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46 of Bijapur in the neighbourhood of Khirki, fell upon it and utterly defeated it, pursuing the fugitives for ten or twelve miles, and then returned to his camp near Khirki.

Affairs now took a turn which entirely changed the aspect of the operations. The officers of the army of Bijapur approached Fath Khan with a proposal that he should join them against the Mughals, promising on their part to victual Daulatabad, where supplies were much needed. Fath Khan, with almost incredible treachery and ingrati- tude, accepted the offer, and the Bijapuris occupied Nizampur, a mile or two from Daulatabad, and attempted to convey food and forage into the fort. The Khan-i-Zaman, acting under the orders of the Khan-i- Khanan, now made an attempt to induce Fath Khan to adhere to his original compact, but without success. Meanwhile, the main body of the Bijapuris again advanced, and were defeated and pursued for some miles, and the force which was attempting to victual Daulatabad was driven out of Nizampur. In this village the Khan-i-Zaman now took up his quarters and began the investment of the fortress, which was completed by the Khan-i-Khanan, who advanced from Zafarnagar and occupied the Nizam Shahi palace in Nizampur. The Khan-i-Zaman was then placed in command of a flying column of 5,000 horse with instructions to prevent any communications between the garrison and the Bijapuris. Yaqut Khan the Abyssinian, who, as has been said, had deserted from the Nizam Shahi service and now held a command in the imperial army, attempted more than once to convey supplies to the besieged, but these were intercepted on each occasion, and when at length his treachery was discovered, he fled from the camp and joined the army of Bijapur. Three attempts were then made by the Bijapuris to convey grain into Daulatabad, but the convoy was attacked on each occasion and the grain fell into the hands of the victors. On the other hand the army of Bijapur, now encamped at Khirki, did its utmost to cut off supplies from the besiegers, and Turkman Khan, the thanadar of Zafarnagar, was unable to push supplies through to the army before Daulatabad. The Bijapuris took the field and would have captured the convoy had not the Khan-i-Zaman been despatched with a small force to its rescue. He attacked and defeated the Bijapuris who, in the course of their flight towards Khirki, fell