SUPPLEMENT, CONTAINING AN ABRIDGED VIEW OF BABER'S TRANSACTIONS, into India. ANOTHER hiatus here occurs in all the Manuscripts, and extends for a space of nearly Uncertainty regarding six years, from the beginning of Sefer A. H. 926, to the beginning of Sefer A.H. 932; Baber's exfrom the end of what is generally called Baber's second expedition into India, to the be- peditions ginning of his fifth and final invasion of that country. The materials for supplying this blank are not so copious as might have been expected. Abulfazl, who wrote in Hindustân, in the reign, and at the court of Baber's grandson, whose secretary he was, and from whom we might therefore have expected the most authentic and ample details of Baber's different invasions of India, treats the march of Baber in 910, when he took A. D. 1505. Kohat, passed through Bânu, went down the Sind as far as the territory of Multân, and returned to Kâbul by Choutiali and Ab-istâdeh, as the first; the expedition on the Cheghanserâi, or Kâshkâr river, in 913, in his account is the second, probably because A. D. 1507. Baber had, at one period of this expedition, formed the intention of proceeding to Hindustân, an intention which he did not accomplish; and the expedition to Behreh in A. D. 1519. 925, is the third: Of the fourth, he acknowledges that he had not been able to get any account; an acknowledgment which, at the same time that it shows the uncertainty of tradition, seems also to prove that Abulfazl, who on other occasions follows the Memoirs of Baber, had them in exactly the same imperfect state in which they have come down to our times; and the recapitulation of previous events which the Memoirs themselves contain, in the beginning of the account of the transactions of the year 932 of the Hejira, seems to confirm the same supposition; since, had an account of all the transactions of the six preceding years been given by way of journal, it would have rendered the recapitulation, by which the history of that year is prefaced, altogether unneces 1 From the end of January 1520, to the middle of November 1525. This interval, in the west, was distinguished by the progress of the Reformation under Luther; the taking of Belgrade and Rhodes by Soliman the Magnificent; and by the battle of Pavia. In America, Cortez conquered Mexico. 2 See Akbernameh, vol. I. MS. His third sary. It is plain, however, that Baber regarded his expedition into Bhira, or Behreh, in A. H. 925, not as his third, but as his first expedition into Hindustân; so that the ignorance of Abulfazl was greater than he himself supposed. The expedition against the Yûsefzais and refractory Afghâns, which is described by Baber in the end of the year 925, and from which he was recalled by the events in Badakhshân, is regarded by Ferishta as his second' expedition into Hindustân; but Baber himself does not intimate that he had any intention at that time of crossing the Indus. It appears, however, that Peshâwer, or Bekrâm, as well as a great part of the country west of the Indus, were anciently regarded as belonging to India; whence the inaccuracy apparent on this subject among the writers of Hindustân, may perhaps in part proceed. Indeed, Baber himself informs us, that Kandahâr was formerly regarded as the boundary between Hindustân and Khorasân. I am not, however, convinced that Baber reckoned this as one of his invasions of Hindustân. Baber's third expedition against Hindustân appears to have been made A. H. 926. expedition. 1520. In his way through Bhîra he inflicted punishment on those who had formerly joined him, but who had afterwards been seduced to revolt and to expel his officers. He drove from the country some Afghâns, while he put to death and made prisoners a number of others, to the great relief of the peasantry and labouring classes, whom they had oppressed. He advanced to Sialkot, the inhabitants of which submitted and saved their possessions; but the inhabitants of Syedpûr, who resisted, were put to the sword, their wives and children carried into captivity, and all their property plundered. Baber at this time received information that his territories had been invaded on the side of Kandahar by Shah Beg, which obliged him to interrupt his expedition, and to return to the defence of his dominions. He soon drove Shah Beg from the field, and shut him up in his capital, which he kept in a state of partial blockade for nearly three years. For the reduction of Kandahâr, which was a place of great strength, he appears to have trusted more to the effects of his annual invasions in wasting and ruining the surrounding country, than to the operations of an active siege. He gives Badakhshân to A. D. 1521. The events which had occurred, proved to him the necessity of leaving his own territories quiet and protected, before he ventured upon foreign conquests. In the course Humain. of the year 927 of the Hejira, having received information of the death of Khan Mirza3 in Badakhshân, he bestowed that country on Hûmâiûn Mirza, his eldest son. The same year he again entered the territories of Shah Beg, and reduced him to great distress. The following year, 928, seems to have been marked by the final reduction of Kandahâr. Shah Beg had retired towards Shâl, Dour, and Siwistân, and in the end con A. D. 1522. Reduction of Kandahår. 