Page:The Oriental Biographical Dictionary.djvu/41

Ahmad 29 Ahmad Ahmad Shah II, x'-^ J>'*=^t, ting of Gujrat. After the death of Mahmud Shah III, there being no relation on -whoin the succession might devolve, I'timad Khan, the prime minister, resolved rather than see the Mngdom in absolute anarchy, to elevate a youth, whom he asserted to be the son of prince Ahmad Khan, formerly governor of Ahmadabad, and declared him the legal successor to the crown of Gujrat. He was forthwith placed on the throne on the 18th February 1654 A. D., loth Rabf I, 961 A. H. He reigned 7 years and some months, and was found mur- dered one morning at the foot of the palace wall. This event took place on Monday the 21st April 1561 A. D., 5th Sha'ban, 968 A. H. He was succeeded by Muzaffar Shah III. Vide Am Translation, I, 335.] Ahmad Shah Abdali, ^I<>J| <>-*-=^t, commonly caUed Shah Durrani, was the son of a chief of the Afghan tribe of Abdal, ia the vicinity of the city of Hirat. He was taken prisoner in his infancy by Nadir Shah, who gave him the post of a mace-bearer, and by degrees promoted him to a considerable command in the army. The morn- ing after the assassination of Nadir Shah, which took place in the night of the 12th May, 1747, O. S., he made an attack, supported by a corps of IJzbaks, upon the Per- sian troops, but was repulsed. He then left the army, and proceeding by rapid marches to Kandahar, not only obtained possession of that city, but took a large convoy of treasure which was coming from Kabul and Sindh to the Persian camp. By the aid of these means, he laid the foundation of a kingdom, which soon attained a strength that rendered it formidable to the smrounding nations. He not only subdued Kandahar and Kabul, but took Pesha- war and Labor ; and emboldened by this success, and the weakness of the empire, he resolved the conquest of the capital of Hindustan. In the beginning of the year 1 748, 1161 A. H., he began his march from Labor. Muham- mad Shah, the emperor of Dihlf, being at this time too indisposed to take the field, despatched his only son, priAce Ahmad, against the enemy, under the com m and of the wazir Kamar-uddin Khan, Safdar-Jang, governor of Audh, and several other chiefs, with a great army. For some days several sldrmishes took place between the two armies near Sarhind. At length, on Friday 11th March, 1748, 22nd Eabf 1, 1161 A. H., Kamar-uddin Khan, the wazi'r, being killed as he was at his devotion in his tent by a cannon ball, a panic prevailed in the Mughul army ; the battle, however, continued till a magazine of rockets taking fire in the enemy's camp, numbers of the troops were wounded by the explosion ; and Shah AbdaU, either disheartened by the loss, or satisfied by the plunder gained at Sarhind, thought it proper to retreat towards Kabul, which he did unmolested. In the year 1757 A. D., 1170 A. H., he again advanced as far as Dihli and Agra, and after having plundered and massacred the inhabitants of Mathura, he returned to Kandahar. About the year 1758 A. D., 1172 A. H., the Maratha power had spread itself in almost every province of Hindustan, when Najib-ud-daula, the Eohfla, Shuja'-ud-daula Nawab of Audh, and not" only the Musalmans but Hindus also, joined in petition to Ahmad Shah Abdalf, that he would march and assume the throne of Dihli in which they promised to support him. The Abdali enraged at the seizure of Labor by the Marathas, rejoiced at the invi- tation, and advanced without delay across the Indus, and dr-iving the Marathas before him, he did not stop tiU they reached the vicinity of Dihlf. He engaged the Marathas in several battles, and attained the highest renown among Muhammadans by the memorable defeat that he gave the hostile army on the plains of Panipat. This famous action was fought in January, 1761. After this victory, Durrani Shah returned to his own country, but before his departure, he