But is for ced to return to Khojend. Repairs to forcement of sûkh. Khojend, and afterwards, having sent a person to Sultan Mahmûd Khan to solicit assistance, proceeded against Samarkand. He dispatched his son, Sultan Muhammed Khanekeh, and Ahmed Beg, with four or five thousand men, against Samarkand; and came himself to Uratippa, where I had an interview with him, and then advanced towards Samarkand by way of Yar-ailâk. Sultan Muhammed and Ahmed Beg had reached Yar-ailâk before me by another road. I came by way of Burkeh-ailâk to Sengraz, which is the chief township and seat of the Darogha of Yar-ailâk; but before my arrival, Sultan Muhammed and Ahmed Beg, having been informed of the approach of Sheibâni Khan, and of his ravaging Shirâz and that vicinity, had retreated back in haste. I too was consequently compelled to retreat, and returned to Khojend. Inspired as I was with an ambition for conquest and for extensive dominion, I would not, on account of one or two defeats, sit down and look idly around me. I now re. paired to Tâshkend to the Khan, in order to gain some assistance in my views on Andejân. This journey also furnished me with a pretext for seeing Shah Begum1 and my other relations, whom I had not seen for seven or eight years. A few days after Gets a rein- my arrival, Syed Muhammed Mirza Doghlet, Ayûb Begchik, and Jan Hassan, were Moghuls. appointed to accompany me, with a reinforcement of seven or eight hundred men. Takes Na. With this auxiliary force I set out, and without tarrying in Khojend, advanced without loss of time, and leaving Kandbâdâm on the left, in the course of the night, reached and applied scaling-ladders to the fortress of Nasûkh, which is ten farsangs from Khojend and three2 from Kandbâdâm, and carried the place by surprise. It was the season when the melons were ripe, and at Nasûkh there is a sort of melon termed Ismail Sheikhi, the skin of which is yellow and puckered like shagreen leather; they are in great abundance. The seeds are about the size of those of an apple, and the pulp four fingers thick. It is a remarkably delicate and agreeable melon, and there is none equal to it in that quarter. Next morning the Moghul Begs represented to me that we had only a handful of men, and that no possible benefit could result from keeping possession of a single insulated castle. Indeed there was truth in what they said; so But aban that, not finding it expedient to remain there and garrison the fort, I retired and went back to Khojend. dons it. Khosrou Shah and This same year Khosrou Shah, accompanied by Baiesanghar Mirza, marched with an Baiesanghar army to Cheghâniân, and, with the most deceitful and treacherous intentions, sent an Mirza take Hissar. embassy to Sultan Masaûd Mirza, inviting him to join them in their enterprise against Samarkand; proposing that, if they conquered it, the one Mirza should fix the seat of his government in Samarkand, and the other in Hissâr. At this time very general discontents prevailed among the Begs, courtiers, cavaliers, and soldiers of Sultan Masaûd. The reason of their dissatisfaction was, that Sheikh Abdulla Birlâs, who had left Sultan Baiesanghar Mirza to join Sultan Masaûd Mirza, and who was the Mirza's father-in-law, had obtained great rank and confidence; and, though Hissâr is but a narrow and confined country, Sultan Masaûd Mirza had given him an allowance of a 1 Shah Begum was one of Yunis Khan's widows. 2 Forty miles from Khojend and twelve from Kandbâdâm. thousand tumans' in money, besides the whole country of Khutlân. Khutlân was the Jagir of the Begs and officers about Sultan Masaûd Mirza's person, Sheikh Abdulla Birlâs, however, got possession of the whole, and he and his sons gained a complete ascendency and unlimited direction of affairs at the court. Such as were dissatisfied, fled and joined Baiesanghar Mirza. Khosrou Shah and Baiesanghar Mirza having lulled Sultan Masaûd Mirza into a careless security by their deceitful professions, after a sudden march from Cheghâniân, appeared before Hissâr about the beat of the morning drum, invested and took it. Sultan Ma saûd takes refuge with At this time Sultan Masaûd Mirza was not within the fortress, but at a palace in the vicinity, which had