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44 Khan-i-Jahan had to be sent by the emperor to the defence of Burhanpur. Murtaza Nizam Shah now appointed as his minister Hamid Khan, another Abyssinian, and fell completely under his influence. Hamid Khan, well aware of the venality of the imperial officers, utilised to some purpose such revenue as could be collected. A present of twelve lakhs of rupees was sufficient to induce the Khan-i- Jahan not only to refrain from attacking Daulatabad, but also to surrender to Murtaza Ahmadnagar and the Balaghat of Berar. The treachery of '^ that faithless Afghan," as his master termed him, was partly neutralised by the refusal of the faithful commandant, Sipahdar Khan, to surrender Ahmadnagar without an imperial fartnan ; and he held out successfully against the Deccanis, but the officers in the Bala-ghat surrendered their commands and retired to Burhanpur. The Khan-i-Jahan, henceforward known as Pira the Afghan, deserted to Murtaza Nizam Shah, and was soon afterwards captured and executed. Hamid Khan's wife, the daughter of a ** foreigner," was a woman of great ability and unbounded energy. She obtained access to the harem of Murtaza Nizam Shah and soon became the recognised means of communication between the effeminate and luxurious king and his subjects. Ibrahim Adl Shah II, conceiving that he might now with impunity take vengeance for the past on the kingdom of Ahmadnagar, prepared to invade it. When the news of his approacli reached Daulatabad, Hamid Khan's wife solicited for herself the command of the Nizam Shahi army, supporting her strange request by an ingenious argument. If she were victorious, she said, the Bijapuris would henceforth hide their heads for shame ; while if they were victorious they could only boast that they had triumphed over a woman. The lady's request was granted, and she justified the unusual appointment. She cajoled the officers and distributed largesse to the soldiers, and in the end she utterly defeated the Bijapuris, capturing all their elephants and artillery.

In 1627 Jahangir died, and the sick man at Daulatabad had rest for a while, but all the garrisons in tlie Balaghat were surrendered to the imperial troops. In 1629 Shahjahan resolved to put an end to the Nizam Shahi dynasty, and at the end of that year, by which time many of the Nizam Shahi officers had deserted to the imperial army, set out for Burhanpur, and early in 1630 sent an army to invade the Nizam