“At this period intelligence was received that “Sooltan Hooshung was on his return to Malwa; “Ahmud Shah therefore raised the siege of Mando, “and calling in his different detachments, marched “with the whole army towards Sarungpoor. Sool-“tan Hooshung, having timely intimation of Ah-“mud Shah's movement, made rapid marches, and “reached Sarungpoor before him. Whence he de-“puted messengers to Ahmud Shah, to endeavour “to detain him by negotiation, till he should have “time to repair the ditch and the boundary hedge† * “of Sarungpoor.

“Ahmud Shah, however, marched on; but he “had no sooner reached the place than Sooltan “Hooshung made a night-attack on his camp, “though his ambassador was still with him. The “Guzeratties being surprised, were many of them “cut to pieces, and Ahmud Shah made his escape “with difficulty, attended by only one domestic. “When he had got clear of the camp he halted, and “ordered his attendant to go and bring him in-“formation how the Malwites were engaged. The “messenger returned, and reported that they were “chiefly employed in plunder. On which, collect-“ing his scattered army during the night, he “was enabled to muster one thousand horse. With “this small body, he anxiously waited on the “confines of the camp till daybreak, when he “attacked it. The Malwa troops, fatigued with “the former night's work, had, for the most part, “given themselves up to sleep, while some few “were still engaged in plundering; they conse-“quently made but feeble resistance, and the “slaughter among them was severe. Ahmud Shah “not only recovered on this occasion all the ele-“phants he had formerly lost, but he acquired “seven other large ones, which had been brought “from Jajnuggur.

“Sooltan Hooshung fled to the fort of Sarung-“poor, to which Ahmud Shah laid siege; but he “was obliged, in consequence of an epidemic that “raged in the camp, to abandon his purpose, and “commence his retreat; in which he was closely “pursued by Sooltan Hooshung, who hung upon “his flanks, and harassed him on the line of march. “At length Ahmud Shah halting, brought on a “general action, in which Sooltan Hooshung was “defeated with the loss of four thousand nine “hundred men; which enabled Ahmud Shah, “though not without much difficulty, to bring off “his army; and, in consideration of what his troops “had suffered during this campaign, he abstained “from any foreign attacks for some years.”

A. H. 829.
A. D. 1426. In the year 829, he marched to retake Idur. On the banks of the river Hat-mutty , * in the vicinity of Idur, he con­structed a fort, which he called Ahmudnuggur, and then returned to his capital. On this occasion the Raja Poonja Ray made some defence; but being defeated, fled to the hills of Beesulnuggur.

A. H. 830.
A. D. 1427. In the year 830, the King was induced to return to the country of Idur, having heard that Poonja Ray had collected a force in that neighbourhood. The two armies meeting, a severe conflict ensued, in which the Ray's army was defeated, and himself killed; when Ahmud Shah ordered a detachment to lay waste the country of Beesulnuggur. Meanwhile the son of Poonja Ray promised to pay into the treasury of Guzerat an annual tribute of three lacks of tunkas of silver. From Idur the King marched

Suffur 6.
A. H. 832.
Nov. 14.
A. D. 1428.

into the district of Gilwara. In the year 832 he marched again to Idur; and on the sixth of Suffur carried by storm one of the principal forts in that province, wherein he built a magnificent mosque. In the following year, Kanha Ray, the Raja of Jhalode, perceiving the system which Ahmud Shah pursued towards the Hindoos, fled with his family and property to Aseer, and presented Nuseer Khan, the Prince of Kandeish, with two elephants, which he had succeeded in bringing away with him when he escaped from a detachment sent in pursuit by Ahmud Shah.

The Ray having thus secured the interest of Nuseer Khan (who was connected with Sooltan Ahmud Shah Bahmuny), that chief prevailed on the King of the Deccan to furnish a small body of troops to accompany the Ray, in order to recover his country. Instead of marching towards Jha-lode, however, the Raja plundered the districts of Sooltanpoor and Nundoorbar, on which Ahmud Shah sent a force under Mullik Mokurrib, with his son the Prince Mahomed Khan, to punish the invaders. The armies met near Sooltanpoor: the Deccany troops were defeated, and the few who escaped fled to Dowlutabad.

