India at the Opening of the 16th Century

CHAPTER XI

INDIA AT THE OPENING OF THESIXTEENTH CENTURY

At the opening of the sixteenth century the kingdomof Delhi was considerably reduced in extent. Ibrahim's

sway did not extend beyond Delhi, Agra, the

India'*hern Doab > Biyana and Chanderi. The Punjab

was held by Daulat Khan and his son GhaziKhan and Dilawar Khan who were alarmed at the un-bridled tyranny of Ibrahim, and who eagerly waited foran opportunity to deliver themselves from his yoke. Like

other Afghan nobles they thought rebellion safer thansubordination to a prince, whose capricious temper puttheir lives and property in peril. Sindh and Multan to-wards the west and Jaunpur, Bengal and Orissa towardsthe east had formed themselves into independent princi-

palities. In the central region lay the kingdoms of Malwaand Khandesh, which were ruled by Muhammadan princes.Between the kingdoms of the north and the central region

lay the Rajput states, whose strength had silently increas-

ed owing to the decline of the power at Delhi and the

unending quarrels of the Muslim states of the north.To the south-east lay the kingdom of Jaunpur, which

corresponded roughly to the districts now included in theeastern portions of the province of Agra and Oudh. Theresources of its kings were by no means inconsiderable.

They possessed large armies and fought against the

Afghan power at Delhi with great tenacity and vigour. In1491 Sikandar Lodi extended his conquests over the whole

of Bihar and drove away Husain Shah, the last ruler ofJaunpur, to seek refuge with the ruler of Bengal.

279

280 HISTORY OF MUSLIM RULE

Ibrahim Lodi bungled as was his wont in the affairs of

Jaunpur, where the Afghan vassals had always been very

powerful. At the earliest exhibition of Ibrahim's haughtymeddlesomeness in their affairs, the Afghan barons re-

belled under the leadership of Nasir Khan Lohani of

Ghazipur, Maruf Farmuli, and others.

Darya Khan Lohani of Bihar became the leader of the

confederacy of rebels, and inflicted several defeats upon

the forces sent by Ibrahim to quell the rebellion. After

his death his son was acclaimed as their leader by the

rebels, who continued to fight as before against the ruler

of Delhi. Bengal had separated from the empire of Delhi

during the reign of Firuz Tughluq who had recognisedits independence. Sikandar, son of Ilyas Shah, had

brought nearly the whole of Bengal under his sway as is

testified by hia coins. At the opening of the sixteenth

century, the Husaini dynasty had well established its

power, and its first ruler Alauddin Husain Shah (14931519

A.D.) was a remarkable man who greatly enlarged his

kingdom by conquest. His son Nusrat Shah maintained

a splendid court and commemorated his regime by raising

noble works of art. He is mentioned by Babar in his

Memoirs as a prince of considerable substance in Hindus-

tan. In the central region there were three important

Muslim states which will be described below.

The dynasty of the independent kings of Gujarat was

founded by Zafar Khan who was appointed to the chargein 1391 A.D. The dynasty produced a num-

ber of able and ambitious rulers like Mah-

mud ' Ahmad Shah and Mahmud Blgafla, whoKhan- greatly increased its power and influence.

desh- After the death of Sultan Mahmud Blgafla,

INDIA IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 281

Muzaffar Shah II succeeded to the throne in 1511 A.D.

He had to contend against formidable rivals, the princeof Malwa, Sultan Mahmud Khilji II (1510-31 A.D.), thelast ruler of the independent Malwa dynasty, and the

Rajput ruler of Mewar. In 1518 the ruler of Gujarat in

response to the request of Mahmud, the legitimate ruler,who was thrown into the shade by his powerful minister

Medini Rao, a Rajput chief, who had usurped all authorityin the state marched into Malwa at the head of a large

army and captured the fort of Mandu. The Rajputs offereda gallant resistance, and it is said that nearly 19 thou-

sand perished in the final encounter with the Gujarat

forces, and Medini Rao's son was among the slain. Medini'Rao lost his hard-won influence, but he was reinstated

in Chanderi by Rana Sanga, the redoubtable chief ofMewar. His gratitude found expression in his adhesionto the Rana's cause, when the latter marched againstBabar to fight the historic battle at Kanwah in 1527.Feelings of jealousy had existed between Gujarat and

Mewar for a long time, and Rana Sanga got his long-' desired opportunity through the indiscretion of the Muslim

governor of Idar. The latter used abusive language to-wards the Rana which was communicated to him. TheHana marched against Idar at the head of 40,000 braveRajputs, and obtained a victory over the Gujarat forces.

