As it was reported that the Zamindars of Kis͟htwār had again raised their heads in disobedience and sin, and engaged in sedition and disturbance, Irādat K. was ordered to proceed hot-foot, before they had time to establish themselves firmly, and having inflicted condign punishment on them to tear up the root of sedition. On this day Zainu-l-ʿĀbidīn, who had been sent to summon K͟hurram, came and waited on me, and reported that the stipulation he made was that he should pass the rainy season in the fort of Māndū, and then come to Court. His report was read. I[9] did not like the style of its purport nor the request he made, and, on the contrary, the traces of disloyalty (bī-daulatī) were apparent. There being no remedy, an order was given that as he proposed to come after the rains, he should despatch the great Amirs, the servants of the Court who were employed in assisting him, and especially the Sayyids of Bārha and Bukhara, the S͟haik͟h-zādas, the Afghans, and the Rajputs. Mīrzā Rustam and Iʿtiqād K. were ordered to go to Lahore in advance, and assist the army of Qandahar. Rs. l,00,000 were given them as advance of pay, and I also granted drums to ʿInāyat K. and Iʿtimād K. Irādat K., who had hastened to punish the rebels of Kis͟htwār, having killed many of them and regained the mastery and established himself firmly, returned to duty. Muʿtamid K. had been appointed Bak͟hs͟hī to the army of the Deccan. As that matter was over[10] he was sent for at his own request. He came on this day, and on his arrival kissed the threshold.
It is a strange thing that when a pearl of the value of Rs. 14,000 or 15,000 was lost in the harem, Jotik Rāy, the astrologer, represented that it would be found in two or three days. Ṣādiq K. Rammāl (soothsayer) represented that in the same two or three days it would come from a place which was perfectly clean and pure, such as the place of worship or oratory. A female soothsayer represented that it would soon be found, and that a woman with white skin would bring it in a state of ecstasy, and give it into the hand of the Ḥaẓrat (the king). It happened that on the third day one of the Turkish girls found it in the oratory, and all in smiles and in a happy frame of mind gave it to me. As the words of all three came true each one was favoured with an acceptable reward. This is written because it is not devoid of strangeness.
At this time I appointed Kaukab and K͟hidmatgār K., and others to the number of twelve in all, of the familiar servants to be sazāwuls of the Amirs in the Deccan in order that they might exert themselves and send them forward as soon as possible to Court, so that they (the Amīrs) might be sent to the victorious army at Qandahar.[11] At this time it was frequently reported to me that K͟hurram had taken into his possession some of the estates of the jagir of Nūr Jahān Begam and S͟hahriyār, and especially the pargana of Dholpur, which had by the High Diwan been assigned to S͟hahriyār, and had sent there an Afghan of the name of Daryā, one of his own servants, with a body of men. Daryā fought with S͟harīfu-l-mulk, a servant of S͟hahriyār, who had been appointed to the faujdāri of that region, and many were killed on both sides. Although in consequence of his (K͟hurram’s) remaining in the fort of Māndū, and the unreasonable requests made in his letter it appeared that his reason was turned, yet from hearing this news it became clear that he was unworthy of all the favours and cherishing I had bestowed on him, and that his brain had gone wrong. Accordingly I sent Rāja Rūz-afzūn, who was a confidential servant, to him, and made inquiries as to the cause of this boldness. He was ordered hereafter to behave properly, and not place his foot beyond the path of reasonableness and the high road of politeness, and content himself with the districts of his own jagir that he had obtained from the High Diwan. He must also beware not to form any intention of coming to wait upon me, but to send the body of the servants of the State I had requisitioned on account of the disturbance at Qandahar to the Court. If anything contrary to this order should come to notice, he would repent it.
At this time Mīr Z̤ahīru-d-dīn, the grandson of Mīr Mīrān, s. the famous S͟hāh Niʿmatu-llah, came from Persia and waited on me, and received as a present a dress of honour and 8,000 darbs. Ujālā Dakhanī obtained leave to go to Rāja Bīr Singh Deo with a gracious farman in order that he should act as sazāwul and collect the men. Previously to this, on account of the great regard and abundant affection I bore to K͟hurram and his sons, at the time when his son (S͟hujāʿ) was very ill, I had determined that if God Almighty would grant him to me I would not again sport with a gun, and would inflict no injury on a living thing with my own hand. Notwithstanding my inclination and love for hunting, especially with a gun, I had given it up for five years. At this time, when I was greatly distressed at his unkind behaviour, I took again to sporting with a gun, and gave orders that nobody should remain in the palace without one. In a short time most of the servants took a liking to shooting with guns, and the archers,[12] in order to perform their duties, became cavalry soldiers.
