War with Massacre of or saint; and as the King Feroze on his death-bed had not recognised his son Hussun, he was put aside and provided for liberally. The accession of Ahmed Shah was, therefore, unopposed. After providing for the safety of his northern frontier, Ahmed Shah declared war against Beejanugger, and as Beejanugger. no reason is given by the historian, it can only be attributed to the king's fanatical character, in the desire for the extermination of 'infidels.' Although the agreement not to slaughter inoffensive persons had been observed since the days of Mahmood I., yet, probably to avenge the invasion of Hindoos. Déo Rái, the king now broke down Hindoo temples and colleges, desecrated sacred places, and whenever the slain amounted to twenty thousand, he halted three days and made a festival, in celebration of the bloody event.' Such at least is the statement of the Mahomedan historian, and it was most likely from such fanatical deeds that the king obtained his much-prized appellation of Wully.' In the sequel, the Rajah of Beejanugger paid up the arrear of tribute, and the parties separated with acts of mutual courtesy. In 1421, a war with Wurungul followed, in which its rajah was slain; and for several years afterwards the king appears to have been travelling through his dominions, for in 1425 he completed the fortifications of Gawilgurh in Berar, and in 1426 engaged in hostilities with Sooltan Hooshung of Malwah, who had invaded the Deccan kingdom, and defeated him. On his return, Ahmed Shah founded the city of Beeder, on the site of an ancient Hindoo capital of the country, which afterwards became the capital of the Bahmuny dynasty, and will be described hereafter. The fort was finished in 1432, and it apparently became a favourite resort of the king's until his death, which occurred there on February 19, 1432. He had reigned twelve years, and was buried where he died, at War with The city of founded. Ahmed Shah Wully dies, 1435. Beeder. CHAPTER XIII. OF THE BAHMUNY MAHOMEDAN DYNASTY OF THE DECCAN (continued), A.D. 1435 to 1461. II. succeeds, 1435. AHMED SHAH WULLY BAHMUNY was succeeded by his son AllaAlla-ood-deen ood-deen Shah II.; and as the court was then at Beeder, he was crowned at that city. Contrary to the usage of Mahomedan monarchs, he was much attached to his brother the Prince Mahomed Khan, and provided liberally for him instead of blinding or confining him. Paris retaken from the English, 1436. This conduct, however, was not reciprocated; for when the Prince Mahomed was despatched, soon after his brother's Conspiracy Mahomed. accession, with an army to demand arrears of tribute of Prince from Beejanugger, he was induced by some discontented officers to conspire with the rajah to effect a revolution in his own favour; and with a force supplied by the rajah, he seized upon and occupied the Dooáb of Raichore, Beejapoor, and other provinces. So formidable a conspiracy and rebellion could only be subdued by force; and the armies of the brothers met in the field, the king proving victor in a hard-fought battle. Prince The insurgent troops and their officers fled and dis- Mahomed is persed, and the king induced his brother to surrender surrenders. on promises of protection. It is pleasing to record that the king fulfilled all his engagements: not only pardoning his brother, but conferring on him the estate of Raichore and its dependencies, where Prince Mahomed lived undisturbed till his death. defeated and the Konkan. War with and Guzerat. In 1436 an army was sent to subdue the Konkan, the tract lying between the Ghâts and the sea, which was successful; Invasion and the Rajahs of Ráiree and Lonekhair not only paying reduction of tribute, but the latter cementing the alliance by the gift of his daughter, a lady of great beauty, talents, and accomplishments, to the king, and she became his especial favourite, under the title of Perichehra or Fairy-face. This, however, brought about quarrels with his queen, the daughter of Nusseer Khan, king of Khandésh, and she appealed to her Khandesh father for justice. Nusseer Khan, being too weak to enter into a war by himself, applied for aid to Ahmed Shah, king of Guzerat, who assisted him with troops, and the province of Berar was invaded. To oppose this inroad, King Alla-ood-deen sent Mullik-oot-Toojár, one of his chief commanders, with a body of select troops, who defeated Nusseer Khan and pursued him to Boorhanpoor, which city was plundered and partially destroyed. Nusseer Khan had previously fled to Lulling, before which place another action was fought, which resulted The King of in Nusseer Khan's complete overthrow, and Mullik-oot- Khandesh Toojár returned in great triumph to Beeder, now defeated. established as the capital of the Bahmuny kingdom. finally of Beeder. There is no more healthy or beautiful site for a city in the Deccan than Beeder. The fort had been already Description erected on the north-east angle of a tableland composed of laterite, at a point where the elevation, which is considerable, or about 2,500 feet above the level of the sea, trends southward and westward, and declines abruptly about 500 feet to the wide plain of the valley of the Manjera, which it overlooks. The fortifications, still perfect, are truly noble; built of blocks of laterite dug out of the ditch, which is very broad and has a peculiar mode of defence met with nowhere else, two walls of laterite, the height of the depth of the ditch, having been left at equal distances between the faussebraye and the counterscarp all round the western and southern faces of the fort. There were large bastions at frequent intervals in the rampart, and the curtains are strong and lofty. Inside the fort, the royal palaces overlooked the walls; and their present ruins attest their great extent and former magnificence. To the west extended a level plain covered with groves of mango and tamarind trees, out of which rise the noble mausoleums of the later Beereed dynasty, and the ruins of garden-houses, mosques, and tombs in great profusion. The city adjoined the fort, space being left for an esplanade, and stretched southwards along the crest of the eminence, being regularly laid out with broad streets. There was a plentiful supply of beautiful water, though the wells are deep; and in every respect, whether as regards climate, which is much cooler and healthier than that of Goolburgah, or situation, the new capital was far preferable to the old one. At the present time, though the city has diminished to a provincial town, and the noble monuments of the Bahmuny kings are decayed, there is no city of the Deccan which better repays a visit