The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Babur-nama in English, by Babur, Emperor
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Title: The Babur-nama in English
Memoirs of Babur
Author: Babur, Emperor of Hindustan
Release Date: January 7, 2014 [eBook #44608]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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| Transcriber's note: |
| |
| Many Turki, Arabic and Persian names have various spellings |
| in the text. There are about 700 occurrences of hyphenated |
| unhyphenated and spaced words. Correcting those for the |
| sake of consistency would be risky in many cases and would |
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| Two wide tables have been split into narrower sections. |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
THE BABUR-NAMA IN ENGLISH
(MEMOIRS OF BABUR).
Translated from the original Turki Text of
Zahiru'd-din Muhammad Babur Padshah _Ghazi_
by
Annette Susannah Beveridge
First Printed 1922
[Illustration:
_This work
is dedicate to
Babur's
fame._]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE: Introductory.--Cap. I. Babur's exemplars in the
Arts of peace, p. xxvii.--Cap. II. Problems of the mutilated
Babur-nama, p. xxxi.--Cap. III. The Turki MSS. and
work connecting with them, p. xxxviii.--Cap. IV.
The Leyden and Erskine "Memoirs of Baber", p. lvii.--Postscript
of Thanks, p. lx.
SECTION I.--FARGHANA
899 AH.--Oct. 12th 1493 to Oct. 2nd 1494 AD.--Babur's age at
the date of his accession--+Description of Farghana+
(pp. 1 to 12)--Death and biography of `Umar Shaikh
(13 to 19 and 24 to 28)--Biography of Yunas _Chaghatai_
(18 to 24)--Babur's uncles Ahmad _Miran-shahi_ and
Mahmud _Chaghatai_ (The Khan) invade Farghana--Death
and biography of Ahmad--Misdoings of his successor, his
brother Mahmud 1-42
900 AH.--Oct. 2nd 1494 to Sep. 21st 1495 AD.--Invasion of
Farghana continued--Babur's adoption of orthodox
observance--Death and biography of Mahmud
_Miran-shahi_--Samarkand affairs--revolt of Ibrahim _Saru_
defeated--Babur visits The Khan in Tashkint--tribute collected
from the Jigrak tribe--expedition into Auratipa 43-56
901 AH.--Sep. 21st 1495 to Sep. 9th 1496 AD.--Husain
_Bai-qara's_ campaign against Khusrau Shah--Babur receives
Auzbeg sultans--Revolt of the Tarkhans in Samarkand--Babur's
first move for Samarkand 57-64
902 AH.--Sep. 9th 1496 to Aug. 30th 1497 AD.--Babur's second
move for Samarkand--Dissensions of Husain _Bai-qara_ and
his sons--Dissensions between Khusrau Shah and Mas`ud
_Miran-shahi_ 65-71
903 AH.--Aug. 30th 1497 to Aug. 19th 1498 AD.--Babur's
second attempt on Samarkand is successful--+Description
of Samarkand+ (pp. 74 to 86)--his action there--Mughuls
demand and besiege Andijan for Babur's half-brother
Jahangir--his mother and friends entreat his help--he
leaves Samarkand in his cousin `Ali's hands--has a relapse
of illness on the road and is believed dying--on the news
Andijan is surrendered by a Mughul to the Mughul faction--Having
lost Samarkand and Andijan, Babur is hospitably
entertained by the Khujandis--he is forced to dismiss
Khalifa--The Khan (his uncle) moves to help him but is
persuaded to retire--many followers go to Andijan where
were their families--he is left with 200-300 men--his
mother and grandmother and the families of his men sent
to him in Khujand--he is distressed to tears--The Khan
gives help against Samarkand but his troops turn back on
news of Shaibani--Babur returns to Khujand--speaks of
his ambition to rule--goes in person to ask The Khan's
help to regain Andijan--his force being insufficient, he
goes back to Khujand--Affairs of Khusrau Shah and the
Timurid Mirzas--Affairs of Husain _Bai-qara_ and his
sons--Khusrau Shah blinds Babur's cousin Mas`ud--Babur
curses the criminal 72-96
904 AH.--Aug. 19th 1498 to Aug. 8th 1499 AD.--Babur borrows
Pashaghar for the winter and leaves Khujand--rides 70-80
miles with fever--a winter's tug-of-war with Samarkand--his
force insufficient, he goes back to Khujand--unwilling
to burthen it longer, goes into the summer-pastures of
Auratipa--invited to Marghinan by his mother's uncle
`Ali-dost--a joyful rush over some 145 miles--near
Marghinan prudent anxieties arise and are stilled--he is
admitted to Marghinan on terms--is attacked vainly by
the Mughul faction--accretions to his force--helped by
The Khan--the Mughuls defeated near Akhsi--Andijan
recovered--Mughuls renew revolt--Babur's troops beaten
by Mughuls--Tambal attempts Andijan 97-107
905 AH.--Aug. 8th 1499 to July 28th 1500 AD.--Babur's campaign
against Ahmad _Tambal_ and the Mughul faction--he takes
Mazu--Khusrau Shah murders Bai-sunghar _Miranshahi_--Biography
of the Mirza--Babur wins his first ranged battle, from Tambal
supporting Jahangir, at Khuban--winter-quarters--minor
successes--the winter-camp broken up by Qambar-i-`ali's taking
leave--Babur returns to Andijan--The Khan persuaded by Tambal's
kinsmen in his service to support Jahangir--his troops retire
before Babur--Babur and Tambal again opposed--Qambar-i-`ali
again gives trouble--minor action and an accommodation made
without Babur's wish--terms of the accommodation--The
self-aggrandizement of `Ali-dost _Mughul_--Babur's first
marriage--a personal episode--Samarkand affairs--`Ali quarrels
with the Tarkhans--The Khan sends troops against
Samarkand--Mirza Khan invited there by a Tarkhan--`Ali defeats
The Khan's Mughuls--Babur invited to Samarkand--prepares to
start and gives Jahangir rendezvous for the attempt--Tambal's
brother takes Aush--Babur leaves this lesser matter aside and
marches for Samarkand--Qambar-i-`ali punishes himself--Shaibani
reported to be moving on Bukhara--Samarkand begs wait on
Babur--the end of `Ali-dost--Babur has news of Shaibani's
approach to Samarkand and goes to Kesh--hears there that `Ali's
Auzbeg mother had given Samarkand to Shaibani on
condition of his marriage with herself 108-126
906 AH.--July 28th 1500 to July 17th 1501 AD.--Shaibani murders
`Ali--a son and two grandsons of Ahrari's murdered--Babur leaves
Kesh with a number of the Samarkand begs--is landless and
isolated--takes a perilous mountain journey back into
Auratipa--comments on the stinginess shewn to himself by
Khusrau Shah and another--consultation and resolve to attempt
Samarkand--Babur's dream-vision of success--he takes the town by
a surprise attack--compares this capture with Husain
_Bai-qara's_ of Heri--his affairs in good position--birth of his
first child--his summons for help to keep the Auzbeg
down--literary matters--his force of 240 grows to allow him to
face Shaibani at Sar-i-pul--the battle and his defeat--Mughuls
help his losses--he is besieged in Samarkand--a long
blockade--great privation--no help from any quarter--Futile
proceedings of Tambal and The Khan 127-145
907 AH.--July 17th 1501 to July 7th 1502 AD.--Babur surrenders
Samarkand--his sister Khan-zada is married by Shaibani--incidents
of his escape to Dizak--his 4 or 5 escapes from
peril to safety and ease--goes to Dikh-kat in Auratipa--incidents
of his stay there--his wanderings bare-head, bare-foot--sends
gifts to Jahangir, and to Tambal a sword which
later wounds himself--arrival from Samarkand of the
families and a few hungry followers--Shaibani Khan raids
in The Khan's country--Babur rides after him fruitlessly--Death
of Nuyan Kukuldash--Babur's grief for his friend--he
retires to the Zar-afshan valley before Shaibani--reflects
on the futility of his wanderings and goes to The Khan in
Tashkint--Mughul conspiracy against Tambal _Mughul_--Babur
submits verses to The Khan and comments on his
uncle's scant study of poetic idiom--The Khan rides out
against Tambal--his standards acclaimed and his army
numbered--of the _Chingiz-tura_--quarrel of Chiras and
Begchik chiefs for the post of danger--Hunting--Khujand-river
reached 146-156
908 AH.--July 7th 1502 to June 26th 1503 AD.--Babur comments on
The Khan's unprofitable move--his poverty and despair in
Tashkint--his resolve to go to Khitai and ruse for getting
away--his thought for his mother--his plan not accepted by The
Khan and Shah Begim--The Younger Khan (Ahmad) arrives from
Kashghar--is met by Babur--a half-night's family talk--gifts to
Babur--the meeting of the two Khans--Ahmad's characteristics and
his opinion of various weapons--The Khans march into Farghana
against Jahangir's supporter Tambal--they number their
force--Babur detached against Aush, takes it and has great
accretions of following--An attempt to take Andijan frustrated
by mistake in a pass-word--Author's Note on pass-words--a second
attempt foiled by the over-caution of experienced begs--is
surprised in his bivouac by Tambal--face to face with
Tambal--his new _gosha-gir_--his dwindling company--wounded--left
alone, is struck by his gift-sword--escapes to Aush--The Khan
moves from Kasan against Andijan--his disposition of Babur's
lands--Qambar-i-`ali's counsel to Babur rejected--Babur is
treated by the Younger Khan's surgeon--tales of Mughul
surgery--Qambar-i-`ali flees to Tambal in fear through his
unacceptable counsel--Babur moves for Akhsi--a lost chance--minor
actions--an episode of Pap--The Khans do not take Andijan--Babur
invited into Akhsi--Tambal's brother Bayazid joins him with
Nasir _Miran-shahi_--Tambal asks help from Shaibani--On news of
Shaibani's consent the Khans retire from Andijan--Babur's
affairs in Akhsi--he attempts to defend it--incidents of the
defence--Babur wounded--unequal strength of the opponents--he
flees with 20-30 men--incidents of the flight--Babur left
alone--is overtaken by two foes--his perilous position--a
messenger arrives from Tambal's brother Bayazid--Babur
expecting death, quotes Nizami--(the narrative breaks off in
the middle of the verse) 157-182
+Translator's Note.+--908 to 909 AH.--1503 to 1504 AD.--Babur
will have been rescued--is with The Khans in
the battle and defeat by Shaibani at Archian--takes refuge
in the Asfara hills--there spends a year in misery and
poverty--events in Farghana and Tashkint--Shaibani
sends the Mughul horde back to Kashghar--his disposition
of the women of The Khan's family--Babur plans to go to
Husain _Bai-qara_ in Khurasan--changes his aim for Kabul 182-185
[+End of Translator's Note.+]
SECTION II.--KABUL
910 AH.--June 14th 1504 to June 4th 1505 AD.--Babur halts on an
alp of Hisar--enters his 22nd (lunar) year--delays his march in
hope of adherents--writes a second time of the stinginess of
Khusrau Shah to himself--recalls Sherim Taghai _Mughul's_
earlier waverings in support--is joined by Khusrau Shah's
brother Baqi Beg--they start for Kabul--Accretions of
force--their families left in Fort Ajar (Kahmard)--Jahangir
marries a cousin--Baqi advises his dismissal to Khurasan--Babur
is loyal to his half-brother--Jahangir is seduced, later, by
disloyal Begchik chiefs--Husain _Bai-qara_ summons help against
Shaibani--Despair in Babur's party at Husain's plan of
"defence, not attack"--Qambar-i-`ali dismissed to please
Baqi--Khusrau makes abject submission to Babur--Mirza Khan
demands vengeance on him--Khusrau's submission having been on
terms, he is let go free--Babur resumes his march--first sees
Canopus--is joined by tribesmen--Khusrau's brother Wali flees to
the Auzbegs and is executed--Risks run by the families now
fetched from Kahmard--Kabul surrendered to Babur by Muqim
_Arghun_--Muqim's family protected--+Description of Kabul+ (pp.
199 to 277)--Muqim leaves for Qandahar--Allotment of
fiefs--Excess levy in grain--Foray on the Sultan Mas`udi
Hazara--Babur's first move for Hindustan--Khaibar
traversed--Bigram visited--Baqi Beg prevents crossing the
Sind--and persuades for Kohat--A plan for Bangash, Bannu and
thence return to Kabul--Yar-i-husain _Darya-khani_ asks for
permission to raise a force for Babur, east of the Sind--Move
to Thal, Bannu, and the Dasht--return route varied without
consulting Babur--Pir Kanu's tomb visited--through the
Pawat-pass into Duki--horse-food fails--baggage left behind--men
of all conditions walk to Ghazni--spectacle of the
Ab-istada--mirage and birds--Jahangir is Babur's host in
Ghazni--heavy floods--Kabul reached after a disastrous
expedition of four months--Nasir's misconduct abetted by two
Begchik chiefs--he and they flee into Badakhshan--Khusrau Shah's
schemes fail in Herat--imbroglio between him and Nasir--Shaibani
attempts Hisar but abandons the siege on his brother's
death--Khusrau attempts Hisar and is there killed--his followers
revolt against Babur--his death quenches the fire of sedition 188-245
911 AH.--June 4th 1505 to May 24th 1506 AD.--Death of
Babur's mother--Babur's illness stops a move for Qandahar--an
earth-quake--campaign against and capture of Qalat-i-ghilzai--Baqi
Beg dismissed towards Hindustan--murdered
in the Khaibar--Turkman Hazara raided--Nijr-au
tribute collected--Jahangir misbehaves and runs
away--Babur summoned by Husain _Bai-qara_ against
Shaibani--Shaibani takes Khwarizm and Chin Sufi is
killed--Death and biography of Husain _Bai-qara_ (256 to
292)--his burial and joint-successors 246-293
912 AH.--May 24th 1506 to May 13th 1507 AD.--Babur, without news
of Husain _Bai-qara's_ death, obeys his summons and leaves
Kabul--Jahangir flees from Babur's route--Nasir defeats
Shaibani's men in Badakhshan--Babur, while in Kahmard, hears of
Husain's death--continues his march with anxious thought for
the Timurid dynasty--Jahangir waits on him and accompanies him
to Herat--Co-alition of Khurasan Mirzas against Shaibani--their
meeting with Babur--etiquette of Babur's reception--an
entertainment to him--of the _Chingiz-tura_--Babur claims the
ceremonial observance due to his military
achievements--entertainments and Babur's obedience to
Muhammadan Law against wine--his reflections on the
Mirzas--difficulties of winter-plans (300, 307)--he sees the
sights of Heri--visits the Begims--the ceremonies observed--tells
of his hitherto abstention from wine and of his present
inclination to drink it--Qasim Beg's interference with those
pressing Babur to break the Law--Babur's poor carving--engages
Ma`suma in marriage--leaves for Kabul--certain retainers stay
behind--a perilous journey through snow to a wrong pass out of
the Herirud valley--arrival of the party in Yakaaulang--joy in
their safety and comfort--Shibr-tu traversed into
Ghur-bund--Turkman Hazara raided--News reaches Babur of
conspiracy in Kabul to put Mirza Khan in his place--Babur
concerts plans with the loyal Kabul garrison--moves on through
snow and in terrible cold--attacks and defeats the
rebels--narrowly escaped death--attributes his safety to
prayer---deals mercifully, from family considerations, with the
rebel chiefs--reflects on their behaviour to him who has
protected them--asserts that his only aim is to write the
truth--letters-of-victory sent out--Muh. Husain _Dughlat_ and
Mirza Khan banished--Spring excursion to Koh-daman--Nasir,
driven from Badakhshan, takes refuge with Babur 294-322
913 AH.--May 13th 1507 to May 2nd 1508 AD.--Raid on the Ghilji
Afghans--separation of the Fifth (_Khams_)--wild-ass,
hunting--Shaibani moves against Khurasan--Irresolution of the
Timurid Mirzas--Infatuation of Zu'n-nun _Arghun_--Shaibani takes
Heri--his doings there--Defeat and death of two _Bai-qaras_--The
Arghuns in Qandahar make overtures to Babur--he starts to join
them against Shaibani--meets Ma`suma in Ghazni on her way to
Kabul--spares Hindustan traders--meets Jahangir's widow and
infant-son coming from Herat--The Arghun chiefs provoke attack
on Qandahar--Babur's army--organization and terminology--wins the
battle of Qandahar and enters the fort--its spoils--Nasir put in
command--Babur returns to Kabul rich in goods and fame--marries
Ma`suma--Shaibani lays siege to Qandahar--Alarm in Kabul at his
approach--Mirza Khan and Shah Begim betake themselves to
Badakhshan--Babur sets out for Hindustan leaving `Abdu'r-razzaq
in Kabul--Afghan highwaymen--A raid for food--Mahchuchak's
marriage--Hindustan plan abandoned--Nur-gal and Kunar
visited--News of Shaibani's withdrawal from Qandahar--Babur
returns to Kabul--gives Ghazni to Nasir--assumes the title of
Padshah--Birth of Humayun, feast and chronogram 323-344
914 AH.--May 2nd 1508 to April 21st 1509 AD.--Raid on the
Mahmand Afghans--Seditious offenders reprieved--Khusrau Shah's
former retainers march off from Kabul--`Abdu'r-razzaq comes
from his district to near Kabul--not known to have joined the
rebels--earlier hints to Babur of this "incredible"
rebellion--later warnings of an immediate rising 345-346
+Translator's Note.+--914 to 925 AH.--1508 to 1519 AD.--Date of
composition of preceding narrative--Loss of matter here seems
partly or wholly due to Babur's death--Sources helping to fill
the Gap--Events of the remainder of 914 AH.--The mutiny swiftly
quelled--Babur's five-fold victory over hostile champions--Sa`id
_Chaghatai_ takes refuge with him in a quiet Kabul--Shaibani's
murders of Chaghatai and Dughlat chiefs 347-366
915 AH.--April 21st 1509 to April 11th 1510 AD.--Beginning of
hostilities between Isma`il _Safawi_ and Shaibani--Haidar
_Dughlat_ takes refuge with Babur.
916 AH.--April 11th 1510 to March 31st 1511 AD.--Isma`il defeats
the Auzbegs near Merv--Shaibani is killed--20,000 Mughuls he
had migrated to Khurasan, return to near Qunduz--Mirza Khan
invites Babur to join him against the Auzbegs--Babur goes to
Qunduz--The 20,000 Mughuls proffer allegiance to their
hereditary Khan Sa`id--they propose to set Babur aside--Sa`id's
worthy rejection of the proposal--Babur makes Sa`id The Khan of
the Mughuls and sends him and his Mughuls into
Farghana--significance of Babur's words, "I made him
Khan"--Babur's first attempt on Hisar where were Hamza and
Mahdi _Auzbeg_--beginning of his disastrous intercourse with
Isma`il _Safawi_--Isma`il sends Khan-zada Begim back to
him--with thanks for the courtesy, Babur asks help against the
Auzbeg--it is promised under dangerous conditions.
917 AH.--March 31st 1511 to March 19th 1512 AD.--Babur's
second attempt on Hisar--wins the Battle of Pul-i-sangin--puts
Hamza and Mahdi to death--his Persian reinforcement
and its perilous cost--The Auzbegs are swept across the
Zar-afshan--The Persians are dismissed from Bukhara--Babur
occupies Samarkand after a nine-year's absence--he
gives Kabul to Nasir--his difficult position in relation to
the Shi`a Isma`il--Isma`il sends Najm Sani to bring him
to order.
918 AH.--March 19th 1512 to March 9th 1513 AD.--The Auzbegs
return to the attack--`Ubaid's vow--his defeat of Babur at
Kul-i-malik--Babur flees from Samarkand to Hisar--his
pursuers retire--Najm Sani from Balkh gives him rendezvous
at Tirmiz--the two move for Bukhara--Najm perpetrates
the massacre of Qarshi--Babur is helpless to prevent
it--Najm crosses the Zar-afshan to a disadvantageous
position--is defeated and slain--Babur, his reserve, does
not fight--his abstention made a reproach at the Persian
Court against his son Humayun (1544 AD.?)--his arrow-sped
message to the Auzbeg camp--in Hisar, he is attacked
suddenly by Mughuls--he escapes to Qunduz--the retributive
misfortunes of Hisar--Haidar on Mughuls--Ayub _Begchik's_
death-bed repentance for his treachery to Babur--Haidar returns
to his kinsfolk in Kashghar.
919 AH.--March 9th 1513 to Feb. 26th 1514 AD.--Babur may
have spent the year in Khishm--Isma`il takes Balkh from
the Auzbegs--surmised bearing of the capture on his later
action.
920 AH.--Feb. 26th 1514 to Feb. 15th 1515 AD.--Haidar's
account of Babur's misery, patience and courtesy this year
in Qunduz--Babur returns to Kabul--his daughter Gulrang
is born in Khwast--he is welcomed by Nasir who
goes back to Ghazni.
921 AH.--Feb. 15th 1515 to Feb. 5th 1516 AD.--Death of
Nasir--Riot in Ghazni led by Sherim Taghai _Mughul_--quiet
restored--many rebels flee to Kashghar--Sherim
refused harbourage by Sa`id Khan and seeks Babur's
protection--Haidar's comment on Babur's benevolence.
922 AH.--Feb. 5th 1516 to Jan. 24th 1517 AD.--A quiet year
in Kabul apparently--Birth of `Askari.
923 AH.--Jan. 24th 1517 to Jan. 13th 1518 AD.--Babur visits
Balkh--Khwand-amir's account of the affairs of Muhammad-i-zaman
Mirza _Bai-qara_--Babur pursues the Mirza--has him brought to
Kabul--gives him his daughter Ma`suma in marriage--An expedition
to Qandahar returns fruitless, on account of his illness--Shah
Beg's views on Babur's persistent attempts on Qandahar--Shah
Beg's imprisonment and release by his slave Sambal's means.
924 AH.--Jan. 13th 1518 to Jan. 3rd 1519 AD.--Shah Beg's son
Hasan flees to Babur--stays two years--date of his return
to his father--Babur begins a campaign in Bajaur against
Haidar-i-`ali _Bajauri_--takes two forts.
[+End of Translator's Note.+]
925 AH.--Jan. 3rd to Dec. 23rd 1519 AD.--Babur takes the Fort of
Bajaur--massacres its people as false to Islam--Khwaja Kalan
made its Commandant--an excessive impost in grain--a raid for
corn--Mahim's adoption of Dil-dar's unborn child--Babur marries
Bibi Mubarika--Repopulation of the Fort of Bajaur--Expedition
against Afghan tribesmen--Destruction of the tomb of a heretic
qalandar--Babur first crosses the Sind--his long-cherished
desire for Hindustan--the ford of the Sind--the Koh-i-jud
(Salt-range)--his regard for Bhira, Khush-ab, Chin-ab and
Chiniut as earlier possessions of the Turk, now therefore his
own--the Kalda-kahar lake and subsequent location on it of the
Bagh-i-safa--Assurance of safety sent to Bhira as a Turk
possession--History of Bhira _etc._ as Turk
possessions--Author's Note on Tatar Khan _Yusuf-khail_--envoys
sent to Baluchis in Bhira--heavy floods in camp--Offenders
against Bhira people punished--Agreed tribute collected--Envoy
sent to ask from Ibrahim _Ludi_ the lands once dependent on
the Turk--Daulat Khan arrests and keeps the envoy who goes
back later to Babur _re infect‚_--news of Hind-al's birth and
cause of his name--description of a drinking-party--Tatar Khan
_Kakar_ compels Minuchihr Khan _Turk_, going to wait on Babur,
to become his son-in-law--Account of the Kakars--excursions and
drinking-parties--Bhira appointments--action taken against Hati
Khan _Kakar_--Description and capture of Parhala--Babur sees the
sambal plant--a tiger killed--Gur-khattri visited--Loss of a
clever hawk--Khaibar traversed--mid-day halt in the
Bagh-i-wafa--Qara-tu garden visited--News of Shah Beg's capture
of Kahan--Babur's boys carried out in haste to meet
him--wine-parties--Death and biography of Dost Beg--Arrival of
Sultanim _Bai-qara_ and ceremonies observed on meeting her--A
long-imprisoned traitor released--Excursion to Koh-daman--Hindu
Beg abandons Bhira--Babur has (intermittent) fever--Visitors
from Khwast--Yusuf-zai chiefs wait on Babur--Khalifa's son sends
a wedding-gift--Babur's amusement when illness keeps him from
an entertainment--treatment of his illness--A Thursday reading
of theology (_see_ Add. Note p. 401)--Swimming--Envoy from Mirza
Khan--Tribesmen allowed to leave Kabul for wider
grazing-grounds--Babur sends his first _Diwan_ to Pulad
_Auzbeg_ in Samarkand--Arrivals and departures--Punitive
expedition against the `Abdu'r-rahman Afghans--punishment
threatened and inflicted (p. 405) on defaulters in help to an
out-matched man--Description of the Rustam-maidan--return to
Kabul--Excursion to Koh-daman--snake incident--Tramontane begs
warned for service--fish-drugging--Babur's non-pressure to
drink, on an abstainer--wine-party--misadventure on a
raft--toothpicks gathered--A new retainer--Babur shaves his
head--Hind-al's guardian appointed--Auzbeg raiders defeated in
Badakhshan--Various arrivals--Yusuf-zai campaign--Babur
dislocates his wrist--_Varia_--Dilah-zak chiefs wait on him--Plan
to store corn in Hash-nagar--Incidents of the road--Khaibar
traversed--Bara urged on Babur as a place for corn--Kabul river
forded at Bara--little corn found and the Hash-nagar plan
foiled--Plan to store Pashawar Fort--return to `Ali-masjid--News
of an invasion of Badakhshan hurries Babur back through the
Khaibar--The Khizr-khail Afghans punished--Babur first writes
since dislocating his wrist--The beauty and fruits of the
Bagh-i-wafa--incidents of the return march to Kabul--Excursion
to the Koh-daman--beauty of its harvest crops and autumnal
trees--a line offensive to Khalifa (_see_ Add. Note p.
416)--Humayun makes a good shot--Beauty of the harvest near
Istalif and in the Bagh-i-padshahi--Return to Kabul--Babur
receives a white falcon in gift--pays a visit of consolation to
an ashamed drinker--Arrivals various--he finishes copying
`Ali-sher's four _Diwans_--An order to exclude from future
parties those who become drunk--Babur starts for Lamghan 367-419
926 AH.--Dec. 23rd 1519 to Dec. 12th 1520 AD.--Excursion to
Koh-daman and Kohistan--incidents of the road--Babur shoots with
an easy bow, for the first time after the dislocation of his
wrist--Nijr-au tribute fixed--Excursions in Lamghan--Kafir
head-men bring goat-skins of wine--Halt in the Bagh-i-wafa--its
oranges, beauty and charm--Babur records his wish and intention
to return to obedience in his 40th year and his consequent
excess in wine as the end approached--composes an air--visits
Nur-valley--relieves Kwaja Kalan in Bajaur--teaches a talisman
to stop rain--his opinion of the ill-taste and disgusting
intoxication of beer--his reason for summoning Khwaja Kalan,
and trenchant words to Shah Hasan relieving him--an old beggar
loaded with gifts--the raft strikes a rock--Description of the
Kindir spring--Fish taken from fish-ponds--Hunting--Accident to a
tooth--Fishing with a net--A murderer made over to the avengers
of blood--A Qoran chapter read and start made for Kabul--(here
the diary breaks off) 420-425
+Translator's Note.+--926 to 932 AH.--1520 to 1525 AD.--Babur's
activities in the Gap--missing matter less interesting than
that lost in the previous one--its distinctive mark is
biographical--_Dramatis personÊ_--Sources of information 426-444
926 AH.--Dec. 23rd 1519 to Dec. 12th 1520 AD.--Babur's five
expeditions into Hindustan--this year's cut short by menace
from Qandahar--Shah Beg's position--particulars of his menace
not ascertained--+Description of Qandahar-fort+--Babur's various
sieges--this year's raised because of pestilence within the
walls--Shah Beg pushes out into Sind.
927 AH.--Dec. 12th 1520 to Dec. 1st 1521 AD.--Two accounts of
this year's siege of Qandahar--(i) that of the
_Habibu's-siyar_--(ii) that of the _Tarikh-i-sind_--concerning
the dates involved--Mirza Khan's death.
928 AH.--Dec. 1st 1521 to Nov. 20th 1522 AD.--Babur and Mahim
visit Humayun in Badakhshan--Expedition to Qandahar--of the duel
between Babur and Shah Beg--the Chihil-zina monument of
victory--Death of Shah Beg and its date--Babur's literary work
down to this year.
929 AH.--Nov. 20th 1522 to Nov. 10th 1523 AD.--Hindustan
affairs--Daulat Khan _Ludi_, Ibrahim _Ludi_ and Babur--Dilawar
(son of Daulat Khan) goes to Kabul and asks help against
Ibrahim--Babur prays for a sign of victory--prepares for the
expedition--`Alam Khan _Ludi_ (apparently in this year) goes to
Kabul and asks Babur's help against his nephew Ibrahim--Birth
of Gul-badan.
930 AH.--Nov. 10th 1523 to Oct. 27th 1524 AD.--Babur's fourth
expedition into Hindustan--differs from earlier ones by its
concert with malcontents in the country--Babur defeats Bihar
Khan _Ludi_ near Lahor--Lahor occupied--Dibalpur stormed,
plundered and its people massacred--Babur moves onward from
Sihrind but returns on news of Daulat Khan's doings--there may
have been also news of Auzbeg threat to Balkh--The Panj-ab
garrison--Death of Isma`il _Safawi_ and of Shah Beg--Babur turns
for Kabul--plants bananas in the Bagh-i-wafa.
931 AH.--Oct. 29th 1524 to Oct. 18th 1525 AD.--Daulat Khan's
large resources--he defeats `Alam Khan at Dibalpur--`Alam Khan
flees to Kabul and again asks help--Babur's conditions of
reinforcement--`Alam Khan's subsequent proceedings detailed
_s.a._ 932 AH.--Babur promises to follow him speedily--is
summoned to Balkh by its Auzbeg menace--his arrival raises the
siege--he returns to Kabul in time for his start to Hindustan
in 932 426-444
[+End of Translator's Note.+]
SECTION III--HINDUSTAN
932 AH.--Oct. 18th 1525 to Oct. 8th 1526 AD.--Babur starts on
his fifth expedition into Hindustan--is attacked by illness at
Gandamak--Humayun is late in coming in from
Badakh-shan--Verse-making on the Kabul-river--Babur makes a
satirical verse such as he had forsworn when writing the
_Mubin_--attributes a relapse of illness to his breach of
vow--renews his oath--Fine spectacle of the lighted camp at
Ali-masjid--Hunting near Bigram--Preparations for ferrying the
Sind--Order to make a list of all with the army, and to count
them up--continuation of illness--Orders sent to the Lahor begs
to delay engagement till Babur arrived--The Sind ferried (for
the first time) and the army tale declared as 12,000 good and
bad--The eastward march--unexpected ice--Rendezvous made with the
Lahor begs--Jat and Gujur thieves--a courier sent again to the
begs--News that `Alam Khan had let Ibrahim _Ludi_ defeat him
near Dihli--particulars of the engagement--he takes refuge with
Babur--The Lahor begs announce their arrival close at
hand--Ibrahim's troops retire before Babur's march--Daulat Khan
_Ludi_ surrenders Milwat (Malot)--waits on Babur and is
reproached--Ghazi Khan's abandonment of his family
censured--Jaswan-valley--Ghazi Khan pursued--Babur advances
against Ibrahim _Ludi_--his estimate of his adversary's
strength--`Alam Khan's return destitute to Babur--Babur's march
leads towards Panipat--Humayun's first affair
succeeds--reiterated news of Ibrahim's approach--Babur's success
in a minor encounter--he arrays and counts his effective
force--finds it under the estimate--orders that every man in the
army shall collect carts towards Rumi defence--700 carts
brought in--account of the defences of the camp close to the
village of Panipat--Babur on the futility of fear; his excuses
for the fearful in his army--his estimate of Ibrahim's army and
of its higher possible numbers--Author's Note on the Auzbeg
chiefs in Hisar (918 AH. 1512 AD.)--Preliminary
encounters--Battle and victory of Panipat--Ibrahim's body
found--Dihli and Agra occupied by Babur--he makes the circuit of
a Farghana-born ruler in Dihli--visits other tombs and sees
sights--halts opposite Tughluqabad--the _khutba_ read for him in
Dihli--he goes to Agra--Author's Note on rulers in Gualiar--The
(Koh-i-nur) diamond given by the Gualiar family to
Humayun--Babur's dealings with Ibrahim's mother and her
entourage--+Description of Hindustan+ (pp. 478 to 521)--Revenues
of Hind (p. 521)--Agra treasure distributed--local disaffection
to Babur--discontent in his army at remaining in Hindustan--he
sets the position forth to his Council--Khwaja Kalan decides to
leave--his and Babur's verses on his desertion--Babur's force
grows locally--action begun against rebels to Ibrahim in the
East--Gifts made to officers, and postings various--Biban
_Jalwani_ revolts and is beaten--The Mir of Biana
warned--Mention of Rana Sanga's failure in his promise to act
with Babur--Sanga's present action--Decision in Council to leave
Sanga aside and to march to the East--Humayun leads out the
army--Babur makes garden, well and mosque near Agra--Progress of
Humayun's campaign--News of the Auzbegs in Balkh and
Khurasan--Affairs of Gujrat 445-535
933 AH.--Oct. 8th 1526 to Sep. 27th 1527 AD.--Birth announced of
Babur's son Faruq--incomplete success in casting a large
mortar--_Varia_--Humayun summoned from the East to act against
Sanga--Plundering expedition towards Biana--Tahangar, Gualiar
and Dulpur obtained--Hamid Khan _Sarang-khani_ defeated--Arrival
of a Persian embassy--Ibrahim's mother tries to poison
Babur--+Copy of Babur's letter detailing the affair+--his
dealings with the poisoner and her agents--Humayun's return to
Agra--Khw. Dost-i-khawand's arrival from Kabul--Reiterated news
of the approach of Rana Sanga--Babur sends an advance force to
Biana--Hasan Khan _Miwati_--Tramontane matters disloyal to
Babur--Trial-test of the large mortar (p. 536)--Babur leaves
Agra to oppose Sanga--adverse encounter with Sanga by Biana
garrison--Alarming reports of Rajput prowess--Spadesmen sent
ahead to dig wells in Madhakur _pargana_--Babur halts
there--arrays and moves to Sikri--various joinings and
scoutings--discomfiture of a party reconnoitring from Sikri--the
reinforcement also overcome--The enemy retires at sight of a
larger troop from Babur--defence of the Sikri camp Rumi
fashion, with ditch besides--Continued praise of Rajput
prowess--Further defence of the camp made to hearten Babur's
men--20-25 days spent in the above preparations--arrival of 500
men from Kabul--also of Muh. Sharif an astrologer who augurs
ill for Babur's success--Archers collected and Miwat
over-run--Babur reflects that he had always wished to cease
from the sin of wine--verses about his then position--resolves
to renounce wine--details of the destruction of wine and
precious vessels, and of the building of a commemorative well
and alms-house--his oath to remit a tax if victorious is
recalled to him--he remits the _tamgha_--Shaikh Zain writes the
_farman_ announcing the two acts--Copy of the _farman_--Great
fear in Babur's army--he adjures the Ghazi spirit in his men
who vow to stand fast--his perilous position--he moves forward
in considerable array--his camp is laid out and protected by
ditch and carts--An omen is taken and gives hope--Khalifa
advising, the camp is moved--While tents were being set up, the
enemy appears--The battle and victory of Kanwa--described in a
copy of the Letter-of-victory--Babur inserts this because of
its full particulars (pp. 559 to 574)--assumes the title of
Ghazi--Chronograms of the victory and also of that in Dibalpur
(930 AH.)--pursuit of the fugitive foe--escape of Sanga--the
falsely-auguring astrologer banished with a gift--a small
revolt crushed--a pillar of heads set up--Babur visits
Biana--Little water and much heat set aside plan to invade
Sanga's territory--Babur visits Miwat--give some historical
account of it--Commanders rewarded--Alwar visited--Humayun and
others allowed to leave Hindustan--Despatch of the
Letter-of-victory--Various excursions--Humayun bidden
farewell--Chandwar and Rapri recovered--Apportionment of
fiefs--Biban flees before Babur's men--Dispersion of troops for
the Rains--Misconduct of Humayun and Babur's grief--Embassy to
`Iraq--Tardi Beg _khaksar_ allowed to return to the
darwesh-life--Babur's lines to departing friends--The
Ramzan-feast--Playing-cards--Babur ill (seemingly with
fever)--visits Dulpur and orders a house excavated--visits Bari
and sees the ebony-tree--has doubt of Bayazid _Farmuli's_
loyalty--his remedial and metrical exercises--his Treatise on
Prosody composed--a relapse of illness--starts on an excursion
to Kul and Sambal 536-586
934 AH.--Sep. 27th 1527 to Sep. 15th 1528 AD.--Babur visits Kul
and Sambal and returns to Agra--has fever and ague
intermittently for 20-25 days--goes out to welcome kinswomen--a
large mortar bursts with fatal result--he visits Sikri--starts
for Holy War against Chandiri--sends troops against Bayazid
_Farmuli_--incidents of the march to Chandiri--account of
Kachwa--account of Chandiri--its siege--Meantime bad news arrives
from the East--Babur keeping this quiet, accomplishes the work
in hand--Chandiri taken--change of plans enforced by defeat in
the East--return northwards--Further losses in the East--Rebels
take post to dispute Babur's passage of the Ganges--he orders a
pontoon-bridge--his artillery is used with effect, the bridge
finished and crossed and the Afghans worsted--Tukhta-bugha
_Chaghatai_ arrives from Kashgar--Babur visits Lakhnau--suffers
from ear-ache--reinforces Chin-timur against the
rebels--Chin-timur gets the better of Bayazid _Farmuli_--Babur
settles the affairs of Aud (Oude) and plans to hunt near 587-602
+Translator's Note.+ (part of 934 AH.)--On the _cir._
half-year's missing matter--known events of the Gap:--Continued
campaign against Biban and Bayazid--Babur at Junpur, Chausa and
Baksara--swims the Ganges--bestows Sarun on a Farmuli--orders a
Char-bagh made--is ill for 40 days--is inferred to have visited
Dulpur, recalled `Askari from Multan, sent Khw. Dost-i-khawand
to Kabul on family affairs which were causing him much
concern--Remarks on the Gap and, incidentally, on the Rampur
Diwan and verses in it suiting Babur's illnesses of 934 AH.
[+End of Translator's Note.+]
935 AH. Sep. 15th 1528 to Sep. 5th 1529 AD.--`Askari reaches
Agra from Multan--Khwand-amir and others arrive from
Khurasan--Babur prepares to visit Gualiar--bids farewell to
kinswomen who are returning to Kabul--marches out--is given an
unsavoury medicament--inspects construction-work in
Dulpur--reaches Gualiar--+Description of Gualiar+ (p. 607 to p.
614)--returns to Dulpur--suffers from ear-ache--inspects work in
Sikri and reaches Agra--visit and welcomes to kinswomen--sends
an envoy to take charge of Rantanbhur--makes a levy on
stipendiaries--sends letters to kinsfolk in Khurasan--News
arrives of Kamran and Dost-i-khawand in Kabul--of Tahmasp
_Safawi's_ defeat at Jam of `Ubaidu'l-lah _Auzbeg_--of the
birth of a son to Humayun, and of a marriage by Kamran--he
rewards an artificer--is strongly attacked by fever--for his
healing translates Ahrari's _Walidiyyah-risala_--account of the
task--Troops warned for service--A long-detained messenger
returns from Humayun--Accredited messengers-of-good-tidings
bring the news of Humayun's son's birth--an instance of rapid
travel--Further particulars of the Battle of Jam--Letters
written and summarized--+Copy of one to Humayun inserted
here+--Plans for an eastern campaign under `Askari--royal
insignia given to him--Orders for the measurement, stations and
up-keep of the Agra-Kabul road--the _Mubin_ quoted--A feast
described--`Askari bids his Father farewell--Babur visits Dulpur
and inspects his constructions--Persian account of the Battle
of Jam--Babur decides contingently to go to the East--Baluchi
incursions--News reaches Dulpur of the loss of Bihar (town) and
decides Babur to go East--News of Humayun's action in
Badakhshan--Babur starts from Agra--honoured arrivals in the
assembly-camp--incidents of the march--congratulations and
gifts sent to Kamran, Humayun and others--also specimens of the
Baburi-script, and copies of the translation of the
_Walidiyyah-risala_ and the Hindustan Poems--commends his
building-work to his workmen--makes a new ruler for the better
copying of the _Walidiyyah-risala_ translation--letters
written--+Copy of one to Khwaja Kalan inserted here+--Complaints
from Kitin-qara _Auzbeg_ of Babur's begs on the Balkh
frontier--Babur shaves his head--Mahim using his style, orders
her own escort from Kabul to Agra--Babur watches
wrestling--leaves the Jumna, disembarks his guns, and goes
across country to Dugdugi on the Ganges--travels by
litter--`Askari and other Commanders meet him--News of Biban,
Bayazid and other Afghans--Letters despatched to meet Mahim on
her road--Babur sends a copy of his writings to
Samarkand--watches wrestling--hears news of the Afghans--(here a
surmised survival of record displaced from 934 AH.)--fall of a
river-bank under his horse--swims the Ganges--crosses the Jumna
at Allahabad (Piag) and re-embarks his guns--wrestling
watched--the evil Tons--he is attacked by boils--a Rumi remedy
applied--a futile attempt to hunt--he sends money-drafts to the
travellers from Kabul--visits places on the Ganges he had seen
last year--receives various letters below Ghazipur--has news
that the Ladies are actually on their way from Kabul--last
year's eclipse recalled--Hindu dread of the Karma-nasa
river--wrestling watched--Rumi remedy for boils used again with
much discomfort--fall of last year's landing-steps at
Baksara--wrestling--Negociations with an envoy of Nasrat Shah of
Bengal--Examination into Muhammad-i-zaman's objections to a
Bihar appointment--despatch of troops to Bihar
(town)--Muhammad-i-zaman submits requests which are granted--a
small success against Afghans--Royal insignia given to
Muhammad-i-zaman, with leave to start for Bihar--Babur's
boats--News of the Bengal army--Muhammad-i-zaman recalled
because fighting was probable--Dudu Bibi and her son Jalal
escape from Bengal to come to Babur--Further discussions with
the Bengal envoy--Favourable news from Bihar--Babur in
Arrah--Position of the Bengal army near the confluence of Gang
and Saru (Ganges and Gogra)--Babur making further effort for
peace, sends an envoy to Nasrat Shah--gives Nasrat's envoy
leave to go conveying an ultimatum--Arrival of a servant from
Mahim west of the Bagh-i-safa--Babur visits lotus-beds near
Arrah--also Munir and the Son--Distance measured by counting a
horse's paces--care for tired horses--Babur angered by Junaid
_Barlas'_ belated arrival--Consultation and plans made for the
coming battle--the Ganges crossed (by the Burh-ganga channel)
and move made to near the confluence--Babur watches `Ali-quli's
stone-discharge--his boat entered by night--Battle and victory
of the Gogra--Babur praises and thanks his Chaghatai cousins
for their great services--crosses into the Nirhun _pargana_--his
favours to a Farmuli--News of Biban and Bayazid--and of the
strange deaths in Sambal--Chin-timur sends news from the west
of inconveniences caused by the Ladies' delay to leave
Kabul--and of success against the Baluchi--he is ordered to
Agra--Settlement made with the Nuhani Afghans--Peace made with
Nasrat Shah--Submissions and various guerdon--Biban and Bayazid
pursued--Babur's papers damaged in a storm--News of the rebel
pair as taking Luknur(?)--Disposition of Babur's boats--move
along the Saru--(a surmised survival of the record of 934
AH.)--Account of the capture of Luknur(?)--Dispositions against
the rebel pair--fish caught by help of a lamp--incidents of the
march to Adampur on the Jumna--Biban and Bayazid flee to
Mahuba--Eastern Campaign wound up--Babur's rapid ride to Agra
(p. 686)--visits kinswomen--is pleased with Indian-grown
fruits--Mahim arrives--her gifts and Humayun's set before
Babur--porters sent off for Kabul to fetch fruits--Account of
the deaths in Sambal brought in--sedition in Lahor--wrestling
watched--sedition of Rahim-dad in Gualiar--Mahdi Khwaja comes to
Agra 605-689
936 AH.--Sep. 5th 1529 to Aug. 25th 1530 AD.--Shaikh Ghaus comes
from Gualiar to intercede for Rahim-dad--Gualiar taken over 690
+Translator's Note.+--936 and 937 AH.--1529 and 1530 AD.--Sources
from which to fill the Gap down to Babur's death (December
26th 1530)--Humayun's proceedings in Badakhshan--Haidar
_Dughlat's_ narrative of them--Humayun deserts his post, goes
to Kabul, and, arranging with Kamran, sends Hind-al to
Badakhshan--goes on to Agra and there arrives unexpected by his
Father--as he is unwilling to return, Sulaiman _Miran-shahi_ is
appointed under Babur's suzerainty--Sa`id Khan is warned to
leave Sulaiman in possession--Babur moves westward to support
him and visits Lahor--waited on in Sihrind by the Raja of
Kahlur--received in Lahor by Kamran and there visited from
Kabul by Hind-al--leaves Lahor (March 4th 1530 AD.)--from
Sihrind sends a punitive force against Mundahir Rajputs--hunts
near Dihli--appears to have started off an expedition to
Kashmir--family matters fill the rest of the year--Humayun falls
ill in Sambal and is brought to Agra--his disease not yielding
to treatment, Babur resolves to practise the rite of
intercession and self-surrender to save his life--is urged
rather to devote the great diamond (Koh-i-nur) to pious
uses--refuses the substitution of the jewel for his own
life--performs the rite--Humayun recovers--Babur falls ill and is
bedridden till death--his faith in the rite unquestionable,
belief in its efficacy general in the East--Plan to set Babur's
sons aside from the succession--The _Tabaqat-i-akbari_ story
discussed (p. 702 to 708)--suggested basis of the story (p.
705)--Babur's death (Jumada I. 5th 937 AH.--Dec. 26th 1530 AD.)
and burial first, near Agra, later near Kabul--Shah-jahan's
epitaph inscribed on a tablet near the grave--Babur's wives and
children--Mr. Erskine's estimate of his character 691-716
[+End of Translator's Note.+]
APPENDICES
A. Site and disappearance of old Akhsi.
B. The birds Qil-quyirugh and Baghri-qara.
C. On the _gosha-gir_.
D. The Rescue-passage.
E. Nagarahar and Ning-nahar.
F. The name Dara-i-nur.
G. On the names of two Dara-i-nur wines.
H. On the counter-mark Bih-bud of coins.
I. The weeping-willows of f. 190_b_.
J. Babur's excavated chamber at Qandahar.
K. An Afghan Legend.
L. Mahim's adoption of Hind-al.
M. On the term Bahri-qutas.
N. Notes on a few birds.
O. Notes by Humayun on some Hindustan fruits.
P. Remarks on Babur's Revenue List.
Q. On the Rampur Diwan.
R. Plans of Chandiri and Gualiar.
S. The Babur-nama dating of 935 AH.
T. On L:knu (Lakhnau) and L:knur (Lakhnur _i.e._ Shahabad
in Rampur).
U. The Inscriptions in Babur's Mosque at Ajodhya (Oude).
V. Babur's Gardens in and near Kabul.
Indices:--I. Personal, II. Geographical, III. General, p. 717
_et seq._
Omissions, Corrigenda, Additional Notes.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Plane-tree Avenue in Babur's (later)
Burial-garden[1] _facing_ p. xxvii
View from above his grave and Shah-jahan's
Mosque[1] _facing_ p. 367
His Grave[2] _facing_ p. 445
Babur in Prayer[3] _facing_ p. 702
His Signature App. Q, lxi
Plans of Chandiri and Gualiar App. R, lxvii
[Illustration: Plane-tree Avenue in Babur's (later)
Burial-garden.]
PREFACE.
O Spring of work! O Source of power to Be!
Each line, each thought I dedicate to Thee;
Each time I fail, the failure is my own,
But each success, a jewel in Thy Throne.
JESSIE E. CADELL.
INTRODUCTORY.
This book is a translation of Babur Padshah's Autobiography, made from
the original Turki text. It was undertaken after a purely-Turki
manuscript had become accessible in England, the Haidarabad Codex (1915)
which, being in Babur's _ipsissima verba_, left to him the control of
his translator's diction--a control that had been impracticable from the
time when, under Akbar (1589), his book was translated into Persian.
What has come down to us of pure text is, in its shrunken amount, what
was translated in 1589. It is difficult, here and there, to interpret
owing to its numerous and in some places extensive _lacunae_, and
presents more problems than one the solution of which has real
importance because they have favoured suggestions of malfeasance by
Babur.
My translation has been produced under considerable drawback, having
been issued in four _fasciculi_, at long intervals, respectively in June
1912, May 1914, October 1917, and September 1921. I have put with it of
supplementary matter what may be of service to those readers whom
Babur's personality attracts and to those who study Turki as a
linguistic entertainment, but owing to delays in production am unable to
include the _desiderata_ of maps.
CHAPTER I.
BABUR'S EXEMPLARS IN THE ARTS OF PEACE.
Babur's civilian aptitudes, whether of the author and penman, the maker
of gardens, the artist, craftsman or sportsman, were nourished in a
fertile soil of family tradition and example. Little about his teaching
and training is now with his mutilated book, little indeed of any kind
about his prÊ-accession years, not the date of his birth even, having
escaped destruction.[4] Happily Haidar Mirza (_q.v._) possessed a more
complete Codex than has come down to us through the Timurid libraries,
and from it he translated many episodes of Baburiana that help to bridge
gaps and are of special service here where the personalities of Babur's
early environment are being named.
Babur's home-milieu favoured excellence in the quiet Arts and set before
its children high standard and example of proficiency. Moreover, by
schooling him in obedience to the Law, it planted in him some of Art's
essentials, self-restraint and close attention. Amongst primal
influences on him, his mother Qut-luq-nigar's ranked high; she,
well-born and a scholar's daughter, would certainly be educated in Turki
and Persian and in the home-accomplishments her governess possessed
_(atun_ q.v.). From her and her mother Aisan-daulat, the child would
learn respect for the attainments of his wise old grandfather Yunas
Khan. Aisan-daulat herself brought to her grandson much that goes to the
making of a man; nomad-born and sternly-bred, she was brave to obey her
opinion of right, and was practically the boy's ruling counsellor
through his early struggle to hold Farghana. With these two in fine
influence must be counted Khan-zada, his five-years elder sister who
from his birth to his death proved her devotion to him. Her life-story
tempts, but is too long to tell; her girlish promise is seen fulfilled
in Gul-badan's pages. `Umar Shaikh's own mother Shah Sultan Begim
brought in a type of merit widely differing from that of Aisan-daulat
Begim; as a town-lady of high Tarkhan birth, used to the amenities of
life in a wealthy house of Samarkand, she was, doubtless, an
accomplished and cultured woman.
`Umar Shaikh's environment was dominated for many years by two great
men, the scholar and lover of town-life Yunas Khan and the saintly
Ahrari (_i.e._ Khwaja `Ubaidu'l-lah) who were frequently with him in
company, came at Babur's birth and assisted at his naming. Ahrari died
in 895-1491 when the child was about seven years old but his influence
was life-long; in 935-1529 he was invoked as a spiritual helper by the
fever-stricken Babur and his mediation believed efficacious for recovery
(pp. 619, 648). For the babe or boy to be where the three friends held
social session in high converse, would be thought to draw blessing on
him; his hushed silence in the presence would sow the seed of reverence
for wisdom and virtue, such, for example, as he felt for Jami (_q.v._).
It is worth while to tell some part at least of Yunas' attainments in
the gentler Arts, because the biography from which they are quoted may
well have been written on the information of his wife Aisan-daulat, and
it indicates the breadth of his exemplary influence. Yunas was many
things--penman, painter, singer, instrumentalist, and a past master in
the crafts. He was an expert in good companionship, having even temper
and perfect manners, quick perception and conversational charm. His
intellectual distinction was attributed to his twelve years of wardship
under the learned and highly honoured Yazdi (Sharafu'd-din 'Ali), the
author of the _Zafar-nama_ [Timur's Book of Victory]. That book was in
hand during four years of Yunas' education; he will thus have known it
and its main basis Timur's Turki _Malfuzat_ (annals). What he learned of
either book he would carry with him into `Umar Shaikh's environment,
thus magnifying the family stock of Timuriya influence. He lived to be
some 74 years old, a length of days which fairly bridged the gap between
Timur's death [807-1404] and Babur's birth (888-1483). It is said that
no previous Khan of his (Chaghatai) line had survived his 40th year; his
exceptional age earned him great respect and would deepen his influence
on his restless young son-in-law `Umar Shaikh. It appears to have been
in `Umar's 20th year (_cir._) that Yunas Khan began the friendly
association with him that lasted till Yunas' death (892-1483), a
friendship which, as disparate ages would dictate, was rather that of
father and son than of equal companionship. One matter mentioned in the
Khan's biography would come to Babur's remembrance in the future days
when he, like Yunas, broke the Law against intoxicants and, like him,
repented and returned.
That two men of the calibre and high repute of Ahrari and Yunas
maintained friendly guidance so long over `Umar cannot but be held an
accreditment and give fragrance of goodness to his name. Apart from the
high justice and generosity his son ascribes to him, he could set other
example, for he was a reader of great books, the Qoran and the _Masnawi_
being amongst his favourites. This choice, it may be, led Abu'l-fazl to
say he had the darwesh-mind. Babur was old enough before `Umar's death
to profit by the sight of his father enjoying the perusal of such books.
As with other parents and other children, there would follow the happy
stilling to a quiet mood, the piquing of curiosity as to what was in the
book, the sight of refuge taken as in a haven from self and care, and
perhaps, Babur being intelligent and of inquiring mind and `Umar a
skilled reciter, the boy would marvel at the perennial miracle that a
lifeless page can become eloquent--gentle hints all, pointers of the way
to literary creation.
Few who are at home in Baburiana but will take Timur as Babur's great
exemplar not only as a soldier but as a chronicler. Timur cannot have
seemed remote from that group of people so well-informed about him and
his civilian doings; his Shahrukhi grandchildren in Samarkand had
carried on his author-tradition; the 74 years of Yunas Khan's life had
bridged the gap between Timur's death in 807-1405 and Babur's birth in
888-1483. To Babur Timur will have been exemplary through his grandson
Aulugh Beg who has two productions to his credit, the _Char-ulus_ (Four
Hordes) and the Kurkani Astronomical Tables. His sons, again, Babur
(_qalandar_) and Ibrahim carried on the family torch of letters, the
first in verse and the second by initiating and fostering Yazdi's
labours on the _Zafar-nama_. Wide-radiating and potent influence for the
Arts of Peace came forth from Herat during the reign of that Sultan
Husain Mirza whose Court Babur describes in one of the best supplements
to his autobiography. Husain was a Timurid of the elder branch of
Bai-qara, an author himself but far more effective as a MacÊnas; one man
of the shining galaxy of competence that gave him fame, set pertinent
example for Babur the author, namely, the Andijani of noble Chaghatai
family, 'Ali-sher _Nawa'i_ who, in classic Turki verse was the master
Babur was to become in its prose. That the standard of effort was high
in Herat is clear from Babur's dictum (p. 233) that whatever work a man
took up, he aspired to bring it to perfection. Elphinstone varies the
same theme to the tune of equality of excellence apart from social
status, writing to Erskine (August, 1826), that "it gives a high notion
of the time to find" (in Babur's account of Husain's Court) "artists,
musicians and others, described along with the learned and great of the
Age".
My meagre summary of Babur's exemplars would be noticeably incomplete if
it omitted mention of two of his life-long helpers in the gentler Arts,
his love of Nature and his admiration for great architectural creations.
The first makes joyous accompaniment throughout his book; the second is
specially called forth by Timur's ennoblement of Samarkand. Timur had
built magnificently and laid out stately gardens; Babur made many a
fruitful pleasaunce and gladdened many an arid halting-place; he built a
little, but had small chance to test his capacity for building greatly;
never rich, he was poor in Kabul and several times destitute in his
home-lands. But his sword won what gave wealth to his Indian Dynasty,
and he passed on to it the builder's unused dower, so that Samarkand was
surpassed in Hindustan and the spiritual conception Timur's creations
embodied took perfect form at Sikandra where Akbar lies entombed.
CHAPTER II.
PROBLEMS OF THE MUTILATED BABUR-NAMA.
Losses from the text of Babur's book are the more disastrous because it
truly embodies his career. For it has the rare distinction of being
contemporary with the events it describes, is boyish in his boyhood,
grows with his growth, matures as he matured. Undulled by retrospect, it
is a fresh and spontaneous recital of things just seen, heard or done.
It has the further rare distinction of shewing a boy who, setting a
future task before him--in his case the revival of Timurid power,--began
to chronicle his adventure in the book which through some 37 years was
his twinned comrade, which by its special distinctions has attracted
readers for nearly a half-millennium, still attracts and still is a
thing apart from autobiographies which look back to recall dead years.
Much circumstance makes for the opinion that Babur left his life-record
complete, perhaps repaired in places and recently supplemented, but
continuous, orderly and lucid; this it is not now, nor has been since it
was translated into Persian in 1589, for it is fissured by _lacunÊ_, has
neither Preface nor Epilogue,[5] opens in an oddly abrupt and
incongruous fashion, and consists of a series of fragments so
disconnected as to demand considerable preliminary explanation. Needless
to say, its dwindled condition notwithstanding, it has place amongst
great autobiographies, still revealing its author playing a man's part
in a drama of much historic and personal interest. Its revelation is
however now like a portrait out of drawing, because it has not kept the
record of certain years of his manhood in which he took momentous
decisions,(1) those of 1511-12 (918) in which he accepted
reinforcement--at a great price--from Isma`il the Shi`a Shah of Persia,
and in which, if my reading be correct, he first (1512) broke the Law
against the use of wine,[6] (2) those of 1519-1525 [926-932], in which
his literary occupations with orthodox Law (_see Mubin_) associated with
cognate matters of 932 AH. indicate that his return to obedience had
begun, in which too was taken the decision that worked out for his fifth
expedition across the Indus with its sequel of the conquest of Hind.--The
loss of matter so weighty cannot but destroy the balance of his record
and falsify the drawing of his portrait.
a. _Problem of Titles._
As nothing survives to decide what was Babur's chosen title for his
autobiography, a modern assignment of names to distinguish it from its
various descendants is desirable, particularly so since the revival of
interest in it towards which the Facsimile of its Haidarabad Codex has
contributed.[7]
_Babur-nama_ (History of Babur) is a well-warranted name by which to
distinguish the original Turki text, because long associated with this
and rarely if ever applied to its Persian translation.[8] It is not
comprehensive because not covering supplementary matter of biography
and description but it has use for modern readers of classing
Babur's with other Timuriya and Timurid histories such as the
_Zafar-Humayun-Akbar-namas_.
_Waqi`at-i-baburi_ (Babur's Acts), being descriptive of the book and in
common use for naming both the Turki and Persian texts, might usefully
be reserved as a title for the latter alone.
Amongst European versions of the book _Memoirs of Baber_ is Erskine's
peculium for the Leyden and Erskine Perso-English translation--_MÈmoires
de Baber_ is Pavet de Courteille's title for his French version of the
Bukhara [Persified-Turki] compilation--_Babur-nama in English_ links the
translation these volumes contain with its purely-Turki source.
b. _Problems of the Constituents of the Books._
Intact or mutilated, Babur's material falls naturally into three
territorial divisions, those of the lands of his successive rule,
Farghana (with Samarkand), Kabul and Hindustan. With these are distinct
sub-sections of description of places and of obituaries of kinsmen.
The book might be described as consisting of annals and diary, which
once met within what is now the gap of 1508-19 (914-925). Round this
gap, amongst others, bristle problems of which this change of literary
style is one; some are small and concern the mutilation alone, others
are larger, but all are too intricate for terse statement and all might
be resolved by the help of a second MS. _e.g._ one of the same strain as
Haidar's.
Without fantasy another constituent might be counted in with the three
territorial divisions, namely, the grouped _lacunÊ_ which by their
engulfment of text are an untoward factor in an estimate either of Babur
or of his book. They are actually the cardinal difficulty of the book as
it now is; they foreshorten purview of his career and character and
detract from its merits; they lose it perspective and distort its
proportions. That this must be so is clear both from the value and the
preponderating amount of the lost text. It is no exaggeration to say
that while working on what survives, what is lost becomes like a
haunting presence warning that it must be remembered always as an
integral and the dominant part of the book.
The relative proportions of saved and lost text are highly
significant:--Babur's commemorable years are about 47 and 10 months,
_i.e._ from his birth on Feb. 14th 1483 to near his death on Dec. 26th
1530; but the aggregate of surviving text records some 18 years only,
and this not continuously but broken through by numerous gaps. That
these gaps result from loss of pages is frequently shewn by a broken
sentence, an unfinished episode. The fragments--as they truly may be
called--are divided by gaps sometimes seeming to remove a few pages only
(cf. _s.a._ 935 AH.), sometimes losing the record of 6 and _cir._ 18
months, sometimes of 6 and 11 years; besides these actual clefts in the
narrative there are losses of some 12 years from its beginning and some
16 months from its end. Briefly put we now have the record of _cir._ 18
years where that of over 47 could have been.[9]
c. _Causes of the gaps._
Various causes have been surmised to explain the _lacunÊ_; on the plea
of long intimacy with Babur's and Haidar's writings, I venture to say
that one and all appear to me the result of accident. This opinion rests
on observed correlations between the surviving and the lost record,
which demand complement--on the testimony of Haidar's extracts, and
firmly on Babur's orderly and persistent bias of mind and on the
prideful character of much of the lost record. Moreover occasions of
risk to Babur's papers are known.
Of these occasions the first was the destruction of his camp near Hisar
in 1512 (918; p. 357) but no information about his papers survives; they
may not have been in his tent but in the fort. The second was a case of
recorded damage to "book and sections" (p. 679) occurring in 1529 (935).
From signs of work done to the Farghana section in Hindustan, the damage
may be understood made good at the later date. To the third exposure to
damage, namely, the attrition of hard travel and unsettled life during
Humayun's 14 years of exile from rule in Hindustan (1441-1555) it is
reasonable to attribute even the whole loss of text. For, assuming--as
may well be done--that Babur left (1530) a complete autobiography, its
volume would be safe so long as Humayun was in power but after the
Timurid exodus (1441) his library would be exposed to the risks detailed
in the admirable chronicles of Gul-badan, Jauhar and Bayazid (_q.v._).
He is known to have annotated his father's book in 1555 (p. 466 n. 1)
just before marching from Kabul to attempt the re-conquest of Hindustan.
His Codex would return to Dihli which he entered in July 1555, and there
would be safe from risk of further mutilation. Its condition in 1555 is
likely to have remained what it was found when `Abdu'r-rahim translated
it into Persian by Akbar's orders (1589) for Abu'l-fazl's use in the
_Akbar-nama_. That Persian translation with its descendant the _Memoirs
of Baber_, and the purely-Turki Haidarabad Codex with its descendant the
_Babur-nama in English_, contain identical contents and, so doing, carry
the date of the mutilation of Babur's Turki text back through its years
of safety, 1589 to 1555, to the period of Humayun's exile and its
dangers for camel-borne or deserted libraries.
d. _Two misinterpretations of lacunÊ._
Not unnaturally the frequent interruptions of narrative caused by
_lacunÊ_ have been misinterpreted occasionally, and sometimes
detractory comment has followed on Babur, ranking him below the
accomplished and lettered, steadfast and honest man he was. I select two
examples of this comment neither of which has a casual origin.
The first is from the _B.M. Cat. of Coins of the Shahs of Persia_ p.
xxiv, where after identifying a certain gold coin as shewing vassalage
by Babur to Isma`il _Safawi_, the compiler of the Catalogue notes, "We
can now understand the omission from Babar's 'Memoirs' of the
occurrences between 914 H. and 925 H." Can these words imply other than
that Babur suppressed mention of minting of the coins shewing
acknowledgment of Shi`a suzerainty? Leaving aside the delicate topic of
the detraction the quoted words imply, much negatives the surmise that
the gap is a deliberate "omission" of text:--(1) the duration of the
Shi`a alliance was 19-20 months of 917-918 AH. (p. 355), why omit the
peaceful or prideful and victorious record of some 9-10 years on its
either verge? (2) Babur's Transoxus campaign was an episode in the
struggle between Shaibaq Khan (Shaibani) _Auzbeg_ and Shah
Isma`il--between Sunni and Shi`a; how could "omission" from his book,
always a rare one, hide what multitudes knew already? "Omission" would
have proved a fiasco in another region than Central Asia, because the
Babur-Haidar story of the campaign, vassal-coinage included,[10] has
been brought into English literature by the English translation of the
_Tarikh-i rashidi_. Babur's frank and self-judging habit of mind would,
I think, lead him to write fully of the difficulties which compelled the
hated alliance and certainly he would tell of his own anger at the
conduct of the campaign by Isma`il's Commanders. The alliance was a
tactical mistake; it would have served Babur better to narrate its
failure.
The second misinterpretation, perhaps a mere surmising gloss, is
Erskine's (_Memoirs_ Supp. p. 289) who, in connection with `Alam Khan's
request to Babur for reinforcement in order to oust his nephew Ibrahim,
observes that "Babur probably flattered `Alam Khan with the hope of
succession to the empire of Hindustan." This idea does not fit the
record of either man. Elphinstone was angered by Erskine's remark which,
he wrote (Aug. 26th 1826) "had a bad effect on the narrative by
weakening the implicit confidence in Babur's candour and veracity which
his frank way of writing is so well-calculated to command."
Elphinstone's opinion of Babur is not that of a reader but of a student
of his book; he was also one of Erskine's staunchest helpers in its
production. From Erskine's surmise others have advanced on the
detractor's path saying that Babur used and threw over `Alam Khan
(_q.v._).
e. _Reconstruction._
Amongst the problems mutilation has created an important one is that of
the condition of the beginning of the book (p. 1 to p. 30) with its
plunge into Babur's doings in his 12th year without previous mention of
even his day and place of birth, the names and status of his parents, or
any occurrences of his prÊ-accession years. Within those years should be
entered the death of Yunas Khan (1487) with its sequent obituary notice,
and the death of [Khwaja `Ubaidu'l-lah] Ahrari (1491). Not only are
these customary entries absent but the very introductions of the two
great men are wanting, probably with the also missing account of their
naming of the babe Babur. That these routine matters are a part of an
autobiography planned as Babur's was, makes for assured opinion that the
record of more than his first decade of life has been lost, perhaps by
the attrition to which its position in the volume exposed it.
Useful reconstruction if merely in tabulated form, might be effected in
a future edition. It would save at least two surprises for readers, one
the oddly abrupt first sentence telling of Babur's age when he became
ruler in Farghana (p. 1), which is a misfit in time and order, another
that of the sudden interruption of `Umar Shaikh's obituary by a fragment
of Yunas Khan's (p. 19) which there hangs on a mere name-peg, whereas
its place according to Babur's elsewhere unbroken practice is directly
following the death. The record of the missing prÊ-accession years will
have included at the least as follows:--Day of birth and its place--names
and status of parents--naming and the ceremonial observances proper for
Muhammadan children--visits to kinsfolk in Tashkint, and to Samarkand
(Êt. 5, p. 35) where he was betrothed--his initiation in school
subjects, in sport, the use of arms--names of teachers--education in the
rules of his Faith (p. 44), appointment to the Andijan Command _etc._,
_etc._
There is now no fit beginning to the book; the present first sentence
and its pendent description of Farghana should be removed to the
position Babur's practice dictates of entering the description of a
territory at once on obtaining it (cf. Samarkand, Kabul, Hindustan). It
might come in on p. 30 at the end of the topic (partly omitted on p. 29
where no ground is given for the manifest anxiety about Babur's safety)
of the disputed succession (Haidar, trs. p. 135) Babur's partisan begs
having the better of Jahangir's (_q.v._), and having testified
obeisance, he became ruler in Farghana; his statement of age (12 years),
comes in naturally and the description of his newly acquired territory
follows according to rule. This removal of text to a later position has
the advantage of allowing the accession to follow and not precede
Babur's father's death.
By the removal there is left to consider the historical matter of pp.
12-13. The first paragraph concerns matter of much earlier date than
`Umar's death in 1494 (p. 13); it may be part of an obituary notice,
perhaps that of Yunas Khan. What follows of the advance of displeased
kinsmen against `Umar Shaikh would fall into place as part of Babur's
record of his boyhood, and lead on to that of his father's death.
The above is a bald sketch of what might be effected in the interests of
the book and to facilitate its pleasant perusal.
CHAPTER III.
THE TURKI MSS. AND WORK CONNECTING WITH THEM.
This chapter is a literary counterpart of "Babur Padshah's Stone-heap,"
the roadside cairn tradition says was piled by his army, each man laying
his stone when passing down from Kabul for Hindustan in the year of
victory 1525 (932).[11]
For a title suiting its contents is "Babur Padshah's Book-pile," because
it is fashioned of item after item of pen-work done by many men in
obedience to the dictates given by his book. Unlike the cairn, however,
the pile of books is not of a single occasion but of many, not of a
single year but of many, irregularly spacing the 500 years through which
he and his autobiography have had Earth's immortality.
Part I. The MSS. themselves.
_Preliminary._--Much of the information given below was published in the
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society from 1900 onwards, as it came into
my possession during a search for reliable Turki text of the
_Babur-nama_. My notes were progressive; some MSS. were in distant
places, some not traceable, but in the end I was able to examine in
England all of whose continued existence I had become aware. It was
inevitable that some of my earlier statements should be superseded
later; my Notes (_see s.n._ JRAS.) need clearing of transitory matter
and summarizing, in particular those on the Elphinstone Codex and
Klaproth's articles. Neither they nor what is placed here makes claim to
be complete. Other workers will supplement them when the World has
renewed opportunity to stroll in the bye-paths of literature.
Few copies of the _Babur-nama_ seem to have been made; of the few I have
traced as existing, not one contains the complete autobiography, and one
alone has the maximum of dwindled text shewn in the Persian translation
(1589). Two books have been reputed to contain Babur's authentic text,
one preserved in Hindustan by his descendants, the other issuing from
Bukhara. They differ in total contents, arrangement and textual worth;
moreover the Bukhara book compiles items of divers diction and origin
and date, manifestly not from one pen.
The Hindustan book is a record--now mutilated--of the Acts of Babur alone;
the Bukhara book as exhibited in its fullest accessible example, Kehr's
Codex, is in two parts, each having its preface, the first reciting
Babur's Acts, the second Humayun's.
The Bukhara book is a compilation of oddments, mostly translated from
compositions written after Babur's death. Textual and circumstantial
grounds warrant the opinion that it is a distinct work mistakenly
believed to be Babur's own; to these grounds was added in 1903 the
authoritative verdict of collation with the Haidarabad Codex, and in
1921 of the colophon of its original MS. in which its author gives his
name, with the title and date of his compilation (JRAS. 1900, p. 474).
What it is and what are its contents and history are told in Part III of
this chapter.
Part II. Work on the Hindustan MSS.
BABUR'S ORIGINAL CODEX.
My latest definite information about Babur's autograph MS. comes from
the _Padshah-nama_ (Bib. Ind. ed. ii, 4), whose author saw it in
Shah-i-jahan's private library between 1628 and 1638. Inference is
justified, however, that it was the archetype of the Haidarabad Codex
which has been estimated from the quality of its paper as dating _cir._
1700 (JRAS. 1906, p. 97). But two subsequent historic disasters
complicate all questions of MSS. missing from Indian libraries, namely,
Nadir Shah's vengeance on Dihli in 1739 and the dispersions and fires of
the Mutiny. Faint hope is kept alive that the original Codex may have
drifted into private hands, by what has occurred with the Rampur MS. of
Babur's Hindustan verses (App. J), which also appears once to have
belonged to Shah-i-jahan.
I
Amongst items of work done during Babur's life are copies of his book
(or of the Hindustan section of it) he mentions sending to sons and
friends.
II
The _Tabaqat-i-baburi_ was written during Babur's life by his Persian
secretary Shaikh Zainu'd-din of Khawaf; it paraphrases in rhetorical
Persian the record of a few months of Hindustan campaigning, including
the battle of Panipat.
TABLE OF THE HINDUSTAN MSS. OF THE BABUR-NAMA.[12]
----------------------+---------------+--------------------+-----------+
| Date of | Folio-standard | |
Names. | completion. | 382.[13] |Archetype. |
----------------------+---------------+--------------------+-----------+
1. Babur's Codex. |1530. |Originally much | -- |
| |over 382. | |
| | | |
2. Khwaja Kalan |1529. |Undefined 363(?), |No. 1. |
_Ahraris_ Codex. | |p. 652. | |
| | | |
| | | |
3. Humayun's Codex |1531(?). |Originally = No. 1 |No. 1. |
= (commanded | |(unmutilated). | |
and annotate?).[14]| | | |
| | | |
4. Muhammad Haidar |Between 1536 |No. 1 (unmutilated).|No. 1 or |
_Dughlat's_ Codex. |and 40(?). | |No. 2. |
| | | |
5. Elphinstone Codex. |Between 1556 |In 1816 and 1907, |No. 3. |
|and 1567. |286 ff. | |
| | | |
6. British Museum MS. |1629. |97 (fragments). |Unknown. |
| | | |
| | | |
7. Bib. Lindesiana MS.|Scribe living |71 (an extract). |Unknown. |
[now John Rylands] |in 1625. | | |
| | | |
| | | |
8. Haidarabad Codex. |Paper indicates|382. |(No. 1) |
|_cir._ 1700. | |mutilated. |
| | | |
----------------------+---------------+--------------------+-----------+
----------------------+-------------+------------------+----------------
| | Latest known |
Names. | Scribe. | location. | Remarks.
----------------------+-------------+------------------+----------------
1. Babur's Codex. |Babur. |Royal Library |Has disappeared.
| |between 1628-38. |
| | |
2. Khwaja Kalan |Unknown. |Sent to Samarkand |Possibly still
_Ahraris_ Codex. | |1529. |in Khwaja
| | |Kalan's family.
| | |
3. Humayun's Codex |`Ali'u-'l- |Royal Library |Seems the
= (commanded | katib(?). |between 1556-1567.|archetype of
and annotate?).[14]| | |No. 5.
| | |
4. Muhammad Haidar |Haidar(?) |Kashmir 1540-47. |Possibly now in
_Dughlat's_ Codex. | | |Kashghar.
| | |
5. Elphinstone Codex. |Unknown. |Advocates' Library|Bought in
| |(1816 to 1921). |Peshawar 1810.
| | |
6. British Museum MS. |`Ali'u'l- |British Museum. | --
| _kashmiri_.| |
| | |
7. Bib. Lindesiana MS.|Nur-muhammad |John Rylands | --
[now John Rylands] |(nephew of |Library. |
|`Abu'l-fazl).| |
| | |
8. Haidarabad Codex. |No colophon. |The late Sir |Centupled in
| |Salar-jang's |facsimile, 1905.
| |Library. |
----------------------+-------------+------------------+----------------
III
During the first decade of Humayun's reign (1530-40) at least
two important codices seem to have been copied.
The earlier (_see_ Table, No. 2) has varied circumstantial
warrant. It meets the need of an archetype, one marginally
annotated by Humayun, for the Elphinstone Codex in which a few
notes are marginal and signed, others are pell-mell,
interpolated in the text but attested by a scrutineer as having
been marginal in its archetype and mistakenly copied into its
text. This second set has been ineffectually sponged over. Thus
double collation is indicated (i) with Babur's autograph MS. to
clear out extra Babur matter, and (ii) with its archetype, to
justify the statement that in this the interpolations were
marginal.--No colophon survives with the much dwindled Elph.
Codex, but one, suiting the situation, has been observed, where
it is a complete misfit, appended to the Alwar Codex of the
second Persian translation, (estimated as copied in 1589). Into
the incongruities of that colophon it is not necessary to
examine here, they are too obvious to aim at deceit; it appears
fitly to be an imperfect translation from a Turki original,
this especially through its odd fashion of entitling "Humayun
Padshah." It can be explained as translating the colophon of
the Codex (No. 2) which, as his possession, Humayun allowably
annotated and which makes it known that he had ordered
`Ali'u-'l-katib to copy his father's Turki book, and that it
was finished in February, 1531, some six weeks after Babur's
death.[15]
The later copy made in Humayun's first decade is Haidar Mirza's
(_infra_).
IV
Muhammad Haidar Mirza _Dughlat's_ possession of a copy of the
Autobiography is known both from his mention of it and through
numerous extracts translated from it in his _Tarikh-i-rashidi_.
As a good boy-penman (p. 22) he may have copied down to 1512
(918) while with Babur (p. 350), but for obtaining a transcript
of it his opportunity was while with Humayun before the
Timurid exodus of 1541. He died in 1551; his Codex is likely to
have found its way back from Kashmir to his ancestral home in
the Kashghar region and there it may still be. (_See_ T.R. trs.
Ney Elias' biography of him).
V
The Elphinstone Codex[16] has had an adventurous career. The
enigma of its archetype is posed above; it may have been copied
during Akbar's first decade (1556-67); its, perhaps first,
owner was a Bai-qara rebel (d. 1567) from amongst whose
possessions it passed into the Royal Library, where it was
cleared of foreign matter by the expunction of Humayun's
marginal notes which its scribe had interpolated into its text.
At a date I do not know, it must have left the Royal Library
for its fly-leaves bear entries of prices and in 1810 it was
found and purchased in Peshawar by Elphinstone. It went with
him to Calcutta, and there may have been seen by Leyden during
the short time between its arrival and the autumn month of the
same year (1810) when he sailed for Java. In 1813 Elphinstone
in Poona sent it to Erskine in Bombay, saying that he had
fancied it gone to Java and had been writing to `Izzatu'l-lah
to procure another MS. for Erskine in Bukhara, but that all the
time it was on his own shelves. Received after Erskine had
dolefully compared his finished work with Leyden's (tentative)
translation, Erskine sadly recommenced the review of his own
work. The Codex had suffered much defacement down to 908 (1502)
at the hands of "a Persian Turk of Ganj" who had interlined it
with explanations. It came to Scotland (with Erskine?) who in
1826 sent it with a covering letter (Dec. 12th, 1826), at its
owner's desire, to the Advocates' Library where it now is. In
1907 it was fully described by me in the JRAS.
VI
Of two _Waqi'at-i-baburi_ (Pers. trs.) made in Akbar's reign,
the earlier was begun in 1583, at private instance, by two
Mughuls Payanda-hasan of Ghazni and Muhammad-quli of Hisar.
The Bodleian and British Museum Libraries have copies of it,
very fragmentary unfortunately, for it is careful, likeable,
and helpful by its small explanatory glosses. It has the great
defect of not preserving autobiographic quality in its diction.
VII
The later _Waqi'at-i-baburi_ translated by `Abdu'r-rahim Mirza
is one of the most important items in Baburiana, both by its
special characteristics as the work of a Turkman and not of a
Persian, and by the great service it has done. Its origin is
well-known; it was made at Akbar's order to help Abu'l-fazl in
the Akbar-nama account of Babur and also to facilitate perusal
of the _Babur-nama_ in Hindustan. It was presented to Akbar, by
its translator who had come up from Gujrat, in the last week of
November, 1589, on an occasion and at a place of admirable
fitness. For Akbar had gone to Kabul to visit Babur's tomb, and
was halting on his return journey at Barik-ab where Babur had
halted on his march down to Hindustan in the year of victory
1525, at no great distance from "Babur Padshah's Stone-heap".
Abu'l-fazl's account of the presentation will rest on
`Abdu'r-rahim's information (A.N. trs. cap. ci). The diction of
this translation is noticeable; it gave much trouble to Erskine
who thus writes of it (_Memoirs_ Preface, lx), "Though simple
and precise, a close adherence to the idioms and forms of
expression of the Turki original joined to a want of
distinctness in the use of the relatives, often renders the
meaning extremely obscure, and makes it difficult to discover
the connexion of the different members of the sentence.[17] The
style is frequently not Persian.... Many of the Turki words are
untranslated."
Difficult as these characteristics made Erskine's
interpretation, it appears to me likely that they indirectly
were useful to him by restraining his diction to some extent in
their Turki fettering.--This Turki fettering has another aspect,
apart from Erskine's difficulties, _viz_. it would greatly
facilitate re-translation into Turki, such as has been
effected, I think, in the Farghana section of the Bukhara
compilation.[18]
VIII
This item of work, a harmless attempt of Salim (_i.e_. Jahangir
Padshah; 1605-28) to provide the ancestral autobiography with
certain stop-gaps, has caused much needless trouble and
discussion without effecting any useful result. It is this:--In
his own autobiography, the _Tuzuk-i-jahangiri s.a_. 1607, he
writes of a Babur-nama Codex he examined, that it was all in
Babur's "blessed handwriting" except four portions which were
in his own and each of which he attested in Turki as so being.
Unfortunately he did not specify his topics; unfortunately also
no attestation has been found to passages reasonably enough
attributable to his activities. His portions may consist of the
"Rescue-passage" (App. D) and a length of translation from the
_Akbar-nama_, a continuous part of its Babur chapter but broken
up where only I have seen it, _i.e._ the Bukhara compilation,
into (1) a plain tale of Kanwa (1527), (2) episodes of Babur's
latter months (1529)--both transferred to the first person--and
(3) an account of Babur's death (December 26th, 1530) and
Court.
Jahangir's occupation, harmless in itself, led to an imbroglio
of LanglÈs with Erskine, for the former stating in the
_Biographie Universelle_ art. Babour, that Babour's
Commentaries "_augmentÈs par Jahangir_" were translated into
Persian by `Abdu'r-rahim. Erskine made answer, "I know not on
what authority the learned LanglÈs hazarded this assertion,
which is certainly incorrect" (_Memoirs_, Preface, p. ix). Had
LanglÈs somewhere met with Jahangir's attestations? He had
authority if he had seen merely the statement of 1607, but
Erskine was right also, because the Persian translation
contains no more than the unaugmented Turki text. The royal
stop-gaps are in Kehr's MS. and through Ilminski reached De
Courteille, whence the biting and thorough analysis of the
three "Fragments" by Teufel. Both episodes--the LanglÈs and the
Teufel ones--are time-wasters but they are comprehensible in
the circumstances that Jahangir could not foresee the
consequences of his doubtless good intentions.
If the question arise of how writings that had had place in
Jahangir's library reached Bukhara, their open road is through
the Padshah's correspondence (App. Q and references), with a
descendant of Ahrari in whose hands they were close to
Bukhara.[19]
It groups scattered information to recall that Salim (Jahangir)
was `Abdu'r-rahim's ward, that then, as now, Babur's
Autobiography was the best example of classic Turki, and that
it would appeal on grounds of piety--as it did appeal on some
sufficient ground--to have its broken story made good. Also that
for three of the four "portions" Abu'l-fazl's concise matter
was to hand.
IX
My information concerning Baburiana under Shah-i-jahan Padshah
(1628-58) is very meagre. It consists of (1) his attestation of
a signature of Babur (App. Q and photo), (2) his possession of
Babur's autograph Codex (_Padshah-nama_, Bib. Ind. ed., ii, 4),
and (3) his acceptance, and that by his literary entourage, of
Mir Abu-talib _Husaini's_ Persian translation of Timur's
Annals, the _Malfuzat_ whose preparation the _Zafar-nama_
describes and whose link with Babur's writings is that of the
exemplar to the emulator.[20]
X
The Haidarabad Codex may have been inscribed under Aurang-zib
Padshah (1655-1707). So many particulars about it have been
given already that little needs saying here.[21] It was the
_grande trouvaille_ of my search for Turki text wherewith to
revive Babur's autobiography both in Turki and English. My
husband in 1900 saw it in Haidarabad; through the kind offices
of the late Sayyid Ali _Bilgrami_ it was lent to me; it proved
to surpass, both in volume and quality, all other Babur-nama
MSS. I had traced; I made its merits known to Professor Edward
Granville Browne, just when the E. J. Wilkinson Gibb Trust was
in formation, with the happy and accordant result that the best
prose book in classic Turki became the first item in the
Memorial--_matris ad filium_--of literary work done in the name
of the Turkish scholar, and Babur's very words were safeguarded
in hundred-fold facsimile. An event so important for
autobiography and for Turki literature may claim more than the
bald mention of its occurrence, because sincere autobiography,
however ancient, is human and social and undying, so that this
was no mere case of multiplying copies of a book, but was one
of preserving a man's life in his words. There were, therefore,
joyful red-letter days in the English story of the
Codex--outstanding from others being those on which its merits
revealed themselves (on Surrey uplands)--the one which brought
Professor Browne's acceptance of it for reproduction by the
Trust--and the day of pause from work marked by the accomplished
fact of the safety of the _Babur-nama._
XI
The period from _cir._ 1700, the date of the Haidarabad Codex,
and 1810, when the Elphinstone Codex was purchased by its
sponsor at Peshawar, appears to have been unfruitful in work on
the Hindustan MSS. Causes for this may connect with historic
events, _e.g._ Nadir Shah's desolation of Dihli and the rise of
the East India Company, and, in Baburiana, with the
disappearance of Babur's autograph Codex (it was unknown to the
Scots of 1800-26), and the transfer of the Elphinstone Codex
from royal possession--this, possibly however, an accident of
royal travel to and from Kabul at earlier dates.
The first quarter of the nineteenth century was, on the
contrary, most fruitful in valuable work, useful impulse to
which was given by Dr. John Leyden who in about 1805 began to
look into Turki. Like his contemporary Julius Klaproth
(_q.v._), he was avid of tongues and attracted by Turki and by
Babur's writings of which he had some knowledge through the
`Abdu'r-rahim (Persian) translation. His Turki text-book would
be the MS. of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,[22] a part-copy of
the Bukhara compilation, from which he had the India Office MS.
copied. He took up Turki again in 1810, after his return from
Malay and whilst awaiting orders in Calcutta for departure to
Java. He sailed in the autumn of the year and died in August
1811. Much can be learned about him and his Turki occupations
from letters (_infra_ xiii) written to Erskine by him and by
others of the Scottish band which now achieved such fine
results for Babur's Autobiography.
It is necessary to say something of Leyden's part in producing
the _Memoirs_, because Erskine, desiring to "lose nothing that
might add to Leyden's reputation", has assigned to him an undue
position of collaboration in it both by giving him premier
place on its title-page and by attributing to him the beginning
the translation. What one gleans of Leyden's character makes an
impression of unassumption that would forbid his acceptance of
the posthumous position given to him, and, as his translation
shews the tyro in Turki, there can be no ground for supposing
he would wish his competence in it over-estimated. He had, as
dates show, nothing to do with the actual work of the _Memoirs_
which was finished before Erskine had seen in 1813 what Leyden
had set down before he died in 1811. As the _Memoirs_ is now a
rare book, I quote from it what Erskine says (Preface, p. ix)
of Leyden's rough translation:--"This acquisition (_i.e_. of
Leyden's trs.) reduced me to rather an awkward dilemma. The two
translations (his own and Leyden's) differed in many important
particulars; but as Dr. Leyden had the advantage of translating
from the original, I resolved to adopt his translation as far
as it went, changing only such expressions in it as seemed
evidently to be inconsistent with the context, or with other
parts of the _Memoirs_, or such as seemed evidently to
originate in the oversights that are unavoidable in an
unfinished work.[23] This labour I had completed with some
difficulty, when Mr. Elphinstone sent me the copy of the
_Memoirs of Baber_ in the original Turki (_i.e._ The
Elphinstone Codex) which he had procured when he went to
Peshawar on his embassy to Kabul. This copy, which he had
supposed to have been sent with Dr. Leyden's manuscripts from
Calcutta, he was now fortunate enough to recover (in his own
library at Poona). The discovery of this valuable manuscript
reduced me, though heartily sick of the task, to the necessity
of commencing my work once more."
Erskine's Preface (pp. x, xi) contains various other references
to Leyden's work which indicate its quality as tentative and
unrevised. It is now in the British Museum Library.
XII
Little need be said here about the _Memoirs of Baber_.[24]
Erskine worked on a basis of considerable earlier acquaintance
with his Persian original, for, as his Preface tells, he had
(after Leyden's death) begun to translate this some years
before he definitely accepted the counsel of Elphinstone and
Malcolm to undertake the _Memoirs_. He finished his translation
in 1813, and by 1816 was able to dedicate his complete volume
to Elphinstone, but publication was delayed till 1826. His was
difficult pioneer-work, and carried through with the drawback
of working on a secondary source. It has done yeoman service,
of which the crowning merit is its introduction of Babur's
autobiography to the Western world.
XIII
Amongst Erskine's literary remains are several bound volumes of
letters from Elphinstone, Malcolm, Leyden, and others of that
distinguished group of Scots who promoted the revival of
Babur's writings. Erskine's grandson, the late Mr. Lestocq
Erskine, placed these, with other papers, at our disposal, and
they are now located where they have been welcomed as
appropriate additions:--Elphinstone's are in the Advocates'
Library, where already (1826) he, through Erskine, had
deposited his own Codex--and with his letters are those of
Malcolm and more occasional correspondents; Leyden's letters
(and various papers) are in the Memorial Cottage maintained in
his birthplace Denholm (Hawick) by the Edinburgh Border
Counties Association; something fitting went to the Bombay
Asiatic Society and a volume of diary to the British Museum.
Leyden's papers will help his fuller biography; Elphinstone's
letters have special value as recording his co-operation with
Erskine by much friendly criticism, remonstrance against delay,
counsels and encouragement. They, moreover, shew the estimate
an accomplished man of modern affairs formed of Babur Padshah's
character and conduct; some have been quoted in Colebrooke's
_Life of Elphinstone_, but there they suffer by detachment from
the rest of his Baburiana letters; bound together as they now
are, and with brief explanatory interpolations, they would make
a welcome item for "Babur Padshah's Book-pile".
XIV
In May 1921 the contents of these volumes were completed,
namely, the _Babur-nama in English_ and its supplements, the
aims of which are to make Babur known in English diction
answering to his _ipsissima verba_, and to be serviceable to
readers and students of his book and of classic Turki.
XV
Of writings based upon or relating to Babur's the following
have appeared:--
Denkwurdigkeiten des Zahir-uddin Muhammad Babar--A. Kaiser
(Leipzig, 1828). This consists of extracts translated from the
Memoirs.
An abridgement of the Memoirs--R. M. Caldecott (London, 1844).
History of India--Baber and Humayun--W. Erskine (Longmans,
1854).
Babar--Rulers of India series--Stanley Lane-Poole (Oxford,
1899).
Tuzuk-i-babari or Waqi`at-i-babari (_i.e._ the Persian
trs.)--Elliot and Dowson's History of India, 1872, vol. iv.
Babur Padshah _Ghazi_--H. Beveridge (Calcutta Review, 1899).
Babur's diamond, was it the Koh-i-nur?--H. Beveridge, Asiatic
Quarterly Review, April, 1899.
Was `Abdu'r-rahim the translator of Babur's Memoirs? (_i.e._
the _Babur-nama_)--H. Beveridge, AQR., July and October, 1900.
An Empire-builder of the 16th century, Babur--Laurence F. L.
Williams (Allahabad, 1918).
Notes on the MSS. of the Turki text (_Babur-nama_)--A. S.
Beveridge, JRAS. 1900, 1902, 1921, 1905, and Part II 1906,
1907, 1908, p. 52 and p. 828, 1909 p. 452 (_see_ Index, _s.n._
A. S. B. for topics).
[For other articles and notes by H. B. _see_ Index _s.n._]
Part III. The "Bukhara Babur-nama".
This is a singular book and has had a career as singular as its
characteristics, a very comedy of (blameless) errors and mischance. For
it is a compilation of items diverse in origin, diction, and age,
planned to be a record of the Acts of Babur and Humayun, dependent
through its Babur portion on the `Abdu'r-rahim Persian translation for
re-translation, or verbatim quotation, or dove-tailing effected on the
tattered fragments of what had once been Kamran's Codex of the
Babur-nama proper, the whole interspersed by stop-gaps attributable to
Jahangir. These and other specialities notwithstanding, it ranked for
nearly 200 years as a reproduction of Babur's authentic text, as such
was sent abroad, as such was reconstructed and printed in Kasan (1857),
translated in Paris (1871), catalogued for the Petrograd Oriental School
(1894), and for the India Office (1903).[25]
Manifest causes for the confusion of identity are, (1) lack of the
guidance in Bukhara and Petrograd of collation with the true text, (2)
want of information, in the Petrograd of 1700-25, about Babur's career,
coupled with the difficulties of communication with Bukhara, (3) the
misleading feature in the compiled book of its author's retention of the
autobiographic form of his sources, without explanation as to whether he
entered surviving fragments of Kamran's Codex, patchings or extracts
from `Abdu'r-rahim's Persian translation, or quotations of Jahangir's
stop-gaps. Of these three causes for error the first is dominant,
entailing as it does the drawbacks besetting work on an inadequate
basis.
It is necessary to enumerate the items of the Compilation here as they
are arranged in Kehr's autograph Codex, because that codex (still in
London) may not always be accessible,[26] and because the imprint does
not obey its model, but aims at closer agreement of the Bukhara
Compilation with Ilminski's gratefully acknowledged guide--_The Memoirs
of Baber_. Distinction in commenting on the Bukhara and the Kasan
versions is necessary; their discrepancy is a scene in the comedy of
errors.[27][28][29][30]
OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY OF THE COMPILATION.
An impelling cause for the production of the Bukhara compilation is
suggested by the date 1709 at which was finished the earliest example
known to me. For in the first decade of the eighteenth century Peter the
Great gave attention to Russian relations with foreign states of Central
Asia and negociated with the Khan of Bukhara for the reception of a
Russian mission.[31] Political aims would be forwarded if envoys were
familiar with Turki; books in that tongue for use in the School of
Oriental Languages would be desired; thus the Compilation may have been
prompted and, as will be shown later, it appears to have been produced,
and not merely copied, in 1709. The Mission's despatch was delayed till
1719;[32] it arrived in Bukhara in 1721; during its stay a member of its
secretariat bought a Compilation MS. noted as finished in 1714 and on a
fly-leaf of it made the following note:--
"_I, Timur-pulad son of Mirza Rajab son of Pay-chin, bought this book
Babur-nama after coming to Bukhara with [the] Russian Florio Beg
Beneveni, envoy of the Padshah ... whose army is numerous as the
stars.... May it be well received! Amen! O Lord of both Worlds!_"
Timur-pulad's hope for a good reception indicates a definite recipient,
perhaps a commissioned purchase. The vendor may have been asked for a
history of Babur; he sold one, but "Babur-nama" is not necessarily a
title, and is not suitable for the Compilation; by conversational
mischance it may have seemed so to the purchaser and thus have initiated
the mistake of confusing the "Bukhara Babur-nama" with the true one.
Thus endorsed, the book in 1725 reached the Foreign Office; there in
1737 it was obtained by George Jacob Kehr, a teacher of Turki, amongst
other languages, in the Oriental School, who copied it with meticulous
care, understanding its meaning imperfectly, in order to produce a Latin
version of it. His Latin rendering was a fiasco, but his reproduction of
the Arabic forms of his archetype was so obedient that on its sole basis
Ilminski edited the Kasan Imprint (1857). A collateral copy of the
Timur-pulad Codex was made in 1742 (as has been said).
In 1824 Klaproth (who in 1810 had made a less valuable extract perhaps
from Kehr's Codex) copied from the Timur-pulad MS. its purchaser's note,
the Auzbeg?(?) endorsement as to the transfer of the "Kamran-docket" and
Babur's letter to Kamran (_MÈmoires relatifs ‡ l'Asie_ Paris).
In 1857 Ilminski, working in Kasan, produced his imprint, which became
de Courteille's source for _Les MÈmoires de Baber_ in 1871. No worker in
the above series shews doubt about accepting the Compilation as
containing Babur's authentic text. Ilminski was in the difficult
position of not having entire reliance on Kehr's transcription, a
natural apprehension in face of the quality of the Latin version, his
doubts sum up into his words that a reliable text could not be made from
his source (Kehr's MS.), but that a Turki reading-book could--and was. As
has been said, he did not obey the dual plan of the Compilation Kehr's
transcript reveals, this, perhaps, because of the misnomer Babur-nama
under which Timur-pulad's Codex had come to Petrograd; this, certainly,
because he thought a better history of Babur could be produced by
following Erskine than by obeying Kehr--a series of errors following the
verbal mischance of 1725. Ilminski's transformation of the items of his
source had the ill result of misleading Pavet de Courteille to
over-estimate his Turki source at the expense of Erskine's Persian one
which, as has been said, was Ilminski's guide--another scene in the
comedy. A mischance hampering the French work was its falling to be done
at a time when, in Paris 1871, there can have been no opportunity
available for learning the contents of Ilminski's Russian Preface or for
quiet research and the examination of collateral aids from abroad.[33]
THE AUTHOR OF THE COMPILATION.
The Haidarabad Codex having destroyed acquiescence in the phantasmal
view of the Bukhara book, the question may be considered, who was its
author?
This question a convergence of details about the Turki MSS. reputed to
contain the _Babur-nama_, now allows me to answer with some semblance of
truth. Those details have thrown new light upon a colophon which I
received in 1900 from Mr. C. Salemann with other particulars concerning
the "_Senkovski Babur-nama_," this being an extract from the
Compilation; its archetype reached Petrograd from Bukhara a century
after Kehr's [_viz._ the Timur-pulad Codex]; it can be taken as a direct
copy of the Mulla's original because it bears his colophon.[34] In 1900
I accepted it as merely that of a scribe who had copied Senkovski's
archetype, but in 1921 reviewing the colophon for this Preface, it seems
to me to be that of the original autograph MS. of the Compilation and to
tell its author's name, his title for his book, and the year (1709) in
which he completed it.
TABLE OF BUKHARA REPUTED-BABUR-NAMA MSS. (_Waqi`nama-i-padshahi?_).
--------------------+-----------------+-------------------+
Names. | Date of | Scribe. |
| completion. | |
--------------------+-----------------+-------------------+
| | |
1. Waqi`nama-i- | 1121-1709. Date |`Abdu'l-wahhab |
padshahi _alias_ | of colophon of | _q.v._ |
Babur-nama. | earliest known | Taken to be also |
| example. | the author. |
| | |
2. Nazar Bai | Unknown. | Unknown. |
Turkistani's MS. | | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
3. F. O. Codex | 1126-1714. | Unknown. |
(Timurpulad's | | |
MS.). | | |
| | |
| | |
4. Kehr's Autograph | 1737. | George Jacob |
Codex. | | Kehr. |
| | |
| | |
5. Name not learned.| 1155-1742. | Unknown. |
| | |
| | |
6. (Mysore) A.S.B. | Unknown. JRAS. | Unknown. |
Codex. | 1900, Nos. vii | |
| and viii. | |
| | |
7. India Office | Cir. 1810. | Unknown. |
Codex (Bib. | | |
Leydeniana). | | |
| | |
8. "The Senkovski | 1824. | J. Senkovski. |
Babur-nama." | | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
9. Pet. University | 1839? | Mulla Faizkhanov? |
Codex. | | |
--------------------+-----------------+-------------------+
--------------------+-------------------+-------------+--------------
Names. | Last known | Archetype. | Remarks.
| location. | |
--------------------+-------------------+-------------+--------------
| | |
1. Waqi`nama-i- | Bukhara. | Believed to | _See_
padshahi _alias_ | | be the | Part III.
Babur-nama. | | original |
| | compilation.|
| | |
2. Nazar Bai | In owner's | No. 1, the | Senkovski's
Turkistani's MS. | charge in | colophon of | archetype who
| Petrograd, 1824. | which it | copied its
| | reproduces. | (transferred)
| | | colophon.
| | |
3. F. O. Codex | F.O. Petrograd, | Not stated, | Bought in
(Timurpulad's | where copied in | an indirect | Bukhara,
MS.). | 1742. | copy of | brought to
| | No. 1. | Petro. 1725.
| | |
4. Kehr's Autograph | Pet. Or. School, | No. 3. | _See_
Codex. | 1894. | | Part III.
| London T.O. 1921. | |
| | |
5. Name not learned.| Unknown. | No. 3. | Archetype
| | | of 9.
| | |
6. (Mysore) A.S.B. | Asiatic Society | Unknown. | --
Codex. | of Bengal. | |
| | |
| | |
7. India Office | India Office, | No. 6. | Copied for
Codex (Bib. | 1921. | | Leyden.
Leydeniana). | | |
| | |
8. "The Senkovski | Pet. Asiatic | No. 2. | Bears a copy
Babur-nama." | Museum, 1900. | | of the
| | | colophon of
| | | No. 1.
| | |
9. Pet. University | Pet. Univ. | No. 5 (?). | --
Codex. | Library. | |
--------------------+-------------------+-------------+--------------
Senkovski brought it over from his archetype; Mr. Salemann sent it to me
in its original Turki form. (JRAS. 1900, p. 474). Senkovski's own
colophon is as follows:--
"_J'ai achevÈ cette copie le 4 Mai, 1824, ‡ St. Petersburg; elle a Ète
faite d'‡pres un exemplaire appartenant ‡ Nazar Bai Turkistani,
nÈgociant Boukhari, qui etait venu cette annÈe ‡ St. Petersburg. J.
Senkovski._"
The colophon Senkovski copied from his archetype is to the following
purport:--
"_Known and entitled Waqi`nama-i-padshahi (Record of Royal Acts), [this]
autograph and composition (bayad u navisht) of Mulla `Abdu'l-wahhab the
Teacher, of Ghaj-davan in Bukhara--God pardon his mistakes and the
weakness of his endeavour!--was finished on Monday, Rajab 5, 1121 (Aug.
31st, 1709).--Thank God!_"
It will be observed that the title Waqi`nama-i-padshahi suits the plan
of dual histories (of Babur and Humayun) better than does the
"Babur-nama" of Timur-pulad's note, that the colophon does not claim for
the Mulla to have copied the elder book (1494-1530) but to have written
down and composed one under a differing title suiting its varied
contents; that the Mulla's deprecation and thanks tone better with
perplexing work, such as his was, than with the steadfast patience of a
good scribe; and that it exonerates the Mulla from suspicion of having
caused his compilation to be accepted as Babur's authentic text. Taken
with its circumstanding matters, it may be the dÈnoument of the play.
CHAPTER IV.
THE LEYDEN AND ERSKINE MEMOIRS OF BABER.
The fame and long literary services of the _Memoirs of Baber_ compel me
to explain why these volumes of mine contain a verbally new English
translation of the _Babur-nama_ instead of a second edition of the
_Memoirs_. My explanation is the simple one of textual values, of the
advantage a primary source has over its derivative, Babur's original
text over its Persian translation which alone was accessible to Erskine.
If the _Babur-nama_ owed its perennial interest to its valuable
multifarious matter, the _Memoirs_ could suffice to represent it, but
this it does not; what has kept interest in it alive through some four
centuries is the autobiographic presentment of an arresting personality
its whole manner, style and diction produce. It is characteristic
throughout, from first to last making known the personal quality of its
author. Obviously that quality has the better chance of surviving a
transfer of Babur's words to a foreign tongue when this can be effected
by imitation of them. To effect this was impracticable to Erskine who
did not see any example of the Turki text during the progress of his
translation work and had little acquaintance with Turki. No blame
attaches to his results; they have been the one introduction of Babur's
writings to English readers for almost a century; but it would be as
sensible to expect a potter to shape a vessel for a specific purpose
without a model as a translator of autobiography to shape the new verbal
container for Babur's quality without seeing his own. Erskine was the
pioneer amongst European workers on Baburiana--Leyden's fragment of
unrevised attempt to translate the Bukhara Compilation being a
negligible matter, notwithstanding friendship's deference to it; he had
ready to his hand no such valuable collateral help as he bequeathed to
his successors in the Memoirs volume. To have been able to help in the
renewal of his book by preparing a second edition of it, revised under
the authority of the Haidarabad Codex, would have been to me an act of
literary piety to an old book-friend; I experimented and failed in the
attempt; the wording of the Memoirs would not press back into the Turki
mould. Being what it is, sound in its matter and partly representative
of Babur himself, the all-round safer plan, one doing it the greater
honour, was to leave it unshorn of its redundance and unchanged in its
wording, in the place of worth and dignity it has held so long.
Brought to this point by experiment and failure, the way lay open to
make bee-line over intermediaries back to the fountain-head of
re-discovered Turki text preserved in the Haidarabad Codex. Thus I have
enjoyed an advantage no translator has had since `Abdu'r-rahim in 1589.
Concerning matters of style and diction, I may mention that three
distinct impressions of Babur's personality are set by his own,
Erskine's and de Courteille's words and manner. These divergencies,
while partly due to differing textual bases, may result mainly from the
use by the two Europeans of unsifted, current English and French. Their
portrayal might have been truer, there can be no doubt, if each had
restricted himself to such under-lying component of his mother-tongue as
approximates in linguistic stature to classic Turki. This probability
Erskine could not foresee for, having no access during his work to a
Turki source and no familiarity with Turki, he missed their lessoning.
Turki, as Babur writes it--terse, word-thrifty, restrained and
lucid,--comes over neatly into Anglo-Saxon English, perhaps through
primal affinities. Studying Babur's writings in verbal detail taught me
that its structure, idiom and vocabulary dictate a certain mechanism for
a translator's imitation. Such are the simple sentence, devoid of
relative phrasing, copied in the form found, whether abrupt and brief
or, ranging higher with the topic, gracious and dignified--the retention
of Babur's use of "we" and "I" and of his frequent impersonal
statement--the matching of words by their root-notion--the strict
observance of Babur's limits of vocabulary, effected by allotting to one
Turki word one English equivalent, thus excluding synonyms for which
Turki has little use because not shrinking from the repeated word;
lastly, as preserving relations of diction, the replacing of Babur's
Arabic and Persian aliens by Greek and Latin ones naturalized in
English. Some of these aids towards shaping a counterpart of Turki may
be thought small, but they obey a model and their aggregate has power to
make or mar a portrait.
(1) Of the uses of pronouns it may be said that Babur's "we" is neither
regal nor self-magnifying but is co-operative, as beseems the chief
whose volunteer and nomad following makes or unmakes his power, and who
can lead and command only by remittent consent accorded to him. His "I"
is individual. The _Memoirs_ varies much from these uses.
(2) The value of reproducing impersonal statements is seen by the
following example, one of many similar:--When Babur and a body of men,
making a long saddle-journey, halted for rest and refreshment by the
road-side; "There was drinking," he writes, but Erskine, "I drank"; what
is likely being that all or all but a few shared the local _vin du
pays_.
(3) The importance of observing Babur's limits of vocabulary needs no
stress, since any man of few words differs from any man of many.
Measured by the Babur-nama standard, the diction of the _Memoirs_ is
redundant throughout, and frequently over-coloured. Of this a pertinent
example is provided by a statement of which a minimum of seven
occurrences forms my example, namely, that such or such a man whose life
Babur sketches was vicious or a vicious person (_fisq_, _fasiq_).
Erskine once renders the word by "vicious" but elsewhere enlarges to
"debauched, excess of sensual enjoyment, lascivious, libidinous,
profligate, voluptuous". The instances are scattered and certainly
Erskine could not feel their collective effect, but even scattered, each
does its ill-part in distorting the Memoirs portraiture of the man of
the one word.[35]
POSTSCRIPT OF THANKS.
I take with gratitude the long-delayed opportunity of finishing my book
to express the obligation I feel to the Council of the Royal Asiatic
Society for allowing me to record in the Journal my Notes on the Turki
Codices of the _Babur-nama_ begun in 1900 and occasionally appearing
till 1921. In minor convenience of work, to be able to gather those
progressive notes together and review them, has been of value to me in
noticeable matters, two of which are the finding and multiplying of the
Haidarabad Codex, and the definite clearance of the confusion which had
made the Bukhara (reputed) _Babur-nama_ be mistaken for a reproduction
of Babur's true text.
Immeasurable indeed is the obligation laid on me by the happy community
of interests which brought under our roof the translation of the
biographies of Babur, Humayun, and Akbar. What this has meant to my own
work may be surmised by those who know my husband's wide reading in many
tongues of East and West, his retentive memory and his generous
communism in knowledge. One signal cause for gratitude to him from those
caring for Baburiana, is that it was he made known the presence of the
Haidarabad Codex in its home library (1899) and thus led to its
preservation in facsimile.
It would be impracticable to enumerate all whose help I keep in grateful
memory and realize as the fruit of the genial camaraderie of letters.
ANNETTE S. BEVERIDGE.
PITFOLD, SHOTTERMILL, HASLEMERE.
_August, 1921._
THE MEMOIRS OF BABUR
SECTION I. FARGHANA.
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
In[36] the month of Ramzan of the year 899 (June 1494) and [Sidenote:
Haidarabad MS. fol. 1b.] in the twelfth year of my age,[37] I became
ruler[38] in the country of Farghana.
(_a. Description of Farghana._)
Farghana is situated in the fifth climate[39] and at the limit of
settled habitation. On the east it has Kashghar; on the west, Samarkand;
on the south, the mountains of the Badakhshan border; on the north,
though in former times there must have been towns such as Almaligh,
Almatu and Yangi which in books they write Taraz,[40] at the present
time all is desolate, no settled population whatever remaining, because
of the Mughuls and the Auzbegs.[41]
Farghana is a small country,[42] abounding in grain and fruits. It is
girt round by mountains except on the west, _i.e._ towards Khujand and
Samarkand, and in winter[43] an enemy can enter only on that side.
[Sidenote: Fol. 2.] The Saihun River (_darya_) commonly known as the
Water of Khujand, comes into the country from the north-east, flows
westward through it and after passing along the north of Khujand and the
south of Fanakat,[44] now known as Shahrukhiya, turns directly north and
goes to Turkistan. It does not join any sea[45] but sinks into the
sands, a considerable distance below [the town of] Turkistan.
Farghana has seven separate townships,[46] five on the south and two on
the north of the Saihun.
Of those on the south, one is Andijan. It has a central position and is
the capital of the Farghana country. It produces much grain, fruits in
abundance, excellent grapes and melons. In the melon season, it is not
customary to sell them out at the beds.[47] Better than the Andijan
_nashpati_,[48] there is none. After Samarkand and Kesh, the fort[49] of
Andijan is the largest in Mawara'u'n-nahr (Transoxiana). It has three
gates. Its citadel (_ark_) is on its south side. Into it water goes by
nine channels; out of it, it is strange that none comes at even a single
place.[50] Round the outer edge of the ditch[51] runs a gravelled
highway; the width of this highway divides the fort from the suburbs
surrounding it.
Andijan has good hunting and fowling; its pheasants grow [Sidenote: Fol.
2b.] so surprisingly fat that rumour has it four people could not
finish one they were eating with its stew.[52]
Andijanis are all Turks, not a man in town or bazar but knows Turki. The
speech of the people is correct for the pen; hence the writings of Mir
`Ali-shir _Nawa'i_,[53] though he was bred and grew up in Hiri (Harat),
are one with their dialect. Good looks are common amongst them. The
famous musician, Khwaja Yusuf, was an Andijani.[54] The climate is
malarious; in autumn people generally get fever.[55]
Again, there is Aush (Ush), to the south-east, inclining to east, of
Andijan and distant from it four _yighach_ by road.[56] It has a fine
climate, an abundance of running waters[57] and a most beautiful spring
season. Many traditions have their rise in its excellencies.[58] To the
south-east of the walled town (_qurghan_) lies a symmetrical mountain,
known as the Bara Koh;[59] on the top of this, Sl. Mahmud Khan built a
retreat (_hajra_) and lower down, on its shoulder, I, in 902AH.
(1496AD.) built another, having a porch. Though his lies the higher,
mine is the better placed, the whole of the town and the suburbs being
at its foot.
The Andijan torrent[60] goes to Andijan after having traversed
[Sidenote: Fol. 3.] the suburbs of Aush. Orchards (_baghat_)[61] lie
along both its banks; all the Aush gardens (_baghlar_) overlook it;
their violets are very fine; they have running waters and in spring are
most beautiful with the blossoming of many tulips and roses.
On the skirt of the Bara-koh is a mosque called the Jauza Masjid (Twin
Mosque).[62] Between this mosque and the town, a great main canal flows
from the direction of the hill. Below the outer court of the mosque lies
a shady and delightful clover-meadow where every passing traveller takes
a rest. It is the joke of the ragamuffins of Aush to let out water from
the canal[63] on anyone happening to fall asleep in the meadow. A very
beautiful stone, waved red and white[64] was found in the Bara Koh in
`Umar Shaikh Mirza's latter days; of it are made knife handles, and
clasps for belts and many other things. For climate and for
pleasantness, no township in all Farghana equals Aush.
Again there is Marghinan; seven _yighach_[65] by road to the west of
Andijan,--a fine township full of good things. Its apricots (_auruk_) and
pomegranates are most excellent. One sort of pomegranate, they call the
Great Seed (_Dana-i-kalan_); its sweetness has a little of the pleasant
flavour of the small apricot (_zard-alu_) and it may be thought better
than the Semnan pomegranate. [Sidenote: Fol. 3b.] Another kind of
apricot (_auruk_) they dry after stoning it and putting back the
kernel;[66] they then call it _subhani_; it is very palatable. The
hunting and fowling of Marghinan are good; _aq kiyik_[67] are had close
by. Its people are Sarts,[68] boxers, noisy and turbulent. Most of the
noted bullies (_jangralar_) of Samarkand and Bukhara are Marghinanis.
The author of the Hidayat[69] was from Rashdan, one of the villages of
Marghinan.
Again there is Asfara, in the hill-country and nine _yighach_[70] by
road south-west of Marghinan. It has running waters, beautiful little
gardens (_baghcha_) and many fruit-trees but almonds for the most part
in its orchards. Its people are all Persian-speaking[71] Sarts. In the
hills some two miles (_birshar`i_) to the south of the town, is a piece
of rock, known as the Mirror Stone.[72] It is some 10 arm-lengths
(_qari_) long, as high as a man in parts, up to his waist in others.
Everything is reflected by it as by a mirror. The Asfara district
(_wilayat_) is in four subdivisions (_baluk_) in the hill-country, one
Asfara, one Warukh, one Sukh and one Hushyar. When Muhammad _Shaibani_
Khan defeated Sl. Mahmud Khan and Alacha Khan and took Tashkint and
Shahrukhiya,[73] I went into the Sukh and Hushyar [Sidenote: Fol. 4.]
hill-country and from there, after about a year spent in great misery, I
set out _(`azimat_) for Kabul.[74]
Again there is Khujand,[75] twenty-five _yighach_ by road to the west
of Andijan and twenty-five _yighach_ east of Samarkand.[76] Khujand is
one of the ancient towns; of it were Shaikh Maslahat and Khwaja
Kamal.[77] Fruit grows well there; its pomegranates are renowned for
their excellence; people talk of a Khujand pomegranate as they do of a
Samarkand apple; just now however, Marghinan pomegranates are much met
with.[78] The walled town (_qurghan_) of Khujand stands on high ground;
the Saihun River flows past it on the north at the distance, may be, of
an arrow's flight.[79] To the north of both the town and the river lies
a mountain range called Munughul;[80] people say there are turquoise and
other mines in it and there are many snakes. The hunting and
fowling-grounds of Khujand are first-rate; _aq kiyik_,[81]
_bughu-maral_,[82] pheasant and hare are all had in great plenty. The
climate is very malarious; in autumn there is much fever;[83] people
rumour it about that the very sparrows get fever and say that the cause
of the malaria is the mountain range on the north (_i.e._ Munughul).
Kand-i-badam (Village of the Almond) is a dependency of Khujand; though
it is not a township (_qasba_) it is rather a good approach to one
(_qasbacha_). Its almonds are excellent, hence its name; they all go to
Hormuz or to Hindustan. It is five or [Sidenote: Fol. 4b.] six
_yighach_[84] east of Khujand.
Between Kand-i-badam and Khujand lies the waste known as Ha Darwesh. In
this there is always (_hamesha_) wind; from it wind goes always
(_hamesha_) to Marghinan on its east; from it wind comes continually
(_da'im_) to Khujand on its west.[85] It has violent, whirling winds.
People say that some darweshes, encountering a whirlwind in this
desert,[86] lost one another and kept crying, "Hay Darwesh! Hay
Darwesh!" till all had perished, and that the waste has been called Ha
Darwesh ever since.
Of the townships on the north of the Saihun River one is Akhsi. In books
they write it Akhsikit[87] and for this reason the poet Asiru-d-din is
known as _Akhsikiti_. After Andijan no township in Farghana is larger
than Akhsi. It is nine _yighach_[88] by road to the west of Andijan.
`Umar Shaikh Mirza made it his capital.[89] The Saihun River flows below
its walled town (_qurghan_). This stands above a great ravine (_buland
jar_) and it has deep ravines (_`umiq jarlar_) in place of a moat. When
`Umar Shaikh Mirza made it his capital, he once or twice cut other
ravines from the outer ones. In all Farghana no fort is so strong as
Akhsi. *Its suburbs extend some two miles further [Sidenote: Fol. 5.]
than the walled town.* People seem to have made of Akhsi the saying
(_misal_), "Where is the village? Where are the trees?" (_Dih kuja?
Dirakhtan kuja?_) Its melons are excellent; they call one kind Mir
Timuri; whether in the world there is another to equal it is not known.
The melons of Bukhara are famous; when I took Samarkand, I had some
brought from there and some from Akhsi; they were cut up at an
entertainment and nothing from Bukhara compared with those from Akhsi.
The fowling and hunting of Akhsi are very good indeed; _aq kiyik_ abound
in the waste on the Akhsi side of the Saihun; in the jungle on the
Andijan side _bughu-maral_,[90] pheasant and hare are had, all in very
good condition.
Again there is Kasan, rather a small township to the north of Akhsi.
From Kasan the Akhsi water comes in the same way as the Andijan water
comes from Aush. Kasan has excellent air and beautiful little gardens
(_baghcha_). As these gardens all lie along the bed of the torrent
(_sa'i_) people call them the "fine front of the coat."[91] Between
Kasanis and Aushis there is rivalry about the beauty and climate of
their townships.
In the mountains round Farghana are excellent summer-pastures (_yilaq_).
There, and nowhere else, the _tabalghu_[92]grows, a tree (_yighach_)
with red bark; they make staves of it; they [Sidenote: Fol. 5b.] make
bird-cages of it; they scrape it into arrows;[93] it is an excellent
wood (_yighach_) and is carried as a rarity[94] to distant places. Some
books write that the mandrake[95] is found in these mountains but for
this long time past nothing has been heard of it. A plant called _Ayiq
auti_[96] and having the qualities of the mandrake (_mihr-giyah_), is
heard of in Yiti-kint;[97] it seems to be the mandrake (_mihr-giyah_)
the people there call by this name (_i.e._ _ayiq auti_). There are
turquoise and iron mines in these mountains.
If people do justly, three or four thousand men[98] may be maintained by
the revenues of Farghana.
(_b. Historical narrative resumed._)[99]
As `Umar Shaikh Mirza was a ruler of high ambition and great pretension,
he was always bent on conquest. On several occasions he led an army
against Samarkand; sometimes he was beaten, sometimes retired against
his will.[100] More than once he asked his father-in-law into the
country, that is to say, my grandfather, Yunas Khan, the then Khan of
the Mughuls in the camping ground (_yurt_) of his ancestor, Chaghatai
Khan, the second son of Chingiz Khan. Each time the Mirza brought The
Khan into the Farghana country he gave him lands, but, partly owing to
his misconduct, partly to the thwarting of the [Sidenote: Fol. 6.]
Mughuls,[101] things did not go as he wished and Yunas Khan, not being
able to remain, went out again into Mughulistan. When the Mirza last
brought The Khan in, he was in possession of Tashkint, which in books
they write Shash, and sometimes Chach, whence the term, a Chachi,
bow.[102] He gave it to The Khan, and from that date (890AH.-1485AD.)
down to 908AH. (1503AD.) it and the Shahrukhiya country were held by the
Chaghatai Khans.
At this date (_i.e._, 899AH.-1494AD.) the Mughul Khanship was in Sl.
Mah=mud Khan, Yunas Khan's younger son and a half-brother of my mother.
As he and `Umar Shaikh Mirza's elder brother, the then ruler of
Samarkand, Sl. Ahmad Mirza were offended by the Mirza's behaviour, they
came to an agreement together; Sl. Ahmad Mirza had already given a
daughter to Sl. Mahmud Khan;[103] both now led their armies against
`Umar Shaikh Mirza, the first advancing along the south of the Khujand
Water, the second along its north.
Meantime a strange event occurred. It has been mentioned [Sidenote: Fol.
6b] that the fort of Akhsi is situated above a deep ravine;[104] along
this ravine stand the palace buildings, and from it, on Monday, Ramzan
4, (June 8th.) `Umar Shaikh Mirza flew, with his pigeons and their
house, and became a falcon.[105]
He was 39 (lunar) years old, having been born in Samarkand, in 860AH.
(1456AD.) He was Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza's fourth son,[106] being younger
than Sl. Ahmad M. and Sl. Muhammad M. and Sl. Mahmud Mirza. His father,
Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza, was the son of Sl. Muhammad Mirza, son of Timur
Beg's third son, Miran-shah M. and was younger than `Umar Shaikh Mirza,
(the elder) and Jahangir M. but older than Shahrukh Mirza.
_c. `Umar Shaikh Mirza's country._
His father first gave him Kabul and, with Baba-i-Kabuli[107] for his
guardian, had allowed him to set out, but recalled him from the Tamarisk
Valley[108] to Samarkand, on account of the Mirzas' Circumcision Feast.
When the Feast was over, he gave him Andijan with the appropriateness
that Timur Beg had given Farghana (Andijan) to his son, the elder `Umar
Shaikh Mirza. This done, he sent him off with Khudai-birdi _Tughchi
Timur-tash_[109] for his guardian.
_d. His appearance and characteristics._
He was a short and stout, round-bearded and fleshy-faced [Sidenote: Fol.
7.] person.[110] He used to wear his tunic so very tight that to fasten
the strings he had to draw his belly in and, if he let himself out after
tying them, they often tore away. He was not choice in dress or food. He
wound his turban in a fold (_dastar-pech_); all turbans were in four
folds (_char-pech_) in those days; people wore them without twisting
and let the ends hang down.[111] In the heats and except in his Court,
he generally wore the Mughul cap.
_e. His qualities and habits._
He was a true believer (_Hanafi mazhablik_) and pure in the Faith, not
neglecting the Five Prayers and, his life through, making up his
Omissions.[112] He read the Qur'an very frequently and was a disciple of
his Highness Khwaja `Ubaidu'l-lah (_Ahrari_) who honoured him by visits
and even called him son. His current readings[113] were the two Quintets
and the _Masnawi_;[114] of histories he read chiefly the _Shah-nama_.
He had a poetic nature, but no taste for composing verses. He was so
just that when he heard of a caravan returning from Khitai as
overwhelmed by snow in the mountains of Eastern Andijan,[115] and that
of its thousand heads of houses (_awiluq_) two only had escaped, he sent
his overseers to take charge of all goods and, though no heirs were
[Sidenote: Fol. 7b.] near and though he was in want himself, summoned
the heirs from Khurasan and Samarkand, and in the course of a year or
two had made over to them all their property safe and sound.
He was very generous; in truth, his character rose altogether to the
height of generosity. He was affable, eloquent and sweet-spoken, daring
and bold. Twice out-distancing all his braves,[116] he got to work with
his own sword, once at the Gate of Akhsi, once at the Gate of
Shahrukhiya. A middling archer, he was strong in the fist,--not a man but
fell to his blow. Through his ambition, peace was exchanged often for
war, friendliness for hostility.
In his early days he was a great drinker, later on used to have a party
once or twice a week. He was good company, on occasions reciting verses
admirably. Towards the last he rather preferred intoxicating
confects[117] and, under their sway, used to lose his head. His
disposition[118] was amorous, and he bore many a lover's mark.[119] He
played draughts a good deal, sometimes even threw the dice.
_f. His battles and encounters._
He fought three ranged battles, the first with Yunas Khan, [Sidenote:
Fol. 8.] on the Saihun, north of Andijan, at the Goat-leap,[120] a
village so-called because near it the foot-hills so narrow the flow of
the water that people say goats leap across.[121] There he was beaten
and made prisoner. Yunas Khan for his part did well by him and gave him
leave to go to his own district (Andijan). This fight having been at
that place, the Battle of the Goat-leap became a date in those parts.
His second battle was fought on the Urus,[122] in Turkistan, with
Auzbegs returning from a raid near Samarkand. He crossed the river on
the ice, gave them a good beating, separated off all their prisoners and
booty and, without coveting a single thing for himself, gave everything
back to its owners.
His third battle he fought with (his brother) Sl. Ahmad Mirza at a
place between Shahrukhiya and Aura-tipa, named Khwas.[123] Here he was
beaten.
_g. His country._
The Farghana country his father had given him; Tashkint and Sairam, his
elder brother, Sl. Ahmad Mirza gave, and they were in his possession for
a time; Shahrukhiya he took by a ruse and held awhile. Later on,
Tashkint and Shahrukhiya passed out of his hands; there then remained
the Farghana country and Khujand,--some do not include Khujand in
[Sidenote: Fol. 8b.] Farghana,--and Aura-tipa, of which the original name
was Aurushna and which some call Aurush. In Aura-tipa, at the time Sl.
Ahmad Mirza went to Tashkint against the Mughuls, and was beaten on the
Chir[124] (893AH.-1488AD.) was Hafiz Beg _Duldai_; he made it over to
`Umar Shaikh M. and the Mirza held it from that time forth.
_h. His children._
Three of his sons and five of his daughters grew up. I, Zahiru'd-din
Muhammad Babur,[125] was his eldest son; my mother was Qutluq-nigar
Khanim. Jahangir Mirza was his second son, two years younger than I; his
mother, Fatima-sultan by name, was of the Mughul _tuman_-begs.[126]
Nasir Mirza was his third son; his mother was an Andijani, a
mistress,[127] named Umid. He was four years younger than I.
`Umar Shaikh Mirza's eldest daughter was Khan-zada Begim,[128] my full
sister, five years older than I. The second time I took Samarkand
(905AH.-1500AD.), spite of defeat at Sar-i-pul,[129] I went back and
held it through a five months' siege, but as no sort of help or
reinforcement came from any beg or ruler thereabouts, I left it in
despair and got away; in that throneless time (_fatrat_) Khan-zada Begim
fell[130] to Muhammad _Shaibani_ Khan. She had one child by him, a
pleasant boy,[131] [Sidenote: Fol. 9.] named Khurram Shah. The Balkh
country was given to him; he went to God's mercy a few years after the
death of his father (916AH.-1510AD.). Khan-zada Begim was in Merv when
Shah Isma`il (_Safawi_) defeated the Auzbegs near that town
(916AH.-1510AD.); for my sake he treated her well, giving her a
sufficient escort to Qunduz where she rejoined me. We had been apart for
some ten years; when Muhammadi _kukuldash_ and I went to see her,
neither she nor those about her knew us, although I spoke. They
recognized us after a time.
Mihr-banu Begim was another daughter, Nasir Mirza's full-sister, two
years younger than I. Shahr-banu Begim was another, also Nasir Mirza's
full-sister, eight years younger than I. Yadgar-sultan Begim was
another, her mother was a mistress, called Agha-sultan. Ruqaiya-sultan
Begim was another; her mother, Makhdum-sultan Begim, people used to call
the Dark-eyed Begim. The last-named two were born after the Mirza's
death. Yadgar-sultan Begim was brought up by my grandmother,
Aisan-daulat Begim; she fell to `Abdu'l-latif Sl., a son of Hamza Sl.
when Shaibani Khan took Andijan and Akhsi (908AH.-1503AD.). She rejoined
me when (917AH.-1511AD.) in Khutlan I defeated Hamza Sl. and other
sultans and took Hisar. Ruqaiya-sultan Begim fell in that [Sidenote:
Fol. 9b.] same throneless time (_fatrat_) to Jani Beg Sl. (_Auzbeg_). By
him she had one or two children who did not live. In these days of our
leisure (_fursatlar_)[132] has come news that she has gone to God's
mercy.
_i. His ladies and mistresses._
Qutluq-nigar Khanim was the second daughter of Yunas Khan and the eldest
(half-) sister of Sl. Mahmud Khan and Sl. Ahmad Khan.
(_j. Interpolated account of Babur's mother's family._)
Yunas Khan descended from Chaghatai Khan, the second son of Chingiz Khan
(as follows,) Yunas Khan, son of Wais Khan, son of Sher-`ali _Aughlan_,
son of Muhammad Khan, son of Khizr Khwaja Khan, son of Tughluq-timur
Khan, son of Aisan-bugha Khan, son of Dawa Khan, son of Baraq Khan, son
of Yisuntawa Khan, son of Muatukan, son of Chaghatai Khan, son of
Chingiz Khan.
Since such a chance has come, set thou down[133] now a summary of the
history of the Khans.
Yunas Khan (d. 892 AH.-1487 AD.) and Aisan-bugha Khan (d. 866 AH.-1462
AD.) were sons of Wais Khan (d. 832 AH.-1428 AD.).[134] Yunas Khan's
mother was either a daughter or a grand-daughter of Shaikh Nuru'd-din
Beg, a Turkistani Qipchaq favoured by Timur Beg. When Wais Khan died,
the Mughul horde split in two, one portion being for Yunas Khan, the
greater for Aisan-bugha Khan. For help in getting the upper hand in the
horde, Airzin (var. Airazan) one of the Barin _tuman_-begs and Beg Mirik
_Turkman_, one of the Chiras _tuman_-begs, took Yunas Khan (aet. 13) and
with him [Sidenote: Fol. 10.] three or four thousand Mughul heads of
houses (_awiluq_), to Aulugh Beg Mirza (_Shahrukhi_) with the
fittingness that Aulugh Beg M. had taken Yunas Khan's elder sister for
his son, `Abdu'l-`aziz Mirza. Aulugh Beg Mirza did not do well by them;
some he imprisoned, some scattered over the country[135] one by one. The
Dispersion of Airzin became a date in the Mughul horde.
Yunas Khan himself was made to go towards `Iraq; one year he spent in
Tabriz where Jahan Shah _Barani_ of the Black Sheep Turkmans was ruling.
From Tabriz he went to Shiraz where was Shahrukh Mirza's second son,
Ibrahim Sultan Mirza.[136] He having died five or six months later
(Shawwal 4, 838 AH.-May 3rd, 1435 AD.), his son, `Abdu'l-lah Mirza sat
in his place. Of this `Abdu'l-lah Mirza Yunas Khan became a retainer and
to him used to pay his respects. The Khan was in those parts for 17 or
18 years.
In the disturbances between Aulugh Beg Mirza and his sons, Aisan-bugha
Khan found a chance to invade Farghana; he plundered as far as
Kand-i-badam, came on and, having plundered Andijan, led all its people
into captivity.[137] Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza, after seizing the throne of
Samarkand, led an army out to beyond Yangi (Taraz) to Aspara in
Mughulistan, [Sidenote: Fol. 10b.] there gave Aisan-bugha a good beating
and then, to spare himself further trouble from him and with the
fittingness that he had just taken to wife[138] Yunas Khan's elder
sister, the former wife of `Abdu'l-`aziz Mirza (_Shahrukhi_), he invited
Yunas Khan from Khurasan and `Iraq, made a feast, became friends and
proclaimed him Khan of the Mughuls. Just when he was speeding him forth,
the Sagharichi _tuman_-begs had all come into Mughulistan, in anger with
Aisan-bugha Khan.[139] Yunas Khan went amongst them and took to wife
Aisan-daulat Begim, the daughter of their chief, `Ali-shir Beg. They
then seated him and her on one and the same white felt and raised him to
the Khanship.[140]
By this Aisan-daulat Begim, Yunas Khan had three daughters. Mihr-nigar
Khanim was the eldest; Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza set her aside[141] for his
eldest son, Sl. Ahmad Mirza; she had no child. In a throneless time (905
AH.) she fell to Shaibani Khan; she left Samarkand[142] with Shah Begim
for Khurasan (907 AH.) and both came on to me in Kabul (911 AH.). At the
time Shaibani Khan was besieging Nasir Mirza in Qandahar and I set out
for Lamghan[143] (913 AH.) they went to Badakhshan with Khan Mirza
(Wais).[144] When Mubarak Shah invited Khan Mirza into Fort
Victory,[145] they were [Sidenote: Fol. 11.] captured, together with the
wives and families of all their people, by marauders of Aba-bikr
_Kashghari_ and, as captives to that ill-doing miscreant, bade farewell
to this transitory world (_circa_ 913 AH.-1507 AD.).
Qutluq-nigar Khanim, my mother, was Yunas Khan's second daughter. She
was with me in most of my guerilla expeditions and throneless times. She
went to God's mercy in Muharram 911 AH. (June 1505 AD.) five or six
months after the capture of Kabul.
Khub-nigar Khanim was his third daughter. Her they gave to Muhammad
Husain _Kurkan Dughlat_ (899 AH.). She had one son and one daughter by
him. `Ubaid Khan (_Auzbeg_) took the daughter (Habiba).[146] When I
captured Samarkand and Bukhara (917 AH.-1511 AD.), she stayed
behind,[147] and when her paternal uncle, Sayyid Muhammad _Dughlat_ came
as Sl. Sa`id Khan's envoy to me in Samarkand, she joined him and with
him went to Kashghar where (her cousin), Sl. Sa`id Khan took her.
Khub-nigar's son was Haidar Mirza.[148] He was in my service for three
or four years after the Auzbegs slew his father, then (918 AH.-1512 AD.)
asked leave to go to Kashghar to the presence of Sl. Sa`id Khan.
"Everything goes back to its source.
Pure gold, or silver or tin."[149]
People say he now lives lawfully (_ta'ib_) and has found the right way
(_tariqa_).[150] He has a hand deft in everything, penmanship and
painting, and in making arrows and arrow-barbs [Sidenote: Fol. 11b.] and
string-grips; moreover he is a born poet and in a petition written to
me, even his style is not bad.[151]
Shah Begim was another of Yunas Khan's ladies. Though he had more, she
and Aisan-daulat Begim were the mothers of his children. She was one of
the (six) daughters of Shah Sultan Muhammad, Shah of Badakhshan.[152]
His line, they say, runs back to Iskandar Filkus.[153] Sl. Abu-sa`id
Mirza took another daughter and by her had Aba-bikr Mirza.[154] By this
Shah Begim Yunas Khan had two sons and two daughters. Her first-born
but younger than all Aisan-daulat Begim's daughters, was Sl. Mahmud
Khan, called Khanika Khan[155] by many in and about Samarkand. Next
younger than he was Sl. Ahmad Khan, known as Alacha Khan. People say he
was called this because he killed many Qalmaqs on the several occasions
he beat them. In the Mughul and Qalmaq tongues, one who will kill
(_aulturguchi_) is called _alachi_; Alachi they called him therefore and
this by repetition, became Alacha.[156] As occasion arises, the acts and
circumstances of these two Khans will find mention in this history
(_tarikh_).
Sultan-nigar Khanim was the youngest but one of Yunas Khan's children.
Her they made go forth (_chiqarib idilar_) [Sidenote: Fol. 12.] to Sl.
Mahmud Mirza; by him she had one child, Sl. Wais (Khan Mirza), mention
of whom will come into this history. When Sl. Mahmud Mirza died (900
AH.-1495 AD.), she took her son off to her brothers in Tashkint without
a word to any single person. They, a few years later, gave her to Adik
(Aung) Sultan,[157] a Qazaq sultan of the line of Juji Khan, Chingiz
Khan's eldest son. When Shaibani Khan defeated the Khans (her brothers),
and took Tashkint and Shahrukhiya (908 AH.), she got away with 10 or 12
of her Mughul servants, to (her husband), Adik Sultan. She had two
daughters by Adik Sultan; one she gave to a Shaiban sultan, the other to
Rashid Sultan, the son of (her cousin) Sl. Sa`id Khan. After Adik
Sultan's death, (his brother), Qasim Khan, Khan of the Qazaq horde, took
her.[158] Of all the Qazaq khans and sultans, no one, they say, ever
kept the horde in such good order as he; his army was reckoned at
300,000 men. On his death the Khanim went to Sl. Sa`id Khan's presence
in Kashghar. Daulat-sultan Khanim was Yunas Khan's youngest child.
[Sidenote: Fol. 12b.] In the Tashkint disaster (908 AH.) she fell to
Timur Sultan, the son of Shaibani Khan. By him she had one daughter;
they got out of Samarkand with me (918 AH.-1512 AD.), spent three or
four years in the Badakhshan country, then went (923 AH.-1420 AD.) to
Sl. Sa`id Khan's presence in Kashghar.[159]
(_k. Account resumed of Babur's father's family._)
In `Umar Shaikh Mirza's _haram_ was also Aulus Agha, a daughter of
Khwaja Husain Beg; her one daughter died in infancy and they sent her
out of the _haram_ a year or eighteen months later. Fatima-sultan Agha
was another; she was of the Mughul _tuman_-begs and the first taken of
his wives. Qaraguz (Makhdum sultan) Begim was another; the Mirza took
her towards the end of his life; she was much beloved, so to please him,
they made her out descended from (his uncle) Minuchihr Mirza, the elder
brother of Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza. He had many mistresses and concubines;
one, Umid Aghacha died before him. Latterly there were also Tun-sultan
(var. Yun) of the Mughuls and Agha Sultan.
_l. `Umar Shaikh Mirza's Amirs._
There was Khudai-birdi _Tughchi Timur-tash_, a descendant of the brother
of Aq-bugha Beg, the Governor of Hiri (Herat, for Timur Beg.) When Sl.
Abu-sa`id Mirza, after besieging Juki Mirza (_Shahrukhi_) in Shahrukhiya
(868AH.-1464AD.) gave the Farghana country to `Umar Shaikh Mirza, he put
this Khudai-birdi [Sidenote: Fol. 13.] Beg at the head of the Mirza's
Gate.[160] Khudai-birdi was then 25 but youth notwithstanding, his
rules and management were very good indeed. A few years later when
Ibrahim _Begchik_ was plundering near Aush, he followed him up, fought
him, was beaten and became a martyr. At the time, Sl. Ahmad Mirza was in
the summer pastures of Aq Qachghai, in Aura-tipa, 18 _yighach_ east of
Samarkand, and Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza was at Baba Khaki, 12 _yighach_ east
of Hiri. People sent the news post-haste to the Mirza(s),[161] having
humbly represented it through `Abdu'l-wahhab _Shaghawal_. In four days
it was carried those 120 _yighach_ of road.[162]
Hafiz Muhammad Beg _Duldai_ was another, Sl. Malik _Kashghari's_ son and
a younger brother of Ahmad Haji Beg. After the death of Khudai-birdi
Beg, they sent him to control `Umar Shaikh Mirza's Gate, but he did not
get on well with the Andijan begs and therefore, when Sl. Abu-sa`id
Mirza died, went to Samarkand and took service with Sl. Ahmad Mirza. At
the time of the disaster on the Chir, he was in Aura-tipa and made it
over to `Umar Shaikh Mirza when the Mirza passed through on his way to
Samarkand, himself taking [Sidenote: Fol. 13b.] service with him. The
Mirza, for his part, gave him the Andijan Command. Later on he went to
Sl. Mahmud Khan in Tashkint and was there entrusted with the
guardianship of Khan Mirza (Wais) and given Dizak. He had started for
Makka by way of Hind before I took Kabul (910AH. Oct. 1504AD.), but he
went to God's mercy on the road. He was a simple person, of few words
and not clever.
Khwaja Husain Beg was another, a good-natured and simple person. It is
said that, after the fashion of those days, he used to improvise very
well at drinking parties.[163]
Shaikh Mazid Beg was another, my first guardian, excellent in rule and
method. He must have served (_khidmat qilghan dur_) under Babur Mirza
(_Shahrukhi_). There was no greater beg in `Umar Shaikh Mirza's
presence. He was a vicious person and kept catamites.
`Ali-mazid _Quchin_ was another;[164] he rebelled twice, once at Akhsi,
once at Tashkint. He was disloyal, untrue to his salt, vicious and
good-for-nothing.
Hasan (son of) Yaq`ub was another, a small-minded, good-tempered, smart
and active man. This verse is his:--
"Return, O Huma, for without the parrot-down of thy lip,
The crow will assuredly soon carry off my bones."[165]
[Sidenote: Fol. 14.] He was brave, a good archer, played polo
(_chaughan_) well and leapt well at leap-frog.[166] He had the control
of my Gate after `Umar Shaikh Mirza's accident. He had not much sense,
was narrow-minded and somewhat of a strife-stirrer.
Qasim Beg _Quchin_, of the ancient army-begs of Andijan, was another. He
had the control of my Gate after Hasan Yaq`ub Beg. His life through, his
authority and consequence waxed without decline. He was a brave man;
once he gave some Auzbegs a good beating when he overtook them raiding
near Kasan; his sword hewed away in `Umar Shaikh Mirza's presence; and
in the fight at the Broad Ford (Yasi-kijit _circa_ 904AH.-July, 1499AD.)
he hewed away with the rest. In the guerilla days he went to Khusrau
Shah (907AH.) at the time I was planning to go from the Macha
hill-country[167] to Sl. Mahmud Khan, but he came back to me in 910AH.
(1504AD.) and I shewed him all my old favour and affection. When I
attacked the Turkman Hazara raiders in Dara-i-khwush (911AH.) he made
better advance, spite of his age, than the younger men; I gave him
Bangash as a reward and later on, after returning to Kabul, made him
Humayun's guardian. He went to God's mercy [Sidenote: Fol. 14b.] about
the time Zamin-dawar was taken (_circa_ 928AH.-1522AD.). He was a pious,
God-fearing Musalman, an abstainer from doubtful aliments; excellent in
judgment and counsel, very facetious and, though he could neither read
nor write (_ummiy_), used to make entertaining jokes.
Baba Beg's Baba Quli (`Ali) was another, a descendant of Shaikh `Ali
_Bahadur_.[168] They made him my guardian when Shaikh Mazid Beg died. He
went over to Sl. Ahmad Mirza when the Mirza led his army against Andijan
(899AH.), and gave him Aura-tipa. After Sl. Mahmud Mirza's death, he
left Samarkand and was on his way to join me (900AH.) when Sl. `Ali
Mirza, issuing out of Aura-tipa, fought, defeated and slew him. His
management and equipment were excellent and he took good care of his
men. He prayed not; he kept no fasts; he was like a heathen and he was a
tyrant.
`Ali-dost Taghai[169] was another, one of the Sagharichi _tuman_-begs
and a relation of my mother's mother, Aisan-daulat Begim. I favoured him
more than he had been favoured in `Umar Shaikh Mirza's time. People
said, "Work will come from his hand." But in the many years he was
in my presence, no work to speak of[170] came to sight. He must have
served Sl. [Sidenote: Fol. 15.] Abu-sa`id Mirza. He claimed to have
power to bring on rain with the jade-stone. He was the Falconer
(_qushchi_),worthless by nature and habit, a stingy, severe,
strife-stirring person, false, self-pleasing, rough of tongue and
cold-of-face.
Wais _Laghari_,[171] one of the Samarkand _Tughchi_ people, was another.
Latterly he was much in `Umar Shaikh Mirza's confidence; in the guerilla
times he was with me. Though somewhat factious, he was a man of good
judgment and counsel.
Mir Ghiyas Taghai was another, a younger brother of `Ali-dost Taghai.
No man amongst the leaders in Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza's Gate was more to the
front than he; he had charge of the Mirza's square seal[172] and was
much in his confidence latterly. He was a friend of Wais _Laghari_. When
Kasan had been given to Sl. Mahmud Khan (899AH.-1494AD. ), he was
continuously in The Khan's service and was in high favour. He was a
laugher, a joker and fearless in vice.
`Ali-darwesh _Khurasani_ was another. He had served in the Khurasan
Cadet Corps, one of two special corps of serviceable young men formed by
Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza when he first began [Sidenote: Fol. 15b.] to arrange
the government of Khurasan and Samarkand, and, presumably, called by him
the Khurasan Corps and the Samarkand Corps. `Ali-darwesh was a brave
man; he did well in my presence at the Gate of Bishkaran.[173] He wrote
the _naskh ta`liq_ hand clearly.[174] His was the flatterer's tongue and
in his character avarice was supreme.
Qambar-`ali _Mughul_ of the Equerries (_akhtachi_) was another. People
called him The Skinner because his father, on first coming into the
(Farghana) country, worked as a skinner. Qambar-`ali had been Yunas
Khan's water-bottle bearer,[175] later on he became a beg. Till he was a
made man, his conduct was excellent; once arrived, he was slack. He was
full of talk and of foolish talk,--a great talker is sure to be a foolish
one,--his capacity was limited and his brain muddy.
(_l. Historical narrative._)
At the time of `Umar Shaikh Mirza's accident, I was in the Four Gardens
(_Char-bagh_) of Andijan.[176] The news reached Andijan on Tuesday,
Ramzan 5 (June 9th); I mounted at once, with my followers and retainers,
intending to go into the fort but, on our getting near the Mirza's Gate,
Shirim Taghai[177] took hold of my bridle and moved off towards the
Praying Place.[178] It had crossed his mind that if a great ruler like
Sl. Ahmad Mirza came in force, the Andijan begs would make over to him
[Sidenote: Fol. 16.] me and the country,[179] but that if he took me to
Auzkint and the foothills thereabouts, I, at any rate, should not be
made over and could go to one of my mother's (half-) brothers, Sl.
Mahmud Khan or Sl. Ahmad Khan.[180] When Khwaja Maulana-i-qazi[181] and
the begs in the fort heard of (the intended departure), they sent after
us Khwaja Muhammad, the tailor,[184] an old servant (_bayri_) of my
father and the foster-father of one of his daughters. He dispelled our
fears and, turning back from near the Praying [Sidenote: Fol. 16b.]
Place, took me with him into the citadel (_ark_) where I dismounted.
Khwaja Maulana-i-qazi and the begs came to my presence there and after
bringing their counsels to a head,[185] busied themselves in making good
the towers and ramparts of the fort.[186] A few days later, Hasan, son
of Yaq`ub, and Qasim _Quchin_, arrived, together with other begs who had
been sent to reconnoitre in Marghinan and those parts.[187] They also,
after waiting on me, set themselves with one heart and mind and with
zeal and energy, to hold the fort.
(_Author's note on Khwaja Maulana-i-qazi._) He was the son of
Sl. Ahmad Qazi, of the line of Burhanu'd-din `Ali
_Qilich_[182] and through his mother, traced back to Sl. Ailik
_Mazi_.[183] By hereditary right (_yusunluq_) his high family
(_khanwadalar_) must have come to be the Refuge (_marji`_) and
Pontiffs (_Shaikhu'l-islam_) of the (Farghana) country.
Meantime Sl. Ahmad Mirza took Aura-tipa, Khujand and Marghinan, came on
to Qaba,[188] 4 _yighach_ from Andijan and there made halt. At this
crisis, Darwesh Gau, one of the Andijan notables, was put to death on
account of his improper proposals; his punishment crushed the rest.
Khwaja Qazi and Auzun (Long) Hasan,[189] (brother) of Khwaja Husain,
were then sent to Sl. Ahmad Mirza to say in effect that, as he himself
would place one of his servants in the country and as I was myself both
a servant and (as) a son, he would attain his end most readily and
easily if he entrusted the service to me. He was a mild, weak man, of
few words who, without his begs, decided no opinion or compact (_aun_),
action or move; they paid attention to our proposal, gave it a harsh
answer and moved forward.
But the Almighty God, who, of His perfect power and without mortal aid,
has ever brought my affairs to their right issue, made such things
happen here that they became disgusted at having advanced (_i.e._ from
Qaba), repented indeed that they had ever set out on this expedition and
turned back with nothing done.
One of those things was this: Qaba has a stagnant, morass-like
Water,[190] passable only by the bridge. As they were many, there was
crowding on the bridge and numbers of horses and [Sidenote: Fol. 17.]
camels were pushed off to perish in the water. This disaster recalling
the one they had had three or four years earlier when they were badly
beaten at the passage of the Chir, they gave way to fear. Another thing
was that such a murrain broke out amongst their horses that, massed
together, they began to die off in bands.[191] Another was that they
found in our soldiers and peasants a resolution and single-mindedness
such as would not let them flinch from making offering of their
lives[192] so long as there was breath and power in their bodies. Need
being therefore, when one _yighach_ from Andijan, they sent Darwesh
Muhammad Tarkhan[193] to us; Hasan of Yaq'ub went out from those in the
fort; the two had an interview near the Praying Place and a sort of
peace was made. This done, Sl. Ahmad Mirza's force retired.
Meantime Sl. Mahmud Khan had come along the north of the Khujand Water
and laid siege to Akhsi.[194] In Akhsi was Jahangir Mirza (aet. 9) and
of begs, `Ali-darwesh Beg, Mirza Quli _Kukuldash_, Muh. Baqir Beg and
Shaikh `Abdu'l-lah, Lord of the Gate. Wais _Laghari_ and Mir Ghiyas
Taghai had been there too, but being afraid of the (Akhsi) begs had
gone off to Kasan, Wais _Laghari's_ district, where, he being Nasir
Mirza's guardian, the Mirza was.[195] They went over to Sl. Mahmud Khan
when he got near Akhsi; Mir Ghiyas entered his service; [Sidenote: Fol.
17b.] Wais _Laghari_ took Nasir Mirza to Sl. Ahmad Mirza, who entrusted
him to Muh. Mazid Tarkhan's charge. The Khan, though he fought several
times near Akhsi, could not effect anything because the Akhsi begs and
braves made such splendid offering of their lives. Falling sick, being
tired of fighting too, he returned to his own country (_i.e._ Tashkint).
For some years, Aba-bikr _Kashghari Dughlat_,[196] bowing the head to
none, had been supreme in Kashgar and Khutan. He now, moved like the
rest by desire for my country, came to the neighbourhood of Auzkint,
built a fort and began to lay the land waste. Khwaja Qazi and several
begs were appointed to drive him out. When they came near, he saw
himself no match for such a force, made the Khwaja his mediator and, by
a hundred wiles and tricks, got himself safely free.
Throughout these great events, `Umar Shaikh Mirza's former begs and
braves had held resolutely together and made daring offer of their
lives. The Mirza's mother, Shah Sultan Begim,[197] and Jahangir Mirza
and the _haram_ household and the begs came from Akhsi to Andijan; the
customary mourning was fulfilled and food and victuals spread for the
poor and destitute.[198]
[Sidenote: Fol. 18.] In the leisure from these important matters,
attention was given to the administration of the country and the
ordering of the army. The Andijan Government and control of my Gate were
settled (_mukarrar_) for Hasan (son) of Yaq'ub; Aush was decided on
(_qarar_) for Qasim _Quchin_; Akhsi and Marghinan assigned (_ta'in_) to
Auzun Hasan and `Ali-dost Taghai. For the rest of `Umar Shaikh Mirza's
begs and braves, to each according to his circumstances, were settled
and assigned district (_wilayat_) or land (_yir_) or office (_mauja_) or
charge (_jirga_) or stipend (_wajh_).
When Sl. Ahmad Mirza had gone two or three stages on his return-march,
his health changed for the worse and high fever appeared. On his
reaching the Aq Su near Aura-tipa, he bade farewell to this transitory
world, in the middle of Shawwal of the date 899 (mid July 1494 AD.)
being then 44 (lunar) years old.
_m. Sl. Ahmad Mirza's birth and descent._
He was born in 855 AH. (1451 AD.) the year in which his father took the
throne (_i.e._ Samarkand). He was Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza's eldest son; his
mother was a daughter of Aurdu-bugha Tarkhan (_Arghun_), the elder
sister of Darwesh Muhammad Tarkhan, and the most honoured of the Mirza's
wives.
_n. His appearance and habits._
He was a tall, stout, brown-bearded and red-faced man. He had beard on
his chin but none on his cheeks. He had very [Sidenote: Fol. 18b.]
pleasing manners. As was the fashion in those days, he wound his turban
in four folds and brought the end forward over his brows.
_o. His characteristics and manners._
He was a True Believer, pure in the Faith; five times daily, without
fail, he recited the Prayers, not omitting them even on drinking-days.
He was a disciple of his Highness Khwaja `Ubaidu'l-lah (_Ahrari_), his
instructor in religion and the strengthener of his Faith. He was very
ceremonious, particularly when sitting with the Khwaja. People say he
never drew one knee over the other[199] at any entertainment of the
Khwaja. On one occasion contrary to his custom, he sat with his feet
together. When he had risen, the Khwaja ordered the place he had sat in
to be searched; there they found, it may have been, a bone.[200] He had
read nothing whatever and was ignorant (_`ami_), and though town-bred,
unmannered and homely. Of genius he had no share. He was just and as his
Highness the Khwaja was there, accompanying him step by step,[201] most
of his affairs found lawful settlement. He was true and faithful to his
vow and word; nothing was ever seen to the contrary. He had courage, and
though he never happened to get in his own hand to work, gave sign of
it, they say, in some of his encounters. [Sidenote: Fol. 19.] He drew a
good bow, generally hitting the duck[202] both with his arrows (_auq_)
and his forked-arrows (_tir-giz_), and, as a rule, hit the gourd[203] in
riding across the lists (_maidan_). Latterly, when he had grown stout,
he used to take quail and pheasant with the goshawks,[204] rarely
failing. A sportsman he was, hawking mostly and hawking well; since
Aulugh Beg Mirza, such a sporting _padshah_ had not been seen. He was
extremely decorous; people say he used to hide his feet even in the
privacy of his family and amongst his intimates. Once settled down to
drink, he would drink for 20 or 30 days at a stretch; once risen, would
not drink again for another 20 or 30 days. He was a good drinker;[205]
on non-drinking days he ate without conviviality (_basit_). Avarice was
dominant in his character. He was kindly, a man of few words whose will
was in the hands of his begs.
_p. His battles._
He fought four battles. The first was with Ni'mat _Arghun_, Shaikh Jamal
_Arghun's_ younger brother, at Aqar-tuzi, near Zamin. This he won. The
second was with `Umar Shaikh Mirza at Khwas; this also he won. The third
affair was when he encountered Sl. Mahmud Khan on the Chir, near
Tashkint [Sidenote: Fol. 19b.](895 AH.-1469 AD.). There was no real
fighting, but some Mughul plunderers coming up, by ones and twos, in his
rear and laying hands on his baggage, his great army, spite of its
numbers, broke up without a blow struck, without an effort made,
without a coming face to face, and its main body was drowned in the
Chir.[206] His fourth affair was with Haidar _Kukuldash_ (_Mughul_),
near Yar-yilaq; here he won.
_q. His country._
Samarkand and Bukhara his father gave him; Tashkint and Sairam he took
and held for a time but gave them to his younger brother, `Umar Shaikh
Mirza, after `Abdu'l-qadus (_Dughlat_) slew Shaikh Jamal (_Arghun_);
Khujand and Auratipa were also for a time in his possession.
_r. His children._
His two sons did not live beyond infancy. He had five daughters, four by
Qataq Begim.[207]
Rabi`a-sultan Begim, known as the Dark-eyed Begim, was his eldest. The
Mirza himself made her go forth to Sl. Mahmud Khan;[208] she had one
child, a nice little boy, called Baba Khan. The Auzbegs killed him and
several others of age as unripe as his when they martyred (his father)
The Khan, in Khujand, (914 AH.-1508 AD.). At that time she fell to Jani
Beg Sultan (_Auzbeg_). [Sidenote: Fol. 20.]
Saliha-sultan (Saliqa) Begim was his second daughter; people called her
the Fair Begim. Sl. Mahmud Mirza, after her father's death, took her for
his eldest son, Sl. Mas`ud Mirza and made the wedding feast (900 AH.).
Later on she fell to the Kashghari with Shah Begim and Mihr-nigar
Khanim.
`Ayisha-sultan Begim was the third. When I was five and went to
Samarkand, they set her aside for me; in the guerilla times[209] she
came to Khujand and I took her (905 AH.); her one little daughter, born
after the second taking of Samarkand, went in a few days to God's mercy
and she herself left me at the instigation of an older sister.
Sultanim Begim was the fourth daughter; Sl. `Ali Mirza took her; then
Timur Sultan (_Auzbeg_) took her and after him, Mahdi Sultan (_Auzbeg_).
Ma`suma-sultan Begim was the youngest of Sl. Ahmad Mirza's daughters.
Her mother, Habiba-sultan Begim, was of the Arghuns, a daughter of Sl.
Husain _Arghun's_ brother. I saw her when I went to Khurasan (912
AH.-1506 AD.), liked her, asked for her, had her brought to Kabul and
took her (913 AH.-1507 AD.). She had one daughter and there and then,
went to God's mercy, through the pains of the birth. Her name was at
once given to her child.
_s. His ladies and mistresses._
Mihr-nigar Khanim was his first wife, set aside for him by his father,
Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza. She was Yunas Khan's eldest [Sidenote: Fol. 20b.]
daughter and my mother's full-sister.
Tarkhan Begim of the Tarkhans was another of his wives.
Qataq Begim was another, the foster-sister of the Tarkhan Begim just
mentioned. Sl. Ahmad Mirza took her _par amours_ (_`ashiqlar bila_): she
was loved with passion and was very dominant. She drank wine. During the
days of her ascendancy (_tiriklik_), he went to no other of his _haram_;
at last he took up a proper position (_aulnurdi_) and freed himself from
his reproach.[210]
Khan-zada Begim, of the Tirmiz Khans, was another. He had just taken her
when I went, at five years old, to Samarkand; her face was still veiled
and, as is the Turki custom, they told me to uncover it.[211]
Latif Begim was another, a daughter's child of Ahmad Haji Beg _Duldai_
(_Barlas_). After the Mirza's death, Hamza Sl. took her and she had
three sons by him. They with other sultans' children, fell into my hands
when I took Hisar (916 AH.-1510 AD.) after defeating Hamza Sultan and
Timur Sultan. I set all free.
Habiba-sultan Begim was another, a daughter of the brother of Sl. Husain
_Arghun_.
_t. His amirs._
Jani Beg _Duldai_ (_Barlas_) was a younger brother of Sl. Malik
_Kashghari_. Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza gave him the Government of Samarkand
and Sl. Ahmad Mirza gave him the control of his own Gate.[212] He must
have had singular habits and [Sidenote: Fol. 21.] manners;[213] many
strange stories are told about him. One is this:--While he was Governor
in Samarkand, an envoy came to him from the Auzbegs renowned, as it
would seem, for his strength. An Auzbeg, is said to call a strong man a
bull (_bukuh_). "Are you a _bukuh_?" said Jani Beg to the envoy, "If you
are, come, let's have a friendly wrestle together (_kurashaling_)."
Whatever objections the envoy raised, he refused to accept. They
wrestled and Jani Beg gave the fall. He was a brave man.
Ahmad Haji (_Duldai Barlas_) was another, a son of Sl. Malik
_Kashghari_. Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza gave him the Government of Hiri (Harat)
for a time but sent him when his uncle, Jani Beg died, to Samarkand
with his uncle's appointments. He was pleasant-natured and brave. Wafa'i
was his pen-name and he put together a diwan in verse not bad. This
couplet is his:
"I am drunk, Inspector, to-day keep your hand off me,
"Inspect me on the day you catch me sober."
Mir `Ali-sher Nawa'i when he went from Hiri to Samarkand, was with Ahmad
Haji Beg but he went back to Hiri when Sl. Husain Mirza (Bai-qara)
became supreme (873 AH.-1460 AD.) and he there received exceeding
favour.
[Sidenote: Fol. 21b.] Ahmad Haji Beg kept and rode excellent
_tipuchaqs_,[214] mostly of his own breeding. Brave he was but his power
to command did not match his courage; he was careless and what was
necessary in his affairs, his retainers and followers put through. He
fell into Sl. `Ali Mirza's hands when the Mirza defeated Bai-sunghar
Mirza in Bukhara (901 AH.), and was then put to a dishonourable death on
the charge of the blood of Darwesh Muhammad Tarkhan.[215]
Darwesh Muhammad Tarkhan (_Arghun_) was another, the son of Aurdu-bugha
Tarkhan and full-brother of the mother of Sl. Ahmad Mirza and Sl. Mahmud
Mirza.[216] Of all begs in Sl. Ahmad Mirza's presence, he was the
greatest and most honoured. He was an orthodox Believer, kindly and
darwesh-like, and was a constant transcriber of the Qu'ran.[217] He
played chess often and well, thoroughly understood the science of
fowling and flew his birds admirably. He died in the height of his
greatness, with a bad name, during the troubles between Sl. `Ali Mirza
and Bai-sunghar Mirza.[218]
`Abdu'l-`ali Tarkhan was another, a near relation of Darwesh Muhammad
Tarkhan, possessor also of his younger sister,[219] that is to say, Baqi
Tarkhan's mother. Though both by the Mughul rule (_tura_) and by his
rank, Darwesh Muhammad Tarkhan was the superior of `Abdu'l-`ali
Tarkhan, this Pharoah regarded him not at all. For some years he had the
Government of Bukhara. His retainers were reckoned at [Sidenote: Fol.
22.] 3,000 and he kept them well and handsomely. His gifts
(_bakhshish_), his visits of enquiry (_purshish_), his public audience
(_diwan_), his work-shops (_dast-gah_), his open-table (_shilan_) and
his assemblies (_majlis_) were all like a king's. He was a strict
disciplinarian, a tyrannical, vicious, self-infatuated person. Shaibani
Khan, though not his retainer, was with him for a time; most of the
lesser (Shaiban) sultans did themselves take service with him. This same
`Abdu'l-`ali Tarkhan was the cause of Shaibani Khan's rise to such a
height and of the downfall of such ancient dynasties.[220]
Sayyid Yusuf, the Grey Wolfer[221] was another; his grandfather will
have come from the Mughul horde; his father was favoured by Aulugh Beg
Mirza (_Shahrukhi_). His judgment and counsel were excellent; he had
courage too. He played well on the guitar (_qubuz_). He was with me when
I first went to Kabul; I shewed him great favour and in truth he was
worthy of favour. I left him in Kabul the first year the army rode out
for Hindustan; at that time he went to God's mercy.[222]
Darwesh Beg was another; he was of the line of Aiku-timur Beg,[223] a
favourite of Timur Beg. He was a disciple of his Highness Khwaja
`Ubaidu'l-lah (_Ahrari_), had knowledge of the science of music, played
several instruments and was naturally [Sidenote: Fol. 22b.] disposed to
poetry. He was drowned in the Chir at the time of Sl. Ahmad Mirza's
discomfiture.
Muhammad Mazid Tarkhan was another, a younger full-brother of Darwesh
Muh. Tarkhan. He was Governor in Turkistan for some years till Shaibani
Khan took it from him. His judgment and counsel were excellent; he was
an unscrupulous and vicious person. The second and third times I took
Samarkand, he came to my presence and each time I shewed him very great
favour. He died in the fight at Kul-i-malik (918 AH.-1512 AD.).
Baqi Tarkhan was another, the son of `Abdu'l-`ali Tarkhan and Sl. Ahmad
Mirza's aunt. When his father died, they gave him Bukhara. He grew in
greatness under Sl. `Ali Mirza, his retainers numbering 5 or 6,000. He
was neither obedient nor very submissive to Sl. `Ali Mirza. He fought
Shaibani Khan at Dabusi (905 AH.) and was crushed; by the help of this
defeat, Shaibani Khan went and took Bukhara. He was very fond of
hawking; they say he kept 700 birds. His manners and habits were not
such as may be told;[224] he grew up with a Mirza's state and splendour.
Because his father had shewn favour to Shaibani Khan, he went to the
Khan's presence, but that inhuman ingrate made him no sort of return in
favour and kindness. [Sidenote: Fol. 23.] He left the world at Akhsi, in
misery and wretchedness.
Sl. Husain _Arghun_ was another. He was known as Qara-kuli because he
had held the Qara-kul government for a time. His judgment and counsel
were excellent; he was long in my presence also.
Quli Muhammad _Bughda_[225] was another, a _quchin_; he must have been a
brave man.
`Abdu'l-karim _Ishrit_[226] was another; he was an Auighur, Sl. Ahmad
Mirza's Lord of the Gate, a brave and generous man.
(_u. Historical narrative resumed._)
After Sl. Ahmad Mirza's death, his begs in agreement, sent a courier by
the mountain-road to invite Sl. Mahmud Mirza.[227]
Malik-i-Muhammad Mirza, the son of Minuchihr Mirza, Sl. Abu-sa`id
Mirza's eldest brother, aspired for his own part to rule. Having drawn a
few adventurers and desperadoes to himself, they dribbled away[228] from
(Sl. Ahmad Mirza's) camp and went to Samarkand. He was not able to
effect anything, but he brought about his own death and that of several
innocent persons of the ruling House.
At once on hearing of his brother's death, Sl. Mahmud Mirza went off to
Samarkand and there seated himself on the throne, without difficulty.
Some of his doings soon disgusted and alienated high and low, soldier
and peasant. The first of these was that he sent the above-named
Malik-i-Muhammad to the [Sidenote: Fol. 23b.] Kuk-sarai,[229] although
he was his father's brother's son and his own son-in-law.[230] With him
he sent others, four Mirzas in all. Two of these he set aside;
Malik-i-Muhammad and one other he martyred. Some of the four were not
even of ruling rank and had not the smallest aspiration to rule; though
Malik-i-Muhammad Mirza was a little in fault, in the rest there was no
blame whatever. A second thing was that though his methods and
regulations were excellent, and though he was expert in revenue matters
and in the art of administration, his nature inclined to tyranny and
vice. Directly he reached Samarkand, he began to make new regulations
and arrangements and to rate and tax on a new basis. Moreover the
dependants of his (late) Highness Khwaja `Ubaid'l-lah, under whose
protection formerly many poor and destitute persons had lived free from
the burden of dues and imposts, were now themselves treated with
harshness and oppression. On what ground should hardship have touched
them? Nevertheless oppressive exactions were made from them, indeed from
the Khwaja's very children. Yet another thing was that just as he was
vicious and tyrannical, so were his begs, small and great, and his
retainers and followers. The Hisaris and in particular the followers of
Khusrau Shah engaged themselves unceasingly with wine and fornication.
Once one of them enticed and took away a certain man's wife. [Sidenote:
Fol. 24.]When her husband went to Khusrau Shah and asked for justice, he
received for answer: "She has been with you for several years; let her
be a few days with him." Another thing was that the young sons of the
townsmen and shopkeepers, nay! even of Turks and soldiers could not go
out from their houses from fear of being taken for catamites. The
Samarakandis, having passed 20 or 25 years under Sl. Ahmad Mirza in ease
and tranquillity, most matters carried through lawfully and with justice
by his Highness the Khwaja, were wounded and troubled in heart and soul,
by this oppression and this vice. Low and high, the poor, the destitute,
all opened the mouth to curse, all lifted the hand for redress.
"Beware the steaming up of inward wounds,
For an inward wound at the last makes head;
Avoid while thou canst, distress to one heart,
For a single sigh will convulse a world."[231]
By reason of his infamous violence and vice Sl. Mahmud Mirza did not
rule in Samarkand more than five or six months.
900 AH.-OCT. 2ND. 1494 TO SEP. 21ST. 1495 AD.[232]
This year Sl. Mahmud Mirza sent an envoy, named `Abdu'l-qadus Beg,[233]
to bring me a gift from the wedding he had made with splendid festivity
for his eldest son, Mas`ud Mirza with (Saliha-sultan), the Fair Begim,
the second daughter of his elder brother, Sl. Ahmad Mirza. They had sent
gold and silver almonds and pistachios.
There must have been relationship between this envoy and Hasan-i-yaq`ub,
and on its account he will have been the man sent to make
Hasan-i-yaq`ub, by fair promises, look towards Sl. Mahmud Mirza.
Hasan-i-yaq`ub returned him a smooth answer, made indeed as though won
over to his side, and gave him leave to go. Five or six months later,
his manners changed entirely; he began to behave ill to those about me
and to others, and he carried matters so far that he would have
dismissed me in order to put Jahangir Mirza in my place. Moreover his
conversation with the whole body of begs and soldiers was not what
should be; every-one came to know what was in his mind. Khwaja-i-Qazi
and (Sayyid) Qasim _Quchin_ and `Ali-dost Taghai met other well-wishers
of mine in the presence of my grandmother, Aisan-daulat Begim and
decided to give quietus to Hasan-i-yaq`ub's disloyalty by his
deposition.
Few amongst women will have been my grandmother's equals for judgment
and counsel; she was very wise and far-sighted and most affairs of mine
were carried through under her advice. She and my mother were (living)
in the Gate-house of the outer fort;[234] Hasan-i-yaq`ub was in the
citadel.
When I went to the citadel, in pursuance of our decision, he had ridden
out, presumably for hawking, and as soon as he had [Sidenote: Fol. 25.]
our news, went off from where he was towards Samarkand. The begs and
others in sympathy with him,[235] were arrested; one was Muhammad Baqir
Beg; Sl. Mahmud _Duldai_, Sl. Muhammad _Duldai's_ father, was another;
there were several more; to some leave was given to go for Samarkand.
The Andijan Government and control of my Gate were settled on (Sayyid)
Qasim _Quchin_.
A few days after Hasan-i-yaq`ub reached Kand-i-badam on the Samarkand
road, he went to near the Khuqan sub-division (_aurchin_) with
ill-intent on Akhsi. Hearing of it, we sent several begs and braves to
oppose him; they, as they went, detached a scouting party ahead; he,
hearing this, moved against the detachment, surrounded it in its
night-quarters[236] and poured flights of arrows (_shiba_) in on it. In
the darkness of the night an arrow (_auq_), shot by one of his own men,
hit him just (_auq_) in the vent (_qachar_) and before he could take
vent (_qachar_),[237] he became the captive of his own act.
"If you have done ill, keep not an easy mind,
For retribution is Nature's law."[238]
This year I began to abstain from all doubtful food, my obedience
extended even to the knife, the spoon and the table-cloth;[239] also the
after-midnight Prayer (_tahajjud_) was [Sidenote: Fol. 25b.] less
neglected.
(_a. Death of Sl. Mahmud Mirza._)
In the month of the latter Rabi` (January 1495 AD.), Sl. Mahmud Mirza
was confronted by violent illness and in six days, passed from the
world. He was 43 (lunar) years old.
_b. His birth and lineage._
He was born in 857 AH. (1453 AD.), was Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza's third son
and the full-brother of Sl. Ahmad Mirza.[240]
_c. His appearance and characteristics._
He was a short, stout, sparse-bearded and somewhat ill-shaped person.
His manners and his qualities were good, his rules and methods of
business excellent; he was well-versed in accounts, not a _dinar_ or a
_dirham_[241] of revenue was spent without his knowledge. The pay of his
servants was never disallowed. His assemblies, his gifts, his open
table, were all good. Everything of his was orderly and
well-arranged;[242] no soldier or peasant could deviate in the slightest
from any plan of his. Formerly he must have been hard set (_qatirar_) on
hawking but latterly he very frequently hunted driven game.[243] He
carried violence and vice to frantic excess, was a constant wine-bibber
and kept many catamites. If anywhere in his territory, there was a
handsome boy, he used, by whatever means, to have him brought for a
catamite; of his begs' sons and of his sons' begs' sons he made
catamites; and laid command for this service on [Sidenote: Fol. 26.] his
very foster brothers and on their own brothers. So common in his day was
that vile practice, that no person was without his catamite; to keep one
was thought a merit, not to keep one, a defect. Through his infamous
violence and vice, his sons died in the day of their strength (_tamam
juwan_).
He had a taste for poetry and put a _diwan_[244] together but his verse
is flat and insipid,--not to compose is better than to compose verse such
as his. He was not firm in the Faith and held his Highness Khwaja
`Ubaidu'l-lah (_Ahrari_) in slight esteem. He had no heart (_yuruk_) and
was somewhat scant in modesty,--several of his impudent buffoons used to
do their filthy and abominable acts in his full Court, in all men's
sight. He spoke badly, there was no understanding him at first.
_d. His battles._
He fought two battles, both with Sl. Husain Mirza (_Baiqara_). The first
was in Astarabad; here he was defeated. The second was at Chikman
(Sarai),[245] near Andikhud; here also he was defeated. He went twice to
Kafiristan, on the [Sidenote: Fol. 26b.] south of Badakhshan, and made
Holy War; for this reason they wrote him Sl. Mahmud _Ghazi_ in the
headings of his public papers.
_e. His countries._
Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza gave him Astarabad.[246] After the `Iraq disaster
(_i.e._, his father's death,) he went into Khurasan. At that time,
Qambar-`ali Beg, the governor of Hisar, by Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza's orders,
had mobilized the Hindustan[247] army and was following him into `Iraq;
he joined Sl. Mahmud Mirza in Khurasan but the Khurasanis, hearing of
Sl. Husain Mirza's approach, rose suddenly and drove them out of the
country. On this Sl. Mahmud Mirza went to his elder brother, Sl. Ahmad
Mirza in Samarkand. A few months later Sayyid Badr and Khusrau Shah and
some braves under Ahmad _Mushtaq_[248] took him and fled to Qambar-`ali
in Hisar. From that time forth, Sl. Mahmud Mirza possessed the countries
lying south of Quhqa (Quhlugha) and the Kohtin Range as far as the
Hindu-kush Mountains, such as Tirmiz, Chaghanian, Hisar, Khutlan, Qunduz
and Badakhshan. He also held Sl. Ahmad Mirza's lands, after his
brother's death.
_f. His children._
He had five sons and eleven daughters.
Sl. Mas`ud Mirza was his eldest son; his mother was Khan-zada [Sidenote:
Fol 27.] Begim, a daughter of the Great Mir of Tirmiz. Bai-sunghar Mirza
was another; his mother was Pasha (or Pasha) Begim. Sl. `Ali Mirza was
another; his mother was an Auzbeg, a concubine called Zuhra Begi Agha.
Sl. Husain Mirza was another; his mother was Khan-zada Begim, a
grand-daughter of the Great Mir of Tirmiz; he went to God's mercy in his
father's life-time, at the age of 13. Sl. Wais Mirza (Mirza Khan) was
another; his mother, Sultan-nigar Khanim was a daughter of Yunas Khan
and was a younger (half-) sister of my mother. The affairs of these four
Mirzas will be written of in this history under the years of their
occurrence.
Of Sl. Mahmud Mirza's daughters, three were by the same mother as
Bai-sunghar Mirza. One of these, Bai-sunghar Mirza's senior, Sl. Mahmud
Mirza made to go out to Malik-i-muhammad Mirza, the son of his paternal
uncle, Minuchihr Mirza.[249]
* * * * *
Five other daughters were by Khan-zada Begim, the grand-daughter of the
Great Mir of Tirmiz. The oldest of these, (Khan-zada Begim)[250] was
given, after her father's death, to Aba-bikr [Sidenote: Fol. 27b.]
(_Dughlat_) _Kashghari_. The second was Bega Begim. When Sl. Husain
Mirza besieged Hisar (901 AH.), he took her for Haidar Mirza, his son by
Payanda Begim, Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza's daughter, and having done so, rose
from before the place.[251] The third daughter was Aq (Fair) Begim; the
fourth[252]--,was betrothed to Jahangir Mirza (_aet._ 5, _circa_ 895 AH.)
at the time his father, `Umar Shaikh Mirza sent him to help Sl. Mahmud
Mirza with the Andijan army, against Sl. Husain Mirza, then attacking
Qunduz.[253] In 910 AH. (1504 AD.) when Baqi _Chaghaniani_[254] waited
on me on the bank of the Amu (Oxus), these (last-named two) Begims were
with their mothers in Tirmiz and joined me then with Baqi's family. When
we reached Kahmard, Jahangir Mirza took ---- Begim; one little daughter
was born; she now[255] is in the Badakhshan country with her
grandmother. The fifth daughter was Zainab-sultan Begim; under my
mother's insistence, I took her at the time of the capture of Kabul (910
AH.-Oct. 1504 AD.). She did not become very congenial; two or three
years later, she left the world, through small-pox. Another daughter was
Makhdum-sultan Begim, Sl. `Ali Mirza's full-sister; she is now in the
Badakhshan country. Two others of his daughters, Rajab-sultan and
Muhibb-sultan, were by mistresses (_ghunchachi_).
_g. His ladies_ (_khwatinlar_) _and concubines_ (_sarari_).
His chief wife, Khan-zada Begim, was a daughter of the [Sidenote: Fol.
28.] Great Mir of Tirmiz; he had great affection for her and must have
mourned her bitterly; she was the mother of Sl. Mas`ud Mirza. Later on,
he took her brother's daughter, also called Khan-zada Begim, a
grand-daughter of the Great Mir of Tirmiz. She became the mother of
five of his daughters and one of his sons. Pasha (or Pasha) Begim was
another wife, a daughter of `Ali-shukr Beg, a Turkman Beg of the Black
Sheep Baharlu Aimaq.[256] She had been the wife of Jahan-shah (_Barani_)
of the Black Sheep Turkmans. After Auzun (Long) Hasan Beg of the White
Sheep had taken Azar-baijan and `Iraq from the sons of this Jahan-shah
Mirza (872 AH.-1467 AD.), `Ali-shukr Beg's sons went with four or five
thousand heads-of-houses of the Black Sheep Turkmans to serve Sl.
Abu-sa`id Mirza and after the Mirza's defeat (873 AH. by Auzun Hasan),
came down to these countries and took service with Sl. Mahmud Mirza.
This happened after Sl. Mahmud Mirza came to Hisar from Samarkand, and
then it was he took Pasha Begim. She became the mother of one of his
sons and three of his daughters. Sultan-nigar Khanim was another of his
ladies; her descent has been mentioned already in the account of the
(Chaghatai) Khans. [Sidenote: Fol. 28b.]
He had many concubines and mistresses. His most honoured concubine
(_mu`atabar ghuma_) was Zuhra Begi Agha; she was taken in his father's
life-time and became the mother of one son and one daughter. He had many
mistresses and, as has been said, two of his daughters were by two of
them.
_h. His amirs._
Khusrau Shah was of the Turkistani Qipchaqs. He had been in the intimate
service of the Tarkhan begs, indeed had been a catamite. Later on he
became a retainer of Mazid Beg (Tarkhan) _Arghun_ who favoured him in
all things. He was favoured by Sl. Mahmud Mirza on account of services
done by him when, after the `Iraq disaster, he joined the Mirza on his
way to Khurasan. He waxed very great in his latter days; his retainers,
under Sl. Mahmud Mirza, were a clear five or six thousand. Not only
Badakhshan but the whole country from the Amu to the Hindu-kush
Mountains depended on him and he devoured its whole revenue (_darobast
yir idi_). His open table was good, so too his open hand; though he was
a rough getter,[257] what he got, he spent liberally. He waxed
exceeding great after Sl. Mahmud Mirza's death, in whose sons' time his
retainers approached 20,000. Although he prayed and abstained from
forbidden aliments, yet was he black-souled and vicious, [Sidenote: Fol.
29.] dunder-headed and senseless, disloyal and a traitor to his salt.
For the sake of this fleeting, five-days world,[258] he blinded one of
his benefactor's sons and murdered another. A sinner before God,
reprobate to His creatures, he has earned curse and execration till the
very verge of Resurrection. For this world's sake he did his evil deeds
and yet, with lands so broad and with such hosts of armed retainers, he
had not pluck to stand up to a hen. An account of him will come into
this history.
Pir-i-muhammad _Ailchi-bugha[259] Quchin_ was another. In Hazaraspi's
fight[260] he got in one challenge with his fists in Sl. Abu-sa`id
Mirza's presence at the Gate of Balkh. He was a brave man, continuously
serving the Mirza (Mahmud) and guiding him by his counsel. Out of
rivalry to Khusrau Shah, he made a night-attack when the Mirza was
besieging Qunduz, on Sl. Husain Mirza, with few men, without arming[261]
and without plan; he could do nothing; what was there he could do
against such and so large a force? He was pursued, threw himself into
the river and was drowned.
Ayub (_Begchik Mughul_)[262] was another. He had served in Sl. Abu-sa`id
Mirza's Khurasan Cadet Corps, a brave man, Baisunghar Mirza's guardian.
He was choice in dress and food; a jester and talkative, nicknamed
Impudence, perhaps because the Mirza called him so. [Sidenote: Fol.
29b.]
Wali was another, the younger, full-brother of Khusrau Shah. He kept his
retainers well. He it was brought about the blinding of Sl. Mas`ud Mirza
and the murder of Bai-sunghar Mirza. He had an ill-word for every-one
and was an evil-tongued, foul-mouthed, self-pleasing and dull-witted
mannikin. He approved of no-one but himself. When I went from the Qunduz
country to near Dushi (910 AH.-1503 AD.), separated Khusrau Shah from
his following and dismissed him, this person (_i.e._, Wali) had come to
Andar-ab and Sir-ab, also in fear of the Auzbegs. The Aimaqs of those
parts beat and robbed him[263] then, having let me know, came on to
Kabul. Wali went to Shaibani Khan who had his head struck off in the
town of Samarkand.
Shaikh `Abdu'l-lah _Barlas_[264] was another; he had to wife one of the
daughters of Shah Sultan Muhammad (_Badakhshi_) _i.e._, the maternal
aunt of Aba-bikr Mirza (_Miran-shahi_) and of Sl. Mahmud Khan. He wore
his tunic narrow and _pur shaqq_[265]; he was a kindly well-bred man.
Mahmud _Barlas_ of the Barlases of Nundak (Badakhshan) was another. He
had been a beg also of Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza and had surrendered Karman to
him when the Mirza took the `Iraq countries. When Aba-bikr Mirza
(_Miran-shahi_) came [Sidenote: Fol. 30.] against Hisar with Mazid Beg
Tarkhan and the Black Sheep Turkmans, and Sl. Mahmud Mirza went off to
his elder brother, Sl. Ahmad Mirza in Samarkand, Mahmud _Barlas_ did not
surrender Hisar but held out manfully.[266] He was a poet and put a
_diwan_ together.
(_i. Historical narrative resumed_).
When Sl. Mahmud Mirza died, Khusrau Shah kept the event concealed and
laid a long hand on the treasure. But how could such news be hidden? It
spread through the town at once. That was a festive day for the
Samarkand families; soldier and peasant, they uprose in tumult against
Khusrau Shah. Ahmad Haji Beg and the Tarkhani begs put the rising down
and turned Khusrau Shah out of the town with an escort for Hisar.
As Sl. Mahmud Mirza himself after giving Hisar to Sl. Mas`ud Mirza and
Bukhara to Bai-sunghar Mirza, had dismissed both to their governments,
neither was present when he died. The Hisar and Samarkand begs, after
turning Khusrau Shah out, agreed to send for Bai-sunghar Mirza from
Bukhara, brought him to Samarkand and seated him on the throne. When he
thus became supreme (_padshah_), he was 18 (lunar) years old.
At this crisis, Sl. Mahmud Khan (_Chaghatai_), acting on the [Sidenote:
Fol. 30b.] word of Junaid _Barlas_ and of some of the notables of
Samarkand, led his army out to near Kan-bai with desire to take that
town. Bai-sunghar Mirza, on his side, marched out in force. They fought
near Kan-bai. Haidar _Kukuldash_, the main pillar of the Mughul army,
led the Mughul van. He and all his men dismounted and were pouring in
flights of arrows (_shiba_) when a large body of the mailed braves of
Hisar and Samarkand made an impetuous charge and straightway laid them
under their horses' feet. Their leader taken, the Mughul army was put to
rout without more fighting. Masses (_qalin_) of Mughuls were wiped out;
so many were beheaded in Bai-sunghar Mirza's presence that his tent was
three times shifted because of the number of the dead.
At this same crisis, Ibrahim _Saru_ entered the fort of Asfara, there
read Bai-sunghar Mirza's name in the _Khutba_ and took up a position of
hostility to me.
(_Author's note._) Ibrahim _Saru_ is of the Mingligh
people;[267] he had served my father in various ways from his
childhood but later on had been dismissed for some fault.
[Sidenote: Fol. 31.] The army rode out to crush this rebellion in the
month of Sha'ban (May) and by the end of it, had dismounted round
Asfara. Our braves in the wantonness of enterprise, on the very day of
arrival, took the new wall[268] that was in building outside the fort.
That day Sayyid Qasim, Lord of my Gate, out-stripped the rest and got in
with his sword; Sl. Ahmad _Tambal_ and Muhammad-dost Taghai got theirs
in also but Sayyid Qasim won the Champion's Portion. He took it in
Shahrukhiya when I went to see my mother's brother, Sl. Mahmud Khan.
(_Author's note._) The Championship Portion[269] is an ancient
usage of the Mughul horde. Whoever outdistanced his tribe and
got in with his own sword, took the portion at every feast and
entertainment.
My guardian, Khudai-birdi Beg died in that first day's fighting, struck
by a cross-bow arrow. As the assault was made without armour, several
bare braves (_yikit yilang_)[270] perished and many were wounded. One of
Ibrahim _Saru's_ cross-bowmen was an excellent shot; his equal had never
been seen; he it was hit most of those wounded. When Asfara had been
taken, he entered my service.
As the siege drew on, orders were given to construct head-strikes[271]
in two or three places, to run mines and to make every [Sidenote: Fol.
31b.] effort to prepare appliances for taking the fort. The siege lasted
40 days; at last Ibrahim _Saru_ had no resource but, through the
mediation of Khwaja Moulana-i-qazi, to elect to serve me. In the month
of Shawwal (June 1495 A.D.) he came out, with his sword and quiver
hanging from his neck, waited on me and surrendered the fort.
Khujand for a considerable time had been dependent on `Umar Shaikh
Mirza's Court (_diwan_) but of late had looked towards Sl. Ahmad Mirza
on account of the disturbance in the Farghana government during the
interregnum.[272] As the opportunity offered, a move against it also
was now made. Mir Mughul's father, `Abdu'l-wahhab _Shaghawal_[273] was
in it; he surrendered without making any difficulty at once on our
arrival.
Just then Sl. Mahmud Khan was in Shahrukhiya. It has been said already
that when Sl. Ahmad Mirza came into Andijan (899 AH.), he also came and
that he laid siege to Akhsi. It occurred to me that if since I was so
close, I went and waited on him, he being, as it were, my father and my
elder brother, and if bye-gone resentments were laid aside, it would be
good hearing and seeing for far and near. So said, I went.
I waited on The Khan in the garden Haidar _Kukuldash_ had made outside
Shahrukhiya. He was seated in a large four-doored [Sidenote: Fol. 32.]
tent set up in the middle of it. Having entered the tent, I knelt three
times,[274] he for his part, rising to do me honour. We looked one
another in the eyes;[275] and he returned to his seat. After I had
kneeled, he called me to his side and shewed me much affection and
friendliness. Two or three days later, I set off for Akhsi and Andijan
by the Kindirlik Pass.[276] At Akhsi I made the circuit of my Father's
tomb. I left at the hour of the Friday Prayer (_i.e._, about midday)
and reached Andijan, by the Band-i-salar Road between the Evening and
Bedtime Prayers. This road _i.e._ the Band-i-salar, people call a nine
_yighach_ road.[277]
One of the tribes of the wilds of Andijan is the Jigrak[278] a numerous
people of five or six thousand households, dwelling in the mountains
between Kashghar and Farghana. They have many horses and sheep and also
numbers of yaks (_qutas_), these hill-people keeping yaks instead of
common cattle. As their mountains are border-fastnesses, they have a
fashion of not paying tribute. An army was now sent against them under
(Sayyid) Qasim Beg in order that out of the tribute taken from them
something might reach the soldiers. He took about 20,000 of their sheep
and between 1000 and 1500 of their horses and shared all out to the men.
After its return from the Jigrak, the army set out for Aura-tipa.
[Sidenote: Fol. 34.] Formerly this was held by `Umar Shaikh Mirza but it
had gone out of hand in the year of his death and Sl. `Ali Mirza was now
in it on behalf of his elder brother, Baisunghar Mirza. When Sl. `Ali
Mirza heard of our coming, he went off himself to the Macha
hill-country, leaving his guardian, Shaikh Zu'n-nun _Arghun_ behind.
From half-way between Khujand and Aura-tipa, Khalifa[279] was sent as
envoy to Shaikh Zu'n-nun but that senseless mannikin, instead of giving
him a plain answer, laid hands on him and ordered him to death. For
Khalifa to die cannot have been the Divine will; he escaped and came to
me two or three days later, stripped bare and having suffered a hundred
_tumans_ (1,000,000) of hardships and fatigues. We went almost to
Aura-tipa but as, winter being near, people had carried away their corn
and forage, after a few days we turned back for Andijan. After our
retirement, The Khan's men moved on the place when the Aura-tipa
person[280] unable to make a stand, surrendered and came out. The Khan
then gave it to Muhammad Husain _Kurkan Dughlat_ and in his hands it
remained till 908 AH. (1503).[281]
901 AH.--SEP. 21ST. 1495 TO SEP. 9TH. 1496 AD.[282]
(_a. Sultan Husain Mirza's campaign against Khusrau Shah_).
In the winter of this year, Sl. Husain Mirza led his army out of
Khurasan against Hisar and went to opposite Tirmiz. Sl. Mas`ud Mirza,
for his part, brought an army (from Hisar) and sat down over against him
in Tirmiz. Khusrau Shah strengthened himself in Qunduz and to help Sl.
Mas`ud Mirza sent his younger brother, Wali. They (_i.e._, the opposed
forces) spent most of that winter on the river's banks, no crossing
being effected. Sl. Husain Mirza was a shrewd and experienced commander;
he marched up the river,[283] his face set for Qunduz and by this having
put Sl. Mas`ud Mirza off his guard, sent `Abdu'l-latif _Bakhshi_
(pay-master) with 5 or 600 serviceable men, down the river to the Kilif
ferry. These crossed and had entrenched themselves on the other bank
before Sl. Mas`ud Mirza had heard of their movement. When he did hear of
it, whether because of pressure put upon him by Baqi _Chaghaniani_ to
spite (his half-brother) Wali, or whether from his own want of heart, he
did not march against those who had crossed but disregarding Wali's
urgency, at once broke up his camp and turned for Hisar.[284]
Sl. Husain Mirza crossed the river and then sent, (1) against Khusrau
Shah, Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza and Ibrahim Husain Mirza with Muhammad Wali
Beg and Zu'n-nun _Arghun_, and [Sidenote: Fol. 33b.] (2) against
Khutlan, Muzaffar Husain Mirza with Muhammad _Baranduq Barlas_. He
himself moved for Hisar.
When those in Hisar heard of his approach, they took their precautions;
Sl. Mas`ud Mirza did not judge it well to stay in the fort but went off
up the Kam Rud valley[285] and by way of Sara-taq to his younger
brother, Bai-sunghar Mirza in Samarkand. Wali, for his part drew off to
(his own district) Khutlan. Baqi _Chaghaniani_, Mahmud _Barlas_ and Quch
Beg's father, Sl. Ahmad strengthened the fort of Hisar. Hamza Sl. and
Mahdi Sl. (_Auzbeg_) who some years earlier had left Shaibani Khan for
(the late) Sl. Mahmud Mirza's service, now, in this dispersion, drew off
with all their Auzbegs, for Qara-tigin. With them went Muhammad
_Dughlat_[286] and Sl. Husain _Dughlat_ and all the Mughuls located in
the Hisar country.
Upon this Sl. Husain Mirza sent Abu'l-muhsin Mirza after Sl. Mas`ud
Mirza up the Kam Rud valley. They were not strong enough for such work
when they reached the defile.[287] There Mirza Beg _Firingi-baz_[288]
got in his sword. In pursuit of Hamza Sl. into Qara-tigin, Sl. Husain
Mirza sent Ibrahim Tarkhan and Yaq`ub-i-ayub. They overtook the sultans
and [Sidenote: Fol. 33.] fought. The Mirza's detachment was defeated;
most of his begs were unhorsed but all were allowed to go free.
(_b. Babur's reception of the Auzbeg sultans._)
As a result of this exodus, Hamza Sl. with his son, Mamaq Sl., and Mahdi
Sl. and Muhammad _Dughlat_, later known as _Hisari_ and his brother, Sl.
Husain _Dughlat_ with the Auzbegs dependent on the sultans and the
Mughuls who had been located in Hisar as (the late) Sl. Mahmud Mirza's
retainers, came, after letting me know (their intention), and waited
upon me in Ramzan (May-June) at Andijan. According to the custom of
Timuriya sultans on such occasions, I had seated myself on a raised seat
(_tushak_); when Hamza Sl. and Mamaq Sl. and Mahdi Sl. entered, I rose
and went down to do them honour; we looked one another in the eyes and I
placed them on my right, _baghish da_.[289] A number of Mughuls also
came, under Muhammad _Hisari_; all elected for my service.
(_c. Sl. Husain Mirza's affairs resumed_).
Sl. Husain Mirza, on reaching Hisar, settled down at once to besiege it.
There was no rest, day nor night, from the labours of mining and attack,
of working catapults and mortars. Mines were run in four or five places.
When one had gone well forward towards the Gate, the townsmen,
countermining, struck it and forced smoke down on the Mirza's men; they,
in turn, [Sidenote: Fol. 34b.] closed the hole, thus sent the smoke
straight back and made the townsmen flee as from the very maw of death.
In the end, the townsmen drove the besiegers out by pouring jar after
jar of water in on them. Another day, a party dashed out from the town
and drove off the Mirza's men from their own mine's mouth. Once the
discharges from catapults and mortars in the Mirza's quarters on the
north cracked a tower of the fort; it fell at the Bed-time Prayer; some
of the Mirza's braves begged to assault at once but he refused, saying,
"It is night." Before the shoot of the next day's dawn, the besieged had
rebuilt the whole tower. That day too there was no assault; in fact, for
the two to two and a half months of the siege, no attack was made except
by keeping up the blockade,[290] by mining, rearing head-strikes,[291]
and discharging stones.
When Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza and whatever (_ni kim_) troops had been sent
with him against Khusrau Shah, dismounted some 16 m. (3 to 4 _yighach_)
below Qunduz,[292] Khusrau Shah arrayed whatever men (_ni kim_) he had,
marched out, halted one night on the way, formed up to fight and came
down upon the Mirza and his men. The Khurasanis may not have been twice
as many as his men but what question is there they were half [Sidenote:
Fol. 35.] as many more? None the less did such Mirzas and such
Commander-begs elect for prudence and remain in their entrenchments!
Good and bad, small and great, Khusrau Shah's force may have been of 4
or 5,000 men!
This was the one exploit of his life,--of this man who for the sake of
this fleeting and unstable world and for the sake of shifting and
faithless followers, chose such evil and such ill-repute, practised such
tyranny and injustice, seized such wide lands, kept such hosts of
retainers and followers,--latterly he led out between 20 and 30,000 and
his countries and his districts (_parganat_) exceeded those of his own
ruler and that ruler's sons,[293]--for an exploit such as this his name
and the names of his adherents were noised abroad for generalship and
for this they were counted brave, while those timorous laggards, in the
trenches, won the resounding fame of cowards.
Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza marched out from that camp and after a few stages
reached the Alghu Mountain of Taliqan[294] and there made halt. Khusrau
Shah, in Qunduz, sent his brother, Wali, with serviceable men, to
Ishkimish, Fulul and the hill-skirts thereabouts to annoy and harass the
Mirza from outside also. Muhibb-`ali, the armourer, (_qurchi_) for his
part, came down [Sidenote: Fol. 35b.] (from Wali's Khutlan) to the bank
of the Khutlan Water, met in with some of the Mirza's men there,
unhorsed some, cut off a few heads and got away. In emulation of this,
Sayyidim `Ali[295] the door-keeper, and his younger brother, Quli Beg
and Bihlul-i-ayub and a body of their men got to grips with the
Khurasanis on the skirt of `Ambar Koh, near Khwaja Changal but, many
Khurasanis coming up, Sayyidim `Ali and Baba Beg's (son) Quli Beg and
others were unhorsed.
At the time these various news reached Sl. Husain Mirza, his army was
not without distress through the spring rains of Hisar; he therefore
brought about a peace; Mahmud _Barlas_ came out from those in the fort;
Haji Pir the Taster went from those outside; the great commanders and
what there was (_ni kim_) of musicians and singers assembled and the
Mirza took (Bega Begim), the eldest[296] daughter of Sl. Mahmud Mirza by
Khan-zada Begim, for Haidar Mirza, his son by Payanda Begim and through
her the grandson of Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza. This done, he rose from before
Hisar and set his face for Qunduz.
At Qunduz also Sl. Husain Mirza made a few trenches and took up the
besieger's position but by Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza's intervention peace at
length was made, prisoners were exchanged and the Khurasanis retired.
The twice-repeated[297] attacks made by Sl. Husain Mirza on Khusrau Shah
and his unsuccessful retirements were the cause of Khusrau Shah's
[Sidenote: Fol. 36.] great rise and of action of his so much beyond his
province.
When the Mirza reached Balkh, he, in the interests of [M.]a
wara'u'n-nahr gave it to Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza, gave Badi`u'z-zaman
Mirza's district of Astarabad to (a younger son), Muzaffar Husain Mirza
and made both kneel at the same assembly, one for Balkh, the other for
Astarabad. This offended Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza and led to years of
rebellion and disturbance.[298]
(_d. Revolt of the Tarkhanis in Samarkand_).
In Ramzan of this same year, the Tarkhanis revolted in Samarkand. Here
is the story:--Bai-sunghar Mirza was not so friendly and familiar with
the begs and soldiers of Samarkand as he was with those of Hisar.[299]
His favourite beg was Shaikh `Abdu'l-lah _Barlas_[300] whose sons were
so intimate with the Mirza that it made a relation as of Lover and
Beloved. These things displeased the Tarkhans and the Samarkandi begs;
Darwesh Muhammad Tarkhan went from Bukhara to Qarshi, brought Sl. `Ali
Mirza to Samarkand and raised him to be supreme. People then went to the
New Garden where Bai-sunghar [Sidenote: Fol. 36b.] Mirza was, treated
him like a prisoner, parted him from his following and took him to the
citadel. There they seated both mirzas in one place, thinking to send
Bai-sunghar Mirza to the Guk Sarai close to the Other Prayer. The Mirza,
however, on plea of necessity, went into one of the palace-buildings on
the east side of the Bu-stan Sarai. Tarkhanis stood outside the door and
with him went in Muhammad Quli _Quchin_ and Hasan, the sherbet-server.
To be brief:--A gateway, leading out to the back, must have been bricked
up for they broke down the obstacle at once. The Mirza got out of the
citadel on the Kafshir side, through the water-conduit (_ab-muri_),
dropped himself from the rampart of the water-way (_du-tahi_), and went
to Khwajaki Khwaja's[301] house in Khwaja Kafshir. When the Tarkhanis,
in waiting at the door, took the precaution of looking in, they found
him gone. Next day the Tarkhanis went in a large body to Khwajaki
Khwaja's gate but the Khwaja said, "No!"[302] and did not give him up.
Even they could not take him by force, the Khwaja's dignity was too
great for them to be able to use force. A few days later, Khwaja
Abu'l-makaram[303] and Ahmad Haji Beg and other begs, great and
[Sidenote: Fol. 37.] small, and soldiers and townsmen rose in a mass,
fetched the Mirza away from the Khwaja's house and besieged Sl. `Ali
Mirza and the Tarkhans in the citadel. They could not hold out for even
a day; Muh. Mazid Tarkhan went off through the Gate of the Four Roads
for Bukhara; Sl. `Ali Mirza and Darwesh Muh. Tarkhan were made
prisoner.
Bai-sunghar Mirza was in Ahmad Haji Beg's house when people brought
Darwesh Muhammad Tarkhan in. He put him a few questions but got no good
answer. In truth Darwesh Muhammad's was a deed for which good answer
could not be made. He was ordered to death. In his helplessness he clung
to a pillar[304] of the house; would they let him go because he clung to
a pillar? They made him reach his doom (_siyasat_) and ordered Sl. `Ali
Mirza to the Guk Sarai there to have the fire-pencil drawn across his
eyes.
(_Author's note._) The Guk Sarai is one of Timur Beg's great
buildings in the citadel of Samarkand. It has this singular
and special characteristic, if a Timurid is to be seated on
the throne, here he takes his seat; if one lose his head,
coveting the throne, here he loses it; therefore the name Guk
Sarai has a metaphorical sense (_kinayat_) and to say of any
ruler's son, "They have taken him to the Guk Sarai," means, to
death.[305]
To the Guk Sarai accordingly Sl. `Ali Mirza was taken but when the
fire-pencil was drawn across his eyes, whether by the surgeon's choice
or by his inadvertence, no harm was done. [Sidenote: Fol. 37b.] This the
Mirza did not reveal at once but went to Khwaja Yahya's house and a few
days later, to the Tarkhans in Bukhara.
Through these occurrences, the sons of his Highness Khwaja `Ubaidu'l-lah
became settled partisans, the elder (Muhammad `Ubaidu'l-lah, Khwajaki
Khwaja) becoming the spiritual guide of the elder prince, the younger
(Yahya) of the younger. In a few days, Khwaja Yahya followed Sl. `Ali
Mirza to Bukhara.
Bai-sunghar Mirza led out his army against Bukhara. On his approach, Sl.
`Ali Mirza came out of the town, arrayed for battle. There was little
fighting; Victory being on the side of Sl. `Ali Mirza, Bai-sunghar Mirza
sustained defeat. Ahmad Haji Beg and a number of good soldiers were
taken; most of the men were put to death. Ahmad Haji Beg himself the
slaves and slave-women of Darwesh Muhammad Tarkhan, issuing out of
Bukhara, put to a dishonourable death on the charge of their master's
blood.
(_e. Babur moves against Samarkand._)
These news reached us in Andijan in the month of Shawwal (mid-June to
mid-July) and as we (_act._ 14) coveted Samarkand, we got our men to
horse. Moved by a like desire, Sl. Mas'ud Mirza, his mind and Khusrau
Shah's mind set at ease by Sl. [Sidenote: Fol. 38.] Husain Mirza's
retirement, came over by way of Shahr-i-sabz.[306] To reinforce him,
Khusrau Shah laid hands (_qapti_) on his younger brother, Wali. We
(three mirzas) beleaguered the town from three sides during three or
four months; then Khwaja Yahya came to me from Sl. `Ali Mirza to mediate
an agreement with a common aim. The matter was left at an interview
arranged (_kurushmak_); I moved my force from Soghd to some 8m. below
the town; Sl. `Ali Mirza from his side, brought his own; from one bank,
he, from the other, I crossed to the middle of[307] the Kohik water,
each with four or five men; we just saw one another (_kurushub_), asked
each the other's welfare and went, he his way, I mine.
I there saw, in Khwaja Yahya's service, Mulla _Bina'i_ and Muhammad
Salih;[308] the latter I saw this once, the former was long in my
service later on. After the interview (_kurushkan_) with Sl. `Ali Mirza,
as winter was near and as there was no great scarcity amongst the
Samarkandis, we retired, he to Bukhara, I to Andijan.
Sl. Mas`ud Mirza had a penchant for a daughter of Shaikh `Abdu'l-lah
_Barlas_, she indeed was his object in coming to Samarkand. He took her,
laid world-gripping ambition aside [Sidenote: Fol. 38b.] and went back
to Hisar.
