8. Volume 5 — part 8

The beginning of this year corresponded with Saturday, 6th Jumdda-l akliir, 1000 h. [UsuaJ rejoicings at Lahore.']

Jalala the sectary, who had fled to 'Abdii-lla Kh&n [in Badakhshdn], now returned, and again engaged in revolt and robbery. On New Year's Day Ja’far Beg Asaf Khdn, the hakhsM^ was named to lead an army against him in communication with Muhamma^ Kdsim Khan, governor of K&bul. I, the author, was appointed to the post of hakhshi. At the end of Sha'ban, Zain Khan Koka, who had been sent to settle the country of Sw5,t and Bajaur, and to root out those Afghans who had escaped the sword, was ordered to march and exterminate Jal&la. ^

On the 24th Shawwal, agreeing with 12th Amurddd of the 37th year of the reign, the Emperor set off hunting to the banks of the Ohindb, on the way to Kashmir. He passed the Rdvi, and stayed for five days, enjoying himself in the garden of Das. From thence he made a march of three kos. Then he ap- pointed Kalij Khdn and Mota R&jd to take charge of affairs at Lahore. As it was now the rainy season, and the waters were out, he left Prince Salim to march on slowly with the camp, while he hastened on with his hunting attendants to the Ohindb. Here he received intelligence that Yddgdr, nephew of Mirzd Yusuf Khdii Rizwi, governor of Kashmir, had conspired with some disaffected Kashmiris, and having raised the standard of revolt, had assumed the title of Sultdn. Kdzi ’Ali, the diwdn

^ Bad&ani (vol. ii. p. 379) specifics the number as < one hundred.’

of Kashmir, and Husain Beg Shaikh Umarl, the collector .{tahdlMr-^i alihrdj)^ attacked him with their men, but K&zi *Ali was killed, and Husain Beg was glad to escape half dead ' to Rdjauri. His Majesty sent Farid Bakhsh with a party of amirsy such as * * *, and a thousand Badakhshdni Aimak horsemen, into Kashmir. He himself crossed the Chindb, and waited there for a while hunting, until Prince Salim came up with the camp.

Khdn-khdndn had besieged Jdni Beg for two months. Every day there was fighting, and loss on both sides. The Sindians had got possession of the roads, and prevented the passage of provisions. Crrain had consequently become very scarce, and bread exceedingly dear. Khdn>khdndn had no resource but to move away, so he set off towards the parffana of Jun, near Tatta. But he sent a portion of his force, under Saiyid Bahdu-d din Bukhari * Mir Muhammad Ma’suni Bhakari, and other of his officers, to invest Sihwdn. Jdui Beg, assuming Sihwdu force to be weak in numbers, marched against it. When Khdn- khdndn heard of this movement, he sent off witli all possible speed Daulat Khdn Lodi, Khwdja Muhammad Hakim BaklM^ Dharii son of Rdjd Todar Mai, Dal Bait the son of Eai Singh, and * * to reinforce the Sihwan division. This dotacliraent marched eighty kos in two days, and effected a junction.

Next day Jdnl Beg came up and arrayed his army. Daulat KJidn also iftade his dispositions. His force amounted to only two thousand, while Jaiii Beg had more than five thousand. But confident in the Imperial good fortune, they went into battle. R&jd Todar Mai's son Dh&ru fought most bravely, and was killed. The wind of victory blew upon the royal standards, and Jdui Beg flew towards the banks of the river. He stopped at thfe village of Unarpiir,^ on the banks of the river, and again entrenched himself. Khdn-khdnAn upon his side, and the Sihwan force upon the other, bore down upon him and besieged him. There was fighting every day. At length Janx Beg's men were reduced to eat their horses and camels, and many were killed I Through the passes of Kashmir. Var. “ Amharptir,**

every day by the fire of the guns and muskets. ‘ Jdni Beg was compelled to make an offer of capitulation, and to promise to go and wait upon the Emperor. He begged for the period of three months to make preparations for his journey, and this was con- ceded. It being the rainy season, Kh&n-khdn&n remained in the village of Sann, in the vicinity of Sihwan, for that time. The fort of Sihwdn was surrendered, and Jani Beg gave his daughter in marriage to Mirzd fraj*, son of Kli&n-kh&n&n. He also sur- rendered twenty ghrdbs.

The intelligence of this victory gave the Emperor great jdy, as he deemed it a good augury of his success in Kashmir. He then continued his j'ourney to Kashmir, and when he arrived near Bhiinbhar, which is at the beginning of the mountain passes, he received intelligence that his army, having made five or six marches in the mountains, had been attacked by a force of Kashmiris and men belonging to Y^idgar, who had blockaded the pass of Kartal.^ But these men were unable to hold their ground against the brave soldiers of the army, and took to flight. Y ddg&r came up as far as Hamirpur with a large force to oppose the progress of tho royal army ; but in the course of the night a party of Afghans and Turkoradns belonging to Mirza Yusuf Khan fell upon him and put him to death. Throe days after- wards his head was brought to the Emperor, and was exposed as a warning. Tho Emperor’s good fortune thus secured an e^sy victory for him. It was a curious coincidence, that the day on which the Emperor crossed the river of Lahore to proceed to Kashmir, was the day on which Y&dgar broke out in rebellion and caused the khutha to be read in his name.

On the 23rd Zi-1 hijja, the Emperor left Prince Daniyal behind in charge of the ladies of the harem^ because he was not well, and he was directed to proceed with tlxem to tho fort of Eohtds. The Em|)0ror hirnaelf went on rapidly to Kashmir, taking me with him in attendance. On the 8th Muharram, 1001, he reached

1 This is a very doubtful name, see p. 454. and

Kashmir, and stayed there eight days, riding about and hunting water-fowl. He conferred the government of Kashmir on Mirza Yusuf Khan Rizwi, and left a number of oflScers with him, sucli as * On the 6th Safar he started on his return journey, and, embarking in a boat, he proceeded towards B&ra-mula, on the confines of Kashmir, on the way to Pakhali. On the road he saw a reservoir called Zain-lankd. This reservoir is inclosed on the west, n(/rth, and south, by mountains, and it is thirty kos in circumference. The river Behut (Jilam) passes through this lake. Its wator is very pure and deep. Sultdn Zainu-1 ’dbidin carried out a pier of stone to the distance of one Jarib into the lake, and upon it erected a high building. Nothing like this lake and building is to*be found in India. After visiting this edifice, he went to Bdra-mula, whore he disembarked, and proceeded by land to Pakhali. When he reached that place, there was a heavy fall of snow and rain. Prom thence he went on rapidly to Bohtds. I, the author of this history, and * * wore ordered to follow slowly with the ladies of the harem. It is a curious fact, that when the Emperor started on his return from Kashmir, he observed, ^'It is forty years since I saw snow, and there are many men with me, born and bred in Hind, who have never seen it. If a snow-storm should come upon us in the neighbourhood of Pakhali, it would be a kind dispensation of Providence.'' It occurred just as His Majesty expressed his wish. On the 1st Babi'u-l awwal he reached the fort of Bohtds, and there rested. On the 13th ho started for Lahore, the capital, and on the 6th Babi'u-s sani he arrived there.

Intelligence here reached him that Rdja Man Singh had fought a great battlawith the sous of Katl4 Afglian, who, since his death, had held the country of Orissa, and, having defeated them, he had annexed that extensive country which lies beyond Bengal to the Imperial dominions.

The beginning of this year corresponded with the 17th Jum&da-s s&ni, 1001 (11th March, 1593). [Rejoicings

In the midst of the rejoicings, on the 24th Jum^da-^ s&ni, Khan-kh&n&n arrived with Jdnl Beg, the ruler of Tatta, and was graciously received. Shdh Beg Khdn, and * * other amirs who liad taken part in this campaign, also presented themselves at Court, and were suitably rewarded, with jdgirs^ increase of allowances, and promotion.

At the time when the fort of Junagarh and the country of Surath were subdued and annexed to the ImperiaV donyinions, Sultan Muzaffar Gujardti, who was in that part of the country, fled and betook himself to Khangdr, the zaminddr of the country of Kach. ’Azam Khan attacked Khangar and ravaged some of his territories. This induced him to proffer his own allegiance, and to make Muzaffar a prisoner. Under this* arrangement the son of ’Azam Khdn made a sudden unexpected attack upon the place whore Muzaffar was staying, and took him prisoner. As they were going along, Muzaffar made an excuse for retiring into privacy, and then cut his throat with a razor so that he died. His head was then cut off and sent to ’Azam Kh&n, who sent it on to the Emperor.

One hundred and twenty elephants, taken by R&jd M6n Singh in Orissa, now arrived at Court, and were presented to the Emperor. ’Azam Khan Mirza ’Aziz Koka had now been absent from Court ten years, so Sa farmdn was written calling him to Court, to receive the marks of royal approbation. Mean- while some mischief-makers liad reported to the Kh4n some unkind words which the Emperor was said to have used regard- ing him.^ So on the 1st llajab he embarked in a ship with his sons and family, and sailed for Hijj&z. When the Emperor was informed of this, ho gave the*country of Gujardt to Prince Sh&h Mur&d, and a farmdn wjas issued directing him to proceed from M&lwa to Gujar&t. Muhammad Sadik Khan, one of the great nobles, was appointed his mlM^ and the sarkdrs of Surat, Broach and Baroda, were assigned to him in Jdglr.

On the 21st Amurdad of the 38th year of the reign, agreeing ^ He had long entertained the desire of going to Mecca.

with 14th Zi-1 kaMa, 1001 h., Zain Khdn Koka and iiisaf Kh&n, who had been sent to chastise the Afgh&ns of Swdt and Bajaiir, and to repress Jal&la the sectary, killed a great many of them, and sent the wives and family of Jalala and of Wahdat 'AH, his brother, with all their friends, nearly four hundred^ in number, to Court.

On the 29th Zi-l ka’da the government of Mdlwa was given to Mirzd Shdh Bukh ; and Shdlibdz £Iian Kainbii, who had been tliree years in prison, was released, and appointed to bo the vaMi and general manager of the affairs of Malwa, under Shdh llukh.

On the 12th Muharram, 1002, Mirzd Eustam,® son of SuUdn Husain Mirza, son of Bahrain, son of Shah Istna'il Safawi (Shdh of Persia), who held the government of Zamin-ddwar, came to bring a complaint to the Emperor, accompanied by his sons and family. l_Qrand reception.'] The Emperor presented him with a kroroi tankm^ made him sl panjWiazdri,^ and gave him Multdn mjdgir.

At this time the Prince of Poets, Shaikh Faizi, returned from his mission to Edjd 'All Ehdn and Burhdnu-1 Mulk Dakhini. Mir Muhammad Arafn, Mir Munir, and Amjuu-d din also returned from their missions to the dillbrent rulers of tho Dakhin. Burhanu-1 Mulk had received favours and assistance from His Majesty, but now ho did not send suitable tribute, nor did he act in a grateful and becoming way. His tribute did not exceed fifteen elephants, some fabrics of the Dakhin, and a few je\yels. So the Emperor determined to effect tlie conquest t)f the Dakhin, and on the 21st Muharram ho appointed Prince Daniy&l to command the invading army. Khan-khiinan, Rai Singh, ^ Rdi Bil, Hakim 'Ainud Mulk, and otlier amirs of Malwa, sunljdgir* ddrs of the snhds of Ajmir and DeliH, were appointed to attend him. Seventy thousand horse were ordered on this campaign.

1 Bad^itinl (vol. ii. p. 388) gives the incredible number of “ 14,000,'*

^ He was unable to maintain himself in Zamin-d&war against the enmity of his brother and the increasing power of the Uzbeks,

♦-■Whom one might call RM Sag, says Badidni (vol. ii. p. 389), sag meaning dog.

The Emperor himself went out with them, hunting as he went, as far as the river of Sult&npur, thirty-five kos from Lahore. Eh&n- khdndn, in attendance upon Prince Ddniy&I,^ had come as far as Sirhiud, and was summoned to hold a Council with the Emperor. He joined the royal party at Shaikhuptir, and the campaign in the Dakhin was re-considered. Khan-kh&n&n was now ordered to proceed on the service alone, without troubling Prince .Daniyal. An order was published that the army of the Dakhin was to serve under Kh&n-khdnan, and Prince DdniyAl was re^ called. With high marks of favour Kh&n-khan&n commenced the march. He took leave of the Emperor at jSigra, and His Majesty returned, hunting as he went, to the capital Lahore.

I have thus written a history of the occurrences of the reign of the Emperor Akb&r, as perfect as ray poor pen can accomplish, up to the thirty-eighth year of his reign. If life is spared, and grace is given to me, I will, please God, also record the events of days to come, so that my volume may be completed.

He was called Tukrlya^ from the fact of his having issued an order, when lie was Governor of Lahore, to the eflect that Hindus sliould bear on their shoulders a discriminating mark, which being called in Hindi, Tah% obtained for him the nick- name of Hukriya. He was nephew and son-in-law of Im&m Mahdi Kdsiiii Kh&n, and was a mansabddr of 2000. He died A.H. 983.*

^ The Prince at this time manied a daughter of Khhn-khhn&n. — Bad&dni, yoI. ii. p. 389.

• These two Extracts are from the biographical portion of the work, which comes in at the end of the reign of Akbar. They appeared in the old Vol. of 1849.

^ Some of the proceedings of this enthusiast will be found in the following Extracts from Bad&dnl infrd^ p. 496. The Ma-tiairu-l TJmarh tells us that this order was issued^ in consequence of his having one day saluted a Hiudd, who passed by with a long beard, the distinctive mark of a Musulm&n. We do not learn whether this edict was approved or annulled. In the decline of the republic, when a similar measure was proposed at Pome with respect to the slaves, a wise man exclaimed, “quantum poriculum imminerct, si servi nostri uumeiure nos ooopissent !*’ Seneca, dementia^ i. p. 24.

In the year 990 h., corresponding with the 26th of the the Amir arrived at Court from the Dakhin, and was received with royal favour. He was directed, in conjunction with the ministers, to revise the system of administration, and to inquire into the management of the civil and revenue administration,^ On this duty ho was engaged for many years, and, in token of the King’s satisfaction, was honoured with the title of 'Azdu-d daulah. Ho was a very learned man, and was better versed in every kind of knowledge, theoretical and practical, than any man in Khurdsun, ’IrAk, or Hindustdn. In short, in the whole world he was with- out a rival. He was also an adept in the secret arts of magic and enchantment. For instance, he made a windmill which pro- duced flour by a self-generated movement. * ♦ ^ In Kashmir, he departed for the land of eternity in the year 997 h.

A few days after, Sultdn Mahindd assembled an army, and marched on Shor,® when Jdm BAyazid, leading out ^Alam Klidn, \t’ith the general consent of his followers, advanced to tho distance of twenty miles from Shor to meet him. When ho reached the EAvi, he halted, and sent a letter to Daulat KhAii Lodi, acquainting him with tho particulars of the movement. Upon receipt of this intelligence, Daulat KhAn Lodi, at tlie Jiead of the PanjAb forces, came to the assistance of JAm BAyazid before the conflict was at an end, and despatched a confldejitial person to SultAn Mahmud, to enter into a negociation for peace. At last, through his mediation, a peace was arranged, under the

• These Extracts are from the separate history of Mult&n. Tlicy wore printed in the old Vol. of 1849.

Shor, or Shorkote, is twenty-six miles north of Tularaba, and on the road from that place to Jhang. Among tho extensive ruins of this place, the most remarkable is a mound of earth, surrounded by a brick wall, and high enough to be seen from a circuit of six or eight miles. Native tradition represents it to be tho capital of a B&jh of the name of Shor, who was conquered by a king from the west, — Burnes, £okhM*ay vol. iii. p. 131.

terms of which the Rdvi was to be the boujidary. Daulat.Khdu then sent Sultan Mahmud back to Mult&n, and J&m B&yazld to Shor ; after which, he himself proceeded to Lahore,

Notwithstanding that the terms of peace had been adjusted by so wise a man as Daulat Khdn, yet it did not endure long. In the interim, Mir J&kir Zand,^ with his two sons, named Mir Ilahd&d and Mir Shahddd, came to Multan from Mavi. It was Mir Shahdad that introduced the principles of the Shi'a creed into Multan. «

As the Langdh family had great respect for Malik Suhrdb Duddri, Mir Jdkir Zand could not remain in Multdn. He there-? fore sought the protection of Jdm Bdyazid, who treated him with respect, and was pleased to grant a portion of his private domain for the support of the Mir's family.

