A History of the Deccan ... With portraits, maps, plates and illustrations

Preface

. The Deccan may be roughly described as that portion of Southern India which is bounded by the Vindhya Mountains aud the River Godavery to the North, and by the Tangabadhra and Kistna Rivers to the South: the Ghats or mountain ranges which skirt the seacoast on either side being the Eastern and Western limits. It embraces an area about equal in extent to that of Great Britain and Ireland, and is a high-lying plateau with an elevation of from 1U00' to 2000' above the sea. Previous to the Mahomedan invasion there exists no authentic record of the history of the Deccan beyond inscriptions and architectural remains. It is known that it contained rich and flourishing Kingdoms, but we know little of the conditions of the country, beyond what can be gathered from a name, a grant, a date or a coin.

The Mahomedans did not venture South of the Vindhyas until the end of the 13th century. Their armies, commanded by generals of the Delhi Sultans, met with but little effectual resistance. But though they marched through the Deccan to the Southernmost limits of the Indian Peninsula, their invasions were for the purpose of plunder and not of occupation. They bent but they did not break ; and as soon as the foreign army retired, the native Hindoo States at once sprang back to independence. Although there was a Mahomedan Governor at Deogiri (Dowlatabad), there was but a slender connecting link between him and Delhi. Towards the end of the first half of the 14th century this link was broken by the tyranny and oppression of Sultan Mahomed Toghlak ; the Mahomedan generals and governors in the Deccan revolted ; distance and P RE FACE.

II internal dissensions prevented all interference on the part of the Delhi Sultans, and the result was that an independent Mahomedan Kingdom was established in the Deccan which lasted for more than 300 years. Of this Kingdom, subsequently divided into five, there exists no connected or continuous history. To Ferishta we owe almost all that we know of this period, and the information he gives us is to be found scattered, and in a greatly condensed form, in the various histories of India. A historian, however voluminous his work may be, when treating of a country as large as India is, with its huge pojnrlation and its numerous races and peoples, has neither time nor space to give more than a broad outline. The interest centers round certain prominent figures, but outside this circle everything is confused.

There is a luxuriant Eastern jungle of change names and events which must be recorded, but which like meteors, simply flash across the eye, and then disappear leaving no trace behind. Occasionally these broad outlines have been filled in. Historians such as Tod, IJ'ilks and Grant Buff, have cleared pieces of this huge jungle, and have enclosed each with a ring fence. This has been done for Kajput ana, for Mysore and for the Mahrattas, but has not yet been attempted for the Deccan. I was first struck with the necessity of a work of this kind by a conversation with the son of a Hyderabad Nobleman who had just finished his studies in the Nizam's College. I asked him who was the first of the Bahmanee Sultans of Gulburga, and he said that he did not know there had been any. He was equally ignorant of the fate of the last King of Golconda, although the remains of the old royal fortress are within an hour's drive of the city where he lived!

In our Indian schools and colleges we teach the broad outlines of Indian history, but we pay very little attention to the details of the history of the different provinces. Now it seems to me that it is as essential for a Deccan boy to know something of the early history of that part of the country in which he lives, as it is for him to know about Akbar, Auruna zebe, Clive or Warren Hastings. In the same way a Poonah boy should be thoroughly grounded in the history of the Mahrattas, and a Bangalore boy in that of Mysore. In the schools of Europe

PREFACE.

. III a boy goes through a detailed course of the history of his own country and is only given a general outline of the history of other nations. In India, the reverse seems to be the case. A general system is laid down for the whole of India, which does not embrace local and provincial history. The present volume therefore is an attempt to make Deccan readers more familiar with the history of their own country. Bearing this object in view, I have endeavoured to collect the fragments to be found in the various histories, and to piece them together, so as to form a connected history of the Deccan from the commencement of the 14th century up to the establishment of the present dynasty. This period of nearly 400 years is full of the most interesting and romantic episodes. Sir Henry Elliot's and Professor Dowson's most admirable history is a storehouse of raw material of which as yet but little use has been made, and the Bombay Gazetteers of the different Deccan Districts are replete with researches, archæological, historical and local, which comparatively unknown beyond an official circle, furnish admirable materials for a detailed history of the Deccan.