When I was near Shiraz and Kan-bai, Mahdi Sl. deserted to Samarkand;
Hamza Sl. went also from near Zamin but with leave granted.
902 AH.--SEP. 9TH. 1496 TO AUG. 30TH. 1497 AD.[309]
(_a. Babur's second attempt on Samarkand._)
This winter, Bai-sunghar Mirza's affairs were altogether in a good way.
When `Abdu'l-karim _Ushrit_ came on Sl. `Ali Mirza's part to near Kufin,
Mahdi Sl. led out a body of Bai-sunghar Mirza's troops against him. The
two commanders meeting exactly face to face, Mahdi Sl. pricked
`Abdu'l-karim's horse with his Chirkas[310] sword so that it fell, and
as `Abdu'l-karim was getting to his feet, struck off his hand at the
wrist. Having taken him, they gave his men a good beating.
These (Auzbeg) sultans, seeing the affairs of Samarkand and the Gates of
the (Timurid) Mirzas tottering to their fall, went off in good time
(_airta_) into the open country (?)[311] for Shaibani.
Pleased[312] with their small success (over `Abdu'l-karim), the
Samarkandis drew an army out against Sl. `Ali Mirza; Bai-sunghar Mirza
went to Sar-i-pul (Bridge-head), Sl. `Ali Mirza to Khwaja Karzun.
Meantime, Khwaja Abu'l-makaram, at the instigation of Khwaja Munir of
Aush, rode light against [Sidenote: Fol. 39.] Bukhara with Wais
_Laghari_ and Muhammad Baqir of the Andijan begs, and Qasim _Duldai_ and
some of the Mirza's household. As the Bukhariots took precautions when
the invaders got near the town, they could make no progress. They
therefore retired.
At the time when (last year) Sl. `Ali Mirza and I had our interview, it
had been settled[313] that this summer he should come from Bukhara and I
from Andijan to beleaguer Samarkand. To keep this tryst, I rode out in
Ramzan (May) from Andijan. Hearing when close to Yar Yilaq, that the
(two) Mirzas were lying front to front, we sent Tulun Khwaja
_Mughul_[314] ahead, with 2 or 300 scouting braves (_qazaq yikitlar_).
Their approach giving Bai-sunghar Mirza news of our advance, he at once
broke up and retired in confusion. That same night our detachment
overtook his rear, shot a mass (_qalin_) of his men and brought in
masses of spoil.
Two days later we reached Shiraz. It belonged to Qasim Beg _Duldai_; his
_darogha_ (Sub-governor) could not hold it and surrendered.[315] It was
given into Ibrahim _Saru's_ charge. After making there, next day, the
Prayer of the Breaking of the Fast (_`Idu'l-fitr_), we moved for
Samarkand and dismounted in the reserve (_qurugh_) of Ab-i-yar (Water of
Might). That day waited on me with 3 or 400 men, Qasim _Duldai_,
[Sidenote: Fol. 39b.] Wais _Laghari_, Muhammad Sighal's grandson,
Hasan,[316] and Sl. Muhammad Wais. What they said was this: 'Bai-sunghar
Mirza came out and has gone back; we have left him therefore and are
here for the _padshah's_ service,' but it was known later that they must
have left the Mirza at his request to defend Shiraz, and that the Shiraz
affair having become what it was, they had nothing for it but to come to
us.
When we dismounted at Qara-bulaq, they brought in several Mughuls
arrested because of senseless conduct to humble village elders coming in
to us.[317] Qasim Beg _Quchin_ for discipline's sake (_siyasat_) had
two or three of them cut to pieces. It was on this account he left me
and went to Hisar four or five years later, in the guerilla times, (907
AH.) when I was going from the Macha country to The Khan.[318]
Marching from Qara-bulaq, we crossed the river (_i.e._ the Zar-afshan)
and dismounted near Yam.[319] On that same day, our men got to grips
with Bai-sunghar Mirza's at the head of the Avenue. Sl. Ahmad _Tambal_
was struck in the neck by a spear but not unhorsed. Khwajaki
Mulla-i-sadr, Khwaja-i-kalan's eldest brother, was pierced in the nape
of the neck[320] by an arrow and went straightway to God's mercy. An
excellent soldier, my father before me had favoured him, making him
Keeper of the Seal; he was a student of theology, had great [Sidenote:
Fol. 40.] acquaintance with words and a good style; moreover he
undertook hawking and rain-making with the jade-stone.
While we were at Yam, people, dealers and other, came out in crowds so
that the camp became a bazar for buying and selling. One day, at the
Other Prayer, suddenly, a general hubbub arose and all those Musalman
(traders) were plundered. Such however was the discipline of our army
that an order to restore everything having been given, the first watch
(_pahar_) of the next day had not passed before nothing, not a tag of
cotton, not a broken needle's point, remained in the possession of any
man of the force, all was back with its owners.
Marching from Yam, it was dismounted in Khan Yurti (The Khan's Camping
Ground),[321] some 6 m. (3 _kuroh_) east of Samarkand. We lay there for
40 or 50 days. During the time, men from their side and from ours
chopped at one another (_chapqu-lashtilar_) several times in the Avenue.
One day when Ibrahim _Begchik_ was chopping away there, he was cut on
the face; thereafter people called him _Chapuk_ (_BalafrÈ_). Another
time, this also in the Avenue, at the Maghak (Fosse) Bridge[322]
Abu'l-qasim (_Kohbur Chaghatai_) got in with his mace. Once, again
[Sidenote: Fol. 40b.] in the Avenue, near the Mill-sluice, when Mir Shah
_Quchin_ also got in with his mace, they cut his neck almost
half-through; most fortunately the great artery was not severed.
While we were in Khan Yurti, some in the fort sent the deceiving
message,[323] 'Come you to-night to the Lovers' Cave side and we will
give you the fort.' Under this idea, we went that night to the Maghak
Bridge and from there sent a party of good horse and foot to the
rendezvous. Four or five of the household foot-soldiers had gone forward
when the matter got wind. They were very active men; one, known as Haji,
had served me from my childhood; another people called Mahmud
_Kundur-sangak_.[324] They were all killed.
While we lay in Khan Yurti, so many Samarkandis came out that the camp
became a town where everything looked for in a town was to be had.
Meantime all the forts, Samarkand excepted, and the Highlands and the
Lowlands were coming in to us. As in Aurgut, however, a fort on the
skirt of the Shavdar (var. Shadwar) range, a party of men held
fast[325], of necessity we moved out from Khan Yurti against them. They
could not maintain themselves, and surrendered, making [Sidenote: Fol.
41.] Khwaja-i-qazi their mediator. Having pardoned their offences
against ourselves, we went back to beleaguer Samarkand.
(_b. Affairs of Sl. Husain Mirza and his son, Badi`u'z-zaman
Mirza._)[326]
This year the mutual recriminations of Sl. Husain Mirza and
Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza led on to fighting; here are the particulars:--Last
year, as has been mentioned, Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza and Muzaffar Husain
Mirza had been made to kneel for Balkh and Astarabad. From that time
till this, many envoys had come and gone, at last even `Ali-sher Beg had
gone but urge it as all did, Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza would not consent to
give up Astarabad. 'The Mirza,' he said, 'assigned[327] it to my son,
Muhammad Mu`min Mirza at the time of his circumcision.' A conversation
had one day between him and `Ali-sher Beg testifies to his acuteness and
to the sensibility of `Ali-sher Beg's feelings. After saying many things
of a private nature in the Mirza's ear, `Ali-sher Beg added, 'Forget
these matters.'[328] 'What matters?' rejoined the Mirza instantly.
`Ali-sher Beg was much affected and cried a good deal.
At length the jarring words of this fatherly and filial discussion went
so far that _his_ father against his father, and _his_ son against his
son drew armies out for Balkh and Astarabad.[329]
Up (from Harat) to the Pul-i-chiragh meadow, below Garzawan,[330] went
Sl. Husain Mirza; down (from Balkh) came [Sidenote: Fol. 41b.]
Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza. On the first day of Ramzan (May 2nd.) Abu'l-muhsin
Mirza advanced, leading some of his father's light troops. There was
nothing to call a battle; Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza was routed and of his
braves masses were made prisoner. Sl. Husain Mirza ordered that all
prisoners should be beheaded; this not here only but wherever he
defeated a rebel son, he ordered the heads of all prisoners to be struck
off. And why not? Right was with him. The (rebel) Mirzas were so given
over to vice and social pleasure that even when a general so skilful and
experienced as their father was within half-a-day's journey of them, and
when before the blessed month of Ramzan, one night only remained, they
busied themselves with wine and pleasure, without fear of their father,
without dread of God. Certain it is that those so lost (_yutkan_) will
perish and that any hand can deal a blow at those thus going to
perdition (_autkan_). During the several years of Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza's
rule in Astarabad, his coterie and his following, his bare (_yalang_)
braves even, were in full splendour[4] and adornment. He had many gold
and silver drinking cups [Sidenote: Fol. 42.] and utensils, much silken
plenishing and countless tipuchaq horses. He now lost everything. He
hurled himself in his flight down a mountain track, leading to a
precipitous fall. He himself got down the fall, with great difficulty,
but many of his men perished there.[331]
After defeating Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza, Sl. Husain Mirza moved on to
Balkh. It was in charge of Shaikh `Ali Taghai; he, not able to defend
it, surrendered and made his submission. The Mirza gave Balkh to Ibrahim
Husain Mirza, left Muhammad Wali Beg and Shah Husain, the page, with him
and went back to Khurasan.
Defeated and destitute, with his braves bare and his bare
foot-soldiers[332], Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza drew off to Khusrau Shah in
Qunduz. Khusrau Shah, for his part, did him good service, such service
indeed, such kindness with horses and camels, tents and pavilions and
warlike equipment of all sorts, both for himself and those with him,
that eye-witnesses said between this and his former equipment the only
difference might be in the gold and silver vessels.
(_c. Dissension between Sl. Mas`ud Mirza and Khusrau Shah._)
Ill-feeling and squabbles had arisen between Sl. Mas`ud Mirza and
Khusrau Shah because of the injustices of the one and the
self-magnifyings of the other. Now therefore Khusrau Shah joined his
brothers, Wali and Baqi to Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza and sent the three
against Hisar. They could not even [Sidenote: Fol. 42b.] get near the
fort, in the outskirts swords were crossed once or twice; one day at the
Bird-house[333] on the north of Hisar, Muhibb-`ali, the armourer
(_qurchi_), outstripped his people and struck in well; he fell from his
horse but at the moment of his capture, his men attacked and freed him.
A few days later a somewhat compulsory peace was made and Khusrau Shah's
army retired.
Shortly after this, Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza drew off by the mountain-road
to Zu'n-nun _Arghun_ and his son, Shuja` _Arghun_ in Qandahar and
Zamin-dawar. Stingy and miserly as Zu'n-nun was, he served the Mirza
well, in one single present offering 40,000 sheep.
Amongst curious happenings of the time one was this: Wednesday was the
day Sl. Husain Mirza beat Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza; Wednesday was the day
Muzaffar Husain Mirza beat Muhammad Mu`min Mirza; Wednesday, more
curious still, was the name of the man who unhorsed and took prisoner,
Muhammad Mu`min Mirza.[334]
903 AH.--AUG. 30TH. 1497 TO AUG. 19TH. 1498 AD.[335]
(_a. Resumed account of Babur's second attempt on Samarkand._)
When we had dismounted in the Qulba (Plough) meadow,[336] behind the
Bagh-i-maidan (Garden of the plain), the Samarkandis came out in great
numbers to near Muhammad Chap's [Sidenote: Fol. 43.] Bridge. Our men
were unprepared; and before they were ready, Baba `Ali's (son) Baba Quli
had been unhorsed and taken into the fort. A few days later we moved to
the top of Qulba, at the back of Kohik.[337] That day Sayyid Yusuf,[338]
having been sent out of the town, came to our camp and did me obeisance.
The Samarkandis, fancying that our move from the one ground to the other
meant, 'He has given it up,' came out, soldiers and townsmen in alliance
(through the Turquoise Gate), as far as the Mirza's Bridge and, through
the Shaikh-zada's Gate, as far as Muhammad Chap's. We ordered our braves
to arm and ride out; they were strongly attacked from both sides, from
Muhammad Chap's Bridge and from the Mirza's, but God brought it right!
our foes were beaten. Begs of the best and the boldest of braves our men
unhorsed and brought in. Amongst them Hafiz _Duldai's_ (son) Muhammad
_Miskin_[339] was taken, after his index-finger had been struck off;
Muhammad Qasim _Nabira_ also was unhorsed and brought in by his own
younger brother, Hasan _Nabira_.[340] There were many other such
soldiers and known men. Of the town-rabble, were brought in Diwana, the
tunic-weaver and _Kalqashuq_,[341] headlong leaders both, in brawl and
tumult; they [Sidenote: Fol. 43b.] were ordered to death with torture in
blood-retaliation for our foot-soldiers, killed at the Lovers'
Cave.[342] This was a complete reverse for the Samarkandis; they came
out no more even when our men used to go to the very edge of the ditch
and bring back their slaves and slave-women.
The Sun entered the Balance and cold descended on us.[343] I therefore
summoned the begs admitted to counsel and it was decided, after
discussion, that although the towns-people were so enfeebled that, by
God's grace, we should take Samarkand, it might be to-day, it might be
to-morrow, still, rather than suffer from cold in the open, we ought to
rise from near it and go for winter-quarters into some fort, and that,
even if we had to leave those quarters later on, this would be done
without further trouble. As Khwaja Didar seemed a suitable fort, we
marched there and having dismounted in the meadow lying before it, went
in, fixed on sites for the winter-houses and covered shelters,[344] left
overseers and inspectors of the work and returned to our camp in the
meadow. There we lay during the few days before the winter-houses were
finished.
Meantime Bai-sunghar Mirza had sent again and again to ask help from
Shaibani Khan. On the morning of the very day on which, our quarters
being ready, we had moved into Khwaja Didar, the Khan, having ridden
light from Turkistan, [Sidenote: Fol. 44.] stood over against our
camping-ground. Our men were not all at hand; some, for winter-quarters,
had gone to Khwaja Rabati, some to Kabud, some to Shiraz. None-the-less,
we formed up those there were and rode out. Shaibani Khan made no stand
but drew off towards Samarkand. He went right up to the fort but because
the affair had not gone as Bai-sunghar Mirza wished, did not get a good
reception. He therefore turned back for Turkistan a few days later, in
disappointment, with nothing done.
Bai-sunghar Mirza had sustained a seven months' siege; his one hope had
been in Shaibani Khan; this he had lost and he now with 2 or 300 of his
hungry suite, drew off from Samarkand, for Khusrau Shah in Qunduz.
When he was near Tirmiz, at the Amu ferry, the Governor of Tirmiz,
Sayyid Husain Akbar, kinsman and confidant both of Sl. Mas`ud Mirza,
heard of him and went out against him. The Mirza himself got across the
river but Mirim Tarkhan was drowned and all the rest of his people were
captured, together with his baggage and the camels loaded with his
personal effects; even his page, Muhammad Tahir, falling into Sayyid
Husain Akbar's hands. Khusrau Shah, for his part, looked kindly on the
Mirza.
[Sidenote: Fol. 44b.] When the news of his departure reached us, we got
to horse and started from Khwaja Didar for Samarkand. To give us
honourable meeting on the road, were nobles and braves, one after
another. It was on one of the last ten days of the first Rabi` (end of
November 1497 AD.), that we entered the citadel and dismounted at the
Bu-stan Sarai. Thus, by God's favour, were the town and the country of
Samarkand taken and occupied.
(_b. Description of Samarkand._)[345]
Few towns in the whole habitable world are so pleasant as Samarkand. It
is of the Fifth Climate and situated in lat. 40∞ 6' and long. 99∞.[346]
The name of the town is Samarkand; its country people used to call Ma
wara'u'n-nahr (Transoxania).
They used to call it _Baldat-i-mahfuza_ because no foe laid hands on it
with storm and sack.[347] It must have become[348] Musalman in the time
of the Commander of the Faithful, his Highness `Usman. Qusam ibn
`Abbas, one of the Companions[349] must have gone there; his
burial-place, known as the Tomb of Shah-i-zinda (The Living Shah,
_i.e._, Faqir) is outside the Iron Gate. Iskandar must have founded
Samarkand. The Turk and Mughul hordes call it Simiz-kint.[350] Timur Beg
made it his capital; no ruler so great will ever have made it a capital
before (_qilghan aimas dur_). I ordered people to pace round the
ramparts of the walled-town; it came out at 10,000 steps.[351]
Samarkandis are all orthodox (_sunni_), pure-in-the Faith, law-abiding
and religious. The number of Leaders [Sidenote: Fol. 45.] of Islam said
to have arisen in Ma wara'u'n-nahr, since the days of his Highness the
Prophet, are not known to have arisen in any other country.[352] From
the Matarid suburb of Samarkand came Shaikh Abu'l-mansur, one of the
Expositors of the Word.[353] Of the two sects of Expositors, the
Mataridiyah and the Ash`ariyah,[354] the first is named from this
Shaikh Abu'l-mansur. Of Ma wara'u'n-nahr also was Khwaja Isma`il
_Khartank_, the author of the _Sahih-i-bukhari_.[355] From the Farghana
district, Marghinan--Farghana, though at the limit of settled habitation,
is included in Ma wara'u'n-nahr,--came the author of the _Hidayat_,[356]
a book than which few on Jurisprudence are more honoured in the sect of
Abu Hanifa.
On the east of Samarkand are Farghana and Kashghar; on the west, Bukhara
and Khwarizm; on the north, Tashkint and Shahrukhiya,--in books written
Shash and Banakat; and on the south, Balkh and Tirmiz.
The Kohik Water flows along the north of Samarkand, at the distance of
some 4 miles (2 _kuroh_); it is so-called because it comes out from
under the upland of the Little Hill (_Kohik_)[357] lying between it and
the town. The Dar-i-gham Water (canal) flows along the south, at the
distance of some two miles (1 _shari`_). This is a large and swift
torrent,[358] indeed it is like a large river, cut off from the Kohik
Water. All the gardens and suburbs and some of the _tumans_ of Samarkand
are cultivated by it. By the Kohik Water a stretch of from 30 to 40
_yighach_,[359] by road, is made habitable and cultivated, as far as
Bukhara and Qara-kul. Large as the river is, it is not too large for
its dwellings and its culture; during three or four months of the
[Sidenote: Fol. 45b.] year, indeed, its waters do not reach
Bukhara.[360] Grapes, melons, apples and pomegranates, all fruits
indeed, are good in Samarkand; two are famous, its apple and its
_sahibi_ (grape).[361] Its winter is mightily cold; snow falls but not
so much as in Kabul; in the heats its climate is good but not so good as
Kabul's.
In the town and suburbs of Samarkand are many fine buildings and gardens
of Timur Beg and Aulugh Beg Mirza.[362]
In the citadel,[363] Timur Beg erected a very fine building, the great
four-storeyed kiosque, known as the Guk Sarai.[364] In the walled-town,
again, near the Iron Gate, he built a Friday Mosque[365] of stone
(_sangin_); on this worked many stone-cutters, brought from Hindustan.
Round its frontal arch is inscribed in letters large enough to be read
two miles away, the Qu'ran verse, _Wa az yerfa` Ibrahim al Qawa`id ali
akhara_.[366] This also is a very fine building. Again, he laid out two
gardens, on the east of the town, one, the more distant, the
Bagh-i-bulandi,[367] the other and nearer, the Bagh-i-dilkusha.[368]
From Dilkusha to the Turquoise Gate, he planted an Avenue of White
Poplar,[369] and in the garden itself erected a great kiosque, painted
inside [Sidenote: Fol. 46.] with pictures of his battles in Hindustan.
He made another garden, known as the Naqsh-i-jahan (World's Picture), on
the skirt of Kohik, above the Qara-su or, as people also call it, the
Ab-i-rahmat (Water-of-mercy) of Kan-i-gil.[370] It had gone to ruin when
I saw it, nothing remaining of it except its name. His also are the
Bagh-i-chanar,[371] near the walls and below the town on the south,[372]
also the Bagh-i-shamal (North Garden) and the Bagh-i-bihisht (Garden of
Paradise). His own tomb and those of his descendants who have ruled in
Samarkand, are in a College, built at the exit (_chaqar_) of the
walled-town, by Muhammad Sultan Mirza, the son of Timur Beg's son,
Jahangir Mirza.[373]
Amongst Aulugh Beg Mirza's buildings inside the town are a College and a
monastery (_Khanqah_). The dome of the monastery is very large, few so
large are shown in the world. Near these two buildings, he constructed
an excellent Hot Bath (_hammam_) known as the Mirza's Bath; he had the
pavements in this made of all sorts of stone (? mosaic); such another
bath is not known in Khurasan or in Samarkand.[374] [Sidenote: Fol.
46b.] Again;--to the south of the College is his mosque, known as the
Masjid-i-maqata` (Carved Mosque) because its ceiling and its walls are
all covered with _islimi_[375] and Chinese pictures formed of segments
of wood.[376] There is great discrepancy between the _qibla_ of this
mosque and that of the College; that of the mosque seems to have been
fixed by astronomical observation.
Another of Aulugh Beg Mirza's fine buildings is an observatory, that is,
an instrument for writing Astronomical Tables.[377] This stands three
storeys high, on the skirt of the Kohik upland. By its means the Mirza
worked out the Kurkani Tables, now used all over the world. Less work is
done with any others. Before these were made, people used the Ail-khani
Tables, put together at Maragha, by Khwaja Nasir _Tusi_,[378] in the
time of Hulaku Khan. Hulaku Khan it is, people call _Ail-khani_.[379]
(_Author's note._) Not more than seven or eight observatories
seem to have been constructed in the world. Mamum Khalifa[380]
(Caliph) made one with which the _Mamumi_ Tables were written.
Batalmus (Ptolemy) constructed another. Another was made, in
Hindustan, in the time of Raja Vikramaditya _Hindu_, in Ujjain
and Dhar, that is, the Malwa country, now known as Mandu. The
Hindus of Hindustan use the Tables of this Observatory. They
were put together 1,584 years ago.[381] [Sidenote: Fol. 47.]
Compared with others, they are somewhat defective.
Aulugh Beg Mirza again, made the garden known as the Bagh-i-maidan
(Garden of the Plain), on the skirt of the Kohik upland. In the middle
of it he erected a fine building they call Chihil Situn (Forty Pillars).
On both storeys are pillars, all of stone (_tashdin_).[382] Four
turrets, like minarets, stand on its four corner-towers, the way up into
them being through the towers. Everywhere there are stone pillars, some
fluted, some twisted, some many-sided. On the four sides of the upper
storey are open galleries enclosing a four-doored hall (_char-dara_);
their pillars also are all of stone. The raised floor of the building is
all paved with stone.
He made a smaller garden, out beyond Chihil Situn and towards Kohik,
also having a building in it. In the open gallery of this building he
placed a great stone throne, some 14 or 15 yards (_qari_) long, some 8
yards wide and perhaps 1 yard high. They brought a stone so large by a
very long road.[383] There is a crack in the middle of it which people
say must have come after it was brought here. In the same [Sidenote:
Fol. 47b.] garden he also built a four-doored hall, know as the
Chini-khana (Porcelain House) because its _izara_[384] are all of
porcelain; he sent to China for the porcelain used in it. Inside the
walls again, is an old building of his, known as the Masjid-i-laqlaqa
(Mosque of the Echo). If anyone stamps on the ground under the middle of
the dome of this mosque, the sound echoes back from the whole dome; it
is a curious matter of which none know the secret.
In the time also of Sl. Ahmad Mirza the great and lesser begs laid out
many gardens, large and small.[385] For beauty, and air, and view, few
will have equalled Darwesh Muhammad Tarkhan's Char-bagh (Four
Gardens).[386] It lies overlooking the whole of Qulba Meadow, on the
slope below the Bagh-i-maidan. Moreover it is arranged symmetrically,
terrace above terrace, and is planted with beautiful _narwan_[387] and
cypresses and white poplar. A most agreeable sojourning place, its one
defect is the want of a large stream.
Samarkand is a wonderfully beautified town. One of its specialities,
perhaps found in few other places,[388] is that the different trades are
not mixed up together in it but each has its own _bazar_, a good sort of
plan. Its bakers and its cooks are good. The best paper in the world is
made there; the water for the paper-mortars[389] all comes from
Kan-i-gil,[390] a meadow on the banks of the Qara-su (Blackwater) or
Ab-i-rahmat (Water of Mercy). [Sidenote: Fol. 48.] Another article of
Samarkand trade, carried to all sides and quarters, is cramoisy velvet.
Excellent meadows lie round Samarkand. One is the famous Kan-i-gil, some
2 miles east and a little north of the town. The Qara-su or Ab-i-rahmat
flows through it, a stream (with driving power) for perhaps seven or
eight mills. Some say the original name of the meadow must have been
Kan-i-abgir (Mine of Quagmire) because the river is bordered by
quagmire, but the histories all write Kan-i-gil (Mine of clay). It is an
excellent meadow. The Samarkand sultans always made it their
reserve,[391] going out to camp in it each year for a month or two.
Higher up (on the river) than Kan-i-gil and to the s.e. of it is a
meadow some 4 miles east of the town, known as Khan Yurti (Khan's
Camping-ground). The Qara-su flows through this meadow before entering
Kan-i-gil. When it comes to Khan Yurti it curves back so far that it
encloses, with a very narrow outlet, enough ground for a camp. Having
noticed these advantages, we camped there for a time during [Sidenote:
Fol. 48b.] the siege of Samarkand.[392]
Another meadow is the Budana Qurugh (Quail Reserve), lying between
Dil-kusha and the town. Another is the Kul-i-maghak (Meadow of the deep
pool) at some 4 miles from the town. This also is a round[393] meadow.
People call it Kul-i-maghak meadow because there is a large pool on one
side of it. Sl. `Ali Mirza lay here during the siege, when I was in Khan
Yurti. Another and smaller meadow is Qulba (Plough); it has Qulba
Village and the Kohik Water on the north, the Bagh-i-maidan and Darwesh
Muhammad Tarkhan's Char-bagh on the south, and the Kohik upland on the
west.
Samarkand has good districts and _tumans_. Its largest district, and one
that is its equal, is Bukhara, 25 _yighach_[394] to the west. Bukhara in
its turn, has several _tumans_; it is a fine town; its fruits are many
and good, its melons excellent; none in Ma wara'u'n-nahr matching them
for quality and quantity. Although the Mir Timuri melon of Akhsi[395] is
sweeter and more delicate than any Bukhara melon, still in Bukhara many
kinds of melon are good and plentiful. The Bukhara plum is famous; no
other equals it. They skin it,[396] dry it and [Sidenote: Fol. 49.]
carry it from land to land with rarities (_tabarruklar bila_); it is an
excellent laxative medicine. Fowls and geese are much looked after
(_parwari_) in Bukhara. Bukhara wine is the strongest made in Ma
wara'u'n-nahr; it was what I drank when drinking in those countries at
Samarkand.[397]
Kesh is another district of Samarkand, 9 _yighach_[398] by road to the
south of the town. A range called the Aitmak Pass (_Daban_)[399] lies
between Samarkand and Kesh; from this are taken all the stones for
building. Kesh is called also Shahr-i-sabz (Green-town) because its
barren waste (_sahr_) and roofs and walls become beautifully green in
spring. As it was Timur Beg's birth-place, he tried hard to make it his
capital. He erected noble buildings in it. To seat his own Court, he
built a great arched hall and in this seated his Commander-begs and his
Diwan-begs, on his right and on his left. For those attending the Court,
he built two smaller halls, and to seat petitioners to his Court, built
quite small recesses on the four sides of the Court-house.[400] Few
arches so fine can be shown in the world. It is said to be higher than
the Kisri Arch.[401] Timur Beg also built in Kesh a college and a
mausoleum, in which are the tombs of Jahangir Mirza and others of his
descendants.[402] As Kesh did not offer the same facilities as
[Sidenote: Fol. 49b.] Samarkand for becoming a town and a capital, he
at last made clear choice of Samarkand.
Another district is Qarshi, known also as Nashaf and Nakhshab.[403]
Qarshi is a Mughul name. In the Mughul tongue they call a _kur-khana_
Qarshi.[404] The name must have come in after the rule of Chingiz Khan.
Qarshi is somewhat scantily supplied with water; in spring it is very
beautiful and its grain and melons are good. It lies 18 _yighach_[405]
by road south and a little inclined to west of Samarkand. In the
district a small bird, known as the _qil-quyirugh_ and resembling the
_baghri qara_, is found in such countless numbers that it goes by the
name of the Qarshi birdie (_murghak_).[406]
Khozar is another district; Karmina another, lying between Samarkand and
Bukhara; Qara-kul another, 7 _yighach_[407] n.w. of Bukhara and at the
furthest limit of the water.
Samarkand has good _tumans_. One is Soghd with its dependencies. Its
head Yar-yilaq, its foot Bukhara, there may be not one single _yighach_
of earth without its village and its cultivated lands. So famous is it
that the saying attributed to Timur Beg, 'I have a garden 30 _yighach_
long,[408] must have been spoken of Soghd. Another _tuman_ is Shavdar
(var. Shadwar), an excellent one adjoining the town-suburbs. On one side
it has the range (Aitmak Daban), lying between Samarkand and [Sidenote:
Fol. 50.] Shahr-i-sabz, on the skirts of which are many of its villages.
On the other side is the Kohik Water (_i.e._ the Dar-i-gham canal).
There it lies! an excellent _tuman_, with fine air, full of beauty,
abounding in waters, its good things cheap. Observers of Egypt and Syria
have not pointed out its match.
Though Samarkand has other _tumans_, none rank with those enumerated;
with so much, enough has been said.
Timur Beg gave the government of Samarkand to his eldest son, Jahangir
Mirza (in 776 AH.-1375 AD.); when Jahangir Mirza died (805 AH.-1403
AD.), he gave it to the Mirza's eldest son, Muhammad Sultan-i-jahangir;
when Muhammad Sultan Mirza died, it went to Shah-rukh Mirza, Timur Beg's
youngest son. Shah-rukh Mirza gave the whole of Ma wara'u'n-nahr (in 872
AH.-1467 AD.) to his eldest son, Aulugh Beg Mirza. From him his own son,
`Abdu'l-latif Mirza took it, (853 AH.-1449 AD.), for the sake of this
five days' fleeting world martyring a father so full of years and
knowledge.
The following chronogram gives the date of Aulugh Beg Mirza's death:--
Aulugh Beg, an ocean of wisdom and science,
The pillar of realm and religion,
Sipped from the hand of `Abbas, the mead of martyrdom,
And the date of the death is _`Abbas kasht_ (`Abbas slew).[409]
Though `Abdu'l-latif Mirza did not rule more than five or six months,
the following couplet was current about him:--
Ill does sovereignty befit the parricide;
Should he rule, be it for no more than six months.[410]
This chronogram of the death of `Abdu'l-latif Mirza is also well done:--
`Abdu'l-latif, in glory a Khusrau and Jamshid, [Sidenote: Fol. 50b.]
In his train a Faridun and Zardusht,
Baba Husain slew on the Friday Eve,
With an arrow. Write as its date, _Baba Husain kasht_ (Baba
Husain slew).[411]
After `Abdu'l-latif Mirza's death, (Jumada I, 22, 855 AH.-June 22nd.
1450 AD.), (his cousin) `Abdu'l-lah Mirza, the grandson of Shah-rukh
Mirza through Ibrahim Mirza, seated himself on the throne and ruled for
18 months to two years.[412] From him Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza took it (855
AH.-1451 AD.). He in his life-time gave it to his eldest son, Sl. Ahmad
Mirza; Sl. Ahmad Mirza continued to rule it after his father's death
(873 AH.-1469 AD.). On his death (899 AH.-1494 AD.) Sl. Mahmud Mirza was
seated on the throne and on his death (900 AH.-1495 AD.) Bai-sunghar
Mirza. Bai-sunghar Mirza was made prisoner for a few days, during the
Tarkhan rebellion (901 AH.-1496 AD.), and his younger brother, Sl. `Ali
Mirza was seated on the throne, but Bai-sunghar Mirza, as has been
related in this history, took it again directly. From Bai-sunghar Mirza
I took it (903 AH.-1497 AD.). Further details will be learned from the
ensuing history.
(_c. Babur's rule in Samarkand._)
When I was seated on the throne, I shewed the Samarkand begs precisely
the same favour and kindness they had had before. I bestowed rank and
favour also on the begs with me, [Sidenote: Fol. 51.] to each according
to his circumstances, the largest share falling to Sl. Ahmad _Tambal_;
he had been in the household begs' circle; I now raised him to that of
the great begs.
We had taken the town after a seven months' hard siege. Things of one
sort or other fell to our men when we got in. The whole country, with
exception of Samarkand itself, had come in earlier either to me or to
Sl. `Ali Mirza and consequently had not been over-run. In any case
however, what could have been taken from districts so long subjected to
raid and rapine? The booty our men had taken, such as it was, came to an
end. When we entered the town, it was in such distress that it needed
seed-corn and money-advances; what place was this to take anything from?
On these accounts our men suffered great privation. We ourselves could
give them nothing. Moreover they yearned for their homes and, by ones
and twos, set their faces for flight. The first to go was Bayan Quli's
(son) Khan Quli; Ibrahim _Begchik_ was another; all the Mughuls went off
and, a little later, Sl. Ahmad _Tambal_.
Auzun Hasan counted himself a very sincere and faithful friend of
Khwaja-i-qazi; we therefore, to put a stop to these desertions, sent the
Khwaja to him (in Andijan) so that they, [Sidenote: Fol. 51b.] in
agreement, might punish some of the deserters and send others back to
us. But that very Auzun Hasan, that traitor to his salt, may have been
the stirrer-up of the whole trouble and the spur-to-evil of the
deserters from Samarkand. Directly Sl. Ahmad _Tambal_ had gone, all the
rest took up a wrong position.
(_d. Andijan demanded of Babur by The Khan, and also for Jahangir
Mirza._)
Although, during the years in which, coveting Samarkand, I had
persistently led my army out, Sl. Mahmud Khan[413] had provided me with
no help whatever, yet, now it had been taken, he wanted Andijan.
Moreover, Auzun Hasan and Sl. Ahmad _Tambal_, just when soldiers of ours
and all the Mughuls had deserted to Andijan and Akhsi, wanted those two
districts for Jahangir Mirza. For several reasons, those districts could
not be given to them. One was, that though not promised to The Khan, yet
he had asked for them and, as he persisted in asking, an agreement with
him was necessary, if they were to be given to Jahangir Mirza. A further
reason was that to ask for them just when deserters from us had fled to
them, was very like a command. If the matter had been brought forward
earlier, some way of tolerating a command might have been found. At
[Sidenote: Fol. 52.] the moment, as the Mughuls and the Andijan army and
several even of my household had gone to Andijan, I had with me in
Samarkand, beg for beg, good and bad, somewhere about 1000 men.
When Auzun Hasan and Sl. Ahmad _Tambal_ did not get what they wanted,
they invited all those timid fugitives to join them. Just such a
happening, those timid people, for their own sakes, had been asking of
God in their terror. Hereupon, Auzun Hasan and Sl. Ahmad _Tambal_,
becoming openly hostile and rebellious, led their army from Akhsi
against Andijan.
Tulun Khwaja was a bold, dashing, eager brave of the Barin (Mughuls). My
father had favoured him and he was still in favour, I myself having
raised him to the rank of beg. In truth he deserved favour, a
wonderfully bold and dashing brave! He, as being the man I favoured
amongst the Mughuls, was sent (after them) when they began to desert
from Samarkand, to counsel the clans and to chase fear from their hearts
so that [Sidenote: Fol. 52b.] they might not turn their heads to the
wind.[414] Those two traitors however, those false guides, had so
wrought on the clans that nothing availed, promise or entreaty, counsel
or threat. Tulun Khwaja's march lay through Aiki-su-arasi,[415] known
also as Rabatik-aurchini. Auzun Hasan sent a skirmishing party against
him; it found him off his guard, seized and killed him. This done, they
took Jahangir Mirza and went to besiege Andijan.
(_e. Babur loses Andijan._)
In Andijan when my army rode out for Samarkand, I had left Auzun Hasan
and `Ali-dost Taghai (Ramzan 902 AH.-May 1497 AD.). Khwaja-i-qazi had
gone there later on, and there too were many of my men from Samarkand.
During the siege, the Khwaja, out of good-will to me, apportioned 18,000
of his own sheep to the garrison and to the families of the men still
with me. While the siege was going on, letters kept coming to me from my
mothers[416] and from the Khwaja, saying in effect, 'They are besieging
us in this way; if at our cry of distress you do not come, things will
go all to ruin. Samarkand was taken [Sidenote: Fol. 53.] by the strength
of Andijan; if Andijan is in your hands, God willing, Samarkand can be
had again.' One after another came letters to this purport. Just then I
was recovering from illness but, not having been able to take due care
in the days of convalescence, I went all to pieces again and this time,
became so very ill that for four days my speech was impeded and they
used to drop water into my mouth with cotton. Those with me, begs and
bare braves alike, despairing of my life, began each to take thought for
himself. While I was in this condition, the begs, by an error of
judgment, shewed me to a servant of Auzun Hasan's, a messenger come with
wild proposals, and then dismissed him. In four or five days, I became
somewhat better but still could not speak, in another few days, was
myself again.
Such letters! so anxious, so beseeching, coming from my mothers, that is
from my own and hers, Aisan-daulat Begim, and from my teacher and
spiritual guide, that is, Khwaja-i-maulana-i-qazi, with what heart would
a man not move? We left Samarkand for Andijan on a Saturday in Rajab
(Feb.-March), when I had ruled 100 days in the town. It was [Sidenote:
Fol. 53b.] Saturday again when we reached Khujand and on that day a
person brought news from Andijan, that seven days before, that is on the
very day we had left Samarkand, `Ali-dost Taghai had surrendered
Andijan.
These are the particulars;--The servant of Auzun Hasan who, after seeing
me, was allowed to leave, had gone to Andijan and there said, 'The
_padshah_ cannot speak and they are dropping water into his mouth with
cotton.' Having gone and made these assertions in the ordinary way, he
took oath in `Ali-dost Taghai's presence. `Ali-dost Taghai was in the
Khakan Gate. Becoming without footing through this matter, he invited
the opposite party into the fort, made covenant and treaty with them,
and surrendered Andijan. Of provisions and of fighting men, there was no
lack whatever; the starting point of the surrender was the cowardice of
that false and faithless manikin; what was told him, he made a pretext
to put himself in the right.
When the enemy, after taking possession of Andijan, heard of my arrival
in Khujand, they martyred Khwaja-i-maulana-i-qazi by hanging him, with
dishonour, in the Gate of the citadel. [Sidenote: Fol. 54.] He had come
to be known as Khwaja-maulana-i-qazi but his own name was `Abdu'l-lah.
On his father's side, his line went back to Shaikh Burhanu'd-din `Ali
_Qilich_, on his mother's to Sl. Ailik _Mazi_. This family had come to
be the Religious Guides (_muqtada_) and pontiff (_Shaikhu'l-islam_) and
Judge (_qazi_) in the Farghana country.[417] He was a disciple of his
Highness `Ubaidu'l-lah (_Ahrari_) and from him had his upbringing. I
have no doubt he was a saint (_wali_); what better witnesses to his
sanctity than the fact that within a short time, no sign or trace
remained of those active for his death? He was a wonderful man; it was
not in him to be afraid; in no other man was seen such courage as his.
This quality is a further witness to his sanctity. Other men, however
bold, have anxieties and tremours; he had none. When they had killed
him, they seized and plundered those connected with him, retainers and
servants, tribesmen and followers.
In anxiety for Andijan, we had given Samarkand out of our hands; then
heard we had lost Andijan. It was like the saying, 'In ignorance, made
to leave this place, shut out from that' (_Ghafil az in ja randa, az an
ja manda_). It was very hard and vexing to me; for why? never since I
had ruled, had I been cut [Sidenote: Fol. 54b.] off like this from my
retainers and my country; never since I had known myself, had I known
such annoyance and such hardship.
(_f. Babur's action from Khujand as his base._)
On our arrival in Khujand, certain hypocrites, not enduring to see
Khalifa in my Gate, had so wrought on Muhammad Husain Mirza _Dughlat_
and others that he was dismissed towards Tashkint. To Tashkint also
Qasim Beg _Quchin_ had been sent earlier, in order to ask The Khan's
help for a move on Andijan. The Khan consented to give it and came
himself by way of the Ahangaran Dale,[418] to the foot of the Kindirlik
Pass.[419] There I went also, from Khujand, and saw my Khan dada.[420]
We then crossed the pass and halted on the Akhsi side. The enemy for
their part, gathered their men and went to Akhsi.
Just at that time, the people in Pap[421] sent me word they had made
fast the fort but, owing to something misleading in The Khan's advance,
the enemy stormed and took it. Though The Khan had other good qualities
and was in other ways businesslike, he was much without merit as a
soldier and commander. Just when matters were at the point that if he
made one more march, it was most probable the country would be had
without fighting, at such a time! he gave ear to what the enemy said
with alloy of deceit, spoke of peace and, as his messengers, sent them
Khwaja Abu'l-makaram and his own [Sidenote: Fol. 55.] Lord of the Gate,
Beg _Tilba_ (Fool), _Tambal's_ elder brother. To save themselves those
others (_i.e._ Hasan and Tambal) mixed something true with what they
fabled and agreed to give gifts and bribes either to The Khan or to his
intermediaries. With this, The Khan retired.
As the families of most of my begs and household and braves were in
Andijan, 7 or 800 of the great and lesser begs and bare braves, left us
in despair of our taking the place. Of the begs were `Ali-darwesh Beg,
`Ali-mazid _Quchin_, Muhammad Baqir Beg, Shaikh `Abdu'l-lah, Lord of the
Gate and Mirim _Laghari_. Of men choosing exile and hardship with me,
there may have been, of good and bad, between 200 and 300. Of begs there
were Qasim _Quchin_ Beg, Wais _Laghari_ Beg, Ibrahim _Saru Mingligh_
Beg, Shirim Taghai, Sayyidi Qara Beg; and of my household, Mir Shah
_Quchin_, Sayyid Qasim _Jalair_, Lord of the Gate, Qasim-`ajab,
`Ali-dost Taghai's (son) Muhammad-dost, Muhammad-`ali _Mubashir_,[422]
Khudai-birdi _Tughchi Mughul_, Yarik Taghai, Baba `Ali's (son) Baba
Quli, Pir Wais, Shaikh Wais, [Sidenote: Fol. 55b.] Yar-`ali
_Balal_,[423] Qasim _Mir Akhwur_ (Chief Equerry) and Haidar _Rikabdar_
(stirrup-holder).
It came very hard on me; I could not help crying a good deal. Back I
went to Khujand and thither they sent me my mother and my grandmother
and the families of some of the men with me.
That Ramzan (April-May) we spent in Khujand, then mounted for Samarkand.
We had already sent to ask The Khan's help; he assigned, to act with us
against Samarkand, his son, Sl. Muhammad (Sultanim) Khanika and (his
son's guardian) Ahmad Beg with 4 or 5000 men and rode himself as far as
Aura-tipa. There I saw him and from there went on by way of Yar-yilaq,
past the Burka-yilaq Fort, the head-quarters of the sub-governor
(_darogha_) of the district. Sl. Muhammad Sultan and Ahmad Beg, riding
light and by another road, got to Yar-yilaq first but on their hearing
that Shaibani Khan was raiding Shiraz and thereabouts, turned back.
There was no help for it! Back I too had to go. Again I went to Khujand!
As there was in me ambition for rule and desire of conquest, I did not
sit at gaze when once or twice an affair had made no progress. Now I
myself, thinking to make another move for [Sidenote: Fol. 56.] Andijan,
went to ask The Khan's help. Over and above this, it was seven or eight
years since I had seen Shah Begim[424] and other relations; they also
were seen under the same pretext. After a few days, The Khan appointed
Sayyid Muhammad Husain (_Dughlat_) and Ayub _Begchik_ and Jan-hasan
_Barin_ with 7 or 8000 men to help us. With this help we started, rode
light, through Khujand without a halt, left Kand-i-badam on the left and
so to Nasukh, 9 or 10 _yighach_ of road beyond Khujand and 3 _yighach_
(12-18 m.) from Kand-i-badam, there set our ladders up and took the
fort. It was the melon season; one kind grown here, known as Isma`il
Shaikhi, has a yellow rind, feels like shagreen leather, has seeds like
an apple's and flesh four fingers thick. It is a wonderfully delicate
melon; no other such grows thereabout. Next day the Mughul begs
represented to me, 'Our fighting men are few; to what would holding this
one fort lead on?' In truth they were right; of what use was it to make
that fort fast and stay there? Back once more to Khujand!
(_f. Affairs of Khusrau Shah and the Timurid Mirzas_.)[425]
This year Khusrau Shah, taking Bai-sunghar Mirza with him, led his army
(from Qunduz) to Chaghanian and with false and treacherous intent, sent
this message to Hisar for Sl. Mas`ud Mirza, 'Come, betake yourself to
Samarkand; if [Sidenote: Fol. 56b.] Samarkand is taken, one Mirza may
seat himself there, the other in Hisar.' Just at the time, the Mirza's
begs and household were displeased with him, because he had shewn
excessive favour to his father-in-law, Shaikh `Abdu'l-lah _Barlas_ who
from Bai-sunghar Mirza had gone to him. Small district though Hisar is,
the Mirza had made the Shaikh's allowance 1,000 _tumans_ of _fulus_[426]
and had given him the whole of Khutlan in which were the holdings of
many of the Mirza's begs and household. All this Shaikh `Abdu'l-lah had;
he and his sons took also in whole and in part, the control of the
Mirza's gate. Those angered began, one after the other, to desert to
Bai-sunghar Mirza.
By those words of false alloy, having put Sl. Mas`ud Mirza off his
guard, Khusrau Shah and Bai-sunghar Mirza moved light out of Chaghanian,
surrounded Hisar and, at beat of morning-drum, took possession of it.
Sl. Mas`ud Mirza was in Daulat Sarai, a house his father had built in
the suburbs. Not being able to get into the fort, he drew off towards
Khutlan with Shaikh `Abu'l-lah _Barlas_, parted from him half-way,
crossed the river at the Aubaj ferry and betook himself to Sl. Husain
Mirza. Khusrau Shah, having taken Hisar, set Bai-sunghar [Sidenote: Fol.
57.] Mirza on the throne, gave Khutlan to his own younger brother, Wali
and rode a few days later, to lay siege to Balkh where, with many of his
father's begs, was Ibrahim Husain Mirza (_Bai-qara_). He sent Nazar
_Bahadur_, his chief retainer, on in advance with 3 or 400 men to near
Balkh, and himself taking Bai-sunghar Mirza with him, followed and laid
the siege.
Wali he sent off with a large force to besiege Shabarghan and raid and
ravage thereabouts. Wali, for his part, not being able to lay close
siege, sent his men off to plunder the clans and hordes of the Zardak
Chul, and they took him back over 100,000 sheep and some 3000 camels. He
then came, plundering the San-chirik country on his way, and raiding and
making captive the clans fortified in the hills, to join Khusrau Shah
before Balkh.
One day during the siege, Khusrau Shah sent the Nazar _Bahadur_ already
mentioned, to destroy the water-channels[427] of [Sidenote: Fol. 57b.]
Balkh. Out on him sallied Tingri-birdi _Samanchi_,[428] Sl. Husain
Mirza's favourite beg, with 70 or 80 men, struck him down, cut off his
head, carried it off, and went back into the fort. A very bold sally,
and he did a striking deed.
(_g. Affairs of Sl. Husain Mirza and Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza._)
This same year, Sl. Husain Mirza led his army out to Bast and there
encamped,[429] for the purpose of putting down Zu'n-nun _Arghun_ and his
son, Shah Shuja`, because they had become Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza's
retainers, had given him a daughter of Zu'n-nun in marriage and taken up
a position hostile to himself. No corn for his army coming in from any
quarter, it had begun to be distressed with hunger when the sub-governor
of Bast surrendered. By help of the stores of Bast, the Mirza got back
to Khurasan.
Since such a great ruler as Sl. Husain Mirza had twice led a splendid
and well-appointed army out and twice retired, without taking Qunduz, or
Hisar or Qandahar, his sons and his begs waxed bold in revolt and
rebellion. In the spring of this year, he sent a large army under
Muhammad Wali Beg to put down (his son) Muhammad Husain Mirza who,
supreme in Astarabad, had taken up a position hostile to himself. While
Sl. Husain Mirza was still lying in the Nishin meadow (near Harat), he
was surprised by Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza and Shah Shuja` Beg (_Arghun_). By
unexpected good-fortune, he had been [Sidenote: Fol. 58.] joined that
very day by Sl. Mas`ud Mirza, a refugee after bringing about the loss of
Hisar,[430] and also rejoined by a force of his own returning from
Astarabad. There was no question of fighting. Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza and
Shah Beg, brought face to face with these armies, took to flight.
Sl. Husain Mirza looked kindly on Sl. Mas`ud Mirza, made him kneel as a
son-in-law and gave him a place in his favour and affection.
None-the-less Sl. Mas`ud Mirza, at the instigation of Baqi
_Chaghaniani_, who had come earlier into Sl. Husain Mirza's service,
started off on some pretext, without asking leave, and went from the
presence of Sl. Husain Mirza to that of Khusrau Shah!
Khusrau Shah had already invited and brought from Hisar, Bai-sunghar
Mirza; to him had gone Aulugh Beg Mirza's son,[431] Miran-shah Mirza
who, having gone amongst the Hazara in rebellion against his father, had
been unable to remain amongst them because of his own immoderate acts.
Some short-sighted persons were themselves ready to kill these three
(Timurid) Mirzas and to read Khusrau Shah's name in the _khutba_ but he
himself did not think this combination desirable. The ungrateful
[Sidenote: Fol. 58b.] manikin however, for the sake of gain in this five
days' fleeting world,--it was not true to him nor will it be true to any
man soever,--seized that Sl. Mas`ud Mirza whom he had seen grow up in his
charge from childhood, whose guardian he had been, and blinded him with
the lancet.
Some of the Mirza's foster-brethren and friends of affection and old
servants took him to Kesh intending to convey him to his (half)-brother
Sl. `Ali Mirza in Samarkand but as that party also (_i.e._ `Ali's)
became threatening, they fled with him, crossed the river at the Aubaj
ferry and went to Sl. Husain Mirza.
A hundred thousand curses light on him who planned and did a deed so
horrible! Up to the very verge of Resurrection, let him who hears of
this act of Khusrau Shah, curse him; and may he who hearing, curses not,
know cursing equally deserved!
This horrid deed done, Khusrau Shah made Bai-sunghar Mirza ruler in
Hisar and dismissed him; Miran-shah Mirza he despatched for Bamian with
Sayyid Qasim to help him.
904 AH.--AUG. 19TH. 1498 TO AUG. 8TH. 1499 AD.[432]
(_a. Babur borrows Pashaghar and leaves Khujand._)
Twice we had moved out of Khujand, once for Andijan, once for Samarkand,
and twice we had gone back to it because our work was not opened
out.[433] Khujand is a poor place; a man with 2 or 300 followers would
have a hard time there; with [Sidenote: Fol. 59.] what outlook would an
ambitious man set himself down in it?
As it was our wish to return to Samarkand, we sent people to confer with
Muhammad Husain _Kurkan Dughlat_ in Aura-tipa and to ask of him the loan
for the winter of Pashaghar where we might sit till it was practicable
to make a move on Samarkand. He consenting, I rode out from Khujand for
Pashaghar.
(_Author's note on Pashaghar._) Pashaghar is one of the
villages of Yar-yilaq; it had belonged to his Highness the
Khwaja,[434] but during recent interregna,[435] it had become
dependent on Muhammad Husain Mirza.
I had fever when we reached Zamin, but spite of my fever we hurried off
by the mountain road till we came over against Rabat-i-khwaja, the
head-quarters of the sub-governor of the Shavdar _tuman_, where we hoped
to take the garrison at unawares, set our ladders up and so get into the
fort. We reached it at dawn, found its men on guard, turned back and
rode without halt to Pashaghar. The pains and misery of fever
notwithstanding, I had ridden 14 or 15 _yighach_ (70 to 80 miles).
After a few days in Pashaghar, we appointed Ibrahim _Saru_, [Sidenote:
Fol. 59b.] Wais _Laghari_, Sherim Taghai and some of the household and
braves to make an expedition amongst the Yar-yilaq forts and get them
into our hands. Yar-yilaq, at that time was Sayyid Yusuf Beg's,[436] he
having remained in Samarkand at the exodus and been much favoured by Sl.
`Ali Mirza. To manage the forts, Sayyid Yusuf had sent his younger
brother's son, Ahmad-i-yusuf, now[437] Governor of Sialkot, and
Ahmad-i-yusuf was then in occupation. In the course of that winter, our
begs and braves made the round, got possession of some of the forts
peacefully, fought and took others, gained some by ruse and craft. In
the whole of that district there is perhaps not a single village without
its defences because of the Mughuls and the Auzbegs. Meantime Sl. `Ali
Mirza became suspicious of Sayyid Yusuf and his nephew on my account and
dismissed both towards Khurasan.
The winter passed in this sort of tug-of-war; with the oncoming
heats,[438] they sent Khwaja Yahya to treat with me, while they, urged
on by the (Samarkand) army, marched out to near Shiraz and Kabud. I may
have had 200 or 300 soldiers (_sipahi_); powerful foes were on my every
side; Fortune had [Sidenote: Fol. 60.] not favoured me when I turned to
Andijan; when I put a hand out for Samarkand, no work was opened out. Of
necessity, some sort of terms were made and I went back from Pashaghar.
Khujand is a poor place; one beg would have a hard time in it; there we
and our families and following had been for half a year[439] and during
the time the Musalmans of the place had not been backward in bearing our
charges and serving us to the best of their power. With what face could
we go there again? and what, for his own part, could a man do there? 'To
what home to go? For what gain to stay?'[440]
In the end and with the same anxieties and uncertainty, we went to the
summer-pastures in the south of Aura-tipa. There we spent some days in
amazement at our position, not knowing where to go or where to stay, our
heads in a whirl. On one of those days, Khwaja Abu'l-makaram came to see
me, he like me, a wanderer, driven from his home.[441] He questioned us
about our goings and stayings, about what had or had not been done and
about our whole position. He was touched with compassion for our state
and recited the _fatiha_ for me before he left. I also was much touched;
I pitied him.
(_b. Babur recovers Marghinan._)
Near the Afternoon Prayer of that same day, a horseman appeared at the
foot of the valley. He was a man named Yul-chuq, presumably `Ali-dost
Taghai's own servant, and had been sent with this written message,
'Although many great misdeeds have had their rise in me, yet, if you
will do me the [Sidenote: Fol. 60b.] favour and kindness of coming to
me, I hope to purge my offences and remove my reproach, by giving you
Marghinan and by my future submission and single-minded service.'
Such news! coming on such despair and whirl-of-mind! Off we hurried,
that very hour,--it was sun-set,--without reflecting, without a moment's
delay, just as if for a sudden raid, straight for Marghinan. From where
we were to Marghinan may have been 24 or 25 _yighach_ of road.[442]
Through that night it was rushed without delaying anywhere, and on next
day till at the Mid-day Prayer, halt was made at Tang-ab (Narrow-water),
one of the villages of Khujand. There we cooled down our horses and gave
them corn. We rode out again at beat of (twilight-) drum[443] and on
through that night till shoot of dawn, and through the next day till
sunset, and on through that night till, just before dawn, we were one
_yighach_ from Marghinan. Here Wais Beg and others represented to me
with some anxiety what sort of an evil-doer `Ali-dost was. 'No-one,'
they said, 'has come and gone, time and again, between him and us; no
terms and compact have been made; trusting to what are we going?' In
truth their fears were just! After waiting awhile to consult, we at last
agreed that [Sidenote: Fol. 61.] reasonable as anxiety was, it ought to
have been earlier; that there we were after coming three nights and two
days without rest or halt; in what horse or in what man was any strength
left?--from where we were, how could return be made? and, if made, where
were we to go?--that, having come so far, on we must, and that nothing
happens without God's will. At this we left the matter and moved on, our
trust set on Him.
At the Sunnat Prayer[444] we reached Fort Marghinan. `Ali-dost Taghai
kept himself behind (_arqa_) the closed gate and asked for terms; these
granted, he opened it. He did me obeisance between the (two) gates.[445]
After seeing him, we dismounted at a suitable house in the walled-town.
With me, great and small, were 240 men.
As Auzun Hasan and Tambal had been tyrannical and oppressive, all the
clans of the country were asking for me. We therefore, after two or
three days spent in Marghinan, joined to Qasim Beg over a hundred men of
the Pashagharis, the new retainers of Marghinan and of `Ali-dost's
following, and sent them to bring over to me, by force or fair words,
such hill-people of the south of Andijan as the Ashpari, Turuqshar,
[Sidenote: Fol. 61b.] Chikrak and others roundabout. Ibrahim Saru and
Wais _Laghari_ and Sayyidi Qara were also sent out, to cross the
Khujand-water and, by whatever means, to induce the people on that side
to turn their eyes to me.
Auzun Hasan and Tambal, for their parts, gathered together what soldiers
and Mughuls they had and called up the men accustomed to serve in the
Andijan and Akhsi armies. Then, bringing Jahangir Mirza with them, they
came to Sapan, a village 2 m. east of Marghinan, a few days after our
arrival, and dismounted there with the intention of besieging Marghinan.
They advanced a day or two later, formed up to fight, as far as the
suburbs. Though after the departure of the Commanders, Qasim Beg,
Ibrahim _Saru_ and Wais _Laghari_, few men were left with me, those
there were formed up, sallied out and prevented the enemy from advancing
beyond the suburbs. On that day, Page Khalil, the turban-twister, went
well forward and got his hand into the work. They had come; they could
do nothing; on two other days they failed to get near the fort.
[Sidenote: Fol. 62.]
When Qasim Beg went into the hills on the south of Andijan, all the
Ashpari, Turuqshar, Chikrak, and the peasants and highland and lowland
clans came in for us. When the Commanders, Ibrahim _Saru_ and Wais
_Laghari_, crossed the river to the Akhsi side, Pap and several other
forts came in.
Auzun Hasan and Tambal being the heathenish and vicious tyrants they
were, had inflicted great misery on the peasantry and clansmen.
One of the chief men of Akhsi, Hasan-dikcha by name,[446] gathered
together his own following and a body of the Akhsi mob and rabble,
black-bludgeoned[447] Auzun Hasan's and Tambal's men in the outer fort
and drubbed them into the citadel. They then invited the Commanders,
Ibrahim _Saru_, Wais _Laghari_ and Sayyidi Qara and admitted them into
the fort.
Sl. Mahmud Khan had appointed to help us, Haidar _Kukuldash's_ (son)
Banda-`ali and Haji Ghazi _Manghit_,[448] the latter just then a
fugitive from Shaibani Khan, and also the Barin _tuman_ with its begs.
They arrived precisely at this time.
[Sidenote: Fol. 62b.] These news were altogether upsetting to Auzun
Hasan; he at once started off his most favoured retainers and most
serviceable braves to help his men in the citadel of Akhsi. His force
reached the brow of the river at dawn. Our Commanders and the (Tashkint)
Mughuls had heard of its approach and had made some of their men strip
their horses and cross the river (to the Andijan side). Auzun Hasan's
men, in their haste, did not draw the ferry-boat up-stream;[449] they
consequently went right away from the landing-place, could not cross for
the fort and went down stream.[450] Here-upon, our men and the
(Tashkint) Mughuls began to ride bare-back into the water from both
banks. Those in the boat could make no fight at all. Qarlughach (var.
Qarbughach) _Bakhshi_ (Pay-master) called one of Mughul Beg's sons to
him, took him by the hand, chopped at him and killed him. Of what use
was it? The affair was past that! His act was the cause why most of
those in the boat went to their death. Instantly our men seized them all
(_ariq_) and killed all (but a few).[451] Of Auzun Hasan's confidants
escaped Qarlughach _Bakhshi_ and Khalil _Diwan_ and Qazi _Ghulam_, the
last getting off by pretending to be a slave (_ghulam_); and of his
trusted braves, Sayyid `Ali, now in trust in my own service,[452] and
Haidar-i-quli and Qilka _Kashghari_ escaped. Of his 70 or 80 men, no
more than this [Sidenote: Fol. 63.] same poor five or six got free.
On hearing of this affair, Auzun Hasan and Tambal, not being able to
remain near Marghinan, marched in haste and disorder for Andijan. There
they had left Nasir Beg, the husband of Auzun Hasan's sister. He, if not
Auzun Hasan's second, what question is there he was his third?[453] He
was an experienced man, brave too; when he heard particulars, he knew
their ground was lost, made Andijan fast and sent a man to me. They
broke up in disaccord when they found the fort made fast against them;
Auzun Hasan drew off to his wife in Akhsi, Tambal to his district of
Aush. A few of Jahangir Mirza's household and braves fled with him from
Auzun Hasan and joined Tambal before he had reached Aush.
(_c. Babur recovers Andijan._)
Directly we heard that Andijan had been made fast against them, I rode
out, at sun-rise, from Marghinan and by mid-day was in Andijan.[454]
There I saw Nasir Beg and his two sons, that is to say, Dost Beg and
Mirim Beg, questioned them and uplifted their heads with hope of favour
and kindness. In this way, by God's grace, my father's country, lost to
me for two years, was regained and re-possessed, in the month Zu'l-qa`da
of [Sidenote: Fol. 63b.] the date 904 (June 1498).[455]
Sl. Ahmad Tambal, after being joined by Jahangir Mirza, drew away for
Aush. On his entering the town, the red rabble (_qizil ayaq_) there, as
in Akhsi, black-bludgeoned (_qara tiyaq qilib_) and drubbed his men out,
blow upon blow, then kept the fort for me and sent me a man. Jahangir
and Tambal went off confounded, with a few followers only, and entered
Auzkint Fort.
Of Auzun Hasan news came that after failing to get into Andijan, he had
gone to Akhsi and, it was understood, had entered the citadel. He had
been head and chief in the rebellion; we therefore, on getting this
news, without more than four or five days' delay in Andijan, set out for
Akhsi. On our arrival, there was nothing for him to do but ask for peace
and terms, and surrender the fort.
We stayed in Akhsi[456] a few days in order to settle its affairs and
those of Kasan and that country-side. We gave the Mughuls who had come
in to help us, leave for return (to Tashkint), then went back to
Andijan, taking with us Auzun Hasan and his family and dependants. In
Akhsi was left, for a time, Qasim-i-`ajab (Wonderful Qasim), formerly
one of the household circle, now arrived at beg's rank.
(_d. Renewed rebellion of the Mughuls._)
As terms had been made, Auzun Hasan, without hurt to life [Sidenote:
Fol. 64.] or goods, was allowed to go by the Qara-tigin road for Hisar.
A few of his retainers went with him, the rest parted from him and
stayed behind. These were the men who in the throneless times had
captured and plundered various Musalman dependants of my own and of the
Khwaja. In agreement with several begs, their affair was left at
this;--'This very band have been the captors and plunderers of our
faithful Musalman dependants;[457] what loyalty have they shown to their
own (Mughul) begs that they should be loyal to us? If we had them seized
and stripped bare, where would be the wrong? and this especially because
they might be going about, before our very eyes, riding our horses,
wearing our coats, eating our sheep. Who could put up with that? If, out
of humanity, they are not imprisoned and not plundered, they certainly
ought to take it as a favour if they get off with the order to give back
to our companions of the hard guerilla times, whatever goods of theirs
are known to be here.'
In truth this seemed reasonable; our men were ordered to take what they
knew to be theirs. Reasonable and just though the order was, (I now)
understand that it was a little hasty. [Sidenote: Fol. 64b.] With a
worry like Jahangir seated at my side, there was no sense in frightening
people in this way. In conquest and government, though many things may
have an outside appearance of reason and justice, yet 100,000
reflections are right and necessary as to the bearings of each one of
them. From this single incautious order of ours,[458] what troubles!
what rebellions arose! In the end this same ill-considered order was
the cause of our second exile from Andijan. Now, through it, the Mughuls
gave way to anxiety and fear, marched through Rabatik-aurchini, that is,
Aiki-su-arasi, for Auzkint and sent a man to Tambal.
In my mother's service were 1500 to 2000 Mughuls from the horde; as many
more had come from Hisar with Hamza Sl. and Mahdi Sl. and Muhammad
_Dughlat Hisari_.[459] Mischief and devastation must always be expected
from the Mughul horde. Up to now[460] they have rebelled five times
against me. It must not be understood that they rebelled through not
getting on with me; they have done the same thing with their own Khans,
again and again. Sl. Quli _Chunaq_[461] brought me the news. His late
father, Khudai-birdi _Buqaq_[462] I had favoured amongst the Mughuls; he
was himself with the (rebel) Mughuls [Sidenote: Fol. 65.] and he did
well in thus leaving the horde and his own family to bring me the news.
Well as he did then however, he, as will be told,[463] did a thing so
shameful later on that it would hide a hundred such good deeds as this,
if he had done them. His later action was the clear product of his
Mughul nature. When this news came, the begs, gathered for counsel,
represented to me, 'This is a trifling matter; what need for the padshah
to ride out? Let Qasim Beg go with the begs and men assembled here.' So
it was settled; they took it lightly; to do so must have been an error
of judgment. Qasim Beg led his force out that same day; Tambal meantime
must have joined the Mughuls. Our men crossed the Ailaish river[464]
early next morning by the Yasi-kijit (Broad-crossing) and at once came
face to face with the rebels. Well did they chop at one another
(_chapqulashurlar_)! Qasim Beg himself came face to face with Muhammad
_Arghun_ and did not desist from chopping at him in order to cut off his
head.[465] Most of our braves exchanged [Sidenote: Fol. 65b.] good blows
but in the end were beaten. Qasim Beg, `Ali-dost Taghai, Ibrahim
_Saru_, Wais _Laghari_, Sayyidi Qara and three or four more of our begs
and household got away but most of the rest fell into the hands of the
rebels. Amongst them were `Ali-darwesh Beg and Mirim _Laghari_ and
(Sherim?) Taghai Beg's (son) Tuqa[466] and `Ali-dost's son,
Muhammad-dost and Mir Shah _Quchin_ and Mirim Diwan.
Two braves chopped very well at one another; on our side, Samad, Ibrahim
_Saru's_ younger brother, and on their side, Shah-suwar, one of the
Hisari Mughuls. Shah-suwar struck so that his sword drove through
Samad's helm and seated itself well in his head; Samad, spite of his
wound, struck so that his sword cut off Shah-suwar's head a piece of
bone as large as the palm of a hand. Shah-suwar must have worn no helm;
they trepanned his head and it healed; there was no one to trepan
Samad's and in a few days, he departed simply through the wound.[467]
Amazingly unseasonable was this defeat, coming as it did just in the
respite from guerilla fighting and just when we had regained the
country. One of our great props, Qambar-`ali _Mughul_ (the Skinner) had
gone to his district when Andijan [Sidenote: Fol. 66.] was occupied and
therefore was not with us.
(_e. Tambal attempts to take Andijan._)
Having effected so much, Tambal, bringing Jahangir Mirza with him, came
to the east of Andijan and dismounted 2 miles off, in the meadow lying
in front of the Hill of Pleasure (`Aish).[468]
Once or twice he advanced in battle-array, past Chihil-dukhteran[469]
to the town side of the hill but, as our braves went out arrayed to
fight, beyond the gardens and suburbs, he could not advance further and
returned to the other side of the hill. On his first coming to those
parts, he killed two of the begs he had captured, Mirim _Laghari_ and
Tuqa Beg. For nearly a month he lay round-about without effecting
anything; after that he retired, his face set for Aush. Aush had been
given to Ibrahim _Saru_ and his man in it now made it fast.
905 AH. AUG. 8TH. 1499 TO JULY 28TH. 1500 AD.[470]
(_a. Babur's campaign against Ahmad Tambal Mughul._)
Commissaries were sent gallopping off at once, some to call up the horse
and foot of the district-armies, others to urge return on Qambar-`ali
and whoever else was away in his own district, while energetic people
were told off to get together mantelets (_tura_), shovels, axes and the
what-not of war-material and stores for the men already with us.
As soon as the horse and foot, called up from the various districts to
join the army, and the soldiers and retainers who had been scattered to
this and that side on their own affairs, were gathered together, I went
out, on Muharram 18th. (August 25th.), putting my trust in God, to Hafiz
Beg's Four-gardens [Sidenote: Fol. 66b.] and there stayed a few days in
order to complete our equipment. This done, we formed up in array of
right and left, centre and van, horse and foot, and started direct for
Aush against our foe.
On approaching Aush, news was had that Tambal, unable to make stand in
that neighbourhood, had drawn off to the north, to the Rabat-i-sarhang
sub-district, it was understood. That night we dismounted in Lat-kint.
Next day as we were passing through Aush, news came that Tambal was
understood to have gone to Andijan. We, for our part, marched on as for
Auzkint, detaching raiders ahead to over-run those parts.[471] Our
opponents went to Andijan and at night got into the ditch but being
discovered by the garrison when they set their ladders up against the
ramparts, could effect no more and retired. Our raiders retired also
after over-running round about Auzkint without getting into their hands
anything worth their trouble.
Tambal had stationed his younger brother, Khalil, with 200 or 300 men,
in Madu,[472] one of the forts of Aush, renowned in that centre (_ara_)
for its strength. We turned back (on the [Sidenote: Fol. 67.] Auzkint
road) to assault it. It is exceedingly strong. Its northern face stands
very high above the bed of a torrent; arrows shot from the bed might
perhaps reach the ramparts. On this side is the water-thief,[473] made
like a lane, with ramparts on both sides carried from the fort to the
water. Towards the rising ground, on the other sides of the fort, there
is a ditch. The torrent being so near, those occupying the fort had
carried stones in from it as large as those for large mortars.[474] From
no fort of its class we have ever attacked, have stones been thrown so
large as those taken into Madu. They dropped such a large one on
`Abdu'l-qasim _Kohbur_, Kitta (Little) Beg's elder brother,[475] when he
went up under the ramparts, that he spun head over heels and came
rolling and rolling, without once getting to his feet, from that great
height down to the foot of the glacis (_khak-rez_). He did not trouble
himself about it at all but just got on his horse and rode off. Again, a
stone flung from the double water-way, hit Yar-`ali _Balal_ so hard on
the head that in the end it had to be trepanned.[476] Many of our men
perished by their stones. The assault began at dawn; the water-thief
[Sidenote: Fol. 67b.] had been taken before breakfast-time;[477]
fighting went on till evening; next morning, as they could not hold out
after losing the water-thief, they asked for terms and came out. We took
60 or 70 or 80 men of Khalil's command and sent them to Andijan for
safe-keeping; as some of our begs and household were prisoners in their
hands, the Madu affair fell out very well.[478]
From there we went to Unju-tupa, one of the villages of Aush, and there
dismounted. When Tambal retired from Andijan and went into the
Rabat-i-sarhang sub-district, he dismounted in a village called
Ab-i-khan. Between him and me may have been one _yighach_ (5 m.?). At
such a time as this, Qambar-`ali (the Skinner) on account of some
sickness, went into Aush.
It was lain in Unju-tupa a month or forty days without a battle, but day
after day our foragers and theirs got to grips. All through the time our
camp was mightily well watched at night; a ditch was dug; where no ditch
was, branches were set close together;[479] we also made our soldiers go
out in their mail [Sidenote: Fol. 68.] along the ditch. Spite of such
watchfulness, a night-alarm was given every two or three days, and the
cry to arms went up. One day when Sayyidi Beg Taghai had gone out with
the foragers, the enemy came up suddenly in greater strength and took
him prisoner right out of the middle of the fight.
(_b. Bai-sunghar Mirza murdered by Khusrau Shah._)
Khusrau Shah, having planned to lead an army against Balkh, in this same
year invited Bai-sunghar Mirza to go with him, brought him[480] to
Qunduz and rode out with him for Balkh. But when they reached the Aubaj
ferry, that ungrateful infidel, Khusrau Shah, in his aspiration to
sovereignty,--and to what sort of sovereignty, pray, could such a no-body
attain? a person of no merit, no birth, no lineage, no judgment, no
magnanimity, no justice, no legal-mindedness,--laid hands on Bai-sunghar
Mirza with his begs, and bowstrung the Mirza. It was upon the 10th. of
the month of Muharram (August 17th.) that he martyred that scion of
sovereignty, so accomplished, so sweet-natured and so adorned by birth
and lineage. He killed also a few of the Mirza's begs and household.
(_c. Bai-sunghar Mirza's birth and descent._)
He was born in 882 (1477 AD.), in the Hisar district. He was Sl. Mahmud
Mirza's second son, younger than Sl. Mas`ud M. and older than Sl. `Ali
M. and Sl. Husain M. and Sl. Wais M. known as Khan Mirza. His mother was
Pasha Begim. [Sidenote: Fol. 68b.]
(_d. His appearance and characteristics._)
He had large eyes, a fleshy face[481] and Turkman features, was of
middle height and altogether an elegant young man (_aet._ 22).
(_e. His qualities and manners._)
He was just, humane, pleasant-natured and a most accomplished scion of
sovereignty. His tutor, Sayyid Mahmud,[482] presumably was a Shi`a;
through this he himself became infected by that heresy. People said that
latterly, in Samarkand, he reverted from that evil belief to the pure
Faith. He was much addicted to wine but on his non-drinking days, used
to go through the Prayers.[483] He was moderate in gifts and liberality.
He wrote the _naskh-ta`liq_ character very well; in painting also his
hand was not bad. He made `Adili his pen-name and composed good verses
but not sufficient to form a _diwan_. Here is the opening couplet
(_matla`_) of one of them[484];--
Like a wavering shadow I fall here and there;
If not propped by a wall, I drop flat on the ground.
In such repute are his odes held in Samarkand, that they are to be found
in most houses.
(_f. His battles._)
He fought two ranged battles. One, fought when he was first seated on
the throne (900 AH.-1495 AD.), was with Sl. Mahmud Khan[485] who,
incited and stirred up by Sl. Junaid _Barlas_ and others to desire
Samarkand, drew an army out, [Sidenote: Fol. 69.] crossed the Aq-kutal
and went to Rabat-i-soghd and Kan-bai. Bai-sunghar Mirza went out from
Samarkand, fought him near Kan-bai, beat him and beheaded 3 or 4000
Mughuls. In this fight died Haidar _Kukuldash_, the Khan's looser and
binder (_hall u`aqdi_). His second battle was fought near Bukhara with
Sl. `Ali Mirza (901 AH.-1496 AD.); in this he was beaten.[486]
(_g. His countries._)
His father, Sl. Mahmud Mirza, gave him Bukhara; when Sl. Mahmud M. died,
his begs assembled and in agreement made Bai-sunghar M. ruler in
Samarkand. For a time, Bukhara was included with Samarkand in his
jurisdiction but it went out of his hands after the Tarkhan rebellion
(901 AH.-1496 AD.). When he left Samarkand to go to Khusrau Shah and I
got possession of it (903 AH.-1497 AD.), Khusrau Shah took Hisar and
gave it to him.
(_h. Other details concerning him._)
He left no child. He took a daughter of his paternal uncle, Sl. Khalil
Mirza, when he went to Khusrau Shah; he had no other wife or concubine.
He never ruled with authority so independent that any beg was heard of
as promoted by him to be his confidant; his begs [Sidenote: Fol. 69b.]
were just those of his father and his paternal uncle (Ahmad).
(_i. Resumed account of Babur's campaign against Tambal._)
After Bai-sunghar Mirza's death, Sl. Ahmad _Qarawal_,[487] the father of
Quch (Quj) Beg, sent us word (of his intention) and came to us from
Hisar through the Qara-tigin country, together with his brethren, elder
and younger, and their families and dependants. From Aush too came
Qambar-`ali, risen from his sickness. Arriving, as it did, at such a
moment, we took the providential help of Sl. Ahmad and his party for a
happy omen. Next day we formed up at dawn and moved direct upon our foe.
He made no stand at Ab-i-khan but marched from his ground, leaving many
tents and blankets and things of the baggage for our men. We dismounted
in his camp.
That evening Tambal, having Jahangir with him, turned our left and went
to a village called Khuban (var. Khunan), some 3 _yighach_ from us (15
m.?) and between us and Andijan. Next day we moved out against him,
formed up with right and left, centre and van, our horses in their mail,
our men in theirs, and with foot-soldiers, bearing mantelets, flung to
the front. Our right was `Ali-dost and his dependants, our left Ibrahim
_Saru_, Wais _Laghari_, Sayyidi Qara, Muhammad-`ali _Mubashir_, and
Khwaja-i-kalan's elder brother, Kichik Beg, with several of [Sidenote:
Fol. 70.] the household. In the left were inscribed[488] also Sl. Ahmad
_Qarawal_ and Quch Beg with their brethren. With me in the centre was
Qasim Beg _Quchin_; in the van were Qambar-`ali (the Skinner) and some
of the household. When we reached Saqa, a village two miles east of
Khuban, the enemy came out of Khuban, arrayed to fight. We, for our
part, moved on the faster. At the time of engaging, our foot-soldiers,
provided how laboriously with the mantelets! were quite in the rear! By
God's grace, there was no need of them; our left had got hands in with
their right before they came up. Kichik Beg chopped away very well; next
to him ranked Muhammad `Ali _Mubashir_. Not being able to bring equal
zeal to oppose us, the enemy took to flight. The fighting did not reach
the front of our van or right. Our men brought in many of their braves;
we ordered the heads of all to be struck off. Favouring caution and good
generalship, our begs, Qasim Beg and, especially, `Ali-dost did not
think it advisable to send far in pursuit; for [Sidenote: Fol. 70b.]
this reason, many of their men did not fall into our hands. We
dismounted right in Khuban village. This was my first ranged battle; the
Most High God, of His own favour and mercy, made it a day of victory and
triumph. We accepted the omen.
On the next following day, my father's mother, my grandmother, Shah
Sultan Begim[489] arrived from Andijan, thinking to beg off Jahangir
Mirza if he had been taken.
(_j. Babur goes into winter-quarters in Between-the-two-rivers._)
As it was now almost winter and no grain or fruits[490] remained in the
open country, it was not thought desirable to move against (Tambal in)
Auzkint but return was made to Andijan. A few days later, it was settled
after consultation, that for us to winter in the town would in no way
hurt or hamper the enemy, rather that he would wax the stronger by it
through raids and guerilla fighting; moreover on our own account, it was
necessary that we should winter where our men would not become enfeebled
through want of grain and where we could straiten the enemy by some sort
of blockade. For these desirable [Sidenote: Fol. 71.] ends we marched
out of Andijan, meaning to winter near Armiyan and Nush-ab in the
Rabatik-aurchini, known also as Between-the-two-rivers. On arriving in
the two villages above-mentioned, we prepared winter-quarters.
The hunting-grounds are good in that neighbourhood; in the jungle near
the Ailaish river is much _bughu-maral_[491] and pig; the small
scattered clumps of jungle are thick with hare and pheasant; and on the
near rising-ground, are many foxes[492] of fine colour and swifter than
those of any other place. While we were in those quarters, I used to
ride hunting every two or three days; we would beat through the great
jungle and hunt _bughu-maral_, or we would wander about, making a circle
round scattered clumps and flying our hawks at the pheasants. The
pheasants are unlimited[493] there; pheasant-meat was abundant as long
as we were in those quarters.
While we were there, Khudai-birdi _Tughchi_, then newly-favoured with
beg's rank, fell on some of Tambal's raiders and brought in a few heads.
Our braves went out also from Aush and Andijan and raided untiringly on
the enemy, driving in his herds of horses and much enfeebling him. If
the whole winter had been passed in those quarters, the more probable
thing is [Sidenote: Fol. 71b.] that he would have broken up simply
without a fight.
(_k. Qambar-`ali again asks leave._)
It was at such a time, just when our foe was growing weak and helpless,
that Qambar-`ali asked leave to go to his district. The more he was
dissuaded by reminder of the probabilities of the position, the more
stupidity he shewed. An amazingly fickle and veering manikin he was! It
had to be! Leave for his district was given him. That district had been
Khujand formerly but when Andijan was taken this last time, Asfara and
Kand-i-badam were given him in addition. Amongst our begs, he was the
one with large districts and many followers; no-one's land or following
equalled his. We had been 40 or 50 days in those winter-quarters. At his
recommendation, leave was given also to some of the clans in the army.
We, for our part, went into Andijan.
(_l. Sl. Mahmud Khan sends Mughuls to help Tambal._)
Both while we were in our winter-quarters and later on in Andijan,
Tambal's people came and went unceasingly between him and The Khan in
Tashkint. His paternal uncle of the full-blood, Ahmad Beg, was guardian
of The Khan's son, Sl. Muhammad Sl. and high in favour; his elder
brother of the full-blood, Beg Tilba (Fool), was The Khan's Lord of the
Gate. After all the comings and goings, these two brought The Khan to
the point of reinforcing Tambal. Beg Tilba, leaving his wife and
domestics and family in Tashkint, came on ahead of the [Sidenote: Fol.
72.] reinforcement and joined his younger brother, Tambal,--Beg Tilba!
who from his birth up had been in Mughulistan, had grown up amongst
Mughuls, had never entered a cultivated country or served the rulers of
one, but from first to last had served The Khans!
Just then a wonderful (_`ajab_) thing happened;[494] Qasim-i-`ajab
(wonderful Qasim) when he had been left for a time in Akhsi, went out
one day after a few marauders, crossed the Khujand-water by Bachrata,
met in with a few of Tambal's men and was made prisoner.
When Tambal heard that our army was disbanded and was assured of The
Khan's help by the arrival of his brother, Beg Tilba, who had talked
with The Khan, he rode from Auzkint into Between-the-two-rivers.
Meantime safe news had come to us from Kasan that The Khan had appointed
his son, Sl. Muh. Khanika, commonly known as Sultanim,[495] and Ahmad
Beg, with 5 or 6000 men, to help Tambal, that they had crossed by the
Archa-kint road[496] and were laying siege to Kasan. Hereupon we,
without delay, without a glance at our absent men, just with those there
were, in the hard cold of winter, put our [Sidenote: Fol. 72b.] trust in
God and rode off by the Band-i-salar road to oppose them. That night we
stopped no-where; on we went through the darkness till, at dawn, we
dismounted in Akhsi.[497] So mightily bitter was the cold that night
that it bit the hands and feet of several men and swelled up the ears of
many, each ear like an apple. We made no stay in Akhsi but leaving there
Yarak Taghai, temporarily also, in Qasim-i-`ajab's place, passed on for
Kasan. Two miles from Kasan news came that on hearing of our approach,
Ahmad Beg and Sultanim had hurried off in disorder.
(_m. Babur and Tambal again opposed._)
Tambal must have had news of our getting to horse for he had hurried to
help his elder brother.[498] Somewhere between the two Prayers of the
day,[499] his blackness[500] became visible towards Nu-kint. Astonished
and perplexed by his elder brother's light departure and by our quick
arrival, he stopped short. Said we, 'It is God has brought them in this
fashion! here they have come with their horses' necks at full
stretch;[501] if we join hands[502] and go out, and if God bring it
right, not a man of them will get off.' But Wais _Laghari_ and some
others said, 'It is late in the day; even if we do not go out today,
where can they go tomorrow? Wherever it is, we will meet [Sidenote: Fol.
73.] them at dawn.' So they said, not thinking it well to make the joint
effort there and then; so too the enemy, come so opportunely, broke up
and got away without any hurt whatever. The (Turki) proverb is, 'Who
does not snatch at a chance, will worry himself about it till old age.'
_(Persian) couplet._ Work must be snatched at betimes,
Vain is the slacker's mistimed work.
Seizing the advantage of a respite till the morrow, the enemy slipped
away in the night, and without dismounting on the road, went into Fort
Archian. When a morrow's move against a foe was made, we found
no foe; after him we went and, not thinking it well to lay close
siege to Archian, dismounted two miles off (one _shar`i_) in
Ghazna-namangan.[503] We were in camp there for 30 or 40 days, Tambal
being in Fort Archian. Every now and then a very few would go from our
side and come from theirs, fling themselves on one another midway and
return. They made one night-attack, rained arrows in on us and retired.
As the camp was encircled by a ditch or by branches close-set, and as
watch was kept, they could effect no more.
(_n. Qambar-`ali, the Skinner, again gives trouble._)
Two or three times while we lay in that camp, Qambar-`ali, [Sidenote:
Fol. 73b.] in ill-temper, was for going to his district; once he even
had got to horse and started in a fume, but we sent several begs after
him who, with much trouble, got him to turn back.
(_o. Further action against Tambal and an accommodation made._)
Meantime Sayyid Yusuf of Macham had sent a man to Tambal and was looking
towards him. He was the head-man of one of the two foot-hills of
Andijan, Macham and Awighur. Latterly he had become known in my Gate,
having outgrown the head-man and put on the beg, though no-one ever had
made him a beg. He was a singularly hypocritical manikin, of no standing
whatever. From our last taking of Andijan (June 1499) till then (Feb.
1500), he had revolted two or three times from Tambal and come to me,
and two or three times had revolted from me and gone to Tambal. This was
his last change of side. With him were many from the (Mughul) horde and
tribesmen and clansmen. 'Don't let him join Tambal,' we said and rode in
between them. We got to Bishkharan with one night's halt. Tambal's men
must have come earlier and entered the fort. A party of our begs,
`Ali-darwesh Beg and Quch Beg, with his brothers, went close up to the
Gate of [Sidenote: Fol. 74.] Bishkharan and exchanged good blows with
the enemy. Quch Beg and his brothers did very well there, their hands
getting in for most of the work. We dismounted on a height some two
miles from Bishkharan; Tambal, having Jahangir with him, dismounted with
the fort behind him.
Three or four days later, begs unfriendly to us, that is to say,
`Ali-dost and Qambar-`ali, the Skinner, with their followers and
dependants, began to interpose with talk of peace. I and my well-wishers
had no knowledge of a peace and we all[504] were utterly averse from the
project. Those two manikins however were our two great begs; if we gave
no ear to their words and if we did not make peace, other things from
them were probable! It had to be! Peace was made in this fashion;--the
districts on the Akhsi side of the Khujand-water were to depend on
Jahangir, those on the Andijan side, on me; Auzkint was to be left in my
jurisdiction after they had removed their families from it; when the
districts were settled and I and Jahangir had made our agreement, we
(_biz_) should march together against Samarkand; and when I was in
possession of Samarkand, Andijan was to be given to Jahangir. So the
affair was settled. [Sidenote: Fol. 74b.] Next day,--it was one of the
last of Rajab, (end of Feb. 1500) Jahangir Mirza and Tambal came and did
me obeisance; the terms and conditions were ratified as stated above;
leave for Akhsi was given to Jahangir and I betook myself to Andijan.
On our arrival, Khalil-of-Tambal and our whole band of prisoners were
released; robes of honour were put on them and leave to go was given.
They, in their turn, set free our begs and household, _viz._ the
commanders[505] (Sherim?) Taghai Beg, Muhammad-dost, Mir Shah _Quchin_,
Sayyidi Qara Beg, Qasim-i-`ajab, Mir Wais, Mirim _Diwan_, and those
under them.
(_p. The self-aggrandizement of `Ali-dost Taghai._)
After our return to Andijan, `Ali-dost's manners and behaviour changed
entirely. He began to live ill with my companions of the guerilla days
and times of hardship. First, he dismissed Khalifa; next seized and
plundered Ibrahim _Saru_ and Wais _Laghari_, and for no fault or cause
deprived them of their districts and dismissed them. He entangled
himself with Qasim Beg and _he_ was made to go; he openly declared,
'Khalifa and Ibrahim are in sympathy about Khwaja-i-qazi; they will
avenge him on me.'[506] His son, Muhammad-dost set himself up on a regal
footing, starting receptions and a public table and a [Sidenote: Fol.
75.] Court and workshops, after the fashion of sultans. Like father,
like son, they set themselves up in this improper way because they had
Tambal at their backs. No authority to restrain their unreasonable
misdeeds was left to me; for why? Whatever their hearts desired, that
they did because such a foe of mine as Tambal was their backer. The
position was singularly delicate; not a word was said but many
humiliations were endured from that father and that son alike.
(_q. Babur's first marriage._)
`Ayisha-sultan Begim whom my father and hers, _i.e._ my uncle, Sl. Ahmad
Mirza had betrothed to me, came (this year) to Khujand[507] and I took
her in the month of Sha`ban. Though I was not ill-disposed towards her,
yet, this being my first marriage, out of modesty and bashfulness, I
used to see her once in 10, 15 or 20 days. Later on when even my first
inclination did not last, my bashfulness increased. Then my mother
Khanim used to send me, once a month or every 40 [Sidenote: Fol. 75b.]
days, with driving and driving, dunnings and worryings.
(_r. A personal episode and some verses by Babur._)
In those leisurely days I discovered in myself a strange inclination,
nay! as the verse says, 'I maddened and afflicted myself' for a boy in
the camp-bazar, his very name, Baburi, fitting in. Up till then I had
had no inclination for any-one, indeed of love and desire, either by
hear-say or experience, I had not heard, I had not talked. At that time
I composed Persian couplets, one or two at a time; this is one of the
them:--
May none be as I, humbled and wretched and love-sick;
No beloved as thou art to me, cruel and careless.
From time to time Baburi used to come to my presence but out of modesty
and bashfulness, I could never look straight at him; how then could I
make conversation (_ikhtilat_) and recital (_hikayat_)? In my joy and
agitation I could not thank him (for coming); how was it possible for me
to reproach him with going away? What power had I to command the duty of
service to myself?[508] One day, during that time of desire and passion
when I was going with companions along a lane and suddenly met him face
to face, I got into such a state of confusion that I almost went right
off. To look straight at him [Sidenote: Fol. 76.] or to put words
together was impossible. With a hundred torments and shames, I went on.
A (Persian) couplet of Muhammad Salih's[509] came into my mind:--
I am abashed with shame when I see my friend;
My companions look at me, I look the other way.
That couplet suited the case wonderfully well. In that frothing-up of
desire and passion, and under that stress of youthful folly, I used to
wander, bare-head, bare-foot, through street and lane, orchard and
vineyard. I shewed civility neither to friend nor stranger, took no care
for myself or others.
(_Turki_) Out of myself desire rushed me, unknowing
That this is so with the lover of a fairy-face.
Sometimes like the madmen, I used to wander alone over hill and plain;
sometimes I betook myself to gardens and the suburbs, lane by lane. My
wandering was not of my choice, not I decided whether to go or stay.
(_Turki_) Nor power to go was mine, nor power to stay;
I was just what you made me, o thief of my heart.
(_s. Sl. `Ali Mirza's quarrels with the Tarkhans._)
In this same year, Sl. `Ali Mirza fell out with Muhammad Mazid Tarkhan
for the following reasons;--The Tarkhans had risen to over-much
predominance and honour; Baqi had taken the whole revenue of the Bukhara
Government and gave not a [Sidenote: Fol. 76b.] half-penny (_dang_)[510]
to any-one else; Muhammad Mazid, for his part, had control in Samarkand
and took all its districts for his sons and dependants; a small sum only
excepted, fixed by them, not a farthing (_fils_) from the town reached
the Mirza by any channel. Sl. `Ali Mirza was a grown man; how was he to
tolerate such conduct as theirs? He and some of his household formed a
design against Muh. Mazid Tarkhan; the latter came to know of it and
left the town with all his following and with whatever begs and other
persons were in sympathy with him,[511] such as Sl. Husain _Arghun_, Pir
Ahmad, Auzun Hasan's younger brother, Khwaja Husain, Qara _Barlas_,
Salih Muhammad[512] and some other begs and braves.
At the time The Khan had joined to Khan Mirza a number of Mughul begs
with Muh. Husain _Dughlat_ and Ahmad Beg, and had appointed them to act
against Samarkand.[513] Khan Mirza's guardians were Hafiz Beg _Duldai_
and his son, Tahir Beg; because of relationship to them, (Muh.
Sighal's) grandson, Hasan and Hindu Beg fled with several braves from
Sl. `Ali [Sidenote: Fol. 77.] Mirza's presence to Khan Mirza's.
Muhammad Mazid Tarkhan invited Khan Mirza and the Mughul army, moved to
near Shavdar, there saw the Mirza and met the begs of the Mughuls. No
small useful friendlinesses however, came out of the meeting between his
begs and the Mughuls; the latter indeed seem to have thought of making
him a prisoner. Of this he and his begs coming to know, separated
themselves from the Mughul army. As without him the Mughuls could make
no stand, they retired. Here-upon, Sl. `Ali Mirza hurried light out of
Samarkand with a few men and caught them up where they had dismounted in
Yar-yilaq. They could not even fight but were routed and put to flight.
This deed, done in his last days, was Sl. `Ali Mirza's one good little
affair.
Muh. Mazid Tarkhan and his people, despairing both of the Mughuls and of
these Mirzas, sent Mir Mughul, son of `Abdu'l-wahhab _Shaghawal_[514] to
invite me (to Samarkand). Mir Mughul had already been in my service; he
had risked his life in good accord with Khwaja-i-qazi during the siege
of Andijan (903 AH.-1498 AD.).
This business hurt us also[515] and, as it was for that purpose we had
made peace (with Jahangir), we resolved to move on Samarkand. We sent
Mir Mughul off at once to give rendezvous[516] [Sidenote: Fol. 77b.] to
Jahangir Mirza and prepared to get to horse. We rode out in the month
of Zu'l-qa`da (June) and with two halts on the way, came to Qaba and
there dismounted.[517] At the mid-afternoon Prayer of that day, news
came that Tambal's brother, Khalil had taken Aush by surprise.
The particulars are as follows;--As has been mentioned, Khalil and those
under him were set free when peace was made. Tambal then sent Khalil to
fetch away their wives and families from Auzkint. He had gone and he
went into the fort on this pretext. He kept saying untruthfully, 'We
will go out today,' or 'We will go out tomorrow,' but he did not go.
When we got to horse, he seized the chance of the emptiness of Aush to
go by night and surprise it. For several reasons it was of no advantage
for us to stay and entangle ourselves with him; we went straight on
therefore. One reason was that as, for the purpose of making ready
military equipment, all my men of name had scattered, heads of houses to
their homes, we had no news of them because we had relied on the peace
and were by this off our guard against the treachery and falsity of the
other party. Another reason was that for some time, as has been
[Sidenote: Fol. 78.] said, the misconduct of our great begs, `Ali-dost
and Qambar-`ali had been such that no confidence in them was left. A
further reason was that the Samarkand begs, under Muh. Mazid Tarkhan had
sent Mir Mughul to invite us and, so long as a capital such as Samarkand
stood there, what would incline a man to waste his days for a place like
Andijan?
From Qaba we moved on to Marghinan (20 m.). Marghinan had been given to
Quch Beg's father, Sl. Ahmad _Qarawal_, and he was then in it. As he,
owing to various ties and attachments, could not attach himself to
me,[518] he stayed behind while his son, Quch Beg and one or two of his
brethren, older and younger, went with me.
Taking the road for Asfara, we dismounted in one of its villages, called
Mahan. That night there came and joined us in Mahan, by splendid chance,
just as if to a rendezvous, Qasim Beg _Quchin_ with his company,
`Ali-dost with his, and Sayyid Qasim with a large body of braves. We
rode from Mahan by the Khasban (var. Yasan) plain, crossed the Chupan
(Shepherd)-bridge and so to Aura-tipa.[519]
(_t. Qambar-`ali punishes himself._)
Trusting to Tambal, Qambar-`ali went from his own district (Khujand) to
Akhsi in order to discuss army-matters with him. [Sidenote: Fol. 78b.]
Such an event happening,[520] Tambal laid hands on Qambar-`ali, marched
against his district and carried him along. Here the (Turki) proverb
fits, 'Distrust your friend! he'll stuff your hide with straw.' While
Qambar-`ali was being made to go to Khujand, he escaped on foot and
after a hundred difficulties reached Aura-tipa.
News came to us there that Shaibani Khan had beaten Baqi Tarkhan in
Dabusi and was moving on Bukhara. We went on from Aura-tipa, by way of
Burka-yilaq, to Sangzar[521] which the sub-governor surrendered. There
we placed Qambar-`ali, as, after effecting his own capture and betrayal,
he had come to us. We then passed on.
(_u. Affairs of Samarkand and the end of `Ali-dost._)
On our arrival in Khan-yurti, the Samarkand begs under Muh. Mazid
Tarkhan came and did me obeisance. Conference was held with them as to
details for taking the town; they said, 'Khwaja Yahya also is wishing
for the _padshah_;[522] with his consent the town may be had easily
without fighting or disturbance.' The Khwaja did not say decidedly to
our messengers that he had resolved to admit us to the town but at the
same time, he said nothing likely to lead us to despair.
Leaving Khan-yurti, we moved to the bank of the Dar-i-gham (canal) and
from there sent our librarian, Khwaja Muhammad [Sidenote: Fol. 79.] `Ali
to Khwaja Yahya. He brought word back, 'Let them come; we will give them
the town.' Accordingly we rode from the Dar-i-gham straight for the
town, at night-fall, but our plan came to nothing because Sl. Muhammad
_Duldai's_ father, Sl. Mahmud had fled from our camp and given such
information to (Sl. `Ali's party) as put them on their guard. Back we
went to the Dar-i-gham bank.
While I had been in Yar-yilaq, one of my favoured begs, Ibrahim _Saru_
who had been plundered and driven off by `Ali-dost,[523] came and did me
obeisance, together with Muh. Yusuf, the elder son of Sayyid Yusuf
(_Aughlaqchi_). Coming in by ones and twos, old family servants and begs
and some of the household gathered back to me there. All were enemies of
`Ali-dost; some he had driven away; others he had plundered; others
again he had imprisoned. He became afraid. For why? Because with
Tambal's backing, he had harassed and persecuted me and my well-wishers.
As for me, my very nature sorted ill with the manikin's! From shame and
fear, he could stay no longer with us; he asked leave; I took it as a
personal favour; I gave it. On this leave, he and his son, Muhammad-dost
went to Tambal's presence. They became his intimates, [Sidenote: Fol.
79b.] and from father and son alike, much evil and sedition issued.
`Ali-dost died a few years later from ulceration of the hand.
Muhammad-dost went amongst the Auzbegs; that was not altogether bad but,
after some treachery to his salt, he fled from them and went into the
Andijan foot-hills.[524] There he stirred up much revolt and trouble. In
the end he fell into the hands of Auzbeg people and they blinded him.
The meaning of 'The salt took his eyes,' is clear in his case.[525]
After giving this pair their leave, we sent Ghuri _Barlas_ toward
Bukhara for news. He brought word that Shaibani Khan had taken Bukhara
and was on his way to Samarkand. Here-upon, seeing no advantage in
staying in that neighbourhood, we set out for Kesh where, moreover, were
the families of most of the Samarkand begs.
When we had been a few weeks there, news came that Sl. `Ali Mirza had
given Samarkand to Shaibani Khan. The particulars are these;--The Mirza's
mother, Zuhra Begi Agha (_Auzbeg_), in her ignorance and folly, had
secretly written to [Sidenote: Fol. 80.] Shaibani Khan that if he would
take her (to wife) her son should give him Samarkand and that when
Shaibani had taken (her son's) father's country, he should give her son
a country.[526] Sayyid Yusuf _Arghun_ must have known of this plan,
indeed will have been the traitor inventing it.
906 AH.--JULY 28TH. 1500 TO JULY 17TH. 1501 AD.[527]
(_a. Samarkand in the hands of the Auzbegs._)
When, acting on that woman's promise, Shaibani Khan went to Samarkand,
he dismounted in the Garden of the Plain. About mid-day Sl. `Ali Mirza
went out to him through the Four-roads Gate, without a word to any of
his begs or unmailed braves, without taking counsel with any-one soever
and accompanied only by a few men of little consideration from his own
close circle. The Khan, for his part, did not receive him very
favourably; when they had seen one another, he seated him on his less
honourable hand.[528] Khwaja Yahya, on hearing of the Mirza's departure,
became very anxious but as he could find no remedy,[529] went out also.
The Khan looked at him without rising and said a few words in which
blame had part, but when the Khwaja rose to leave, showed him the
respect of rising.
As soon as Khwaja `Ali[530] Bay's[531] son, Jan-`ali heard in
Rabat-i-khwaja of the Mirza's going to Shaibani Khan, he also went. As
for that calamitous woman who, in her folly, gave her son's [Sidenote:
Fol. 80b.] house and possessions to the winds in order to get herself a
husband, Shaibani Khan cared not one atom for her, indeed did not regard
her as the equal of a mistress or a concubine.[532]
Confounded by his own act, Sl. `Ali Mirza's repentance was extreme. Some
of his close circle, after hearing particulars, planned for him to
escape with them but to this he would not agree; his hour had come; he
was not to be freed. He had dismounted in Timur Sultan's quarters; three
or four days later they killed him in Plough-meadow.[533] For a matter
of this five-days' mortal life, he died with a bad name; having entered
into a woman's affairs, he withdrew himself from the circle of men of
good repute. Of such people's doings no more should be written; of acts
so shameful, no more should be heard.
The Mirza having been killed, Shaibani Khan sent Jan-`ali after his
Mirza. He had apprehensions also about Khwaja Yahya and therefore
dismissed him, with his two sons, Khwaja Muh. Zakariya and Khwaja Baqi,
towards Khurasan.[534] A few Auzbegs followed them and near Khwaja
Kardzan martyred both the Khwaja and his two young sons. Though
Shaibani's [Sidenote: Fol. 81.] words were, 'Not through me the Khwaja's
affair! Qambar Bi and Kupuk Bi did it,' this is worse than that! There
is a proverb,[535] 'His excuse is worse than his fault,' for if begs,
out of their own heads, start such deeds, unknown to their Khans or
Padshahs, what becomes of the authority of khanship and sovereignty?
(_b. Babur leaves Kesh and crosses the Mura pass._)
Since the Auzbegs were in possession of Samarkand, we left Kesh and went
in the direction of Hisar. With us started off Muh. Mazid Tarkhan and
the Samarkand begs under his command, together with their wives and
families and people, but when we dismounted in the Chultu meadow of
Chaghanian, they parted from us, went to Khusrau Shah and became his
retainers.
Cut off from our own abiding-town and country,[536] not knowing where
(else) to go or where to stay, we were obliged to traverse the very
heart of Khusrau Shah's districts, spite of what measure of misery he
had inflicted on the men of our dynasty!
One of our plans had been to go to my younger Khan dada, _i.e._ Alacha
Khan, by way of Qara-tigin and the Alai,[537] but this was not managed.
Next we were for going up the valley of the Kam torrent and over the
Sara-taq pass (_daban_). When we were near Nundak, a servant of Khusrau
Shah brought me one set of nine horses[538] and one of nine pieces of
cloth. When we dismounted at the mouth of the Kam valley, Sher-`ali.
[Sidenote: Fol. 81b.] the page, deserted to Khusrau Shah's brother, Wali
and, next day, Quch Beg parted from us and went to Hisar.[539]
We entered the valley and made our way up it. On its steep and narrow
roads and at its sharp and precipitous saddles[540] many horses and
camels were left. Before we reached the Sara-taq pass we had (in 25 m.)
to make three or four night-halts. A pass! and what a pass! Never was
such a steep and narrow pass seen; never were traversed such ravines and
precipices. Those dangerous narrows and sudden falls, those perilous
heights and knife-edge saddles, we got through with much difficulty and
suffering, with countless hardships and miseries. Amongst the Fan
mountains is a large lake (Iskandar); it is 2 miles in circumference, a
beautiful lake and not devoid of marvels.[541]
News came that Ibrahim Tarkhan had strengthened Fort Shiraz and was
seated in it; also that Qambar-`ali (the Skinner) and Abu'l-qasim
_Kohbur_, the latter not being able to stay in Khwaja Didar with the
Auzbegs in Samarkand,--had both come into Yar-yilaq, strengthened its
lower forts and occupied them.
Leaving Fan on our right, we moved on for Keshtud. The head-man of Fan
had a reputation for hospitality, generosity, [Sidenote: Fol. 82.]
serviceableness and kindness. He had given tribute of 70 or 80 horses to
Sl. Mas`ud Mirza at the time the Mirza, when Sl. Husain Mirza made
attack on Hisar, went through Fan on his way to his younger brother,
Bai-sunghar Mirza in Samarkand. He did like service to others. To me he
sent one second-rate horse; moreover he did not wait on me himself. So
it was! Those renowned for liberality became misers when they had to do
with me, and the politeness of the polite was forgotten. Khusrau Shah
was celebrated for liberality and kindness; what service he did
Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza has been mentioned; to Baqi Tarkhan and other begs
he shewed great generosity also. Twice I happened to pass through his
country;[542] not to speak of courtesy shewn to my peers, what he shewed
to my lowest servants he did not shew to me, indeed he shewed less
regard for us than for them.
(_Turki_) Who, o my heart! has seen goodness from worldlings?
Look not for goodness from him who has none.
Under the impression that the Auzbegs were in Keshtud, we made an
excursion to it, after passing Fan. Of itself it seemed [Sidenote: Fol.
82b.] to have gone to ruin; no-one seemed to be occupying it. We went on
to the bank of the Kohik-water (Zar-afshan) and there dismounted. From
that place we sent a few begs under Qasim _Quchin_ to surprise
Rabat-i-khwaja; that done, we crossed the river by a bridge from
opposite Yari, went through Yari and over the Shunqar-khana
(Falcons'-home) range into Yar-yilaq. Our begs went to Rabat-i-khwaja
and had set up ladders when the men within came to know about them and
forced them to retire. As they could not take the fort, they rejoined
us.
(_c. Babur renews attack on Samarkand._)
Qambar-`ali (the Skinner) was (still) holding Sangzar; he came and saw
us; Abu'l-qasim _Kohbur_ and Ibrahim Tarkhan showed loyalty and
attachment by sending efficient men for our service. We went into
Asfidik (var. Asfindik), one of the Yar-yilaq villages. At that time
Shaibaq Khan lay near Khwaja Didar with 3 or 4000 Auzbegs and as many
more soldiers gathered in locally. He had given the Government of
Samarkand to Jan-wafa, and Jan-wafa was then in the fort with 500 or 600
men. Hamza Sl. and Mahdi Sl. were lying near the fort, in the
Quail-reserve. Our men, good and bad were 240. [Sidenote: Fol. 83.]
Having discussed the position with all my begs and unmailed braves, we
left it at this;--that as Shaibani Khan had taken possession of Samarkand
so recently, the Samarkandis would not be attached to him nor he to
them; that if we made an effort at once, we might do the thing; that if
we set ladders up and took the fort by surprise, the Samarkandis would
be for us; how should they not be? even if they gave us no help, they
would not fight us for the Auzbegs; and that Samarkand once in our
hands, whatever was God's will, would happen.
Acting on this decision, we rode out of Yar-yilaq after the Mid-day
Prayer, and on through the dark till mid-night when we reached
Khan-yurti. Here we had word that the Samarkandis knew of our coming;
for this reason we went no nearer to the town but made straight back
from Khan-yurti. It was dawn when, after crossing the Kohik-water below
Rabat-i-khwaja, we were once more in Yar-yilaq.
One day in Fort Asfidik a household party was sitting in my presence;
Dost-i-nasir and Nuyan[543] _Kukuldash_ and Khan-quli-i-Karim-dad and
Shaikh Darwesh and Mirim-i-nasir were all there. Words were crossing
from all sides when (I said), 'Come now! say when, if God bring it
right, we shall take [Sidenote: Fol. 83b.] Samarkand.' Some said, 'We
shall take it in the heats.' It was then late in autumn. Others said,
'In a month,' 'Forty days,' 'Twenty days.' Nuyan _Kukuldash_ said, 'We
shall take it in 14.' God shewed him right! we did take it in exactly 14
days.
Just at that time I had a wonderful dream;--His Highness Khwaja
`Ubaid'l-lah (_Ahrari_) seemed to come; I seemed to go out to give him
honourable meeting; he came in and seated himself; people seemed to lay
a table-cloth before him, apparently without sufficient care and, on
account of this, something seemed to come into his Highness Khwaja's
mind. Mulla Baba (? _Pashaghari_) made me a sign; I signed back, 'Not
through me! the table-layer is in fault!' The Khwaja understood and
accepted the excuse.[544] When he rose, I escorted him out. In the hall
of that house he took hold of either my right or left arm and lifted me
up till one of my feet was off the ground, saying, in Turki, 'Shaikh
Maslahat has given (Samarkand).'[545] I really took Samarkand a few days
later.
(_d. Babur takes Samarkand by surprise._)
In two or three days move was made from Fort Asfidik to Fort Wasmand.
Although by our first approach, we had let [Sidenote: Fol. 84.] our plan
be known, we put our trust in God and made another expedition to
Samarkand. It was after the Mid-day Prayer that we rode out of Fort
Wasmand, Khwaja Abu'l-makaram accompanying us. By mid-night we reached
the Deep-fosse-bridge in the Avenue. From there we sent forward a
detachment of 70 or 80 good men who were to set up ladders opposite the
Lovers'-cave, mount them and get inside, stand up to those in the
Turquoise Gate, get possession of it and send a man to me. Those braves
went, set their ladders up opposite the Lovers'-cave, got in without
making anyone aware, went to the Gate, attacked Fazil Tarkhan, chopped
at him and his few retainers, killed them, broke the lock with an axe
and opened the Gate. At that moment I came up and went in.
(_Author's note on Fazil Tarkhan._) He was not one of those
(Samarkand) Tarkhans; he was a merchant-tarkhan of Turkistan.
He had served Shaibani Khan in Turkistan and had found favour
with him.[546]
Abu'l-qasim _Kohbur_ himself had not come with us but had sent 30 or 40
of his retainers under his younger brother, Ahmad-i-qasim. No man of
Ibrahim Tarkhan's was with us; his younger brother, Ahmad Tarkhan came
with a few retainers after I had entered the town and taken post in the
Monastery. [Sidenote: Fol. 84b.]
The towns-people were still slumbering; a few traders peeped out of
their shops, recognized me and put up prayers. When, a little later, the
news spread through the town, there was rare delight and satisfaction
for our men and the towns-folk. They killed the Auzbegs in the lanes and
gullies with clubs and stones like mad dogs; four or five hundred were
killed in this fashion. Jan-wafa, the then governor, was living in
Khwaja Yahya's house; he fled and got away to Shaibaq Khan.[547]
On entering the Turquoise Gate I went straight to the College and took
post over the arch of the Monastery. There was a hubbub and shouting of
'Down! down!' till day-break. Some of the notables and traders, hearing
what was happening, came joyfully to see me, bringing what food was
ready and putting up prayers for me. At day-light we had news that the
Auzbegs were fighting in the Iron Gate where they had made themselves
fast between the (outer and inner) doors. With 10, 15 or 20 men, I at
once set off for the Gate but before I came up, the town-rabble, busy
ransacking every corner of the newly-taken town for loot, had driven the
Auzbegs out through [Sidenote: Fol. 85.] it. Shaibaq Khan, on hearing
what was happening, hurried at sun-rise to the Iron Gate with 100 or 140
men. His coming was a wonderful chance but, as has been said, my men
were very few. Seeing that he could do nothing, he rode off at once.
From the Iron Gate I went to the citadel and there dismounted, at the
Bu-stan palace. Men of rank and consequence and various head-men came to
me there, saw me and invoked blessings on me.
Samarkand for nearly 140 years had been the capital of our dynasty. An
alien, and of what stamp! an Auzbeg foe, had taken possession of it! It
had slipped from our hands; God gave it again! plundered and ravaged,
our own returned to us.
Sl. Husain Mirza took Harat[548] as we took Samarkand, by surprise, but
to the experienced, and discerning, and just, it will be clear that
between his affair and mine there are distinctions and differences, and
that his capture and mine are things apart.
Firstly there is this;--He had ruled many years, passed through much
experience and seen many affairs.
Secondly;--He had for opponent, Yadgar Muh. Nasir Mirza, [Sidenote: Fol.
85b.] an inexperienced boy of 17 or 18.
Thirdly;--(Yadgar Mirza's) Head-equerry, Mir `Ali, a person
well-acquainted with the particulars of the whole position, sent a man
out from amongst Sl. Husain Mirza's opponents to bring him to surprise
them.
Fourthly;--His opponent was not in the fort but was in the
Ravens'-garden. Moreover Yadgar Muh. Nasir Mirza and his followers are
said to have been so prostrate with drink that three men only were in
the Gate, they also drunk.
Fifthly;--he surprised and captured Harat the first time he approached
it.
On the other hand: firstly;--I was 19 when I took Samarkand.
Secondly;--I had as my opponent, such a man as Shaibaq Khan, of mature
age and an eye-witness of many affairs.
Thirdly;--No-one came out of Samarkand to me; though the heart of its
people was towards me, no-one could dream of coming, from dread of
Shaibaq Khan.
Fourthly;--My foe was in the fort; not only was the fort taken but he was
driven off.
Fifthly;--I had come once already; my opponent was on his guard about me.
The second time we came, God brought it right! Samarkand was won.
In saying these things there is no desire to be-little the reputation of
any man; the facts were as here stated. In [Sidenote: Fol. 86.] writing
these things, there is no desire to magnify myself; the truth is set
down.
The poets composed chronograms on the victory; this one remains in my
memory;--Wisdom answered, 'Know that its date is the _Victory_ (_Fath_)
_of Babur Bahadur_.'
Samarkand being taken, Shavdar and Soghd and the _tumans_ and nearer
forts began, one after another, to return to us. From some their Auzbeg
commandants fled in fear and escaped; from others the inhabitants drove
them and came in to us; in some they made them prisoner, and held the
forts for us.
Just then the wives and families of Shaibaq Khan and his Auzbegs arrived
from Turkistan;[549] he was lying near Khwaja Didar and `Ali-abad but
when he saw the forts and people returning to me, marched off towards
Bukhara. By God's grace, all the forts of Soghd and Miyan-kal returned
to me within three or four months. Over and above this, Baqi Tarkhan
seized this opportunity to occupy Qarshi; Khuzar and Qarshi (? Kesh)
both went out of Auzbeg hands; Qara-kul [Sidenote: Fol. 86b.] also was
taken from them by people of Abu'l-muhsin Mirza (_Bai-qara_), coming up
from Merv. My affairs were in a very good way.
(_e. Birth of Babur's first child._)
After our departure (last year) from Andijan, my mothers and my wife and
relations came, with a hundred difficulties and hardships, to Auratipa.
We now sent for them to Samarkand. Within a few days after their
arrival, a daughter was born to me by `Ayisha-sultan Begim, my first
wife, the daughter of Sl. Ahmad Mirza. They named the child
Fakhru'n-nisa' (Ornament of women); she was my first-born, I was 19. In
a month or 40 days, she went to God's mercy.
(_f. Babur in Samarkand._)
On taking Samarkand, envoys and summoners were sent off at once, and
sent again and again, with reiterated request for aid and reinforcement,
to the khans and sultans and begs and marchers on every side. Some,
though experienced men, made foolish refusal; others whose relations
towards our family had been discourteous and unpleasant, were afraid for
themselves and took no notice; others again, though they sent help, sent
it insufficient. Each such case will be duly mentioned.
When Samarkand was taken the second time, `Ali-sher Beg [Sidenote: Fol.
87.] was alive. We exchanged letters once; on the back of mine to him I
wrote one of my Turki couplets. Before his reply reached me, separations
(_tafarqa_) and disturbances (_ghugha_) had happened.[550] Mulla Bina'i
had been taken into Shaibaq Khan's service when the latter took
possession of Samarkand; he stayed with him until a few days after I
took the place, when he came into the town to me. Qasim Beg had his
suspicions about him and consequently dismissed him towards Shahr-i-sabz
but, as he was a man of parts, and as no fault of his came to light, I
had him fetched back. He constantly presented me with odes (_qasida u
ghazal_). He brought me a song in the Nawa mode composed to my name and
at the same time the following quatrain;--[551]
No grain (_ghala_) have I by which I can be fed (_noshid_);
No rhyme of grain (_mallah_, nankeen) wherewith I can be
clad (_poshid_);
The man who lacks both food and clothes,
In art or science where can he compete (_koshid_)?
In those days of respite, I had written one or two couplets but had not
completed an ode. As an answer to Mulla Bina'i I made up and set this
poor little Turki quatrain;--[552]
As is the wish of your heart, so shall it be (_bulghusidur_);
For gift and stipend both an order shall be made (_buyurulghusidur_);
I know the grain and its rhyme you write of;
The garments, you, your house, the corn shall fill (_tulghusidur_).
The Mulla in return wrote and presented a quatrain to me in [Sidenote:
Fol. 87b.] which for his refrain, he took a rhyme to (the _tulghusidur_
of) my last line and chose another rhyme;--
Mirza-of-mine, the Lord of sea and land shall be (_yir bulghusidur_);
His art and skill, world o'er, the evening tale shall be
(_samar bulghusidur_);
If gifts like these reward one rhyming (_or_ pointless) word;
For words of sense, what guerdon will there be (_nilar bulghusidur_)?
Abu'l-barka, known as _Faraqi_ (Parted), who just then had come to
Samarkand from Shahr-i-sabz, said Bina'i ought to have rhymed. He made
this verse;--
Into Time's wrong to you quest shall be made (_surulghusidur_);
Your wish the Sultan's grace from Time shall ask (_qulghusidur_);
O Ganymede! our cups, ne'er filled as yet,
In this new Age, brimmed-up, filled full shall be (_tulghusidur_).
Though this winter our affairs were in a very good way and Shaibaq
Khan's were on the wane, one or two occurrences were somewhat of a
disservice; (1) the Merv men who had taken Qara-kul, could not be
persuaded to stay there and it went back into the hands of the Auzbegs;
(2) Shaibaq Khan besieged Ibrahim Tarkhan's younger brother, Ahmad in
Dabusi, stormed the place and made a general massacre of its inhabitants
before the army we were collecting was ready to march.
With 240 proved men I had taken Samarkand; in the next [Sidenote: Fol.
88.] five or six months, things so fell out by the favour of the Most
High God, that, as will be told, we fought the arrayed battle of
Sar-i-pul with a man like Shaibaq Khan. The help those round-about gave
us was as follows;--From The Khan had come, with 4 or 5000 Barins, Ayub
_Begchik_ and Qashka Mahmud; from Jahangir Mirza had come Khalil,
Tambal's younger brother, with 100 or 200 men; not a man had come from
Sl. Husain Mirza, that experienced ruler, than whom none knew better the
deeds and dealings of Shaibaq Khan; none came from Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza;
none from Khusrau Shah because he, the author of what evil done,--as has
been told,--to our dynasty! feared us more than he feared Shaibaq Khan.
(_g. Babur defeated at Sar-i-pul._)
I marched out of Samarkand, with the wish of fighting Shaibaq Khan, in
the month of Shawwal[553] and went to the New-garden where we lay four
or five days for the convenience of gathering our men and completing our
equipment. We took the precaution of fortifying our camp with ditch and
branch. From the New-garden we advanced, march by march, to beyond
Sar-i-pul (Bridge-head) and there dismounted. [Sidenote: Fol. 88b.]
Shaibaq Khan came from the opposite direction and dismounted at Khwaja
Kardzan, perhaps one _yighach_ away (? 5 m.). We lay there for four or
five days. Every day our people went from our side and his came from
theirs and fell on one another. One day when they were in unusual force,
there was much fighting but neither side had the advantage. Out of that
engagement one of our men went rather hastily back into the
entrenchments; he was using a standard; some said it was Sayyidi Qara
Beg's standard who really was a man of strong words but weak sword.
Shaibaq Khan made one night-attack on us but could do nothing because
the camp was protected by ditch and close-set branches. His men raised
their war-cry, rained in arrows from outside the ditch and then retired.
In the work for the coming battle I exerted myself greatly and took all
precautions; Qambar-`ali also did much. In Kesh lay Baqi Tarkhan with
1000 to 2000 men, in a position to join us after a couple of days. In
Diyul, 4 _yighach_ off (? 20 m.), lay Sayyid Muh. Mirza _Dughlat_,
bringing me 1000 to 2000 men from my Khan dada; he would have joined me
at [Sidenote: Fol. 89.] dawn. With matters in this position, we hurried
on the fight!
Who lays with haste his hand on the sword,
Shall lift to his teeth the back-hand of regret.[554]
The reason I was so eager to engage was that on the day of battle, the
Eight stars[555] were between the two armies; they would have been in
the enemy's rear for 13 or 14 days if the fight had been deferred. I now
understand that these considerations are worth nothing and that our
haste was without reason.
As we wished to fight, we marched from our camp at dawn, we in our mail,
our horses in theirs, formed up in array of right and left, centre and
van. Our right was Ibrahim _Saru_, Ibrahim Jani, Abu'l-qasim _Kohbur_
and other begs. Our left was Muh. Mazid Tarkhan, Ibrahim Tarkhan and
other Samarkandi begs, also Sl. Husain _Arghun_, Qara (Black) _Barlas_,
Pir Ahmad and Khwaja Husain. Qasim Beg was (with me) in the centre and
also several of my close circle and household. In the van were inscribed
Qambar-`ali the Skinner, Banda-`ali, Khwaja `Ali, Mir Shah _Quchin_,
Sayyid Qasim, Lord of the Gate,--Banda-`ali's younger brother Khaldar
(mole-marked) and Haidar-i-qasim's son Quch, together with all the good
braves there were, and the rest of the household.
Thus arrayed, we marched from our camp; the enemy, also in array,
marched out from his. His right was Mahmud and Jani and Timur Sultans;
his left, Hamza and Mahdi and some [Sidenote: Fol. 89b.] other sultans.
When our two armies approached one another, he wheeled his right towards
our rear. To meet this, I turned; this left our van,--in which had been
inscribed what not of our best braves and tried swordsmen!--to our right
and bared our front (_i.e._ the front of the centre). None-the-less we
fought those who made the front-attack on us, turned them and forced
them back on their own centre. So far did we carry it that some of
Shaibaq Khan's old chiefs said to him, 'We must move off! It is past a
stand.' He however held fast. His right beat our left, then wheeled
(again) to our rear.
(As has been said), the front of our centre was bare through our van's
being left to the right. The enemy attacked us front and rear, raining
in arrows on us. (Ayub _Begchik's_) Mughul army, come for our help! was
of no use in fighting; it set to work forthwith to unhorse and plunder
our men. Not this [Sidenote: Fol. 90.] once only! This is always the way
with those ill-omened Mughuls! If they win, they grab at booty; if they
lose, they unhorse and pilfer their own side! We drove back the Auzbegs
who attacked our front by several vigorous assaults, but those who had
wheeled to our rear came up and rained arrows on our standard. Falling
on us in this way, from the front and from the rear, they made our men
hurry off.
This same turning-movement is one of the great merits of Auzbeg
fighting; no battle of theirs is ever without it. Another merit of
theirs is that they all, begs and retainers, from their front to their
rear, ride, loose-rein at the gallop, shouting as they come and, in
retiring, do not scatter but ride off, at the gallop, in a body.
Ten or fifteen men were left with me. The Kohik-water was close by,--the
point of our right had rested on it. We made straight for it. It was the
season when it comes down in flood. We rode right into it, man and horse
in mail. It was just fordable for half-way over; after that it had to be
swum. For more than an arrow's flight[556] we, man and mount in mail!
made our horses swim and so got across. Once out of the water, we cut
off the horse-armour and let it lie. By thus [Sidenote: Fol. 90b.]
passing to the north bank of the river, we were free of our foes, but at
once Mughul wretches were the captors and pillagers of one after another
of my friends. Ibrahim Tarkhan and some others, excellent braves all,
were unhorsed and killed by Mughuls.[557] We moved along the north bank
of the Kohik-river, recrossed it near Qulba, entered the town by the
Shaikh-zada's Gate and reached the citadel in the middle of the
afternoon.
Begs of our greatest, braves of our best and many men perished in that
fight. There died Ibrahim Tarkhan, Ibrahim _Saru_ and Ibrahim Jani;
oddly enough three great begs named Ibrahim perished. There died also
Haidar-i-qasim's eldest son, Abu'l-qasim _Kohbur_, and Khudai-birdi
_Tughchi_ and Khalil, Tambal's younger brother, spoken of already
several times. Many of our men fled in different directions;
Muh. Mazid Tarkhan went towards Qunduz and Hisar for Khusrau Shah.
[Sidenote: Fol. 91.] Some of the household and of the braves, such as
Karim-dad-i-Khudai-birdi _Turkman_ and Janaka _Kukuldash_ and Mulla Baba
of Pashaghar got away to Aura-tipa. Mulla Baba at that time was not in
my service but had gone out with me in a guest's fashion. Others again,
did what Sherim Taghai and his band did;--though he had come back with
me into the town and though when consultation was had, he had agreed
with the rest to make the fort fast, looking for life or death within
it, yet spite of this, and although my mothers and sisters, elder and
younger, stayed on in Samarkand, he sent off their wives and families to
Aura-tipa and remained himself with just a few men, all unencumbered.
Not this once only! Whenever hard work had to be done, low and
double-minded action was the thing to expect from him!
(_h. Babur besieged in Samarkand._)
Next day, I summoned Khwaja Abu'l-makaram, Qasim and the other begs, the
household and such of the braves as were admitted to our counsels, when
after consultation, we resolved to make the fort fast and to look for
life or death within it. I and Qasim Beg with my close circle and
household were the reserve. For convenience in this I took up quarters
in the middle of the town, in tents pitched on the roof of Aulugh Beg
[Sidenote: Fol. 91b.] Mirza's College. To other begs and braves posts
were assigned in the Gates or on the ramparts of the walled-town.
Two or three days later, Shaibaq Khan dismounted at some distance from
the fort. On this, the town-rabble came out of lanes and wards, in
crowds, to the College gate, shouted good wishes for me and went out to
fight in mob-fashion. Shaibaq Khan had got to horse but could not so
much as approach the town. Several days went by in this fashion. The mob
and rabble, knowing nothing of sword and arrow-wounds, never witnesses
of the press and carnage of a stricken field, through these incidents,
became bold and began to sally further and further out. If warned by the
braves against going out so incautiously, they broke into reproach.
One day when Shaibaq Khan had directed his attack towards the Iron Gate,
the mob, grown bold, went out, as usual, daringly and far. To cover
their retreat, we sent several braves towards the Camel's-neck,[558]
foster-brethren and some of the close household-circle, such as Nuyan
_Kukuldash_, Qul-nazar (son of Sherim?) Taghai Beg, and Mazid. An
Auzbeg or two [Sidenote: Fol. 92.] put their horses at them and with
Qul-nazar swords were crossed. The rest of the Auzbegs dismounted and
brought their strength to bear on the rabble, hustled them off and
rammed them in through the Iron Gate. Quch Beg and Mir Shah _Quchin_ had
dismounted at the side of Khwaja Khizr's Mosque and were making a stand
there. While the townsmen were being moved off by those on foot, a party
of mounted Auzbegs rode towards the Mosque. Quch Beg came out when they
drew near and exchanged good blows with them. He did distinguished work;
all stood to watch. Our fugitives below were occupied only with their
own escape; for them the time to shoot arrows and make a stand had gone
by. I was shooting with a slur-bow[559] from above the Gate and some of
my circle were shooting arrows (_auq_). Our attack from above kept the
enemy from advancing beyond the Mosque; from there he retired.
During the siege, the round of the ramparts was made each night;
sometimes I went, sometimes Qasim Beg, sometimes one of the household
Begs. Though from the Turquoise to the Shaikh-zada's Gate may be ridden,
the rest of the way must be [Sidenote: Fol. 92b.] walked. When some men
went the whole round on foot, it was dawn before they had finished.[560]
One day Shaibaq Khan attacked between the Iron Gate and the
Shaikh-zada's. I, as the reserve, went to the spot, without anxiety
about the Bleaching-ground and Needle-makers' Gates. That day, (?) in a
shooting wager (_auq auchida_), I made a good shot with a slur-bow, at a
Centurion's horse.[561] It died at once (_auq bardi_) with the arrow
(_auq bila_). They made such a vigorous attack this time that they got
close under the ramparts. Busy with the fighting and the stress near the
Iron Gate, we were entirely off our guard about the other side of the
town. There, opposite the space between the Needle-makers' and
Bleaching-ground Gates, the enemy had posted 7 or 800 good men in
ambush, having with them 24 or 25 ladders so wide that two or three
could mount abreast. These men came from their ambush when the attack
near the Iron Gate, by occupying all our men, had left those other posts
empty, and quickly set up their ladders between the two Gates,
[Sidenote: Fol. 93.] just where a road leads from the ramparts to Muh.
Mazid Tarkhan's houses. That post was Quch Beg's and Muhammad-quli
_Quchin's_, with their detachment of braves, and they had their quarters
in Muh. Mazid's houses. In the Needle-makers' Gate was posted Qara
(Black) _Barlas_, in the Bleaching-ground Gate, Qutluq Khwaja
_Kukuldash_ with Sherim Taghai and his brethren, older and younger. As
attack was being made on the other side of the town, the men attached to
these posts were not on guard but had scattered to their quarters or to
the bazar for necessary matters of service and servants' work. Only the
begs were at their posts, with one or two of the populace. Quch Beg and
Muhammad-quli and Shah Sufi and one other brave did very well and
boldly. Some Auzbegs were on the ramparts, some were coming up, when
these four men arrived at a run, dealt them blow upon blow, and, by
energetic drubbing, forced them all down and put them to flight. Quch
Beg did best; this was his out-standing and approved good deed; twice
during this siege he got his hand into the work. Qara _Barlas_ had been
left alone in the Needle-makers' Gate; he also held out well to the end.
Qutluq Khwaja and Qul-nazar Mirza were also at their posts in the
Bleaching-ground Gate; they held out well too, and charged the foe in
his rear.
Another time Qasim Beg led his braves out through the [Sidenote: Fol.
93b.] Needle-makers' Gate, pursued the Auzbegs as far as Khwaja Kafsher,
unhorsed some and returned with a few heads.
It was now the time of ripening rain but no-one brought new corn
into the town. The long siege caused great privation to the
towns-people;[562] it went so far that the poor and destitute began to
eat the flesh of dogs and asses and, as there was little grain for the
horses, people fed them on leaves. Experience shewed that the leaves
best suiting were those of the mulberry and elm (_qara-yighach_). Some
people scraped dry wood and gave the shavings, damped, to their horses.
For three or four months Shaibaq Khan did not come near the fort but had
it invested at some distance and himself moved round it from post to
post. Once when our men were off their guard, at mid-night, the enemy
came near to the Turquoise [Sidenote: Fol. 94.] Gate, beat his drums and
flung his war-cry out. I was in the College, undressed. There was great
trepidation and anxiety. After that they came night after night,
disturbing us by drumming and shouting their war-cry.
Although envoys and messengers had been sent repeatedly to all sides and
quarters, no help and reinforcement arrived from any-one. No-one had
helped or reinforced me when I was in strength and power and had
suffered no sort of defeat or loss; on what score would any-one help me
now? No hope in any-one whatever recommended us to prolong the siege.
The old saying was that to hold a fort there must be a head, two hands
and two legs, that is to say, the Commandant is the head; help and
reinforcement coming from two quarters are the two arms and the food and
water in the fort are the two legs. While we looked for help from those
round about, their thoughts were elsewhere. That brave and experienced
ruler, Sl. Husain Mirza, gave us not even the help of an encouraging
message, but none-the-less he sent Kamalu'd-din Husain _Gazur-gahi_[563]
as an envoy to Shaibaq Khan.
(_i. Tambal's proceedings in Farghana._)[564]
(This year) Tambal marched from Andijan to near Bish-kint.[565] Ahmad
Beg and his party, thereupon, made The Khan move out against him. The
two armies came face to face near [Sidenote: Fol. 94b.] Lak-lakan and
the Turak Four-gardens but separated without engaging. Sl. Mahmud was
not a fighting man; now when opposed to Tambal, he shewed want of
courage in word and deed. Ahmad Beg was unpolished[566] but brave and
well-meaning. In his very rough way, he said, 'What's the measure of
this person, Tambal? that you are so tormented with fear and fright
about him. If you are afraid to look at him, bandage your eyes before
you go out to face him.'
907 AH.--JULY 17TH. 1501 TO JULY 7TH. 1502 AD.[567]
(_a. Surrender of Samarkand to Shaibani._)
The siege drew on to great length; no provisions and supplies came in
from any quarter, no succour and reinforcement from any side. The
soldiers and peasantry became hopeless and, by ones and twos, began to
let themselves down outside[568] the walls and flee. On Shaibaq Khan's
hearing of the distress in the town, he came and dismounted near the
Lovers'-cave. I, in turn, went to Malik-muhammad Mirza's dwellings in
Low-lane, over against him. On one of those days, Khwaja Husain's
brother, Auzun Hasan[569] came into the town with 10 or 15 of his
men,--he who, as has been told, had been the cause of Jahangir Mirza's
rebellion, of my exodus from Samarkand (903 AH.--March 1498 AD.) and,
again! of what an amount of sedition and [Sidenote: Fol. 95.]
disloyalty! That entry of his was a very bold act.[570]
The soldiery and townspeople became more and more distressed. Trusted
men of my close circle began to let themselves down from the ramparts
and get away; begs of known name and old family servants were amongst
them, such as Pir Wais, Shaikh Wais and Wais _Laghari_.[571] Of help
from any side we utterly despaired; no hope was left in any quarter; our
supplies and provisions were wretched, what there was was coming to an
end; no more came in. Meantime Shaibaq Khan interjected talk of
peace.[572] Little ear would have been given to his talk of peace, if
there had been hope or food from any side. It had to be! a sort of peace
was made and we took our departure from the town, by the Shaikh-zada's
Gate, somewhere about midnight.
(_b. Babur leaves Samarkand._)
I took my mother Khanim out with me; two other women-folk went too, one
was Bishka (var. Peshka)-i-Khalifa, the other, Minglik _Kukuldash_.[573]
At this exodus, my elder sister, Khan-zada Begim fell into Shaibaq
Khan's hands.[574] In the darkness of that night we lost our way[575]
and wandered about amongst the main irrigation channels of Soghd. At
shoot of dawn, after a hundred difficulties, we got past Khwaja Didar.
At the Sunnat Prayer we scrambled up the rising-ground of Qara-bugh.
[Sidenote: Fol. 95b.] From the north slope of Qara-bugh we hurried on
past the foot of Juduk village and dropped down into Yilan-auti. On the
road I raced with Qasim Beg and Qambar-`ali (the Skinner); my horse was
leading when I, thinking to look at theirs behind, twisted myself round;
the girth may have slackened, for my saddle turned and I was thrown on
my head to the ground. Although I at once got up and remounted, my brain
did not steady till the evening; till then this world and what went on
appeared to me like things felt and seen in a dream or fancy. Towards
afternoon we dismounted in Yilan-auti, there killed a horse, spitted
and roasted its flesh, rested our horses awhile and rode on. Very weary,
we reached Khalila-village before the dawn and dismounted. From there it
was gone on to Dizak.
In Dizak just then was Hafiz Muh. _Duldai's_ son, Tahir. There, in
Dizak, were fat meats, loaves of fine flour, plenty of sweet melons and
abundance of excellent grapes. From what privation we came to such
plenty! From what stress to what repose!
From fear and hunger rest we won (_amani taptuq_);
A fresh world's new-born life we won (_jahani taptuq_).
From out our minds, death's dread was chased [Sidenote: Fol. 96.]
(_rafa` buldi_);
From our men the hunger-pang kept back (_dafa` buldi_).[576]
Never in all our lives had we felt such relief! never in the whole
course of them have we appreciated security and plenty so highly. Joy is
best and more delightful when it follows sorrow, ease after toil. I have
been transported four or five times from toil to rest and from hardship
to ease.[577] This was the first. We were set free from the affliction
of such a foe and from the pangs of hunger and had reached the repose of
security and the relief of abundance.
(_c. Babur in Dikh-kat._)
After three or four days of rest in Dizak, we set out for Aura-tipa.
Pashaghar is a little[578] off the road but, as we had occupied it for
some time (904 AH.), we made an excursion to it in passing by. In
Pashaghar we chanced on one of Khanim's old servants, a teacher[579] who
had been left behind in Samarkand from want of a mount. We saw one
another and on questioning her, I found she had come there on foot.
Khub-nigar Khanim, my mother Khanim's younger sister[580] already must
have bidden this transitory world farewell; for they let Khanim and me
know of it in Aura-tipa. My father's mother also must have died in
Andijan; this too they let us [Sidenote: Fol. 96b.] know in
Aura-tipa.[581] Since the death of my grandfather, Yunas Khan (892 AH.),
Khanim had not seen her (step-)mother or her younger brother and
sisters, that is to say, Shah Begim, Sl. Mahmud Khan, Sultan-nigar
Khanim and Daulat-sultan Khanim. The separation had lasted 13 or 14
years. To see these relations she now started for Tashkint.
After consulting with Muh. Husain Mirza, it was settled for us to winter
in a place called Dikh-kat[582] one of the Aura-tipa villages. There I
deposited my impedimenta (_auruq_); then set out myself in order to
visit Shah Begim and my Khan dada and various relatives. I spent a few
days in Tashkint and waited on Shah Begim and my Khan dada. My mother's
elder full-sister, Mihr-nigar Khanim[583] had come from Samarkand and
was in Tashkint. There my mother Khanim fell very ill; it was a very bad
illness; she passed through mighty risks.
His Highness Khwajaka Khwaja, having managed to get out of Samarkand,
had settled down in Far-kat; there I visited him. I had hoped my Khan
dada would shew me affection and kindness and would give me a country or
a district (_pargana_). He did promise me Aura-tipa but Muh. Husain
Mirza. did not make it over, whether acting on his own account
[Sidenote: Fol. 97.] or whether upon a hint from above, is not known.
After spending a few days with him (in Aura-tipa), I went on to
Dikh-kat.
Dikh-kat is in the Aura-tipa hill-tracts, below the range on the other
side of which is the Macha[584] country. Its people, though Sart,
settled in a village, are, like Turks, herdsmen and shepherds. Their
sheep are reckoned at 40,000. We dismounted at the houses of the
peasants in the village; I stayed in a head-man's house. He was old, 70
or 80, but his mother was still alive. She was a woman on whom much life
had been bestowed for she was 111 years old. Some relation of hers may
have gone, (as was said), with Timur Beg's army to Hindustan;[585] she
had this in her mind and used to tell the tale. In Dikh-kat alone were
96 of her descendants, hers and her grandchildren, great-grandchildren
and grandchildren's grandchildren. Counting in the dead, 200 of her
descendants were reckoned up. Her grandchild's grandson was a strong
young man of 25 or 26, with full black beard. While in Dikh-kat, I
constantly made excursions amongst the mountains round [Sidenote: Fol.
97b.] about. Generally I went bare-foot and, from doing this so much, my
feet became so that rock and stone made no difference to them.[586] Once
in one of these wanderings, a cow was seen, between the Afternoon and
Evening prayers, going down by a narrow, ill-defined road. Said I, 'I
wonder which way that road will be going; keep your eye on that cow;
don't lose the cow till you know where the road comes out.' Khwaja
Asadu'l-lah made his joke, 'If the cow loses her way,' he said, 'what
becomes of us?'
In the winter several of our soldiers asked for leave to Andijan because
they could make no raids with us.[587] Qasim Beg said, with much
insistance, 'As these men are going, send something special of your own
wear by them to Jahangir Mirza.' I sent my ermine cap. Again he urged,
'What harm would there be if you sent something for Tambal also?' Though
I was very unwilling, yet as he urged it, I sent Tambal a large
broad-sword which Nuyan _Kukuldash_ had had made for himself in
Samarkand. This very sword it was which, as will be told with the
events of next year, came down on my own head![588]
A few days later, my grandmother, Aisan-daulat Begim, who, when I left
Samarkand, had stayed behind, arrived in Dikh-kat [Sidenote: Fol. 98.]
with our families and baggage (_auruq_) and a few lean and hungry
followers.
(_d. Shaibaq Khan raids in The Khan's country._)
That winter Shaibaq Khan crossed the Khujand river on the ice and
plundered near Shahrukhiya and Bish-kint. On hearing news of this, we
gallopped off, not regarding the smallness of our numbers, and made for
the villages below Khujand, opposite Hasht-yak (One-eighth). The cold
was mightily bitter,[589] a wind not less than the Ha-darwesh[590]
raging violently the whole time. So cold it was that during the two or
three days we were in those parts, several men died of it. When, needing
to make ablution, I went into an irrigation-channel, frozen along both
banks but because of its swift current, not ice-bound in the middle, and
bathed, dipping under 16 times, the cold of the water went quite through
me. Next day we crossed the river on the ice from opposite Khaslar and
went on through the dark to Bish-kint.[591] Shaibaq Khan, however, must
have gone straight back after plundering the neighbourhood of
Shahrukhiya.
(_e. Death of Nuyan Kukuldash._)
Bish-kint, at that time, was held by Mulla Haidar's son, `Abdu'l-minan.
A younger son, named Mumin, a worthless and dissipated person, had come
to my presence in Samarkand and had received all kindness from me. This
sodomite, Mumin, for what sort of quarrel between them is not known,
cherished [Sidenote: Fol. 98b.] rancour against Nuyan _Kukuldash_. At
the time when we, having heard of the retirement of the Auzbegs, sent a
man to The Khan and marched from Bish-kint to spend two or three days
amongst the villages in the Blacksmith's-dale,[592] Mulla Haidar's son,
Mumin invited Nuyan _Kukuldash_ and Ahmad-i-qasim and some others in
order to return them hospitality received in Samarkand. When I left
Bish-kint, therefore they stayed behind. Mumin's entertainment to this
party was given on the edge of a ravine (_jar_). Next day news was
brought to us in Sam-sirak, a village in the Blacksmith's-dale, that
Nuyan was dead through falling when drunk into the ravine. We sent his
own mother's brother, Haq-nazar and others, who searched out where he
had fallen. They committed Nuyan to the earth in Bish-kint, and came
back to me. They had found the body at the bottom of the ravine an
arrow's flight from the place of the entertainment. Some suspected that
Mumin, nursing his trumpery rancour, had taken Nuyan's life. None knew
the truth. His death made me strangely sad; for few men have I felt such
grief; I wept unceasingly for a week or [Sidenote: Fol. 99.] ten days.
The chronogram of his death was found in _Nuyan is dead_.[593]
With the heats came the news that Shaibaq Khan was coming up into
Aura-tipa. Hereupon, as the land is level about Dikh-kat, we crossed the
Ab-burdan pass into the Macha hill-country.[594] Ab-burdan is the last
village of Macha; just below it a spring sends its water down (to the
Zar-afshan); above the stream is included in Macha, below it depends on
Palghar. There is a tomb at the spring-head. I had a rock at the side of
the spring-head shaped (_qatirib_) and these three couplets inscribed on
it;--
I have heard that Jamshid, the magnificent,
Inscribed on a rock at a fountain-head[595]
'Many men like us have taken breath at this fountain,
And have passed away in the twinkling of an eye;
We took the world by courage and might,
But we took it not with us to the tomb.'
There is a custom in that hill-country of cutting verses and things[596]
on the rocks.
While we were in Macha, Mulla Hijri,[597] the poet, came from Hisar and
waited on me. At that time I composed the following opening lines;--
Let your portrait flatter you never so much, than it you are more
(_andin artuqsin_);
Men call you their Life (_Jan_), than Life, without doubt, you are
more (_jandin artuqsin_).[598]
After plundering round about in Aura-tipa, Shaibaq Khan retired.[599]
While he was up there, we, disregarding the fewness [Sidenote: Fol.
99b.] of our men and their lack of arms, left our impedimenta (_auruq_)
in Macha, crossed the Ab-burdan pass and went to Dikh-kat so that,
gathered together close at hand, we might miss no chance on one of the
next nights. He, however, retired straightway; we went back to Macha.
It passed through my mind that to wander from mountain to mountain,
homeless and houseless, without country or abiding-place, had nothing to
recommend it. 'Go you right off to The Khan,' I said to myself. Qasim
Beg was not willing for this move, apparently being uneasy because, as
has been told, he had put Mughuls to death at Qara-bulaq, by way of
example. However much we urged it, it was not to be! He drew off for
Hisar with all his brothers and his whole following. We for our part,
crossed the Ab-burdan pass and set forward for The Khan's presence in
Tashkint.
(_f. Babur with The Khan._)
In the days when Tambal had drawn his army out and gone into the
Blacksmith's-dale,[600] men at the top of his army, such as Muh.
_Dughlat_, known as _Hisari_, and his younger brother Husain, and also
Qambar-`ali, the Skinner, conspired to attempt his life. When he
discovered this weighty matter, they, unable to remain with him, had
gone to The Khan.
The Feast of Sacrifices (`Id-i-qurban) fell for us in Shah-rukhiya
(Zu'l-hijja 10th.-June 16th. 1502).
I had written a quatrain in an ordinary measure but was in some doubt
about it, because at that time I had not studied [Sidenote: Fol. 100.]
poetic idiom so much as I have now done. The Khan was good-natured and
also he wrote verses, though ones somewhat deficient in the requisites
for odes. I presented my quatrain and I laid my doubts before him but
got no reply so clear as to remove them. His study of poetic idiom
appeared to have been somewhat scant. Here is the verse;--
One hears no man recall another in trouble (_mihnat-ta kishi_);
None speak of a man as glad in his exile (_ghurbat-ta kishi_);
My own heart has no joy in this exile;
Called glad is no exile, man though he be (_albatta kishi_).
Later on I came to know that in Turki verse, for the purpose of rhyme,
_ta_ and _da_ are interchangeable and also _ghain_, _qaf_ and
_kaf_.[601]
(_g. The acclaiming of the standards._)
When, a few days later, The Khan heard that Tambal had gone up into
Aura-tipa, he got his army to horse and rode out from Tashkint. Between
Bish-kint and Sam-sirak he formed up into array of right and left and
saw the count[602] of his men. This done, the standards were acclaimed
in Mughul fashion.[603] The Khan dismounted and nine standards were set
up in front of him. A Mughul tied a long strip of white cloth to the
thigh-bone (_aurta ailik_) of a cow and took the other end in his hand.
Three other long strips of white cloth were tied to the staves of three
of the (nine) standards, just below the yak-tails, and their other ends
were brought for The Khan to stand on one and for me and Sl. Muh.
Khanika to stand each on one of the two others. The Mughul who had hold
of the strip of cloth [Sidenote: Fol. 100b.] fastened to the cow's leg,
then said something in Mughul while he looked at the standards and made
signs towards them. The Khan and those present sprinkled _qumiz_[604] in
the direction of the standards; hautbois and drums were sounded towards
them;[605] the army flung the war-cry out three times towards them,
mounted, cried it again and rode at the gallop round them.
Precisely as Chingiz Khan laid down his rules, so the Mughuls still
observe them. Each man has his place, just where his ancestors had it;
right, right,--left, left,--centre, centre. The most reliable men go to
the extreme points of the right and left. The Chiras and Begchik clans
always demand to go to the point in the right.[606] At that time the Beg
of the Chiras tuman was a very bold brave, Qashka (Mole-marked) Mahmud
and the beg of the renowned Begchik tuman was Ayub _Begchik_. These two,
disputing which should go out to the point, drew swords on one another.
At last it seems to have been settled that one should take the highest
place in the hunting-circle, the other, in the battle-array.
Next day after making the circle, it was hunted near Samsirak;
[Sidenote: Fol. 101.] thence move was made to the Turak Four-gardens.
On that day and in that camp, I finished the first ode I ever finished.
Its opening couplet is as follows;--
Except my soul, no friend worth trust found I (_wafadar tapmadim_);
Except my heart, no confidant found I (_asrar tapmadim_).
There were six couplets; every ode I finished later was written just on
this plan.
The Khan moved, march by march, from Sam-sirak to the bank of the
Khujand-river. One day we crossed the water by way of an excursion,
cooked food and made merry with the braves and pages. That day some-one
stole the gold clasp of my girdle. Next day Bayan-quli's Khan-quli and
Sl. Muh. Wais fled to Tambal. Every-one suspected them of that bad deed.
Though this was not ascertained, Ahmad-i-qasim _Kohbur_ asked leave and
went away to Aura-tipa. From that leave he did not return; he too went
to Tambal.
908 AH.--JULY 7TH. 1502 TO JUNE 26TH. 1503 AD.[607]
(_a. Babur's poverty in Tashkint._)
This move of The Khan's was rather unprofitable; to take no fort, to
beat no foe, he went out and went back.
During my stay in Tashkint, I endured much poverty and humiliation. No
country or hope of one! Most of my retainers dispersed, those left,
unable to move about with me because of their destitution! If I went to
my Khan dada's Gate,[608] I went sometimes with one man, sometimes with
two. It was well he was no stranger but one of my own blood. [Sidenote:
Fol. 101b.] After showing myself[609] in his presence, I used to go to
Shah Begim's, entering her house, bareheaded and barefoot, just as if it
were my own.
This uncertainty and want of house and home drove me at last to despair.
Said I, 'It would be better to take my head[610] and go off than live in
such misery; better to go as far as my feet can carry me than be seen of
men in such poverty and humiliation.' Having settled on China to go to,
I resolved to take my head and get away. From my childhood up I had
wished to visit China but had not been able to manage it because of
ruling and attachments. Now sovereignty itself was gone! and my mother,
for her part, was re-united to her (step)-mother and her younger
brother. The hindrances to my journey had been removed; my anxiety for
my mother was dispelled. I represented (to Shah Begim and The Khan)
through Khwaja Abu'l-makaram that now such a foe as Shaibaq Khan had
made his appearance, Mughul and Turk[611] alike must guard against him;
that thought about him must be taken while he had not well-mastered the
(Auzbeg) horde or grown very strong, for as they have said;--[612]
To-day, while thou canst, quench the fire,
Once ablaze it will burn up the world;
Let thy foe not fix string to his bow,
While an arrow of thine can pierce him;
that it was 20 or 25 years[613] since they had seen the Younger Khan
(Ahmad _Alacha_) and that I had never seen him; should I be able, if I
went to him, not only to see him myself, but to bring about the meeting
between him and them?
[Sidenote: Fol. 102.] Under this pretext I proposed to get out of those
surroundings;[614] once in Mughulistan and Turfan, my reins would be in
my own hands, without check or anxiety. I put no-one in possession of my
scheme. Why not? Because it was impossible for me to mention such a
scheme to my mother, and also because it was with other expectations
that the few of all ranks who had been my companions in exile and
privation, had cut themselves off with me and with me suffered change of
fortune. To speak to them also of such a scheme would be no pleasure.
The Khwaja, having laid my plan before Shah Begim and The Khan,
understood them to consent to it but, later, it occurred to them that I
might be asking leave a second time,[615] because of not receiving
kindness. That touching their reputation, they delayed a little to give
the leave.
(_b. The Younger Khan comes to Tashkint._)
At this crisis a man came from the Younger Khan to say that he was
actually on his way. This brought my scheme to naught. When a second
man announced his near approach, we all went out to give him honourable
meeting, Shah Begim and his younger sisters, Sultan-nigar Khanim and
Daulat-sultan Khanim, and I and Sl. Muh. Khanika and Khan Mirza (Wais).
Between Tashkint and Sairam is a village called Yagha (var. Yaghma),
with some smaller ones, where are the tombs of Father Abraham and Father
Isaac. So far we went out. Knowing nothing exact about his coming,[616]
I rode out for an [Sidenote: Fol. 102b.] excursion, with an easy mind.
All at once, he descended on me, face to face. I went forward; when I
stopped, he stopped. He was a good deal perturbed; perhaps he was
thinking of dismounting in some fixed spot and there seated, of
receiving me ceremoniously. There was no time for this; when we were
near each other, I dismounted. He had not time even to dismount;[617] I
bent the knee, went forward and saw him. Hurriedly and with agitation,
he told Sl. Sa`id Khan and Baba Khan Sl. to dismount, bend the knee with
(_bila_) me and make my acquaintance.[618] Just these two of his sons
had come with him; they may have been 13 or 14 years old. When I had
seen them, we all mounted and went to Shah Begim's presence. After he
had seen her and his sisters, and had renewed acquaintance, they all sat
down and for half the night told one another particulars of their past
and gone affairs.
Next day, my Younger Khan dada bestowed on me arms of his own and one of
his own special horses saddled, and a Mughul head-to-foot dress,--a
Mughul cap,[619] a long coat of Chinese satin, with broidering of
stitchery,[620] and Chinese armour; in the old fashion, they had hung,
on the left side, a haversack (_chantai_) and an outer bag,[621] and
three or four things such as women usually hang on their collars,
perfume-holders and various receptacles;[622] in the same way, three or
four things hung on the right side also.
[Sidenote: Fol. 103.] From there we went to Tashkint. My Elder Khan dada
also had come out for the meeting, some 3 or 4 _yighach_ (12 to 15 m.)
along the road. He had had an awning set up in a chosen spot and was
seated there. The Younger Khan went up directly in front of him; on
getting near, fetched a circle, from right to left, round him; then
dismounted before him. After advancing to the place of interview
(_kurushur yir_), he nine times bent the knee; that done, went close and
saw (his brother). The Elder Khan, in his turn, had risen when the
Younger Khan drew near. They looked long at one another (_kurushtilar_)
and long stood in close embrace (_quchushub_). The Younger Khan again
bent the knee nine times when retiring, many times also on offering his
gift; after that, he went and sat down.
All his men had adorned themselves in Mughul fashion. There they were in
Mughul caps (_burk_); long coats of Chinese satin, broidered with
stitchery, Mughul quivers and saddles of green shagreen-leather, and
Mughul horses adorned in a unique fashion. He had brought rather few
men, over 1000 and under 2000 may-be. He was a man of singular manners,
a mighty master of the sword, and brave. Amongst arms he preferred to
trust to the sword. He used to say that of arms there are, the
_shash-par_[623] (six-flanged mace), the _piyazi_ (rugged mace), the
_kistin_,[624] the _tabar-zin_ (saddle-hatchet) and the _baltu_
(battle-axe), all, if they strike, work only with what of them first
touches, but the sword, if it touch, works from point to hilt. He never
parted with his keen-edged sword; it was either at his waist or to his
hand. He was a little rustic and rough-of-speech, [Sidenote: Fol. 103b.]
through having grown up in an out-of-the-way place.
When, adorned in the way described, I went with him to The Khan, Khwaja
Abu'l-makaram asked, 'Who is this honoured sultan?' and till I spoke,
did not recognize me.
(_c. The Khans march into Farghana against Tambal._)
Soon after returning to Tashkint, The Khan led out an army for Andikan
(Andijan) direct against Sl. Ahmad _Tambal_.[625] He took the road over
the Kindirlik-pass and from Blacksmiths'-dale (Ahangaran-julgasi) sent
the Younger Khan and me on in advance. After the pass had been crossed,
we all met again near Zarqan (var. Zabarqan) of Karnan.
One day, near Karnan, they numbered their men[626] and reckoned them up
to be 30,000. From ahead news began to come that Tambal also was
collecting a force and going to Akhsi. After having consulted together,
The Khans decided to join some of their men to me, in order that I might
cross the Khujand-water, and, marching by way of Aush and Auzkint, turn
Tambal's rear. Having so settled, they joined to me Ayub _Begchik_ with
his _tuman_, Jan-hasan Barin (var. Narin) with his Barins, Muh. _Hisari
Dughlat_, Sl. Husain _Dughlat_ and Sl. Ahmad Mirza _Dughlat_, not in
command of the Dughlat _tuman_,--and Qambar-`ali Beg (the Skinner). The
commandant (_darogha_) of their force was Sarigh-bash (Yellow-head)
Mirza _Itarchi_.[627]
Leaving The Khans in Karnan, we crossed the river on rafts near Sakan,
traversed the Khuqan sub-district (_aurchin_), crushed [Sidenote: Fol.
104.] Qaba and by way of the Alai sub-districts[628] descended suddenly
on Aush. We reached it at dawn, unexpected; those in it could but
surrender. Naturally the country-folk were wishing much for us, but they
had not been able to find their means, both through dread of Tambal and
through our remoteness. After we entered Aush, the hordes and the
highland and lowland tribes of southern and eastern Andijan came in to
us. The Auzkint people also, willing to serve us, sent me a man and came
in.
(_Author's note on Auzkint._) Auzkint formerly must have been
a capital of Farghana;[629] it has an excellent fort and is
situated on the boundary (of Farghana).
The Marghinanis also came in after two or three days, having beaten and
chased their commandant (_darogha_). Except Andijan, every fort south of
the Khujand-water had now come in to us. Spite of the return in those
days of so many forts, and spite of risings and revolt against him,
Tambal did not yet come to his senses but sat down with an army of horse
and foot, fortified with ditch and branch, to face The Khans, between
Karnan and Akhsi. Several times over there was a little fighting and
pell-mell but without decided success to either side.
In the Andijan country (_wilayat_), most of the tribes and [Sidenote:
Fol. 104b.] hordes and the forts and all the districts had come in to
me; naturally the Andijanis also were wishing for me. They however could
not find their means.
(_d. Babur's attempt to enter Andijan frustrated by a mistake._)
It occurred to me that if we went one night close to the town and sent a
man in to discuss with the Khwaja[630] and notables, they might perhaps
let us in somewhere. With this idea we rode out from Aush. By midnight
we were opposite Forty-daughters (Chihil-dukhteran) 2 miles (one
_kuroh_) from Andijan. From that place we sent Qambar-`ali Beg forward,
with some other begs, who were to discuss matters with the Khwaja after
by some means or other getting a man into the fort. While waiting for
their return, we sat on our horses, some of us patiently humped up, some
wrapt away in dream, when suddenly, at about the third watch, there rose
a war-cry[631] and a sound of drums. Sleepy and startled, ignorant
whether the foe was many or few, my men, without looking to one another,
took each his own road and turned for flight. There was no time for me
to get at them; I went straight for the enemy. Only Mir Shah _Quchin_
and Baba Sher-zad (Tiger-whelp) and Nasir's Dost sprang forward; we four
excepted, every man set his face for flight. I had gone a little way
forward, when the enemy rode rapidly up, flung out his war-cry and
poured arrows on us. One man, on a horse with a starred forehead,[632]
came close to me; I shot at it; it rolled over and died. They made a
little as if to retire. The three [Sidenote: Fol. 105.] with me said,
'In this darkness it is not certain whether they are many or few; all
our men have gone off; what harm could we four do them? Fighting must be
when we have overtaken our run-aways and rallied them.' Off we hurried,
got up with our men and beat and horse-whipped some of them, but, do
what we would, they would not make a stand. Back the four of us went to
shoot arrows at the foe. They drew a little back but when, after a
discharge or two, they saw we were not more than three or four, they
busied themselves in chasing and unhorsing my men. I went three or four
times to try to rally my men but all in vain! They were not to be
brought to order. Back I went with my three and kept the foe in check
with our arrows. They pursued us two or three _kuroh_ (4-6 m.), as far
as the rising ground opposite Kharabuk and Pashamun. There we met Muh.
`Ali _Mubashir_. Said I, 'They are only few; let us stop and put our
horses at them.' So we did. When we got up to them, they stood
still.[633]
Our scattered braves gathered in from this side and that, but several
very serviceable men, scattering in this attack, went right away to
Aush.
The explanation of the affair seemed to be that some of Ayub _Begchik's_
Mughuls had slipped away from Aush to raid near Andijan and, hearing the
noise of our troop, came somewhat stealthily towards us; then there
seems to have been confusion about the pass-word. The pass-words settled
on for use during this movement of ours were Tashkint and Sairam. If
Tashkint were said, Sairam would be answered; if Sairam, Tashkint. In
this muddled affair, Khwaja Muh. `Ali seems to have been somewhat in
advance of our party and to have got bewildered,--he was a Sart
person,[635]--when the Mughuls came up saying, 'Tashkint, Tashkint,' for
he gave them 'Tashkint, Tashkint,' as the counter-sign. Through this
they took him for an enemy, raised their war-cry, beat their
saddle-drums and poured arrows on us. It was through this we gave way,
and through this false alarm were scattered! We went back to Aush.
[Sidenote: Fol. 105b.] (_Author's note on pass-words._)
Pass-words are of two kinds;--in each tribe there is one for
use in the tribe, such as _Darwana_ or _Tuqqai_ or
_Lulu_;[634] and there is one for the use of the whole army.
For a battle, two words are settled on as pass-words so that
of two men meeting in the fight, one may give the one, the
other give back the second, in order to distinguish friends
from foes, own men from strangers.
(_e. Babur again attempts Andijan._)
Through the return to me of the forts and the highland and lowland
clans, Tambal and his adherents lost heart and footing. His army and
people in the next five or six days began to desert him and to flee to
retired places and the open country.[636] Of his household some came and
said, 'His affairs are nearly ruined; he will break up in three or four
days, utterly ruined.' On hearing this, we rode for Andijan.
Sl. Muh. _Galpuk_[637] was in Andijan,--the younger of Tambal's cadet
brothers. We took the Mulberry-road and at the Mid-day Prayer came to
the Khakan (canal), south of the town. A [Sidenote: Fol. 106.]
foraging-party was arranged; I followed it along Khakan to the skirt of
`Aish-hill. When our scouts brought word that Sl. Muh. _Galpuk_ had come
out, with what men he had, beyond the suburbs and gardens to the skirt
of `Aish, I hurried to meet him, although our foragers were still
scattered. He may have had over 500 men; we had more but many had
scattered to forage. When we were face to face, his men and ours may
have been in equal number. Without caring about order or array, down we
rode on them, loose rein, at the gallop. When we got near, they could
not stand; there was not so much fighting as the crossing of a few
swords. My men followed them almost to the Khakan Gate, unhorsing one
after another.
It was at the Evening Prayer that, our foe outmastered, we reached
Khwaja Kitta, on the outskirts of the suburbs. My idea was to go quickly
right up to the Gate but Dost Beg's father, Nasir Beg and Qambar-`ali
Beg, old and experienced begs both, represented to me, 'It is almost
night; it would be ill-judged to go in a body into the fort in the dark;
let us withdraw a little and dismount. What can they do to-morrow but
surrender the place?' Yielding at once to the opinion of these
experienced persons, we forthwith retired to the outskirts of the
suburbs. If we had gone to the Gate, undoubtedly, Andijan [Sidenote:
Fol. 106b.] would have come into our hands.
(_f. Babur surprised by Tambal._)
After crossing the Khakan-canal, we dismounted, near the Bed-time
prayer, at the side of the village of Rabat-i-zauraq (var. ruzaq).
Although we knew that Tambal had broken camp and was on his way to
Andijan, yet, with the negligence of inexperience, we dismounted on
level ground close to the village, instead of where the defensive canal
would have protected us.[638] There we lay down carelessly, without
scouts or rear-ward.
At the top (_bash_) of the morning, just when men are in sweet sleep,
Qambar-`ali Beg hurried past, shouting, 'Up with you! the enemy is
here!' So much he said and went off without a moment's stay. It was my
habit to lie down, even in times of peace, in my tunic; up I got
instanter, put on sword and quiver and mounted. My standard-bearer had
no time to adjust my standard,[639] he just mounted with it in his hand.
There were ten or fifteen men with me when we started toward the enemy;
after riding an arrow's flight, when we came up with his scouts, there
may have been ten. Going rapidly forward, we overtook him, poured in
arrows on him, over-mastered his foremost men and hurried them off. We
followed them for another arrow's flight and came up with his centre
where Sl. Ahmad _Tambal_ himself was, with as many as [Sidenote: Fol.
107.] 100 men. He and another were standing in front of his array, as if
keeping a Gate,[640] and were shouting, 'Strike, strike!' but his men,
mostly, were sidling, as if asking themselves, 'Shall we run away? Shall
we not?' By this time three were left with me; one was Nasir's Dost,
another, Mirza Quli _Kukuldash_, the third, Khudai-birdi _Turkman's_
Karim-dad.[641] I shot off the arrow on my thumb,[642] aiming at
Tambal's helm. When I put my hand into my quiver, there came out a quite
new _gosha-gir_[643] given me by my Younger Khan dada. It would have
been vexing to throw it away but before I got it back into the quiver,
there had been time to shoot, maybe, two or three arrows. When once more
I had an arrow on the string, I went forward, my three men even holding
back. One of those two in advance, Tambal seemingly,[644] moved forward
also. The high-road was between us; I from my side, he, from his, got
upon it and came face to face, in such a way that his right hand was
towards me, mine towards him. His horse's mail excepted, he was fully
accoutred; but for sword and quiver, I was unprotected. I shot off the
arrow in my hand, adjusting for the attachment of his shield. With
matters in this position, they shot my right leg through. I had on the
cap of my helm;[645] Tambal chopped [Sidenote: Fol. 107b.] so violently
at my head that it lost all feeling under the blow. A large wound was
made on my head, though not a thread of the cap was cut.[646] I had not
bared[647] my sword; it was in the scabbard and I had no chance to draw
it. Single-handed, I was alone amongst many foes. It was not a time to
stand still; I turned rein. Down came a sword again; this time on my
arrows. When I had gone 7 or 8 paces, those same three men rejoined
me.[648] After using his sword on me, Tambal seems to have used it on
Nasir's Dost. As far as an arrrow flies to the butt, the enemy followed
us.
The Khakan-canal is a great main-channel, flowing in a deep cutting, not
everywhere to be crossed. God brought it right! we came exactly opposite
a low place where there was a passage over. Directly we had crossed, the
horse Nasir's Dost was on, being somewhat weakly, fell down. We stopped
and remounted him, then drew off for Aush, over the rising-ground
between Faraghina and Khirabuk. Out on the rise, Mazid Taghai came up
and joined us. An arrow had pierced his right leg also and though it had
not gone through and come out again, he got to Aush with difficulty. The
enemy unhorsed (_tushurdilar_) good men of mine; Nasir Beg, Muh. `Ali
_Mubashir_, Khwaja Muh. `Ali, Khusrau _Kukuldash_, Na`man the page, all
fell (to them, _tushtilar_), and also many unmailed braves.[649]
(_g. The Khans move from Kasan to Andijan._)
The Khans, closely following on Tambal, dismounted near Andijan,--the
Elder at the side of the Reserve (_quruq_) in the [Sidenote: Fol. 108.]
garden, known as Birds'-mill (_Qush-tigirman_), belonging to my
grandmother, Aisan-daulat Begim,--the Younger, near Baba Tawakkul's
Alms-house. Two days later I went from Aush and saw the Elder Khan in
Birds'-mill. At that interview, he simply gave over to the Younger Khan
the places which had come in to me. He made some such excuse as that for
our advantage, he had brought the Younger Khan, how far! because such a
foe as Shaibaq Khan had taken Samarkand and was waxing greater; that the
Younger Khan had there no lands whatever, his own being far away; and
that the country under Andijan, on the south of the Khujand-water, must
be given him to encamp in. He promised me the country under Akhsi, on
the north of the Khujand-water. He said that after taking a firm grip of
that country (Farghana), they would move, take Samarkand, give it to me
and then the whole of the Farghana country was to be the Younger Khan's.
These words seem to have been meant to deceive me, since there is no
knowing what they would have done when they had attained their object.
It had to be however! willy-nilly, I agreed.
When, leaving him, I was on my way to the Younger Khan's presence,
Qambar-`ali, known as the Skinner, joined me in a friendly way and said,
'Do you see? They have taken the whole of the country just become yours.
There is no opening for you through them. You have in your hands Aush,
Marghinan, [Sidenote: Fol. 108b.] Auzkint and the cultivated land and
the tribes and the hordes; go you to Aush; make that fort fast; send a
man to Tambal, make peace with him, then strike at the Mughul and drive
him out. After that, divide the districts into an elder and a younger
brother's shares.' 'Would that be right?' said I. 'The Khans are my
blood relations; better serve them than rule for Tambal.' He saw that
his words had made no impression, so turned back, sorry he had spoken. I
went on to see my Younger Khan Dada. At our first interview, I had come
upon him without announcement and he had no time to dismount, so it was
all rather unceremonious. This time I got even nearer perhaps, and he
ran out as far as the end of the tent-ropes. I was walking with some
difficulty because of the wound in my leg. We met and renewed
acquaintance; then he said, 'You are talked about as a hero, my young
brother!' took my arm and led me into his tent. The tents pitched were
rather small and through his having grown up in an out-of-the-way place,
he let the one he sat in be neglected; it was like a raider's, melons,
grapes, saddlery, every sort of thing, in his sitting-tent. I went from
his presence straight back to my own camp and there he sent his Mughul
surgeon to examine my wound. Mughuls call a surgeon also a _bakhshi_;
this one was called Ataka Bakhshi.[650]
He was a very skilful surgeon; if a man's brains had come [Sidenote:
Fol. 109.] out, he would cure it, and any sort of wound in an artery he
easily healed. For some wounds his remedy was in form of a plaister, for
some medicines had to be taken. He ordered a bandage tied on[651] the
wound in my leg and put no seton in; once he made me eat something like
a fibrous root (_yildiz_). He told me himself, 'A certain man had his
leg broken in the slender part and the bone was shattered for the
breadth of the hand. I cut the flesh open and took the bits of bone out.
Where they had been, I put a remedy in powder-form. That remedy simply
became bone where there had been bone before.' He told many strange and
marvellous things such as surgeons in cultivated lands cannot match.
Three or four days later, Qambar-`ali, afraid on account of what he had
said to me, fled (to Tambal) in Andijan. A few days later, The Khans
joined to me Ayub _Begchik_ with his _tuman_, and Jan-hasan _Barin_ with
the Barin _tuman_ and, as their army-beg, Sarigh-bash Mirza,--1000 to
2000 men in all, and sent us towards Akhsi.
(_h. Babur's expedition to Akhsi._)
Shaikh Bayazid, a younger brother of Tambal, was in Akhsi; Shahbaz
_Qarluq_ was in Kasan. At the time, Shahbaz was lying before Nu-kint
fort; crossing the Khujand-water opposite Bikhrata, we hurried to fall
upon him there. When, a little [Sidenote: Fol. 109b.] before dawn, we
were nearing the place, the begs represented to me that as the man would
have had news of us, it was advisable not to go on in broken array. We
moved on therefore with less speed. Shahbaz may have been really unaware
of us until we were quite close; then getting to know of it, he fled
into the fort. It often happens so! Once having said, 'The enemy is on
guard!' it is easily fancied true and the chance of action is lost. In
short, the experience of such things is that no effort or exertion must
be omitted, once the chance for action comes. After-repentance is
useless. There was a little fighting round the fort at dawn but we
delivered no serious attack.
For the convenience of foraging, we moved from Nu-kint towards the hills
in the direction of Bishkharan. Seizing his opportunity, Shahbaz
_Qarluq_ abandoned Nu-kint and returned to Kasan. We went back and
occupied Nu-kint. During those days, the army several times went out and
over-ran all sides and quarters. Once they over-ran the villages of
Akhsi, once those of Kasan. Shahbaz and Long Hasan's adopted son, Mirim
came out of Kasan to fight; they fought, were beaten, and there Mirim
died.
(_i. The affairs of Pap._)
Pap is a strong fort belonging to Akhsi. The Papis made it fast and sent
a man to me. We accordingly sent Sayyid Qasim with a few braves to
occupy it. They crossed the river [Sidenote: Fol. 110.] (_darya_)
opposite the upper villages of Akhsi and went into Pap.[652] A few days
later, Sayyid Qasim did an astonishing thing. There were at the time
with Shaikh Bayazid in Akhsi, Ibrahim _Chapuk_ (Slash-face)
Taghai,[653] Ahmad-of-qasim _Kohbur_, and Qasim Khitika (?) _Arghun_.
To these Shaikh Bayazid joins 200 serviceable braves and one night sends
them to surprise Pap. Sayyid Qasim must have lain down carelessly to
sleep, without setting a watch. They reach the fort, set ladders up, get
up on the Gate, let the drawbridge down and, when 70 or 80 good men in
mail are inside, goes the news to Sayyid Qasim! Drowsy with sleep, he
gets into his vest (_kunglak_), goes out, with five or six of his men,
charges the enemy and drives them out with blow upon blow. He cut off a
few heads and sent to me. Though such a careless lying down was bad
leadership, yet, with so few, just by force of drubbing, to chase off
such a mass of men in mail was very brave indeed.
Meantime The Khans were busy with the siege of Andijan but the garrison
would not let them get near it. The Andijan braves used to make sallies
and blows would be exchanged.
(_j. Babur invited into Akhsi._)
Shaikh Bayazid now began to send persons to us from Akhsi to testify to
well-wishing and pressingly invite us to Akhsi. His object was to
separate me from The Khans, by any artifice, because without me, they
had no standing-ground. [Sidenote: Fol. 110b] His invitation may have
been given after agreeing with his elder brother, Tambal that if I were
separated from The Khans, it might be possible, in my presence, to come
to some arrangement with them. We gave The Khans a hint of the
invitation. They said, 'Go! and by whatever means, lay hands on Shaikh
Bayazid.' It was not my habit to cheat and play false; here above all
places, when promises would have been made, how was I to break them? It
occurred to me however, that if we could get into Akhsi, we might be
able, by using all available means, to detach Shaikh Bayazid from
Tambal, when he might take my side or something might turn up to favour
my fortunes. We, in our turn, sent a man to him; compact was made, he
invited us into Akhsi and when we went, came out to meet us, bringing my
younger brother, Nasir Mirza with him. Then he took us into the town,
gave us ground to camp in (_yurt_) and to me one of my father's houses
in the outer fort[654] where I dismounted.
(_k. Tambal asks help of Shaibaq Khan._)
Tambal had sent his elder brother, Beg Tilba, to Shaibaq Khan with
proffer of service and invitation to enter Farghana. At this very time
Shaibaq Khan's answer arrived; 'I will come,' he wrote. On hearing this,
The Khans were all upset; they could sit no longer before Andijan and
rose from before it.
The Younger Khan himself had a reputation for justice and orthodoxy, but
his Mughuls, stationed, contrary to the expectations of the
towns-people, in Aush, Marghinan and other places,--places that had come
in to me,--began to behave ill [Sidenote: Fol. 111.] and oppressively.
When The Khans had broken up from before Andijan, the Aushis and
Marghinanis, rising in tumult, seized the Mughuls in their forts,
plundered and beat them, drove them out and pursued them.
The Khans did not cross the Khujand-water (for the Kindirlik-pass) but
left the country by way of Marghinan and Kand-i-badam and crossed it at
Khujand, Tambal pursuing them as far as Marghinan. We had had much
uncertainty; we had not had much confidence in their making any stand,
yet for us to go away, without clear reason, and leave them, would not
have looked well.
(_l. Babur attempts to defend Akhsi._)
Early one morning, when I was in the Hot-bath, Jahangir Mirza came into
Akhsi, from Marghinan, a fugitive from Tambal. We saw one another,
Shaikh Bayazid also being present, agitated and afraid. The Mirza and
Ibrahim Beg said, 'Shaikh Bayazid must be made prisoner and we must get
the citadel into our hands.' In good sooth, the proposal was wise. Said
I, 'Promise has been made; how can we break it?' Shaikh Bayazid went
into the citadel. Men ought to have been posted on the bridge; not even
there did we post any-one! These blunders were the fruit of
inexperience. At the top of the morning came Tambal himself with 2 or
3000 men in mail, crossed the bridge and went into the citadel. To begin
with I had had rather few men; when I first went into Akhsi some had
been sent to other forts and some had been made commandants and
summoners all round. Left with me in Akhsi may have been something over
100 men. We [Sidenote: Fol. 111b.] had got to horse with these and were
posting braves at the top of one lane after another and making ready for
the fight, when Shaikh Bayazid and Qambar-`ali (the Skinner), and
Muhammad-dost[655] came gallopping from Tambal with talk of peace.
After posting those told off for the fight, each in his appointed place,
I dismounted at my father's tomb for a conference, in which I invited
Jahangir Mirza to join. Muhammad-dost went back to Tambal but
Qambar-`ali and Shaikh Bayazid were present. We sat in the south porch
of the tomb and were in consultation when the Mirza, who must have
settled beforehand with Ibrahim _Chapuk_ to lay hands on those other
two, said in my ear, 'They must be made prisoner.' Said I, 'Don't hurry!
matters are past making prisoners. See here! with terms made, the affair
might be coaxed into something. For why? Not only are they many and we
few, but they with their strength are in the citadel, we with our
weakness, in the outer fort.' Shaikh Bayazid and Qambar-`ali both being
present, Jahangir Mirza looked at Ibrahim Beg and made him a sign to
refrain. Whether he misunderstood to the contrary or whether he
pretended to misunderstand, is not known; suddenly he did the ill-deed
of seizing Shaikh Bayazid. Braves [Sidenote: Fol. 112.] closing in from
all sides, flung those two to the ground. Through this the affair was
taken past adjustment; we gave them into charge and got to horse for the
coming fight.
One side of the town was put into Jahangir Mirza's charge; as his men
were few, I told off some of mine to reinforce him. I went first to his
side and posted men for the fight, then to other parts of the town.
There is a somewhat level, open space in the middle of Akhsi; I had
posted a party of braves there and gone on when a large body of the
enemy, mounted and on foot, bore down upon them, drove them from their
post and forced them into a narrow lane. Just then I came up (the lane),
gallopped my horse at them, and scattered them in flight. While I was
thus driving them out from the lane into the flat, and had got my sword
to work, they shot my horse in the leg; it stumbled and threw me there
amongst them. I got up quickly and shot one arrow off. My squire, Kahil
(lazy) had a weakly pony; he got off and led it to me. Mounting this, I
started for another lane-head. Sl. Muh. Wais noticed the weakness of my
mount, dismounted and led me his own. I mounted that horse. Just then,
Qasim Beg's son, Qambar-`ali came, wounded, from Jahangir Mirza and said
the Mirza had [Sidenote: Fol. 112b.] been attacked some time before,
driven off in panic, and had gone right away. We were thunderstruck! At
the same moment arrived Sayyid Qasim, the commandant of Pap! His was a
most unseasonable visit, since at such a crisis it was well to have such
a strong fort in our hands. Said I to Ibrahim Beg, 'What's to be done
now?' He was slightly wounded; whether because of this or because of
stupefaction, he could give no useful answer. My idea was to get across
the bridge, destroy it and make for Andijan. Baba Sher-zad did very well
here. 'We will storm out at the gate and get away at once,' he said. At
his word, we set off for the Gate. Khwaja Mir Miran also spoke boldly at
that crisis. In one of the lanes, Sayyid Qasim and Nasir's Dost chopped
away at Baqi Khiz,[656] I being in front with Ibrahim Beg and Mirza Quli
_Kukuldash_.
As we came opposite the Gate, we saw Shaikh Bayazid, wearing his
pull-over shirt[657] above his vest, coming in with three or four
horsemen. He must have been put into the charge of Jahangir's men in the
morning when, against my will, he was made prisoner, and they must have
carried him off when they got away. They had thought it would be well to
kill him; they set him free alive. He had been released just when I
chanced upon him in the Gate. I drew and shot off the arrow on my thumb;
it grazed his neck, a good shot! He came confusedly in at the Gate,
turned to the right and fled down a lane. We followed him instantly.
Mirza Quli _Kukuldash_ got at one man with his rugged-mace and went on.
Another man took [Sidenote: Fol. 113.] aim at Ibrahim Beg, but when the
Beg shouted 'Hai! Hai!' let him pass and shot me in the arm-pit, from as
near as a man on guard at a Gate. Two plates of my Qalmaq mail were cut;
he took to flight and I shot after him. Next I shot at a man running
away along the ramparts, adjusting for his cap against the battlements;
he left his cap nailed on the wall and went off, gathering his
turban-sash together in his hand. Then again,--a man was in flight
alongside me in the lane down which Shaikh Bayazid had gone. I pricked
the back of his head with my sword; he bent over from his horse till he
leaned against the wall of the lane, but he kept his seat and with some
trouble, made good his flight. When we had driven all the enemy's men
from the Gate, we took possession of it but the affair was past
discussion because they, in the citadel, were 2000 or 3000, we, in the
outer fort, 100 or 200. Moreover they had chased off Jahangir Mirza, as
long before as it takes milk to boil, and with him had gone half my men.
This notwithstanding, we sent a man, while we were in the Gate, to say
to him, 'If you are near at hand, come, let us attack again.' But the
matter had gone past that! Ibrahim Beg, either because his horse was
really weak or because of his wound, said, 'My horse is done.' On this,
Sulaiman, one of Muh. `Ali's _Mubashir's_ servants, did a plucky thing,
for with matters [Sidenote: Fol. 113b.] as they were and none
constraining him, while we were waiting in the Gate, he dismounted and
gave his horse to Ibrahim Beg. Kichik (little) `Ali, now the Governor of
Koel,[658] also shewed courage while we were in the Gate; he was a
retainer of Sl. Muh. Wais and twice did well, here and in Aush. We
delayed in the Gate till those sent to Jahangir Mirza came back and said
he had gone off long before. It was too late to stay there; off we
flung; it was ill-judged to have stayed as long as we did. Twenty or
thirty men were with me. Just as we hustled out of the Gate, a number of
armed men[659] came right down upon us, reaching the town-side of the
drawbridge just as we had crossed. Banda-`ali, the maternal grandfather
of Qasim Beg's son, Hamza, called out to Ibrahim Beg, 'You are always
boasting of your zeal! Let's take to our swords!' 'What hinders? Come
along!' said Ibrahim Beg, from beside me. The senseless fellows were for
displaying their zeal at a time of such disaster! Ill-timed zeal! That
was no time to make stand or delay! We went off quickly, the enemy
following and unhorsing our men.
(_m. Babur a fugitive before Tambal's men._)
When we were passing Meadow-dome (Gumbaz-i-chaman), two miles out of
Akhsi, Ibrahim Beg called out to me. Looking [Sidenote: Fol. 114.] back,
I saw a page of Shaikh Bayazid's striking at him and turned rein, but
Bayan-quli's Khan-quli, said at my side, 'This is a bad time for going
back,' seized my rein and pushed ahead. Many of our men had been
unhorsed before we reached Sang, 4 miles (2 _shar`i_) out of Akhsi.[660]
Seeing no pursuers at Sang, we passed it by and turned straight up its
water. In this position of our affairs there were eight men of
us;--Nasir's Dost, Qasim Beg's Qambar-`ali, Bayan-quli's Khan-quli, Mirza
Quli _Kukuldash_, Nasir's Shaham, Sayyidi Qara's `Abdu'l-qadus, Khwaja
Husaini and myself, the eighth. Turning up the stream, we found, in the
broad valley, a good little road, far from the beaten track. We made
straight up the valley, leaving the stream on the right, reached its
waterless part and, near the Afternoon Prayer, got up out of it to level
land. When we looked across the plain, we saw a blackness on it, far
away. I made my party take cover and myself had gone to look out from
higher ground, when a number of men came at a gallop up the hill behind
us. Without waiting to know whether they were many or few, we mounted
and rode off. There were 20 or 25; we, as has been said, were eight. If
we had known their number at first, we should have made a good stand
against them but we thought they would not be pursuing us, unless they
had good support behind. A [Sidenote: Fol. 114b.] fleeing foe, even if
he be many, cannot face a few pursuers, for as the saying is, '_Hai_ is
enough for the beaten ranks.'[661]
Khan-quli said, 'This will never do! They will take us all. From amongst
the horses there are, you take two good ones and go quickly on with
Mirza Quli _Kukuldash_, each with a led horse. May-be you will get
away.' He did not speak ill; as there was no fighting to hand, there was
a chance of safety in doing as he said, but it really would not have
looked well to leave any man alone, without a horse, amongst his foes.
In the end they all dropped off, one by one, of themselves. My horse was
a little tired; Khan-quli dismounted and gave me his; I jumped off at
once and mounted his, he mine. Just then they unhorsed Sayyidi Qara's
`Abdu'l-qadus and Nasir's Shaham who had fallen behind. Khan-quli also
was left. It was no time to profer help or defence; on it was gone, at
the full speed of our mounts. The horses began to flag; Dost Beg's
failed and stopped. Mine began to tire; Qambar-`ali got off and gave me
his; I mounted his, he mine. He was left. Khwaja Husaini was a lame man;
he turned aside to the higher ground. I was left with Mirza Quli
_Kukuldash_. Our [Sidenote: Fol. 115.] horses could not possibly gallop,
they trotted. His began to flag. Said I, 'What will become of me, if you
fall behind? Come along! let's live or die together.' Several times I
looked back at him; at last he said, 'My horse is done! It can't go on.
Never mind me! You go on, perhaps you will get away.' It was a miserable
position for me; he remained behind, I was alone.
Two of the enemy were in sight, one Baba of Sairam, the other
Banda-`ali. They gained on me; my horse was done; the mountains were
still 2 miles (1 _kuroh_) off. A pile of rock was in my path. Thought I
to myself, 'My horse is worn out and the hills are still somewhat far
away; which way should I go? In my quiver are at least 20 arrows; should
I dismount and shoot them off from this pile of rock?' Then again, I
thought I might reach the hills and once there, stick a few arrows in my
belt and scramble up. I had a good deal of confidence in my feet and
went on, with this plan in mind. My horse could not possibly trot; the
two men came within arrow's reach. [Sidenote: Fol. 115b.] For my own
sake sparing my arrows, I did not shoot; they, out of caution, came no
nearer. By sunset I was near the hills. Suddenly they called out, 'Where
are you going in this fashion? Jahangir Mirza has been brought in a
prisoner; Nasir Mirza also is in their hands.' I made no reply and went
on towards the hills. When a good distance further had been gone, they
spoke again, this time more respectfully, dismounting to speak. I gave
no ear to them but went on up a glen till, at the Bed-time prayer, I
reached a rock as big as a house. Going behind it, I saw there were
places to be jumped, where no horse could go. They dismounted again and
began to speak like servants and courteously. Said they, 'Where are you
going in this fashion, without a road and in the dark? Sl. Ahmad Tambal
will make you _padshah_.' They swore this. Said I, 'My mind is not easy
as to that. I cannot go to him. [Sidenote: Fol. 116.] If you think to do
me timely service, years may pass before you have such another chance.
Guide me to a road by which I can go to The Khan's presence. If you
will do this, I will shew you favour and kindness greater than your
heart's-desire. If you will not do it, go back the way you came; that
also would be to serve me well.' Said they, 'Would to God we had never
come! But since we are here, after following you in the way we have
done, how can we go back from you? If you will not go with us, we are at
your service, wherever you go.' Said I, 'Swear that you speak the
truth.' They, for their part, made solemn oath upon the Holy Book.
I at once confided in them and said, 'People have shewn me a road
through a broad valley, somewhere near this glen; take me to it.' Spite
of their oath, my trust in them was not so complete but that I gave them
the lead and followed. After 2 to 4 miles (1-2 _kuroh_), we came to the
bed of a torrent. 'This will not be the road for the broad valley,' I
said. They drew back, saying, 'That road is a long way ahead,' but it
really must have been the one we were on and they have been concealing
the fact, in order to deceive me. About half through the night, we
reached another stream. This time they said, 'We have been negligent; it
now seems to us that the road through the broad valley is behind.' Said
I, 'What is to be done?' Said they, 'The Ghawa road is certainly in
front; by it people cross for Far-kat.[662] They guided me for that and
we went on till in [Sidenote: Fol. 116b.] the third watch of the night
we reached the Karnan gully which comes down from Ghawa. Here Baba
Sairami said, 'Stay here a little while I look along the Ghawa road.' He
came back after a time and said, 'Some men have gone along that road,
led by one wearing a Mughul cap; there is no going that way.' I took
alarm at these words. There I was, at dawn, in the middle of the
cultivated land, far from the road I wanted to take. Said I, 'Guide me
to where I can hide today, and tonight when you will have laid hands on
something for the horses, lead me to cross the Khujand-water and along
its further bank.' Said they, 'Over there, on the upland, there might be
hiding.'
Banda-`ali was Commandant in Karnan. 'There is no doing without food for
ourselves or our horses;' he said, 'let me go into Karnan and bring
what I can find.' We stopped 2 miles (1 _kuroh_) out of Karnan; he went
on. He was a long time away; near dawn there was no sign of him. The day
had shot when he hurried up, bringing three loaves of bread but no corn
for the horses. Each of us putting a loaf into the breast of his tunic,
we went quickly up the rise, tethered our horses there in the open
valley and went to higher ground, each to keep watch.
[Sidenote: Fol. 117.] Near mid-day, Ahmad the Falconer went along the
Ghawa road for Akhsi. I thought of calling to him and of saying, with
promise and fair word, 'You take those horses,' for they had had a day
and a night's strain and struggle, without corn, and were utterly done.
But then again, we were a little uneasy as we did not entirely trust
him. We decided that, as the men Baba Sairami had seen on the road would
be in Karnan that night, the two with me should fetch one of their
horses for each of us, and that then we should go each his own way.
At mid-day, a something glittering was seen on a horse, as far away as
eye can reach. We were not able to make out at all what it was. It must
have been Muh. Baqir Beg himself; he had been with us in Akhsi and when
we got out and scattered, he must have come this way and have been
moving then to a hiding-place.[663]
Banda-`ali and Baba Sairami said, 'The horses have had no corn for two
days and two nights; let us go down into the dale and put them there to
graze.' Accordingly we rode down and put them to the grass. At the
Afternoon Prayer, a horseman passed along the rising-ground where we had
been. We recognized him for Qadir-birdi, the head-man of Ghawa. 'Call
him,' I said. They called; he came. After questioning him, and speaking
to him of favour and kindness, and giving him promise and fair word, I
sent him to bring rope, and a grass-hook, and an axe, and material for
crossing water,[664] and corn [Sidenote: Fol. 117b.] for the horses, and
food and, if it were possible, other horses. We made tryst with him for
that same spot at the Bed-time Prayer.
Near the Evening Prayer, a horseman passed from the direction of Karnan
for Ghawa. 'Who are you?' we asked. He made some reply. He must have
been Muh. Baqir Beg himself, on his way from where we had seen him
earlier, going at night-fall to some other hiding-place, but he so
changed his voice that, though he had been years with me, I did not know
it. It would have been well if I had recognized him and he had joined
me. His passing caused much anxiety and alarm; tryst could not be kept
with Qadir-birdi of Ghawa. Banda-`ali said, 'There are retired gardens
in the suburbs of Karnan where no one will suspect us of being; let us
go there and send to Qadir-birdi and have him brought there.' With this
idea, we mounted and went to the Karnan suburbs. It was winter and very
cold. They found a worn, coarse sheepskin coat and brought it to me; I
put it on. They brought me a bowl of millet-porridge; I ate it and was
wonderfully refreshed. 'Have you sent off the man to Qadir-birdi?' said
I to Banda-`ali. 'I have sent,' he said. But those luckless, clownish
mannikins seem to have agreed together to send the man to Tambal in
Akhsi!
We went into a house and for awhile my eyes closed in sleep. Those
mannikins artfully said to me, 'You must not bestir yourself to leave
Karnan till there is news of Qadir-birdi but this house is right amongst
the suburbs; on the outskirts the orchards are empty; no-one will
suspect if we go [Sidenote: Fol. 118.] there.' Accordingly we mounted at
mid-night and went to a distant orchard. Baba Sairami kept watch from
the roof of a house. Near mid-day he came down and said, 'Commandant
Yusuf is coming.' Great fear fell upon me! 'Find out,' I said, 'whether
he comes because he knows about me.' He went and after some exchange of
words, came back and said, 'He says he met a foot-soldier in the Gate of
Akhsi who said to him, "The padshah is in such a place," that he told
no-one, put the man with Wali the Treasurer whom he had made prisoner in
the fight, and then gallopped off here.' Said I, 'How does it strike
you?' 'They are all your servants,' he said, 'you must go. What else can
you do? They will make you their ruler.' Said I, 'After such rebellion
and fighting, with what confidence could I go?' We were saying this,
when Yusuf knelt before me, saying, 'Why should it be hidden? Sl. Ahmad
Tambal has no news of you, but Shaikh Bayazid has and he sent me here.'
On hearing this, my state of mind was miserable indeed, for well is it
understood that nothing in the world is worse than fear for one's life.
'Tell the truth!' I said, 'if the affair is likely to go on to worse, I
will make [Sidenote: Fol. 118b.] ablution.' Yusuf swore oaths, but who
would trust them? I knew the helplessness of my position. I rose and
went to a corner of the garden, saying to myself, 'If a man live a
hundred years or a thousand years, at the last nothing ...'[665]
TRANSLATOR'S NOTE.
Friends are likely to have rescued Babur from his dangerous isolation.
His presence in Karnan was known both in Ghawa and in Akhsi; Muh. Baqir
Beg was at hand (f. 117); some of those he had dropped in his flight
would follow him when their horses had had rest; Jahangir was somewhere
north of the river with the half of Babur's former force (f. 112); The
Khans, with their long-extended line of march, may have been on the main
road through or near Karnan. If Yusuf took Babur as a prisoner along the
Akhsi road, there were these various chances of his meeting friends.
His danger was evaded; he joined his uncles and was with them, leading
1000 men (Sh. N. p. 268), when they were defeated at Archian just before
or in the season of Cancer, _i.e._ _circa_ June (T. R. p. 164). What he
was doing between the winter cold of Karnan (f. 117b) and June might
have been known from his lost pages. Muh. Salih writes at length of one
affair falling within the time,--Jahangir's occupation of Khujand, its
siege and its capture by Shaibani. This capture will have occurred
considerably more than a month before the defeat of The Khans (Sh. N. p.
230).
It is not easy to decide in what month of 908 AH. they went into
Farghana or how long their campaign lasted. Babur chronicles a series of
occurrences, previous to the march of the army, which must have filled
some time. The road over the Kindirlik-pass was taken, one closed in
Babur's time (f. 1b) though now open through the winter. Looking at the
rapidity of his own movements in Farghana, it seems likely that the pass
was crossed after and not before its closed time. If so, the campaign
may have covered 4 or 5 months. Muh. Salih's account of Shaibaq's
operations strengthens this view. News that Ahmad had joined Mahmud in
Tashkint (f. 102) went to Shaibani in Khusrau Shah's territories; he saw
his interests in Samarkand threatened by this combination of the
Chaghatai brothers to restore Babur in Farghana, came north therefore in
order to help Tambal. He then waited a month in Samarkand (Sh. N. p.
230), besieged Jahangir, went back and stayed in Samarkand long enough
to give his retainers time to equip for a year's campaigning (l. c. p.
244) then went to Akhsi and so to Archian.
Babur's statement (f. 110b) that The Khans went from Andijan to the
Khujand-crossing over the Sir attracts attention because this they might
have done if they had meant to leave Farghana by Mirza-rabat but they
are next heard of as at Akhsi. Why did they make that great dÈtour? Why
not have crossed opposite Akhsi or at Sang? Or if they had thought of
retiring, what turned them east again? Did they place Jahangir in
Khujand? Babur's missing pages would have answered these questions no
doubt. It was useful for them to encamp where they did, east of Akhsi,
because they there had near them a road by which reinforcement could
come from Kashghar or retreat be made. The Akhsi people told Shaibani
that he could easily overcome The Khans if he went without warning, and
if they had not withdrawn by the Kulja road (Sh. N. p. 262). By that
road the few men who went with Ahmad to Tashkint (f. 103) may have been
augmented to the force, enumerated as his in the battle by Muh. Salih
(Sh. N. cap. LIII.).
When The Khans were captured, Babur escaped and made 'for Mughulistan,'
a vague direction seeming here to mean Tashkint, but, finding his road
blocked, in obedience to orders from Shaibaq that he and Abu'l-makaram
were to be captured, he turned back and, by unfrequented ways, went into
the hill-country of Sukh and Hushiar. There he spent about a year in
great misery (f. 14 and H. S. ii, 318). Of the wretchedness of the time
Haidar also writes. If anything was attempted in Farghana in the course
of those months, record of it has been lost with Babur's missing pages.
He was not only homeless and poor, but shut in by enemies. Only the
loyalty or kindness of the hill-tribes can have saved him and his few
followers. His mother was with him; so also were the families of his
men. How Qutluq-nigar contrived to join him from Tashkint, though
historically a small matter, is one he would chronicle. What had
happened there after the Mughul defeat, was that the horde had marched
away for Kashghar while Shah Begim remained in charge of her daughters
with whom the Auzbeg chiefs intended to contract alliance. Shaibani's
orders for her stay and for the general exodus were communicated to her
by her son, The Khan, in what Muh. Salih, quoting its purport, describes
as a right beautiful letter (p. 296).
By some means Qutluq-nigar joined Babur, perhaps helped by the
circumstance that her daughter, Khan-zada was Shaibaq's wife. She spent
at least some part of those hard months with him, when his fortunes were
at their lowest ebb. A move becoming imperative, the ragged and
destitute company started in mid-June 1504 (Muh. 910 AH.) on that
perilous mountain journey to which Haidar applies the Prophet's dictum,
'Travel is a foretaste of Hell,' but of which the end was the
establishment of a Timurid dynasty in Hindustan. To look down the years
from the destitute Babur to Akbar, Shah-jahan and Aurangzib is to see a
great stream of human life flow from its source in his resolve to win
upward, his quenchless courage and his abounding vitality. Not yet 22,
the sport of older men's intrigues, he had been tempered by failure,
privation and dangers.
He left Sukh intending to go to Sl. Husain Mirza in Khurasan but he
changed this plan for one taking him to Kabul where a Timurid might
claim to dispossess the Arghuns, then holding it since the death, in 907
AH. of his uncle, Aulugh Beg Mirza _Kabuli_.
THE MEMOIRS OF BABUR
SECTION II. KABUL[666]
910 AH.-JUNE 14TH 1504 TO JUNE 4TH 1505 AD.[667]
(_a. Babur leaves Farghana._)
In the month of Muharram, after leaving the Farghana country [Sidenote:
Haidarabad MS. Fol. 120.] intending to go to Khurasan, I dismounted at
Ailak-yilaq,[668] one of the summer pastures of Hisar. In this camp I
entered my 23rd year, and applied the razor to my face.[669] Those who,
hoping in me, went with me into exile, were, small and great, between 2
and 300; they were almost all on foot, had walking-staves in their
hands, brogues[670] on their feet, and long coats[671] on their
shoulders. So destitute were we that we had but two tents (_chadar_)
amongst us; my own used to be pitched for my mother, and they set an
_alachuq_ at each stage for me to sit in.[672]
Though we had started with the intention of going into Khurasan, yet
with things as they were[673] something was hoped for from the Hisar
country and Khusrau Shah's retainers. Every few days some-one would come
in from the country or a tribe or the (Mughul) horde, whose words made
it probable that we had growing ground for hope. Just then Mulla Baba of
Pashaghar came back, who had been our envoy to Khusrau Shah; from
Khusrau Shah he brought nothing likely to please, but he did from the
tribes and the horde.
[Sidenote: Fol. 120b.] Three or four marches beyond Ailak, when halt was
made at a place near Hisar called Khwaja `Imad, Muhibb-`ali, the
Armourer, came to me from Khusrau Shah. Through Khusrau Shah's
territories I have twice happened to pass;[674] renowned though he was
for kindness and liberality, he neither time showed me the humanity he
had shown to the meanest of men.
As we were hoping something from the country and the tribes, we made
delay at every stage. At this critical point Sherim Taghai, than whom
no man of mine was greater, thought of leaving me because he was not
keen to go into Khurasan. He had sent all his family off and stayed
himself unencumbered, when after the defeat at Sar-i-pul (906 AH.) I
went back to defend Samarkand; he was a bit of a coward and he did this
sort of thing several times over.
(_b. Babur joined by one of Khusrau Shah's kinsmen._)
After we reached Qabadian, a younger brother of Khusrau Shah, Baqi
_Chaghaniani_, whose holdings were Chaghanian,[675] Shahr-i-safa and
Tirmiz, sent the _khatib_[676] of Qarshi to me to express his good
wishes and his desire for alliance, and, after we had crossed the Amu at
the Aubaj-ferry, he came himself to wait on me. By his wish we moved
down the river to opposite Tirmiz, where, without fear [or, without
going over himself],[677] he had their families[678] and their goods
brought across to join us. This done, we set out together for Kahmard
and Bamian, then held by his son[679] Ahmad-i-qasim, the son of Khusrau
Shah's sister. Our plan was to leave the households (_awi-ail_) safe in
Fort Ajar of the Kahmard-valley and to take action wherever [Sidenote:
Fol. 121.] action might seem well. At Aibak, Yar-`ali Balal,[680] who
had fled from Khusrau Shah, joined us with several braves; he had been
with me before, and had made good use of his sword several times in my
presence, but was parted from me in the recent throneless times[681] and
had gone to Khusrau Shah. He represented to me that the Mughuls in
Khusrau Shah's service wished me well. Moreover, Qambar-`ali Beg, known
also as Qambar-`ali _Silakh_ (Skinner), fled to me after we reached the
Zindan-valley.[682]
(_c. Occurrences in Kakmard._)
We reached Kahmard with three or four marches and deposited our
households and families in Ajar. While we stayed there, Jahangir Mirza
married (Ai Begim) the daughter of Sl. Mahmud Mirza and Khan-zada Begim,
who had been set aside for him during the lifetime of the Mirzas.[683]
Meantime Baqi Beg urged it upon me, again and again, that two rulers in
one country, or two chiefs in one army are a source of faction and
disorder--a foundation of dissension and ruin. "For they have said, 'Ten
darwishes can sleep under one blanket, but two kings cannot find room in
one clime.'
If a man of God eat half a loaf,
He gives the other to a darwish;
Let a king grip the rule of a clime,
He dreams of another to grip."[684]
Baqi Beg urged further that Khusrau Shaah's retainers and followers
would be coming in that day or the next to take service with the Padshah
(_i.e._ Babur); that there were such [Sidenote: Fol. 121b.]
sedition-mongers with them as the sons of Ayub _Begchik_, besides other
who had been the stirrers and spurs to disloyalty amongst their
Mirzas,[685] and that if, at this point, Jahangir Mirza were dismissed,
on good and friendly terms, for Khurasan, it would remove a source of
later repentance. Urge it as he would, however, I did not accept his
suggestion, because it is against my nature to do an injury to my
brethren, older or younger,[686] or to any kinsman soever, even when
something untoward has happened. Though formerly between Jahangir Mirza
and me, resentments and recriminations had occurred about our rule and
retainers, yet there was nothing whatever then to arouse anger against
him; he had come out of that country (_i.e._ Farghana) with me and was
behaving like a blood-relation and a servant. But in the end it was just
as Baqi Beg predicted;--those tempters to disloyalty, that is to say,
Ayub's Yusuf and Ayub's Bihlul, left me for Jahangir Mirza, took up a
hostile and mutinous position, parted him from me, and conveyed him into
Khurasan.
(_d. Co-operation invited against Shaibaq Khan._)
In those days came letters from Sl. Husain Mirza, long and far-fetched
letters which are still in my possession and in that [Sidenote: Fol.
122.] of others, written to Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza, myself, Khusrau Shah
and Zu'n-nun Beg, all to the same purport, as follows:--"When the three
brothers, Sl. Mahmud Mirza, Sl. Ahmad Mirza, and Aulugh Beg Mirza,
joined together and advanced against me, I defended the bank of the
Murgh-ab[687] in such a way that they retired without being able to
effect anything. Now if the Auzbegs advance, I might myself guard the
bank of the Murgh-ab again; let Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza leave men to defend
the forts of Balkh, Shibarghan, and Andikhud while he himself guards
Girzawan, the Zang-valley, and the hill-country thereabouts." As he had
heard of my being in those parts, he wrote to me also, "Do you make fast
Kahmard, Ajar, and that hill-tract; let Khusrau Shah place trusty men in
Hisar and Qunduz; let his younger brother Wali make fast Badakhshan and
the Khutlan hills; then the Auzbeg will retire, able to do nothing."
