Page:Aurangzíb and the Decay of the Mughal Empire.djvu/195

Rh which desolated the Deccan was the direct forerunner of the havoc wrought by the Maráthás in Delhi in the time of Sháh-'Álam and Wellesley.

The evil effects of the conquest were not immediately apparent. Aurangzíb's armies seemed to carry all before them, and the work of taking possession of the whole territory of the vanished kingdoms, even as far south as Sháhjí's old government in Mysore, was swiftly accomplished. Sivaji's brother was hemmed in at Tanjore, and the Maráthás were everywhere driven away to their mountain forts. To crown these successes, Sambhájí was captured by some enterprising Mughals at a moment of careless self-indulgence. Brought before Aurangzíb, the loathly savage displayed his talents for vituperation and blasphemy to such a degree that he was put to death with circumstances of exceptional barbarity (1689). His brother, Rája Rám, fled to Jinjí in the Carnatic, as remote as possible from the Mughal head-quarters. For the moment, the Maráthá power seemed to have come to an end. The brigands were awed awhile by the commanding personality and irresistible force of the Great Mogul. Had terms with such an enemy been possible or in any degree binding, Aurangzíb might well have accepted some form of tributary homage, and retired to Delhi with all the honours of the war.

But the Emperor was not the man to look back when once his hand was set to the plough. He had accomplished a military occupation not merely of the Deccan, but of the whole peninsula, save the extreme