from the traveller than Beeder. War with In 1443 Déo Rái, rajah of Beejanugger, having largely augmented his army and taken a corps of Mahomedans Beejanugger. into his service, became impatient of continual payment of tribute, and once more determined upon trying the issue of war. He therefore invaded the Raichore Dooáb, the old battlefield, and took up a position on the right bank of the Krishna river. Alla-ood-deen Shah, having assembled his troops at Beeder, found himself at the head of 50,000 horse, 60,000 foot, and a considerable train of artillery; and with as little delay as practicable, he marched to the scene of action. In two months three severe actions were fought on the wide plains of the Dooáb, in the first of which the Hindoos had the advantage, in the second the Mahomedans, and the third seems to have been doubtful; but two Mahomedan officers of distinction having been taken prisoners, the king sent word to Déo Rái that 'he valued the lives of each at 200,000 common men,' and swore, should Déo Rái put them to death, that he would revenge each by the slaughter of 100,000 Hindoos. Such grim threats on the part of the Bahmuny kings had not proved vain on former occasions, and there was little occasion to doubt them on the present. Their effect was a proposal on the part of Déo Rái to Peace ensues. make peace, which was duly concluded; the parties contracting to respect each other's dominions, and Déo Rái agreeing to pay tribute as before. The terms of this treaty were strictly observed on both sides to the close of the king's reign. The king's beneficial. It is pleasing to read records of the king's benevolence in erecting and endowing hospitals, and of his vigorous prosecution of idle vagabonds and robbers, who were government sentenced to hard labour in chains. Edicts also were issued against the use of fermented liquors; but it does not appear that the king himself set a good example to his subjects. He not only indulged largely in wine, but now gave himself up to a sensual life, neglecting the affairs of state, and seldom appearing in public. A considerable force, however, was despatched under Mullik-oot-Toojár to reduce the rebellious and hitherto independent rajahs of the Konkan; but in 1453, after some successes, Mullik-oot-Toojár with his army was treacherously Toojár with entrapped in a frightful ambuscade, when the whole perish in an of the force, and its gallant commander, perished miserably. Mullik-oot his army ambuscade. foreign and The jealousies and rivalries between the foreign troops and the Deccanies had been gradually augmented during this Contention reign; and a great number of the former were massacred between in cold blood by the latter at the fort of Chakun, an native troops. event which laid the foundation of those commotions which eventually caused the decay of the dynasty. The king suppressed them for the time, and with much of his former vigour, notwithstanding the painful disorder in one of his feet, led his army in 1455 to oppose the King of Guzerat, who, however, retreated. On his return to Beeder in 1457, the king's disorder increased; and he soon afterwards died of mortification of the affected part, after a reign of nearly twenty-four years, Alla-ood-deen appointing his son Hoomayoon as his successor. II. dies, 1457. ceeds, 1457. Gawan, A feeble attempt to raise the king's youngest son Hussun to the throne was frustrated by the Prince Hoomayoon Hoomayoon himself, who, having blinded and imprisoned his brother, Shah suc took possession of it without opposition, and appointed Khwajah Khwajah Mahmood Gáwan, who had been steadily Mahmood rising in public esteem, to the office of chief minister. minister. Before his accession to the throne, the cruel and vindic- The king's tive temper of Hoomayoon had shown itself on so many occasions that he was feared by all classes; and it was not long before it broke out in acts of the most hideous cruelty. During the king's absence on a campaign in Telingána in 1459, a few desperate individuals, in the interest of one of the state prisoners, succeeded in setting him at liberty, and with him the king's brothers, the Princes Hussun and Yeháyá, who, with some 7,000 cruelties. persons were confined on various counts. The rage of the king when he heard of this event was beyond bounds. 2,000 of the city guards were put to death, and 8,000 cavalry despatched after the fugitives, who were finally entrapped at Beejapoor, and sent to the capital. The king now glutted himself with revenge. Seating himself in a balcony, over the gate of the fort, still perfect, he ordered his brother to be cast before a ferocious tiger, which killed him instantly and partially devoured him; and all who had even the most distant connection with the affair of his release, even menial servants, were impaled upon stakes, hewn to pieces, or cast alive into caldrons of boiling oil. After this, Hoomayoon Hoomayoon threw off all restraint; and his horrible cruelties continued to his death on September 3, 1461, Edward king by some accounts from fever, and by others, probably more accurately, from the hands of his servants, who, in one of his fits of intoxication, put him to death. By his will, drawn up during his illness, he appointed the queen-mother and Khwajah Mahmood Gawan, with Khwajah Jehan Toork, to be a council of regency on behalf of his son Nizam Shab, then eight years of age. Hoɔmayoon Shah had reigned three years and a half, the last two of which were passed in the revolting and inhuman cruelties which have been related, and in the most terrible debaucheries, too indecent to be recorded. Shah dies, 1461. of England. Nizam Shah succeeds, 1461. CHAPTER XIV. OF THE BAHMUNY MAHOMEDAN DYNASTY OF THE DECCAN (continued), A.D. 1461 To 1482. king. NIZAM SHAH, the young king, was a boy of great promise, Nizam Shah, spirited, and yet amenable in all respects to his mother and her counsellors. The queen herself was one of the few remarkable women that have appeared among female Indian sovereigns. She did not sit in public; but she daily received all reports of the kingdom tendered to her by the members of the regency, and gave her opinion and orders upon them. She brought her son forward in public, and directed that he should sit every day in the hall of audience while the business of the State was being transacted, in order that he should gain a full knowledge of current affairs. Under this attention to general affairs of State, the neglect and cruelty of Hoomayoon were speedily redeemed; but the dominion of a woman and a child could not be believed powerful by the neighbouring princes, and The queendowager's character. |