1 Tlis vices aud incapa-
2 cities.
3 Hemu, 2 shopkeeper,
4 made Prime Mimoster.
5 Tie proves a man of
6 capacity
7 Ibrahim Khan Sur
8 proclaims himself em-
9 peror.
10 The empire of India
11 parcelled out.
12 Revolt of the Panyib
13 nuder Sekandar Shah
14 Sur.
15 ki
16 Splendor of the
17 he’s equipage.
18 Sekandar Shah takes
19 possession of Delhi and
20 Agra.
21 Hiumfyin marches to
22 recover India, 1555,
23 Ss!
24 Defeat of Sekandar
25 yah,
26 His death.
27 130 HISTORY OF THE PANJAB,
28 Muhammad Shah could neither read nor write, anid was addicted to the
29 company of low people. He raised one Hemu, a common shopkeeper, who
30 was superintendent of markets in the time of Salem Shah, to the post of
31 prime minister. The king, neglecting the affairs of his kingdom, became a
32 profligate libertine, and under him the court of Delhi became the resort of
33 men of low birth, who had nothing but flattery to recommend them. The
34 king began to squander his wealth even in the streets among the populace,
35 shooting arrows of gold worth Rs. 10 or 12 each, as he rode, for the pleasure .
36 of seeing the multitude fight with one another for the possession of the gold
37 so heedlessly lavished. Hemu proved to be a man of much spirit and energy,
38 and became the mainstay of Muhammad Shah Adili. Brawls among the
39 rough Pathans became the order of the day, and the king proved quite in-
40 capable of checking these disorders. Jealous of the increasing popularity
41 and influence of his own brother-in-law, Ibrahim Khan Sur, he gave private
42 orders for his arrest. But Ibrahim’s wife, the king’s sister, informed him
43 of this design in time, and he fled to Chunar. The king sent Isa Khan Niazi
44 in pursuit of him, at the head of an army, but in an engagement which
45 ensued Isa Khan was defeated and compelled to fall back. Elated with this
46 success, Ibrahim Khan raised a considerable army, and, while the king was
47 absent in Chunar, seized on Delhi, and, ascending the throne, proclaimed
48 himself emperor. Muhammad Shah made a feeble attempt to suppress the
49 insurrection, but finding his rival too strong for opposition, he agreed to an
50 arrangement by which he obtained the government of the eastern provinces,
51 while Ibrahim Khan was allowed to retain possession of the western. The
52 empire of Hindostéu was thus virtually divided between rival claimants.
53 SEKANDAR SHAH SUR.
54 Scarcely had Ibrahim Khan Sur assumed the regalia of royalty, when
55 another candidate appeared for the throne. This was Ahmad Khan Sur, a
56 nephew of Sher Shah, whose sister was married to Muhammad Shah Adili.
57 Having won over some of the leading chiefs of the western districts to his side,
58 among whom was the powerful Hebat Khan, a noble of the court of Salem Shah,
59 he assumed the royal titles in the Panjab which he began to rule under the
60 title of Sekandar Shah Sur. He‘then marched to Agra at the head of
61 12,000 cavalry, with the view of expelling Ibrahim Khan from his western
62 dominions, and encamped at Kera, 20 miles distant from that city. Tbrahim
63 Khan marched out to oppose him, with an army of 70,000 horse. Some
64 idea of the magnificence and splendour of his train may be formed when it
65 is mentioned that 200 chiefs and officers occupied tents lined with velvet,
66 and that each of them had the privilege of keeping a musical band, called
67 Nobat-nakara, while the gorgeous equipage of the king filled the spectators
68 with admiration and awe. A battle ensued between the two armies, in
69 which the imposing hosts of Ibrahim Khan were signally defeated, and the
70 king himself retreating to Sambhal, the conqueror took possession of both
71 Agra and Delhi.
72 Sekandar Shah did not long enjoy the fruits of his conquest, for Htimaydn,
73 after his long exile, invaded India, and Sckandar Shah was compelled to
74 repair to the Panjab to oppose the invader. He was defeated near Sirhind
75 by Behram Khan and the young Prince Akber, and compelled to fly to the
76 Sewalik mountains. He afterwards returned to Bengal, where he died, after
77 reigning a short time. With his death, the date of which is not given, the
78 dynasty of the Sur Pathans became extinct,
79 Sri Satguru J agjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@ gmail.com