On this date Prithī Chand, son of Rāy Manohar, obtained the title of Ray and the mansab of 500 personal and 400 horse, and a jagir in his native place. On Saturday, the 11th, I went from the Chas͟hma-i-Nūr to the palace at Ajmir. On the eve of Sunday, the 12th, after 37 seconds had passed, at the time of the ascension of Sagittarius to the 27th degree, by the calculations of the Hindu astronomers, and the 15th degree of Capricorn, by the calculations of the Greeks, there came from the womb of the daughter of Āṣaf K͟hān (wife of K͟hurram) a precious pearl into the world of being. With joy and gladness at this great boon the drums beat loudly, and the door of pleasure and enjoyment was opened in the face of the people. Without delay or reflection the name of S͟hāh S͟hajāʿat came to my tongue. I hope that his coming will be auspicious and blessed to me and to his father. On the 12th a jewelled dagger[24] and an elephant were bestowed on Rāwal Kalyān of Jesalmīr. On the same day arrived the news of the death of K͟hawāṣṣ K͟hān, whose jagir was in the Sarkar of Qanauj. I gave an elephant to Rāy Kunwar, Diwan of Gujarat. On the 22nd of the same month (Tīr) I added 500 personal and horse to the mansab of Rāja Mahā Singh, so as to make it one of 4,000 personal and 3,000 horse. The mansab of ʿAlī K͟hān Tatārī, who before this had been exalted with the title of Nuṣrat K͟hān, was fixed at 2,000 personal and 500 horse, and a standard was also conferred on him. With a view to the accomplishment of certain purposes, I had made a vow that they should place a gold railing with lattice-work at[25] the enlightened tomb of the revered K͟hwāja. On the 27th of this month it was completed, and I ordered them to take and affix it. It had been made at a cost of 110,000 rupees. As the command and leading of the victorious army of the Deccan had not been carried out to my satisfaction by my son Sult̤ān Parwīz, it occurred to me to recall him, and send Bābā K͟hurram as the advanced guard of the victorious army, inasmuch as the signs of rectitude and knowledge of affairs were evident in him, and that I myself would follow him, so that this important matter would be carried through in one and the same campaign. With this object a farman had already been sent in the name of Parwīz ordering him to start for the Subah of Allahabad, which is in the centre of my dominions. Whilst I was engaged in the campaign, he would be entrusted with the guarding and administration of that region. On the 29th of the same month a letter came from Bihārī Dās, the news-writer of Burhānpūr, that the prince on the 20th had left the city safely and well and gone towards the aforesaid Subah. On the 1st Amurdād I bestowed a jewelled turban on Mīrzā Rāja Bhāo Singh. An elephant was conferred on the shrine of Kus͟htīgīr. On the 18th, Las͟hkar K͟hān had sent four ambling (rāhwār) horses, and they were brought before me. Mīr Mughal was appointed to the faujdārship of the Sarkar of Sambal in the place of Sayyid ʿAbdu-l-Wāris̤, who had obtained the governorship of the Subah of Qanauj in the place of K͟hawāṣṣ K͟hān. His mansab, in view of that duty, was fixed at 500 personal and horse. On the 21st the offering of Rāwal Kalyān of Jesalmīr was laid before me; it was 3,000 muhrs, 9 horses, 25 camels, and 1 elephant. The mansab of Qizil-bās͟h K͟hān was fixed original and increase, at 1,200 personal and 1,000 horse. On the 23rd, S͟hajāʿat K͟hān obtained leave to go to his jagir that he might arrange the affairs of his servants and his territory, and present himself at the time agreed upon. In this year,[26] or rather in the 10th year after my accession, a great pestilence appeared in some places in Hindustan. The commencement of this calamity was in the parganahs of the Panjab, and by degrees the contagion spread to the city of Lahore. Many of the people, Musulmans and Hindus, died through this. After this it spread to Sirhind and the Dūʾāb, until it reached Delhi and the surrounding parganahs and villages, and desolated them. At this day it had greatly diminished. It became known from men of great age and from old histories that this disease had never shown itself in this country[27] (before). Physicians and learned men were questioned as to its cause. Some said that it came because there had been drought for two years in succession and little rain fell: others said it was on account of the corruption of the air which occurred through the drought and scarcity. Some attributed it to other causes. Wisdom is of Allah, and we must submit to Allah’s decrees!
“What does a slave who bows not his neck to the order?”
