The King is accused of causing the death of his father. — Distractions in Malwa. — Sheer Khan governor of Chundery, Sikundur Khan of Eerich, and Mahabut Khan of Mundsoor, unite and march against the King. — The rebels are defeated, and Sheer Khan and Sikundur Khan are killed in the action. — The King indulges in scandalous excesses — becomes cruel to his people. — The Prince Shahab-ood-Deen, the King's eldest son, is induced by the nobles to revolt — is defeated, and escapes to Dehly. — The King appoints his third son, Mah-mood, his successor, and dies.

Rubbee-oos-
Sany 27.
A. H. 906.
October 25.
A. D. 1500.

ON the 27th of Rubbee-oos-Sany, of the year 906, Nasir-ood-Deen ascended the throne of Malwa. It was asserted at the time that he poisoned his father; yet considering the animosity of his brother's party, and the number of his personal enemies, it is not just to accuse him of that crime, as no circumstance was ever brought forward to prove the assertion, nor does there appear any motive that should have actuated him to commit such an act, as he had been already crowned by his father's consent, and had long conducted, with­out restraint, the affairs of the government. His accession, however, was succeeded by a series of domestic feuds, in which many of the nobles were involved; so that it is not a matter of surprise that public affairs fell into a state of disorder. * Sheer Khan of Chundery, taking advantage of these distractions, rebelled, and was joined by Ma-habut Khan of Mundsoor, as well as by many other of the malecontent nobles, who assem­bling a force advanced by the route of Depal-poor towards the capital. Sooltan Nasir-ood-Deen marched to attack them, and was joined by Ein-ool-Moolk and many other of the Malwa chiefs, on which Sheer Khan retreated; but he was reduced to the necessity of fighting a battle near Sarung-poor, where he experienced a total defeat, and fled through Chundery to Eerich; to the former of which places the King pursued him before he returned. The adherents of Sheer Khan now wrote to him, that the King had retreated to Mando on account of the rains, and advised him to repair to Chundery, when by the assist­ance of the inhabitants he might still collect a sufficient force to oppose the King. Sooltan Nasir-ood-Deen, on hearing that Sheer Khan was again in the field, detached Yekbal Khan and Mulloo Khan against him, who having attacked him within two coss of Chundery, Sheer Khan re­ceived a mortal wound, and his colleague Sikundur Khan was killed on the spot. Mahabut Khan of Mundsoor placed Sheer Khan on his own elephant and fled, but he died of his wounds on the road. Sooltan Nasir-ood-Deen arriving at the place where he was interred caused his body to be disentombed, and hung up in the town of Chundery, the govern­ment of which place he conferred on Himmut Khan, and after proceeding to Adilpoor he re­turned to Mando. On his arrival at the capital, he abandoned himself to the most shameless ex­cesses, particularly that of drunkenness. He made it his business to discover and put to death all the adherents of his late brother, whose sins time ought to have buried in oblivion; and his own personal servants also suffered from his cruelty. It is said, that one day while lying in a state of intoxication on the verge of a reservoir of water, he fell in. Four female slaves who were standing by, laying hold of him, at the risk of their own lives, pulled him out, and taking off his wet clothes dressed him again. On recovering from his in­toxication he complained of violent head-ache; and the female slaves mentioned the circumstance of his falling into the reservoir in order to account for it; the King, however, was so enraged, con­ceiving it to be untrue, and that the females only said so by way of reproaching him for his inebriety, he drew his sword, and put them all to death with his own hand, in spite of their cries for mercy, and although they exhibited the wet clothes which they had taken off from him.

A. H. 908.
A. D. 1502. In the year 908, Sooltan Nasir-ood-Deen marched to attack the Rajpoots of Keechiwara. On arriving at Akbur-poor, he built a splendid palace, which was then much admired by all who saw it. Having plun­dered the whole of the Keechiwara district he returned to Mando, and on the following year

A. H. 909.
A. D. 1503.

(viz. 909) he proceeded towards Chit-toor, where having received a large pre­sent in money from the Rana, and having procured from Raja Jewundas, one of the subor­dinate rays, his daughter, he returned to Mando. This lady was afterwards dignified with the title of the Chittoor Queen.

On the road back, news arrived that Ahmud Nizam Shah Bheiry, having declared war against Dawood Khan the ruler of Kandeish, had marched to reduce that province, and compelled the latter chief to take post in Aseer. The ruler of Kandeish owned allegiance to the present King of Malwa, and he considered it his duty to assist him Yekbal Khan and Khwaja Jehan were therefore ordered to proceed with a large force to the south; but before it reached its destination, Ahmud Nizam Shah commenced his retreat to Ahmudnuggur, and Yekbal Khan, after causing the public prayers to be read in the name of Sooltan Nasir-ood-Deen at Boorhanpoor, returned to Mando.

Sooltan Nasir-ood-Deen during the lifetime of his father had often opposed his will, and having subsequently revolted, attacked his capital. The King now dreaded lest his own sons might, in imitation of him, rebel also. He in consequence always viewed them with distrust and jealousy. This feeling was so apparent to his son Shahab-ood-Deen, the declared heir to the throne, that he always entered his father's presence with apprehen-

A. H. 916.
A. D. 1512.

sion; and the nobles, in the year 916, wearied and disgusted with the persecu­tion and cruelty of Nasir-ood-Deen, persuaded his son to assume charge of the govern­ment at once. For this purpose he left Mando and collected a large force. Sooltan Nasir-ood-Deen, however, having opposed and defeated the Prince, the latter fled to Dehly, and, in spite of the remonstrances of his father, refused to come back. On the return of Sooltan Nasir-ood Deen towards Mando, he was seized with a fever, brought on by excess, at the town of Burtpoor; during which illness, although in the cold season, he bathed, and in a few days after died. He reigned eleven years and four months, having previously declared his third son, Mahmood, his successor.