Jdm Bdyazid was a man of beneficent character and of generous spirit, and was particularly anxious to promote the interests of the learned and virtuous. He is said to have sent their pensions to Multdn from Shor, even during the period of actual hostilities. His generosity towards men of talent was so notorious, that many persons of distinction quitted their homes and took dp their abode at Shor. He earnestly invited many others to resort fo that place, and among them Mauldnd ’Azizu-lla, pupil of Mauldnd Fathu-lla, whom he urgently pressed to come. On his approach to Shor, Jam Bdyazid received him with much honour, conducted him to his private apartments, and ordered his servants to pour water over the Mauldnd's hands, and then, by way of a blessing, to sprinkle the same water on the four corners of his house.

There is a curious anecdote concerning the Mauldnd and Shaikh Jaldlu-d din Kuraishi, mkil of Jdm Bdyazid, which, though not much to the purpose of this history, is yet here recorded for an example, and as an awakening from the sleep of neglect.

^ This agrees mtli the name as given by Briggs, but in the original of Firiebta it is Mir ^Im&d Gurdezf. In many other respects there is a great difference betwon the original and translation, and it is evident that the translator must hare used a different manuscript iu this portion of his work.

It is this: — When the Jdm received the Mauland with such unusual distinction, and took him into his private apartments, the Shaikh s^t to the Mauland, and told him that Jdm B&yazid had given him his compliments, and desired that the Mauldnd shoqjd select for himself one of the slave-girls who had been ordered to attend him. The Mauldnd sent ono of his own servants to Jdm B&yazid, and said in reply, “ God forbid that a man should ever look upon the women of his friend ; moreover, such sentiments are unworthy of my advanced age.'** Jdm Bayazid replied that ho had no knowledge of the imputed message. The Maulana being much embarrassed at this, cursed the person that sent the message to him, saying, “ May his neck bo broken 1’’ and returned to his home without even seeing Jdm Bayazid, who was not informed of his departure until he had actually left his dominions. It so happened that the curse of the Maulan& took effect ; for after Shaikh Jal&lu*d din came to Shor, having deserted the service of Sult&u Sikandar, ho chanced one night to miss his footing, when lie fell from an upper storey with his head downwards, and literally broke his neck.

After the conquest of the Panj&b in 930 H. by tJio late Zahiru-d din Muhammad Bdbar BdJshdh Ghdzi, that monarch, at the time of his return to Dehli, sent a commission to MirzA Shdh Husain Arghun, governor of Tatta, ordering him to take charge of Multdn and its neighbouring districts. He accord- ingly crossed the river near the fort of Bhakkai', and marched towards Multdn with a large army. The wind of the divine wrath began to blow, and a great flood arose. When information of this reached Sultdn Mahmud, he trembled. Then he collected all his forces, and advanced to the distance of two days’ journey from the city of Multdn. He sent Shaikh Bahdu-d din Kuraishi, successor to the celebrated Shaikh Bahddu-d din Zakariyd (may God sanctify his sepulchre !), as an ambassador to Mirzd Shdh Husain, and appointed Mauldnd Bahlol, who was noted for the grace of his eloquence, as well as the elegance of his ideas, to accompany the Shaikh. The Mirzd received them with much

honour, and said that he had come with the view of chastising Sult&n Mahmud, and of visiting Shaikh Bahdu-d din Zakariy&’s tomb. The Maul&n& stated that it would suffice nf the chastise- ment of Sultdn Mahmdd were effected at a distance, in the same manner as the Prophet had mentally admonished^ Awais Earn, and that Shaikh Bahau-d din was already come to his presence, in- asmuch as he himself was the representative of Zakariy&, and that there was therefore no need of his troubling himself to proceed any further. They were, however, unsuccessful in accomplishing the objects of their interview, and returned to the Sultdn, who died suddenly in the same night, poisoned, it is said, by Langar Khdn, one of his slaves. He died a.h. 933, after a reign of twenty-seven years.

Respecting Sultan Husain^ son of Sultan MahmUd of Midtdn.

After the death of Sultdn Mahmud, Kaw&m Kh&n Langdh and Langar Khdn, who were the commanders of Sultdn Mah- mdd's army, deserted their king, and joined Mirzd Shdh Husain Arghun, and having met with a kind reception from hiirf, they subsequently took possession of the different towns of Multan ui the name nf the Mirzd, whilo the remaining Langdh chiefs, confounded at this intelligence, hastened to Multdn, and pro- claimed the son of Sultdn Mahmiid as king, under the title of Sultdn Shdh Husain, and read the khutha in his name — though he was but a child. But he vras king only in name, for Shaikh Shujd’u-1 Mulk Bukhdri, son-in-law of Sultdn Mahmud, as- suming the office of wazir, secured to himself all the regal power.

By the advice of this inexperienced man, they took refuge in the fort, which had scarcely one month’s provisions in it ; while Mirzd Shdh Husain, deeming the death of Sultdn Mahmdd a most convenient opportunity for the conquest of the country, immediately laid siege to the fort.

After a few days, the garrison finding the provisions of the fort were consumed, and that they were about to perish, came to Shaikh Shujd’u-1 Mulk, who was the cause of his country’s

disasters, and solicited his permission to divide their forces and give the enemy battle, representing at the same time that they had still some vigour left, that their horses were fresh, and that it was not improbable that the gale of victory might incline to their side ; and that to remain inactive and beleaguered as they were was expedient only when there was some hope of receiving succour from without, — which was not at all a probable con- tingency in their case.

• The Shaikh did not make any reply, but retiring to a private apartment, he invited the attendance of some of the chiefs, and said, that as the sovereignty of Shih Husain Langdh had not as yet been ^well established, he was afraid, lost most of their men, on making a sally from the fort, should take the opportunity to desert, and join Mirza Sh4h Husain, in hope of receiving a favourable reception, and that the small remnant who had regard for their reputation, and who would make a stand, would bo slain. MauUnd Sa’du-lla of Lahore, a learned man of that time, who was in the fort of Mult&n ou this occasion, relates that a few months after the siege had commenced, when all tho avenues of the fort were closed by the enemy, and no one was able to enter for the purpose of rendering assistance, or go out for the purpose of escaping his doom (for the attempt was at- tended with certain destruction), the garrison were at last reduced to such extremities, as to be compelled to consume dogs and cats, which were partaken of with as much avidity as if tliey had been the choicest goats and lambs. Tho protection of the fort was committed by Shaikh Shuj&’u-l Mulk to tho charge of a vagabond, named Jddd, who had throe thousand militia of tho country under him. That wretch entered all the houses wherever he had ‘the least expectation of finding grain, and plundered them so unscrupulously, that the people earnestly prayed for Shaikh Shujd^u-1 Hulk’s destruction.

At last, the besieged were reduced to so desperate a condition, that they preferred being killed to a slow death by famine, and they accordingly threw themselves down from the walls of the

fort into the ditch. Mirzd Shdh Husain, being aware of their distress, refrained from killing them. After a siege of one year and several months, his men, one night towards the dawn, entered the fort, and made great slaughter. All the inhabitants between the age of seven and seventy were taken prisoners. They treated most oppressively all the citizens on whom there was the least suspicion of possessing wealth, and treated them with various kinds of indignity. This took place at the close of A.H. 934. •

MauUua Sa’du-lla gives an account of what happened to himself in the following words.

*‘When the fort was captured by the Arghdns, % party of them entered my house, seized on my father, Maul&nd Ibrdhira J4ma’, (who, in studying and teaching various sciences for sixty- five years, had, in the evening of his life, lost the use of his sight,) and made him prisoner. Seeing the neatness and comfort of our house, they suspected that gold was somewhere concealed, and consequently treated us with groat indignity. Another person came and bound me, and sent me as a present to the wazir of the Mirzd. The wazlr was sitting on a wooden platfoAi in the open area when I reached his house, and he ordered me to be bound with a chain, of which one end was tied to one of the feet of the platform. I did not, however, grieve for myself, but I could not help shedding tears, when I recollected my fathor^s sad condition.

“After a while, he called for his escritoire, mended his pen, and then rose up and went into the house, with the intention of washing his hands and feet, and praying, before he sat down to write. There was no one left in the place but myself, so I ap- proached the platform, and wrote, on the very paper on whicli the waz’ir had intended to write, the following verse from an ode {Bardah) — ^ Do not your eyes see how 1 am weeping, and do you never say, “ Weep no more,’’ and does your heart never suggest to you that you should have pity upon mep’ After which, I immediately resumed my place, and began to weep. After his

retHriij.when he was just beginning to write, he saw the lines, and began to look round to see who might have written them ; but finding that there was nobody except myself, ho wished me to declare if I had written it, and on iny confessing to have done BO, ho inquired more about my affairs, and on hearing my father*’s name, ho immediately got up, released me from my fetters, and having clothed me with a garment of his own, mounted his horse and proceeded immediately to the diicdn^khdm of the Mirzd, and introduced me to him. The Mirzd sent some one to search after my father, and to bring him to the presence.

The people around the Mirza were talking upon religious sub- jects, whop my father was respectfully brought to that assembly, and the Mirzd, after bestowing khilaHsy the one on my father, the other on myself, encouraged my father to relate to him the circumstances of his life, and he accordingly related them, not- withstanding the agitation of his mind. Ho recounted them with so much pathos and eloquence, that the auditors wore charmed with him, and the Mirzd requested the pleasure of his company, on his return to his own country.

The Mirzd ordered all of my father's plundered property to bo restored, and that a compensation in money should bo given for that which could not be recovered ; but my father begged to bo excused from accompanying him, saying that he was too old to undertake such a journey, when the time of his preparing for his last pilgrimage was so near ; and according to his words he did die only two months after this occurrence.”

When the fort was captured, the Mirzd committed Sultdn Husain to the custody of an officer, and treated Shaikh Shujd*u-l Mulk Bukhdri with various indignities, and a large sum of money was daily exacted from him. The country of Multdn had by this time been much devastated, so that there was no hope of its attaining its former prosperity ; but the Mirzd, never- theless, not thinking its restoration so very difficult, left the country in charge of Khwdja Shamsu-d din, with Langar Khdn to assist him, and he himself returned to Tatta. Under the

judicious mauagement of Langar Khan, the country w^s again populated, and he subsequently turned out the Khw&ja, with the assistance of the people, and made himself master of the country.

After the death of Babar, Hum dy tin succeeded to the throrie of Hindustan, and bestowed the Panjdb mjaglr upon Mirzd Kdmfdn, who sent a message to Langar Khdn requesting his attendance, and on the Khdn^s waiting upon him at Lahore, he was pleased to confer on him the country of P&bal in exchange for Multdn. In the end, the King assigned as his residence a place at Lahore, now known by the name of Ddira Langar Khdn, which is one of the most celebrated quarters of Lahore. From this time forward Multdn again came under tho dominion of the Kings of Dehli. After the death of Mirzd Kdmrdn, it passed to Slier Kh&n (Shcr Shdh), from Slier Khdn to Salim Khdn (Isldm Shdh), and from him to the officers of His Majesty Akbar, all which changes have been mentioned in tlieir respective places.

This history, by Mulla 'Abdu-l K&dir Muliik Sh&h of Baddun, is called by the author Muntakhahu-t Taicdrikh; but many others have compiled works under that title, and the name most frequently given to it in Hindustdn is Tdrihh4 BadddnL

Is is a general history of India from the time of the Ghazni- vides to the fortieth year of Akbar ; and, in the reign of tho latter, it is especially useful, as correcting, by its prevalent tone of cej^suro and disparagement, the fulsome eulogium of the Akbar- ndma. Despite this systematic depreciation, it has been observed^ that ^Abdu-1 K&dir’s narrative convoys a more favourable im- pression of the character of Akbar than the rhetorical flourishes o£ the Court journalist. It concludes with lives of tlio saints, philosophers, physicians, and poets of Akbar's reign.

[^Abdu-1 Kadir, poetically styled Kddiri, was born at Baddun in 947 or 949 h. His father, whom he lost in 969, was called Shaikh Muluk Shah, and was a pupil of the saint Bechu of SambhaL *Abdu-l Kddir, or Badduiii as he is tamiliarly called, studied various sciences under the most renowned and pious men of his age, most of whdhi he enumerates in the third volume of this work. He excelled in music, liistory, and astronomy ; and

1 Elphinstono, History of Indian vol. ii. p. 209. Biographical JDictionary, L, U, jST. , vol. L p. 683. Ma-dsiru4 Kirdm, p, 62 ; TabakdU SIidh-JaMni, pp. 224, 284 ; Beale, p, 291 j Mir-di-i Jahdn-nmui^ Xmhd-i mgdr-tmtna, Tabakdt-i Akbarl, end of Behli sovereigns.

on account of his beautiful voice he was appointed Court Imdm for Wednesdays. Early in life ho was introduced to Akbar by Jal&l Kh&n Kurchl, and for forty years ho lived in company with Shaikh Mub&rak, and Faizi and Abu-1 Fazl, the Shaikh^s sons. But there was no real friendship between them, as Bad&uni looked upon them as heretics, and his notices of them aro couched in bitter sarcastic terms.] ^ Badduni died at the beginning of the seventeenth century. The TahaMUi Shdh-Jahdni gives a.h. 1024 (1615 A.D.) as the year of his death.

Baddiini was a very learned man, and was frequently employed by the Emperor to make translations* into Persian from the Arabic and 'Sanskrit, as in the case of the MiCjamu-l Bitlddn^ Jdmi^n-r Rashtdiy and the Rdmdyana; yet, notwithstanding this employment, for which he acknowledges he received, in one present only, 150 gold mohtirs and 10,000 rupees, besides a grant of rent-free land, his distinguished patron receives no favour at his hands. He wrote a work on the Hadis called Bahni4 asmdr^ and he composed a moral and religious work, entitled Najdtu-r Rashid^ which he wrote at the suggestion of his friend Nizarnu-d din Aliinad, the historian, and which he must have completed very late in life, because the MuntaJihahii-t TawdrihU is men- tioned in it. He also informs us that ho translated two out of the eighteen sections of the Mahdbhdmta^ and abridged a liistory of Kashmir, which, under the annals of a.h. 99 S, is said to have been translated from the original Hindi by Mulld Sh&h Muham- mad Sh&hdbddi,® — but apparently not the Rdjd-tarangini^ for the translation of that work is usually attributed to Mauldnd *Imadu-d din. According to Professor H. H. Wilson, ^ there wore frequent remodellings or translations of the same work, but amongst those which he notices he does not mention one by Mulld Shdh Muhammad Shahabddi.'^

Many of the translations from the Sanskrit which were made

^ Tho Editor's additions are almost wholly derived irom Mr. Blochmaun*s notices ill the Ain-i Akbarif vol. i. pp. 104, 168.

® Batizat‘i Ttthirhi, ® Asiatic Itesearehesy vol. xv. p. 2.

^ See AinA Akbari (Blochmann’s), vol. i. p. 103.

about this period, and those of ’Abdu-1 Kddir, probably, among

the rest, appear to have been executed under the superintendence

of Faizi, the brother of tlie minister Abii-1 Fazl, and he is # ’ ’

usually supposed to havo been the first Musulman who applied himself to the language and literature of ihe Brahmins; but this seems to be a mistake.^

The aversion with which ’Abdu-1 Kadir Badduni regarded the Emperor and his able ministers arose, as he himself frankly confesses, from his own bigoted attachment to tho most bigoted of religions, in which it was apprehended that Akbar, with their aid and countenance, was about to introduce some dangerous innovations.^ Ho acknowledges, however, that ho temporized, and never hesitated to make his own religious views subordinate to tho primary consideration of self-interest [and it is evident that envy of his fellow-courtiers, and discontent with the amount of favour bestowed upon his own unappreciated merits, were ever present in his mind, and embittered his feelings].

Though the author of the TdHkh-i Baddiinl profosses to derive his information chiefly from the Tdrihh4 Muhdrak-Shdld find tho Tfd)akdt4 Akha)%-^miiQQdL^ in a passage in tho Najdiii-r llashid^^ ho calls his work a •mere abridgment of tho Tahakdty — ^yet, con- trary to the usual Indian practice, there is much more original matter in it than such a declaration would load us to suppose, and the whole narrative, even when avowedly taken from his predecessors, is tinged with his peculiar prejudices, of which many traits will bo found in tho extracts which are subjoined.

