In life, the downfall of a person might be his or her stepping stone to promotion. The brothers of Joseph in the Bible sold him to merchants, and they took him to a foreign land. Naturally, when such happens to a person, he or she will have lost hope for a better future. In the case of Joseph, he rose to become the 2nd most powerful man in Egypt and showed mercy to his brothers when they came to the land. Malik Ambar has a similar situation. His story is encouraging, and it shows that no matter where one is, through determining a person can be anything in life.
Early Life of Malik
He was born in 1548 in the central land of Ethiopia. His birth identity was Chapu. Chapu’s childhood stage was a traditional Oromo peaceful life. In the 16th century, slavery was common in the land of Ethiopia. Inhumane people took and sold more than 11000 slaves each year in Ethiopia by 1555. Arabic merchants took Chapu when he was very young.
They put the kid at an auction in a slave marketplace in a port. The merchants sold Chapu, and he ended up in the hands of a trader called Qasim. Qasim gave the slave a new Arabic identity and taught him how to write, read, and control the money of his master’s enterprises. Qasim took Ambar on a long journey after 10 years. In 1571, the slave and the master reached the Deccan plateau.
The plateau was in the form of more than 3 Sultanates, and the leaders of this region walked along a hazardous edge. Violent coups were common in the land. Upon arrival in India, traders sold Ambar once more and Ambar’s new master was called Chengiz Khan. Khan was the chief minister to the Sultan of Ahmednagar. Chengiz was of African origin, just as his slave was, and he commanded an army in the name of Murtaza of the Nizam Shahi rule.
Malik learned that achieving was possible for any person in the land, and he became a soldier-in-training under his owner. Later on, Khan made up his mind to make his slave his assistant. Some years later, some envious people framed the chief minister for working against Ahmednagar, and that cost his life.
The Rise of Malik Ambar
Following the master’s death, Malik was a free man. After 20 years, he went to the Sultanate of Bijapur and enlisted in the native military. He later met and married a woman called Karima, and they had children. When the Bijapur had died, accountability for the leadership of the realm fell to Bibi. She invented a concept called fidelity to the salt.
The woman had many people admiring her, including Ambar. As time went by, Malik Ambar created a small army. His outstanding loyalty to Sultana resulted in Bibi’s young son giving him the title of Malik.
In 1595, the Mughal Empire, whose founder is Muhammad, put their focus on the Deccan land. At a time, an internal dispute came upon Ahmednagar, the Nizam Shah had passed away. Bibi claimed the throne through her relative’s Nizam Shahi blood. This resulted in the ruling Ahmednagari leader to welcome the Mughals to defend his power. The chief minister did not realize that he had made a grievous mistake. Akbar’s son-led host landed on Ahmednagar and the minister fled the region.
At Fort Ahmednagar, Bibi encountered the Mughal soldiers and Ambar had left Bijapur and joined strengths with his Sultana. He and his men fought the Mughal soldiers and the forces had to leave. For some time there was tranquility in Ahmednagar with Bibi as the regent.
The Sultana’s soldiers killed her later and that was the end of Bibi. Now, without the headship of this powerful woman, the forces came back to Ahmednagar again and took it. Ambar pledged his fidelity to the salt in respect of his Sultana and due to his determination, by 1596 he had 3000 men. Ambar used a technique called Bargi Giri against his enemies.
One day, the scouts of Ambar told him of his enemy’s position and he sent the Hindu men to hit, destroying major supplies. The Mughal soldiers could not hold on and without the provisions, they had to surrender. As Malik was fighting, he still had the responsibility of rebuilding the government.
We see Malik using wisdom while fighting his enemies. Now, we get the story that the Decani noble people could not accept the kingship of an African. Here again, we see Malik exercising great wisdom. He got a young heir of the Nizam Shahi blood and put him as Sultan Murtaza Nizam Shah. Ambar gave the new Sultan his beautiful daughter and the king he had installed appointed the Oromo as Ahmednagar’s regent minister.
In 1603 Ambar’s soldiers started a rebellion and he stopped it. 2 years later Emperor Akbar dies and his son substituted him. Jahangir, who led the new Mughal, started campaigns in the Deccan region but the goodness of Malik’s technique stopped him.
Later on, Ambar’s men settled at Fort Ahmednagar and Malik relocated Ahmednagar’s capital to the border of Mughal. In the next 10 years, commerce flooded the new capital and the Oromo worked to enhance infrastructure in his empire.
The Downfall and Death of Malik Ambar
After a few years, the Mughal broke the agreement they had with Malik and conflicts continued for some time. In 1616, Malik suffered his 1st defeat against his enemy. This loss gave the enemy a strong foothold in Ahmednagar once again. Ambar had to react quickly lest his enemies wipe him out for good.
In 1624, Malik decided to make his ground in a fortress around the village of Bharadi. Bharadi stood on a hilly place overlooking the shore of Lake Kalindi. One day on a rainy period, as the soldiers of the enemy came towards Ambar, he ordered the lake’s dam hit and the lowlands were full of water.
Malik Ambar died when he was 80 years, and his son succeeded him. However, he did not have his father’s military mindset.
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