Page:1866 Architecture Beejapur.pdf/12

Ear/y Dynasties of the Deccan. Whether the Jadow princes were ever as powerful as the Chalukya, may be doubted from the fact of their having left no such architectural memorials.* And it is not improbable that the sovereignty of the Deccan was divided between them and a local dynasty called Gunputi, which arose in the thirteenth century, and may have been absorbed by the Jadows, or become one of those small semi-independent states or zemindaries which were found to exist by the Mahomedans after their footing in the Deccan was established, and their conquests were extending. It is almost needless to state that from this necessarily brief summary, all mention of the great Hindoo kingdoms of the south anterior to the Christian era, or of the dynasty of which “ Tagara. described in the Periplus, was the capital, or of those of which representatives, as at Mysore and other places, still exist, —must necessarily be excluded as foreign to the present subject, which concerns the Deccan alone, and those portions of the Carnatic adjoining the Deccan, which eventually formed the first independent Mahomedan kingdom of the Deccan, the Bahmuny dynasty of Goolburgah and Beeder. In the year 1294, Alla-oo-Deen, the nephew of Jalal-oo-Deen Feroze Khiljy then Emperor of Dehli, had already distinguished himself by his talents and bravery as a commander, and was governor of the province of Kurrah, in Central India.

He was rewarded by an extension of his Government; but falling under his uncle’s

suspicion, appears to have conceived the idea of creating an independent kingdom for himself in Southern India; and gathering together a force of 8000 cavalry, he ma rched for the Deccan with the purpose of attacking Ram Deo, the existing representative of the Jadow family who reigned at Deogurh, and as the descendant of a long and undisturbed line of wealthy princes, was reported to possess great riches,

It is strange

perhaps, that though Dehli had existed as a monarchy for nearly a century, and Mahomedan conquests had extended in all directions, no grand expedition should heretofore have been attempted to the south, It is unlikely, from the unchangeable construction of native society, the transactions of trade, and pilgrimage to local shrines, that the condition of the north and south of India should not have been perfectly well known to each other; but between the north and south extended the dense forests and jungles of the Vindhya and Satpoora hills, and the passes through these were perhaps indifferently known, and their dangers exaggerated. It is therefore impossible to withhold admiration from the circumstances of the first Mahomedan invasion of the Deccan under the youthful and daring Alla-oo-Deen; who returned with immense treasures extorted from the Rajah of Deogurh, having also obtained from him the cession of the district of Ellichpoor, in Berar, where, as the first step in the Mahomedan occupation of the Deccan, Alla-oo-Deen established a powerful garrison. marching northward, he put his uncle to death, and himself ascended the throne.

Thence,

During his reign more seems

to have been effected for the consolidation of Mahomedan power in India than by any previous monarch ; and another expedition, more famous than his own, was sent to the Deccan, under the command of Mullik Kafoor, a celebrated general.

On this occasion the army consisted of 100,000 horse, which left Dehli in 1306.

In 1 309, another expedition, under the same leader, was formed against the Hindoo kingdom of Wurungul: and a third in the year 1310, which was of all the most remarkable, inasmuch as the Mahomedans, for the first time, traversed the whole length of the peninsula, and left a Mosque at Ramisseram, or Rameishwur, as a monument of conquest, which still exists.

The booty brought home on this occasion is stated to have been 312 elephants,

20,000 horses, and 96,000 maunds of gold, with several boxes of precious stones and jewels; but in this reign the Mahomedans attempted no permanent occupation or government of the Deccan, and the end of Alla-oo-deen was embittered by accounts of the Hindoo princes having stirred up that country to arms, and cut off many of his posts. He died in 1316. Five years afterwards the Khiljy dynasty ceased to exist, and was succeeded by the third Tartar dynasty of Dehli, named Toghluk, under which the offensive operations against the Hindoo princes of Deogurh and Wurungul were renewed with great vigour : the Rajah of Wurungul losing his capital, and being sent to Dehli as a captive, and the family of Jadow being reduced to pay tribute for an estate near Guzerat, after having been banished from their ancient dominions of Deogurh.

Henceforth, the provinces heretofore

dependent upon Deogurh and Wurungul, appear to have become Mahomedan viceroyalties, and were governed directly from Dehli by Imperial commanders. These conquests were in some degree consolidated by the Emperor Mahomed Toghluk, who repaired to

1. The Cave Temples at the village of Kharosa, between Kulliani and Owsah, which are comparatively unknown, were the work of

the Chalukya dynasty. They are similar in design to some of those at Ellora; but they are for the most part unfinished, nor did the material admit of so much perfection of manipulation as at Ellora.