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SEPTEMBER, 1899.]
HISTORY OF THE BAHMANI DYNASTY.
245
Mirzà Habib-Ullah' Ni'mat-Ullah, who by the accidents of fate had been dispersed like the constellation of the Bear, having assembled like the Pleiades, planned the release of their spiritual preceptor, and forming a confederacy went to Malik Yusuf Tark (one of the slaves of the late Sultan Ald-ud-Din, and celebrated for his great integrity and devotion, charities and piety) and disclosed to him their secret plans. Yusuf entered into the views of the associates and made an agreement with them. Some of the kotwáls of the fortress being also on their side, twelve sowûrs and fifty foot-soldiers joined them : nearly five or six thousand cavalry together with several celebrated amirs also agreed to join the kotwáls of the fortress.
When it was nearly evening, Yusof Turk and the associates went to the gate of the fortress. At that hour each of the gate-keepers had gone about some business, and the few who were present tried to stop them; but Yusuf had prepared a farman with a ruby-coloured seal - which was customary on the royal mandates of the Sultans of the Dakkhan - and showed it to the gate-keepers. By this means they passed through the first door, but when they arrived at the second door, which which was the principal one of the fortress, & great number of men came forward to stop them, and said that until the kotwal's permit came they could not act upon the farman. Yusuf seeing that the sword was the only means of silencing their tongues, cut off their heads and entered the fortress. By this time the sun having set a great darkness bad fallen over the fortress. A number of them going to the door of the great prison, which adjoined that of the fortress, broke it open with axes. Nearly six or seven thousand saiyids and learned and pious men were confined in that prison, and when they found the doors open and saw the means of effecting their escape, they broke their chains and manacles with sticks and stones and rushed to the door of the prison. The friends of Mirza Habib-Ulláh who had caused all this dit rbance then went to a village called Mirza-Dih, and there all were released from their bonds. low in the fortress, between friends and enemies, there were 12,000 persons with swords and axes scattered about, so the whole city was soon in a state of riot and confusion; and as owing to the darkness of the night friends and enemies could not be distinguished from one another, many were killed. Yahya Khân, son of Sultan Ala-udDin, and Jalal Khan Bukhari were basely and cruelly killed on that dark night. Hasan Khân, the sovereign of a moment, who as yet had tasted only the bitterness of life, rushed ont of the fortress and hiding himself in the house of a barber disguised himself in the dress of a darwish, and Mirzê Habib-Ulláh with his friends joined him. The Mirza wished to retire into a sequestered life, but Hasan Khân persuaded him against it, so they made a mutual agreement, and leaving the city set out for Bir. The soldiers, obtaining information of this, sought them from all sides, and in a few days a great number joined them.
When the news of this insurrection reached the ears of Humayun Shâh the fire of his world-consuming wrath began to blaze up, and he became like a madman: he put in chains and threw under elephants a great number of his amirs and generals, and returned in all haste to his capital. On the way, in the excess of his rage, he used to bite the back of his hand till the blood flowed from it. The author of the Tarikh-i Mahmúd Shahi, who was one of the courtiers of Humayun Shah, relates as follows:-“I have heard that when the news of the insurrection of Hasan Khan reached the Sultan he was so overpowered with fury that there were times when in his rage he used to tear the collar of bis garment and bite the ground till his teeth were covered with blood; and when he arrived in the city of Bidar, such shedding of blood and such numerous acts of tyranny and oppression emanated from him that no preceding tyrant had been guilty of such."
Sultân Humâyün Shah told off a force to go in pursuit of Hasan Khan and Mirza HabbUlláh, who had gone in the direction of Bijapur. Siraj Khan - who afterwards became Mu'azzam Khân - was governor of that place. He met the fugitives with all kinds of honour
• Habib- Unkh had been imprisoned on account of his friendship for Prince Hasan Khan. - Firishtah.
• Properly Bhid. A little further on they are said to have gone to Bijapur. The two places are about equally distant from Bedar. Firishtah also says they went towards Bhd.