been built by his father, called the Doulet Serâi. Finding it impossible to throw himself into the fort, he fled towards Khutlân, accompanied by Sultan HusSheikh Abdulla Birlâs; but having separated from him on the road, he proceeded by the Pass of Ubâj3 and took refuge with Sultan Hussain Mirza. sain Mirza. Shah lays As soon as Khosrou Shah had taken Hissâr, he placed Baiesanghar Mirza in it, and Khosrou gave Khutlân to his younger brother Wali. A few days after he set out against Balkh. siege to Having dispatched before him one of his principal retainers, named Nazar Behâder, Balkh. with four thousand men, to occupy the environs of that place, he himself followed soon afterwards, accompanied by Baiesanghar Mirza, and commenced the siege. Ibrâhim Hussain Mirza commanded in Balkh, and had with him a considerable number of Sultan Hussain Mirza's Begs. Khosrou Shah at the same time sent his younger brother Wali with a large detach- Wali sent against ment to lay siege to Shaberghân, and to ravage and destroy the country around. ShaberWali was not able to approach Shaberghân, but sent out his troops to plunder the Ils ghan. and Ulus (the wandering tribes and hordes) that occupied the desert of Zerdek, which they accordingly did, carrying off above one hundred thousand sheep, and nearly three thousand camels. Proceeding thence, he pillaged the district of Sanchârik, and having taken prisoners and carried off a number of the inhabitants who had fled for refuge to hills and there fortified themselves, he returned to Balkh and rejoined his elder brother. 1 It is extremely difficult to fix the value of money in remote periods. The Tumân, in Della Valle's time, (A. D. 1617,) was 10 zecchins, (Voyages, vol. IV. p. 357.) Mandelsloe soon after values the zecchin at 8 or 9 rupees; which would make the tumân of that day worth £9 or £10 sterling. In Chardin's time, the tuman was equal to 45 livres; and Tavernier makes it equal to 46 livres, 1 denier, 1-5th; or, according to his English translator, at the then par of 4s. 6d. for the French crown, £3, 9s. and a fraction. The livre, it will be remembered, like the tumân, has been sinking in value. Fryer (Travels, p. 222) makes the tumân £3 and a noble. It was lately worth an English guinea, and from incessant tampering with the coin, is now worth little more than 15 shillings. As the decline has been constant, it was probably, in Baber's time, worth more than the highest of these sums. The Shahrukhi was a silver coin of the value of tenpence or elevenpence English, two and a half shahrukhis being equal to a rupee in Akber's time. The Tang, or Tenki, was a small silver coin, of which, in Mandelsloe's time, 14, 15, or 16 went to a pagoda. It was of the value of about fivepence, and was formerly more. It has now declined to about a penny. It seems to have been the sixth part of a dirhem. The Dâm was an Indian copper coin, the fortieth part of a rupee. 2 A jagîr is a territorial grant held under a prince, generally for a limited period, often, however, in perpetuity. 3 Ubâj is a famous pass over the Amu, above Kobâdiân. * West of Balkh. While Khosrou Shah lay before Balkh, he one day sent Nazer Behâder, who has been mentioned, to destroy the water courses and spoil the waters in the environs of Balkh. Tengri Berdi Samanchi, an officer who had been brought forward by Sultan Hussain Mirza, issued from the fort with seventy or eighty men, and having fallen in with Nazer Behâder's party, met him face to face, beat him down from his horse, cut off his head, and returned back with it to the fort, having displayed singular bravery Nazer Behâder slain. in the whole course of the affair. Sultan Hus marches This same year Sultan Hussain Mirza levied an army and advanced to the fort of sain Mirza Bost1 for the purpose of reducing to order Zûlnûn Arghûn and Shah Shujaa his son; against Zûl- who, having joined Badîa-ez-Zemân Mirza, and given him a daughter of Zûlnûn's in nun Beg. marriage, were now in a state of rebellion and revolt. On that occasion, when the Sultan could not procure supplies of grain for the army from any quarter, and was on the point of being compelled to raise the siege, and of being reduced to the last extreTakes Bost. mity from