A. D. 1528. allowance as a provision for the posthouse-keepers, couriers, and grooms, and for feeding the horses; and orders were given, that wherever a posthouse for horses was built near a khalseh or imperial demesne, they should be furnished from thence with the stated allowances; that if it was situated in a perganna, the nobleman in charge should attend to the supply. The same day, Chikmâk Pâdshâhi left Agra. The kos Length of the kos, &c. was fixed in conformity with the mîl, according to these verses :— Grand feast. Dec. 19. (Tûrki.)-Four thousand paces are one mil, Know that the men of Hindustan call it a kuroh (kos). This pace is a cubit and a half; Every cubit is six hand-breadths; 2 Each hand-breadth is six inches; and, again, each inch Is the breadth of six barley-corns. Know all this. The measuring tenâb was to consist of forty gez or paces, each measuring one and a half of the gez or cubit that has been mentioned, and so equal to nine hand-breadths; and a hundred of these tenâbs were to go to one kos. On Saturday the 6th, I had a feast in the garden. I sat in the northern part of it, in an octagonal pavilion that was recently erected, and covered with khâs-grass for coolness. On my right, at the distance of five or six gez, sat Bugha Sultan, Askeri, and the venerable Khwâjeh's family, Khwâjeh Abdâl Shahîd, Khwâjeh Kilân, Khwâjeh Husseini Khalîfeh, and other comers from Samarkand, the dependants of the Khwâjeh, readers of the Korân, and Mûllas. On my left, at an interval of five or six gez,5 were seated Muhammed Zemân Mirza, Autenk Itmish Sultan, Syed Rafia, Syed Rûmi Sheikh Abul Fateh, Sheikh Jemâli, Sheikh Shehâbeddîn Arab, and Syed Dekni. The Kezelbash, Uzbek, and Hindu ambassadors were present at this feast. An awning was erected at the distance of seventy or eighty gez to the right, in which the Kezelbash7 ambassadors were placed, and Yunis Ali was selected from the Amîrs to sit beside them. At the same distance on the left, in like manner, the Uzbek ambassadors were stationed, and Abdalla was selected from the Amîrs to sit beside them. Before the dinner was served, all the Khans, Sultans, grandees, and Amîrs, offered congratulatory presents of red, and, white, and black money, with cloth and other articles. I ordered woollen cloths to be spread out before me, into which they threw the gold and silver money; offerings of coloured cloth and of white cloth, as well as purses, of money, were piled up beside the gold and silver. Before dining, while the presents were coming in, there were fights of furious camels and elephants, in an island 10 in 1 Kar. 4 2 Tûtâm, a fist or hand-breadth. 3 The larger gez, or pace, was nine hand-breadths; the smaller, or cubit, six hand-breadths. During the heats, particularly while the hot winds are blowing, it is customary in India to cover the open side-doors and windows of apartments with a sweet-smelling species of grass, which is kept moist with water. The air, passing through this, is much softened, and an agreeable coolness produced. 5 Ten or twelve feet. 6 About 140 or 150 feet, or perhaps more. 8 Sacheh. 7i. e. The Persian. 9 Badreh is a purse, containing about £60. 10 I am not quite sure of the meaning of arál. In some instances it certainly means island. In others it seems to mean plot or bank. The royal garden was probably close by the Jumna, in an island : in which the fights were exhibited. front. There were also some ram-fights, and afterwards matches of wrestlers. When the dinner was placed, Khwâjeh Abdal Shahîd and Khwâjeh Kilân were invested with muslin robes of very fine cotton, with suitable dresses of honour. Mûlla Farekh, Hâfez, and those who were with them, received gowns of cloth. On the ambassador of Kochim Khan,1 and the younger brother of Hassan Chelebi, were bestowed Sirkamash robes of muslin, with rich buttons, and dresses of honour suited to their rank. To the ambassadors of Abusaîd Sultan, and Miherbân Khânim and her son Polâd Sultan, and to the ambassadors of Shah Hassan, were given vests with buttons, and robes of rich cloth. A stone of gold was weighed with the silver weights, and a stone of silver with the gold weights, and given to Dosta Khwâjeh and the two great ambassadors, who were the servants of Kochim Khan, and to the younger brother of Hassan Khan Chelebi. The gold stone contains five hundred mishkals, which is one sîr Kâbul measure. The