He,
Considering Himself In Danger, Fled From Madrem-Al-Mulk To The
Protection Of Itimiti Khan, The Worst Of All His Guardians, Who
Immediately Offered To Deliver Up The King And Kingdom To The Great
Mogul, On Condition Of Being Appointed Viceroy Or Soubah In Reward Of
His Treachery.
Akbar accordingly marched to Amedabad, where the
traitor delivered up to him the young king, and the Mogul was seated on
the musnud or throne of Guzerat without drawing a sword.
Not satisfied
with this great acquisition, Akbar resolved to recover the town and
districts of Basseen and Daman, which had formerly belonged to Cambaya,
and were now possessed by the Portuguese; and as this intention became
known to Luis de Almeyda who commanded at Daman, he sent notice to the
viceroy, who immediately sent him succours and prepared to follow there
in person, going accordingly from Goa about the end of December 1571,
with nine gallies, five gallions, eight galliots, and ninety smaller
vessels. On his arrival with this large armament in the river of Daman,
the Mogul, who was encamped at the distance of two leagues from that
place, was so much dismayed by the power and military reputation of the
Portuguese, that he sent an ambassador to the viceroy to treat of peace.
The viceroy received the Mogul ambassador in his gallery with great
state, and after listening to his proposals sent Antonio Cabral along
with him to Akbar, on which a peace was concluded to the satisfaction of
both parties. The viceroy then returned to Goa, and the great Mogul
settled the government of his new kingdom of Guzerat, cutting off the
head of the traitor Itimiti Khan, a just reward of his villany.
[Footnote 381: Named by DeFaria, Gelalde Mamet Hecbar Taxa; probably a
corruption of Gelal 'oddin Mahomet Akbar Shah. - E.]
The king of Acheen was one of the Indian princes who had entered into
the grand confederacy against the Portuguese, and had agreed to lay
siege to Malacca, but did not execute his part of the league till about
the middle of October 1571, when he appeared before Malacca with a fleet
of near 100 sail, in which he had 7000 soldiers with a large train of
artillery and a vast quantity of ammunition. Landing on the night of
his arrival, he set fire to the town of Iller, which was saved from
total destruction by a sudden and violent shower of rain. He next
endeavoured to burn the Portuguese ships in the harbour; but failing in
this and some minor enterprizes he sat down before the city, intending
to take it by a regular siege, having been disappointed in his
expectations of carrying it by a coup de main. At this time Malacca
was in a miserable condition, excessively poor, having very few men and
these unhealthy and dispirited, having suffered much by shipwreck,
sickness, and scarcity of provisions, not without deserving, these
calamities; for Malacca was then the Portuguese Nineveh in India, I
know not if it be so now.
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