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8 were suffering great hardships, and had already become dispirited. This timely assistance was hailed as a good omen, and Sultan Muazem from that moment conceived the fondest hopes of success. He returned thanks to God, and distributed his treasure according to the necessities of his troops. Aazem-shah, who had only tarried a few days at Ahmednagar to secure the services of the well-appointed array which he had found ready-made to his hand, with which he marched to Acberabad, resolved to dispute the crown with his elder brother. The natural ardour of his mind flamed by sanguine hope, he marched with so much rapidity that he left behind most of his infantry, and almost the whole of his artillery, till he reached by forced marches the fort of Gualiar, where he established his head-quarters, on Monday the eleventh of the Rebi-el-Awel, in the year 1119. Seven days after he advanced towards his brother, whom he found encamped on the plain of Ajaju, close to Acberabad. Some of his troops advanced on the Imperialists, and set fire to part of Sultan Mahomed Muazem's tents, as also to those of Azim-ush-shan, who was himself encamped there; but the latter was so hard pressed as to be compelled to stand on the defensive.

Sultan Mahomed Muazem, who was then on a hunting-party, no sooner heard of the enemy's