These letters threw us into despair;--for why? Because at that time there
was in Timur Beg's territory (_yurt_) no ruler so great as Sl. Husain
Mirza, whether by his years, armed strength, or dominions; it was to be
expected, therefore, that envoys would go, treading on each other's
heels, with clear and sharp orders, such as, "Arrange for so many boats
at the Tirmiz, [Sidenote: Fol. 122b.] Kilif, and Kirki ferries," "Get
any quantity of bridge material together," and "Well watch the ferries
above Tuquz-aulum,"[688] so that men whose spirit years of Auzbeg
oppression had broken, might be cheered to hope again.[689] But how
could hope live in tribe or horde when a great ruler like Sl. Husain
Mirza, sitting in the place of Timur Beg, spoke, not of marching forth
to meet the enemy, but only of defence against his attack?
When we had deposited in Ajar what had come with us of hungry train (_aj
auruq_) and household (_awi-ail_), together with the families of Baqi
Beg, his son, Muh. Qasim, his soldiers and his tribesmen, with all their
goods, we moved out with our men.
(_e. Increase of Babur's following._)
One man after another came in from Khusrau Shah's Mughuls and said, "We
of the Mughul horde, desiring the royal welfare, have drawn off from
Taikhan (Talikan) towards Ishkimish and Fulul. Let the Padshah advance
as fast as possible, for the greater part of Khusrau Shah's force has
broken up and is ready to take service with him." Just then news arrived
that Shaibaq Khan, after taking Andijan,[690] was getting to horse again
against Hisar and Qunduz. On hearing [Sidenote: Fol. 123.] this, Khusrau
Shah, unable to stay in Qunduz, marched out with all the men he had, and
took the road for Kabul. No sooner had he left than his old servant, the
able and trusted Mulla Muhammad _Turkistani_ made Qunduz fast for
Shaibaq Khan.
Three or four thousand heads-of-houses in the Mughul horde, former
dependants of Khusrau Shah, brought their families and joined us when,
going by way of Sham-tu, we were near the Qizil-su.[691]
(_f. Qambar-`ali, the Skinner, dismissed._)
Qambar-`ali Beg's foolish talk has been mentioned several times already;
his manners were displeasing to Baqi Beg; to gratify Baqi Beg, he was
dismissed. Thereafter his son, `Abdu'l-shukur, was in Jahangir Mirza's
service.
(_g. Khusrau Shah waits on Babur._)
Khusrau Shah was much upset when he heard that the Mughul horde had
joined me; seeing nothing better to do for himself, he sent his
son-in-law, Ayub's Yaq`ub, to make profession of well-wishing and
submission to me, and respectfully to represent that he would enter my
service if I would make terms and compact with him. His offer was
accepted, because Baqi _Chaghaniani_ was a man of weight, and, however
steady in his favourable disposition to me, did not overlook his
brother's side in this matter. Compact was made that Khusrau Shah's
life should be safe, and that whatever amount of his goods he selected,
should not be refused him. After giving Yaq`ub leave to go, we marched
down the Qizil-su and dismounted near to where it joins the water of
Andar-ab. [Sidenote: Fol. 123b.]
Next day, one in the middle of the First Rabi` (end of August, 1504
AD.), riding light, I crossed the Andar-ab water and took my seat under
a large plane-tree near Dushi, and thither came Khusrau Shah, in pomp
and splendour, with a great company of men. According to rule and
custom, he dismounted some way off and then made his approach. Three
times he knelt when we saw one another, three times also on taking
leave; he knelt once when asking after my welfare, once again when he
offered his tribute, and he did the same with Jahangir Mirza and with
Mirza Khan (Wais). That sluggish old mannikin who through so many years
had just pleased himself, lacking of sovereignty one thing only, namely,
to read the _Khutba_ in his own name, now knelt 25 or 26 times in
succession, and came and went till he was so wearied out that he
tottered forward. His many years of begship and authority vanished from
his view. When we had seen one another and he had offered his gift, I
desired him to be seated. We stayed in that place for one or two
_garis_,[692] exchanging tale and talk. His conversation was vapid and
empty, presumably because he was a coward and false to his salt. Two
things he said were extraordinary for the time when, under his eyes, his
trusty and trusted retainers were becoming mine, and when his affairs
had reached the point that he, the sovereign-aping mannikin, had had to
come, willy-nilly, abased and unhonoured, to what sort [Sidenote: Fol.
124.] of an interview! One of the things he said was this:--When condoled
with for the desertion of his men, he replied, "Those very servants have
four times left me and returned." The other was said when I had asked
him where his brother Wali would cross the Amu and when he would arrive.
"If he find a ford, he will soon be here, but when waters rise, fords
change; the (Persian) proverb has it, 'The waters have carried down the
fords.'" These words God brought to his tongue in that hour of the
flowing away of his own authority and following!
After sitting a _gari_ or two, I mounted and rode back to camp, he for
his part returning to his halting-place. On that day his begs, with
their servants, great and small, good and bad, and tribe after tribe
began to desert him and come, with their families, to me. Between the
two Prayers of the next afternoon not a man remained in his presence.
"Say,--O God! who possessest the kingdom! Thou givest it to whom Thou
wilt and Thou takest it from whom Thou wilt! In Thy hand is good, for
Thou art almighty."[693]
Wonderful is His power! This man, once master of 20 or 30,000 retainers,
once owning Sl. Mahmud's dominions from Qahlugha,--known also as the
Iron-gate,--to the range of [Sidenote: Fol. 124b.] Hindu-kush, whose old
mannikin of a tax-gatherer, Hasan _Barlas_ by name, had made us march,
had made us halt, with all the tax-gatherer's roughness, from Ailak to
Aubaj,[694] that man He so abased and so bereft of power that, with no
blow struck, no sound made, he stood, without command over servants,
goods, or life, in the presence of a band of 200 or 300 men, defeated
and destitute as we were.
In the evening of the day on which we had seen Khusrau Shah and gone
back to camp, Mirza Khan came to my presence and demanded vengeance on
him for the blood of his brothers.[695] Many of us were at one with him,
for truly it is right, both by Law and common justice, that such men
should get their desserts, but, as terms had been made, Khusrau Shah was
let go free. An order was given that he should be allowed to take
whatever of his goods he could convey; accordingly he loaded up, on
three or four strings of mules and camels, all jewels, gold, silver, and
precious things he had, and took them with him.[696] Sherim Taghai was
told off to escort him, who after setting Khusrau Shah on his road for
Khurasan, by way of Ghuri and Dahanah, was to go to Kahmard and bring
the families after us to Kabul.
(_h. Babur marches for Kabul._)
Marching from that camp for Kabul, we dismounted in Khwaja Zaid.
On that day, Hamza Bi _Mangfit_,[697] at the head of Auzbeg raiders, was
over-running round about Dushi. Sayyid Qasim, the Lord of the Gate, and
Ahmad-i-qasim _Kohbur_ were sent [Sidenote: Fol. 125.] with several
braves against him; they got up with him, beat his Auzbegs well, cut off
and brought in a few heads.
In this camp all the armour (_jiba_) of Khusrau Shah's armoury was
shared out. There may have been as many as 7 or 800 coats-of-mail
(_joshan_) and horse accoutrements (_kuhah_);[698] these were the one
thing he left behind; many pieces of porcelain also fell into our hands,
but, these excepted, there was nothing worth looking at.
With four or five marches we reached Ghur-bund, and there dismounted in
Ushtur-shahr. We got news there that Muqim's chief beg, Sherak (var.
Sherka) _Arghun_, was lying along the Baran, having led an army out, not
through hearing of me, but to hinder `Abdu'r-razzaq Mirza from passing
along the Panjhir-road, he having fled from Kabul[699] and being then
amongst the Tarkalani Afghans towards Lamghan. On hearing this we
marched forward, starting in the afternoon and pressing on through the
dark till, with the dawn, we surmounted the Hupian-pass.[700]
I had never seen Suhail;[701] when I came out of the pass I saw a star,
bright and low. "May not that be Suhail?" said I. Said they, "It is
Suhail." Baqi _Chaghaniani_ recited this couplet;--[702]
"How far dost thou shine, O Suhail, and where dost thou rise?
A sign of good luck is thine eye to the man on whom it may light."
The Sun was a spear's-length high[703] when we reached the foot of the
Sanjid (Jujube)-valley and dismounted. Our scouting [Sidenote: Fol.
125b.] braves fell in with Sherak below the Qara-bagh,[704] near
Aikari-yar, and straightway got to grips with him. After a little of
some sort of fighting, our men took the upper hand, hurried their
adversaries off, unhorsed 70-80 serviceable braves and brought them in.
We gave Sherak his life and he took service with us.
(_i. Death of Wali of Khusrau._)
The various clans and tribes whom Khusrau Shah, without troubling
himself about them, had left in Qunduz, and also the Mughul horde, were
in five or six bodies (_bulak_). One of those belonging to
Badakhshan,--it was the Rusta-hazara,:--came, with Sayyidim `Ali
_darban_,[705] across the Panjhir-pass to this camp, did me obeisance
and took service with me. Another body came under Ayub's Yusuf and
Ayub's Bihlul; it also took service with me. Another came from Khutlan,
under Khusrau Shah's younger brother, Wali; another, consisting of the
(Mughul) tribesmen (_aimaq_) who had been located in Yilanchaq, Nikdiri
(?), and the Qunduz country, came also. The last-named two came by
Andar-ab and Sar-i-ab,[706] meaning to cross by the Panjhir-pass; at
Sar-i-ab the tribesmen were ahead; Wali came up behind; they held the
road, fought and beat him. He himself fled to the Auzbegs,[707] and
Shaibaq Khan had his head struck off in the Square (_Char-su_) of
Samarkand; his followers, beaten and plundered, came on with the
tribesmen, and like these, took service with me. With them came Sayyid
[Sidenote: Fol. 126.] Yusuf Beg (the Grey-wolfer).
(_j. Kabul gained._)
From that camp we marched to the Aq-sarai meadow of the Qara-bagh and
there dismounted. Khusrau Shah's people were well practised in
oppression and violence; they tyrannized over one after another till at
last I had up one of Sayyidim `Ali's good braves to my Gate[708] and
there beaten for forcibly taking a jar of oil. There and then he just
died under the blows; his example kept the rest down.
We took counsel in that camp whether or not to go at once against Kabul.
Sayyid Yusuf and some others thought that, as winter was near, our first
move should be into Lamghan, from which place action could be taken as
advantage offered. Baqi Beg and some others saw it good to move on Kabul
at once; this plan was adopted; we marched forward and dismounted in
Aba-quruq.
My mother and the belongings left behind in Kahmard rejoined us at
Aba-quruq. They had been in great danger, the particulars of which are
these:--Sherim Taghai had gone to set Khusrau Shah on his way for
Khurasan, and this done, was to fetch the families from Kahmard. When he
reached Dahanah, he found he was not his own master; Khusrau Shah went
on with him into Kahmard, where was his sister's son, Ahmad-i-qasim.
These two took up an altogether wrong [Sidenote: Fol. 126b.] position
towards the families in Kahmard. Hereupon a number of Baqi Beg's
Mughuls, who were with the families, arranged secretly with Sherim
Taghai to lay hands on Khusrau Shah and Ahmad-i-qasim. The two heard of
it, fled along the Kahmard-valley on the Ajar side[709] and made for
Khurasan. To bring this about was really what Sherim Taghai and the
Mughuls wanted. Set free from their fear of Khusrau Shah by his flight,
those in charge of the families got them out of Ajar, but when they
reached Kahmard, the Saqanchi (var. Asiqanchi) tribe blocked the road,
like an enemy, and plundered the families of most of Baqi Beg's
men.[710] They made prisoner Qul-i-bayazid's little son, Tizak; he came
into Kabul three or four years later. The plundered and unhappy families
crossed by the Qibchaq-pass, as we had done, and they rejoined us in
Aba-quruq.
Leaving that camp we went, with one night's halt, to the Chalak-meadow,
and there dismounted. After counsel taken, it was decided to lay siege
to Kabul, and we marched forward. With what men of the centre there
were, I dismounted between Haidar _Taqi's_[711] garden and the tomb of
Qul-i-bayazid, the Taster (_bakawal_);[712] Jahangir Mirza, with the men
of the right, [Sidenote: Fol. 127.] dismounted in my great Four-gardens
(_Char-bagh_), Nasir Mirza, with the left, in the meadow of
Qutluq-qadam's tomb. People of ours went repeatedly to confer with
Muqim; they sometimes brought excuses back, sometimes words making for
agreement. His tactics were the sequel of his dispatch, directly after
Sherak's defeat, of a courier to his father and elder brother (in
Qandahar); he made delays because he was hoping in them.
One day our centre, right, and left were ordered to put on their mail
and their horses' mail, to go close to the town, and to display their
equipment so as to strike terror on those within. Jahangir Mirza and the
right went straight forward by the Kucha-bagh;[713] I, with the centre,
because there was water, went along the side of Qutluq-qadam's tomb to a
mound facing the rising-ground;[714] the van collected above
Qutluq-qadam's bridge,--at that time, however, there was no bridge. When
the braves, showing themselves off, galloped close up to the
Curriers'-gate,[715] a few who had come out through it fled in again
without making any stand. A crowd of Kabulis who had come out to see the
sight raised a great dust when they ran away from the high slope of the
glacis of the citadel (_i.e._ Bala-hisar). A number of pits had been dug
up the rise [Sidenote: Fol. 127b.] between the bridge and the gate, and
hidden under sticks and rubbish; Sl. Quli _Chunaq_ and several others
were thrown as they galloped over them. A few braves of the right
exchanged sword-cuts with those who came out of the town, in amongst
the lanes and gardens, but as there was no order to engage, having done
so much, they retired.
Those in the fort becoming much perturbed, Muqim made offer through the
begs, to submit and surrender the town. Baqi Beg his mediator, he came
and waited on me, when all fear was chased from his mind by our entire
kindness and favour. It was settled that next day he should march out
with retainers and following, goods and effects, and should make the
town over to us. Having in mind the good practice Khusrau Shah's
retainers had had in indiscipline and longhandedness, we appointed
Jahangir Mirza and Nasir Mirza with the great and household begs, to
escort Muqim's family out of Kabul[716] and to bring out Muqim himself
with his various dependants, goods and effects. Camping-ground was
assigned to him at Tipa.[717] When the Mirzas and the Begs went at dawn
to the Gate, they saw much mobbing and tumult of the common people, so
they sent me a man to say, "Unless you come yourself, there will be no
holding these people in." In the end I got to horse, had two or three
persons shot, two or three cut in pieces, and so stamped the rising
down. Muqim and his belongings then got out, safe and sound, [Sidenote:
Fol. 128.] and they betook themselves to Tipa.
It was in the last ten days of the Second Rabi` (Oct. 1504 AD.)[718]
that without a fight, without an effort, by Almighty God's bounty and
mercy, I obtained and made subject to me Kabul and Ghazni and their
dependent districts.
DESCRIPTION OF KABUL[719]
The Kabul country is situated in the Fourth climate and in the midst of
cultivated lands.[720] On the east it has the Lamghanat,[721]
Parashawar (Pashawar), Hash(t)-nagar and some of the countries of
Hindustan. On the west it has the mountain region in which are Karnud
(?) and Ghur, now the refuge and dwelling-places of the Hazara and
Nikdiri (var. Nikudari) tribes. On the north, separated from it by the
range of Hindu-kush, it has the Qunduz and Andar-ab countries. On the
south, it has Farmul, Naghr (var. Naghz), Bannu and Afghanistan.[722]
(_a. Town and environs of Kabul._)
The Kabul district itself is of small extent, has its greatest length
from east to west, and is girt round by mountains. Its walled-town
connects with one of these, rather a low one known as Shah-of-Kabul
because at some time a (Hindu) Shah of Kabul built a residence on its
summit.[723] Shah-of-Kabul begins at the Durrin narrows and ends at
those of Dih-i-yaq`ub[724]; it may be 4 miles (2 _shar`i_) round; its
skirt is covered with gardens fertilized from a canal which was brought
along the hill-slope in the time of my paternal uncle, Aulugh Beg Mirza
by his guardian, Wais Ataka.[725] The water of this canal comes to an
end in a retired corner, a quarter known as Kul-kina[726] where much
debauchery has gone on. About this place it [Sidenote: Fol. 128b.]
sometimes used to be said, in jesting parody of Khwaja Hafiz[727],--"Ah!
the happy, thoughtless time when, with our names in ill-repute, we lived
days of days at Kul-kina!"
East of Shah-of-Kabul and south of the walled-town lies a large
pool[728] about a 2 miles [_shar`i_] round. From the town side of the
mountain three smallish springs issue, two near Kul-kina; Khwaja
Shamu's[729] tomb is at the head of one; Khwaja Khizr's Qadam-gah[730]
at the head of another, and the third is at a place known as Khwaja
Raushanai, over against Khwaja `Abdu's-samad. On a detached rock of a
spur of Shah-of-Kabul, known as `Uqabain,[731] stands the citadel of
Kabul with the great walled-town at its north end, lying high in
excellent air, and overlooking the large pool already mentioned, and
also three meadows, namely, Siyah-sang (Black-rock), Sung-qurghan
(Fort-back), and Chalak (Highwayman?),--a most beautiful outlook when the
meadows are green. The north-wind does not fail Kabul in the heats;
people call it the Parwan-wind[732]; it makes a delightful temperature
in the windowed houses on the northern part of the citadel. In praise of
the citadel of Kabul, Mulla Muhammad _Talib Mu`ammai_ (the
Riddler)[733]
[Sidenote: Fol. 129.] used to recite this couplet, composed on
Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza's name:--
Drink wine in the castle of Kabul and send the cup round
without pause;
For Kabul is mountain, is river, is city, is lowland in one.[734]
(_b. Kabul as a trading-town._)
Just as `Arabs call every place outside `Arab (Arabia), `Ajam, so
Hindustanis call every place outside Hindustan, Khurasan. There are two
trade-marts on the land-route between Hindustan and Khurasan; one is
Kabul, the other, Qandahar. To Kabul caravans come from Kashghar,[735]
Farghana,Turkistan, Samarkand, Bukhara, Balkh, Hisar and Badakhshan. To
Qandahar they come from Khurasan. Kabul is an excellent trading-centre;
if merchants went to Khita or to Rum,[736] they might make no higher
profit. Down to Kabul every year come 7, 8, or 10,000 horses and up to
it, from Hindustan, come every year caravans of 10, 15 or 20,000
heads-of-houses, bringing slaves (_barda_), white cloth, sugar-candy,
refined and common sugars, and aromatic roots. Many a trader is not
content with a profit of 30 or 40 on 10.[737] In Kabul can be had the
products of Khurasan, Rum, `Iraq and Chin (China); while it is
Hindustan's own market.
(_c. Products and climate of Kabul._)
In the country of Kabul, there are hot and cold districts close to one
another. In one day, a man may go out of the town of Kabul to where snow
never falls, or he may go, in two sidereal [Sidenote: Fol. 129b.] hours,
to where it never thaws, unless when the heats are such that it cannot
possibly lie.
Fruits of hot and cold climates are to be had in the districts near the
town. Amongst those of the cold climate, there are had in the town the
grape, pomegranate, apricot, apple, quince, pear, peach, plum,
_sinjid_, almond and walnut.[738] I had cuttings of the _alu-balu_[739]
brought there and planted; they grew and have done well. Of fruits of
the hot climate people bring into the town;--from the Lamghanat, the
orange, citron, _amluk_ (_diospyrus lotus_), and sugar-cane; this last I
had had brought and planted there;[740]--from Nijr-au (Nijr-water), they
bring the _jil-ghuza,[741] and, from the hill-tracts, much honey.
Bee-hives are in use; it_ is only from towards Ghazni, that no honey
comes.
The rhubarb[742] of the Kabul district is good, its quinces and plums
very good, so too its _badrang_;[743] it grows an excellent grape, known
as the water-grape.[744] Kabul wines are heady, those of the Khwaja
Khawand Sa`id hill-skirt being famous for their strength; at this time
however I can only repeat the praise of others about them:--[745]
The flavour of the wine a drinker knows;
What chance have sober men to know it?
Kabul is not fertile in grain, a four or five-fold return is reckoned
good there; nor are its melons first-rate, but they are not altogether
bad when grown from Khurasan seed.
It has a very pleasant climate; if the world has another so pleasant, it
is not known. Even in the heats, one cannot sleep at night without a
fur-coat.[746] Although the snow in most places lies deep in winter, the
cold is not excessive; whereas in [Sidenote: Fol. 130.] Samarkand and
Tabriz, both, like Kabul, noted for their pleasant climate, the cold is
extreme.
(_d. Meadows of Kabul._)
There are good meadows on the four sides of Kabul. An excellent one,
Sung-qurghan, is some 4 miles (2 _kuroh_) to the north-east; it has
grass fit for horses and few mosquitos. To the north-west is the Chalak
meadow, some 2 miles (1 _shar`i_) away, a large one but in it mosquitos
greatly trouble the horses. On the west is the Durrin, in fact there are
two, Tipa and Qush-nadir (var. nawar),--if two are counted here, there
would be five in all. Each of these is about 2 miles from the town; both
are small, have grass good for horses, and no mosquitos; Kabul has no
others so good. On the east is the Siyah-sang meadow with Qutluq-qadam's
tomb[747] between it and the Currier's-gate; it is not worth much
because, in the heats, it swarms with mosquitos. Kamari[748] meadow
adjoins it; counting this in, the meadows of Kabul would be six, but
they are always spoken of as four.
(_e. Mountain-passes into Kabul._)
The country of Kabul is a fastness hard for a foreign foe to make his
way into.
The Hindu-kush mountains, which separate Kabul from Balkh, Qunduz and
Badakhshan, are crossed by seven roads.[749] Three of these lead out of
Panjhir (Panj-sher), _viz._ Khawak, the uppermost, Tul, the next lower,
and Bazarak.[750] Of the passes on them, the one on the Tul road is the
best, but the road itself is rather [Sidenote: Fol. 130b.] the longest
whence, seemingly, it is called Tul. Bazarak is the most direct; like
Tul, it leads over into Sar-i-ab; as it passes through Parandi, local
people call its main pass, the Parandi. Another road leads up
through Parwan; it has seven minor passes, known as Haft-bacha
(Seven-younglings), between Parwan and its main pass (Baj-gah). It is
joined at its main pass by two roads from Andar-ab, which go on to
Parwan by it. This is a road full of difficulties. Out of Ghur-bund,
again, three roads lead over. The one next to Parwan, known as the
Yangi-yul pass (New-road), goes through Walian to Khinjan; next above
this is the Qipchaq road, crossing to where the water of Andar-ab meets
the Surkh-ab (Qizil-su); this also is an excellent road; and the third
leads over the Shibr-tu pass;[751] those crossing by this in the heats
take their way by Bamian and Saighan, but those crossing by it in
winter, go on by Ab-dara (Water-valley).[752] Shibr-tu excepted, all the
Hindu-kush roads are closed for three or four months in winter,[753]
because no road through a valley-bottom is passable when the waters are
high. If any-one thinks to cross the Hindu-kush at that time, over the
mountains instead of through a valley-bottom, his journey is hard
indeed. The time to cross is during the three or four autumn months when
the snow is less and the waters are low. [Sidenote: Fol. 131.] Whether
on the mountains or in the valley-bottoms, Kafir highwaymen are not few.
The road from Kabul into Khurasan passes through Qandahar; it is quite
level, without a pass.
Four roads lead into Kabul from the Hindustan side; one by rather a low
pass through the Khaibar mountains, another by way of Bangash, another
by way of Naghr (var. Naghz),[754] and another through Farmul;[755] the
passes being low also in the three last-named. These roads are all
reached from three ferries over the Sind. Those who take the Nil-ab[756]
ferry, come on through the Lamghanat.[757] In winter, however, people
ford the Sind-water (at Haru) above its junction with the
Kabul-water,[758] and ford this also. In most of my expeditions into
Hindustan, I crossed those fords, but this last time (932 AH.-1525 AD.),
when I came, defeated Sl. Ibrahim and conquered the country, I crossed
by boat at Nil-ab. Except at the one place mentioned above, the
Sind-water can be crossed only by boat. Those again, who cross at
Din-kot[759] go on through Bangash. Those crossing at Chaupara, if they
take the Farmul road, go on to Ghazni, or, if they go by the Dasht, go
on to Qandahar.[760]
(_f. Inhabitants of Kabul._)
There are many differing tribes in the Kabul country; in its dales and
plains are Turks and clansmen[761] and `Arabs; in its town and in many
villages, Sarts; out in the districts and also [Sidenote: Fol. 131b.] in
villages are the Pashai, Paraji, Tajik, Birki and Afghan tribes. In the
western mountains are the Hazara and Nikdiri tribes, some of whom speak
the Mughuli tongue. In the north-eastern mountains are the places of the
Kafirs, such as Kitur (Gawar?) and Gibrik. To the south are the places
of the Afghan tribes.
Eleven or twelve tongues are spoken in Kabul,--`Arabi, Persian, Turki,
Mughuli, Hindi, Afghani, Pashai, Paraji, Gibri, Birki and Lamghani. If
there be another country with so many differing tribes and such a
diversity of tongues, it is not known.
(_e. Sub-divisions of the Kabul country._)
The [Kabul] country has fourteen _tumans_.[762]
Bajaur, Sawad and Hash-nagar may at one time have been dependencies of
Kabul, but they now have no resemblance to cultivated countries
(_wilayat_), some lying desolate because of the Afghans, others being
now subject to them.
In the east of the country of Kabul is the Lamghanat, 5 _tumans_ and 2
_buluks_ of cultivated lands.[763] The largest of these is Ningnahar,
sometimes written Nagarahar in the histories.[764] Its _darogha's_
residence is in Adinapur,[765] some 13 _yighach_ east of Kabul by a very
bad and tiresome road, going in three or four places over small
hill-passes, and in three or four others, through [Sidenote: Fol. 132.]
narrows.[766] So long as there was no cultivation along it, the
Khirilchi and other Afghan thieves used to make it their beat, but it
has become safe[767] since I had it peopled at Qara-tu,[768] below
Quruq-sai. The hot and cold climates are separated on this road by the
pass of Badam-chashma (Almond-spring); on its Kabul side snow falls,
none at Quruq-sai, towards the Lamghanat.[769] After descending this
pass, another world comes into view, other trees, other plants (or
grasses), other animals, and other manners and customs of men. Ningnahar
is nine torrents (_tuquz-rud_).[770] It grows good crops of rice and
corn, excellent and abundant oranges, citrons and pomegranates. In 914
AH. (1508-9 AD.) I laid out the Four-gardens, known as the Bagh-i-wafa
(Garden-of-fidelity), on a rising-ground, facing south and having the
Surkh-rud between it and Fort Adinapur.[771] There oranges, citrons and
pomegranates grow in abundance. The year I defeated Pahar Khan and took
Lahor and Dipalpur,[772] I had plantains (bananas) brought and planted
there; they did very well. The year before I had had sugar-cane planted
there; it also did well; some of it was sent to Bukhara and
Badakhshan.[773] The garden lies high, has running-water close at hand,
and a mild winter [Sidenote: Fol. 132b.] climate. In the middle of it, a
one-mill stream flows constantly past the little hill on which are the
four garden-plots. In the south-west part of it there is a reservoir, 10
by 10,[774] round which are orange-trees and a few pomegranates, the
whole encircled by a trefoil-meadow. This is the best part of the
garden, a most beautiful sight when the oranges take colour. Truly that
garden is admirably situated!
The Safed-koh runs along the south of Ningnahar, dividing it from
Bangash; no riding-road crosses it; nine torrents (_tuquz-rud_) issue
from it.[775] It is called Safed-koh[776] because its snow never
lessens; none falls in the lower parts of its valleys, a half-day's
journey from the snow-line. Many places along it have an excellent
climate; its waters are cold and need no ice.
The Surkh-rud flows along the south of Adinapur. The fort stands on a
height having a straight fall to the river of some 130 ft. (40-50
_qari_) and isolated from the mountain behind it on the north; it is
very strongly placed. That mountain runs between Ningnahar and
Lamghan[777]; on its head snow falls when it snows [Sidenote: Fol. 133.]
in Kabul, so Lamghanis know when it has snowed in the town.
In going from Kabul into the Lamghanat,[778]--if people come by
Quruq-sai, one road goes on through the Diri-pass, crosses the
Baran-water at Bulan, and so on into the Lamghanat,--another goes through
Qara-tu, below Quruq-sai, crosses the Baran-water at Aulugh-nur
(Great-rock?), and goes into Lamghan by the pass of Bad-i-pich.[779] If
however people come by Nijr-au, they traverse Badr-au (Tag-au), and
Qara-nakariq (?), and go on through the pass of Bad-i-pich.
Although Ningnahar is one of the five _tumans_ of the Lamghan _tuman_
the name Lamghanat applies strictly only to the three (mentioned below).
One of the three is the `Ali-shang _tuman_, to the north of which are
fastness-mountains, connecting with Hindu-kush and inhabited by Kafirs
only. What of Kafiristan lies nearest to `Ali-shang, is Mil out of which
its torrent issues. The tomb of Lord Lam,[780] father of his Reverence
the prophet Nuh (Noah), is in this _tuman_. In some histories he is
called Lamak and Lamakan. Some people are observed often to change _kaf_
for _ghain_ (_k_ for _gh_); it would seem to be on this account that the
country is called Lamghan.
The second is Alangar. The part of Kafiristan nearest to it is Gawar
(Kawar), out of which its torrent issues (the Gau or Kau). This torrent
joins that of `Ali-shang and flows with it [Sidenote: Fol. 133b.] into
the Baran-water, below Mandrawar, which is the third _tuman_ of the
Lamghanat.
Of the two _buluks_ of Lamghan one is the Nur-valley.[781] This is a
place (_yir_) without a second[782]; its fort is on a beak (_tumshuq_)
of rock in the mouth of the valley, and has a torrent on each side; its
rice is grown on steep terraces, and it can be traversed by one road
only.[783] It has the orange, citron and other fruits of hot climates in
abundance, a few dates even. Trees cover the banks of both the torrents
below the fort; many are _amluk_, the fruit of which some Turks call
_qara-yimish_;[784] here they are many, but none have been seen
elsewhere. The valley grows grapes also, all trained on trees.[785] Its
wines are those of Lamghan that have reputation. Two sorts of grapes are
grown, the _arah-tashi_ and the _suhan-tashi_;[786] the first are
yellowish, the second, full-red of fine colour. The first make the more
cheering wine, but it must be said that neither wine equals its
reputation for cheer. High up in one of its glens, apes (_maimun_) are
found, none below. Those people (_i.e._ Nuris) used to keep swine but
they have given it up in our time.[787]
Another _tuman_ of Lamghan is Kunar-with-Nur-gal. It lies somewhat
out-of-the-way, remote from the Lamghanat, with its borders in amongst
the Kafir lands; on these accounts its people give in tribute rather
little of what they have. The Chaghan-sarai [Sidenote: Fol. 134.] water
enters it from the north-east, passes on into the _buluk_ of Kama, there
joins the Baran-water and with that flows east.
Mir Sayyid `Ali _Hamadani_,[788]--God's mercy on him!--coming here as he
journeyed, died 2 miles (1 _shar`i_) above Kunar. His disciples carried
his body to Khutlan. A shrine was erected at the honoured place of his
death, of which I made the circuit when I came and took Chaghan-sarai in
920 AH.[789]
The orange, citron and coriander[790] abound in this _tuman_. Strong
wines are brought down into it from Kafiristan.
A strange thing is told there, one seeming impossible, but one told to
us again and again. All through the hill-country above Multa-kundi,
_viz._ in Kunar, Nur-gal, Bajaur, Sawad and thereabouts, it is commonly
said that when a woman dies and has been laid on a bier, she, if she has
not been an ill-doer, gives the bearers such a shake when they lift the
bier by its four sides, that against their will and hindrance, her
corpse falls to the ground; but, if she has done ill, no movement
occurs. This was heard not only from Kunaris but, again and again, in
Bajaur, [Sidenote: Fol. 134b.] Sawad and the whole hill-tract.
Haidar-`ali _Bajauri_,--a sultan who governed Bajaur well,--when his
mother died, did not weep, or betake himself to lamentation, or put on
black, but said, "Go! lay her on the bier! if she move not, I will have
her burned."[792] They laid her on the bier; the desired movement
followed; when he heard that this was so, he put on black and betook
himself to lamentation.
(_Authors note to Multa-kundi._) As Multa-kundi is known the
lower part of the _tuman_ of Kunar-with-Nur-gal; what is below
(_i.e._ on the river) belongs to the valley of Nur and to
Atar.[791]
Another _buluk_ is Chaghan-sarai,[793] a single village with little
land, in the mouth of Kafiristan; its people, though Musalman, mix with
the Kafirs and, consequently, follow their customs.[794] A great torrent
(the Kunar) comes down to it from the north-east from behind Bajaur, and
a smaller one, called Pich, comes down out of Kafiristan. Strong
yellowish wines are had there, not in any way resembling those of the
Nur-valley, however. The village has no grapes or vineyards of its own;
its wines are all brought from up the Kafiristan-water and from
Pich-i-kafiristani.
The Pich Kafirs came to help the villagers when I took the place. Wine
is so commonly used there that every Kafir has his leathern wine-bag
(_khig_) at his neck, and drinks wine instead of water.[795]
Kama, again, though not a separate district but dependent on Ningnahar,
is also called a _buluk_.[796] [Sidenote: Fol. 135.]
Nijr-au[797] is another _tuman_. It lies north of Kabul, in the
Kohistan, with mountains behind it inhabited solely by Kafirs; it is a
quite sequestered place. It grows grapes and fruits in abundance. Its
people make much wine but, they boil it. They fatten many fowls in
winter, are wine-bibbers, do not pray, have no scruples and are
Kafir-like.[798]
In the Nijr-au mountains is an abundance of _archa_, _jilghuza_, _bilut_
and _khanjak_.[799] The first-named three do not grow above Nigr-au but
they grow lower, and are amongst the trees of Hindustan. _Jilghuza_-wood
is all the lamp the people have; it burns like a candle and is very
remarkable. The flying-squirrel[800] is found in these mountains, an
animal larger than a bat and having a curtain (_parda_), like a bat's
wing, between its arms and legs. People often brought one in; it is said
to fly, downward from one tree to another, as far as a _giz_ flies;[801]
I myself have never seen one fly. Once we put one to a tree; it
clambered up directly and got away, but, when people went after it, it
spread its wings and came down, without hurt, as if it had flown.
Another of the curiosities of the Nijr-au mountains is the _lukha_
(var. _luja_) bird, called also _bu-qalamun_ (chameleon) because,
between head and tail, it has four or five changing colours,
resplendent like a pigeon's throat.[802] It is about as large as the
_kabg-i-dari_ and seems to be the _kabg-i-dari_ of Hindustan.[803]
People tell this wonderful thing about it:--When the birds, at [Sidenote:
Fol. 135b.] the on-set of winter, descend to the hill-skirts, if they
come over a vineyard, they can fly no further and are taken.[804] There
is a kind of rat in Nijr-au, known as the musk-rat, which smells of
musk; I however have never seen it.[805]
Panjhir (Panj-sher) is another _tuman_; it lies close to Kafiristan,
along the Panjhir road, and is the thoroughfare of Kafir highwaymen who
also, being so near, take tax of it. They have gone through it, killing
a mass of persons, and doing very evil deeds, since I came this last
time and conquered Hindustan (932 AH.-1526 AD.).[806]
Another is the _tuman_ of Ghur-bund. In those countries they call a
_kutal_ (_koh_?) a _bund_;[807] they go towards Ghur by this pass
(_kutal_); apparently it is for this reason that they have called (the
_tuman_?) Ghur-bund. The Hazara hold the heads of its valleys.[808] It
has few villages and little revenue can be raised from it. There are
said to be mines of silver and lapis lazuli in its mountains.
Again, there are the villages on the skirts of the (Hindu-kush)
mountains,[809] with Mita-kacha and Parwan at their head, and
Dur-nama[810] at their foot, 12 or 13 in all. They are fruit-bearing
villages, and they grow cheering wines, those of Khwaja Khawand Sa`id
being reputed the strongest roundabouts. The villages all lie on the
foot-hills; some pay taxes but not all are taxable because they lie so
far back in the mountains.
Between the foot-hills and the Baran-water are two detached stretches of
level land, one known as _Kurrat-taziyan_,[811] the other as
_Dasht-i-shaikh_ (Shaikh's-plain). As the green grass of the millet[812]
grows well there, they are the resort of Turks and [Sidenote: Fol. 136.]
(Mughul) clans (_aimaq_).
Tulips of many colours cover these foot-hills; I once counted them up;
it came out at 32 or 33 different sorts. We named one the Rose-scented,
because its perfume was a little like that of the red rose; it grows by
itself on Shaikh's-plain, here and nowhere else. The Hundred-leaved
tulip is another; this grows, also by itself, at the outlet of the
Ghur-bund narrows, on the hill-skirt below Parwan. A low hill known as
Khwaja Reg-i-rawan (Khwaja-of-the-running-sand), divides the afore-named
two pieces of level land; it has, from top to foot, a strip of sand from
which people say the sound of nagarets and tambours issues in the
heats.[813]
Again, there are the villages depending on Kabul itself. South-west from
the town are great snow mountains[814] where snow falls on snow, and
where few may be the years when, falling, it does not light on last
year's snow. It is fetched, 12 miles may-be, from these mountains, to
cool the drinking water when ice-houses in Kabul are empty. Like the
Bamian mountains, these are fastnesses. Out of them issue the Harmand
(Halmand), Sind, Dughaba of Qunduz, and Balkh-ab,[815] so that in a
single day, a man might drink of the water of each of these four rivers.
It is on the skirt of one of these ranges (Pamghan) that most of the
villages dependent on Kabul lie.[816] Masses of grapes ripen in their
vineyards and they grow every sort of fruit in abundance. No-one of them
equals Istalif or Astar-ghach; these must be the [Sidenote: Fol. 136b.]
two which Aulugh Beg Mirza used to call his Khurasan and Samarkand.
Pamghan is another of the best, not ranking in fruit and grapes with
those two others, but beyond comparison with them in climate. The
Pamghan mountains are a snowy range. Few villages match Istalif, with
vineyards and fine orchards on both sides of its great torrent, with
waters needing no ice, cold and, mostly, pure. Of its Great garden
Aulugh Beg Mirza had taken forcible possession; I took it over, after
paying its price to the owners. There is a pleasant halting-place
outside it, under great planes, green, shady and beautiful. A one-mill
stream, having trees on both banks, flows constantly through the middle
of the garden; formerly its course was zig-zag and irregular; I had it
made straight and orderly; so the place became very beautiful. Between
the village and the valley-bottom, from 4 to 6 miles down the slope, is
a spring, known as Khwaja Sih-yaran (Three-friends), round which three
sorts of tree grow. A group of planes gives pleasant shade above it;
holm-oak [Sidenote: Fol. 137.] (_quercus bilut_) grows in masses on the
slope at its sides,--these two oaklands (_bilutistan_) excepted, no
holm-oak grows in the mountains of western Kabul,--and the Judas-tree
(_arghwan_)[817] is much cultivated in front of it, that is towards the
level ground,--cultivated there and nowhere else. People say the three
different sorts of tree were a gift made by three saints,[818] whence
its name. I ordered that the spring should be enclosed in mortared
stone-work, 10 by 10, and that a symmetrical, right-angled platform
should be built on each of its sides, so as to overlook the whole field
of Judas-trees. If, the world over, there is a place to match this when
the _arghwans_ are in full bloom, I do not know it. The yellow _arghwan_
grows plentifully there also, the red and the yellow flowering at the
same time.[819]
In order to bring water to a large round seat which I had built on the
hillside and planted round with willows, I had a channel dug across the
slope from a half-mill stream, constantly flowing in a valley to the
south-west of Sih-yaran. The date of cutting this channel was found in
_jui-khush_ (kindly channel).[820]
Another of the _tumans_ of Kabul is Luhugur (mod. Logar). Its one large
village is Chirkh from which were his Reverence Maulana Ya`qub and
Mulla-zada `Usman.[821] Khwaja Ahmad [Sidenote: Fol. 137b.] and Khwaja
Yunas were from Sajawand, another of its villages. Chirkh has many
gardens, but there are none in any other village of Luhugur. Its people
are Aughan-shal, a term common in Kabul, seeming to be a
mispronouncement of Aughan-sha`ar.[822]
Again, there is the _wilayat_, or, as some say, _tuman_ of Ghazni, said
to have been[823] the capital of Sabuk-tigin, Sl. Mahmud and their
descendants. Many write it Ghaznin. It is said also to have been the
seat of government of Shihabu'd-din _Ghuri_,[824] styled Mu`izzu'd-din
in the _Tabaqat-i-nasiri_ and also some of the histories of Hind.
Ghazni is known also as _Zabulistan_; it belongs to the Third climate.
Some hold that Qandahar is a part of it. It lies 14 _yighach_ (south-)
west of Kabul; those leaving it at dawn, may reach Kabul between the Two
Prayers (_i.e._ in the afternoon); whereas the 13 _yighach_ between
Adinapur and Kabul can never be done in one day, because of the
difficulties of the road.
Ghazni has little cultivated land. Its torrent, a four-mill or five-mill
stream may-be, makes the town habitable and fertilizes four or five
villages; three or four others are cultivated from under-ground
water-courses (_karez_). Ghazni grapes are better than those of Kabul;
its melons are more abundant; its apples [Sidenote: Fol. 138.] are very
good, and are carried to Hindustan. Agriculture is very laborious in
Ghazni because, whatever the quality of the soil, it must be newly
top-dressed every year; it gives a better return, however, than Kabul.
Ghazni grows madder; the entire crop goes to Hindustan and yields
excellent profit to the growers. In the open-country of Ghazni dwell
Hazara and Afghans. Compared with Kabul, it is always a cheap place. Its
people hold to the Hanafi faith, are good, orthodox Musalmans, many keep
a three months' fast,[825] and their wives and children live modestly
secluded.
One of the eminent men of Ghazni was Mulla `Abdu'r-rahman, a learned man
and always a learner (_dars_), a most orthodox, pious and virtuous
person; he left this world the same year as Nasir Mirza (921 AH.-1515
AD.). Sl. Mahmud's tomb is in the suburb called Rauza,[826] from which
the best grapes come; there also are the tombs of his descendants, Sl.
Mas`ud and Sl. Ibrahim. Ghazni has many blessed tombs. The year[827] I
took Kabul and Ghazni, over-ran Kohat, the plain of Bannu and lands of
the Afghans, and went on to Ghazni by way of Duki (Dugi) and Ab-istada,
people told me there was a tomb, in a village of Ghazni, which moved
when a benediction on the Prophet was [Sidenote: Fol. 138b.] pronounced
over it. We went to see it. In the end I discovered that the movement
was a trick, presumably of the servants at the tomb, who had put a sort
of platform above it which moved when pushed, so that, to those on it,
the tomb seemed to move, just as the shore does to those passing in a
boat. I ordered the scaffold destroyed and a dome built over the tomb;
also I forbad the servants, with threats, ever to bring about the
movement again.
Ghazni is a very humble place; strange indeed it is that rulers in whose
hands were Hindustan and Khurasanat,[828] should have chosen it for
their capital. In the Sultan's (Mahmud's) time there may have been three
or four dams in the country; one he made, some three _yighach_ (18 m.?)
up the Ghazni-water to the north; it was about 40-50 _qari_ (yards) high
and some 300 long; through it the stored waters were let out as
required.[829] It was destroyed by `Alau'u'd-din _Jahan-soz Ghuri_ when
he conquered the country (550 AH.-1152 AD.), burned and ruined the tombs
of several descendants of Sl. Mahmud, sacked and burned the town, in
short, left undone no tittle of murder and rapine. Since [Sidenote: Fol.
139.] that time, the Sultan's dam has lain in ruins, but, through God's
favour, there is hope that it may become of use again, by means of the
money which was sent, in Khwaja Kalan's hand, in the year Hindustan was
conquered (932 AH.-1526 AD.).[830] The Sakhandam is another, 2 or 3
_yighach_ (12-18 m.), may-be, on the east of the town; it has long been
in ruins, indeed is past repair. There is a dam in working order at
Sar-i-dih (Village-head).
In books it is written that there is in Ghazni a spring such that, if
dirt and foul matter be thrown into it, a tempest gets up instantly,
with a blizzard of rain and wind. It has been seen said also in one of
the histories that Sabuk-tigin, when besieged by the Rai (Jai-pal) of
Hind, ordered dirt and foulness to be thrown into the spring, by this
aroused, in an instant, a tempest with blizzard of rain and snow, and,
by this device, drove off his foe.[831] Though we made many enquiries,
no intimation of the spring's existence was given us.
In these countries Ghazni and Khwarizm are noted for cold, in the same
way that Sultania and Tabriz are in the two `Iraqs and Azarbaijan.
Zurmut is another _tuman_, some 12-13 _yighach_ south of Kabul and 7-8
south-east of Ghazni.[832] Its _darogha's_ head-quarters are [Sidenote:
Fol. 139b.] in Girdiz; there most houses are three or four storeys high.
It does not want for strength, and gave Nasir Mirza trouble when it went
into hostility to him. Its people are Aughan-shal; they grow corn but
have neither vineyards nor orchards. The tomb of Shaikh Muhammad
_Musalman_ is at a spring, high on the skirt of a mountain, known as
Barakistan, in the south of the _tuman_.
Farmul is another _tuman_,[833] a humble place, growing not bad apples
which are carried into Hindustan. Of Farmul were the Shaikh-zadas,
descendants of Shaikh Muhammad _Musalman_, who were so much in favour
during the Afghan period in Hindustan.
Bangash is another _tuman_.[834] All round about it are Afghan
highwaymen, such as the Khugiani, Khirilchi, Turi and Landar. Lying
out-of-the-way, as it does, its people do not pay taxes willingly. There
has been no time to bring it to obedience; greater tasks have fallen to
me,--the conquests of Qandahar, Balkh, Badakhshan and Hindustan! But, God
willing! when I get the chance, I most assuredly will take order with
those Bangash thieves.
One of the _buluks_ of Kabul is Ala-sai,[835] 4 to 6 miles (2-3
_shar`i_) east of Nijr-au. The direct road into it from Nijr-au leads,
at a place called Kura, through the quite small pass which in that
locality separates the hot and cold climates. Through this pass the
birds migrate at the change of the seasons, and at those times many are
taken by the people of Pichghan, one of the dependencies of Nijr-au, in
the following manner:--From [Sidenote: Fol. 140.] distance to distance
near the mouth of the pass, they make hiding-places for the
bird-catchers. They fasten one corner of a net five or six yards away,
and weight the lower side to the ground with stones. Along the other
side of the net, for half its width, they fasten a stick some 3 to 4
yards long. The hidden bird-catcher holds this stick and by it, when the
birds approach, lifts up the net to its full height. The birds then go
into the net of themselves. Sometimes so many are taken by this
contrivance that there is not time to cut their throats.[836]
Though the Ala-sai pomegranates are not first-rate, they have local
reputation because none are better there-abouts; they are carried into
Hindustan. Grapes also do not grow badly, and the wines of Ala-sai are
better and stronger than those of Nijr-au.
Badr-au (Tag-au) is another _buluk_; it runs with Ala-sai, grows no
fruit, and for cultivators has corn-growing Kafirs.[837]
(_f. Tribesmen of Kabul._)
Just as Turks and (Mughul) clans (_aimaq_) dwell in the open country of
Khurasan and Samarkand, so in Kabul do the Hazara and Afghans. Of the
Hazara, the most widely-scattered are the Sultan-mas`udi Hazara, of
Afghans, the Mahmand.
(_g. Revenue of Kabul._)
The revenues of Kabul, whether from the cultivated lands or from tolls
(_tamgha_) or from dwellers in the open country, amount to 8 _laks_ of
_shahrukhis_.[838] [Sidenote: Fol. 140b.]
(_h. The mountain-tracts of Kabul._)
Where the mountains of Andar-ab, Khwast,[839] and the Badakh-shanat have
conifers (_archa_), many springs and gentle slopes, those of eastern
Kabul have grass (_aut_), grass like a beautiful floor, on hill, slope
and dale. For the most part it is _buta-kah_ grass (_aut_), very
suitable for horses. In the Andijan country they talk of _buta-kah_, but
why they do so was not known (to me?); in Kabul it was heard-say to be
because the grass comes up in tufts (_buta, buta_).[840] The alps of
these mountains are like those of Hisar, Khutlan, Farghana, Samarkand
and Mughulistan,--all these being alike in mountain and alp, though the
alps of Farghana and Mughulistan are beyond comparison with the rest.
From all these the mountains of Nijr-au, the Lamghanat and Sawad differ
in having masses of cypresses,[841] holm-oak, olive and mastic
(_khanjak_); their grass also is different,--it is dense, it is tall, it
is good neither for horse nor sheep. Although these mountains are not so
high as those already described, indeed they look to be low,
none-the-less, they are strongholds; what to the eye is even slope,
really is hard rock on which it is impossible to ride. Many of the
beasts and birds of Hindustan [Sidenote: Fol. 141.] are found amongst
them, such as the parrot, _mina_, peacock and _luja_ (_lukha_), the ape,
_nil-gau_ and hog-deer (_kuta-pai_);[842] some found there are not found
even in Hindustan.
The mountains to the west of Kabul are also all of one sort, those of
the Zindan-valley, the Suf-valley, Garzawan and Gharjistan
(Gharchastan).[843] Their meadows are mostly in the dales; they have not
the same sweep of grass on slope and top as some of those described
have; nor have they masses of trees; they have, however, grass suiting
horses. On their flat tops, where all the crops are grown, there is
ground where a horse can gallop. They have masses of _kiyik_.[844] Their
valley-bottoms are strongholds, mostly precipitous and inaccessible from
above. It is remarkable that, whereas other mountains have their
fastnesses in their high places, these have theirs below.
Of one sort again are the mountains of Ghur, Karnud (var. Kuzud) and
Hazara; their meadows are in their dales; their trees are few, not even
the _archa_ being there;[845] their grass is fit for horses and for the
masses of sheep they keep. They differ from those last described in
this, their strong places are not below.
The mountains (south-east of Kabul) of Khwaja Isma`il, Dasht, Dugi
(Duki)[846] and Afghanistan are all alike; all low, scant of vegetation,
short of water, treeless, ugly and good-for-nothing. Their people take
after them, just as has been said, _Ting bulma-ghuncha_ [Sidenote: Fol
141b.] _tush bulmas_.[847] Likely enough the world has few mountains so
useless and disgusting.
(_h. Fire-wood of Kabul._)
The snow-fall being so heavy in Kabul, it is fortunate that excellent
fire-wood is had near by. Given one day to fetch it, wood can be had of
the _khanjak_ (mastic), _bilut_ (holm-oak), _badamcha_ (small-almond)
and _qarqand_.[848] Of these _khanjak_ wood is the best; it burns with
flame and nice smell, makes plenty of hot ashes and does well even if
sappy. Holm-oak is also first-rate fire-wood, blazing less than mastic
but, like it, making a hot fire with plenty of hot ashes, and nice
smell. It has the peculiarity in burning that when its leafy branches
are set alight, they fire up with amazing sound, blazing and crackling
from bottom to top. It is good fun to burn it. The wood of the
small-almond is the most plentiful and commonly-used, but it does not
make a lasting fire. The _qarqand_ is quite a low shrub, thorny, and
burning sappy or dry; it is the fuel of the Ghazni people.
(_i. Fauna of Kabul._)
The cultivated lands of Kabul lie between mountains which are like great
dams[849] to the flat valley-bottoms in which most villages and peopled
places are. On these mountains _kiyik_ and _ahu_[850] are scarce.
Across them, between its summer and winter quarters, the dun sheep,[851]
the _arqarghalcha_, have their regular track,[852] to which braves go
out with dogs and birds[853] to take them. [Sidenote: Fol. 142.] Towards
Khurd-kabul and the Surkh-rud there is wild-ass, but there are no white
_kiyik_ at all; Ghazni has both and in few other places are white
_kiyik_ found in such good condition.[854]
In the heats the fowling-grounds of Kabul are crowded. The birds take
their way along the Baran-water. For why? It is because the river has
mountains along it, east and west, and a great Hindu-kush pass in a line
with it, by which the birds must cross since there is no other
near.[855] They cannot cross when the north wind blows, or if there is
even a little cloud on Hindu-kush; at such times they alight on the
level lands of the Baran-water and are taken in great numbers by the
local people. Towards the end of winter, dense flocks of mallards
(_aurduq_) reach the banks of the Baran in very good condition. Follow
these the cranes and herons,[856] great birds, in large flocks and
countless numbers.
(_j. Bird-catching._)
Along the Baran people take masses of cranes (_turna_) with the cord;
masses of _auqar_, _qarqara_ and _qutan_ also.[857] This method of
bird-catching is unique. They twist a cord as long as the arrow's[858]
flight, tie the arrow at one end and a _bildurga_[859] at the other, and
wind it up, from the arrow-end, on a piece of wood, span-long and
wrist-thick, right up to the _bildurga_. They [Sidenote: Fol. 142b.]
then pull out the piece of wood, leaving just the hole it was in. The
_bildurga_ being held fast in the hand, the arrow is shot off[860]
towards the coming flock. If the cord twists round a neck or wing, it
brings the bird down. On the Baran everyone takes birds in this way; it
is difficult; it must be done on rainy nights, because on such nights
the birds do not alight, but fly continually and fly low till dawn, in
fear of ravening beasts of prey. Through the night the flowing river is
their road, its moving water showing through the dark; then it is, while
they come and go, up and down the river, that the cord is shot. One
night I shot it; it broke in drawing in; both bird and cord were brought
in to me next day. By this device Baran people catch the many herons
from which they take the turban-aigrettes sent from Kabul for sale in
Khurasan.
Of bird-catchers there is also the band of slave-fowlers, two or three
hundred households, whom some descendant of Timur Beg made migrate from
near Multan to the Baran.[861] Bird-catching [Sidenote: Fol. 143.] is
their trade; they dig tanks, set decoy-birds[862] on them, put a net
over the middle, and in this way take all sorts of birds. Not fowlers
only catch birds, but every dweller on the Baran does it, whether by
shooting the cord, setting the springe, or in various other ways.
(_k. Fishing._)
The fish of the Baran migrate at the same seasons as birds. At those
times many are netted, and many are taken on wattles (_chigh_) fixed in
the water. In autumn when the plant known as _wild-ass-tail_[863] has
come to maturity, flowered and seeded, people take 10-20 loads (of
seed?) and 20-30 of green branches (_guk-shibak_) to some head of water,
break it up small and cast it in. Then going into the water, they can at
once pick up drugged fish. At some convenient place lower down, in a
hole below a fall, they will have fixed beforehand a wattle of
finger-thick willow-withes, making it firm by piling stones on its
sides. The water goes rushing and dashing through the wattle, but leaves
on it any fish that may have come floating down. This way of catching
fish is practised in Gul-bahar, Parwan and Istalif.
[Sidenote: Fol. 143b.] Fish are had in winter in the Lamghanat by this
curious device:--People dig a pit to the depth of a house, in the bed of
a stream, below a fall, line it with stones like a cooking-place, and
build up stones round it above, leaving one opening only, under water.
Except by this one opening, the fish have no inlet or outlet, but the
water finds its way through the stones. This makes a sort of fish-pond
from which, when wanted in winter, fish can be taken, 30-40 together.
Except at the opening, left where convenient, the sides of the fish-pond
are made fast with rice-straw, kept in place by stones. A piece of
wicker-work is pulled into the said opening by its edges, gathered
together, and into this a second piece, (a tube,) is inserted, fitting
it at the mouth but reaching half-way into it only.[864] The fish go
through the smaller piece into the larger one, out from which they
cannot get. The second narrows towards its inner mouth, its pointed ends
being drawn so close that the fish, once entered, cannot [Sidenote: Fol.
144.] turn, but must go on, one by one, into the larger piece. Out of
that they cannot return because of the pointed ends of the inner, narrow
mouth. The wicker-work fixed and the rice-straw making the pond fast,
whatever fish are inside can be taken out;[865] any also which, trying
to escape may have gone into the wicker-work, are taken in it, because
they have no way out. This method of catching fish we have seen nowhere
else.[866]
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE RESUMED.[867]
(_a. Departure of Muqim and allotment of lands._)
A few days after the taking of Kabul, Muqim asked leave to set off for
Qandahar. As he had come out of the town on terms and conditions, he was
allowed to go to his father (Zu'n-nun) and his elder brother (Shah Beg),
with all his various people, his goods and his valuables, safe and
sound.
Directly he had gone, the Kabul-country was shared out to the Mirzas and
the guest-begs.[868] To Jahangir Mirza was given Ghazni with its
dependencies and appurtenancies; to Nasir Mirza, the Ningnahar _tuman_,
Mandrawar, Nur-valley, Kunar, Nur-gal (Rock-village?) and Chighan-sarai.
To some of the begs who had been with us in the guerilla-times and had
come to Kabul with us, were given villages, fief-fashion.[869] _Wilayat_
[Sidenote: Fol. 144b.] itself was not given at all.[870] It was not only
then that I looked with more favour on guest-begs and stranger-begs than
I did on old servants and Andijanis; this I have always done whenever
the Most High God has shown me His favour; yet it is remarkable that,
spite of this, people have blamed me constantly as though I had favoured
none but old servants and Andijanis. There is a proverb, (Turki) "What
will a foe not say? what enters not into dream?" and (Persian) "A
town-gate can be shut, a foe's mouth never."
(_b. A levy in grain._)
Many clans and hordes had come from Samarkand, Hisar and Qunduz into the
Kabul-country. Kabul is a small country; it is also of the sword, not of
the pen;[871] to take in money from it for all these tribesmen was
impossible. It therefore seemed advisable to take in grain, provision
for the families of these clans so that their men could ride on forays
with the army. Accordingly it was decided to levy 30,000 ass-loads[872]
of grain on Kabul, Ghazni and their dependencies; we knew nothing at
that time about the harvests and incomings; the impost was excessive,
and under it the country suffered very grievously.
In those days I devised the Baburi script.[873]
(_c. Foray on the Hazara._)
A large tribute in horses and sheep had been laid on the Sultan Mas`udi
Hazaras;[874] word came a few days after collectors [Sidenote: Fol.
145.] had gone to receive it, that the Hazaras were refractory and would
not give their goods. As these same tribesmen had before that come down
on the Ghazni and Girdiz roads, we got to horse, meaning to take them by
surprise. Riding by the Maidan-road, we crossed the Nirkh-pass[875] by
night and at the Morning-prayer fell upon them near Jal-tu (var.
Cha-tu). The incursion was not what was wished.[876] We came back by the
Tunnel-rock (Sang-i-surakh); Jahangir Mirza (there?) took leave for
Ghazni. On our reaching Kabul, Yar-i-husain, son of Darya Khan, coming
in from Bhira, waited on me.[877]
(_d. Babur's first start for Hindustan._)
When, a few days later, the army had been mustered, persons acquainted
with the country were summoned and questioned about its every side and
quarter. Some advised a march to the Plain (Dasht);[878] some approved
of Bangash; some wished to go into Hindustan. The discussion found
settlement in a move on Hindustan.
It was in the month of Sha`ban (910 AH.-Jan. 1505 AD.), the Sun being in
Aquarius, that we rode out of Kabul for Hindustan. We took the road
by Badam-chashma and Jagdalik and reached Adinapur in six marches. Till
that time I had never seen a hot country or the Hindustan border-land.
In Ningnahar[879] another world came to view,--other grasses, other
trees, other animals, other birds, and other manners and customs of clan
and horde. We were amazed, and truly there was ground for amaze.
[Sidenote: Fol. 145b.]
Nasir Mirza, who had gone earlier to his district, waited on me in
Adinapur. We made some delay in Adinapur in order to let the men from
behind join us, also a contingent from the clans which had come with us
into Kabul and were wintering in the Lamghanat.[880] All having joined
us, we marched to below Jui-shahi and dismounted at Qush-gumbaz.[881]
There Nasir Mirza asked for leave to stay behind, saying he would follow
in a few days after making some sort of provision for his dependants and
followers. Marching on from Qush-gumbaz, when we dismounted at
Hot-spring (Garm-chashma), a head-man of the Gagiani was brought in, a
_Fajji_[882] presumably with his caravan. We took him with us to point
out the roads. Crossing Khaibar in a march or two, we dismounted at
Jam.[883]
Tales had been told us about Gur-khattri;[884] it was said to be a holy
place of the Jogis and Hindus who come from long distances to shave
their heads and beards there. I rode out at once from Jam to visit
Bigram,[885] saw its great tree,[886] and all the country round, but,
much as we enquired about Gur-khattri, our guide, one Malik Bu-sa`id
_Kamari_,[887] would say nothing [Sidenote: Fol. 146.] about it. When we
were almost back in camp, however, he told Khwaja Muhammad-amin that it
was in Bigram and that he had said nothing about it because of its
confined cells and narrow passages. The Khwaja, having there and then
abused him, repeated to us what he had said, but we could not go back
because the road was long and the day far spent.
(_e. Move against Kohat._)
Whether to cross the water of Sind, or where else to go, was discussed
in that camp.[888] Baqi _Chaghaniani_ represented that it seemed we
might go, without crossing the river and with one night's halt, to a
place called Kohat where were many rich tribesmen; moreover he brought
Kabulis forward who represented the matter just as he had done. We had
never heard of the place, but, as he, my man in great authority, saw it
good to go to Kohat and had brought forward support of his
recommendation,--this being so! we broke up our plan of crossing the
Sind-water into Hindustan, marched from Jam, forded the Bara-water, and
dismounted not far from the pass (_daban_) through the Muhammad-mountain
(_fajj_). At the time the Gagiani Afghans were located in Parashawar
but, in dread of our army, had drawn off to the skirt-hills. One of
their headmen, coming into this camp, did me obeisance; we took him, as
well as the Fajji, with us, so that, between them, they might
[Sidenote: Fol. 146b.] point out the roads. We left that camp at
midnight, crossed Muhammad-fajj at day-rise[889] and by breakfast-time
descended on Kohat. Much cattle and buffalo fell to our men; many
Afghans were taken but I had them all collected and set them free. In
the Kohat houses corn was found without limit. Our foragers raided as
far as the Sind-river (_darya_), rejoining us after one night's halt. As
what Baqi _Chaghaniani_ had led us to expect did not come to hand, he
grew rather ashamed of his scheme.
When our foragers were back and after two nights in Kohat, we took
counsel together as to what would be our next good move, and we decided
to over-run the Afghans of Bangash and the Bannu neighbourhood, then to
go back to Kabul, either through Naghr (Baghzan?), or by the Farmul-road
(Tochi-valley?).
In Kohat, Darya Khan's son, Yar-i-husain, who had waited on me in Kabul
made petition, saying, "If royal orders were given me for the
Dilazak,[890] the Yusuf-zai, and the Gagiani, these would not go far
from my orders if I called up the Padshah's swords on the other side of
the water of Sind."[891] The farman he petitioned for being given, he
was allowed to go from Kohat.
(_f. March to Thal._)
Marching out of Kohat, we took the Hangu-road for Bangash. [Sidenote:
Fol. 147.] Between Kohat and Hangu that road runs through a valley shut
in on either hand by the mountains. When we entered this valley, the
Afghans of Kohat and thereabouts who were gathered on both hill-skirts,
raised their war-cry with great clamour. Our then guide, Malik Bu-sa`id
_Kamari_ was well-acquainted with the Afghan locations; he represented
that further on there was a detached hill on our right, where, if the
Afghans came down to it from the hill-skirt, we might surround and take
them. God brought it right! The Afghans, on reaching the place, did come
down. We ordered one party of braves to seize the neck of land between
that hill and the mountains, others to move along its sides, so that
under attack made from all sides at once, the Afghans might be made to
reach their doom. Against the allround assault, they could not even
fight; a hundred or two were taken, some were brought in alive but of
most, the heads only were brought. We had been told that when Afghans
are powerless to resist, they go before their foe with grass between
their teeth, this being as much as to say, "I am your cow."[892] Here
[Sidenote: Fol. 147b.] we saw this custom; Afghans unable to make
resistance, came before us with grass between their teeth. Those our men
had brought in as prisoners were ordered to be beheaded and a pillar of
their heads was set up in our camp.[893]
Next day we marched forward and dismounted at Hangu, where local Afghans
had made a _sangur_ on a hill. I first heard the word _sangur_ after
coming to Kabul where people describe fortifying themselves on a hill as
making a _sangur_. Our men went straight up, broke into it and cut off a
hundred or two of insolent Afghan heads. There also a pillar of heads
was set up.
From Hangu we marched, with one night's halt, to Til (Thal),[894] below
Bangash; there also our men went out and raided the Afghans near-by;
some of them however turned back rather lightly from a _sangur_.[895]
(_g. Across country into Bannu._)
On leaving Til (Thal) we went, without a road, right down a steep
descent, on through out-of-the-way narrows, halted one night, and next
day came down into Bannu,[896] man, horse and camel all worn out with
fatigue and with most of the booty in cattle left on the way. The
frequented road must have been a few miles to our right; the one we came
by did not seem a riding-road at all; it was understood to be called
the Gosfandliyar [Sidenote: Fol. 148.] (Sheep-road),--_liyar_ being
Afghani for a road,--because sometimes shepherds and herdsmen take their
flocks and herds by it through those narrows. Most of our men regarded
our being brought down by that left-hand road as an ill-design of Malik
Bu-sa`id _Kamari_.[897]
(_h. Bannu and the `Isa-khail country._)
The Bannu lands lie, a dead level, immediately outside the Bangash and
Naghr hills, these being to their north. The Bangash torrent (the Kuram)
comes down into Bannu and fertilizes its lands. South(-east) of them are
Chaupara and the water of Sind; to their east is Din-kot; (south-)west
is the Plain (Dasht), known also as Bazar and Taq.[898] The Bannu lands
are cultivated by the Kurani, Kiwi, Sur, `Isa-khail and Nia-zai of the
Afghan tribesmen.
After dismounting in Bannu, we heard that the tribesmen in the Plain
(Dasht) were for resisting and were entrenching themselves on a hill to
the north. A force headed by Jahangir Mirza, went against what seemed to
be the Kiwi _sangur_, took it at once, made general slaughter, cut off
and brought in many heads. Much white cloth fell into (their) hands. In
Bannu also a pillar of heads was set up. After the _sangur_ had been
taken, the Kiwi head-man, Shadi Khan, came to my presence, with grass
between his teeth, and did me obeisance. I pardoned all the prisoners.
After we had over-run Kohat, it had been decided that Bangash and Bannu
should be over-run, and return to Kabul [Sidenote: Fol. 148b.] made
through Naghr or through Farmul. But when Bannu had been over-run,
persons knowing the country represented that the Plain was close by,
with its good roads and many people; so it was settled to over-run the
Plain and to return to Kabul afterwards by way of Farmul.[899]
Marching next day, we dismounted at an `Isa-khail village on that same
water (the Kuram) but, as the villagers had gone into the Chaupara hills
on hearing of us, we left it and dismounted on the skirt of Chaupara.
Our foragers went from there into the hills, destroyed the `Isa-khail
_sangur_ and came back with sheep, herds and cloth. That night the
`Isa-khail made an attack on us but, as good watch was kept all through
these operations, they could do nothing. So cautious were we that at
night our right and left, centre and van were just in the way they had
dismounted, each according to its place in battle, each prepared for its
own post, with men on foot all round the camp, at an arrow's distance
from the tents. Every night the army was posted in this way and every
night three or four of my household [Sidenote: Fol. 149.] made the
rounds with torches, each in his turn. I for my part made the round once
each night. Those not at their posts had their noses slit and were led
round through the army. Jahangir Mirza was the right wing, with Baqi
_Chaghaniani_, Sherim Taghai, Sayyid Husain Akbar, and other begs.
Mirza Khan was the left wing, with `Abdu'r-razzaq Mirza, Qasim Beg and
other begs. In the centre there were no great begs, all were
household-begs. Sayyid Qasim Lord-of-the-gate, was the van, with Baba
Aughuli, Allah-birdi (var. Allah-quli Puran), and some other begs. The
army was in six divisions, each of which had its day and night on guard.
Marching from that hill-skirt, our faces set west, we dismounted on a
waterless plain (_qul_) between Bannu and the Plain. The soldiers got
water here for themselves, their herds and so on, by digging down, from
one to one-and-a-half yards, into the dry water-course, when water came.
Not here only did this happen for all the rivers of Hindustan have the
peculiarity that water is safe to be found by digging down from one to
one-and-a-half yards in their beds. It is a wonderful provision
of God that where, except for the great rivers, there are no
running-waters,[900] water should be so placed within reach in dry
water-courses.
We left that dry channel next morning. Some of our men, riding light,
reached villages of the Plain in the afternoon, raided a few, and
brought back flocks, cloth and horses bred for trade.[901] Pack-animals
and camels and also the braves we had outdistanced, kept coming into
camp all through that night till dawn and on till that morrow's noon.
During our stay there, the foragers [Sidenote: Fol. 149b.] brought in
from villages in the Plain, masses of sheep and cattle, and, from Afghan
traders met on the roads, white cloths, aromatic roots, sugars,
_tipuchaqs_, and horses bred for trade. Hindi (var. Mindi) _Mughul_
unhorsed Khwaja Khizr _Luhani_, a well-known and respected Afghan
merchant, cutting off and bringing in his head. Once when Sherim Taghai
went in the rear of the foragers, an Afghan faced him on the road and
struck off his index-finger.
(_i. Return made for Kabul._)
Two roads were heard of as leading from where we were to Ghazni; one was
the Tunnel-rock (Sang-i-surakh) road, passing Birk (Barak) and going on
to Farmul; the other was one along the Gumal, which also comes out at
Farmul but without touching Birk (Barak).[902] As during our stay in the
Plain rain had fallen incessantly, the Gumal was so swollen that it
would have been difficult to cross at the ford we came to; moreover
persons well-acquainted with the roads, represented that going by the
Gumal road, this torrent must be crossed several times, that this was
always difficult when the waters were so high and that there was always
uncertainty on the Gumal road. Nothing was settled then as to which of
these two roads to take; I expected it to be settled next day when,
after the drum of departure had sounded, [Sidenote: Fol. 150.] we talked
it over as we went.[903] It was the `Id-i-fitr (March 7th 1505 AD.);
while I was engaged in the ablutions due for the breaking of the fast,
Jahangir Mirza and the begs discussed the question of the roads.
Some-one said that if we were to turn the bill[904] of the Mehtar
Sulaiman range, this lying between the Plain and the Hill-country
(_desht u duki_),[905] we should get a level road though it might make
the difference of a few marches. For this they decided and moved off;
before my ablutions were finished the whole army had taken the road and
most of it was across the Gumal. Not a man of us had ever seen the road;
no-one knew whether it was long or short; we started off just on a
rumoured word!
The Prayer of the `Id was made on the bank of the Gumal. That year
New-year's Day[906] fell close to the `Id-i-fitr, there being only a few
days between; on their approximation I composed the following (Turki)
ode:--
Glad is the Bairam-moon for him who sees both the face of the Moon and
the Moon-face of his friend;
Sad is the Bairam-moon for me, far away from thy face and from
thee.[907]
O Babur! dream of your luck when your Feast is the meeting,
your New-year the face;
For better than that could not be with a hundred New-years
and Bairams.
After crossing the Gumal torrent, we took our way along the skirt of the
hills, our faces set south. A mile or two further on, [Sidenote: Fol.
150b.] some death-devoted Afghans shewed themselves on the lower edge of
the hill-slope. Loose rein, off we went for them; most of them fled but
some made foolish stand on rocky-piles[908] of the foot-hills. One took
post on a single rock seeming to have a precipice on the further side of
it, so that he had not even a way of escape. Sl. Quli _Chunaq_
(One-eared), all in his mail as he was, got up, slashed at, and took
him. This was one of Sl. Quli's deeds done under my own eyes, which led
to his favour and promotion.[909] At another pile of rock, when
Qutluq-qadam exchanged blows with an Afghan, they grappled and came down
together, a straight fall of 10 to 12 yards; in the end Qutluq-qadam
cut off and brought in his man's head. Kupuk Beg got hand-on-collar with
an Afghan at another hill; both rolled down to the bottom; that head
also was brought in. All Afghans taken prisoner were set free.
Marching south through the Plain, and closely skirting Mehtar Sulaiman,
we came, with three nights' halt, to a small township, called Bilah, on
the Sind-water and dependent on Multan.[910] The villagers crossed the
water, mostly taking to their boats, but some flung themselves in to
cross. Some were seen standing on an island in front of Bilah. Most of
our men, man and horse in [Sidenote: Fol. 151.] mail, plunged in and
crossed to the island; some were carried down, one being Qul-i-aruk
(thin slave), one of my servants, another the head tent-pitcher, another
Jahangir Mirza's servant, Qaitmas _Turkman_.[911] Cloth and things of
the baggage (_partaldik nima_) fell to our men. The villagers all
crossed by boat to the further side of the river; once there, some of
them, trusting to the broad water, began to make play with their swords.
Qul-i-bayazid, the taster, one of our men who had crossed to the island,
stripped himself and his horse and, right in front of them, plunged by
himself into the river. The water on that side of the island may have
been twice or thrice as wide as on ours. He swum his horse straight for
them till, an arrow's-flight away, he came to a shallow where his weight
must have been up-borne, the water being as high as the saddle-flap.
There he stayed for as long as milk takes to boil; no-one supported him
from behind; he had not a chance of support. He made a dash at them;
they shot a few arrows at him but, this not checking him, they took to
flight. To swim such a river as the Sind, alone, bare on a bare-backed
horse, no-one behind him, and to chase off a foe and occupy his ground,
was a mightily bold deed! He having driven the enemy off, other soldiers
went over who [Sidenote: Fol. 151b.] returned with cloth and droves of
various sorts. Qul-i-bayazid had already his place in my favour and
kindness on account of his good service, and of courage several times
shewn; from the cook's office I had raised him to the royal taster's;
this time, as will be told, I took up a position full of bounty, favour
and promotion,--in truth he was worthy of honour and advancement.
Two other marches were made down the Sind-water. Our men, by perpetually
gallopping off on raids, had knocked up their horses; usually what they
took, cattle mostly, was not worth the gallop; sometimes indeed in the
Plain there had been sheep, sometimes one sort of cloth or other, but,
the Plain left behind, nothing was had but cattle. A mere servant would
bring in 3 or 400 head during our marches along the Sind-water, but
every march many more would be left on the road than they brought in.
(_j. The westward march._)
Having made three more marches[912] close along the Sind, we left it
when we came opposite Pir Kanu's tomb.[913] Going to the tomb, we there
dismounted. Some of our soldiers having injured [Sidenote: Fol. 152.]
several of those in attendance on it, I had them cut to pieces. It is a
tomb on the skirt of one of the Mehtar Sulaiman mountains and held in
much honour in Hindustan.
Marching on from Pir Kanu, we dismounted in the (Pawat) pass; next again
in the bed of a torrent in Duki.[914] After we left this camp there were
brought in as many as 20 to 30 followers of a retainer of Shah Beg,
Fazil _Kukuldash_, the darogha of Siwi. They had been sent to
reconnoitre us but, as at that time, we were not on bad terms with Shah
Beg, we let them go, with horse and arms. After one night's halt, we
reached Chutiali, a village of Duki.
Although our men had constantly gallopped off to raid, both before we
reached the Sind-water and all along its bank, they had not left horses
behind, because there had been plenty of green food and corn. When,
however, we left the river and set our faces for Pir Kanu, not even
green food was to be had; a little land under green crop might be found
every two or three marches, but of horse-corn, none. So, beyond the
camps mentioned, there began the leaving of horses behind. After passing
Chutiali, my own felt-tent[915] had to be left from want of
baggage-beasts. One night at that time, it rained so much, that water
stood knee-deep in my tent (_chadar_); I watched the night out till
dawn, uncomfortably sitting on a pile of blankets.
(_k. Baqi Chaghaniani's treachery._)
A few marches further on came Jahangir Mirza, saying, "I [Sidenote: Fol.
152b.] have a private word for you." When we were in private, he said,
"Baqi _Chaghaniani_ came and said to me, 'You make the Padshah cross the
water of Sind with 7, 8, 10 persons, then make yourself Padshah.'" Said
I, "What others are heard of as consulting with him?" Said he, "It was
but a moment ago Baqi Beg spoke to me; I know no more." Said I, "Find
out who the others are; likely enough Sayyid Husain Akbar and Sl. `Ali
the page are in it, as well as Khusrau Shah's begs and braves." Here the
Mirza really behaved very well and like a blood-relation; what he now
did was the counterpart of what I had done in Kahmard,[916] in this same
ill-fated mannikin's other scheme of treachery.[917]
On dismounting after the next march, I made Jahangir Mirza lead a body
of well-mounted men to raid the Aughans (Afghans) of that neighbourhood.
Many men's horses were now left behind in each camping-ground, the day
coming when as many as 2 or 300 were left. Braves of the first rank went
on foot; Sayyid Mahmud _Aughlaqchi_, one of the best of the
household-braves, left his horses behind and walked. In this state as to
horses we went all the rest of the way to Ghazni.
Three or four marches further on, Jahangir Mirza plundered [Sidenote:
Fol. 153.] some Afghans and brought in a few sheep.
(_l. The Ab-i-istada._)
When, with a few more marches, we reached the Standing-water
(_Ab-i-istada_) a wonderfully large sheet of water presented itself to
view; the level lands on its further side could not be seen at all; its
water seemed to join the sky; the higher land and the mountains of that
further side looked to hang between Heaven and Earth, as in a mirage.
The waters there gathered are said to be those of the spring-rain floods
of the Kattawaz-plain, the Zurmut-valley, and the Qara-bagh meadow of
the Ghazni-torrent,--floods of the spring-rains, and the over-plus[918]
of the summer-rise of streams.
When within two miles of the Ab-i-istada, we saw a wonderful
thing,--something as red as the rose of the dawn kept shewing and
vanishing between the sky and the water. It kept coming and going. When
we got quite close we learned that what seemed the cause were flocks of
geese,[919] not 10,000, not 20,000 in a flock, but geese innumerable
which, when the mass of birds flapped their wings in flight, sometimes
shewed red feathers, sometimes not. Not only was this bird there in
countless numbers, but birds of every sort. Eggs lay in masses on the
shore. When two Afghans, come there to collect eggs, saw us, [Sidenote:
Fol. 153b.] they went into the water half a _kuroh_ (a mile). Some of
our men following, brought them back. As far as they went the water was
of one depth, up to a horse's belly; it seemed not to lie in a hollow,
the country being flat.
We dismounted at the torrent coming down to the Ab-i-istada from the
plain of Kattawaz. The several other times we have passed it, we have
found a dry channel with no water whatever,[920] but this time, there
was so much water, from the spring-rains, that no ford could be found.
The water was not very broad but very deep. Horses and camels were made
to swim it; some of the baggage was hauled over with ropes. Having got
across, we went on through Old Nani and Sar-i-dih to Ghazni where for a
few days Jahangir Mirza was our host, setting food before us and
offering his tribute.
(_m. Return to Kabul._)
That year most waters came down in flood. No ford was found through the
water of Dih-i-yaq`ub.[921] For this reason we went straight on to
Kamari, through the Sajawand-pass. At Kamari I had a boat fashioned in a
pool, brought and set on the Dih-i-yaq`ub-water in front of Kamari. In
this all our people were put over.
We reached Kabul in the month of Zu'l-hijja (May 1505 AD.).[922] A few
days earlier Sayyid Yusuf _Aughlaqchi_ had gone to God's [Sidenote: Fol.
154.] mercy through the pains of colic.
(_n. Misconduct of Nasir Mirza._)
It has been mentioned that at Qush-gumbaz, Nasir Mirza asked leave to
stay behind, saying that he would follow in a few days after taking
something from his district for his retainers and followers.[923] But
having left us, he sent a force against the people of Nur-valley, they
having done something a little refractory. The difficulty of moving in
that valley owing to the strong position of its fort and the
rice-cultivation of its lands, has already been described.[924] The
Mirza's commander, Fazli, in ground so impracticable and in that
one-road tract, instead of safe-guarding his men, scattered them to
forage. Out came the valesmen, drove the foragers off, made it
impossible to the rest to keep their ground, killed some, captured a
mass of others and of horses,--precisely what would happen to any army
chancing to be under such a person as Fazli! Whether because of this
affair, or whether from want of heart, the Mirza did not follow us at
all; he stayed behind.
Moreover Ayub's sons, Yusuf and Bahlul (Begchik), more seditious, silly
and arrogant persons than whom there may not exist,--to whom I had given,
to Yusuf Alangar, to Bahlul `Ali-shang, they like Nasir Mirza, were to
have taken something from [Sidenote: Fol. 154b.] their districts and to
have come on with him, but, he not coming, neither did they. All that
winter they were the companions of his cups and social pleasures. They
also over-ran the Tarkalani Afghans in it.[925] With the on-coming
heats, the Mirza made march off the families of the clans,
outside-tribes and hordes who had wintered in Ningnahar and the
Lamghanat, driving them like sheep before him, with all their goods, as
far as the Baran-water.[926]
(_o. Affairs of Badakhshan._)
While Nasir Mirza was in camp on the Baran-water, he heard that the
Badakhshis were united against the Auzbegs and had killed some of them.
Here are the particulars:--When Shaibaq Khan had given Qunduz to Qambar
Bi and gone himself to Khwarizm[927]; Qambar Bi, in order to conciliate
the Badakhshis, sent them a son of Muhammad-i-makhdumi, Mahmud by name,
but Mubarak Shah,--whose ancestors are heard of as begs of the Badakhshan
Shahs,--having uplifted his own head, and cut off Mahmud's and those of
some Auzbegs, made himself fast in the fort once known as Shaf-tiwar but
re-named by him Qila`-i-zafar. Moreover, in Rustaq Muhammad _qurchi_, an
armourer of Khusrau Shah, then occupying Khamalangan, slew Shaibaq
Khan's _sadr_ and some Auzbegs and made that place fast. Zubair of Ragh,
again, [Sidenote: Fol. 155.] whose forefathers also will have been begs
of the Badakhshan Shahs, uprose in Ragh.[928] Jahangir _Turkman_, again,
a servant of Khusrau Shah's Wali, collected some of the fugitive
soldiers and tribesmen Wali had left behind, and with them withdrew into
a fastness.[929]
Nasir Mirza, hearing these various items of news and spurred on by the
instigation of a few silly, short-sighted persons to covet Badakhshan,
marched along the Shibr-tu and Ab-dara road, driving like sheep before
him the families of the men who had come into Kabul from the other side
of the Amu.[930]
(_p. Affairs of Khusrau Shah._)
At the time Khusrau Shah and Ahmad-i-qasim were in flight from Ajar for
Khurasan,[931] they meeting in with Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza and Zu'n-nun
Beg, all went on together to the presence of Sl. Husain Mirza in Heri.
All had long been foes of his; all had behaved unmannerly to him; what
brands had they not set on his heart! Yet all now went to him in their
distress, and all went through me. For it is not likely they would have
seen him if I had not made Khusrau Shah helpless by parting him from his
following, and if I had not taken Kabul from Zu'n'nun's son, Muqim.
Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza himself was as dough in the [Sidenote: Fol. 155b.]
hands of the rest; beyond their word he could not go. Sl. Husain Mirza
took up a gracious attitude towards one and all, mentioned no-one's
misdeeds, even made them gifts.
Shortly after their arrival Khusrau Shah asked for leave to go to his
own country, saying, "If I go, I shall get it all into my hands." As he
had reached Heri without equipment and without resources, they finessed
a little about his leave. He became importunate. Muhammad Baranduq
retorted roundly on him with, "When you had 30,000 men behind you and
the whole country in your hands, what did you effect against the Auzbeg?
What will you do now with your 500 men and the Auzbegs in possession?"
He added a little good advice in a few sensible words, but all was in
vain because the fated hour of Khusrau Shah's death was near. Leave was
at last given because of his importunity; Khusrau Shah with his 3 or 400
followers, went straight into the borders of Dahanah. There as Nasir
Mirza had just gone across, these two met.
Now the Badakhshi chiefs had invited only the Mirza; they had not
invited Khusrau Shah. Try as the Mirza did to persuade Khusrau Shah to
go into the hill-country,[932] the latter, quite understanding the whole
time, would not consent to go, his own idea being that if he marched
under the Mirza, he would get the [Sidenote: Fol. 156.] country into his
own hands. In the end, unable to agree, each of them, near Ishkimish,
arrayed his following, put on mail, drew out to fight, and--departed.
Nasir Mirza went on for Badakhshan; Khusrau Shah after collecting a
disorderly rabble, good and bad of some 1,000 persons, went, with the
intention of laying siege to Qunduz, to Khwaja Char-taq, one or two
_yighach_ outside it.
(_q. Death of Khusrau Shah._)
At the time Shaibaq Khan, after overcoming Sultan Ahmad _Tambal_ and
Andijan, made a move on Hisar, his Honour Khusrau Shah[933] flung away
his country (Qunduz and Hisar) without a blow struck, and saved himself.
Thereupon Shaibaq Khan went to Hisar in which were Sherim the page and a
few good braves. _They_ did not surrender Hisar, though their honourable
beg had flung _his_ country away and gone off; they made Hisar fast. The
siege of Hisar Shaibaq Khan entrusted to Hamza Sl. and Mahdi
Sultan,[934] went to Qunduz, gave Qunduz to his younger brother, Mahmud
Sultan and betook himself without delay to Khwarizm against Chin Sufi.
But as, before he reached Samarkand on his way to Khwarizm, he heard of
the death in Qunduz of his brother, Mahmud Sultan, he gave that place to
Qambar Bi of Marv.[935]
Qambar Bi was in Qunduz when Khusrau Shah went against it; he at once
sent off galloppers to summon Hamza Sl. and the [Sidenote: Fol. 156b.]
others Shaibaq Khan had left behind. Hamza Sl. came himself as far as
the _sarai_ on the Amu bank where he put his sons and begs in command of
a force which went direct against Khusrau Shah. There was neither fight
nor flight for that fat, little man; Hamza Sultan's men unhorsed him,
killed his sister's son, Ahmad-i-qasim, Sherim the page and several good
braves. Him they took into Qunduz, there struck his head off and from
there sent it to Shaibaq Khan in Khwarizm.[936]
(_r. Conduct in Kabul of Khusrau Shah's retainers._)
Just as Khusrau Shah had said they would do, his former retainers and
followers, no sooner than he marched against Qunduz, changed in their
demeanour to me,[937] most of them marching off to near
Khwaja-i-riwaj.[938] The greater number of the men in my service had
been in his. The Mughuls behaved well, taking up a position of adherence
to me.[939] On all this the news of Khusrau Shah's death fell like water
on fire; it put his men out.
911 AH.--JUNE 4TH 1505 TO MAY 24TH 1506 AD.[940]
(_a. Death of Qutluq-nigar Khanim._)
In the month of Muharram my mother had fever. Blood was let without
effect and a Khurasani doctor, known as Sayyid Tabib, in accordance
with the Khurasan practice, gave her water-melon, but her time to die
must have come, for on the [Sidenote: Fol. 157.] Saturday after six days
of illness, she went to God's mercy.
On Sunday I and Qasim Kukuldash conveyed her to the New-year's Garden on
the mountain-skirt[941] where Aulugh Beg Mirza had built a house, and
there, with the permission of his heirs,[942] we committed her to the
earth. While we were mourning for her, people let me know about (the
death of) my younger Khan _dada_ Alacha Khan, and my grandmother
Aisan-daulat Begim.[943] Close upon Khanim's Fortieth[944] arrived from
Khurasan Shah Begim the mother of the Khans, together with my
maternal-aunt Mihr-nigar Khanim, formerly of Sl. Ahmad Mirza's _haram_,
and Muhammad Husain _Kurkan Dughlat_.[945] Lament broke out afresh; the
bitterness of these partings was extreme. When the mourning-rites had
been observed, food and victuals set out for the poor and destitute, the
Qoran recited, and prayers offered for the departed souls, we steadied
ourselves and all took heart again.
(_b. A futile start for Qandahar._)
When set free from these momentous duties, we got an army to horse for
Qandahar under the strong insistance of Baqi _Chaghaniani_. At the
start I went to Qush-nadir (var. nawar) where on dismounting I got
fever. It was a strange sort of illness for whenever with much trouble I
had been awakened, my eyes closed again in sleep. In four or five days I
got quite well.
(_c. An earthquake._)
At that time there was a great earthquake[946] such that most of the
ramparts of forts and the walls of gardens fell down; houses were
levelled to the ground in towns and villages and many persons lay dead
beneath them. Every house fell in Paghman-village, [Sidenote: Fol.
157b.] and 70 to 80 strong heads-of-houses lay dead under their walls.
Between Pagh-man and Beg-tut[947] a piece of ground, a good
stone-throw[948] wide may-be, slid down as far as an arrow's-flight;
where it had slid springs appeared. On the road between Istarghach and
Maidan the ground was so broken up for 6 to 8 _yighach_ (36-48 m.) that
in some places it rose as high as an elephant, in others sank as deep;
here and there people were sucked in. When the Earth quaked, dust rose
from the tops of the mountains. Nuru'l-lah the _tambourchi_[949] had
been playing before me; he had two instruments with him and at the
moment of the quake had both in his hands; so out of his own control was
he that the two knocked against each other. Jahangir Mirza was in the
porch of an upper-room at a house built by Aulugh Beg Mirza in Tipa;
when the Earth quaked, he let himself down and was not hurt, but the
roof fell on some-one with him in that upper-room, presumably one of his
own circle; that this person was not hurt in the least must have been
solely through God's mercy. In Tipa most of the houses were levelled to
the ground. The Earth quaked 33 times on the first day, and for a month
afterwards used to quake two or three times in the 24 hours. The begs
and soldiers having been ordered to repair the breaches made in the
towers and ramparts [Sidenote: Fol. 158.] of the fort (Kabul),
everything was made good again in 20 days or a month by their industry
and energy.
(_d. Campaign against Qalat-i-ghilzai._)
Owing to my illness and to the earthquake, our plan of going to Qandahar
had fallen somewhat into the background. The illness left behind and the
fort repaired, it was taken up again. We were undecided at the time we
dismounted below Shniz[950] whether to go to Qandahar, or to over-run
the hills and plains. Jahangir Mirza and the begs having assembled,
counsel was taken and the matter found settlement in a move on Qalat. On
this move Jahangir Mirza and Baqi _Chaghaniani_ insisted strongly.
At Tazi[951] there was word that Sher-i-`ali the page with Kichik Baqi
_Diwana_ and others had thoughts of desertion; all were arrested;
Sher-i-`ali was put to death because he had given clear signs of
disloyalty and misdoing both while in my service and not in mine, in
this country and in that country.[952] The others were let go with loss
of horse and arms.
On arriving at Qalat we attacked at once and from all sides, without our
mail and without siege-appliances. As has been mentioned in this
History, Kichik Khwaja, the elder brother of Khwaja Kalan, was a most
daring brave; he had used his sword [Sidenote: Fol. 158b.] in my
presence several times; he now clambered up the south-west tower of
Qalat, was pricked in the eye with a spear when almost up, and died of
the wound two or three days after the place was taken. Here that Kichik
Baqi _Diwana_ who had been arrested when about to desert with
Sher-i-`ali the page, expiated his baseness by being killed with a stone
when he went under the ramparts. One or two other men died also.
Fighting of this sort went on till the Afternoon Prayer when, just as
our men were worn-out with the struggle and labour, those in the fort
asked for peace and made surrender. Qalat had been given by Zu'n-nun
_Arghun_ to Muqim, and in it now were Muqim's retainers, Farrukh
_Arghun_ and Qara _Bilut_ (Afghan). When they came out with their swords
and quivers hanging round their necks, we forgave their offences.[953]
It was not my wish to reduce this high family[954] to great straits; for
why? Because if we did so when such a foe as the Auzbeg was at our side,
what would be said by those of far and near, who saw and heard?
As the move on Qalat had been made under the insistance of Jahangir
Mirza and Baqi _Chaghaniani_, it was now made over to the Mirza's
charge. He would not accept it; Baqi also could give no good answer in
the matter. So, after such a storming and assaulting of Qalat, its
capture was useless.
We went back to Kabul after over-running the Afghans of Sawa-sang and
Ala-tagh on the south of Qalat. [Sidenote: Fol. 159.]
The night we dismounted at Kabul I went into the fort; my tent and
stable being in the Char-bagh, a Khirilchi thief going into the garden,
fetched out and took away a bay horse of mine with its accoutrements,
and my _khachar_.[955]
(_e. Death of Baqi Chaghaniani._)
From the time Baqi _Chaghaniani_ joined me on the Amu-bank, no man of
mine had had more trust and authority.[956] If a word were said, if an
act were done, that word was his word, that act, his act. Spite of this,
he had not done me fitting service, nor had he shewn me due civility.
Quite the contrary! he had done things bad and unmannerly. Mean he was,
miserly and malicious, ill-tongued, envious and cross-natured. So
miserly was he that although when he left Tirmiz, with his family and
possessions, he may have owned 30 to 40,000 sheep, and although those
masses of sheep used to pass in front of us at every camping-ground, he
did not give a single one to our bare braves, tortured as they were by
the pangs of hunger; at last in Kah-mard, he gave 50!
Spite of acknowledging me for his chief (_padshah_), he had nagarets
beaten at his own Gate. He was sincere to none, had regard for none.
What revenue there is from Kabul (town) comes from the _tamgha_[957];
the whole of this he had, together [Sidenote: Fol. 159b.] with the
_darogha_-ship in Kabul and Panjhir, the Gadai (var. Kidi) Hazara, and
_kushluk_[958] and control of the Gate.[959] With all this favour and
finding, he was not in the least content; quite the reverse! What medley
of mischief he planned has been told; we had taken not the smallest
notice of any of it, nor had we cast it in his face. He was always
asking for leave, affecting scruple at making the request. We used to
acknowledge the scruple and excuse ourselves from giving the leave. This
would put him down for a few days; then he would ask again. He went too
far with his affected scruple and his takings of leave! Sick were we too
of his conduct and his character. We gave the leave; he repented asking
for it and began to agitate against it, but all in vain! He got written
down and sent to me, "His Highness made compact not to call me to
account till nine[960] misdeeds had issued from me." I answered with a
reminder of eleven successive faults and sent this to him through Mulla
Baba of Pashaghar. He submitted and was allowed to go towards Hindustan,
taking his family and possessions. A few of his retainers escorted him
through Khaibar and returned; he joined Baqi _Gagiani's_ caravan and
crossed at Nil-ab.
Darya Khan's son, Yar-i-husain was then in Kacha-kot,[961] having drawn
into his service, on the warrant of the _farman_ taken from me in Kohat,
a few Afghans of the Dilazak (var. Dilah-zak) and Yusuf-zai and also a
few Jats and Gujurs.[962] With these he beat the roads, taking toll with
might and main. Hearing about Baqi, he blocked the road, made the whole
party [Sidenote: Fol. 160.] prisoner, killed Baqi and took his wife.
We ourselves had let Baqi go without injuring him, but his own misdeeds
rose up against him; his own acts defeated him.
Leave thou to Fate the man who does thee wrong;
For Fate is an avenging servitor.
(_f. Attack on the Turkman Hazaras._)
That winter we just sat in the Char-bagh till snow had fallen once or
twice.
The Turkman Hazaras, since we came into Kabul, had done a variety of
insolent things and had robbed on the roads. We thought therefore of
over-running them, went into the town to Aulugh Beg Mirza's house at the
Bustan-sarai, and thence rode out in the month of Sha`ban (Feb. 1506
AD.).
We raided a few Hazaras at Janglik, at the mouth of the Dara-i-khush
(Happy-valley).[963] Some were in a cave near the valley-mouth, hiding
perhaps. Shaikh Darwish Kukuldash went incautiously right (_auq_) up to
the cave-mouth, was shot (_auqlab_) in the nipple by a Hazara inside and
died there and then (_auq_).[964]
(_Author's note on Shaikh Darwish._) He had been with me in
the guerilla-times, was Master-armourer (_qur-begi_), drew a
strong bow and shot a good shaft.
As most of the Turkman Hazaras seemed to be wintering inside the
Dara-i-khush, we marched against them.
The valley is shut in,[965] by a mile-long gully stretching inwards from
its mouth. The road engirdles the mountain, having [Sidenote: Fol.
160b.] a straight fall of some 50 to 60 yards below it and above it a
precipice. Horsemen go along it in single-file. We passed the gully and
went on through the day till between the Two Prayers (3 p.m.) without
meeting a single person. Having spent the night somewhere, we found a
fat camel[966] belonging to the Hazaras, had it killed, made part of its
flesh into _kababs_[967] and cooked part in a ewer (_aftab_). Such good
camel-flesh had never been tasted; some could not tell it from mutton.
Next day we marched on for the Hazara winter-camp. At the first watch (9
a.m.) a man came from ahead, saying that the Hazaras had blocked a ford
in front with branches, checked our men and were fighting. That winter
the snow lay very deep; to move was difficult except on the road. The
swampy meadows (_tuk-ab_) along the stream were all frozen; the stream
could only be crossed from the road because of snow and ice. The Hazaras
had cut many branches, put them at the exit from the water and were
fighting in the valley-bottom with horse and foot or raining [Sidenote:
Fol. 161.] arrows down from either side.
Muhammad `Ali _Mubashshir_[968] Beg, one of our most daring braves,
newly promoted to the rank of beg and well worthy of favour, went along
the branch-blocked road without his mail, was shot in the belly and
instantly surrendered his life. As we had gone forward in haste, most of
us were not in mail. Shaft after shaft flew by and fell; with each one
Yusuf's Ahmad said anxiously, "Bare[969] like this you go into it! I
have seen two arrows go close to your head!" Said I, "Don't fear! Many
as good arrows as these have flown past my head!" So much said, Qasim
Beg, his men in full accoutrement,[970] found a ford on our right and
crossed. Before their charge the Hazaras could make no stand; they fled,
swiftly pursued and unhorsed one after the other by those just up with
them.
In guerdon for this feat Bangash was given to Qasim Beg. Hatim the
armourer having been not bad in the affair, was promoted to Shaikh
Darwish's office of _qur-begi_. Baba Quli's Kipik (_sic_) also went well
forward in it, so we entrusted Muh. `Ali _Mubashshir's_ office to him.
Sl. Quli _Chunaq_ (one-eared) started in pursuit of the Hazaras but
there was no getting out of the hollow because of the snow. [Sidenote:
Fol. 161b.] For my own part I just went with these braves.
Near the Hazara winter-camp we found many sheep and herds of horses. I
myself collected as many as 4 to 500 sheep and from 20 to 25 horses.
Sl. Quli _Chunaq_ and two or three of my personal servants were with me.
I have ridden in a raid twice[971]; this was the first time; the other
was when, coming in from Khurasan (912 AH.), we raided these same
Turkman Hazaras. Our foragers brought in masses of sheep and horses. The
Hazara wives and their little children had gone off up the snowy slopes
and stayed there; we were rather idle and it was getting late in the
day; so we turned back and dismounted in their very dwellings. Deep
indeed was the snow that winter! Off the road it was up to a horse's
_qaptal_,[972] so deep that the night-watch was in the saddle all
through till shoot of dawn.
Going out of the valley, we spent the next night just inside the mouth,
in the Hazara winter-quarters. Marching from there, we dismounted at
Janglik. At Janglik Yarak Taghai and other late-comers were ordered to
take the Hazaras who had killed Shaikh Darwish and who, luckless and
death-doomed, seemed still to be in the cave. Yarak Taghai and his band
by sending smoke into the cave, took 70 to 80 Hazaras who mostly died by
the sword.
(_g. Collection of the Nijr-au tribute._)
On the way back from the Hazara expedition we went to the Ai-tughdi
neighbourhood below Baran[973] in order to collect the revenue of
Nijr-au. Jahangir Mirza, come up from Ghazni, [Sidenote: Fol. 162.]
waited on me there. At that time, on Ramzan 13th (Feb. 7th) such
sciatic-pain attacked me that for 40 days some-one had to turn me over
from one side to the other.
Of the (seven) valleys of the Nijr-water the Pichkan-valley,--and of the
villages in the Pichkan-valley Ghain,--and of Ghain its head-man Husain
_Ghaini_ in particular, together with his elder and younger brethren,
were known and notorious for obstinacy and daring. On this account a
force was sent under Jahangir Mirza, Qasim Beg going too, which went to
Sar-i-tup (Hill-top), stormed and took a _sangur_ and made a few meet
their doom.
Because of the sciatic pain, people made a sort of litter for me in
which they carried me along the bank of the Baran and into the town to
the Bustan-sarai. There I stayed for a few days; before that trouble was
over a boil came out on my left cheek; this was lanced and for it I also
took a purge. When relieved, I went out into the Char-bagh.
(_h. Misconduct of Jahangir Mirza._)
At the time Jahangir Mirza waited on me, Ayub's sons Yusuf and Buhlul,
who were in his service, had taken up a strifeful and seditious attitude
towards me; so the Mirza was not found to be what he had been earlier.
In a few days he marched out of Tipa in his mail,[974] hurried back to
Ghazni, there took Nani, killed some of its people and plundered all.
[Sidenote: Fol. 162b.] After that he marched off with whatever men he
had, through the Hazaras,[975] his face set for Bamian. God knows that
nothing had been done by me or my dependants to give him ground for
anger or reproach! What was heard of later on as perhaps explaining his
going off in the way he did, was this;--When Qasim Beg went with other
begs, to give him honouring meeting as he came up from Ghazni, the Mirza
threw a falcon off at a quail. Just as the falcon, getting close, put
out its pounce to seize the quail, the quail dropped to the ground.
Hereupon shouts and cries, "Taken! is it taken?" Said Qasim Beg, "Who
looses the foe in his grip?" Their misunderstanding of this was their
sole reason for going off, but they backed themselves on one or two
other worse and weaker old cronish matters.[976] After doing in Ghazni
what has been mentioned, they drew off through the Hazaras to the Mughul
clans.[977] These clans at that time had left Nasir Mirza but had not
joined the Auzbeg, and were in Yai, Astar-ab and the summer-pastures
thereabouts.
(_i. Sl. Husain Mirza calls up help against Shaibaq Khan._)
Sl. Husain Mirza, having resolved to repel Shaibaq Khan, summoned all
his sons; me too he summoned, sending to me Sayyid Afzal, son of Sayyid
`Ali _Khwab-bin_ (Seer-of-dreams). It was right on several grounds for
us to start for Khurasan. One ground was that when a great ruler,
sitting, as Sl. Husain Mirza sat, in Timur Beg's place, had resolved to
act against [Sidenote: Fol. 163.] such a foe as Shaibaq Khan and had
called up many men and had summoned his sons and his begs, if there were
some who went on foot it was for us to go if on our heads! if some took
the bludgeon, we would take the stone! A second ground was that, since
Jahangir Mirza had gone to such lengths and had behaved so badly,[978]
we had either to dispel his resentment or to repel his attack.
(_j. Chin Sufi's death._)
This year Shaibaq Khan took Khwarizm after besieging Chin Sufi in it for
ten months. There had been a mass of fighting during the siege; many
were the bold deeds done by the Khwarizmi braves; nothing soever did
they leave undone. Again and again their shooting was such that their
arrows pierced shield and cuirass, sometimes the two cuirasses.[979] For
ten months they sustained that siege without hope in any quarter. A few
bare braves then lost heart, entered into talk with the Auzbeg and were
in the act of letting him up into the fort when Chin Sufi had the news
and went to the spot. Just as he was beating and forcing down the
Auzbegs, his own page, in a discharge of arrows, shot him from behind.
No man was left to fight; the Auzbegs took Khwarizm. God's mercy on
Chin Sufi, who never for one moment ceased to stake his life [Sidenote:
Fol. 163b.] for his chief![980]
Shaibaq Khan entrusted Khwarizm to Kupuk (_sic_) Bi and went back to
Samarkand.
(_k. Death of Sultan Husain Mirza._)
Sl. Husain Mirza having led his army out against Shaibaq Khan as far as
Baba Ilahi[981] went to God's mercy, in the month of Zu'l-hijja
(Zu'l-hijja 11th 911 AH.-May 5th 1506 AD.).
SULTAN HUSAIN MIRZA AND HIS COURT.[982]
(_a._) _His birth and descent._
He was born in Heri (Harat), in (Muharram) 842 (AH.-June-July, 1438 AD.)
in Shahrukh Mirza's time[983] and was the son of Mansur Mirza, son of
Bai-qara Mirza, son of `Umar Shaikh Mirza, son of Amir Timur. Mansur
Mirza and Bai-qara Mirza never reigned.
His mother was Firuza Begim, a (great-)grandchild (_nabira_) of Timur
Beg; through her he became a grandchild of Miran-shah also.[984] He was
of high birth on both sides, a ruler of royal lineage.[985] Of the
marriage (of Mansur with Firuza) were born two sons and two daughters,
namely, Bai-qara Mirza and Sl. Husain Mirza, Aka Begim and another
daughter, Badka Begim whom Ahmad Khan took.[986]
Bai-qara Mirza was older than Sl. Husain Mirza; he was his younger
brother's retainer but used not to be present as head of the Court;[987]
except in Court, he used to share his brother's divan (_tushak_). He was
given Balkh by his younger brother and was its Commandant for several
years. He had three sons, Sl. Muhammad Mirza, Sl. Wais Mirza and Sl.
Iskandar Mirza.[988]
Aka Begim was older than the Mirza; she was taken by [Sidenote: Fol.
164.] Sl. Ahmad Mirza,[989] a grandson (_nabira_) of Miran-shah; by him
she had a son (Muhammad Sultan Mirza), known as Kichik (Little) Mirza,
who at first was in his maternal-uncle's service, but later on gave up
soldiering to occupy himself with letters. He is said to have become
very learned and also to have taste in verse.[990] Here is a Persian
quatrain of his:--
For long on a life of devotion I plumed me,
As one of the band of the abstinent ranged me;
Where when Love came was devotion? denial?
By the mercy of God it is I have proved me!
This quatrain recalls one by the Mulla.[991] Kichik Mirza made the
circuit of the _ka'ba_ towards the end of his life.
Badka (Badi`u'l-jamal) Begim also was older[992] than the Mirza. She was
given in the guerilla times to Ahmad Khan of Haji-tarkhan;[993] by him
she had two sons (Sl. Mahmud Khan and Bahadur Sl.) who went to Heri and
were in the Mirza's service.
(_b._) _His appearance and habits._
He was slant-eyed (_qiyik guzluq_) and lion-bodied, being slender from
the waist downwards. Even when old and white-bearded, he wore silken
garments of fine red and green. He used to wear either the black
lambskin cap (_burk_) or the _qalpaq_,[994] but on a Feast-day would
sometimes set up a little three-fold turban, wound broad and badly,[995]
stick a heron's plume in it and so go to Prayers.
When he first took Heri, he thought of reciting the names of [Sidenote:
Fol. 164b.] the Twelve Imams in the _khutba_,[996] but `Ali-sher Beg and
others prevented it; thereafter all his important acts were done in
accordance with orthodox law. He could not perform the Prayers on
account of a trouble in the joints,[997] and he kept no fasts. He was
lively and pleasant, rather immoderate in temper, and with words that
matched his temper. He shewed great respect for the law in several
weighty matters; he once surrendered to the Avengers of blood a son of
his own who had killed a man, and had him taken to the Judgment-gate
(_Daru'l-qaza_). He was abstinent for six or seven years after he took
the throne; later on he degraded himself to drink. During the almost 40
years of his rule[998] in Khurasan, there may not have been one single
day on which he did not drink after the Mid-day prayer; earlier than
that however he did not drink. What happened with his sons, the soldiers
and the town was that every-one pursued vice and pleasure to excess.
Bold and daring he was! Time and again he got to work with his own
sword, getting his own hand in wherever he arrayed to fight; no man of
Timur Beg's line has been known to match him in the slashing of swords.
He had a leaning to poetry and even put a _diwan_ together, writing in
Turki with Husaini for his pen-name.[999] Many couplets in his _diwan_
are not bad; it is however in one and the same metre throughout. Great
ruler though he was, [Sidenote: Fol. 165.] both by the length of his
reign (_yash_) and the breadth of his dominions, he yet, like little
people kept fighting-rams, flew pigeons and fought cocks.
(_c._) _His wars and encounters._[1000]
He swam the Gurgan-water[1001] in his guerilla days and gave a party of
Auzbegs a good beating.
Again,--with 60 men he fell on 3000 under Pay-master Muhammad `Ali, sent
ahead by Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza, and gave them a downright good beating
(868 AH.). This was his one fine, out-standing feat-of-arms.[1002]
Again,--he fought and beat Sl. Mahmud Mirza near Astarabad (865
AH.).[1003]
Again,--this also in Astarabad, he fought and beat Sa`idliq Sa`id, son of
Husain _Turkman_ (873 AH.?).
Again,--after taking the throne (of Heri in Ramzan 873 AH.-March 1469
AD.), he fought and beat Yadgar-i-muhammad Mirza at Chanaran (874
AH.).[1004]
Again,--coming swiftly[1005] from the Murgh-ab bridge-head (Sar-i-pul),
he fell suddenly on Yadgar-i-muhammad Mirza where he lay drunk in the
Ravens'-garden (875 AH.), a victory which kept all Khurasan quiet.
Again,--he fought and beat Sl. Mahmud Mirza at Chikman-sarai in the
neighbourhood of Andikhud and Shibrghan (876 AH.).[1006]
Again,--he fell suddenly on Aba-bikr Mirza[1007] after that Mirza, joined
by the Black-sheep Turkmans, had come out of `Iraq, beaten Aulugh Beg
Mirza (_Kabuli_) in Takana and Khimar (var. Himar), taken Kabul, left it
because of turmoil in `Iraq, crossed Khaibar, gone on to Khush-ab and
Multan, on again to [Sidenote: Fol. 165b.] Siwi,[1008] thence to Karman
and, unable to stay there, had entered the Khurasan country (884
AH.).[1009]
Again,--he defeated his son Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza at Pul-i-chiragh (902
AH.); he also defeated his sons Abu'l-muhsin Mirza and Kupuk
(Round-shouldered) Mirza at Halwa-spring (904 AH.).[1010]
Again,--he went to Qunduz, laid siege to it, could not take it, and
retired; he laid siege to Hisar, could not take that either, and rose
from before it (901 AH.); he went into Zu'n-nun's country, was given
Bast by its _darogha_, did no more and retired (903 AH.).[1011] A ruler
so great and so brave, after resolving royally on these three movements,
just retired with nothing done!
Again,--he fought his son Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza in the Nishin-meadow, who
had come there with Zu'n-nun's son, Shah Beg (903 AH.). In that affair
were these curious coincidences:--The Mirza's force will have been small,
most of his men being in Astarabad; on the very day of the fight, one
force rejoined him coming back from Astarabad, and Sl. Mas`ud Mirza
arrived to join Sl. Husain Mirza after letting Bai-sunghar Mirza take
Hisar, and Haidar Mirza came back from reconnoitring Badi`u'z-zaman
Mirza at Sabzawar.
(_d._) _His countries._
His country was Khurasan, with Balkh to the east, Bistam and Damghan to
the west, Khwarizm to the north, Qandahar [Sidenote: Fol. 166.] and
Sistan to the south. When he once had in his hands such a town as Heri,
his only affair, by day and by night, was with comfort and pleasure; nor
was there a man of his either who did not take his ease. It followed of
course that, as he no longer tolerated the hardships and fatigue of
conquest and soldiering, his retainers and his territories dwindled
instead of increasing right down to the time of his departure.[1012]
(_e._) _His children._
Fourteen sons and eleven daughters were born to him.[1013] The oldest of
all his children was Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza; (Bega Begim) a daughter of
Sl. Sanjar of Marv, was his mother.
Shah-i-gharib Mirza was another; he had a stoop (_bukuri_); though ill
to the eye, he was of good character; though weak of body, he was
powerful of pen. He even put a _diwan_ together, using Gharbati
(Lowliness) for his pen-name and writing both Turki and Persian verse.
Here is a couplet of his:--
Seeing a peri-face as I passed, I became its fool;
Not knowing what was its name, where was its home.
For a time he was his father's Governor in Heri. He died before his
father, leaving no child.
Muzaffar-i-husain Mirza was another; he was his father's favourite son,
but though this favourite, had neither accomplishments nor character. It
was Sl. Husain Mirza's over-fondness for this son that led his other
sons into rebellion. The mother of Shah-i-gharib Mirza and of
Muzaffar-i-husain Mirza was [Sidenote: Fol. 166b.] Khadija Begim, a
former mistress of Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza by whom she had had a daughter
also, known as Aq (Fair) Begim.
Two other sons were Abu'l-husain Mirza and Kupuk (var. Kipik) Mirza
whose name was Muhammad Muhsin Mirza; their mother was Latif-sultan
Aghacha.
Abu-turab Mirza was another. From his early years he had an excellent
reputation. When the news of his father's increased illness[1014]
reached him and other news of other kinds also, he fled with his younger
brother Muhammad-i-husain Mirza into `Iraq,[1015] and there abandoned
soldiering to lead the darwish-life; nothing further has been heard
about him.[1016] His son Sohrab was in my service when I took Hisar
after having beaten the sultans led by Hamza Sl. and Mahdi Sl. (917
AH.-1511 AD.); he was blind of one eye and of wretchedly bad aspect; his
disposition matched even his ill-looks. Owing to some immoderate act
(_bi i`tidal_), he could not stay with me, so went off. For some of his
immoderate doings, Nijm Sani put him to death near Astarabad.[1017]
Muhammad-i-husain Mirza was another. He must have been shut up (_bund_)
with Shah Isma`il at some place in `Iraq and have become his
disciple;[1018] he became a rank heretic later on and became this
although his father and brethren, older and younger, were all orthodox.
He died in Astarabad, still on the same wrong road, still with the same
absurd opinions. A good deal is heard about his courage and heroism, but
no deed of his stands out as worthy of record. He may have been
poetically-disposed; here is a couplet of his:--
Grimed with dust, from tracking what game dost thou come?
Steeped in sweat, from whose heart of flame dost thou come?
Faridun-i-husain Mirza was another. He drew a very strong [Sidenote:
Fol. 167.] bow and shot a first-rate shaft; people say his cross-bow
(_kaman-i-guroha_) may have been 40 _batmans_.[1019] He himself was very
brave but he had no luck in war; he was beaten wherever he fought. He
and his younger brother Ibn-i-husain Mirza were defeated at Rabat-i-duzd
(var. Dudur) by Timur Sl. and `Ubaid Sl. leading Shaibaq Khan's advance
(913 AH.?), but he had done good things there.[1020] In Damghan he and
Muhammad-i-zaman Mirza[1021] fell into the hands of Shaibaq Khan who,
killing neither, let both go free. Faridun-i-husain Mirza went later on
to Qalat[1022] where Shah Muhammad _Diwana_ had made himself fast; there
when the Auzbegs took the place, he was captured and killed. The three
sons last-named were by Mingli Bibi Aghacha, Sl. Husain Mirza's Auzbeg
mistress.
Haidar Mirza was another; his mother Payanda-sultan Begim was a daughter
of Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza. Haidar Mirza was Governor of Balkh and Mashhad
for some time during his father's life. For him his father, when
besieging Hisar (901 AH.) took (Bega Begim) a daughter of Sl. Mahmud
Mirza and Khan-zada Begim; this done, he rose from before Hisar. One
daughter only[1023] was born of that marriage; she was named Shad (Joy)
Begim and given to `Adil Sl.[1024] when she came to Kabul later on.
Haidar Mirza departed from the world in his father's [Sidenote: Fol.
167b.] life-time.
Muhammad Ma`sum Mirza was another. He had Qandahar given to him and, as
was fitting with this, a daughter of Aulugh Beg Mirza, (Bega Begim), was
set aside for him; when she went to Heri (902 AH.), Sl. Husain Mirza
made a splendid feast, setting up a great _char-taq_ for it.[1025]
Though Qandahar was given to Muh. Ma`sum Mirza, he had neither power nor
influence there, since, if black were done, or if white were done, the
act was Shah Beg _Arghun's_. On this account the Mirza left Qandahar and
went into Khurasan. He died before his father.
Farrukh-i-husain Mirza was another. Brief life was granted to him; he
bade farewell to the world before his younger brother Ibrahim-i-husain
Mirza.
Ibrahim-i-husain Mirza was another. They say his disposition was not
bad; he died before his father from bibbing and bibbing Heri wines.
Ibn-i-husain Mirza and Muh. Qasim Mirza were others;[1026] their story
will follow. Papa Aghacha was the mother of the five sons last-named.
Of all the Mirza's daughters, Sultanim Begim was the oldest. She had no
brother or sister of the full-blood. Her mother, known as Chuli (Desert)
Begim, was a daughter of one of the Azaq begs. Sultanim Begim had great
acquaintance with words (_soz bilur aidi_); she was never at fault for a
word. Her father sent her out[1027] to Sl. Wais Mirza, the middle son of
his own elder brother Bai-qara Mirza; she had a son and a daughter by
him; the daughter was sent out to Aisan-quli Sl. younger brother of
Yili-bars of the Shaban sultans;[1028] the son is that Muhammad Sl.
Mirza to whom I have given the Qanauj district.[1029] At that same date
Sultanim Begim, when on her way with her grandson [Sidenote: Fol. 168.]
from Kabul to Hindustan, went to God's mercy at Nil-ab. Her various
people turned back, taking her bones; her grandson came on.[1030]
Four daughters were by Payanda-sultan Begim. Aq Begim, the oldest, was
sent out to Muhammad Qasim _Arlat_, a grandson of Bega Begim the younger
sister of Babur Mirza;[1031] there was one daughter (_bir gina qiz_),
known as Qara-guz (Dark-eyed) Begim, whom Nasir Mirza (_Miran-shahi_)
took. Kichik Begim was the second; for her Sl. Mas`ud Mirza had great
desire but, try as he would, Payanda-sultan Begim, having an aversion
for him, would not give her to him;[1032] she sent Kichik Begim out
afterwards to Mulla Khwaja of the line of Sayyid Ata.[1033] Her third
and fourth daughters Bega Begim and Agha Begim, she gave to Babur Mirza
and Murad Mirza the sons of her younger sister, Rabi`a-sultan
Begim.[1034]
Two other daughters of the Mirza were by Mingli Bibi Aghacha. They gave
the elder one, Bairam-sultan Begim to Sayyid `Abdu'l-lah, one of the
sayyids of Andikhud who was a grandson of Bai-qara Mirza[1035] through a
daughter. A son of this marriage, Sayyid Barka[1036] was in my service
when Samarkand was taken (917 AH.-1511 AD.); he went to Aurganj later
and there made claim to rule; the Red-heads[1037] killed him in
Astarabad. Mingli Bibi's second daughter was Fatima-sultan Begim; her
they gave to Yadgar(-i-farrukh) Mirza of Timur Beg's line.[1038]
Three daughters[1039] were by Papa Aghacha. Of these the oldest,
Sultan-nizhad Begim was made to go out to Iskandar Mirza, youngest son
of Sl. Husain Mirza's elder brother Bai-qara Mirza. The second,
(Sa`adat-bakht, known as) Begim Sultan, [Sidenote: Fol. 168b.] was given
to Sl. Mas`ud Mirza after his blinding.[1040] By Sl. Mas`ud Mirza she
had one daughter and one son. The daughter was brought up by Apaq Begim
of Sl. Husain Mirza's _haram_; from Heri she came to Kabul and was there
given to Sayyid Mirza Apaq.[1041] (Sa`adat-bakht) Begim Sultan after the
Auzbeg killed her husband, set out for the _ka`ba_ with her son.[1042]
News has just come (_circa_ 934 AH.) that they have been heard of as in
Makka and that the boy is becoming a bit of a great personage.[1043]
Papa Aghacha's third daughter was given to a sayyid of Andikhud,
generally known as Sayyid Mirza.[1044]
Another of the Mirza's daughters, `Ayisha-sultan Begim, was by a
mistress, Zubaida Aghacha the grand-daughter of Husain-i-Shaikh
Timur.[1045] They gave her to Qasim Sl. of the Shaban sultans; she had
by him a son, named Qasim-i-husain Sl. who came to serve me in
Hindustan, was in the Holy Battle with Rana Sanga, and was given
Badayun.[1046] When Qasim Sl. died, (his widow) `Ayisha-sultan Begim was
taken by Buran Sl. one of his relations,[1047] by whom she had a son,
named `Abdu'l-lah Sl. now serving me and though young, not doing badly.
(_f. His wives and concubines._)
The wife he first took was Bega Sultan Begim, a daughter of Sl. Sanjar
of Marv. She was the mother of Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza. She was very
cross-tempered and made the Mirza endure much wretchedness, until
driven at last to despair, he set himself [Sidenote: Fol. 169.] free by
divorcing her. What was he to do? Right was with him.[1048]
A bad wife in a good man's house
Makes this world already his hell.[1049]
God preserve every Musalman from this misfortune! Would that not a
single cross or ill-tempered wife were left in the world!
Chuli Begim was another; she was a daughter of the Azaq begs and was the
mother of Sultanim Begim.
Shahr-banu Begim was another; she was Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza's daughter,
taken after Sl. Husain Mirza took the throne (873 AH.). When the Mirza's
other ladies got out of their litters and mounted horses, at the battle
of Chikman, Shahr-banu Begim, putting her trust in her younger brother
(Sl. Mahmud M.), did not leave her litter, did not mount a horse;[1050]
people told the Mirza of this, so he divorced her and took her younger
sister Payanda-sultan Begim. When the Auzbegs took Khurasan (913 AH.),
Payanda-sultan Begim went into `Iraq, and in `Iraq she died in great
misery.
Khadija Begim was another.[1051] She had been a mistress of Sl.
Abu-sa`id Mirza and by him had had a daughter, Aq Begim; after his
defeat (873 AH.-1468 AD.) she betook herself to Heri where Sl. Husain
Mirza took her, made her a great favourite, and promoted her to the rank
of Begim. Very dominant indeed she became later on; she it was wrought
Muh. Mumin Mirza's death;[1052] she in chief it was caused Sl. Husain
Mirza's sons to rebel against him. She took herself for a sensible woman
but was a silly chatterer, may also have been a heretic. Of her were
[Sidenote: Fol. 169b.] born Shah-i-gharib Mirza and Muzaffar-i-husain
Mirza.
Apaq Begim was another;[1053] she had no children; that Papa Aghacha the
Mirza made such a favourite of was her foster-sister. Being childless,
Apaq Begim brought up as her own the children of Papa Aghacha. She
nursed the Mirza admirably when he was ill; none of his other wives
could nurse as she did. The year I came into Hindustan (932 AH.)[1054]
she came into Kabul from Heri and I shewed her all the honour and
respect I could. While I was besieging Chandiri (934 AH.) news came that
in Kabul she had fulfilled God's will.[1055]
One of the Mirza's mistresses was Latif-sultan Aghacha of the
Char-shamba people[1056]; she became the mother of Abu'l-muhsin Mirza
and Kupuk (or Kipik) Mirza (_i.e._ Muhammad Muhsin).
Another mistress was Mingli Bibi Aghacha,[1057] an Auzbeg and one of
Shahr-banu Begim's various people. She became the mother of Abu-turab
Mirza, Muhammad-i-husain Mirza, Faridun-i-husain Mirza and of two
daughters.
Papa Aghacha, the foster-sister of Apaq Begim was another mistress. The
Mirza saw her, looked on her with favour, took her and, as has been
mentioned, she became the mother of five of his sons and four of his
daughters.[1058]
Begi Sultan Aghacha was another mistress; she had no child. There were
also many concubines and mistresses held in little respect; those
enumerated were the respected wives and mistresses of Sl. Husain Mirza.
Strange indeed it is that of the 14 sons born to a ruler so great as Sl.
Husain Mirza, one governing too in such a town as Heri, three only were
born in legal marriage.[1059] In him, in his sons, and in his tribes and
hordes vice and debauchery were [Sidenote: Fol. 170.] extremely
prevalent. What shews this point precisely is that of the many sons born
to his dynasty not a sign or trace was left in seven or eight years,
excepting only Muhammad-i-zaman Mirza.[1060]
(_g. His amirs._)
There was Muhammad Baranduq _Barlas_, descending from Chaku _Barlas_ as
follows,--Muhammad Baranduq, son of `Ali, son of Baranduq, son of
Jahan-shah, son of Chaku _Barlas_.[1061] He had been a beg of Babur
Mirza's presence; later on Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza favoured him, gave him
Kabul conjointly with Jahangir _Barlas_, and made him Aulugh Beg Mirza's
guardian. After the death of Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza, Aulugh Beg Mirza
formed designs against the two Barlas; they got to know this, kept tight
hold of him, made the tribes and hordes march,[1062] moved as for
Qunduz, and when up on Hindu-kush, courteously compelled Aulugh Beg
Mirza to start back for Kabul, they themselves going on to Sl. Husain
Mirza in Khurasan, who, in his turn, shewed them great favour. Muhammad
Baranduq was remarkably intelligent, a very leaderlike man indeed! He
was extravagantly fond of a hawk; so much so, they say, that if a hawk
of his had strayed or had died, he would ask, taking the names of his
sons on his lips, what it would have mattered if such or such a son had
died or had broken his neck, rather than this or that bird had died or
had strayed.
Muzaffar _Barlas_ was another.[1063] He had been with the Mirza in the
guerilla fighting and, for some cause unknown, had received extreme
favour. In such honour was he in those guerilla days that the compact
was for the Mirza to take four _dang_ (sixths) [Sidenote: Fol. 170b.] of
any country conquered, and for him to take two _dang_. A strange compact
indeed! How could it be right to make even a faithful servant a
co-partner in rule? Not even a younger brother or a son obtains such a
pact; how then should a beg?[1064] When the Mirza had possession of the
throne, he repented the compact, but his repentance was of no avail;
that muddy-minded mannikin, favoured so much already, made growing
assumption to rule. The Mirza acted without judgment; people say
Muzaffar _Barlas_ was poisoned in the end.[1065] God knows the truth!
`Ali-sher _Nawa'i_ was another, the Mirza's friend rather than his beg.
They had been learners together in childhood and even then are said to
have been close friends. It is not known for what offence Sl. Abu-sa`id
Mirza drove `Ali-sher Beg from Heri; he then went to Samarkand where he
was protected and supported by Ahmad Haji Beg during the several years
of his stay.[1066] He was noted for refinement of manner; people fancied
this due to the pride of high fortune but it may not have been so, it
may have been innate, since it was equally noticeable also in
Samarkand.[1067] `Ali-sher Beg had no match. For as long as verse has
been written in the Turki tongue, no-one has written so much or so well
as he. He wrote six books of poems (masnawi), five of them answering to
the Quintet (_Khamsah_),[1068] the sixth, entitled the _Lisanu't-tair_
(Tongue of the birds), was in the same metre as the _Mantiqu't-tair_
(Speech of the birds).[1069] He put together four _diwans_ (collections)
of odes, bearing the names, _Curiosities of Childhood_, _Marvels of
Youth_, _Wonders of Manhood_ and _Advantages of Age_.[1070] There are
good quatrains of his also. Some others of his compositions rank below
those [Sidenote: Fol. 171.] mentioned; amongst them is a collection of
his letters, imitating that of Maulana `Abdu'r-rahman _Jami_ and aiming
at gathering together every letter on any topic he had ever written to
any person. He wrote also the _Mizanu'l-auzan_ (Measure of measures) on
prosody; it is very worthless; he has made mistake in it about the
metres of four out of twenty-four quatrains, while about other measures
he has made mistake such as any-one who has given attention to prosody,
will understand. He put a Persian _diwan_ together also, Fani
(transitory) being his pen-name for Persian verse.[1071] Some couplets
in it are not bad but for the most part it is flat and poor. In music
also he composed good things (_nima_), some excellent airs and preludes
(_nakhsh u peshrau_). No such patron and protector of men of parts and
accomplishments is known, nor has one such been heard of as ever
appearing. It was through his instruction and support that Master
(Ustad) Qul-i-muhammad the lutanist, Shaikhi the flautist, and Husain
the lutanist, famous performers all, rose to eminence and renown. It was
through his effort and supervision that Master Bih-zad and Shah
Muzaffar became so distinguished in painting. Few are heard of as
having helped to lay the good foundation for future excellence he helped
to lay. He had neither son nor daughter, wife or family; he let the
world pass by, alone and unencumbered. At first he was Keeper of the
Seal; in middle-life he became a beg and for a time was Commandant in
Astarabad; later on he forsook soldiering. He took nothing from the
Mirza, on the contrary, he each year [Sidenote: Fol. 171b.] offered
considerable gifts. When the Mirza was returning from the Astarabad
campaign, `Ali-sher Beg went out to give him meeting; they saw one
another but before `Ali-sher Beg should have risen to leave, his
condition became such that he could not rise. He was lifted up and
carried away; the doctors could not tell what was wrong; he went to
God's mercy next day,[1072] one of his own couplets suiting his case:--
I was felled by a stroke out of their ken and mine;
What, in such evils, can doctors avail?
Ahmad the son of Tawakkal _Barlas_ was another;[1073] for a time he held
Qandahar.
Wali Beg was another; he was of Haji Saifu'd-din Beg's line,[1074] and
had been one of the Mirza's father's (Mansur's) great begs.[1075] Short
life was granted to him after the Mirza took the throne (973 AH.); he
died directly afterwards. He was orthodox and made the Prayers, was
rough (_turk_) and sincere.
Husain of Shaikh Timur was another; he had been favoured and raised to
the rank of beg[1076] by Babur Mirza.
Nuyan Beg was another. He was a Sayyid of Tirmiz on his father's side;
on his mother's he was related both to Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza and to Sl.
Husain Mirza.[1077] Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza had favoured him; he was the beg
honoured in Sl. Ahmad Mirza's presence and he met with very great favour
when he went to Sl. Husain Mirza's. He was a bragging, easy-going,
wine-bibbing, jolly person. Through being in his father's service,[1078]
Hasan of Ya`qub used to be called also Nuyan's Hasan.
Jahangir _Barlas_ was another.[1079] For a time he shared the Kabul
command with Muhammad Baranduq _Barlas_, later on [Sidenote: Fol. 172.]
went to Sl. Husain Mirza's presence and received very great favour. His
movements and poses (_harakat u sakanat_) were graceful and charming; he
was also a man of pleasant temper. As he knew the rules of hunting and
hawking, in those matters the Mirza gave him chief charge. He was a
favourite of Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza and, bearing that Mirza's friendliness
in mind, used to praise him.
Mirza Ahmad of `Ali _Farsi Barlas_ was another. Though he wrote no
verse, he knew what was poetry. He was a gay-hearted, elegant person,
one by himself.
`Abdu'l-khaliq Beg was another. Firuz Shah, Shahrukh Mirza's greatly
favoured beg, was his grandfather;[1080] hence people called him Firuz
Shah's `Abdu'l-khaliq. He held Khwarizm for a time.
Ibrahim _Duldai_ was another. He had good knowledge of revenue matters
and the conduct of public business; his work was that of a second Muh.
Baranduq.
Zu'n-nun _Arghun_ was another.[1081] He was a brave man, using his sword
well in Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza's presence and later on getting his hand
into the work whatever the fight. As to his courage there was no
question at all, but he was a bit of a fool. After he left our
(_Miran-shahi_) Mirzas to go to Sl. Husain Mirza, the Mirza gave him
Ghur and the Nikdiris. He did [Sidenote: Fol. 172b.] excellent work in
those parts with 70 to 80 men, with so few beating masses and masses of
Hazaras and Nikdiris; he had not his match for keeping those tribes in
order. After a while Zamin-dawar was given to him. His son Shah-i-shuja`
_Arghun_ used to move about with him and even in childhood used to chop
away with his sword. The Mirza favoured Shah-i-shuja` and, somewhat
against Zu'n-nun Beg's wishes, joined him with his father in the
government of Qandahar. Later on this father and son made dissension
between that father and that son,[1082] and stirred up much commotion.
After I had overcome Khusrau Shah and parted his retainers from him, and
after I had taken Kabul from Zu'n-nun _Arghun_'s son Muqim, Zu'n-nun Beg
and Khusrau Shah both went, in their helplessness, to see Sl. Husain
Mirza. Zu'n-nun _Arghun_ grew greater after the Mirza's death when they
gave him the districts of the Heri Koh-daman, such as Auba (Ubeh) and
Chachcharan.[1083] He was made Lord of Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza's Gate[1084]
and Muhammad Baranduq _Barlas_ Lord of Muzaffar-i-husain Mirza's, when
the two Mirzas became joint-rulers in Heri. Brave though he was, he was
a little crazed and shallow-pated; if he had not been so, would he have
accepted flattery as he did? would he have made himself so contemptible?
Here are the details of the matter:--While he was so dominant and so
trusted in Heri, a few shaikhs and mullas went to him and said, "The
Spheres are holding commerce with us; you are to be styled
_Hizabru'l-lah_ (Lion of God); you will overcome the Auzbeg." Fully
accepting this flattery, he put his _futa_ (bathing-cloth) round his
neck[1085] and gave thanks. Then, after Shaibaq Khan, coming against the
Mirzas, had beaten them one [Sidenote: Fol. 173.] by one near Badghis,
Zu'n-nun _Arghun_ met him face to face near Qara-rabat and, relying on
that promise, stood up against him with 100 to 150 men. A mass of
Auzbegs came up, overcame them and hustled them off; he himself was
taken and put to death.[1086] He was orthodox and no neglecter of the
Prayers, indeed made the extra ones. He was mad for chess; he played it
according to his own fancy and, if others play with one hand, he played
with both.[1087] Avarice and stinginess ruled in his character.
Darwish-i-`ali Beg was another,[1088] the younger full-brother of
`Ali-sher Beg. He had the Balkh Command for a time and there did good
beg-like things, but he was a muddle-head and somewhat wanting in merit.
He was dismissed from the Balkh Command because his muddle-headedness
had hampered the Mirza in his first campaign against Qunduz and Hisar.
He came to my presence when I went to Qunduz in 916 AH. (1510 AD.),
brutalized and stupefied, far from capable begship and out-side peaceful
home-life. Such favour as he had had, he appears to have had for
`Ali-sher Beg's sake.
Mughul Beg was another. He was Governor of Heri for a time, later on was
given Astarabad, and from there fled to Ya`qub Beg in `Iraq. He was of
amorous disposition[1089] and an incessant dicer.
Sayyid Badr (Full-moon) was another, a very strong man, [Sidenote: Fol.
173b.] graceful in his movements and singularly well-mannered. He danced
wonderfully well, doing one dance quite unique and seeming to be his own
invention.[1090] His whole service was with the Mirza whose comrade he
was in wine and social pleasure.
Islim _Barlas_ was another, a plain (_turk_) person who understood
hawking well and did some things to perfection. Drawing a bow of 30 to
40 _batmans_ strength,[1091] he would make his shaft pass right through
the target (_takhta_). In the gallop from the head of the
_qabaq-maidan_,[1092] he would loosen his bow, string it again, and then
hit the gourd (_qabaq_). He would tie his string-grip (_zih-gir_) to the
one end of a string from 1 to 1-1/2 yards long, fasten the other end to
a tree, let his shaft fly, and shoot through the string-grip while it
revolved.[1093] Many such remarkable feats he did. He served the Mirza
continuously and was at every social gathering.
Sl. Junaid _Barlas_ was another;[1094] in his latter days he went to Sl.
Ahmad Mirza's presence.[1095] He is the father of the Sl. Junaid
_Barlas_ on whom at the present time[1096] the joint-government of
Jaunpur depends.
Shaikh Abu-sa`id Khan _Dar-miyan_ (In-between) was another. It is not
known whether he got the name of Dar-miyan because he took a horse to
the Mirza _in the middle_ of a fight, or whether because he put himself
_in between_ the Mirza and some-one designing on his life.[1097]
Bih-bud Beg was another. He had served in the pages' circle (_chuhra
jirgasi_) during the guerilla times and gave such [Sidenote: Fol. 174.]
satisfaction by his service that the Mirza did him the favour of putting
his name on the stamp (_tamgha_) and the coin (_sikka_).[1098]
Shaikhim Beg was another.[1099] People used to call him Shaikhim
_Suhaili_ because Suhaili was his pen-name. He wrote all sorts of verse,
bringing in terrifying words and mental images. Here is a couplet of
his:--
In the anguish of my nights, the whirlpool of my sighs engulphs
the firmament;
Like a dragon, the torrent of my tears swallows the quarters of
the world.
Well-known it is that when he once recited that couplet in Maulana
`Abdu'r-rahman _Jami's_ presence, the honoured Mulla asked him whether
he was reciting verse or frightening people. He put a _diwan_ together;
_masnawis_ of his are also in existence.
Muhammad-i-wali Beg was another, the son of the Wali Beg already
mentioned. Latterly he became one of the Mirza's great begs but, great
beg though he was, he never neglected his service and used to recline
(_yastanib_) day and night in the Gate. Through doing this, his free
meals and open table were always set just outside the Gate. Quite
certainly a man who was so constantly in waiting, _would_ receive the
favour he received! It is an evil noticeable today that effort must be
made before the man, dubbed Beg because he has five or six of the bald
and blind at his back, can be got into the Gate at all! Where this sort
of service is, it must be to their own misfortune! Muhammad-i-wali Beg's
public table and free meals were good; he kept his servants neat and
well-dressed and with his own hands gave [Sidenote: Fol. 174b.] ample
portion to the poor and destitute, but he was foul-mouthed and
evil-spoken. He and also Darwish-i-`ali the librarian were in my service
when I took Samarkand in 917 AH. (Oct. 1511 AD.); he was palsied then;
his talk lacked salt; his former claim to favour was gone. His assiduous
waiting appears to have been the cause of his promotion.
Baba `Ali the Lord of the Gate was another. First, `Ali-sher Beg showed
him favour; next, because of his courage, the Mirza took him into
service, made him Lord of the Gate, and promoted him to be a beg. One of
his sons is serving me now (_circa_ 934 AH.), that Yunas of `Ali who is
a beg, a confidant, and of my household. He will often be
mentioned.[1100]
Badru'd-din (Full-moon of the Faith) was another. He had been in the
service of Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza's Chief Justice Mirak `Abdu'r-rahim; it
is said he was very nimble and sure-footed, a man who could leap over
seven horses at once. He and Baba `Ali were close companions.
Hasan of `Ali _Jalair_ was another. His original name was Husain
_Jalair_ but he came to be called `Ali's Hasan.[1101] His father `Ali
_Jalair_ must have been favoured and made a beg by Babur Mirza; no man
was greater later on when Yadgar-i-muhammad M. took Heri. Hasan-i-`ali
was Sl. Husain Mirza's _Qush-begi_.[1102] He made Tufaili
(Uninvited-guest) his pen-name; wrote good odes and was the Master of
this art in his day. He wrote odes on my name when he came to my
presence at the time I took Samarkand in 917 AH. (1511 AD.). Impudent
(_bi bak_) and [Sidenote: Fol. 175.] prodigal he was, a keeper of
catamites, a constant dicer and draught-player.
Khwaja `Abdu'l-lah _Marwarid_ (Pearl)[1103] was another; he was at first
Chief Justice but later on became one of the Mirza's favourite
household-begs. He was full of accomplishments; on the dulcimer he had
no equal, and he invented the shake on the dulcimer; he wrote in several
scripts, most beautifully in the _ta`liq_; he composed admirable
letters, wrote good verse, with Bayani for his pen-name, and was a
pleasant companion. Compared with his other accomplishments, his verse
ranks low, but he knew what was poetry. Vicious and shameless, he became
the captive of a sinful disease through his vicious excesses, outlived
his hands and feet, tasted the agonies of varied torture for several
years, and departed from the world under that affliction.[1104]
Sayyid Muhammad-i-aurus was another; he was the son of that Aurus
(Russian?) _Arghun_ who, when Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza took the throne, was
his beg in chief authority. At that time there were excellent
archer-braves; one of the most distinguished was Sayyid
Muhammad-i-aurus. His bow strong, his shaft long, he must have been a
bold (_yurak_) shot and a good one. He was Commandant in Andikhud for
some time.
Mir (Qambar-i-)`ali the Master of the Horse was another. He it was who,
by sending a man to Sl. Husain Mirza, brought him down on the
defenceless Yadgar-i-muhammad Mirza.
Sayyid Hasan _Aughlaqchi_ was another, a son of Sayyid _Aughlaqchi_ and
a younger brother of Sayyid Yusuf Beg.[1105] He was the father of a
capable and accomplished son, named Mirza Farrukh. He had come to my
presence before I took Samarkand [Sidenote: Fol. 175b.] in 917 AH. (1511
AD.). Though he had written little verse, he wrote fairly; he understood
the astrolabe and astronomy well, was excellent company, his talk good
too, but he was rather a bad drinker (_bad shrab_). He died in the fight
at Ghaj-dawan.[1106]
Tingri-birdi the storekeeper (_samanchi_) was another; he was a plain
(_turk_), bold, sword-slashing brave. As has been said, he charged out
of the Gate of Balkh on Khusrau Shah's great retainer Nazar Bahadur and
overcame him (903 AH.).
There were a few Turkman braves also who were received with great favour
when they came to the Mirza's presence. One of the first to come was
`Ali Khan _Bayandar_.[1107] Asad Beg and Taham-tan (Strong-bodied) Beg
were others, an elder and younger brother these; Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza
took Taham-tan Beg's daughter and by her had Muhammad-i-zaman Mirza. Mir
`Umar Beg was another; later on he was in Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza's
service; he was a brave, plain, excellent person. His son, Abu'l-fath
by name, came from `Iraq to my presence, a very soft, unsteady and
feeble person; such a son from such a father!
Of those who came into Khurasan after Shah Isma`il took `Iraq and
Azarbaijan (_circa_ 906 AH.-1500 AD.), one was `Abdu'l-baqi Mirza of
Timur Beg's line. He was a Miran-shahi[1108] whose ancestors will have
gone long before into those parts, put thought [Sidenote: Fol. 176.] of
sovereignty out of their heads, served those ruling there, and from them
have received favour. That Timur `Usman who was the great, trusted beg
of Ya`qub Beg (_White-sheep Turkman_) and who had once even thought of
sending against Khurasan the mass of men he had gathered to himself,
must have been this `Abdu'l-baqi Mirza's paternal-uncle. Sl. Husain
Mirza took `Abdu'l-baqi Mirza at once into favour, making him a
son-in-law by giving him Sultanim Begim, the mother of Muhammad Sl.
Mirza.[1109] Another late-comer was Murad Beg _Bayandari_.
(_h. His Chief Justices_ (_sadur_).)
One was Mir Sar-i-barahna (Bare-head)[1110]; he was from a village in
Andijan and appears to have made claim to be a sayyid (_mutasayyid_). He
was a very agreeable companion, pleasant of temper and speech. His were
the judgment and rulings that carried weight amongst men of letters and
poets of Khurasan. He wasted his time by composing, in imitation of the
story of Amir Hamza,[1111] a work which is one long, far-fetched lie,
opposed to sense and nature.
Kamalu'd-din Husain _Gazur-gahi_[1112] was another. Though not a Sufi,
he was mystical.[1113] Such mystics as he will have gathered in
`Ali-sher Beg's presence and there have gone into their raptures and
ecstacies. Kamalu'd-din will have been better-born than most of them;
his promotion will have been due to his good birth, since he had no
other merit to speak of.[1114] A production of his exists, under the
name _Majalisu'l-`ushshaq_ (Assemblies of lovers), the authorship of
which he ascribes (in its preface) to Sl. Husain Mirza.[1115] It is
mostly a lie and a tasteless lie. He has written such irreverent things
in it that some [Sidenote: Fol. 176b.] of them cast doubt upon his
orthodoxy; for example, he represents the Prophets,--Peace be on
them,--and Saints as subject to earthly passion, and gives to each a
minion and a mistress. Another and singularly absurd thing is that,
although in his preface he says, "This is Sl. Husain Mirza's own written
word and literary composition," he, never-the-less, enters, in the body
of the book, "All by the sub-signed author", at the head of odes and
verses well-known to be his own. It was his flattery gave Zu'n-nun
_Arghun_ the title Lion of God.
(_i. His wazirs._)
One was Majdu'd-din Muhammad, son of Khwaja Pir Ahmad of Khwaf, the one
man (_yak-qalam_) of Shahrukh Mirza's Finance-office.[1116] In Sl.
Husain Mirza's Finance-office there was not at first proper order or
method; waste and extravagance resulted; the peasant did not prosper,
and the soldier was not satisfied. Once while Majdu'd-din Muhammad was
still _parwanchi_[1117] and styled Mirak (Little Mir), it became a
matter of importance to the Mirza to have some money; when he asked the
Finance-officials for it, they said none had been collected and that
there was none. Majdu'd-din Muhammad must have heard this and have
smiled, for the Mirza asked him why he smiled; privacy was made and he
told Mirza what was in his mind. Said he, "If the honoured Mirza will
pledge himself to strengthen [Sidenote: Fol. 177.] my hands by not
opposing my orders, it shall so be before long that the country shall
prosper, the peasant be content, the soldier well-off, and the Treasury
full." The Mirza for his part gave the pledge desired, put Majdu'd-din
Muhammad in authority throughout Khurasan, and entrusted all public
business to him. He in his turn by using all possible diligence and
effort, before long had made soldier and peasant grateful and content,
filled the Treasury to abundance, and made the districts habitable and
cultivated. He did all this however in face of opposition from the begs
and men high in place, all being led by `Ali-sher Beg, all out of temper
with what Majdu'd-din Muhammad had effected. By their effort and evil
suggestion he was arrested and dismissed.[1118] In succession to him
Nizamu'l-mulk of Khwaf was made Diwan but in a short time they got him
arrested also, and him they got put to death.[1119] They then brought
Khwaja Afzal out of `Iraq and made him Diwan; he had just been made a
beg when I came to Kabul (910 AH.), and he also impressed the Seal in
Diwan.
Khwaja `Ata[1120] was another; although, unlike those already mentioned,
he was not in high office or Finance-minister (_diwan_), nothing was
settled without his concurrence the whole Khura-sanat over. He was a
pious, praying, upright (_mutadaiyin_) person; he must have been
diligent in business also.
(_j. Others of the Court._)
Those enumerated were Sl. Husain Mirza's retainers and followers.[1121]
His was a wonderful Age; in it Khurasan, and [Sidenote: Fol. 177b.] Heri
above all, was full of learned and matchless men. Whatever the work a
man took up, he aimed and aspired at bringing that work to perfection.
One such man was Maulana `Abdu'r-rahman _Jami_, who was unrivalled in
his day for esoteric and exoteric knowledge. Famous indeed are his
poems! The Mulla's dignity it is out of my power to describe; it has
occurred to me merely to mention his honoured name and one atom of his
excellence, as a benediction and good omen for this part of my humble
book.
Shaikhu'l-islam Saifu'd-din Ahmad was another. He was of the line of
that Mulla Sa`du'd-din (Mas`ud) _Taftazani_[1122] whose descendants from
his time downwards have given the Shaikhu'l-islam to Khurasan. He was a
very learned man, admirably versed in the Arabian sciences[1123] and the
Traditions, most God-fearing and orthodox. Himself a Shafi`i,[1124] he
was tolerant of all the sects. People say he never once in 70 years
omitted the Congregational Prayer. He was martyred when Shah Isma`il
took Heri (916 AH.); there now remains no man of his honoured
line.[1125]
Maulana Shaikh Husain was another; he is mentioned here, although his
first appearance and his promotion were under Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza,
because he was living still under Sl. Husain [Sidenote: Fol. 178.]
Mirza. Being well-versed in the sciences of philosophy, logic and
rhetoric, he was able to find much meaning in a few words and to bring
it out opportunely in conversation. Being very intimate and influential
with Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza, he took part in all momentous affairs of the
Mirza's dominions; there was no better _muhtasib_[1126]; this will have
been why he was so much trusted. Because he had been an intimate of that
Mirza, the incomparable man was treated with insult in Sl. Husain
Mirza's time.
Mulla-zada Mulla `Usman was another. He was a native of Chirkh, in the
Luhugur _tuman_ of the _tuman_ of Kabul[1127] and was called the Born
Mulla (_Mulla-zada_) because in Aulugh Beg Mirza's time he used to give
lessons when 14 years old. He went to Heri on his way from Samarkand to
make the circuit of the _ka`ba_, was there stopped, and made to remain
by Sl. Husain Mirza. He was very learned, the most so of his time.
People say he was nearing the rank of Ijtihad[1128] but he did not reach
it. It is said of him that he once asked, "How should a person forget a
thing heard?" A strong memory he must have had!
Mir Jamalu'd-din the Traditionalist[1129] was another. He had no equal
in Khurasan for knowledge of the Muhammadan Traditions. He was advanced
in years and is still alive (934 to 937 AH.).
Mir Murtaz was another. He was well-versed in the sciences [Sidenote:
Fol. 178b.] of philosophy and metaphysics; he was called _murtaz_
(ascetic) because he fasted a great deal. He was madly fond of chess, so
much so that if he had met two players, he would hold one by the skirt
while he played his game out with the other, as much as to say, "Don't
go!"
Mir Mas`ud of Sherwan was another.[1130]
Mir `Abdu'l-ghafur of Lar was another. Disciple and pupil both of
Maulana `Abdu'r-rahman _Jami_, he had read aloud most of the Mulla's
poems (_masnawi_) in his presence, and wrote a plain exposition of the
_Nafahat_.[1131] He had good acquaintance with the exoteric sciences,
and in the esoteric ones also was very successful. He was a curiously
casual and unceremonious person; no person styled Mulla by any-one
soever was debarred from submitting a (Qoran) chapter to him for
exposition; moreover whatever the place in which he heard there was a
darwish, he had no rest till he had reached that darwish's presence. He
was ill when I was in Khurasan (912 AH.); I went to enquire for him
where he lay in the Mulla's College,[1132] after I had made the circuit
of the Mulla's tomb. He died a few days later, of that same illness.
Mir `Ata'u'l-lah of Mashhad was another.[1133] He knew the Arabian
sciences well and also wrote a Persian treatise on rhyme. That treatise
is well-done but it has the defect that he brings into it, as his
examples, couplets of his own and, assuming them [Sidenote: Fol. 179.]
to be correct, prefixes to each, "As must be observed in the following
couplet by your slave" (_banda_). Several rivals of his find deserved
comment in this treatise. He wrote another on the curiosities of verse,
entitled _Badai`u's-sanai_; a very well-written treatise. He may have
swerved from the Faith.
Qazi Ikhtiyar was another. He was an excellent Qazi and wrote a treatise
in Persian on Jurisprudence, an admirable treatise; he also, in order to
give elucidation (_iqtibas_), made a collection of homonymous verses
from the Qoran. He came with Muhammad-i-yusuf to see me at the time I
met the Mirzas on the Murgh-ab (912 AH.). Talk turning on the Baburi
script,[1134] he asked me about it, letter by letter; I wrote it out,
letter by letter; he went through it, letter by letter, and having
learned its plan, wrote something in it there and then.
Mir Muhammad-i-yusuf was another; he was a pupil of the
Shaikhu'l-islam[1135] and afterwards was advanced to his place. In some
assemblies he, in others, Qazi Ikhtiyar took the higher place. Towards
the end of his life he was so infatuated with soldiering and military
command, that except of those two tasks, what could be learned from his
conversation? what known from his pen? Though he failed in both, those
two ambitions ended by giving to the winds his goods and his life, his
house and his home. He may have been a Shi`a.
(_k. The Poets._)
[Sidenote: Fol. 179b.] The all-surpassing head of the poet-band was
Maulana `Abdu'r-rahman _Jami_. Others were Shaikhim Suhaili and Hasan of
`Ali _Jalair_[1136] whose names have been mentioned already as in the
circle of the Mirza's begs and household.
Asafi was another,[1137] he taking Asafi for his pen-name because he was
a wazir's son. His verse does not want for grace or sentiment, but has
no merit through passion and ecstacy. He himself made the claim, "I have
never packed up (_bulmadi_) my odes to make the oasis (_wadi_) of a
collection."[1138] This was affectation, his younger brothers and his
intimates having collected his odes. He wrote little else but odes. He
waited on me when I went into Khurasan (912 AH.).
Bana'i was another; he was a native of Heri and took such a pen-name
(Bana'i) on account of his father Ustad Muhammad _Sabz-bana_.[1139] His
odes have grace and ecstacy. One poem (_masnawi_) of his on the topic
of fruits, is in the _mutaqarib_ measure;[1140] it is random and not
worked up. Another short poem is in the _khafif_ measure, so also is a
longer one finished towards the end of his life. He will have known
nothing of music in his young days and `Ali-sher Beg seems to have
taunted him about it, so one winter when the Mirza, taking `Ali-sher Beg
with him, went to winter in Merv, Bana'i stayed behind in Heri and so
applied himself to study music that before the heats he had composed
several works. These he played and sang, airs with variations, when the
Mirza came back to Heri in the heats. [Sidenote: Fol. 180.] All amazed,
`Ali-sher Beg praised him. His musical compositions are perfect; one was
an air known as _Nuh-rang_ (Nine modulations), and having both the theme
(_tukanash_) and the variation (_yila_) on the note called _rast_(?).
Bana'i was `Ali-sher Beg's rival; it will have been on this account he
was so much ill-treated. When at last he could bear it no longer, he
went into Azarbaijan and `Iraq to the presence of Ya'qub Beg; he did not
remain however in those parts after Ya`qub Beg's death (896 AH.-1491
AD.) but went back to Heri, just the same with his jokes and retorts.
Here is one of them:--`Ali-sher at a chess-party in stretching his leg
touched Bana'i on the hinder-parts and said jestingly, "It is the sad
nuisance of Heri that a man can't stretch his leg without its touching a
poet's backside." "Nor draw it up again," retorted Bana'i.[1141] In the
end the upshot of his jesting was that he had to leave Heri again; he
went then to Samarkand.[1142] A great many good new things used to be
made for `Ali-sher Beg, so whenever any-one produced a novelty, he
called it `Ali-sher's in order to give it credit and vogue.[1143] Some
things were called after him in compliment _e.g._ because when he had
ear-ache, he wrapped his head up in one of the blue triangular kerchiefs
women tie over their heads in winter, that kerchief was called
`Ali-sher's comforter. Then again, Bana'i when he had decided to leave
Heri, ordered a quite new kind of pad for his ass and [Sidenote: Fol.
180b.] dubbed it `Ali-sher's.
Maulana Saifi of Bukhara was another;[1144] he was a Mulla
complete[1145] who in proof of his mulla-ship used to give a list of the
books he had read. He put two _diwans_ together, one being for the use
of tradesmen (_harfa-kar_), and he also wrote many fables. That he wrote
no _masnawi_ is shewn by the following quatrain:--
Though the _masnawi_ be the orthodox verse,
_I_ know the ode has Divine command;
Five couplets that charm the heart
_I_ know to outmatch the Two Quintets.[1146]
A Persian prosody he wrote is at once brief and prolix, brief in the
sense of omitting things that should be included, and prolix in the
sense that plain and simple matters are detailed down to the diacritical
points, down even to their Arabic points.[1147] He is said to have been
a great drinker, a bad drinker, and a mightily strong-fisted man.
`Abdu'l-lah the _masnawi_-writer was another.[1148] He was from Jam and
was the Mulla's sister's son. Hatifi was his pen-name. He wrote poems
(_masnawi_) in emulation of the Two Quintets,[1149] and called them
_Haft-manzar_ (Seven-faces) in imitation of the _Haft-paikar_
(Seven-faces). In emulation of the _Sikandar-nama_ he composed the
_Timur-nama_. His most renowned _masnawi_ is _Laila and Majnun_, but
its reputation is greater than its charm.
Mir Husain the Enigmatist[1150] was another. He seems to have had no
equal in making riddles, to have given his whole time to it, and to have
been a curiously humble, disconsolate (_na-murad_) [Sidenote: Fol. 181.]
and harmless (_bi-bad_) person.
Mir Muhammad _Badakhshi_ of Ishkimish was another. As Ishkimish is not
in Badakhshan, it is odd he should have made it his pen-name. His verse
does not rank with that of the poets previously mentioned,[1151] and
though he wrote a treatise on riddles, his riddles are not first-rate.
He was a very pleasant companion; he waited on me in Samarkand (917
AH.).
Yusuf the wonderful (_badi_)[1152] was another. He was from the Farghana
country; his odes are said not to be bad.
Ahi was another, a good ode-writer, latterly in Ibn-i-husain Mirza's
service, and _sahib-i-diwan_.[1153]
Muhammad _Salih_ was another.[1154] His odes are tasty but
better-flavoured than correct. There is Turki verse of his also, not
badly written. He went to Shaibaq Khan later on and found complete
favour. He wrote a Turki poem (_masnawi_), named from Shaibaq Khan, in
the _raml masaddas majnun_ measure, that is to say the metre of the
_Subhat_.[1155] It is feeble and flat; Muhammad _Salih_'s reader soon
ceases to believe in him.[1156] Here is one of his good couplets:--
A fat man (Tambal) has gained the land of Farghana,
Making Farghana the house of the fat-man (Tambal-khana).
Farghana is known also as Tambal-khana.[1157] I do not know whether the
above couplet is found in the _masnawi_ mentioned.
Muhammad _Salih_ was a very wicked, tyrannical and heartless
person.[1158]
Maulana Shah Husain _Kami_[1159] was another. There are not-bad verses
of his; he wrote odes, and also seems to have put a _diwan_ together.
Hilali (New-moon) was another; he is still alive.[1160] Correct and
graceful though his odes are, they make little impression. There is a
_diwan_ of his;[1161] and there is also the poem (_masnawi_) in the
[Sidenote: Fol. 181b.] _khafif_ measure, entitled _Shah and Darwish_ of
which, fair though many couplets are, the basis and purport are hollow
and bad. Ancient poets when writing of love and the lover, have
represented the lover as a man and the beloved as a woman; but Hilali
has made the lover a darwish, the beloved a king, with the result that
the couplets containing the king's acts and words, set him forth as
shameless and abominable. It is an extreme effrontery in Hilali that for
a poem's sake he should describe a young man and that young man a king,
as resembling the shameless and immoral.[1162] It is heard-said that
Hilali had a very retentive memory, and that he had by heart 30 or
40,000 couplets, and the greater part of the Two Quintets,--all most
useful for the minutiae of prosody and the art of verse.
Ahli[1163] was another; he was of the common people (_`ami_), wrote
verse not bad, even produced a _diwan_.
(_l. Artists._)
Of fine pen-men there were many; the one standing-out in _nakhsh ta`liq_
was Sl. `Ali of Mashhad[1164] who copied many books for the Mirza and
for `Ali-sher Beg, writing daily 30 couplets for the first, 20 for the
second.
Of the painters, one was Bih-zad.[1165] His work was very dainty but he
did not draw beardless faces well; he used greatly to lengthen the
double chin (_ghab-ghab_); bearded faces he drew admirably.
Shah Muzaffar was another; he painted dainty portraits, [Sidenote: Fol.
182.] representing the hair very daintily.[1166] Short life was granted
him; he left the world when on his upward way to fame.
Of musicians, as has been said, no-one played the dulcimer so well as
Khwaja `Abdu'l-lah _Marwarid_.
Qul-i-muhammad the lutanist (_`audi_) was another; he also played the
guitar (_ghichak_) beautifully and added three strings to it. For many
and good preludes (_peshrau_) he had not his equal amongst composers or
performers, but this is only true of his preludes.
Shaikhi the flautist (_nayi_) was another; it is said he played also the
lute and the guitar, and that he had played the flute from his 12th or
13th year. He once produced a wonderful air on the flute, at one of
Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza's assemblies; Qul-i-muhammad could not reproduce it
on the guitar, so declared this a worthless instrument; Shaikhi _Nayi_
at once took the guitar from Qul-i-muhammad's hands and played the air
on it, well and in perfect tune. They say he was so expert in music that
having once heard an air, he was able to say, "This or that is the tune
of so-and-so's or so-and-so's flute."[1167] He composed few works; one
or two airs are heard of.
Shah Quli the guitar-player was another; he was of `Iraq, came into
Khurasan, practised playing, and succeeded. He composed many airs,
preludes and works (_nakhsh, peshrau u aishlar_).
Husain the lutanist was another; he composed and played with taste; he
would twist the strings of his lute into one and play on that. His fault
was affectation about playing. He [Sidenote: Fol. 182b.] made a fuss
once when Shaibaq Khan ordered him to play, and not only played badly
but on a worthless instrument he had brought in place of his own. The
Khan saw through him at once and ordered him to be well beaten on the
neck, there and then. This was the one good action Shaibaq Khan did in
the world; it was well-done truly! a worse chastisement is the due of
such affected mannikins!
Ghulam-i-shadi (Slave of Festivity), the son of Shadi the reciter, was
another of the musicians. Though he performed, he did it less well than
those of the circle just described. There are excellent themes (_sut_)
and beautiful airs (_nakhsh_) of his; no-one in his day composed such
airs and themes. In the end Shaibaq Khan sent him to the Qazan Khan,
Muhammad Amin; no further news has been heard of him.
Mir Azu was another composer, not a performer; he produced few works but
those few were in good taste.
Bana'i was also a musical composer; there are excellent airs and themes
of his.
An unrivalled man was the wrestler Muhammad Bu-sa`id; he was foremost
amongst the wrestlers, wrote verse too, composed themes and airs, one
excellent air of his being in _char-gah_ (four-time),--and he was
pleasant company. It is extraordinary that such accomplishments as his
should be combined with wrestling.[1168]
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE RESUMED.
(_a. Burial of Sl. Husain Mirza._)
At the time Sl. Husain Mirza took his departure from the world, there
were present of the Mirzas only Badi'u'z-zaman Mirza and
Muzaffar-i-husain Mirza. The latter had been his father's favourite
son; his leading beg was Muhammad Baranduq _Barlas_; his mother Khadija
Begim had been the Mirza's most influential wife; and to him the
Mirza's people had gathered. [Sidenote: Fol. 183.] For these reasons
Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza had anxieties and thought of not coming,[1169] but
Muzaffar-i-husain Mirza and Muhammad Baranduq Beg themselves rode out,
dispelled his fears and brought him in.
Sl. Husain Mirza was carried into Heri and there buried in his own
College with royal rites and ceremonies.
(_b. A dual succession._)
At this crisis Zu'n-nun Beg was also present. He, Muh. Baranduq Beg, the
late Mirza's begs and those of the two (young) Mirzas having assembled,
decided to make the two Mirzas joint-rulers in Heri. Zu'n-nun Beg was to
have control in Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza's Gate, Muh. Baranduq Beg, in
Muzaffar-i-husain Mirza's. Shaikh `Ali Taghai was to be _darogha_ in
Heri for the first, Yusuf-i-`ali for the second. Theirs was a strange
plan! Partnership in rule is a thing unheard of; against it stand Shaikh
Sa'di's words in the Gulistan:--"Ten darwishes sleep under a blanket
(_gilim_); two kings find no room in a clime" (_aqlim_).[1170]
912 AH.-MAY 24TH 1506 TO MAY 13TH 1507 AD.[1171]
(_a. Babur starts to join Sl. Husain Mirza._)
In the month of Muharram we set out by way of Ghur-bund [Sidenote: Fol.
183b.] and Shibr-tu to oppose the Auzbeg.
As Jahangir Mirza had gone out of the country in some sort of
displeasure, we said, "There might come much mischief and trouble if he
drew the clans (_aimaq_) to himself;" and "What trouble might come of
it!" and, "First let's get the clans in hand!" So said, we hurried
forward, riding light and leaving the baggage (_auruq_) at Ushtur-shahr
in charge of Wali the treasurer and Daulat-qadam of the scouts. That day
we reached Fort [Z.]ahaq; from there we crossed the pass of the
Little-dome (Gumbazak-kutal), trampled through Saighan, went over the
Dandan-shikan pass and dismounted in the meadow of Kahmard. From Kahmard
we sent Sayyid Afzal the Seer-of-dreams (_Khwab-bin_) and Sl. Muhammad
_Duldai_ to Sl. Husain Mirza with a letter giving the particulars of our
start from Kabul.[1172]
Jahangir Mirza must have lagged on the road, for when he got opposite
Bamian and went with 20 or 30 persons to visit it, he saw near it the
tents of our people left with the baggage. Thinking we were there, he
and his party hurried back to their camp and, without an eye to
anything, without regard for their own people marching in the rear, made
off for Yaka-aulang.[1173]
(_b. Action of Shaibaq Khan._)
When Shaibaq Khan had laid siege to Balkh, in which was Sl.
Qul-i-nachaq,[1174] he sent two or three sultans with 3 or 4000 men to
overrun Badakhshan. At the time Mubarak Shah and Zubair had again
joined Nasir Mirza, spite of former resentments and bickerings, and they
all were lying at Shakdan, below Kishm [Sidenote: Fol. 184.] and east of
the Kishm-water. Moving through the night, one body of Auzbegs crossed
that water at the top of the morning and advanced on the Mirza; he at
once drew off to rising-ground, mustered his force, sounded trumpets,
met and overcame them. Behind the Auzbegs was the Kishm-water in flood,
many were drowned in it, a mass of them died by arrow and sword, more
were made prisoner. Another body of Auzbegs, sent against Mubarak Shah
and Zubair where they lay, higher up the water and nearer Kishm, made
them retire to the rising-ground. Of this the Mirza heard; when he had
beaten off his own assailants, he moved against theirs. So did the
Kohistan begs, gathered with horse and foot, still higher up the river.
Unable to make stand against this attack, the Auzbegs fled, but of this
body also a mass died by sword, arrow, and water. In all some 1000 to
1500 may have died. This was Nasir Mirza's one good success; a man of
his brought us news about it while we were in the dale of Kahmard.
(_c. Babur moves on into Khurasan._)
While we were in Kahmard, our army fetched corn from Ghuri and Dahana.
There too we had letters from Sayyid [Sidenote: Fol. 184b.] Afzal and
Sl. Muhammad _Duldai_ whom we had sent into Khurasan; their news was of
Sl. Husain Mirza's death.
This news notwithstanding, we set forward for Khurasan; though there
were other grounds for doing this, what decided us was anxious thought
for the reputation of this (Timurid) dynasty. We went up the trough
(_aichi_) of the Ajar-valley, on over Tup and Mandaghan, crossed the
Balkh-water and came out on Saf-hill. Hearing there that Auzbegs were
overrunning San and Char-yak,[1175] we sent a force under Qasim Beg
against them; he got up with them, beat them well, cut many heads off,
and returned.
We lay a few days in the meadow of Saf-hill, waiting for news of
Jahangir Mirza and the clans (_aimaq_) to whom persons had been sent.
We hunted once, those hills being very full of wild sheep and goats
(_kiyik_). All the clans came in and waited on me within a few days; it
was to me they came; they had not gone to Jahangir Mirza though he had
sent men often enough to them, once sending even `Imadu'd-din Mas`ud. He
himself was forced to come at last; he saw me at the foot of the valley
when I came down off Saf-hill. Being anxious about Khurasan, we neither
paid him attention nor took thought for the clans, but went right on
through Gurzwan, Almar, Qaisar, Chichik-tu, and Fakhru'd-din's-death
(_aulum_) into the Bam-valley, [Sidenote: Fol. 185.] one of the
dependencies of Badghis.
The world being full of divisions,[1176] things were being taken from
country and people with the long arm; we ourselves began to take
something, by laying an impost on the Turks and clans of those parts, in
two or three months taking perhaps 300 _tumans_ of _kipki_.[1177]
(_d. Coalition of the Khurasan Mirzas._)
A few days before our arrival (in Bam-valley?) some of the Khurasan
light troops and of Zu'n-nun Beg's men had well beaten Auzbeg raiders in
Pand-dih (Panj-dih?) and Maruchaq, killing a mass of men.[1178]
Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza and Muzaffar-i-husain Mirza with Muhammad Baranduq
_Barlas_, Zu'n-nun _Arghun_ and his son Shah Beg resolved to move on
Shaibaq Khan, then besieging Sl. Qul-i-nachaq (?) in Balkh. Accordingly
they summoned all Sl. Husain Mirza's sons, and got out of Heri to effect
their purpose. At Chihil-dukhtaran Abu'l-muhsin M. joined them from
Marv; Ibn-i-husain M. followed, coming up from Tun and Qain. Kupuk
(Kipik) M. was in Mashhad; often though they sent to him, he behaved
unmanly, spoke senseless words, and did not come. Between him and
Muzaffar Mirza, there was jealousy; when Muzaffar M. was made
(joint-)ruler, he said, "How should _I_ go to _his_ presence?" Through
this disgusting jealousy he did not come now, even at this crisis when
all his brethren, older and younger, were assembling in concord,
resolute against such a foe [Sidenote: Fol. 185b.] as Shaibaq Khan.
Kupuk M. laid his own absence to rivalry, but everybody else laid it to
his cowardice. One word! In this world acts such as his outlive the man;
if a man have any share of intelligence, why try to be ill-spoken of
after death? if he be ambitious, why not try so to act that, he gone,
men will praise him? In the honourable mention of their names, wise men
find a second life!
Envoys from the Mirzas came to me also, Muh. Baranduq _Barlas_ himself
following them. As for me, what was to hinder my going? It was for that
very purpose I had travelled one or two hundred _yighach_ (500-600
miles)! I at once started with Muh. Baranduq Beg for Murgh-ab[1179]
where the Mirzas were lying.
(_e. Babur meets the Mirzas._)
The meeting with the Mirzas was on Monday the 8th of the latter Jumada
(Oct. 26th 1506 AH.). Abu'l-muhsin Mirza came out a mile to meet me; we
approached one another; on my side, I dismounted, on his side, he; we
advanced, saw one another and remounted. Near the camp Muzaffar Mirza
and Ibn-i-husain Mirza met us; they, being younger than Abu'l-muhsin
Mirza ought to have come out further than he to meet me.[1180] Their
dilatoriness may not have been due to pride, but to heaviness [Sidenote:
Fol. 186.] after wine; their negligence may have been no slight on me,
but due to their own social pleasures. On this Muzaffar Mirza laid
stress;[1181] we two saw one another without dismounting, so did
Ibn-i-husain Mirza and I. We rode on together and, in an amazing crowd
and press, dismounted at Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza's Gate. Such was the
throng that some were lifted off the ground for three or four steps
together, while others, wishing for some reason to get out, were
carried, willy-nilly, four or five steps the other way.
We reached Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza's Audience-tent. It had been agreed that
I, on entering, should bend the knee (_yukunghai_) once, that the Mirza
should rise and advance to the edge of the estrade,[1182] and that we
should see one another there. I went in, bent the knee once, and was
going right forward; the Mirza rose rather languidly and advanced rather
slowly; Qasim Beg, as he was my well-wisher and held my reputation as
his own, gave my girdle a tug; I understood, moved more slowly, and so
the meeting was on the appointed spot.
Four divans (_tushuk_) had been placed in the tent. Always in the
Mirza's tents one side was like a gate-way[1183] and at the edge of this
gate-way he always sat. A divan was set there now [Sidenote: Fol. 186b.]
on which he and Muzaffar Mirza sat together. Abu'l-muhsin, Mirza and I
sat on another, set in the right-hand place of honour (_tur_). On
another, to Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza's left, sat Ibn-i-husain Mirza with
Qasim Sl. _Auzbeg_, a son-in-law of the late Mirza and father of
Qasim-i-husain Sultan. To my right and below my divan was one on which
sat Jahangir Mirza and `Abdu'r-razzaq Mirza. To the left of Qasim Sl.
and Ibn-i-husain Mirza, but a good deal lower, were Muh. Baranduq Beg,
Zu'n-nun Beg and Qasim Beg.
Although this was not a social gathering, cooked viands were brought in,
drinkables[1184] were set with the food, and near them gold and silver
cups. Our forefathers through a long space of time, had respected the
Chingiz-tura (ordinance), doing nothing opposed to it, whether in
assembly or Court, in sittings-down or risings-up. Though it has not
Divine authority so that a man obeys it of necessity, still good rules
of conduct must be obeyed by whom-soever they are left; just in the same
way that, if a forefather have done ill, his ill must be changed for
good.
After the meal I rode from the Mirza's camp some 2 miles to [Sidenote:
Fol. 187.] our own dismounting-place.
(_f. Babur claims due respect._)
At my second visit Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza shewed me less respect than at
my first. I therefore had it said to Muh. Baranduq Beg and to Zu'n-nun
Beg that, small though my age was (_aet._ 24), my place of honour was
large; that I had seated myself twice on the throne of our forefathers
in Samarkand by blow straight-dealt; and that to be laggard in shewing
me respect was unreasonable, since it was for this (Timurid) dynasty's
sake I had thus fought and striven with that alien foe. This said, and
as it was reasonable, they admitted their mistake at once and shewed the
respect claimed.
(_g. Babur's temperance._)
There was a wine-party (_chaghir-majlisi_) once when I went after the
Mid-day Prayer to Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza's presence. At that time I drank
no wine. The party was altogether elegant; every sort of relish to wine
(_gazak_) was set out on the napery, with brochettes of fowl and goose,
and all sorts of viands. The Mirza's entertainments were much renowned;
truly was this one free from the pang of thirst (_bi ghall_), reposeful
and tranquil. I was at two or three of his wine-parties while we were on
the bank of the Murgh-ab; once it was known I did not drink, no pressure
to do so was put on me.
I went to one wine-party of Muzaffar Mirza's. Husain of `Ali _Jalair_
and Mir Badr were both there, they being in his service. When Mir Badr
had had enough (_kaifiyat_), he danced, [Sidenote: Fol. 187b.] and
danced well what seemed to be his own invention.
(_h. Comments on the Mirzas._)
Three months it took the Mirzas to get out of Heri, agree amongst
themselves, collect troops, and reach Murgh-ab. Meantime Sl.
Qul-i-nachaq (?), reduced to extremity, had surrendered Balkh to the
Auzbeg but that Auzbeg, hearing of our alliance against him, had hurried
back to Samarkand. The Mirzas were good enough as company and in social
matters, in conversation and parties, but they were strangers to war,
strategy, equipment, bold fight and encounter.
(_i. Winter plans._)
While we were on the Murgh-ab, news came that Haq-nazir _Chapa_ (var.
Hian) was over-running the neighbourhood of Chichik-tu with 4 or 500
men. All the Mirzas there present, do what they would, could not manage
to send a light troop against those raiders! It is 10 _yighach_ (50-55
m.) from Murgh-ab to Chichik-tu. I asked the work; they, with a thought
for their own reputation, would not give it to me.
The year being almost at an end when Shaibaq Khan retired, the Mirzas
decided to winter where it was convenient and to reassemble next summer
in order to repel their foe.
They pressed me to winter in Khurasan, but this not one of my
well-wishers saw it good for me to do because, while Kabul and Ghazni
were full of a turbulent and ill-conducted medley of [Sidenote: Fol.
188.] people and hordes, Turks, Mughuls, clans and nomads (_aimaq u
ahsham_), Afghans and Hazara, the roads between us and that not yet
desirably subjected country of Kabul were, one, the mountain-road, a
month's journey even without delay through snow or other cause,--the
other, the low-country road, a journey of 40 or 50 days.
Consequently we excused ourselves to the Mirzas, but they would accept
no excuse and, for all our pleas, only urged the more. In the end
Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza, Abu'l-muhsin Mirza and Muzaffar Mirza themselves
rode to my tent and urged me to stay the winter. It was impossible to
refuse men of such ruling position, come in person to press us to stay
on. Besides this, the whole habitable world has not such a town as Heri
had become under Sl. Husain Mirza, whose orders and efforts had
increased its splendour and beauty as ten to one, rather, as twenty to
one. As I greatly wished to stay, I consented to do so.
Abu'l-muhsin M. went to Marv, his own district; Ibn-i-husain M. went to
his, Tun and Qain; Badi`u'z-zaman M. and Muzaffar M. set off for Heri;
I followed them a few days later, taking the road by Chihil-dukhtaran
and Tash-rabat.[1185]
(_j. Babur visits the Begims in Heri._)
All the Begims, _i.e._ my paternal-aunt Payanda-sultan Begim, Khadija
Begim, Apaq Begim, and my other paternal-aunt Begims, daughters of Sl.
Abu-sa`id Mirza,[1186] were gathered together, at the time I went to see
them, in Sl. Husain Mirza's College at his [Sidenote: Fol. 188b.]
Mausoleum. Having bent the knee with (_yukunub bila_) Payanda-sultan
Begim first of all, I had an interview with her; next, not bending the
knee,[1187] I had an interview with Apaq Begim; next, having bent the
knee with Khadija Begim, I had an interview with her. After sitting
there for some time during recitation of the Qoran,[1188] we went to the
South College where Khadija Begim's tents had been set up and where food
was placed before us. After partaking of this, we went to Payanda-sultan
Begim's tents and there spent the night.
The New-year's Garden was given us first for a camping-ground; there our
camp was arranged; and there I spent the night of the day following my
visit to the Begims, but as I did not find it a convenient place,
`Ali-sher Beg's residence was assigned to me, where I was as long as I
stayed in Heri, every few days shewing myself in Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza's
presence in the World-adorning Garden.
(_k. The Mirzas entertain Babur in Heri._)
A few days after Muzaffar Mirza had settled down in the White-garden,
he invited me to his quarters; Khadija Begim was also there, and with me
went Jahangir Mirza. When we had eaten a meal in the Begim's
presence,[1189] Muzaffar Mirza took me to where there was a wine-party,
in the Tarab-khana (Joy-house) built by Babur Mirza, a sweet little
abode, a smallish, two-storeyed house in the middle of a smallish
garden. Great pains have been taken with its upper storey; this has a
retreat (_hujra_) in each of its four corners, the space between each
two retreats being like a _shah-nishin_[1190]; in between these retreats
and [Sidenote: Fol. 189.] _shah-nishins_ is one large room on all sides
of which are pictures which, although Babur Mirza built the house, were
commanded by Abu-sa`id Mirza and depict his own wars and encounters.
Two divans had been set in the north _shah-nishin_, facing each other,
and with their sides turned to the north. On one Muzaffar Mirza and I
sat, on the other Sl. Mas`ud Mirza[1191] and Jahangir Mirza. We being
guests, Muzaffar Mirza gave me place above himself. The social cups
were filled, the cup-bearers ordered to carry them to the guests; the
guests drank down the mere wine as if it were water-of-life; when it
mounted to their heads, the party waxed warm.
They thought to make me also drink and to draw me into their own circle.
Though up till then I had not committed the sin of wine-drinking[1192]
and known the cheering sensation of comfortable drunkenness, I was
inclined to drink wine and my heart was drawn to cross that stream
(_wada_). I had had no inclination for wine in my childhood; I knew
nothing of its cheer and pleasure. If, as sometimes, my father pressed
wine on me, I excused myself; I did not commit the sin. After he
[Sidenote: Fol. 189b.] died, Khwaja Qazi's right guidance kept me
guiltless; as at that time I abstained from forbidden viands, what room
was there for the sin of wine? Later on when, with the young man's lusts
and at the prompting of sensual passion, desire for wine arose, there
was no-one to press it on me, no-one indeed aware of my leaning towards
it; so that, inclined for it though my heart was, it was difficult of
myself to do such a thing, one thitherto undone. It crossed my mind now,
when the Mirzas were so pressing and when too we were in a town so
refined as Heri, "Where should I drink if not here? here where all the
chattels and utensils of luxury and comfort are gathered and in use." So
saying to myself, I resolved to drink wine; I determined to cross that
stream; but it occurred to me that as I had not taken wine in
Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza's house or from his hand, who was to me as an elder
brother, things might find way into his mind if I took wine in his
younger brother's house and from his hand. Having so said to myself, I
mentioned my doubt and difficulty. Said they, "Both the excuse and the
obstacle are reasonable," pressed me no more to drink then but settled
that when I was in company with both Mirzas, I should drink under the
insistance of both.
Amongst the musicians present at this party were Hafiz Haji, [Sidenote:
Fol. 190.] Jalalu'd-din Mahmud the flautist, and Ghulam _shadi_'s
younger brother, Ghulam _bacha_ the Jews'-harpist. Hafiz Haji sang well,
as Heri people sing, quietly, delicately, and in tune. With Jahangir
Mirza was a Samarkandi singer Mir Jan whose singing was always loud,
harsh and out-of-tune. The Mirza, having had enough, ordered him to
sing; he did so, loudly, harshly and without taste. Khurasanis have
quite refined manners; if, under this singing, one did stop his ears,
the face of another put question, not one could stop the singer, out of
consideration for the Mirza.
After the Evening Prayer we left the Tarab-khana for a new house in
Muzaffar Mirza's winter-quarters. There Yusuf-i-`ali danced in the
drunken time, and being, as he was, a master in music, danced well. The
party waxed very warm there. Muzaffar Mirza gave me a sword-belt, a
lambskin surtout, and a grey _tipuchaq_ (horse). Janak recited in
Turki. Two slaves of the Mirza's, known as Big-moon and Little-moon, did
offensive, drunken tricks in the drunken time. The party was warm till
night when those assembled scattered, I, however, staying the night in
that house.
Qasim Beg getting to hear that I had been pressed to drink wine, sent
some-one to Zu'n-nun Beg with advice for him and for Muzaffar Mirza,
given in very plain words; the result was [Sidenote: Fol. 190b.] that
the Mirzas entirely ceased to press wine upon me.
Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza, hearing that Muzaffar M. had entertained me,
asked me to a party arranged in the Maqauwi-khana of the World-adorning
Garden. He asked also some of my close circle[1193] and some of our
braves. Those about me could never drink (openly) on my own account; if
they ever did drink, they did it perhaps once in 40 days, with doorstrap
fast and under a hundred fears. Such as these were now invited; here too
they drank with a hundred precautions, sometimes calling off my
attention, sometimes making a screen of their hands, notwithstanding
that I had given them permission to follow common custom, because this
party was given by one standing to me as a father or elder brother.
People brought in weeping-willows....[1194]
At this party they set a roast goose before me but as I was no carver or
disjointer of birds, I left it alone. "Do you not like it?" inquired the
Mirza. Said I, "I am a poor carver." On this he at once disjointed the
bird and set it again before [Sidenote: Fol. 191.] me. In such matters
he had no match. At the end of the party he gave me an enamelled
waist-dagger, a _char-qab_,[1195] and a _tipuchaq_.
(_l. Babur sees the sights of Heri._)
Every day of the time I was in Heri I rode out to see a new sight; my
guide in these excursions was Yusuf-i-`ali Kukuldash; wherever we
dismounted, he set food before me. Except Sl. Husain Mirza's Almshouse,
not one famous spot, maybe, was left unseen in those 40 days.
I saw the Gazur-gah,[1196] `Ali-sher's Baghcha (Little-garden), the
Paper-mortars,[1197] Takht-astana (Royal-residence), Pul-i-gah,
Kahad-stan,[1198] Nazar-gah-garden, Ni`matabad (Pleasure-place),
Gazur-gah Avenue, Sl. Ahmad Mirza's Hazirat,[1199] Takht-i-safar,[1200]
Takht-i-nawa'i, Takht-i-barkar, Takht-i-Haji Beg, Takht-i-Baha'u'd-din
`Umar, Takht-i-Shaikh Zainu'd-din, Maulana `Abdu'r-rahman _Jami_'s
honoured shrine and tomb,[1201] Namaz-gah-i-mukhtar,[1202] the
Fish-pond,[1203] Saq-i-sulaiman,[1204] Buluri (Crystal) which
originally may have been Abu'l-walid,[1205] Imam Fakhr,[1206]
Avenue-garden, Mirza's Colleges and tomb, Guhar-shad Begim's College,
tomb,[1207] and Congregational Mosque, the Ravens'-garden, New-garden,
Zubaida-garden,[1208] Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza's White-house [Sidenote: Fol.
191b.] outside the `Iraq-gate, Puran,[1209] the Archer's-seat, Chargh
(hawk)-meadow, Amir Wahid,[1210] Malan-bridge,[1211] Khwaja-taq,[1212]
White-garden, Tarab-khana, Bagh-i-jahan-ara, Kushk,[1213]
Maqauwi-khana, Lily-house, Twelve-towers, the great tank to the north of
Jahan-ara and the four dwellings on its four sides, the five Fort-gates,
_viz._ the Malik, `Iraq, Firuzabad, Khush[1214] and Qibchaq Gates,
Charsu, Shaikhu'l-islam's College, Maliks' Congregational Mosque,
Town-garden, Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza's College on the bank of the
Anjil-canal, `Ali-sher Beg's dwellings where we resided and which people
call Unsiya (Ease), his tomb and mosque which they call Qudsiya (Holy),
his College and Almshouse which they call Khalasiya and Akhlasiya
(Freedom and Sincerity), his Hot-bath and Hospital which they call
Safa'iya and Shafa'iya. All these I visited in that space of time.
(_m. Babur engages Ma`suma-sultan in marriage._)
It must have been before those throneless times[1215] that Habiba-sultan
Begim, the mother of Sl. Ahmad Mirza's youngest daughter Ma`suma-sultan
Begim, brought her daughter into Heri. One day when I was visiting my
Aka, Ma`suma-sultan Begim came there with her mother and at once felt
arise in her a great inclination towards me. Private messengers having
been sent, my Aka and my Yinka, as I used to call Payanda-sultan Begim
[Sidenote: Fol. 192.] and Habiba-sultan Begim, settled between them that
the latter should bring her daughter after me to Kabul.[1216]
(_n. Babur leaves Khurasan._)
Very pressingly had Muh Baranduq Beg and Zu'n-nun _Arghun_ said, "Winter
here!" but they had given me no winter-quarters nor had they made any
winter-arrangements for me. Winter came on; snow fell on the mountains
between us and Kabul; anxiety grew about Kabul; no winter-quarters were
offered, no arrangements made! As we could not speak out, of necessity
we left Heri!
On the pretext of finding winter-quarters, we got out of the town on the
7th day of the month of Sha`ban (Dec. 24th 1506 AD.), and went to near
Badghis. Such were our slowness and our tarryings that the Ramzan-moon
was seen a few marches only beyond the Langar of Mir Ghiyas.[1217] Of
our braves who were absent on various affairs, some joined us, some
followed us into Kabul 20 days or a month later, some stayed in Heri and
took service with the Mirzas. One of these last was Sayyidim `Ali the
gate-ward, who became Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza's retainer. To no servant of
Khusrau Shah had I shewn so much favour as to him; he had been given
Ghazni when Jahangir Mirza abandoned it, and in it when he came away
with the army, had left his younger brother Dost-i-anju (?) Shaikh.
There were in truth [Sidenote: Fol. 192b.] no better men amongst Khusrau
Shah's retainers than this man Sayyidim `Ali the gate-ward and
Muhibb-i-`ali the armourer. Sayyidim was of excellent nature and
manners, a bold swordsman, a singularly competent and methodical man.
His house was never without company and assembly; he was greatly
generous, had wit and charm, a variety of talk and story, and was a
sweet-natured, good-humoured, ingenious, fun-loving person. His fault
was that he practised vice and pederasty. He may have swerved from the
Faith; may also have been a hypocrite in his dealings; some of what
seemed double-dealing people attributed to his jokes, but, still, there
must have been a something![1218] When Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza had let
Shaibaq Khan take Heri and had gone to Shah Beg (_Arghun_), he had
Sayyidim `Ali thrown into the Harmand because of his double-dealing
words spoken between the Mirza and Shah Beg. Muhibb-i-`ali's story will
come into the narrative of events hereafter to be written.
(_o. A perilous mountain-journey._)
From the Langar of Mir Ghiyas we had ourselves guided past the
border-villages of Gharjistan to Chach-charan.[1219] From the almshouse
to Gharjistan was an unbroken sheet of snow; it was deeper further on;
near Chach-charan itself it was above the horses' knees. Chach-charan
depended on Zu'n-nun _Arghun_; his retainer Mir Jan-airdi was in it now;
from him we took, on payment, the whole of Zu'n-nun Beg's store of
provisions. A march or two further on, the snow was very deep, being
above [Sidenote: Fol. 193.] the stirrup, indeed in many places the
horses' feet did not touch the ground.
We had consulted at the Langar of Mir Ghiyas which road to take for
return to Kabul; most of us agreed in saying, "It is winter, the
mountain-road is difficult and dangerous; the Qandahar road, though a
little longer, is safe and easy." Qasim Beg said, "That road is long;
you will go by this one." As he made much dispute, we took the
mountain-road.
Our guide was a Pashai named Pir Sultan (Old sultan?). Whether it was
through old age, whether from want of heart, whether because of the deep
snow, he lost the road and could not guide us. As we were on this route
under the insistance of Qasim Beg, he and his sons, for his name's sake,
dismounted, trampled the snow down, found the road again and took the
lead. One day the snow was so deep and the way so uncertain that we
could not go on; there being no help for it, back we turned, dismounted
where there was fuel, picked out 60 or 70 good men and sent them down
the valley in our tracks to fetch any one soever of the Hazara,
wintering in the valley-bottom, who might shew us the road. That place
could not be left till our men returned three or four days later. They
brought no [Sidenote: Fol. 193b.] guide; once more we sent Sultan
_Pashai_ ahead and, putting our trust in God, again took the road by
which we had come back from where it was lost. Much misery and hardship
were endured in those few days, more than at any time of my life. In
that stress I composed the following opening couplet:--
Is there one cruel turn of Fortune's wheel unseen of me?
Is there a pang, a grief my wounded heart has missed?
We went on for nearly a week, trampling down the snow and not getting
forward more than two or three miles a day. I was one of the
snow-stampers, with 10 or 15 of my household, Qasim Beg, his sons
Tingri-birdi and Qambar-i-`ali and two or three of their retainers.
These mentioned used to go forward for 7 or 8 yards, stamping the snow
down and at each step sinking to the waist or the breast. After a few
steps the leading man would stand still, exhausted by the labour, and
another would go forward. By the time 10, 15, 20, men on foot had
stamped the snow down, it became so that a horse might be led over it. A
horse would be led, would sink to the stirrups, could do no more than 10
or 12 steps, and would be drawn aside to let another go on. After we,
10, 15, 20, men had stamped down the snow and had led horses forward in
this fashion, very serviceable [Sidenote: Fol. 194.] braves and men of
renowned name would enter the beaten track, hanging their heads. It was
not a time to urge or compel! the man with will and hardihood for such
tasks does them by his own request! Stamping the snow down in this way,
we got out of that afflicting place (_anjukan yir_) in three or four
days to a cave known as the Khawal-i-quti (Blessed-cave), below the
Zirrin-pass.
That night the snow fell in such an amazing blizzard of cutting wind
that every man feared for his life. The storm had become extremely
violent by the time we reached the _khawal_, as people in those parts
call a mountain-cave (_ghar_) or hollow (_khawak_). We dismounted at its
mouth. Deep snow! a one-man road! and even on that stamped-down and
trampled road, pitfalls for horses! the days at their shortest! The
first arrivals reached the cave by daylight; others kept coming in from
the Evening Prayer till the Bed-time one; later than that people
dismounted wherever they happened to be; dawn shot with many still in
the saddle.
The cave seeming to be rather small, I took a shovel and shovelled out a
place near its mouth, the size of a sitting-mat [Sidenote: Fol. 194b.]
(_takiya-namad_), digging it out breast-high but even then not reaching
the ground. This made me a little shelter from the wind when I sat right
down in it. I did not go into the cave though people kept saying, "Come
inside," because this was in my mind, "Some of my men in snow and storm,
I in the comfort of a warm house! the whole horde (_aulus_) outside in
misery and pain, I inside sleeping at ease! That would be far from a
man's act, quite another matter than comradeship! Whatever hardship and
wretchedness there is, I will face; what strong men stand, I will stand;
for, as the Persian proverb says, to die with friends is a nuptial."
Till the Bed-time Prayer I sat through that blizzard of snow and wind in
the dug-out, the snow-fall being such that my head, back, and ears were
overlaid four hands thick. The cold of that night affected my ears. At
the Bed-time Prayer some-one, looking more carefully at the cave,
shouted out, "It is a very roomy cave with place for every-body." On
hearing this I shook off my roofing of snow and, asking the braves near
to come also, went inside. There was room for 50 or 60! People brought
out their rations, cold meat, parched grain, whatever they had. From
such cold and tumult to a place so warm, cosy and quiet![1220]
Next day the snow and wind having ceased, we made an early start and we
got to the pass by again stamping down [Sidenote: Fol. 195.] a road in
the snow. The proper road seems to make a dÈtour up the flank of the
mountain and to go over higher up, by what is understood to be called
the Zirrin-pass. Instead of taking that road, we went straight up the
valley-bottom (_qul_).[1221] It was night before we reached the further
side of the (Bakkak-)pass; we spent the night there in the mouth of the
valley, a night of mighty cold, got through with great distress and
suffering. Many a man had his hands and feet frost-bitten; that night's
cold took both Kipa's feet, both Siunduk _Turkman_'s hands, both Ahi's
feet. Early next morning we moved down the valley; putting our trust in
God, we went straight down, by bad slopes and sudden falls, knowing and
seeing it could not be the right way. It was the Evening Prayer when we
got out of that valley. No long-memoried old man knew that any-one had
been heard of as crossing that pass with the snow so deep, or indeed
that it had ever entered the heart of man to cross it at that time of
year. Though for a few days we had suffered greatly through the depth of
the snow, yet its depth, in the end, enabled us to reach our
destination. For why? How otherwise should we have traversed those
pathless slopes and sudden falls? [Sidenote: Fol. 195b.]
All ill, all good in the count, is gain if looked at aright!
The Yaka-aulang people at once heard of our arrival and our dismounting;
followed, warm houses, fat sheep, grass and horse-corn, water without
stint, ample wood and dried dung for fires! To escape from such snow and
cold to such a village, to such warm dwellings, was comfort those will
understand who have had our trials, relief known to those who have felt
our hardships. We tarried one day in Yaka-aulang, happy-of-heart and
easy-of-mind; marched 2 _yighach_ (10-12 m.) next day and dismounted.
The day following was the Ramzan Feast[1222]; we went on through Bamian,
crossed by Shibr-tu and dismounted before reaching Janglik.
(_p. Second raid on the Turkman Hazaras._)
The Turkman Hazaras with their wives and little children must have made
their winter-quarters just upon our road[1223]; they had no word about
us; when we got in amongst their cattle-pens and tents (_alachuq_) two
or three groups of these went to ruin and plunder, the people themselves
drawing off with their little children and abandoning houses and goods.
News was [Sidenote: Fol. 196.] brought from ahead that, at a place where
there were narrows, a body of Hazaras was shooting arrows, holding up
part of the army, and letting no-one pass. We, hurrying on, arrived to
find no narrows at all; a few Hazaras were shooting from a naze,
standing in a body on the hill[1224] like very good soldiers.[1225]
They saw the blackness of the foe;
Stood idle-handed and amazed;
I arriving, went swift that way,
Pressed on with shout, "Move on! move on!"
I wanted to hurry my men on,
To make them stand up to the foe.
With a "Hurry up!" to my men,
I went on to the front.
Not a man gave ear to my words.
I had no armour nor horse-mail nor arms,
I had but my arrows and quiver.
I went, the rest, maybe all of them, stood,
Stood still as if slain by the foe!
Your servant you take that you may have use
Of his arms, of his life, the whole time;
Not that the servant stand still
While the beg makes advance to the front;
Not that the servant take rest
While his beg is making the rounds.
From no such a servant will come
Speed, or use in your Gate, or zest for your food.
At last I charged forward myself,
[Sidenote: Fol. 196b.] Herding the foe up the hill;
Seeing me go, my men also moved,
Leaving their terrors behind.
With me they swift spread over the slope,
Moving on without heed to the shaft;
Sometimes on foot, mounted sometimes,
Boldly we ever moved on,
Still from the hill poured the shafts.
Our strength seen, the foe took to flight.
We got out on the hill; we drove the Hazaras,
Drove them like deer by valley and ridge;
We shot those wretches like deer;
We shared out the booty in goods and in sheep;
The Turkman Hazaras' kinsfolk we took;
We made captive their people of sorts (_qara_);
We laid hands on their men of renown;
Their wives and their children we took.
I myself collected a few of the Hazaras' sheep, gave them into Yarak
Taghai's charge, and went to the front. By ridge and valley, driving
horses and sheep before us, we went to Timur Beg's Langar and there
dismounted. Fourteen or fifteen Hazara thieves had fallen into our
hands; I had thought of having them put to death when we next
dismounted, with various torture, as a warning to all highwaymen and
robbers, but Qasim Beg came across them on the road and, with mistimed
[Sidenote: Fol. 197.] compassion, set them free.
To do good to the bad is one and the same
As the doing of ill to the good;
On brackish soil no spikenard grows,
Waste no seed of toil upon it.[1226]
Out of compassion the rest of the prisoners were released also.
(_j. Disloyalty in Kabul._)
News came while we were raiding the Turkman Hazaras, that Muhammad
Husain Mirza _Dughlat_ and Sl. Sanjar _Barlas_ had drawn over to
themselves the Mughuls left in Kabul, declared Mirza Khan (Wais) supreme
(_padshah_), laid siege to the fort and spread a _report_ that
Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza and Muzaffar Mirza had sent me, a prisoner, to
Fort Ikhtiyaru'd-din, now known as Ala-qurghan.
In command of the Kabul-fort there had been left Mulla Baba of
Pashaghar, Khalifa, Muhibb-i-`ali the armourer, Ahmad-i-yusuf and
Ahmad-i-qasim. They did well, made the fort fast, strengthened it, and
kept watch.
(_k. Babur's advance to Kabul._)
From Timur Beg's Langar we sent Qasim Beg's servant, Muh. of Andijan, a
_Tuqbai_, to the Kabul begs, with written details of our arrival and of
the following arrangements:--"When we are out of the Ghur-bund
narrows,[1227] we will fall on them suddenly; let our signal to you be
the fire we will light directly we have passed Minar-hill; do you in
reply light one in the citadel, on [Sidenote: Fol. 197b.] the old Kushk
(kiosk)," now the Treasury, "so that we may be sure you know of our
coming. We will come up from our side; you come out from yours; neglect
nothing your hands can find to do!" This having been put into writing,
Muhammad _Andijani_ was sent off.
Riding next dawn from the Langar, we dismounted over against
Ushtur-shahr. Early next morning we passed the Ghur-bund narrows,
dismounted at Bridge-head, there watered and rested our horses, and at
the Mid-day Prayer set forward again. Till we reached the
_tutqawal_,[1228] there was no snow, beyond that, the further we went
the deeper the snow. The cold between Zamma-yakhshi and Minar was such
as we had rarely felt in our lives.
We sent on Ahmad the messenger (_yasawal_) and Qara Ahmad
_yurunchi_[1229] to say to the begs, "Here we are at the time promised;
be ready! be bold! "After crossing Minar-hill[1230] and dismounting on
its skirt, helpless with cold, we lit fires to warm ourselves. It was
not time to light the signal-fire; we just lit these because we were
helpless in that mighty cold. Near shoot of dawn we rode on from
Minar-hill; between it and Kabul the snow was up to the horses' knees
and had hardened, so off the road to move was difficult. Riding
single-file the whole way, we got to Kabul [Sidenote: Fol. 198.] in good
time undiscovered.[1231] Before we were at Bibi Mah-rui (Lady
Moon-face), the blaze of fire on the citadel let us know that the begs
were looking out.
(_l. Attack made on the rebels._)
On reaching Sayyid Qasim's bridge, Sherim Taghai and the men of the
right were sent towards Mulla Baba's bridge, while we of the left and
centre took the Baba Luli road. Where Khalifa's garden now is, there was
then a smallish garden made by Aulugh Beg Mirza for a Langar
(almshouse); none of its trees or shrubs were left but its enclosing
wall was there. In this garden Mirza Khan was seated, Muh. Husain Mirza
being in Aulugh Beg Mirza's great Bagh-i-bihisht. I had gone as far
along the lane of Mulla Baba's garden as the burial-ground when four men
met us who had hurried forward into Mirza Khan's quarters, been beaten,
and forced to turn back. One of the four was Sayyid Qasim Lord of the
Gate, another was Qasim Beg's son Qambar-i-`ali, another was Sher-quli
the scout, another was Sl. Ahmad _Mughul_ one of Sher-quli's band. These
four, without a "God forbid!" (_tahashi_) had gone right into Mirza
Khan's quarters; thereupon he, hearing an uproar, had mounted and got
away. Abu'l-hasan the armourer's younger brother even, Muh. Husain by
name, had taken service with Mirza Khan; he had slashed at Sher-quli,
[Sidenote: Fol. 198b.] one of those four, thrown him down, and was just
striking his head off, when Sher-quli freed himself. Those four, tasters
of the sword, tasters of the arrow, wounded one and all, came pelting
back on us to the place mentioned.
Our horsemen, jammed in the narrow lane, were standing still, unable to
move forward or back. Said I to the braves near, "Get off and force a
road". Off got Nasir's Dost, Khwaja Muhammad `Ali the librarian, Baba
Sher-zad (Tiger-whelp), Shah Mahmud and others, pushed forward and at
once cleared the way. The enemy took to flight.
We had looked for the begs to come out from the Fort but they could not
come in time for the work; they only dropped in, by ones and twos, after
we had made the enemy scurry off. Ahmad-i-yusuf had come from them
before I went into the Char-bagh where Mirza Khan had been; he went in
with me, but we both turned back when we saw the Mirza had gone off.
Coming in at the garden-gate was Dost of Sar-i-pul, a foot-soldier I had
promoted for his boldness to be Kotwal and had left in Kabul; he made
straight for me, sword in hand. I had my cuirass on but had not fastened
the _gharicha_[1232] nor had I put on [Sidenote: Fol. 199.] my helm.
Whether he did not recognize me because of change wrought by cold and
snow, or whether because of the flurry of the fight, though I shouted
"Hai Dost! hai Dost!" and though Ahmad-i-yusuf also shouted, he, without
a "God forbid!" brought down his sword on my unprotected arm. Only by
God's grace can it have been that not a hairbreadth of harm was done to
me.
If a sword shook the Earth from her place,
Not a vein would it cut till God wills.
It was through the virtue of a prayer I had repeated that the Great God
averted this danger and turned this evil aside. That prayer was as
follows:--
"O my God! Thou art my Creator; except Thee there is no God.
On Thee do I repose my trust; Thou art the Lord of the mighty
throne. What God wills comes to pass; and what he does not
will comes not to pass; and there is no power or strength but
through the high and exalted God; and, of a truth, in all
things God is almighty; and verily He comprehends all things
by his knowledge, and has taken account of everything. O my
Creator! as I sincerely trust in Thee, do Thou seize by the
forelock all evil proceeding from within myself, and all evil
coming from without, and all evil proceeding from every man
who can be the occasion of evil, and all such evil as can
proceed from any living thing, and remove them far from me;
since, of a truth, Thou art the Lord of the exalted
throne!"[1233]
On leaving that garden we went to Muh. Husain Mirza's quarters in the
Bagh-i-bihisht, but he had fled and gone off to hide himself. Seven or
eight men stood in a breach of the [Sidenote: Fol. 199b.] garden-wall; I
spurred at them; they could not stand; they fled; I got up with them and
cut at one with my sword; he rolled over in such a way that I fancied
his head was off, passed on and went away; it seems he was Mirza Khan's
foster-brother, Tulik Kukuldash and that my sword fell on his shoulder.
