Malik Raja
The ancestors of Malik Ahmad Raja were amongst the most respectable nobles in the courts of Ala-ud-Din Khilji and Muhammad bin Tughluq. Malik Raja’s father Khan-i-Jahan Faruqi was a minister in the Delhi court. In 1365, Malik Raja and some other chieftains of Berar and Baglana, joined a rebellion against the Bahmani ruler led by the governor of Daulatabad, Bahram Khan Mazindarani. It failed, and he was forced to flee from Deccan. He settled at Thalner. He helped Firuz Shah Tughluq during one of his hunting expeditions in Gujarat. In return he was first made an officer of two thousand horses and then in 1370, he was granted the fiefdoms of Thalner and Karanda. In the same year, he defeated the Raja of Baglana and forced him to agree upon paying annual tributes to the Delhi sultan. In exchange, Firuz Shah Tughluq gave him the title of Sipah-salar (governor) and raised him to the rank of a commander of three thousand horses. Within a few years he was able to muster twelve thousand horses and raise contributions from neighbouring rulers.
By 1382, he became a completely independent ruler of the Khandesh. At the time of his accession, Khandesh was a backward region populated by a few thousand Bhils and Kolis. The only prosperous area in Khandesh was Asirgarh, populated by the rich cowherds, Ahirs. One of the first acts of Malik Raja was taking steps to develop the agriculture in his kingdom.
During his rule he was able to increase his area of control to such an extent that even the Gond Raja of Mandla was forced to pay tributes to him. Soon after his accession as an independent ruler, he attacked Gujarat and annexed Sultanpur and Nandurbar. Almost immediately, the governor of Gujarat Zafar Khan (Muzaffar Shah) retaliated and laid siege to Thalner. Malik Raja had to return all the territories annexed by him. He died on April 19 (April 28, according to Ferishta), 1399 and was buried in Thalner.
Read more about this topic: Faruqi Dynasty