Contents

Jahāngīr’s Memoirs.

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Clement.

Chapter I.

By the boundless favour of Allah, when one sidereal hour of Thursday, Jumādā-s̤-s̤ānī 20th, A.H. 1014 (October 24th, 1605), had passed, I ascended the royal throne in the capital of Agra, in the 38th year of my age.[1]

Till he was 28 years old, no child of my father had lived, and he was continually praying for the survival of a son to dervishes and recluses, by whom spiritual approach to the throne of Allah is obtained. As the great master, K͟hwāja Muʿīnu-d-dīn Chis͟htī, was the fountain-head of most of the saints of India, he considered that in order to obtain this object he should have recourse to his blessed threshold, and resolved within himself that if Almighty God should bestow a son on him he would, by way of complete humility, go on foot from Agra to his blessed mausoleum, a distance of 140 kos. In A.H. 977, on Wednesday, 17th Rabīʿu-l-awwal (August 31st, 1569), when seven g͟harī of the aforesaid day had passed, when Libra (Mīzān) had risen to the 24th degree, God Almighty brought me into existence from the hiding-place of nothingness. At the time when my venerated father was on the outlook for a son, a dervish of the name of S͟haik͟h Salīm, a man of ecstatic condition, who had traversed many of the stages of life, had his abode on a hill near Sīkrī, one of the villages of Agra, and the people of that neighbourhood had complete trust in him. As my father was very submissive to dervishes, he also visited him. One day, when waiting on him and in a state of distraction, he asked him how many sons he should have. The S͟haik͟h replied, “The Giver who gives without being asked will bestow three sons on you.” My father said, “I have made a vow that, casting my first son on the skirt of your favour, I will make your friendship and kindness his protector and preserver.” The S͟haik͟h accepted this idea, and said, “I congratulate you, and I will give him my own name.” When my mother came near the time of her delivery, he (Akbar) sent her to the S͟haik͟h’s house that I might be born there. After my birth they gave me the name of Sultan Salīm, but I never heard my father, whether in his cups or in his sober moments, call me Muḥammad Salīm or Sultan Salīm, but always S͟haik͟hū Bābā. My revered father, considering the village of Sīkrī, which was the place of my birth, lucky for him, made it his capital. In the course of fourteen or fifteen years that hill, full of wild beasts, became a city containing all kinds of gardens and buildings, and lofty, elegant edifices and pleasant places, attractive to the heart. After the conquest of Gujarāt this village was named Fatḥpūr. When I became king it occurred to me to change my name, because this resembled that of the Emperor of Rūm. An inspiration from the hidden world brought it into my mind that, inasmuch as the business of kings is the controlling of the world, I should give myself the name of Jahāngīr (World-seizer) and make my title of honour (laqab) Nūru-d-dīn, inasmuch as my sitting on the throne coincided with the rising and shining on the earth of the great light (the Sun). I had also heard, in the days when I was a prince, from Indian sages, that after the expiration of the reign and life of King Jalālu-d-dīn Akbar one named Nūru-d-dīn would be administrator of the affairs of the State. Therefore I gave myself the name and appellation of Nūru-d-dīn Jahāngīr Pāds͟hāh. As this great event took place in Agra, it is necessary that some account of that city should be given.

Agra is one of the grand old cities of Hindustan. It had formerly an old fort on the bank of the Jumna, but this my father threw down before my birth, and he founded a fort of cut red stone, the like of which those who have travelled over the world cannot point out. It was completed in the space of fifteen or sixteen years. It had four gates and two sally-ports, and its cost was 35 lakhs of rupees, equal to 115,000 tomān of current Persian coinage and to 10,500,000 k͟hānī according to the Tūrān reckoning. The habitable part of the city extends on both sides of the river. On its west side, which has the greater population, its circumference is seven kos and its breadth is one kos. The circumference of the inhabited part on the other side of the water, the side towards the east, is 2½ kos, its length being one kos and its breadth half a kos. But in the number of its buildings it is equal to several cities of ʿIrāq, K͟hurāsān, and Māwarāʾa-n-nahr (Transoxiana) put together. Many persons have erected buildings of three or four storeys in it. The mass of people is so great, that moving about in the lanes and bazars is difficult. It is on the boundary of the second climate. On its east is the province of Qanauj; on the west, Nāgor; on the north, Sambhal; and on the south, Chanderī.

It is written in the books of the Hindus that the source of the Jumna is in a hill of the name of Kalind,[2] which men cannot reach because of the excessive cold. The apparent source is a hill near the pargana of K͟hiẓrābād.

The air of Agra is warm and dry; physicians say that it depresses the spirits (rūḥrā ba taḥlīl mībarad) and induces weakness. It is unsuited to most temperaments, except to the phlegmatic and melancholy, which are safe from its bad effects. For this reason animals of this constitution and temperament, such as the elephant, the buffalo, and others, thrive in its climate.

Before the rule of the Lodī Afghans, Agra was a great and populous place, and had a castle described by Masʿūd b. Saʿd b. Salmān in the ode (qaṣīda) which he wrote in praise of Maḥmūd, son of Sultan Ibrāhīm, son of Masʿūd, son of Sultan Maḥmūd of G͟haznī, on the capture of the castle—

“The fort of Agra appeared in the midst of the dust

Like a mountain, and its battlements like peaks.”[3]

When Sikandar Lodī designed to take Gwalior he came to Agra from Delhi, which was the capital of the Sultans of India, and settled down there. From that date the population and prosperity of Agra increased, and it became the capital of the Sultans of Delhi. When God Almighty bestowed the rule of India on this illustrious family, the late king, Bābar, after the defeat of Ibrāhīm, the son of Sikandar Lodī, and his being killed, and after his victory over Rānā Sāngā, who was the chief of the Rajas of Hindustan, established on the east side of the Jumna, on improved land, a garden (chārbāg͟h) which few places equal in beauty. He gave it the name of Gul-afs͟hān (Flower-scatterer), and erected in it a small building of cut red stone, and having completed a mosque on one side of it he intended to make a lofty building, but time failed him and his design was never carried into execution.

In these Memoirs, whenever Ṣāḥib qirānī is written it refers to Amīr Tīmūr Gūrgān; and whenever Firdūs-makānī is mentioned, to Bābar Pāds͟hāh; when Jannat-ās͟hyānī is used, to Humāyūn Pāds͟hāh; and when ʿArs͟h-ās͟hyānī is employed, to my revered father, Jalālu-d-dīn Muḥammad Akbar Pāds͟hāh G͟hāzī.

Melons, mangoes, and other fruits grow well in Agra and its neighbourhood. Of all fruits I am very fond of mangoes. In the reign of my father (ʿArs͟h-ās͟hyānī) many fruits of other countries, which till then were not to be had in India, were obtained there. Several sorts of grapes, such as the ṣāḥibī and the ḥabs͟hī[4] and the kis͟hmis͟hī, became common in several towns; for instance, in the bazars of Lahore every kind and variety that may be desired can be had in the grape season. Among fruits, one which they call ananās (pineapple), which is grown in the Frank ports,[5] is of excessive fragrance and fine flavour. Many thousands are produced every year now in the Gul-afs͟hān garden at Agra.

From the excellencies of its sweet-scented flowers one may prefer the fragrances of India to those of the flowers of the whole world. It has many such that nothing in the whole world can be compared to them. The first is the champa (Michelia champaca), which is a flower of exceedingly sweet fragrance; it has the shape of the saffron-flower, but is yellow inclining to white. The tree is very symmetrical and large, full of branches and leaves, and is shady. When in flower one tree will perfume a garden. Surpassing this is the keoṛā[6] flower (Pandanus odoratissimus). Its shape and appearance are singular, and its scent is so strong and penetrating that it does not yield to the odour of musk. Another is the rāe bel,[7] which in scent resembles white jessamine. Its flowers are double and treble (?). Another is the mūlsarī[8] (Mimusops Elengi). This tree, too, is very graceful and symmetrical, and is shady. The scent of its flowers is very pleasant. Another is the ketakī[9] (Pandanus ?), which is of the nature of the keoṛā, but the latter is thorny, whereas the ketkī has no thorns. Moreover, the ketkī is yellowish, whereas the keoṛā is white. From these two flowers and also from the chambelī[10] (Jasminum grandiflorum), which is the white jessamine of wilāyat (Persia or Afghanistan), they extract sweet-scented oils. There are other flowers too numerous to mention. Of trees there are the cypress (sarw), the pine (sanūbar), the chanar (Platanus orientalis), the white poplar (safīdār, Populus alba), and the bīd mūllā (willow), which they had formerly never thought of in Hindustan, but are now plentiful. The sandal-tree, which once was peculiar to the islands (i.e., Java, Sumatra, etc.), also flourishes in the gardens.

