The Queen-mother, Khwaja Jehan, and Mahmood Gawan, form a regency during the King's minority. — The kingdom at­tacked by the rajas of Tulingana and Orissa, who are compelled to retreat. — Sooltan Mahmood of Malwa invades the Deccan. — The Deccan army defeated. — The King re­tires to Bidur. — The Malwa army advances. — The King retires to Ferozabad. — The city of Bidur occupied by the King of Malwa. — The King of Guzerat marches to assist the Deccanies. — The King of Malwa retreats — his army suffers severely — he is compelled to abandon his heavy bag­gage — retires through the hills of Gondwana — his troops endure the greatest distress. — The Guzerat army retires. — Second invasion by the King of Malwa. — Advance of the army of Guzerat. — The King of Malwa retires. — Sudden death of the young King of the Deccan.

WHEN, out of pity to mankind, the Almighty had removed Hoomayoon the Cruel from the world, and his son Nizam Shah succeeded to the throne of the Deccan, the Queen-mother acted as regent. She was a woman of great abilities herself; but she did nothing without consulting Khwaja Jehan and Khwaja Mahmood Gawan, admitting no other nobles to share in the administration. Mahmood Gawan, who held the government of Berar, was appointed vizier, and Khwaja Jehan assumed the office of Vakeel-oos-Sultunut, and was made governor of Tulingana. These two ministers at­tended every morning at the palace, and com­municated, through a female, with the Queen-mother, who, after giving her approbation, sent the young King to the hall of audience, where he sat on the throne. On his right hand stood Khwaja Jehan, and upon the left, Mahmood Gawan. These officers gave orders and transacted business in his presence. By the happy co-operation and unanimity of these three personages, the injuries occasioned by the tyranny of the late king were soon repaired; but the surrounding potentates, both Mussulmans and Hindoos, hearing that the throne of the Deccan was filled by a child, and that the nobles and officers were disaffected, owing to the cruelties of their late sovereign, conceived the design of encroaching on his dominions. In the first instance, the rays of Orissa, in conjunction with the zemindars of Tu-lingana, invaded the kingdom by the route of Raj-mundry, plundering and laying waste the country as far as Kowlas. The Queen-mother and the ministers, in no wise dismayed, collected an army of forty thousand men, and marched with the young monarch to oppose the enemy. The Ray of Orissa advanced to within six miles of the royal army, and within ten of the capital of Ahmudabad Bidur, it being his design to demand restitution of the country of Tulingana, and to exact tribute from the infant King. The two ministers, in reply to a communication of this nature, said, that their master had designed to invade and conquer Orissa and Jajnuggur; * but since the Raja had himself come so far with his army, the King would be able to effect the object of defeat­ing him, without the trouble of marching to those distant countries; moreover, that the King had re­solved not to allow a man of the enemy to escape, unless the amount of the injuries done to his do­minions should be repaired, and the Raja agree to pay tribute. With this message, Shah Mohib Oolla * was despatched; but his escort of one hundred and sixty horsemen being stopped by the infidels, he charged the Ray's advanced picquets so boldly, that supposing the whole army was in motion, the Hindoos fell back on their main body, and the rays of Orissa and Tulingana leaving their heavy baggage on the ground, retreated during the night. Khwaja Jehan went in pursuit next day, while the King and Mahmood Gawan made easy marches after him.† * The rays, finding that they lost two or three thousand men in every day's march, owing to the activity of Khwaja Jehan, took protection in a fort‡; * from whence they sent to the minister, Mahmood Gawan, en­treating pardon; and after much debate, and on paying a large sum of money, they were permitted to retreat without further molestation into their own territories. Nizam Shah Bahmuny returned in triumph to his capital; and having conferred ho­nours and rewards on the officers and soldiers, permitted them to retire to their several stations.

Soon after this campaign, Sooltan Mahmood of Malwa invaded the Bahmuny territories, by the route of Kandeish, with twenty-eight thousand horse; and the rays of Orissa and Tulingana, having again taken the field, renewed their depredations on the countries of Islam. The ministers, accordingly, ordered the Tulingana division to protect that province against the Hindoos; and taking Nizam Shah with them, they marched with the forces of Beejapoor, Dowlutabad, and Berar, against Sooltan Mahmood.