The history ends with the beginning of the 3^ear 1004 a.ii. 1595-6 A.D. [“ The book was kept secret, and according to a state- ment in the Mir-diM-Vdlaniy it was made public during the reign of Jahangir, who showed his displeasure by disbelieving the statement of Badauni’s children, that they had been unaware of the existence of the book. The TiizakA Jahangiri un-

® [See H. n. Wilson’s works, vol. ii. p. 379; Blochmann’s Ain~i Ahbari^ vol. i, pp. 104, 167 ; Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, 1869.] ® MS. (Fol. 26, v.)

fortunately says nothing about this circumstance ; but Bajldunrs work was certainly not known in a.h. 1025, the tenth year of Jahdngir’s reign, in wliich year the Ma-dair-i JRahlmi was written, whose author complains of the want of a history beside the Tabahdl and tils' Akbai*<-ndma.^^’\ ^

The author gives the following account of his own work : ‘^Tho writer, ^Abdu-l-Kddir Muluk Shdh Bad&uni, in obedience to tho orders of His Majesty King Akbar, finished tlio abstract of tho history of Kashmir in the year aji. 999, which, at the request of the same monarch, was translated from Hindi into Persian by one of the learned men of his time ; but as I cherished a great love for history from my very childhood, and as it was seldom that my hours were not employed either in the reading or writing some history, T often tliouglit of compiling a brief account of tho kings of Dchli, beginning from the com- mencement of tho Muhammadan rule in India to tho present time. * ^ ^ But circumstances gave me little opportunity of executing my design, and day after day I encountered numerous obstacles. Moreover, the scantiness of tho means of subsistence obliged me to leave my country and friends, and thus tho per- formaiico of the work was for a time suspended, until my excel- lent and beloved friend^ Nizamu-d din Ahmad Bakhslu wont to Paradise. Excollcnt as is tho history composed by this in- dividual, yet I reflected that some additions could possibly be made to it; and I accordingly commenced to abstract briefly the accounts of sopie of the great kings of India, from the historical works called Mubdmk-Shdhi and TawdrlJck

Nizami, sometimes adding iiiy own observations. Great brevity has been observed in tho style, and the use of figurative and flowery language throughout avoided, I have named this work Mmtakhabu-t Tawdrikh, It is hoped that this history, the object

^ Bloolimanu, Ain-i AkharU vol. i. p. 104.

^ His warm fricndsliip for Niz&mu-d diu has already been shown at p. 1 81 suprd, and it appears to havo been rooiprocatod by Niz&mu-d din ; for in a pasaage in tho Mmtakhabu-t Tawdrikh^ sco infrd, we find that the Bakhshi had no scruple about glying in false returns, concealing the real cause of the absence of ’Abdu 1 £&dir.

of wliidi has been to place upon record the deeds of the great Muhammadan kings, and to furnish the means of transmitting my OAvn reputation to posterity, will rather prove a source of my lasting happiness, than tend to aggravate my misfortunes.

“As it is my intention to write only what is true, I hope that God will forgive me, if I should ever allow myself to descend to the relation of minute and trivial particulars/'

At the conclusion, he says that it was at one time his inten- tien to have added a history of Kashmir, Gujar4c, Bengal, and Sind, and an account of the wonders of India ; but as they had no necessary connexion with the history of the DeliH Emperors, he changed his determination, and concluded his labours, in the year of the Hijra 1004, and as Nizdmu-d din died in 1003, it would appear that he was only one year employed upon this history. But the preface is not very explicit upon this point, and the meaning must be conjectured.

This is one of the few works which would w^ell repay the labour of translation ; but it would require a person to bring to the task a greater degree of knowledge of the Persian language thah most Indian histories demand, as well as a thoroiigli f*ic- quaintance with contemporary historians; for the author not only uses some uncommon words, but indulges in religious con- troversies, invectives, eulogiums, dreams, biographies, and details of personal and family history, which interrupt the unity of the- narrative, and often render it a difficult matter to restore tho broken links of connexion. Nevertheless, it must be confessed, that these digressions are the most interesting portion of his work ; for rarely do the other obsequious annalists dare to utter their own sentiments, especially such as would be ungrateful to a royal ear, or to confess their own errors and foibles, as ’Abdu-l K&dir does with so much complacency and indifference. His own extensive knowledge of contemporary history also induces him very often to presume that his reader cannot be ignorant of that with which he himself is so intimately acquainted. He con- sequently slurs over many facts, or indicates them so obscurely,

as frequently to compel a translator to supply the omissions from his own resources and conjectures.

The abstract of Indian history, frjm the Ghaznivido Emperors to Akbar — Akbar’s history — and tho Biographies of holy and wise men, physicians, and poets — each occupy about one-third of the volume, as will be seen from the subjoined abstract.^ Almost all the headings have been added on the margin by a copyist, the author giving very few, except the names of kings and others whose lives he records ; yet these must be some antiquity, as many copies concur in giving them in the same language and form.

Eeigiis of the Ghazniride Monarchs, pp. 4-21.

Eeigns of the Dchli Monarchs, pp. 21-133.

Prom Zahiru-d din Muhammad Babar to Akbar, pp. 134-190.

Jaldlu-d din Muhammad Akbar, pp. 200-403.

Mirza Sulaimdn Kdzi Niz^m Badakhshi, alias Kdzi Ehdn, deputed to negociate peace. — Deaths of Hiinun, the grocer, by tlie hand of the Emperor. — Khdn-zamdn's action with Hasaii Khan Bachgoti. — Displeasure of Bairam Khan with Pir Mu- hammad, — Conquest of Gwdlior. — An account of Shaikh Muhammad Ghaus of Gwdlior. — Serious complaints to the Emperor against Khdn-khdnan. — An account of Edm Das, the second Tdnsen, and his receiving a present of a lac of rupees from K))dn-khdndn. — Birth-place of Amir Khusru. — Pir Mu- hammad Khdn drowned. — Arrival of an ambassador from Shdh Tahmdsp Safwi. — Death of Muluk Shdh, father of the author. — Mauldnd ’Aldu-d dm Ldri. — Mirzd Muhammad Hakim, son of Humayun Badshdh. — Murder of the mother of Mirzd Muham- mad Hakim. — Marriage of the Emperor with the widow of ’Abdu-1 Wdsd\— Death of Shah Abd-l Ma’dli.— Death of Shaikh Muhammad Ghaus, — Capital punishment of Kdzi Ldl. — Fort

of jSLgxa built. — The bard Mahdp&tar. — The fort of Rohtis. — Mu’izzu-1 Mulk and Rdjd Todar Mai put to flight by Kh&n- zaindn and Bah&dur Khdn. — Xhdii-zainan and Bahddur Khdn slain by the hands of the Emperor Akbar. — Capture of the fort of Ohitor. — Mir Alau-d daula Kazwini, author of “ Biograpliies of the Poets.’’— Death of Shaikh Abdu-1 ’Aziz of Dehli. — Reduction of the fort of Rantambhor. — Fathpur, — Saiyid Musd falls in love with Mohani, a jeweller’s daughter. — Death of Shai]^ Gadai. — Birth of the Emperor Jahangir. — Capital punishment of Mirzd Mukiin Isfalidni. — Death of Sliaikli Salim Chishti.— Conquest of Gujardt. — Birtli of Prince Daniyal. —Death of SuUdn MuzafFar Gujardti. — Erection of the fort of Surat, in defiance of the infidels of Faringistdn. — Ibrahim Husain Mirzd killed. — Capture of the fort of Nagarkot. — Birharn Dds, alias Birbal. — Forced march of the Emperor towards Gujardt.--Muhammad Husain Mii'zd killed. — Abu-1 Fazl’s first introduction to the Emperor Akbar. — Building of the fort of Paydg, and the name of Illahdbds given to it. — Capture of the forts of Hdjipur and Patna. — Singhdsan Battiai, — The Emperor goes on foot to visit the sacred sepulchre at Ajinir. — Jaliil Xhdii killed. — Death of Khwaja Amina. — Fight of Khdn-khdnan with Daud Afghdn, ruler of the territories of Orissa. — Abu-1 Fazl’s second introduction to the Em^peror Akbar, — Opinions promulgated by Shaikh Abu-1 Fazl. — Performance of the pilgrim- age to Mecca discountenanced. — Translation of the Ilayatn-l HaUvdn. — Respecting the legality of temporary marriages.— Mulld Muhammad Yczdi arrives in India. — Translation of the Atharva Veda, — Fight with Rdnd Sangd. — Khdn Jahdn fights Ddud Khdn, who is seized and killed. — Death of Shdh Tahmdsp, King of Persia. — Death of Shdh Isma’il the second, and accession of Sultan Muhammad, son of SJidh Tahmdsp. — Fight of Asaf Khdn with the Rdjd of Tdar. — The Emperor’s indiflerence to the Muhammadan faith. — The ceremony of kissing the ground established as a mode of oboisancew — Abd-l Fazl translates the Gospel. — Birbal. — Worship of the Sun. — Abu-1 Fazl appointed

as superintendent of the temples of ire-worsbIppers.—AJterca- tion between Abii-I Fazl and the compiler of this work.— Mfdn Tdnsen. — ^Arrival of an ambassador from 'Abdu-lla Khdn Uzbek. — The presentment made by the learned. — Muzaffar Khdn killed in Bengal. — Death of Hakim Nuru-d din. — Arrival of Shaikh Muthi Afghan. — Khwaja MauUufi, Shirazi, the heretic, who knew the art of making amulets. — The author of this book, which is full of malignity, abuses Kazi ’Ali, of Baghd&d.— Account of an organ. — Murder of Shah Mansur. — Controversy between Muhammadans and Christians. — A tavern built at the gate of the palace, and orders issued respectingthe purchase of wine, and unlawful acts not prohibited. — Regarding certain jocular sayings. — Orders issued prohibiting the teaching of tlie commentaries and traditions. — ^Death of Makhdumu-1 Mulk and Shaikh ’Abdu-n Nabi. — Death of Ghiyasu-d din ^All, Asaf Kh&n, and Shaikh Jaldl Th&nesarl. — Arrival of Mir »Fathu-lla Shlrdzl from the Dakhin. — Orders issued for tho compilation of the Tdrikh-i AlfL — Translation of tlio Mcihdhhdrat. — Mldu Tahsen. — A brief account of Ram and his wife Sltd, — Marriage of a daughter of Raja Bhagwdn with Prince Salim. — Com- mencement of the second karan. — Death of MirzS. Muhammad Hakim, son of the Emperor Humdyun. — Blrbal killed. — Fight with the Roshandl Afgh&ns. — Death of Abu-1 Ghais Bukh&rl. — Assassination of the blessed Mulla Ahmad Thattavl by tho merciless sword of an accursed pigling. — Translation of the Rdmdyana. — Death of Shdh Fathu-lla Slilrazl. — Death of Hakim Abu-1 Fath. — Death of Todar Mai and Bhagw&n Dks.— Death of Shaikh Wajlhu-d dm. — Date of the death of Shahdbu-d din Khan. — Death of Shaikh Ibrdhlm Chishtl, — Death of Urfl Shlrazl. — Death of Kazi ^All, of Baghd&d, grandson of Kdzi Husain. — ^Fight of Zain Khan with the Roshanal Afghans. — Death of Shaikh Mubdrak N&gorl. — Religious precepts. — Administrative orders. — Death of Nizdmu-d din Ahmad. — Death of Shaikh Ya'kub Kashmiri. — Death of Hakim ’Ainu-1 Mulk and Hakim Hasan Gllani. — The Bhdhndma turned into

prose..— -Death of Shaikh Faizi, son of Mub&rak N&gorf,— Death of Hakim Hum&m.

Shaikhs and holy men, thirty-eight persons, pp. 403-434.

Learned men, sixty-nine persons, pg. 434-477.

Physicians, fifteen persons, pp. 477-^80.

Poets, one hundred and fifty-three persons, pp. 480-557. Conclusion, pp. 657-562.

Size — Polio, containing 562 pages, of 23 lines to a page.

The Tdrlkh-i BaddUnl is one of the commonest histories to be met with in India. One of the best copies is in the Asiatic Society’s Library. Other good copies are to be found in Banda, Lucknow, Kole, and Patna. [The whole of the work has been published in three volumes in the* Bibliotheca Indica, and many passages have been translated by Mr. Blochmann as notes to his edition of the Aln-i AkhariJ]

^[Text, vol. i. p. 227.] In a.ii. 729 Tarinali Slurin* the Mughal, brother of Katlagh Khwdja Mughal, King of Kliurdsan, who had on a previous occasion invaded Hindustan, advanced with a large army to the province of Dehli. He captured several forts, and committed ravages and massacres from Lahore, Sd- m&na, and Indri to the confines of Bad&un, nor did he retreat till the victorious arms of Isldm were arrayed against him. The Sult&n pursued him as far as Kalanor, and leaving Mujiru-d din Aborjd to dismantle that fortress, ho returned towards Delilf.

At this juncture, it occurred to the Sult&n to raise the taxes of the inhabitants of the Dodb ten or twenty per cent., as they had shown themselves refractory. He instituted also a cattle-tax, and a house-tax, and several other imposts of an oppressive nature, which entirely ruined and desolated the country, and brought its wretched inhabitants to destruction.

1 “ Tarmsharin Kh&n,** See Vol. III. p. 450.

[Text, vol. i. p. 327.] E&i Bikram&jit, who succeeded his father E&i M&n Singh in the possession of Gw&lior, found himself unable to withstand the royal troops, and was obliged to surrender the lofty edifice of Bddalgarh,^ one of the forts dependent on Gwalior, and built by Man Singh. On this occasion, a brazen figure whicli was worshipped by the Hindus fell into the hands of the Musulmans, which they sent to j^gra. Sultan Ibr&liim forwarded it to Dehli, and placed it before one of th^ gates of the city. Ten years before the compilation of this history, in the year 992, it was brought to Fathptir, where the compiler of this work saw it. Gongs, and hells, and all kinds of implements were subsequently manufactured from the metal of which it was composed. In those days Sultan Ibrahim, enter- taining suspicions against his old nobles, fettered and imprisoned most of them, and transported others to various distant places.

[Text, vol. i. p. 384.] Salim ShAh,^ in the beginning of bis reign, issued orders that as the sardis of Sher Sh&h were two miles distant from one another, one of similar form should be built between them for tho convenience of the public; that a mosque and a reservoir should bo attached to them, and that vessels of water and of victuals, cooked and uncooked, should he always liifept in readiness for the entertainment of Hindu, as well as Muhammadan, travellers. In one of his orders he directed that all tl\e madad-ni^dsh and aima tenures in Hindustan which Sher Shdh had granted, and all the sardis which he had built and

• [<* Tho cloud cap’t tower.**] This was also the name of the old fort at Agra, which was evidently within tho area of the present one, because Jahhaglr, at tho opening of his memoirs, says, ** My father detnoliBhed the old fort on the hanks of tho Jumna, and built a new one.” It must, however, have been pretty nearly destroyed before Akbar’s time, by the explosion mentioned infrd^ p. 491.

^ The correct name is Isl&m Sh&h, but some historians style him Salim, and most copies of th4*' Tdrikh^i Baddiinl pervert it still more by giving the name as IsUm. See sHprd, Vol. IV. p. 478.

the gardens he had laid out, should not be alienated, and that no change should be made in their limits. Ho took away from the nobles all the dancing girls maintained in their courts, according to the common practice of India. He also took from them all their elephants, and let none of them retain more than a sorry female, adapted only for carrying baggage.

It was enacted that red tents should be in the exclusive use of the sovereign. He resumed, and placed under the immediate management of the State, the lands enjoyed by the troops, and established pecuniary payments in lieu, according to the rates fixed by Slier Shah. Circular orders were issued through the proper channels to every district, touching on matters religious, political and fiscal, in all their most minute bearings, and con- taining rules and regulations, which concerned not only the army, but cultivators, merchants, and persons of other pro- fessions, and which wore to serve as guides to the officials of the State, whether they were in accordance with the Muhammadan law or not; — a measure which obviated the necessity of referring any of these matters to Kdzls or Muftis,

.»In order that these circular instructions might bo fully compre- hended, the nobles in command of five, ten or twenty thousand horse, were ordered to assemble every Fridaj" in a large tent, within which was placed, on an elevated chair, a pair of Salim Shah’s slip- pers, and a quiver full of arrows. They then bowed down before the chair, one by one, according to their respective ranks; first of all the officer in command of the troops, and then the munsif or arnin^ and so on ; after which, with due respect and obeisance, they took their respective seats, when a secretary coming forward read to them the whole of the circular instructions above referred to, which filled about eighty sheets of paper. Every difficult point then at issue within the province was decided according to their purport. If any of the nobles committed an act in contravention of these orders, it was reported to the King, who forthwith passed orders directing proper punishment to be inflicted on the offender, as well as on his family. These rules were in force till the end

of the reign of Salim Sh&h, and the compiler of this history witnessed the scene above described, when he was of tender age, that is, in the year 955 A. h., when he accompanied his maternal grandfather (may God extend his grace to him !) to the camp of Farid T&ran, commander of 6000 horse, which was then pitched in the district of Bajw&r&, a dependency of Baydna.

