SECTION III. HINDŪSTĀN
932 AH.-OCT. 18th 1525 to OCT. 8th 1526 AD.[1565]
(a. Fifth expedition into Hindūstān.)
(Nov. 17th) On Friday the 1st of the month of Ṣafar at theḤaidarābād
MS. Fol.
251b. date 932, the Sun being in the Sign of the Archer, we set out for Hindūstān, crossed the small rise of Yak-langa, and dismounted in the meadow to the west of the water of Dih-i-ya‘qūb.[1566] ‘Abdu’l-malūk the armourer came into this camp; he had gone seven or eight months earlier as my envoy to Sult̤ān Sa‘īd Khān (in Kāshghar), and now brought one of the Khān’s men, styled Yāngī Beg (new beg) Kūkūldāsh who conveyed letters, and small presents, and verbal messages[1567] from the Khānīms and the Khān.[1568]
(Nov. 18th to 21st) After staying two days in that camp for the convenience of the army,[1569] we marched on, halted one night,[1570] and next dismounted at Bādām-chashma. There we ate a confection (ma‘jūn).
(Nov. 22nd) On Wednesday (Ṣafar 6th), when we had dismounted at Bārīk-āb, the younger brethren of Nūr Beg—he himself remaining in Hindūstān—brought gold ashrafīs and tankas[1571] to the value of 20,000 shāhrukhīs, sent from the Lāhor revenues by Khwāja Ḥusain. The greater part of these moneys was despatched by Mullā Aḥmad, one of the chief men of Balkh, for the benefit of Balkh.[1572]
(Nov. 24th) On Friday the 8th of the month (Ṣafar), after Fol. 252.dismounting at Gandamak, I had a violent discharge;[1573] by God’s mercy, it passed off easily.
(Nov. 25th) On Saturday we dismounted in the Bāgh-i-wafā. We delayed there a few days, waiting for Humāyūn and the army from that side.[1574] More than once in this history the bounds and extent, charm and delight of that garden have been described; it is most beautifully placed; who sees it with the buyer’s eye will know the sort of place it is. During the short time we were there, most people drank on drinking-days[1575] and took their morning; on non-drinking days there were parties for ma‘jūn.
I wrote harsh letters to Humāyūn, lecturing him severely because of his long delay beyond the time fixed for him to join me.[1576]
(Dec. 3rd) On Sunday the 17th of Ṣafar, after the morning had been taken, Humāyūn arrived. I spoke very severely to him at once. Khwāja Kalān also arrived to-day, coming up from Ghaznī. We marched in the evening of that same Sunday, and dismounted in a new garden between Sult̤ānpur and Khwāja Rustam.
(Dec. 6th) Marching on Wednesday (Ṣafar 20th), we got on a raft, and, drinking as we went reached Qūsh-guṃbaz,[1577] there landed and joined the camp.
(Dec. 7th) Starting off the camp at dawn, we ourselves went on a raft, and there ate confection (ma‘jūn). Our encamping-ground was always Qīrīq-ārīq, but not a sign or trace of the camp could Fol. 252b.be seen when we got opposite it, nor any appearance of our horses. Thought I, “Garm-chashma (Hot-spring) is close by; they may have dismounted there.” So saying, we went on from Qīrīq-ārīq. By the time we reached Garm-chashma, the very day was late;[1578] we did not stop there, but going on in its lateness (kīchīsī), had the raft tied up somewhere, and slept awhile.
(Dec. 8th) At day-break we landed at Yada-bīr where, as the day wore on, the army-folks began to come in. The camp must have been at Qīrīq-ārīq, but out of our sight.
There were several verse-makers on the raft, such as Shaikh Abū’l-wajd,[1579] Shaikh Zain, Mullā ‘Alī-jān, Tardī Beg Khāksār and others. In this company was quoted the following couplet of Muḥammad Ṣāliḥ:—[1580]
| (Persian) | With thee, arch coquette, for a sweetheart, what can man do? With another than thou where thou art, what can man do? |
Said I, “Compose on these lines”;[1581] whereupon those given to versifying, did so. As jokes were always being made at the expense of Mullā ‘Alī-jān, this couplet came off-hand into my head:—
| (Persian) | With one all bewildered as thou, | what can man do? |
| . . . . . | what can man do?[1582]) |
(b. Mention of the Mubīn.[1583])
From time to time before it,[1584] whatever came into my head, of good or bad, grave or jest, used to be strung into verse and written down, however empty and harsh the verse might be, but while I was composing the Mubīn, this thought pierced through my dull wits and made way into my troubled heart, “A pity itFol. 253. will be if the tongue which has treasure of utterances so lofty as these are, waste itself again on low words; sad will it be if again vile imaginings find way into the mind that has made exposition of these sublime realities.”[1585] Since that time I had refrained from satirical and jesting verse; I was repentant (ta’īb); but these matters were totally out of mind and remembrance when I made that couplet (on Mullā ‘Alī-jān).[1586] A few days later in Bīgrām when I had fever and discharge, followed by cough, and I began to spit blood each time I coughed, I knew whence my reproof came; I knew what act of mine had brought this affliction on me.
“Whoever shall violate his oath, will violate it to the hurt of his own soul; but whoever shall perform that which he hath covenanted with God, to that man surely will He give great reward” (Qorān cap. 48 v. 10).
| (Turkī) | What is it I do with thee, ah! my tongue? My entrails bleed as a reckoning for thee. Good once[1587] as thy words were, has followed this verse Jesting, empty,[1588] obscene, has followed a lie. If thou say, “Burn will I not!” by keeping this vow Thou turnest thy rein from this field of strife.[1589] |
“O Lord! we have dealt unjustly with our own souls; if Thou forgive us not, and be not merciful unto us, we shall surely be of those that perish”[1590] (Qorān cap. 7 v. 22).
Taking anew the place of the penitent pleading for pardon, I gave my mind rest[1591] from such empty thinking and such unlawful occupation. I broke my pen. Made by that Court, such reproof of sinful slaves is for their felicity; happy are the highest and the slave when such reproof brings warning and its profitable fruit.
(c. Narrative resumed.)
(Dec. 8th continued) Marching on that evening, we dismounted at ‘Alī-masjid. The ground here being very confined, I always Fol. 253b.used to dismount on a rise overlooking the camp in the valley-bottom.[1592] The camp-fires made a wonderful illumination there at night; assuredly it was because of this that there had always been drinking there, and was so now.
(Dec. 9th and 10th) To-day I rode out before dawn; I preferred a confection (ma‘jūn)[1593] and also kept this day a fast. We dismounted near Bīgrām (Peshāwar); and next morning, the camp remaining on that same ground, rode to Karg-awī.[1594] We crossed the Siyāh-āb in front of Bīgrām, and formed our hunting-circle looking down-stream. After a little, a person brought word that there was a rhino in a bit of jungle near Bīgrām, and that people had been stationed near-about it. We betook ourselves, loose rein, to the place, formed a ring round the jungle, made a noise, and brought the rhino out, when it took its way across the plain. Humāyūn and those come with him from that side (Tramontana), who had never seen one before, were much entertained. It was pursued for two miles; many arrows were shot at it; it was brought down without having made a good set at man or horse. Two others were killed. I had often wondered how a rhino and an elephant would behave if brought face to face; this time one came out right in front of some elephants the mahauts were bringing along; it did not face themFol. 254. when the mahauts drove them towards it, but got off in another direction.
(d. Preparations for ferrying the Indus.[1595])
On the day we were in Bīgrām, several of the begs and household were appointed, with pay-masters and dīwāns, six or seven being put in command, to take charge of the boats at the Nīl-āb crossing, to make a list of all who were with the army, name by name, and to count them up.
That evening I had fever and discharge[1596] which led on to cough and every time I coughed, I spat blood. Anxiety was great but, by God’s mercy, it passed off in two or three days.
(Dec. 11th) It rained when we left Bīgrām; we dismounted on the Kābul-water.
(e. News from Lāhor.)
News came that Daulat Khān[1597] and (Apāq) Ghāzī Khān, having collected an army of from 20 to 30,000, had taken Kilānūr, and intended to move on Lāhor. At once Mumin-i-‘alī the commissary was sent galloping off to say, “We are advancing march by march;[1598] do not fight till we arrive.”
(Dec. 14th) With two night-halts on the way, we reached the water of Sind (Indus), and there dismounted on Thursday the 28th (of Ṣafar).
(f. Ferrying the Indus.)
(Dec. 16th) On Saturday the 1st of the first Rabī‘, we crossed the Sind-water, crossed the water of Kacha-kot (Hārū), and dismounted on the bank of the river.[1599] The begs, pay-masters and dīwāns who had been put in charge of the boats, reported that the number of those come with the army, great and small, good and bad, retainer and non-retainer, was written down as 12,000.
(g. The eastward march.)
The rainfall had been somewhat scant in the plains, but Fol. 254b.seemed to have been good in the cultivated lands along the hill-skirts; for these reasons we took the road for Sīālkot along the skirt-hills. Opposite Hātī Kakar’s country[1600] we came upon a torrent[1601] the waters of which were standing in pools. Those pools were all frozen over. The ice was not very thick, as thick as the hand may-be. Such ice is unusual in Hindūstān; not a sign or trace of any was seen in the years we were (aīdūk) in the country.[1602]
We had made five marches from the Sind-water; after the sixth (Dec. 22nd—Rabī‘ I. 7th) we dismounted on a torrent in the camping-ground (yūrt) of the Bugīāls[1603] below Balnāth Jogī’s hill which connects with the Hill of Jūd.
(Dec. 23rd) In order to let people get provisions, we stayed the next day in that camp. ‘Araq was drunk on that day. Mullā Muḥ. Pargharī told many stories; never had he been so talkative. Mullā Shams himself was very riotous; once he began, he did not finish till night.
The slaves and servants, good and bad, who had gone out after provisions, went further than this[1604] and heedlessly scattered over jungle and plain, hill and broken ground. Owing to this, a few were overcome; Kīchkīna tūnqit̤ār died there.
(Dec. 24th) Marching on, we crossed the Bihat-water at a ford below Jīlam (Jīhlam) and there dismounted. Walī Qīzīl (Rufus) came there to see me. He was the Sīālkot reserve, and held the parganas of Bīmrūkī and Akrīāda. Thinking about Sīālkot,Fol. 255. I took towards him the position of censure and reproach. He excused himself, saying “I had come to my pargana before Khusrau Kūkūldāsh left Sīālkot; he did not even send me word.” After listening to his excuse, I said, “Since thou hast paid no attention to Sīālkot, why didst thou not join the begs in Lāhor?” He was convicted, but as work was at hand, I did not trouble about his fault.
(h. Scouts sent with orders to Lāhor.)
(Dec. 25th) Sayyid T̤ūfān and Sayyid Lāchīn were sent galloping off, each with a pair-horse,[1605] to say in Lāhor, “Do not join battle; meet us at Sīālkot or Parsrūr” (mod. Pasrūr). It was in everyone’s mouth that Ghāzī Khān had collected 30 to 40,000 men, that Daulat Khān, old as he was, had girt two swords to his waist, and that they were resolved to fight. Thought I, “The proverb says that ten friends are better than nine; do you not make a mistake: when the Lāhor begs have joined you, fight there and then!”
(Dec. 26th and 27th) After starting off the two men to the begs, we moved forward, halted one night, and next dismounted on the bank of the Chīn-āb (Chan-āb).
As Buhlūlpūr was khalṣa,[1606] we left the road to visit it. Its fort is situated above a deep ravine, on the bank of the Chīn-āb. It pleased us much. We thought of bringing Sīālkot to it. Please God! the chance coming, it shall be done straightway! Fol. 255b.From Buhlūlpūr we went to camp by boat.
(i. Jats and Gujūrs.[1607])
(Dec. 29th) On Friday the 14th of the first Rabī‘ we dismounted at Sīālkot. If one go into Hindūstān the Jats and Gujūrs always pour down in countless hordes from hill and plain for loot in bullock and buffalo. These ill-omened peoples are just senseless oppressors! Formerly their doings did not concern us much because the country was an enemy’s, but they began the same senseless work after we had taken it. When we reached Sīālkot, they fell in tumult on poor and needy folks who were coming out of the town to our camp, and stripped them bare. I had the silly thieves sought for, and ordered two or three of them cut to pieces.
From Sīālkot Nūr Beg’s brother Shāham also was made to gallop off to the begs in Lāhor to say, “Make sure where the enemy is; find out from some well-informed person where he may be met, and send us word.”
A trader, coming into this camp, represented that ‘Ālam Khān had let Sl. Ibrāhīm defeat him.
(j. ‘Ālam Khān’s action and failure.[1608])
Here are the particulars:—‘Ālam Khān, after taking leave of me (in Kābul, 931 AH.), went off in that heat by double marches, regardless of those with him.[1609] As at the time I gave him leave to go, all the Aūzbeg khāns and sult̤āns had laid siege to Balkh,Fol. 256. I rode for Balkh as soon as I had given him his leave. On his reaching Lāhor, he insisted to the begs, “You reinforce me; the Pādshāh said so; march along with me; let us get (Apāq) Ghāzī Khān to join us; let us move on Dihlī and Āgra.” Said they, “Trusting to what, will you join Ghāzī Khān? Moreover the royal orders to us were, ‘If at any time Ghāzī Khān has sent his younger brother Ḥājī Khān with his son to Court, join him; or do so, if he has sent them, by way of pledge, to Lāhor; if he has done neither, do not join him.’ You yourself only yesterday fought him and let him beat you! Trusting to what, will you join him now? Besides all this, it is not for your advantage to join him!” Having said what-not of this sort, they refused ‘Ālam Khān. He did not fall in with their views, but sent his son Sher Khān to speak with Daulat Khān and with Ghāzī Khān, and afterwards all saw one another.
‘Ālam Khān took with him Dilāwar Khān, who had come into Lāhor two or three months earlier after his escape from prison; he took also Maḥmūd Khān (son of) Khān-i-jahān,[1610] to whom a pargana in the Lāhor district had been given. They seem to have left matters at this:—Daulat Khān with Ghāzī Khān was to take all the begs posted in Hindūstān to himself, indeed he was to take everything on that side;[1611] while ‘Ālam Fol. 256b.Khān was to take Dilāwar Khān and Ḥājī Khān and, reinforced by them, was to capture Dihlī and Āgra. Ismā‘īl Jilwānī and other amīrs came and saw ‘Ālam Khān; all then betook themselves, march by march, straight for Dihlī. Near Indrī came also Sulaimān Shaikh-zāda.[1612] Their total touched 30 to 40,000 men.
They laid siege to Dihlī but could neither take it by assault nor do hurt to the garrison.[1613] When Sl. Ibrāhīm heard of their assembly, he got an army to horse against them; when they heard of his approach, they rose from before the place and moved to meet him. They had left matters at this:—“If we attack by day-light, the Afghāns will not desert (to us), for the sake of their reputations with one another; but if we attack at night when one man cannot see another, each man will obey his own orders.” Twice over they started at fall of day from a distance of 12 miles (6 kurohs), and, unable to bring matters to a point, neither advanced nor retired; but just sat on horseback for two or three watches. On a third occasion they delivered an attack when one watch of night remained—their purpose seeming to be the burning of tents and huts! They went; they set fire from every end; they made a disturbance. Jalāl Khān Jig-hat[1614] came with other amīrs and saw ‘Ālam Khān.
Sl. Ibrāhīm did not bestir himself till shoot of dawn from where he was with a few of his own family[1615] within his own enclosure (sarācha). Meantime ‘Ālam Khān’s people were busy Fol. 257.with plunder and booty. Seeing the smallness of their number, Sl. Ibrāhīm’s people moved out against them in rather small force with one elephant. ‘Ālam Khān’s party, not able to make stand against the elephant, ran away. He in his flight crossed over into the Mīān-dū-āb and crossed back again when he reached the Pānīpat neighbourhood. In Indrī he contrived on some pretext to get 4 laks from Mīān Sulaimān.[1616] He was deserted by Ismā‘īl Jilwānī, by Biban[1617] and by his own oldest son Jalāl, who all withdrew into the Mīān-dū-āb; and he had been deserted just before the fighting, by part of his troops, namely, by Daryā Khān (Nūḥānī)’s son Saif Khān, by Khān-i-jahān (Nūḥānī)’s son Maḥmūd Khān, and by Shaikh Jamāl Farmulī. When he was passing through Sihrind with Dilāwar Khān, he heard of our advance and of our capture of Milwat (Malot).[1618] On this Dilāwar Khān—who always had been my well-wisher and on my account had dragged out three or four months in prison,—left ‘Ālam Khān and the rest and went to his family in Sult̤ānpūr. He waited on me three or four days after we took Milwat. ‘Ālam Khān and Ḥājī Khān crossed the Shatlut (sic)-water and went into Gingūta,[1619] one of the strongholds in the range that lies between the valley and the plain.[1620] There our Afghān and Hazāra[1621] troops besieged them, and hadFol. 257b almost taken that strong fort when night came on. Those inside were thinking of escape but could not get out because of the press of horses in the Gate. There must have been elephants also; when these were urged forward, they trod down and killed many horses. ‘Ālam Khān, unable to escape mounted, got out on foot in the darkness. After a lak of difficulties, he joined Ghāzī Khān, who had not gone into Milwat but had fled into the hills. Not being received with even a little friendliness by Ghāzī Khān; needs must! he came and waited on me at the foot of the dale[1622] near Pehlūr.
(k. Diary resumed.)
A person came to Sīālkot from the Lāhor begs to say they would arrive early next morning to wait on me.
(Dec. 30th) Marching early next day (Rabī‘ I. 15th), we dismounted at Parsrūr. There Muḥ. ‘Alī Jang-jang, Khwāja Ḥusain and several braves waited on me. As the enemy’s camp seemed to be on the Lāhor side of the Rāvī, we sent men out under Būjka for news. Near the third watch of the night they brought word that the enemy, on hearing of us, had fled, no man looking to another.
(Dec. 31st) Getting early to horse and leaving baggage and train in the charge of Shāh Mīr Ḥusain and Jān Beg, we bestirred ourselves. We reached Kalānūr in the afternoon, and there dismounted. Muḥammad Sl. Mīrzā and ‘Ādil Sl.[1623] came Fol. 258.to wait on me there, together with some of the begs.
(Jan. 1st 1526 AD.) We marched early from Kalānūr. On the road people gave us almost certain news of Ghāzī Khān and other fugitives. Accordingly we sent, flying after those fliers, the commanders Muḥammadī, Aḥmadī, Qūtlūq-qadam, Treasurer Walī and most of those begs who, in Kābul, had recently bent the knee for their begship. So far it was settled:—That it would be good indeed if they could overtake and capture the fugitives; and that, if they were not able to do this, they were to keep careful watch round Milwat (Malot), so as to prevent those inside from getting out and away. Ghāzī Khān was the object of this watch.
(l. Capture of Milwat.)
(Jan. 2nd and 3rd) After starting those begs ahead, we crossed the Bīāh-water (Beas) opposite Kanwāhīn[1624] and dismounted. From there we marched to the foot of the valley of Fort Milwat, making two night-halts on the way. The begs who had arrived before us, and also those of Hindūstān were ordered to dismount in such a way as to besiege the place closely.
A grandson of Daulat Khān, son of his eldest son ‘Alī Khān, Ismā‘īl Khān by name, came out of Milwat to see me; he took back promise mingled with threat, kindness with menace.
(Jan. 5th) On Friday (Rabī‘ I. 21st) I moved camp forward to within a mile of the fort, went myself to examine the place, posted right, left and centre, then returned to camp.
Daulat Khān sent to represent to me that Ghāzī Khān hadFol. 258b. fled into the hills, and that, if his own faults were pardoned, he would take service with me and surrender Milwat. Khwāja Mīr-i-mīrān was sent to chase fear from his heart and to escort him out; he came, and with him his son ‘Alī Khān. I had ordered that the two swords he had girt to his waist to fight me with, should be hung from his neck. Was such a rustic blockhead possible! With things as they were, he still made pretensions! When he was brought a little forward, I ordered the swords to be removed from his neck. At the time of our seeing one another[1625] he hesitated to kneel; I ordered them to pull his leg and make him do so. I had him seated quite in front, and ordered a person well acquainted with Hindūstānī to interpret my words to him, one after another. Said I, “Thus speak:—I called thee Father. I shewed thee more honour and respect than thou couldst have asked. Thee and thy sons I saved from door-to-door life amongst the Balūchīs.[1626] Thy family and thy ḥaram I freed from Ibrāhīm’s prison-house.[1627] Three krors I gave thee on Tātār Khān’s lands.[1628] What ill sayest thou I have done thee, that thus thou shouldst hang a sword on thy either side,[1629] lead an army out, fall on lands of ours,[1630] and stir strife and trouble?” Dumbfounded, the old man Fol. 259.stuttered a few words, but, he gave no answer, nor indeed could answer be given to words so silencing. He was ordered to remain with Khwāja Mīr-i-mīrān.
(Jan. 6th) On Saturday the 22nd of the first Rabī‘, I went myself to safeguard the exit of the families and ḥarams[1631] from the fort, dismounting on a rise opposite the Gate. To me there came ‘Alī Khān and made offering of a few ashrafīs. People began to bring out the families just before the Other Prayer. Though Ghāzī Khān was reported to have got away, there were some who said they had seen him in the fort. For this reason several of the household and braves[1632] were posted at the Gate, in order to prevent his escape by a ruse, for to get away was his full intention.[1633] Moreover if jewels and other valuables were being taken away by stealth, they were to be confiscated. I spent that night in a tent pitched on the rise in front of the Gate.
(Jan. 7th) Early next morning, Muḥammadī, Aḥmadī, Sl. Junaid, ‘Abdu’l-‘azīz, Muḥammad ‘Alī Jang-jang and Qūtlūq-qadam were ordered to enter the fort and take possession of all Fol. 259b.effects. As there was much disturbance at the Gate, I shot off a few arrows by way of chastisement. Humāyūn’s story-teller (qiṣṣa-khẉān) was struck by the arrow of his destiny and at once surrendered his life.
(Jan. 7th and 8th) After spending two nights[1634] on the rise, I inspected the fort. I went into Ghāzī Khān’s book-room;[1635] some of the precious things found in it, I gave to Humāyūn, some sent to Kāmrān (in Qandahār). There were many books of learned contents,[1636] but not so many valuable ones as had at first appeared. I passed that night in the fort; next morning I went back to camp.
(Jan. 9th) It had been in our minds that Ghāzī Khān was in the fort, but he, a man devoid of nice sense of honour, had escaped to the hills, abandoning father, brethren and sisters in Milwat.
See that man without honour who never
The face of good luck shall behold;
Bodily ease he chose for himself,
In hardship he left wife and child (Gulistān cap. i, story 17).
(Jan. 10th) Leaving that camp on Wednesday, we moved towards the hills to which Ghāzī Khān had fled. When we dismounted in the valley-bottom two miles from the camp in the mouth of Milwat,[1637] Dilāwar Khān came and waited on me. Daulat Khān, ‘Alī Khān and Ismā‘īl Khān, with other chiefs, were given into Kitta Beg’s charge who was to convey them to the Bhīra fort of Milwat (Malot),[1638] and there keep guard overFol. 260. them. In agreement with Dilāwar Khān, blood-ransom was fixed for some who had been made over each to one man; some gave security, some were kept prisoner. Daulat Khān died when Kitta Beg reached Sult̤ānpūr with the prisoners.[1639]
Milwat was given into the charge of Muḥ. ‘Alī Jang-jang who, pledging his own life for it, left his elder brother Arghūn and a party of braves in it. A body of from 200 to 250 Afghāns were told off to reinforce him.
Khwāja Kalān had loaded several camels with Ghaznī wines. A party was held in his quarters overlooking the fort and the whole camp, some drinking ‘araq, some wine. It was a varied party.
(m. Jaswān-valley.)
Marching on, we crossed a low hill of the grazing-grounds (arghā-dāl-līq) of Milwat and went into the dūn, as Hindūstānīs are understood to call a dale (julga).[1640] In this dale is a running-water[1641] of Hindūstān; along its sides are many villages; and it is said to be the pargana of the Jaswāl, that is to say, of Dilāwar Khān’s maternal uncles. It lies there shut-in, with meadows along its torrent, rice cultivated here and there, a three or four mill-stream flowing in its trough, its width from two to Fol. 260b.four miles, six even in places, villages on the skirts of its hills—hillocks they are rather—where there are no villages, peacocks, monkeys, and many fowls which, except that they are mostly of one colour, are exactly like house-fowls.
As no reliable news was had of Ghāzī Khān, we arranged for Tardīka to go with Bīrīm Deo Malinhās and capture him wherever he might be found.
In the hills of this dale stand thoroughly strong forts; one on the north-east, named Kūtila, has sides 70 to 80 yards (qārī) of straight fall, the side where the great gate is being perhaps 7 or 8 yards.[1642] The width of the place where the draw-bridge is made, may be 10 to 12 yards. Across this they have made a bridge of two tall trees[1643] by which horses and herds are taken over. This was one of the local forts Ghāzī Khān had strengthened; his man will have been in it now. Our raiders (chāpqūnchī) assaulted it and had almost taken it when night came on. The garrison abandoned this difficult place and went off. Near this dale is also the stronghold of Ginguta; it is girt round by precipices as Kūtila is, but is not so strong as Kūtila. As has been mentioned ‘Ālam Khān went into it.[1644]Fol. 261.
(n. Bābur advances against Ibrāhīm.)
After despatching the light troop against Ghāzī Khān, I put my foot in the stirrup of resolution, set my hand on the rein of trust in God, and moved forward against Sult̤ān Ibrāhīm, son of Sult̤ān Sikandar, son of Buhlūl Lūdī Afghān, in possession of whose throne at that time were the Dihlī capital and the dominions of Hindūstān, whose standing-army was called a lak (100,000), whose elephants and whose begs’ elephants were about 1,000.
At the end of our first stage, I bestowed Dībālpūr on Bāqī shaghāwal[1645] and sent him to help Balkh[1646]; sent also gifts, taken in the success of Milwat, for (my) younger children and various train in Kābul.
When we had made one or two marches down the (Jaswān) dūn, Shāh ‘Imād Shīrāzī arrived from Araish Khān and Mullā Muḥammad Maz̤hab,[1647] bringing letters that conveyed their good wishes for the complete success of our campaign and indicated their effort and endeavour towards this. In response, we sent, by a foot-man, royal letters expressing our favour. We then marched on.
(o. ‘Ālam Khān takes refuge with Bābur.)
The light troop we had sent out from Milwat (Malot), took Hurūr, Kahlūr and all the hill-forts of the neighbourhood—places to which because of their strength, no-one seemed to have gone for a long time—and came back to me after plundering a little. Came also ‘Ālam Khān, on foot, ruined, stripped bare. We sent some of the begs to give him honourable meeting, sent horses too, and he waited (malāẓamat qīldī) in that Fol. 261b.neighbourhood.[1648]
Raiders of ours went into the hills and valleys round-about, but after a few nights’ absence, came back without anything to count. Shāh Mīr Ḥusain, Jān Beg and a few of the braves asked leave and went off for a raid.
(p. Incidents of the march for Pānī-pat.)
While we were in the (Jaswān) dūn, dutiful letters had come more than once from Ismā‘īl Jilwānī and Biban; we replied to them from this place by royal letters such as their hearts desired. After we got out of the dale to Rūpar, it rained very much and became so cold that a mass of starved and naked Hindūstānīs died.
When we had left Rūpar and were dismounted at Karal,[1649] opposite Sihrind, a Hindūstānī coming said, “I am Sl. Ibrāhīm’s envoy,” and though he had no letter or credentials, asked for an envoy from us. We responded at once by sending one or two Sawādī night-guards (tunqit̤ār).[1650] These humble persons Ibrāhīm put in prison; they made their escape and came back to us on the very day we beat him.
After having halted one night on the way, we dismounted on the bank of the torrent[1651] of Banūr and Sanūr. Great rivers apart, one running water there is in Hindūstān, is this[1652]; they call it the water of Kakar (Ghaggar). Chitr also is on its bank. We rode up it for an excursion. The rising-place (zih) of the water of this torrent (rūd) is 3 or 4 kurohs (6-8 m.) above Chitr. Going up the (Kakar) torrent, we came to where a 4 or 5 millstream issues from a broad (side-)valley (dara), up which thereFol. 262. are very pleasant places, healthy and convenient. I ordered a Chār-bāgh to be made at the mouth of the broad valley of this (tributary) water, which falls into the (Kakar-) torrent after flowing for one or two kurohs through level ground. From its infall to the springs of the Kakar the distance may be 3 to 4 kurohs (6-8 m.). When it comes down in flood during the rains and joins the Kakar, they go together to Sāmāna and Sanām.[1653]
In this camp we heard that Sl. Ibrāhīm had been on our side of Dihlī and had moved on from that station, also that Ḥamīd Khān khāṣa-khail,[1654] the military-collector (shiqdār) of Ḥiṣār-fīrūza, had left that place with its army and with the army of its neighbourhood, and had advanced 10 or 15 kurohs (20-30 m.). Kitta Beg was sent for news to Ibrāhīm’s camp, and Mumin Ātaka to the Ḥiṣār-fīrūza camp.
(q. Humāyūn moves against Ḥamīd Khān.)
(Feb. 25th) Marching from Aṃbāla, we dismounted by the side of a lake. There Mumin Ātāka and Kitta Beg rejoined us, both on the same day, Sunday the 13th of the first Jumāda.
We appointed Humāyūn to act against Ḥamīd Khān, and joined the whole of the right (wing) to him, that is to say, Khwāja Kalān, Sl. Muḥammad Dūldāī, Treasurer Walī, and also some of the begs whose posts were in Hindūstān, namely, Khusrau, Hindū Beg,‘Abdu’l-'azīz and Muḥammad ‘Alī Jang-jang, with also, from the household and braves of the centre, Shāh Manṣūr Barlās, Kitta Beg and Muḥibb-i ‘alī.Fol. 262b.
Biban waited on me in this camp. These Afghāns remain very rustic and tactless! This person asked to sit although Dilāwar Khān, his superior in following and in rank, did not sit, and although the sons of ‘Ālam Khān, who are of royal birth, did not sit. Little ear was lent to his unreason!
(Feb. 26th) At dawn on Monday the 14th Humāyūn moved out against Ḥamīd Khān. After advancing for some distance, he sent between 100 and 150 braves scouting ahead, who went close up to the enemy and at once got to grips. But when after a few encounters, the dark mass of Humāyūn’s troops shewed in the rear, the enemy ran right away. Humāyūn’s men unhorsed from 100 to 200, struck the heads off one half and brought the other half in, together with 7 or 8 elephants.
(March 2nd) On Friday the 18th of the month, Beg Mīrak Mughūl brought news of Humāyūn’s victory to the camp. He (Humāyūn?) was there and then given a special head-to-foot and a special horse from the royal stable, besides promise of guerdon (juldū).
(March 5th) On Monday the 25th of the month, Humāyūn arrived to wait on me, bringing with him as many as 100 prisoners and 7 or 8 elephants. Ustād ‘Alī-qulī and the Fol. 263.matchlockmen were ordered to shoot all the prisoners, by way of example. This had been Humāyūn’s first affair, his first experience of battle; it was an excellent omen!
Our men who had gone in pursuit of the fugitives, took Ḥiṣār-fīrūza at once on arrival, plundered it, and returned to us. It was given in guerdon to Humāyūn, with all its dependencies and appurtenances, with it also a kror of money.
We marched from that camp to Shāhābād. After we had despatched a news-gatherer (tīl-tūtār kīshī) to Sl. Ibrāhīm’s camp, we stayed a few days on that ground. Raḥmat the foot-man was sent with the letters of victory to Kābul.
(r. News of Ibrāhīm.)
(March 13th) On Monday the 28th of the first Jumāda,[1655] we being in that same camp, the Sun entered the Sign of the Ram. News had come again and again from Ibrāhīm’s camp, “He is coming, marching two miles” or “four miles”, “stopping in each camp two days,” or “three days”. We for our part advanced from Shāhābād and after halting on two nights, reached the bank of the Jūn-river (Jumna) and encamped opposite Sarsāwa. From that ground Khwāja Kalān’s servant Ḥaidar-qulī was sent to get news (tīl tūtā).
Having crossed the Jūn-river at a ford, I visited Sarsāwa. That day also we ate ma‘jūn. Sarsāwa[1656] has a source (chashma) from which a smallish stream issues, not a bad place! Tardī Beg khāksār praising it, I said, “Let it be thine!” so justFol. 263b. because he praised it, Sarsāwa was given to him!
I had a platform fixed in a boat and used to go for excursions on the river, sometimes too made the marches down it. Two marches along its bank had been made when, of those sent to gather news, Ḥaidar-qulī brought word that Ibrāhīm had sent Daud Khān (Lūdī) and Ḥātīm Khān (Lūdī) across the river into the Mīān-dū-āb (Tween-waters) with 5 or 6000 men, and that these lay encamped some 6 or 7 miles from his own.
(s. A successful encounter.)
(April 1st) On Sunday the 18th of the second Jumāda, we sent, to ride light against this force, Chīn-tīmūr Sult̤ān,[1657] Mahdī Khwāja, Muḥammad Sl. Mīrzā, ‘Ādil Sult̤ān, and the whole of the left, namely, Sl. Junaid, Shāh Mīr Ḥusain, Qūtlūq-qadam, and with them also sent ‘Abdu’l-lāh and Kitta Beg (of the centre). They crossed from our side of the water at the Mid-day Prayer, and between the Afternoon and the Evening Prayers bestirred themselves from the other bank. Biban having crossed the water on pretext of this movement, ran away.
(April 2nd) At day-break they came upon the enemy;[1658] he made as if coming out in a sort of array, but our men closed with his at once, overcame them, hustled them off, pursued and unhorsed them till they were opposite Ibrāhīm’s own camp. Ḥātim Khān was one of those unhorsed, who was Daud Khān (Lūdī)’s elder brother and one of his commanders. Our men brought him in when they waited on me. They brought also Fol. 264.60-70 prisoners and 6 or 7 elephants. Most of the prisoners, by way of warning, were made to reach their death-doom.
(t. Preparations for battle.)
While we were marching on in array of right, left and centre, the army was numbered;[1659] it did not count up to what had been estimated.
At our next camp it was ordered that every man in the army should collect carts, each one according to his circumstances. Seven hundred carts (arāba) were brought[1660] in. The order given to Ustād ‘Alī-qulī was that these carts should be joined together in Ottoman[1661] fashion, but using ropes of raw hide instead of chains, and that between every two carts 5 or 6 mantelets should be fixed, behind which the matchlockmen were to stand to fire. To allow of collecting all appliances, we delayed 5 or 6 days in that camp. When everything was ready, all the begs with such braves as had had experience in military affairs were summoned to a General Council where opinion found decision at this:—Pānī-pat[1662] is there with its crowded houses and suburbs. It would be on one side of us; our other sides must be protected by carts and mantelets behind which our foot and matchlockmen would stand. With so much settled we marched forward, halted one night on the way, and reached Pānī-pat on Thursday the last day (29th) of the second Jumāda (April 12th).
(u. The opposed forces.)
On our right was the town of Pānī-pat with its suburbs; in front of us were the carts and mantelets we had prepared; on our left and elsewhere were ditch and branch. At distances ofFol. 264b. an arrow’s flight[1663] sally-places were left for from 100 to 200 horsemen.
Some in the army were very anxious and full of fear. Nothing recommends anxiety and fear. For why? Because what God has fixed in eternity cannot be changed. But though this is so, it was no reproach to be afraid and anxious. For why? Because those thus anxious and afraid were there with a two or three months’ journey between them and their homes; our affair was with a foreign tribe and people; none knew their tongue, nor did they know ours:—
A wandering band, with mind awander;
In the grip of a tribe, a tribe unfamiliar.[1664]
People estimated the army opposing us at 100,000 men; Ibrāhīm’s elephants and those of his amīrs were said to be about 1000. In his hands was the treasure of two forbears.[1665] In Hindūstān, when work such as this has to be done, it is customary to pay out money to hired retainers who are known as b:d-hindī.[1666] If it had occurred to Ibrāhīm to do this, he might have had another lak or two of troops. God brought it right! Ibrāhīm could neither content his braves, nor share out his treasure. How should he content his braves when he was ruled by avarice and had a craving insatiable to pile coin on coin? He was an unproved brave[1667]; he provided nothing for his Fol. 265.military operations, he perfected nothing, nor stand, nor move, nor fight.
In the interval at Pānī-pat during which the army was preparing defence on our every side with cart, ditch and branch, Darwīsh-i-muḥammad Sārbān had once said to me, “With such precautions taken, how is it possible for him to come?” Said I, “Are you likening him to the Aūzbeg khāns and sult̤āns? In what of movement under arms or of planned operations is he to be compared with them?” God brought it right! Things fell out just as I said!
(Author’s note on the Aūzbeg chiefs.) When I reached Ḥiṣār in the year I left Samarkand (918 AH.-1512 AD.), and all the Aūzbeg khāns and sult̤āns gathered and came against us, we brought the families and the goods of the Mughūls and soldiers into the Ḥiṣār suburbs and fortified these by closing the lanes. As those khāns and sult̤āns were experienced in equipment, in planned operations, and in resolute resistance, they saw from our fortification of Ḥiṣār that we were determined on life or death within it, saw they could not count on taking it by assault and, therefore, retired at once from near Nūndāk of Chaghānīān.
(v. Preliminary encounters.)
During the 7 or 8 days we lay in Pānī-pat, our men used to go, a few together, close up to Ibrāhīm’s camp, rain arrows down on his massed troops, cut off and bring in heads. Still he madeFol. 265b. no move; nor did his troops sally out. At length, we acted on the advice of several Hindūstānī well-wishers and sent out 4 or 5000 men to deliver a night-attack on his camp, the leaders of it being Mahdī Khwāja, Muḥammad Sl. Mīrzā, ‘Ādil Sult̤ān, Khusrau, Shāh Mīr Ḥusain, Sl. Junaid Barlās, ‘Abdu’l-‘azīz the Master of the Horse, Muḥ. ‘Alī Jang-jang, Qūtlūq-qadam, Treasurer Walī, Khalīfa’s Muḥibb-i-‘alī, Pay-master Muḥammad, Jān Beg and Qarā-qūzī. It being dark, they were not able to act together well, and, having scattered, could effect nothing on arrival. They stayed near Ibrāhīm’s camp till dawn, when the nagarets sounded and troops of his came out in array with elephants. Though our men did not do their work, they got off safe and sound; not a man of them was killed, though they were in touch with such a mass of foes. One arrow pierced Muḥ. ‘Alī Jang-jang’s leg; though the wound was not mortal, he was good-for-nothing on the day of battle.
On hearing of this affair, I sent off Humāyūn and his troops to go 2 or 3 miles to meet them, and followed him myself with the rest of the army in battle-array. The party of the night-attack joined him and came back with him. The enemy making no further advance, we returned to camp and dismounted. That night a false alarm fell on the camp; for some 20 minutes (one garī) there were uproar and call-to-arms; the disturbance died down after a time.Fol. 266.]
(w. Battle of Pānī-pat.[1668])
(April 20th) On Friday the 8th of Rajab,[1669] news came, when it was light enough to distinguish one thing from another (farẓ-waqtī) that the enemy was advancing in fighting-array. We at once put on mail,[1670] armed and mounted.[1671] Our right was Humāyūn, Khwāja Kalān, Sult̤ān Muḥammad Dūldāī, Hindū Beg, Treasurer Walī and Pīr-qulī Sīstānī; our left was Muḥammad Sl. Mīrzā, Mahdī Khwāja, ‘Ādil Sult̤ān, Shāh Mīr Ḥusain, Sl. Junaid Barlās, Qūtlūq-qadam, Jān Beg, Pay-master Muḥammad, and Shāh Ḥusain (of) Yāragī Mughūl Ghānchī(?).[1672] The right hand of the centre[1673] was Chīn-tīmūr Sult̤ān, Sulaimān Mīrzā,[1674] Muḥammadī Kūkūldāsh, Shāh Manṣūr Barlās, Yūnas-i-‘alī, Darwīsh-i-muḥammad Sārbān and ‘Abdu’l-lāh the librarian. The left of the centre was Khalīfa, Khwāja Mīr-i-mīrān, Secretary Aḥmadī, Tardī Beg (brother) of Qūj Beg, Khalīfa’s Muḥibb-i-‘alī and Mīrzā Beg Tarkhān. The advance was Khusrau Kūkūldāsh and Muḥ. ‘Alī Jang-jang. ‘Abdu’l-'azīz the Master of the Horse was posted as the reserve. For the turning-party (tūlghuma) at the point of the right wing,[1675] we fixed on Red Walī and Malik Qāsim (brother) of Bābā Qashqa, with their Mughūls; for the turning-party at the point of the left wing, we arrayed Qarā-qūzī, Abū’l-muḥammad the lance-player, Shaikh Jamāl Bārīn’s Shaikh ‘Alī, Mahndī(?) and Tīngrī-bīrdī Bashaghī(?) Mughūl; these two parties, directly the enemy got near, were to turn his rear, one from the right, the other from the left.Fol. 266b.
When the dark mass of the enemy first came in sight, he seemed to incline towards our right; ‘Abdu’l-‘azīz, who was the right-reserve, was sent therefore to reinforce the right. From the time that Sl. Ibrāhīm’s blackness first appeared, he moved swiftly, straight for us, without a check, until he saw the dark mass of our men, when his pulled up and, observing our formation and array,[1676] made as if asking, “To stand or not? To advance or not?” They could not stand; nor could they make their former swift advance.
Our orders were for the turning-parties to wheel from right and left to the enemy’s rear, to discharge arrows and to engage in the fight; and for the right and left (wings) to advance and join battle with him. The turning-parties wheeled round and began to rain arrows down. Mahdī Khwāja was the first of the left to engage; he was faced by a troop having an elephant with it; his men’s flights of arrows forced it to retire. To reinforce the left I sent Secretary Aḥmadī and also Qūj Beg’s Tardī Beg and Khalīfa’s Muḥibb-i-'alī. On the right also there was some stubborn fighting. Orders were given for Muḥammadī Kūkūldāsh, Shāh Manṣūr Barlās, Yūnas-i-‘alī and ‘Abdu’l-lāh to engage those facing them in front of the centre. From that same position Ustād ‘Alī-qulī made good discharge of firingī shots;[1677]
Must̤afa the commissary for his part made excellent discharge Fol. 267.of zarb-zan shots from the left hand of the centre. Our right, left, centre and turning-parties having surrounded the enemy, rained arrows down on him and fought ungrudgingly. He made one or two small charges on our right and left but under our men’s arrows, fell back on his own centre. His right and left hands (qūl) were massed in such a crowd that they could neither move forward against us nor force a way for flight.
When the incitement to battle had come, the Sun was spear-high; till mid-day fighting had been in full force; noon passed, the foe was crushed in defeat, our friends rejoicing and gay. By God’s mercy and kindness, this difficult affair was made easy for us! In one half-day, that armed mass was laid upon the earth. Five or six thousand men were killed in one place close to Ibrāhīm. Our estimate of the other dead, lying all over the field, was 15 to 16,000, but it came to be known, later in Āgra from the statements of Hindūstānīs, that 40 or 50,000 may have died in that battle.[1678]
The foe defeated, pursuit and unhorsing of fugitives began. Our men brought in amīrs of all ranks and the chiefs they captured; mahauts made offering of herd after herd of elephants.
Ibrāhīm was thought to have fled; therefore, while pursuing Fol. 267b.the enemy, we told off Qismatāī Mīrzā, Bābā chuhra and Būjka of the khaṣa-tābīn[1679] to lead swift pursuit to Āgra and try to take him. We passed through his camp, looked into his own enclosure (sarācha) and quarters, and dismounted on the bank of standing-water (qarā-sū).
It was the Afternoon Prayer when Khalīfa’s younger brother-in-law T̤āhir Tībrī[1680] who had found Ibrāhīm’s body in a heap of dead, brought in his head.
(x. Detachments sent to occupy Dihlī and Āgra.)
On that very same day we appointed Humāyūn Mīrzā[1681] to ride fast and light to Āgra with Khwāja Kalān, Muḥammadī, Shāh Manṣūr Barlās, Yūnas-i-‘alī, ‘Abdu’l-lah and Treasurer Walī, to get the place into their hands and to mount guard over the treasure. We fixed on Mahdī Khwāja, with Muḥammad Sl. Mīrza, ‘Ādil Sult̤ān, Sl. Junaid Barlās and Qūtlūq-qadam to leave their baggage, make sudden incursion on Dihlī, and keep watch on the treasuries.[1682]
(April 21st) We marched on next day and when we had gone 2 miles, dismounted, for the sake of the horses, on the bank of the Jūn (Jumna).
(April 24th) On Tuesday (Rajab 12th), after we had halted on two nights and had made the circuit of Shaikh Niz̤āmu’d-dīn Auliyā’s tomb[1683] we dismounted on the bank of the Jūn over against Dihlī.[1684] That same night, being Wednesday-eve, we made an excursion into the fort of Dihlī and there spent the night.
(April 25th) Next day (Wednesday Rajab 13th) I made the circuit of Khwāja Qut̤bu’d-dīn’s[1685] tomb and visited the tombs and residences of Sl. Ghiyās̤u’d-dīn Balban[1686] and Sl. ‘Alāu’u’d-dīn
Fol. 268.Khiljī,[1687] his Minār, and the Ḥauẓ-shamsī, Ḥauẓ-i-khaṣ and the tombs and gardens of Sl. Buhlūl and Sl. Sikandar (Lūdī). Having done this, we dismounted at the camp, went on a boat, and there ‘araq was drunk.
We bestowed the Military Collectorate (shiqdārlīghī) of Dihlī on Red Walī, made Dost Dīwān in the Dihlī district, sealed the treasuries, and made them over to their charge.
(April 26th) On Thursday we dismounted on the bank of the Jūn, over against Tūghlūqābād.[1688]
(y. The khut̤ba read for Bābur in Dihlī.)