At the gate of Muh. Husain Mirza's quarters, a Mughul I recognized for
one of my own servants, drew his bow and aimed at my face from a place
on the roof as near me as a gate-ward stands to a Gate. People on all
sides shouted, "Hai! hai! it is the Padshah." He changed his aim, shot
off his arrow and ran away. The affair was beyond the shooting of
arrows! His Mirza, his leaders, had run away or been taken; why was he
shooting?
There they brought Sl. Sanjar _Barlas_, led in by a rope round his neck;
he even, to whom I had given the Ningnahar _tuman_, had had his part in
the mutiny! Greatly agitated, he kept crying out, "Hai! what fault is in
me?" Said I, "Can there be one clearer than that you are higher than the
purpose and counsels of this crew?"[1234] But as he was the sister's son
of my Khan _dada's_ mother, Shah Begim, I gave the order, "Do not lead
him with such dishonour; it is not death."
On leaving that place, I sent Ahmad-i-qasim _Kohbur_, one of the begs of
the Fort, with a few braves, in pursuit of [Sidenote: Fol. 200.] Mirza
Khan.
(_m. Babur's dealings with disloyal women._)
When I left the Bagh-i-bihisht, I went to visit Shah Begim and
(Mihr-nigar) Khanim who had settled themselves in tents by the side of
the garden.
As townspeople and black-bludgeoners had raised a riot, and were putting
hands out to pillage property and to catch persons in corners and
outside places, I sent men, to beat the rabble off, and had it herded
right away.[1235]
Shah Begim and Khanim were seated in one tent. I dismounted at the usual
distance, approached with my former deference and courtesy, and had an
interview with them. They were extremely agitated, upset, and ashamed;
could neither excuse themselves reasonably[1236] nor make the enquiries
of affection. I had not expected this (disloyalty) of them; it was not
as though that party, evil as was the position it had taken up,
consisted of persons who would not give ear to the words of Shah Begim
and Khanim; Mirza Khan was the begim's grandson, in her presence night
and day; if she had not fallen in with the affair, she could have kept
him with her.
Twice over when fickle Fortune and discordant Fate had parted
[Sidenote: Fol. 200b.] me from throne and country, retainer and
following, I, and my mother with me, had taken refuge with them and had
had no kindness soever from them. At that time my younger brother
(_i.e._ cousin) Mirza Khan and his mother Sultan-nigar Khanim held
valuable cultivated districts; yet my mother and I,--to leave all
question of a district aside,--were not made possessors of a single
village or a few yoke of plough-oxen.[1237] Was my mother not Yunas
Khan's daughter? was I not his grandson?
In my days of plenty I have given from my hand what matched the
blood-relationship and the position of whatsoever member of that
(Chaghatai) dynasty chanced down upon me. For example, when the honoured
Shah Begim came to me, I gave her Pamghan, one of the best places in
Kabul, and failed in no sort of filial duty and service towards her.
Again, when Sl. Sa`id Khan, Khan in Kashghar, came [914 _AH._] with five
or six naked followers on foot, I looked upon him as an honoured guest
and gave him Mandrawar of the Lamghan _tumans_. Beyond this also, when
Shah Isma`il had killed Shaibaq Khan in Marv and I crossed over to
Qunduz (916 _AH._-1511 _AD._), the Andijanis, some driving their
(Auzbeg) _daroghas_ out, some making their places fast, turned their
eyes to me and sent me a man; at that time I trusted those old family
servants to that same Sl. Sa`id Khan, gave him a force, made him Khan
and sped him forth. Again, down to the present time (_circa_ 934 _AH._)
I have not looked upon any member of that family who has come to me, in
any other light than as a blood-relation. For example, there [Sidenote:
Fol. 201.] are now in my service Chin-timur Sultan; Aisan-timur Sultan,
Tukhta-bugha Sultan, and Baba Sultan;[1238] on one and all of these I
have looked with more favour than on blood-relations of my own.
I do not write this in order to make complaint; I have written the plain
truth. I do not set these matters down in order to make known my own
deserts; I have set down exactly what has happened. In this History I
have held firmly to it that the truth should be reached in every matter,
and that every act should be recorded precisely as it occurred. From
this it follows of necessity that I have set down of good and bad
whatever is known, concerning father and elder brother, kinsman and
stranger; of them all I have set down carefully the known virtues and
defects. Let the reader accept my excuse; let the reader pass on from
the place of severity!
(_n. Letters of victory._)
Rising from that place and going to the Char-bagh where Mirza Khan had
been, we sent letters of victory to all the countries, clans, and
retainers. This done, I rode to the citadel.
(_o. Arrest of rebel leaders._)
Muhammad Husain Mirza in his terror having run away into Khanim's
bedding-room and got himself fastened up in a bundle of bedding, we
appointed Mirim _Diwan_ with other begs of the fort, to take control in
those dwellings, capture, and bring him in. Mirim _Diwan_ said some
plain rough words at Khanim's [Sidenote: Fol. 201b.] gate, by some means
or other found the Mirza, and brought him before me in the citadel. I
rose at once to receive the Mirza with my usual deference, not even
shewing too harsh a face. If I had had that Muh. Husain M. cut in
pieces, there was the ground for it that he had had part in base and
shameful action, started and spurred on mutiny and treason. Death he
deserved with one after another of varied pain and torture, but because
there had come to be various connexion between us, his very sons and
daughters being by my own mother's sister Khub-nigar Khanim, I kept this
just claim in mind, let him go free, and permitted him to set out
towards Khurasan. The cowardly ingrate then forgot altogether the good I
did him by the gift of his life; he blamed and slandered me to Shaibaq
Khan. Little time passed, however, before the Khan gave him his deserts
by death.
Leave thou to Fate the man who does thee wrong,
For Fate is an avenging servitor.[1239]
Ahmad-i-qasim _Kohbur_ and the party of braves sent in pursuit of Mirza
Khan, overtook him in the low hills of Qargha-yilaq, not able even to
run away, without heart or force to stir a finger! [Sidenote: Fol. 202.]
They took him, and brought him to where I sat in the northeast porch of
the old Court-house. Said I to him, "Come! let's have a look at one
another" (_kurushaling_), but twice before he could bend the knee and
come forward, he fell down through agitation. When we had looked at one
another, I placed him by my side to give him heart, and I drank first of
the sherbet brought in, in order to remove his fears.[1240]
As those who had joined him, soldiers, peasants, Mughuls and
Chaghatais,[1241] were in suspense, we simply ordered him to remain for
a few days in his elder sister's house; but a few days later he was
allowed to set out for Khurasan[1242] because those mentioned above were
somewhat uncertain and it did not seem well for him to stay in Kabul.
(_p. Excursion to Koh-daman._)
After letting those two go, we made an excursion to Baran, Chash-tupa,
and the skirt of Gul-i-bahar.[1243] More beautiful in Spring than any
part even of Kabul are the open-lands of Baran, the plain of Chash-tupa,
and the skirt of Gul-i-bahar. Many sorts of tulip bloom there; when I
had them counted once, it came out at 34 different kinds as [has been
said].[1244] This couplet has been written in praise of these places,--
Kabul in Spring is an Eden of verdure and blossom;
Matchless in Kabul the Spring of Gul-i-bahar and Baran.
On this excursion I finished the ode,--
_My heart, like the bud of the red, red rose,
Lies fold within fold aflame; [Sidenote: Fol. 202b.]
Would the breath of even a myriad Springs
Blow my heart's bud to a rose?_
In truth, few places are quite equal to these for spring-excursions, for
hawking (_qush salmaq_) or bird-shooting (_qush atmaq_), as has been
briefly mentioned in the praise and description of the Kabul and Ghazni
country.
(_q. Nasir Mirza expelled from Badakhshan._)
This year the begs of Badakhshan _i.e._ Muhammad the armourer, Mubarak
Shah, Zubair and Jahangir, grew angry and mutinous because of the
misconduct of Nasir Mirza and some of those he cherished. Coming to an
agreement together, they drew out an army of horse and foot, arrayed it
on the level lands by the Kukcha-water, and moved towards Yaftal and
Ragh, to near Khamchan, by way of the lower hills. The Mirza and his
inexperienced begs, in their thoughtless and unobservant fashion, came
out to fight them just in those lower hills. The battle-field was uneven
ground; the Badakhshis had a dense mass of men on foot who stood firm
under repeated charges by the Mirza's horse, and returned such attack
that the horsemen fled, unable to keep their ground. Having beaten the
Mirza, the Badakhshis plundered his dependants and connexions.
Beaten and stripped bare, he and his close circle took the road through
Ishkimish and Narin to Kila-gahi, from there followed the Qizil-su up,
got out on the Ab-dara road, crossed at Shibr-tu, and so came to Kabul,
he with 70 or 80 followers, worn-out, naked and famished.
That was a marvellous sign of the Divine might! Two or three years
earlier the Mirza had left the Kabul country like a [Sidenote: Fol.
203.] foe, driving tribes and hordes like sheep before him, reached
Badakhshan and made fast its forts and valley-strongholds. With what
fancy in his mind had he marched out?[1245] Now he was back, hanging the
head of shame for those earlier misdeeds, humbled and distraught about
that breach with me!
My face shewed him no sort of displeasure; I made kind enquiry about
himself, and brought him out of his confusion.
913 AH.-MAY 13TH 1507 TO MAY 2ND 1508 AD.[1246]
(_a. Raid on the Ghilji Afghans._)
We had ridden out of Kabul with the intention of over-running the
Ghilji;[1247] when we dismounted at Sar-i-dih news was brought that a
mass of Mahmands (Afghans) was lying in Masht and Sih-kana one _yighach_
(_circa_ 5 m.) away from us.[1248] Our begs and braves agreed in saying,
"The Mahmands must be over-run", but I said, "Would it be right to turn
aside and raid our own peasants instead of doing what we set out to do?
It cannot be."
Riding at night from Sar-i-dih, we crossed the plain of Kattawaz in the
dark, a quite black night, one level stretch of land, no mountain or
rising-ground in sight, no known road or track, not a man able to lead
us! In the end I took the lead. I had been in those parts several times
before; drawing inferences from those times, I took the Pole-star on my
right shoulder-blade[1249] and, with some anxiety, moved on. God brought
it right! We went straight to the Qiaq-tu and the Aulaba-tu torrent,
that is to say, straight for Khwaja Isma`il _Siriti_ where the Ghiljis
were lying, the road to which crosses the torrent named. Dismounting
near the torrent, we let ourselves and our horses sleep a little,
[Sidenote: Fol. 203b.] took breath, and bestirred ourselves at shoot of
dawn. The Sun was up before we got out of those low hills and
valley-bottoms to the plain on which the Ghilji lay with a good
_yighach_[1250] of road between them and us; once out on the plain we
could see their blackness, either their own or from the smoke of their
fires.
Whether bitten by their own whim,[1251] or whether wanting to hurry, the
whole army streamed off at the gallop (_chapqun quidilar_); off galloped
I after them and, by shooting an arrow now at a man, now at a horse,
checked them after a _kuroh_ or two (3 m.?). It is very difficult indeed
to check 5 or 6000 braves galloping loose-rein! God brought it right!
They were checked! When we had gone about one _shar`i_ (2 m.) further,
always with the Afghan blackness in sight, the raid[1252] was allowed.
Masses of sheep fell to us, more than in any other raid.
After we had dismounted and made the spoils turn back,[1253] one body of
Afghans after another came down into the plain, provoking a fight. Some
of the begs and of the household went against one body and killed every
man; Nasir Mirza did the same with another, and a pillar of Afghan heads
was set up. An arrow pierced the foot of that foot-soldier Dost the
Kotwal who has been mentioned already;[1254] when we reached Kabul, he
died.
Marching from Khwaja Isma`il, we dismounted once more at Aulaba-tu. Some
of the begs and of my own household were ordered to go forward and
carefully separate off the Fifth (_Khums_) of the enemy's spoils. By way
of favour, we did not [Sidenote: Fol. 204.] take the Fifth from Qasim
Beg and some others.[1255] From what was written down,[1256] the Fifth
came out at 16,000, that is to say, this 16,000 was the fifth of 80,000
sheep; no question however but that with those lost and those not asked
for, a _lak_ (100,000) of sheep had been taken.
(_b. A hunting-circle._)
Next day when we had ridden from that camp, a hunting-circle was formed
on the plain of Kattawaz where deer (_kiyik_)[1257] and wild-ass are
always plentiful and always fat. Masses went into the ring; masses were
killed. During the hunt I galloped after a wild-ass, on getting near
shot one arrow, shot another, but did not bring it down, it only running
more slowly for the two wounds. Spurring forwards and getting into
position[1258] quite close to it, I chopped at the nape of its neck
behind the ears, and cut through the wind-pipe; it stopped, turned over
and died. My sword cut well! The wild-ass was surprisingly fat. Its rib
may have been a little under one yard in length. Sherim Taghai and
other observers of _kiyik_ in Mughulistan said with surprise, "Even in
Mughulistan we have seen few _kiyik_ so fat!" I shot another wild-ass;
most of the wild-asses and deer brought down in that hunt were fat, but
not one of them was so fat as the one I first killed.
Turning back from that raid, we went to Kabul and there dismounted.
(_c. Shaibaq Khan moves against Khurasan._)
Shaibaq Khan had got an army to horse at the end of last year, meaning
to go from Samarkand against Khurasan, his [Sidenote: Fol. 204b.] march
out being somewhat hastened by the coming to him of a servant of that
vile traitor to his salt, Shah Mansur the Paymaster, then in Andikhud.
When the Khan was approaching Andikhud, that vile wretch said, "I have
sent a man to the Auzbeg," relied on this, adorned himself, stuck up an
aigrette on his head, and went out, bearing gift and tribute. On this
the leaderless[1259] Auzbegs poured down on him from all sides, and
turned upside down (_tart-part_) the blockhead, his offering and his
people of all sorts.
(_d. Irresolution of the Khurasan Mirzas._)
Badi`u¥z-zaman Mirza, Muzaffar Mirza, Muh. Baranduq _Barlas_ and
Zu¥n-nun _Arghun_ were all lying with their army in Baba Khaki,[1260]
not decided to fight, not settled to make (Heri) fort fast, there they
sat, confounded, vague, uncertain what to do. Muhammad Baranduq _Barlas_
was a knowledgeable man; he kept saying, "You let Muzaffar Mirza and me
make the fort fast; let Badi`u¥z-zaman Mirza and Zu¥n-nun Beg go into
the mountains near Heri and gather in Sl. `Ali _Arghun_ from Sistan and
Zamin-dawar, Shah Beg and Muqim from Qandahar with all their armies, and
let them collect also what there is of Nikdiri and Hazara force; this
done, let them make a swift and telling move. The enemy would find it
difficult to go into the mountains, and could not come against the
(Heri) fort because [Sidenote: Fol. 205.] he would be afraid of the army
outside." He said well, his plan was practical.
Brave though Zu¥n-nun _Arghun_ was, he was mean, a lover-of-goods, far
from businesslike or judicious, rather shallow-pated, and a bit of a
fool. As has been mentioned,[1261] when that elder and that younger
brother became joint-rulers in Heri, he had chief authority in
Badi`u¥z-zaman Mirza's presence. He was not willing now for Muh.
Baranduq Beg to remain inside Heri town; being the lover-of-goods he
was, he wanted to be there himself. But he could not make this seem one
and the same thing![1262] Is there a better sign of his shallow-pate and
craze than that he degraded himself and became contemptible by accepting
the lies and flattery of rogues and sycophants? Here are the
particulars[1263]:--While he was so dominant and trusted in Heri, certain
Shaikhs and Mullas went to him and said, "The Spheres are holding
commerce with us; you are styled _Hizabru¥l-lah_ (Lion of God); you will
overcome the Auzbeg." Believing these words, he put his bathing-cloth
round his neck and gave thanks. It was through this he did not accept
Muhammad Baranduq Beg's sensible counsel, did not strengthen the works
(_aish_) of the fort, get ready fighting equipment, set scout or
rearward to warn of the foe's approach, or plan out such method of array
that, should the foe appear, his men would fight with ready heart.
(_e. Shaibaq Khan takes Heri._)
Shaibaq Khan passed through Murgh-ab to near Sir-kai[1264] in [Sidenote:
Fol. 205b.] the month of Muharram (913 AH. May-June 1507 AD.). When the
Mirzas heard of it, they were altogether upset, could not act, collect
troops, array those they had. Dreamers, they moved through a
dream![1265] Zu'n-nun _Arghun_, made glorious by that flattery, went out
to Qara-rabat, with 100 to 150 men, to face 40,000 to 50,000 Auzbegs: a
mass of these coming up, hustled his off, took him, killed him and cut
off his head.[1266]
In Fort Ikhtiyaru'd-din, it is known as Ala-qurghan,[1267] were the
Mirzas' mothers, elder and younger sisters, wives and treasure. The
Mirzas reached the town at night, let their horses rest till midnight,
slept, and at dawn flung forth again. They could not think about
strengthening the fort; in the respite and crack of time there was, they
just ran away,[1268] leaving mother, sister, wife and little child to
Auzbeg captivity.
What there was of Sl. Husain Mirza's _haram_, Payanda-sultan Begim and
Khadija Begim at the head of it, was inside Ala-qurghan; there too were
the _harams_ of Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza[1269] and Muzaffar Mirza with
their little children, treasure, and households (_biyutat_). What was
desirable for making the fort fast had not been done; even braves to
reinforce it had not arrived. `Ashiq-i-muhammad _Arghun_, the younger
brother of Mazid Beg, had fled from the army on foot and gone into it;
[Sidenote: Fol. 206.] in it was also Amir `Umar Beg's son `Ali Khan
(_Turkman_); Shaikh `Abdu'l-lah the taster was there; Mirza Beg
_Kai-khusraui_ was there; and Mirak _Gur_ (or _Kur_) the Diwan was
there.
When Shaibaq Khan arrived two or three days later; the Shaikhu'l-islam
and notables went out to him with the keys of the outer-fort. That same
`Ashiq-i-muhammad held Ala-qurghan for 16 or 17 days; then a mine, run
from the horse-market outside, was fired and brought a tower down; the
garrison lost heart, could hold out no longer, so let the fort be taken.
(_f. Shaibaq Khan in Heri._)
Shaibaq Khan, after taking Heri,[1270] behaved badly not only to the
wives and children of its rulers but to every person soever. For the
sake of this five-days' fleeting world, he earned himself a bad name.
His first improper act and deed in Heri was that, for the sake of this
rotten world (_chirk dunya_), he caused Khadija Begim various miseries,
through letting the vile wretch Pay-master Shah Mansur get hold of her
to loot. Then he let `Abdu'l-wahhab _Mughul_ take to loot a person so
saintly and so revered as Shaikh Puran, and each one of Shaikh Puran's
children be taken by a separate person. He let the band of poets be
seized by Mulla Bana'i, a matter about which this verse is well-known in
Khurasan:--
Except `Abdu'l-lah the stupid fool (_kir-khar_),
Not a poet to-day sees the colour of gold;
From the poets' band Bana'i would get gold,
All he will get is _kir-khar_.[1271] [Sidenote: Fol. 206b.]
Directly he had possession of Heri, Shaibaq Khan married and took
Muzaffar Mirza's wife, Khan-zada Khanim, without regard to the
running-out of the legal term.[1272] His own illiteracy not forbidding,
he instructed in the exposition of the Qoran, Qazi Ikhtiyar and Muhammad
Mir Yusuf, two of the celebrated and highly-skilled mullas of Heri; he
took a pen and corrected the hand-writing of Mulla Sl. `Ali of Mashhad
and the drawing of Bih-zad; and every few days, when he had composed
some tasteless couplet, he would have it read from the pulpit, hung in
the Char-su [Square], and for it accept the offerings of the
towns-people![1273] Spite of his early-rising, his not neglecting the
Five Prayers, and his fair knowledge of the art of reciting the Qoran,
there issued from him many an act and deed as absurd, as impudent, and
as heathenish as those just named.
(_g. Death of two Mirzas._)
Ten or fifteen days after he had possession of Heri, Shaibaq Khan came
from Kahd-stan[1274] to Pul-i-salar. From that place he sent Timur Sl.
and `Ubaid Sl. with the army there present, against Abu'l-muhsin Mirza
and Kupuk (Kipik) Mirza then seated carelessly in Mashhad. The two
Mirzas had thought at one time of making Qalat[1275] fast; at another,
this after they had had news of the approach of the Auzbeg, they were
for moving on Shaibaq Khan himself, by forced marches and along a
different road,[1276]--which might have turned out an amazingly good
idea! But while they sit still there in Mashhad with nothing decided,
the Sultans arrive by forced marches. The Mirzas for their part
[Sidenote: Fol. 207.] array and go out; Abu'l-muhsin Mirza is quickly
overcome and routed; Kupuk Mirza charges his brother's assailants with
somewhat few men; him too they carry off; both brothers are dismounted
and seated in one place; after an embrace (_quchush_), they kiss
farewell; Abu'l-muhsin shews some want of courage; in Kupuk Mirza it all
makes no change at all. The heads of both are sent to Shaibaq Khan in
Pul-i-salar.
(_h. Babur marches for Qandahar._)
In those days Shah Beg and his younger brother Muhammad Muqim, being
afraid of Shaibaq Khan, sent one envoy after another to me with dutiful
letters (_`arz-dasht_), giving sign of amity and good-wishes. Muqim, in
a letter of his own, explicitly invited me. For us to look on at the
Auzbeg over-running the whole country, was not seemly; and as by letters
and envoys, Shah Beg and Muqim had given me invitation, there remained
little doubt they would wait upon me.[1277] When all begs and
counsellors had been consulted, the matter was left at this:--We were to
get an army to horse, join the Arghun begs and decide in accord and
agreement with them, whether to move into Khurasan or elsewhere as might
seem good.
(_i. In Ghasni and Qalat-i-ghilzai._)
Habiba-sultan Begim, my aunt (_yinka_) as I used to call her, met us in
Ghazni, having come from Heri, according to arrangement, in order to
bring her daughter Mas`uma-sultan Begim. [Sidenote: Fol. 207b.] With the
honoured Begim came Khusrau Kukuldash, Sl. Quli _Chunaq_ (One-eared) and
Gadai _Balal_ who had returned to me after flight from Heri, first to
Ibn-i-husain Mirza then to Abu'l-muhsin Mirza,[1278] with neither of
whom they could remain.
In Qalat the army came upon a mass of Hindustan traders, come there to
traffic and, as it seemed, unable to go on. The general opinion about
them was that people who, at a time of such hostilities, are coming into
an enemy's country[1279] must be plundered. With this however I did not
agree; said I, "What is the traders' offence? If we, looking to God's
pleasure, leave such scrapings of gain aside, the Most High God will
apportion our reward. It is now just as it was a short time back when we
rode out to raid the Ghilji; many of you then were of one mind to raid
the Mahmand Afghans, their sheep and goods, their wives and families,
just because they were within five miles of you! Then as now I did not
agree with you. On the very next day the Most High God apportioned you
more sheep belonging to Afghan enemies, than had ever before fallen to
the share of the army." Something by way of _peshkash_ (offering) was
taken from each trader when we dismounted on the other side of Qalat.
(_j. Further march south._)
Beyond Qalat two Mirzas joined us, fleeing from Qandahar. One was Mirza
Khan (Wais) who had been allowed to go into Khurasan after his defeat at
Kabul. The other was `Abdu'r-razzaq [Sidenote: Fol. 208.] Mirza who had
stayed on in Khurasan when I left. With them came and waited on me the
mother of Jahangir Mirza's son Pir-i-muhammad, a grandson of Pahar
Mirza.[1280]
(_k. Behaviour of the Arghun chiefs._)
When we sent persons and letters to Shah Beg and Muqim, saying, "Here we
are at your word; a stranger-foe like the Auzbeg has taken Khurasan;
come! let us settle, in concert and amity, what will be for the general
good," they returned a rude and ill-mannered answer, going back from the
dutiful letters they had written and from the invitations they had
given. One of their incivilities was that Shah Beg stamped his letter to
me in the middle of its reverse, where begs seal if writing to begs,
where indeed a great beg seals if writing to one of the lower
circle.[1281] But for such ill-manners and his rude answers, his affair
would never have gone so far as it did, for, as they say,--
A strife-stirring word will accomplish the downfall of
an ancient line.
By these their headstrong acts they gave to the winds house, family, and
the hoards of 30 to 40 years.
One day while we were near Shahr-i-safa[1282] a false alarm being given
in the very heart of the camp, the whole army was made to arm and mount.
At the time I was occupied with a bath [Sidenote: Fol. 208b.] and
purification; the begs were much flurried; I mounted when I was ready;
as the alarm was false, it died away after a time.
March by march we moved on to Guzar.[1283] There we tried again to
discuss with the Arghuns but, paying no attention to us, they maintained
the same obstinate and perverse attitude. Certain well-wishers who knew
the local land and water, represented to me, that the head of the
torrents (_rudlar_) which come down to Qandahar, being towards Baba
Hasan Abdal and Khalishak,[1284] a move ought to be made in that
direction, in order to cut off (_yiqmaq_) all those torrents.[1285]
Leaving the matter there, we next day made our men put on their mail,
arrayed in right and left, and marched for Qandahar.
(_l. Battle of Qandahar._)
Shah Beg and Muqim had seated themselves under an awning which was set
in front of the naze of the Qandahar-hill where I am now having a
rock-residence cut out.[1286] Muqim's men pushed forward amongst the
trees to rather near us. Tufan _Arghun_ had fled to us when we were
near Shahr-i-safa; he now betook himself alone close up to the Arghun
array to where one named `Ashaqu'l-lah was advancing rather fast leading
7 or 8 men. Alone, Tufan _Arghun_ faced him, slashed swords with him,
unhorsed him, cut off his head and brought it to me as we were passing
Sang-i-lakhshak;[1287] an omen we accepted! Not thinking it well to
fight where we were, amongst suburbs and trees, we went on along the
skirt of the hill. Just as we had settled on ground for the camp, in a
meadow on the Qandahar side of the [Sidenote: Fol. 209.] torrent,[1288]
opposite Khalishak, and were dismounting, Sher Quli the scout hurried up
and represented that the enemy was arrayed to fight and on the move
towards us.
As on our march from Qalat the army had suffered much from hunger and
thirst, most of the soldiers on getting near Khalishak scattered up and
down for sheep and cattle, grain and eatables. Without looking to
collect them, we galloped off. Our force may have been 2000 in all, but
perhaps not over 1000 were in the battle because those mentioned as
scattering up and down could not rejoin in time to fight.
Though our men were few I had them organized and posted on a first-rate
plan and method; I had never arrayed them before by such a good one. For
my immediate command (_khasa tabin_) I had selected braves from whose
hands comes work[1289] and had inscribed them by tens and fifties, each
ten and each fifty under a leader who knew the post in the right or left
of the centre for his ten or his fifty, knew the work of each in the
battle, and was there on the observant watch; so that, after mounting,
the right and left, right and left hands, right and left sides, charged
right and left without the trouble of arraying them or the need of a
_tawachi_.[1290]
(_Author's note on his terminology._) [Sidenote: Fol. 209b.]
Although _baranghar_, _aung qul_, _aung yan_ and _aung_ (right
wing, right hand, right side and right) all have the same
meaning, I have applied them in different senses in order to
vary terms and mark distinctions. As, in the battle-array, the
(Ar.) _maimana_ and _maisara_ _i.e._ what people call (Turki)
_baranghar_ and _jawanghar_ (r. and l. wings) are not included
in the (Ar.) _qalb_, _i.e._ what people call (T.) _ghul_
(centre), so it is in arraying the centre itself. Taking the
array of the centre only, its (Ar.) _yamin_ and _yasar_ (r.
and l.) are called (by me) _aung qul_ and _sul qul_ (r. and l.
hands). Again,--the (Ar.) _khasa tabin_ (royal troop) in the
centre has its _yamin_ and _yasar_ which are called (by me)
_aung yan_ and _sul yan_ (r. and l. sides, T. _yan_).
Again,--in the _khasa tabin_ there is the (T.) _bui_ (_ning_)
_tikini_ (close circle); its _yamin_ and _yasar_ are called
_sung_ and _sul_. In the Turki tongue they call one single
thing a _bui_,[1291] but that is not the _bui_ meant here;
what is meant here is close (_yaqin_).
The right wing (_baranghar_) was Mirza Khan (Wais), Sherim Taghai,
Yarak Taghai with his elder and younger brethren, Chilma _Mughul_, Ayub
Beg, Muhammad Beg, Ibrahim Beg, `Ali Sayyid _Mughul_ with his Mughuls,
Sl. Quli _chuhra_, Khuda-bakhsh and Abu'l-hasan with his elder and
younger brethren.
The left (_jawanghar_) was `Abdu'r-razzaq Mirza, Qasim Beg,
Tingri-birdi, Qambar-i-`ali, Ahmad _Ailchi-bugha_, Ghuri _Barlas_,
Sayyid Husain Akbar, and Mir Shah _Quchin_.
The advance (_airawal_) was Nasir Mirza, Sayyid Qasim Lord of the Gate,
Muhibb-i-`ali the armourer, Papa Aughuli (Papa's son?), Allah-wairan
_Turkman_, Sher Quli _Mughul_ the scout with his elder and younger
brethren, and Muhammad `Ali.
In the centre (_ghul_), on my right hand, were Qasim Kukuldash, Khusrau
Kukuldash, Sl. Muhammad _Duldai_, Shah Mahmud the secretary,
Qul-i-bayazid the taster, and Kamal the sherbet-server [Sidenote: Fol.
210.] server; on my left were Khwaja Muhammad `Ali, Nasir's Dost,
Nasir's Mirim, Baba Sher-zad, Khan-quli, Wali the treasurer,
Qutluq-qadam the scout, Maqsud the water-bearer (_su-chi_), and Baba
Shaikh. Those in the centre were all of my household; there were no
great begs; not one of those enumerated had reached the rank of beg.
Those inscribed in this _bui_[1292] were Sher Beg, Hatim the
Armoury-master, Kupuk, Quli Baba, Abu'l-hasan the armourer;--of the
Mughuls, Aurus (Russian) `Ali Sayyid,[1293] Darwish-i-`ali Sayyid,
Khush-kildi, Chilma, Dost-kildi, Chilma _Taghchi_, Damachi, Mindi;--of
the Turkmans, Mansur, Rustam-i-`ali with his elder and younger brother,
and Shah Nazir and Siunduk.
The enemy was in two divisions, one under Shah Shuja' _Arghun_, known as
Shah Beg and hereafter to be written of simply as Shah Beg, the other
under his younger brother Muqim.
Some estimated the dark mass of Arghuns[1294] at 6 or 7000 men; no
question whatever but that Shah Beg's own men in mail were 4 or 5000. He
faced our right, Muqim with a force smaller may-be than his brother's,
faced our left. Muqim made a mightily strong attack on our left, that is
on Qasim Beg from whom two or three persons came before fighting began,
to ask for reinforcement; we however could not detach a man because in
front of us also the enemy was very strong. We made our onset without
any delay; the enemy fell suddenly on our van, [Sidenote: Fol. 210b.]
turned it back and rammed it on our centre. When we, after a discharge
of arrows, advanced, they, who also had been shooting for a time,
seemed likely to make a stand (_tukhtaghandik_). Some-one, shouting to
his men, came forward towards me, dismounted and was for adjusting his
arrow, but he could do nothing because we moved on without stay. He
remounted and rode off; it may have been Shah Beg himself. During the
fight Piri Beg _Turkman_ and 4 or 5 of his brethren turned their faces
from the foe and, turban in hand,[1295] came over to us.
(_Author's note on Piri Beg._) This Piri Beg was one of those
Turkmans who came [into Heri] with the Turkman Begs led by
`Abdu'l-baqi Mirza and Murad Beg, after Shah Isma`il
vanquished the Bayandar sultans and seized the `Iraq
countries.[1296]
Our right was the first to overcome the foe; it made him hurry off. Its
extreme point had gone pricking (_sanjilib_)[1297] as far as where I
have now laid out a garden. Our left extended as far as the great
tree-tangled[1298] irrigation-channels, a good way below Baba Hasan
Abdal. Muqim was opposite it, its numbers very small compared with his.
God brought it right! Between it and Muqim were three or four of the
tree-tangled water-channels going on to Qandahar;[1299] it held the
crossing-place and allowed no passage; small body though it was, it made
splendid stand [Sidenote: Fol. 211.] and kept its ground. Halwachi
Tarkhan[1300] slashed away in the water with Tingri-birdi and
Qambar-i-`ali. Qambar-i-`ali was wounded; an arrow stuck in Qasim Beg's
forehead; another struck Ghuri _Barlas_ above the eyebrow and came out
above his cheek.[1301]
We meantime, after putting our adversary to flight, had crossed those
same channels towards the naze of Murghan-koh (Birds'-hill). Some-one on
a grey _tipuchaq_ was going backwards and forwards irresolutely along
the hill-skirt, while we were getting across; I likened him to Shah
Beg; seemingly it was he.
Our men having beaten their opponents, all went off to pursue and
unhorse them. Remained with me eleven to count, `Abdu'l-lah the
librarian being one. Muqim was still keeping his ground and fighting.
Without a glance at the fewness of our men, we had the nagarets sounded
and, putting our trust in God, moved with face set for Muqim.
(Turki) For few or for many God is full strength;
No man has might in His Court.
(Arabic) How often, God willing it, a small force has vanquished
a large one!
Learning from the nagarets that we were approaching, Muqim forgot his
fixed plan and took the road of flight. God brought it right!
After putting our foe to flight, we moved for Qandahar and dismounted in
Farrukh-zad Beg's Char-bagh, of which at this time not a trace remains!
(_m. Babur enters Qandahar._) [Sidenote: Fol. 211b.]
Shah Beg and Muqim could not get into Qandahar when they took to flight;
Shah Beg went towards Shal and Mastung (Quetta), Muqim towards
Zamin-dawar. They left no-one able to make the fort fast. Ahmad `Ali
Tarkhan was in it together with other elder and younger brethren of Quli
Beg _Arghun_ whose attachment and good-feeling for me were known. After
parley they asked protection for the families of their elder and younger
brethren; their request was granted and all mentioned were encompassed
with favour. They then opened the Mashur-gate of the town; with
leaderless men in mind, no other was opened. At that gate were posted
Sherim Taghai and Yarim Beg. I went in with a few of the household,
charged the leaderless men and had two or three put to death by way of
example.[1302]
(_n. The spoils of Qandahar._)
I got to Muqim's treasury first, that being in the outer-fort;
`Abdu'r-razzaq Mirza must have been quicker than I, for he was just
dismounting there when I arrived; I gave him a few things from it. I put
Dost-i-nasir Beg, Qul-i-bayazid the taster and, of pay-masters, Muhammad
_bakhshi_ in charge of it, then passed on into the citadel and posted
Khwaja Muhammad `Ali, Shah Mahmud and, of the pay-masters, Taghai Shah
_bakhshi_ in charge of Shah Beg's treasury.
Nasir's Mirim and Maqsud the sherbet-server were sent to keep the house
of Zu'n-nun's _Diwan_ Mir Jan for Nasir Mirza; for Mirza Khan was kept
Shaikh Abu-sa`id _Tarkhani's_; for `Abdu'r-razzaq Mirza ... 's.[1303]
[Sidenote: Fol. 212.] Such masses of white money had never been seen in
those countries; no-one indeed was to be heard of who had seen so much.
That night, when we ourselves stayed in the citadel, Shah Beg's slave
Sambhal was captured and brought in. Though he was then Shah Beg's
intimate, he had not yet received his later favour.[1304] I had him
given into someone's charge but as good watch was not kept, he was
allowed to escape. Next day I went back to my camp in Farrukh-zad Beg's
Char-bagh.
I gave the Qandahar country to Nasir Mirza. After the treasure had been
got into order, loaded up and started off, he took the loads of white
_tankas_ off a string of camels (_i.e._ _7_ beasts) at the
citadel-treasury, and kept them. I did not demand them back; I just gave
them to him.
On leaving Qandahar, we dismounted in the Qush-khana meadow. After
setting the army forward, I had gone for an excursion, so I got into
camp rather late. It was another camp! not to be recognized! Excellent
_tipuchaqs_, strings and strings of he-camels, she-camels, and mules,
bearing saddle-bags (_khurzin_) of silken stuffs and cloth,--tents of
scarlet (cloth) and velvet, all sorts of awnings, every kind of
work-shop, ass-load after ass-load of chests! The goods of the elder and
younger (Arghun) brethren had been kept in separate treasuries; out of
each had come chest upon chest, bale upon bale of stuffs and
clothes-in-wear (_artmaq artmaq_), sack upon sack of white _tankas_. In
_autagh_ and _chadar_ (lattice-tent and pole-tent) was much spoil for
every man soever; many sheep also had been taken but sheep were less
cared about!
I made over to Qasim Beg Muqim's retainers in Qalat, under [Sidenote:
Fol. 212b.] Quj _Arghun_ and Taju'd-din Mahmud, with their goods and
effects. Qasim Beg was a knowing person; he saw it unadvisable for us to
stay long near Qandahar, so, by talking and talking, worrying and
worrying, he got us to march off. As has been said, I had bestowed
Qandahar on Nasir Mirza; he was given leave to go there; we started for
Kabul.
There had been no chance of portioning out the spoils while we were near
Qandahar; it was done at Qara-bagh where we delayed two or three days.
To count the coins being difficult, they were apportioned by weighing
them in scales. Begs of all ranks, retainers and household (_tabin_)
loaded up ass-load after ass-load of sacks full of white _tankas_, and
took them away for their own subsistence and the pay of their soldiers.
We went back to Kabul with masses of goods and treasure, great honour
and reputation.
(_o. Babur's marriage with Ma`suma-sultan._)
After this return to Kabul I concluded alliance (_`aqd qildim_) with Sl.
Ahmad Mirza's daughter Ma`suma-sultan Begim whom I had asked in marriage
at Khurasan, and had had brought from there.
(_p. Shaibaq Khan before Qandahar._)
A few days later a servant of Nasir Mirza brought the news that Shaibaq
Khan had come and laid siege to Qandahar. That Muqim had fled to
Zamin-dawar has been said already; from there he went on and saw Shaibaq
Khan. From Shah Beg also one person after another had gone to Shaibaq
Khan. At the instigation and petition of these two, the Khan came
[Sidenote: Fol. 213.] swiftly down on Qandahar by the mountain
road,[1305] thinking to find me there. This was the very thing that
experienced person Qasim Beg had in his mind when he worried us into
marching off from near Qandahar.
(Persian) What a mirror shews to the young man,
A baked brick shews to the old one!
Shaibaq Khan arriving, besieged Nasir Mirza in Qandahar.
(_q. Alarm in Kabul._)
When this news came, the begs were summoned for counsel. The matters for
discussion were these:--Strangers and ancient foes, such as are Shaibaq
Khan and the Auzbegs, are in possession of all the countries once held
by Timur Beg's descendants; even where Turks and Chaghatais[1306]
survive in corners and border-lands, they have all joined the Auzbeg,
willingly or with aversion; one remains, I myself, in Kabul, the foe
mightily strong, I very weak, with no means of making terms, no strength
to oppose; that, in the presence of such power and potency, we had to
think of some place for ourselves and, at this crisis and in the crack
of time there was, to put a wider space between us and the strong
foeman; that choice lay between Badakhshan and Hindustan and that
decision must now be made.
Qasim Beg and Sherim Taghai were agreed for Badakhshan;
(_Author's note on Badakhshan._) Those holding their heads up
in Badakhshan at this crisis were, of Badakhshis, Mubarak Shah
and Zubair, Jahangir _Turkman_ and Muhammad the armourer. They
had driven Nasir Mirza out but had not joined the Auzbeg.
[Sidenote: Fol. 213b.] I and several household-begs preferred going
towards Hindustan and were for making a start to Lamghan.[1307]
(_r. Movements of some Mirzas._)
After taking Qandahar, I had bestowed Qalat and the Turnuk (Tarnak)
country on `Abdu'r-razzaq Mirza and had left him in Qalat, but with the
Auzbeg besieging Qandahar, he could not stay in Qalat, so left it and
came to Kabul. He arriving just as we were marching out, was there left
in charge.[1308]
There being in Badakhshan no ruler or ruler's son, Mirza Khan inclined
to go in that direction, both because of his relationship to Shah
Begim[1309] and with her approval. He was allowed to go and the honoured
Begim herself started off with him. My honoured maternal-aunt Mihr-nigar
Khanim also wished to go to Badakhshan, notwithstanding that it was more
seemly for her to be with me, a blood-relation; but whatever objection
was made, she was not to be dissuaded; she also betook[1310] herself to
Badakhshan.
(_s. Babur's second start for Hindustan._)
Under our plan of going to Hindustan, we marched out of Kabul in the
month of the first Jumada (September 1507 AD.), taking the road through
Little Kabul and going down by Surkh-rabat to Quruq-sai.
The Afghans belonging between Kabul and Lamghan (Ningnahar) are thieves
and abettors of thieves even in quiet times; for just such a happening
as this they had prayed in vain. Said they, "He has abandoned Kabul",
and multiplied their misdeeds by ten, changing their very merits for
faults. To such [Sidenote: Fol. 214.] lengths did things go that on the
morning we marched from Jagdalik, the Afghans located between it and
Lamghan, such as the Khizr-khail, Shimu-khail, Khirilchi and Khugiani,
thought of blocking the pass, arrayed on the mountain to the north, and
advancing with sound of tambour and flourish of sword, began to shew
themselves off. On our mounting I ordered our men to move along the
mountain-side, each man from where he had dismounted;[1311] off they set
at the gallop up every ridge and every valley of the saddle.[1312] The
Afghans stood awhile, but could not let even one arrow fly,[1313] and
betook themselves to flight. While I was on the mountain during the
pursuit, I shot one in the hand as he was running back below me. That
arrow-stricken man and a few others were brought in; some were put to
death by impalement, as an example.
We dismounted over against the Adinapur-fort in the Ningnahar _tuman_.
(_t. A raid for winter stores._)
Up till then we had taken no thought where to camp, where to go, where
to stay; we had just marched up and down, camping in fresh places, while
waiting for news.[1314] It was late in the autumn; most lowlanders had
carried in their rice. People knowing the local land and water
represented that the Mil Kafirs up the water of the `Alishang _tuman_
grow great quantities of rice, so that we might be able to collect
winter supplies from them for the army. Accordingly we rode out of the
Ningnahar dale (_julga_), crossed (the Baran-water) at Saikal, and went
swiftly as far as the Pur-amin (easeful) valley. [Sidenote: Fol. 214b.]
There the soldiers took a mass of rice. The rice-fields were all at the
bottom of the hills. The people fled but some Kafirs went to their
death. A few of our braves had been sent to a look-out (_sar-kub_)[1315]
on a naze of the Pur-anim valley; when they were returning to us, the
Kafirs rushed from the hill above, shooting at them. They overtook Qasim
Beg's son-in-law Puran, chopped at him with an axe, and were just taking
him when some of the braves went back, brought strength to bear, drove
them off and got Puran away. After one night spent in the Kafirs'
rice-fields, we returned to camp with a mass of provisions collected.
(_u. Marriage of Muqim's daughter._)
While we were near Mandrawar in those days, an alliance was concluded
between Muqim's daughter Mah-chuchuk, now married to Shah Hasan
_Arghun_, and Qasim Kukuldash.[1316]
(_v. Abandonment of the Hindustan project._)
As it was not found desirable to go on into Hindustan, I sent Mulla Baba
of Pashaghar back to Kabul with a few braves. Meantime I marched from
near Mandrawar to Atar and Shiwa and lay there for a few days. From Atar
I visited Kunar and Nur-gal; from Kunar I went back to camp on a raft;
it was the first time I had sat on one; it pleased me much, and the raft
came into common use thereafter.
(_w. Shaibaq Khan retires from Qandahar._)
In those same days Mulla Baba of Farkat came from Nasir Mirza with news
in detail that Shaibaq Khan, after taking the outer-fort of Qandahar,
had not been able to take the citadel but had retired; also that the
Mirza, on various accounts, had left Qandahar and gone to Ghazni.
Shaibaq Khan's arrival before Qandahar, within a few days [Sidenote:
Fol. 215.] of our own departure, had taken the garrison by surprise, and
they had not been able to make fast the outer-fort. He ran mines several
times round about the citadel and made several assaults. The place was
about to be lost. At that anxious time Khwaja Muh. Amin, Khwaja Dost
Khawand, Muh. `Ali, a foot-soldier, and Shami (Syrian?) let themselves
down from the walls and got away. Just as those in the citadel were
about to surrender in despair, Shaibaq Khan interposed words of peace
and uprose from before the place. Why he rose was this:--It appears that
before he went there, he had sent his _haram_ to Nirah-tu,[1317] and
that in Nirah-tu some-one lifted up his head and got command in the
fort; the Khan therefore made a sort of peace and retired from Qandahar.
(_x. Babur returns to Kabul._)
Mid-winter though it was we went back to Kabul by the Bad-i-pich road. I
ordered the date of that transit and that crossing of the pass to be cut
on a stone above Bad-i-pich;[1318] Hafiz Mirak wrote the inscription,
Ustad Shah Muhammad did the cutting, not well though, through haste.
I bestowed Ghazni on Nasir Mirza and gave `Abdu'r-razzaq Mirza the
Ningnahar _tuman_ with Mandrawar, Nur-valley, Kunar and Nur-gal.[1319]
(_y. Babur styles himself Padshah._)
Up to that date people had styled Timur Beg's descendants _Mirza_, even
when they were ruling; now I ordered that people should style me
_Padshah_.[1320]
(_z. Birth of Babur's first son._)
At the end of this year, on Tuesday the 4th day of the month of
Zu'l-qa`da (March 6th 1506 AD.), the Sun being in Pisces [Sidenote: Fol.
215b.] (_Hut_), Humayun was born in the citadel of Kabul. The date of
his birth was found by the poet Maulana Masnadi in the words _Sultan
Humayun Khan_,[1321] and a minor poet of Kabul found it in
_Shah-i-firus-qadr_ (Shah of victorious might). A few days later he
received the name Humayun; when he was five or six days old, I went out
to the Char-bagh where was had the feast of his nativity. All the begs,
small and great, brought gifts; such a mass of white _tankas_ was heaped
up as had never been seen before. It was a first-rate feast!
914 AH.--MAY 2ND 1508 TO APRIL 21ST 1509 AD.[1322]
This spring a body of Mahmand Afghans was over-run near Muqur.[1323]
(_a. A Mughul rebellion._)
A few days after our return from that raid, Quj Beg, Faqir-i-`ali,
Karim-dad and Baba _chuhra_ were thinking about deserting, but their
design becoming known, people were sent who took them below Astar-ghach.
As good-for-nothing words of theirs had been reported to me, even during
Jahangir M.'s life-time,[1324] I ordered that they should be put to
death at the top of the _bazar_. They had been taken to the place; the
ropes had been fixed; and they were about to be hanged when Qasim Beg
sent Khalifa to me with an urgent entreaty that I would pardon their
offences. To please him I gave them their lives, but I ordered them kept
in custody.
What there was of Khusrau Shah's retainers from Hisar and Qunduz,
together with the head-men of the Mughuls, Chilma, [Sidenote: Fol. 216.]
`Ali Sayyid,[1325] Sakma (?), Sher-quli and Aiku-salam (?), and also
Khusrau Shah's favourite Chaghatai retainers under Sl. `Ali _chuhra_ and
Khudabakhsh, with also 2 or 3000 serviceable Turkman braves led by
Siunduk and Shah Nazar,[1326] the whole of these, after consultation,
took up a bad position towards me. They were all seated in front of
Khwaja Riwaj, from the Sung-qurghan meadow to the Chalak; `Abdu'r-razzaq
Mirza, come in from Ning-nahar, being in Dih-i-afghan.[1327]
Earlier on Muhibb-i-`ali the armourer had told Khalifa and Mulla Baba
once or twice of their assemblies, and both had given me a hint, but the
thing seeming incredible, it had had no attention. One night, towards
the Bed-time Prayer, when I was sitting in the Audience-hall of the
Char-bagh, Musa Khwaja, coming swiftly up with another man, said in my
ear, "The Mughuls are really rebelling! We do not know for certain
whether they have got `Abdu'r-razzaq M. to join them. They have
not settled to rise to-night." I feigned disregard and a little
later went towards the _harams_ which at the time were in the
Yurunchqa-garden[1328] and the Bagh-i-khilwat, but after page, servitor
and messenger (_yasawal_) had turned back on getting [Sidenote: Fol.
216b.] near them, I went with the chief-slave towards the town, and on
along the ditch. I had gone as far as the Iron-gate when Khwaja Muh.
`Ali[1329] met me, he coming by the _bazar_ road from the opposite
direction. He joined me ... of the porch of the Hot-bath
(_hammam_)....[1330]
TRANSLATOR'S NOTE ON 914 TO 925 AH.--1508 TO 1519 AD.
From several references made in the _Babur-nama_ and from a passage in
Gul-badan's _Humayun-nama_ (f. 15), it is inferrible that Babur was
composing the annals of 914 AH. not long before his last illness and
death.[1331]
Before the diary of 925 AH. (1519 AD.) takes up the broken thread of his
autobiography, there is a _lacuna_ of narrative extending over nearly
eleven years. The break was not intended, several references in the
_Babur-nama_ shewing Babur's purpose to describe events of the
unchronicled years.[1332] Mr. Erskine, in the Leyden and Erskine
_Memoirs_, carried Babur's biography through the major _lacunÊ_, but
without firsthand help from the best sources, the _Habibu's-siyar_ and
_Tarikh-i-rashidi_. He had not the help of the first even in his
_History of India_. M. de Courteille working as a translator only, made
no attempt to fill the gaps.
Babur's biography has yet to be completed; much time is demanded by the
task, not only in order to exhaust known sources and seek others further
afield, but to weigh and balance the contradictory statements of writers
deep-sundered in sympathy and outlook. To strike such a balance is
essential when dealing with the events of 914 to 920 AH. because in
those years Babur had part in an embittered conflict between Sunni and
Shi`a. What I offer below, as a stop-gap, is a mere summary of events,
mainly based on material not used by Mr. Erskine, with a few comments
prompted by acquaintance with Baburiana.
_USEFUL SOURCES_
Compared with what Babur could have told of this most interesting period
of his life, the yield of the sources is scant, a natural sequel from
the fact that no one of them had his biography for its main theme, still
less had his own action in crises of enforced ambiguity.
Of all known sources the best are Khwand-amir's _Habibu's-siyar_ and
Haidar Mirza _Dughlat's Tarikh-i-rashidi_. The first was finished
nominally in 930 AH. (1524-5 AD.), seven years therefore before Babur's
death, but it received much addition of matter concerning Babur after
its author went to Hindustan in 934 AH. (f. 339). Its fourth part, a
life of Shah Isma`il _Safawi_ is especially valuable for the years of
this _lacuna_. Haidar's book was finished under Humayun in 953 AH. (1547
AD.), when its author had reigned five years in Kashmir. It is the most
valuable of all the sources for those interested in Babur himself, both
because of Haidar's excellence as a biographer, and through his close
acquaintance with Babur's family. From his eleventh to his thirteenth
year he lived under Babur's protection, followed this by 19 years
service under Sa`id Khan, the cousin of both, in Kashghar, and after
that Khan's death, went to Babur's sons Kamran and Humayun in Hindustan.
A work issuing from a Sunni Auzbeg centre, Fazl bin Ruzbahan _Isfahani's
Suluku'l-muluk_, has a Preface of special value, as shewing one view of
what it writes of as the spread of heresy in Mawara'u'n-nahr through
Babur's invasions. The book itself is a Treatise on Musalman Law, and
was prepared by order of `Ubaidu'l-lah Khan _Auzbeg_ for his help in
fulfilling a vow he had made, before attacking Babur in 918 AH., at the
shrine of Khwaja Ahmad _Yasawi_ [in Hazrat Turkistan], that, if he were
victorious, he would conform exactly with the divine Law and uphold it
in Mawara'u'n-nahr (Rieu's Pers. Cat. ii, 448).
The _Tarikh-i Haji Muhammad `Arif Qandahari_ appears, from the frequent
use Firishta made of it, to be a useful source, both because its author
was a native of Qandahar, a place much occupying Babur's activities, and
because he was a servant of Bairam Khan-i-khanan, whose assassination
under Akbar he witnessed.[1333] Unfortunately, though his life of Akbar
survives no copy is now known of the section of his General History
which deals with Babur's.
An early source is Yahya _Kazwini's Lubbu't-tawarikh_, written in 948
AH. (1541 AD.), but brief only in the Babur period. It issued from a
Shi`a source, being commanded by Shah Isma`il _Safawi_'s son Bahram.
Another work issuing also from a _Safawi_ centre is Mir Sikandar's
_Tarikh-i-`alam-arai_, a history of Shah `Abbas I, with an introduction
treating of his predecessors which was completed in 1025 AH. (1616 AD.).
Its interest lies in its outlook on Babur's dealings with Shah Isma`il.
A later source, brief only, is Firishta's _Tarikh-i-firishta_, finished
under Jahangir in the first quarter of the 17th century.
Mr. Erskine makes frequent reference to Kh(w)afi Khan's _Tarikh_, a
secondary authority however, written under Aurangzib, mainly based on
Firishta's work, and merely summarizing Babur's period. References to
detached incidents of the period are found in Shaikh `Abdu'l-qadir's
_Tarikh-i-badayuni_ and Mir Ma`sum's _Tarikh-i-sind_.
_EVENTS OF THE UNCHRONICLED YEARS_
914 AH.-MAY 2ND 1508 TO APRIL 21ST 1509 AD.
The mutiny, of which an account begins in the text, was crushed by the
victory of 500 loyalists over 3,000 rebels, one factor of success being
Babur's defeat in single combat of five champions of his
adversaries.[1334] The disturbance was not of long duration; Kabul was
tranquil in Sha`ban (November) when Sl. Sa`id Khan _Chaghatai_, then 21,
arrived there seeking his cousin's protection, after defeat by his
brother Mansur at Almatu, escape from death, commanded by Shaibani, in
Farghana, a winter journey through Qara-tigin to Mirza Khan in
Qila'-i-zafar, refusal of an offer to put him in that feeble Mirza's
place, and so on to Kabul, where he came a destitute fugitive and
enjoyed a freedom from care never known by him before (f. 200_b_; T.R.
p. 226). The year was fatal to his family and to Haidar's; in it
Shaibani murdered Sl. Mahmud Khan and his six sons, Muhammad Husain
Mirza and other Dughlat sultans.
915 AH.-APRIL 21ST 1509 TO APRIL 11TH 1510 AD.
In this year hostilities began between Shah Isma`il _Safawi_ and Muh.
Shaibani Khan _Auzbeg_, news of which must have excited keen interest in
Kabul.
In it occurred also what was in itself a minor matter of a child's
safety, but became of historical importance, namely, the beginning of
personal acquaintance between Babur and his sympathetic biographer
Haidar Mirza _Dughlat_. Haidar, like Sa`id, came a fugitive to the
protection of a kinsman; he was then eleven, had been saved by servants
from the death commanded by Shaibani, conveyed to Mirza Khan in
Badakhshan, thence sent for by Babur to the greater security of Kabul
(f. 11; Index _s.n._; T.R. p. 227).
916 AH.-APRIL 11TH 1510 TO MARCH 31ST 1510 AD.
_a. News of the battle of Merv._
Over half of this year passed quietly in Kabul; Ramzan (December)
brought from Mirza Khan (Wais) the stirring news that Isma`il had
defeated Shaibani near Merv.[1335] "It is not known," wrote the Mirza,
"whether Shahi Beg Khan has been killed or not. All the Auzbegs have
crossed the Amu. Amir Aurus, who was in Qunduz, has fled. About 20,000
Mughuls, who left the Auzbeg at Merv, have come to Qunduz. I have come
there." He then invited Babur to join him and with him to try for the
recovery of their ancestral territories (T.R. p. 237).
_b. Babur's campaign in Transoxiana begun._
The Mirza's letter was brought over passes blocked by snow; Babur, with
all possible speed, took the one winter-route through Ab-dara, kept the
Ramzan Feast in Bamian, and reached Qunduz in Shawwal (Jan. 1511 AD.).
Haidar's detail about the Feast seems likely to have been recorded
because he had read Babur's own remark, made in Ramzan 933 AH. (June
1527) that up to that date, when he kept it in Sikri, he had not since
his eleventh year kept it twice in the same place (f. 330).
_c. Mughul affairs._
Outside Qunduz lay the Mughuls mentioned by Mirza Khan as come from Merv
and so mentioned, presumably, as a possible reinforcement. They had been
servants of Babur's uncles Mahmud and Ahmad, and when Shaibani defeated
those Khans at Akhsi in 908 AH., had been compelled by him to migrate
into Khurasan to places remote from Mughulistan. Many of them had served
in Kashghar; none had served a Timurid Mirza. Set free by Shaibani's
death, they had come east, a Khan-less 20,000 of armed and fully
equipped men and they were there, as Haidar says, in their strength
while of Chaghatais there were not more than 5,000. They now, and with
them the Mughuls from Kabul, used the opportunity offering for return to
a more congenial location and leadership, by the presence in Qunduz of a
legitimate Khaqan and the clearance in Andijan, a threshold of
Mughulistan, of its Auzbeg governors (f. 200_b_). The chiefs of both
bodies of Mughuls, Sherim Taghai at the head of one, Ayub _Begchik_ of
the other, proffered the Mughul Khanship to Sa`id with offer to set
Babur aside, perhaps to kill him. It is improbable that in making their
offer they contemplated locating themselves in the confined country of
Kabul; what they seem to have wished was what Babur gave, Sa`id for
their Khaqan and permission to go north with him.
Sa`id, in words worth reading, rejected their offer to injure Babur,
doing so on the grounds of right and gratitude, but, the two men
agreeing that it was now expedient for them to part, asked to be sent to
act for Babur where their friendship could be maintained for their
common welfare. The matter was settled by Babur's sending him into
Andijan in response to an urgent petition for help there just arrived
from Haidar's uncle. He "was made Khan" and started forth in the
following year, on Safar 14th 917 AH. (May 13th 1511 AD.); with him went
most of the Mughuls but not all, since even of those from Merv, Ayub
_Begchik_ and others are found mentioned on several later occasions as
being with Babur.
Babur's phrase "I made him Khan" (f. 200_b_) recalls his earlier mention
of what seems to be the same appointment (f. 10_b_), made by Abu-sa`id
of Yunas as Khan of the Mughuls; in each case the meaning seems to be
that the Timurid Mirza made the Chaghatai Khan Khaqan of the Mughuls.
_d. First attempt on Hisar._
After spending a short time in Qunduz, Babur moved for Hisar in which
were the Auzbeg sultans Mahdi and Hamza. They came out into Wakhsh to
meet him but, owing to an imbroglio, there was no encounter and each
side retired (T.R. p. 238).
_e. Intercourse between Babur and Isma`il Safawi._
While Babur was now in Qunduz his sister Khan-zada arrived there,
safe-returned under escort of the Shah's troops, after the death in the
battle of Merv of her successive husbands Shaibani and Sayyid Hadi, and
with her came an envoy from Isma`il proffering friendship, civilities
calculated to arouse a hope of Persian help in Babur. To acknowledge his
courtesies, Babur sent Mirza Khan with thanks and gifts; Haidar says
that the Mirza also conveyed protestations of good faith and a request
for military assistance. He was well received and his request for help
was granted; that it was granted under hard conditions then stated later
occurrences shew.
917 AH.-MARCH 31ST 1511 TO MARCH 19TH 1512 AD.
_a. Second attempt on Hisar._
In this year Babur moved again on Hisar. He took post, where once his
forbear Timur had wrought out success against great odds, at the
Pul-i-sangin (Stone-bridge) on the Surkh-ab, and lay there a month
awaiting reinforcement. The Auzbeg sultans faced him on the other side
of the river, they too, presumably, awaiting reinforcement. They moved
when they felt themselves strong enough to attack, whether by addition
to their own numbers, whether by learning that Babur had not largely
increased his own. Concerning the second alternative it is open to
surmise that he hoped for larger reinforcement than he obtained; he
appears to have left Qunduz before the return of Mirza Khan from his
embassy to Isma`il, to have expected Persian reinforcement with the
Mirza, and at Pul-i-sangin, where the Mirza joined him in time to fight,
to have been strengthened by the Mirza's own following, and few, if any,
foreign auxiliaries. These surmises are supported by what Khwand-amir
relates of the conditions [specified later] on which the Shah's main
contingent was despatched and by his shewing that it did not start until
after the Shah had had news of the battle at Pul-i-sangin.
At the end of the month of waiting, the Auzbegs one morning swam the
Surkh-ab below the bridge; in the afternoon of the same day, Babur
retired to better ground amongst the mountain fastnesses of a local
Ab-dara. In the desperate encounter which followed the Auzbegs were
utterly routed with great loss in men; they were pursued to
Darband-i-ahanin (Iron-gate) on the Hisar border, on their way to join a
great force assembled at Qarshi under Kuchum Khan, Shaibani's successor
as Auzbeg Khaqan. The battle is admirably described by Haidar, who was
then a boy of 12 with keen eye watching his own first fight, and that
fight with foes who had made him the last male survivor of his line. In
the evening of the victory Mahdi, Hamza and Hamza's son Mamak were
brought before Babur who, says Haidar, did to them what they had done to
the Mughul Khaqans and Chaghatai Sultans, that is, he retaliated in
blood for the blood of many kinsmen.
_b. Persian reinforcement._
After the battle Babur went to near Hisar, was there joined by many
local tribesmen, and, some time later, by a large body of Isma`il's
troops under Ahmad Beg _Safawi_, `Ali Khan _Istilju_ and Shahrukh Sl.
_Afshar_, Isma`il's seal-keeper. The following particulars, given by
Khwand-amir, about the despatch of this contingent help to fix the order
of occurrences, and throw light on the price paid by Babur for his
auxiliaries. He announced his victory over Mahdi and Hamza to the Shah,
and at the same time promised that if he reconquered the rest of
Transoxiana by the Shah's help, he would read his name in the _khutba_,
stamp it on coins together with those of the Twelve Imams, and work to
destroy the power of the Auzbegs. These undertakings look like a
response to a demand; such conditions cannot have been proffered; their
acceptance must have been compelled. Khwand-amir says that when Isma`il
fully understood the purport of Babur's letter, [by which would seem to
be meant, when he knew that his conditions of help were accepted,] he
despatched the troops under the three Commanders named above.
The Persian chiefs advised a move direct on Bukhara and Samarkand; and
with this Babur's councillors concurred, they saying, according to
Haidar, that Bukhara was then empty of troops and full of fools. `Ubaid
Khan had thrown himself into Qarshi; it was settled not to attack him
but to pass on and encamp a stage beyond the town. This was done; then
scout followed scout, bringing news that he had come out of Qarshi and
was hurrying to Bukhara, his own fief. Instant and swift pursuit
followed him up the 100 miles of caravan-road, into Bukhara, and on
beyond, sweeping him and his garrison, plundered as they fled, into the
open land of Turkistan. Many sultans had collected in Samarkand, some no
doubt being, like Timur its governor, fugitives escaped from
Pul-i-sangin. Dismayed by Babur's second success, they scattered into
Turkistan, thus leaving him an open road.
_c. Samarkand re-occupied and relations with Isma`il Safawi._
He must now have hoped to be able to dispense with his dangerous
colleagues, for he dismissed them when he reached Bukhara, with gifts
and thanks for their services. It is Haidar, himself present, who fixes
Bukhara as the place of the dismissal (T.R. p. 246).
From Bukhara Babur went to Samarkand. It was mid-Rajab 917 AH. (October
1511 AD.), some ten months after leaving Kabul, and after 9 years of
absence, that he re-entered the town, itself gay with decoration for his
welcome, amidst the acclaim of its people.[1336]
Eight months were to prove his impotence to keep it against the forces
ranged against him,--Auzbeg strength in arms compacted by Sunni zeal,
Sunni hatred of a Shi`a's suzerainty intensified by dread lest that
potent Shi`a should resolve to perpetuate his dominance. Both as a Sunni
and as one who had not owned a suzerain, the position was unpleasant for
Babur. That his alliance with Isma`il was dangerous he will have known,
as also that his risks grew as Transoxiana was over-spread by news of
Isma`il's fanatical barbarism to pious and learned Sunnis, notably in
Heri. He manifested desire for release both now and later,--now when he
not only dismissed his Persian helpers but so behaved to the Shah's
envoy Muhammad Jan,--he was Najm Sani's Lord of the Gate,--that the envoy
felt neglect and made report of Babur as arrogant, in opposition, and
unwilling to fulfil his compact,--later when he eagerly attempted success
unaided against `Ubaid Khan, and was then worsted. It illustrates the
Shah's view of his suzerain relation to Babur that on hearing Muhammad
Jan's report, he ordered Najm Sani to bring the offender to order.
Meantime the Shah's conditions seem to have been carried out in
Samarkand and Babur's subservience clearly shewn.[1337] Of this there
are the indications,--that Babur had promised and was a man of his word;
that Sunni irritation against him waxed and did not wane as it might
have done without food to nourish it; that Babur knew himself impotent
against the Auzbegs unless he had foreign aid, expected attack, knew it
was preparing; that he would hear of Muhammad Jan's report and of Najm
Sani's commission against himself. Honesty, policy and necessity
combined to enforce the fulfilment of his agreement. What were the
precise terms of that agreement beyond the two as to the _khutba_ and
the coins, it needs close study of the wording of the sources to decide,
lest metaphor be taken for fact. Great passions,--ambition, religious
fervour, sectarian bigotry and fear confronted him. His problem was
greater than that of Henry of Navarre and of Napoleon in Egypt; they had
but to seem what secured their acceptance; he had to put on a guise that
brought him hate.
Khan-zada was not the only member of Babur's family who now rejoined him
after marriage with an Auzbeg. His half-sister Yadgar-sultan had fallen
to the share of Hamza Sultan's son `Abdu'l-latif in 908 AH. when
Shaibani defeated the Khans near Akhsi. Now that her half-brother had
defeated her husband's family, she returned to her own people (f. 9).
918 AH.-MARCH 19TH 1512 TO MARCH 9TH 1513 AD.
_a. Return of the Auzbegs._
Emboldened by the departure of the Persian troops, the Auzbegs, in the
spring of the year, came out of Turkistan, their main attack being
directed on Tashkint, then held for Babur.[1338] `Ubaid Khan moved for
Bukhara. He had prefaced his march by vowing that, if successful, he
would thenceforth strictly observe Musalman Law. The vow was made in
Hazrat Turkistan at the shrine of Khwaja Ahmad _Yasawi_, a saint revered
in Central Asia through many centuries; he had died about 1120 AD.;
Timur had made pilgrimage to his tomb, in 1397 AD., and then had founded
the mosque still dominating the town, still the pilgrim's
land-mark.[1339] `Ubaid's vow, like Babur's of 933 AH., was one of
return to obedience. Both men took oath in the Ghazi's mood, Babur's set
against the Hindu whom he saw as a heathen, `Ubaid's set against Babur
whom he saw as a heretic.
_b. Babur's defeat at Kul-i-malik._
In Safar (April-May) `Ubaid moved swiftly down and attacked the Bukhara
neighbourhood. Babur went from Samarkand to meet him. Several details of
what followed, not given by Haidar and, in one particular, contradicting
him, are given by Khwand-amir. The statement in which the two historians
contradict one another is Haidar's that `Ubaid had 3000 men only, Babur
40,000. Several considerations give to Khwand-amir's opposed statement
that Babur's force was small, the semblance of being nearer the fact.
Haidar, it may be said, did not go out on this campaign; he was ill in
Samarkand and continued ill there for some time; Khwand-amir's details
have the well-informed air of things learned at first-hand, perhaps from
some-one in Hindustan after 934 AH.
Matters which make against Babur's having a large effective force at
Kul-i-malik, and favour Khwand-amir's statement about the affair are
these:--`Ubaid must have formed some estimate of what he had to meet, and
he brought 3000 men. Where could Babur have obtained 40,000 men worth
reckoning in a fight? In several times of crisis his own immediate and
ever-faithful troop is put at 500; as his cause was now unpopular, local
accretions may have been few. Some Mughuls from Merv and from Kabul were
near Samarkand (T.R. pp. 263, 265); most were with Sa`id in Andijan; but
however many Mughuls may have been in his neighbourhood, none could be
counted on as resolute for his success. If too, he had had more than a
small effective force, would he not have tried to hold Samarkand with
the remnant of defeat until Persian help arrived? All things considered,
there is ground for accepting Khwand-amir's statement that Babur met
`Ubaid with a small force.
Following his account therefore:--Babur in his excess of daring, marched
to put the Auzbeg down with a small force only, against the advice of
the prudent, of whom Muhammad Mazid Tarkhan was one, who all said it was
wrong to go out unprepared and without reinforcement. Paying them no
attention, Babur marched for Bukhara, was rendered still more daring by
news had when he neared it, that the enemy had retired some stages, and
followed him up almost to his camp. `Ubaid was in great force; many
Auzbegs perished but, in the end, they were victors and Babur was
compelled to take refuge in Bukhara. The encounter took place near
Kul-i-malik (King's-lake) in Safar 918 AH. (April-May 1512 AD.).
_c. Babur leaves Samarkand._
It was not possible to maintain a footing in Samarkand; Babur therefore
collected his family and train[1340] and betook himself to Hisar. There
went with him on this expedition Mahim and her children Humayun,
Mihr-jahan and Barbul,--the motherless Ma`suma,--Gul-rukh with her son
Kamran (Gulbadan f. 7). I have not found any account of his route;
Haidar gives no details about the journey; he did not travel with Babur,
being still invalided in Samarkand. Perhaps the absence of information
is a sign that the Auzbegs had not yet appeared on the direct road for
Hisar. A local tradition however would make Babur go round through
Farghana. He certainly might have gone into Farghana hoping to
co-operate with Sa`id Khan; Tashkint was still holding out under
Ahmad-i-qasim _Kohbur_ and it is clear that all activity in Babur's
force had not been quenched because during the Tashkint siege, Dost Beg
broke through the enemy's ranks and made his way into the town. Sairam
held out longer than Tashkint. Of any such move by Babur into Andijan
the only hint received is given by what may be a mere legend.[1341]
_d. Babur in Hisar._
After experiencing such gains and such losses, Babur was still under 30
years of age.
The Auzbegs, after his departure, re-occupied Bukhara and Samarkand
without harm done to the towns-people, and a few weeks later, in Jumada
I (July-August) followed him to Hisar. Meantime he with Mirza Khan's
help, had so closed the streets of the town by massive earth-works that
the sultans were convinced its defenders were ready to spend the last
drop of their blood in holding it, and therefore retired without
attack.[1342] Some sources give as their reason for retirement that
Babur had been reinforced from Balkh; Bairam Beg, it is true, had sent a
force but one of 300 men only; so few cannot have alarmed except as the
harbinger of more. Greater precision as to dates would shew whether they
can have heard of Najm Sani's army advancing by way of Balkh.
_e. Qarshi and Ghaj-davan._
Meantime Najm Sani, having with him some 11,000 men, had started on his
corrective mission against Babur. When he reached the Khurasan frontier,
he heard of the defeat at Kul-i-malik and the flight to Hisar, gathered
other troops from Harat and elsewhere, and advanced to Balkh. He stayed
there for 20 days with Bairam Beg, perhaps occupied, in part, by
communications with the Shah and Babur. From the latter repeated request
for help is said to have come; help was given, some sources say without
the Shah's permission. A rendezvous was fixed, Najm Sani marched to
Tirmiz, there crossed the Amu and in Rajab (Sep.-Oct.) encamped near the
Darband-i-ahanin. On Babur's approach through the Chak-chaq pass, he
paid him the civility of going several miles out from his camp to give
him honouring reception.
Advancing thence for Bukhara, the combined armies took Khuzar and moved
on to Qarshi. This town Babur wished to pass by, as it had been passed
by on his previous march for Bukhara; each time perhaps he wished to
spare its people, formerly his subjects, whom he desired to rule again,
and who are reputed to have been mostly his fellow Turks. Najm Sani
refused to pass on; he said Qarshi must be taken because it was
`Ubaidu'l-lah Khan's nest; in it was `Ubaid's uncle Shaikhim Mirza; it
was captured; the Auzbeg garrison was put to the sword and, spite of
Babur's earnest entreaties, all the towns-people, 15,000 persons it is
said, down to the "suckling and decrepit", were massacred. Amongst the
victims was Bana'i who happened to be within it. This action roused the
utmost anger against Najm Sani; it disgusted Babur, not only through
its merciless slaughter but because it made clear the disregard in which
he was held by his magnificent fellow-general.
From murdered Qarshi Najm Sani advanced for Bukhara. On getting within
a few miles of it, he heard that an Auzbeg force was approaching under
Timur and Abu-sa`id, presumably from Samarkand therefore. He sent Bairam
Beg to attack them; they drew off to the north and threw themselves into
Ghaj-davan, the combined armies following them. This move placed Najm
Sani across the Zar-afshan, on the border of the desert with which the
Auzbegs were familiar, and with `Ubaid on his flank in Bukhara.
As to what followed the sources vary; they are brief; they differ less
in statement of the same occurrence than in their choice of details to
record; as Mr. Erskine observes their varying stories are not
incompatible. Their widest difference is a statement of time but the two
periods named, one a few days, the other four months, may not be meant
to apply to the same event. Four months the siege is said to have
lasted; this could not have been said if it had been a few days only.
The siege seems to have been of some duration.
At first there were minor engagements, ending with varying success;
provisions and provender became scarce; Najm Sani's officers urged
retirement, so too did Babur. He would listen to none of them. At length
`Ubaid Khan rode out from Bukhara at the head of excellent troops; he
joined the Ghaj-davan garrison and the united Auzbegs posted themselves
in the suburbs where walled lanes and gardens narrowed the field and
lessened Najm Sani's advantage in numbers. On Tuesday Ramzan 3rd (Nov.
12th)[1343] a battle was fought in which his army was routed and he
himself slain.
_f. Babur and Yar-i-ahmad Najm Sani._
Some writers say that Najm Sani's men did not fight well; it must be
remembered that they may have been weakened by privation and that they
had wished to retire. Of Babur it is said that he, who was the reserve,
did not fight at all; it is difficult to see good cause why, under all
the circumstances, he should risk the loss of his men. It seems likely
that Haidar's strong language about this defeat would suit Babur's
temper also. "The victorious breezes of Islam overturned the banners of
the schismatics.... Most of them perished on the field; the rents made
by the sword at Qarshi were sewn up at Ghaj-davan by the arrow-stitches
of vengeance. Najm Sani and all the Turkman amirs were sent to hell."
The belief that Babur had failed Najm Sani persisted at the Persian
Court, for his inaction was made a reproach to his son Humayun in 951
AH. (1544 AD.), when Humayun was a refugee with Isma`il's son Tahmasp.
Badayuni tells a story which, with great inaccuracy of name and place,
represents the view taken at that time. The part of the anecdote
pertinent here is that Babur on the eve of the battle at Ghaj-davan,
shot an arrow into the Auzbeg camp which carried the following couplet,
expressive of his ill-will to the Shah and perhaps also of his rejection
of the Shi`a guise he himself had worn.
I made the Shah's Najm road-stuff for the Auzbegs;
If fault has been mine, I have now cleansed the road.[1344]
_g. The Mughuls attack Babur._
On his second return to Hisar Babur was subjected to great danger by a
sudden attack made upon him by the Mughuls where he lay at night in his
camp outside the town. Firishta says, but without particulars of their
offence, that Babur had reproached them for their misconduct; the
absence of detail connecting the affair with the defeat just sustained,
leads to the supposition that their misdeeds were a part of the tyranny
over the country-people punished later by `Ubaidu'l-lah Khan. Roused
from his sleep by the noise of his guards' resistance to the Mughul
attack, Babur escaped with difficulty and without a single
attendant[1345] into the fort. The conspirators plundered his camp and
withdrew to Qara-tigin. He was in no position to oppose them, left a few
men in Hisar and went to Mirza Khan in Qunduz.
After he left, Hisar endured a desolating famine, a phenomenal snowfall
and the ravages of the Mughuls. `Ubaid Khan avenged Babur on the horde;
hearing of their excesses, he encamped outside the position they had
taken up in Wakhsh defended by river, hills and snow, waited till a road
thawed, then fell upon them and avenged the year's misery they had
inflicted on the Hisaris. Haidar says of them that it was their villainy
lost Hisar to Babur and gained it for the Auzbeg.[1346]
These Mughuls had for chiefs men who when Sa`id went to Andijan, elected
to stay with Babur. One of the three named by Haidar was Ayub _Begchik_.
He repented his disloyalty; when he lay dying some two years later (920
AH.) in Yangi-hisar, he told Sa`id Khan who visited him, that what was
"lacerating his bowels and killing him with remorse", was his
faithlessness to Babur in Hisar, the oath he had broken at the
instigation of those "hogs and bears", the Mughul chiefs (T.R. p. 315).
In this year but before the Mughul treachery to Babur, Haidar left him,
starting in Rajab (Sep.-Oct.) to Sa`id in Andijan and thus making a
beginning of his 19 years spell of service.
919 AH.-MARCH 9TH 1513 TO FEB. 26TH 1514 AD.
Babur may have spent this year in Khishm (H.S. iii, 372). During two or
three months of it, he had one of the Shah's retainers in his service,
Khwaja Kamalu'd-din Mahmud, who had fled from Ghaj-davan to Balkh, heard
there that the Balkhis favoured an Auzbeg chief whose coming was
announced, and therefore went to Babur. In Jumada 11 (August), hearing
that the Auzbeg sultan had left Balkh, he returned there but was not
admitted because the Balkhis feared reprisals for their welcome to the
Auzbeg, a fear which may indicate that he had taken some considerable
reinforcement to Babur. He went on into Khurasan and was there killed;
Balkh was recaptured for the Shah by Deo Sultan, a removal from Auzbeg
possession which helps to explain how Babur came to be there in 923 AH.
920 AH.--FEB. 26TH 1514 TO FEB. 15TH 1515 AD.
Haidar writes of Babur as though he were in Qunduz this year (TR. p.
263), says that he suffered the greatest misery and want, bore it with
his accustomed courtesy and patience but, at last, despairing of success
in recovering Hisar, went back to Kabul. Now it seems to be that he made
the stay in Khwast to which he refers later (f. 241_b_) and during which
his daughter Gul-rang was born, as Gul-badan's chronicle allows known.
It was at the end of the year, after the privation of winter therefore,
that he reached Kabul. When he re-occupied Samarkand in 917 AH., he had
given Kabul to his half-brother Nasir Mirza; the Mirza received him now
with warm welcome and protestations of devotion and respect, spoke of
having guarded Kabul for him and asked permission to return to his own
old fief Ghazni. His behaviour made a deep impression on Babur; it would
be felt as a humane touch on the sore of failure.
921 AH.--FEB. 15TH 1515 TO FEB. 5TH 1516 AD.
_a. Rebellion of chiefs in Ghazni._
Nasir Mirza died shortly after (_dar haman ayyam_) his return to Ghazni.
Disputes then arose amongst the various commanders who were in Ghazni;
Sherim Taghai was one of them and the main strength of the tumult was
given by the Mughuls. Many others were however involved in it, even such
an old servant as Baba of Pashaghar taking part (f. 234_b_; T.R. p.
356). Haidar did not know precisely the cause of the dispute, or shew
why it should have turned against Babur, since he attributes it to
possession taken by Satan of the brains of the chiefs and a consequent
access of vain-glory and wickedness. Possibly some question of
succession to Nasir arose. Dost Beg distinguished himself in the regular
battle which ensued; Qasim Beg's son Qambar-i-`ali hurried down from
Qunduz and also did his good part to win it for Babur. Many of the
rioters were killed, others fled to Kashghar. Sherim Taghai was one of
the latter; as Sa`id Khan gave him no welcome, he could not stay there;
he fell back on the much injured Babur who, says Haidar, showed him his
usual benevolence, turned his eyes from his offences and looked only at
his past services until he died shortly afterwards (T.R. p. 357).[1347]
922 AH.--FEB. 5TH 1516 TO JAN. 24TH 1517 AD.
This year may have been spent in and near Kabul in the quiet promoted by
the dispersion of the Mughuls.
In this year was born Babur's son Muhammad known as _`Askari_from his
being born in camp. He was the son of Gulrukh _Begchik_ and full-brother
of Kamran.
923 AH.--JAN. 24TH 1517 TO JAN. 13TH 1518 AD.
_a. Babur visits Balkh._
Khwand-amir is the authority for the little that is known of Babur's
action in this year (H.S. iii, 367 _et seq._). It is connected with the
doings of Badi`u'z-zaman _Bai-qara's_ son Muhammad-i-zaman. This Mirza
had had great wanderings, during a part of which Khwand-amir was with
him. In 920 AH. he was in Shah Isma`il's service and in Balkh, but was
not able to keep it. Babur invited him to Kabul,--the date of invitation
will have been later therefore than Babur's return there at the end of
920 AH. The Mirza was on his way but was dissuaded from going into Kabul
by Mahdi Khwaja and went instead into Ghurjistan. Babur was angered by
his non-arrival and pursued him in order to punish him but did not
succeed in reaching Ghurjistan and went back to Kabul by way of
Firuz-koh and Ghur. The Mirza was captured eventually and sent to Kabul.
Babur treated him with kindness, after a few months gave him his
daughter Ma`suma in marriage, and sent him to Balkh. He appears to have
been still in Balkh when Khwand-amir was writing of the above
occurrences in 929 AH. The marriage took place either at the end of 923
or beginning of 924 AH. The Mirza was then 21, Ma`suma 9; she almost
certainly did not then go to Balkh. At some time in 923 AH. Babur is
said by Khwand-amir to have visited that town.[1348]
_b. Attempt on Qandahar._
In this year Babur marched for Qandahar but the move ended peacefully,
because a way was opened for gifts and terms by an illness which befell
him when he was near the town.
The _Tarikh-i-sind_ gives what purports to be Shah Beg's explanation of
Babur's repeated attempts on Qandahar. He said these had been made and
would be made because Babur had not forgiven Muqim for taking Kabul 14
years earlier from the Timurid `Abdu'r-razzaq; that this had brought him
to Qandahar in 913 AH., this had made him then take away Mahchuchak,
Muqim's daughter; that there were now (923 AH.) many unemployed Mirzas
in Kabul for whom posts could not be found in regions where the Persians
and Auzbegs were dominant; that an outlet for their ambitions and for
Babur's own would be sought against the weaker opponent he himself was.
Babur's decision to attack in this year is said to have been taken while
Shah Beg was still a prisoner of Shah Isma`il in the Harat country; he
must have been released meantime by the admirable patience of his slave
Sambhal.
924 AH.--JAN. 13TH 1518 TO JAN. 3RD 1519 AD.
In this year Shah Beg's son Shah Hasan came to Babur after quarrel with
his father. He stayed some two years, and during that time was married
to Khalifa's daughter Gul-barg (Rose-leaf). His return to Qandahar will
have taken place shortly before Babur's campaign of 926 A.H. against it,
a renewed effort which resulted in possession on Shawwal 13th 928 AH.
(Sep. 6th 1522 AD.).[1349]
In this year began the campaign in the north-east territories of Kabul,
an account of which is carried on in the diary of 925 AH. It would seem
that in the present year Chaghan-sarai was captured, and also the
fortress at the head of the valley of Baba-qara, belonging to
Haidar-i-`ali _Bajauri_ (f. 216_b_).[1350]
[Illustration: View from above Babur's Grave and Shah-jahan's
Mosque.]
925 AH.-JAN. 3RD TO DEC. 23RD 1519 AD.[1351]
(_a. Babur takes the fort of Bajaur._)
(_Jan. 3rd_) On Monday[1352] the first day of the month of Muharram,
there was a violent earthquake in the lower part of the dale (_julga_)
of Chandawal,[1353] which lasted nearly half an astronomical hour.
(_Jan. 4th_) Marching at dawn from that camp with the intention of
attacking the fort of Bajaur,[1354] we dismounted near it and sent a
trusty man of the Dilazak[1355] Afghans to advise its sultan[1356] and
people to take up a position of service (_qulluq_) and surrender the
fort. Not accepting this counsel, that stupid and ill-fated band sent
back a wild answer, where-upon the army was ordered to make ready
mantelets, ladders and other appliances for taking a fort. For this
purpose a day's (_Jan. 5th_) halt was made on that same ground.
(_Jan. 6th_) On Thursday the 4th of Muharram, orders were given that the
army should put on mail, arm and get to horse;[1357] that the left wing
should move swiftly to the upper side of the fort, cross the water at
the water-entry,[1358] and dismount on the [Sidenote: Fol. 217.] north
side of the fort; that the centre, not taking the way across the water,
should dismount in the rough, up-and-down land to the north-west of the
fort; and that the right should dismount to the west of the lower gate.
While the begs of the left under Dost Beg were dismounting, after
crossing the water, a hundred to a hundred and fifty men on foot came
out of the fort, shooting arrows. The begs, shooting in their turn,
advanced till they had forced those men back to the foot of the
ramparts, Mulla `Abdu'l-maluk of Khwast, like a madman,[1359] going up
right under them on his horse. There and then the fort would have been
taken if the ladders and mantelets had been ready, and if it had not
been so late in the day. Mulla Tirik-i-`ali[1360] and a servant of
Tingri-birdi crossed swords with the enemy; each overcame his man, cut
off and brought in his head; for this each was promised a reward.
As the Bajauris had never before seen matchlocks (_tufang_) they at
first took no care about them, indeed they made fun when they heard the
report and answered it by unseemly gestures. On that day[1361] Ustad
`Ali-quli shot at and brought down five men with his matchlock; Wali the
Treasurer, for his part, brought down two; other matchlockmen were also
very active in firing and did well, shooting through shield, through
cuirass, through _kusaru_,[1362] and bringing down one man after
another. Perhaps 7, 8, or 10 Bajauris had fallen to the matchlock-fire
(_zarb_) before night. After that it so became that not a head could be
put out because of the fire. The order [Sidenote: Fol. 217b.] was given,
"It is night; let the army retire, and at dawn, if the appliances are
ready, let them swarm up into the fort."
(_Jan. 7th_) At the first dawn of light (_farz waqt_) on Friday the 5th
of Muharram, orders were given that, when the battle-nagarets had
sounded, the army should advance, each man from his place to his
appointed post (_yirlik yirdin_) and should swarm up. The left and
centre advanced from their ground with mantelets in place all along
their lines, fixed their ladders, and swarmed up them. The whole left
hand of the centre, under Khalifa, Shah Hasan _Arghun_ and Yusuf's
Ahmad, was ordered to reinforce the left wing. Dost Beg's men went
forward to the foot of the north-eastern tower of the fort, and busied
themselves in undermining and bringing it down. Ustad `Ali-quli was
there also; he shot very well on that day with his matchlock, and he
twice fired off the _firingi_.[1363] Wali the Treasurer also brought
down a man with his matchlock. Malik `Ali _qutni_[1364] was first up a
ladder of all the men from the left hand of the centre, and there was
busy with fight and blow. At the post of the centre, Muh. `Ali
_Jang-jang_[1365] and his younger brother Nau-roz got up, each by a
different ladder, and made lance and sword to touch. Baba the waiting
man (_yasawal_), getting up by another ladder, occupied himself in
breaking down the fort-wall with his [Sidenote: Fol. 218.] axe. Most of
our braves went well forward, shooting off dense flights of arrows and
not letting the enemy put out a head; others made themselves desperately
busy in breaching and pulling down the fort, caring naught for the
enemy's fight and blow, giving no eye to his arrows and stones. By
breakfast-time Dost Beg's men had undermined and breached the
north-eastern tower, got in and put the foe to flight. The men of the
centre got in up the ladders by the same time, but those (_aul_) others
were first (_awwal_?) in.[1366] By the favour and pleasure of the High
God, this strong and mighty fort was taken in two or three astronomical
hours! Matching the fort were the utter struggle and effort of our
braves; distinguish themselves they did, and won the name and fame of
heroes.
As the Bajauris were rebels and at enmity with the people of Islam, and
as, by reason of the heathenish and hostile customs prevailing in their
midst, the very name of Islam was rooted out from their tribe, they were
put to general massacre and their wives and children were made captive.
At a guess more than 3000 men went to their death; as the fight did not
reach to the eastern side of the fort, a few got away there.
The fort taken, we entered and inspected it. On the walls, in houses,
streets and alleys, the dead lay, in what numbers! Comers and goers to
and fro were passing over the bodies. [Sidenote: Fol. 218b.] Returning
from our inspection, we sat down in the Bajaur sultan's residence. The
country of Bajaur we bestowed on Khwaja Kalan,[1367] assigning a large
number of braves to reinforce him. At the Evening Prayer we went back to
camp.
(_b. Movements in Bajaur._)
(_Jan. 8th_) Marching at dawn (Muh. 6th), we dismounted by the
spring[1368] of Baba Qara in the dale of Bajaur. At Khwaja Kalan's
request the prisoners remaining were pardoned their offences, reunited
to their wives and children, and given leave to go, but several sultans
and of the most stubborn were made to reach their doom of death. Some
heads of sultans and of others were sent to Kabul with the news of
success; some also to Badakhshan, Qunduz and Balkh with the
letters-of-victory.
Shah Mansur _Yusuf-zai_,--he was with us as an envoy from his
tribe,--[1369] was an eye-witness of the victory and general massacre. We
allowed him to leave after putting a coat (_tun_) on him and after
writing orders with threats to the Yusuf-zai.
(_Jan. 11th_) With mind easy about the important affairs of the Bajaur
fort, we marched, on Tuesday the 9th of Muharram, one _kuroh_ (2 m.)
down the dale of Bajaur and ordered that a tower of heads should be set
up on the rising-ground.
(_Jan. 12th_) On Wednesday the 10th of Muharram, we rode out to visit
the Bajaur fort. There was a wine-party in Khwaja Kalan's house,[1370]
several goat-skins of wine having been brought down by Kafirs
neighbouring on Bajaur. All wine and fruit [Sidenote: Fol. 219.] had in
Bajaur comes from adjacent parts of Kafiristan.
(_Jan. 13th_) We spent the night there and after inspecting the towers
and ramparts of the fort early in the morning (Muh. 11th), I mounted and
went back to camp.
(_Jan. 14th_) Marching at dawn (Muh. 12th), we dismounted on the bank of
the Khwaja Khizr torrent.[1371]
(_Jan. 15th_) Marching thence, we dismounted (Muh. 13th) on the bank of
the Chandawal torrent. Here all those inscribed in the Bajaur
reinforcement, were ordered to leave.
(_Jan. 16th_) On Sunday the 14th of Muharram, a standard was bestowed on
Khwaja Kalan and leave given him for Bajaur. A few days after I had let
him go, the following little verse having come into my head, it was
written down and sent to him:--[1372]
Not such the pact and bargain betwixt my friend and me,
At length the tooth of parting, unpacted grief for me!
Against caprice of Fortune, what weapons (_chara_) arm the man?
At length by force of arms (_ba jaur_) my friend is snatched from me!
(_Jan. 19th_) On Wednesday the 17th of Muharram, Sl. `Ala'u'd-din of
Sawad, the rival (_mu`ariz_) of Sl. Wais of Sawad,[1373] came and waited
on me.
(_Jan. 20th_) On Thursday the 18th of the month, we hunted the hill
between Bajaur and Chandawal.[1374] There the _bughu-maral_[1375] have
become quite black, except for the tail which is of another colour;
lower down, in Hindustan, they seem to become black all over.[1376]
Today a _sariq-qush_[1377] was taken; that was black all over, its very
eyes being black! Today an eagle (_burkut_)[1378] took a deer (_kiyik_).
Corn being somewhat scarce in the army, we went into the Kahraj-valley,
and took some. [Sidenote: Fol. 219b.]
(_Jan. 21st_) On Friday (Muh. 19th) we marched for Sawad, with the
intention of attacking the Yusuf-zai Afghans, and dismounted in
between[1379] the water of Panj-kura and the united waters of Chandawal
and Bajaur. Shah Mansur _Yusuf-zai_ had brought a few well-flavoured and
quite intoxicating confections (_kamali_); making one of them into
three, I ate one portion, Gadai Taghai another, `Abdu'l-lah the
librarian another. It produced remarkable intoxication; so much so that
at the Evening Prayer when the begs gathered for counsel, I was not able
to go out. A strange thing it was! If in these days[1380] I ate the
whole of such a confection, I doubt if it would produce half as much
intoxication.
(_c. An impost laid on Kahraj._)
(_Jan. 22nd_) Marching from that ground, (Muh. 20th), we dismounted over
against Kahraj, at the mouth of the valleys of Kahraj and
Peshgram.[1381] Snow fell ankle-deep while we were on that ground; it
would seem to be rare for snow to fall thereabouts, for people were much
surprised. In agreement with Sl. Wais of Sawad there was laid on the
Kahraj people an impost of 4000 ass-loads of rice for the use of the
army, and he himself was sent to collect it. Never before had those rude
mountaineers borne such a burden; they could not give (all) the grain
and were brought to ruin.
(_cc. Raid on Panj-kura._)
(_Jan. 25th_) On Tuesday the 23rd of Muharram an army was [Sidenote:
Fol. 220.] sent under Hindu Beg to raid Panj-kura. Panj-kura lies more
than half-way up the mountain;[1382] to reach its villages a person must
go for nearly a _kuroh_ (2 m.) through a pass. The people had fled and
got away; our men brought a few beasts of sorts, and masses of corn from
their houses.
(_Jan. 26th_) Next day (Muh. 24th) Quj Beg was put at the head of a
force and sent out to raid.
(_Jan. 27th_) On Thursday the 25th of the month, we dismounted at the
village of Mandish, in the trough of the Kahraj-valley, for the purpose
of getting corn for the army.
(_d. Mahim's adoption of Dil-dar's unborn child._)
(_Jan. 28th_) Several children born of Humayun's mother had not lived.
Hind-al was not yet born.[1383] While we were in those parts, came a
letter from Mahim in which she wrote, "Whether it be a boy, whether it
be a girl, is my luck and chance; give it to me; I will declare it my
child and will take charge of it." On Friday the 26th of the month, we
being still on that ground, Yusuf-i-`ali the stirrup-holder was sent off
to Kabul with letters[1384] bestowing Hind-al, not yet born, on Mahim.
(_dd. Construction of a stone platform._)
While we were still on that same ground in the Mandish-country, I had a
platform made with stones (_tash bila_) on a height in the middle of the
valley, so large that it held the tents of the advance-camp. All the
household and soldiers carried the stones for it, one by one like ants.
(_e. Babur's marriage with his Afghan wife, Bibi Mubaraka._)
In order to conciliate the Yusuf-zai horde, I had asked for a daughter
of one of my well-wishers, Malik Sulaiman Shah's son Malik Shah Mansur,
at the time he came to me as envoy [Sidenote: Fol. 220b.] from the
Yusuf-zai Afghans.[1385]
While we were on this ground news came that his daughter[1386] was on
her way with the Yusuf-zai tribute. At the Evening Prayer there was a
wine-party to which Sl. `Ala'u'd-din (of Sawad) was invited and at which
he was given a seat and special dress of honour (_khilcat-i-khasa_).
(_Jan. 30th_) On Sunday the 28th, we marched from that valley. Shah
Mansur's younger brother Taus (Handsome) Khan brought the
above-mentioned daughter of his brother to our ground after we had
dismounted.
(_f. Repopulation of the fort of Bajaur._)
For the convenience of having the Bi-sut people in Bajaur-fort,[1387]
Yusuf'i-`ali the taster was sent from this camp to get them on the march
and take them to that fort. Also, written orders were despatched to
Kabul that the army there left should join us.
(_Feb. 4th_) On Friday the 3rd of the month of Safar, we dismounted at
the confluence of the waters of Bajaur and Panj-kura.
(_Feb. 6th_) On Sunday the 5th of the month, we went from that ground to
Bajaur where there was a drinking-party in Khwaja Kalan's house.
(_g. Expedition against the Afghan clans._)
(_Feb. 8th_) On Tuesday the 7th of the month the begs and the Dilazak
Afghan headmen were summoned, and, after consultation, matters were left
at this:--"The year is at its end,[1388] only a few days of the Fish are
left; the plainsmen have carried in all their corn; if we went now into
Sawad, the army would [Sidenote: Fol. 221.] dwindle through getting no
corn. The thing to do is to march along the Ambahar and Pani-mani road,
cross the Sawad-water above Hash-nagar, and surprise the Yusuf-zai and
Muhammadi Afghans who are located in the plain over against the
Yusuf-zai _sangur_ of Mahura. Another year, coming earlier in the
harvest-time, the Afghans of this place must be our first thought." So
the matter was left.
(_Feb. 9th_) Next day, Wednesday, we bestowed horses and robes on Sl.
Wais and Sl. `Ala'u'u-din of Sawad, gave them leave to go, marched off
ourselves and dismounted over against Bajaur.
(_Feb. 10th_) We marched next day, leaving Shah Mansur's daughter in
Bajaur-fort until the return of the army. We dismounted after passing
Khwaja Khizr, and from that camp leave was given to Khwaja Kalan; and
the heavy baggage, the worn-out horses and superfluous effects of the
army were started off into Lamghan by the Kunar road.
(_Feb. 11th_) Next morning Khwaja Mir-i-miran was put in charge of the
camel baggage-train and started off by the Qurgha-tu and Darwaza road,
through the Qara-kupa-pass. Riding light for the raid, we ourselves
crossed the Ambahar-pass, and yet another great pass, and dismounted at
Pani-mali nearer[1389] the Afternoon Prayer. Aughan-birdi was sent
forward with a few others to learn[1390] how things were.
(_Feb. 12th_) The distance between us and the Afghans being
short, we did not make an early start. Aughan-birdi came back at
breakfast-time.[1391] He had got the better of an Afghan and had cut
his head off, but had dropped it on the road. He [Sidenote: Fol. 221b.]
brought no news so sure as the heart asks (_kunkul-tiladik_). Midday
come, we marched on, crossed the Sawad-water, and dismounted
nearer[1392] the Afternoon Prayer. At the Bed-time Prayer, we remounted
and rode swiftly on.
(_Feb. 13th_) Rustam _Turkman_ had been sent scouting; when the Sun was
spear-high he brought word that the Afghans had heard about us and were
shifting about, one body of them making off by the mountain-road. On
this we moved the faster, sending raiders on ahead who killed a few, cut
off their heads and brought a band of prisoners, some cattle and flocks.
The Dilazak Afghans also cut off and brought in a few heads. Turning
back, we dismounted near Katlang and from there sent a guide to meet the
baggage-train under Khwaja Mir-i-miran and bring it to join us in
Maqam.[1393]
(_Feb. 14th_) Marching on next day, we dismounted between Katlang and
Maqam. A man of Shah Mansur's arrived. Khusrau Kukuldash and Ahmadi the
secretary were sent with a few more to meet the baggage-train.
(_Feb. 15th_) On Wednesday the 14th of the month, the baggage-train
rejoined us while we were dismounting at Maqam.
It will have been within the previous 30 or 40 years that a heretic
qalandar named Shahbaz perverted a body of Yusuf-zai and another of
Dilazak. His tomb was on a free and dominating height of the lower hill
at the bill (_tumshuq_) of the [Sidenote: Fol. 222.] Maqam mountain.
Thought I, "What is there to recommend the tomb of a heretic qalandar
for a place in air so free?" and ordered the tomb destroyed and levelled
with the ground. The place was so charming and open that we elected to
sit there some time and to eat a confection (_ma'jun_).
(_h. Babur crosses the Indus for the first time._)
We had turned off from Bajaur with Bhira in our thoughts.[1394] Ever
since we came into Kabul it had been in my mind to move on Hindustan,
but this had not been done for a variety of reasons. Nothing to count
had fallen into the soldiers' hands during the three or four months we
had been leading this army. Now that Bhira, the borderland of Hindustan,
was so near, I thought a something might fall into our men's hands if,
riding light, we went suddenly into it. To this thought I clung, but
some of my well-wishers, after we had raided the Afghans and dismounted
at Maqam, set the matter in this way before me:--"If we are to go into
Hindustan, it should be on a proper basis; one part of the army stayed
behind in Kabul; a body of effective braves was left behind in Bajaur; a
good part of this army has gone into Lamghan because its horses were
worn-out; and the horses of those who have come this far, are so poor
that they have not a day's hard riding in them." Reasonable as these
considerations were, yet, having made the start, we paid no [Sidenote:
Fol. 222b.] attention to them but set off next day for the ford through
the water of Sind.[1395] Mir Muhammad the raftsman and his elder and
younger brethren were sent with a few braves to examine the Sind-river
(_darya_), above and below the ford.
(_Feb. 16th_) After starting off the camp for the river, I went to hunt
rhinoceros on the Sawati side which place people call also Karg-khana
(Rhino-home).[1396] A few were discovered but the jungle was dense and
they did not come out of it. When one with a calf came into the open and
betook itself to flight, many arrows were shot at it and it rushed into
the near jungle; the jungle was fired but that same rhino was not had.
Another calf was killed as it lay, scorched by the fire, writhing and
palpitating. Each person took a share of the spoil. After leaving
Sawati, we wandered about a good deal; it was the Bed-time Prayer when
we got to camp.
Those sent to examine the ford came back after doing it.
(_Feb. 17th_) Next day, Thursday the 16th,[1397] the horses and
baggage-camels crossed through the ford and the camp-bazar and
foot-soldiers were put over on rafts. Some Nil-abis came and saw me at
the ford-head (_guzar-bashi_), bringing a horse in mail and 300
_shahrukhis_ as an offering. At the Mid-day Prayer of this same day,
when every-one had crossed the river, we marched on; we went on until
one watch of the night had passed (_circa_ 9 p.m.) when we dismounted
near the water of Kacha-kot.[1398]
(_Feb. 18th_) Marching on next day, we crossed the Kacha-kot-water; noon
returning, went through the Sangdaki-pass and dismounted. While Sayyid
Qasim Lord of the Gate was [Sidenote: Fol. 223.] in charge of the rear
(_chaghdawal_) he overcame a few Gujurs who had got up with the rear
march, cut off and brought in 4 or 5 of their heads.
(_Feb. 19th_) Marching thence at dawn and crossing the Suhan-water, we
dismounted at the Mid-day Prayer. Those behind kept coming in till
midnight; the march had been mightily long, and, as many horses were
weak and out-of-condition, a great number were left on the road.
(_i. The Salt-range._)
Fourteen miles (_7 kos_) north of Bhira lies the mountain-range written
of in the _Zafar-nama_ and other books as the Koh-i-jud.[1399] I had
not known why it was called this; I now knew. On it dwell two tribes,
descendants from one parent-source, one is called Jud, the other
Janjuha. These two from of old have been the rulers and lawful
commanders of the peoples and hordes (_aulus_) of the range and of the
country between Bhira and Nil-ab. Their rule is friendly and brotherly
however; they cannot take what their hearts might desire; the portion
ancient custom has fixed is given and taken, no less and no more. The
agreement is to give one _shahrukhi_[1400] for each yoke of oxen and
seven for headship in a household; there is also service in the army.
The Jud and Janjuha both are divided into several clans. The Koh-i-jud
runs for 14 miles along the Bhira country, taking off from those Kashmir
mountains that are one with [Sidenote: Fol. 223b.] Hindu-kush, and it
draws out to the south-west as far as the foot of Din-kot on the
Sind-river.[1401] On one half of it are the Jud, the Janjuha on the
other. People call it Koh-i-jud through connecting it with the Jud
tribe.[1402] The principal headman gets the title of Rai; others, his
younger brothers and sons, are styled Malik. The Janjuha headmen are
maternal uncles of Langar Khan. The ruler of the people and horde near
the Suhan-water was named Malik Hast. The name originally was Asad but
as Hindustanis sometimes drop a vowel _e.g._ they say _khabr_ for
_khabar_ (news), they had said Asd for Asad, and this went on to Hast.
Langar Khan was sent off to Malik Hast at once when we dismounted. He
galloped off, made Malik Hast hopeful of our favour and kindness, and at
the Bed-time Prayer, returned with him. Malik Hast brought an offering
of a horse in mail and waited on me. He may have been 22 or 23 years
old.[1403]
The various flocks and herds belonging to the country-people were close
round our camp. As it was always in my heart to possess Hindustan, and
as these several countries, Bhira, Khush-ab, Chin-ab and Chiniut[1404]
had once been held by the Turk, I pictured them as my own and was
resolved to get them into my hands, whether peacefully or by force. For
these reasons it being imperative to treat these hillmen well, this
following [Sidenote: Fol. 224.] order was given:--"Do no hurt or harm to
the flocks and herds of these people, nor even to their cotton-ends and
broken needles!"
(_j. The Kalda-kahar lake_.)
(_Feb. 20th_) Marching thence next day, we dismounted at the Mid-day
Prayer amongst fields of densely-growing corn in Kalda-kahar.
Kalda-kahar is some 20 miles north of Bhira, a level land shut in[1405]
amongst the Jud mountains. In the middle of it is a lake some six miles
round, the in-gatherings of rain from all sides. On the north of this
lake lies an excellent meadow; on the hill-skirt to the west of it there
is a spring[1406] having its source in the heights overlooking the lake.
The place being suitable I have made a garden there, called the
Bagh-i-safa,[1407] as will be told later; it is a very charming place
with good air.
(_Feb. 21st_) We rode from Kalda-kahar at dawn next day. When we reached
the top of the Hamtatu-pass a few local people waited on me, bringing a
humble gift. They were joined with `Abdu'r-rahim the chief-scribe
(_shaghawal_) and sent with him to speak the Bhira people fair and say,
"The possession of this country by a Turk has come down from of old;
beware not to bring ruin on its people by giving way to fear and
anxiety; our eye is on this land and on this people; raid and rapine
shall not be."
We dismounted near the foot of the pass at breakfast-time, [Sidenote:
Fol. 224b.] and thence sent seven or eight men ahead, under Qurban of
Chirkh and `Abdu'l-maluk of Khwast. Of those sent one Mir Muhammad (a
servant ?) of Mahdi Khwaja[1408] brought in a man. A few Afghan headmen,
who had come meantime with offerings and done obeisance, were joined
with Langar Khan to go and speak the Bhira people fair.
After crossing the pass and getting out of the jungle, we arrayed in
right and left and centre, and moved forward for Bhira. As we got near
it there came in, of the servants of Daulat Khan _Yusuf-khail's_ son
`Ali Khan, Siktu's son Diwa _Hindu_; with them came several of the
notables of Bhira who brought a horse and camel as an offering and did
me obeisance. At the Mid-day Prayer we dismounted on the east of Bhira,
on the bank of the Bahat (Jehlam), in a sown-field, without hurt or harm
being allowed to touch the people of Bhira.
(_k. History of Bhira._)
Timur Beg had gone into Hindustan; from the time he went out again these
several countries _viz._ Bhira, Khush-ab, Chin-ab and Chiniut, had been
held by his descendants and the dependants and adherents of those
descendants. After the death of Sl. Mas`ud Mirza and his son `Ali
_Asghar_ Mirza, the sons of Mir `Ali Beg [Sidenote: Fol. 225.] _viz._
Baba-i-kabuli, Darya Khan and Apaq Khan, known later as Ghazi Khan, all
of whom Sl. Mas`ud M. had cherished, through their dominant position,
got possession of Kabul, Zabul and the afore-named countries and
_parganas_ of Hindustan. In Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza's time, Kabul and Zabul
went from their hands, the Hindustan countries remaining. In 910 AH.
(1504 AD.) the year I first came into Kabul, the government of Bhira,
Khush-ab and Chin-ab depended on Sayyid `Ali Khan, son of Ghazi Khan and
grandson of Mir `Ali Beg, who read the _khutba_ for Sikandar son of
Buhlul (_Ludi Afghan_) and was subject to him. When I led that army out
(910 AH.) Sayyid `Ali Khan left Bhira in terror, crossed the
Bahat-water, and seated himself in Sher-kot, one of the villages of
Bhira. A few years later the Afghans became suspicious about him on my
account; he, giving way to his own fears and anxieties, made these
countries over to the then governor [Sidenote: Fol. 225b.] in Lahur,
Daulat Khan, son of Tatar Khan _Yusuf-khail_, who gave them to his own
eldest son `Ali Khan, and in `Ali Khan's possession they now were.
(_Author's note on Sl. Mas`ud Mirza._) He was the son of
Suyurghatmish Mirza, son of Shahrukh Mirza, (son of Timur),
and was known as Sl. Mas`ud _Kabuli_ because the government
and administration of Kabul and Zabul were then dependent on
him (deposed 843 AH.-1440 AD.)
(_Author's note to 910 AH._) That year, with the wish to enter
Hindustan, Khaibar had been crossed and Parashawur (_sic_) had
been reached, when Baqi _Chaghaniani_ insisted on a move
against Lower Bangash _i.e._ Kohat, a mass of Afghans were
raided and scraped clean (_qirib_), the Bannu plain was raided
and plundered, and return was made through Duki (Dugi).
(_Author's note on Daulat Khan Yusuf-khail._) This Tatar Khan,
the father of Daulat Khan, was one of six or seven _sardars_
who, sallying out and becoming dominant in Hindustan, made
Buhlul Padshah. He held the country north of the Satluj
(_sic_) and Sahrind,[1409] the revenues of which exceeded 3
_krurs_.[1410] On Tatar Khan's death, Sl. Sikandar (_Ludi_),
as over-lord, took those countries from Tatar Khan's sons and
gave Lahur only to Daulat Khan. That happened a year or two
before I came into the country of Kabul (910 AH.).
(_l. Babur's journey resumed._)
(_Feb. 22nd_) Next morning foragers were sent to several convenient
places; on the same day I visited Bhira; and on the same day Sangur Khan
_Janjuha_ came, made offering of a horse, and did me obeisance.
(_Feb. 23rd_) On Wednesday the 22nd of the month, the headmen and
_chauderis_[1411] of Bhira were summoned, a sum of 400,000
_shahrukhis_[1412] was agreed on as the price of peace _(mal-i-aman)_,
and collectors were appointed. We also made an excursion, going in a
boat and there eating a confection.
(_Feb. 24th_) Haidar the standard-bearer had been sent to the Biluchis
located in Bhira and Khush-ab; on Thursday morning they made an offering
of an almond-coloured _tipuchaq_ [horse], and did obeisance. As it was
represented to me that some of the soldiery were behaving without sense
and were laying-hands on Bhira people, persons were sent who caused some
of those [Sidenote: Fol. 226.] senseless people to meet their
death-doom, of others slit the noses and so led them round the camp.
(_Feb. 25th_) On Friday came a dutiful letter from the Khushabis; on
this Shah Shuja` _Arghun's_ son Shah Hasan was appointed to go to
Khush-ab.
(_Feb. 26th_) On Saturday the 25th of the month,[1413] Shah Hasan was
started for Khush-ab.
(_Feb. 27th_) On Sunday so much rain fell[1414] that water covered all
the plain. A small brackish stream[1415] flowing between Bhira and the
gardens in which the army lay, had become like a great river before the
Mid-day Prayer; while at the ford near Bhira there was no footing for
more than an arrow's flight; people crossing had to swim. In the
afternoon I rode out to watch the water coming down (_kirkan su_); the
rain and storm were such that on the way back there was some fear about
getting in to camp. I crossed that same water (_kirkan su_) with my
horse swimming. The army-people were much alarmed; most of them
abandoned tents and heavy baggage, shouldered armour, horse-mail and
arms, made their horses swim and crossed bare-back. Most streams flooded
the plain.
(_Feb. 28th_) Next day boats were brought from the river (Jehlam), and
in these most of the army brought their tents and baggage over. Towards
mid-day, Quj Beg's men went 2 miles up the water and there found a ford
by which the rest crossed.
[Sidenote: Fol. 226b.] (_March 1st_) After a night spent in Bhira-fort,
Jahan-numa they call it, we marched early on the Tuesday morning out of
the worry of the rain-flood to the higher ground north of Bhira.
As there was some delay about the moneys asked for and agreed to
(_taqabbul_), the country was divided into four districts and the begs
were ordered to try to make an end of the matter. Khalifa was appointed
to one district, Quj Beg to another, Nasir's Dost to another, Sayyid
Qasim and Muhibb-i-`ali to another. Picturing as our own the countries
once occupied by the Turk, there was to be no over-running or
plundering.
(_m. Envoys sent to the court in Dihli._)
(_March 3rd_) People were always saying, "It could do no harm to send an
envoy, for peace' sake, to countries that once depended on the Turk."
Accordingly on Thursday the 1st of Rabi`u'l-awwal, Mulla Murshid was
appointed to go to Sl. Ibrahim who through the death of his father Sl.
Iskandar had attained to rule in Hindustan some 5 or 6 months
earlier(?). I sent him a goshawk (_qarchigha_) and asked for the
countries which from of old had depended on the Turk. Mulla Murshid was
given charge of writings (_khattlar_) for Daulat Khan (_Yusuf-khail_)
and writings for Sl. Ibrahim; matters were sent also by word-of-mouth;
and he was given leave to go. Far from sense and wisdom, shut off from
judgment and counsel must people in Hindustan be, the Afghans above all;
for they could not move and make stand like a foe, nor did they know
ways and rules of friendliness. [Sidenote: Fol. 227.] Daulat Khan kept
my man several days in Lahur without seeing him himself or speeding him
on to Sl. Ibrahim; and he came back to Kabul a few months later without
bringing a reply.
(_n. Birth of Hind-al._)
(_March 4th_) On Friday the 2nd of the month, the foot-soldiers Shaibak
and Darwesh-i-`ali,--he is now a matchlockman,--bringing dutiful letters
from Kabul, brought news also of Hind-al's birth. As the news came
during the expedition into Hindustan, I took it as an omen, and gave the
name Hind-al (Taking of Hind). Dutiful letters came also from
Muhammad-i-zaman M. in Balkh, by the hand of Qambar Beg.
(_March 5th_) Next morning when the Court rose, we rode out for an
excursion, entered a boat and there drank _`araq_.[1416] The people of
the party were Khwaja Dost-khawand, Khusrau, Mirim, Mirza Quli,
Muhammadi, Ahmadi, Gadai, Na`man, Langar Khan, Rauh-dam,[1417]
Qasim-i-`ali the opium-eater (_tariyaki_), Yusuf-i-`ali and Tingri-quli.
Towards the head of the boat there was a _talar_[1418] on the flat top
of which I sat with a few people, a few others sitting below. There was
a sitting-place also at the tail of the boat; there Muhammadi, Gadai and
Na`man sat. _`Araq_ was drunk till the Other Prayer when, disgusted by
its bad flavour, by consent of those at the head of the boat, _ma'jun_
was preferred. [Sidenote: Fol. 227b.] Those at the other end, knowing
nothing about our _ma'jun_ drank _`araq_ right through. At the Bed-time
Prayer we rode from the boat and got into camp late. Thinking I had been
drinking _`araq_ Muhammadi and Gadai had said to one another, "Let's do
befitting service," lifted a pitcher of _`araq_ up to one another in
turn on their horses, and came in saying with wonderful joviality and
heartiness and speaking together, "Through this dark night have we come
carrying this pitcher in turns!" Later on when they knew that the party
was (now) meant to be otherwise and the hilarity to differ, that is to
say, that [there would be that] of the _ma'jun_ band and that of the
drinkers, they were much disturbed because never does a _ma'jun_ party
go well with a drinking-party. Said I, "Don't upset the party! Let those
who wish to drink _`araq_, drink _`araq_; let those who wish to eat
_ma'jun_, eat _ma'jun_. Let no-one on either side make talk or allusion
to the other." Some drank _`araq_, some ate _ma'jun_, and for a time the
party went on quite politely. Baba Jan the _qabuz_-player had not been
of our party (in the boat); we invited him when we reached the tents. He
asked to drink _`araq_. We invited Tardi Muhammad _Qibchaq_ also and
made him a comrade of the drinkers. A _ma'jun_ party never goes well
with an _`araq_ or a wine-party; the drinkers began to make wild talk
and chatter from all sides, mostly in allusion to _ma'jun_ and
_ma'junis_. Baba Jan even, when drunk, said many wild things. The
drinkers soon made Tardi Khan mad-drunk, by giving him one full bowl
after another. Try as we did [Sidenote: Fol. 228.] to keep things
straight, nothing went well; there was much disgusting uproar; the party
became intolerable and was broken up.
(_March 7th_) On Monday the 5th of the month, the country of Bhira was
given to Hindu Beg.
(_March 8th_) On Tuesday the Chin-ab country was bestowed on Husain
_Aikrak_(?) and leave was given to him and the Chin-ab people to set
out. At this time Sayyid `Ali Khan's son Minuchihr Khan, having let us
know (his intention), came and waited on me. He had started from
Hindustan by the upper road, had met in with Tatar Khan _Kakar_;[1419]
Tatar Khan had not let him pass on, but had kept him, made him a
son-in-law by giving him his own daughter, and had detained him for some
time.
(_o. The Kakars._)
In amongst the mountains of Nil-ab and Bhira which connect with those of
Kashmir, there are, besides the Jud and Janjuha tribes, many Jats,
Gujurs, and others akin to them, seated in villages everywhere on every
rising-ground. These are governed by headmen of the Kakar tribes, a
headship like that over the Jud and Janjuha. At this time (925 AH.) the
headmen of the people of those hill-skirts were Tatar _Kakar_ and Hati
_Kakar_, two descendants of one forefather; being paternal-uncles'
sons.[1420] Torrent-beds and ravines are their strongholds. Tatar's
place, named Parhala,[1421] is a good deal below the snow-mountains;
Hati's country connects with the mountains and also he had made Babu
Khan's fief Kalanjar,[1422] look towards himself. Tatar [Sidenote: Fol.
228b.] _Kakar_ had seen Daulat Khan (_Yusuf-khail_) and looked to him
with complete obedience. Hati had not seen Daulat Khan; his attitude
towards him was bad and turbulent. At the word of the Hindustan begs and
in agreement with them, Tatar had so posted himself as to blockade Hati
from a distance. Just when we were in Bhira, Hati moved on pretext of
hunting, fell unexpectedly on Tatar, killed him, and took his country,
his wives and his having (_bulghani_).[1423]
(_p. Babur's journey resumed._)
Having ridden out at the Mid-day Prayer for an excursion, we got on a
boat and _`araq_ was drunk. The people of the party were Dost Beg, Mirza
Quli, Ahmadi, Gadai, Muhammad `Ali _Jang-jang_, `Asas,[1424] and
Aughan-birdi _Mughul_. The musicians were Rauh-dam, Baba Jan,
Qasim-i-`ali, Yusuf-i-`ali, Tingri-quli, Abu'l-qasim, Ramzan _Luli_. We
drank in the boat till the Bed-time Prayer; then getting off it, full of
drink, we mounted, took torches in our hands, and went to camp from the
river's bank, leaning over from our horses on this side, leaning over
from that, at one loose-rein gallop! Very drunk I must have been for,
when they told me next day that we had galloped loose-rein into camp,
carrying torches, I could not recall it in the very least. After
reaching my quarters, I vomited a good deal.
(_March 11th_) On Friday we rode out on an excursion, crossed the water
(Jehlam) by boat and went about amongst the orchards (_baghat_) of
blossoming trees and the lands of the sugar-cultivation. We saw the
wheel with buckets, had water drawn, and asked [Sidenote: Fol. 229.]
particulars about getting it out; indeed we made them draw it again and
again. During this excursion a confection was preferred. In returning we
went on board a boat. A confection (_ma'jun_) was given also to
Minuchihr Khan, such a one that, to keep him standing, two people had to
give him their arms. For a time the boat remained at anchor in
mid-stream; we then went down-stream; after a while had it drawn
up-stream again, slept in it that night and went back to camp near dawn.
(_March 12th_) On Saturday the 10th of the first Rabi`, the Sun entered
the Ram. Today we rode out before mid-day and got into a boat where
_`araq_ was drunk. The people of the party were Khwaja Dost-khawand,
Dost Beg, Mirim, Mirza Quli, Muhammadi, Ahmadi, Yunas-i-`ali, Muh. `Ali
_Jang-jang_, Gadai Taghai, Mir Khurd (and ?) `Asas. The musicians were
Rauhdam, Baba Jan, Qasim, Yusuf-i-`ali, Tingri-quli and Ramzan. We got
into a branch-water (_shakh-i-ab_), for some time went down-stream,
landed a good deal below Bhira and on its opposite bank, and went late
into camp.
This same day Shah Hasan returned from Khush-ab whither he had been sent
as envoy to demand the countries which from of old had depended on the
Turk; he had settled peaceably with them and had in his hands a part of
the money assessed on them.
The heats were near at hand. To reinforce Hindu Beg (in Bhira) were
appointed Shah Muhammad Keeper of the Seal and his younger brother Dost
Beg Keeper of the Seal, together with several suitable braves; an
accepted (_yarasha_) stipend [Sidenote: Fol. 229b.] was fixed and
settled in accordance with each man's position. Khush-ab was bestowed,
with a standard, on Langar Khan, the prime cause and mover of this
expedition; we settled also that he was to help Hindu Beg. We appointed
also to help Hindu Beg, the Turk and local soldiery of Bhira, increasing
the allowances and pay of both. Amongst them was the afore-named
Minuchihr Khan whose name has been mentioned; there was also
Nazar-i-`ali _Turk_, one of Minuchihr Khan's relations; there were also
Sangar Khan _Janjuha_ and Malik Hast _Janjuha_.
(_pp. Return for Kabul._)
(_March 13th_) Having settled the country in every way making for hope
of peace, we marched for Kabul from Bhira on Sunday the 11th of the
first Rabi`. We dismounted in Kaldah-kahar. That day too it rained
amazingly; people with rain-cloaks[1425] were in the same case as those
who had none! The rear of the camp kept coming in till the Bed-time
Prayer.
(_q. Action taken against Hati Kakar._)
(_March 14th_) People acquainted with the honour and glory (_ab u tab_)
of this land and government, especially the Janjuhas, old foes of these
Kakars, represented, "Hati is the bad man round-about; he it is robs on
the roads; he it is brings men to ruin; he ought either to be driven out
from these parts, or to be severely punished." Agreeing with this, we
left Khwaja Mir-i-miran and Nasir's Mirim next day with the camp,
parting from them at big breakfast,[1426] and moved on Hati _Kakar_. As
has been said, he had killed Tatar a few days earlier, and having taken
possession of Parhala, was in it now. Dismounting at the Other
[Sidenote: Fol. 230.] Prayer, we gave the horses corn; at the Bed-time
Prayer we rode on again, our guide being a Gujur servant of Malik Hast,
named Sar-u-pa. We rode the night through and dismounted at dawn, when
Beg Muhammad _Mughul_ was sent back to the camp, and we remounted when
it was growing light. At breakfast-time (9 a.m.) we put our mail on and
moved forward faster. The blackness of Parhala shewed itself from 2
miles off; the gallop was then allowed (_chapqun quiuldi_); the right
went east of Parhala, Quj Beg, who was also of the right, following as
its reserve; the men of the left and centre went straight for the fort,
Dost Beg being their rear-reserve.
Parhala stands amongst ravines. It has two roads; one, by which we came,
leads to it from the south-east, goes along the top of ravines and on
either hand has hollows worn out by the torrents. A mile from Parhala
this road, in four or five places before it reaches the Gate, becomes a
one-man road with a ravine falling from its either side; there for more
than an arrow's flight men must ride in single file. The other road
comes from the north-west; it gets up to Parhala by the trough of a
valley and it also is a one-man road. There is no other road on any
side. Parhala though without breast-work or battlement, has no
assailable place, its sides shooting perpendicularly [Sidenote: Fol.
230b.] down for 7, 8, 10 yards.
When the van of our left, having passed the narrow place, went in a body
to the Gate, Hati, with whom were 30 to 40 men in armour, their horses
in mail, and a mass of foot-soldiers, forced his assailants to retire.
Dost Beg led his reserve forward, made a strong attack, dismounted a
number of Hati's men, and beat him. All the country-round, Hati was
celebrated for his daring, but try as he did, he could effect nothing;
he took to flight; he could not make a stand in those narrow places; he
could not make the fort fast when he got back into it. His assailants
went in just behind him and ran on through the ravine and narrows of the
north-west side of the fort, but he rode light and made his flight good.
Here again, Dost Beg did very well and recompense was added to
renown.[1427]
Meantime I had gone into the fort and dismounted at Tatar _Kakar's_
dwelling. Several men had joined in the attack for whom to stay with me
had been arranged; amongst them were Amin-i-muhammad Tarkhan _Argkun_
and Qaracha.[1428] For this fault they were sent to meet the camp,
without _sar-u-pa_, into the wilds and open country with Sar-u-pa[1429]
for their guide, the Gujur mentioned already.
(_March 16th_) Next day we went out by the north-west ravine and
dismounted in a sown field. A few serviceable braves under Wali the
treasurer were sent out to meet the camp.[1430]
(_March 17th_) Marching on Thursday the 15th, we dismounted at Andaraba
on the Suhan, a fort said to have depended from [Sidenote: Fol. 231.] of
old on ancestors of Malik Hast. Hati _Kakar_ had killed Malik Hast's
father and destroyed the fort; there it now lay in ruins.
At the Bed-time Prayer of this same day, those left at Kalda-kahar with
the camp rejoined us.
(_r. Submissions to Babur._)
It must have been after Hati overcame Tatar that he started his kinsman
Parbat to me with tribute and an accoutred horse. Parbat did not light
upon us but, meeting in with the camp we had left behind, came on in the
company of the train. With it came also Langar Khan up from Bhira on
matters of business. His affairs were put right and he, together with
several local people, was allowed to leave.
(_March 18th_) Marching on and crossing the Suhan-water, we dismounted
on the rising-ground. Here Hati's kinsman (Parbat) was robed in an
honorary dress (_khil`at_), given letters of encouragement for Hati, and
despatched with a servant of Muhammad `Ali _Jang-jang_. Nil-ab and the
Qarluq (Himalayan?) Hazara had been given to Humayun (_aet._ 12); some
of his servants under Baba Dost and Halahil came now for their
darogha-ship.[1431]
(_March 19th_) Marching early next morning, we dismounted after riding 2
miles, went to view the camp from a height and ordered that the
camp-camels should be counted; it came out at 570. [Sidenote: Fol.
231b.]
We had heard of the qualities of the sambhal plant[1432]; we saw it on
this ground; along this hill-skirt it grows sparsely, a plant here, a
plant there; it grows abundantly and to a large size further along the
skirt-hills of Hindustan. It will be described when an account is given
of the animals and plants of Hindustan.[1433]
(_March 20th_) Marching from that camp at beat of drum (_i.e._ one hour
before day), we dismounted at breakfast-time (9 a.m.) below the
Sangdaki-pass, at mid-day marched on, crossed the pass, crossed the
torrent, and dismounted on the rising-ground.
(_March 21st_) Marching thence at midnight, we made an excursion to the
ford[1434] we had crossed when on our way to Bhira. A great raft of
grain had stuck in the mud of that same ford and, do what its owners
would, could not be made to move. The corn was seized and shared out to
those with us. Timely indeed was that corn!
Near noon we were a little below the meeting of the waters of Kabul and
Sind, rather above old Nil-ab; we dismounted there between two
waters.[1435] From Nil-ab six boats were brought, and were apportioned
to the right, left and centre, who busied themselves energetically in
crossing the river (Indus). We got there on a Monday; they kept on
crossing the water through the night preceding Tuesday (_March 22nd_),
through Tuesday and up to Wednesday (_March 23rd_) and on Thursday
(_24th_) also a few crossed.
Hatl's kinsman Parbat, he who from Andaraba was sent to [Sidenote: Fol.
232.] Hati with a servant of Muh. `Ali _Jang-jang_, came to the bank of
the river with Hati's offering of an accoutred horse. Nilabis also came,
brought an accoutred horse and did obeisance.
(_s. Various postings._)
Muhammad `Ali _Jang-jang_ had wished to stay in Bhira but Bhira being
bestowed on Hindu Beg, he was given the countries between it and the
Sind-river, such as the Qarluq Hazara, Hati, Ghiyas-wal and Kib
(Kitib):--
Where one is who submits like a _ra`iyat_, so treat him;
But him who submits not, strike, strip, crush and force to obey.
He also received a special head-wear in black velvet, a special Qilmaq
corselet, and a standard. When Hati's kinsman was given leave to go he
took for Hati a sword and head-to-foot (_bash-ayaq_) with a royal letter
of encouragement.
(_March 24th_) On Thursday at sunrise we marched from the river's bank.
That day confection was eaten. While under its influence[1436] wonderful
fields of flowers were enjoyed. In some places sheets of yellow flowers
bloomed in plots; in others sheets of red (_arghwani_) flowers in plots,
in some red and yellow bloomed together. We sat on a mound near the camp
to enjoy the sight. There were flowers on all sides of the mound, yellow
[Sidenote: Fol. 232b.] here, red there, as if arranged regularly to form
a sextuple. On two sides there were fewer flowers but as far as the eye
reached, flowers were in bloom. In spring near Parashawar the fields of
flowers are very beautiful indeed.
(_March 25th_) We marched from that ground at dawn. At one place on the
road a tiger came out and roared. On hearing it, the horses,
willy-nilly, flung off in terror, carrying their riders in all
directions, and dashing into ravines and hollows. The tiger went again
into the jungle. To bring it out, we ordered a buffalo brought and put
on the edge of the jungle. The tiger again came out roaring. Arrows were
shot at it from all sides[1437]; I shot with the rest. Khalwi (var.
Khalwa) a foot-soldier, pricked it with a spear; it bit the spear and
broke off the spearhead. After tasting of those arrows, it went into the
bushes (_buta_) and stayed there. Baba the waiting-man [_yasawal_] went
with drawn sword close up to it; it sprang; he chopped at its head; `Ali
_Sistani_[1438] chopped at its loins; it plunged into the river and was
killed right in the water. It was got out and ordered to be skinned.
(_March 26th_) Marching on next day, we reached Bigram and went to see
Gur-khattri. This is a smallish abode, after the fashion of a hermitage
(_sauma`at_), rather confined and dark. After entering at the door and
going down a few steps, one must lie full length to get beyond. There is
no getting in without a lamp. All round near the building there is let
lie an enormous quantity of hair of the head and beard which men have
shaved off there. There are a great many retreats (_hujra_) near
Gur-khattri [Sidenote: Fol. 233.] like those of a rest-house or a
college. In the year we came into Kabul (910 AH.) and over-ran Kohat,
Bannu and the plain, we made an excursion to Bigram, saw its great tree
and were consumed with regret at not seeing Gur-khattri, but it does not
seem a place to regret not-seeing.[1439]
On this same day an excellent hawk of mine went astray out of Shaikhim
the head-falconer's charge; it had taken many cranes and storks and had
moulted (_tulab_) two or three times. So many things did it take that it
made a fowler of a person so little keen as I!
At this place were bestowed 100 misqals of silver, clothing (_tunluq_),
three bullocks and one buffalo, out of the offerings of Hindustan, on
each of six persons, the chiefs of the Dilazak Afghans under Malik Bu
Khan and Malik Musa; to others, in their degree, were given money,
pieces of cloth, a bullock and a buffalo.
(_March 27th_) When we dismounted at `Ali-masjid, a Dilazak Afghan of
the Yaq`ub-khail, named Ma`ruf, brought an offering of 10 sheep, two
ass-loads of rice and eight large cheeses.
(_March 28th_) Marching on from `Ali-masjid, we dismounted at Yada-bir;
from Yada-bir Jui-shahi was reached by the Midday Prayer and we there
dismounted. Today Dost Beg was attacked by burning fever.
(_March 29th_) Marching from Jui-shahi at dawn, we ate our mid-day meal
in the Bagh-i-wafa. At the Mid-day Prayer we betook ourselves out of the
garden, close to the Evening Prayer forded the Siyah-ab at Gandamak,
satisfied our horses' hunger in a field of green corn, and rode on in a
_gari_ or two (24-48 min.).
After crossing the Surkh-ab, we dismounted at Kark and took [Sidenote:
Fol. 233b.] a sleep.
(_March 30th_) Riding before shoot of day from Kark, I went with 5 or 6
others by the road taking off for Qara-tu in order to enjoy the sight of
a garden there made. Khalifa and Shah Hasan Beg and the rest went by the
other road to await me at Quruq-sai.
When we reached Qara-tu, Shah Beg _Arghun's_ commissary (_tawachi_)
Qizil (Rufus) brought word that Shah Beg had taken Kahan, plundered it
and retired.
An order had been given that no-one soever should take news of us ahead.
We reached Kabul at the Mid-day Prayer, no person in it knowing about us
till we got to Qutluq-qadam's bridge. As Humayun and Kamran heard about
us only after that, there was not time to put them on horseback; they
made their pages carry them, came, and did obeisance between the gates
of the town and the citadel.[1440] At the Other Prayer there waited on
me Qasim Beg, the town Qazi, the retainers left in Kabul and the
notables of the place.
(_April 2nd_) At the Other Prayer of Friday the 1st of the second Rabi`
there was a wine-party at which a special head-to-foot (_bash-ayaq_) was
bestowed on Shah Hasan.
(_April 3rd_) At dawn on Saturday we went on board a boat and took our
morning.[1441] Nur Beg, then not obedient (_ta'ib_), played the lute at
this gathering. At the Mid-day Prayer we left the boat to visit the
garden made between Kul-kina[1442] and the mountain (Shah-i-kabul). At
the Evening Prayer we went to the Violet-garden where there was drinking
again. From Kul-kina I got in by the rampart and went into the citadel.
(_u. Dost Beg's death._)
(_April 6th_) On the night of Tuesday the 5th of the month,[1443] Dost
Beg, who on the road had had fever, went to God's mercy. [Sidenote: Fol.
234.]
Sad and grieved enough we were! His bier and corpse were carried to
Ghazni where they laid him in front of the gate of the Sultan's garden
(_rauza_).
Dost Beg had been a very good brave (_yikit_) and he was still rising in
rank as a beg. Before he was made a beg, he did excellent things several
times as one of the household. One time was at Rabat-i-zauraq,[1444] one
_yighach_ from Andijan when Sl. Ahmad _Tambal_ attacked me at night (908
AH.). I, with 10 to 15 men, by making a stand, had forced his gallopers
back; when we reached his centre, he made a stand with as many as 100
men; there were then three men with me, _i.e._ there were four counting
myself. Nasir's Dost (_i.e._ Dost Beg) was one of the three; another was
Mirza Quli _Kukuldash_; Karim-dad _Turkman_ was the other. I was just in
my _jiba_[1445]; Tambal and another were standing like gate-wards in
front of his array; I came face to face with Tambal, shot an arrow
striking his helm; shot another aiming at the attachment of his
shield;[1446] they shot one through my leg (_butum_); Tambal chopped at
my head. It was wonderful! The (under)-cap of my helm was on my head;
not a thread of it was cut, but on the head itself was a very bad wound.
Of other help came none; no-one was left with me; of necessity I brought
myself to gallop back. Dost Beg had been a little in my rear; (Tambal)
on leaving me alone, chopped at him.[1447]
[Sidenote: Fol. 234b.] Again, when we were getting out of Akhsi [908
AH.],[1448] Dost Beg chopped away at Baqi _Hiz_[1449] who, although
people called him _Hiz_, was a mighty master of the sword. Dost Beg was
one of the eight left with me after we were out of Akhsi; he was the
third they unhorsed.
Again, after he had become a beg, when Siunjuk Khan (_Auzbeg_), arriving
with the (Auzbeg) sultans before Tashkint, besieged Ahmad-i-qasim
[_Kohbur_] in it [918 AH.],[1450] Dost Beg passed through them and
entered the town. During the siege he risked his honoured life
splendidly, but Ahmad-i-qasim, without a word to this honoured
man,[1451] flung out of the town and got away. Dost Beg for his own part
got the better of the Khan and sultans and made his way well out of
Tashkint.
Later on when Sherim Taghai, Mazid and their adherents were in
rebellion,[1452] he came swiftly up from Ghazni with two or three
hundred men, met three or four hundred effective braves sent out by
those same Mughuls to meet him, unhorsed a mass of them near
Sherukan(?), cut off and brought in a number of heads.
Again, his men were first over the ramparts at the fort of Bajaur (925
AH.). At Parhala, again, he advanced, beat Hati, put him to flight, and
won Parhala.
After Dost Beg's death, I bestowed his district on his younger brother
Nasir's Mirim.[1453]
(_v. Various incidents._)
(_April 9th_) On Friday the 8th of the second Rabi`, the walled-town was
left for the Char-bagh.
(_April 13th_) On Tuesday the 12th there arrived in Kabul the honoured
Sultanim Begim, Sl. Husain Mirza's eldest daughter, the mother of
Muhammad Sultan Mirza. During those throneless times,[1454] she had
settled down in Khwarizm where Yili-pars [Sidenote: Fol. 235.] Sultan's
younger brother Aisan-quli Sl. took her daughter. The Bagh-i-khilwat was
assigned her for her seat. When she had settled down and I went to see
her in that garden, out of respect and courtesy to her, she being as my
honoured elder sister, I bent the knee. She also bent the knee. We both
advancing, saw one another mid-way. We always observed the same ceremony
afterwards.
(_April 18th_) On Sunday the 17th, that traitor to his salt, Baba
Shaikh[1455] was released from his long imprisonment, forgiven his
offences and given an honorary dress.
(_w. Visit to the Koh-daman._)
(_April 20th_) On Tuesday the 19th of the month, we rode out at the
return of noon for Khwaja Sih-yaran. This day I was fasting. All
astonished, Yunas-i-`ali and the rest said, "A Tuesday! a journey! and a
fast! This is amazing!" At Bihzadi we dismounted at the Qazi's house. In
the evening when a stir was made for a social gathering, the Qazi set
this before me, "In my house such things never are; it is for the
honoured Padshah to command!" For his heart's content, drink was left
out, though all the material for a party was ready.
(_April 21st_) On Wednesday we went to Khwaja Sih-yaran.
(_April 22nd_) On Thursday the 22nd of the month, we had a large round
seat made in the garden under construction on the mountain-naze.[1456]
(_April 23rd_) On Friday we got on a raft from the bridge. On our coming
opposite the fowlers' houses, they brought a _dang_ [Sidenote: Fol.
235b.] (or _ding_)[1457] they had caught. I had never seen one before;
it is an odd-looking bird. It will come into the account of the birds of
Hindustan.[1458]
(_April 24th_) On Saturday the 23rd of the month cuttings were planted,
partly of plane, partly of _tal_,[1459] above the round seat. At the
Mid-day Prayer there was a wine-party at the place.
(_April 25th_) At dawn we took our morning on the new seat. At noon we
mounted and started for Kabul, reached Khwaja Hasan quite drunk and
slept awhile, rode on and by midnight got to the Char-bagh. At Khwaja
Hasan, `Abdu'l-lah, in his drunkenness, threw himself into water just as
he was in his _tun aufraghi_.[1460] He was frozen with cold and could
not go on with us when we mounted after a little of the night had
passed. He stayed on Qutluq Khwaja's estate that night. Next day,
awakened to his past intemperance, he came on repentant. Said I, "At
once! will this sort of repentance answer or not? Would to God you would
repent now at once in such a way that you would drink nowhere except at
my parties!" He agreed to this and kept the rule for a few months, but
could not keep it longer.
(_x. Hindu Beg abandons Bhira._)
(_April 26th_) On Monday the 25th came Hindu Beg. There having been hope
of peace, he had been left in those countries with somewhat scant
support. No sooner was our back turned than a mass of Hindustanis and
Afghans gathered, disregarded us and, not listening to our words, moved
against Hindu Beg in Bhira. The local peoples also went over to the
Afghans. Hindu Beg could make no stand in Bhira, came to Khush-ab, came
through the Din-kot country, came to Nil-ab, came on to Kabul.
[Sidenote: Fol. 236.] Siktu's son Diwa _Hindu_ and another Hindu had
been brought prisoner from Bhira. Each now giving a considerable ransom,
they were released. Horses and head-to-foot dresses having been given
them, leave to go was granted.
(_April 30th_) On Friday the 29th of the month, burning fever appeared
in my body. I got myself let blood. I had fever with sometimes two,
sometimes three days between the attacks. In no attack did it cease till
there had been sweat after sweat. After 10 or 12 days of illness, Mulla
Khwaja gave me narcissus mixed with wine; I drank it once or twice; even
that did no good.
(_May 15th_) On Sunday the 15th of the first Jumada[1461] Khwaja
Muhammad `Ali came from Khwast, bringing a saddled horse as an offering
and also _tasadduq_ money.[1462] Muh. Sharif the astrologer and the
Mir-zadas of Khwast came with him and waited on me.
(_May 16th_) Next day, Monday, Mulla Kabir came from Kashghar; he had
gone round by Kashghar on his way from Andijan to Kabul.
(_May 23rd_) On Monday the 23rd of the month, Malik Shah Mansur
_Yusuf-zai_ arrived from Sawad with 6 or 7 Yusuf-zai chiefs, and did
obeisance.
(_May 31st_) On Monday the 1st of the second Jumada, the chiefs of the
Yusuf-zai Afghans led by Malik Shah Mansur were dressed in robes of
honour (_khil`at_). To Malik Shah Mansur was given a long silk coat and
an under-coat (? _jiba_) with its buttons; to one of the other chiefs
was given a coat with silk sleeves, and to six others silk coats. To all
leave to go was granted. Agreement was made with them that they were not
[Sidenote: Fol. 236b.] to reckon as in the country of Sawad what was
above Abuha (?), that they should make all the peasants belonging to it
go out from amongst themselves, and also that the Afghan cultivators of
Bajaur and Sawad should cast into the revenue 6000 ass-loads of rice.
(_June 2nd_) On Wednesday the 3rd, I drank _jul-ab_.[1463]
(_June 5th_) On Saturday the 6th, I drank a working-draught
(_daru-i-kar_).
(_June 7th_) On Monday the 8th, arrived the wedding-gift for the
marriage of Qasim Beg's youngest son Hamza with Khalifa's eldest
daughter. It was of 1000 _shahrukhi_; they offered also a saddled horse.
(_June 8th_) On Tuesday Shah Beg's Shah Hasan asked for permission to go
away for a wine-party. He carried off to his house Khwaja Muh. `Ali and
some of the household-begs. In my presence were Yunas-i-`ali and Gadai
Taghai. I was still abstaining from wine. Said I, "Not at all in this
way is it (_hech andaq bulmai dur_) that I will sit sober and the party
drink wine, I stay sane, full of water, and that set (_bulak_) of people
get drunk; come you and drink in my presence! I will amuse myself a
little by watching what intercourse between the sober and the drunk is
like."[1464] The party was held in a smallish tent in which I sometimes
sat, in the Plane-tree garden south-east of the Picture-hall. Later on
Ghiyas the house-buffoon (_kidi_) arrived; several times for fun he was
ordered kept out, but at last he made a great disturbance and his
buffooneries found him a way in. We invited Tardi Muhammad _Qibchaq_
also and Mulla _kitab-dar_ (librarian). The following quatrain, written
impromptu, was sent to Shah Hasan and those gathered in his [Sidenote:
Fol. 237.] house:--
In your beautiful flower-bed of banquetting friends,
Our fashion it is not to be;
If there be ease (_huzur_) in that gathering of yours,
Thank God! there is here no un-ease [_bi huzur_].[1465]
It was sent by Ibrahim _chuhra_. Between the two Prayers (_i.e._
afternoon) the party broke up drunk.
I used to go about in a litter while I was ill. The wine-mixture was
drunk on several of the earlier days, then, as it did no good I left it
off, but I drank it again at the end of my convalescence, at a party had
under an apple-tree on the south-west side of the Talar-garden.
(_June 11th_) On Friday the 12th came Ahmad Beg and Sl. Muhammad
_Duldai_ who had been left to help in Bajaur.
(_June 16th_) On Wednesday the 17th of the month, Tingri-birdi and other
braves gave a party in Haidar _Taqi's_ garden; I also went and there
drank. We rose from it at the Bed-time Prayer when a move was made to
the great tent where again there was drinking.
(_June 23rd_) On Thursday the 25th of the month, Mulla Mahmud was
appointed to read extracts from the Qoran[1466] in my presence.
(_June 28th_) On Tuesday the last day of the month, Abu'l-muslim
Kukuldash arrived as envoy from Shah Shuja` _Arghun_ bringing a
_tipuchaq_. After bargain made about swimming the reservoir in the
Plane-tree garden, Yusuf-i-`ali the stirrup-holder swam round it today
100 times and received a gift of a head-to-foot (dress), a saddled horse
and some money.
(_July 6th_) On Wednesday the 8th of Rajab, I went to Shah Hasan's house
and drank there; most of the household and of [Sidenote: Fol. 237b.] the
begs were present.
(_July 9th_) On Saturday the 11th, there was drinking on the
terrace-roof of the pigeon-house between the Afternoon and Evening
Prayers. Rather late a few horsemen were observed, going from
Dih-i-afghan towards the town. It was made out to be Darwish-i-muhammad
_Sarban_, on his way to me as the envoy of Mirza Khan (Wais). We shouted
to him from the roof, "Drop the envoy's forms and ceremonies! Come! come
without formality!" He came and sat down in the company. He was then
obedient and did not drink. Drinking went on till the end of the
evening. Next day he came into the Court Session with due form and
ceremony, and presented Mirza Khan's gifts.
(_y. Various incidents._)
Last year[1467] with 100 efforts, much promise and threats, we had got
the clans to march into Kabul from the other side (of Hindu-kush). Kabul
is a confined country, not easily giving summer and winter quarters to
the various flocks and herds of the Turks and (Mughul?) clans. If the
dwellers in the wilds follow their own hearts, they do not wish for
Kabul! They now waited (_khidmat qilib_) on Qasim Beg and made him their
mediator with me for permission to re-cross to that other side. He tried
very hard, so in the end, they were allowed to cross over to the Qunduz
and Baghlan side.
Hafiz the news-writer's elder brother had come from Samarkand; when I
now gave him leave to return, I sent my _Diwan_ by him to Pulad
Sultan.[1468] On the back of it I wrote the following [Sidenote: Fol.
238.] verse:--
O breeze! if thou enter that cypress' chamber (_harim_)
Remind her of me, my heart reft by absence;
She yearns not for Babur; he fosters a hope
That her heart of steel God one day may melt.[1469]
(_July 15th_) On Friday the 17th of the month, Shaikh Mazid Kukuldash
waited on me from Muhammad-i-zaman Mirza, bringing _tasadduq_ tribute
and a horse.[1470] Today Shah Beg's envoy Abu'l-muslim Kukuldash was
robed in an honorary dress and given leave to go. Today also leave was
given for their own districts of Khwast and Andar-ab to Khwaja Muhammad
`Ali and Tingri-birdi.
(_July 21st_) On Thursday the 23rd came Muh. `Ali _Jang-jang_ who had
been left in charge of the countries near Kacha-kot and the Qarluq. With
him came one of Hati's people and Mirza-i-malu-i-qarluq's son Shah
Hasan. Today Mulla `Ali-jan waited on me, returned from fetching his
wife from Samarkand.
(_z. The `Abdu'r-rahman Afghans and Rustam-maidan._)
(_July 27th_) The `Abdu'r-rahman Afghans on the Girdiz border were
satisfactory neither in their tribute nor their behaviour; they were
hurtful also to the caravans which came and went. On Wednesday the 29th
of Rajab we rode out to over-run them. We dismounted and ate food near
Tang-i-waghchan,[1471] and rode on again at the Mid-day Prayer. In the
night we lost the road and got much bewildered in the ups and downs of
the land to the south-east of Patakh-i-ab-i-shakna.[1472] After a time
we lit on [Sidenote: Fol. 238b.] a road and by it crossed the
Chashma-i-tura[1473] pass.
(_July 28th_) At the first prayer (_farz-waqt_) we got out from the
valley-bottom adjacent[1474] to the level land, and the raid was
allowed. One detachment galloped towards the Kar-mash[1475] mountain,
south-east of Girdiz, the left-hand of the centre led by Khusrau, Mirza
Quli and Sayyid `Ali in their rear. Most of the army galloped up the
dale to the east of Girdiz, having in their rear men under Sayyid Qasim
Lord of the Gate, Mir Shah _Quchin_, Qayyam (Aurdu-shah Beg?), Hindu
Beg, Qutluq-qadam and Husain [Hasan?]. Most of the army having gone up
the dale, I followed at some distance. The dalesmen must have been a
good way up; those who went after them wore their horses out and nothing
to make up for this fell into their hands.
Some Afghans on foot, some 40 or 50 of them, having appeared on the
plain, the rear-reserve went towards them. A courier was sent to me and
I hastened on at once. Before I got up with them, Husain Hasan, all
alone, foolishly and thoughtlessly, put his horse at those Afghans, got
in amongst them and began to lay on with his sword. They shot his horse,
thus made him fall, slashed at him as he was getting up, flung him down,
knifed him from all sides and cut him to pieces, while the other braves
looked on, standing still and reaching him no helping hand! On hearing
news of it, I hurried still faster forward, and sent some of the
household and braves galloping loose-rein ahead [Sidenote: Fol. 239.]
under Gadai Taghai, Payanda-i-muhammad _Qiplan_, Abu'l-hasan the
armourer and Mumin Ataka. Mumin Ataka was the first of them to bring an
Afghan down; he speared one, cut off his head and brought it in.
Abu'l-hasan the armourer, without mail as he was, went admirably
forward, stopped in front of the Afghans, laid his horse at them,
chopped at one, got him down, cut off and brought in his head. Known
though both were for bravelike deeds done earlier, their action in this
affair added to their fame. Every one of those 40 or 50 Afghans, falling
to the arrow, falling to the sword, was cut in pieces. After making a
clean sweep of them, we dismounted in a field of growing corn and
ordered a tower of their heads to be set up. As we went along the road I
said, with anger and scorn, to the begs who had been with Husain, "You!
what men! there you stood on quite flat ground, and looked on while a
few Afghans on foot overcame such a brave in the way they did! Your rank
and station must be taken from you; you must lose _pargana_ and country;
your beards must be shaved off and you must be exhibited in towns; for
there shall be punishment assuredly for him who looks on while such a
brave is beaten by such a foe [Sidenote: Fol. 239b.] on dead-level land,
and reaches out no hand to help!" The troop which went to Kar-mash
brought back sheep and other spoil. One of them was Baba Qashqa[1476]
_Mughul_; an Afghan had made at him with a sword; he had stood still to
adjust an arrow, shot it off and brought his man down.
(_July 29th_) Next day at dawn we marched for Kabul. Pay-aster Muhammad,
`Abdu'l-`aziz Master of the Horse, and Mir Khurd the taster were ordered
to stop at Chashma-tura, and get pheasants from the people there.
As I had never been along the Rustam-maidan road,[1477] I went with a
few men to see it. Rustam-plain (_maidan_) lies amongst mountains and
towards their head is not a very charming place. The dale spreads rather
broad between its two ranges. To the south, on the skirt of the
rising-ground is a smallish spring, having very large poplars near it.
There are many trees also, but not so large, at the source on the way
out of Rustam-maidan for Girdiz. This is a narrower dale, but still
there is a plot of green meadow below the smaller trees mentioned, and
the little dale is charming. From the summit of the range, looking
south, the Karmash and Bangash mountains are seen at one's feet; and
beyond the Karmash show pile upon pile of the rain-clouds of Hindustan.
Towards those other lands where no rain falls, not [Sidenote: Fol. 240.]
a cloud is seen.
We reached Huni at the Mid-day Prayer and there dismounted.
(_July 30th_) Dismounting next day at Muhammad Agha's village,[1478] we
perpetrated (_irtqab_) a _ma'jun_. There we had a drug thrown into water
for the fish; a few were taken.[1479]
(_July 31st_) On Sunday the 3rd of Sha`ban, we reached Kabul.
(_August 2nd_) On Tuesday the 5th of the month, Darwish-i-muhammad
_Fazli_ and Khusrau's servants were summoned and, after enquiry made
into what short-comings of theirs there may have been when Husain was
overcome, they were deprived of place and rank. At the Mid-day Prayer
there was a wine-party under a plane-tree, at which an honorary dress
was given to Baba Qashqa _Mughul_.
(_August 5th_) On Friday the 8th Kipa returned from the presence of
Mirza Khan.
(_aa. Excursion to the Koh-daman._)
(_August 11th_) On Thursday at the Other Prayer, I mounted for an
excursion to the Koh-daman, Baran and Khwaja Sih-yaran.[1480] At the
Bed-time Prayer, we dismounted at Mama Khatun.[1481]
(_August 12th_) Next day we dismounted at Istalif; a confection was
eaten on that day.
(_August 13th_) On Saturday there was a wine-party at Istalif.
(_August 14th_) Riding at dawn from Istalif, we crossed the space
between it and the Sinjid-valley. Near Khwaja Sih-yaran a great snake
was killed as thick, it may be, as the fore-arm and as long as a
_qulach_.[1482] From its inside came out a slenderer snake, that seemed
to have been just swallowed, every part of it being [Sidenote: Fol.
240b.] whole; it may have been a little shorter than the larger one.
From inside this slenderer snake came out a little mouse; it too was
whole, broken nowhere.[1483]
On reaching Khwaja Sih-yaran there was a wine-party. Today orders were
written and despatched by Kich-kina the night-watch (_tunqtar_) to the
begs on that side (_i.e._ north of Hindu-kush), giving them a rendezvous
and saying, "An army is being got to horse, take thought, and come to
the rendezvous fixed."
(_August 15th_) We rode out at dawn and ate a confection. At the infall
of the Parwan-water many fish were taken in the local way of casting a
fish-drug into the water.[1484] Mir Shah Beg set food and water (_ash u
ab_) before us; we then rode on to Gul-bahar. At a wine-party held after
the Evening Prayer, Darwish-i-muhammad (_Sarban_) was present. Though a
young man and a soldier, he had not yet committed the sin (_irtqab_) of
wine, but was in obedience (_ta'ib_). Qutluq Khwaja _Kukuldash_ had long
before abandoned soldiering to become a darwish; moreover he was very
old, his very beard was quite white; nevertheless he took his share of
wine at these parties. Said I to Darwish-i-muhammad, "Qutluq Khwaja's
beard shames you! He, a darwish and an old man, always drinks wine; you,
a soldier, a young man, your beard quite black, never drink! What does
it mean?" My custom being not to press wine on a non-drinker, with so
much said, it all passed off as a joke; he was not pressed to drink.
(_August 16th_) At dawn we made our morning (_subahi subuhi qilduk_).
(_August 17th_) Riding on Wednesday from Gul-i-bahar, we [Sidenote: Fol.
241.] dismounted in Abun-village[1485], ate food, remounted, went to a
summer-house in the orchards (_baghat-i-kham_) and there dismounted.
There was a wine-party after the Mid-day Prayer.
(_August 18th_) Riding on next day, we made the circuit of Khwaja
Khawand Sa`id's tomb, went to China-fort and there got on a raft. Just
where the Panjhir-water comes in, the raft struck the naze of a hill and
began to sink. Rauh-dam, Tingri-quli and Mir Muhammad the raftsman were
thrown into the water by the shock; Rauh-dam and Tingri-quli were got on
the raft again; a China cup and a spoon and a tambour went into the
water. Lower down, the raft struck again opposite the Sang-i-barida (the
cut-stone), either on a branch in mid-stream or on a stake stuck in as a
stop-water (_qaqghan qazuq_). Right over on his back went Shah Beg's
Shah Hasan, clutching at Mirza Quli Kukuldash and making him fall too.
Darwish-i-muhammad _Sarban_ was also thrown into the water. Mirza Quli
went over in his own fashion! Just when he fell, he was cutting a melon
which he had in his hand; as he went over, he stuck his knife into the
mat of the raft. He swam in his _tun aufraghi_[1486] and got out of the
water without coming on the raft again. Leaving it that night, we slept
at raftsmen's houses. Darwish-i-muhammad _Sarban_ presented me with a
seven-coloured cup exactly like the one lost in the water.
(_August 19th_) On Friday we rode away from the river's bank and
dismounted below Aindiki on the skirt of Koh-i-bacha where, with our own
hands, we gathered plenty of tooth-picks.[1487] [Sidenote: Fol. 241b.]
Passing on, food was eaten at the houses of the Khwaja Khizr people. We
rode on and at the Mid-day Prayer, dismounted in a village of Qutluq
Khwaja's fief in Lamghan where he made ready a hasty meal (_ma haziri_);
after partaking of this, we mounted and went to Kabul.
(_bb. Various incidents._)
(_August 22nd_) On Monday the 25th, a special honorary dress and a
saddled horse were bestowed on Darwish-i-muhammad _Sarban_ and he was
made to kneel as a retainer (_naukar_).
(_August 24th_) For 4 or 5 months I had not had my head shaved; on
Wednesday the 27th, I had it done. Today there was a wine-party.
(_August 26th_) On Friday the 29th, Mir Khurd was made to kneel as
Hind-al's guardian.[1488] He made an offering of 1000 _shahrukhis_
(_circa_ £50).
(_August 31st_) On Wednesday the 5th of Ramzan, a dutiful letter was
brought by Tulik Kukuldash's servant Barlas Juki(?). Auzbeg raiders had
gone into those parts (Badakhshan); Tulik had gone out, fought and
beaten them. Barlas Juki brought one live Auzbeg and one head.
(_Sep. 2nd_) In the night of Saturday the 8th, we broke our fast[1489]
in Qasim Beg's house; he led out a saddled horse for me.
(_Sep. 3rd_) On Sunday night the fast was broken in Khalifa's house; he
offered me a saddled horse.
(_Sep. 4th_) Next day came Khwaja Muh. `Ali and Jan-i-nasir who had been
summoned from their districts for the good of the army.[1490]
(_Sep. 7th_) On Wednesday the 12th, Kamran's maternal uncle [Sidenote:
Fol. 242.] Sl. `Ali Mirza arrived.[1491] As has been mentioned,[1492] he
had gone to Kashghar in the year I came from Khwast into Kabul.
(_cc. A Yusuf-zai campaign._)
(_Sep. 8th_) We rode out on Thursday the 13th of the month of Ramzan,
resolved and determined to check and ward off the Yusuf-zai, and we
dismounted in the meadow on the Dih-i-yaq`ub side of Kabul. When we were
mounting, the equerry Baba Jan led forward a rather good-for-nothing
horse; in my anger I struck him in the face a blow which dislocated my
fist below the ring-finger.[1493] The pain was not much at the time, but
was rather bad when we reached our encampment-ground. For some time I
suffered a good deal and could not write. It got well at last.
To this same assembly-ground were brought letters and presents (_bilak_)
from my maternal-aunt Daulat-sultan Khanim[1494] in Kashghar, by her
foster-brother Daulat-i-muhammad. On the same day Bu Khan and Musa,
chiefs of the Dilazak, came, bringing tribute, and did obeisance.
(_Sep. 11th_) On Sunday the 16th Quj Beg came.
(_Sep. 14th_) Marching on Wednesday the 19th we passed through But-khak
and, as usual, dismounted on the But-khak water.[1495]
As Quj Beg's districts, Bamian, Kah-mard and Ghuri, are close to the
Auzbeg, he was excused from going with this army and given leave to
return to them from this ground. I bestowed on him a turban twisted for
myself, and also a head-to-foot (_bash-ayaq_).
(_Sep. 16th_) On Friday the 21st, we dismounted at Badam-chashma.
[Sidenote: Fol. 242b.]
(_Sep. 17th_) Next day we dismounted on the Barik-ab, I reaching the
camp after a visit to Qara-tu. On this ground honey was obtained from a
tree.
(_Sep. 20th_) We went on march by march till Wednesday the 26th, and
dismounted in the Bagh-i-wafa.
(_Sep. 21st_) Thursday we just stayed in the garden.
(_Sep. 22nd_) On Friday we marched out and dismounted beyond Sultanpur.
Today Shah Mir Husain came from his country. Today came also Dilazak
chiefs under Bu Khan and Musa. My plan had been to put down the
Yusuf-zai in Sawad, but these chiefs set forth to me that there was a
large horde (_aulus_) in Hash-naghar and that much corn was to be had
there. They were very urgent for us to go to Hash-naghar. After
consultation the matter was left in this way:--As it is said there is
much corn in Hash-naghar, the Afghans there shall be overrun; the forts
of Hash-naghar and Parashawar shall be put into order; part of the corn
shall be stored in them and they be left in charge of Shah Mir Husain
and a body of braves. To suit Shah Mir Husain's convenience in this, he
was given 15 days leave, with a rendezvous named for him to come to
after going to his country and preparing his equipment.
(_Sep. 23rd_) Marching on next day, we reached Jui-shahi and there
dismounted. On this ground Tingri-birdi and Sl. Muhammad _Duldai_
overtook us. Today came also Hamza from Qunduz.[1496]
(_Sep. 25th_) On Sunday the last day of the month (Ramzan), we marched
from Jui-shahi and dismounted at Qiriq-ariq (forty-conduits), [Sidenote:
Fol. 243.] I going by raft, with a special few. The new moon of the
Feast was seen at that station.[1497] People had brought a few
beast-loads of wine from Nur-valley;[1498] after the Evening Prayer
there was a wine-party, those present being Muhibb-i-`ali the armourer,
Khwaja Muh. `Ali the librarian, Shah Beg's Shah Hasan, Sl. Muh. _Duldai_
and Darwish-i-muh. _Sarban,_ then obedient (_ta'ib_). From my childhood
up it had been my rule not to press wine on a non-drinker;
Darwish-i-muhammad was at every party and no pressure was put on him (by
me), but Khwaja Muh. `Ali left him no choice; he pressed him and pressed
him till he made him drink.
(_Sep. 26th_) On Monday we marched with the dawn of the Feast-day,[1499]
eating a confection on the road to dispel crop-sickness. While under its
composing influence (_naklik_), we were brought a colocynth-apple
(_khuntul_). Darwish-i-muhammad had never seen one; said I, "It is a
melon of Hindustan," sliced it and gave him a piece. He bit into it at
once; it was night before the bitter taste went out of his mouth. At
Garm-chashma we dismounted on rising-ground where cold meat was being
set out for us when Langar Khan arrived to wait on me after being for a
time at his own place (Koh-i-jud). He brought an offering of a horse and
a few confections. Passing on, we dismounted at Yada-bir, at the Other
Prayer got on a raft there, went for as much as two miles on it, then
left it.
(_Sep. 27th_) Riding on next morning, we dismounted below the
Khaibar-pass. Today arrived Sl. Bayazid, come up by the [Sidenote: Fol.
243b.] Bara-road after hearing of us; he set forth that the Afridi
Afghans were seated in Bara with their goods and families and that they
had grown a mass of corn which was still standing (lit. on foot). Our
plan being for the Yusuf-zai Afghans of Hash-naghar, we paid him no
attention. At the Mid-day Prayer there was a wine-party in Khwaja
Muhammad `Ali's tent. During the party details about our coming in this
direction were written and sent off by the hand of a sultan of Tirah to
Khwaja Kalan in Bajaur. I wrote this couplet on the margin of the letter
(_farman_):--
Say sweetly o breeze, to that beautiful fawn,
Thou hast given my head to the hills and the wild.[1500]
(_Sep. 28th_) Marching on at dawn across the pass, we got through the
Khaibar-narrows and dismounted at `Ali-masjid. At the Mid-day Prayer we
rode on, leaving the baggage behind, reached the Kabul-water at the
second watch (midnight) and there slept awhile.
(_Sep. 29th_) A ford[1501] was found at daylight; we had forded the
water (_su-din kichildi_), when news came from our scout that the
Afghans had heard of us and were in flight. We went on, passed through
the Sawad-water and dismounted amongst the Afghan corn-fields. Not a
half, not a fourth indeed of the promised corn was had. The plan of
fitting-up Hash-naghar, made under the hope of getting corn here, came
to nothing. [Sidenote: Fol. 244.] The Dilazak Afghans, who had urged it
on us, were ashamed. We next dismounted after fording the water of Sawad
to its Kabul side.
(_Sep. 30th_) Marching next morning from the Sawad-water, we crossed the
Kabul-water and dismounted. The Begs admitted to counsel were summoned
and a consultation having been had, the matter was left at this:--that
the Afridi Afghans spoken of by Sl. Bayazid should be over-run,
Purshawur-fort be fitted up on the strength of their goods and corn, and
some-one left there in charge.
At this station Hindu Beg _Quchin_ and the Mir-zadas of Khwast overtook
us. Today _ma'jun_ was eaten, the party being Darwesh-i-muhammad
_Sarban_, Muhammad Kukuldash, Gadai Taghai and `Asas; later on we
invited Shah Hasan also. After food had been placed before us, we went
on a raft, at the Other Prayer. We called Langar Khan _Nia-zai_ on also.
At the Evening Prayer we got off the raft and went to camp.
(_Oct. 1st_) Marching at dawn, in accordance with the arrangement made
on the Kabul-water, we passed Jam and dismounted at the outfall of the
`Ali-masjid water.[1502]
(_dd. Badakhshan affairs._)
Sl. `Ali (Taghai's servant ?) Abu'l-hashim overtaking us, said, "On the
night of `Arafa,[1503] I was in Jui-shahi with a person from Badakhshan;
he told me that Sl. Sa`id Khan had come with designs on Badakhshan, so I
came on from Jui-shahi along the Jam-rud, to give the news to the
Padshah." On this the begs were summoned and advice was taken. In
consequence of this [Sidenote: Fol. 244b.] news, it seemed inadvisable
to victual the fort (Purshawur), and we started back intending to go to
Badakhshan.[1504] Langar Khan was appointed to help Muh. `Ali
_Jang-jang_; he was given an honorary dress and allowed to go.
That night a wine-party was held in Khwaja Muh. `Ali's tent. We marched
on next day, crossed Khaibar and dismounted below the pass.
(_ee. The Khizr-khail Afghans._)
(_Oct. 3rd_) Many improper things the Khizr-khail had done! When the
army went to and fro, they used to shoot at the laggards and at those
dismounted apart, in order to get their horses. It seemed lawful
therefore and right to punish them. With this plan we marched from below
the pass at daybreak, ate our mid-day meal in Dih-i-ghulaman
(Basaul),[1505] and after feeding our horses, rode on again at the
Mid-day Prayer.
Muh Husain the armourer was made to gallop off to Kabul with orders to
keep prisoner all Khizr-khailis there, and to submit to me an account of
their possessions; also, to write a detailed account of whatever news
there was from Badakhshan and to send a man off with it quickly from
Kabul to me.
That night we moved on till the second watch (midnight), got a little
beyond Sultanpur, there slept awhile, then rode on again. The
Khizr-khail were understood to have their seat from Bahar (Vihara?) and
Mich-gram to Kara-su (_sic_). Arriving before dawn, (_Oct. 4th_) the
raid was allowed. Most of the goods of the Khizr-khailis and their small
children fell into the army's hands; a few tribesmen, being near the
mountains, drew off to [Sidenote: Fol. 245.] them and were left.
(_Oct. 5th_) We dismounted next day at Qilaghu where pheasants were
taken on our ground. Today the baggage came up from the rear and was
unloaded here. Owing to this punitive raid, the Waziri Afghans who never
had given in their tribute well, brought 300 sheep.
(_Oct. 9th_) I had written nothing since my hand was dislocated; here I
wrote a little, on Sunday the 14th of the month.[1506]
(_Oct. 10th_) Next day came Afghan chiefs leading the Khirilchi [and]
Samu-khail. The Dilazak Afghans entreated pardon for them; we gave it
and set the captured free, fixed their tribute at 4000 sheep, gave coats
(_tun_) to their chiefs, appointed and sent out collectors.
(_Oct. 13th_) These matters settled, we marched on Thursday the 18th,
and dismounted at Bahar (Vihara?) and Mich-gram.
(_Oct. 14th_) Next day I went to the Bagh-i-wafa. Those were the days of
the garden's beauty; its lawns were one sheet of trefoil; its
pomegranate-trees yellowed to autumn splendour,[1507] their fruit full
red; fruit on the orange-trees green and glad (_khurram_), countless
oranges but not yet as yellow as our hearts desired! The pomegranates
were excellent, not equal, however, to the best ones of Wilayat.[1508]
The one excellent and blessed content we have had from the Bagh-i-wafa
was had at this time. [Sidenote: Fol. 245b.] We were there three or four
days; during the time the whole camp had pomegranates in abundance.
(_Oct. 17th_) We marched from the garden on Monday. I stayed in it till
the first watch (9 a.m.) and gave away oranges; I bestowed the fruit of
two trees on Shah Hasan; to several begs I gave the fruit of one tree
each; to some gave one tree for two persons. As we were thinking of
visiting Lamghan in the winter, I ordered that they should reserve
(_qurughlailar_) at least 20 of the trees growing round the reservoir.
That day we dismounted at Gandamak.
(_Oct. 18th_) Next day we dismounted at Jagdalik. Near the Evening
Prayer there was a wine-party at which most of the household were
present. After a time Qasim Beg's sister's son Gadai _bihjat_[1509] used
very disturbing words and, being drunk, slid down on the cushion by my
side, so Gadai Taghai picked him up and carried him out from the party.
(_Oct. 19th_) Marching next day from that ground, I made an excursion up
the valley-bottom of the Barik-ab towards Quruq-sai. A few purslain
trees were in the utmost autumn beauty. On dismounting, seasonable[1510]
food was set out. The vintage was the cause! wine was drunk! A sheep
was ordered brought from the road and made into _kababs_ (_brochettes_).
We amused ourselves by setting fire to branches of holm-oak.[1511]
Mulla `Abdu'l-malik _diwana_[1512] having begged to take the news of our
coming into Kabul, was sent ahead. To this place came Hasan Nabira from
Mirza Khan's presence; he must have come after letting me know [his
intention of coming].[1513] There was [Sidenote: Fol. 246.] drinking
till the Sun's decline; we then rode off. People in our party had become
very drunk, Sayyid Qasim so much so, that two of his servants mounted
him and got him into camp with difficulty. Muh. Baqir's Dost was so
drunk that people, headed by Amin-i-muhammad Tarkhan and Masti _chuhra_,
could not get him on his horse; even when they poured water on his head,
nothing was effected. At that moment a body of Afghans appeared.
Amin-i-muhammad, who had had enough himself, had this idea, "Rather than
leave him here, as he is, to be taken, let us cut his head off and carry
it with us." At last after 100 efforts, they mounted him and brought him
with them. We reached Kabul at midnight.
(_ff. Incidents in Kabul._)
In Court next morning Quli Beg waited on me. He had been to Sl. Sa'id
Khan's presence in Kashghar as my envoy. To him as envoy to me had been
added Bishka Mirza _Itarchi_[1514] who brought me gifts of the goods of
that country.
(_Oct. 25th_) On Wednesday the 1st of Zu'l-qa`da, I went by myself to
Qabil's tomb[1515] and there took my morning. The people of the party
came later by ones and twos. When the Sun waxed hot, we went to the
Violet-garden and drank there, by the side of the reservoir. Mid-day
coming on, we slept. At the Mid-day Prayer we drank again. At this
mid-day party I gave wine to Tingri-quli Beg and to Mahndi (?) to whom
at any earlier party, wine had not been given. At the Bed-time
[Sidenote: Fol. 246b.] Prayer, I went to the Hot-bath where I stayed the
night.
(_Oct. 26th_) On Thursday honorary dresses were bestowed on the
Hindustani traders, headed by Yahya _Nuhani_, and they were allowed to
go.
(_Oct. 28th_) On Saturday the 4th, a dress and gifts were bestowed on
Bishka Mirza, who had come from Kashghar, and he was given leave to go.
(_Oct. 29th_) On Sunday there was a party in the little Picture-hall
over the (Char-bagh) gate; small retreat though it is, 16 persons were
present.
(_gg. Excursion to the Koh-daman._)
(_Oct. 30th_) Today we went to Istalif to see the harvest (_khizan_).
Today was done the sin (? _irtikab qilib aidi_) of _ma'jun_. Much rain
fell; most of the begs and the household came into my tent, outside the
Bagh-i-kalan.
(_Oct. 31st_) Next day there was a wine-party in the same garden,
lasting till night.
(_November 1st_) At dawn we took our morning (_subahi subuhi qilduk_)
and got drunk, took a sleep, and at the Mid-day Prayer rode from
Istalif. On the road a confection was eaten. We reached Bih-zadi at the
Other Prayer. The harvest-crops were very beautiful; while we were
viewing them those disposed for wine began to agitate about it. The
harvest-colour was extremely beautiful; wine was drunk, though _ma'jun_
had been eaten, sitting under autumnal trees. The party lasted till the
Bed-time Prayer. Khalifa's Mulla Mahmud arriving, we had him summoned to
join the party. `Abdu'l-lah was very drunk [Sidenote: Fol. 247.] indeed;
a word affecting Khalifa (_tarfidin_) being said, `Abdu'l-lah forgot
Mulla Mahmud and recited this line:--
Regard whom thou wilt, he suffers from the same wound.[1516]
Mulla Mahmud was sober; he blamed `Abdu'l-lah for repeating that line in
jest; `Abdu'l-lah came to his senses, was troubled in mind, and after
this talked and chatted very sweetly.
Our excursion to view the harvest was over; we dismounted, close to the
Evening Prayer, in the Char-bagh.
(_Nov. 12th_) On Friday the 16th, after eating a confection
with a few special people in the Violet-garden, we went on a boat.
Humayun and Kamran were with us later; Humayun made a very good shot at
a duck.
(_hh. A Bohemian episode._)
(_Nov. 14th_) On Saturday the 18th, I rode out of the Char-bagh at
midnight, sent night-watch and groom back, crossed Mulla Baba's bridge,
got out by the Diurin-narrows, round by the bazars and _karez_ of
Qush-nadur (var.), along the back of the Bear-house (_khirs-khana_), and
near sunrise reached Tardi Beg _Khak-sar's[1517] karez_. He ran out
quickly on hearing of me. His shortness (_qalashlighi_) was known; I had
taken 100 _shahrukhis_ (£5) with me; I gave him these and told him to
get wine and other things ready as I had a fancy for a private and
unrestrained party. He went for wine towards Bih-zadi[1518]; I sent my
horse by his slave to the valley-bottom and sat down on the slope behind
the _karez_. At the first watch (9 a.m.) Tardi Beg brought [Sidenote:
Fol. 247b.] a pitcher of wine which we drank by turns. After him came
Muhammad-i-qasim _Barlas_ and Shah-zada who had got to know of his
fetching the wine, and had followed him, their minds quite empty of any
thought about me. We invited them to the party. Said Tardi Beg, "Hul-hul
Aniga wishes to drink wine with you." Said I, "For my part, I never saw
a woman drink wine; invite her." We also invited Shahi a qalandar, and
one of the _karez_-men who played the rebeck. There was drinking till
the Evening Prayer on the rising-ground behind the _karez_; we then went
into Tardi Beg's house and drank by lamp-light almost till the Bed-time
Prayer. The party was quite free and unpretending. I lay down, the
others went to another house and drank there till beat of drum
(midnight). Hul-hul Aniga came in and made me much disturbance; I got
rid of her at last by flinging myself down as if drunk. It was in my
mind to put people off their guard, and ride off alone to Astar-ghach,
but it did not come off because they got to know. In the end, I rode
away at beat of drum, after letting Tardi Beg and Shah-zada know. We
three mounted and made for Astar-ghach.
(_Nov. 15th_) We reached Khwaja Hasan below Istalif by the first prayer
(_farz waqt_); dismounted for a while, ate a confection, [Sidenote: Fol.
248.] and went to view the harvest. When the Sun was up, we dismounted
at a garden in Istalif and ate grapes. We slept at Khwaja Shahab, a
dependency of Astar-ghach. Ata, the Master of the Horse, must have had a
house somewhere near, for before we were awake he had brought food and a
pitcher of wine. The vintage was very fine. After drinking a few cups,
we rode on. We next dismounted in a garden beautiful with autumn; there
a party was held at which Khwaja Muhammad Amin joined us. Drinking went
on till the Bed-time Prayer. During that day and night `Abdu'l-lah,
`Asas, Nur Beg and Yusuf-i-`ali all arrived from Kabul.
(_Nov. 16th_) After food at dawn, we rode out and visited the
Bagh-i-padshahi below Astar-ghach. One young apple-tree in it had turned
an admirable autumn-colour; on each branch were left 5 or 6 leaves in
regular array; it was such that no painter trying to depict it could
have equalled. After riding from Astar-ghach we ate at Khwaja Hasan, and
reached Bih-zadi at the Evening Prayer. There we drank in the house of
Khwaja Muh. Amin's servant Imam-i-muhammad.
(_Nov. 17th_) Next day, Tuesday, we went into the Char-bagh of Kabul.
(_Nov. 18th_) On Thursday the 23rd, having marched (_kuchub_), the fort
was entered.
(_Nov. 19th_) On Friday Muhammad `Ali (son of ?) Haidar the
stirrup-holder brought, as an offering, a _tuigun_[1519] he had caught.
(_Nov. 20th_) On Saturday the 25th, there was a party in the Plane-tree
garden from which I rose and mounted at the Bed-time Prayer. Sayyid
Qasim being in shame at past occurrences,[1520] we dismounted at his
house and drank a few cups.
[Sidenote: Fol. 248b.] (_Nov. 24th_) On Thursday the 1st of Zu'l-hijja,
Taju'd-din Mahmud, come from Qandahar, waited on me.
(_Dec. 12th_) On Monday the 19th, Muh. `Ali _Jang-jang_ came from
Nil-ab.
(_Dec. 13th_) On Tuesday the ... of the month, Sangar Khan _Janjuha_,
come from Bhira, waited on me.
(_Dec. 16th_) On Friday the 23rd, I finished (copying?) the odes and
couplets selected according to their measure from `Ali-sher Beg's four
Diwans.[1521]
(_Dec. 20th_) On Tuesday the 27th there was a social-gathering in the
citadel, at which it was ordered that if any-one went out from it drunk,
that person should not be invited to a party again.
(_Dec. 23rd_) On Friday the 30th of Zu'l-hijja it was ridden out with
the intention of making an excursion to Lamghan.
926 AH.-DEC. 23RD 1519 TO DEC. 12TH 1520 AD.[1522]
(_a. Excursion to the Koh-daman and Kohistan._)
(_Dec. 23rd_) On Saturday Muharram 1st Khwaja Sih-yaran was reached. A
wine-party was had on the bank of the conduit, where this comes out on
the hill.[1523]
(_Dec. 24th_) Riding on next morning (2nd), we visited the moving sands
(_reg-i-rawan_). A party was held in Sayyid Qasim's _Bulbul's_
house.[1524]
(_Dec. 25th_) Riding on from there, we ate a confection (_ma'jun_), went
further and dismounted at Bilkir (?).
(_Dec. 26th_) At dawn (4th) we made our morning [_subahi subuhi
qilduk_], although there might be drinking at night. We rode on at the
Mid-day Prayer, dismounted at Dur-nama[1525] and there had a wine party.
(_Dec. 27th_) We took our morning early. Haq-dad, the headman of
Dur-nama made me an offering (_pesh-kash_) of his garden.
(_Dec. 28th_) Riding thence on Thursday (6th), we dismounted at the
villages of the Tajiks in Nijr-au.
(_Dec. 29th_) On Friday (7th) we hunted the hill between Forty-ploughs
(_Chihil-qulba_) and the water of Baran; many deer fell. [Sidenote: Fol.
249.] I had not shot an arrow since my hand was hurt; now, with an
easy[1526] bow, I shot a deer in the shoulder, the arrow going in to
half up the feather. Returning from hunting, we went on at the Other
Prayer in Nijr-au.
(_Dec. 30th_) Next day (Saturday 8th) the tribute of the Nijr-au people
was fixed at 60 gold misqals.[1527]
(_Jan. 1st_) On Monday (10th) we rode on intending to visit
Lamghan.[1528] I had expected Humayun to go with us, but as he inclined
to stay behind, leave was given him from Kura-pass. We went on and
dismounted in Badr-au (Tag-au).
(_b. Excursions in Lamghan._)
(_Jan. ..._) Riding on, we dismounted at Aulugh-nur.[1529] The fishermen
there took fish at one draught[1530] from the water of Baran. At the
Other Prayer (afternoon) there was drinking on the raft; and there was
drinking in a tent after we left the raft at the Evening Prayer.
Haidar the standard-bearer had been sent from Dawar[1531] to the Kafirs;
several Kafir headmen came now to the foot of Bad-i-pich (pass), brought
a few goat-skins of wine, and did obeisance. In descending that pass a
surprising number of ...[1532] was seen.
(_Jan. ..._) Next day getting on a raft, we ate a confection, got off
below Bulan and went to camp. There were two rafts.
(_Jan. 5th_) Marching on Friday (14th), we dismounted below Mandrawar on
the hill-skirt. There was a late wine-party.
(_Jan. 6th_) On Saturday (15th), we passed through the Daruta narrows by
raft, got off a little above Jahan-nama'i (Jalalabad) and went to the
Bagh-i-wafa in front of Adinapur. When we were leaving the raft the
governor of Ningnahar Qayyam Aurdu Shah came and did obeisance. Langar
Khan _Nia-zai_,--he had [Sidenote: Fol. 249b.] been in Nil-ab for a
time,--waited upon me on the road. We dismounted in the Bagh-i-wafa; its
oranges had yellowed beautifully; its spring-bloom was well-advanced,
and it was very charming. We stayed in it five or six days.
As it was my wish and inclination (_ju dagh-dagha_)to return to
obedience (_ta'ib_) in my 40th year, I was drinking to excess now that
less than a year was left.
(_Jan. 7th_) On Sunday the 16th, having made my morning (_subuhi_) and
became sober. Mulla Yarak played an air he had composed in five-time and
in the five-line measure (_makhammas_), while I chose to eat a
confection (_ma'jun_). He had composed an excellent air. I had not
occupied myself with such things for some time; a wish to compose came
over me now, so I composed an air in four-time, as will be mentioned in
time.[1533]
(_Jan. 10th_) On Wednesday (19th) it was said for fun, while we
were making our morning (_subuhi_), "Let whoever speaks like a
Sart (_i.e._ in Persian) drink a cup." Through this many drank. At
_sunnat-waqt_[1534] again, when we were sitting under the willows in the
middle of the meadow, it was said, "Let whoever speaks like a Turk,
drink a cup!" Through this also numbers drank. After the sun got up, we
drank under the orange-trees on the reservoir-bank.
(_Jan. 11th_) Next day (20th) we got on a raft from Daruta; got off
again below Jui-shahi and went to Atar.
(_Jan...._) We rode from there to visit Nur-valley, went as far as Susan
(lily)-village, then turned back and dismounted in Amla.
[Sidenote: Fol. 250.] (_Jan. 14th_) As Khwaja Kalan had brought Bajaur
into good order, and as he was a friend of mine, I had sent for him and
had made Bajaur over to Shah Mir Husain's charge. On Saturday the 22nd
of the month (Muharram), Shah Mir Husain was given leave to go. That day
in Amla we drank.
(_Jan. 15th_) It rained (_yamghur yaghdurub_) next day (23rd).
When we reached Kula-gram in Kunar[1535] where Malik `Ali's house is,
we dismounted at his middle son's house, overlooking an orange-orchard.
We did not go into the orchard because of the rain but just drank where
we were. The rain was very heavy. I taught Mulla `Ali Khan a talisman I
knew; he wrote it on four pieces of paper and hung them on four sides;
as he did it, the rain stopped and the air began to clear.
(_Jan. 16th_) At dawn (24th) we got on a raft; on another several braves
went. People in Bajaur, Sawad, Kunar and thereabouts make a beer (_bir
buza_)[1536] the ferment of which is a thing they call _kim_.[1537] This
_kim_ they make of the roots of herbs and several simples, shaped like a
loaf, dried and kept by them. Some sorts of beer are surprisingly
exhilarating, but bitter and distasteful. We had thought of drinking
beer but, because of its bitter taste, preferred a confection. `Asas,
Hasan _Aikirik_,[1538] and Masti, on the other raft, were ordered to
drink some; they did so and became quite drunk. Hasan _Aikirik_ set up a
disgusting disturbance; `Asas, very drunk, did such [Sidenote: Fol.
250b.] unpleasant things that we were most uncomfortable (_ba tang_). I
thought of having them put off on the far side of the water, but some of
the others begged them off.
I had sent for Khwaja Kalan at this time and had bestowed Bajaur on Shah
Mir Husain. For why? Khwaja Kalan was a friend; his stay in Bajaur had
been long; moreover the Bajaur appointment appeared an easy one.
At the ford of the Kunar-water Shah Mir Husain met me on his way to
Bajaur. I sent for him and said a few trenchant words, gave him some
special armour, and let him go.
Opposite Nur-gal (Rock-village) an old man begged from those on the
rafts; every-one gave him something, coat (_tun_), turban, bathing-cloth
and so on, so he took a good deal away.
At a bad place in mid-stream the raft struck with a great shock; there
was much alarm; it did not sink but Mir Muhammad the raftsman was thrown
into the water. We were near Atar that night.
(_Jan. 17th_) On Tuesday (25th) we reached Mandrawar.[1539] Qutluq-qadam
and his father had arranged a party inside the fort; though the place
had no charm, a few cups were drunk there to please them. We went to
camp at the Other Prayer.
(_Jan. 18th_) On Wednesday (26th) an excursion was made to
Kind-kir[1540] spring. Kind-kir is a dependent village of the Mandrawar
_tuman_, the one and only village of the Lamghanat [Sidenote: Fol. 251.]
where dates are grown. It lies rather high on the mountain-skirt, its
date lands on its east side. At one edge of the date lands is the
spring, in a place aside (_yan yir_). Six or seven yards below the
spring-head people have heaped up stones to make a shelter[1541] for
bathing and by so-doing have raised the water in the reservoir high
enough for it to pour over the heads of the bathers. The water is very
soft; it is felt a little cold in wintry days but is pleasant if one
stays in it.
(_Jan. 19th_) On Thursday (27th) Sher Khan _Tarkalani_ got us to
dismount at his house and there gave us a feast (_ziyafat_). Having
ridden on at the Mid-day Prayer, fish were taken out of the fish-ponds
of which particulars have been given.[1542]
(_Jan. 20th_) On Friday (28th) we dismounted near Khwaja Mir-i-miran's
village. A party was held there at the Evening Prayer.
(_Jan. 21st_) On Saturday (29th) we hunted the hill between `Ali-shang
and Alangar. One hunting-circle having been made on the `Ali-shang side,
another on the Alangar, the deer were driven down off the hill and many
were killed. Returning from hunting, we dismounted in a garden belonging
to the Maliks of Alangar and there had a party.
Half of one of my front-teeth had broken off, the other half remaining;
this half broke off today while I was eating food.
(_Jan. 22nd_) At dawn (Safar 1st) we rode out and had a fishing-net
cast, at mid-day went into `Ali-shang and drank in a garden.
(_Jan. 23rd_) Next day (Safar 2nd) Hamza Khan, Malik of `Ali-shang was
made over to the avengers-of-blood[1543] for his evil deeds in shedding
innocent blood, and retaliation was made.
(_Jan. 24th_) On Tuesday, after reading a chapter of the Qoran
[Sidenote: Fol. 251b.] (_wird_), we turned for Kabul by the Yan-bulagh
road. At the Other Prayer, we passed the [Baran]-water from Aulugh-nur
(Great-rock); reached Qara-tu by the Evening Prayer, there gave our
horses corn and had a hasty meal prepared, rode on again as soon as they
had finished their barley.[1544]
TRANSLATOR'S NOTE ON 926 TO 932 AH.-1520 TO 1525 AD.
Babur's diary breaks off here for five years and ten months.[1545] His
activities during the unrecorded period may well have left no time in
which to keep one up, for in it he went thrice to Qandahar, thrice into
India, once to Badakhshan, once to Balkh; twice at least he punished
refractory tribesmen; he received embassies from Hindustan, and must
have had much to oversee in muster and equipment for his numerous
expeditions. Over and above this, he produced the _Mubin_, a Turki poem
of 2000 lines.
That the gap in his autobiography is not intentional several passages in
his writings show;[1546] he meant to fill it; there is no evidence that
he ever did so; the reasonable explanation of his failure is that he
died before he had reached this part of his book.
The events of these unrecorded years are less interesting than those of
the preceding gap, inasmuch as their drama of human passion is simpler;
it is one mainly of cross-currents of ambition, nothing in it matching
the maelstrom of sectarian hate, tribal antipathy, and racial struggle
which engulphed Babur's fortunes beyond the Oxus.
None-the-less the period has its distinctive mark, the biographical one
set by his personality as his long-sustained effort works out towards
rule in Hindustan. He becomes felt; his surroundings bend to his
purpose; his composite following accepts his goal; he gains the southern
key of Kabul and Hindustan and presses the Arghuns out from his rear; in
the Panj-ab he becomes a power; the Rajput Rana of Chitor proffers him
alliance against Ibrahim; and his intervention is sought in those
warrings of the Afghans which were the matrix of his own success.
_a. Dramatis personae._
The following men played principal parts in the events of the
unchronicled years:--
Babur in Kabul, Badakhshan and Balkh,[1547] his earlier following purged
of Mughul rebellion, and augmented by the various Mirzas-in-exile in
whose need of employment Shah Beg saw Babur's need of wider
territory.[1548]
Sultan Ibrahim _Ludi_ who had succeeded after his father Sikandar's
death (Sunday Zu'l-qa`da 7th 923 _AH._-Nov. 21st 1517 AD.)[1549], was
now embroiled in civil war, and hated for his tyranny and cruelty.
Shah Isma`il _Safawi_, ruling down to Rajab 19th 930 AH. (May 24th 1524
AD.) and then succeeded by his son Tahmasp _aet._ 10.
Kuchum (Kuchkunji) Khan, Khaqan of the Auzbegs, Shaibani's successor,
now in possession of Transoxiana.
Sultan Sa`id Khan _Chaghatai_, with head-quarters in Kashghar, a ruler
amongst the Mughuls but not their Khaqan, the supreme Khanship being his
elder brother Mansur's.
Shah Shuja' Beg _Arghun_, who, during the period, at various times held
Qandahar, Shal, Mustang, Siwistan, and part of Sind. He died in 930 AH.
(1524 AD.) and was succeeded by his son Hasan who read the _khutba_ for
Babur.
Khan Mirza _Miranshahi_, who held Badakhshan from Babur, with
head-quarters in Qunduz; he died in 927 AH. (1520 AD.) and was succeeded
in his appointment by Humayun _aet._ 13.
Muhammad-i-zaman _Bai-qara_ who held Balkh perhaps direct from Babur,
perhaps from Isma`il through Babur.
`Ala'u'd-din `Alam Khan _Ludi_, brother of the late Sultan Sikandar
_Ludi_ and now desiring to supersede his nephew Ibrahim.
Daulat Khan _Yusuf-khail_ (as Babur uniformly describes him), or _Ludi_
(as other writers do), holding Lahor for Ibrahim _Ludi_ at the beginning
of the period.
_SOURCES FOR THE EVENTS OF THIS GAP_
A complete history of the events the _Babur-nama_ leaves unrecorded has
yet to be written. The best existing one, whether Oriental or European,
is Erskine's _History of India_, but this does not exhaust the
sources--notably not using the _Habibu's-siyar_--and could be revised here
and there with advantage.
Most of the sources enumerated as useful for filling the previous gap
are so here; to them must be added, for the affairs of Qandahar,
Khwand-amir's _Habibu's-siyar_. This Mir Ma`sum's _Tarikh-i-sind_
supplements usefully, but its brevity and its discrepant dates make it
demand adjustment; in some details it is expanded by Sayyid Jamal's
_Tarkhan-_ or _Arghun-nama_.
For the affairs of Hindustan the main sources are enumerated in Elliot
and Dowson's _History of India_ and in Nassau Lees' _Materials for the
history of India_. Doubtless all will be exhausted for the coming
_Cambridge History of India_.
_EVENTS OF THE UNCHRONICLED YEARS_
926 AH.-DEC. 23RD 1519 TO DEC. 12TH 1520 AD.
The question of which were Babur's "Five expeditions" into Hindustan has
been often discussed; it is useful therefore to establish the dates of
those known as made. I have entered one as made in this year for the
following reasons;--it broke short because Shah Beg made incursion into
Babur's territories, and that incursion was followed by a siege of
Qandahar which several matters mentioned below show to have taken place
in 926 AH.
_a. Expedition into Hindustan._
The march out from Kabul may have been as soon as muster and equipment
allowed after the return from Lamghan chronicled in the diary. It was
made through Bajaur where refractory tribesmen were brought to order.
The Indus will have been forded at the usual place where, until the last
one of 932 AH. (1525 AD.), all expeditions crossed on the outward march.
Bhira was traversed in which were Babur's own Commanders, and advance
was made, beyond lands yet occupied, to Sialkot, 72 miles north of Lahor
and in the Rechna _du-ab_. It was occupied without resistance; and a
further move made to what the MSS. call Sayyidpur; this attempted
defence, was taken by assault and put to the sword. No place named
Sayyidpur is given in the Gazetteer of India, but the _Ayin-i-akbari_
mentions a Sidhpur which from its neighbourhood to Sialkot may be what
Babur took.
Nothing indicates an intention in Babur to join battle with Ibrahim at
this time; Lahor may have been his objective, after he had made a
demonstration in force to strengthen his footing in Bhira. Whatever he
may have planned to do beyond Sidhpur(?) was frustrated by the news
which took him back to Kabul and thence to Qandahar, that an incursion
into his territory had been made by Shah Beg.
_b. Shah Shuja` Beg's position._
Shah Beg was now holding Qandahar, Shal, Mustang and Siwistan.[1550] He
knew that he held Qandahar by uncertain tenure, in face of its
desirability for Babur and his own lesser power. His ground was further
weakened by its usefulness for operations on Harat and the presence with
Babur of Bai-qara refugees, ready to seize a chance, if offered by
Isma`il's waning fortunes, for recovery of their former seat. Knowing
his weakness, he for several years had been pushing his way out into
Sind by way of the Bolan-pass.
His relations with Babur were ostensibly good; he had sent him envoys
twice last year, the first time to announce a success at Kahan had in
the end of 924 AH. (Nov. 1519 AD.). His son Hasan however, with whom he
was unreconciled, had been for more than a year in Babur's company,--a
matter not unlikely to stir under-currents of unfriendliness on either
side.
His relations with Shah Isma`il were deferential, in appearance even
vassal-like, as is shewn by Khwand-amir's account of his appeal for
intervention against Babur to the Shah's officers in Harat. Whether he
read the _khutba_ for any suzerain is doubtful; his son Hasan, it may be
said, read it later on for Babur.
_c. The impelling cause of this siege of Qandahar._
Precisely what Shah Beg did to bring Babur back from the Panj-ab and
down upon Qandahar is not found mentioned by any source. It seems likely
to have been an affair of subordinates instigated by or for him. Its
immediate agents may have been the Nikdiri (Nukdiri) and Hazara tribes
Babur punished on his way south. Their location was the western
border-land; they may have descended on the Great North Road or have
raided for food in that famine year. It seems certain that Shah Beg made
no serious attempt on Kabul; he was too much occupied in Sind to allow
him to do so. Some unused source may throw light on the matter
incidentally; the offence may have been small in itself and yet
sufficient to determine Babur to remove risk from his rear.[1551]
_d. Qandahar._
The Qandahar of Babur's sieges was difficult of capture; he had not
taken it in 913 AH. (f. 208_b_) by siege or assault, but by default
after one day's fight in the open. The strength of its position can be
judged from the following account of its ruins as they were seen in 1879
AD., the military details of which supplement Bellew's description
quoted in Appendix J.
The fortifications are of great extent with a treble line of bastioned
walls and a high citadel in the centre. The place is in complete ruin
and its locality now useful only as a grazing ground.... "The town is in
three parts, each on a separate eminence, and capable of mutual
defence. The mountain had been covered with towers united by curtains,
and the one on the culminating point may be called impregnable. It
commanded the citadel which stood lower down on the second eminence, and
this in turn commanded the town which was on a table-land elevated above
the plain. The triple walls surrounding the city were at a considerable
distance from it. After exploring the citadel and ruins, we mounted by
the gorge to the summit of the hill with the impregnable fort. In this
gorge are the ruins of two tanks, some 80 feet square, all destroyed,
with the pillars fallen; the work is _pukka_ in brick and _chunam_
(cement) and each tank had been domed in; they would have held about
400,000 gallons each." (Le Messurier's _Kandahar in 1879 AD._ pp. 223,
245.)
_e. Babur's sieges of Qandahar._
The term of five years is found associated with Babur's sieges of
Qandahar, sometimes suggesting a single attempt of five years' duration.
This it is easy to show incorrect; its root may be Mir Ma`sum's
erroneous chronology.
The day on which the keys of Qandahar were made over to Babur is known,
from the famous inscription which commemorates the event (Appendix J),
as Shawwal 13th 928 AH. Working backwards from this, it is known that in
927 AH. terms of surrender were made and that Babur went back to Kabul;
he is besieging it in 926 AH.--the year under description; his annals of
925 AH. are complete and contain no siege; the year 924 AH. appears to
have had no siege, Shah Beg was on the Indus and his son was for at
least part of it with Babur; 923 AH. was a year of intended siege,
frustrated by Babur's own illness; of any siege in 922 AH. there is as
yet no record known. So that it is certain there was no unremitted
beleaguerment through five years.
_f. The siege of 926 AH. (1520 AD.)._
When Babur sat down to lay regular siege to Qandahar, with mining and
battering of the walls,[1552] famine was desolating the country round.
The garrison was reduced to great distress; "pestilence," ever an ally
of Qandahar, broke out within the walls, spread to Babur's camp, and in
the month of Tir (June) led him to return to Kabul.
In the succeeding months of respite, Shah Beg pushed on in Sind and his
former slave, now commander, Mehtar Sambhal revictualled the town.
927 AH.--DEC. 12TH 1520 TO DEC. 1ST 1521 AD.
_a. The manuscript sources._
Two accounts of the sieges of Qandahar in this and next year are
available, one in Khwand-amir's _Habibu's-siyar_, the other in Ma`sum
_Bhakkari's Tarikh-i-sind_. As they have important differences, it is
necessary to consider the opportunities of their authors for
information.
Khwand-amir finished his history in 1524-29 AD. His account of these
affairs of Qandahar is contemporary; he was in close touch with several
of the actors in them and may have been in Harat through their course;
one of his patrons, Amir Ghiyasu'd-din, was put to death in this year in
Harat because of suspicion that he was an ally of Babur; his nephew,
another Ghiyasu'd-din was in Qandahar, the bearer next year of its keys
to Babur; moreover he was with Babur himself a few years later in
Hindustan.
Mir Ma`sum wrote in 1600 AD. 70 to 75 years after Khwand-amir. Of these
sieges he tells what may have been traditional and mentions no
manuscript authorities. Blochmann's biography of him (_Ayin-i-akbari_ p.
514) shews his ample opportunity of learning orally what had happened in
the Arghun invasion of Sind, but does not mention the opportunity for
hearing traditions about Qandahar which his term of office there allowed
him. During that term it was that he added an inscription, commemorative
of Akbar's dominion, to Babur's own at Chihil-zina, which records the
date of the capture of Qandahar (928 AH.-1522 AD.).
_b. The Habibu's-siyar account_ (lith. ed. iii, part 4, p. 97).
Khwand-amir's contemporary narrative allows Ma`sum's to dovetail into it
as to some matters, but contradicts it in the important ones of date,
and mode of surrender by Shah Beg to Babur. It states that Babur was
resolved in 926 AH. (1520 AD.) to uproot Shah Shuja` Beg from Qandahar,
led an army against the place, and "opened the Gates of war". It gives
no account of the siege of 926 AH. but passes on to the occurrences of
927 AH. (1521 AD.) when Shah Beg, unable to meet Babur in the field,
shut himself up in the town and strengthened the defences. Babur put his
utmost pressure on the besieged, "often riding his piebald horse close
to the moat and urging his men to fiery onset." The garrison resisted
manfully, breaching the "life-fortresses" of the Kabulis with sword,
arrow, spear and death-dealing stone, but Babur's heroes were most often
victorious, and drove their assailants back through the Gates.
_c. Death of Khan Mirza reported to Babur._
Meantime, continues Khwand-amir, Khan Mirza had died in Badakhshan; the
news was brought to Babur and caused him great grief; he appointed
Humayun to succeed the Mirza while he himself prosecuted the siege of
Qandahar and the conquest of the Garm-sir.[1553]
_d. Negociations with Babur._
The Governor of Harat at this time was Shah Isma`il's son Tahmasp,
between six and seven years old. His guardian Amir Khan took chief part
in the diplomatic intervention with Babur, but associated with him was
Amir Ghiyasu'd-din--the patron of Khwand-amir already mentioned--until put
to death as an ally of Babur. The discussion had with Babur reveals a
complexity of motives demanding attention. Nominally undertaken though
intervention was on behalf of Shah Beg, and certainly so at his request,
the Persian officers seem to have been less anxious on his account than
for their own position in Khurasan, their master's position at the time
being weakened by ill-success against the Sultan of Rum. To Babur, Shah
Beg is written of as though he were an insubordinate vassal whom Babur
was reducing to order for the Shah, but when Amir Khan heard that Shah
Beg was hard pressed, he was much distressed because he feared a
victorious Babur might move on Khurasan. Nothing indicates however that
Babur had Khurasan in his thoughts; Hindustan was his objective, and
Qandahar a help on the way; but as Amir Khan had this fear about him, a
probable ground for it is provided by the presence with Babur of
Bai-qara exiles whose ambition it must have been to recover their former
seat. Whether for Harat, Kabul, or Hindustan, Qandahar was strength.
Another matter not fitting the avowed purpose of the diplomatic
intervention is the death of Ghiyasu'd-din because an ally of Babur;
this makes Amir Khan seem to count Babur as Isma`il's enemy.
Shah Beg's requests for intervention began in 926 AH. (1520 AD.), as
also did the remonstrance of the Persian officers with Babur; his
couriers followed one another with entreaty that the Amirs would
contrive for Babur to retire, with promise of obeisance and of yearly
tribute. The Amirs set forth to Babur that though Shah Shuja` Beg had
offended and had been deserving of wrath and chastisement, yet, as he
was penitent and had promised loyalty and tribute, it was now proper for
Babur to raise the siege (of 926 AH.) and go back to Kabul. To this
Babur answered that Shah Beg's promise was a vain thing, on which no
reliance could be placed; please God!, said he, he himself would take
Qandahar and send Shah Beg a prisoner to Harat; and that he should be
ready then to give the keys of the town and the possession of the
Garm-sir to any-one appointed to receive them.
This correspondence suits an assumption that Babur acted for Shah
Isma`il, a diplomatic assumption merely, the verbal veil, on one side,
for anxiety lest Babur or those with him should attack Harat,--on the
other, for Babur's resolve to hold Qandahar himself.
Amir Khan was not satisfied with Babur's answer, but had his attention
distracted by another matter, presumably `Ubaidu'l-lah Khan's attack on
Harat in the spring of the year (March-April 1521 AD.). Negociations
appear to have been resumed later, since Khwand-amir claims it as their
result that Babur left Qandahar this year.