famine, the governor 2 surrendered the fort, and the stores found in the granaries enabled the army to return to Khorasân. sain Mirza's Sultan Hus- When a king like Sultan Hussain Mirza, who was attended with such royal equisons rebel." page, and displayed so much pomp and state, had led his army on several different occasions against Kundez, Hissâr, and Kandahâr, and had in every instance returned unsuccessful, his sons and Begs were spirited up to venture on seditions and rebellion. Sultan Hussain Mirza had dispatched Muhammed Wali Beg, with a number of Begs and the bulk of his army, for the purpose of chastising his son Muhammed Hussain Mirza, who was in revolt, and gaining ground at Asterâbâd, with instructions to advance upon him by rapid marches. He himself, meanwhile, remained encamped in the Auleng (or meadow) of Nîshin; 3 when Badîa-ez-Zemân Mirza, and Shah Beg the son of Zûlnûn, having collected a body of troops, came on him by surprise. By a most fortunate accident, Sultan Masaûd Mirza, who had just lost Hissâr, came that very day to join Sultan Hussain Mirza; and, in the course of the same day, the army that had been detached against Asterâbâd, having returned back, also joined him. When the two armies therefore came to face each other, the enemy found themselves too weak to venture on a battle, and Badîa-ez-Zemân Mirza and Shah Beg took to flight. Sultan Hussain Mirza received Sultan Masaûd Mirza in the most gracious manner, gave him one of his daughters in marriage, and distinguished him by every mark of attention and kindness. Seduced, however, by the instigations of Bâki Cheghâniâni, the younger brother of Khosrou Shah, who some time before had entered into the service of Sultan Sultan Ma Hussain Mirza, he did not continue in Khorasân, but went off, under some false pretext, without even taking leave of Sultan Hussain Mirza, and joined Khosrou Shah. Khosrou Shah now sent for Baiesanghar Mirza from Hissâr. At this time Mirân saûd Mirza leaves his court. 1 Sultan Hussain Mirza had advanced with his army to Zemîn Dâwer, but found himself forced to retreat into Khorasân. He previously, however, laid siege to Bost, in which were some of Zûlnûn's stores. The garrison, by holding out a few days, might have starved the besiegers; but the Governor, Abdal Rahmon Arghûn, surrendered after a feeble resistance. Kila Bost lies on the left bank of the Helmend, below Zemîn Dâwer, which lies higher up towards the hills, on the right bank of the Siâhbend river. 2 Darogha. Near Herât. 1 Shah Mirza, the son of Ulugh Beg Mirza, who had rebelled against his father and taken shelter among the Hazâras, having done something which gave them offence, was obliged to leave them also, and now came to Khosrou Shah. Some evil-minded counsellors advised Khosrou Shah to put all the three princes to death, and to cause the Khutbeh2 to be read in his own name. He did not fall into this plan, but yet, for the sake of this fleeting and faithless world, which never was, and never will be, true to any one, this thankless and ungrateful man seized Sultan Masaûd Mirza, a prince whom he himself had reared from infancy to manhood, and whose governor he had been, and blinded him by lancing his eyes. Some of the foster-brothers, clansmen, and His eyes playmates of Masaûd Mirza carried him off, with the intention of conducting him to Khosrou Sultan Ali Mirza in Samarkand, and brought him to Kesh. Here, discovering a plan Shah. that had been formed for attacking them, they fled, crossed the river Amu by the pasof Chehâr-Jûi, and took refuge with Sultan Hussain Mirza. Every day until the day of judgment, may a hundred thousand curses light on the head of that man who is guilty of such black treachery, and on his who plans it: let every man who hears of this action of Khosrou Shah, pour out imprecations on him; for he who hears of such a deed and does not curse him, is himself worthy to be accursed. sage After this abominable transaction, having declared Baiesanghar Mirza King, he sent him off to Hissâr; and, at the same time, sent Mirân Shah Mirza towards Bâmiân, accompanied by Syed Kâmil, who was to lend him his assistance. put out by TRANSACTIONS OF THE YEAR 904.3 HAVING failed in repeated expeditions