Page:History of the French in India.djvu/127

ANWARU-DfN NAWVVAB. 105 arrears. Murtiza Ali terrified at these demands, and chap. not possessing spirit equal to his villainy, bent before the storm, and disguising himself in woman's clothes, 1742. fled in safety to the fort of Vellur. On his flight becom- ing known, the son of Safdar Ali, Sa'id Muhammad Khan, an infant who was with his mother at Madras, was at once proclaimed Nawwab. The appointment of an infant to this position did not 1743. tend to the tranquillity of the province. Every noble- man assumed an independent position. But, in the beginning of the following year, Nizamu-l-Mulk, the Subadar of the Dakhan, appeared upon the scene at the head of an army of 80,000, horse and 200,000 foot. He at once became the master of the situation. He put down upstart noblemen, threatening to scourge them, should they dare to assume the title of Naw- wab — a practice which had become common amongst them — and appointed one of his chief officers, Khoja Abdullah Khan, to administer the province. The Subadar then moved upon Trichinapalli, which the Marathas evacuated without striking a blow in its defence. Having recovered this principality for the Mughal, he returned to Golkonda, taking Khoja Abdullah with him. It had been intended by the Subadar that this officer should return to assume the regency of the Karnatik the following year, but on the very eve of starting, he was found dead in his bed. Anwaru-din, known as a brave and experienced soldier, was appointed to succeed him as temporary governor and guardian to the son of Safdar Ali, until the latter should attain his majority. But a few months, however, elapsed, before, at a wedding to which Murtiza Ali, the murderer of his father, had been invited, Sa'id Muhammad Khan was assassinated. In the confusion that followed Murtiza Ali took to his horse, and escorted by a body