Ascends his father's throne — is accused of poisoning his father — is attacked by Moozuffur Shah I. King of Guzerat — is taken prisoner, and the government placed in the hands of Noosrut Khan. — The inhabitants of Malwa revolt from Noosrut Khan, who is obliged to fly. — Sooltan Hooshung is released, and restored to his throne — he invades Guzerat, and supports a pretender to the crown. — Ahmud Shah invades Malwa. — Battle of Sarungpoor. — Retreat of Ahmud Shah. Sooltan Hooshung besieges Gualiar — besieges Kalpy, and makes the governor submit to his authority — wrests Kehrla out of the hands of the Hindoo raja. — Sooltan Hooshung appoints his son, Ghizny Khan, his successor, and dies.

AFTER the death of his father, Alp Khan as­sumed the title of King of Malwa, under the name of Sooltan Hooshung Ghoory, and the nobles coming to court, paid their allegiance; but a rumour being prevalent at the time, that his father had been assassinated by him, * Moozuffur Shah of Gu­zerat, in consideration of the intimacy which had subsisted between him and the late king, marched against Sooltan Hooshung; and in the beginning

A. H. 810.
A. D. 1407.

of the year 810, Moozuffur Shah reached the fort of D'har without resistance, where Sooltan Hooshung opposed him. The armies came to action on the plain in front of the town, and engaged with mutual ardour; on which occasion Moozuffur Shah was wounded, and Sooltan Hooshung was unhorsed; but the troops still continued to fight desperately, till at length fickle fortune, who does not always favour the bravest, turned the scale in favour of Guzerat. Sooltan Hooshung threw himself into the fort of D'har, wherein he was closely besieged by the Guzeratties; but conceiving himself unable to cope with success against Moozuffur Shah, he surrendered at discretion.

Sooltan Hooshung was delivered over in charge to some of the Guzerat nobles, and Noosrut Khan, * the victorious King's brother, was left in charge of the government of Malwa, with a strong detach­ment from the Guzerat force; and the Malwa troops were directed to obey him as their leader. Moozuffur Shah then retired to Guzerat. Noosrut Khan, extorting large sums of money, and other­wise oppressing the inhabitants, created universal disaffection; so that Moozuffur Shah had scarcely retired from Malwa when Noosrut Khan, appre­hensive of remaining longer in D'har, commenced his retreat to Guzerat; while the Malwa army, taking advantage of the circumstance, attacked and destroyed part of his force. The Malwites, however, dreading the vengeance of Moozuffur Shah, abandoned D'har, and took refuge in Mando, where they considered themselves safe, and created Moosy Khan, nephew of the late Dilawur Khan, their leader. When this information reached Gu­zerat, Sooltan Hooshung, although a state-prisoner, wrote a letter with his own hand to Moozuffur Shah, saying, “Considering your Majesty as my “father and uncle, I am induced thus to address “you. The insinuations with which interested “persons have assailed your royal ear, I take “God to witness, are false. It is now reported “that the chiefs of Malwa, forgetting their duty “to the respectable Noosrut Khan, have insulted “him by electing Moosy Khan as their leader, “and that having usurped the control over the “territory of Malwa, they breathe the spirit of de-“fiance. If your Majesty will condescend to raise “me from the dust to which I have fallen, it is pos-“sible that I may recover the usurped dominion.” Moozuffur Shah, after imposing certain conditions on Sooltan Hooshung, released him from confine­ment, and ordered his grandson, the Prince Ahmud,

A. H. 811.
A. D. 1408.

to reinstate him on his throne. In the year 811, Prince Ahmud, accompanied by Sooltan Hooshung, left Guzerat, and proceeded direct to D'har, which they soon re­duced; and having reinstated Sooltan Hooshung in his authority, the Prince Ahmud returned to Gu­zerat. Sooltan Hooshung remained for some days in the city of D'har, where being shortly after joined by many of the Malwa officers, he sent communications to those in Mando, many of whom rejoiced at his arrival, and were ready to join him; but their families being in the fort they were unwilling to abandon them, and were, therefore, unable immediately to form that junction which they so much desired. Sooltan Hooshung col­lected a small force and laid siege to Mando; but having lost a number of men without gaining any advantage, he conceived it better to disperse his army into separate detachments, in order to occupy the towns in the different districts.

