I UNIT 9 THE DECCAN STATES AND THE MUGMALS Structure 9.0 Objectives I 9.1 Iiltroduction 9.2 Akbar and the Deccan States 9.3 Jahangir and the Deccan States 9.4 Shah Jahan and the Deccaa States 9.5 Aurangzeb and the Deccan States 9.6 An Assessnent of the Mughzl Policy in tie Deccan 9.7 Let Us Sum Up 9.8 Key Words t 9.9 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises -- -- 9.0 OBJECTIVES The relations between the Deccan states and the Mughals have been discussed in the present Unit. This Unit would introduce you to: 9 the policy pursued by different Mughal Emperors towards the Deccan states; 9 the factors that determined the Deccan policy of the Mughals, and the ultimate outcome of the struggle between the Mughals and the Deccan states. - 9.1 INTRODUCTION - In Unit 8 of this Block you have learnt how the independent Sultanates of Ahmednagar, Bijapur, Golkonda, Berar and Bidar had been established in the Deccan. We have already discussed the development of these states and their relations to each other (Unit 8). Here our focus would be on the Mughal relations with the Deccan states. The Deccan policy of the Mughals was not determined by any single factor. The strategic importance of the Decen states and the administrative and economic necessity of the Mughal empire largely guided the attitude of the Mughal rulers towards the Deccan states. Babar, the first Mughal ruler, could not establish any contact with Deccan because of his pre-occupations in the North. Still, his conquest of Chanderi in 1528 had brought the Mugllal empire close to the northern cbnfines of Malwa. Humayun also could not find enough time because of his involvement in Gujarat, Bihar and Bengal to devote himself in the Deccan affairs in spite of repeated appeals from Burhan Nizam Shah I. In this way, Akbar was the first Mughal emperor who wished to extend 'the Mughal suzerainty over the Deccan states. 9.2 AKBAR AND THE DECCAN STATES Akbar wanted the Deccan rulers to accept his overlordship. It was during the campaigns in Gujarat during 1572-73 ihat Akbar, after being fully secured in the North, made up his mind for the conquest of the Deccan states because the rebels, driven out of Gujarat, used to take refuge in Khandesh, Ahmednagar and Bijapur. Content Digitized by eGyanKosh, IGNOU Moreover, with the conquest of Gujarat, Akbar wished to assunle the rights which \ Regional porvesPnd ~h~ the previous rulers of Gujarat had enjoyed in relation to the Deccan states, i.e., the rights of overlordship. Since 1417, the Deccan states had acknowledged the supremacy ' of the Sultans of Gujarat, had\ read khutba in their names and had paid fhem annual tribute. Internal conflict among the Deccan states also motivated the Mughal ruler to intervene in their affairs. Akbau's desire to protect the trade rodte towards the Gujarat sea-ports and to estab,lish his domination there was one of the impqrtant factors that guided his Deccan policy. Besides, the Portuguese' hzid established themselves very well on the Western coast of India and had emerged as a force to reckon with. Akbar wanted to iUsert Mughal suzerainty over the Deccan states in order to drive the Portugutse away from the western coast of India. The first contact between Ak'bau and the Deccan states was established after 1561 when.Akbar, after the conquest of Malwa, ordered its governor Pir Muhammad tb subdue Asirgarh and Burhallpin. where the former ruler of Malwa, Baz Bahadur, had taken refuge. After capturing B ijagarh, he advanced towards Asirgarh where the ruler of Khandesh, Miran Muba'rak Shah I1 and Baz Bahadur of Malwa, were preparing to resist the Mughals. .Mubarak Shah appealed to Tufal Khan of Berar for help who joined him. The allies n~archedagainst Pir Muhammad and defeated the Mughals at Bijagarh. Akbar himse If marched to Mandu to control the situation. This alarmed Miran Mubarak Shah who sent envoys to Akbar and apologised for hjs - . conduct. fie married one of his dau,phtr:rs to the Emperor, acknowledged Akbar's overlordship, read khutba in his namte and gave Bijagarh and Hedia in dowry to his daughter., ' During the ten years following the anne:ration of Malwa by Akbar in 1562, the struggles that to& place in the Deccan n ttracted Akbar's attention. In 1574, Murtaza Nizam Shah I invaded Berar. Tufal Khan fled to Burhanpur and sought Akbar's help offering Berar to him and requested him to send his officers to take charge of administration. But as MiranaMubarak Sh~ahdid not want to annoy Murtaza Nizam Shah I, hvdid not want Tufal Khan to stay in Burhanpur for a long period. Tufal fled to Berar. Akbar sent an envoy to Mw~rtazaand asked him to desist from ,I annexing Berar, but no attention was paid to the message and Berar was taken by : Murtaza. 