1 Khâfi Khan describes Baber as having, in his second expedition, advanced towards Sirhind, Multân, and Lahore; but as he, in common with all other authors, fixes Baber's third invasion in A.H. 926, this supposition, independent of other objections, is incompatible with the chronology of the Memoirs. 2 See Ferishta's General History of Hindustân, translated by Dow, vol. II. p. 194, and the Târikhe Khafi Khan, vol. II. MS. 3 The period of Khan Mirza's death is very uncertain. Abulfazl says it occurred A. H. 917. Khâfi Khan seems to fix it in 915. Ferishta mentions it as occurring about 926. It must have happened either in that or the succeeding year. This is not Zemîn-Dâwer, west of the Helmend, but Dour, a district lying in the Sulimâni hills, westof Banu, and south of Khost. quered the kingdom of Sind.1 Baber pursuing his successes, occupied the country of Germsîr along the Helmend, which had been part of the dominions of Shah Beg. The year 929 he occupied in various expeditions within his own territories, in checking A. D. 1523 the refractory Afghâns, and in introducing some degree of order and arrangement into the affairs of his government. The invasion of Hindustân had long been the favourite object of Baber's ambition. State of The Uzbeks had established themselves in too great force in Mâweralnaher to leave Hindustan. him any hopes of expelling them. Khorasân had been occupied by the Sefvi dynasty of Persian kings, who were now in the height of their power and glory; while the provinces of Hindustân, which in all ages have been an easy prey to the rapacity of every invader, afforded the prospect of a rich and a splendid conquest. The moment was every way favourable to such an attempt. The empire of Delhi was not then what it afterwards became under Akber or Aurengzeb, nor even what it had been under Muhammed Ghori or Alâudîn Khilji. For some time past, it had been in the hands of Afghân invaders. The reign of Ibrâhim had been an unvaried scene of confusion and revolts. His haughty and cruel temper, joined to the impolitic arrogance with which he had treated the Afghân nobles, who considered themselves as having raised his family to the throne, and as being still placed not very far below it, had completely alienated their affections. Many of his discontented nobles had retired beyond the Ganges, and the whole eastern provinces, from Bedâun to Behâr, were in the hands of rebels, who occupied Behâr itself. So extensive had the defection become, that his dominions did not extend much beyond Delhi, Agra, the Doab, Biâna, and Chanderi. Bengal had still its own sovereign, as well as Malwa and Guzerat. The Rajput Princes, from Mewât to Udipûr, had joined in a confederacy, of which Râna Sânka, the Prince of Udipûr, was at the head. The Penjab was held by Doulet Khan, and his sons Ghazi Khan, and Dilâwer Khan, who, Afghâns themselves, were alarmed at -the fate of the Afghân nobles in other parts of the empire, and eager to deliver themselves from the power of the emperor; persuaded that it was safer to rebel than to continue in subjection to a prince whose violent and unrelenting disposition, adding new terrors to the harsh maxims of his government, had destroyed all confidence in him. Guided by their fears, they sent envoys to offer their allegiance to Baber, and to beseech him to march to their succour. No circumstance could have been more in unison with his wishes. He made instant preparations for the expedition, and entered Baber inHindustân for the fourth time. vited into Hindustan. Fourth ex He marched by the country of the Gakers, whom he reduced to obedience. Behâr A. H. 930Khan Lodi, Mobârek Khan Lodi, and some other Afghân Amîrs, who were still in the A. D. 1524. interest of Ibrâhim, or who disliked the arrival of a foreign enemy, collected a large pedition. body of Afghâns, and gave him battle as he approached Lahore, the capital of the province. The Afghâns were defeated, and the conquerors, elated with their success, and enraged at the obstinacy of the resistance, plundered and burned the bazar and town Burns of Lahore. He next advanced to Debâlpûr, the garrison of which holding out, the Lahore. place was stormed, and a general massacre ensued. 1 Shah Beg is said to have died 22d Shaban, 923-17th July, A. D. 1522. Joined by his sons. At Debâlpûr he was joined by Doulet Khan, and his sons Ghazi Khan, and Dilâwer Khan, who, after their revolt, had been compelled to seek refuge among the Baluches. They informed him that Ismâel Jilwâni was lying on the side of a rising ground near Sitâra, with a large body of troops, intending to harass him in his advance, and that it would be expedient to send a detachment to disperse them. Baber was making preparations for acting in conformity with this advice, when he was secretly informed by Dilâwer Khan that it was given with a treacherous intention, Doulet Khan being very desirous of dividing Baber's army in order to serve his own purposes. Baber was soon after convinced, or pretended to be convinced, from concurring circumstances, of the truth of this information, and threw Doulet Khan and Ghazi Khan into prison. He was soon, however, prevailed on to release them, and gave