The inhabitants of Agra exert themselves greatly in the acquirement of crafts and the search after learning. Various professors of every religion and creed have taken up their abode in the city.

After my accession, the first order that I gave was for the fastening up of the Chain of Justice, so that if those engaged in the administration of justice should delay or practise hypocrisy in the matter of those seeking justice, the oppressed might come to this chain and shake it so that its noise might attract attention. Its fashion was this: I ordered them to make a chain of pure gold,[11] 30 gaz in length and containing 60 bells. Its weight was 4 Indian maunds, equal to 42 ʿIrāqī maunds. One end of it they made fast to the battlements of the Shāh Burj of the fort at Agra and the other to a stone post fixed on the bank of the river. I also gave twelve orders to be observed as rules of conduct (dastūru-l-ʿamal) in all my dominions—

(1) Forbidding the levy of cesses under the names of tamghā and mīr baḥrī (river tolls), and other burdens which the jāgīrdārs of every province and district had imposed for their own profit.

(2) On roads where thefts and robberies took place, which roads might be at a little distance from habitations, the jāgīrdārs of the neighbourhood should build sarāʾīs (public rest-houses), mosques, and dig wells, which might stimulate population, and people might settle down in those sarāʾīs. If these should be near a k͟hāliṣa estate (under direct State management), the administrator (mutaṣaddī) of that place should execute the work.

[12](3) The bales of merchants should not be opened on the roads without informing them and obtaining their leave.

(4) In my dominions if anyone, whether unbeliever or Musalman, should die, his property and effects should be left for his heirs, and no one should interfere with them. If he should have no heir, they should appoint inspectors and separate guardians to guard the property, so that its value might be expended in lawful expenditure, such as the building of mosques and sarāʾīs, the repair of broken bridges, and the digging of tanks and wells.

(5) They should not make wine or rice-spirit (darbahra)[13] or any kind of intoxicating drug, or sell them; although I myself drink wine, and from the age of 18 years up till now, when I am 38, have persisted in it. When I first took a liking to drinking I sometimes took as much as twenty cups of double-distilled spirit; when by degrees it acquired a great influence over me I endeavoured to lessen the quantity, and in the period of seven years I have brought myself from fifteen cups to five or six. My times for drinking were varied; sometimes when three or four sidereal hours of the day remained I would begin to drink, and sometimes at night and partly by day. This went on till I was 30 years old. After that I took to drinking always at night. Now I drink only to digest my food.

[14](6) They should not take possession of any person’s house.

(7) I forbade the cutting off the nose or ears of any person, and I myself made a vow by the throne of God that I would not blemish anyone by this punishment.

(8) I gave an order that the officials of the Crown lands and the jāgīrdārs should not forcibly take the ryots’ lands and cultivate them on their own account.

(9) A government collector or a jāgīrdār should not without permission intermarry with the people of the pargana in which he might be.

(10) They should found hospitals in the great cities, and appoint physicians for the healing of the sick; whatever the expenditure might be, should be given from the k͟hāliṣa establishment.

(11) In accordance with the regulations of my revered father, I ordered that each year from the 18th[15] of Rabīʿu-l-awwal, which is my birthday, for a number of days corresponding to the years of my life, they should not slaughter animals (for food). Two days in each week were also forbidden, one of them Thursday, the day of my accession, and the other Sunday, the day of my father’s birth. He held this day in great esteem on this account, and because it was dedicated to the Sun, and also because it was the day on which the Creation began. Therefore it was one of the days on which there was no killing in his dominions.[16]

(12) I gave a general order that the offices and jāgīrs of my father’s servants should remain as they were. Later, the mansabs (ranks or offices) were increased according to each one’s circumstances by not less than 20 per cent. to 300 or 400 per cent. The subsistence money of the aḥadīs was increased by 50 per cent., and I raised the pay of all domestics by 20 per cent. I increased the allowances of all the veiled ladies of my father’s harem from 20 per cent. to 100 per cent., according to their condition and relationship. By one stroke of the pen I confirmed the subsistence lands[17] of the holders of aimas (charity lands) within the dominions, who form the army of prayer, according to the deeds in their possession. I gave an order to Mīrān Ṣadr Jahān, who is one of the genuine Sayyids of India, and who for a long time held the high office of ṣadr (ecclesiastical officer) under my father, that he should every day produce before me deserving people (worthy of charity). [18]I released all criminals who had been confined and imprisoned for a long time in the forts and prisons.[19]

At a propitious hour I ordered that they should coin gold and silver of different weights. To each coin I gave a separate name, viz., to the muhr of 100 tola, that of nūr-s͟hāhī; to that of 50 tola, that of nūr-sult̤ānī; to that of 20 tola, nūr-daulat; to that of 10 tola, nūr-karam; to that of 5 tola, nūr-mihr; and to that of 1 tola, nūr-jahānī. The half of this I called nūrānī, and the quarter, rawājī. With regard to the silver coins (sikkas). I gave to the coin of 100 tola the name of kaukab-i-t̤āliʿ (star of horoscope); to that of 50 tola, the name of kaukab-i-iqbāl (star of fortune); to that of 20 tola, the name of kaukab-i-murād (star of desire); to that of 10 tola, the name of kaukab-i-bak͟ht (star of good luck); to that of 5 tola, the name of kaukab-i-saʿd (star of auspiciousness); to that of 1 tola, the name of jahāngīrī. The half jahāngīrī I called sult̤ānī; the quarter, nisārī[20] (showering money); the dime, k͟hair-i-qabūl (the acceptable). Copper, also, I coined in the same proportions, and gave each division a particular name. I ordered that on the gold muhr of 100, 50, 20, and 10 tola the following verse by Āṣaf K͟hān[21] should be impressed—namely, on the obverse was this couplet:—

“Fate’s pen wrote on the coin in letters of light,

The S͟hāh Nūru-d-dīn Jahāngīr”;

and between the lines of the verse the Creed (Kalima) was impressed. On the reverse was this couplet, in which the date of coinage was signified:—

“Through this coin is the world brightened as by the sun,

And the date thereof is ‘Sun of Dominion’ (Āftāb-i-Mamlakat).”[22]

Between the lines of the verse, the mint, the Hijra year, and the regnal year were impressed. On the nūr-jahānī, which is in the place of the ordinary gold muhr and exceeds it in weight by 20 per cent. (as 12 to 10), is impressed this couplet of the Amīru-l-umarā:—

“S͟hāh Nūru-d-dīn Jahāngīr ibn Akbar Pāds͟hāh

Made gold’s face bright with the sheen of sun and moon.”

Accordingly, a hemistich was impressed on each face, and also the mint, and the Hijra and regnal year. The jahāngīrī sikka, also, which is greater in weight by 20 per cent., was reckoned as equal to a rupee, its weight being fixed in the same manner as that of the nūr-jahānī (each was a tola in weight, but one was in gold and the other was in silver). The weight of a tola is 2½ mis̤qāls of Persia and Tūrān.[23]

It would not be good to give all the versified chronograms which were made for my accession. I therefore content myself with the one which Maktūb K͟hān, the superintendent of the library and picture gallery, and one of my old servants, composed—

“The second lord of conjunction, S͟hāhins͟hāh Jahāngīr,

With justice and equity sat on the throne of happiness.

Prosperity, Good Fortune, Wealth, Dignity, and Victory,

With loins girt in his service, stood rejoicing before him.

