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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[ May, 1918
command of Khalaf Hasan Basri, Malik-al-Tujjar, was sent into Berar and found Nasir Khan awaiting it at Rohankhey. Naşir Khan was utterly defeated and fled to his hill fortress of Laling, whither Malik-al-Tujjár followed him, after burning and destroying all the public buildings in Burhanpur and laying waste the fertile plains of Khåndesh. An attempt to surprise Laling failed but Nasir Khân, who attacked the Dakanis with 12,000 horse and a large force of foot, suffered a second severe defeat, which so preyed upon his mind that it is said to have contributed to his death, which occurred on Sept. 20, or, according to another account, Oct. 1, 1437. He was succeeded by his son, Adil Khin I. after whose accession Malik-al-Tujjar, hearing that a force was advancing from Nandurbar to relieve Laling, retired to the Dakan with his plunder, which included seventy elephants and many guns.
Adil Khân reigned without incident until 1441, when he died, either on April 30 or on May 4, and was succeeded by his son Mubarak Khân, who likewise reigned without incident until his death on June 5, 1457, when he was succeeded by his son Malik Aina, who assumed the title of Adil Khân II.
"Adil Khân II was one of the most energetic and most powerful rulers of Khandesh He established his authority over the râjas whose territory was included in or marched with his own, including the rajâs of Gondwana, and compelled them to pay him tribute, he suppressed the depredations of the Kolis and Bhils thus making the roads throughout his dominions safe for travellers, he strengthened and extended the defences of Asîrgarh, he fortified Burhanpûr by building a citadel on the Tâptî, and he carried his arms as far as Jharkhand, now known as Chûtiya Nagpůr, from which exploit he was known as Jharkhandi Sultân. The author of the Zafar-al-Witih evidently did not understand this title for he erroneously attributes one bearing a slight resemblance to it to Mubarak Khân, ' Adil Khan's father and predecessor, who, he says, was known as Chaukanda, & word without meaning but bearing some resemblance to a Hindî word meaning "square," the applicability of which is not clear. Firishta's account of the origin and application of the nickname is undoubtedly correct.
The alliance with Malwa had terminated with Ghazni Khân's desertion of Naşir Khân in 1417, that with the Dakan had ended in disaster and humiliation, and since Malik-al-Tujjar's invasion of Khândesh the Fârâqis had learnt to regard the king of Gujarât as their natural protector, had recognized his suzerainty, paid him tribute, and maintained an agent at his court. "Adil Khân II, flushed with his successes over Hindûs and aborigines, believed that the time had come when he could stand alone, and failed to remit tribute to Gujarat and to appoint an agent to represent him there. Mahmûd Baikarah, who had succeeded to the throne of Gujarat in 1458, accordingly sent an army to reduce him to obedience and 'Adil Khân, who was forced to seek refuge in Asirgarh, obtained peace on the payment of all arrears of tribute and henceforward remained obedient to Mahmûd of Gujarât. The author of the Zafar-al-Walih says that this invasion of Khandesh occurred in 1459-60, but from what we know of the history of Gujarat Mahmûd can hardly have had leisure to invade Khandesh in that year and it is far more probable that 'Adil Khân II. ventured to defy Gujarât towards the end of his reign, when his successes had increased his power and inspired him with confidence, than at its beginning when he had no reason to believe that he could throw off his allegiance. Moreover from an event which occurred during his visit to Mahmûd Shâb, his designation of a distant relative as his heir, he being then childless, it is probable that he was then advanced in years, for had be been a young man with a prospect of begetting
