and Kundez, is to proceed, accompanied by his brother Wali, to the defence of the hilly tracts of Badakhshân and Khutlân, so that the Uzbeks will be forced to retreat without effecting anything. These letters of Sultan Hussain Mirza threw us into despair; for, at that time, of the whole house of Taimur Beg, there was no sovereign so respectable, either in regard to age, dominions, or military force; and it was expected that envoys and agents would have been treading hard on each other's heels, and assiduously giving orders to collect so many vessels at the passes of Termez, Kilif, and Kirki,' and so many materials for constructing bridges; and that commands would have been issued for guarding carefully the upper passes of Togûzûlûm, that the inhabitants, whose spirit for some years had been quite broken down by the incursions of the Uzbeks, might have time to recover heart. But when a mighty prince, like Sultan Hussain Mirza, who occupied the throne of Taimur Beg, instead of proposing to march against the enemy, only issued directions to strengthen a few posts, what hopes could people entertain? Meanwhile, having left in Ajer such of the men and horses that had accompanied me as had been worn out with hunger and fatigue, together with the family, women, effects, and baggage of Bâki Cheghâniâni, of Ahmed Kâsim's son, of the troops that accompanied them, and of the Aimâks who adhered to them, as well as everything on which they set a value, we marched out and took the field. Persons now arrived in uninterrupted succession from the Moghuls in Khosrou Shah's service, announcing that the whole Moghul tribes, desirous of professing their allegiance to the King, were on their march from Taikhân,2 towards Ishkemish and Felûl; that it was necessary, therefore, that his Majesty should move with the utmost speed to join them; that many of Khosrou Shah's followers were much distracted, and would embrace the King's service. At this very period, information arrived that Sheibâni Khan had taken Andejân, and was advancing against Hissâr and Kûndez. On hearing this news, Khosrou Shah, unable to support himself in Kûndez, took the route of Kâbul with his whole force. No sooner had he left Kûndez, than Mûlla Muhammed Tûrkestâni, one of his old and confidential servants, occupied that fortress, and declared for Sheibâni Khan. Just as I reached the Kezel-su3 (the Red River), by the route of Shemtû, three or four thousand heads of houses of the Moghul clans, who had been dependant on Khosrou Shah, and who had been in Hissâr and Kundez, came and joined me, with their whole families. Here, in order to gratify Bâki Beg, I was obliged to discharge Kamber Ali, the Moghul, who has been so often mentioned. He was a thoughtless and rude talker ; and Bâki Beg could not put up with his manners. From this time forward, his son Abdal Shakûr continued in the service of Jehangîr Mirza. When Khosrou Shah learned that the Moghul tribes had joined me, he felt his own 1 These are the three chief passes over the river Amu or Jeihun, between Kabadian and Chârjû. 2 Mr Metcalfe's copy has Talikhân. Ishkemish is about 15 miles from Kundez to the south-east, and 30 miles west of Talikhân, which lies on the river of Kundez. 3 It is properly called the Sûrkhab, which has the same signification. It is the river that flows by Surkh-kilaa (Red-castle), from near Kehmerd on the west, and falls into the river of Anderâb, below Doshi. helplessness; and, seeing no remedy left, sent his son-in-law, Yâkub Ayûb, as his envoy, to make professions of submission and allegiance, and to assure me that, if I would enter into terms with him, he would come and submit himself. As Bâki Cheghâniâni, a man of much weight, though steadily attached to my service, yet was not without a natural bias in favour of his brother, he recommended a compromise to be made, on condition that Khosrou's life should be spared, and his property left entirely to his own disposal. A treaty was accordingly concluded on these terms. After Yakub had taken leave, we marched down the Kezel-sû, and encamped near its conflux and visits with the river of Anderâb. Next morning (it was about the middle of the first Rabîa1) I passed the Anderâb with a few attendants, and took my seat under the shade of a lofty palm-tree, in the territory of Doshi. From the opposite quarter Khosrou Shah advanced