FAMINES IN THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT, 1500 to 1767

1528 (a): Ahmednagar
Documented causes: scorched earth war
Documented effects: army retreat

Firishta (trans. Jonathan Scott) "Ferishta's History of Dekkan ..." (vol. 1, 1794)

pp365-6: [Sultan Bahadur's campaign against Burhan Nizam Shah I of Ahmednagar] "Sultan Bahadur now proceeded to Ahmednuggur, where he took up his residence in the palace … Boorahan Shaw and his allies laid waste to the country round, and prevented supplies from coming to his army; so that famine prevailed. About this time, he dreamed one night, that a number of frightful demons and evil spirits surrounded his bed … and a few days afterwards moved from the city towards Dowlutabad …" [Firishta's history tends to focus on politics and warfare, but this means that it contains numerous accounts of the tactic of blocking supplies to armies, including what were effectively sieges of besiegers; in some cases he highlights the use of "Bergees"- fast-moving troops who would later become vital to the success of the Marathas.]