Page:Aurangzíb and the Decay of the Mughal Empire.djvu/183

Rh for the King, the nobles tyrannized over the people at their will, and the lower classes would sooner have submitted to Aurangzíb's just governance than continue to endure the oppression of their many masters. Indeed, the rule of the Mughal may almost be said to have been established at Haidarábád from the date of the treaty of 1656, for Aurangzíb's Resident there was accustomed to 'issue his commands, grant passports, menace and ill-treat the people, and in short speak and act with the uncontrolled authority of an absolute sovereign.' Mír Jumla's son, Muhammad Amín Khán, exercised practically royal powers at the principal port, Masulipatan; and Mughals, Dutch, and Portuguese had only to prefer their demands, sure of the fulfilment of the prophecy, 'Ask, and it shall be given unto you.'

It seemed hardly worth while to subdue still further an already prostrate kingdom: but the anarchical state of the government might well invite and even require forcible intervention. When Aurangzíb learnt that two Hindús had possessed themselves of the chief power in Haidarábád, and were oppressing and persecuting the Musalmáns, he felt that the time for intervention had come. A disordered State was an eyesore on his borders; a tributary State where the true believers were persecuted for righteousness' sake was intolerable. Accordingly, in 1684, Prince Mu'azzam was despatched with Khán-Jahán Bahádur Kokaltásh to reform the government of Golkonda. The prince and the general appear to have fallen