The Seventh New Year’s Festival after the auspicious Accession.
On Tuesday, the 1st Farwardīn of the seventh year from my accession on the 16th Muḥarram u-l-ḥarām (19th March, 1612) in the year 1021, the New Year’s assembly that illuminates the world, and the festival that brings joy, were held in the capital of Agra. After four gharis of the night had passed on Thursday, the 3rd of the aforesaid month, the hour that the astrologers had chosen, I sat on the throne. I had ordered that, according to annual custom, the bazars should be decorated and the assembly should be kept up until the day of culmination (rūz-i-s͟haraf). K͟husrau Bī Ūzbeg, who was known among the Uzbegs as K͟husrau Qimchī,[1] came on these days and had the honour of waiting on me. As he was one of the influential men of Māwarāʾa-n-nahr, I bestowed many favours on him, and gave him a fine robe of honour. I gave 15,000 rupees to Yādgār ʿAlī, ambassador of the ruler of Iran, for his expenses. On the same day the offering of Afẓal K͟hān, which he had sent from the Subah of Behar, was laid before me. There were 30 elephants and 18 ponies (gūnṭh), and pieces of Bengal cloth, sandalwood, some pods of musk, aloes-wood (Agallochum), and all kinds of things. The offering of K͟hān Daurān was also produced before me. He had sent 45 head of horse and two strings of camels, porcelain from China, dressing-gowns (pūstīnhā[2]) of sable (sammūr), and other valuable presents procurable in Kabul and its neighbourhood. The officers of the palace had taken trouble about their offerings, and according to the yearly custom from day to day of the festival the offerings of the servants were laid before me. Having looked at them in detail, I took what I approved and gave them the remainder. On the 13th Farwardīn, corresponding with the 29th Muḥarram, a representation from Islām K͟hān arrived to the effect that through the blessing of Allah’s favour and through the benign influence of the royal grace, Bengal had been freed from the disturbance of ʿUs̤mān, the Afghan. Before the circumstances of this war are written down, some particulars with regard to Bengal will be recorded.[3] Bengal is a country of great extent, and in the second clime its length, from the port of Chittagong to Garī, is 450 kos; and its breadth, from the Northern hills to the boundary of Sarkar Madāran, 220 kos. Its revenue is about 60 krores of dams.[4] The former rulers of this place always had 20,000 horse, a lakh of foot-soldiers, 1,000 elephants, and 4,000 or 5,000 war-boats. From the time of S͟hīr K͟hān and his son Salīm K͟hān, this country was in the possession of the Afghans. When the throne of sovereignty of Hindustan in the hands of my revered father acquired beauty and splendour, he ordered the victorious forces (of the empire) into it, and for a long time made the conquest of it his object, until the aforesaid province, through the great efforts of the chiefs of the victorious State, passed from the possession of Dāʾūd Karānī, who was the last of its rulers. That wretch was killed in the fight with K͟hān Jahān, and his army became scattered and in desperate condition. From that date until now the province is in the possession of the servants of the State. In the end a few of the remaining Afghans had remained in the corners and sides of the country, and kept a few distant places in their possession, until, by degrees, most of that body became despised and helpless, and were captured by the chiefs of the State in the places of which they had still possession. When the arrangement of the affairs of rule and empire, simply through the grace of God, became entrusted to this humble servant of the throne of Allah, in the first year after my accession I sent for Rāja Mān Singh, who had been appointed to the rule and government of that place, to Court, and sent Qut̤bu-d-dīn K͟hān, who, out of all the officials, was distinguished as my foster-brother, in his place. As he entered the province he attained to martyrdom at the hand of one of those mischievous ones who had been appointed to that country, and that man, who had not thought of the consequences, also obtained the reward of his deeds, and was slain. I promoted Jahāngīr Qulī K͟hān, who was governor and a Jagirdar in the province of Behar, on account of his nearness to that neighbourhood, to the rank of 5,000 personal and horse, and ordered him to go to Bengal and take possession of the province. I sent an order to Islām K͟hān, who was at the capital of Agra, to go to Behar and consider that province his jagir. When a short time had passed under the rule of Jahāngīr Qulī K͟hān, he contracted a severe illness, in consequence of the bad water and air of that place, and by degrees the power of the disease and his weakness became so great as to end in his destruction. When the news of his death came to my hearing at Lahore, an order was issued in the name of Islām K͟hān to proceed as soon as possible to Bengal. When I appointed him to this important duty, most of the servants of the State made remarks on his youth and want of experience. As the excellence of his disposition and his natural capacity had been noticed by my judicious eye, I myself chose him for this duty. As it happened, the affairs of this province were carried on by him in such a manner as from the time when it first entered into the possession of the Chiefs of the everlasting State until this day has never been attained to by any of the servants of the Court. One of his noteworthy deeds was the driving away of the rebel ʿUs̤mān, the Afghan. He frequently in the time of the late king encountered the royal forces, but his expulsion was not accomplished. When Islām K͟hān made Dhaka (Dacca) his place of abode and made the subjection of the Zamindars of that neighbourhood his chief object, it occurred to him that he should send an army against the rebel ʿUs̤mān and his province. If he agreed to serve loyally, well and good, but if not, they should punish and annihilate him like other seditious people. At that time S͟hajāʿat K͟hān[5] joined Islām K͟hān, and the lot of leading in this service[6] fell on his name. Several others of the State servants were also appointed to go with him, such as Kis͟hwar K͟hān, Iftik͟hār K͟hān, Sayyid Ādam Bārha, S͟haik͟h Achhay,[7] nephew of Muqarrab K͟hān, Muʿtamad K͟hān, the sons of Muʿaz̤z̤am K͟hān Ihtimām K͟hān, and others. He took with him also some of his own men. At the hour when Mus͟htarī (Jupiter) was propitious, he started off this band, and appointed Mīr Qāsim, son of Mīrzā Murād, its chief paymaster and news-writer. He took also some of the Zamindars with him to show the road. The victorious armies started. When they reached the neighbourhood of ʿUs̤mān’s fort and land, they sent some eloquent men to admonish him and point out to him the way of loyalty, and bring him back from the road of rebellion to the right path. As much pride had seated itself in his brain-cup, and he had in his head a desire to seize the country, beside other fancies, he turned a deaf ear to their words and prepared himself for conflict and fight. The battlefield happened to be on the bank of a nullah in a place which was a complete bog. On Sunday (12th March, 1612), the 9th Muḥarram, S͟hajāʿat K͟hān, choosing the hour for the fight, arrayed the victorious forces, so that everyone should go to his place and be prepared for the battle. ʿUs̤mān had not settled the battle for that day with himself. When he heard that the royal army had come prepared for battle, having no remedy he himself mounted and came to the bank of the nullah, and arrayed his own horse and foot opposite the victorious army. When the affair grew