(April 27th) On Friday (Rajab 15th) while we remained on the same ground, Maulānā Maḥmūd and Shaikh Zain went with a few others into Dihlī for the Congregational Prayer, read the khut̤ba in my name, distributed a portion of money to the poor and needy,[1689] and returned to camp.
(April 28th) Leaving that ground on Saturday (Rajab 16th), we advanced march by march for Āgra. I made an excursion to Tūghlūqābād and rejoined the camp.
(May 4th) On Friday (Rajab 22nd), we dismounted at the mansion (manzil) of Sulaimān Farmulī in a suburb of Āgra, but as the place was far from the fort, moved on the following day to Jalāl Khān Jig:hat’s house.
On Humāyūn’s arrival at Āgra, ahead of us, the garrison had made excuses and false pretexts (about surrender). He and his noticing the want of discipline there was, said, “The long hand may be laid on the Treasury”! and so sat down to watch the roads out of Āgra till we should come.
(z. The great diamond.)
In Sultan Ibrāhīm’s defeat the Rāja of Gūālīār Bikramājīt the Hindū had gone to hell.[1690]Fol. 268b.
(Author’s note on Bikramājīt.) The ancestors of Bikramājīt had ruled in Gūālīār for more than a hundred years.[1691] Sikandar (Lūdī) had sat down in Āgra for several years in order to take the fort; later on, in Ibrāhīm’s time, ‘Az̤im Humāyūn Sarwānī[1692] had completely invested it for some while; following this, it was taken on terms under which Shamsābād was given in exchange for it.[1693]
Bikramājīt’s children and family were in Āgra at the time of Ibrāhīm’s defeat. When Humāyūn reached Āgra, they must have been planning to flee, but his postings of men (to watch the roads) prevented this and guard was kept over them. Humāyūn himself did not let them go (bārghālī qūīmās). They made him a voluntary offering of a mass of jewels and valuables amongst which was the famous diamond which ‘Alāu’u’d-dīn must have brought.[1694] Its reputation is that every appraiser has estimated its value at two and a half days’ food for the whole world. Apparently it weighs 8 mis̤qāls.[1695] Humāyūn offered it to me when I arrived at Āgra; I just gave it him back.
(aa. Ibrāhīm’s mother and entourage.)
Amongst men of mark who were in the fort, there were Malik Dād Karānī, Millī Sūrdūk and Fīrūz Khān Mīwātī. They, being convicted of false dealing, were ordered out for capital punishment. Several persons interceded for Malik Dād Karānī and four or five days passed in comings and goings before the matter was arranged. We then shewed to them (all?) kindness and favour in agreement with the petition made for them, and we restored them all their goods.[1696] A pargana worth 7 laks[1697] was bestowed on Ibrāhīm’s mother; parganas were given also to these begs of his.[1698] She was sent out of the fort with her old servants and given encamping-ground (yūrt) two miles below Fol. 269.Āgra.
(May 10th) I entered Āgra at the Afternoon Prayer of Thursday (Rajab 28th) and dismounted at the mansion (manzil) of Sl. Ibrāhīm.
EXPEDITIONS OF TRAMONTANE MUḤAMMADANS INTO HIND.
(a. Bābur’s five attempts on Hindūstān.)
From the date 910 at which the country of Kābul was conquered, down to now (932 AH.) (my) desire for Hindūstān had been constant, but owing sometimes to the feeble counsels of begs, sometimes to the non-accompaniment of elder and younger brethren,[1699] a move on Hindūstān had not been practicable and its territories had remained unsubdued. At length no such obstacles were left; no beg, great or small (beg begāt) of lower birth,[1700] could speak an opposing word. In 925 AH. (1519 AD.) we led an army out and, after taking Bajaur by storm in 2-3 garī (44-66 minutes), and making a general massacre of its people, went on into Bhīra. Bhīra we neither over-ran nor plundered; we imposed a ransom on its people, taking from them in money and goods to the value of 4 laks of shāhrukhīs and having shared this out to the army and auxiliaries, returned to Kābul. From then till now we laboriously held tight[1701] to Hindūstān, five times leading an army into it.[1702] The fifth time, God the Most High, by his own mercy and favour, made such a foe as Sl. Ibrāhīm the vanquished and loser, such a realm as Hindūstān our conquest and possession.
(b. Three invaders from Tramontana.)
From the time of the revered Prophet down till now[1703] three men from that side[1704] have conquered and ruled Hindūstān. Sl. Maḥmūd Ghāzī[1705] was the first, who and whose descendants sat long on the seat of government in Hindūstān. Sl. Shihābu’d-dīnFol. 269b. of Ghūr was the second,[1706] whose slaves and dependants royally shepherded[1707] this realm for many years. I am the third.
But my task was not like the task of those other rulers. For why? Because Sl. Maḥmūd, when he conquered Hindūstān, had the throne of Khurāsān subject to his rule, vassal and obedient to him were the sult̤āns of Khwārizm and the Marches (Dāru’l-marz), and under his hand was the ruler of Samarkand. Though his army may not have numbered 2 laks, what question is there that it[1708] was one. Then again, rājas were his opponents; all Hindūstān was not under one supreme head (pādshāh), but each rāja ruled independently in his own country. Sl. Shihābu’d-dīn again,—though he himself had no rule in Khurāsān, his elder brother Ghiyās̤u’d-dīn had it. The T̤abaqāt-i-nāṣirī[1709] brings it forward that he once led into Hindūstān an army of 120,000 men and horse in mail.[1710] His opponents also were rāīs and rājas; one man did not hold all Hindūstān.
That time we came to Bhīra, we had at most some 1500 to 2000 men. We had made no previous move on Hindūstān with an army equal to that which came the fifth time, when we beat Sl. Ibrāhīm and conquered the realm of Hindūstān, the total written down for which, taking one retainer with another, and Fol. 270.with traders and servants, was 12,000. Dependent on me were the countries of Badakhshān, Qūndūz, Kābul and Qandahār, but no reckonable profit came from them, rather it was necessary to reinforce them fully because several lie close to an enemy. Then again, all Māwarā’u’n-nahr was in the power of the Aūzbeg khāns and sult̤āns, an ancient foe whose armies counted up to 100,000. Moreover Hindūstān, from Bhīra to Bihār, was in the power of the Afghāns and in it Sl. Ibrāhīm was supreme. In proportion to his territory his army ought to have been 5 laks, but at that time the Eastern amīrs were in hostility to him. His army was estimated at 100,000 and people said his elephants and those of his amīrs were 1000.
Under such conditions, in this strength, and having in my rear 100,000 old enemies such as are the Aūzbegs, we put trust in God and faced the ruler of such a dense army and of domains so wide. As our trust was in Him, the most high God did not make our labour and hardships vain, but defeated that powerful foe and conquered that broad realm. Not as due to strength and effort of our own do we look upon this good fortune, but as had solely through God’s pleasure and kindness. We know that this happiness was not the fruit of our own ambition and resolve, but that it was purely from His mercy and favour.
DESCRIPTION OF HINDŪSTĀN.
(a. Hindūstān.)
The country of Hindūstān is extensive, full of men, and full Fol. 270b.of produce. On the east, south, and even on the west, it ends at its great enclosing ocean (muḥit̤ daryā-sī-gha). On the north it has mountains which connect with those of Hindū-kush, Kāfiristān and Kashmīr. North-west of it lie Kābul, Ghaznī and Qandahār. Dihlī is held (aīrīmīsh) to be the capital of the whole of Hindūstān. From the death of Shihābu’d-dīn Ghūrī (d. 602 AH.-1206 AD.) to the latter part of the reign of Sl. Fīrūz Shāh (Tūghlūq Turk d. 790 AH.-1388 AD.), the greater part of Hindūstān must have been under the rule of the sult̤āns of Dihlī.
(b. Rulers contemporary with Bābur’s conquest.)
At the date of my conquest of Hindūstān it was governed by five Musalmān rulers (pādshāh)[1711] and two Pagans (kāfir). These were the respected and independent rulers, but there were also, in the hills and jungles, many rāīs and rājas, held in little esteem (kīchīk karīm).
First, there were the Afghāns who had possession of Dihlī, the capital, and held the country from Bhīra to Bihār. Jūnpūr, before their time, had been in possession of Sl. Ḥusain Sharqī (Eastern)[1712] whose dynasty Hindūstānīs call Pūrabī (Eastern). His ancestors will have been cup-bearers in the presence of Sl. Fīrūz Shāh and those (Tūghlūq) sult̤āns; they became supreme in Jūnpūr after his death.[1713] At that time Dihlī was in the hands of Sl. ‘Alāu’u’d-dīn (‘Ālam Khān) of the Sayyid dynasty to whose ancestor Tīmūr Beg had given it when, after having captured it, he went away.[1714] Sl. Buhlūl Lūdī and his son (Sikandar) got possession of the capital Jūnpūr and the capital Dihlī, and brought both under one government (881 AH.-1476 AD.).
Secondly, there was Sl. Muḥammad Muz̤affer in Gujrāt; he departed from the world a few days before the defeat of Sl. Ibrāhīm. He was skilled in the Law, a ruler (pādshāh) seekingFol. 271. after knowledge, and a constant copyist of the Holy Book. His dynasty people call Tānk.[1715] His ancestors also will have been wine-servers to Sl. Fīrūz Shāh and those (Tūghlūq) sult̤āns; they became possessed of Gujrāt after his death.
Thirdly, there were the Bāhmanīs of the Dakkan (Deccan, i.e. South), but at the present time no independent authority is left them; their great begs have laid hands on the whole country, and must be asked for whatever is needed.[1716]
Fourthly, there was Sl. Maḥmūd in the country of Malwā, which people call also Mandāū.[1717] His dynasty they call Khilīj (Turk). Rānā Sangā had defeated Sl. Maḥmūd and taken possession of most of his country. This dynasty also has become feeble. Sl. Maḥmūd’s ancestors also must have been cherished by Sl. Fīrūz Shāh; they became possessed of the Malwā country after his death.[1718]
Fifthly, there was Naṣrat Shāh[1719] in the country of Bengal. His father (Ḥusain Shāh), a sayyid styled ‘Alāu’u’d-dīn, had ruled in Bengal and Naṣrat Shāh attained to rule by inheritance. A surprising custom in Bengal is that hereditary succession is rare. The royal office is permanent and there are permanent offices of amīrs, wazīrs and manṣab-dārs (officials). It is the office that Bengalis regard with respect. Attached to each office is a body of obedient, subordinate retainers and servants. If the royal heart demand that a person should be dismissed Fol. 271b.and another be appointed to sit in his place, the whole body of subordinates attached to that office become the (new) office-holder’s. There is indeed this peculiarity of the royal office itself that any person who kills the ruler (pādshāh) and seats himself on the throne, becomes ruler himself; amīrs, wazīrs, soldiers and peasants submit to him at once, obey him, and recognize him for the rightful ruler his predecessor in office had been.[1720] Bengalis say, “We are faithful to the throne; we loyally obey whoever occupies it.” As for instance, before the reign of Naṣrat Shāh’s father ‘Alāu’u’d-dīn, an Abyssinian (Ḥabshī, named Muz̤affar Shāh) had killed his sovereign (Maḥmūd Shāh Ilyās), mounted the throne and ruled for some time. ‘Alāu’u’d-dīn killed that Abyssinian, seated himself on the throne and became ruler. When he died, his son (Naṣrat) became ruler by inheritance. Another Bengali custom is to regard it as a disgraceful fault in a new ruler if he expend and consume the treasure of his predecessors. On coming to rule he must gather treasure of his own. To amass treasure Bengalis regard as a glorious distinction. Another custom in Bengal is that from ancient times parganas have been assigned to meet the charges of the treasury, stables, and all royal expenditure and to defray these charges no impost is laid on other lands.
These five, mentioned above, were the great Musalmān rulers, honoured in Hindūstān, many-legioned, and broad-landed. Of the Pagans the greater both in territory and army, is the Rāja of Bījānagar.[1721]Fol. 272.
The second is Rānā Sangā who in these latter days had grown great by his own valour and sword. His original country was Chitūr; in the downfall from power of the Mandāū sult̤āns, he became possessed of many of their dependencies such as Rantanbūr, Sārangpūr, Bhīlsān and Chandīrī. Chandīrī I stormed in 934 AH. (1528 A.D.)[1722] and, by God’s pleasure, took it in a few hours; in it was Rānā Sangā’s great and trusted man Midnī Rāo; we made general massacre of the Pagans in it and, as will be narrated, converted what for many years had been a mansion of hostility, into a mansion of Islām.
There are very many rāīs and rājas on all sides and quarters of Hindūstān, some obedient to Islām, some, because of their remoteness or because their places are fastnesses, not subject to Musalmān rule.
(c. Of Hindūstān.)
Hindūstān is of the first climate, the second climate, and the third climate; of the fourth climate it has none. It is a wonderful country. Compared with our countries it is a different world; its mountains, rivers, jungles and deserts, its towns, its cultivated lands, its animals and plants, its peoples and their tongues, its rains, and its winds, are all different. In some respects the hot-country (garm-sīl) that depends on Kābul, is like Hindūstān, but in others, it is different. Once the water of Sind is crossed, everything is in the Hindūstān way (t̤āriq) Fol. 272b.land, water, tree, rock, people and horde, opinion and custom.
(d. Of the northern mountains.)
After crossing the Sind-river (eastwards), there are countries, in the northern mountains mentioned above, appertaining to Kashmīr and once included in it, although most of them, as for example, Paklī and Shahmang (?), do not now obey it. Beyond Kashmīr there are countless peoples and hordes, parganas and cultivated lands, in the mountains. As far as Bengal, as far indeed as the shore of the great ocean, the peoples are without break. About this procession of men no-one has been able to give authentic information in reply to our enquiries and investigations. So far people have been saying that they call these hill-men Kas.[1723] It has struck me that as a Hindūstānī pronounces shīn as sīn (i.e. sh as s), and as Kashmīr is the one respectable town in these mountains, no other indeed being heard of, Hindūstānīs might pronounce it Kasmīr.[1724] These people trade in musk-bags, b:ḥrī-qūt̤ās,[1725] saffron, lead and copper.
Hindīs call these mountains Sawālak-parbat. In the Hindī tongue sawāī-lak means one lak and a quarter, that is, 125,000, and parbat means a hill, which makes 125,000 hills.[1726] The snow on these mountains never lessens; it is seen white from many districts of Hind, as, for example, Lāhor, Sihrind and Saṃbal. The range, which in Kābul is known as Hindū-kush, comes from Kābul eastwards into Hindūstān, with slight inclination to the south. The Hindūstānāt[1727] are to the south of it. Tībet lies to the north of it and of that unknown horde called Kas.Fol. 273.
(e. Of rivers.)
Many rivers rise in these mountains and flow through Hindūstān. Six rise north of Sihrind, namely Sind, Bahat (Jīlam), Chān-āb [sic], Rāwī, Bīāh, and Sutluj[1728]; all meet near Multān, flow westwards under the name of Sind, pass through the Tatta country and fall into the ‘Umān(-sea).
Besides these six there are others, such as Jūn (Jumna), Gang (Ganges), Rahap (Raptī?), Gūmtī, Gagar (Ghaggar), Sirū, Gandak, and many more; all unite with the Gang-daryā, flow east under its name, pass through the Bengal country, and are poured into the great ocean. They all rise in the Sawālak-parbat.
Many rivers rise in the Hindūstān hills, as, for instance, Chaṃbal, Banās, Bītwī, and Sūn (Son). There is no snow whatever on these mountains. Their waters also join the Gang-daryā.
(f. Of the Arāvallī.)
Another Hindūstān range runs north and south. It begins in the Dihlī country at a small rocky hill on which is Fīrūz Shāh’s residence, called Jahān-nāma,[1729] and, going on from there, appears near Dihlī in detached, very low, scattered here and there, rocky Fol. 273b.little hills.[1730] Beyond Mīwāt, it enters the Bīāna country. The hills of Sīkrī, Bārī and Dūlpūr are also part of this same including (tūtā) range. The hills of Gūālīār—they write it Gālīūr—although they do not connect with it, are off-sets of this range; so are the hills of Rantanbūr, Chitūr, Chandīrī, and Mandāū. They are cut off from it in some places by 7 to 8 kurohs (14 to 16 m.). These hills are very low, rough, rocky and jungly. No snow whatever falls on them. They are the makers, in Hindūstān, of several rivers.
(g. Irrigation.)
The greater part of the Hindūstān country is situated on level land. Many though its towns and cultivated lands are, it nowhere has running waters.[1731] Rivers and, in some places, standing-waters are its “running-waters” (āqār-sūlār). Even where, as for some towns, it is practicable to convey water by digging channels (ārīq), this is not done. For not doing it there may be several reasons, one being that water is not at all a necessity in cultivating crops and orchards. Autumn crops grow by the downpour of the rains themselves; and strange it is that spring crops grow even when no rain falls. To young trees water is made to flow by means of buckets or a wheel. They are given water constantly during two or three years; after which they need no more. Some vegetables are watered constantly.
In Lāhor, Dībālpūr and those parts, people water by means of a wheel. They make two circles of ropes long enough to suit the depth of the well, fix strips of wood between them, and on these fasten pitchers. The ropes with the wood and attached Fol. 274.pitchers are put over the well-wheel. At one end of the wheel-axle a second wheel is fixed, and close (qāsh) to it another on an upright axle. This last wheel the bullock turns; its teeth catch in the teeth of the second, and thus the wheel with the pitchers is turned. A trough is set where the water empties from the pitchers and from this the water is conveyed everywhere.
In Āgra, Chandwār, Bīāna and those parts, again, people water with a bucket; this is a laborious and filthy way. At the well-edge they set up a fork of wood, having a roller adjusted between the forks, tie a rope to a large bucket, put the rope over the roller, and tie its other end to the bullock. One person must drive the bullock, another empty the bucket. Every time the bullock turns after having drawn the bucket out of the well, that rope lies on the bullock-track, in pollution of urine and dung, before it descends again into the well. To some crops needing water, men and women carry it by repeated efforts in pitchers.[1732]
(h. Other particulars about Hindūstān.)
The towns and country of Hindūstān are greatly wanting in charm. Its towns and lands are all of one sort; there are no walls to the orchards (bāghāt), and most places are on the dead level plain. Under the monsoon-rains the banks of some of its rivers and torrents are worn into deep channels, difficult andFol. 274b. troublesome to pass through anywhere. In many parts of the plains thorny jungle grows, behind the good defence of which the people of the pargana become stubbornly rebellious and pay no taxes.
Except for the rivers and here and there standing-waters, there is little “running-water”. So much so is this that towns and countries subsist on the water of wells or on such as collects in tanks during the rains.
In Hindūstān hamlets and villages, towns indeed, are depopulated and set up in a moment! If the people of a large town, one inhabited for years even, flee from it, they do it in such a way that not a sign or trace of them remains in a day or a day and a half.[1733] On the other hand, if they fix their eyes on a place in which to settle, they need not dig water-courses or construct dams because their crops are all rain-grown,[1734] and as the population of Hindūstān is unlimited, it swarms in. They make a tank or dig a well; they need not build houses or set up walls—khas-grass (Andropogon muricatum) abounds, wood is unlimited, huts are made, and straightway there is a village or a town!
(i. Fauna of Hindūstān:—Mammals.)
The elephant, which Hindūstānīs call hāt(h)ī, is one of the wild animals peculiar to Hindūstān. It inhabits the (western?) borders of the Kālpī country, and becomes more numerous in its wild state the further east one goes (in Kālpī?). From this tract it is that captured elephants are brought; in Karrah and Fol. 275.Mānikpūr elephant-catching is the work of 30 or 40 villages.[1735] People answer (jawāb bīrūrlār) for them direct to the exchequer.[1736] The elephant is an immense animal and very sagacious. If people speak to it, it understands; if they command anything from it, it does it. Its value is according to its size; it is sold by measure (qārīlāb); the larger it is, the higher its price. People rumour that it is heard of in some islands as 10 qārī[1737] high, but in this tract it[1738] is not seen above 4 or 5. It eats and drinks entirely with its trunk; if it lose the trunk, it cannot live. It has two great teeth (tusks) in its upper jaw, one on each side of its trunk; by setting these against walls and trees, it brings them down; with these it fights and does whatever hard tasks fall to it. People call these ivory (‘āj, var. ghāj); they are highly valued by Hindūstānīs. The elephant has no hair.[1739] It is much relied on by Hindūstānīs, accompanying every troop of their armies. It has some useful qualities:—it crosses great rivers with ease, carrying a mass of baggage, and three or four have gone dragging without trouble the cart of the mortar (qazān) it takes four or five hundred men to haul.[1740] But its stomach is large; one elephant eats the corn (būghūz) of two strings (qit̤ār) of camels.[1741]
The rhinoceros is another. This also is a large animal, equalFol. 275b. in bulk to perhaps three buffaloes. The opinion current in those countries (Tramontana) that it can lift an elephant on its horn, seems mistaken. It has a single horn on its nose, more than nine inches (qārīsh) long; one of two qārīsh is not seen.[1742] Out of one large horn were made a drinking-vessel[1743] and a dice-box, leaving over [the thickness of] 3 or 4 hands.[1744] The rhinoceros’ hide is very thick; an arrow shot from a stiff bow, drawn with full strength right up to the arm-pit, if it pierce at all, might penetrate 4 inches (aīlīk, hands). From the sides (qāsh) of its fore and hind legs,[1745] folds hang which from a distance look like housings thrown over it. It resembles the horse more than it does any other animal.[1746] As the horse has a small stomach (appetite?), so has the rhinoceros; as in the horse a piece of bone (pastern?) grows in place of small bones (T. āshūq, Fr. osselets (Zenker), knuckles), so one grows in the rhinoceros; as in the horse’s hand (aīlīk, Pers. dast) there is kūmūk (or gūmūk, a tibia, or marrow), so there is in the rhinoceros.[1747] It is more ferocious than the elephant and cannot be made obedient and submissive. There are masses of it in the Parashāwar and Hashnagar jungles, so too between the Sind-river and the jungles of the Bhīra country. Masses there are also on the banks of Fol. 276.the Sārū-river in Hindūstān. Some were killed in the Parashāwar and Hashnagar jungles in our moves on Hindūstān. It strikes powerfully with its horn; men and horses enough have been horned in those hunts.[1748] In one of them the horse of a chuhra (brave) named Maqṣūd was tossed a spear’s-length, for which reason the man was nick-named the rhino’s aim (maqṣūd-i-karg).
The wild-buffalo[1749] is another. It is much larger than the (domestic) buffalo and its horns do not turn back in the same way.[1750] It is a mightily destructive and ferocious animal.
The nīla-gāū (blue-bull)[1751] is another. It may stand as high as a horse but is somewhat lighter in build. The male is bluish-gray, hence, seemingly, people call it nīla-gāū. It has two rather small horns. On its throat is a tuft of hair, nine inches long; (in this) it resembles the yak.[1752] Its hoof is cleft (aīrī) like the hoof of cattle. The doe is of the colour of the būghū-marāl[1753]; she, for her part, has no horns and is plumper than the male.
The hog-deer (kotah-pāīcha) is another.[1754] It may be of the size of the white deer (āq kiyīk). It has short legs, hence its name, little-legged. Its horns are like a būghū’s but smaller; like the būghū it casts them every year. Being rather a poor runner, it does not leave the jungle.
Another is a deer (kiyīk) after the fashion of the male deer (aīrkākī hūna) of the jīrān.[1755] Its back is black, its belly white, its horns longer than the hūna’s, but more crooked. A HindūstānīFol. 276b. calls it kalahara,[1756] a word which may have been originally kālā-haran, black-buck, and which has been softened in pronunciation to kalahara. The doe is light-coloured. By means of this kalahara people catch deer; they fasten a noose (ḥalqa) on its horns, hang a stone as large as a ball[1757] on one of its feet, so as to keep it from getting far away after it has brought about the capture of a deer, and set it opposite wild deer when these are seen. As these (kalahara) deer are singularly combative, advance to fight is made at once. The two deer strike with their horns and push one another backwards and forwards, during which the wild one’s horns become entangled in the net that is fast to the tame one’s. If the wild one would run away, the tame one does not go; it is impeded also by the stone on its foot. People take many deer in this way; after capture they tame them and use them in their turn to take others;[1758] they also set them to fight at home; the deer fight very well.
There is a smaller deer (kiyīk) on the Hindūstān hill-skirts, as large may-be as the one year’s lamb of the arqārghalcha (Ovis poli).
The gīnī-cow[1759] is another, a very small one, perhaps as large as the qūchqār (ram) of those countries (Tramontana). Its flesh is very tender and savoury.
The monkey (maimūn) is another—a Hindūstānī calls it bandar. Of this too there are many kinds, one being what people Fol. 277.take to those countries. The jugglers (lūlī) teach them tricks. This kind is in the mountains of Nūr-dara, in the skirt-hills of Safīd-koh neighbouring on Khaibar, and from there downwards all through Hindūstān. It is not found higher up. Its hair is yellow, its face white, its tail not very long.—Another kind, not found in Bajaur, Sawād and those parts, is much larger than the one taken to those countries (Tramontana). Its tail is very long, its hair whitish, its face quite black. It is in the mountains and jungles of Hindūstān.[1760]—Yet another kind is distinguished (būlā dūr), quite black in hair, face and limbs.[1761]
The nawal (nūl)[1762] is another. It may be somewhat smaller than the kīsh. It climbs trees. Some call it the mūsh-i-khūrma (palm-rat). It is thought lucky.
A mouse (T. sīchqān) people call galāhrī (squirrel) is another. It is just always in trees, running up and down with amazing alertness and speed.[1763]
(j. Fauna of Hindūstān:—Birds.)[1764]
The peacock (Ar. t̤āūs) is one. It is a beautifully coloured and splendid animal. Its form (andām) is not equal to its colouring and beauty. Its body may be as large as the crane’s (tūrna) but it is not so tall. On the head of both cock and hen are 20 to 30 feathers rising some 2 or 3 inches high. The hen has neither colour nor beauty. The head of the cock has an iridescent collar (t̤auq sūsanī); its neck is of a beautiful blue;Fol. 277b. below the neck, its back is painted in yellow, parrot-green, blue and violet colours. The flowers[1765] on its back are much the smaller; below the back as far as the tail-tips are [larger] flowers painted in the same colours. The tail of some peacocks grows to the length of a man’s extended arms.[1766] It has a small tail under its flowered feathers, like the tail of other birds; this ordinary tail and its primaries[1767] are red. It is in Bajaur and Sawād and below them; it is not in Kunur [Kūnūr] and the Lamghānāt or any place above them. Its flight is feebler than the pheasant’s (qīrghāwal); it cannot do more than make one or two short flights.[1768] On account of its feeble flight, it frequents the hills or jungles, which is curious, since jackals abound in the jungles it frequents. What damage might these jackals not do to birds that trail from jungle to jungle, tails as long as a man’s stretch (qūlāch)! Hindūstānīs call the peacock mor. Its flesh is lawful food, according to the doctrine of Imām Abū Ḥanīfa; it is like that of the partridge and not unsavoury, but is eaten with instinctive aversion, in the way camel-flesh is.
The parrot (H. t̤ūt̤ī) is another. This also is in Bajaur and countries lower down. It comes into Nīngnahār and the Lamghānāt in the heats when mulberries ripen; it is not there at other times. It is of many, many kinds. One sort is that which people carry into those (Tramontane) countries. They Fol. 278.make it speak words.—Another sort is smaller; this also they make speak words. They call it the jungle-parrot. It is numerous in Bajaur, Sawād and that neighbourhood, so much so that 5 or 6000 fly in one flock (khail). Between it and the one first-named the difference is in bulk; in colouring they are just one and the same.—Another sort is still smaller than the jungle-parrot. Its head is quite red, the top of its wings (i.e. the primaries) is red also; the tip of its tail for two hands'-thickness is lustrous.[1769] The head of some parrots of this kind is iridescent (sūsanī). It does not become a talker. People call it the Kashmīr parrot.—Another sort is rather smaller than the jungle-parrot; its beak is black; round its neck is a wide black collar; its primaries are red. It is an excellent learner of words.—We used to think that whatever a parrot or a shārak (mīna) might say of words people had taught it, it could not speak of any matter out of its own head. At this juncture[1770] one of my immediate servants Abū’l-qāsim Jalāīr, reported a singular thing to me. A parrot of this sort whose cage must have been covered up, said, “Uncover my face; I am stifling.” And another time when palkī bearers sat down to take breath, this parrot, presumably on hearing wayfarers pass by, said, “Men are going past, are you not going on?” Let credit rest with the narrator,[1771] but never-the-less, so long as a person has not heard with his own ears, he may not believe!—Another kind is of a beautiful Fol. 278b.full red; it has other colours also, but, as nothing is distinctly remembered about them, no description is made. It is a very beautiful bird, both in colour and form. People are understood to make this also speak words.[1772] Its defect is a most unpleasant, sharp voice, like the drawing of broken china on a copper plate.[1773]
The (P.) shārak[1774] is another. It is numerous in the Lamghānāt and abounds lower down, all over Hindūstān. Like the parrot, it is of many kinds.—The kind that is numerous in the Lamghānāt has a black head; its primaries (qānāt) are spotted, its body rather larger and thicker[1775] than that of the (T.) chūghūr-chūq.[1776] People teach it to speak words.—Another kind they call p:ndāwalī[1777]; they bring it from Bengal; it is black all over and of much greater bulk than the shārak (here, house-mīna). Its bill and foot are yellow and on each ear are yellow wattles which hang down and have a bad appearance.[1778] It learns to speak well and clearly.—Another kind of shārak is slenderer than the last and is red round the eyes. It does not learn to speak. People call it the wood-shārak.[1779] Again, at the time when (934 AH.) I had made a bridge over Gang (Ganges), crossed it, and put my adversaries to flight, a kind of shārak was seen, in the neighbourhood of Laknau and Aūd (Oude), for the first time, which had a white breast, piebald head, and black back. This kind does not learn to speak.[1780]
The lūja[1781] is another. This bird they call (Ar.) bū-qalamūn (chameleon) because, between head and tail, it has five or six changing colours, resplendent (barrāq) like a pigeon’s throat. Fol. 279.It is about as large as the kabg-i-darī[1782] and seems to be the kabg-i-darī of Hindūstān. As the kabg-i-darī moves (yūrūr) on the heads (kulah) of mountains, so does this. It is in the Nijr-aū mountains of the countries of Kābul, and in the mountains lower down but it is not found higher up. People tell this wonderful thing about it:—When the birds, at the onset of winter, descend to the hill-skirts, if they come over a vineyard, they can fly no further and are taken. God knows the truth! The flesh of this bird is very savoury.
The partridge (durrāj)[1783] is another. This is not peculiar to Hindūstān but is also in the Garm-sīr countries[1784]; as however some kinds are only in Hindūstān, particulars of them are given here. The durrāj (Francolinus vulgaris) may be of the same bulk as the kīklīk[1785]; the cock’s back is the colour of the hen-pheasant (qīrghāwal-ning māda-sī); its throat and breast are black, with quite white spots.[1786] A red line comes down on both sides of both eyes.[1787] It is named from its cry[1788] which is something like Shir dāram shakrak.[1789] It pronounces shir short; dāram shakrak it says distinctly. Astarābād partridges are said to cry Bāt mīnī tūtīlār (Quick! they have caught me). The partridge of Arabia and those parts is understood to cry, Bi’l shakar tadawm al ni‘am (with sugar pleasure endures)! The hen-bird has the colour of the young pheasant. These birds are found below Nijr-aū.—Another kind is called kanjāl. Its bulk may be that of the one already described. Its voice is very like that of the kīklīk but much shriller. There is littleFol. 279b. difference in colour between the cock and hen. It is found in Parashāwar, Hashnagar and countries lower down, but not higher up.
The p(h)ūl-paikār[1790] is another. Its size may be that of the kabg-i-darī; its shape is that of the house-cock, its colour that of the hen. From forehead (tūmāgh) to throat it is of a beautiful colour, quite red. It is in the Hindūstān mountains.
The wild-fowl (ṣaḥrāī-tāūgh)[1791] is another. It flies like a pheasant, and is not of all colours as house-fowl are. It is in the mountains of Bajaur and lower down, but not higher up.
The chīlsī (or jīlsī)[1792] is another. In bulk it equals the p(h)ūl-paikār but the latter has the finer colouring. It is in the mountains of Bajaur.
The shām[1793] is another. It is about as large as a house-fowl; its colour is unique (ghair mukarrar).[1794] It also is in the mountains of Bajaur.
The quail (P. būdana) is another. It is not peculiar to Hindūstān but four or five kinds are so.—One is that which goes to our countries (Tramontana), larger and more spreading than the (Hindūstān) quail.[1795]—Another kind[1796] is smaller than the one first named. Its primaries and tail are reddish. It flies in flocks like the chīr (Phasianus Wallichii).—Another kind is smaller than that which goes to our countries and is darker on throat Fol. 280.and breast.[1797]—Another kind goes in small numbers to Kābul; it is very small, perhaps a little larger than the yellow wag-tail (qārcha)[1798]; they call it qūrātū in Kābul.
The Indian bustard (P. kharchāl)[1799] is another. It is about as large as the (T.) tūghdāq (Otis tarda, the great bustard), and seems to be the tūghdāq of Hindūstān.[1800] Its flesh is delicious; of some birds the leg is good, of others, the wing; of the bustard all the meat is delicious and excellent.
The florican (P. charz)[1801] is another. It is rather less than the tūghdīrī (houbara)[1802]; the cock’s back is like the tūghdīrī’s, and its breast is black. The hen is of one colour.
The Hindūstān sand-grouse (T. bāghrī-qarā)[1803] is another. It is smaller and slenderer than the bāghrī-qarā [Pterocles arenarius] of those countries (Tramontana). Also its cry is sharper.
Of the birds that frequent water and the banks of rivers, one is the dīng,[1804] an animal of great bulk, each wing measuring a qūlāch (fathom). It has no plumage (tūqī) on head or neck; a thing like a bag hangs from its neck; its back is black; its breast is white. It goes sometimes to Kābul; one year people brought one they had caught. It became very tame; if meat were thrown to it, it never failed to catch it in its bill. Once it swallowed a six-nailed shoe, another time a whole fowl, wingsFol. 280b. and feathers, all right down.
The sāras (Grus antigone) is another. Turks in Hindūstān call it tīwa-tūrnā (camel-crane). It may be smaller than the dīng but its neck is rather longer. Its head is quite red.[1805] People keep this bird at their houses; it becomes very tame.
The mānek[1806] is another. In stature it approaches the sāras, but its bulk is less. It resembles the lag-lag (Ciconia alba, the white stork) but is much larger; its bill is larger and is black. Its head is iridescent, its neck white, its wings partly-coloured; the tips and border-feathers and under parts of the wings are white, their middle black.
Another stork (lag-lag) has a white neck and all other parts black. It goes to those countries (Tramontana). It is rather smaller than the lag-lag (Ciconia alba). A Hindūstānī calls it yak-rang (one colour?).
Another stork in colour and shape is exactly like the storks that go to those countries. Its bill is blacker and its bulk much less than the lag-lag’s (Ciconia alba).[1807]
Another bird resembles the grey heron (aūqār) and the lag-lag; but its bill is longer than the heron’s and its body smaller than the white stork’s (lag-lag).
Another is the large buzak[1808] (black ibis). In bulk it may equal the buzzard (Turkī, sār). The back of its wings is white. It has a loud cry.
The white buzak[1809] is another. Its head and bill are black. Fol. 281.It is much larger than the one that goes to those countries,[1810] but smaller than the Hindūstān buzak.[1811]
The gharm-pāī[1812] (spotted-billed duck) is another. It is larger than the sūna būrchīn[1813] (mallard). The drake and duck are of one colour. It is in Hashnagar at all seasons, sometimes it goes into the Lamghānāt. Its flesh is very savoury.
The shāh-murgh (Sarcidiornis melanonotus, comb duck or nukta) is another. It may be a little smaller than a goose. It has a swelling on its bill; its back is black; its flesh is excellent eating.
The zummaj is another. It is about as large as the būrgūt (Aquila chrysaetus, the golden eagle).
The (T.) ālā-qārgha of Hindūstān is another (Corvus cornix, the pied crow). This is slenderer and smaller than the ālā-qārgha of those countries (Tramontana). Its neck is partly white.
Another Hindūstān bird resembles the crow (T. qārcha, C. splendens) and the magpie (Ar. ‘aqqa). In the Lamghānāt people call it the jungle-bird (P. murgh-i-jangal).[1814] Its head and breast are black; its wings and tail reddish; its eye quite red. Having a feeble flight, it does not come out of the jungle, whence its name.
The great bat (P. shapara)[1815] is another. People call it (Hindī) chumgādur. It is about as large as the owl (T. yāpālāq, Otus brachyotus), and has a head like a puppy’s. When it is thinking of lodging for the night on a tree, it takes hold of a branch, turns head-downwards, and so remains. It has much singularity.
The magpie (Ar. ‘aqqa) is another. People call it (H.?) matā (Dendrocitta rufa, the Indian tree-pie). It may be somewhat less than the ‘aqqa (Pica rustica), which moreover is pied black and white, while the matā is pied brown and black.[1816]
Another is a small bird, perhaps of the size of the (T.) sāndūlāch.[1817]Fol. 281b. It is of a beautiful red with a little black on its wings.
The karcha[1818] is another; it is after the fashion of a swallow (T. qārlūghāch), but much larger and quite black.
The kūīl[1819] (Eudynamys orientalis, the koel) is another. It may be as large as the crow (P. zāg) but is much slenderer. It has a kind of song and is understood to be the bulbul of Hindūstān. Its honour with Hindūstānīs is as great as is the bulbul’s. It always stays in closely-wooded gardens.
Another bird is after the fashion of the (Ar.) shiqarrāk (Cissa chinensis, the green-magpie). It clings to trees, is perhaps as large as the green-magpie, and is parrot-green (Gecinus striolatus, the little green-woodpecker?).
(k. Fauna of Hindūstān:—Aquatic animals.)
One is the water-tiger (P. shīr-ābī, Crocodilus palustris).[1820] This is in the standing-waters. It is like a lizard (T. gīlās).[1821] People say it carries off men and even buffaloes.
The (P.) siyāh-sār (black-head) is another. This also is like a lizard. It is in all rivers of Hindūstān. One that was taken and brought in was about 4-5 qārī (cir. 13 feet) long and as thick perhaps as a sheep. It is said to grow still larger. Its snout is over half a yard long. It has rows of small teeth in its upper and lower jaws. It comes out of the water and sinks into the mud (bātā).
The (Sans.) g[h]aṛīāl (Gavialus gangeticus) is another.[1822] It is said to grow large; many in the army saw it in the Sarū (Gogra) river. It is said to take people; while we were on that river’s banks (934-935 A.H.), it took one or two slave-women (dādūk), and it took three or four camp-followers between Ghāzīpūr and Banāras. In that neighbourhood I saw one but from a distance only and not quite clearly.
The water-hog (P. khūk-ābī, Platanista gangetica, the porpoise) is another. This also is in all Hindūstān rivers. It comes up suddenly out of the water; its head appears and disappears; it Fol. 282.dives again and stays below, shewing its tail. Its snout is as long as the siyāh-sār’s and it has the same rows of small teeth. Its head and the rest of its body are fish-like. When at play in the water, it looks like a water-carrier’s bag (mashak). Water-hogs, playing in the Sarū, leap right out of the water; like fish, they never leave it.
Again there is the kalah (or galah)-fish [bāligh].[1823] Two bones each about 3 inches (aīlīk) long, come out in a line with its ears; these it shakes when taken, producing an extraordinary noise, whence, seemingly, people have called it kalah [or galah].
The flesh of Hindūstān fishes is very savoury; they have no odour (aīd) or tiresomeness.[1824] They are surprisingly active. On one occasion when people coming, had flung a net across a stream, leaving its two edges half a yard above the water, most fish passed by leaping a yard above it. In many rivers are little fish which fling themselves a yard or more out of the water if there be harshFol. 282b. noise or sound of feet.
The frogs of Hindūstān, though otherwise like those others (Tramontane), run 6 or 7 yards on the face of the water.[1825]
(l. Vegetable products of Hindūstān: Fruits.)
The mango (P. anbah) is one of the fruits peculiar to Hindūstān. Hindūstānīs pronounce the b in its name as though no vowel followed it (i.e. Sans. anb);[1826] this being awkward to utter, some people call the fruit [P.] naghzak[1827] as Khwāja Khusrau does:—
Naghzak-i mā [var. khẉash] naghz-kun-i būstān,
Naghztarīn mewa [var. na‘mat]-i-Hindūstān.[1828]
Mangoes when good, are very good, but, many as are eaten, few are first-rate. They are usually plucked unripe and ripened in the house. Unripe, they make excellent condiments (qātīq), are good also preserved in syrup.[1829] Taking it altogether, the mango is the best fruit of Hindūstān. Some so praise it as to give it preference over all fruits except the musk-melon (T. qāwūn), but such praise outmatches it. It resembles the kārdī peach.[1830] It ripens in the rains. It is eaten in two ways: one is to squeeze it to a pulp, make a hole in it, and suck out the juice,—the other, to peel and eat it like the kārdī peach. Its tree grows very large[1831] and has a leaf somewhat resembling the peach-tree’s. The trunk is ill-looking and ill-shaped, but in Bengāl and Gujrāt is heard of as growing handsome (khūb).[1832]
The plantain (Sans. kelā, Musa sapientum) is another.[1833] An Fol. 283.‘Arab calls it mauz.[1834] Its tree is not very tall, indeed is not to be called a tree, since it is something between a grass and a tree. Its leaf is a little like that of the amān-qarā[1835] but grows about 2 yards (qārī]) long and nearly one broad. Out of the middle of its leaves rises, heart-like, a bud which resembles a sheep’s heart. As each leaf (petal) of this bud expands, there grows at its base a row of 6 or 7 flowers which become the plantains. These flowers become visible with the lengthening of the heart-like shoot and the opening of the petals of the bud. The tree is understood to flower once only.[1836] The fruit has two pleasant qualities, one that it peels easily, the other that it has neither stone nor fibre.[1837] It is rather longer and thinner than the egg-plant (P. bādanjān; Solanum melongena). It is not very sweet; the Bengāl plantain (i.e. chīnī-champa) is, however, said to be very sweet. The plantain is a very good-looking tree, its broad, broad, leaves of beautiful green having an excellent appearance.
The anblī (H. imlī, Tamarindus indica, the tamarind) is another. By this name (anblī) people call the khurmā-i-hind (Indian date-tree).[1838] It has finely-cut leaves (leaflets), precisely like those of the (T.) būīā, except that they are not so finely-cut.[1839] It is a very good-looking tree, giving dense shade. It grows wild in masses too.
The (Beng.) mahuwā (Bassia latifolia) is another.[1840] People call it also (P.) gul-chikān (or chigān, distilling-flower). This also is a very large tree. Most of the wood in the houses of HindūstānīsFol. 283b. is from it. Spirit (‘araq) is distilled from its flowers,[1841] not only so, but they are dried and eaten like raisins, and from them thus dried, spirit is also extracted. The dried flowers taste just like kishmish;[1842] they have an ill-flavour. The flowers are not bad in their natural state[1843]; they are eatable. The mahuwā grows wild also. Its fruit is tasteless, has rather a large seed with a thin husk, and from this seed, again,[1844] oil is extracted.
The mimusops (Sans. khirnī, Mimusops kauki) is another. Its tree, though not very large, is not small. The fruit is yellow and thinner than the red jujube (T. chīkdā, Elæagnus angustifolia). It has just the grape’s flavour, but a rather bad after-taste; it is not bad, however, and is eatable. The husk of its stoneæ is thin.
The (Sans.) jāman (Eugenia jambolana)[1845] is another. Its leaf, except for being thicker and greener, is quite like the willow’s (T. tāl). The tree does not want for beauty. Its fruit is like a black grape, is sourish, and not very good.
The (H.) kamrak (Beng. kamrunga, Averrhoa carambola) is another. Its fruit is five-sided, about as large as the ‘ain-ālū[1846] and some 3 inches long. It ripens to yellow; gathered unripe, it is very bitter; gathered ripe, its bitterness has become sub-acid, not bad, not wanting in pleasantness.[1847]
The jack-fruit (H. kadhil, B. kanthal, Artocarpus integrifolia) is another.[1848] This is a fruit of singular form and flavour; it looks Fol. 284.like a sheep’s stomach stuffed and made into a haggis (gīpa);[1849] and it is sickeningly-sweet. Inside it are filbert-like stones[1850] which, on the whole, resemble dates, but are round, not long, and have softer substance; these are eaten. The jack-fruit is very adhesive; for this reason people are said to oil mouth and hands before eating of it. It is heard of also as growing, not only on the branches of its tree, but on trunk and root too.[1851] One would say that the tree was all hung round with haggises.[1852]
The monkey-jack (H. badhal, B. burhul, Artocarpus lacoocha) is another. The fruit may be of the size of a quince (var. apple). Its smell is not bad.[1853] Unripe it is a singularly tasteless and empty[1854] thing; when ripe, it is not so bad. It ripens soft, can be pulled to pieces and eaten anywhere, tastes very much like a rotten quince, and has an excellent little austere flavour.
The lote-fruit (Sans. ber, Zizyphus jujuba) is another. Its Persian name is understood to be kanār.[1855] It is of several kinds: of one the fruit is larger than the plum (ālūcha)[1856]; another is shaped like the Ḥusainī grape. Most of them are not very good; we saw one in Bāndīr (Gūālīār) that was really good. The lote-tree sheds its leaves under the Signs S̤aur and Jauzā (Bull and Twins), burgeons under Sarat̤ān and Asad (Crab and Lion) which are the true rainy-season,—then becoming fresh and green, and it ripens its fruit under Dalū and Ḥaut (Bucket i.e. Aquarius, and Fish).
The (Sans.) karaūndā (Carissa carandas, the corinda) is another. It grows in bushes after the fashion of the (T.) chīka of our country.[1857] but the chīka grows on mountains, the karaūndā on theFol. 284b. plains. In flavour it is like the rhubarb itself,[1858] but is sweeter and less juicy.