These materials, old and new, I have made use of without scruple. I can claim nothing of originality ; — in a history the absence of this quality is perhaps desirable — and what I have attempted is merely a collation of historical events relating to the Deccan from the time of the Mahomedan invasion. It only remains for me to acknowledge the sources from which my information has been drawn. To Ferishta, as translated by Scott, a book which is now becoming scarce, my first thanks are due. The different historians collected by Elliot and Dowson, throw from time to time considerable light upon Deccan affairs, and I have transcribed from them verbatim whenever occasion required. My thanks are also due to the Bombay Government for permission to make use of the material provided in their most excellent Gazetteers of Kanara, Bijapur and Ahmednagar, a per mission of which I have gladly availed myself.

Colonel Meadows Taylor's historical romance of " A Noble queen " has enabled me to go at some length into a most interesting episode of Bijapur history, and the " Historical and Descriptive Sketch of the Nizam's

PREFACE.

. IV Dominions " by Messrs. Wilmott and Seyd Hoossein Belgrami, has enabled me to give a description of those places which I have not been able to visit in person. To Mr. Herrman Linde my most cordial thanks are due for the beautiful original sketches with which he has so kindly provided me, and the excellent photographs of the Deccan cities have been furnished by the well-known photographer Mr. Lala Deen Dayal of Secunderabad and Sudore, whilst those of the Vijayanagar ruins are from Mr. Nicholas of Madras. Some of the portraits have been reproduced from a collection of old paintings found in the royal city of Bieder, and the genealogy of H. H. the Nizam (who has graciously accepted the dedication of the work) was kindly furnished to me from the palace by Nawab Sarvar Jung the Peshi Secretary to His Highness.

J. D. B. Gribble. Hi/tlerabad [Deccan) October, 1895. CONTENTS. CHAPTER FACE I. Introductory 1 II. The Origin of the Bahmanee Kings of Gulburga . . 14 III. The Rise of the Hindoo Kingdom of Vijayanagar, AND THE END OF THE FIRST GULBIJRGA SULTAN. ... 23 IV. The Gulburga Sultans.— Muhammad Shah 34 V. The Gulburga Sultans from 1374—1397, A.D 47 VI. Sultans Ghazi-ud-Din and Shums-ud-Din 56 VII. The City and Kingdom of Vijayanagar 60 VIII. Sultans Feroze Shah and Ahmed Shah 74 IX. Sultan Allah-ud-Din II 97 X. Humayun the Cruel 109 XI. Sultans Nizam Shah and Muhammed Shah 113 XII. The End of the House of Bahmanee 128

Part II

History of Bijapur and of the Deccan down to its Subjugation by Aurungzebe (A. D. 1500—1680). XIII. Yusuf Adil Shah of Bijapur 137 XIV. The Nizams of Ahmednagar 150 XV. Bijapur from 1509—1534. Ismael Adil Shah .... 156 XVI. The Kingdoms of Berar and Golconda and Continuation of Bijapur 179 XVII. The Fall of Vijayanagar 186 XVIII. Ahmednagar and Bijapur from the Fall of Vijayanagar till the Death of Ali Adil Shah (1580) 199 XIX. The story of Queen Chand and the Fall of Ahmednagar 211 XX. Retrospective Sketch of the Deccan 242 XXI. The Story of Malick Amber 251 XXII. The Beginning of the End 263 XXIII. The End of Bijapur . . . . , 286 XXIV. The Fall of Golconda.— A.D. 1686 , ... 297

Part III

The Empire in Ruins. XXV. The King-Makers 312 XXVI. The End of the King-Makers and the Birth of a new Kingdom 365 Appendix 383 A detailed list of aU the Illustrations, Maps, Plans, Genealogical Tables, etc., contained in the two volumes, along with an Index to the complete work, will be inserted at the end of the second volume. L

Chapter I. Introductory

Up to the end of the thirteenth century the Mahomedans had not invaded the Deccan. It was to them an unknown country peopled by pagan idolaters, as they called them. Scarcely anything is known of the inner condition of the vast country in which are included the Deccan and Carnatic of modern times. There seems to be some doubt regarding the origin of the name itself, and it is supposed by some to be derived from the ADandaka or forest to which Rama went into voluntary banishment, but the most probable derivation is that Deccan is a corruption of ADakkhin the Prakrit form of the Sanscrit Dakshin, the left or south. The country was occupied by many ancient Hindoo kingdoms, the history and origin of which are lost. The two northernmost of these kingdoms had their capitals at Deogiri and Warangal.

