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 had long been desiring a pretext for attacking Golconda, that no better pretext than the murder of the imperial envoy could possibly be supplied, and that he was quite ready to die in order to provide that pretext. At the same time he hinted that if his life was spared Abul Hasan need never despair of obtaining all that his good offices could procure from Aurangzib. This message had the desired effect, and the wily envoy was henceforth not only immune from personal danger, but was treated by the deluded king as an honoured guest.

Aurangzib, having finished his devotions at Gulbarga, and having made a short halt at Ahmadabad Bidar, which he had re-named Zafarabad, or the city of victory, marched towards Golconda. Abul Hasan now became seriously alarmed, but still hoped, by timely submission, to secure some measure of independence, and in this hope sent a message to the emperor, humbly asking pardon for past faults and promising amendment for the future. With the message were sent valuable presents. All the satisfaction that he obtained was an imperial farman, setting forth his misconduct in severe terms. His base actions, he was informed, were too numerous to be recorded, but it was still possible to mention one in a hundred of them. The commission of all power in the state to infidels, to whom holy Shaikhs and learned men were made subject, the open encouragement of vice, the Sultan's own love for wine, his employment of the infidel Marathas in war, against the holy law of Islam, and the payment of subsidies to "the accursed Sambhaji" were enumerated as offences for which no forgiveness could be expected either in this world or the next.

Abul Hasan, seeing that his submission availed him nothing, now set himself in earnest to prepare to meet his powerful foe. He sent a force under the command of some of his principal nobles, Shaikh Minhaj, Sharza Khan, and Mustafa Khan Lari,* to oppose the advance of the Mughals, and in bidding them farewell ordered them in the event of victory to use every endeavour to capture the emperor alive, and having captured him to treat him with all honour. The amirs replied that they would endeavour to capture him, but could not promise that they would treat him with honour, as they could not trust their feelings. They then marched out to meet the invaders with an army of forty or fifty thousand horse. The