_e. The Tarikh-i-sind account._
Mir Ma`sum is very brief; he says that in this year (his 922 AH.), Babur
went down to Qandahar before the year's tribute in grain had been
collected, destroyed the standing crops, encompassed the town, and
reduced it to extremity; that Shah Beg, wearied under reiterated attack
and pre-occupied by operations in Sind, proposed terms, and that these
were made with stipulation for the town to be his during one year more
and then to be given over to Babur. These terms settled, Babur went to
Kabul, Shah Beg to Siwi.
The Arghun families were removed to Shal and Siwi, so that the year's
delay may have been an accommodation allowed for this purpose.
_f. Concerning dates._
There is much discrepancy between the dates of the two historians.
Khwand-amir's agree with the few fixed ones of the period and with the
course of events; several of Ma`sum's, on the contrary, are _seriatim_
five (lunar) years earlier. For instance, events Khwand-amir places
under 927 AH. Ma`sum places under 922 AH. Again, while Ma`sum correctly
gives 913 AH. (1507 AD.) as the year of Babur's first capture of
Qandahar, he sets up a discrepant series later, from the success Shah
Beg had at Kahan; this he allots to 921 AH. (1515 AD.) whereas Babur
received news of it (f. 233_b_) in the beginning of 925 AH. (1519 AD.).
Again, Ma`sum makes Shah Hasan go to Babur in 921 AH. and stay two
years; but Hasan spent the whole of 925 AH. with Babur and is not
mentioned as having left before the second month of 926 AH. Again,
Ma`sum makes Shah Beg surrender the keys of Qandahar in 923 AH. (1517
AD.), but 928 AH. (1522 AD.) is shewn by Khwand-amir's dates and
narrative, and is inscribed at Chihil-zina.[1554]
928 AH.-DEC. 1ST 1521 TO NOV. 20TH 1522 AD.
_a. Babur visits Badakhshan._
Either early in this year or late in the previous one, Babur and Mahim
went to visit Humayun in his government, probably to Faizabad, and
stayed with him what Gul-badan calls a few days.
_b. Expedition to Qandahar._
This year saw the end of the duel for possession of Qandahar.
Khwand-amir's account of its surrender differs widely from Ma`sum's. It
claims that Babur's retirement in 927 AH. was due to the remonstrances
from Harat, and that Shah Beg, worn out by the siege, relied on the
arrangement the Amirs had made with Babur and went to Siwi, leaving one
`Abdu'l-baqi in charge of the place. This man, says Khwand-amir, drew
the line of obliteration over his duty to his master, sent to Babur,
brought him down to Qandahar, and gave him the keys of the town--by the
hand of Khwand-amir's nephew Ghiyasu'd-din, specifies the
_Tarkhan-nama_. In this year messengers had come and gone between Babur
and Harat; two men employed by Amir Khan are mentioned by name; of them
the last had not returned to Harat when a courier of Babur's, bringing a
tributary gift, announced there that the town was in his master's hands.
Khwand-amir thus fixes the year 928 AH. as that in which the town passed
into Babur's hands; this date is confirmed by the one inscribed in the
monument of victory at Chihil-zina which Babur ordered excavated on the
naze of the limestone ridge behind the town. The date there given is
Shawwal 13th 928 AH. (Sep. 6th 1522 AD.).
Ma`sum's account, dated 923 AH. (1517 AD.), is of the briefest:--Shah Beg
fulfilled his promise, much to Babur's approval, by sending him the keys
of the town and royal residence.
Although Khwand-amir's account has good claim to be accepted, it must be
admitted that several circumstances can be taken to show that Shah Beg
had abandoned Qandahar, _e.g._ the removal of the families after Babur's
retirement last year, and his own absence in a remote part of Sind this
year.
_c. The year of Shah Beg's death._
Of several variant years assigned for the death of Shah Beg in the
sources, two only need consideration.[1555] There is consensus of
opinion about the month and close agreement about the day, Sha`ban 22nd
or 23rd. Ma`sum gives a chronogram, _Shahr-Sha`ban_, (month of Sha`ban)
which yields 928, but he does not mention where he obtained it, nor does
anything in his narrative shew what has fixed the day of the month.
Two objections to 928 are patent: (1) the doubt engendered by Ma`sum's
earlier ante-dating; (2) that if 928 be right, Shah Beg was already dead
over two months when Qandahar was surrendered. This he might have been
according to Khwand-amir's narrative, but if he died on Sha`ban 22nd 928
(July 26th 1522), there was time for the news to have reached Qandahar,
and to have gone on to Harat before the surrender. Shah Beg's death at
that time could not have failed to be associated in Khwand-amir's
narrative with the fate of Qandahar; it might have pleaded some excuse
with him for `Abdu'l-baqi, who might even have had orders from Shah
Hasan to make the town over to Babur whose suzerainty he had
acknowledged at once on succession by reading the _khutba_ in his name.
Khwand-amir however does not mention what would have been a salient
point in the events of the siege; his silence cannot but weigh against
the 928 AH.
The year 930 AH. is given by Nizamu'd-din Ahmad's _Tabaqat-i-akbari_
(lith. ed. p. 637), and this year has been adopted by Erskine, Beale,
and Ney Elias, perhaps by others. Some light on the matter may be
obtained incidentally as the sources are examined for a complete history
of India, perhaps coming from the affairs of Multan, which was attacked
by Shah Hasan after communication with Babur.
_d. Babur's literary work in 928 AH. and earlier._
1. The _Mubin_. This year, as is known from a chronogram within the
work, Babur wrote the Turki poem of 2000 lines to which Abu'l-fazl and
Badayuni give the name _Mubin_ (The Exposition), but of which the true
title is said by the _Nafa'isu'l-ma`asir_ to be _Dar fiqa mubaiyan_ (The
Law expounded). Sprenger found it called also _Fiqa-i-baburi_ (Babur's
Law). It is a versified and highly orthodox treatise on Muhammadan Law,
written for the instruction of Kamran. A Commentary on it, called also
_Mubin_, was written by Shaikh Zain. Babur quotes from it (f. 351_b_)
when writing of linear measures. BerÈzine found and published a large
portion of it as part of his _Chrestomathie Turque_ (Kazan 1857); the
same fragment may be what was published by Ilminsky. Teufel remarks that
the MS. used by BerÈzine may have descended direct from one sent by
Babur to a distinguished legist of Transoxiana, because the last words
of BerÈzine's imprint are Babur's _Begleitschreiben_ (_envoi_); he adds
the expectation that the legist's name might be learned. Perhaps this
recipient was the Khwaja Kalan, son of Khwaja Yahya, a Samarkandi to
whom Babur sent a copy of his Memoirs on March 7th 1520 (935 AH. f.
363).[1556]
2. The _Babur-nama_ diary of 925-6 AH. (1519-20 AD.). This is almost
contemporary with the _Mubin_ and is the earliest part of the
_Babur-nama_ writings now known. It was written about a decade earlier
than the narrative of 899 to 914 AH. (1494 to 1507 AD.), carries later
annotations, and has now the character of a draft awaiting revision.
3. A _Diwan_ (Collection of poems). By dovetailing a few fragments of
information, it becomes clear that by 925 AH. (1519 AD.) Babur had made
a Collection of poetical compositions distinct from the Rampur _Diwan_;
it is what he sent to Pulad Sultan in 925 AH. (f. 238). Its date
excludes the greater part of the Rampur one. It may have contained those
verses to which my husband drew attention in the Asiatic Quarterly
Review of 1911, as quoted in the _Abushqa_; and it may have contained,
in agreement with its earlier date, the verses Babur quotes as written
in his earlier years. None of the quatrains found in the _Abushqa_ and
there attributed to "Babur Mirza", are in the Rampur _Diwan_; nor are
several of those early ones of the _Babur-nama_. So that the Diwan sent
to Pulad Sultan may be the source from which the _Abushqa_ drew its
examples.
On first examining these verses, doubt arose as to whether they were
really by Babur _Miranshahi_; or whether they were by "Babur Mirza"
_Shahrukhi_. Fortunately my husband lighted on one of them quoted in the
_Sanglakh_ and there attributed to Babur Padshah. The _Abushqa_
quatrains are used as examples in de Courteille's _Dictionary_, but
without an author's name; they can be traced there through my husband's
articles.[1557]
929 AH.--NOV. 20TH 1522 TO NOV. 10TH 1523 AD.
_a. Affairs of Hindustan._
The centre of interest in Babur's affairs now moves from Qandahar to a
Hindustan torn by faction, of which faction one result was an appeal
made at this time to Babur by Daulat Khan _Ludi_ (_Yusuf-khail_) and
`Alau'd-din `Alam Khan _Ludi_ for help against Ibrahim.[1558]
The following details are taken mostly from Ahmad Yadgar's
_Tarikh-i-salatin-i-afaghana_[1559]:--Daulat Khan had been summoned to
Ibrahim's presence; he had been afraid to go and had sent his son
Dilawar in his place; his disobedience angering Ibrahim, Dilawar had a
bad reception and was shewn a ghastly exhibit of disobedient commanders.
Fearing a like fate for himself, he made escape and hastened to report
matters to his father in Lahor. His information strengthening Daulat
Khan's previous apprehensions, decided the latter to proffer allegiance
to Babur and to ask his help against Ibrahim. Apparently `Alam Khan's
interests were a part of this request. Accordingly Dilawar (or Apaq)
Khan went to Kabul, charged with his father's message, and with intent
to make known to Babur Ibrahim's evil disposition, his cruelty and
tyranny, with their fruit of discontent amongst his Commanders and
soldiery.
_b. Reception of Dilawar Khan in Kabul._
Wedding festivities were in progress[1560] when Dilawar Khan reached
Kabul. He presented himself, at the Char-bagh may be inferred, and had
word taken to Babur that an Afghan was at his Gate with a petition. When
admitted, he demeaned himself as a suppliant and proceeded to set forth
the distress of Hindustan. Babur asked why he, whose family had so long
eaten the salt of the Ludis, had so suddenly deserted them for himself.
Dilawar answered that his family through 40 years had upheld the Ludi
throne, but that Ibrahim maltreated Sikandar's amirs, had killed 25 of
them without cause, some by hanging some burned alive, and that there
was no hope of safety in him. Therefore, he said, he had been sent by
many amirs to Babur whom they were ready to obey and for whose coming
they were on the anxious watch.
_c. Babur asks a sign._
At the dawn of the day following the feast, Babur prayed in the garden
for a sign of victory in Hindustan, asking that it should be a gift to
himself of mango or betel, fruits of that land. It so happened that
Daulat Khan had sent him, as a present, half-ripened mangoes preserved
in honey; when these were set before him, he accepted them as the sign,
and from that time forth, says the chronicler, made preparation for a
move on Hindustan.
_d. `Alam Khan._
Although `Alam Khan seems to have had some amount of support for his
attempt against his nephew, events show he had none valid for his
purpose. That he had not Daulat Khan's, later occurrences make clear.
Moreover he seems not to have been a man to win adherence or to be
accepted as a trustworthy and sensible leader.[1561] Dates are uncertain
in the absence of Babur's narrative, but it may have been in this year
that `Alam Khan went in person to Kabul and there was promised help
against Ibrahim.
_e. Birth of Gul-badan._
Either in this year or the next was born Dil-dar's third daughter
Gul-badan, the later author of an _Humayun-nama_ written at her nephew
Akbar's command in order to provide information for the _Akbar-nama_.
930 AH.--NOV. 10TH 1523 TO OCT. 29TH 1524 AD.
_a. Babur's fourth expedition to Hindustan._
This expedition differs from all earlier ones by its co-operation with
Afghan malcontents against Ibrahim _Ludi_, and by having for its
declared purpose direct attack on him through reinforcement of `Alam
Khan.
Exactly when the start from Kabul was made is not found stated; the
route taken after fording the Indus, was by the sub-montane road through
the Kakar country; the Jihlam and Chin-ab were crossed and a move was
made to within 10 miles of Lahor.
Lahor was Daulat Khan's head-quarters but he was not in it now; he had
fled for refuge to a colony of Biluchis, perhaps towards Multan, on the
approach against him of an army of Ibrahim's under Bihar Khan _Ludi_. A
battle ensued between Babur and Bihar Khan; the latter was defeated with
great slaughter; Babur's troops followed his fugitive men into Lahor,
plundered the town and burned some of the _bazars_.
Four days were spent near Lahor, then move south was made to Dibalpur
which was stormed, plundered and put to the sword. The date of this
capture is known from an incidental remark of Babur about chronograms
(f. 325), to be mid-Rabi`u'l-awwal 930 AH. (_circa_ Jan. 22nd 1524
AD.).[1562] From Dibalpur a start was made for Sihrind but before this
could be reached news arrived which dictated return to Lahor.
_b. The cause of return._
Daulat Khan's action is the obvious cause of the retirement. He and his
sons had not joined Babur until the latter was at Dibalpur; he was not
restored to his former place in charge of the important Lahor, but was
given Jalandhar and Sultanpur, a town of his own foundation. This
angered him extremely but he seems to have concealed his feelings for
the time and to have given Babur counsel as if he were content. His son
Dilawar, however, represented to Babur that his father's advice was
treacherous; it concerned a move to Multan, from which place Daulat Khan
may have come up to Dibalpur and connected with which at this time,
something is recorded of co-operation by Babur and Shah Hasan _Arghun_.
But the incident is not yet found clearly described by a source. Dilawar
Khan told Babur that his father's object was to divide and thus weaken
the invading force, and as this would have been the result of taking
Daulat Khan's advice, Babur arrested him and Apaq on suspicion of
treacherous intent. They were soon released, and Sultanpur was given
them, but they fled to the hills, there to await a chance to swoop on
the Panj-ab. Daulat Khan's hostility and his non-fulfilment of his
engagement with Babur placing danger in the rear of an eastward advance,
the Panj-ab was garrisoned by Babur's own followers and he himself went
back to Kabul.
It is evident from what followed that Daulat Khan commanded much
strength in the Panj-ab; evident also that something counselled delay in
the attack on Ibrahim, perhaps closer cohesion in favour of `Alam Khan,
certainly removal of the menace of Daulat Khan in the rear; there may
have been news already of the approach of the Auzbegs on Balkh which
took Babur next year across Hindu-kush.
_c. The Panj-ab garrison._
The expedition had extended Babur's command considerably, notably by
obtaining possession of Lahor. He now posted in it Mir `Abdu'l-`aziz his
Master of the Horse; in Dibalpur he posted, with `Alam Khan, Baba Qashqa
_Mughul_; in Sialkot, Khusrau Kukuldash, in Kalanur, Muhammad `Ali
_Tajik_.
_d. Two deaths._
This year, on Rajab 19th (May 23rd) died Isma`il _Safawi_ at the age of
38, broken by defeat from Sultan Salim of Rum.[1563] He was succeeded by
his son Tahmasp, a child of ten.
This year may be that of the death of Shah Shuja` _Arghun_,[1564] on
Sha`ban 22nd (July 18th), the last grief of his burden being the death
of his foster-brother Fazil concerning which, as well as Shah Beg's own
death, Mir Ma`sum's account is worthy of full reproduction. Shah Beg was
succeeded in Sind by his son Hasan, who read the _khutba_ for Babur and
drew closer links with Babur's circle by marrying, either this year or
the next, Khalifa's daughter Gul-barg, with whom betrothal had been made
during Hasan's visit to Babur in Kabul. Moreover Khalifa's son
Muhibb-i-`ali married Nahid the daughter of Qasim Kukuldash and
Mah-chuchuk _Arghun_ (f. 214_b_). These alliances were made, says
Ma`sum, to strengthen Hasan's position at Babur's Court.
_e. A garden detail._
In this year and presumably on his return from the Panj-ab, Babur, as he
himself chronicles (f. 132), had plantains (bananas) brought from
Hindustan for the Bagh-i-wafa at Adinapur.
931 AH.--OCT. 29TH 1524 TO OCT. 18TH 1525 AD.
_a. Daulat Khan._
Daulat Khan's power in the Panj-ab is shewn by what he effected after
dispossessed of Lahor. On Babur's return to Kabul, he came down from the
hills with a small body of his immediate followers, seized his son
Dilawar, took Sultanpur, gathered a large force and defeated `Alam Khan
in Dibalpur. He detached 5000 men against Sialkot but Babur's begs of
Lahor attacked and overcame them. Ibrahim sent an army to reconquer the
Panj-ab; Daulat Khan, profiting by its dissensions and discontents, won
over a part to himself and saw the rest break up.
_b. `Alam Khan._
From his reverse at Dibalpur, `Alam Khan fled straight to Kabul. The
further help he asked was promised under the condition that while he
should take Ibrahim's place on the throne of Dihli, Babur in full
suzerainty should hold Lahor and all to the west of it. This arranged,
`Alam Khan was furnished with a body of troops, given a royal letter to
the Lahor begs ordering them to assist him, and started off, Babur
promising to follow swiftly.
`Alam Khan's subsequent proceedings are told by Babur in the annals of
932 AH. (1525 AD.) at the time he received details about them (f.
255_b_).
_c. Babur called to Balkh._
All we have yet found about this affair is what Babur says in
explanation of his failure to follow `Alam Khan as promised (f. 256),
namely, that he had to go to Balkh because all the Auzbeg Sultans and
Khans had laid siege to it. Light on the affair may come from some
Persian or Auzbeg chronicle; Babur's arrival raised the siege; and risk
must have been removed, for Babur returned to Kabul in time to set out
for his fifth and last expedition to Hindustan on the first day of the
second month of next year (932 AH. 1525). A considerable body of troops
was in Badakhshan with Humayun; their non-arrival next year delaying his
father's progress, brought blame on himself.
[Illustration: Babur's Grave.
_To face p. 445._]
THE MEMOIRS OF BABUR
SECTION III. HINDUSTAN
932 AH.-OCT. 18TH 1525 TO OCT. 8TH 1526 AD.[1565]
(_a. Fifth expedition into Hindustan._)
(_Nov. 17th_) On Friday the 1st of the month of Safar at the [Sidenote:
Haidarabad MS. Fol. 251b.] date 932, the Sun being in the Sign of the
Archer, we set out for Hindustan, crossed the small rise of Yak-langa,
and dismounted in the meadow to the west of the water of
Dih-i-ya`qub.[1566] `Abdu'l-maluk the armourer came into this camp; he
had gone seven or eight months earlier as my envoy to Sultan Sa`id Khan
(in Kashghar), and now brought one of the Khan's men, styled Yangi Beg
(new beg) Kukuldash who conveyed letters, and small presents, and
verbal messages[1567] from the Khanims and the Khan.[1568]
(_Nov. 18th to 21st_) After staying two days in that camp for the
convenience of the army,[1569] we marched on, halted one night,[1570]
and next dismounted at Badam-chashma. There we ate a confection
(_ma`jun_).
(_Nov. 22nd_) On Wednesday (Safar 6th), when we had dismounted at
Barik-ab, the younger brethren of Nur Beg--he himself remaining in
Hindustan--brought gold _ashrafis_ and _tankas_[1571] to the value of
20,000 _shahrukhis_, sent from the Lahor revenues by Khwaja Husain. The
greater part of these moneys was despatched by Mulla Ahmad, one of the
chief men of Balkh, for the benefit of Balkh.[1572]
(_Nov. 24th_) On Friday the 8th of the month (Safar), after [Sidenote:
Fol. 252.] dismounting at Gandamak, I had a violent discharge;[1573] by
God's mercy, it passed off easily.
(_Nov. 25th_) On Saturday we dismounted in the Bagh-i-wafa. We delayed
there a few days, waiting for Humayun and the army from that side.[1574]
More than once in this history the bounds and extent, charm and delight
of that garden have been described; it is most beautifully placed; who
sees it with the buyer's eye will know the sort of place it is. During
the short time we were there, most people drank on drinking-days[1575]
and took their morning; on non-drinking days there were parties for
_ma`jun_.
I wrote harsh letters to Humayun, lecturing him severely because of his
long delay beyond the time fixed for him to join me.[1576]
(_Dec. 3rd_) On Sunday the 17th of Safar, after the morning had been
taken, Humayun arrived. I spoke very severely to him at once. Khwaja
Kalan also arrived to-day, coming up from Ghazni. We marched in the
evening of that same Sunday, and dismounted in a new garden between
Sultanpur and Khwaja Rustam.
(_Dec. 6th_) Marching on Wednesday (Safar 20th), we got on a raft, and,
drinking as we went reached Qush-gumbaz,[1577] there landed and joined
the camp.
(_Dec. 7th_) Starting off the camp at dawn, we ourselves went on a raft,
and there ate confection (_ma`jun_). Our encamping-ground was always
Qiriq-ariq, but not a sign or trace of the camp could [Sidenote: Fol.
252b.] be seen when we got opposite it, nor any appearance of our
horses. Thought I, "Garm-chashma (Hot-spring) is close by; they may have
dismounted there." So saying, we went on from Qiriq-ariq. By the time we
reached Garm-chashma, the very day was late;[1578] we did not stop
there, but going on in its lateness (_kichisi_), had the raft tied up
somewhere, and slept awhile.
(_Dec. 8th_) At day-break we landed at Yada-bir where, as the day wore
on, the army-folks began to come in. The camp must have been at
Qiriq-ariq, but out of our sight.
There were several verse-makers on the raft, such as Shaikh
Abu'l-wajd,[1579] Shaikh Zain, Mulla `Ali-jan, Tardi Beg _Khaksar_ and
others. In this company was quoted the following couplet of Muhammad
Salih:--[1580]
(Persian) With thee, arch coquette, for a sweetheart, what can man do?
With another than thou where thou art, what can man do?
Said I, "Compose on these lines";[1581] whereupon those given to
versifying, did so. As jokes were always being made at the expense of
Mulla `Ali-jan, this couplet came off-hand into my head:--
(Persian) With one all bewildered as thou, what can man do?
. . . . . . , what can man do?[1582]
(_b. Mention of the Mubin._[1583])
From time to time before it,[1584] whatever came into my head, of good
or bad, grave or jest, used to be strung into verse and written down,
however empty and harsh the verse might be, but while I was composing
the _Mubin_, this thought pierced through my dull wits and made way into
my troubled heart, "A pity it [Sidenote: Fol. 253.] will be if the
tongue which has treasure of utterances so lofty as these are, waste
itself again on low words; sad will it be if again vile imaginings find
way into the mind that has made exposition of these sublime
realities."[1585] Since that time I had refrained from satirical and
jesting verse; I was repentant (_ta'ib_); but these matters were totally
out of mind and remembrance when I made that couplet (on Mulla
`Ali-jan).[1586] A few days later in Bigram when I had fever and
discharge, followed by cough, and I began to spit blood each time I
coughed, I knew whence my reproof came; I knew what act of mine had
brought this affliction on me.
"Whoever shall violate his oath, will violate it to the hurt of his own
soul; but whoever shall perform that which he hath covenanted with God,
to that man surely will He give great reward" (_Qoran_ cap. 48 v. 10).
(_Turki_) What is it I do with thee, ah! my tongue?
My entrails bleed as a reckoning for thee.
Good once[1587] as thy words were, has followed
this verse
Jesting, empty,[1588] obscene, has followed a lie.
If thou say, "Burn will I not!" by keeping this vow
Thou turnest thy rein from this field of strife.[1589]
"O Lord! we have dealt unjustly with our own souls; if Thou forgive us
not, and be not merciful unto us, we shall surely be of those that
perish"[1590] (_Qoran_ cap. 7 v. 22).
Taking anew the place of the penitent pleading for pardon, I gave my
mind rest[1591] from such empty thinking and such unlawful occupation. I
broke my pen. Made by that Court, such reproof of sinful slaves is for
their felicity; happy are the highest and the slave when such reproof
brings warning and its profitable fruit.
(_c. Narrative resumed._)
(_Dec. 8th continued_) Marching on that evening, we dismounted at
`Ali-masjid. The ground here being very confined, I always [Sidenote:
Fol. 253b.] used to dismount on a rise overlooking the camp in the
valley-bottom.[1592] The camp-fires made a wonderful illumination there
at night; assuredly it was because of this that there had always been
drinking there, and was so now.
(_Dec. 9th and 10th_) To-day I rode out before dawn; I preferred a
confection (_ma`jun_)[1593] and also kept this day a fast. We dismounted
near Bigram (Peshawar); and next morning, the camp remaining on that
same ground, rode to Karg-awi.[1594] We crossed the Siyah-ab in front of
Bigram, and formed our hunting-circle looking down-stream. After a
little, a person brought word that there was a rhino in a bit of jungle
near Bigram, and that people had been stationed near-about it. We betook
ourselves, loose rein, to the place, formed a ring round the jungle,
made a noise, and brought the rhino out, when it took its way across the
plain. Humayun and those come with him from that side (Tramontana), who
had never seen one before, were much entertained. It was pursued for two
miles; many arrows were shot at it; it was brought down without having
made a good set at man or horse. Two others were killed. I had often
wondered how a rhino and an elephant would behave if brought face to
face; this time one came out right in front of some elephants the
mahauts were bringing along; it did not face them [Sidenote: Fol. 254.]
when the mahauts drove them towards it, but got off in another
direction.
(_d. Preparations for ferrying the Indus._[1595])
On the day we were in Bigram, several of the begs and household were
appointed, with pay-masters and diwans, six or seven being put in
command, to take charge of the boats at the Nil-ab crossing, to make a
list of all who were with the army, name by name, and to count them up.
That evening I had fever and discharge[1596] which led on to cough and
every time I coughed, I spat blood. Anxiety was great but, by God's
mercy, it passed off in two or three days.
(_Dec. 11th_) It rained when we left Bigram; we dismounted on the
Kabul-water.
(_e. News from Lahor._)
News came that Daulat Khan[1597] and (Apaq) Ghazi Khan, having collected
an army of from 20 to 30,000, had taken Kilanur, and intended to move on
Lahor. At once Mumin-i-`ali the commissary was sent galloping off to
say, "We are advancing march by march;[1598] do not fight till we
arrive."
(_Dec. 14th_) With two night-halts on the way, we reached the water of
Sind (Indus), and there dismounted on Thursday the 28th (of Safar).
(_f. Ferrying the Indus._)
(_Dec. 16th_) On Saturday the 1st of the first Rabi`, we crossed the
Sind-water, crossed the water of Kacha-kot (Haru), and dismounted on the
bank of the river.[1599] The begs, pay-masters and diwans who had been
put in charge of the boats, reported that the number of those come with
the army, great and small, good and bad, retainer and non-retainer, was
written down as 12,000.
(_g. The eastward march._)
The rainfall had been somewhat scant in the plains, but [Sidenote: Fol.
254b.] seemed to have been good in the cultivated lands along the
hill-skirts; for these reasons we took the road for Sialkot along the
skirt-hills. Opposite Hati _Kakar's_ country[1600] we came upon a
torrent[1601] the waters of which were standing in pools. Those pools
were all frozen over. The ice was not very thick, as thick as the hand
may-be. Such ice is unusual in Hindustan; not a sign or trace of any was
seen in the years we were (_aiduk_) in the country.[1602]
We had made five marches from the Sind-water; after the sixth (_Dec.
22nd_--Rabi` I. 7th) we dismounted on a torrent in the camping-ground
(_yurt_) of the Bugials[1603] below Balnath Jogi's hill which connects
with the Hill of Jud.
(_Dec. 23rd_) In order to let people get provisions, we stayed the next
day in that camp. _`Araq_ was drunk on that day. Mulla Muh. _Parghari_
told many stories; never had he been so talkative. Mulla Shams himself
was very riotous; once he began, he did not finish till night.
The slaves and servants, good and bad, who had gone out after
provisions, went further than this[1604] and heedlessly scattered over
jungle and plain, hill and broken ground. Owing to this, a few were
overcome; Kichkina _tunqitar_ died there.
(_Dec. 24th_) Marching on, we crossed the Bihat-water at a ford below
Jilam (Jihlam) and there dismounted. Wali _Qizil_ (Rufus) came there to
see me. He was the Sialkot reserve, and held the parganas of Bimruki and
Akriada. Thinking about Sialkot, [Sidenote: Fol. 255.] I took towards
him the position of censure and reproach. He excused himself, saying "I
had come to my _pargana_ before Khusrau Kukuldash left Sialkot; he did
not even send me word." After listening to his excuse, I said, "Since
thou hast paid no attention to Sialkot, why didst thou not join the begs
in Lahor?" He was convicted, but as work was at hand, I did not trouble
about his fault.
(_h. Scouts sent with orders to Lahor._)
(_Dec. 25th_) Sayyid Tufan and Sayyid Lachin were sent galloping off,
each with a pair-horse,[1605] to say in Lahor, "Do not join battle; meet
us at Sialkot or Parsrur" (mod. Pasrur). It was in everyone's mouth that
Ghazi Khan had collected 30 to 40,000 men, that Daulat Khan, old as he
was, had girt two swords to his waist, and that they were resolved to
fight. Thought I, "The proverb says that ten friends are better than
nine; do you not make a mistake: when the Lahor begs have joined you,
fight there and then!"
(_Dec. 26th and 27th_) After starting off the two men to the begs, we
moved forward, halted one night, and next dismounted on the bank of the
Chin-ab (Chan-ab).
As Buhlulpur was _khalsa_,[1606] we left the road to visit it. Its fort
is situated above a deep ravine, on the bank of the Chin-ab. It pleased
us much. We thought of bringing Sialkot to it. Please God! the chance
coming, it shall be done straightway! [Sidenote: Fol. 255b.] From
Buhlulpur we went to camp by boat.
(_i. Jats and Gujurs._[1607])
(_Dec. 29th_) On Friday the 14th of the first Rabi` we dismounted at
Sialkot. If one go into Hindustan the Jats and Gujurs always pour down
in countless hordes from hill and plain for loot in bullock and buffalo.
These ill-omened peoples are just senseless oppressors! Formerly their
doings did not concern us much because the country was an enemy's, but
they began the same senseless work after we had taken it. When we
reached Sialkot, they fell in tumult on poor and needy folks who were
coming out of the town to our camp, and stripped them bare. I had the
silly thieves sought for, and ordered two or three of them cut to
pieces.
From Sialkot Nur Beg's brother Shaham also was made to gallop off to the
begs in Lahor to say, "Make sure where the enemy is; find out from some
well-informed person where he may be met, and send us word."
A trader, coming into this camp, represented that `Alam Khan had let Sl.
Ibrahim defeat him.
(_j. `Alam Khan's action and failure._[1608])
Here are the particulars:--`Alam Khan, after taking leave of me (in
Kabul, 931 AH.), went off in that heat by double marches, regardless of
those with him.[1609] As at the time I gave him leave to go, all the
Auzbeg khans and sultans had laid siege to Balkh, [Sidenote: Fol. 256.]
I rode for Balkh as soon as I had given him his leave. On his reaching
Lahor, he insisted to the begs, "You reinforce me; the Padshah said so;
march along with me; let us get (Apaq) Ghazi Khan to join us; let us
move on Dihli and Agra." Said they, "Trusting to what, will you join
Ghazi Khan? Moreover the royal orders to us were, 'If at any time Ghazi
Khan has sent his younger brother Haji Khan with his son to Court, join
him; or do so, if he has sent them, by way of pledge, to Lahor; if he
has done neither, do not join him.' You yourself only yesterday fought
him and let him beat you! Trusting to what, will you join him now?
Besides all this, it is not for your advantage to join him!" Having said
what-not of this sort, they refused `Alam Khan. He did not fall in with
their views, but sent his son Sher Khan to speak with Daulat Khan and
with Ghazi Khan, and afterwards all saw one another.
`Alam Khan took with him Dilawar Khan, who had come into Lahor two or
three months earlier after his escape from prison; he took also Mahmud
Khan (son of) Khan-i-jahan,[1610] to whom a _pargana_ in the Lahor
district had been given. They seem to have left matters at this:--Daulat
Khan with Ghazi Khan was to take all the begs posted in Hindustan to
himself, indeed he was to take everything on that side;[1611] while
`Alam [Sidenote: Fol. 256b.] Khan was to take Dilawar Khan and Haji Khan
and, reinforced by them, was to capture Dihli and Agra. Isma`il
_Jilwani_ and other amirs came and saw `Alam Khan; all then betook
themselves, march by march, straight for Dihli. Near Indri came also
Sulaiman Shaikh-zada.[1612] Their total touched 30 to 40,000 men.
They laid siege to Dihli but could neither take it by assault nor do
hurt to the garrison.[1613] When Sl. Ibrahim heard of their assembly, he
got an army to horse against them; when they heard of his approach, they
rose from before the place and moved to meet him. They had left matters
at this:--"If we attack by day-light, the Afghans will not desert (to
us), for the sake of their reputations with one another; but if we
attack at night when one man cannot see another, each man will obey his
own orders." Twice over they started at fall of day from a distance of
12 miles (6 _kurohs_), and, unable to bring matters to a point, neither
advanced nor retired; but just sat on horseback for two or three
watches. On a third occasion they delivered an attack when one watch of
night remained--their purpose seeming to be the burning of tents and
huts! They went; they set fire from every end; they made a disturbance.
Jalal Khan _Jig-hat_[1614] came with other amirs and saw `Alam Khan.
Sl. Ibrahim did not bestir himself till shoot of dawn from where he was
with a few of his own family[1615] within his own enclosure (_saracha_).
Meantime `Alam Khan's people were busy [Sidenote: Fol. 257.] with
plunder and booty. Seeing the smallness of their number, Sl. Ibrahim's
people moved out against them in rather small force with one elephant.
`Alam Khan's party, not able to make stand against the elephant, ran
away. He in his flight crossed over into the Mian-du-ab and crossed back
again when he reached the Panipat neighbourhood. In Indri he contrived
on some pretext to get 4 _laks_ from Mian Sulaiman.[1616] He was
deserted by Isma`il _Jilwani_, by Biban[1617] and by his own oldest son
Jalal, who all withdrew into the Mian-du-ab; and he had been deserted
just before the fighting, by part of his troops, namely, by Darya Khan
(_Nuhani_)'s son Saif Khan, by Khan-i-jahan (_Nuhani_)'s son Mahmud
Khan, and by Shaikh Jamal _Farmuli_. When he was passing through Sihrind
with Dilawar Khan, he heard of our advance and of our capture of Milwat
(Malot).[1618] On this Dilawar Khan--who always had been my well-wisher
and on my account had dragged out three or four months in prison,--left
`Alam Khan and the rest and went to his family in Sultanpur. He waited
on me three or four days after we took Milwat. `Alam Khan and Haji Khan
crossed the Shatlut (_sic_)-water and went into Ginguta,[1619] one of
the strongholds in the range that lies between the valley and the
plain.[1620] There our Afghan and Hazara[1621] troops besieged them, and
had [Sidenote: Fol. 257b] almost taken that strong fort when night came
on. Those inside were thinking of escape but could not get out because
of the press of horses in the Gate. There must have been elephants also;
when these were urged forward, they trod down and killed many horses.
`Alam Khan, unable to escape mounted, got out on foot in the darkness.
After a _lak_ of difficulties, he joined Ghazi Khan, who had not gone
into Milwat but had fled into the hills. Not being received with even a
little friendliness by Ghazi Khan; needs must! he came and waited on me
at the foot of the dale[1622] near Pehlur.
(_k. Diary resumed._)
A person came to Sialkot from the Lahor begs to say they would arrive
early next morning to wait on me.
(_Dec. 30th_) Marching early next day (Rabi` I. 15th), we dismounted at
Parsrur. There Muh. `Ali _Jang-jang_, Khwaja Husain and several braves
waited on me. As the enemy's camp seemed to be on the Lahor side of the
Ravi, we sent men out under Bujka for news. Near the third watch of the
night they brought word that the enemy, on hearing of us, had fled, no
man looking to another.
(_Dec. 31st_) Getting early to horse and leaving baggage and train in
the charge of Shah Mir Husain and Jan Beg, we bestirred ourselves. We
reached Kalanur in the afternoon, and there dismounted. Muhammad Sl.
Mirza and `Adil Sl.[1623] came [Sidenote: Fol. 258.] to wait on me
there, together with some of the begs.
(_Jan. 1st 1526 AD._) We marched early from Kalanur. On the road people
gave us almost certain news of Ghazi Khan and other fugitives.
Accordingly we sent, flying after those fliers, the commanders
Muhammadi, Ahmadi, Qutluq-qadam, Treasurer Wali and most of those begs
who, in Kabul, had recently bent the knee for their begship. So far it
was settled:--That it would be good indeed if they could overtake and
capture the fugitives; and that, if they were not able to do this, they
were to keep careful watch round Milwat (Malot), so as to prevent those
inside from getting out and away. Ghazi Khan was the object of this
watch.
(_l. Capture of Milwat._)
(_Jan. 2nd and 3rd_) After starting those begs ahead, we crossed the
Biah-water (Beas) opposite Kanwahin[1624] and dismounted. From there we
marched to the foot of the valley of Fort Milwat, making two night-halts
on the way. The begs who had arrived before us, and also those of
Hindustan were ordered to dismount in such a way as to besiege the place
closely.
A grandson of Daulat Khan, son of his eldest son `Ali Khan, Isma`il Khan
by name, came out of Milwat to see me; he took back promise mingled with
threat, kindness with menace.
(_Jan. 5th_) On Friday (Rabi` I. 21st) I moved camp forward to within a
mile of the fort, went myself to examine the place, posted right, left
and centre, then returned to camp.
Daulat Khan sent to represent to me that Ghazi Khan had [Sidenote: Fol.
258b.] fled into the hills, and that, if his own faults were pardoned,
he would take service with me and surrender Milwat. Khwaja Mir-i-miran
was sent to chase fear from his heart and to escort him out; he came,
and with him his son `Ali Khan. I had ordered that the two swords he had
girt to his waist to fight me with, should be hung from his neck. Was
such a rustic blockhead possible! With things as they were, he still
made pretensions! When he was brought a little forward, I ordered the
swords to be removed from his neck. At the time of our seeing one
another[1625] he hesitated to kneel; I ordered them to pull his leg and
make him do so. I had him seated quite in front, and ordered a person
well acquainted with Hindustani to interpret my words to him, one after
another. Said I, "Thus speak:--I called thee Father. I shewed thee more
honour and respect than thou couldst have asked. Thee and thy sons I
saved from door-to-door life amongst the Baluchis.[1626] Thy family and
thy _haram_ I freed from Ibrahim's prison-house.[1627] Three _krors_ I
gave thee on Tatar Khan's lands.[1628] What ill sayest thou I have done
thee, that thus thou shouldst hang a sword on thy either side,[1629]
lead an army out, fall on lands of ours,[1630] and stir strife and
trouble?" Dumbfounded, the old man [Sidenote: Fol. 259.] stuttered a
few words, but, he gave no answer, nor indeed could answer be given to
words so silencing. He was ordered to remain with Khwaja Mir-i-miran.
(_Jan. 6th_) On Saturday the 22nd of the first Rabi`, I went myself to
safeguard the exit of the families and _harams_[1631] from the fort,
dismounting on a rise opposite the Gate. To me there came `Ali Khan and
made offering of a few _ashrafis_. People began to bring out the
families just before the Other Prayer. Though Ghazi Khan was reported to
have got away, there were some who said they had seen him in the fort.
For this reason several of the household and braves[1632] were posted at
the Gate, in order to prevent his escape by a ruse, for to get away was
his full intention.[1633] Moreover if jewels and other valuables were
being taken away by stealth, they were to be confiscated. I spent that
night in a tent pitched on the rise in front of the Gate.
(_Jan. 7th_) Early next morning, Muhammadi, Ahmadi, Sl. Junaid,
`Abdu'l-`aziz, Muhammad `Ali _Jang-jang_ and Qutluq-qadam were ordered
to enter the fort and take possession of all [Sidenote: Fol. 259b.]
effects. As there was much disturbance at the Gate, I shot off a few
arrows by way of chastisement. Humayun's story-teller (_qissa-khwan_)
was struck by the arrow of his destiny and at once surrendered his life.
(_Jan. 7th and 8th_) After spending two nights[1634] on the rise, I
inspected the fort. I went into Ghazi Khan's book-room;[1635] some of
the precious things found in it, I gave to Humayun, some sent to Kamran
(in Qandahar). There were many books of learned contents,[1636] but not
so many valuable ones as had at first appeared. I passed that night in
the fort; next morning I went back to camp.
(_Jan. 9th_) It had been in our minds that Ghazi Khan was in the fort,
but he, a man devoid of nice sense of honour, had escaped to the hills,
abandoning father, brethren and sisters in Milwat.
See that man without honour who never
The face of good luck shall behold;
Bodily ease he chose for himself,
In hardship he left wife and child (_Gulistan_ cap. i, story 17).
(_Jan. 10th_) Leaving that camp on Wednesday, we moved towards the hills
to which Ghazi Khan had fled. When we dismounted in the valley-bottom
two miles from the camp in the mouth of Milwat,[1637] Dilawar Khan came
and waited on me. Daulat Khan, `Ali Khan and Isma`il Khan, with other
chiefs, were given into Kitta Beg's charge who was to convey them to the
Bhira fort of Milwat (Malot),[1638] and there keep guard over [Sidenote:
Fol. 260.] them. In agreement with Dilawar Khan, blood-ransom was fixed
for some who had been made over each to one man; some gave security,
some were kept prisoner. Daulat Khan died when Kitta Beg reached
Sultanpur with the prisoners.[1639]
Milwat was given into the charge of Muh. `Ali _Jang-jang_ who, pledging
his own life for it, left his elder brother Arghun and a party of braves
in it. A body of from 200 to 250 Afghans were told off to reinforce him.
Khwaja Kalan had loaded several camels with Ghazni wines. A party was
held in his quarters overlooking the fort and the whole camp, some
drinking _`araq_, some wine. It was a varied party.
(_m. Jaswan-valley._)
Marching on, we crossed a low hill of the grazing-grounds
(_argha-dal-liq_) of Milwat and went into the _dun_, as Hindustanis
are understood to call a dale (_julga_).[1640] In this dale is a
running-water[1641] of Hindustan; along its sides are many villages; and
it is said to be the pargana of the Jaswal, that is to say, of Dilawar
Khan's maternal uncles. It lies there shut-in, with meadows along its
torrent, rice cultivated here and there, a three or four mill-stream
flowing in its trough, its width from two to [Sidenote: Fol. 260b.] four
miles, six even in places, villages on the skirts of its hills--hillocks
they are rather--where there are no villages, peacocks, monkeys, and many
fowls which, except that they are mostly of one colour, are exactly like
house-fowls.
As no reliable news was had of Ghazi Khan, we arranged for Tardika to go
with Birim Deo _Malinhas_ and capture him wherever he might be found.
In the hills of this dale stand thoroughly strong forts; one on the
north-east, named Kutila, has sides 70 to 80 yards (_qari_) of straight
fall, the side where the great gate is being perhaps 7 or 8 yards.[1642]
The width of the place where the draw-bridge is made, may be 10 to 12
yards. Across this they have made a bridge of two tall trees[1643] by
which horses and herds are taken over. This was one of the local forts
Ghazi Khan had strengthened; his man will have been in it now. Our
raiders (_chapqunchi_) assaulted it and had almost taken it when night
came on. The garrison abandoned this difficult place and went off. Near
this dale is also the stronghold of Ginguta; it is girt round by
precipices as Kutila is, but is not so strong as Kutila. As has been
mentioned `Alam Khan went into it.[1644] [Sidenote: Fol. 261.]
(_n. Babur advances against Ibrahim._)
After despatching the light troop against Ghazi Khan, I put my foot in
the stirrup of resolution, set my hand on the rein of trust in God, and
moved forward against Sultan Ibrahim, son of Sultan Sikandar, son of
Buhlul _Ludi Afghan_, in possession of whose throne at that time were
the Dihli capital and the dominions of Hindustan, whose standing-army
was called a _lak_ (100,000), whose elephants and whose begs' elephants
were about 1,000.
At the end of our first stage, I bestowed Dibalpur on Baqi
_shaghawal_[1645] and sent him to help Balkh[1646]; sent also gifts,
taken in the success of Milwat, for (my) younger children and various
train in Kabul.
When we had made one or two marches down the (Jaswan) _dun_, Shah `Imad
_Shirazi_ arrived from Araish Khan and Mulla Muhammad _Mazhab_,[1647]
bringing letters that conveyed their good wishes for the complete
success of our campaign and indicated their effort and endeavour towards
this. In response, we sent, by a foot-man, royal letters expressing our
favour. We then marched on.
(_o. `Alam Khan takes refuge with Babur._)
The light troop we had sent out from Milwat (Malot), took Hurur, Kahlur
and all the hill-forts of the neighbourhood--places to which because of
their strength, no-one seemed to have gone for a long time--and came back
to me after plundering a little. Came also `Alam Khan, on foot, ruined,
stripped bare. We sent some of the begs to give him honourable meeting,
sent horses too, and he waited (_malazamat qildi_) in that [Sidenote:
Fol. 261b.] neighbourhood.[1648]
Raiders of ours went into the hills and valleys round-about, but after a
few nights' absence, came back without anything to count. Shah Mir
Husain, Jan Beg and a few of the braves asked leave and went off for a
raid.
(_p. Incidents of the march for Pani-pat._)
While we were in the (Jaswan) _dun_, dutiful letters had come more than
once from Isma`il _Jilwani_ and Biban; we replied to them from this
place by royal letters such as their hearts desired. After we got out of
the dale to Rupar, it rained very much and became so cold that a mass of
starved and naked Hindustanis died.
When we had left Rupar and were dismounted at Karal,[1649] opposite
Sihrind, a Hindustani coming said, "I am Sl. Ibrahim's envoy," and
though he had no letter or credentials, asked for an envoy from us. We
responded at once by sending one or two Sawadi night-guards
(_tunqitar_).[1650] These humble persons Ibrahim put in prison; they
made their escape and came back to us on the very day we beat him.
After having halted one night on the way, we dismounted on the bank of
the torrent[1651] of Banur and Sanur. Great rivers apart, one running
water there is in Hindustan, is this[1652]; they call it the water of
Kakar (Ghaggar). Chitr also is on its bank. We rode up it for an
excursion. The rising-place (_zih_) of the water of this torrent (_rud_)
is 3 or 4 _kurohs_ (6-8 m.) above Chitr. Going up the (Kakar) torrent,
we came to where a 4 or 5 millstream issues from a broad (side-)valley
(_dara_), up which there [Sidenote: Fol. 262.] are very pleasant places,
healthy and convenient. I ordered a Char-bagh to be made at the mouth of
the broad valley of this (tributary) water, which falls into the
(Kakar-) torrent after flowing for one or two _kurohs_ through level
ground. From its infall to the springs of the Kakar the distance may be
3 to 4 _kurohs_ (6-8 m.). When it comes down in flood during the rains
and joins the Kakar, they go together to Samana and Sanam.[1653]
In this camp we heard that Sl. Ibrahim had been on our side of
Dihli and had moved on from that station, also that Hamid Khan
_khasa-khail_,[1654] the military-collector (_shiqdar_) of Hisar-firuza,
had left that place with its army and with the army of its
neighbourhood, and had advanced 10 or 15 _kurohs_ (20-30 m.). Kitta Beg
was sent for news to Ibrahim's camp, and Mumin Ataka to the Hisar-firuza
camp.
(_q. Humayun moves against Hamid Khan._)
(_Feb. 25th_) Marching from Ambala, we dismounted by the side of a lake.
There Mumin Ataka and Kitta Beg rejoined us, both on the same day,
Sunday the 13th of the first Jumada.
We appointed Humayun to act against Hamid Khan, and joined the whole of
the right (wing) to him, that is to say, Khwaja Kalan, Sl. Muhammad
_Duldai_, Treasurer Wali, and also some of the begs whose posts were in
Hindustan, namely, Khusrau, Hindu Beg,`Abdu'l-'aziz and Muhammad `Ali
_Jang-jang_, with also, from the household and braves of the centre,
Shah Mansur _Barlas_, Kitta Beg and Muhibb-i `ali. [Sidenote: Fol.
262b.]
Biban waited on me in this camp. These Afghans remain very rustic and
tactless! This person asked to sit although Dilawar Khan, his superior
in following and in rank, did not sit, and although the sons of `Alam
Khan, who are of royal birth, did not sit. Little ear was lent to his
unreason!
(_Feb. 26th_) At dawn on Monday the 14th Humayun moved out against Hamid
Khan. After advancing for some distance, he sent between 100 and 150
braves scouting ahead, who went close up to the enemy and at once got to
grips. But when after a few encounters, the dark mass of Humayun's
troops shewed in the rear, the enemy ran right away. Humayun's men
unhorsed from 100 to 200, struck the heads off one half and brought the
other half in, together with 7 or 8 elephants.
(_March 2nd_) On Friday the 18th of the month, Beg Mirak _Mughul_
brought news of Humayun's victory to the camp. He (Humayun?) was there
and then given a special head-to-foot and a special horse from the royal
stable, besides promise of guerdon (_juldu_).
(_March 5th_) On Monday the 25th of the month, Humayun arrived to wait
on me, bringing with him as many as 100 prisoners and 7 or 8 elephants.
Ustad `Ali-quli and the [Sidenote: Fol. 263.] matchlockmen were ordered
to shoot all the prisoners, by way of example. This had been Humayun's
first affair, his first experience of battle; it was an excellent omen!
Our men who had gone in pursuit of the fugitives, took Hisar-firuza at
once on arrival, plundered it, and returned to us. It was given in
guerdon to Humayun, with all its dependencies and appurtenances, with it
also a _kror_ of money.
We marched from that camp to Shahabad. After we had despatched a
news-gatherer (_til-tutar kishi_) to Sl. Ibrahim's camp, we stayed a few
days on that ground. Rahmat the foot-man was sent with the letters of
victory to Kabul.
(_r. News of Ibrahim._)
(_March 13th_) On Monday the 28th of the first Jumada,[1655] we being in
that same camp, the Sun entered the Sign of the Ram. News had come
again and again from Ibrahim's camp, "He is coming, marching two miles"
or "four miles", "stopping in each camp two days," or "three days". We
for our part advanced from Shahabad and after halting on two nights,
reached the bank of the Jun-river (Jumna) and encamped opposite Sarsawa.
From that ground Khwaja Kalan's servant Haidar-quli was sent to get news
(_til tuta_).
Having crossed the Jun-river at a ford, I visited Sarsawa. That day also
we ate _ma`jun_. Sarsawa[1656] has a source (_chashma_) from which a
smallish stream issues, not a bad place! Tardi Beg _khaksar_ praising
it, I said, "Let it be thine!" so just [Sidenote: Fol. 263b.] because he
praised it, Sarsawa was given to him!
I had a platform fixed in a boat and used to go for excursions on the
river, sometimes too made the marches down it. Two marches along its
bank had been made when, of those sent to gather news, Haidar-quli
brought word that Ibrahim had sent Daud Khan (_Ludi_) and Hatim Khan
(_Ludi_) across the river into the Mian-du-ab (Tween-waters) with 5 or
6000 men, and that these lay encamped some 6 or 7 miles from his own.
(_s. A successful encounter._)
(_April 1st_) On Sunday the 18th of the second Jumada, we sent, to ride
light against this force, Chin-timur Sultan,[1657] Mahdi Khwaja,
Muhammad Sl. Mirza, `Adil Sultan, and the whole of the left, namely, Sl.
Junaid, Shah Mir Husain, Qutluq-qadam, and with them also sent
`Abdu'l-lah and Kitta Beg (of the centre). They crossed from our side of
the water at the Mid-day Prayer, and between the Afternoon and the
Evening Prayers bestirred themselves from the other bank. Biban having
crossed the water on pretext of this movement, ran away.
(_April 2nd_) At day-break they came upon the enemy;[1658] he made as if
coming out in a sort of array, but our men closed with his at once,
overcame them, hustled them off, pursued and unhorsed them till they
were opposite Ibrahim's own camp. Hatim Khan was one of those unhorsed,
who was Daud Khan (_Ludi_)'s elder brother and one of his commanders.
Our men brought him in when they waited on me. They brought also
[Sidenote: Fol. 264.] 60-70 prisoners and 6 or 7 elephants. Most of the
prisoners, by way of warning, were made to reach their death-doom.
(_t. Preparations for battle._)
While we were marching on in array of right, left and centre, the army
was numbered;[1659] it did not count up to what had been estimated.
At our next camp it was ordered that every man in the army should
collect carts, each one according to his circumstances. Seven hundred
carts (_araba_) were brought[1660] in. The order given to Ustad
`Ali-quli was that these carts should be joined together in
Ottoman[1661] fashion, but using ropes of raw hide instead of chains,
and that between every two carts 5 or 6 mantelets should be fixed,
behind which the matchlockmen were to stand to fire. To allow of
collecting all appliances, we delayed 5 or 6 days in that camp. When
everything was ready, all the begs with such braves as had had
experience in military affairs were summoned to a General Council where
opinion found decision at this:--Pani-pat[1662] is there with its crowded
houses and suburbs. It would be on one side of us; our other sides must
be protected by carts and mantelets behind which our foot and
matchlockmen would stand. With so much settled we marched forward,
halted one night on the way, and reached Pani-pat on Thursday the last
day (29th) of the second Jumada (April 12th).
(_u. The opposed forces._)
On our right was the town of Pani-pat with its suburbs; in front of us
were the carts and mantelets we had prepared; on our left and elsewhere
were ditch and branch. At distances of [Sidenote: Fol. 264b.] an arrow's
flight[1663] sally-places were left for from 100 to 200 horsemen.
Some in the army were very anxious and full of fear. Nothing recommends
anxiety and fear. For why? Because what God has fixed in eternity cannot
be changed. But though this is so, it was no reproach to be afraid and
anxious. For why? Because those thus anxious and afraid were there with
a two or three months' journey between them and their homes; our affair
was with a foreign tribe and people; none knew their tongue, nor did
they know ours:--
A wandering band, with mind awander;
In the grip of a tribe, a tribe unfamiliar.[1664]
People estimated the army opposing us at 100,000 men; Ibrahim's
elephants and those of his amirs were said to be about 1000. In his
hands was the treasure of two forbears.[1665] In Hindustan, when work
such as this has to be done, it is customary to pay out money to hired
retainers who are known as _b:d-hindi_.[1666] If it had occurred to
Ibrahim to do this, he might have had another _lak_ or two of troops.
God brought it right! Ibrahim could neither content his braves, nor
share out his treasure. How should he content his braves when he was
ruled by avarice and had a craving insatiable to pile coin on coin? He
was an unproved brave[1667]; he provided nothing for his [Sidenote: Fol.
265.] military operations, he perfected nothing, nor stand, nor move,
nor fight.
In the interval at Pani-pat during which the army was preparing defence
on our every side with cart, ditch and branch, Darwish-i-muhammad
_Sarban_ had once said to me, "With such precautions taken, how is it
possible for him to come?" Said I, "Are you likening him to the Auzbeg
khans and sultans? In what of movement under arms or of planned
operations is he to be compared with them?" God brought it right! Things
fell out just as I said!
(_Author's note on the Auzbeg chiefs._) When I reached Hisar
in the year I left Samarkand (918 AH.-1512 AD.), and all the
Auzbeg khans and sultans gathered and came against us, we
brought the families and the goods of the Mughuls and soldiers
into the Hisar suburbs and fortified these by closing the
lanes. As those khans and sultans were experienced in
equipment, in planned operations, and in resolute resistance,
they saw from our fortification of Hisar that we were
determined on life or death within it, saw they could not
count on taking it by assault and, therefore, retired at once
from near Nundak of Chaghanian.
(_v. Preliminary encounters._)
During the 7 or 8 days we lay in Pani-pat, our men used to go, a few
together, close up to Ibrahim's camp, rain arrows down on his massed
troops, cut off and bring in heads. Still he made [Sidenote: Fol. 265b.]
no move; nor did his troops sally out. At length, we acted on the advice
of several Hindustani well-wishers and sent out 4 or 5000 men to deliver
a night-attack on his camp, the leaders of it being Mahdi Khwaja,
Muhammad Sl. Mirza, `Adil Sultan, Khusrau, Shah Mir Husain, Sl. Junaid
_Barlas_, `Abdu'l-`aziz the Master of the Horse, Muh. `Ali _Jang-jang_,
Qutluq-qadam, Treasurer Wali, Khalifa's Muhibb-i-`ali, Pay-master
Muhammad, Jan Beg and Qara-quzi. It being dark, they were not able to
act together well, and, having scattered, could effect nothing on
arrival. They stayed near Ibrahim's camp till dawn, when the nagarets
sounded and troops of his came out in array with elephants. Though our
men did not do their work, they got off safe and sound; not a man of
them was killed, though they were in touch with such a mass of foes. One
arrow pierced Muh. `Ali _Jang-jang_'s leg; though the wound was not
mortal, he was good-for-nothing on the day of battle.
On hearing of this affair, I sent off Humayun and his troops to go 2 or
3 miles to meet them, and followed him myself with the rest of the army
in battle-array. The party of the night-attack joined him and came back
with him. The enemy making no further advance, we returned to camp and
dismounted. That night a false alarm fell on the camp; for some 20
minutes (one _gari_) there were uproar and call-to-arms; the disturbance
died down after a time. [Sidenote: Fol. 266.]
(_w. Battle of Pani-pat._[1668])
(_April 20th_) On Friday the 8th of Rajab,[1669] news came, when it was
light enough to distinguish one thing from another (_farz-waqti_) that
the enemy was advancing in fighting-array. We at once put on mail,[1670]
armed and mounted.[1671] Our right was Humayun, Khwaja Kalan, Sultan
Muhammad _Duldai_, Hindu Beg, Treasurer Wali and Pir-quli _Sistani_; our
left was Muhammad Sl. Mirza, Mahdi Khwaja, `Adil Sultan, Shah Mir
Husain, Sl. Junaid _Barlas_, Qutluq-qadam, Jan Beg, Pay-master Muhammad,
and Shah Husain (of) Yaragi _Mughul Ghanchi_(?).[1672] The right hand of
the centre[1673] was Chin-timur Sultan, Sulaiman Mirza,[1674] Muhammadi
Kukuldash, Shah Mansur _Barlas_, Yunas-i-`ali, Darwish-i-muhammad
_Sarban_ and `Abdu'l-lah the librarian. The left of the centre was
Khalifa, Khwaja Mir-i-miran, Secretary Ahmadi, Tardi Beg (brother) of
Quj Beg, Khalifa's Muhibb-i-`ali and Mirza Beg Tarkhan. The advance was
Khusrau Kukuldash and Muh. `Ali _Jang-jang_. `Abdu'l-'aziz the Master
of the Horse was posted as the reserve. For the turning-party
(_tulghuma_) at the point of the right wing,[1675] we fixed on Red Wali
and Malik Qasim (brother) of Baba _Qashqa_, with their Mughuls; for the
turning-party at the point of the left wing, we arrayed Qara-quzi,
Abu'l-muhammad the lance-player, Shaikh Jamal _Barin's_ Shaikh `Ali,
Mahndi(?) and Tingri-birdi _Bashaghi_(?) _Mughul_; these two parties,
directly the enemy got near, were to turn his rear, one from the right,
the other from the left. [Sidenote: Fol. 266b.]
When the dark mass of the enemy first came in sight, he seemed to
incline towards our right; `Abdu'l-`aziz, who was the right-reserve, was
sent therefore to reinforce the right. From the time that Sl. Ibrahim's
blackness first appeared, he moved swiftly, straight for us, without a
check, until he saw the dark mass of our men, when his pulled up and,
observing our formation and array,[1676] made as if asking, "To stand or
not? To advance or not?" They could not stand; nor could they make their
former swift advance.
Our orders were for the turning-parties to wheel from right and left to
the enemy's rear, to discharge arrows and to engage in the fight; and
for the right and left (wings) to advance and join battle with him. The
turning-parties wheeled round and began to rain arrows down. Mahdi
Khwaja was the first of the left to engage; he was faced by a troop
having an elephant with it; his men's flights of arrows forced it to
retire. To reinforce the left I sent Secretary Ahmadi and also Quj Beg's
Tardi Beg and Khalifa's Muhibb-i-'ali. On the right also there was some
stubborn fighting. Orders were given for Muhammadi Kukuldash, Shah
Mansur _Barlas_, Yunas-i-`ali and `Abdu'l-lah to engage those facing
them in front of the centre. From that same position Ustad `Ali-quli
made good discharge of _firingi_ shots;[1677]
Mustafa the commissary for his part made excellent discharge [Sidenote:
Fol. 267.] of _zarb-zan_ shots from the left hand of the centre. Our
right, left, centre and turning-parties having surrounded the enemy,
rained arrows down on him and fought ungrudgingly. He made one or two
small charges on our right and left but under our men's arrows, fell
back on his own centre. His right and left hands (_qul_) were massed in
such a crowd that they could neither move forward against us nor force a
way for flight.
When the incitement to battle had come, the Sun was spear-high; till
mid-day fighting had been in full force; noon passed, the foe was
crushed in defeat, our friends rejoicing and gay. By God's mercy and
kindness, this difficult affair was made easy for us! In one half-day,
that armed mass was laid upon the earth. Five or six thousand men were
killed in one place close to Ibrahim. Our estimate of the other dead,
lying all over the field, was 15 to 16,000, but it came to be known,
later in Agra from the statements of Hindustanis, that 40 or 50,000 may
have died in that battle.[1678]
The foe defeated, pursuit and unhorsing of fugitives began. Our men
brought in amirs of all ranks and the chiefs they captured; _mahauts_
made offering of herd after herd of elephants.
Ibrahim was thought to have fled; therefore, while pursuing [Sidenote:
Fol. 267b.] the enemy, we told off Qismatai Mirza, Baba _chuhra_ and
Bujka of the _khasa-tabin_[1679] to lead swift pursuit to Agra and try
to take him. We passed through his camp, looked into his own enclosure
(_saracha_) and quarters, and dismounted on the bank of standing-water
(_qara-su_).
It was the Afternoon Prayer when Khalifa's younger brother-in-law Tahir
Tibri[1680] who had found Ibrahim's body in a heap of dead, brought in
his head.
(_x. Detachments sent to occupy Dihli and Agra._)
On that very same day we appointed Humayun Mirza[1681] to ride fast and
light to Agra with Khwaja Kalan, Muhammadi, Shah Mansur _Barlas_,
Yunas-i-`ali, `Abdu'l-lah and Treasurer Wali, to get the place into
their hands and to mount guard over the treasure. We fixed on Mahdi
Khwaja, with Muhammad Sl. Mirza, `Adil Sultan, Sl. Junaid _Barlas_ and
Qutluq-qadam to leave their baggage, make sudden incursion on Dihli, and
keep watch on the treasuries.[1682]
(_April 21st_) We marched on next day and when we had gone 2 miles,
dismounted, for the sake of the horses, on the bank of the Jun (Jumna).
(_April 24th_) On Tuesday (Rajab 12th), after we had halted on two
nights and had made the circuit of Shaikh Nizamu'd-din _Auliya_'s
tomb[1683] we dismounted on the bank of the Jun over against
Dihli.[1684] That same night, being Wednesday-eve, we made an excursion
into the fort of Dihli and there spent the night.
(_April 25th_) Next day (Wednesday Rajab 13th) I made the circuit of
Khwaja Qutbu'd-din's[1685] tomb and visited the tombs and residences of
Sl. Ghiyasu'd-din _Balban_[1686] and Sl. `Alau'u'd-din [Sidenote: Fol.
268.] _Khilji_,[1687] his Minar, and the Hauz-shamsi, Hauz-i-khas and
the tombs and gardens of Sl. Buhlul and Sl. Sikandar (_Ludi_). Having
done this, we dismounted at the camp, went on a boat, and there _`araq_
was drunk.
We bestowed the Military Collectorate (_shiqdarlighi_) of Dihli on Red
Wali, made Dost Diwan in the Dihli district, sealed the treasuries, and
made them over to their charge.
(_April 26th_) On Thursday we dismounted on the bank of the Jun, over
against Tughluqabad.[1688]
(_y. The khutba read for Babur in Dihli._)
(_April 27th_) On Friday (Rajab 15th) while we remained on the same
ground, Maulana Mahmud and Shaikh Zain went with a few others into Dihli
for the Congregational Prayer, read the _khutba_ in my name, distributed
a portion of money to the poor and needy,[1689] and returned to camp.
(_April 28th_) Leaving that ground on Saturday (Rajab 16th), we advanced
march by march for Agra. I made an excursion to Tughluqabad and rejoined
the camp.
(_May 4th_) On Friday (Rajab 22nd), we dismounted at the mansion
(_manzil_) of Sulaiman _Farmuli_ in a suburb of Agra, but as the place
was far from the fort, moved on the following day to Jalal Khan
_Jig:hat's_ house.
On Humayun's arrival at Agra, ahead of us, the garrison had made excuses
and false pretexts (about surrender). He and his noticing the want of
discipline there was, said, "The long hand may be laid on the Treasury"!
and so sat down to watch the roads out of Agra till we should come.
(_z. The great diamond._)
In Sultan Ibrahim's defeat the Raja of Gualiar Bikramajit the Hindu had
gone to hell.[1690] [Sidenote: Fol. 268b.]
(_Author's note on Bikramajit._) The ancestors of Bikramajit
had ruled in Gualiar for more than a hundred years.[1691]
Sikandar (_Ludi_) had sat down in Agra for several years in
order to take the fort; later on, in Ibrahim's time, `Azim
Humayun _Sarwani_[1692] had completely invested it for some
while; following this, it was taken on terms under which
Shamsabad was given in exchange for it.[1693]
Bikramajit's children and family were in Agra at the time of Ibrahim's
defeat. When Humayun reached Agra, they must have been planning to flee,
but his postings of men (to watch the roads) prevented this and guard
was kept over them. Humayun himself did not let them go (_barghali
quimas_). They made him a voluntary offering of a mass of jewels and
valuables amongst which was the famous diamond which `Alau'u'd-din must
have brought.[1694] Its reputation is that every appraiser has estimated
its value at two and a half days' food for the whole world. Apparently
it weighs 8 _misqals_.[1695] Humayun offered it to me when I arrived at
Agra; I just gave it him back.
(_aa. Ibrahim's mother and entourage._)
Amongst men of mark who were in the fort, there were Malik Dad _Karani_,
Milli _Surduk_ and Firuz Khan _Miwati_. They, being convicted of false
dealing, were ordered out for capital punishment. Several persons
interceded for Malik Dad _Karani_ and four or five days passed in
comings and goings before the matter was arranged. We then shewed to
them (all?) kindness and favour in agreement with the petition made for
them, and we restored them all their goods.[1696] A _pargana_ worth 7
_laks_[1697] was bestowed on Ibrahim's mother; _parganas_ were given
also to these begs of his.[1698] She was sent out of the fort with her
old servants and given encamping-ground (_yurt_) two miles below
[Sidenote: Fol. 269.] Agra.
(_May 10th_) I entered Agra at the Afternoon Prayer of Thursday (Rajab
28th) and dismounted at the mansion (_manzil_) of Sl. Ibrahim.
EXPEDITIONS OF TRAMONTANE MUHAMMADANS INTO HIND.
(_a. Babur's five attempts on Hindustan._)
From the date 910 at which the country of Kabul was conquered, down to
now (932 AH.) (my) desire for Hindustan had been constant, but owing
sometimes to the feeble counsels of begs, sometimes to the
non-accompaniment of elder and younger brethren,[1699] a move on
Hindustan had not been practicable and its territories had remained
unsubdued. At length no such obstacles were left; no beg, great or small
(_beg begat_) of lower birth,[1700] could speak an opposing word. In 925
AH. (1519 AD.) we led an army out and, after taking Bajaur by storm in
2-3 _gari_ (44-66 minutes), and making a general massacre of its people,
went on into Bhira. Bhira we neither over-ran nor plundered; we imposed
a ransom on its people, taking from them in money and goods to the value
of 4 _laks_ of _shahrukhis_ and having shared this out to the army and
auxiliaries, returned to Kabul. From then till now we laboriously held
tight[1701] to Hindustan, five times leading an army into it.[1702] The
fifth time, God the Most High, by his own mercy and favour, made such a
foe as Sl. Ibrahim the vanquished and loser, such a realm as Hindustan
our conquest and possession.
(_b. Three invaders from Tramontana._)
From the time of the revered Prophet down till now[1703] three men from
that side[1704] have conquered and ruled Hindustan. Sl. Mahmud
_Ghazi_[1705] was the first, who and whose descendants sat long on the
seat of government in Hindustan. Sl. Shihabu'd-din [Sidenote: Fol.
269b.] of Ghur was the second,[1706] whose slaves and dependants royally
shepherded[1707] this realm for many years. I am the third.
But my task was not like the task of those other rulers. For why?
Because Sl. Mahmud, when he conquered Hindustan, had the throne of
Khurasan subject to his rule, vassal and obedient to him were the
sultans of Khwarizm and the Marches (_Daru'l-marz_), and under his hand
was the ruler of Samarkand. Though his army may not have numbered 2
_laks_, what question is there that it[1708] was one. Then again, rajas
were his opponents; all Hindustan was not under one supreme head
(_padshah_), but each raja ruled independently in his own country. Sl.
Shihabu'd-din again,--though he himself had no rule in Khurasan, his
elder brother Ghiyasu'd-din had it. The _Tabaqat-i-nasiri_[1709]
brings it forward that he once led into Hindustan an army of 120,000
men and horse in mail.[1710] His opponents also were rais and rajas; one
man did not hold all Hindustan.
That time we came to Bhira, we had at most some 1500 to 2000 men. We had
made no previous move on Hindustan with an army equal to that which came
the fifth time, when we beat Sl. Ibrahim and conquered the realm of
Hindustan, the total written down for which, taking one retainer with
another, and [Sidenote: Fol. 270.] with traders and servants, was
12,000. Dependent on me were the countries of Badakhshan, Qunduz, Kabul
and Qandahar, but no reckonable profit came from them, rather it was
necessary to reinforce them fully because several lie close to an enemy.
Then again, all Mawara'u'n-nahr was in the power of the Auzbeg khans and
sultans, an ancient foe whose armies counted up to 100,000. Moreover
Hindustan, from Bhira to Bihar, was in the power of the Afghans and in
it Sl. Ibrahim was supreme. In proportion to his territory his army
ought to have been 5 _laks_, but at that time the Eastern amirs were in
hostility to him. His army was estimated at 100,000 and people said his
elephants and those of his amirs were 1000.
Under such conditions, in this strength, and having in my rear 100,000
old enemies such as are the Auzbegs, we put trust in God and faced the
ruler of such a dense army and of domains so wide. As our trust was in
Him, the most high God did not make our labour and hardships vain, but
defeated that powerful foe and conquered that broad realm. Not as due to
strength and effort of our own do we look upon this good fortune, but as
had solely through God's pleasure and kindness. We know that this
happiness was not the fruit of our own ambition and resolve, but that it
was purely from His mercy and favour.
DESCRIPTION OF HINDUSTAN.
(_a. Hindustan._)
The country of Hindustan is extensive, full of men, and full [Sidenote:
Fol. 270b.] of produce. On the east, south, and even on the west, it
ends at its great enclosing ocean (_muhit darya-si-gha_). On the north
it has mountains which connect with those of Hindu-kush, Kafiristan and
Kashmir. North-west of it lie Kabul, Ghazni and Qandahar. Dihli is held
(_airimish_) to be the capital of the whole of Hindustan. From the death
of Shihabu'd-din _Ghuri_ (d. 602 AH.-1206 AD.) to the latter part of the
reign of Sl. Firuz Shah (_Tughluq Turk_ d. 790 AH.-1388 AD.), the
greater part of Hindustan must have been under the rule of the sultans
of Dihli.
(_b. Rulers contemporary with Babur's conquest._)
At the date of my conquest of Hindustan it was governed by five Musalman
rulers (_padshah_)[1711] and two Pagans (_kafir_). These were the
respected and independent rulers, but there were also, in the hills and
jungles, many rais and rajas, held in little esteem (_kichik karim_).
First, there were the Afghans who had possession of Dihli, the capital,
and held the country from Bhira to Bihar. Junpur, before their time, had
been in possession of Sl. Husain _Sharqi_ (Eastern)[1712] whose dynasty
Hindustanis call Purabi (Eastern). His ancestors will have been
cup-bearers in the presence of Sl. Firuz Shah and those (Tughluq)
sultans; they became supreme in Junpur after his death.[1713] At that
time Dihli was in the hands of Sl. `Alau'u'd-din (`Alam Khan) of the
Sayyid dynasty to whose ancestor Timur Beg had given it when, after
having captured it, he went away.[1714] Sl. Buhlul _Ludi_ and his son
(Sikandar) got possession of the capital Junpur and the capital Dihli,
and brought both under one government (881 AH.-1476 AD.).
Secondly, there was Sl. Muhammad Muzaffer in Gujrat; he departed from
the world a few days before the defeat of Sl. Ibrahim. He was skilled in
the Law, a ruler (_padshah_) seeking [Sidenote: Fol. 271.] after
knowledge, and a constant copyist of the Holy Book. His dynasty people
call Tank.[1715] His ancestors also will have been wine-servers to Sl.
Firuz Shah and those (Tughluq) sultans; they became possessed of Gujrat
after his death.
Thirdly, there were the Bahmanis of the Dakkan (Deccan, _i.e._ South),
but at the present time no independent authority is left them; their
great begs have laid hands on the whole country, and must be asked for
whatever is needed.[1716]
Fourthly, there was Sl. Mahmud in the country of Malwa, which people
call also Mandau.[1717] His dynasty they call Khilij (_Turk_). Rana
Sanga had defeated Sl. Mahmud and taken possession of most of his
country. This dynasty also has become feeble. Sl. Mahmud's ancestors
also must have been cherished by Sl. Firuz Shah; they became possessed
of the Malwa country after his death.[1718]
Fifthly, there was Nasrat Shah[1719] in the country of Bengal. His
father (Husain Shah), a sayyid styled `Alau'u'd-din, had ruled in Bengal
and Nasrat Shah attained to rule by inheritance. A surprising custom in
Bengal is that hereditary succession is rare. The royal office is
permanent and there are permanent offices of amirs, wazirs and
mansab-dars (officials). It is the office that Bengalis regard with
respect. Attached to each office is a body of obedient, subordinate
retainers and servants. If the royal heart demand that a person should
be dismissed [Sidenote: Fol. 271b.] and another be appointed to sit in
his place, the whole body of subordinates attached to that office become
the (new) office-holder's. There is indeed this peculiarity of the royal
office itself that any person who kills the ruler (_padshah_) and seats
himself on the throne, becomes ruler himself; amirs, wazirs, soldiers
and peasants submit to him at once, obey him, and recognize him for the
rightful ruler his predecessor in office had been.[1720] Bengalis say,
"We are faithful to the throne; we loyally obey whoever occupies it."
As for instance, before the reign of Nasrat Shah's father `Alau'u'd-din,
an Abyssinian (_Habshi_, named Muzaffar Shah) had killed his sovereign
(Mahmud Shah _Ilyas_), mounted the throne and ruled for some time.
`Alau'u'd-din killed that Abyssinian, seated himself on the throne and
became ruler. When he died, his son (Nasrat) became ruler by
inheritance. Another Bengali custom is to regard it as a disgraceful
fault in a new ruler if he expend and consume the treasure of his
predecessors. On coming to rule he must gather treasure of his own. To
amass treasure Bengalis regard as a glorious distinction. Another custom
in Bengal is that from ancient times _parganas_ have been assigned to
meet the charges of the treasury, stables, and all royal expenditure and
to defray these charges no impost is laid on other lands.
These five, mentioned above, were the great Musalman rulers, honoured in
Hindustan, many-legioned, and broad-landed. Of the Pagans the greater
both in territory and army, is the Raja of Bijanagar.[1721] [Sidenote:
Fol. 272.]
The second is Rana Sanga who in these latter days had grown great by his
own valour and sword. His original country was Chitur; in the downfall
from power of the Mandau sultans, he became possessed of many of their
dependencies such as Rantanbur, Sarangpur, Bhilsan and Chandiri.
Chandiri I stormed in 934 AH. (1528 A.D.)[1722] and, by God's pleasure,
took it in a few hours; in it was Rana Sanga's great and trusted man
Midni Rao; we made general massacre of the Pagans in it and, as will be
narrated, converted what for many years had been a mansion of hostility,
into a mansion of Islam.
There are very many rais and rajas on all sides and quarters of
Hindustan, some obedient to Islam, some, because of their remoteness or
because their places are fastnesses, not subject to Musalman rule.
(_c. Of Hindustan._)
Hindustan is of the first climate, the second climate, and the third
climate; of the fourth climate it has none. It is a wonderful country.
Compared with our countries it is a different world; its mountains,
rivers, jungles and deserts, its towns, its cultivated lands, its
animals and plants, its peoples and their tongues, its rains, and its
winds, are all different. In some respects the hot-country (_garm-sil_)
that depends on Kabul, is like Hindustan, but in others, it is
different. Once the water of Sind is crossed, everything is in the
Hindustan way (_tariq_) [Sidenote: Fol. 272b.] land, water, tree, rock,
people and horde, opinion and custom.
(_d. Of the northern mountains._)
After crossing the Sind-river (eastwards), there are countries, in the
northern mountains mentioned above, appertaining to Kashmir and once
included in it, although most of them, as for example, Pakli and
Shahmang (?), do not now obey it. Beyond Kashmir there are countless
peoples and hordes, _parganas_ and cultivated lands, in the mountains.
As far as Bengal, as far indeed as the shore of the great ocean, the
peoples are without break. About this procession of men no-one has been
able to give authentic information in reply to our enquiries and
investigations. So far people have been saying that they call these
hill-men Kas.[1723] It has struck me that as a Hindustani pronounces
_shin_ as _sin_ (_i.e._ _sh_ as _s_), and as Kashmir is the one
respectable town in these mountains, no other indeed being heard of,
Hindustanis might pronounce it Kasmir.[1724] These people trade in
musk-bags, _b:hri-qutas_,[1725] saffron, lead and copper.
Hindis call these mountains Sawalak-parbat. In the Hindi tongue
_sawai-lak_ means one lak and a quarter, that is, 125,000, and _parbat_
means a hill, which makes 125,000 hills.[1726] The snow on these
mountains never lessens; it is seen white from many districts of Hind,
as, for example, Lahor, Sihrind and Sambal. The range, which in Kabul is
known as Hindu-kush, comes from Kabul eastwards into Hindustan, with
slight inclination to the south. The Hindustanat[1727] are to the south
of it. Tibet lies to the north of it and of that unknown horde called
Kas. [Sidenote: Fol. 273.]
(_e. Of rivers._)
Many rivers rise in these mountains and flow through Hindustan. Six rise
north of Sihrind, namely Sind, Bahat (Jilam), Chan-ab [_sic_], Rawi,
Biah, and Sutluj[1728]; all meet near Multan, flow westwards under the
name of Sind, pass through the Tatta country and fall into the
`Uman(-sea).
Besides these six there are others, such as Jun (Jumna), Gang (Ganges),
Rahap (Rapti?), Gumti, Gagar (Ghaggar), Siru, Gandak, and many more; all
unite with the Gang-darya, flow east under its name, pass through the
Bengal country, and are poured into the great ocean. They all rise in
the Sawalak-parbat.
Many rivers rise in the Hindustan hills, as, for instance, Chambal,
Banas, Bitwi, and Sun (Son). There is no snow whatever on these
mountains. Their waters also join the Gang-darya.
(_f. Of the Aravalli._)
Another Hindustan range runs north and south. It begins in the Dihli
country at a small rocky hill on which is Firuz Shah's residence, called
Jahan-nama,[1729] and, going on from there, appears near Dihli in
detached, very low, scattered here and there, rocky [Sidenote: Fol.
273b.] little hills.[1730] Beyond Miwat, it enters the Biana country.
The hills of Sikri, Bari and Dulpur are also part of this same including
(tuta) range. The hills of Gualiar--they write it Galiur--although they do
not connect with it, are off-sets of this range; so are the hills of
Rantanbur, Chitur, Chandiri, and Mandau. They are cut off from it in
some places by 7 to 8 _kurohs_ (14 to 16 m.). These hills are very low,
rough, rocky and jungly. No snow whatever falls on them. They are the
makers, in Hindustan, of several rivers.
(_g. Irrigation._)
The greater part of the Hindustan country is situated on level land.
Many though its towns and cultivated lands are, it nowhere has running
waters.[1731] Rivers and, in some places, standing-waters are its
"running-waters" (_aqar-sular_). Even where, as for some towns, it is
practicable to convey water by digging channels (_ariq_), this is not
done. For not doing it there may be several reasons, one being that
water is not at all a necessity in cultivating crops and orchards.
Autumn crops grow by the downpour of the rains themselves; and strange
it is that spring crops grow even when no rain falls. To young trees
water is made to flow by means of buckets or a wheel. They are given
water constantly during two or three years; after which they need no
more. Some vegetables are watered constantly.
In Lahor, Dibalpur and those parts, people water by means of a wheel.
They make two circles of ropes long enough to suit the depth of the
well, fix strips of wood between them, and on these fasten pitchers. The
ropes with the wood and attached [Sidenote: Fol. 274.] pitchers are put
over the well-wheel. At one end of the wheel-axle a second wheel is
fixed, and close (_qash_) to it another on an upright axle. This last
wheel the bullock turns; its teeth catch in the teeth of the second, and
thus the wheel with the pitchers is turned. A trough is set where the
water empties from the pitchers and from this the water is conveyed
everywhere.
In Agra, Chandwar, Biana and those parts, again, people water with a
bucket; this is a laborious and filthy way. At the well-edge they set up
a fork of wood, having a roller adjusted between the forks, tie a rope
to a large bucket, put the rope over the roller, and tie its other end
to the bullock. One person must drive the bullock, another empty the
bucket. Every time the bullock turns after having drawn the bucket out
of the well, that rope lies on the bullock-track, in pollution of urine
and dung, before it descends again into the well. To some crops needing
water, men and women carry it by repeated efforts in pitchers.[1732]
(_h. Other particulars about Hindustan._)
The towns and country of Hindustan are greatly wanting in charm. Its
towns and lands are all of one sort; there are no walls to the orchards
(_baghat_), and most places are on the dead level plain. Under the
monsoon-rains the banks of some of its rivers and torrents are worn into
deep channels, difficult and [Sidenote: Fol. 274b.] troublesome to pass
through anywhere. In many parts of the plains thorny jungle grows,
behind the good defence of which the people of the _pargana_ become
stubbornly rebellious and pay no taxes.
Except for the rivers and here and there standing-waters, there is
little "running-water". So much so is this that towns and countries
subsist on the water of wells or on such as collects in tanks during the
rains.
In Hindustan hamlets and villages, towns indeed, are depopulated and set
up in a moment! If the people of a large town, one inhabited for years
even, flee from it, they do it in such a way that not a sign or trace of
them remains in a day or a day and a half.[1733] On the other hand, if
they fix their eyes on a place in which to settle, they need not dig
water-courses or construct dams because their crops are all
rain-grown,[1734] and as the population of Hindustan is unlimited, it
swarms in. They make a tank or dig a well; they need not build houses or
set up walls--_khas_-grass (_Andropogon muricatum_) abounds, wood is
unlimited, huts are made, and straightway there is a village or a town!
(_i. Fauna of Hindustan:--Mammals._)
The elephant, which Hindustanis call _hat(h)i_, is one of the wild
animals peculiar to Hindustan. It inhabits the (western?) borders of the
Kalpi country, and becomes more numerous in its wild state the further
east one goes (in Kalpi?). From this tract it is that captured elephants
are brought; in Karrah and [Sidenote: Fol. 275.] Manikpur
elephant-catching is the work of 30 or 40 villages.[1735] People answer
(_jawab birurlar_) for them direct to the exchequer.[1736] The elephant
is an immense animal and very sagacious. If people speak to it, it
understands; if they command anything from it, it does it. Its value is
according to its size; it is sold by measure (_qarilab_); the larger it
is, the higher its price. People rumour that it is heard of in some
islands as 10 _qari_[1737] high, but in this tract it[1738] is not seen
above 4 or 5. It eats and drinks entirely with its trunk; if it lose the
trunk, it cannot live. It has two great teeth (tusks) in its upper jaw,
one on each side of its trunk; by setting these against walls and trees,
it brings them down; with these it fights and does whatever hard tasks
fall to it. People call these ivory (_`aj_, var. _ghaj_); they are
highly valued by Hindustanis. The elephant has no hair.[1739] It is much
relied on by Hindustanis, accompanying every troop of their armies. It
has some useful qualities:--it crosses great rivers with ease, carrying a
mass of baggage, and three or four have gone dragging without trouble
the cart of the mortar (_qazan_) it takes four or five hundred men to
haul.[1740] But its stomach is large; one elephant eats the corn
(_bughuz_) of two strings (_qitar_) of camels.[1741]
The rhinoceros is another. This also is a large animal, equal [Sidenote:
Fol. 275b.] in bulk to perhaps three buffaloes. The opinion current in
those countries (Tramontana) that it can lift an elephant on its horn,
seems mistaken. It has a single horn on its nose, more than nine inches
(_qarish_) long; one of two _qarish_ is not seen.[1742] Out of one large
horn were made a drinking-vessel[1743] and a dice-box, leaving over [the
thickness of] 3 or 4 hands.[1744] The rhinoceros' hide is very thick;
an arrow shot from a stiff bow, drawn with full strength right up to the
arm-pit, if it pierce at all, might penetrate 4 inches (_ailik_, hands).
From the sides (_qash_) of its fore and hind legs,[1745] folds hang
which from a distance look like housings thrown over it. It resembles
the horse more than it does any other animal.[1746] As the horse has a
small stomach (appetite?), so has the rhinoceros; as in the horse a
piece of bone (pastern?) grows in place of small bones (T. _ashuq_, Fr.
_osselets_ (Zenker), knuckles), so one grows in the rhinoceros; as in
the horse's hand (_ailik_, Pers. _dast_) there is _kumuk_ (or _gumuk_, a
_tibia_, or marrow), so there is in the rhinoceros.[1747] It is more
ferocious than the elephant and cannot be made obedient and submissive.
There are masses of it in the Parashawar and Hashnagar jungles, so too
between the Sind-river and the jungles of the Bhira country. Masses
there are also on the banks of [Sidenote: Fol. 276.] the Saru-river in
Hindustan. Some were killed in the Parashawar and Hashnagar jungles in
our moves on Hindustan. It strikes powerfully with its horn; men and
horses enough have been horned in those hunts.[1748] In one of them the
horse of a _chuhra_ (brave) named Maqsud was tossed a spear's-length,
for which reason the man was nick-named the rhino's aim
(_maqsud-i-karg_).
The wild-buffalo[1749] is another. It is much larger than the (domestic)
buffalo and its horns do not turn back in the same way.[1750] It is a
mightily destructive and ferocious animal.
The _nila-gau_ (blue-bull)[1751] is another. It may stand as high as a
horse but is somewhat lighter in build. The male is bluish-gray, hence,
seemingly, people call it nila-gau. It has two rather small horns. On
its throat is a tuft of hair, nine inches long; (in this) it resembles
the yak.[1752] Its hoof is cleft (_airi_) like the hoof of cattle. The
doe is of the colour of the _bughu-maral_[1753]; she, for her part, has
no horns and is plumper than the male.
The hog-deer (_kotah-paicha_) is another.[1754] It may be of the size of
the white deer (_aq kiyik_). It has short legs, hence its name,
little-legged. Its horns are like a _bughu_'s but smaller; like the
_bughu_ it casts them every year. Being rather a poor runner, it does
not leave the jungle.
Another is a deer (_kiyik_) after the fashion of the male deer (_airkaki
huna_) of the _jiran_.[1755] Its back is black, its belly white, its
horns longer than the _huna's_, but more crooked. A Hindustani
[Sidenote: Fol. 276b.] calls it _kalahara_,[1756] a word which may have
been originally _kala-haran_, black-buck, and which has been softened in
pronunciation to _kalahara_. The doe is light-coloured. By means of this
_kalahara_ people catch deer; they fasten a noose (_halqa_) on its
horns, hang a stone as large as a ball[1757] on one of its feet, so as
to keep it from getting far away after it has brought about the capture
of a deer, and set it opposite wild deer when these are seen. As these
(_kalahara_) deer are singularly combative, advance to fight is made at
once. The two deer strike with their horns and push one another
backwards and forwards, during which the wild one's horns become
entangled in the net that is fast to the tame one's. If the wild one
would run away, the tame one does not go; it is impeded also by the
stone on its foot. People take many deer in this way; after capture they
tame them and use them in their turn to take others;[1758] they also set
them to fight at home; the deer fight very well.
There is a smaller deer (_kiyik_) on the Hindustan hill-skirts, as large
may-be as the one year's lamb of the _arqarghalcha_ (_Ovis poli_).
The _gini-cow_[1759] is another, a very small one, perhaps as large as
the _quchqar_ (ram) of those countries (Tramontana). Its flesh is very
tender and savoury.
The monkey (_maimun_) is another--a Hindustani calls it _bandar_. Of this
too there are many kinds, one being what people [Sidenote: Fol. 277.]
take to those countries. The jugglers (_luli_) teach them tricks. This
kind is in the mountains of Nur-dara, in the skirt-hills of Safid-koh
neighbouring on Khaibar, and from there downwards all through Hindustan.
It is not found higher up. Its hair is yellow, its face white, its tail
not very long.--Another kind, not found in Bajaur, Sawad and those parts,
is much larger than the one taken to those countries (Tramontana). Its
tail is very long, its hair whitish, its face quite black. It is in the
mountains and jungles of Hindustan.[1760]--Yet another kind is
distinguished (_bula dur_), quite black in hair, face and limbs.[1761]
The _nawal_ (_nul_)[1762] is another. It may be somewhat smaller than
the _kish_. It climbs trees. Some call it the _mush-i-khurma_
(palm-rat). It is thought lucky.
A mouse (T. _sichqan_) people call _galahri_ (squirrel) is another. It
is just always in trees, running up and down with amazing alertness and
speed.[1763]
(_j. Fauna of Hindustan:--Birds._)[1764]
The peacock (Ar. _taus_) is one. It is a beautifully coloured and
splendid animal. Its form (_andam_) is not equal to its colouring and
beauty. Its body may be as large as the crane's (_turna_) but it is not
so tall. On the head of both cock and hen are 20 to 30 feathers rising
some 2 or 3 inches high. The hen has neither colour nor beauty. The head
of the cock has an iridescent collar (_tauq susani_); its neck is of a
beautiful blue; [Sidenote: Fol. 277b.] below the neck, its back is
painted in yellow, parrot-green, blue and violet colours. The
flowers[1765] on its back are much the smaller; below the back as far as
the tail-tips are [larger] flowers painted in the same colours. The tail
of some peacocks grows to the length of a man's extended arms.[1766] It
has a small tail under its flowered feathers, like the tail of other
birds; this ordinary tail and its primaries[1767] are red. It is in
Bajaur and Sawad and below them; it is not in Kunur [Kunur] and the
Lamghanat or any place above them. Its flight is feebler than the
pheasant's (_qirghawal_); it cannot do more than make one or two short
flights.[1768] On account of its feeble flight, it frequents the hills
or jungles, which is curious, since jackals abound in the jungles it
frequents. What damage might these jackals not do to birds that trail
from jungle to jungle, tails as long as a man's stretch (_qulach_)!
Hindustanis call the peacock _mor_. Its flesh is lawful food, according
to the doctrine of Imam Abu Hanifa; it is like that of the partridge and
not unsavoury, but is eaten with instinctive aversion, in the way
camel-flesh is.
The parrot (H. _tuti_) is another. This also is in Bajaur and countries
lower down. It comes into Ningnahar and the Lamghanat in the heats when
mulberries ripen; it is not there at other times. It is of many, many
kinds. One sort is that which people carry into those (Tramontane)
countries. They [Sidenote: Fol. 278.] make it speak words.--Another sort
is smaller; this also they make speak words. They call it the
jungle-parrot. It is numerous in Bajaur, Sawad and that neighbourhood,
so much so that 5 or 6000 fly in one flock (_khail_). Between it and the
one first-named the difference is in bulk; in colouring they are just
one and the same.--Another sort is still smaller than the jungle-parrot.
Its head is quite red, the top of its wings (_i.e._ the primaries) is
red also; the tip of its tail for two hands'-thickness is
lustrous.[1769] The head of some parrots of this kind is iridescent
(_susani_). It does not become a talker. People call it the Kashmir
parrot.--Another sort is rather smaller than the jungle-parrot; its beak
is black; round its neck is a wide black collar; its primaries are red.
It is an excellent learner of words.--We used to think that whatever a
parrot or a _sharak_ (_mina_) might say of words people had taught it,
it could not speak of any matter out of its own head. At this
juncture[1770] one of my immediate servants Abu'l-qasim _Jalair_,
reported a singular thing to me. A parrot of this sort whose cage must
have been covered up, said, "Uncover my face; I am stifling." And
another time when palki bearers sat down to take breath, this parrot,
presumably on hearing wayfarers pass by, said, "Men are going past, are
you not going on?" Let credit rest with the narrator,[1771] but
never-the-less, so long as a person has not heard with his own ears, he
may not believe!--Another kind is of a beautiful [Sidenote: Fol. 278b.]
full red; it has other colours also, but, as nothing is distinctly
remembered about them, no description is made. It is a very beautiful
bird, both in colour and form. People are understood to make this also
speak words.[1772] Its defect is a most unpleasant, sharp voice, like
the drawing of broken china on a copper plate.[1773]
The (P.) _sharak_[1774] is another. It is numerous in the Lamghanat and
abounds lower down, all over Hindustan. Like the parrot, it is of many
kinds.--The kind that is numerous in the Lamghanat has a black head; its
primaries (_qanat_) are spotted, its body rather larger and
thicker[1775] than that of the (T.) _chughur-chuq_.[1776] People teach
it to speak words.--Another kind they call _p:ndawali_[1777]; they bring
it from Bengal; it is black all over and of much greater bulk than the
_sharak_ (here, house-_mina_). Its bill and foot are yellow and on each
ear are yellow wattles which hang down and have a bad appearance.[1778]
It learns to speak well and clearly.--Another kind of _sharak_ is
slenderer than the last and is red round the eyes. It does not learn to
speak. People call it the wood-_sharak_.[1779] Again, at the time when
(934 AH.) I had made a bridge over Gang (Ganges), crossed it, and put my
adversaries to flight, a kind of _sharak_ was seen, in the neighbourhood
of Laknau and Aud (Oude), for the first time, which had a white breast,
piebald head, and black back. This kind does not learn to speak.[1780]
The _luja_[1781] is another. This bird they call (Ar.) _bu-qalamun_
(chameleon) because, between head and tail, it has five or six changing
colours, resplendent (_barraq_) like a pigeon's throat. [Sidenote: Fol.
279.] It is about as large as the _kabg-i-dari_[1782] and seems to be
the _kabg-i-dari_ of Hindustan. As the _kabg-i-dari_ moves (_yurur_) on
the heads (_kulah_) of mountains, so does this. It is in the Nijr-au
mountains of the countries of Kabul, and in the mountains lower down but
it is not found higher up. People tell this wonderful thing about
it:--When the birds, at the onset of winter, descend to the hill-skirts,
if they come over a vineyard, they can fly no further and are taken. God
knows the truth! The flesh of this bird is very savoury.
The partridge (_durraj_)[1783] is another. This is not peculiar to
Hindustan but is also in the _Garm-sir_ countries[1784]; as however some
kinds are only in Hindustan, particulars of them are given here. The
_durraj_ (_Francolinus vulgaris_) may be of the same bulk as the
_kiklik_[1785]; the cock's back is the colour of the hen-pheasant
(_qirghawal-ning mada-si_); its throat and breast are black, with quite
white spots.[1786] A red line comes down on both sides of both
eyes.[1787] It is named from its cry[1788] which is something like _Shir
daram shakrak_.[1789] It pronounces _shir_ short; _daram shakrak_ it
says distinctly. Astarabad partridges are said to cry _Bat mini tutilar_
(Quick! they have caught me). The partridge of Arabia and those parts is
understood to cry, _Bi'l_ _shakar tadawm al ni`am_ (with sugar pleasure
endures)! The hen-bird has the colour of the young pheasant. These birds
are found below Nijr-au.--Another kind is called _kanjal_. Its bulk may
be that of the one already described. Its voice is very like that of the
_kiklik_ but much shriller. There is little [Sidenote: Fol. 279b.]
difference in colour between the cock and hen. It is found in
Parashawar, Hashnagar and countries lower down, but not higher up.
The _p(h)ul-paikar_[1790] is another. Its size may be that of the
_kabg-i-dari_; its shape is that of the house-cock, its colour that of
the hen. From forehead (_tumagh_) to throat it is of a beautiful colour,
quite red. It is in the Hindustan mountains.
The wild-fowl (_sahrai-taugh_)[1791] is another. It flies like a
pheasant, and is not of all colours as house-fowl are. It is in the
mountains of Bajaur and lower down, but not higher up.
The _chilsi_ (or _jilsi_)[1792] is another. In bulk it equals the
_p(h)ul-paikar_ but the latter has the finer colouring. It is in the
mountains of Bajaur.
The _sham_[1793] is another. It is about as large as a house-fowl; its
colour is unique (_ghair mukarrar_).[1794] It also is in the mountains
of Bajaur.
The quail (P. _budana_) is another. It is not peculiar to Hindustan but
four or five kinds are so.--One is that which goes to our countries
(Tramontana), larger and more spreading than the (Hindustan)
quail.[1795]--Another kind[1796] is smaller than the one first named. Its
primaries and tail are reddish. It flies in flocks like the _chir_
(_Phasianus Wallichii_).--Another kind is smaller than that which goes to
our countries and is darker on throat [Sidenote: Fol. 280.] and
breast.[1797]--Another kind goes in small numbers to Kabul; it is very
small, perhaps a little larger than the yellow wag-tail
(_qarcha_)[1798]; they call it _quratu_ in Kabul.
The Indian bustard (P. _kharchal_)[1799] is another. It is about as
large as the (T.) _tughdaq_ (_Otis tarda_, the great bustard), and seems
to be the _tughdaq_ of Hindustan.[1800] Its flesh is delicious; of some
birds the leg is good, of others, the wing; of the bustard all the meat
is delicious and excellent.
The florican (P. _charz_)[1801] is another. It is rather less than the
_tughdiri_ (_houbara_)[1802]; the cock's back is like the _tughdiri's_,
and its breast is black. The hen is of one colour.
The Hindustan sand-grouse (T. _baghri-qara_)[1803] is another. It is
smaller and slenderer than the _baghri-qara_ [_Pterocles arenarius_] of
those countries (Tramontana). Also its cry is sharper.
Of the birds that frequent water and the banks of rivers, one is the
_ding_,[1804] an animal of great bulk, each wing measuring a _qulach_
(fathom). It has no plumage (_tuqi_) on head or neck; a thing like a bag
hangs from its neck; its back is black; its breast is white. It goes
sometimes to Kabul; one year people brought one they had caught. It
became very tame; if meat were thrown to it, it never failed to catch
it in its bill. Once it swallowed a six-nailed shoe, another time a
whole fowl, wings [Sidenote: Fol. 280b.] and feathers, all right down.
The _saras_ (_Grus antigone_) is another. Turks in Hindustan call it
_tiwa-turna_ (camel-crane). It may be smaller than the _ding_ but its
neck is rather longer. Its head is quite red.[1805] People keep this
bird at their houses; it becomes very tame.
The _manek_[1806] is another. In stature it approaches the _saras_, but
its bulk is less. It resembles the _lag-lag_ (_Ciconia alba_, the white
stork) but is much larger; its bill is larger and is black. Its head is
iridescent, its neck white, its wings partly-coloured; the tips and
border-feathers and under parts of the wings are white, their middle
black.
Another stork (_lag-lag_) has a white neck and all other parts black. It
goes to those countries (Tramontana). It is rather smaller than the
_lag-lag_ (_Ciconia alba_). A Hindustani calls it _yak-rang_ (one
colour?).
Another stork in colour and shape is exactly like the storks that go to
those countries. Its bill is blacker and its bulk much less than the
_lag-lag_'s (_Ciconia alba_).[1807]
Another bird resembles the grey heron (_auqar_) and the _lag-lag_; but
its bill is longer than the heron's and its body smaller than the white
stork's (_lag-lag_).
Another is the large _buzak_[1808] (black ibis). In bulk it may equal
the buzzard (Turki, _sar_). The back of its wings is white. It has a
loud cry.
The white _buzak_[1809] is another. Its head and bill are black.
[Sidenote: Fol. 281.] It is much larger than the one that goes to those
countries,[1810] but smaller than the Hindustan _buzak_.[1811]
The _gharm-pai_[1812] (spotted-billed duck) is another. It is larger
than the _suna burchin_[1813] (mallard). The drake and duck are of one
colour. It is in Hashnagar at all seasons, sometimes it goes into the
Lamghanat. Its flesh is very savoury.
The _shah-murgh_ (_Sarcidiornis melanonotus_, comb duck or _nukta_) is
another. It may be a little smaller than a goose. It has a swelling on
its bill; its back is black; its flesh is excellent eating.
The _zummaj_ is another. It is about as large as the _burgut_ (_Aquila
chrysaetus_, the golden eagle).
The (T.) _ala-qargha_ of Hindustan is another (_Corvus cornix_, the pied
crow). This is slenderer and smaller than the _ala-qargha_ of those
countries (Tramontana). Its neck is partly white.
Another Hindustan bird resembles the crow (T. _qarcha_, _C. splendens_)
and the magpie (Ar. _`aqqa_). In the Lamghanat people call it the
jungle-bird (P. _murgh-i-jangal_).[1814] Its head and breast are black;
its wings and tail reddish; its eye quite red. Having a feeble flight,
it does not come out of the jungle, whence its name.
The great bat (P. _shapara_)[1815] is another. People call it (Hindi)
_chumgadur_. It is about as large as the owl (T. _yapalaq_, _Otus
brachyotus_), and has a head like a puppy's. When it is thinking of
lodging for the night on a tree, it takes hold of a branch, turns
head-downwards, and so remains. It has much singularity.
The magpie (Ar. _`aqqa_) is another. People call it (H.?) _mata_
(_Dendrocitta rufa_, the Indian tree-pie). It may be somewhat less than
the _`aqqa_ (_Pica rustica_), which moreover is pied black and white,
while the _mata_ is pied brown and black.[1816]
Another is a small bird, perhaps of the size of the (T.)
_sandulach_.[1817] [Sidenote: Fol. 281b.] It is of a beautiful red with
a little black on its wings.
The _karcha_[1818] is another; it is after the fashion of a swallow (T.
_qarlughach_), but much larger and quite black.
The _kuil_[1819] (_Eudynamys orientalis_, the koel) is another. It may
be as large as the crow (P. _zag_) but is much slenderer. It has a kind
of song and is understood to be the bulbul of Hindustan. Its honour with
Hindustanis is as great as is the bulbul's. It always stays in
closely-wooded gardens.
Another bird is after the fashion of the (Ar.) _shiqarrak_ (_Cissa
chinensis_, the green-magpie). It clings to trees, is perhaps as large
as the green-magpie, and is parrot-green (_Gecinus striolatus_, the
little green-woodpecker?).
(_k. Fauna of Hindustan:--Aquatic animals._)
One is the water-tiger (P. _shir-abi_, _Crocodilus palustris_).[1820]
This is in the standing-waters. It is like a lizard (T. _gilas_).[1821]
People say it carries off men and even buffaloes.
The (P.) _siyah-sar_ (black-head) is another. This also is like a
lizard. It is in all rivers of Hindustan. One that was taken and brought
in was about 4-5 _qari_ (_cir._ 13 feet) long and as thick perhaps as a
sheep. It is said to grow still larger. Its snout is over half a yard
long. It has rows of small teeth in its upper and lower jaws. It comes
out of the water and sinks into the mud (_bata_).
The (Sans.) _g[h]arial_ (_Gavialus gangeticus_) is another.[1822] It is
said to grow large; many in the army saw it in the Saru (Gogra) river.
It is said to take people; while we were on that river's banks (934-935
A.H.), it took one or two slave-women (_daduk_), and it took three or
four camp-followers between Ghazipur and Banaras. In that neighbourhood
I saw one but from a distance only and not quite clearly.
The water-hog (P. _khuk-abi_, _Platanista gangetica_, the porpoise) is
another. This also is in all Hindustan rivers. It comes up suddenly out
of the water; its head appears and disappears; it [Sidenote: Fol. 282.]
dives again and stays below, shewing its tail. Its snout is as long as
the _siyah-sar's_ and it has the same rows of small teeth. Its head and
the rest of its body are fish-like. When at play in the water, it looks
like a water-carrier's bag (_mashak_). Water-hogs, playing in the Saru,
leap right out of the water; like fish, they never leave it.
Again there is the _kalah_ (or _galah_)-fish [_baligh_].[1823] Two bones
each about 3 inches (_ailik_) long, come out in a line with its ears;
these it shakes when taken, producing an extraordinary noise, whence,
seemingly, people have called it _kalah_ [or _galah_].
The flesh of Hindustan fishes is very savoury; they have no odour
(_aid_) or tiresomeness.[1824] They are surprisingly active. On one
occasion when people coming, had flung a net across a stream, leaving
its two edges half a yard above the water, most fish passed by leaping a
yard above it. In many rivers are little fish which fling themselves a
yard or more out of the water if there be harsh [Sidenote: Fol. 282b.]
noise or sound of feet.
The frogs of Hindustan, though otherwise like those others (Tramontane),
run 6 or 7 yards on the face of the water.[1825]
(_l. Vegetable products of Hindustan: Fruits._)
The mango (P. _anbah_) is one of the fruits peculiar to Hindustan.
Hindustanis pronounce the _b_ in its name as though no vowel followed it
(_i.e._ Sans. _anb_);[1826] this being awkward to utter, some people
call the fruit [P.] _naghzak_[1827] as Khwaja Khusrau does:--
_Naghzak-i ma_ [var. _khwash_] _naghz-kun-i bustan,
Naghztarin mewa_ [var. _na`mat_]_-i-Hindustan_.[1828]
Mangoes when good, are very good, but, many as are eaten, few are
first-rate. They are usually plucked unripe and ripened in the house.
Unripe, they make excellent condiments (_qatiq_), are good also
preserved in syrup.[1829] Taking it altogether, the mango is the best
fruit of Hindustan. Some so praise it as to give it preference over all
fruits except the musk-melon (T. _qawun_), but such praise outmatches
it. It resembles the _kardi_ peach.[1830] It ripens in the rains. It is
eaten in two ways: one is to squeeze it to a pulp, make a hole in it,
and suck out the juice,--the other, to peel and eat it like the _kardi_
peach. Its tree grows very large[1831] and has a leaf somewhat
resembling the peach-tree's. The trunk is ill-looking and ill-shaped,
but in Bengal and Gujrat is heard of as growing handsome (_khub_).[1832]
The plantain (Sans. _kela_, _Musa sapientum_) is another.[1833] An
[Sidenote: Fol. 283.] `Arab calls it _mauz_.[1834] Its tree is not very
tall, indeed is not to be called a tree, since it is something between a
grass and a tree. Its leaf is a little like that of the
_aman-qara_[1835] but grows about 2 yards (_qari_) long and nearly
one broad. Out of the middle of its leaves rises, heart-like, a bud
which resembles a sheep's heart. As each leaf (petal) of this bud
expands, there grows at its base a row of 6 or 7 flowers which become
the plantains. These flowers become visible with the lengthening of the
heart-like shoot and the opening of the petals of the bud. The tree is
understood to flower once only.[1836] The fruit has two pleasant
qualities, one that it peels easily, the other that it has neither stone
nor fibre.[1837] It is rather longer and thinner than the egg-plant (P.
_badanjan_; _Solanum melongena_). It is not very sweet; the Bengal
plantain (_i.e._ _chini-champa_) is, however, said to be very sweet.
The plantain is a very good-looking tree, its broad, broad, leaves of
beautiful green having an excellent appearance.
The _anbli_ (H. _imli_, _Tamarindus indica_, the tamarind) is another.
By this name (_anbli_) people call the _khurma-i-hind_ (Indian
date-tree).[1838] It has finely-cut leaves (leaflets), precisely like
those of the (T.) _buia_, except that they are not so finely-cut.[1839]
It is a very good-looking tree, giving dense shade. It grows wild in
masses too.
The (Beng.) _mahuwa_ (_Bassia latifolia_) is another.[1840] People call
it also (P.) _gul-chikan_ (or _chigan_, distilling-flower). This also is
a very large tree. Most of the wood in the houses of Hindustanis
[Sidenote: Fol. 283b.] is from it. Spirit (_`araq_) is distilled from
its flowers,[1841] not only so, but they are dried and eaten like
raisins, and from them thus dried, spirit is also extracted. The dried
flowers taste just like _kishmish_;[1842] they have an ill-flavour. The
flowers are not bad in their natural state[1843]; they are eatable. The
_mahuwa_ grows wild also. Its fruit is tasteless, has rather a large
seed with a thin husk, and from this seed, again,[1844] oil is
extracted.
The mimusops (Sans. _khirni_, _Mimusops kauki_) is another. Its tree,
though not very large, is not small. The fruit is yellow and thinner
than the red jujube (T. _chikda_, _ElÊagnus angustifolia_). It has just
the grape's flavour, but a rather bad after-taste; it is not bad,
however, and is eatable. The husk of its stone is thin.
The (Sans.) _jaman_ (_Eugenia jambolana_)[1845] is another. Its leaf,
except for being thicker and greener, is quite like the willow's (T.
_tal_). The tree does not want for beauty. Its fruit is like a black
grape, is sourish, and not very good.
The (H.) _kamrak_ (Beng. _kamrunga_, _Averrhoa carambola_) is another.
Its fruit is five-sided, about as large as the _`ain-alu_[1846] and some
3 inches long. It ripens to yellow; gathered unripe, it is very bitter;
gathered ripe, its bitterness has become sub-acid, not bad, not wanting
in pleasantness.[1847]
The jack-fruit (H. _kadhil_, B. _kanthal_, _Artocarpus integrifolia_) is
another.[1848] This is a fruit of singular form and flavour; it looks
[Sidenote: Fol. 284.] like a sheep's stomach stuffed and made into a
haggis (_gipa_);[1849] and it is sickeningly-sweet. Inside it are
filbert-like stones[1850] which, on the whole, resemble dates, but are
round, not long, and have softer substance; these are eaten. The
jack-fruit is very adhesive; for this reason people are said to oil
mouth and hands before eating of it. It is heard of also as growing, not
only on the branches of its tree, but on trunk and root too.[1851] One
would say that the tree was all hung round with haggises.[1852]
The monkey-jack (H. _badhal_, B. _burhul_, _Artocarpus lacoocha_) is
another. The fruit may be of the size of a quince (var. apple). Its
smell is not bad.[1853] Unripe it is a singularly tasteless and
empty[1854] thing; when ripe, it is not so bad. It ripens soft, can be
pulled to pieces and eaten anywhere, tastes very much like a rotten
quince, and has an excellent little austere flavour.
The lote-fruit (Sans. _ber_, _Zizyphus jujuba_) is another. Its Persian
name is understood to be _kanar_.[1855] It is of several kinds: of one
the fruit is larger than the plum (_alucha_)[1856]; another is shaped
like the Husaini grape. Most of them are not very good; we saw one in
Bandir (Gualiar) that was really good. The lote-tree sheds its leaves
under the Signs _Saur_ and _Jauza_ (Bull and Twins), burgeons under
_Saratan_ and _Asad_ (Crab and Lion) which are the true
rainy-season,--then becoming fresh and green, and it ripens its fruit
under _Dalu_ and _Haut_ (Bucket _i.e._ Aquarius, and Fish).
The (Sans.) _karaunda_ (_Carissa carandas_, the corinda) is another. It
grows in bushes after the fashion of the (T.) _chika_ of our
country.[1857] but the _chika_ grows on mountains, the _karaunda_ on the
[Sidenote: Fol. 284b.] plains. In flavour it is like the rhubarb
itself,[1858] but is sweeter and less juicy.
The (Sans.) _paniyala_ (_Flacourtia cataphracta_)[1859] is another. It
is larger than the plum (_alucha_) and like the red-apple unripe.[1860]
It is a little austere and is good. The tree is taller than the
pomegranate's; its leaf is like that of the almond-tree but smaller.
The (H.) _gular_ (_Ficus glomerata_, the clustered fig)[1861] is
another. The fruit grows out of the tree-trunk, resembles the fig (P.
_anjir_), but is singularly tasteless.
The (Sans.) _amla_ (_Phyllanthus emblica_, the myrobalan-tree) is
another. This also is a five-sided fruit.[1862] It looks like the
unblown cotton-pod. It is an astringent and ill-flavoured thing, but
confiture made of it is not bad. It is a wholesome fruit. Its tree is of
excellent form and has very minute leaves.
The (H.) _chirunji_ (_Buchanania latifolia_)[1863] is another. This tree
had been understood to grow in the hills, but I knew later about it,
because there were three or four clumps of it in our gardens. It is much
like the _mahuwa_. Its kernel is not bad, a thing between the walnut and
the almond, not bad! rather smaller than the pistachio and round; people
put it in custards (P. _paluda_) and sweetmeats (Ar. _halwa_).
The date-palm (P. _khurma_, _Phoenix dactylifera_) is another. This is
not peculiar to Hindustan, but is here described because it is not in
those countries (Tramontana). It grows in Lamghan also.[1864] Its
branches (_i.e._ leaves) grow from just one place at its top; its leaves
(_i.e._ leaflets) grow on both sides of the branches (midribs) from neck
(_buin_) to tip; its trunk is rough and ill-coloured; [Sidenote: Fol.
285.] its fruit is like a bunch of grapes, but much larger. People say
that the date-palm amongst vegetables resembles an animal in two
respects: one is that, as, if an animal's head be cut off, its life is
taken, so it is with the date-palm, if its head is cut off, it dries
off; the other is that, as the offspring of animals is not produced
without the male, so too with the date-palm, it gives no good fruit
unless a branch of the male-tree be brought into touch with the
female-tree. The truth of this last matter is not known (to me). The
above-mentioned head of the date-palm is called its cheese. The tree so
grows that where its leaves come out is cheese-white, the leaves
becoming green as they lengthen. This white part, the so-called cheese,
is tolerable eating, not bad, much like the walnut. People make a wound
in the cheese, and into this wound insert a leaf(let), in such a way
that all liquid flowing from the wound runs down it.[1865] The tip of
the leaflet is set over the mouth of a pot suspended to the tree in such
a way that it collects whatever liquor is yielded by the wound. This
liquor is rather pleasant if drunk at once; if drunk after two or three
days, people say it is quite exhilarating (_kaifiyat_). Once when I had
gone to visit Bari,[1866] and made an [Sidenote: Fol. 285b.] excursion
to the villages on the bank of the Chambal-river, we met in with people
collecting this date-liquor in the valley-bottom. A good deal was drunk;
no hilarity was felt; much must be drunk, seemingly, to produce a little
cheer.
The coco-nut palm (P. _nargil_, _Cocos nucifera_) is another. An `Arab
gives it Arabic form[1867] and says _narjil_; Hindustan people say
_nalir_, seemingly by popular error.[1868] Its fruit is the Hindi-nut
from which black spoons (_qara qashuq_) are made and the larger ones of
which serve for guitar-bodies. The coco-palm has general resemblance to
the date-palm, but has more, and more glistening leaves. Like the
walnut, the coco-nut has a green outer husk; but its husk is of fibre on
fibre. All ropes for ships and boats and also cord for sewing boat-seams
are heard of as made from these husks. The nut, when stripped of its
husk, near one end shews a triangle of hollows, two of which are solid,
the third a nothing (_bush_), easily pierced. Before the kernel forms,
there is fluid inside; people pierce the soft hollow and drink this; it
tastes like date-palm cheese in solution, and is not bad.
The (Sans.) _tar_ (_Borassus flabelliformis_, the Palmyra-palm) is
another. Its branches (_i.e._ leaves) also are quite at its top. Just as
[Sidenote: Fol. 286.] with the date-palm, people hang a pot on it, take
its juice and drink it. They call this liquor _tari_;[1869] it is said
to be more exhilarating than date liquor. For about a yard along its
branches (_i.e._ leaf-stems)[1870] there are no leaves; above this, at
the tip of the branch (stem), 30 or 40 open out like the spread palm of
the hand, all from one place. These leaves approach a yard in length.
People often write Hindi characters on them after the fashion of account
rolls (_daftar yusunluq_).
The orange (Ar. _naranj_, _Citrus aurantium_) and orange-like fruits are
others of Hindustan.[1871] Oranges grow well in the Lamghanat, Bajaur
and Sawad. The Lamghanat one is smallish, has a navel,[1872] is very
agreeable, fragile and juicy. It is not at all like the orange of
Khurasan and those parts, being so fragile that many spoil before
reaching Kabul from the Lamghanat which may be 13-14 _yighach_ (65-70
miles), while the Astarabad orange, by reason of its thick skin and
scant juice, carries with [Sidenote: Fol. 286b.] less damage from there
to Samarkand, some 270-280 _yighach_.[1873] The Bajaur orange is about
as large as a quince, very juicy and more acid than other oranges.
Khwaja Kalan once said to me, "We counted the oranges gathered from a
single tree of this sort in Bajaur and it mounted up to 7,000." It had
been always in my mind that the word _naranj_ was an Arabic form;[1874]
it would seem to be really so, since every-one in Bajaur and Sawad says
(P.) _narang_.[1875]
The lime (B. _limu_, _C. acida_) is another. It is very plentiful, about
the size of a hen's egg, and of the same shape. If a person poisoned
drink the water in which its fibres have been boiled, danger is
averted.[1876]
The citron (P. _turunj_,[1877] _C. medica_) is another of the fruits
resembling the orange. Bajauris and Sawadis call it _balang_ and hence
give the name _balang-marabba_ to its marmalade (_marabba_) confiture.
In Hindustan people call the _turunj bajauri_.[1878] There are two kinds
of _turunj_: one is sweet, flavourless and nauseating, of no use for
eating but with peel that may be good for marmalade; it has the same
sickening sweetness as the Lamghanat _turunj_; the other, that of
Hindustan and Bajaur, is acid, quite deliciously acid, and makes
excellent sherbet, well-flavoured, and wholesome drinking. Its size may
be that of the Khusrawi melon; it has a thick skin, wrinkled and uneven,
with one end thinner and beaked. It is of a deeper yellow than the
orange (_naranj_). Its tree has no trunk, is rather low, grows in
bushes, and has a larger [Sidenote: Fol. 287.] leaf than the orange.
The _sangtara_[1879] is another fruit resembling the orange (_naranj_).
It is like the citron (_turunj_) in colour and form, but has both ends
of its skin level;[1880] also it is not rough and is somewhat the
smaller fruit. Its tree is large, as large as the apricot (_auruq_),
with a leaf like the orange's. It is a deliciously acid fruit, making a
very pleasant and wholesome sherbet. Like the lime it is a powerful
stomachic, but not weakening like the orange (_naranj_).
The large lime which they call (H.) _gal-gal_[1881] in Hindustan is
another fruit resembling the orange. It has the shape of a goose's egg,
but unlike that egg, does not taper to the ends. Its skin is smooth like
the _sangtara's_; it is remarkably juicy.
The (H.) _janbiri_ lime[1882] is another orange-like fruit. It is
orange-shaped and, though yellow, not orange-yellow. It smells like the
citron (_turunj_); it too is deliciously acid.
The (Sans.) _sada-fal_ (_phal_)[1883] is another orange-like fruit. This
is pear-shaped, colours like the quince, ripens sweet, but not to the
sickly-sweetness of the orange (_naranj_).
The _amrd-fal_ (sic. Hai. MS.--Sans. _amrit-phal_)[1884] is another
orange-like fruit.
The lemon (H. _karna_, _C. limonum_) is another fruit resembling the
orange (_naranj_); it may be as large as the _gal-gal_ and is also acid.
The (Sans.) _amal-bid_[1885] is another fruit resembling the orange.
After three years (in Hindustan), it was first seen to-day.[1886] They
say a needle melts away if put inside it,[1887] either from its acidity
[Sidenote: Fol. 287b.] or some other property. It is as acid, perhaps,
as the citron and lemon (_turunj_ and _limu_).[1888]
(_m. Vegetable products of Hindustan:--Flowers._)
In Hindustan there is great variety of flowers. One is the (D.) _jasun_
(_Hibiscus rosa sinensis_), which some Hindustanis call (Hindi)
_gazhal_.[1889] *It is not a grass (_giyah_); its tree (is in stems like
the bush of the red-rose; it) is rather taller than the bush of the
red-rose.[1890]* The flower of the _jasun_ is fuller in colour than that
of the pomegranate, and may be of the size of the red-rose, but, the
red-rose, when its bud has grown, opens simply, whereas, when the
_jasun_-bud opens, a stem on which other petals grow, is seen like a
heart amongst its expanded petals. Though the two are parts of the one
flower, yet the outcome of the lengthening and thinning of that
stem-like heart of the first-opened petals gives the semblance of two
flowers.[1891] It is not a common matter. The beautifully coloured
flowers look very well on the tree, but they do not last long; they
fade in just one day. The _jasun_ blossoms very well through the four
months of the rains; it seems indeed to flower all through the year;
with this profusion, however, it gives no perfume.
The (H.) _kanir_ (_Nerium odorum_, the oleander)[1892] is another. It
grows both red and white. Like the peach-flower, it is five petalled. It
is like the peach-bloom (in colour?), but opens 14 or 15 flowers from
one place, so that seen from a distance, they look like one great
flower. The oleander-bush is taller than the rose-bush. The red oleander
has a sort of scent, faint and agreeable. (Like the _jasun_,) it also
blooms well and profusely in the [Sidenote: Fol. 288.] rains, and it
also is had through most of the year.
The (H.) (_kiura_) (_Pandanus odoratissimus_, the screw-pine) is
another.[1893] It has a very agreeable perfume.[1894] Musk has the
defect of being dry; this may be called moist musk--a very agreeable
perfume. The tree's singular appearance notwithstanding, it has flowers
perhaps 1-1/2 to 2 _qarish_ (13-1/2 to 18 inches) long. It has long
leaves having the character of the reed (P.) _gharau_[1895] and having
spines. Of these leaves, while pressed together bud-like, the outer ones
are the greener and more spiny; the inner ones are soft and white. In
amongst these inner leaves grow things like what belongs to the middle
of a flower, and from these things comes the excellent perfume. When the
tree first comes up not yet shewing any trunk, it is like the bush
(_buta_) of the male-reed,[1896] but with wider and more spiny leaves.
What serves it for a trunk is very shapeless, its roots remaining shewn.
The (P.) _yasman_ (jasmine) is another; the white they call (B.)
_champa_.[1897] It is larger and more strongly scented than our
_yasman_-flower.
(_n. Seasons of the year._)
Again:--whereas there are four seasons in those countries,[1898] there
are three in Hindustan, namely, four months are summer; four are the
rains; four are winter. The beginning of their months is from the
welcome of the crescent-moons.[1899] Every three years they add a month
to the year; if one had been added to the rainy season, the next is
added, three years later, to the winter months, the next, in the same
way, to the hot months. This is their mode of intercalation.[1900]
(_Chait_, _Baisakh_, _Jeth_ and [Sidenote: Fol. 288b.] _Asarh_) are the
hot months, corresponding with the Fish, (Ram, Bull and Twins; _Sawan_,
_Bhadon_, _Ku,ar_ and _Katik_) are the rainy months, corresponding with
the Crab, (Lion, Virgin and Balance; _Aghan_, _Pus_, _Magh_ and
_Phalgun_) are the cold months, corresponding with the Scorpion,
(Archer, Capricorn, and Bucket or Aquarius).
The people of Hind, having thus divided the year into three seasons of
four months each, divide each of those seasons by taking from each, the
two months of the force of the heat, rain,[1901] and cold. Of the hot
months the last two, _i.e. Jeth_ and _Asarh_ are the force of the heat;
of the rainy months, the first two, _i.e. Sawan_ and _Bhadon_ are the
force of the rains; of the cold season, the middle two, _i.e. Pus_ and
_Magh_ are the force of the cold. By this classification there are six
seasons in Hindustan.
(_o. Days of the week._)
To the days also they have given names:--[1902] (_Sanichar_ is Saturday;
_Rabi-bar_ is Sunday; _Som-war_ is Monday; _Mangal-war_ is Tuesday;
_Budh-bar_ is Wednesday; _Brihaspat-bar_ is Thursday; _Shukr-bar_ is
Friday).
(_p. Divisions of time._)
[Sidenote: Fol. 289.] (_Author's note on the daqiqa._) The
_daqiqa_ is about as long as six repetitions of the _Fatiha_
with the _Bismillah_, so that a day-and-night is as long as
8640 repetitions of the _Fatiha_ with the _Bismillah._
As in our countries what is known by the (Turki) term _kicha-gunduz_ (a
day-and-night, nycthemeron) is divided into 24 parts, each called an
hour (Ar. _sa`at_), and the hour is divided into 60 parts, each called a
minute (Ar. _daqiqa_), so that a day-and-night consists of 1440
minutes,--so the people of Hind divide the night-and-day into 60 parts,
each called a (S.) _g'hari_.[1903] They also divide the night into four
and the day into four, calling each part a (S.) _pahr_ (watch) which in
Persian is a _pas_. A watch and watchman (_pas u pasban_) had been heard
about (by us) in those countries (Transoxania), but without these
particulars. Agreeing with the division into watches, a body of
_g'harialis_[1904] is chosen and appointed in all considerable towns of
Hindustan. They cast a broad brass (plate-) thing,[1905] perhaps as
large as a tray (_tabaq_) and about two hands'-thickness; this they call
a _g'harial_ and hang up in a high place (_bir buland yir-da_). Also
they have a vessel perforated at the bottom like an hour-cup[1906] and
filling in one _g'hari_ (_i.e._ 24 minutes). The _g'harialis_ put this
into water and wait till it fills. For example, they will put the
perforated [Sidenote: Fol. 289b.] cup into water at day-birth; when it
fills the first time, they strike the gong once with their mallets; when
a second time, twice, and so on till the end of the watch. They announce
the end of a watch by several rapid blows of their mallets. After these
they pause; then strike once more, if the first day-watch has ended,
twice if the second, three times if the third, and four times if the
fourth. After the fourth day-watch, when the night-watches begin, these
are gone through in the same way. It used to be the rule to beat the
sign of a watch only when the watch ended; so that sleepers chancing to
wake in the night and hear the sound of a third or fourth _g'hari_,
would not know whether it was of the second or third night-watch. I
therefore ordered that at night or on a cloudy day the sign of the watch
should be struck after that of the _g'hari_, for example, that after
striking the third _g'hari_ of the first night-watch, the _g'harialis_
were to pause and then strike the sign of the watch, in order to make it
known that this third _g'hari_ was of the first night-watch,--and that
after striking four _g'haris_ of the third night-watch, they should
pause and then strike the sign of the third watch, in order to make it
known that this fourth _g'hari_ was of the third night-watch. It did
very well; anyone happening to wake in the night and hear the gong,
would know what _g'hari_ of what watch of night it was.
Again, they divide the _g'hari_ into 60 parts, each part being called a
_pal_;[1907] by this each night-and-day will consist of 3,500 _pals_.
[Sidenote: Fol. 290.]
(_Author's note on the pal._) They say the length of a _pal_
is the shutting and opening of the eyelids 60 times, which in
a night-and-day would be 216,000 shuttings and openings of the
eyes. Experiment shews that a _pal_ is about equal to 8
repetitions of the _Qul-huwa-allah_[1908] and _Bismillah_;
this would be 28,000 repetitions in a night-and-day.
(_q. Measures._)
The people of Hind have also well-arranged measures:--[1909] 8 _ratis_ =
1 _masha_; 4 _masha_ = 1 _tank_ = 32 _ratis_; 5 _masha_ = 1 _misqal_ =
40 _ratis_; 12 _masha_ = 1 _tula_ = 96 _ratis_; 14 _tula_ = 1 _ser_.
This is everywhere fixed:--40 _ser_ = 1 _manban_; 12 _manban_ = 1
_mani_; 100 _mani_ they call a _minasa_.[1910]
Pearls and jewels they weigh by the _tank_.
(_r. Modes of reckoning._)
The people of Hind have also an excellent mode of reckoning: 100,000
they call a _lak_; 100 _laks_, a _krur_; 100 _krurs_, an _arb_; 100
_arbs_, 1 _karb_; 100 _karb's_, 1 _nil_; 100 _nils_, 1 _padam_; 100
_padams_, 1 _sang_. The fixing of such high reckonings as these is proof
of the great amount of wealth in Hindustan.
(_s. Hindu inhabitants of Hindustan._)
Most of the inhabitants of Hindustan are pagans; they call a pagan a
Hindu. Most Hindus believe in the transmigration of souls. All artisans,
wage-earners, and officials are Hindus. In our countries dwellers in the
wilds (_i.e._ nomads) get tribal names; [Sidenote: Fol. 290b.] here the
settled people of the cultivated lands and villages get tribal
names.[1911] Again:--every artisan there is follows the trade that has
come down to him from forefather to forefather.
(_t. Defects of Hindustan._)
Hindustan is a country of few charms. Its people have no good looks; of
social intercourse, paying and receiving visits there is none; of genius
and capacity none; of manners none; in handicraft and work there is no
form or symmetry, method or quality; there are no good horses, no good
dogs, no grapes, musk-melons or first-rate fruits, no ice or cold water,
no good bread or cooked food in the _bazars_, no Hot-baths, no Colleges,
no candles, torches or candlesticks.
In place of candle and torch they have a great dirty gang they call
lamp-men (_diwati_), who in the left hand hold a smallish wooden tripod
to one corner of which a thing like the top of a candlestick is fixed,
having a wick in it about as thick as the thumb. In the right hand they
hold a gourd, through a narrow slit made in which, oil is let trickle in
a thin thread when the wick needs it. Great people keep a hundred or two
of these lamp-men. This is the Hindustan substitute for lamps and
candlesticks! If their rulers and begs have work at night needing
candles, these dirty lamp-men bring these lamps, go close up and
[Sidenote: Fol. 291.] there stand.
Except their large rivers and their standing-waters which flow in
ravines or hollows (there are no waters). There are no running-waters in
their gardens or residences (_`imaratlar_).[1912] These residences have
no charm, air (_hawa_), regularity or symmetry.
Peasants and people of low standing go about naked. They tie on a thing
called _lunguta_,[1913] a decency-clout which hangs two spans below the
navel. From the tie of this pendant decency-clout, another clout is
passed between the thighs and made fast behind. Women also tie on a
cloth (_lung_), one-half of which goes round the waist, the other is
thrown over the head.
(_u. Advantages of Hindustan._)
Pleasant things of Hindustan are that it is a large country and has
masses of gold and silver. Its air in the Rains is very fine. Sometimes
it rains 10, 15 or 20 times a day; torrents pour down all at once and
rivers flow where no water had been. While it rains and through the
Rains, the air is remarkably fine, not to be surpassed for healthiness
and charm. The fault is that the air becomes very soft and damp. A bow
of those (Transoxanian) countries after going through the Rains in
Hindustan, may not be drawn even; it is ruined; not only the bow,
everything is [Sidenote: Fol. 291b.] affected, armour, book, cloth, and
utensils all; a house even does not last long. Not only in the Rains
but also in the cold and the hot seasons, the airs are excellent; at
these times, however, the north-west wind constantly gets up laden with
dust and earth. It gets up in great strength every year in the heats,
under the Bull and Twins when the Rains are near; so strong and carrying
so much dust and earth that there is no seeing one another. People call
this wind Darkener of the Sky (H. _andhi_). The weather is hot under the
Bull and Twins, but not intolerably so, not so hot as in Balkh and
Qandahar and not for half so long.
Another good thing in Hindustan is that it has unnumbered and endless
workmen of every kind. There is a fixed caste (_jam`i_) for every sort
of work and for every thing, which has done that work or that thing from
father to son till now. Mulla Sharaf, writing in the _Zafar-nama_ about
the building of Timur Beg's Stone Mosque, lays stress on the fact that
on it 200 stone-cutters worked, from Azarbaijan, Fars, Hindustan and
other countries. But 680 men worked daily on my buildings in Agra and of
Agra stone-cutters only; while 1491 stone-cutters worked daily on my
buildings in Agra, Sikri, Biana, Dulpur, Gualiar and Kuil. In [Sidenote:
Fol. 292.] the same way there are numberless artisans and workmen of
every sort in Hindustan.
(_v. Revenues of Hindustan._)
The revenue of the countries now held by me (935 AH.-1528 AD.) from
Bhira to Bihar is 52 _krurs_,[1914] as will be known in detail from the
following summary.[1915] Eight or nine _krurs_ of this are from
parganas of rais and rajas who, as obedient from of old, receive
allowance and maintenance.
REVENUES OF HINDUSTAN FROM WHAT HAS SO FAR COME UNDER THE VICTORIOUS
STANDARDS
--------------------------------+---------+-----+----------
Sarkars. | Krurs. |Laks.| Tankas.
--------------------------------+---------+-----+----------
Trans-sutluj:--Bhira, | | |
Lahur, Sialkut, | | |
Dibalpur, etc. | 3 | 33 |15,989
Sihrind | 1 | 29 |31,985
Hisar-firuza | 1 | 30 |75,174
The capital Dihli and | | |
Mian-du-ab | 3 | 69 |50,254
Miwat, not included in | | |
Sikandar's time | 1 | 69 |81,000
Biana | 1 | 44 |14,930 [Sidenote:
Agra | | 29 |76,919 Fol. 292b.]
Mian-wilayat (Midlands) | 2 | 91 | 19
Gualiar | 2 | 23 |57,450
Kalpi and Seho[n.]da | | |
(Seondha) | 4 | 28 |55,950
Qanauj | 1 | 36 |63,358
Sambhal | 1 | 38 |44,000
Laknur and Baksar | 1 | 39 |82,433
Khairabad | | 12 |65,000
Aud (Oude) and Bahraj | | |
(Baraich) | 1 | 17 | 1,369 [Sidenote:
Junpur | 4 | ∑0 |88,333 Fol. 293.]
Karra and Manikpur | 1 | 63 |27,282
Bihar | 4 | 5 |60,000
Sarwar | 1 | 55 |17,506-1/2
Saran | 1 | 10 |18,373
Champaran | 1 | 90 |86,060
Kandla | | 43 |30,300
Tirhut from Raja | | |
Rup-narain's tribute, | | |
silver | | 2 |55,000
black (i.e. copper) | | 27 |50,000
Rantanbhur from Buli, | | |
Chatsu, and Malarna | | 20 |?00,000
Nagur | -- | -- | --
Raja Bikramajit in | | |
Rantanbhur | -- | -- | --
Kalanjari | -- | -- | --
Raja Bir-sang-deo (or, | | |
Sang only) | -- | -- | --
Raja Bikam-deo | -- | -- | --
Raja Bikam-chand | -- | -- | --
--------------------------------+---------+-----+----------
[1916] So far as particulars and details about the land and people of
the country of Hindustan have become definitely known, they have been
narrated and described; whatever matters worthy of record may come to
view hereafter, I shall write down.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE RESUMED.
(_a. Distribution of treasure in Agra._)[1917]
(_May 12th_) On Saturday the 29th[1918] of Rajab the examination and
distribution of the treasure were begun. To Humayun were given 70 laks
from the Treasury, and, over and above this, a treasure house was
bestowed on him just as it was, without ascertaining and writing down
its contents. To some begs 10 laks were given, 8, 7, or 6 to
others.[1919] Suitable money-gifts were bestowed from the Treasury on
the whole army, to every tribe there was, Afghan, Hazara, `Arab, Biluch
_etc._ to each according to its position. Every trader and student,
indeed every man who had come with the army, took ample portion and
share of bounteous gift and largess. To those not with the army went a
mass of treasure in gift and largess, as for instance, 17 laks to
Kamran, 15 laks to Muhammad-i-zaman Mirza, while to `Askari, Hindal and
indeed to the whole various train of relations and younger
children[1920] went masses of red and white (gold and silver), of
plenishing, jewels and slaves.[1921] Many gifts went to the begs and
soldiery on that side (Tramontana). Valuable gifts (_saughat_)
[Sidenote: Fol. 294.] were sent for the various relations in Samarkand,
Khurasan, Kashghar and `Iraq. To holy men belonging to Samarkand and
Khurasan went offerings vowed to God (_nuzur_); so too to Makka and
Madina. We gave one _shahrukhi_ for every soul in the country of Kabul
and the valley-side[1922] of Varsak, man and woman, bond and free, of
age or non-age.[1923]
(_b. Disaffection to Babur._)
On our first coming to Agra, there was remarkable dislike and hostility
between its people and mine, the peasantry and soldiers running away in
fear of our men. Dilhi and Agra excepted, not a fortified town but
strengthened its defences and neither was in obedience nor submitted.
Qasim Sambhali was in Sambhal; Nizam Khan was in Biana; in Miwat was
Hasan Khan Miwati himself, impious mannikin! who was the sole leader of
the trouble and mischief.[1924] Muhammad _Zaitun_ was in Dulpur; Tatar
Khan _Sarang-khani_[1925] was in Gualiar; Husain Khan _Nuhani_ was in
Rapri; Qutb Khan was in Itawa (Etawa); `Alam Khan (_Kalpi_) was in
Kalpi. Qanauj and the other side of Gang (Ganges) was all held by
Afghans in independent hostility,[1926] such as Nasir Khan _Nuhani_,
Ma`ruf _Farmuli_ and a crowd of other amirs. These had been in rebellion
for three or four years before Ibrahim's death and when I defeated him,
were holding Qanauj and the whole country beyond it. At the present time
they were lying two or three marches on our side of Qanauj and had made
Bihar Khan the son of Darya Khan _Nuhani_ their _padshah_, under the
style Sultan Muhammad. [Sidenote: Fol. 294b.] Marghub the slave was in
Mahawin (_Muttra_?); he remained there, thus close, for some time but
came no nearer.
(_c. Discontent in Babur's army._)
It was the hot-season when we came to Agra. All the inhabitants
(_khalaiq_) had run away in terror. Neither grain for ourselves nor corn
for our horses was to be had. The villages, out of hostility and hatred
to us had taken to thieving and highway-robbery; there was no moving on
the roads. There had been no chance since the treasure was distributed
to send men in strength into the parganas and elsewhere. Moreover the
year was a very hot one; violent pestilential winds struck people down
in heaps together; masses began to die off.
On these accounts the greater part of the begs and best braves became
unwilling to stay in Hindustan, indeed set their faces for leaving it.
It is no reproach to old and experienced begs if they speak of such
matters; even if they do so, this man (Babur) has enough sense and
reason to get at what is honest or what is mutinous in their
representations, to distinguish between loss and gain. But as this man
had seen his task whole, for himself, when he resolved on it, what taste
was there in their reiterating that things should be done differently?
What recommends the expression of distasteful opinions by men of little
standing [Sidenote: Fol. 295.] (_kichik karim_)? Here is a curious
thing:--This last time of our riding out from Kabul, a few men of little
standing had just been made begs; what I looked for from them was that
if I went through fire and water and came out again, they would have
gone in with me unhesitatingly, and with me have come out, that wherever
I went, there at my side would they be,--not that they would speak
against my fixed purpose, not that they would turn back from any task or
great affair on which, all counselling, all consenting, we had resolved,
so long as that counsel was not abandoned. Badly as these new begs
behaved, Secretary Ahmadi and Treasurer Wali behaved still worse. Khwaja
Kalan had done well in the march out from Kabul, in Ibrahim's defeat and
until Agra was occupied; he had spoken bold words and shewn ambitious
views. But a few days after the capture of Agra, all his views
changed,--the one zealous for departure at any price was Khwaja
Kalan.[1927]
(_d. Babur calls a council._)
When I knew of this unsteadiness amongst (my) people, I summoned all the
begs and took counsel. Said I, "There is no supremacy and grip on the
world without means and resources; without lands and retainers
sovereignty and command (_padshahliq u amirliq_) are impossible. By the
labours of several years, by encountering hardship, by long travel, by
flinging myself and the army into battle, and by deadly slaughter, we,
through God's [Sidenote: Fol. 295b.] grace, beat these masses of enemies
in order that we might take their broad lands. And now what force
compels us, what necessity has arisen that we should, without cause,
abandon countries taken at such risk of life? Was it for us to remain in
Kabul, the sport of harsh poverty? Henceforth, let no well-wisher of
mine speak of such things! But let not those turn back from going who,
weak in strong persistence, have set their faces to depart!" By these
words, which recalled just and reasonable views to their minds, I made
them, willy-nilly, quit their fears.
(_e. Khwaja Kalan decides to leave Hindustan._)
As Khwaja Kalan had no heart to stay in Hindustan, matters were settled
in this way:--As he had many retainers, he was to convoy the gifts, and,
as there were few men in Kabul and Ghazni, was to keep these places
guarded and victualled. I bestowed on him Ghazni, Girdiz and the Sultan
Mas`udi Hazara, gave also the Hindustan _pargana_ of G'huram,[1928]
worth 3 or 4 _laks_. It was settled for Khwaja Mir-i-miran also to go to
Kabul; the gifts were put into his immediate charge, under the custody
of Mulla Hasan the banker (_sarraf_) and Tuka[1929] _Hindu_.
Loathing Hindustan, Khwaja Kalan, when on his way, had the following
couplet inscribed on the wall of his residence [Sidenote: Fol. 296.]
(_`imarati_) in Dihli:--
If safe and sound I cross the Sind,
Blacken my face ere I wish for Hind!
It was ill-mannered in him to compose and write up this partly-jesting
verse while I still stayed in Hind. If his departure
caused me one vexation, such a jest doubled it.[1930] I composed the
following off-hand verse, wrote it down and sent it to him:--
Give a hundred thanks, Babur, that the generous Pardoner
Has given thee Sind and Hind and many a kingdom.
If thou (_i.e._ the Khwaja) have not the strength for their heats,
If thou say, "Let me see the cold side (_yuz_)," Ghazni is there.[1931]
(_f. Accretions to Babur's force._)
At this juncture, Mulla Apaq was sent into Kul with royal letters of
favour for the soldiers and quiver-wearers (_tarkash-band_) of that
neighbourhood. Shaikh Guran (G'huran)[1932] came trustfully and loyally
to do obeisance, bringing with him from 2 to 3,000 soldiers and
quiver-wearers from Between-two-waters (_Mian-du-ab_).
(_Author's note on Mulla Apaq._) Formerly he had been in a
very low position indeed, but two or three years before this
time, had gathered his elder and younger brethren into a
compact body and had brought them in (to me), together with
the Auruq-zai and other Afghans of the banks of the Sind.
Yunas-i-`ali when on his way from Dihli to Agra[1933] had lost his way a
little and got separated from Humayun; he then met in with `Ali Khan
_Farmuli's_ sons and train,[1934] had a small affair with them, took
them prisoners and brought them in. Taking advantage of this, one of the
sons thus captured was sent to his [Sidenote: Fol. 296b.] father in
company with Daulat-qadam _Turk's_ son Mirza _Mughul_ who conveyed royal
letters of favour to `Ali Khan. At this time of break-up, `Ali Khan had
gone to Miwat; he came to me when Mirza _Mughul_ returned, was
promoted, and given valid(?) _parganas_[1935] worth 25 laks.
(_g. Action against the rebels of the East._)
Sl. Ibrahim had appointed several amirs under Mustafa _Farmuli_ and
Firuz Khan _Sarang-khani_, to act against the rebel amirs of the East
(_Purab_). Mustafa had fought them and thoroughly drubbed them, giving
them more than one good beating. He dying before Ibrahim's defeat, his
younger brother Shaikh Bayazid--Ibrahim being occupied with a momentous
matter[1936]--had led and watched over his elder brother's men. He now
came to serve me, together with Firuz Khan, Mahmud Khan _Nuhani_ and
Qazi Jia. I shewed them greater kindness and favour than was their
claim; giving to Firuz Khan 1 _krur_, 46 _laks_ and 5000 _tankas_ from
Junpur, to Shaikh Bayazid 1 _krur_, 48 _laks_ and 50,000 _tankas_ from
Aud (Oude), to Mahmud Khan 90 _laks_ and 35,000 _tankas_ from Ghazipur,
and to Qazi Jia 20 _laks_.[1937]
(_h. Gifts made to various officers._)
It was a few days after the `Id of Shawwal[1938] that a large party was
held in the pillared-porch of the domed building standing in the middle
of Sl. Ibrahim's private apartments. At this party there were bestowed
on Humayun a _char-qab_,[1939] a sword-belt,[1940] a _tipuchaq_ horse
with saddle mounted in gold; on Chin-timur Sultan, Mahdi Khwaja and
Muhammad Sl. Mirza _char-qabs_, sword-belts and dagger-belts; and to the
begs and [Sidenote: Fol. 297.] braves, to each according to his rank,
were given sword-belts, dagger-belts, and dresses of honour, in all to
the number specified below:--
2 items (_ra's_) of _tipuchaq_ horses with saddles.
16 items (_qabza_) of poinards, set with jewels, etc.
8 items (_qabza_) of purpet over-garments.
2 items (_tob_) of jewelled sword-belts.
---- items (_qabza_) of broad daggers (_jamd'kar_) set with jewels.
25 items of jewelled hangers (_khanjar_).
---- items of gold-hilted Hindi knives (_kard_).
51 pieces of purpet.
On the day of this party it rained amazingly, rain falling thirteen
times. As outside places had been assigned to a good many people, they
were drowned out (_gharaq_).
(_i. Of various forts and postings._)
Samana (in Patiala) had been given to Muhammadi Kukuldash and it had
been arranged for him to make swift descent on Sambal (Sambhal), but
Sambal was now bestowed on Humayun, in addition to his guerdon of
Hisar-firuza, and in his service was Hindu Beg. To suit this, therefore,
Hindu Beg was sent to make the incursion in Muhammadi's place, and with
him Kitta Beg, Baba _Qashqa's_ (brother) Malik Qasim and his elder and
younger brethren, Mulla Apaq and Shaikh Guran (G'huran) with the
quiver-wearers from Between-two-waters (_Mian-du-ab_). [Sidenote: Fol.
297b.] Three or four times a person had come from Qasim _Sambali_,
saying, "The renegade Biban is besieging Sambal and has brought it to
extremity; come quickly." Biban, with the array and the preparation
(_hayat_) with which he had deserted us,[1941] had gone skirting the
hills and gathering up Afghan and Hindustani deserters, until, finding
Sambal at this juncture ill-garrisoned, he laid siege to it. Hindu Beg
and Kitta Beg and the rest of those appointed to make the incursion, got
to the Ahar-passage[1942] and from there sent ahead Baba _Qashqa's_
Malik Qasim with his elder and younger brethren, while they themselves
were getting over the water. Malik Qasim crossed, advanced swiftly with
from 100 to 150 men--his own and his brethren's--and reached Sambal by the
Mid-day Prayer. Biban for his part came out of his camp in array. Malik
Qasim and his troop moved rapidly forward, got the fort in their rear,
and came to grips. Biban could make no stand; he fled. Malik Qasim cut
off the heads of part of his force, took many horses, a few elephants
and a mass of booty. Next day when the other begs arrived, Qasim
_Sambali_ came out and saw them, but not liking to surrender the fort,
made them false pretences. One day Shaikh Guran (G'huran) and Hindu Beg
having talked the matter over with them, got Qasim _Sambali_ out to the
presence of the begs, and took men of ours into the fort. They brought
Qasim's wife and dependents safely out, and sent Qasim (to Court).[1943]
Qalandar the foot-man was sent to Nizam Khan in Biana with royal letters
of promise and threat; with these was sent [Sidenote: Fol. 298.] also
the following little off-hand (Persian) verse:--[1944]
Strive not with the Turk, o Mir of Biana!
His skill and his courage are obvious.
If thou come not soon, nor give ear to counsel,--
What need to detail (_bayan_) what is obvious?
Biana being one of the famous forts of Hindustan, the senseless
mannikin, relying on its strength, demanded what not even its strength
could enforce. Not giving him a good answer, we ordered siege apparatus
to be looked to.
Baba Quli Beg was sent with royal letters of promise and threat to
Muhammad _Zaitun_ (in Dulpur); Muhammad _Zaitun_ also made false
excuses.
While we were still in Kabul, Rana Sanga had sent an envoy to testify to
his good wishes and to propose this plan: "If the honoured Padshah will
come to near Dihli from that side, I from this will move on Agra." But I
beat Ibrahim, I took Dihli and Agra, and up to now that Pagan has given
no sign soever of moving. After a while he went and laid siege to
Kandar[1945] a fort in which was Makan's son, Hasan by name. This
Hasan-of-Makan had sent a person to me several times, but had not shewn
himself. We had not been able to detach [Sidenote: Fol. 298b.]
reinforcement for him because, as the forts round-about--Atawa (Etawa),
Dulpur, and Biana--had not yet surrendered, and the Eastern Afghans were
seated with their army in obstinate rebellion two or three marches on
the Agra side of Qanuj, my mind was not quite free from the whirl and
strain of things close at hand. Makan's Hasan therefore, becoming
helpless, had surrendered Kandar two or three months ago.
Husain Khan (_Nuhani_) became afraid in Rapri, and he abandoning it, it
was given to Muhammad `Ali _Jang-jang_.
To Qutb Khan in Etawa royal letters of promise and threat had been sent
several times, but as he neither came and saw me, nor abandoned Etawa
and got away, it was given to Mahdi Khwaja and he was sent against it
with a strong reinforcement of begs and household troops under the
command of Muhammad Sl. Mirza, Sl. Muhammad _Duldai_, Muhammad `Ali
_Jang-jang_ and `Abdu'l-`aziz the Master of the Horse. Qanuj was given
to Sl. Muhammad _Duldai_; he was also (as mentioned) appointed against
Etawa; so too were Firuz Khan, Mahmud Khan, Shaikh Bayazid and Qazi Jia,
highly favoured commanders to whom Eastern _parganas_ had been given.
[Sidenote: Fol. 299.] Muhammad _Zaitun_, who was seated in Dulpur,
deceived us and did not come. We gave Dulpur to Sl. Junaid _Barlas_ and
reinforced him by appointing `Adil Sultan, Muhammadi Kukuldash, Shah
Mansur _Barlas_, Qutluq-qadam, Treasurer Wali, Jan Beg, `Abdu'l-lah,
Pir-quli, and Shah Hasan _Yaragi_ (or _Baragi_), who were to attack
Dulpur, take it, make it over to Sl. Junaid _Barlas_ and advance on
Biana.
(_j. Plan of operations adopted._)
These armies appointed, we summoned the Turk amirs[1946] and the
Hindustan amirs, and tossed the following matters in amongst them:--The
various rebel amirs of the East, that is to say, those under Nasir Khan
_Nuhani_ and Ma`ruf _Farmuli_, have crossed Gang (Ganges) with 40 to
50,000 men, taken Qanuj, and now lie some three miles on our side of the
river. The Pagan Rana Sanga has captured Kandar and is in a hostile and
mischievous attitude. The end of the Rains is near. It seems expedient
to move either against the rebels or the Pagan, since the task of the
forts near-by is easy; when the great foes are got rid of, what road
will remain open for the rest? Rana Sanga is thought not to be the equal
of the rebels.
To this all replied unanimously, "Rana Sanga is the most distant, and it
is not known that he will come nearer; the enemy who is closest at hand
must first be got rid of. We are for riding against the rebels." Humayun
then represented, [Sidenote: Fol. 299b.] "What need is there for the
Padshah to ride out? This service I will do." This came as a pleasure to
every-one; the Turk and Hind amirs gladly accepted his views; he was
appointed for the East. A Kabuli of Ahmad-i-qasim's was sent galloping
off to tell the armies that had been despatched against Dulpur to join
Humayun at Chandwar;[1947] also those sent against Etawa under Mahdi
Khwaja and Muhammad Sl. M. were ordered to join him.
(_August 21st_) Humayun set out on Thursday the 13th of Zu'l-qa¥da,
dismounted at a little village called Jilisir (Jalesar) some 3 _kurohs_
from Agra, there stayed one night, then moved forward march by march.
(_k. Khwaja Kalan's departure._)
(_August 28th_) On Thursday the 20th of this same month, Khwaja Kalan
started for Kabul.
(_l. Of gardens and pleasaunces._)
One of the great defects of Hindustan being its lack of
running-waters,[1948] it kept coming to my mind that waters should be
made to flow by means of wheels erected wherever I might settle down,
also that grounds should be laid out in an orderly and symmetrical way.
With this object in view, we crossed the Jun-water to look at
garden-grounds a few days after entering Agra. Those grounds were so bad
and unattractive that we traversed them with a hundred disgusts and
repulsions. So ugly and displeasing were they, that the idea of making a
[Sidenote: Fol. 300.] Char-bagh in them passed from my mind, but needs
must! as there was no other land near Agra, that same ground was taken
in hand a few days later.
The beginning was made with the large well from which water comes for
the Hot-bath, and also with the piece of ground where the
tamarind-trees and the octagonal tank now are. After that came the large
tank with its enclosure; after that the tank and _talar_[1949] in front
of the outer(?) residence[1950]; after that the private-house
(_khilwat-khana_) with its garden and various dwellings; after that the
Hot-bath. Then in that charmless and disorderly Hind, plots of
garden[1951] were seen laid out with order and symmetry, with suitable
borders and parterres in every corner, and in every border rose and
narcissus in perfect arrangement.
(_m. Construction of a chambered-well._)
Three things oppressed us in Hindustan, its heat, its violent winds, its
dust. Against all three the Bath is a protection, for in it, what is
known of dust and wind? and in the heats it is so chilly that one is
almost cold. The bath-room in which the heated tank is, is altogether of
stone, the whole, except for the _izara_ (dado?) of white stone, being,
pavement and roofing, of red Biana stone.
Khalifa also and Shaikh Zain, Yunas-i-`ali and whoever got [Sidenote:
Fol. 300b.] land on that other bank of the river laid out regular and
orderly gardens with tanks, made running-waters also by setting up
wheels like those in Dipalpur and Lahor. The people of Hind who had
never seen grounds planned so symmetrically and thus laid out, called
the side of the Jun where (our) residences were, Kabul.
In an empty space inside the fort, which was between Ibrahim's residence
and the ramparts, I ordered a large chambered-well (_wain_) to be made,
measuring 10 by 10,[1952] a large well with a flight of steps, which in
Hindustan is called a _wain_.[1953] This well was begun before the
Char-bagh[1954]; they were busy digging it in the true Rains (_`ain
bishkal_, Sawan and Bhadon); it fell in several times and buried the
hired workmen; it was finished after the Holy Battle with Rana Sanga, as
is stated in the inscription on the stone that bears the chronogram of
its completion. It is a complete _wain_, having a three-storeyed house
in it. The lowest storey consists of three rooms, each of which opens on
the descending steps, at intervals of three steps from one another. When
the water is at its lowest, it is one step below the bottom chamber;
when it rises in the Rains, it sometimes goes into the top storey. In
the middle storey an inner chamber has been excavated which connects
with the domed building in which the bullock turns the well-wheel. The
[Sidenote: Fol. 301.] top storey is a single room, reached from two
sides by 5 or 6 steps which lead down to it from the enclosure
overlooked from the well-head. Facing the right-hand way down, is the
stone inscribed with the date of completion. At the side of this well is
another the bottom of which may be at half the depth of the first, and
into which water comes from that first one when the bullock turns the
wheel in the domed building afore-mentioned. This second well also is
fitted with a wheel, by means of which water is carried along the
ramparts to the high-garden. A stone building (_tashdin `imarat_) stands
at the mouth of the well and there is an outer(?) mosque[1955] outside
(_tashqari_) the enclosure in which the well is. The mosque is not well
done; it is in the Hindustani fashion.
(_n. Humayun's campaign._)
At the time Humayun got to horse, the rebel amirs under Nasir Khan
_Nuhani_ and Ma`ruf _Farmuli_ were assembled at Jajmau.[1956] Arrived
within 20 to 30 miles of them, he sent out Mumin Ataka for news; it
became a raid for loot; Mumin Ataka was not able to bring even the least
useful information. The rebels heard about him however, made no stay but
fled and got away. After Mumin Ataka, Qusm-nai(?) was sent for news,
with Baba Chuhra[1957] and Bujka; they brought it of the breaking-up and
flight of the rebels. Humayun advancing, took Jajmau [Sidenote: Fol.
301b.] and passed on. Near Dilmau[1958] Fath Khan _Sarwani_ came and saw
him, and was sent to me with Mahdi Khwaja and Muhammad Sl. Mirza.
(_o. News of the Auzbegs._)
This year 'Ubaidu'l-lah Khan (_Auzbeg_) led an army out of Bukhara
against Marv. In the citadel of Marv were perhaps 10 to 15 peasants whom
he overcame and killed; then having taken the revenues of Marv in 40 or
50 days,[1959] he went on to Sarakhs. In Sarakhs were some 30 to 40
Red-heads (_Qizil-bash_) who did not surrender, but shut the Gate; the
peasantry however scattered them and opened the Gate to the Auzbeg who
entering, killed the Red-heads. Sarakhs taken, he went against Tus and
Mashhad. The inhabitants of Mashhad being helpless, let him in. Tus he
besieged for 8 months, took possession of on terms, did not keep those
terms, but killed every man of name and made their women captive.
(_p. Affairs of Gujrat._)
In this year Bahadur Khan,--he who now rules in Gujrat in the place of
his father Sl. Muzaffar _Gujrati_--having gone to Sl. Ibrahim after
quarrel with his father, had been received without honour. He had sent
dutiful letters to me while I was near Pani-pat; I had replied by royal
letters of favour and kindness summoning him to me. He had thought of
coming, but changing his mind, drew off from Ibrahim's army towards
Gujrat. Meantime his father Sl. Muzaffar had died (Friday Jumada II.
2nd AH.-March 16th 1526 AD.); his elder brother Sikandar Shah who was
Sl. Muzaffar's eldest son, had become ruler in their father's place
and, owing to his evil disposition, [Sidenote: Fol. 302.] had been
strangled by his slave `Imadu'l-mulk, acting with others (Sha`ban
14th--May 25th). Bahadur Khan, while he was on his road for Gujrat, was
invited and escorted to sit in his father's place under the style
Bahadur Shah (Ramzan 26th--July 6th). He for his part did well; he
retaliated by death on `Imadu'l-mulk for his treachery to his salt, and
killed some others of his father's begs.[1960] People point at him as a
dreadnaught (_bi bak_) youth and a shedder of much blood.
933 AH.-OCT. 8TH 1526 TO SEP. 27TH 1527 AD.[1961]
(_a. Announcement of the birth of a son._)
In Muharram Beg Wais brought the news of Faruq's birth; though a
foot-man had brought it already, he came this month for the gift to the
messenger of good tidings.[1962] The birth must have been on Friday eve,
Shawwal 23rd (932 AH.-August 2nd 1526 AD.); the name given was Faruq.
(_b. Casting of a mortar._)
(_October 22nd-Muharram 15th_) Ustad `Ali-quli had been ordered to cast
a large mortar for use against Biana and other forts which had not yet
submitted. When all the furnaces and materials were ready, he sent a
person to me and, on Monday the 15th of the month, we went to see the
mortar cast. Round the mortar-mould he had had eight furnaces made in
which [Sidenote: Fol. 302b.] were the molten materials. From below each
furnace a channel went direct to the mould. When he opened the
furnace-holes on our arrival, the molten metal poured like water through
all these channels into the mould. After awhile and before the mould was
full, the flow stopped from one furnace after another. Ustad `Ali-quli
must have made some miscalculation either as to the furnaces or the
materials. In his great distress, he was for throwing himself into the
mould of molten metal, but we comforted him, put a robe of honour on
him, and so brought him out of his shame. The mould was left a day or
two to cool; when it was opened, Ustad `Ali-quli with great delight sent
to say, "The stone-chamber (_tash-awi_) is without defect; to cast the
powder-compartment (_daru-khana_) is easy." He got the stone-chamber
out and told off a body of men to accoutre[1963] it, while he busied
himself with casting the powder-compartment.
(_c. Varia._)
Mahdi Khwaja arrived bringing Fath Khan _Sarwani_ from Humayun's
presence, they having parted from him in Dilmau. I looked with favour on
Fath Khan, gave him the _parganas_ that had been his father
`Azam-humayun's, and other lands also, one _pargana_ given being worth a
_krur_ and 60 _laks_.[1964]
In Hindustan they give permanent titles [_muqarrari khitablar_] to
highly-favoured amirs, one such being `Azam-humayun (_August Might_),
one Khan-i-jahan (Khan-of-the-world), another [Sidenote: Fol. 303.]
Khan-i-khanan (Khan-of-khans). Fath Khan's father's title was
`Azam-humayun but I set this aside because on account of Humayun it was
not seemly for any person to bear it, and I gave Fath Khan _Sarwani_ the
title of Khan-i-jahan.
(_November 14th_) On Wednesday the 8th of Safar[1965] awnings were set
up (in the Char-bagh) at the edge of the large tank beyond the
tamarind-trees, and an entertainment was prepared there. We invited Fath
Khan _Sarwani_ to a wine-party, gave him wine, bestowed on him a turban
and head-to-foot of my own wearing, uplifted his head with kindness and
favour[1966] and allowed him to go to his own districts. It was arranged
for his son Mahmud to remain always in waiting.
(_d. Various military matters._)
(_November 30th_) On Wednesday the 24th of Muharram[1967] Muhammad `Ali
(son of Mihtar) Haidar the stirrup-holder was sent (to Humayun) with
this injunction, "As--thanks be to God!--the rebels have fled, do you, as
soon as this messenger arrives, appoint a few suitable begs to Junpur,
and come quickly to us yourself, for Rana Sanga the Pagan is
conveniently close; let us think first of him!"
After (Humayun's) army had gone to the East, we appointed, to make a
plundering excursion into the Biana neighbourhood, Tardi Beg (brother)
of Quj Beg with his elder brother Sher-afgan, Muhammad Khalil the
master-gelder (_akhta-begi_) with his brethren and the gelders
(_akhtachilar_),[1968] Rustam _Turkman_ with his brethren, and also, of
the Hindustani people, Daud _Sarwani_. [Sidenote: Fol. 303b.] If they,
by promise and persuasion, could make the Biana garrison look towards
us, they were to do so; if not, they were to weaken the enemy by raid
and plunder.
In the fort of Tahangar[1969] was `Alam Khan the elder brother of that
same Nizam Khan of Biana. People of his had come again and again to set
forth his obedience and well-wishing; he now took it on himself to say,
"If the Padshah appoint an army, it will be my part by promise and
persuasion to bring in the quiver-weavers of Biana and to effect the
capture of that fort." This being so, the following orders were given to
the braves of Tardi Beg's expedition, "As `Alam Khan, a local man, has
taken it on himself to serve and submit in this manner, act you with him
and in the way he approves in this matter of Biana." Swordsmen though
some Hindustanis may be, most of them are ignorant and unskilled in
military move and stand (_yurush u turush_), in soldierly counsel and
procedure. When our expedition joined `Alam Khan, he paid no attention
to what any-one else said, did not consider whether his action was good
or bad, but went close up to Biana, taking our men with him. Our
expedition numbered from 250 to 300 Turks with somewhat over 2000
Hindustanis and local people, while Nizam Khan of Biana's Afghans and
_sipahis[1970]_ were an army of over 4000 horse and of [Sidenote: Fol.
304.] foot-men themselves again, more than 10,000. Nizam Khan looked
his opponents over, sallied suddenly out and, his massed horse charging
down, put our expeditionary force to flight. His men unhorsed his elder
brother `Alam Khan, took 5 or 6 others prisoner and contrived to capture
part of the baggage. As we had already made encouraging promises to
Nizam Khan, we now, spite of this last impropriety, pardoned all earlier
and this later fault, and sent him royal letters. As he heard of Rana
Sanga's rapid advance, he had no resource but to call on Sayyid
Rafi`[1971] for mediation, surrender the fort to our men, and come in
with Sayyid Rafi`, when he was exalted to the felicity of an
interview.[1972] I bestowed on him a pargana in Mian-du-ab worth 20
_laks_.[1973] Dost, Lord-of-the-gate was sent for a time to Biana, but a
few days later it was bestowed on Madhi Khwaja with a fixed allowance of
70 _laks_,[1974] and he was given leave to go there.
Tatar Khan _Sarang-khani_, who was in Gualiar, had been sending
constantly to assure us of his obedience and good-wishes. After the
pagan took Kandar and was close to Biana, Dharmankat, one of the Gualiar
rajas, and another pagan styled Khan-i-jahan, went into the Gualiar
neighbourhood and, coveting the fort, began to stir trouble and tumult.
Tatar Khan, thus placed in difficulty, was for surrendering Gualiar (to
us). Most of our begs, household and best braves being away with
(Humayun's) army or on various raids, we joined to Rahim-dad [Sidenote:
Fol. 304b.] a few Bhira men and Lahoris with Hastachi[1975] _tunqitar_
and his brethren. We assigned _parganas_ in Gualiar itself to all those
mentioned above. Mulla Apaq and Shaikh Guran (G'huran) went also with
them, they to return after Rahim-dad was established in Gualiar. By the
time they were near Gualiar however, Tatar Khan's views had changed, and
he did not invite them into the fort. Meantime Shaikh Muhammad _Ghaus_
(Helper), a darwish-like man, not only very learned but with a large
following of students and disciples, sent from inside the fort to say to
Rahim-dad, "Get yourselves into the fort somehow, for the views of this
person (Tatar Khan) have changed, and he has evil in his mind." Hearing
this, Rahim-dad sent to say to Tatar Khan, "There is danger from the
Pagan to those outside; let me bring a few men into the fort and let the
rest stay outside." Under insistence, Tatar Khan agreed to this, and
Rahim-dad went in with rather few men. Said he, "Let our people stay
near this Gate," posted them near the Hati-pul (Elephant-gate) and
through that Gate during that same night brought in the whole of his
troop. Next day, Tatar Khan, reduced to helplessness, willy-nilly, made
over the fort, and set out to come and wait on me in Agra. A subsistence
allowance of 20 _laks_ was assigned to him on Bianwan _pargana_.[1976]
[Sidenote: Fol. 305.] Muhammad _Zaitun_ also took the only course open
to him by surrendering Dulpur and coming to wait on me. A _pargana_
worth a few _laks_ was bestowed on him. Dulpur was made a royal domain
(_khalsa_) with Abu'l-fath _Turkman_[1977] as its military-collector
(_shiqdar_).
In the Hisar-firuza neighbourhood Hamid Khan _Sarang-khani_ with a body
of his own Afghans and of the Pani Afghans he had collected--from 3 to
4,000 in all--was in a hostile and troublesome attitude. On Wednesday the
15th Safar (Nov. 21st) we appointed against him Chin-timur Sl.
(_Chaghatai_) with the commanders Secretary Ahmadi, Abu'l-fath
_Turkman_, Malik Dad _Kararani_[1978] and Mujahid Khan of Multan. These
going, fell suddenly on him from a distance, beat his Afghans well,
killed a mass of them and sent in many heads.
(_e. Embassy from Persia._)
In the last days of Safar, Khwajagi Asad who had been sent to Shah-zada
Tahmasp[1979] in `Iraq, returned with a Turkman named Sulaiman who
amongst other gifts brought two Circassian girls (_qizlar_).
(_f. Attempt to poison Babur._)
(_Dec. 21st_) On Friday the 16th of the first Rabi` a strange event
occurred which was detailed in a letter written to Kabul. That letter is
inserted here just as it was written, without addition or taking-away,
and is as follows:--[1980]
"The details of the momentous event of Friday the 16th of the first
Rabi` in the date 933 [Dec. 21st 1526 AD.] are as follows:--The
ill-omened old woman[1981] Ibrahim's mother heard [Sidenote: Fol. 305b.]
that I ate things from the hands of Hindustanis--the thing being that
three or four months earlier, as I had not seen Hindustani dishes, I had
ordered Ibrahim's cooks to be brought and out of 50 or 60 had kept four.
Of this she heard, sent to Atawa (Etawa) for Ahmad the _chashnigir_--in
Hindustan they call a taster (_bakawal_) a _chashnigir_--and, having got
him,[1982] gave a _tula_ of poison, wrapped in a square of paper,--as has
been mentioned a _tula_ is rather more than 2 _misqals_[1983]--into the
hand of a slave-woman who was to give it to him. That poison Ahmad gave
to the Hindustani cooks in our kitchen, promising them four _parganas_
if they would get it somehow into the food. Following the first
slave-woman that ill-omened old woman sent a second to see if the first
did or did not give the poison she had received to Ahmad. Well was it
that Ahmad put the poison not into the cooking-pot but on a dish! He did
not put it into the pot because I had strictly ordered the tasters to
compel any Hindustanis who were present while food was cooking in the
pots, to taste that food.[1984] Our graceless tasters were neglectful
when the food _(ash_) was being dished up. Thin slices of bread were put
on a porcelain dish; on these less than half of the paper packet of
poison was sprinkled, and over this buttered [Sidenote: Fol. 306.]
fritters were laid. It would have been bad if the poison had been strewn
on the fritters or thrown into the pot. In his confusion, the man threw
the larger half into the fire-place."
"On Friday, late after the Afternoon Prayer, when the cooked meats were
set out, I ate a good deal of a dish of hare and also much fried carrot,
took a few mouthfuls of the poisoned Hindustani food without noticing
any unpleasant flavour, took also a mouthful or two of dried-meat
(_qaq_). Then I felt sick. As some dried meat eaten on the previous day
had had an unpleasant taste, I thought my nausea due to the dried-meat.
Again and again my heart rose; after retching two or three times I was
near vomiting on the table-cloth. At last I saw it would not do, got up,
went retching every moment of the way to the water-closet (_ab-khana_)
and on reaching it vomited much. Never had I vomited after food, used
not to do so indeed while drinking. I became suspicious; I had the cooks
put in ward and ordered some of the vomit given to a dog and the dog to
be watched. It was somewhat out-of-sorts near the first watch of the
next day; its belly was swollen and however much people threw stones at
it and turned it over, it did not get up. In that state it remained till
mid-day; it then got up; it did not die. [Sidenote: Fol. 306b.] One or
two of the braves who also had eaten of that dish, vomited a good deal
next day; one was in a very bad state. In the end all escaped.
(_Persian_) 'An evil arrived but happily passed on!' God gave me
new-birth! I am coming from that other world; I am born today of my
mother; I was sick; I live; through God, I know today the worth of
life!"[1985]
"I ordered Pay-master Sl. Muhammad to watch the cook; when he was taken
for torture (_qin_), he related the above particulars one after
another."
"Monday being Court-day, I ordered the grandees and notables, amirs and
wazirs to be present and that those two men and two women should be
brought and questioned. They there related the particulars of the
affair. That taster I had cut in pieces, that cook skinned alive; one of
those women I had thrown under an elephant, the other shot with a
match-lock. The old woman (_bua_) I had kept under guard; she will meet
her doom, the captive of her own act."[1986]
"On Saturday I drank a bowl of milk, on Sunday _`araq_ in which
stamped-clay was dissolved.[1987] On Monday I drank milk in which were
dissolved stamped-clay and the best theriac,[1988] a strong purge. As on
the first day, Saturday, something very dark like parched bile was
voided."
"Thanks be to God! no harm has been done. Till now I had not known so
well how sweet a thing life can seem! As the line has it, 'He who has
been near to death knows the worth of life.' Spite of myself, I am all
upset whenever the dreadful [Sidenote: Fol. 307.] occurrence comes back
to my mind. It must have been God's favour gave me life anew; with what
words can I thank him?"
"Although the terror of the occurrence was too great for words, I have
written all that happened, with detail and circumstance, because I said
to myself, 'Don't let their hearts be kept in anxiety!' Thanks be to
God! there may be other days yet to see! All has passed off well and for
good; have no fear or anxiety in your minds."
"This was written on Tuesday the 20th of the first Rabi`, I being then
in the Char-bagh."
When we were free from the anxiety of these occurrences, the above
letter was written and sent to Kabul.
(_g. Dealings with Ibrahim's family._)
As this great crime had raised its head through that ill-omened old
woman (_bua-i-bad-bakht_), she was given over to Yunas-i-`ali and
Khwajagi Asad who after taking her money and goods, slaves and
slave-women (_daduk_), made her over for careful watch to `Abdu'r-rahim
_shaghawal_.[1989] Her grandson, Ibrahim's son had been cared for with
much respect and delicacy, but as the attempt on my life had been made,
clearly, by that family, it did not seem advisable to keep him in Agra;
he was joined therefore to Mulla Sarsan--who had come from Kamran on
important business--and was started off with the Mulla to Kamran on
Thursday Rabi` I. 29th (Jan. 3rd 1527 AD.).[1990]
(_h. Humayun's campaign._)
[Sidenote: Fol. 307b.] Humayun, acting against the Eastern rebels[1991]
took Juna-pur (_sic_), went swiftly against Nasir Khan (_Nuhani_) in
Ghazi-pur and found that he had gone across the Gang-river, presumably
on news* of Humayun's approach. From Ghazi-pur Humayun went against
Kharid[1992] but the Afghans of the place had crossed the Saru-water
(Gogra) presumably on the news* of his coming. Kharid was plundered and
the army turned back.
Humayun, in accordance with my arrangements, left Shah Mir Husain and
Sl. Junaid with a body of effective braves in Juna-pur, posted Qazi Jia
with them, and placed Shaikh Bayazid [_Farmuli_] in Aude (Oude). These
important matters settled, he crossed Gang from near Karrah-Manikpur and
took the Kalpi road. When he came opposite Kalpi, in which was Jalal
Khan _Jik-hat's_ (son) `Alam Khan who had sent me dutiful letters but
had not waited on me himself, he sent some-one to chase fear from `Alam
Khan's heart and so brought him along (to Agra).
Humayun arrived and waited on me in the Garden of Eight-paradises[1993]
on Sunday the 3rd of the 2nd Rabi` (Jan. 6th 1527 AD.). On the same day
Khwaja Dost-i-khawand arrived from Kabul.
(_i. Rana Sanga's approach._)[1994]
Meantime Mahdi Khwaja's people began to come in, treading on one
another's heels and saying, "The Rana's advance is certain. Hasan Khan
_Miwati_ is heard of also as likely to join him. They must be thought
about above all else. It would favour our fortune, if a troop came ahead
of the army to reinforce Biana." [Sidenote: Fol. 308.]
Deciding to get to horse, we sent on, to ride light to Biana, the
commanders Muhammad Sl. Mirza, Yunas-i-`ali, Shah Mansur _Barlas_, Kitta
Beg, Qismati[1995] and Bujka.
In the fight with Ibrahim, Hasan Khan _Miwati's_ son Nahar Khan had
fallen into our hands; we had kept him as an hostage and, ostensibly on
his account, his father had been making comings-and-goings with us,
constantly asking for him. It now occurred to several people that if
Hasan Khan were conciliated by sending him his son, he would thereby be
the more favourably disposed and his waiting on me might be the better
brought about. Accordingly Nahar Khan was dressed in a robe of honour;
promises were made to him for his father, and he was given leave to go.
That hypocritical mannikin [Hasan Khan] must have waited just till his
son had leave from me to go, for on hearing of this and while his son as
yet had not joined him, he came out of Alur (Alwar) and at once joined
Rana Sanga in Toda(bhim, Agra District). It must have been ill-judged to
let his son go just then.
Meantime much rain was falling; parties were frequent; even Humayun was
present at them and, abhorrent though it was to him, sinned[1996] every
few days.
(_j. Tramontane affairs._)
One of the strange events in these days of respite[1997] was this:--When
Humayun was coming from Fort Victory. (Qila`-i-zafar) to join the
Hindustan army, (Muh. 932 AH.-Oct. 1525 AD.) [Sidenote: Fol. 308b.]
Mulla Baba of Pashaghar (_Chaghatai_) and his younger brother Baba
Shaikh deserted on the way, and went to Kitin-qara Sl. (_Auzbeg_), into
whose hands Balkh had fallen through the enfeeblement of its
garrison.[1998] This hollow mannikin and his younger brother having
taken the labours of this side (Cis-Balkh?) on their own necks, come
into the neighbourhood of Aibak, Khurram and Sar-bagh.[1999]
Shah Sikandar--his footing in Ghuri lost through the surrender of
Balkh--is about to make over that fort to the Auzbeg, when Mulla Baba and
Baba Shaikh, coming with a few Auzbegs, take possession of it. Mir
Hamah, as his fort is close by, has no help for it; he is for submitting
to the Auzbeg, but a few days later Mulla Baba and Baba Shaikh come with
a few Auzbegs to Mir Hamah's fort, purposing to make the Mir and his
troop march out and to take them towards Balkh. Mir Hamah makes Baba
Shaikh dismount inside the fort, and gives the rest felt huts (_autaq_)
here and there. He slashes at Baba Shaikh, puts him and some others in
bonds, and sends a man galloping off to Tingri-birdi (_Quchin_, in
Qunduz). Tingri-birdi sends off Yar-i-`ali and `Abdu'l-latif with a few
effective braves, but before they reach Mir Hamah's fort, Mulla Baba has
arrived there with his Auzbegs; he had thought of a hand-to-hand fight
(_aurush-murush_), but he can do nothing. Mir Hamah and his men joined
Tingri-birdi's and came to Qunduz. Baba Shaikh's wound must have been
severe; they cut his head off and Mir Hamah brought [Sidenote: Fol.
309.] it (to Agra) in these same days of respite. I uplifted his head
with favour and kindness, distinguishing him amongst his fellows and
equals. When Baqi _shaghawal_ went [to Balkh][2000] I promised him a
_ser_ of gold for the head of each of the ill-conditioned old couple;
one _ser_ of gold was now given to Mir Hamah for Baba Shaikh's head,
over and above the favours referred to above.[2001]
(_k. Action of part of the Biana reinforcement._)
Qismati who had ridden light for Biana, brought back several heads he
had cut off; when he and Bujka had gone with a few braves to get news,
they had beaten two of the Pagan's scouting-parties and had made 70 to
80 prisoners. Qismati brought news that Hasan Khan _Miwati_ really had
joined Rana Sanga.
(_l. Trial-test of the large mortar of f. 302._)
(_Feb. 10th_) On Sunday the 8th of the month (Jumada I.), I went to see
Ustad `Ali-quli discharge stones from that large mortar of his in
casting which the stone-chamber was without defect and which he had
completed afterwards by casting the powder-compartment. It was
discharged at the Afternoon Prayer; the throw of the stone was 1600
paces. A gift was made to the Master of a sword-belt, robe of honour,
and _tipuchaq_ (horse).
(_m. Babur leaves Agra against Rana Sanga._)
(_Feb. 11th_) On Monday the 9th of the first Jumada, we got out of the
suburbs of Agra, on our journey (_safar_) for the Holy War, and
dismounted in the open country, where we remained three or four days to
collect our army and be its rallying-point.[2002] As little confidence
was placed in Hindustani people, the Hindustan amirs were inscribed for
expeditions to this or to that side:--`Alam Khan (_Tahangari_) was sent
hastily to Gualiar to [Sidenote: Fol. 309b.] reinforce Rahim-dad; Makan,
Qasim Beg _Sanbali_ (_Sambhali_), Hamid with his elder and younger
brethren and Muhammad _Zaitun_ were inscribed to go swiftly to Sanbal.
(_n. Defeat of the advance-force._)
Into this same camp came the news that owing to Rana Sanga's swift
advance with all his army,[2003] our scouts were able neither to get
into the fort (Biana) themselves nor to send news into it. The Biana
garrison made a rather incautious sally too far out; the enemy fell on
them in some force and put them to rout.[2004] There Sangur Khan
_Janjuha_ became a martyr. Kitta Beg had galloped into the pell-mell
without his cuirass; he got one pagan afoot (_yayaglatib_) and was
overcoming him, when the pagan snatched a sword from one of Kitta Beg's
own servants and slashed the Beg across the shoulder. Kitta Beg suffered
great pain; he could not come into the Holy-battle with Rana Sanga, was
long in recovering and always remained blemished.
Whether because they were themselves afraid, or whether to frighten
others is not known but Qismati, Shah Mansur _Barlas_ and all from Biana
praised and lauded the fierceness and valour of the pagan army.
Qasim Master-of-the-horse was sent from the starting-ground (_safar
qilghan yurt_) with his spadesmen, to dig many wells where the army was
next to dismount in the Madhakur _pargana_.
(_Feb. 16th_) Marching out of Agra on Saturday the 14th of the first
Jumada, dismount was made where the wells had been [Sidenote: Fol. 310.]
dug. We marched on next day. It crossed my mind that the well-watered
ground for a large camp was at Sikri.[2005] It being possible that the
Pagan was encamped there and in possession of the water, we arrayed
precisely, in right, left and centre. As Qismati and Darwish-i-muhammad
_Sarban_ in their comings and goings had seen and got to know all sides
of Biana, they were sent ahead to look for camping-ground on the bank of
the Sikri-lake (_kul_). When we reached the (Madhakur) camp, persons
were sent galloping off to tell Mahdi Khwaja and the Biana garrison to
join me without delay. Humayun's servant Beg Mirak _Mughul_ was sent out
with a few braves to get news of the Pagan. They started that night, and
next morning brought word that he was heard of as having arrived and
dismounted at a place one _kuroh_ (2 miles) on our side (_ailkarak_) of
Basawar.[2006] On this same day Mahdi Khwaja and Muhammad Sl. Mirza
rejoined us with the troops that had ridden light to Biana.
(_o. Discomfiture of a reconnoitring party._)
The begs were appointed in turns for scouting-duty. When it was
`Abdu'l-`aziz's turn, he went out of Sikri, looking neither before nor
behind, right out along the road to Kanwa which is 5 _kuroh_ (10 m.)
away. The Rana must have been marching forward; he heard of our men's
moving out in their reinless (_jalau-siz_) way, and made 4 or 5,000 of
his own fall suddenly on them. With `Abdu'l-`aziz and Mulla Apaq may
have been 1000 to 1500 men; they took no stock of their opponents but
just [Sidenote: Fol. 310b.] got to grips; they were hurried off at once,
many of them being made prisoner.
On news of this, we despatched Khalifa's Muhibb-i-`ali with Khalifa's
retainers. Mulla Husain and some others _aubruqsubruq_[2007]* were sent
to support them,[2008] and Muhammad `Ali _Jang-jang_ also. Presumably it
was before the arrival of this first, Muhibb-i-`ali's, reinforcement
that the Pagan had hurried off `Abdu'l-`aziz and his men, taken his
standard, martyred Mulla Ni`mat, Mulla Daud and the younger brother
of Mulla Apaq, with several more. Directly the reinforcement
arrived the pagans overcame Tahir-tibri, the maternal uncle of
Khalifa's Muhibb-i-`ali, who had not got up with the hurrying
reinforcement[?].[2009] Meantime Muhibb-i-`ali even had been thrown
down, but Baltu getting in from the rear, brought him out. The enemy
pursued for over a _kuroh_ (2 m.), stopped however at the sight of the
black mass of Muh. `Ali _Jang-jang's_ troops.
Foot upon foot news came that the foe had come near and nearer. We put
on our armour and our horses' mail, took our arms and, ordering the
carts to be dragged after us, rode out at the gallop. We advanced one
_kuroh_. The foe must have turned aside.
(_p. Babur fortifies his camp._)
For the sake of water, we dismounted with a large lake (_kul_) on one
side of us. Our front was defended by carts chained together*, the space
between each two, across which the chains stretched, being 7 or 8 _qari_
(_circa_ yards). Mustafa _Rumi_ had [Sidenote: Fol. 311.] had the carts
made in the Rumi way, excellent carts, very strong and suitable.[2010]
As Ustad `Ali-quli was jealous of him, Mustafa was posted to the right,
in front of Humayun. Where the carts did not reach to, Khurasani and
Hindustani spadesmen and miners were made to dig a ditch.
Owing to the Pagan's rapid advance, to the fighting-work in Biana and to
the praise and laud of the pagans made by Shah Mansur, Qismati and the
rest from Biana, people in the army shewed sign of want of heart. On the
top of all this came the defeat of `Abdu'l-`aziz. In order to hearten
our men, and give a look of strength to the army, the camp was defended
and shut in where there were no carts, by stretching ropes of raw hide
on wooden tripods, set 7 or 8 _qari_ apart. Time had drawn out to 20 or
25 days before these appliances and materials were fully ready.[2011]
(_q. A reinforcement from Kabul._)
Just at this time there arrived from Kabul Qasim-i-husain Sl. (_Auzbeg
Shaiban_) who is the son of a daughter of Sl. Husain M. (_Bai-qara_),
and with him Ahmad-i-yusuf (_Aughlaqchi_), Qawwam-i-aurdu Shah and also
several single friends of mine, counting up in all to 500 men. Muhammad
Sharif, the astrologer of ill-augury, came with them too, so did Baba
Dost the water-bearer (_suchi_) who, having gone to Kabul for wine, had
there [Sidenote: Fol. 311b.] loaded three strings of camels with
acceptable Ghazni wines.
At a time such as this, when, as has been mentioned, the army was
anxious and afraid by reason of past occurrences and vicissitudes, wild
words and opinions, this Muhammad Sharif, the ill-augurer, though he had
not a helpful word to say to me, kept insisting to all he met, "Mars is
in the west in these days;[2012] who comes into the fight from this
(east) side will be defeated." Timid people who questioned the
ill-augurer, became the more shattered in heart. We gave no ear to his
wild words, made no change in our operations, but got ready in earnest
for the fight.
(_Feb. 24th_) On Sunday the 22nd (of Jumada 1.) Shaikh Jamal was sent to
collect all available quiver-wearers from between the two waters (Ganges
and Jumna) and from Dihli, so that with this force he might over-run and
plunder the Miwat villages, leaving nothing undone which could awaken
the enemy's anxiety for that side. Mulla Tark-i-`ali, then on his way
from Kabul, was ordered to join Shaikh Jamal and to neglect nothing of
ruin and plunder in Miwat; orders to the same purport were given also to
Maghfur the Diwan. They went; they over-ran and raided a few villages in
lonely corners (_bujqaq_); they took some prisoners; but their passage
through did not arouse much anxiety!
(_r. Babur renounces wine._)
On Monday the 23rd of the first Jumada (Feb. 25th), when [Sidenote: Fol.
312.] I went out riding, I reflected, as I rode, that the wish to cease
from sin had been always in my mind, and that my forbidden acts had set
lasting stain upon my heart. Said I, "Oh! my soul!"
(_Persian_) "How long wilt thou draw savour from sin?
Repentance is not without savour, taste it!"[2013]
(_Turki_) Through years how many has sin defiled thee?
How much of peace has transgression given thee?
How much hast thou been thy passions' slave?
How much of thy life flung away?
With the Ghazi's resolve since now thou hast marched,
Thou hast looked thine own death in the face!
Who resolves to hold stubbornly fast to the death,
Thou knowest what change he attains,
That far he removes him from all things forbidden,
That from all his offences he cleanses himself.
With my own gain before me, I vowed to obey,
In this my transgression,[2014] the drinking
of wine.[2015]
The flagons and cups of silver and gold, the vessels
of feasting,
I had them all brought;
I had them all broken up[2016] then and there.
Thus eased I my heart by renouncement of wine.
The fragments of the gold and silver vessels were shared out to
deserving persons and to darwishes. The first to agree in renouncing
wine was `Asas;[2017] he had already agreed also about leaving his beard
untrimmed.[2018] That night and next day some [Sidenote: Fol. 312b.] 300
begs and persons of the household, soldiers and not soldiers, renounced
wine. What wine we had with us was poured on the ground; what Baba Dost
had brought was ordered salted to make vinegar. At the place where the
wine was poured upon the ground, a well was ordered to be dug, built up
with stone and having an almshouse beside it. It was already finished in
Muharram 935 (AH.-Sep. 1528 AD.) at the time I went to Sikri from Dulpur
on my way back from visiting Gualiar.
(_s. Remission of a due._)
I had vowed already that, if I gained the victory over Sanga the pagan,
I would remit the _tamgha_[2019] to all Musalmans. Of this vow
Darwish-i-muhammad _Sarban_ and Shaikh Zain reminded me at the time I
renounced wine. Said I, "You do well to remind me."
*_The tamgha_ was remitted to all Musalmans of the dominions I
held.[2020] I sent for the clerks (_munshilar_), and ordered them to
write for their news-letters (_akhbar_) the _farman_ concerning the two
important acts that had been done. Shaikh Zain wrote the _farman_ with
his own elegance (_inshasi bila_) and his fine letter (_insha_) was sent
to all my dominions. It is as follows:--[2021]
FARMAN ANNOUNCING BABUR'S RENUNCIATION OF WINE.[2022]
[2023] _Let us praise the Long-suffering One who loveth the penitent and
who loveth the cleansers of themselves; and let thanks be rendered to
the Gracious One who absolveth His debtors, and forgiveth those who seek
forgiveness. Blessings be upon Muhammad the Crown of Creatures, on the
Holy family, on the pure Companions_, and on the mirrors of the glorious
congregation, to wit, the Masters of Wisdom who are treasure-houses of
the pearls of purity and who bear the impress of the sparkling jewels of
this purport:--that the nature of man is prone to evil, and that the
abandonment of sinful appetites is only feasible by Divine aid
[Sidenote: Fol. 313.] and the help that cometh from on high. "_Every
soul is prone unto evil_,"[2024] (and again) "_This is the bounty of
God_; _He will give the same unto whom He pleaseth_; _and God is endued
with great bounty_."[2025]
Our motive for these remarks and for repeating these statements is that,
by reason of human frailty, of the customs of kings and of the great,
all of us, from the Shah to the sipahi, in the heyday of our youth, have
transgressed and done what we ought not to have done. After some days of
sorrow and repentance, we abandoned evil practices one by one, and the
gates of retrogression became closed. But the renunciation of wine, the
greatest and most indispensable of renunciations, remained under a veil
in the chamber of deeds _pledged to appear in due season_, and did not
show its countenance until the glorious hour when we had put on the garb
of the holy warrior and had encamped with the army of Islam over against
the infidels in order to slay them. On this occasion I received a secret
inspiration and heard an infallible voice say "_Is not the time yet come
unto those who believe, that their hearts should humbly submit to the
admonition of God, and that truth which hath been revealed?_"[2026]
Thereupon we set ourselves to extirpate the things of wickedness, and we
earnestly knocked at the gates of repentance. The Guide of Help assisted
us, according to the saying "_Whoever knocks and re-knocks, to him it
will be opened_", and an order was given that with the Holy War there
should [Sidenote: Fol. 313b.] begin the still greater war which has to
be waged against sensuality. In short, we declared with sincerity that
_we would subjugate our passions_, and I engraved on the tablet of my
heart "_I turn unto Thee with repentance, and I am the first of true
believers_".[2027] And I made public the resolution to abstain from
wine, which had been hidden in the treasury of my breast. The victorious
servants, in accordance with the illustrious order, dashed upon the
earth of contempt and destruction the flagons and the cups, and the
other utensils in gold and silver, which in their number and their
brilliance were like the stars of the firmament. They dashed them in
pieces, as, God willing! soon will be dashed the gods of the
idolaters,--and they distributed the fragments among the poor and needy.
By the blessing of this acceptable repentance, many of the courtiers, by
virtue of the saying that _men follow the religion of their kings_,
embraced abstinence at the same assemblage, and entirely renounced the
use of wine, and up till now crowds of our subjects hourly attain this
auspicious happiness. I hope that in accordance with the saying "_He who
incites to good deeds has the same reward as he who does them_" the
benefit of this action will react on the royal fortune and increase it
day by day by victories.
After carrying out this design an universal decree was issued that in
the imperial dominions--May God protect them from [Sidenote: Fol. 314.]
every danger and calamity--no-one shall partake of strong drink, or
engage in its manufacture, nor sell it, nor buy it or possess it, nor
convey it or fetch it. "_Beware of touching it._" "_Perchance this will
give you prosperity._"[2028]
In thanks for these great victories,[2029] and as a thank-offering for
God's acceptance of repentance and sorrow, the ocean of the royal
munificence became commoved, and those waves of kindness, which are the
cause of the civilization of the world and of the glory of the sons of
Adam, were displayed,--and throughout all the territories the tax
(_tamgha_) on Musalmans was abolished,--though its yield was more than
the dreams of avarice, and though it had been established and maintained
by former rulers,--for it is a practice outside of the edicts of the
Prince of Apostles (Muhammad). So a decree was passed that in no city,
town, road, ferry, pass, or port, should the tax be levied or exacted.
No alteration whatsoever of this order is to be permitted. "_Whoever
after hearing it makes any change therein, the sin of such change will
be upon him._"[2030]
The proper course (_sabil_) for all who shelter under the shade of the
royal benevolence, whether they be Turk, Tajik, `Arab, Hindi, or Farsi
(Persian), peasants or soldiers, of every nation or tribe of the sons
of Adam, is to strengthen themselves by the tenets of religion, and to
be full of hope and prayer for the dynasty which is linked with
eternity, and to adhere to these ordinances, and not in any way to
transgress them. It behoves all to act according to this _farman_; they
are to accept it as authentic when it comes attested by the Sign-Manual.
Written by order of the Exalted one,--May his excellence endure for ever!
on the 24th of Jumada I. 933 (February 26th 1527).
(_t. Alarm in Babur's camp._)
[Sidenote: Fol. 314b.] In these days, as has been mentioned, (our
people) great and small, had been made very anxious and timid by past
occurrences. No manly word or brave counsel was heard from any one
soever. What bold speech was there from the wazirs who are to speak out
(_diguchi_), or from the amirs who will devour the land
(_wilayat-yighuchi_)?[2031] None had advice to give, none a bold plan of
his own to expound. Khalifa (however) did well in this campaign,
neglecting nothing of control and supervision, painstaking and
diligence.
At length after I had made enquiry concerning people's want of heart and
had seen their slackness for myself, a plan occurred to me; I summoned
all the begs and braves and said to them, "Begs and braves!
(_Persian_) Who comes into the world will die;
What lasts and lives will be God.
(_Turki_) He who hath entered the assembly of life,
Drinketh at last of the cup of death.
He who hath come to the inn of life,
Passeth at last from Earth's house of woe.
"Better than life with a bad name, is death with a good one.
(_Persian_) Well is it with me, if I die with good name!
A good name must I have, since the body is death's.[2032]
"God the Most High has allotted to us such happiness and has created for
us such good-fortune that we die as martyrs, we kill as avengers of His
cause. Therefore must each of you take oath [Sidenote: Fol. 315.] upon
His Holy Word that he will not think of turning his face from this foe,
or withdraw from this deadly encounter so long as life is not rent from
his body." All those present, beg and retainer, great and small, took
the Holy Book joyfully into their hands and made vow and compact to this
purport. The plan was perfect; it worked admirably for those near and
afar, for seÎrs and hearers, for friend and foe.
(_u. Babur's perilous position._)
In those same days trouble and disturbance arose on every side:--Husain
Khan _Nuhani_ went and took Rapri; Qutb Khan's man took Chandwar[2033];
a mannikin called Rustam Khan who had collected quiver-wearers from
Between-the-two-waters (Ganges and Jamna), took Kul (Koel) and made
Kichik 'Ali prisoner; Khwaja Zahid abandoned Sambal and went off; Sl.
Muhammad _Duldai_ came from Qanuj to me; the Gualiar pagans laid siege
to that fort; 'Alam Khan when sent to reinforce it, did not go to
Gualiar but to his own district. Every day bad news came from every
side. Desertion of many Hindustanis set in; Haibat Khan
_Karg-andaz_[2034] deserted and went to Sambal; Hasan Khan of Bari
deserted and joined the Pagan. We gave attention to none of them but
went straight on with our own affair.
(_v. Babur advances to fight._)
The apparatus and appliances, the carts and wheeled tripods being ready,
we arrayed in right, left and centre, and marched forward on New Year's
Day,[2035] Tuesday, the 9th of the second [Sidenote: Fol. 315b.] Jumada
(March 13th), having the carts[2036] and wheeled tripods moving in
front of us, with Ustad `Ali-quli and all the matchlock-men ranged
behind them in order that these men, being on foot, should not be left
behind the array but should advance with it.
When the various divisions, right, left and centre, had gone each to its
place, I galloped from one to another to give encouragement to begs,
braves, and _sipahis_. After each man had had assigned to him his post
and usual work with his company, we advanced, marshalled on the plan
determined, for as much as one _kuroh_ (2 m.)[2037] and then dismounted.
The Pagan's men, for their part, were on the alert; they came from their
side, one company after another.
The camp was laid out and strongly protected by ditch and carts. As we
did not intend to fight that day, we sent a few unmailed braves ahead,
who were to get to grips with the enemy and thus take an omen. They made
a few pagans prisoner, cut off and brought in their heads. Malik Qasim
also cut off and brought in a few heads; he did well. By these successes
the hearts of our men became very strong.
When we marched on next day, I had it in my mind to fight, but Khalifa
and other well-wishers represented that the camping-ground previously
decided on was near and that it would favour our fortunes if we had a
ditch and defences made there and went there direct. Khalifa accordingly
rode off to get [Sidenote: Fol. 316.] the ditch dug; he settled its
position with the spades-men, appointed overseers of the work and
returned to us. (_w. The battle of Kanwa._)[2038]
On Saturday the 13th of the second Jumada (March 17th, 1527 AD.) we had
the carts dragged in front of us (as before), made a _kuroh_ (2 m.) of
road, arrayed in right, left and centre, and dismounted on the ground
selected.
A few tents had been set up; a few were in setting up when news of the
appearance of the enemy was brought. Mounting instantly, I ordered every
man to his post and that our array should be protected with the
carts.[2039]
*As the following Letter-of-victory (_Fath-nama_) which is what Shaikh
Zain had indited, makes known particulars about the army of Islam, the
great host of the pagans with the position of their arrayed ranks, and
the encounters had between them and the army of Islam, it is inserted
here without addition or deduction.[2040]
SHAIKH ZAIN'S LETTER-OF-VICTORY.
(_a. Introduction._)
_Praise be to God the Faithful Promiser, the Helper of His servants, the
Supporter of His armies, the Scatterer of hostile hosts, the One alone
without whom there is nothing._ [Sidenote: Fol. 316b.]
_O Thou the Exalter of the pillars of Islam, Helper of thy faithful
minister, Overthrower of the pedestals of idols, Overcomer of rebellious
foes, Exterminator to the uttermost of the followers of darkness!_
_Lauds be to God the Lord of the worlds, and may the blessing of God be
upon the best of His creatures Muhammad, Lord of ghazis and champions of
the Faith, and upon his companions, the pointers of the way, until the
Day of judgment._
The successive gifts of the Almighty are the cause of frequent praises
and thanksgivings, and the number of these praises and thanksgivings is,
in its turn, the cause of the constant succession of God's mercies. For
every mercy a thanksgiving is due, and every thanksgiving is followed by
a mercy. To render full thanks is beyond men's power; the mightiest are
helpless to discharge their obligations. Above all, adequate thanks
cannot be rendered for a benefit than which none is greater in the world
and nothing is more blessed, in the world to come, to wit, victory over
most powerful infidels and dominion over wealthiest heretics, "_these
are the unbelievers_, _the wicked_."[2041] In the eyes of the judicious,
no blessing can be greater than this. Thanks be to God! that this great
blessing and mighty boon, which from the cradle until now has been the
real object of this right-thinking mind (Babur's), has now manifested
itself by the graciousness of the King of the worlds; the Opener who
dispenses his treasures without awaiting solicitation, hath opened them
with a master-key before our victorious Nawab (Babur),[2042] so that the
names of our[2043] conquering heroes have been emblazoned in the records
of glorious _ghazis_. By the help of our victorious soldiers the
[Sidenote: Fol. 317.] standards of Islam have been raised to the highest
pinnacles. The account of this auspicious fortune is as follows:--
(_b. Rana Sanga and his forces._)
When the flashing-swords of our Islam-guarded soldiers had illuminated
the land of Hindustan with rays of victory and conquest, as has been
recorded in former letters-of-victory,[2044] the Divine favour caused
our standards to be upreared in the territories of Dihli, Agra, Jun-pur,
Kharid,[2045] Bihar, _etc._, when many chiefs, both pagans and
Muhammadans submitted to our generals and shewed sincere obedience to
our fortunate Nawab. But Rana Sanga the pagan who in earlier times
breathed submissive to the Nawab,[2046] now _was puffed up with pride
and became of the number of unbelievers_.[2047] Satan-like he threw back
his head and collected an army of accursed heretics, thus gathering a
rabble-rout of whom some wore the accursed torque (_tauq_), the
_zinar_,[2048] on the neck, some had in the skirt the calamitous thorn
of apostacy.[2049] Previous to the rising in Hindustan of the Sun of
dominion and the emergence there of the light of the Shahanshah's
Khalifate [_i.e._ Babur's] the authority of that execrated pagan
(Sanga)--_at the Judgment Day he shall have no friend_,[2050] was such
that not one of all the exalted sovereigns of this wide realm, such as
the Sultan of Dihli, the [Sidenote: Fol. 317b.] Sultan of Gujrat and the
Sultan of Mandu, could cope with this evil-dispositioned one, without
the help of other pagans; one and all they cajoled him and temporized
with him; and he had this authority although the rajas and rais of high
degree, who obeyed him in this battle, and the governors and commanders
who were amongst his followers in this conflict, had not obeyed him in
any earlier fight or, out of regard to their own dignity, been friendly
with him. Infidel standards dominated some 200 towns in the territories
of Islam; in them mosques and shrines fell into ruin; from them the
wives and children of the Faithful were carried away captive. So greatly
had his forces grown that, according to the Hindu calculation by which
one _lak_ of revenue should yield 100 horsemen, and one _krur_ of
revenue, 10,000 horsemen, the territories subject to the Pagan (Sanga)
yielding 10 _krurs_, should yield him 100,000 horse. Many noted pagans
who hitherto had not helped him in battle, now swelled his ranks out of
hostility to the people of Islam. Ten powerful chiefs, each the leader
of a pagan host, uprose in rebellion, as smoke rises, and linked
themselves, as though [Sidenote: Fol. 318.] enchained, to that perverse
one (Sanga); and this infidel decade who, unlike the blessed ten,[2051]
uplifted misery-freighted standards which _denounce unto them
excruciating punishment_,[2052] had many dependants, and troops, and
wide-extended lands. As, for instance, Salahu'd-din[2053] had territory
yielding 30,000 horse, Rawal Udai Singh of Bagar had 12,000, Medini Rai
had 12,000, Hasan Khan of Miwat had 12,000, Bar-mal of Idr had 4,000,
Narpat Hara had 7,000, Satrvi of Kach (Cutch) had 6,000, Dharm-deo had
4,000, Bir-sing-deo had 4,000, and Mahmud Khan, son of Sl. Sikandar, to
whom, though he possessed neither district nor _pargana_, 10,000 horse
had gathered in hope of his attaining supremacy. Thus, according to the
calculation of Hind, 201,000 was the total of those sundered from
salvation. In brief, that haughty pagan, inwardly blind, and hardened of
heart, having joined with other pagans, dark-fated and doomed to
perdition, advanced to contend with the followers of Islam and to
destroy the foundations of the law of the Prince of Men (Muhammad), on
whom be God's blessing! The protagonists of the royal forces fell, like
divine destiny, on that one-eyed Dajjal[2054] who, to understanding men,
shewed the truth of the saying, _When Fate arrives, the eye becomes
blind_, and, setting before their eyes the scripture which saith,
_Whosoever striveth to promote the true religion, striveth for the good
of his own soul_,[2055] [Sidenote: Fol. 318b.] they acted on the precept
to which obedience is due, _Fight against infidels and hypocrites_.