On 5th S͟hahrīwar 5,000 rupees towards her expenses were sent to the mother of Mīr Mīrān, the daughter of S͟hāh Ismaʿīl II, by merchants who were proceeding to the province of Iraq. On the 6th a letter came from ʿĀbid K͟hān,[28] bakhshi and news-writer of Ahmadabad, to the purport that ʿAbdu-llah K͟hān Bahādur Fīrūz-jang had quarrelled with him because he had recorded among (current) events certain affairs that had been unpleasing to him, and had sent a body of men against him, and had insulted him by carrying him away to his house, and had done this and that to him. This matter appeared serious to me, and I was desirous at once to cast him out of favour and ruin him. At last it occurred to me to send Dayānat K͟hān to Ahmadabad to enquire into this matter on the spot from disinterested people to see if it had actually occurred and if so, to bring ʿAbdu-llah K͟hān with him to the Court, leaving the charge and administration of Ahmadabad to Sardār K͟hān, his brother. Before Dayānat K͟hān started, the news reached Fīrūz-jang, and he in a state of great perturbation confessed himself an offender and started for the Court on foot. Dayānat K͟hān met him on the road, and seeing him in a strange condition, as he had wounded his feet with walking, he put him on horseback, and taking him with him came to wait on me. Muqarrab K͟hān, who is one of the old servants of the Court, from the time when I was a prince had continually wanted the Subah of Gujarat. It thus occurred to me that, as this kind of action on the part of ʿAbdu-llah K͟hān had come about, I might fulfil the hope of an ancient servant and send him to Ahmadabad in the place of the aforesaid K͟hān. A fortunate hour was chosen in these days, and I appointed him to be ruler of the Subah. On the 10th the mansab of Bahādur K͟hān, governor of Qandahar, which was 4,000 personal and 3,000 horse, was increased by 500 personal.
S͟hauqī, the mandolin player, is the wonder of the age. He also sings Hindi and Persian songs in a manner that clears the rust from all hearts. I delighted him with the title of Ānand K͟hān: Ānand in the Hindi language means pleasure and ease.
Mangoes[29] used not to be in season in the country of Hindustan after the month of Tīr (June–July), (but) Muqarrab K͟hān had established gardens in the parganah of Kairāna,[30] which is the native place of his ancestors, and looked after the mangoes there in such a manner as to prolong the season for more than two months, and sent them every day fresh into the special fruit store-house. As this was altogether an unusual thing to be accomplished, it has been recorded here. On the 8th a beautiful Iraq horse of the name of Laʿl Bī-bahā (priceless ruby) was sent for Parwīz by the hand of S͟harīf, one of his attendants.
I had ordered quick-handed stone-cutters to carve full-sized figures of the Rānā and his son Karan out of marble. On this day they were completed and submitted to me. I ordered them to be taken to Agra and placed in the garden[31] below the jharoka (exhibition-window). On the 26th the meeting for my solar weighing was held in the usual manner. The first weight came to 6,514 tūlcha of gold. I was weighed twelve times against different things; the second weighing was against quicksilver, the third against silk, the fourth against various perfumes, such as ambergris and musk, down to sandalwood, ʿūd, bān, and so on, until twelve weighings were completed. Of animals, according to the number of years that I had passed, a sheep, a goat,[32] and a fowl (for each year) were given to fakirs and dervishes. This rule has been observed from the time of my revered father up to the present day in this enduring State. They divide after the weighing all these things among the fakirs and those in need to the value of about 100,000 rupees.
This day a ruby which Mahābat K͟hān had purchased at Burhanpur for 65,000 rupees from ʿAbdu-llah K͟hān Fīrūz-jang was laid before me, and was approved of. It is a ruby of beautiful form. The special mansab of K͟hān Aʿz̤am was fixed at 7,000 personal, and an order was passed that the diwani establishment should pay an equivalent to that in a tank͟hwāh jāgīr. At the request of Iʿtimādu-d-daulah, what had been deducted from the mansab of Dayānat on account of former proceedings was allowed to remain as before. ʿAẓudu-d-daulah, who had obtained the Subah of Malwa in jagir, took his leave, and was dignified with the gift of a horse and a dress of honour. The mansab of Rāwal Kalyān of Jesalmir was fixed at 2,000 personal and 1,000 horse, and it was ordered that that province (Jesalmir) should be given him as tankhwah. As the (auspicious) hour of his departure was on that same day, he took leave to depart for his province well pleased and exalted with the gift of a horse, an elephant, a jewelled sword, a jewelled khapwa (dagger), a robe of honour, and a special Kashmir shawl. On the 31st Muqarrab K͟hān took leave to go to Ahmadabad, and his mansab, which was 5,000 personal and 2,500 horse, was fixed at 5,000 personal and horse, and he was honoured with a dress of honour, a nādirī (a kind of dress), a takma[33] of pearls, whilst two horses from my private stable, a special elephant, and a jewelled sword were also bestowed on him. He went off to the aforesaid Subah with delight and in a state of happiness. On the 11th of Mihr, Jagat Singh, son of Kunwar Karan, came from his native place and waited on me. On the 16th, Mīrzā ʿAlī Beg Akbars͟hāhī came from the province of Oudh, which had been given him in jagir, and waited on me. He presented as offerings 1,000 rupees, and he produced before me an elephant which one of the zamindars of that province possessed, and which he had been ordered to take from him. On the 21st the offering of Qutbu-l-mulk, the ruler of Golcondah, consisting of some jewelled ornaments, was inspected by me. The mansab of Sayyid Qāsim Bārha was fixed, original and increase, at 1,000 personal and 600 horse. On the eve of Friday, the 22nd, Mīrzā ʿAlī Beg, whose age had passed 75 years, gave up the deposit of his life. Great[34] services had been performed by him for this State. His mansab rose by degrees to 4,000. He was one of the distinguished heroes of this family (jawānān-i īn ulūs)[35] and of a noble disposition. He left neither son nor other descendants. He had the poetic temperament. As his inevitable destiny had been fulfilled[36] on the day on which he went to pay his devotions at the venerated mausoleum of K͟hwāja Muʿīnu-d-dīn, I ordered them to bury him in the same blessed place.
