagir rights [For Kumather, Marali, Puse.] came to his wife Raman but after her death [In 1757.], these rights were also transferred to Ranoji of Amaravati:

Ranoji or Savai Santaji [Kale, Nagpur Prantacha Itihas, Appendix I, p. 546.] of Amaravati
|
________________________________________________________
| | | | |

(I)                      (2)                    (3)                   (4)                   (5)
|                        |                       |                        |                      |
Santaji                Bapuji              Jijaji                  Sakhuji             Kusaji
|                        |                       |                        |                      |
         0                        0                   Ranoji                Sivaji         Ramcandra or
                                                      |                        |                  Bapuji
                                                           Krsnaji               Sakhoji           (No further in-
                                                                                      |                   formation)
                                                   Krsnarav
                                                   Dada
                                                    |
                                                     Balasaheb
                                                   |
                                                      Balasaheb.

Sahu had given in jahdgir to Ranoji forty-three villages; and he administered this territory, along with the twenty-seven mahals granted to him by Raghuji Bhosle of Nagpur, later on, from his headquarters AmaravatI [Ibid, p. 548.]. In 1722 the Nizam received news that his province of Gujarat and his son's province of Malva were overrun by the Marathas, and he therefore obtained permission to leave Delhi for the purpose of expelling the intruders. While he was setting the affairs of Malva in order, he learnt that Mubariz Khan, the subhedar of Hyderabad, whom he had believed to be devoted to his interests, had been bribed by the Sayyads with the promise of the viceroyalty of the Deccan to take up arms against him and was even then marching to meet him.

Asaf jah obtains the viceroyalty of the Deccan.

He therefore set out for the Deccan to meet Mubariz Khan, whom he defeated and slew at Sakarkheda [Renamed Fatehkherda by Asaf Jah to commemorate his victory. ] in the Buldhana district on 1st October, 1724. The date is an important one in the history of Berar and the Deccan; for the battle of Sakar- kheda established the virtual independence of the Deccan under the Nizam of Hyderabad. Neither Cin Kilic Khan Nizam-ul- Mulk nor any of his successors at Hyderabad ever assumed the style of independent sovereigns, but they settled questions of succession among themselves, made all appointments in the six subhas of the Deccan and behaved in all respects as independent rulers with the exception that their coin bore the name of the reigning emperor and that the imperial recognition of each succession was purchased by large presents and professions of subservience. Shortly after, if not before, the death of Asaf Jah the Bhosle Rajas of Nagpur were recognised as mokasadars or assignees of the Marathas' share of the revenues of Berar, and they maintained their collecting officers in the province under the do-amli system until the conclusion of the second Maratha war in 1803.

Kanhoji Bhosle.

Kanhoji not only established firmly the Maratha power in Berar and Gondvana but also laid the foundation of its future in Orissa. His headquarters being at Bham, the Bhosles are referred to even up to the treaty of 1803 with the English, as the Rajas of Berar. However, the relations of Kanhoji with Sahu were no more cordial. Kanhoji had looked after Raghuji, the son of Bimbaji, his cousin, but now by the blessings of the Saint Ramajipant of Pandavgad near Wai, he had a son, Rayaji and his attention to Raghuji was no more undivided. RaghujI, leaving Kanhoji had joined Sahu and had even once saved the life of Sahu when he was attacked by a ferocious tiger. Sahu gave the daughter of Sirke, the sister of his wife Sagunabai to Raghuji in marriage. Kanhoji's rule, again according to the contemporary reports seems to be oppressive.

Ranoji, after his return from Delhi, joining with Raghuji, demanded their share of the hereditary rights in Bhosle principality, Sahu, first through the good offices of Balaji Visvanath, and later, himself tried to conciliate them. Raghuji and Ranoji were asked to serve under Kanhoji which they refused to do. However, Kanhoji and Fatehsingh Bhosle had accompanied Bajirav and Raghuji Bhosle on their Karnatak expedition during 1725-1727.

Kanhoji had constantly failed to submit accounts of jahagir to Sahu and evaded revenue payments to the Maratha State exchequer. Sensing the trouble, Kanhoji left Satara, in a hurry without taking Sahu's permission. Kanhoji left for Kumtha on 23-8-1725 in the afternoon and next day, reached Tasganv via Kanherkhed and Pusesavali. Sahu despatched two prominent Maratha chiefs to pursue Kanhoji, and not being satisfied with this arrangement himself, in the early hours of the morning. set out with Yamaji Sivdev. Sahu, however, returned from Vadganv being persuaded to do so by Yamaji Sivdev, who took the responsibility to bring Kanhoji to bay. Avaji Kavade, Bajirav's sardar in Berar and all the Maratha chiefs on Kanhoji's road to Berar were instructed instantly by Sahu to arrest Kanhoji wherever possible.

Kanhoji, however, joined the Nizam, evading all the vigilance of the Marathas. Sahu remonstrated to the Nizam strongly, declaring that the Nizam had broken the earlier treaty with the Marathas, by giving refuge to Kanhoji and it appears that the Nizam refused to give quarters to Kanhoji. Finally through the good counsel of Yesaji Siddhesvar, Sahu and Kanhoji were brought on friendly terms, but even these proved to be shortlived.

Kanhoji-Raghuji relations.

Sahu despatched Raghuji Bhosle against Kanhoji and gave Devur in jahagir to Raghuji anticipating his good services [The actual sanad is dated, 22nd November 1731, but Raghuji was to leave his family here and to march ahead. The Bhosles were called hereditary Rajas of Devur on this account. Kale, Nagpur Prantacha Itihas, p. 60.]. Govindrav Citnis, Fatehsingh Bhosle and Sripatrav Pratinidhi had helped Raghuji's cause, from the very beginning. Raghuji was explicitly asked not to repeat Kanhoji's insolence and to pay regular tribute to the Maratha State. Konhereram Kolhatkar paid one lakh rupees to Sahu towards guarantee for Raghuji's loyal conduct. Konhereram demanded in return the office of Sikkenavis, which was granted by Raghuji. Anant Bhat Citale was appointed by Sahu, in charge of the audits of Raghuji's jahagir. Raghuji was given the title of Send Saheb Subha by Sahu on this occasion.

Raghuji enters Berar.