It became the date of the accession when Prosperity

Placed his head at the feet of the Ṣāḥib-Qirān-i-S̤ānī.”[24]

To my son K͟husrau a lakh of rupees was presented that he might build up for himself the house of Munʿim K͟hān,[25] the (former) K͟hānk͟hānān, outside the fort. The administration and government of the Panjab was bestowed on Saʿid K͟hān,[26] who was one of the confidential nobles and connected with my father by marriage. His origin was from the Moghul tribe, and his ancestors were in the service of my forefathers. At the time of his taking leave, as it was said that his eunuchs oppressed and tyrannized over the weak and the poor, I sent a message to him that my justice would not put up with oppression from anyone, and that in the scales of equity neither smallness nor greatness was regarded. If after this any cruelty or harshness should be observed on the part of his people, he would receive punishment without favour.[27]

Again, having previously bestowed on S͟haik͟h Farīd Buk͟hārī, who had been Mīr Bak͟hs͟hī in my father’s service, a dress of honour, a jewelled sword, a jewelled inkstand and pen, I confirmed him in the same post, and in order to exalt him I said to him, “I regard thee as Ṣāḥibu-s-saif-wa-l-qalam” (“Captain Sword and Captain Pen”). Muqīm,[28] to whom my father had given at the end of his reign the title of Wazīr K͟hān and the viziership of his dominions, I selected for the same title, rank, and service. I also gave K͟hwājagī Fatḥu-llah a dress of honour, and made him a bakhshi, as formerly ʿAbdu-r-Razzāq Maʿmūrī, although when I was prince he had left my service without cause or reason and had gone over to my father, I made bakhshi as formerly, and I gave him a dress of honour. To Amīnu-d-daula, who when I was prince had the post of bakhshi, and without my leave had run away and taken service with my revered father, not looking to his offences I gave the office of Ātis͟h-i-begī[29] (Head of the Artillery), which he had held under my father. I left all those who were in possession of posts, both inside and outside, in the positions which they had with my father. S͟harīf K͟hān[30] had lived with me from his early years. When I was prince I had given him the title of k͟hān, and when I left Allahabad to wait upon my honoured father I presented him with a drum and the tūmān-tog͟h (standard of yāk tails). I had also promoted him to the rank of 2,500 and given him the government of the province of Bihar. I gave him complete control over the province, and sent him off there. On the 4th of Rajab, being fifteen days after my accession, he waited upon me. I was exceedingly pleased at his coming, for his connection with me is such that I look upon him as a brother, a son, a friend, and a companion. As I had perfect confidence in his friendship, intelligence, learning, and acquaintance with affairs, having made him Grand Vizier, I promoted him to the rank of 5,000 with 5,000 horse and the lofty title of Amīru-l-umarā, to which no title of my servants is superior. Though his position might have warranted a higher rank, he himself represented to me that until some notable service on his part had become perceptible to me he would not accept a higher grade than that mentioned (5,000).

As the reality of the loyalty of my father’s servants had not yet become apparent, and certain faults and errors and unbecoming intentions which were not approved at the throne of the Creator or pleasing to His creatures had shown themselves, they of themselves became ashamed. Though on the day of my accession I had forgiven all offences and determined with myself that I would exact no retribution for past deeds, yet on account of the suspicion that had been aroused in my mind about them I considered the Amīru-l-umarā my guardian and protector; although God Almighty is the guardian of all His servants, and is especially so of kings, because their existence is the cause of the contentment of the world. His father, ʿAbdu-ṣ-Ṣamad, who in the art of painting had no equal in the age, had obtained from the late king (Jannat-ās͟hyānī) Humāyūn the title of S͟hīrīn-qalam (Sweet pen), and in his council had attained a great dignity and was on intimate terms with him (the king). He was one of the chief men of S͟hīrāz. My honoured father, on account of his former services, paid him great honour and reverence. I made Raja Mān Singh—who was one of the greatest and most trusted noblemen of my father, and had obtained alliances with this illustrious family, inasmuch as his aunt had been in my father’s house (i.e. was his wife),[31] and I had married his sister, and K͟husrau and his sister Sult̤ānu-n-nisā Begam, the latter of whom is my eldest child, were born of her—as before, ruler of the province of Bengal. Though as in consequence of certain of his acts he had no expectation of this favour towards himself, I dignified him with a chārqab (vest without sleeves) as a robe of honour, a jewelled sword, and one of my own horses, and sent him off to his province, which is a place of (or can keep up) 50,000 horse. His father was Raja Bhagwān Dās. His grandfather, Raja Bihārī Mal, was the first of the Kachwāha Rājpūts to have the honour of entering my father’s service, and he excelled his tribe in truth and sincerity of friendship, and in the quality of valour. After my accession, when all the nobles with their retinues presented themselves at my palace, it came into my mind that I should send this body of retainers under my son, Sultan Parwīz, to make a holy war against the Rānā, who was one of evil deeds, and a foul infidel of the country of Hindustan, and in my father’s time had had troops sent constantly against him, but had not been driven off. In a fortunate hour I invested my said son with gorgeous robes of honour, a jewelled waist-sword, a jewelled waist-dagger, and a rosary of pearls intermixed with rubies of great price of the value of 72,000 rupees, ʿIrāq and Turkmān horses and famous elephants, and dismissed him. About 20,000 horsemen with nobles and chief leaders were appointed to this service. The first was Āṣaf K͟hān, who in my father’s time was one of his confidential servants, and for a long time had been confirmed in the post of bakhshi and afterwards became dīwān ba istiqlāl (Chancellor with full powers); him I advanced from the rank of an Amīr to that of Vizier, and promoting him from the command of 2,500 horse to that of 5,000 made him guardian to Parwīz. Having honoured him with a robe of honour, jewelled waist-sword, a horse and an elephant, I ordered that all the manṣabdārs (commanders), small and great, should not depart from such orders as he thought proper to give them. I made ʿAbdu-r-Razzāq Maʿmūrī his bakhshi and Muk͟htār Beg, Āṣaf K͟hān’s paternal uncle, diwan to Parwīz. I also presented to Raja Jagannāth, son of Raja Bihārī Mal, who had the rank of 5,000, a robe of honour and a jewelled waist-sword.

Again, I gave Rānā S͟hankar, cousin of the Rānā—to whom my father had given the title of Rānā, proposing to send him with K͟husrau against the Rānā, but at that time he (Akbar) became a s͟hanqar (a falcon, i.e. he died)—a robe of honour and a jewelled sword, and sent him with him.

I presented Mādho Singh, brother’s son of Raja Mān Singh, and Rāwal Sāl Darbārī with flags, from this consideration, that they were always present at Court and belonged to the Sekhāwaṭ[32] Rājpūts, and were confidential servants of my father. Each received also the rank of 3,000.

I promoted S͟haik͟h Ruknu-d-dīn the Afghan, to whom when I was prince I had given the title of S͟hīr K͟hān, from the grade of 500 to that of 3,500 S͟hīr K͟hān is the head of his clan and a very valiant man. He lost his arm by the sword in service against the Uzbegs.[33] ʿAbdu-r-Raḥmān, son of S͟haik͟h Abū-l-faẓl, Mahā Singh, grandson of Rāja Mān Singh, Zāhid K͟hān, son of Sādiq K͟hān, Wazīr Jamīl, and Qarā K͟hān Turkmān were exalted to the rank of 2,000; all these obtained robes of honour and horses, and were dismissed. Manohar also obtained leave to join the expedition. He is of the tribe of the Sekhāwaṭ Kachhwāhas, and on him in his young days my father bestowed many favours. He had learned the Persian language, and, although from him up to Adam the power of understanding cannot be attributed to any one of his tribe, he is not without intelligence. He makes Persian verses, and the following is one of his couplets:—

“The object of shade in Creation is this:

That no one place his foot on the light of my Lord, the Sun.”[34]

If the details were to be described of all the commanders and servants appointed by me, with the conditions and connections and rank of each, it would be a long business. Many of my immediate attendants and personal followers and nobles’ sons, house-born ones (k͟hānazādān) and zealous Rajputs, petitioned to accompany this expedition. A thousand ahadis, the meaning of which is single ones (Blochmann, p. 20), were also appointed. In short, a force was collected together such that if reliance on the Friend (God) were vouchsafed, it could have embarked on enmity and conflict with any one of the monarchs of power.

“Soldiers came up from all sides,

Seizing life from heroes of the world in battle;

They had no fear of death from the sharp sword,

No terror of water[35] and no flight from fire;

In valour singular, in vigour a crowd,

Anvils in endurance, rocks in attack.”

When I was prince I had entrusted, in consequence of my extreme confidence[36] in him, my own ūzuk seal[37] to the Amīru-l-umarā (S͟harīf), but when he was sent off to the province of Bihar I made it over to Parwīz. Now that Parwīz went off against the Rānā, I made it over, according to the former arrangement, to the Amīru-l-umarā.

Parwīz was born of Ṣāḥib-Jamāl (Mistress of Beauty), the cousin[38] of Zain K͟hān Koka, who, in point of affinity, was on the same footing[39] as Mirzā ʿAzīz Koka, in the 34th year of my father’s reign, in the city of Kabul, two years and two months after the birth of K͟husrau. After several other children had been born to me and had been received into God’s mercy, a daughter was born of Karamsī,[40] who belonged to the Rāṭhor clan, and the child received the name of Bihār Bānū Begam. To Jagat Gosāʾīn,[41] daughter of the Mota Raja (the fat raja), was born Sult̤ān K͟hurram, in the 36th year of my father’s reign, corresponding to A.H. 999,[42] in the city of Lahore. His advent made the world joyous (k͟hurram),[43] and gradually, as his years increased, so did his excellencies, and he was more attentive to my father than all (my) other children, who was exceedingly pleased with and grateful for his services, and always recommended him to me and frequently told me there was no comparison between him and my other children. He recognised him as his real child.

