[jyotirmoy]

During the 15th. & 17th. century we find a lot of reference to the presence of  Abyssinian people in India. They were called “Habshi” locally. The word came from the Arabic word ‘Habsh’ for Abysinnia.

Traveling Englishman Edward Terry noted for example early in the 17th. century that there were "many Abissines" in "Indostan". His compatriot the historian W.H. Moreland, writing of the time of the death of Emperor Akbar in 1605, agrees that "Abyssinians were in much demand", and "sometimes" rose to "very responsible positions". The demand for Habshi slaves was likewise subsequently reported by the early seventeenth century British envoy Thomas Roe. He recalls that he was asked by the Mogul Emperor Jahangir (1605-1627) "to buy three Abassines for forty Rupias a man”.

The best known Habshi of the early 17th. century was probably Malik Ambar (1549--1626). Born in the mid-sixteenth century at Harar in Ethiopia, and known simply as "Chapu", he was sold by his poor parents to an Arab slave merchant, landed up in Baghdad, and from there, in the early 1570s, in the Deccan, where he was sold again to a prominent noble at the troubled court of the Nizam Shahs of Ahmednagar. From this humble position he rose to become become chief minister of the shrunken kingdom of Ahmadnagar.
He won renown in 1601 by defeating the Mogul forces in south-west Berar, and subsequently established Murtaza Nizam Shah (1603-1630) as the nominal ruler of the land. He also reorganised the tax system, and improved the training of the soldier. The Mogul court chronicler, Mutamid Khan, wrote: "This Ambar was a slave, but an able man. In warfare, in command, in sound judgment, and in administration he had no rival or equal".

This Murtaza Nizam Shah was commonly known as Diwana (madman) because his behavior was at times strange. Once he wanted to give two beautiful necklaces as a present to one of his favourites. Salabat Khan, a prominent minister of his court did not like this , so he substituted these two most beautiful necklaces. The king was enraged and ordered Salabat Khan to place all the ornaments plundered in the war against Ramraja, the Hindu king of Vijaynagar. The minister did so and when the  king knew those two necklaces are missing , he ordered the ornaments to be thrown into fire. Thus these ornaments were put into fire. Salabat Khan lost king’s favour and was confined to jail at Danda rajapur.

Murtaza always suspected that his son was after displacing him, so once while the youth was sleeping in his chamber, Murtaza set fire to his bed clothes and fastened door upon him. Thus Murtaza  tried to destroy his own son. The prince’s cries for help brought his father’s friend Fatteh Shah to save him. He carried off the prince secretly to Daulatabad. When king heard of this, he dismissed all his ministers and appointed Mirza Khan as regent. Mirza Khan knew about the imbecility  of the king. The king at such critical times released Salabat Khan. Mirza Khan managed to release the prince Miran Hussain from Daulatabad and tried to reach Ahmednagar, before Salabat Khan. The prince and Mirza Khan rushed into the fort with 40000 armed men. The prince treated his father with greatest contempt and put him into a warm bathing room, close the doors and windows lighted a great fire underneath. Thus the king was speedily suffocated to death in 1588.

[Hyderabadi]

workhard, on Apr 8 2009, 12:04 PM, said:

Is Abissynia part of current day Iraq..

Ethiopia was known as Abyssinia.