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Devagiri : When “the nation began to crumble under the shock of new ideas & new forces & the centre of gravity shifted [from Ujjayini] southwards to Devagiri of the Jadhavas & finally to Dravidian Vijayanagara”. [SABCL 3:215] Devagiri, situated between the rivers Tāpti & Godāvari, was once the capital of a clan of Yādavas that claimed descent from Sātyaki (q.v.), mentioned in historical records as Rāshṭrakūṭas ruling a territory in north-west India in late 3rd century BC. Pushed by invaders they migrated south, crossed the Vindhyās, & by 7th century AD built a kingdom which they ruled from Devagiri. Devagiri was conquered by the Chālukyas who ruled from their capital at Kalyān or Kalyāṇi (situated north-east of Bijāpur & west of Wārangal). In 1190, the Chālukyan Empire split up into three kingdoms: Devagiri; to its east Wārangal ruled by the Kākatīyas; & to its south the Hoysala ruled by Hoysalas with their capital at Dorāsamudra (later Halebidu). Devagiri was raised by king Siṅghana (1197-1247) to the position of a premier kingdom where education was encouraged, a college of astronomy was established for the study of the works of Bhāskarāchārya; it was there that later the great Hemādri, Bōpadeva, & Jñāneshwara composed their works…. In the far south, Pallava kings extended their patronage to educational institutions at Kāṅchi & Bāhur. Bāhur had a College where provision was made for the study of the Vedas, Vedāṇgas, Mīmāṁsā, Nyāya, Purāṇas, & Dharmashāstras (9th century AD).” [Majumdar et al’s Advanced History] On 13th June 1290, Malik Jalāl-ud-dīn Fīrūz ended the Turkish Slave Dynasty (which had begun c.1206) by murdering the Turkish Sultan & his supporters as well as his infant son with the help of his Khalji clansmen. In 1292, his nephew ‘Alā-ud-dīn overran Mālwā & carried away all its treasures, stopping on his way back at Bhīlsā (Vidisha q.v.) where he heard about the fabulous wealth of the kingdom of Devagiri, then ruled by Rāmachandradeva (1271-1309). In 1294, he rode through the Vindhyās with several thousand cavalry & attacked Devagiri. In spite of his & his son Shankaradeva’s determined efforts the barbarian’s brutal methods defeated them. Over & above surrendering almost all the treasure of the kingdom, Rāmachandradeva had to agree to punitive terms. The vast booty of gold, silver, pearls, precious stones, etc., turned ‘Alā-ud-dīn’s head. Luring affection-blinded Jalal-ud-din Fīrūz he murdered him & proclaimed himself Sultan on 19th July 1296. Next year, he plundered & annexed Gujarat, whose king Rāi Karṇadeva & his daughter Dévaḷa Devi had found refuge with King Rāmachandradeva. In March, 1307, ‘Alā-ud-dīn sent Kāfūr (the Gujarati eunuch warrior taken to Delhi), by then Malik Nāib (Deputy Sultan), to ransack the rich Hindu kingdoms of south India. Kāfūr began with Devagiri. Rāmachandradeva had been unable for three years to force the barbarian’s demand out of his impoverished province of Ellichpur, & sheltering Gujarat’s Karṇadeva II & his daughter. Kāfūr laid waste the kingdom, seized everything he could, & sent Rāmachandradeva to Delhi. After due punishment the broken Yādava king was brought back to continue to suck out the blood of his beloved subjects to fill the bottomless coffers of Delhi. Rai Karṇadeva’s daughter, Dévaḷa Devi was ‘escorted’ by Alp Khān, Delhi’s governor of Gujarat, to Delhi, where the Sultan donated her to his eldest son, Khizr Khān, as his plaything. ─ Besides Devagiri, there were then in South India, three major kingdoms: Telingāna under Pratāparudradeva I of the Kākatīya dynasty with its capital at Wārangal; Hoysala (including the present Mysore State) with its capital at Dorāsamudra (modern Halebidu), famous for its beautiful temples, ruled by Veera Ballāla (1292-1342); & further south the coastal kingdom of the Pāṇdyās (including present Madurai, Rāmnād & Tinnevelly districts) enriched by its flourishing commerce, ruled by Māravarman Kūlasekhara (1268-1311). There were also some minor rulers like the Telegu-Cholā chief, Manma-Siddha III, ruling present Nellore district, the Kalinga-Ganga king, Bhānudeva, reigning in present Odishā, the Kerala king Ravivarman, ruling from Kollam (Britishised to Quilon), & the Ᾱlupa chief, Bankideva-Ᾱlupendra, ruling from present Mangalore. In 1309, Kāfūr besieged Wārangal; in 1310, King Pratāparudradeva I surrendered 100 elephants, 7000 horses, huge quantity of jewels & coined money & agreed to repeat the tribute annually. In November 1310, he devastated Dorāsamudra, took all its treasures, 36 elephants, all the gold, silver, jewels, & pearls from the temples, & made the king a vassal of the Delhi Sultanate. In April 1311, Kāfūr reached Madurai, & took away 512 elephants, 5000 horses, 500 maunds of diamonds, pearls, emeralds & rubies. For reason not recorded he did not go right down Rameshwaram – perhaps his Hindu genes work up? He returned to Delhi on 18 October 1311 with 612 elephants, 20,000 horses, 96,000 maunds of gold, & boxes of jewels & pearls. The booty, wrote Amir Khusrav, was carried “on a thousand camels groaning under the weight of the treasure”. In 1312, Shankaradeva withheld tribute & tried to regain independence. Kāfūr rushed down from Delhi, defeated & killed him. Thus the whole of Southern India were left with no option but to submit. That year, ‘Alā-ud-din’s health undermined, his intellect shrunk, he became a puppet in the hands of Kāfūr, his commander-in-chief & chief minister. He had been suffering for long from dropsy which (or Malik Kāfūr) finally killed him & usurped his throne. But 35 days later he was murdered & after more such merriment ‘Alā-ud- his son Mubarak ascended the throne as Qutb-ud-din Mubarak Shah. He suppressed the rebellion in Gujarāt & place his father-in-law Zafar Khan as its governor (see Ahmedabad), then marched to Devagiri, captured Harpāladeva (son-in-law of Rāmachandradeva) & flayed him alive. After one year’s stay at Devagiri where he built a ‘great mosque’, he marched back to Delhi. When, no male descendant of ‘Alā-ud-din survived his nobles handed over the Sultanate to Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq whose son Mahmud Tughluq ransacked Devagiri twice, then taking a fancy to its central position in his empire which then extended from the Panjab to Bengal & from the foot of the Himalayas to Kanyā Kumari, he rebuilt it according to his needs, ‘beautified’ it with fine Islamic buildings & roads – one of which connected it to Delhi, & renamed it. And thus Devagiri became Daulat-ābād – Land of Mammon. [S. Bhattacharya:23-26; R.C. Majumdar et al’s Advanced History: 89, 168, 181, 182, 191, 286-87, 293, 295-98, 301, 303-04]