acknowledged Shah 'Alam, then in Bengal, as emperor of Hindustan, and commanded Shuja'-ud-daula and other chiefs to submit to his autho- 8 rity. He died after a reign of 26 j'ears in 1772 A. D., 1182 A. H., aged 50 years, and was succeeded by his son Timur Shah. His tomb, covered with a gilt cupola, stands near the king's palace, and is held sacred as an asylum. Ahmad Shah Wali Bahmani I, ts^t-" cs'j <i^l, (Sultan), was the second son of Sultan Daud Shah of the IJahmani race. He ascended the throne of the Dakhin on the 15th September, 1422 A. D., 5th Shawwal 825 A. H., ten days before the demise of his brother Sultan Ffruz Shah, who had resigned the crown in his favor. He is the founder of the city and fort of Ahmadabad Bi'dar, the foundation of which he laid in the year 1432 A. D., 836 A. H. It is said that the Sultan, on his return from a war at Bidar, took to the amusement of hunting ; and com- ing to a most beautiful spot, finely watered, resolved to build upon it a city, to be called after his name, Ahmada- bad. A citadel of great extent and strength was erected on the very site of Bidar, the ancient capital of princes, who, according to the Hindu books, 5000 years back, possessed the whole extent of Mirhat, Kamatik, and Talingana. Raja Bhim Sen was one of the most cele- brated of this house, and the history of the loves of his daughter and Eaja Nal, king of Malwa, are famous through all Hindustan. Their story was translated from the Sanskrit by Shaikh Faizf, under the title of "Nal Daman", into Persian verse, at the command of the emperor Akbar Shah. Ahmad Shah reigned 12 lunar years and 10 months, and died on the 19th of February 1435 A. D., 18th Eajab, 838 A. H. He was buried at Ahmadabad Bidar, and was succeeded by his son Sultan 'Ala-uddin II. Ahmad Shah Bahmani, II (^i^^J }(U i^+s^l, (Sulian). On the death of his father Sultan Mahmud Shah II, in October 1618 A. D., Shawwal 924 A. H., Amir Barid, his prime-minister, dreading that the sm-rounding powers would attack him should he assume open independence, placed prince Ahmad, son of the late king, upon the throne at Ahmadabad Bidar, leaving him the palace, with the use of the royal jewels and a daily allowance of money for his support. The sum not being equal to his expenses, the king broke ilp the crown, which was valued at 400,000 huns, or £ 160,000, and privately sold the jewels. He died two years after his accession to the throne, in the year 1521 A. D., 927 A. H. After his death Amir Barid ^ raised Sultan 'Ala-uddin III, one of the princes, on the thi-one. Two years after, he was imprisoned, and another .son of Mahmud Shah, named Wali-ullah Shah, was placed in his room. Three years after his accession, the minister conceiving a passion for his wife, he caused him to be poisoned, and espoused the queen. He then placed Kalim- ullah, the son of Ahmad Shah II, on the throne. This prince enjoyed nothing but the name of sovereign, and was never allowed to leave the palace. He was after- wards treated with great rigour by Amir Ban'd, where- upon he made his escape, first to his uncle Isma'il 'A'dil Shah to Bijapur, and thence to Burhan Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar, where he resided till his death. With him ended the dynasty of the Bahmani kings of the Dakhin. In fact before this event, the Dakhin was divided into five kingdoms — 'Adil-Shahi or lungs of Bijapur ; Kutb-Shahi, or kings of Golkonda ; 'Imad-Shahf, or kings of Barar ; Nizam-Shahi or kings of Ahmadnagar ; and Barid-Shahi, kings of Ahmadabad Bidar. Ahmad Shah of Bengal, 8^ '>♦=>• 1, succeeded his father Jalal-uddin to the throne of Bengal in 834 H. or 1430 A. D., reigned about 16 j-ears, and died about the year 1446 A. D., 860 A. H. He was succeeded by Nasir-uddin Mahmud Shah I, a descendant of Shams-uddin Ilyas Shah.] Ahmad Shah, or Ahmad-ullah Shah, commonly called " The Maulawf", a prominent character