After that (K͟hurram’s birth) some other children were born who died in infancy, and then within one month two sons were borne by concubines. One of these I called Jahāndār and the other S͟hahryār.[44]

About this time there came a petition from Saʿid K͟hān with regard to granting leave to Mīrzā G͟hāzī, who was a son of the ruler of the province of Thathah (Tattah in Sind).[45] I said that as my father had betrothed his sister to my son K͟husrau, please God, when this alliance came into force, I would give him leave to return to Sind.

A year before I became king I had determined that I would drink no wine on Friday eve, and I hope at the throne of God that He will keep me firm in this resolve as long as I live.

Twenty thousand rupees were given to Mīrzā Muḥammad Riẓā Sabzwārī to divide amongst the faqirs and the needy of Delhi. The viziership of my dominions I gave in the proportions of half and half to K͟hān Beg,[46] to whom when I was prince I had given the title of Wazīru-l-mulk, and to Wazīr K͟hān[47] (Muqīm), and I gave to S͟haik͟h Farīd Buk͟hārī, who held the rank of 4,000, that of 5,000. I promoted Rām Dās Kachhwāha, whom my father had favoured, and who held the rank of 2,000, to that of 3,000. I sent dresses of honour to Mīrzā Rustam, son of Mīrzā Sult̤ān Ḥusain and grandson of S͟hāh Ismāʿīl, the ruler of Qandahar, and to ʿAbdu-r-Raḥīm K͟hānk͟hānān, son of Bairām K͟hān, and to Īraj and Dārāb, his sons, and to other nobles attached to the Deccan (command). Bark͟hūrdār, son of ʿAbdu-r-Raḥmān, son of Muʾayyid Beg, as he had come to court without a summons, I ordered back to his jagir. [48]It is not according to good manners to go to the king’s banquet without a summons, otherwise there would be no forbidding of the doors and walls to the foot of desire.

A month had elapsed after my auspicious accession when Lāla Beg, who while I was prince had obtained the title of Bāz Bahādur, obtained the blessing of waiting on me. His rank, which had been 1,500, was raised to 4,000. I promoted him to the Subah of Bihar and gave him 2,000 rupees. Bāz Bahādur is of the lineage of the special attendants of our family; his father’s name was Niz̤ām, and he was librarian to Humāyūn. Kesho Dās Mārū, who is a Rājpūt of the province of Mairtha and is greater in loyalty than his contemporaries, I promoted to the rank of 1,500. I directed the ʿulamā and the learned men of Islam to collect those of the distinctive appellations of God which were easy to remember, in order that I might make them into my rosary[49] (ward). On Friday eves[50] I associate with learned and pious men, and with dervishes and recluses. When Qilīj K͟hān, who was one of the old retainers of the State in my revered father’s reign, was appointed to the government of the province of Gujarat, I presented him with a lakh of rupees for his expenses. I raised Mīrān Ṣadr Jahān from the rank of 2,000 to that of 4,000. I knew him in my childhood when I read the “Forty Sayings” with S͟haik͟h ʿAbdu-n-Nabī,[51] whose history is given in detail in the Akbarnāma. From these early days till now Mīrān Ṣadr Jahān has acted towards me with single-minded loyalty, and I regard him as my preceptor in religions matters (k͟halīfa). Whilst I was prince and before my revered father’s illness, and during that time, when the ministers (pillars of the State) and the high nobles had become agitated, and each had conceived some idea of gain for himself and wished to become the originator of some act which could only bring ruin on the State, he had not failed in the activity of his service and devotedness. Having made ʿInāyat Beg,[52] who for a long period in the reign of my father had been Master of Works (Dīwān-i-buyūtāt) and held the rank of 700, half-vizier of my dominions in the place of Wazīr K͟hān, I gave him the high title of Iʿtimādu-d-daula with the rank of 1,500, and I appointed Wazīr K͟hān to the Dīwānī of the province of Bengal, and assigned to him the settlement of the revenues thereof. To Patr Dās, who in the time of my father had the title of Rāy Rāyān, I gave the title of Raja Bikramājīt. The latter was one of the great Rajas of India, and it was in his reign that astronomical observatories were established in India. I made Patr Dās Master of Ordnance, and ordered that he should always have light artillery[53] in the arsenal, 50,000 light guns[54] and 3,000 gun-carriages, ready and in efficient order. He was a khatrī by caste, and rose in my father’s service from being accountant of the elephants’ stables to be diwan and an amir. He is not wanting in military qualities and in administrative skill. I made K͟hurram, the son of K͟hān Aʿz̤am (ʿAzīz Koka), who had had the rank of 2,000, an officer of 2,500.

As it was my desire that many of the Akbarī and Jahāngīrī officers should obtain the fruition of their wishes, I informed the bakhshis that whoever wished to have his birthplace made into his jagir should make a representation to that effect, so that in accordance with the Chingīz canon (tūra) the estate might be conveyed to him by āl tamg͟hā and become his property, and he might be secured from apprehension of change. Our ancestors and forefathers were in the habit of granting jagirs to everyone under proprietary title, and adorned the farmans for these with the āl tamg͟hā seal, which is an impressed seal made in vermilion (i.e. red ink). I ordered that they should cover the place for the seal, with gold-leaf (t̤ilāpos͟h) and impress the seal thereon, and I called this the altūn[55] tamg͟hā.

I had selected from the other sons of S͟hāhruk͟h, Mīrzā Sult̤ān,[56] son of Mīrzā S͟hāhruk͟h the grandson of Mīrzā Sulaimān, who was a descendant (great-grandson) of Mīrzā Sult̤ān Abū Saʿīd and for a long time ruler of Badakhshan, and with consent of my[57] revered father brought him into my service. I count him as a son, and have promoted him to the rank of 1,000. I also promoted Bhāo Singh, son of Raja Mān Singh and the most capable of his sons, from his original rank to that of 1,500. I raised Zamāna Beg,[58] son of G͟hayūr Beg of Kabul, who has served me personally from his childhood, and who, when I was prince, rose from the grade of an ahadi to that of 500, giving him the title of Mahābat K͟hān and the rank of 1,500. He was confirmed as bakhshi of my private establishment (s͟hāgird-pīs͟ha).

I promoted Raja Bīr Singh Deo, a Bandela Rajput, who had obtained my favour, and who excels his equals and relatives in valour, personal goodness, and simple-heartedness, to the rank of 3,000. The reason for his advancement and for the regard shown to him was that near the end of my revered father’s time, S͟haik͟h Abū-l-faẓl, who excelled the S͟haik͟hzādas of Hindustan in wisdom and learning, had adorned himself outwardly with the jewel of sincerity, and sold it to my father at a heavy price. He had been summoned from the Deccan, and, since his feelings towards me were not honest, he both publicly and privately spoke against me. At this period when, through strife-exciting intriguers, the august feelings of my royal father were entirely embittered against me, it was certain that if he obtained the honour of waiting on him (Akbar) it would be the cause of more confusion, and would preclude me from the favour of union with him (my father). It became necessary to prevent him from coming to Court. As Bīr Singh Deo’s country was exactly on his route and he was then a rebel, I sent him a message that if he would stop that sedition-monger and kill him he would receive every kindness from me. By God’s grace, when S͟haik͟h Abū-l-faẓl was passing through Bīr Singh Deo’s country, the Raja blocked his road, and after a little contest scattered his men and killed him. He sent his head to me in Allahabad. Although this event was a cause of anger in the mind of the late king (Akbar), in the end it enabled me to proceed without disturbance of mind to kiss the threshold of my father’s palace, and by degrees the resentment of the king was cleared away.

I made Mīr Ẓiyāʾu-d-dīn of Qazwīn, who had done me service in the days of my princehood and had shown loyalty, commander of 1,000 and accountant of the stables. An order was given that every day thirty horses should be produced before me for the purpose of making presents. I honoured Mīrzā ʿAlī Akbars͟hāhī, who is one of the distinguished braves of this family,[59] with the rank of 4,000, and gave him the sarkar of Sambhal as his jagir.

