Page:Historic Landmarks of the Deccan.djvu/43

 the imperial forces which had been left to besiege the citadel and were joined by the titi.lar king of the Deccan, Ismail Fath. The brief nominal reign of Ismail Fath had been far from auspicious, and he had the sense to see that Hasan Gangu was the man of the hour He wisely determined to take time by the forelock and resigned the royal dignity on the plea that he was too old and too fond of his ease to undertake the onerous task of ruhng The amirs agreed to abide by his nomination in the selection of a king, and he proposed Hasan Gangu, '' entitled Zafar Khan, of the race of Bahman." The proposal was accepted without a dissentient voice, and Hasan ascended the throne in Daulatabad in 1347 under the title of Ala-ud-din Bahman Shah.*

The death of Muhammad bin Tughlaq in 1351 freed the new king of the Deccan from all apprehensions, for Firuz Sliah, Muhammad's successor on the throne of Delhi, was so busily employed in restoring order in the provinces near to his capital that he had no leisure to turn his attention to the south.

It is strange that Ala-ud-din Bahman did not choose as his capital Daulatabad, which had for forty years been the centre of Muhammadan influence and power in Southern India, but whether from attachment to his own Jagir or from a notion that Daulatabad. the importance of which had declined owing to its recent depopulation, was too near the northern border of the Deccan and had been too closely connected with Delhi to be desirable as the capital of his kingdom, he pnssed over its claims and made Gulbarga the capital of the Deccan.

As soon as Ala-ud-din Bahman had consolidated his power he divided his kingdom into four tarafs or provinces, Gulbarga, Daulatabad, Berar, and Bidar. He died on February nth, 1358, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Muhammad I, who completed the organisation of the army. Daulatabad still remained an important city, for each of the four great provincial governors maintained his own army at his capital, besides appointing all the commandants of forts within his province. Each, too, had his distinctive title, the governor of Daulatabad being known as Masnad-i-Ali. Whenever the Sultan declared war against his Hindu neighbours on the south or east, or against his Muhammadan neighbours on the north, the provincial governors were
 * Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. LXXIII, Part I, Extra No I904.