On the 25th of the month, corresponding with the 7th S͟hawwāl, at the favourable hour that had been chosen, I turned towards Lahore from Kashmir (apparently means Srinagar, the capital). I sent Bihārī Dās Brahman with a gracious farman to Rānā Karan to the effect that he should bring his son with a body of men to pay his respects to me. Mīr Z̤ahīru-d-dīn was promoted to the mansab of 1,000 personal and 400 horse. As he represented to me that he was in debt, I made him a present of Rs. 10,000. On the 1st of S͟hahrīwar I encamped at the fountain of Achbal,[13] and on Thursday I had a feast of cups beside the fountain.[14] On this auspicious day my fortunate son S͟hahriyār was appointed to the Qandahar expedition, and was promoted to the mansab of 12,000 personal and 8,000 horse. A special dress of honour, with a nādirī with pearl buttons, was also given him. At this time a merchant had brought two large pearls from the country of Turkey, one of them weighing 1¼ mis̤qāls, and the second 1 surk͟h less. Nūr Jahān Begam bought the two for Rs. 60,000, and presented them to me as an offering on the same day. On Friday, the 10th, by the advice of Ḥakīm Mūminā,[15] I was relieved by bleeding from the arm. Muqarrab K., who has great skill in this art, always used to bleed me, and possibly never failed before, but now failed twice. Afterwards Qāsim, his nephew, bled me. I gave him a dress of honour and Rs. 2,000, and gave 1,000 darbs to Ḥakīm Mūminā. Mīr K͟hān, at the request of K͟hān Jahān, was promoted to the mansab of 1,500 and 900 horse.
On the 21st of the month the feast of my solar weighing took place, and the 54th year of the age of this suppliant at the throne of God began auspiciously and happily. I hope that the whole of my life will be spent in fulfilling the will of God. On the 28th, I went to see the waterfall of Ashar[16] (?). As this spring is famous for its sweetness and agreeable flavour, I weighed it in my presence against Ganges water, and that[17] of the valley of Lār. The water of Ashar was 3 mās͟ha heavier than that of the Ganges, and the latter was ½ mās͟ha lighter than that of the valley of Lār. On the 30th the camp was at Hīrāpūr. Though Irādat K. had done his duty in Kis͟htwār well, yet as the ryots and inhabitants of Kashmir complained of his treatment of them, I promoted Iʿtiqād K. to the governorship of Kashmir. I bestowed on him a horse, a dress of honour, and a special enemy-piercing[18] sword, and appointed Irādat K. to do duty with the army of Qandahar. Having brought Kunwar Singh, the Raja of Kis͟htwār, out of the fortress of Gwalior, where he was imprisoned, I bestowed Kis͟htwār on him, and gave him a horse and a dress of honour, with the title of Raja. I sent Ḥaidar Malik to Kashmir (i.e., Srinagar) to bring a canal from the valley of Lār to the Nūr-afzā garden, giving him Rs. 30,000 for the materials and labour. On the 12th of the month I came down from the hill country of Jammū, and pitched at Bhimbhar. The next day I had a qamurqha hunt. To Dāwar-bak͟hs͟h, s. K͟husrau, I gave the mansab of 5,000 personal and 2,000 horse. On the 24th I crossed the Chenāb.[19] Mīrzā Rustam came from Lahore, and waited on me. On the same day Afẓal[20] K., K͟hurram’s Diwan, bringing a petition from him, waited on me. He had clothed his immoderate acts in the garment of apology, and had sent him with the idea that perhaps he might carry his point by flattery and smooth speeches, and so correct his improprieties. I[21] paid no attention, and did not listen to him. The Diwan K͟hwāja Abū-l-Ḥasan and Ṣādiq K. Bak͟hs͟hī, who had hastened to Lahore to make provision for the army of Qandahar, had the good fortune to kiss the threshold. On the 1st of the Divine month of Ābān, Amānu-llah, s. Mahābat K., was promoted to the mansab of 3,000 personal and 1,700 horse. A gracious farman was sent to summon Mahābat K. At this time ʿAbdu-llah K., whom I had sent for for service at Qandahar, having come from the district of his jagir, paid his respects. On the 4th of the same month I entered the city of Lahore auspiciously and happily. Alf K. was promoted to the mansab of 2,000 and 1,500 horse. I gave[22] an order to the chief Diwans to levy the pay of the force of servants of the State who had been appointed for service at Qandahar out of the jagirs of K͟hurram, which were in the Sarkar of Ḥiṣār, and in the Dū-āb and those regions. In the place of these he might take possession of districts from the Subah of Malwa and the Deccan, and Gujarat and Khandesh, wherever he wished. Presenting Afẓal K. with a dress of honour I gave him leave to go. An order was passed that the Subahs of Gujarat, Malwa, the Deccan and Khandesh should be handed over to him (K͟hurram), and he might take up a permanent residence wherever he might wish, and employ himself in the administration of those regions. He was to send quickly the sazāwuls who had been appointed to bring the servants of the State who had been summoned to my