Nizam Shah, in spite of his extreme youth, ap­peared at the head of his army. Khwaja Mahmood Gawan, with ten thousand horse, formed the right wing, and Nizam-ool-Moolk Toork, with other chieftains, composed the left wing, while the King remained with Khwaja Jehan, and Sikundur Khan, his foster-brother, in the centre, which consisted of eleven thousand cavalry and one hundred war-elephants. Sooltan Mahmood of Malwa committed the charge of his right wing to his son the Prince Gheias-ood-Deen, and the left to Mahabut Khan, governor of Chundery, supported by Zuheer-ool-Moolk, himself taking command in person of his best troops, which composed the centre.

Khwaja Mahmood Gawan began the battle by an attack on the enemy's left, which, after some resistance, broke and fled, Mahabut Khan and Zuheer-ool-Moolk of Malwa being both killed. Nizam-ool-Moolk Toork, with the left wing, charged the right of the Malwa army under the Prince Gheias-ood-Deen, who had gained the character of a brave soldier throughout Hin-doostan. While the troops of both armies were in­termingled, the two generals came in contact hand to hand with each other; when Nizam-ool-Moolk's sword being shivered to pieces, he threw the hilt * into the face of his antagonist with such violence as to wound him severely in the eye, which bleeding exceedingly, he fell from his horse in agony. The troops of Malwa, seeing their leader fall, became disheartened, as is usual on such occasions, and fled. They were pursued four miles by the Dec-canies, who having committed much slaughter, took a vast booty, together with fifty elephants. Sooltan Mahmood of Malwa, on witnessing the retreat of both wings of his army, prepared to follow their example; but another of his sons, and some of his nobles, dissuading him, he awaited the assault of Khwaja Jehan, who charged with ten thousand horse. On this occasion, Sooltan Mahmood having struck the elephant of Sikundur Khan Toork in the head with an arrow, the huge animal, mad with pain, turning round, trod down many of the troops of the army to which he belonged, and had nearly seized Nizam Shah himself. * Sikundur Khan, either from fear, or out of enmity to Khwaja Jehan, drew off his troops and carried the King with him to a little distance from the field of battle; on which, the Deccanies per­ceiving the royal standard† * withdrawn, fled, and did not stop till they reached the capital. Khwaja Jehan, finding that the right and left wings had gone in pursuit, and that the King with the Dec-canies had fled, thought it prudent also to retire, which he effected with such order, that he brought back his division and the royal horses and elephants to Ahmudabad Bidur. Khwaja Mahmood Gawan and his troops, on viewing this strange reverse of fortune, retreated also. Sikundur Khan Toork on his arrival at the capital was at first rewarded by the Queen-mother for bringing her son off the field in safety; but on her learning the truth from Khwaja Jehan, Sikundur Khan was confined for his cowardice, and for disgracing the King by taking him from the field at a moment when he was on the point of gaining a victory. The friends of Sikundur Khan defended him by affirming, that he had in fact saved the King from destruction, as the two wings had dispersed to plunder, and no troops remained about the royal person; declaring that they (the Deccanies) would no longer submit to be ill used by the Moguls, who had usurped the guidance of the state. The nature of the times not allowing of his punishment, Khwaja Jehan was induced to consent to Sikundur Khan's enlargement from arrest.

Sooltan Mahmood of Malwa, hearing of these dissensions and the aversion of the Deccanies to the ministers, marched on to besiege Ahmudabad Bidur. The Queen entertained suspicions of Khwaja Jehan, to whose remissness she chiefly at­tributed the late defeat. She was supported in this opinion by Khwaja Mahmood Gawan; and by his advice she committed the charge of the citadel of Bidur to Mulloo Khan Deccany, and retired with the King to Ferozabad. Sooltan Mahmood obtained possession of the city * in seventeen days after the King's departure; a great part of the country also submitted to his au­thority; and it was the general opinion, that the dominion of the house of Bahmuny would pass into the hands of the Khiljies, when accounts were received of the advance of Mahmood Shah of Guzerat. Nizam Shah had, previously to his retreat, by the advice of Mahmood Gawan, de­puted ambassadors to request the aid of the King of Guzerat; and in the mean time, collecting his scattered forces in order to defend himself, sent out detachments to harass the enemy. The King of Guzerat had now reached the frontier with an army of eighty thousand horse; and the Queen-mother having despatched Khwaja Mahmood Gawan to welcome him, Mahmood Shah of Gu­zerat placed a division of twenty thousand cavalry and some of his principal officers at his disposal; and the allied armies, in a short time, moved simul­taneously towards the capital.*