The (Sans.) pānīyālā (Flacourtia cataphracta)[1859] is another. It is larger than the plum (ālūcha) and like the red-apple unripe.[1860] It is a little austere and is good. The tree is taller than the pomegranate’s; its leaf is like that of the almond-tree but smaller.
The (H.) gūlar (Ficus glomerata, the clustered fig)[1861] is another. The fruit grows out of the tree-trunk, resembles the fig (P. anjīr), but is singularly tasteless.
The (Sans.) āmlā (Phyllanthus emblica, the myrobalan-tree) is another. This also is a five-sided fruit.[1862] It looks like the unblown cotton-pod. It is an astringent and ill-flavoured thing, but confiture made of it is not bad. It is a wholesome fruit. Its tree is of excellent form and has very minute leaves.
The (H.) chirūnjī (Buchanania latifolia)[1863] is another. This tree had been understood to grow in the hills, but I knew later about it, because there were three or four clumps of it in our gardens. It is much like the mahuwā. Its kernel is not bad, a thing between the walnut and the almond, not bad! rather smaller than the pistachio and round; people put it in custards (P. pālūda) and sweetmeats (Ar. ḥalwa).
The date-palm (P. khurmā, Phœnix dactylifera) is another. This is not peculiar to Hindūstān, but is here described because it is not in those countries (Tramontana). It grows in Lamghān also.[1864] Its branches (i.e. leaves) grow from just one place at its top; its leaves (i.e. leaflets) grow on both sides of the branches (midribs) from neck (būīn) to tip; its trunk is rough and ill-coloured; Fol. 285.its fruit is like a bunch of grapes, but much larger. People say that the date-palm amongst vegetables resembles an animal in two respects: one is that, as, if an animal’s head be cut off, its life is taken, so it is with the date-palm, if its head is cut off, it dries off; the other is that, as the offspring of animals is not produced without the male, so too with the date-palm, it gives no good fruit unless a branch of the male-tree be brought into touch with the female-tree. The truth of this last matter is not known (to me). The above-mentioned head of the date-palm is called its cheese. The tree so grows that where its leaves come out is cheese-white, the leaves becoming green as they lengthen. This white part, the so-called cheese, is tolerable eating, not bad, much like the walnut. People make a wound in the cheese, and into this wound insert a leaf(let), in such a way that all liquid flowing from the wound runs down it.[1865] The tip of the leaflet is set over the mouth of a pot suspended to the tree in such a way that it collects whatever liquor is yielded by the wound. This liquor is rather pleasant if drunk at once; if drunk after two or three days, people say it is quite exhilarating (kaifīyat). Once when I had gone to visit Bārī,[1866] and made anFol. 285b. excursion to the villages on the bank of the Chaṃbal-river, we met in with people collecting this date-liquor in the valley-bottom. A good deal was drunk; no hilarity was felt; much must be drunk, seemingly, to produce a little cheer.
The coco-nut palm (P. nārgīl, Cocos nucifera) is another. An ‘Arab gives it Arabic form[1867] and says nārjīl; Hindūstān people say nālīr, seemingly by popular error.[1868] Its fruit is the Hindī-nut from which black spoons (qarā qāshūq) are made and the larger ones of which serve for guitar-bodies. The coco-palm has general resemblance to the date-palm, but has more, and more glistening leaves. Like the walnut, the coco-nut has a green outer husk; but its husk is of fibre on fibre. All ropes for ships and boats and also cord for sewing boat-seams are heard of as made from these husks. The nut, when stripped of its husk, near one end shews a triangle of hollows, two of which are solid, the third a nothing (būsh), easily pierced. Before the kernel forms, there is fluid inside; people pierce the soft hollow and drink this; it tastes like date-palm cheese in solution, and is not bad.
The (Sans.) tāṛ (Borassus flabelliformis, the Palmyra-palm) is another. Its branches (i.e. leaves) also are quite at its top. Just asFol. 286. with the date-palm, people hang a pot on it, take its juice and drink it. They call this liquor tāṛī;[1869] it is said to be more exhilarating than date liquor. For about a yard along its branches (i.e. leaf-stems)[1870] there are no leaves; above this, at the tip of the branch (stem), 30 or 40 open out like the spread palm of the hand, all from one place. These leaves approach a yard in length. People often write Hindī characters on them after the fashion of account rolls (daftar yūsūnlūq).
The orange (Ar. nāranj, Citrus aurantium) and orange-like fruits are others of Hindūstān.[1871] Oranges grow well in the Lamghānāt, Bajaur and Sawād. The Lamghānāt one is smallish, has a navel,[1872] is very agreeable, fragile and juicy. It is not at all like the orange of Khurāsān and those parts, being so fragile that many spoil before reaching Kābul from the Lamghānāt which may be 13-14 yīghāch (65-70 miles), while the Astarābād orange, by reason of its thick skin and scant juice, carries with Fol. 286b.less damage from there to Samarkand, some 270-280 yīghāch.[1873] The Bajaur orange is about as large as a quince, very juicy and more acid than other oranges. Khwāja Kalān once said to me, “We counted the oranges gathered from a single tree of this sort in Bajaur and it mounted up to 7,000.” It had been always in my mind that the word nāranj was an Arabic form;[1874] it would seem to be really so, since every-one in Bajaur and Sawād says (P.) nārang.[1875]
The lime (B. līmū, C. acida) is another. It is very plentiful, about the size of a hen’s egg, and of the same shape. If a person poisoned drink the water in which its fibres have been boiled, danger is averted.[1876]
The citron (P. turunj,[1877] C. medica) is another of the fruits resembling the orange. Bajaurīs and Sawādīs call it bālang and hence give the name bālang-marabbā to its marmalade (marabbā) confiture. In Hindūstān people call the turunj bajaurī.[1878] There are two kinds of turunj: one is sweet, flavourless and nauseating, of no use for eating but with peel that may be good for marmalade; it has the same sickening sweetness as the Lamghānāt turunj; the other, that of Hindūstān and Bajaur, is acid, quite deliciously acid, and makes excellent sherbet, well-flavoured, and wholesome drinking. Its size may be that of the Khusrawī melon; it has a thick skin, wrinkled and uneven, with one end thinner and beaked. It is of a deeper yellow than the orange (nāranj). Its tree has no trunk, is rather low, grows in bushes, and has a largerFol. 287. leaf than the orange.
The sangtāra[1879] is another fruit resembling the orange (nāranj). It is like the citron (turunj) in colour and form, but has both ends of its skin level;[1880] also it is not rough and is somewhat the smaller fruit. Its tree is large, as large as the apricot (aūrūq), with a leaf like the orange’s. It is a deliciously acid fruit, making a very pleasant and wholesome sherbet. Like the lime it is a powerful stomachic, but not weakening like the orange (nāranj).
The large lime which they call (H.) gal-gal[1881] in Hindūstān is another fruit resembling the orange. It has the shape of a goose’s egg, but unlike that egg, does not taper to the ends. Its skin is smooth like the sangtāra’s; it is remarkably juicy.
The (H.) jānbīrī lime[1882] is another orange-like fruit. It is orange-shaped and, though yellow, not orange-yellow. It smells like the citron (turunj); it too is deliciously acid.
The (Sans.) sadā-fal (phal)[1883] is another orange-like fruit. This is pear-shaped, colours like the quince, ripens sweet, but not to the sickly-sweetness of the orange (nāranj).
The amrd-fal (sic. Ḥai. MS.—Sans. amrit-phal)[1884] is another orange-like fruit.
The lemon (H. karnā, C. limonum) is another fruit resembling the orange (nāranj); it may be as large as the gal-gal and is also acid.
The (Sans.) amal-bīd[1885] is another fruit resembling the orange. After three years (in Hindūstān), it was first seen to-day.[1886] They say a needle melts away if put inside it,[1887] either from its acidityFol. 287b. or some other property. It is as acid, perhaps, as the citron and lemon (turunj and līmū).[1888]
(m. Vegetable products of Hindūstān:—Flowers.)
In Hindūstān there is great variety of flowers. One is the (D.) jāsūn (Hibiscus rosa sinensis), which some Hindūstānīs call (Hindī) gaẕhal.[1889] *It is not a grass (giyāh); its tree (is in stems like the bush of the red-rose; it) is rather taller than the bush of the red-rose.[1890]* The flower of the jāsūn is fuller in colour than that of the pomegranate, and may be of the size of the red-rose, but, the red-rose, when its bud has grown, opens simply, whereas, when the jāsūn-bud opens, a stem on which other petals grow, is seen like a heart amongst its expanded petals. Though the two are parts of the one flower, yet the outcome of the lengthening and thinning of that stem-like heart of the first-opened petals gives the semblance of two flowers.[1891] It is not a common matter. The beautifully coloured flowers look very well on the tree, but they do not last long; they fade in just one day. The jāsūn blossoms very well through the four months of the rains; it seems indeed to flower all through the year; with this profusion, however, it gives no perfume.
The (H.) kanīr (Nerium odorum, the oleander)[1892] is another. It grows both red and white. Like the peach-flower, it is five petalled. It is like the peach-bloom (in colour?), but opens 14 or 15 flowers from one place, so that seen from a distance, they look like one great flower. The oleander-bush is taller than the rose-bush. The red oleander has a sort of scent, faint and agreeable. (Like the jāsūn,) it also blooms well and profusely in the Fol. 288.rains, and it also is had through most of the year.
The (H.) (kīūrā) (Pandanus odoratissimus, the screw-pine) is another.[1893] It has a very agreeable perfume.[1894] Musk has the defect of being dry; this may be called moist musk—a very agreeable perfume. The tree’s singular appearance notwithstanding, it has flowers perhaps 1-1/2 to 2 qārīsh (13-1/2 to 18 inches) long. It has long leaves having the character of the reed (P.) gharau[1895] and having spines. Of these leaves, while pressed together bud-like, the outer ones are the greener and more spiny; the inner ones are soft and white. In amongst these inner leaves grow things like what belongs to the middle of a flower, and from these things comes the excellent perfume. When the tree first comes up not yet shewing any trunk, it is like the bush (būta) of the male-reed,[1896] but with wider and more spiny leaves. What serves it for a trunk is very shapeless, its roots remaining shewn.
The (P.) yāsman (jasmine) is another; the white they call (B.) champa.[1897] It is larger and more strongly scented than our yāsman-flower.
(n. Seasons of the year.)
Again:—whereas there are four seasons in those countries,[1898] there are three in Hindūstān, namely, four months are summer; four are the rains; four are winter. The beginning of their months is from the welcome of the crescent-moons.[1899] Every three years they add a month to the year; if one had been added to the rainy season, the next is added, three years later, to the winter months, the next, in the same way, to the hot months. This is their mode of intercalation.[1900] (Chait, Baisākh, Jeṭh andFol. 288b. Asāṛh) are the hot months, corresponding with the Fish, (Ram, Bull and Twins; Sāwan, Bhādoṅ, Kū,ār and Kātik) are the rainy months, corresponding with the Crab, (Lion, Virgin and Balance; Aghan, Pūs, Māgh and Phālgun) are the cold months, corresponding with the Scorpion, (Archer, Capricorn, and Bucket or Aquarius).
The people of Hind, having thus divided the year into three seasons of four months each, divide each of those seasons by taking from each, the two months of the force of the heat, rain,[1901] and cold. Of the hot months the last two, i.e. Jeṭh and Asāṛh are the force of the heat; of the rainy months, the first two, i.e. Sāwan and Bhādoṅ are the force of the rains; of the cold season, the middle two, i.e. Pūs and Māgh are the force of the cold. By this classification there are six seasons in Hindūstān.
(o. Days of the week.)
To the days also they have given names:—[1902] (Sanīchar is Saturday; Rabī-bār is Sunday; Som-wār is Monday; Mangal-wār is Tuesday; Budh-bār is Wednesday; Brihaspat-bār is Thursday; Shukr-bār is Friday).
(p. Divisions of time.)
Fol. 289.(Author’s note on the daqīqa.) The daqīqa is about as long as six repetitions of the Fātiḥa with the Bismillāh, so that a day-and-night is as long as 8640 repetitions of the Fātiḥa with the Bismillāh.
As in our countries what is known by the (Turkī) term kīcha-gūndūz (a day-and-night, nycthemeron) is divided into 24 parts, each called an hour (Ar. sā‘at), and the hour is divided into 60 parts, each called a minute (Ar. daqīqa), so that a day-and-night consists of 1440 minutes,—so the people of Hind divide the night-and-day into 60 parts, each called a (S.) g’harī.[1903] They also divide the night into four and the day into four, calling each part a (S.) pahr (watch) which in Persian is a pās. A watch and watchman (pās u pāsbān) had been heard about (by us) in those countries (Transoxania), but without these particulars. Agreeing with the division into watches, a body of g’harīālīs[1904] is chosen and appointed in all considerable towns of Hindūstān. They cast a broad brass (plate-) thing,[1905] perhaps as large as a tray (t̤abaq) and about two hands'-thickness; this they call a g’harīāl and hang up in a high place (bīr buland yīr-dā). Also they have a vessel perforated at the bottom like an hour-cup[1906] and filling in one g’harī (i.e. 24 minutes). The g’harīālīs put this into water and wait till it fills. For example, they will put the perforatedFol. 289b. cup into water at day-birth; when it fills the first time, they strike the gong once with their mallets; when a second time, twice, and so on till the end of the watch. They announce the end of a watch by several rapid blows of their mallets. After these they pause; then strike once more, if the first day-watch has ended, twice if the second, three times if the third, and four times if the fourth. After the fourth day-watch, when the night-watches begin, these are gone through in the same way. It used to be the rule to beat the sign of a watch only when the watch ended; so that sleepers chancing to wake in the night and hear the sound of a third or fourth g’harī, would not know whether it was of the second or third night-watch. I therefore ordered that at night or on a cloudy day the sign of the watch should be struck after that of the g’harī, for example, that after striking the third g’harī of the first night-watch, the g’harīālīs were to pause and then strike the sign of the watch, in order to make it known that this third g’harī was of the first night-watch,—and that after striking four g’harīs of the third night-watch, they should pause and then strike the sign of the third watch, in order to make it known that this fourth g’harī was of the third night-watch. It did very well; anyone happening to wake in the night and hear the gong, would know what g’harī of what watch of night it was.
Again, they divide the g’harī into 60 parts, each part being called a pal;[1907] by this each night-and-day will consist of 3,500 pals.Fol. 290.
(Author’s note on the pal.) They say the length of a pal is the shutting and opening of the eyelids 60 times, which in a night-and-day would be 216,000 shuttings and openings of the eyes. Experiment shews that a pal is about equal to 8 repetitions of the Qul-huwa-allāh[1908] and Bismillāh; this would be 28,000 repetitions in a night-and-day.
(q. Measures.)
The people of Hind have also well-arranged measures:—[1909] 8 ratīs = 1 māsha; 4 māsha = 1 tānk = 32 ratīs; 5 māsha = 1 miṣqāl = 40 ratīs; 12 māsha = 1 tūla = 96 ratīs; 14 tūla = 1 ser.
This is everywhere fixed:—40 ser = 1 mānbān; 12 mānbān = 1 mānī; 100 mānī they call a mīnāsa.[1910]
Pearls and jewels they weigh by the tānk.
(r. Modes of reckoning.)
The people of Hind have also an excellent mode of reckoning: 100,000 they call a lak; 100 laks, a krūr; 100 krūrs, an arb; 100 arbs, 1 karb; 100 karb’s, 1 nīl; 100 nīls, 1 padam; 100 padams, 1 sāng. The fixing of such high reckonings as these is proof of the great amount of wealth in Hindūstān.
(s. Hindū inhabitants of Hindūstān.)
Most of the inhabitants of Hindūstān are pagans; they call a pagan a Hindū. Most Hindūs believe in the transmigration of souls. All artisans, wage-earners, and officials are Hindūs. In our countries dwellers in the wilds (i.e. nomads) get tribal names; Fol. 290b.here the settled people of the cultivated lands and villages get tribal names.[1911] Again:—every artisan there is follows the trade that has come down to him from forefather to forefather.
(t. Defects of Hindūstān.)
Hindūstān is a country of few charms. Its people have no good looks; of social intercourse, paying and receiving visits there is none; of genius and capacity none; of manners none; in handicraft and work there is no form or symmetry, method or quality; there are no good horses, no good dogs, no grapes, musk-melons or first-rate fruits, no ice or cold water, no good bread or cooked food in the bāzārs, no Hot-baths, no Colleges, no candles, torches or candlesticks.
In place of candle and torch they have a great dirty gang they call lamp-men (diwatī), who in the left hand hold a smallish wooden tripod to one corner of which a thing like the top of a candlestick is fixed, having a wick in it about as thick as the thumb. In the right hand they hold a gourd, through a narrow slit made in which, oil is let trickle in a thin thread when the wick needs it. Great people keep a hundred or two of these lamp-men. This is the Hindūstān substitute for lamps and candlesticks! If their rulers and begs have work at night needing candles, these dirty lamp-men bring these lamps, go close up andFol. 291. there stand.
Except their large rivers and their standing-waters which flow in ravines or hollows (there are no waters). There are no running-waters in their gardens or residences (‘imāratlār).[1912] These residences have no charm, air (hawā), regularity or symmetry.
Peasants and people of low standing go about naked. They tie on a thing called lungūtā,[1913] a decency-clout which hangs two spans below the navel. From the tie of this pendant decency-clout, another clout is passed between the thighs and made fast behind. Women also tie on a cloth (lung), one-half of which goes round the waist, the other is thrown over the head.
(u. Advantages of Hindūstān.)
Pleasant things of Hindūstān are that it is a large country and has masses of gold and silver. Its air in the Rains is very fine. Sometimes it rains 10, 15 or 20 times a day; torrents pour down all at once and rivers flow where no water had been. While it rains and through the Rains, the air is remarkably fine, not to be surpassed for healthiness and charm. The fault is that the air becomes very soft and damp. A bow of those (Transoxanian) countries after going through the Rains in Hindūstān, may not be drawn even; it is ruined; not only the bow, everything isFol. 291b. affected, armour, book, cloth, and utensils all; a house even does not last long. Not only in the Rains but also in the cold and the hot seasons, the airs are excellent; at these times, however, the north-west wind constantly gets up laden with dust and earth. It gets up in great strength every year in the heats, under the Bull and Twins when the Rains are near; so strong and carrying so much dust and earth that there is no seeing one another. People call this wind Darkener of the Sky (H. āndhī). The weather is hot under the Bull and Twins, but not intolerably so, not so hot as in Balkh and Qandahār and not for half so long.
Another good thing in Hindūstān is that it has unnumbered and endless workmen of every kind. There is a fixed caste (jam‘ī) for every sort of work and for every thing, which has done that work or that thing from father to son till now. Mullā Sharaf, writing in the Z̤afar-nāma about the building of Tīmūr Beg’s Stone Mosque, lays stress on the fact that on it 200 stone-cutters worked, from Āẕarbāījān, Fars, Hindūstān and other countries. But 680 men worked daily on my buildings in Āgra and of Āgra stone-cutters only; while 1491 stone-cutters worked daily on my buildings in Āgra, Sīkrī, Bīāna, Dūlpūr, Gūālīār and Kūīl. In Fol. 292.the same way there are numberless artisans and workmen of every sort in Hindūstān.
(v. Revenues of Hindūstān.)
The revenue of the countries now held by me (935 AH.-1528 AD.) from Bhīra to Bihār is 52 krūrs,[1914] as will be known in detail from the following summary.[1915] Eight or nine krūrs of this are from parganas of rāīs and rājas who, as obedient from of old, receive allowance and maintenance.
Revenues of Hindūstān from what has so far come under the victorious standards
| Sarkārs. | Krūrs. | Laks. | Tankas. |
| Trans-sutluj:--Bhīra, Lāhūr, Sīālkūt, Dībālpūr, etc. | 3 | 33 | 15,989 |
| Sihrind | 1 | 29 | 31,985 |
| Ḥiṣār-fīrūza | 1 | 30 | 75,174 |
| The capital Dihlī and Mīān-dū-āb | 3 | 69 | 50,254 |
| Mīwāt, not included in Sikandar’s time | 1 | 69 | 81,000 |
| Bīāna | 1 | 44 | 14,930 Fol. 292b. |
| Āgra | 29 | 76,919 | |
| Mīān-wilāyat (Midlands) | 2 | 91 | 19 |
| Gūālīār | 2 | 23 | 57,450 |
| Kālpī and Sehoṇda (Seondhā) | 4 | 28 | 55,950 |
| Qanauj | 1 | 36 | 63,358 |
| Saṃbhal | 1 | 38 | 44,000 |
| Laknūr and Baksar | 1 | 39 | 82,433 |
| Khairābād | 12 | 65,000 | |
| Aūd (Oude) and Bahraj (Baraich) | 1 | 17 | 1,369 Fol. 293. |
| Jūnpūr | 4 | ·0 | 88,333 |
| Karra and Mānikpūr | 1 | 63 | 27,282 |
| Bihār | 4 | 5 | 60,000 |
| Sāran | 1 | 10 | 17,506½ |
| Sarwār | 1 | 55 | 18,373 |
| Champāran | 1 | 90 | 86,060 |
| Kandla | 1 | 43 | 30,300 |
| Tirhut from Rāja Rup-narāīn’s tribute, silver | 1 | 43 | 55,000 |
| black (i.e. copper) | 1 | 27 | 50,300 |
| Rantanbhūr from Būlī, Chātsū, and Malarna | 20 | 00,000 | |
| Nagūr | -- | -- | -- |
| Rāja Bikrāmajīt in Rantanbhūr | -- | -- | -- |
| Kalanjarī | -- | -- | -- |
| Rāja Bīr-sang-deo (or, Sang only) | -- | -- | -- |
| Rāja Bikam-deo | -- | -- | -- |
| Rāja Bikam-chand | -- | -- | -- |
[1916] So far as particulars and details about the land and people of the country of Hindūstān have become definitely known, they have been narrated and described; whatever matters worthy of record may come to view hereafter, I shall write down.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE RESUMED.
(a. Distribution of treasure in Āgra.)[1917]
(May 12th) On Saturday the 29th[1918] of Rajab the examination and distribution of the treasure were begun. To Humāyūn were given 70 laks from the Treasury, and, over and above this, a treasure house was bestowed on him just as it was, without ascertaining and writing down its contents. To some begs 10 laks were given, 8, 7, or 6 to others.[1919] Suitable money-gifts were bestowed from the Treasury on the whole army, to every tribe there was, Afghān, Hazāra, ‘Arab, Bīlūch etc. to each according to its position. Every trader and student, indeed every man who had come with the army, took ample portion and share of bounteous gift and largess. To those not with the army went a mass of treasure in gift and largess, as for instance, 17 laks to Kāmran, 15 laks to Muḥammad-i-zamān Mīrzā, while to ‘Askarī, Hindāl and indeed to the whole various train of relations and younger children[1920] went masses of red and white (gold and silver), of plenishing, jewels and slaves.[1921] Many gifts went to the begs and soldiery on that side (Tramontana). Valuable gifts (saughāt) Fol. 294.were sent for the various relations in Samarkand, Khurāsān, Kāshghar and ‘Irāq. To holy men belonging to Samarkand and Khurāsān went offerings vowed to God (nuẕūr); so too to Makka and Madīna. We gave one shāhrukhi for every soul in the country of Kābul and the valley-side[1922] of Varsak, man and woman, bond and free, of age or non-age.[1923]
(b. Disaffection to Bābur.)
On our first coming to Āgra, there was remarkable dislike and hostility between its people and mine, the peasantry and soldiers running away in fear of our men. Dilhī and Āgra excepted, not a fortified town but strengthened its defences and neither was in obedience nor submitted. Qāsim Saṃbhalī was in Saṃbhal; Niz̤ām Khān was in Bīāna; in Mīwāt was Ḥasan Khān Mīwātī himself, impious mannikin! who was the sole leader of the trouble and mischief.[1924] Muḥammad Zaitun was in Dūlpūr; Tātār Khān Sārang-khānī[1925] was in Gūālīār; Ḥusain Khān Nuḥānī was in Rāprī; Qut̤b Khān was in Itāwa (Etāwa); ‘Ālam Khān (Kālpī) was in Kālpī. Qanauj and the other side of Gang (Ganges) was all held by Afghāns in independent hostility,[1926] such as Naṣīr Khān Nuḥānī, Ma‘rūf Farmūlī and a crowd of other amīrs. These had been in rebellion for three or four years before Ibrāhīm’s death and when I defeated him, were holding Qanauj and the whole country beyond it. At the present time they were lying two or three marches on our side of Qanauj and had made Bihār Khān the son of Daryā Khān Nuḥānī their pādshāh, under the style Sult̤ān Muḥammad.Fol. 294b. Marghūb the slave was in Mahāwīn (Muttra?); he remained there, thus close, for some time but came no nearer.
(c. Discontent in Bābur’s army.)
It was the hot-season when we came to Āgra. All the inhabitants (khalāīq) had run away in terror. Neither grain for ourselves nor corn for our horses was to be had. The villages, out of hostility and hatred to us had taken to thieving and highway-robbery; there was no moving on the roads. There had been no chance since the treasure was distributed to send men in strength into the parganas and elsewhere. Moreover the year was a very hot one; violent pestilential winds struck people down in heaps together; masses began to die off.
On these accounts the greater part of the begs and best braves became unwilling to stay in Hindūstān, indeed set their faces for leaving it. It is no reproach to old and experienced begs if they speak of such matters; even if they do so, this man (Bābur) has enough sense and reason to get at what is honest or what is mutinous in their representations, to distinguish between loss and gain. But as this man had seen his task whole, for himself, when he resolved on it, what taste was there in their reiterating that things should be done differently? What recommends the expression of distasteful opinions by men of little standing Fol. 295.(kīchīk karīm)? Here is a curious thing:—This last time of our riding out from Kābul, a few men of little standing had just been made begs; what I looked for from them was that if I went through fire and water and came out again, they would have gone in with me unhesitatingly, and with me have come out, that wherever I went, there at my side would they be,—not that they would speak against my fixed purpose, not that they would turn back from any task or great affair on which, all counselling, all consenting, we had resolved, so long as that counsel was not abandoned. Badly as these new begs behaved, Secretary Aḥmadī and Treasurer Walī behaved still worse. Khwāja Kalān had done well in the march out from Kābul, in Ibrāhīm’s defeat and until Āgra was occupied; he had spoken bold words and shewn ambitious views. But a few days after the capture of Āgra, all his views changed,—the one zealous for departure at any price was Khwāja Kalān.[1927]
(d. Bābur calls a council.)
When I knew of this unsteadiness amongst (my) people, I summoned all the begs and took counsel. Said I, “There is no supremacy and grip on the world without means and resources; without lands and retainers sovereignty and command (pādshāhlīq u amīrlīq) are impossible. By the labours of several years, by encountering hardship, by long travel, by flinging myself and the army into battle, and by deadly slaughter, we, through God’sFol. 295b. grace, beat these masses of enemies in order that we might take their broad lands. And now what force compels us, what necessity has arisen that we should, without cause, abandon countries taken at such risk of life? Was it for us to remain in Kābul, the sport of harsh poverty? Henceforth, let no well-wisher of mine speak of such things! But let not those turn back from going who, weak in strong persistence, have set their faces to depart!” By these words, which recalled just and reasonable views to their minds, I made them, willy-nilly, quit their fears.
(e. Khwāja Kalān decides to leave Hindūstān.)
As Khwāja Kalān had no heart to stay in Hindūstān, matters were settled in this way:—As he had many retainers, he was to convoy the gifts, and, as there were few men in Kābul and Ghaznī, was to keep these places guarded and victualled. I bestowed on him Ghaznī, Girdīz and the Sult̤ān Mas‘ūdī Hazāra, gave also the Hindūstān pargana of G’hūram,[1928] worth 3 or 4 laks. It was settled for Khwāja Mīr-i-mīrān also to go to Kābul; the gifts were put into his immediate charge, under the custody of Mullā Ḥasan the banker (ṣarrāf) and Tūka[1929] Hindū.
Loathing Hindūstān, Khwāja Kalān, when on his way, had the following couplet inscribed on the wall of his residence Fol. 296. (‘imāratī) in Dihlī:—
If safe and sound I cross the Sind,
Blacken my face ere I wish for Hind!
It was ill-mannered in him to compose and write up this partly-jesting verse while I still stayed in Hind. If his departure caused me one vexation, such a jest doubled it.[1930] I composed the following off-hand verse, wrote it down and sent it to him:—
Give a hundred thanks, Bābur, that the generous Pardoner
Has given thee Sind and Hind and many a kingdom.
If thou (i.e. the Khwāja) have not the strength for their heats,
If thou say, “Let me see the cold side (yūz),” Ghaznī is there.[1931]
(f. Accretions to Bābur’s force.)
At this juncture, Mullā Apāq was sent into Kūl with royal letters of favour for the soldiers and quiver-wearers (tarkash-band) of that neighbourhood. Shaikh Gūran (G’hūran)[1932] came trustfully and loyally to do obeisance, bringing with him from 2 to 3,000 soldiers and quiver-wearers from Between-two-waters (Mīān-dū-āb).
(Author’s note on Mullā Apāq.) Formerly he had been in a very low position indeed, but two or three years before this time, had gathered his elder and younger brethren into a compact body and had brought them in (to me), together with the Aūrūq-zāī and other Afghāns of the banks of the Sind.
Yūnas-i-‘alī when on his way from Dihlī to Āgra[1933] had lost his way a little and got separated from Humāyūn; he then met in with ‘Alī Khān Farmūlī’s sons and train,[1934] had a small affair with them, took them prisoners and brought them in. Taking advantage of this, one of the sons thus captured was sent to his Fol. 296b.father in company with Daulat-qadam Turk’s son Mīrzā Mughūl who conveyed royal letters of favour to ‘Alī Khān. At this time of break-up, ‘Alī Khān had gone to Mīwāt; he came to me when Mīrzā Mughūl returned, was promoted, and given valid(?) parganas[1935] worth 25 laks.
(g. Action against the rebels of the East.)
Sl. Ibrāhīm had appointed several amīrs under Muṣt̤afa Farmūlī and Fīrūz Khān Sārang-khānī, to act against the rebel amīrs of the East (Pūrab). Muṣt̤afa had fought them and thoroughly drubbed them, giving them more than one good beating. He dying before Ibrāhīm’s defeat, his younger brother Shaikh Bāyazīd—Ibrāhīm being occupied with a momentous matter[1936]—had led and watched over his elder brother’s men. He now came to serve me, together with Fīrūz Khān, Maḥmūd Khān Nuḥānī and Qāẓī Jīā. I shewed them greater kindness and favour than was their claim; giving to Fīrūz Khān 1 krūr, 46 laks and 5000 tankas from Jūnpūr, to Shaikh Bāyazīd 1 krūr, 48 laks and 50,000 tankas from Aūd (Oude), to Maḥmūd Khān 90 laks and 35,000 tankas from Ghāzīpūr, and to Qāẓī Jīā 20 laks.[1937]
(h. Gifts made to various officers.)
It was a few days after the ‘Īd of Shawwāl[1938] that a large party was held in the pillared-porch of the domed building standing in the middle of Sl. Ibrāhīm’s private apartments. At this party there were bestowed on Humāyūn a chār-qab,[1939] a sword-belt,[1940] a tīpūchāq horse with saddle mounted in gold; on Chīn-tīmūr Sult̤ān, Mahdī Khwāja and Muḥammad Sl. Mīrzā chār-qabs, sword-belts and dagger-belts; and to the begs andFol. 297. braves, to each according to his rank, were given sword-belts, dagger-belts, and dresses of honour, in all to the number specified below:—
| 2 | items (rā’s) of tīpūchāq horses with saddles. |
| 16 | items (qabẓa) of poinards, set with jewels, etc. |
| 8 | items (qabẓa) of purpet over-garments. |
| 2 | items (tob) of jewelled sword-belts. |
| — | items (qabẓa) of broad daggers (jamd’kar) set with jewels. |
| 25 | items of jewelled hangers (khanjar). |
| — | items of gold-hilted Hindī knives (kārd). |
| 51 | pieces of purpet. |
On the day of this party it rained amazingly, rain falling thirteen times. As outside places had been assigned to a good many people, they were drowned out (gharaq).
(i. Of various forts and postings.)
Samāna (in Patīāla) had been given to Muḥammadī Kūkūldāsh and it had been arranged for him to make swift descent on Saṃbal (Saṃbhal), but Saṃbal was now bestowed on Humāyūn, in addition to his guerdon of Ḥiṣār-fīrūza, and in his service was Hindū Beg. To suit this, therefore, Hindū Beg was sent to make the incursion in Muḥammadī’s place, and with him Kitta Beg, Bābā Qashqa’s (brother) Malik Qāsim and his elder and younger brethren, Mullā Apāq and Shaikh Gūran (G’hūran) with the quiver-wearers from Between-two-waters (Mīān-dū-āb). Fol. 297b.Three or four times a person had come from Qāsim Saṃbalī, saying, “The renegade Bīban is besieging Saṃbal and has brought it to extremity; come quickly.” Bīban, with the array and the preparation (hayāt) with which he had deserted us,[1941] had gone skirting the hills and gathering up Afghān and Hindūstānī deserters, until, finding Saṃbal at this juncture ill-garrisoned, he laid siege to it. Hindū Beg and Kitta Beg and the rest of those appointed to make the incursion, got to the Ahār-passage[1942] and from there sent ahead Bābā Qashqa’s Malik Qāsim with his elder and younger brethren, while they themselves were getting over the water. Malik Qāsim crossed, advanced swiftly with from 100 to 150 men—his own and his brethren’s—and reached Saṃbal by the Mid-day Prayer. Bīban for his part came out of his camp in array. Malik Qāsim and his troop moved rapidly forward, got the fort in their rear, and came to grips. Bīban could make no stand; he fled. Malik Qāsim cut off the heads of part of his force, took many horses, a few elephants and a mass of booty. Next day when the other begs arrived, Qāsim Saṃbalī came out and saw them, but not liking to surrender the fort, made them false pretences. One day Shaikh Gūran (G’hūran) and Hindū Beg having talked the matter over with them, got Qāsim Saṃbalī out to the presence of the begs, and took men of ours into the fort. They brought Qāsim’s wife and dependents safely out, and sent Qāsim (to Court).[1943]
Qalandar the foot-man was sent to Niz̤ām Khān in Bīāna with royal letters of promise and threat; with these was sentFol. 298. also the following little off-hand (Persian) verse:—[1944]
Strive not with the Turk, o Mīr of Bīāna!
His skill and his courage are obvious.
If thou come not soon, nor give ear to counsel,—
What need to detail (bayān) what is obvious?
Bīāna being one of the famous forts of Hindūstān, the senseless mannikin, relying on its strength, demanded what not even its strength could enforce. Not giving him a good answer, we ordered siege apparatus to be looked to.
Bābā Qulī Beg was sent with royal letters of promise and threat to Muḥammad Zaitūn (in Dūlpūr); Muḥammad Zaitūn also made false excuses.
While we were still in Kābul, Rānā Sangā had sent an envoy to testify to his good wishes and to propose this plan: “If the honoured Pādshāh will come to near Dihlī from that side, I from this will move on Āgra.” But I beat Ibrāhīm, I took Dihlī and Āgra, and up to now that Pagan has given no sign soever of moving. After a while he went and laid siege to Kandār[1945] a fort in which was Makan’s son, Ḥasan by name. This Ḥasan-of-Makan had sent a person to me several times, but had not shewn himself. We had not been able to detachFol. 298b. reinforcement for him because, as the forts round-about—Atāwa (Etāwa), Dūlpūr, and Bīāna—had not yet surrendered, and the Eastern Afghāns were seated with their army in obstinate rebellion two or three marches on the Āgra side of Qanūj, my mind was not quite free from the whirl and strain of things close at hand. Makan’s Ḥasan therefore, becoming helpless, had surrendered Kandār two or three months ago.
Ḥusain Khān (Nuḥānī) became afraid in Rāprī, and he abandoning it, it was given to Muḥammad ‘Alī Jang-jang.
To Qut̤b Khān in Etāwa royal letters of promise and threat had been sent several times, but as he neither came and saw me, nor abandoned Etāwa and got away, it was given to Mahdī Khwāja and he was sent against it with a strong reinforcement of begs and household troops under the command of Muḥammad Sl. Mīrzā, Sl. Muḥammad Dūldāī, Muḥammad ‘Alī Jang-jang and ‘Abdu’l-‘azīz the Master of the Horse. Qanūj was given to Sl. Muḥammad Dūldāī; he was also (as mentioned) appointed against Etāwa; so too were Fīrūz Khān, Maḥmūd Khān, Shaikh Bāyazīd and Qāẓī Jīā, highly favoured commanders to whom Eastern parganas had been given.
Fol. 299.Muḥammad Zaitūn, who was seated in Dūlpūr, deceived us and did not come. We gave Dūlpūr to Sl. Junaid Barlās and reinforced him by appointing ‘Ādil Sult̤ān, Muḥammadī Kūkūldāsh, Shāh Manṣūr Barlās, Qūtlūq-qadam, Treasurer Walī, Jān Beg, ‘Abdu’l-lāh, Pīr-qulī, and Shāh Ḥasan Yāragī (or Bāragī), who were to attack Dūlpūr, take it, make it over to Sl. Junaid Barlās and advance on Bīāna.
(j. Plan of operations adopted.)
These armies appointed, we summoned the Turk amīrs[1946] and the Hindūstān amīrs, and tossed the following matters in amongst them:—The various rebel amīrs of the East, that is to say, those under Nāṣir Khān Nuḥānī and Ma‘rūf Farmūlī, have crossed Gang (Ganges) with 40 to 50,000 men, taken Qanūj, and now lie some three miles on our side of the river. The Pagan Rānā Sangā has captured Kandār and is in a hostile and mischievous attitude. The end of the Rains is near. It seems expedient to move either against the rebels or the Pagan, since the task of the forts near-by is easy; when the great foes are got rid of, what road will remain open for the rest? Rānā Sangā is thought not to be the equal of the rebels.
To this all replied unanimously, “Rānā Sangā is the most distant, and it is not known that he will come nearer; the enemy who is closest at hand must first be got rid of. We are for riding against the rebels.” Humāyūn then represented,Fol. 299b. “What need is there for the Pādshāh to ride out? This service I will do.” This came as a pleasure to every-one; the Turk and Hind amīrs gladly accepted his views; he was appointed for the East. A Kābulī of Aḥmad-i-qāsim’s was sent galloping off to tell the armies that had been despatched against Dūlpūr to join Humāyūn at Chandwār;[1947] also those sent against Etāwa under Mahdī Khwāja and Muḥammad Sl. M. were ordered to join him.
(August 21st) Humāyūn set out on Thursday the 13th of Ẕū’l-qa´da, dismounted at a little village called Jilīsīr (Jalesar) some 3 kurohs from Āgra, there stayed one night, then moved forward march by march.
(k. Khwāja Kalān’s departure.)
(August 28th) On Thursday the 20th of this same month, Khwāja Kalān started for Kābul.
(l. Of gardens and pleasaunces.)
One of the great defects of Hindūstān being its lack of running-waters,[1948] it kept coming to my mind that waters should be made to flow by means of wheels erected wherever I might settle down, also that grounds should be laid out in an orderly and symmetrical way. With this object in view, we crossed the Jūn-water to look at garden-grounds a few days after entering Āgra. Those grounds were so bad and unattractive that we traversed them with a hundred disgusts and repulsions. So ugly and displeasing were they, that the idea of making aFol. 300. Chār-bāgh in them passed from my mind, but needs must! as there was no other land near Āgra, that same ground was taken in hand a few days later.
The beginning was made with the large well from which water comes for the Hot-bath, and also with the piece of ground where the tamarind-trees and the octagonal tank now are. After that came the large tank with its enclosure; after that the tank and tālār[1949] in front of the outer(?) residence[1950]; after that the private-house (khilwat-khāna) with its garden and various dwellings; after that the Hot-bath. Then in that charmless and disorderly Hind, plots of garden[1951] were seen laid out with order and symmetry, with suitable borders and parterres in every corner, and in every border rose and narcissus in perfect arrangement.
(m. Construction of a chambered-well.)
Three things oppressed us in Hindūstān, its heat, its violent winds, its dust. Against all three the Bath is a protection, for in it, what is known of dust and wind? and in the heats it is so chilly that one is almost cold. The bath-room in which the heated tank is, is altogether of stone, the whole, except for the īzāra (dado?) of white stone, being, pavement and roofing, of red Bīāna stone.
Khalīfa also and Shaikh Zain, Yūnas-i-‘alī and whoever got Fol. 300b.land on that other bank of the river laid out regular and orderly gardens with tanks, made running-waters also by setting up wheels like those in Dīpālpūr and Lāhor. The people of Hind who had never seen grounds planned so symmetrically and thus laid out, called the side of the Jūn where (our) residences were, Kābul.
In an empty space inside the fort, which was between Ibrāhīm’s residence and the ramparts, I ordered a large chambered-well (wāīn) to be made, measuring 10 by 10,[1952] a large well with a flight of steps, which in Hindūstān is called a wāīn.[1953] This well was begun before the Chār-bāgh[1954]; they were busy digging it in the true Rains (‘aīn bīshkāl, Sāwan and Bhadon); it fell in several times and buried the hired workmen; it was finished after the Holy Battle with Rānā Sangā, as is stated in the inscription on the stone that bears the chronogram of its completion. It is a complete wāīn, having a three-storeyed house in it. The lowest storey consists of three rooms, each of which opens on the descending steps, at intervals of three steps from one another. When the water is at its lowest, it is one step below the bottom chamber; when it rises in the Rains, it sometimes goes into the top storey. In the middle storey an inner chamber has been excavated which connects with the domed building in which the bullock turns the well-wheel. TheFol. 301. top storey is a single room, reached from two sides by 5 or 6 steps which lead down to it from the enclosure overlooked from the well-head. Facing the right-hand way down, is the stone inscribed with the date of completion. At the side of this well is another the bottom of which may be at half the depth of the first, and into which water comes from that first one when the bullock turns the wheel in the domed building afore-mentioned. This second well also is fitted with a wheel, by means of which water is carried along the ramparts to the high-garden. A stone building (tāshdīn ‘imārat) stands at the mouth of the well and there is an outer(?) mosque[1955] outside (tāshqārī) the enclosure in which the well is. The mosque is not well done; it is in the Hindūstānī fashion.
(n. Humāyūn’s campaign.)
At the time Humāyūn got to horse, the rebel amīrs under Naṣīr Khān Nuḥānī and Ma‘rūf Farmūlī were assembled at Jājmāū.[1956] Arrived within 20 to 30 miles of them, he sent out Mūmin Ātāka for news; it became a raid for loot; Mūmin Ātāka was not able to bring even the least useful information. The rebels heard about him however, made no stay but fled and got away. After Mūmin Ātāka, Qusm-nāī(?) was sent for news, with Bābā Chuhra[1957] and Būjka; they brought it of the breaking-up and flight of the rebels. Humāyūn advancing, took Jājmāū Fol. 301b.and passed on. Near Dilmāū[1958] Fatḥ Khān Sarwānī came and saw him, and was sent to me with Mahdī Khwāja and Muḥammad Sl. Mīrzā.
(o. News of the Aūzbegs.)
This year ‘Ubaidu’l-lāh Khān (Aūzbeg) led an army out of Bukhārā against Marv. In the citadel of Marv were perhaps 10 to 15 peasants whom he overcame and killed; then having taken the revenues of Marv in 40 or 50 days,[1959] he went on to Sarakhs. In Sarakhs were some 30 to 40 Red-heads (Qīzīl-bāsh) who did not surrender, but shut the Gate; the peasantry however scattered them and opened the Gate to the Aūzbeg who entering, killed the Red-heads. Sarakhs taken, he went against T̤ūs and Mashhad. The inhabitants of Mashhad being helpless, let him in. T̤ūs he besieged for 8 months, took possession of on terms, did not keep those terms, but killed every man of name and made their women captive.
(p. Affairs of Gujrāt.)
In this year Bahādur Khān,—he who now rules in Gujrāt in the place of his father Sl. Muz̤affar Gujrātī—having gone to Sl. Ibrāhīm after quarrel with his father, had been received without honour. He had sent dutiful letters to me while I was near Pānī-pat; I had replied by royal letters of favour and kindness summoning him to me. He had thought of coming, but changing his mind, drew off from Ibrāhīm’s army towards Gujrāt. Meantime his father Sl. Muz̤affar had died (Friday Jumāda II. 2nd AH.-March 16th 1526 AD.); his elder brother Sikandar Shāh who was Sl. Muz̤affar’s eldest son, had become ruler in their father’s place and, owing to his evil disposition,Fol. 302. had been strangled by his slave ‘Imādu’l-mulk, acting with others (Sha‘ban 14th—May 25th). Bahādur Khān, while he was on his road for Gujrāt, was invited and escorted to sit in his father’s place under the style Bahādur Shāh (Ramẓān 26th—July 6th). He for his part did well; he retaliated by death on ‘Imādu’l-mulk for his treachery to his salt, and killed some others of his father’s begs.[1960] People point at him as a dreadnaught (bī bāk) youth and a shedder of much blood.
933 AH.-OCT. 8th 1526 to SEP. 27th 1527 AD.[1961]
(a. Announcement of the birth of a son.)
In Muḥarram Beg Wais brought the news of Fārūq’s birth; though a foot-man had brought it already, he came this month for the gift to the messenger of good tidings.[1962] The birth must have been on Friday eve, Shawwāl 23rd (932 AH.-August 2nd 1526 AD.); the name given was Fārūq.
(b. Casting of a mortar.)