:Sanga's generals urged him to advance upon Ahmadabad,the capital of the Gujarat kings, but he felt reluctant to-do so and returned. We do not know what relations-existed at this time between the kingdoms of Delhi and

-Gujarat. The author of Mirat-i-Sikandari writes (Bayley ,B>p. 276-77) in recording the events of the year 1525 that

Alam Khan, uncle of Sultan Ibrahim of Delhi, paid a


visit to Muzaffar and sought his help against his over-

weening nephew. Apparently no help seems to have

been given, and Alam Khan was dismissed with an escortcourteously provided by his host. About the same timePrince Bahadur, the second son of Muzaffar, reached

Delhi to seek protection against the hostile designs of his

elder brother Sikandar. He was well received at thecourt, but when Ibrahim suspected him of siding with dis-affected persons he left for Jaunpur. Soon after camethe news of his father's death, and the ambitiousBahadur hastened back to Gujarat.

To the north of Khandesh lay the important kingdomof Malwa. The origin of the kingdom has been describedbefore. The founder of the independent line of kings wasDilawar Khan Ghori who was a feoffee of Sultan FiruzTughluq of Delhi. Dilawar Khan threw off the imperialyoke in 1398 during the anarchy which followed the in-

vasion of Timur. The Ghori dynasty ended in 1435 A.D.

when power was usurped by Mahmud Khan, the ministerof the Ghori chieftain, who ascended the throne underthe title of Mahmud Khilji. Mahmud was a remarkableruler who ceaselessly fought against Gujarat and Mewar,and passed during his life through vicissitudes of no meanorder. Firishta rightly says that his tent was his homeand the field of battle his resting place. During the reignof Mahmud II (1512-30), the fourth ruler of the Khiljidynasty, the Rajputs dominated the affairs of Malwa, and

the gallant chief Medini Rao, who had helped him in

securing the throne, had fully established his as-

cendancy. But the Rajput influence was an eyesoreto the Muslims, and they conspired to drive Medini Rao*

from the position he occupied in the state. The Sultan.


secretly escaped to Gujarat to seek help from the

ruler of that country. Muzaffar received him well and

promised assistance against the'

infidels/ He marched

upon Gujarat at the head of a large army and reinstated

Mahmud at Mandu. Soon afterwards Mahmud marchedagainst Medini Rao who received assistance from Rana.

Sanga of Chittor. A fierce battle raged between theRajputs and the Malwa forces which suffered a total defeat,and the Sultan was himself wounded. The magnanimousRana treated him with great kindness, took him to his tentwhere he ordered his wounds to be dressed, and releasedhim from captivity, when he became convalescent. Suchwas the state of Malwa in the year 1525. Mahmud was dis-tracted by internal dissensions, and the country was torn

by civil war. Meanwhile a fresh calamity came from an-other quarter. In 1526 Mahmud offered shelter to Bahadur'sbrother, Chand Khan, who had succeeded Muzaffar in the

gaddi of Gujarat. He had listened also to the overtures of one

Razi-ul-Mulk, a nobleman from Gujarat, who had espousedthe cause of Chand Khan and had applied to Babar for aid.Bahadur advanced upon Mandu and inflicted a sharp defeat

upon Mahmud and his forces. Mahmud was put in chains,and sent as a prisoner along with his sons to Champanir inthe custody of Asaf Khan. Five days later the escort led

by Asaf Khan was attacked by 2,000 Bhils and Kols in campat Dohud. Asaf considered it an attempt to deliver the

royal family from his custody, and ordered the king andhis sons to be put to death. Thus ended the Khilji dynastyof Malwa, and the territories over which it held swajrbecame subject to the ruler of Gujarat.

The other state lying in the central region was Khan-desh. Khandesh was formerly a province of the Delhi

284 HISTORY OP MUSLIM RULE

-empire, but it became an independent principality underMalik Raja FarQqi who was appointed governor of the placeby Firuz Tughluq in 1370. After Malik Raja's death in 1399his more able and ambitious son Malik Nasir Khan suc-ceeded to the throne. The treacherous manner in which heoverpowered Ssa Ahlr and his men has been described ina previous chapter. Asirgarh fell into the hands of Nasir,but he shrank from using the treasures found in the fortress.The last notable ruler of Khandesh was Adil Khan Faruqi(14571503 A.D.) who did much to increase the materialprosperity of his kingdom. Under Adil Burhanpur grew tobe one of the most beautiful cities in India. It was he whocompleted the fortifications of Asirgarh. The manufacturesof gold and silver thread and brocaded silks and muslins

reached a high degree of development under the Faruqi

kings, and are still in a flourishing condition. The annals

of the dynasty have no special importance. The FaruqiKings allied themselves with the rulers of Gujarat bymeans of matrimonial connections, and often received

support from them in their wars against the Muslim states

of the south. At the time of Babar's invasion of Hindustan

Khandesh was ruled by Miran Muhammad who hadsucceeded to the throne in 1520 A.D. The commonplace

character of the history of this dynasty obtrudes itself

upon our notice as we read through the pages of Firishta,and we feel relieved to see, in the words of a modern

writer, Khandesh affording a good example of the manner

in which the amenities of life may flourish underconditions which prohibit the exercise of the arts of

politics.

