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310
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
another, and drawing the sword of hatred from the seabbard of vengeance, separated the heads of the lenders from their bodies and threw them on the dust of destruction Malik Fakhr-ul-Mulk charging from the right wing, overthrew many of the cavalry of his opponents. Malik Kasim Bard-i Mamâlik also fought bravely with the left wing and killed numbers of the enemy; and the warriors and active Khurâsânîs, who were posted in the centre, fought with much valour and killed many of the enemy. Sultan Kuli Khawaṣṣ Khân Hamadani (who afterwards became entitled Kutb-ul-Mulk, and ascended to the highest of the steps of dignity and greatness),48 with Hasan Turk Sultani, showed such valour in that battle that he ont-did Rastam and Isfandyar. Malik Dinar Dastar-i Mamalik, who was the leader of the opposing forces, was taken prisoner by Majlis-i Raf Adil Khân; and the rest of the wretched and contemptible rabble, withdrawing from the field, took to flight; and half of them managed with much difficulty to escape.
[DECEMBER, 1899.
After this defeat of his enemies, the Sultan dismounted and gave thanks to God; and the amire and kháns making their obeisance, congratulated the Sultan on his victory. Majlis-i Rafi Adil Khan in the assembly of maliks, khans, amirs and nebles, plasing his head on the ground of submission, entreated the Sultan to pardon Malik Dinar. The Sultan lending a favourable ear to the request of Adil Khan, pardoned his enemy, and ordered that all his property in money and goods, whatever the troops had carried off, should be restored to him..
After that, the Sultan, with his victorious army, marched towards Kalburga and Sagar, and, chastising his adversaries there with the sword, freed the subjects and inhabitants of that. part of the country from the evils of sedition and injustice. His troops laid siege to the fert of Sagar and took it by force. From that place the Sultan moved towards his capital, Bidar; and, on his arrival there, the shekhs, ulamé and learned men harried forth to meet him; and having made their obeisance; each of them, according to his rank, was distinguished by royal favours.
When the Sultan had taken up his abode in the capital, he turned the light of his justice, kindness, benevolence and favour-like the sun at mid-day on his subjects and all the inhabitants of the country; and tyranny, oppression, rain and desolation he ebanged into justice, equity, prosperity and eultivation.
In this year Bahadur Gilani, who after Kishwar Khan Khwajah Jahani, had taken into his own possession the country of the Konkan Dabhol, Goa. and all the ports and coast-line of the Dakhan, and bad eolleeted a large army. Several ships freighted with valuable property and Arab horses, belonging to Sultan Mahmûd Gujarati and his merchants, had come into ports which were in his possession, and, having tyrannically seized them, he looted the whole of the cargoes of the ships. Sultan Mahmûd Gujarati sent a farmán about this to Bahadur Gilani, demanding the restitution of the ships and their cargoes. In reply to this Bahadur Gilani used
48 He afterwards founded the Kutb-Shabi Dynasty of Golkonda. According to the Tarikh-i Muhammad Kutb-Shahf, this victory was chiefly due to the personal exertions of Kult Kutb-ul-Mulk; and his services on this occasion were rewarded by his being appointed governor of the province of Telingana, with the title of Amir-ul-Umrå.
The year is not stated, but we see from Firishtah that it was A. H. 899 (A. D. 14997.
The fate minister, Mahmed Gawan Khwajah Jahan, was a native of Gilan - a province of Persia (vide p. 153)and seems to have surrounded himself by his own countrymen. Bahadur Gilani was doubtless one of these countrymen. This Kishwar Khan is not mentioned elsewhere, but one can see from his name that he was a protégé of the late Khwajah Jahan's. He seems to have been governor of the Konkan and that part of the kingdom formerly. governed by Khalf Hasan Makk-ut-Tujjar, and was succeeded in that government by Bahadur Gilani. The latter broke into rebellion on hearing of the unjust execution of his patron (see Bayley's History of Gujarat, pp. 217-19, where the cause of Bahadur Gilani's hostility to Gujarat is explained), and bat fer this quarrel with Gujarât, would probably have succeeded in founding a kingdom for himself: as it was, he exercised independent sway, unchecked for thirteen years, over the whole of the Kogkan, besides holding several distriots and forts of the Dakhan-such as Bâtard, Pinala, Miraj and Jamkhandi,