presence on account of the disturbance at Qandahar. After that he was to look after his own charge, and not depart from order: otherwise, he would repent. On this day I gave the best tipchāq horse that was in my private stable to ʿAbdu-llah K. On the 26th Ḥaidar Beg and Walī Beg, envoys of the ruler of Persia, had an audience. After performing the ceremony of salutation they produced a letter from the Shah. My son K͟hān Jahān, according to order, having come post from Multan, waited on me. He presented as offerings 1,000 muhrs, 1,000 rupees, and 18 horses. Mahābat K. was promoted to the mansab of 6,000 personal and 5,000 horse. I gave an elephant to Mīrzā Rustam. Rāja Sārang Deo was appointed sazāwul to Rāja Bīr Singh Deo. I told him to produce him at Court as quickly as possible. On[23] the 7th of the Divine month of Āẕar the ambassadors of S͟hāh ʿAbbās, who had come at different times, were presented with dresses of honour and their expenses, and given leave to go. The letter he had sent by Ḥaidar Beg making excuses in the matter of Qandahar has been given in this record of good fortune (Iqbāl-nāma) along with my reply.
Letter of the King of Persia.
(After compliments, and good wishes for that “brother dear as life” the letter proceeds as follows):
“You will be aware that after the death of the Nawāb S͟hāh Jannat-makān (S͟hāh T̤ahmāsp) great misfortunes befell Persia. Many territories which belonged to our saintly family passed out of possession, but when this suppliant at the throne of Grace became sovereign, he, by God’s help, and the excellent measures of friends, recovered the hereditary lands which were in the possession of enemies. As Qandahar was held by the agents of your lofty family, I regarded you as myself, and did not make any objection. From feelings of unity and brotherhood we waited, thinking that you would, after the manner of your ancestors[24] who are in Paradise, voluntarily take the matter into your consideration. When you neglected to do this, I repeatedly, by writing and verbal messages, directly and indirectly, asked for the disposal of the question, thinking that perhaps that petty country (Qandahar) was not regarded as worthy of your notice. You said several times that by making over the territory to our family, the notions of enemies and censurers would be disposed of, and praters, enviers, and fault-finders would be put to silence. A faction[25] formerly delayed the settlement of this matter. As the truth of the affair was known to friends and enemies, and as no clear answer, either of refusal or concession, came from you, it occurred to me that I would go to Qandahar to see it, and to hunt. In this way the agents of my distinguished brother, in accordance with the ties of friendship which exist between us, might welcome us and wait upon us. By this means the relationship of union would be renewed, and would be made evident to the world, and the tongues of the envious and the evil-speaking be shortened. With this view, I set off without apparatus for taking forts, and when I came to Farāh I sent a rescript to the governor of Qandahar, mentioning that I intended to see the place and hunt there. I did this in order that he might treat me as a guest. We also called the honourable K͟hwāja Bāqī Kurkarāq, and sent a message to the governor and the other officers in the fort to the effect that there was no difference between Your Majesty and ourselves, and that we were aware of each other’s territories, and that we were coming to see the country. Therefore they were not to act in such a way as to give umbrage or to vex anyone. They did not receive the conciliatory order and message in the proper way, but showed obstinacy and a rebellious spirit. When I came to the fort I again called the honourable aforesaid (K. Bāqī), and sent him with the message that I had directed my troops not to invest the fort till the lapse of ten days. They did not receive the wholesome advice, and were stubborn in their opposition. As there was nothing more to be done, the Persian army set about taking the fort, though it was in want of appliances, and soon levelled the walls and bastions with the ground. The garrison became straitened, and asked for quarter. We, too, maintained the ties of love which had existed from of old between the two exalted dynasties, and the brotherly relation which was formed between you and me when you were prince (Mīrzā), and which was an object of envy to contemporary sovereigns, and from my innate kindness forgave their errors and offences. Encompassing them with favours, I sent them safe and sound to your Court along with Ḥaidar Beg Qūrbās͟hī, who is one of the sincere Ṣūfīs of this family. Of a truth, the foundation of love and union, both inherited and acquired, on the part of this seeker after affection, has not grown old or decayed, and is strong so that no rupture in it can take place on account of any things which may have transpired owing to the action of Fate.