Page:Historic Landmarks of the Deccan.djvu/94

 the country. The raja fled to the uttermost parts of his kingdom and Muhammad Shah was on the point of placing a Muhammadan governor in charge of the country when the raja sent costly gifts and many elephants to royal camp and undertook never again to help the rebels of Telingana if his country were left to him. Muhammad Shah, after demanding and receiving some more elephants from the raja, abandoned his design of annexing Urisa and set out on his return journey. On his way he was detained for a month and a half at a fortress the garrison of which had offended him. The raja caused the fortress to be surrendered to him and he continued his march to Kondavir, where he besieged Hambar for five or six months. At the end of that time Hambar surrendered on receiving a promise that his life should be spared. Here a large Hindu temple was demolished and some of the Brahmans and their attendants were slain as an act of religious merit. On the site of the temple a mosque was built and Muhammad Shah assumed the title of ghazi, as being the first of his line to slay a Brahman with his own hand. He remained for the next three years in eastern Telingana, consolidating his power and settling the country. At the end of this time he resolved on invading the eastern provinces of the kingdom of Vijayanagar, and before setting out he appointed Nizam-ul-Mulk, by the advice of Mahmud Gawan, governor of eastern Telingana. At the same time Azam Khan, the son of Sikandar Khan, the son of the rebel Jalal Khan, was appointed governor of western Telingana with his headquarters at Warangal. This appointment gave bitter offence to Nizam-ul-Mulk, who considered that he should have been entrusted with the government of the whole province, and laid the foundation of his quarrel with Mahmud Gawan which ended in the murder of that great man. Nizam-ul-Mulk could not openly object to the appointment of Azam Khan, but he endeavoured to escape from what he regarded as a humiliating position by suggesting that he might be allowed to place one of his sons in charge of the government of eastern Telingana while he himself accompanied the king on his expedition into the Vijayanagar country. The son indicated by him was Malik Ahmad, who had some years before been given a jagir in Mahur at the instance of Mahmud Gawan, who judged it unwise to employ both the father and his more able and ambitious son in the same