In the year 964 or 955 a.h. (God knows which year is cor- rect) Khwdja Wais Sarwdni, who was appointed to command the expedition against 'Azam Hum&yun, fought with the Nidzis on the confines of Dhankot, and was defeated.^ 'Azam Humdyiin, flashed with this success, pursued the Khwdja as far as Sirhind. Salim Shdii despatched a largo force against the rebels, and a battle ensued at the same place, in which the Nidzis wore de- , featod. Some of their women who were made captives were sent prisoners to Gwdlior, and Salim Shdh violated their chastity. He distributed among the vagabonds of his camp the tents, stan- dards, and other spoil of the Nidzis which had fallen into his hands, bestowing upon them the titles which were common among the Nidzis; such as Saiyid Khan, ’Azam Humdyun, Shdhbdz, etc. He granted them kettle-drums, which were beaten at the^r respective gates at the stated times. These low persons used to beat their drums aloud, and claim the dignity of the dogs of the celestial sphere. These people, in conformity with the practice of making rounds, which is occasionally observed among tlie pro- stitutes of India, went every Friday night to do homage to Salim Shdh, instead of saying their prayers. On their arrival at the palace, the heralds exclaimed, Oh king, be gracious enough to cast Your Majesty’s eyes upon such and such Niazi Khans, who have come* to offer up prayers for your health and welfare." This proceeding exceedingly disgusted the Afghdns, who were of the same tribe as thf King. The Nidzi titles, and the standards and drums, which were granted to them by Salim Shdh, are said by some historians to have been bestowed on them after the first battle. God knows whether this is correct or not. ’Azam * See auprd^ Vol. IV. p. 493.

Humdyun, who was defeated in the last battle, was never able again to take the field.

The ranks of the Niazis began to be thinned day by day, and they soon dispersed. In the fii^t instance they took refuge with the Ghakars, in the neighbourhood of Rohtds, and then settled themselves in the hills in tho vicinity of Kashmir. Salim Shah, with the view of suppressing for tho future the disturbances excited by these insurgents, moved with an overwhelming force, and took up a strong position in the hills to tho north of the Panjab, where, for the purpose of establishing posts, he built five fortresses, called M&nkot, Rashidkot, etc. As he had no friendly disposition towards the Afghans, ho forced them, for a period of two years, to bring stones and lime for the building of tJioso * fortresses, without paying them a single ovjital. Those

who were exempted from this labour were employed against the Ghakars, who resisted strenuously, and with whom they had skirmishes every day. At night the Ghakars prowled about like thieves,# and carried away whomsoever they could lay Jiands on, without distinction of sex and rank, put them in the most rigo- rqjis confinement, and then sold them into slavery.

These circumstances sorely afflicted tlie Afglians, who felt that they were exposed to every kind of insult, but it was not in tho power of any individual to lay their grievances before Salim Shdh ; until one day, when Shdh Muhammad Farmuli, a noblo noted for his hilarity and jocular speeches, who was a special companion of the King, took heart and exclaimed, 0 my liege ! two nights I dreamt that three bags descended from heaven ; one containing ashes ; another, gold ; and tho third, papers ; tho ashes fell upon the heads of tho troops ; tho gold upon tho houses of Hindus ; and the papers fell to tho lot of the royal treasury,' Salim Shdh did not take the allusion ill, and it fiad the effect of inducing him to promise that he would, on his retu^m to Gwdlior, order his accountants to disburse two years pay to the troops, but his death, which occurred soon afterwards, prevented the fulfil- ment of this promise.

Sultan Muhammad ^A'dily otherwise called ^Adall, son of Nizam Khan Siir}

[Text, vol. i. p. 413.] His real name was Mub&riz Kh&n ; but when he ascended the throne, with the accord of the ministers and nobles, ho assumed the title of Muhammad ’Adil. The people, however, used to call him ’Adali, and went so far as to alter the letters of this name and convert it into Andhali, which means ‘‘ blind,”

Ibrahim Klidn, after an unsuccessful action at Khdnwa, fled to Bayana, which is a strong fort in a commanding position, Himun immediately invested it, and skirmishes were of daily occurrence between tho contending parties. The fort was well supplied with guns and ammunition, and Ghazi Kh&n, Ibrahim’s father, who was in Hindun, used to throw supplies into it by way of tho hills to the west of Bayana. Ilimun invested the fort for three months, and devastated the whole of the country in the neigh- bourhood, and my father’s library in Basdwar was almost entirely destroyed.

At this time a dreadful famine raged in the eastern provinces, especially in Agra, Bayana and Uehli, so that one sir of the grain called juwari rose to two and a half tankas^ and even at that price could not be obtained. Many of the faitliful closed their doors, and died by tens and twenties, and even in greater numbers, and found neither coffin nor grave. Hindus perished in the same numbers. The common people fed upon the seeds of the thorny acacia, upon dry herbage of the forest, and on the hides of the cattle which the wealthy slaughtered and sold. After a few days, swellings rose on their hands and feet, so that they died, and the date is represented by the words khashn-i izad^

Wrath of God.” The author with his own eyes witnessed the fact that men ate their own kind, and the appearance of tho famished sufferers was so hideous that one could scarcely look upon them. What with the scarcity of rain, the famine and the desolation, and what with uninterrupted warfare for two years,

the whple country was a desert, and no husbandmen remained to till the ground. Insurgents also plundered the cities of tho Musulm&ns.

Amongst the remarkable incidents of the year 962, during tho war between Sikandar and Ibrdhim, was tho explosion in tho fort of Agra, of which the following is a brief account. When the army of ^Adali Khdn had left Agra, Ghazi Khdn Sur sent his own officers with a garrison to protect the property, to keep the fort in a state of preparation, and to lay in provisions, for wliich purpose they had to examine the several storerooms and work- shops. By chance, early one morning, as they were going their rounds with a lamp, a spark fell into a room filled with gun- powder. In the twinkling of an eye it ignited, and rising up to heaven, tho earth quaked, so that tho inhabitants of the city thought that the Day of Judgment had come, and prayed devoutly when they were roused thus suddenly from their slum- bers. Planks, enormous stones and columns were sent flying several J:os to the other side of tho Jumna, many people wore destroyed, and the limbs of men and of animals were blown away,' full ten or twelve miles. As the name of the citadel of Agra was originally called Badalgarh, tho date, 902, was found ^ the words A'tmh4 BddaUjadh — “ Tho fire of Badal.’^

While Himuii was encamped before Baydna, tho people died with the word ‘‘bread” upon their lips, and while he valued the lives of a hundred thousand men at no more than a barley-corn, he fed his five hundred elephants upon rice, sugar, and butter. The whole world was astounded and disgusted. Ilimuii, once every day, oat with his own followers in public, and calling tlie Afghans to his own table, he would invito them to eat, tolling them to take up largo handfuls, and he would shamefully abuse any one whom he saw eating slowly, and say, “How can you with such a slender appetite expect to fight with any rascally Mu- ghal P” As the Afgh&ns had now nearly lost their power, they could not muster spirit enough to reply to the unclean infidel ; and laying aside the bluntness and hastiness for which they

are so celebrated, they consented, •whether from fear of con- sequences or hope of reward, to swallow his foul language like so many sweetmeats, adopting the following verses as their maxim:

** Place not your hands submissively on my feet ;

Give me only bread, and lay your slipper on my head.”

[Text, vol. ii. p. 24. Year 964.] [Klian-zaman in these few years, with a small force, fought bravely against the numerous forces of the Afghans, and obtained the victory over them. The history of his campaigns is a bright page in the annals of the time. At the battle of Lucknow Hasan Khdn Bachgoti came up against him with 20,000 men, and Khan-zamdn had not altogetlicr more than 3000 or 4000. When the enemy passed the river Karwi and attacked Bahddur Khdn, he himself was engaged taking a meal. When he was told that the enemy was at hand, ho called for the chess-board and played at his ease. Afterwards being told that a foreign army was driving back Iris forces, he called for his arms. His tents were being plundered, and his whole army was in confusion. Ho ordered Bahadur 'Khkn to retire ; then he, with a few men, beat his drums and fell upon the enemy.* He overpowered them, and drove them for seven or eight. Many of them were slain, and heaps were formed of the corpses.

So also at Jaunptir he fought with the Gaurian who called himself Sult&n Bah&dur, and had issued coin and caused the khutba to be read in his name in Bengal. This man advanced against Jaunpur with about 30,000 horse, and the men of Khdn- zam&n were completely routed. When Kh&n-zam&n arose from his repast, he found the enemy engaged upon their meal or occupied in plundering. The Kh&n fell upon them with a small party of men, completely routed the Afghans, killing many and making many prisoners. He obtained such booty that his army

wante^, for nothing. The victories which ho and his brother achieved could have been accomplished but by few. * These two brothers had many noble qualities; but the mark of rebellion was upon them, so that in the end all their exploits came to the dust.]

[Text, vol. ii. p. 81.^] [In the year 966 the fort of Gwdlior was taken. A slave of 'Adali's named Buhail Khdn (Suhail), being besieged in the fort, made terms and surrendered the keys. The date was found in the words, Path bdb kil*ah OwdMr. In this same year another slave of ’Adali’s, named Sangr&m Klidn, sold the fort of Rantambhor into the hands of Surjan Rai H&d&. The facts of the matter are, that shortly before this, when His Majesty took up his abode at i^gra, ho sent a party of amin^ such as Hindd Beg Mughal, to reduce this fort. Those amin drove Sangr&m Kh&n before them, and ravaged the country round the fortress ; but they were unable to accomplish their object.]

[Text, vol. ii. p. 32.] In a.h. 966, I loft my home at Bas&war, and went to itgra, for the purpose of completing my education.

I became acquainted with Milir 'All Beg, and lived in his house. The Beg pressed most earnestly upon Shaikh Mubarak Nagori, my tutor (the peace of God be upon him!), an^ Muluk Sh&li, my father (God sanctify his tomb!), his desire that I should accom- pany him on his projected expedition, and threatened that ho would not depart, unless this request was conceded. These two dear guardians, moved by their friendly feelings, being persuaded that it was to my advantage to go, consented to the arrangement, and to please theni, though an inexperienced traveller, and though compelled for the time to relinquish my usual studies, I started, in the height of the rains, on this perilous journey. Passing through Kanauj, Lucknow, Jaunpur, and Benares, and ' See mprCii pp. 167i 175, 269, 260.

seeing all that was to be seen, and holding interviews with several holy and learned personages, I crossed the river Ganges, and arrived at Ohun&r in the month of Zi-1 ka^da, a.h, 966.

Jam&l Khan sent some of his dependents to meet Mihr ’AH Beg, and they conducted him to Jamal Khan’s house. The palaces of Slier Shah and Salim Shdh, and all the ammunition and resources of the fort were shown to him, and he was ap- parently received with the utmost hospitality and kindness.

When the farmdn was read, which was intended to conciliate Jaradl Klidn, by conferring upon him five parganm of Jaunpur in Mdm tenure, in lieu of the fort of Ohunar, Jamdl Kh&u showed that he had further expectations, and placed the most unheard-of difficulties in the way, seeking to delay Mihr 'AH until an answer should be received to the representation which he had made to Court. Ho insidiously wrote also, at tho same time, communications both to Khan-zara6.n and to Path Kh&n Afghan, who was in the fort of Rohtds with a considerable force, holding out to them separately promises of tho fort.

When Mihr ’AH was aware of the perfidy practised by Jamdl Kh&n, and being not without suspicions of the fidelity of Path Khdu, he feared they would league together for his injury, and so ho loft the fort under pretence of taking an airing, and cross- ing the river in considerable alarm, proceeded direct to Agra,^ leaving me in the fort. As T thought it best to temporize with Jainal Kh&n by ^ay of making my own escape, I proposed to him that I should try and bring back Mihr ’AH, and effect a reconciliation. To this he acceded, and in the evening I <rot into a boat with the intention of crossing the river. It so happened* that the boat fell into a raging whirlpool under the hill near the wall of the fort, and a fierce wind arose which made the vessel shiver. If tho mercy of God, the ruler of earth and water, had not acted as my sail, the bark of my hope would have been dashed to atoms by the whirlpool of calamity against the hill of death.

1 This sentence is not in tho printed text.

In the jungle which lies at the foot of the Chun&r hills, Shaikh Muhammad Ghaus, one of the greatest saints of India, liad re- sided for twelve years in the practice of asceticism, consuming the leavea^^and fruits of the forest as his food; and so celebrated was he for the fulfilment of his blessings, that oven powerful kings used to come and visit him, and pay their respects. I fell in with one of his dependents, and arrived at the hermitage. He himself was not there, for in this very year ho had proceeded from Gujardt to jAigra, where he arrived in great pomp and circumstance, accompanied by several disciples, and gave con- siderable satisfaction to the Emperor by the principles and faith which he professed. * *

Shaikh Gaddi, with that spirit of jealousy, spite, and malice which is a peculiar failing of the saints of Hindustan, was vexed at this intrusion of a rival, and looked upon Shaikh Muhammad Ghaus as one shopkeeper does on another, who commences the same trade, in the storey directly over his head. Wise men know well the truth of the adage, Two of a trade ne>jer agree. Khan-i khdndn, who was much attached to Shaikli Gaddi, did ifot receive Shaikh Muhammad with that degree of respect and favour which was his duo. On the contrary, he assonabled divines and learned men, in order to ridicule tlio treatise of the Shaikh, in which he had said that ho had in his waking moments Rad an interview and conversation with God, who assigned him a superiority over the Prophet Muhammad. He had written other nonsense equally pernicious and blasphemous. He sent also for the Shaikh, and made him the butt of his contumely-— so that the Shaikh, much chagrined, retired to Gwdlior, where ho en- gaged himself in the pursuits of his holy calling, and contented himself with the proceeds of a which yielded a Aror (of

[Text, vol. ii. p. 63,] [On 27tli Eajab of this year (969 a.ii.) ray father Muluk Sli&h (may God be merciful to him !) died in Agra of dysentery. I carried his bier to Basawar, and there buried him. I found the date of his death in the words Jahdn-fazl,']

[Text, vol. ii. p. 63.] At the time when the compiler of this work resided at Agra, for the purpose of finishing his education, Shaikh Muhammad Ghaus one day passed by in great state, and accompanied by acclamations which rent the air. He wfis clothed in the garb of a fakir. I was at first anxious to pay my respects to him; but when I learnt that he was in the habit of rising to receive the salutations of Hindus, that desirq vanished, ^and I was deprived of the satisfaction I had anticipated. Another day, I saw him in the bazar at Agra, with multitudes of people throng- ing before and behind him, and he was so constantly occupied in returning the salutations of the people on all sides of him, that he could not sit up erect during the whole time of his airing. Although he was eighty years old, his countenance was wonder- fully fresh, and his whole appearance betokened anything but old ago and debility. The mercy of God be upon him ! ^

[Text, voL ii. p. 64.] On the 20th of the blessed month Kama- z&n of this year (970 a.h.) I heard at Sansaw&n, in Sambal, of the deatli^of my maternal grandfiither in Basdwar. He had taught me several sciences, and I was much attached to him. He had many claims upon the respect of men of letters. Tlffe date of his death is represented by the letters composing the words, Fdzil-i Jahdn^ “ The excellent of his time.”

[Text, vol. ii. p. 125.] In a.h. 977 the pargarta of Lucknow was transferred from the possession of Husain Kh&n Kashmiri to that of Mahdi Kasim Khdu, who had just returned from Mecca, and had paid his respects to the JBmperor at Bantambhor, Husain Khan® was highly indignant at this, and exclaimed,

^ Among the biographies which are given at the close of the work, one is devoted to the Shaikh, in which the author says, that there was so little pride and solf* sufficiency in the Shaikh’s composition, that he was never known to utter the mono- syllable man^ I. The instance he adduces to prove the assertion is, by the studied attempt to avoid the use of that wordj more offensive than the most rampant egotism.

^ This man, of whom some notice has already been taken in the Tahakdui Akburi^ supra, p. 468, appears to have been an enthusiast, or a mad man, who could not get over the persuasion that inexhaustible wealth was to be procured, from possessing .

“ Our ‘^'friendship is broken, we shall meet no more till the day of judgment.” He then abandoned in disgust (his wife) the daughter of Mahdi X&sim, notwithstanding he loved her, and took the daughter of his uncle Ghazanfar Beg. After a while, leaving his wife in distress, and the daughter of Mahdi Khdn with her brothers in Khair&bid, he sot forth from Lucknow with the design of breaking down the idols and of demolishing the idol temples. For he had heard that their bricks were made of gold and silver, and other false reports of their unbounded treasures had come to his ears. He proceeded through Oudh, towards the SiwAlik hills.^ The hill-men, as is their custom, abandoned the lower hills after a slight resistance, and fled for security to higher elevations, "of which the ascent was very dangerous. Husain Kh&n arrived at last at the place whore Sultan Mahmud, nephew of Pir Muhammad Kh&n, was slain. Ho read the fdtiha for the pure spirits of the martyrs who fell there, and repaired their dilapidated tombs. He then ravaged the whole country as far as the hashah of Wajr&fl, in the country of R&j& Bankd, a powerful zaminddr^ and from that town to'^Ajmir, which is his capital. In that place are to bo found mines of gold and silver, silks, musk, and all the productions of Tibet, from which country he was only distant two days* journey; — when, on a sudden, as has been frequently observed in those mountains, the neighing of the horses, and the sound of the

himself of the mines in the hills. Five or six years afterwards, ho plundered the Bo&b, and then made an attack on Basantpur in the hills, where there was a royal garrison, and died from the effects of a gun-shot wound received there, ’Abdu- Khdir, who declares himself a devoted friend and admirer of Husain Khfin, says that, though to all appearance he was a fool, ho was in reality a very intelligent man. See iw/rd, p. 603.