with great pomp and retinue; according to the custom and usage, he dismounted at a considerable distance, and walked up on foot. In approaching to salute, he bowed three times, and as often when he retired back. He also bowed once on the usual inquiries being made, and when he presented his offering; and he showed the same marks of respect to Jehangir Mirza, and Mirza Khan. This pompous man, who for years had acted according to his own will and pleasure, and who wanted nothing of royalty, except that he had not caused the Khutbeh to be read in his own name, now bent himself for twenty-five or twenty-six times successively, and went and came back and forward, till he was so tired that he nearly fell right forward. The visions of empire and authority in which for years he had indulged, vanished from his view. After he had saluted me and presented his tributory offering, I desired him to be seated. He sat down and for one or two garis3 we conversed on various subjects and incidents. Besides being of an unmanly and perfidious character, he showed also great want of propriety, and a sneering turn in his conversation. He made two remarks, in particular, which appeared singular as coming from him, at the moment when his most trusty and confidential servants were going over in troops before his eyes, and taking service with me; and when his affairs had arrived at such a pass, that though a man who in his day had enacted the sovereign, he yet was compelled, sore against his will, to come in this wretched and miserable way, and submit himself in a very paltry manner. One of these was, when I was consoling him for the desertion of his servants; he replied, "These fellows have already left me four times, and always come back again." The other was, on my asking after his younger brother, Wali; when he would come, and by what ford he would cross the Amû? he answered, "If he can find a ford he will come over speedily; but when a river comes down in flood, the fords change; as the proverb runs, the river has carried down its fords."" At the very moment of the change of his fortune and of the desertion of his servants, Almighty God brought these words out of his own mouth. After one or two garis, I mounted and returned back to the camp, and he also returned to his encampment. That same day, great and small, good and bad, officers and servants, began to forsake him, and 1 The end of August, 1504. 2 Doshi lies above Ghuri, on the river Anderâb, at its conflux with the Surkhâb. 5 A gari is twenty-four minutes. R Baber. He is char- Mirza came and joined me with their families and effects; so that, on the morrow, between mid-day and afternoon prayers, not a man remained with him. (Arabic.) "Say, O my Lord! Thou art the King of kings! Thou givest empire unto whom thou pleasest, and takest empire from whom thou pleasest; and increasest whom thou pleasest, and reducest whom thou pleasest: Beneficence is in thy hand; for, verily, thou art powerful over all things." The Lord is wonderful in his might! A man who was master of twenty or thirty thousand retainers, and who possessed the whole tract of country formerly subject to Sultan Mahmûd Mirza, extending from Kahlûgheh,' which is also termed Derbend-e-aheni (the Iron-gate), as far as the Hindû-Kûsh mountains, and one of whose tax-gatherers, named Hassan Birlâs, an aged man, had conducted me, in the surliest manner, from Ilâk to Ubâj, giving me orders how far I was to march, and where I was to encamp; that this very person, in the space of half a day, without battle, without contest, should be reduced to appear in such a state of distress and wretchedness before a needy and reduced fugitive like me, who had only two hundred or two hundred and fifty tatterdemalions, all in the greatest want; that he should no longer have any power over his own servants, nor over his wealth, nor even his life, was a wonderful dispensation of the Omnipotent! The evening of the same day in which I returned from the interview with Khosrou Shah, Mirza Khan2 came into my presence and accused him of the murder of his brothers. Many among us were for receiving the charge; and, indeed, it was conformable to every law, human and divine, that such a man should meet with condign punishment; but as an agreement had been entered into with Khosrou Shah, he was left but suffered free and unmolested, and