THE CAMBRIDGE HISTORY OF INDIA - III - Turks and Afghans

XIII

GUJARAT AND KHANDESH

 

Bahadur's flight from Gujarat

In 1524 Alam Khan, son of Buhlul Lodi of Delhi, who was a refugee at Muzaffar's court, informed him that according to information received by him from Delhi there was much dissatisfaction with his nephew, Sultan Ibrahim Lodi, and the chances of his obtaining his father's throne appeared to be good. Muzaffar accordingly supplied him with a sum of money and a small force and dismissed him.

Late in 1524 Muzaffar's second son, Bahadur, demanded equality of treatment with his eldest brother, Sikandar, but the king, who had designated Sikandar as his heir, feared to place more power in the hands of the ablest and most energetic of his sons, and put him off with fair words. Bahadur fled disgusted from his father's court, and repaired first to Udai Singh of Dungarpur, then to Sangrama Singh at Chitor, and next to Mewat, where the local Muhammadan ruler, Hasan, entertained him hospitably. He eventually proceeded to Delhi, but it is not quite clear at what precise date. In all probability it was at the beginning of 1526, for the people of Delhi were then expecting the approach of Babur with his invading army. Bahadur was well received by Ibrahim Lodi, who was doubtless glad to obtain the services of this young but experienced soldier. Ibrahim was encamped at Panipat when Bahadur joined him, and skirmishes had already begun with the advanced guard of the Mughul army. It was in one of these skirmishes that Bahadur so greatly distinguished himself that the jealousy of Ibrahim Lodi was roused, and Bahadur deemed it prudent to withdraw, and set out for Jaunpur, possibly selecting this town in response to an invitation received from the local nobles, who are said to have offered him the throne. The battle of Panipat, in which Babur defeated Ibrahim, was fought on April 18. Abu Turab, a contemporary writer, tells us that Bahadur was present at this battle, but took no part in the fighting. If this refers to the decisive action Bahadur must have left for Jaunpur as soon as the issue of the day had been decided. On April 7 his father Muzaffar died, and it was while he was on his way to Jaunpur that Bahadur received an invitation to return, and immediately turned back in the direction of Gujarat, travelling by way of Chitor.

The nobles of Gujarat were now divided into three factions, supporting the claims of Sikandar, Bahadur and Latif, the eldest, second, and third sons of Muzaffar. Sikandar, who had been designated heir by his father, was immediately proclaimed by Imadul Mulk Khush Qadam and Khudavand Khan al-Iji, and marched from Ahmadabad to Champaner. The new king was feeble and ill-advised. He alienated the old nobles of his father's reign by advancing his own personal servants beyond their merits, and by his untimely profusion. There was general dissatisfaction, and an impression prevailed that Bahadur would soon return to seize the throne, but the immediate danger was from Latif Khan, who was assembling his forces at Nandurbar. A force under Sharza Khan was sent against him, but he retired into Baglana and when Sharza Khan followed him thither he was attacked, defeated, and slain by the raja, and the Rajputs and Kolis followed the defeated army and slew 1700 of them. The superstition of the time regarded the termination of the first enterprise of the reign as an augury of the future fortune of the king. Another army, under Qaisar Khan, was assembled, but the choice was an indication either of the ignorance and folly of the king or of the treachery of the nobles, for Qaisar Khan was Latif's principal adherent; but before the expedition could start Imadul Mulk Khush Qadam had caused Sikandar to be assassinated during the midday slumbers, and had raised to the throne Mahmud, an infant son of Muzaffar II, whom on April 12, 1526, he caused to be proclaimed as Mahmud II.

His object in selecting an infant son was, of course, that the government of the kingdom might remain entirely in his hands, but it may be doubted whether he expected to maintain his puppet against Bahadur, or even against Latif. The adherents of the former had been writing to urge him to return without delay to Gujarat, and he had eagerly responded to their solicitations. The old nobles of the kingdom, disgusted with the rule of the freedman, Imadul Mulk, who was as lavish of titles and robes of honor as he was niggardly of more substantial favors, fled from Champaner, and Taj Khan Narpali led a force to escort Bahadur back to Gujarat.