1 In 1586, the younger brother of Murtaza, namely Burhan fled to the court of Akbar and sought his help in capturing the throne, while Burhan on his part promised to acknowledge Akbar's suzerainty. Akbar ordered the governor of Malwa, Mina Aziz KokaBnd Raja Ali khan, to help Burhan. 0x1 reaching the borders of Berar, Burhan told Aziz Koka to withhold as the arrival of a liirge army would create reaction among the Deccanis against him. Aziz Koka complied with this requkst. Burhan captured the throne in 1591 but as he had occupied it without any direct help of the Mughals he refused to accept Akbar's suzerainty. In 1591, Aear sent four diplomatic missions to the four rulers of the Deccan in order to find out the real state of affairs there emd also to see whether they were . willing to acknowledge his suzerainty. Only Raja Ali Khan reaffirmed the acknowledgement of Akbar's supremacy and se,nt his daughter with choice gifts for ~r&eSalim. 9 reports about other rulers were not favourable. Almost all the cj-oniclers' say that Akbar decided to launch the military offensive at this junchre when his diplom'atic mission failed. Burhan Nizam Shah was succeeded by his eldest son Ibrahim in 1595, but the latter was killed the same year in a battle against Bijapur. His death led to chaos in the stare of Ahmednagar. There were four parties each having its own'candidate for the Nizam Shahi throne. The pesbwa of Ibrahim Nizam Shah and leader of the D&ni group of nobles in the court, namely Miyan Manjhu, declared one Ahmed of dubious lineage as the new King. Ikhlas Khan who was the leader of the Abyssinian group declared one Moti Shah as member of the NimShahi7family and proclaimed him new Nizam Shah. Chand Bibi, the sister of Burhm 11, espoused the cause of Bahadur, the infant son of Ibrahim Nizam Shah. Aohang Khan Habashi-another leader of the Abyssinian group4uppoitecLthe claim of Ali, the son of Burhan Nizam Shah-I. Ikhlas Khan mastered a large army and fordMiyan Manjhu to take shelter in the fort of Ahmednagar. The latter appealed to Prince Murad, the Mugha1 Content Digitized by eGyanKosh, IGNOU Governor of Gujarat, for help. As Khandesh could serve as a base of operations, so the Mughals won Raja Ali Khan by dingto him the district of Nandurbar in 'Ibt DamStrte~ nod tbe M- Gujarat. Moreover, the presence of Mughal forces mear Khandesh forced him to join the Mugh,als; The Mughals besieged Ahmednagar fort in 1595. Miyan Manjhu later repented Hi$ invitation to Prince Murad and procealed to1 Ausa to seek help from In his absence, Chand Bibi ~succee~daqin securing the defence her own hands, proclaimed 'Bahad~uas the new King and got Ikhlas Khan a& Abhang Khan tried to help Chand Bibi but wert! defeated by the Mughals and tiey fled to Bijapur. But the siege plrolongad dm to ~.nntualdissensions among the Mughal commanders. As Bijapur had sent reinforccmenu So Ahmednagar and the Mughpl forces had become womed of the siege, they opened negotiations witb lhe besieged. A treaty was signed between the Mughah and Chand L?ibi. The terms were: Berar would be ceded to the Mughals; Bahadur wc~uldbe ~tco~nisedas new Nizam Shah and a vassal of the Mughal Emperor. The treaty however foiled to bring peace and the Mughal attack against Ahmednagar contin~led.In 1600, Cband Bibi ultimately decided to surrender the fort an4 retire to Junntu with Bahadur.. Bahadur Shah of Khandesh was not-happy with the Mughals. ~kbararrived at Burhanpur in 1600; Bahadur instead of receiving the emperor retired to Asirgarh. Akbar had orderd Abul Fazl to contact Bahadur and offer him pardon for his'ains of ommissions. But Abul Fazl could not succeed in this exercise. Akbar besieged the fort and conquered it in 1601. Bahadur surrendered to Akbar and Khandesh became a Mughal province. - The fall of Ahmednagar and Asirgarh frightened the other Deccani rulers. The rulers of Bijapur, Golkonda and Bidar sent envoys to;Akbar who were graciously received by him. Akbar also sent his envoys to them. Akbar deputed Khan Khana, one of his close confidants, to look after the Deccan affairs. Once Akbar left the Deccan for Agra in 1601, the Nizam Shahi nobles rallied around Malik Ambar. Malik Ambar, after the fall of Ahmednagar, had enthroned Murtaza, the grandson of Burhan Nizam Shah-I, and became his pesbwa He made Khirki the new capital of the stat,: and adopted guerilla tactics to attack the Mughal forces.-The cllallenge posed by Malik Ambar and Raju Deccani, mutual bickerings and rivalries among the Mugha1 genetals as well as the prevailing situation in the North persuaded Akbar to adopt diplomatic manouvers rather than military might to consolidate Mu&l authority the Deccan.