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Murder of

Destruction

tinuous messages of the most profound humility and submission, the Beejapoor general advanced nearly to Pertábgurh, and having encamped his army in a defile, proceeded with a slight escort to Sivajee's capital. A small pavilion or shed had been erected on the mountain-side for the conference, and Afzool Khan here awaited the arrival of Sivajee, who, having Afzool Khan. received his mother's blessing, descended from the fort, accompanied by his friend, Tannajee Maloosray. As he embraced Afzool Khan, he struck him in the bowels with a crooked dagger, concealed in his hand, and his blow was immediately followed up by Tannajee. By a preconcerted of the Beeja- signal, the Beejapoor army in camp, completely off its guard, was attacked on all sides by parties which had been stationed in ambuscade in the woods, and very few escaped the massacre; while four thousand horses, with all the elephants and field-train, fell into Sivajee's hands. He now pressed Beejapoor severely, and plundered up to the gates of the capital. Several districts bordering upon his own possessions were annexed, and it became necessary for the king, Ally Adil Shah II., to take the field in person. He recovered most of the lost territory; but at the close of the struggle, in 1662, Sivajee retained nearly 300 miles of the coast territory, with a breadth of 100 miles, and his army consisted of 50,000 foot and 7,000 horse.

poor force.

Final results of Sivajee's plans.

The fate of

Meanwhile Aurungzebe, now emperor, had assumed the title of Alumgeer, on April 6, 1659, had consolidated his government, and overcome all opposition on the part of his brothers. Prince Dára The melancholy fate of Dára forms part of the graphic Shekoh. narrations of Bernier and Dow, where, and in Mr. Elphinstone's admirable history of the period, it will be read with the highest interest. Defeated near Jeypoor, and afterwards pursued from place to place, Dára was at last arrested by the Prince of Ján, in Sinde, when on his way to Kandahar. Here his wife died of fatigue, and the prince was sent to the emperor, who, fearing the sympathy of the people, which was unequivocally exhibited on his behalf at Dehly, had him tried, by a mock tribunal, as an apostate from the faith-the only charge against him. He was condemned to death, and was beheaded in prison, in August 1659, though not without making a stout resistance. The Prince Shujah had previously advanced from Bengal, and was defeated at Cujwa, on January 3, 1659. He was followed by the emperor's son, Prince Sooltan, and Meer Joomla, at the head of a large army; and though Sooltan deserted to him, and his cause was thereby sustained for a brief period, he

Dára be headed in prison.

Prince Shujah defeated.

Disappears in Arracan.

Fate of other

the family.

was again abandoned by the prince; and, after an ineffectual resistance, fled to Arracan, where he is supposed to have perished. Soliman and Sepéhr Shekoh, the sons of Dára, were successively imprisoned in Gwalior, and, with a son of members of Moorád, died, as was believed, of poison in a short period; and the unfortunate Moorád, detected in an attempt at escape, was, with a detestable hypocrisy, tried on a charge of having arbitrarily put to death a person in Guzerat, condemned to death, and executed in his prison. None of his brothers, or their offspring, now remained alive, and in 1661 the emperor at last believed himself secure. He had employed Meer Joomla, his great minister and general, first in the government of Bengal, and afterwards in the reduction of Assam; but, worn Meer Joomla out by the effects of climate and privation, he too died, on March 31, 1653. The emperor's own serious illness followed, and for some days his life was despaired of; but he recovered, and proceeded to Kashmere for the re-establishment of his health.

Death of

1653.

