第28章

"Sultan Alla ud Dien,upon intelligence of this invasion,prepared to repel it,and commanded all his forces from Telingana,Dowlutabad,and Berar to repair to the capital of Ahmedabad without delay.Upon their arrival he reviewed the whole,and found his army composed of fifty thousand horse,sixty thousand foot,and a considerable train of artillery.With this force he began to march against the enemy;and Deo Roy,upon his approach,shifted his ground,and encamped under the walls of the fortress of Mudkul,detaching a large body to harass the sultan.

"The sultan halted at the distance of twelve miles from Mudkul,and despatched Mallek al Tijar with the troops of Dowlutabad against the sons of Deo Roy;[115]also Khan Zummaun,governor of Beejapore,and Khan Azim,commander of the forces of Berar and Telingana,against the main body of the enemy.Mallek-al-Tijar,going first to Roijore,gave battle to the eldest son of Deo Roy,who was wounded in the action,and fled towards Beekapore,from whence he was joined by his younger brother,who quitted the siege of that fortress.

"In the space of two months,three actions happened near Mudkul between the two grand armies;in the first of which multitudes were slain on both sides,and the Hindoos having the advantage,the mussulmauns experienced great difficulties.[116]The sultan was successful in the others;and in the last,the eldest son of Deo Roy was killed by a spear thrown at him by Khan Zummaun,which event struck the Hindoos with a panic,and they fled with the greatest precipitation into the fortress of Mudkul."Two chief Muhammadan officers,in the ardour of pursuit,entered the city with the fugitives,and were captured by the Hindus.

Deo Roy then sent a message to the Sultan that if he would promise never again to molest his territories he would pay the stipulated tribute annually,and return the two prisoners.This was accepted,a treaty was executed,and the prisoners returned with the tribute and added presents;and till the end of Deva Raya's reign both parties observed their agreement.

From the terms of the agreement we gather that,though Firishtah does not expressly mention it,tribute had been demanded by the Sultan,and this confirms the account given by Abdur Razzak.It also shows why the "Danaik"in Abdur Razzak's narrative had not returned covered with glory,but merely,having "taken several unfortunate prisoners,had retraced his steps."The campaign must have been of short duration,since,while it began in A.H.847(May 1,A.D.1443,to April 19,1444)according to Firishtah,it was over before December 1443when Abdur Razzak left Vijayanagar.