having surprised the garrison, put the unfortunate Asa and the whole of his family to death; and Mullik Nusseer, arriving shortly afterwards, took possession of the fort and of the wealth of the Hindoo prince, which was very great. This exploit was considered so important, that Zeir-ooddeen, a celebrated Mahomedan saint, came expressly from DowThe towns of latabad to tender his congratulations upon the 'victory over the infidels,' and the town of Zeinabad, on the Zeinabad and Boorhanpoor founded in honour of the event. Asa and his family are put to death. left bank of the Tapty, was founded in his honour; and Boorhanpoor on the right bank, opposite to Zeinabad, being also founded at the same time, was named after the equally celebrated saint, Boorhan-ood-deen, and became the capital of the province. In 1417 a dispute having arisen between Mullik Nusseer and his brother, Mullik Ifty Khan, to whom Talnair had been left by his father, the king besieged and took Talnair, confining his brother in the fort of Aseergurh. Khandesh was thus once more united under one power. The king's wars with the Bahmuny kings of the Deccan, which arose out of the marriage of his daughter to the Bahmuny king, Alla-ood-deen, are of little interest; and he fared so badly in them that, after a severe defeat, he died of vexation, on September 19, 1437, after a reign of forty years. Khan Printing in He was succeeded by his son, Meerun Adil Khan Farooky, who Meerun Adil reigned a little more than three years, and was assassinated in the city of Boorhanpoor, on April 28, 1441, and was in turn succeeded by his son Meerun Moobaruk Khan Farooky, who enjoyed a perfectly peaceful reign of seventeen years, which he devoted to the improvement Khan assassi- of his dominions, keeping himself aloof alike from the political transactions and the military expeditions of 1440. nated, 1441. Khan Guzerat, Malwah, and the Deccan. He died on May 17, Farooky suc- 1457. His eldest son, Adil Khan Farooky, followed in ceeds, 1441. Dies, 1457. Dies, 1503. succession; and for a time endeavoured to free himself from the supremacy of Guzerat. In this, however, he failed; and for the rest of his long and prosperous reign of forty-six years enjoyed entire peace. He died on April 8, 1503, deeply regretted by his people. He had Pope PiusIII. resided almost continuously at Boorhanpoor; and though that city had been greatly increased by his predecessors, and adorned by many fine buildings, yet it was under Adil Khan's his own hand that it grew to be one of the most beauBoorhanpoor. tiful in India. Descriptionof works in Mullik king of Farooky succeeds, 1437. Meerun Adil Khan Farooky succeeds, 1457. By Adil Khan Farooky, the noble palace citadel which was named the Ark, and commands the only ford leading to the city, was entirely constructed, and of which the splendid and massive ruins still Fortifled palaces. supply. exist. Rising almost from the river-bed to the summit of the lofty northern bank of the Tapty, in tiers of fine arches, and terraces which were once gardens, the level portion of the summit, connected with the town, was filled with sumptuous buildings in a fine style of architecture. The interiors of some of the apartments, which have vaulted roofs, are fitted with fountains, and marble slopes honeycombed, over which, in the hot weather, pure water flowed with a rippling murmur; while the spacious halls and private rooms, with their open arches, and oriel windows once fitted with screens of carved woodwork, show an appreciation of comfort in fresh air and ventilation foreign to the habits of the present people of India. The elegant Jumina mosque, in the market-place, the fortifications, garden-houses and huntingpavilions in many parts of the picturesque environs of the city; the deer park; and, above all, the noble and never-failing supply of water, brought to the city by pipes from the neigh- Water bouring hills, prove Adil Khan Farooky to have been a person of no ordinary public spirit, benevolence, and taste. The city, even in its present reduced condition, shows evidences of its former wealth in the carved woodwork of balconies, verandahs, and architraves of doors and windows, and in the style and size of many of the dwelling-houses. The king completed the fortifications of Aseergurh, and the paved road up to the summit; and the remains of pavilions and gardens, and the mosques and mausoleums, which appear