30 1
IIlSTOllY OV INDIA.
[Book TT
A.I) 1687
poor. To this place Auruii<f/x'l)e ailvaiiced with his army. 'Jiiis movement fur- nished Sambajee with the opportunity of making another plundering excursion, during which he devastated part of Gujerat and plundered the city of Baroach. About this time he had entered into an alliance with the King of Golconda, who was therefore now regarded as an enemy of the Moguls, and his kingdom invaded Subjection by Auruugzebe. The army, commanded by Prince Moazzim, made little progre.ss ami Beja- till the commander-in-cliief, a fanatic Mussulman, who was ofiended at the influ- '"""^ ence possessed by a Brahmin, turned traitor and deserted, carrying the greater
part of his troops along with him. Resistance was now vain; and, while the king took refuge in the fort of Golconda, Hyderabad, his capital, was seized and sacked. Having been reduced to the necessity of accepting whatever terms were offered to him, the Moguls left him effectually cri})j)led, and next turned their arms again.st Bejapoor. The siege of the capital was immediately commenced by Aurungzebe in person. It was successful, and the Bejapoor monarchy ceased to exist. The splendour to which the capital had attained is still attested by its ruins. Aurung- zebe having thus succeeded probably beyond his expectations, appears to have* repented of his leniency in having left the King of Golconda even a shadow of independence. Little difficulty was found in devi.sing a pretext for breaking the peace, and the whole territory was speedily overrun. The king, Abul Hasan, shut up in his fort, shook ofi' the effeminacy for which he had pre'iously been notorious, and defended himself successfullv for seven months. Treacherv at
Southern limiti! of the Mogul empire.
Tombs of Kings of Golconu.. — Grindlay's Scenery of Western India.
last again did its work, and the Golconda monarchy also was extinguished in 1687. The Mogul empire now reached its utmost limits in the south. The kingdoms of Ahmed nuggur, Bejapoor, and Golconda, were formally incorporated with it, and even a considerable portion of the Mysore, and more especiall}' that part which had formed Shahjee's jaghire, was held at least by military occupa- tion. Vencajee, whom Sevajee had left in possession of the jaghire, was obliged to confine himself to Tanjore ; and any other Mahrattas who had made acquisi- tions in the same quarter, were di'iven from the open country and found no safety beyond the precincts of their hill-forts.
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