Page:Akbar and the Rise of the Mughal Empire.djvu/101

94 made by the Afghán ruler of Chanar and the country east of the Karamnásá to attack Jaunpur, whilst Akbar himself, marching by way of Kálpi, crossed there the Jumna, and proceeded as far as Karrah, not far from Allahábád, on the right bank of the Ganges. There he was joined by his generals who held Jaunpur, and thence he returned to Agra. The year, at its close, witnessed the siege of Merta, a town in the Jodhpur state, then of considerable importance, beyond Ajmere, and seventy-six miles to the north-east of the city of Jodhpur. This expedition was directed by Akbar from Ajmere where he was then residing, though he confided the execution of it to his generals. The place was defended with great energy by the Rájpút garrison, but, in the spring of the following year it was surrendered on condition that the garrison should march out with their horses and arms, but should leave behind all their property and effects.

In the same year in which Merta fell (1562), the generals of Akbar in Málwá, pushing westward, added the cities of Bijágarh and Burhánpur on the Tápti to his dominions. The advantage proved, however, to be the forerunner of a calamity, for the dispossessed governors of those towns, combining with the expelled Afghán ruler of Málwá, and aided by the zamíndárs of the country, long accustomed to their rule, made a desperate attack upon the imperial forces. These, laden with the spoils of Burhánpur, were completely defeated. For the moment Málwá was lost, but the year did not expire before the