konda to Gôgy, and interred beside his father, a simple tombIsmail's stone alone marking the spot. The character of this character. king is well given in the words of a local historian, quoted by Ferishta. 'He was just, patient, and liberal; extremely generous, frequently pardoning State criminals, and averse to listening to slander. He never used passionate language, and possessed great wit, to which he added a sound and accurate judgment. He was an adept in the arts of painting, varnishing, making arrows, and embroidering saddlecloths; and in music and poetry excelled most of his age. He supported literary men and scholars munificently at his court; and had a great fund of humour, which he displayed at his private parties and in familiar intercourse with his courtiers.' His personal bravery was beyond question, as was proved by his acts of valour in all his wars, and he shared the fatigues and privations of his soldiers, who loved him deeply, and deplored his loss. No record of his civil administration has been preserved; but, it may be inferred from his general abilities and kind disposition, that it had flourished abundantly. On his death-bed he appointed his friend Assud Khan to be protector of the kingdom; and though he had no confidence in his eldest son Mulloo, he declared him his successor. This prince was therefore raised to the throne at Goolburgah, but his father's opinion was confirmed by his conduct, which so disgusted Assud Khan, that he retired to his estate of Belgaum, leaving the regency to the old queen-dowager, Booboojee Khanum, and Ismail Khan DecHe is de- cany. After enduring Mulloo Adil Shah's vices for six months, the queen-dowager determined to depose him; Ibrahim Adil and with the full approbation of Assud Khan, Mulloo Adil Shah was dethroned and blinded, and his brother Ibrahim crowned king, to the satisfaction of all parties in the State. Mulloo Adil Shah succeeds, 1534. throned, 1534. Shab 1. suc ceeds, 1534. These transactions have brought the history of the Adil Shahy dynasty somewhat beyond the date previously mentioned, namely, 1526; but the details of the reign of Ismail Adil Shah could not be interrupted; and those of his successor, Ibrahim Adil Shah I., will be resumed hereafter. CHAPTER XX. OF THE NIZAM SHAHY DYNASTY OF AHMEDNUGGER, assumes in 1489. generals THE death of Nizam-ool-Moolk Bheiry, who succeeded Mahmood Gáwan as minister of the Bahmuny State, after his ex- Ahmed ecution, has been before related in Chapter XV. of this Nizam Shah Book, as also the declaration of independence by his son dependence, Mullik Ahmed, which immediately followed that event. He had been previously employed in the royal service, both by Mahmood Gawan and his own father; and, at the period under notice, was engaged in reducing the Northern Konkan, which formed part of his father's public estate, to obedience. In these operations he had been singularly successful; and had captured all the Mahratta strongholds, which, up to this period, had defied the Mahomedan arms. Ferishta states, that though he assumed independence, he was not crowned, nor did he style himself shah or king, until a later period. An attempt was made by The Bahthe Bahmuny State, soon after his declaration of inde- muny pendence, to recover Mullik Ahmed's possessions; but defeated. the generals dispatched for the purpose were successively defeated; on the last occasion with the loss of all their baggage. A third attempt by Azmut-ool-Moolk, with 18,000 men, on the part of Mahmood Shah Báhmuny, was equally unsuccessful. Mullik Ahmed evaded them, marched suddenly upon Beeder, a distance of nearly 300 miles, surprised the city guards, and carried off the females of his family without loss; an exploit which considerably added to his fame. He then rejoined his forces, and after some manoeuvres by both parties, a general action ensued, on May 28, 1490, in which the Bahmuny troops suffered a severe defeat on the plain near the town of Bingar, which was commemorated by the erection of a palace, surrounded by a garden and park, which still remain. The occurrences of the reign of Ahmed Nizam Shah were so much mixed up with those of Mahmood Shah Bahmuny, and his contemporaries, that they need not all be reviewed. Joonair as yet had been the capital of the new kingdom; but it was inconvenient in many respects, and was not sufficiently central. Mullik Ahmed Shah had determined to gain possession of Dowlatabad and its dependencies, which included the broad and fertile valley of the upper Godavery, and eventually to extend his power into Berar; and he fixed upon a spot near Ahmednugger founded.1494. Bingar, where he had already erected a palace for the new capital, which was named Ahmednugger, the fort of Ahmed. The position, in every point of view, was an excellent one. It commanded all the passes into Khandesh and Dowlatabad, and its elevation, near the crest of one of the principal Deccan ranges of hills, secured a cool and salubrious climate. The city soon sprang up, and with the noble fort palaces of the Nizam Shahy dynasty, forms one of the most valuable military stations of the British army in the Deccan. America, discovered by Columbus. Dowlatabad besieged. Brazil discovered. The Bahmuny officer, Mullik Wujoo, in charge of the province of Dowlatabad, had, like others, declared his independence; and there had since occurred a domestic revolution, in which his younger brother, Mullik Ashruf, had obtained the power. Ahmed Nizam Shah had not as yet been able to make any impression on Dowlatabad; but he devastated its districts in every season of harvest, and determined on continuing this policy till it should be given up. In 1499 he was engaged in besieging the fort, when Mahmood Shah of Guzerat moved southwards with the purpose of reducing Khandésh and relieving Dowlatabad. This had the effect of obliging Ahmed Nizam Shah to raise the siege; and a subsequent night attack upon the Guzerat army near Sooltan poor, in Khandésh, caused its king to retreat. Ahmed Nizam Shah now advanced once more towards Dowlatabad, the garrison of which sent him word that their master had engaged to acknowledge the King of Guzerat as his sovereign, and as they could not submit to this, they would admit him if he would come. So favourable an offer could not be neglected, and the king marched with 3,000 horse, and encamped without the walls. Mullik Ashruf was then ill, and died in a few days; and the keys of the fort were