(_c. Military movements._)
(_March 17th, 1527_) On Saturday the 13th day of the second Jumada of
the date 933, a day blessed by the words, _God hath blessed your
Saturday_, the army of Islam was encamped near the village of Kanwa, a
dependency of Biana, hard by a hill which was 2 _kurohs_ (4 m.) from the
enemies of the Faith. When those accursed infidel foes of Muhammad's
religion heard the reverberation of the armies of Islam, they arrayed
their ill-starred forces and moved forward with one heart, relying on
their mountain-like, demon-shaped elephants, as had relied the Lords of
the Elephant[2056] who went to overthrow the sanctuary (_ka`ba_) of
Islam.
"Having these elephants, the wretched Hindus
Became proud, like the Lords of the Elephant;
Yet were they odious and vile as is the evening of death,
Blacker[2057] than night, outnumbering the stars,
All such as fire is[2058] but their heads upraised
In hate, as rises its smoke in the azure sky,
Ant-like they come from right and from left,
Thousands and thousands of horse and foot."
They advanced towards the victorious encampment, intending [Sidenote:
Fol. 319.] to give battle. The holy warriors of Islam, trees in the
garden of valour, moved forward in ranks straight as serried pines and,
like pines uplift their crests to heaven, uplifting their helmet-crests
which shone even as shine the hearts of those _that strive in the way of
the Lord_; their array was like Alexander's iron-wall,[2059] and, as is
the way of the Prophet's Law, straight and firm and strong, _as though
they were a well-compacted building_;[2060] and they became fortunate
and successful in accordance with the saying, _They are directed by
their Lord, and they shall prosper_.[2061]
In that array no rent was frayed by timid souls;
Firm was it as the Shahanshah's resolve, strong as the Faith;
Their standards brushed against the sky;
_Verily we have granted thee certain victory_.[2062]
Obeying the cautions of prudence, we imitated the _ghazis_ of Rum[2063]
by posting matchlockmen (_tufanchian_) and cannoneers (_ra`d-andazan_)
along the line of carts which were chained to one another in front of
us; in fact, Islam's army was so arrayed and so steadfast that primal
Intelligence[2064] and the firmament (_`aql-i-pir u charkh-i-asir_)
applauded the marshalling thereof. To effect this arrangement and
organization, Nizamu'd-din `Ali Khalifa, the pillar of the Imperial
fortune, exerted himself strenuously; his efforts were in accord with
Destiny, and were approved by his sovereign's luminous judgment.
(_d. Commanders of the centre._)
His Majesty's post was in the centre. In the right-hand of the centre
were stationed the illustrious and most upright [Sidenote: Fol. 319b.]
brother, the beloved friend of Destiny, the favoured of Him whose aid is
entreated (_i.e._ God), Chin-timur Sultan,[2065]--the illustrious son,
accepted in the sight of the revered Allah, Sulaiman Shah,[2066]--the
reservoir of sanctity, the way-shower, Khwaja Kamalu'd-din
(Perfect-in-the Faith) Dost-i-khawand,--the trusted of the sultanate, the
abider near the sublime threshold, the close companion, the cream of
associates, Kamalu'd-din Yunas-i-`ali,--the pillar of royal retainers,
the perfect in friendship, Jalalu'd-din (Glory-of-the-Faith) Shah Mansur
_Barlas_,--the pillar of royal retainers, most excellent of servants,
Nizamu'd-din (Upholder-of-the-Faith) Darwish-i-muhammad _Sarban_,--the
pillars of royal retainers, the sincere in fidelity, Shihabu'd-din
(Meteor-of-the-Faith) `Abdu'l-lah the librarian and Nizamu'd-din Dost
Lord-of-the-Gate.
In the left-hand of the centre took each his post, the reservoir of
sovereignty, ally of the Khalifate, object of royal favour, Sultan
`Ala'u'd-din `Alam Khan son of Sl. Bahlul _Ludi_,--the intimate of
illustrious Majesty, the high priest (_dastur_) of _sadrs_ amongst men,
the refuge of all people, the pillar of Islam, Shaikh Zain of
Khawaf,[2067]--the pillar of the nobility, Kamalu'd-din Muhibb-i-`ali,
son of the intimate counsellor named above (_i.e._ Khalifa),--the pillar
of royal retainers, Nizamu'd-din Tardi Beg brother of Quj (son of)
Ahmad, whom God hath taken into His mercy,--Shirafgan [Sidenote: Fol.
320.] son of the above-named Quj Beg deceased,--the pillar of great ones,
the mighty khan, Araish Khan,[2068]--the wazir, greatest of wazirs
amongst men, Khwaja Kamalu'd-din Husain,--and a number of other
attendants at Court (_diwanian_).
(_e. Commanders of the right wing._)
In the right wing was the exalted son, honourable and fortunate, the
befriended of Destiny, the Star of the Sign of sovereignty and success,
Sun of the sphere of the Khalifate, lauded of slave and free, Muhammad
Humayun Bahadur. On that exalted prince's right hand there were, one
whose rank approximates to royalty and who is distinguished by the
favour of the royal giver of gifts, Qasim-i-husain Sultan,--the pillar of
the nobility Nizamu'd-din Ahmad-i-yusuf _Aughlaqchi_,[2069]--the trusted
of royalty, most excellent of servants, Jalalu'd-din Hindu Beg
_quchin_,[2070]--the trusted of royalty, perfect in loyalty, Jalalu'd-din
Khusrau Kukuldash,--the trusted of royalty, Qawam (var. Qiyam) Beg
_Aurdu-shah_,--the pillar of royal retainers, of perfect sincerity, Wali
_Qara-quzi_ the treasurer,[2071]--the pillar of royal retainers,
Nizamu'd-din Pir-quli of Sistan,--the pillar of wazirs, Khwaja
Kamalu'd-din _pahlawan_ (champion) of Badakhshan,--the pillar of royal
retainers, `Abdu'l-shakur,--the pillar of the nobility, most excellent of
servants, the envoy from `Iraq Sulaiman Aqa,--and Husain Aqa the envoy
from Sistan. On [Sidenote: Fol. 320b.] the victory-crowned left of the
fortunate son already named there were, the sayyid of lofty birth, of
the family of Murtiza (`Ali), Mir Hama (or Hama),--the pillar of royal
retainers, the perfect in sincerity, Shamsu'd-din Muhammadi Kukuldash
and Nizamu'd-din Khwajagi Asad _jan-dar_.[2072] In the right wing there
were, of the amirs of Hind,--the pillar of the State, the Khan-of-Khans,
Dilawar Khan,[2073]--the pillar of the nobility, Malik Dad
_Kararani_,--and the pillar of the nobility, the Shaikh-of-shaikhs,
Shaikh Guran, each standing in his appointed place.
(_f. Commanders of the left wing._)
In the left wing of the armies of Islam there extended their ranks,--the
lord of lofty lineage, the refuge of those in authority, the ornament of
the family of _Ta Ha_ and _Ya Sin_,[2074] the model for the descendants
of the prince of ambassadors (Muhammad), Sayyid Mahdi Khwaja,--the
exalted and fortunate brother, the well-regarded of his Majesty,
Muhammad Sl. Mirza,[2075]--the personage approximating to royalty, the
descended of monarchs, `Adil Sultan son of Mahdi Sultan,[2076]--the
trusted in the State, perfect in attachment, `Abdu'l-'aziz Master of the
Horse,--the trusted in the State, the pure in friendship, Shamsu'd-din
Muhammad `Ali _Jang-jang_,[2077]--the pillar of royal retainers,
Jalalu'd-din Qutluq-qadam _qarawal_ (scout),--the pillar of royal
retainers, the perfect in sincerity, Jalalu'd-din Shah Husain _yaragi
Mughul Ghanchi_(?),[2078]--and Nizamu'd-din Jan-i-muhammad _Beg Ataka_.
Of amirs of Hind there were in this division, the scions of sultans,
Kamal Khan and Jamal Khan sons of the Sl. `Ala'u'd-din [Sidenote: Fol.
321.] above-mentioned,--the most excellent officer `Ali Khan Shaikh-zada
of Farmul,--and the pillar of the nobility, Nizam Khan of Biana.
(_g. The flanking parties._)
For the flank-movement (_tulghama_) of the right wing there were posted
two of the most trusted of the household retainers, Tardika[2079] and
Malik Qasim the brother of Baba Qashqa, with a body of Mughuls; for the
flank-movement of the left wing were the two trusted chiefs Mumin Ataka
and Rustam _Turkman_, leading a body of special troops.
(_h. The Chief of the Staff._)
The pillar of royal retainers, the perfect in loyalty, the cream of
privy-counsellors, Nizamu'd-din Sultan Muhammad _Bakhshi_, after posting
the _ghazis_ of Islam, came to receive the royal commands. He despatched
adjutants (_tawachi_) and messengers (_yasawal_) in various directions
to convey imperative orders concerning the marshalling of the troops to
the great sultans and amirs. And when the Commanders had taken up their
positions, an imperative order was given that none should quit his post
or, uncommanded, stretch forth his arm to fight.
(_i. The battle._)
One watch[2080] of the afore-mentioned day had elapsed when the opposing
forces approached each other and the battle began. As Light opposes
Darkness, so did the centres of the two [Sidenote: Fol. 321b.] armies
oppose one another. Fighting began on the right and left wings, such
fighting as shook the Earth and filled highest Heaven with clangour.
The left wing of the ill-fated pagans advanced against the right wing of
the Faith-garbed troops of Islam and charged down on Khusrau Kukuldash
and Baba Qashqa's brother Malik Qasim. The most glorious and most
upright brother Chin-timur Sultan, obeying orders, went to reinforce
them and, engaging in the conflict with bold attack, bore the pagans
back almost to the rear of their centre. Guerdon was made for the
brother's glorious fame.[2081] The marvel of the Age, Mustafa of Rum,
had his post in the centre (of the right wing) where was the exalted
son, upright and fortunate, the object of the favourable regard of
Creative Majesty (_i.e._ God), the one _distinguished by the particular
grace of the mighty Sovereign who commands to do and not to do_ (_i.e._
Babur), Muhammad Humayun Bahadur. This Mustafa of Rum had the carts
(_arabaha_)[2082] brought forward and broke the ranks of pagans with
matchlock and culverin dark like their hearts(?).[2083] In the thick of
the fight, the most glorious brother Qasim-i-husain Sultan and the
pillars of royal retainers, Nizamu'd-din Ahmad-i-yusuf and Qawam Beg,
obeying orders, hastened to their help. And since band after band of
pagan troops followed each other to help their men, so we, in our turn,
sent the trusted in the State, the glory of the Faith, Hindu Beg, and,
after him, the pillars of the nobility, Muhammadi Kukuldash and Khwajagi
Asad _jan-dar_, and, after them, the trusted in [Sidenote: Fol. 322.]
the State, the trustworthy in the resplendent Court, the most
confided-in of nobles, the elect of confidential servants, Yunas-i-'ali,
together with the pillar of the nobility, the perfect in friendship,
Shah Mansur _Barlas_ and the pillar of the grandees, the pure in
fidelity, `Abdu'l-lah the librarian, and after these, the pillar of the
nobles, Dost the Lord-of-the-Gate, and Muhammad Khalil the master-gelder
(_akhta-begi_).[2084]
The pagan right wing made repeated and desperate attack on the left wing
of the army of Islam, falling furiously on the holy warriors, possessors
of salvation, but each time was made to turn back or, smitten with the
arrows of victory, was _made to descend into Hell, the house of
perdition; they shall be thrown to burn therein, and an unhappy dwelling
shall it be_.[2085] Then the trusty amongst the nobles, Mumin Ataka and
Rustam _Turkman_ betook themselves to the rear[2086] of the host of
darkened pagans; and to help them were sent the Commanders Khwaja Mahmud
and `Ali Ataka, servants of him who amongst the royal retainers is near
the throne, the trusted of the Sultanate, Nizamu'd-din `Ali Khalifa.
Our high-born brother[2087] Muhammad Sl. Mirza, and the representative
of royal dignity, `Adil Sultan, and the trusted in the State, the
strengthener of the Faith, `Abdu'l-`aziz, the Master of the Horse, and
the glory of the Faith, Qutluq-qadam _qarawal_, and the meteor of the
Faith, Muhammad `Ali _Jang-jang_, and the pillar of royal retainers,
Shah Husain _yaragi Mughul Ghanchi_(?) stretched out the arm to fight
and stood firm. To support them we sent the _Dastur_, the highest of
wazirs, Khwaja [Sidenote: Fol. 322b.] Kamalu'd-din Husain with a body of
_diwanis_.[2088] Every holy warrior was eager to show his zeal, entering
the fight with desperate joy as if approving the verse, _Say, Do you
expect any other should befall us than one of the two most excellent
things, victory or martyrdom?_[2089] and, with display of life-devotion,
uplifted the standard of life-sacrifice.
As the conflict and battle lasted long, an imperative order was issued
that the special royal corps (_tabinan-i-khasa-i-padshahi_)[2090] who,
heroes of one hue,[2091] were standing, like tigers enchained, behind
the carts,[2092] should go out on the right and the left of the
centre,[2093] leaving the matchlockmen's post in-between, and join
battle on both sides. As the True Dawn emerges from its cleft in the
horizon, so they emerged from behind the carts; they poured a ruddy
crepuscule of the blood of those ill-fated pagans on the nadir of the
Heavens, that battle-field; they made fall from the firmament of
existence many heads of the headstrong, as stars fall from the firmament
of heaven. The marvel of the Age, Ustad `Ali-quli, who with his own
appurtenances stood in front of the centre, did deeds of valour,
discharging against the iron-mantled forts of the infidels[2094] stones
of such size that were (one) put into a scale of the Balance in which
actions are weighed, that _scale shall be heavy with good works and he_
(_i.e._ its owner) _shall lead a pleasing life_[2095]; and were such
stones discharged against a hill, broad of base and high of summit, it
would _become like carded wool_.[2096] Such stones Ustad `Ali-quli
discharged at the iron-clad fortress of the pagan ranks and by this
discharge of stones, and abundance of culverins and matchlocks(?)[2097]
destroyed many of the builded bodies of the [Sidenote: Fol. 323.]
pagans. The matchlockmen of the royal centre, in obedience to orders,
going from behind the carts into the midst of the battle, each one of
them made many a pagan taste of the poison of death. The foot-soldiers,
going into a most dangerous place, made their names to be blazoned
amongst those of the forest-tigers (_i.e._ heroes) of valour and the
champions in the field of manly deeds. Just at this time came an order
from his Majesty the Khaqan that the carts of the centre should be
advanced; and the gracious royal soul (_i.e._ Babur) moved towards the
pagan soldiers, Victory and Fortune on his right, Prestige and Conquest
on his left. On witnessing this event, the victorious troops followed
from all sides; the whole surging ocean of the army rose in mighty
waves; the courage of all the crocodiles[2098] of that ocean was
manifested by the strength of their deeds; an obscuring cloud of dust
o'erspread the sky(?). The dust that gathered over the battle-field was
traversed by the lightning-flashes of the sword; the Sun's face was
shorn of light as is a mirror's back; the striker and the struck, the
victor and the vanquished were commingled, all distinction between them
lost. The Wizard of Time produced such a night that its only planets
were arrows,[2099] its only constellations of fixed stars were the
steadfast squadrons.
Upon that day of battle sank and rose
Blood to the Fish and dust-clouds to the Moon,
While through the horse-hoofs on that spacious plain,
[Sidenote: Fol. 323b.]
One Earth flew up to make another Heaven.[2100]
At the moment when the holy warriors were heedlessly flinging away
their lives, they heard a secret voice say, _Be not dismayed, neither be
grieved, for, if ye believe, ye shall be exalted above the
unbelievers_,[2101] and from the infallible Informer heard the joyful
words, _Assistance is from God, and a speedy victory! And do thou bear
glad tidings to true believers._[2102] Then they fought with such
delight that the plaudits of the saints of the Holy Assembly reached
them and the angels from near the Throne, fluttered round their heads
like moths. Between the first and second Prayers, there was such blaze
of combat that the flames thereof raised standards above the heavens,
and the right and left of the army of Islam rolled back the left and
right of the doomed infidels in one mass upon their centre.
When signs were manifest of the victory of the Strivers and of the
up-rearing of the standards of Islam, those accursed infidels and wicked
unbelievers remained for one hour confounded. At length, their hearts
abandoning life, they fell upon the right and left of our centre. Their
attack on the left was the more vigorous and there they approached
furthest, but the holy warriors, their minds set on the reward, planted
shoots (_nihal_) of arrows in the field of the breast of each one of
them, and, such being their gloomy fate, overthrew them. In this state
of affairs, the breezes of victory and fortune blew over the meadow of
our [Sidenote: Fol. 324.] happy Nawab, and brought the good news,
_Verily we have granted thee a manifest victory_.[2103] And Victory the
beautiful woman (_shahid_) whose world-adornment of waving tresses was
embellished by _God will aid you with a mighty aid_,[2104] bestowed on
us the good fortune that had been hidden behind a veil, and made it a
reality. The absurd (_batil_) Hindus, knowing their position perilous,
_dispersed like carded wool before the wind_, and _like moths scattered
abroad_.[2105] Many fell dead on the field of battle; others, desisting
from fighting, fled to the desert of exile and became the food of crows
and kites. Mounds were made of the bodies of the slain, pillars of their
heads.
(_j. Hindu chiefs killed in the battle._)
Hasan Khan of Miwat was enrolled in the list of the dead by the force of
a matchlock (_zarb-i-tufak_); most of those headstrong chiefs of tribes
were slain likewise, and ended their days by arrow and matchlock (_tir u
tufak_). Of their number was Rawal Udi Singh of Bagar,[2106] ruler
(_wali_) of the Dungarpur country, who had 12,000 horse, Rai Chandraban
_Chuhan_ who had 4,000 horse, Bhupat Rao son of that Salahu'd-din
already mentioned, who was lord of Chandiri and had 6,000 horse,
Manik-chand _Chuhan_ and Dilpat Rao who had each 4,000 horse, Kanku (or
Gangu) and Karm Singh and Dankusi(?)[2107] who had each 3,000 horse, and
a number of others, each one of whom was leader of a great [Sidenote:
Fol. 324b.] command, a splendid and magnificent chieftain. All these
trod the road to Hell, removing from this house of clay to the pit of
perdition. The enemy's country (_daru'l-harb_) was full, as Hell is
full, of wounded who had died on the road. The lowest pit was gorged
with miscreants who had surrendered their souls to the lord of Hell. In
whatever direction one from the army of Islam hastened, he found
everywhere a self-willed one dead; whatever march the illustrious camp
made in the wake of the fugitives, it found no foot-space without its
prostrate foe.
All the Hindus slain, abject (_khwar_, var. _zar_) and mean,
By matchlock-stones, like the Elephants' lords,[2108]
Many hills of their bodies were seen,
And from each hill a fount of running blood.
Dreading the arrows of (our) splendid ranks,
Passed[2109] they in flight to each waste and hill.
They turn their backs. The command of God is to be performed. Now praise
be to God, All-hearing and All-wise, for victory is from God alone, the
Mighty, the Wise.[2110] Written Jumada II. 25th 933 (AH.-March 29th 1527
A.D.).[2111]
MINOR SEQUELS OF VICTORY.
(_a. Babur assumes the title of Ghazi._)
After this success _Ghazi_ (Victor in a Holy-war) was written amongst
the royal titles.
Below the titles (_tughra_)[2112] entered on the _Fath-nama_, I wrote
the following quatrain:--[2113]
For Islam's sake, I wandered in the wilds,
Prepared for war with pagans and Hindus,
Resolved myself to meet the martyr's death. [Sidenote: Fol. 325.]
Thanks be to God! a _ghazi_ I became.
(_b. Chronograms of the victory._)
Shaikh Zain had found (_tapib aidi_) the words
_Fath-i-padshah-i-islam_[2114] (Victory of the Padshah of the Faith) to
be a chronogram of the victory. Mir Gesu, one of the people come from
Kabul, had also found these same words to be a chronogram, had composed
them in a quatrain and sent this to me. It was a coincidence that Shaikh
Zain and Mir Gesu should bring forward precisely the same words in the
quatrains they composed to embellish their discoveries.[2115] Once
before when Shaikh Zain found the date of the victory at Dibalpur in the
words _Wasat-i-shahr Rabi`u'l-awwal_[2116] (Middle of the month Rabi`
I.), Mir Gesu had found it in the very same words.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE RESUMED.
(_a. After the victory._)
The foes beaten, we hurried them off, dismounting one after another. The
Pagan's encirclement[2117] may have been 2 _kurohs_ from our camp
(_aurdu_); when we reached his camp (_aurdu_), we sent Muhammadi,
`Abdu'l-`aziz, `Ali Khan and some others in pursuit of him. There was a
little slackness;[2118] I ought to have gone myself, and not have left
the matter to what I expected from other people. When I had gone as much
as a _kuroh_ (2 m.) beyond the Pagan's camp, I turned back because it
was late in the day; I came to our camp at the Bed-time Prayer.
With what ill-omened words Muhammad Sharif the astrologer had fretted
me! Yet he came at once to congratulate me! I emptied my inwards[2119]
in abuse of him, but, spite of his being heathenish, ill-omened of
speech, extremely self-satisfied, and a most disagreeable person, I
bestowed a _lak_ upon him because there had been deserving service from
him in former times, and, [Sidenote: Fol. 325b.] after saying he was not
to stay in my dominions, I gave him leave to go.
(_b. Suppression of a rebellion._)
(_March 17th_) We remained next day (_Jumada II. 14th_) on that
same ground. Muhammad `Ali _Jang-jang_ and Shaikh Guran and
`Abdu'l-malik[2120] the armourer were sent off with a dense (_qalin_)
army against Ilias Khan who, having rebelled in Between-the-two-waters
(Ganges and Jumna), had taken Kul (Koel) and made Kichik `Ali
prisoner.[2121] He could not fight when they came up; his force
scattered in all directions; he himself was taken a few days later and
brought into Agra where I had him flayed alive.
(_c. A trophy of victory._)
An order was given to set up a pillar of pagan heads on the infant-hill
(_koh-bacha_) between which and our camp the battle had been fought.
(_d. Biana visited._)
(_March 20th_) Marching on from that ground, and after halting on two
nights, we reached Biana (_Sunday_, _Jumada II. 17th_). Countless
numbers of the bodies of pagans and apostates[2122] who had fallen in
their flight, lay on the road as far as Biana, indeed as far as Alur and
Miwat.[2123]
(_e. Discussion of plans._)
On our return to camp, I summoned the Turk amirs and the amirs of Hind
to a consultation about moving into the Pagan (Sanga)'s country; the
plan was given up because of the little water and much heat on the road.
(_f. Miwat._)
Near Dihli lies the Miwat country which yields revenue of 3 or 4
_krurs_.[2124] Hasan Khan _Miwati_[2125] and his ancestors one after
another had ruled it with absolute sway for a hundred years or two. They
must have made[2126] imperfect submission to the Dihli Sultans; the
Sultans of Hind,[2127] whether because their [Sidenote: Fol. 326.] own
dominions were wide, or because their opportunity was narrow, or because
of the Miwat hill-country,[2128] did not turn in the Miwat direction,
did not establish order in it, but just put up with this amount of
(imperfect) submission. For our own part, we did after the fashion of
earlier Sultans; having conquered Hind, we shewed favour to Hasan Khan,
but that thankless and heathenish apostate disregarded our kindness and
benefits, was not grateful for favour and promotion, but became the
mover of all disturbance and the cause of all misdoing.
When, as has been mentioned, we abandoned the plan (against Rana Sanga),
we moved to subdue Miwat. Having made 4 night-halts on the way, we
dismounted on the bank of the Manas-ni[2129] 6 _kurohs_ (12 m.) from
Alur, the present seat of government in Miwat. Hasan Khan and his
forefathers must have had their seat[2130] in Tijara, but when I turned
towards Hindustan, beat Pahar (or Bihar) Khan and took Lahor and
Dibalpur (930 AH.-1524 AD.), he bethought himself betimes and busied
himself for a residence (_`imarat_) in Fort Alur (Alwar).
His trusted man, Karm-chand by name, who had come from him to me in Agra
when his son (Nahar _i.e._ Tiger) was with me there,[2131] came now from
that son's presence in Alur and asked [Sidenote: Fol. 326b.] for peace.
`Abdu'r-rahim _shaghawal_ went with him to Alur, conveying letters of
royal favour, and returned bringing Nahar Khan who was restored to
favour and received _parganas_ worth several _laks_ for his support.
(_g. Rewards to officers._)
Thinking, "What good work Khusrau did in the battle!" I named him for
Alur and gave him 50 _laks_ for his support, but unluckily for himself,
he put on airs and did not accept this. Later on it [_khwud_, itself]
came to be known that Chin-timur must have done[2132] that work; guerdon
was made him for his renown(?);[2133] Tijara-town, the seat of
government in Miwat, was bestowed on him together with an allowance of
50 _laks_ for his support.
Alur and an allowance of 15 _laks_ was bestowed on Tardika (or, Tardi
_yakka_) who in the flanking-party of the right-hand (_qul_) had done
better than the rest. The contents of the Alur treasury were bestowed on
Humayun.
(_h. Alwar visited._)
(_April 13th_) Marching from that camp on Wednesday the 1st of the month
of Rajab, we came to within 2 _kurohs_ (4 m.) of Alur. I went to see the
fort, there spent the night, and next day went back to camp.
(_i. Leave given to various followers._)
When the oath before-mentioned[2134] was given to great and small before
the Holy-battle with Rana Sanga, it had been mentioned[2135] that there
would be nothing to hinder leave after [Sidenote: Fol. 327.] this
victory, and that leave would be given to anyone wishing to go away
(from Hindustan). Most of Humayun's men were from Badakhshan or
elsewhere on that side (of Hindu-kush); they had never before been of an
army led out for even a month or two; there had been weakness amongst
them before the fight; on these accounts and also because Kabul was
empty of troops, it was now decided to give Humayun leave for Kabul.
(_April 11th_) Leaving the matter at this, we marched from Alur on
Thursday the 9th of Rajab, did 4 or 5 _kurohs_ (8-10 m.) and dismounted
on the bank of the Manas-water.
Mahdi Khwaja also had many discomforts; he too was given leave for
Kabul. The military-collectorate of Biana [he held] was bestowed on Dost
Lord-of-the-gate, and, as previously Etawa had been named for Mahdi
Khwaja,[2136] Mahdi Khwaja's son Ja`far Khwaja was sent there in his
father's place when (later) Qutb Khan abandoned it and went off.[2137]
(_j. Despatch of the Letter-of-victory._)
Because of the leave given to Humayun, two or three days were spent on
this ground. From it Mumin-i-`ali the messenger (_tawachi_) was sent off
for Kabul with the _Fath-nama_.
(_k. Excursions and return to Agra._)
Praise had been heard of the Firuzpur-spring and of the great lake of
Kutila.[2138] Leaving the camp on that same ground, I rode out on Sunday
(_Rajab 12th-April 14th_) both to visit [Sidenote: Fol. 327b.] these
places and to set Humayun on his way. After visiting Firuzpur and its
spring on that same day, _ma'jun_ was eaten. In the valley where the
spring rises, oleanders (_kanir_) were in bloom; the place is not
without charm but is over-praised. I ordered a reservoir of hewn stone,
10 by 10[2139] to be made where the water widened, spent the night in
that valley, next day rode on and visited the Kutila lake. It is
surrounded by mountain-skirts. The Manas-ni is heard-say to go into
it.[2140] It is a very large lake, from its one side the other side is
not well seen. In the middle of it is rising ground. At its sides are
many small boats, by going off in which the villagers living near it are
said to escape from any tumult or disturbance. Even on our arrival a few
people went in them to the middle of the lake.
On our way back from the lake, we dismounted in Humayun's camp. There we
rested and ate food, and after having put robes of honour on him and his
begs, bade him farewell at the Bed-time Prayer, and rode on. We slept
for a little at some place on the road, at shoot of day passed through
the _pargana_ of Khari, again slept a little, and at length got to our
camp which had dismounted at Toda-(bhim).[2141] After leaving Toda, we
dismounted at Sunkar; there Hasan Khan _Miwati's_ son [Sidenote: Fol.
328.] Nahar Khan escaped from `Abdu'r-rahim's charge.
Going on from that place, we halted one night, then dismounted at a
spring situated on the bill of a mountain between Busawar and
Chausa[2142] (or Jusa); there awnings were set up and we committed the
sin of _ma'jun_. When the army had passed by this spring, Tardi Beg
_khaksar_ had praised it; he (or we) had come and seen it from on
horse-back (_sar-asbgi_) and passed on. It is a perfect spring. In
Hindustan where there are never running-waters,[2143] people seek out
the springs themselves. The rare springs that are found, come oozing
drop by drop (_ab-zih_) out of the ground, not bubbling up like springs
of those lands.[2144] From this spring comes about a half-mill-water. It
bubbles up on the hill-skirt; meadows lie round it; it is very
beautiful. I ordered an octagonal reservoir of hewn stone made
above[2145] it. While we were at the border of the spring, under the
soothing influence of _ma'jun_, Tardi Beg, contending for its surpassing
beauty, said again and again, (_Persian_) "Since I am celebrating the
beauty of the place,[2146] a name ought to be settled for it".
`Abdu'l-lah said, "It must be called the Royal-spring approved of by
Tardi Beg." This saying caused much joke and laughter.
Dost Lord-of-the-gate coming up from Biana, waited on me at this
spring-head. Leaving this place, we visited Biana again, [Sidenote: Fol.
328b.] went on to Sikri, dismounted there at the side of a garden which
had been ordered made, stayed two days supervising the garden, and on
Thursday the 23rd of Rajab (_April 25th_), reached Agra.
(_l. Chandwar and Rapri regained._)
During recent disturbances, the enemy, as has been mentioned,[2147] had
possessed themselves of Chandwar[2148] and Rapri. Against those places
we now sent Muhammad `Ali _Jang-jang_, Quj Beg's (brother) Tardi Beg,
`Abdu'l-malik the armourer, and Hasan Khan with his Darya-khanis. When
they were near Chandwar, Qutb Khan's people in it got out and away. Our
men laid hands on it, and passed on to Rapri. Here Husain Khan
_Nuhani's_ people came to the lane-end[2149] thinking to fight a little,
could not stand the attack of our men, and took to flight. Husain Khan
himself with a few followers went into the Jun-river (Jumna) on an
elephant and was drowned. Qutb Khan, for his part, abandoned Etawa on
hearing these news, fled with a few and got away. Etawa having been
named for Mahdi Khwaja, his son Ja`far Khwaja was sent there in his
place.[2150]
(_m. Apportionment of fiefs._)
When Rana Sanga sallied out against us, most Hindustanis and Afghans, as
has been mentioned,[2151] turned round against us and took possession of
their _parganas_ and districts.[2152]
Sl. Muhammad _Duldai_ who had abandoned Qanuj and come [Sidenote: Fol.
329.] to me, would not agree to go there again, whether from fear or for
his reputation's sake; he therefore exchanged the 30 _laks_ of Qanuj for
the 15 of Sihrind, and Qanuj was bestowed with an allowance of 30 _laks_
on Muhammad Sl. Mirza. Badaun[2153] was given to Qasim-i-husain Sultan
and he was sent against Biban who had laid siege to Luknur[2154] during
the disturbance with Rana Sanga, together with Muhammad Sl. Mirza, and,
of Turk amirs, Baba Qashqa's Malik Qasim with his elder and younger
brethren and his Mughuls, and Abu'l-muhammad the lance-player, and
Mu'yad with his father's Darya-khanis and those of Husain Khan
_Darya-khani_ and the retainers of Sl. Muhammad _Duldai_, and again, of
amirs of Hind, `Ali Khan _Farmuli_ and Malik Dad _Kararani_ and Shaikh
Muhammad of Shaikh _Bhakhari_(?) and Tatar Khan Khan-i-jahan.
At the time this army was crossing the Gang-river (Ganges), Biban,
hearing about it, fled, abandoning his baggage. Our army followed him to
Khairabad,[2155] stayed there a few days and then turned back.
(_n. Appointments and dispersion for the Rains._)
After the treasure had been shared out,[2156] Rana Sanga's great affair
intervened before districts and _parganas_ were apportioned. During the
respite now from Holy-war against the Pagan (Sanga), this apportionment
was made. As the Rains were near, it was settled for every-one to go to
his _pargana_, get equipment [Sidenote: Fol. 329b.] ready, and be
present when the Rains were over.
(_o. Misconduct of Humayun._)
Meantime news came that Humayun had gone into Dihli, there opened
several treasure-houses and, without permission, taken possession of
their contents. I had never looked for such a thing from him; it grieved
me very much; I wrote and sent off to him very severe reproaches.[2157]
(_p. An embassy to `Iraq._)
Khwajagi Asad who had already gone as envoy to `Iraq and returned with
Sulaiman _Turkman_,[2158] was again joined with him and on the 15th of
Sha`ban (_May 17th_) sent with befitting gifts to Shah-zada Tahmasp.
(_q. Tardi Beg khaksar resigns service._)
I had brought Tardi Beg out from the darwish-life and made a soldier of
him; for how many years had he served me! Now his desire for the
darwish-life was overmastering and he asked for leave. It was given and
he was sent as an envoy to Kamran conveying 3 _laks_ from the Treasury
for him.[2159]
(_r. Lines addressed to deserting friends._)
A little fragment[2160] had been composed suiting the state of those who
had gone away during the past year; I now addressed it to Mulla `Ali
Khan and sent it to him by Tardi Beg. It is as follows:--[2161]
Ah you who have gone from this country of Hind,
[Sidenote: Fol. 330.] Aware for yourselves of its woe and its pain,
With longing desire for Kabul's fine air,
You went hot-foot forth out of Hind.
The pleasure you looked for you will have found there
With sociable ease and charm and delight;
As for us, God be thanked! we still are alive,
In spite of much pain and unending distress;
Pleasures of sense and bodily toil
Have been passed-by by you, passed-by too by us.
(_s. Of the Ramzan Feast._)
Ramzan was spent this year with ablution and _tarawih_[2162] in the
Garden-of-eight-paradises. Since my 11th year I had not kept the Ramzan
Feast for two successive years in the same place; last year I had kept
it in Agra; this year, saying, "Don't break the rule!" I went on the
last day of the month to keep it in Sikri. Tents were set up on a stone
platform made on the n.e. side of the Garden-of-victory which is now
being laid out at Sikri, and in them the Feast was held.[2163]
(_t. Playing cards._)
The night we left Agra Mir `Ali the armourer was sent to Shah Hasan
(_Arghun_) in Tatta to take him playing-cards [_ganjifa_] he much liked
and had asked for.[2164]
(_u. Illness and a tour._)
(_August 3rd_) On Sunday the 5th of Zu'l-qa`da I fell ill; the illness
lasted 17 days.
(_August 24th_) On Friday the 24th of the same month we set out to visit
Dulpur. That night I slept at a place half-way; [Sidenote: Fol. 330b.]
reached Sikandar's dam[2165] at dawn, and dismounted there.
At the end of the hill below the dam the rock is of building-stone. I
had Ustad Shah Muhammad the stone-cutter brought and gave him an order
that if a house could be cut all in one piece in that rock, it was to be
done, but that if the rock were too low for a residence (_`imarat_), it
was to be levelled and have a reservoir, all in one piece, cut out of
it.
From Dulpur we went on to visit Bari. Next morning (_August 26th_) I
rode out from Bari through the hills between it and the Chambal-river in
order to view the river. This done I went back to Bari. In these hills
we saw the ebony-tree, the fruit of which people call _tindu_. It is
said that there are white ebony-trees also and that most ebony-trees in
these hills are of this kind.[2166] On leaving Bari we went to Sikri; we
reached Agra on the 29th of the same month (_August 28th_).
(_v. Doubts about Shaikh Bayazid Farmuli._)
As in these days people were telling wild news about Shaikh Bayazid, Sl.
Quli _Turk_ was sent to him to give him tryst[2167] in 20 days.
(_w. Religious and metrical exercises._)
(_August 28th_) On Friday the 2nd of Zu'l-hijja I began what one is made
to read 41 times.[2168]
In these same days I cut up [_taqti`_] the following couplet of mine
into 504 measures[2169]:--
"Shall I tell of her eye or her brow, her fire or her speech?
Shall I tell of her stature or cheek, of her hair or her waist?"
On this account a treatise[2170] was arranged.
(_x. Return of illness._)
[Sidenote: Fol. 331.] On this day (_i.e._ 2nd Zu'l-hijja) I fell ill
again; the illness lasted nine days.
(_y. Start for Sambal._)
(_Sep. 24th_) On Thursday the 29th of Zu'l-hijja we rode out for an
excursion to Kul and Sambal.
934 AH.-SEP. 27TH 1527 TO SEP. 15TH 1528 AD.[2171]
(_a. Visit to Kul (Aligarh) and Sambal._)
(_Sep. 27th_) On Saturday the 1st of Muharram we dismounted in Kul
(Koel). Humayun had left Darwish(-i-`ali) and Yusuf-i-`ali[2172] in
Sambal; they crossed one river,[2173] fought Qutb _Sirwani_[2174] and a
party of rajas, beat them well and killed a mass of men. They sent a few
heads and an elephant into Kul while we were there. After we had gone
about Kul for two days, we dismounted at Shaikh Guran's house by his
invitation, where he entertained us hospitably and laid an offering
before us.
(_Sep. 30th-Muh. 4th_) Riding on from that place, we dismounted at
Autruli (Atrauli).[2175]
(_Oct. 1st-Muh. 5th_) On Wednesday we crossed the river Gang (Ganges)
and spent the night in villages of Sambal.
(_Oct. 2nd-Muh. 6th_) On Thursday we dismounted in Sambal. After going
about in it for two days, we left on Saturday.
(_Oct. 5th-Muh. 9th_) On Sunday we dismounted in Sikandara[2176]
at the house of Rao _Sirwani_ who set food before us and served us.
When we rode out at dawn, I made some pretext to leave the rest, and
galloped on alone to within a _kuroh_ of Agra where they overtook me. At
the Mid-day Prayer we dismounted in Agra.
(_b. Illness of Babur._)
(_Oct. 12th_) On Sunday the 16th of Muharram I had fever and ague. This
returned again and again during the next 25 or 26 days. I drank
operative medicine and at last relief came. I suffered much from thirst
and want of sleep.
[Sidenote: Fol. 331b.] While I was ill, I composed a quatrain or two;
here is one of them:--[2177]
Fever grows strong in my body by day,
Sleep quits my eyes as night comes on;
Like to my pain and my patience the pair,
For while that goes waxing, this wanes.
(_c. Arrival of kinswomen._)
(_Nov. 23rd_) On Saturday the 28th of Safar there arrived two of the
paternal-aunt begims, Fakhr-i-jahan Begim and Khadija-sultan
Begim.[2178] I went to above Sikandarabad to wait on them.[2179]
(_d. Concerning a mortar._)
(_Nov. 24th-Safar 29th_) On Sunday Ustad `Ali-quli discharged a stone
from a large mortar; the stone went far but the mortar broke in pieces,
one of which, knocking down a party of men, killed eight.
(_e. Visit to Sikri._)
(_Dec. 1st_) On Monday the 7th of the first Rabi` I rode out to visit
Sikri. The octagonal platform ordered made in the middle of the lake was
ready; we went over by boat, had an awning set up on it and elected for
_ma'jun_.
(_f. Holy-war against Chandiri._)
(_Dec. 9th_) After returning from Sikri we started on Monday night the
14th of the first Rabi`,[2180] with the intention of making Holy-war
against Chandiri, did as much as 3 _kurohs_ (6 m.) and dismounted in
Jalisir.[2181] After staying there two days for people to equip and
array, we marched on Thursday (_Dec. 12th-Rabi` I. 17th_) and dismounted
at Anwar. I left Anwar by boat, and disembarked beyond Chandwar.[2182]
(_Dec. 23rd_) Advancing march by march, we dismounted at the
Kanar-passage[2183] on Monday the 28th.
(_Dec. 26th_) On Thursday the 2nd of the latter Rabi` I crossed the
river; there was 4 or 5 days delay on one bank or the other before the
army got across. On those days we went more than [Sidenote: Fol. 332.]
once on board a boat and ate _ma'jun_. The junction of the river Chambal
is between one and two _kurohs_ (2-4 m.) above the Kanar-passage; on
Friday I went into a boat on the Chambal, passed the junction and so to
camp.
(_g. Troops sent against Shaikh Bayazid Farmuli._)
Though there had been no clear proof of Shaikh Bayazid's hostility, yet
his misconduct and action made it certain that he had hostile
intentions. On account of this Muhammad `Ali _Jang-jang_ was detached
from the army and sent to bring together from Qanuj Muhammad Sl. Mirza
and the sultans and amirs of that neighbourhood, such as Qasim-i-husain
Sultan, Bi-khub (or, Ni-khub) Sultan, Malik Qasim, Kuki, Abu'l-muhammad
the lancer, and Minuchihr Khan with his elder and younger brethren and
Darya-khanis, so that they might move against the hostile Afghans. They
were to invite Shaikh Bayazid to go with them; if he came frankly, they
were to take him along; if not, were to drive him off. Muhammad `Ali
asking for a few elephants, ten were given him. After he had leave to
set off, Baba Chuhra (the Brave) was sent to and ordered to join him.
(_h. Incidents of the journey to Chandiri._)
From Kanar one _kuroh_ (2 m.) was done by boat.
(_Jan. 1st 1528 AD._) On Wednesday the 8th of the latter Rabi` we
dismounted within a _kuroh_ of Kalpi. Baba Sl. came to wait on me in
this camp; he is a son of Khalil Sl. who is a younger brother of the
full-blood of Sl. Sa`id Khan. Last [Sidenote: Fol. 332b.] year he fled
from his elder brother[2184] but, repenting himself, went back from the
Andar-ab border; when he neared Kashghar, The Khan (Sa`id) sent Haidar
M. to meet him and take him back.
(_Jan. 2nd-Rabi` II. 9th_) Next day we dismounted at `Alam Khan's house
in Kalpi where he set Hindustani food before us and made an offering.
(_Jan. 6th_) On Monday the 13th of the month we marched from Kalpi.
(_Jan. 10th-Rabi` II. 17th_) On Friday we dismounted at Irij.[2185]
(_Jan. 11th_) On Saturday we dismounted at Bandir.[2186]
(_Jan. 12th_) On Sunday the 19th of the month Chin-timur Sl. was put at
the head of 6 or 7000 men and sent ahead against Chandiri. With him went
the begs Baqi _ming-bashi_ (head of a thousand), Quj Beg's (brother)
Tardi Beg, `Ashiq the taster, Mulla Apaq, Muhsin[2187] _Duldai_ and, of
the Hindustani begs, Shaikh Guran.
(_Jan 17th_) On Friday the 24th of the month we dismounted near Kachwa.
After encouraging its people, it was bestowed on the son of
Badru'd-din.[2188]
Kachwa[2189] is a shut-in place, having lowish hills all round it. A
dam has been thrown across between hills on the south-east of it, and
thus a large lake made, perhaps 5 or 6 _kurohs_ (10-12 m.) round. This
lake encloses Kachwa on three sides; on the north-west a space of ground
is kept dry;[2190] here, therefore is its Gate. On the lake are a great
many very small boats, able to hold 3 or 4 persons; in these the
inhabitants go out on the lake, if they have to flee. There are two
other lakes before Kachwa is [Sidenote: Fol. 333.] reached, smaller than
its own and, like that, made by throwing a dam across between hills.
(_Jan. 18th_) We waited a day in Kachwa in order to appoint active
overseers and a mass of spadesmen to level the road and cut jungle down,
so that the carts and mortar[2191] might pass along it easily. Between
Kachwa and Chandiri the country is jungly.
(_Jan. 19th-Rabi` II. 26th_) After leaving Kachwa we halted one night,
passed the Burhanpur-water (Bhuranpur)[2192] and dismounted within 3
_kurohs_ (6 m.) of Chandiri.
(_i. Chandiri and its capture._)
The citadel of Chandiri stands on a hill; below it are the town
(_shahr_) and outer-fort (_tash-qurghan_), and below these is the level
road along which carts pass.[2193] When we left Burhanpur (_Jan. 10th_)
we marched for a _kuroh_ below Chandiri for the convenience of the
carts.[2194]
(_Jan. 21st_) After one night's halt we dismounted beside Bahjat Khan's
tank[2195] on the top of its dam, on Tuesday the 28th of the month.
(_Jan. 22nd-Rabi` II. 29th_) Riding out at dawn, we assigned post after
post (_buljar_, _buljar_),[2196] round the walled town (_qurghan_) to
centre, right, and left. Ustad `Ali-quli chose, for his stone-discharge,
ground that had no fall[2197]; overseers and spadesmen were told off to
raise a place (_m:ljar_) for the mortar to rest on, and the whole army
was ordered to get ready appliances for taking a fort, mantelets,
ladders[2198] and ... -mantelets (_tura_).[2199]
Formerly Chandiri will have belonged to the Sultans of Mandau (Mandu).
When Sl. Nasiru'd-din passed away,[2200] one [Sidenote: Fol. 333b.] of
his sons Sl. Mahmud who is now holding Mandu, took possession of it and
its neighbouring parts, and another son called Muhammad Shah laid hands
on Chandiri and put it under Sl. Sikandar _(Ludi)'s_ protection, who, in
his turn, took Muhammad Shah's side and sent him large forces. Muhammad
Shah survived Sl. Sikandar and died in Sl. Ibrahim's time, leaving a
very young son called Ahmad Shah whom Sl. Ibrahim drove out and replaced
by a man of his own. At the time Rana Sanga led out an army against Sl.
Ibrahim and Ibrahim's begs turned against him at Dulpur, Chandiri fell
into the Rana's hands and by him was given to Medini [Mindni] Rao[2201]
the greatly-trusted pagan who was now in it with 4 or 5000 other pagans.
As it was understood there was friendship between Medini Rao and Araish
Khan, the latter was sent with Shaikh Guran to speak to Medini Rao with
favour and kindness, and promise Shamsabad[2202] in exchange for
Chandiri. One or two of his trusted men got out(?).[2203] No adjustment
of matters was reached, it is not known whether because Medini Rao did
not trust what was said, or whether because he was buoyed up by delusion
about the strength of the fort.
(_Jan. 28th_) At dawn on Tuesday the 6th of the first Jumada we marched
from Bahjat Khan's tank intending to assault Chandiri. We dismounted at
the side of the middle-tank near [Sidenote: Fol. 334.] the fort.
(_j. Bad news._)
On this same morning after reaching that ground, Khalifa brought a
letter or two of which the purport was that the troops appointed for the
East[2204] had fought without consideration, been beaten, abandoned
Laknau, and gone to Qanuj. Seeing that Khalifa was much perturbed and
alarmed by these news, I said,[2205] (_Persian_) "There is no ground for
perturbation or alarm; nothing comes to pass but what is predestined of
God. As this task (Chandiri) is ahead of us, not a breath must be drawn
about what has been told us. Tomorrow we will assault the fort; that
done, we shall see what comes."
(_k. Siege of Chandiri, resumed._)
The enemy must have strengthened just the citadel, and have posted men
by twos and threes in the outer-fort for prudence' sake. That night our
men went up from all round; those few in the outer-fort did not fight;
they fled into the citadel.
(_Jan. 29th_) At dawn on Wednesday the 7th of the first Jumada, we
ordered our men to arm, go to their posts, provoke to fight, and attack
each from his place when I rode out with drum and standard.
I myself, dismissing drum and standard till the fighting should grow
hot, went to amuse myself by watching Ustad `Ali-quli's
stone-discharge.[2206] Nothing was effected by it because his ground had
no fall (_yaghda_) and because the fort-walls, being entirely [Sidenote:
Fol. 334b.] of stone, were extremely strong.
That the citadel of Chandiri stands on a hill has been said already.
Down one side of this hill runs a double-walled road (_du-tahi_) to
water.[2207] This is the one place for attack; it had been assigned as
the post of the right and left hands and royal corps of the
centre.[2208] Hurled though assault was from every side, the greatest
force was here brought to bear. Our braves did not turn back, however
much the pagans threw down stones and flung flaming fire upon them. At
length Shahim the centurion[2209] got up where the _du-tahi_ wall
touches the wall of the outer fort; braves swarmed up in other places;
the _du-tahi_ was taken.
Not even as much as this did the pagans fight in the citadel; when a
number of our men swarmed up, they fled in haste.[2210] In a little
while they came out again, quite naked, and renewed the fight; they put
many of our men to flight; they made them fly (_auchurdilar_) over the
ramparts; some they cut down and killed. Why they had gone so suddenly
off the walls seems to have been that they had taken the resolve of
those who give up a place as lost; they put all their ladies and
beauties (_suratilar_) to death, then, looking themselves to die, came
naked out to fight. Our men attacking, each one from his post, drove
[Sidenote: Fol. 335.] them from the walls whereupon 2 or 300 of them
entered Medini Rao's house and there almost all killed one another in
this way:--one having taken stand with a sword, the rest eagerly
stretched out the neck for his blow.[2211] Thus went the greater number
to hell.
By God's grace this renowned fort was captured in 2 or 3 _garis_[2212]
(_cir._ an hour), without drum and standard,[2213] with no hard fighting
done. A pillar of pagan-heads was ordered set up on a hill north-west of
Chandiri. A chronogram of this victory having been found in the words
_Fath-i-daru'l-harb_[2214] (Conquest of a hostile seat), I thus composed
them:--
Was for awhile the station Chandiri
Pagan-full, the seat of hostile force;
By fighting, I vanquished its fort,
The date was _Fath-i-daru'l-harb_.
(_l. Further description of Chandiri._)
Chandiri is situated (in) rather good country,[2215] having much
running-water round about it. Its citadel is on a hill and inside it
has a tank cut out of the solid rock. There is another large tank[2216]
at the end of the _du-tahi_ by assaulting which the fort was taken. All
houses in Chandiri, whether of high or low, are built of stone, those of
chiefs being laboriously carved;[2217] those of the lower classes are
also of stone but are not carved. They are covered in [Sidenote: Fol.
335b.] with stone-slabs instead of with earthen tiles. In front of the
fort are three large tanks made by former governors who threw dams
across and made tanks round about it; their ground lies high.[2218] It
has a small river (_daryacha_), Betwa[2219] by name, which may be some 3
_kurohs_ (6 m.) from Chandiri itself; its water is noted in Hindustan as
excellent and pleasant drinking. It is a perfect little river
(_darya-ghina_). In its bed lie piece after piece of sloping rock
(_qialar_)[2220] fit for making houses.[2221] Chandiri is 90 _kurohs_
(180 m.) by road to the south of Agra. In Chandiri the altitude of the
Pole-star (?) is 25 degrees.[2222]
(_m. Enforced change of campaign._)
(_Jan. 30th-Jumada I. 8th_) At dawn on Thursday we went round the fort
and dismounted beside Mallu Khan's tank.[2223]
We had come to Chandiri meaning, after taking it, to move against
Raising, Bhilsan, and Sarangpur, pagan lands dependent on the pagan
Salahu'd-din, and, these taken, to move on Rana Sanga in Chitur. But as
that bad news had come, the begs were summoned, matters were discussed,
and decision made that the proper course was first to see to the
rebellion of those malignants. Chandiri was given to the Ahmad Shah
already mentioned, a grandson of Sl. Nasiru'd-din; 50 _laks_ from it
were made _khalsa_;[2224] Mulla Apaq was entrusted with its
military-collectorate, and left to reinforce Ahmad Shah with from 2 to
3000 Turks and Hindustanis.
[Sidenote: Fol. 336.] (_Feb. 2nd_) This work finished, we marched from
Mallu Khan's tank on Sunday the 11th of the first Jumada, with the
intention of return (north), and dismounted on the bank of the
Burhanpur-water.
(_Feb. 9th_) On Sunday again, Yakka Khwaja and Ja`far Khwaja were sent
from Bandir to fetch boats from Kalpi to the Kanar-passage.
(_Feb. 22nd_) On Saturday the 24th of the month we dismounted at the
Kanar-passage, and ordered the army to begin to cross.
(_n. News of the rebels._)
News came in these days that the expeditionary force[2225] had abandoned
Qanuj also and come to Rapri, and that a strong body of the enemy had
assaulted and taken Shamsabad although Abu'l-muhammad the lancer must
have strengthened it.[2226] There was delay of 3 or 4 days on one side
or other of the river before the army got across. Once over, we moved
march by march towards Qanuj, sending scouting braves (_qazaq yigitlar_)
ahead to get news of our opponents. Two or three marches from Qanuj,
news was brought that Ma`ruf's son had fled on seeing the dark mass of
the news-gatherers, and got away. Biban, Bayazid and Ma`ruf, on hearing
news of us, crossed Gang (Ganges) and seated themselves on its eastern
bank opposite Qanuj, thinking to prevent our passage.
(_o. A bridge made over the Ganges._)
(_Feb. 27th_) On Thursday the 6th of the latter Jumada we passed Qanuj
and dismounted on the western bank of Gang. Some of the braves went up
and down the river and took boats [Sidenote: Fol. 336b.] by force,[2227]
bringing in 30 or 40, large or small. Mir Muhammad the raftsman was sent
to find a place convenient for making a bridge and to collect requisites
for making it. He came back approving of a place about a _kuroh_ (2 m.)
below the camp. Energetic overseers were told off for the work. Ustad
`Ali-quli placed the mortar for his stone-discharge near where the
bridge was to be and shewed himself active in discharging it. Mustafa
_Rumi_ had the culverin-carts crossed over to an island below the place
for the bridge, and from that island began a culverin-discharge.
Excellent matchlock fire was made from a post[2228] raised above the
bridge. Malik Qasim _Mughul_ and a very few men went across the river
once or twice and fought excellently (_yakhshilar aurushtilar_). With
equal boldness Baba Sl. and Darwish Sl. also crossed, but went with the
insufficient number of from 10 to 15 men; they went after the Evening
Prayer and came back without fighting, with nothing done; they were much
blamed for this crossing of theirs. At last Malik Qasim, grown bold,
attacked the enemy's camp and, by shooting arrows into it, drew him out
(?);[2229] he came with a mass of men and an elephant, fell on Malik
Qasim and hurried him off. Malik Qasim got into a boat, but before it
could put off, the elephant [Sidenote: Fol. 337.] came up and swamped
it. In that encounter Malik Qasim died.
In the days before the bridge was finished Ustad `Ali-quli did good
things in stone-discharge (_yakhshilar tash aiti_), on the first day
discharging 8 stones, on the second 16, and going on equally well for 3
or 4 days. These stones he discharged from the Ghazi-mortar which is
so-called because it was used in the battle with Rana Sanga the pagan.
There had been another and larger mortar which burst after discharging
one stone.[2230] The matchlockmen made a mass (_qalin_) of discharges,
bringing down many men and horses; they shot also slave-workmen running
scared away (?) and men and horses passing-by.[2231]
(_March 11th_) On Wednesday the 19th of the latter Jumada the bridge
being almost finished, we marched to its head. The Afghans must have
ridiculed the bridge-making as being far from completion.[2232]
(_March 12th_) The bridge being ready on Thursday, a small body of
foot-soldiers and Lahoris went over. Fighting as small followed.
(_p. Encounter with the Afghans._)
(_March 13th_) On Friday the royal corps, and the right and left hands
of the centre crossed on foot. The whole body of Afghans, armed,
mounted, and having elephants with them, attacked us. They hurried off
our men of the left hand, but our centre itself (_i.e._ the royal corps)
and the right hand stood [Sidenote: Fol. 337b.] firm, fought, and forced
the enemy to retire. Two men from these divisions had galloped ahead of
the rest; one was dismounted and taken; the horse of the other was
struck again and again, had had enough,[2233] turned round and when
amongst our men, fell down. On that day 7 or 8 heads were brought in;
many of the enemy had arrow or matchlock wounds. Fighting went on till
the Other Prayer. That night all who had gone across were made to
return; if (more) had gone over on that Saturday's eve,[2234] most of
the enemy would probably have fallen into our hands, but this was in my
mind:--Last year we marched out of Sikri to fight Rana Sanga on Tuesday,
New-year's-day, and crushed that rebel on Saturday; this year we had
marched to crush these rebels on Wednesday, New-year's-day,[2235] and it
would be one of singular things, if we beat them on Sunday. So thinking,
we did not make the rest of the army cross. The enemy did not come to
fight on Saturday, but stood arrayed a long way off.
(_Sunday March 15th-Jumada II. 23rd_) On this day the carts were taken
over, and at this same dawn the army was ordered to cross. At beat of
drum news came from our scouts that the enemy had fled. Chin-timur Sl.
was ordered to lead his army in pursuit and the following leaders also
were made pursuers who should move with the Sultan and not go beyond his
word:--Muhammad `Ali _Jang-jang_, Husamu'd-din `Ali (son) of Khalifa,
Muhibb-i-`ali (son) of Khalifa, Kuki (son) of Baba Qashqa,
Dost-i-muhammad (son) of Baba Qashqa, Baqi of [Sidenote: Fol. 338.]
Tashkint, and Red Wali. I crossed at the Sunnat Prayer. The camels were
ordered to be taken over at a passage seen lower down. That Sunday we
dismounted on the bank of standing-water within a _kuroh_ of
Bangarmawu.[2236] Those appointed to pursue the Afghans were not doing
it well; they had dismounted in Bangarmawu and were scurrying off at the
Mid-day Prayer of this same Sunday.
(_March 16th-Jumada II. 24th_) At dawn we dismounted on the bank of a
lake belonging to Bangarmawu.
(_q. Arrival of a Chaghatai cousin._)
On this same day (_March 16th_) Tukhta-bugha Sl. a son of my mother's
brother (_dada_) the Younger Khan (_Ahmad Chaghatai_) came and waited on
me.
(_March 21st_) On Saturday the 29th of the latter Jumada I visited
Laknau, crossed the Gui-water[2237] and dismounted. This day I bathed in
the Gui-water. Whether it was from water getting into my ear, or whether
it was from the effect of the climate, is not known, but my right ear
was obstructed and for a few days there was much pain.[2238]
(_r. The campaign continued._)
One or two marches from Aud (Oudh) some-one came from Chin-timur Sl. to
say, "The enemy is seated on the far side of the river Sird[a?];[2239]
let His Majesty send help." We detached a reinforcement of 1000 braves
under Qaracha.
(_March 28th_) On Saturday the 7th of Rajab we dismounted [Sidenote:
Fol. 338b.] 2 or 3 _kurohs_ from Aud above the junction of the Gagar
(Gogra) and Sird[a]. Till today Shaikh Bayazid will have been on the
other side of the Sird[a] opposite Aud, sending letters to the Sultan
and discussing with him, but the Sultan getting to know his
deceitfulness, sent word to Qaracha at the Mid-day Prayer and made ready
to cross the river. On Qaracha's joining him, they crossed at once to
where were some 50 horsemen with 3 or 4 elephants. These men could make
no stand; they fled; a few having been dismounted, the heads cut off
were sent in.
Following the Sultan there crossed over Bi-khub (var. Ni-khub) Sl. and
Tardi Beg (the brother) of Quj Beg, and Baba Chuhra (the Brave), and
Baqi _shaghawal_. Those who had crossed first and gone on, pursued
Shaikh Bayazid till the Evening Prayer, but he flung himself into the
jungle and escaped. Chin-timur dismounted late on the bank of
standing-water, rode on at midnight after the rebel, went as much as 40
_kurohs_ (80 m.), and came to where Shaikh Bayazid's family and
relations (_nisba_?) had been; they however must have fled. He sent
gallopers off in all directions from that place; Baqi _shaghawal_ and a
few braves drove the enemy like sheep before them, overtook the family
and brought in some Afghan prisoners.
We stayed a few days on that ground (near Aud) in order to settle the
affairs of Aud. People praised the land lying along the Sird[a] 7 or 8
_kurohs_ (14-16 m.) above Aud, saying it was hunting-ground. Mir
Muhammad the raftsman was sent out and returned after looking at the
crossings over the Gagar-water (Gogra) and the Sird[a]-water (Chauka?).
[Sidenote: Fol. 339.] (_April 2nd_) On Thursday the 12th of the month I
rode out intending to hunt.[2240]
TRANSLATOR'S NOTE.
Here, in all known texts of the _Babur-nama_ there is a break of the
narrative between April 2nd and Sep. 18th 1528 AD.-Jumada II. 12th 934
AH. and Muharram 3rd 935 AH., which, whether intentional or accidental,
is unexplained by Babur's personal circumstances. It is likely to be due
to a loss of pages from Babur's autograph manuscript, happening at some
time preceding the making of either of the Persian translations of his
writings and of the Elphinstone and Haidarabad transcripts. Though such
a loss might have occurred easily during the storm chronicled on f.
376_b_, it seems likely that Babur would then have become aware of it
and have made it good. A more probable explanation of the loss is the
danger run by Humayun's library during his exile from rule in Hindustan,
at which same time may well have occurred the seeming loss of the record
of 936 and 937 AH.
(_a. Transactions of the period of the lacuna._)
Mr. Erskine notes (_Mems._ p. 381 n.) that he found the gap in all MSS.
he saw and that historians of Hindustan throw no light upon the
transactions of the period. Much can be gleaned however as to Babur's
occupations during the 5-1/2 months of the _lacuna_ from his chronicle
of 935 AH. which makes several references to occurrences of "last year"
and also allows several inferences to be drawn. From this source it
becomes known that the Afghan campaign the record of which is broken by
the gap, was carried on and that in its course Babur was at Jun-pur (f.
365), Chausa (f. 365_b_) and Baksara (f. 366-366_b_); that he swam the
Ganges (f. 366_b_), bestowed Sarun on a Farmuli Shaikh-zada (f. 374_b_
and f. 377), negociated with Rana Sanga's son Bikramajit (f. 342_b_),
ordered a Char-bagh laid out (f. 340), and was ill for 40 days (f.
346_b_). It may be inferred too that he visited Dulpur (f. 353_b_)
recalled `Askari (f. 339), sent Khwaja Dost-i-khawand on family affairs
to Kabul (f. 345_b_), and was much pre-occupied by the disturbed state
of Kabul (_see_ his letters to Humayun and Khwaja Kalan written in 935
AH.).[2241]
It is not easy to follow the dates of events in 935 AH. because in many
instances only the day of the week or a "next day" is entered. I am far
from sure that one passage at least now found _s.a._ 935 AH. does not
belong to 934 AH. It is not in the Hai. Codex (where its place would
have been on f. 363_b_), and, so far as I can see, does not fit with the
dates of 935 AH. It will be considered with least trouble with its
context and my notes (_q.v._ f. 363_b_ and ff. 366-366_b_).
(_b. Remarks on the lacuna._)
One interesting biographical topic is likely to have found mention in
the missing record, _viz._ the family difficulties which led to
`Askari's supersession by Kamran in the government of Multan (f. 359).
Another is the light an account of the second illness of 934 AH. might
have thrown on a considerable part of the Collection of verses already
written in Hindustan and now known to us as the _Rampur Diwan_. The
_Babur-nama_ allows the dates of much of its contents to be known, but
there remain poems which seem prompted by the self-examination of some
illness not found in the _B.N._ It contains the metrical version of
Khwaja `Ubaidu'l-lah's _Walidiyyah_ of which Babur writes on f. 346 and
it is dated Monday Rabi` II. 15th 935 AH. (Dec. 29th 1528 AD.). I
surmise that the reflective verses following the _Walidiyyah_ belong to
the 40 days' illness of 934 AH. _i.e._ were composed in the period of
the _lacuna_. The Collection, as it is in the "Rampur Diwan", went to a
friend who was probably Khwaja Kalan; it may have been the only such
collection made by Babur. No other copy of it has so far been found. It
has the character of an individual gift with verses specially addressed
to its recipient. Any light upon it which may have vanished with pages
of 934 AH. is an appreciable loss.
935 AH.-SEP. 15TH 1528 TO SEP. 5TH 1529 AD.[2242]
(_a. Arrivals at Court._)
(_Sep. 18th_) On Friday the 3rd[2243] of Muharram, `Askari whom I had
summoned for the good of Multan[2244] before I moved out for Chandiri,
waited on me in the private-house.[2245]
(_Sep. 19th_) Next day waited on me the historian Khwand-amir, Maulana
Shihab[2246] the enigmatist, and Mir Ibrahim the harper a relation of
Yunas-i-`ali, who had all come out of Heri long before, wishing to wait
on me.[2247]
(_b. Babur starts for Gualiar._)[2248]
(_Sep. 20th_) With the intention of visiting Gualiar which in books they
write Galiur,[2249] I crossed the Jun at the Other Prayer of Sunday the
5th of the month, went into the fort of Agra to bid farewell to
Fakhr-i-jahan Begim and Khadija-sultan Begim who were to start for Kabul
in a few days, and got to horse. Muhammad-i-zaman Mirza asked for leave
and stayed behind in Agra. That night we did 3 or 4 _kurohs_ (6-8 m.) of
the road, dismounted near a large lake (_kul_) and there slept.
(_Sep. 21st_) We got through the Prayer somewhat before time
(_Muh. 6th_) and rode on, nooned[2250] on the bank of the
Gamb[h]ir-water[2251], and went on shortly after the Mid-day Prayer. On
the way we ate[2252] powders mixed with the flour of parched [Sidenote:
Fol. 339b.] grain,[2253] Mulla Rafi` having prepared them for raising
the spirits. They were found very distasteful and unsavoury. Near the
Other Prayer we dismounted a _kuroh_ (2 m.) west of Dulpur, at a place
where a garden and house had been ordered made.[2254]
(_c. Work in Dulpur (Dhulpur)._)
That place is at the end of a beaked hill,[2255] its beak being of solid
red building-stone (_`imarat-tash_). I had ordered the (beak of the)
hill cut down (dressed down?) to the ground-level and that if there
remained a sufficient height, a house was to be cut out in it, if not,
it was to be levelled and a tank (_hauz_) cut out in its top. As it was
not found high enough for a house, Ustad Shah Muhammad the stone-cutter
was ordered to level it and cut out an octagonal, roofed tank. North of
this tank the ground is thick with trees, mangoes, _jaman_ (_Eugenia
jambolana_), all sorts of trees; amongst them I had ordered a well made,
10 by 10; it was almost ready; its water goes to the afore-named tank.
To the north of this tank Sl. Sikandar's dam is flung across (the
valley); on it houses have been built, and above it the waters of the
Rains gather into a great lake. On the east of this lake is a garden; I
ordered a seat and four-pillared platform (_talar_) to be cut out in
the solid rock on that same side, and a mosque [Sidenote: Fol. 340.]
built on the western one.
(_Sept. 22nd and 23rd--Muh. 7th and 8th_) On account of these various
works, we stayed in Dulpur on Tuesday and Wednesday.
(_d. Journey to Gualiar resumed._)
(_Sep. 24th_) On Thursday we rode on, crossed the Chambal-river and made
the Mid-day Prayer on its bank, between the two Prayers (the Mid-day and
the Afternoon) bestirred ourselves to leave that place, passed the
Kawari and dismounted. The Kawari-water being high through rain, we
crossed it by boat, making the horses swim over.
(_Sep. 25th_) Next day, Friday which was 'Ashur (_Muh. 10th_), we rode
on, took our nooning at a village on the road, and at the Bed-time
Prayer dismounted a _kuroh_ north of Gualiar, in a Char-bagh ordered
made last year.[2256]
(_Sep. 26th_) Riding on next day after the Mid-day Prayer, we visited
the low hills to the north of Gualiar, and the Praying-place, went into
the fort[2257] through the Gate called Hati-pul which joins Man-sing's
buildings (_`imarat_[2258]), and dismounted, close to the Other Prayer,
at those (_`imaratlar_)[2259] of Raja Bikramajit in which
Rahim-dad[2260] had settled himself.
To-night I elected to take opium because of ear-ache; another reason was
the shining of the moon.[2261]
(_e. Visit to the Rajas' palaces._)
(_Sep. 27th_) Opium sickness gave me much discomfort next day (_Muh.
12th_); I vomited a good deal. Sickness notwithstanding, I visited the
buildings (_`imaratlar_) of Man-sing and [Sidenote: Fol. 340b.]
Bikramajit thoroughly. They are wonderful buildings, entirely of hewn
stone, in heavy and unsymmetrical blocks however.[2262] Of all the
Rajas' buildings Man-sing's is the best and loftiest.[2263] It is more
elaborately worked on its eastern face than on the others. This face may
be 40 to 50 _qari_ (yards) high,[2264] and is entirely of hewn stone,
whitened with plaster.[2265] In parts it is four storeys high; the lower
two are very dark; we went through them with candles.[2266] On one (or,
every) side of this building are five cupolas[2267] having between each
two of them a smaller one, square after the fashion of Hindustan. On the
larger ones are fastened sheets of gilded copper. On the outside of the
walls is painted-tile work, the semblance of plantain-trees being shewn
all round with green tiles. In a bastion of the eastern front is the
Hati-pul,[2268] _hati_ being what these people call an elephant, _pul_,
a gate. A sculptured image of an elephant with two drivers
(_fil-ban_)[2269] stands at the out-going (_chiqish_) of this Gate; it
is exactly like an elephant; from it the gate is called Hati-pul. A
window in the [Sidenote: Fol. 341.] lowest storey where the building has
four, looks towards this elephant and gives a near view of it.[2270] The
cupolas which have been mentioned above are themselves the topmost stage
(_murtaba_) of the building;[2271] the sitting-rooms are on the second
storey (_tabaqat_), in a hollow even;[2272] they are rather airless
places although Hindustani pains have been taken with them.[2273] The
buildings of Man-sing's son Bikramajit are in a central position (_aurta
da_) on the north side of the fort.[2274] The son's buildings do not
match the father's. He has made a great dome, very dark but growing
lighter if one stays awhile in it.[2275] Under it is a smaller building
into which no light comes from any side. When Rahim-dad settled down in
Bikramajit's buildings, he made a rather small hall [_kichikraq
talarghina_] on the top of this dome.[2276] From Bikramajit's buildings
a road has been made to his father's, a road such that nothing is seen
of it from outside and nothing known of it inside, a quite enclosed
road.[2277]
After visiting these buildings, we rode to a college Rahim-dad
[Sidenote: Fol. 341b.] had made by the side of a large tank, there
enjoyed a flower-garden[2278] he had laid out, and went late to where
the camp was in the Charbagh.
(_f. Rahim-dad's flower-garden._)
Rahim-dad has planted a great numbers of flowers in his garden
(_baghcha_), many being beautiful red oleanders. In these places the
oleander-flower is peach,[2279] those of Gualiar are beautiful, deep
red. I took some of them to Agra and had them planted in gardens there.
On the south of the garden is a large lake[2280] where the waters of the
Rains gather; on the west of it is a lofty idol-house,[2281] side by
side with which Sl. Shihabu'd-din Ailtmish (Altamsh) made a Friday
mosque; this is a very lofty building (_`imarat_), the highest in the
fort; it is seen, with the fort, from the Dulpur-hill (_cir._ 30 m.
away). People say the stone for it was cut out and brought from the
large lake above-mentioned. Rahim-dad has made a wooden (_yighach_)
_talar_ in his garden, and porches at the gates, which, after the
Hindustani fashion, are somewhat low and shapeless.
(_g. The Urwah-valley._)
(_Sep. 28th_) Next day (_Muh. 13th_) at the Mid-day Prayer we rode out
to visit places in Gualiar we had not yet seen. We saw the _`imarat_
called Badalgar[2282] which is part of Man-sing's fort (_qila`_), went
through the Hati-pul and across the fort to a place called Urwa (Urwah),
which is a valley-bottom (_qul_) on its western side. Though Urwa is
outside the fort-wall running along the top of the hill, it has two
stages (_murtaba_) of high wall at its mouth. The higher of these walls
is some 30 or 40 _qari_ (yards) high; this is the longer one; at each
end it joins [Sidenote: Fol. 342.] the wall of the fort. The second wall
curves in and joins the middle part of the first; it is the lower and
shorter of the two. This curve of wall will have been made for a
water-thief;[2283] within it is a stepped well (_wa'in_) in which water
is reached by 10 or 15 steps. Above the Gate leading from the valley to
this walled-well the name of Sl. Shihabu'd-din Ailtmish (Altamsh) is
inscribed, with the date 630 (AH.-1233 AD.). Below this outer wall and
outside the fort there is a large lake which seems to dwindle (at times)
till no lake remains; from it water goes to the water-thief. There are
two other lakes inside Urwa the water of which those who live in the
fort prefer to all other.
Three sides of Urwa are solid rock, not the red rock of Biana but one
paler in colour. On these sides people have cut out idol-statues, large
and small, one large statue on the south side being perhaps 20 _qari_
(yds.) high.[2284] These idols are shewn quite naked without covering
for the privities. Along the sides of [Sidenote: Fol. 342b.] the two
Urwa lakes 20 or 30 wells have been dug, with water from which useful
vegetables (_sabzi karliklar_), flowers and trees are grown. Urwa is not
a bad place; it is shut in (T. _tur_); the idols are its defect; I, for
my part, ordered them destroyed.[2285]
Going out of Urwa into the fort again, we enjoyed the window[2286] of
the Sultani-pul which must have been closed through the pagan time till
now, went to Rahim-dad's flower-garden at the Evening Prayer, there
dismounted and there slept.
(_h. A son of Rana Sanga negociates with Babur._)
(_Sep. 29th_) On Tuesday the 14th of the month came people from Rana
Sanga's second son, Bikramajit by name, who with his mother Padmawati
was in the fort of Rantanbur. Before I rode out for Gualiar,[2287]
others had come from his great and trusted Hindu, Asuk by name, to
indicate Bikramajit's submission and obeisance and ask a
subsistence-allowance of 70 _laks_ for him; it had been settled at that
time that _parganas_ to the amount he asked should be bestowed on him,
his men were given leave to go, with tryst for Gualiar which we were
about to visit. They came into Gualiar somewhat after the trysting-day.
The Hindu Asuk[2288] is said to be a near relation of Bikramajit's
mother Padmawati; he, for his part, set these particulars forth
father-like [Sidenote: Fol. 343.] and son-like;[2289] they, for theirs,
concurring with him, agreed to wish me well and serve me. At the time
when Sl. Mahmud (_Khilji_) was beaten by Rana Sanga and fell into pagan
captivity (925 AH.-1519 AD.) he possessed a famous crown-cap
(_taj-kula_) and golden belt, accepting which Sanga let him go free.
That crown-cap and golden belt must have become Bikramajit's; his elder
brother Ratan-si, now Rana of Chitur in his father's place, had asked
for them but Bikramajit had not given them up,[2290] and now made the
men he sent to me, speak to me about them, and ask for Biana in place of
Rantanbur. We led them away from the Biana question and promised
Shamsabad in exchange for Rantanbur. To-day (_Muh. 14th_) they were
given a nine days' tryst for Biana, were dressed in robes of honour, and
allowed to go.
(_i. Hindu temples visited._)
We rode from the flower-garden to visit the idol-houses of Gualiar. Some
are two, and some are three storeys high, each storey rather low, in the
ancient fashion. On their stone plinths (_izara_) are sculptured images.
Some idol-houses, College-fashion, have a portico, large high
cupolas[2291] and _madrasa_-like cells, each topped by a slender stone
cupola.[2292] In the lower cells are idols carved in the rock.
[Sidenote: Fol. 343b.]
After enjoying the sight of these buildings (_`imaratlar_) we left the
fort by the south Gate,[2293] made an excursion to the south, and went
(north) to the Char-bagh Rahim-dad had made over-against the
Hati-pul.[2294] He had prepared a feast of cooked-meat (_ash_) for us
and, after setting excellent food before us, made offering of a mass of
goods and coin worth 4 _laks._ From his Char-bagh I rode to my own.
(_j. Excursion to a waterfall._)
(_Sep. 30th._) On Wednesday the 15th of the month I went to see a
waterfall 6 _kurohs_ (12 m.) to the south-east of Gualiar. Less than
that must have been ridden;[2295] close to the Mid-day Prayer we reached
a fall where sufficient water for one mill was coming down a slope
(_qia_) an _arghamchi_[2296] high. Below the fall there is a large lake;
above it the water comes flowing through solid rock; there is solid rock
also below the fall. A lake forms wherever the water falls. On the banks
of the water lie piece after piece of rock as if for seats, but the
water is said not always to be there. We sat down above the fall and ate
_ma`jun_, went up-stream to visit its source (_badayat_), returned, got
out on higher ground, and stayed while musicians played and reciters
[Sidenote: Fol. 344.] repeated things (_nima aitilar_). The Ebony-tree
which Hindis call _tindu_, was pointed out to those who had not seen it
before. We went down the hill and, between the Evening and Bed-time
Prayers, rode away, slept at a place reached near the second watch
(midnight), and with the on-coming of the first watch of day (6 a.m.
_Muh. 16th-Oct. 1st_) reached the Char-bagh and dismounted.
(_k. Salahu'd-din's birth-place._)[2297]
(_Oct. 2nd_) On Friday the 17th of the month, I visited the garden of
lemons and pumeloes (_sada-fal_) in a valley-bottom amongst the hills
above a village called Sukhjana (?)[2298] which is Salahu'd-din's
birth-place. Returning to the Char-bagh, I dismounted there in the first
watch.[2299]
(_l. Incidents of the march from Gualiar._)
(_Oct. 4th_) On Sunday the 19th of the month, we rode before dawn from
the Char-bagh, crossed the Kawari-water and took our nooning
(_tushlanduk_). After the Mid-day Prayer we rode on, at sunset passed
the Chambal-water, between the Evening and Bed-time Prayers entered
Dulpur-fort, there, by lamp-light, visited a Hot-bath which Abu'l-fath
had made, rode on, and dismounted at the dam-head where the new
Char-bagh is in making.
(_Oct. 5th_) Having stayed the night there, at dawn (_Monday 20th_) I
visited what places had been ordered made.[2300] The face (_yuz_) of the
roofed-tank, ordered cut in the solid rock, was not being got up quite
straight; more stone-cutters were sent for who were to make the
tank-bottom level, pour in water, and, by help of the water, to get the
sides to one height. They got the face up straight just before the Other
Prayer, were then ordered to fill the tank with water, by help of the
water made the sides [Sidenote: Fol. 344b.] match, then busied
themselves to smooth them. I ordered a water-chamber (_ab-khana_) made
at a place where it would be cut in the solid rock; inside it was to be
a small tank also cut in the solid rock.
(_Here the record of 6 days is wanting._)[2301]
(_Oct. 12th_?) To-day, Monday (_27th_?), there was a _ma`jun_ party.
(_Oct. 13th_) On Tuesday I was still in that same place. (_Oct. 14th_)
On the night of Wednesday,[2302] after opening the mouth and eating
something[2303] we rode for Sikri. Near the second watch (midnight), we
dismounted somewhere and slept; I myself could not sleep on account of
pain in my ear, whether caused by cold, as is likely, I do not know. At
the top of the dawn, we bestirred ourselves from that place, and in the
first watch dismounted at the garden now in making at Sikri. The
garden-wall and well-buildings were not getting on to my satisfaction;
the overseers therefore were threatened and punished. We rode on from
Sikri between the Other and Evening Prayers, passed through Marhakur,
dismounted somewhere and slept.
(_Oct. 15th_) Riding on (_Thursday 30th_), we got into Agra during the
first watch (6-9 a.m.). In the fort I saw the honoured Khadija-sultan
Begim who had stayed behind for several reasons when Fakhr-i-jahan Begim
started for Kabul. Crossing Jun (Jumna), I went to the Garden-of-eight
paradises.[2304]
(_m. Arrival of kinswomen._)
(_Oct. 17th_) On Saturday the 3rd of Safar, between the Other and
Evening Prayers, I went to see three of the great-aunt begims,[2305]
Gauhar-shad Begim, Badi`u'l-jamal Begim, and Aq Begim, with also, of
lesser begims,[2306] Sl. Mas`ud Mirza's daughter Khan-zada Begim, and
Sultan-bakht Begim's daughter, and my _yinka chicha's_ grand-daughter,
that is to say, Zainab-sultan Begim.[2307] They had come past Tuta and
dismounted at a small [Sidenote: Fol. 345.] standing-water (_qara su_)
on the edge of the suburbs. I came back direct by boat.
(_n. Despatch of an envoy to receive charge of Ranthambhor._)
(_Oct. 19th_) On Monday the 5th of the month of Safar, Hamusi son of
Diwa, an old Hindu servant from Bhira, was joined with Bikramajit's
former[2308] and later envoys in order that pact and agreement for the
surrender of Ranthanbur and for the conditions of Bikramajit's service
might be made in their own (hindu) way and custom. Before our man
returned, he was to see, and learn, and make sure of matters; this done,
if that person (_i.e._ Bikramajit) stood fast to his spoken word, I,
for my part, promised that, God bringing it aright, I would set him in
his father's place as Rana of Chitur.[2309]
(_Here the record of 3 days is wanting._)
(_o. A levy on stipendiaries._)
(_Oct. 22nd_) By this time the treasure of Iskandar and Ibrahim in Dihli
and Agra was at an end. Royal orders were given therefore, on Thursday
the 8th of Safar, that each stipendiary (_wajhdar_) should drop into the
Diwan, 30 in every 100 of his allowance, to be used for war-material and
appliances, for equipment, for powder, and for the pay of gunners and
matchlockmen.
(_p. Royal letters sent into Khurasan._)
(_Oct. 24th_) On Saturday the 10th of the month, Pay-master Sl.
Muhammad's foot-man Shah Qasim who once before had taken letters of
encouragement to kinsfolk in Khurasan,[2310] was sent to Heri with other
letters to the purport that, through God's grace, our hearts were at
ease in Hindustan about the rebels and [Sidenote: Fol. 345b.] pagans of
east and west; and that, God bringing it aright, we should use every
means and assuredly in the coming spring should touch the goal of our
desire.[2311] On the margin of a royal letter sent to Ahmad _Afshar_
(_Turk_) a summons to Faridun the _qabuz_-player was written with my own
hand.
(_Here the record of 11 days is wanting._)
In today's forenoon (_Tuesday 20th_?) I made a beginning of eating
quicksilver.[2312]
(_q. News from Kabul and Khurasan._)[2313]
(_Nov. 4th_) On Wednesday the 21st of the month (_Safar_) a Hindustani
foot-man (_piada_) brought dutiful letters (_`arz-dashtlar_) from Kamran
and Khwaja Dost-i-khawand. The Khwaja had reached Kabul on the 10th of
Zu'l-hijja[2314] and will have been anxious to go on[2315] to Humayun's
presence, but there comes to him a man from Kamran, saying, "Let the
honoured Khwaja come (to see me); let him deliver whatever royal orders
there may be; let him go on to Humayun when matters have been talked
over."[2316] Kamran will have gone into Kabul on the 17th of Zu'l-hijja
(_Sep. 2nd_), will have talked with the Khwaja and, on the 28th of the
same month, will have let him go on for Fort Victory (_Qila'-i-zafar_).
There was this excellent news in the dutiful letters received:--that
Shah-zada Tahmasp, resolute to put down the Auzbeg,[2317] had overcome
and killed Rinish (var. Zinish) _Auzbeg_ in Damghan and made a general
massacre of his people; that 'Ubaid Khan, getting sure news about the
_Qizil-bash_ (Red-head) had risen from round Heri, gone to Merv, called
up to him there all the sultans of Samarkand and those parts, and that
all the sultans of Ma wara'u'n-nahr had gone to help him.[2318]
[Sidenote: Fol. 346.] This same foot-man brought the further news that
Humayun was said to have had a son by the daughter of Yadgar Taghai,
and that Kamran was said to be marrying in Kabul, taking the daughter
of his mother's brother Sl. `Ali Mirza (_Begchik_).[2319]
(_r. Honours for an artificer._)[2320]
On this same day Sayyid Dakni of Shiraz the diviner (_ghaiba-gar_?) was
made to wear a dress of honour, given presents, and ordered to finish
the arched(?) well (_khwaraliq-chah_) as he best knew how.
(_s. The Walidiyyah-risala (Parental-tract)._)
(_Nov. 6th_) On Friday the 23rd of the month[2321] such heat[2322]
appeared in my body that with difficulty I got through the
Congregational Prayer in the Mosque, and with much trouble through the
Mid-day Prayer, in the book-room, after due time, and little by little.
Thereafter[2323] having had fever, I trembled less on Sunday (_Nov.
28th_). During the night of Tuesday[2324] the 27th of the month Safar,
it occurred to me to versify (_nazm qilmaq_)
the _Walidiyyah-risala_ of his Reverence Khwaja 'Ubaidu'l-lah.[2325] I
laid it to heart that if I, going to the soul of his Reverence[2326] for
protection, were freed from this disease, it would be a sign that my
poem was accepted, just as the author of the _Qasidatu'l-burda_[2327]
was freed from the affliction of paralysis when his poem [Sidenote: Fol.
346b.] had been accepted. To this end I began to versify the tract,
using the metre[2328] of Maulana 'Abdu¥r-rahim _Jami's Subhatu'l-abrar_
(Rosary of the Righteous). Thirteen couplets were made in that same
night. I tasked myself not to make fewer than 10 a day; in the end one
day had been omitted. While last year every time such illness had
happened, it had persisted at least a month or 40 days,[2329] this year,
by God's grace and his Reverence's favour, I was free, except for a
little depression (_afsurda_), on Thursday the 29th of the month (_Nov.
12th_). The end of versifying the contents of the tract was reached on
Saturday the 8th of the first Rabi' (_Nov. 20th_). One day 52 couplets
had been made.[2330]
(_t. Troops warned for service._)
(_Nov. 11th_) On Wednesday the 28th of the month royal orders were sent
on all sides for the armies, saying, "God bringing it about, at an
early opportunity my army will be got to horse. Let all come soon,
equipped for service."
(_Here the record of 9 days is wanting._)[2331]
(_u. Messengers from Humayun._)
(_Nov. 21st_) On Sunday the 9th of the first Rabi`, Beg Muhammad
_ta`alluqchi_[2332] came, who had been sent last year (934 AH.) at the
end of Muharram to take a dress of honour and a horse to Humayun.[2333]
(_Nov. 22nd_) On Monday the 10th of the month there came from Humayun's
presence Wais _Laghari's_ (son) Beg-gina (Little Beg) and Bian Shaikh,
one of Humayun's servants who had come as the messenger of the good
tidings of the birth of Humayun's son whose name he gave as Al-aman.
Shaikh Abu'l-wajd found _Shah sa`adatmand_[2334] to be the date of his
birth. [Sidenote: Fol. 347.]
(_v. Rapid travel._)
Bian Shaikh set out long after Beg-gina. He parted from Humayun on
Friday the 9th of Safar (_Oct. 23rd_) at a place below Kishm called
Du-shamba (Monday); he came into Agra on Monday the 10th of the first
Rabi` (_Nov. 23rd_). He came very quickly! Another time he actually came
from Qila`-i-zafar to Qandahar in 11 days.[2335]
(_w. News of Tahmasp's victory over the Auzbegs._)
Bian Shaikh brought news about Shah-zada Tahmasp's advancing
out of `Iraq and defeating the Auzbeg.[2336] Here are his
particulars:--Shah-zada Tahmasp, having come out of `Iraq with 40,000
men arrayed in Rumi fashion of matchlock and cart,[2337] advances with
great speed, takes Bastam, slaughters Rinish (var. Zinish) _Auzbeg_ and
his men in Damghan, and from there passes right swiftly on.[2338] Kipik
Bi's son Qambar-i-`ali Beg is beaten by one of the _Qizil-bash_
(Red-head)'s men, and with his few followers goes to `Ubaid Khan's
presence. `Ubaid Khan finds it undesirable to stay near Heri, hurriedly
sends off gallopers to all the sultans of Balkh, Hisar, Samarkand, and
Tashkend (Tashkint) and goes himself to Merv. Siunjak Sl.'s younger son
Baraq Sl. from Tashkend, Kuchum Khan, with (his sons) Abu-sa`id Sl. and
Pulad Sl., and Jani Beg Sl. with his sons, from [Sidenote: Fol. 347b.]
Samarkand and Mian-kal, Mahdi Sl.'s and Hamza Sl.'s sons from Hisar,
Kitin-qara Sl. from Balkh, all these sultans assemble right swiftly in
Merv. To them their informers (_til-chi_) take news that Shah-zada,
after saying, "`Ubaid Khan is seated near Heri with few men only," had
been advancing swiftly with his 40,000 men, but that when he heard of
this assembly (_i.e._ in Merv), he made a ditch in the meadow of
Radagan[2339] and seated himself there.[2340] Here-upon the Auzbegs,
with entire disregard of their opponents,[2341] left their counsels at
this:--"Let all of us sultans and khans seat ourselves in Mashhad;[2342]
let a few of us be told off with 20,000 men to go close to the
Qizil-bash camp[2343] and not let them put head out; let us order
magicians[2344] to work their magic directly Scorpio appears;[2345] by
this stratagem the enemy will be enfeebled, and we shall overcome." So
said, they march from Merv. Shah-zada gets out of Mashhad.[2346] He
confronts them near Jam-and-Khirgird.[2347] There defeat befalls the
Auzbeg side.[2348] A mass of sultans are overcome and slaughtered.
In one letter it (_khud_) was written, "It is not known for certain
[Sidenote: Fol. 348.] that any sultan except Kuchum Khan has escaped;
not a man who went with the army has come back up to now." The sultans
who were in Hisar abandoned it. Ibrahim _Jani's_ son Chalma, whose real
name is Isma`il, must be in the fort.[2349]
(_x. Letters written by Babur._)
(_Nov. 27th and 28th_) This same Bian Shaikh was sent quite quickly back
with letters. for Humayun and Kamran. These and other writings being
ready by Friday the 14th of the month (_Nov. 27th_) were entrusted to
him, his leave was given, and on Saturday the 15th he got well out of
Agra.
COPY OF A LETTER TO HUMAYUN.[2350]
"The first matter, after saying, 'Salutation' to Humayun whom I am
longing to see, is this:--
"Exact particulars of the state of affairs on that side and on this[2351]
have been made known by the letters and dutiful representations brought
on Monday the 10th of the first Rabi` by Beg-gina and Bian Shaikh.
(_Turki_) Thank God! a son is born to thee!
A son to thee, to me a heart-enslaver (_dil-bandi_).
"May the Most High ever allot to thee and to me tidings as joyful! So may
it be, O Lord of the two worlds!"
"Thou sayest thou hast called him Al-aman; God bless and prosper this!
Thou writest it so thyself (_i.e._ Al-aman), but hast over-looked that
common people mostly say _alama_ or _ailaman_.[2352] [Sidenote: Fol.
348b.] Besides that, this _Al_ is rare in names.[2353] May God bless and
prosper him in name and person; may He grant us to keep Al-aman (peace)
for many years and many decades of years![2354] May He now order our
affairs by His own mercy and favour; not in many decades comes such a
chance as this!"[2355]
"Again:--On Tuesday the 11th of the month (_Nov. 23rd_) came the false
rumour that the Balkhis had invited and were fetching Qurban[2356] into
Balkh."
"Again:--Kamran and the Kabul begs have orders to join thee; this done,
move on Hisar, Samarkand, Heri or to whatever side favours fortune.
Mayst thou, by God's grace, crush foes and take lands to the joy of
friends and the down-casting of adversaries! Thank God! now is your time
to risk life and slash swords.[2357] Neglect not the work chance has
brought; slothful life in retirement befits not sovereign rule:--
(_Persian_) He grips the world who hastens;
Empire yokes not with delay;
All else, confronting marriage, stops,
Save only sovereignty.[2358]
"If through God's grace, the Balkh and Hisar countries be won and held,
put men of thine in Hisar, Kamran's men in Balkh. Should Samarkand also
be won, there make thy seat. Hisar, [Sidenote: Fol. 349.] God willing, I
shall make a crown-domain. Should Kamran regard Balkh as small,
represent the matter to me; please God! I will make its defects good at
once out of those other countries."
"Again:--As thou knowest, the rule has always been that when thou hadst
six parts, Kamran had five; this having been constant, make no change."
"Again:--Live well with thy younger brother. Elders must bear the
burden![2359] I have the hope that thou, for thy part, wilt keep on good
terms with him; he, who has grown up an active and excellent youth,
should not fail, for his part, in loyal duty to thee."[2360]
"Again:--Words from thee are somewhat few; no person has [Sidenote: Fol.
349b.] come from thee for two or three years past; the man I sent to
thee (Beg Muhammad _ta`alluqchi_) came back in something over a year; is
this not so?"
"Again:--As for the "retirement", "retirement", spoken of in thy
letters,--retirement is a fault for sovereignty; as the honoured (Sa`di)
says:--[2361]
(_Persian_) If thy foot be fettered, choose to be resigned;
If thou ride alone, take thou thine own head.
"No bondage equals that of sovereignty; retirement matches not with
rule."
"Again:--Thou hast written me a letter, as I ordered thee to do; but why
not have read it over? If thou hadst thought of reading it, thou couldst
not have done it, and, unable thyself to read it, wouldst certainly have
made alteration in it. Though by taking trouble it can be read, it is
very puzzling, and who ever saw an enigma in prose?[2362] Thy spelling,
though not bad, is not quite correct; thou writest _iltafat_ with _ta_
(_iltafat_) and _qulinj_ with _ya_ (_qilinj_?).[2363] Although thy
letter can be read if every sort of pains be taken, yet it cannot be
quite understood because of that obscure wording of thine. Thy
remissness in letter-writing seems to be due to the thing which makes
thee obscure, that is to say, to elaboration. In future write without
elaboration; use plain, clear words. So will thy trouble and thy
reader's be less."
"Again:--Thou art now to go on a great business;[2364] take counsel with
prudent and experienced begs, and act as they say. If thou seek to
pleasure me, give up sitting alone and avoiding society. Summon thy
younger brother and the begs twice daily to thy presence, not leaving
their coming to choice; be the business what it may, take counsel and
settle every word and act in agreement with those well-wishers."
"Again:--Khwaja Kalan has long had with me the house-friend's intimacy;
have thou as much and even more with him. [Sidenote: Fol. 350.] If, God
willing, the work becomes less in those parts, so that thou wilt not
need Kamran, let him leave disciplined men in Balkh and come to my
presence."
"Again:--Seeing that there have been such victories, and such conquests,
since Kabul has been held, I take it to be well-omened; I have made it a
crown-domain; let no one of you covet it."
"Again:--Thou hast done well (_yakhshi qilib sin_); thou hast won the
heart of Sl. Wais;[2365] get him to thy presence; act by his counsel,
for he knows business."
"Until there is a good muster of the army, do not move out."
"Bian Shaikh is well-apprized of word-of-mouth matters, and will inform
thee of them. These things said, I salute thee and am longing to see
thee."--
The above was written on Thursday the 13th of the first Rabi` (_Nov.
26th_). To the same purport and with my own hand, I wrote also to Kamran
and Khwaja Kalan, and sent off the letters (by Bian Shaikh).
(_Here the record fails from Rabi` 15th to 19th._)
(_y. Plans of campaign._)
(_Dec. 2nd_) On Wednesday the 19th of the month (_Rabi` I._) the mirzas,
sultans, Turk and Hind amirs were summoned for counsel, and left the
matter at this:--That this year the army must move in some direction;
that `Askari should go in advance towards the East, be joined by the
sultans and amirs from beyond Gang (Ganges), and march in whatever
direction favoured fortune. These particulars having been written down,
Ghiasu'd-din the [Sidenote: Fol. 350b.] armourer was given rendezvous
for 16 days,[2366] and sent galloping off, on Saturday the 22nd of the
month, to the amirs of the East headed by Sl. Junaid _Barlas_. His
word-of-mouth message was, that `Askari was being sent on before the
fighting apparatus, culverin, cart and matchlock, was ready; that it was
the royal order for the sultans and amirs of the far side of Gang to
muster in `Askari's presence, and, after consultation with well-wishers
on that side, to move in whatever direction, God willing! might favour
fortune; that if there should be work needing me, please God! I would
get to horse as soon as the person gone with the (16 days) tryst
(_mi`ad_) had returned; that explicit representation should be made as
to whether the Bengali (Nasrat Shah) were friendly and single-minded;
that, if nothing needed my presence in those parts, I should not make
stay, but should move elsewhere at once;[2367] and that after consulting
with well-wishers, they were to take `Askari with them, and, God
willing! settle matters on that side.
(_Here the record of 5 days is wanting._)
(_z. `Askari receives the insignia and rank of a royal commander._)
(_Dec. 12th_) On Saturday the 29th of the first Rabi`, `Askari was made
to put on a jewelled dagger and belt, and a royal dress of honour, was
presented with flag, horse-tail standard, [Sidenote: Fol. 351.] drum, a
set (6-8) of _tipuchaq_ (horses), 10 elephants, a string of camels, one
of mules, royal plenishing, and royal utensils. Moreover he was ordered
to take his seat at the head of a _Diwan_. On his mulla and two
guardians were bestowed jackets having buttons[2368]; on his other
servants, three sets of nine coats.
(_aa. Babur visits one of his officers._)
(_Dec. 13th_) On Sunday the last day of the month (_Rabi` I.
30th_)[2369] I went to Sl. Muhammad _Bakhshi's_ house. After spreading a
carpet, he brought gifts. His offering in money and goods was more than
2 _laks_.[2370] When food and offering had been set out, we went into
another room where sitting, we ate _ma`jun_. We came away at the 3rd
watch (midnight?), crossed the water, and went to the private house.
(_bb. The Agra-Kabul road measured._)
(_Dec. 17th_) On Thursday the 4th of the latter Rabi`, it was settled
that Chiqmaq Beg with Shahi _tamghachi's_[2371] clerkship, should
measure the road between Agra and Kabul. At every 9th _kuroh_ (_cir._
18m.), a tower was to be erected 12 _qaris_ high[2372] and having a
_char-dara_[2373] on the top; at every 18th _kuroh_ (_cir._ 36m.),[2374]
6 post-horses were to be kept fastened; and arrangement was to be made
for the payment of post-masters and grooms, and for horse-corn. The
order was, "If the place where the horses are fastened up,[2375] be near
a crown-domain, let those there provide for the matters mentioned; if
not, let the cost be charged on the beg in whose _pargana_ the
post-house may be." Chiqmaq Beg got out of Agra with Shahi on that same
day.
[Sidenote: Fol. 351b.] (_Author's note on the kuroh._) These
_kurohs_ were established in relation to the _mil_, in the way
mentioned in the _Mubin_:--[2376]
(_Turki_) Four thousand paces (_qadam_) are one _mil_;
Know that Hind people call this a _kuroh_;
The pace (_qadam_) they say is a _qari_ and a half (36 in.);
Know that each _qari_ (24 in.) is six hand-breadths
(_tutam_)
That each _tutam_ is four fingers (_ailik_),
Each _ailik_, six barley-corns. Know this
knowledge.[2377]
The measuring-cord (_tanab_)[2378] was fixed at 40 _qari_,
each being the one-and-a-half _qari_ mentioned above, that is
to say, each is 9 hand-breadths.
(_cc. A feast._)
(_Dec. 18th_) On Saturday the 6th of the month (Rabi` II.) there was a
feast[2379] at which were present Qizil-bash (Red-head), and Auzbeg, and
Hindu envoys.[2380] The Qizil-bash envoys sat under an awning placed
some 70-80 _qaris_[2381] on my right, of the begs Yunas-i-`ali being
ordered to sit with them. On my left the Auzbeg envoys sat in the same
way, of the begs `Abdu'l-lah being ordered to sit with them. I sat on
the north side of a newly-erected octagonal pavilion (_talar_) covered
in with _khas_[2382]. Five or six _qaris_ on my right sat Tukhta-bugha
Sl. and `Askari, with Khwaja `Abdu'sh-shahid and Khwaja Kalan,
descendants of his Reverence the Khwaja,[2383] and Khwaja Chishti (var.
Husaini), and Khalifa, together with the _hafizes_ and _mullas_
dependent on the Khwajas who had come from Samarkand. Five or six
_qaris_ on my left sat Muhammad-i-zaman M. and Tang-atmish Sl.[2384]
[Sidenote: Fol. 352.] and Sayyid Rafi`, Sayyid Rumi, Shaikh Abu'l-fath,
Shaikh Jamali, Shaikh Shihabu'd-din _`Arab_ and Sayyid Dakni (var.Zakni,
Rukni). Before food all the sultans, khans, grandees, and amirs brought
gifts[2385] of red, of white, of black,[2386] of cloth and various other
goods. They poured the red and white on a carpet I had ordered spread,
and side by side with the gold and silver piled plenishing, white cotton
piece-cloth and purses (_badra_) of money. While the gifts were being
brought and before food, fierce camels and fierce elephants[2387] were
set to fight on an island opposite,[2388] so too a few rams; thereafter
wrestlers grappled. After the chief of the food had been set out,
Khwaja `Abdu'sh-shahid and Khwaja Kalan were made to put on surtouts
(_jabbah_) of fine muslin,[2389] spotted with gold-embroidery, and
suitable dresses of honour, and those headed by Mulla Farrukh and
_Hafiz_[2390] had jackets put on them. On Kuchum Khan's envoy[2391] and
on Hasan _Chalabi's_ younger brother[2392] were bestowed silken
head-wear (_bashliq_) and gold-embroidered surtouts of fine muslin, with
suitable dresses of honour. Gold-embroidered jackets and silk coats were
presented to the envoys of Abu-sa`id Sl. (_Auzbeg_), of Mihr-ban Khanim
and her son Pulad Sl., and of Shah Hasan [Sidenote: Fol. 352b.]
(_Arghun_). The two Khwajas and the two chief envoys, that is to say
Kuchum Khan's retainer and Hasan _Chalabi's_ younger brother, were
presented with a silver stone's weight of gold and a gold stone's weight
of silver.
(_Author's note on the Turki stone-weight._) The gold stone
(_tash_) is 500 _misqals_, that is to say, one Kabul _sir_;
the silver stone is 250 _misqals_, that is to say, half a
Kabul _sir_.[2393]
To Khwaja Mir Sultan and his sons, to Hafiz of Tashkint, to Mulla
Farrukh at the head of the Khwajas' servants, and also to other envoys,
silver and gold were given with a quiver.[2394] Yadgar-i-nasir[2395] was
presented with a dagger and belt. On Mir Muhammad the raftsman who was
deserving of reward for the excellent bridge he had made over the river
Gang (Ganges),[2396] a dagger was bestowed, so too on the matchlockmen
Champion [_pahlawan_] Haji Muhammad and Champion Buhlul and on Wali the
cheeta-keeper (_parschi_); one was given to Ustad `Ali's son also. Gold
and silver were presented to Sayyid Daud _Garmsiri_. Jackets having
buttons,[2397] and silk dresses of honour were presented to the servants
of my daughter Ma`suma[2398] and my son Hind-al. Again:--presents of
jackets and silk dresses of honour, of gold and silver, of plenishing
and various goods were given to those from Andijan, and to those who had
come from Sukh and Hushiar, the places whither we had gone landless and
homeless.[2399] Gifts of the same kind were given to the servants of
Qurban and Shaikhi and the peasants of Kahmard.[2400] [Sidenote: Fol.
353.]
After food had been sent out, Hindustani players were ordered to come
and show their tricks. Lulis came.[2401] Hindustani performers shew
several feats not shewn by (Tramontane) ones. One is this:--They arrange
seven rings, one on the forehead, two on the knees, two of the remaining
four on fingers, two on toes, and in an instant set them turning
rapidly. Another is this:--Imitating the port of the peacock, they place
one hand on the ground, raise up the other and both legs, and then in an
instant make rings on the uplifted hand and feet revolve rapidly.
Another is this:--In those (Tramontane) countries two people grip one
another and turn two somersaults, but Hindustani _lulis_, clinging
together, go turning over three or four times. Another is this:--a _luli_
sets the end of a 12 or 14 foot pole on his middle and holds it upright
while another climbs up it and does his [Sidenote: Fol. 353b.] tricks up
there. Another is this:--A small _luli_ gets upon a big one's head, and
stands there upright while the big one moves quickly from side to side
shewing his tricks, the little one shewing his on the big one's head,
quite upright and without tottering. Many dancing-girls came also and
danced.
A mass of red, white, and black was scattered (_sachildi_) on which
followed amazing noise and pushing. Between the Evening and Bed-time
Prayers I made five or six special people sit in my presence for over
one watch. At the second watch of the day (9 a.m., _Sunday, Rabi` II.
7th_) having sat in a boat, I went to the Eight-Paradises.
(_dd. `Askari starts eastwards._)
(_Dec. 20th_) On Monday (_8th_) `Askari who had got (his army) out (of
Agra) for the expedition, came to the Hot-bath, took leave of me and
marched for the East.
(_ee. A visit to Dhulpur._)
(_Dec. 21st_) On Tuesday (_Rabi` II. 9th_) I went to see the buildings
for a reservoir and well at Dulpur.[2402] I rode from the (Agra) garden
at one watch (_pahr_) and one _gari_ (9.22 a.m.), and I entered the
Dulpur garden when 5 _garis_ of the 1st night-watch (_pas_)[2403] had
gone (7.40 p.m.).[2404]
(_Dec. 23rd_) On Thursday the 11th day of the month the stone-well
(_sangin-chah_), the 26 rock-spouts (_tash-tar-nau_) and rock-pillars
(_tash-situn_), and the water-courses (_ariqlar_) cut on the solid slope
(_yak para qia_) were all ready.[2405] At the 3rd watch (_pahr_) of this
same day preparation for drawing water from the well was made. On
account of a smell (_aid_) in the water, it was ordered, for prudence'
sake, that they should turn the well-wheel without rest for 15
days-and-nights, and so draw off the water. Gifts were made to the
stone-cutters, and labourers, [Sidenote: Fol. 354.] and the whole body
of workmen in the way customary for master-workmen and wage-earners of
Agra.
(_Dec. 24th_) We rode from Dulpur while one _gari_ of the 1st watch
(_pahr_) of Friday remained (_cir._ 8.40 a.m.), and we crossed the river
(Jumna) before the Sun had set.
(_Here the record of 3 days is wanting._)[2406]
(_ff. A Persian account of the battle of Jam._)
(_Dec. 28th_) On Tuesday the 16th of the month (_Rabi` II._) came one of
Div Sl.'s[2407] servants, a man who had been in the fight between the
Qizil-bash and Auzbeg, and who thus described it:--The battle between the
Auzbegs and Turkmans[2408] took place on `Ashur-day (_Muh. 10th_) near
Jam-and-Khirgird.[2409] They fought from the first dawn till the Mid-day
Prayer. The Auzbegs were 300,000; the Turkmans may have been (as is
said?) 40 to 50,000; he said that he himself estimated their dark mass
at 100,000; on the other hand, the Auzbegs said they themselves were
100,000. The Qizil-bash leader (_adam_) fought after arraying cart,
culverin and matchlockmen in the Rumi fashion, and after protecting
himself.[2410] Shah-zada[2411] and Juha Sl. stood behind the carts with
20,000 good braves. The rest of the begs were posted right and left
beyond the carts. [Sidenote: Fol. 354b.] These the Auzbeg beat at once
on coming up, dismounted and overcame many, making all scurry off. He
then wheeled to the (Qizil-bash) rear and took loot in camel and
baggage. At length those behind the carts loosed the chains and came
out. Here also the fight was hard. Thrice they flung the Auzbeg back; by
God's grace they beat him. Nine sultans, with Kuchum Khan, `Ubaid Khan
and Abu-sa`id Sl. at their head, were captured; one, Abu-sa`id Sl. is
said to be alive; the rest have gone to death.[2412] `Ubaid Khan's body
was found, but not his head. Of Auzbegs 50,000, and of Turkmans 20,000
were slain.[2413]
(_Here matter seems to have been lost._)[2414]
(_gg. Plan of campaign._)
(_Dec. 30th_) On this same day (Thursday _Rabi` II. 18th_) came
Ghiasu'd-din the armourer[2415] who had gone to Juna-pur (Junpur) with
tryst of 16 days,[2416] but, as Sl. Junaid and the rest had led out
their army for Kharid,[2417] he (Ghiasu'd-din) was not able to be back
at the time fixed.[2418] Sl. Junaid said, by word-of-mouth, "Thank God!
through His grace, no work worth the Padshah's attention has shewn
itself in these parts; if the honoured Mirza (`Askari) come, and if the
sultans, khans and amirs here-abouts be ordered to move in his steps,
there is hope that everything in these parts will be arranged with
ease." Though such was Sl. [Sidenote: Fol. 355.] Junaid's answer,yet, as
people were saying that Mulla Muhammad Mazhab, who had been sent as
envoy to Bengal after the Holy-battle with Sanga the Pagan,[2419] would
arrive today or tomorrow, his news also was awaited.
(_Dec. 31st_) On Friday the 19th of the month I had eaten ma`jun and was
sitting with a special few in the private house, when Mulla Mazhab who
had arrived late, that is to say, in the night of Saturday,[2420] came
and waited on me. By asking one particular after another, we got to know
that the attitude of the Bengali[2421] was understood to be loyal and
single-minded.
(_Jan. 2nd_) On Sunday (_Rabi` II. 21st_), I summoned the Turk and Hind
amirs to the private house, when counsel was taken and the following
matters were brought forward:--As the Bengali (Nasrat Shah) has sent us
an envoy[2422] and is said to be loyal and single-minded, to go to
Bengal itself would be improper; if the move be not on Bengal, no other
place on that side has treasure helpful for the army; several places to
the west are both rich and near,
(_Turki_) Abounding wealth, a pagan people, a short road;
Far though the East lie, this is near.
At length the matter found settlement at this:--As our westward road is
short, it will be all one if we delay a few days, so that our minds may
be at ease about the East. Again Ghiasu'd-din [Sidenote: Fol. 355b.] the
armourer was made to gallop off, with tryst of 20 days,[2423] to convey
written orders to the eastern amirs for all the sultans, khans, and
amirs who had assembled in `Askari's presence, to move against those
rebels.[2424] The orders delivered, he was to return by the trysted day
with what ever news there might be.
(_hh. Baluchi incursions._)
In these days Muhammadi Kukuldash made dutiful representation that again
Baluchis had come and overrun several places. Chin-timur Sl. was
appointed for the business; he was to gather to his presence the amirs
from beyond Sihrind and Samana and with them, equipped for 6 months, to
proceed against the Baluchis; namely, such amirs as `Adil Sultan, Sl.
Muh. _Duldai_, Khusrau Kukuldash, Muhammad `Ali _Jang-jang_,
`Abdu'l-`aziz the Master-of-the-horse, Sayyid `Ali, Wali Qizil, Qaracha,
Halahil, `Ashiq the House-steward, Shaikh `Ali, Kitta (_Beg Kuhbur_),
Gujur Khan, Hasan `Ali _Siwadi_. These were to present themselves at the
Sultan's call and muster and not to transgress his word by road or in
halt.[2425] The messenger[2426] appointed to carry these orders was
`Abdu'l-ghaffar; he was to deliver them first to Chin-timur Sl.,
[Sidenote: Fol. 356.] then to go on and shew them to the afore-named
begs who were to present themselves with their troops at whatever place
the Sultan gave rendezvous (_buljar_);[2427] `Abdu'l-ghaffar himself was
to remain with the army and was to make dutiful representation of
slackness or carelessness if shewn by any person soever; this done, we
should remove the offender from the circle of the approved
(_muwajjah-jirgasi_) and from his country or _pargana_. These orders
having been entrusted to `Abdu'l-ghaffar, words-of-mouth were made known
to him and he was given leave to go.
(_The last explicit date is a week back._)
(_ii. News of the loss of Bihar reaches Dhulpur._)
(_Jan. 9th_) On the eve of Sunday the 28th of the month (_Rabi` II._) we
crossed the Jun (Jumna) at the 6th _gari_ of the 3rd watch (2.15 a.m.)
and started for the Lotus-garden of Dulpur. The 3rd watch was near[2428]
(Sunday mid-day) when we reached it. Places were assigned on the border
of the garden, where begs and the household might build or make
camping-grounds for themselves.
(_Jan. 13th_) On Thursday the 3rd of the first Jumada, a place was fixed
in the s.e. of the garden for a Hot-bath; the ground was to be levelled;
I ordered a plinth(?) (_kursi_) erected on the levelled ground, and a
Bath to be arranged, in one room of which was to be a reservoir 10 X 10.
On this same day Khalifa sent from Agra dutiful letters of Qazi Jia and
Bir-sing Deo, saying it had been heard said that Iskandar's son Mahmud
(_Ludi_) had taken Bihar (town). This news decided for getting the army
to horse.
(_Jan. 14th_) On Friday (_Jumada I. 4th_), we rode out from the
Lotus-garden at the 6th _gari_ (8.15 a.m.); at the Evening Prayer we
reached Agra. We met Muhammad-i-zaman Mirza on the road who would have
gone to Dulpur, Chin-timur also who must have been coming into
Agra.[2429]
(_Jan. 15th_) On Saturday (_5th_) the counselling begs having been
summoned, it was settled to ride eastwards on Thursday the 10th of the
month (_Jan. 21st_).
(_jj. News of Badakhshan._)
On this same Saturday letters came from Kabul with news [Sidenote: Fol.
356b.] that Humayun, having mustered the army on that side (Tramontana),
and joined Sl. Wais to himself, had set out with 40,000 men for
Samarkand;[2430] on this Sl. Wais' younger brother Shah-quli goes and
enters Hisar, Tarsun Muhammad leaves Tirmiz, takes Qabadian and asks for
help; Humayun sends Tulik Kukuldash and Mir Khwurd[2431] with many of
his men and what Mughuls there were, then follows himself.[2432]
(_Here 4 days record is wanting._)
(_kk. Babur starts for the East._)
(_Jan. 20th_) On Thursday the 10th of the first Jumada, I set [Sidenote:
Fol. 357.] out for the East after the 3rd _gari_ (_cir._ 7.10 a.m.),
crossed Jun by boat a little above Jalisir, and went to the
Gold-scattering-garden.[2433] It was ordered that the standard (_tugh_),
drum, stable and all the army-folk should remain on the other side of
the water, opposite to the garden, and that persons coming for an
interview[2434] should cross by boat.
(_ll. Arrivals._)
(_Jan. 22nd_) On Saturday (_12th_) Isma`il Mita, the Bengal envoy
brought the Bengali's offering (Nasrat Shah's), and waited on me in
Hindustan fashion, advancing to within an arrow's flight, making his
reverence, and retiring. They then put on him the due dress of honour
(_khi`lat_) which people call * * * *[2435], and brought him before me.
He knelt thrice in our fashion, advanced, handed Nasrat Shah's letter,
set before me the offering he had brought, and retired.
(_Jan. 24th_) On Monday (_14th_) the honoured Khwaja `Abdu'l-haqq having
arrived, I crossed the water by boat, went to his tents and waited on
him.[2436]
(_Jan. 25th_) On Tuesday (_15th_) Hasan _Chalabi_ arrived and waited on
me.[2437]
(_mm. Incidents of the eastward march._)
On account of our aims (_chapduq_) for the army,[2438] some days were
spent in the Char-bagh.
(_Jan. 27th_) On Thursday the 17th of the month, that ground was left
after the 3rd _gari_ (7.10 a.m.), I going by boat. It was dismounted 7
_kurohs_ (14 m.) from Agra, at the village of Anwar.[2439]
(_Jan. 30th_) On Sunday (_Jumada I. 20th_), the Auzbeg envoys were given
their leave. To Kuchum Khan's envoy Amin Mirza were presented a dagger
with belt, cloth of gold,[2440] and 70,000 _tankas_.[2441] Abu-sa`id's
servant Mulla Taghai and the servants of [Sidenote: Fol. 357b.]
Mihr-ban Khanim and her son Pulad Sl. were made to put on dresses of
honour with gold-embroidered jackets, and were presented also with money
in accordance with their station.
(_Jan. 31st_?) Next morning[2442] (_Monday 21st_?) leave was given to
Khwaja `Abdu'l-haqq for stay in Agra and to Khwaja Yahya's grandson
Khwaja Kalan for Samarkand, who had come by way of a mission from Auzbeg
khans and sultans.[2443]
In congratulation on the birth of Humayun's son and Kamran's marriage,
Mulla Tabrizi and Mirza Beg Taghai[2444] were sent with gifts
(_sachaq_) to each Mirza of 10,000 _shahrukhis_, a coat I had worn, and
a belt with clasps. Through Mulla Bihishti were sent to Hind-al an
inlaid dagger with belt, an inlaid ink-stand, a stool worked in
mother-o'pearl, a tunic and a girdle,[2445] together with the alphabet
of the Baburi script and fragments (_qita`lar_) written in that script.
To Humayun were sent the translation (_tarjuma_) and verses made in
Hindustan.[2446] To Hind-al and Khwaja Kalan also the translation and
verses were sent. They were sent too to Kamran, through Mirza Beg
Taghai, together with head-lines (_sar-khat_) in the Baburi
script.[2447]
(_Feb. 1st_) On Tuesday, after writing letters to be taken by those
going to Kabul, the buildings in hand at Agra and Dulpur [Sidenote: Fol.
358.] were recalled to mind, and entrusted to the charge of Mulla Qasim,
Ustad Shah Muhammad the stone-cutter, Mirak, Mir Ghias, Mir Sang-tarash
(stone-cutter) and Shah Baba the spadesman. Their leave was then given
them.
(_Feb. 2nd_) The first watch (6 a.m.) was near[2448] when we rode out
from Anwar (_Wednesday, Jumada I. 23rd_); in the end,[2449] we
dismounted, at the Mid-day Prayer, in the village of Abapur, one _kuroh_
(2 m.) from Chandawar.[2450]
(_Feb. 3rd_) On the eve of Thursday (_24th_)[2451] `Abdu'l-maluk the
armourer[2452] was joined with Hasan _Chalabi_ and sent as envoy to the
Shah[2453]; and Chapuq[2454] was joined with the Auzbeg envoys and sent
to the Auzbeg khans and sultans.
We moved from Abapur while 4 _garis_ of the night remained (4.30 a.m.).
After passing Chandawar at the top of the dawn, I got into a boat. I
landed in front of Rapri and at the Bed-time Prayer got to the camp
which was at Fathpur.[2455]
(_Feb. 4th and 5th_) Having stayed one day (_Friday_) at Fathpur, we got
to horse on Saturday (_26th_) after making ablution (_wazu_) at dawn. We
went through the Morning Prayer in assembly near Rapri, Maulana Muhammad
of Farab being the leader (_imam_). At sun-rise I got into a boat below
the great crook[2456] of Rapri.
Today I put together a line-marker (_mistar_) of eleven lines[2457] in
order to write the mixed hands of the translation.[2458] Today the
words of the honoured man-of-God admonished my heart.[2459]
(_Feb. 6th_) Opposite Jakin,[2460] one of the Rapri _parganas_, we
[Sidenote: Fol. 358b.] had the boats drawn to the bank and just spent
the night in them. We had them moved on from that place before the dawn
(_Sunday 27th_), after having gone through the Morning Prayer. When I
was again on board, Pay-master Sl. Muhammad came, bringing a servant of
Khwaja Kalan, Shamsu'd-din Muhammad, from whose letters and information
particulars about the affairs of Kabul became known.[2461] Mahdi Khwaja
also came when I was in the boat.[2462] At the Mid-day Prayer I landed
in a garden opposite Etawa, there bathed (_ghusl_) in the Jun, and
fulfilled the duty of prayer. Moving nearer towards Etawa, we sat down
in that same garden under trees on a height over-looking the river, and
there set the braves to amuse us.[2463] Food ordered by Mahdi Khwaja,
was set before us. At the Evening Prayer we crossed the river; at the
bed-time one we reached camp.
There was a two or three days' delay on that ground both to collect the
army, and to write letters in answer to those brought by Shamsu'd-din
Muhammad.
(_nn. Letters various._)
(_Feb. 9th_) On Wednesday the last day (_30th_) of the 1st Jumada, we
marched from Etawa, and after doing 8 _kurohs_ (16m.), dismounted at
Muri-and-Adusa.[2464]
Several remaining letters for Kabul were written on this same ground.
One to Humayun was to this purport:--If the work have not yet been done
satisfactorily, stop the raiders and thieves thyself; do not let them
embroil the peace now descending amongst the peoples.[2465] Again, there
was this:--I have made [Sidenote: Fol. 359.] Kabul a crown-domain, let no
son of mine covet it. Again:--that I had summoned Hind-al.
Kamran, for his part, was written to about taking the best of care in
intercourse with the Shah-zada,[2466] about my bestowal on himself of
Multan, making Kabul a crown-domain, and the coming of my family and
train.[2467]
As my letter to Khwaja Kalan makes several particulars known, it is
copied in here without alteration:--[2468]
[COPY OF A LETTER TO KHWAJA KALAN.]
"After saying 'Salutation to Khwaja Kalan', the first matter is that
Shamsu'd-din Muhammad has reached Etawa, and that the particulars about
Kabul are known."
"Boundless and infinite is my desire to go to those parts.[2469] Matters
are coming to some sort of settlement in Hindustan; there is hope,
through the Most High, that the work here will soon be arranged. This
work brought to order, God willing! my start will be made at once."
"How should a person forget the pleasant things of those countries,
especially one who has repented and vowed to sin no more? How should he
banish from his mind the permitted flavours of melons and grapes? Taking
this opportunity,[2470] a melon was brought to me; to cut and eat it
affected me strangely; I was all tears!"
"The unsettled state[2471] of Kabul had already been written of
[Sidenote: Fol. 359b.] to me. After thinking matters over, my choice
fell on this:--How should a country hold together and be strong (_marbut
u mazbut_), if it have seven or eight Governors? Under this aspect of
the affair, I have summoned my elder sister (Khan-zada) and my wives to
Hindustan, have made Kabul and its neighbouring countries a
crown-domain, and have written in this sense to both Humayun and Kamran.
Let a capable person take those letters to the Mirzas. As you may know
already, I had written earlier to them with the same purport. About the
safe-guarding and prosperity of the country, there will now be no
excuse, and not a word to say. Henceforth, if the town-wall[2472] be not
solid or subjects not thriving, if provisions be not in store or the
Treasury not full, it will all be laid on the back of the inefficiency
of the Pillar-of-the State."[2473]
"The things that must be done are specified below; for some of them
orders have gone already, one of these being, 'Let treasure accumulate.'
The things which must be done are these:--First, the repair of the fort;
again:--the provision of stores; again:--the daily allowance and
lodging[2474] of envoys going backwards and forwards[2475]; again:--let
money, taken legally from revenue,[2476] be spent for building the
Congregational Mosque; again:--the repairs of the Karwan-sara
(Caravan-sarai) and the Hot-baths; again:--the completion of the
unfinished building [Sidenote: Fol. 360.] made of burnt-brick which
Ustad Hasan `Ali was constructing in the citadel. Let this work be
ordered after taking counsel with Ustad Sl. Muhammad; if a design exist,
drawn earlier by Ustad Hasan `Ali, let Ustad Sl. Muhammad finish the
building precisely according to it; if not, let him do so, after making
a gracious and harmonious design, and in such a way that its floor shall
be level with that of the Audience-hall; again:--the Khwurd-Kabul dam
which is to hold up the But-khak-water at its exit from the Khwurd-Kabul
narrows; again:--the repair of the Ghazni dam[2477]; again:--the
Avenue-garden in which water is short and for which a one-mill stream
must be diverted[2478]; again:--I had water brought from Tutum-dara to
rising ground south-west of Khwaja Basta, there made a reservoir and
planted young trees. The place got the name of Belvedere,[2479] because
it faces the ford and gives a first-rate view. The best of young trees
must be planted there, lawns arranged, and borders set with sweet-herbs
and with flowers of beautiful colour and scent; again:--Sayyid Qasim has
been named to reinforce thee; again:--do not neglect the condition of
matchlockmen and of Ustad Muhammad Amin the armourer[2480];
again:--directly this letter arrives, thou must get my elder sister
(Khan-zada Begim) and my wives right out of Kabul, and escort them to
Nil-ab. However averse they may still be, they most certainly must start
within a week of the arrival of [Sidenote: Fol. 360b.] this letter. For
why? Both because the armies which have gone from Hindustan to escort
them are suffering hardship in a cramped place (_tar yirda_), and also
because they[2481] are ruining the country."
"Again:--I made it clear in a letter written to `Abdu'l-lah (_`asas_),
that there had been very great confusion in my mind (_d˙ghdugha_), to
counterbalance being in the oasis (_wadi_) of penitence. This quatrain
was somewhat dissuading (_mani`_):--[2482]
Through renouncement of wine bewildered am I;
How to work know I not, so distracted am I;
While others repent and make vow to abstain,
I have vowed to abstain, and repentant am I.
"A witticism of Banai's came back to my mind:--One day when he had been
joking in `Ali-sher Beg's presence, who must have been wearing a jacket
with buttons,[2483] `Ali-sher Beg said, 'Thou makest charming jokes; but
for the buttons, I would give thee the jacket; they are the hindrance
(_mani`_).' Said Banai, 'What hindrance are buttons? It is button-holes
(_madagi_) that hinder.'[2484] Let responsibility for this story lie on
the teller! hold me excused for it; for God's sake do not be offended by
it.[2485] Again:--that quatrain was made before last year, and in truth
the longing and craving for a wine-party has been infinite and endless
for two years past, so much so that sometimes the craving for wine
brought me to the verge of tears. Thank God! this year that trouble has
passed from my mind, perhaps by virtue of the [Sidenote: Fol. 361.]
blessing and sustainment of versifying the translation.[2486] Do thou
also renounce wine! If had with equal associates and boon-companions,
wine and company are pleasant things; but with whom canst thou now
associate? with whom drink wine? If thy boon-companions are Sher-i-ahmad
and Haidar-quli, it should not be hard for thee to forswear wine. So
much said, I salute thee and long to see thee."[2487]
The above letter was written on Thursday the 1st of the latter Jumada
(_Feb. 10th_). It affected me greatly to write concerning those
matters, with their mingling of counsel. The letters were entrusted to
Shamsu'd-din Muhammad on Friday night,[2488] he was apprized of
word-of-mouth messages and given leave to go.
(_oo. Complaints from Balkh._)
(_Feb. 11th_) On Friday (_Jumada II. 2nd_) we did 8 _kurohs_ (16m.) and
dismounted at Jumandna.[2489] Today a servant of Kitin-qara Sl. arrived
whom the Sultan had sent to his retainer and envoy Kamalu'd-din
_Qiaq_,[2490] with things written concerning the behaviour of the begs
of the (Balkh) border, their intercourse with himself, and complaints of
theft and raid. Leave to go was given to _Qiaq_, and orders were issued
to the begs of the border to put an end to raiding and thieving, to
behave well and to maintain intercourse with Balkh. These orders were
entrusted to Kitin-qara Sl.'s servant and he was dismissed from this
ground.
A letter, accepting excuse for the belated arrival of Hasan
_Chalabi_,[2491] was sent to the Shah today by one Shah-quli who had
[Sidenote: Fol. 361b.] come to me from Hasan _Chalabi_ and reported the
details of the battle (of Jam).[2492] Shah-quli was given his leave on
this same day, the 2nd of the month.
(_pp. Incidents of the eastward march resumed._)
(_Feb. 12th_) On Saturday (_3rd_) we did 8 _kurohs_ (16m.) and
dismounted in the Kakura and Chachawali[2493] _parganas_ of Kalpi.
(_Feb. 13th_) On Sunday the 4th of the month, we did 9 _kurohs_ (18m.)
and dismounted in Dirapur[2494] a _pargana_ of Kalpi. Here I shaved my
head,[2495] which I had not done for the past two months, and bathed in
the Singar-water (Sengar).
(_Feb. 14th_) On Monday (_5th_) we did 14 _kurohs_ (28m.), and
dismounted in Chaparkada[2496] one of the _parganas_ of Kalpi.
(_Feb. 15th_) At the dawn of Tuesday (_6th_), a Hindustani servant of
Qaracha's arrived who had taken a command (_farman_) from Mahim to
Qaracha from which it was understood that she was on the road. She had
summoned escort from people in Lahor, Bhira and those parts in the
fashion I formerly wrote orders (_parwanas_) with my own hand. Her
command had been written in Kabul on the 7th of the 1st Jumada (_Jan.
17th_).[2497]
(_Feb. 16th_) On Wednesday (_7th_) we did 7 _kurohs_ (14m.), and
dismounted in the Adampur _pargana_.[2498] Today I mounted before dawn,
took the road[2499] alone, reached the Jun (Jumna), and went on along
its bank. When I came opposite to Adampur, I had awnings set up on an
island (_aral_) near the camp and seated there, ate _ma`jun_.
Today we set Sadiq to wrestle with Kalal who had come to [Sidenote: Fol.
362.] Agra with a challenge.[2500] In Agra he had asked respite for 20
days on the plea of fatigue from his journey; as now 40-50 days had
passed since the end of his respite, he was obliged to wrestle. Sadiq
did very well, throwing him easily. Sadiq was given 10,000 _tankas_, a
saddled horse, a head-to-foot, and a jacket with buttons; while Kalal,
to save him from despair, was given 3000 _tankas_, spite of his fall.
The carts and mortar were ordered landed from the boats, and we spent 3
or 4 days on this same ground while the road was made ready, the ground
levelled and the landing effected.
(_Feb. 21st_) On Monday the 12th of the month (_Jumada II._), we did 12
_kurohs_ (24 m.) and dismounted at Kurarah.[2501] Today I travelled by
litter.
(_Feb. 22nd-25th_) After marching 12 _kurohs_ (24 m.) from Kurarah
(_13th_), we dismounted in Kuria[2502] a _pargana_ of Karrah. From Kuria
we marched 8 _kurohs_ (16m.) and dismounted (_14th_) in
Fathpur-Aswa.[2503] After 8 _kurohs_ (16m.) done from Fathpur, we
dismounted (_15th_) at Sarai Munda.[2504]... Today at the Bedtime Prayer
(_Friday 16th_, _after dark_), Sl. Jalalu'd-din (_Sharqi_)[2505] came
with his two young sons to wait on me.
(_Feb. 26th_) Next day, Saturday the 17th of the month, we did 8
_kurohs_ (16m.), and dismounted at Dugdugi a Karrah _pargana_ on the
bank of the Gang.[2506]
(_Feb. 27th_) On Sunday (_18th_) came to this ground Muhammad Sl. M.,
Ni-khub (or, Bi-khub) Sl. and Tardika (or, Tardi _yakka_, [Sidenote:
Fol. 362b.] champion).
(_Feb. 28th_) On Monday (_19th_) `Askari also waited on me. They all
came from the other side of Gang (Ganges). `Askari and his various
forces were ordered to march along the other bank of the river keeping
opposite the army on this side, and wherever our camp might be, to
dismount just opposite it.
(_qq. News of the Afghans._)
While we were in these parts news came again and again that Sl. Mahmud
(_Ludi_) had collected 10,000 Afghans; that he had detached Shaikh
Bayazid and Biban with a mass of men towards Sarwar [Gorakhpur];
that he himself with Fath Khan _Sarwani_ was on his way along the
river for Chunar; that Sher Khan _Sur_ whom I had favoured last year
with the gift of several _parganas_ and had left in charge of this
neighbourhood,[2507] had joined these Afghans who thereupon had made him
and a few other amirs cross the water; that Sl. Jalalu'd-din's man in
Benares had not been able to hold that place, had fled, and got away;
what he was understood to have said being, that he had left soldiers
(_sipahilar_) in Benares-fort and gone along the river to fight Sl.
Mahmud.[2508]
(_rr. Incidents of the march resumed._)
(_March 1st_) Marching from Dugdugi (_Tuesday, Jumada II. 20th_) the
army did 6 _kurohs_ (12m.) and dismounted at Kusar,[2509] 3 or 4
_kurohs_ from Karrah. I went by boat. We stayed here 3 or 4 [Sidenote:
Fol. 363.] days because of hospitality offered by Sl. Jalalu'd-din.
(_March 4th_) On Friday (_23rd_), I dismounted at Sl. Jalalu'd-din's
house inside Karrah-fort where, host-like, he served me a portion of
cooked meat and other viands.[2510] After the meal, he and his sons were
dressed in unlined coats (_yaktai jamah_) and short tunics
(_nimcha_).[2511] At his request his elder son was given the style Sl.
Mahmud.[2512] On leaving Karrah, I rode about one _kuroh_ (2m.) and
dismounted on the bank of Gang.
Here letters were written and leave was given to Shahrak Beg who had
come from Mahim to our first camp on Gang (_i.e._ Dugdugi). As Khwaja
Yahya's grandson Khwaja Kalan had been asking for the records I was
writing,[2513] I sent him by Shahrak a copy I had had made.
(_March 5th_) On Saturday move was made at dawn (_24th_), I going by
boat direct, and after 4 _kurohs_ done (8m.), halt was made at
Koh.[2514] Our ground, being so near, was reached quite early. After
awhile, we seated ourselves inside[2515] a boat where we ate _ma`jun_.
We invited the honoured Khwaja `Abdu'sh-shahid[2516] who was said to be
in Nur Beg's quarters (_awi_), invited also Mulla Mahmud (_Farabi_?),
bringing him from Mulla `Ali Khan's. After staying for some time on that
spot, we crossed the river, and on the other side, set wrestlers to
wrestle. In opposition to the rule of gripping the strongest first,
Dost-i-yasin-khair [Sidenote: Fol. 363b.] was told not to grapple with
Champion Sadiq, but with others; he did so very well with eight.
(_ss. News of the Afghan enemy._)
At the Afternoon Prayer, Sl. Muhammad the Pay-master came by boat from
the other side of the river, bringing news that the army of Sl.
Iskandar's son Mahmud Khan whom rebels style Sl. Mahmud,[2517] had
broken up. The same news was brought in by a spy who had gone out at the
Mid-day Prayer from where we were; and a dutiful letter, agreeing with
what the spy had reported, came from Taj Khan _Sarang-khani_ between the
Afternoon and Evening Prayers. Sl. Muhammad gave the following
particulars:--that the rebels on reaching Chunar seemed to have laid
siege to it and to have done a little fighting, but had risen in
disorderly fashion when they heard of our approach; that Afghans who had
crossed the river for Benares, had turned back in like disorder; that
two of their boats had sunk in crossing and a body of their men been
drowned.
(_tt. Incidents of the eastward march resumed._)
(_March 6th_) After marching at Sunday's dawn (_25th_) and doing 6
_kurohs_ (12m.), Sir-auliya,[2518] a _pargana_ of Piag*[2519] was
reached. I went direct by boat.
Aisan-timur Sl. and Tukhta-bugha Sl. had dismounted half-way, and were
waiting to see me.[2520] I, for my part, invited them into the boat.
Tukhta-bugha Sl. must have wrought magic, for a bitter wind rose and
rain began to fall. It became quite windy(?)[2521] on which account I
ate _ma`jun_, although I had done so on the previous day. Having come to
the encamping-ground....[2522]
(_March 7th_?) Next day (_Monday 26th_?) we remained on the same ground.
(_March 8th_?) On Tuesday (_27th_?) we marched on.
Opposite the camp was what may be an island,[2523] large and verdant. I
went over by boat to visit it, returning to the boat during the 1st
watch (6-9 a.m.). While I rode carelessly along the ravine (_jar_) of
the river, my horse got to where it was fissured and had begun to give
way. I leapt off at once and flung myself on the bank; even the horse
did not go down; probably, however, if I had stayed on its back, it and
I would have gone down together.
On this same day, I swam the Gang-river (Ganges), counting every
stroke;[2524] I crossed with 33, then, without resting, swam back. I had
swum the other rivers, Gang had remained to do.[2525]
We reached the meeting of the waters of Gang and Jun at the Evening
Prayer, had the boat drawn to the Piag side, and got to camp at 1 watch,
4 _garis_ (10.30 p.m.).
(_March 9th_) On Wednesday (_Jumada II. 28th_) from the 1st watch
onwards, the army began to cross the river Jun; there were 420
boats.[2526]
(_March 11th_) On Friday, the 1st of the month of Rajab, I crossed the
river.
(_March 14th_) On Monday, the 4th of the month, the march for Bihar
began along the bank of Jun. After 5 _kurohs_ (10m.) done, halt was made
at Lawain.[2527] I went by boat. The people of the army were crossing
the Jun up to today. They were ordered to put the culverin-carts[2528]
which had been landed at Adampur, into boats again and to bring them on
by water from Piag.
On this ground we set wrestlers to wrestle. Dost-i-yasin-khair gripped
the boatman Champion of Lahor; the contest was stubborn; it was with
great difficulty that Dost gave the throw. A head-to-foot was bestowed
on each.
(_March 15th and 16th_) People said that ahead of us was a swampy,
muddy, evil river called Tus.[2529] In order to examine the ford*[2530]
and repair the road, we waited two days (_Tuesday Ramzan 5th and
Wednesday 6th_) on this ground. For the horses and camels a ford was
found higher up, but people said laden carts could not get through it
because of its uneven, stony bottom. [Sidenote: Fol. 364.] They were
just ordered to get them through.
(_March 17th_) On Thursday (_7th_) we marched on. I myself went by boat
down to where the Tus meets the Gang (Ganges), there landed, thence rode
up the Tus, and, at the Other Prayer, reached where the army had
encamped after crossing the ford. Today 6 _kurohs_ (12 m.) were done.
(_March 18th_) Next day (_Friday 8th_), we stayed on that ground.
(_March 19th_) On Saturday (_9th_), we marched 12 _kurohs_ and got to
the bank of Gang again at Nuliba.[2531]
(_March 20th_) Marching on (_Sunday 10th_), we did 6 _kurohs_ of road,
and dismounted at Kintit.[2532]
(_March 21st_) Marching on (_Monday 11th_), we dismounted at
Nanapur.[2533] Taj Khan _Sarang-khani_ came from Chunar to this ground
with his two young sons, and waited on me.
In these days a dutiful letter came from Pay-master Sl. Muhammad, saying
that my family and train were understood to be really on their way from
Kabul.[2534]
(_March 23rd_) On Wednesday (_13th_) we marched from that ground. I
visited the fort of Chunar, and dismounted about one _kuroh_ beyond it.
During the days we were marching from Piag, painful boils had come out
on my body. While we were on this ground, an Ottoman Turk (Rumi) used a
remedy which had been recently discovered in Rum. He boiled pepper in a
pipkin; I held the sores in the steam and, after steaming ceased, laved
them with the hot water. The treatment lasted 2 sidereal hours.
While we were on this ground, a person said he had seen tiger and
rhinoceros on an _aral_[2535] by the side of the camp.
(_March 24th_?) In the morning (_14th_?), we made the
hunting-circle[2536] [Sidenote: Fol. 364b.] on that _aral_, elephants
also being brought. Neither tiger nor rhino appeared; one wild buffalo
came out at the end of the line. A bitter wind rising and the whirling
dust being very troublesome, I went back to the boat and in it to the
camp which was 2 _kurohs_ (4m.) above Banaras.
(_uu. News of the Afghans._)
(_March 25th_ (?) _and 26th_) Having heard there were many elephants in
the Chunar jungles, I had left (Thursday's) ground thinking to hunt
them, but Taj Khan bringing the news (_Friday 15th_(?)) that Mahmud Khan
(_Ludi_) was near the Son-water, I summoned the begs and took counsel as
to whether to fall upon him suddenly. In the end it was settled to march
on continuously, fast[2537] and far.
(_March 27th_) Marching on (_Sunday 17th_), we did 9 _kurohs_ (18m.),
and dismounted at the Bilwah-ferry.[2538]
(_March 28th_) On Monday night[2539] the 18th of the month, Tahir was
started for Agra from this camp (Bilwah-ferry), taking money-drafts for
the customary gifts of allowance and lodging[2540] to those on their way
from Kabul.
Before dawn next morning (Monday) I went on by boat. When we came to
where the Gui-water (Gumti) which is the water of Junpur, meets the
Gang-water (Ganges), I went a little [Sidenote: Fol. 365.] way up it and
back. Narrower[2541] though it is, it has no ford; the army-folk crossed
it (last year) by boat, by raft, or by swimming their horses.
To look at our ground of a year ago,[2542] from which we had started for
Junpur,[2543] I went to about a _kuroh_ lower than the mouth of the
Junpur-water (Gumti). A favourable wind getting up behind, our larger
boat was tied to a smaller Bengali one which, spreading its sail, made
very quick going. Two _garis_ of day remained (5.15 p.m.) when we had
reached that ground (Sayyidpur?), we went on without waiting there, and
by the Bed-time Prayer had got to camp, which was a _kuroh_ above
Madan-Benares,[2544] long before the boats following us. Mughul Beg had
been ordered to measure all marches from Chunar on the direct road,
Lutfi Beg to measure the river's bank whenever I went by boat. The
direct road today was said to be 11 _kurohs_ (22m.), the distance along
the river, 18 (36m.).
(_March 29th_) Next day (_Tuesday 19th_), we stayed on that ground.
(_March 30th_) On Wednesday (_20th_), we dismounted a _kuroh_ (2m.)
below Ghazipur, I going by boat.
(_March 31st_) On Thursday (_21st_) Mahmud Khan _Nuhani_[2545] waited
on me on that ground. On this same day dutiful letters[2546] came
from Bihar Khan _Bihari's_ son Jalal Khan (_Nuhani_),[2547] from
Nasir Khan (_Nuhani_)'s son Farid Khan,[2548] from Sher Khan _Sur_,
from `Alaul Khan _Sur_ also, and from other Afghan amirs. Today
[Sidenote: Fol. 365b.] came also a dutiful letter from `Abdu'l-`aziz
_Master-of-the-horse_, which had been written in Lahor on the 20th of
the latter Jumada (_Feb. 29th_), the very day on which Qaracha's
Hindustani servant whom we had started off from near Kalpi,[2549]
reached Lahor. `Abdu'l-`aziz wrote that he had gone with the others
assigned to meet my family at Nil-ab, had met them there on the 9th of
the latter Jumada (_Feb. 18th_), had accompanied them to Chin-ab
(Chan-ab), left them there, and come ahead to Lahor where he was writing
his letter.
(_April 1st_) We moved on, I going by boat, on Friday (_Rajab 22nd_). I
landed opposite Chausa to look at the ground of a year ago[2550] where
the Sun had been eclipsed and a fast kept.[2551] After I got back to the
boat, Muhammad-i-zaman Mirza, coming up behind by boat, overtook me; at
his suggestion _ma`jun_ was eaten.
The army had dismounted on the bank of the Karma-na['s]a-river, about
the water of which Hindus are understood to be extremely scrupulous.
They do not cross it, but go past its mouth by boat along the Gang
(Ganges). They firmly believe that, if its water touch a person, the
merit of his works is destroyed; with this belief its name
accords.[2552] I went some way up it by [Sidenote: Fol. 366.] boat,
turned back, went over to the north bank of Gang, and tied up. There the
braves made a little fun, some wrestling. Muhsin the cup-bearer
challenged, saying, "I will grapple with four or five." The first he
gripped, he threw; the second, who was Shadman (Joyous), threw him, to
Muhsin's shame and vexation. The (professional) wrestlers came also and
set to.
(_April 2nd_) Next morning, Saturday (_23rd_) we moved, close to the 1st
watch (6 a.m.), in order to get people off to look at the ford through
the Karma-na['s]a-water. I rode up it for not less than a _kuroh_ (2
m.), but the ford being still far on,[2553] took boat and went to the
camp below Chausa.
Today I used the pepper remedy again; it must have been somewhat hotter
than before, for it blistered (_qapardi_) my body, giving me much pain.
(_April 3rd_) We waited a day for a road to be managed across a
smallish, swampy rivulet heard to be ahead.[2554]
(_April 4th_) On the eve of Monday (_25th_),[2555] letters were written
and sent off in answer to those brought by the Hindustani footman of
`Abdu'l-`aziz.
The boat I got into at Monday's dawn, had to be towed because of the
wind. On reaching the ground opposite Baksara (Buxar) [Sidenote: Fol.
366b.] where the army had been seated many days last year,[2556] we went
over to look at it. Between 40 and 50 landing-steps had been then made
on the bank; of them the upper two only were left, the river having
destroyed the rest. _Ma`jun_ was eaten after return to the boat. We tied
up at an _aral_[2557] above the camp, set the champions to wrestle, and
went on at the Bed-time Prayer. A year ago (_yil-tur_), an excursion had
been made to look at the ground on which the camp now was, I passing
through Gang swimming (? _dastak bila_),[2558] some coming mounted on
horses, some on camels. That day I had eaten opium.
(_vv. Incidents of the military operations._)
(_April 5th_) At Tuesday's dawn (_26th_), we sent out for news not under
200 effective braves led by Karim-birdi and Haidar the stirrup-holder's
son Muhammad `Ali and Baba Shaikh.
While we were on this ground, the Bengal envoy was commanded to set
forth these three articles:--[2559]
(_April 6th_) On Wednesday (_27th_) Yunas-i-`ali who had been sent to
gather Muhammad-i-zaman Mirza's objections to Bihar, brought back rather
a weak answer.
Dutiful letters from the (Farmuli) Shaikh-zadas of Bihar gave news that
the enemy had abandoned the place and gone off.
(_April 7th_) On Thursday (_28th_) as many as 2000 men of the Turk and
Hind amirs and quiver-wearers were joined to Muhammad `Ali _Jang-jang's_
son Tardi-muhammad, and he was [Sidenote: Fol. 367.] given leave to go,
taking letters of royal encouragement to people in Bihar. He was joined
also by Khwaja Murshid _`Iraqi_ who had been made Diwan of Bihar.
(_April 8th_ (?)) Muhammad-i-zaman M. who had consented to go to Bihar,
made representation of several matters through Shaikh Zain and
Yunas-i-`ali. He asked for reinforcement; for this several braves were
inscribed and several others were made his own retainers.
(_April 9th_)[2560] On Saturday the 1st of the month of Sha`ban, we left
that ground where we had been for 3 or 4 days. I rode to visit Bhujpur
and Bihiya,[2561] thence went to camp.
Muhammad `Ali and the others, who had been sent out for news, after
beating a body of pagans as they went along, reached the place where Sl.
Mahmud (_Ludi_) had been with perhaps 2000 men. He had heard of our
reconnaissance, had broken up, killed two elephants of his, and marched
off. He seemed to have left braves and an elephant[2562] scout-fashion;
they made no stand when our men came up but took to flight. Ours
unhorsed a few of his, cut one head off, brought in a few good men
alive.
(_ww. Incidents of the eastward march resumed._)
(_April 10th_) We moved on next day (_Sunday 2nd_), I going by boat.
From our today's ground Muhammad-i-zaman M. crossed (his army) over the
river (Son), leaving none behind. We spent 2 or 3 days on this ground in
order to put his work through and [Sidenote: Fol. 367b.] get him off.
(_April 13th_) On Wednesday the 4th[2563] of the month, Muhammad-i-zaman
M. was presented with a royal head-to-foot, a sword and belt, a
_tipuchaq_ horse and an umbrella.[2564] He also was made to kneel
(_yukunduruldi_) for the Bihar country. Of the Bihar revenues one _krur_
and 25 _laks_ were reserved for the Royal Treasury; its Diwani was
entrusted to Murshid _`Iraqi_.
(_April 14th_) I left that ground by boat on Thursday (_6th_). I had
already ordered the boats to wait, and on getting up with them, I had
them fastened together abreast in line.[2565] Though all were not
collected there, those there were greatly exceeded the breadth of the
river. They could not move on, however, so-arranged, because the water
was here shallow, there deep, here swift, there still. A crocodile
(_gharial_) shewing itself, a terrified fish leaped so high as to fall
into a boat; it was caught and brought to me.
When we were nearing our ground, we gave the boats names:--a [Sidenote:
Fol. 368.] large[2566] one, formerly the Baburi,[2567] which had been
built in Agra before the Holy-battle with Sanga, was named Asaish
(Repose).[2568] Another, which Araish Khan had built and presented to me
this year before our army got to horse, one in which I had had a
platform set up on our way to this ground, was named Araish (Ornament).
Another, a good-sized one presented to me by Jalalu'd-din _Sharqi_, was
named the Gunjaish (Capacious); in it I had ordered a second platform
set up, on the top of the one already in it. To a little skiff, having a
_chaukandi_,[2569] one used for every task (_har aish_) and duty, was
given the name Farmaish (Commissioned).
(_April 15th_) Next day, Friday (_7th_), no move was made.
Muhammad-i-zaman M. who, his preparations for Bihar complete, had
dismounted one or two _kurohs_ from the camp, came today to take leave
of me.[2570]
(_xx. News of the army of Bengal._)
Two spies, returned from the Bengal army, said that Bengalis[2571] under
Makhdum-i-`alam were posted in 24 places on the Gandak and there raising
defences; that they had hindered the Afghans from carrying out their
intention to get their families across the river (Ganges?), and had
joined them to themselves.[2572] This news making fighting probable, we
detained Muhammad-i-zaman Mirza, and sent Shah Iskandar to Bihar with 3
or 400 men.
(_yy. Incidents of the eastward march resumed._)
[Sidenote: Fol. 368b.] (_April 16th_) On Saturday (_8th_) a person came
in from Dudu and her son Jalal Khan (son) of Bihar Khan[2573] whom the
Bengali (Nasrat Shah) must have held as if eye-bewitched.[2574] After
letting me know they were coming,[2575] they had done some straight
fighting to get away from the Bengalis, had crossed the river,[2576]
reached Bihar, and were said now to be on their way to me.
This command was given today for the Bengal envoy Isma`il
Mita:--Concerning those three articles, about which letters have already
been written and despatched, let him write that an answer is long in
coming, and that if the honoured (Nasrat Shah) be loyal and of
single-mind towards us, it ought to come soon.
(_April 17th_) In the night of Sunday (_9th_)[2577] a man came in from
Tardi-muhammad _Jang-jang_ to say that when, on Wednesday the 5th of the
month Sha`ban, his scouts reached Bihar from this side, the Shiqdar of
the place went off by a gate on the other side.
On Sunday morning we marched on and dismounted in the _pargana_ of Ari
(Arrah).[2578]
(_zz. News and negotiations._)
To this ground came the news that the Kharid[2579] army, with 100-150
boats, was said to be on the far side of the Saru near the meeting of
Saru and Gang (Ghogra and Ganges). As a sort of peace existed between us
and the Bengali (Nasrat Shah _Afghan_), and as, for the sake of a
benediction, peace was our first endeavour whenever such work was toward
as we were now on, we kept to our rule, notwithstanding his unmannerly
conduct in setting himself on our road;[2580] we associated Mulla Mazhab
with his envoy Isma`il Mita, spoke once more about those three articles
[Sidenote: Fol. 369.] (_fasl soz_), and decided to let the envoy go.
(_April 18th_) On Monday (_10th_) when the Bengal envoy came to wait on
me, he was let know that he had his leave, and what follows was
mentioned:[2581]--"We shall be going to this side and that side, in
pursuit of our foe, but no hurt or harm will be done to any dependency
of yours. As one of those three articles said,[2582] when you have told
the army of Kharid to rise off our road and to go back to Kharid, let a
few Turks be joined with it to reassure these Kharid people and to
escort them to their own place.[2583] If they quit not the ferry-head,
if they cease not their unbecoming words, they must regard as their own
act any ill that befalls them, must count any misfortune they confront
as the fruit of their own words."
(_April 20th_) On Wednesday (_12th_) the usual dress of honour was put
on the Bengal envoy, gifts were bestowed on him and his leave to go was
given.
(_April 21st_) On Thursday (_13th_) Shaikh Jamali was sent with royal
letters of encouragement to Dudu and her son Jalal Khan.
Today a servant of Mahim's came, who will have parted from the
Wali(?)[2584] on the other side of the Bagh-i-safa.
(_April 23rd_) On Saturday (_15th_) an envoy from `Iraq, Murad
_Qajar_[2585] the life-guardsman, was seen.
(_April 24th_) On Sunday (_16th_) Mulla Mazhab received his usual
keepsakes (_yadgarlar_) and was given leave to go.
[Sidenote: Fol. 369b.] (_April 25th_) On Monday (_17th_) Khalifa was
sent, with several begs, to see where the river (Ganges) could be
crossed.
(_April 27th_) On Wednesday, (_19th_) Khalifa again was sent out, to
look at the ground between the two rivers (Ganges and Ghogra).
On this same day I rode southward in the Ari (Arrah) _pargana_ to visit
the sheets of lotus[2586] near Ari. During the excursion Shaikh Guran
brought me fresh-set lotus-seeds, first-rate little things just like
pistachios. The flower, that is to say, the _nilufar_ (lotus),
Hindustanis call _kuwul-kikri_ (lotus-pistachio), and its seed _dudah_
(soot).
As people said, "The Son is near," we went to refresh ourselves on it.
Masses of trees could be seen down-stream; "Munir is there," said they,
"where the tomb is of Shaikh Yahya the father of Shaikh Sharafu'd-din
_Muniri_."[2587] It being so close, I crossed the Son, went 2 or 3
_kurohs_ down it, traversed the Munir orchards, made the circuit of the
tomb, returned to the Son-bank, made ablution, went through the Mid-day
Prayer before time, and made for camp. Some of our horses, being
fat,[2588] had fallen behind; some were worn out; a few people were left
to gather them together, water them, rest them, and bring them on
without pressure; but for this many would have been ruined.
When we turned back from Munir, I ordered that some-one [Sidenote: Fol.
370.] should count a horse's steps between the Son-bank and the camp.
They amounted to 23,100, which is 46,200 paces, which is 11-1/2
_kurohs_ (23m.).[2589] It is about half a _kuroh_ from Munir to the
Son; the return journey from Munir to the camp was therefore 12 _kurohs_
(24m.). In addition to this were some 15-16 _kurohs_ done in visiting
this and that place; so that the whole excursion was one of some 30
_kurohs_ (60m.). Six _garis_ of the 1st night-watch had passed [8.15
p.m.] when we reached the camp.
(_April 28th_) At the dawn of Thursday (_Sha`ban 19th_) Sl. Junaid
_Barlas_ came in with the Junpur braves from Junpur. I let him know my
blame and displeasure on account of his delay; I did not see him. Qazi
Jia I sent for and saw.
(_aaa. Plan of the approaching battle with the Bengal army._)
On the same day the Turk and Hind amirs were summoned for a consultation
about crossing Gang (Ganges), and matters found settlement at
this[2590]:--that Ustad `Ali-quli should collect mortar, _firingi_,[2591]
and culverin[2592] to the point of rising ground between the rivers Saru
and Gang, and, having many matchlockmen with him, should incite to
battle from that place;[2593] that Mustafa, he also having many
matchlockmen, should get his material and implements ready on the Bihar
side of Gang, a little below the meeting of the waters and opposite to
where on an island the Bengalis had an elephant and a mass of boats tied
up, and that he should engage battle from this place;[2594] that
Muhammad-i-zaman Mirza and the others inscribed for the work should take
post behind Mustafa as his reserve; that both for Ustad `Ali-quli and
Mustafa shelters (_muljar_) for the culverin-firers should be raised by
a mass of spadesmen and coolies (_kahar_) [Sidenote: Fol. 370b.] under
appointed overseers; that as soon as these shelters were ready, `Askari
and the sultans inscribed for the work should cross quickly at the
Haldi-passage[2595] and come down on the enemy; that meantime, as Sl.
Junaid and Qazi Jia had given information about a crossing-place[2596] 8
_kurohs_ (16 m.) higher up,[2597] Zard-rui(Pale-face?) should go with a
few raftsmen and some of the people of the Sultan, Mahmud Khan _Nuhani_
and Qazi Jia to look at that crossing; and that, if crossing there were,
they should go over at once, because it was rumoured that the Bengalis
were planning to post men at the Haldi-passage.
A dutiful letter from Mahmud Khan the Military-collector (_shiqdar_) of
Sikandarpur now came, saying that he had collected as many as 50 boats
at the Haldi-passage and had given wages to the boatmen, but that these
were much alarmed at the rumoured approach of the Bengalis.
(_April 30th_) As time pressed[2598] for crossing the Saru, I did not
wait for the return of those who had gone to look at the passage, but
on Saturday (_21st_) summoned the begs for consultation and said, "As it
has been reported that there are (no?) crossing-places (fords?) along
the whole of the ground from Chatur-muk in Sikandarpur to Baraich and
Aud,[2599] let us, while seated here, assign the large force to cross at
the Haldi-passage by boat and from there [Sidenote: Fol. 371.] to come
down on the enemy; let Ustad `Ali-quli and Mustafa engage battle with
gun (_top_), matchlock, culverin and _firingi_, and by this draw the
enemy out before `Askari comes up.[2600] Let us after crossing the river
(Ganges) and assigning reinforcement to Ustad `Ali-quli, take our stand
ready for whatever comes; if `Askari's troops get near, let us fling
attack from where we are, cross over and assault; let Muhammad-i-zaman
Mirza and those appointed to act with him, engage battle from near
Mustafa on the other side of Gang."
The matter having been left at this, the force for the north of the Gang
was formed into four divisions to start under `Askari's command for the
Haldi-passage. One division was of `Askari and his retainers; another
was Sl. Jalalu'd-din _Sharqi_; another was of the Auzbeg sultans
Qasim-i-husain Sultan, Bi-khub Sultan and Tang-aitmish Sultan, together
with Mahmud Khan _Nuhani_ of Ghazipur, Baba Qashqa's Kuki, Tulmish
_Auzbeg_, Qurban of Chirkh, and the Darya-khanis led by Hasan Khan;
another was of Musa Sl. (_Farmuli_) and Sl. Junaid with what-not of the
Junpur army, some 20,000 men. Officers were appointed to oversee the
getting of the force to horse that very night, that is to say, the
[Sidenote: Fol. 371b.] night of Sunday.[2601]
(_May 1st_) The army began to cross Gang at the dawn of Sunday (_Sha`ban
22nd_); I went over by boat at the 1st watch (6a.m.). Zard-rui and his
party came in at mid-day; the ford itself they had not found but they
brought news of boats and of having met on the road the army getting
near them.[2602]
(_May 3rd_) On Tuesday (_Sha`ban 24th_) we marched from where the river
had been crossed, went on for nearly one _kuroh_ (2 m.) and dismounted
on the fighting-ground at the confluence.[2603] I myself went to enjoy
Ustad `Ali-quli's firing of culverin and _firingi_; he hit two boats
today with _firingi_-stones, broke them and sank them. Mustafa did the
same from his side. I had the large mortar[2604] taken to the
fighting-ground, left Mulla Ghulam to superintend the making of its
position, appointed a body of _vasawals_[2605] and active braves to help
him, went to an island facing the camp and there ate _ma`jun_.
Whilst still under the influence of the confection[2606] I had the boat
taken to near the tents and there slept. A strange thing happened in the
night, a noise and disturbance arising about the 3rd watch (midnight)
and the pages and others snatching up pieces of wood from the boat, and
shouting "Strike! strike!" [Sidenote: Fol. 372.] What was said to have
led to the disturbance was that a night-guard who was in the Farmaish
along-side the Asaish in which I was sleeping,[2607] opening his eyes
from slumber, sees a man with his hand on the Asaish as if meaning to
climb into her. They fall on him;[2608] he dives, comes up again, cuts
at the night-guard's head, wounding it a little, then runs off at once
towards the river.[2609] Once before, on the night we returned from
Munir, one or two night-guards had chased several Hindustanis from near
the boats, and had brought in two swords and a dagger of theirs. The
Most High had me in His Keeping!
(_Persian_) Were the sword of the world to leap forth,
It would cut not a vein till God will.[2610]
(_May 4th_) At the dawn of Wednesday (_25th_), I went in the boat
Gunjaish to near the stone-firing ground (_tash-atar-yir_) and there
posted each soever to his work.
(_bbb. Details of the engagement._)
Aughan-birdi _Mughul_, leading not less than 1,000 men, had been sent to
get, in some way or other, across the river (Saru) one, two, three
_kurohs_ (2, 4, 6m.) higher up. A mass of foot-soldiers, crossing from
opposite `Askari's camp,[2611] landed from 20-30 boats on his road,
presumably thinking to show their superiority, but Aughan-birdi and his
men charged them, put them to flight, took a few and cut their heads
off, shot many with arrows, and got possession of 7 or 8 boats. Today
also Bengalis crossed in a few boats to Muhammad-i-zaman Mirza's side,
there landed and [Sidenote: Fol. 372b.] provoked to fight. When attacked
they fled, and three boat-loads of them were drowned. One boat was
captured and brought to me. In this affair Baba the Brave went forward
and exerted himself excellently.
Orders were given that in the darkness of night the boats Aughan-birdi
had captured should be drawn[2612] up-stream, and that in them there
should cross Muhammad Sl. Mirza, Yakka Khwaja, Yunas-i-`ali,
Aughan-birdi and those previously assigned to go with them.
Today came a man from `Askari to say that he had crossed the
[Saru]-water, leaving none behind, and that he would come down on the
enemy at next day's dawn, that is to say, on Thursday's. Here-upon those
already ordered to cross over were told to join `Askari and to advance
upon the enemy with him.
At the Mid-day Prayer a person came from Usta, saying "The stone is
ready; what is the order?" The order was, "Fire this stone off; keep the
next till I come." Going at the Other Prayer in a very small Bengali
skiff to where shelter (_muljar_) had been raised, I saw Usta fire off
one large stone and several small _firingi_ ones. Bengalis have a
reputation for fire-working;[2613] we tested it now; they do not fire
counting to hit a particular spot, but fire at random.
At this same Other Prayer orders were given to draw a few boats
up-stream along the enemy's front. A few were got past without a "God
forbid!"[2614] from those who, all unprotected, drew [Sidenote: Fol.
373.] them up. Aisan-timur Sl. and Tukhta-bugha Sl. were ordered to stay
at the place those boats reached, and to keep watch over them. I got
back to camp in the 1st night-watch of Thursday.[2615]
Near midnight came news from (Aughan-birdi's) boats which were being
drawn up-stream, "The force appointed had gone somewhat ahead; we were
following, drawing the boats, when the Bengalis got to know where we
were drawing them and attacked. A stone hit a boatman in the leg and
broke it, we could not pass on."
(_May 5th_) At dawn on Thursday (_Sha`ban 26th_) came the news from
those at the shelter, "All the boats have come from above.[2616] The
enemy's horse has ridden to meet our approaching army." On this, I got
our men mounted quickly and rode out to above those boats[2617] that had
been drawn up in the night. A galloper was sent off with an order for
Muhammad Sl. M. and those appointed to cross with him, to do it at once
and join `Askari. The order for Aisan-timur Sl. and Tukhta-bugha Sl. who
were above these boats,[2618] was that they should busy themselves to
cross. Baba Sl. was not at his post.[2619]
Aisan-timur Sl. at once crosses, in one boat with 30-40 of his retainers
who hold their horses by the mane at the boat-side. [Sidenote: Fol.
373b.] A second boat follows. The Bengalis see them crossing and start
off a mass of foot-soldiers for them. To meet these go 7 or 8 of
Aisan-timur Sl.'s retainers, keeping together, shooting off arrows,
drawing those foot-soldiers towards the Sultan who meantime is getting
his men mounted; meantime also the second boat is moving (_rawan_). When
his 30-35 horsemen charge those foot-soldiers, they put them well to
flight. Aisan-timur did distinguished work, first in crossing before the
rest, swift, steady, and without a "God forbid!", secondly in his
excellent advance, with so few men, on such a mass of foot, and by
putting these to flight. Tukhta-bugha Sl. also crossed. Then boats
followed one after another. Lahoris and Hindustanis began to cross from
their usual posts[2620] by swimming or on bundles of reeds.[2621] Seeing
how matters were going, the Bengalis of the boats opposite the shelter
(Mustafa's), set their faces for flight down-stream.
Darwish-i-muhammad _Sarban_, Dost Lord-of-the-gate, Nur Beg and several
braves also went across the river. I made a man gallop off to the
Sultans to say, "Gather well together those who [Sidenote: Fol. 374.]
cross, go close to the opposing army, take it in the flank, and get to
grips." Accordingly the Sultans collected those who crossed, formed up
into 3 or 4 divisions, and started for the foe. As they draw near, the
enemy-commander, without breaking his array, flings his foot-soldiers to
the front and so comes on. Kuki comes up with a troop from `Askari's
force and gets to grips on his side; the Sultans get to grips on theirs;
they get the upper hand, unhorse man after man, and make the enemy
scurry off. Kuki's men bring down a Pagan of repute named Basant Rao
and cut off his head; 10 or 15 of his people fall on Kuki's, and are
instantly cut to pieces. Tukhta-bugha Sl. gallops along the enemy's
front and gets his sword well in. Mughul `Abdu'l-wahhab and his younger
brother gets theirs in well too. Mughul though he did not know how to
swim, had crossed the river holding to his horse's mane.
I sent for my own boats which were behind;[2622] the Farmaish coming up
first, I went over in it to visit the Bengalis' encamping-grounds. I
then went into the Gunjaish. "Is there a crossing-place higher up?" I
asked. Mir Muhammad the raftsman represented that the Saru was better to
cross higher up;[2623] accordingly the army-folk[2624] were ordered to
cross at the higher place he named.
While those led by Muhammad Sl. Mirza were crossing the [Sidenote: Fol.
374b.] river,[2625] the boat in which Yakka Khwaja was, sank and he went
to God's mercy. His retainers and lands were bestowed on his younger
brother Qasim Khwaja.
The Sultans arrived while I was making ablution for the Mid-day Prayer;
I praised and thanked them and led them to expect guerdon and kindness.
`Askari also came; this was the first affair he had seen; one
well-omened for him!
As the camp had not yet crossed the river, I took my rest in the boat
Gunjaish, near an island.
(_ccc. Various incidents of the days following the battle._)
(_May 6th_) During the day of Friday (_Sha`ban 27th_) we landed at a
village named Kundih[2626] in the Nirhun _pargana_ of Kharid on the
north side of the Saru.[2627]
(_May 8th_) On Sunday (_29th_) Kuki was sent to Hajipur for news.
Shah Muhammad (son) of Ma`ruf to whom in last year's campaign (934 AH.)
I had shown great favour and had given the Saran-country, had done well
on several occasions, twice fighting and overcoming his father
Ma`ruf.[2628] At the time when Sl. Mahmud _Ludi_ perfidiously took
possession of Bihar and was opposed by Shaikh Bayazid and Biban, Shah
Muhammad had no help for it, he had to join them; but even then, when
people were saying wild words about him, he had written dutifully to me.
When `Askari crossed at the Haldi-passage, Shah [Sidenote: Fol. 375.]
Muhammad had come at once with a troop, seen him and with him gone
against the Bengalis. He now came to this ground and waited on me.
During these days news came repeatedly that Biban and Shaikh Bayazid
were meaning to cross the Saru-river.
In these days of respite came the surprising news from Sanbal (Sambhal)
where `Ali-i-yusuf had stayed in order to bring the place into some sort
of order, that he and a physician who was by way of being a friend of
his, had gone to God's mercy on one and the same day. `Abdu'l-lah
(_kitabdar_) was ordered to go and maintain order in Sanbal.
(_May 13th_) On Friday the 5th of the month Ramzan, `Abdu'l-lah was
given leave for Sanbal.[2629]
(_ddd. News from the westward._)
In these same days came a dutiful letter from Chin-timur Sl. saying that
on account of the journey of the family from Kabul, several of the begs
who had been appointed to reinforce him, had not been able to join
him;[2630] also that he had gone out with Muhammadi and other begs and
braves, not less than 100 _kurohs_ (200m.), attacked the Baluchis and
given them a good beating.[2631] Orders were sent through `Abdu'l-lah
(_kitabdar_) for the Sultan that he and Sl. Muhammad _Duldai_,
Muhammadi, and some of the begs and braves of that country-side should
assemble in Agra and there remain ready to move to wherever an enemy
appeared.
(_eee. Settlement with the Nuhani Afghans._)
(_May 16th_) On Monday the 8th of the month, Darya Khan's [Sidenote:
Fol. 375b.] grandson Jalal Khan to whom Shaikh Jamali had gone, came in
with his chief amirs and waited on me.[2632] Yahya _Nuhani_ also came,
who had already sent his younger brother in sign of submission and had
received a royal letter accepting his service. Not to make vain the hope
with which some 7 or 8,000 _Nuhani_ Afghans had come in to me, I
bestowed 50 _laks_ from Bihar on Mahmud Khan _Nuhani_, after reserving
one _krur_ for Government uses (_khalsa_), and gave the remainder of the
Bihar revenues in trust for the above-mentioned Jalal Khan who for his
part agreed to pay one _krur_ of tribute. Mulla Ghulam _yasawal_ was
sent to collect this tribute.[2633] Muhammad-i-zaman Mirza received the
Junapur-country.[2634]
(_fff. Peace made with Nasrat Shah._)
(_May 19th_) On the eve of Thursday (_11th_) that retainer of Khalifa's,
Ghulam-i-`ali by name, who in company with a retainer of the Shah-zada
of Mungir named Abu'l-fath,[2635] had gone earlier than Isma`il Mita, to
convey those three articles (_fasl soz_), now returned, again in company
with Abu'l-fath, bringing letters for Khalifa written by the Shah-zada
and by Husain Khan _Laskar_(?) _Wazir_, who, in these letters, gave
assent to those three conditions, took upon themselves to act for Nasrat
Shah and interjected a word for peace. As the object of this campaign
was to put down the rebel Afghans of whom some had taken their heads
and gone off, some had come in submissive and accepting my service, and
the remaining few were in the hands of the Bengali [Sidenote: Fol. 376.]
(Nasrat Shah) who had taken them in charge, and as, moreover, the Rains
were near, we in our turn wrote and despatched words for peace on the
conditions mentioned.
(_ggg_. _Submissions and guerdon._)
(_May 21st_) On Saturday (_13th_) Isma`il _Jalwani_, `Alaul Khan
_Nuhani_, Auliya Khan _Ashraqi_(?) and 5 and 6 amirs came in and waited
on me.
Today guerdon was bestowed on Aisan-timur Sl. and Tukhta-bugha Sl., of
swords and daggers with belts, cuirasses, dresses of honour, and
_tipuchaq_ horses; also they were made to kneel, Aisan-timur Sl. for the
grant of 36 _laks_ from the Narnul _pargana_, Tukhta-bugha Sl. for 30
_laks_ from that of Shamsabad.
(_hhh_. _Pursuit of Bayazid and Biban._)
(_May 23rd_) On Monday the 15th of the month (_Ramzan_), we marched from
our ground belonging to Kundbah (or Kundih) on the Saru-river, with easy
mind about Bihar and Bengal, and resolute to crush the traitors Biban
and Shaikh Bayazid.
(_May 25th_) On Wednesday (_17th_) after making two night-halts by the
way, we dismounted at a passage across the Saru, called
Chaupara-Chaturmuk of Sikandarpur.[2636] From today people were busy in
crossing the river.
As news began to come again and again that the traitors, after crossing
Saru and Gogar,[2637] were going toward Luknu,[2638] the following
leaders were appointed to bar (their) crossing[2639]:--The Turk and Hind
amirs Jalalu'd-din _Sharqi_, `Ali Khan _Farmuli_; Tardika (or, Tardi
_yakka_), Nizam Khan of Biana, together with Tulmish _Auzbeg_, Qurban of
Chirk and Darya Khan (of Bhira's [Sidenote: Fol. 376b.] son) Hasan Khan.
They were given leave to go on the night of Thursday.[2640]
(_iii. Damage done to the Babur-nama writings._)
That same night when 1 watch (_pas_), 5 _garis_ had passed (_cir._ 10.55
p.m.) and the _tarawih_-prayers were over,[2641] such a storm burst, in
the inside of a moment, from the up-piled clouds of the Rainy-season,
and such a stiff gale rose, that few tents were left standing. I was in
the Audience-tent, about to write (_kitabat qila dur aidim_); before I
could collect papers and sections,[2642] the tent came down, with its
porch, right on my head. The _tungluq_ went to pieces.[2643] God
preserved me! no harm befell me! Sections and book[2644] were drenched
under water and gathered together with much difficulty. We laid them in
the folds of a woollen throne-carpet,[2645] put this on the throne and
on it piled blankets. The storm quieted down in about 2 _garis_ (45m.);
the bedding-tent was set up, a lamp lighted, and, after much trouble, a
fire kindled. We, without sleep, were busy till shoot of day drying
folios and sections.
(_jjj. Pursuit of Biban and Bayazid resumed._)
(_May 26th_) I crossed the water on Thursday morning (_Raman 18th_).
(_May 27th_) On Friday (_19th_) I rode out to visit Sikandarpur and
Kharid.[2646] Today came matters written by `Abdu`l-lah (_kitabdar_) and
Baqi about the taking of Luknur.[2647]
(_May 28th_) On Saturday (_20th_) Kuki was sent ahead, with a troop, to
join Baqi.[2648]
(_May 29th_) That nothing falling to be done before my arrival might be
neglected, leave to join Baqi was given on Sunday (_21st_) to Sl. Junaid
_Barlas_, Khalifa's (son) Hasan, Mulla Apaq's [Sidenote: Fol. 377.]
retainers, and the elder and younger brethren of Mumin Ataka.
Today at the Other Prayer a special dress of honour and a _tipuchaq_
horse were bestowed on Shah Muhammad (son) of Ma`ruf _Farmuli_, and
leave to go was given. As had been done last year (934 AH.), an
allowance from Saran and Kundla[2649] was bestowed on him for the
maintenance of quiver-wearers. Today too an allowance of 72 _laks_[2650]
from Sarwar and a _tipuchaq_ horse were bestowed on Isma`il _Jalwani_,
and his leave was given.
About the boats Gunjaish and Araish it was settled with Bengalis that
they should take them to Ghazipur by way of Tir-muhani.[2651] The boats
Asaish and Farmaish were ordered taken up the Saru with the camp.
(_May 30th_) On Monday (_Ramzan 22nd_) we marched from the
Chaupara-Chaturmuk passage along the Saru, with mind at ease about Bihar
and Sarwar,[2652] and after doing as much as 10 _kurohs_
[Sidenote: Fol. 377b.] (20m.) dismounted on the Saru in a village
called Kilirah (?) dependent on Fathpur.[2653]
(_kkk. A surmised survival of the record of 934. A.H._[2654])
*After spending several days pleasantly in that place where there are
gardens, running-waters, well-designed buildings, trees, particularly
mango-trees, and various birds of coloured plumage, I ordered the march
to be towards Ghazipur.
Isma`il Khan _Jalwani_ and `Alaul Khan _Nuhani_ had it represented to me
that they would come to Agra after seeing their native land (_watn_). On
this the command was, "I will give an order in a month."*[2655]
(_lll. The westward march resumed._)
(_May 31st_) Those who marched early (_Tuesday, Ramzan 23rd_), having
lost their way, went to the great lake of Fathpur (?).[2656] People were
sent galloping off to fetch back such as were near and Kichik Khwaja was
ordered to spend the night on the lakeshore and to bring the rest on
next morning to join the camp. We marched at dawn; I got into the Asaish
half-way and had it towed to our ground higher up.
(_mmm. Details of the capture of a fort by Biban and Bayazid._)
On the way up, Khalifa brought Shah Muhammad _diwana's_ son who had come
from Baqi bringing this reliable news about Luknur[2657]:--They (_i.e._
Biban and Bayazid) hurled their assault on Saturday the 13th of the
month Ramzan (_May 21st_) but could do nothing by fighting; while the
fighting was going on, a collection of wood-chips, hay, and thorns in
the fort took fire, so that inside the walls it became as hot as an oven
(_tanurdik tafsan_); the garrison could not move round the rampart; the
fort was lost. When the enemy heard, two or three days later, of our
return (westwards), he fled towards Dalmau.[2658]
Today after doing as much as 10 _kurohs_ (20m.), we dismounted beside a
village called Jalisir,[2659] on the Saru-bank, in the Sagri _pargana_.
(_June 1st_) We stayed on the same ground through Wednesday (_24th_), in
order to rest our cattle.
(_nnn. Dispositions against Biban and Bayazid._)
Some said they had heard that Biban and Bayazid had crossed Gang, and
thought of withdrawing themselves to their kinsfolk [Sidenote: Fol.
378.]
(_nisbahsilar_) by way of....[2660] Here-upon the begs were summoned
for a consultation and it was settled that Muhammad-i-zaman Mirza and
Sl. Junaid _Barlas_ who in place of Junpur had been given Chunar with
several _parganas_, Mahmud Khan _Nuhani_, Qazi Jia, and Taj Khan
_Sarang-khani_ should block the enemy's road at Chunar.[2661]
(_June 2nd_) Marching early in the morning of Thursday (_25th_), we left
the Saru-river, did 11 _kurohs_ (22 m.), crossed the Parsaru (Sarju) and
dismounted on its bank.
Here the begs were summoned, discussion was had, and the leaders named
below were appointed to go detached from the army, in rapid pursuit of
Biban and Bayazid towards Dalmut (Dalmau):--Aisan-timur Sl., Muhammad Sl.
M., Tukhta-bugha Sl., Qasim-i-husain Sl., Bi-khub (Ni-khub) Sl.,
Muzaffar-i-husain Sl., Qasim Khwaja, Ja`far Khwaja, Zahid Khwaja, Jani
Beg, `Askari's retainer Kichik Khwaja, and, of Hind amirs, `Alam Khan of
Kalpi, Malik-dad _Kararani_, and Rao (Rawui) _Sarwani_.
(_ooo. The march continued._)
When I went at night to make ablution in the Parsaru, people were
catching a mass of fish that had gathered round a lamp on the surface of
the water. I like others took fish in my hands.[2662]
(_June 3rd_) On Friday (_26th_) we dismounted on a very slender stream,
the head-water of a branch of the Parsaru. In order not to be disturbed
by the comings and goings of the army-folk, [Sidenote: Fol. 378b.] I had
it dammed higher up and had a place, 10 by 10, made for ablution. The
night of the 27th[2663] was spent on this ground.
(_June 4th_) At the dawn of the same day (_Saturday 27th_) we left that
water, crossed the Tus and dismounted on its bank.[2664]
(_June 5th_) On Sunday (_28th_) we dismounted on the bank of the same
water.
(_June 6th_) On Monday the 29th of the month (_Ramzan_), our station was
on the bank of the same Tus-water. Though tonight the sky was not quite
clear, a few people saw the Moon, and so testifying to the Qazi, fixed
the end of the month (_Ramzan_).
(_June 7th_) On Tuesday (_Shawwal 1st_) we made the Prayer of the
Festival, at dawn rode on, did 10 _kurohs_ (20 m.), and dismounted on
the bank of the Gui (Gumti), a _kuroh_ (2 m.) from Maing.[2665] The sin
of _ma`jun_ was committed (_irtikab qilildi_) near the Mid-day Prayer; I
had sent this little couplet of invitation to Shaikh Zain, Mulla Shihab
and Khwand-amir:--
(_Turki_) Shaikh and Mulla Shihab and Khwand-amir,
Come all three, or two, or one.
Darwish-i-muhammad (_Sarban_), Yunas-i-`ali and `Abdu'l-lah
(_`asas_)[2666] were also there. At the Other Prayer the wrestlers set
to.
(_June 8th_) On Wednesday (_2nd_) we stayed on the same ground. Near
breakfast-time _ma`jun_ was eaten. Today Malik Sharq came in who had
been to get Taj Khan out of Chunar.[2667] When the wrestlers set to
today, the Champion of Aud who had come earlier, grappled with and threw
a Hindustani wrestler who had [Sidenote: Fol. 379.] come in the
interval.
Today Yahya _Nuhani_ was granted an allowance of 15 _laks_ from
Parsarur,[2668] made to put on a dress of honour, and given his leave.
(_June 9th_) Next day (_Thursday 3rd_) we did 11 _kurohs_ (22 m.),
crossed the Gui-water (Gumti), and dismounted on its bank.
(_ppp. Concerning the pursuit of Biban and Bayazid._)
News came in about the sultans and begs of the advance that they had
reached Dalmud (Dalmau), but were said not yet to have crossed the water
(Ganges). Angered by this (delay), I sent orders, "Cross the water at
once; follow the track of the rebels; cross Jun (Jumna) also; join `Alam
Khan to yourselves; be energetic and get to grips with the adversary."
(_qqq. The march continued._)
(_June 10th_) After leaving this water (_Gumti_, _Friday 4th_) we made
two night-halts and reached Dalmud (Dalmau), where most of the army-folk
crossed Gang, there and then, by a ford. While the camp was being got
over, _ma`jun_ was eaten on an island (_aral_) below the ford.
(_June 13th_) After crossing, we waited one day (_Monday 7th_) for all
the army-folk to get across. Today Baqi _Tashkindi_ came in with the
army of Aud (Ajodhya) and waited on me.
(_June 14th_) Leaving the Gang-water (Ganges, _Tuesday 8th_), we made
one night-halt, then dismounted (_June 15th-Shawwal 9th_) beside Kurarah
(Kura Khas) on the Arind-water. The distance from Dalmud (Dalmau) to
Kurarah came out at 22 _kurohs_ (44 m.).[2669]
(_June 16th_) On Thursday (_10th_) we marched early from that ground and
dismounted opposite the Adampur _pargana_.[2670]
To enable us to cross (Jun) in pursuit of our adversaries, a few
[Sidenote: Fol. 379b.] raftsmen had been sent forward to collect at
Kalpi what boats were to be had; some boats arrived the night we
dismounted, moreover a ford was found through the Jun-river.
As the encamping-place was full of dust, we settled ourselves on an
island and there stayed the several days we were on that ground.
(_rrr. Concerning Biban and Bayazid._)
Not getting reliable news about the enemy, we sent Baqi _shaghawal_ with
a few braves of the interior[2671] to get information about him.
(_June 17th_) Next day (_Friday 11th_) at the Other Prayer, one of Baqi
Beg's retainers came in. Baqi had beaten scouts of Biban and Bayazid,
killed one of their good men, Mubarak Khan _Jalwani_, and some others,
sent in several heads, and one man alive.
(_June 18th_) At dawn (_Saturday 12th_) Paymaster Shah Husain came in,
told the story of the beating of the scouts, and gave various news.
Tonight, that is to say, the night of Sunday the 13th of the
month,[2672] the river Jun came down in flood, so that by the dawn, the
whole of the island on which I was settled, was under water. I moved to
another an arrow's-flight down-stream, there had a tent set up and
settled down.
(_June 20th_) On Monday (_14th_) Jalal _Tashkindi_ came from the begs
and sultans of the advance. Shaikh Bayazid and Biban, on hearing of
their expedition, had fled to the _pargana_ of Mahuba.[2673] [Sidenote:
Fol. 380.]
As the Rains had set in and as after 5 or 6 months of active service,
horses and cattle in the army were worn out, the sultans and begs of the
expedition were ordered to remain where they were till they received
fresh supplies from Agra and those parts. At the Other Prayer of the
same day, leave was given to Baqi and the army of Aud (Ajodhya). Also an
allowance of 30 _laks_[2674] from Amroha was assigned to Musa (son) of
Ma`ruf _Farmuli_, who had waited on me at the time the returning army
was crossing the Saru-water,[2675] a special head-to-foot and saddled
horse were bestowed on him, and he was given his leave.
(_sss. Babur returns to Agra._)
(_June 21st_) With an easy mind about these parts, we set out for Agra,
raid-fashion,[2676] when 3 _pas_ 1 _gari_ of Tuesday night were
past.[2677] In the morning (_Tuesday 15th_) we did 16 _kurohs_ (32 m.),
near mid-day made our nooning in the _pargana_ of Baladar, one of the
dependencies of Kalpi, there gave our horses barley, at the Evening
Prayer rode on, did 13 _kurohs_ (26 m.) in the night, at the 3rd
night-watch (_mid-night_, _Shawwal 15-16th_) dismounted at Bahadur Khan
_Sarwani's_ tomb at Sugandpur, a _pargana_ of Kalpi, slept a little,
went through the Morning Prayer and hurried on. After doing 16 _kurohs_
(32 m.), we reached Etawa at the fall of day, where Mahdi Khwaja came
out to meet us.[2678] Riding [Sidenote: Fol. 380b.] on after the 1st
night-watch (9 p.m.), we slept a little on the way, did 16 _kurohs_ (32
m.), took our nooning at Fathpur of Rapri, rode on soon after the
Mid-day Prayer (_Thursday Shawwal 17th_), did 17 _kurohs_ (34 m.), and
in the 2nd night-watch[2679] dismounted in the Garden-of-eight-paradises
at Agra.
(_June 24th_) At the dawn of Friday (_18th_) Pay-master Sl. Muhammad
came with several more to wait on me. Towards the Mid-day Prayer, having
crossed Jun, I waited on Khwaja `Abdu'l-haqq, went into the Fort and saw
the begims my paternal-aunts.
(_ttt. Indian-grown fruits._)
A Balkhi melon-grower had been set to raise melons; he now brought a few
first-rate small ones; on one or two bush-vines (_buta-tak_) I had had
planted in the Garden-of-eight-paradises very good grapes had grown;
Shaikh Guran sent me a basket of grapes which too were not bad. To have
grapes and melons grown in this way in Hindustan filled my measure of
content.
(_uuu. Arrival of Mahim Begim._)
(_June 26th_) Mahim arrived while yet two watches of Sunday night
(_Shawwal 20th_)[2680] remained. By a singular agreement of things they
had left Kabul on the very day, the 10th of the 1st Jumada (_Jan. 21st
1529_) on which I rode out to the army.[2681]
(_Here the record of 11 days is wanting._)
(_July 7th_) On Thursday the 1st of Zu'l-qa`da the offerings made by
Humayun and Mahim were set out while I sat in the large Hall of
Audience.
Today also wages were given to 150 porters (_kahar_) and they were
started off under a servant of Faghfur _Diwan_ to fetch melons, grapes,
and other fruits from Kabul. [Sidenote: Fol. 381.]
(_vvv. Concerning Sambhal._)
(_July 9th_) On Saturday the 3rd of the month, Hindu Beg who had come as
escort from Kabul and must have been sent to Sambhal on account of the
death of `Ali-i-yusuf, came and waited on me.[2682] Khalifa's (son)
Husamu'd-din came also today from Alwar and waited on me.
(_July 10th_) On Sunday morning (_4th_) came `Abdu'l-lah (_kitabdar_),
who from Tir-muhani[2683] had been sent to Sambhal on account of the
death of `Ali-i-yusuf.
(_Here the record of 7 days is wanting._)
(_www. Sedition in Lahor._)
People from Kabul were saying that Shaikh Sharaf of Qara-bagh, either
incited by `Abdu'l-`aziz or out of liking for him, had written an
attestation which attributed to me oppression I had not done, and
outrage that had not happened; that he had extorted the signatures of
the Prayer-leaders (_imamlar_) of Lahor to this accusation, and had sent
copies of it to the various towns; that `Abdu'l-`aziz himself had failed
to give ear to several royal orders, had spoken unseemly words, and done
acts which ought to have been left undone. On account of these matters
Qambar-i-`ali _Arghun_ was started off on Sunday the 11th of the month
(_Zu'l-qa`da_), to arrest Shaikh Sharaf, the Lahor _imams_ with their
associates, and `Abdu'l-`aziz, and to bring them all to Court.
(_xxx. Varia._)
(_July 22nd_) On Thursday the 15th of the month Chin-timur Sl. came in
from Tijara and waited on me. Today Champion [Sidenote: Fol. 381b.]
Sadiq and the great champion-wrestler of Aud wrestled. Sadiq gave a
half-throw[2684]; he was much vexed.
(_July 28th_) On Monday the 19th of the month (_Zu'l-qa`da_) the
Qizil-bash envoy Murad the life-guardsman was made to put on an inlaid
dagger with belt, and a befitting dress of honour, was presented with 2
_laks_ of _tankas_ and given leave to go.
(_Here the record of 15 days is wanting._)
(_yyy. Sedition in Gualiar._)
(_August 11th_) Sayyid Mashhadi who had come from Gualiar in these days,
represented that Rahim-dad was stirring up sedition.[2685] On account of
this, Khalifa's servant Shah Muhammad the seal-bearer was sent to convey
to Rahim-dad matters written with commingling of good counsel. He went;
and in a few days came back bringing Rahim-dad's son, but, though the
son came, Rahim-dad himself had no thought of coming. On Wednesday the
5th of _Zu'l-hijja_, Nur Beg was sent to Gualiar to allay Rahim-dad's
fears, came back in a few days, and laid requests from Rahim-dad before
us. Orders in accordance with those requests had been written and were
on the point of despatch when one of Rahim-dad's servants arriving,
represented that he had come to effect the escape of the son and that
Rahim-dad himself had no thought of coming in. I was for riding out at
once to Gualiar, but Khalifa set it forth to me, "Let me write one more
letter commingled with good counsel; he may even yet come peacefully."
On this mission Khusrau's (son?) Shihabu'd-din was despatched.
(_August 12th_) On Thursday the 6th of the month mentioned
(_Zu'l-hijja_) Mahdi Khwaja came in from Etawa.[2686] [Sidenote: Fol.
382.]
(_August 16th_) On the Festival-day[2687] (_Monday 10th_) Hindu Beg was
presented with a special head-to-foot, an inlaid dagger with belt; also
a _pargana_ worth 7 _laks_[2688] was bestowed on Hasan-i-`ali,
well-known among the Turkmans[2689] for a Chaghatai.[2690]
936 AH.-SEP. 5TH 1529 TO AUGUST 25TH 1530 AD.
(_a. Rahim-dad's affairs._)
(_Sep. 7th_) On Wednesday the 3rd of Muharram, Shaikh Muhammad
_Ghaus_[2691] came in from Gualiar with Khusrau's (son) Shihabu'd-din
to plead for Rahim-dad. As Shaikh Muhammad _Ghaus_ was a pious and
excellent person, Rahim-dad's faults were forgiven for his sake. Shaikh
Guran and Nur Beg were sent off for Gualiar, so that the place having
been made over to their charge....[2692]
TRANSLATOR'S NOTE ON 936 TO 937 AH.-1529 TO 1530 AD.
It is difficult to find material for filling the _lacuna_ of some 15
months, which occurs in Babur's diary after the broken passage of
Muharram 3rd 936 AH. (Sept. 7th 1529 AD.) and down to the date of his
death on Jumada 1. 6th 937 AH. (Dec. 26th 153O AD.). The known original
sources are few, their historical matter scant, their contents mainly
biographical. Gleanings may yet be made, however, in unexpected places,
such gleanings as are provided by Ahmad-i-yadgar's interpolation of
Timurid history amongst his lives of Afghan Sultans.
The earliest original source which helps to fill the gap of 936 AH. is
Haidar Mirza's _Tarikh-i-rashidi_, finished as to its Second Part which
contains Babur's biography, in 948 AH. (1541 AD.), 12 years therefore
after the year of the gap 936 AH. It gives valuable information about
the affairs of Badakhshan, based on its author's personal experience at
30 years of age, and was Abu'l-fazl's authority for the _Akbar-nama_.
The next in date of the original sources is Gul-badan Begim's
_Humayun-nama_, a chronicle of family affairs, which she wrote in
obedience to her nephew Akbar's command, given in about 995 AH. (1587
AD.), some 57 years after her Father's death, that whatever any person
knew of his father (Humayun) and grandfather (Babur) should be written
down for Abu'l-fazl's use. It embodies family memories and traditions,
and presumably gives the recollections of several ladies of the royal
circle.[2693]
The _Akbar-nama_ derives much of its narrative for 936-937 AH. from
Haidar Mirza and Gul-badan Begim, but its accounts of Babur's
self-surrender and of his dying address to his chiefs presuppose the
help of information from a contemporary witness. It is noticeable that
the _Akbar-nama_ records no public events as occurring in Hindustan
during 936-937 AH., nothing of the sequel of rebellion by
Rahim-dad[2694] and `Abdu'l-`aziz, nothing of the untiring Biban and
Bayazid. That something could have been told is shown by what
Ahmad-i-yadgar has preserved (_vide post_); but 50 years had passed
since Babur's death and, manifestly, interest in filling the _lacunÊ_ in
his diary was then less keen than it is over 300 years later. What in
the _Akbar-nama_ concerns Babur is likely to have been written somewhat
early in the _cir._ 15 years of its author's labours on it,[2695] but,
even so, the elder women of the royal circle had had rest after the
miseries Humayun had wrought, the forgiveness of family affection would
veil his past, and certainly has provided Abu'l-fazl with an
over-mellowed estimate of him, one ill-assorting with what is justified
by his Babur-nama record.
The contribution made towards filling the gap of 936-937 AH. in the body
of Nizamu-'d-din Ahmad's _Tabaqat-i-akbari_ is limited to a curious and
doubtfully acceptable anecdote about a plan for the supersession of
Humayun as Padshah, and about the part played by Khwaja Muqim _Harawi_
in its abandonment. A further contribution is made, however, in Book VII
which contains the history of the Muhammadan Kings of Kashmir, namely,
that Babur despatched an expedition into that country. As no such
expedition is recorded or referred to in surviving Babur-nama writings,
it is likely to have been sent in 936 AH. during Babur's tour to and
from Lahor. If it were made with the aim of extending Timurid authority
in the Himalayan borderlands, a hint of similar policy elsewhere may be
given by the ceremonious visit of the Raja of Kahlur to Babur,
mentioned by Ahmad-i-yadgar (_vide post_).[2696] The T.-i-A. was
written within the term of Abu'l-fazl's work on the _Akbar-nama_, being
begun later, and ended about 9 years earlier, in 1002 AH.-1593 AD. It
appears to have been Abu'-l-fazl's authority for his account of the
campaign carried on in Kashmir by Babur's chiefs (_Ayin-i-akbari_ vol.
ii, part i, Jarrett's trs. p. 389).
An important contribution, seeming to be authentic, is found
interpolated in Ahmad-i-yadgar's _Tarikh-i-salatin-i-afaghana_, one
which outlines a journey made by Babur to Lahor in 936 AH. and gives
circumstantial details of a punitive expedition sent by him from Sihrind
at the complaint of the Qazi of Samana against a certain Mundahir
Rajput. The whole contribution dovetails into matters found elsewhere.
Its precision of detail bespeaks a closely-contemporary written
source.[2697] As its fullest passage concerns the Samana Qazi's affair,
its basis of record may have been found in Samana. Some considerations
about the date of Ahmad-i-yadgar's own book and what Niamatu'l-lah says
of Haibat Khan of Samana, his own generous helper in the
_Tarikhi-Khan-i-jahan Ludi_, point towards Haibat Khan as providing the
details of the Qazi's wrongs and avenging. The indication is
strengthened by the circumstance that what precedes and what follows the
account of the punitive expedition is outlined only.[2698]
Ahmad-i-yadgar interpolates an account of Humayun also, which is a frank
plagiarism from the _Tabaqat-i-akbari_. He tells too a story purporting
to explain why Babur "selected" Humayun to succeed him, one parallel
with Nizamu'd-din Ahmad's about what led Khalifa to abandon his plan of
setting the Mirza aside. Its sole value lies in its testimony to a
belief, held by its first narrator whoever he was, that choice was
exercised in the matter by Babur. Reasons for thinking Nizamu'd-din's
story, as it stands, highly improbable, will be found later in this
note.
Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah _Firishta's Tarikh-i-firishta_ contains an
interesting account of Babur but contributes towards filling the gap in
the events of 936-937 AH. little that is not in the earlier sources. In
M. Jules Mohl's opinion it was under revision as late as 1623 AD.
(1032-3 AH.).
(_a. Humayun and Badakhshan._)
An occurrence which had important results, was the arrival of Humayun in
Agra, unsummoned by his Father, from the outpost station of Badakhshan.
It will have occurred early in 936 AH. (autumn 1529 AD.), because he was
in Kabul in the first ten days of the last month of 935 AH. (_vide
post_). Curiously enough his half-sister Gul-badan does not mention his
coming, whether through avoidance of the topic or from inadvertence; the
omission may be due however to the loss of a folio from the only known
MS. of her book (that now owned by the British Museum), and this is the
more likely that Abu'l-fazl writes, at some length, about the arrival
and its motive, what the Begim might have provided, this especially by
his attribution of filial affection as Humayun's reason for coming to
Agra.
Haidar Mirza is the authority for the Akbar-nama account of Humayun's
departure from Qila`-i-zafar and its political and military sequel. He
explains the departure by saying that when Babur had subdued Hindustan,
his sons Humayun and Kamran were grown-up; and that wishing to have one
of them at hand in case of his own death, he summoned Humayun, leaving
Kamran in Qandahar. No doubt these were the contemporary impressions
conveyed to Haidar, and strengthened by the accomplished fact before he
wrote some 12 years later; nevertheless there are two clear indications
that there was no royal order for Humayun to leave Qila`-i-zafar, _viz._
that no-one had been appointed to relieve him even when he reached Agra,
and that Abu'l-fazl mentions no summons but attributes the Mirza's
departure from his post to an overwhelming desire to see his Father.
What appears probable is that Mahim wrote to her son urging his coming
to Agra, and that this was represented as Babur's wish. However little
weight may be due to the rumour, preserved in anecdotes recorded long
after 935 AH., that any-one, Babur or Khalifa, inclined against
Humayun's succession, that rumour she would set herself to falsify by
reconciliation.[2699]
When the Mirza's intention to leave Qila`-i-zafar became known there,
the chiefs represented that they should not be able to withstand the
Auzbeg on their frontier without him (his troops implied).[2700] With
this he agreed, said that still he must go, and that he would send a
Mirza in his place as soon as possible. He then rode, in one day, to
Kabul, an item of rapid travel preserved by Abu'l-fazl.
Humayun's departure caused such anxiety in Qila`-i-zafar that some (if
not all) of the Badakhshi chiefs hurried off an invitation to Sa`id Khan
_Chaghatai_, the then ruler in Kashghar in whose service Haidar Mirza
was, to come at once and occupy the fort. They said that Faqir-i-`ali
who had been left in charge, was not strong enough to cope with the
Auzbeg, begged Sa`id to come, and strengthened their petition by
reminding him of his hereditary right to Badakhshan, derived from Shah
Begim _Badakhshi_. Their urgency convincing the Khan that risk
threatened the country, he started from Kashghar in Muharram 936 AH.
(Sept-Oct. 1529 AD.). On reaching Sarigh-chupan which by the annexation
of Aba-bakr Mirza _Dughlat_ was now his own most western territory[2701]
but which formerly was one of the upper districts of Badakhshan, he
waited while Haidar went on towards Qila`-i-zafar only to learn on his
road, that Hind-al (_Êt._ 10) had been sent from Kabul by Humayun and
had entered the fort 12 days before.
The Kashgharis were thus placed in the difficulty that the fort was
occupied by Babur's representative, and that the snows would prevent
their return home across the mountains till winter was past.
Winter-quarters were needed and asked for by Haidar, certain districts
being specified in which to await the re-opening of the Pamir routes. He
failed in his request, "They did not trust us," he writes, "indeed
suspected us of deceit." His own account of Sa`id's earlier invasion of
Badakhshan (925 AH.-1519 AD.) during Khan Mirza's rule, serves to
explain Badakhshi distrust of Kashgharis. Failing in his negotiations,
he scoured and pillaged the country round the fort, and when a few days
later the Khan arrived, his men took what Haidar's had left.
Sa`id Khan is recorded to have besieged the fort for three months, but
nothing serious seems to have been attempted since no mention of
fighting is made, none of assault or sally, and towards the end of the
winter he was waited on by those who had invited his presence, with
apology for not having admitted him into the fort, which they said they
would have done but for the arrival of Hind-al Mirza. To this the Khan
replied that for him to oppose Babur Padshah was impossible; he reminded
the chiefs that he was there by request, that it would be as hurtful for
the Padshah as for himself to have the Auzbeg in Badakhshan and,
finally, he gave it as his opinion that, as matters stood, every man
should go home. His view of the general duty may include that of
Badakhshi auxiliaries such as Sultan Wais of Kul-ab who had reinforced
the garrison. So saying, he himself set out for Kashghar, and at the
beginning of Spring reached Yarkand.
_b. Humayun's further action._
Humayun will have reached Kabul before Zu'l-hijja 10th 935 AH. (Aug.
26th 1529 AD.) because it is on record that he met Kamran on the Kabul
'Id-gah, and both will have been there to keep the `Idu'l-kabir, the
Great Festival of Gifts, which is held on that day. Kamran had come from
Qandahar, whether to keep the Feast, or because he had heard of
Humayun's intended movement from Badakhshan, or because changes were
foreseen and he coveted Kabul, as the _Babur-nama_ and later records
allow to be inferred. He asked Humayun, says Abu'l-fazl, why he was
there and was told of his brother's impending journey to Agra under
overwhelming desire to see their Father.[2702] Presumably the two Mirzas
discussed the position in which Badakhshan had been left; in the end
Hind-al was sent to Qila'-i-zafar, notwithstanding that he was under
orders for Hindustan.
Humayun may have stayed some weeks in Kabul, how many those familiar
with the seasons and the routes between Yarkand and Qila`-i-zafar,
might be able to surmise if the date of Hind-al's start northward for
which Humayun is likely to have waited, were found by dovetailing the
Muharram of Sa`id's start, the approximate length of his journey to
Sarigh-chupan, and Haidar's reception of news that Hind-al had been 12
days in the fort.
Humayun's arrival in Agra is said by Abu'l-fazl to have been cheering to
the royal family in their sadness for the death of Alwar (end of 935
AH.) and to have given pleasure to his Father. But the time is all too
near the date of Babur's letter (f.348) to Humayun, that of a
dissatisfied parent, to allow the supposition that his desertion of his
post would fail to displease.
That it was a desertion and not an act of obedience seems clear from the
circumstance that the post had yet to be filled. Khalifa is said to have
been asked to take it and to have refused;[2703] Humayun to have been
sounded as to return and to have expressed unwillingness. Babur then did
what was an honourable sequel to his acceptance in 926 AH. of the charge
of the fatherless child Sulaiman, by sending him, now about 16, to take
charge where his father Khan Mirza had ruled, and by still keeping him
under his own protection.
Sulaiman's start from Agra will not have been delayed, and (accepting
Ahmad-i-yadgar's record,) Babur himself will have gone as far as Lahor
either with him or shortly after him, an expedition supporting Sulaiman,
and menacing Sa`id in his winter leaguer round Qila`-i-zafar. Meantime
Humayun was ordered to his fief of Sambhal.
After Sulaiman's appointment Babur wrote to Sa`id a letter of which
Haidar gives the gist:--It expresses surprise at Sa`id's doings in
Badakhshan, says that Hind-al has been recalled and Sulaiman sent, that
if Sa`id regard hereditary right, he will leave "Sulaiman Shah
Mirza"[2704] in possession, who is as a son to them both,[2705] that
this would be well, that otherwise he (Babur) will make over
responsibility to the heir (Sulaiman);[2706] and, "The rest you
know."[2707]
_c. Babur visits Lahor._
If Ahmad-i-yadgar's account of a journey made by Babur to Lahor and the
Panj-ab be accepted, the _lacuna_ of 936 AH. is appropriately filled. He
places the expedition in the 3rd year of Babur's rule in Hindustan,
which, counting from the first reading of the _khutba_ for Babur in
Dihli (f. 286), began on Rajab 15th 935 AH. (March 26th 1529 AD.). But
as Babur's diary-record for 935 AH. is complete down to end of the year,
(minor _lacunÊ_ excepted), the time of his leaving Agra for Lahor is
relegated to 936 AH. He must have left early in the year, (1) to allow
time, before the occurrence of the known events preceding his own death,
for the long expedition Ahmad-i-yadgar calls one of a year, and (2)
because an early start after Humayun's arrival and Sulaiman's departure
would suit the position of affairs and the dates mentioned or implied by
Haidar's and by Ahmad-i-yadgar's narratives.
