THE RELATIONS OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE WITH THE AHMADNAGAR KINGDOM (1526-1636) Thesis Submited foe tke *Degcee of Doctor (X Philosophy IN fflSTQRY BY MOHO. SIRAJ ANWAR SUPERVISOR Professor Iqtidar Alam Khan CENTRE OF ADVANCED STUDY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA) 1994 / f ; : ^ iO.i/1 - 1 3;rf;p ifl«(^ ABSTRACT During the first quarter of the sixteenth century the relations between the power ruling over North India, namely, the Lodi Empire and the Deccan kingdoms were generally at a very low key. But it is, of course, true that the Deccani kingdoms were not indifferent to the situation in the North. The sending of congratulatory letters to Babur by trte rulers of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Berar, on his success in 1526, goes to testify their eagerness to win favour with any ruler who appeared to gaining an upper hand in North India. Among them Ahmadnagar seemed to be particularly responsive to the developing political scenario in the North. The short term consideration of the Ahmadnagar Kingdom in cultivating friendly ties with the Mughals from the very beginning of their rule down to the end of Humayun's reign, and also with the Surs during their short lived rule over North India, was possibly that their military pressure on Malwa and Gujarat would render the latter two states less belligerent towards Ahmadnagar. But at the same time it should not be overlooked that from 1535 onwards Humayun appeared to be interested in extending his influence, if not actual rule, over Khandesh and Ahmadnagar which is borne out by his correspondence with Burhan Nizam Shah I as well as his making, while returning to Mandu from Ahmadabad, a detour across Khandesh. It was, however, only after the annexations of Malwa and Gujarat in 1562 and 1572 respectively to the Mughal Empire that a situation was created where Mughals were gradually sucked into the power politics in the Deccan. In this thesis an attempt is made to focus on the history of Mughal-Ahmadnagar relations from 1526 down to 1636 when a major part of Ahmadnagar was finally absorbed into the Mughal Empire. The Introductory Chapter of this thesis traces the history of the emergence of Ahmadnagar as a powerful and independent Kingdom by the time Mughal rule was established in North India. In this chapter special attention is paid to Ahmadnagar's relations with the neighbouring kingdoms with particular emphasis on those with northern powers, namely, Gujarat, Khandesh and Malwa. The Khandesh state played an important role in shaping the Mughal-Ahmadnagar relations. It was sought to be used by Akbar to further the strategic aims of the Mughals in the Deccan, particularly, for not allowing the consolidation of Ahmadnagar's hold over Berar after it was annexed by that Kingdom in 157^. A brief survey of these diplomatic and military moves of the Mughals involving Khandesh down to its annexation to the Mughal Empire forms the central theme of the Chapter I of this thesis. Chapter II deals with Mughal-Ahmadnagar relations between 15S6-72, In this chapter, after noticing early diplomatic contacts between Nizam Shahi rulers and Humayun, Sher Shah and Islam Shah, the attention is mainly focused on the developments of the period following the annexation of Malwa to the Mughal Empire, for tracing the stages through which Mughal Empire started getting involved in the power equations of the Deccan. It was only during 157S-95, that the Mughals started openly endeavouring to intervene in the affairs of Ahmadnagar. But these attempts at intervention always stopped short of a full fledged invasion. On several occasions large scale military mobilization was made with the declared aim of intervening militarily but every time these were used for pressurising the Deccan rulers to agree to Akbar's two fold demands that (i) Khandesh should remain aligned with the Mughals and (ii) the nobles of Berar be helped by Khandesh to continue their struggle against Ahmadnagar's occupation of their Kingdom. The only occasion when such a mobilization led to an actual armed conflict was the disastrous advance of Aziz Koka into Berar in 1586. This story is briefly narrated in Chapter III here. The crucial developments of the period 1595-1600, leading to the advance of the Mughal forces into Berar and northern parts of Ahmadnagar Kingdom, are discussed in Chapter IV. During this period, despite the settlement of 1596, the struggle between the Mughals and the section of the Nisam Shahi nobility, who were not prepat^efir^^;*handover to the Mughals the ceded territories, had continued unabated. The Mughals carried out vigorous operations culminating in the second seige of the fort of Ahmadnagar and its capture by the Mughals in 1600. Later, the capture of Asirgarh in 1601 and resulting annexation of Khandesh placed the Mughals in a firm position to face the continuing resistance by remnants