(October 22nd-Muḥarram 15th) Ustād ‘Alī-qulī had been ordered to cast a large mortar for use against Bīāna and other forts which had not yet submitted. When all the furnaces and materials were ready, he sent a person to me and, on Monday the 15th of the month, we went to see the mortar cast. Round the mortar-mould he had had eight furnaces made in which Fol. 302b.were the molten materials. From below each furnace a channel went direct to the mould. When he opened the furnace-holes on our arrival, the molten metal poured like water through all these channels into the mould. After awhile and before the mould was full, the flow stopped from one furnace after another. Ustād ‘Alī-qulī must have made some miscalculation either as to the furnaces or the materials. In his great distress, he was for throwing himself into the mould of molten metal, but we comforted him, put a robe of honour on him, and so brought him out of his shame. The mould was left a day or two to cool; when it was opened, Ustād ‘Alī-qulī with great delight sent to say, “The stone-chamber (tāsh-awī) is without defect; to cast the powder-compartment (dārū-khāna) is easy.” He got the stone-chamber out and told off a body of men to accoutre[1963] it, while he busied himself with casting the powder-compartment.
(c. Varia.)
Mahdī Khwāja arrived bringing Fatḥ Khān Sarwānī from Humāyūn’s presence, they having parted from him in Dilmāū. I looked with favour on Fatḥ Khān, gave him the parganas that had been his father ‘Az̤am-humāyūn’s, and other lands also, one pargana given being worth a krūr and 60 laks.[1964]
In Hindūstān they give permanent titles [muqarrarī khit̤āblār] to highly-favoured amīrs, one such being ‘Az̤am-humāyūn (August Might), one Khān-i-jahān (Khan-of-the-world), anotherFol. 303. Khān-i-khānān (Khān-of-khāns). Fatḥ Khān’s father’s title was ‘Az̤am-humāyūn but I set this aside because on account of Humāyūn it was not seemly for any person to bear it, and I gave Fatḥ Khān Sarwānī the title of Khān-i-jahān.
(November 14th) On Wednesday the 8th of Ṣafar[1965] awnings were set up (in the Chār-bāgh) at the edge of the large tank beyond the tamarind-trees, and an entertainment was prepared there. We invited Fatḥ Khān Sarwānī to a wine-party, gave him wine, bestowed on him a turban and head-to-foot of my own wearing, uplifted his head with kindness and favour[1966] and allowed him to go to his own districts. It was arranged for his son Maḥmūd to remain always in waiting.
(d. Various military matters.)
(November 30th) On Wednesday the 24th of Muḥarram[1967] Muḥammad ‘Alī (son of Mihtar) Ḥaidar the stirrup-holder was sent (to Humāyūn) with this injunction, “As—thanks be to God!—the rebels have fled, do you, as soon as this messenger arrives, appoint a few suitable begs to Jūnpūr, and come quickly to us yourself, for Rānā Sangā the Pagan is conveniently close; let us think first of him!”
After (Humāyūn’s) army had gone to the East, we appointed, to make a plundering excursion into the Bīāna neighbourhood, Tardī Beg (brother) of Qūj Beg with his elder brother Sher-afgan, Muḥammad Khalīl the master-gelder (akhta-begī) with his brethren and the gelders (akhtachīlār),[1968] Rustam Turkmān with his brethren, and also, of the Hindūstānī people, Daud Sarwānī. Fol. 303b.If they, by promise and persuasion, could make the Bīāna garrison look towards us, they were to do so; if not, they were to weaken the enemy by raid and plunder.
In the fort of Tahangar[1969] was ‘Ālam Khān the elder brother of that same Niz̤ām Khān of Bīāna. People of his had come again and again to set forth his obedience and well-wishing; he now took it on himself to say, “If the Pādshāh appoint an army, it will be my part by promise and persuasion to bring in the quiver-weavers of Bīāna and to effect the capture of that fort.” This being so, the following orders were given to the braves of Tardī Beg’s expedition, “As ‘Ālam Khān, a local man, has taken it on himself to serve and submit in this manner, act you with him and in the way he approves in this matter of Bīāna.” Swordsmen though some Hindūstānīs may be, most of them are ignorant and unskilled in military move and stand (yūrūsh u tūrūsh), in soldierly counsel and procedure. When our expedition joined ‘Ālam Khān, he paid no attention to what any-one else said, did not consider whether his action was good or bad, but went close up to Bīāna, taking our men with him. Our expedition numbered from 250 to 300 Turks with somewhat over 2000 Hindūstānīs and local people, while Niz̤ām Khān of Bīāna’s Afghāns and sipāhīs[1970] were an army of over 4000 horse and of Fol. 304.foot-men themselves again, more than 10,000. Niz̤ām Khān looked his opponents over, sallied suddenly out and, his massed horse charging down, put our expeditionary force to flight. His men unhorsed his elder brother ‘Ālam Khān, took 5 or 6 others prisoner and contrived to capture part of the baggage. As we had already made encouraging promises to Niz̤ām Khān, we now, spite of this last impropriety, pardoned all earlier and this later fault, and sent him royal letters. As he heard of Rānā Sangā’s rapid advance, he had no resource but to call on Sayyid Rafī‘[1971] for mediation, surrender the fort to our men, and come in with Sayyid Rafī‘, when he was exalted to the felicity of an interview.[1972] I bestowed on him a pargana in Mīān-dū-āb worth 20 laks.[1973] Dost, Lord-of-the-gate was sent for a time to Bīāna, but a few days later it was bestowed on Madhī Khwāja with a fixed allowance of 70 laks,[1974] and he was given leave to go there.
Tātār Khān Sārang-khānī, who was in Gūālīār, had been sending constantly to assure us of his obedience and good-wishes. After the pagan took Kandār and was close to Bīāna, Dharmankat, one of the Gūālīār rājas, and another pagan styled Khān-i-jahān, went into the Gūālīār neighbourhood and, coveting the fort, began to stir trouble and tumult. Tātār Khān, thus placed in difficulty, was for surrendering Gūālīār (to us). Most of our begs, household and best braves being away with (Humāyūn’s) army or on various raids, we joined to Raḥīm-dādFol. 304b. a few Bhīra men and Lāhorīs with Hastachī[1975] tūnqit̤ār and his brethren. We assigned parganas in Gūālīār itself to all those mentioned above. Mullā Apāq and Shaikh Gurān (G’hurān) went also with them, they to return after Raḥīm-dād was established in Gūālīār. By the time they were near Gūālīār however, Tātār Khān’s views had changed, and he did not invite them into the fort. Meantime Shaikh Muḥammad Ghaus̤ (Helper), a darwīsh-like man, not only very learned but with a large following of students and disciples, sent from inside the fort to say to Raḥīm-dād, “Get yourselves into the fort somehow, for the views of this person (Tātār Khān) have changed, and he has evil in his mind.” Hearing this, Raḥīm-dād sent to say to Tātār Khān, “There is danger from the Pagan to those outside; let me bring a few men into the fort and let the rest stay outside.” Under insistence, Tātār Khān agreed to this, and Raḥīm-dād went in with rather few men. Said he, “Let our people stay near this Gate,” posted them near the Hātī-pul (Elephant-gate) and through that Gate during that same night brought in the whole of his troop. Next day, Tātār Khān, reduced to helplessness, willy-nilly, made over the fort, and set out to come and wait on me in Āgra. A subsistence allowance of 20 laks was assigned to him on Bīānwān pargana.[1976]
Fol. 305.Muḥammad Zaitūn also took the only course open to him by surrendering Dūlpūr and coming to wait on me. A pargana worth a few laks was bestowed on him. Dūlpūr was made a royal domain (khālṣa) with Abū’l-fatḥ Turkmān[1977] as its military-collector (shiqdār).
In the Ḥiṣār-fīrūza neighbourhood Ḥamīd Khān Sārang-khānī with a body of his own Afghāns and of the Panī Afghāns he had collected—from 3 to 4,000 in all—was in a hostile and troublesome attitude. On Wednesday the 15th Ṣafar (Nov. 21st) we appointed against him Chīn-tīmūr Sl. (Chaghatāī) with the commanders Secretary Aḥmadī, Abū’l-fatḥ Turkmān, Malik Dād Kararānī[1978] and Mujāhid Khān of Multān. These going, fell suddenly on him from a distance, beat his Afghāns well, killed a mass of them and sent in many heads.
(e. Embassy from Persia.)
In the last days of Ṣafar, Khwājagī Asad who had been sent to Shāh-zāda T̤ahmāsp[1979] in ‘Irāq, returned with a Turkmān named Sulaimān who amongst other gifts brought two Circassian girls (qīzlār).
(f. Attempt to poison Bābur.)
(Dec. 21st) On Friday the 16th of the first Rabī‘ a strange event occurred which was detailed in a letter written to Kābul. That letter is inserted here just as it was written, without addition or taking-away, and is as follows:—[1980]
“The details of the momentous event of Friday the 16th of the first Rabī‘ in the date 933 [Dec. 21st 1526 AD.] are as follows:—The ill-omened old woman[1981] Ibrāhim’s mother heardFol. 305b. that I ate things from the hands of Hindūstānīs—the thing being that three or four months earlier, as I had not seen Hindūstānī dishes, I had ordered Ibrāhīm’s cooks to be brought and out of 50 or 60 had kept four. Of this she heard, sent to Atāwa (Etāwa) for Aḥmad the chāshnīgīr—in Hindūstān they call a taster (bakāwal) a chāshnīgīr—and, having got him,[1982] gave a tūla of poison, wrapped in a square of paper,—as has been mentioned a tūla is rather more than 2 mis̤qāls[1983]—into the hand of a slave-woman who was to give it to him. That poison Aḥmad gave to the Hindūstānī cooks in our kitchen, promising them four parganas if they would get it somehow into the food. Following the first slave-woman that ill-omened old woman sent a second to see if the first did or did not give the poison she had received to Aḥmad. Well was it that Aḥmad put the poison not into the cooking-pot but on a dish! He did not put it into the pot because I had strictly ordered the tasters to compel any Hindūstānīs who were present while food was cooking in the pots, to taste that food.[1984] Our graceless tasters were neglectful when the food (āsh) was being dished up. Thin slices of bread were put on a porcelain dish; on these less than half of the paper packet of poison was sprinkled, and over this buttered Fol. 306.fritters were laid. It would have been bad if the poison had been strewn on the fritters or thrown into the pot. In his confusion, the man threw the larger half into the fire-place.”
“On Friday, late after the Afternoon Prayer, when the cooked meats were set out, I ate a good deal of a dish of hare and also much fried carrot, took a few mouthfuls of the poisoned Hindūstānī food without noticing any unpleasant flavour, took also a mouthful or two of dried-meat (qāq). Then I felt sick. As some dried meat eaten on the previous day had had an unpleasant taste, I thought my nausea due to the dried-meat. Again and again my heart rose; after retching two or three times I was near vomiting on the table-cloth. At last I saw it would not do, got up, went retching every moment of the way to the water-closet (āb-khāna) and on reaching it vomited much. Never had I vomited after food, used not to do so indeed while drinking. I became suspicious; I had the cooks put in ward and ordered some of the vomit given to a dog and the dog to be watched. It was somewhat out-of-sorts near the first watch of the next day; its belly was swollen and however much people threw stones at it and turned it over, it did not get up. In that state it remained till mid-day; it then got up; it did not die. Fol. 306b.One or two of the braves who also had eaten of that dish, vomited a good deal next day; one was in a very bad state. In the end all escaped. (Persian) ‘An evil arrived but happily passed on!’ God gave me new-birth! I am coming from that other world; I am born today of my mother; I was sick; I live; through God, I know today the worth of life!”[1985]
“I ordered Pay-master Sl. Muḥammad to watch the cook; when he was taken for torture (qīn), he related the above particulars one after another.”
“Monday being Court-day, I ordered the grandees and notables, amīrs and wazīrs to be present and that those two men and two women should be brought and questioned. They there related the particulars of the affair. That taster I had cut in pieces, that cook skinned alive; one of those women I had thrown under an elephant, the other shot with a match-lock. The old woman (būā) I had kept under guard; she will meet her doom, the captive of her own act.”[1986]
“On Saturday I drank a bowl of milk, on Sunday ‘araq in which stamped-clay was dissolved.[1987] On Monday I drank milk in which were dissolved stamped-clay and the best theriac,[1988] a strong purge. As on the first day, Saturday, something very dark like parched bile was voided.”
“Thanks be to God! no harm has been done. Till now I had not known so well how sweet a thing life can seem! As the line has it, ‘He who has been near to death knows the worth of life.’ Spite of myself, I am all upset whenever the dreadfulFol. 307. occurrence comes back to my mind. It must have been God’s favour gave me life anew; with what words can I thank him?”
“Although the terror of the occurrence was too great for words, I have written all that happened, with detail and circumstance, because I said to myself, ‘Don’t let their hearts be kept in anxiety!’ Thanks be to God! there may be other days yet to see! All has passed off well and for good; have no fear or anxiety in your minds.”
“This was written on Tuesday the 20th of the first Rabī‘, I being then in the Chār-bāgh.”
When we were free from the anxiety of these occurrences, the above letter was written and sent to Kābul.
(g. Dealings with Ibrāhīm’s family.)
As this great crime had raised its head through that ill-omened old woman (būā-i-bad-bakht), she was given over to Yūnas-i-‘alī and Khwājagī Asad who after taking her money and goods, slaves and slave-women (dādūk), made her over for careful watch to ‘Abdu’r-raḥīm shaghāwal.[1989] Her grandson, Ibrāhīm’s son had been cared for with much respect and delicacy, but as the attempt on my life had been made, clearly, by that family, it did not seem advisable to keep him in Agra; he was joined therefore to Mullā Sarsān—who had come from Kāmrān on important business—and was started off with the Mullā to Kāmrān on Thursday Rabī‘ I. 29th (Jan. 3rd 1527 AD.).[1990]
(h. Humāyūn’s campaign.)
Fol. 307b.Humāyūn, acting against the Eastern rebels[1991] took Jūna-pūr (sic), went swiftly against Naṣīr Khān (Nūḥānī) in Ghāzī-pūr and found that he had gone across the Gang-river, presumably on news* of Humāyūn’s approach. From Ghāzī-pūr Humāyūn went against Kharīd[1992] but the Afghāns of the place had crossed the Sārū-water (Gogra) presumably on the news* of his coming. Kharīd was plundered and the army turned back.
Humāyūn, in accordance with my arrangements, left Shāh Mīr Ḥusain and Sl. Junaid with a body of effective braves in Jūna-pūr, posted Qāẓī Jīā with them, and placed Shaikh Bāyazīd [Farmūlī] in Aude (Oude). These important matters settled, he crossed Gang from near Karrah-Mānikpūr and took the Kālpī road. When he came opposite Kālpī, in which was Jalāl Khān Jik-hat’s (son) ‘Ālam Khān who had sent me dutiful letters but had not waited on me himself, he sent some-one to chase fear from ‘Ālam Khān’s heart and so brought him along (to Āgra).
Humāyūn arrived and waited on me in the Garden of Eight-paradises[1993] on Sunday the 3rd of the 2nd Rabī‘ (Jan. 6th 1527 AD.). On the same day Khwāja Dost-i-khāwand arrived from Kābul.
(i. Rānā Sangā’s approach.)[1994]
Meantime Mahdī Khwāja’s people began to come in, treading on one another’s heels and saying, “The Rānā’s advance is certain. Ḥasan Khān Mīwātī is heard of also as likely to join him. They must be thought about above all else. It would favour our fortune, if a troop came ahead of the army to reinforce Bīāna.”Fol. 308.
Deciding to get to horse, we sent on, to ride light to Bīāna, the commanders Muḥammad Sl. Mīrzā, Yūnas-i-‘alī, Shāh Manṣūr Barlās, Kitta Beg, Qismatī[1995] and Būjka.
In the fight with Ibrāhīm, Ḥasan Khān Mīwātī’s son Nāhar Khān had fallen into our hands; we had kept him as an hostage and, ostensibly on his account, his father had been making comings-and-goings with us, constantly asking for him. It now occurred to several people that if Ḥasan Khān were conciliated by sending him his son, he would thereby be the more favourably disposed and his waiting on me might be the better brought about. Accordingly Nāhar Khān was dressed in a robe of honour; promises were made to him for his father, and he was given leave to go. That hypocritical mannikin [Ḥasan Khān] must have waited just till his son had leave from me to go, for on hearing of this and while his son as yet had not joined him, he came out of Alūr (Alwar) and at once joined Rānā Sangā in Toda(bhīm, Āgra District). It must have been ill-judged to let his son go just then.
Meantime much rain was falling; parties were frequent; even Humāyūn was present at them and, abhorrent though it was to him, sinned[1996] every few days.
(j. Tramontane affairs.)
One of the strange events in these days of respite[1997] was this:—When Humāyūn was coming from Fort Victory. (Qila‘-i-z̤afar) to join the Hindūstān army, (Muḥ. 932 AH.-Oct. 1525 AD.)Fol. 308b. Mullā Bābā of Pashāghar (Chaghatāī) and his younger brother Bābā Shaikh deserted on the way, and went to Kītīn-qarā Sl. (Aūzbeg), into whose hands Balkh had fallen through the enfeeblement of its garrison.[1998] This hollow mannikin and his younger brother having taken the labours of this side (Cis-Balkh?) on their own necks, come into the neighbourhood of Aībak, Khurram and Sār-bāgh.[1999]
Shāh Sikandar—his footing in Ghūrī lost through the surrender of Balkh—is about to make over that fort to the Aūzbeg, when Mullā Bābā and Bābā Shaikh, coming with a few Aūzbegs, take possession of it. Mīr Hamah, as his fort is close by, has no help for it; he is for submitting to the Aūzbeg, but a few days later Mullā Bābā and Bābā Shaikh come with a few Aūzbegs to Mīr Hamah’s fort, purposing to make the Mīr and his troop march out and to take them towards Balkh. Mīr Hamah makes Bābā Shaikh dismount inside the fort, and gives the rest felt huts (aūtāq) here and there. He slashes at Bābā Shaikh, puts him and some others in bonds, and sends a man galloping off to Tīngrī-bīrdī (Qūchīn, in Qūndūz). Tīngrī-bīrdī sends off Yār-i-‘alī and ‘Abdu’l-lat̤īf with a few effective braves, but before they reach Mīr Hamah’s fort, Mullā Bābā has arrived there with his Aūzbegs; he had thought of a hand-to-hand fight (aūrūsh-mūrūsh), but he can do nothing. Mīr Hamah and his men joined Tīngrī-bīrdī’s and came to Qūndūz. Bābā Shaikh’s wound must have been severe; they cut his head off and Mīr Hamah brought Fol. 309.it (to Āgra) in these same days of respite. I uplifted his head with favour and kindness, distinguishing him amongst his fellows and equals. When Bāqī shaghāwal went [to Balkh][2000] I promised him a ser of gold for the head of each of the ill-conditioned old couple; one ser of gold was now given to Mīr Hamah for Bābā Shaikh’s head, over and above the favours referred to above.[2001]
(k. Action of part of the Bīāna reinforcement.)
Qismatī who had ridden light for Bīāna, brought back several heads he had cut off; when he and Būjka had gone with a few braves to get news, they had beaten two of the Pagan’s scouting-parties and had made 70 to 80 prisoners. Qismatī brought news that Ḥasan Khān Mīwātī really had joined Rānā Sangā.
(l. Trial-test of the large mortar of f. 302.)
(Feb. 10th) On Sunday the 8th of the month (Jumāda I.), I went to see Ustād ‘Alī-qulī discharge stones from that large mortar of his in casting which the stone-chamber was without defect and which he had completed afterwards by casting the powder-compartment. It was discharged at the Afternoon Prayer; the throw of the stone was 1600 paces. A gift was made to the Master of a sword-belt, robe of honour, and tīpūchāq (horse).
(m. Bābur leaves Āgra against Rānā Sangā.)
(Feb. 11th) On Monday the 9th of the first Jumāda, we got out of the suburbs of Āgra, on our journey (safar) for the Holy War, and dismounted in the open country, where we remained three or four days to collect our army and be its rallying-point.[2002] As little confidence was placed in Hindūstānī people, the Hindūstān amīrs were inscribed for expeditions to this or to that side:—‘Ālam Khān (Tahangarī) was sent hastily to Gūālīār toFol. 309b. reinforce Raḥīm-dād; Makan, Qāsim Beg Sanbalī (Saṃbhalī), Ḥamīd with his elder and younger brethren and Muḥammad Zaitūn were inscribed to go swiftly to Sanbal.
(n. Defeat of the advance-force.)
Into this same camp came the news that owing to Rānā Sangā’s swift advance with all his army,[2003] our scouts were able neither to get into the fort (Bīāna) themselves nor to send news into it. The Bīāna garrison made a rather incautious sally too far out; the enemy fell on them in some force and put them to rout.[2004] There Sangur Khān Janjūha became a martyr. Kitta Beg had galloped into the pell-mell without his cuirass; he got one pagan afoot (yāyāglātīb) and was overcoming him, when the pagan snatched a sword from one of Kitta Beg’s own servants and slashed the Beg across the shoulder. Kitta Beg suffered great pain; he could not come into the Holy-battle with Rānā Sangā, was long in recovering and always remained blemished.
Whether because they were themselves afraid, or whether to frighten others is not known but Qismatī, Shāh Manṣūr Barlās and all from Bīāna praised and lauded the fierceness and valour of the pagan army.
Qāsim Master-of-the-horse was sent from the starting-ground (safar qīlghān yūrt) with his spadesmen, to dig many wells where the army was next to dismount in the Madhākūr pargana.
(Feb. 16th) Marching out of Āgra on Saturday the 14th of the first Jumāda, dismount was made where the wells had been Fol. 310.dug. We marched on next day. It crossed my mind that the well-watered ground for a large camp was at Sīkrī.[2005] It being possible that the Pagan was encamped there and in possession of the water, we arrayed precisely, in right, left and centre. As Qismatī and Darwīsh-i-muḥammad Sārbān in their comings and goings had seen and got to know all sides of Bīāna, they were sent ahead to look for camping-ground on the bank of the Sīkrī-lake (kūl). When we reached the (Madhākūr) camp, persons were sent galloping off to tell Mahdī Khwāja and the Bīāna garrison to join me without delay. Humāyūn’s servant Beg Mīrak Mughūl was sent out with a few braves to get news of the Pagan. They started that night, and next morning brought word that he was heard of as having arrived and dismounted at a place one kuroh (2 miles) on our side (aīlkārāk) of Basāwar.[2006] On this same day Mahdī Khwāja and Muḥammad Sl. Mīrzā rejoined us with the troops that had ridden light to Bīāna.
(o. Discomfiture of a reconnoitring party.)
The begs were appointed in turns for scouting-duty. When it was ‘Abdu’l-‘azīz’s turn, he went out of Sīkrī, looking neither before nor behind, right out along the road to Kanwā which is 5 kuroh (10 m.) away. The Rānā must have been marching forward; he heard of our men’s moving out in their reinless (jalāū-sīz) way, and made 4 or 5,000 of his own fall suddenly on them. With ‘Abdu’l-‘azīz and Mullā Apāq may have been 1000 to 1500 men; they took no stock of their opponents but justFol. 310b. got to grips; they were hurried off at once, many of them being made prisoner.
On news of this, we despatched Khalīfa’s Muḥibb-i-‘alī with Khalīfa’s retainers. Mullā Ḥusain and some others aūbrūqsūbrūq[2007]* were sent to support them,[2008] and Muḥammad ‘Alī Jang-jang also. Presumably it was before the arrival of this first, Muḥibb-i-‘alī’s, reinforcement that the Pagan had hurried off ‘Abdu’l-‘azīz and his men, taken his standard, martyred Mullā Ni‘mat, Mullā Dāūd and the younger brother of Mullā Apāq, with several more. Directly the reinforcement arrived the pagans overcame T̤āhir-tibrī, the maternal uncle of Khalīfa’s Muḥibb-i-‘alī, who had not got up with the hurrying reinforcement[?].[2009] Meantime Muḥibb-i-‘alī even had been thrown down, but Bāltū getting in from the rear, brought him out. The enemy pursued for over a kuroh (2 m.), stopped however at the sight of the black mass of Muḥ. ‘Alī Jang-jang’s troops.
Foot upon foot news came that the foe had come near and nearer. We put on our armour and our horses’ mail, took our arms and, ordering the carts to be dragged after us, rode out at the gallop. We advanced one kuroh. The foe must have turned aside.
(p. Bābur fortifies his camp.)
For the sake of water, we dismounted with a large lake (kūl) on one side of us. Our front was defended by carts chained together*, the space between each two, across which the chains stretched, being 7 or 8 qārī (circa yards). Must̤afa Rūmī had Fol. 311.had the carts made in the Rūmī way, excellent carts, very strong and suitable.[2010] As Ustād ‘Alī-qulī was jealous of him, Must̤afa was posted to the right, in front of Humāyūn. Where the carts did not reach to, Khurāsānī and Hindūstānī spadesmen and miners were made to dig a ditch.
Owing to the Pagan’s rapid advance, to the fighting-work in Bīāna and to the praise and laud of the pagans made by Shāh Manṣūr, Qismatī and the rest from Bīāna, people in the army shewed sign of want of heart. On the top of all this came the defeat of ‘Abdu’l-‘azīz. In order to hearten our men, and give a look of strength to the army, the camp was defended and shut in where there were no carts, by stretching ropes of raw hide on wooden tripods, set 7 or 8 qārī apart. Time had drawn out to 20 or 25 days before these appliances and materials were fully ready.[2011]
(q. A reinforcement from Kābul.)
Just at this time there arrived from Kābul Qāsim-i-ḥusain Sl. (Aūzbeg Shaibān) who is the son of a daughter of Sl. Ḥusain M. (Bāī-qarā), and with him Aḥmad-i-yūsuf (Aūghlāqchī), Qawwām-i-aūrdū Shāh and also several single friends of mine, counting up in all to 500 men. Muḥammad Sharīf, the astrologer of ill-augury, came with them too, so did Bābā Dost the water-bearer (sūchī) who, having gone to Kābul for wine, had thereFol. 311b. loaded three strings of camels with acceptable Ghaznī wines.
At a time such as this, when, as has been mentioned, the army was anxious and afraid by reason of past occurrences and vicissitudes, wild words and opinions, this Muḥammad Sharīf, the ill-augurer, though he had not a helpful word to say to me, kept insisting to all he met, “Mars is in the west in these days;[2012] who comes into the fight from this (east) side will be defeated.” Timid people who questioned the ill-augurer, became the more shattered in heart. We gave no ear to his wild words, made no change in our operations, but got ready in earnest for the fight.
(Feb. 24th) On Sunday the 22nd (of Jumāda 1.) Shaikh Jamāl was sent to collect all available quiver-wearers from between the two waters (Ganges and Jumna) and from Dihlī, so that with this force he might over-run and plunder the Mīwāt villages, leaving nothing undone which could awaken the enemy’s anxiety for that side. Mullā Tark-i-‘alī, then on his way from Kābul, was ordered to join Shaikh Jamāl and to neglect nothing of ruin and plunder in Mīwāt; orders to the same purport were given also to Maghfūr the Dīwān. They went; they over-ran and raided a few villages in lonely corners (būjqāq); they took some prisoners; but their passage through did not arouse much anxiety!
(r. Bābur renounces wine.)
On Monday the 23rd of the first Jumāda (Feb. 25th), whenFol. 312. I went out riding, I reflected, as I rode, that the wish to cease from sin had been always in my mind, and that my forbidden acts had set lasting stain upon my heart. Said I, “Oh! my soul!”
| (Persian) | “How long wilt thou draw savour from sin? Repentance is not without savour, taste it!”[2013] |
| (Turkī) | Through years how many has sin defiled thee? How much of peace has transgression given thee? How much hast thou been thy passions’ slave? How much of thy life flung away?
With the Ghāzī’s resolve since now thou hast marched, Thou hast looked thine own death in the face! Who resolves to hold stubbornly fast to the death, Thou knowest what change he attains,
That far he removes him from all things forbidden, That from all his offences he cleanses himself. With my own gain before me, I vowed to obey, In this my transgression,[2014] the drinking of wine.[2015]
The flagons and cups of silver and gold, the vessels of feasting, I had them all brought; I had them all broken up[2016] then and there. Thus eased I my heart by renouncement of wine. |
The fragments of the gold and silver vessels were shared out to deserving persons and to darwīshes. The first to agree in renouncing wine was ‘Asas;[2017] he had already agreed also about leaving his beard untrimmed.[2018] That night and next day some Fol. 312b.300 begs and persons of the household, soldiers and not soldiers, renounced wine. What wine we had with us was poured on the ground; what Bābā Dost had brought was ordered salted to make vinegar. At the place where the wine was poured upon the ground, a well was ordered to be dug, built up with stone and having an almshouse beside it. It was already finished in Muḥarram 935 (AH.-Sep. 1528 AD.) at the time I went to Sīkrī from Dūlpūr on my way back from visiting Gūālīār.
(s. Remission of a due.)
I had vowed already that, if I gained the victory over Sangā the pagan, I would remit the tamghā[2019] to all Musalmāns. Of this vow Darwīsh-i-muḥammad Sārbān and Shaikh Zain reminded me at the time I renounced wine. Said I, “You do well to remind me.”
*The tamghā was remitted to all Musalmāns of the dominions I held.[2020] I sent for the clerks (munshīlār), and ordered them to write for their news-letters (akhbar) the farmān concerning the two important acts that had been done. Shaikh Zain wrote the farmān with his own elegance (inshāsī bīla) and his fine letter (inshā) was sent to all my dominions. It is as follows:—[2021]
FARMĀN ANNOUNCING BĀBUR’S RENUNCIATION OF WINE.[2022]
[2023] Let us praise the Long-suffering One who loveth the penitent and who loveth the cleansers of themselves; and let thanks be rendered to the Gracious One who absolveth His debtors, and forgiveth those who seek forgiveness. Blessings be upon Muḥammad the Crown of Creatures, on the Holy family, on the pure Companions, and on the mirrors of the glorious congregation, to wit, the Masters of Wisdom who are treasure-houses of the pearls of purity and who bear the impress of the sparkling jewels of this purport:—that the nature of man is prone to evil, and that the abandonment of sinful appetites is only feasible by Divine aidFol. 313. and the help that cometh from on high. “Every soul is prone unto evil,”[2024] (and again) “This is the bounty of God; He will give the same unto whom He pleaseth; and God is endued with great bounty.”[2025]
Our motive for these remarks and for repeating these statements is that, by reason of human frailty, of the customs of kings and of the great, all of us, from the Shāh to the sipāhī, in the heyday of our youth, have transgressed and done what we ought not to have done. After some days of sorrow and repentance, we abandoned evil practices one by one, and the gates of retrogression became closed. But the renunciation of wine, the greatest and most indispensable of renunciations, remained under a veil in the chamber of deeds pledged to appear in due season, and did not show its countenance until the glorious hour when we had put on the garb of the holy warrior and had encamped with the army of Islām over against the infidels in order to slay them. On this occasion I received a secret inspiration and heard an infallible voice say “Is not the time yet come unto those who believe, that their hearts should humbly submit to the admonition of God, and that truth which hath been revealed?”[2026] Thereupon we set ourselves to extirpate the things of wickedness, and we earnestly knocked at the gates of repentance. The Guide of Help assisted us, according to the saying “Whoever knocks and re-knocks, to him it will be opened”, and an order was given that with the Holy War there should Fol. 313b.begin the still greater war which has to be waged against sensuality. In short, we declared with sincerity that we would subjugate our passions, and I engraved on the tablet of my heart “I turn unto Thee with repentance, and I am the first of true believers”.[2027] And I made public the resolution to abstain from wine, which had been hidden in the treasury of my breast. The victorious servants, in accordance with the illustrious order, dashed upon the earth of contempt and destruction the flagons and the cups, and the other utensils in gold and silver, which in their number and their brilliance were like the stars of the firmament. They dashed them in pieces, as, God willing! soon will be dashed the gods of the idolaters,—and they distributed the fragments among the poor and needy. By the blessing of this acceptable repentance, many of the courtiers, by virtue of the saying that men follow the religion of their kings, embraced abstinence at the same assemblage, and entirely renounced the use of wine, and up till now crowds of our subjects hourly attain this auspicious happiness. I hope that in accordance with the saying “He who incites to good deeds has the same reward as he who does them” the benefit of this action will react on the royal fortune and increase it day by day by victories.
After carrying out this design an universal decree was issued that in the imperial dominions—May God protect them fromFol. 314. every danger and calamity—no-one shall partake of strong drink, or engage in its manufacture, nor sell it, nor buy it or possess it, nor convey it or fetch it. “Beware of touching it.” “Perchance this will give you prosperity.”[2028]
In thanks for these great victories,[2029] and as a thank-offering for God’s acceptance of repentance and sorrow, the ocean of the royal munificence became commoved, and those waves of kindness, which are the cause of the civilization of the world and of the glory of the sons of Adam, were displayed,—and throughout all the territories the tax (tamghā) on Musalmāns was abolished,—though its yield was more than the dreams of avarice, and though it had been established and maintained by former rulers,—for it is a practice outside of the edicts of the Prince of Apostles (Muḥammad). So a decree was passed that in no city, town, road, ferry, pass, or port, should the tax be levied or exacted. No alteration whatsoever of this order is to be permitted. “Whoever after hearing it makes any change therein, the sin of such change will be upon him.”[2030]
The proper course (sabīl) for all who shelter under the shade of the royal benevolence, whether they be Turk, Tājik, ‘Arab, Hindī, or Fārsī (Persian), peasants or soldiers, of every nation or tribe of the sons of Adam, is to strengthen themselves by the tenets of religion, and to be full of hope and prayer for the dynasty which is linked with eternity, and to adhere to these ordinances, and not in any way to transgress them. It behoves all to act according to this farmān; they are to accept it as authentic when it comes attested by the Sign-Manual.
Written by order of the Exalted one,—May his excellence endure for ever! on the 24th of Jumāda I. 933 (February 26th 1527).
(t. Alarm in Bābur’s camp.)
Fol. 314b.In these days, as has been mentioned, (our people) great and small, had been made very anxious and timid by past occurrences. No manly word or brave counsel was heard from any one soever. What bold speech was there from the wazīrs who are to speak out (dīgūchī), or from the amīrs who will devour the land (wilāyat-yīghūchī)?[2031] None had advice to give, none a bold plan of his own to expound. Khalīfa (however) did well in this campaign, neglecting nothing of control and supervision, painstaking and diligence.
At length after I had made enquiry concerning people’s want of heart and had seen their slackness for myself, a plan occurred to me; I summoned all the begs and braves and said to them, “Begs and braves!
| (Persian) | Who comes into the world will die; What lasts and lives will be God. |
| (Turkī) | He who hath entered the assembly of life, Drinketh at last of the cup of death.
He who hath come to the inn of life, Passeth at last from Earth’s house of woe. |
“Better than life with a bad name, is death with a good one.
| (Persian) | Well is it with me, if I die with good name! A good name must I have, since the body is death’s.[2032] |
“God the Most High has allotted to us such happiness and has created for us such good-fortune that we die as martyrs, we kill as avengers of His cause. Therefore must each of you take oathFol. 315. upon His Holy Word that he will not think of turning his face from this foe, or withdraw from this deadly encounter so long as life is not rent from his body.” All those present, beg and retainer, great and small, took the Holy Book joyfully into their hands and made vow and compact to this purport. The plan was perfect; it worked admirably for those near and afar, for seërs and hearers, for friend and foe.
(u. Bābur’s perilous position.)
In those same days trouble and disturbance arose on every side:—Ḥusain Khān Nuḥānī went and took Rāprī; Qut̤b Khān’s man took Chandwār[2033]; a mannikin called Rustam Khān who had collected quiver-wearers from Between-the-two-waters (Ganges and Jamna), took Kūl (Koel) and made Kīchīk ‘Alī prisoner; Khwāja Zāhid abandoned Saṃbal and went off; Sl. Muḥammad Dūldāī came from Qanūj to me; the Gūālīār pagans laid siege to that fort; ‘Ālam Khān when sent to reinforce it, did not go to Gūālīār but to his own district. Every day bad news came from every side. Desertion of many Hindūstānīs set in; Haibat Khān Karg-andāz[2034] deserted and went to Saṃbal; Ḥasan Khān of Bārī deserted and joined the Pagan. We gave attention to none of them but went straight on with our own affair.
(v. Bābur advances to fight.)
The apparatus and appliances, the carts and wheeled tripods being ready, we arrayed in right, left and centre, and marched forward on New Year’s Day,[2035] Tuesday, the 9th of the secondFol. 315b. Jumāda (March 13th), having the carts[2036] and wheeled tripods moving in front of us, with Ustād ‘Alī-qulī and all the matchlock-men ranged behind them in order that these men, being on foot, should not be left behind the array but should advance with it.
When the various divisions, right, left and centre, had gone each to its place, I galloped from one to another to give encouragement to begs, braves, and sipāhīs. After each man had had assigned to him his post and usual work with his company, we advanced, marshalled on the plan determined, for as much as one kuroh (2 m.)[2037] and then dismounted.
The Pagan’s men, for their part, were on the alert; they came from their side, one company after another.
The camp was laid out and strongly protected by ditch and carts. As we did not intend to fight that day, we sent a few unmailed braves ahead, who were to get to grips with the enemy and thus take an omen. They made a few pagans prisoner, cut off and brought in their heads. Malik Qāsim also cut off and brought in a few heads; he did well. By these successes the hearts of our men became very strong.
When we marched on next day, I had it in my mind to fight, but Khalīfa and other well-wishers represented that the camping-ground previously decided on was near and that it would favour our fortunes if we had a ditch and defences made there and went there direct. Khalīfa accordingly rode off to get Fol. 316.the ditch dug; he settled its position with the spades-men, appointed overseers of the work and returned to us. (w. The battle of Kānwa.)[2038]
On Saturday the 13th of the second Jumāda (March 17th, 1527 AD.) we had the carts dragged in front of us (as before), made a kuroh (2 m.) of road, arrayed in right, left and centre, and dismounted on the ground selected.
A few tents had been set up; a few were in setting up when news of the appearance of the enemy was brought. Mounting instantly, I ordered every man to his post and that our array should be protected with the carts.[2039]
*As the following Letter-of-victory (Fatḥ-nāma) which is what Shaikh Zain had indited, makes known particulars about the army of Islām, the great host of the pagans with the position of their arrayed ranks, and the encounters had between them and the army of Islām, it is inserted here without addition or deduction.[2040]
SHAIKH ZAIN’S LETTER-OF-VICTORY.
(a. Introduction.)
Praise be to God the Faithful Promiser, the Helper of His servants, the Supporter of His armies, the Scatterer of hostile hosts, the One alone without whom there is nothing.Fol. 316b.
O Thou the Exalter of the pillars of Islām, Helper of thy faithful minister, Overthrower of the pedestals of idols, Overcomer of rebellious foes, Exterminator to the uttermost of the followers of darkness!
Lauds be to God the Lord of the worlds, and may the blessing of God be upon the best of His creatures Muḥammad, Lord of ghāzīs and champions of the Faith, and upon his companions, the pointers of the way, until the Day of judgment.
The successive gifts of the Almighty are the cause of frequent praises and thanksgivings, and the number of these praises and thanksgivings is, in its turn, the cause of the constant succession of God’s mercies. For every mercy a thanksgiving is due, and every thanksgiving is followed by a mercy. To render full thanks is beyond men’s power; the mightiest are helpless to discharge their obligations. Above all, adequate thanks cannot be rendered for a benefit than which none is greater in the world and nothing is more blessed, in the world to come, to wit, victory over most powerful infidels and dominion over wealthiest heretics, “these are the unbelievers, the wicked.”[2041] In the eyes of the judicious, no blessing can be greater than this. Thanks be to God! that this great blessing and mighty boon, which from the cradle until now has been the real object of this right-thinking mind (Bābur’s), has now manifested itself by the graciousness of the King of the worlds; the Opener who dispenses his treasures without awaiting solicitation, hath opened them with a master-key before our victorious Nawāb (Bābur),[2042] so that the names of our[2043] conquering heroes have been emblazoned in the records of glorious ghāzīs. By the help of our victorious soldiers the Fol. 317.standards of Islām have been raised to the highest pinnacles. The account of this auspicious fortune is as follows:—
(b. Rānā Sangā and his forces.)
When the flashing-swords of our Islām-guarded soldiers had illuminated the land of Hindūstān with rays of victory and conquest, as has been recorded in former letters-of-victory,[2044] the Divine favour caused our standards to be upreared in the territories of Dihlī, Āgra, Jūn-pūr, Kharīd,[2045] Bihār, etc., when many chiefs, both pagans and Muḥammadans submitted to our generals and shewed sincere obedience to our fortunate Nawāb. But Rānā Sangā the pagan who in earlier times breathed submissive to the Nawāb,[2046] now was puffed up with pride and became of the number of unbelievers.[2047] Satan-like he threw back his head and collected an army of accursed heretics, thus gathering a rabble-rout of whom some wore the accursed torque (t̤auq), the zīnār,[2048] on the neck, some had in the skirt the calamitous thorn of apostacy.[2049] Previous to the rising in Hindūstān of the Sun of dominion and the emergence there of the light of the Shāhanshāh’s Khalīfate [i.e. Bābur’s] the authority of that execrated pagan (Sangā)—at the Judgment Day he shall have no friend,[2050] was such that not one of all the exalted sovereigns of this wide realm, such as the Sult̤ān of Dihlī, theFol. 317b. Sult̤ān of Gujrāt and the Sult̤ān of Mandū, could cope with this evil-dispositioned one, without the help of other pagans; one and all they cajoled him and temporized with him; and he had this authority although the rājas and rāīs of high degree, who obeyed him in this battle, and the governors and commanders who were amongst his followers in this conflict, had not obeyed him in any earlier fight or, out of regard to their own dignity, been friendly with him. Infidel standards dominated some 200 towns in the territories of Islām; in them mosques and shrines fell into ruin; from them the wives and children of the Faithful were carried away captive. So greatly had his forces grown that, according to the Hindū calculation by which one lak of revenue should yield 100 horsemen, and one krūr of revenue, 10,000 horsemen, the territories subject to the Pagan (Sangā) yielding 10 krūrs, should yield him 100,000 horse. Many noted pagans who hitherto had not helped him in battle, now swelled his ranks out of hostility to the people of Islām. Ten powerful chiefs, each the leader of a pagan host, uprose in rebellion, as smoke rises, and linked themselves, as though Fol. 318.enchained, to that perverse one (Sangā); and this infidel decade who, unlike the blessed ten,[2051] uplifted misery-freighted standards which denounce unto them excruciating punishment,[2052] had many dependants, and troops, and wide-extended lands. As, for instance, Ṣalāḥu’d-dīn[2053] had territory yielding 30,000 horse, Rāwal Ūdai Sīngh of Bāgar had 12,000, Medinī Rāī had 12,000, Ḥasan Khān of Mīwāt had 12,000, Bār-mal of Īdr had 4,000, Narpat Hāra had 7,000, Satrvī of Kach (Cutch) had 6,000, Dharm-deo had 4,000, Bīr-sing-deo had 4,000, and Maḥmūd Khān, son of Sl. Sikandar, to whom, though he possessed neither district nor pargana, 10,000 horse had gathered in hope of his attaining supremacy. Thus, according to the calculation of Hind, 201,000 was the total of those sundered from salvation. In brief, that haughty pagan, inwardly blind, and hardened of heart, having joined with other pagans, dark-fated and doomed to perdition, advanced to contend with the followers of Islām and to destroy the foundations of the law of the Prince of Men (Muḥammad), on whom be God’s blessing! The protagonists of the royal forces fell, like divine destiny, on that one-eyed Dajjāl[2054] who, to understanding men, shewed the truth of the saying, When Fate arrives, the eye becomes blind, and, setting before their eyes the scripture which saith, Whosoever striveth to promote the true religion, striveth for the good of his own soul,[2055]Fol. 318b. they acted on the precept to which obedience is due, Fight against infidels and hypocrites.
(c. Military movements.)
(March 17th, 1527) On Saturday the 13th day of the second Jumāda of the date 933, a day blessed by the words, God hath blessed your Saturday, the army of Islām was encamped near the village of Kānwa, a dependency of Bīāna, hard by a hill which was 2 kurohs (4 m.) from the enemies of the Faith. When those accursed infidel foes of Muḥammad’s religion heard the reverberation of the armies of Islām, they arrayed their ill-starred forces and moved forward with one heart, relying on their mountain-like, demon-shaped elephants, as had relied the Lords of the Elephant[2056] who went to overthrow the sanctuary (ka‘ba) of Islām.
“Having these elephants, the wretched Hindus
Became proud, like the Lords of the Elephant;
Yet were they odious and vile as is the evening of death,
Blacker[2057] than night, outnumbering the stars,
All such as fire is[2058] but their heads upraised
In hate, as rises its smoke in the azure sky,
Ant-like they come from right and from left,
Thousands and thousands of horse and foot.”
They advanced towards the victorious encampment, intending Fol. 319.to give battle. The holy warriors of Islām, trees in the garden of valour, moved forward in ranks straight as serried pines and, like pines uplift their crests to heaven, uplifting their helmet-crests which shone even as shine the hearts of those that strive in the way of the Lord; their array was like Alexander’s iron-wall,[2059] and, as is the way of the Prophet’s Law, straight and firm and strong, as though they were a well-compacted building;[2060] and they became fortunate and successful in accordance with the saying, They are directed by their Lord, and they shall prosper.[2061]
In that array no rent was frayed by timid souls;
Firm was it as the Shāhanshāh’s resolve, strong as the Faith;
Their standards brushed against the sky;
Verily we have granted thee certain victory.[2062]
Obeying the cautions of prudence, we imitated the ghāzīs of Rūm[2063] by posting matchlockmen (tufanchīān) and cannoneers (ra‘d-andāzān) along the line of carts which were chained to one another in front of us; in fact, Islām’s army was so arrayed and so steadfast that primal Intelligence[2064] and the firmament (‘aql-i-pīr u charkh-i-as̤īr) applauded the marshalling thereof. To effect this arrangement and organization, Niz̤āmu’d-dīn ‘Alī Khalīfa, the pillar of the Imperial fortune, exerted himself strenuously; his efforts were in accord with Destiny, and were approved by his sovereign’s luminous judgment.