orders were given that he might carry off as much of his to depart. property as he chose. He accordingly loaded three or four strings3 of mules, and as many camels as he had, with jewels, gold and silver utensils, and other valuables, and set out with them. I directed Shîrîm Taghâi to conduct Khosrou Shah by the route of Ghuri1 and Dehâneh towards Khorasân, and then to proceed himself to Kehmerd and bring my family after me to Kâbul. Baber marches against Kabul; I now left my encampment and marched against Kâbul. I halted at Khwâjeh-zeid. That same day, as Khamzeh-bi Mankfat, who headed a plundering party of Uzbeks, had made an incursion, and was ravaging the territory of Doshi," I dispatched Syed Kâsim, the chamberlain, and Ahmed Kâsim Kohbur, with a party of horse, who fell upon the pillagers, completely routed them, and brought in a number of their heads. At this station the arms and armour which were left in the stores of Khosrou Shahı were divided among the troops. There were about seven or eight hundred coats of mail, and suits of horse furniture. These were one part of the articles which Khosrou Shah left behind; there were many others beside, but nothing of consequence. 1 This pass, generally called Kaluga, is famous in the history of Taimur Beg, and Chengis Khan. It leads through the chain of the Kara-tagh hills, that lies between Khozar and Hissâr. 2 Mirza Khan was Sultan Weis Mirza, youngest son of Sultan Mahmûd Mirza, Baber's uncle. One of his brothers, Baiesanghar Mirza, had been murdered, and Sultan Masaûd Mirza, another of thein, had been blinded by Khosrou Shah, as has been already related in these Memoirs. 3 Seven to a string.-Leyden. 5 In the Persian copy, Khwâjeh Rind. 7 Ishek-agha. • Ghuri lies N.E. from Kehmerd. 6 Doshi lies ten or twelve miles S.E. of Ghuri. 2 From Khwâjeh-zeid, by three or four marches, we reached Ghur-bend. On coming to our ground at Ushter-Sheher, we got intelligence that Shirkeh Arghûn, the Beg in whom Mokim reposed the greatest confidence, still ignorant of my approach, had advanced with an army, and taken post on the river Bârân, for the purpose of intercepting any who might attempt, by the route of Panjhir, to join Abdal Rizâk Mirza,3 who had fled at that time from Kâbul, and was then among the Turkolâni Afghâns in the territory of Lamghân. The instant I received this information, which was between mid-day and afternoon prayers, we set out, and marching all night, ascended the hill-pass of Hupiân. Till this time I had never seen the star Soheil,5 (Canopus,) but on reaching the top of a hill, Soheil appeared below, bright to the south. I said, "This cannot be Soheil!" They answered, "It is indeed Soheil." Bâki Cheghâniâni recited the following verses : 4 O Soheil, how far dost thou shine, and where dost thou rise? The sun was a spear's length high when we reached the foot of the valley of Senjed and alighted. The party whom we had sent on in advance to reconnoitre, with a number of enterprising young warriors, fell in with Shirkeh below Karabagh,¤ in the territory of Aikeri-Yar, and instantly attacked him; they kept harassing him for some time in a skirmishing fight, till reinforcements came up, when they made a vigorous charge, and completely routed his troops. Shirkeh himself was dismounted and made prisoner, with seventy, eighty, or a hundred of his best men. I spared his life, and he entered into my service. ras. When Khosrou Shah abandoned Kundez, and set out for Kâbul, without troubling is joined by himself about his Ils and Ulûses, (the wandering Tûrki and Moghul tribes,) the troops some Hazáin his service, including the Ils and Ulûses, formed five or six bodies. One of these bodies was composed of the men from the hill-country of Badakhshân. Sîdîm Ali Derbân, with the Hazâras of the desert, having passed the straits of Penjhir,7 joined me at this stage, and entered into my service. Another of these bodies, under Yûsef Ayûb 1 Ghur-bend, or the Pass of Ghur, which lies to the south of the high hills of Hindu-kush, is one of the chief passes from Balkh to Kâbul, across that great range. 2 Now Penjshir. 