Two reasons of policy are discernible, in the known events of the time,
to recommend a journey in force towards the North-west; first, the
sedition of `Abdu'l-`aziz in Lahor (f. 381), and secondly, the invasion
of Badakhshan by Sa`id Khan with its resulting need of supporting
Sulaiman by a menace of armed intervention.[2708]
In Sihrind the Raja of Kahlur, a place which may be one of the Simla
hill-states, waited on Babur, made offering of 7 falcons and 3
_mans_[2709] of gold, and was confirmed in his fief.[2710]
In Lahor Kamran is said to have received his Father, in a garden of his
own creation, and to have introduced the local chiefs as though he were
the Governor of Lahor some writers describe him as then being. The best
sources, however, leave him still posted in Qandahar. He had been
appointed to Multan (f. 359) when `Askari was summoned to Agra (f. 339),
but whether he actually went there is not assured; some months later
(Zu'l-hijja 10th 935 AH.) he is described by Abu'l-fazl as coming to
Kabul from Qandahar. He took both Multan[2711] and Lahor by force from
his (half-)brother Humayun in 935 AH. (1531 AD.) the year after their
Father's death. That he should wait upon his Father in Lahor would be
natural, Hind-al did so, coming from Kabul. Hind-al will have come to
Lahor after making over charge of Qila`-i-zafar to Sulaiman, and he went
back at the end of the cold season, going perhaps just before his Father
started from Lahor on his return journey, the gifts he received before
leaving being 2 elephants, 4 horses, belts and jewelled daggers.[2712]
Babur is said to have left Lahor on Rajab 4th (936 AH.)-(March 4th, 1530
AD.). From Ahmad-i-yadgar's outline of Babur's doings in Lahor, he, or
his original, must be taken as ill-informed or indifferent about them.
His interest becomes greater when he writes of Samana.
_d. Punishment of the Mundahirs._
When Babur, on his return journey, reached Sihrind, he received a
complaint from the Qazi of Samana against one Mohan _Mundahir_ (or
_Mundhar_)[2713] _Rajput_ who had attacked his estates, burning and
plundering, and killed his son. Here-upon `Ali-quli of Hamadan[2714] was
sent with 3000 horse to avenge the Qazi's wrongs, and reached Mohan's
village, in the Kaithal _pargana_, early in the morning when the cold
was such that the archers "could not pull their bows."[2715] A marriage
had been celebrated over-night; the villagers, issuing from warm houses,
shot such flights of arrows that the royal troops could make no stand;
many were killed and nothing was effected; they retired into the jungle,
lit fires, warmed themselves(?), renewed the attack and were again
repulsed. On hearing of their failure, Babur sent off, perhaps again
from Sihrind, Tarsam Bahadur and Naurang Beg with 6000 horse and many
elephants. This force reached the village at night and when marriage
festivities were in progress. Towards morning it was formed into three
divisions,[2716] one of which was ordered to go to the west of the
village and show itself. This having been done, the villagers advanced
towards it, in the pride of their recent success. The royal troops, as
ordered beforehand, turned their backs and fled, the Mundahirs pursuing
them some two miles. Meantime Tarsam Bahadur had attacked and fired the
village, killing many of its inhabitants. The pursuers on the west saw
the flames of their burning homes, ran back and were intercepted on
their way. About 1000 men, women and children were made prisoner; there
was also great slaughter, and a pillar of heads was raised. Mohan was
captured and later on was buried to the waist and shot to death with
arrows.[2717] News of the affair was sent to the Padshah.[2718]
As after being in Sihrind, Babur is said to have spent two months
hunting near Dihli, it may be that he followed up the punitive
expedition sent into the Kaithal _pargana_ of the Karnal District, by
hunting in Nardak, a favourite ground of the Timurids, which lies in
that district.
Thus the gap of 936 AH. with also perhaps a month of 937 AH. is filled
by the "year's" travel west of Dihli. The record is a mere outline and
in it are periods of months without mention of where Babur was or what
affairs of government were brought before him. At some time, on his
return journey presumably, he will have despatched to Kashmir the
expedition referred to in the opening section of this appendix.
Something further may yet be gleaned from local chronicles, from
unwritten tradition, or from the witness of place-names commemorating
his visit.
_e. Babur's self-surrender to save Humayun._
The few months, perhaps 4 to 5, between Babur's return to Agra from his
expedition towards the North-west, and the time of his death are filled
by Gul-badan and Abu'l-fazl with matters concerning family interests
only.
The first such matter these authors mention is an illness of Humayun
during which Babur devoted his own life to save his son's.[2719] Of this
the particulars are, briefly:--That Humayun, while still in Sambhal, had
had a violent attack of fever; that he was brought by water to Agra, his
mother meeting him in Muttra; and that when the disease baffled medical
skill, Babur resolved to practise the rite believed then and now in the
East to be valid, of intercession and devotion of a suppliant's most
valued possession in exchange for a sick man's life. Rejecting counsel
to offer the Koh-i-nur for pious uses, he resolved to supplicate for the
acceptance of his life. He made intercession through a saint his
daughter names, and moved thrice round Humayun's bed, praying, in
effect, "O God! if a life may be exchanged for a life, I, who am Babur,
give my life and my being for Humayun." During the rite fever surged
over him, and, convinced that his prayer and offering had prevailed, he
cried out, "I have borne it away! I have borne it away!"[2720] Gul-badan
says that he himself fell ill on that very day, while Humayun poured
water on his head, came out and gave audience; and that they carried her
Father within on account of his illness, where he kept his bed for 2 or
3 months.
There can be no doubt as to Babur's faith in the rite he had practised,
or as to his belief that his offering of life was accepted; moreover
actual facts would sustain his faith and belief. Onlookers also must
have believed his prayer and offering to have prevailed, since Humayun
went back to Sambhal,[2721] while Babur fell ill at once and died in a
few weeks.[2722]
_f. A plan to set Babur's sons aside from the succession._
Reading the _Akbar-nama_ alone, there would seem to be no question about
whether Babur ever intended to give Hindustan, at any rate, to Humayun,
but, by piecing together various contributory matters, an opposite
opinion is reached, _viz._ that not Khalifa only whom Abu'l-fazl names
perhaps on Nizamu'd-din Ahmad's warrant, but Babur also, with some
considerable number of chiefs, wished another ruler for Hindustan. The
starting-point of this opinion is a story in the _Tabaqat-i-akbari_
and, with less detail, in the _Akbar-nama_, of which the gist is that
Khalifa planned to supersede Humayun and his three brothers in their
Father's succession.[2723]
[Illustration: BABUR IN PRAYER, DEVOTING HIMSELF FOR HIS SON.
_To face p. 702._]
The story, in brief, is as follows:--At the time of Babur's death
Nizamu'd-din Ahmad's father Khwaja Muhammad Muqim _Harawi_ was in the
service of the Office of Works.[2724] Amir Nizamu'd-din `Ali Khalifa,
the Chief of the Administration, had dread and suspicion about Humayun
and did not favour his succession as Padshah. Nor did he favour that of
Babur's other sons. He promised "Babur Padshah's son-in-law (_damad_)"
Mahdi Khwaja who was a generous young man, very friendly to himself,
that he would make him Padshah. This promise becoming known, others made
their _salam_ to the Khwaja who put on airs and accepted the position.
One day when Khalifa, accompanied by Muqim, went to see Mahdi Khwaja in
his tent, no-one else being present, Babur, in the pangs of his disease,
sent for him[2725] when he had been seated a few minutes only. When
Khalifa had gone out, Mahdi Khwaja remained standing in such a way that
Muqim could not follow but, the Khwaja unaware, waited respectfully
behind him. The Khwaja, who was noted for the wildness of youth, said,
stroking his beard, "Please God! first, I will flay thee!" turned round
and saw Muqim, took him by the ear, repeated a proverb of menace, "The
red tongue gives the green head to the wind," and let him go. Muqim
hurried to Khalifa, repeated the Khwaja's threat against him, and
remonstrated about the plan to set all Babur's sons aside in favour of a
stranger-house.[2726] Here-upon Khalifa sent for Humayun,[2727] and
despatched an officer with orders to the Khwaja to retire to his house,
who found him about to dine and hurried him off without ceremony.
Khalifa also issued a proclamation forbidding intercourse with him,
excluded him from Court, and when Babur died, supported Humayun.
As Nizamu'd-din Ahmad was not born till 20 years after Babur died, the
story will have been old before he could appreciate it, and it was some
60 years old when it found way into the _Tabaqat-i-akbari_ and, with
less detail, into the _Akbar-nama_.
Taken as it stands, it is incredible, because it represents Khalifa, and
him alone, planning to subject the four sons of Babur to the suzerainty
of Mahdi Khwaja who was not a Timurid, who, so far as well-known sources
show, was not of a ruling dynasty or personally illustrious,[2728] and
who had been associated, so lately as the autumn of 1529 AD., with his
nephew Rahim-dad in seditious action which had so angered Babur that,
whatever the punishment actually ordered, rumour had it both men were to
die.[2729] In two particulars the only Mahdi Khwaja then of Babur's
following, does not suit the story; he was not a young man in 1530
AD.,[2730] and was not a _damad_ of Babur, if that word be taken in its
usual sense of son-in-law, but he was a _yazna_, husband of a Padshah's
sister, in his case, of Khan-zada Begim.[2731] Some writers style him
Sayyid Mahdi Khwaja, a double title which may indicate descent on both
sides from religious houses; one is suggested to be that of Tirmiz by
the circumstance that in his and Khan-zada Begim's mausoleum was buried
a Tirmiz sayyid of later date, Shah Abu'l-ma`ali. But though he were of
Tirmiz, it is doubtful if that religious house would be described by the
word _khanwada_ which so frequently denotes a ruling dynasty.
His name may have found its way into Nizamu'd-din Ahmad's story as a
gloss mistakenly amplifying the word _damad_, taken in its less usual
sense of brother-in-law. To Babur's contemporaries the expression "Babur
Padshah's _damad_" (son-in-law) would be explicit, because for some 11
years before he lay on his death-bed, he had one son-in-law only, _viz._
Muhammad-i-zaman Mirza _Bai-qara_,[2732] the husband of Ma`suma Sultan
Begim. If that Mirza's name were where Mahdi Khwaja's is entered, the
story of an exclusion of Babur's sons from rule might have a core of
truth.
It is incredible however that Khalifa, with or without Babur's
concurrence, made the plan attributed to him of placing any man not a
Timurid in the position of Padshah over all Babur's territory. I suggest
that the plan concerned Hindustan only and was one considered in
connection with Babur's intended return to Kabul, when he must have left
that difficult country, hardly yet a possession, in charge of some man
giving promise of power to hold it. Such a man Humayun was not. My
suggestion rests on the following considerations:--
(1) Babur's outlook was not that of those in Agra in 1587 AD. who gave
Abu'l-fazl his Baburiana material, because at that date Dihli had become
the pivot of Timurid power, so that not to hold Hindustan would imply
not to be Padshah. Babur's outlook on his smaller Hindustan was
different; his position in it was precarious, Kabul, not Dihli, was his
chosen centre, and from Kabul his eyes looked northwards as well as to
the East. If he had lost the Hindustan which was approximately the
modern United Provinces, he might still have held what lay west of it to
the Indus, as well as Qandahar.
(2) For several years before his death he had wished to return to Kabul.
Ample evidence of this wish is given by his diary, his letters, and some
poems in his second _Diwan_ (that found in the Rampur MS.). As he told
his sons more than once, he kept Kabul for himself.[2733] If, instead
of dying in Agra, he had returned to Kabul, had pushed his way on from
Badakhshan, whether as far as Samarkand or less, had given Humayun a
seat in those parts,--action foreshadowed by the records--a reasonable
interpretation of the story that Humayun and his brothers were not to
govern Hindustan, is that he had considered with Khalifa the
apportionment of his territories according to the example of his
ancestors Chingiz Khan, Timur and Abu-sa`id; that by his plan of
apportionment Humayun was not to have Hindustan but something
Tramontane; Kamran had already Qandahar; Sulaiman, if Humayun had moved
beyond the out-post of Badakhshan, would have replaced him there; and
Hindustan would have gone to "Babur Padshah's _damad_".
(3) Muhammad-i-zaman had much to recommend him for
Hindustan:--Timurid-born, grandson and heir of Sl. Husain Mirza, husband
of Ma`suma who was a Timurid by double descent,[2734] protected by Babur
after the Bai-qara _dÈbacle_ in Herat, a landless man leading such other
exiles as Muhammad Sultan Mirza,[2735] `Adil Sultan, and Qasim-i-husain
Sultan, half-Timurids all, who with their Khurasani following, had been
Babur's guests in Kabul, had pressed on its poor resources, and thus had
helped in 932 AH. (1525 AD.) to drive him across the Indus. This
Bai-qara group needed a location; Muhammad-i-zaman's future had to be
cared for and with his, Ma`suma's.
(4) It is significant of intention to give Muhammad-i-zaman ruling
status that in April 1529 AD. (Sha`ban 935 AH.) Babur bestowed on him
royal insignia, including the umbrella-symbol of sovereignty.[2736] This
was done after the Mirza had raised objections, unspecified now in the
_Babur-nama_ against Bihar; they were overcome, the insignia were given
and, though for military reasons he was withheld from taking up that
appointment, the recognition of his royal rank had been made. His next
appointment was to Junpur, the capital of the fallen Sharqi dynasty. No
other chief is mentioned by Babur as receiving the insignia of royalty.
(5) It appears to have been within a Padshah's competence to select his
successor; and it may be inferred that choice was made between Humayun
and another from the wording of more than one writer that Khalifa
"supported" Humayun, and from the word "selected" used in
Ahmad-i-yadgar's anecdote.[2737] Much more would there be freedom of
choice in a division of territory such as there is a good deal to
suggest was the basis of Nizamu'd-din Ahmad's story. Whatever the extent
of power proposed for the _damad_, whether, as it is difficult to
believe, the Padshah's whole supremacy, or whether the limited
sovereignty of Hindustan, it must have been known to Babur as well as to
Khalifa. Whatever their earlier plan however, it was changed by the
sequel of Humayun's illness which led to his becoming Padshah. The
_damad_ was dropped, on grounds it is safe to believe more impressive
than his threat to flay Khalifa or than the remonstrance of that high
official's subordinate Muqim of Herat.
Humayun's arrival and continued stay in Hindustan modified earlier
dispositions which included his remaining in Badakhshan. His actions may
explain why Babur, when in 936 AH. he went as far as Lahor, did not go
on to Kabul. Nothing in the sources excludes the surmise that Mahim knew
of the bestowal of royal insignia on the Bai-qara Mirza, that she
summoned her son to Agra and there kept him, that she would do this the
more resolutely if the _damad_ of the plan she must have heard of, were
that Bai-qara, and that but for Humayun's presence in Agra and its
attendant difficulties, Babur would have gone to Kabul, leaving his
_damad_ in charge of Hindustan.
Babur, however, turned back from Lahor for Agra, and there he made the
self-surrender which, resulting in Humayun's "selection" as Padshah,
became a turning point in history.
Humayun's recovery and Babur's immediate illness will have made the
son's life seem Divinely preserved, the father's as a debt to be paid.
Babur's impressive personal experience will have dignified Humayun as
one whom God willed should live. Such distinction would dictate the
bestowal on him of all that fatherly generosity had yet to give. The
imminence of death defeating all plans made for life, Humayun was
nominated to supreme power as Padshah.
_g. Babur's death._
Amongst other family matters mentioned by Gul-badan as occurring shortly
before her Father's death, was his arrangement of marriages for Gul-rang
with Aisan-timur and for Gul-chihra with Tukhta-bugha _Chaghatai_. She
also writes of his anxiety to see Hind-al who had been sent for from
Kabul but did not arrive till the day after the death.
When no remedies availed, Humayun was summoned from Sambhal. He reached
Agra four days before the death; on the morrow Babur gathered his chiefs
together for the last of many times, addressed them, nominated Humayun
his successor and bespoke their allegiance for him. Abu'l-fazl thus
summarizes his words, "Lofty counsels and weighty mandates were
imparted. Advice was given (to Humayun) to be munificent and just, to
acquire God's favour, to cherish and protect subjects, to accept
apologies from such as had failed in duty, and to pardon transgressors.
And, he (Babur) exclaimed, the cream of my testamentary dispositions is
this, 'Do naught against your brothers, even though they may deserve
it.' In truth," continues the historian, "it was through obedience to
this mandate that his Majesty Jannat-ashiyani suffered so many injuries
from his brothers without avenging himself." Gul-badan's account of her
Father's last address is simple:--"He spoke in this wise, 'For years it
has been in my heart to make over the throne to Humayun and to retire to
the Gold-scattering Garden. By the Divine grace I have obtained in
health of body everything but the fulfilment of this wish. Now that
illness has laid me low, I charge you all to acknowledge Humayun in my
stead. Fail not in loyalty towards him. Be of one heart and mind towards
him. I hope to God that he, for his part, will bear himself well towards
men. Moreover, Humayun, I commit you and your brothers and all my
kinsfolk and your people and my people to God's keeping, and entrust
them all to you.'"
It was on Monday Jumada 1. 5th 937 AH. (Dec. 26th 153O AD.) that Babur
made answer to his summons with the _Adsum_ of the Musalman, "Lord! I am
here for Thee."
"Black fell the day for children and kinsfolk and all," writes his
daughter;
"Alas! that time and the changeful heaven should exist without thee;
Alas! and Alas! that time should remain and thou shouldst be gone;"
mourns Khwaja Kalan in the funeral ode from which Badayuni quoted these
lines.[2738]
The body was laid in the Garden-of-rest (_Aram-bagh_) which is opposite
to where the Taj-i-mahall now stands. Khwaja Muhammad `Ali _`asas_[2739]
was made the guardian of the tomb, and many well-voiced readers and
reciters were appointed to conduct the five daily Prayers and to offer
supplication for the soul of the dead. The revenues of Sikri and 5
_laks_ from Biana were set aside for the endowment of the tomb, and
Mahim Begim, during the two and a half years of her remaining life, sent
twice daily from her own estate, an allowance of food towards the
support of its attendants.
In accordance with the directions of his will, Babur's body was to be
conveyed to Kabul and there to be laid in the garden of his choice, in a
grave open to the sky, with no building over it, no need of a
door-keeper.
Precisely when it was removed from Agra we have not found stated. It is
known from Gul-badan that Kamran visited his Father's tomb in Agra in
1539 AD. (946 AH.) after the battle of Chausa; and it is known from
Jauhar that the body had been brought to Kabul before 1544 AD. (952
AH.), at which date Humayun, in Kabul, spoke with displeasure of
Kamran's incivility to "Bega Begim", the "Bibi" who had conveyed their
Father's body to that place.[2740] That the widow who performed this
duty was the Afghan Lady, Bibi Mubarika[2741] is made probable by
Gul-badan's details of the movements of the royal ladies. Babur's family
left Agra under Hind-al's escort, after the defeat at Chausa (June 7th,
1539 AD.); whoever took charge of the body on its journey to Kabul must
have returned at some later date to fetch it. It would be in harmony
with Sher Shah's generous character if he safe-guarded her in her task.
The terraced garden Babur chose for his burial-place lies on the slope
of the hill Shah-i-Kabul, the Sher-darwaza of European writers.[2742] It
has been described as perhaps the most beautiful of the Kabul gardens,
and as looking towards an unsurpassable view over the Char-dih plain
towards the snows of Paghman and the barren, rocky hills which have been
the hunting-grounds of rulers in Kabul. Several of Babur's descendants
coming to Kabul from Agra have visited and embellished his
burial-garden. Shah-i-jahan built the beautiful mosque which stands near
the grave; Jahangir seems to have been, if not the author, at least the
prompter of the well-cut inscription adorning the upright slab of white
marble of Maidan, which now stands at the grave-head. The tomb-stone
itself is a low grave-covering, not less simple than those of relations
and kin whose remains have been placed near Babur's. In the thirties of
the last century [the later Sir] Alexander Burnes visited and admirably
described the garden and the tomb. With him was Munshi Mohan Lal who
added to his own account of the beauties of the spot, copies of the
inscriptions on the monumental slab and on the portal of the
Mosque.[2743] As is shown by the descriptions these two visitors give,
and by Daniel's drawings of the garden and the tomb, there were in their
time two upright slabs, one behind the other, near the head of the
grave. Mr. H. H. Hayden who visited the garden in the first decade of
the present century, shows in his photograph of the grave, one upright
stone only, the place of one of the former two having been taken by a
white-washed lamp holder (_chiraghdan_).
The purport of the verses inscribed on the standing-slab is as follows:--
A ruler from whose brow shone the Light of God was that[2744]
Back-bone of the Faith (_zahiru'd-din_) Muhammad Babur
Padshah. Together with majesty, dominion, fortune, rectitude,
the open-hand and the firm Faith, he had share in prosperity,
abundance and the triumph of victorious arms. He won the
material world and became a moving light; for his every
conquest he looked, as for Light, towards the world of souls.
When Paradise became his dwelling and Ruzwan[2745] asked me
the date, I gave him for answer, "Paradise is forever Babur
Padshah's abode."
_h. Babur's wives and children._[2746]
Babur himself mentions several of his wives by name, but Gul-badan is
the authority for complete lists of them and their children.
1. `Ayisha Sultan Begim, daughter of Sl. Ahmad Mirza _Miran-shahi_ was
betrothed, when Babur was _cir._ 5 years old, in 894 AH. (1488-89 AD.),
bore Fakhru'n-nisa' in 906 AH. [who died in about one month], left Babur
before 909 AH. (1503 AD.).
2. Zainab Sl. Begim, daughter of Sl. Mahmud Mirza _Miran-shahi_, was
married in 910 AH. (1504-5 AD.), died childless two or three years
later.
3. Mahim Begim, whose parentage is not found stated, was married in 912
AH. (1506 AD.), bore Bar-bud, Mihr-jan, Aisan-daulat, Faruq [who all
died in infancy], and Humayun.
4. Ma`suma Sl. Begim, daughter of Sl. Ahmad Mirza _Miran-shahi_, was
married in 913 AH. (1507 AD.), bore Ma`suma and died at her birth,
presumably early in the _lacuna_ of 914-925 AH. (1508-19 AD.).
5. Gul-rukh Begim, whose parentage is not found stated, was perhaps a
Begchik Mughul, was married between 914 AH. and 925 AH. (1508-19 AD.),
probably early in the period, bore Shah-rukh, Ahmad [who both died
young], Gul`izar [who also may have died young], Kamran and `Askari.
6. Dil-dar Begim, whose parentage is not found stated, was married in
the same period as Gul-rukh, bore Gul-rang, Gul-chihra, Hind-al,
Gul-badan and Alwar, [who died in childhood].
7. The Afghan Lady (Afghani Aghacha), Bibi Mubarika _Yusufzai_, was
married in 925 AH. (1519 AD.), and died childless.
The two Circassian slaves Gul-nar Aghacha and Nar-gul Aghacha of whom
Tahmasp made gift to Babur in 933 AH. (f. 305), became recognized
ladies of the royal household. They are mentioned several times by
Gul-badan as taking part in festivities and in family conferences under
Humayun. Gul-nar is said by Abu'l-fazl to have been one of Gul-badan's
pilgrim band in 983 AH. (1575 AD.).
The above list contains the names of three wives whose parentage is not
given or is vaguely given by the well-known sources,--namely, Mahim,
Gul-rukh and Dil-dar. What would sufficiently explain the absence of
mention by Babur of the parentage of Gul-rukh and Dil-dar is that his
record of the years within which the two Begims were married is not now
with the _Babur-nama_. Presumably it has been lost, whether in diary or
narrative form, in the _lacuna_ of 914-25 AH. (1508-19 AD.). Gul-rukh
appears to have belonged to the family of Begchik Mughuls described by
Haidar Mirza[2747]; her brothers are styled Mirza; she was of good but
not royal birth. Dil-dar's case is less simple. Nothing in her daughter
Gul-badan's book suggests that she and her children were other than of
the highest rank; numerous details and shades of expression show their
ease of equality with royal personages. It is consistent with
Gul-badan's method of enumerating her father's wives that she should not
state her own mother's descent; she states it of none of her "mothers".
There is this interest in trying to trace Dil-dar's parentage, that she
may have been the third daughter of Sl. Mahmud Mirza and Pasha Begim,
and a daughter of hers may have been the mother of Salima Sultan Begim
who was given in marriage by Humayun to Bairam Khan, later was married
by Akbar, and was a woman of charm and literary accomplishments. Later
historians, Abu'l-fazl amongst their number, say that Salima's mother
was a daughter of Babur's wife Salha Sultan Begim, and vary that
daughter's name as Gul-rang-rukh-barg or -`izar (the last form being an
equivalent of _chihra_, face). As there cannot have been a wife with her
daughter growing up in Babur's household, who does not appear in some
way in Gul-badan's chronicle, and as Salima's descent from Babur need
not be questioned, the knot is most readily loosened by surmising that
"Salha" is the real name of Gul-badan's "Dildar". Instances of double
names are frequent, _e.g._ Mahim, Mah-chicham, Qara-guz, Aq, (My Moon,
My Moon sister, Black-eyed, Fair). "Heart-holding" (Dil-dar) sounds like
a home-name of affection. It is the _Ma`asir-i-rahimi_ which gives Salha
as the name of Babur's wife, Pasha's third daughter. Its author may be
wrong, writing so late as he did (1025 AH.-1616 AD.), or may have been
unaware that Salha was (if she were) known as Dil-dar. It would not war
against seeming facts to take Pasha's third daughter to be Babur's wife
Dil-dar, and Dil-dar's daughter Gul-chihra to be Salima's mother.
Gul-chihra was born in about 1516 AD., married to Tukhta-bugha in 1530
AD., widowed in cir. 1533 AD., might have remarried with Nuru'd-din
_Chaqaniani_ (Sayyid Amir), and in 945 AH. might have borne him Salima;
she was married in 1547 AD. (954 AH.) to `Abbas Sultan _Auzbeg_.[2748]
Two matters, neither having much weight, make against taking Dil-dar to
be a _Miran-shahi_; the first being that the anonymous annotator who
added to the archetype of Kehr's Codex what is entered in Appendix
L.--_On Mahim's adoption of Hind-al_, styles her Dil-dar Aghacha; he,
however, may have known no more than others knew of her descent; the
second, that Mahim forcibly took Dil-dar's child Hind-al to rear; she
was the older wife and the mother of the heir, but could she have taken
the upper hand over a Miran-shahi? A circumstance complicating the
question of Salima's maternal descent is, that historians searching the
_Babur-nama_ or its Persian translation the _Waqi`at-i-baburi_ for
information about the three daughters of Mahmud _Miran-shahi_ and Pasha
_Baharlu Turkman_, would find an incomplete record, one in which the
husbands of the first and second daughters are mentioned and nothing is
said about the third who was Babur's wife and the grandmother of Salima.
Babur himself appears to have left the record as it is, meaning to fill
it in later; presumably he waited for the names of the elder two sisters
to complete his details of the three. In the Haidarabad Codex, which
there is good ground for supposing a copy of his original manuscript,
about three lines are left blank (f. 27) as if awaiting information; in
most manuscripts, however, this indication of intention is destroyed by
running the defective passage on to join the next sentence. Some chance
remark of a less well-known writer, may clear up the obscurity and show
that Salha was Dil-dar.
Mahim's case seems one having a different cause for silence about her
parentage. When she was married in Herat, shortly after the death of Sl.
Husain Mirza, Babur had neither wife nor child. What Abu'l-fazl tells
about her is vague; her father's name is not told; she is said to have
belonged to a noble Khurasan family, to have been related
(_nisbat-i-khwesh_) to Sl. Husain Mirza and to have traced her descent
to Shaikh Ahmad of Jam. If her birth had been high, even though not
royal, it is strange that it is not stated by Babur when he records the
birth of her son Humayun, incidentally by Gul-badan, or more precisely
by Abu'l-fazl. Her brothers belonged to Khost, and to judge from a
considerable number of small records, seem to have been quiet, unwarlike
Khwajas. Her marriage took place in a year of which a full record
survives; it is one in the composed narrative, not in the diary. In the
following year, this also being one included in the composed narrative,
Babur writes of his meeting with Ma`suma _Miran-shahi_ in Herat, of
their mutual attraction, and of their marriage. If the marriage with
Humayun's mother had been an equal alliance, it would agree with Babur's
custom to mention its occurrence, and to give particulars about Mahim's
descent.[2749]
_i. Mr. William Erskine's estimate of Babur._
"Zahiru'd-din Muhammad Babur was undoubtedly one of the most
illustrious men of his age, and one of the most eminent and accomplished
princes that ever adorned an Asiatic throne. He is represented as having
been above the middle size, of great vigour of body, fond of all field
and warlike sports, an excellent swordsman, and a skilful archer. As a
proof of his bodily strength, it is mentioned, that he used to leap from
one pinnacle to another of the pinnacled ramparts used in the East, in
his double-soled boots; and that he even frequently took a man under
each arm and went leaping along the rampart from one of the pointed
pinnacles to another. Having been early trained to the conduct of
business, and tutored in the school of adversity, the powers of his mind
received full development. He ascended the throne at the age of twelve,
and before he had attained his twentieth year, had shared every variety
of fortune; he had not only been the ruler of subject provinces but had
been in thraldom to his own ambitious nobles, and obliged to conceal
every sentiment of his heart; he had been alternately hailed and obeyed
as a conqueror and deliverer by rich and extensive kingdoms, and forced
to lurk in the deserts and mountains of Farghana as a houseless
wanderer. Down to the last dregs of life, we perceive in him strong
feelings of affection for his early friends and early enjoyments. * * *
He had been taught betimes, by the voice of events that cannot lie, that
he was a man dependent on the kindness and fidelity of other men; and,
in his dangers and escapes with his followers, had learned that he was
only one of an association. * * * The native benevolence and gaiety of
his disposition seems ever to overflow on all around him; * * * of his
companions in arms he speaks with the frank gaiety of a soldier. * * *
Ambitious he was and fond of conquest and glory in all its shapes; the
enterprise in which he was for a season engaged, seems to have absorbed
his whole soul, and all his faculties were exerted to bring it to a
fortunate issue. His elastic mind was not broken by discomfiture, and
few who have achieved such glorious conquests, have suffered more
numerous or more decisive defeats. His personal courage was conspicuous
during his whole life. Upon the whole, if we review with impartiality
the history of Asia, we find few princes entitled to rank higher than
Babur in genius and accomplishments. * * * In activity of mind, in the
gay equanimity and unbroken spirit with which he bore the extremes of
good and bad fortune, in the possession of the manly and social virtues,
in his love of letters and his success in the cultivation of them, we
shall probably find no other Asiatic prince who can justly be placed
beside him."
THE END.
APPENDICES.
A.--THE SITE AND DISAPPEARANCE OF OLD AKHSI.
Some modern writers, amongst whom are Dr. Schuyler, General Nalivkine
and Mr. Pumpelly, have inferred from the Babur-nama account of Akhsi,
(in its translations?) that the landslip through which Babur's father
died and the disappearance of old Akhsi were brought about by erosion.
Seen by the light of modern information, this erosion theory does not
seem to cover the whole ground and some other cause seems necessary in
explanation of both events.
For convenience of reference, the Babur-nama passages required, are
quoted here, with their translations.
Hai. MS. f. 4b. _Saihun darya-si qurghani astidin aqar.
Qurghani baland jar austida waqi' bulub tur. Khandaqi-ning
aurunigha `umiq jarlar dur. `Umar Shaikh M. kim muni pay-takht
qildi, bir iki martaba tashraq-din yana jarlar saldi._
Of this the translations are as follows:--
(_a_) Pers. trans. (I.O. 217, f. 3_b_): _Darya-i Saihun az
payha qila`-i o mirezad u qila`-i o bar jar balandi waqi`
shuda ba jay khandaq jarha-i `umiq uftada. `U. Sh. M. kah anra
pay-takht sakhta, yak du martaba az birun ham baz jarha
andakht._
(_b_) Erskine (p. 5, translating from the Persian): 'The river
Saihun flows under the walls of the castle. The castle is
situated on a high precipice, and the steep ravines around
serve instead of a moat. When U. Sh. M. made it his capital
he, in one or two instances, scarped the ravines outside the
fort.'
(_c_) De Courteille (i, 8, translating from Ilminsky's
imprint, p. 6): 'Le Seihoun coule au pied de la fortresse qui
se dresse sur le sommet d'un ravin, dont les profondeurs lui
tiennent lieu d'un fossÈ. `U. Sh. M. ‡ l'Èpoque o˘ il en avait
fait son capitale, avait augmentÈ ‡ une ou deux rÈprises, les
escarpements qui la ceignent naturellement.'
Concerning `Umar Shaikh's death, the words needed are (f. 6_b_);--
_Mazkur bulub aidi kim Akhsi qurghani buland jar austida waqi`
bulub tur. `Imaratlar jar yaqasida airdi.... Mirza jardin
kabutar u kabutar-khana bila auchub shunqar buldi_;--'It has been
mentioned that the walled-town of Akhsi is situated above
ravine(s). The royal dwellings are along a ravine. The Mirza,
having flown with his pigeons and their house from the ravine,
became a falcon (_i.e._ died).'
A few particulars about Akhsi will shew that, in the translations just
quoted, certain small changes of wording are dictated by what, amongst
other writers, Kostenko and von Schwarz have written about the oases of
Turkistan.
The name Akhsi, as used by Ibn Haukal, Yaqut and Babur, describes an
oasis township, _i.e._ a walled-town with its adjacent cultivated lands.
In Yaqut's time Akhsi had a second circumvallation, presumably less for
defence than for the protection of crops against wild animals. The oasis
was created by the Kasan-water,[2750] upon the riverain loess of the
right and higher bank of the Saihun (Sir), on level ground west of the
junction of the Narin and the Qara-darya, west too of spurs from the
northern hills which now abut upon the river. Yaqut locates it in the
12th century, at one _farsakh_ (_circa_ 4 m.) north of the river.[2751]
Depending as it did solely on the Kasan-water, nothing dictated its
location close to the Sir, along which there is now, and there seems to
have been in the 12th century, a strip of waste land. Babur says of
Akhsi what Kostenko says (i, 321) of modern Tashkint, that it stood
above ravines (_jarlar_). These were natural or artificial channels of
the Kasan-water.[2752]
To turn now to the translations;--Mr. Erskine imaged Akhsi as a castle,
high on a precipice in process of erosion by the Sir. But Babur's word,
_qurghan_ means the walled-town; his word for a castle is _ark_,
citadel; and his _jar_, a cleft, is not rendered by 'precipice.'
Again;--it is no more necessary to understand that the Sir flowed close
to the walls than it is to understand, when one says the Thames flows
past below Richmond, that it washes the houses on the hill.
The key to the difficulties in the Turki passage is provided by a
special use of the word _jar_ for not only natural ravines but
artificial water-cuts for irrigation. This use of it makes clear that
what `Umar Shaikh did at Akhsi was not to make escarpments but to cut
new water-channels. Presumably he joined those 'further out' on the
deltaic fan, on the east and west of the town, so as to secure a
continuous defensive cleft round the town[2753] or it may be, in order
to bring it more water.
Concerning the historic pigeon-house (f. 6_b_), it can be said safely
that it did not fall into the Sir; it fell from a _jar_, and in this
part of its course, the river flows in a broad bed, with a low left
bank. Moreover the Mirza's residence was in the walled-town (f. 110_b_)
and there his son stayed 9 years after the accident. The slip did not
affect the safety of the residence therefore; it may have been local to
the birds' house. It will have been due to some ordinary circumstance
since no cause for it is mentioned by Babur, Haidar or Abu'l-fazl. If it
had marked the crisis of the Sir's approach, Akhsi could hardly have
been described, 25 years later, as a strong fort.
Something is known of Akhsi, in the 10th, the 12th, the 15th and the
19th centuries, which testifies to sÊcular decadence. Ibn Haukal and
Yaqut give the township an extent of 3 _farsakh_ (12 miles), which may
mean from one side to an opposite one. Yaqut's description of it
mentions four gates, each opening into well-watered lands extending a
whole _farsakh_, in other words it had a ring of garden-suburb four
miles wide.
Two meanings have been given to Babur's words indicating the status of
the oasis in the 15th century. They are, _mahallati qurghan-din bir
shar`i yuraqraq tushub tur_. They have been understood as saying that
the suburbs were two miles from their _urbs_. This may be right but I
hesitate to accept it without pointing out that the words may mean, 'Its
suburbs extend two miles farther than the walled-town.' Whichever verbal
reading is correct, reveals a decayed oasis.
In the 19th century, Nalivkine and Ujfalvy describe the place then
bearing the name Akhsi, as a small village, a mere winter-station, at
some distance from the river's bank, that bank then protected from
denudation by a sand-bank.
Three distinctly-marked stages of decadence in the oasis township are
thus indicated by Yaqut, Babur and the two modern travellers.
It is necessary to say something further about the position of the
suburbs in the 15th century. Babur quotes as especially suitable to
Akhsi, the proverbial questions, 'Where is the village?'[2754] (qy.
Akhsi-kint.) 'Where are the trees?' and these might be asked by some-one
in the suburbs unable to see Akhsi or _vice vers‚_. But granting that
there were no suburbs within two miles of the town, why had the whole
inner circle, two miles of Yaqut's four, gone out of cultivation?
Erosion would have affected only land between the river and the town.
Again;--if the Sir only were working in the 15th century to destroy a
town standing on the Kasan-water, how is it that this stream does not
yet reach the Sir?
Various ingatherings of information create the impression that failure
of Kasan-water has been the dominant factor in the loss of the Akhsi
township. Such failure might be due to the general desiccation of
Central Asia and also to increase of cultivation in the Kasan-valley
itself. There may have been erosion, and social and military change may
have had its part, but for the loss of the oasis lands and for, as a
sequel, the decay of the town, desiccation seems a sufficient cause.
The Kasan-water still supports an oasis on its riverain slope, the large
Auzbeg town of Tupa-qurghan (Town-of-the-hill), from the modern castle
of which a superb view is had up the Kasan-valley, now thickly studded
with villages.[2755]
B.--THE BIRDS, QIL QUYIRUGH AND BAGHRI QARA.
Describing a small bird (_qush-qina_), abundant in the Qarshi district
(f. 49_b_), Babur names it the _qil-quyirugh_, horse-tail, and says it
resembles the _baghri qara_.
Later on he writes (f. 280) that the _baghri qara_ of India is smaller
and more slender than 'those' _i.e._ of Transoxiana (f. 49_b_, n. 1),
the blackness of its breast less deep, and its cry less piercing.
We have had difficulty in identifying the birds but at length conclude
that the _baghri qara_ of Transoxiana is _Pterocles arenarius_, Pallas's
black-bellied sand-grouse and that the Indian one is a smaller
sand-grouse, perhaps a _Syrrhaptes_. As the _qil quyirugh_ resembles the
other two, it may be a yet smaller _Syrrhaptes_.
Muh. Salih, writing of sport Shaibaq Khan had in Qarshi
(_Shaibani-nama_, VambÈry, p. 192) mentions the 'Little bird (_murghak_)
of Qarshi,' as on all sides making lament. The Sang-lakh[2756] gives its
Persian name as _khar-pala_, ass-hair, says it flies in large flocks
and resembles the _baghri qara_. Of the latter he writes as abundant in
the open country and as making noise (_baghir_).
The Sang-lakh (f. 119) gives the earliest and most informing account we
have found of the _baghri qara_. Its says the bird is larger than a
pigeon, marked with various colours, yellow especially, black-breasted
and a dweller in the stony and waterless desert. These details are
followed by a quotation from `Ali-sher _Nawa'i_, in which he likens his
own heart to that of the bird of the desert, presumably referring to the
gloom of the bird's plumage. Three synonyms are then given; Ar. _qita_,
one due to its cry (Meninsky); Pers. _sang-shikan_, stone-eating,
(Steingass, _sang-khwara_, stone-eating); and Turki _baghir-tilaq_ which
refers, I think, to its cry.
Morier (Haji Baba) in his _Second journey through Persia_ (Lond. 1818,
p. 181), mentions that a bird he calls the black-breasted partridge,
(_i.e._ _Francolinus vulgaris_) is known in Turkish as _bokara kara_ and
in Persian as _siyah-sina_, both names, (he says), meaning black-breast;
that it has a horse-shoe of black feathers round the forepart of the
trunk, more strongly marked in the female than in the male; that they
fly in flocks of which he saw immense numbers near Tabriz (p. 283), have
a soft note, inhabit the plains, and, once settled, do not run. Cock and
hen alike have a small spur,--a characteristic, it may be said,
identifying rather with _Francolinus vulgaris_ than with _Pterocles
arenarius_. Against this identification, however, is Mr. Blandford's
statement that _siyah-sina_ (Morier's _bokara kara_) is _Pterocles
arenarius_ (Report of the Persian Boundary Commission, ii, 271).
In Afghanistan and Bikanir, the sand-grouse is called _tuturak_ and
_boora kurra_ (Jerdon, ii, 498). Scully explains _baghitaq_ as
_Pterocles arenarius_.
Perhaps I may mention something making me doubt whether it is correct to
translate _baghri qara_ by _black-liver_ and _gorge-noir_ or other names
in which the same meaning is expressed. To translate thus, is to
understand a Turki noun and adjective in Persian construction, and to
make exception to the rule, amply exemplified in lists of birds, that
Turki names of birds are commonly in Turki construction, _e.g._ _qara
bash_ (black-head), _aq-bash_ (white-head), _sarigh-sunduk_
(yellow-headed wagtail). _Baghir_ may refer to the cry of the bird. We
learn from Mr. Ogilvie Grant that the Mongol name for the sand-grouse
_njupterjun_, is derived from its cry in flight, _truck_, _truck_, and
its Arabic name _qita_ is said by Meninsky to be derived from its cry
_kaetha_, _kaetha_. Though the dissimilarity of the two cries is against
taking the _njupterjun_ and the _qita_ to be of one class of
sand-grouse, the significance of the derivation of the names remains,
and shows that there are examples in support of thinking that when a
sand-grouse is known as _baghri qara_, it may be so known because of its
cry (_baghir_).
The word _qara_ finds suggestive interpretation in a B. N. phrase (f.
72_b_) _Tambal-ning qara-si_, Tambal's blackness, _i.e._ the dark mass
of his moving men, seen at a distance. It is used also for an indefinite
number, _e.g._ 'family, servants, retainers, followers, _qara_,' and I
think it may imply a massed flock.
Babur's words (f. 280) _baghri-ning qara-si ham kam dur_, [its belly
(lit. liver) also is less black], do not necessarily contradict the view
that the word _baghri_ in the bird's name means crying. The root _bagh_
has many and pliable derivatives; I suspect both Babur (here) and Muh.
Salih (l. c.) of ringing changes on words.
We are indebted for kind reply to our questions to Mr. Douglas
Carruthers, Mr. Ogilvie Grant and to our friend, Mr. R. S. Whiteway.
C.--ON THE GOSHA-GIR.
I am indebted to my husband's examination of two Persian MSS. on
archery for an explanation of the word _gosha-gir_, in its technical
sense in archery. The works consulted are the CyclopÊdia of
Archery (_Kulliyatu'r-rami_ I. O. 2771) and the Archer's Guide
(_Hidayatu'r-rami_ I. O. 2768).
It should be premised that in archery, the word _gosha_ describes, in
the arrow, the notch by which it grips and can be carried on the string,
and, in the bow, both the tip (horn) and the notch near the tip in which
the string catches. It is explained by Vullers as _cornu et crena arc˚s
cui immititur nervus_.
Two passages in the CyclopÊdia of Archery (f. 9 and f. 36_b_) shew
_gosha_ as the bow-tip. One says that to bend the bow, two men must
grasp the two _gosha_; the other reports a tradition that the Archangel
Gabriel brought a bow having its two _gosha_ (tips) made of ruby. The
same book directs that the _gosha_ be made of seasoned ivory, the
Archer's Guide prescribing seasoned mulberry wood.
The C. of A. (f. 125_b_) says that a bowman should never be without two
things, his arrows and his _gosha-gir_. The _gosha-gir_ may be called an
item of the repairing kit; it is an implement (f. 53) for making good a
warped bow-tip and for holding the string into a displaced notch. It is
known also as the _chapras_, brooch or buckle, and the _kardang_; and is
said to bear these names because it fastens in the string. Its shape is
that of the upper part of the Ar. letter _jim_, two converging lines of
which the lower curves slightly outward. It serves to make good a warped
bow, without the use of fire and it should be kept upon the bow-tip till
this has reverted to its original state. Until the warp has been
straightened by the _gosha-gir_, the bow must be kept from the action of
fire because it, (composite of sinew and glutinous substance,) is of the
nature of wax.
The same implement can be used to straighten the middle of the bow, the
_kaman khana_. It is then called _kar-dang_. It can be used there on
condition that there are not two _daur_ (curves) in the bow. If there
are two the bow cannot be repaired without fire. The _halal daur_ is
said to be characteristic of the Turkish bow. There are three _daur_. I
am indebted to Mr. Inigo Simon for the suggestions that _daur_ in this
connection means _warp_ and that the three twists (_daur_) may be those
of one horn (_gosha_), of the whole bow warped in one curve, and of the
two horns warped in opposite directions.
Of repair to the _kaman-khana_ it is said further that if no _kardang_
be available, its work can be done by means of a stick and string, and
if the damage be slight only, the bow and the string can be tightly tied
together till the bow comes straight. 'And the cure is with God!'
Both manuscripts named contain much technical information. Some parts of
this are included in my husband's article, _Oriental Crossbows_ (A. Q.
R. 1911, p. 1). Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey's interesting book on the
Cross-bow allows insight into the fine handicraft of Turkish bow-making.
D.--ON THE RESCUE PASSAGE.
I have omitted from my translation an account of Babur's rescue from
expected death, although it is with the Haidarabad Codex, because closer
acquaintance with its details has led both my husband and myself to
judge it spurious. We had welcomed it because, being with the true
Babur-nama text, it accredited the same account found in the
Kehr-Ilminsky text, and also because, however inefficiently, it did
something towards filling the gap found elsewhere within 908 AH.
It is in the Haidarabad MS. (f. 118_b_), in Kehr's MS. (p. 385), in
Ilminsky's imprint (p. 144), in _Les MÈmoires de Babour_ (i, 255) and
with the St. P. University Codex, which is a copy of Kehr's.
On the other hand, it is not with the Elphinstone Codex (f. 89_b_); that
it was not with the archetype of that codex the scribe's note shews (f.
90); it is with neither of the _Waqi`at-i-baburi_ (Pers. translations)
nor with Leyden and Erskine's _Memoirs_ (p. 122).[2757]
Before giving our grounds for rejecting what has been offered to fill
the gap of 908 AH. a few words must be said about the lacuna itself.
Nothing indicates that Babur left it and, since both in the Elphinstone
Codex and its archetype, the sentence preceding it lacks the terminal
verb, it seems due merely to loss of pages. That the loss, if any, was
of early date is clear,--the Elph. MS. itself being copied not later than
1567 AD. (JRAS. 1907, p. 137).
Two known circumstances, both of earlier date than that of the
Elphinstone Codex, might have led to the loss,--the first is the storm
which in 935 AH. scattered Babur's papers (f. 376_b_), the second, the
vicissitudes to which Humayun's library was exposed in his exile.[2758]
Of the two the first seems the more probable cause.
The rupture of a story at a point so critical as that of Babur's danger
in Karnan would tempt to its completion; so too would wish to make good
the composed part of the Babur-nama. Humayun annotated the archetype of
the Elphinstone Codex a good deal but he cannot have written the Rescue
passage if only because he was in a position to avoid some of its
inaccuracies.
CONTEXT AND TRANSLATION OF THE RESCUE PASSAGE.
To facilitate reference, I quote the last words preceding the gap
purported to be filled by the Rescue passage, from several texts;--
(_a_) Elphinstone MS. f. 89_b_,--_Quptum. Bagh gosha-si-gha bardim. Auzum
bila andesha qildim. Didim kim kishi agar yuz u agar ming yashasa, akhir
hech...._
(_b_) The Hai. MS. (f. 118_b_) varies from the Elphinstone by omitting
the word _hech_ and adding _aulmak kirak_, he must die.
(_c_) Payanda-hasan's _Waqi`at-i-baburi_ (I. O. 215, f.
96_b_),--_Barkhwastam u dar gosha-i bagh raftam. Ba khud andesha karda,
guftam kah agar kase sad sal ya hazar sal `umr dashta bashad, akhir hech
ast._ (It will be seen that this text has the _hech_ of the Elph. MS.)
(_d_) `Abdu'r-rahim's _Waqi`at-i-baburi_ (I. O. 217, f.
79),--_Barkhwastam u ba gosha-i-bagh raftam. Ba khud andeshidam u guftam
kah agar kase sad sal u agar hazar sal `umr bayabad akhir...._
(_e_) Muh. _Shirazi's_ lith. ed. (p. 75) finishes the sentence with
_akhir khud bayad murd_, at last one must die,--varying as it frequently
does, from both of the _Waqi`at_.
(_f_) Kehr's MS. (p. 383-454), Ilminsky, p. 144,--_Qupub baghning bir
burji-gha barib, khatirim-gha kilturdim kim agar adam yuz yil u agar
ming yil tirik bulsa, akhir aulmak din auzka chara yuq tur._ (I rose.
Having gone to a tower of the garden, I brought it to my mind that if a
person be alive 100 years or a thousand years, at last he has no help
other than to die.)
The Rescue passage is introduced by a Persian couplet, identified by my
husband as from Nizami's _Khusrau u Shirin_, which is as follows;--
If you stay a hundred years, and if one year,
Forth you must go from this heart-delighting palace.
I steadied myself for death (_qarar birdim_). In that garden a stream
came flowing;[2759] I made ablution; I recited the prayer of two
inclinations (_ra`kat_); having raised my head for silent prayer, I
was making earnest petition when my eyes closed in sleep.[2760] I am
seeing[2761] that Khwaja Yaq`ub, the son of Khwaja Yahya and
grandson of His Highness Khwaja `Ubaidu'l-lah, came facing me,
mounted on a piebald horse, with a large company of piebald horsemen
(_sic_).[2762] He said: 'Lay sorrow aside! Khwaja _Ahrar_ (_i.e._
`Ubaidu'l-lah) has sent me to you; he said, "We, having asked help
for him (_i.e._ Babur), will seat him on the royal throne;[2763]
wherever difficulty befalls him, let him look towards us (lit. bring
us to sight) and call us to mind; there will we be present." Now, in
this hour, victory and success are on your side; lift up your head!
awake!'
At that time I awoke happy, when Yusuf and those with him[2764] were
giving one another advice. 'We will make a pretext to deceive; to
seize and bind[2765] is necessary.' Hearing these words, I said,
'Your words are of this sort, but I will see which of you will come
to my presence to take me.' I was saying this when outside the garden
wall[2766] came the noise of approaching horsemen. Yusuf _darogha_
said, 'If we had taken you to Tambal our affairs would have gone
forward. Now he has sent again many persons to seize you.' He was
certain that this noise might be the footfall of the horses of those
sent by Tambal. On hearing those words anxiety grew upon me; what to
do I did not know. At this time those horsemen, not happening to find
the garden gate, broke down the wall where it was old (and) came in.
I saw (_kursam_, lit. might see) that Qutluq Muh. _Barlas_ and Baba-i
_Parghari_, my life-devoted servants, having arrived [with], it may
be, ten, fifteen, twenty persons, were approaching. Having flung
themselves from their horses,[2767] bent the knee from afar and
showed respect, they fell at my feet. In that state (_hal_) such
ecstasy (_hal_) came over me that you might say (_goya_) God gave me
life from a new source (_bash_). I said, 'Seize and bind that Yusuf
_darogha_ and these here (_turghan_) hireling mannikins.' These same
mannikins had taken to flight. They (_i.e._ the rescuers), having
taken them, one by one, here and there, brought them bound. I said,
'Where do you come from? How did you get news?' Qutluq Muh. _Barlas_
said: 'When, having fled from Akhsi, we were separated from you in
the flight, we went to Andijan when the Khans also came to Andijan. I
saw a vision that Khwaja `Ubaidu'l-lah said, "Babur _padshah_[2768]
is in a village called Karnan; go and bring him, since the royal seat
(_masnad_) has become his possession (_ta`alluq_)." I having seen
this vision and become happy, represented (the matter) to the Elder
Khan (and) the Younger Khan. I said to the Khans, "I have five or six
younger brothers (and) sons; do you add a few soldiers. I will go
through the Karnan side and bring news." The Khans said, "It occurs
to our minds also that (he) may have gone that same road (?)." They
appointed ten persons; they said, "Having gone in that direction
(_sari_) and made very sure, bring news. Would to God you might get
true news!" We were saying this when Baba-i _Parghari_ said, "I too
will go and seek." He also having agreed with two young men, (his)
younger brothers, we rode out. It is three days to-day that we are
on the road. Thank God! we have found you.' They said (_didilar_, for
_dib_). They spoke (_aitilar_), 'Make a move! Ride off! Take these
bound ones with you! To stay here is not well; Tambal has had news of
your coming here; go, in whatever way, and join yourself to the
Khans!' At that time we having ridden out, moved towards Andijan. It
was two days that we had eaten no food; the evening prayer had come
when we found a sheep, went on, dismounted, killed, and roasted. Of
that same roast we ate as much as a feast. After that we rode on,
hurried forward, made a five days' journey in a day and two nights,
came and entered Andijan. I saluted my uncle the Elder Khan (and) my
uncle the Younger Khan, and made recital of past days. With the Khans
I spent four months. My servants, who had gone looking in every
place, gathered themselves together; there were more than 300
persons. It came to my mind (_kim_), 'How long must I wander, a
vagabond (_sar-gardan_),[2769] in this Farghana country? I will make
search (_talab_) on every side (_dib_).' Having said, I rode out in
the month of Muharram to seek Khurasan, and I went out from the
country of Farghana.[2770]
REASONS AGAINST THE REJECTION OF THE RESCUE PASSAGE.
Two circumstances have weight against rejecting the passage, its
presence with the Haidarabad Codex and its acceptance by Dr. Ilminsky
and M. de Courteille.
That it is with the Codex is a matter needing consideration and this the
more that it is the only extra matter there found. Not being with the
Persian translations, it cannot be of early date. It seems likely to owe
its place of honour to distinguished authorship and may well be one of
the four portions (_juzwe_) mentioned by Jahangir in the
Tuzuk-i-jahangiri,[2771] as added by himself to his ancestor's book. If
so, it may be mentioned, it will have been with Babur's autograph MS.
[now not to be found], from which the Haidarabad Codex shews signs of
being a direct copy.[2772]
[The incongruity of the Rescue passage with the true text has been
indicated by foot-notes to the translation of it already given. What
condemns it on historic and other grounds will follow.]
On linguistic grounds it is a strong argument in its favour that Dr.
Ilminsky and M. de Courteille should have accepted it but the argument
loses weight when some of the circumstances of their work are taken into
account.
In the first place, it is not strictly accurate to regard Dr. Ilminsky
as accepting it unquestioned, because it is covered by his depreciatory
remarks, made in his preface, on Kehr's text. He, like M. de Courteille,
worked with a single Turki MS. and neither of the two ever saw a
complete true text. When their source (the Kehr-Ilminsky) was able to be
collated with the Elph. and Hai. MSS. much and singular divergence was
discovered.
I venture to suggest what appears to me to explain M. de Courteille's
acceptance of the Rescue passage. Down to its insertion, the
Kehr-Ilminsky text is so continuously and so curiously corrupt that it
seems necessary to regard it as being a re-translation into Turki from
one of the Persian translations of the _Babur-nama_. There being these
textual defects in it, it would create on the mind of a reader initiated
through it, only, in the book, an incorrect impression of Babur's style
and vocabulary, and such a reader would feel no transition when passing
on from it to the Rescue passage.
In opposition to this explanation, it might be said that a wrong
standard set up by the corrupt text, would or could be changed by the
excellence of later parts of the Kehr-Ilminsky one. In words, this is
sound, no doubt, and such reflex criticism is now easy, but more than
the one defective MS. was wanted even to suggest the need of such reflex
criticism. The _Babur-nama_ is lengthy, ponderous to poise and grasp,
and work on it is still tentative, even with the literary gains since
the Seventies.
Few of the grounds which weigh with us for the rejection of the Rescue
passage were known to Dr. Ilminsky or M. de Courteille;--the two good
Codices bring each its own and varied help; Teufel's critique on the
'Fragments,' though made without acquaintance with those adjuncts as
they stand in Kehr's own volume, is of much collateral value; several
useful oriental histories seem not to have been available for M. de
Courteille's use. I may add, for my own part, that I have the great
advantage of my husband's companionship and the guidance of his wide
acquaintance with related oriental books. In truth, looking at the
drawbacks now removed, an earlier acceptance of the passage appears as
natural as does today's rejection.
GROUNDS FOR REJECTING THE RESCUE PASSAGE.
The grounds for rejecting the passage need here little more than
recapitulation from my husband's article in the JASB. 1910, p. 221, and
are as follows;--
i. The passage is in neither of the _Waqi`at-i-baburi_.
ii. The dreams detailed are too ‡ propos and marvellous for
credence.
iii. Khwaja Yahya is not known to have had a son, named
Ya`qub.
iv. The _Babur-nama_ does not contain the names assigned to
the rescuers.
v. The Khans were not in Andijan and Babur did not go there.
vi. He did not set out for Khurasan after spending 4 months
with The Khans but after Ahmad's death (end of 909 AH.), while
Mahmud was still in Eastern Turkistan and after about a year's
stay in Sukh.
vii. The followers who gathered to him were not 'more than
300' but between 2 and 300.
viii. The '3 days,' and the 'day and two nights,' and the '5
days' journey was one of some 70 miles, and one recorded as
made in far less time.
ix. The passage is singularly inadequate to fill a gap of 14
to 16 months, during which events of the first importance
occurred to Babur and to the Chaghatai dynasty.
x. Khwaja _Ahrari's_ promises did nothing to fulfil Babur's
wishes for 908 AH. while those of Ya`qub for immediate victory
were closely followed by defeat and exile. Babur knew the
facts; the passage cannot be his. It looks as though the
writer saw Babur in Karnan across Timurid success in
Hindustan.
xi. The style and wording of the passage are not in harmony
with those of the true text.
Other reasons for rejection are marked change in choice of the details
chosen for commemoration, _e.g._ when Babur mentions prayer, he does so
simply; when he tells a dream, it seems a real one. The passage leaves
the impression that the writer did not think in Turki, composed in it
with difficulty, and looked at life from another view-point than
Babur's.
On these various grounds, we have come to the conclusion that it is no
part of the _Babur-nama_.
[APPENDICES TO THE KABUL SECTION.]
E.--NAGARAHAR, AND NING-NAHAR
Those who consult books and maps about the riverain tract between the
Safed-koh (Spin-ghur) and (AnglicÈ) the Kabul-river find its name in
several forms, the most common being Nangrahar and Nangnahar (with
variant vowels). It would be useful to establish a European book-name
for the district. As European opinion differs about the origin and
meaning of the names now in use, and as a good deal of interesting
circumstance gathers round the small problem of a correct form (there
may be two), I offer about the matter what has come into the restricted
field of my own work, premising that I do this merely as one who drops a
casual pebble on the cairn of observation already long rising for
scholarly examination.
_a. The origin and meaning of the names._
I have met with three opinions about the origin and meaning of the names
found now and earlier. To each one of them obvious objection can be
made. They are:--
1. That all forms now in use are corruptions of the Sanscrit
word Nagarahara, the name of the Town-of-towns which in the
_du-ab_ of the Baran-su and Surkh-rud left the ruins Masson
describes in Wilson's _Ariana Antigua_. But if this is so, why
is the Town-of-towns multiplied into the nine of Na-nagrahar
(Nangrahar)?[2773]
2. That the names found represent Sanscrit _nawa vihara_, nine
monasteries, an opinion the Gazetteer of India of 1907 has
adopted from Bellew. But why precisely nine monasteries? Nine
appears an understatement.
3. That Nang (Ning or Nung) -nahar verbally means nine
streams, (Babur's Tuquz-rud,) an interpretation of long
standing (Section _b infra_). But whence _nang_, _ning_,
_nung_, for nine? Such forms are not in Persian, Turki or
Pushtu dictionaries, and, as Sir G. A. Grierson assures me, do
not come into the Linguistic Survey.
_b. On nang, ning, nung for nine._
Spite of their absence from the natural homes of words, however, the
above sounds have been heard and recorded as symbols of the number nine
by careful men through a long space of time.
The following instances of the use of "Nangnahar" show this, and also
show that behind the variant forms there may be not a single word but
two of distinct origin and sense.
1. In Chinese annals two names appear as those of the district
and town (I am not able to allocate their application with
certainty). The first is Na-kie-lo-ho-lo, the second
Nang-g-lo-ho-lo and these, I understand to represent
Nagara-hara and Nang-nahar, due allowance being made for
Chinese idiosyncrasy.[2774]
2. Some 900 years later (1527-30 AD.) Babur also gives two
names, Nagarahar (as the book-name of his _tuman_) and
Ning-nahar.[2775] He says the first is found in several
histories (B.N. f. 131_b_); the second will have been what he
heard and also presumably what appeared in revenue accounts;
of it he says, "it is nine torrents" (_tuquz-rud_).
3. Some 300 years after Babur, Elphinstone gives two names
for the district, neither of them being Babur's book-name,
"Nangrahaur[2776] or Nungnahaur, from the nine streams which
issue from the Safed-koh, _nung_ in Pushtoo signifying _nine_,
and _nahaura_, a stream" (_Caubul_, i, 160).
4. In 1881 Colonel H. S. Tanner had heard, in Nur-valley on
the north side of the Kabul-water, that the name of the
opposite district was Ning-nahar and its meaning Nine-streams.
He did not get a list of the nine and all he heard named do
not flow from Safed-koh.
5. In 1884 Colonel H. G. McGregor gives two names with their
explanation, "Ningrahar and Nungnihar; the former is a
corruption of the latter word[2777] which in the Afghan
language signifies nine rivers or rivulets." He names nine,
but of them six only issue from Safed-koh.
6. I have come across the following instances in which the
number nine is represented by other words than _na_ (_ni_ or
_nu_); _viz._ the _nenhan_ of the Chitrali Kafir and the
_noun_ of the Panjabi, recorded by Leech,--the _nyon_ of the
Khowari and the _huncha_ of the Boorishki, recorded by Colonel
Biddulph.
The above instances allow opinion that in the region concerned and
through a long period of time, nine has been expressed by _nang_ (_ning_
or _nung_) and other nasal or high palatal sounds, side by side with
_na_ (_ni_ or _nu_). The whole matter may be one of nasal
utterance,[2778] but since a large number of tribesmen express nine by a
word containing a nasal sound, should that word not find place in lists
of recognized symbols of sounds?
_c. Are there two names of distinct origin?_
1. Certainly it makes a well-connected story of decay in the Sanscrit
word Nagarahara to suppose that tribesmen, prone by their organism to
nasal utterance, pronounced that word Nangrahar, and by force of their
numbers made this corruption current,--that this was recognized as the
name of the town while the Town-of-towns was great or in men's memory,
and that when through the decay of the town its name became a
meaningless husk, the wrong meaning of the Nine-streams should enter
into possession.
But as another and better one can be put together, this fair-seeming
story may be baseless. Its substitute has the advantage of explaining
the double sequence of names shown in Section _b_.
The second story makes all the variant names represent one or other of
two distinct originals. It leaves Nagrahar to represent Nagarahara, the
dead town; it makes the nine torrents of Safed-koh the primeval sponsors
of Ning-nahar, the name of the riverain tract. Both names, it makes
contemporary in the relatively brief interlude of the life of the town.
For the fertilizing streams will have been the dominant factors of
settlement and of revenue from the earliest times of population and
government. They arrest the eye where they and their ribbons of
cultivation space the riverain waste; they are obvious units for
grouping into a sub-government. Their name has a counterpart in adjacent
Panj-ab; the two may have been given by one dominant power, how long
ago, in what tongue matters not. The riverain tract, by virtue of its
place on a highway of transit, must have been inhabited long before the
town Nagarahara was built, and must have been known by a name. What
better one than Nine-streams can be thought of?
2. Bellew is quoted by the Gazetteer of India (ed. 1907) as saying, in
his argument in favour of _nawa vihara_, that no nine streams are found
to stand sponsor, but modern maps shew nine outflows from Safed-koh to
the Kabul-river between the Surkh-rud and Daka, while if affluents to
the former stream be reckoned, more than nine issue from the
range.[2779]
Against Bellew's view that there are not nine streams, is the long
persistence of the number nine in the popular name (Sect. _b_).
It is also against his view that he supposes there were nine
monasteries, because each of the nine must have had its fertilizing
water.
Babur says there were nine; there must have been nine of significance;
he knew his _tuman_ not only by frequent transit but by his revenue
accounts. A supporting point in those accounts is likely to have been
that the individual names of the villages on the nine streams would
appear, with each its payment of revenue.
3. In this also is some weight of circumstance against taking Nagarahara
to be the parent of Ning-nahar:--An earlier name of the town is said to
be Udyanapura, Garden town.[2780] Of this Babur's Adinapur is held to be
a corruption; the same meaning of garden has survived on approximately
the same ground in Bala-bagh and Rozabad.
Nagarahara is seen, therefore, to be a parenthetical name between others
which are all derived from gardens. It may shew the promotion of a
"Garden-town" to a "Chief-town". If it did this, there was relapse of
name when the Chief-town lost status. Was it ever applied beyond the
delta? If it were, would it, when dead in the delta, persist along the
riverain tract? If it were not, _cadit quÊstio_; the suggestion of two
names distinct in origin, is upheld.
Certainly the riverain tract would fall naturally under the government
of any town flourishing in the delta, the richest and most populous part
of the region. But for this very reason it must have had a name older
than parenthetical Nagarahara. That inevitable name would be
appropriately Ning-nahar (or Na-nahar) Nine-streams; and for a period
Nagarahara would be the Chief-town of the district of Na-nahar
(Nine-streams).[2781]
_d. Babur's statements about the name._
What the cautious Babur says of his _tuman_ of Ning-nahar has weight:--
1. That some histories write it Nagarahar (Haidarabad Codex,
f. 131_b_);
2. That Ning-nahar is nine torrents, _i.e._ mountain streams,
_tuquz-rud_;
3. That (the) nine torrents issue from Safed-koh (f. 132_b_).
Of his first statement can be said, that he will have seen the book-name
in histories he read, but will have heard Ning-nahar, probably also have
seen it in current letters and accounts.
Of his second,--that it bears and may be meant to bear two senses, (_a_)
that the _tuman_ consisted of nine torrents,--their lands implied; just
as he says "Asfara is four _buluks_" (sub-divisions f. 3_b_)--(_b_) that
_tuquz rud_ translates _ning-nahar_.
Of his third,--that in English its sense varies as it is read with or
without the definite article Turki rarely writes, but that either sense
helps out his first and second, to mean that verbally and by its
constituent units Ning-nahar is nine-torrents; as verbally and by its
constituents Panj-ab is five-waters.
_e. Last words._
Detailed work on the Kabul section of the _Babur-nama_ has stamped two
impressions so deeply on me, that they claim mention, not as novel or as
special to myself, but as set by the work.
The first is of extreme risk in swift decision on any problem of words
arising in North Afghanistan, because of its local concourse of tongues,
the varied utterance of its unlettered tribes resident or nomad, and the
frequent translation of proper names in obedience to their verbal
meanings. Names lie there too in _strata_, relics of successive
occupation--Greek, Turki, Hindi, Pushtu and tribes _galore_.
The second is that the region is an exceptionally fruitful field for
first-hand observation of speech, the movent ocean of the uttered word,
free of the desiccated symbolism of alphabets and books.
The following books, amongst others, have prompted the above note:--
Ghoswara Inscription, Kittoe, JASB., 1848, and Kielhorn,
_Indian Antiquary_, 1888, p. 311.
H. Sastri's _Ramacarita_, Introduction, p. 7 (ASB. Memoirs).
Cunningham's _Ancient India_, vol. i.
Beal's _Buddhist Records_, i, xxxiv, and cii, 91.
Leech's Vocabularies, JASB., 1838.
The writings of Masson (_Travels_ and _Ariana Antiqua_), Wood,
Vigne, etc.
Raverty's _Tabaqat-i-nasiri_.
Jarrett's _Ayin-i-akbari_.
P.R.G.S. for maps, 1879; Macnair on the Kafirs, 1884; Tanner's
_On the Chugani and neighbouring tribes of Kafiristan_, 1881.
Simpson's _Nagarahara_, JASB., xiii.
Biddulph's _Dialects of the Hindu-kush_, JRAS.
Gazette of India, 1907, art. Jalalabad.
Bellew's _Races of Afghanistan_.
F.--ON THE NAME DARA-I-NUR
Some European writers have understood the name Dara-i-nur to mean Valley
of Light, but natural features and also the artificial one mentioned by
Colonel H. G. Tanner (_infra_), make it better to read the component
_nur_, not as Persian _nur_, light, but as Pushtu _nur_, rock. Hence it
translates as Valley of Rocks, or Rock-valley. The region in which the
valley lies is rocky and boulder-strewn; its own waters flow to the
Kabul-river east of the water of Chitral. It shews other names composed
with _nur_, in which _nur_ suits if it means rock, but is inexplicable
if it means light, _e.g._ Nur-lam (Nur-fort), the master-fort in the
mouth of Nur-valley, standing high on a rock between two streams, as
Babur and Tanner have both described it from eye-witness,--Nur-gal
(village), a little to the north-west of the valley,--Aulugh-nur (great
rock), at a crossing mentioned by Babur, higher up the Baran-water,--and
Koh-i-nur (Rocky-mountains), which there is ground for taking as the
correct form of the familiar "Kunar" of some European writers (Raverty's
_Notes_, p. 106). The dominant feature in these places dictates reading
_nur_ as rock; so too the work done in Nur-valley with boulders, of
which Colonel H. G. Tanner's interesting account is subjoined (P.R.G.S.
1881, p. 284).
"Some 10 miles from the source of the main stream of the Nur-valley the
Dameneh stream enters, but the waters of the two never meet; they flow
side by side about three-quarters of a mile apart for about 12 miles and
empty themselves into the Kunar river by different mouths, each torrent
hugging closely the foot of the hills at its own side of the valley.
Now, except in countries where terracing has been practised continuously
for thousands of years, such unnatural topography as exists in the
valley of Nur is next to impossible. The forces which were sufficient to
scoop out the valley in the first instance, would have kept a water-way
at the lowest part, into which would have poured the drainage of the
surrounding mountains; but in the Nur-valley long-continued terracing
has gradually raised the centre of the valley high above the edges. The
population has increased to its maximum limit and every available inch
of ground is required for cultivation; the people, by means of
terrace-walls built of ponderous boulders in the bed of the original
single stream, have little by little pushed the waters out of their true
course, until they run, where now found, in deep rocky cuttings at the
foot of the hills on either side" (p. 280).
"I should like to go on and say a good deal more about boulders; and
while I am about it I may as well mention one that lies back from a
hamlet in Shulut, which is so big that a house is built in a fault or
crack running across its face. Another pebble lies athwart the village
and covers the whole of the houses from that side."
G.--ON THE NAMES OF TWO DARA-I-NUR WINES.
From the two names, Arat-tashi and Suhan (Suhar) -tashi, which Babur
gives as those of two wines of the Dara-i-nur, it can be inferred that
he read _nur_ to mean rock. For if in them Turki _tash_, rock, be
replaced by Pushtu _nur_, rock, two place-names emerge, Arat (-nuri) and
Suhan (-nuri), known in the Nur-valley.
These may be villages where the wines were grown, but it would be quite
exceptional for Babur to say that wines are called from their villages,
or indeed by any name. He says here not where they grow but what they
are called.
I surmise that he is repeating a joke, perhaps his own, perhaps a
standing local one, made on the quality of the wines. For whether with
_tash_ or with _nur_ (rock), the names can be translated as Rock-saw and
Rock-file, and may refer to the rough and acid quality of the wines,
rasping and setting the teeth on edge as does iron on stone.
The villages themselves may owe their names to a serrated edge or
splintered pinnacle of weathered granite, in which local people, known
as good craftsmen, have seen resemblance to tools of their trade.
H.--ON THE COUNTERMARK BIH BUD ON COINS.
As coins of Sl. Husain Mirza _Bai-qara_ and other rulers do actually
bear the words _Bih bud_, Babur's statement that the name of Bihbud Beg
was on the Mirza's coins acquires a numismatic interest which may make
serviceable the following particulars concerning the passage and the
beg.[2782]
_a. The Turki passage_ (Elph. MS. f. 135_b_; Haidarabad Codex
f. 173_b_; Ilminsky p. 217).
For ease of reference the Turki, Persian and English version are
subjoined:--
(1) _Yana Bihbud Beg aidi. Burunlar chuhra-jirga-si-da khidmat qilur
aidi. Mirza-ning qazaqliqlarida khidmati baqib Bihbud Beg-ka bu
`inayatni qilib aidi kim tamgha u sikka-da aning ati aidi._
(2) The Persian translation of `Abdu'r-rahim (Muh. Shirazi's lith. ed.
p. 110):--
_Digar Bihbud Beg bud. Auwalha dar jirga-i-chuhraha khidmat mikard. Chun
dar qazaqiha Mirzara khidmat karda bud u anra mulahaza namuda, ainra
`inayat karda bud kah dar tamghanat sikka_[2783] _nam-i-au bud._
(3) A literal English translation of the Turki:--
Another was Bihbud Beg. He served formerly in the _chuhra-jirga-si_
(corps of braves). Looking to his service in the Mirza's guerilla-times,
the favour had been done to Bihbud Beg that his name was on the stamp
and coin.[2784]
_b. Of Bihbud Beg._
We have found little so far to add to what Babur tells of Bihbud Beg and
what he tells we have not found elsewhere. The likely sources of his
information are Daulat Shah and Khwand-amir who have written at length
of Husain _Bai-qara_. Considerable search in the books of both men has
failed to discover mention of signal service or public honour connected
with the beg. Babur may have heard what he tells in Harat in 912 AH.
(1506 AD.) when he would see Husain's coins presumably; but later
opportunity to see them must have been frequent during his campaigns and
visits north of Hindu-kush, notably in Balkh.
The sole mention we have found of Bihbud Beg in the _Habibu's-siyar_ is
that he was one of Husain's commanders at the battle of Chikman-sarai
which was fought with Sl. Mahmud Mirza _Miranshahi_ in Muharram 876 AH.
(June-July 1471 AD.).[2785] His place in the list shews him to have had
importance. "Amir Nizamu'd-din `Ali-sher's brother Darwesh-i-`ali the
librarian (_q.v._ Hai. Codex Index), and Amir Bihbud, and Muh. `Ali
_ataka_, and Bakhshika and Shah Wali _Qipchaq_, and Dost-i-muhammad
_chuhra_, and Amir Qul-i-`ali, and" (another).
The total of our information about the man is therefore:--
(1) That when Husain[2786] from 861 to 873 AH. (1457 to 1469 AD.) was
fighting his way up to the throne of Harat, Bihbud served him well in
the corps of braves, (as many others will have done).
(2) That he was a beg and one of Husain's commanders in 876 AH. (1471
AD.).
(3) That Babur includes him amongst Husain's begs and says of him what
has been quoted, doing this _circa_ 934 AH. (1528 AD.), some 56 years
after Khwand-amir's mention of him _s.a._ 876 AH. (1471 AD.).
_c. Of the term chuhra-jirga-si used by Babur._
Of this term Babur supplies an explicit explanation which I have not
found in European writings. His own book amply exemplifies his
explanation, as do also Khwand-amir's and Haidar's.
He gives the explanation (f. 15_b_) when describing a retainer of his
father's who afterwards became one of his own begs. It is as follows:--
"`Ali-darwesh of Khurasan served in the Khurasan _chuhra-jirga-si_, one
of two special corps (_khasa tabin_) of serviceable braves (_yarar
yigitlar_) formed by Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza when he first began to arrange
the government of Khurasan and Samarkand and, presumably, called by him
the Khurasan corps and the Samarkand corps."
This shews the circle to have consisted of fighting-men, such
serviceable braves as are frequently mentioned by Babur; and his words
"_yarar yigit_" make it safe to say that if instead of using a Persian
phrase, he had used a Turki one, _yigit_, brave would have replaced
_chuhra_, "young soldier" (Erskine). A considerable number of men on
active service are styled _chuhra_, one at least is styled _yigit_, in
the same way as others are styled _beg_.[2787]
Three military circles are mentioned in the _Babur-nama_, consisting
respectively of braves, household begs (under Babur's own command), and
great begs. Some men are mentioned who never rose from the rank of brave
(_yigit_), some who became household-begs, some who went through the
three grades.
Of the corps of braves Babur conveys the information that Abu-sa`id
founded it at a date which will have lain between 1451 and 1457 AD.;
that `Umar Shaikh's man `Ali-darwesh belonged to it; and that Husain's
man Bihbud did so also. Both men, `Ali-darwesh and Bihbud, when in its
circle, would appropriately be styled _chuhra_ as men of the beg-circle
were styled beg; the Dost-i-muhammad _chuhra_ who was a commander, (he
will have had a brave's command,) at Chikman-sarai (_see_ list _supra_)
will also have been of this circle. Instances of the use by Babur of the
name _khasa-tabin_ and its equivalent _buitikini_ are shewn on f. 209
and f. 210_b_. A considerable number of Babur's fighting men, the braves
he so frequently mentions as sent on service, are styled _chuhra_ and
inferentially belong to the same circle.[2788]
_d. Of Bih bud on Husain Bai-qara's coins._
So far it does not seem safe to accept Babur's statement literally. He
may tell a half-truth and obscure the rest by his brevity.
Nothing in the sources shows ground for signal and public honour to
Bihbud Beg, but a good deal would allow surmise that jesting allusion to
his name might decide for _Bih bud_ as a coin mark when choice had to be
made of one, in the flush of success, in an assembly of the begs, and,
amongst those begs, lovers of word-play and enigma.
The personal name is found written Bihbud, as one word and with medial
_h_; the mark is _Bih bud_ with the terminal _h_ in the _Bih_. There
have been discussions moreover as to whether to read on the coins _Bih
bud_, it was good, or _Bih buvad_, let it be, or become, good (valid for
currency?).
The question presents itself; would the beg's name have appeared on the
coins, if it had not coincided in form with a suitable coin-mark?
Against literal acceptance of Babur's statement there is also doubt of a
thing at once so _ben trovato_ and so unsupported by evidence.
Another doubt arises from finding _Bih bud_ on coins of other rulers,
one of Iskandar Khan's being of a later date,[2789] others, of Timur,
Shahrukh and Abu-sa`id, with nothing to shew who counterstruck it on
them.
On some of Husain's coins the sentence _Bih bud_ appears as part of the
legend and not as a counterstrike. This is a good basis for finding a
half-truth in Babur's statement. It does not allow of a whole-truth in
his statement because, as it is written, it is a coin-mark, not a name.
An interesting matter as bearing on Husain's use of _Bih bud_ is that in
865 AH. (1461 AD.) he had an incomparable horse named Bihbud, one he
gave in return for a falcon on making peace with Mustapha Khan.[2790]
_e. Of Babur's vassal-coinage._
The following historical details narrow the field of numismatic
observation on coins believed struck by Babur as a vassal of Isma`il
_Safawi_. They are offered because not readily accessible.
The length of Babur's second term of rule in Transoxiana was not the
three solar years of the B.M. Coin Catalogues but did not exceed eight
months. He entered Samarkand in the middle of Rajab 917 AH. (_c._ Oct.
1st, 1511 AD.). He returned to it defeated and fled at once, after the
battle of Kul-i-malik which was fought in Safar 918 AH. (mid-April to
mid-May 1512 AD.). Previous to the entry he was in the field, without a
fixed base; after his flight he was landless till at the end both of 920
AH. and of 1514 AD. he had returned to Kabul.
He would not find a full Treasury in Samarkand because the Auzbegs
evacuated the fort at their own time; eight months would not give him
large tribute in kind. He failed in Transoxiana because he was the ally
of a Shi`a; would coins bearing the Shi`a legend have passed current
from a Samarkand mint? These various circumstances suggest that he could
not have struck many coins of any kind in Samarkand.
The coins classed in the B.M. Catalogues as of Babur's vassalage, offer
a point of difficulty to readers of his own writings, inasmuch as
neither the "Sultan Muhammad" of No. 652 (gold), nor the "Sultan Babur
Bahadur" of the silver coins enables confident acceptance of them as
names he himself would use.
I.--ON THE WEEPING-WILLOWS OF f. 190_b_.
The passage omitted from f. 190_b_, which seems to describe something
decorative done with weeping willows, (_bed-i-mawallah_) has been
difficult to all translators. This may be due to inaccurate pointing in
Babur's original MS. or may be what a traveller seeing other willows at
another feast could explain.
The first Persian translation omits the passage (I.O. 215 f. 154_b_);
the second varies from the Turki, notably by changing _sach_ and _saj_
to _shakh_ throughout (I.O. 217 f. 150_b_). The English and French
translations differ much (_Memoirs_ p. 206, _MÈmoires_ i, 414), the
latter taking the _mawallah_ to be _mula_, a hut, against which much is
clear in the various MSS.
Three Turki sources[2791] agree in reading as follows:--
_Mawallahlar-ni_ (or _muwallah_ Hai. MS.) _kilturdilar. Bilman
sachlari-ning ya `amli sachlari-ning aralarigha k:msan-ni_ (Ilminsky,
_kaman_) _shakh-ning_ (Hai. MS. _sakh_) _auzunlughi bila ainjiga ainjiga
kisib, quiub turlar._
The English and French translations differ from the Turki and from one
another:--
(_Memoirs_, p. 206) They brought in branching willow-trees. I do not
know if they were in the natural state of the tree, or if the branches
were formed artificially, but they had small twigs cut the length of the
ears of a bow and inserted between them.
(_MÈmoires_ i, 434) On faÁonna des huttes (_mouleh_). Ils les
Ètablissent en taillant des baguettes minces, de la longeur du bout
recourbÈ de l'arc, qu'on place entre des branches naturelles ou
faÁonnÈes artificiellement, je l'ignore.
The construction of the sentence appears to be thus:--_Mawal-lahlar-ni
kilturdilar_, they brought weeping-willows; _k:msan-ni_ _quiubturlar_,
they had put _k:msan-ni_; _ainjiga ainjiga kisib_, cut very fine (or
slender); _shakh_ (or _sakh_)_-ning auzunlughi_, of the length of a
_shakh_, bow, or _sakh_ ...; _bilman sachlari-ning ya `amli
sachlari-ning aralarigha_, to (or at) the spaces of the _sachlar_
whether their (_i.e._ the willows') own or artificial _sachlar_.
These translations clearly indicate felt difficulty. Mr. Erskine does
not seem to have understood that the trees were _Salix babylonica_. The
crux of the passage is the word _k:msan-ni_, which tells what was placed
in the spaces. It has been read as _kaman_, bow, by all but the scribes
of the two good Turki MSS. and as in a phrase _horn of a bow_. This
however is not allowed by the Turki, for the reason that _k:msan-ni_ is
not in the genitive but in the accusative case. (I may say that Babur
does not use _ni_ for _ning_; he keeps strictly to the prime uses of
each enclitic, _ni_ accusative, _ning_ genitive.) Moreover, if
_k:msan-ni_ be taken as a genitive, the verbs _quiub-turlar_ and _kisib_
have no object, no other accusative appearing in the sentence than
_k:msan-ni_.
A weighty reason against changing _sach_ into _shakh_ is that Dr.
Ilminsky has not done so. He must have attached meaning to _sach_ since
he uses it throughout the passage. He was nearer the region wherein the
original willows were seen at a feast. Unfortunately nothing shows how
he interpreted the word.
_Sachmaq_ is a tassel; is it also a catkin and were there decorations,
_kimsan-ni_ (things _kimsa_, or flowers Ar. _kim_, or something shining,
_kimcha_, gold brocade) hung in between the catkins?
Ilminsky writes _mu'lah_ (with _hamza_) and this de Courteille
translates by hut. The Hai. MS. writes _muwallah_ (marking the _zamma_).
In favour of reading _mawallah_ (_mulah_) as a tree and that tree _Salix
babylonica_ the weeping-willow, there are annotations in the Second
Persian translation and, perhaps following it, in the Elphinstone MS. of
_nam-i-dirakht_, name of a tree, _didan-i-bed_, sight of the willow,
_bed-i-mawallah_, mournful-willow. Standing alone _mawallah_ means
weeping-willow, in this use answering to _majnun_ the name Panj-abis
give the tree, from Leila's lover the distracted _i.e._ Majnun
(Brandis).
The whole question may be solved by a chance remark from a traveller
witnessing similar festive decoration at another feast in that
conservative region.
J.--ON BABUR'S EXCAVATED CHAMBER AT QANDAHAR (f. 208_b_).
Since making my note (f. 208_b_) on the wording of the passage in which
Babur mentions excavation done by him at Qandahar, I have learned that
he must be speaking of the vaulted chamber containing the celebrated
inscriptions about which much has been written.[2792]
The primary inscription, the one commemorating Babur's final possession
of Qandahar, gives the chamber the character of a Temple of Victory and
speaks of it as _Rawaq-i-jahan namai_, World-shewing-portal,[2793]
doubtless because of its conspicuous position and its extensive view,
probably also in allusion to its declaration of victory. Mir Ma`sum
writes of it as a Pesh-taq, frontal arch, which, coupled with Mohan
Lall's word arch (_taq_) suggests that the chamber was entered through
an arch pierced in a parallelogram smoothed on the rock and having
resemblance to the _pesh-taq_ of buildings, a suggestion seeming the
more probable that some inscriptions are on the "wings" of the arch. But
by neither of the above-mentioned names do Mohan Lall and later
travellers call the chamber or write of the place; all describe it by
its approach of forty steps, Chihil-zina.[3]
The excavation has been chipped out of the white-veined limestone of the
bare ridge on and below which stood Old Qandahar.[2794] It does not
appear from the descriptions to have been on the summit of the ridge;
Bellew says that the forty steps start half-way up the height. I have
found no estimate of the height of the ridge, or statement that the
steps end at the chamber. The ridge however seems to have been of
noticeably dominating height. It rises steeply to the north and there
ends in the naze of which Babur writes. The foot of the steps is guarded
by two towers. Mohan Lall, unaccustomed to mountains, found their ascent
steep and dizzy. The excavated chamber of the inscriptions, which Bellew
describes as "bow-shaped and dome-roofed", he estimated as 12 feet at
the highest point, 12 feet deep and 8 feet wide. Two sculptured beasts
guard the entrance; Bellew calls them leopards but tigers would better
symbolize the watch and ward of the Tiger Babur. In truth the whole
work, weary steps of approach, tiger guardians, commemorative chamber,
laboriously incised words, are admirably symbolic of his long-sustained
resolve and action, taken always with Hindustan as the goal.
There are several inscriptions of varying date, within and without the
chamber. Mohan Lall saw and copied them; Darmesteter worked on a copy;
the two English observers Lumsden and Bellew made no attempt at correct
interpretation. In the versions all give there are inaccuracies, arising
from obvious causes, especially from want of historical _data_. The last
word has not been said; revision awaits photography and the leisured
expert. A part of the needed revision has been done by Beames, who deals
with the geography of what Mir Ma`sum himself added under Akbar after he
had gone as Governor to Qandahar in 1007 AH. (1598 AD.). This
commemorates not Babur's but Akbar's century of cities.
It is the primary inscription only which concerns this Appendix. This is
one in relief in the dome of the chamber, recording in florid Persian
that Abu'l-ghazi Babur took possession of Qandahar on Shawwal 13th 928
AH. (Sep. 1st 1522 AD.), that in the same year he commanded the
construction of this _Rawaq-i-jahan-namai_, and that the work had been
completed by his son Kamran at the time he made over charge of Qandahar
to his brother `Askari in 9 ... (mutilated). After this the gravure
changes in character.
In the above, Babur's title Abu'l-ghazi fixes the date of the
inscription as later than the battle of Kanwaha (f. 324_b_), because it
was assumed in consequence of this victory over a Hindu, in March 1527
(Jumada II 933 AH.).
The mutilated date 9 ... is given by Mohan Lall as 952 AH. but this does
not suit several circumstances, _e.g._ it puts completion too far beyond
the time mentioned as consumed by the work, nine years,--and it was not
that at which Kamran made over charge to `Askari, but followed the
expulsion of both full-brothers from Qandahar by their half-brother
Humayun.
The mutilated date 9 ... is given by Darmesteter as 933 AH. but this
again does not fit the historical circumstance that Kamran was in
Qandahar after that date and till 937 AH. This date (937 AH.) we suggest
as fitting to replace the lost figures, (1) because in that year and
after his father's death, Kamran gave the town to `Askari and went
himself to Hindustan, and (2) because work begun in 928 AH. and recorded
as occupying 70-80 men for nine years would be complete in 937 AH.[2795]
The inscription would be one of the last items of the work.
The following matters are added here because indirectly connected with
what has been said and because not readily accessible.
_a. Birth of Kamran._
Kamran's birth falling in a year of one of the _Babur-nama_ gaps, is
nowhere mentioned. It can be closely inferred as 914 or 915 AH. from the
circumstances that he was younger than Humayun born late in 913 AH.,
that it is not mentioned in the fragment of the annals of 914 AH., and
that he was one of the children enumerated by Gul-badan as going with
her father to Samarkand in 916 AH. (Probably the children did not start
with their father in the depth of winter across the mountains.) Possibly
the joyful name Kamran is linked to the happy issue of the Mughul
rebellion of 914 AH. Kamran would thus be about 18 when left in charge
of Kabul and Qandahar by Babur in 932 AH. before the start for the fifth
expedition to Hindustan.
A letter from Babur to Kamran in Qandahar is with Kehr's Latin version
of the _Babur-nama_, in Latin and entered on the lining of the cover. It
is shewn by its main topic _viz._ the despatch of Ibrahim _Ludi_'s son
to Kamran's charge, to date somewhere close to Jan. 3rd 1527
(Rabi`u'l-awwal 29th 933 AH.) because on that day Babur writes of the
despatch (Hai. Codex f. 306_b_ foot).
Presumably the letter was with Kamran's own copy of the _Babur-nama_.
That copy may have reached Humayun's hands (JRAS 1908 p. 828 _et
seq._). The next known indication of the letter is given in St.
Petersburg by Dr. Kehr. He will have seen it or a copy of it with the
B.N. Codex he copied (one of unequaled correctness), and he, no doubt,
copied it in its place on the fly-leaf or board of his own transcript,
but if so, it has disappeared.
Fuller particulars of it and of other items accompanying it are given in
JRAS 1908 p. 828 _et seq._
K.--AN AFGHAN LEGEND.
My husband's article in the Asiatic Quarterly Review of April 1901
begins with an account of the two MSS. from which it is drawn, _viz._
I.O. 581 in Pushtu, I.O. 582 in Persian. Both are mainly occupied with
an account of the Yusuf-zai. The second opens by telling of the power of
the tribe in Afghanistan and of the kindness of Malik Shah Sulaiman, one
of their chiefs, to Aulugh Beg Mirza _Kabuli_, (Babur's paternal uncle,)
when he was young and in trouble, presumably as a boy ruler.
It relates that one day a wise man of the tribe, Shaikh `Usman saw
Sulaiman sitting with the young Mirza on his knee and warned him that
the boy had the eyes of Yazid and would destroy him and his family as
Yazid had destroyed that of the Prophet. Sulaiman paid him no attention
and gave the Mirza his daughter in marriage. Subsequently the Mirza
having invited the Yusuf-zai to Kabul, treacherously killed Sulaiman and
700 of his followers. They were killed at the place called Siyah-sang
near Kabul; it is still known, writes the chronicler in about 1770 AD.
(1184 AH.), as the Grave of the Martyrs. Their tombs are revered and
that of Shaikh `Usman in particular.
Shah Sulaiman was the eldest of the seven sons of Malik Taju'd-din; the
second was Sultan Shah, the father of Malik Ahmad. Before Sulaiman was
killed he made three requests of Aulugh Beg; one of them was that his
nephew Ahmad's life might be spared. This was granted.
Aulugh Beg died (after ruling from 865 to 907 AH.), and Babur defeated
his son-in-law and successor M. Muqim (_Arghun_, 910 AH.). Meantime the
Yusuf-zai had migrated to Pashawar but later on took Sawad from Sl. Wais
(Hai. Codex ff. 219, 220_b_, 221).
When Babur came to rule in Kabul, he at first professed friendship for
the Yusuf-zai but became prejudiced against them through their enemies
the Dilazak[2796] who gave force to their charges by a promised subsidy
of 70,000 _shahrukhi_. Babur therefore determined, says the Yusuf-zai
chronicler, to kill Malik[2797] Ahmad and so wrote him a friendly
invitation to Kabul. Ahmad agreed to go, and set out with four brothers
who were famous musicians. Meanwhile the Dilazak had persuaded Babur to
put Ahmad to death at once, for they said Ahmad was so clever and
eloquent that if allowed to speak, he would induce the Padshah to pardon
him.
On Ahmad's arrival in Kabul, he is said to have learned that Babur's
real object was his death. His companions wanted to tie their turbans
together and let him down over the wall of the fort, but he rejected
their proposal as too dangerous for him and them, and resolved to await
his fate. He told his companions however, except one of the musicians,
to go into hiding in the town.
Next morning there was a great assembly and Babur sat on the
daÔs-throne. Ahmad made his reverence on entering but Babur's only
acknowledgment was to make bow and arrow ready to shoot him. When Ahmad
saw that Babur's intention was to shoot him down without allowing him to
speak, he unbuttoned his jerkin and stood still before the Padshah.
Babur, astonished, relaxed the tension of his bow and asked Ahmad what
he meant. Ahmad's only reply was to tell the Padshah not to question him
but to do what he intended. Babur again asked his meaning and again got
the same reply.
Babur put the same question a third time, adding that he could not
dispose of the matter without knowing more. Then Ahmad opened the mouth
of praise, expatiated on Babur's excellencies and said that in this
great assemblage many of his subjects were looking on to see the
shooting; that his jerkin being very thick, the arrow might not pierce
it; the shot might fail and the spectators blame the Padshah for missing
his mark; for these reasons he had thought it best to bare his breast.
Babur was so pleased by this reply that he resolved to pardon Ahmad at
once, and laid down his bow.
Said he to Ahmad, "What sort of man is Buhlul _Ludi_?" "A giver of
horses," said Ahmad.
"And of what sort his son Sikandar?" "A giver of robes."
"And of what sort is Babur?" "He," said Ahmad, "is a giver of heads."
"Then," rejoined Babur, "I give you yours."
The Padshah now became quite friendly with Ahmad, came down from his
throne, took him by the hand and led him into another room where they
drank together. Three times did Babur have his cup filled, and after
drinking a portion, give the rest to Ahmad. At length the wine mounted
to Babur's head; he grew merry and began to dance. Meantime Ahmad's
musician played and Ahmad who knew Persian well, poured out an eloquent
harangue. When Babur had danced for some time, he held out his hands to
Ahmad for a reward (_bakhshish_), saying, "I am your performer." Three
times did he open his hands, and thrice did Ahmad, with a profound
reverence, drop a gold coin into them. Babur took the coins, each time
placing his hand on his head. He then took off his robe and gave it to
Ahmad; Ahmad took off his own coat, gave it to Adu the musician, and put
on what the Padshah had given.
Ahmad returned safe to his tribe. He declined a second invitation to
Kabul, and sent in his stead his brother Shah Mansur. Mansur received
speedy dismissal as Babur was displeased at Ahmad's not coming. On his
return to his tribe Mansur advised them to retire to the mountains and
make a strong _sangur_. This they did; as foretold, Babur came into
their country with a large army. He devastated their lands but could
make no impression on their fort. In order the better to judge of its
character, he, as was his wont, disguised himself as a Qalandar, and
went with friends one dark night to the Mahura hill where the stronghold
was, a day's journey from the Padshah's camp at Diarun.
It was the `Id-i-qurban and there was a great assembly and feasting at
Shah Mansur's house, at the back of the Mahura-mountain, still known as
Shah Mansur's throne. Babur went in his disguise to the back of the
house and stood among the crowd in the courtyard. He asked servants as
they went to and fro about Shah Mansur's family and whether he had a
daughter. They gave him straightforward answers.
At the time Musammat Bibi Mubaraka, Shah Mansur's daughter was sitting
with other women in a tent. Her eye fell on the qalandars and she sent a
servant to Babur with some cooked meat folded between two loaves. Babur
asked who had sent it; the servant said it was Shah Mansur's daughter
Bibi Mubaraka. "Where is she?" "That is she, sitting in front of you in
the tent." Babur Padshah became entranced with her beauty and asked the
woman-servant, what was her disposition and her age and whether she was
betrothed. The servant replied by extolling her mistress, saying that
her virtue equalled her beauty, that she was pious and brimful of
rectitude and placidity; also that she was not betrothed. Babur then
left with his friends, and behind the house hid between two stones the
food that had been sent to him.
He returned to camp in perplexity as to what to do; he saw he could not
take the fort; he was ashamed to return to Kabul with nothing effected;
moreover he was in the fetters of love. He therefore wrote in friendly
fashion to Malik Ahmad and asked for the daughter of Shah Mansur, son of
Shah Sulaiman. Great objection was made and earlier misfortunes accruing
to Yusuf-zai chiefs who had given daughters to Aulugh Beg and Sl. Wais
(Khan Mirza?) were quoted. They even said they had no daughter to give.
Babur replied with a "beautiful" royal letter, told of his visit
disguised to Shah Mansur's house, of his seeing Bibi Mubaraka and as
token of the truth of his story, asked them to search for the food he
had hidden. They searched and found. Ahmad and Mansur were still
averse, but the tribesmen urged that as before they had always made
sacrifice for the tribe so should they do now, for by giving the
daughter in marriage, they would save the tribe from Babur's anger. The
Maliks then said that it should be done "for the good of the tribe".
When their consent was made known to Babur, the drums of joy were beaten
and preparations were made for the marriage; presents were sent to the
bride, a sword of his also, and the two Maliks started out to escort
her. They are said to have come from Thana by M`amura (?), crossed the
river at Chakdara, taken a narrow road between two hills and past
Talash-village to the back of Tiri (?) where the Padshah's escort met
them. The Maliks returned, spent one night at Chakdara and next morning
reached their homes at the Mahura _sangur_.
Meanwhile Runa the nurse who had control of Malik Mansur's household,
with two other nurses and many male and female servants, went on with
Bibi Mubaraka to the royal camp. The bride was set down with all honour
at a large tent in the middle of the camp.
That night and on the following day the wives of the officers came to
visit her but she paid them no attention. So, they said to one another
as they were returning to their tents, "Her beauty is beyond question,
but she has shewn us no kindness, and has not spoken to us; we do not
know what mystery there is about her."
Now Bibi Mubaraka had charged her servants to let her know when the
Padshah was approaching in order that she might receive him according to
Malik Ahmad's instructions. They said to her, "That was the pomp just
now of the Padshah's going to prayers at the general mosque." That same
day after the Mid-day Prayer, the Padshah went towards her tent. Her
servants informed her, she immediately left her divan and advancing,
lighted up the carpet by her presence, and stood respectfully with
folded hands. When the Padshah entered, she bowed herself before him.
But her face remained entirely covered. At length the Padshah seated
himself on the divan and said to her, "Come Afghaniya, be seated." Again
she bowed before him, and stood as before. A second time he said,
"Afghaniya, be seated." Again she prostrated herself before him and came
a little nearer, but still stood. Then the Padshah pulled the veil from
her face and beheld incomparable beauty. He was entranced, he said
again, "O, Afghaniya, sit down." Then she bowed herself again, and said,
"I have a petition to make. If an order be given, I will make it." The
Padshah said kindly, "Speak." Whereupon she with both hands took up her
dress and said, "Think that the whole Yusuf-zai tribe is enfolded in my
skirt, and pardon their offences for my sake." Said the Padshah, "I
forgive the Yusuf-zai all their offences in thy presence, and cast them
all into thy skirt. Hereafter I shall have no ill-feeling to the
Yusuf-zai." Again she bowed before him; the Padshah took her hand and
led her to the divan.
When the Afternoon Prayer time came and the Padshah rose from the divan
to go to prayers, Bibi Mubaraka jumped up and fetched him his
shoes.[2798] He put them on and said very pleasantly, "I am extremely
pleased with you and your tribe and I have pardoned them all for your
sake." Then he said with a smile, "We know it was Malik Ahmad taught you
all these ways." He then went to prayers and the Bibi remained to say
hers in the tent.
After some days the camp moved from Diarun and proceeded by Bajaur and
Tanki to Kabul.[2799]...
Bibi Mubaraka, the Blessed Lady, is often mentioned by Gul-badan; she
had no children; and lived an honoured life, as her chronicler says,
until the beginning of Akbar's reign, when she died. Her brother Mir
Jamal rose to honour under Babur, Humayun and Akbar.
L.--ON MAHIM'S ADOPTION OF HIND-AL.
The passage quoted below about Mahim's adoption of the unborn Hind-al we
have found so far only in Kehr's transcript of the _Babur-nama_ (_i.e._
the St. Petersburg Foreign Office Codex). Ilminsky reproduced it (Kasan
imprint p. 281) and de Courteille translated it (ii, 45), both with
endeavour at emendation. It is interpolated in Kehr's MS. at the wrong
place, thus indicating that it was once marginal or apart from the text.
I incline to suppose the whole a note made by Humayun, although part of
it might be an explanation made by Babur, at a later date, of an
over-brief passage in his diary. Of such passages there are several
instances. What is strongly against its being Babur's where otherwise it
might be his, is that Mahim, as he always calls her simply, is there
written of as Hazrat Walida, Royal Mother and with the honorific plural.
That plural Babur uses for his own mother (dead 14 years before 925 AH.)
and never for Mahim. The note is as follows:--
"The explanation is this:--As up to that time those of one birth
(_tuqqan_, womb) with him (Humayun), that is to say a son Bar-bul, who
was younger than he but older than the rest, and three daughters,
Mihr-jan and two others, died in childhood, he had a great wish for one
of the same birth with him.[2800] I had said 'What it would have been if
there had been one of the same birth with him!' (Humayun). Said the
Royal Mother, 'If Dil-dar Aghacha bear a son, how is it if I take him
and rear him?' 'It is very good' said I."
So far doubtfully _might_ be Babur's but it may be Humayun's written as
a note for Babur. What follows appears to be by some-one who knew the
details of Mahim's household talk and was in Kabul when Dil-dar's child
was taken from her.
"Seemingly women have the custom of taking omens in the following
way:--When they have said, 'Is it to be a boy? is it to be a girl?' they
write `Ali or Hasan on one of two pieces of paper and Fatima on the
other, put each paper into a ball of clay and throw both into a bowl of
water. Whichever opens first is taken as an omen; if the man's, they say
a man-child will be born; if the woman's, a girl will be born. They took
the omen; it came out a man."
"On this glad tidings we at once sent letters off.[2801] A few days
later God's mercy bestowed a son. Three days before the news[2802] and
three days after the birth, they[2803] took the child from its mother,
(she) willy-nilly, brought it to our house[2804] and took it in their
charge. When we sent the news of the birth, Bhira was being taken. They
named him Hind-al for a good omen and benediction."[2805]
The whole may be Humayun's, and prompted by a wish to remove an
obscurity his father had left and by sentiment stirred through
reminiscence of a cherished childhood.
Whether Humayun wrote the whole or not, how is it that the passage
appears only in the Russian group of Baburiana?
An apparent answer to this lies in the following little mosaic of
circumstances:--The St. Petersburg group of Baburiana[2806] is linked to
Kamran's own copy of the _Babur-nama_ by having with it a letter of
Babur to Kamran and also what _may be_ a note indicating its passage
into Humayun's hands (JRAS 1908 p. 830). If it did so pass, a note by
Humayun may have become associated with it, in one of several obvious
ways. This would be at a date earlier than that of the Elphinstone MS.
and would explain why it is found in Russia and not in Indian MSS.[2807]
[APPENDICES TO THE HINDUSTAN SECTION.]
M.--ON THE TERM _BAHRI QUTAS_.
That the term _bahri qutas_ is interpreted by Meninski, Erskine, and de
Courteille in senses so widely differing as _equus maritimus_,
mountain-cow, and _boeuf vert de mer_ is due, no doubt, to their writing
when the _qutas_, the yak, was less well known than it now is.
The word _qutas_ represents both the yak itself and its neck-tassel and
tail. Hence Meninski explains it by _nodus fimbriatus ex cauda seu
crinibus equi maritimi_. His "sea-horse" appears to render _bahri
qutas_, and is explicable by the circumstance that the same purposes are
served by horse-tails and by yak-tails and tassels, namely, with both,
standards are fashioned, horse-equipage is ornamented or perhaps
furnished with fly-flappers, and the ordinary hand-fly-flappers are
made, _i.e._ the _chowries_ of Anglo-India.
Erskine's "mountain-cow" (_Memoirs_ p. 317) may well be due to his
_munshi's_ giving the yak an alternative name, _viz._ _Kosh-gau_ (Vigne)
or _Khash-gau_ (Ney Elias), which appears to mean mountain-cow (cattle,
oxen).[2808]
De Courteille's _Dictionary_ p. 422, explains _qutas_ (_qutas_) as _boeuf
marin_ (_bahri qutas_) and his _MÈmoires_ ii, 191, renders Babur's
_bahri qutas_ by _boeuf vert de mer_ (f. 276, p. 490 and n. 8).
The term _bahri qutas_ could be interpreted with more confidence if one
knew where the seemingly Arabic-Turki compound originated.[2809] Babur
uses it in Hindustan where the neck-tassel and the tail of the domestic
yak are articles of commerce, and where, as also probably in Kabul, he
will have known of the same class of yak as a saddle-animal and as a
beast of burden into Kashmir and other border-lands of sufficient
altitude to allow its survival. A part of its wide Central Asian habitat
abutting on Kashmir is Little Tibet, through which flows the upper Indus
and in which tame yak are largely bred, Skardo being a place specially
mentioned by travellers as having them plentifully. This suggests that
the term _bahri qutas_ is due to the great river (_bahr_) and that those
of which Babur wrote in Hindustan were from Little Tibet and its great
river. But _bahri_ may apply to another region where also the domestic
yak abounds, that of the great lakes, inland seas such as Pangong,
whence the yak comes and goes between _e.g._ Yarkand and the Hindustan
border.
The second suggestion, _viz._ that "_bahri qutas_" refers to the habitat
of the domestic yak in lake and marsh lands of high altitude (the wild
yak also but, as Tibetan, it is less likely to be concerned here) has
support in Dozy's account of the _bahri_ falcon, a bird mentioned also
by Abu'l-fazl amongst sporting birds (_Ayin-i-akbari_, Blochmann's trs.
p. 295):--"_Bahri, espËce de faucon le meilleur pour les oiseaux de
marais. Ce renseignment explique peut-Ítre l'origine du mot. Marguerite
en donne la mÍme etymologie que Tashmend et le PËre Guagix. Selon lui ce
faucon aurait ÈtÈ appelÈ ainsi parce qu'il vient de l'autre cÙtÈ de la
mer, mais peut-Ítre dÈriva-t-il de bahri dans le sens de marais, flaque,
Ètang._"
Dr. E. Denison Ross' _Polyglot List of Birds_ (_Memoirs of the Asiatic
Society of Bengal_ ii, 289) gives to the _Qara Qirghawal_ (Black
pheasant) the synonym "Sea-pheasant", this being the literal translation
of its Chinese name, and quotes from the Manchu-Chinese "Mirror" the
remark that this is a black pheasant but called "sea-pheasant" to
distinguish it from other black ones.
It may be observed that Babur writes of the yak once only and then of
the _bahri qutas_ so that there is no warrant from him for taking the
term to apply to the wild yak. His cousin and contemporary Haidar
Mirza, however, mentions the wild yak twice and simply as the wild
_qutas_.
The following are random gleanings about "_bahri_" and the yak:--
(1) An instance of the use of the Persian equivalent _darya'i_ of
_bahri_, sea-borne or over-sea, is found in the _Akbar-nama_ (Bib. Ind.
ed. ii, 216) where the African elephant is described as _fil-i-darya'i_.
(2) In Egypt the word _bahri_ has acquired the sense of northern,
presumably referring to what lies or is borne across its northern sea,
the Mediterranean.
(3) Vigne (_Travels in Kashmir_ ii, 277-8) warns against confounding the
_quch-qar_ _i.e._ the gigantic _moufflon_, Pallas' _Ovis ammon_, with
the _Kosh-gau_, the cow of the Kaucasus, _i.e._ the yak. He says,
"Kaucasus (_hodie_ Hindu-kush) was originally from Kosh, and Kosh is
applied occasionally as a prefix, _e.g._ _Kosh-gau_, the yak or ox of
the mountain or Kaucasus." He wrote from Skardo in Little Tibet and on
the upper Indus. He gives the name of the female yak as _yak-mo_ and of
the half-breeds with common cows as _bzch_, which class he says is
common and of "all colours".
(4) Mr. Ney Elias' notes (_Tarikh-i-rashidi_ trs. pp. 302 and 466) on
the _qutas_ are of great interest. He gives the following synonymous
names for the wild yak, _Bos PoÎphagus_, _Khash-gau_, the Tibetan yak or
Dong.
(5) Hume and Henderson (_Lahor to Yarkand_ p. 59) write of the numerous
black yak-hair tents seen round the Pangong Lake, of fine saddle yaks,
and of the tame ones as being some white or brown but mostly black.
(6) Olufsen's _Through the Unknown Pamirs_ (p. 118) speaks of the large
numbers of _Bos grunniens_ (yak) domesticated by the Kirghiz in the
Pamirs.
(7) Cf. Gazetteer of India _s.n._ yak.
(8) Shaikh Zain applies the word _bahri_ to the porpoise, when
paraphrasing the _Babur-nama_ f. 281_b_.
N.--NOTES ON A FEW BIRDS.
In attempting to identify some of the birds of Babur's lists difficulty
arises from the variety of names provided by the different tongues of
the region concerned, and also in some cases by the application of one
name to differing birds. The following random gleanings enlarge and, in
part, revise some earlier notes and translations of Mr. Erskine's and my
own. They are offered as material for the use of those better acquainted
with bird-lore and with Himalayan dialects.
_a._ _Concerning the lukha_, _luja_, _lucha_, _kuja_ (f.135 and
f.278_b_).
The nearest word I have found to _lukha_ and its similars is _likkh_, a
florican (Jerdon, ii, 615), but the florican has not the chameleon
colours of the _lukha_ (var.). As Babur when writing in Hindustan, uses
such "book-words" as Ar. _bahri_ (_qutas_) and Ar. _bu-qalamun_
(chameleon), it would not be strange if his name for the "_lukha_" bird
represented Ar. _awja_, very beautiful, or connected with Ar. _loh_,
shining splendour.
The form _kuja_ is found in Ilminsky's imprint p.361 (_MÈmoires_ ii,
198, _koudjeh_).
What is confusing to translators is that (as it now seems to me) Babur
appears to use the name _kabg-i-dari_ in both passages (f.135 and
f.278_b_) to represent two birds; (1) he compares the _lukha_ as to size
with the _kabg-i-dari_ of the Kabul region, and (2) for size and colour
with that of Hindustan. But the bird, of the Western Himalayas known by
the name _kabg-i-dari_ is the Himalayan snow-cock, _Tetraogallus
himalayensis_, Turki, _aular_ and in the Kabul region, _chiurtika_
(f.249, Jerdon, ii, 549-50); while the _kabg-i-dari_ (syn. _chikor_) of
Hindustan, whether of hill or plain, is one or more of much smaller
birds.
The snow-cock being 28 inches in length, the _lukha_ bird must be of
this size. Such birds as to size and plumage of changing colour are the
_Lophophori_ and _Trapagons_, varieties of which are found in places
suiting Babur's account of the _lukha_.
It may be noted that the Himalayan snow-cock is still called
_kabg-i-dari_ in Afghanistan (Jerdon, ii, 550) and in Kashmir (Vigne's
_Travels in Kashmir_ ii, 18). As its range is up to 18,000 feet, its
Persian name describes it correctly whether read as "of the mountains"
(_dari_), or as "royal" (_dari_) through its splendour.
I add here the following notes of Mr. Erskine's, which I have not quoted
already where they occur (cf. f. 135 and f. 278_b_):--
On f. 135, "_lokheh_" is said to mean _hill-chikor_.
On f. 278_b_, to "_lujeh_", "The Persian has _lukheh_."
" to "_kepki durri_", "The _kepki deri_, or _durri_ is
much larger than the common _kepk_ of Persia
and is peculiar to Khorasan. It is said to be
a beautiful bird. The common _kepk_ of Persia
and Khorasan is the _hill-chikor_ of India."
" to "higher up", "The _lujeh_ may be the _chikor_
of the plains which Hunter calls bartavelle or
Greek partridge."
The following corrections are needed about my own notes:--(1) on f. 135
(p. 213) n. 7 is wrongly referred; it belongs to the first word, _viz._
_kabg-i-dari_, of p. 214; (2) on f. 279 (p. 496) n. 2 should refer to
the second _kabg-i-dari_.
_b. Birds called munal (var. monal and moonaul)._
Yule writing in _Hobson Jobson_ (p. 580) of the "_moonaul_" which he
identifies as _Lophophorus Impeyanus_, queries whether, on grounds he
gives, the word _moonaul_ is connected etymologically with Sanscrit
_muni_, an "eremite". In continuation of his topic, I give here the
names of other birds called _munal_, which I have noticed in various
ornithological works while turning their pages for other information.
Besides _L. Impeyanus_ and _Trapagon Ceriornis satyra_ which Yule
mentions as called "_moonaul_", there are _L. refulgens_, _munal_ and
_Ghur_ (mountain)-_munal_; _Trapagon Ceriornis satyra_, called _munal_
in Nipal; _T. C. melanocephalus_, called _sing_ (horned)-_munal_ in the
N.W. Himalayas; _T. himalayensis_, the _jer_- or _cher-munal_ of the
same region, known also as _chikor_; and _Lerwa nevicola_, the
snow-partridge known in Garhwal as _Quoir_- or _Qur-munal_. Do all these
birds behave in such a way as to suggest that _munal_ may imply the
individual isolation related by Jerdon of _L. Impeyanus_, "In the
autumnal and winter months numbers are generally collected in the same
quarter of the forest, though often so widely scattered that each bird
appears to be alone?" My own search amongst vocabularies of
hill-dialects for the meaning of the word has been unsuccessful, spite
of the long range _munals_ in the Himalayas.
_c. Concerning the word chiurtika, chourtka._
Jerdon's entry (ii, 549, 554) of the name _chourtka_ as a synonym of
_Tetraogallus himalayensis_ enables me to fill a gap I have left on f.
249 (p. 491 and n. 6),[2810] with the name Himalayan snow-cock, and to
allow Babur's statement to be that he, in January 1520 AD. when coming
down from the _Bad-i-pich_ pass, saw many snow-cocks. The _Memoirs_
(p.282) has "_chikors_", which in India is a synonym for _kabg-i-dari_;
the _MÈmoires_ (ii, 122) has _sauterelles_, but this meaning of
_chiurtika_ does not suit wintry January. That month would suit for the
descent from higher altitudes of snow-cocks. Griffith, a botanist who
travelled in Afghanistan _cir._ 1838 AD., saw myriads of _cicadÊ_
between Qilat-i-ghilzai and Ghazni, but the month was July.
_d._ _On the qutan_ (f. 142, p. 224; _Memoirs_, p. 153; _MÈmoires_ ii,
313).
Mr. Erskine for _qutan_ enters _khawasil_ [gold-finch] which he will
have seen interlined in the Elphinstone Codex (f. 109_b_) in explanation
of _qutan_.
Shaikh Effendi (Kunos' ed., p. 139) explains _qutan_ to be the
gold-finch, _Steiglitz_.
Ilminsky's _qutan_ (p. 175) is translated by M. de Courteille as
_pÈlicane_ and certainly some copies of the 2nd Persian translation
[Muh. _Shirazi's_ p. 90] have _hawasil_, pelican.
The pelican would class better than the small finch with the
herons and egrets of Babur's trio; it also would appear a more likely
bird to be caught "with the cord".
That Babur's _qutan_ (_hawasil_) migrated in great numbers is however
against supposing it to be _Pelicanus onocrotatus_ which is seen in
India during the winter, because it appears there in moderate numbers
only, and Blanford with other ornithologists states that no western
pelican migrates largely into India.
Perhaps the _qutan_ was LinnÊus' _Pelicanus carbo_ of which one synonym
is _Carbo comoranus_, the cormorant, a bird seen in India in large
numbers of both the large and small varieties. As cormorants are not
known to breed in that country, they will have migrated in the masses
Babur mentions.
A translation matter falls to mention here:--After saying that the
_auqar_ (grey heron), _qarqara_ (egret), and _qutan_ (cormorant) are
taken with the cord, Babur says that this method of bird-catching is
unique (_bu nuh qush tutmaq ghair muqarrar dur_) and describes it. The
Persian text omits to translate the _tutmaq_ (by _P. giriftan_); hence
Erskine (_Mems._ p. 153) writes, "The last mentioned fowl" (_i.e._ the
_qutan_) "is rare," notwithstanding Babur's statement that all three of
the birds he names are caught in masses. De Courteille (p. 313) writes,
as though only of the _qutan_, "_ces derniers toutefois ne se prennent
qu'accidentelment_," perhaps led to do so by knowledge of the
circumstance that _Pelicanus onocrotatus_ is rare in India.
O.--NOTES BY HUMAYUN ON SOME HINDUSTAN FRUITS.
The following notes, which may be accepted as made by Humayun and in the
margin of the archetype of the Elphinstone Codex, are composed in Turki
which differs in diction from his father's but is far closer to that
classic model than is that of the producer [Jahangir?] of the
"Fragments" (Index _s.n._). Various circumstances make the notes
difficult to decipher _verbatim_ and, unfortunately, when writing in
Jan. 1917, I am unable to collate with its original in the Advocates
Library, the copy I made of them in 1910.
_a._ _On the kadhil_, _jack-fruit_, _Artocarpus integrifolia_ (f.
283_b_, p. 506; Elphinstone MS. f. 235_b_).[2811]
The contents of the note are that the strange-looking pumpkin (_qar`_,
which is also Ibn Batuta's word for the fruit), yields excellent white
juice, that the best fruit grows from the roots of the tree,[2812] that
many such grow in Bengal, and that in Bengal and Dihli there grows a
_kadhil_-tree covered with hairs (_Artocarpus hirsuta_?).
_b._ _On the amrit-phal_, _mandarin-orange_, _Citrus aurantium_ (f. 287,
p. 512; Elphinstone Codex, f. 238_b_, l. 12).
The interest of this note lies in its reference to Babur.
A Persian version of it is entered, without indication of what it is or
of who was its translator, in one of the volumes of Mr. Erskine's
manuscript remains, now in the British Museum (Add. 26,605, p. 88).
Presumably it was made by his Turkish _munshi_ for his note in the
Memoirs (p. 329).
Various difficulties oppose the translation of the Turki note; it is
written into the text of the Elphinstone Codex in two instalments,
neither of them in place, the first being interpolated in the account of
the _amil-bid_ fruit, the second in that of the _jasun_ flower; and
there are verbal difficulties also. The Persian translation is not
literal and in some particulars Mr. Erskine's rendering of this differs
from what the Turki appears to state.
The note is, tentatively, as follows:[2813]--"His honoured Majesty
Firdaus-makan[2814]--may God make his proof clear!--did not
favour the _amrit-phal_;[2815] as he considered it insipid,[2816] he
likened it to the mild-flavoured[2817] orange and did not make choice of
it. So much was the mild-flavoured orange despised that if any person
had disgusted (him) by insipid flattery(?) he used to say, 'He is like
orange-juice.'"[2818]
"The _amrit-phal_ is one of the very good fruits. Though its juice is
not relishing (? _chuchuq_), it is extremely pleasant-drinking. Later
on, in my own time, its real merit became known. Its tartness may be
that of the orange (_naranj_)and _lemu_."[2819]
The above passage is followed, in the text of the Elphinstone Codex, by
Babur's account of the _jasun_ flower, and into this a further
instalment of Humayun's notes is interpolated, having opposite its first
line the marginal remark, "This extra note, seemingly made by Humayun
Padshah, the scribe has mistakenly written into the text." Whether its
first sentence refer to the _amrit-phal_ or to the _amil-bid_ must be
left for decision to those well acquainted with the orange-tribe. It is
obscure in my copy and abbreviated in its Persian translation;
summarized it may state that when the fruit is unripe, its acidity is
harmful to the digestion, but that it is very good when ripe.--The note
then continues as below:--
_c. The kamila, H. kaunla, the orange._[2820]
"There are in Bengal two other fruits of the acid kind. Though the
_amrit-phal_ be not agreeable, they have resemblance to it (?)."
"One is the _kamila_ which may be as large as an orange (_naranj_); some
took it to be a large _narangi_ (orange) but it is much pleasanter
eating than the _narangi_ and is understood not to have the skin of that
(fruit)."
_d. The samtara._[2821]
"The other is the _samtara_ which is larger than the orange (_naranj_)
but is not tart; unlike the _amrit-phal_ it is not of poor flavour (_kam
maza_) or little relish (_chuchuk_). In short a better fruit is not
seen. It is good to see, good to eat, good to digest. One does not
forget it. If it be there, no other fruit is chosen. Its peel may be
taken off by the hand. However much of the fruit be eaten, the heart
craves for it again. Its juice does not soil the hand at all. Its skin
separates easily from its flesh. It may be taken during and after food.
In Bengal the _samtara_ is rare (_gharib_) (or excellent, _`asiz_). It
is understood to grow in one village Sanargam (Sonargaon) and even
therein a special quarter. There seems to be no fruit so entirely good
as the _samtara_ amongst fruits of its class or, rather, amongst fruits
of all kinds."
_Corrigendum_:--In my note on the _turunj bajauri_ (p. 511, n. 3) for
_bijaura_ read _bijaura_; and on p. 510, l. 2, for _palm_ read
_fingers_.
_Addendum_:--p. 510, l. 5. After _yusunluk_ add:--"The natives of
Hindustan when not wearing their ear-rings, put into the large ear-ring
holes, slips of the palm-leaf bought in the bazars, ready for the
purpose. The trunk of this tree is handsomer and more stately than that
of the date."
P.--REMARKS ON BABUR'S REVENUE LIST (fol. 292).
_a. Concerning the date of the List._
The Revenue List is the last item of Babur's account of Hindustan and,
with that account, is found _s.a._ 932 AH., manifestly too early, (1)
because it includes districts and their revenues which did not come
under Babur's authority until subdued in his Eastern campaigns of 934
and 935 AH., (2) because Babur's statement is that the "countries" of
the List "are _now_ in my possession" (_in loco_ p. 520).
The List appears to be one of revenues realized in 936 or 937 AH. and
not one of assessment or estimated revenue, (1) because Babur's wording
states as a fact that the revenue was 52 _krurs_; (2) because the
Persian heading of the (Persian) List is translatable as "Revenue
(_jama`_)[2822] of Hindustan from what has so far come under the
victorious standards".
_b. The entry of the List into European Literature._
Readers of the L. and E. _Memoirs of Babur_ are aware that it does not
contain the Revenue List (p. 334). The omission is due to the absence of
the List from the Elphinstone Codex and from the `Abdu'r-rahim Persian
translation. Since the _Memoirs of Babur_ was published in 1826 AD., the
List has come from the _Babur-nama_ into European literature by three
channels.
Of the three the one used earliest is Shaikh Zain's _Tabaqat-i-baburi_
which is a Persian paraphrase of part of Babur's Hindustan section. This
work provided Mr. Erskine with what he placed in his _History of India_
(London 1854, i, 540, Appendix D), but his manuscript, now B.M. Add.
26,202, is not the best copy of Shaikh Zain's book, being of far less
importance than B.M. Or. 1999, [as to which more will be said.][2823]
The second channel is Dr. Ilminsky's imprint of the Turki text (Kasan
1857, p. 379), which is translated by the _MÈmoires de Baber_ (Paris
1871, ii, 230).
The third channel is the Haidarabad Codex, in the English translation of
which [_in loco_] the List is on p. 521.
Shaikh Zain may have used Babur's autograph manuscript for his
paraphrase and with it the Revenue List. His own autograph manuscript
was copied in 998 AH. (1589-90 AD.) by Khwand-amir's grandson
`Abdu'l-lah who may be the scribe "Mir `Abdu'l-lah" of the
_Ayin-i-akbari_ (Blochmann's trs. p. 109). `Abdu'l-lah's transcript
(from which a portion is now absent,) after having been in Sir Henry
Elliot's possession, has become B.M. Or. 1999. It is noticed briefly by
Professor Dowson (_l.c._ iv, 288), but he cannot have observed that the
"old, worm-eaten" little volume contains Babur's Revenue List, since he
does not refer to it.
_c. Agreement and variation in copies of the List._
The figures in the two copies (Or. 1999 and Add. 26,202) of the
_Tabaqat-i-baburi_ are in close agreement. They differ, however, from
those in the Haidarabad Codex, not only in a negligible unit and a ten
of _tankas_ but in having 20,000 more _tankas_ from Oudh and Baraich and
30 _laks_ of _tankas_ more from Trans-sutlej.
The figures in the two copies of the _Babur-nama_, _viz._ the Haidarabad
Codex and the Kehr-Ilminsky imprint are not in agreement throughout, but
are identical in opposition to the variants (20,000 _t._ and 30 _l._)
mentioned above. As the two are independent, being collateral
descendants of Babur's original papers, the authority of the Haidarabad
Codex in the matter of the List is still further enhanced.
_d. Varia._
(1) The place-names of the List are all traceable, whatever their varied
forms. About the entry L:knu [or L:knur] and B:ks:r [or M:ks:r] a
difficulty has been created by its variation in manuscripts, not only in
the List but where the first name occurs _s.a._ 934 and 935 AH. In the
Haidarabad List and in that of Or. 1999 L:knur is clearly written and
may represent (approximately) modern Shahabad in Rampur. Erskine and de
Courteille, however, have taken it to be Lakhnau in Oudh. [The
distinction of Lakhnaur from Lakhnau in the historical narrative is
discussed in Appendix T.]
(2) It may be noted, as of interest, that the name Sarwar is an
abbreviation of Sarjupar which means "other side of Sarju" (Saru,
Goghra; E. and D.'s H. of I. i, 56, n.4).
(3) Rup-nara[:i]n (Deo or Dev) is mentioned in Ajodhya Prasad's short
history of Tirhut and Darbhanga, the _Gulzar-i-Bihar_ (Calcutta 1869,
Cap. v, 88) as the 9th of the Brahman rulers of Tirhut and as having
reigned for 25 years, from 917 to 942 _Fasli_(?). If the years were
Hijri, 917-42 AH. would be 1511-1535.[2824]
(4) Concerning the _tanka_ the following modern description is quoted
from Mr. R. Shaw's _High Tartary_ (London 1871, p. 464) "The _tanga_"
(or _tanka_) "is a nominal coin, being composed of 25 little copper
cash, with holes pierced in them and called _dahcheen_. These are strung
together and the quantity of them required to make up the value of one
of these silver ingots" ("_kooroos_ or _yamboo_, value nearly _£_17")
"weighs a considerable amount. I once sent to get change for a
_kooroos_, and my servants were obliged to charter a donkey to bring it
home."
(5) The following interesting feature of Shaikh Zain's
_Tabaqat-i-baburi_ has been mentioned to me by my husband:--Its author
occasionally reproduces Babur's Turki words instead of paraphrasing them
in Persian, and does this for the noticeable passage in which Babur
records his dissatisfied view of Hindustan (f. 290_b_, _in loco_ p.
518), prefacing his quotation with the remark that it is best and will
be nearest to accuracy not to attempt translation but to reproduce the
Padshah's own words. The main interest of the matter lies in the motive
for reproducing the _ipsissima verba_. Was that motive deferential? Did
the revelation of feeling and opinion made in the quoted passage clothe
it with privacy so that Shaikh Zain reserved its perusal from the larger
public of Hindustan who might read Persian but not Turki? Some such
motive would explain the insertion untranslated of Babur's letters to
Humayun and to Khwaja Kalan which are left in Turki by `Abdu'r-rahim
Mirza.[2825]
Q.--CONCERNING THE "RAMPUR DIWAN".
Pending the wide research work necessary to interpret Babur's Hindustan
poems which the Rampur manuscript preserves, the following comments,
some tentative and open to correction, may carry further in making the
poems publicly known, what Dr. E. Denison Ross has effected by
publishing his Facsimile of the manuscript.[2826] It is legitimate to
associate comment on the poems with the _Babur-nama_ because many of
them are in it with their context of narrative; most, if not all,
connect with it; some without it, would be dull and vapid.
_a. An authorized English title._
The contents of the Rampur MS. are precisely what Babur describes
sending to four persons some three weeks after the date attached to the
manuscript,[2827] _viz._ "the Translation and whatnot of poems made on
coming to Hindustan";[2828] and a similar description may be meant in
the curiously phrased first clause of the colophon, but without mention
of the Translation (of the _Walidiyyah-risala_).[2829] Hence, if the
poems, including the Translation, became known as the _Hindustan Poems_
or _Poems made in Hindustan_, such title would be justified by their
author's words. Babur does not call the Hindustan poems a _diwan_ even
when, as in the above quotation, he speaks of them apart from his
versified translation of the Tract. In what has come down to us of his
autobiography, he applies the name _Diwan_ to poems of his own once
only, this in 925 AH. (f. 237_b_) when he records sending "my _diwan_"
to Pulad Sl. _Auzbeg_.
_b. The contents of the Rampur MS._
There are three separate items of composition in the manuscript, marked
as distinct from one another by having each its ornamented frontispiece,
each its scribe's sign (_mim_) of Finis, each its division from its
neighbour by a space without entry. The first and second sections bear
also the official sign [_sah[h.]_] that the copy has been inspected and
found correct.
(1) The first section consists of Babur's metrical translation of Khwaja
`Ubaidu'l-lah _Ahrari's Parental Tract_ (_Walidiyyah-risala_), his
prologue in which are his reasons for versifying the Tract and his
epilogue which gives thanks for accomplishing the task. It ends with the
date 935 (Hai. MS. f. 346). Below this are _mim_ and _sah[h.]_, the
latter twice; they are in the scribe's handwriting, and thus make
against supposing that Babur wrote down this copy of the Tract or its
archetype from which the official _sah[h.]_ will have been copied.
Moreover, spite of bearing two vouchers of being a correct copy, the
Translation is emended, in a larger script which may be that of the
writer of the marginal quatrain on the last page of the [Rampur] MS. and
there attested by Shah-i-jahan as Babur's autograph entry. His also may
have been the now expunged writing on the half-page left empty of text
at the end of the Tract. Expunged though it be, fragments of words are
visible.[2830]
(2) The second section has in its frontispiece an inscription illegible
(to me) in the Facsimile. It opens with a _masnawi_ of 41 couplets which
is followed by a _ghazel_ and numerous poems in several measures, down
to a triad of rhymed couplets (_matla`_?), the whole answering to
descriptions of a _Diwan_ without formal arrangement. After the last
couplet are _mim_ and _sah[h.]_ in the scribe's hand-writing, and a
blank quarter-page. Mistakes in this section have been left uncorrected,
which supports the view that its _sah[h.]_ avouches the accuracy of its
archetype and not its own.[2831]
(3) The third section shows no inscription on its frontispiece. It opens
with the _masnawi_ of eight couplets, found also in the _Babur-nama_ (f.
312), one of earlier date than many of the poems in the second section.
It is followed by three _ruba`i_ which complete the collection of poems
made in Hindustan. A prose passage comes next, describing the
composition and transposition-in-metre of a couplet of 16 feet, with
examples in three measures, the last of which ends in l. 4 of the
photograph.--While fixing the date of this metrical game, Babur
incidentally allows that of his _Treatise on Prosody_ to be inferred
from the following allusive words:--"When going to Sambhal (f. 330_b_) in
the year (933 AH.) after the conquest of Hindustan (932 AH.), two years
after writing the _`Aruz_, I composed a couplet of 16 feet."--From this
the date of the Treatise is seen to be 931 AH., some two years later
than that of the _Mubin_. The above metrical exercise was done about the
same time as another concerning which a Treatise was written, viz. that
mentioned on f. 330_b_, when a couplet was transposed into 504 measures
(Section _f_, p. lxv).--The Facsimile, it will be noticed, shows
something unusual in the last line of the prose passage on Plate XVIII
B, where the scattering of the words suggests that the scribe was trying
to copy page _per_ page.
The colophon (which begins on l. 5 of the photograph) is curiously
worded, as though the frequent fate of last pages had befallen its
archetype, that of being mutilated and difficult for a scribe to make
good; it suggests too that the archetype was verse.[2832] Its first
clause, even if read as _Hind-stan janibi `azimat qilghani_ (i.e. not
_qilghali_, as it can be read), has an indirectness unlike Babur's
corresponding "after coming to Hindustan" (f. 357_b_), and is not
definite; (2) _bu airdi_ (these were) is not the complement suiting _aul
durur_ (those are); (3) Babur does not use the form _durur_ in prose;
(4) the undue space after _durur_ suggests connection with verse; (5)
there is no final verb such as prose needs. The meaning, however, may be
as follows:--The poems made after resolving on (the)
[Illustration]
Hindustan parts (_janibi_?) were these I have written down (_tahrir
qildim_), and past events are those I have narrated (_taqrir_) in the
way that (_ni-chuk kim_) (has been) written in these folios (_auraq_)
and recorded in those sections (_ajza'_).--From this it would appear that
sections of the _Babur-nama_ (f. 376_b_, p. 678) accompanied the
Hindustan poems to the recipient of the message conveyed by the
colophon.
Close under the colophon stands _Harara-hu Babur_ and the date Monday,
Rabi` II. 15th 935 (Monday, December 27th 1528 AD.), the whole
presumably brought over from the archetype. To the question whether a
signature in the above form would be copied by a scribe, the Elphinstone
Codex gives an affirmative answer by providing several examples of
notes, made by Humayun in its archetype, so-signed and brought over
either into its margin or interpolated in its text. Some others of
Humayun's notes are not so-signed, the scribe merely saying they are
Humayun Padshah's.--It makes against taking the above entry of Babur's
name to be an autograph signature, (1) that it is enclosed in an
ornamented border, as indeed is the case wherever it occurs throughout
the manuscript; (2) that it is followed by the scribe's _mim_. [See end
of following section.]
_c. The marginal entries shown in the photograph._
The marginal note written length-wise by the side of the text is signed
by Shah-i-jahan and attests that the _ruba`i_ and the signature to which
it makes reference are in Babur's autograph hand-writing. His note
translates as follows:--This quatrain and blessed name are in the actual
hand-writing of that Majesty (_an hazrat_) _Firdaus-makani_ Babur
Padshah _Ghazi_--May God make his proof clear!--Signed (_Harara-hu_),
Shah-i-jahan son of Jahangir Padshah son of Akbar Padshah son of Humayun
Padshah son of Babur Padshah.[2833]
The second marginal entry is the curiously placed _ruba`i_, which is now
the only one on the page, and now has no signature attaching to it. It
has the character of a personal message to the recipient of one of more
books having identical contents. That these two entries are there while
the text seems so clearly to be written by a scribe, is open to the
explanation that when (as said about the colophon, p. lx) the rectangle
of text was made good from a mutilated archetype, the original margin
was placed round the _rifacimento_? This superposition would explain the
entries and seal-like circles, discernible against a strong light, on
the reverse of the margin only, through the _rifacimento_ page. The
upper edge of the rectangle shows sign that the margin has been adjusted
to it [so far as one can judge from a photograph]. Nothing on the face
of the margin hints that the text itself is autograph; the words of the
colophon, _tahrir qildim_ (_i.e._ I have written down) cannot hold good
against the cumulative testimony that a scribe copied the whole
manuscript.--The position of the last syllable [_ni_] of the _ruba`i_
shows that the signature below the colophon was on the margin before the
diagonal couplet of the _ruba`i_ was written,--therefore when the margin
was fitted, as it looks to have been fitted, to the _rifacimento_. If
this be the order of the two entries [_i.e._ the small-hand signature
and the diagonal couplet], Shah-i-jahan's "blessed name" may represent
the small-hand signature which certainly shows minute differences from
the writing of the text of the MS. in the name Babur (_q.v. passim_ in
the Rampur MS.).
_d. The Baburi-khatt_ (_Babur's script_).
So early as 910 AH. the year of his conquest of Kabul, Babur devised
what was probably a variety of _nakhsh_, and called it the
_Baburi-khatt_ (f. 144_b_), a name used later by Haidar Mirza,
Nizamu'd-din Ahmad and `Abdu'l-qadir _Badayuni_. He writes of it again
(f. 179) _s.a._ 911 AH. when describing an interview had in 912 AH. with
one of the Harat Qazis, at which the script was discussed, its
specialities (_mufradat_) exhibited to, and read by the Qazi who there
and then wrote in it.[2834] In what remains to us of the _Babur-nama_
it is not mentioned again till 935 AH. (fol. 357_b_) but at some
intermediate date Babur made in it a copy of the Qoran which he sent to
Makka.[2835] In 935 AH. (f. 357_b_) it is mentioned in significant
association with the despatch to each of four persons of a copy of the
Translation (of the _Walidiyyah-risala_) and the Hindustan poems, the
significance of the association being that the simultaneous despatch
with these copies of specimens of the _Baburi-khatt_ points to its use
in the manuscripts, and at least in Hind-al's case, to help given for
reading novel forms in their text. The above are the only instances now
found in the _Babur-nama_ of mention of the script.
The little we have met with--we have made no search--about the character
of the script comes from the _Abushqa_, _s.n._ _sighnaq_, in the
following entry:--
_Sighnaq ber nu`ah khatt der Chaghataida khatt Baburi u ghairi kibi
ki Babur Mirza ash`ar'nda kilur bait_
_Khublar khatti nasib'ng bulmasa Babur ni tang?_
_Baburi khatti aimas dur khatt sighnaqi mu dur?_[2836]
The old Osmanli-Turkish prose part of this appears to mean:--"_Sighnaq_
is a sort of hand-writing, in Chaghatai the _Baburi-khatt_ and others
resembling it, as appears in Babur Mirza's poems. Couplet":--
Without knowing the context of the couplet I make no attempt to
translate it because its words _khatt_ or _khat_ and _sighnaq_
lend themselves to the kind of pun (_iham_) "which consists
in the employment of a word or phrase having more than one appropriate
meaning, whereby the reader is often left in doubt as to the real
significance of the passage."[2837] The rest of the _ruba`i_ may be
given [together with the six other quotations of Babur's verse now known
only through the _Abushqa_], in early _Tazkiratu 'sh-shu`ara_ of date
earlier than 967 AH.
The root of the word _sighnaq_ will be _siq_, pressed together, crowded,
included, _etc._; taking with this notion of compression, the
explanations _feine Schrift_ of Shaikh Effendi (Kunos) and VambÈry's
_pÈtite Ècriture_, the Sighnaqi and Baburi Scripts are allowed to have
been what that of the Rampur MS. is, a small, compact, elegant
hand-writing.--A town in the Caucasus named Sighnakh, "_situÈe ‡ peu prËs
‡ 800 mËtres d'altitude, commenÁa par Ítre une forteresse et un lieu de
refuge, car telle est la signification de son nom tartare_."[2838]
_Sighnaqi_ is given by de Courteille (Dict. p. 368) as meaning a place
of refuge or shelter.
The _Baburi-khatt_ will be only one of the several hands Babur is
reputed to have practised; its description matches it with other
niceties he took pleasure in, fine distinctions of eye and ear in
measure and music.
_e. Is the Rampur MS. an example of the Baburi-khatt?_
Though only those well-acquainted with Oriental manuscripts dating
before 910 AH. (1504 AD.) can judge whether novelties appear in the
script of the Rampur MS. and this particularly in its head-lines, there
are certain grounds for thinking that though the manuscript be not
Babur's autograph, it may be in his script and the work of a specially
trained scribe.
I set these grounds down because although the signs of a scribe's work
on the manuscript seem clear, it is "locally" held to be Babur's
autograph. Has a tradition of its being in the _Baburi-khatt_ glided
into its being in the _khatt-i-Babur_? Several circumstances suggest
that it may be written in the _Baburi-khatt:_--(1) the script is
specially associated with the four transcripts of the Hindustan poems
(f. 357_b_), for though many letters must have gone to his sons, some
indeed are mentioned in the _Babur-nama_, it is only with the poems that
specimens of it are recorded as sent; (2) another matter shows his
personal interest in the arrangement of manuscripts, namely, that as he
himself about a month after the four books had gone off, made a new
ruler, particularly on account of the head-lines of the Translation, it
may be inferred that he had made or had adopted the one he superseded,
and that his plan of arranging the poems was the model for copyists; the
Rampur MS. bearing, in the Translation section, corrections which may be
his own, bears also a date earlier than that at which the four gifts
started; it has its headlines ill-arranged and has throughout 13 lines
to the page; his new ruler had 11; (3) perhaps the words _tahrir qildim_
used in the colophon of the Rampur MS. should be read with their full
connotation of careful and elegant writing, or, put modestly, as saying,
"I wrote down in my best manner," which for poems is likely to be in the
_Baburi-khatt_.[2839]
Perhaps an example of Babur's script exists in the colophon, if not in
the whole of the _Mubin_ manuscript once owned by BerÈzine, by him used
for his _ChrÈstomathie Turque_, and described by him as "unique". If
this be the actual manuscript Babur sent into Ma wara'u'n-nahr
(presumably to Khwaja Ahrari's family), its colophon which is a personal
message addressed to the recipients, is likely to be autograph.
_f. Metrical amusements._
(1) Of two instances of metrical amusements belonging to the end of 933
AH. and seeming to have been the distractions of illness, one is a
simple transposition "in the fashion of the circles" (_dawa'ir_) into
three measures (Rampur MS. Facsimile, Plate XVIII and p. 22); the other
is difficult because of the high number of 504 into which Babur says (f.
330_b_) he cut up the following couplet:--
_Guz u qash u soz u tilini mu di?
Qad u khadd u saj u bilini mu di?_
All manuscripts agree in having 504, and Babur wrote a tract (_risala_)
upon the transpositions.[2840] None of the modern treatises on Oriental
Prosody allow a number so high to be practicable, but Maulana Saifi of
Bukhara, of Babur's own time (f. 180_b_) makes 504 seem even moderate,
since after giving much detail about _ruba`i_ measures, he observes,
"Some say there are 10,000" (_Aruz-i-Saifi_, Ranking's trs. p. 122).
Presumably similar possibilities were open for the couplet in question.
It looks like one made for the game, asks two foolish questions and
gives no reply, lends itself to poetic license, and, if permutation of
words have part in such a game, allows much without change of sense. Was
Babur's cessation of effort at 504 capricious or enforced by the
exhaustion of possible changes? Is the arithmetical statement 9 ◊ 8 ◊ 7
= 504 the formula of the practicable permutations?
(2) To improvise verse having a given rhyme and topic must have demanded
quick wits and much practice. Babur gives at least one example of it (f.
252_b_) but Jahangir gives a fuller and more interesting one, not only
because a _ruba`i_ of Babur's was the model but from the circumstances
of the game:[2841]--It was in 1024 AH. (1615 AD.) that a letter reached
him from Mawara'u'n-nahr written by Khwaja Hashim _Naqsh-bandi_ [who by
the story is shown to have been of Ahrari's line], and recounting the
long devotion of his family to Jahangir's ancestors. He sent gifts and
enclosed in his letter a copy of one of Babur's quatrains which he said
Hazrat Firdaus-makani had written for Hazrat Khwajagi (Ahrari's eldest
son; f. 36_b_, p. 62 n. 2). Jahangir quotes a final hemistich only,
"_Khwajagira manda'im, Khwajagira banda'im_" and thereafter made an
impromptu verse upon the one sent to him.
A curious thing is that the line he quotes is not part of the quatrain
he answered, but belongs to another not appropriate for a message
between _darwesh_ and _padshah_, though likely to have been sent by
Babur to Khwajagi. I will quote both because the matter will come up
again for who works on the Hindustan poems.[2842]
(1) The quatrain from the _Hindustan Poems_ is:--
_Dar hawa'i nafs gumrah `umr zai` karda'im_ [_kanda'im_?];
_Pesh ahl-i-allah az af`al-i-khud sharmanda'im;
Yak nazr ba mukhlasan-i-khasta-dil farma ki ma
Khwajagira manda'im u Khwajagira banda'im._
(2) That from the _Akbar-nama_ is:--
_Darweshanra agarcha nah as khweshanim,
Lek az dil u jan mu`taqid eshanim;
Dur ast magu`i shahi az darweshi,
Shahim wali banda-i-darweshanim._
The greater suitability of the second is seen from Jahangir's answering
impromptu for which by sense and rhyme it sets the model; the meaning,
however, of the fourth line in each may be identical, namely, "I remain
the ruler but am the servant of the _darwesh_." Jahangir's impromptu is
as follows:--
_Ai anki mara mihr-i-tu besh az besh ast,
Az daulat yad-i-budat ai darwesh ast;
Chandanki'z muzh dahat dilam shad shavad
Shadim az anki latif az hadd besh ast._
He then called on those who had a turn for verse to "speak one" _i.e._
to improvise on his own; it was done as follows:--
_Darim agarcha shaghal-i-shahi dar pesh,
Har lahza kunim yad-i-darweshan besh;
Gar shad shavad'z ma dil-i-yak darwesh,
Anra shumarim hasil-i-shahi khwesh._
R.--CHANDIRI AND GUALIAR.
The courtesy of the Government of India enables me to reproduce from the
_ArchÊological Survey Reports_ of 1871, Sir Alexander Cunningham's plans
of Chandiri and Gualiar, which illustrate Babur's narrative on f. 333,
p. 592, and f. 340, p. 607.
[Illustration: MAP of the FORT and CITY of CH¬NDERI]
[Illustration: MAP of the FORT and CITY of CH¬NDERI]
[Illustration: FORTRESS OF GWALIOR]
S.--CONCERNING THE BABUR-NAMA DATING OF 935 AH.
The dating of the diary of 935 AH. (f. 339 _et seq._) is several times
in opposition to what may be distinguished as the "book-rule" that the
12 lunar months of the Hijra year alternate in length between 30 and 29
days (intercalary years excepted), and that Muharram starts the
alternation with 30 days. An early book stating the rule is Gladwin's
_Bengal Revenue Accounts_; a recent one, Ranking's ed. of Platts'
_Persian Grammar_.
As to what day of the week was the initial day of some of the months in
935 AH. Babur's days differ from W¸stenfeld's who gives the full list of
twelve, and from Cunningham's single one of Muharram 1st.
It seems worth while to draw attention to the flexibility, within
limits, of Babur's dating, [not with the object of adversely criticizing
a rigid and convenient rule for common use, but as supplementary to that
rule from a somewhat special source], because he was careful and
observant, his dating was contemporary, his record, as being _de die in
diem_, provides a check of consecutive narrative on his dates, which,
moreover, are all held together by the external fixtures of Feasts and
by the marked recurrence of Fridays observed. Few such writings as the
Babur-nama diaries appear to be available for showing variation within a
year's limit.
In 935 AH. Babur enters few full dates, _i.e._ days of the week and
month. Often he gives only the day of the week, the safest, however, in
a diary. He is precise in saying at what time of the night or the day an
action was done; this is useful not only as helping to get over
difficulties caused by minor losses of text, but in the more general
matter of the transference of a Hijra night-and-day which begins after
sunset, to its Julian equivalent, of a day-and-night which begins at 12
a.m. This sometimes difficult transference affords a probable
explanation of a good number of the discrepant dates found in
Oriental-Occidental books.
Two matters of difference between the Babur-nama dating and that of some
European calendars are as follows:--
_a. Discrepancy as to the day of the week on which Muh 935_ AH. _began._
This discrepancy is not a trivial matter when a year's diary is
concerned. The record of Muh. 1st and 2nd is missing from the
_Babur-nama_; Friday the 3rd day of Muharram is the first day specified;
the 1st was a Wednesday therefore. Erskine accepted this day; Cunningham
and W¸stenfeld give Tuesday. On three grounds Wednesday seems right--at
any rate at that period and place:--(1) The second Friday in Muharram was
`Ashur, the 10th (f. 240); (2) Wednesday is in serial order if reckoning
be made from the last surviving date of 934 AH. with due allowance of an
intercalary day to Zu'l-hijja (Gladwin), _i.e._ from Thursday Rajab 12th
(April 2nd 1528 AD. f. 339, p. 602); (3) Wednesday is supported by the
daily record of far into the year.
_b. Variation in the length of the months of 935_ AH.
There is singular variation between the _Babur-nama_ and W¸stenfeld's
_Tables_, both as to the day of the week on which months began, and as
to the length of some months. This variation is shown in the following
table, where asterisks mark agreement as to the days of the week, and
the capital letters, quoted from W.'s _Tables_, denote A, Sunday;
B, Tuesday, _etc._ (the bracketed names being of my entry).
_Babur-nama._ _W¸stenfeld_
Days. Days.
Muharram 29 Wednesday 30 C (Tuesday)
Safar 30 Thursday* 29 E (Thursday)*
Rabi` I. 30 Saturday 30 F (Friday)
" II. 29 Monday 29 A (Sunday)
Jumada I. 30 Tuesday 30 B (Monday)
" II. 29 Thursday 29 D (Wednesday)
Rajab 29 Friday 30 E (Thursday)
Sha`ban 30 Saturday* 29 G (Saturday)*
Ramzan 29 Monday 30 A (Sunday)
Shawwal 30 Tuesday* 29 C (Tuesday)*
Zu'l-qa`da 29 Thursday 30 D (Wednesday)
Zu'l-hijja 30 Friday* 29 T (Friday)*
The table shows that notwithstanding the discrepancy discussed in
section _a_, of Babur's making 935 AH. begin on a Wednesday, and
W¸stenfeld on a Tuesday, the two authorities agree as to the initial
week-day of four months out of twelve, _viz._ Safar, Sha`ban, Shawwal
and Zu'l-hijja.
Again:--In eight of the months the _Babur-nama_ reverses the "book-rule"
of alternative Muharram 30 days, Safar 29 days _et seq._ by giving
Muharram 29, Safar 30. (This is seen readily by following the initial
days of the week.) Again:--these eight months are in pairs having
respectively 29 and 30 days, and the year's total is 364.--Four months
follow the fixed rule, _i.e._ as though the year had begun Muh. 30 days,
Safar 29 days--namely, the two months of Rabi` and the two of
Jumada.--Ramzan to which under "book-rule" 30 days are due, had 29 days,
because, as Babur records, the Moon was seen on the 29th.--In the other
three instances of the reversed 30 and 29, one thing is common, _viz._
Muharram, Rajab, Zu'l-qa`da (as also Zu'l-hijja) are "honoured"
months.--It would be interesting if some expert in this Musalman matter
would give the reasons dictating the changes from rule noted above as
occurring in 935 AH.
_c. Varia._
(1) On f. 367 Saturday is entered as the 1st day of Sha`ban and
Wednesday as the 4th, but on f. 368_b_ stands Wednesday 5th, as suits
the serial dating. If the mistake be not a mere slip, it may be due to
confusion of hours, the ceremony chronicled being accomplished on the
eve of the 5th, AnglicÈ, after sunset on the 4th.
(2) A fragment only survives of the record of Zu'l-hijja 935 AH. It
contains a date, Thursday 7th, and mentions a Feast which will be that
of the _`Idu'l-kabir_ on the 10th (Sunday). Working on from this to the
first-mentioned day of 936 AH. _viz._ Tuesday, Muharram 3rd, the month
(which is the second of a pair having 29 and 30 days) is seen to have 30
days and so to fit on to 936 AH. The series is Sunday 10th, 17th, 24th
(Sat. 30th) Sunday 1st, Tuesday 3rd.
Two clerical errors of mine in dates connecting with this Appendix are
corrected here:--(1) On p. 614 n. 5, for Oct. 2nd read Oct. 3rd; (2) on
p. 619 penultimate line of the text, for Nov. 28th read Nov. 8th.
T.--ON L:KNU (LAKHNAU) AND L:KNUR (LAKHNUR, NOW SHAHABAD IN RAMPUR).
One or other of the above-mentioned names occurs eight times in the
_Babur-nama_ (_s.a._ 932, 934, 935 AH.), some instances being shown by
their context to represent Lakhnau in Oudh, others inferentially and by
the verbal agreement of the Haidarabad Codex and Kehr's Codex to stand
for Lakhnur (now Shahabad in Rampur). It is necessary to reconsider the
identification of those not decided by their context, both because there
is so much variation in the copies of the `Abdu'r-rahim Persian
translation that they give no verbal help, and because Mr. Erskine and
M. de Courteille are in agreement about them and took the whole eight to
represent Lakhnau. This they did on different grounds, but in each case
their agreement has behind it a defective textual basis.--Mr. Erskine, as
is well known, translated the `Abdu'r-rahim Persian text without access
to the original Turki but, if he had had the Elphinstone Codex when
translating, it would have given him no help because all the eight
instances occur on folios not preserved by that codex. His only sources
were not-first-rate Persian MSS. in which he found casual variation from
terminal _nu_ to _nur_, which latter form may have been read by him as
_nuu_ (whence perhaps the old Anglo-Indian transliteration he uses,
Luknow).[2843]--M. de Courteille's position is different; his uniform
_Lakhnau_ obeyed the same uniformity in his source the Kasan Imprint,
and would appear to him the more assured for the concurrence of the
_Memoirs_. His textual basis, however, for these words is Dr. Ilminsky's
and not Kehr's. No doubt the uniform _Lakhnu_ of the Kasan Imprint is
the result of Dr. Ilminsky's uncertainty as to the accuracy of his
single Turki archetype [Kehr's MS.], and also of his acceptance of Mr.
Erskine's uniform _Luknow_.[2844]--Since the Haidarabad Codex became
available and its collation with Kehr's Codex has been made, a better
basis for distinguishing between the L:knu and L:knur of the Persian
MSS. has been obtained.[2845] The results of the collation are entered
in the following table, together with what is found in the Kasan Imprint
and the _Memoirs_. [N.B. The two sets of bracketed instances refer each
to one place; the asterisks show where Ilminsky varies from Kehr.]
_Hai. MS._ _Kehr's MS._ _Kasan Imprint._ _Memoirs._
1. {f. 278_b_ L:knur L:knu L:knu, p. 361 Luknow.
2. {f. 338 L:knu " " p. 437 "
3. f. 292_b_ L:knur L:knur " p. 379* not entered.
4. f. 329 L:knur L:knur " p. 362* Luknow.
5. f. 334 L:knu L:knu " p. 432* "
6. {f. 376 L:knu L:knur " p. 486* "
7. {f. 376_b_ L:knur " " p. 487* "
8. {f. 377_b_ L:knu " " p. 488* "
The following notes give some grounds for accepting the names as the two
Turki codices agree in giving them:--
The first and second instances of the above table, those of the Hai.
Codex f. 278_b_ and f. 338, are shown by their context to represent
Lakhnau.
The third (f. 292_b_) is an item of Babur's Revenue List. The Turki
codices are supported by B.M. Or. 1999, which is a direct copy of Shaikh
Zain's autograph _Tabaqat-i-baburi_, all three having L:knur. Kehr's
MS. and Or. 1999 are descendants of the second degree from the original
List; that the Hai. Codex is a direct copy is suggested by its
pseudo-tabular arrangement of the various items.--An important
consideration supporting _L:knur_, is that the List is in Persian and
may reasonably be accepted as the one furnished officially for the
Padshah's information when he was writing his account of Hindustan (cf.
Appendix P, p. liv). This official character disassociates it from any
such doubtful spelling by the foreign Padshah as cannot but suggest
itself when the variants of _e.g._ Dalmau and Bangarmau are considered.
L:knur is what three persons copying independently read in the official
List, and so set down that careful scribes _i.e._ Kehr and `Abdu'l-lah
(App. P) again wrote L:knur.[2846]--Another circumstance favouring L:knur
(Lakhnur) is that the place assigned to it in the List is its
geographical one between Sambhal and Khairabad.--Something for [or
perhaps against] accepting Lakhnur as the _sarkar_ of the List may be
known in local records or traditions. It had been an important place,
and later on it paid a large revenue to Akbar [as part of Sambhal].--It
appears to have been worth the attention of Biban _Jalwani_ (f.
329).--Another place is associated with L:knur in the Revenue List, the
forms of which are open to a considerable number of interpretations
besides that of Baksar shown _in loco_ on p. 521. Only those well
acquainted with the United Provinces or their bye-gone history can offer
useful suggestion about it. Maps show a "Madkar" 6 m. south of old
Lakhnur; there are in the United Provinces two Baksars and as many other
Lakhnurs (none however being so suitable as what is now Shahabad).
Perhaps in the archives of some old families there may be help found to
interpret the entry _L:knur u B:ks:r_ (var.), a conjecture the less
improbable that the _Gazetteer of the Province of Oude_ (ii, 58)
mentions a _farman_ of Babur Padshah's dated 1527 AD. and upholding a
grant to Shaikh Qazi of Bilgram.
The fourth instance (f. 329) is fairly confirmed as Lakhnur by its
context, _viz._ an officer received the district of Badayun from the
Padshah and was sent against Biban who had laid siege to L:knur on which
Badayun bordered.--At the time Lakhnau may have been held from Babur by
Shaikh Bayazid _Farmuli_ in conjunction with Aud. Its estates are
recorded as still in Farmuli possession, that of the widow of "Kala
Pahar" _Farmuli_.--(_See infra._)
The fifth instance (f. 334) connects with Aud (Oudh) because royal
troops abandoning the place L:knu were those who had been sent against
Shaikh Bayazid in Aud.
The remaining three instances (f. 376, f. 376_b_, f. 377_b_) appear to
concern one place, to which Biban and Bayazid were rumoured to intend
going, which they captured and abandoned. As the table of variants
shows, Kehr's MS. reads Lakhnur in all three places, the Hai. MS. once
only, varying from itself as it does in Nos. 1 and 2.--A circumstance
supporting _Lakhnur_ is that one of the messengers sent to Babur with
details of the capture was the son of Shah Muh. _Diwana_ whose record
associates him rather with Badakhshan, and with Humayun and Sambhal
[perhaps with Lakhnur itself] than with Babur's own army.--Supplementing
my notes on these three instances, much could be said in favour of
reading Lakhnur, about time and distance done by the messengers and by
`Abdu'l-lah _kitabdar_, on his way to Sambhal and passing near Lakhnur;
much too about the various rumours and Babur's immediate counter-action.
But to go into it fully would need lengthy treatment which the
historical unimportance of the little problem appears not to
demand.--Against taking the place to be Lakhnau there are the
considerations (_a_) that Lakhnur was the safer harbourage for the Rains
and less near the westward march of the royal troops returning from the
battle of the Goghra; (_b_) that the fort of Lakhnau was the renowned
old Machchi-bawan (cf. _Gazetteer of the Province of Oude_, 3 vols.,
1877, ii, 366).--So far as I have been able to fit dates and transactions
together, there seems no reason why the two Afghans should not have gone
to Lakhnur, have crossed the Ganges near it, dropped down south [perhaps
even intending to recross at Dalmau] with the intention of getting back
to the Farmulis and Jalwanis perhaps in Sarwar, perhaps elsewhere to
Bayazid's brother Ma`ruf.
U.--THE INSCRIPTIONS ON BABUR'S MOSQUE IN AJODHYA (OUDH).
Thanks to the kind response made by the Deputy-Commissioner of Fyzabad
to my husband's enquiry about two inscriptions mentioned by several
Gazetteers as still existing on "Babur's Mosque" in Oudh, I am able to
quote copies of both.[2847]
_a._ The inscription inside the Mosque is as follows:--
[Illustration: 3 lines of Arabic script]
1. _Ba farmuda-i-Shah Babur ki `adilash
Bana'ist ta kakh-i-gardun mulaqi_,
2. _Bana kard in muhbit-i-qudsiyan
Amir-i-sa`adat-nishan Mir Baqi_
3. _Bavad khair baqi! chu sal-i-bana'ish
`Iyan shud ki guftam_,--_Buvad khair baqi_ (935).
The translation and explanation of the above, manifestly made by a
Musalman and as such having special value, are as follows:--[2848]
1. By the command of the Emperor Babur whose justice is an edifice
reaching up to the very height of the heavens,
2. The good-hearted Mir Baqi built this alighting-place of angels;[2849]
3. _Bavad khair baqi!_ (May this goodness last for ever!)[2850]
The year of building it was made clear likewise when I said, _Buvad
khair baqi_ ( = 935).[2851]
The explanation of this is:--
1st couplet:--The poet begins by praising the Emperor Babur under whose
orders the mosque was erected. As justice is the (chief) virtue of
kings, he naturally compares his (Babur's) justice to a palace reaching
up to the very heavens, signifying thereby that the fame of that justice
had not only spread in the wide world but had gone up to the heavens.
2nd couplet:--In the second couplet, the poet tells who was entrusted
with the work of construction. Mir Baqi was evidently some nobleman of
distinction at Babur's Court.--The noble height, the pure religious
atmosphere, and the scrupulous cleanliness and neatness of the mosque
are beautifully suggested by saying that it was to be the abode of
angels.
3rd couplet:--The third couplet begins and ends with the expression
_Buvad khair baqi_. The letters forming it by their numerical values
represent the number 935, thus:--
_B_ = 2, _v_ = 6, _d_ = 4 total 12
_Kh_ = 600, _ai_ = 10, _r_ = 200 " 810
_B_ = 2, _a_ = 1, _q_ = 100, _r_ = 10 " 113
___
Total 935
The poet indirectly refers to a religious commandment (_dictum_?) of the
Qoran that a man's good deeds live after his death, and signifies that
this noble mosque is verily such a one.
_b._ The inscription outside the Mosque is as follows:--
[Illustration: 3 lines of Arabic script]
1. _Ba nam-i-anki dana hast akbar
Ki khaliq-i-jamla `alam la-makani_
2. _Durud Mustaf· ba`d az sitayish
Ki sarwar-i-ambiya' du jahani_
3. _Fasana dar jahan Babur qalandar
Ki shud dar daur giti kamrani._[2852]
The explanation of the above is as follows:--
In the first couplet the poet praises God, in the second Muhammad, in
the third Babur.--There is a peculiar literary beauty in the use of the
word _la-makani_ in the 1st couplet. The author hints that the mosque is
meant to be the abode of God, although He has no fixed abiding-place.--In
the first hemistich of the 3rd couplet the poet gives Babur the
appellation of _qalandar_, which means a perfect devotee, indifferent to
all worldly pleasures. In the second hemistich he gives as the reason
for his being so, that Babur became and was known all the world over as
a _qalandar_, because having become Emperor of India and having thus
reached the summit of worldly success, he had nothing to wish for on
this earth.[2853]
The inscription is incomplete and the above is the plain interpretation
which can be given to the couplets that are to hand. Attempts may be
made to read further meaning into them but the language would not
warrant it.
V.--BABUR'S GARDENS IN AND NEAR KABUL.
The following particulars about gardens made by Babur in or near Kabul,
are given in Muhammad Amir of Kazwin's _Padshah-nama_ (Bib. Ind. ed. p.
585, p. 588).
Ten gardens are mentioned as made:--the Shahr-ara (Town-adorning) which
when Shah-i-jahan first visited Kabul in the 12th year of his reign
(1048 AH.-1638 AD.) contained very fine plane-trees Babur had planted,
beautiful trees having magnificent trunks,[2854]--the Char-bagh,--the
Bagh-i-jalau-khana,[2855]--the Aurta-bagh (Middle-garden),--the
Saurat-bagh,--the Bagh-i-mahtab (Moonlight-garden),--the Bagh-i-ahu-khana
(Garden-of-the-deer-house),--and three smaller ones. Round these gardens
rough-cast walls were made (renewed?) by Jahangir (1016 AH.).
The above list does not specify the garden Babur made and selected for
his burial; this is described apart (_l.c._ p. 588) with details of its
restoration and embellishment by Shah-i-jahan the master-builder of his
time, as follows:--
The burial-garden was 500 yards (_gaz_) long; its ground was in 15
terraces, 30 yards apart(?). On the 15th terrace is the tomb of Ruqaiya
Sultan Begam[2856]; as a small marble platform (_chabutra_) had been
made near it by Jahangir's command, Shah-i-jahan ordered (both) to be
enclosed by a marble screen three yards high.--Babur's tomb is on the
14th terrace. In accordance with his will, no building was erected over
it, but Shah-i-jahan built a small marble mosque on the terrace
below.[2857] It was begun in the 17th year (of Shah-i-jahan's reign) and
was finished in the 19th, after the conquest of Balkh and Badakhshan, at
a cost of 30,000 _rupis_. It is admirably constructed.--From the 12th
terrace running-water flows along the line (_rasta_) of the
avenue;[2858] but its 12 water-falls, because not constructed with
cemented stone, had crumbled away and their charm was lost; orders were
given therefore to renew them entirely and lastingly, to make a small
reservoir below each fall, and to finish with Kabul marble the edges of
the channel and the waterfalls, and the borders of the reservoirs.--And
on the 9th terrace there was to be a reservoir 11 x 11 yards, bordered
with Kabul marble, and on the 10th terrace one 15 x 15, and at the
entrance to the garden another 15 x 15, also with a marble border.--And
there was to be a gateway adorned with gilded cupolas befitting that
place, and beyond (_pesh_) the gateway a square station,[2859] one side
of which should be the garden-wall and the other three filled with
cells; that running-water should pass through the middle of it, so that
the destitute and poor people who might gather there should eat their
food in those cells, sheltered from the hardship of snow and rain.[2860]
FOOTNOTES
[1] From Atkinson's _Sketches in Afghanistan_ (I.O. Lib. &
B.M.).
[2] _See_ p. 710 (where for "Daniels" read Atkinson).
[3] _See_ Gul-badan Begim's _Humayun-nama_ Index III, _in
loco_.
[4] Cf. Cap. II, PROBLEMS OF THE MUTILATED BABUR-NAMA and
_Tarikh-i-rashidi_, trs. p. 174.
[5] The suggestion, implied by my use of this word, that Babur
may have definitely closed his autobiography (as Timur did
under other circumstances) is due to the existence of a
compelling cause _viz._ that he would be expectant of death as
the price of Humayun's restored life (p. 701).
[6] Cf. p. 83 and n. and Add. Note, P. 83 for further
emendation of a contradiction effected by some malign
influence in the note (p. 83) between parts of that note, and
between it and Babur's account of his not-drinking in Herat.
[7] Teufel held its title to be _waqi`_ (this I adopted in
1908), but it has no definite support and in numerous
instances of its occurrence to describe the acts or doings of
Babur, it could be read as a common noun.
[8] It stands on the reverse of the frontal page of the
Haidarabad Codex; it is Timur-pulad's name for the Codex he
purchased in Bukhara, and it is thence brought on by Kehr
(with Ilminski), and Klaproth (Cap. III); it is used by Khwafi
Khan (d. _cir._ 1732), _etc._
[9] That Babur left a complete record much indicates beyond
his own persistence and literary bias, _e.g._ cross-reference
with and needed complements from what is lost; mention by
other writers of Babur's information, notably by Haidar.
[10] App. H, xxx.
[11] p. 446, n. 6. Babur's order for the cairn would fit into
the lost record of the first month of the year (p. 445).
[12] Parts of the Babur-nama sent to Babur's sons are not
included here.
[13] The standard of comparison is the 382 fols. of the
Haidarabad Codex.
[14] This MS. is not to be confused with one Erskine
misunderstood Humayun to have copied (_Memoirs_, p. 303 and
JRAS. 1900, p. 443).
[15] For precise limits of the original annotation _see_ p.
446 n.--For details about the E. Codex _see_ JRAS. 1907, art.
_The Elph. Codex_, and for the colophon AQR. 1900, July, Oct.
and JRAS. 1905, pp. 752, 761.
[16] _See_ Index _s.n._ and III _ante_ and JRAS. 1900-3-5-6-7.
[17] Here speaks the man reared in touch with European
classics; (pure) Turki though it uses no relatives (Radloff)
is lucid. Cf. Cap. IV The Memoirs of Babur.
[18] For analysis of a retranslated passage _see_ JRAS. 1908,
p. 85.
[19] _Tuzuk-i-jahangiri_, Rogers & Beveridge's trs. i, 110;
JRAS. 1900, p. 756, for the Persian passage, 1908, p. 76 for
the "Fragments", 1900, p. 476 for Ilminski's Preface (a second
translation is accessible at the B.M. and I.O. Library and
R.A.S.), _Memoirs_ Preface, p. ix, Index _s.nn._ de
Courteille, Teufel, Bukhara MSS. and Part iii _eo cap._
[20] For Shah-i-jahan's interest in Timur _see_ sign given in
a copy of his note published in my translation volume of
Gul-badan Begim's _Humayun-nama_, p. xiii.
[21] JRAS. 1900 p. 466, 1902 p. 655, 1905 art. _s.n._, 1908
pp. 78, 98; Index _in loco s.n._
[22] Cf. JRAS. 1900, Nos. VI, VII, VIII.
[23] Ilminski's difficulties are foreshadowed here by the same
confusion of identity between the _Babur-nama_ proper and the
Bukhara compilation (Preface, Part iii, p. li).
[24] Cf. Erskine's Preface _passim_, and _in loco_ item XI,
cap. iv. _The Memoirs of Baber_, and Index _s.n._
[25] The last blow was given to the phantasmal reputation of
the book by the authoritative Haidarabad Codex which now can
be seen in facsimile in many Libraries.
[26] But for present difficulties of intercourse with
Petrograd, I would have re-examined with Kehr's the collateral
Codex of 1742 (copied in 1839 and now owned by the Petrograd
University). It might be useful; as Kehr's volume has lost
pages and may be disarranged here and there.
The list of Kehr's items is as follows:--
1 (_not in the Imprint_). A letter from Babur to Kamran the
date of which is fixed as 1527 by its committing Ibrahim
_Ludi's_ son to Kamran's charge (p. 544). It is heard of again
in the Bukhara Compilation, is lost from Kehr's Codex, and
preserved from his archetype by Klaproth who translated it.
Being thus found in Bukhara in the first decade of the
eighteenth century (our earliest knowledge of the Compilation
is 1709), the inference is allowed that it went to Bukhara as
loot from the defeated Kamran's camp and that an endorsement
its companion Babur-nama (proper) bears was made by the Auzbeg
of two victors over Kamran, both of 1550, both in
Tramontana.(1)
2 (_not in Imp._). Timur-pulad's memo. about the purchase of
his Codex in cir. 1521 (_eo cap. post_).
3 (_Imp. 1_). Compiler's Preface of Praise (JRAS. 1900, p.
474).
4 (_Imp. 2_). Babur's Acts in Farghana, in diction such as to
seem a re-translation of the Persian translation of 1589. How
much of Kamran's MS. was serviceable is not easy to decide,
because the Turki fettering of `Abdu'r-rahim's Persian lends
itself admirably to re-translation.(2)
5 (_Imp. 3_). The "Rescue-passage" (App. D) attributable to
Jahangir.
6 (_Imp. 4_). Babur's Acts in Kabul, seeming (like No. 4) a
re-translation or patching of tattered pages. There are also
passages taken verbatim from the Persian.
7 (_Imp. omits_). A short length of Babur's Hindustan Section,
carefully shewn damaged by dots and dashes.
8 (_Imp. 5_). Within 7, the spurious passage of App. L and
also scattered passages about a feast, perhaps part of 7.
9 (_Imp. separates off at end of vol._). Translated passage
from the _Akbar-nama_, attributable to Jahangir, briefly
telling of Kanwa (1527), Babur's latter years (both changed to
first person), death and court.(3)
[Babur's history has been thus brought to an end, incomplete
in the balance needed of 7. In Kehr's volume a few pages are
left blank except for what shews a Russian librarian's opinion
of the plan of the book, "Here end the writings of Shah
Babur."]
10 (_Imp. omits_). Preface to the history of Humayun,
beginning at the Creation and descending by giant strides
through notices of Khans and Sultans to "Babur Mirza who was
the father of Humayun Padshah". Of Babur what further is said
connects with the battle of Ghaj-davan (918-1512 _q.v._). It
is ill-informed, laying blame on him as if he and not Najm
Sani had commanded--speaks of his preference for the counsel of
young men and of the numbers of combatants. It is noticeable
for more than its inadequacy however; its selection of the
Ghaj-davan episode from all others in Babur's career supports
circumstantially what is dealt with later, the Ghaj-davani
authorship of the Compilation.
11 (_Imp. omits_). Under a heading "Humayun Padshah" is a
fragment about (his? Accession) Feast, whether broken off by
loss of his pages or of those of his archetype examination of
the P. Univ. Codex may show.
12 (_Imp. 6_). An excellent copy of Babur's Hindustan Section,
perhaps obtained from the Ahrari house. [This Ilminski places
(I think) where Kehr has No. 7.] From its position and from
its bearing a scribe's date of completion (which Kehr brings
over), _viz._ _Tamt shud 1126_ (Finished 1714), the compiler
may have taken it for Humayun's, perhaps for the account of
his reconquest of Hind in 1555.
[The remaining entries in Kehr's volume are a quatrain which
may make jesting reference to his finished task, a librarian's
Russian entry of the number of pages (831), and the words
_Etablissement Orientale, Fr. v. Adelung_, 1825 (the Director
of the School from 1793).(4)]
[27] That Babur-nama of the "Kamran-docket" is the mutilated
and tattered basis, allowed by circumstance, of the compiled
history of Babur, filled out and mended by the help of the
Persian translation of 1589. Cf. Kehr's Latin Trs. fly-leaf
entry; Klaproth _s.n._; A.N. trs. H.B., p. 260; JRAS. 1908,
1909, on the "Kamran-docket" where are defects needing
Klaproth's second article (1824).
[28] For an analysis of an illustrative passage _see_ JRAS.
1906; for facilities of re-translation _see_ _eo cap._ p.
xviii, where Erskine is quoted.
[29] _See_ A.N. trans., p. 260; Prefaces of Ilminski and de
Courteille; ZDMG. xxxvii, Teufel's art.; JRAS. 1906.
[30] For particulars about Kehr's Codex see Smirnov's
Catalogue of the School Library and JRAS. 1900, 1906. Like
others who have made statements resting on the mistaken
identity of the Bukhara Compilation, many of mine are now
given to the winds.
[31] _See_ Gregorief's "Russian policy regarding Central
Asia", quoted in Schuyler's Turkistan, App. IV.
[32] The Mission was well received, started to return to
Petrograd, was attacked by Turkmans, went back to Bukhara, and
there stayed until it could attempt the devious route which
brought it to the capital in 1725.
[33] One might say jestingly that the spirit in the book had
rebelled since 1725 against enforced and changing masquerade
as a phantasm of two other books!
[34] Neither Ilminski nor Smirnov mentions another
"Babur-nama" Codex than Kehr's.
[35] A Correspondent combatting my objection to publishing a
second edition of the _Memoirs_, backed his favouring opinion
by reference to `Umar Khayyam and Fitzgerald. Obviously no
analogy exists; Erskine's redundance is not the flower of a
deft alchemy, but is the prosaic consequence of a secondary
source.
[36] The manuscripts relied on for revising the first section
of the Memoirs, (_i.e._ 899 to 908 AH.-1494 to 1502 AD.) are
the Elphinstone and the Haidarabad Codices. To variants from
them occurring in Dr. Kehr's own transcript no authority can
be allowed because throughout this section, his text appears
to be a compilation and in parts a retranslation from one or
other of the two Persian translations (_Waqi`at-i-baburi_) of
the _Babur-nama_. Moreover Dr. Ilminsky's imprint of Kehr's
text has the further defect in authority that it was helped
out from the Memoirs, itself not a direct issue from the Turki
original.
Information about the manuscripts of the _Babur-nama_ can be
found in the JRAS for 1900, 1902, 1905, 1906, 1907 and 1908.
The foliation marked in the margin of this book is that of the
Haidarabad Codex and of its facsimile, published in 1905 by
the Gibb Memorial Trust.
[37] Babur, born on Friday, Feb. 14th. 1483 (Muharram 6, 888
AH.), succeeded his father, `Umar Shaikh who died on June 8th.
1494 (Ramzan 4, 899 AH.).
[38] _pad-shah_, protecting lord, supreme. It would be an
anachronism to translate _padshah_ by King or Emperor,
previous to 913 AH. (1507 AD.) because until that date it was
not part of the style of any Timurid, even ruling members of
the house being styled Mirza. Up to 1507 therefore Babur's
correct style is Babur Mirza. (_Cf._ f. 215 and note.)
[39] See _Ayin-i-akbari_, Jarrett, p. 44.
[40] The Hai. MS. and a good many of the W.-i-B. MSS. here
write Autrar. [Autrar like Taraz was at some time of its
existence known as Yangi (New).] Taraz seems to have stood
near the modern Auliya-ata; Almaligh,--a Metropolitan see of
the Nestorian Church in the 14th. century,--to have been the
old capital of Kuldja, and Almatu (var. Almati) to have been
where Vernoe (Vierny) now is. Almaligh and Almatu owed their
names to the apple (_alma_). _Cf._ Bretschneider's MediÊval
Geography p. 140 and T.R. (Elias and Ross) _s.nn._
[41] _Mughul u Auzbeg jihatdin._ I take this, the first
offered opportunity of mentioning (1) that in transliterating
Turki words I follow Turki lettering because I am not
competent to choose amongst systems which _e.g._ here,
reproduce Auzbeg as Uzbeg, ÷zbeg and Euzbeg; and (2) that
style being part of an autobiography, I am compelled, in
pressing back the Memoirs on Babur's Turki mould, to retract
from the wording of the western scholars, Erskine and de
Courteille. Of this compulsion Babur's bald phrase _Mughul u
Auzbeg jihatdin_ provides an illustration. Each earlier
translator has expressed his meaning with more finish than he
himself; `Abdu'r-rahim, by _az jihat `ubur-i_ (_Mughul u_)
_Auzbeg_, improves on Babur, since the three towns lay in the
tideway of nomad passage (_`ubur_) east and west; Erskine
writes "in consequence of the incursions" etc. and de C.
"_grace aux ravages commis_" etc.
[42] Schuyler (ii, 54) gives the extreme length of the valley
as about 160 miles and its width, at its widest, as 65 miles.
[43] Following a manifestly clerical error in the Second
W.-i-B. the _Akbar-nama_ and the Mems. are without the
seasonal limitation, "in winter." Babur here excludes from
winter routes one he knew well, the Kindirlik Pass; on the
other hand Kostenko says that this is open all the year round.
Does this contradiction indicate climatic change? (_Cf._ f.
54b and note; A.N. Bib. Ind. ed. i, 85 (H. Beveridge i, 221)
and, for an account of the passes round Farghana, Kostenko's
_Turkistan Region_, Tables of Contents.)
[44] Var. Banakat, Banakas, Fiakat, Fanakand. Of this place
Dr. Rieu writes (Pers. cat. i, 79) that it was also called
Shash and, in modern times, Tashkint. Babur does not identify
Fanakat with the Tashkint of his day but he identifies it with
Shahrukhiya (_cf._ Index _s.nn._) and distinguishes between
Tashkint-Shash and Fanakat-Shahrukhiya. It may be therefore
that Dr. Rieu's Tashkint-Fanakat was Old Tashkint,--(Does
Fana-kint mean Old Village?) some 14 miles nearer to the
Saihun than the Tashkint of Babur's day or our own.
[45] _ hech darya qatilmas._ A gloss of _digar_ (other) in the
Second W.-i-B. has led Mr. Erskine to understand "meeting with
no other river in its course." I understand Babur to contrast
the destination of the Saihun which he [erroneously] says
sinks into the sands, with the outfall of _e.g._ the Amu into
the Sea of Aral.
_Cf._ First W.-i-B. I.O. MS. 215 f. 2; Second W.-i-B. I.O. MS.
217 f. 1b and Ouseley's Ibn Haukal p. 232-244; also Schuyler
and Kostenko _l.c._
[46] Babur's geographical unit in Central Asia is the township
or, with more verbal accuracy, the village _i.e._ the
fortified, inhabited and cultivated oasis. Of frontiers he
says nothing.
[47] _i.e._ they are given away or taken. Babur's interest in
fruits was not a matter of taste or amusement but of food.
Melons, for instance, fresh or stored, form during some months
the staple food of Turkistanis. _Cf._ T.R. p. 303 and (in
Kashmir) 425; Timkowski's _Travels of the Russian Mission_ i,
419 and Th. Radloff's _RÈceuils d'ItinÈraires_ p. 343.
N.B. At this point two folios of the Elphinstone Codex are
missing.
[48] Either a kind of melon or the pear. For local abundance
of pears _see_ _Ayin-i-akbari_, Blochmann p. 6; Kostenko and
Von Schwarz.
[49] _qurghan_, _i.e._ the walled town within which was the
citadel (_ark_).
[50] _Tuquz tarnau su kirar, bu `ajab tur kim bir yirdin ham
chiqmas._ Second W.-i-B. I.O. 217 f. 2, _nuh ju'i ab dar qila`
dar mi ayid u in `ajab ast kah hama az yak ja ham na mi bar
ayid_. (_Cf._ Mems. p. 2 and _MÈms._ i, 2.) I understand Babur
to mean that all the water entering was consumed in the town.
The supply of Andijan, in the present day, is taken both from
the Aq Bura (_i.e._ the Aush Water) and, by canal, from the
Qara Darya.
[51] _khandaqning tash yani._ Second W.-i-B. I.O. 217 f. 2
_dar kinar sang bast khandaq_. Here as in several other
places, this Persian translation has rendered Turki _tash_,
outside, as if it were Turki _tash_, stone. Babur's adjective
_stone_ is _sangin_ (f. 45b l. 8). His point here is the
unusual circumstance of a high-road running round the outer
edge of the ditch. Moreover Andijan is built on and of loess.
Here, obeying his Persian source, Mr. Erskine writes
"stone-faced ditch"; M. de C. obeying his Turki one, "_bord
extÈrieur_."
[52] _qirghawal ash-kinasi bila. Ash-kina_, a diminutive of
_ash_, food, is the rice and vegetables commonly served with
the bird. Kostenko i, 287 gives a recipe for what seems
_ash-kina_.
[53] b. 1440; d. 1500 AD.
[54] Yusuf was in the service of Bai-sunghar Mirza _Shahrukhi_
(d. 837 AH.-1434 AD.). _Cf._ Daulat Shah's _Memoirs of the
Poets_ (Browne) pp. 340 and 350-1. (H.B.)
[55] _guzlar ail bizkak kub bulur._ Second W.-i-B. (I.O. 217
f. 2) here and on f. 4 has read Turki _guz_, eye, for Turki
_guz_ or _goz_, autumn. It has here a gloss not in the
Haidarabad or Kehr's MSS. (_Cf_. Mems. p. 4 note.) This gloss
may be one of Humayun's numerous notes and may have been
preserved in the Elphinstone Codex, but the fact cannot now be
known because of the loss of the two folios already noted.
(_See_ Von Schwarz and Kostenko concerning the autumn fever of
Transoxiana.)
[56] The Pers. trss. render _yighach_ by _farsang_; Ujfalvy
also takes the _yighach_ and the _farsang_ as having a common
equivalent of about 6 _kilomËtres_. Babur's statements in
_yighach_ however, when tested by ascertained distances, do
not work out into the _farsang_ of four miles or the
_kilomËtre_ of 8 _kil._ to 5 miles. The _yighach_ appears to
be a variable estimate of distance, sometimes indicating the
time occupied on a given journey, at others the distance to
which a man's voice will carry. (_Cf._ Ujfalvy _ExpÈdition
scientifique_ ii, 179; Von Schwarz p. 124 and de C.'s Dict.
_s.n._ _yighach_. In the present instance, if Babur's 4 y.
equalled 4 f. the distance from Aush to Andijan should be
about 16 m.; but it is 33 m. 1-3/4 fur. _i.e._ 50 _versts_.
Kostenko ii, 33.) I find Babur's _yighach_ to vary from about
4 m. to nearly 8 m.
[57] _aqar su_, the irrigation channels on which in Turkistan
all cultivation depends. Major-General GÈrard writes, (Report
of the Pamir Boundary Commission, p. 6,) "Osh is a charming
little town, resembling Islamabad in Kashmir,--everywhere the
same mass of running water, in small canals, bordered with
willow, poplar and mulberry." He saw the Aq Bura, the _White
wolf_, mother of all these running waters, as a "bright,
stony, trout-stream;" Dr. Stein saw it as a "broad, tossing
river." (Buried Cities of Khotan, p. 45.) _Cf_. RÈclus vi,
cap. Farghana; Kostenko i, 104; Von Schwarz _s.nn._
[58] _Aushning fazilatida khaili ahadis warid dur._ Second
W.-i-B. (I.O. 217 f. 2) _Fazilat-i-Aush ahadis warid ast._
Mems. (p. 3) "The excellencies of Ush are celebrated even in
the sacred traditions." _MÈms._ (i, 2) "_On cite beaucoup de
traditions qui cÈlËbrent l'excellence de ce climat._" Aush may
be mentioned in the traditions on account of places of
pilgrimage near it; Babur's meaning may be merely that its
excellencies are traditional. _Cf._ Ujfalvy ii, 172.
[59] Most travellers into Farghana comment on Babur's account
of it. One much discussed point is the position of the Bara
Koh. The personal observations of Ujfalvy and Schuyler led
them to accept its identification with the rocky ridge known
as the Takht-i-sulaiman. I venture to supplement this by the
suggestion that Babur, by Bara Koh, did not mean the whole of
the rocky ridge, the name of which, Takht-i-sulaiman, an
ancient name, must have been known to him, but one only of its
four marked summits. Writing of the ridge Madame Ujfalvy says,
"_Il y a quatre sommets dont le plus ÈlevÈ est le troisiËme
comptant par le nord_." Which summit in her sketch (p. 327) is
the third and highest is not certain, but one is so shewn that
it may be the third, may be the highest and, as being a peak,
can be described as symmetrical _i.e._ Babur's _mauzun_. For
this peak an appropriate name would be Bara Koh.
If the name Bara Koh could be restricted to a single peak of
the Takht-i-sulaiman ridge, a good deal of earlier confusion
would be cleared away, concerning which have written, amongst
others, Ritter (v, 432 and 732); RÈclus (vi. 54); Schuyler
(ii, 43) and those to whom these three refer. For an excellent
account, graphic with pen and pencil, of Farghana and of Aush
_see_ Madame Ujfalvy's _De Paris ‡ Samarcande_ cap. v.
[60] _rud._ This is a precise word since the Aq Bura (the
White Wolf), in a relatively short distance, falls from the
Kurdun Pass, 13,400 ft. to Aush, 3040 ft. and thence to
Andijan, 1380 ft. _Cf._ Kostenko i, 104; Huntingdon in
Pumpelly's _Explorations in Turkistan_ p. 179 and the French
military map of 1904.
[61] Whether Babur's words, _baghat_, _baghlar_ and _baghcha_
had separate significations, such as orchard, vineyard and
ordinary garden _i.e._ garden-plots of small size, I am not
able to say but what appears fairly clear is that when he
writes _baghat u baghlar_ he means _all sorts of gardens_,
just as when he writes _begat u beglar_, he means _begs of all
ranks_.
[62] Madame Ujfalvy has sketched a possible successor.
Schuyler found two mosques at the foot of Takht-i-sulaiman,
perhaps Babur's Jauza Masjid.
[63] _aul shah-ju'idin su quyarlar._
[64] Ribbon Jasper, presumably.
[65] Kostenko (ii, 30), 71-3/4 versts _i.e._ 47 m. 4-1/2 fur.
by the Postal Road.
[66] Instead of their own kernels, the Second W.-i-B. stuffs
the apricots, in a fashion well known in India by _khubani_,
with almonds (_maghz-i badam_). The Turki wording however
allows the return to the apricots of their own kernels and Mr.
Rickmers tells me that apricots so stuffed were often seen by
him in the Zar-afshan Valley. My husband has shewn me that
Nizami in his Haft Paikar appears to refer to the other
fashion, that of inserting almonds:--
"I gave thee fruits from the garden of my heart,
Plump and sweet as honey in milk;
Their substance gave the lusciousness of figs,
In their hearts were the kernels of almonds."
[67] What this name represents is one of a considerable number
of points in the _Babur-nama_ I am unable to decide. _Kiyik_
is a comprehensive name (_cf._ Shaw's Vocabulary); _aq kiyik_
might mean _white sheep_ or _white deer_. It is rendered in
the Second W.-i-B., here, by _ahu-i-wariq_ and on f. 4, by
_ahu-i-safed_. Both these names Mr. Erskine has translated by
"white deer," but he mentions that the first is said to mean
_argali_ _i.e._ _ovis poli_, and refers to _Voyages de Pallas_
iv, 325.
[68] Concerning this much discussed word, Babur's testimony is
of service. It seems to me that he uses it merely of those
settled in towns (villages) and without any reference to tribe
or nationality. I am not sure that he uses it always as a
noun; he writes of a _Sart kishi_, a Sart person. His Asfara
Sarts may have been Turki-speaking settled Turks and his
Marghinani ones Persian-speaking Tajiks. _Cf._ Shaw's
Vocabulary; _s.n._ Sart; Schuyler i, 104 and note; Nalivkine's
_Histoire du Khanat de Khokand_ p. 45 n. Von Schwarz _s.n._;
Kostenko i, 287; Petzbold's _Turkistan_ p. 32.
[69] Shaikh Burhanu'd-din `Ali _Qilich_: b. _circa_ 530 AH.
(1135 AD.) d. 593 AH. (1197 AD.). _See_ Hamilton's _Hidayat_.
[70] The direct distance, measured on the map, appears to be
about 65 m. but the road makes _dÈtour_ round mountain spurs.
Mr. Erskine appended here, to the "_farsang_" of his Persian
source, a note concerning the reduction of Tatar and Indian
measures to English ones. It is rendered the less applicable
by the variability of the _yighach_, the equivalent for a
_farsang_ presumed by the Persian translator.
[71] Hai. MS. _Farsi-gu'i_. The Elph. MS. and all those
examined of the W.-i-B. omit the word _Farsi_; some writing
_kohi_ (mountaineer) for _gu'i_. I judge that Babur at first
omitted the word _Farsi_, since it is entered in the Hai. MS.
above the word _gu'i_. It would have been useful to Ritter
(vii, 733) and to Ujfalvy (ii, 176). _Cf._ Kostenko i, 287 on
the variety of languages spoken by Sarts.
[72] Of the Mirror Stone neither Fedtschenko nor Ujfalvy could
get news.
[73] Babur distinguishes here between Tashkint and
Shahrukhiya. _Cf._ f. 2 and note to Fanakat.
[74] He left the hill-country above Sukh in Muharram 910 AH.
(mid-June 1504 AD.).
[75] For a good account of Khujand _see_ Kostenko i, 346.
[76] Khujand to Andijan 187 m. 2 fur. (Kostenko ii, 29-31)
and, helped out by the time-table of the Transcaspian Railway,
from Khujand to Samarkand appears to be some 154 m. 5-1/4 fur.
[77] Both men are still honoured in Khujand (Kostenko i, 348).
For Khwaja Kamal's Life and _Diwan_, _see_ Rieu ii, 632 and
Ouseley's Persian Poets p. 192. _Cf._ f. 83b and note.
[78] _kub artuq dur_, perhaps brought to Hindustan where Babur
wrote the statement.
[79] Turkish arrow-flight, London, 1791, 482 yards.
[80] I have found the following forms of this name,--Hai. MS.,
M:nugh:l; Pers. trans. and Mems., Myoghil; Ilminsky, M:tugh:l;
_MÈms._ Mtoughuil; RÈclus, Schuyler and Kostenko, Mogul Tau;
Nalivkine, "d'apres Fedtschenko," Mont Mogol; Fr. Map of 1904,
M. Muzbek. It is the western end of the Kurama Range (Kindir
Tau), which comes out to the bed of the Sir, is 26-2/3 miles
long and rises to 4000 ft. (Kostenko, i, 101). Von Schwarz
describes it as being quite bare; various writers ascribe
climatic evil to it.
[81] Pers. trans. _ahu-i-safed_. _Cf._ f. 3b note.
[82] These words translate into _Cervus maral_, the Asiatic
Wapiti, and to this Babur may apply them. Dictionaries explain
_maral_ as meaning _hind_ or _doe_ but numerous books of
travel and Natural History show that it has wider application
as a generic name, _i.e._ deer. The two words _bughu_ and
_maral_ appear to me to be used as _e.g._ drake and duck are
used. _Maral_ and duck can both imply the female sex, but also
both are generic, perhaps primarily so. _Cf._ for further
mention of _bughu-maral_ f. 219 and f. 276. For uses of the
word _maral_, _see_ the writings _e.g._ of Atkinson, Kostenko
(iii, 69), Lyddeker, Littledale, Selous, Ronaldshay, Church
(Chinese Turkistan), Biddulph (Forsyth's Mission).
[83] _Cf._ f. 2 and note.
[84] Schuyler (ii, 3), 18 m.
[85] Hai. MS. _Hamesha bu deshtta yil bar dur. Marghinangha
kim sharqi dur, hamesha mundin yil barur; Khujandgha kim
gharibi dur, da'im mundin yil kilur._
This is a puzzling passage. It seems to say that wind always
goes east and west from the steppe as from a generating
centre. E. and de C. have given it alternative directions,
east or west, but there is little point in saying this of wind
in a valley hemmed in on the north and the south. Babur limits
his statement to the steppe lying in the contracted mouth of
the Farghana valley (_pace_ Schuyler ii, 51) where special
climatic conditions exist such as (_a_) difference in
temperature on the two sides of the Khujand narrows and
currents resulting from this difference,--(_b_) the heating of
the narrows by sun-heat reflected from the Mogol-tau,--and
(_c_) the inrush of westerly wind over Mirza Rabat. Local
knowledge only can guide a translator safely but Babur's
directness of speech compels belief in the significance of his
words and this particularly when what he says is unexpected.
He calls the Ha Darwesh a whirling wind and this it still is.
Thinkable at least it is that a strong westerly current (the
prevailing wind of Farghana) entering over Mirza Rabat and
becoming, as it does become, the whirlwind of Ha Darwesh on
the hemmed-in steppe,--becoming so perhaps by conflict with the
hotter indraught through the Gates of Khujand--might force that
indraught back into the Khujand Narrows (in the way _e.g._
that one Nile in flood forces back the other), and at Khujand
create an easterly current. All the manuscripts agree in
writing to (_gha_) Marghinan and to (_gha_) Khujand. It may be
observed that, looking at the map, it appears somewhat strange
that Babur should take, for his wind objective, a place so
distant from his (defined) Ha Darwesh and seemingly so
screened by its near hills as is Marghinan. But that westerly
winds are prevalent in Marghinan is seen _e.g._ in
Middendorff's _Einblikke in den Farghana Thal_ (p. 112). _Cf._
RÈclus vi, 547; Schuyler ii, 51; Cahun's _Histoire du Khanat
de Khokand_ p. 28 and Sven Hedin's _Durch Asien's W¸sten s.n.
buran_.
[86] _badiy__a_; a word perhaps selected as punning on _bad_,
wind.
[87] _i.e._ Akhsi Village. This word is sometimes spelled
Akhsikis but as the old name of the place was Akhsi-kint, it
may be conjectured at least that the _sa'i masallasa_ of
Akhsikis represents the three points due for the _nun_ and
_ta_ of _kint_. Of those writing Akhsikit may be mentioned the
Hai. and Kehr's MSS. (the Elph. MS. here has a lacuna) the
_Zafar-nama_ (Bib. Ind. i, 44) and Ibn Haukal (Ouseley p.
270); and of those writing the word with the _sa'i
musallasa_ (_i.e._ as Akhsikis), Yaqut's Dict, i, 162,
Reinaud's Abu'l-feda I. ii, 225-6, Ilminsky (p. 5) departing
from his source, and I.O. Cat. (EthÈ) No. 1029. It may be
observed that Ibn Haukal (Ouseley p. 280) writes Banakas for
Banakat. For Asiru'd-din _Akhsikiti_, _see_ Rieu ii, 563;
Daulat Shah (Browne) p. 121 and EthÈ I.O. Cat. No. 1029.
[88] Measured on the French military map of 1904, this may be
80 kil. _i.e._ 50 miles.
[89] Concerning several difficult passages in the rest of
Babur's account of Akhsi, _see_ Appendix A.
[90] The W.-i-B. here translates _bughu-maral_ by _gazawn_ and
the same word is entered, under-line, in the Hai. MS. _Cf._ f.
3b and note and f. 4 and note.
[91] _postin pesh b:r:h._ This obscure Persian phrase has been
taken in the following ways:--
(_a_) W.-i-B. I.O. 215 and 217 (_i.e._ both versions) reproduce
the phrase.
(_b_) W.-i-B. MS., quoted by Erskine, p. 6 note,
(_postin-i mish burra_).
(_c_) Leyden's MS. Trs., a sheepskin mantle of five lambskins.
(_d_) Mems., Erskine, p. 6, a mantle of five lambskins.
(_e_) The Persian annotator of the Elph. MS., underlining _pesh_,
writes, _panj_, five.
(_f_) Klaproth (Archives, p. 109), _pustini pisch breh, d.h. gieb
den vorderen Pelz_.
(_g_) Kehr, p. 12 (Ilminsky p. 6) _postin bish b:r:h_.
(_h_) De. C, i, 9, _fourrure d'agneau de la premiËre qualitÈ_.
The "lambskins" of L. and E. carry on a notion of comfort
started by their having read _sayah_, shelter, for Turki
_sa'i_, torrent-bed; de C. also lays stress on fur and warmth,
but would not the flowery border of a mountain stream prompt
rather a phrase bespeaking ornament and beauty than one
expressing warmth and textile softness? If the phrase might be
read as _postin pesh pera_, what adorns the front of a coat,
or as _postin pesh bar rah_, the fine front of the coat, the
phrase would recall the gay embroidered front of some leathern
postins.
[92] Var. _tabarkhun_. The explanation best suiting its uses,
enumerated here, is Redhouse's second, the Red Willow. My
husband thinks it may be the Hyrcanian Willow.
[93] Steingass describes this as "an arrow without wing or
point" (barb?) and tapering at both ends; it may be the
practising arrow, _t`alim auqi_, often headless.
[94] _tabarrakluq._ Cf. f. 48b foot, for the same use of the
word.
[95] _yabruju's-sannam._ The books referred to by Babur may
well be the _Rauzatu's-safa_ and the _Habibu's-siyar_, as
both mention the plant.
[96] The Turki word _ayiq_ is explained by Redhouse as _awake_
and _alert_; and by Meninski and de Meynard as _sobered_ and
as _a return to right senses_. It may be used here as a
equivalent of _mihr_ in _mihr-giyah_, the plant of love.
[97] Mr. Ney Elias has discussed the position of this group of
seven villages. (_Cf._ T. R. p. 180 n.) Arrowsmith's map
places it (as Iti-kint) approximately where Mr. Th. Radloff
describes seeing it _i.e._ on the Farghana slope of the Kurama
range. (_Cf. RÈceuil d'ItinÈraires_ p. 188.) Mr. Th. Radloff
came into Yiti-kint after crossing the Kindirlik Pass from
Tashkint and he enumerates the seven villages as traversed by
him before reaching the Sir. It is hardly necessary to say
that the actual villages he names may not be those of Babur's
Yiti-kint. Wherever the word is used in the _Babur-nama_ and
the _Tarikh-i-rashidi_, it appears from the context allowable
to accept Mr. Radloff's location but it should be borne in
mind that the name Yiti-kint (Seven villages or towns) might
be found as an occasional name of Alti-shahr (Six towns).
_See_ T.R. _s.n._ Alti-shahr.
[98] _kishi_, person, here manifestly fighting men.
[99] Elph. MS. f. 2b; First W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 4b; Second
W.-i-B. I.O. 217 f. 4; Mems. p. 6; Ilminsky p. 7; _MÈms._ i.
10.
The rulers whose affairs are chronicled at length in the
Farghana Section of the B.N. are, (I) of Timurid Turks,
(always styled Mirza), (_a_) the three Miran-shahi brothers,
Ahmad, Mahmud and `Umar Shaikh with their successors,
Bai-sunghar, `Ali and Babur; (_b_) the Bai-qara, Husain of
Harat: (II) of Chingiz Khanids, (always styled Khan,) (_a_)
the two Chaghatai Mughul brothers, Mahmud and Ahmad; (_b_) the
Shaibanid Auzbeg, Muhammad Shaibani (Shah-i-bakht or Shaibaq
or Shahi Beg).
In electing to use the name _Shaibani_, I follow not only the
Hai. Codex but also Shaibani's Boswell, Muhammad Salih Mirza.
The Elph. MS. frequently uses _Shaibaq_ but its authority down
to f. 198 (Hai. MS. f. 243b) is not so great as it is after
that folio, because not till f. 198 is it a direct copy of
Babur's own. It may be more correct to write "the Shaibani
Khan" and perhaps even "the Shaibani."
[100] _bi murad_, so translated because retirement was caused
once by the overruling of Khwaja `Ubaidu'l-lah _Ahrari_. (T.R.
p. 113.)
[101] Once the Mirza did not wish Yunas to winter in Akhsi;
once did not expect him to yield to the demand of his Mughuls
to be led out of the cultivated country (_wilayat_). His own
misconduct included his attack in Yunas on account of Akhsi
and much falling-out with kinsmen. (T.R. _s.nn._)
[102] _i.e._ one made of non-warping wood (Steingass), perhaps
that of the White Poplar. The _Shah-nama_ (Turner, MaÁon ed.
i, 71) writes of a Chachi bow and arrows of _khadang_, _i.e._
white poplar. (H.B.)
[103] _i.e._ Rabi`a-sultan, married _circa_ 893 AH.-1488 AD.
For particulars about her and all women mentioned in the B.N.
and the T.R. see Gulbadan Begim's _Humayun-nama_, Or. Trs.
Series.
[104] _jar_, either that of the Kasan Water or of a
deeply-excavated canal. The palace buildings are mentioned
again on f. 110b. _Cf._ Appendix A.
[105] _i.e._ soared from earth, died. For some details of the
accident _see_ A.N. (H. Beveridge, i, 220.)
[106] H.S. ii,-192, Firishta, lith. ed. p. 191 and D'HerbÈlot,
sixth.
It would have accorded with Babur's custom if here he had
mentioned the parentage of his father's mother. Three times
(fs. 17b, 70b, 96b) he writes of "Shah Sultan Begim" in a way
allowing her to be taken as `Umar Shaikh's own mother.
