Khizr Khan (1414–1421)
Khizr Khan, who founded the dynasty known as the Sayyids. In the year of his accession Khizr Khan found it necessary to send an army under Taj-ul-Mulk to reduce to obedience Har Singh, the rebellious raja of Katehr. The raja fled into the forests of Aonla, but a rigorous blockade compelled him to submit and to give an undertaking to pay tribute in future. Mahabat Khan, governor of Budaun, also made his submission, and Taj-ul-Mulk recrossed the Ganges and compelled the fief-holders and Hindu chieftains of the lower Doab, among them Hasan of Rapri, Raja Sarwar of Etawah, and the raja of Kampil, to own allegiance to their new master. In Chandwar he restored Muslim supremacy, which had been subverted by the Hindus, and returned to Delhi with the tribute, or plunder, which he had collected in the course of his expedition.
In 1415 Malik Sadhu Nadira had been sent to Sirhind as the deputy of Khizr Khan's son Mubarak, on whom that district had been bestowed, and in the following year the Turkish landholders, kinsmen and dependants of Bairam Khan, the former governor, rose under the leadership of Malik Tughan, put him to death, and occupied the fortress. Zirak Khan was sent against them and pursued them across the Sutlej and as far as the lower slopes of the Himalaya, but did not venture to continue the pursuit into the mountains, and returned to Delhi.
In the same year Khizr Khan himself took the field with the object of chastising Ahmad I of Gujarat who, by pursuing his rebellious uncles to Nagaur, which was nominally, at least, subject to Delhi, had violated the frontiers of the kingdom. Ahmad, on learning of his approach, fled into Gujarat, and Khizr Khan retired, receiving on his homeward march tribute from Iliyas Khan, the Muslim governor of Jhain, the raja of Gwalior, and his own former protector, Shams Khan Auhadi of Bayana, whom he might well have spared.
On his arrival at his capital he learnt that Tughan and his followers had returned to Sirhind and were besieging Malik Kamal Badhan, who had been appointed deputy of Mubarak in the place of the murdered Nadira. On this occasion Zirak Khan was more successful, for he overtook the fugitive Turks at Pael, where Malik Tughan submitted and surrendered his son as an hostage for his good behavior, for which subservience he was rewarded with the fief of Jullundur.
Early in 1418 Har Singh of Katehr was again in revolt, and was on this occasion brought to bay and suffered a complete defeat at the hands of Taj-ul-Mulk. He fled, and was pursued into the hills of Kumaon, where Taj-ul-Mulk, unable to seize the object of his pursuit. From Katehr he marched to Etawah, and there besieged Raja Sarwar, who was again in rebellion. Unable to reduce the fortress, he plundered the inhabitants of the district and returned to Delhi in May, but his devastating progress, which had resembled rather the raid of a brigand chief than an expedition for the permanent establishment of order, had so exasperated the people of the region through which he had passed that before the end of the year Khizr Khan found it necessary to follow in the tracks of his lieutenant, and the record of his progress exhibits both the frailty of the bond between him and his subjects and the futility of the means which he employed for the establishment of his authority. He was compelled to use force against the people of Koil, within eighty miles of his capital, and then, crossing the Ganges, laid waste the district of Sambhal. His proceedings so alarmed Mahabat Khan of Budaun, who was in his camp and was, perhaps, conscious of shortcomings in his administration or apprehensive of the discovery of his traffickings with the rebels, that he fled and shut himself up in Budaun, which Khizr Khan besieged for six months without success. For the history of this and the following reign the sole original authority is an encomiast of the Sayyids, and it is impossible to fathom the undercurrent of politics or to estimate the difficulties with which Khizr Khan was confronted, but Mahabat Khan was an old noble of the late dynasty, and there were in the royal camp several of his former comrades who had formally submitted to the new order of things, and in June, 1419, Khizr Khan discovered the existence among them of a conspiracy to which Mahabat Khan was doubtless a party, and, in order to separate his enemies, raised the siege and returned towards Delhi. On June 14 he halted on the banks of the Ganges and put the leading conspirators, Qavam-ul-Mulk and Ikhtiyar Khan, to death.
In the same year Taj-ul-Mulk was dispatched on another foray, dignified by the name of an expedition against rebels, into the districts of Koil and Etawah. Raja Sarwar was besieged in his fortress, but no important military success was gained. The wretched inhabitants of the country were, as usual, plundered and Sarwar purchased the retreat of the raiders by a contribution to the royal coffers and one of his oft-repeated promises to pay with more regularity in the future. On returning from Etawah Taj-ul-Mulk plundered Chandwar and invaded Katehr, where he compelled Mahabat Khan to pay the tribute due from him.
