Page:Historic Landmarks of the Deccan.djvu/112

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surrender the fort, but not until the last extremity. Accordingly, when Ismail Adil Shah ordered that Amir Ali Barid should be thrown to an elephant, the old man prayed that the sentence might be carried out before the bastion on which his sons usually sat. His request was granted, and when his sons saw the preparations for his execution they agreed to surrender the fort on the condition that their women were allowed to proceed unmolested to a place of safety. Ismail Adil Shah agreed to the condition, and the ladies withdrew from Bidar with the best part of the Bahmani jewels under their clothes. Ismail now entered the fort and seated himself on the throne of the Bahmanis. The treasures were brought forth, and the conqueror distributed them to his nobles and troops, to Ala-ud-din Imad Shah and others, reserving none for himself. He then restored to Amir Ali Barid all his former ya^/Vs except Bidar, which he kept for himself, and required him to reduce the fortress of Mahur, the governor of which had declared himself independent, and to cede it to Ala-ud-din Imad Shah. Ismail then retired, leaving a garrison in Bidar.

Amir Ali Barid was in attendance on Ismail Adil Shah at the sieges of Raichur and Mudgal in 1530, and was deeply offended by being made, at a drinking party the subject of an Arabic jest which caused much amusement to the others present, but which he was not scholar enough to understand. Ismail Adil Shah, to heal his wounded vanity, promised to restore Bidar to him on his return to Bijapur, on condition that Kaliani and Kandhar were ceded to Bijapur. The promise was faithfully kept by Ismail, but Amir Ali never fulfilled the condition.

In 1540 Amir Ali Barid joined Burhan Nizam Shah in attacking Ibiahim Adil Shah I. They advanced to Bijapur and did much damage, while Ibrahim retired to Gulbarga ; but, on being joined by his old servant Asad Khan Lari and by Ala-ud-din Imad Shah of Berar, he took the offensive and drove the invaders northwards as far as Daulatabad, where Amir Ali Barid died in 1542 His brother, the Khan-i-Khanan, took the corpse back to Bidar and buried it in the garden of Qasim Barid ; and he was succeeded by his son Ali Barid, who was the first of his house who ventured, the last scion of the Bahmanis being now dead, to assume the title of Shah. In 1579 Sahib Khan, an unworthy favourite of Murtaza Nizam Shah, fell into disgrace and fled from Ahmadnagar to