on every side of Boorhanpoor, testify to the wealth and good taste of the period. Boorhanpoor and Aseergurh, situated twelve miles north of the city, and now a military station of the Bombay army, are to the present day most interesting to the traveller, and well worthy of a visit. The branches of manufacture introduced or perfected in the time of the ManufacFarooky kings, of gold and silver thread, tissues, ribbons, cloth of gold and silver, and brocaded silks and muslins, still survive, and are the main support of the population; and the processes of manufacture of these valuable and elegant fabrics are at once curious and ingenious. tures. Farooky suc ceeds, 1503. Adil Khan Farooky left no male issue, and his younger brother, Dawood, succeeded him. With the exception of a short Dawood Khan war with the Ahmednugger State, nothing remarkable is recorded of his reign, and he died on August 6, 1510, having reigned nearly eight years. At his death, his son, Ghizny Khan, a minor, was placed on the throne by the chief minister; but almost immediately after- Khan's son, wards poisoned, and the direct line of the house of Ghizny Khan, Farooky ceased to exist. There were, however, several is poisoned. collateral relatives who laid claim to the throne; and, Dies, 1510. Henry VIII. England. of Dawood succeeds, and Disputed succession. Adil Khan ceeds, 1511. as was inevitable, intrigues arose among them; but Mahmood Shah Bégurra of Guzerat summarily put an end to these factions by marching into Khandesh, and placing Farooky suc- Adil, the son of Hussun, and grandson of Nusseer Khan by the daughter of Mahmood Shah of Guzerat, upon the throne, under the title of Adil Khan Farooky II. The first act of Adil Khan was the recovery of Talnair and its dependencies, which had been alienated and usurped by the vizier of the late king; and having married a daughter of King Mozuffer Shah of Guzerat, and assisted him in his campaigns in Malwah, the king lived in peace till his death in 1520, after a reign of nine years. His son Meerun Mahomed succeeded him, whose fortunes will be hereafter noticed. Dies, 1520. Meerun Mahomed succeeds, 1520. CHAPTER VII. OF THE MAHOMEDAN KINGS OF BENGAL AND BAHAR, Mullik Fakhrood-deen becomes king, 1341. IN the reign of Mahomed Toghluk, king of Dehly, Mullik Fukhr-ood-deen revolted, and having slain Kuddur Khan, the viceroy of the eastern provinces of Bengal, proclaimed himself king over Lukhnow, Soonargaum and Chittagong. This event happened in the year 1341. He was, however, opposed by Mullik Aly Moobaruk, by whom he was defeated and put to death, after a short reign of two and a half years. Mullik Aly, who had assumed the title of Alla-ood-deen, now became king, but was put to death in less than two years afterwards. Ferishta's records of this monarch are very meagre, and it is probable that Bengal had no good court historian. Hajy Elias, who assassinated. succeeded Alla-ood-deen, under the title of ShumshShumsh-ood- ood-deen Poorby, is not accounted for as a relative or otherwise; but he was a wise and benevolent prince, And is deen Poorby succeeds, 1344. and so active in defence of his dominions, that the forces of Dehly could make no impression upon him. In 1353 he was obliged to take refuge in the fort of Yekdalla, which was besieged by Feroze Toghluk without effect; and in 1354 and 1357 he sent embassies to Dehly, when his independence appears to have been recognised as a tributary. He died in the latter year, 1357, and was succeeeded by his eldest son, Sikunder Poorby, who, being again attacked by Feroze Toghluk, consented to pay tribute, which was most Dies, 1337. Executed, 1344. Alla-ooddeen succeeds, 1344. Sikunder likely the cause of the war. He afterwards reigned in peace until 1367, when he died. suc ceeds, 1374. Little more than the date of accession and deaths of the succeeding sovereigns of this dynasty are to be found in the Mahomedan chronicle, and those recorded are as follows:-Gheias-ooddeen Poorby succeeded his father Sikunder in 1367, and Ghelas-ooddied in 1374; he was followed in the same year by ceeded, 1367. Sooltan Oos-Sulateen Poorby, his son, who is described Died, 1374. as brave, benevolent, and merciful. He reigned nearly Sooltan Oosten years, and died in 1383. His son, Shumsh-ood- Sulateen sucdeen Poorby II., succeeded him. He was a weak prince, Dies, 1383. and after an inglorious reign of three years died. Shumsh-oodDuring the reign of the last king, the Poorby authority coeds, 1383. seems to have been greatly weakened; for Rajah Kans, a Dies, 1386. Hindoo zemindar, seized the throne after the king's Rajah Kans death, and reigned until 1392, when he died. He was throne, 1386. succeeded by his son Jeetmul, who, strange to say, Dies, 1392. being a Rajpoot, professed a desire to become a Maho- Jeetmul, medan, and was admitted to that faith with great Julal-odpomp, under the title of Julal-ood-deen. deen suc usurps the afterwards deen, suc ceeds, 1392. Dies, 1409. Ahmed, 1409. 