Raghuji. setting out to meet Kanhoji, was obstructed near Jalna by Samser Bahadar Santaji Atole, but Dinkar Vinayak and Sivaji Vinayak from Raghuji's camp, finding one Yesvantrav Pilaji, their relation in Santaji's camp, conciliated matters, averting a clash and Raghuji advanced further. Raghuji started collecting caulli and sardesmnkhi in Berar, in the name of Sahu. He entered Berar through Lakhanvada ghat and from Balapur, divided his army of 30,000 horse, despatching sections in all directions of Berar. He defeated Sujayat Khan, the deputy of Navab of Ellicpur in the neighbourhood of Ellicpur punishing him for his oppressive rule over the Brahmans there. Having established himself firmly in Berar, Raghuji now turned towards Kanhoji. Kanhoji, too had prepared himself for adequate defence by fortifying Bham thoroughly. Raghuji set out from Balapur, reached Amaravati and further marched to Taleganv. Kanhoji meanwhile was negotiating with the Nizam through Hirjulla Khan, subhedar of Mahur. Vasudev Pant, his vakil, had been sent to Aurangabad for this purpose. Raghuji and his uncle Ranoji laid siege to the fort of Bham. Kanhoji's sardar, Tukoji Gujar was killed in action. However, Kanhoii escaped to Mahur pursued hotly by Raghuji and Ranoji. Both the armies met near Wani at Mandor and Kanhoji submitted [When Kanhoji was surrounded on all sides by Raghuji's army, Raghuji, giving him the due respect, requested him to sit in the palanquin, but Kanhoji, being very hot tempered abused Raghuji, with the result that Raghuji finally had to put him under guard.]. Raghuji took him to Sahu who put him in custody at Satara where he died subsequently [Shahu, however, had also brought Kanhoji's family to Satara in 1 734 and had given explicit instructions to all that Kanhoji's children must not be harassed in the streets of Satara. Kale, op. cit, p. 64.]. Raghuji's army was stationed at Rajur for six more years. It was probably at this time that the fortresses of Gavilgad and Narnala, which were held by the Bhosles, except for a short period, until the end of the third Maratha war, passed into his possession.

Ranoji Bhosle 1728-1748.

Bajirav despatched Cimaji Appa to Malva, but before Cimaji's army had reached Malva, Pilaji Jadhav, Ranoji Bhosle. Krsnaji Han, Keso Mahadev, accompanied by Raghuji Bhosle had invaded Malva. But Girdhar and Gayabahadur could not he surrounded, owing to the internal dissensions in the Maratha camp, and it was only when Cimajl Appa came on the scene that both Girdhar and Gayabahadur were killed in action and that Malva came under the Maratha control. Ranoji was in Cimaji's camp throughout the campaign. When later Bajirav inarched to Bundelkhand, Cimaji and Ranoji joined him with their armies.

After Kanhoji's death, his son, Rayaji had his headquarters at Bham, but was attacked there by Raghuji in 1739. Their dispute, however, was settled by Balaji Bajirav, the third Pesva on 15th November 1748. Rayaji and Ranoji had further misgivings about their Saranjam with Raghuji Bhosle, and certain mokasas even of the Pesva could not escape the ravishing strides of Rayaji's army. However, Rayaji died leaving no heir and Raghuji Bhosle was granted the sanad by Sahu for establishing Maratha rule in Lucknow, Makasudabad, Bidar, Bengal, Bitia, Bundelkhand, Allahabad, Hajipur (Patna) and Devagad, Gadha, Bhavargad, Canda were ceded out to him for his cauth and mokasa rights [Kale, Nagpur Prantacha Itihas, p. 76.].

Disputes regarding the succession in Hyderabad.

On 21st May 1748, Asaf Jah died on the bank of the Tapi river on his way from Burhanpur to Daulatabad, and was succeeded in the Deccan by his son Nasir Jang. In 1750 Nasir Jang was succeeded by his brother Salabat Jang, who, on the death of Sayyad Sarif Khan Sujat Jang in June, 1752, appointed Sayyad Laskar Khan to the vacant appointment of subhedar of Berar. In the same year Gazi-ud-din Khan, the eldest son of Asaf Jah. having been appointed by the emperor Ahmad Sah viceroy of the Deccan, advanced as far as Aurangabad to secure his heritage, but in Aurangabad he died suddenly from cholera according to one account, but according to another from poison administered by or at the instance of Salabat Jang's mother. Salabat Jang spent the rainy season of 1753 in Aurangabad where Sayyad Laskar Khan, subhedar of Berar. who had now received the title of Rukn-ud-daula was appointed vazir of the Deccan, which appointment he resigned after a few months, leaving the finances of the State in a deplorable condition. Gazi-ud-din Khan, in order to attach the Marathas to his cause, had assigned to them the revenue of all the northern districts of the Deccan and Raghuji Bhosle, on the pretext of Gazi-ud-din's promise, had collected and retained the whole of the revenue of Berar. One of the first acts of Samsam-ud-daula, who had succeeded Rukn-ud-daula as minister, was to send against Raghuji an army which succeeded in forcing him to disgorge five lakhs of rupees, an utterly inadequate share of his plunder. On 14th February 1755 Raghuji Bhosle died and Rukn-ud-daula returned to Berar as subhedar. He was displaced in 1756 in favour of Mir Nizam Ali, the brother of Salabat Jang, who on his appointment as subhedar of Berar received the title of Nizam-ud-daula. Nizam-ud-daula now marched into Berar, where his presence was required and encamped at Ellicpur.

Janoji Bhosle.

Raghuji, on his death, left behind four sons - Janoji, Mudhoji, Bimbaji, and Sabaji. Janoji, being the eldest, claimed the Sena Saheb Subhaship. However, Mudhoji who had been to Gavilgad, hearing the news of Raghuji's death, hastened to Nagpur to ascertain his own claim, as he was Raghuji's son by his elder wife. Janoji preparing himself, despatched Jayaji to capture Gavilgad. Meeting Mudhoji on the way, Jayaji pretended himself a friend of Mudhoji and secured the office of killedar (fort-keeper) of Gavilgad from Mudhoji. Jayaji immediately informed Janoji that Gavilgad was in his possession. Mudhoji, however, exacted tributes from Berar and was well supported by Sadasiv Hari and the Desmukh of Parole. Moreover, Dinkar Vinayak Prabhu, Sivaji Vinayak Prabhu and Narsingrav Bhavani had joined Mudhoji with their armies. But Janoji was supported by Baburav Konher Kolhatkar (Mujamddr), Rakhmaji Ganes Citnavis, Trimbakji Raje Bhosle, Krsnaji Govind, the Maratha Subhedar of Berar, Narhar Ballal (Risbud) and Sivahu Sathe, the Maratha Subhedar of Cuttak. All the elderly nobility including Raghuji Karande, Bimbaji Wanjal, Nanhoji Jacak, Sivaji Kesav Talkure, Girinaji Khanderav, Anandrav Wagh, Krsnaji Atole, too, supported Janoji. At last Trimbakji Raje Bhosle and Baburav Konher, reaching Poona, paid Rs. 2¹/2 lakhs to the Pesva as Bhosle's tribute to the Maratha State and secured the office of Sena Saheb Subha for Janoji.

The Bhosle armies clashed twice or three times in Berar but the Pesva reconciled the two, declaring Mudhoji Senadhurandhar. The new jahagir in Gandrapur and Chattisgad were respectively granted by the Pesva to Mudhoji and Bimbaji in 1757. Sabaji was at his headquarters at Daravhe in Berar [The official Sanad was granted, however, by Tarabai on 6th August 1761 when Madhavrav was the Peshva.]. The Gond king of Candrapur, taking advantage of the dissensions in the Bhosle house, had taken possession of the fort of Candrapur. Hence Mudhoji, setting out from Ellicpur, captured the Candrapur fort.