One day the Amīru-l-umarā (S͟harīf K͟hān) greatly pleased me by an incidental remark. It was this: “Honesty and dishonesty are not confined to matters of cash and goods; to represent qualities as existing in acquaintances which do not exist, and to conceal the meritorious qualities of strangers, is dishonesty. In truth, honesty of speech consists in making no distinction between intimates and strangers and in describing each man as he really is.”

When I sent off Parwīz I had said to him, “If the Rānā himself, and his eldest son who is called Karan, should come to wait upon you and proffer service and obedience, you should not do any injury to his territory.” My intention in this recommendation was of two kinds; one, that inasmuch as the conquest of Transoxiana was always in the pure mind of my revered father, though every time he determined on it things occurred to prevent it, if this business could be settled, and this danger dismissed from my mind, I would leave Parwīz in Hindustan, and in reliance on Allah, myself start for my hereditary territories, especially as at this time there was no permanent ruler in that region. Bāqī K͟hān, who, after ʿAbdu-llah K͟hān and ʿAbdu-l-Muʾmīn K͟hān, his son, had acquired complete independence, had died, and the affairs of Walī Muḥammad K͟hān, his brother, who is now the ruler of that region, had not as yet been brought into proper order. Secondly, to bring about the termination of the war in the Deccan, of which a part in the time of my revered father had been acquired, so that it might come into possession, and be incorporated with the Imperial dominions. My hope is that through the favour of Allah both these undertakings will be accomplished.

“Though a king should seize the seven climes,[60]

He still would labour to take others.”

I promoted Mīrzā S͟hāhruk͟h,[61] grandson of Mīrzā Sulaimān, (once) the ruler of Badakhshan, who was nearly related to my family, and held the rank of 5,000 in my father’s service, to the rank of 7,000. The Mīrzā is a true Turk in disposition and simple-minded. My father conferred great honour on him, and whenever he bade his own sons sit he gratified him also with this distinction. Notwithstanding the mischievous propensities of the people of Badakhshan, the Mīrzā in this familiarity never left the right road, or undertook anything that might lead to unpleasantness. I confirmed him in the Subah of Malwa just as my father had kindly conferred it on him.

I conferred on K͟hwāja ʿAbdu-llah, who is of the Naqs͟hbandī family, and in the commencement of his service was an ahadi, and who had risen by degrees to the command of 1,000, but without reason had gone into my father’s service, the rank and jagir my father had conferred on him. Although I considered it best for my own prosperity that my attendants and people should go into his (Akbar’s) service, yet this had occurred without my leave, and I was rather annoyed at it. But the fact is that he is a manly and zealous man; if he had not committed this fault he would have been a faultless hero (jawān).

Abū-n-nabī,[62] the Ūzbeg, who is one of the distinguished inhabitants of Māwarāʾa-n-nahr and in the time of ʿAbdu-l-Muʾmīn K͟hān was governor of Mashhad, obtained the rank of 1,500.

S͟haik͟h Ḥasan is the son of S͟haik͟h Bahā.[63] From the days of his childhood to this day he has always been in my service and in attendance on me, and when I was prince was distinguished by the title of Muqarrab K͟hān. He was very active and alert in his service, and in hunting would often traverse long distances by my side. He is skilful with the arrow and the gun, and in surgery is the most skilful of his time. His ancestors also had been well practised in this profession. After my accession, in consequence of the perfect confidence I had in him, I sent him to Burhanpur to bring the children and dependants of my brother Dāniyāl to wait on me, and sent a message to the K͟hānk͟hānān in low and high words[64] and profitable admonitions. Muqarrab K͟hān performed this service correctly and in a short time, and, clearing off the suspicions which had entered the minds of the K͟hānk͟hānān and the nobles of that place, brought those who had been left behind by my brother in safety and security, together with his establishment and property and effects, to Lahore, and there presented them before me.

I promoted Naqīb K͟hān,[65] who is one of the genuine Sayyids of Qazwīn and is called G͟hiyās̤u-d-dīn ʿAlī, to the rank of 1,500. My father had distinguished him with the title of Naqīb K͟hān, and in his service he had complete intimacy and consideration. Shortly after his accession he (Akbar) had discussed several matters with him, and from this familiarity he called him āk͟hūnd. He has no equal or rival in the science of history and in biographies. There is in this day no chronologist like him in the inhabited world. From the beginning of Creation till the present time, he has by heart the tale of the four quarters of the world. Has Allah granted to any other person such faculty of memory?

S͟haik͟h Kabīr, who was of the family of the venerable S͟haik͟h Salīm, I had honoured with the title of S͟hajāʿat K͟hān when I was prince, on account of his manliness and bravery. I now selected him for the rank of 1,000.

On Shaʿbān 27th (28th December, 1605) a strange thing was done by the sons of Akhayrāj, son of Bhagwān Dās, the paternal uncle[66] of Raja Mān Singh. These unlucky ones, who bore the names of Abhay Rām, Bijay Rām, and Shyām Rām, were exceedingly immoderate. Notwithstanding that the aforesaid Abhay Rām had done improper (disproportioned) acts, I had winked at his faults. When at this date it was represented to me that this wretch was desirous of despatching his wives and children without leave to his own country and afterwards of himself running away to the Rānā, who is not loyal to this family, I referred to Rām Dās and other Rajput nobles, and said to them that if any one of them would become security for them, I would confirm the rank and jagir of those wretches, and passing over their offences would forgive them. In consequence of their excessive turbulence and bad disposition no one became security. I told the Amīru-l-umarā that as no one would be bound for them, they must be handed over to the charge of one of the servants of the Court until security was forthcoming. The Amīru-l-umarā gave them over to Ibrāhīm K͟hān Kākar, who was afterwards dignified with the title of Dilāwar K͟hān, and Ḥātim,[67] second son of Manglī, who held the title of S͟hāhnawāz K͟hān.[68] When these wished to disarm these foolish people, they refused, and, not observing the dues of good manners, began, together with their servants, to quarrel and fight. The Amīru-l-umarā reported the circumstance to me, and I ordered them to be punished according to their deeds. He betook himself to driving them off, and I sent S͟haik͟h Farīd also after him. One Rajput armed with a sword, and another with a dagger stood up to the Amīru-l-umarā. One of his attendants named Qut̤b engaged the man with the dagger and was killed. The Rajput also was cut to pieces. One of the Afghan attendants of the Amīru-l-umarā attacked the one who had the sword and killed him. Dilāwar K͟hān drew his dagger and turned towards Abhay Rām, who with two others was holding his ground, and after wounding one of these fell down after receiving wounds from the three. Some of the ahadis and the men of the Amīru-l-umarā opposed and slew these doomed men. A Rajput drew his sword and turned to S͟haik͟h Farīd; he was met by a Ḥabs͟hī slave, who brought him down. This disturbance took place in the courtyard of the public palace. That punishment served as a warning to many who had not looked to consequences. Abū-n-nabī[69] represented that if such a deed had been done in the Ūzbeg country the whole family and connections of that band of men would have been destroyed. I replied that as these people had been treated kindly and educated by my revered father I carried on the same benevolence to them, and justice demands that many shall not be chastised for the fault of one.

S͟haik͟h Ḥusain Jāmī, who now sits on the cushion of darwīs͟hī and is one of the disciples of the dervish of Shiraz,[70] had written to me from Lahore six months before my accession that he had seen in a dream that saints and pious men had delivered over the affairs of the kingdom to that chosen one of the Court of Allah (Jahāngīr), and that, rejoicing in this good news, he should await the event, and that he hoped that when it had occurred, the faults of K͟hwāja Zakariyyā, who was one of the Aḥrāriyya,[71] would be pardoned.[72]

I conferred on Tās͟h Beg Furjī,[73] who was one of the old servants of the State, and whom my father had honoured with the title of Tāj K͟hān, and who had the rank of 2,000, that of 3,000, and I raised Tuk͟hta[74] Beg Kābulī from the rank of 2,500 to that of 3,000. He is a brave and active man, and was greatly trusted in the service of my uncle, Mīrzā Muḥammad Ḥakīm. I promoted Abū-l-Qāsim Tamkīn,[75] who was one of my father’s old servants, to the rank of 1,500. There are few men such as he for abundance of children; he has thirty sons, and if his daughters do not number so many they must be half that number. I dignified S͟haik͟h ʿAlāʾu-d-dīn, grandson of S͟haik͟h Salīm, who had strong connections with me, with the title of Islām K͟hān, and promoted him to the rank of 2,000. He had grown up with me from his childhood, and may be a year younger than I. He is a brave and well-dispositioned youth, and is distinguished in every way above his family. Till now he has never drunk intoxicating drinks, and his sincerity towards me is such that I have honoured him with the title of son.

