Situated in the arid heart of the Deccan, Daulatabad has been the centre of historic settlements dating back to the first millennium ad. Its geo-political significance lies in its location along sub-continental trade and pilgrimage routes, causing it to be named ‘Khadki’ or window to the south, a strategic position that prompted Mohammed bin Tughlaq to shift his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad. However, the reason for the continued relevance of Daulatabad as an important settlement is the paradoxical ability of human communities to access and manage water in an arid and inhospitable environment. From the water cisterns of the nearby Ellora caves to wells, baolis, tanks and talaabs, natural and man-made, the landscape burgeons with evidence of the human ability to salvage every drop of water, both underground and overground. Nowhere is this skill more ably demonstrated than in the hydrological works of Malik Ambar, an Abyssinian slave who rose to become the de facto ruler of the Nizamshahi dynasty in the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries and is still recognised as a hero by the local community today. Much has been written about this remarkable personality, his origins in the Kambata region of Ethiopia, his travel to the sub-continent via the Arab slave trade, his rise to become the Vakil us Saltanat of the Nizam Shahis of Ahmadnagar and his legendary defence of the kingdom against Mughal expansion into the Deccan. This article, however, explores a less-known aspect of Ambar’s career, his role in constructing an extraordinary system of water management that enhanced the capacities of Daulatabad fort to enable it to support a large garrison and indeed, become a second capital of the Nizamshahi sultanate. Through site-based interactions and conversations with the local community, the personality of Malik Ambar as a local hero and his influence in the region has been reconstructed, enabling an interesting perspective of a historic personage ‘from below’.

中文翻译：

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“Malik Ambar ki Pipeline”：通过社区记忆重建过去

道拉塔巴德位于德干干旱的中心地带，是公元第一个千年历史悠久的定居点的中心。它的地缘政治意义在于其位于次大陆贸易和朝圣路线上的位置，使其被命名为“Khadki”或向南的窗口，这一战略位置促使 Mohammed bin Tughlaq 将首都从德里迁至道拉塔巴德。然而，道拉塔巴德作为重要定居点的持续相关性的原因是人类社区在干旱和荒凉的环境中获取和管理水的自相矛盾的能力。从附近埃洛拉洞穴的蓄水池到自然和人造的水井、包里、坦克和塔拉布，景观蓬勃发展，证明人类有能力打捞地下和地上的每一滴水。没有什么比马利克安巴尔的水文作品更能体现这种技能的了，马利克安巴尔是一名阿比西尼亚奴隶，他在 16 至 17 世纪成为尼扎姆沙希王朝的实际统治者，至今仍被当地社区公认为英雄。关于这个非凡的人物，他出身于埃塞俄比亚坎巴塔地区，他通过阿拉伯奴隶贸易前往次大陆，他成为艾哈迈德纳加尔的尼扎姆沙希斯的 Vakil us Saltanat 以及他传奇般的捍卫王国反对莫卧儿王朝扩张到德干。然而，这篇文章探讨了安巴尔职业生涯中鲜为人知的一个方面，他在构建一个非凡的水资源管理系统中的作用，该系统增强了道拉塔巴德堡垒的能力，使其能够支持一个大型驻军，事实上，成为尼扎姆沙希苏丹国的第二个首都。通过与当地社区的基于现场的互动和对话，马利克·安巴尔作为当地英雄的个性及其在该地区的影响力得到了重建，从而为历史人物“从下面”提供了一个有趣的视角。