Janoji's relations with the Nizam 1757-1758.

While Nizam-ud-daula was halting at Ellicpur, Raghuji Karande, Bhosle's lieutenant, invaded Berar and advanced as far as Borganv where Nizam-ud-daula met and defeated him. However, Raghuji Karande and Nanhoji Jacak had looted the Nizam's artillery baggage in December 1757. Nizam-ud-daula looted the city of Akola but the Navab of Ellicpur reconciled the two in May 1758, whereby both agreed to the Sathicalist treaty. The treaty stipulated that 45 per cent of the tribute would go to the Bhosles and the remaining 55 per cent would be allotted to the Nizam. The visits were exchanged in a royal darbar on the banks of the Wardha on 25th March 1758. The treaty of peace which was concluded was not, however, sufficiently stringent in its terms to prevent the Marathas from continuing their depredations in Berar.

The Battle of Nandganv Rahatganv 1759.

Janoji and Mudhoji had both agreed to pay ten lakhs of rupees to the Pesva each. However, they experienced great difficulties in collecting the tribute due to dissensions everywhere. Krsnaji Govind had been collecting Berar tribute, as deputy of Kasirav Bhaskarram but he was removed from the office and instead Janoji now appointed Mansingrav Mohite. The Pesva sent his vakils, Vyankatrav Moresvar and Trimbakji Bhosle for recovery but to no avail. Negotiations were opened between the two brothers in October 1759. Mudhoji insisted that Janoji would stay in Nagpur, leaving all management to him; while Janoji pleaded for division of territory and parallel management. Moro Raghunath, Raghujl Karande and Balaji Kesav exchanged visits but no compromise could be effected. Dasara, being fixed for the two brothers to meet in ceremony, Mudhoji and Karande sensed a plot against them and escaped to Berar.

Janoji sent Trimbakji Raje to reconcile Mudhojl, but Mudhoji and Karande pointed out that as long as Devajipant, Balaji Kesav and Samji Fulaji were in the services of Janoji, they would always advise against any permanent reconciliation and that they must be driven out from the court of Nagpur. Janoji agreed to hand over Devajipant to Piraji Naik Nimbalkar but insisted that Mudhoji must terminate the services of Sadasiv Hari, Ramaji Kesav and Nanaji Krsna. Negotiations again failed and Mudhoji collected five and half thousand horse. Janoji intending not to allow sufficient time for Mudhoji to increase his military strength, set out on the Divali day for Berar. The two armies met in battle near Amaravati at Rahat-ganv, and Mudhoji was completely defeated [A trick was played in the high hour of the battle on Mudhoji's army. A horse exactly like the one Raghuji Karande always used, was let loose unbriddled and it gave the impression that Raghuji Karande fell in action. Mudhoji's army became panicky and was defeated. Kale, Nagpur Prantacha Itihas, p. 126.]. Mudhoji's Fadnis, Moropant, was captured by Janoji. However, Raghuji Karande, collecting his army afresh, released Moropant. Mudhoji, hotly pursued by Janoji escaped towards Karanja. In the meanwhile, Udepur Gosavi of Satara, on behalf of the Pesva, collected tribute from Berar. Pesva's vakil Vyankatrav Moresvar tried to reconcile the two brothers and finally it was agreed that Mudhoji would look after the Nagpur affairs and Raghuji Karande, Trimbakji Raje and Piraji Naik Nimbalkar would see that all crisis would he averted. On 9th January 1760, both the brothers wrote to Sadasivrav Bhau that their affairs were amicably settled. Janoji and Mudhoji arrived at Vasim on the banks of Penaganga as Sadasivrav Bhau had reached Paithan after his successful battle at Udgir [This battle was fought on 3rd February 1760, at Udgir, 200 miles east of Poona. Haig, IV, pp. 390, 412.] against the Nizam. Balaji Bajirav himself was near Ahmadnagar. Janoji, taking Raghuji Karande [Mudhoji was completely alienated from Divakarpant and Balaji Keshav. Mudhoji and now Trimbak Raje insisted that both of them should be arrested and kept, one in Devagad fort and the other in Ambegad fort whereupon they pleaded to the Peshva for their safety.] with him advanced to Nandasi Brahmani and reached Jogai Amba (Ambejogai), with 12,000 horse and next day joined Sadasivrav Bhau's army. Mudhoji, too by a different route, at the same time reached Sadasivrav's camp. Sadasivrav, Raghoba and Balaji met near Ambe and Patdur and received the news of the crushing defeat and death of Dattaji Sinde [On 9th January 1 760, at the Berar Ghat, ten miles north of Delhi, Ahmad Shah Abdali defeated and slew Dattaji Shinde.] in the north. It was at once decided that a force must be despatched under a member of the Pesva's family to restore Maratha influence in Hindustan. Little love was lost between the two cousins, Raghunath and Sadasivrav and the hero of Udgir claimed the command of the Maratha army. The army which set out from Patdur on 10th March 1760 was the most magnificent that the Marathas had ever sent forth to battle. Raghunath however remained behind to check the Nizam and Janoji and Mudhoji, too returned to Nagpur. In 1761 was fought the battle of Panipat between the Marathas and Abdali in which the Marathas were defeated.

Accession of Nizam Ali.

In 1762 Nizam-ud-daula, who had already received the titles of Asaf Jah and Nizam-ul-Mulk, deposed his brother and became ruler of the Hyderabad State. In 1763 he appointed Gulam Sayyad Khan governor of Berar, but removed him in 1764 to Daulatabad and replaced him in Berar by Ismail Khan, the Afghan.

The Civil War.

Now Zafar-ud-daula, who had been engaged in suppressing rebellion in Nirmal and had pursued some of the rebels into Berar, conceived the idea that Ismail Khan was harbouring them. He wrote to him accusing him of treason and Ismail sent an indignant reply. The correspondence between the two amirs became so acrimonious that Ismail, as a precautionary measure, strengthened the fortifications of Ellicpur, whereupon Zafar-ud-daula, Nizam All's minister, charged that the governor of Berar was meditating rebellion and asked for permission to march against him. Rukn-ud-daula, who did not doubt Ismail's fidelity and was loth to see the resources of the State frittered away in civil war, returned no reply to this request, and Zafar-ud-daula, either taking his silence for consent or affecting to believe that the urgency of the case was sufficient to justify him in acting on his own responsibility, invaded Berar and in June besieged Ismail in Ellicpur. On hearing that the conflict which he had tried to prevent had broken out Rukn-ud-daula hastened to Ellicpur and patched up a temporary peace between the two disputants.