In August news was received at the capital that Malik Tughan, whose resources had been replenished by the plunder of the pretender, was again in rebellion and had marched from Jullundur to Sirhind where, having plundered the country, he was besieging the fortress. Malik Khair-ud-din was sent to its relief and, marching by way of Samana, was there joined by Zirak Khan. Tughan raised the siege of Sirhind and retreated, and Khair-ud-din and Zirak Khan pursued him across the Sutlej and compelled him to seek refuge with Jasrat the Khokar, the son of that Shaikha who had established his independence in the reign of Mahmad Shah. Jasrat had been carried off into captivity by Timur, with his father, but on the conqueror’s death had regained his freedom and returned to his country, where having established for himself an independent principality of considerable extent, he had gained over the army of Kashmir a victory which fostered in his mind extravagant notions of his power and importance and inspired in him the belief that the throne of Delhi was within his reach. Tughan’s fief of Jullundur was bestowed upon Zirak Khan.
In 1421 Khizr Khan marched into Mewat to assert his authority in that province, captured and destroyed the former stronghold of Bahadur Nahir and received the submission of most of the inhabitants. He then turned to Gwalior, and on January 13, during his march thither, his faithful minister, Taj-ul-Mulk, died, and his office was bestowed upon his son, Malik Sikandar Tuhfa, who received the title of Malik-ush Sharq. The raja of Gwalior took refuge within his fortress and by means of the usual dole and the usual empty promise relieved his subjects from the depredations of the royal troops. Thence the king marched to Etawah, where Sarwar Singh had lately died and his son was prepared to purchase peace on the customary terms, and here he fell sick and hastened back to Delhi, where he died on May 20, 1421, having designated his son Mubarak Khan his heir
Sources:
http://www.cristoraul.com/ENGLISH/readinghall/UniversalHistory/INDIA/Cambridge/III/VIII-SAYYID-DYNASTY.html.
In 1415 Malik Sadhu Nadira had been sent to Sirhind as the deputy of Khizr Khan's son Mubarak, on whom that district had been bestowed, and in the following year the Turkish landholders, kinsmen and dependants of Bairam Khan, the former governor, rose under the leadership of Malik Tughan, put him to death, and occupied the fortress. Zirak Khan was sent against them and pursued them across the Sutlej and as far as the lower slopes of the Himalaya, but did not venture to continue the pursuit into the mountains, and returned to Delhi.
In the same year Khizr Khan himself took the field with the object of chastising Ahmad I of Gujarat who, by pursuing his rebellious uncles to Nagaur, which was nominally, at least, subject to Delhi, had violated the frontiers of the kingdom. Ahmad, on learning of his approach, fled into Gujarat, and Khizr Khan retired, receiving on his homeward march tribute from Iliyas Khan, the Muslim governor of Jhain, the raja of Gwalior, and his own former protector, Shams Khan Auhadi of Bayana, whom he might well have spared.
On his arrival at his capital he learnt that Tughan and his followers had returned to Sirhind and were besieging Malik Kamal Badhan, who had been appointed deputy of Mubarak in the place of the murdered Nadira. On this occasion Zirak Khan was more successful, for he overtook the fugitive Turks at Pael, where Malik Tughan submitted and surrendered his son as an hostage for his good behavior, for which subservience he was rewarded with the fief of Jullundur.
Early in 1418 Har Singh of Katehr was again in revolt, and was on this occasion brought to bay and suffered a complete defeat at the hands of Taj-ul-Mulk. He fled, and was pursued into the hills of Kumaon, where Taj-ul-Mulk, unable to seize the object of his pursuit. From Katehr he marched to Etawah, and there besieged Raja Sarwar, who was again in rebellion. Unable to reduce the fortress, he plundered the inhabitants of the district and returned to Delhi in May, but his devastating progress, which had resembled rather the raid of a brigand chief than an expedition for the permanent establishment of order, had so exasperated the people of the region through which he had passed that before the end of the year Khizr Khan found it necessary to follow in the tracks of his lieutenant, and the record of his progress exhibits both the frailty of the bond between him and his subjects and the futility of the means which he employed for the establishment of his authority. He was compelled to use force against the people of Koil, within eighty miles of his capital, and then, crossing the Ganges, laid waste the district of Sambhal. His proceedings so alarmed Mahabat Khan of Budaun, who was in his camp and was, perhaps, conscious of shortcomings in his administration or apprehensive of the discovery of his traffickings with the rebels, that he fled and shut himself up in Budaun, which Khizr Khan besieged for six months without success. For the history of this and the following reign the sole original authority is an encomiast of the Sayyids, and it is impossible to fathom the undercurrent of politics or to estimate the difficulties with which Khizr Khan was confronted, but Mahabat Khan was an old noble of the late dynasty, and there were in the royal camp several of his former comrades who had formally submitted to the new order of things, and in June, 1419, Khizr Khan discovered the existence among them of a conspiracy to which Mahabat Khan was doubtless a party, and, in order to separate his enemies, raised the siege and returned towards Delhi. On June 14 he halted on the banks of the Ganges and put the leading conspirators, Qavam-ul-Mulk and Ikhtiyar Khan, to death.
