Kitin Kara Balkh, Sa exert himself actively in my service. I therefore invested his son, Nâher Khan, with a dress of honour, and on his entering into an engagement, sent him back to his father; but that wretch, as soon as he had ascertained that his son was released, and before the young man had reached him, totally forgetful of the obligation conferred on him, marched out of Alûr, and went to join Rana Sanka. I was certainly guilty of a piece of imprudence in dismissing his son at such a crisis. A great deal of rain fell about this time, and we had several parties at which Hûmâiûn too was present; although he did not like wine, yet during these few days he drank it. One of the most remarkable incidents of this period occurred at Balkh. When HûSultan takes mâiûn was on his way from the fort of Zefer1 to Hindustân, Mûlla Bâba Besbâgheri rabagh, &c. and his younger brother Bâba Sheikh deserted from him by the road, and went and joined Kitîn Kara Sultan. The troops in Balkh being hard pressed, that place fell into Kitîn Kara Sultan's hands. The traitor now taking on himself and his brother the management of an expedition against my dominions, entered the territory of Ibek, Kharim, and Sarabagh. Shah Sekander, being confounded by the fall of Balkh, surrendered the fort of Ghûri to the Uzbeks, and Mulla Baba and Baba Sheikh, with some Uzbeks, took possession of it. As Mîr Hameh's fort was close at hand, he saw nothing left for it but to declare for the Uzbeks. A few days afterwards, the Mîr and his party were ordered to Balkh, as a place of safety, while Baba Sheikh, with a body of Uzbeks, proceeded to occupy his castle. Mîr Hameh introduced Baba Sheikh himself into the castle, and appointed the rest of his party their quarters in different parts, Success of at some distance from each other. Mîr Hameh having wounded Bâba Sheikh, and made him and some of the others prisoners, dispatched messengers full speed to Tengri Berdi at Kundez, to give him notice of what had happened. Tengri Berdi immediately sent Yâr Ali, Abdal-Latif, and a party of his best men, to his assistance. Before their arrival, Mûlla Bâba had reached the castle with a party of Uzbeks, intending to have attacked it; he was, however, unable to effect anything, and the garrison having succeeded in joining the detachment sent by Tengri Berdi, reached Kûndez in safety. As Bâba Sheikh's wound was very severe, they cut off his head, which Mîr Hameh brought along with him. I distinguished him by particular marks of honour and regard, and ranked him in the number of my most intimate and favourite servants. When Bâki Shaghâwel marched against these two old traitors, I had promised him a reward of a ser of gold for each of their heads. In addition to all the other marks of favour which I showed Mîr Hameh, I gave him a ser3 of gold according to that pro Mir Ha meh. Hassan mise. Kismi, who had proceeded at this time with a light force towards Biâna, had cut off Khan Me and brought away several heads. Kismi and Bujkeh, while riding out with a few marauders to procure intelligence, defeated two parties of the enemy's skirmishers, and took seventy or eighty men; from whom Kismi having gained authentic information, Rana 1 The Fort of Zefer was in Badakhshân. * Ibek, Kharim, and Sarabagh, all stand on the Khûlm river between Khûlm and Kehmerd. 3 If the ser here mentioned be of 14 tolas, the value is about £27; if of 24 tolas, about £45. that Hassan Khan Mewâti had arrived and formed a junction with the Rana, he immediately returned back with the intelligence. On Sunday the 8th of the month1 I went to see Ustâd Ali Kuli fire that same great Ustad Ali Khan's gun. gun, of which the ball-chamber had been uninjured at the time of casting, and the powder-chamber of which he had afterward cast and finished, as has been mentioned. We went to see how far it would throw. It was discharged about afternoon prayers, and carried one thousand six hundred paces. I bestowed on Ustâd a dagger, a complete dress, and a Tipchâk horse, as an honorary reward. Feb. 11. On Monday the 9th of the first Jemâdi, I began my march to the holy war against Baber the heathen. Having passed the suburbs, I encamped on the plain, where. I halted marches against Ra three or four days, to collect the army and communicate the necessary instructions. na Sanka, As I did not place great reliance on the men of Hindustân, I employed their Amîrs in making desultory excursions in different directions. Alim Khan was directed to proceed with a light force to Guâliâr, to carry assistance to Rahîmdâd, while I appointed Makon, Kâsim Sambali, Hamid with his brothers, and Muhammed Zeitûn, to proceed with a light-armed party towards Sambal. 