This success in the murder of Afzool Khan, and the destruction of his army, established Sivajee's fame among the Sivajee's Mahrattas on a firmer basis than ever. No one doubted proceedings. but that his mother's dreams and visions, which became current among the people, were in reality divine revelations; and Sivajee made use of his great popularity, his reputed assistance by the gods, and the means he had obtained, in now attacking the Moghul possessions in the Deccan. At this period, Shaisteh Khan, the maternal uncle of the emperor, was acting as viceroy, and did his utmost to check the Mahratta incursions; but he could make no impression on their strongholds, and the emperor becoming alarmed, recalled his uncle, and dispatched his son, the Sooltan Mauzum, to the Deccan, with Rajah Jey Singh, as his military commander. Meanwhile Sivajee had plun- Surat dered Surat, made exactions from the English and plundered. Dutch factories, and was prosecuting his predatory excursions with great rapidity and effect. In the year 1664, his father Shahjee died. He had extended the Beejapoor conquests considerably to the south, and had become possessed of the territory of Tanjore, which the King of Beejapoor allowed him to retain. Sivajee did not, for the present, press his claim on the Tanjore estate; but he now assumed the title of rajah, and struck coins in his own name. His predatory In this year his exertions almost exceed belief, and by sea as far as Barcelore, 150 miles south of Goa, he had levied contributions with his fleet from every port; he had defeated the Beejapoor troops by land, and again plundered the Moghul districts as far Dowlatabad.

warfare.

Sivajee

assumes the title of rajah.

If the emperor had put forth his strength at this period, it is probable he would have crushed Sivajee; but he seems to have considered it advisable to allow him to weaken Beejapoor, and perhaps Golcondah also, so that they could be overwhelmed by him at any time. The plunder of some pilgrim ships by Sivajee's fleet was not, however, to be borne; and Rajah Jey Singh and Dilére Khan, two of the most efficient of the imperial generals, were sent to the Deccan. Their combined efforts evinced more vigour than the Moghuls had lately shown; and several strong forts having fallen, Sivajeepartly, it is believed, from a superstitious objection to fighting against a Hindoo prince, as Rajah Jey Singh was, but more probably to secure a position for acting with more effect the Moghul against Beejapoor (for the conquest of which Jey Singh had received the emperor's commission)—joined the rajah with 2,000 horse and 8,000 infantry, and was confirmed in his acquisitions, except those portions which he had taken from the Moghuls. Rajah Jey Singh now marched upon Beejapoor; but there does not appear to have been the smallest pretext for the invasion, and as the Beejapoor State had had ample time for preparation, and its troops fought bravely, the Moghul army was obliged to retreat. Sivajee had, however, behaved with much valour in several actions, invited to and was invited to court; and he set out for Dehly, accompanied by his eldest son Sumbhajee, in March

Sivajee joins

general.

Sivajee

Debly.

1666, under the assurance of Rajah Jey Singh as to his honourHe is slighted able reception. In this, however, he was disappointed. there. The emperor took little notice of him, and by the proud nobility he was probably accounted little more than an infidel barbarian. His miserable reception caused him to faint in the emperor's court, and he soon after confined himself to his residence, on plea of serious illness. He now obtained passports for his escort, and sent them away, retaining only a few to the Deccan personal attendants; and finally, and after the emperor in disguise. had shown his ultimate design by subjecting his guest to a strict surveillance, Sivajee and his son escaped, being carried out in large baskets to a place where a horse had been posted for them, when, taking up his son before him, he proceeded southwards, by unfrequented routes, and in various disguises, to the Deccan, and finally reached Rajgurh in December 1666, after an absence of nine months.

And escapes

The emperor's motive in regard to Sivajee.

Beejapoor attacked.

Meanwhile Rajah Jey Singh had renewed the war against Beejapoor, and even invested the city; but the army of the State, assisted from Golcondah, cut off his supplies, and he was obliged to retreat, with serious loss, to

Beejapoor

again

attacked, but is relieved.

recalled.

Aurungabad. Sivajee's officers were not slow to avail themselves of this opportunity. They had already recovered several Rajah Jey of the relinquished forts, and on Sivajee's return he re- Slugh possessed himself of the northern Koncan. Jey Singh was recalled, but died on the road, and was replaced by Sooltan Mauzum, with Jeswunt Singh as his coadjutor. Treaties Treaties with were soon afterwards concluded between the emperor Re Beejapoor. and the courts of Beejapoor and Golcondah, and Siva- Golcondah. jee also obtained payment of tribute from both, on condition of abstaining from the forcible collection of the demands which he had threatened to enforce. The Deccan, therefore, Peace of Aixwas at peace; and Sivajee employed the years 1668 and la-Chapelle. 1669 in perfecting the arrangements for his civil govern- ministration ment, and the regulation of his army, which were not of Sivajee. only admirably conceived, but carried out to the minutest details, with wonderful ability and regularity. They are given in full in Grant Duff's 'History of the Mahrattas,' and will amply repay the perusal of all students of Sivajee's strangely eventful and successful career.