3 Abdal Rizâk Mirza was the son of Ulugh Beg Mirza, one of Baber's uncles, the King of Kâbul and Ghazni. Ulugh Beg died in 907 of the Hejira, about three years before Baber's invasion. He was succeeded by his son Abdal Rizâk Mirza ; but that prince being very young, Shîrîm Ziker, one of his nobles, usurped the supreme direction of affairs. The other Begs, disgusted with Shîrîm's conduct, formed a conspiracy and put him to death. During the confusions that ensued, Muhammed Mokim, a son of Zûlnûn Beg, surprised Kâbul in 908, and married a sister of Abdal Rizâk Mirza. Affairs were still in confusion when Baber entered the country in 910. Hupian, or Upian, is a few miles north of Chârikâr, on the way to Perwan. Senjed Dereh lies west, or north west of Ghurbend. 5 Soheil is a most conspicuous star in Afghanistân. It gives its name to the south, which is never called Junûb, but Soheil. The rising of Soheil marks one of their seasons. • Black-garden. 7 The Pass of Penjhîr, or Penjshir, is in the Hindû-kûsh range, to the east of that of Kipchâk, by which Baber had come. Wali de put to death. and Behlûl Ayûb, joined me in like manner at the same place. Other two of these bodies, the one from Khutlân, under the command of Wali, the brother of Khosrou; the other from Ilanchuk, Nûkderi, and Kakshal, with the Aimâks that had settled in feated, and Kundez, advanced by the route of Anderâb and Seirâb, with an intention of passing by the straits of Penjhir. The Aimâks reached Seirab first; and as Wali was advancing in their rear, they took possession of the road, engaged and defeated him. Wali himself, after his discomfiture, fled for refuge to the Uzbeks; but his head was struck off in the public market1 of Samarkand by the orders of Sheibâni Khan; all the rest of his servants and officers, being discomfited, plundered, and destitute, came and joined me, along with the Aimâks, at this same stage. Syed Yûsef Beg Ughlâkchi also came along with the Aimâks to this place. Khosrou Marching thence, we halted in the auleng, or meadow, of Ak-Serâi, which is situated close upon Karabagh: Khosrou Shah's men, who had long been inured to the practice of violence, and to disregard of discipline, now began to oppress the people of the country. At last an active retainer of Sîdîm Ali Derbân having carried off a jar of oil from some person by force, I ordered him to be brought out and beaten with sticks. He expired under the punishment. This example put an end to such practices. We here held a consultation whether or not it was advisable to proceed against Kâbul. Syed Yûsef Beg and others were of opinion that, as the winter was at hand, we should proceed to Lamghân, and there act as circumstances might require. Bâki Cheghâniâni and several others were for marching directly on Kâbul; and that plan being finally adopted, we marched off from our station, and stopped at the Kûrûk (or Park) of Ama. I was here joined by my mother the Khanum, and the rest of the household that had been left behind at Kehmerd. They had endured great hardships in their march to meet me. The incidents were as follows:-I had sent Shîrîm pelled from Kehmerd. Taghâi to conduct Khosrou Shah on the route to Khorasan, and directed him afterwards to bring on my household. By the time, however, that they reached Dehâneh, Shîrîm Taghâi found that he was not his own master, and Khosrou Shah took the resolution of accompanying him to Kehmerd. Ahmed Kâsim, the sister's son of Khosrou Shah, was then in Kehmerd. Khosrou Shah prevailed upon Ahmed Kâsim to behave very ill to the families left in the place. Many of the Moghul retainers of Bâki Cheghâniâni were in Kehmerd along with these families. They privately, in concert with Shîrîm Taghâi, prepared to seize both Khosrou Shah and Ahmed Kâsim, who, however, taking the alarm, fled away by the road which leads by the skirts of the valley of Ajer, and took the route of Khorasân. The effect of this firmness of the Moghuls having been to rid themselves of these enemies, the guard which was with the families being now freed from any danger from Khosrou Shah, left Ajer. By the time they reached Kehmerd, however, the Sighânchi clan were up in arms, seized the passes on the road, and plundered a number of the families, and of the Ils and Ulûses (or wandering clans), who had followed the fortunes of Bâki Beg. The son of Kûl Bayezîd Tûrk, who was young, was made a prisoner by them. He came to Kâbul three or four years after. The families which had been plundered and dispersed, 1 Charsu. 2 White-house. It is about twelve or fourteen miles north-west from Kâbul. |