^ An impression of the great wealth of KumfiiOn was generally prevalent about this time. Firishta at the conclusion of bis work, in spouking of the native K&j&s of Hinddstkn, says, “The Rkjk of Kurahdu possesses extensive dominions, A con- siderable quantity of gold i'' procured by washing, and copper mines aro to be found in the country. The treasures, too, are vast. It is a rule among the Kkjhs not to encroach upon the hoards of their ancestors ; for it is a saying among them, that whoever applies his father’s treasures to his own use, will become mean and beggarly in spirit, BO that, at the present day, fifty-six distinct treasures exist, which have been left by the R&jks of Kumhdn, each with the owner’s seal upon it.”

kettle-drums, as well as the voices of his followers, caused the clouds to collect, and so much rain fell, that neither corn nor grass was to be procured.^ Famine stared the army in the face, and althpugh Hiisain Kh&n, with the most undaunted intrepidity encouraged his men, and excited their cupidity by representing the wealth of the city and the country, in gold, jewels and treasure, they were too much disheartened* to second his resolu- tion, and he was compelled to retreat.

On their retreat the Kafirs, who were in possession of the passes, showered down stones and arrows tipped with poisoned bones upon th§m. They also blocked up the way, and most of the bravest of his warriors drank the cup of martyrdom. Many of the wounded, who escaped at the time, died five or six months afterwards from the effects of the poison.

Husain Khdn returned to Court, and requested that Kant and Gola^ might be conferred upon him in jaglv^ in lieu of the one he held before. This was graciously acceded to. Several times he made incursions to the foot of the hills with various success, but he waa never able to penetrate into the interior. Many fine follows, who had escaped half-dead from his first expedition, ndw felt the malarious influence of the climate, and died off, but not in battle. After some years Husain Khan, contrary to the advice and remonstrances of his friends, mustered his forces for a final

1 This story reminds us of tlio succour which was so opportunely offered to the army of Marcus Aurelius, when it was engaged in a hopeless conflict with the Marco- manni, in the barren mountains beyond the Danube.

Oh nimium dilccto Deo ! cm fUndit ab antris jGolns armatas biemes ; oui milltat ODther,

if Claudian, JDe terU Con», Honor, v. 98.

Tertullian, Eusebius, Jerome,' and other Christian authors ascribe the miraculous shower to tfic prayers of the Christian soldiers iu the army. Suidas and Dio Cassias to a magician. The fact is indisputable ; the cause is more probably explained by onr Oriental writer. In modern days, it has frequently been observed that severe actions have been followed by rain, and philosophical reasons have been assigned for this curious effect.

This district, which pretty nearly corresponds with Sh&hjah&npdr, in Rohilkhand, is sometimes styled K&nt Gola. Eor the position and varying extent of this tract, see Supplemental Gnasat'Pf Art. Gola.

struggle to get possession of the hills, and perished in the attempt, as, please Q-od, will be mentioned in its proper place.

About this time I went, after taking leave of Husain Kh&u, from Lucknow to Badann, where I formed a suitable jfiuptial alliance for my brother. Shaikh Muhammad, whom I loved from my very soul, nay, better than my own soul, for he was endowed with every excellent and angelic quality. Three montlis did not ^ elapse before lie died, he, as well as 'Abdu-l Latif, tho light of my eyas, tho earliest fruits of the gai'den of my life (my first-born), wl)o, when time cast an evil eye upon him, was carried oflP, in the twinkling of an eye,^ from the cradle to the tomb, and I was suddenly reduced from the happiest to tho saddest of men. CJod created me, and to God shall I return !

Death of Shaihh Salim Chhhti, — The Author wounded, — Conflagration at Baddiin.

[Text, vol. ii. p. 136.] In the year 979 a.h. tlie palace at A'gra and the palace at the new town of Fathpur wore completed. * * ^ At the close of the month of Bamaz&ii of this year, Sliaikh Salim Ohfshtf, of Fathpur, died. He was one of tho cliicf saints of Hindustdn, and his sayings are worthy of coinmonioration, I will hereafter give a notice of him, please God, in tho supplement to this history.

During this year an unfortunate accident befell tho author, of which the following are the particulars. At tho period when Ednt and Gola was held in jdgir by Muhammad Husain Khdn, and when it pleased fate to associate me with him for some time, as I was appointed Judge of that district,® I went on a pilgrimage to Makanpdr, a dependency of Kanauj, where is the tomb of the holy Shaikh, Badi^u-1 Hakk wau-d din Shah Maddr (may God sanctify his tomb !). This son of man, through the disposition which he inherited from his sinful and ignorant nature (which

^ This triple repetition of the word eye is intended for a witticism— frigid enough, and in a most inappropriate place.

he imbibed with his mother’s crude milk, and which ^ is the cause of shame and reproach), and through innate darkness and ignorance (which are the source of presumption and baseness, and which came down to him by inheritance from father Adam), the eyes of his wisdom were covered with a film of lust, and he was inclosed in the net of lasciviousness, so that he committed all of a sudden, as was of old forewilled by Providence, a gross impropriety within that shrine. Since the chastisement as well as the mercy of God was upon mo, I received upon earth the punishment of my sin, by his ordaining that several connexions of the girl whom I fell in love with should inflict nine sword wounds upon my head, hands, and shoulders. They were all slight, but one penetrated the bone of my skull, and reached to the brain, exposing me as a brainless fellow, and another partially severed the veins of the little finger of my left hand. I fainted away, and appeared to be travelling to another world. May God bless my resurrection !

I met with an excellent surgeon in B&ngarmau, who closed my wounds within a week, and in the midst of my pain and illness, I made a vow, that if I recovered I would go to Mecca — a which I have not yet been able to perform, but which I hope, God willing, to do before I die, and before any obstacle intervenes to prevent the execution of that excellent resolve. The rest is with God!

Afterwards, 1 arrived at K&nt and Gola, and had no sooner bathed after my recovery, than I was again laid on my bed by sickness, the wound having become ulcerous from the effect of excessive cold. Husain Khan (may God bless him with eternal Paradise! for he showed himself more than a father or a brother to me) administered some medicine, in the shape of a plaster and electuary, both made from the wood of the tamarisk, and enabled me to proceed on my journey to Baddun. There another surgeon took off the dressings, and re-opened the wound on my head. I was nearly expiring from the intensity of the pain. * * *

During this year a dreadful fire broke out at Badaun, and an

immense number of Musulmans and Hindus perished in the flames. Carts full of the remains of those who were burnt were driven down to the river, and no one could tell who was a believe!’, and who an infidel. Many who escaped being burnt rushed to the ramparts, and were so scorched by the flames, that men and women precipitated themselves from the wall in despair. Some had their skins burnt and disfigured. Water seemed only to add fuel to the flames. All this I witnessed with my own eyes, and heard the noise of the flames with my own ears. Some it warned, others it destroyed. A short time before this, a half- witted fellow came from the Do&b, whom I took into my own house and society. Ho said to me one day in private, that I ought to flee out of that city, as some infliction of Providence was about to befall it. But I paid no attention to him, as he was a frequenter of taverns.

Erection of the fort of Snrat^ in defiance of the Portuguese

[Text, vol. ii. p. 145.] One day in the year 980, the King went toiook at the fort of Surat, and gave orders to repair the portions that had been battered and destroyed. During liis inspection ho saw the large mortars, which liad been despatched with a powerful fleet and army by Sulairain Sultan, the Turkish Em- peror, to assist in capturing the liarbours of Gujarat, and liad been left on the sea-shore, covered with rust, because Sulaimdn Aga, the admiral, had abandoned the enterprise through meeting with some obstacle.* There they remained, until Khud&wJind Khdn

2 Muhammadan authors slur over the precipitate retreat, but Shnikh Zi^inu-d din confesses to a panic. — See Rowlandson, To^ifut-ul-muJaMdeen, p. 143. Maffei— who styles the admiral Sulaim&n, << Solimanus Peloponncsius, vir cnormi non minus adipc, quam avarltid et crudelitate notissimus,*’ — ^tella us, that the Turks were so terrified by the four lanterns, which the Portuguese hung out from some of the ships of the Ooa fleet, that they set sail for Arabia in the utmost alarm, leaving behind them flvo hundred wounded and a great portion of their ordnance.

Nonnius, (Nuno do Cunha) dura ab subsidium inclusis ferondum reliquam omat classem, celeritcr priemissm liburniem sexdccim' ad Madrafabam accesscrant noctu, quaternis in singulas puppes luminibus ad spcciem augendam baud frustra sublatis:

wazlr had them carried into the fort of Surat, at the time it was building. The few which remained had been taken to Jduagarh^ by the Governor. The King inspected them, and gave orders that some of them, which were not wanted there, should be sent to ^gra.®

The reason assigned for Khuddwand Khan*s ^ building the fort of Surat is, that the Firingis used to oppress the Musulmdns in every kind of manner, devastating the country, and tormenting God’s servants. At the time of laying the foundations of the fort, they tried to throw every obstacle in the way, by firing cannon from thoir ships, ^ but all without effect.

That expert engineer laid the foundations of one side within the sea, dug a deep ditch round the two sides which faced the land, and built the walls with stones and burnt bricks. The wall was thirty-five yards long.^ The breadth of the four walls was fifteen yards, and their height twenty yards, and the breadth of

GO quippe terrore Turcae perculsi, tribus jam millil)us suarum amissis, ♦ * • noctis intempestos silenlio conscendunt nayes, duo^us oirciter mensibus in obsidiono consump- tis ; ac vela dant in Arabiam tantd cum trepidationo, ut saucios quingentos et maguam tormoiitorum partem fmdd reliquermt.—(Maffei, Hist. Indie. Lib. xi. vol. ii. p. 503.)

Diego do Oonto says that the stratagem was rendered more effectual by the coifici- donce of an eclipse of the moon. — {Asia^ Dec. v. lib, v, cap. 4. See also Paria-c- Souza, tom. i. part iv. cap, 9.)

“ Solyman, the Bassa/* says Knolles, “ a most famous Pyrat, assaulted (in Septem- ber, 1638) Diuin, a castle of the Portugals, situate upon the mouth of that great^iiver (Indus), but, in conclusion, after he had many days besieged the castle, both by sea and land, and tried the uttermost of his strength, ho was so repulsed by the Portugals, that ho was glad to forsake the siege, and leaving his great ordnance behind him for haste, rctuiTicd back again to Aden, a city of groat trade in Arabia Felix ” — Turkish His- tory, vol. i. p. 461.

1 Firisbta, in his reign of Mabmiid Shhh III. of GujarM, says that they were brought JanagorU for the defence of Snrat ; and this is the most probable, as the ordnance was abandoned at Did.

3 The Mir-dt-i Ahmadi says there was only one Sulaimhni gun which the King wished to transfer to Agra, but could not find the means of transport for so heavy a piece. — Sec Bird, History of Gi^jardt^ p. 322.

3 This is the same chief that we read of in Sidi *Alf s journal.— See Diez, Dmk- wurdigkeiten von Asien^ vol. ii. p, 180.

® [This sentence was not given in the original translation, but a note in the printed text says that it is found in aU the three copies consulted* There must be some omission or error, or the fort must have been a very smaU affair.]

the 4itch was twenty yards. All the stones, the joints and interstices were fastened together with iron clamps, and made firm with molten lead. The battlements and embrasures are lofty, and so beautiful that every one was astonished at beholding them. On the bastions, which projected into the sea, was erected a gallery (ghurfd)y which the Firingis, especially the Portuguese, profess to say is an invention of their own. When the Musulm&ns began to erect this chaukandi^ the Firingis exerted every kind of op- ^position to obstruct it; and when they found they could not prevail by force, they offered largo sums of money to prevent its being built ; but Khud&wand Kh&n, through the regard which he bore to his own religion, sternly refused, and plied the work till it was finished, in contemptuous defiance of the Ghristians.

[Text, vol. ii. p. 151.] In 980 a.h. Husain Kh&n Mahdi K&siin Kh&ni, Jdgirddr of Kdnt and Gola, had gone oft’ to quell the insur- gents of Bad4un and Patti41i, before he heard of Ibr&him Husain Mirzd's arrival in the neighbourhood of Dehli.® In the moan

^ It is quite incomprehensible why this building, whatever it was, should have ex- cited so much rancour on both sides. One might suppose it was rather a battery, than a small palace. Literally, it m<ay bo said to mean a four-cornered room.” Briggs calls it a four-storied palace. He translates the passage thus : —

<< Within the town is a beautiful building, four stories high, which the Hindus call Chowkunda, and the Europeans compare it to a Portuguese palace. Einding they could not prevent by force the construction of the fort, the Portuguese offered large sums of money to induce Ehooduhunda Khan not to fortify Surat, but their gold was rejected.”- -(Briggs, vol, ii., Firishta, vol. iv. p. 147.)

This differs much from the original, which runs thus : —

« The Firingis said, ^ If you will not abstain from building tho fori, do not, at any rate, build the chaukmidi after the model of Portugal ; and to secure that, wo will pay as much money as wo offered to prevent your building the fort.' Qliazanfar Akhi Turk, surnaiued KhudSiwaud Kh&n, replied, ‘ Through the liberality of the Sultkn 1 am in need of nothing; and to show my detestation of you, I shall build this kind of chaukandi, and secure ffor myself the peculiar blessings which attend good works.' Ho then sent for the ordnance and other stores, which were called Sulaimdni on account of the Turks having abandoned them, and which were then in Jftnagarb, and placed them in different parts of the fort of Surat, and strengthenod it.”— {UUtory of Otyardt^ Mahmdd Sh&h III.)

I cannot find mention of the transaction in any European author.

time, Makhddmu-l Mulk Mauland ^Abdu-lla Sult&nptiri and E&j& Bih&r Mai, who were entrusted with the chief direction of affairs during the King’s absence in Gujardt, wrote to Husain Kh&n from Fathpur, to inform him that Ibr&him Husain Mirz& had experienced two defeats, and was then in the vicinity of Dehli, and that as no person of importance was now present to defend the capital, he ought to hasten to Fathpdr without delay.

He accordingly prepared to obey their summons, and was V/ell on his road, having arrived at the village of Oudh, in Jalesar,, when ho learnt that the EdjS. of Awesar still continued the de- predations which he had practised since the accession of the King, in the neighbourhood of -A[gra, ‘ and had become a predatory robber (Jcazzdk), He had been engaged in several hard conflicts with some loyal nobles, and had slain many excellent men, and at that time he was concealed in the jungle of the village of Naurdhi, in the pargana of J alesar.

We had scarcely time to ponder on this intelligence, when all of a sudden, while we were maijphing at mid-day on the 16th of Eamazdn, the men being off their guard, and going on in separate parties, most of them, also, being exhausted with the flist, an attack was made upon us, with matchlocks and arrows. The Eajd of Awesar had formed stages of wicker-work on the tops of the trees, and from this secure position several of our men were killed and wounded. At the very commencement of the attack, a ball struck Husain Khdn below the knee, grazed his thigh, and, passing through the saddle, was spent upon the head of his horse. He was very nearly fainting and falling from his saddle, but his self-possession enabled him to keep his seat by clinging to the pommel. I threw water on his face, and his im- mediate attendants, not aware of the accident, at first thought that his fasting had worn him out. t then seized hold of his bridle, for the purpose of carrying him for safety behind a tree out of the storm of arrows, when he opened his eyes, and, con- trary to his usual habit, looked sternly at me, and made signs that there was no need to hold his reins, but that wo should dis-

mount and join in the fray. We accordingly alighted, leaving him there to take care of himself.

The contest then raged with fury, and many were killed on both sides. At last, towards evening, victory inclined to our party, which was the smallest, and the infidels were put to flight like so many sheep, but not before our sipdMs were so tired, that they could scarcely wield a sword or shoot an arrow. Wo had all been so jammed together in the forest, that we could with difficulty tell fi'iend from foe. Some of our men had strength of mind and body enough, to deservo the reward, both of engaging in holy war, and of maintaining a strict fast. I, on the contrary, in my weakness, at last took a cup of water to moisten my throat, for the want of which some poor fellows died. Several excellent friends of mine attained martyrdom in repelling this attack.