(d. Commanders of the centre.)
His Majesty’s post was in the centre. In the right-hand of the centre were stationed the illustrious and most uprightFol. 319b. brother, the beloved friend of Destiny, the favoured of Him whose aid is entreated (i.e. God), Chīn-tīmūr Sult̤ān,[2065]—the illustrious son, accepted in the sight of the revered Allāh, Sulaimān Shāh,[2066]—the reservoir of sanctity, the way-shower, Khwāja Kamālu’d-dīn (Perfect-in-the Faith) Dost-i-khāwand,—the trusted of the sult̤ānate, the abider near the sublime threshold, the close companion, the cream of associates, Kamālu’d-dīn Yūnas-i-‘alī,—the pillar of royal retainers, the perfect in friendship, Jalālu’d-dīn (Glory-of-the-Faith) Shāh Manṣūr Barlās,—the pillar of royal retainers, most excellent of servants, Niz̤āmu’d-dīn (Upholder-of-the-Faith) Darwīsh-i-muḥammad Sārbān,—the pillars of royal retainers, the sincere in fidelity, Shihābu’d-dīn (Meteor-of-the-Faith) ‘Abdu’l-lāh the librarian and Nīẕāmu’d-dīn Dost Lord-of-the-Gate.
In the left-hand of the centre took each his post, the reservoir of sovereignty, ally of the Khalīfate, object of royal favour, Sult̤ān ‘Alā’u’d-dīn ‘Ālam Khān son of Sl. Bahlūl Lūdī,—the intimate of illustrious Majesty, the high priest (dastūr) of ṣadrs amongst men, the refuge of all people, the pillar of Islām, Shaikh Zain of Khawāf,[2067]—the pillar of the nobility, Kamālu’d-dīn Muḥibb-i-‘alī, son of the intimate counsellor named above (i.e. Khalīfa),—the pillar of royal retainers, Niz̤āmu’d-dīn Tardī Beg brother of Qūj (son of) Aḥmad, whom God hath taken into His mercy,—ShīrafganFol. 320. son of the above-named Qūj Beg deceased,—the pillar of great ones, the mighty khān, Ārāīsh Khān,[2068]—the wazīr, greatest of wazīrs amongst men, Khwāja Kamālu’d-dīn Ḥusain,—and a number of other attendants at Court (dīwanīān).
(e. Commanders of the right wing.)
In the right wing was the exalted son, honourable and fortunate, the befriended of Destiny, the Star of the Sign of sovereignty and success, Sun of the sphere of the Khalīfate, lauded of slave and free, Muḥammad Humāyūn Bahādur. On that exalted prince’s right hand there were, one whose rank approximates to royalty and who is distinguished by the favour of the royal giver of gifts, Qāsim-i-ḥusain Sult̤ān,—the pillar of the nobility Niz̤āmu’d-dīn Aḥmad-ī-yūsuf Aūghlāqchī,[2069]—the trusted of royalty, most excellent of servants, Jalālu’d-dīn Hindū Beg qūchīn,[2070]—the trusted of royalty, perfect in loyalty, Jalālu’d-dīn Khusrau Kūkūldāsh,—the trusted of royalty, Qawām (var. Qiyām) Beg Aūrdū-shāh,—the pillar of royal retainers, of perfect sincerity, Walī Qarā-qūzī the treasurer,[2071]—the pillar of royal retainers, Niz̤āmu’d-dīn Pīr-qulī of Sīstān,—the pillar of wazīrs, Khwāja Kamālu’d-dīn pahlawān (champion) of Badakhshān,—the pillar of royal retainers, ‘Abdu’l-sḥakūr,—the pillar of the nobility, most excellent of servants, the envoy from ‘Irāq Sulaimān Āqā,—and Ḥusain Āqā the envoy from Sīstān. On Fol. 320b.the victory-crowned left of the fortunate son already named there were, the sayyid of lofty birth, of the family of Murtiẓā (‘Alī), Mīr Hama (or Hāma),—the pillar of royal retainers, the perfect in sincerity, Shamsu’d-dīn Muḥammadī Kūkūldāsh and Niz̤āmu’d-dīn Khwājagī Asad jān-dār.[2072] In the right wing there were, of the amīrs of Hind,—the pillar of the State, the Khān-of-Khāns, Dilāwar Khān,[2073]—the pillar of the nobility, Malik Dād Kararānī,—and the pillar of the nobility, the Shaikh-of-shaikhs, Shaikh Gūran, each standing in his appointed place.
(f. Commanders of the left wing.)
In the left wing of the armies of Islām there extended their ranks,—the lord of lofty lineage, the refuge of those in authority, the ornament of the family of T̤a Ha and Ya Sin,[2074] the model for the descendants of the prince of ambassadors (Muḥammad), Sayyid Mahdī Khwāja,—the exalted and fortunate brother, the well-regarded of his Majesty, Muḥammad Sl. Mīrzā,[2075]—the personage approximating to royalty, the descended of monarchs, ‘Ādil Sult̤ān son of Mahdī Sult̤ān,[2076]—the trusted in the State, perfect in attachment, ‘Abdu’l-'azīz Master of the Horse,—the trusted in the State, the pure in friendship, Shamsu’d-dīn Muḥammad ‘Ali Jang-jang,[2077]—the pillar of royal retainers, Jalālu’d-dīn Qūtlūq-qadam qarāwal (scout),—the pillar of royal retainers, the perfect in sincerity, Jalālu’d-dīn Shāh Ḥusain yārāgī Mughūl Ghānchī(?),[2078]—and Niz̤āmu’d-dīn Jān-i-muḥammad Beg Ātāka.
Of amīrs of Hind there were in this division, the scions of sult̤āns, Kamāl Khān and Jamāl Khān sons of the Sl. ‘Alā’u’d-dīnFol. 321. above-mentioned,—the most excellent officer ‘Alī Khān Shaikh-zāda of Farmūl,—and the pillar of the nobility, Niz̤ām Khān of Bīāna.
(g. The flanking parties.)
For the flank-movement (tūlghāma) of the right wing there were posted two of the most trusted of the household retainers, Tardīka[2079] and Malik Qāsim the brother of Bābā Qashqa, with a body of Mughūls; for the flank-movement of the left wing were the two trusted chiefs Mūmin Ātāka and Rustam Turkmān, leading a body of special troops.
(h. The Chief of the Staff.)
The pillar of royal retainers, the perfect in loyalty, the cream of privy-counsellors, Niz̤āmu’d-dīn Sult̤ān Muḥammad Bakhshī, after posting the ghāzīs of Islām, came to receive the royal commands. He despatched adjutants (tawāchī) and messengers (yasāwal) in various directions to convey imperative orders concerning the marshalling of the troops to the great sult̤āns and amīrs. And when the Commanders had taken up their positions, an imperative order was given that none should quit his post or, uncommanded, stretch forth his arm to fight.
(i. The battle.)
One watch[2080] of the afore-mentioned day had elapsed when the opposing forces approached each other and the battle began. As Light opposes Darkness, so did the centres of the two Fol. 321b.armies oppose one another. Fighting began on the right and left wings, such fighting as shook the Earth and filled highest Heaven with clangour.
The left wing of the ill-fated pagans advanced against the right wing of the Faith-garbed troops of Islām and charged down on Khusrau Kūkūldāsh and Bābā Qashqa’s brother Malik Qāsim. The most glorious and most upright brother Chīn-tīmūr Sult̤ān, obeying orders, went to reinforce them and, engaging in the conflict with bold attack, bore the pagans back almost to the rear of their centre. Guerdon was made for the brother’s glorious fame.[2081] The marvel of the Age, Muṣt̤afa of Rūm, had his post in the centre (of the right wing) where was the exalted son, upright and fortunate, the object of the favourable regard of
Creative Majesty (i.e. God), the one distinguished by the particular grace of the mighty Sovereign who commands to do and not to do (i.e. Bābur), Muḥammad Humāyūn Bahādur. This Muṣt̤afa of Rūm had the carts (arābahā)[2082] brought forward and broke the ranks of pagans with matchlock and culverin dark like their hearts(?).[2083] In the thick of the fight, the most glorious brother Qāsim-i-ḥusain Sult̤ān and the pillars of royal retainers, Niz̤āmu’d-dīn Aḥmad-i-yūsuf and Qawām Beg, obeying orders, hastened to their help. And since band after band of pagan troops followed each other to help their men, so we, in our turn, sent the trusted in the State, the glory of the Faith, Hindū Beg, and, after him, the pillars of the nobility, Muhammadī Kūkūldāsh and Khwājagī Asad jān-dār, and, after them, the trusted inFol. 322. the State, the trustworthy in the resplendent Court, the most confided-in of nobles, the elect of confidential servants, Yūnas-i-'alī, together with the pillar of the nobility, the perfect in friendship, Shāh Manṣūr Barlās and the pillar of the grandees, the pure in fidelity, ‘Abdu’l-lāh the librarian, and after these, the pillar of the nobles, Dost the Lord-of-the-Gate, and Muḥammad Khalīl the master-gelder (akhta-begī).[2084]
The pagan right wing made repeated and desperate attack on the left wing of the army of Islām, falling furiously on the holy warriors, possessors of salvation, but each time was made to turn back or, smitten with the arrows of victory, was made to descend into Hell, the house of perdition; they shall be thrown to burn therein, and an unhappy dwelling shall it be.[2085] Then the trusty amongst the nobles, Mūmin Ātāka and Rustam Turkmān betook themselves to the rear[2086] of the host of darkened pagans; and to help them were sent the Commanders Khwāja Maḥmūd and ‘Alī Ātāka, servants of him who amongst the royal retainers is near the throne, the trusted of the Sult̤ānate, Niz̤āmu’d-din ‘Alī Khalīfa.
Our high-born brother[2087] Muḥammad Sl. Mīrzā, and the representative of royal dignity, ‘Ādil Sult̤ān, and the trusted in the State, the strengthener of the Faith, ‘Abdu’l-‘azīz, the Master of the Horse, and the glory of the Faith, Qūtlūq-qadam qarāwal, and the meteor of the Faith, Muḥammad ‘Alī Jang-jang, and the pillar of royal retainers, Shāh Ḥusain yāragī Mughūl Ghānchī(?) stretched out the arm to fight and stood firm. To support them we sent the Dastūr, the highest of wazīrs, Khwāja Fol. 322b.Kamālu’d-dīn Ḥusain with a body of dīwānīs.[2088] Every holy warrior was eager to show his zeal, entering the fight with desperate joy as if approving the verse, Say, Do you expect any other should befall us than one of the two most excellent things, victory or martyrdom?[2089] and, with display of life-devotion, uplifted the standard of life-sacrifice.
As the conflict and battle lasted long, an imperative order was issued that the special royal corps (tābīnān-i-khāṣa-i-pādshāhī)[2090] who, heroes of one hue,[2091] were standing, like tigers enchained, behind the carts,[2092] should go out on the right and the left of the centre,[2093] leaving the matchlockmen’s post in-between, and join battle on both sides. As the True Dawn emerges from its cleft in the horizon, so they emerged from behind the carts; they poured a ruddy crepuscule of the blood of those ill-fated pagans on the nadir of the Heavens, that battle-field; they made fall from the firmament of existence many heads of the headstrong, as stars fall from the firmament of heaven. The marvel of the Age, Ustād ‘Alī-qulī, who with his own appurtenances stood in front of the centre, did deeds of valour, discharging against the iron-mantled forts of the infidels[2094] stones of such size that were (one) put into a scale of the Balance in which actions are weighed, that scale shall be heavy with good works and he
(i.e. its owner) shall lead a pleasing life[2095]; and were such stones discharged against a hill, broad of base and high of summit, it would become like carded wool.[2096] Such stones Ustād ‘Alī-qulī discharged at the iron-clad fortress of the pagan ranks and by this discharge of stones, and abundance of culverins and matchlocks(?)[2097] destroyed many of the builded bodies of theFol. 323. pagans. The matchlockmen of the royal centre, in obedience to orders, going from behind the carts into the midst of the battle, each one of them made many a pagan taste of the poison of death. The foot-soldiers, going into a most dangerous place, made their names to be blazoned amongst those of the forest-tigers (i.e. heroes) of valour and the champions in the field of manly deeds. Just at this time came an order from his Majesty the Khāqān that the carts of the centre should be advanced; and the gracious royal soul (i.e. Bābur) moved towards the pagan soldiers, Victory and Fortune on his right, Prestige and Conquest on his left. On witnessing this event, the victorious troops followed from all sides; the whole surging ocean of the army rose in mighty waves; the courage of all the crocodiles[2098] of that ocean was manifested by the strength of their deeds; an obscuring cloud of dust o’erspread the sky(?). The dust that gathered over the battle-field was traversed by the lightning-flashes of the sword; the Sun’s face was shorn of light as is a mirror’s back; the striker and the struck, the victor and the vanquished were commingled, all distinction between them lost. The Wizard of Time produced such a night that its only planets were arrows,[2099] its only constellations of fixed stars were the steadfast squadrons.
Upon that day of battle sank and rose
Blood to the Fish and dust-clouds to the Moon,
While through the horse-hoofs on that spacious plain,Fol. 323b.
One Earth flew up to make another Heaven.[2100]
At the moment when the holy warriors were heedlessly flinging away their lives, they heard a secret voice say, Be not dismayed, neither be grieved, for, if ye believe, ye shall be exalted above the unbelievers,[2101] and from the infallible Informer heard the joyful words, Assistance is from God, and a speedy victory! And do thou bear glad tidings to true believers.[2102] Then they fought with such delight that the plaudits of the saints of the Holy Assembly reached them and the angels from near the Throne, fluttered round their heads like moths. Between the first and second Prayers, there was such blaze of combat that the flames thereof raised standards above the heavens, and the right and left of the army of Islām rolled back the left and right of the doomed infidels in one mass upon their centre.
When signs were manifest of the victory of the Strivers and of the up-rearing of the standards of Islām, those accursed infidels and wicked unbelievers remained for one hour confounded. At length, their hearts abandoning life, they fell upon the right and left of our centre. Their attack on the left was the more vigorous and there they approached furthest, but the holy warriors, their minds set on the reward, planted shoots (nihāl) of arrows in the field of the breast of each one of them, and, such being their gloomy fate, overthrew them. In this state of affairs, the breezes of victory and fortune blew over the meadow of our Fol. 324.happy Nawāb, and brought the good news, Verily we have granted thee a manifest victory.[2103] And Victory the beautiful woman (shāhid) whose world-adornment of waving tresses was embellished by God will aid you with a mighty aid,[2104] bestowed on us the good fortune that had been hidden behind a veil, and made it a reality. The absurd (bāt̤il) Hindūs, knowing their position perilous, dispersed like carded wool before the wind, and like moths scattered abroad.[2105] Many fell dead on the field of battle; others, desisting from fighting, fled to the desert of exile and became the food of crows and kites. Mounds were made of the bodies of the slain, pillars of their heads.
(j. Hindū chiefs killed in the battle.)
Ḥasan Khān of Mīwāt was enrolled in the list of the dead by the force of a matchlock (ẓarb-i-tufak); most of those headstrong chiefs of tribes were slain likewise, and ended their days by arrow and matchlock (tīr u tufak). Of their number was Rāwal Ūdī Sīngh of Bāgar,[2106] ruler (wālī) of the Dungarpūr country, who had 12,000 horse, Rāī Chandrabān Chūhān who had 4,000 horse, Bhūpat Rāo son of that Ṣalāḥu’d-dīn already mentioned, who was lord of Chandīrī and had 6,000 horse, Mānik-chand Chūhān and Dilpat Rāo who had each 4,000 horse, Kankū (or Gangū) and Karm Sīngh and Dankūsī(?)[2107] who had each 3,000 horse, and a number of others, each one of whom was leader of a greatFol. 324b. command, a splendid and magnificent chieftain. All these trod the road to Hell, removing from this house of clay to the pit of perdition. The enemy’s country (dāru’l-ḥarb) was full, as Hell is full, of wounded who had died on the road. The lowest pit was gorged with miscreants who had surrendered their souls to the lord of Hell. In whatever direction one from the army of Islām hastened, he found everywhere a self-willed one dead; whatever march the illustrious camp made in the wake of the fugitives, it found no foot-space without its prostrate foe.
All the Hindūs slain, abject (khwār, var. zār) and mean,
By matchlock-stones, like the Elephants’ lords,[2108]
Many hills of their bodies were seen,
And from each hill a fount of running blood.
Dreading the arrows of (our) splendid ranks,
Passed[2109] they in flight to each waste and hill.
They turn their backs. The command of God is to be performed. Now praise be to God, All-hearing and All-wise, for victory is from God alone, the Mighty, the Wise.[2110] Written Jumāda II. 25th 933 (AH.-March 29th 1527 A.D.).[2111]
MINOR SEQUELS OF VICTORY.
(a. Bābur assumes the title of Ghāzī.)
After this success Ghāzī (Victor in a Holy-war) was written amongst the royal titles.
Below the titles (t̤ughrā)[2112] entered on the Fatḥ-nāma, I wrote the following quatrain:—[2113]
For Islām’s sake, I wandered in the wilds,
Prepared for war with pagans and Hindūs,
Resolved myself to meet the martyr’s death.Fol. 325.
Thanks be to God! a ghāzī I became.
(b. Chronograms of the victory.)
Shaikh Zain had found (tāpīb aīdī) the words Fatḥ-i-pādshāḥ-i-islām[2114] (Victory of the Pādshāh of the Faith) to be a chronogram of the victory. Mīr Gesū, one of the people come from Kābul, had also found these same words to be a chronogram, had composed them in a quatrain and sent this to me. It was a coincidence that Shaikh Zain and Mīr Gesū should bring forward precisely the same words in the quatrains they composed to embellish their discoveries.[2115] Once before when Shaikh Zain found the date of the victory at Dībālpūr in the words Wasat̤-i-shahr Rabī‘u’l-awwal[2116] (Middle of the month Rabī‘ I.), Mīr Gesū had found it in the very same words.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE RESUMED.
(a. After the victory.)
The foes beaten, we hurried them off, dismounting one after another. The Pagan’s encirclement[2117] may have been 2 kurohs from our camp (aūrdū); when we reached his camp (aūrdū), we sent Muḥammadī, ‘Abdu’l-‘azīz, ‘Alī Khān and some others in pursuit of him. There was a little slackness;[2118] I ought to have gone myself, and not have left the matter to what I expected from other people. When I had gone as much as a kuroh (2 m.) beyond the Pagan’s camp, I turned back because it was late in the day; I came to our camp at the Bed-time Prayer.
With what ill-omened words Muḥammad Sharīf the astrologer had fretted me! Yet he came at once to congratulate me! I emptied my inwards[2119] in abuse of him, but, spite of his being heathenish, ill-omened of speech, extremely self-satisfied, and a most disagreeable person, I bestowed a lak upon him because there had been deserving service from him in former times, and, Fol. 325b.after saying he was not to stay in my dominions, I gave him leave to go.
(b. Suppression of a rebellion.)
(March 17th) We remained next day (Jumāda II. 14th) on that same ground. Muḥammad ‘Alī Jang-jang and Shaikh Gūran and ‘Abdu’l-malik[2120] the armourer were sent off with a dense (qālīn) army against Ilīās Khān who, having rebelled in Between-the-two-waters (Ganges and Jumna), had taken Kūl (Koel) and made Kīchīk ‘Alī prisoner.[2121] He could not fight when they came up; his force scattered in all directions; he himself was taken a few days later and brought into Āgra where I had him flayed alive.
(c. A trophy of victory.)
An order was given to set up a pillar of pagan heads on the infant-hill (koh-bacha) between which and our camp the battle had been fought.
(d. Bīāna visited.)
(March 20th) Marching on from that ground, and after halting on two nights, we reached Bīāna (Sunday, Jumāda II. 17th).
Countless numbers of the bodies of pagans and apostates[2122] who
had fallen in their flight, lay on the road as far as Bīāna, indeed as far as Alūr and Mīwāt.[2123]
(e. Discussion of plans.)
On our return to camp, I summoned the Turk amīrs and the amīrs of Hind to a consultation about moving into the Pagan (Sangā)’s country; the plan was given up because of the little water and much heat on the road.
(f. Mīwāt.)
Near Dihlī lies the Mīwāt country which yields revenue of 3 or 4 krūrs.[2124] Ḥasan Khān Mīwātī[2125] and his ancestors one after another had ruled it with absolute sway for a hundred years or two. They must have made[2126] imperfect submission to the Dihlī Sult̤āns; the Sult̤āns of Hind,[2127] whether because theirFol. 326. own dominions were wide, or because their opportunity was narrow, or because of the Mīwāt hill-country,[2128] did not turn in the Mīwāt direction, did not establish order in it, but just put up with this amount of (imperfect) submission. For our own part, we did after the fashion of earlier Sult̤āns; having conquered Hind, we shewed favour to Ḥasan Khān, but that thankless and heathenish apostate disregarded our kindness and benefits, was not grateful for favour and promotion, but became the mover of all disturbance and the cause of all misdoing.
When, as has been mentioned, we abandoned the plan (against Rānā Sangā), we moved to subdue Mīwāt. Having made 4 night-halts on the way, we dismounted on the bank of the Mānas-nī[2129] 6 kurohs (12 m.) from Alūr, the present seat of government in Mīwāt. Ḥasan Khān and his forefathers must have had their seat[2130] in Tijāra, but when I turned towards Hindūstan, beat Pahār (or Bihār) Khān and took Lāhor and Dībālpūr (930 AH.-1524 AD.), he bethought himself betimes and busied himself for a residence (‘imārat) in Fort Alūr (Alwar).
His trusted man, Karm-chand by name, who had come from him to me in Āgra when his son (Nāhar i.e. Tiger) was with me there,[2131] came now from that son’s presence in Alūr and asked Fol. 326b.for peace. ‘Abdu’r-raḥīm shaghāwal went with him to Alūr, conveying letters of royal favour, and returned bringing Nāhar Khān who was restored to favour and received parganas worth several laks for his support.
(g. Rewards to officers.)
Thinking, “What good work Khusrau did in the battle!” I named him for Alūr and gave him 50 laks for his support, but unluckily for himself, he put on airs and did not accept this. Later on it [khẉud, itself] came to be known that Chīn-tīmūr must have done[2132] that work; guerdon was made him for his renown(?);[2133] Tijāra-town, the seat of government in Mīwāt, was bestowed on him together with an allowance of 50 laks for his support.
Alūr and an allowance of 15 laks was bestowed on Tardīka (or, Tardī yakka) who in the flanking-party of the right-hand (qūl) had done better than the rest. The contents of the Alūr treasury were bestowed on Humāyūn.
(h. Alwar visited.)
(April 13th) Marching from that camp on Wednesday the 1st of the month of Rajab, we came to within 2 kurohs (4 m.) of Alūr. I went to see the fort, there spent the night, and next day went back to camp.
(i. Leave given to various followers.)
When the oath before-mentioned[2134] was given to great and small before the Holy-battle with Rānā Sangā, it had been mentioned[2135] that there would be nothing to hinder leave afterFol. 327. this victory, and that leave would be given to anyone wishing to go away (from Hindūstān). Most of Humāyūn’s men were from Badakhshān or elsewhere on that side (of Hindū-kūsh); they had never before been of an army led out for even a month or two; there had been weakness amongst them before the fight; on these accounts and also because Kābul was empty of troops, it was now decided to give Humāyūn leave for Kābul.
(April 11th) Leaving the matter at this, we marched from Alūr on Thursday the 9th of Rajab, did 4 or 5 kurohs (8-10 m.) and dismounted on the bank of the Mānas-water.
Mahdī Khwāja also had many discomforts; he too was given leave for Kābul. The military-collectorate of Bīāna [he held] was bestowed on Dost Lord-of-the-gate, and, as previously Etāwa had been named for Mahdī Khwāja,[2136] Mahdī Khwāja’s son Ja‘far Khwāja was sent there in his father’s place when (later) Qut̤b Khān abandoned it and went off.[2137]
(j. Despatch of the Letter-of-victory.)
Because of the leave given to Humāyūn, two or three days were spent on this ground. From it Mūmin-i-‘alī the messenger (tawāchī) was sent off for Kābul with the Fatḥ-nāma.
(k. Excursions and return to Āgra.)
Praise had been heard of the Fīrūzpūr-spring and of the great lake of Kūtila.[2138] Leaving the camp on that same ground, I rode out on Sunday (Rajab 12th-April 14th) both to visit Fol. 327b.these places and to set Humāyūn on his way. After visiting Fīrūzpūr and its spring on that same day, ma’jūn was eaten. In the valley where the spring rises, oleanders (kanīr) were in bloom; the place is not without charm but is over-praised. I ordered a reservoir of hewn stone, 10 by 10[2139] to be made where the water widened, spent the night in that valley, next day rode on and visited the Kūtila lake. It is surrounded by mountain-skirts. The Mānas-nī is heard-say to go into it.[2140] It is a very large lake, from its one side the other side is not well seen. In the middle of it is rising ground. At its sides are many small boats, by going off in which the villagers living near it are said to escape from any tumult or disturbance. Even on our arrival a few people went in them to the middle of the lake.
On our way back from the lake, we dismounted in Humāyūn’s camp. There we rested and ate food, and after having put robes of honour on him and his begs, bade him farewell at the Bed-time Prayer, and rode on. We slept for a little at some place on the road, at shoot of day passed through the pargana of Kharī, again slept a little, and at length got to our camp which had dismounted at Toda-(bhim).[2141] After leaving Toda, we dismounted at Sūnkār; there Ḥasan Khān Mīwātī’s sonFol. 328. Nāhar Khān escaped from ‘Abdu’r-raḥīm’s charge.
Going on from that place, we halted one night, then dismounted at a spring situated on the bill of a mountain between Busāwar and Chausa[2142] (or Jūsa); there awnings were set up and we committed the sin of ma’jūn. When the army had passed by this spring, Tardī Beg khāksār had praised it; he (or we) had come and seen it from on horse-back (sar-asbgi) and passed on. It is a perfect spring. In Hindūstān where there are never running-waters,[2143] people seek out the springs themselves. The rare springs that are found, come oozing drop by drop (āb-zih) out of the ground, not bubbling up like springs of those lands.[2144] From this spring comes about a half-mill-water. It bubbles up on the hill-skirt; meadows lie round it; it is very beautiful. I ordered an octagonal reservoir of hewn stone made above[2145] it. While we were at the border of the spring, under the soothing influence of ma’jūn, Tardī Beg, contending for its surpassing beauty, said again and again, (Persian) “Since I am celebrating the beauty of the place,[2146] a name ought to be settled for it”. ‘Abdu’l-lāh said, “It must be called the Royal-spring approved of by Tardī Beg.” This saying caused much joke and laughter.
Dost Lord-of-the-gate coming up from Bīāna, waited on me at this spring-head. Leaving this place, we visited Bīāna again,Fol. 328b. went on to Sīkrī, dismounted there at the side of a garden which had been ordered made, stayed two days supervising the garden, and on Thursday the 23rd of Rajab (April 25th), reached Āgra.
(l. Chandwār and Rāprī regained.)
During recent disturbances, the enemy, as has been mentioned,[2147] had possessed themselves of Chandwār[2148] and Rāprī. Against those places we now sent Muḥammad ‘Alī Jang-jang, Qūj Beg’s (brother) Tardī Beg, ‘Abdu’l-malik the armourer, and Ḥasan Khān with his Daryā-khānīs. When they were near Chandwār, Qut̤b Khān’s people in it got out and away. Our men laid hands on it, and passed on to Rāprī. Here Ḥusain Khān Nūḥānī’s people came to the lane-end[2149] thinking to fight a little, could not stand the attack of our men, and took to flight. Ḥusain Khān himself with a few followers went into the Jūn-river (Jumna) on an elephant and was drowned. Qut̤b Khān, for his part, abandoned Etāwa on hearing these news, fled with a few and got away. Etāwa having been named for Mahdī Khwāja, his son Ja‘far Khwāja was sent there in his place.[2150]
(m. Apportionment of fiefs.)
When Rānā Sangā sallied out against us, most Hindūstānīs and Afghāns, as has been mentioned,[2151] turned round against us and took possession of their parganas and districts.[2152]
Sl. Muḥammad Dūldāī who had abandoned Qanūj and come Fol. 329.to me, would not agree to go there again, whether from fear or for his reputation’s sake; he therefore exchanged the 30 laks of Qanūj for the 15 of Sihrind, and Qanūj was bestowed with an allowance of 30 laks on Muḥammad Sl. Mīrzā. Badāūn[2153] was given to Qāsim-i-ḥusain Sult̤ān and he was sent against Bīban who had laid siege to Luknūr[2154] during the disturbance with Rānā Sangā, together with Muḥammad Sl. Mīrzā, and, of Turk amīrs, Bābā Qashqa’s Malik Qāsim with his elder and younger brethren and his Mughūls, and Abū’l-muḥammad the lance-player, and Mu‘yad with his father’s Daryā-khānīs and those of Ḥusain Khān Daryā-khānī and the retainers of Sl. Muḥammad Dūldāī, and again, of amīrs of Hind, ‘Alī Khān Farmūlī and Malik Dād Kararānī and Shaikh Muḥammad of Shaikh Bhakhārī(?) and Tātār Khān Khān-i-jahān.
At the time this army was crossing the Gang-river (Ganges), Bīban, hearing about it, fled, abandoning his baggage. Our army followed him to Khairābād,[2155] stayed there a few days and then turned back.
(n. Appointments and dispersion for the Rains.)
After the treasure had been shared out,[2156] Rānā Sangā’s great affair intervened before districts and parganas were apportioned. During the respite now from Holy-war against the Pagan (Sangā), this apportionment was made. As the Rains were near, it was settled for every-one to go to his pargana, get equipmentFol. 329b. ready, and be present when the Rains were over.
(o. Misconduct of Humāyūn.)
Meantime news came that Humāyūn had gone into Dihlī, there opened several treasure-houses and, without permission, taken possession of their contents. I had never looked for such a thing from him; it grieved me very much; I wrote and sent off to him very severe reproaches.[2157]
(p. An embassy to ‘Irāq.)
Khwājagī Asad who had already gone as envoy to ‘Irāq and returned with Sulaimān Turkmān,[2158] was again joined with him and on the 15th of Sha‘bān (May 17th) sent with befitting gifts to Shāh-zāda T̤ahmāsp.
(q. Tardī Beg khāksār resigns service.)
I had brought Tardī Beg out from the darwīsh-life and made a soldier of him; for how many years had he served me! Now his desire for the darwīsh-life was overmastering and he asked for leave. It was given and he was sent as an envoy to Kāmrān conveying 3 laks from the Treasury for him.[2159]
(r. Lines addressed to deserting friends.)
A little fragment[2160] had been composed suiting the state of those who had gone away during the past year; I now addressed it to Mullā ‘Alī Khān and sent it to him by Tardī Beg. It is as follows:—[2161]
Ah you who have gone from this country of Hind,
Fol. 330.Aware for yourselves of its woe and its pain,
With longing desire for Kābul’s fine air,
You went hot-foot forth out of Hind.
The pleasure you looked for you will have found there
With sociable ease and charm and delight;
As for us, God be thanked! we still are alive,
In spite of much pain and unending distress;
Pleasures of sense and bodily toil
Have been passed-by by you, passed-by too by us.
(s. Of the Ramẓān Feast.)
Ramẓān was spent this year with ablution and tarāwiḥ[2162] in the Garden-of-eight-paradises. Since my 11th year I had not kept the Ramẓān Feast for two successive years in the same place; last year I had kept it in Āgra; this year, saying, “Don’t break the rule!” I went on the last day of the month to keep it in Sīkrī. Tents were set up on a stone platform made on the n.e. side of the Garden-of-victory which is now being laid out at Sīkrī, and in them the Feast was held.[2163]
(t. Playing cards.)
The night we left Āgra Mīr ‘Alī the armourer was sent to Shāh Ḥasan (Arghūn) in Tatta to take him playing-cards [ganjīfa] he much liked and had asked for.[2164]
(u. Illness and a tour.)
(August 3rd) On Sunday the 5th of Ẕū’l-qa‘da I fell ill; the illness lasted 17 days.
(August 24th) On Friday the 24th of the same month we set out to visit Dūlpūr. That night I slept at a place half-way;Fol. 330b. reached Sikandar’s dam[2165] at dawn, and dismounted there.
At the end of the hill below the dam the rock is of building-stone. I had Ustād Shāh Muḥammad the stone-cutter brought and gave him an order that if a house could be cut all in one piece in that rock, it was to be done, but that if the rock were too low for a residence (‘imārat), it was to be levelled and have a reservoir, all in one piece, cut out of it.
From Dūlpūr we went on to visit Bārī. Next morning (August 26th) I rode out from Bārī through the hills between it and the Chaṃbal-river in order to view the river. This done I went back to Bārī. In these hills we saw the ebony-tree, the fruit of which people call tindū. It is said that there are white ebony-trees also and that most ebony-trees in these hills are of this kind.[2166] On leaving Bārī we went to Sīkrī; we reached Āgra on the 29th of the same month (August 28th).
(v. Doubts about Shaikh Bāyazīd Farmūlī.)
As in these days people were telling wild news about Shaikh Bāyazīd, Sl. Qulī Turk was sent to him to give him tryst[2167] in 20 days.
(w. Religious and metrical exercises.)
(August 28th) On Friday the 2nd of Ẕū’l-ḥijja I began what one is made to read 41 times.[2168]
In these same days I cut up [taqt̤i‘] the following couplet of mine into 504 measures[2169]:—
“Shall I tell of her eye or her brow, her fire or her speech?
Shall I tell of her stature or cheek, of her hair or her waist?”
On this account a treatise[2170] was arranged.
(x. Return of illness.)
Fol. 331.On this day (i.e. 2nd Ẕū’l-ḥijja) I fell ill again; the illness lasted nine days.
(y. Start for Saṃbal.)
(Sep. 24th) On Thursday the 29th of Ẕū’l-ḥijja we rode out for an excursion to Kūl and Saṃbal.
934 AH.-SEP. 27th 1527 to SEP. 15th 1528 AD.[2171]
(a. Visit to Kūl (Aligarh) and Saṃbal.)
(Sep. 27th) On Saturday the 1st of Muḥarram we dismounted in Kūl (Koel). Humāyūn had left Darwīsh(-i-‘alī) and Yūsuf-i-‘alī[2172] in Saṃbal; they crossed one river,[2173] fought Qut̤b Sīrwānī[2174] and a party of rājas, beat them well and killed a mass of men. They sent a few heads and an elephant into Kūl while we were there. After we had gone about Kūl for two days, we dismounted at Shaikh Gūran’s house by his invitation, where he entertained us hospitably and laid an offering before us.
(Sep. 30th-Muḥ. 4th) Riding on from that place, we dismounted at Aūtrūlī (Atrauli).[2175]
(Oct. 1st-Muḥ. 5th) On Wednesday we crossed the river Gang (Ganges) and spent the night in villages of Saṃbal.
(Oct. 2nd-Muḥ. 6th) On Thursday we dismounted in Saṃbal. After going about in it for two days, we left on Saturday.
(Oct. 5th-Muḥ. 9th) On Sunday we dismounted in Sikandara[2176] at the house of Rāo Sīrwānī who set food before us and served us. When we rode out at dawn, I made some pretext to leave the rest, and galloped on alone to within a kuroh of Āgra where they overtook me. At the Mid-day Prayer we dismounted in Āgra.
(b. Illness of Bābur.)
(Oct. 12th) On Sunday the 16th of Muḥarram I had fever and ague. This returned again and again during the next 25 or 26 days. I drank operative medicine and at last relief came. I suffered much from thirst and want of sleep.
Fol. 331b.While I was ill, I composed a quatrain or two; here is one of them:—[2177]
Fever grows strong in my body by day,
Sleep quits my eyes as night comes on;
Like to my pain and my patience the pair,
For while that goes waxing, this wanes.
(c. Arrival of kinswomen.)
(Nov. 23rd) On Saturday the 28th of Ṣafar there arrived two of the paternal-aunt begīms, Fakhr-i-jahān Begīm and Khadīja-sult̤ān Begīm.[2178] I went to above Sikandarābād to wait on them.[2179]
(d. Concerning a mortar.)
(Nov. 24th-Ṣafar 29th) On Sunday Ustād ‘Alī-qulī discharged a stone from a large mortar; the stone went far but the mortar broke in pieces, one of which, knocking down a party of men, killed eight.
(e. Visit to Sīkrī.)
(Dec. 1st) On Monday the 7th of the first Rabī‘ I rode out to visit Sīkrī. The octagonal platform ordered made in the middle of the lake was ready; we went over by boat, had an awning set up on it and elected for ma’jūn.
(f. Holy-war against Chandīrī.)
(Dec. 9th) After returning from Sīkrī we started on Monday night the 14th of the first Rabī‘,[2180] with the intention of making Holy-war against Chandīrī, did as much as 3 kurohs (6 m.) and dismounted in Jalīsīr.[2181] After staying there two days for people to equip and array, we marched on Thursday (Dec. 12th-Rabī‘ I. 17th) and dismounted at Anwār. I left Anwār by boat, and disembarked beyond Chandwār.[2182]
(Dec. 23rd) Advancing march by march, we dismounted at the Kanār-passage[2183] on Monday the 28th.
(Dec. 26th) On Thursday the 2nd of the latter Rabī‘ I crossed the river; there was 4 or 5 days delay on one bank or the other before the army got across. On those days we went more thanFol. 332. once on board a boat and ate ma’jūn. The junction of the river Chaṃbal is between one and two kurohs (2-4 m.) above the Kanār-passage; on Friday I went into a boat on the Chaṃbal, passed the junction and so to camp.
(g. Troops sent against Shaikh Bāyazīd Farmūlī.)
Though there had been no clear proof of Shaikh Bāyazīd’s hostility, yet his misconduct and action made it certain that he had hostile intentions. On account of this Muḥammad ‘Alī Jang-jang was detached from the army and sent to bring together from Qanūj Muḥammad Sl. Mīrzā and the sult̤āns and amīrs of that neighbourhood, such as Qāsim-i-ḥusain Sult̤ān, Bī-khūb (or, Nī-khūb) Sult̤ān, Malik Qāsim, Kūkī, Abū’l-muḥammad the lancer, and Minūchihr Khān with his elder and younger brethren and Daryā-khānīs, so that they might move against the hostile Afghāns. They were to invite Shaikh Bāyazīd to go with them; if he came frankly, they were to take him along; if not, were to drive him off. Muḥammad ‘Alī asking for a few elephants, ten were given him. After he had leave to set off, Bābā Chuhra (the Brave) was sent to and ordered to join him.
(h. Incidents of the journey to Chandīrī.)
From Kanār one kuroh (2 m.) was done by boat.
(Jan. 1st 1528 AD.) On Wednesday the 8th of the latter Rabī‘ we dismounted within a kuroh of Kālpī. Bābā Sl. came to wait on me in this camp; he is a son of Khalīl Sl. who is a younger brother of the full-blood of Sl. Sa‘īd Khān. Last Fol. 332b.year he fled from his elder brother[2184] but, repenting himself, went back from the Andar-āb border; when he neared Kāshghar, The Khān (Sa‘īd) sent Ḥaidar M. to meet him and take him back.
(Jan. 2nd-Rabī‘ II. 9th) Next day we dismounted at ‘Ālam Khān’s house in Kālpī where he set Hindūstānī food before us and made an offering.
(Jan. 6th) On Monday the 13th of the month we marched from Kālpī.
(Jan. 10th-Rabī‘ II. 17th) On Friday we dismounted at Īrij.[2185]
(Jan. 11th) On Saturday we dismounted at Bāndīr.[2186]
(Jan. 12th) On Sunday the 19th of the month Chīn-tīmūr Sl. was put at the head of 6 or 7000 men and sent ahead against Chandīrī. With him went the begs Bāqī mīng-bāshī (head of a thousand), Qūj Beg’s (brother) Tardī Beg, ‘Āshiq the taster, Mullā Apāq, Muḥsin[2187] Dūldāī and, of the Hindūstānī begs, Shaikh Gūran.
(Jan 17th) On Friday the 24th of the month we dismounted near Kachwa. After encouraging its people, it was bestowed on the son of Badru’d-dīn.[2188]
Kachwa[2189] is a shut-in place, having lowish hills all round it. A dam has been thrown across between hills on the south-east of it, and thus a large lake made, perhaps 5 or 6 kurohs (10-12 m.) round. This lake encloses Kachwa on three sides; on the north-west a space of ground is kept dry;[2190] here, therefore is its Gate. On the lake are a great many very small boats, able to hold 3 or 4 persons; in these the inhabitants go out on the lake, if they have to flee. There are two other lakes before Kachwa isFol. 333. reached, smaller than its own and, like that, made by throwing a dam across between hills.
(Jan. 18th) We waited a day in Kachwa in order to appoint active overseers and a mass of spadesmen to level the road and cut jungle down, so that the carts and mortar[2191] might pass along it easily. Between Kachwa and Chandīrī the country is jungly.
(Jan. 19th-Rabī‘ II. 26th) After leaving Kachwa we halted one night, passed the Burhānpūr-water (Bhurānpūr)[2192] and dismounted within 3 kurohs (6 m.) of Chandīrī.
(i. Chandīrī and its capture.)
The citadel of Chandīrī stands on a hill; below it are the town (shahr) and outer-fort (tāsh-qūrghān), and below these is the level road along which carts pass.[2193] When we left Burhānpūr (Jan. 10th) we marched for a kuroh below Chandīrī for the convenience of the carts.[2194]
(Jan. 21st) After one night’s halt we dismounted beside Bahjat Khān’s tank[2195] on the top of its dam, on Tuesday the 28th of the month.
(Jan. 22nd-Rabī‘ II. 29th) Riding out at dawn, we assigned post after post (būljār, būljār),[2196] round the walled town (qūrghān) to centre, right, and left. Ustād ‘Alī-qulī chose, for his stone-discharge, ground that had no fall[2197]; overseers and spadesmen were told off to raise a place (m:ljār) for the mortar to rest on, and the whole army was ordered to get ready appliances for taking a fort, mantelets, ladders[2198] and ... -mantelets (tūra).[2199]
Formerly Chandīrī will have belonged to the Sult̤āns of Mandāū (Mandū). When Sl. Nāṣiru’d-dīn passed away,[2200] oneFol. 333b. of his sons Sl. Maḥmūd who is now holding Mandū, took possession of it and its neighbouring parts, and another son called Muḥammad Shāh laid hands on Chandīrī and put it under Sl. Sikandar (Lūdī)’s protection, who, in his turn, took Muḥammad Shāh’s side and sent him large forces. Muḥammad Shāh survived Sl. Sikandar and died in Sl. Ibrāhīm’s time, leaving a very young son called Aḥmad Shāh whom Sl. Ibrāhīm drove out and replaced by a man of his own. At the time Rānā Sangā led out an army against Sl. Ibrāhīm and Ibrāhīm’s begs turned against him at Dūlpūr, Chandīrī fell into the Rānā’s hands and by him was given to Medinī [Mindnī] Rāo[2201] the greatly-trusted pagan who was now in it with 4 or 5000 other pagans.
As it was understood there was friendship between Medinī Rāo and Ārāīsh Khān, the latter was sent with Shaikh Gūran to speak to Medinī Rāo with favour and kindness, and promise Shamsābād[2202] in exchange for Chandīrī. One or two of his trusted men got out(?).[2203] No adjustment of matters was reached, it is not known whether because Medinī Rāo did not trust what was said, or whether because he was buoyed up by delusion about the strength of the fort.
(Jan. 28th) At dawn on Tuesday the 6th of the first Jumāda we marched from Bahjat Khān’s tank intending to assault Chandīrī. We dismounted at the side of the middle-tank near Fol. 334.the fort.
(j. Bad news.)
On this same morning after reaching that ground, Khalīfa brought a letter or two of which the purport was that the troops appointed for the East[2204] had fought without consideration, been beaten, abandoned Laknau, and gone to Qanūj. Seeing that Khalīfa was much perturbed and alarmed by these news, I said,[2205] (Persian) “There is no ground for perturbation or alarm; nothing comes to pass but what is predestined of God. As this task (Chandīrī) is ahead of us, not a breath must be drawn about what has been told us. Tomorrow we will assault the fort; that done, we shall see what comes.”
(k. Siege of Chandīrī, resumed.)
The enemy must have strengthened just the citadel, and have posted men by twos and threes in the outer-fort for prudence’ sake. That night our men went up from all round; those few in the outer-fort did not fight; they fled into the citadel.
(Jan. 29th) At dawn on Wednesday the 7th of the first Jumāda, we ordered our men to arm, go to their posts, provoke to fight, and attack each from his place when I rode out with drum and standard.
I myself, dismissing drum and standard till the fighting should grow hot, went to amuse myself by watching Ustād ‘Alī-qulī’s stone-discharge.[2206] Nothing was effected by it because his ground had no fall (yāghdā) and because the fort-walls, being entirelyFol. 334b. of stone, were extremely strong.
That the citadel of Chandīrī stands on a hill has been said already. Down one side of this hill runs a double-walled road (dū-tahī) to water.[2207] This is the one place for attack; it had been assigned as the post of the right and left hands and royal corps of the centre.[2208] Hurled though assault was from every side, the greatest force was here brought to bear. Our braves did not turn back, however much the pagans threw down stones and flung flaming fire upon them. At length Shāhīm the centurion[2209] got up where the dū-tahī wall touches the wall of the outer fort; braves swarmed up in other places; the dū-tahī was taken.
Not even as much as this did the pagans fight in the citadel; when a number of our men swarmed up, they fled in haste.[2210] In a little while they came out again, quite naked, and renewed the fight; they put many of our men to flight; they made them fly (āuchūrdīlār) over the ramparts; some they cut down and killed. Why they had gone so suddenly off the walls seems to have been that they had taken the resolve of those who give up a place as lost; they put all their ladies and beauties (ṣūratīlār) to death, then, looking themselves to die, came naked out to fight. Our men attacking, each one from his post, droveFol. 335. them from the walls whereupon 2 or 300 of them entered Medinī Rāo’s house and there almost all killed one another in this way:—one having taken stand with a sword, the rest eagerly stretched out the neck for his blow.[2211] Thus went the greater number to hell.
