4. Volume 6 — part 4

3 Tdrikh-i Baddiini of ’Abdu-1 Kadir (MS. fol. 228 r,).

^ Sir T. Metcalfe’s Memoir of Dehli says that he made the pilgrimage twice.

5 This is a history of Medina, which was commenced in that city in a.h. 998, and has been very well printed in Calcutta.

1047 H., although he was then ninety years old, he is said ^ to have been in full possession of his faculties, and to have em- ployed himself in religious duties, in instruction, and composi- tion, as vigorously as if he had still been a young man. He died in 1052 h. (1642 a.d.), and was buried in the sepulchre built by himself in Dehli on the margin of the Hauz-i Shamshi. The building still exists in good preservation, and is a handsome I solid structure.

j The author, who now holds a high rank among the saints of • Hindustan, informs us that his desire to write history arose from a perusal of the Tdrikh-i Firoz-shdhi^ by which he alludes to that of Ziau-d din Barni, as he mentions that the lives of i several kings are contained in it, which is not the case with i the other histories of that name. But as that work concludes

j with the beginning of Firoz Shah’s reign, he sought to obtain

information respecting the kings who succeeded him, and lighted I upon the Tdrikh-i Bahddur-shdhi^ written by Sam Sultan I Bahadur Gujarati, from which he has extracted down to the I reign of Bahlol Lodi. He then thought it would be advisable

t to complete the reigns previous to those noticed in the Tdrikh-i

J Firoz-shdM^ and therefore abstracted from the Tahakdt-i Ndsiri the reigns from Mu’izzu-d din Sam (Muhammad Ghori) to Nasiru-d din Mahmud bin Sultan Shamsu-d din. He has been ji judicious in his small selection, as these three are the best l| authorities for their respective periods.^ From Bahlol Lodi to || his own time he has depended on verbal information, and upon ^ what came under his own observation, all the rest of his work I being taken, as he candidly confesses, verbatim from the three I authors above quoted.

After carrying, in the first chapter, the general history of I Dehli down to Akbar’s time, he gives, in the second, a com- ( pendious account of the rulers of Bengal, Jaunpur, Maiidu, Dakhin, Multan, Sind and Kashmir, but the narrative is much I too brief to be of any use.

Bddshdh-nd7na, ut supra. * Briggs, vol. iv. pp. 131, 392.

As this time-serving saint was prepared to speak of his reforming patron in the preposterous strain of adulation adopted in the following Extract, we have little reason to regret that he never fulfilled the purpose of writing an account of his reign.

The best copy of this little history which I have seen belongs to Nawab Nasiru-d din Ahmad of Panipat, in whose collection it is improperly called Tdrihh-i Saldtin Ghoru Nizamu-d din, a physician resident at Banda, also possesses a good copy. There are two copies (Addit. MSS. 6596 and 16701) in the British Museum, and one in the Library of the Royal Asiatic Society, which Morley has described in his Catalogue (No. xlvii.).

In a Manuscript belonging to a native gentleman at Dehli, the first chapter closes with these words, “ Thus ends the first chapter of the Tazkiratu-s Saldtin,” which would imply that this work is known by that name ; but, if so, it cannot be the work generally^ known as the Tazkiratu-s Saldtin^ for that is devoted to an account of the Hindu dynasties, and upon that compilation Colonel AVilford, in his essay on Yikramaditya and Salivahana, makes the following just observations : “ This trea- tise is a most perfect specimen of the manner of writing history in India ; for, excepting the above list, almost everything else is the production of the fertile genius of the compiler. In all these lists the compilers and revisers seem to have had no other object in view, but to adjust a certain number of remarkable epochs. This being once effected, the intermediate spaces are filled up with names of kings not to be found anywhere else, and most probably fanciful. Otherwise they leave out the names of those kings of whom nothing is recorded, and attribute the years of their reign to some among them better known, and of greater fame. They often do not scruple to transpose some of those kings, and even whole dynasties ; either in consequence of some preconceived opinion, or owing to their mistaking a famous king for another of the same name. It was not uu- ^ See Eeinaud’s Memoire, p. 6.

common with ancient writers, to pass from a remote ancestor to a remote descendant ; or from a remote predecessor to a remote successor, by leaving out the intermediate generations or successions, and sometimes ascribing the years of their reigns to a remote successor or predecessor. In this manner the lists of the ancient kings of Persia, both by Oriental writers, and others in the west, have been compiled : and some instances of this nature might be produced from Scripture. I was acquainted lately, at Benares, with a chronicler of that sort, and in the several conversations I had with him, he candidly acknowledged that he filled up the intermediate spaces between the reigns of famous kings with names at a venture ; that he shortened or lengthened their reigns at pleasure ; and that it was understood that his predecessors had taken the same liberties. Through their emendations and corrections, you see plainly a total want of historical knowledge and criticism ; and sometimes some dis- ingenuity is but too obvious. This is, however, the case with the sections on futurity in the Bhagavat, Yayu, Vishnu, and Brahmanda Puranas ; which with the above lists constitute the whole stock of historical knowledge among the Hindus ; and the whole might be comprised in a few quarto pages of print.” ^

The Tdrikh-i Hakki opens with a passage from the Kuran. The conclusion varies. The most perfect closes with a chrono- gram, which would seem to show that the author wished his work to be styled Zikr-i Muluk^ and from another passage this appears to be the true name, though the preface, as before observed, authorizes the name of Tdnkh-i Hakki,

The copy used is a small 8vo., containing 142 pages, of 18 lines each.

Shortly after ascending the throne, Firoz Shah was murdered by his maternal uncle Mubariz Khan. Salim Shah had antici- pated this, and had therefore asked his wife’s consent to kill her brother Mubariz, saying that if she did not accede to his pro- ^ Asiatic Researches^ vol. ix. pp. 132, 133.

posal, she would not long see her son alive. The senseless woman did not believe his words, and would not give her con- sent ; but it turned out as Salim Shah had predicted.^ Firoz Shah reigned not more than three days and five hours. After his murder, all his Afghan relations claimed the throne. One assumed the title of Sikandar, another of Sultan Ibrahim, and a third of Sultan Muhammad ’Adil. The rivals contested the point amongst themselves most pertinaciously for three or four years, when, at length, in the month of Shawwal, in the year 963, the Huma of Humayun again spread the wings of its prosperity and good luck over the kingdom of Hindustan. The dust of distress which had long obscured the beautiful face of the kingdom was washed away by the water of peace and union, and the heart of the country was invigorated by a new infusion of life. Joy and gladness, gratitude and boundless hope, were diffused among all people, both high and low, rich and poor.

Within six months of his second reign Humayun, while standing one evening enjoying the fresh air on the top of the red palace in the fort of Dehli, heard the azdn called, and sitting down out of respect to the summons to evening prayer, his foot slipped by accident, and he fell to the ground. He died on the spot, or at least a few days afterwards, and the bird of his vic- torious soul fled to its nest in Paradise. From God we proceed, to God shall we return !

He was succeeded by his son Sultan Abu-1 Fath Jalalu-d din Muhammad Akbar Badshah Ghazi, of super-eminent dignity, etc. He ascended the throne in his youth, and though more than forty years have elapsed since his reign began, he is still in the very bloom of his dominion, and in the commencement of his power, for every day brings accounts of new victories and new conquests, so that by the blessing of God his kingdom extends over the whole of Hindustan (which is called “ Chahar- dang,” that is, a quarter of the world), east and west, north and south, including all its forts and territories, without any one 1 [See supra, Vol. V. p. 41.]

being associated with him in power, and without any one daring to offer opposition. This country is bounded on three sides by the sea, and all the kings and princes, chiefs, nobles, and Rajas, and all people, of every degree, throughout the whole country, pay allegiance to him, willingly acknowledge him as their sove- reign, and place the head of abject submission on the ground in his presence. Territories, treasures, elephants, horses, armies, and all other things, suitable to the state and dignity of Em- perors, came into his possession in such abundance, that they are beyond all calculation, and are of a value far exceeding anything which has ever yet been in the possession of other Emperors.

