Page:Historic Landmarks of the Deccan.djvu/38

 Then, after having appointed Malik Yaklaki commander-in-chief ol the army of the Deccan, he returned to Delhi and plunged into the grossest debauchery. His neglect of public business was naturally followed by a loosening of the bonds of authority, and in the Deccan Malik Yaklaki broke out into open rebellion. An army was sent against him and he was taken captive and sent with his principal followers to Delhi, where all were put to death, Malik Yaklaki himself, as the leader of the rebellion, being mutilated before he was executed. Ain-ul-Mulk of Multan was then appointed governor of Deogir, with Malik Taj-ud-din as his assistant. In 1320 Qutb-ud-din Mubarak Shah was murdered by his unworthy favourite Hasan, by birth a low caste Hindu, who had received the title of Khusrav Khan and had been appointed Vazir of the empire by his infatuated master. This infamous wretch now ascended the throne of Dellii under the title of Nasir-ud-din Shah, but the great nobles of the empire could not long endure the domination of the upstart, and later in the same year he was overthrown and executed, Malik Fakhr-ud-din Jauna, a Turki noble, being raised to the throne under the title of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq Shah.

While these events were happening in Delhi, the affairs of the Deccan fell once more into confusion, and in 1321 the new emperor's eldest son, Ulugh Khan, who afterwards ascended the throne as Muhammad bin Tughlaq, was sent to restore order in Deogir and to annex Warangal. The first expedition to Warangal was a failure, and Ulugh Khan was forced to fall back on Deogir, where he halted to restore order in his mutinous army. The Hindus captured the leader of the mutiny, flayed him, and sent his skin to Ulugh Khan. Other officers captured by them were sent alive to tlie prince, who despatched them to Delhi, where they were either impaled or crushed to death by elephants Ulugh Khan remained in Deogir until 1323, when he received reinforcements and set out once more for Warangal, capturing Bidar on his way. Warangal fell on this occasion and received the new name of Sultanpur on its annexation to the empire. Early in 1325 Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq Shah died, and was succeeded by his son Muhammad. It was in this emperor's reign that Deogir, now renamed Daulatabad, reached the zenith of its fame. In 1337 the new emperor came to the conclusion that since the Deccan had been