At the time when I gave leave to the ambassadors of ʿĀdil K͟hān of Bijapur, I had requested that if in that province there were a wrestler, or a celebrated swordsman, they should tell ʿĀdil K͟hān to send him to me. After some time, when the ambassadors returned, they brought a Mughal, by name S͟hīr ʿAlī, who was born at Bijapur, and was a wrestler by profession and had great experience in the art, together with certain sword-players. The performances of the latter were indifferent, but I put S͟hīr ʿAlī to wrestle with the wrestlers and athletes who were in attendance on me, and they could none of them compete with him. One thousand rupees, a dress of honour, and an elephant were conferred on him; he was exceedingly well made, well shaped, and powerful. I retained him in my own service, and entitled him “the athlete of the capital.” A jagir and mansab were given him and great favours bestowed on him. On the 24th, Dayānat K͟hān, who had been appointed to bring ʿAbdu-llah K͟hān Bahādur Fīrūz-jang, brought him and waited on me, and presented as an offering 100 muhrs. On the same date Rām Dās, the son of Rāja Rāj Singh, one of the Rajput Amirs who had died on duty in the Deccan, was promoted to a mansab of 1,000 personal and 500 horse. As ʿAbdu-llah K͟hān had been guilty of faults, he made Bābā K͟hurram his intercessor, and on the 26th, in order to please him, I ordered the former to pay his respects to me. He waited upon me with a face of complete shame, and presented as offerings 100 muhrs and 1,000 rupees. Before the coming of ʿĀdil K͟hān’s ambassadors I had made up my mind that, having sent Bābā K͟hurram with the vanguard, I should myself proceed to the Deccan and carry out this important affair, which for some reasons had been put off. For this reason I had given an order that except the prince no one should represent to me the affairs of the rulers of the Deccan. On this day the prince brought the ambassadors and laid their representation before me. After the death of Murtaẓā K͟hān, Rāja Mān and many of the auxiliary Sardars had come to Court. On this day, at the request of Iʿtimādu-d-daulah, I appointed Rāja Mān as the leader in the attack on the fort of Kāngṛa. I appointed all the men to accompany him, and according to the condition and rank of each made him happy with a present—a horse, an elephant, a robe of honour, or money—and gave them leave. After some days I conferred on ʿAbdu-llah K͟hān, at the request of Bābā K͟hurram, a jewelled dagger, as he was exceedingly broken-hearted and grieved in mind, and an order was passed that his mansab should continue as it was before, and that he should remain in attendance on my son among those appointed for duty in the Deccan. On the 3rd Ābān I ordered the mansab of Wazīr K͟hān, who was in attendance on Bābā Parwiz, to be, original and increase, 2,000 personal and 1,000 horse. On the 4th, K͟husrau, who was in the charge, for safe keeping, of Anīrāʾī Singh-dalan, for certain considerations was handed over to Āṣaf K͟hān. I presented him with a special shawl. On the 7th (Ābān), corresponding with the 17th S͟hawwāl (28th October, 1616), a person of the name of Muḥammad Riẓā Beg, whom the ruler of Persia had sent as his representative, paid his respects. After performing the dues of prostration and salutation (kūrnis͟h, sijda, taslīm), he laid before me the letter he had brought. It was decided that he should produce before me the horses and other presents he had brought with him. The written and verbal messages sent were full of friendship, brotherhood, and sincerity. I gave the ambassador on that same day a jewelled tiara (tāj) and a dress of honour. As in the letter much friendliness and affection were displayed, an exact copy is recorded in the Jahāngīr-nāma.[37]