This monarch, at the very commencement of his reign, effected that which kings who have reigned many years have not been able to accomplish.” “ God can place the whole world in the hands of one person I ”

The kings and Sultans, who have been spoken of in this book, are not worthy of those titles in the presence of the exalted Majesty of Akbar, with the exception, perhaps, of one or two individuals ; but to call even them kings, in comparison, requires no small degree of courage and resolution.

In short, it is difficult to describe the victories and conquests of the Emperor Akbar, his rules and regulations, his principles of government, his extraordinary orders, his courteous manners, and the many innovations which he introduced. Entire volumes and registers would not contain them. If I be blessed with a long life, and if I receive the aid of God, I shall attempt to the utmost of my power to write, free from error, the history of the Emperor. May it be the will of God that, through the aid of this omnipotent Emperor of Emperors, the Muhammadan law and religion may be established for ever and ever ! 0 God of

This is a general history, composed by Shaikh Niiru-l Hakk, al-Mashriki, al-Dehlivi, al-Bokhari, the son of ’Abdu-1 Hakk, noticed in the preceding article. The addition of al-Mashriki would imply that his family had changed their abode from Dehli to some district of Jaunpur.

Niiru-l Hakk’s work is an enlarged edition of his father’s history, and was composed, as the author informs us, in order tliat, by improving the style, and supplying omissions, he might render it worthy the acceptance of his patron, Shaik Faridu-d din Bokhari, with whom he was connected by marriage, and who suggested the undertaking. It is for this reason that a large space is devoted to an account of Shaikh Faridu-d din’s expeditions during the time of Akbar, and an interesting detail is given of his proceedings in Kashmir, the Khyber hills, Jammu, Jasrauta, Ramgarh, and other places in the Siwalik hills.2 The same officer was subsequently appointed to the pur- suit of Khusru in the early part of Jahangir’s reign, in which expedition he acquired credit for considerable gallantry, and under the title of Murtaza Khan, managed for some time the affairs of the empire.

The work commences with the reign of Kutbu-d din, and ends with the close of Akbar’s reign. [Much of the early part is copied verbatim or in abstract from the Tahakdt-i Ndsiri, the

1 See Mi7'-dt-i Jahdu-mmd, p. 660; Tabakdt-i Shdh-jahdni, fol. 310; Ma-dsiru-l Ku'dn, p. 258 ; Subhatu-l Mai-jdn.

2 [No doubt copied from the Akbar-ndma of Faizf Sirhindi. — See sup'd^ p. 127.]

Tdrilih of Zia Barni, tlie Tdrikh-i Muhdrah ShdMf and other works, as will be seen from the Extracts which follow.] The reign of Akbar is copiously abstracted from the Akhar-ndma. This is by far the most valuable part of the work, for besides what he copies from Abu-1 Fazl, the author writes much from his own knowledge of contemporary events. A hope is held out that the author may be able to continue the work, and detail some of the events of Jahangir’s reign, of whom he was a con- temporary. The author’s father, ’Abdu-1 Hakk, highly lauds the work in his Literary History^ p. 43.

The Dakhin history is much more meagre than the rest. The history of the Bahmani, Nizam-shahi, ’Adil-shahi, Kutb-shahi dynasties is promised, but is not given. Berar, Bidr, Khandesh, are also omitted from this work, as they are from the Tahakdt-i Akbari^ which fact would of itself raise a suspicion that Niiru^l Hakk copied more than he acknowledged.

History of the kings of Dehli, from pp. 13 to 369.

History of the kings of Malwa, from pp. 369 to 418.

History of the kings of Gujarat, from pp. 418 to 458.

History of the kings of the Dakhin, from pp. 458 to 482.

History of the kings of Kashmir, from pp. 482 to 506.

History of the kings of Sind and Thatta, from pp. 507 to 514.

History of the kings of Multan, from pp. 514 to 516.

History of the kings of Bengal, from pp. 517 to 532.

History of the kings of Jaunpur, from pp. 532 to 542.

Size — Large 8vo. comprising 542 pages, of 1 6 lines to a page.

By Muhammad Hashim, the author of the Mimtakhahu-l Lubdh^ this history is styled the Tdrikh4 Zubda. The name of Zubdatu-t Tawdrikh is very common, and besides the history of this name, which will be noticed in another part of this work, there are two which have a classical reputation both in the east and west; one by Hafiz Abru, noticed before (Art. XX. Vol. IV.), the other by Jainalu-d dm Abu-1 kasim Kashi. There is

one also of a later date by Kamal Khan bln Jalal Munajjim. It is a general history, but chiefly devoted to Persia, the history of which it brings down to the close of the sixteenth century.^ Juwaini, in his Jakdn-Kiishdj notices another written by Saiyid Sadru-d din.

The ZiMatiht Tawdnkh of Nuru-1 Hakk is not uncommon in India. One of the best manuscripts belongs to Nawab Siraju-1 Mulk, Minister of Haidarabad, and ’All Muhammad Khan has a good copy. There is a copy in the British Museum, Addit. 10580, and one in the Biblioth^ue Imperiale, No. 38 Supp. Persan. This professes to have been completed on Tuesday, 27 Eabi’u-1 awwal, 1067 h., so that it must be an early copy, unless this date be that of the composition.

_SeDeral which appeared in Sir H. M. Elliot's original volume have been here omitted^ as they have already been printed in the notices of the original works from which Nuru-l Hakk copied them.^

[Abstracted from the Tabakdt-i Ndsiri, See Yol. II. p. 333.]

Sultdns Mu'izzu-d din Kaikubdd^ ^Aldu-d din and Kutbu-d din,

[Abstracted from the Tdrikli-i Firoz-shdhi of Zia Barni, Yol. III. p. 125.]

It was about this time that the whole of the Doab became unable any longer to bear up against the grievous rack-renting and oppressive taxes. The people in despair set fire to their barns and stacks, and carrying away their cattle, became wan- derers in the wide world. Upon this, the Sultan gave orders that every such peasant who might be seized should be put to death, and that the whole country should be ravaged and given

up to indiscriminate plunder. He even himself marched out of the city for that purpose, as if he had been going on a hunting expedition, put to the sword all the remaining population, and ordered their heads to be displayed from the battlements of the fort. In this way he utterly depopulated whole tracts of his kingdom, and inflicted such rigorous punishment, that the whole world stood aghast. In short, the cruelties of this tyrant, whom some men call the Just, surpass all belief.

Upon the death of King Firoz, Tughlik Shah, the son of Prince Path Khan, was raised to the throne in the palace of Firozabad. Having distributed among his nobles the high offices of the empire, he despatched a large army against Sultan Muhammad Shah, who, after a slight resistance, proceeded from Sirmiir to Suket, whence he fled to Nagarkot, being pursued by the army of Tughlik Shdh.

Under the influence of his youthful passions, Tughlik Shah gave himself up to debauchery and frivolity, and having but little experience in the concerns of government, thought it incumbent on him to imprison his own brother, Khurram Arslan Shah ; upon which Abu Bakr, son of Zafar Khan, the son of Sultan Firoz, actuated by the fear and suspicion arising from the fate of the Prince, took to flight. Malik Euknu-d din, the deputy wazir^ and a number of other nobles, joined Abu Bakr, marched out and put Malik Mubarak Kabir to death, before the entrance of Tughlik Shah’s palace at Firozabad, and the King, alarmed at the superior power of the rebels, fled with Khan Jahan through the gate facing the Jumna. Malik Buknu-d din pursued and seized him, and putting him and his followers to death, suspended their heads from that gate. “ What pleasures are there under the sky ? The kid frolics before the butcher’s shambles.”

This event occurred on the 21st Safar, 791 A.ii. Tughlik Shah reigned six months and eighteen days.

^ [From the Tdrilch-i Muhdrak-shdhi. — See Vol. IV. p. 18.]

Ahu Bakry son of Zafar KhdUy son of Sultan Firoz}

Abu Bakr was placed on the throne with the title of Abu Bakr Shah. After subjugating his enemies, and possessing himself of the treasure and retinue of Firoz Shah^ he became all-powerful.

