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and when he expostulated with the Sultan for bestowing it upon another, he was told that it was not right that the sons of slaves should be promoted above the heads of the old nobility. Stung by this retort, Lallcheen resolved upon revenge, and he carried out his plan in the following manner:-The young Sultan was desirous of obtaining Lallcheen's daughter, and, accordingly, the slave invited his master to a feast. When the Sultan was half intoxicated with wine, Lallcheen drew him on one side as one side as if to take him to the female apartments. When he had taken him into another room, he fell upon him, threw him down, and gouged out his eyes with a dagger. He then called in each of the attendants, one by one, and put them to death singly to the number of twentyone persons so that no one remained alive powerful enough to obstruct his designs. The Sultan was then sent to the fort of Saugur, and his younger brother, Shums-ud-Din, was placed upon the throne. The reign of the unfortunate Ghazi-ud-Din lasted only one month and twenty days (17 Ramzan 799) (1396 A.D.).

Sultan Shums-ud-Din was only fifteen years old when he ascended the throne. Intimidated by the fate of his brother, he left all the power in the hands of Lallcheen. The latter, the more to strengthen his position, commenced an intrigue with the Sultan's mother, and in this way was able to do what he liked with the young Prince. As was to be expected, this absolute power soon excited the jealousy of the other members of the Royal Family. Sultan Daood Khan (the murderer of Sultan Mujahid Shah) had left three sons. The eldest of these, Mahomed Sunjer had, it will be remembered, been blinded, but there were two younger brothers, Feroze Khan and Ahmed Khan, who married two daughters of the late Sultan Mahmood Shah. They were therefore brothers-inlaw and cousins of the unfortunate Ghazi-ud-Din, who had enjoyed so brief a period of power. Their wives incited these

princes to avenge their brother which they resolved to do. Lallcheen, getting wind of this conspiracy sent orders to have the Princes killed, but they managed to escape in time and took refuge in the fort of Saugur which was commanded by one Suddoo, a slave of the royal family, who received them with kindness and respect. Here they found the poor young blinded Sultan Ghazi-ud-Din, and the three resolved to strike a blow to recover the throne. They gathered together an army, and marched upon Gulburga, but were defeated with considerable loss and had to fly again to Saugur. Flushed with this success, the insolence of Lallcheen overstepped all bounds. The Sultan Shums-ud-Din was treated as a mere puppet, and his mother no longer made any disguise of her intrigue with Lallcheen. This conduct so disgusted the chief noblemen that they entered into correspondence with the two Princes, who now resolved to attempt by stratagem what they had not been able to accomplish by force. Accordingly, they sent letters to Lallcheen and the Queen-mother praying for forgiveness and asking to be allowed to return to Gulburga. Lallcheen, delighted at the chance of getting the Princes into his power, at once consented, and they accordingly returned. For the first few days they remained quiet on their guard, and then carried out their plot by a surprise. Feroze Khan appeared in the Durbar with twelve followers, leaving three hundred adherents outside. The porters at the gate attempted to stop him, but they were at once cut down, and the Prince followed by his twelve friends rushed into the hall, leaving the gates guarded by the three hundred. The Sultan fled to an under-ground chamber, and Lallcheen's sons, who attempted to defend themselves, were cut down. Lallcheen was then taken and bound, and Feroze ascended the throne which bore his own name. Vengeance upon Lallcheen was reserved for the hand of his unfortunate victim Ghazi-ud-Din, who was sent for from Saugur. Lallcheen was placed, bound, before the

blind prince, who called for a sword and killed him with one stroke. Ghazi-ud-Din, incapacitated by his blindness for Government, then asked to be allowed to go to Mecca. This request was granted, and we are told that the ex-Sultan lived for many years in that city provided with a liberal allowance from his cousin Feroze Shah. Shums-ud-Din, the boy king of fifteen, was then blinded and sent in captivity to Bieder, and so the country was once more restored to peace. Shums-ud-Din reigned only five months and seven days.

CHAPTER VII.

THE CITY AND KINGDOM OF VIJAYANAGAR.

[graphic]

T is necessary at this part of the history of the Deccan to glance at the manner in which Vijayanagar had risen to be so formidable a rival of the Mahomedan

power. There can be little doubt that previous to the 14th

Century, Vijayanagar

was a place of such insignificance that

it was entirely unknown. It may have been the residence of a petty Chieftain,

and it is possible that the founders of the new city, Bukha Raya and Hari Hara, may have

belonged to his family, and have returned thither after the fall

of Warangal in 1323. The foundation of Vijayanagar is

generally ascribed to the year 1336 A.D., and its completion to the year 1343, or a few years previous to the foundation of the Gulburga kingdom (1348), and there seems to be no doubt that the rapid growth of the young Hindoo Kingdom was in a great measure due to Sri Maha Vidyáranya, the eleventh successor of Sankarachariar; (according to Dr. Burnell, than whom there can be no safer guide), the same as Sáyana, the famous commentator on the Vedas. This sage's monastery was situated at Shringeri, in the Kadoor Taluq of West Mysore. Tradition says that after the fall of Warangal, the two brothers came to the sage and asked for help. The Hindoo High Priest was not slow to recognize the critical position. The fall of Deogiri and Warangal had left Southern. India entirely unprotected from the invasions of the Mahomedans, and it was therefore absolutely necessary that a new bulwark of protection should be raised against this dangerous foe. It is said that the deity appeared to the sage in a vision, and revealed to him the existence of a hidden treasure, which he, recognizing their fitness for the new task, bestowed upon the two brothers, and with this money they founded the new city, which, in honour of their patron, they called Vidhyanagar. It is a strange thing that throughout the whole of Indian history we frequently find the foundation of a new city or dynasty connected with the finding of a hidden treasure. No doubt the custom of hoarding money goes back to the most ancient times, but it is also exceedingly possible that these hidden treasures were in reality mines, either of gold or precious stones, the existence of which was kept a profound secret. Within a few years after the founding of the new kingdom, its authority extended to the Western Coast. The great Mahomedan traveller, Ibn Batuta, who visited the Kánara Coast in 1842, says that at Honávar (the modern Honor) he found a Mahomedan Prince named Jamal-ud-Din, who was subject to an infidel King named Hariab (evidently

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