Civil ad

anxiety in

Bivajee.

Orders him to

hended.

Singurh

taken by

Tannajee

The emperor, who had viewed Sivajee's escape with alarm, and his subsequent progress, as well as the well-founded re- The ports that his son and Jeswunt Singh were receiving emperor's large sums of money from him, with real uneasiness, regard to now ordered them to effect his apprehension. Of this design Sivajee was privately informed by the prince; be appre and, with his wonted energy, he recommenced the war by capturing the strong fort of Singurh, held by a picked garrison of Rajpoots. On this occasion, Tanna- Sivajee. jee Maloosray, his tried friend and commander, was Death of slain; but the success was great, and covered Maloos- Maloosray. ray's name with a glory which has never diminished among his countrymen. Sivajee then again plundered Surat, and surat sent his general, Pertáb Rao, into Khandesh, who im- plundered. posed on that province, for the first time, a demand for The demand chouth, or one-fourth of the revenues. Jinjeera was established. also besieged, but without effect, and after a revolution in the place, the successful party threw themselves on the protection of the Moghuls. The emperor now sent an army of The Deccan 40,000 men to the Deccan, under the command of reinforced by Mohubut Khan, which arrived in 1672; but a large The troops portion of it was totally defeated by Sivajee's general, by Sivajee. Pertáb Rao Goozur, in a general action, and the rest, after forming a junction with the imperial troops at Aurungabad, remained inactive. The emperor shortly afterwards recalled his son Muázzim, of whom he had long been suspicious, and also Mohubut Khan,

for chouth

the emperor.

are defeated

and replaced them by the viceroy of Guzerat, Khan Jehán; but the struggle in the Deccan was not renewed for several years, nor until undertaken by himself.

CHAPTER XXIV.

OF THE REIGN OF THE EMPEROR AURUNGZEBE (continued), 1672 To 1680.

Holland.

Rebellion of

Aurungzebe

the frontier.

THE circumstances which prevented the emperor's further interLouis XIV.'s ference in the affairs of the Deccan in 1672 were conconquests in nected with the government of Kabool. The Afghans who held the passes had rebelled, and defeated Ameer the Afghans. Khan, the son of Meer Joomla, who was viceroy of the province, and had even set up a king of their own. In 1673, therefore, the emperor proceeded to the seat of proceeds to war, and some successes were obtained by his son, the Prince Sooltan; but they were of small moment, as the mountain tribes were never thoroughly reduced or otherwise pacified. While engaged in directing operations against them, disturbances of a serious nature occurred near Dehly, which Disturbances obliged the emperor to return. A sect of Hindoo deat Dehly. votees, who styled themselves Sátnaramiés, had risen in rebellion, and committed many excesses. Several detachments sent against them had been successively defeated, and a belief ensued that they were magicians, upon whom weapons or bullets had no effect. To restore confidence, therefore, the emperor took the field in person, and even wrote sentences of the Korán with his own hand, to be tied upon the standards to avert malign influences. The result was the complete dispersion of these rebels; but the manner in which their cause had been aided by the Hindoos of the localities of the insurrection, so irritated the emperor, that, yielding to his own bigoted and fanatical feelings, he encouraged the massacre of the male inhabitants by his troops, while women and children were seized and sold as slaves. Above all, he reimposed the detested jezia or capitation-tax upon Hindoos, which had been abolished twice before the establishment of the Moghul dynasty-an act which excited the utmost unpopularity and discontent in all portions of the empire, and proved the means of detaching from him not only many friends, but the goodwill of the entire Hindoo population of his dominions, which

Its bad effect.

Massacre of
Hindoos.

Capitationtax reimposed.

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