The situation after the battle of Panipat became one of the greatest dangers to the Maratha State. The combined armies of Janoji and Nizam Ali moved along the Bhima ravaging the Pesva Madhavrav's territory. When the Marathas entered the Bhosle's possessions in Berar, Nizam Ali came on their heels, Poona shared a dreadful fate, a major portion of it being completely burned down. Secret negotiations were opened and Sakharam Bapu won over Janoji to the Pesva's side. On 10th August 1763 the Pesva defeated the Nizam at Raksasbhuvan. Ismail Khan of Ellicpur was wounded but Janoji, being true to his earlier friendship, had brought him to his camp. The Nizam gave to the Pesva territory worth 82 lakhs of rupees, out of which the Pesva handed over 32 lakhs of rupees worth territory to Janoji. However, when Madhavrav sent Vyankatrav Moresvar and Ganes Tukdev to Janoji to solicit his help for his Karnatak expedition, Janoji refused to accompany him. Moro Dhondoji, the Nizam's sardar in Berar, with his army of 2,000 horse, was attacked by Bhosle's army. Hence the Pesva and the Nizam decided to attack the Bhosle's territory. Madhavrav set out from Poona on 17th October 1765 and was joined by Rukn-ud-daula near Kaiganv Toke. Raghunath too joined Madhavrav in December 1765 and the Pesva's army reached Daryapur. Sivbhat Sathe, Gopalrav Sambhaji Khande-kar, Krsnaji Anant Tambe collected, on behalf of the Pesva, tribute from all directions, marching further in Berar. The Ellicpur army of 3,000 horse under Ismail went to support Janoji. But being not able to face the might of the Pesva himself Janoji sent from Nandganv, Vyankates Moresvar the Pesva's vakil in his camp for a truce to Madhavrav. However, Madhavrav was reluctant to fight with his own sardar and reconciled matters with the Bhosles. The treaty was signed at Kholapur, near Amaravati, which stipulated that Janoji would return 24 lakhs of rupees worth territory to the Pesva, out of the 32 lakhs ceded to the Bhosle at Raksasbhuvan, retaining only eight lakhs to himself. Out of this 24 lakhs rupees territory, the Pesva returned 15 lakhs to the Nizam, as agreed between them before the expedition against Janoji was opened. The Nizam and Rukn-ud-daula, along with Serjang and Jagannath Dhondoji, brother of Moro Dhondoji, took control of this territory after the official meeting of the Nizam and the Pesva on 23rd January 1766 at Kumarkheda.

The Pesva attacks Berar. January-June 1769.

janoji, however, succumbed to the wicked advice of his minister Devajipant and coquetted with the Pesva's enemy. Madhavrav, after disposing of his uncle at the battle of Dhodap in June 1768, decided to teach a severe lesson to Janoji. Madhavrav sent for the Nagpur minister Devajlpant for a personal visit at Poona. The latter refused to obey the summons. When his stern warning fell on deaf ears, the Pesva at once opened hostilities. Devajipant realizing the peril he was running into, came to meet the Pesva at Vasim in Berar. He was at once put under arrest. Gopalrav Patvardhan and Ramcandra Ganes Kanade were ordered by the Pesva to fall upon Nagpur and ravage the Bhosle's territory. Rukn-ud-daula and Ramcandra Jadhav with 8,000 horse were despatched by the Nizam to the Pesva's help. Thus reinforced, the Pesva began aggressive movements with his 60,000 horse, marching through Solapur, Tuljapur, Dharur, Pathri, Bid, Nandasi Brahmani, Kalamnuri, Vasim, Mangrulpir, Pinjar, Karanja, Amaravati. The Bhosles removed their family to Gavilgad and Narhar Ballal with his 5,000 horse protected the fort. Bapu Karande marched to Burhanpur but was obstructed by the Pesva's officers there. Anandrav Gopal and Balaji Kesav Sapre defeated Bapu Karande and Narhari Pant near Akola at Pancagavan on 10th January 1769. Narhar was killed in action. His nephew, Vitthal Ballal, with 2,500 horse devastated the territory, marched to Burhanpur and returned to Malkapur, to effect junction with Jacak and Karande. However, Vitthal was severely wounded and his family was put under arrest by the Pesva's agent at Burhanpur. Janojis camp was at Nandganv, near Amaravati with 15 to 20 thousand horse. Piraji Nimbalkar effected junction here on 6th December 1768 with Janoji. Five thousand horse of the Bhosle army was at Narnala under Tulaji. Tulaji being sick in body, his nephew took this band and joined Janoji and Piraji on 17th December 1768. However, Ismail Khan of Ellicpur refused to join the Bhosles. On 1st December 1768, the Pesva had halted at Badner Gangai and the Bhosle camp was in front, 25 cos but on the 10th, the distance separating the two was still less, as the Bhosles had on 11th their camp at Nandganv, near Amaravati. Devajipant however opened negotiations and offered fifteen lakhs of rupees to the Pesva. Acting on the advice of Devajlpant, Janoji, being unable to meet the Pesva's strength, adopted guerilla tactics and gave out that he would march upon Poona, liberate Raghunath and instal him in the Pesva's seat. For three or four days during February Poona was in a great alarm and confusion. The Pesva had already plundered Nagpur on 11th January 1769. In March, Janoji's brother, Mudhoji joined the Pesva. However the exhaustion of both the parties induced them to seek a termination of their hostilities by coming to a mutual accommodation. A treaty of mutual friendship was ratified at Kanakapur or Brahmesvar, at the confluence of the two rivers, the Godavari and the Manjra, on 23rd March 1769. The Bhosles agreed not to increase the prescribed number of their army and to pay a tribute of 5 lakhs yearly in five instalments. Madhavrav Pesva died on 18th November 1772 and JanojI Bhosle too had died in the same year in May. The death of Janoji gave rise to the usual succession disputes and a civil war ensued between the two brothers Mudhoji and Sabaji. The former was supported by Raghunath and Sakharam Bapu from Poona, and the latter by Narayanrav, Nana Phadnis and others.

The Battle of Kumbhari. January 1773.

Mudhoji with his three sons, Raghuji, Khandoji and Vyankoji was well supported by Balavantrav Mahipatrav, Ramaji Kesav, Tikhe, Bhavani Atole, Govindrav Mugutrav, Sivaji Talkute and Jagdev Gujar. Sabaji had in entourage Khandoji Adhav from Berar and Sankaraji Ghorpade, Ramasingh Nimbalkar and Zunjarrav Ghatge. The Pesva sent Balaji Palande to reinforce Sabaji. The two armies met in battle in January 1773, at Kumbhari near Akola. Jivaji Bhosle, son of Ranoji Bhosle of Amaravati, died in action. Fighting was stopped for two days in mourning and thereafter, through the mediation of Ramaji Ballal this fratricidal war came to be temporarily composed and an agreement was arrived at, by which Mudhoji's son Raghuji was to be recognised as the ruler of Nagpur. But Mudhoji very soon released Devajipant and made him his Divan and put under arrest Laksmanrav, brother of Bhavani Munsi with his family, which induced Sabaji to leave Nagpur and collect fresh army. Sabaji on 23rd April, 1773 and again on 5th June wrote to Anantbhat Citale to hand over the charge of Amaravati to Ranoji son of Jivaji as it was his hereditary jahagir. Sabaji was also reinforced by the Niziim's Divan, Rukn-ud-daula and Khanderav Darekar, the Pesva's sarlaskar.

