Soon Ahmad was involved in the affairs of Daulatabad which was jointly held by Sharf- ud-din and his brother Wajh-ud-din. The latter was married to Ahmad Nizam Shah’s sister. Sharf-ud-din was greatly annoyed at the birth of a son to Wajh-ud-din and killed them both.
On her sister’s appeal, Ahmad Nizam Shah marched against Sharf-ud-din who in despair asked for the help of Sultan Mahmud Shah Begada, ruler of Gujarat and offered in return the fort of Daulatabad. Nizam Shah joined hands with Adil Khan Faruqi, ruler of Khandesh, and Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk to oppose the Gujarati ruler.
Nizam Shah made a surprise attack on the Mahmud Shah’s forces near Asir and put them to flight. But soon afterwards, he again came to the rescue of Sharf-ud-din with huge forces which compelled Nizam Shah to raise the siege. Daulatabad became a fief of the Gujarati ruler and khutba was read in his name.
It was, however, resented by the Maratha garrison who offered to surrender the fort to Nizam Shah if he renewed the attack. Greatly shocked, Malik Sharf fell ill and died. The Marathas handed over the fort to Nizam Shah and henceforward it became his military base.
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Nizam Shah’s prestige no doubt increased but soon he was humbled by Yusuf Adil Khan, governor of Bijapur who ravaged his territory in retaliation for his assistance to the Bahmani Sultan Mahmud Shah against him.
He was also involved in a conflict with the Portuguese who had taken possession of some coastal areas and were bent on ousting the Arabs from the Arabian sea after destroying the naval power of the ruler of Gujarat who was actively helping them.
In the ensuing struggle the rulers of Egypt and Gujarat were also helped by Nizam Shah who permitted their combined naval forces to attack the Portuguese possession at Chaul. Portuguese defeated the Egyptian fleet at Diu and forced the Gujaratis to seek for peace. They also recovered some war indemnity from Nizam Shah.
Having been unsuccessful in the south, Ahmad Nizam’ Shah’s restless spirit now turned towards Khandesh which was in turmoil due to the uncertainty about succession after the death of its ruler Ghazni Khan.
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Here too, he did not succeed to put his protege Alam Khan, the pretender, on the throne due to the armed intervention of Sultan Mahmud Shah Begada. He had to eat his humble pie. But in spite of these reverses in later years of his life, he had some notable achievements to his credit.
As observed by Dr. Radhey Shyam, “he had succeeded in extending the frontiers of his kingdom from Bir to Chaul and Ravendanda on the sea coast and from frontiers of Khandesh in the north to Poona, Chakan and Sholapur in the South”. He died in A.D. 1516 and was succeeded by his seven-year old son Burhan Nizam Shah.