By God’s grace this renowned fort was captured in 2 or 3 garīs[2212] (cir. an hour), without drum and standard,[2213] with no hard fighting done. A pillar of pagan-heads was ordered set up on a hill north-west of Chandīrī. A chronogram of this victory having been found in the words Fatḥ-i-dāru’l-ḥarb[2214] (Conquest of a hostile seat), I thus composed them:—
Was for awhile the station Chandīrī
Pagan-full, the seat of hostile force;
By fighting, I vanquished its fort,
The date was Fatḥ-i-dāru’l-ḥarb.
(l. Further description of Chandīrī.)
Chandīrī is situated (in) rather good country,[2215] having much running-water round about it. Its citadel is on a hill and inside it has a tank cut out of the solid rock. There is another large tank[2216] at the end of the dū-tahī by assaulting which the fort was taken. All houses in Chandīrī, whether of high or low, are built of stone, those of chiefs being laboriously carved;[2217] those of the lower classes are also of stone but are not carved. They are covered inFol. 335b. with stone-slabs instead of with earthen tiles. In front of the fort are three large tanks made by former governors who threw dams across and made tanks round about it; their ground lies high.[2218] It has a small river (daryācha), Betwa[2219] by name, which may be some 3 kurohs (6 m.) from Chandīrī itself; its water is noted in Hindūstān as excellent and pleasant drinking. It is a perfect little river (daryā-ghīna). In its bed lie piece after piece of sloping rock (qīālār)[2220] fit for making houses.[2221] Chandīrī is 90 kurohs (180 m.) by road to the south of Āgra. In Chandīrī the altitude of the Pole-star (?) is 25 degrees.[2222]
(m. Enforced change of campaign.)
(Jan. 30th-Jumāda I. 8th) At dawn on Thursday we went round the fort and dismounted beside Mallū Khān’s tank.[2223]
We had come to Chandīrī meaning, after taking it, to move against Rāīsīng, Bhīlsān, and Sārangpūr, pagan lands dependent on the pagan Ṣalāḥu’d-dīn, and, these taken, to move on Rānā Sangā in Chītūr. But as that bad news had come, the begs were summoned, matters were discussed, and decision made that the proper course was first to see to the rebellion of those malignants. Chandīrī was given to the Aḥmad Shāh already mentioned, a grandson of Sl. Nāṣiru’d-dīn; 50 laks from it were made khalṣa;[2224] Mullā Apāq was entrusted with its military-collectorate, and left to reinforce Aḥmad Shāh with from 2 to 3000 Turks and Hindūstānīs.
Fol. 336.(Feb. 2nd) This work finished, we marched from Mallū Khān’s tank on Sunday the 11th of the first Jumāda, with the intention of return (north), and dismounted on the bank of the Burhānpūr-water.
(Feb. 9th) On Sunday again, Yakka Khwāja and Ja‘far Khwāja were sent from Bāndīr to fetch boats from Kālpī to the Kanār-passage.
(Feb. 22nd) On Saturday the 24th of the month we dismounted at the Kanār-passage, and ordered the army to begin to cross.
(n. News of the rebels.)
News came in these days that the expeditionary force[2225] had abandoned Qanūj also and come to Rāprī, and that a strong body of the enemy had assaulted and taken Shamsābād although Abū’l-muḥammad the lancer must have strengthened it.[2226] There was delay of 3 or 4 days on one side or other of the river before the army got across. Once over, we moved march by march towards Qanūj, sending scouting braves (qāzāq yīgītlār) ahead to get news of our opponents. Two or three marches from Qanūj, news was brought that Ma‘rūf’s son had fled on seeing the dark mass of the news-gatherers, and got away. Bīban, Bāyazīd and Ma‘rūf, on hearing news of us, crossed Gang (Ganges) and seated themselves on its eastern bank opposite Qanūj, thinking to prevent our passage.
(o. A bridge made over the Ganges.)
(Feb. 27th) On Thursday the 6th of the latter Jumāda we passed Qanūj and dismounted on the western bank of Gang. Some of the braves went up and down the river and took boatsFol. 336b. by force,[2227] bringing in 30 or 40, large or small. Mīr Muḥammad the raftsman was sent to find a place convenient for making a bridge and to collect requisites for making it. He came back approving of a place about a kuroh (2 m.) below the camp. Energetic overseers were told off for the work. Ustād ‘Alī-qulī placed the mortar for his stone-discharge near where the bridge was to be and shewed himself active in discharging it. Muṣt̤afa Rūmī had the culverin-carts crossed over to an island below the place for the bridge, and from that island began a culverin-discharge. Excellent matchlock fire was made from a post[2228] raised above the bridge. Malik Qāsim Mughūl and a very few men went across the river once or twice and fought excellently (yakhshīlār aūrūshtīlār). With equal boldness Bābā Sl. and Darwīsh Sl. also crossed, but went with the insufficient number of from 10 to 15 men; they went after the Evening Prayer and came back without fighting, with nothing done; they were much blamed for this crossing of theirs. At last Malik Qāsim, grown bold, attacked the enemy’s camp and, by shooting arrows into it, drew him out (?);[2229] he came with a mass of men and an elephant, fell on Malik Qāsim and hurried him off. Malik Qāsim got into a boat, but before it could put off, the elephantFol. 337. came up and swamped it. In that encounter Malik Qāsim died.
In the days before the bridge was finished Ustād ‘Alī-qulī did good things in stone-discharge (yakhshīlār tāsh aītī), on the first day discharging 8 stones, on the second 16, and going on equally well for 3 or 4 days. These stones he discharged from the Ghāzī-mortar which is so-called because it was used in the battle with Rānā Sangā the pagan. There had been another and larger mortar which burst after discharging one stone.[2230] The matchlockmen made a mass (qālīn) of discharges, bringing down many men and horses; they shot also slave-workmen running scared away (?) and men and horses passing-by.[2231]
(March 11th) On Wednesday the 19th of the latter Jumāda the bridge being almost finished, we marched to its head. The Afghāns must have ridiculed the bridge-making as being far from completion.[2232]
(March 12th) The bridge being ready on Thursday, a small body of foot-soldiers and Lāhorīs went over. Fighting as small followed.
(p. Encounter with the Afghāns.)
(March 13th) On Friday the royal corps, and the right and left hands of the centre crossed on foot. The whole body of Afghāns, armed, mounted, and having elephants with them, attacked us. They hurried off our men of the left hand, but our centre itself (i.e. the royal corps) and the right hand stood Fol. 337b.firm, fought, and forced the enemy to retire. Two men from these divisions had galloped ahead of the rest; one was dismounted and taken; the horse of the other was struck again and again, had had enough,[2233] turned round and when amongst our men, fell down. On that day 7 or 8 heads were brought in; many of the enemy had arrow or matchlock wounds. Fighting went on till the Other Prayer. That night all who had gone across were made to return; if (more) had gone over on that Saturday’s eve,[2234] most of the enemy would probably have fallen into our hands, but this was in my mind:—Last year we marched out of Sīkrī to fight Rānā Sangā on Tuesday, New-year’s-day, and crushed that rebel on Saturday; this year we had marched to crush these rebels on Wednesday, New-year’s-day,[2235] and it would be one of singular things, if we beat them on Sunday. So thinking, we did not make the rest of the army cross. The enemy did not come to fight on Saturday, but stood arrayed a long way off.
(Sunday March 15th-Jumāda II. 23rd) On this day the carts were taken over, and at this same dawn the army was ordered to cross. At beat of drum news came from our scouts that the enemy had fled. Chīn-tīmūr Sl. was ordered to lead his army in pursuit and the following leaders also were made pursuers who should move with the Sult̤ān and not go beyond his word:—Muḥammad ‘Alī Jang-jang, Ḥusamu’d-dīn ‘Alī (son) of Khalīfa, Muḥibb-i-‘alī (son) of Khalīfa, Kūkī (son) of Bābā Qashqa, Dost-i-muḥammad (son) of Bābā Qashqa, Bāqī ofFol. 338. Tāshkīnt, and Red Walī. I crossed at the Sunnat Prayer. The camels were ordered to be taken over at a passage seen lower down. That Sunday we dismounted on the bank of standing-water within a kuroh of Bangarmāwū.[2236] Those appointed to pursue the Afghāns were not doing it well; they had dismounted in Bangarmāwū and were scurrying off at the Mid-day Prayer of this same Sunday.
(March 16th-Jumāda II. 24th) At dawn we dismounted on the bank of a lake belonging to Bangarmāwū.
(q. Arrival of a Chaghatāī cousin.)
On this same day (March 16th) Tūkhtā-būghā Sl. a son of my mother’s brother (dādā) the Younger Khān (Aḥmad Chaghatāī) came and waited on me.
(March 21st) On Saturday the 29th of the latter Jumāda I visited Laknau, crossed the Gūī-water[2237] and dismounted. This day I bathed in the Gūī-water. Whether it was from water getting into my ear, or whether it was from the effect of the climate, is not known, but my right ear was obstructed and for a few days there was much pain.[2238]
(r. The campaign continued.)
One or two marches from Aūd (Oudh) some-one came from Chīn-tīmūr Sl. to say, “The enemy is seated on the far side of the river Sīrd[a?];[2239] let His Majesty send help.” We detached a reinforcement of 1000 braves under Qarācha.
(March 28th) On Saturday the 7th of Rajab we dismounted Fol. 338b.2 or 3 kurohs from Aūd above the junction of the Gagar (Gogra) and Sīrd[a]. Till today Shaikh Bāyazīd will have been on the other side of the Sīrd[a] opposite Aūd, sending letters to the Sult̤ān and discussing with him, but the Sult̤ān getting to know his deceitfulness, sent word to Qarācha at the Mid-day Prayer and made ready to cross the river. On Qarācha’s joining him, they crossed at once to where were some 50 horsemen with 3 or 4 elephants. These men could make no stand; they fled; a few having been dismounted, the heads cut off were sent in.
Following the Sult̤ān there crossed over Bī-khūb (var. Nī-khūb) Sl. and Tardī Beg (the brother) of Qūj Beg, and Bābā Chuhra (the Brave), and Bāqī shaghāwal. Those who had crossed first and gone on, pursued Shaikh Bāyazīd till the Evening Prayer, but he flung himself into the jungle and escaped. Chīn-tīmūr dismounted late on the bank of standing-water, rode on at midnight after the rebel, went as much as 40 kurohs (80 m.), and came to where Shaikh Bāyazīd’s family and relations (nisba?) had been; they however must have fled. He sent gallopers off in all directions from that place; Bāqī shaghāwal and a few braves drove the enemy like sheep before them, overtook the family and brought in some Afghān prisoners.
We stayed a few days on that ground (near Aūd) in order to settle the affairs of Aūd. People praised the land lying along the Sīrd[a] 7 or 8 kurohs (14-16 m.) above Aūd, saying it was hunting-ground. Mīr Muḥammad the raftsman was sent out and returned after looking at the crossings over the Gagar-water (Gogra) and the Sīrd[a]-water (Chauka?).
Fol. 339.(April 2nd) On Thursday the 12th of the month I rode out intending to hunt.[2240]
TRANSLATOR’S NOTE.
Here, in all known texts of the Bābur-nāma there is a break of the narrative between April 2nd and Sep. 18th 1528 AD.-Jumāda II. 12th 934 AH. and Muḥarram 3rd 935 AH., which, whether intentional or accidental, is unexplained by Bābur’s personal circumstances. It is likely to be due to a loss of pages from Bābur’s autograph manuscript, happening at some time preceding the making of either of the Persian translations of his writings and of the Elphinstone and Ḥaidarābād transcripts. Though such a loss might have occurred easily during the storm chronicled on f. 376b, it seems likely that Bābur would then have become aware of it and have made it good. A more probable explanation of the loss is the danger run by Humāyūn’s library during his exile from rule in Hindūstān, at which same time may well have occurred the seeming loss of the record of 936 and 937 AH.
(a. Transactions of the period of the lacuna.)
Mr. Erskine notes (Mems. p. 381 n.) that he found the gap in all MSS. he saw and that historians of Hindūstān throw no light upon the transactions of the period. Much can be gleaned however as to Bābur’s occupations during the 5-1/2 months of the lacuna from his chronicle of 935 AH. which makes several references to occurrences of “last year” and also allows several inferences to be drawn. From this source it becomes known that the Afghān campaign the record of which is broken by the gap, was carried on and that in its course Bābur was at Jūn-pūr (f. 365), Chausa (f. 365b) and Baksara (f. 366-366b); that he swam the Ganges (f. 366b), bestowed Sarūn on a Farmūlī Shaikh-zāda (f. 374b and f. 377), negociated with Rānā Sangā’s son Bikramājīt (f. 342b), ordered a Chār-bāgh laid out (f. 340), and was ill for 40 days (f. 346b). It may be inferred too that he visited Dūlpūr (f. 353b) recalled ‘Askarī (f. 339), sent Khwāja Dost-i-khāwand on family affairs to Kābul (f. 345b), and was much pre-occupied by the disturbed state of Kābul (see his letters to Humāyūn and Khwāja Kālan written in 935 AH.).[2241]
It is not easy to follow the dates of events in 935 AH. because in many instances only the day of the week or a “next day” is entered. I am far from sure that one passage at least now found s.a. 935 AH. does not belong to 934 AH. It is not in the Ḥai. Codex (where its place would have been on f. 363b), and, so far as I can see, does not fit with the dates of 935 AH. It will be considered with least trouble with its context and my notes (q.v. f. 363b and ff. 366-366b).
(b. Remarks on the lacuna.)
One interesting biographical topic is likely to have found mention in the missing record, viz. the family difficulties which led to ‘Askarī’s supersession by Kāmrān in the government of Multān (f. 359).
Another is the light an account of the second illness of 934 AH. might have thrown on a considerable part of the Collection of verses already written in Hindūstān and now known to us as the Rāmpūr Dīwān. The Bābur-nāma allows the dates of much of its contents to be known, but there remain poems which seem prompted by the self-examination of some illness not found in the B.N. It contains the metrical version of Khwāja ‘Ubaidu’l-lāh’s Wālidiyyah of which Bābur writes on f. 346 and it is dated Monday Rabī‘ II. 15th 935 AH. (Dec. 29th 1528 AD.). I surmise that the reflective verses following the Wālidiyyah belong to the 40 days’ illness of 934 AH. i.e. were composed in the period of the lacuna. The Collection, as it is in the “Rāmpūr Dīwān”, went to a friend who was probably Khwāja Kalān; it may have been the only such collection made by Bābur. No other copy of it has so far been found. It has the character of an individual gift with verses specially addressed to its recipient. Any light upon it which may have vanished with pages of 934 AH. is an appreciable loss.
935 AH.-SEP. 15th 1528 to SEP. 5th 1529 AD.[2242]
(a. Arrivals at Court.)
(Sep. 18th) On Friday the 3rd[2243] of Muḥarram, ‘Askarī whom I had summoned for the good of Multān[2244] before I moved out for Chandīrī, waited on me in the private-house.[2245]
(Sep. 19th) Next day waited on me the historian Khwānd-amīr, Maulānā Shihāb[2246] the enigmatist, and Mīr Ibrāhīm the harper a relation of Yūnas-i-‘alī, who had all come out of Herī long before, wishing to wait on me.[2247]
(b. Bābur starts for Gūālīār.)[2248]
(Sep. 20th) With the intention of visiting Gūālīār which in books they write Gālīūr,[2249] I crossed the Jūn at the Other Prayer of Sunday the 5th of the month, went into the fort of Āgra to bid farewell to Fakhr-i-jahān Begīm and Khadīja-sult̤ān Begīm who were to start for Kābul in a few days, and got to horse. Muḥammad-i-zamān Mīrzā asked for leave and stayed behind in Āgra. That night we did 3 or 4 kurohs (6-8 m.) of the road, dismounted near a large lake (kūl) and there slept.
(Sep. 21st) We got through the Prayer somewhat before time (Muḥ. 6th) and rode on, nooned[2250] on the bank of the Gamb[h]īr-water[2251], and went on shortly after the Mid-day Prayer. On the way we ate[2252] powders mixed with the flour of parched Fol. 339b. grain,[2253] Mullā Rafī‘ having prepared them for raising the spirits. They were found very distasteful and unsavoury. Near the Other Prayer we dismounted a kuroh (2 m.) west of Dūlpūr, at a place where a garden and house had been ordered made.[2254]
(c. Work in Dūlpūr (Dhūlpūr).)
That place is at the end of a beaked hill,[2255] its beak being of solid red building-stone (‘imārat-tāsh). I had ordered the (beak of the) hill cut down (dressed down?) to the ground-level and that if there remained a sufficient height, a house was to be cut out in it, if not, it was to be levelled and a tank (ḥauẓ) cut out in its top. As it was not found high enough for a house, Ūstād Shāh Muḥammad the stone-cutter was ordered to level it and cut out an octagonal, roofed tank. North of this tank the ground is thick with trees, mangoes, jāman (Eugenia jambolana), all sorts of trees; amongst them I had ordered a well made, 10 by 10; it was almost ready; its water goes to the afore-named tank. To the north of this tank Sl. Sikandar’s dam is flung across (the valley); on it houses have been built, and above it the waters of the Rains gather into a great lake. On the east of this lake is a garden; I ordered a seat and four-pillared platform (tālār) to be cut out in the solid rock on that same side, and a mosqueFol. 340. built on the western one.
(Sept. 22nd and 23rd—Muḥ. 7th and 8th) On account of these various works, we stayed in Dūlpūr on Tuesday and Wednesday.
(d. Journey to Gūālīār resumed.)
(Sep. 24th) On Thursday we rode on, crossed the Chaṃbal-river and made the Mid-day Prayer on its bank, between the two Prayers (the Mid-day and the Afternoon) bestirred ourselves to leave that place, passed the Kawārī and dismounted. The Kawārī-water being high through rain, we crossed it by boat, making the horses swim over.
(Sep. 25th) Next day, Friday which was ‘Āshūr (Muḥ. 10th), we rode on, took our nooning at a village on the road, and at the Bed-time Prayer dismounted a kuroh north of Gūālīār, in a Chār-bāgh ordered made last year.[2256]
(Sep. 26th) Riding on next day after the Mid-day Prayer, we visited the low hills to the north of Gūālīār, and the Praying-place, went into the fort[2257] through the Gate called Hātī-pūl which joins Mān-sing’s buildings (‘imārāt[2258]), and dismounted, close to the Other Prayer, at those (‘imāratlār)[2259] of Rāja Bikramājīt in which Raḥīm-dād[2260] had settled himself.
To-night I elected to take opium because of ear-ache; another reason was the shining of the moon.[2261]
(e. Visit to the Rājas’ palaces.)
(Sep. 27th) Opium sickness gave me much discomfort next day (Muḥ. 12th); I vomited a good deal. Sickness notwithstanding, I visited the buildings (‘imāratlār) of Mān-sing and Fol. 340b.Bikramājīt thoroughly. They are wonderful buildings, entirely of hewn stone, in heavy and unsymmetrical blocks however.[2262] Of all the Rājas’ buildings Mān-sing’s is the best and loftiest.[2263] It is more elaborately worked on its eastern face than on the others. This face may be 40 to 50 qārī (yards) high,[2264] and is entirely of hewn stone, whitened with plaster.[2265] In parts it is four storeys high; the lower two are very dark; we went through them with candles.[2266] On one (or, every) side of this building are five cupolas[2267] having between each two of them a smaller one, square after the fashion of Hindūstān. On the larger ones are fastened sheets of gilded copper. On the outside of the walls is painted-tile work, the semblance of plantain-trees being shewn all round with green tiles. In a bastion of the eastern front is the Hātī-pūl,[2268] hātī being what these people call an elephant, pūl, a gate. A sculptured image of an elephant with two drivers (fīl-bān)[2269] stands at the out-going (chīqīsh) of this Gate; it is exactly like an elephant; from it the gate is called Hātī-pūl. A window in theFol. 341. lowest storey where the building has four, looks towards this elephant and gives a near view of it.[2270] The cupolas which have been mentioned above are themselves the topmost stage (murtaba) of the building;[2271] the sitting-rooms are on the second storey (t̤abaqat), in a hollow even;[2272] they are rather airless places although Hindūstānī pains have been taken with them.[2273] The buildings of Mān-sing’s son Bikramājīt are in a central position (aūrta dā) on the north side of the fort.[2274] The son’s buildings do not match the father’s. He has made a great dome, very dark but growing lighter if one stays awhile in it.[2275] Under it is a smaller building into which no light comes from any side. When Raḥīm-dād settled down in Bikramājīt’s buildings, he made a rather small hall [kīchīkrāq tālārghīna] on the top of this dome.[2276] From Bikramājīt’s buildings a road has been made to his father’s, a road such that nothing is seen of it from outside and nothing known of it inside, a quite enclosed road.[2277]
After visiting these buildings, we rode to a college Raḥīm-dād Fol. 341b.had made by the side of a large tank, there enjoyed a flower-garden[2278] he had laid out, and went late to where the camp was in the Chārbāgh.
(f. Raḥīm-dād’s flower-garden.)
Raḥīm-dād has planted a great numbers of flowers in his garden (bāghcha), many being beautiful red oleanders. In these places the oleander-flower is peach,[2279] those of Gūālīār are beautiful, deep red. I took some of them to Āgra and had them planted in gardens there. On the south of the garden is a large lake[2280] where the waters of the Rains gather; on the west of it is a lofty idol-house,[2281] side by side with which Sl. Shihābu’d-dīn Aīltmīsh (Altamsh) made a Friday mosque; this is a very lofty building (‘imārat), the highest in the fort; it is seen, with the fort, from the Dūlpūr-hill (cir. 30 m. away). People say the stone for it was cut out and brought from the large lake above-mentioned. Raḥīm-dād has made a wooden (yīghāch) tālār in his garden, and porches at the gates, which, after the Hindūstānī fashion, are somewhat low and shapeless.
(g. The Urwāh-valley.)
(Sep. 28th) Next day (Muḥ. 13th) at the Mid-day Prayer we rode out to visit places in Gūālīār we had not yet seen. We saw the ‘imārat called Bādalgar[2282] which is part of Mān-sing’s fort (qila‘), went through the Hātī-pūl and across the fort to a place called Urwā (Urwāh), which is a valley-bottom (qūl) on its western side. Though Urwā is outside the fort-wall running along the top of the hill, it has two stages (murtaba) of high wall at its mouth. The higher of these walls is some 30 or 40 qārī (yards) high; this is the longer one; at each end it joinsFol. 342. the wall of the fort. The second wall curves in and joins the middle part of the first; it is the lower and shorter of the two. This curve of wall will have been made for a water-thief;[2283] within it is a stepped well (wā’īn) in which water is reached by 10 or 15 steps. Above the Gate leading from the valley to this walled-well the name of Sl. Shihābu’d-dīn Aīltmīsh (Altamsh) is inscribed, with the date 630 (AH.-1233 AD.). Below this outer wall and outside the fort there is a large lake which seems to dwindle (at times) till no lake remains; from it water goes to the water-thief. There are two other lakes inside Urwā the water of which those who live in the fort prefer to all other.
Three sides of Urwā are solid rock, not the red rock of Bīāna but one paler in colour. On these sides people have cut out idol-statues, large and small, one large statue on the south side being perhaps 20 qārī (yds.) high.[2284] These idols are shewn quite naked without covering for the privities. Along the sides of Fol. 342b.the two Urwā lakes 20 or 30 wells have been dug, with water from which useful vegetables (sabzī kārlīklār), flowers and trees are grown. Urwā is not a bad place; it is shut in (T. tūr); the idols are its defect; I, for my part, ordered them destroyed.[2285]
Going out of Urwā into the fort again, we enjoyed the window[2286] of the Sultānī-pūl which must have been closed through the pagan time till now, went to Raḥīm-dād’s flower-garden at the Evening Prayer, there dismounted and there slept.
(h. A son of Rānā Sangā negociates with Bābur.)
(Sep. 29th) On Tuesday the 14th of the month came people from Rānā Sangā’s second son, Bikramājīt by name, who with his mother Padmāwatī was in the fort of Rantanbūr. Before I rode out for Gūālīār,[2287] others had come from his great and trusted Hindū, Asūk by name, to indicate Bikramājīt’s submission and obeisance and ask a subsistence-allowance of 70 laks for him; it had been settled at that time that parganas to the amount he asked should be bestowed on him, his men were given leave to go, with tryst for Gūālīār which we were about to visit. They came into Gūālīār somewhat after the trysting-day. The Hindū Asūk[2288] is said to be a near relation of Bikramājīt’s mother Padmāwatī; he, for his part, set these particulars forth father-like Fol. 343.and son-like;[2289] they, for theirs, concurring with him, agreed to wish me well and serve me. At the time when Sl. Maḥmūd (Khīljī) was beaten by Rānā Sangā and fell into pagan captivity
(925 AH.-1519 AD.) he possessed a famous crown-cap (tāj-kula) and golden belt, accepting which Sangā let him go free. That crown-cap and golden belt must have become Bikramājīt’s; his elder brother Ratan-sī, now Rānā of Chītūr in his father’s place, had asked for them but Bikramājīt had not given them up,[2290] and now made the men he sent to me, speak to me about them, and ask for Bīāna in place of Rantanbūr. We led them away from the Bīāna question and promised Shamsābād in exchange for Rantanbūr. To-day (Muḥ. 14th) they were given a nine days’ tryst for Bīāna, were dressed in robes of honour, and allowed to go.
(i. Hindū temples visited.)
We rode from the flower-garden to visit the idol-houses of Gūālīār. Some are two, and some are three storeys high, each storey rather low, in the ancient fashion. On their stone plinths (izāra) are sculptured images. Some idol-houses, College-fashion, have a portico, large high cupolas[2291] and madrāsa-like cells, each topped by a slender stone cupola.[2292] In the lower cells are idols carved in the rock.Fol. 343b.
After enjoying the sight of these buildings (‘imāratlār) we left the fort by the south Gate,[2293] made an excursion to the south, and went (north) to the Chār-bāgh Raḥim-dād had made over-against the Hātī-pūl.[2294] He had prepared a feast of cooked-meat (āsh) for us and, after setting excellent food before us, made offering of a mass of goods and coin worth 4 laks. From his Chār-bāgh I rode to my own.
(j. Excursion to a waterfall.)
(Sep. 30th.) On Wednesday the 15th of the month I went to see a waterfall 6 kurohs (12 m.) to the south-east of Gūālīār. Less than that must have been ridden;[2295] close to the Mid-day Prayer we reached a fall where sufficient water for one mill was coming down a slope (qīā) an arghamchī[2296] high. Below the fall there is a large lake; above it the water comes flowing through solid rock; there is solid rock also below the fall. A lake forms wherever the water falls. On the banks of the water lie piece after piece of rock as if for seats, but the water is said not always to be there. We sat down above the fall and ate ma‘jūn, went up-stream to visit its source (badayat), returned, got out on higher ground, and stayed while musicians played and reciters Fol. 344.repeated things (nīma aītīlār). The Ebony-tree which Hindīs call tindū, was pointed out to those who had not seen it before. We went down the hill and, between the Evening and Bed-time Prayers, rode away, slept at a place reached near the second watch (midnight), and with the on-coming of the first watch of day (6 a.m. Muḥ. 16th-Oct. 1st) reached the Chār-bāgh and dismounted.
(k. Ṣalāḥu’d-dīn’s birth-place.)[2297]
(Oct. 2nd) On Friday the 17th of the month, I visited the garden of lemons and pumeloes (sadā-fal) in a valley-bottom amongst the hills above a village called Sūkhjana (?)[2298] which is Ṣalāḥu’d-dīn’s birth-place. Returning to the Chār-bāgh, I dismounted there in the first watch.[2299]
(l. Incidents of the march from Gūālīār.)
(Oct. 4th) On Sunday the 19th of the month, we rode before dawn from the Chār-bāgh, crossed the Kawārī-water and took our nooning (tūshlāndūk). After the Mid-day Prayer we rode on, at sunset passed the Chaṃbal-water, between the Evening and Bed-time Prayers entered Dulpūr-fort, there, by lamp-light, visited a Hot-bath which Abū’l-fatḥ had made, rode on, and dismounted at the dam-head where the new Chār-bāgh is in making.
(Oct. 5th) Having stayed the night there, at dawn (Monday 20th) I visited what places had been ordered made.[2300] The face (yūz) of the roofed-tank, ordered cut in the solid rock, was not being got up quite straight; more stone-cutters were sent for who were to make the tank-bottom level, pour in water, and, by help of the water, to get the sides to one height. They got the face up straight just before the Other Prayer, were then ordered to fill the tank with water, by help of the water made the sidesFol. 344b. match, then busied themselves to smooth them. I ordered a water-chamber (āb-khāna) made at a place where it would be cut in the solid rock; inside it was to be a small tank also cut in the solid rock.
(Here the record of 6 days is wanting.)[2301]
(Oct. 12th?) To-day, Monday (27th?), there was a ma‘jūn party. (Oct. 13th) On Tuesday I was still in that same place. (Oct. 14th) On the night of Wednesday,[2302] after opening the mouth and eating something[2303] we rode for Sīkrī. Near the second watch (midnight), we dismounted somewhere and slept; I myself could not sleep on account of pain in my ear, whether caused by cold, as is likely, I do not know. At the top of the dawn, we bestirred ourselves from that place, and in the first watch dismounted at the garden now in making at Sīkrī. The garden-wall and well-buildings were not getting on to my satisfaction; the overseers therefore were threatened and punished. We rode on from Sīkrī between the Other and Evening Prayers, passed through Marhākūr, dismounted somewhere and slept.
(Oct. 15th) Riding on (Thursday 30th), we got into Āgra during the first watch (6-9 a.m.). In the fort I saw the honoured Khadīja-sult̤ān Begīm who had stayed behind for several reasons when Fakhr-i-jahān Begīm started for Kābul. Crossing Jūn (Jumna), I went to the Garden-of-eight paradises.[2304]
(m. Arrival of kinswomen.)
(Oct. 17th) On Saturday the 3rd of Ṣafar, between the Other and Evening Prayers, I went to see three of the great-aunt begīms,[2305] Gauhar-shād Begīm, Badī‘u’l-jamāl Begīm, and Āq Begīm, with also, of lesser begīms,[2306] Sl. Maṣ‘ūd Mīrzā’s daughter Khān-zāda Begīm, and Sult̤ān-bakht Begīm’s daughter, and my yīnkā chīcha’s grand-daughter, that is to say, Zaināb-sult̤ān Begīm.[2307] They had come past Tūta and dismounted at a small Fol. 345.standing-water (qarā sū) on the edge of the suburbs. I came back direct by boat.
(n. Despatch of an envoy to receive charge of Ranthaṃbhor.)
(Oct. 19th) On Monday the 5th of the month of Ṣafar, Hāmūsī son of Dīwa, an old Hindū servant from Bhīra, was joined with Bikramājīt’s former[2308] and later envoys in order that pact and agreement for the surrender of Ranthanbūr and for the conditions of Bikramājīt’s service might be made in their own (hindū) way and custom. Before our man returned, he was to see, and learn, and make sure of matters; this done, if that person (i.e. Bikramājīt) stood fast to his spoken word, I, for my part, promised that, God bringing it aright, I would set him in his father’s place as Rānā of Chitūr.[2309]
(Here the record of 3 days is wanting.)
(o. A levy on stipendiaries.)
(Oct. 22nd) By this time the treasure of Iskandar and Ibrāhīm in Dihlī and Āgra was at an end. Royal orders were given therefore, on Thursday the 8th of Ṣafar, that each stipendiary (wajhdār) should drop into the Dīwān, 30 in every 100 of his allowance, to be used for war-material and appliances, for equipment, for powder, and for the pay of gunners and matchlockmen.
(p. Royal letters sent into Khurāsān.)
(Oct. 24th) On Saturday the 10th of the month, Pay-master Sl. Muḥammad’s foot-man Shāh Qāsim who once before had taken letters of encouragement to kinsfolk in Khurāsān,[2310] was sent to Herī with other letters to the purport that, through God’s grace, our hearts were at ease in Hindūstān about the rebels andFol. 345b. pagans of east and west; and that, God bringing it aright, we should use every means and assuredly in the coming spring should touch the goal of our desire.[2311] On the margin of a royal letter sent to Ahṃad Afshār (Turk) a summons to Farīdūn the qabūz-player was written with my own hand.
(Here the record of 11 days is wanting.)
In today’s forenoon (Tuesday 20th?) I made a beginning of eating quicksilver.[2312]
(q. News from Kābul and Khurāsān.)[2313]
(Nov. 4th) On Wednesday the 21st of the month (Ṣafar) a Hindūstānī foot-man (pīāda) brought dutiful letters (‘arẓ-dāshtlār) from Kāmrān and Khwāja Dost-i-khāwand. The Khwāja had reached Kābul on the 10th of Ẕū’l-ḥijja[2314] and will have been anxious to go on[2315] to Humāyūn’s presence, but there comes to him a man from Kāmrān, saying, “Let the honoured Khwāja come (to see me); let him deliver whatever royal orders there may be; let him go on to Humāyūn when matters have been talked over.”[2316] Kāmrān will have gone into Kābul on the 17th of Ẕū’l-ḥijja (Sep. 2nd), will have talked with the Khwāja and, on the 28th of the same month, will have let him go on for Fort Victory (Qila‘-i-z̤afar).
There was this excellent news in the dutiful letters received:—that Shāh-zāda T̤ahmāsp, resolute to put down the Aūzbeg,[2317] had overcome and killed Rīnīsh (var. Zīnīsh) Aūzbeg in Dāmghān and made a general massacre of his people; that ‘Ubaid Khān, getting sure news about the Qīzīl-bāsh (Red-head) had risen from round Herī, gone to Merv, called up to him there all the sult̤āns of Samarkand and those parts, and that all the sult̤āns of Mā warā’u’n-nahr had gone to help him.[2318]
Fol. 346.This same foot-man brought the further news that Humāyūn was said to have had a son by the daughter of Yādgār T̤aghāī, and that Kāmrān was said to be marrying in Kābul, taking the daughter of his mother’s brother Sl. ‘Alī Mīrzā (Begchīk).[2319]
(r. Honours for an artificer.)[2320]
On this same day Sayyid Daknī of Shīrāz the diviner (ghaiba-gar?) was made to wear a dress of honour, given presents, and ordered to finish the arched(?) well (khwāralīq-chāh) as he best knew how.
(s. The Wālidiyyah-risāla (Parental-tract).)
(Nov. 6th) On Friday the 23rd of the month[2321] such heat[2322] appeared in my body that with difficulty I got through the Congregational Prayer in the Mosque, and with much trouble through the Mid-day Prayer, in the book-room, after due time, and little by little. Thereafter[2323] having had fever, I trembled less on Sunday (Nov. 28th). During the night of Tuesday[2324] the 27th of the month Ṣafar, it occurred to me to versify (naz̤m qīlmāq) the Wālidiyyah-risāla of his Reverence Khwāja ‘Ubaidu’l-lāh.[2325] I laid it to heart that if I, going to the soul of his Reverence[2326] for protection, were freed from this disease, it would be a sign that my poem was accepted, just as the author of the Qaṣīdatu’l-būrda[2327] was freed from the affliction of paralysis when his poem Fol. 346b.had been accepted. To this end I began to versify the tract, using the metre[2328] of Maulānā ‘Abdu´r-raḥīm Jāmī’s Subḥatu’l-abrār (Rosary of the Righteous). Thirteen couplets were made in that same night. I tasked myself not to make fewer than 10 a day; in the end one day had been omitted. While last year every time such illness had happened, it had persisted at least a month or 40 days,[2329] this year, by God’s grace and his Reverence’s favour, I was free, except for a little depression (afsurda), on Thursday the 29th of the month (Nov. 12th). The end of versifying the contents of the tract was reached on Saturday the 8th of the first Rabī’ (Nov. 20th). One day 52 couplets had been made.[2330]
(t. Troops warned for service.)
(Nov. 11th) On Wednesday the 28th of the month royal orders were sent on all sides for the armies, saying, “God bringing it about, at an early opportunity my army will be got to horse. Let all come soon, equipped for service.”
(Here the record of 9 days is wanting.)[2331]
(u. Messengers from Humāyūn.)
(Nov. 21st) On Sunday the 9th of the first Rabī‘, Beg Muḥammad ta‘alluqchī[2332] came, who had been sent last year (934 AH.) at the end of Muḥarram to take a dress of honour and a horse to Humāyūn.[2333]
(Nov. 22nd) On Monday the 10th of the month there came from Humāyūn’s presence Wais Lāgharī’s (son) Beg-gīna (Little Beg) and Bīān Shaikh, one of Humāyūn’s servants who had come as the messenger of the good tidings of the birth of Humāyūn’s son whose name he gave as Al-amān. Shaikh Abū’l-wajd found Shăh sa‘ādatmand[2334] to be the date of his birth.Fol. 347.
(v. Rapid travel.)
Bīān Shaikh set out long after Beg-gīna. He parted from Humāyūn on Friday the 9th of Ṣafar (Oct. 23rd) at a place below Kishm called Dū-shaṃba (Monday); he came into Āgra on Monday the 10th of the first Rabī‘ (Nov. 23rd). He came very quickly! Another time he actually came from Qila‘-i-z̤afar to Qandahār in 11 days.[2335]
(w. News of T̤ahmāsp’s victory over the Aūzbegs.)
Bīān Shaikh brought news about Shāh-zāda T̤ahmāsp’s advancing out of ‘Irāq and defeating the Aūzbeg.[2336] Here are his particulars:—Shāh-zāda T̤ahmāsp, having come out of ‘Irāq with 40,000 men arrayed in Rūmī fashion of matchlock and cart,[2337] advances with great speed, takes Bast̤ām, slaughters Rīnīsh (var. Zīnīsh) Aūzbeg and his men in Dāmghān, and from there passes right swiftly on.[2338] Kīpīk Bī’s son Qaṃbar-i-‘alī Beg is beaten by one of the Qīzīl-bāsh (Red-head)’s men, and with his few followers goes to ‘Ubaid Khān’s presence. ‘Ubaid Khān finds it undesirable to stay near Herī, hurriedly sends off gallopers to all the sult̤āns of Balkh, Ḥiṣār, Samarkand, and Tāshkend (Tāshkīnt) and goes himself to Merv. Sīūnjak Sl.’s younger son Bārāq Sl. from Tāshkend, Kūchūm Khān, with (his sons) Abū-sa‘īd Sl. and Pūlad Sl., and Jānī Beg Sl. with his sons, from Fol. 347b.Samarkand and Mīān-kāl, Mahdī Sl.’s and Ḥamza Sl.’s sons from Ḥiṣār, Kītīn-qarā Sl. from Balkh, all these sult̤āns assemble right swiftly in Merv. To them their informers (tīl-chī) take news that Shāh-zāda, after saying, “‘Ubaid Khān is seated near Herī with few men only,” had been advancing swiftly with his 40,000 men, but that when he heard of this assembly (i.e. in Merv), he made a ditch in the meadow of Rādagān[2339] and seated himself there.[2340] Here-upon the Aūzbegs, with entire disregard of their opponents,[2341] left their counsels at this:—“Let all of us sult̤āns and khāns seat ourselves in Mashhad;[2342] let a few of us be told off with 20,000 men to go close to the Qīzīl-bāsh camp[2343] and not let them put head out; let us order magicians[2344] to work their magic directly Scorpio appears;[2345] by this stratagem the enemy will be enfeebled, and we shall overcome.” So said, they march from Merv. Shāh-zāda gets out of Mashhad.[2346] He confronts them near Jām-and-Khirgird.[2347] There defeat befalls the Aūzbeg side.[2348] A mass of sult̤āns are overcome and slaughtered.
In one letter it (khūd) was written, “It is not known for certainFol. 348. that any sult̤ān except Kūchūm Khān has escaped; not a man who went with the army has come back up to now.” The sult̤āns who were in Ḥiṣār abandoned it. Ibrāhīm Jānī’s son Chalma, whose real name is Ismā‘īl, must be in the fort.[2349]
(x. Letters written by Bābur.)
(Nov. 27th and 28th) This same Bīān Shaikh was sent quite quickly back with letters. for Humāyūn and Kāmrān. These and other writings being ready by Friday the 14th of the month (Nov. 27th) were entrusted to him, his leave was given, and on Saturday the 15th he got well out of Āgra.
Copy of a Letter to Humāyūn.[2350]
“The first matter, after saying, ‘Salutation’ to Humāyūn whom I am longing to see, is this:—
Exact particulars of the state of affairs on that side and on this[2351] have been made known by the letters and dutiful representations brought on Monday the 10th of the first Rabī‘ by Beg-gīna and Bīān Shaikh.
| (Turkī) | Thank God! a son is born to thee! A son to thee, to me a heart-enslaver (dil-bandī). |
May the Most High ever allot to thee and to me tidings as joyful! So may it be, O Lord of the two worlds!”
“Thou sayest thou hast called him Al-amān; God bless and prosper this! Thou writest it so thyself (i.e. Al-amān), but hast over-looked that common people mostly say alāmā or aīlāmān.[2352]Fol. 348b. Besides that, this Al is rare in names.[2353] May God bless and prosper him in name and person; may He grant us to keep Al-amān (peace) for many years and many decades of years![2354] May He now order our affairs by His own mercy and favour; not in many decades comes such a chance as this!”[2355]
“Again:—On Tuesday the 11th of the month (Nov. 23rd) came the false rumour that the Balkhīs had invited and were fetching Qurbān[2356] into Balkh.”
“Again:—Kāmrān and the Kābul begs have orders to join thee; this done, move on Ḥiṣār, Samarkand, Herī or to whatever side favours fortune. Mayst thou, by God’s grace, crush foes and take lands to the joy of friends and the down-casting of adversaries! Thank God! now is your time to risk life and slash swords.[2357] Neglect not the work chance has brought; slothful life in retirement befits not sovereign rule:—
| (Persian) | He grips the world who hastens; Empire yokes not with delay; All else, confronting marriage, stops, Save only sovereignty.[2358] |
If through God’s grace, the Balkh and Ḥiṣār countries be won and held, put men of thine in Ḥiṣār, Kāmrān’s men in Balkh. Should Samarkand also be won, there make thy seat. Ḥiṣār,Fol. 349. God willing, I shall make a crown-domain. Should Kāmrān regard Balkh as small, represent the matter to me; please God! I will make its defects good at once out of those other countries.”
“Again:—As thou knowest, the rule has always been that when thou hadst six parts, Kāmrān had five; this having been constant, make no change.”
“Again:—Live well with thy younger brother. Elders must bear the burden![2359] I have the hope that thou, for thy part, wilt keep on good terms with him; he, who has grown up an active and excellent youth, should not fail, for his part, in loyal duty to thee.”[2360]
“Again:—Words from thee are somewhat few; no person has Fol. 349b.come from thee for two or three years past; the man I sent to thee (Beg Muḥammad ta‘alluqchī) came back in something over a year; is this not so?”
“Again:—As for the “retirement”, “retirement”, spoken of in thy letters,—retirement is a fault for sovereignty; as the honoured (Sa‘dī) says:—[2361]
| (Persian) | If thy foot be fettered, choose to be resigned; If thou ride alone, take thou thine own head. |
No bondage equals that of sovereignty; retirement matches not with rule.”
“Again:—Thou hast written me a letter, as I ordered thee to do; but why not have read it over? If thou hadst thought of reading it, thou couldst not have done it, and, unable thyself to read it, wouldst certainly have made alteration in it. Though by taking trouble it can be read, it is very puzzling, and who ever saw an enigma in prose?[2362] Thy spelling, though not bad, is not quite correct; thou writest iltafāt with t̤ā (iltafāt̤) and qūlinj with yā (qīlinj?).[2363] Although thy letter can be read if every sort of pains be taken, yet it cannot be quite understood because of that obscure wording of thine. Thy remissness in letter-writing seems to be due to the thing which makes thee obscure, that is to say, to elaboration. In future write without elaboration; use plain, clear words. So will thy trouble and thy reader’s be less.”
“Again:—Thou art now to go on a great business;[2364] take counsel with prudent and experienced begs, and act as they say. If thou seek to pleasure me, give up sitting alone and avoiding society. Summon thy younger brother and the begs twice daily to thy presence, not leaving their coming to choice; be the business what it may, take counsel and settle every word and act in agreement with those well-wishers.”
“Again:—Khwāja Kalān has long had with me the house-friend’s intimacy; have thou as much and even more with him.Fol. 350. If, God willing, the work becomes less in those parts, so that thou wilt not need Kāmrān, let him leave disciplined men in Balkh and come to my presence.”
“Again:—Seeing that there have been such victories, and such conquests, since Kābul has been held, I take it to be well-omened; I have made it a crown-domain; let no one of you covet it.”
“Again:—Thou hast done well (yakhshī qīlīb sīn); thou hast won the heart of Sl. Wais;[2365] get him to thy presence; act by his counsel, for he knows business.”
“Until there is a good muster of the army, do not move out.”
“Bīān Shaikh is well-apprized of word-of-mouth matters, and will inform thee of them. These things said, I salute thee and am longing to see thee.”—
The above was written on Thursday the 13th of the first Rabi‘ (Nov. 26th). To the same purport and with my own hand, I wrote also to Kāmrān and Khwāja Kalān, and sent off the letters (by Bīān Shaikh).
(Here the record fails from Rabī‘ 15th to 19th.)
(y. Plans of campaign.)