Siege of Ellicpur. August 1773.

Rukn-ud-daula and Sabaji besieged Ellicpur as Ismail was supporting Mudhoji. Mudhoji hastened to Ellicpur but finding that Rukn-ud-daula and Sabaji commanded greater numbers, followed lingering tactics. Zamasingh, the fort-keeper of Gavilgad, too, in the interest of Mudhoji, surprised Sabaji's camp, many times. Ismail, once, leaving the fort, dispersed the besiegers. Khanderav Darekar, however could not reach Ellicpur as he was stopped by the army sent from Canda by Mudhoji. Mudhoji also instructed Vyankatrav Kasi and his brother Laksmanrav Kasi at Poona to support Raghunath against Narayanrav Pesva. One dark night in August, Raghunathrav tried to escape with the help of Laksman Kasi. He was defeated by the guards and taken back to his custody. The murder of Pesva Narayanrav took place on 30th August shortly after midday. Vyankatrav and Laksmanrav had an agreement with Raghunathrav on 4th September 1773 that Mudhoji and not Sabaji would be recognised as chief of Nagpur Bhosles. Mudhoji had reconciled Rukn-ud-daula through the mediations of Mahipat Dinkar and Balkrsna Bhat Patvardhan. Not only Ismail and Rukn-ud-daula were reconciled, Sabaji and Mudhoji, too brushed up their differences. Mudhoji, after hearing the news of Narayanrav's murder went to Gavilgad and consulted Daryabai, wife of Raghuji I. Laksman Kasi had gone to Ellicpur to take Mudhoji to Poona, hence Rukn-ud-daula and Dhousa left Ellicpur and Mudhoji joined Raghunathrav at Pedganv, where Raghuji II was declared Sena Saheb Subha. Raghunathrav and Mudhoji proceeded to Naldurg. Raghunathrav met Nizam Ali, negotiated a treaty of friendship whereby Mudhoji secured his agreement of 60 to 40 per cent share of Berar with the Nizam. Sabaji and even Daryabai joined the ministerial party against Raghunathrav. The ministers-Barabhai-put under arrest Mahipatrav Dinkar and Vyankatrav Kasi in the Candanvan fort but Mahipat was released on condition that he would secure Mudhoji's support for the ministers at Poona. However, Daryabai and Sabaji wrote to Sakharam Purandare to capture the two again but Mahipat Dinkar along with Mahipat Kasi had already escaped to Ellicpur and joined Mudhoji there. Mudhoji finding money always short had plundered Amaravati but still the Pathans in his army had their salaries in arrears, hence, when Mudhoji returned from Ismail of Ellicpur, he was attacked by the Pathans on the way. Jagdev Gujar, Devaji Dongardev, Cimaji Citnis met the Pathans' onslaught and Jagdev Gujar died in action. Mudhoji, breaking his thumb in action, was severely wounded¹. Devaji Dongardev, killing some of the Pathans, finally escaped with Mudhoji to a Teli's shop. There too one Rohilla attacked Mudhoj [Kale, Nagpur Prantacha Itihas, p. 203.] with a dagger in hand but one pedestrian, rushing to Mudhojis rescue, killed the Rohilla. Ismail, rushing to the spot, rescued Mudhojiand his wounds were nursed. The conspiracy was hatched by one Pathan named Navav in Mudhoji's army, who was later beheaded and Mahipat Subhedar who had gone to celebrate his son's marriage at Canda hastened to Ellicpur and controlled the situation. Raghunathrav sent Muhammad Yusuf to the care of Mudhoji Muhammad Yusuf reached Ellicpur with 2,000 horse and Mudhoji set out for Nagpur. However, Ismail had refused help to Mudhoji Sabaji was shot dead in action in the battle that was fought on 26th January 1775 near Pacganv. Baburav Vaidya, Bhosle's vakil at Poona, brought to Nagpur the honours of Sena Saheb Subha, from Madhavrav II, the Pesva on 24th June 1775. Vyankatrav Kasi was also set free.

Revolt of sivaji Bhosle of Amaravati 1775.

In the meanwhile, the ministerial party promised Sivaji Bhosle of Amaravati, Sena Saheb Subhaship and supported him against Mudhoji. On April 6, 1775, the Pesva gave Sivaji his new Sanads and Sivaji raised an army, soliciting support from the partisans of Sabaji. Bhavani Sivram [Bhavani Shivram, thereafter, joined the Nizam and later returned to the Peshva and never went back to Nagpur. Kale, op. cit, Foot-note, 109.] escaping from the battle-field of Pacganv, joined Sivaji. However, Sivaji could not secure adequate military help from Poona court and the Nizam. Mudhoji had sent Devajipant to the Nizam who reconciled him to Mudhoji's interests and the ministers at Poona were too engrossed in their own affairs. Sivaji too had no adequate finances to raise fresh armies and hence Sivaji's efforts against Mudhoji were of no avail. Mudhoji, too, joined the ministerial party at Poona and secured the sanads in the name of Raghuji II. The relations of Bhosles of Amaravati and of Nagpur were permanently strained [Vyankatrao Kashi and Mahipat Dinkar were kept as prisoners in Gavilgad by Mudhoji, though later on Mahipatrao was released.], and Mudhoji deprived the Bhosles of Amaravati of their control over Amaravati and other areas. Mudhoji Bhosle was compelled by the Barabhais, the ministerial party, to withdraw his protection from Muhammad Yusuf, who for a time, remained concealed in the forests of Madhya Prades [Haripant Phadke despatched Krishnarao Kale and Parashuram Patvardhan again Muhammad Yusuf. Yusuf marched to the north and intended to cross the Narmad but Mudhoji's Sardar Tajkhan Rohila captured him at Shivani. Tajkhan, on in-structions from Mudhoji, handed him over to Parashuram Patvardhan. Haripa Phadke brought him to his camp neat Malegaon. Kale, op. cit. 210.]. But he was discovered, captured and put to death on 26th November 1775.

Affairs at Nagpur.Overthrow of Ismail Khan in Berar.