silver measure is two hundred and fifty mishkals, which is half a Kâbul sir. Khwâjeh Mîr Sultani, his sons, and Hâfez Tâshkendi, Mûlla Farekh and his followers, the servants of the Khwâjeh, and the other ambassadors, had each of them presents of silver and gold. Yâdgâr Nâsir had a hanger and belt. Mîr Muhammed Jalibân had deserved great rewards, for the skill with which he had constructed the bridge over the Ganges. He and the other musketeers, Pehlwân Hâji Muhammed, and Pehlwân Behlûl, and Wali Parschi, were presented each with a dagger. Syed Daûd Germsîri had a present in silver and gold. The servants of my daughter Maasûmeh, and of my son Hindâl, received vests ornamented with buttons, and dresses of honour made of rich cloth. To the men who had come from Andejân, who, without a country, without a home, had roamed with me in my wanderings in Sûkh and Hushiâr,3 and many lands, to all my veterans and tried men, I gave vests and rich dresses of honour, with gold and silver clothes, and other articles of value. To the servants of Korbân and Sheikhi, and the natives of Kehmerd, presents were, in like manner, given. When the dinner was placed, the Hindustâni jugglers were brought Jugglers in and performed their tricks, and the tumblers and rope-dancers exhibited their blers. feats. The Hindustâni slight-of-hand men do several feats which I never saw performed by those of our countries. One of these is the following:-They take seven rings, one of which they suspend over their forehead, and two on their thighs; the other four they place, two on two of their fingers, and the other two on two of their toes, and then whirl them all round with a quick uninterrupted motion. Another is thisthey place one of their hands on the ground, and then raise up their other hand and their two feet, which they spread out so as to represent the port of a peacock, all the while turning round, with a continued rapid motion, three rings placed on their hand and two feet. The tumblers of our country fix two wooden poles to their feet, 1 Kochim or Kechim Khan has already been mentioned along with Abusaîd Sultan and Polâd Sultan, as Uzbek chiefs of Samarkand. 2 Hassan Khan Chelebi was the Persian ambassador. 3 Baber's residence in Sûkh and Hushiâr was the most trying period of his life. It immediately preceded his finally abandoning Ferghâna, when he set out for Khorasan. These, therefore, were his most faithful followers. 4 Bazigers. See a paper by Colonel Richardson, in the Asiatick Researches, on this subject. 5 Lûlis. and tum A.D. 1528. and walk on these wooden supports; the Hindustâni tumblers, clinging to a singe wooden support, walk on it, and that without fastening it to their feet. In our countries, two tumblers lay hold of each other, and go on tumbling when thus linked together: whereas the Hindustâni tumblers lay hold of each other to the number of three and four, and go on tumbling intertwined in a circle. One of the most remarkable feats which they exhibit is when a tumbler, placing the lower part of a pole, of six or seven gez1 in length, on his middle, holds it erect, while another tumbler mounts the pole, and plays his feats on the top of it. In other cases, a young tumbler climbs up, and stands on the head of an elder one; the lower one walks fast about from side to side playing his feats, with the younger one all the while standing erect and firm on his head, and also exhibiting his tricks. Many pateras, or dancing-girls, were also introduced, and danced. Towards evening prayers, a great quantity of gold, silver, and copper money was scattered; there was a precious hubbub and uproar. Between evening and bed-time prayers, I made five or six of the most distinguished of my guests sit down near me, and I continued with them till the end of the first watch. Next morning, in the forenoon, I went to the Hesht-Behisht in a boat. Dec. 21. Dec. 22. Dec. 24. Dec. 25. Dec. 29. Khorasan. 