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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
(JUNE, -18
famous Chånd Bibi, daughter of Husain Nizam Shah I and widow of 'Ali 'Adil Shâh I of Bijâpûr, who had returned to Ahmadnagar since her husband's death and now stood forth as the champion of the lawful heir, the infant Bahadur Nizâm Shah.
The African amirs besieged Miyân Manjhù in Ahmadnagar, and he betrayed the cause of the Dakan by appealing for assistance to Sultan Murad, Akbar's second surviving son, who was now viceroy of Gujarat. Murad's instructions from his father covered this contingency, which had been expected, and the prince marched towards the Dakan. At the same time the viceroy and amirs of Malwa, at the head of whom was 'Abd al-Rahim, Khânkhânân, in accordance with Akbar's orders, marched to the Dakan in concert with the prince.
The position of Raja 'Ali Khân was now one of great difficulty. Akbar's armies were about to undertake the enterprise which he had always dreaded and deprecated, and had once actively opposed, the subjection of the first of the independent kingdoms of the Dakan which lay in their way. During the life-time of Burhan Nizâm Shah II the poet Faizi was sent as an envoy from the imperial court both to Ahmadnagar and to Khandesh, and his mission, which had not been brilliantly successful in Ahmadnagar, was believed to have secured the adhesion of Raja 'Ali Khân, whose sympathy with the kings of the Dakan and whose opposition to Khân-i-Azam's filibustering expedition were well known, but it was deemed advisable to send at this time another envoy, who should not only assure himself of Raja 'Ali Khân's acquiescence in the invasion of Ahmadnagar, but should convert him into an active ally. To this end he was to offer him the coveted district of Nandurbâr, which had for some time past formed part of the imperial province of Gujarât, and though the bribe, together with other considerations, secured its object, Raja 'Ali Khân did not requiesce in the armed intervention of the empire in the domestic affairs of Ahmadnagar until he had matle an appeal for help to Ibrâhîm 'Adil Shah II of Bijapûr and had been disappointed. At length he was compelled to join the Mughuls and accompanied them with his army to Ahmadnagar, taking part in the siege of that, city, which was opened on December 26, 1595, and closed on March 23, 1596,25 on which date was concluded the treaty under which Chând Bibî, regent of Ahmadnagar, ceded the province of Berar to the emperor Akbar.
The besieged garrison of Ahmadnagar had some hopes of assistance from Raja Ali Khân, on account of his known sympathies with the kingdoms of the Dakan, but they were ultimately disappointed. The author of the Burhan-i-Ma'agir writes, Traditions of the
old friendship of Raja 'Ali Khân, ruler of Khandesh, still remained, and he maintained an uninterrupted intercourse with those within the fort, so that they were enabled, by his means, to introduce any supplies that they might require, and occasionally, when a body * of gunners came from the other forts in the kingdom to reinforce those in Ahmadnagar, * they were able to enter the fortress by the connivance of Râja 'Ali Khân, and greatly
strengthened the defence. When this matter became known to the prince (Sultan Murad) 'he removed Raja 'Ali Khân from the position which he occupied and placed that section * of the trenches under the command of Raja Jagannath, who was one of the great Rajput * amirs, and thus all ingress and egress were stopped. In the course of the siege, and while it was at its height, Râja 'Ali Khân, being instigated thereto by Akbar's amirs, sent to Chând Bibi Sultân a letter, saying, "I purposely accompanied the Mughul army into this counury with the object of preserving the honour of the Nizâm Shâhi dynasty. I know
25 This is the date givon in the Burhan-s-Ma'dgit. According to the Akbarnama terms were concluded and the imperial forces retired on March 2, 1596.