The former extended to the western coast, and far away south to Mysore, and the latter included Orissa and probably all the Telugu-speaking districts of Hyderabad and Madras. That these kingdoms were very great and powerful there can be no doubt, but there remain now nothing but ruins, which, however, are sufficient to show how advanced they were in civilisation. Deogiri, the modern Dowlatabad, was not only a large city but an important fortress, supposed to be impreg nable. The wonderful caves of Ellora and Ajunta show how advanced was the art of architecture; and in Warangal the remains of immense irrigation tanks and channels show that the rulers of the country devoted great attention to the im provement of agriculture. In both these cities there were enormous accumulations of wealth, consisting of gold, precious stones, and elephants, all of which were found within their own boundaries.

The people appear to have been brave, happy, and prosperous, and from west to east there wrere scattered about numerous holy shrines which brought together thousands of pilgrims. It was this wealth that attracted the cupidity of the Mahomedans. In the year 1294 Ala-ud-Din was the governor of the Bengal provinces. He was the nephew and son-in-law of the Sultan of Delhi — Jelal-ud-Din — and was an ambitious, cruel man. He had heard stories of the wealth which was stored up in the cities of the idolatrous Hindoos, and, taking religion as his excuse, he determined to plunder them. In reality, what he wanted the riches for was to use them as a means of gaining his father-in-law's throne. Without mentioning his project to the emperor, Ala-ud-Din marched southwards with a large army, and was absent for more than a year.

During this time no one knew what had become of him, but there were vague rumours that he was lighting with the Hindoos in Deogiri. This, indeed, was the case, and for a great part of this time he was besieging the fortress of Deogiri, afterwards Dowlatabad. This fortress is situated on an isolated hill, 640 feet in height. The hill is cone-shaped, and in addition to the steepness of the rock it was very strongly fortified with walls, bastions, and moats. There were in reality three distinct forts, one within another, and at the foot was the city which was the centre of a considerable trade. At the time of Ala ud-Din's invasion, Ram Deo was king of Deogiri. Zia-ud-Din INTRODUCTORY. 3 Barni, the Mahom edan historian, says : " The people of that country had never heard of the Mussulmans; the Mahratta land had never been punished by their armies ; no Mussulman king or prince had penetrated so far.

Deogiri was exceedingly rich in gold and silver, jewels and pearls, and other valuables." Ram Deo sent an army to meet the Mahomedan invader, but it was totally defeated, and Ala-ud-Din then invested the fortress of Deogiri. The fort was not taken, and the Rajah saved it only by agreeing to give up an immense amount of treasure, consisting of gold, jewels and elephants, with which Ala-ud-Din returned to Karra, his seat of government. So great was this treasure that it is said nothing had ever been seen like it before, and Ala-ud-Din used it to win over as many to his side as possible. AY hen the Emperor Jelal ud-Din heard that his son-in-law had returned after so successful a campaign, he sent to congratulate him and to ask why he did not come to Delhi to report the circumstances in person.

Ala-ud-Din replied, that, having gone away without permission, he was afraid the Emperor would be angry with him, and therefore he had not ventured to come to Delhi, but if the Emperor would come and see him, it would satisfy the minds of his officers that no harm was intended to them, and he would" then introduce them to the Emperor, and at the same time hand over to him the treasure which he had brought. The poor old Emperor, suspecting nothing, and anxious, perhaps, to receive the wonderful treasure of which he had heard so much, fell into the trap thus laid for him. He sent word that he would start at once, and, so as to show that he had no evil intentions, would come with only a slight retinue. Karra is situated on the Ganges, and was some five or six clays' journey form Kilu-gadhi, where the Emperor was then encamped.