10th Mo harrem. Sept. 26. On Monday, Askeri, who had begun his march, and left the town, took leave of me in my bath, and proceeded to the eastward. On Tuesday, I set out to visit the tanks, garden, and palace, which I had ordered to be made at Dhûlpûr. I mounted at my garden-house at one geri of the second watch,2 and five geris of the first watch3 of the night were past, when I reached the garden of Dhûlpûr. On Thursday the 11th, the stone well, the cypresses, the twenty-six stones and stone columns, and the water-channels, which were all hewed on the hill from the solid rock, were finished. About the third watch of that same day, they began to draw water from the well. Presents were given to the stone-cutters, carpenters, and all the labourers, according to the usage of the artizans and labourers of Agra. By way of precaution, in order to remove any disagreeable taste that might be in the water, they were directed to turn the water-wheel of the well day and night incessantly for fifty days, and let the water run off. 5 On Friday, while there was still one geri of the first watch remaining, I set off from Dhûlpûr, and the sun was not set when I had alighted, and passed the river. On Tuesday the 16th, a man who had been in the battle between the Kezelbashes and Uzbeks, a servant of Deo Sultan, came and gave an account of the engagement. He informed me, that the battle between the Uzbeks and Turkomans was fought on the Roz-Ashûr, in the neighbourhood of Jâm and Khirgird, and lasted from the first twilight till noon-day prayers. The Uzbeks were three hundred thousand in number; the Turkomans, according to their own account, amounted to only forty or fifty thousand, but, from their array, had the appearance of amounting to a hundred thousand; while the Uzbeks made their own army amount to only one hundred and five thousand. The Kezelbashes engaged, after having placed their guns, artillery, and mus 1 Twelve or fourteen feet. 4 Between noon and three o'clock p.m. 2 About half past nine a. m. 5 keteers in order, and fortified their position, according to the tactics of Rûm;1 they had two thousand artillery-men and six thousand matchlock-men. The Prince and Chokkeh Sultan were stationed behind the guns, with twenty thousand chosen men. The other Amîrs were placed beyond the guns, on the right and left wings. The Uzbeks, on the first charge, having broken and defeated the outposts and flankers, whom they drove in, and made a number of prisoners, advanced into the rear of the Kezelbash army, where they took the camels and plundered the baggage. The troops who had been stationed behind the artillery, now unloosing the chains of the guns, issued forth, when a desperate action ensued. The Uzbeks, who were commanded by Kochim Khan, were Defeat of thrice broken, and thrice returned to the charge; but at length, by the divine favour, were totally routed, and nine Sultans, including Obeid Khan and Abusaîd Sultan, left on the field, of which number Abusaîd Sultan was the only one taken alive, the other eight being slain. The head of Obeid Khan could not be found, but his body was discovered. Fifty thousand Uzbeks and twenty thousand Turkomans fell in the action. the Uzbeks. vourable Purab. The same day, Ghîâseddîn Korchi, who had gone to Jonpur, and engaged to return Sultan Juby a stated day, came back, having been absent sixteen days. Sultan Junîd and the nid's fa officers who were with him had levied an army, and advanced to Kherid; so that report of Ghîâseddîn, being obliged to follow him thither, had been unable to return back at the time appointed. Sultan Jûnid had answered verbally, that, thanks to the goodness of God, affairs in that quarter exhibited no symptoms that appeared to call for the presence of the Emperor. "Let a Mirza come, and let orders be issued to the Sultans, Khans, and Amîrs of the neighbouring provinces, to attend the Mirza, and I have no doubt that everything will go on in a satisfactory manner, and successfully." Though I had received this answer from Sultan Jûnid, yet as Mûlla Muhammed Mazhib, who, after the holy war against Sanka the Pagan, had been sent on an embassy to Bengal, was daily expected back, I waited till I could hear his account also of the state of things. Mûlla med's re port of On Friday the 19th, I had taken a maajûn, and was sitting with a few of my parti- A. D. 1529. cular intimates in my private apartments, when Mûlla Muhammed Mazhib arrived ; January 1. and, on the evening of the same day, being Saturday eve, he came and waited upon Muhamme. I inquired minutely and in detail into all the affairs of that quarter, one after another; and learned that Bengal was in a state of perfect obedience and tranquillity. Bengal. On Saturday, I called the Tûrki nobles and those of Hind into my private apart- January 2. ments, and held a consultation with