I have bestowed on ʿAlī Aṣg͟har Bārha, who has not a rival in bravery and zeal, and is the son of Sayyid Maḥmūd K͟hān Bārha, one of my father’s old nobles, the title of Saif K͟hān, and thus distinguished him amongst his equals and connections. He is evidently a brave youth. He was always one of the confidential men who went with me to hunt and to other places. He has never in his life drunk anything intoxicating, and as he has abstained in his youth he probably will attain high dignities. I granted him the rank of 3,000.

I promoted Farīdūn, son of Muḥammad Qulī K͟hān Barlās, who held the rank of 1,000, to that of 2,000. Farīdūn is one of the tribe of Chag͟hatāy, and is not devoid of manliness and courage.

I promoted S͟haik͟h Bāyazīd, grandson of S͟haik͟h Salīm, who held the rank of 2,000, to that of 3,000. The first person who gave me milk, but for not more than a day, was the mother of S͟haik͟h Bāyazīd.

[76]One day I observed to the Pandits, that is, the wise men of the Hindus, “If the doctrines of your religion are based on the incarnation of the Holy Person of God Almighty in ten different forms by the process of metempsychosis, they are virtually rejected by the intelligent. This pernicious idea requires that the Sublime Cause, who is void of all limitations, should be possessed of length, breadth, and thickness. If the purpose is the manifestation of the Light of God in these bodies, that of itself is existent equally in all created things, and is not peculiar to these ten forms. If the idea is to establish some one of God’s attributes, even then there is no right notion, for in every faith and code there are masters of wonders and miracles distinguished beyond the other men of their age for wisdom and eloquence.”[77] After much argument and endless controversy, they acknowledged a God of Gods, devoid of a body or accidents,[78] and said, “As our imagination fails to conceive a formless personality (ẕāt-i-mujarrad), we do not find any way to know Him without the aid of a form. We have therefore made these ten forms the means of conceiving of and knowing Him.” Then said I, “How can these forms be a means of your approaching the Deity?”

My father always associated with the learned of every creed and religion, especially with Pandits and the learned of India, and although he was illiterate, so much became clear to him through constant intercourse with the learned and wise, in his conversations with them, that no one knew him to be illiterate, and he was so acquainted with the niceties of verse and prose compositions that his deficiency was not thought of.

In his august personal appearance he was of middle height, but inclining to be tall; he was of the hue of wheat; his eyes and eyebrows were black, and his complexion rather dark than fair; he was lion-bodied,[79] with a broad chest, and his hands and arms long. On the left side of his nose he had a fleshy mole, very agreeable in appearance, of the size of half a pea. Those skilled in the science of physiognomy considered this mole a sign of great prosperity and exceeding good fortune. His august voice was very loud, and in speaking and explaining had a peculiar richness. In his actions and movements he was not like the people of the world, and the glory of God manifested itself in him.

“Greatness in his manner, kingship in his lineage,

As if Solomon would have put the ring on his finger.”[80]

Three months after my birth my sister, S͟hāhzāda K͟hānam, was born to one of the royal concubines; they gave her over to his (Akbar’s) mother, Maryam Makānī. After her a son was born to one of the concubines, and received the name of S͟hāh Murād. As his birth occurred in the hill country of Fatḥpūr, he was nicknamed Pahārī. When my revered father sent him to conquer the Deccan, he had taken to excessive drinking through associating with unworthy persons, so that he died in his 30th year, in the neighbourhood of Jālnāpūr, in the province of Berar. His personal appearance was fresh-coloured; he was thin in body and tall of stature. Dignity and authority were evident in his movements, and manliness and bravery manifested themselves in his ways. On the night of Jumādā-l-awwal 10th, A.H. 979 (September, 1572), another son was born to one of the concubines. As his birth took place at Ajmīr in the house of one of the attendants of the blessed shrine of the reverend K͟hwāja Muʿīnu-d-dīn Chis͟htī, whose name was S͟haik͟h Dāniyāl, this child was called Dāniyāl.

After the death of my brother S͟hāh Murād, he (Akbar), towards the end of his reign, sent Dāniyāl to conquer the Deccan and followed him himself. When my revered father was besieging Āsīr (Āsīrgarh) he, with a large body of nobles such as the K͟hānk͟hānān and his sons and Mīrzā Yūsuf K͟hān, invested the fort of Ahmadnagar, and it came into the possession of the victorious officers about the time that Āsīr was taken. After my father ʿArs͟h-ās͟hyānī had returned in prosperity and victory from Burhanpur towards his capital, he gave the province to Dāniyāl and left him in possession of that territory. Dāniyāl took to improper ways, like his brother S͟hāh Murād, and soon died from excessive drinking, in the 33rd year of his age. His death occurred in a peculiar way. He was very fond of guns and of hunting with the gun. He named one of his guns yaka u janāza, ‘the same as the bier,’ and himself composed this couplet and had it engraved on the gun:—

“From the joy of the chase with thee, life is fresh and new;

To everyone whom thy dart strikes, ‘tis the same as his bier.”[81]

When his drinking of wine was carried to excess, and the circumstance was reported to my father, farmans of reproach were sent to the K͟hānk͟hānān. Of course he forbade it, and placed cautious people to look after him properly. When the road to bring wine was completely closed, he began to weep and to importune some of his servants, and said: “Let them bring me wine in any possible way.” He said to Murs͟hid Qulī K͟hān, a musketeer who was in his immediate service: “Pour some wine into this yaka u janāza, and bring it to me.” That wretch, in hope of favour, undertook to do this, and poured double-distilled spirit into the gun, which had long been nourished on gunpowder and the scent thereof, and brought it. The rust of the iron was dissolved by the strength of the spirit and mingled with it, and the prince no sooner drank of it than he fell down.

“No one should draw a bad omen:[82]

If he does, he draws it for himself.”

Dāniyāl was of pleasing figure, of exceedingly agreeable manners and appearance; he was very fond of elephants and horses. It was impossible for him to hear of anyone as having a good horse or elephant and not take it from him. He was fond of Hindi songs, and would occasionally compose verses with correct idiom in the language of the people of India, which were not bad.

After the birth of Dāniyāl a daughter was born to Bībī Daulat-S͟hād whom they named S͟hakaru-n-nisā Begam.[83] As she was brought up in the skirt of my revered father’s care, she turned out very well. She is of good disposition and naturally compassionate towards all people. From infancy and childhood she has been extremely fond of me, and there can be few such relationships between brother and sister. The first time when, according to the custom of pressing the breast of a child and a drop of milk is perceptible, they pressed my sister’s breast and milk appeared, my revered father said to me: “Bābā! drink this milk, that in truth this sister may be to thee as a mother.” God, the knower of secrets, knows that from that day forward, after I drank that drop of milk, I have felt love for my sister such as children have for their mothers.

After some time another girl was born to this same Bībī Daulat-S͟hād, and he (Akbar) called her Ārām Bānū Begam.[84] Her disposition was on the whole inclined to excitement and heat. My father was very fond of her, so much so that he described her impolitenesses as politenesses, and in his august sight they, from his great love, did not appear bad. Repeatedly he honoured me by addressing me, and said: “Bābā! for my sake be as kind as I am, after me, to this sister, who in Hindi phrase is my darling (that is, dearly cherished). Be affectionate to her and pass over her little impolitenesses and impudences.”

The good qualities of my revered father are beyond the limit of approval and the bounds of praise. If books were composed with regard to his commendable dispositions, without suspicion of extravagance, and he be not looked at as a father would be by his son, even then but a little out of much could be said.

Notwithstanding his kingship and his treasures and his buried wealth, which were beyond the scope of counting and imagination, his fighting elephants and Arab horses, he never by a hair’s breadth placed his foot beyond the base of humility before the throne of God, but considered himself the lowest of created beings, and never for one moment forgot God.

“Always, everywhere, with everyone, and in every circumstance,

Keep the eye of thy heart secretly fixed on the Beloved.”

The professors of various faiths had room in the broad expanse of his incomparable sway. This was different from the practice in other realms, for in Persia[85] there is room for Shias only, and in Turkey, India, and Tūrān there is room for Sunnis only.

As in the wide expanse of the Divine compassion there is room for all classes and the followers of all creeds, so, on the principle that the Shadow[86] must have the same properties as the Light, in his dominions, which on all sides were limited only by the salt sea, there was room for the professors of opposite religions, and for beliefs good and bad, and the road to altercation was closed. Sunnis and Shias met in one mosque, and Franks and Jews in one church, and observed their own forms of worship.