delivered up to Ahmed Nizam Shah, who, rejoiced at his good fortune, directed the whole of the works to be repaired, and placed in them a trusty garrison of his own troops. The possession of Dowlatabad, with its large dependencies, very much increased the king's power; and though frequently threatened by Guzerat, no war actually took place. Ahmed Nizam Shah Ahmed Shah Bheiry fell ill in 1508, and died in the course of the He was buried at Rózah, near Dowlatabad, a year. place to which, as well for the mausoleums and colleges Cambray. of holy Mahomedan saints established there, as from its beautiful situation and delightful climate, he had become deeply attached. The fort is given up to him. Bheiry dies, 1508. League of The king was succeeded by his son Boorhan Nizam Shah, then a Boorhan boy of seven years old. The public affairs were in his son, suc- the hands of experienced officers, and the young king's Nizam Shah, ceeds, 1508. from Berar education was carefully conducted by them. Ferishta states, that he saw in the royal library at Ahmednugger, a treatise on the duties of kings, neatly copied by him when he was ten years old. In 1510 the kingdom was placed in some danger by the desertion of 8,000 cavalry to Alla-ood-deen Imád An invasion Shah of Berar, who, assisted by them, invaded the by troops Ahmednugger dominions, being led to believe they defeated. would fall an easy prey; but he was resolutely opposed by Khwajah Jehán of Paraindah-who, partially independent, was yet tributary to Ahmednugger-and the young king himself and was defeated with great loss, flying from the field of battle at Ranoory to Ellichpoor. The young king in this battle rode before Ajdur Khan, his tutor, on the same saddle, in the thickest of the fight. It was after this war that the Brahmin relations of the king claimed their hereditary rights as 'Putwaries,' or accountants of Putry. The regent, Mokumil Khan, proposed an exchange of territory for Putry, which belonged to Berar, and this being refused, he took forcible possession of the town, and it was afterwards retained as a family point of honour. : marries a takes In 1523 the king was married at Sholapoor to Muryam, the sister of Ismail Adil Shah of Beejapoor: and their sub- The king sequent quarrel in regard to that fort, and the defeat of princess of the King of Ahmednugger, when he was carried off the Beejapoor. field fainting from the weight of his armour, have been Solyman already mentioned. Ferishta adds of this battle, 'it Belgrade. was so bloody a one, that nature revolts at the remembrance.' In 1527 Putry became the subject of a war. Alla-ood-deen Imád Shah of Berar retook and fortified it, when Boorhan Rome taken Nizam Shah in person drove out the Berar garrison, by Charles V. razed the fortifications of the place, and bestowed it as 'a charitable gift' on his Brahmin relations, by whom it was held successively till the reign of the Emperor Akbur, and whose descendants still represent the family. king. In 1529 Boorhan Nizam Shah was severely pressed by the junction of Guzerat to the confederation of the Kings of League Khandesh and Berar against him. The two latter he against the had defeated: but the accession of Guzerat to their league was very formidable. The timely assistance rendered by his brother-in-law, the King of Beejapoor, on this occasion, to Boorhan Nizam Shah, will be remembered; but the final success may be attributed to the judicious conduct of Kawur Sein, a Brahmin, who became Péshwa, or prime minister, being the first instance as yet recorded of any Hindoo being raised to an office of the highest rank. The Brahmin seems to have been The king as brave a soldier as he was a skilful administrator, but defeated. P Boorhan Nizam Shah was nevertheless defeated, and obliged to sue for peace, and acknowledge the supremacy of the Guzerat king, which was considered a sufficient humiliation. In 1530 the king sent an embassy to the monarch of Guzerat, to congratulate him on his conquest of Malwah, but he was informed that he must do homage in person-a further humiliation, at which the king's pride revolted. ́ ́ Should he who had won his independence from the great house of Bahmuny stoop to that of Guzerat?' Shah Tahir, the holy saint who had been his ambassador, now dexterously delivered him from the dilemma. At the interview between the kings, he carried on his head a Korán, written by Ally; and the Guzerat king, descending from his throne to pay it reverence, saluted Boorhan Nizam Shah, who was following his ambassador. The two kings then entered into conversation, and became good friends; Bahadur Shah, before he returned to Guzerat, formally resigning all his assumed honorary pretensions as king of the Deccan. His Brahmin minister now rendered more excellent service to Boorhan Shah, in reducing the Mahratta chiefs of the mountain tracts who had as yet not submitted, and all these princes were very judiciously confirmed in their estates. Mahratta chiefs reduced to obedience. Remarkable letter from Ismail Adil Shah. The last quarrel between Boorhan Nizam Shah and Ismail Adil Shah, in 1531, resulted, as has been recorded, in the former's utter defeat; but the letter written by Ismail on receipt of the rude message 'to stay at home and mind his own business,' has been preserved in Ferishta's history, and is too characteristic of the period to be omitted. 'Have you so soon,' writes the Beejapoor king, 'forgotten your late condition at Ahmednugger? If you pride yourself on the tattered rags of the King of Malwah, the boast is ridiculous. Nor need you be too vain of the title of shah, conferred on you by the King of Guzerat, since I derive my royal lineage from a race of sovereigns, and am so styled by the kings of Persia, descendants of the Prophet. I advise you to repent of your folly and arrogance, or I shall compel you to quit the enjoyments of your Bagh-i-Nizam, and try how you like the clashing of steel in the field of battle.' No doubt much of the royal correspondence between the brothersin-law and their neighbour was in the same strain; and could Ferishta have introduced more specimens of the familiar and political letters and transactions of his period into his history, its interest and importance, great as both are, would have been highly enhanced. The King of Ahmednugger did not, it may be presumed, like the clashing of steel in battle, to which his gallant brother-in-law invited him, though he did not evade it: and the |