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October, 1873.] DABHOL. 281 and, her father’s consent having been obtained for the pilgrimage, she set out from BijApur with a retinuo of 20,000 horse under tho command of the king’s private minister, Bahira KhAkAn, a native of Mekkah. The princess and hor party, having crossed the Western GhAts, arrived at DAbhol, which was at that time one of the principal ports of the Konkan and held by a Subadar of the Bijapur Government named IbrAhim Kh&n, who bore the title of Vezir ul Mulk. The princess in¬ tended to have embarked here on her voyage to Mekkah. While here, however, the news of many piracies committed on the coast reached her, and after much consideration it was deemed unsafe for her to proceed. So the pilgrimage was given up, and it only remained for the princess to determine in what manner sho should spend the money she had brought with her for her expedition. The Maulavis and Qazis, who were summoned to advise her, suggested tho building of a masjid at DAbliol for the glory of IslAm, and to this sho consented. The work was then undertaken, and completed in four years. The name of the builder was Kamel KLAn, and tho cost of the building was fifteen lakhs. It is currently reported that tho domo was richly gilded, and that the crescent was of pure gold. Tho gold and tho gilt have long since disappeared, but much of the beautiful carving and tracery remains. Eight villages—Bhopan, Sirol, Yisapur, Bhost£, Shaveli, Mundhar, Bhudavle, and PangAri—were granted in indni for tho maintenance of tho mas¬ jid. The grants were resumed on tho overthrow of the BijApur kingdom by 6ivaji. The masjid still bears the name of its founder, the MA (Hheba, but it is no longer used for worship. Nothing is ever done for its maintenance or repair, and it is ten¬ anted solely by pigeons and bats* The Musalmans of DAbliol aro too poor to afford the cost of its preservation, and thus what is probably the only fine specimen of Muhammadan architecture in the Konkan will crumble away year by year till nothing is left but a heap of ruins.f” The date a.h. 1070 corresponds to a.d. 1659- 60. Mahmud Adil Shah had died in 1656, which would not of course make it impossible that his daughter should in that year have visit¬ ed Dabul and built the mosque. But between 1656 and 1660 Aurangzib and Sivaji were in alliance against the young king of Bijapur, and it seems scarcely possible that the kingdom could have at that time afforded either the 15 lakhs or the cavalry force for a mere sentimental expe¬ dition and building at Dabul. Besides this, it was just about this time that Sivaji plundered Dabul, and putting all this together it seems scarcely possible that the mosque could have been built at this time. The figures given in the account are also apparently quite mythical. It is scarcely cre¬ dible that the mosque could in those days have cost fifteen lakhs, and it is certain that 20,000 cavalry would have eaten up the whole Konkan in a week. I am not aware whether there is a Persian inscription on the mosque or not. I think not, but it is said that the sanads and other docu¬ ments referring to the Musalman villages on this coast are chiefly among the records of the Habshi at Jinjira, so it is possible that a search there may settle this question. It is at all events certain that the mosque cannot have been built later than -1660, nor earlier than 1508, as if it had been before that time it would certainly have iSfeen destroyed by the zealous Roman Catholics under Almeida. In the names of two small pargan&s in tliis neighbourhood, one on each side of the creek, we find further traces of tho Musalman power. They are called Haveli Ahmadabad and Haveli Jafarabad, and I believe that the term Haveli signifies that they belonged to a city which was the capital of a kingdom or government. It is probable that the villages forming these par- ganAs were attached to Dabul for the mainte¬ nance of the Government establishments, just as in 1756 eleven villages on the Bankot creek were ceded to our government for the support of Fort Victoria. No villages or towns called AhmadAbAd or Jafarabad exist in this neigh¬ bourhood, that I ever heard of. The traditions of the mosque already mentioned as standing at the top of a high hill in the neighbourhood, and known by the name of BAH Pir (from the Ara¬ bic bala, a hill) are vague and rather common¬ place. The mosque is a small one, divided into two compartments, in one of which are the tombs of tho Pir, his wife and son. He is said to have been named Abdul Qadr, and to have lived from 250 to 300 years ago. The mosque or tomb has a cash allowance from Government of Rs. 25-8 a year, and up to fifteen or twenty years ago it used to receive from every field in the village of Wanosi a pdyali of grain. The inhab¬ itants, however, appear now to have grown too • The minarets are in a tottering condition, the mortar having long since crumbled away, and the stonea becoming in consequence loosened are foiling out of their places. T See Note on next page.—Ed.