hot, and the two forces opposed each other, that foolish, obstinate man at the first onset threw his own fighting raging elephant against the advanced guard. After much fighting many of the leaders of the advanced guard, as Sayyid Ādam[8] Bārha and S͟haik͟h Achhay, attained the dignity of martyrdom. Iftik͟hār K͟hān, the leader of the right wing, was in no way remiss in attacking, and sacrificed his own life. The band that was with him fought to such a degree that they were all cut to pieces. In the same way Kis͟hwar[9] K͟hān and his band of the left wing bravely sacrificed themselves in the affair of their master, but many of the enemy (lit. those of dark fortune) were also wounded and killed. That evil one (ʿUs̤mān) took account of the combatants and ascertained that the leaders of the advanced guard and right and left wings were killed. The centre alone remained. He took no account of the killed and wounded on his own side, but attacked the centre (of the royal army) with the same energy. On this side the son and brothers and sons-in-law of S͟hajāʿat K͟hān, as well as other officers, stopped the advance of those lost ones, and attacked them like tigers and leopards armed with claws and teeth. Some of them attained the dignity of martyrdom, and those that remained alive bore away fatal wounds. At this time (ʿUs̤mān) drove a raging elephant of the name of Gajpat,[10] which was his premier elephant, at S͟hajāʿat K͟hān, who laid hold of his spear and struck the elephant. What does a raging elephant care for a javelin. He then seized his sword and struck him two blows one after another. How did he regard these either! He then drew his dagger and struck him twice with it, but for this, too, he did not turn back, but overthrew S͟hajāʿat K͟hān with his horse. Immediately he was separated from his horse; calling out “Jahāngīr S͟hāh,” he leapt up, and his equerry struck the elephant on both front legs a blow with a two-handed sword. As the elephant fell on his knees, the equerry pulled the elephant driver down off the elephant, and S͟hajāʿat with the dagger he had in his hand, and while on foot, struck such blows on the trunk and forehead of the elephant that the elephant roared out at the pain and turned round. As he was severely wounded, he went to his own army and fell down. S͟hajāʿat K͟hān’s horse got up safely. As he was mounting his horse those vile ones drove another elephant at his standard-bearer, and overthrew his horse and standard. S͟hajāʿat K͟hān gave a manly shout and roused the standard-bearer, saying: “Be bold: I’m alive and the standard is at my feet (?).”[11] At this critical moment all the servants of the State who were present seized their arrows and daggers and swords, and smote the elephant. S͟hajāʿat himself came up and shouted to the standard-bearer to rise, and got another horse for the standard-bearer and mounted him on it. The standard-bearer unfurled the standard and maintained his ground. At the time of this struggle a (ball from a) gun struck that rebel on his forehead. However much they enquired for the man who fired it he could not be found. When this struck him, he recognized that he was a dead man. Yet for two watches, notwithstanding this fatal wound, he urged on his men to the fight, and the battlefield was still deadly and the struggle warm. Afterwards the enemy turned their faces, and the victorious army pursued them, and continually striking them drove back those vile ones into the place where they had encamped. With arrows and guns those wretches would not allow the royal troops to enter the place where they were. When Walī, the brother of ʿUs̤mān, and Mamrez, his (ʿUs̤mān’s) son and other relations and followers became aware of ʿUs̤mān’s wound, they made up their minds that he would not recover from it, and that if they, defeated and put to flight, should go towards their fort none would reach it alive. They thought it best to remain for the night in the place where they had encamped, and towards the end of the night seek an opportunity and get to their fort. Two watches of night had passed when ʿUs̤mān went to hell. In the third watch they raised his lifeless body, and leaving his tent and the things they had with them in the camp, proceeded to their fortress. The scouts of the victorious army, having obtained news of this, informed S͟hajāʿat K͟hān. On the morning of Monday the loyalists assembled and decided to follow them, and not allow breathing-time to those of dark fortune. In the end, in consequence of the tired state of the soldiers, and in order to bury the martyrs and out of sympathy for the wounded, they were perplexed in their minds as to going or settling down (where they were). Just at this time ʿAbdu-s-Salām, son of Muʿaz̤z̤am K͟hān, arrived with a body of servants of the State, altogether 300 horse and 400 musketeers (tūpchī). When this fresh body of men arrived it was determined to pursue, and they accordingly went on. When Walī, who after ʿUs̤mān was the stock of the disturbance, learned that S͟hajāʿat K͟hān with the victorious army had come together with another fresh force, he saw no resource for himself but to go to S͟hajāʿat K͟hān on the straight line of faith and loyalty. In the end he sent a message that he who had been the cause of the disturbance had gone, and that the body of those who were left were servants and Musulmans. If he would give his word they would wait upon him and would agree to serve the State, giving their elephants as an offering. S͟hajāʿat K͟hān and Muʿtaqid K͟hān, who had arrived on the day of the battle and had done approved service, and all those who were loyal, in accordance with the necessity of the time and with what was best for the State, gave their word and encouraged them. On the next day, Walī and the sons, brothers, and sons-in-law of ʿUs̤mān all came and waited upon S͟hajāʿat K͟hān and the other servants of the State. They brought forty-nine elephants as an offering. After the completion of this work S͟hajāʿat K͟hān, leaving some of the royal servants in Adhār[12] and the neighbourhood which was in the possession of that one of evil fortune, took with him Walī and the other Afghans, and on Monday, the 6th of the month of Ṣafar, came to Jahāngīrnagar (Dacca) and joined Islām K͟hān. When the joyful news reached in Agra this supplicant at the throne of Allah, he performed the prostrations of gratitude, and recognized that the driving away of this description of enemy was brought about simply through the unstinted mercy of the Almighty Giver. As a reward for this good service I promoted Islām K͟hān to the rank of 6,000 personal, and honoured S͟hajāʿat K͟hān with the title of “Rustam of the age” (Rustam-zamān), as well as increased his rank by 1,000 personal and horse. I also increased the rank of other servants according to the measure of their services, and they were selected for other honours.
When this news first came of the killing of ʿUs̤mān it appeared to be a joke, but by way of ascertaining the truth or falsehood of the words I took an omen from the divān of the tongue of the unseen world, K͟hwāja Ḥāfiz̤ of Shiraz, and this g͟hazal[13] turned up:—
“I make my eyes red and throw patience to the wilds,
And in such a case throw my heart into the sea.
I’m wounded by the shaft of heaven:
Give wine, so that intoxicated I may cast a knot in the girdle of the Twins.”
As this couplet was very appropriate to the occasion, I drew an omen from it. After some days news came again that the arrow of Fate, or rather of God, had struck ʿUs̤mān, for however much they enquired for him, he who fired the shot was not made manifest. This has been recorded on account of its strange nature.