them in Jagîr1 the town of Sultanpûr, which the father had built, with its dependencies. They were afterwards permitted to repair to it, where they employed their time in preparing everything for a revolt, and soon after fled, but took shelter in the hill-country to the east of the Penjâb. Baber, on receiving the news of this event, sent for Dilâwer Khan, gave him possession of their estates, and loaded him with favours. This revolt of a man of such influence in the Penjâb as Doulet Khan, with other adverse circumstances, made it inexpedient for him to advance to Delhi, so that he fell back on Lahore, after he had Baber ad- crossed the Satlej and proceeded as far as Sirhend. He soon after found it necessary to return to Kâbul. He had now, however, gained a permanent footing beyond the Indus, and parcelled out the different districts among his most trusty officers, or such great men of the country as it was necessary to conciliate. In the course of this invasion he had been joined by Sultan Alâeddîn, a brother of the Emperor Ibrâhim. On him Baber bestowed Debâlpûr, and probably flattered him with hopes of the succession to the empire of Hindustân. He now left with him Bâba Kishkeh, one of his favourite officers, to watch him, and retain him in his duty. He appointed Mîr Abdalazîz to the charge of Lahore, Khosrou Gokultâsh to Sialkot, and Muhammed Alî Tajîk to Kilanûr.2 Revolt of vances to Sirhend. Returns to Kâbul. Doulet Khan defeats Alâ. eddîn. Scarcely had Baber recrossed the Indus, when Doulet Khan and Ghazi Khan issued from their retreat in the hills, resumed possession of Sûltânpûr, by vigorous exertions, succeeded in making Dilâwer Khan prisoner, and detained him in close custody. Their army rapidly increased, and they advanced to Debâlpûr, where they defeated Sultan Alâeddîn, who escaped and fled to Kâbul. Bâba Kishkeh repaired to Lahore, which was the head-quarters of the Tûrki army. Doulet Khan, encouraged by his first successes, sent five thousand Afghâns against Siâlkot, in hopes of reducing the A. H. 931. place; but Mîr Abdalazîz having marched from Lahore, with a detachment of Baber's troops, encountered the Afghâns, and completely defeated them. A. D. 1525. Disperses an army sent against him. Sultan Ibrahim had now leisure to collect an army, which he sent against Doulet Khan, for the purpose of reducing him to obedience; but so successful were the intrigues of Doulet Khan in the imperial camp, that he contrived to gain over the general, and the army was completely broken up. 1 A Jagîr is a grant of lands to be held immediately of the sovereign, often with extensive privileges. 2 See Ferishta and Khâfi Khan. supports The crafty old politician soon after learned that Sultan Alâeddîn had been favour- Baber ably received at Kâbul by Baber, who being himself obliged to march to the relief of Alaeddin. Balkh, which was besieged by the Uzbeks, had sent Alâeddîn into Hindustân, with orders to his generals there to accompany him in his march against Delhi, for the purpose of placing him on the throne of the empire. Doulet Khan instantly wrote to Sultan Alâeddîn, whose talents appear to have been but slender, congratulating him on the success of his negotiations, and assuring him that he was the very person whom Doulet Khan was most anxious to see placed on the throne. These assurances were accompanied by a deed of allegiance, under the seal of his Kazis and Chiefs. Sultan Alâeddîn, on reaching Lahore, informed Baber's generals that they were ordered to accompany him to Delhi, and that Ghazi Khan, Doulet Khan's son, was to join them with his army, and to assist them in the expedition. To this Baber's Begs objected. They declared that they had no confidence in Ghazi Khan or his father, with whom both Alâeddîn and themselves had recently been in a state of war; and that he must give hostages before they could place any confidence in him. Their remonstrances, however, were unavailing. Alâeddîn made a treaty with Doulet Khan, ceding to him all the Penjâb; while it was agreed that Alâeddîn should have Delhi, Agra, and the other dominions of the empire in that quarter; and that Hâji Khan, a son of Doulet Khan, should march with a large body of troops in his army. Dilâwer Khan, who had but recently escaped from his rigid confinement, joined Alâeddîn. Ferishta says, that Baber's officers who remained in the Penjâb, bargained that their master should have all the country north-west of the Indus, a circumstance not mentioned by Baber himself, whose narrative never alludes to the claims of Alâeddîn, in whose name1 he appears at first to have marched against Ibrâhim. He probably imagined that Alâeddîn's breach of faith, and subsequent treaty with Doulet Khan, had cancelled all their engagements. Alâeddîn's army, in its advance, was joined by many Amîrs of rank, and, by the time it reached Delhi, could muster forty thousand horse. The siege of Delhi, the defeat of Alâeddîn, and the events that followed, are detailed by Baber himself in his Memoirs, as he was not informed of them till he was considerably advanced in his fifth invasion of Hindustân, with which his narrative recommences. 1 Compare Baber's Memoirs, anno 932, the Akbernâmeh of Abulfazl, the Tarikhe Khâfi Khan, and Ferishta. |