against Samarkand and Andejân, I once more returned to Khojend. Khojend is but a small place; and it is difficult for one to support two hundred retainers in it. How, then, could a man, ambitious of empire, set himself down contentedly in so insignificant a place? In order to forward my views against Samarkand, I now sent some persons to Baber gets Muhammed Hussain Korkân Doghlet, who held Uratippa, to confer with him, and for one Beshagher induce him to lend me for one winter Beshagher, which is one of the villages of winter. Yar-ailâk. It had formerly belonged to the reverend Khwâjeh, but, during the confusions, had become dependent on him; and my plan now was, to take up my residence there, and attempt whatever circumstances might suggest against Samarkand. Muhammed Hussain Doghlet gave his consent, and I left Khojend, on my way to Bashâgher. 1 This Ulugh Beg Mirza was not the illustrious sovereign of Samarkand, but the King of Kâbul, and a brother of Baber's father. 2 The prayer for the prince. This year of the Hejira began 19th August 1498. Attempts to Reduces the 2 When I reached Râmin,' I was seized with a fever; notwithstanding which, I mounted, and, having left that place, proceeded with great speed, by the mountainroute, against Rebât-e-Khwâjeh, which is the seat of the Darôgha, or governor of the Tûman of Shâdwâr, in the hope that we might have been able to come upon it and apply our scaling-ladders unobserved, and so carry the place by surprise. I reached it at daybreak; but, finding the garrison on the alert, retreated, and reached Beshâgher, without halting anywhere. In spite of my fever, I had ridden fourteen farsangs,3 though with great difficulty, and I suffered much from the exertion. 5 In a few days, I dispatched Ibrâhim Saru, Weis Laghari, and Shiram Taghâi, with some Begs of my party, and a body of my partizans and adherents, to proceed without loss of time, and reduce, either by negotiation or by force, all the fortresses of Yârailâk. At this time, Syed Yusef Beg was in command of the district of Yâr-ailâk. He had remained behind in Samarkand when I abandoned it, and had been well treated by Sultan Ali Mirza. Syed Yusef Beg had sent his brother and younger son for the purpose of occupying and managing Yâr-ailâk. Ahmed Yûsef, who at present has the government of Sialkot, was in charge of the fortresses. My Begs and soldiers set out accordingly; and exerting themselves with uncommon activity during the whole winter, gained possession of the strong places, some by negotiation, some by storm, and others by artifice and stratagem. In consequence of the incursions of the Moghuls and Usbeks, there is not a village in the whole district of Yâr-ailâk which is not converted into a fortress. On the occasion in question, suspicions being entertained of Syed Yusef Beg, his younger brother, and son, on account of their known attachment to me, they were all sent away to Khorasân. The winter passed in such efforts and attempts as these. In the spring, Sultan Ali Mirza sent Khwâjeh Yahîa to treat with me, while he himself marched with his army into the neighbourhood of Shirâz and Kâbad." My soldiers, though above two hundred in number, did not amount to three hundred; and the enemy was in great force. I had hovered for a while about Andejân, but my star had not prospered. Samarkand, but is forced too, had slipped out of my hands. I was now compelled by necessity to make some sort of peace, and returned back from Beshâgher. to abandon them. Khojend is an inconsiderable place, from which a single Beg would have found it difficult to have supported himself. There, however, I had remained with my whole family, for a year and a half, or nearly two years. The Musulmans of the place, during all that time, had strained themselves to the utmost extent of their abilities to serve me. With what face, therefore, could I return to Khojend, and, indeed what benefit could result from it?-(Tûrki couplet.) 3 About 56 miles. 4 When Baber abandoned Samarkand to march for Andejân, the former place was occupied by Sultan Ali Mirza from Bokhara. Indeed that prince was Baber's ally, and had an army in the neighbourhood when Baber first entered the place. 5 In the Penjab. • Or Kaidu. |