On the 16th Farwardīn, Muqarrab K͟hān, who is one of my chief retainers and the old confidants of the Jahangiri service, who had attained the rank of 3,000 personal and 2,000 horse, came from the fort of Cambay and had the honour of waiting on me. I had ordered him, on account of certain business, to go to the port of Goa[14] and buy for the private use of the government certain rareties procurable there. According to orders he went with diligence to Goa, and remaining there for some time, took at the price the Franks asked for them the rareties he met with at that port, without looking at the face of the money at all (i.e. regardless of cost). When he returned from the aforesaid port to the Court, he produced before me one by one the things and rareties he had brought. Among these were some animals that were very strange and wonderful, such as I had never seen, and up to this time no one had known their names. Although King Bābar has described in his Memoirs the appearance and shapes of several animals, he had never ordered the painters to make pictures of them. As these animals appeared to me to be very strange, I both described them and ordered that painters should draw them in the Jahāngīr-nāma, so that the amazement that arose from hearing of them might be increased. One of these animals in body is larger than a peahen and smaller than a peacock.[15] When it is in heat and displays itself, it spreads out its feathers like the peacock and dances about. Its beak and legs are like those of a cock. Its head and neck and the part under the throat are every minute of a different colour. When it is in heat it is quite red—one might say it had adorned itself with red coral—and after a while it becomes white in the same places, and looks like cotton. It sometimes looks of a turquoise colour. Like a chameleon it constantly changes colour. Two pieces of flesh it has on its head look like the comb of a cock. A strange thing is this, that when it is in heat the aforesaid piece of flesh hangs down to the length of a span from the top of its head like an elephant’s trunk, and again when he raises it up it appears on its head like the horn of a rhinoceros, to the extent of two finger-breadths. Round its eyes it is always of a turquoise colour, and does not change. Its feathers appear to be of various colours, differing from the colours of the peacock’s feathers. He also brought a monkey of a strange and wonderful form. Its hands, feet, ears, and head are like those of a monkey, and its face like that of a fox. The colour of its eyes is like that of a hawk’s eye, but the eyes are larger than those of a hawk. From its head to the end of its tail it is an ordinary cubit in length. It is lower than a monkey and taller than a fox. Its hair is like the wool of a sheep and its colour like that of ashes. From the lobe of its ear to its chin it is red and of the colour of wine. Its tail is two or three finger-breadths longer than half a cubit, quite different from that of other monkeys. The tail of this animal hangs down like the tail of a cat. Sometimes it makes a sound like a young antelope. On the whole it is a very strange beast. Of the wild birds which they call tadrū (pheasant) till now it has never been heard that they breed in captivity. In the time of my revered father they made great efforts to obtain eggs and young ones but it was not managed. I ordered them to keep some of them, male and female, in one place, and by degrees they bred. I ordered them to place the eggs under hens, and in a space of two years sixty or seventy young were produced and fifty or sixty grew up. Whoever heard of this matter was astonished. It was said that in the Wilāyat (Persia?) the people there had made great efforts, but no eggs were produced and no young were obtained.
In these days I increased the mansab of Mahābat K͟hān by 1,000 personal and 500 horse, which thus became 4,000 personal and 3,500 horse. The mansab of Iʿtimādu-d-daulah, original and increased, was fixed at 4,000 personal and 1,000 horse. To the mansab of Mahā Singh also an increase of 500 personal and horse was given: it was originally and with increase 3,000 personal and 2,000 horse. The mansab of Iʿtiqād K͟hān was increased by 500 personal and 200 horse, and made up to 1,000 personal and 300 horse. K͟hwāja Abū-l-ḥasan in these days came from the Deccan and waited on me. Daulat K͟hān, who had been appointed to the faujdārship of Allahabad and of the Sarkar of Jaunpur, came and paid his respects: an increase of 500 was made to his mansab, which was 1,000. On the day of culmination (rūz-i-s͟haraf), which was the 19th Farwardīn, I raised the mansab of Sult̤ān K͟hurram, which was 10,000, to 12,000, and made that of Iʿtibār K͟hān, which was 3,000 personal and 1,000 horse, up to 4,000. I raised the mansab of Muqarrab K͟hān from 2,000 personal and 1,000 horse by 500 personal and horse; and increased that of K͟hwāja Jahān, which was 2,000 personal and 1,200 horse, by 500. As these were the days of the New Year, many of the servants (of the State) obtained an increase of their mansabs. On the same day Dulīp came from the Deccan and waited on me. As his father Rāy Rāy Singh had died, I honoured him with the title of Rāy and clothed him in a dress of honour. Rāy Rāy Singh had another son, by name Sūraj Singh. Although Dulīp was his ṭīkā (marked with the ṭīkā) son, he wished Sūraj Singh to succeed him, in consequence of the love that he bore to his mother. When the circumstances of his death were reported to me, Sūraj Singh, in consequence of his want of intelligence and tender years, represented to me: “My father has made me his successor and given me the ṭīkā.” This remark was not to my liking, and I said: “If thy father has given the ṭīkā to thee, we shall give it to Dulīp.” Then marking the ṭīkā with my own hand, I presented the latter with his father’s jagir and hereditary possessions. I bestowed on Iʿtimādu-d-daulah an inkstand and jewelled pen. Rūdar, the father of Lakhmī Chand, Raja of Kumaon, who is one of the considerable Rajas of the hill country, had come in the time of the late King Akbar,[16] and when he came had petitioned[17] that the son of Rāja Ṭoḍar Mal might take him by the hand and bring him to wait on him. In consequence, the Raja’s (Ṭoḍar Mal’s) son had been appointed to bring him. Lakhmī Chand now similarly asked that the son of Iʿtimādu-d-daulah might bring him to pay his respects. I sent S͟hāpūr[18] to bring him to wait on me. He laid before me rare things from his own hill country, such as gūnṭh ponies, and birds of prey, such as hawks, jurra (falcons), royal falcons, qat̤ās (yaks), navels of musk, and skins of the musk antelope with the musk-bags on them, swords which in their language they call khānḍā, and daggers which they call kaṭār, and all kinds of things. Amongst the Rajas of this hill country this Raja is well known for the large quantities of gold he has. They say there is a gold-mine in his territory.[19]
In order to lay the foundation of a palace at Lahore, I sent there K͟hwāja Jahān K͟hwāja Dūst Muḥammad, who is well skilled in this kind of business.
