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61 design of seizing the royal power for himself, and in his capacity as regent carried himself so haughtily towards the nobles of the kingdom that a large number of them sent a message to Ibrahim in Vijayanagar^ imploring him to come to Golconda and seize the crown and promising him their assistance. Ibrahim left Vijayanagar, declining assistance from Sadashivaraya, and invaded his nephew's dominions, where he was joined by many of the discontented nobles. Ain-ul-Mulk marched to meet him but had no sooner left the capital than his principal supporters were overthrown and imprisoned by Ibrahim's party, who had been encouraged b}^ letters and message from Ibrahim. Ain-ul- Mulk, finding himself helpless before the invader, feigned submission to him in the hope of getting him into his power once the capital should be reached, but Ibrahim saw through the artifice and refused to receive the regent. Ain-ul-Mulk then fled from the kingdom by way of Kaulas and took refuge in Bidar, and Ibrahim, finding the way clear before him, marched to Golconda and ascended the throne on October 28, 15 50.

Ibrahim Qutb Shah reigned for nearly thirty years, taking his part in the troubled politics of tiie Deccan during that period. The most notable event of his reign was his participation in the confederacy of the Sultans of the Deccan, which on January 24, 1565, destroyed the Hindu empire of V'ijayanagar on the field of Talikota.

Ibrahim died on June 6, 1580, and lies buried in a fine and lofty domed tomb, surrounded by the graves of his dependants. On the south- eastern corner of the plinth of the tomb is a small building containing the tomb of his sixth son Mirza Muhammad Amin, who was nine years of age at the time of his father's death and died a natural death at the age of Lwenty-five on April 25, 1596, leaving a son, Muhammad, who eventually came to the throne.

In an enclosure on the north-east corner of the plinth of Ibrahim's tomb stands the grave of Niknam Khan, who died on March 30, 1673. At the head of this grave is a stone bearing an inscription of an unusual character. It is a grant in perpetuity of the revenues of the village of Mangalwaram, twelve miles to the west of Golconda, for the distribution of alms and the maintenance of lights at the grave, and for the support of attendants and reciters of the Quran. The grant, according to the inscription, is to last until the coming of the Mahdi.