of the Nizam Shahi nobility which, as is well known, tended to become more fierce and well organized with the coming of Malik Ambar on the scene. Malik Ambar's role in reorganizing the Ahmadnagar administration, both civil as well as military, for successfully resisting the Mughal advance into Ahmadnagar forms the main theme of Chapter V. In this context Malik Ambar's military campaigns and his over all contribution to the struggle against the Mughal occupation forces during 1601-16 are also noticed. Chapter VI covers the second phase of Malik Ambar's struggle for ending the Mughal occupation of the parts of Ahmadnagar territory during 1617-S6. In this chapter on the one hand, Prince Khurram's military successes against the Nizam Shahis are critically assessed. But, on the other hand, the negative impact of his revolt on the position of the Mughals in the Deccan is also discussed. The military successes of Malik Ambar during his last days as well as his achievements in recovering a large portion of Ahmadnagar's territory, earlier conquered by the Mughals, are also highlighted in this discussion. The last and decisive phase of Mughals' aggression during 1627-36 against Ahmadnagar ultimately leading to the annexation of a major part of Ahmadnagar Kingdom to the Mughal Empire is discussed in Chapter VII. The unstable political conditions, particularly factional tussles among the nobles and the weak regimes of the successive pesrtwas, are also noticed here as the factors contributing to final collapse of Ahmadnagar Kingdom in 1636. Chapter VIII is devoted to analysing the peace settlements of 1636. In this discussion an attempt is made to answer the question whether the settlements of 1636 could be interpreted as termination of the Mughal military offensive against the Deccani kingdoms. The Safawid rulers of Persia were maintaining close diplomatic relations with the rulers of the Deccan kingdoms since very beginning. Therefore it is very important to examine as to what was the Safawids' response to the Mughal expansionist drive in the Deccan. This is attempted in the Chapter IX. The main conclusions of the thesis are briefly restated in a separate section which is placed after the Chapter IX. THE RELATIONS OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE WITH THE AHMADNAGAR KINGDOM (1526-1636) TKesis Submitted foe tKe T)egcee of Doctor of Philosophy IN k HISTORY BY MOHD. SIRAJ ANWAR SUPERVISOR Professor Iqtidar Alam Khan CENTRE OF ADVANCED STUDY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA) 1994 r,\ T^5l\ ^ ^zk\\^'y >'?''i/i/SUM"u^lM'^^^^ -<; 13F T4521 TO MY PARENTS CENTRE OF ADVANCED STUDY TELEPHONE : 554« DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH. U. P. CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the thesis, Th» Relations o'f the Hughal Eapir« Hith th« Ah««dnagar KingdcMi (1986-1636), is the original research work of Mr Mohd. Siraj AriNar carried out under my supervision. He is allowed to submit the thesis for assessment. Dated: 25th April, 199^ (rn<ridT-AlM Khan) Professor of History CONTENTS Pages Acknowledgements i-ii Preface iii-xvii Introductory Chapter 1-19 Emergence of Ahmadnagar Kingdom and its Relations with the Neighbouring Powers Down to 1535. Appendix-I to Introductory Chapter. SO-Sl Map - A Chapter I 22-56 Mughal-Khandesh Relations, 15E6-i601: Prelude to the Mughal Advance into Ahmadnagar. Chapter II 57-66 The Relations of Mughal Empire with the Ahmadnagar Kingdom, 15E6-7S: Circumstances Leading to the Dispute Over Berar. Chapter III 67-82 Mughal Relations with Ahmadnagar, 157S-95: Circumstances Inducing Akbar to Resort to the Use of Force Against Ahmadnagar. Chapter IV 83-105 Mughal Invasion of Ahmadnagar, 1595-1600. Chapter V 106-130 Ahmadnagar's Struggle for Survival, 1601- 16: Role of Malik Ambar and His Reorganisation of Ahmadnagar State. Appendix-II to Chapter V. 131-13E Map — B. Chapter VI 133-152 Mughal Relations with Ahmadnagar, 1617-S6: Khurram'5 Campaigns and the Impact of His Revolt. Chapter VII 153-173 Mughal-Ahmadnagar Relations, 1627-36: EKtinction of the Ahmadnagar Kingdom. Appendix-Ill to Chapter VII. 174-175 Map-C Chapter VIII 176-187 Settlements of 1636: Significance of the Mughals Treaties with Bijapur and Solkcnda. Chapter IX 188-205 The Safawids' Response to the Mughal Expansionist Drive in the Deccan, 1605-22. Conclusion 206-219 Bibliography 220-242 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is a privilege to express my profound sense of gratitude to my supervisor Professor Iqtidar Alam Khan, without whose sustained guidance the work might not have been completed. He not only supervised the entire work but also took great pains to examine it to the minutest details and offered valuable alterations. It gives me immense pleasure to record my humble gratefulness to Professor Irfan Habib, Co-ordinatcr, Centre of Advanced Study in History, who was kind enough in offering useful suggestions.