As the affairs of the Deccan, in consequence of the disagreements among the Sardars and the carelessness of K͟hān Aʿz̤am, did not look well, and the defeat of ʿAbdu-llah K͟hān had taken place, I had sent for K͟hwāja Abū-l-ḥasan to make enquiries into the real state of these quarrels. After much enquiry and investigation it became clear that the defeat of ʿAbdu-llah K͟hān had been caused by his pride and his sharp temper, and not listening to words (of advice) and partly by the quarrels and want of agreement between the Amirs. Briefly, it had been determined that ʿAbdu-llah K͟hān should start from the direction of Nāsik and Trimbak with the Gujarat army and the Amirs who had been appointed to accompany him. This army had been brought into proper order by trustworthy leaders and zealous Amirs, such as Rāja Rām Dās, K͟hān Aʿlam, Saif K͟hān, ʿAlī Mardān Bahādur, Z̤afar K͟hān, and other servants of the State. The number of the army had passed 10,000 and come up to near 14,000. On the side of Berar it was settled that Rāja Mān Singh, K͟hān Jahān, the Amīru-l-umarā, and many other leaders should proceed. These two armies should be aware of each other’s marches and halts, so that on an appointed day they might catch the enemy between the two. If this rule had been observed and their hearts had been in unison, and self-interest had not come between, it is most probable that Almighty God would have given them the victory of the day. When ʿAbdu-llah K͟hān passed the Ghats and entered the enemy’s country, he did not take care to send runners (qāṣidān) to bring intelligence from the other army, nor did he, in accordance with the arrangements, make his movements harmonise with theirs, so that on an appointed day they might take the enemy between two armies. Rather he relied on his own strength, and considered that if he could gain the victory alone it would be better. This idea fixed itself in his mind, and however much Rām Dās desired him to promise to go forward with due deliberation, it was of no use. The enemy, who were observing him closely, had sent a large number of leaders and Bargīs (Mahrattas) against him, and encounters took place with them every day. They did not fail to throw rockets and different fireworks at night. At last the enemy drew near, and yet he obtained no intelligence about the other army, though he had approached Daulatabad, which was the place of assembly of the Dakhanis. ʿAmbar, the black-faced, had raised to sovereignty a child who, in his opinion, bore relationship to the family of Niz̤āmu-l-mulk. In order that men might fully accept his (the child’s) sovereignty, he raised him up and took him by the hand, and made himself the Peshwa and leader. He sent men again and again (against ʿAbdu-llah), and the number of the enemy was continually increasing till at last they made an attack, and by throwing rockets and other fireworks made matters hot for him.[20] At length the loyalists thought it best, as no assistance had come to them from the other army and all the Dakhanis had turned against them, to retreat at once and try some other arrangement. All agreed, and with one consent started off before dawn. The Dakhanis followed them to the boundaries of their own country, and the two armies, meeting every day, did not fail in fighting. In these days several of the ambitious and zealous young men were killed. ʿAlī Mardān K͟hān Bahādur, behaving like a brave man, carried away terrible wounds and fell into the hands of the enemy, and showed his companions an example of fidelity to his salt and of life-sacrifice. Ẕū-l-faqār Beg also displayed manly actions, and a rocket struck him on the leg, and two days afterwards he died. When they entered the country of Rāja Bharjū,[21] who was one of those loyal to the throne, that body (the enemy) turned back, and ʿAbdu-llah K͟hān proceeded towards Gujarat. The real truth is this, that if in going he had drawn his rein (gone slowly) and allowed the other army to have come up to him, the matter would have turned out according to the wish of the chief men of the victorious State.[22] As soon as the news of the retreat of ʿAbdu-llah K͟hān reached the leaders of the army that was advancing from Berar, not seeing any advantage from further stay, they also retired, and joined the camp of Parwiz at ʿĀdilābād in the neighbourhood of Burhanpur. When this intelligence reached me at Agra I was greatly agitated, and proposed to go there myself and destroy root and branch those servants who had become masters. The Amirs and other devoted ones would in no way consent to this. K͟hwāja Abū-l-ḥasan represented that as no one understood the business of that region as the Khankhanan did I ought to send him, and that he should again arrange matters that had fallen into disorder, and according to the exigencies of the time should compose differences so that affairs might return to their original condition. Other well-wishers being consulted, all their opinions were at one in this, that the Khankhanan must be sent and that K͟hwāja Abū-l-ḥasan should accompany him. Agreeing with this determination, those who had charge of the affairs of the Khankhanan and his companions obtained leave to go on Sunday, the 17th Urdībihis͟ht, in the 7th year. S͟hāh-nawāz K͟hān, K͟hwāja Abū-l-ḥasan, Razzāq-birdī Ūzbeg, and several others of his associates paid their parting salutations on the same day. The Khankhanan was promoted to the rank of 6,000 personal, S͟hāh-nawāz K͟hān to that of 3,000 and horse, that of Dārāb K͟hān increased by 500 personal and 300 horse (altogether 2,000 personal and 1,500 horse), and to Raḥman-dād, his (the Khankhanan’s) younger son, I also gave a fitting mansab. I presented the Khankhanan with a grand dress of honour, a jewelled dagger, a special elephant with talāyir (accoutrements), and an Iraq horse. In the same way I bestowed on his sons and companions dresses of honour and horses. In the same month Muʿizzu-l-mulk came from Kabul with his sons, and had the good fortune to kiss the threshold. S͟hyām Singh and Rāy Mangat Bhadauriya, who belonged to the army of Bangash, according to the request of Qilīj K͟hān, were promoted to higher mansabs. S͟hyām Singh had 1,500 personal and was increased by 500, and Rāy Mangat was also raised to a higher rank.
For a long time past news had come of the illness of Āṣaf K͟hān; sometimes the disease was got under and sometimes recurred, until he died at Burhanpur in the 63rd year of his age. His understanding and capacity were very good. He was very quick-witted. He also wrote poetry. He composed “K͟husrau and S͟hīrīn,” dedicating it to me, and called it the “Nūr-nāma” (the writing of light).[23] He had been ennobled in the time of my revered father and made Vizier. In the days when I was a prince he had several times done foolish things, and most men, and indeed K͟husrau himself, were of opinion that after my accession I would do unpleasant things (with regard to him). In a manner contrary to what had entered the minds of himself and others, I favoured him and promoted him to the rank of 5,000 personal and horse, and after he had for some time been Vizier with full authority, neglected no point in increasing favour towards him. After his death I gave mansabs to his sons and bestowed kindnesses on them. At last it was clear that his disposition and sincerity were not as they should be, and, considering his own evil deeds, he had always been suspicious with regard to me. They say he was aware of the conspiracy and disturbance that took place on the Kabul expedition, and had given support to the wretches. Indeed, I had no confidence that notwithstanding my favour and kindness to him he was not disloyal and of perverse fortune.