In 1775 Nizam Ali, taking advantage of the existence of strong party opposed to Mudhoji bhosle in Nagpur, sent Ibrahim Beg against him, and himself advanced as far as Ellicpur. Mudhoji, unable to cope at the same time with his foreign and domestic enemies, obtained a cessation of hostilities by causing Gavilgad and Narnala to be surrendered to the Moghal officers and submitted himself, with his son Raghuji, to Nizam Ali in Ellicpur. Here the wily Maratha, by the humility of his demeanour, succeeded in obtaining better terms, and in consideration of his agreeing to co-operate with the Nizam's troops in suppressing the Gonds, Gavilgad and Narnala were restored to him. At the same time Nizam Ali's eldest son, Ali Jah, was appointed Subhedar of Berar. Ismail Khan was in disgrace. Rukn-ud-daula, who had befriended him, had been killed and his place had been taken by Ismail's former enemy, Zafar-ud-daula. Before Rukn-ud-daula's intrigues at court, he had left Ellicpur without leave and presented himself before Nizam Ali. This breach of official etiquette was made the pretext for his degradation and he was informed that jahagir had been assigned to him in Balapur and that he had been degraded to the position of governor of that district. The message delivered to him was purposely made as galling as possible. He was ordered to vacate Ellicpur and appear before Nizam Ali and was advised that his surest avenue to favour was to apply for an interview through Zafar-ud-daula. The headstrong Afghan refused so to humiliate himself, and on this refusal being reported to Nizam Ali, Zafar-ud-daula was sent against Ellicpur, and was closely followed by Nizam Ali himself. Ismail Khan marched out of Ellicpur and attacked Zafar-ud-daula with great determination, but though the vigour of the attack threw the enemy into confusion for a time, the garrison of Ellicpur was no match for the army of Hyderabad. Ismail Khan was surrounded and over powered and when he fell his head was severed from his body and sent to the Nizam. Nizam Ali marched on, and on May 14tl encamped at Ellicpur and made a pilgrimage to the shrine of Abdur Rahman. Zafar-ud-daula was rewarded for this victor with the title of Mubariz-ul-Mulk. Bahram Jang was appointed Ali Jah's lieutenant in Berar, Sayyad Mukarram Khan was appointed divan of the province, and a Hindu, Samrav, was mad faujadar of Ellicpur.

Attempt to oust the Marathas.

In 1783 Bahram Jang was removed from his appointment in Berar and was succeeded by Zafar-ud-daula's son Ihtisam Jang. Zafar-ud-daula had died in the meantime and his title was best-owed upon his son. The second Zafar-ud-daula was intent on breaking the power of the Marathas in Berar and was preparing to besiege Gavilgad and Narnala and expel the Maratha revenue collectors from Berar when Mudhoji Bhosle became aware of his designs and complained to Nizam Ali that the governor of Berar was meditating the violation of treaty agreements. Zafar-ud-daula was. therefore, removed and Muhammad Kabir Khan, one of the jahdgirddrs of the province, was appointed in his place. In 1790 Muhammad Kabir gave way to Salabat Khan, the elder son of Ismail Khan. In 1792 Bahlol Khan, Salabat Khan's younger brother, was appointed Subhedar of Berar and Aurangabad. Bahlol was a debauchee with a taste for architecture and spent all the revenues which his able Divan, Khvaja Bahadur, could squeeze out of the province on his pleasures and his hobby. He was summoned to Hyderabad and ordered to render an account of his stewardship, which proved to be so unsatisfactory that he was thrown into prison, where he remained for some years, and officers were sent to search his house in Ellicpur. If they expected to discover hoarded money they were disappointed for Bahlol had spent the money as he received it.

Sakhoji Bhosle of Amaravati 1794.

The relations of Bhosles of Amaravati and Nagpur were strained but Nana Phadnis in 1794 called Sakhoji Bhosle of Amaravati to Poona and reconciled the two. Dajiba Phadke and Govindrav Pingale forwarded Sakhoji's letters to Nana, wherein he pleaded that Amaravati should be given back to him in saranjam. Nana on 4th November 1794 agreed to the arrangement and wrote accordingly to Sena Saheb Subha.

Disturbance in Ellicpur and siege of Gavilgad.

The deputy governor of Berar in 1801 was Gangaram Narayan, who in that year caused an emeute in Ellicpur. He introduced a new tax apparently for the purpose of augmenting his private income, and attempted to levy it from all the inhabitants of the town alike, including soldiers and other customary exemptees. The malcontents rose and attacked the fort of Ellicpur. When they burst in, the wretched Gangaram threw himself at their mercy and promised never more to offend them. Thus were the people satisfied and the power and prestige of the government held up to scorn.

The Maratha leaders regarded Bajirav II's assent to the treaty of Bassein [Treaty of Bassein was concluded on December. 31,. 1802 and was ratified by the Governor-General on 10th March 1803.] with open alarm and anger. Sinde and Bhosle who disliked particularly the provisions regarding British arbitration in disputes between the Pesva and other Indian rulers, realised that at last they were face to face with the British power, and that Wellesley's system of subsidiary alliances would reduce them in importance. Sinde and Bhosle, who had crossed the Narmada with obviously war-like intent were requested by the British to separate their forces and recross the river, and on their refusal to comply, war was declared in August 1803. General Arthur Wellesley captured Ahmadnagar in August 1803 broke the combined armies of Sinde and Bhosle at Assaye on 23rd September 1803, and then, after forcing on Sinde a temporary suspension of hostilities defeated Bhosle decisively at

Adaganv on 29th November 1803 [Stevenson had advanced against Bhosle's strong fort of Gavilgad. He left Balapur on 26th November, was joined by General Arthur Wellesley, and two together made a dash against Bhosle's force which had in the meantime been reinforced by Shinde in violation of the truce he had already made.]. Bhosle abandoned all his 38 pieces of cannon and ammunition into British hands.

On December 5th, 1803, General Arthur Wellesley haying defeated the Marathas at Adaganv on November 29th, arrived at Ellicpur on his way to Gavilgad, which was held for Raghuji Bhosle by the Rajput Beni Singh. On the 7th Wellesley marched to Devganv, below the southern face of the fort, sending Colonel Stevenson and his division by a route about thirty miles in length through the hills with the object of attacking the fort from the north. From the 7th to the 12th Stevenson's division suffered great hardships, dragging the heavy ordnance and stores by hand over roads which the troops themselves made for the occasion. On the 12th Stevenson occupied Labada, a village, now deserted, on the Col which connects the Gavilgad hill with the Cikhaldara plateau, and just north of the fort, near the present cemetery. On the night of the 12th, Stevenson erected two batteries opposite to the north face of the fort, where the principal attack was to be delivered and on the same night Wellesley's division erected a battery on a hill under the southern gate, the Pir Fateh darvaza, but this battery was of little use save to distract the enemy's attention from the attack on the north face, for the heavy iron guns could not be moved to the too of the hill, and the brass guns produced but little effect. On the morning of December 13th all the batteries opened fire on the fort, and by the night of the 14th the breaches in the northern face were practicable and all arrangements had been made for storming the place. The storming party consisted of the flank companies of the 4th Regiment and of the native corps in Stevenson's divisions and was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Kenny of the 1st battalion of the 11th Madras Native Infantry. It was supported by the battalion companies of the 94th and Lieutenant-Colonel Halyburton's brigade, Lieutenant-Colonel Macleane's brigade being in reserve, and the attack was delivered at 10 A.M. on the 15th. At the same time Wellesly delivered two attacks from the south. One was directed against the southern gate, the attacking party consisting of the 74th Highlanders, five companies of the 78th Highlanders and the 1st battalion of the 8th Regiment of Madras Native Infantry under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Wallace of the 74th. and the objective of the other party, which consisted of the remaining five companies of the 78th Highlanders and the 1st battalion of the 10th Regiment of Madras Native Infantry, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Chalmers, was the north-western gate.