Sultan Muhammad, proceeding from Nagarkot to Samana, proclaimed himself king, and commenced collecting an army. Hundreds of the nobles of Samana and the owners of lands situated at the foot of the hills, acknowledged his supreme authority. Some of the nobles, deserting Abu Bakr Shah, did Sultan Muhammad homage. The Sultan marched well equipped on Dehli from Samana, and by the time he reached the environs of that city, he had collected a body of cavalry to the amount of 50,000 men. On the 25th Babf u-1 akhir, 791 A.H., he reached the palace of Jahan-numai.

On the 2nd of Jumada-1 awwal a battle was fought between the Sultan Muhammad Jang and Abu Bakr Shah, in which the former sustained a total defeat. Crossing the J unina with 2000 horse, he entered the Doab, and sent back his son, named Humayun Khan, to Samana, with orders to collect an army and join him. He himself continued at Jalesar, near the banks of the Jumna.

A fresh army of 50,000 horse and foot was accordingly raised. In the month of Sha’ban of the same year, Sultan Muhammad marched on Dehli a second time, and again encountered Abu Bakr Shah. But Sultan Muhammad’s fortune being still un- propitious, he was defeated in this battle likewise. “ Though you make the dust of battle rise like columns of smoke, yet will your bravery be unavailing, if fortune does not favour you. If the key is not in your hand, no force will enable you to wrench open the door of victory.”

Sultan Muhammad Shah, still continuing at Jalesar, issued orders to the people of Multan, Lahore, and several other places.

directing them to kill the dependents of Firoz Shah, wherever they might find them. Accordingly a general massacre and great devastation ensued, roads were closed, travelling ceased, and houses were desolated.

In the month of Muharram, 792 a h., Prince Humayun Khan marched out, accompanied by several of the nobles, and laid waste the environs of Dehli, but Abu Bakr Shah, despatching a force to oppose him, put him to flight.

About this time [900 a.h.] the scarcity of corn was so great that the people were relieved of the established zakdt.

It is said that one day a Brahman declared in the presence of several Muhammadans that the religion of Islam was true, but that his own religion was also true. When this declaration reached the ear of the Doctors, they reported it to the Sultan, and as he was remarkably fond of religious and legal questions and theological controversies, he summoned the learned from various quarters, and invited their opinion on what the Brahman had asserted. The learned gave it unanimously as their opinion that he should be imprisoned, and that he should then be desired to embrace Islam, and if he should reject it, that he should be slain. Accordingly, when the Brahman was desired to embrace the Muhammadan religion, he refused to do so, and he was put to death. Many other similar instances of his zeal for religion occurred during his reign. * * *

In his time, Hindu temples were razed to the ground, and neither name nor vestige of them was allowed to remain. In the city of Mathura, if a Hindu wished to have his head or beard shaved, there was not a barber that dared to comply. He pro- hibited the procession of the spear of Salar Mas’ud Ghazi, which went every year to Bahraich, and women were not allowed to go on pilgrimages to shrines.

[Same as the Tdrihh-i Bdudi, Vol. lY. p. 475.]

In the year 950 h. Puran-mal, son of Salhdi, held occupation of the fort of Raisin, and brouo:ht several of the nei^hbourino: parganas under subjection. He had 1000 women in his harem, from the east and from Sind, and amongst them several Musul- manis, whom he made to dance before him. Sher Khan, with Musulman indignation, resolved to conquer the fort. After he had been some time engaged in investing it, an accommodation was proposed, and it was finally agreed that Puran-mal, with his family and children, and 4000 Rajputs of note, should be allowed to leave the fort unmolested. Several men learned in the law gave it as their opinion that they should all be slain, notwithstanding the solemn engagement which had been entered into. Consequently, the whole army, with the elephants, sur- rounded Puran-mars encampment. The Rajputs fought with desperate bravery, and after killing their women and children, and then burning them, they rushed to battle, and were annihi- lated to a man.^

After that, Sher Khan retired to Kgra, and after remaining there some time, set out on an expedition to Marwar, and at every stage he dug an entrenchment and raised a temporary fortress, advancing with the greatest care and circumspection. Whenever he met with a sandy soil and could not raise a fortress, he had sacks filled with sand, and heaping them up he constructed a defensible position out of them.^ * * *

Sher Khan made the road which now runs from Dehli to Agra, by cutting through jungles, removing obstacles, and build- ing sardis. Before that time, people had to travel through the Doab between those two places. There was so much security in travelling during his reign, that if a lone woman were to sleep in

a desert with silver and gold about her person, no one would dare • to commit theft upon her ; and if it ever did so happen that any one lost any property, the miikaddams of the village which was the scene of the robbery were subject to fine, and for fear of its infliction, the %aminddrs used to patrol the roads at night.^

Sher Khan founded many cities after his own name, as Sher- garh, Sher-kot ; and since old Dehli was far from the river Jumna, he demolished it, and founded a new city on the banks of the river, which exists to this day. He founded also for its defence a broad wall, which, through the absence of rebellion and the length of his reign, was brought to completion.

It is said that once, when looking in a glass, he exclaimed, “ Alas ! that I have attained the empire only when I have reached old age, and when the time for evening prayer has arrived. Had it been otherwise, the world \Vould have seen what I would have accomplished.” Sometimes he would say, by way of showing what difidcult and even impossible objects he con- templated ; “ I would have made a bridge to span the ocean, and have so contrived that even a widowed and helpless woman might without difidculty perform the pilgrimage to Mecca.’' To this day there exists a caravanserai of his building at Mecca, in which Afghan fakirs reside.

Up to this time [986 h., 1578 a.d.], the King used to attend public worship at the five stated times, whether he was in the capital or in camp, and the reciters of the Kuran, who were on the royal establishment, used to read that sacred book both at prayer and at other times. Indeed, the King himself used to take the lead in worship.

One of the strange incidents of this year (986 h.) was the King’s abandonment of the national religion, which became a stumbling-block to many people weak in the faith. The cause of 1 [See Vol. IV. p. 417.]

this dereliction was, that the court had become the centre of at- traction to all sects, persuasions, and people, to the learned of * Khurasan, ^Irak, Mawarau-n nahr, and Hindustan, to doctors and theologians, to Shias and Sunnis, to Christians and philoso- phers, to Brahmans and professors of every existing religion. These all upon hearing not only of the King’s affability and condescension, but his superiority to all others in regal dignity and power, as well as in humility, flocked to his presence, and occupying themselves with relations of history and travels, and dissertations about revelations, prophecies, and religions, were perpetually engaged in angry controversies, and, as generally happens with confirmed disputants, all were eager to draw others to their own views and persuasions, and passed day and night in yeaing and naying.” As this was the first time that the King had heard these discussions upon past history, customs, and religions of other nations, he was much struck with the novelty. He endeavoured to extract what was good from the contrary opinions which were expressed, giving the most deliberate atten- tion to all that he heard, for his mind was solely bent upon ascertaining the truth. If some of his companions had their dispositions and sentiments affected by the inherent sin of their nature during these controversies, and became unable to with- stand the temptations to apostacy, that is another matter ; — love of the world may have actuated them. The King used openly to say in the presence of his officers, doctors, and chiefs, — “ My sole object, oh wise Mullas, is to ascertain truth, to find out and disclose the principles of genuine religion, and to trace it to its divine origin. Take care, therefore, that through the influence of your human passions, you are not induced to conceal the truth : and say nothing contrary to the almighty decrees. If you do, you are responsible before God for the con- sequences of your impiety.”

Previous to the time that this address was made, several doctors and theologians of Hindustan, such as Maulana ’Abdu-lla Sultanpuri, commonly known as Makhdumu-1 Mulk, and Shaikh

*’Abclu-ii Nabi, the mdar and others, were constantly present at Court, and received great favours from the King. The two learned men first mentioned were considered the best authorities on all questions pertaining to religion and law, but they frequently held opposite opinions to one another, and ex- pressed themselves in tones of anger and recrimination, so that at last their credit and reputation declined in the King’s estima- tion, and he became indifferent to the religion which they pro- fessed. The common people learning day after day something about the nature of the subjects discussed in these assemblages, could so little comprehend the real purpose for which they were held, that they misrepresented the King’s object in encouraging them, and entertained suspicions of his motives which were dero- gatory to his character, and but little deserved.

