ASCENDANCY OF THE SAYYID BROTHERS 71

Those who laid down their arms to save their lives were made
prisoners.1

On receiving the news of this disaster, Husain €Ali Khan
despatched Raja Muhkam Singh, his Diwan, with a suitable
army, to avenge the honour of his arms; and also directed
Saifu'd-din 'AH Khan, his younger brother, who was acting as
the Subedar of Burhanpur, to help him in this campaign. They
advanced against the Marathas, but failed to achieve any
substantial result. Khanderao Dabhade molested their force
by guerilla warfare. His men used to retire when the Mughal
army approached, and when they departed, they used to re-
occupy their former positions, thus rendering their operations
futile. For his successful conduct of warfare against the Mughals,
Khanderao Dabhade was raised to the rank of Senapati, or
Commander-in-Chief, when he presented himself at the Court
of Raja Sahu.2

The reverses of the Amiru'l-Umara's army in the Deccan
gave satisfaction to the Emperor who, for his part, left no
stone unturned to incite the Maratha chiefs and urge the
Imperial officers to defy his authority in any way they could.
He also sent secret orders to the chief landholders of the
Deccan to withhold payment of revenue to his collectors. This
encouraged the people to stir up disaffection against the
regime of the Amiru'l-Umara. The Marathas, pretending to
be acting in the name of the Emperor, realized the revenue,
and dismissed the collectors appointed by the Amlru'l-UmariL
Especially in Bijapur and the Carnatic, the Mughal rule existed
only in name,8

Realizing his authority thus undermined, the Amiru'l-Umara
had no alternative but to have recourse to diplomacy. He
started negotiating with Raja Sahu with a view to an agree-
ment with him as regards the administration of the Deccan.
Muhammad Anwar Khan, Nazim of Burhanpur, supported
him in this resolve. He, therefore, sent his ambassador Shankraji
Malhar—originally a Brahmin clerk in the service of Sivajl—
who rose to eminence after the conquest of Jinji by theMughals
and entered the Imperial service, to the Court of Raja Sahu.
Shankraji Malhar assured the Amlru'l-Umara that if the

1 Khafl Khan, op. cit., p. 779. a Siyar, op. tit., p. 409.

3 Khafl Khan, op. cit., p. 780.