2 the detach At this station we received information that Rana Sanka had pushed on with all Defeat of his army nearly as far as Biâna. The party that had been sent out in advance were ment. not able to reach the fort, nor even to communicate with it. The garrison of Biâna had advanced too far from the fort, and with too little caution, and the enemy having unexpectedly fallen upon them in great force, completely routed them. Sanger Khan Jenjuheh fell on this occasion. When the affair began, Kitteh Beg came galloping up without his armour, and joined in the action. He had dismounted a Pagan, and was in the act of laying hold of him, when the Hindu, snatching a sword from a servant of Kitteh Beg, struck the Beg on the shoulder, and wounded him so severely, that he was not able to come into the field during the rest of the war against Rana Sanka. He, however, recovered long after, but never was completely well. Kismi, Shah Mansûr Birlâs, and every man that came from Biâna, I know not whether from fear, or for the purpose of striking a panic into the people, bestowed unbounded praise on the courage and hardihood of the Pagan army. Marching hence, I sent forward Kâsim, the master of horse, with the pioneers, to open a number of wells in the Perganna of Medhakûr, which was the place where the army was to encamp. On Saturday the fourteenth of the first Jemâdi, I marched from the vicinity of Agra, Feb. 16. and encamped in the ground where the wells had been dug. Next morning I marched from that ground. It occurred to me that, situated as I Feb. 17. was, of all the places in this neighbourhood, Sîkri' being that in which water was Baber 1 of the first Jemâdi, which is the 10th of February 1527. 2 Sambal lies to the east of the Ganges, nearly in the latitude of Delhi, and not far from Anopshîr. 3 Biâna lies between Agra and Rantambôr, but nearer the former. * Mîr Akhûr. Sîkri was a favourite place of Baber's; he built a palace and laid out a garden there. When his grandson Akber made his pilgrimage on foot, from Agra to Ajmîr, to the tomb of Khwâjeh Mundi, and back, to procure the saint's intercession for his having male children he visited a Dervish named Selîm at Sîkri, and learned from him that God had heard his prayers, and that he would have three sons. marches for Sikri. Discomfi. ture of Abdal-aziz's most abundant, was, upon the whole, the most desirable station for a camp; but that it was possible that the Pagans might anticipate us, take possession of the water and encamp there. I therefore drew up my army in order of battle, with right and left wing and main body, and advanced forward in battle array. I sent on Derwish Muhammed Sârbân with Kismnai,1 who had gone to Biâna and returned back, and who had seen and knew every part of the country; ordering him to proceed to the banks of the Tank of Sikri, and to look out for a good ground for encamping. On reaching my station, I sent a messenger to Mehdi Khwâjeh, to direct him to come and join me without delay, with the force that was in Biâna. At the same time I sent a servant of Hûmâiûn's, one Beg Mirak Moghûl, with a body of troops, to get notice of the motions of the Pagans. They accordingly set out by night, and next morning returned with information, that the enemy were encamped a kos on this side of Bisâwer. The same day Mehdi Khwâjeh, with Muhammed Sultan Mirza, and the light troops that had been sent to Biâna, returned and joined us. I had directed that the different Begs should have charge of the advance and scouts in turn. When it was Abdal-aziz's day, without taking any precautions, he advanced detachment as far as Kanwâheh, which is five kos from Sikri. The Pagans were on their march forward when they got notice of his imprudent and disorderly advance, which they no sooner learned, than a body of four or five thousand of them at once pushed on and fell upon him. Abdal-aziz and Mûlla Apâk had with them about a thousand or fifteen hundred