Accession of Bahadur

Imadul Mulk in his terror sent large sums of money to Burhan Nizam Shah I of Ahmadnagar and Udai Singh, raja of Palanpur, to induce the former to invade Nandurbar and the latter to advance on Champaner in support of the infant king, and wrote also to Babur, requesting him to send a force to Diu with the same object, and promising him a gift of 10,000,000 tangas and the allegiance of Gujarat. This last promise was reported to Khudavand Khan and Taj Khan, and only served to increase the general detestation in which Imadul Mulk was held. Burhan Nizam Shah accepted the money sent to him, but did nothing in return. Udai Singh did indeed march to Champaner, but his aid alone was of little consequence, and he almost immediately transferred his allegiance to Bahadur.

Bahadur at once returned to Gujarat by way of Modasa and Patan and, as he advanced, was everywhere welcomed and joined by the nobles and officers of his father's court. On July 11 he ascended the throne at Ahmadabad, and immediately continued his journey to Champaner. The feeble efforts of Imadul Mulk to delay or hamper his advance were ineffectual; he entered Champaner without opposition and at once went about to punish those who had murdered his brother and prepared his own way to the throne. Imadul Mulk Khush Qadam, Saiful Mulk, and the actual assassins of Sikandar were immediately put to death. Latif Khan, who was lurking in the city in the hope of events taking a turn favorable to his pretensions, wisely accepted the advice of his friends and fled to Palanpur, and thence to Nandurbar, where he was joined by a number of his partisans. His adherents at Champaner were arrested, and their houses were plundered by the mob. Ghazi Khan, who was upholding Bahadur’s cause in the Nandurbar district, reported that Latif Khan had raised the standard of revolt, that he had defeated him and dispersed his followers, and that Latif was a wounded prisoner in his hands. He was ordered to see that his prisoner received proper treatment and to send him to court, but the prince died on his way thither and Bahadur was left without a competitor except his infant brother Mahmud, who was secretly put to death within the year. Another brother, Chand Khan, had taken refuge with Mahmud Khalji at Mandu, and Mahmud's refusal to surrender him dissolved the friendship which had once saved his kingdom for him. The murder of the child Mahmud II alienated Udai Singh of Palanpur, who sacked the town of Dohad, but Taj Khan Narpali led a punitive expedition against him and chastised him severely.

Malik Ishaq, who had succeeded his father, Malik Ayaz, in the important government of Sorath, lost his reason in 1527, and attacked without any justification the Hindu chief of Dwarka, who was an obedient vassal of Bahadur. After his return to Junagarh he became so violent that it was found necessary to put him in prison, where he died shortly afterwards. He was succeeded by his brother, Malik Tughan, famous for his stature and great bodily strength, who in order to watch the Portuguese made Diu his principal place of residence. The adventurers would not abandon their design to build at Diu a fort for the protection of their trade and merchandise, and sought to execute it at times by means of negotiations and at times by force, but for several years had no success. At length, on September 21, 1534, Bahadur permitted them by treaty to build a fort.

Towards the end of 1527 Bahadur received an appeal for help from Alauddin Imad Shah of Berar and Muhammad I of Khandesh. The kings of Ahmadnagar and Berar had quarreled over the possession of the town and district of Pathri on the Godavari, which belonged to the latter but were coveted and had been annexed by the former. Alauddin had enlisted the aid of Muhammad and had marched to recover the district, but Burhan Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar and his ally, Amir Ali Barid of Bidar, had attacked and defeated them, captured their artillery and elephants, pursued them through Berar, and expelled Alauddin from his kingdom, compelling him to take refuge in Khandesh. Bahadur marched to Nandurbar, where he was met by his cousin, Muhammad of Khandesh, and by the Rahtor raja of Baglana, who did homage to him and entertained him in his fortress of Salher. Bahadur gave his sister in marriage to Muhammad, upon whom he conferred the title of Shah, and after the rainy season of 1528 marched on Ahmadnagar by way of Berar, where he was joined by Alauddin Imad Shah, sending a force with the raja of Baglana, whom he ordered to advance on Ahmadnagar by the more direct route of his own principality.

Invasion of the Deccan