Daniyal Mirza

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The three princes, prone to quarrelling with each other, were kept separated through assignments by their father. In such circumstances, Daniyal was dispatched to the governorship of Allahabad in 1597. The prince was initially disinterested in his duties, being described as associating with undesirable characters. However, when his guardian, his father-in-law Qulij Khan Andijani, returned to court in disgust, Daniyal became apprehensive of the emperor's resulting anger. He subsequently attempted to amend his behaviour and became more involved in his administrative role.

In response to defiance displayed by the Sultan of Ahmadnagar, Burhan Nizam Shah II, Akbar launched an invasion of the Deccan in 1593. Extensive preparations were made, and Daniyal at twenty-two years old was given supreme command of the 70,000 strong army, with Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana and Raja Rai Singh of Bikaner as his advisors. Prince Murad was told to be prepared to march, Shah Rukh Mirza and Shahbaz Khan were dispatched to raise troops in Malwa and even Raja Man Singh I was summoned from his distant governorship in Bengal to lead an attack from the east. However, these elaborate plans came to nothing. After having dispatched Daniyal at the head of the army from Lahore in November, Akbar was incensed to learn that his son was still loitering in Sirhind-Fategarh over a month later. The prince's command was revoked, it instead being bestowed upon Khan-I-Khana, who recommended that the invasion be delayed until a more appropriate season.

Daniyal later was again given the opportunity to fight in the Deccan. In 1595, a succession struggle had erupted after the death of Burhan Nizam Shah. The new sultan, an infant named Bahadur Nizam Shah, was placed under the guardianship of his great-aunt, the dowager queen of Bijapur, Chand Bibi. Though an accord was eventually established between the Mughals and Ahmadnagar, skirmishes and intermittent fighting continued on both sides. After the death of his brother Murad in 1599, Daniyal was given his former command in the region.

Akbar had by this point ordered a fresh attack on the Deccan. The prince first led his army to Burhanpur in January 1600, where the ruler of Khandesh, Bahadur Faruqi refused to leave the citadel and welcome him. Daniyal was furious at the insult and began summoning troops from surrounding camps to assist him in a fight against the ruler. Akbar, hearing of this, hastened to Burhanpur and ordered his son to continue his progress to the city of Ahmadnagar and to leave him to deal with the rebel himself.

Hearing of the Mughal army's approach, a Nizam Shahi officer, Abhang Khan attempted to check the advance by occupying the Jaipur Kotly Ghat pass, but Daniyal took an alternate route, reaching the walls of Ahmadnagar unopposed. With the Mughals laying siege to the city, Chand Bibi was aware that her garrison would be unable to prevent an onslaught, particularly with the Mughal Emperor himself close by. However, the siege continued for several months due to the reluctance of the city officers to capitulate. Chand Bibi eventually chose to surrender, on the condition of the lives of the garrison, as well as her and the young sultan being allowed to retire safely to Junnar. Disagreeing with her, one of her advisers, Hamid Khan announced to the city that Chand Bibi was in league with the Mughals. A frenzied mob subsequently stormed her apartments and murdered her. The ensuing confusion among the garrison rendered orderly defence impossible. On 18 August 1600, mines which Daniyal had planted under the city walls were detonated, resulting in the destruction of a large section, along with one of the towers. The Mughal troops assaulted and occupied the city, with all the royal children being sent to Akbar and Bahadur Nizam Shah himself being imprisoned in Gwalior.

On 7 March 1601, Daniyal arrived at his father's camp and was received with honour due to his successful conquest. Khandesh, having by this point been incorporated into the empire, was renamed "Dandesh" in honour of the prince and was bestowed upon him. Afterwards, before returning to Agra, Akbar combined the provinces of Khandesh and Berar with the lands taken from Ahmadnagar to form the viceroyalty of the Deccan, which was then bestowed upon Daniyal, with Burhanpur being named his viceregal capital.

The portions of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate which had remained unconquered rallied behind two nobles; the powerful regent Malik Ambar and the former minister Raju Deccani. The bitter rivalry between the two prevented the Mughals from concentrating their resources on one without giving the other an opportunity to restore his position. Daniyal therefore elected to divide the Mughal Deccan into two; Abu'l-Fazl, based in Ahmadnagar, was to lead the campaign against Raju while Khan-I-Khana, based in Berar and Telangana, headed operations against Ambar.

When Ambar attacked in Telangana in 1602, Khan-I-Khana despatched his son Mirza Iraj against him. A fierce battle took place, with the Nizam Shahis being beaten back with heavy losses. Ambar, defeated and wounded, had barely avoided capture. He sued for peace with the Mughals, establishing set boundaries between their territories.

Raju meanwhile refused to come out into the open, instead opting to plunder Mughal districts and harass Daniyal's army with his light cavalry. When the prince summoned Khan-I-Khana to send reinforcements, Raju was compelled to withdraw. However, his raids had demoralised the Mughal troops, forcing Daniyal to come to terms with him also. As a result, the districts contested between the two sides had their revenue split, with half going to the Mughals and half to Raju. However, this accord quickly broke down, and in spite of a subsequent defeat by the combined forces of Ambar and the Mughals, Raju would continue to conduct raids against Daniyal's Imperial forces.

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