Indian Antiquary Vol 51

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

Page 74

66
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[ APRIL, 1922
The juice of the grape, the spirit of France, will I buy with a price. In the land of Egypt is much sand; I shall die of the heat.
By sthe shaft of Débi has the war been finished; the people are no more. Hope comes to my mind, saying: 'I shall live. The golden age has been established.
Be not a coward; die in battle; do not despair. Thus do you determine. How great is the difference between the Plains and the Hills!
THE HISTORY OF THE NIZAM SHAHI KINGS OF AĦMADNAGAR BY LIEUT.-COLONEL SIR T. W. HAIG, K.C.L.E. C.B.E.S
I (Continued from p. 36.) LXXXVI.-AN ACCOUNT OF THE QUARREL WHICH AROSE BETWEEN SĀLABAT KHAN AND
SAYYID MURTAZA AND OF ITS CAUSE AND ORIGIN. The quarrel which arose between Sayyid Murtaza and Salábat Khân was in truth the cause of the ruin of both of them, as well as a host of others.
When Salábat Khân found his power firmly established and, as has already been indi. cated, had overpowered Asad Khân, who had striven so hard to ensure his collaboration in the office of vakil and pishvd, he formed the design of reducing Sayyid Murtaza, like the rest of the amirs to a state of absolute obedience to all his commands and prohibitions. He therefore issued to Sayyid Murtaza, under the royal seal, insolent and demineering farmáns, full of impertinence. These orders naturally inflamed the wrath of Sayyid Murtara, and led to strife. Sayyid Murtaza and Salabat Khan had formerly been firm friends and had confirmed their friendship by means of oaths and agreements. Such orders 2 these were therefore most distasteful to Sayyid Murtaza and as he was, partly in consequence of his former friendship with the vakil, no whit inferior in power and influence to Şalábat Khân, he returned to them such answers as were far from being acceptable to Sal&bat Khân, and when the strife rose high between them, turbulent fellows did their best to increase it and strove day and night to ruin both, until there happened to them what happened, as will be related hereafter.
When the friendship between Sayyid Murtaza and Salábat Khân was changed to enmity, all the amirs of Berar ranged themselves on the side of Sayyid Murtaza and opposed Şalábat Khan. As Şalábat Khan had so closed all avenues of access to the king that by no device whatever could any person, or even any letter, obtain admission to the royal presence, all power in the state remained in his hands, and Asad Khan had no longer any influence in public business. This led to ill-feeling on the part of Asad Khân against Salábat Khân. and he secretly allied himself with Sayyid Murtagâ and the amire of Berar, and several times succeeded in bringing Sayyid Murtaza to the capital with a force of 20,000 horse. şalábat Khan had no chance of successfully opposing this force, for the greater part of the army in Ahmadnagar was ill-disposed towards him, so on each occasion on which Sayyid Murtaga came, he patched up a peace with Asad Khân, treating him courteously, and obtained
his intervention for the purpose of inducing Sayyid Murtaza to retun, so that the quarrel - was healed for a time; but as soon as Sayyid Murtazâ returned, şalábat Khan again ignored
Asad Khan and seized all power in the state until at length he became so powerful that he removed Asad Khân not only from the office of vakil but also from the rank of amir, as will shortly be related.