This intelligence reaching the ears of Ahmud Shah Bahmuny, he appointed his son Alla-ood-Deen, accompanied by a force commanded by Khan Jehan and Kuddur Khan, to retrieve the cha­racter of the Deccany arms. This force assembled under the walls of Dowlutabad, where it was joined by the Raja of Jhalode and by Nuseer Khan Farooky of Aseer, whose daughter was married to the Prince Alla-ood-Deen. It moved several marches in the direction of the Guzerat troops, and encountered them on the top of the Manukpoonj pass, where an action ensued, in which the two commanders-in-chief, Mullik Mokurrib of Guzerat and Kuddur Khan of Deccan, were personally opposed to each other. The latter being unhorsed was killed in the fall; but the Deccanies, who were retreating, rallied, and forming into a solid body, made a desperate charge on the Guzeratties. They were, however, so steadily opposed that they fell back, and became subsequently completely routed. The Prince of the Deccan fled to Dowlutabad, and the Raja of Jhalode and Nuseer Khan took refuge in the hills of Kandeish; after which the Prince Mahomed Khan returned to Ahmudabad.

In the same year, Kootb Khan, the governor of Mahim, * dying, Sooltan Ahmud Shah Bahmuny thought this a favourable opportunity to obtain possession of that island, which he effected with­out loss. Ahmud Shah instantly deputed his youngest son, Zuffur Khan, with a force com­manded by Mullik Iftikhar Khan, to retake it. For this purpose, orders were sent to Diù, Gogo, and Cambay, to collect shipping; and a fleet was formed, consisting of seventeen sail, on which part of the army embarked, while the remainder marched to Tanna by land, which had now also fallen into the hands of the Deccanies.

In the first place, Tanna was invested by Mullik Iftikhar, and the fleet anchoring off the port, all communication was cut off both by sea and land. The officer commanding the garrison made two or three vigorous sallies; but being always repulsed with loss, and finding himself incapable of making any effectual defence, and despairing of succour, he fell back on Mahim. The fort of Tanna capi­tulated next day, and Mullik Iftikhar marched on to the attack of Mahim. On his arrival, he found that Mullik-oot-Toojar, the Deccany general, had formed a very strong wattled breast-work on that face of the island by which the Guzeratties must necessarily approach; and though this barrier proved a very serious obstacle, it was by no means insuperable. The Guzerat troops stormed and carried the stockade with great gallantry, but not without considerable loss. They now found them­selves opposed to the whole of the Deccan line. A severe action ensued, which was undecided at night-fall; on which occasion, the heroes on both sides lay down on the variegated carpet, deeply tinged with each other's blood. During the night, Mullik-oot-Toojar retreated to the contiguous island; * which being closely blockaded by the fleet and by the troops which were also landed, he escaped to the continent, where he effected a junction with a body of Deccanies, consisting of ten thousand horse and sixty elephants, under the command of Khwaja Jehan, accompanied by the Bahmuny Prince Mahomed Khan. This force had been sent in consequence of Mullik-oot-Toojar's requisition for reinforcements, even before the at­tack on Mahim.

With this army the Deccany prince marched to retake Tanna; but the Guzerat prince having inti­mation of his movement, proceeded in person with a strong detachment to intercept the Deccanies. Both armies arrived before Tanna on the same day; and another action ensued, which lasted from break of day till sunset, when the Deccanies were ultimately defeated, and dispersed. Mullik-oot-Toojar took refuge in Chakun, while the Prince and Khwaja Jehan did not halt till they reached Dowlutabad. Among the articles taken on the island of Mahim were some beautiful gold and silver embroidered muslins, with which vessels were laden and sent to Ahmudabad.

A. H. 835.
A. D. 1431. In the year 835 Ahmud Shah, leaving his eldest son at the capital, marched in person to Champanere; and Ahmud Shah Bahmuny, in order to have his revenge, also marched at the head of an army to Buglana, a district contiguous to Surat, which he completely devastated. The King receiving information of this attack countermarched from Champanere to Nundoorbar, destroying Nadout on his march.

Ahmud Shah Bahmuny, who was at this period engaged in the siege of Tumbole, retreated to his capital, and Ahmud Shah of Guzerat returned to­wards Ahmudabad; but he had scarcely reached the river Tapty, when he received intimation that Ah-mud Shah Bahmuny had returned to the attack of Tumbole, a measure occasioned, it seems, by the King of the Deccan mistaking for pusillanimity the offers made by Ahmud Shah to negotiate a peace. Ahmud Shah of Guzerat now returned to­wards the enemy, and arrived within a few miles of the town of Tumbole, when Ahmud Shah Bah-muny resolved to make an attempt to carry the place by escalade that night. A few Naigs were in consequence selected for this service; some of whom succeeded in gaining a footing on the ramparts before they were discovered; but the alarm being once given, the commandant of the garrison, Mul-lik Sadut Sooltany, having collected a small party, attacked the assailants, and nearly destroyed the whole. A few threw themselves over the works. At the same time the garrison made a sally on the enemy's camp, by which the besiegers suffered severely before they could oppose the attacking party, which escaped back to the fort under cover of the night, without loss.