After this victory, Husain Khdn returned by rapid marches to Kdnt and Gola, and strengthened those places. Shortly after, Tbr&him arrived in the pargma of Lakhnor, fifteen Itos from Sambal.^ As Husain Khan was still suffering from the effects of his wound, he was obliged to be carried on a litter, but never- theless he advanced to Bans BareilU, in order to force Ibr&lum to action, and from Baroilli he made Sarnbal in one day by a forced march. Ibrdhim, alarmed at this exhibition of confidence and courage, thought it better to decline an action, and retreated by way of Amroha, in the environs of Lakhnor, leaving a dis- tance of seven hon between him and his opponent. Had Husain Kh&n been compelled to fight in his then wounded state, God knows what would have happened! It was ono of the Mirza’s mistakes that he did not attack Husain Khan while he was in this weak state.

[MuMnu-d din Kh&n Farankhudi, governor of Sarnbal, with a large party, and several other mnirs mdjdgirddrs of the neigh- bourhood, who had taken refiige in the fort, when they heard at

^ Sarnbal was the paternal estate of Ibr&htm Husain Mirzh. Gulrukh Begam, his wife, was a daughter of K&mr&u Mirz&, and, consequently, Akbar’s first cousin.

midnight the roll of the drums of Husain Kh&n, they thought the Mirz& was upon them, and were quite overpowered by fear. But when the cry arose that Husain Khdn had come to their assistance, they came out joyfully to meet him. Next day we went to the abode of Shaikh Fathu-lla Tarbati, one of the vicars of Shaikhu-1 Isl&m Fathpuri, and there held a council. It was then considered advisable that all the amirs of the neighbourhood of Dehli who had turned out against the Mirzd should go with Tolak Eh&n Korchi and * * to the pargana of ^har on tl^e Ganges, and there wait for us j then, after the junction of the forces, further operations might be decided on.

Husain Khan exclaimed, Good God ! The Mirzd came here with a small party of horse, and although your numbers more than doubled his, you took refuge in the fort of Sambalj and now twenty or thirty amirs and old soldiers with a large force are so dismayed that you want to shelter yourselves in the fort of ^hdr, which is a mere rat’s hole. This will encourage the Mirzd to make further attacks upon the Imperial territories. Now there are two courses open, one of which we must follow. You must cross the Ganges, and, under the cover of that old fort, must intercept the Mirz&, and prevent his getting over the Ganges. I will follow up in his rear, and we shall see what will happen. Or I will hasten over the Ganges, and head the Mirz&, while you pursue him.. This seems to be our duty." But they could not agree upon any course until Husain Khdn, driven by necessity, went off in haste with the horsemen he had to the amirs at iiihdr, and inveighed loudly against their going into the fort. He brought them out, and again held a council with them. “The enemy,'*' he said, “is in the heart of the country, and is like a hare in the midst of a camp. If we follow him up sharply, we may settle his business, and take him alive. The glory of this victory will be yours." The soldiers said, Under the orders of Makhdumu-1 Mulk and Bdjd Bihdr Mai, we have driven the Mirzd out of the Delhi territory, and have come into Sambal. Mu'*inu-d din Ahmad Khdn is the master m^jdglrddr of this province, and he is now

respoBsiblo. Our orders were to protect Delili, not to make war upon the Mirzd, for there are risks in such a course/'

Intelligence now arrived that the Mirzd had attacked Amroha, and having crossed the Ganges at the ford of Cliaubfi.la, was marching rapidly towards Lahore. Husain Kh&n, convinced of the apathy of the anitrs^ separated himself from thorn immediately, and made a forced march to Garh-muktosar, in order to arrest the Mirzd. Of the royal amin^ Turk Subhdn Kuli and Farrukli •Diwdna were the only ones that accompanied him. A letter now reached him from the amin of Aliar, urging him to come speedily and join them. The Mir/a, like the rook on a cleared chess-board, now came into the heart of the country, plundering and ravaging the towns in his way. When ho was at Pdyal, his men committed such atrocities upon Musulmdn people as cannot well be described. In that town twelve virgins were ravished with such violence that several of them died. Other places fared in the same way. Husain Khan followed the steps of the Mirzd, and the amirs came after him, until they reached Sirhind. Here they became refractory, and would go no furtlior. But Husain ^Khdn was not content to remain. With tlie small force under his command, not exceeding 200 men in all, and with the two persons (above named), he marched rapidly from Sirhind to Ludiydna. There he learnt that on the Mirzd's approaching Lahore, the garrison had closed the gates against him. Upon this the Mirzd went to Sher-garh and Jahni.

Husain Kuli Khdn, who was besieging Nagavkot and the fort of Kdngra, heard of these movements of the Mirzd's; so ho patched up a treaty with the Hindus. He received five mans of gold as tribute from the people of Nagarkot, and had the hhutba read in His Majesty’s name. Ho tlien marched away along with Mirzd Yusuf Khdn, Masnad-i 'All, Fattu (Katlii) the slave of ’Adali, Ism'ail Khdn, Rdjd Birbal and oihsv amirs^ and proceeded in pursuit to Sankra. When Husain Khdn heard of this move- ment, in that madness which a thousand times had got the better of his judgment, he swore an oath that he would not eat food

until Husain Kuli joined him. Crossing the Biy&h at the ford of Talwandi, he made a forced march to Sher-garh, one of the de- pendencies of Jahni. There he paid a visit to Shaikh D&dd KEidirl Jahni-w&l. When food was served, he excused himself from eating on account of his oath. The Shaikh observed that it was easy to atone for an oath, but silly to distress one^s friends. The Kh&n instantly called for a slave, and having set him free, thus atoned for his oath. Then he partook of the food, and benefited by the gracious words which he hoard. He remained- there that night. The monastery of the Shaikh provided enter- tainment for all the party, and his fields furnished grass and corn for the horses.

Three days afterwards I came from Lahore to Sher-garh, and stayed there four days, seeing and hearing things which had never entered^ into my imagination. I was anxious to withdraw from the world, and to devote myself to the sweeping of the monastery. But the Shaikh would not allow mo, and told me I must go to Hinddstdn, So I took my leave in a very forlorn and distressed state. • * *

One stage from Talwandi, Husain Khdn addressed a letter tc Husain KuH Khdn, saying that ho had come four hundred hos by forced marches, and begging for ono day^s delay, so that he might join him, and share in the victory to be won. Husain KuU Khd.n said, “ Tory well,” and sent the messenger back. On the same day he hastened on to the town of Tulamba, four kos from Multdn, and attacked the Mirzd, who was out hunting, and quite unaware of his approach. Some of the Mirzd’s men were pre- paring to march, and others had dispersed, and vrere not in con- dition to fight. Mas’ud Husain Mirzd, younger brother of Mirzd Ibi'dihim Husain, took the initiative, and attacked the forces of Husain Kull Khdn; but his horse stumbled and fell upon the broken ground, and he was taken prisoner. When Mirzd Ibrdhim Husain returned from hunting, all chance was gone ; and although he fought well, and made several charges, he was unable to gain any success ; so he turned his reins and fled,

T1u3 day after the victory Husain Khfin arrived at Tulamba, with eighty or ninety men, and drums beating. Husain KuU Khan showed him the battle-field, and told him of each nian's exploits. Husain Khan then said, “ As the enemy has escaped alive, you must pursue him and take him prisoner, for the business is not yet completed.^' Husain KuH Khan replied that he had come from Nagarkot by forced marches, that his forces had suffered many hardships in that mountainous country, and •were not in condition. A complete victory had been secured, and now there was an opportunity for other friends.

Husain Khd.n now hoped that his turn was come, and that the hardships and the forced march of five hundred kos had opened a way for him, so he took his leave, and pressed forward. Some men, who were worn out with fatigue, he sent to Lahore with the elephants and drums. With a small party of ine^S he took up the pursuit of the Mirzd. There was but a short distance be- tween him and the unfortunate Mirzd, when one night the Mirzd and about four hundred horsemen halted on the banks of tlie Biydh and Sutlej, where tlie rivers unite. The jhils^ who are a low class of Multdn peasants, having collected together, made a night attack upon him, and assailed him witli arrows. Tho Mirzd, with a party of men, some wounded and some disabled, did what they could to beat off their assailants ; but ih^jhih came on suc- cessfully, At length an arrow, guided by fate, struck tho Mirzd at the back of his head, and came out through his throat. Unable otherwise to help himself, he changed his clothes, and his men left him. They fled, sorely distressed, in every direction. Hut wher- ever they went, they wore marks for the arrows of death, and met their fate. One or two old slaves of Mirzd Ibrdhim, having dressed him in the garments of a kalandar^ were desirous of getting him out of the way of danger. His helplessness was so great that they took him for refuge to tho dwelling of a darwe^h named Shaikh Zakariya. Outwardly the Shaikh applied oint- ment to his wounds,* but privately ho sent information to Sa'id Khdn at Multdn. The Khdn sent a slave named Daulat Khdn

to bring in the Mirz& a prisoner. Sa’fd Khan wrote a despatch, and sent it to the Emperor as he was coming to Ajmir on his return from Gujar&t.

Husain Kh&n, when he heard of the capture of the Mirz&, hastened to Mult&n, and saw SaMd Kh&n. He made a difficulty about seeing the Mirzd, and said : “ If when I see him, I salute him, it will be inconsistent with my duty to the Emperor, and if I do not salute him, it will be uncourteous, and the Mirzd will say to himself — ‘ See this uncircumcised fellow, who, when he received- quarter at the siege of Satwas, made obeisances without end, and now that evil days are fallen upon me treats me cavalierly.’” The Mirzd heard these ceremonious words of his, and said “ Come and see me, and without obeisance, for I waive it.” Notwithstanding he made his bow, and saw him. The Mirza, with an anxious look, said, had no intention of rebellion and disturbance. When the matter took a serious turn, I took my own course, and threw myself into a foreign country. But tliey would not allow me to stay there. If it was my fate that this defeat should fall upon me, would to God that I had received it at your hands, that it miglit have been the cause of the advancement of you, who arc* my co-religionist, and not from Husain KuU Kh&n, who is alien in religion and sect!” Husain Khan then returned to Kant and Gola, and soon afterwards he heard that the Mirzd had died in prison.

Husain Khdn proceeded from Kant and Gola to Court. Husain ,Kuli Khan also came to Fathpur from the Panjdb, bringing Mas’ud Husain MirzA, with his eyes fastened up, and a number of the Mirzd’s men as prisoners. They were nearly three hundred persons, and they were brought before the Emperor, with skins of asses, hogs, and dogs cast over them, some to be put to death with divers tortures, and some to be set at liberty. * * Sa’ld Khdn also sent the head of Mirza Ibrahim Husain from Multdn, having had it cut off for the purpose after his death.]

[Text, vol. ii, p. 163.] [In this year (980) died Sulaimdii Kirdiii, ruler of Bengal, who had assumed tho title of HazraUi He had conquered that mine of infidelity, the city of Katak and Ban&ras,® and had made Jagann&th a home of Isl&ni. His authority extended from Kdmrti (Kdmriip) to Orissa. His son Bayazad succeeded him; but in the course of five or six months, the Afgh&ns put him to death, and his brother Dddd bin Sulairadu attained the sovereignty.]

[Text, vol. ii. p. 173.] About this time (Zi-1 hijja, 981 a.h.), Shaikh Abu-1 Fazl, son of Shaikh Mubarak Nagori, the star of whose knowledge and wisdom was brilliant, came tq^ Court, and received many marks of distinction.

[Text, vol. ii. p. 173.] In 981 fine spacious palaces wore built on the road to Ajmir. His Majesty’s devotion induced him every year to go on a pilgrimage to that city. So directions were given for building a palace at every stage between Agra and Ajmir, and for erecting a pillar and sinking a well at every Im. Some hundreds of thousands of stags’ horns, wliich had been killed in the course of His Majesty's life, were placed upon tho pillars as a memorial for the world. ^ Would that, instead of these, gardens or saruls had been formed!

[Text, vol. ii. p. 174.] [D&ud was now at Il&jfpur, and at the instance of Katlii Kh&n, governor of Jaganndth, he threw

• [Katak was called “ Katak Banaras.” See swprd, p. 386.]

• The pillar, which is in the best state of preservation, is to be seen at Fathpdr Sfkri, where the garrulous cicerone gives a very different account of its origin. It is called “ hiran mindr^** or “ pillar of the antelope.”

into prison his amiru-l umard Lodi, who had been ruler of Orissa, but who had since taken a hostile course, and had set himself up in opposition in the fort of Roht&s. He got Lodi into his power by holding out the bribe of an elephant. They tell the story that one day D&ud went out hunting with a small escort, and that Lodi, with ten thousand horsemen of Sulaim&n^’s, formed the design of putting down Ddud. But D&dd went back to the city, assembled his forces, and scattered Lodi’s followers. By his crafty management, he got Lodi into his power, and appropriated all that he possessed. Lodi, knowing his death to be certain, did not withhold his advice from Dddd. He said, “Although I know that you will be very sorry after my death, and that you will derive no benefit from it, still I will give you one counsel, which if you act upon you will prove victorious. My advice is, that you place no reliance upon that peace which I effected not long ago by means of two lacs of rupees. The Mughals will never let you alone for this trifling sum. Be beforehand with them, and make war with them immediately, for there is nothing like the first blow.” Daud thought he had an evil design in what he said, and, proud of the hollow peace which lie had made with Khan-khdndn, but which was no better than a shadow, he put the devoted Lodi to death. Thus he struck his own foot with the axe, and at the same time uprooted the plant of his prosperity with the spade of calamity.]

[Text, vol. ii. p. 176.] On Safar 23rd, a.h. 982, His Majesty ai’rived a^l Payag (Praydga), which is commonly called Ill&h6b&s, where the waters of the Ganges and Jumna unite. The infidels consider this a holy* place, and with the object of obtaining the rewards which are promised in their creed, of ^hich transmigra- tion is one of the most prominent features, they submit them- selves to all kinds of tortures. Some place their brainless heads under saws, others split their deceitful tongues in two, others enter hell by casting themselves down into the deep river from

the toj^ of a high tree.' Here His Majesty laid the foundations of an Imperial city, which he called lll&h&bas.

Translation of the Singkdsan BattisL [Text, vol. ii. p. 183.] [In Jumada-1 dkhir, while the Court was at Sher-garh, otherwise called Kanauj, a book called Singh- dsan Battisi^ which is a series of thirty- two tales about Bikram&jit, King of M&lwa, and resembles the Tuti-ndma, was placed in iny hands; and I received His Majesty's instructions to make a translation in prose and verse. I was to begin the work at once, and present a sheet of my work on ‘ that very day. A learned brahman was appointed to interpret the book for me. On the first day I completed a sheet, containing the beginning of the first story, and when I presented it, His Majesty ex- pressed his approbation. When the translation was finished, I called it Khirad-afzd^ a name which contains the date of its composition. It was graciously accepted, and placed in the Library.]

[Text, vol. ii. p. 189.] [In this year (982) an order was promulgated for improving, the cultivation of .the country, and for bettering the condition of# the raigats. All the parganas of the country, whether dry or irrigated, whether in towns or hills, in deserts and jungles, by rivers, reservoirs, or wells, were all to be measured, and every such piece of land as, upon cultivation, would produce one kror of tankas^ was to be divided oflT, and placed under the charge of an officer to be called kroriy who was to bo selected for his trustworthiness, and whether known or unknown to the revenue clerks and treasurers. So that in the course of three years all the uncultivated land might be brought into cultivation, and the public treasury might

^ [See Y61. 1, p. 35.] Here is still further testimou}' to this tree being in the opea air, at the point of the confluence, to a very late period. It is the celebrated Akhau bar^ or immortal fig-tree. See Wilson's JSLindu vol, i. p. 302.

be replenished. Security was taken from each one gf these officers. The measurement was begun in the vicinity of Path- pur, One hror was named Adarapur, another Shethptir, another AyubpAr, and so on, according to the names of the various prophets (and patriarchs). Regulations were circulated, but eventually those regulations were not observed as they ought to have been, A great portion of the country was laid waste through the rapacity of the kroris^ the wives and children of the raiyaU were sold and • scattered abroad, and everything was thrown into confusion, ^ut the kroris were brought to account by RAja Todar Mai, and many good men died from the severe beatings which were administered, and from the tortures of the rack and pincers. So many died from protracted confinement in the prisons of the revenue autho- rities, that there was no need of the executioner or swordsman, and no one cared to find them graves or grave-clothes. Their condi- tion was like that of the devout Hindus in the country of KamrAp, who, having dedicated themselves to their idol, live for one year in the lieight of enjoyment, appropriating everything that comes to their hands ; but at the end of the period, one by one they go and assemble at the idol temple, and cast themselves under ^the wheels of its car, or offer up their heads to the idol.