In this year (994 a.h.), the victorious armies were sent, under the command of Kaja Birbal, to put down the insurgent Yusuf- zais. A person came to the Kaja, and told him that the Afghans intended to make a night attack upon his force, that the moun- tain pass did not extend beyond three or four and that if he could traverse that distance he would be in safety. Birbal, without communicating with Zain Khan, resolved to go through the pass, and setting his forces in motion, he arrived at the gorge about sunset. The Afghans assembled from all sides upon the sum- mits of the pass with arrows and stones, and the royal forces, losing their way amid the darkness in the narrow defile, fell into the deep holes and abysses, and there perished. The royal army thus experienced a severe defeat, and nearly 8000 men were slain. Kaja Birbal, who fled to save his life, was killed, and no trace of him was found. Zain Khan and Abu-1 Fath were also defeated on the 5th Kabi’u-1 awwal of the same year, and with

^ [The account which Elphinstonc gives of this disaster is in exact accordance with that here given. The authority he gives is Muntakhabu-t Tdwarikh. — Elphinstone, book ii. chap ix.]

great difficulty made their way to A'tak. This defeat had great effect upon the mind of the Emperor, and several times he refused to see (these commanders). Eaja Todar Mai was chosen to head a well-appointed force, and repair this disaster. The Eaja advanced into the mountains with great skill, where he erected several forts, and he conducted the campaign with such consummate judgment, that the Afghans were soon driven back, and kept within narrow bounds.

One of the wonders of art which was exhibited during this year (a.h. 1003) was the work of Saiyid Husain Shirazi. He used to stand with a box in his hand, and when any one gave him a rupee he threw it into the box, and it kept on rolling until it fell to the bottom. Upon this, a parrot which was chained to it began to speak, and two fowls began also to cackle at one another. Then a small window opened, at which a panther put out its head, and let a shell fall from its mouth into a dish which was placed on a lion’s head, and the shell then came out of the lion’s mouth. A short time elapsed, when another window opened, and another lion came forth, took the shell in its mouth and retired, and the windows again closed. Two elephants then appeared with perfect trunks, and there were also two figures of men, who sounded drums. A rope then thrust itself forward, and again retreated, of its own accord. Two other men then advanced, and made obeisance. Shortly after, another window opened, and a puppet came forth with an ode of Hafiz in its hand, and when the ode was taken away from the puppet, it retired, and the window was closed. In short, whenever a piece of money was placed in the hands of Husain Shirazi, all these marvels were exhibited. The King first gave a gold mohur with his own hand, and witnessed the sight. He then ordered his attendants to give a rupee each. The odes which were presented were given by the King to Nakib Khan, by whom they were read out. This exhibition lasted for several nights.

During the year 1004 h. there was a scarcity of rain through- out the whole of Hindustin, and a fearful famine raged con- tinuously for three or four years. The King ordered tLt alms should he distributed in all the cities, and Nawab Shaikh Farid Bokhan, being ordered to superintend and control their distribu- tion, did all in his power to relieve the general distress of the people. Public tables were spread, and the army was increased, in order to afford maintenance to the poor people. A kind of plague also added to the horrors of this period, and depopulated whole houses and cities, to say nothing of hamlets and villages. In consequence of the dearth of grain and the necessities of ravenous hunger, men ate their own kind. The streets and roads were blocked up with dead bodies, and no assistance could be rendered for their removal.

In this year also the King, while witnessing an antelope-fio-bt was wounded in the thigh by one of their horns, which penetrated very deep. Great alarm was felt throughout the country, but after retiring for a few days to the inner apartments, and seating himself on the carpet of affliction, he recovered, by the blessiiio- of God, and restored comfort to the hearts of all the world.

One of the curiosities exhibited this year was manufactured by the most celebrated physician of the time, Hakim ’Ali. It filled every beholder with wonderment, however wise he mio-ht be. He built a room of about the ordinary breadth and length to which the only entrance was at the top, by a sort of trap-door.’ Over the roof of the room he constructed a reservoir, which remained full of water, and no one could enter the room except by plunging into the bath. Upon reaching this single entrance, le gained access to the room, which he found furnished with

carpets, books, and all the conveniences of a sitting room, — yet no water by any chance ever got into it. It is said that the King one day with some of his private companions got into the room in the way above indicated, and after remaining there some time enjoying their conversation, left it again by the passage through that single trap-door.

The “Garden of the Immaculate,'” a general history by Tahir Muhammad bin Imadu-d din Hasan bin Sultan ’All bin Haji Muhammad Husain Sabzwari. It was commenced a.h. 1011, A.D. 1602-8, three years before the death of Akbar, and con- cluded A.H. 1015, A.D. 1606-7, after the accession of Jahangir ; and as the year of the Hijra 1011 is numerically represented by Raiizat, the author, as he tells us in his preface, has combined that word with his own name, Tahir, to form the fanciful title he has given to his history.

The contents of the work are much the same as those of other general Asiatic histories. It begins with a copious Index, which it is to be regretted other authors have not imitated. It extends to the 45th page, and serves as a chronological table, as it shows how long each sovereign reigned.

The Rauzatii-t Tdhirin is divided into five Books (Jiism), sub- divided into Chapters {bah), and Sections {fasl). Some of these Sections are more minutely subdivided, not for the mere purpose of showing the author‘’s ingenuity, but because the different dynasties treated of really required the distinction.

Book I. — Comprises an account of the creation, forty prophets, twenty-two ancient sages, Persian and Arabic Dynasties before Muhammad, including the Peshdadians, Kaiaiiians, Ashkanians, Sassanians, and Ghassanians. In three chapters : — from p. 45 to p. 641.

Book II. — The Khalifas, and the D^masties which rose under the ’Abbasides, such as the Tahirides, Samanians, Buwaihides

or Dailamites, Ghaznivides, Ghorians, Kara-kliatayaiis, Salju- kians, Atabaks, etc. In four chapters : — from p. 641 to p. 826.

Book III. — The Dynasties of Tdtars, Mughals, and Turks, Osmanlls of Constantinople, Changiz Khan, Timur, and their predecessors and descendants, with several other Dynasties, including the Kara-kuinlu and Ak-kuinlu^ rulers, and the Safavi Kings of Persia. In seven chapters : — from p. 826 to p. 981.

Book lY. — “ On the Rulers of India, previous to the intro- duction of Muhammadanism, called the Brahmans of Hind ; who, when troubles and disorganization prevailed, made their appear- ance, as persons endowed with every excellence, for the regenera- tion of the country. Their appearance is called Avatar, of which there have been nine from the beginning of the creation until now, i.e. from the Fish Avatar down to Krishna Avatar.”

Abstract of the Mahd-hhdrata and Harhans Piirdn {Harivansa) ; the history of the Siirajbans and Chandarbans Rajas, and those who succeeded them. In two chapters and a conclusion.

Book y. — The Sultans of India, beginning with the Slave Kings, and ending with Akbar, and an account of his contempo- raries, comprising fourteen nobles, fifty-seven poets, twenty-four doctors and philosophers ; the rulers of Sind, Multan, Kashmir, Gujarat, Malwa, Dakhin, Jaunpur, and Bengal ; the wonders of the islands and ports near Bengal, including an account of Ceylon, Pegu, Arrakan, Kuch Bihar and Portugal. In four chapters : — from p. 981 to p. 1200. The last chapter contains somethinof about the author himself.

Size — Folio, 1200 pages, containing 23 lines in a page.

It will appear, therefore, that Book Y., or about one-sixth of the entire work, is devoted to India; but as it contains in that portion little that is not equally well told elsewhere, it is not of much value, except as a useful compendium. It is unfortunate that the only useful portion of this Book, namely, the third

1 Respecting the orthography of these names, see above, Vol. IV. p. 299. It might have been added that Briggs gives it as Koovinloo {Firishta, hi, 341), which Hammer-Purgstall characterizes as being “in accordance with his usual perverse method of spelling." {Jahrbiichet', No. li, p. 56.)

chapter on Indian Biographies, is not included in the volume. A more serious hiatus occurs in the exclusion of the whole of Book lY., though there is no break in the paging. This, as well as the biographical portion, may form separate volumes, for they are not included in two copies which I have consulted, though I have found them in a Lucknow copy.