men. Without taking into consideration the numbers or position of the enemy, they immediately engaged. On the very first charge, a number of their men were taken prisoners and carried off the field. The moment this intelligence arrived, I dispatched Mohib Ali Khâlîfeh, with his followers, to reinforce them. Mûlla Hûssain and some others were sent close after to their support, being directed to push on, each according to the speed of his horse. I then detached Muhammed Ali Jeng-Jeng to cover their retreat. Before the arrival of the first reinforcement, consisting of Mohib Ali Khâlîfeh and his party, they had reduced Abdal-aziz and his detachment to great straits, had taken his horse-tail standard, and taken and put to death Mûlla Niamet, Mûlla Daûd, and Mûlla Apâk's younger brother, besides a number of others. No sooner did the first reinforcement come up, than Tâhir Tebri, the maternal uncle of Mohib Ali, made a push forward, but was unable to effect a junction with his friends, and got into the midst of the enemy. Mohib Ali himself was thrown down in the action, but Baltû making a charge from behind, succeeded in bringing him off. They pursued our troops a full kos, but halted the moment they descried Muhammed Ali Jeng-Jeng's troops from a distance. Messengers now arrived in rapid succession, to inform me that the enemy had advanced close upon us. We lost no time in buckling on our armour; we arrayed our "This prophecy," says Thevenot, "was so pleasing to Akber, especially when it began to be accomplished, that he called his eldest son Selîm after the Dervish, and gave the town, which formerly had heen called Sikri, the name of Fatehpur, which signifies place of joy and pleasure, and built there a very beautiful palace, with the intention of making it his capital."-Thevenot's Travels, vol. V. p. 148. .1 Or Kismi. 2 Bisâwer is a small town ten or twelve miles north-west from Biâna. 3 Abruk-sabruk. horses in their mail, and were no sooner accoutred than we mounted and rode out; I likewise ordered the guns to advance. After marching a kos we found that the enemy had retreated. 1 position. There being a large tank on our left, I encamped there to have the benefit of the water. We fortified the guns in front, and connected them by chains. Between every Baber fortwo guns we left a space of seven or eight gez, which was defended by a chain. Mus- tifies his tafa Rûmi had disposed the guns according to the Rûmi2 fashion. He was extremely active, intelligent, and skilful in the management of artillery. As Ustâd Ali Kûli was jealous of him, I had stationed Mûstafa in the right with Hûmâiûn. In the places where there were no guns, I caused the Hindustâni and Khorasâni pioneers and spademen to run a ditch. In consequence of the bold and unexpected advance of the Pagans, joined to the result of the engagement that had taken place at Biâna, aided by the praises and encomiums passed on them by Shah Mansûr, Kismi, and those who had come from Biâna, there was an evident alarm diffused among the troops; the defeat of Abdal-aziz completed this panic. In order to reassure my troops, and to add to the apparent strength of my position, wherever there were not guns, I directed things like tripods to be made of wood, and the spaces between each of them, being seven or eight gez,3 to be connected and strengthened by bull's hides twisted into ropes. Twenty or twenty-five days elapsed before these machines and furniture were finished. During this interval, Kâsim Hussain Sultan, who was the grandson of Sultan Hussain Mirza by one of his daughters, Ahmed Yûsef, Syed Yûsef, with some who belonged to the royal camp, and a number of other men who had gathered by ones and twos from different quarters, amounting in all to five hundred persons, arrived from Kâbul. Mu- Muhammed hammed Sherîf the astrologer, a rascally fellow, came along with them. Bâba Dost Sherif the astrologer. Sûchi, who had been sent to Kâbul for wine, came back with some choice wine of Ghazni, laden on three strings of camels, and arrived in their company. While the army was yet in the state of alarm and panic that has been mentioned, in consequence of past events and of ill-timed and idle observations that had been spread abroad, that evil-minded wretch Muhammed Sherif, instead of giving me any assistance, loudly proclaimed to every person whom he met in the camp, that at this time Mars was in the west, and that whoever should engage coming from the opposite quarter would be defeated. The courage of such as consulted this villainous soothsayer, was consequently still farther depressed. Without listening to his foolish predictions, I proceeded in taking the steps which the emergency seemed to demand, and used every exertion to put my troops in a fit state to engage the enemy. 