them. It was observed, that the Bengalis had aber resent an ambassador, and were submissive and quiet; that it was, therefore, quite unnecessary for me to proceed to Bengal; that if I did not go to Bengal, there was no other place in that direction which was rich enough to satisfy the troops; that, towards the west, there were several places, which were both near at hand, and rich in wealth : (Turki verse.) The country is rich, the inhabitants Pagans, the road short; If that to the east is remote, this is close at hand. solves to march to the west. At length, it was resolved that I should march to the west, as being the nearest. I Despatches delayed some days, in order to be perfectly at ease respecting the affairs to the eastward Ghiaseddin 2 Kherid seems to have lain below Oude, towards the mouth of the Gogra or Dewah. 1 Turkey. to the eastward. A. D. 1529. before I moved. I therefore once more despatched Ghîâseddîn Korchi, directing him to return to me in twenty days, and wrote and sent by him Firmâns to the Amîrs of Pûrab (or the East), desiring all the Sultans, Khans, and Amîrs on that side of the river Ganges, to join Askeri, and to march with him against the enemy. I gave him special directions that, after delivering the Firmâns, he should collect all the news that he could relating to these parts, and return to me with speed by the appointed time. Incursion of the Ba lûches. Baber visits Jan. 14. Hears of the loss of Be hår. News reached me at this same period, by despatches from Muhammed Gokultâsh, that the Balûches had again made an incursion, and committed great devastation in several places. In order to punish this insult, I directed Chîn Taimur Sultan to proceed to assemble the Amîrs of Sehrind and Samâneh, and that neighbourhood, such as Adel Sultan, Sultan Muhammed Duldi, Khosrou Gokultâsh, Muhammed Ali JengJeng, Dilâwer Khan, Ahmed Yûsef, Shah Mansûr Birlâs, Muhammedi Gokultâsh, Abdal-azîz Mîr Akhûr (or master of horse), Syed Ali Wali Kezelbâsh, Kirâcheh Hilahil, Ashik Bekâwel, Sheikh Ali Kitteh, Kajûr Khan, and Hassan Ali Siwâdi; and orders were issued that these noblemen should join Chîn Taimur, with arms and provisions for six months' service, and proceed against the Balûches; that they should all assemble on his summons, march under his orders, and act in every respect in perfect conformity to his commands. I appointed Abdal-Ghafûr as tewâchi1 (or special messenger), to convey these Firmâns. It was arranged that he should, in the first place, carry the Firmâns for Chin Taimûr Sultan, and afterwards proceed to deliver the Firmâns to the other noblemen who have been mentioned, enjoining them all to repair, attended by their forces, to such place as should be pointed out by Chin Taimûr Sultan for their assembling; that Abdal-Ghafûr should himself remain with the army, and report to me by letter if any of the officers betrayed indolence or want of zeal, in which case I would deprive the offender of his rank and station, and remove him from his government and Perganna. Having written, and delivered these letters to Abdal-Ghafûr, I despatched him, giving him at the same time, additional verbal instructions. On Sunday eve,1 the 28th, at three watches and six geris,2 I passed the Jûmna on my way to the Baghe Nilofer (or Lotus Garden) which is in Dhûlpûr; it was near the end of the third watch of Sunday,3 when we reached it. Situations and pieces of ground were pitched upon, in the neighbourhood of the garden, on which it was arranged that several of the Amîrs and courtiers were to build themselves palaces, and lay out gardens. On Thursday, the 3d of the first Jemadi, I pitched upon a place for a bath, on the south-east of the garden, and it was accordingly cleared for that purpose. I directed that, on the spot so cleared, they should build a bath on the best construction, on an elevated platform, and, in one of its apartments, finish a reservoir ten by ten. 4 The same day I received letters from Kazi Jîâ and Ner-Sing Deoreh, which had 1 The tewâchi is an officer who corresponds very nearly to the Turkish chaous, or special messenger ; but he was also often employed to act as a commissary for providing men or stores, as a commissioner in superintending important affairs, as an aid-de-camp in carrying orders, &c. 3 Near three p.m. 2 Sunday morning Jan. 10, about half past five a.m. 4 About twenty feet square. |