He associated with the good of every race and creed and persuasion, and was gracious to all in accordance with their condition and understanding. He passed his nights in wakefulness, and slept little in the day; the length of his sleep during a whole night and day (nycthemeron) was not more than a watch and a half. He counted his wakefulness at night as so much added to his life. His courage and boldness were such that he could mount raging, rutting elephants, and subdue to obedience murderous elephants which would not allow their own females near them—although even when an elephant is bad-tempered he does no harm to the female or his driver—and which were in a state in which they might have killed their drivers or the females, or not have allowed their approach. He would place himself on a wall or tree near which an elephant was passing that had killed its mahout and broken loose from restraint, and, putting his trust in God’s favour, would throw himself on its back and thus by merely mounting, would bring it under control and tame it. This was repeatedly seen.

He ascended the throne in his 14th year. Hemū, the infidel whom the Afghan ruler had raised to high station, collected a wonderful force after King Humāyūn’s death with a stud of elephants such as no ruler of Hindustan had at that time, and he went towards Delhi. Humāyūn had appointed Akbar to drive off some of the Afghans from the foot-hills of the Panjab, but just then he exemplified the hemistich which is a description of the accident and the chronogram of his death—

“The august monarch (Humāyūn) fell from the roof. The news (of the death) was conveyed to my father by Naz̤ar-jīvī.”[87]

Bairām K͟hān, who was then his tutor, having collected the nobles who were in the province, chose an auspicious hour and seated him on the throne of rule in pargana Kalānūr, near Lahore.

When Hemū reached the neighbourhood of Delhi, Tardī Beg K͟hān and a large force that was in the city drew up to oppose him. When the preparations for the combat had been made the armies attacked one another, and, after considerable endeavours and strife, defeat fell on Tardī Beg K͟hān and the Moguls, and the army of darkness overcame the army of light.

“All things and battles and fights are of God,

He knows whose will be the victory.

From the blood of the brave and the dust of the troops,

The earth grew red and the heavens black.”

Tardī Beg K͟hān and the other defeated ones took the road to my revered father’s camp. As Bairām K͟hān disliked Tardī Beg, he made this defeat an excuse to put him to death.

A second time, through the pride engendered in the mind of this accursed infidel by his victory, he came out of Delhi with his force and elephants and advanced, while the glorious standards of His Majesty (Akbar) proceeded from Kalānūr for the purpose of driving him away. The armies of darkness and light met in the neighbourhood of Panipat, and on Thursday, Muḥarram 2nd, A.H. 964 (November 5th, 1556), a fight took place. In the army of Hemū were 30,000 brave fighting horsemen, while the g͟hāzīs of the victorious army were not more than 4,000 or 5,000. On that day Hemū was riding an elephant named Hawāʾī. Suddenly an arrow struck the eye of that infidel and came out at the back of his head. His army, on seeing this, took to flight. By chance S͟hāh Qulī K͟hān Maḥram with a few brave men came up to the elephant on which was the wounded Hemū, and would have shot an arrow at the driver, but he cried “Do not kill me; Hemū is on this elephant.” A number of men immediately conveyed Hemū as he was to the king (Akbar). Bairām K͟hān represented that it would be proper if the king with his own hand should strike the infidel with a sword, so that obtaining the reward of a g͟hāzī (warrior of the Faith) he might use this title on the imperial farmans. The king answered, “I have cut him in pieces before this,” and explained: “One day, in Kabul, I was copying a picture in presence of K͟hwājaʿAbdu-ṣ-Ṣamad S͟hīrīn Qalam, when a form appeared from my brush, the parts of which were separate and divided from each other. One of those near asked, ‘Whose picture is this?’ It came to my tongue to say that it was the likeness of Hemū.” Not defiling his hand with his (Hemū’s) blood, he told one of his servants to cut off his head. Those killed in the defeated army numbered 5,000 in addition to those who fell in various places round about.

Another of the well-known deeds of Akbar was the victorious expedition against Gujarat, and his rapid march there, at the time when Mīrzā Ibrāhīm Ḥusain, Muḥammad Ḥusain Mīrzā, and S͟hāh Mīrzā revolted from this State and went towards Gujarat, and all the nobles of that province, combining with the turbulent of those parts, besieged the fort of Ahmadabad in which was Mīrzā ʿAzīz Koka with the royal army. His Majesty, in consequence of the distracted state of Jījī Angā, the mother of the last-named Mīrzā, started for Gujarat with a body of royal troops without delay from the capital of Fatḥpūr. Having covered in the space of nine days the long road which it should take two months to accomplish, sometimes on horseback, sometimes on a camel or in a bullock-cart, he arrived at Sarnāl.

When, on 5th Jumādā-l-awwal, 980 (September 15th, 1572), he reached the neighbourhood of the enemy’s camp, he consulted with those who were loyal to him. Some said he should make a night attack on the camp. His Majesty, however, said that a night attack was the resort of the faint-hearted and the way of the deceitful, and immediately gave orders to beat the drums and set the horsemen at them. When the river Sābar Mahī (Sābarmatī) was reached, he ordered his men to cross it in order. Muḥammad Ḥusain Mīrzā was agitated by the noise of the army of victory, and himself came forward to reconnoitre. Subḥān Qulī Turk, also with a troop of brave men, went to the river’s bank to enquire into the enemy’s position. The Mīrzā asked what troops these were. Subḥān Qulī replied that they were of the army of King Jalālu-d-dīn Akbar. That ill-fated one would not believe this, and said his spies had seen the king fourteen days before in Fatḥpūr, and that it was clear Subḥān Qulī was lying. To this Subḥān Qulī rejoined, “Nine days ago the king with this expedition started from Fatḥpūr.” “How could elephants have come?”[88] asked the Mīrzā. “What need was there of elephants?” answered Subḥān Qulī. “Young men and heroes who cleave rocks, and are better than famous and raging elephants, have come; the difference between loyalty and sedition will now become known.” The Mīrzā, after this conversation, turned aside and began to marshal his troops. The king waited until his advanced guard sent word that the enemy had put on their armour. He then moved forward, and although he sent several times to order the K͟hān Aʿz̤am to advance, the latter stood still. It was said to Akbar that, as the enemy was in force, it would be well to remain on his side of the river until the army of Gujarat arrived from within the fort. His Majesty answered: “Always, and especially in this affair, I have put my trust in God. If I had considered routine, I should not have come in this rapid manner. Now that our foe is ready for the fight, we ought not to delay.” With these words, and with his innate reliance on God as his shield, he put his horse into the river with a few chosen men whom he had appointed to ride with him. Though it was not supposed that there was a ford, he crossed in safety. He had called for his helmet, but in the agitation of bringing it his armour-bearer dropped the face-guard (buffe). His comrades did not regard this as a good omen, but he said at once, “It is an excellent omen, for it has revealed my face.”[89] Meantime the wretched Mīrzā arrayed his ranks to fight his benefactor.

“If thou come out (to fight) with thy benefactor,

If thou wert the sphere, thou wouldest be reversed.”

The K͟hān Aʿz̤am had had no idea that the king would cast the shadow of his compassion on these regions with such speed and eagerness, and he believed no one who gave him news of that arrival, until convinced by visible proof. Then, arraying the army of Gujarat, he prepared to march. Meanwhile Āṣaf K͟hān also sent news to him. Before his army issued from the fort the enemy had appeared from amongst the trees. The king, taking the Divine aid as the security of his courage, started off. Muḥammad Qulī K͟hān Turk and Tardī K͟hān Dīwāna came forward with a band of brave followers, and after a little fighting turned rein. On this His Majesty said to Bhagwān Dās, “The enemy are unnumbered and we are few; we must attack with one face and one heart; for a clenched fist is more useful than an open hand.” With these words he drew his sword, and with shout of Allahu-akbar and Yā Muʿīn[90] charged with those devoted to him.

“The sense of the age evaporated with the clamour,

The ear of the heavens was split with the shouts.”

The royal right and left wings and a band of brave men in the centre fought with valour. Stars (kaukabāʾī), which are a kind of firework, were lighted by the enemy; they twisted about among the thorn-bushes, and created such confusion that a noted elephant of the enemy began to move and threw their troops into disarray. With this the royal centre came up and dispersed Muḥammad Ḥusain and his force. Mān Singh Darbārī overcame his foe under the king’s eyes, and Rāgho Dās Kachhwāha sacrificed his life. Muḥammad Wafā, who was of the house-born of the State, behaving very bravely, fell wounded from his horse. By the favour of the Creator who cherishes His servants, and simply through the courage and good fortune of the exalted king, the enemy were scattered and defeated. In gratitude for this great victory the king turned his face in supplication to the throne of his merciful Maker, and poured forth his thanks.