^ All the country, with the exception of that which was under the khdlisa (exchequer), was held^n jdgir by the amirs. But from the prevalence of indulgence and debauchery, extravagance in household expenditure, and accumulation of riches, there was no meJins of maintaining the soldiery or of fostering the peasants. When the services of the amirs were required, they came into the field attended only by a few slaves, or some young Mughal soldiers. Able soldieis were nowhere to bo found, ShdhbAz KhAn, the mir-hakhshiy revived the regulations of the ddgh (branding), and the mahalli^ which were instituted by SultAn 'AlAu-d din Khilji, and were afterwards maintained by Sher ShAh, It was also settled that every amir should be first appointed commander of a score

^ [Since translating tlicse passages, I iind that Mr. Blochmann has also translated this and seycral of the following paragraphs. See Ain4 Akhari^ vol, i. p. 242,]

{blsti), ♦ When he brought up the horses of those twenty horsemen for the ddgh according to the regulation, he might be promoted to be a sadi (commander of a hundred) or higher.

They were also to keep elephants, horses, and camels suitable to their rank. When they brought this number of horsemen for inspection, they were to be treated according to their deserts and position, and might attain to a mamab of 1000, 2000 or of 5000, • than which there is none higher. If they did not do so, they fell from their rank.

But under this regulation also the ill-used soldiers fared worse. For it was found that the amin^ having effected their objects, dressed up many of their dependents (khdss-khaiJdn) and horse- men {hdrgir) in the garb of soldiers, and bringing them to the muster, they made up the complement of their mamah^ and received jdgirs in proportion. Then they dismissed the bdrgirs until they required them again, when they would once more enlist, accord- ing to their requirements, a number of temporary soldiers, and dismiss them again when no longer wanted.

The treasure, the collections, and the expenditure of the man^ sab^drs remained unaltered, but in every way dirt fell into the plate of the poor soldier, so that he was unable to gird up his loins. Tradesmen, such as weavers, cotton-dressers, carpenters, and Hindu and Musulmdn grocers (bakkdl) would hire a liorse or chargor, and bringing it up for the ddgh^ would obtain a mansab^ and would become a kroH, ahadi (guardsman), or ddkhili (substitute) of some one. A few days afterwards no trace would be found of the hired horse or of the missing charger, and they were reduced to the position of footmen.

There were many men who at the time of the royal inspection at the public office were placed in the scales, bound hand and foot with their garments on, and their weight would reach to two and a half mam or three mans more or less. Afterwards it would be found out that the clothes were hired, and the horse borrowed. His Majesty used to say, “ I with my eyes open, and aware of what ^ [Here follows an unintelligible passage.]

I am about, give something to these men, so that they mj*y have some means of living/’ After a while they would present themselves again as ahadi^ of two horses, of one horse, or even of half a horse. For two horsemen would be partners of one horse, and receiving for it the forage allowance, amounting to six rupees, would divide it between them. This sort of trade was carried on to a great extent ; but for all this the Emperor's good fortune was so great and flourishing that his enemies were everywhere annihilated, • and soldiers were not so much wanted. The amirs also were free from the unseemly blandishments of the uncircumcised.]

Ahii-l FazVs second introduction to Ahhar.

[Text, vol. ii. p. 198.] In 982 Abu-1 Fazl, now styled Alldml or “ very learned," came a second time to Court. He set the world in flames, and ‘‘lighted up. the lamp of the Sahahls^^' — a proverbial way of saying ho lighted his lamp by daylight. In accord with the saying, “ He who contends gains his object," he set himself in opposition to all sects, and bound the girdle of reform about his loins. He presented a commentary on the A!yatu-l kursl^ which treated on the nice points and subtletieg of the Kurdn. People say that his father wrote it, but ho presented it, and got much praise. The words “ tafsir^i Akhari " give the date of its composition. The Emperor received him graciously, and (in order to humiliate the arrogance of the proud mullds) looked upon him more favourably than he did upon me. The reason of Abu-1 Fazl’s autagonism and rancour was that at the time of the persecution and massacre of heretics like Mir Habshi and others. Shaikh Abdu-n Nabi, Makhdumu-1 Mulk, and the learned in general took counsel together, and with one accord they represented that Shaikh Mubdrak Mahdavvi also was a heretic, who was lost himself, and led others to perdition. Having got tacit permission to repress and remove him, they sent officers to apprehend him ; but as the Shaikh had absconded with his sons, they broke the pulpit of his mosque. He then sought the protection of Shaikh Salim Ghishti in Fathpdr, who was then at

the height of his prosperity and eminence. Shaikh Salim sent him something for his expenses, and recommended him to leave the country, and fly to Gujarat. As he obtained nothing in this quarter, he went to Mirzd ’Aziz Koka, who represented to the King, that Shaikh Mubarak was a learned and indigent man, that his children were clever, that he held no land in and

inquired what was the ^advantage of persecuting a worthy man, * So the Emperor gave up the intention of hurting him, and in a short time everything went on to his heart's content. Shaikh Abu-1 FazI ingratiated himself with His Majesty by his unremit- ting devotion to the King’s service, by his temporizing disposi- tion, by his duplicity, by his study of the King’s temper and sentiments, and by his boundless flattery. When he at last ob- tained the opportunity, he took his revenge upon that sect whose works and efforts have met with so little reward. He was the cause not only of the destruction of these old labourers, but of the disasters which fell upon all God’s wise and holy servants, upon the infirm and upon orphans, by the resumption of their allow- ances in money and rent-free lands. * * When trouble and misery felP upon them, he used frequently to quote this quatrain : —

“ I have set fire to my barn with my own hands,

As I am the incendiary, how can I complain of my enemy ?

Woe is me I I have tom my garment with my own hands.”

If any one, while remonstrating, cited the precepts of religious men, he would say in reply, that the precept quoted was the composition of such and such a grocer, such and such a cobbler, such and such a currier, for he thought proper to reject all the wise sayings of Muhammadan Shaikhs and Doctors;

[Text, vol. ii. p. 200.] [In the year 983 the buildings of the HbddaUkhdna were completed. The cause of their erection was * [See p. 390 ]

this. In the course of the last few years the Empetor had gained in succession many great i^nd remarkable victories, and his dominion had grown in extent from day to day. Not an enemy was left in the world. He had taken a liking for the society of ascetics and the disciples of the celebrated Mu^iniyyah (God rest his soul!). He spent much time in discussing the Word of God and the sayings of the Prophet; and he devoted his attention to questions of Sufism^ science, philosophy, law and other matters. He passed whole nights in meditation upon Gbd and upon the modes of addressing him as yd hit and yd hddi. Reverence for the great Giver filled his heart. In order to show his gratitude for some of his blessings, he would sit many a morning alone in prayer and mortification upon the stone bench of an old cell which lay near the palace in a lohely spot. Thus engaged in meditation, he gathered the bliss of the early hours of dawn. ♦ ♦ *

Having completed the building (of the HbddaUkhdna)^ ho made a large hall in each of the four di visions of it. He also finished' the construction of the tank called aniiptaldo. He called the building HbddaUkhdna^ and by degrees it became at las*t a On Fridays after prayers he would go from the new khdnkdh of the Shaikhu-1 Isl&m, and hold a meeting in this building. Shaikhs, learned and pious men, and a few of his own companions and attendants, were the only people who were in- vited. Discussions were carried on upon all kinds of instructive and useful topics. * * * Every Sabbath evening he invited saiyids^ shaikhs^ doctors and nobles. But ill feeling arose in the company about the seats and order of precedence, so His Mjiyesty ordered that the nobles should sit on the east side, the saiyids on the west, the ^ulamd on the south, and the shaikhs on the north. His Majesty would go from time to time to these various parties, and converse with them and ascertain their thoughts. Quantities of perfume were used, and large sums of money were distributed

^ [The meaning is here doubtful. The text has three yariant readings, *ibddat, U’yddat, and * ibdrat^khdnaf no one of which seems applicable.]

' as rewards of merit and ability among the worthy people who obtained an entry through the favour of the Euiperor’s atten- dants. Many fine books which had belonged to ’Itim&d Elian Gujar&ti, and had been acquired in the conquest of Gujar&t, were placed in the royal library, but were subsequently brought out and distributed by the Emperor among learned and pious men. Among the rest he gave mo a book called Anwaru-l mashkuL* * * One night the vein of the nock the 'ulamd of the ago swelled ' up, and a great outcry and tumult arose. This annoyed His Majesty, and ho said to me (Bad&uni), “ In future report any one of the assembly whom you find speaking improperly, and I will have him turned out.” I said quietly to A'saf Khdn, ‘^According to this, a good many would be expelled.” His Majesty asked what I had said. When I told him, he was much amused, and repeated my saying to those who were near him.

He used to summon Makhddmu-1 Mulk Maul&ud ’Abdu-lla Sultdnpdri to that assembly, in order to annoy him ; and he set up to argue against him H4ji Ibrdhim and Shaikh Abii-l Fazl, then a new arrival, but now the prime leader of tho New Religion and Faith, or rather the infallible guide and expositor de omnihm rebm et quibmdam aim. His Majesty used to interrupt the Mauland at every statement, and at a hint from him his com- panions also would interfere with inteijections and observations, and would tell queer stories about the Maul&n^, and exemplified ill his person the verse of the Kuraii, “ And some of you shall have life prolonged to a miserable age.”]

[Text, vol. ii. p. 203.] One night (during the year 983), Kh&n Jah&n mentioned that Makhdumu-1 Mulk had given an opinion that in those days it was not a religious duty to go on a pilgrim- age, and that it was even sinful to do so^ When he was asked his reasons, he replied, that there were only two ways to Mecca, one by ^Irftk, the other by Gujarat. By the former, a man must hear abusive language from the Kazilbdshes (Persian Shi’as) j by the

latter, he must, before he embarks at sea, suffer the indig^jity of . entering into an engagement with the Firingis, which engagement was headed and stamped with portraits of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ (upon whom bo peace!), and so is tinctured with idol worship, ^ Therefore both ways should be prohibited.

Another device of Makhddmu-1 Mulk's was the trick by which he avoided payment of the legal alms due upon his wealth. ® At the end of each year he used to make over all his property to his wife, but before the year had run out he took it all back again« It was said that he practised some other tricks, of which even the Israelites would have been ashamed. Stories were told, one after another, about his meanness and shabbiness, and baseness and worldliness, and oppression, all which vices were exhibited towards hol^ and deserving men, especially those of the Panjdb, and which one by one came to light, verifying the saying, ‘‘There is a day when secrets shall be disclosed/^ They told also other stories founded upon his villany, sordid disposition, and con- temptible conduct, and they ended by deciding that he ought to bo shipped off by force to Mecca, When he was asked if he thought the pilgrimage a duty for himself, he replied in thge negative. About this time, Makhdumu-1 Mulk began to fall into discredit, and Shaikh 'Abdu-n Nabi ® succeeded him in the good graces of the King,

^ Maifei mentions a toll, and Osorins tells us that the Portuguese allovrod no one to sail without one of their passports. Faria>e-Souza says that these passports were not nnfrequcntly mere “ letters of Bellerophon,” to tho effect that “ The owner of this ship is a very wicked Moor ; I desire that the first Portuguese captain to whom this is shown may make a prize of her I” — See Rowlandson, Tohfut-ul Mtjjahideen, pp. 90, 104.

® [Or, more familiarly, how he avoided payment of income-tax.]

^ An account of each of these ecclesiastical judges is given among the Biographies of learned men at the end of the work. That of *Abdu-n Nahl will be found among these Extracts.

Respecting Makhddmu-1 Mulk, an intelligent author, who has written on the sub- ject of Akbar’s deflections from the path of the Muhammadan religion, observes : —

A learned and pious writer, Makhddmu-l Mulk, published about this time a tract injurious to Shaikh ’Abdu-n Nabi. He accused that teacher of having been wrong- fully instrumental to the deaths of Khizr Kh&n Shirwdni, who had been condemned for reviling the Prophet, and *Ali Habsh, who had been charged with heresy. * He

[Text, vol, ii. p. 404.] This year the King gave orders that the rent-free land throughout his dominions, whether in the shape of ayma^ madad-m^dsh^ wahf or pensions, should not be con- sidered valid, and that the revenue-officers should not recognize them until the Sadr had approved the grants. The consequence was, that the people whose rights were assailed flocked from tho farthest east of India, and from'Bakkar in tho west, to represent 4heir grievances. Whoever found a powerful friond among the nobles and people at Court, secured his wishes, and whoever could not obtain a similar introduction, had to give large bribes to Saiyid 'Abdu-r Eastil, and all the subordinates of the Shaikh, even to the/«msAes, door-keepers, grooms and sweepers, and by these means contrived at last to ^^save his blanket from the whirlpool.” He who could not succeed in procuring either of these passports, was well thrashed and kicked by the attendants ; besides which, many of the unfortunates perished from the effect of the hot air in that immense crowd. Although the King knew all these particulars, yet such was his regard for the Sadr, that Ife could not be persuaded to interfere with his proceedings. Whenever the Sadr sat in state and dignity in tho dlwdn- hhdna^ and held public audience, the nobles would, now and then, taking forward some learned and respectable man, represent his case for consideration. But he used to receive them with little respect, and after much entreaty and importunity, some able man, who could explain the Hiddya^ or any equally abstruse book, would get a paltry hundred Ughae^ more or less, restored to him, and the rest, of which he might have been in possession

added also, that the Shaikh was unworthy to mount the pulpit, both because he was subject to a bodily infirmity, and because he had been disavowed by his own father for his perverse and undutiful conduct when a youth. To these attacks Shaikh * Abdu-n Nabi replied by calling Makhdfimu>l Mulk. a heretic and a fool. Opinions wore divided, some of the religious men sided with one, and some with another ; the dispute ran high, and a complete schism ensued. The enemies of Isl&m took this opportunity to augment the King's disgust and dissatisfaction, and those impressions becoming progressively more intense, he lost in tho course of five or six years every particle of his original belief.*’— Omnf a/ Quarterly Magaaine, vol. i. p. 61.

for many years, would be resumed. But the ordinary run of ignorant and worthless fellows, even down to Hindus, would get as much land as they asked for, without question. From these proceedings, learning and its professors declined in estimation every day. Even in the middle of the assemblage, while seated, “ aloft in awful state,” if the time for midday prayers came, he would wash his hands, and care not how much water he sprinkled on the faces and clothes of the surrounding nobles and courtiers. They meekly submitted to the indignity, because they knew it» was to the advantage of their poor clients, and would bestow upon the Sadr every kind of eulogium, compliment, and flattery, to his heart's content, in the hope by this means to secure at last some compensation for the insult.^ In the time of no former king had any Sadr such extensive powers and jurisdiction.

The Author'^ Appointments and Emoluments.

[Text, vol. ii. p. 206.] About this time the King appointed me a preacher, and directed me also to undertake the office of marking the royal Jiorses with the brand. I had no fixed salary, but I was told from the first to act like a mansabddr of twenty i» bringing horses to the brand. Shaikh Abu-1 Fazl arrived at Couit about the same time, so that wo were, as was said, loaves out of the same oven. Yet he, beginning his service by marking horses and attending to the mahalli^ managed by his intelligence and time-serving qualities to raise himself to a mansab of two thousand, and to the dignity of wazir. But poor I, from my inexperiehce and simplicity, could not manage to advance myself. I reflected within myself that there were still hopes of securing contentment (that best of possessions!) by means of a madad- mdsh^ which would enable me to retire from the world, and apply myself to study and devotion, while free from the cares of the world. But even in this I was doomed to be disappointed.

In the month of Shaww&l, 983, on my applying for leave of absence, it was refused; but I received a horse with suitable ^ [This lost sentence is a free rendering of a rather offensive expression.]

trappings, and a grant of a thousand bighas, which was a mere nothing, being only equal to an allowance for the maintenance of twenty men, but in accordance with the unfriendly disposition of the Sadr and my unlucky fate. It was styled also in the grant' a madadrm^dsh} I represented that with this small tenure I could not aflEord to bo constantly in attendance at Court, to which the King replied, that he would give mo presents also during the marches. Shaikh *Abdu-n Nabi too observed, that no person of • my quality had received from him so large a grant of land. As for the presents which I was promised, though twenty-two years have elapsed since my hopes were raised, I have received them but once or twice, and the rest have been concealed behind the veil of fate. These fine promises were nothing better than a baseless mirage. I have performed services without reward, and undergone restraints, from which I can now be relieved only by the goodness of God.