The work is most copious in the legendary history of Persia, which is contained in Book I., comprising more than half the entire volume.

The chief authorities quoted in the work, are the Tawdrikhj Rauzatu-s Sqfdj Tdrikh-i Guzida, Luhlm-t Tawdnkh^ Tdrikli-i Nizdmiy the Zafar-ndma^ GrhafFari’s Nigdristdny and the Bahman-ndma; and from these, several chapters are copied verbatim.

Of the few copies which I know of this history, one is in the possession of Shahzada Mirza Ghulam Fakhru-d din Bahadur, son of the King of Dehliq the second is in the Asiatic Society’s Library, containing only the first three Books ; the third is in the Library of Nawab Siraju-1 Mulk, minister of Haidarabad, labelled with the name of TdHkJi4 TdJiin, under which it is often quoted by those authors who have consulted the work. There is also one at Mirat and one in the Moti Mahall Library at Lucknow. There is an imperfect copy labelled Shigarf-ndma at the latter place. Kawab ’AH Muhammad Khan Jhajjarfs copy contains 1193 pp. of 23 lines, and is probably the copy above noticed as belonging to the Shahzada. A personal exami- nation shows that this imperfect copy is thus divided :

Major Stewart mentions it in his Catalogue,^ but though he 1 Descriptive Catalogue of Tippoo Sultan’s Library, p. 6.

divides it into five Books, it is evident from his table of contents that his volume comprises onlj the first three Books.

M. Fraehn classes the Rauzatu-t Tdhirin among his desiderata.^

Sultan Mu’izzu-d din Muhammad Sam Ghori led his army into Gujarat, and in the first action overthrew Bai Bhoj Deo. In a second engagement between them, the Bai succeeded in defeat- ing the Sultan ; but in a third which ensued, Sultan Mu’izzu-d din completely routed his antagonist, and captured from him numerous elephants, together with all his regal equipage and property. On his return from Gujarat, he besieged Khusru Malik, the Ghaznivide, in Lahore, and took from him some elephants and treasure.

Next year he marched his troops in the same direction, and entirely subdued Lahore, and appointing his own deputies to govern it, returned to Ghazni.

In India he captured several forts, such as those of Sialkot and Sirhind, and garrisoned them with his own men. Next season Sultan Mu’izzu-d din made another expedition into India, and killed Baja Pithaura in a single action. He left Sultan Kutbu-d din Aibak, one of his favourite slaves, in the fort of Kuhram, Rnd returned to Ghazni.

’J’lie following year the Sultan came again to India, and pro- ceeded to Kanauj, the Baja of which place he reduced, took possession of three hundred elephants, and appointed Sultan Kutbu-d din viceroy at Dehli. * * *

Sultan Mu’izzu-din soon after turned his attention towards reducing some disaffected Khokar chiefs, who had revolted on the confines of Lahore, during the Sultan’s absence. Thence he advanced to Lahore, and recaptured the hills of Siwalik from the zamincldrs, and having ordered his army to Dehli under the command of Kutbu-d din Aibak, he left Lahore to return to Ghazni, but was assassinated at Damek on his way, in the

month of Sha’ban, 602 a.h., by some Khokars who had vowed to accomplish this object. Sultan Mu’izzu-d din’s reign lasted four years.

On the death of Shah Muhammad [Farmuli] and his sons, Daulat Khan Lohani became so wealthy that, in imitation of Sultan Muhammad Tughlik Shah, he used to fill little vessels with pieces of gold and silver, and throw them in different parts of the city, and whoever was fortunate enough to secure one of these vessels received the sum of 500 tanhas from the royal treasury on presenting it.^

The nobles and ofiicers of the army, finding Sultan Muhammad neglectful of the administration of the country, each assumed independence in his own country. Himun, by caste a Bania, inhabitant of Kewari, having ingratiated himself with the monarch, was appointed commander-in-chief of his army, and Shamshir Khan, a slave of Shir Khan, was invested with the title of Daulat Khan. Taj Khan Kirani, with Tin ad and Sulaiman his brothers, revolted against the Sultan, and fled from Gwalior towards Bihar and Bengal. Sultan Muhammad ’Adali being informed of their proceedings, detached some forces to pursue them closely. They came to action near Kanauj, where Taj Khan was defeated, and fled towards Chunar, and shut himself up in that exceedingl}^ strong fortress. Himiin, accompanied by a large army, and well supplied with elephants, crossed the river Ganges, defeated these nobles, and captured the fort of Chunar, and fully established the Sultan’s power by these repeated successes.

About this time Ibrahim Khan, son of Ghazi Khan Sur, who was cousin of ’Adali, and had married his sister, took

^ [The Extract which appeared in the old volume has been reduced to the following short passage, retained as a specimen. The whole of it is borrowed from the Tahakdt-i Akbari, see Vol. V. p, 241.]

2 Other authors say that arrows tipped with precious metal were dispersed and paid for at the above value, and with much more probability they ascribe the ex- travagant folly to Muhammad ’Adil, whose ignorance and absurdity obtained for him the nickname of ’Adali (the foolish).

alarm and fled to Bajana. Sultan Muhammad despatched ’Tsa Khan Niazi to chastise him. An action ensued in the vicinity of Kalpi, in which ^I^sa Khan Niazi was defeated. Ibrahim Khan then repaired to Dehli, where he assumed the title of Sultan Ibrahim Shah, caused the khutha to be read and money to be coined in his own name, and extended his authority over several towns and districts.

In consequence of this rebellion, Sultan Muhammad ’Adali was compelled to suspend his expedition against the Kiranis, and marched, without intermission, to the banks of the Jumna, where he encamped.

This common title of Muntahhabu-t Taiodrikk has been bestowed upon his General History by Hasan bin Muhammad al-Kliaki al-Shirazi, who came to India in the time of Akbar, and obtained different offices under the o-overnment. He tells us that from

his early youth he imbibed a great taste for historical literature, which was so much increased on his arrival in India, “ the abode of security,” that he determined to write a work, which should embrace in one volume an account of the Prophets, Saints, Sultans, Philosophers, Poets, and Wazirs. He has certainly fulfilled his intention as far as comprehensiveness goes, for he includes in it all the known Dynasties of Asia ; but the separate biographies, except of the Prophets and Sultans, seem to have been oYerlooked. The compilation is of little use to the Indian historian.

His authorities are many and good ; some of them not to be found without difficulty in these days. He mentions the Ramatu-s Safdy HaUbii-s Siyar, Mujmal FasiJiiy Ibn Khallikan, Jahdn-kushdiy Tdrikhi Rashidi of Mirza Haidar Kashmiri, Akbar-ndmay Tdrikhi Nizdmiy Tdnkh-i Firoz-shdhi of Zia Barni, Tabakdti Fdsiri, Tdnkh-i Bindkitiy Jahdn-drdy and Tdnkh-i Abk-l Fazl Baihaki. He states that he commenced the work before the close of Akbar’s reign, and completed it in the fifth year of Jahangir’s, a.h. 1019 (a.d. 1610-11), in which year, as he tells us at the close of his history, he was appointed diwdn of Patna.

Elphinstone quotes a book bearing this title, which he says was written in 1004 h., and is probably the same work as this. Briggs also quotes it in some of his notes to the subordinate dynasties. [The account which Elphinstone gives of the death of Birbal, and for which he refers to this work, is in exact ac- cordance with that translated from Niiru-l Hakk at page 191. They were probably derived from a common source.] ^

The work consists of various detached histories, not divided, with the usual display of minute accuracy, into Books, Chapters, and Sections.