On Sunday, the 18th S͟hawwāl, corresponding to the 8th Ābān,[38] the camp equipage of my son Bābā K͟hurram left Ajmir for the purpose of the conquest of the provinces of the Deccan, and it was decided that my son aforesaid should start by way of advanced guard, followed by the glorious standards (of Jahāngīr). On Monday, the 19th, corresponding with the 9th Ābān, when three gharis of day had passed, the auspicious palace moved in the same direction in the like manner. On the 10th the mansab of Rāja Sūraj Mal, who had been appointed to accompany the prince, was made up, original and increase, to 2,000 personal and horse. On the night of the 19th Ābān, after my usual custom, I was in the g͟husul-k͟hāna. Some of the Amirs and attendants, and by chance Muḥammad Riẓā Beg, the ambassador of the ruler of Persia, were present. When six gharis had passed, an owl came and sat on top of a high terrace roof belonging to the palace, and was hardly visible, so that many men failed to distinguish it. I sent for a gun and took aim and fired in the direction that they pointed out to me. The gun, like the decree of heaven, fell on that ill-omened bird and blew it to pieces. A shout arose from those who were present, and involuntarily they opened their lips in applause and praise. On the same night I talked with the ambassador of my brother S͟hāh ʿAbbās, and at last the conversation turned on the slaying of Ṣafī Mīrzā, his (the Shah’s) eldest son. I asked him because this was a difficulty in my mind. He represented that if his slaughter had not been carried out at that time he would certainly have attempted the Shah’s life. As this intention became manifest from his behaviour, the Shah was beforehand with him and ordered him to be killed. On the same day the mansab of Mīrzā Ḥasan, son of Mīrzā Rustam, was fixed, original and increase, at 1,000 personal and 300 horse. The mansab of Muʿtamad K͟hān,[39] who had been appointed to the post of paymaster of the army with Bābā K͟hurram, was settled at 1,000 personal and 250 horse. The time for the leave-taking of Bābā K͟hurram had been fixed as Friday, the 20th (Ābān). At the end of this day he paraded before me the pick of his men armed and ready in the public hall of audience. Of the distinguished favours bestowed on the aforesaid son one was the title of S͟hāh, which was made a part of his name. I ordered that thereafter he should be styled S͟hāh Sult̤ān K͟hurram. I presented him with a robe of honour, a jewelled chārqab, the fringe and collar of which were decorated with pearls, an Iraq horse with a jewelled saddle, a Turki horse, a special elephant called Bansī-badan,[40] a carriage, according to the English fashion,[41] for him to sit and travel about in, a jewelled sword with a special pardala (sword-belt) that had been taken at the conquest of the fort of Ahmadnagar and was very celebrated, and a jewelled dagger. He started with great keenness. My trust in Almighty God is that in this service he may gain renown (lit. become red-faced). On each of the Amirs and mansabdars, according to his quality and degree, a horse and an elephant were conferred. Loosening a private sword from my own waist, I gave it to ʿAbdu-llah K͟hān Fīrūz-jang. As Dayānat K͟hān had been appointed to accompany the prince, I gave the duty of ʿarẓ-mukarrir (reviser of petitions) to K͟hwāja Qāsim Qilīj K͟hān. Previously[42] to this a band of thieves had carried off a certain sum of money from the royal treasury in the kotwālī chabūtara (Police Office). After some days seven men of that band, with their leader, of the name of Nawal, were caught, and a portion of that money was recovered. It occurred to me that as they had been guilty of such boldness I ought to punish them severely. Each was punished in exemplary fashion, and I ordered Nawal, the leader of them all, to be thrown under the feet of an elephant. He petitioned that if I would give the order he would fight the elephant. I ordered it to be so. They produced a very furious elephant. I bade them put a dagger into his hand and bring him in front of the elephant. The elephant several times threw him down, and each time that violent and fearless man, although he witnessed the punishments of his comrades, got up again and bravely and with a stout heart struck the elephant’s trunk with the dagger, so that the animal refrained from attacking him. When I had witnessed this pluck and manliness, I ordered them to inquire into his history. After a short time, according to his evil nature and low disposition, he ran away in his longing for his own place and abode. This annoyed me greatly, and I ordered the jagirdars of that neighbourhood to hunt him up and apprehend him. By chance he was caught a second time, and this time I ordered that ungrateful and unappreciative one to be hanged. The saying of S͟haik͟h Muṣliḥu-d-dīn Saʿdī accords with his case—
“In the end a wolf’s cub becomes a wolf,