^ [Text, voL ii. p. 210.] [In these days (a.h. 983, a.d. 1575-6) His Majesty asked how it would be if ho ordered the words Allahu Akbar to be engraven on his Imperial seal and stamped upon his coins. Several people said it would be very good. But Haji Ibrdhirn objected. Ho said the phrase had an ambiguous meaning, and that it would be better to substitute the verse of the Kuran, Lazikru Alldhi Akbaru To think of God Is the greatest thing because it was free from ambiguity. His Majesty was not pleased with this, and said it was self-evident that no creature, in the depths of his impotence, could advance any claim to Divinity. He had only looked upon the word as being apposite, and there could be no sense in straining it to such an extent.] ^

^ [That is, an eleemosynary grant, not a mamah or military tenure indicative of dignity.]

^ [The signification usuaUy attached to these words is <<6od is great’*; but the meaning Akbar is God ” may be given to them.]

3 [See Blochmann’s Aln~i Akbari^ vol. i. p. 166.]

[Text, vol. ii. p. 211.] [In this year (983) there arrived Hakim Abu-l Fath Gil&ni, Hakim Humayun (who subsequently changed his name to Hum&yun Kuli, and lastly to Hakim Hum&m), and Ndru-d din, who as a poet is known under the name of Kar&ri. These three were brothers, and came from Gilan (near the Caspian). The eldest brother, by his subserviency, obtained an oxti’aordinary ascendancy over the Emperor. He flattered him openly, adapted himself to every change in the religious ideas of His Majesty, and pushing forward, he soon became a most intimate friend of Akbar. Soon after there came to Court Mull& Muhammad of Yazd, who got the nickname of YazuU. He attached himself to the Emperor, and concocted the most extravagant censures against the sahdba (companions of the Prophet, the peace of God be upon them !). He told extraordinary stories (about them), and tried hard to make the Emperor a shi'a. But this man was soon left behind by Bir- bal, that bastard, and by Shaikh Abu-1 Fazl and Hakim Abti-l Path. They turned the Emperor from the Religion, and made him a perfect sceptic of inspiration, the prophetic office, the miracles and wonders, and the law. They carried matters to such*' a length that I, the author, could no longer bear them company. The result of all this, as regards each one of them, will be told in its proper place. About the same time. His Majesty ordered Kdzi Jalalu-d din and several other learned men to write a com- mentary upon the Kur&n, but they fell to squabbling about it. That scofter, Deb Chand, Rfijd of Manjhola, used to say, that if the cow had not been greatly esteemed by the Almighty, she would not have been mentioned in the first chapter of the Kur&n. As history was read from day to day, His Majesty's faith in the Companions of the Prophet began to be shaken, and the breach grew broader. The daily prayers, the fasts, and prophecies were all pronounced delusions as being opposed to sense. Reason, not revelation, was declared to be the basis of religion. Europeans also paid visits to him, and he adopted some of their rationalistic tenets*.]

[Text, vol. ii. p. 238.] [In the early part of the engagement, a cannoii-ball struck the knee of Junaid, and broke his leg. When the armies closed, defeat fell upon the Afgh&ns. The horse of D4ud stuck fast in the mud, and Hasan Beg made D&ud prisoner, and carried him to Kh&n-jahdn. The prisoner, being oppressed with thirst, asked for water. They filled his slipper with water, and took it to him. But as he would not drink it, Kh&n-jahdn supplied him with a cupfull from his own canteen, and enabled him to slake his thirst. The Xh&n was desirous of saving his life, for he was a very handsome man ; but the nobles urged that if his life were spared, suspicions might arise as to their loyalty. So he ordered him to be beheaded. His execution was a very clumsy work, for after receiving two chops he was not dead, but suiffered great torture. At length his head was cut off. It was then crammed with grass and anointed with perfumes, and placed in charge of Saiyid ^Abdu-lla Kh&n.]

• [Text, vol. ii. p. 252.] In a.h. 985 the King, after visiting the shrines of the holy saints in the neighbourhood of Dolili, went towards Palarn on a shooting excursion. At the close of the blessed month Bamazdn, news reached me at Bew&ri, that at Basdwar® a sou had been born to me, of which happiness I had been a long time in expectation. On this occasion 1 presented an offering of a gold ashrafi to the King, and requested he would be good enough to name the child. After reading a prayer, he inquired the name of my father and grandfather. I replied, ‘‘ Multik Shdh was my father, and he was the son of Ilamid.'^ He said, “ I call ypur son ^Abdu-1 H4di,” — HAdi being a name which at that time he had, night and day, upon his lips.^ Not-

• This place, whicli is so frequently mentioned in the course of this history, is within the territory of BharatpOr, on the road from Agra to Jaipdr. It is situated on the side of a rocky eminence, with a ruinous palace on its summit. Heber calls it Peshkwar. See Narruiive of a Journey^ Yol. ii. p. 386.

withstanding that Hdfiz Muhammad Amin, the preacher, was constantly citing tfie seven imdim^ urging me in high-flown language not to commit this absurdity, and to invite some learned men to my house to read the whole Kur4n, in order ta secure a long life to my son, ho could not persuade me, and at the end of six months my son died. May Grod be pleased on his account to pardon me in the day of judgment !

From Rewari I took five months’ leave, and went to Basd.war, on account of sundry affairs of consequence, but I unavoidably extended my absence to the period of a year. This unwarranted neglect of duty and the machinations of my enemies made me fall in the King’s estimation, and by degrees I was entirely forgotten. To this day even, although eighteen years have since elapsed, I still perform my duty, but am not honoured with an interview ; and I can neither go in search of other employ, nor maintain a firm footing in my present position.

[Text, vol. ii. p. 254.] Kdzi ’AH Baghdadi, grandson of Mir K4zi Husain Maibazi, was deputed to the Panjdb to make in- quiries respecting the lands held in rent-free tenure, under the name of madad-nfdsh and ayma. He was directed to resume the old tenures, to measure them, and to include them all in one district. The greatest anomalies had been perpetrated in this department, which were all to be attributed to the perversity of Shaikh *Abdu-n Nabi and the dishonesty of his subordinates.

[Text, vol. ii. p. 255, a.h. 986.] [His Majesty used frequently to go to the ^ihddat-khdna, and converse with the ^ulamd and the shaikhs.^ especially on Sabbath evenings, and would sometimes pass the whole night there. The discussions always turned upon religion, upon its principles, and upon its divarications. The learned doctors used to exercise the sword of their tongues

upoi^each other, and showed great pugnacity and animosity, till the various sects at length took to calling each other infidels and perverts, ♦ Innovators and schismatics artfully started their dbubts and sophistries, making right appear to be wrong, and wrong to bo right. And so His Majesty, who had an excellent understanding, and sought after the truth, but was surrounded by low irreligious persons, to whom he gave his confidence, was plunged into scepticism. Doubt accumulated upon doubt, and ^ the object of his search was lost. The ramparts of the law and of the true faith were broken down ; and, in tho course of five or six years, not one trace of Isldm was left in him. The state of affairs was changed, *

There were many reasons for this. But as “ small things are suggestive of great ones, and fear betrays the culprit,'^ I will only mention a few. Learned men of various kinds and from every country, and professors •of many different religions and creeds, assembled at his Court, and were admitted to converse with him. ^ Night and day people did nothing but inquire .ind investigate. Profound points of science, the subtleties of revela- j-ion, the curiosities of history, the wonders of nature, of which large volumes could only givo a summary abstract, were ever spoken of. His Majesty collected the opinions of every one, especially of such as were not Muhammadans, retaining whatever he approved of, and rejecting everything which was against his disposition, and ran counter to his wishes. From his earliest childhood to his manhood, and from his manhood to old age. His Majesty has passed through the most diverse phases, and through all sorts of religious practices and sectarian beliefs, and has collected everything which people can find in books, with a talent of selection peculiar to him, and a spirit of inquiry opposed to every (Isl&mitic) principle. Thus a faith, based on some elementary principles, traced itself on the mirror of his heart, and, as the result of all the influences which were brought to bear

^ [The rest of this Extract is taken from Mr. Blochmann’s translation. See Akbari, vol, i. p. 179.]

on His Majesty, there grew, gradually as the outline on a gtoiie, the conviction in his heart that there were sensible men in all religions, and abstemious thinkers, and men endowed with miraculous powers, among all nations. If some true knowledge was thus everywhere to be found, why should truth be confined to one religion, or to a creed like Isl&m, which was comparAtively new, and scarcely a thousand years old ? Why should one sect assert what another denies, and why should one claim a preference without having superiority conferred on itself?

^ Moreover, Saiiianis^ and Brahmans managed to get frequent private interviews with His Majesty. As they surpass other learned men in their treatises on morals, and on physical and religious sciences, and reach a high degree in their knowledge of the future, in spiritual power and human perfection, they brought proofs, based on reason and testimony, for the truth of their own, and the fallacies of other •i*eligions, and inculcated their doctrines so firmly, and so skilfully represented things as quite self-evident which require consideration, that no man, by expressing his doubts, could now raise a doubt in His Majesty, oven if mountains were to crumble to dust, or the heavens wer^. to tear asunder.

Hence His Majesty cast aside the Islamitic revelations re- garding resurrection, the Day of Judgment, and the details connected with it, as also all ordinances based on the tradition of our Prophet. He listened to every abuse which the courtiers heaped on our glorious and pure faith, which can be so easily followed; and eagerly seizing such opportunities, he showed, in words and gestures, his satisfaction at the treatment which his original religion received at their hands.]

[Text, vol. ii. p. 260.] In a.h. 986 the missionaries of Europe, who are called P4dris, and whose chief Pontifi*, ^called P&p4 (Pope), promulgates his interpretations for the use of the people, ^ ascetics, Sons. Sramana* —

and issues mandates that even kings dare not disobey, brought their Gospel to the King’s notice, advanced proofe^of the Trinity, and affirmed the truth and spread abroad the knowledge "•of the religion of Jesus. The King ordered Prince Mur&d to learn a few lessons from the Gospel, and to treat it with all due respect, and Shaikh Abu-1 Fazl was directed to translate it. Instead of the inceptive “Bismillali,” the following ejaculation was enjoined: “ In nomine Jesu Ohristi,” ^ that is, ‘‘ Oh ! thou whoso name is perciful and bountiful.” Shaikh Faizi added to this, “Praise be to God! there is no one like thee — thou art he!**’ Th^ attributes of the abhorred Anti-Christ were ascribed to our holy Prophet by these lying impostors.

[Text,,yol. ii. p. 260.] The accursed Birbal^ tried to persuade the King, that since the sun gives light to all, and ripens all grain, fruits and products of the earth, and supports the life of mankind, that luminary iffiould be the object of worship and veneration ; that the face should be turned towards the rising, not towards the setting, sun ; that man should venerate fire, water, stones and trees, and all natural objects, oven down to cows and their dung ; that he should adopt the frontal mark and the Brahininical cord. Several wise men at Court confirmed what ho said, by representing that the sun was the chief light of the world, and the benefactor

» The original has in Persian '^^kh can scarcely be

said to bear any meaning. Besides, the translation, vile as it is, shows that a foreign language must have boon dealt with. It is not difficult to make “ in nomine out of the first two Persiau words, [The above arc the words of the printed text, but Mr. Bloohmann slightly modifies and improves them, Ai ndm i tu Jesus o Kiristo, “ 0 thou whose names are Jesus and Christ.” — Ain-i AUharl^ vol. i. p. 183.]

» This is the epithet by which he is usually characterized by this bitter enemy. Respecting his death in the Ydsufzai country, he says, *‘Birbal fled for fear of his life, and being slain, was included amongst the dogs of hell, and met with punish- ment, slight when ^jompared with his evil deserts. Akbar regretted his loss more than that of any other of his chiefs, exclaiming, * Why did they not, at least, rescue his body, that it might have, been burnt ? * Afterwards, he derived consolation from reflecting, that as Birbal was pure and undefiled, the rays of the grand luminary were sufficient for his funeral pyre.”

of its inhabitants, that it was a friend to kings, and that Jkfhgs established periods and eras in conformity with its motions.^ This was the cause of the worship paid to the sun on the Nathrtm Jaldli^ and of his being Induced to adopt that festival for the celebration of his accession to the throne. Every day he used to put on clothes of that particular colour which accords with that of the regent-planet of the day. He began also, at midnight and at early dawn, to mutter the spells, which the Hindus taught him, for the purpose of subduing the sun to his wishes. He/ prohibited the slaughter of cows, and the eating of their flesh, because the Hindus devoutly worship them, and esteem their dung as pure. Instead of cows, they sacrifice good men. The reason was also assigned, that physicians have represented their flesh to be productive of sundry kinds of sickness, and to be difficult of digestion.

Al{i4 Fazl appointed Superintendent of Fire-templee,

[Text, vol. ii. p. 261.] Fire-worshippers also came from Nausari in Gujardt, proclaimed the religion of Zardusht as the true one, and declared reverence to fire to be superior to every other kind of worship. They also attracted the King’s regard, and taught him the peculiar terms, the ordinances, the rites and ceremonies of the Kaidnians ; and at last he directed that the sacred fire should be made over to the charge of Abu-1 Fazl, and that after the manner of the Kings of Persia, in whose temples blazed perpetual fires, he should take care it was never extinguished either by night or day, — ^for that it is one of the signs of God, and one light from among the many lights of his creation.

From his earliest youth, in compliment to his wives, the daughters of the Kdjds of Hind, he had within the female apart- ments continued to burn the Aom, which is a ceremony derived

^ [The printed text says only ^ ^ Jb — ‘‘Kings are sustained by

it/’—Mr. Blochraantfs translation runs, “They said, the sun was ‘ the greatest light,* the source of benefit for the whole world, the nourisher of kings, and the origin of royal povjer.” — A£«-i Akiari, Tol. i. p. ISS.]

from fire-worship 5 but on the New-year festival of the 25th year after his accession, he prostrated himself both before the sun and before the fire in public, and in the evening the whole Court had to rise up respectfully when the lamps and candles were lighted.

Op the festival of the eighth day after the sun’s entering Virgo in this year, he camo forth to. the public audience-chamber with his forehead marked like a Hindu, and he had jewelled strings tied on his wrist by Brdhmans, by way of a blessing. The chiefs ^and nobles adopted the same practice in imitation of him, and presented on that day pearls and precious stones, suitable to their respective wealth and station. It became the current custom also to wear the rdkhi on the wrist, which means an amulet formed out of twisted linen rags. In defiance and contempt of the true fiiith, every precept which was enjoined by the doctors of other religions, he treated as manifest and decisive. Those of Isl&m, on the contrary, were esteemed follies, innovations, inventions of indigent beggars, of rebels, and of highway robbers, and those who professed that religion were set down as contemptible idiots. These sentiments had been long growing up in his mind, and ripened gradually into a firm conviction of their truth.

[Text, vol. ii. p. 270.] [In the same year (987), a declaration made its appearance, which bore the signatures and seals of Makhdumu-1 Mulk, Shaikh ’Abdu-n Nabi Sadru-s Sud&r, Kdzi •^Jal&lu-d din Mult&ni, who was Kdzlu-l Kuzdt^ of Sadr-i Jah&n, the mufti general, of Shaikh Mub&rak, the most learned man of the age, and of Ghdzi Kh&n Badakhshi, who had no rival in the science of metaphysics. The object of this declaration was to establish the complete superiority of the imdm-i ^ddil (just leader) over the Mujtahid (chief lawyer) j and to make his judgment and choice a preponderating authority on divers qu^tions, so that no one could possibly reject (his) commande^

^ [See Blochmann’s translation, Ain-i AJsbart, vol. i. p. 186.]

either in religious or political matters, but must by them bp iSfelf- convinced.^ * * * I copy the document verbatim.

iPreamble — Citations from the Kurdn and the Trdditionsf] ‘'•We have agreed and do decree that the rank of a 8ultdn-i *ddil (just ruler) is higher in the eyes of God than the rank^^of a MujtaMd. Further we declare that the Sultdh of Isl&m^ the refuge of mankind, the leader of the faithful, the shadow of God in the world — Abu-1 Fath JaUlu-d din Muhammad Akbar Padsh&h-i Ghazi (whose kingdom God perpetuate!) — ^is a most^ just, wise, and God-fearing King. Therefore, If there be a variance of opinion among the mujtahids upon questions of religion, and His Majesty, in his penetrating understanding and unerring judg- ment, should incline to one opinion, and give his decree for the benefit of mankind and for the due regulation of the world, we do hereby agree that such a decree is binding on us and on the whole nation. Further we declare that should His Majesty, in his unerring judgment, issue an order, which is not in opposition to the Kurdn, and which is for the benefit of the nation, it shall be binding and imperative on every man. Opposition to it shall involve damnation in the world to come and loss of religion and property in this life. This document has been written with honest intentions, for the glory of God, and the propagation of Islam, and is signed by us, the principal ^ulamd and lawyers, in the month of Rajab, 987 Hijra.”