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[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
in 1411. Suspected of having poisoned his grandfather, his accession
was opposed by one of his uncles. He overcame this challenge by cre-
ating a division in the ranks of his adversaries. In 1413, Ahmad Shah
founded Ahmadabad on the bank of the Sabarmati River and shifted
his capital from Naharwala to this new township. The following
year (1414), he suppressed disgruntled nobles led by Shah Malik who
were supported by several powerful local chiefs, as well as by Sultan
Hoshang of Malwa.
Ahmad Shah got involved in a prolonged conflict with the sul-
tanate of Khandesh and the Bahmani kingdom in 1430, which led to
frustrating the Bahmanis designs on Mahim and Baglana (1432). In
1437, after having suppressed the Rajput chiefs on the northern pe-
riphery of Gujarat, Ahmad Shah forced the Sisodiya ruler of Mewar
to pay tribute. The following year (1438), he intervened in the tussle
for succession in Malwa on the side of Sultan Hoshang s sons and
against Mahmud Khalji but was forced to withdraw because of a
pestilence. He died on 12 August 1442. Side by side with disciplin-
ing the nobility and suppressing the hereditary chiefs, Ahmad Shah
built a credible army organization identified with a system of land-
grants-cum-cash payments. While inducting many non-Muslims in
the nobility, Ahmad Shah on the whole deployed an attitude of reli-
gious intolerance by imposing discriminatory jiziya and also by de-
stroying several temples during his military campaigns.
AHMADABAD. On the left bank of the Sabarmati River in Gujarat, it
was founded by Sultan Ahmad Shah (1411 1442) as his new capital.
Sultans of Gujarat built numerous mosques and palaces at Ahmad-
abad; some of these were built with materials taken from Hindu tem-
ples. The carved stonework and exquisite lattices of the windows of
these buildings are universally admired. Some of these features were
later incorporated in the Mughal architecture. Ahmadabad also became
famous for its accomplished weavers. It grew into a prosperous city
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AIBEK, QUTB AL-DIN " 17
with a large population that approached an estimated 900,000 during
the 17th century.
AHOMS. A Sino-Tibetan hill tribe, possibly an offshoot of the great Tai
or Shan race, that spread from what is now Thailand and Myanmar. Af-
ter settling in the Brahmputra valley, many of them married women
from the local Bodo tribes. Most of them gradually adopted Hindu be-
liefs and customs, although many continued to designate themselves
Tai or Thai, literally of celestial origin. The Ahom rulers, designated
as svargadeos (kings from heaven), controlled in their palmy days the
whole tract from Brahmputra to the Karatoya River. There is a strong
case that this region is named Assam after Ahoms.
AHSAN SHAH, JALAL AL-DIN (? 1339). He was originally
Muhammad bin Tughlaq s governor of the Ma bar tract. Taking
advantage of the sultan s preoccupations at Delhi, he raised the stan-
dard of revolt at Madurai and assumed royal titles in 1333 1334. An
army sent by Muhammad bin Tughlaq against him was destroyed by
pestilence (1335). Ahsan continued to rule over Madurai until his
death in 1339. His last successor was overthrown by the Vijayana-
gar forces in 1377.
AIBEK, QUTB AL-DIN (? 1210). A slave of the Ghaurid prince
Mu izz al-Din Muhammad and appointed by him to administer con-
quered territories in India after the overthrow of Prithviraja III in
the second battle of Tarain (1192). Aibak occupied Delhi, which had
held out for some time after Prithviraja s defeat, and made it his seat
of power. He obtained from Mu izz al-Din a letter of manumission
together with paraphernalia of royalty and an authority to rule over
Hindustan. On Mu izz al-Din s death in 1206, Aibak is reported to
have formally proclaimed himself an independent sultan, but this is
not confirmed by surviving coins. He disarmed opposition to his ac-
quisition of sovereign status within the Ghaurid Empire by marrying
a daughter of Taj al-Din Yildiz, who was Mu izz al-Din s successor
at Ghazni. He further consolidated his position by giving in marriage
his sister and daughter, respectively, to two fellow slave officers,
Nasir al-Din Qubacha (commandant of Multan) and Shams al-Din
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18 " AINU I-MULK MAHRU
Iltutmish (commandant of Baran [modern Bulandshahr]). Aibak also
succeeded in securing the allegiance of Ali bin Mardan, who had
seized power in Bengal. On the whole, Qutb al-Din Aibak was suc-
cessful in keeping the defeated Hindu chiefs in India under control
and also asserting his independence of the Mu izz al-Din s successor
at Ghazni. He died at Lahore in 1210 from an accident while play-
ing chaugan, or polo.
AINU I-MULK MAHRU (? 1362). Originally known as Abdullah
Muhammad Sharif, son of Amir Mahru, he was serving as a military
officer under Muhammad bin Tughlaq; at the time of the latter s
death, he was stationed at Multan (1351). By then, he had earned the
title Ainu i-Mulk. Mahru came to Delhi with Firuz Shah Tughlaq in
the same year and was appointed to the office of mushrif-i mamalik
(a high office in the central treasury). Because he could not get on
well with Khan-i Jahan Maqbul, the wazir, the sultan appointed
him governor of Multan and Bhakkar. Mahru died in 1362 at Mul-
tan, leaving behind a large collection of letters entitled Insha-i Mahru
(Letters of Mahru). [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