After a short space of time, on the 25th of the same month of Urdībihis͟ht, the news of Mīrzā G͟hāzī’s death arrived. The said Mīrzā was of the ruling family of Thatta (Tatta), of the tribe of Tark͟hānī. His father, Mīrzā Jānī, in the time of my revered father became loyal, and with the Khankhanan, who had been appointed to his province, he had the good fortune to have the honour of waiting on Akbar near Lahore. By the royal favour he was given his own province, and, choosing himself to serve at Court, he sent his men to the charge and administration of Thatta, and remained in the service while he lived. At last he died at Burhanpur. Mīrzā G͟hāzī K͟hān, his son, who was at Thatta, in accordance with the firman of the late king obtained the government of that country. Saʿīd K͟hān, who was at Bhakar (Bukkur), received an order to console him and bring him to Court. The aforesaid K͟hān sent men to him to recommend loyalty to him. At last, having brought him to Agra, he procured him the honour of kissing the feet of my revered father. He was at Agra when my father died and I ascended the throne. After I arrived at Lahore for the pursuit of K͟husrau news came that the Amirs on the borders of Khurasan had assembled together and proceeded against Qandahar, and that S͟hāh Beg, the governor of that place, was shut up in the fort and looking out for assistance. Of necessity an army was appointed for the relief of Qandahar under the leadership of Mīrzā G͟hāzī and other Amirs and generals. When this army reached the neighbourhood of Qandahar, the army of Khurasan, not seeing in themselves the power to await it, returned. Mīrzā G͟hāzī, having entered Qandahar, handed over the country and the fort to Sardār K͟hān, who had been appointed to the government of the place, and S͟hāh Beg went to his own jagir. Mīrzā G͟hāzī started for Lahore by way of Bhakar. Sardār K͟hān was only a short time at Qandahar before he died, and that province was again in need of a leader and master. This time I added Qandahar to Thatta and handed it over to Mīrzā G͟hāzī. From that time till his death he remained there continuously in performance of the duties of its protection and government. His conduct towards the disaffected was excellent. As it was necessary to send a leader to Qandahar in the place of Mīrzā G͟hāzī, I appointed Abū-l-bī Ūzbeg,[24] who was at Multan and in that neighbourhood, to that post. I promoted him in rank from 1,500 personal and 1,000 horse to 3,000 personal and horse, and honoured him with the title of Bahād K͟hān and a standard. The governorship of Delhi and the protection and administration of that province was conferred on Muqarrab K͟hān. I dignified Rūp K͟hawāṣṣ, who was one of the personal servants of my revered father, with the title of K͟hawāṣṣ K͟hān, and, giving him the rank of 1,000 personal and 500 horse, bestowed on him the faujdārship of the Sarkar of Qanuj. As I had sought the daughter[25] of Iʿtiqād K͟hān, son of Iʿtimādu-d-daulah, in marriage for K͟hurram, and the marriage festival had been arranged for, I went on Thursday, 18th K͟hūrdād, to his house, and stayed there one day and one night. He (K͟hurram) presented offerings (to me) and he gave jewels[26] to the Begams, and to his mothers (including stepmothers) and to the female servants of the harem, and dresses of honour to the Amirs.
I sent ʿAbdu-r-Razzāq, the bakhshi of the palace (dark͟hāna), to settle the country of Thatta (Sind) until a Sardar should be appointed who could conciliate the soldiery and the cultivators, and so bring the province into order. I increased his rank and presented him with an elephant and a shawl (parmnarm), and sent him off. I made Muʿizzu-l-mulk bakhshi in his room. K͟hwāja Jahān, who had been sent to inspect the buildings in Lahore and to arrange about them, came in the end of this month and waited on me. Mīrzā ʿĪsā Tark͟hān, one of the relations of Mīrzā G͟hāzī, had been appointed to the army of the Deccan. I sent for him to arrange about the business of Thatta, and on the same day he had the good fortune to pay his respects. As he was deserving of favour, he was given the rank of 1,000 personal and 500 horse. The disease of k͟hūn-pāra[27] had affected my health. By the advice of the physicians on Wednesday, the (date not given) of the said month, I drew about a sir (ās̤ār)[28] of blood from my left arm. As great lightness resulted, it occurred to me that if they were to call blood-letting ‘lightening’ it would be well. Nowadays this expression is made use of. To Muqarrab K͟hān, who had bled me, I gave a jewelled khapwa (dagger). Kis͟han Dās, accountant of the elephant department and stable, who from the time of the late king until now has been the clerk in charge of two departments, and for ages had been hopeful of the title of Raja and the rank of 1,000 personal, and before this had been gratified with a title, now had the rank of 1,000 conferred on him. Mīrzā Rustam, son of Sultān Ḥusain Mīrzā Ṣafawī, who had been appointed to the army of the Deccan, I sent for at his request. On Saturday, the 9th of the month of Tīr, he came with his sons and waited on me. He made an offering of a ruby and forty-six royal pearls. I increased the rank of Tāj K͟hān, the governor of Bhakar, who was one of the old Amirs of this State, by 500 personal and horse.
The tale of the death of S͟hajāʿat K͟hān is a very strange affair. After he had performed such services and Islām K͟hān had given him leave to go to the Sarkar of Orissa, one night on the road he was riding on a female elephant chaukandī-dār[29] (? in a square howdah or four-pillared canopy), and had given a young eunuch a place behind him. When he left his camp they had fastened up an elephant that was in heat on the road. From the noise of the horses’ hoofs and the movement of the horsemen he attempted to break his chain. On this account a great noise and confusion took place. When this noise reached the ear of the eunuch, he in a state of bewilderment awoke S͟hajāʿat K͟hān, who was asleep or in the insensibility of wine, and said: “An elephant in heat has got loose and is coming in this direction.” As soon as he heard this he became confused and threw himself down from the front of the chaukandi. When he threw himself off his toe struck against a stone and was torn open, and he died in two or three days of that same wound. In short, from hearing this affair I was completely bewildered. That a brave man on the mere hearing of a cry or a word coming from a child should become so confused and throw himself down without control from the top of an elephant is in truth a matter of amazement. The news of this event reached me on the 19th of the month of Tīr. I consoled his sons with kindnesses and the conferring of offices. If this accident had not happened to him, as he had done notable service, he would have obtained exaltation with greater favours and kindnesses.
“One cannot strive against destiny.”
Islām K͟hān had sent 160 male and female elephants from Bengal; they were brought before me and placed in my private elephant stables. Rāja Tekchand, the Raja of Kumaon, asked for leave to depart. As in the time of my father there had been given to his father 100 horses, I gave him the same number as well as an elephant, and while he was at Court bestowed on him dresses of honour and a jewelled dagger. Also to his brothers I gave dresses of honour and horses. I presented him with his territory according to previous arrangements, and he went back to his home happy and successful.
It happened incidentally that this verse of the Amīru-l-umarā was quoted:—
“Pass, O Messiah, o’er the heads of us slain by love;
Thy restoring one life is worth a hundred murders.”[30]
As I have a poetical disposition I sometimes intentionally and sometimes involuntarily compose couplets and quatrains. So the following couplet came into my head:—
“Turn not thy cheek, without thee I cannot live a moment;
For thee to break one heart is equal a hundred murders.”
When I had recited this, everyone who had a poetical vein composed a couplet in the same mode. Mullā ʿAlī Aḥmad,[31] the seal-engraver, of whom an account has been given previously, had not said badly—
“O Censor, fear the weeping of the old vintner;
Thy breaking one jar is equal to a hundred murders.”