Expulsion of Tughan Khan
In the following year he was reminded of his early misfortunes by the appearance in Bajwara, near Hoshiarpur, of an impostor who pretended to be that Sarang Khan who had expelled him from Multan. The real Sarang Khan had died in captivity shortly after his surrender to Pir Muhammad, and this fact must have been widely known, but interest may lead the intelligent, as ignorance leads the vulgar, to espouse the cause of a pretender; and the name of the man who had driven before him, as chaff before the wind, the occupant of the throne of Delhi was well chosen by the impostor. Khizr Khan was, however, well served. A family of the Lodi clan of the great Ghilzai or Khalji tribe had recently been domiciled in India, and its leader, Malik Sultan Shah Bahrain, subsequently styled Islam Khan, by which title he may now conveniently be known, had been appointed governor of Sirhind. He was dispatched against the pretender, who marched to the Sutlej to meet him but was defeated and compelled to retire. After the battle Islam Khan was joined by Zirak Khan of Samana and Malik Tughan of Jullundur, and before their overwhelming force the impostor fled, by way of Rupar, which he had made his headquarters, into the mountains. He was ineffectually pursued but emerged and fell a victim to the perfidy of Malik Tughan, who inveighed him into his power and treacherously put him to death, being prompted to this act rather by cupidity than by loyalty, for the impostor had amassed great wealth.In the same year Taj-ul-Mulk was dispatched on another foray, dignified by the name of an expedition against rebels, into the districts of Koil and Etawah. Raja Sarwar was besieged in his fortress, but no important military success was gained. The wretched inhabitants of the country were, as usual, plundered and Sarwar purchased the retreat of the raiders by a contribution to the royal coffers and one of his oft-repeated promises to pay with more regularity in the future. On returning from Etawah Taj-ul-Mulk plundered Chandwar and invaded Katehr, where he compelled Mahabat Khan to pay the tribute due from him.
In August news was received at the capital that Malik Tughan, whose resources had been replenished by the plunder of the pretender, was again in rebellion and had marched from Jullundur to Sirhind where, having plundered the country, he was besieging the fortress. Malik Khair-ud-din was sent to its relief and, marching by way of Samana, was there joined by Zirak Khan. Tughan raised the siege of Sirhind and retreated, and Khair-ud-din and Zirak Khan pursued him across the Sutlej and compelled him to seek refuge with Jasrat the Khokar, the son of that Shaikha who had established his independence in the reign of Mahmad Shah. Jasrat had been carried off into captivity by Timur, with his father, but on the conqueror’s death had regained his freedom and returned to his country, where having established for himself an independent principality of considerable extent, he had gained over the army of Kashmir a victory which fostered in his mind extravagant notions of his power and importance and inspired in him the belief that the throne of Delhi was within his reach. Tughan’s fief of Jullundur was bestowed upon Zirak Khan.
In 1421 Khizr Khan marched into Mewat to assert his authority in that province, captured and destroyed the former stronghold of Bahadur Nahir and received the submission of most of the inhabitants. He then turned to Gwalior, and on January 13, during his march thither, his faithful minister, Taj-ul-Mulk, died, and his office was bestowed upon his son, Malik Sikandar Tuhfa, who received the title of Malik-ush Sharq. The raja of Gwalior took refuge within his fortress and by means of the usual dole and the usual empty promise relieved his subjects from the depredations of the royal troops. Thence the king marched to Etawah, where Sarwar Singh had lately died and his son was prepared to purchase peace on the customary terms, and here he fell sick and hastened back to Delhi, where he died on May 20, 1421, having designated his son Mubarak Khan his heir
Sources:
http://www.cristoraul.com/ENGLISH/readinghall/UniversalHistory/INDIA/Cambridge/III/VIII-SAYYID-DYNASTY.html.