Page:Aurangzíb and the Decay of the Mughal Empire.djvu/150

144 The first Muhammadan sovereign who brought the whole of the Deccan under the sway of Delhi was Muhammad ibn Taghlak, in the fourteenth century. His sagacity and eccentricity were equally displayed in his choice of a new capital and in his singular mode of supplying it with a ready-made population. He wisely fixed upon Deogíri, on account of its central situation – for in those days, at least, before railways and telegraphs, he who would rule the Deccan must live there; – and he ruthlessly transported the whole population of Delhi backwards and forwards, between his old and his new capital, henceforth to be known as Daulatábád, or 'Empire-city.' His death put an end to the dominion of the north over the south. and a great Afghán dynasty, the Bahmaní kings, took possession of the Deccan. About the close of the fifteenth century their broad dominions were split up into five distinct kingdoms, of which the most important were those of the Kutb Sháh dynasty at Golkonda, the 'Ádil Sháhs of Bíjápúr (Vijayapura), and the Nizám Sháhs of Ahmadnagar. Upon these rich States the Mughal emperors often cast longing eyes; but it was reserved for Aurangzíb to be the first to set foot in their prostrate cities.

Akbar was too wise to meddle seriously in Deccan politics. All he wanted was to secure himself against invasion from the south; and with this view he annexed the rugged borderland of Khándésh, and used its capital, Burhánpúr, with the rocky fastness of Asírgarh, as outposts to defend his southern frontier.