The Prophets. — Ancient Persian Kings. — Kings of Babil and Assyria. — Israelites. — Y unan. — Himy arites. — Y emen. — Ghas- san. — Hirah. — Turkish Kings from Japhet. — Tatars. — Mughals. — Muhammad and the first Khalifas. — Imams. — TJmmayides. — ’Abbasides. — Tahirites. — Aghlabites. — Tulunites. — Ikhshi- dites.''^ — Hamadanites. — Saffarians. — Samanians. — Ghaznivides. — Atabaks. — Obaydites. — Khwarazm-shahis. — Ghorians and Kings of Dehli. — Aiyubites. — Kings of the Arabs. — Eulers of Turkistau before Changiz Khan. — Changiz Khan and his de- scendants.— Various Eulers of Persia, Ilkhanians, etc., etc. — Various Eulers of India, viz. Dakhin, Gujarat, Malwa, Khan- desh, Bengal, Jaunpur, Kashmir, Sind, Multan, Osmanlis of Constantinople, Gurganians, Babar, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, and Safi Kings of Persia.

Size. — Small folio, containing 884 pages of 17 lines each ; but the codex is here and there defective, and the history of the Safi, Sufi, or Safavi kings of Persia, mentioned in the copious table of contents, occupying nearly six pages of the preface, is not bound up with this volume. A note in the beginning of the volume states that it contains 522 folios, which was probably the correct number before the abstractions.

^ Elphinstone, vol. ii. pp. 151, 292. The work is also quoted in the Jindnu-l Fir dans.

2 For an account of these Dynasties, see M. de Guignes, Hist, des Huns, tom. iii. pp. 124-154.

Of the portions relating to India, the history of the Ghazni- vides occupies from fol. SQv. to fol. 90^7. ; — the ancient history of the Ghorians, and the Kings of Dehli, from Shahabu-d din to Ibrahim bin Sikandar Lodi, from fol. 141r. to fol. Ib7v.; — the minor Dynasties of India, from fol. 2Q2v. to fol. 344r.; of which Gujarat occupies 18 folios, and Kashmir 20 folios. The account of Babar begins at fol. 372r., Humayun 373r., Akbar 385v., and Jahangir 437^?.

In these latter portions he has been very particular with regard to his dates, his official duties having probably taught him the value of correctness in such matters ; for in the two short Extracts which follow, we find him at one time a pay- master, and at another a revenue accountant.

This work is rare. There is a copy of some antiquity in the Moti Mahall Library at Lucknow. The Tonk Nawab has one, and so has Muhammad Hasan of Cawnpore, and Fakir Kuru-d din of Lahore. Other copies have been heard of. Mu- hammad Hasan’s copy contains the whole of the Safavi dynasty,

On the 5th Shahryur, 1003 A.H., Muzafiar Husain Mirza, son of Sultan Husain Mirzd, son of Bahram Mirza Safavi, arrived from \usjdgir of Kandahar at the Court of the Emperor Akbar, and was appointed an amir of 5000. He had four sons, Bahram, Sadar, Alfas, and Tahmasp Mirza. The sarkdr of Sambhal was assigned to him in jdgi)\ and Kandahar to Shah Beg Khan Kabuli.

On Saturday, the 9th Safar, 1004 a.h.. Shaikh Faizi, “ the chief of poets,” died. He was born on the 1st Sha’ban, 954 a.h. The year 1004 a.h. was marked also by the death of Hakim (Hum am), brother of Hakim Abu-1 Fath, and by Prince Shah Murad’s conquest of Berar, a province of the Dakhin within the government of Nizamu-1 Mulk. On the 18th Murdad of this year, a deer gored the Emperor, and hurt one of his testicles. The pain was very excruciating for twenty-nine days,

and his danger created a sensation throughout Hindustan, until he was cured. Raja ’AH Khan, ruler of Khandesh, was slain in battle this year in the Dakhin, where he was present with the royal army.

In the year 1005 a.h. a tent, which was pitched in the palace on the occasion of the festival of Nauroz, caught fire, and the articles collected there, according to custom on this festival, were consumed by the flames. On the 21st Farwardin, the Emperor proceeded on an excursion to Kashmir, where he sojourned for three months and twenty days. His Majesty afterwards came back to Lahore, and sent Prince Daniyal to Allahabad, to assume charge of the government of that siiha. He was honoured with a mansah of 7000, and Kali] Khan was ap- pointed his private tutor. In this year Mirza Rustam, son of Prince Shah Murad, died at Lahore after a severe illness of six years and three months.

On the 17th of Shahryur, 1006 a.h., the Emperor appointed Rai Hardas to act as minister conjointly with Khwaja Shamsu-d din.

On the 23rd Aiban of this year, Minuchihr Beg, with five hundred Kazilbash horse, waited upon the Emperor at Lahore, as an ambassador from Shah ’Abbas, accompanied by Mir Ziau-1 Mulk, who had been sent to Shah ’Abbas by the Emperor on a mission, in company with Yadgar Sultan.

On the 26th of this month the Emperor left Lahore for .^gra, with the view of expediting the conquest of the Dakhin.

On the 22nd of Urdibihisht Prince Shah Murad died in the Dakhin. On the 2nd of the month Tir, Prince Daniyal was sent to subdue the Dakhin. In the latter part of this year Asaf Khan was honoured with the post of general diivdn.

On the 6th of Mihr, 1007 a.h., the Emperor, having placed Agra under the protection of Kalij Khan, marched towards the Dakhin. Sultan Salim was sent to Ajmir, accompanied by Raja Man Singh and Shah KuU Khan Mahram, to chastise the amirs under the Rana of LTdipur. In this year the Emperor

granted Gujarat in jdgir to the Khan-i ’Azam, and deputed Mirza Shamshi, the eldest son of the Khan-i ’Azam, to settle the affairs of that province. The writer of this history was sent from the neighbourhood of Dahapur, to take charge of the office of paymaster at Gujarat.

In 1008 A.H. Khwaja Shamsu-d din, who, after the march of the Emperor to Agra, had been appointed to the office of the diwdn of the Panjab, expired. In the same year Prince Salim, who had been directed to chastise the Eana of U^dipur, assumed the title of King when he reached the neighbourhood of Allah- abad, plundered the treasury of Pihar, which contained three lac8 of rupees, and resumed all the jdg'ir^ which had been be- stowed upon the servants of the Court.

On the 6th of the month Shahryur of this year Ahmadnagar in the Dakhin was taken by Prince Daniyal, Mirza Shah-rukh, the Khan-i Khanan, Mirza Yusaf Khan, and others.

^ On Sunday, the 14th of Safar, 1019 a.h., an individual of the name of Kutb, born in l/jah^ of Multan, and who, by styling himself Sultan Khusru, had gained over a considerable number of lawless TJjjaini Rajputs to make common cause with him, entered the city of Patna, and made himself master of it, as well as of its fort, in consequence of the absence in Gorakhpur of the Governor of Bihar, named Afzal Khan, son of Shaikh Abu-1 Fazl. The treasure which was in the fort was distributed among^ his troops. Afzal Khan, on learning these circumstances, made forced marches, and on Friday, the 19th Safar, reached the banks of the Punpun, eight miles from Patna. Kutb, with the design of forcing him to an engagement, came out of the city, and a bloody battle ensued, in which Kutb was defeated. He then fled and sought safety within the fort, which at length fell into the hands of the governor, when Kutb was taken prisoner and put to death, on Sunday, the 2 1st of Safar.

1 This account occurs in the fifth year of the Memoirs^ p. 182, where it is said the imposition was made more perfect by showing the marks on his eyes where they had been burnt. ^ Uch.

After a month, orders were issued by the Emperor, directing that Ilyas Bahadur, ’Inayat Beg Diwan, Shaikh Hasam of Benares, and several others who had dastardly fled from Patna, although the protection of that city had been committed to their charge by Afzal Khan, should be paraded on asses all the way to i^gra, with their heads and beards entirely shorn off, and dressed in female appareld

The writer of this history was at this time sent to Patna, the diwdni of that place having been conferred on him.

