He never ruled with authority so independent that any beg was heard of as promoted by him to be his confidant; his begs Fol. 69b.were just those of his father and his paternal uncle (Aḥmad).
(i. Resumed account of Bābur’s campaign against Taṃbal.)
After Bāī-sunghar Mīrzā’s death, Sl. Aḥmad Qarāwal,[487] the father of Qūch (Qūj) Beg, sent us word (of his intention) and came to us from Ḥiṣār through the Qarā-tīgīn country, together with his brethren, elder and younger, and their families and dependants. From Aūsh too came Qaṃbar-‘alī, risen from his sickness. Arriving, as it did, at such a moment, we took the providential help of Sl. Aḥmad and his party for a happy omen. Next day we formed up at dawn and moved direct upon our foe. He made no stand at Āb-i-khān but marched from his ground, leaving many tents and blankets and things of the baggage for our men. We dismounted in his camp.
That evening Taṃbal, having Jahāngīr with him, turned our left and went to a village called Khūbān (var. Khūnān), some 3 yīghāch from us (15 m.?) and between us and Andijān. Next day we moved out against him, formed up with right and left, centre and van, our horses in their mail, our men in theirs, and with foot-soldiers, bearing mantelets, flung to the front. Our right was ‘Alī-dost and his dependants, our left Ibrāhīm Sārū, Wais Lāgharī, Sayyidī Qarā, Muḥammad-‘alī Mubashir, and Khwāja-i-kalān’s elder brother, Kīchīk Beg, with several ofFol. 70. the household. In the left were inscribed[488] also Sl. Aḥmad Qarāwal and Qūch Beg with their brethren. With me in the centre was Qāsim Beg Qūchīn; in the van were Qaṃbar-‘alī (the Skinner) and some of the household. When we reached Sāqā, a village two miles east of Khūbān, the enemy came out of Khūbān, arrayed to fight. We, for our part, moved on the faster. At the time of engaging, our foot-soldiers, provided how laboriously with the mantelets! were quite in the rear! By God’s grace, there was no need of them; our left had got hands in with their right before they came up. Kīchīk Beg chopped away very well; next to him ranked Muḥammad ‘Alī Mubashir. Not being able to bring equal zeal to oppose us, the enemy took to flight. The fighting did not reach the front of our van or right. Our men brought in many of their braves; we ordered the heads of all to be struck off. Favouring caution and good generalship, our begs, Qāsim Beg and, especially, ‘Alī-dost did not think it advisable to send far in pursuit; forFol. 70b. this reason, many of their men did not fall into our hands. We dismounted right in Khūbān village. This was my first ranged battle; the Most High God, of His own favour and mercy, made it a day of victory and triumph. We accepted the omen.
On the next following day, my father’s mother, my grandmother, Shāh Sult̤ān Begīm[489] arrived from Andijān, thinking to beg off Jahāngīr Mīrzā if he had been taken.
(j. Bābur goes into winter-quarters in Between-the-two-rivers.)
As it was now almost winter and no grain or fruits[490] remained in the open country, it was not thought desirable to move against (Taṃbal in) Aūzkīnt but return was made to Andijān. A few days later, it was settled after consultation, that for us to winter in the town would in no way hurt or hamper the enemy, rather that he would wax the stronger by it through raids and guerilla fighting; moreover on our own account, it was necessary that we should winter where our men would not become enfeebled through want of grain and where we could straiten the enemy by some sort of blockade. For these desirable Fol. 71.ends we marched out of Andijān, meaning to winter near Armiyān and Nūsh-āb in the Rabāt̤ik-aūrchīnī, known also as Between-the-two-rivers. On arriving in the two villages above-mentioned, we prepared winter-quarters.
The hunting-grounds are good in that neighbourhood; in the jungle near the Aīlāīsh river is much būghū-marāl[491] and pig; the small scattered clumps of jungle are thick with hare and pheasant; and on the near rising-ground, are many foxes[492] of fine colour and swifter than those of any other place. While we were in those quarters, I used to ride hunting every two or three days; we would beat through the great jungle and hunt būghū-marāl, or we would wander about, making a circle round scattered clumps and flying our hawks at the pheasants. The pheasants are unlimited[493] there; pheasant-meat was abundant as long as we were in those quarters.
While we were there, Khudāī-bīrdī Tūghchī, then newly-favoured with beg’s rank, fell on some of Taṃbal’s raiders and brought in a few heads. Our braves went out also from Aūsh and Andijān and raided untiringly on the enemy, driving in his herds of horses and much enfeebling him. If the whole winter had been passed in those quarters, the more probable thing isFol. 71b. that he would have broken up simply without a fight.