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JULY, 1921)
HISTORY OF THE NIZAM SHAHI KINGS OF AHMADNAGAR
207
This faithless and treacherous servant told the king in secret that kingship resembled divinity, in that it admitted of no participant, and that in spite of the great power and influence of Khûnzah Humayun in the state, which were so evident and notorious as to stand in need of no proof, the affairs of state were not progressing as they should. He added that it was well known that the queen-mother was much attached to the prince and that the king would act wisely in depriving her of all power as soon as possible. The traitor so worked on the king's feelings that he believed that this advice tended to his interest and accepted it. Maulânâ Husain Tabrîzî then, forgetting all that he owed to the queen-mother, employed a band of ruffians to seize and imprison both Khânzah Humâyûn and the prince.
Informers gave news of the conspiracy to Khûnzah Humayun and she issued orders that the conspirators should be seized. Some even say that the king, in the extreme simplicity of his heart, disclosed the whole affair to her. Be this as it may; the secret was discovered and the conspirators flod and concealed themselves. Among them were Khyâja Mirak, the Dabir, who afterwards received the title of Changiz Khân and rose to be the king's vakil, and Sayyid Murtaza, who eventually became Amir-ul-Umard of Berar, as will be related. These men, in fear of their iive3, fled and took refuge with 'Ali 'Adil Shâh.166 After a while they returned, were readmitted to the royal service, and were distinguished by unmistakable marks of the royal favour. After these events the king again, at the instigation of turbulent men, laid plans for seizing Malika-i-Jahân (Khûnzah Humayun).
In A.H. 970 167 (A.D. 1562) Kishvar Khân, the "Adil Shahi, marched towards the Ahmadnagar dominions with a large army and laid the foundations of a fortress at the village of Darür. Khûnzah Humayûn, with the king, the amirs, and officers of state, and the whole army, marched from the capital with the object of meeting the enemy, and encamped in the village of Dhanora, near the capital. Tâj Khân and 'Ain-ul-Mulk, who were the brothers of Khûnzah Humâyûn, and were two of the most important men in the state, were encamped in the village of Jaichand, which was no more than three or four leagues distant from the royal camp, and although repeated messages were sent to them enjoining them to join the royal camp, they omitted to obey them. The conspirators then gained over Farhad Khân and some other officers of state, and on Rabi'ul-awwal 19, A.H. 970 (Nov. 16, A.D. 1562), by the royal command, appointed Habash Khân, one of the amirs of the court, to arrest Khûnzah Humâyûn. That bold and fearless man hesitated not to commit this act of treason and ingratitude, and entered the queen-mother's pavilion without ceremony and caused her to be violently thrust into a litter. She was then handed over to I'tibâr Khan and others,
166 This account of Murtaza Nizam Shah's first and abortive attempt to free himself from the subjection in which he was kept by his mother, whose influence in the state was most mischievous, does not differ materially from that given by Firishta (ii, 255), except that according to his account the leaders of the conspiracy were Shah Jamål-ud-din Husain Inju, Qasim Beg Hakim, Shah Ahmad, and Murtaza Khân, nephew of Jamal-ud-din Husain Inju. Khûnzah Humayun had bestowed about half the lands in the kingdom on her brothers 'Ain-ul-Mulk and Taj Khân, and other relatives, who failed to maintain their contingonte. Consequently there were no troops to oppose to Kish var Khan of Bijapur when he invaded the country and established himself at Darur. The 'ruffians' to whom was entrusted the task of arresting Khûnzan Humayun were the African amirs, Farhad Khan and Ikhlap Khan. The plot was discovered owing to the pusillanimity of the young king who, when his mother sent for him to speak to him on busi. ness, concluded that she had discovered the plot and was about to depose him, and confessed everything.
167 This date is wrong by seven years, perhape owing to a scribe's error. Husain Nizam Shah I did not die until ZI-l-Qa'dah 7, A.H. 972 (June 6, 1565), it was not until A.H. 975 (A.D. 1567-68) that Kishvar Khan of Bijapur established himself in Darür; and it was in A.x. 977 that Murtaza Nizam Shah succeeded in shaking off his mother's yoke. If the day of the month given below is correct, it was on Sep. 1, 1569. that Khunzah Humayun was arrested
