Jahangir had inherited the situation of relations with the Deccan states and to pursue the policy of the Deccan . The reasons for Jahangir's entry into the south were almost the same as those that inspired the Mughal emperor Akbar. The main reason for this was the nature of the empire, economic reasons and political integration. Like his father, Jahangir was also devoted to the conquest of South India so that political unity could be established in the country. Thus it was a continuation of Akbar's policy which envisaged an aggressive war with all the regional states of the south. The Mughal emperor Jahangir and his relations with the states of the south can be divided into three parts . Where most of the time there were two fronts of struggle - one against the enemy and the other within the Mughal army .
Phase
I (1605 to 1616): Resistance of Malik Ambar
In the first
phase, the
period up to 1605 to 1616
AD, can be taken . At this time, Amir Malik Ambar of the
Ahmednagar Sultanate in the south was trying to get the territories of
Ahmednagar State which had gone under the control of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. In
1608, Jahangir handed over the command of the Deccan to Abdul Rahim Khane Khana.
Khane Khana announced that within two years he would not only take back the
territories that had gone into Amber's hands, but that he would also make
Bijapur a part of the empire . Frightened by this threat, Malik Amber appealed
to Adil Shah of Bijapur for help. And argued that both the states are one in
all respects. Armed with the support of Bijapur and the active support of the
Marathas, Amber forced Khan-i-Khana to withdraw to Burhanpur. Now in 1610,
Khan-i-Jahan Lodi was tried after Prince Parvez but he too could not face the
challenge of Amber. Here Malik Amber slowly got supercilious and
he annoyed his friends. Khan-i-Khana, who was again appointed as the Mughal representative in the
Deccan, took
advantage of situation to help many Maratha chieftains, like
Jagdev Rai, Babaji Kaate, Udaji Ram etc. In 1616 AD, With the help of Maratha chieftains, Khan-i-Khana deeply
defeated the combined forces
of Ahmednagar,
Bijapur and Golconda .
Phase I I (1617 to 1620): When
Khurram became Shah Jahan
Second phase can be dated from 1617
to 1620 AD when Mughal Crown Prince Khurram was given the
leadership of the southern campaign to ensure victory. During this period, Mughals
tried to control the situation in the south by giving priority to Sultan
Ibrahim Adilshah of Bijapur state over the other two kingdoms, Ahmednagar and
Golconda. Jahangir gave the title of Farzand or son to Adilshah. In fact, by
breaking the alliance of Bijapur and Ahmednagar, the Mughal emperor Jahangir
wanted to isolate Ahmednagar. With this, the Mughal army easily established control
over Ahmednagar .
On October 12, 1617, Khurram reached the royal camp of Mandu with a huge
gift, where the value was estimated at 22 lakh 60 thousand rupees. Jahangir
writes that “After Sajdah and Pabosh, I called the prince into the Jharokha and
rose with joy and grace and embraced him lovingly. .....Given him a mansab of
30 thousand which was unprecedented and honored him with the title of Shah
Jahan .
Phase III (1621 to 1627): Power struggle in the Mughal court
The third phase of the relations of the southern states with the Mughal
emperor Jahangir lasted from 1621 to 1627 AD. Within two years, Malik Ambar was successful in
establishing his supremacy over the areas of Mughal and Bijapur state. Malik
Ambar reached the capital of Bijapur. He burnt Nauraspur, the new capital built
by Ibrahim Adilshah, and forced Shah to flee and take refuge in the fort. It
can be considered as the culmination of Amber's power. Therefore, Shah Jahan
took over the command of the Deccan military campaign for the second time on
the condition that his elder brother Prince Khusrau be allowed to keep in his
personal custody. He was still carrying out his military campaign against Amber
when he got secret information about the political conspiracy of Nur Jahan in
Burhanpur . In fact, Nur Jahan was trying to pursue her son-in-law Shahryar for
the successor. A skeptical Shah Jahan made a treaty with Malik Ambar and his
allies on easy terms. The Sultans of Ahmednagar, Bijapur and Golconda gave
twelve, eighteen and twenty lakh rupees respectively and accepted their
submission to the Taj . Shah Jahan, having disposed of his prisoner brother
Khusra, and moved north with the army. As soon as got the
opportunity, Amber took advantage of the rebellion . However, he was now old
and died in 1626 at the age of 80 .
Thus the most important fact of Mughal relations with the south during the reign
of Jahangir is that it did not extend terrestrial since the time of the Mughal
emperor Akbar. But even after strong opposition from Ahmednagar's Habshi Amir
Malik Ambar, Mughal continued to dominate the Ahmednagar region. Although the Mughal
emperor Jahangir did not achieve any special achievement in the south, but it
was necessary that during his reign the Mughal boundaries in the south remained
unchanged.
Malik Amber
An Ethiopian Negro slave with unknown early life arrived in the Deccan full
of possibilities. After the fall of Ahmednagar, Malik Ambar found a Nizamshahi
prince and with the silent support of Bijapur, placed him on the throne of
Ahmednagar in the name of second Murtaza Nizamshah and himself became his
Peshwa. He prepared a group of expelled soldiers, Afghan fighters, Negroes and
Maratha bargirs. The guerilla warfare system called Barjagiri or Bargagiri,
which the Mughals were not used to, made the life of the Mughals fussed. It
consolidated its position in Berar, Ahmednagar and Balaghat .
According to a contemporary Mughal historian Muhammad Khan, he had no touch
in martial arts, military operations, right decisions and administration . He
was a mighty warrior of Deccani freedom. Malik Ambar tried to reform the
administration of Nizamshahi by introducing the Todarmal system of land
revenue. He abolished the old practice of giving land on contract (Izare) as it
was a cause of destruction for the farmers. He expanded agriculture by removing
the problems related to agriculture . He laid emphasis on local law and order.
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