Without listening to the advice of his counsellors, the Emperor set off on this journey in a boat, accompanied only by a few personal attendants and a body-guard of a thousand horse. The historian Barni thus relates the tragedy that followed: "Ala-ud-Din and his followers had determined on the course to be adopted before the Sultan arrived. He had crossed the river with the elephants and treasure, and had taken post with his forces between Manikpur and Karra, the Ganges being very high. When the royal ensign came in sight he was all prepared, the men were armed, and the elephants and horses were harnessed. Ala-ud-Din sent his brother Almas Beg in a small boat to the sultan, with directions to use every device to induce him to leave behind the thousand men he had brought with him, and to come with only a few personal attendants.

The traitor Almas Beg hastened to the Sultan and perceived several boats full of horsemen around INTRODUCTORY. 5 him. He told the Sultan that his brother had left the city, and God only knew where he would have gone to, if he (Almas Beg) had not been sent to him. If the Sultan did not make more haste to meet him, he would kill himself, and his treasure would be plundered. If his brother were to see these armed boats with the Sultan he would destroy himself. The Sultan accordingly directed that the horsemen and boats should remain by the side of the river, whilst he, with two boats and a few personal attendants and friends, passed over to the other side. When the two boats had started and the Angel of Destiny had come still nearer, the traitor Almas Beg desired the Sultan to direct his attendants to lay aside their arms, lest his brother should see them as he approached nearer, and be frightened.

The Sultan, about to become a martyr, did not detect the drift of this insidious proposition, but directed his followers to disarm. As the boats reached mid-stream, the army of Ala-ud-Din was perceived, all under arms, the elephants and horses harnessed, and in several places troops of horsemen ready for action. When the nobles who accompanied the Sultan saw this, they knew that Almas Beg had by his plausibility brought his patron into a snare, and they gave themselves up as lost. Malik Khuram asked : "What is the meaning of all this?" and Almas Beg, seeing that his treachery was detected, said his brother was anxious that his army should pay homage to his master. The Sultan was so blinded by his destiny, that although his own eyes saw the treachery, he would not return, but he said to Almas Beg: "I have come so far in a little boat to meet your brother, cannot he, and does not his heart induce him to advance to meet me with due respect?

" The traitor replied : " My brother's intention is to await your majesty at the landing-place with the elephants and treasure and jewels, and there to present his officers." The Sultan, trusting implicitly in them, who were his nephews, sons-in-law, and foster-children, did not awake and detect the obvious intention. He took the Koran and read it, and proceeded fearless and confiding as a father to his sons. All the people who were in the boat with him saw death plainly before them, and began to repeat the chapter appropriate to men in sight of death. The Sultan reached the shore before afternoon prayer, and disembarked with a few followers. Ala-ud-Din advanced to receive him, he and all his officers showing due respect. When he reached the Sultan he fell at his feet, and the Sultan, treating him as a son, kissed his eyes and cheeks, stroked his beard, gave him two loving taps upon the cheek, and said: "I have brought thee up from infancy, why art thou afraid of me?"

The Sultan took Ala-ud-Din's hand, and at that moment the stony-hearted traitor gave the fatal signal. Muhammad Salim of Samana, a bad fellow of a bad family, struck at the Sultan with a sword, but the blow fell short and cut his own hand. He again struck and wounded the Sultan, who ran towards the river, crying : " Ah ! thou villain, Ala-ud-Din, what hast thou done?" Iktiyar-ud-Din Hud ran after the betrayed monarch, threw him down, and cut off his head and bore it dripping with blood to Ala-ud-Din. Some of those persons who accompanied the Sultan had landed, and others remained in the boats, but all were slain. Villainy and treachery and murderous feelings, covetousness and desire of riches, thus did their work." This happened on the 17th Ramazan 695. H. equal to A. D. 1296, and Ala-ud-Din at once ascended the throne and marched upon Delhi.

The fatal treasure was largely used to make men forget the terrible tragedy that had been enacted on the banks of the Ganges. Every day five maunds of golden stars were discharged by a kind of engine amongst the people in front of the royal tent, and from far and near people flocked to his camp in order to share in the wealth that was being scattered about. Delhi was entered in the midst of a magnificent display, and there still remained enough of the gold to fill the treasury INTRODUCTORY. 7 as it had never been filled before. Purses and bags filled with gold coins {tankas) were distributed, and men gave themselves up to dissipation and enjoyment. "Ala-ud-Din, in the pride of youth, prosperity, and boundless wealth, proud also of his army and his followers, his elephants, and his horses, plunged into dissipation and pleasure."