In the mean time, Mullik Mogheis, the cousin of Sooltan Hooshung, held a private consultation with Mullik Khizr, commonly called Meean Agha, saying, “Notwithstanding Moosy Khan is a fine “young man, and is also my cousin, yet in point of “courage, ability, and good judgment, Hooshung “has borne away the palm from the rest of the “family. We have the means of putting him in pos-“session of the throne, and I am desirous of pro-“moting the object, both on account of his cha-“racter and claims, as well as on account of my “affection for him, for he was brought up prin-“cipally under my own mother's charge.” Meean Agha approving of the measure, they both quitted the fort during the night, and came direct to Sooltan Hooshung, who appointed Mullik Mogheis his minister and deputy during his absence, if such ever took place again. Moosy Khan having learned what had occurred, and despairing of maintaining his authority, abandoned the fort to Sooltan Hooshung, who assumed the government of Malwa.

A. H. 813.
A. D. 1410. In the year 813, Moozuffur Shah of Guzerat dying, his grandson, the Prince Ahmud, succeeded to the throne, ac­cording to the will of his grandsire. On this oc­casion Feroze Khan and Heibut Khan, sons * of the late king, and uncles to Ahmud Shah, having determined to oppose him, raised troops in Baroach, and invited Sooltan Hooshung to march to their as­sistance. Hooshung, unmindful of the generosity of Moozuffur Shah, and forgetting the personal obli­gations he owed to Ahmud Shah, recollected only the first cause of the invasion of Malwa, and there­fore resolved to march and lay waste part of Gu­zerat. Ahmud Shah having taken timely pre­cautions, marched with a large force direct to Baroach, where the pretender and his brother were reduced to throw themselves on his mercy, while Sooltan Hooshung returned immediately to D'har. But so restless was the disposition of this prince, or so inveterate his enmity to the King of Guzerat, that he shortly afterwards involved himself in a new war.

A. H. 816.
A. D. 1413. In the year 816, having heard that Ahmud Shah had marched against the Raja of Julwara, and invested his ca­pital, Sooltan Hooshung, in spite of the grati­tude he owed the King of Guzerat, led an army into his territory, and laid it waste. Ahmud Shah for the present postponed the attack on Julwara, and sent his troops to the east, towards Champanere, when Sooltan Hooshung fled with precipitation to Malwa. At this period, Mullik Nuseer, the elder son of the late ruler of Kan-deish, having seized on Talnere, the hereditary estate of his younger brother, Mahomed Iftikhar, the latter solicited the aid of Sooltan Hooshung, who sent his son Ghizny Khan with fifteen hundred cavalry to the south, when having se­cured the fort of Talnere, he proceeded to attack Sooltanpoor, a district of Guzerat; but on the approach of Ahmud Shah, the Prince of Malwa retreated. Ahmud Shah had no sooner gone to Sooltanpoor than the rajas of Guzerat, parti­cularly those of Julwara, Champanere, Nandote, and Idur, taking advantage of his absence, wrote letters to Sooltan Hooshung, saying, that although they had not succeeded in their last attempt, yet if he would now invade Guzerat, they were prepared to assist him with all their forces; pro­mising, at the same time, that they would furnish guides to lead his army by an unfrequented route into the centre of Guzerat, without Ah-mud Shah's knowledge. Sooltan Hooshung, re­solved to wipe away the stain which his cha­racter had sustained in his late unsuccessful invasion of Guzerat, collected his army, and

A. H. 821.
A. D. 1418.

marching in the year 821, entered the country by the route of Mahrasa. Mean­while, Ahmud Shah having reached Sooltanpoor, Ghizny Khan fled precipitately to Malwa, and Mullik Nuseer to Aseer; but Ahmud Shah was surprised to hear that the King of Malwa had in the interim arrived at Mahrasa. Without a moment's delay, Ahmud Shah com­menced his return to Guzerat, in spite of the heavy rain which fell at that time; and by rapid marches arrived in the vicinity of his capital, before information of his approach was brought to Sooltan Hooshung by the rajas. He accordingly sent for those chiefs at whose invitation he had entered into the confederacy, and accused them of treachery in concealing from him the fact of Ahmud Shah's near approach, and made their silence an excuse to retreat by the same route he had advanced, abandoning the rajas, and leaving them to make their way to their different districts, overwhelmed with chagrin and disappointment. On Ahmud Shah's arrival at Mahrasa he halted only a sufficient time to refresh his troops, and then marching into Malwa, he penetrated as far as the town of Calliada near Oojein. Here he was opposed by Sooltan Hooshung, who was defeated, and fled to Mando, pursued by the Guzerat cavalry to the very gates of the fort, while Ahmud Shah followed as far as Nalcha. At this place he halted for some time, sending his light cavalry to scour the country, aware that the fort of Mando was too strong for him to attack with success. Ahmud Shah, therefore, conceived it prudent to confine his operations to D'har, to which place he marched; thence he intended to return to Oojein, but the rainy season setting in, his ministers advised him to defer the conquest of Malwa till the next year, when the campaign