One of the kalāwants (musicians) represented to His Majesty that Saif K͟hān Kokaltās͟h had offered the coin of his life in loyalty to the State, and on enquiry it appeared that when Muḥammad Ḥusain Mīrzā with some of his riffraff was attacking the centre Saif K͟hān met him and fighting valiantly became a martyr. The Mīrzā himself was wounded by the hands of the brave men of the main body. The Kokaltās͟h mentioned is the elder brother of Zain K͟hān Koka.

A strange circumstance was this: on the day before the battle, when the king was eating, he asked Hazāra, who was learned in the science of looking at the shoulder-blades (a kind of divination), to see on whose side the victory would be. Hazāra said: “The victory will be on your side, but one of the chiefs of your army will become a martyr.” Whereupon Saif K͟hān Koka said “Would that this blessing might fall to my lot!”

“Many an omen that we have treated as jest[91]

Became true when the star passed by.”

In short, Mīrzā Muḥammad Ḥusain turned his reins, but his horse’s feet became entangled in the thorn-brake and he fell. An ahadi of the king, Gadā ʿAlī by name, found him, and having mounted him before him on his horse took him to the king. As two or three claimed a share in his capture, His Majesty asked who had made him prisoner. “The king’s salt,” he answered. The king ordered his hands, that had been fastened behind him, to be tied in front. Meanwhile he asked for water. Farḥat K͟hān, who was one of the confidential slaves, struck him on the head, but the king, disapproving of this, sent for his private drinking water and satisfied his thirst. Up to this time Mīrzā ʿAzīz Koka and the garrison of the fort had not come out. After the capture of the Mīrzā, His Majesty was proceeding slowly towards Ahmadabad. He had delivered the Mīrzā to Rāy Rāy Singh Rāṭhor, one of the Rajput chiefs, to be put on an elephant and brought with him. Meanwhile Ik͟htiyāru-l-mulk, who was one of the influential Gujarati leaders, made his appearance with an army of nearly 5,000 men. Complete confusion fell upon the royal troops. The king, as his natural valour and lofty disposition required, ordered the drums to be beaten, and Shajāʾat K͟hān, Rāja Bhagwān Dās, and some others charged on in front to fight this force. Fearing that the enemy might get possession of Mīrzā Muḥammad Ḥusain, Rāy Rāy Singh’s men, by the advice and plan of the aforesaid Raja (Bhagwān Dās), cut off his head. My father did not want to kill him. The forces of Ik͟htiyāru-l-mulk also were dispersed, and he was thrown from his horse into the thorn thicket. Suhrāb Beg Turkmān cut off his head and brought it in. It was only by the grace and power of God that such a victory was won by a small number of men.

In the same way are beyond all reckoning the conquest of the province of Bengal, the capture of well-known and celebrated forts in Hindustan such as Chitor and Ranṭambhor, the subjection of the province of Khandesh, and the taking of the fort of Āsīr and of other provinces which by the exertions of the royal armies came into the possession of the servants of the State. If these were related in detail it would be a long story.

In the fight at Chitor, the king with his own hand killed Jitmal, the leader of the men in the fort. He had no rival in shooting with a gun, and with the one with which he killed Jitmal, and which was called Sangrām, he killed some 3,000 or 4,000 birds and beasts.[92] I may be reckoned a true pupil of his. Of all sports I am most disposed to that with the gun, and in one day have shot eighteen deer.

Of the austerities practised by my revered father, one was the not eating the flesh of animals. During three months of the year he ate meat, and for the remaining nine contented himself with Ṣūfī food, and was no way pleased with the slaughter of animals. On many days and in many months this was forbidden to the people. The days and months on which he did not eat flesh are detailed in the Akbarnāma.

On the day I made Iʿtimādu-l-mulk diwan, I put Muʿizzu-l-mulk in charge of the dīwānī-i-buyūtāt (care of buildings). The latter is a Sayyid of Bāk͟harz,[93] and under my revered father was accountant of the kurkarāq department.[94]

On one of my accession days, a hundred of the Akbarī and Jahāngīrī servants were promoted to higher rank and jagirs. At the commencement of the Ramaẓān ʿĪd, as it was the first after my accession, I came down to the ʿĪdgāh from my auspicious throne. There was a great crowd, and having performed the dues of thanksgiving and praise I returned to the palace, where according to the verse “From the table of kings favours come to beggars,” I commanded a sum of money to be spent in alms and charity. Some lakhs of dāms of this were entrusted to Dūst Muḥammad (afterwards K͟hwāja Jahān), who divided them amongst faqirs and those who were in want, and a lakh of dāms each was given to Jamālu-d-dīn Ḥusain Anjū (the lexicographer), Mīrzā Ṣadr Jahān, and Mīr Muḥammad Riẓā Sabzawārī to dispose of in charity in different quarters of the city. I sent 5,000 rupees to the dervishes of S͟haik͟h Muḥammad Ḥusain Jāmī, and gave directions that each day one of the officers of the watch[95] should give 50,000 dāms to faqirs. I sent a jewelled sword to the K͟hānk͟hānān, and promoted Jamālu-d-dīn Anjū to the rank of 3,000. The office of Ṣadr was entrusted to Mīrān Ṣadr Jahān, and I ordered Ḥājī Koka, who was one of my father’s foster-sisters,[96] to bring before me in the palace such women as were worthy to be presented with land and money. I promoted Zāhid K͟hān, son of Muḥammad Ṣādiq K͟hān, from the rank of 1,500 to that of 2,000.

It had been the custom[97] that when the gift of an elephant or horse was made to anyone, the naqibs and the Masters of the Horse (Mīr Āk͟hūrān) took from him a sum of money as jilawāna (bridle-money). I gave orders that this money should be paid by the government, so that people might be freed from the importunities and demands of that set of men.

At this time Sālbāhan arrived from Burhanpur and produced before me the horses and elephants of my deceased brother Dāniyāl. Of the elephants, one male named Mast Alast appeared to me the best, and I gave him the name of Nūr Gaj. A wonderful thing showed itself in this elephant; on the sides of his ears small lumps had grown about the size of melons, and from them came fluid such as drops from an elephant in the rutting season; moreover, the top of his forehead was more prominent than in other elephants. It was a splendid and imposing animal.[98]

I gave to my son K͟hurram (S͟hāh-Jahān) a rosary of jewels, with the hope that he might obtain fulfilment of all his desires, both in visible and in spiritual things.

As I had remitted in my dominions customs duties amounting to krors, I abolished also all the transit dues (sāʾir-jihāt) in Kabul, which is one of the noted towns on the road to Hindustan. These brought in 1 kror and 23 lakhs of dams. From the provinces of Kabul and Qandahar large sums used to be derived every year from customs (zakāʾt), which were in fact the chief revenue of those places. I remitted these ancient dues, a proceeding that greatly benefited the people of Iran and Turan.

Āṣaf K͟hān’s jagir in the subah of Bihār had been given to Bāz Bahādur; I therefore ordered that a jagir in the Panjab should be given to him. As it was represented to me that a large sum was in arrears in his jagir, and now that the order for exchange had been given its collection would be difficult, I directed that a lakh of rupees should be given to him from the Treasury and the arrears recovered from Bāz Bahādur for the royal revenues.

I promoted S͟harīf Āmulī to the rank of 2,500, original and increase. He is a pure-hearted, lively-spirited man. Though he has no tincture of current sciences, lofty words and exalted knowledge often manifest themselves in him. In the dress of a faqir he made many journeys, and he has friendship with many saints and recites the maxims of those who profess mysticism. This is his conversation, not his practice (qāli-ū ast na ḥālī). In the time of my revered father he relinquished the garments of poverty and asceticism, and attained to amirship and chiefship. His utterance is exceedingly powerful, and his conversation is remarkably eloquent and pure, although he is without Arabic. His compositions also are not devoid of verve.[99]

A garden in Agra had been left by S͟hāh Qulī K͟hān Maḥram, and as he had no heirs I handed it over to Ruqayya Sult̤ān Begam, the daughter of Hindāl Mīrzā, who had been the honoured wife of my father.[100] My father had given my son K͟hurram into her charge, and she loved him a thousand times more than if he had been her own.