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Throughout his campaign, Ahmad engaged in the destruction of [[Hindu temple|temples]] and the slaughter of cows, aiming to inflict maximum harm on the natural affections, patriotism, and religious sentiments of the Vijayanagaris. In March 1423, he paused by an artificial lake to observe the festival of the [[Nowruz|Nauruz]] and celebrate his own exploits. During a hunting excursion, he pursued an antelope relentlessly, leading him twelve miles from his camp where he encountered a body of five or six thousand enemy horsemen. In the ensuing fierce attack, half of his immediate bodyguard of 400 men were killed, but Ahmad managed to find refuge in a cattle-fold. There, his 200 foreign archers held off the Vijayanagar attackers for some time, despite the partial destruction of the enclosure wall. However, aid arrived unexpectedly when a loyal officer, ‘Abd-ul-Qadir, led two or three thousand royal guards in search of Ahmad, and they swiftly engaged the Vijayanagar forces. The Vijayanagar troops initially stood their ground, but after inflicting casualties on their assailants, they eventually fled, leaving a thousand of their own dead on the battlefield.{{Sfn|Haig|1928|pp=397-398}} After this, Ahmad himself marched towards Vijayanagar, and the Vijayanagar King, seeing the sufferings of his people, sued for peace accepting the terms offered by Ahmad Shah.{{sfn|Allan|1964|p=284}} | Throughout his campaign, Ahmad engaged in the destruction of [[Hindu temple|temples]] and the slaughter of cows, aiming to inflict maximum harm on the natural affections, patriotism, and religious sentiments of the Vijayanagaris. In March 1423, he paused by an artificial lake to observe the festival of the [[Nowruz|Nauruz]] and celebrate his own exploits. During a hunting excursion, he pursued an antelope relentlessly, leading him twelve miles from his camp where he encountered a body of five or six thousand enemy horsemen. In the ensuing fierce attack, half of his immediate bodyguard of 400 men were killed, but Ahmad managed to find refuge in a cattle-fold. There, his 200 foreign archers held off the Vijayanagar attackers for some time, despite the partial destruction of the enclosure wall. However, aid arrived unexpectedly when a loyal officer, ‘Abd-ul-Qadir, led two or three thousand royal guards in search of Ahmad, and they swiftly engaged the Vijayanagar forces. The Vijayanagar troops initially stood their ground, but after inflicting casualties on their assailants, they eventually fled, leaving a thousand of their own dead on the battlefield.{{Sfn|Haig|1928|pp=397-398}} After this, Ahmad himself marched towards Vijayanagar, and the Vijayanagar King, seeing the sufferings of his people, sued for peace accepting the terms offered by Ahmad Shah.{{sfn|Allan|1964|p=284}} | ||
== Aftermath== | |||
Ahmad dispatched a messenger to the Vijayanagar King, stipulating that one of the conditions for peace would be the delivery of all arrears of tribute, loaded onto the backs of elephants from the Vijayanagar stables. This procession was to be led by the Crown Prince of Vijayanagar himself, with bands playing in front. The Raya promptly complied, and when the procession reached the Sultan's camp, it was received with great pomp by the Bahmani nobles and escorted to the king's presence. The king then adorned the Crown Prince of Vijayanagar with royal robes and a bejeweled dagger, and bestowed upon him Arab and Turkish horses, elephants, greyhounds, and three falcons. After these ceremonial gestures, the king escorted the Crown Prince back towards the Krishna River, bidding him farewell.{{Sfn|Sherwani|1985|p=201}} Vira Vijaya then returned the Doab and other territories had taken from the Bahmani Sultanate in the war of 1420.{{Sfn|Watson|1964|p=199}} | |||
==Reference== | ==Reference== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||