Page:History of India Vol 6.djvu/363

 EUROPEAN FOOTHOLD INCREASED IN INDIA 295 In all these places they built their forts. But Sultan Ali Hai captured the fort of Sumatra from them, and the chief of Ceylon also, having subdued the Firingis, expelled them from his dominions. The Samuri, chief of Kalikot, being much harassed, sent his ambassadors to Ali Adil Shah and Murtaza Nizam Shah, instigating them to wage a holy war against the Firingis and turn them out of their country. In 979 A. H. (1570 A. D.) the Samuri besieged the fort of Jaliat, and Nizam Shah and Adil Shah besieged that of Rivadanda. The former, through his courage, was successful in capturing the fort; but the latter, on ac- count of the infidelity of their servants, who were de- ceived by the temptations which the Firingis offered them, returned without fulfilling their object. From this time the Christians became more auda- cious in their persecution of the Mohammedans, in so far that they stretched out their rapacious hands to plunder on their return from Jedda some ships of the Emperor Jalal-ad-din Mohammad Akbar, which had sailed to Mecca without their permission, and they treated the Mussulmans with great severity and con- tempt. They burnt down the port of Adilabad Farain, which belonged to Adil Shah, and entirely destroyed it. In the guise of merchants, they also came to Dabal, and wished, by cunning and deceitful means, to obtain possession of it; but its chief, Khwaja Ali-al-Malik, a merchant of Shiraz, being aware of their views, killed 150 of their men of rank and devoted himself to extin- guishing the fire of mischief.'