As was only natural, Ala-ud-Din was not likely to forget the place which had furnished him with the means of winning a throne. There must be more left in the country from which so much had already come. Deogiri had not been sacked and the Rajah had only bought off the invaders with a portion of his wealth. Besides, Warangal had not been touched, and, if rumours were true, this city was even wealthier than Deogiri. People said that in Telingana, of which Warangal was the capital, there were gold and diamond mines. It was a religious duty to take these treasures from the hands of infidels, and accordingly, in the year 130S A. D. an army was sent to Deogiri, the Rajah of which had rebelled and had sent no tribute for several years. This time Deogiri was taken, and with it an immense amount of treasure.

The Rajah with his family were sent as prisoners to Delhi, where they did homage to the Sultan, and were then pardoned. Next year (1309) another expedition was sent to Warangal, the Rajah of which was called Rai Laddar Deo by the Mahomedan historians, but whose real name was Pratapa Rudra Deva. Malik Naib Kafur was appointed in command of this army, and his instructions were not to press the Rajah too hard, but to content himself with getting as much treasure as he could, with a promise of tribute in the future. The march lasted for more than three months and was through a wild and hitherto unknown country. Every day, we are told, it passed a new river until at length it reached the Nerbuddah, " which was such that you might say it was a remnant of the deluge." The Deogiri territories were respected as being those of a dependent, but when the fort of Sarbar was reached, which belonged to the Telingana country, it was taken by storm and the whole of the inhabitants were killed.

"Every one threw himself, with his wife and children, upon the flames, and departed to hell," and those who escaped the fire were put to the sword. Soon after, the army arrived near Warangal, and an advance force was sent to occupy " the hill of An Makinda, for from that all the edifices and gardens of Warangal can be seen" {Amir Khusrii, Tarikh-i- Alai). This clearly refers to the hill of Hanumkunda, which is situated about four miles from the ruins of the ancient fort of Warangal. The city was surrounded by a double wall of fortifications, the outer one of mud and the inner one of stone. The circumference of the outer wall was seven miles and one-eighth. The whole of this wall was surrounded by the invaders with a wooden breastwork, to construct which all the trees of the sacred groves were cut clown.

"The trees were cut with axes and felled, notwithstanding their groans; and the Hindoos, who worship trees, could not at that time come to the rescue of their idols, so that every cursed tree which was in that capital of idolatry was cut clown to the roots ; and clever carpenters applied the sharp iron to shape the blocks, so that a wooden fortress was drawn round the army, of such stability that if fire had rained from heaven, their camp would have been unscathed." The siege was carried on with great fury in spite of an obstinate defence. Several sorties were repulsed, and in one the whole party was slain and " the heads of the Rawats rolled on the plain like crocodiles' eggs." At length the outer wall was taken and then the Rajah sued for peace. He was ordered to give up the whole of his treasure, and a general massacre was threatened if he should be found to have kept anything for himself.

He also agreed to send tribute yearly. On the 16th Shawal (March 1310 A. D.) Malik Kafur left Warangal with his army, and with a thousand camels INTRODUCTORY. 9 groaning under the weight of the treasure. He reached Delhi on the 11th Mohurram, and on the 24th the treasure was presented to the Sultan. Thus ended the first siege of Warangal, which had, however, to undergo several others before, thirteen years afterwards, it was finally sacked and destroyed. The plunder thus obtained from the two excursions to the Deccan only excited the Sultan's desire for more, and the same general, Malik Kafur, was at once despatched to Deogiri with orders to organise another expedition to the regions further south. It is probable that Deogiri or Dowlatabad, as it will be called henceforth, was already governed by a lieutenant of the Delhi emperor, although the Rajah may have been left there with a certain amount of nominal power.