Ever since the death of Alauddin Khilji the states of

.Rajputana bad played no part in the affairs of the Delhi


Empire. Alauddin had entrusted the fort of Chittor to,

Rajputana.the Soni*ra


-over his foes and by raising works of public utility.But when LakhS's grandson, Rana Kumbha, who is sofamous in the annals of Mewar, succeeded to the

throne in 1433 A.D. the position of Mewar was seriouslyaffected by the rise of the Muslim states of Malwa and

Gujarat. The Muslim rulers were eager to extinguish the

independence of Mewar and left no stone unturned to reduceher power. It is needless to enter into a detailed account

of the struggle between these rival powers in which victoryrested sometimes with the Muslims and sometimes with the

Rajput chieftain. The Rana was assassinated in 1468 A.D.

by his son Uda who was probably impatient to obtain

possession of the gaddi of Mewar. The people of Mewar

rightly refused to see the face of the parricide and

denounced his unfilial and inhuman conduct. Want ofconfidence made his task difficult, and the throne wasseized by his brother Raimal after a period of five yearsin 1473. After his death in May 1509, Sangram Singh, hisyoungest son, succeeded to the gaddi of Mewar. His

accession marked the dawn of a new era in the history ofthat country.

The empire of Delhi had lost much of its former great-ness, and Sangram Singh had little to fear from SikandarLodi who had his own difficulties to overcome, but Malwaand Gujarat were ruled at this time by Nasir Shah andMuhammad Blga^a who were bound to come in conflictwith him. During the early years of his reign, SangramSingh established his prestige by defeating the forces of

Gujarat, and by effective interference in the affairs of Idar.The Rana had been grabbing for several years small por-tions of the Delhi territory, but when Ibrahim Lodi cameto the throne, he led an attack against Mewar at the head


of a considerable force. Victory rested with the Rajputs,and the Rana ended the conflict with the seizure of certaindistricts of Malwa, which had been annexed to Delhi bySikandar Lodi.

Next came the turn of Malwa. The Sultan of MalwaMahmud II had admitted the Rajput chief Medini Rao ofChanderi to his councils to act as a counterpoise to the

influence of his turbulent amirs. The amirs appealed tothe rulers of Delhi and Gujarat for help against the'

infidels.' But Medini Rao proved equal to the occasion.

He defeated the allied forces of Delhi and Gujarat andre-established the authority of Mahmud. Thus foiled intheir designs, the hostile amirs intrigued with success

to poison the ears of Sultan Mahmud against Medini Rao.The Sultan appealed to Muzaffar Shah of Gujarat for

aid, and the latter escorted him back in triumph toMandu and reinstated him in his throne. Medini Rao

sought the help of Sanga who marched against Mahmudat the head of 50,000 men, and in the encounter that

followed the Sultan of Mandu was badly wounded. TheRana conveyed the royal captive to his camp, and finallytook him to Chittor where he was kept as a prisoner for

three months. He was afterwards liberated on the

payment of an indemnity (the expenses of war) and the

surrender of a prince as a guarantee for his good behaviour

in the future. This misplaced generosity aggravated the

Rana's difficulties and afforded encouragement to his

avowed enemies.Sultan Muzaffar of Gujarat combined with the Sultan

of Malwa against the Rana to wipe out the disgrace of his

former defeat. Malik Ayaz, the governor of Sorath, whohad joined with 20,000 horse and some field pieces was

288 HISTORY OP MUSLIM RULE

placed in command. The Rana was put on his mettle byrthe preparations of his allies, and marched against themat the head of a large army. Ayaz retreated to his charge-without risking an engagement with the Rana, and theSultan of Mandu did likewise. What the Muslim historians-have described as a retreat compelled by the dissensions ofthe military officers was in all probability a defeat at thehands of the Mewar forces.

These campaigns spread Rana Sanga's fame far andiwide. Foreign princes feared him, and Mewar became therefuge of dispossessed or disinherited heirs By the year1525 it had developed into a first class military state. Herresources were thoroughly organised, and it was clear that

any foreigner who attempted the conquest of Hindustanwill have to grapple with the warlike ruler of Mewar.

The Haras of Bundi had begun to assert themselves

against the dominant influence of Mewar, but they had no>

connection with the Muslim government at Delhi. The

Rathor monarchy at Jodhpur under Rao Ganga (151632)was weakened by internecine civil strife towards the begin-

ning of the sixteenth century, but the sons of Jodha united

their forces against the Chaghtai invader and joined the-

confederacy of Rana Sanga.The province of Sindh was too far away from Delhi to

exercise any influence on the politics of Hindustan. Earlyin the 14th century it formed a part of

8indh

India at the Opening of the 16th Century

Documents

Transcript of India at the Opening of the 16th Century