5 On Sunday the 21st I sent Sheikh Jemâli to collect as many bowmen of the Doâb Sheikh Jeand Delhi as he could, to proceed with them to plunder the country of Mewât, and to mali sent to lay waste leave nothing undone to annoy and distress these districts. Mûlla Tûrk Ali, who had Mewat. come from Kâbul, was instructed to accompany Sheikh Jemâli, and to see that every 1 Fifteen or sixteen feet. 3 Fourteen or sixteen feet. 2 Turkish or Ottoman. ✦ Sûchi probably means Abdar (waterman), butler. The kitar or string of camels, contained five, according to Abulfazl, Ayeen Akbery, vol. I. p. 145 ; who assigns the same number to that of the mule, p. 157. This probably should be Sunday, the 22d of the first Jemâdi (Feb. 24.) Baber's pe- thing possible was done to plunder and ruin Mewât. Similar orders were given to Maghfûr Diwân, who was instructed to proceed to ravage and desolate some of the bordering and remoter districts, ruining the country, and carrying off the inhabitants into captivity. They did not, however, appear to have suffered much from these proceedings. On Monday the 23d of the first Jemâdi, I had mounted to survey my posts, and, in the course of my ride, was seriously struck with the reflection that I had always resolved, one time or another, to make an effectual repentance, and that some traces of a hankering after the renunciation of forbidden works had ever remained in my heart. I said to myself, O, my soul! (Persian Verse.)—How long wilt thou continue to take pleasure in sin? (Tûrki Verse.)—How great has been thy defilement from sin !— How much pleasure thou didst take in despair!— Thou hast seen death before thine eyes for thy salvation. He who resolves to sacrifice his life to save himself, Shall attain that exalted state which thou knowest. Keep thyself far away from all forbidden enjoyments; Having withdrawn myself from such temptation, I vowed never more to drink wine. He destroys Having sent for the gold and silver goblets and cups, with all the other utensils used the drinking vessels, and for drinking parties, I directed them to be broken, and renounced the use of wine, renounces purifying my mind. The fragments of the goblets, and other utensils of gold and silwine. ver, I directed to be divided among Derwishes and the poor. The first person who the use of followed me in my repentance was Asas, who also accompanied me in my resolution of ceasing to cut the beard, and of allowing it to grow.' That night and the following, numbers of Amîrs and courtiers, soldiers and persons not in the service, to the number of nearly three hundred men, made vows of reformation. The wine which we had with us we poured on the ground. I ordered that the wine brought by Bâba Dost should have salt thrown into it, that it might be made into vinegar. On the spot where the wine had been poured out, I directed a wâîn to be sunk and built of stone, and close by the wâîn an alms-house to be erected. In the month of Moharrem, in the year 935, when I went to visit Guâliâr, in my way from Dhûlpûr to Sikri, I found this wâîn completed. I had previously made a vow, that if I gained the victory over Rana Renounces Sanka the pagan, I would remit the temgha (or stamp-tax) levied from Musulmans. the stamp- At the time when I made my vow of penitence, Derwîsh Muhammed Sârbân and Sheikh Zîn put me in mind of my promise. I said, "You did right to remind me of this. I renounce the temgha in all my dominions, so far as concerns Musulmans ;" and I sent for my secretaries, and desired them to write and send to all my dominions Firmâns, conveying intelligence of the two important incidents that had occurred. duty, so far as regards Musulmans. 1 This vow was sometimes made by persons who set out on a war against the Infidels. They did not trim the beard till they returned victorious. Some vows of a similar nature may be found in Scripture. |