402
HISTORY OF INDIA.
[Book 111.
A.D. 1748.
Rise of Ah- meil Shah Abilalee.
Death of Mahomed Sliah.
Inglorious reign of Ah- med Shah.
attached to his service. Accordingly tlie Ahdalees, headed by their liereditary chief, Ahmed Khan, on hearing of the con.spiracy, ha/1 hastened U> tlie rescue; and, after finding that they were a day too late, fought their way through the hostile Persians, and succeeded in reaching their own country. Ahrned Khan immediately declared himself independent, changed the name of his tribe from Abdalee to Dooranee, and before a year elapsed was crowned king at Kandahar Ere long Balkh, Scinde, Cashmere, and other provinces, acknowledged liis sway. His ambition was not yet satisfied, and he looked round for new fields of con- quest. Both the west and east lay before him, but various reasons induced him to prefer the latter. The left bank of the Indus was already in his power ; and among other temptations to cross this river and commence an Indian campaign, was the fact that a civil war was raging in the Punjab in consequence of the revolt of its Mogul governor. Little opposition was made ; and Alimed, after capturing many towns, including Lahore, the capital, arrived at the Sutlej. On the other side lay a Mogul army, commanded by Prince Alimed, the heir apparent, and Kamr-u-din Khan, the vizier. The Abdalee force, though not mustering 12,000 men, crossed the river by selecting a spot which, from not being fordable, was not watched; and, hastening on to Sirhind, made a rich capture of stores and baggage. This bold movement so intimidated the Moguls, that notwithstanding theii' superiority in numbers, they stood on the defensive, and even formed an entrenched camp. This coiu-se, dictated by excessive timidity, was the wisest which they could have pursued. The Dooranees had no alternative but to retreat, or hazard a battle under the most disadvantageous circumstances. They chose the latter and sustained a defeat, but took advan- tage of the night to escape.
The Mogul vizier had fallen, and the Mogul prince was prevented from following up liis victory, by the intelligence that the succession to the crown had opened to him by the death of his father in April, 1748. Mahomed Shah thus ended a reign, remarkable only for its length, during a most disastrous period. Prince Ahmed, henceforth known by the title of Ahmed Shah, imme- diately repaired to Delhi; and his Afghan namesake, now distinguished fi-om him by the name of Ahmed Shah Dooranee, instead of continuing his retreat, stopped short, and did not quit the Punjab till he had made it tributary. This, however, did not satisfy him. After a short absence he returned, and insisted on a formal cession of the whole province. As he was able to take it by force, it was deemed good policy to make a merit of necessity, and give him aU he asked. This concession may serve to characterize Ahmed Shah's short and inglorious reign. The office of vizier, first offered to Nizam -ul-Moolk, who declined it, and died almost immediately after, in 1748, was conferred on Sufder Jung, who had succeeded his father, Saadut Khan, as governor of Oude. He soon gave proof of his unfitness, by undertaking an expedition against the Rohillas, and so mismanaging it as to allow them to penetrate to Allahabad,