These two attacks from the south were destined merely to distract the enemy's attention from Stevenson's attack on the north, unless it should be found possible to blow the gates in. Neither of the two gates was blown in, but Chalmers' column was able to perform a useful service for it arrived at the north-western gate at the same time as a detachment sent forward by Stevenson, whose first attack had been successful, to establish communication with Chalmers, and in time to intercept considerable numbers of the enemy who were flying from that detachment through the gate. Chalmers was thus enabled not only to enter the outer fort without difficulty, and thus join forces with Stevenson for the attack on the northern face of the inner fort, but also to destroy large numbers of the fleeing enemy.

Fall of Gauilgad.

The next task of the besiegers was to effect an entrance into the inner fort, the wall of which had not been breached, and some ineffectual attempts were made to force an entrance by the Delhi gate which was the strongest gate in the fort and was exceedingly well provided with flank defences on the Indian system of fortification. A place was then found where it was possible to scale the wall and Captain Campbell, with the light company of the 94th, fixed the ladders, escaladed the wall, and opened the Delhi gate to the storming party. After a brief resistance the fort was in the possession of Wellesley's troops, but the slaughter of the enemy was great, especially at the gates. The bodies of the killedar and Beni Singh were found amidst a heap of slain within the Delhi gate. Some of the Rajputs, and among them these two officers, had attempted to perform the rite of jauhar before sallying out to meet their assailants, but fortunately the work was clumsily done, for of the twelve or fourteen women only three were found to be dead and a few others wounded. The survivors were treated with respect and were well cared for.

The British losses were very small, considering the nature of the operation. Among the British troops three officers were wounded, of whom two, Lieutenant-Colonel Kenny already mentioned, and Lieutenant Young of the 2nd battalion of the 7th Madras Native Infantry died, and five rank and file were killed and fifty-nine wounded. The casualties among native troops were eight killed and fifty-one wounded. Lieutenant-Colonel Kenny was buried at Ellicpur and Lieutenant Young near the spot where he fell. Around the latter's grave the Cikhaldara cemetery wall is built.

General Sir Jasper Nicolls in his diary praises the personal bravery of Beni Singh and the killedar, but adds that they did not seem to be able to frame any regular plan for the defence of the inner wall, or to have infused much of their own spirit into their sepoys. It is indeed, evident from the insignificance of the besiegers' losses, that the victories of Assaye and Adganv had awed the troops of the Marathas, and the defence of the fort was far from being resolute. The difficulties with which the attacking force had to contend arose principally from the nature of the country. Stevenson's arduous march through the hills has already been described. Of this feat Wellesley wrote the troops in his division went through a series of laborious services, such as I never before witnessed, with the utmost cheerfulness and perseverance'. Wellesley's own division was less severely tried, but the erection of a battery on the hill under the southern gate must have entailed much heavy labour, and their operations on 15th must have been most exhausting, even to the Highlanders of the 74th and 78th Regiments, for the approaches to the fort from the south are exceedingly difficult.

Treaties of Devganvand Anjanganv.

Two days after the fall of Gavilgad a preliminary treaty was signed at Devganv, Wellesley's headquarters, by which Raghuji Bhosle agreed to withdraw from the plains of Berar to the east of the Wardha river, retaining, however, the fortresses of Gavilgad and Narnala, and the Melghat. This treaty, which was described by the Governor-General in a private letter to his brother as ' wise, honourable, and glorious,' was followed by another with Sindes, signed on December 29th at Anjanganv in the Daryapur tahsil. These two treaties brought the second Maratha war to a conclusion.

Civil and Military administration.

Raja Mahipat Ram, who had commanded The subsidiary force supplied by The Nizam for The second Maratha war, was rewarded with The governorship of Berar, but intrigued against The minister in Hyderabad, was degraded and Then openly rebelled against The Nizam. After giving some Trouble he Took refuge with Holkar, in whose dominions he was assassinated. In 1806 Raja Govind Bakhs succeeded him as subhedar of Berar and Aurangabad. In 1813 Vitthal Bhagadev of Karasganv, who has left us a monument of himself in his native town, a fort of fine sandstone, was appointed deputy governor of Ellicpur. Throughout these changes Salabat Khan held a large jahagir at Ellicpur for the purpose of maintaining the Ellicpur brigade, consisting of two battalions of infantry and 1,600 horse which were reported by the Resident Mr. (afterwards Sir Henry) Russell in 1817 as being among the best troops in the Nizam's army.

.Navabs of Ellicpur 1795-1825.

Ismail                                         Sister Himat Khatun
|                                                       |
_____________________                             Jivan Khan
|                                    |                                   |
Salabat Khan                   Bahlol Khan                    Hamid KHan
|                                                                                                          _____________________                                          |
|                                |                                 Rahimat Khatun
Namdar Khan               Ismail Khan alias                     (Daughter)
Malu miyan                                   |
                                 |                                   Taleman Khan
     Ibrahim Khan                                  |
                                 |                           ______________________
                        Gulam Hasan Ali Khan           |                                  |
                           (Ibrahim's Father-in-Law)     Daud Khan              Yunus Khan

Ismail was killed in action and left behind two sons, Salabat Khan and Bahlol Khan. Ellicpur jahagir was left for management to Bahlol as Salabat Khan accompanied the Nizam with his army. When the Nizam faced the Marathas at Kharda in 1795, Lad Khan, the Navab of Karnul and Salabat Khan attack- ed Parasuram Bhau Patvardhan. Bhau's son, Haripant killed Lal Khan, but Salabat Khan saved the position, somehow rallying the army and faced Jivaba Baksi of the Sinde army. However the Nizam was completely defeated at Kharda by the Marathas. Bahlol proved to be a failure and Salabat was re- appointed at Ellicpur. Salabat accompanied Sir Arthur Wellesley from Adaganv and attacked Gavilgad, The soldiers wounded at Gavilgad were well nourished at Ellicpur under the supervision of Sir Arthur Wellesley. The new cantonment was stationed at Paratvada, three miles from Ellicpur. Salabat Khan's divan, Fateh Jang furnished the city of Ellicpur with new pipe-lines but being a Sia-Muslim, he was not well-supported by the other courtiers. His relations with Ismail Khan were strained and hence he was removed to Aurangabad by the Nizam.

Third Maratha war, Pendhari war Treaty of 1822 and the Assignment. The district was not affected by the war of 1817-18, but the Pesva Bajirav II after his defeat by Lieutenant-Colonel Adams at Sivani in the Yeotmal district, fled northwards through the district into the Satpuda hills.

