Indian Antiquary Vol 47

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 195

July, 1918 ]
THE FARUQI DYNASTY OF KHANDESH
179
had retained the royal guards of Bijâpûr near his person, bivouacked within a bowshot of the remnant of the Mughuls, neither party being aware of the propinquity of the other until, after a watch of the night was passed, the Bijâpûrîs lit their fires. The Khânkhânân then opened fire with his artillery and that which he had captured on Suhail Khân's position, and at intervals through the night caused the great drums to be beaten, thereby rallying round him many fugitives, so that before the morning he had assembled 4,000 men to oppose to the 12,000 who had gathered round Suhail Khân. During the night the imperial troops, finding no trace of Raja 'Ali Khân or his contingent, hastily concluded that he had either fled or deserted to the enemy, and plundered his camp. Accounts of the circumstances in which the battle was renewed in the morning differ. According to one version the Khânkhânân refrained from taking the offensive, believing that Suhail Khân would ask for terms, and the Mughuls were attacked by the Dakanis when they went down to the river in the morning to slake their thirst; but according to the other version the Mughuls attacked the enemy with loud shouts before it was light. There is no discrepancy regarding the result of the battle. The Bijâpûrîs were utterly defeated and fled towards Naldrug, Suhail Khân who had been wounded, escaping with difficulty. The contingent of Ahmadnagar and Golconda, which had been put to flight on the previous day and had barely rallies where the Bijâpûrîs were defeated, fed headlong and in sorry case to A!!madnagar and Haidarâbâd. Forty elephants and all the artillery of the Dakanis were captured.
When the corpses of Raja 'Ali Khan and his valiant contingent were discovered those who had plundered his camp were overwhelmed with confusion, and it would appear that his banner, kettle-drums, and elephants were restored. His body was carried to Burhânpûr and was there buried, with great pomp, in the Daulat Maidan. He was succeeded in Khandesh by his son Qadr Khân, who assumed and used the title of Bahadur Shân. The prince bitterly resented the unfounded suspicions of his father's good faith and the plundering of his camp and, with less wisdom but more honesty than his father, consistently opposed Akbar. Sultan Murad sent him congratulations on his accession and invited him more than once to visit him at Shahpûr, but Bahadur Shah evaded the invitation on each occasion, urging as his excuse the lack of a suitable force to accompany him,-a sufficiently pointed reference to the losses which his state had suffered by its activity in the imperial cause. He could not, however, refuse Murad's offer of a contingent of 4,000 horse to be placed under his command, and his proposal to marry a daughter of the Farûqî house, and he gave to the prince a cousin german of his own.
Bahadur's reign was troubled by dissensions between his amirs, but he was no roi fainéant and usually contrived to follow his own course, which was disastrous to him in the end.
On May 1, 1599, Shaikh Abul Fazl, Akbar's secretary, who had been appointed to the Dakan, arrived in the neighbourhood of Burhanpûr and was courteously welcomed by Bahadur, who urged him to remain for some time in the city as his guest. Abul Fazl insisted, however, on continuing his march to join Sultan Murad, but was delayed by wind and rain and was overtaken by Bahadur Shah. He took advantage of Bahadur's forcing his company upon him to urge him to aid in the conquest of the Dakan, but Bahadur temporized and suggested that he should send his son Kabir Khân, with a contingent of 2,000 horse, to join the imperial camp. He again urged Abul Fail to stay with him in Burhanpur, but Abul Fazl again declined, saying that he would have acceded to the request had Bahadur agreed to join the imperial army in person. Bahadur then attempted to conciliate Abul