(Dec. 2nd) On Wednesday the 19th of the month (Rabī‘ I.) the mīrzās, sult̤āns, Turk and Hind amīrs were summoned for counsel, and left the matter at this:—That this year the army must move in some direction; that ‘Askarī should go in advance towards the East, be joined by the sult̤āns and amīrs from beyond Gang (Ganges), and march in whatever direction favoured fortune. These particulars having been written down, Ghīāṣu’d-dīn the Fol. 350b.armourer was given rendezvous for 16 days,[2366] and sent galloping off, on Saturday the 22nd of the month, to the amīrs of the East headed by Sl. Junaid Barlās. His word-of-mouth message was, that ‘Askarī was being sent on before the fighting apparatus, culverin, cart and matchlock, was ready; that it was the royal order for the sult̤āns and amīrs of the far side of Gang to muster in ‘Askarī’s presence, and, after consultation with well-wishers on that side, to move in whatever direction, God willing! might favour fortune; that if there should be work needing me, please God! I would get to horse as soon as the person gone with the (16 days) tryst (mī‘ād) had returned; that explicit representation should be made as to whether the Bengali (Nas̤rat Shāh) were friendly and single-minded; that, if nothing needed my presence in those parts, I should not make stay, but should move elsewhere at once;[2367] and that after consulting with well-wishers, they were to take ‘Askarī with them, and, God willing! settle matters on that side.
(Here the record of 5 days is wanting.)
(z. ‘Askarī receives the insignia and rank of a royal commander.)
(Dec. 12th) On Saturday the 29th of the first Rabī‘, ‘Askarī was made to put on a jewelled dagger and belt, and a royal dress of honour, was presented with flag, horse-tail standard, Fol. 351.drum, a set (6-8) of tīpūchāq (horses), 10 elephants, a string of camels, one of mules, royal plenishing, and royal utensils. Moreover he was ordered to take his seat at the head of a Dīwān. On his mullā and two guardians were bestowed jackets having buttons[2368]; on his other servants, three sets of nine coats.
(aa. Bābur visits one of his officers.)
(Dec. 13th) On Sunday the last day of the month (Rabī‘ I. 30th)[2369] I went to Sl. Muḥammad Bakhshī’s house. After spreading a carpet, he brought gifts. His offering in money and goods was more than 2 laks.[2370] When food and offering had been set out, we went into another room where sitting, we ate ma‘jūn. We came away at the 3rd watch (midnight?), crossed the water, and went to the private house.
(bb. The Āgra-Kābul road measured.)
(Dec. 17th) On Thursday the 4th of the latter Rabī‘, it was settled that Chīqmāq Beg with Shāhī t̤amghāchī’s[2371] clerkship, should measure the road between Āgra and Kābul. At every 9th kuroh (cir. 18m.), a tower was to be erected 12 qārīs high[2372] and having a chār-dara[2373] on the top; at every 18th kuroh (cir. 36m.),[2374] 6 post-horses were to be kept fastened; and arrangement was to be made for the payment of post-masters and grooms, and for horse-corn. The order was, “If the place where the horses are fastened up,[2375] be near a crown-domain, let those there provide for the matters mentioned; if not, let the cost be charged on the beg in whose pargana the post-house may be.” Chīqmāq Beg got out of Āgra with Shāhī on that same day.
Fol. 351b.(Author’s note on the kuroh.) These kurohs were established in relation to the mīl, in the way mentioned in the Mubīn:—[2376]
| (Turkī) | Four thousand paces (qadam) are one mīl; Know that Hind people call this a kuroh; The pace (qadam) they say is a qārī and a half (36 in.); That each tūtām is four fingers (aīlīk), Each aīlīk, six barley-corns. Know this knowledge.[2377] |
The measuring-cord (t̤anāb)[2378] was fixed at 40 qārī, each being the one-and-a-half qārī mentioned above, that is to say, each is 9 hand-breadths.
(cc. A feast.)
(Dec. 18th) On Saturday the 6th of the month (Rabī‘ II.) there was a feast[2379] at which were present Qīzīl-bāsh (Red-head), and Aūzbeg, and Hindū envoys.[2380] The Qīzīl-bāsh envoys sat under an awning placed some 70-80 qārīs[2381] on my right, of the begs Yūnas-i-‘alī being ordered to sit with them. On my left the Aūzbeg envoys sat in the same way, of the begs ‘Abdu’l-lāh being ordered to sit with them. I sat on the north side of a newly-erected octagonal pavilion (tālār) covered in with khas[2382]. Five or six qārīs on my right sat Tūkhtā-būgha Sl. and ‘Askarī, with Khwāja ‘Abdu’sh-shahīd and Khwāja Kalān, descendants of his Reverence the Khwāja,[2383] and Khwāja Chishtī (var. Ḥusainī), and Khalīfa, together with the ḥāfiz̤es and mullās dependent on the Khwājas who had come from Samarkand. Five or six qārīs on my left sat Muḥammad-i-zamān M. and Tāng-ātmīsh Sl.[2384]Fol. 352. and Sayyid Rafī‘, Sayyid Rūmī, Shaikh Abū’l-fatḥ, Shaikh Jamālī, Shaikh Shihābu’d-dīn ‘Arab and Sayyid Daknī (var.Zaknī, Ruknī). Before food all the sult̤āns, khāns, grandees, and amīrs brought gifts[2385] of red, of white, of black,[2386] of cloth and various other goods. They poured the red and white on a carpet I had ordered spread, and side by side with the gold and silver piled plenishing, white cotton piece-cloth and purses (badra) of money. While the gifts were being brought and before food, fierce camels and fierce elephants[2387] were set to fight on an island opposite,[2388] so too a few rams; thereafter wrestlers grappled. After the chief of the food had been set out, Khwāja ‘Abdu’sh-shahīd and Khwāja Kalān were made to put on surtouts (jabbah) of fine muslin,[2389] spotted with gold-embroidery, and suitable dresses of honour, and those headed by Mullā Farrūkh and Ḥāfiz̤[2390] had jackets put on them. On Kūchūm Khān’s envoy[2391] and on Ḥasan Chalabi’s younger brother[2392] were bestowed silken head-wear (bāshlīq) and gold-embroidered surtouts of fine muslin, with suitable dresses of honour. Gold-embroidered jackets and silk coats were presented to the envoys of Abū-sa‘īd Sl. (Aūzbeg), of Mihr-bān Khānīm and her son Pulād Sl., and of Shāh Ḥasan Fol. 352b.(Arghūn). The two Khwājas and the two chief envoys, that is to say Kūchūm Khān’s retainer and Ḥasan Chalabī’s younger brother, were presented with a silver stone’s weight of gold and a gold stone’s weight of silver.
(Author’s note on the Turkī stone-weight.) The gold stone (tāsh) is 500 mis̤qāls, that is to say, one Kābul sīr; the silver stone is 250 mis̤qāls, that is to say, half a Kābul sīr.[2393]
To Khwāja Mīr Sult̤ān and his sons, to Ḥāfiz̤ of Tāshkīnt, to Mullā Farrūkh at the head of the Khwājas’ servants, and also to other envoys, silver and gold were given with a quiver.[2394] Yādgār-i-nāṣir[2395] was presented with a dagger and belt. On Mīr Muḥammad the raftsman who was deserving of reward for the excellent bridge he had made over the river Gang (Ganges),[2396] a dagger was bestowed, so too on the matchlockmen Champion [pahlawān] Ḥājī Muḥammad and Champion Buhlūl and on Walī the cheeta-keeper (pārschī); one was given to Ustād ‘Alī’s son also. Gold and silver were presented to Sayyid Daud Garmsīrī. Jackets having buttons,[2397] and silk dresses of honour were presented to the servants of my daughter Ma‘ṣūma[2398] and my son Hind-āl. Again:—presents of jackets and silk dresses of honour, of gold and silver, of plenishing and various goods were given to those from Andijān, and to those who had come from Sūkh and Hushīār, the places whither we had gone landless and homeless.[2399] Gifts of the same kind were given to the servants of Qurbān and Shaikhī and the peasants of Kāhmard.[2400]Fol. 353.
After food had been sent out, Hindūstānī players were ordered to come and show their tricks. Lūlīs came.[2401] Hindūstānī performers shew several feats not shewn by (Tramontane) ones. One is this:—They arrange seven rings, one on the forehead, two on the knees, two of the remaining four on fingers, two on toes, and in an instant set them turning rapidly. Another is this:—Imitating the port of the peacock, they place one hand on the ground, raise up the other and both legs, and then in an instant make rings on the uplifted hand and feet revolve rapidly. Another is this:—In those (Tramontane) countries two people grip one another and turn two somersaults, but Hindūstānī lūlīs, clinging together, go turning over three or four times. Another is this:—a lūlī sets the end of a 12 or 14 foot pole on his middle and holds it upright while another climbs up it and does hisFol. 353b. tricks up there. Another is this:—A small lūlī gets upon a big one’s head, and stands there upright while the big one moves quickly from side to side shewing his tricks, the little one shewing his on the big one’s head, quite upright and without tottering. Many dancing-girls came also and danced.
A mass of red, white, and black was scattered (sāchīldī) on which followed amazing noise and pushing. Between the Evening and Bed-time Prayers I made five or six special people sit in my presence for over one watch. At the second watch of the day (9 a.m., Sunday, Rabi‘ II. 7th) having sat in a boat, I went to the Eight-Paradises.
(dd. ‘Askarī starts eastwards.)
(Dec. 20th) On Monday (8th) ‘Askarī who had got (his army) out (of Āgra) for the expedition, came to the Hot-bath, took leave of me and marched for the East.
(ee. A visit to Dhūlpūr.)
(Dec. 21st) On Tuesday (Rabī‘ II. 9th) I went to see the buildings for a reservoir and well at Dūlpūr.[2402] I rode from the (Āgra) garden at one watch (pahr) and one garī (9.22 a.m.), and I entered the Dūlpūr garden when 5 garīs of the 1st night-watch (pās)[2403] had gone (7.40 p.m.).[2404]
(Dec. 23rd) On Thursday the 11th day of the month the stone-well (sangīn-chāh), the 26 rock-spouts (tāsh-tār-nau) and rock-pillars (tāsh-sitūn), and the water-courses (ārīqlār) cut on the solid slope (yak pāra qīā) were all ready.[2405] At the 3rd watch (pahr) of this same day preparation for drawing water from the well was made. On account of a smell (aīd) in the water, it was ordered, for prudence’ sake, that they should turn the well-wheel without rest for 15 days-and-nights, and so draw off the water. Gifts were made to the stone-cutters, and labourers, Fol. 354.and the whole body of workmen in the way customary for master-workmen and wage-earners of Āgra.
(Dec. 24th) We rode from Dūlpūr while one garī of the 1st watch (pahr) of Friday remained (cir. 8.40 a.m.), and we crossed the river (Jumna) before the Sun had set.
(Here the record of 3 days is wanting.)[2406]
(ff. A Persian account of the battle of Jām.)
(Dec. 28th) On Tuesday the 16th of the month (Rabī‘ II.) came one of Dīv Sl.’s[2407] servants, a man who had been in the fight between the Qīzīl-bāsh and Aūzbeg, and who thus described it:—The battle between the Aūzbegs and Turkmāns[2408] took place on ‘Āshūr-day (Muḥ. 10th) near Jām-and-Khirgird.[2409] They fought from the first dawn till the Mid-day Prayer. The Aūzbegs were 300,000; the Turkmāns may have been (as is said?) 40 to 50,000; he said that he himself estimated their dark mass at 100,000; on the other hand, the Aūzbegs said they themselves were 100,000. The Qīzīl-bāsh leader (ādam) fought after arraying cart, culverin and matchlockmen in the Rūmī fashion, and after protecting himself.[2410] Shāh-zāda[2411] and Jūha Sl. stood behind the carts with 20,000 good braves. The rest of the begs were posted right and left beyond the carts.Fol. 354b. These the Aūzbeg beat at once on coming up, dismounted and overcame many, making all scurry off. He then wheeled to the (Qīzīl-bāsh) rear and took loot in camel and baggage. At length those behind the carts loosed the chains and came out. Here also the fight was hard. Thrice they flung the Aūzbeg back; by God’s grace they beat him. Nine sult̤āns, with Kūchūm Khān, ‘Ubaid Khān and Abū-sa‘īd Sl. at their head, were captured; one, Abū-sa‘īd Sl. is said to be alive; the rest have gone to death.[2412] ‘Ubaid Khān’s body was found, but not his head. Of Aūzbegs 50,000, and of Turkmāns 20,000 were slain.[2413]
(Here matter seems to have been lost.)[2414]
(gg. Plan of campaign.)
(Dec. 30th) On this same day (Thursday Rabī‘ II. 18th) came Ghīāṣu’d-dīn the armourer[2415] who had gone to Jūna-pūr (Jūnpūr) with tryst of 16 days,[2416] but, as Sl. Junaid and the rest had led out their army for Kharīd,[2417] he (Ghīāṣu’d-dīn) was not able to be back at the time fixed.[2418] Sl. Junaid said, by word-of-mouth, “Thank God! through His grace, no work worth the Pādshāh’s attention has shewn itself in these parts; if the honoured Mīrzā (‘Askarī) come, and if the sult̤āns, khāns and amīrs here-abouts be ordered to move in his steps, there is hope that everything in these parts will be arranged with ease.” Though such was Sl.Fol. 355. Junaid’s answer,yet, as people were saying that Mullā Muḥammad Maẕhab, who had been sent as envoy to Bengal after the Holy-battle with Sangā the Pagan,[2419] would arrive today or tomorrow, his news also was awaited.
(Dec. 31st) On Friday the 19th of the month I had eaten ma‘jūn and was sitting with a special few in the private house, when Mullā Maẕhab who had arrived late, that is to say, in the night of Saturday,[2420] came and waited on me. By asking one particular after another, we got to know that the attitude of the Bengalī[2421] was understood to be loyal and single-minded.
(Jan. 2nd) On Sunday (Rabī‘ II. 21st), I summoned the Turk and Hind amīrs to the private house, when counsel was taken and the following matters were brought forward:—As the Bengalī (Naṣrat Shāh) has sent us an envoy[2422] and is said to be loyal and single-minded, to go to Bengal itself would be improper; if the move be not on Bengal, no other place on that side has treasure helpful for the army; several places to the west are both rich and near,
| (Turkī) | Abounding wealth, a pagan people, a short road; Far though the East lie, this is near. |
At length the matter found settlement at this:—As our westward road is short, it will be all one if we delay a few days, so that our minds may be at ease about the East. Again Ghīāṣu’d-dīnFol. 355b. the armourer was made to gallop off, with tryst of 20 days,[2423] to convey written orders to the eastern amīrs for all the sult̤āns, khāns, and amīrs who had assembled in ‘Askarī’s presence, to move against those rebels.[2424] The orders delivered, he was to return by the trysted day with what ever news there might be.
(hh. Balūchī incursions.)
In these days Muḥammadī Kūkūldāsh made dutiful representation that again Balūchīs had come and overrun several places. Chīn-tīmūr Sl. was appointed for the business; he was to gather to his presence the amīrs from beyond Sihrind and Samāna and with them, equipped for 6 months, to proceed against the Balūchīs; namely, such amīrs as ‘Ādil Sult̤ān, Sl. Muḥ. Dūldāī, Khusrau Kūkūldāsh, Muḥammad ‘Alī Jang-jang, ‘Abdu’l-‘azīz the Master-of-the-horse, Sayyid ‘Alī, Walī Qīzil, Qarācha, Halāhil, ‘Āshiq the House-steward, Shaikh ‘Alī, Kitta (Beg Kuhbur), Gujūr Khān, Ḥasan ‘Alī Sīwādī. These were to present themselves at the Sult̤ān’s call and muster and not to transgress his word by road or in halt.[2425] The messenger[2426] appointed to carry these orders was ‘Abdu’l-ghaffār; he was to deliver them first to Chīn-tīmūr Sl., Fol. 356.then to go on and shew them to the afore-named begs who were to present themselves with their troops at whatever place the Sult̤ān gave rendezvous (būljār);[2427] ‘Abdu’l-ghaffār himself was to remain with the army and was to make dutiful representation of slackness or carelessness if shewn by any person soever; this done, we should remove the offender from the circle of the approved (muwajjah-jīrgāsī) and from his country or pargana. These orders having been entrusted to ‘Abdu’l-ghaffār, words-of-mouth were made known to him and he was given leave to go.
(The last explicit date is a week back.)
(ii. News of the loss of Bihār reaches Dhūlpūr.)
(Jan. 9th) On the eve of Sunday the 28th of the month (Rabi‘ II.) we crossed the Jūn (Jumna) at the 6th garī of the 3rd watch (2.15 a.m.) and started for the Lotus-garden of Dūlpūr. The 3rd watch was near[2428] (Sunday mid-day) when we reached it. Places were assigned on the border of the garden, where begs and the household might build or make camping-grounds for themselves.
(Jan. 13th) On Thursday the 3rd of the first Jumāda, a place was fixed in the s.e. of the garden for a Hot-bath; the ground was to be levelled; I ordered a plinth(?) (kursī) erected on the levelled ground, and a Bath to be arranged, in one room of which was to be a reservoir 10 X 10.
On this same day Khalīfa sent from Āgra dutiful letters of Qāẓī Jīā and Bīr-sing Deo, saying it had been heard said that Iskandar’s son Maḥmūd (Lūdī) had taken Bihār (town). This news decided for getting the army to horse.
(Jan. 14th) On Friday (Jumāda I. 4th), we rode out from the Lotus-garden at the 6th garī (8.15 a.m.); at the Evening Prayer we reached Āgra. We met Muḥammad-i-zamān Mīrzā on the road who would have gone to Dūlpūr, Chīn-tīmūr also who must have been coming into Agra.[2429]
(Jan. 15th) On Saturday (5th) the counselling begs having been summoned, it was settled to ride eastwards on Thursday the 10th of the month (Jan. 21st).
(jj. News of Badakhshān.)
On this same Saturday letters came from Kābul with newsFol. 356b. that Humāyūn, having mustered the army on that side (Tramontana), and joined Sl. Wais to himself, had set out with 40,000 men for Samarkand;[2430] on this Sl. Wais’ younger brother Shāh-qūlī goes and enters Ḥiṣār, Tarsūn Muḥammad leaves Tirmiẕ, takes Qabādīān and asks for help; Humāyūn sends Tūlik Kūkūldāsh and Mīr Khẉurd[2431] with many of his men and what Mughūls there were, then follows himself.[2432]
(Here 4 days record is wanting.)
(kk. Bābur starts for the East.)
(Jan. 20th) On Thursday the 10th of the first Jumāda, I set Fol. 357.out for the East after the 3rd garī (cir. 7.10 a.m.), crossed Jūn by boat a little above Jalīsīr, and went to the Gold-scattering-garden.[2433] It was ordered that the standard (tūgh), drum, stable and all the army-folk should remain on the other side of the water, opposite to the garden, and that persons coming for an interview[2434] should cross by boat.
(ll. Arrivals.)
(Jan. 22nd) On Saturday (12th) Ismā‘īl Mītā, the Bengal envoy brought the Bengalī’s offering (Naṣrat Shāh’s), and waited on me in Hindūstān fashion, advancing to within an arrow’s flight, making his reverence, and retiring. They then put on him the due dress of honour (khi‘lat) which people call * * * *[2435], and brought him before me. He knelt thrice in our fashion, advanced, handed Naṣrat Shāh’s letter, set before me the offering he had brought, and retired.
(Jan. 24th) On Monday (14th) the honoured Khwāja ‘Abdu’l-ḥaqq having arrived, I crossed the water by boat, went to his tents and waited on him.[2436]
(Jan. 25th) On Tuesday (15th) Ḥasan Chalabī arrived and waited on me.[2437]
(mm. Incidents of the eastward march.)
On account of our aims (chāpdūq) for the army,[2438] some days were spent in the Chār-bāgh.
(Jan. 27th) On Thursday the 17th of the month, that ground was left after the 3rd garī (7.10 a.m.), I going by boat. It was dismounted 7 kurohs (14 m.) from Āgra, at the village of Anwār.[2439]
(Jan. 30th) On Sunday (Jumāda I. 20th), the Aūzbeg envoys were given their leave. To Kūchūm Khān’s envoy Amīn Mīrzā were presented a dagger with belt, cloth of gold,[2440] and 70,000 tankas.[2441] Abū-sa‘īd’s servant Mullā T̤aghāī and the servants ofFol. 357b. Mihr-bān Khānim and her son Pūlād Sl. were made to put on dresses of honour with gold-embroidered jackets, and were presented also with money in accordance with their station.
(Jan. 31st?) Next morning[2442] (Monday 21st?) leave was given to Khwāja ‘Abdu’l-ḥaqq for stay in Āgra and to Khwāja Yaḥyā’s grandson Khwāja Kalān for Samarkand, who had come by way of a mission from Aūzbeg khāns and sult̤āns.[2443]
In congratulation on the birth of Humāyūn’s son and Kāmrān’s marriage, Mullā Tabrīzī and Mīrzā Beg T̤aghāī[2444] were sent with gifts (sāchāq) to each Mīrzā of 10,000 shāhrukhīs, a coat I had worn, and a belt with clasps. Through Mullā Bihishtī were sent to Hind-āl an inlaid dagger with belt, an inlaid ink-stand, a stool worked in mother-o’pearl, a tunic and a girdle,[2445] together with the alphabet of the Bāburī script and fragments (qit̤a‘lār) written in that script. To Humāyūn were sent the translation (tarjuma) and verses made in Hindūstān.[2446] To Hind-āl and Khwāja Kalān also the translation and verses were sent. They were sent too to Kāmrān, through Mīrzā Beg T̤aghāī, together with head-lines (sar-khat̤) in the Bāburī script.[2447]
(Feb. 1st) On Tuesday, after writing letters to be taken by those going to Kābul, the buildings in hand at Āgra and Dūlpūr Fol. 358.were recalled to mind, and entrusted to the charge of Mullā Qāsim, Ustād Shāh Muḥammad the stone-cutter, Mīrak, Mīr Ghīāṣ, Mīr Sang-tarāsh (stone-cutter) and Shāh Bābā the spadesman. Their leave was then given them.
(Feb. 2nd) The first watch (6 a.m.) was near[2448] when we rode out from Anwār (Wednesday, Jumāda I. 23rd); in the end,[2449] we dismounted, at the Mid-day Prayer, in the village of Ābāpūr, one kuroh (2 m.) from Chandawār.[2450]
(Feb. 3rd) On the eve of Thursday (24th)[2451] ‘Abdu’l-malūk the armourer[2452] was joined with Ḥasan Chalabī and sent as envoy to the Shāh[2453]; and Chāpūq[2454] was joined with the Aūzbeg envoys and sent to the Aūzbeg khāns and sult̤āns.
We moved from Ābāpūr while 4 garīs of the night remained (4.30 a.m.). After passing Chandawār at the top of the dawn, I got into a boat. I landed in front of Rāprī and at the Bed-time Prayer got to the camp which was at Fatḥpūr.[2455]
(Feb. 4th and 5th) Having stayed one day (Friday) at Fatḥpūr, we got to horse on Saturday (26th) after making ablution (waẓū) at dawn. We went through the Morning Prayer in assembly near Rāprī, Maulānā Muḥammad of Fārāb being the leader (imām). At sun-rise I got into a boat below the great crook[2456] of Rāprī.
Today I put together a line-marker (mist̤ar) of eleven lines[2457] in order to write the mixed hands of the translation.[2458] Today the words of the honoured man-of-God admonished my heart.[2459]
(Feb. 6th) Opposite Jākīn,[2460] one of the Rāprī parganas, we Fol. 358b.had the boats drawn to the bank and just spent the night in them. We had them moved on from that place before the dawn (Sunday 27th), after having gone through the Morning Prayer. When I was again on board, Pay-master Sl. Muḥammad came, bringing a servant of Khwāja Kalān, Shamsu’d-dīn Muḥammad, from whose letters and information particulars about the affairs of Kābul became known.[2461] Mahdī Khwāja also came when I was in the boat.[2462] At the Mid-day Prayer I landed in a garden opposite Etāwa, there bathed (ghusl) in the Jūn, and fulfilled the duty of prayer. Moving nearer towards Etāwa, we sat down in that same garden under trees on a height over-looking the river, and there set the braves to amuse us.[2463] Food ordered by Mahdī Khwāja, was set before us. At the Evening Prayer we crossed the river; at the bed-time one we reached camp.
There was a two or three days’ delay on that ground both to collect the army, and to write letters in answer to those brought by Shamsu’d-dīn Muḥammad.
(nn. Letters various.)
(Feb. 9th) On Wednesday the last day (30th) of the 1st Jumāda, we marched from Etāwa, and after doing 8 kurohs (16m.), dismounted at Mūrī-and-Adūsa.[2464]
Several remaining letters for Kābul were written on this same ground. One to Humāyūn was to this purport:—If the work have not yet been done satisfactorily, stop the raiders and thieves thyself; do not let them embroil the peace now descending amongst the peoples.[2465] Again, there was this:—I have madeFol. 359. Kābul a crown-domain, let no son of mine covet it. Again:—that I had summoned Hind-āl.
Kāmrān, for his part, was written to about taking the best of care in intercourse with the Shāh-zāda,[2466] about my bestowal on himself of Multān, making Kābul a crown-domain, and the coming of my family and train.[2467]
As my letter to Khwāja Kalān makes several particulars known, it is copied in here without alteration:—[2468]
[Copy of a Letter to Khwāja Kalān.]
“After saying ‘Salutation to Khwāja Kalān', the first matter is that Shamsu’d-dīn Muḥammad has reached Etāwa, and that the particulars about Kābul are known.”
“Boundless and infinite is my desire to go to those parts.[2469] Matters are coming to some sort of settlement in Hindūstān; there is hope, through the Most High, that the work here will soon be arranged. This work brought to order, God willing! my start will be made at once.”
“How should a person forget the pleasant things of those countries, especially one who has repented and vowed to sin no more? How should he banish from his mind the permitted flavours of melons and grapes? Taking this opportunity,[2470] a melon was brought to me; to cut and eat it affected me strangely; I was all tears!”
“The unsettled state[2471] of Kābul had already been written of Fol. 359b.to me. After thinking matters over, my choice fell on this:—How should a country hold together and be strong (marbūt̤ u maẓbūt̤), if it have seven or eight Governors? Under this aspect of the affair, I have summoned my elder sister (Khān-zāda) and my wives to Hindūstān, have made Kābul and its neighbouring countries a crown-domain, and have written in this sense to both Humāyūn and Kāmrān. Let a capable person take those letters to the Mīrzās. As you may know already, I had written earlier to them with the same purport. About the safe-guarding and prosperity of the country, there will now be no excuse, and not a word to say. Henceforth, if the town-wall[2472] be not solid or subjects not thriving, if provisions be not in store or the Treasury not full, it will all be laid on the back of the inefficiency of the Pillar-of-the State.”[2473]
“The things that must be done are specified below; for some of them orders have gone already, one of these being, ‘Let treasure accumulate.’ The things which must be done are these:—First, the repair of the fort; again:—the provision of stores; again:—the daily allowance and lodging[2474] of envoys going backwards and forwards[2475]; again:—let money, taken legally from revenue,[2476] be spent for building the Congregational Mosque; again:—the repairs of the Kārwan-sarā (Caravan-sarai) and the Hot-baths; again:—the completion of the unfinished building Fol. 360.made of burnt-brick which Ūstād Ḥasan ‘Alī was constructing in the citadel. Let this work be ordered after taking counsel with Ūstād Sl. Muḥammad; if a design exist, drawn earlier by Ūstād
Ḥasan ‘Alī, let Ūstād Sl. Muḥammad finish the building precisely according to it; if not, let him do so, after making a gracious and harmonious design, and in such a way that its floor shall be level with that of the Audience-hall; again:—the Khẉurd-Kābul dam which is to hold up the But-khāk-water at its exit from the Khẉurd-Kābul narrows; again:—the repair of the Ghaznī dam[2477]; again:—the Avenue-garden in which water is short and for which a one-mill stream must be diverted[2478]; again:—I had water brought from Tūtūm-dara to rising ground south-west of Khwāja Basta, there made a reservoir and planted young trees. The place got the name of Belvedere,[2479] because it faces the ford and gives a first-rate view. The best of young trees must be planted there, lawns arranged, and borders set with sweet-herbs and with flowers of beautiful colour and scent; again:—Sayyid Qāsim has been named to reinforce thee; again:—do not neglect the condition of matchlockmen and of Ūstād Muḥammad Amīn the armourer[2480]; again:—directly this letter arrives, thou must get my elder sister (Khān-zāda Begīm) and my wives right out of Kābul, and escort them to Nīl-āb. However averse they may still be, they most certainly must start within a week of the arrival ofFol. 360b. this letter. For why? Both because the armies which have gone from Hindūstān to escort them are suffering hardship in a cramped place (tār yīrdā), and also because they[2481] are ruining the country.”
“Again:—I made it clear in a letter written to ‘Abdu’l-lāh (‘asas), that there had been very great confusion in my mind (dúghdugha), to counterbalance being in the oasis (wādī) of penitence. This quatrain was somewhat dissuading (mānī‘):—[2482]
Through renouncement of wine bewildered am I;
How to work know I not, so distracted am I;
While others repent and make vow to abstain,
I have vowed to abstain, and repentant am I.
A witticism of Banāī’s came back to my mind:—One day when he had been joking in ‘Alī-sher Beg’s presence, who must have been wearing a jacket with buttons,[2483] ‘Alī-sher Beg said, ‘Thou makest charming jokes; but for the buttons, I would give thee the jacket; they are the hindrance (māni‘).’ Said Banāī, ‘What hindrance are buttons? It is button-holes (mādagī) that hinder.’[2484] Let responsibility for this story lie on the teller! hold me excused for it; for God’s sake do not be offended by it.[2485] Again:—that quatrain was made before last year, and in truth the longing and craving for a wine-party has been infinite and endless for two years past, so much so that sometimes the craving for wine brought me to the verge of tears. Thank God! this year that trouble has passed from my mind, perhaps by virtue of the Fol. 361.blessing and sustainment of versifying the translation.[2486] Do thou also renounce wine! If had with equal associates and boon-companions, wine and company are pleasant things; but with whom canst thou now associate? with whom drink wine? If thy boon-companions are Sher-i-aḥmad and Ḥaidar-qulī, it should not be hard for thee to forswear wine. So much said, I salute thee and long to see thee.”[2487]
The above letter was written on Thursday the 1st of the latter Jumāda (Feb. 10th). It affected me greatly to write concerning those matters, with their mingling of counsel. The letters were entrusted to Shamsu’d-dīn Muḥammad on Friday night,[2488] he was apprized of word-of-mouth messages and given leave to go.
(oo. Complaints from Balkh.)
(Feb. 11th) On Friday (Jumāda II. 2nd) we did 8 kurohs (16m.) and dismounted at Jumandnā.[2489] Today a servant of Kītīn-qarā Sl. arrived whom the Sult̤ān had sent to his retainer and envoy Kamālu’d-din Qīāq,[2490] with things written concerning the behaviour of the begs of the (Balkh) border, their intercourse with himself, and complaints of theft and raid. Leave to go was given to Qīāq, and orders were issued to the begs of the border to put an end to raiding and thieving, to behave well and to maintain intercourse with Balkh. These orders were entrusted to Kītīn-qarā Sl.’s servant and he was dismissed from this ground.
A letter, accepting excuse for the belated arrival of Ḥasan Chalabī,[2491] was sent to the Shāh today by one Shāh-qulī who hadFol. 361b. come to me from Ḥasan Chalabī and reported the details of the battle (of Jām).[2492] Shāh-qulī was given his leave on this same day, the 2nd of the month.
(pp. Incidents of the eastward march resumed.)
(Feb. 12th) On Saturday (3rd) we did 8 kurohs (16m.) and dismounted in the Kakūra and Chachāwalī[2493] parganas of Kālpī.
(Feb. 13th) On Sunday the 4th of the month, we did 9 kurohs (18m.) and dismounted in Dīrapūr[2494] a pargana of Kālpī. Here I shaved my head,[2495] which I had not done for the past two months, and bathed in the Sīngar-water (Sengar).
(Feb. 14th) On Monday (5th) we did 14 kurohs (28m.), and dismounted in Chaparkada[2496] one of the parganas of Kālpī.
(Feb. 15th) At the dawn of Tuesday (6th), a Hindūstānī servant of Qarācha’s arrived who had taken a command (farmān) from Māhīm to Qarācha from which it was understood that she was on the road. She had summoned escort from people in Lāhor, Bhīra and those parts in the fashion I formerly wrote orders (parwānas) with my own hand. Her command had been written in Kābul on the 7th of the 1st Jumāda (Jan. 17th).[2497]
(Feb. 16th) On Wednesday (7th) we did 7 kurohs (14m.), and dismounted in the Ādampūr pargana.[2498] Today I mounted before dawn, took the road[2499] alone, reached the Jūn (Jumna), and went on along its bank. When I came opposite to Ādampūr, I had awnings set up on an island (ārāl) near the camp and seated there, ate ma‘jūn.
Today we set Ṣādiq to wrestle with Kalāl who had come to Fol. 362.Āgra with a challenge.[2500] In Āgra he had asked respite for 20 days on the plea of fatigue from his journey; as now 40-50 days had passed since the end of his respite, he was obliged to wrestle. Ṣādiq did very well, throwing him easily. Ṣādiq was given 10,000 tankas, a saddled horse, a head-to-foot, and a jacket with buttons; while Kalāl, to save him from despair, was given 3000 tankas, spite of his fall.
The carts and mortar were ordered landed from the boats, and we spent 3 or 4 days on this same ground while the road was made ready, the ground levelled and the landing effected.
(Feb. 21st) On Monday the 12th of the month (Jumāda II.), we did 12 kurohs (24 m.) and dismounted at Kūrarah.[2501] Today I travelled by litter.
(Feb. 22nd-25th) After marching 12 kurohs (24 m.) from Kūrarah (13th), we dismounted in Kūrīa[2502] a pargana of Karrah. From Kūrīa we marched 8 kurohs (16m.) and dismounted (14th) in Fatḥpūr-Aswa.[2503] After 8 kurohs (16m.) done from Fatḥpūr, we dismounted (15th) at Sarāī Munda.[2504]... Today at the Bedtime Prayer (Friday 16th, after dark), Sl. Jalālu’d-dīn (Sharqī)[2505] came with his two young sons to wait on me.
(Feb. 26th) Next day, Saturday the 17th of the month, we did 8 kurohs (16m.), and dismounted at Dugdugī a Karrah pargana on the bank of the Gang.[2506]
(Feb. 27th) On Sunday (18th) came to this ground Muḥammad Sl. M., Nī-khūb (or, Bī-khūb) Sl. and Tardīka (or, Tardī yakka,Fol. 362b. champion).
(Feb. 28th) On Monday (19th) ‘Askarī also waited on me. They all came from the other side of Gang (Ganges). ‘Askarī and his various forces were ordered to march along the other bank of the river keeping opposite the army on this side, and wherever our camp might be, to dismount just opposite it.
(qq. News of the Afghāns.)
While we were in these parts news came again and again that Sl. Maḥmūd (Lūdī) had collected 10,000 Afghāns; that he had detached Shaikh Bāyazīd and Bīban with a mass of men towards Sarwār [Gorakhpūr]; that he himself with Fatḥ Khān Sarwānī was on his way along the river for Chunār; that Sher Khān Sūr whom I had favoured last year with the gift of several parganas and had left in charge of this neighbourhood,[2507] had joined these Afghāns who thereupon had made him and a few other amīrs cross the water; that Sl. Jalālu’d-dīn’s man in Benares had not been able to hold that place, had fled, and got away; what he was understood to have said being, that he had left soldiers (sipahīlār) in Benares-fort and gone along the river to fight Sl. Maḥmūd.[2508]
(rr. Incidents of the march resumed.)
(March 1st) Marching from Dugdugī (Tuesday, Jumāda II. 20th) the army did 6 kurohs (12m.) and dismounted at Kusār,[2509] 3 or 4 kurohs from Karrah. I went by boat. We stayed here 3 or 4 Fol. 363.days because of hospitality offered by Sl. Jalālu’d-dīn.
(March 4th) On Friday (23rd), I dismounted at Sl. Jalālu’d-dīn’s house inside Karrah-fort where, host-like, he served me a portion of cooked meat and other viands.[2510] After the meal, he and his sons were dressed in unlined coats (yaktāī jāmah) and short tunics (nīmcha).[2511] At his request his elder son was given the style Sl. Maḥmūd.[2512] On leaving Karrah, I rode about one kuroh (2m.) and dismounted on the bank of Gang.
Here letters were written and leave was given to Shahrak Beg who had come from Māhīm to our first camp on Gang (i.e. Dugdugī). As Khwāja Yaḥyā’s grandson Khwāja Kalān had been asking for the records I was writing,[2513] I sent him by Shahrak a copy I had had made.
(March 5th) On Saturday move was made at dawn (24th), I going by boat direct, and after 4 kurohs done (8m.), halt was made at Koh.[2514] Our ground, being so near, was reached quite early. After awhile, we seated ourselves inside[2515] a boat where we ate ma‘jūn. We invited the honoured Khwāja ‘Abdu’sh-shahīd[2516] who was said to be in Nūr Beg’s quarters (awī), invited also Mullā Maḥmūd (Farābī?), bringing him from Mullā ‘Alī Khān’s. After staying for some time on that spot, we crossed the river, and on the other side, set wrestlers to wrestle. In opposition to the rule of gripping the strongest first, Dost-i-yāsīn-khairFol. 363b. was told not to grapple with Champion Ṣādiq, but with others; he did so very well with eight.
(ss. News of the Afghān enemy.)
At the Afternoon Prayer, Sl. Muḥammad the Pay-master came by boat from the other side of the river, bringing news that the army of Sl. Iskandar’s son Maḥmūd Khān whom rebels style Sl. Maḥmūd,[2517] had broken up. The same news was brought in by a spy who had gone out at the Mid-day Prayer from where we were; and a dutiful letter, agreeing with what the spy had reported, came from Tāj Khān Sārang-khānī between the Afternoon and Evening Prayers. Sl. Muḥammad gave the following particulars:—that the rebels on reaching Chunār seemed to have laid siege to it and to have done a little fighting, but had risen in disorderly fashion when they heard of our approach; that Afghāns who had crossed the river for Benares, had turned back in like disorder; that two of their boats had sunk in crossing and a body of their men been drowned.
(tt. Incidents of the eastward march resumed.)
(March 6th) After marching at Sunday’s dawn (25th) and doing 6 kurohs (12m.), Sīr-auliya,[2518] a pargana of Pīāg*[2519] was reached. I went direct by boat.
Aīsan-tīmūr Sl. and Tūkhta-būghā Sl. had dismounted half-way, and were waiting to see me.[2520] I, for my part, invited them into the boat. Tūkhta-būghā Sl. must have wrought magic, for a bitter wind rose and rain began to fall. It became quite windy(?)[2521] on which account I ate ma‘jūn, although I had done so on the previous day. Having come to the encamping-ground....[2522]
(March 7th?) Next day (Monday 26th?) we remained on the same ground.
(March 8th?) On Tuesday (27th?) we marched on.
Opposite the camp was what may be an island,[2523] large and verdant. I went over by boat to visit it, returning to the boat during the 1st watch (6-9 a.m.). While I rode carelessly along the ravine (jar) of the river, my horse got to where it was fissured and had begun to give way. I leapt off at once and flung myself on the bank; even the horse did not go down; probably, however, if I had stayed on its back, it and I would have gone down together.
On this same day, I swam the Gang-river (Ganges), counting every stroke;[2524] I crossed with 33, then, without resting, swam back. I had swum the other rivers, Gang had remained to do.[2525]
We reached the meeting of the waters of Gang and Jūn at the Evening Prayer, had the boat drawn to the Pīāg side, and got to camp at 1 watch, 4 garīs (10.30 p.m.).
(March 9th) On Wednesday (Jumāda II. 28th) from the 1st watch onwards, the army began to cross the river Jūn; there were 420 boats.[2526]
(March 11th) On Friday, the 1st of the month of Rajab, I crossed the river.
(March 14th) On Monday, the 4th of the month, the march for Bihār began along the bank of Jūn. After 5 kurohs (10m.) done, halt was made at Lawāīn.[2527] I went by boat. The people of the army were crossing the Jūn up to today. They were ordered to put the culverin-carts[2528] which had been landed at Ādampūr, into boats again and to bring them on by water from Pīāg.
On this ground we set wrestlers to wrestle. Dost-i-yāsīn-khair gripped the boatman Champion of Lāhor; the contest was stubborn; it was with great difficulty that Dost gave the throw. A head-to-foot was bestowed on each.
(March 15th and 16th) People said that ahead of us was a swampy, muddy, evil river called Tūs.[2529] In order to examine the ford*[2530] and repair the road, we waited two days (Tuesday Ramzān 5th and Wednesday 6th) on this ground. For the horses and camels a ford was found higher up, but people said laden carts could not get through it because of its uneven, stony bottom. Fol. 364.They were just ordered to get them through.
(March 17th) On Thursday (7th) we marched on. I myself went by boat down to where the Tūs meets the Gang (Ganges), there landed, thence rode up the Tūs, and, at the Other Prayer, reached where the army had encamped after crossing the ford. Today 6 kurohs (12 m.) were done.
(March 18th) Next day (Friday 8th), we stayed on that ground.
(March 19th) On Saturday (9th), we marched 12 kurohs and got to the bank of Gang again at Nulibā.[2531]
(March 20th) Marching on (Sunday 10th), we did 6 kurohs of road, and dismounted at Kintit.[2532]
(March 21st) Marching on (Monday 11th), we dismounted at Nānāpur.[2533] Tāj Khān Sārang-khānī came from Chunār to this ground with his two young sons, and waited on me.
In these days a dutiful letter came from Pay-master Sl. Muḥammad, saying that my family and train were understood to be really on their way from Kābul.[2534]
(March 23rd) On Wednesday (13th) we marched from that ground. I visited the fort of Chunār, and dismounted about one kuroh beyond it.
During the days we were marching from Pīāg, painful boils had come out on my body. While we were on this ground, an Ottoman Turk (Rūmī) used a remedy which had been recently discovered in Rūm. He boiled pepper in a pipkin; I held the sores in the steam and, after steaming ceased, laved them with the hot water. The treatment lasted 2 sidereal hours.
While we were on this ground, a person said he had seen tiger and rhinoceros on an ārāl[2535] by the side of the camp.
(March 24th?) In the morning (14th?), we made the hunting-circle[2536]Fol. 364b. on that ārāl, elephants also being brought. Neither tiger nor rhino appeared; one wild buffalo came out at the end of the line. A bitter wind rising and the whirling dust being very troublesome, I went back to the boat and in it to the camp which was 2 kurohs (4m.) above Banāras.
(uu. News of the Afghāns.)
(March 25th (?) and 26th) Having heard there were many elephants in the Chunār jungles, I had left (Thursday’s) ground thinking to hunt them, but Tāj Khān bringing the news (Friday 15th(?)) that Maḥmūd Khān (Lūdi) was near the Son-water, I summoned the begs and took counsel as to whether to fall upon him suddenly. In the end it was settled to march on continuously, fast[2537] and far.
(March 27th) Marching on (Sunday 17th), we did 9 kurohs (18m.), and dismounted at the Bilwah-ferry.[2538]
(March 28th) On Monday night[2539] the 18th of the month, T̤āhir was started for Āgra from this camp (Bilwah-ferry), taking money-drafts for the customary gifts of allowance and lodging[2540] to those on their way from Kābul.
Before dawn next morning (Monday) I went on by boat. When we came to where the Gūī-water (Gūmtī) which is the water of Jūnpūr, meets the Gang-water (Ganges), I went a little Fol. 365.way up it and back. Narrower[2541] though it is, it has no ford; the army-folk crossed it (last year) by boat, by raft, or by swimming their horses.
To look at our ground of a year ago,[2542] from which we had started for Jūnpūr,[2543] I went to about a kuroh lower than the mouth of the Jūnpūr-water (Gūmtī). A favourable wind getting up behind, our larger boat was tied to a smaller Bengalī one which, spreading its sail, made very quick going. Two garīs of day remained (5.15 p.m.) when we had reached that ground (Sayyidpur?), we went on without waiting there, and by the Bed-time Prayer had got to camp, which was a kuroh above Madan-Benāres,[2544] long before the boats following us. Mughūl Beg had been ordered to measure all marches from Chunār on the direct road, Lut̤fī Beg to measure the river’s bank whenever I went by boat. The direct road today was said to be 11 kurohs (22m.), the distance along the river, 18 (36m.).
(March 29th) Next day (Tuesday 19th), we stayed on that ground.
(March 30th) On Wednesday (20th), we dismounted a kuroh (2m.) below Ghāzīpūr, I going by boat.
(March 31st) On Thursday (21st) Maḥmūd Khān Nuḥānī[2545] waited on me on that ground. On this same day dutiful letters[2546] came from Bihār Khān Bihārī’s son Jalāl Khān (Nuḥānī),[2547] from Naṣīr Khān (Nūḥānī)’s son Farīd Khān,[2548] from Sher Khān Sūr, from ‘Alāūl Khān Sūr also, and from other Afghān amīrs. TodayFol. 365b. came also a dutiful letter from ‘Abdu’l-‘azīz Master-of-the-horse, which had been written in Lāhor on the 20th of the latter Jumāda (Feb. 29th), the very day on which Qarācha’s Hindūstānī servant whom we had started off from near Kālpī,[2549] reached Lāhor. ‘Abdu’l-‘azīz wrote that he had gone with the others assigned to meet my family at Nīl-āb, had met them there on the 9th of the latter Jumāda (Feb. 18th), had accompanied them to Chīn-āb (Chan-āb), left them there, and come ahead to Lāhor where he was writing his letter.
(April 1st) We moved on, I going by boat, on Friday (Rajab 22nd). I landed opposite Chausā to look at the ground of a year ago[2550] where the Sun had been eclipsed and a fast kept.[2551] After I got back to the boat, Muḥammad-i-zamān Mīrzā, coming up behind by boat, overtook me; at his suggestion ma‘jūn was eaten.