The treaty or Devganv had left the Melghat with its two fortresses in the hands of the Bhosles and the tract served as a refuge and stronghold for rebels and outlaws, the most notorious of whom was Seikh Dulla, whose depredations in the hills, and excursions into the richer plains extended over some years. The district was not the scene of any important action during the Pendhari war, though it had suffered from the ravages of these marauders. The wall which surrounds the town of Amara-vati was built in 1807 as a protection against their inroads, and there was some local fighting for the khunari ('bloody') wicket in this wall is said to be so called from 700 persons having fallen in a fight close to it in 1818. The British army from Amaravati had marched to Bagala Tur, via Amner. Multai, Sahapur. Sivani, and on December 5th, 1817, General Doveton had marched with the Nizam's subsidiary force, through Jafarabad. Amaravati and reached Nagpur on 12th December 1817.

General Doveton [He was instructed to capture Narnala and Gavijgad. Akot, Adagaon, Vad-ner, along with Narnala, and Gavilgad were to be ceded to Salabat Khan, the Navab of Ellichpur. According to the new arrangement, Bhatkuli paragana, near Amaravati was also to be ceded to Raja Govind Baksh. of Hyderabad. The Peshva's region in Melghat up to the Tapi was to be ceded to Salabat Khan.], after capturing Nagpur, marched on 21st January 1818, towards Khandes, pursuing Baiirav II. He marched to Amner, Hivarkheda and reached Ellicpur. From Amner, he sent Major Pittman towards Akola and Amaravati and Captain Jones to capture Gavilgad. From Adaganv, a company marched to Narnala and both these forts were surrendered over to the British officers. Transferring these forts to the Navab of Ellicpur. General Doveton marched to Malka-pur and thence to Khandes.

In 1822 after the conclusion of the Pendhari war, a fresh treaty was made whereby the tracts lying to the east of the Wardha were ceded to Nagpur, and the Melghat, with its fortresses, Gavilgad and Narnala, was restored to the Nizam. By the same treaty the claims of the Marathas to cauth were extinguished, but this provision benefited Berar little, for extra-vagance and maladministration at the capital led to the farming out of the province to usurers, and these extortioners reduced it to a condition of great misery, which was enhanced by the famine of 1833.

Namdar Khan 1825-1845.

Salabat Khan died in 1825 and was succeeded by Namdar Khan at Ellicpur. He raised new taxes and hence was called "Bania Navab". In his times Vagambari, Alaspuri (Ellicpuri) and Trisuli coins were in circulation. Jamoji, Dudandi, Devul-gavi and Vashimche coins too were in circulation. Namdar Khan was a great builder; Baradari, Imamvada Mosque and Namdar bag were constructed by him in Ellicpur. The famous hall of mirrors (Arase-mahal) which he built is however already brought to dust. Namdar Khan defeated the pretender of Appasaheb Bhosle, captured him and imprisoned him at Ellicpur where he died. Suffering from facial paralysis, Namdar Khan led, thereafter, a miserable life and died at the age of fifty-four, in 1845. He was succeeded by Ibrahim Khan, son of Namdar's elder brother.

Ibrahim Khan 1845-1849.

Ibrahim Khan sent Sitaram Pandit to Rajaram Baks, Divdn-Naib of Hyderabad for his new sanads. Being ordered to pay fourteen lakhs for his sanad and having no other source to fall on, Ibrahim entered the palace of his uncle, and depriving the harem of the rich ornaments and treasury, collected one crore of rupees. Though Ibrahim Khan sent this amount to. Hyderabad, actually three lakhs of rupees only were received by the Nizam and the sanad still was not granted to Ibrahim. Siraj Husain, the Munsi had left Ibrahim and now was serving Rajaram Baks at Hyderabad. Conspiring against Ibrahim, they sent Ghisekha to collect the tribute from Ibrahim, failing which he was ordered to plunder Ellicpur. Ghisekha encamped near Dooladarga, north of Ellicpur and Ibrahim agreed to hand over the fort and city of Ellicpur to him. Ghisekha's army collected tribute from Vilayatpura Bazar, hearing which Gulam Hasan Ali Khan rushed to the town and dissuaded Ibrahim to hand over the city to Ghisekha. Ghisekha's Arabs were driven out of The city but Ghisekha knowing his strength was no match for Gulam Hasan Ali Khan, did nothing for the time being. On the Muharram day, Ghisekha was ordered TO shift his camp still further but he refused to do so, relying on his artillery. However, his cannons were captured and his camp had to be shifted to Paratvada, three miles further north. Ghisekha awaited reinforcement from Hyderabad but in the meanwhile died at Paratvada.

Berar was reduced to great misery in 1845-1846 due to a great famine, but this was compensated by the return of prosperity he very next year. In 1849 Ellicpur was severely affected by cholera and Ibrahim himself succumbed to the epidemic, at the age of 54, and was succeeded by Samsa Khatun, daughter of Gulam Hasan Khan.

Gulam Hasan Ali Khan 1849-1853.

Gulam Hasan Ali Khan, the regent was also called Hasumia. The Sarfkhas region very near Ellicpur was ruled directly by the Nizam's officers, but this led to many bickerings between Gulam Hasan Ali Khan and the Nizam. Gulam Hasan Ali Khan, too refused to pay seventeen lakhs to Sams-ul-Umara, the Divan of Hyderabad for the new sanad. The Navabs of Ellicpur had a very rare and exquisite copy of Koran in their custody. Sams-ul-Umara sent the message that he wanted to see what it was made of, and in spite of the refusal of the citizens, the Navab had to send the copy to Hyderabad as he was powerless before the might of Sams-ul-Umara.

Gulam Hasan Ali Khan depended now on the advice of his councillors, Bahadar Khan and Kundanmal leaving aside Kesavrav, the councillor of Ibrahim. The district was reduced to great misery at the hands of these extortioners. Kesavrav could save himself from their clutches only by taking poison and this period notoriously remained permanent in the memory of the people as "Bahadar Khani". The vatandars of Berar finally appealed to Rajaram Baks and Bisancand was ordered to take over the city of Ellicpur. Bisancand with his army marched from Amaravati to Dhanora, 5 cos from Ellicpur but was defeated by the Navab in 1850. Thomas Brown had led the artillery of the Navab against Bisancand. The Divan of Hyderabad sent Siraj-ud-din Husain against Narnala but though he captured Akoli, Akolakhed, Boradi near Akola, he was finally defeated by the Navab near Surji Anjanganv. However Siraj-ud-din Husain remained in power as Munsif of Narnala. In 1851, the new Divan of Hyderabad Siraj-ul-Mulk demanded seven lakhs from the Navab of Ellicpur to settle finally the dispute about the sanad and Kundanmal, paying the amount, the Navab obtained territory yielding four and half lakhs revenue. The Navab however could not enjoy the peace for a long time, as in 1853 the English entered into a treaty with the Nizam and the district, with the rest of Berar was assigned to the East India company, in satisfaction of the debt due on account of arrears of pay disbursed to the contingent and as security for the pay of that force in future. Puranmal confiscated the property of Gulam Hasan Ali Khan as the debts of seven lakhs were in arrears. However the rest of the property was claimed by the two brothers Daud Khan and Yunus Khan, the descendants through Ismail's sister Himat Khatun.

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