1426. Burbik suc Julal-ood-deen proved to be a wise and benevolent monarch, and reigned for seventeen years, or till the end of 1409, in great prosperity. His son, the Prince Ahmed, succeeded him, and reigned nearly eighteen years; and after his death, the throne was usurped by a slave, named Nasir-ood-deen Gholam, who was shortly after deposed. As Ahmed had left no male heirs, Nasir Shah, a lineal Nasir Shah descendant from Shumsh-ood-deen, was placed on the seeds, throne, but died after a brief reign of two years, and was succeeded by Burbik, who reigned peaceably for seventeen years, and died in 1445. Yoosuf followed ceeds, 1428. him, who died in 1457, when Sikunder was placed on Dies, 1445. the throne; but immediately deposed, and Futteh Yoosuf sucelected, who, though distinguished for liberality and ceeds, 1445. justice, was murdered by one of his eunuchs, in 1461. Dies, 1457. This person seized the throne: but was deposed by Murdered, Mullik Andeel, an Abyssinian chief, who became king Feroze under the title of Feroze Poorby, and died in the year Poorby suc1493, after a long and prosperous reign, at his famous capital of Gour. His son Mahmood succeeded him, but was put to death by an Abyssinian slave, named Sidy Budr, who adopted the title of Mozuffer and 1493. ascended the throne. In the year 1496 he was be- Mozuffer sieged in his capital, Gour, by the nobles who had succeeds,1493. revolted, and in a sally made by the garrison under his command, ceeds, 1461. Dies, 1493. succeeds, and is murdered, succeeds. which brought on a bloody general action, he was slain; though by Is killed, 1496. another account he was put to death by the captain of Alla-ood-deen his body-guard. He was succeeded by his vizier, Syed Shureef, who had been at the head of the revolt, and who ascended the throne under the title of Alla-ood-deen Poorby. He dismissed the Abyssinian and the Bengal levies, probably Rajpoots, who had proved rebellious and fickle, and reigned in Died, 1523. quiet prosperity and great splendour till 1523, when he died, and was succeeded by his eldest son Nuseeb, whose history will be followed hereafter. During this period of broken successions, however, Bengal rose to great wealth and prosperity, and its capital, Gour, was one of the finest and most populous cities of India. It is now completely in ruins, and for the most part overgrown with jungle, and uninhabited. CHAPTER VIII. OF THE MAHOMEDAN KINGS OF JOONPOOR, THE SHURKY Dies, 1399. Moobaruk On the accession of Mahmood Toghluk to the throne of Dehly he raised his minister, Kwajah Jehan, who was a eunuch, to the title of Mullik-oos-Shurk, and conferred upon him the government of the eastern provinces, of which Joonpoor became the capital. The confusion which attended King Mahmood's reign enabled the viceroy to declare his independence; and he assumed the title of Sooltan Oos-Shurk, or king of the East, and the dynasty was continued under the appellation Shurky till its close. The viceroy had declared his independence in 1394, and died in 1399. He left an adopted son, Mullik Kurrunful, who ascended the Shah Shurky throne under the title of Moobaruk Shah Shurky. hearing of this event, Mulloo Yekbál Khan, the vizier of Mahmood Toghluk, who had usurped the throne of Dehly, marched against Moobaruk Shah; but was unable to enforce the royal authority, and obliged to return to the capital, where Mahmood Toghluk had resumed the government. Shortly afterwards Moobaruk Shah died, in 1401, and was succeeded by his son Ibrahim, under the title of Ibrahim Shah Shurky. Mulloo Yekbál Khan and Mahmood Toghluk now again conjointly invaded the Joonpoor territory: but Mahmood Toghluk separated from his minister, and betook himself to the city of Kanouj, where he was suffered to remain On succeeds, 1399. Mullik-008Shurk declares independence, 1394. Dies, 1401. |