Turning back from that raid, we went to Kābul and there dismounted.
(c. Shaibāq Khān moves against Khurāsān.)
Shaibāq Khān had got an army to horse at the end of last year, meaning to go from Samarkand against Khurāsān, hisFol. 204b. march out being somewhat hastened by the coming to him of a servant of that vile traitor to his salt, Shāh Manṣūr the Paymaster, then in Andikhūd. When the Khān was approaching Andikhūd, that vile wretch said, “I have sent a man to the Aūzbeg,” relied on this, adorned himself, stuck up an aigrette on his head, and went out, bearing gift and tribute. On this the leaderless[1259] Aūzbegs poured down on him from all sides, and turned upside down (tart-part) the blockhead, his offering and his people of all sorts.
(d. Irresolution of the Khurāsān Mīrzās.)
Badī‘u´z-zamān Mīrzā, Muz̤affar Mīrzā, Muḥ. Barandūq Barlās and Ẕū´n-nūn Arghūn were all lying with their army in Bābā Khākī,[1260] not decided to fight, not settled to make (Herī) fort fast, there they sat, confounded, vague, uncertain what to do. Muḥammad Barandūq Barlās was a knowledgeable man; he kept saying, “You let Muz̤affar Mīrzā and me make the fort fast; let Badī‘u´z-zamān Mīrzā and Ẕū´n-nūn Beg go into the mountains near Herī and gather in Sl. ‘Alī Arghūn from Sīstān and Zamīn-dāwar, Shāh Beg and Muqīm from Qandahār with all their armies, and let them collect also what there is of Nikdīrī and Hazāra force; this done, let them make a swift and telling move. The enemy would find it difficult to go into the mountains, and could not come against the (Herī) fort because Fol. 205.he would be afraid of the army outside.” He said well, his plan was practical.
Brave though Ẕū´n-nūn Arghūn was, he was mean, a lover-of-goods, far from businesslike or judicious, rather shallow-pated, and a bit of a fool. As has been mentioned,[1261] when that elder and that younger brother became joint-rulers in Herī, he had chief authority in Badī‘u´z-zamān Mīrzā’s presence. He was not willing now for Muḥ. Barandūq Beg to remain inside Herī town; being the lover-of-goods he was, he wanted to be there himself. But he could not make this seem one and the same thing![1262] Is there a better sign of his shallow-pate and craze than that he degraded himself and became contemptible by accepting the lies and flattery of rogues and sycophants? Here are the particulars[1263]:—While he was so dominant and trusted in Herī, certain Shaikhs and Mullās went to him and said, “The Spheres are holding commerce with us; you are styled Hizabru´l-lāh (Lion of God); you will overcome the Aūzbeg.” Believing these words, he put his bathing-cloth round his neck and gave thanks. It was through this he did not accept Muḥammad Barandūq Beg’s sensible counsel, did not strengthen the works (aīsh) of the fort, get ready fighting equipment, set scout or rearward to warn of the foe’s approach, or plan out such method of array that, should the foe appear, his men would fight with ready heart.
(e. Shaibāq Khān takes Herī.)
Shaibāq Khān passed through Murgh-āb to near Sīr-kāī[1264] inFol. 205b. the month of Muḥarram (913 AH. May-June 1507 AD.). When the Mīrzās heard of it, they were altogether upset, could not act, collect troops, array those they had. Dreamers, they moved through a dream![1265] Ẕū’n-nūn Arghūn, made glorious by that flattery, went out to Qarā-rabāt̤, with 100 to 150 men, to face 40,000 to 50,000 Aūzbegs: a mass of these coming up, hustled his off, took him, killed him and cut off his head.[1266]
In Fort Ikhtiyāru’d-dīn, it is known as Ālā-qūrghān,[1267] were the Mīrzās’ mothers, elder and younger sisters, wives and treasure. The Mīrzās reached the town at night, let their horses rest till midnight, slept, and at dawn flung forth again. They could not think about strengthening the fort; in the respite and crack of time there was, they just ran away,[1268] leaving mother, sister, wife and little child to Aūzbeg captivity.
What there was of Sl. Ḥusain Mīrzā’s ḥaram, Pāyanda-sult̤ān Begīm and Khadīja Begīm at the head of it, was inside Ālā-qūrghān; there too were the ḥarams of Badī‘u’z-zamān Mīrzā[1269] and Muz̤affar Mīrzā with their little children, treasure, and households (biyutāt). What was desirable for making the fort fast had not been done; even braves to reinforce it had not arrived. ‘Āshiq-i-muḥammad Arghūn, the younger brother of Mazīd Beg, had fled from the army on foot and gone into it; Fol. 206.in it was also Amīr ‘Umar Beg’s son ‘Alī Khān (Turkmān); Shaikh ‘Abdu’l-lāh the taster was there; Mīrzā Beg Kāī-khusraūī was there; and Mīrak Gūr (or Kūr) the Dīwān was there.