^ A similar punishment occurs in the Jahdn-lcmhu, when Jalalu-d din punished those who deserted him in the action at Baghdad. — Price, vol. ii. p. 415; Briggs, vol. hi. p. 459; Matla'u^s Sa'dain, p. 173,

This work is by common consent, and not undeservedly, con- sidered superior to all the other General Histories of India. The author, Muhammad Kasim Hindu Shah, surnamed Firishta, was born at Astarabad, on the borders of the Caspian Sea, about A.D. 1570.^ His father, a learned man, by name Ghulam 'All Hindu Shah, left his native country, when our author was very young, and travelled into India. He eventually reached Ahmad- nagar in the Dakhin, during the reign of Murtaza Nizam Shah, and was appointed to instruct Miran Husain, the son of Murtaza, in the Persian language ; but he died soon after this selection, and Firishta was left an orphan in early youth.

The introduction which his father’s acquirements had procured for him at Court, secured for the son the favour and patronage of Murtaza Nizam Shah, so that we find him the confidential coun- sellor of his sovereign, and holding the office of Captain of the Guard, on the day that the King was deposed by Prince Miran Husain, although he was then only sixteen or seventeen years of a^re.^ He would have met the same fate as all the rest of the King’s attendants, had not the Prince recognized him, and per- sonally interposed to save his life.

When Miran Husain was himself deposed and murdered, in less than a year after this event, Firishta appears to have taken

1 This is according to the opinion of his translator, General Briggs ; hut M. Jules Mohl adduces a good reason for the probability of his having been born twenty years earlier, or a.d. 1550, — Journal des Savants, 1840, p, 213.

2 The importance of the post he occupied would seem to show that a.d. 1550 is a more probable date than 1570 for his birth.

no active part in the troubles and revolutions which ensued. As he was a Slii’a, his religious persuasions were an obstacle to his acquiring any influence at a Court where the Sunni was the pre- dominant doctrine ; and he not long after quitted Ahmadnagar, and proceeded to Bijapur, where he arrived, according to his own statement, in the year 1589, and was kindly received by the regent and minister, Dilawar Khan, by whom he was presented to Ibrahim 'Adil Shah, the reigning monarch. It was not appa- rently till after the flight of the regent that he was again intro- duced at the Court of Bijapur, by ’Inayat Khan of Shiraz. This occurred about the year 1593. The King, who had up to this period shown him no particular favour, received him graciously, and presented to him a copy of the Raii%atu-s Safd^ remarking that no competent person had hitherto written a general history of the Muhammadans in India, except Nizamu-d din Bakhshi, and that his work was too brief and imperfect, especially as con- cerned the Dakhin. The King at the same time enjoined him to supply the deficiency, and to avoid the falsehoods and flatteries which had always disfigured works of that nature. Previous to his introduction by ’Inayat Khan, he seems to have been engaged in a military capacity, for he speaks of his being wounded and taken a prisoner by Jamal Khan, the usurper of Ahmadnagar, — but into the details of this there is no occasion to enter.

He shortly after effected his escape, and spent nearly the whole of the remainder of his life in high honour at the Court of Ibrahim ’Adil Shah, devoting his leisure to the composition of his history. He speaks little of himself after this occurrence, but in A.D. 1594 he escorted the Princess Begam Sultana from Bijapur to Ahmadnagar, was present at her nuptials with Prince Daniyal Mirza at Mungi Paitan, and attended her as far as Bur- hanpur in Khandesh, the capital of her husband’s government.

After his return to Bijapur, he was deputed on a mission to the Emperor Jahangir, for the purpose, as General Briggs, with great probability, supposes, of conveying his sovereign’s con- dolence on the death of Akbar, and his congratulations on

Jahangir's accession to the throne of the most potent empire in the East. Firishta overtook the Court of Jahangir near Lahore, on its route to Kashmir, in the year 1606. He probably took a circuitous route on his return, for we find him speaking of Kohtas in Bihar a^s being the strongest fortress he had seen in India. During his travels, which at one time reached even to Badakhshan, he must, of course, have extended his observation, and amassed the materials which were made use of in his history.

The date of his death is altogether unknown. Briggs supposes that it occurred in 1612, making him only forty-one years of age. M. J. Mohl supposes him to have revised his work up to at least 1623, making his age not less than seventy-three.

The work is divided into an Introduction, twelve Chapters, and a Conclusion.

Introduction. — Upon the Hindus, and the progress of early Muhammadanism in India, pp. 5-30.

Book I. — The Kings of Ghazni and Lahore, pp. 31-91.

HI. — The Kings of the Dakhin, in six Chapters — (1) Kul- barga, (2) Bijapur, (3) Ahmadnagar, (4) Tilanga, (5) Birar, (6) Bidar, pp. 518-730 ; and vol. ii. pp. 1-349.

YI. — Tlie Kings of Khandesh, pp. 541 — 568.

YII. — The Kings of Bengal and Bihar, pp. 568-603.

XI. — An account of Malabar, pp. 700-710.

XII. — An account of the Saints of India, pp. 710-786.

Conclusion. — An account of the climate and geography of India, pp. 786-892.

^ [Sir II. Elliot has omitted one Book, “The Kings of MultS.n;“ No. VIII. ac- cording to his enumeration, No. IX. according to Morley. See Morley’s Summary of the Contents, which is more detailed. — Cat. of MSS. of Roy. As. Society.]

Size. — Folio, iu two volumes ; — vol. i. comprising 730 pages, and vol. ii. 892 pages, each containing 20 lines.

The introduction gives a very imperfect view of Indian History previous to the Muhammadan invasion, and may be considered of equal value and authenticity with the first ten Books of Livy, or Dr. Henryks first volume of the History of Great Britain, based on the poems of Ossian.^ Most of the other Indian historians have followed in his wake, and not one of them has yet attempted anything like a critical account of this dark period. Dynasties and races are confounded, in order to form an unbroken series of kings ; but it is possible that some of the synchronisms between Persian and Indian heroes may be derived from traditionary poems or some ancient records, now unknown.

The value of the work commences from the Muhammadan period, the history of which he has compiled from the best sources available. It is also very full upon the minor dynasties, as might be expected from the circumstances under which it was written.

The author states in his preface that he is indebted for his materials to thirty-five different histories, but he has quoted in the body of his work several more, besides those he has enume- rated, and such conscientious and excellent use has he made of his predecessors, so entirely has he exhausted all the prominent facts mentioned by them, that they have been rendered almost useless to any but the most anxious and attentive student of Indian History, who may hope here and there to glean some- thing of interest which Firishta may have overlooked. Hence it is with great difficulty that any MSS. of those authorities are now procurable. He is also free from prejudice and par- tiality ; he does not even fiatter the prince in whose reign he lived ; and though not entirely without sectarian bitterness when noticing Saiyids, and though not exempt from Mu- hammadan bigotry, when speaking of the wholesale massacres of the defenceless Hindus, he is more divested of that feeling 1 See Sir J. Stoddart’s Introduction, p. 51.

than any other author of his own religious creed who recounts similar atrocities.^

Dow, indeed, has observed of him, that “ he seems as much divested of religious prejudices, as he is of political flattery or fear. He never passes a good action without conferring upon it its own reward of praise, nor a bad one, let the villanous actor be never so high, without stigmatizing it with infamy.’’ ^ But some of the few Extracts which follow will show that this indis- criminate praise requires to be received with some qualification.

This history is styled by the author himself Gukhan-i Ihrdhimi and Nauras-ndma. The former name is derived from the kino: to whom it was dedicated, and hence it is frequently quoted under the name of Tdrthh-i Ihrdhimi. The latter name was given to it in commemoration of the new capital, Nauras, which his patron, Ibrahim ’i^dil Shah, commenced building in the year 1599.