Abū-l-fatḥ Dakhanī,[32] who was one of the most considerable of ʿĀdil K͟hān’s Amirs, and had two years previously taken to being loyal and had entered himself among the leaders of the victorious army, on the 10th of Amurdād waited on me, and being accepted by my grace and favour had bestowed on him a special sword and a robe of honour, and after some days I also gave him a special horse. K͟hwājagī Muḥammad Ḥusain,[33] who had gone to Kashmir as the deputy for his brother’s son, when he was satisfied in his mind with the state of affairs of that place, came on the same day and waited on me. As a Sardar was needed to be sent for the governorship of Patna and the rule of that place, it occurred to me to send Mīrzā Rustam. Having raised his rank from 5,000 personal and 1,500 horse to 5,000 personal and horse, on the 26th Jumādā-s̤-s̤ānī, corresponding to the 2nd S͟hahrīwar, I gave him the government of Patna, and bestowing on him a special elephant, a horse with a jewelled saddle, a jewelled sword, and a superb dress of honour, I dismissed him. His sons and the sons of his brother Muzaffar Ḥusain K͟hān Mīrzāʾī were exalted with increased rank, elephants, horses, and dresses of honour, and sent off with him. I appointed Rāy Dulīp to support Mīrzā Rustam. As his residence was near that place, he collected a good body of men for that service. I increased his rank by 500 personal and horse, so that it became 2,000 with 1,000 horse, and also gave him an elephant. Abū-l-fatḥ Dakhanī had obtained a jagir in the Sarkar of Nagpur and that neighbourhood. He was dismissed in order that he might administer his jagir and look to the guarding and government of that country as well. K͟husrau Bī Ūzbeg was appointed to the faujdārship of the Sarkar of Mewar. His rank of 800 personal and 300 horse was now increased to 1,000 personal and 500 horse, and I also presented him with a horse. As I had my eye on the old service of Muqarrab K͟hān, it occurred to me that I must not pass by the desire of his heart. I had increased his rank and he had obtained good jagirs, but he longed for a standard and drums, and he was now honoured with these as well. Ṣāliḥ, the adopted son of K͟hwāja Beg-Mīrzā Ṣafawī, was a youth of great bravery and zeal. I gave him the title of K͟hanjar K͟hān, and made him eager in the service.
On Thursday, the 22nd S͟hahrīwar, corresponding with 17th Rajab, 1021, the feast of my solar weighing took place in the house of Maryam-zamānī. It is an approved custom with me to weigh myself in this manner. The late king Akbar, who was the place of manifestation of kindness and grace, also approved of the custom, and twice in every year weighed himself against several sorts of metals, gold, silver, and many precious articles, once according to the solar and once according to the lunar year, and divided their total value, which was worth about a lakh of rupees, among faqirs and needy people. I also observe this annual custom and weigh myself in the same manner, and give those valuables to faqirs. Muʿtaqid K͟hān, Diwan of Bengal, who had been relieved from that service, produced before me the sons and brothers and some of the servants of ʿUs̤mān, whom Islām K͟hān had sent with him to the Court. The charge of each one of the Afghans was entrusted to a responsible servant. Then he (Muʿtaqid) produced his own offering, which consisted of twenty-five elephants, two rubies, a jewelled phūl kaṭāra[34] (a kind of dagger), trustworthy eunuchs, Bengal stuffs, etc. Mīr Mīrān, son of Sult̤ān K͟hwāja, who was in the Deccan army, obtained the honour of kissing the threshold and gave a ruby as an offering. As between Qilīj K͟hān, leader of the army of Bangas͟h on the borders of Kabul, and the Amirs of that Subah who had been sent as companions to him under his leadership, there were quarrels, especially with K͟hān Daurān, I sent K͟hwāja Jahān to make enquiry as to which side was in fault. On the 11th of the month of Mihr, Muʿtaqid K͟hān was appointed to the high dignity of bakhshi, and his mansab was raised to 1,000 personal and 300 horse. Raising for the second time the mansabs of Muqarrab K͟hān a little, I made it 2,500 personal and 1,500 horse by an increase of 500. On the representation of the Khankhanan, Farīdūn K͟hān Barlās was raised to the mansab, original and increase, of 2,500 personal and 2,000 horse. Rāy Manohar received that of 1,000 personal and 800 horse, and Rāja Bīr Singh Deo that of 4,000 personal and 2,200 horse. Bhārat, grandson of Rāmchand Bandīlah, I, after the latter’s death, honoured with the title of Raja. On the 28th Ābān, Zafar K͟hān, having come according to summons from the Subah of Gujarat, waited on me. He brought as offerings a ruby and three pearls. On the 6th Āẕar, corresponding with the 3rd S͟hawwāl, news came from Burhanpur that the Amīru-l-umarā had died on Sunday, the 27th Ābān, in the parganah of Nihālpūr. After the illness he had at Lahore his intelligence appeared to be less, and a great loss of memory happened to him. He was very sincere. It is sad that he left no son capable of patronage and favour. Chīn Qilīj K͟hān came from his father, who was at Peshawar, on the 20th Āẕar, and offered (on his father’s behalf) 100 muhrs and 100 rupees, and also presented the offerings he had of his own in the shape of a horse and cloth stuffs and other things. To the government of Behar I promoted Zafar K͟hān, who is one of the trustworthy house-born ones and foster-children, and increasing his mansab by 500 personal and horse, I made it up to 3,000 personal and 2,000 horse, and also honouring his brothers with robes of honour and horses, allowed them to go off to that province. He had always hoped that he might obtain some separate service in order that he might show his natural ability. I also desired to prove him and make this service the touchstone by which to try him. As it was the season for travelling and hunting, on Tuesday, the 2nd Ẕī-l-qaʿda (25th December, 1612), corresponding with the 4th Day, I left Agra with the intention of hunting and encamped in the Dahrah garden, remaining there four days.[35] On the 10th of the same month the news came of the death of Salīma Sult̤ān Begam, who had been ill in the city. Her mother was Gul-ruk͟h Begam, daughter of King Bābar, and her father Mīrzā Nūru-d-dīn Muḥammad, of the Naqs͟hbandī K͟hwājas. She was adorned with all good qualities. In women this degree of skill and capacity is seldom found. H.M. Humāyūn, by way of kindness (to Bairām), had betrothed her who was his sister’s daughter to Bairām K͟hān. After his death, in the beginning of the reign of the late king Akbar, the marriage took place. After the said K͟hān had been killed, my revered father married her himself. She received mercy (died) in the 60th year of her age.