The army had dismounted on the bank of the Karmā-nāśā-river, about the water of which Hindūs are understood to be extremely scrupulous. They do not cross it, but go past its mouth by boat along the Gang (Ganges). They firmly believe that, if its water touch a person, the merit of his works is destroyed; with this belief its name accords.[2552] I went some way up it by Fol. 366.boat, turned back, went over to the north bank of Gang, and tied up. There the braves made a little fun, some wrestling. Muḥsin the cup-bearer challenged, saying, “I will grapple with four or five.” The first he gripped, he threw; the second, who was Shādmān (Joyous), threw him, to Muḥsin’s shame and vexation. The (professional) wrestlers came also and set to.
(April 2nd) Next morning, Saturday (23rd) we moved, close to the 1st watch (6 a.m.), in order to get people off to look at the ford through the Karmā-nāśā-water. I rode up it for not less than a kuroh (2 m.), but the ford being still far on,[2553] took boat and went to the camp below Chausā.
Today I used the pepper remedy again; it must have been somewhat hotter than before, for it blistered (qāpārdī) my body, giving me much pain.
(April 3rd) We waited a day for a road to be managed across a smallish, swampy rivulet heard to be ahead.[2554]
(April 4th) On the eve of Monday (25th),[2555] letters were written and sent off in answer to those brought by the Hindūstānī footman of ‘Abdu’l-‘azīz.
The boat I got into at Monday’s dawn, had to be towed because of the wind. On reaching the ground opposite Baksara (Buxar) Fol. 366b.where the army had been seated many days last year,[2556] we went over to look at it. Between 40 and 50 landing-steps had been then made on the bank; of them the upper two only were left, the river having destroyed the rest. Ma‘jūn was eaten after return to the boat. We tied up at an ārāl[2557] above the camp, set the champions to wrestle, and went on at the Bed-time Prayer. A year ago (yīl-tūr), an excursion had been made to look at the ground on which the camp now was, I passing through Gang swimming (? dastak bīla),[2558] some coming mounted on horses, some on camels. That day I had eaten opium.
(vv. Incidents of the military operations.)
(April 5th) At Tuesday’s dawn (26th), we sent out for news not under 200 effective braves led by Karīm-bīrdī and Ḥaidar the stirrup-holder’s son Muḥammad ‘Alī and Bābā Shaikh.
While we were on this ground, the Bengal envoy was commanded to set forth these three articles:—[2559]
(April 6th) On Wednesday (27th) Yūnas-i-‘alī who had been sent to gather Muḥammad-i-zamān Mīrzā’s objections to Bihār, brought back rather a weak answer.
Dutiful letters from the (Farmūlī) Shaikh-zādas of Bihār gave news that the enemy had abandoned the place and gone off.
(April 7th) On Thursday (28th) as many as 2000 men of the Turk and Hind amīrs and quiver-wearers were joined to Muḥammad ‘Alī Jang-jang’s son Tardī-muḥammad, and he wasFol. 367. given leave to go, taking letters of royal encouragement to people in Bihār. He was joined also by Khwāja Murshid ‘Irāqī who had been made Dīwān of Bihār.
(April 8th (?)) Muḥammad-i-zamān M. who had consented to go to Bihār, made representation of several matters through
Shaikh Zain and Yūnas-i-‘alī. He asked for reinforcement; for this several braves were inscribed and several others were made his own retainers.
(April 9th)[2560] On Saturday the 1st of the month of Sha‘bān, we left that ground where we had been for 3 or 4 days. I rode to visit Bhūjpūr and Bihiya,[2561] thence went to camp.
Muḥammad ‘Alī and the others, who had been sent out for news, after beating a body of pagans as they went along, reached the place where Sl. Maḥmūd (Lūdī) had been with perhaps 2000 men. He had heard of our reconnaissance, had broken up, killed two elephants of his, and marched off. He seemed to have left braves and an elephant[2562] scout-fashion; they made no stand when our men came up but took to flight. Ours unhorsed a few of his, cut one head off, brought in a few good men alive.
(ww. Incidents of the eastward march resumed.)
(April 10th) We moved on next day (Sunday 2nd), I going by boat. From our today’s ground Muḥammad-i-zamān M. crossed (his army) over the river (Son), leaving none behind. We spent 2 or 3 days on this ground in order to put his work through and Fol. 367b.get him off.
(April 13th) On Wednesday the 4th[2563] of the month, Muḥammad-i-zamān M. was presented with a royal head-to-foot, a sword and belt, a tīpūchāq horse and an umbrella.[2564] He also was made to kneel (yūkūndūrūldī) for the Bihār country. Of the Bihār revenues one krūr and 25 laks were reserved for the Royal Treasury; its Dīwānī was entrusted to Murshid ‘Irāqī.
(April 14th) I left that ground by boat on Thursday (6th). I had already ordered the boats to wait, and on getting up with them, I had them fastened together abreast in line.[2565] Though all were not collected there, those there were greatly exceeded the breadth of the river. They could not move on, however, so-arranged, because the water was here shallow, there deep, here swift, there still. A crocodile (gharīāl) shewing itself, a terrified fish leaped so high as to fall into a boat; it was caught and brought to me.
When we were nearing our ground, we gave the boats names:—aFol. 368. large[2566] one, formerly the Bāburī,[2567] which had been built in Āgra before the Holy-battle with Sangā, was named Asāīsh (Repose).[2568] Another, which Arāīsh Khān had built and presented to me this year before our army got to horse, one in which I had had a platform set up on our way to this ground, was named Arāīsh (Ornament). Another, a good-sized one presented to me by Jalālu’d-dīn Sharqī, was named the Gunjāīsh (Capacious); in it I had ordered a second platform set up, on the top of the one already in it. To a little skiff, having a chaukandī,[2569] one used for every task (har āīsh) and duty, was given the name Farmāīsh (Commissioned).
(April 15th) Next day, Friday (7th), no move was made. Muḥammad-i-zamān M. who, his preparations for Bihār complete, had dismounted one or two kurohs from the camp, came today to take leave of me.[2570]
(xx. News of the army of Bengal.)
Two spies, returned from the Bengal army, said that Bengalīs[2571] under Makhdūm-i-‘ālam were posted in 24 places on the Gandak and there raising defences; that they had hindered the Afghāns from carrying out their intention to get their families across the river (Ganges?), and had joined them to themselves.[2572] This news making fighting probable, we detained Muḥammad-i-zamān Mīrzā, and sent Shāh Iskandar to Bihār with 3 or 400 men.
(yy. Incidents of the eastward march resumed.)
Fol. 368b.(April 16th) On Saturday (8th) a person came in from Dūdū and her son Jalāl Khān (son) of Bihār Khān[2573] whom the Bengalī (Naṣrat Shāh) must have held as if eye-bewitched.[2574] After letting me know they were coming,[2575] they had done some straight fighting to get away from the Bengalīs, had crossed the river,[2576] reached Bihār, and were said now to be on their way to me.
This command was given today for the Bengal envoy Ismā‘īl Mītā:—Concerning those three articles, about which letters have already been written and despatched, let him write that an answer is long in coming, and that if the honoured (Naṣrat Shāh) be loyal and of single-mind towards us, it ought to come soon.
(April 17th) In the night of Sunday (9th)[2577] a man came in from Tardī-muḥammad Jang-jang to say that when, on Wednesday the 5th of the month Sha‘bān, his scouts reached Bihār from this side, the Shiqdār of the place went off by a gate on the other side.
On Sunday morning we marched on and dismounted in the pargana of Ārī (Ārrah).[2578]
(zz. News and negotiations.)
To this ground came the news that the Kharīd[2579] army, with 100-150 boats, was said to be on the far side of the Sarū near the meeting of Sarū and Gang (Ghogrā and Ganges). As a sort of peace existed between us and the Bengalī (Naṣrat Shāh Afghān), and as, for the sake of a benediction, peace was our first endeavour whenever such work was toward as we were now on, we kept to our rule, notwithstanding his unmannerly conduct in setting himself on our road;[2580] we associated Mullā Maẕhab with his envoy Ismā‘īl Mītā, spoke once more about those three articlesFol. 369. (faṣl soz), and decided to let the envoy go.
(April 18th) On Monday (10th) when the Bengal envoy came to wait on me, he was let know that he had his leave, and what follows was mentioned:[2581]—“We shall be going to this side and that side, in pursuit of our foe, but no hurt or harm will be done to any dependency of yours. As one of those three articles said,[2582] when you have told the army of Kharīd to rise off our road and to go back to Kharīd, let a few Turks be joined with it to reassure these Kharīd people and to escort them to their own place.[2583] If they quit not the ferry-head, if they cease not their unbecoming words, they must regard as their own act any ill that befalls them, must count any misfortune they confront as the fruit of their own words.”
(April 20th) On Wednesday (12th) the usual dress of honour was put on the Bengal envoy, gifts were bestowed on him and his leave to go was given.
(April 21st) On Thursday (13th) Shaikh Jamālī was sent with royal letters of encouragement to Dūdū and her son Jalāl Khān.
Today a servant of Māhīm’s came, who will have parted from the Wālī(?)[2584] on the other side of the Bāgh-i-ṣafā.
(April 23rd) On Saturday (15th) an envoy from ‘Irāq, Murād Qajar[2585] the life-guardsman, was seen.
(April 24th) On Sunday (16th) Mullā Maẕhab received his usual keepsakes (yādgārlār) and was given leave to go.
Fol. 369b.(April 25th) On Monday (17th) Khalīfa was sent, with several begs, to see where the river (Ganges) could be crossed.
(April 27th) On Wednesday, (19th) Khalīfa again was sent out, to look at the ground between the two rivers (Ganges and Ghogrā).
On this same day I rode southward in the Ārī (Ārrah) pargana to visit the sheets of lotus[2586] near Ārī. During the excursion Shaikh Gūran brought me fresh-set lotus-seeds, first-rate little things just like pistachios. The flower, that is to say, the nīlūfar (lotus), Hindūstānīs call kuwul-kikrī (lotus-pistachio), and its seed dūdah (soot).
As people said, “The Son is near,” we went to refresh ourselves on it. Masses of trees could be seen down-stream; “Munīr is there,” said they, “where the tomb is of Shaikh Yaḥyā the father of Shaikh Sharafu’d-dīn Munīrī.”[2587] It being so close, I crossed the Son, went 2 or 3 kurohs down it, traversed the Munīr orchards, made the circuit of the tomb, returned to the Son-bank, made ablution, went through the Mid-day Prayer before time, and made for camp. Some of our horses, being fat,[2588] had fallen behind; some were worn out; a few people were left to gather them together, water them, rest them, and bring them on without pressure; but for this many would have been ruined.
When we turned back from Munīr, I ordered that some-one Fol. 370.should count a horse’s steps between the Son-bank and the camp. They amounted to 23,100, which is 46,200 paces, which is 11-1/2 kurohs (23m.).[2589] It is about half a kuroh from Munīr to the Son; the return journey from Munīr to the camp was therefore 12 kurohs (24m.). In addition to this were some 15-16 kurohs done in visiting this and that place; so that the whole excursion was one of some 30 kurohs (60m.). Six garīs of the 1st night-watch had passed [8.15 p.m.] when we reached the camp.
(April 28th) At the dawn of Thursday (Sha‘bān 19th) Sl. Junaid Barlās came in with the Jūnpūr braves from Jūnpūr. I let him know my blame and displeasure on account of his delay; I did not see him. Qāẓī Jīā I sent for and saw.
(aaa. Plan of the approaching battle with the Bengal army.)
On the same day the Turk and Hind amīrs were summoned for a consultation about crossing Gang (Ganges), and matters found settlement at this[2590]:—that Ūstād ‘Alī-qulī should collect mortar, firingī,[2591] and culverin[2592] to the point of rising ground between the rivers Sarū and Gang, and, having many matchlockmen with him, should incite to battle from that place;[2593] that Muṣt̤afa, he also having many matchlockmen, should get his material and implements ready on the Bihār side of Gang, a little below the meeting of the waters and opposite to where on an island the Bengalīs had an elephant and a mass of boats tied up, and that he should engage battle from this place;[2594] that Muḥammad-i-zamān Mīrzā and the others inscribed for the work should take post behind Muṣt̤afa as his reserve; that both for Ūstād ‘Alī-qulī and Muṣt̤afa shelters (muljār) for the culverin-firers should be raised by a mass of spadesmen and coolies (kahār) Fol. 370b.under appointed overseers; that as soon as these shelters were ready, ‘Askarī and the sult̤āns inscribed for the work should cross quickly at the Haldī-passage[2595] and come down on the enemy; that meantime, as Sl. Junaid and Qāẓī Jīā had given information about a crossing-place[2596] 8 kurohs (16 m.) higher up,[2597] Zard-rūī(Pale-face?) should go with a few raftsmen and some of the people of the Sult̤ān, Maḥmūd Khān Nūḥānī and Qāẓī Jīā to look at that crossing; and that, if crossing there were, they should go over at once, because it was rumoured that the Bengalīs were planning to post men at the Haldī-passage.
A dutiful letter from Maḥmūd Khān the Military-collector (shiqdār) of Sikandarpūr now came, saying that he had collected as many as 50 boats at the Haldī-passage and had given wages to the boatmen, but that these were much alarmed at the rumoured approach of the Bengalīs.
(April 30th) As time pressed[2598] for crossing the Sarū, I did not wait for the return of those who had gone to look at the passage, but on Saturday (21st) summoned the begs for consultation and said, “As it has been reported that there are (no?) crossing-places (fords?) along the whole of the ground from Chatur-mūk in Sikandarpūr to Barāīch and Aūd,[2599] let us, while seated here, assign the large force to cross at the Haldī-passage by boat and from thereFol. 371. to come down on the enemy; let Ūstād ‘Alī-qulī and Muṣt̤afa engage battle with gun (top), matchlock, culverin and firingī, and by this draw the enemy out before ‘Askarī comes up.[2600] Let us after crossing the river (Ganges) and assigning reinforcement to Ūstād ‘Alī-qulī, take our stand ready for whatever comes; if ‘Askarī’s troops get near, let us fling attack from where we are, cross over and assault; let Muḥammad-i-zamān Mīrzā and those appointed to act with him, engage battle from near Muṣt̤afa on the other side of Gang.”
The matter having been left at this, the force for the north of the Gang was formed into four divisions to start under ‘Askarī’s command for the Haldī-passage. One division was of ‘Askarī and his retainers; another was Sl. Jalālu’d-dīn Sharqī; another was of the Aūzbeg sult̤āns Qāsim-i-ḥusain Sult̤ān, Bī-khūb Sult̤ān and Tāng-aītmīsh Sult̤ān, together with Maḥmūd Khān Nūḥānī of Ghāzīpūr, Bābā Qashqa’s Kūkī, Tūlmīsh Aūzbeg, Qurbān of Chīrkh, and the Daryā-khānīs led by Ḥasan Khān; another was of Mūsā Sl. (Farmūlī) and Sl. Junaid with what-not of the Jūnpūr army, some 20,000 men. Officers were appointed to oversee the getting of the force to horse that very night, that is to say, theFol. 371b. night of Sunday.[2601]
(May 1st) The army began to cross Gang at the dawn of Sunday (Sha‘bān 22nd); I went over by boat at the 1st watch (6a.m.). Zard-rūī and his party came in at mid-day; the ford itself they had not found but they brought news of boats and of having met on the road the army getting near them.[2602]
(May 3rd) On Tuesday (Sha‘bān 24th) we marched from where the river had been crossed, went on for nearly one kuroh (2 m.) and dismounted on the fighting-ground at the confluence.[2603] I myself went to enjoy Ūstād ‘Alī-qulī’s firing of culverin and firingī; he hit two boats today with firingī-stones, broke them and sank them. Muṣt̤afa did the same from his side. I had the large mortar[2604] taken to the fighting-ground, left Mullā Ghulām to superintend the making of its position, appointed a body of vasāwals[2605] and active braves to help him, went to an island facing the camp and there ate ma‘jūn.
Whilst still under the influence of the confection[2606] I had the boat taken to near the tents and there slept. A strange thing happened in the night, a noise and disturbance arising about the 3rd watch (midnight) and the pages and others snatching up pieces of wood from the boat, and shouting “Strike! strike!” Fol. 372.What was said to have led to the disturbance was that a night-guard who was in the Farmāīsh along-side the Asāīsh in which I was sleeping,[2607] opening his eyes from slumber, sees a man with his hand on the Asāīsh as if meaning to climb into her. They fall on him;[2608] he dives, comes up again, cuts at the night-guard’s head, wounding it a little, then runs off at once towards the river.[2609] Once before, on the night we returned from Munīr, one or two night-guards had chased several Hindūstānīs from near the boats, and had brought in two swords and a dagger of theirs. The Most High had me in His Keeping!
| (Persian) | Were the sword of the world to leap forth, It would cut not a vein till God will.[2610] |
(May 4th) At the dawn of Wednesday (25th), I went in the boat Gunjāīsh to near the stone-firing ground (tāsh-ātār-yīr) and there posted each soever to his work.
(bbb. Details of the engagement.)
Aūghān-bīrdī Mughūl, leading not less than 1,000 men, had been sent to get, in some way or other, across the river (Sarū) one, two, three kurohs (2, 4, 6m.) higher up. A mass of foot-soldiers, crossing from opposite ‘Askarī’s camp,[2611] landed from 20-30 boats on his road, presumably thinking to show their superiority, but Aūghān-bīrdī and his men charged them, put them to flight, took a few and cut their heads off, shot many with arrows, and got possession of 7 or 8 boats. Today also Bengalīs crossed in a few boats to Muḥammad-i-zamān Mīrzā’s side, there landed andFol. 372b. provoked to fight. When attacked they fled, and three boat-loads of them were drowned. One boat was captured and brought to me. In this affair Bābā the Brave went forward and exerted himself excellently.
Orders were given that in the darkness of night the boats Aūghān-bīrdī had captured should be drawn[2612] up-stream, and that in them there should cross Muḥammad Sl. Mīrzā, Yakka Khwāja, Yūnas-i-‘alī, Aūghān-bīrdī and those previously assigned to go with them.
Today came a man from ‘Askarī to say that he had crossed the [Sarū]-water, leaving none behind, and that he would come down on the enemy at next day’s dawn, that is to say, on Thursday’s. Here-upon those already ordered to cross over were told to join ‘Askarī and to advance upon the enemy with him.
At the Mid-day Prayer a person came from Ūstā, saying “The stone is ready; what is the order?” The order was, “Fire this stone off; keep the next till I come.” Going at the Other Prayer in a very small Bengalī skiff to where shelter (muljār) had been raised, I saw Ūstā fire off one large stone and several small firingī ones. Bengalīs have a reputation for fire-working;[2613] we tested it now; they do not fire counting to hit a particular spot, but fire at random.
At this same Other Prayer orders were given to draw a few boats up-stream along the enemy’s front. A few were got past without a “God forbid!”[2614] from those who, all unprotected, drew Fol. 373.them up. Aīsān-tīmūr Sl. and Tūkhta-būghā Sl. were ordered to stay at the place those boats reached, and to keep watch over them. I got back to camp in the 1st night-watch of Thursday.[2615]
Near midnight came news from (Aūghān-bīrdī’s) boats which were being drawn up-stream, “The force appointed had gone somewhat ahead; we were following, drawing the boats, when the Bengalīs got to know where we were drawing them and attacked. A stone hit a boatman in the leg and broke it, we could not pass on.”
(May 5th) At dawn on Thursday (Sha‘bān 26th) came the news from those at the shelter, “All the boats have come from above.[2616] The enemy’s horse has ridden to meet our approaching army.” On this, I got our men mounted quickly and rode out to above those boats[2617] that had been drawn up in the night. A galloper was sent off with an order for Muḥammad Sl. M. and those appointed to cross with him, to do it at once and join ‘Askarī. The order for Aīsān-tīmūr Sl. and Tūkhta-būghā Sl. who were above these boats,[2618] was that they should busy themselves to cross. Bābā Sl. was not at his post.[2619]
Aīsān-tīmūr Sl. at once crosses, in one boat with 30-40 of his retainers who hold their horses by the mane at the boat-side.Fol. 373b. A second boat follows. The Bengalīs see them crossing and start off a mass of foot-soldiers for them. To meet these go 7 or 8 of Aīsān-tīmūr Sl.’s retainers, keeping together, shooting off arrows, drawing those foot-soldiers towards the Sult̤ān who meantime is getting his men mounted; meantime also the second boat is moving (rawān). When his 30-35 horsemen charge those foot-soldiers, they put them well to flight. Aīsān-tīmūr did distinguished work, first in crossing before the rest, swift, steady, and without a “God forbid!”, secondly in his excellent advance, with so few men, on such a mass of foot, and by putting these to flight. Tūkhta-būghā Sl. also crossed. Then boats followed one after another. Lāhorīs and Hindūstānīs began to cross from their usual posts[2620] by swimming or on bundles of reeds.[2621] Seeing how matters were going, the Bengalīs of the boats opposite the shelter (Muṣt̤afa’s), set their faces for flight down-stream.
Darwīsh-i-muḥammad Sārbān, Dost Lord-of-the-gate, Nūr Beg and several braves also went across the river. I made a man gallop off to the Sult̤āns to say, “Gather well together those whoFol. 374. cross, go close to the opposing army, take it in the flank, and get to grips.” Accordingly the Sult̤āns collected those who crossed, formed up into 3 or 4 divisions, and started for the foe. As they draw near, the enemy-commander, without breaking his array, flings his foot-soldiers to the front and so comes on. Kūkī comes up with a troop from ‘Askarī’s force and gets to grips on his side; the Sult̤āns get to grips on theirs; they get the upper hand, unhorse man after man, and make the enemy scurry off. Kūkī’s men bring down a Pagan of repute named Basant Rāō and cut off his head; 10 or 15 of his people fall on Kūkī’s, and are instantly cut to pieces. Tūkhta-būghā Sl. gallops along the enemy’s front and gets his sword well in. Mughūl ‘Abdu’l-wahhāb and his younger brother gets theirs in well too. Mughūl though he did not know how to swim, had crossed the river holding to his horse’s mane.
I sent for my own boats which were behind;[2622] the Farmāīsh coming up first, I went over in it to visit the Bengalīs’ encamping-grounds. I then went into the Gunjāīsh. “Is there a crossing-place higher up?” I asked. Mīr Muḥammad the raftsman represented that the Sarū was better to cross higher up;[2623] accordingly the army-folk[2624] were ordered to cross at the higher place he named.
While those led by Muḥammad Sl. Mīrzā were crossing the Fol. 374b.river,[2625] the boat in which Yakka Khwāja was, sank and he went to God’s mercy. His retainers and lands were bestowed on his younger brother Qāsim Khwāja.
The Sult̤āns arrived while I was making ablution for the Mid-day Prayer; I praised and thanked them and led them to expect guerdon and kindness. ‘Askarī also came; this was the first affair he had seen; one well-omened for him!
As the camp had not yet crossed the river, I took my rest in the boat Gunjāīsh, near an island.
(ccc. Various incidents of the days following the battle.)
(May 6th) During the day of Friday (Sha‘bān 27th) we landed at a village named Kūndīh[2626] in the Nirhun pargana of Kharīd on the north side of the Sarū.[2627]
(May 8th) On Sunday (29th) Kūkī was sent to Ḥājīpūr for news.
Shāh Muḥammad (son) of Ma‘rūf to whom in last year’s campaign (934 AH.) I had shown great favour and had given the Sāran-country, had done well on several occasions, twice fighting and overcoming his father Ma‘rūf.[2628] At the time when Sl. Maḥmūd Lūdī perfidiously took possession of Bihār and was opposed by Shaikh Bāyazīd and Bīban, Shāh Muḥammad had no help for it, he had to join them; but even then, when people were saying wild words about him, he had written dutifully to me. When ‘Askarī crossed at the Haldī-passage, ShāhFol. 375. Muḥammad had come at once with a troop, seen him and with him gone against the Bengalīs. He now came to this ground and waited on me.
During these days news came repeatedly that Bīban and Shaikh Bāyazīd were meaning to cross the Sarū-river.
In these days of respite came the surprising news from Sanbal (Saṃbhal) where ‘Alī-i-yūsuf had stayed in order to bring the place into some sort of order, that he and a physician who was by way of being a friend of his, had gone to God’s mercy on one and the same day. ‘Abdu’l-lāh (kitābdār) was ordered to go and maintain order in Sanbal.
(May 13th) On Friday the 5th of the month Ramẓān, ‘Abdu’l-lāh was given leave for Sanbal.[2629]
(ddd. News from the westward.)
In these same days came a dutiful letter from Chīn-tīmūr Sl. saying that on account of the journey of the family from Kābul, several of the begs who had been appointed to reinforce him, had not been able to join him;[2630] also that he had gone out with Muḥammadī and other begs and braves, not less than 100 kurohs (200m.), attacked the Balūchīs and given them a good beating.[2631] Orders were sent through ‘Abdu’l-lāh (kitābdār) for the Sult̤ān that he and Sl. Muḥammad Dūldāī, Muḥammadī, and some of the begs and braves of that country-side should assemble in Āgra and there remain ready to move to wherever an enemy appeared.
(eee. Settlement with the Nūḥānī Afghāns.)
(May 16th) On Monday the 8th of the month, Daryā Khān’s Fol. 375b.grandson Jalāl Khān to whom Shaikh Jamālī had gone, came in with his chief amīrs and waited on me.[2632] Yaḥyā Nūḥānī also came, who had already sent his younger brother in sign of submission and had received a royal letter accepting his service. Not to make vain the hope with which some 7 or 8,000 Nūḥānī Afghāns had come in to me, I bestowed 50 laks from Bīhār on Maḥmūd Khān Nūḥānī, after reserving one krūr for Government uses (khalṣa), and gave the remainder of the Bihār revenues in trust for the above-mentioned Jalāl Khān who for his part agreed to pay one krūr of tribute. Mullā Ghulām yasāwal was sent to collect this tribute.[2633] Muḥammad-i-zamān Mīrzā received the Jūnapūr-country.[2634]
(fff. Peace made with Naṣrat Shāh.)
(May 19th) On the eve of Thursday (11th) that retainer of Khalīfa’s, Ghulām-i-‘alī by name, who in company with a retainer of the Shāh-zāda of Mungīr named Abū’l-fatḥ,[2635] had gone earlier than Ismā‘īl Mītā, to convey those three articles (faṣl soz), now returned, again in company with Abū’l-fatḥ, bringing letters for Khalīfa written by the Shāh-zāda and by Ḥusain Khān Laskar(?) Wazīr, who, in these letters, gave assent to those three conditions, took upon themselves to act for Naṣrat Shāh and interjected a word for peace. As the object of this campaign was to put down the rebel Afghāns of whom some had taken their heads and gone off, some had come in submissive and accepting my service, and the remaining few were in the hands of the BengalīFol. 376. (Naṣrat Shāh) who had taken them in charge, and as, moreover, the Rains were near, we in our turn wrote and despatched words for peace on the conditions mentioned.
(ggg. Submissions and guerdon.)
(May 21st) On Saturday (13th) Ismā‘īl Jālwānī, ‘Alāūl Khān Nūḥānī, Auliya Khān Ashrāqī(?) and 5 and 6 amīrs came in and waited on me.
Today guerdon was bestowed on Aīsān-tīmūr Sl. and Tūkhta-būghā Sl., of swords and daggers with belts, cuirasses, dresses of honour, and tīpūchāq horses; also they were made to kneel, Aīsān-tīmūr Sl. for the grant of 36 laks from the Nārnūl pargana, Tūkhta-bughā Sl. for 30 laks from that of Shamsābād.
(hhh. Pursuit of Bāyazīd and Bīban.)
(May 23rd) On Monday the 15th of the month (Ramẓān), we marched from our ground belonging to Kūndbah (or Kūndīh) on the Sarū-river, with easy mind about Bihār and Bengal, and resolute to crush the traitors Bīban and Shaikh Bāyazīd.
(May 25th) On Wednesday (17th) after making two night-halts by the way, we dismounted at a passage across the Sarū, called Chaupāra-Chaturmūk of Sikandarpūr.[2636] From today people were busy in crossing the river.
As news began to come again and again that the traitors, after crossing Sarū and Gogar,[2637] were going toward Luknū,[2638] the following leaders were appointed to bar (their) crossing[2639]:—The Turk and Hind amīrs Jalālu’d-dīn Sharqī, ‘Alī Khān Farmūlī; Tardīka (or, Tardī yakka), Nizām Khān of Bīāna, together with Tūlmīsh Aūzbeg, Qurbān of Chīrk and Daryā Khān (of Bhīra’s Fol. 376b.son) Ḥasan Khān. They were given leave to go on the night of Thursday.[2640]
(iii. Damage done to the Bābur-nāma writings.)
That same night when 1 watch (pās), 5 garīs had passed (cir. 10.55 p.m.) and the tarāwīḥ-prayers were over,[2641] such a storm burst, in the inside of a moment, from the up-piled clouds of the Rainy-season, and such a stiff gale rose, that few tents were left standing. I was in the Audience-tent, about to write (kitābat qīlā dūr aīdīm); before I could collect papers and sections,[2642] the tent came down, with its porch, right on my head. The tūnglūq went to pieces.[2643] God preserved me! no harm befell me! Sections and book[2644] were drenched under water and gathered together with much difficulty. We laid them in the folds of a woollen throne-carpet,[2645] put this on the throne and on it piled blankets. The storm quieted down in about 2 garīs (45m.); the bedding-tent was set up, a lamp lighted, and, after much trouble, a fire kindled. We, without sleep, were busy till shoot of day drying folios and sections.
(jjj. Pursuit of Bīban and Bāyazīd resumed.)
(May 26th) I crossed the water on Thursday morning (Ramān 18th).
(May 27th) On Friday (19th) I rode out to visit Sikandarpūr and Kharīd.[2646] Today came matters written by ‘Abdu‘l-lāh (kitābdār) and Bāqī about the taking of Luknūr.[2647]
(May 28th) On Saturday (20th) Kūkī was sent ahead, with a troop, to join Bāqī.[2648]
(May 29th) That nothing falling to be done before my arrival might be neglected, leave to join Bāqī was given on Sunday (21st) to Sl. Junaid Barlās, Khalīfa’s (son) Ḥasan, Mullā Apāq’sFol. 377. retainers, and the elder and younger brethren of Mumin Ātāka.
Today at the Other Prayer a special dress of honour and a tīpūchāq horse were bestowed on Shāh Muḥammad (son) of Ma‘rūf Farmūlī, and leave to go was given. As had been done last year (934 AH.), an allowance from Sāran and Kūndla[2649] was bestowed on him for the maintenance of quiver-wearers. Today too an allowance of 72 laks[2650] from Sarwār and a tīpūchāq horse were bestowed on Ismā‘īl Jalwānī, and his leave was given.
About the boats Gunjāīsh and Arāīsh it was settled with Bengalīs that they should take them to Ghāzīpūr by way of Tīr-mūhānī.[2651] The boats Asāīsh and Farmāīsh were ordered taken up the Sarū with the camp.
(May 30th) On Monday (Ramẓān 22nd) we marched from the Chaupāra-Chaturmūk passage along the Sarū, with mind at ease about Bihār and Sarwār,[2652] and after doing as much as 10 kurohs
Fol. 377b.(20m.) dismounted on the Sarū in a village called Kilirah (?) dependent on Fatḥpūr.[2653]
(kkk. A surmised survival of the record of 934. A.H.[2654])
*After spending several days pleasantly in that place where there are gardens, running-waters, well-designed buildings, trees, particularly mango-trees, and various birds of coloured plumage, I ordered the march to be towards Ghāzīpūr.
Ismā‘īl Khān Jalwānī and ‘Alāūl Khān Nūḥānī had it represented to me that they would come to Āgra after seeing their native land (watn). On this the command was, “I will give an order in a month.”*[2655]
(lll. The westward march resumed.)
(May 31st) Those who marched early (Tuesday, Ramẓān 23rd), having lost their way, went to the great lake of Fatḥpūr (?).[2656] People were sent galloping off to fetch back such as were near and Kīchīk Khwāja was ordered to spend the night on the lakeshore and to bring the rest on next morning to join the camp. We marched at dawn; I got into the Asāīsh half-way and had it towed to our ground higher up.
(mmm. Details of the capture of a fort by Bīban and Bāyazīd.)
On the way up, Khalīfa brought Shāh Muḥammad dīwāna’s son who had come from Bāqī bringing this reliable news about Luknūr[2657]:—They (i.e. Bīban and Bāyazīd) hurled their assault on Saturday the 13th of the month Ramẓān (May 21st) but could do nothing by fighting; while the fighting was going on, a collection of wood-chips, hay, and thorns in the fort took fire, so that inside the walls it became as hot as an oven (tanūrdīk tafsān); the garrison could not move round the rampart; the fort was lost. When the enemy heard, two or three days later, of our return (westwards), he fled towards Dalmau.[2658]
Today after doing as much as 10 kurohs (20m.), we dismounted beside a village called Jalisir,[2659] on the Sarū-bank, in the Sagrī pargāna.
(June 1st) We stayed on the same ground through Wednesday (24th), in order to rest our cattle.
(nnn. Dispositions against Bīban and Bāyazīd.)
Some said they had heard that Bīban and Bāyazīd had crossed Gang, and thought of withdrawing themselves to their kinsfolkFol. 378. (nisbahsīlār) by way of....[2660] Here-upon the begs were summoned for a consultation and it was settled that Muḥammad-i-zamān Mīrzā and Sl. Junaid Barlās who in place of Jūnpūr had been given Chunār with several parganas, Maḥmud Khān Nūḥānī, Qāẓī Jīā, and Tāj Khān Sarāng-khānī should block the enemy’s road at Chunār.[2661]
(June 2nd) Marching early in the morning of Thursday (25th), we left the Sarū-river, did 11 kurohs (22 m.), crossed the Parsarū (Sarjū) and dismounted on its bank.
Here the begs were summoned, discussion was had, and the leaders named below were appointed to go detached from the army, in rapid pursuit of Bīban and Bāyazīd towards Dalmūt̤ (Dalmau):—Aīsān-tīmūr Sl., Muḥammad Sl. M., Tūkhta-būghā Sl., Qāsim-i-ḥusain Sl., Bī-khūb (Nī-khūb) Sl., Muz̤affar-i-ḥusain Sl., Qāsim Khwāja, Ja‘far Khwāja, Zahid Khwāja, Jānī Beg, ‘Askarī’s retainer Kīchīk Khwāja, and, of Hind amīrs, ‘Ālam Khān of Kālpī, Malik-dād Kararānī, and Rāo (Rāwūī) Sarwāni.
(ooo. The march continued.)
When I went at night to make ablution in the Parsarū, people were catching a mass of fish that had gathered round a lamp on the surface of the water. I like others took fish in my hands.[2662]
(June 3rd) On Friday (26th) we dismounted on a very slender stream, the head-water of a branch of the Parsarū. In order not to be disturbed by the comings and goings of the army-folk,Fol. 378b. I had it dammed higher up and had a place, 10 by 10, made for ablution. The night of the 27th[2663] was spent on this ground.
(June 4th) At the dawn of the same day (Saturday 27th) we left that water, crossed the Tūs and dismounted on its bank.[2664]
(June 5th) On Sunday (28th) we dismounted on the bank of the same water.
(June 6th) On Monday the 29th of the month (Ramẓān), our station was on the bank of the same Tūs-water. Though tonight the sky was not quite clear, a few people saw the Moon, and so testifying to the Qāẓī, fixed the end of the month (Ramẓān).
(June 7th) On Tuesday (Shawwāl 1st) we made the Prayer of the Festival, at dawn rode on, did 10 kurohs (20 m.), and dismounted on the bank of the Gūī (Gūmtī), a kuroh (2 m.) from Māīng.[2665] The sin of ma‘jūn was committed (irtikāb qīlīldī) near the Mid-day Prayer; I had sent this little couplet of invitation to Shaikh Zain, Mullā Shihāb and Khwānd-amīr:—
| (Turkī) | Shaikh and Mullā Shihāb and Khwānd-amir, Come all three, or two, or on |
Darwīsh-i-muḥammad (Sārbān), Yūnas-i-‘alī and ‘Abdu’l-lāh (‘asas)[2666] were also there. At the Other Prayer the wrestlers set to.
(June 8th) On Wednesday (2nd) we stayed on the same ground. Near breakfast-time ma‘jūn was eaten. Today Malik Sharq came in who had been to get Tāj Khān out of Chunār.[2667] When the wrestlers set to today, the Champion of Aūd who had come earlier, grappled with and threw a Hindūstānī wrestler who hadFol. 379. come in the interval.
Today Yaḥyā Nuḥāni was granted an allowance of 15 laks from Parsarūr,[2668] made to put on a dress of honour, and given his leave.
(June 9th) Next day (Thursday 3rd) we did 11 kurohs (22 m.), crossed the Gūī-water (Gūmtī), and dismounted on its bank.
(ppp. Concerning the pursuit of Bīban and Bāyazīd.)
News came in about the sult̤āns and begs of the advance that they had reached Dalmūd (Dalmau), but were said not yet to have crossed the water (Ganges). Angered by this (delay), I sent orders, “Cross the water at once; follow the track of the rebels; cross Jūn (Jumna) also; join ‘Ālam Khān to yourselves; be energetic and get to grips with the adversary.”
(qqq. The march continued.)
(June 10th) After leaving this water (Gūmtī, Friday 4th) we made two night-halts and reached Dalmūd (Dalmau), where most of the army-folk crossed Gang, there and then, by a ford. While the camp was being got over, ma‘jūn was eaten on an island (ārāl) below the ford.
(June 13th) After crossing, we waited one day (Monday 7th) for all the army-folk to get across. Today Bāqī Tāshkīndī came in with the army of Aūd (Ajodhya) and waited on me.
(June 14th) Leaving the Gang-water (Ganges, Tuesday 8th), we made one night-halt, then dismounted (June 15th-Shawwāl 9th) beside Kūrarah (Kūra Khāṣ) on the Arind-water. The distance from Dalmūd (Dalmau) to Kūrarah came out at 22 kurohs (44 m.).[2669]
(June 16th) On Thursday (10th) we marched early from that ground and dismounted opposite the Ādampūr pargana.[2670]
To enable us to cross (Jūn) in pursuit of our adversaries, a few Fol. 379b.raftsmen had been sent forward to collect at Kālpī what boats were to be had; some boats arrived the night we dismounted, moreover a ford was found through the Jūn-river.
As the encamping-place was full of dust, we settled ourselves on an island and there stayed the several days we were on that ground.
(rrr. Concerning Bīban and Bāyazīd.)
Not getting reliable news about the enemy, we sent Bāqī shaghāwal with a few braves of the interior[2671] to get information about him.
(June 17th) Next day (Friday 11th) at the Other Prayer, one of Bāqī Beg’s retainers came in. Bāqī had beaten scouts of Bīban and Bāyazīd, killed one of their good men, Mubārak Khān Jalwānī, and some others, sent in several heads, and one man alive.
(June 18th) At dawn (Saturday 12th) Paymaster Shāh Ḥusain came in, told the story of the beating of the scouts, and gave various news.
Tonight, that is to say, the night of Sunday the 13th of the month,[2672] the river Jūn came down in flood, so that by the dawn, the whole of the island on which I was settled, was under water. I moved to another an arrow’s-flight down-stream, there had a tent set up and settled down.
(June 20th) On Monday (14th) Jalāl Tāshkīndī came from the begs and sult̤āns of the advance. Shaikh Bāyazīd and Bīban, on hearing of their expedition, had fled to the pargana of Mahūba.[2673]Fol. 380.
As the Rains had set in and as after 5 or 6 months of active service, horses and cattle in the army were worn out, the sult̤āns and begs of the expedition were ordered to remain where they were till they received fresh supplies from Āgra and those parts. At the Other Prayer of the same day, leave was given to Bāqī and the army of Aūd (Ajodhya). Also an allowance of 30 lāks[2674] from Amrohā was assigned to Mūsa (son) of Ma‘rūf Farmūlī, who had waited on me at the time the returning army was crossing the Sarū-water,[2675] a special head-to-foot and saddled horse were bestowed on him, and he was given his leave.
(sss. Bābur returns to Āgra.)
(June 21st) With an easy mind about these parts, we set out for Āgra, raid-fashion,[2676] when 3 pās 1 garī of Tuesday night were past.[2677] In the morning (Tuesday 15th) we did 16 kurohs (32 m.), near mid-day made our nooning in the pargana of Balādar, one of the dependencies of Kālpī, there gave our horses barley, at the Evening Prayer rode on, did 13 kurohs (26 m.) in the night, at the 3rd night-watch (mid-night, Shawwāl 15-16th) dismounted at Bahādur Khān Sarwānī’s tomb at Sūgandpūr, a pargana of Kālpī, slept a little, went through the Morning Prayer and hurried on. After doing 16 kurohs (32 m.), we reached Etāwa at the fall of day, where Mahdī Khwāja came out to meet us.[2678] Riding Fol. 380b.on after the 1st night-watch (9 p.m.), we slept a little on the way, did 16 kurohs (32 m.), took our nooning at Fatḥpūr of Rāprī, rode on soon after the Mid-day Prayer (Thursday Shawwāl 17th), did 17 kurohs (34 m.), and in the 2nd night-watch[2679] dismounted in the Garden-of-eight-paradises at Āgra.
(June 24th) At the dawn of Friday (18th) Pay-master Sl. Muḥammad came with several more to wait on me. Towards the Mid-day Prayer, having crossed Jūn, I waited on Khwāja ‘Abdu’l-ḥaqq, went into the Fort and saw the begīms my paternal-aunts.
(ttt. Indian-grown fruits.)
A Balkhī melon-grower had been set to raise melons; he now brought a few first-rate small ones; on one or two bush-vines (būta-tāk) I had had planted in the Garden-of-eight-paradises very good grapes had grown; Shaikh Gūran sent me a basket of grapes which too were not bad. To have grapes and melons grown in this way in Hindūstān filled my measure of content.
(uuu. Arrival of Māhīm Begīm.)
(June 26th) Māhīm arrived while yet two watches of Sunday night (Shawwāl 20th)[2680] remained. By a singular agreement of things they had left Kābul on the very day, the 10th of the 1st Jumāda (Jan. 21st 1529) on which I rode out to the army.[2681]
(Here the record of 11 days is wanting.)
(July 7th) On Thursday the 1st of Ẕū’l-qa‘da the offerings made by Humāyūn and Māhīm were set out while I sat in the large Hall of Audience.
Today also wages were given to 150 porters (kahār) and they were started off under a servant of Faghfūr Dīwān to fetch melons, grapes, and other fruits from Kābul.Fol. 381.
(vvv. Concerning Saṃbhal.)
(July 9th) On Saturday the 3rd of the month, Hindū Beg who had come as escort from Kābul and must have been sent to Saṃbhal on account of the death of ‘Alī-i-yūsuf, came and waited on me.[2682] Khalīfa’s (son) Ḥusāmu’d-dīn came also today from Alwār and waited on me.
(July 10th) On Sunday morning (4th) came ‘Abdu’l-lāh (kitābdār), who from Tīr-mūhānī[2683] had been sent to Saṃbhal on account of the death of ‘Alī-i-yūsuf.
(Here the record of 7 days is wanting.)
(www. Sedition in Lāhor.)
People from Kābul were saying that Shaikh Sharaf of Qarā-bāgh, either incited by ‘Abdu’l-‘azīz or out of liking for him, had written an attestation which attributed to me oppression I had not done, and outrage that had not happened; that he had extorted the signatures of the Prayer-leaders (imāmlār) of Lāhor to this accusation, and had sent copies of it to the various towns; that ‘Abdu’l-‘azīz himself had failed to give ear to several royal orders, had spoken unseemly words, and done acts which ought to have been left undone. On account of these matters Qaṃbar-i-‘alī Arghūn was started off on Sunday the 11th of the month (Ẕū’l-qa‘da), to arrest Shaikh Sharaf, the Lāhor imāms with their associates, and ‘Abdu’l-‘azīz, and to bring them all to Court.
(xxx. Varia.)
(July 22nd) On Thursday the 15th of the month Chīn-tīmūr Sl. came in from Tijāra and waited on me. Today Champion Fol. 381b.Ṣādiq and the great champion-wrestler of Aūd wrestled. Ṣādiq gave a half-throw[2684]; he was much vexed.
(July 28th) On Monday the 19th of the month (Ẕū’l-qa‘da) the Qīzīl-bāsh envoy Murād the life-guardsman was made to put on an inlaid dagger with belt, and a befitting dress of honour, was presented with 2 laks of tankas and given leave to go.
(Here the record of 15 days is wanting.)
(yyy. Sedition in Gūālīār.)
(August 11th) Sayyid Mashhadī who had come from Gūālīār in these days, represented that Raḥīm-dād was stirring up sedition.[2685] On account of this, Khalīfa’s servant Shāh Muḥammad the seal-bearer was sent to convey to Raḥīm-dād matters written with commingling of good counsel. He went; and in a few days came back bringing Raḥīm-dād’s son, but, though the son came, Raḥīm-dād himself had no thought of coming. On Wednesday the 5th of Ẕū’l-ḥijja, Nūr Beg was sent to Gūālīār to allay Raḥīm-dād’s fears, came back in a few days, and laid requests from Raḥīm-dād before us. Orders in accordance with those requests had been written and were on the point of despatch when one of Raḥīm-dād’s servants arriving, represented that he had come to effect the escape of the son and that Raḥīm-dād himself had no thought of coming in. I was for riding out at once to Gūālīār, but Khalīfa set it forth to me, “Let me write one more letter commingled with good counsel; he may even yet come peacefully.” On this mission Khusrau’s (son?) Shihābu’d-dīn was despatched.
(August 12th) On Thursday the 6th of the month mentioned (Ẕū’l-ḥijja) Mahdī Khwāja came in from Etāwa.[2686]Fol. 382.
(August 16th) On the Festival-day[2687] (Monday 10th) Hindū Beg was presented with a special head-to-foot, an inlaid dagger with belt; also a pargana worth 7 laks[2688] was bestowed on Ḥasan-i-‘alī, well-known among the Turkmāns[2689] for a Chaghatāī.[2690]