Firishta presented the first draught of his history to Ibrahim ’j^dil Shah in a.d. 1606, but it is evident that during the rest of his life he was engaged in revising it, and even adding whole chapters, where it was deficient. It is supposed by Gieneral Briggs that, as the existence of Portuguese factories at Surat in A.D. 1611 is one of the last things mentioned, he completed the work about that period, and shortly after died ; but he enters into a detailed description of Asir in a.d. 1614-15,^ and there seems even reason to suppose that he mentions an event of a date even ten years subsequent to that.^

The first and second Books, giving an account of the Dehli Emperors down to Akbar, were translated by Colonel A. Dow in 1768, in such a manner as to make Gibbon, with his usual critical sagacity, suspect, that through some odd fatality the style of Firishta had been improved by that of Ossian,” and complain of its not being “ easy in his florid text to distinguish

1 The work is praised in the Inshd-i Nigdr-ndma, — See Fleischer’s Cat. no. 376. Briggs, vol. iii. pp. 165, 167, 188.

3 Firishta, Lith. Text, vol. ii. p. 567. * Ibid. vol. ii. p. 568.

the version and the original.” ^ Of his own work, Dow says :

The translator, being sensible of the impropriety of poetical diction in the grave narration of historical facts, has in many places clipped the wings of Firishta’s turgid expressions, and reduced his metaphors into common language, without, however, swerving in the least from the original meaning of the author.” ^ But he has, nevertheless, made some of the diction more poetical, and some of the expressions more turgid, than the original warrants, and has so interwoven his own remarks with those of the author, that it is sometimes difidcult to separate them in such a manner too as sometimes to convey an entirely different meaning from that which Firishta intended, and some of the commonest sentences are misunderstood. His orthography is exceedingly loose and inaccurate, and has unfortunately been the model of later compilers.

The florid diction was occasionally used to gloss and embellish an imperfect comprehension of the original ; but in favour of Dow, it is to be remembered, that this was one of the first works translated by an Englishman from Persian, that its publication gave an impulse to the study of that language, and that the means of acquiring a full knowledge of it were difficult. In his third volume he leaves Firishta, and abstracts several histories of a later period.^

In 1786 Mr. Anderson published in the Asiatic Miscellany the text and translation of the eleventh Book. The History of the Dakhin has been well translated by Captain Jonathan Scott, but not with such exactness as to merit the reputation he has acquired. His work was published at Shrewsbury in two volumes, 4to., in 1794, and has been republished in London in 4to. and 8vo. The first is devoted to Firishta. The second contains the annals of Aurangzeb’s reign, and an account of the decline of the monarchy, which will be more particularly noticed hereafter, in a later volume. The names of Firishta and his

1 Decline and Fall, vol. x. pp. 319, 339. ^ Jiistory of JSindostan, Preface, p. ix.

3 3ee Mod. Trav, India, vol. i. p. 216. * See Diog. TJniver. s.v.

translator have been most amusingly combined by M. de la Richarderie into Jonathan Schof Heristal} Stewart also trans- lated a short portion of the tenth Book as a specimen in the Appendix to his Catalogue.^

But the translation of the entire work by General Briggs, in four vols. 8 VO., 1829, has thrown others inta the shade, and is by far the most valuable store-house of facts connected with the Muhammadan Dynasties of India which is accessible to the English reader. He has added also some valuable Appendices, and filled up some of the histories deficient in the original. As the author says that he had failed in procuring any written ac- counts of the Kutb-shalu, ’Imad-shahi, and Barid-shahi Dynas- ties, the translator has supplied an Appendix to the history of the Kings of Golconda, which extends to 147 pages. He has given also a chronological epitome of the wars of the Portuguese in India, as connected with the history of the Dakhin, tables of comparative chronology, an alphabetical list of the proper names, titles and Oriental words, with explanations attached, an alpha- betical list of names of countries, mountains, rivers, and towns, and interspersed several valuable notes throughout the work.

He has, however, omitted the history of the Saints of Hindu- stan, forming the twelfth book of the original, which, though containing little historical information, gives a good idea of the general sentiments, legends, and superstitions current in India, respecting the doctrines, studies, penances, miracles, and follies of the Saints of the Indian Calendar. Some of them indeed have played no inconsiderable part in the history of their respective periods by their counsels and by the spiritual influence they exercised over the princes, who were their obedient disciples or devoted admirers. There are, also, other omissions of a more important character. A few passages have been taken from the single reign of Firoz Shah, to illustrate the difference which is found to prevail between the translation and the original.^ It

1 BiUioth. des Voyages, tom. v. p. 76. * Tippoo Sultan’s Library, p 25&.

3 These omissions are rare in the first part. There are very few in the Ghazni- vides.

arises, partly, from the translator having sometimes followed Scott and Dow without alteration, but, chiefly, from his having used one of the early editions of a.h. 1020 for translation, and not having availed himself of the many additions which were made by the author up to the latest period of his life. If a new edition of the first translation would be too arduous a task for the accomplished translator, a supplementary volume of additions and corrections, derived from the lithographed text, would be very desirable ; for though they may be of no importance to the general reader, they are essential to be known to the scholar, for the purpose of critical inquiry, and to enable him to dispense altogether with the original, which, with the present translation, admirable as it is in other respects, he cannot do. Some of the additional passages in these few Extracts contain relations of facts, and names of men, titles, and places, which are of no in- ^ considerable importance to the correct understanding of Indian history.

The translation of General Briggs has been reviewed in the Yienna Jahrbucher^ by J. Yon Hammer.^ The review is some- what uncandid, for it takes little notice of the merits of the work, and confines itself principally to censures upon its “monstrous orthography^ and erroneous calculation of dates. ’’ Of the latter, he adduces several which certainly evince a want of care, or, what is more probable, the use of a set of incorrect tables ; but of the former tlie system is not by any means so faulty as to deserve the epithet of “ monstrous.” The translator explains his own system in the preface, and he has adhered to it closely. It is far superior to any whicli had hitherto been used for a work of equal extent. Every name is so written as to show that the translator knew how the original was spelt, which certainly can- not be said for Dow, or for most Oriental translators, — so written, as to enable any scholar to write the original word correctly, — and so written, moreover, as not to mislead the ignorant reader as to the correct pronunciation. It is to be remembered, also,

^ Jahrbiicher^ no. li. pp. 36-58 ; see also no. liii.

that the translation was meant for Englishmen, and that any Englishman not versed in Oriental literature w'ould run less chance of error in pronouncing the words written in this transla- tion, than he would if they were written according to the most systematic method, adapted to please the eyes of critics and scholars.

If we take some of the words selected by the reviewer, many of them marked as monstrous with notes of admiration, we shall be able to judge of the propriety of his strictures. For Kutbed- dhiy says the reviewer, the translator writes Kootb-ood-deen ! ^OY Alaeddin^ Alla-ood-deen ! For Ghaiaseddm^ Gheias-ood-deen ! For Mesiid^ Masaood. For Ibek^ Eibuk. For Dikhen^ Deccan. For Gudschurat^ Guzerat. For Dschihangirf Jehangir. For Abunassr, Aboo-nusr. For Terdschumet Jeminiy Turjooma Yemni.

These are taken from two pages ^ only, the italics representing the reviewers system ; and, really, to people who have ears and eyes, setting aside whether they are Englishmen or not, the reviewer’s corrections show to little advantage. Where foreigners have dsch to represent y, no one can complain if we have oo to represent u or — as the reviewer writes it, with decided incor- rectness ; or ma for met^ whicli, though perhaps correct in writing, is most certainly incorrect in pronunciation. On what principle of spelling can Dikhen be justified? These petty cavillings are unworthy of one of the most distinguished Orientalists of the Continent, but they are not confined to our translator — the pro- foundest scholars of the world have not escaped his critical reprehensions, which he sometimes lavishes with a most un- sparing hand, and very often on the most trifling lapses of spelling, version, or punctuation. If any one wishes to see more on this subject, let him consult the “ many hundred proofs cf the reviewer’s own gross ignorance ” by Diez,^ and read the

^ TInfug und Bstrug in der morgenliindisehen Literatur nehst vielen hundert Proben von der groben Unwissenheit, etc., etc. Halle und Berlin, 1815. There ia a dispa- raging remark upon Diez in the Gemaldesaalf vol. iv. p. 48.

two-and-twenty illustrious names, adduced by Fallermayer, which our critic has “handled with remarkable severity/’^

I have occasion myself to point out a few deficiencies in Briggs’ version, but I will endeavour to so without captiousness, for I feel under o^reat obligations to one who has saved me so much