[36] On the same day I marched from the Dahrah garden and sent Iʿtimādu-d-daulah to bury her (lit. lift her up), and ordered him to place her in the building in the Mandākar garden which she herself had made. On the 17th of the month of Day, Mīrzā ʿAlī Beg Akbars͟hāhī came from the army of the Deccan and waited on me. K͟hwāja Jahān, whom I had despatched to the Subah of Kabul, returned on the 21st of the same month and waited on me. The time for his going and coming had extended to three months and eleven days. He brought twelve muhrs and twelve rupees as an offering. On the same day Rāja Rām Dās also came from the victorious army of the Deccan and paid his respects, and made an offering of 101 muhrs. As robes of honour for the winter season had not been sent to the Amirs of the Deccan, they were forwarded by the hand of Ḥayāt K͟hān. As the port of Surat had been assigned in jagir to Qilīj K͟hān, he prayed that Chīn Qilīj (his son) might be despatched for its guardianship and administration. On the 27th Day he had a dress of honour, and being honoured with a dress of honour and the title of K͟hān, and a standard, obtained leave to go. For the purpose of advising the Amirs of Kabul, and on account of the disagreements that had sprung up between them and Qilīj K͟hān, I sent Rāja Rām Dās, and bestowed on him a horse and robe of honour and 30,000 rupees for expenses. On the 6th Bahman, when my camp was in the parganah of Bārī, there came the news of the death of K͟hwājagī Muḥammad Ḥusain, who was of the ancient servants of this State. His elder brother, Muḥammad Qāsim K͟hān, in the time of my revered father, found great favour, and K͟hwāja Muḥammad Ḥusain as well was one of his confidential servants, and held employments such as that of superintendent of the kitchen (bakāwul) and such like. He left no son and was beardless, and not a single hair of moustache or whiskers appeared on him. At the time of speaking he spoke very shrilly, and was looked upon as an eunuch. S͟hāh-nawāz K͟hān, whom the Khankhanan had sent from Burhanpur to make certain representations, came on the 15th of the same month and waited on me. He presented 100 muhrs and 100 rupees. As the affairs of the Deccan, in consequence of the hasty proceedings of ʿAbdu-llah K͟hān and the treachery of the Amirs, did not present a good prospect, the Dakhanis obtained an opportunity for speaking and began to talk of peace to the Amirs and well-wishers there. ʿĀdil K͟hān embraced the robe of loyalty, and prayed that if the affairs of the Deccan were entrusted to him he would so arrange that some of the districts which had been taken out of the possession of the officers of the State should be restored. The loyal ones, looking to the necessities of the time, represented this, and a settlement of some kind was arrived at, and the Khankhanan undertook to settle matters. The K͟hān Aʿz̤am was also desirous of putting down the rebel Rānā, and begged for this service by way of obtaining merit (as a g͟hāzī). He was ordered to go to Malwa, which was his jagir, and after arranging matters there to take up this duty. The mansab of Abū-l-bī Uzbeg[37] was increased by 1,000 personal and 500 horse to 4,000 personal and 3,500 horse. My hunting went on for 2 months and 20 days, and during that time I went out every day to hunt. As not more than 50 or 60 days remained before the world-illumining New Year, I returned, and on the 24th Isfandiyār encamped in the Dahrah garden. The courtiers and some of the mansabdars, who by order had remained in the city, came on that day and waited on me. Muqarrab K͟hān presented a decorated jar, Frank hats, and a jewelled sparrow (?). I remained three days in the garden, and on the 27th Isfandiyār entered the city. During this time[38] 223 head of deer, etc., 95 nilgaw, 2 boars, 36 cranes (or herons), etc., and 1,457 fish were killed.
[1] Qūruqchī in I.O. MS. and in Iqbāl-nāma, p. 60. Steingass gives it as meaning one who looks after the king’s game, and as a sentinel. [↑]
[2] Text has pūsthā, skins, but I.O. MS. has pūstīnhā. [↑]
[3] Copied from Āyīn. See Jarrett, ii, 115. See also Elliot, vi, 326. [↑]
[4] This is equal to one krore, fifty lakhs of rupees. The Sarkar of Orissa was included in Bengal, and its revenue is included in this. (Note of Sayyid Aḥmad.) [↑]
[5] Also called S͟haik͟h Kabīr Chis͟htī (Blochmann, p. 519; Maʾās̤iru-l-umarā, ii, 630). [↑]
[6] Perhaps this is only rhetoric, but Abū-l-faẓl describes how lots were cast between him and Rāja Bīrbal as to who should go on the Yūsufzai expedition. [↑]
[7] Ichī means a hawk, but the meaning may be a S͟haik͟h of Uch. Acha is given in Zenker as meaning a father in Turki. The Iqbāl-nāma has Ajha. [↑]
[8] Text wrongly has Aʿz̤am. See Blochmann, p. 521, note. [↑]
[9] Kis͟hwar was the son of Jahāngīr’s foster-brother Qut̤bu-d-dīn, who was killed by Shīr-afgan. [↑]
[10] The Iqbāl-nāma and the B.M. MSS. call it Bak͟hla. [↑]
[11] These last words seem to be part of S͟hajāʿat’s speech, but see Iqbāl-nāma, p. 63. See also Elliot, vi, 329, and the translation of the Iqbāl-nāma account in Appendix L, Stewart’s Cat. of Tippo Sultan’s MSS., p. 275. The Iqbāl-nāma says that ʿUs̤mān’s corpulence compelled him to ride on an elephant. [↑]
[12] The text has dar adhār u t̤arf kih dar taṣarruf-i-ān tīra-rūzgār būd. I do not know if adhār is the name of a place or what its meaning is. The I.O. MSS., Nos. 181 and 305, have arhād. Blochmann, p. 520, on the authority of the Mak͟hzan-i-Afg͟hānī, says the fight took place 100 kos from Dacca and in a place called Nek Ujyāl, and he points out in a note that there are several Ujyāls in Eastern Bengal. Possibly Adhār is Udhār or Uzār, and a corruption of Ujyāl. The ‘hills of Dacca,’ referred to by Blochmann, might be Ran Bhawal or the Madhūpūr jungle. The Riyāẓu-s-salāt̤īn does not mention the site of the battle, and the translator, Maulawī ʿAbdu-s-Salām, has in his note at p. 175 confounded two ʿĪsā K͟hāns, and so drawn groundless inferences. Blochmann points out, p. 520, that the Maʾās̤iru-l-umarā says the prisoners were afterwards put to death. The passage is at vol. ii, p. 632. It says they were put to death by Jahāngīr’s orders by ʿAbdu-llah (who certainly was brute enough for anything). Jahāngīr, Tūzuk, p. 112, mentions the arrival of ʿUs̤mān’s sons and brothers at Court, so that Blochmann’s statement at p. 520 about their being executed on the road is not correct. It appears, too, they came to Court after S͟hajāʿat’s death. Jahāngīr says (Tūzuk, p. 112) he made over the prisoners to responsible servants of government. ʿAbdu-llah may have been one of these, and have got rid of his prisoners by killing them. It would appear that the battle with ʿUs̤mān took place to the east or south-east of Dacca, and not near Orissa, as Stewart supposed. [↑]
