War continued with the King of Dehly. — Mahomed Shah be­comes very cruel — puts his brother Hussun Khan to death. — His mother and his other brothers conspire against him. — A civil war prevails. — Mahomed Shah loses his life. — A truce concluded with the King of Dehly for four years, and an exchange of prisoners takes place.

MAHMOOD was succeeded by his eldest son Bhee-kun Khan, who caused himself to be proclaimed King, under the title of Mahomed Shah Shurky. On his accession he formed a treaty with Bheilole Lody, which stipulated that each should retain what they then possessed. On his return to Joon-poor Mahomed Shah disgusted all ranks by his cruelty and irritable temper; which no one felt more severely than his mother, the Dowager-queen. He had not long been crowned, when Bheilole Lody marched towards Joonpoor, in order to effect the release of his cousin Kootb Khan, who was made prisoner during a night-attack on the Shurky lines at Shumsabad, and who had not been released. On this occasion one Purtab Sing, a zemindar, who owned allegiance to the Dehly government, dread­ing the power of Mahomed Shah Shurky, joined him.

Mahomed Shah now proceeded towards Soor-sutty, and was opposed at Rabery by the light troops of Bheilole Lody. During this campaign, Mahomed Shah Shurky wrote to the kotwal of Joonpoor to put to death his brothers, Hussun Khan and Kootb Khan. That officer replied, that the Dowager-queen, Beeby Rajy, was so careful lest any one should approach the princes, that he found it quite impossible to carry the project into effect. Mahomed Shah, therefore, requested that his mother might join him in camp, on the plea of consulting her as to the expediency of settling an estate for life on Hussun Khan, his younger brother. The Dowager no sooner left Joonpoor than the kotwal carried his instructions into effect, by mur­dering the Prince; and the Queen, Beeby Rajy, halted at Kunowj to perform the matum, or mourn­ing ceremony, for her son, where she remained in spite of Mahomed Shah Shurky's solicitations for her to proceed to camp.

During this time, the princes Hoossein Khan and Julal Khan resolved to become independent of their brother the King; and they spread a report in the camp, that the Dehly army, then in their vicinity, proposed to make a night-attack on the Shurky lines. Mahomed Shah directed the Prince Hoossein Khan, accompanied by Sooltan Shah and Julal Khan Ajoodhuny, two of the Shurky gene­rals, to proceed with a force composed of thirty thousand cavalry and one thousand elephants, to intercept the enemy. Hoossein Khan marched only to a short distance, and encamped; when Bhei-lole Lody, taking advantage of his separation from the army, sent a force to attack him. Hoossein Khan, conceiving himself unable to resist the Dehly troops, retreated towards Kunowj, and wrote to his brother, Julal Khan, to join him there. In at­tempting to effect this, Julal Khan was taken pri­soner by the Dehly troops, and Bheilole Lody re­solved to detain him till the release of his cousin, the Prince Kootb Khan. Mahomed Shah, perceiv­ing his army thus divided into factions, was in­duced to retire on Kunowj also, whither he was pursued by Bheilole Lody; after which the latter returned to Dehly. The Prince Hoossein Khan was received at Kunowj by his mother with open arms; and assumed the title of King before the arrival of Mahomed Shah, whom he opposed at the Rajgeer passage of the Ganges. Mahomed Shah, deserted by his officers, was compelled to seek safety in flight; he was, however, overtaken, and would no doubt, from his well-known prowess, have slain many of his pursuers, but that his mother, having gained over his armour-bearer to her interest, persuaded him to take off the points from all the arrows in his quiver. It was in this defenceless condition that he was killed by an arrow enter­ing his throat. A peace was soon after concluded between Hoossein Khan, who assumed the title of Shah, and Bheilole Lody; when it was agreed that a suspension of hostilities should take place for four years; after which, if it were found necessary, an­other treaty might be formed. Purtab Sing, who formerly joined Mahomed Shah Shurky on his march from Joonpoor, was induced by Kootb Khan to join the army of Bheilole Lody; and on the arrival of Hoossein Shah Shurky at the Howz-i-Burma, he sent for Kootb Khan from Joonpoor, and equipping him in handsome style, permitted him to return to Dehly. On his arrival there, the Shurky prince, Julal Khan, was also released, and joined his brother at Joonpoor. The reign of Ma-homed Shah lasted only for the short period of five months.