Not only was every assistance given towards the equipment of this new expedition, but the Rajah himself gave a Hindoo general to act as a guide to this unknown country. The King of Warangal also sent twenty elephants to Dowlatabad, with an intimation that he would be punctual in sending his tribute in future. Early in the following year (1311) Malik Kafur marched southwards. The territories of the Dowlatabad and Warangal kingdoms must have extended as far south as the boundaries of Mysore, for we do not read of the Mahomedan army having encountered any enemy until the "Belial Deo of Dharwar Samoonder." This name evidently refers to one of the Vellala dynasty, which then ruled in Mysore, and the place is identified with a spot near Seringapatam, the word Samoonder being a Mahomedan corruption of Samudram, the word used in the Tamil, Telugu, and Canarese languages for a large tank or reservoir, the literal meaning being "sea."

The Rajah was conquered and had to yield a large amount of treasure and elephants, which were despatched as a first instalment to Delhi. From Mysore the Mahomedan army marched to Madura where a quarrel had arisen between the two sons of the Hindoo king, who is called by the historian Wassaf, Kales Dewar. This king is said to have been im mensely rich, and the same author says that in his city of Mardi (Madura) there were " 1200 crores of gold deposited, every crore being equal to a thousand lakhs, and every lakh to one hundred thousand dinars. Beside this, there was an accumulation of precious stones, such as pearls, rubies, tur quoises, and emeralds, more than is the power of language to express." The whole of the country over which this king ruled, is called by the Mahomedan historians Ma'bar, and included not only that part which is now known as Malabar, but also the whole of the Madura country, Trichinopoly and Tanjore.

The capital of this great kingdom was at Madura, and the dynasty is known as the Pandion race of kings. When the King Kales Dewar died, about 1309, he left two sons, called by the Mahomedan historians Rai Sundar Pandiya and Rai Bir Pandiya. The latter name is clearly a corruption of Veera, an old Hindoo name. These two brothers quarrelled, and Veera Pandiya, the younger and illegitimate brother, drove the older one from the country, and it appears to have been on behalf of Sundar Pandiya that Malik Kafur invaded Madura. At the approach of the Mahomedan army, Veera Pandiya took refuge in the jungles, and was pursued from place to place. All the towns and temples on the line of march were sacked and destroyed, and on the 17th Zilkada the army arrived at Madura which shared the same fate. An immense amount of booty was obtained here, and Amir Khusru says that "when the Malik came to take a muster of the elephants, they extended over a length of three parasanys, * and amounted to five hundred and twelve, besides five thousand horses, Arabian and Syrian, and five hundred mans of jewels of every description — diamonds, pearls, emeralds, and rubies."

On the 4th Jumada Sani 711 H. (1311) Malik Kafur * Para.8a.ng8, a Persian measure of distance = 3 miles. INTRODUCTORY. 11 arrived in Delhi with all this treasure and presented it to the Sultan Ala-ud-Din. But a curse seemed to attach to all the gold and jewels taken from the Hindoo idolaters, and in the same way as the Warangal treasure tempted Ala-ud-Din to murder his uncle Jelal-ud-Din, so now the same temptation brought upon him the same fate from the hands of Malik Kafur. In 1317 Ala-ud-Din died, his death having been hastened, it is said, by Malik Kafur, who at once seized the throne. He put out the eyes of two of Ala-ud-Din's sons, "by cutting them from their sockets with a razor, like slices of melon," and confined another (Mubarak Khan), intending him for the same fate. Before, however, he could do this, retribution overtook Malik Kafur himself.

A conspiracy was formed amongst some of the nobles, who entered the palace at night and killed him when he was asleep. This being done, Mubarak Khan was placed upon the throne and assumed the title of Sultan Kutb-ud-Din (1317). In the following year another expedition was undertaken by the Sultan against Deogiri, which had revolted. The head of the revolt was Harpal Deo, but he was defeated without difficulty, taken prisoner, and then flayed alive, his skin being hung over the gates of the fort. A Mahomedan governor was then ap pointed, and from that time Deogiri, or, as it is now called, Dowlatabad, ceased to be the residence of a Hindoo king. In the following year the newly-appointed governor of Dow latabad revolted, but was taken prisoner and sent to Delhi, where his ears and nose were cut off, and he was publicly disgraced.