[13] The lines occur in Ḥāfiz̤ʾ divān, under the letter M, Brockhaus’ ed., No. 396, but Jahāngīr has missed out two lines in his quotation. An Indian lithograph has rak͟ht in the first line instead of ṣabr, but the latter reading occurs in Brockhaus. In the fourth line nargis is a mistake for tīrkas͟h. Tīr-i-falak, ‘the arrow of the spheres,’ is also a name for the planet Mercury. Tīrkas͟h-i-Jauzā means both a particular constellation in the sign Gemini, which is supposed to resemble a quiver in appearance, and also the strings of a musical instrument. The meaning of the lines seems to be, “I have been wounded by the shaft of heaven: give me wine that I may become intoxicated and be able to tie a knot in the quiver-girdle of the Gemini.” The appositeness of the fāl is not very apparent, but the mention of an arrow was taken to be an allusion to the death of ʿUs̤mān by a shot from an unknown hand. [↑]
[15] They call this in the English language a turkey, and the people of India call it pīrū; Persian-knowing Indians call it in Persian fīlmurg͟h. They are now plentiful in India. (Note of Sayyid Aḥmad.) [↑]
[16] Akbar-nāma, iii, 533. It was in the 33rd year. [↑]
[17] He asked Ṭoḍar Mal’s protection, but the son was sent (Akbar-nāma, iii, 533). [↑]
[18] This name is not in all the MSS. It is another name for Iʿtiqād, son of Iʿtimādu-d-daulah. [↑]
[22] A periphrasis for Jahāngīr himself. [↑]
[23] The history of Nūr, i.e. the history of Nūru-d-dīn Jahāngīr. [↑]
[24] Should be Abū-n-nabī. See infra. [↑]
[25] This was Arjumand Bānū or Mumtāz-maḥall, the favourite wife of S͟hāh Jahān and the mother of fourteen of his children. She was the niece of Nūr-Jahān, her father being Nūr-Jahān’s brother, the Āṣaf K͟hān IV and Abū-l-ḥasan of Beale, who also had the names of Iʿtiqād K͟hān and Yamīnu-d-daulah. There is an account of the betrothal and wedding in the Pāds͟hāh-nāma, i, 388. It seems that the betrothal took place five years and three months before the marriage, and when S͟hāh Jahān was 15 years old. At the time of the marriage S͟hāh Jahān was 20 years and 3 months old and Arjumand Bānū was 19 years and 1 month. 18th K͟hūrdād, 1021, would correspond to about the end of May, 1612, but the Pāds͟hāh-nāma gives the eve of Friday, 9th Rabīʿu-l-awwal of 1021, corresponding to 22nd Urdībihis͟ht, as the day of the marriage. This would correspond to 30th April, 1612, so that apparently Jahāngīr’s visit to the house (apparently Iʿtimādu-d-daulah’s, but possibly S͟hāh Jahān’s) took place about a month after the marriage. Arjumand Bānū died in childbed at Burhanpur in 1040, or July, 1631, the chronogram being one word, viz. g͟ham, ‘grief.’ She must have been born in 1591, and was in her 40th year when she died. She was not S͟hāh Jahān’s first wife, for he was married to the daughter of Muz̤affar Ḥusain Ṣafawī, a descendant of S͟hāh Ismaʿīl of Persia, in September, 1610 (Rajab, 1019), but the betrothal to Arjumand was earlier than this. It was in Arjumand’s honour that the Tāj was built. [↑]
[26] Tūrhā. The corresponding passage in the Iqbāl-nāma, p. 67, last line, shows that jewels are meant. The text omits the preposition ba before Begamān. [↑]
[27] K͟hūn-pāra, ‘congestion of blood’; pāra or bāra is used to mean a collection or gathering. See Maʾās̤iru-l-umarā, ii, 221, where we have bāra yaʿnī jamʿī. Erskine, in spite of his MS., reads chūn pāra and translates ‘as quicksilver.’ [↑]
[28] Ās̤ār, which, according to Forbes, is a sir weight. [↑]
[29] Perhaps it was only what is called a chār-jāma and not an enclosed howdah. [↑]
[30] The reference is to the Messiah as the restorer to life by His breath. For baguẕar, ‘pass by,’ Erskine had in his MS. maguẕar, ‘pass not.’ Apparently the verse means that it is more meritorious for the Messiah to restore one man to life than it is for another to slay a hundred infidels. [↑]
[31] ʿAlī Aḥmad died suddenly two years before this, unless indeed the passage at p. 169 refers to the mimic and not to ʿAlī Aḥmad. Probably the meaning is that ʿAlī Aḥmad had made this couplet on some previous occasion, and that one of the courtiers now quoted it. His verse about the hundred murders may contain a play on the word k͟hūn, ‘blood,’ and refer to the spilling of the blood-like wine. It is difficult to understand how Jahāngīr came to introduce the verse into his Memoirs here. It does not seem to have any connection with the account of the Raja of Kumaon. Jahāngīr says it was quoted ‘incidentally,’ bā taqarrubī. Perhaps the word here means ‘by way of parody,’ or ‘by way of paraphrase.’ In the MS. used by Erskine the words of the first line seem to be Maguẕar Masīḥ bar sar-i-mā, and so Erskine translates “Pass not, O Messiah, over the heads of us victims of love.” Perhaps maguẕar means ‘do not pass by.’ [↑]
[32] This is the Dakhanī chief mentioned previously at p. 192. [↑]
[33] Blochmann, p. 485. He acted in Kashmir for his brother Hās͟him. [↑]
[34] The kaṭāra was a long, narrow dagger. See Blochmann’s Āyīn, pl. xli, fig. 9. But the word phūl (flower) is obscure. Perhaps it means the knot or crochet of jewels called by Chardin, iv, 164, ed. Rouen, “une enseigne ronde de pierreries,” and which, he says, the Persians called ‘rose de Poignard.’ [↑]
[35] He must have remained more than four days, for he got the news of Salīma’s death while in the garden. See infra. Perhaps the date 10th refers to Day and not to Ẕī-l-qaʿda. The Dahrah garden was in the environs of Agra. [↑]
[36] This statement is wrong. Salīma was 76 when she died, she having been born on 4th S͟hawwāl, 945, or 23rd February, 1539. She died on or about 10th Ẕī-l-qaʿda, 1021 (2nd January, 1613), so that she was 73 solar years old. See note in B.M. MS. Or. 171, Rieu, 257a, and an article in J.A.S.B. for 1906. The note is by the author of the Tārīk͟h-i-Muḥammadī and is at 72a of the B.M. MS. Or. 171, and the corresponding passage appears in MS. Or. 182, on p. 140. The chronogram of Salīma’s birth was K͟hūs͟h-ḥāl, which yields 945. She was about 3½ years older than Akbar. [↑]
[37] The real name appears to be Abū-n-nabī. He had the title of Bahādur K͟hān. See Maʾās̤iru-l-umarā, i, 400. In the Akbar-nāma, iii, 820 and 839, he is called Abū-l-Baqā. [↑]
[38] This must refer to the 2 months and 20 days of hunting. [↑]