Nowhere, however, does he mention her parentage. One even
cognate statement only have we discovered, _viz._
Khwand-amir's (H.S. ii, 192) that `Umar Shaikh was the own
younger brother (_baradar khurdtar khud_) of Ahmad and Mahmud.
If his words mean that the three were full-brothers, `Umar
Shaikh's own mother was Abu-sa`id's Tarkhan wife. Babur's
omission (f. 21b) to mention his father with A. and M. as a
nephew of Darwesh Muhammad Tarkhan would be negative testimony
against taking Khwand-amir's statement to mean "full-brother,"
if clerical slips were not easy and if Khwand-amir's means of
information were less good. He however both was the son of
Mahmud's wazir (H.S. ii, 194) and supplemented his book in
Babur's presence.
To a statement made by the writer of the biographies included
in Kehr's B.N. volume, that `U.S.'s family (_aumagh_) is not
known, no weight can be attached, spite of the co-incidence
that the Mongol form of _aumagh_, _i.e._ _aumak_ means
_Mutter-leib_. The biographies contain too many known mistakes
for their compiler to outweigh Khwand-amir in authority.
[107] _Cf._ _Rauzatu's-safa_ vi, 266. (H.B.)
[108] Dara-i-gaz, south of Balkh. This historic feast took
place at Merv in 870 AH. (1465 AD.). As `Umar Shaikh was then
under ten, he may have been one of the Mirzas concerned.
[109] Khudai-birdi is a Pers.-Turki hybrid equivalent of
Theodore; _tughchi_ implies the right to use or (as hereditary
standard-bearer,) to guard the _tugh_; Timur-tash may mean
_i.a._ Friend of Timur (a title not excluded here as borne by
inheritance. _Cf._ f. 12b and note), Sword-friend (_i.e._
Companion-in-arms), and Iron-friend (_i.e._ stanch). _Cf._
Dict. _s.n._ Timur-bash, a sobriquet of Charles XII.
[110] Elph. and Hai. MSS. _quba yuzluq_; this is under-lined
in the Elph. MS. by _ya`ni pur ghosht_. _Cf._ f. 68b for the
same phrase. The four earlier trss. _viz._ the two W.-i-B.,
the English and the French, have variants in this passage.
[111] The apposition may be between placing the turban-sash
round the turban-cap in a single flat fold and winding it four
times round after twisting it on itself. _Cf._ f. 18 and
Hughes _Dict. of Islam s.n._ turban.
[112] _qazalar_, the prayers and fasts omitted when due,
through war, travel sickness, etc.
[113] _rawan sawadi bar idi_; perhaps, wrote a running hand.
De C. i, 13, _ses lectures courantes Ètaient...._
[114] The dates of `Umar Shaikh's limits of perusal allow the
Quintets (_Khamsatin_) here referred to to be those of Nizami
and Amir Khusrau of Dihli. The _Masnawi_ must be that of
Jalalu'd-din _Rumi_. (H.B.)
[115] Probably below the Tirak (Poplar) Pass, the caravan
route much exposed to avalanches.
Mr. Erskine notes that this anecdote is erroneously told as of
Babur by Firishta and others. Perhaps it has been confused
with the episode on f. 207b. Firishta makes another mistaken
attribution to Babur, that of Hasan of Yaq`ub's couplet.
(H.B.) _Cf._ f. 13b and Dow's _Hindustan_ ii, 218.
[116] _yigitlar_, young men, the modern _jighit_. Babur uses
the word for men on the effective fighting strength. It
answers to the "brave" of North. American Indian story; here
de C. translates it by _braves_.
[117] _ma`jun._ _Cf._ Von Schwarz p. 286 for a recipe.
[118] _mutaiyam._ This word, not clearly written in all MSS.,
has been mistaken for _yitim_. _Cf._ JRAS 1910 p. 882 for a
note upon it by my husband to whom I owe the emendation.
[119] _na'l u daghi bisyar idi_, that is, he had inflicted on
himself many of the brands made by lovers and enthusiasts.
_Cf._ Chardin's _Voyages_ ii, 253 and Lady M. Montague's
_Letters_ p. 200.
[120] _tika sikritku_, lit. likely to make goats leap, from
_sikrimak_ to jump close-footed (Shaw).
[121] _sikrikan dur._ Both _sikritku_ and _sikrikan dur_,
appear to dictate translation in general terms and not by
reference to a single traditional leap by one goat.
[122] _i.e._ Russian; it is the Arys tributary of the Sir.
[123] The Fr. map of 1904 shows Kas, in the elbow of the Sir,
which seems to represent Khwas.
[124] _i.e._ the Chir-chik tributary of the Sir.
[125] Concerning his name, _see_ T.R. p. 173.
[126] _i.e._ he was a head-man of a horde sub-division,
nominally numbering 10,000, and paying their dues direct to
the supreme Khan. (T.R. p. 301.)
[127] _ghunchachi i.e._ one ranking next to the four legal
wives, in Turki _audaliq_, whence odalisque. Babur and
Gul-badan mention the promotion of several to Begim's rank by
virtue of their motherhood.
[128] One of Babur's quatrains, quoted in the _Abushqa_, is
almost certainly addressed to Khan-zada. _Cf._ A.Q. Review,
Jan. 1911, p. 4; H. Beveridge's _Some verses of Babur_. For an
account of her marriage _see Shaibani-nama_ (VambÈry) cap.
xxxix.
[129] Kehr's MS. has a passage here not found elsewhere and
seeming to be an adaptation of what is at the top of Hai. MS.
f. 88. (Ilminsky, p. 10, _ba wujud ... tapib_.)
[130] _tushti_, which here seems to mean that she fell to his
share on division of captives. Muh. Salih makes it a
love-match and places the marriage before Babur's departure.
_Cf._ f. 95 and notes.
[131] _augahlan._ Khurram would be about five when given Balkh
in _circa_ 911 AH. (1505 AD.). He died when about 12. _Cf._
H.S. ii, 364.
[132] This _fatrat_ (interregnum) was between Babur's loss of
Farghana and his gain of Kabul; the _fursatlar_ were his days
of ease following success in Hindustan and allowing his book
to be written.
[133] _qilaling_, lit. do thou be (setting down), a verbal
form recurring on f. 227b l. 2. With the same form
(_ait_)_aling_, lit. do thou be saying, the compiler of the
_Abushqa_ introduces his quotations. Shaw's paradigm, _qiling_
only. _Cf._ A.Q.R. Jan. 1911, p. 2.
[134] Kehr's MS. (Ilminsky p. 12) and its derivatives here
interpolate the erroneous statement that the sons of Yunas
were Afaq and Baba Khans.
[135] _i.e._ broke up the horde. _Cf._ T.R. p. 74.
[136] _See_ f. 50b for his descent.
[137] Descendants of these captives were in Kashghar when
Haidar was writing the T.R. It was completed in 953 AH. (1547
AD.). _Cf._ T.R. pp. 81 and 149.
[138] An omission from his Persian source misled Mr. Erskine
here into making Abu-sa`id celebrate the Khanim's marriage,
not with himself but with his defeated foe, `Abdu'l-`aziz who
had married her 28 years earlier.
[139] Aisan-bugha was at Aq Su in Eastern Turkistan; Yunas
Khan's head-quarters were in Yiti-kint. The Sagharichi _tuman_
was a subdivision of the Kunchi Mughuls.
[140] _Khan kutardilar._ The primitive custom was to lift the
Khan-designate off the ground; the phrase became metaphorical
and would seem to be so here, since there were two upon the
felt. _Cf._, however, Th. Radloff's _RÈcueil d'ItinÈraires_ p.
326.
[141] _quyub idi_, probably in childhood.
[142] She was divorced by Shaibani Khan in 907 AH. in order to
allow him to make lawful marriage with her niece, Khan-zada.
[143] This was a prudential retreat before Shaibani Khan.
_Cf._ f. 213.
[144] The "Khan" of his title bespeaks his Chaghatai-Mughul
descent through his mother, the "Mirza," his Timurid-Turki,
through his father. The capture of the women was facilitated
by the weakening of their travelling escort through his
departure. _Cf._ T.R. p. 203.
[145] Qila`-i-zafar. Its ruins are still to be seen on the
left bank of the Kukcha. _Cf._ T.R. p. 220 and Kostenko i,
140. For Mubarak Shah _Muzaffari_ _see_ f. 213 and T.R. _s.n._
[146] Habiba, a child when captured, was reared by Shaibani
and by him given in marriage to his nephew. _Cf._ T.R. p. 207
for an account of this marriage as saving Haidar's life.
[147] _i.e._ she did not take to flight with her husband's
defeated force, but, relying on the victor, her cousin Babur,
remained in the town. _Cf._ T.R. p. 268. Her case receives
light from Shahr-banu's (f. 169).
[148] Muhammad Haidar Mirza _Kurkan Dughlat Chaghatai Mughul_,
the author of the _Tarikh-i-rashidi_; b. 905 AH. d. 958 AH.
(b. 1499 d. 1551 AD.). Of his clan, the "Oghlat" (Dughlat)
Muh. salih says that it was called "Oghlat" by Mughuls but
Qungur-at (Brown Horse) by Auzbegs.
[149] _Baz garadad ba asl-i-khud hama chiz,
Zar-i-safi u naqra u airzin._
These lines are in Arabic in the introduction to the
_Anwar-i-suhaili_. (H.B.) The first is quoted by Haidar (T.R.
p. 354) and in Field's _Dict. of Oriental Quotations_ (p.
160). I understand them to refer here to Haidar's return to
his ancestral home and nearest kin as being a natural act.
[150] _ta'ib_ and _tariqa_ suggest that Haidar had become an
orthodox Musalman in or about 933 AH. (1527 AD.).
[151] Abu'l-fazl adds music to Haidar's accomplishments and
Haidar's own Prologue mentions yet others.
[152] _Cf._ T.R. _s.n._ and Gul-badan's H.N. _s.n._ Haram
Begim.
[153] _i.e._ Alexander of Macedon. For modern mention of
Central Asian claims to Greek descent _see i.a._ Kostenko, Von
Schwarz, Holdich and A. Durand. _Cf._ Burnes' _Kabul_ p. 203
for an illustration of a silver _patera_ (now in the V. and A.
Museum), once owned by ancestors of this Shah Sultan Muhammad.
[154] _Cf._ f. 6b note.
[155] _i.e._ Khan's child.
[156] The careful pointing of the Hai. MS. clears up earlier
confusion by showing the narrowing of the vowels from _alachi_
to _alacha_.
[157] The Elph. MS. (f. 7) writes _Aung_, Khan's son, Prester
John's title, where other MSS. have Adik. Babur's brevity has
confused his account of Sultan-nigar. Widowed of Mahmud in 900
AH. she married Adik; Adik, later, joined Shaibani Khan but
left him in 908 AH. perhaps secretly, to join his own Qazaq
horde. He was followed by his wife, apparently also making a
private departure. As Adik died shortly after 908 AH. his
daughters were born before that date and not after it as has
been understood. _Cf._ T.R. and G.B.'s H.N. _s.nn._; also
Mems. p. 14 and _MÈms._ i, 24.
[158] Presumably by tribal custom, _yinkalik_, marriage with a
brother's widow. Such marriages seem to have been made
frequently for the protection of women left defenceless.
[159] Sa`id's power to protect made him the refuge of several
kinswomen mentioned in the B.N. and the T.R. This mother and
child reached Kashghar in 932 AH. (1526 AD.).
Here Babur ends his [interpolated] account of his mother's
family and resumes that of his father's.
[160] Babur uses a variety of phrases to express Lordship in
the Gate. Here he writes _aishikni bashlatib_; elsewhere,
_aishik ikhtiyari qilmaq_ and _mining aishikimda sahib
ikhtiyari qilmaq_. Von Schwarz (p. 159) throws light on the
duties of the Lord of the Gate (_Aishik Aghasi_). "Das Th¸r
... f¸hrt in eine grosse, vier-eckige, hˆhe Halle, deren Boden
etwa 2 m. ¸ber den Weg erhoben ist. In dieser Halle, welche
alle passieren muss, der durch das Thor eingeht, reitet oder
fahrt, ist die Thorwache placiert. Tags¸ber sind die Thore
best‰ndig ˆffen, nach Eintritt der Dunkelheit aber werden
dieselben geschlossen und die Schl¸ssel dem zust‰ndigen
Polizeichef abgeliefert.... In den erw‰hnten Thorhallen nehmen
in den hoch unabh‰ngigen Gebieten an Bazar-tagen haufig die
Richter Platz, um jedem der irgend ein Anliegen hat, so fort
Recht zu sprechen. Die zudiktierten Strafen werden auch gleich
in diesem selben locale vollzogen und eventuell die zum Hangen
verurteilten Verbrecher an den Deckbalken aufgeh‰ngt, so dass
die Besucher des Bazars unter den gehenkten durchpassieren
m¸ssen."
[161] _bu khabarni `Abdu'l-wahhab shaghawaldin `arza-dasht
qilib Mirzagha chapturdilar._ This passage has been taken to
mean that the _shaghawal_, _i.e._ chief scribe, was the
courier, but I think Babur's words shew that the _shaghawal's_
act preceded the despatch of the news. Moreover the only
accusative of the participle and of the verb is _khabarni_.
`Abdu'l-wahhab had been `Umar Shaikh's and was now Ahmad's
officer in Khujand, on the main road for Aura-tipa whence the
courier started on the rapid ride. The news may have gone
verbally to `Abdu'l-wahhab and he have written it on to Ahmad
and Abu-sa`id.
[162] Measured from point to point even, the distance appears
to be over 500 miles. Concerning Baba Khaki _see_ H.S. ii.
224; for rapid riding _i.a._ Kostenko iii, cap. Studs.
[163] _qushuqlarni yakhshi aitura ikan dur._ Elph. MS. for
_qushuq_, _tuyuk_. _Qushuq_ is allowed, both by its root and
by usage, to describe improvisations of combined dance and
song. I understand from Babur's tense, that his information
was hearsay only.
[164] _i.e._ of the military class. _Cf._ Vullers _s.n._ and
T.R. p. 301.
[165] The Huma is a fabulous bird, overshadowing by whose
wings brings good-fortune. The couplet appears to be addressed
to some man, under the name Huma, from whom Hasan of Yaq`ub
hoped for benefit.
[166] _khak-bila_; the _Sanglakh_, (quoting this passage)
gives _khak-p:l:k_ as the correct form of the word.
[167] _Cf._ f. 99b.
[168] One of Timur's begs.
[169] _i.e._ uncle on the mother's side, of any degree, here a
grandmother's brother. The title appears to have been given
for life to men related to the ruling House. Parallel with it
are Madame MËre, Royal Uncle, Sultan Walida.
[170] _kim disa bulghai_, perhaps meaning, "Nothing of service
to me."
[171] Wais the Thin.
[172] _Cf._ Chardin ed. LanglËs v, 461 and ed. 1723 AD. v,
183.
[173] n.e. of Kasan. _Cf._ f. 74. Hai MS., erroneously,
Samarkand.
[174] An occasional doubt arises as to whether a _tauri_ of
the text is Arabic and dispraises or Turki and laudatory.
_Cf._ Mems. p. 17 and _MÈms._ i, 3.
[175] Elph. and Hai. MSS. _aftabachi_, water-bottle bearer on
journeys; Kehr (p. 82) _aftabchi_, ewer-bearer; Ilminsky (p.
19) _akhtachi_, squire or groom. Circumstances support
_aftabachi_. Yunas was town-bred, his ewer-bearer would hardly
be the rough Mughul, Qambar-`ali, useful as an _aftabachi_.
[176] Babur was Governor of Andijan and the month being June,
would be living out-of-doors. _Cf._ H.S. ii. 272 and Schuyler
ii, 37.
[177] To the word Sherim applies Abu'l-ghazi's explanation of
Nurum and Hajim, namely, that they are abbreviations of Nur
and Haji Muhammad. It explains Sultanim also when used (f. 72)
of Sl. Muhammad Khanika but of Sultanim as the name is common
with Babur, Haidar and Gul-badan, _i.e._ as a woman's,
Busbecq's explanation is the better, namely, that it means My
Sultan and is applied to a person of rank and means. This
explains other women's titles _e.g._ Khanim, my Khan and Akam
(Akim), My Lady. A third group of names formed like the last
by enclitic _'m_ (my), may be called names of affection,
_e.g._ Mahim, My Moon, Janim, My Life. (_Cf._ Persian
equivalents.) Cf. Abu'l-ghazi's _Shajarat-i-Turki_ (DÈsmaisons
p. 272); and Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq's _Life and Letters_
(Forster and Daniel i, 38.)
[178] _Namaz-gah_; generally an open terrace, with a wall
towards the Qibla and outside the town, whither on festival
days the people go out in crowds to pray. (Erskine.)
[179] _Beglar (ning) mini u wilayatni tapshurghulari dur_;
a noticeably idiomatic sentence. _Cf._ f. 16b 1. 6 and 1. 7
for a repetition.
[180] Mahmud was in Tashkint, Ahmad in Kashghar or on the
Aq-su.
[181] The B.N. contains a considerable number of what are
virtually footnotes. They are sometimes, as here, entered in
the middle of a sentence and confuse the narrative; they are
introduced by _kim_, a mere sign of parenthetical matter to
follow, and some certainly, known not to be Babur's own, must
have stood first on the margin of his text. It seems best to
enter them as Author's notes.
[182] _i.e._ the author of the Hidayat. _Cf._ f. 3b and note;
Blochmann _Ayin-i-akbari s.n. qulij_ and note; Bellew's
_Afghan Tribes_ p. 100, _Khilich_.
[183] Ar. dead, gone. The precision of Babur's words
_khanwadalar_ and _yusunluq_ is illustrated by the existence
in the days of Timur, in Marghinan, (Burhanu'd-din's township)
of a ruler named Ailik Khan, apparently a descendant of
Satuq-bughra Khan (b. 384 AH.-994 AD.) so that in Khwaja Qazi
were united two dynasties, (_khanwadalar_), one priestly,
perhaps also regal, the other of bye-gone ruling Khans. Cf.
D'HerbÈlot p. 433; _Yarkand Mission_, Bellew p. 121;
_Tazkirat-i Sultan Satuq-bughra Khan Ghazi Padshah_ and
_Tarikh-i-nasiri_ (Raverty _s.n._)
[184] _darzi_; H.S. _khaiyat_.
[185] _bir yirga_ (_quyub_), lit. to one place.
[186] _i.e._ reconstructed the earthern defences. _Cf._ Von
Schwarz _s.n._ loess.
[187] They had been sent, presumably, before `Umar Shaikh's
death, to observe Sl. Ahmad M.'s advance. _Cf._ f. 6.
[188] The time-table of the Andijan Railway has a station,
Kouwa (Qaba).
[189] Babur, always I think, calls this man Long Hasan;
Khwand-amir styles him Khwaja Hasan; he seems to be the
brother of one of `Umar Shaikh's fathers-in-law, Khwaja
Husain.
[190] _batqaq._ This word is underlined in the Elph. MS. by
_dil-dil_ and in the Hai. MS. by _jam-jama_. It is translated
in the W.-i-B. by _ab pur hila_, water full of deceit; it is
our Slough of Despond. It may be remarked that neither Zenker
nor Steingass gives to _dil-dil_ or _jam-jama_ the meaning of
morass; the _Akbar-nama_ does so. (H.B. ii, 112.)
[191] _tawila tawila atlar yighilib aula kirishti_. I
understand the word _yighilib_ to convey that the massing led
to the spread of the murrain.
[192] _jan taratmaqlar_ _i.e._ as a gift to their over-lord.
[193] Perhaps, Babur's maternal great-uncle. It would suit the
privileges bestowed on Tarkhans if their title meant _Khan of
the Gifts_ (Turki _tar_, gift). In the _Baburnama_, it
excludes all others. Most of Ahmad's begs were Tarkhans,
Arghuns and Chingiz Khanids, some of them ancestors of later
rulers in Tatta and Sind. Concerning the Tarkhans _see_ T.R.
p. 55 and note; A.N. (H.B. _s.n._) Elliot and Dowson's
_History of India_, 498.
[194] _Cf._ f. 6.
[195] _beg ataka_, lit. beg for father.
[196] T.R. _s.n._ Aba-bikr.
[197] _Cf._ f. 6b and note.
[198] _faqra u masakin_, _i.e._ those who have food for one
day and those who have none in hand. (Steingass.)
[199] For fashions of sitting, _see_ _Tawarikh-i-guzida
Nasrat-nama_ B.M. Or. 3222. Ahmad would appear to have
maintained the deferential attitude by kneeling and sitting
back upon his heels.
[200] _bir sunkak bar ikan dur._ I understand that something
defiling must have been there, perhaps a bone.
[201] _Khwajaning ham ayaghlari arada idi._
[202] _ilbasun_, a kind of mallard (_Abushqa_), here perhaps a
popinjay. _Cf._ H.S. ii, 193 for Ahmad's skill as an archer,
and Payne-Gallwey's _Cross-bow_ p. 225.
[203] _qabaq_, an archer's mark. Abu'l-ghazi (Kasan ed. p.
181. 5) mentions a hen (_tuquq_) as a mark. _Cf._
Payne-Gallwey _l.c._ p. 231.
[204] _qirghicha, astar palumbarius._ (Shaw's Voc. Scully.)
[205] Perhaps, not quarrelsome.
[206] The T.R. (p. 116) attributes the rout to Shaibani's
defection. The H.S. (ii, 192) has a varied and confused
account. An error in the T.R. trs. making Shaibani plunder the
Mughuls, is manifestly clerical.
[207] _i.e._ condiment, _ce qu'on ajoute au pain_.
[208] _Cf._ f. 6.
[209] _qazaqlar_; here, if Babur's, meaning his conflicts with
Tambal, but as the Begim may have been some time in Khujand,
the _qazaqlar_ may be of Samarkand.
[210] All the (Turki) Babur-nama MSS. and those examined of
the W.-i-B. by writing _aulturdi_ (killed) where I suggest to
read _aulnurdi_ (_devenir comme il faut_) state that Ahmad
killed Qataq. I hesitate to accept this (1) because the only
evidence of the murder is one diacritical point, the removal
of which lifts Ahmad's reproach from him by his return to the
accepted rules of a polygamous household; (2) because no
murder of Qataq is chronicled by Khwand-amir or other writers;
and (3) because it is incredible that a mild, weak man living
in a family atmosphere such as Babur, Haidar and Gul-badan
reproduce for us, should, while possessing facility for
divorce, kill the mother of four out of his five children.
Reprieve must wait however until the word _tiriklik_ is
considered. This Erskine and de C. have read, with
consistency, to mean _life-time_, but if _aulnurdi_ be read in
place of _aulturdi_ (killed), _tiriklik_ may be read,
especially in conjunction with Babur's _`ashiqliklar_, as
meaning _living power_ or _ascendancy_. Again, if read as from
_tirik_, a small arrow and a consuming pain, _tiriklik_ may
represent Cupid's darts and wounds. Again it might be taken as
from _tiramak_, to hinder, or forbid.
Under these considerations, it is legitimate to reserve
judgment on Ahmad.
[211] It is customary amongst Turks for a bride, even amongst
her own family, to remain veiled for some time after marriage;
a child is then told to pluck off the veil and run away, this
tending, it is fancied, to the child's own success in
marriage. (Erskine.)
[212] Babur's anecdote about Jani Beg well illustrates his
caution as a narrator. He appears to tell it as one who
knowing the point of a story, leads up to it. He does not
affirm that Jani Beg's habits were strange or that the envoy
was an athlete but that both things must have been (_ikan
dur_) from what he had heard or to suit the point of the
anecdote. Nor does he affirm as of his own knowledge that
Auzbegs calls a strong man (his _zor kishi_) a _bukuh_ (bull)
but says it is so understood (_dir imish_).
[213] _Cf._ f. 170.
[214] The points of a _tipuchaq_ are variously stated. If the
root notion of the name be movement (_tip_), Erskine's
observation, that these horses are taught special paces, is to
the point. To the verb _tipramaq_ dictionaries assign the
meaning of _movement with agitation of mind_, an explanation
fully illustrated in the B.N. The verb describes fittingly the
dainty, nervous action of some trained horses. Other meanings
assigned to _tupuchaq_ are roadster, round-bodied and swift.
[215] _Cf._ f. 37b.
[216] _Cf._ f. 6b and note.
[217] _mashaf kitabat qilur idi._
[218] _Cf._ f. 36 and H.S. ii. 271.
[219] _sinkilisi ham munda idi._
[220] _khana-wadalar_, _viz._ the Chaghatai, the Timurid in
two Miran-shahi branches, `Ali's and Babur's and the Bai-qara
in Harat.
[221] _aughlaqchi_ _i.e._ player at _kuk-bura_. Concerning the
game, _see_ Shaw's Vocabulary; Schuyler i, 268; Kostenko iii,
82; Von Schwarz _s.n. baiga_.
[222] Zu'l-hijja 910 AH.-May 1505 AD. _Cf._ f. 154. This
statement helps to define what Babur reckoned his expeditions
into Hindustan.
[223] Aiku (Ayagu)-timur _Tarkhan Arghun_ d. _circa_ 793
AH.-1391 AD. He was a friend of Timur. _See_ Z.N. i, 525 etc.
[224] _andaq ikhlaq u atawari yuq idi kim disa bulghai._ The
_Shah-nama_ cap. xviii, describes him as a spoiled child and
man of pleasure, caring only for eating, drinking and hunting.
The _Shaibani-nama_ narrates his various affairs.
[225] _i.e._, _cutlass_, a parallel sobriquet to _qilich_,
sword. If it be correct to translate by "cutlass," the
nickname may have prompted Babur's brief following comment,
_mardana ikan dur_, _i.e._ Quli Muh. must have been brave
because known as the Cutlass. A common variant in MSS. from
_Bughda_ is Baghdad; Baghdad was first written in the Hai. MS.
but is corrected by the scribe to _bughda_.
[226] So pointed in the Hai. MS. I surmise it a clan-name.
[227] _i.e._ to offer him the succession. The mountain road
taken from Aura-tipa would be by Ab-burdan, Sara-taq and the
Kam Rud defile.
[228] _irildi._ The departure can hardly have been open
because Ahmad's begs favoured Mahmud; Malik-i-Muhammad's party
would be likely to slip away in small companies.
[229] This well-known Green, Grey or Blue palace or
halting-place was within the citadel of Samarkand. _Cf._ f.
37. It served as a prison from which return was not expected.
[230] _Cf._ f. 27. He married a full-sister of Bai-sunghar.
[231] _Gulistan_ Part I. Story 27. For "steaming up," _see_
Tennyson's Lotus-eaters Choric song, canto 8 (H.B.).
[232] Elph. MS. f. 16b; First W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 19; Second
W.-i-B. I.O. 217 f. 15b; Memoirs p. 27.
[233] He was a _Dughlat_, uncle by marriage of Haidar Mirza
and now holding Khost for Mahmud. _See_ T.R. s.n. for his
claim on Aisan-daulat's gratitude.
[234] _tash qurghan da chiqar da._ Here (as _e.g._ f. 110b l.
9) the Second W.-i-B. translates _tash_ as though it meant
_stone_ instead of outer. _Cf._ f. 47 for an adjectival use of
_tash_, stone, with the preposition (_tash_) _din_. The places
contrasted here are the citadel (_ark_) and the walled-town
(_qurghan_). The _chiqar_ (exit) is the fortified Gate-house
of the mud circumvallation. _Cf._ f. 46 for another example of
_chiqar_.
[235] Elph. Hai. Kehr's MSS., _aning bila bar kishi bar
beglarni tuturuldi_. This idiom recurs on f. 76b l. 8. A
palimpsest entry in the Elph. MS. produces the statement that
when Hasan fled, his begs returned to Andijan.
[236] Hai. MS. _awi munkuzi_, underlined by _sagh-i-gau_,
cows' thatched house. [_T. munkuz_, lit. horn, means also
cattle.] Elph. MS., _awi munkush_, underlined by _dar ja'i
khwab alfakhta_, sleeping place. [T. _munkush_, retired.]
[237] The first _qachar_ of this pun has been explained as
_gurez-gah_, _sharm-gah_, hinder parts, _fuite_ and _vertËbre
infÈrieur_. The H.S. (ii, 273 l. 3 fr. ft.) says the wound was
in a vital (_maqattal_) part.
[238] From Nizami's _Khusrau u Shirin_, Lahore lith. ed. p.
137 l. 8. It is quoted also in the A.N. Bib. Ind. ed. ii, 207
(H.B. ii, 321). (H.B.).
[239] _See_ Hughes _Dictionary of Islam s.nn._ Eating and
Food.
[240] _Cf._ f. 6b and note. If `Umar Shaikh were Mahmud's
full-brother, his name might well appear here.
[241] _i.e._ "Not a farthing, not a half-penny."
[242] Here the Mems. enters a statement, not found in the
Turki text, that Mahmud's dress was elegant and fashionable.
[243] _n:h:l:m._ My husband has cleared up a mistake (Mems. p.
28 and _MÈms._ i, 54) of supposing this to be the name of an
animal. It is explained in the A.N. (i, 255. H.B. i, 496) as a
Badakhshi equivalent of _tasqawal_; _tasqawal_ var.
_tashqawal_, is explained by the _Farhang-i-azfari_, a
Turki-Persian Dict. seen in the Mulla Firoz Library of Bombay,
to mean _rah band kunanda_, the stopping of the road. _Cf._
J.R.A.S. 1900 p. 137.
[244] _i.e._ "a collection of poems in the alphabetical order
of the various end rhymes." (Steingass.)
[245] At this battle Daulat-shah was present. _Cf._ Browne's
D.S. for Astarabad p. 523 and for Andikhud p. 532. For this
and all other references to D.S. and H.S. I am indebted to my
husband.
[246] The following dates will help out Babur's brief
narrative. Mahmud _Êt._ 7, was given Astarabad in 864 AH.
(1459-60 AD.); it was lost to Husain at Jauz-wilayat and
Mahmud went into Khurasan in 865 AH.; he was restored by his
father in 866 AH.; on his father's death (873 AH.-1469 AD.) he
fled to Harat, thence to Samarkand and from there was taken to
Hisar _Êt._ 16. _Cf._ D'HerbÈlot _s.n._ Abu-sa`ad; H.S. i,
209; Browne's D.S. p. 522.
[247] Presumably the "Hindustan the Less" of Clavijo (Markham
p. 3 and p. 113), approx. Qambar-`ali's districts. Clavijo
includes Tirmiz under the name.
[248] Perhaps a Sufi term,--longing for the absent friend. For
particulars about this man _see_ H.S. ii, 235 and Browne's
D.S. p. 533.
[249] Here in the Hai. MS. is one of several blank spaces,
waiting for information presumably not known to Babur when
writing. The space will have been in the archetype of the Hai.
MS. and it makes for the opinion that the Hai. MS. is a direct
copy of Babur's own. This space is not left in the Elph. MS.
but that MS. is known from its scribe's note (f. 198) down to
f. 198 (Hai. MS. f. 243b) to have been copied from "other
writings" and only subsequent to its f. 198 from Babur's own.
_Cf._ JRAS 1906 p. 88 and 1907 p. 143.
[250] The T.R. (p. 330) supplies this name.
[251] _Cf._ f. 35b. This was a betrothal only, the marriage
being made in 903 AH. _Cf._ H.S. ii, 260 and Gul-badan's H.N.
f. 24b.
[252] Kehr's MS. supplies Ai (Moon) as her name but it has no
authority. The Elph. MS. has what may be _la nam_, no name, on
its margin and over _turutunchi_ (4th.) its usual sign of what
is problematical.
[253] _See_ H.S. ii, 250. Here Pir-i-Muhammad _Ailchi-bugha_
was drowned. _Cf._ f. 29.
[254] Chaghanian is marked in Erskine's (Mems.) map as
somewhere about the head of (Fr. map 1904) the Ilyak Water, a
tributary of the Kafir-nighan.
[255] _i.e._ when Babur was writing in Hindustan.
[256] For his family _see_ f. 55b note to Yar-`ali _Balal_.
[257] _ba wujud turkluk muhkam paida kunanda idi._
[258] Roebuck's _Oriental Proverbs_ (p. 232) explains the
_five_ of this phrase where _seven_ might be expected, by
saying that of this Seven days' world (qy. days of Creation)
one is for birth, another for death, and that thus five only
are left for man's brief life.
[259] The cognomen _Ailchi-bugha_, taken with the bearer's
recorded strength of fist, may mean Strong man of Ailchi (the
capital of Khutan). One of Timur's commanders bore the name.
_Cf._ f. 21b for _bughu_ as _athlete_.
[260] Hazaraspi seems to be Mir Pir Darwesh Hazaraspi. With
his brother, Mir `Ali, he had charge of Balkh. _See
Rauzatu's-safa_ B.M. Add. 23506, f. 242b; Browne's D.S. p.
432. It may be right to understand a hand-to-hand fight
between Hazaraspi and Ailchi-bugha. The affair was in 857 AH.
(1453 AD.).
[261] _yaraq siz_, perhaps trusting to fisticuffs, perhaps
without mail. Babur's summary has confused the facts. Muh.
Ailchi-bugha was sent by Sl. Mahmud Mirza from Hisar with
1,000 men and did not issue out of Qunduz. (H.S. ii, 251.) His
death occurred not before 895 AH.
[262] _See_ T.R. _s.nn._ Mir Ayub and Ayub.
[263] This passage is made more clear by f. 120b and f. 125b.
[264] He is mentioned in _`Ali-sher Nawa'i's
Majalis-i-nafa'is_; _see_ B.M. Add. 7875, f. 278 and Rieu's
Turkish Catalogue.
[265] ? full of splits or full handsome.
[266] This may have occurred after Abu-sa`id Mirza's death
whose son Aba-bikr was. _Cf._ f. 28. If so, over-brevity has
obscured the statement.
[267] _mingligh aildin dur_, perhaps of those whose hereditary
Command was a Thousand, the head of a Ming (Pers. Hazara),
_i.e._ of the tenth of a _tuman_.
[268] _qurghan-ning tashida yangi tam quparib sala dur._ I
understand, that what was taken was a new circumvallation in
whole or in part. Such double walls are on record. _Cf._
Appendix A.
[269] _bahadurluq aulush_, an actual portion of food.
[270] _i.e._ either unmailed or actually naked.
[271] The old English noun _strike_ expresses the purpose of
the _sar-kob_. It is "an instrument for scraping off what
rises above the top" (Webster, whose example is grain in a
measure). The _sar-kob_ is an erection of earth or wood, as
high as the attacked walls, and it enabled besiegers to strike
off heads appearing above the ramparts.
[272] _i.e._ the dislocation due to `Umar Shaikh's death.
[273] _Cf._ f. 13. The H.S. (ii, 274) places his son, Mir
Mughul, in charge, but otherwise agrees with the B.N.
[274] _Cf._ Clavijo, Markham p. 132. Sir Charles Grandison
bent the knee on occasions but illustrated MSS. _e.g._ the
B.M. _Tawarikh-i-guzida Nasrat-nama_ show that Babur would
kneel down on both knees. _Cf._ f. 123b for the fatigue of the
genuflection.
[275] I have translated _kurushub_ thus because it appears to
me that here and in other places, stress is laid by Babur upon
the mutual gaze as an episode of a ceremonious interview. The
verb _kurushmak_ is often rendered by the Persian translators
as _daryaftan_ and by the L. and E. Memoirs as _to embrace_. I
have not found in the B.N. warrant for translating it as _to
embrace_; _quchushmaq_ is Babur's word for this (f. 103).
_Daryaftan_, taken as to grasp or see with the mind, to
understand, well expresses mutual gaze and its sequel of
mutual understanding. Sometimes of course, _kurush_, the
interview does not imply _kurush_, the silent looking in the
eyes with mutual understanding; it simply means _se voyer_
_e.g._ f. 17. The point is thus dwelt upon because the
frequent mention of an embrace gives a different impression of
manners from that made by "interview" or words expressing
mutual gaze.
[276] _daban._ This word RÈclus (vi, 171) quoting from
Fedschenko, explains as a difficult rocky defile; _art_,
again, as a dangerous gap at a high elevation; _bel_, as an
easy low pass; and _kutal_, as a broad opening between low
hills. The explanation of _kutal_ does not hold good for
Babur's application of the word (f. 81b) to the Sara-taq.
[277] _Cf._ f. 4b and note. From Babur's special mention of
it, it would seem not to be the usual road.
[278] The spelling of this name is uncertain. Variants are
many. Concerning the tribe _see_ T.R. p. 165 n.
[279] Nizamu'd-din `Ali _Barlas_: _see_ Gul-badan's H.N.
_s.n._ He served Babur till the latter's death.
[280] _i.e._ Zu'n-nun or perhaps the garrison.
[281] _i.e._ down to Shaibani's destruction of Chaghatai rule
in Tashkint in 1503 AD.
[282] Elph. MS. f. 23; W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 26 and 217 f. 21;
Mems. p. 35.
Babur's own affairs form a small part of this year's record;
the rest is drawn from the H.S. which in its turn, uses
Babur's f. 34 and f. 37b. Each author words the shared
material in his own style; one adding magniloquence, the other
retracting to plain statement, indeed summarizing at times to
obscurity. Each passes his own judgment on events, _e.g._ here
Khwand-amir's is more favourable to Husain Bai-qara's conduct
of the Hisar campaign than Babur's. _Cf._ H.S. ii, 256-60 and
274.
[283] This feint would take him from the Oxus.
[284] Tirmiz to Hisar, 96m. (RÈclus vi, 255).
[285] H.S. Wazr-ab valley. The usual route is up the Kam Rud
and over the Mura pass to Sara-taq. _Cf._ f. 81b.
[286] _i.e._ the Hisari mentioned a few lines lower and on f.
99b. Nothing on f. 99b explains his cognomen.
[287] The road is difficult. _Cf._ f. 81b.
[288] Khwand-amir also singles out one man for praise, Sl.
Mahmud _Mir-i-akhwur_; the two names probably represent one
person. The sobriquet may refer to skill with a matchlock, to
top-spinning (_firnagi-baz_) or to some lost joke. (H.S. ii,
257.)
[289] This pregnant phrase has been found difficult. It may
express that Babur assigned the sultans places in their due
precedence; that he seated them in a row; and that they sat
cross-legged, as men of rank, and were not made, as inferiors,
to kneel and sit back on their heels. Out of this last
meaning, I infer comes the one given by dictionaries, "to sit
at ease," since the cross-legged posture is less irksome than
the genuflection, not to speak of the ease of mind produced by
honour received. _Cf._ f. 18b and note on Ahmad's posture;
Redhouse _s.nn. baghish_ and _baghdash_; and B.M.
Tawarikh-i-guzida nasrat-nama, in the illustrations of which
the chief personage, only, sits cross-legged.
[290] _siyasat._ My translation is conjectural only.
[291] _sar-kob._ The old English noun _strike_, "an instrument
for scraping off what appears above the top," expresses the
purpose of the wall-high erections of wood or earth (_L.
agger_) raised to reach what shewed above ramparts. _Cf._
Webster.
[292] Presumably lower down the Qunduz Water.
[293] _auz padshahi u mirzalaridin artib._
[294] _sic._ Hai. MS.; Elph. MS. "near Taliqan"; some W.-i-B.
MSS. "Great Garden." Gul-badan mentions a Taliqan Garden.
Perhaps the Mirza went so far east because, Zu'n-nun being
with him, he had Qandahar in mind. _Cf._ f. 42b.
[295] _i.e._ Sayyid Muhammad `Ali. _See_ f. 15 n. to Sherim.
Khwaja Changal lies 14 m. below Taliqan on the Taliqan Water.
(Erskine.)
[296] f. 27b, second.
[297] The first was _circa_ 895 AH.-1490 AD. _Cf._ f. 27b.
[298] Babur's wording suggests that their common homage was
the cause of Badi`u'z-zaman's displeasure but _see_ f. 41.
[299] The Mirza had grown up with Hisaris. _Cf._ H.S. ii, 270.
[300] As the husband of one of the six Badakhshi Begims, he
was closely connected with local ruling houses. _See_ T.R. p.
107.
[301] _i.e._ Muhammad `Ubaidu'l-lah the elder of _Ahrari's_
two sons. d. 911 AH. _See Rashahat-i-`ain-alhayat_ (I.O. 633)
f. 269-75; and _Khizinatu'l-asfiya_ lith. ed. i, 597.
[302] _Bu yuq tur_, _i.e._ This is not to be.
[303] d. 908 AH. He was not, it would seem, of the _Ahrari_
family. His own had provided Pontiffs (_Shaikhu'l-islam_) for
Samarkand through 400 years. _Cf._ _Shaibani-nama_, VambÈry,
p. 106; also, for his character, p. 96.
[304] _i.e._ he claimed sanctuary.
[305] _Cf._ f. 45b and PÈtis de la Croix's _Histoire de
Chingiz Khan_ pp. 171 and 227. What Timur's work on the Guk
Sarai was is a question for archÊologists.
[306] _i.e._ over the Aitmak Pass. _Cf._ f. 49.
[307] Hai. MS. _aralighigha_. Elph. MS. _aral_, island.
[308] _See_ f. 179b for _Bina'i_. Muhammad Salih Mirza
_Khwarizmi_ is the author of the _Shaibani-nama_.
[309] Elph. MS. f. 27; W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 30b and 217 f. 25;
Mems. p. 42.
[310] _i.e._ Circassian. Muhammad Salih (Sh.N. VambÈry p. 276
l. 58) speaks of other Auzbegs using Chirkas swords.
[311] _airta yazigha._ My translation is conjectural. _Airta_
implies _i.a._ foresight. _Yazigha_ allows a pun at the
expense of the sultans; since it can be read both as _to the
open country_ and as _for their_ (_next_, _airta_) _misdeeds_.
My impression is that they took the opportunity of being
outside Samarkand with their men, to leave Bai-sunghar and
make for Shaibani, then in Turkistan. Muhammad Salih also
marking the tottering Gate of Sl. `Ali Mirza, left him now,
also for Shaibani. (VambÈry cap. xv.)
[312] _aumaq_, to amuse a child in order to keep it from
crying.
[313] _i.e._ with Khwaja Yahya presumably. _See_ f. 38.
[314] This man is mentioned also in the _Tawarikh-i-guzida
Nasratnama_ B.M. Or. 3222 f. 124b.
[315] H.S., on the last day of Ramzan (June 28th. 1497 AD.).
[316] Muhammad _Sighal_ appears to have been a marked man. I
quote from the T.G.N.N. (_see supra_), f. 123b foot, the
information that he was the grandson of Ya`qub Beg. Zenker
explains _Sighali_ as the name of a Chaghatai family. An
_Ayub-i-Ya`qub Begchik Mughul_ may be an uncle. See f. 43 for
another grandson.
[317] _baz'i kirkan-kint-kisakka bash-siz-qilghan Mughullarni
tutub._ I take the word _kisak_ in this highly idiomatic
sentence to be a diminutive of _kis_, old person, on the
analogy of _mir_, _mirak_, _mard_, _mardak_. [The H.S. uses
_Kisak_ (ii, 261) as a proper noun.] The alliteration in _kaf_
and the mighty adjective here are noticeable.
[318] Qasim feared to go amongst the Mughuls lest he should
meet retaliatory death. _Cf._ f. 99b.
[319] This appears from the context to be Yam (Jam) -bai and
not the Djouma (Jam) of the Fr. map of 1904, lying farther
south. The Avenue named seems likely to be Timur's of f. 45b
and to be on the direct road for Khujand. _See_ Schuyler i,
232.
[320] _bughan buyini._ W.-i-B. 215, _yan_, thigh, and 217
_gardan_, throat. I am in doubt as to the meaning of _bughan_;
perhaps the two words stand for joint at the nape of the neck.
Khwaja-i-kalan was one of seven brothers, six died in Babur's
service, he himself served till Babur's death.
[321] _Cf._ f. 48.
[322] Khorochkine (Radlov's _RÈceuil d'ItinÈraires_ p. 241)
mentions Pul-i-mougak, a great stone bridge thrown across a
deep ravine, east of Samarkand. _For_ Kul-i-maghak, deep pool,
or pool of the fosse, _see_ f. 48b.
[323] From Khwand-amir's differing account of this affair, it
may be surmised that those sending the message were not
treacherous; but the message itself was deceiving inasmuch as
it did not lead Babur to expect opposition. _Cf._ f. 43 and
note.
[324] Of this nick-name several interpretations are allowed by
the dictionaries.
[325] _See_ Schuyler i, 268 for an account of this beautiful
Highland village.
[326] Here Babur takes up the thread, dropped on f. 36, of the
affairs of the Khurasani mirzas. He draws on other sources
than the H.S.; perhaps on his own memory, perhaps on
information given by Khurasanis with him in Hindustan _e.g._
Husain's grandson. _See_ f. 167b. _Cf._ H.S. ii, 261.
[327] _baghishlab tur._ _Cf._ f. 34 note to _baghish da_.
[328] _Bu sozlar aunulung._ Some W.-i-B. MSS., _Faramosh
bakunid_ for _nakunid_, thus making the Mirza not acute but
rude, and destroying the point of the story _i.e._ that the
Mirza pretended so to have forgotten as to have an empty mind.
Khwand-amir states that `Ali-sher prevailed at first; his
tears therefore may have been of joy at the success of his
pacifying mission.
[329] _i.e._ B.Z.'s father, Husain, against Mu`min's father,
B.Z. and Husain's son, Muzaffar Husain against B.Z.'s son
Mu`min;--a veritable conundrum.
[330] Garzawan lies west of Balkh. Concerning Pul-i-chiragh
Col. Grodekoff's _Ride to Harat_ (Marvin p. 103 ff.) gives
pertinent information. It has also a map showing the
Pul-i-chiragh meadow. The place stands at the mouth of a
triply-bridged defile, but the name appears to mean Gate of
the Lamp (_cf._ Gate of Timur), and not Bridge of the Lamp,
because the H.S. and also modern maps write _bil_ (_bel_),
pass, where the Turki text writes _pul_, bridge, narrows,
pass.
The lamp of the name is one at the shrine of a saint, just at
the mouth of the defile. It was alight when Col. Grodekoff
passed in 1879 and to it, he says, the name is due now--as it
presumably was 400 years ago and earlier.
[331] Khwand-amir heard from the Mirza on the spot, when later
in his service, that he was let down the precipice by help of
turban-sashes tied together.
[332] _yikit yilang u yayaq yaling_; a jingle made by due
phonetic change of vowels; a play too on _yalang_, which first
means stripped _i.e._ robbed and next unmailed, perhaps
sometimes bare-bodied in fight.
[333] _qush-khana._ As the place was outside the walls, it may
be a good hawking ground and not a falconry.
[334] The H.S. mentions (ii, 222) a Sl. Ahmad of Char-shamba,
a town mentioned _e.g._ by Grodekoff p. 123. It also spoils
Babur's coincidence by fixing Tuesday, Shab`an 29th. for the
battle. Perhaps the commencement of the Muhammadan day at
sunset, allows of both statements.
[335] Elph. MS. f. 30b; W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 34 and 217 f. 26b;
Mems. p. 46.
The abruptness of this opening is due to the interposition of
Sl. Husain M.'s affairs between Babur's statement on f. 41
that he returned from Aurgut and this first of 903 AH. that on
return he encamped in Qulba.
[336] _See_ f. 48b.
[337] _i.e._ Chupan-ata; _see_ f. 45 and note.
[338] _Aughlaqchi_, the Grey Wolfer of f. 22.
[339] A sobriquet, the _suppliant_ or perhaps something having
connection with musk. H.S. ii, 278, son of H.D.
[340] _i.e._ grandson (of Muhammad Sighal). _Cf._ f. 39.
[341] This seeming sobriquet may show the man's trade. _Kal_
is a sort of biscuit; _qashuq_ may mean a spoon.
[342] The H.S. does not ascribe treachery to those inviting
Babur into Samarkand but attributes the murder of his men to
others who fell on them when the plan of his admission became
known. The choice here of "town-rabble" for retaliatory death
supports the account of H.S. ii.
[343] "It was the end of September or beginning of October"
(Erskine).
[344] _awi u kipa yirlar._ _Awi_ is likely to represent
_kibitkas_. For _kipa yir_, _see_ Zenker p. 782.
[345] Interesting reference may be made, amongst the many
books on Samarkand, to Sharafu'd-din `Ali _Yazdi's
Zafar-nama_ Bib. Ind. ed. i, 300, 781, 799, 800 and ii, 6,
194, 596 etc.; to Ruy Gonzalves di Clavijo's _Embassy to
Timur_ (Markham) cap. vi and vii; to Ujfalvy's _Turkistan_ ii,
79 and Madame Ujfalvy's _De Paris ‡ Samarcande_ p. 161,--these
two containing a plan of the town; to Schuyler's _Turkistan_;
to Kostenko's _Turkistan Gazetteer_ i, 345; to RÈclus, vi, 270
and plan; and to a beautiful work of the St. Petersburg
ArchÊological Society, _Les MosquÈes de Samarcande_, of which
the B.M. has a copy.
[346] This statement is confused in the Elp. and Hai. MSS. The
second appears to give, by abjad, lat. 40∞ 6" and long. 99'.
Mr. Erskine (p. 48) gives lat. 39' 57" and long. 99' 16",
noting that this is according to Ulugh Beg's Tables and that
the long. is calculated from Ferro. The Ency. Br. of 1910-11
gives lat. 39' 39" and long. 66' 45".
[347] The enigmatical cognomen, Protected Town, is of early
date; it is used _i.a._ by Ibn Batuta in the 14th. century.
Babur's tense refers it to the past. The town had frequently
changed hands in historic times before he wrote. The name may
be due to immunity from damage to the buildings in the town.
Even Chingiz Khan's capture (1222 AD.) left the place
well-preserved and its lands cultivated, but it inflicted
great loss of men. _Cf._ Schuyler i, 236 and his authorities,
especially Bretschneider.
[348] Here is a good example of Babur's caution in narrative.
He does not affirm that Samarkand became Musalman, or
(_infra_) that Qusam ibn `Abbas went, or that Alexander
founded but in each case uses the presumptive past tense,
resp. _bulghan dur_, _barghan dur_, _bina qilghan dur_, thus
showing that he repeats what may be inferred or presumed and
not what he himself asserts.
[349] _i.e._ of Muhammad. See Z.N. ii, 193.
[350] _i.e._ Fat Village. His text misleading him, Mr. Erskine
makes here the useful irrelevant note that Persians and Arabs
call the place Samar-qand and Turks, Samar-kand, the former
using _qaf_ (q), the latter _kaf_ (k). Both the Elph. and the
Hai. MSS. write Samarqand.
For use of the name Fat Village, _see_ Clavijo (Markham p.
170), Simesquinte, and Bretschneider's _MediÊval Geography_
pp. 61, 64, 66 and 163.
[351] _qadam._ Kostenko (i, 344) gives 9 m. as the
circumference of the old walls and 1-2/3m. as that of the
citadel. _See_ Mde. Ujfalvy p. 175 for a picture of the walls.
[352] _Ma`lum aimas kim muncha paida bulmish bulghai_; an
idiomatic phrase.
[353] d. 333 AH. (944 AD.). _See_ D'HerbÈlot art. Matridi p.
572.
[354] _See_ D'HerbÈlot art. Aschair p. 124.
[355] Abu `Abdu'l-lah bin Isma`ilu'l-jausi b. 194 AH. d. 256
AH. (810-870 AD.). _See_ D'HerbÈlot art. Bokhari p. 191, art.
Giorag p. 373, and art. Sahihu'l-bokhari p. 722. He passed a
short period, only, of his life in Khartank, a suburb of
Samarkand.
[356] _Cf._ f. 3b and n. 1.
[357] This though 2475 ft. above the sea is only some 300 ft.
above Samarkand. It is the Chupan-ata (Father of Shepherds) of
maps and on it Timur built a shrine to the local patron of
shepherds. The Zar-afshan, or rather, its Qara-su arm, flows
from the east of the Little Hill and turns round it to flow
west. Babur uses the name _Kohik Water_ loosely; _e.g._ for
the whole Zar-afshan when he speaks (_infra_) of cutting off
the Dar-i-gham canal but for its southern arm only, the
Qara-su in several places, and once, for the Dar-i-gham canal.
_See_ f. 49b and Kostenko i. 192.
[358] _rud._ The Zar-afshan has a very rapid current. _See_
Kostenko i, 196, and for the canal, i, 174. The name
Dar-i-gham is used also for a musical note having charm to
witch away grief; and also for a town noted for its wines.
[359] What this represents can only be guessed; perhaps 150 to
200 miles. Abu'l-fida (Reinaud ii, 213) quotes Ibn Haukal as
saying that from Bukhara up to "Bottam" (this seems to be
where the Zar-afshan emerges into the open land) is eight
days' journey through an unbroken tangle of verdure and
gardens.
[360] _See_ Schuyler i, 286 on the apportionment of water to
Samarkand and Bukhara.
[361] It is still grown in the Samarkand region, and in Mr.
Erskine's time a grape of the same name was cultivated in
Aurangabad of the Deccan.
[362] _i.e._ _Shahrukhi_, Timur's grandson, through Shahrukh.
It may be noted here that Babur never gives Timur any other
title than Beg and that he styles all Timurids, Mirza
(Mir-born).
[363] Mr. Erskine here points out the contradiction between
the statements (i) of Ibn Haukal, writing, in 367 AH. (977
AD.), of Samarkand as having a citadel (_ark_), an outer-fort
(_qurghan_) and Gates in both circumvallations; and (2) of
Sharafu'd-din _Yazdi_ (Z.N.) who mentions that when, in
Timur's day, the Getes besieged Samarkand, it had neither
walls nor gates. _See_ Ouseley's Ibn Haukal p. 253; Z.N. Bib.
Ind. ed. i, 109 and PÈtis de la Croix's Z.N. (_Histoire de
Timur Beg_) i, 91.
[364] Here still lies the Ascension Stone, the _Guk-tash_, a
block of greyish white marble. Concerning the date of the
erection of the building and meaning of its name, _see_ _e.g._
PÈtis de la Croix's _Histoire de Chingiz Khan_ p. 171; Mems.
p. 40 note; and Schuyler _s.n._
[365] This seems to be the Bibi Khanim Mosque. The author of
_Les MosquÈes de Samarcande_ states that Timur built Bibi
Khanim and the Gur-i-amir (Amir's tomb); decorated
Shah-i-zinda and set up the Chupan-ata shrine. _Cf._ f. 46 and
note to Jahangir Mirza, as to the Gur-i-amir.
[366] Cap. II. Quoting from Sale's _Qur'an_ (i, 24) the verse
is, "And Ibrahim and Isma`il raised the foundations of the
house, saying, 'Lord! accept it from us, for Thou art he who
hearest and knowest; Lord! make us also resigned to Thee, and
show us Thy holy ceremonies, and be turned to us, for Thou art
easy to be reconciled, and merciful.'"
[367] or, _buland_, Garden of the Height or High Garden. The
Turki texts have what can be read as _buldi_ but the Z.N.
both when describing it (ii, 194) and elsewhere (_e.g._ ii,
596) writes _buland_. _Buldi_ may be a clerical error for
_bulandi_, the height, a name agreeing with the position of
the garden.
[368] In the Heart-expanding Garden, the Spanish Ambassadors
had their first interview with Timur. _See_ Clavijo (Markham
p. 130). Also the Z.N. ii, 6 for an account of its
construction.
[369] Judging from the location of the gardens and of Babur's
camps, this appears to be the Avenue mentioned on f. 39b and
f. 40.
[370] _See_ _infra_ f. 48 and note.
[371] The Plane-tree Garden. This seems to be Clavijo's
_Bayginar_, laid out shortly before he saw it (Markham p.
136).
[372] The citadel of Samarkand stands high; from it the ground
slopes west and south; on these sides therefore gardens
outside the walls would lie markedly below the outer-fort
(_tash-qurghan_). Here as elsewhere the second W.-i-B. reads
_stone_ for _outer_ (_Cf._ index _s.n._ _tash_). For the
making of the North garden _see_ Z.N. i, 799.
[373] Timur's eldest son, d. 805 AH. (1402 AD.), before his
father, therefore. Babur's wording suggests that in his day,
the Gur-i-amir was known as the Madrasa. _See_ as to the
buildings Z.N. i, 713 and ii, 492, 595, 597, 705; Clavijo
(Markham p. 164 and p. 166); and _Les MosquÈes de Samarcande_.
[374] Hindustan would make a better climax here than Samarkand
does.
[375] These appear to be pictures or ornamentations of carved
wood. Redhouse describes _islimi_ as a special kind of
ornamentation in curved lines, similar to Chinese methods.
[376] _i.e._ the Black Stone (_ka'ba_) at Makkah to which
Musalmans turn in prayer.
[377] As ancient observatories were themselves the instruments
of astronomical observation, Babur's wording is correct.
Aulugh Beg's great quadrant was 180 ft. high; Abu-muhammad
_Khujandi's_ sextant had a radius of 58 ft. Ja'i Singh made
similar great instruments in Ja'ipur, Dihli has others. _Cf._
Greaves Misc. Works i, 50; Mems. p. 51 note; _Aiyin-i-akbari_
(Jarrett) ii, 5 and note; Murray's Hand-book to Bengal p. 331;
Indian Gazetteer xiii, 400.
[378] b. 597 AH. d. 672 AH. (1201-1274 AD.). _See_
D'HerbÈlot's art. Nasir-i-din p. 662; Abu'l-fida (Reinaud,
Introduction i, cxxxviii) and Beale's Biographical Dict.
_s.n._
[379] a grandson of Chingiz Khan, d. 663 AH. (1265 AD.). The
cognomen _Ail-khani_ (_Il-khani_) may mean Khan of the Tribe.
[380] Harunu'r-rashid's second son; d. 218 AH. (833 AD.).
[381] Mr. Erskine notes that this remark would seem to fix the
date at which Babur wrote it as 934 AH. (1527 AD.), that being
the 1584th. year of the era of Vikramaditya, and therefore at
three years before Babur's death. (The Vikramaditya era began
57 BC.)
[382] _Cf._ index _s.n._ _tash_.
[383] This remark may refer to the 34 miles between the town
and the quarries of its building stone. _See_ f. 49 and note
to Aitmak Pass.
[384] Steingass, any support for the back in sitting, a low
wall in front of a house. _See_ Vullers p. 148 and
_Burhan-i-qati`_; p. 119. Perhaps a _dado_.
[385] _beg u begat, bagh u baghcha._
[386] Four Gardens, a quadrilateral garden, laid out in four
plots. The use of the name has now been extended for any
well-arranged, large garden, especially one belonging to a
ruler (Erskine).
[387] As two of the trees mentioned here are large, it may be
right to translate _narwan_, not by pomegranate, but as the
hard-wood elm, Madame Ujfalvy's '_karagatche_' (p. 168 and p.
222). The name _qara-yighach_ (_karagatch_), dark tree, is
given to trees other than this elm on account of their deep
shadow.
[388] Now a common plan indeed! _See_ Schuyler i, 173.
[389] _juwaz-i-kaghazlar_ (_ning_) _su'i_, _i.e._ the water of
the paper-(pulping)-mortars. Owing to the omission from some
MSS. of the word _su_, water, _juwaz_ has been mistaken for a
kind of paper. _See_ Mems. p. 52 and _MÈms_. i, 102; A.Q.R.
July 1910, p. 2, art. Paper-mills of Samarkand (H.B.); and
Madame Ujfalvy p. 188. Kostenko, it is to be noted, does not
include paper in his list (i, 346) of modern manufactures of
Samarkand.
[390] Mine of mud or clay. My husband has given me support for
reading _gil_, and not _gul_, rose;--(1) In two good MSS. of
the W.-i-B. the word is pointed with _kasra_, _i.e._ as for
_gil_, clay; and (2) when describing a feast held in the
garden by Timur, the Z.N. says the mud-mine became a
rose-mine, _shuda Kan-i-gil Kan-i-gul_. [Mr. Erskine refers
here to PÈtis de la Croix's _Histoire de Timur Beg_ (_i.e._
Z.N.) i, 96 and ii, 133 and 421.]
[391] _qurugh._ Vullers, classing the word as Arabic, Zenker,
classing it as Eastern Turki, and Erskine (p. 42 n.) explain
this as land reserved for the summer encampment of princes.
Shaw (Voc. p. 155), deriving it from _qurumaq_, to frighten,
explains it as a fenced field of growing grain.
[392] _Cf._ f. 40. There it is located at one _yighach_ and
here at 3 _kurohs_ from the town.
[393] _taur._ _Cf._ Zenker _s.n._ I understand it to lie, as
Khan Yurti did, in a curve of the river.
[394] 162 m. by rail.
[395] _Cf._ f. 3.
[396] _tirisini suiub._ The verb _suimak_, to despoil, seems
to exclude the common plan of stoning the fruit. _Cf._ f. 3b,
_danasini alip_, taking out the stones.
[397] _Min Samarkandta aul (or auwal) aichkanda Bukhara
chaghirlar ni aichar aidim._ These words have been understood
to refer to Babur's initial drinking of wine but this reading
is negatived by his statement (f. 189) that he first drank
wine in Harat in 912 AH. I understand his meaning to be that
the wine he drank in Samarkand was Bukhara wine. The time
cannot have been earlier than 917 AH. The two words _aul
aichkanda_, I read as parallel to _aul_ (_baghri qara_) (f.
280) 'that drinking,' 'that bird,' _i.e._ of those other
countries, not of Hindustan where he wrote.
It may be noted that Babur's word for wine, _chaghir_, may not
always represent wine of the grape but may include wine of the
apple and pear (cider and perry), and other fruits. Cider, its
name seeming to be a descendant of _chaghir_, was introduced
into England by Crusaders, its manufacture having been learned
from Turks in Palestine.
[398] 48 m. 3 fur. by way of the Aitmak Pass (mod. Takhta
Qarachi), and, RÈclus (vi, 256) Buz-gala-khana, Goat-house.
[399] The name Aitmak, to build, appears to be due to the
stone quarries on the range. The pass-head is 34 m. from
Samarkand and 3000 ft. above it. _See_ Kostenko ii, 115 and
Schuyler ii, 61 for details of the route.
[400] The description of this hall is difficult to translate.
Clavijo (Markham 124) throws light on the small recesses.
_Cf._ Z.N. i, 781 and 300 and Schuyler ii, 68.
[401] The Taq-i-kisri, below Baghdad, is 105 ft. high, 84 ft.
span and 150 ft. in depth (Erskine).
[402] _Cf._ f. 46. Babur does not mention that Timur's father
was buried at Kesh. Clavijo (Markham p. 123) says it was
Timur's first intention to be buried near his father, in Kesh.
[403] Abu'l-fida (Reinaud II, ii, 21) says that Nasaf is the
Arabic and Nakhshab the local name for Qarshi. Ibn Haukal
(Ouseley p. 260) writes Nakhshab.
[404] This word has been translated _burial-place_ and
_cimetiËre_ but Qarshi means castle, or royal-residence. The
Z.N. (i, 111) says that Qarshi is an equivalent for Ar.
_qasr_, palace, and was so called, from one built there by
Qublai Khan (d. 1294 AD.). Perhaps Babur's word is connected
with Gurkhan, the title of sovereigns in Khutan, and means
great or royal-house, _i.e._ palace.
[405] 94 m. 6-1/2 fur. via Jam (Kostenko i, 115.)
[406] See Appendix B.
[407] some 34 m. (Kostenko i, 196). Schuyler mentions that he
heard in Qara-kul a tradition that the district, in bye-gone
days, was fertilized from the Sir.
[408] _Cf._ f. 45.
[409] By _abjad_ the words _`Abbas kasht_ yield 853. The date
of the murder was Ramzan 9, 853 AH. (Oct. 27th. 1449 AD.).
[410] This couplet is quoted in the _Rauzatu's-safa_ (lith.
ed. vi, f. 234 foot) and in the H.S. ii, 44. It is said, in
the R.S. to be by Nizami and to refer to the killing by
Shiruya of his father, Khusrau Parwiz in 7 AH. (628 AD.). The
H.S. says that `Abdu'l-latif constantly repeated the couplet,
after he had murdered his father. [See also Daulat Shah
(Browne p. 356 and p. 366.) H.B.]
[411] By _abjad_, _Baba Husain kasht_ yields 854. The death
was on Rabi` I, 26, 854 AH. (May 9th. 1450 AD.). See R.S. vi,
235 for an account of this death.
[412] This overstates the time; dates shew 1 yr. 1 mth. and a
few days.
[413] _i.e._ The Khan of the Mughuls, Babur's uncle.
[414] Elph. MS. _aurmaghailar_, might not turn; Hai. and
Kehr's MSS. (_sar ba bad_) _birmaghailar_, might not give.
Both metaphors seem drawn from the protective habit of man and
beast of turning the back to a storm-wind.
[415] _i.e._ betwixt two waters, the Miyan-i-du-ab of India.
Here, it is the most fertile triangle of land in Turkistan
(RÈclus, vi, 199), enclosed by the eastern mountains, the
Narin and the Qara-su; Rabatik-aurchini, its alternative name,
means Small Station sub-district. From the uses of _aurchin_ I
infer that it describes a district in which there is no
considerable head-quarters fort.
[416] _i.e._ his own, Qutluq-nigar Khanim and hers,
Aisan-daulat Begim, with perhaps other widows of his father,
probably Shah Sultan Begim.
[417] _Cf._ f. 16 for almost verbatim statements.
[418] Blacksmith's Dale. _Ahangaran_ appears corrupted in
modern maps to _Angren_. _See_ H.S. ii, 293 for Khwand-amir's
wording of this episode.
[419] _Cf._ f. 1b and Kostenko i, 101.
[420] _i.e._ Khan Uncle (Mother's brother).
[421] n.w. of the Sang ferry over the Sir.
[422] perhaps, messenger of good tidings.
[423] This man's family connections are interesting. He was
`Ali-shukr Beg _Baharlu's_ grandson, nephew therefore of Pasha
Begim; through his son, Saif-`ali Beg, he was the grandfather
of Bairam Khan-i-khanan and thus the g.g.f. of `Abdu'r-rahim
Mirza, the translator of the Second _Waqi`at-i-baburi_. _See_
Firishta lith. ed. p. 250.
[424] Babur's (step-)grandmother, co-widow with Aisan-daulat
of Yunas Khan and mother of Ahmad and Mahmud _Chaghatai_.
[425] Here the narrative picks up the thread of Khusrau Shah's
affairs, dropped on f. 44.
[426] _ming tuman fulus_, _i.e._ a thousand
sets-of-ten-thousand small copper coins. Mr. Erskine (Mems. p.
61) here has a note on coins. As here the _tuman_ does not
seem to be a coin but a number, I do not reproduce it,
valuable as it is _per se_.
[427] _ariqlar_; this the annotator of the Elph. MS. has
changed to _ashliq_, provisions, corn.
[428] _Saman-chi_ may mean Keeper of the Goods. Tingri-birdi,
Theodore, is the purely Turki form of the Khudai-birdi,
already met with several times in the B.N.
[429] Bast (Bost) is on the left bank of the Halmand.
[430] _Cf._ f. 56b.
[431] known as _Kabuli_. He was a son of Abu-sa`id and thus an
uncle of Babur. He ruled Kabul and Ghazni from a date previous
to his father's death in 873 AH. (perhaps from the time `Umar
Shaikh was _not_ sent there, in 870 AH. _See_ f. 6b) to his
death in 907 AH. Babur was his virtual successor in Kabul, in
910 AH.
[432] Elph. MS. f. 42; W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 47b and 217 f. 38;
Mems. p. 63. Babur here resumes his own story, interrupted on
f. 56.
[433] _aish achilmadi_, a phrase recurring on f. 59b foot. It
appears to imply, of trust in Providence, what the English
"The way was not opened," does. _Cf._ f. 60b for another
example of trust, there clinching discussion whether to go or
not to go to Marghinan.
[434] _i.e._ _Ahrari_. He had been dead some 10 years. The
despoilment of his family is mentioned on f. 23b.
[435] _fatratlar_, here those due to the deaths of Ahmad and
Mahmud with their sequel of unstable government in Samarkand.
[436] _Aughlaqchi_, the player of the kid-game, the
gray-wolfer. Yar-yilaq will have gone with the rest of
Samarkand into `Ali's hands in Rajab 903 AH. (March 1498).
Contingent terms between him and Babur will have been made;
Yusuf may have recognized some show of right under them, for
allowing Babur to occupy Yar-yilaq.
[437] _i.e._ after 933 AH. _Cf._ f. 46b and note concerning
the Bikramaditya era. See index _s.n._ Ahmad-i-yusuf and H.S.
ii, 293.
[438] This plural, unless ironical, cannot be read as
honouring `Ali; Babur uses the honorific plural most rarely
and specially, _e.g._ for saintly persons, for The Khan and
for elder women-kinsfolk.
[439] _bir yarim yil._ Dates shew this to mean six months. It
appears a parallel expression to Pers. _hasht-yak_,
one-eighth.
[440] H.S. ii, 293, in place of these two quotations, has a
_misra`_,--_Na ray safar kardan u na ruy iqamat_, (Nor resolve
to march, nor face to stay).
[441] _i.e._ in Samarkand.
[442] Point to point, some 145 m. but much further by the
road. Tang-ab seems likely to be one of the head-waters of
Khwaja Bikargan-water. Thence the route would be by
unfrequented hill-tracks, each man leading his second horse.
[443] _tun yarimi naqara waqtida._ _Tun yarimi_ seems to mean
half-dark, twilight. Here it cannot mean mid-night since this
would imply a halt of twelve hours and Babur says no halt was
made. The drum next following mid-day is the one beaten at
sunset.
[444] The voluntary prayer, offered when the sun has well
risen, fits the context.
[445] I understand that the obeisance was made in the
Gate-house, between the inner and outer doors.
[446] This seeming sobriquet may be due to eloquence or to
good looks.
[447] _qara tiyaq._ _Cf._ f. 63 where black bludgeons are used
by a red rabble.
[448] He was head-man of his clan and again with Shaibani in
909 AH. (Sh. N. VambÈry, p. 272). Erskine (p. 67) notes that
the Manghits are the modern Nogais.
[449] _i.e._ in order to allow for the here very swift
current. The H.S. varying a good deal in details from the B.N.
gives the useful information that Auzun Hasan's men knew
nothing of the coming of the Tashkint Mughuls.
[450] _Cf._ f. 4b and App. A. as to the position of Akhsi.
[451] _barini qirdilar._ After this statement the five
exceptions are unexpected; Babur's wording is somewhat
confused here.
[452] _i.e._ in Hindustan.
[453] Tambal would be the competitor for the second place.
[454] 47 m. 4-1/2 fur.
[455] Babur had been about two lunar years absent from Andijan
but his loss of rule was of under 16 months.
[456] A scribe's note entered here on the margin of the Hai.
MS. is to the effect that certain words are not in the noble
archetype (_nashka sharif_); this supports other circumstances
which make for the opinion that this Codex is a direct copy of
Babur's own MS. _See_ Index s.n. Hai. MS. and JRAS 1906, p.
87.
[457] _Musalman_ here seems to indicate mental contrast with
Pagan practices or neglect of Musalman observances amongst
Mughuls.
[458] _i.e._ of his advisors and himself.
[459] _Cf._ f. 34.
[460] _circa_ 933 AH. All the revolts chronicled by Babur as
made against himself were under Mughul leadership. Long Hasan,
Tambal and `Ali-dost were all Mughuls. The worst was that of
914 AH. (1518 AD.) in which Quli _Chunaq_ disgraced himself
(T.R. p. 357).
[461] _Chunaq_ may indicate the loss of one ear.
[462] _Buqaq_, amongst other meanings, has that of _one who
lies in ambush_.
[463] This remark has interest because it shews that (as Babur
planned to write more than is now with the B.N. MSS.) the
first gap in the book (914 AH. to 925 AH.) is accidental. His
own last illness is the probable cause of this gap. _Cf._ JRAS
1905, p. 744. Two other passages referring to unchronicled
matters are one about the Bagh-i-safa (f. 224), and one about
Sl. `Ali Taghai (f. 242).
[464] I surmise Ailaish to be a local name of the Qara-darya
affluent of the Sir.
[465] _aiki auch naubat chapqulab bash chiqarghali quimas._ I
cannot feel so sure as Mr. E. and M. de C. were that the man's
head held fast, especially as for it to fall would make the
better story.
[466] Tuqa appears to have been the son of a Taghai, perhaps
of Sherim; his name may imply blood-relationship.
[467] For the verb _awimaq_, to trepan, _see_ f. 67 note 5.
[468] The Fr. map of 1904 shews a hill suiting Babur's
location of this Hill of Pleasure.
[469] A place near Kabul bears the same name; in both the name
is explained by a legend that there Earth opened a refuge for
forty menaced daughters.
[470] Elph. MS. f. 47b; W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 53 and 217 f. 43;
Mems. p. 70.
[471] From Andijan to Aush is a little over 33 miles. Tambal's
road was east of Babur's and placed him between Andijan and
Auzkint where was the force protecting his family.
[472] mod. Mazy, on the main Aush-Kashghar road.
[473] _ab-duzd_; de C. i, 144, _prise d'eau_.
[474] This simile seems the fruit of experience in Hindustan.
_See_ f. 333, concerning Chanderi.
[475] These two Mughuls rebelled in 914 AH. with Sl. Quli
_Chunaq_ (T.R. _s.n._).
[476] _awidi._ The head of Captain Dow, fractured at Chunar by
a stone flung at it, was trepanned (_Saiyar-i-muta`akhirin_,
p. 577 and Irvine l .c. p. 283). Yar-`ali was alive in 910 AH.
He seems to be the father of the great Bairam Khan-i-khanan of
Akbar's reign.
[477] _chasht-gah_; midway between sunrise and noon.
[478] _tauri_; because providing prisoners for exchange.
[479] _shakh tutulur idi_, perhaps a palisade.
[480] _i.e._ from Hisar where he had placed him in 903 AH.
[481] _quba yuzluq_ (f. 6b and note 4). The Turkman features
would be a maternal inheritance.
[482] He is "Saifi Maulana `Aruzi" of Rieu's Pers. Cat. p.
525. _Cf._ H.S. ii, 341. His book, _`Aruz-i-saifi_ has been
translated by Blochmann and by Ranking.
[483] _namaz autar idi._ I understand some irony from this (de
Meynard's Dict. _s.n._ _autmaq_).
[484] The _matla`_ of poems serve as an index of first lines.
[485] _Cf._ f. 30.
[486] _Cf._ f. 37b.
[487] _i.e._ scout and in times of peace, huntsman. On the
margin of the Elph. Codex here stands a note, mutilated in
rebinding;--_Sl. Ahmad pidr-i-Quch Beg ast * * *
pidr-i-Sher-afgan u Sher-afgan * * * u Sl. Husain Khan * * *
Quch Beg ast. Hamesha * * * dar khana Shaham Khan * * *_.
[488] _pitildi_; W.-i-B. _navishta shud_, words indicating the
use by Babur of a written record.
[489] _Cf._ f. 6b and note and f. 17 and note.
[490] _tuluk_; _i.e._ other food than grain. Fruit, fresh or
preserved, being a principal constituent of food in Central
Asia, _tuluk_ will include several, but chiefly melons. "Les
melons constituent presque seuls vers le fin d'ÈtÈ, la
nourriture des classes pauvres" (Th. Radloff. l.c. p. 343).
[491] _Cf._ f. 6b and note.
[492] _tulki_ var. _tulku_, the yellow fox. Following this
word the Hai. MS. has _u dar kamin dur_ instead of _u rangin
dur_.
[493] _bi hadd_; with which I.O. 215 agrees but I.O. 217 adds
_farbih_, fat, which is right in fact (f. 2b) but less
pertinent here than an unlimited quantity.
[494] Here a pun on _`ajab_ may be read.
[495] _Cf._ f. 15, note to Taghai.
[496] Apparently not the usual Kindir-lik pass but one n.w. of
Kasan.
[497] A ride of at least 40 miles, followed by one of 20 to
Kasan.
[498] _Cf._ f. 72 and f. 72b. Tilba would seem to have left
Tambal.
[499] _Tambalning qarasi._
[500] _i.e._ the Other (Mid-afternoon) Prayer.
[501] _atining buinini qatib._ _Qatmaq_ has also the
here-appropriate meaning of _to stiffen_.
[502] _ailik qushmaq_, _i.e._ Babur's men with the Kasan
garrison. But the two W.-i-B. write merely _dast burd_ and
_dast kardan_.
[503] The meaning of _Ghazna_ here is uncertain. The Second
W.-i-B. renders it by ar. _qaryat_ but up to this point Babur
has not used _qaryat_ for _village_. Ghazna-namangan cannot be
modern Namangan. It was 2 m. from Archian where Tambal was,
and Babur went to Bishkharan to be between Tambal and Machami,
coming from the south. Archian and Ghazna-namangan seem both
to have been n. or n.w. of Bishkaran (see maps).
It may be mentioned that at Archian, in 909 AH. the two
Chaghatai Khans and Babur were defeated by Shaibani.
[504] _bizlar._ The double plural is rare with Babur; he
writes _biz_, we, when action is taken in common; he rarely
uses _min_, I, with autocratic force; his phrasing is largely
impersonal, _e.g._ with rare exceptions, he writes the
impersonal passive verb.
[505] _bashlighlar._ Teufel was of opinion that this word is
not used as a noun in the B.N. In this he is mistaken; it is
so used frequently, as here, in apposition. _See_ ZDMG,
xxxvii, art. Babur und Abu`l-fazl.
[506] _Cf._ f. 54 foot.
[507] _Cf._ f. 20. She may have come from Samarkand and `Ali's
household or from Kesh and the Tarkhan households.
[508] _Cf._ f. 26 l. 2 for the same phrase.
[509] He is the author of the _Shaibani-nama_.
[510] _dang_ and _fils_ (_infra_) are small copper coins.
[511] _Cf._ f. 25 l. 1 and note 1.
[512] Probably the poet again; he had left Harat and was in
Samarkand (Sh. N. VambÈry, p. 34 l. 14).
[513] From what follows, this Mughul advance seems a sequel to
a Tarkhan invitation.
[514] By omitting the word _Mir_ the Turki text has caused
confusion between this father and son (Index _s.nn._).
[515] _biz khud kharab bu mu`amla aiduk._ These words have
been understood earlier, as referring to the abnormal state of
Babur's mind described under Sec. _r_. They better suit the
affairs of Samarkand because Babur is able to resolve on
action and also because he here writes _biz_, we, and not
_min_, I, as in Sec. _r_.
[516] For _bulghar_, rendezvous, _see_ also f. 78 l. 2 fr. ft.
[517] 25 m. only; the halts were due probably to belated
arrivals.
[518] Some of his ties would be those of old acquaintance in
Hisar with `Ali's father's begs, now with him in Samarkand.
[519] Point to point, some 90 m. but further by road.
[520] _Bu waqi` bulghach_, manifestly ironical.
[521] Sangzar to Aura-tipa, by way of the hills, some 50
miles.
[522] The Sh. N. VambÈry, p. 60, confirms this.
[523] _Cf._ f. 74b.
[524] Macham and Awighur, presumably.
[525] _guzlar tuz tuti_, _i.e._ he was blinded for some
treachery to his hosts.
[526] Muh. Salih's well-informed account of this episode has
much interest, filling out and, as by Shaibani's Boswell,
balancing Babur's. Babur is obscure about what country was to
be given to `Ali. Payanda-hasan paraphrases his brief
words;--Shaibani was to be as a father to `Ali and when he had
taken `Ali's father's _wilayat_, he was to give a country to
`Ali. It has been thought that the gift to `Ali was to follow
Shaibani's recovery of his own ancestral camping-ground
(_yurt_) but this is negatived, I think, by the word,
_wilayat_, cultivated land.
[527] Elp. MS. f. 57b; W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 63b and I.O. 217 f.
52; Mems. p. 82.
Two contemporary works here supplement the B.N.; (1) the
(_Tawarikh-i-guzida_) _Nasrat-nama_, dated 908 AH. (B.M. Turki
Or. 3222) of which Berezin's _Shaibani-nama_ is an abridgment;
(2) Muh. Salih Mirza's _Shaibani-nama_ (VambÈry trs. cap. xix
_et seq._). The H.S. (Bomb. ed. p. 302, and Tehran ed. p. 384)
is also useful.
[528] _i.e._ on his right. The H.S. ii, 302 represents that
`Ali was well-received. After Shaibaq had had Zuhra's
overtures, he sent an envoy to `Ali and Yahya; the first was
not won over but the second fell in with his mother's scheme.
This difference of view explains why `Ali slipped away while
Yahya was engaged in the Friday Mosque. It seems likely that
mother and son alike expected their Auzbeg blood to stand them
in good stead with Shaibaq.
[529] He tried vainly to get the town defended. "Would to God
Babur Mirza were here!" he is reported as saying, by Muh.
Salih.
[530] Perhaps it is for the play of words on `Ali and `Ali's
life (_jan_) that this man makes his sole appearance here.
[531] _i.e._ rich man or merchant, but _Bi_ (_infra_) is an
equivalent of Beg.
[532] Muh. Salih, invoking curses on such a mother, mentions
that Zuhra was given to a person of her own sort.
[533] The Sh. N. and _Nasrat-nama_ attempt to lift the blame
of `Ali's death from Shaibaq; the second saying that he fell
into the Kohik-water when drunk.
[534] Harat might be his destination but the H.S. names Makka.
Some dismissals towards Khurasan may imply pilgrimage to
Meshhed.
[535] Used also by Babur's daughter, Gul-badan (l.c. f. 31).
[536] Cut off by alien lands and weary travel.
[537] The Pers. annotator of the Elph. Codex has changed Alai
to _wilayat_, and _daban_ (pass) to _yan_, side. For the
difficult route _see_ Schuyler, i, 275, Kostenko, i, 129 and
Rickmers, JRGS. 1907, art. Fan Valley.
[538] Amongst Turks and Mughuls, gifts were made by nines.
[539] Hisar was his earlier home.
[540] Many of these will have been climbed in order to get
over places impassable at the river's level.
[541] Schuyler quotes a legend of the lake. He and Kostenko
make it larger.
[542] The second occasion was when he crossed from Sukh for
Kabul in 910 AH. (fol. 120).
[543] This name appears to indicate a Command of 10,000
(Bretschneider's _MediÊval Researches_, i, 112).
[544] It seems likely that the cloth was soiled. _Cf._ f. 25
and Hughes Dict. of Islam _s.n._ Eating.
[545] As, of the quoted speech, one word only, of three, is
Turki, others may have been dreamed. Shaikh Maslahat's tomb is
in Khujand where Babur had found refuge in 903 AH.; it had
been circumambulated by Timur in 790 AH. (1390 AD.) and is
still honoured.
This account of a dream compares well for naturalness with
that in the seemingly-spurious passage, entered with the Hai.
MS. on f. 118. For examination of the passage _see_ JRAS, Jan.
1911, and App. D.
[546] He was made a Tarkhan by diploma of Shaibani (H.S. ii,
306, l. 2).
[547] Here the Hai. MS. begins to use the word _Shaibaq_ in
place of its previously uniform _Shaibani_. As has been noted
(f. 5b n. 2), the Elph. MS. writes _Shaibaq_. It may be
therefore that a scribe has changed the earlier part of the
Hai. MS. and that Babur wrote _Shaibaq_. From this point my
text will follow the double authority of the Elph. and Hai.
MSS.
[548] In 875 AH. (1470 AD.). Husain was then 32 years old.
Babur might have compared his taking of Samarkand with Timur's
capture of Qarshi, also with 240 followers (Z.N. i, 127).
Firishta (lith. ed. p. 196) ascribes his omission to do so to
reluctance to rank himself with his great ancestor.
[549] This arrival shews that Shaibani expected to stay in
Samarkand. He had been occupying Turkistan under The Chaghatai
Khan.
[550] `Ali-sher died Jan. 3rd. 1501. It is not clear to what
disturbances Babur refers. He himself was at ease till after
April 20th. 1502 and his defeat at Sar-i-pul. Possibly the
reference is to the quarrels between Bina'i and `Ali-sher.
_Cf._ Sam Mirza's Anthology, trs. S. de SaÁy, _Notices et
Extraits_ iv, 287 _et seq._
[551] I surmise a double play-of-words in this verse. One is
on two rhyming words, _ghala_ and _mallah_ and is illustrated
by rendering them as _oat_ and _coat_. The other is on pointed
and unpointed letters, _i.e._ _ghala_ and _`ala_. We cannot
find however a Persian word _`ala_, meaning garment.
[552] Babur's refrain is _ghusidur_, his rhymes _bul_,
_(buyur)ul_ and _tul_. Bina'i makes _bulghusidur_ his refrain
but his rhymes are not true _viz._ _yir_, _(sa)mar_ and _lar_.
[553] Shawwal 906 AH. began April 20th. 1501.
[554] From the _Bu-stan_, Graf ed. p. 55, l. 246.
[555] Sikiz Yilduz. _See_ Chardin's _Voyages_, v, 136 and
Table; also Stanley Lane Poole's _Babur_, p. 56.
[556] In 1791 AD. Muh. Effendi shot 482 yards from a Turkish
bow, before the R. Tox. S.; not a good shot, he declared.
Longer ones are on record. _See_ Payne-Gallwey's _Cross-bow_
and AQR. 1911, H. Beveridge's _Oriental Cross-bows_.
[557] In the margin of the Elph. Codex, here, stands a Persian
verse which appears more likely to be Humayun's than Babur's.
It is as follows:
Were the Mughul race angels, they would be bad;
Written in gold, the name Mughul would be bad;
Pluck not an ear from the Mughul's corn-land,
What is sown with Mughul seed will be bad.
This verse is written into the text of the First W.-i-B. (I.O.
215 f. 72) and is introduced by a scribe's statement that it
is by _an Hazrat_, much as notes known to be Humayun's are
elsewhere attested in the Elph. Codex. It is not in the Hai.
and Kehr's MSS. nor with, at least many, good copies of the
Second W.-i-B.
[558] This subterranean water-course, issuing in a flowing
well (Erskine) gave its name to a bastion (H.S. ii, 300).
[559] _nawak_, a diminutive of _nao_, a tube. It is described,
in a MS. of Babur's time, by Muh. Budha'i, and, in a second of
later date, by Aminu'd-din (AQR 1911, H.B.'s _Oriental
Cross-bows_).
[560] Kostenko, i, 344, would make the rounds 9 m.
[561] _bir yuz atliqning atini nawak auqi bila yakhshi atim._
This has been read by Erskine as though _buz at_, pale horse,
and not _yuz atliq_, Centurion, were written. De. C.
translates by Centurion and a marginal note of the Elph. Codex
explains _yuz atliq_ by _sad aspagi_.
[562] The Sh. N. gives the reverse side of the picture, the
plenty enjoyed by the besiegers.
[563] He may have been attached to the tomb of Khwaja
`Abdu'l-lah _Ansari_ in Harat.
[564] The brusque entry here and elsewhere of _e.g._ Tambal's
affairs, allows the inference that Babur was quoting from
perhaps a news-writer's, contemporary records. For a different
view of Tambal, the Sh. N. cap. xxxiii should be read.
[565] Five-villages, on the main Khujand-Tashkint road.
[566] _turk_, as on f. 28 of Khusrau Shah.
[567] Elph. MS. f. 68b; W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 78 and 217 f. 61b;
Mems. p. 97.
The Kehr-Ilminsky text shews, in this year, a good example of
its Persification and of Dr. Ilminsky's dealings with his
difficult archetype by the help of the Memoirs.
[568] _tashlab._ The Sh. N. places these desertions as after
four months of siege.
[569] It strikes one as strange to find Long Hasan described,
as here, in terms of his younger brother. The singularity may
be due to the fact that Husain was with Babur and may have
invited Hasan. It may be noted here that Husain seems likely
to be that father-in-law of `Umar Shaikh mentioned on f. 12b
and 13b.
[570] This laudatory comment I find nowhere but in the Hai.
Codex.
[571] There is some uncertainty about the names of those who
left.
[572] The Sh. N. is interesting here as giving an eye-witness'
account of the surrender of the town and of the part played in
the surrender by Khan-zada's marriage (cap. xxxix).
[573] The first seems likely to be a relation of Nizamu'd-din
`Ali Khalifa; the second was Mole-marked, a foster-sister. The
party numbered some 100 persons of whom Abu'l-makaram was one
(H.S. ii, 310).
[574] Babur's brevity is misleading; his sister was not
captured but married with her own and her mother's consent
before attempt to leave the town was made. _Cf._ Gul-badan's
H.N. f. 3b and Sh. N. VambÈry, p. 145.
[575] The route taken avoided the main road for Dizak; it can
be traced by the physical features, mentioned by Babur, on the
Fr. map of 1904. The Sh. N. says the night was extraordinarily
dark. Departure in blinding darkness and by unusual ways shews
distrust of Shaibaq's safe-conduct suggesting that Yahya's
fate was in the minds of the fugitives.
[576] The texts differ as to whether the last two lines are
prose or verse. All four are in Turki, but I surmise a
clerical error in the refrain of the third, where _bulub_ is
written for _buldi_.
[577] The second was in 908 AH. (f. 18_b_); the third in 914
AH. (f. 216 _b_); the fourth is not described in the B.N.; it
followed Babur's defeat at Ghaj-diwan in 918 AH. (Erskine's
_History of India_, i, 325). He had a fifth, but of a
different kind, when he survived poison in 933 AH. (f. 305).
[578] Hai. MS. _qaqasraq_; Elph. MS. _yanasraq_.
[579] _atun_, one who instructs in reading, writing and
embroidery. _Cf._ Gulbadan's H.N. f. 26. The distance walked
may have been 70 or 80 m.
[580] She was the wife of the then Governor of Aura-tipa, Muh.
Husain _Dughlat_.
[581] It may be noted here that in speaking of these elder
women Babur uses the honorific plural, a form of rare
occurrence except for such women, for saintly persons and
exceptionally for The supreme Khan. For his father he has
never used it.
[582] This name has several variants. The village lies, in a
valley-bottom, on the Aq-su and on a road. _See_ Kostenko, i,
119.
[583] She had been divorced from Shaibani in order to allow
him to make legal marriage with her niece, Khan-zada.
[584] Amongst the variants of this name, I select the modern
one. Macha is the upper valley of the Zar-afshan.
[585] Timur took Dihli in 801 AH. (Dec. 1398), _i.e._ 103
solar and 106 lunar years earlier. The ancient dame would then
have been under 5 years old. It is not surprising therefore
that in repeating her story Babur should use a tense
betokening hear-say matter (_barib ikan dur_).
[586] The anecdote here following, has been analysed in JRAS
1908, p. 87, in order to show warrant for the opinion that
parts of the Kehr-Ilminsky text are retranslations from the
Persian W.-i-B.
[587] Amongst those thus leaving seem to have been Qambar-`ali
(f. 99b).
[588] _Cf._ f. 107 foot.
[589] The Sh. N. speaks of the cold in that winter (VambÈry,
p. 160). It was unusual for the Sir to freeze in this part of
its course (Sh. N. p. 172) where it is extremely rapid
(Kostenko, i, 213).
[590] _Cf._ f. 4b.
[591] Point to point, some 50 miles.
[592] _Ahangaran-julgasi_, a name narrowed on maps to Angren
(valley).
[593] _Faut shud Nuyan._ The numerical value of these words is
907. Babur when writing, looks back 26 years to the death of
this friend.
[594] Ab-burdan village is on the Zar-afshan; the pass is
11,200 ft. above the sea. Babur's boundaries still hold good
and the spring still flows. _See_ Ujfalvy _l.c._ i. 14;
Kostenko, i, 119 and 193; Rickmers, JRGS 1907, p. 358.
[595] From the _Bu-stan_ (Graf's ed. Vienna 1858, p. 561). The
last couplet is also in the _Gulistan_ (Platts' ed. p. 72).
The Bombay lith. ed. of the _Bu-stan_ explains (p. 39) that
the "We" of the third couplet means Jamshid and his
predecessors who have rested by his fountain.
[596] _nima._ The First W.-i-B. (I.O. 215 f. 81 l. 8) writes
_tawarikh_, annals.
[597] This may be the Khwaja Hijri of the A.N. (index _s.n._);
and Badayuni's Hasan _Hijri_, Bib. Ind. iii, 385; and EthÈ's
Pers. Cat. No. 793; and Bod. Cat. No. 189.
[598] The Hai. MS. points in the last line as though punning
on Khan and Jan, but appears to be wrong.
[599] For an account of the waste of crops, the Sh. N. should
be seen (p. 162 and 180).
[600] I think this refers to last year's move (f. 94 foot).
[601] In other words, the T. preposition, meaning E. in, at,
_etc._ may be written with t or d, as _ta(ta)_ or as _da(da)_.
Also the one meaning E. towards, may be _gha_, _qa_, or _ka_
(with long or short vowel).
[602] _dim_, a word found difficult. It may be a derivative of
root _de_, tell, and a noun with the meaning of English tale
(number). The First W.-i-B. renders it by _san_, and by _san_,
Abu'l-ghazi expresses what Babur's _dim_ expresses, the
numbering of troops. It occurs thrice in the B.N. (here, on f.
183b and on f. 264b). In the Elphinstone Codex it has been
written-over into _Ivim_, once resembles _vim_ more than _dim_
and once is omitted. The L. and E. _Memoirs_ (p. 303) inserts
what seems a gloss, saying that a whip or bow is used in the
count, presumably held by the teller to 'keep his place' in
the march past. The _Siyasat-nama_ (Schefer, trs. p. 22) names
the whip as used in numbering an army.
[603] The acclamation of the standards is depicted in B.M.
W.-i-B. Or. 3714 f. 128b. One cloth is shewn tied to the off
fore-leg of a live cow, above the knee, Babur's word being
_aurta ailik_ (middle-hand).
[604] The libation was of fermented mares'-milk.
[605] _lit._ their one way.
[606] _Cf._ T.R. p. 308.
[607] Elph. MS. f. 74; W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 83 and 217 f. 66;
Mems. p. 104.
[608] It may be noted that Babur calls his mother's brothers,
not _taghai_ but _dada_ father. I have not met with an
instance of his saying 'My taghai' as he says 'My dada.' _Cf._
index _s.n._ _taghai_.
[609] _kurunush qilib_, reflective from _kurmak_, to see.
[610] A rider's metaphor.
[611] As touching the misnomer, 'Mughul dynasty' for the
Timurid rulers in Hindustan, it may be noted that here, as
Babur is speaking to a Chaghatai Mughul, his 'Turk' is left to
apply to himself.
[612] Gulistan, cap. viii, Maxim 12 (Platts' ed. p. 147).
[613] This backward count is to 890 AH. when Ahmad fled from
cultivated lands (T.R. p. 113).
[614] It becomes clear that Ahmad had already been asked to
come to Tashkint.
[615] _Cf._ f. 96b for his first departure without help.
[616] Yagha (Yaghma) is not on the Fr. map of 1904, but
suitably located is Turbat (Tomb) to which roads converge.
[617] Elph. MS. _tushkucha_; Hai. MS. _yukuncha_. The
importance Ahmad attached to ceremony can be inferred by the
details given (f. 103) of his meeting with Mahmud.
[618] _kurushkailar._ _Cf._ Redhouse who gives no support for
reading the verb _kurmak_ as meaning _to embrace_.
[619] _burk_, a tall felt cap (Redhouse). In the adjective
applied to the cap there are several variants. The Hai. MS.
writes _muftul_, solid or twisted. The Elph. MS. has
_muftun-luq_ which has been understood by Mr. Erskine to mean,
gold-embroidered.
[620] The wording suggests that the decoration is in
chain-stitch, pricked up and down through the stuff.
[621] _tash chantai._ These words have been taken to mean
whet-stone (_bilgu-tash_). I have found no authority for
reading _tash_ as whet-stone. Moreover to allow 'bag of the
stone' to be read would require _tash (ning) chantai-si_ in
the text.
[622] lit. bag-like things. Some will have held spare
bow-strings and archers' rings, and other articles of
'repairing kit.' With the gifts, it seems probable that the
_gosha-gir_ (f. 107) was given.
[623] Vullers, _clava sex foliis_.
[624] Zenker, _casse-tÍte_. _Kistin_ would seem to be formed
from the root, _kis_, cutting, but M. de C. describes it as a
ball attached by a strap or chain to a handle. _Sanglakh_, a
sort of mace (_gurz_).
[625] The _Rauzatu's-safa_ states that The Khans left Tashkint
on Muharram 15th (July 21st. 1502), in order to restore Babur
and expel Tambal (Erskine).
[626] lit. saw the count (_dim_). _Cf._ f. 100 and note
concerning the count. Using a Persian substitute, the
Kehr-Ilminsky text writes _san_ (_kurdilar_).
[627] Elph. MS. _ambarchi_, steward, for Itarchi, a
tribal-name. The 'Mirza' and the rank of the army-begs are
against supposing a steward in command. Here and just above,
the texts write Mirza-i-Itarchi and Mirza-i-Dughlat, thus
suggesting that in names not ending with a vowel, the _izafat_
is required for exact transliteration, _e.g._
Muhammad-i-dughlat.
[628] _Alai-liq aurchini._ I understand the march to have been
along the northern slope of the Little Alai, south of Aush.
[629] As of Almaligh and Almatu (fol. 2b) Babur reports a
tradition with caution. The name Auz-kint may be read to mean
'Own village,' independent, as _Auz-beg_, Own-beg.
[630] He would be one of the hereditary Khwajas of Andijan (f.
16).
[631] For several battle-cries _see_ Th. Radloff's _RÈceuils_
etc. p. 322.
[632] _qashqa atliq kishi._ For a parallel phrase _see_ f.
92b.
[633] Babur does not explain how the imbroglio was cleared up;
there must have been a dramatic moment when this happened.
[634] _Darwana_ (a trap-door in a roof) has the variant
_dur-dana_, a single pearl; _tuqqai_ perhaps implies
relationship; _lulu_ is a pearl, a wild cow etc.
[635] Hai. MS. _sairt kishi_. Muh. `Ali is likely to be the
librarian (_cf._ index _s.n._).
[636] Elph. MS. _ramaqgha u tur-ga_; Hai. MS. _tartatgha u
tur-ga_. Ilminsky gives no help, varying much here from the
true text. The archetype of both MSS. must have been difficult
to read.
[637] The Hai. MS.'s pointing allows the sobriquet to mean
'Butterfly.' His family lent itself to nick-names; in it three
brothers were known respectively as Fat or Lubberly, Fool and,
perhaps, Butterfly.
[638] _birk arigh_, doubly strong by its trench and its
current.
[639] I understand that time failed to set the standard in its
usual rest. E. and de C. have understood that the yak-tail
(_qutas tughi_ f. 100) was apart from the staff and that time
failed to adjust the two parts. The _tugh_ however is the
whole standard; moreover if the tail were ever taken off at
night from the staff, it would hardly be so treated in a mere
bivouac.
[640] _aishiklik turluq_, as on f. 113. I understand this to
mean that the two men were as far from their followers as
sentries at a Gate are posted outside the Gate.
[641] So too 'Piero of Cosimo' and 'Lorenzo of Piero of the
Medici.' _Cf._ the names of five men on f. 114.
[642] _shashtim._ The _shasht_ (thumb) in archery is the
thumb-shield used on the left hand, as the _zih-gir_
(string-grip), the archer's ring, is on the right-hand thumb.
It is useful to remember, when reading accounts of shooting
with the Turki (Turkish) bow, that the arrows (_auq_) had
notches so gripping the string that they kept in place until
released with the string.
[643] _sar-i-sabz gosha gir._ The _gosha-gir_ is an implement
for remedying the warp of a bow-tip and string-notch. For
further particulars _see_ Appendix C.
The term _sar-i-sabz_, lit. green-head, occurs in the sense of
'quite young' or 'new,' in the proverb, 'The red tongue loses
the green head,' quoted in the _Tabaqat-i-akbari_ account of
Babur's death. Applied here, it points to the _gosha-gir_ as
part of the recent gift made by Ahmad to Babur.
[644] _Tambal aikandur._ By this tense I understand that Babur
was not at first sure of the identity of the pseudo-sentries,
partly because of their distance, partly, it may be presumed,
because of concealment of identity by armour.
[645] _duwulgha burki_; _i.e._ the soft cap worn under the
iron helm.
[646] Nuyan's sword dealt the blow (f. 97b). Gul-badan also
tells the story (f. 77) ‡ propos of a similar incident in
Humayun's career. Babur repeats the story on f. 234.
[647] _yaldaghlamai dur aidim._ The Second W.-i-B. has taken
this as from _yalturmaq_, to cause to glisten, and adds the
gloss that the sword was rusty (I.O. 217 f. 70b).
[648] The text here seems to say that the three men were on
foot, but this is negatived by the context.
[649] Amongst the various uses of the verb _tushmak_, to
descend in any way, the B.N. does not allow of 'falling
(death) in battle.' When I made the index of the Hai. MS.
facsimile, this was not known to me; I therefore erroneously
entered the men enumerated here as killed at this time.
[650] Elph. MS. _yakhshi_. Zenker explains _bakhshi_
(pay-master) as meaning also a Court-physician.
[651] The Hai. Elph. and Kehr's MS. all have _puchqaq taqmaq_
or it may be _puhqaq taqmaq_. T. _bukhaq_ means bandage,
_puchaq_, rind of fruit, but the word clear in the three Turki
MSS. means, skin of a fox's leg.
[652] The _darya_ here mentioned seems to be the Kasan-water;
the route taken from Bishkharan to Pap is shewn on the Fr. map
to lead past modern Tupa-qurghan. Pap is not marked, but was,
I think, at the cross-roads east of Touss (Karnan).
[653] Presumably Jahangir's.
[654] Here his father was killed (f. 6b). _Cf._ App. A.
[655] `Ali-dost's son (f. 79b).
[656] The sobriquet _Khiz_ may mean Leaper, or Impetuous.
[657] _kuilak_, syn. _kunglak_, a shirt not opening at the
breast. It will have been a short garment since the under-vest
was visible.
[658] _i.e._ when Babur was writing in Hindustan. Exactly at
what date he made this entry is not sure. `Ali was in Koel in
933 AH. (f. 315) and then taken prisoner, but Babur does not
say he was killed,--as he well might say of a marked man, and,
as the captor was himself taken shortly after, `Ali may have
been released, and may have been in Koel again. So that the
statement 'now in Koel' may refer to a time later than his
capture. The interest of the point is in its relation to the
date of composition of the _Babur-nama_.
No record of `Ali's bravery in Aush has been preserved. The
reference here made to it may indicate something attempted in
908 AH. after Babur's adventure in Karnan (f. 118b) or in 909
AH. from Sukh. _Cf._ Translator's note f. 118b.
[659] _aupchinlik._ VambÈry, _gepanzert_; Shaw, four
horse-shoes and their nails; Steingass, _aupcha-khana_, a
guard-house.
[660] Sang is a ferry-station (Kostenko, i, 213). Pap may well
have been regretted (f. 109b and f. 112b)! The well-marked
features of the French map of 1904 allows Babur's flight to be
followed.
[661] In the Turki text this saying is in Persian; in the
Kehr-Ilminsky, in Turki, as though it had gone over with its
Persian context of the W.-i-B. from which the K.-I. text here
is believed to be a translation.
[662] _Cf._ f. 96b and Fr. Map for route over the Kindir-tau.
[663] This account of Muh. Baqir reads like one given later to
Babur; he may have had some part in Babur's rescue (_cf._
Translator's Note to f. 118b).
[664] Perhaps reeds for a raft. Sh. N. p. 258, _Sal auchun bar
qamish_, reeds are there also for rafts.
[665] Here the Turki text breaks off, as it might through loss
of pages, causing a blank of narrative extending over some 16
months. _Cf._ App. D. for a passage, supposedly spurious,
found with the Haidarabad Codex and the Kehr-Ilminsky text,
purporting to tell how Babur was rescued from the risk in
which the lacuna here leaves him.
[666] As in the Farghana Section, so here, reliance is on the
Elphinstone and Haidarabad MSS. The Kehr-Ilminsky text still
appears to be a retranslation from the _Waqi`at-i-baburi_ and
verbally departs much from the true text; moreover, in this
Section it has been helped out, where its archetype was
illegible or has lost fragmentary passages, from the Leyden
and Erskine _Memoirs_. It may be mentioned, as between the
First and the Second _Waqi`at-i-baburi_, that several obscure
passages in this Section are more explicit in the First
(Payanda-hasan's) than in its successor (`Abdu-r-rahim's).
[667] Elph. MS. f. 90b; W.-i-B. I.O. 215, f. 96b and 217, f.
79; Mems. p. 127. "In 1504 AD. Ferdinand the Catholic drove
the French out of Naples" (Erskine). In England, Henry VII was
pushing forward a commercial treaty, the _Intercursus malus_,
with the Flemings and growing in wealth by the exactions of
Empson and Dudley.
[668] presumably the pastures of the "Ilak" Valley. The route
from Sukh would be over the `Ala`u'd-din-pass, into the
Qizil-su valley, down to Ab-i-garm and on to the Ailaq-valley,
Khwaja `Imad, the Kafirnigan, Qabadian, and Aubaj on the Amu.
See T.R. p. 175 and Farghana Section, p. 184, as to the
character of the journey.
[669] Amongst the Turki tribes, the time of first applying the
razor to the face is celebrated by a great entertainment.
Babur's miserable circumstances would not admit of this
(Erskine).
The text is ambiguous here, reading either that Sukh was left
or that Ailaq-yilaq was reached in Muharram. As the birthday
was on the 8th, the journey very arduous and, for a party
mostly on foot, slow, it seems safest to suppose that the
start was made from Sukh at the end of 909 AH. and not in
Muharram, 910 AH.
[670] _charuq_, rough boots of untanned leather, formed like a
moccasin with the lower leather drawn up round the foot; they
are worn by Khirghiz mountaineers and caravan-men on journeys
(Shaw).
[671] _chapan_, the ordinary garment of Central Asia (Shaw).
[672] The _alachuq_, a tent of flexible poles, covered with
felt, may be the _khargah_ (kibitka); Persian _chadar_ seems
to represent Turki _aq awi_, white house.
[673] _i.e._ with Khusrau's power shaken by Auzbeg attack,
made in the winter of 909 AH. (_Shaibani-nama_ cap. lviii).
[674] Cf. ff. 81 and 81b. The armourer's station was low for
an envoy to Babur, the superior in birth of the armourer's
master.
[675] var. Chaqanian and Saghanian. The name formerly
described the whole of the Hisar territory (Erskine).
[676] the preacher by whom the _Khutba_ is read (Erskine).
[677] _bi baqi_ or _bi Baqi_; perhaps a play of words with the
double meaning expressed in the above translation.
[678] Amongst these were widows and children of Babur's uncle,
Mahmud (f. 27b).
[679] _aughul._ As being the son of Khusrau's sister, Ahmad
was nephew to Baqi; there may be in the text a scribe's slip
from one _aughul_ to another, and the real statement be that
Ahmad was the son of Baqi's son, Muh. Qasim, which would
account for his name Ahmad-i-qasim.
[680] Cf. f. 67.
[681] Babur's loss of rule in Farghana and Samarkand.
[682] about 7 miles south of Aibak, on the road to Sar-i-tagh
(mountain-head, Erskine).
[683] _viz._ the respective fathers, Mahmud and `Umar Shaikh.
The arrangement was made in 895 AH. (1490 AD.).
[684] _Gulistan_ cap. i, story 3. Part of this quotation is
used again on f. 183.
[685] Mahmud's sons under whom Baqi had served.
[686] Uncles of all degrees are included as elder brethren,
cousins of all degrees, as younger ones.
[687] Presumably the ferries; perhaps the one on the main road
from the north-east which crosses the river at Fort Murgh-ab.
[688] Nine deaths, perhaps where the Amu is split into nine
channels at the place where Mirza Khan's son Sulaiman later
met his rebel grandson Shah-rukh (_Tabaqat-i-akbari_, Elliot
& Dowson, v, 392, and A.N. Bib. Ind., 3rd ed., 441).
Tuquz-aulum is too far up the river to be Arnold's "shorn and
parcelled Oxus".
[689] Shaibaq himself had gone down from Samarkand in 908 AH.
and in 909 AH. and so permanently located his troops as to
have sent their families to them. In 909 AH. he drove Khusrau
into the mountains of Badakhshan, but did not occupy Qunduz;
thither Khusrau returned and there stayed till now, when
Shaibaq again came south (fol. 123). See Sh. N. cap. lviii _et
seq._
[690] From Tambal, to put down whom he had quitted his army
near Balkh (Sh. N. cap. lix).
[691] This, one of the many Red-rivers, flows from near
Kahmard and joins the Andar-ab water near Dushi.
[692] A _gari_ is twenty-four minutes.
[693] Qoran, _Surat_ iii, verse 25; Sale's Qoran, ed. 1825, i,
56.
[694] Cf. f. 82.
[695] _viz._ Bai-sanghar, bowstrung, and Mas`ud, blinded.
[696] Muh. Salih is florid over the rubies of Badakhshan he
says Babur took from Khusrau, but Haidar says Babur not only
had Khusrau's property, treasure, and horses returned to him,
but refused all gifts Khusrau offered. "This is one trait out
of a thousand in the Emperor's character." Haidar mentions,
too, the then lack of necessaries under which Babur suffered
(Sh. N., cap. lxiii, and T.R. p. 176).
[697] Cf. T. R. p. 134 n. and 374 n.
[698] _Jiba_, so often used to describe the quilted corselet,
seems to have here a wider meaning, since the _jiba-khana_
contained both _joshan_ and _kuhah_, _i.e._ coats-of-mail and
horse-mail with accoutrements. It can have been only from this
source that Babur's men obtained the horse-mail of f. 127.
[699] He succeeded his father, Aulugh Beg _Kabuli_, in 907
AH.; his youth led to the usurpation of his authority by
Sherim Zikr, one of his begs; but the other begs put Sherim to
death. During the subsequent confusions Muh. Muqim _Arghun_,
in 908 AH., got possession of Kabul and married a sister of
`Abdu'r-razzaq. Things were in this state when Babur entered
the country in 910 AH. (Erskine).
[700] var. Upian, a few miles north of Charikar.
[701] Suhail (Canopus) is a most conspicuous star in
Afghanistan; it gives its name to the south, which is never
called Janub but Suhail; the rising of Suhail marks one of
their seasons (Erskine). The honour attaching to this star is
due to its seeming to rise out of Arabia Felix.
[702] The lines are in the Preface to the _Anwar-i-suhaili_
(Lights of Canopus).
[703] "Die Kirghis-qazzaq dr¸cken die Sonnen-hˆhe in Pikenaus"
(von Schwarz, p. 124).
[704] Presumably, dark with shade, as in _qara-yighach_, the
hard-wood elm (f. 47b and note to _narwan_).
[705] _i.e._ Sayyid Muhammad `Ali, the door-ward. These
_bulaks_ seem likely to have been groups of 1,000 fighting-men
(Turki _Ming_).
[706] In-the-water and Water-head.
[707] Wali went from his defeat to Khwast; wrote to Mahmud
_Auzbeg_ in Qunduz to ask protection; was fetched to Qunduz by
Muh. Salih, the author of the _Shaibani-nama_, and forwarded
from Qunduz to Samarkand (Sh. N. cap. lxiii). Cf. f. 29b.
[708] _i.e._ where justice was administered, at this time,
outside Babur's tent.
[709] They would pass Ajar and make for the main road over the
Dandan-shikan Pass.
[710] The clansmen may have obeyed Ahmad's orders in thus
holding up the families.
[711] The name may be from Turki _taq_, a horse-shoe, but I.O.
215 f. 102 writes Persian _naqib_, the servant who announces
arriving guests.
[712] Here, as immediately below, when mentioning the
Char-bagh and the tomb of Qutluq-qadam, Babur uses names
acquired by the places at a subsequent date. In 910 AH. the
Taster was alive; the Char-bagh was bought by Babur in 911
AH., and Qutluq-qadam fought at Kanwaha in 933 AH.
[713] The Kucha-bagh is still a garden about 4 miles from
Kabul on the north-west and divided from it by a low
hill-pass. There is still a bridge on the way (Erskine).
[714] Presumably that on which the Bala-hisar stood, the
glacis of a few lines further.
[715] Cf. f. 130.
[716] One of Muqim's wives was a Timurid, Babur's
first-cousin, the daughter of Aulugh Beg _Kabuli_; another was
Bibi Zarif Khatun, the mother of that Mah-chuchuq, whose anger
at her marriage to Babur's faithful Qasim Kukuldash has filled
some pages of history (Gulbadan's H.N. _s.n._ Mah-chuchuq and
Erskine's B. and H. i, 348).
[717] Some 9 m. north of Kabul on the road to Aq-sarai.
[718] The Hai. MS. (only) writes First Rabi but the Second
better suits the near approach of winter.
[719] Elph. MS. fol. 97; W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 102b and 217 f.
85; Mems. p. 136. Useful books of the early 19th century, many
of them referring to the _Babur-nama_, are Conolly's
_Travels_, Wood's _Journey_, Elphinstone's _Caubul_, Burnes'
_Cabool_, Masson's _Narrative_, Lord's and Leech's articles in
JASB 1838 and in Burnes' _Reports_ (India Office Library),
Broadfoot's _Report_ in RGS Supp. Papers vol. I.
[720] f. 1b where Farghana is said to be on the limit of
cultivation.
[721] f. 131b. To find these _tumans_ here classed with what
was not part of Kabul suggest a clerical omission of "beyond"
or "east of" (Lamghanat). It may be more correct to write
Lamghanat, since the first syllable may be _lam_, fort. The
modern form Laghman is not used in the _Babur-nama_, nor, it
may be added is Paghman for Pamghan.
[722] It will be observed that Babur limits the name
Afghanistan to the countries inhabited by Afghan tribesmen;
they are chiefly those south of the road from Kabul to
Pashawar (Erskine). See Vigne, p. 102, for a boundary between
the Afghans and Khurasan.
[723] Al-biruni's _Indika_ writes of both Turk and Hindu-shahi
Kings of Kabul. See Raverty's _Notes_ p. 62 and Stein's _Shahi
Kings of Kabul_. The mountain is 7592 ft. above the sea, some
1800 ft. therefore above the town.
[724] The Kabul-river enters the Char-dih plain by the
Dih-i-yaq`ub narrows, and leaves it by those of Durrin. Cf.
_S.A. War_, Plan p. 288 and Plan of action at Char-asiya
(Four-mills), the second shewing an off-take which may be Wais
Ataka's canal. See Vigne, p. 163 and Raverty's _Notes_ pp. 69
and 689.
[725] This, the Bala-jui (upper-canal) was a four-mill stream
and in Masson's time, as now, supplied water to the gardens
round Babur's tomb. Masson found in Kabul honoured descendants
of Wais Ataka (ii, 240).
[726] But for a, perhaps negligible, shortening of its first
vowel, this form of the name would describe the normal end of
an irrigation canal, a little pool, but other forms with other
meanings are open to choice, _e.g._ small hamlet (Pers.
_kul_), or some compound containing Pers. _gul_, a rose, in
its plain or metaphorical senses. Jarrett's _Ayin-i-akbari_
writes Gul-kinah, little rose (?). Masson (ii, 236) mentions a
similar pleasure-resort, Sanji-taq.
[727] The original ode, with which the parody agrees in rhyme
and refrain, is in the _Diwan, s.l. Dal_ (Brockhaus ed. 1854,
i, 62 and lith. ed. p. 96). See Wilberforce Clarke's literal
translation i, 286 (H. B.). A marginal note to the Haidarabad
Codex gives what appears to be a variant of one of the rhymes
of the parody.
[728] _aulugh kul_; some 3 m. round in Erskine's time; mapped
as a swamp in _S.A. War_ p. 288.
[729] A marginal note to the Hai. Codex explains this name to
be an abbreviation of Khwaja Shamsu'd-din _Jan-baz_ (or
_Jahan-baz_; Masson, ii, 279 and iii, 93).
[730] _i.e_. the place made holy by an impress of saintly
foot-steps.
[731] Two eagles or, Two poles, used for punishment. Vigne's
illustration (p. 161) clearly shows the spur and the detached
rock. Erskine (p. 137 n.) says that `Uqabain seems to be the
hill, known in his day as `Ashiqan-i-`arifan, which connects
with Babur Badshah. See Raverty's _Notes_ p. 68.
[732] During most of the year this wind rushes through the
Hindu-kush (Parwan)-pass; it checks the migration of the birds
(f. 142), and it may be the cause of the deposit of the
Running-sands (Burnes, p. 158). Cf. Wood, p. 124.
[733] He was Badi`u'z-zaman's _Sadr_ before serving Babur; he
died in 918 AH. (1512 AD.), in the battle of Kul-i-malik where
`Ubaidu'l-lah _Auzbeg_ defeated Babur. He may be identical
with Mir Husain the Riddler of f. 181, but seems not to be
Mulla Muh. _Badakhshi_, also a Riddler, because the
_Habibu's-siyar_ (ii, 343 and 344) gives this man a separate
notice. Those interested in enigmas can find one made by
Talib on the name Yahya (H.S. ii, 344). Sharafu'd-din `Ali
_Yazdi_, the author of the _Zafar-nama_, wrote a book about a
novel kind of these puzzles (T.R. p. 84).
[734] The original couplet is as follows:--
_Bakhur dar arg-i Kabul mai, bagardan kasa pay dar pay,
Kah ham koh ast, u ham darya, u ham shahr ast, u ham sahra'._
What Talib's words may be inferred to conceal is the opinion
that like Badi`u'z-zaman and like the meaning of his name,
Kabul is the Wonder-of-the-world. (Cf. M. GarÁin de Tassy's
_RhÈtorique_ [p. 165], for _ces combinaisons Ènigmatiques_.)
[735] All MSS. do not mention Kashghar.
[736] Khita (Cathay) is Northern China; Chin (_infra_) is
China; Rum is Turkey and particularly the provinces near
Trebizond (Erskine).
[737] 300% to 400% (Erskine).
[738] Persian _sinjid_, Brandis, _elÊagnus hortensis_; Erskine
(Mems. p. 138) jujube, presumably the _zizyphus jujuba_ of
Speede, Supplement p. 86. Turki _yangaq_, walnut, has several
variants, of which the most marked is _yanghkaq_. For a good
account of Kabul fruits _see_ Masson, ii, 230.
[739] a kind of plum (?). It seems unlikely to be a cherry
since Babur does not mention cherries as good in his old
dominions, and Firminger (p. 244) makes against it as
introduced from India. Steingass explains _alu-balu_ by
"sour-cherry, an armarylla"; if sour, is it the Morello
cherry?
[740] The sugar-cane was seen in abundance in Lan-po (Lamghan)
by a Chinese pilgrim (Beale, p. 90); Babur's introduction of
it may have been into his own garden only in Ningnahar (f.
132b).
[741] _i.e._ the seeds of _pinus Gerardiana_.
[742] _rawashlar._ The green leaf-stalks (_chukri_) of _ribes
rheum_ are taken into Kabul in mid-April from the
Pamghan-hills; a week later they are followed by the blanched
and tended _rawash_ (Masson, ii, 7). _See_ Gul-badan's H.N.
trs. p. 188, Vigne, p. 100 and 107, Masson, ii, 230, Conolly,
i, 213.
[743] a large green fruit, shaped something like a citron;
also a large sort of cucumber (Erskine).
[744] The _sahibi_, a grape praised by Babur amongst
Samarkandi fruits, grows in Koh-daman; another well-known
grape of Kabul is the long stoneless _husaini_, brought by
Afghan traders into Hindustan in round, flat boxes of poplar
wood (Vigne, p. 172).
[745] An allusion, presumably, to the renouncement of wine
made by Babur and some of his followers in 933 AH. (1527 AD.
f. 312). He may have had `Umar _Khayyam's_ quatrain in mind,
"Wine's power is known to wine-bibbers alone" (Whinfield's 2nd
ed. 1901, No. 164).
[746] _pustin_, usually of sheep-skin. For the wide range of
temperature at Kabul in 24 hours, _see_ Ency. Brtt. art.
Afghanistan. The winters also vary much in severity (Burnes,
p. 273).
[747] Index _s.n._ As he fought at Kanwaha, he will have been
buried after March 1527 AD.; this entry therefore will have
been made later. The Curriers'-gate is the later Lahor-gate
(Masson, ii, 259).
[748] Index _s.n._
[749] For lists of the Hindu-kush passes _see_ Leech's Report
VII; Yule's _Introductory Essay_ to Wood's _Journey_ 2nd ed.;
PRGS 1879, Markham's art. p. 121.
The highest _cols_ on the passes here enumerated by Babur
are,--Khawak 11,640 ft.--Tul, height not known,--Parandi 15,984
ft.--Baj-gah (Toll-place) 12,000 ft.--Walian (Saints) 15,100
ft.--Chahar-dar (Four-doors) 18,900 ft. and Shibr-tu 9800 ft.
In considering the labour of their ascent and descent, the
general high level, north and south of them, should be borne
in mind; _e.g._ Charikar (Char-yak-kar) stands 5200 ft. and
Kabul itself at 5780 ft. above the sea.
[750] _i.e._ the hollow, long, and small-bazar roads
respectively. Panjhir is explained by Hindus to be Panj-sher,
the five lion-sons of Pandu (Masson, iii, 168).
[751] Shibr is a Hazara district between the head of the
Ghur-bund valley and Bamian. It does not seem to be correct to
omit the _tu_ from the name of the pass. Persian _tu_, turn,
twist (syn. _pich_) occurs in other names of local passes; to
read it here as a _turn_ agrees with what is said of Shibr-tu
pass as not crossing but turning the Hindu-kush (Cunningham).
Lord uses the same wording about the Haji-ghat (var. -kak
etc.) traverse of the same spur, which "turns the extremity of
the Hindu-kush". _See_ Cunningham's _Ancient Geography_, i,
25; Lord's _Ghur-bund_ (JASB 1838 p. 528), Masson, iii, 169
and Leech's _Report_ VII.
[752] Perhaps through Jalmish into Saighan.
[753] _i.e._ they are closed.
[754] It was unknown in Mr. Erskine's day (Mems. p. 140).
Several of the routes in Raverty's _Notes_ (p. 92 etc.) allow
it to be located as on the Iri-ab, near to or identical with
Baghzan, 35 _kurohs_ (70 m.) s.s.e. of Kabul.
[755] Farmul, about the situation of which Mr. Erskine was in
doubt, is now marked in maps, Urghun being its principal
village.
[756] 15 miles below Atak (Erskine). Mr. Erskine notes that he
found no warrant, previous to Abu'l-fazl's, for calling the
Indus the Nil-ab, and that to find one would solve an ancient
geographical difficulty. This difficulty, my husband suggests,
was Alexander's supposition that the Indus was the Nile. In
books grouping round the _Babur-nama_, the name Nil-ab is not
applied to the Indus, but to the ferry-station on that river,
said to owe its name to a spring of azure water on its eastern
side. (Cf. Afzal Khan _Khattak_, R.'s _Notes_ p. 447.)
I find the name Nil-ab applied to the Kabul-river:--1. to its
Arghandi affluent (Cunningham, p. 17, Map); 2. through its
boatman class, the Nil-abis of Lalpura, Jalalabad and Kunar
(G. of I. 1907, art. Kabul); 3. inferentially to it as a
tributary of the Indus (D'HerbÈlot); 4. to it near its
confluence with the grey, silt-laden Indus, as blue by
contrast (Sayyid Ghulam-i-muhammad, R.'s _Notes_ p. 34). (For
Nil-ab (Naulibis?) in Ghur-bund _see_ Cunningham, p. 32 and
Masson, iii, 169.)
[757] By one of two routes perhaps,--either by the
Khaibar-Ningnahar-Jagdalik road, or along the north bank of
the Kabul-river, through Goshta to the crossing where, in
1879, the 10th Hussars met with disaster. _See_ _S.A. War_,
Map 2 and p. 63; Leech's _Reports_ II and IV (Fords of the
Indus); and R.'s _Notes_ p. 44.
[758] Haru, Leech's Harroon, apparently, 10 m. above Atak. The
text might be read to mean that both rivers were forded near
their confluence, but, finding no warrant for supposing the
Kabul-river fordable below Jalalabad, I have guided the
translation accordingly; this may be wrong and may conceal a
change in the river.
[759] Known also as Dhan-kot and as Mu`azzam-nagar
(_Ma`asiru'l-`umra_ i, 249 and A.N. trs. H.B. index _s.n._
Dhan-kot). It was on the east bank of the Indus, probably near
modern Kala-bagh, and was washed away not before 956 AH. (1549
AD. H. Beveridge).
[760] Chaupara seems, from f. 148b, to be the Chapari of
Survey Map 1889. Babur's _Dasht_ is modern Daman.
[761] _aimaq_, used usually of Mughuls, I think. It may be
noted that Lieutenant Leech compiled a vocabulary of the
tongue of the Mughul Aimaq in Qandahar and Harat (JASB 1838,
p. 785).
[762] The _Ayin-i-akbari_ account of Kabul both uses and
supplements the _Babur-nama_.
[763] _viz._ `Ali-shang, Alangar and Mandrawar (the Lamghanat
proper), Ningnahar (with its _buluk_, Kama),
Kunar-with-Nur-gal, (and the two _buluks_ of Nur-valley and
Chaghan-sarai).
[764] _See_ Appendix E, _On Nagarahara_.
[765] The name Adinapur is held to be descended from ancient
Udyanapura (Garden-town); its ancestral form however was
applied to Nagarahara, apparently, in the Baran-Surkh-rud
_du-ab_, and not to Babur's _darogha's_ seat. The Surkh-rud's
deltaic mouth was a land of gardens; when Masson visited
Adinapur he went from Bala-bagh (High-garden); this appears to
stand where Babur locates his Bagh-i-wafa, but he was shown a
garden he took to be this one of Babur's, a mile higher up the
Surkh-rud. A later ruler made the Char-bagh of maps. It may be
mentioned that Bala-bagh has become in some maps Rozabad
(Garden-town). _See_ Masson, i, 182 and iii, 186; R.'s
_Notes_; and Wilson's _Ariana Antiqua_, Masson's art.
[766] One of these _tangi_ is now a literary asset in Mr.
Kipling's _My Lord the Elephant_. Babur's 13 y. represent some
82 miles; on f. 137b the Kabul-Ghazni road of 14 y. represents
some 85; in each case the _yighach_ works out at over six
miles (Index _s.n._ _yighach_ and Vigne, p. 454). Sayyid
Ghulam-i-muhammad traces this route minutely (R.'s _Notes_ pp.
57, 59).
[767] Masson was shewn "Chaghatai castles", attributed to
Babur (iii, 174).
[768] Dark-turn, perhaps, as in Shibr-tu, Jal-tu, _etc._ (f.
130b and note to Shibr-tu).
[769] f. 145 where the change is described in identical words,
as seen south of the Jagdalik-pass. The Badam-chashma pass
appears to be a traverse of the eastern rampart of the
Tizin-valley.
[770] Appendix E, _On Nagarahara_.
[771] No record exists of the actual laying-out of the garden;
the work may have been put in hand during the Mahmand
expedition of 914 AH. (f. 216); the name given to it suggests
a gathering there of loyalists when the stress was over of the
bad Mughul rebellion of that year (f. 216b where the narrative
breaks off abruptly in 914 AH. and is followed by a gap down
to 925 AH.-1519 AD.).
[772] No annals of 930 AH. are known to exist; from Safar 926
AH. to 932 AH. (Jan. 1520-Nov. 1525 AD.) there is a lacuna.
Accounts of the expedition are given by Khafi Khan, i, 47 and
Firishta, lith. ed. p. 202.
[773] Presumably to his son, Humayun, then governor in
Badakhshan; Bukhara also was under Babur's rule.
[774] Here, _qari_, yards. The dimensions 10 by 10, are those
enjoined for places of ablution.
[775] Presumably those of the _tuquz-rud_, _supra_. Cf.
Appendix E, _On Nagarahara_.
[776] White-mountain; Pushtu, Spin-ghur (or ghar).
[777] _i.e._ the Lamghanat proper. The range is variously
named; in (Persian) Siyah-koh (Black-mountain), which like
Turki Qara-tagh may mean non-snowy; by Tajiks, Bagh-i-ataka
(Foster-father's garden); by Afghans, Kanda-ghur, and by
Lamghanis Koh-i-bulan,--Kanda and Bulan both being
ferry-stations below it (Masson, iii, 189; also the Times Nov.
20th 1912 for a cognate illustration of diverse naming).
[778] A comment made here by Mr. Erskine on changes of name is
still appropriate, but some seeming changes may well be due to
varied selection of land-marks. Of the three routes next
described in the text, one crosses as for Mandrawar; the
second, as for `Ali-shang, a little below the outfall of the
Tizin-water; the third may take off from the route, between
Kabul and Tag-au, marked in Col. Tanner's map (PRGS 1881 p.
180). Cf. R's Route 11; and for Aulugh-nur, Appendix F, _On
the name Nur_.
[779] The name of this pass has several variants. Its second
component, whatever its form, is usually taken to mean _pass_,
but to read it here as pass would be redundant, since Babur
writes "pass (_kutal_) of Bad-i-pich". Pich occurs as a place
name both east (Pich) and west (Pichghan) of the _kutal_, but
what would suit the bitter and even fatal winds of the pass
would be to read the name as Whirling-wind (_bad-i-pich_).
Another explanation suggests itself from finding a
considerable number of pass-names such as Shibr-tu, Jai-tu,
Qara-tu, in which _tu_ is a synonym of _pich_, turn, twist;
thus Bad-i-pich may be the local form of Bad-tu, Windy-turn.
[780] _See_ Masson, iii, 197 and 289. Both in Pashai and
Lamghani, _lam_ means fort.
[781] _See_ Appendix F, _On the name Dara-i-nur_.
[782] _ghair mukarrar._ Babur may allude to the remarkable
change men have wrought in the valley-bottom (Appendix F, for
Col. Tanner's account of the valley).
[783] f. 154.
[784] _diospyrus lotus_, the European date-plum, supposed to
be one of the fruits eaten by the Lotophagi. It is purple, has
bloom and is of the size of a pigeon's egg or a cherry. See
Watts' _Economic Products of India_; Brandis' _Forest Trees_,
Illustrations; and Speede's _Indian Hand-book_.
[785] As in Lombardy, perhaps; in Luhugur vines are clipped
into standards; in most other places in Afghanistan they are
planted in deep trenches and allowed to run over the
intervening ridges or over wooden framework. In the narrow
Khulm-valley they are trained up poplars so as to secure them
the maximum of sun. _See_ Wood's _Report_ VI p. 27; Bellew's
_Afghanistan_ p. I75 and _Mems_. p. 142 note.
[786] Appendix G, _On the names of two Nuri wines_.
[787] This practice Babur viewed with disgust, the hog being
an impure animal according to Muhammadan Law (Erskine).
[788] The _Khazinatu'l-asfiya_ (ii, 293) explains how it came
about that this saint, one honoured in Kashmir, was buried in
Khutlan. He died in Hazara (Pakli) and there the Pakli Sultan
wished to have him buried, but his disciples, for some
unspecified reason, wished to bury him in Khutlan. In order to
decide the matter they invited the Sultan to remove the bier
with the corpse upon it. It could not be stirred from its
place. When, however, a single one of the disciples tried to
move it, he alone was able to lift it, and to bear it away on
his head. Hence the burial in Khutlan. The death occurred in
786 AH. (1384 AD.). A point of interest in this legend is
that, like the one to follow, concerning dead women, it shews
belief in the living activities of the dead.
[789] The MSS. vary between 920 and 925 AH.--neither date seems
correct. As the annals of 925 AH. begin in Muharram, with
Babur to the east of Bajaur, we surmise that the Chaghan-sarai
affair may have occurred on his way thither, and at the end of
924 AH.
[790] _karanj_, _coriandrum sativum_.
[791] Some 20-24 m. north of Jalalabad. The name Multa-kundi
may refer to the Ram-kundi range, or mean Lower district, or
mean Below Kundi. _See_ Biddulph's _Khowari Dialect s.n_
under; R.'s _Notes_ p. 108 and _Dict. s.n. kund_; Masson, i,
209.
[792] _i.e._ treat her corpse as that of an infidel (Erskine).
[793] It would suit the position of this village if its name
were found to link to the Turki verb _chaqmaq_, to go out,
because it lies in the mouth of a defile (Dahanah-i-koh,
Mountain-mouth) through which the road for Kafiristan goes out
past the village. A not-infrequent explanation of the name to
mean White-house, Aq-sarai, may well be questioned. _Chaghan_,
white, is Mughuli and it would be less probable for a Mughuli
than for a Turki name to establish itself. Another explanation
may lie in the tribe name Chugani. The two forms _chaghan_ and
_chaghar_ may well be due to the common local interchange in
speech of _n_ with _r_. (For Dahanah-i-koh _see_ [some] maps
and Raverty's Bajaur routes.)
[794] Nimchas, presumably,--half-bred in custom, perhaps in
blood--; and not improbably, converted Kafirs. It is useful to
remember that Kafiristan was once bounded, west and south, by
the Baran-water.
[795] Kafir wine is mostly poor, thin and, even so, usually
diluted with water. When kept two or three years, however, it
becomes clear and sometimes strong. Sir G. S. Robertson never
saw a Kafir drunk (_Kafirs of the Hindu-kush_, p. 591).
[796] Kama might have classed better under Ningnahar of which
it was a dependency.
[797] _i.e._ water-of-Nijr; so too, Badr-au and Tag-au.
Nijr-au has seven-valleys (JASB 1838 p. 329 and Burnes'
_Report X_). Sayyid Ghulam-i-muhammad mentions that Babur
established a frontier-post between Nijr-au and Kafiristan
which in his own day was still maintained. He was an envoy of
Warren Hastings to Timur Shah _Sadozi_ (R.'s _Notes_ p. 36 and
p. 142).
[798] _Kafirwash_; they were Kafirs converted to
Muhammadanism.
[799] _Archa_, if not inclusive, meaning conifer, may
represent _juniperus excelsa_, this being the common local
conifer. The other trees of the list are _pinus Gerardiana_
(Brandis, p. 690), _quercus bilut_, the holm-oak, and
_pistacia mutica_ or _khanjak_, a tree yielding mastic.
[800] _ruba-i-parwan_, _pteromys inornatus_, the large, red
flying-squirrel (Blandford's _Fauna of British India_,
_Mammalia_, p. 363).
[801] The _giz_ is a short-flight arrow used for shooting
small birds _etc._ Descending flights of squirrels have been
ascertained as 60 yards, one, a record, of 80 (Blandford).
[802] Apparently _tetrogallus himalayensis_, the Himalayan
snow-cock (Blandford, iv, 143).Burnes (_Cabool_ p. 163)
describes the _kabg-i-dari_ as the _rara avis_ of the Kabul
Kohistan, somewhat less than a turkey, and of the _chikor_
(partridge) species. It was procured for him first in
Ghur-bund, but, when snow has fallen, it could be had nearer
Kabul. Babur's _bu-qalamun_ may have come into his vocabulary,
either as a survival direct from Greek occupation of Kabul and
Panj-ab, or through Arabic writings. PRGS 1879 p. 251, Kaye's
art. and JASB 1838 p. 863, Hodgson's art.
[803] Bartavelle's _Greek-partridge_, _tetrao-_ or
_perdrix-rufus_ [f. 279 and Mems. p. 320 n.].
[804] A similar story is told of some fields near
Whitby:--"These wild geese, which in winter fly in great flocks
to the lakes and rivers unfrozen in the southern parts, to the
great amazement of every-one, fall suddenly down upon the
ground when they are in flight over certain neighbouring
fields thereabouts; a relation I should not have made, if I
had not received it from several credible men." See _Notes to
Marmion_ p. xlvi (Erskine); Scott's _Poems_, Black's ed. 1880,
vii, 104.
[805] Are we to infer from this that the musk-rat (_Crocidura
coerulea_, Lydekker, p. 626) was not so common in Hindustan in
the age of Babur as it has now become? He was not a careless
observer (Erskine).
[806] Index _s.n._ _Babur-nama_, date of composition; also f.
131.
[807] In the absence of examples of _bund_ to mean _kutal_,
and the presence "in those countries" of many in which _bund_
means _koh_, it looks as though a clerical error had here
written _kutal_ for _koh_. But on the other hand, the wording
of the next passage shows just the confusion an author's
unrevised draft might shew if a place were, as this is, both a
_tuman_ and a _kutal_ (_i.e._ a steady rise to a traverse). My
impression is that the name Ghur-bund applies to the embanking
spur at the head of the valley-_tuman_, across which roads
lead to Ghuri and Ghur (PRGS 1879, Maps; Leech's Report VII;
and Wood's VI).
[808] So too when, because of them, Leech and Lord turned
back, _re infect‚_.
[809] It will be noticed that these villages are not classed
in any _tuman_; they include places "rich without parallel" in
agricultural products, and level lands on which towns have
risen and fallen, one being Alexandria ad Caucasum. They
cannot have been part of the unremunerative Ghur-bund _tuman_;
from their place of mention in Babur's list of _tumans_, they
may have been part of the Kabul _tuman_ (f. 178), as was
Koh-daman (Burnes' _Cabool_ p. 154; Haughton's _Charikar_ p.
73; and Cunningham's _Ancient History_, i, 18).
[810] Dur-namai, seen from afar (Masson, iii, 152) is not
marked on the Survey Maps; Masson, Vigne and Haughton locate
it. Babur's "head" and "foot" here indicate status and not
location.
[811] Mems. p. 146 and _MÈms_, i, 297, Arabs' encampment and
_Cellule des Arabes_. Perhaps the name may refer to uses of
the level land and good pasture by horse _qafilas_, since
_Kurra_ is written with _tashdid_ in the Haidarabad Codex, as
in _kurra-taz_, a horse-breaker. Or the _taziyan_ may be the
fruit of a legend, commonly told, that the saint of the
neighbouring Running-sands was an Arabian.
[812] Presumably this is the grass of the millet, the growth
before the ear, on which grazing is allowed (Elphinstone, i,
400; Burnes, p. 237).
[813] Wood, p. 115; Masson, iii, 167; Burnes, p. 157 and JASB
1838 p. 324 with illustration; Vigne, pp. 219, 223; Lord, JASB
1838 p. 537; _Cathay and the way thither_, Hakluyt Society
vol. I. p. xx, para. 49; _History of Musical Sands_, C.
Carus-Wilson.
[814] _West_ might be more exact, since some of the group are
a little north, others a little south of the latitude of
Kabul.
[815] Affluents and not true sources in some cases (Col.
Holdich's _Gates of India_, _s.n._ Koh-i-baba; and PRGS 1879,
maps pp. 80 and 160).
[816] The Pamghan range. These are the villages every
traveller celebrates. Masson's and Vigne's illustrations
depict them well.
[817] _Cercis siliquastrum_, the Judas-tree. Even in 1842 it
was sparingly found near Kabul, adorning a few tombs, one
Babur's own. It had been brought from Sih-yaran where, as also
at Charikar, (Char-yak-kar) it was still abundant and still a
gorgeous sight. It is there a tree, as at Kew, and not a bush,
as in most English gardens (Masson, ii, 9; Elphinstone, i,
194; and for the tree near Harat, f. 191 n. to Safar).
[818] Khwaja Maudud of Chisht, Khwaja Khawand Sa`id and the
Khwaja of the Running-sands (Elph. MS. f. 104b, marginal
note).
[819] The yellow-flowered plant is not _cercis siliquastrum_
but one called _mahaka_(?) in Persian, a shrubby plant with
pea-like blossoms, common in the plains of Persia, Biluchistan
and Kabul (Masson, iii, 9 and Vigne, p. 216).
[820] The numerical value of these words gives 925 (Erskine).
F. 246b _et seq._ for the expedition.
[821] f. 178. I.O. MS. No. 724, _Haft-iqlim_ f. 135 (EthÈ, p.
402); Rieu, pp. 21_a_, 1058_b_.
[822] of Afghan habit. The same term is applied (f. 139b) to
the Zurmutis; it may be explained in both places by Babur's
statement that Zurmutis grow corn, but do not cultivate
gardens or orchards.
[823] _aikan dur._ Sabuk-tigin, d. 387 AH.-997 AD., was the
father of Sl. Mahmud _Ghaznawi_, d. 421 AH.-1030 AD.
[824] d. 602 AH.-1206 AD.
[825] Some Musalmans fast through the months of Rajab, Sha`ban
and Ramzan; Muhammadans fast only by day; the night is often
given to feasting (Erskine).
[826] The Garden; the tombs of more eminent Musalmans are
generally in gardens (Erskine). See Vigne's illustrations, pp.
133, 266.
[827] _i.e._ the year now in writing. The account of the
expedition, Babur's first into Hindustan, begins on f. 145.
[828] _i.e._ the countries groupable as Khurasan.
[829] For picture and account of the dam, _see_ Vigne, pp.
138, 202.
[830] f. 295b.
[831] The legend is told in numerous books with varying
location of the spring. One narrator, Zakariya _Qazwini_,
reverses the parts, making Jai-pal employ the ruse; hence
Leyden's note (Mems. p. 150; E. and D.'s _History of India_
ii, 20, 182 and iv, 162; for historical information, R.'s
_Notes_ p. 320). The date of the events is shortly after 378
AH.-988 AD.
[832] R.'s _Notes_ _s.n._ Zurmut.
[833] The question of the origin of the Farmuli has been
written of by several writers; perhaps they were Turks of
Persia, Turks and Tajiks.
[834] This completes the list of the 14 _tumans_ of Kabul,
_viz._ Ningnahar, `Ali-shang, Alangar, Mandrawar,
Kunar-with-Nur-gal, Nijr-au, Panjhir, Ghur-bund, Koh-daman
(with Kohistan?), Luhugur (of the Kabul _tuman_), Ghazni,
Zurmut, Farmul and Bangash.
[835] Between Nijr-au and Tag-au (Masson, iii, 165). Mr.
Erskine notes that Babur reckoned it in the hot climate but
that the change of climate takes place further east, between
`Ali-shang and Auzbin (_i.e._ the valley next eastwards from
Tag-au).
[836] _bughuzlarigha fursat bulmas_; _i.e._ to kill them in
the lawful manner, while pronouncing the _Bi'smi'llah_.
[837] This completes the _buluks_ of Kabul _viz._ Badr-au
(Tag-au), Nur-valley, Chaghan-sarai, Kama and Ala-sai.
[838] The _rupi_ being equal to 2-1/2 _shahrukhis_, the
_shahrukhi_ may be taken at 10_d._ thus making the total
revenue only £33,333 6_s._ 8_d._ See _Ayin-i-akbari_ ii, 169
(Erskine).
[839] _sic_ in all B. N. MSS. Most maps print Khost. Muh.
Salih says of Khwast, "Who sees it, would call it a Hell"
(VambÈry, p. 361).
[840] Babur's statement about this fodder is not easy to
translate; he must have seen grass grow in tufts, and must
have known the Persian word _buta_ (bush). Perhaps _kah_
should be read to mean plant, not grass. Would Wood's _bootr_
fit in, a small furze bush, very plentiful near Bamian?
(Wood's Report VI, p. 23; and for regional grasses,
Aitchison's _Botany of the Afghan Delimitation Commission_, p.
122.)
[841] _nazu_, perhaps _cupressus torulosa_ (Brandis, p.693).
[842] f. 276.
[843] A laborious geographical note of Mr. Erskine's is here
regretfully left behind, as now needless (Mems. p. 152).
[844] Here, mainly wild-sheep and wild-goats, including
_mar-khwar_.
[845] Perhaps, no conifers; perhaps none of those of the
contrasted hill-tract.
[846] While here _dasht_ (plain) represents the eastern skirt
of the Mehtar Sulaiman range, _duki_ or _dugi_ (desert) seems
to stand for the hill tracts on the west of it, and not, as on
f. 152, for the place there specified.
[847] Mems. p. 152, "A narrow place is large to the
narrow-minded"; _MÈms._ i, 311, "Ce qui n'est pas trop large,
ne reste pas vide." Literally, "So long as heights are not
equal, there is no vis-a-vis," or, if _tang_ be read for
_ting_, "No dawn, no noon," _i.e._ no effect without a cause.
[848] I have not lighted on this name in botanical books or
explained by dictionaries. Perhaps it is a Cis-oxanian name
for the _sax-aol_ of Transoxania. As its uses are enumerated
by some travellers, it might be _Haloxylon ammodendron_,
_ta-ghas etc._ and _sax-aol_ (Aitchison, p. 102).
[849] f. 135b note to Ghur-bund.
[850] I understand that wild-goats, wild-sheep and deer
(_ahu_) were not localized, but that the dun-sheep migrated
through. Antelope (_ahu_) was scarce in Elphinstone's time.
[851] _qizil kiyik_ which, taken with its alternative name,
_arqarghalcha_, allows it to be the dun-sheep of Wood's
_Journey_ p. 241. From its second name it may be _Ovis amnon_
(_Raos_), or _O. argali_.
[852] _tusqawal_, var. _tutqawal_, _tusaqawal_ and
_tushqawal_, a word which has given trouble to scribes and
translators. As a sporting-term it is equivalent to
_shikar-i-nihilam_; in one or other of its forms I find it
explained as _Weg-h¸ter_, _Fahnen-h¸ter_, _Zahl-meister_,
_Schlucht_, _Gefahrlicher-weg_ and _Schmaler-weg_. It recurs
in the B.N. on f. 197b l. 5 and l. 6 and there might mean
either a narrow road or a _Weg-h¸ter_. If its Turki root be
_tus_, the act of stopping, all the above meanings can follow,
but there may be two separate roots, the second, _tush_, the
act of descent (JRAS 1900 p. 137, H. Beveridge's art. _On the
word nihilam_).
[853] _qushlik_, _aitlik_. Elphinstone writes (i, 191) of the
excellent greyhounds and hawking birds of the region; here the
bird may be the _charkh_, which works with the dogs, fastening
on the head of the game (Von Schwarz, p. 117, for the same use
of eagles).
[854] An antelope resembling the usual one of Hindustan is
common south of Ghazni (Vigne, p. 110); what is not found may
be some classes of wild-sheep, frequent further north, at
higher elevation, and in places more familiar to Babur.
[855] The Parwan or Hindu-kush pass, concerning the winds of
which _see_ f. 128.
[856] _turna u qarqara_; the second of which is the Hindi
_bugla_, heron, _egret ardea gazetta_, the furnisher of the
aigrette of commerce.
[857] The _auqar_ is _ardea cinerea_, the grey heron; the
_qarqara_ is _ardea gazetta_, the egret. _Qutan_ is explained
in the Elph. Codex (f. 110) by _khawasil_, goldfinch, but the
context concerns large birds; Scully (Shaw's Voc.) has
_qodan_, water-hen, which suits better.
[858] _giz_, the short-flight arrow.
[859] a small, round-headed nail with which a whip-handle is
decorated (VambÈry). Such a stud would keep the cord from
slipping through the fingers and would not check the
arrow-release.
[860] It has been understood (Mems. p. 158 and _MÈms._ i, 313)
that the arrow was flung by hand but if this were so,
something heavier than the _giz_ would carry the cord better,
since it certainly would be difficult to direct a missile so
light as an arrow without the added energy of the bow. The
arrow itself will often have found its billet in the
closely-flying flock; the cord would retrieve the bird. The
verb used in the text is _aitmaq_, the one common to express
the discharge of arrows _etc._
[861] For Timurids who may have immigrated the fowlers _see_
Raverty's _Notes_ p. 579 and his Appendix p. 22.
[862] _milwah_; this has been read by all earlier translators,
and also by the Persian annotator of the Elph. Codex, to mean
_shakh_, bough. For decoy-ducks _see_ Bellew's _Notes on
Afghanistan_ p. 404.
[863] _qulan quyirughi._ Amongst the many plants used to drug
fish I have not found this one mentioned. _Khar-zahra_ and
_khar-faq_ approach it in verbal meaning; the first describes
colocynth, the second, wild rue. See Watts' _Economic Products
of India_ iii, 366 and Bellew's _Notes_ pp. 182, 471 and 478.
[864] Much trouble would have been spared to himself and his
translators, if Babur had known a lobster-pot.
[865] The fish, it is to be inferred, came down the fall into
the pond.
[866] Burnes and Vigne describe a fall 20 miles from Kabul, at
"Tangi Gharoi", [below where the Tag-au joins the
Baran-water,] to which in their day, Kabulis went out for the
amusement of catching fish as they try to leap up the fall.
Were these migrants seeking upper waters or were they captives
in a fish-pond?
[867] Elph. MS. f. 111; W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 116b and 217 f.
97b; Mems. p. 155; _MÈms._ i, 318.
[868] _mihman-beglar_, an expression first used by Babur here,
and due, presumably, to accessions from Khusrau Shah's
following. A parallel case is given in Max M¸ller's _Science
of Language_ i, 348 ed. 1871, "Turkman tribes ... call
themselves, not subjects, but guests of the Uzbeg Khans."
[869] _tiyul-dik_ in all the Turki MSS. Ilminsky, de
Courteille and Zenker, _yitul-dik_, Turki, a fief.
[870] _Wilayat khud hech birilmadi_; W.-i-B. 215 f. 116b,
_Wilayat dada na shuda_ and 217 f. 97b, _Wilayat khud hech
dada na shud_. By this I understand that he kept the lands of
Kabul itself in his own hands. He mentions (f. 350) and
Gul-badan mentions (H.N. f. 40b) his resolve so to keep Kabul.
I think he kept not only the fort but all lands constituting
the Kabul _tuman_ (f. 135b and note).
[871] _Saifi dur, qalami aimas_, _i.e._ tax is taken by force,
not paid on a written assessment.
[872] _khar-war_, about 700 lbs Averdupois (Erskine). Cf.
_Ayin-i-akbari_ (Jarrett, ii, 394).
[873] Nizamu'd-din Ahmad and Badayuni both mention this script
and say that in it Babur transcribed a copy of the Qoran for
presentation to Makka. Badayuni says it was unknown in his
day, the reign of Akbar (_Tabaqat-i-akbari_, lith. ed. p.
193, and _Muntakhabu't-tawarikh_ Bib. Ind. ed. iii, 273).
[874] Babur's route, taken with one given by Raverty (_Notes_
p. 691), allows these Hazaras, about whose location Mr.
Erskine was uncertain, to be located between the Takht-pass
(Arghandi-Maidan-Unai road), on their east, and the Sang-lakh
mountains, on their west.
[875] The Takht-pass, one on which from times immemorial, toll
(_nirkh_) has been taken.
[876] _khatir-khwah chapilmadi_, which perhaps implies mutual
discontent, Babur's with his gains, the Hazaras' with their
losses. As the second Persian translation omits the negative,
the Memoirs does the same.
[877] Bhira being in Shahpur, this Khan's _darya_ will be the
Jehlam.
[878] Babur uses Persian _dasht_ and Hindi _duki_, plain and
hill, for the tracts east and west of Mehtar Sulaiman. The
first, _dasht_, stands for Daman (skirt) and Dara-i-jat, the
second, _duki_, indefinitely for the broken lands west of the
main range, but also, in one instance for the Duki [Dugi]
district of Qandahar, as will be noted.
[879] f. 132. The Jagdalik-pass for centuries has separated
the districts of Kabul and Ningnahar. Forster (_Travels_ ii,
68), making the journey the reverse way, was sensible of the
climatic change some 3m. east of Gandamak. Cf. Wood's _Report_
I. p. 6.
[880] These are they whose families Nasir Mirza shepherded out
of Kabul later (f. 154, f. 155).
[881] Bird's-dome, opposite the mouth of the Kunar-water
(_S.A. War_, Map p. 64).
[882] This word is variously pointed and is uncertain. Mr.
Erskine adopted "Pekhi", but, on the whole, it may be best to
read, here and on f. 146, Ar. _fajj_ or pers. _paj_, mountain
or pass. To do so shews the guide to be one located in the
Khaibar-pass, a _Fajji_ or _Paji_.
[883] mod. Jam-rud (Jam-torrent), presumably.
[884] G. of I. xx, 125 and Cunningham's _Ancient History_ i,
80. Babur saw the place in 925 AH. (f. 232b).
[885] Cunningham, p. 29. Four ancient sites, not far removed
from one another, bear this name, Bigram, _viz._ those near
Hupian, Kabul, Jalalabad and Pashawar.
[886] Cunningham, i, 79.
[887] Perhaps a native of Kamari on the Indus, but _kamari_ is
a word of diverse application (index _s.n._).
[888] The annals of this campaign to the eastward shew that
Babur was little of a free agent; that many acts of his own
were merciful; that he sets down the barbarity of others as it
was, according to his plan of writing (f. 86); and that he had
with him undisciplined robbers of Khusrau Shah's former
following. He cannot be taken as having power to command or
control the acts of those, his guest-begs and their following,
who dictated his movements in this disastrous journey, one
worse than a defeat, says Haidar Mirza.
[889] For the route here _see_ Masson, i, 117 and Colquhoun's
_With the Kuram Field-force_ p. 48.
[890] The Hai. MS. writes this Dilah-zak.
[891] _i.e._ raised a force in Babur's name. He took advantage
of this _farman_ in 911 AH. to kill Baqi _Chagkaniani_ (f.
159b-160).
[892] Of the Yusuf-zai and Ranjit-singh, Masson says, (i, 141)
"The miserable, hunted wretches threw themselves on the
ground, and placing a blade or tuft of grass in their mouths,
cried out, "I am your cow." This act and explanation, which
would have saved them from an orthodox Hindu, had no effect
with the infuriated Sikhs." This form of supplication is at
least as old as the days of Firdausi (Erskine, p. 159 n.). The
_Bahar-i-`ajam_ is quoted by Vullers as saying that in India,
suppliants take straw in the mouth to indicate that they are
blanched and yellow from fear.
[893] This barbarous custom has always prevailed amongst the
Tartar conquerors of Asia (Erskine). For examples under Timur
_see_ Raverty's _Notes_ p. 137.
[894] For a good description of the road from Kohat to Thal
_see_ Bellew's _Mission_ p. 104.
[895] F. 88b has the same phrase about the doubtful courage of
one Sayyidi Qara.
[896] Not to the mod. town of Bannu, [that having been begun
only in 1848 AD.] but wherever their wrong road brought them
out into the Bannu amphitheatre. The Survey Map of 1868, No.
15, shews the physical features of the wrong route.
[897] Perhaps he connived at recovery of cattle by those
raided already.
[898] Taq is the Tank of Maps; Bazar was s.w. of it. Tank for
Taq looks to be a variant due to nasal utterance (Vigne, p.
77, p. 203 and Map; and, as bearing on the nasal, _in loco_,
Appendix E).
[899] If return had been made after over-running Bannu, it
would have been made by the Tochi-valley and so through
Farmul; if after over-running the Plain, Babur's details shew
that the westward turn was meant to be by the Gumal-valley and
one of two routes out of it, still to Farmul; but the extended
march southward to near Dara-i-Ghazi Khan made the westward
turn be taken through the valley opening at Sakhi-sawar.
[900] This will mean, none of the artificial runlets familiar
where Babur had lived before getting to know Hindustan.
[901] _sauda-at_, perhaps, pack-ponies, perhaps, bred for sale
and not for own use. Burnes observes that in 1837 Luhani
merchants carried precisely the same articles of trade as in
Babur's day, 332 years earlier (_Report_ IX p. 99).
[902] Mr. Erskine thought it probable that the first of these
routes went through Kaniguram, and the second through the
Ghwaliri-pass and along the Gumal. _Birk_, fastness, would
seem an appropriate name for Kaniguram, but, if Babur meant to
go to Ghazni, he would be off the ordinary Gumal-Ghazni route
in going through Farmul (Aurgun). Raverty's _Notes_ give much
useful detail about these routes, drawn from native sources.
For Barak (Birk) _see_ _Notes_ pp. 88, 89; Vigne, p. 102.
[903] From this it would seem that the alternative roads were
approached by one in common.
[904] _tumshuq_, a bird's bill, used here, as in Selsey-bill,
for the naze (nose), or snout, the last spur, of a range.
[905] Here these words may be common nouns.
[906] Nu-roz, the feast of the old Persian New-year (Erskine);
it is the day on which the Sun enters Aries.
[907] In the [Turki] Elph. and Hai. MSS. and in some Persian
ones, there is a space left here as though to indicate a known
omission.
[908] _kamari_, sometimes a cattle-enclosure, which may serve
as a _sangur_. The word may stand in one place of its
_Babur-nama_ uses for Gum-rahi (R.'s _Notes_ _s.n._
Gum-rahan).
[909] Index _s.n._
[910] Vigne, p. 241.
[911] This name can be translated "He turns not back" or "He
stops not".
[912] _i.e._ five from Bilah.
[913] Raverty gives the saint's name as Pir Kanun (Ar.
_kanun_, listened to). It is the well-known Sakhi-sarwar,
honoured hy Hindus and Muhammadans. (G. of I., xxi, 390; R.'s
_Notes_ p. 11 and p. 12 and JASB 1855; Calcutta Review 1875,
Macauliffe's art. _On the fair at Sakhi-sarwar_; Leech's
_Report_ VII, for the route; _Khazinatu 'l-asfiya_ iv, 245.)
[914] This seems to be the sub-district of Qandahar, Duki or
Dugi.
[915] _khar-gah_, a folding tent on lattice frame-work,
perhaps a _khibitka_.
[916] It may be more correct to write Kah-mard, as the Hai.
MS. does and to understand in the name a reference to the
grass(_kah_)-yielding capacity of the place.
[917] f. 121.
[918] This may mean, what irrigation has not used.
[919] Mr. Erskine notes that the description would lead us to
imagine a flock of flamingoes. Masson found the lake filled
with red-legged, white fowl (i, 262); these and also what
Babur saw, may have been the China-goose which has body and
neck white, head and tail russet (Bellew's _Mission_ p. 402).
Broadfoot seems to have visited the lake when migrants were
few, and through this to have been led to adverse comment on
Babur's accuracy (p. 350).
[920] The usual dryness of the bed may have resulted from the
irrigation of much land some 12 miles from Ghazni.
[921] This is the Luhugur (Logar) water, knee-deep in winter
at the ford but spreading in flood with the spring-rains.
Babur, not being able to cross it for the direct roads into
Kabul, kept on along its left bank, crossing it eventually at
the Kamari of maps, s.e. of Kabul.
[922] This disastrous expedition, full of privation and loss,
had occupied some four months (T.R. p. 201).
[923] f. 145b.
[924] f. 133b and Appendix F.
[925] They were located in Mandrawar in 926 AH. (f. 251).
[926] This was done, manifestly, with the design of drawing
after the families their fighting men, then away with Babur.
[927] f. 163. Shaibaq Khan besieged Chin Sufi, Sl. Husain
Mirza's man in Khwarizm (T. R. p. 204; _Shaibani-nama_,
VambÈry, Table of Contents and note 89).
[928] Survey Map 1889, Sadda. The Ragh-water flows n.w. into
the Oxus (Amu).
[929] _birk_, a mountain stronghold; cf. f. 149b note to Birk
(Barak).
[930] They were thus driven on from the Baran-water (f. 154b).
[931] f. 126b.
[932] Hisar, presumably.
[933] Here "His Honour" translates Babur's clearly ironical
honorific plural.
[934] These two sultans, almost always mentioned in alliance,
may be Timurids by maternal descent (Index _s.nn._). So far I
have found no direct statement of their parentage. My husband
has shewn me what may be one indication of it, _viz._ that two
of the uncles of Shaibaq Khan (whose kinsmen the sultans seem
to be), Quj-kunji and Siunjak, were sons of a daughter of the
Timurid Aulugh Beg _Samarkandi_ (H.S. ii, 318). _See_
VambÈry's _Bukhara_ p. 248 note.
[935] For the deaths of Tambal and Mahmud, mentioned in the
above summary of Shaibaq Khan's actions, _see_ the
_Shaibani-nama_, VambÈry, p. 323.
[936] H.S. ii, 323, for Khusrau Shah's character and death.
[937] f. 124.
[938] Khwaja-of-the-rhubarb, presumably a shrine near
rhubarb-grounds (f. 129b).
[939] _yakshi bardilar_, lit. went well, a common expression
in the _Babur-nama_, of which the reverse statement is
_yamanlik bila bardi_ (f. 163). Some Persian MSS. make the
Mughuls disloyal but this is not only in opposition to the
Turki text, it is a redundant statement since if disloyal,
they are included in Babur's previous statement, as being
Khusrau Shah's retainers. What might call for comment in
Mughuls would be loyalty to Babur.
[940] Elph. MS. f. 121b: W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 126 and 217 f.
106b; Mems. p. 169.
[941] _tagh-damanasi_, presumably the Koh-daman, and the
garden will thus be the one of f. 136b.
[942] If these heirs were descendants of Aulugh Beg M. one
would be at hand in `Abdu'r-razzaq, then a boy, and another, a
daughter, was the wife of Muqim _Arghun_. As Mr. Erskine
notes, Musalmans are most scrupulous not to bury their dead in
ground gained by violence or wrong.
[943] The news of Ahmad's death was belated; he died some 13
months earlier, in the end of 909 AH. and in Eastern
Turkistan. Perhaps details now arrived.
[944] _i.e._ the fortieth day of mourning, when alms are
given.
[945] Of those arriving, the first would find her
step-daughter dead, the second her sister, the third, his late
wife's sister (T. R. p. 196).
[946] This will be the earthquake felt in Agra on Safar 3rd
911 AH. (July 5th 1505 AD. Erskine's _History of India_ i, 229
note). Cf. Elliot and Dowson, iv, 465 and v, 99.
[947] Raverty's _Notes_ p. 690.
[948] _bir kitta tash atimi_; var. _bash atimi_. If _tash_ be
right, the reference will probably be to the throw of a
catapult.
[949] Here almost certainly, a drummer, because there were two
tambours and because also Babur uses _`audi_ & _ghachaki_ for
the other meanings of _tambourchi_, lutanist and guitarist.
The word has found its way, as _tambourgi_, into Childe
Harold's Pilgrimage (Canto ii, lxxii. H. B.).
[950] Kabul-Ghazni road (R.'s _Notes_ index _s.n._).
[951] var. Yari. Tazi is on the Ghazni-Qalat-i-ghilzai road
(R.'s _Notes_, Appendix p. 46).
[952] _i.e._ in Kabul and in the Trans-Himalayan country.
[953] These will be those against Babur's suzerainty done by
their defence of Qalat for Muqim.
[954] _tabaqa_, dynasty. By using this word Babur shews
recognition of high birth. It is noticeable that he usually
writes of an Arghun chief either simply as "Beg" or without a
title. This does not appear to imply admission of equality,
since he styles even his brothers and sisters Mirza and Begim;
nor does it shew familiarity of intercourse, since none seems
to have existed between him and Zu'n-nun or Muqim. That he did
not admit equality is shewn on f. 208. The T.R. styles
Zu'n-nun "Mirza", a title by which, as also by Shah, his
descendants are found styled (A.-i-a. Blochmann, _s.n._).
[955] Turki _khachar_ is a camel or mule used for carrying
personal effects. The word has been read by some scribes as
_khanjar_, dagger.
[956] In 910 AH. he had induced Babur to come to Kabul instead
of going into Khurasan (H.S. iii, 319); in the same year he
dictated the march to Kohat, and the rest of that disastrous
travel. His real name was not Baqi but Muhammad Baqir (H.S.
iii, 311).
[957] These transit or custom duties are so called because the
dutiable articles are stamped with a _tamgha_, a wooden stamp.
[958] Perhaps this word is an equivalent of Persian _goshi_, a
tax on cattle and beasts of burden.
[959] Baqi was one only and not the head of the Lords of the
Gate.
[960] The choice of the number nine, links on presumably to
the mystic value attached to it _e.g._ Tarkhans had nine
privileges; gifts were made by nines.
[961] It is near Hasan-abdal (A.-i-A. Jarrett, ii, 324).
[962] For the _farman_, f. 146b; for Gujurs, G. of I.
[963] var. Khwesh. Its water flows into the Ghur-bund stream;
it seems to be the Dara-i-Turkman of Stanford and the Survey
Maps both of which mark Janglik. For Hazara turbulence, f.
135b and note.
[964] The repetition of _auq_ in this sentence can hardly be
accidental.
[965] _taur_ [_dara_], which I take to be Turki, round,
complete.
[966] Three MSS. of the Turki text write _bir simizluq tiwah_;
but the two Persian translations have _yak shuturluq farbih_,
a _shuturluq_ being a baggage-camel with little hair
(Erskine).
[967] _brochettes_, meat cut into large mouthfuls, spitted and
roasted.
[968] Perhaps he was officially an announcer; the word means
also bearer of good news.
[969] _yilang_, without mail, as in the common phrase _yigit
yilang_, a bare brave.
[970] _aupchin_, of horse and man (f. 113b and note).
[971] Manifestly Babur means that he twice actually helped to
collect the booty.
[972] This is that part of a horse covered by the two
side-pieces of a Turki saddle, from which the side-arch
springs on either side (Shaw).
[973] _Baran-ning ayaghi._ Except the river I have found
nothing called Baran; the village marked Baian on the French
Map would suit the position; it is n.e. of Char-yak-kar (f.
184b note).
[974] _i.e._ prepared to fight.
[975] For the Hazara (Turki, Ming) on the Mirza's road _see_
Raverty's routes from Ghazni to the north. An account given by
the _Tarikh-i-rashidi_ (p. 196) of Jahangir's doings is
confused; its parenthetical "(at the same time)" can hardly be
correct. Jahangir left Ghazni now, (911 AH.), as Babur left
Kabul in 912 AH. without knowledge of Husain's death (911
AH.). Babur had heard it (f. 183b) before Jahangir joined him
(912 AH.); after their meeting they went on together to Heri.
The petition of which the T. R. speaks as made by Jahangir to
Babur, that he might go into Khurasan and help the Bai-qara
Mirzas must have been made after the meeting of the two at
Saf-hill (f. 184b).
[976] The plurals _they_ and _their_ of the preceding sentence
stand no doubt for the Mirza, Yusuf and Buhlul who all had
such punishment due as would lead them to hear threat in
Qasim's words now when all were within Babur's pounce.
[977] These are the _aimaqs_ from which the fighting-men went
east with Babur in 910 AH. and the families in which Nasir
shepherded across Hindu-kush (f. 154 and f. 155).
[978] _yamanlik bila bardi_; cf. f. 156b and n. for its
opposite, _yakhshi bardilar_; and T. R. p. 196.
[979] One might be of mail, the other of wadded cloth.
[980] Chin Sufi was Husain _Bai-qara's_ man (T.R. p. 204). His
arduous defence, faithfulness and abandonment recall the
instance of a later time when also a long road stretched
between the man and the help that failed him. But the Mirza
was old, his military strength was, admittedly, sapped by
ease; hence his elder Khartum, his neglect of his Gordon.
It should be noted that no mention of the page's fatal arrow
is made by the _Shaibani-nama_ (VambÈry, p. 442), or by the
_Tarikh-i-rashidi_ (p. 204). Chin Sufi's death was on the 21st
of the Second Rabi 911 AH. (Aug. 22nd 1505 AD.).
[981] This may be the "Baboulei" of the French Map of 1904, on
the Heri-Kushk-Maruchaq road.
[982] Elph. MS. f. 127; W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 132 and 217 f.
111b; Mems. p. 175; _MÈms._ i, 364.
That Babur should have given his laborious account of the
Court of Heri seems due both to loyalty to a great Timurid,
seated in Timur Beg's place (f. 122b), and to his own
interest, as a man-of-letters and connoisseur in excellence,
in that ruler's galaxy of talent. His account here opening is
not complete; its sources are various; they include the
_Habibu's-siyar_ and what he will have learned himself in Heri
or from members of the Bai-qara family, knowledgeable women
some of them, who were with him in Hindustan. The narrow scope
of my notes shews that they attempt no more than to indicate
further sources of information and to clear up a few
obscurities.
[983] Timur's youngest son, d. 850 AH. (1446 AD.). Cf. H.S.
iii, 203. The use in this sentence of Amir and not Beg as
Timur's title is, up to this point, unique in the
_Babur-nama_; it may be a scribe's error.
[984] Firuza's paternal line of descent was as
follows:--Firuza, daughter of Sl. Husain _Qanjut_, son of Aka
Begim, daughter of Timur. Her maternal descent was:--Firuza, d.
of Qutluq-sultan Begim, d. of Miran-shah, s. of Timur. She
died Muh. 24th 874 AH. (July 25th 1489 AD. H.S. iii, 218).
[985] "No-one in the world had such parentage", writes
Khwand-amir, after detailing the Timurid, Chingiz-khanid, and
other noted strains meeting in Husain _Bai-qara_ (H.S. iii,
204).
[986] The Elph. MS. gives the Begim no name; Badi`u'l-jamal is
correct (H.S. iii, 242). The curious "Badka" needs
explanation. It seems probable that Babur left one of his
blanks for later filling-in; the natural run of his sentence
here is "Aka B. and Badi`u'l-jamal B." and not the detail,
which follows in its due place, about the marriage with Ahmad.
[987] _Diwan bashida hasir bulmas aidi_; the sense of which
may be that Bai-qara did not sit where the premier retainer
usually sat at the head of the Court (Pers. trs.
_sar-i-diwan_).
[988] From this Wais and Sl. Husain M.'s daughter Sultanim (f.
167b) were descended the Bai-qara Mirzas who gave Akbar so
much trouble.
[989] As this man might be mistaken for Babur's uncle (_q.v._)
of the same name, it may be well to set down his parentage. He
was a s. of Mirza Sayyidi Ahmad, s. of Miran-shah, s. of Timur
(H.S. iii, 217, 241). I have not found mention elsewhere of
"Ahmad s. of Miran-shah"; the _sayyidi_ in his style points to
a sayyida mother. He was Governor of Heri for a time, for Sl.
H.M.; `Ali-sher has notices of him and of his son, Kichik
Mirza (_Journal Asiatique_ xvii, 293, M. Belin's art. where
may be seen notices of many other men mentioned by Babur).
[990] He collected and thus preserved `Ali-sher's earlier
poems (Rieu's Pers. Cat. p. 294). Mu'inu'd-din al Zamji writes
respectfully of his being worthy of credence in some Egyptian
matters with which he became acquainted in twice passing
through that country on his Pilgrimage (_Journal Asiatique_
xvi, 476, de Meynard's article).
[991] Kichik M.'s quatrain is a mere plagiarism of Jami's
which I am indebted to my husband for locating as in the
_Diwan_ I.O. MS. 47 p. 47; B.M. Add. 7774 p. 290; and Add.
7775 p. 285. M. Belin interprets the verse as an expression of
the rise of the average good man to mystical rapture, not as
his lapse from abstinence to indulgence (l.c. xvii, 296 and
notes).
[992] Elph. MS. _younger_ but Hai. MS. _older_ in which it is
supported by the "also" (_ham_) of the sentence.
[993] modern Astrakhan. Husain's guerilla wars were those
through which he cut his way to the throne of Heri. This begim
was married first to Pir Budagh Sl. (H.S. iii, 242); he dying,
she was married by Ahmad, presumably by levirate custom
(_yinkalik_; f. 12 and note). By Ahmad she had a daughter,
styled Khan-zada Begim whose affairs find comment on f. 206
and H.S. iii, 359. (The details of this note negative a
suggestion of mine that Badka was the Rabi`a-sultan of f. 168
(Gul-badan, App. _s. nn._).)
[994] This is a felt wide-awake worn by travellers in hot
weather (Shaw); the Turkman bonnet (Erskine).
[995] Hai. MS. _yamanlik_, badly, but Elph. MS. _namayan_,
whence Erskine's _showy_.
[996] This was a proof that he was then a Shi`a (Erskine).
[997] The word _perform_ may be excused in speaking of
Musalman prayers because they involve ceremonial bendings and
prostrations (Erskine).
[998] If Babur's 40 include rule in Heri only, it over-states,
since Yadgar died in 875 AH. and Husain in 911 AH. while the
intervening 36 years include the 5 or 6 temperate ones. If the
40 count from 861 AH. when Husain began to rule in Merv, it
under-states. It is a round number, apparently.
[999] Relying on the Ilminsky text, Dr. Rieu was led into the
mistake of writing that Babur gave Husain the wrong pen-name,
_i.e._ Husain, and not Husaini (Turk. Cat. p. 256).
[1000] Daulat-shah says that as he is not able to enumerate
all Husain's feats-of-arms, he, Turkman fashion, offers a gift
of Nine. The Nine differ from those of Babur's list in some
dates; they are also records of victory only (Browne, p. 521;
_Not. et Extr._ iv, 262, de SaÁy's article).
[1001] Wolves'-water, a river and its town at the s.e. corner
of the Caspian, the ancient boundary between Russia and
Persia. The name varies a good deal in MSS.
[1002] The battle was at Tarshiz; Abu-sa`id was ruling in
Heri; Daulat-shah (l.c. p. 523) gives 90 and 10,000 as the
numbers of the opposed forces!
[1003] f. 26b and note; H.S. iii, 209; Daulat-shah p. 523.
[1004] The loser was the last Shahrukhi ruler. Chanaran
(variants) is near Abiward, Anwari's birth-place (H.S. iii,
218; D.S. p. 527).
[1005] f. 85. D.S. (p. 540) and the H.S. (iii, 223) dwell on
Husain's speed through three continuous days and nights.
[1006] f. 26; H.S. iii, 227; D.S. p. 532.
[1007] Abu-sa`id's son by a Badakhshi Begim (T.R. p. 108); he
became his father's Governor in Badakhshan and married Husain
_Bai-qara's_ daughter Begim Sultan at a date after 873 AH. (f.
168 and note; H.S. iii, 196, 229, 234-37; D.S. p. 535).
[1008] f. 152.
[1009] Aba-bikr was defeated and put to death at the end of
Rajah 884 AH.-Oct. 1479 AD. after flight before Husain across
the Gurgan-water (H.S. iii, 196 and 237 but D.S. p. 539, Safar
885 AH.).
[1010] f. 41, Pul-i-chiragh; for Halwa-spring, H.S. iii, 283
and Rieu's Pers. Cat. p. 443.
[1011] f. 33 (p. 57) and f. 57b.
[1012] In commenting thus Babur will have had in mind what he
best knew, Husain's futile movements at Qunduz and Hisar.
[1013] _qalib aidi_; if _qalib_ be taken as Turki, survived or
remained, it would not apply here since many of Husain's
children predeceased him; Ar. _qalab_ would suit, meaning
_begotten_, _born_.
There are discrepancies between Babur's details here and
Khwand-amir's scattered through the _Habibu's-siyar_,
concerning Husain's family.
[1014] _bi huzuri_, which may mean aversion due to Khadija
Begim's malevolence.
[1015] Some of the several goings into `Iraq chronicled by
Babur point to refuge taken with Timurids, descendants of
Khalil and `Umar, sons of Miran-shah (Lane-Poole's _Muhammadan
Dynasties_, Table of the Timurids).
[1016] He died before his father (H.S. iii, 327).
[1017] He will have been killed previous to Ramzan 3rd 918 AH.
(Nov. 12th, 1512 AD.), the date of the battle of Ghaj-dawan
when Nijm Sani died.
[1018] The _bund_ here may not imply that both were in prison,
but that they were bound in close company, allowing Isma`il, a
fervent Shi`a, to convert the Mirza.
[1019] The _batman_ is a Turkish weight of 13lbs (Meninsky) or
15lbs (Wollaston). The weight seems likely to refer to the
strength demanded for rounding the bow (_kaman guroha-si_)
_i.e._ as much strength as to lift 40 _batmans_. Rounding or
bending might stand for stringing or drawing. The meaning can
hardly be one of the weight of the cross-bow itself. Erskine
read _gurdehieh_ for _guroha_ (p. 180) and translated by
"double-stringed bow"; de Courteille (i, 373) read
_guirdhiyeh, arrondi, circulaire_, in this following Ilminsky
who may have followed Erskine. The Elph. and Hai. MSS. and the
first W.-i-B. (I.O. 215 f. 113b) have _kaman guroha-si_; the
second W.-i-B. omits the passage, in the MSS. I have seen.
[1020] _yakhshilar barib tur_; lit. good things went (on); cf.
f. 156b and note.
[1021] Badi`u'z-zaman's son, drowned at Chausa in 946 AH.
(1539 AD.) A.N. (H. Beveridge, i, 344).
[1022] Qalat-i-nadiri, in Khurasan, the birth-place of Nadir
Shah (T.R. p. 209).
[1023] _bir gina qiz_, which on f. 86b can fitly be read to
mean daughterling, _Tˆchterchen, fillette_, but here and
_i.a._ f. 168, must have another meaning than diminutive and
may be an equivalent of German _St¸ck_ and mean _one only_.
Gul-badan gives an account of Shad's manly pursuits (H.N. f.
25b).
[1024] He was the son of Mahdi Sl. (f. 320b) and the father of
`Aqil Sl. _Auzbeg_ (A.N. index _s.n._). Several matters
suggest that these men were of the Shaban Auzbegs who
intermarried with Husain _Bai-qara's_ family and some of whom
went to Babur in Hindustan. One such matter is that Kabul was
the refuge of dispossessed Haratis, after the Auzbeg conquest;
that there `Aqil married Shad _Bai-qara_ and that `Adil went
on to Babur. Moreover Khafi Khan makes a statement which (if
correct) would allow `Adil's father Mahdi to be a grandson of
Husain _Bai-qara_; this statement is that when Babur defeated
the Auzbegs in 916 AH. (1510 AD.), he freed from their
captivity two sons (descendants) of his paternal uncle, named
Mahdi Sl. and Sultan Mirza. [Leaving the authenticity of the
statement aside for a moment, it will be observed that this
incident is of the same date and place as another well-vouched
for, namely that Babur then and there killed Mahdi Sl.
_Auzbeg_ and Hamza Sl. _Auzbeg_ after defeating them.] What
makes in favour of Khafi Khan's correctness is, not only that
Babur's foe Mahdi is not known to have had a son `Adil, but
also that his "Sultan Mirza" is not a style so certainly
suiting Hamza as it does a Shaban sultan, one whose father was
a Shaban sultan, and whose mother was a Mirza's daughter.
Moreover this point of identification is pressed by the
correctness, according to oriental statement of relationship,
of Khafi Khan's "paternal uncle" (of Babur), because this
precisely suits Sl. Husain Mirza with whose family these
Shaban sultans allied themselves. On the other hand it must be
said that Khafi Khan's statement is not in the English text of
the _Tarikh-i-rashidi_, the book on which he mostly relies at
this period, nor is it in my husband's MS. [a copy from the
Rampur Codex]; and to this must be added the verbal objection
that a modicum of rhetoric allows a death to be described both
in Turki and Persian, as a release from the captivity of a
sinner's own acts (f. 160). Still Khafi Khan may be right; his
statement may yet be found in some other MS. of the T. R. or
some different source; it is one a scribe copying the T. R.
might be led to omit by reason of its coincidences. The
killing and the release may both be right; `Adil's Mahdi may
be the Shaban sultan inference makes him seem. This little
_crux_ presses home the need of much attention to the
_lacunae_ in the _Babur-nama_, since in them are lost some
exits and some entries of Babur's _dramatis personae_,
pertinently, mention of the death of Mahdi with Hamza in 916
AH., and possibly also that of `Adil's Mahdi's release.
[1025] A _char-taq_ may be a large tent rising into four domes
or having four porches.
[1026] H.S. iii, 367.
[1027] This phrase, common but not always selected, suggests
unwillingness to leave the paternal roof.
[1028] Abu'l-ghazi's _History of the Mughuls_, DÈsmaisons, p.
207.
[1029] The appointment was made in 933 AH. (1527 AD.) and
seems to have been held still in 934 AH. (ff. 329, 332).
[1030] This grandson may have been a child travelling with his
father's household, perhaps Aulugh Mirza, the oldest son of
Muhammad Sultan Mirza (A. A. Blochmann, p. 461). No mention is
made here of Sultanim Begim's marriage with `Abdu'l-baqi Mirza
(f. 175).
[1031] Abu'l-qasim Babur _Shahrukhi_ presumably.
[1032] The time may have been 902 AH. when Mas`ud took his
sister Bega Begim to Heri for her marriage with Haidar (H.S.
iii, 260).
[1033] Khwaja Ahmad _Yasawi_, known as Khwaja Ata, founder of
the Yasawi religious order.
[1034] Not finding mention of a daughter of Abu-sa`id named
Rabi`a-sultan, I think she may be the daughter styled Aq Begim
who is No. 3 in Gul-badan's guest-list for the Mystic Feast.
[1035] This man I take to be Husain's grandfather and not
brother, both because `Abdu'l-lah was of Husain's and his
brother's generation, and also because of the absence here of
Babur's usual defining words "elder brother" (of Sl. Husain
Mirza). In this I have to differ from Dr. Rieu (Pers. Cat. p.
152).
[1036] So-named after his ancestor Sayyid Barka whose body was
exhumed from Andikhud for reburial in Samarkand, by Timur's
wish and there laid in such a position that Timur's body was
at its feet (_Zafar-nama_ ii, 719; H.S. iii, 82). (For the
above interesting detail I am indebted to my husband.)
[1037] _Qizil-bash_, Persians wearing red badges or caps to
distinguish them as Persians.
[1038] Yadgar-i-farrukh _Miran-shahi_ (H.S. iii, 327). He may
have been one of those Miran-shahis of `Iraq from whom came
Aka's and Sultanim's husbands, Ahmad and `Abdu'l-baqi (ff.
164, 175_b_).
[1039] This should be four (f. 169_b_). The H.S. (iii, 327)
also names three only when giving Papa Aghacha's daughters
(the omission linking it with the B.N.), but elsewhere (iii,
229) it gives an account of a fourth girl's marriage; this
fourth is needed to make up the total of 11 daughters. Babur's
and Khwand-amir's details of Papa Aghacha's quartette are
defective; the following may be a more correct list:--(1) Begim
Sultan (a frequent title), married to Aba-bikr _Miran-shahi_
(who died 884 AH.) and seeming too old to be the one [No. 3]
who married Mas`ud (H.S. iii, 229); (2) Sultan-nizhad, married
to Iskandar _Bai-qara_; (3) Sa`adat-bakht also known as Begim
Sultan, married to Mas'ud _Miran-shahi_ (H.S. iii, 327); (4)
Manauwar-sultan, married to a son of Aulugh Beg _Kabuli_ (H.S.
iii, 327).
[1040] This "after" seems to contradict the statement (f. 58)
that Mas`ud was made to kneel as a son-in-law (_kuyadlik-ka
yukundurub_) at a date previous to his blinding, but the
seeming contradiction may be explained by considering the
following details; he left Heri hastily (f. 58), went to
Khusrau Shah and was blinded by him,--all in the last two
months of 903 AH. (1498 AD.), after the kneeling on Zu'l-qa`da
3rd, (June 23rd) in the Ravens'-garden. Here what Babur says
is that the Begim was given (_birib_) after the blinding, the
inference allowed being that though Mas`ud had kneeled before
the blinding, she had remained in her father's house till his
return after the blinding.
[1041] The first W.-i-B. writes "Apaq Begim" (I.O. 215 f. 136)
which would allow Sayyid Mirza to be a kinsman of Apaq Begim,
wife of Husain _Bai-qara_.
[1042] This brief summary conveys the impression that the
Begim went on her pilgrimage shortly after Mas`ud's death (913
AH. ?), but may be wrong:--After Mas`ud's murder, by one Bimash
Mirza, _darogha_ of Sarakhs, at Shaibaq Khan's order, she was
married by Bimash M. (H.S. iii, 278). How long after this she
went to Makka is not said; it was about 934 AH. when Babur
heard of her as there.
[1043] This clause is in the Hai. MS. but not in the Elph. MS.
(f. 131), or Kehr's (Ilminsky, p. 210), or in either Persian
translation. The boy may have been 17 or 18.
[1044] This appears a mistake (f. 168 foot, and note on Papa's
daughters).
[1045] f. 171b.
[1046] 933 AH.-1527 AD. (f. 329).
[1047] Presumably this was a _yinkalik_ marriage; it differs
from some of those chronicled and also from a levirate
marriage in not being made with a childless wife. (Cf. index
_s.n._ _yinkalik_.)
[1048] Khwand-amir says that Bega Begim was jealous, died of
grief at her divorce, and was buried in a College, of her own
erection, in 893 AH. (1488 AD. HS. iii, 245).
[1049] _Gulistan_ Cap. II, Story 31 (Platts, p. 114).
[1050] _i.e._ did not get ready to ride off if her husband
were beaten by her brother (f. 11 and note to Habiba).
[1051] Khadija Begi Agha (H.S. ii, 230 and iii, 327); she
would be promoted probably after Shah-i-gharib's birth.
[1052] He was a son of Badi`u'z-zaman.
[1053] It is singular that this honoured woman's parentage is
not mentioned; if it be right on f. 168b (_q.v._ with note) to
read Sayyid Mirza of Apaq Begim, she may be a sayyida of
Andikhud.
[1054] As Babur left Kabul on Safar 1st (Nov. 17th 1525 AD.),
the Begim must have arrived in Muharram 932 AH. (Oct. 18th to
Nov. 17th).
[1055] f. 333. As Chandiri was besieged in Rabi`u'l-akhar 934
AH. this passage shews that, as a minimum estimate, what
remains of Babur's composed narrative (_i.e._ down to f. 216b)
was written after that date (Jan. 1528).
[1056] _Char-shambalar._ Mention of another inhabitant of this
place with the odd name, Wednesday (Char-shamba), is made on
f. 42b.
[1057] Mole-marked Lady; most MSS. style her Bi but H.S. iii,
327, writes Bibi; it varies also by calling her a Turk. She
was a purchased slave of Shahr-banu's and was given to the
Mirza by Shahr-banu at the time of her own marriage with him.
[1058] As noted already, f. 168b enumerates three only.
[1059] The three were almost certainly Badi`u'z-zaman, Haidar,
son of a Timurid mother, and Muzaffar-i-husain, born after
his mother had been legally married.
[1060] Seven sons predeceased him:--Farrukh, Shah-i-gharib,
Muh. Ma`sum, Haidar, Ibrahim-i-husain, Muh. Husain and
Abu-turab. So too five daughters:--Aq, Bega, Agha, Kichik and
Fatima-sultan Begims. So too four wives:--Bega-sultan and Chuli
Begims, Zubaida and Latif-sultan Aghachas (H.S. iii, 327).
[1061] Chaku, a Barlas, as was Timur, was one of Timur's noted
men.
At this point some hand not the scribe's has entered on the
margin of the Hai. MS. the descendants of Muh. Baranduq down
into Akbar's reign:--Muh. Faridun, bin Muh. Quli Khan, bin
Mirza `Ali, bin Muh. Baranduq _Barlas_. Of these Faridun and
Muh. Quli are amirs of the _Ayin-i-akbari_ list (Blochmann,
pp. 341, 342; H.S. iii, 233).
[1062] Enforced marches of Mughuls and other nomads are
mentioned also on f. 154b and f. 155.
[1063] H.S. iii, 228, 233, 235.
[1064] _beg kishi_, beg-person.
[1065] Khwand-amir says he died a natural death (H.S. iii,
235).
[1066] f. 21. For a fuller account of Nawa'i, _J. Asiatique_
xvii, 175, M. Belin's article.
[1067] _i.e._ when he was poor and a beg's dependant. He went
back to Heri at Sl. Husain M.'s request in 873 AH.
[1068] Nizami's (Rieu's Pers. Cat. s.n.).
[1069] Faridu'd-din-`attar's (Rieu l.c. and Ency. Br.).
[1070] _Ghara'ibu's-sighar_, _Nawadiru'sh-shahab_,
_Bada'i`u'l-wasat_ and _Fawa'idu'l-kibr_.
[1071] Every Persian poet has a _takhallus_ (pen-name) which
he introduces into the last couplet of each ode (Erskine).
[1072] The death occurred in the First Jumada 906 AH. (Dec.
1500 AD.).
[1073] Nizamu'd-din Ahmad bin Tawakkal _Barlas_ (H.S. iii,
229).
[1074] This may be that uncle of Timur who made the Haj (T. R.
p. 48, quoting the _Zafar-nama_).
[1075] Some MSS. omit the word "father" here but to read it
obviates the difficulty of calling Wali a great beg of Sl.
Husain Mirza although he died when that mirza took the throne
(973 AH.) and although no leading place is allotted to him in
Babur's list of Heri begs. Here as in other parts of Babur's
account of Heri, the texts vary much whether Turki or Persian,
_e.g._ the Elph. MS. appears to call Wali a blockhead (_dunkuz
dur_), the Hai. MS. writing _n:kuz dur_(?).
[1076] He had been Babur _Shahrukhi's yasawal_
(Court-attendant), had fought against Husain for
Yadgar-i-muhammad and had given a daughter to Husain (H.S.
iii, 206, 228, 230-32; D.S. in _Not. et Ex._ de SaÁy p. 265).
[1077] f. 29b.
[1078] _Sic_, Elph. MS. and both Pers. trss. but the Hai. MS.
omits "father". To read it, however, suits the circumstance
that Hasan of Ya`qub was not with Husain and in Harat but was
connected with Mahmud _Miranshahi_ and Tirmiz (f. 24). Nuyan
is not a personal name but is a title; it implies good-birth;
all uses of it I have seen are for members of the religious
family of Tirmiz.
[1079] He was the son of Ibrahim _Barlas_ and a Badakhshi
begim (T.R. p. 108).
[1080] He will have been therefore a collateral of Daulat-shah
whose relation to Firuz-shah is thus expressed by Nawa'i:--_Mir
Daulat-shah Firuz-shah Beg-ning `amm-zada-si Amir
`Ala'u'd-daula Isfarayini-ning aughuli dur_, _i.e._ Mir
Daulat-shah was the son of Firuz-shah Beg's paternal uncle's
son, Amir `Ala'u'd-daula _Isfarayini_. Thus, Firuz-shah and
Isfarayini were first cousins; Daulat-shah and
`Abdu'l-khaliq's father were second cousins; while Daulat-shah
and Firuz-shah were first cousins, once removed (Rieu's Pers.
Cat. p. 534; Browne's D.S. English preface p. 14 and its
reference to the Pers. preface).
[1081] _Tarkhan-nama_, E. & D.'s _History of India_ i, 303;
H.S. iii, 227.
[1082] f. 41 and note.
[1083] Both places are in the valley of the Heri-rud.
[1084] Badi`u'z-zaman married a daughter of Zu'n-nun; she died
in 911 AH. (E. & D. i, 305; H.S. iii, 324).
[1085] This indicates, both amongst Musalmans and Hindus,
obedience and submission. Several instances occur in
Macculloch's _Bengali Household Stories_.
[1086] T.R. p. 205.
[1087] This is an idiom expressive of great keenness
(Erskine).
[1088] H.S. iii, 250, _kitabdar_, librarian; so too Hai. MS.
f. 174b.
[1089] _mutaiyam_ (f. 7b and note). Mir Mughul Beg was put to
death for treachery in `Iraq (H.S. iii, 227, 248).
[1090] Babur speaks as an eye-witness (f. 187b). For a single
combat of Sayyid Badr, H. S. iii, 233.
[1091] f. 157 and note to _batman_.
[1092] A level field in which a gourd (_qabaq_) is set on a
pole for an archer's mark to be hit in passing at the gallop
(f. 18b and note).
[1093] Or possibly during the gallop the archer turned in the
saddle and shot backwards.
[1094] Junaid was the father of Nizamu'd-din `Ali, Babur's
Khalifa (Vice-gerent). That Khalifa was of a religious house
on his mother's side may be inferred from his being styled
both Sayyid and Khwaja neither of which titles could have come
from his Turki father. His mother may have been a sayyida of
one of the religious families of Marghinan (f. 18 and note),
since Khalifa's son Muhibb-i-`ali writes his father's name
"Nizamu'd-din `Ali _Marghilani_" (_Marghinani_) in the Preface
of his _Book on Sport_ (Rieu's Pers. Cat. p. 485).
[1095] This northward migration would take the family into
touch with Babur's in Samarkand and Farghana.
[1096] He was left in charge of Jaunpur in Rabi` I, 933 AH.
(Jan. 1527 AD.) but exchanged for Chunar in Ramzan 935 AH.
(June 1529 AD.); so that for the writing of this part of the
_Babur-nama_ we have the major and minor limits of Jan. 1527
and June 1529.
[1097] H.S. iii, 227.
[1098] _See_ Appendix H, _On the counter-mark Bih-bud on
coins_.
[1099] Nizamu'd-din Amir Shaikh Ahmadu's-suhaili was surnamed
Suhaili through a _fal_ (augury) taken by his spiritual guide,
Kamalu'd-din Husain _Gazur-gahi_; it was he induced Husain
_Kashifi_ to produce his _Anwar-i-suhaili_ (Lights of Canopus)
(f. 125 and note; Rieu's Pers. Cat. p. 756; and for a couplet
of his, H.S. iii, 242 l. 10).
[1100] Index _s.n._
[1101] Did the change complete an analogy between `Ali
_Jalair_ and his (perhaps) elder son with `Ali Khalifa and his
elder son Hasan?
[1102] The Qush-begi is, in Central Asia, a high official who
acts for an absent ruler (Shaw); he does not appear to be the
Falconer, for whom Babur's name is Qushchi (f. 15 n.).
[1103] He received this sobriquet because when he returned
from an embassy to the Persian Gulf, he brought, from Bahrein,
to his Timurid master a gift of royal pearls (Sam Mirza). For
an account of Marwarid _see_ Rieu's Pers. Cat. p. 1094 and
(_re_ portrait) p. 787.
[1104] Sam Mirza specifies this affliction as _abla-i-farang_,
thus making what may be one of the earliest Oriental
references to _morbus gallicus_ [as de SaÁy here translates
the name], the foreign or European pox, the "French disease of
Shakespeare" (H.B.).
[1105] Index _s.n._ Yusuf.
[1106] Ramzan 3rd 918 AH.-Nov. 12th 1512.
[1107] _i.e._ of the White-sheep Turkmans.
[1108] His paternal line was, `Abdu'l-baqi, son of `Usman,
son of Sayyidi Ahmad, son of Miran-shah. His mother's people
were begs of the White-sheep (H.S. iii, 290).
[1109] Sultanim had married Wais (f. 157) not later than 895
or 896 AH. (H. S. iii, 253); she married `Abdu'l-baqi in 908
AH. (1502-3 AD.).
[1110] Sayyid Shamsu'd-din Muhammad, Mir Sayyid
_Sar-i-barahna_ owed his sobriquet of Bare-head to love-sick
wanderings of his youth (H.S. iii, 328). The H.S. it is clear,
recognizes him as a sayyid.
[1111] Rieu's Pers. Cat. p. 760; it is immensely long and
"filled with tales that shock all probability" (Erskine).
[1112] f. 94 and note. Sl. Husain M. made him curator of
Ansari's shrine, an officer represented, presumably, by Col.
Yate's "Mir of Gazur-gah", and he became Chief Justice in 904
AH. (1498-99 AD.). _See_ H.S. iii, 330 and 340; JASB 1887,
art. _On the city of Harat_ (C. E. Yate) p. 85.
[1113] _mutasauwif_, perhaps meaning not a professed Sufi.
[1114] He was of high birth on both sides, of religious houses
of Tabas and Nishapur (D.S. pp. 161, 163).
[1115] In agreement with its preface, Dr. Rieu entered the
book as written by Sl. Husain Mirza; in his Addenda, however,
he quotes Babur as the authority for its being by Gazur-gahi;
Khwand-amir's authority can be added to Babur's (H.S. 340;
Pers. Cat. pp. 351, 1085).
[1116] _Diwan._ The Wazir is a sort of Minister of Finance;
the Diwan is the office of revenue receipts and issues
(Erskine).
[1117] a secretary who writes out royal orders (H.S. iii,
244).
[1118] Count von Noer's words about a cognate reform of later
date suit this man's work, it also was "a bar to the
defraudment of the Crown, a stumbling-block in the path of
avaricious chiefs" (_Emperor Akbar_ trs. i, 11). The
opposition made by `Ali-sher to reform so clearly to Husain's
gain and to Husain's begs' loss, stirs the question, "What was
the source of his own income?" Up to 873 AH. he was for some
years the dependant of Ahmad Haji Beg; he took nothing from
the Mirza, but gave to him; he must have spent much in
benefactions. The question may have presented itself to M.
Belin for he observes, "`Ali-sher qui sans doute, ‡ son retour
de l'exil, recouvra l'hÈritage de ses pËres, et depuis occupa
de hautes positions dans le gouvernement de son pays, avait
acquis une grande fortune" (_J. Asiatique_ xvii, 227). While
not contradicting M. Belin's view that vested property such as
can be described as "paternal inheritance", may have passed
from father to son, even in those days of fugitive prosperity
and changing appointments, one cannot but infer, from Nawa'i's
opposition to Majdu'd-din, that he, like the rest, took a
partial view of the "rights" of the cultivator.
[1119] This was in 903 AH. after some 20 years of service
(H.S. iii, 231; EthÈ I.O. Cat. p. 252).
[1120] Amir Jamalu'd-din `Ata'u'l-lah, known also as
Jamalu'd-din Husain, wrote a _History of Muhammad_ (H.S. iii,
345; Rieu's Pers. Cat. p. 147 & (a correction) p. 1081).
[1121] Amongst noticeable omissions from Babur's list of Heri
celebrities are Mir Khwand Shah ("Mirkhond"), his grandson
Khwand-amir, Husain _Kashifi_ and Muinu'd-din al Zamji, author
of a _History of Harat_ which was finished in 897 AH.
[1122] Sa'du`d-din Mas`ud, son of `Umar, was a native of Taft
in Yazd, whence his cognomen (Bahar-i-`ajam); he died in 792
AH.-1390 AD. (H.S. iii, 59, 343; T.R. p. 236; Rieu's Pers.
Cat. pp. 352, 453).
[1123] These are those connected with grammar and rhetoric
(Erskine).
[1124] This is one of the four principal sects of
Muhammadanism (Erskine).
[1125] T.R. p. 235, for Shah Isma`il's murders in Heri.
[1126] Superintendent of Police, who examines weights,
measures and provisions, also prevents gambling, drinking and
so on.
[1127] f. 137.
[1128] The rank of Mujtahid, which is not bestowed by any
individual or class of men but which is the result of slow and
imperceptible opinion, finally prevailing and universally
acknowledged, is one of the greatest peculiarities of the
religion of Persia. The Mujtahid is supposed to be elevated
above human fears and human enjoyments, and to have a certain
degree of infallibility and inspiration. He is consulted with
reverence and awe. There is not always a Mujtahid necessarily
existing. _See_ Kaempfer, _Amoenitates Exoticae_ (Erskine).
[1129] _muhaddas_, one versed in the traditional sayings and
actions of Muhammad.
[1130] H.S. iii, 340.
[1131] B.M. Or. 218 (Rieu's Pers. Cat. p. 350). The Commentary
was made in order to explain the _Nafahat_ to Jami's son.
[1132] He was buried by the Mulla's side.
[1133] Amir Burhanu'd-din `Ata'u'l-lah bin Mahmudu'l-husaini
was born in Nishapur but known as Mashhadi because he retired
to that holy spot after becoming blind.
[1134] f. 144_b_ and note. Qazi Ikhtiyaru'd-din Hasan (H.S.
iii, 347) appears to be the Khwaja Ikhtiyar of the
_Ayin-i-akbari_, and, if so, will have taken professional
interest in the script, since Abu'l-fazl describes him as a
distinguished calligrapher in Sl. Husain M.'s presence
(Blochmann, p. 101).
[1135] Saifu'd-din (Sword of the Faith) Ahmad, presumably.
[1136] A sister of his, Apaq Bega, the wife of `Ali-sher's
brother Darwish-i-`ali _kitabdar_, is included as a poet in
the _Biography of Ladies_ (Sprenger's Cat. p. 11). Amongst the
20 women named one is a wife of Shaibaq Khan, another a
daughter of Hilali.
[1137] He was the son of Khw. Ni`amatu'l-lah, one of Sl.
Abu-sa`id M.'s wazirs. When dying _aet._ 70 (923 AH.), he made
this chronogram on his own death, "With 70 steps he measured
the road to eternity." The name Asaf, so frequent amongst
wazirs, is that of Solomon's wazir.
[1138] Other interpretations are open; _wadi_, taken as
_river_, might refer to the going on from one poem to another,
the stream of verse; or it might be taken as _desert_, with
disparagement of collections.
[1139] Maulana Jamalu'd-din _Bana'i_ was the son of a
_sabz-bana_, an architect, a good builder.
[1140] Steingass's Dictionary allows convenient reference for
examples of metres.
[1141] Other jokes made by _Bana'i_ at the expense of Nawa'i
are recorded in the various sources.
[1142] Babur saw Bana'i in Samarkand at the end of 901 AH.
(1496 AD. f. 38).
Here Dr. Leyden's translation ends; one other fragment which
he translated will be found under the year 925 AH. (Erskine).
This statement allows attention to be drawn to the inequality
of the shares of the work done for the Memoirs of 1826 by
Leyden and by Erskine. It is just to Mr. Erskine, but a
justice he did not claim, to point out that Dr. Leyden's share
is slight both in amount and in quality; his essential
contribution was the initial stimulus he gave to the great
labours of his collaborator.
[1143] So of Lope de Vega (b. 1562; d. 1635 AD.), "It became a
common proverb to praise a good thing by calling it _a Lope_,
so that jewels, diamonds, pictures, _etc._ were raised into
esteem by calling them his" (Montalvan in Ticknor's _Spanish
Literature_ ii, 270).
[1144] Maulana Saifi, known as 'Aruzi from his mastery in
prosody (Rieu's Pers. Cat. p. 525).
[1145] Here pedantry will be implied in the mullahood.
[1146] _Khamsatin_ (_infra_ f. 180_b_ and note).
[1147] This appears to mean that not only the sparse
diacritical pointing common in writing Persian was dealt with
but also the fuller Arabic.
[1148] He is best known by his pen-name Hatifi. The B.M. and
I.O. have several of his books.
[1149] _Khamsatin._ Hatifi regarded himself as the successor
of Nizami and Khusrau; this, taken with Babur's use of the
word _Khamsatin_ on f. 7 and here, and Saifi's just above,
leads to the opinion that the _Khamsatin_ of the _Babur-nama_
are always those of Nizami and Khusrau, _the_ Two Quintets
(Rieu's Pers. Cat. p. 653).
[1150] Maulana Mir Kamalu'd-din Husain of Nishapur (Rieu l.c.
index s.n.; EthÈ's I.O. Cat. pp. 433 and 1134).
[1151] One of his couplets on good and bad fortune is
striking; "The fortune of men is like a sand-glass; one hour
up, the next down." _See_ D'HerbÈlot in his article (Erskine).
[1152] H.S. iii, 336; Rieu's Pers. Cat. p. 1089.
[1153] Ahi (sighing) was with Shah-i-gharib before
Ibn-i-husain and to him dedicated his _diwan_. The words
_sahib-i-diwan_ seem likely to be used here with double
meaning _i.e._ to express authorship and finance office.
Though Babur has made frequent mention of authorship of a
_diwan_ and of office in the _Diwan_, he has not used these
words hitherto in either sense; there may be a play of words
here.
[1154] Muhammad _Salih_ Mirza _Khwarizmi_, author of the
_Shaibani-nama_ which manifestly is the poem (_masnawi_)
mentioned below. This has been published with a German
translation by Professor VambÈry and has been edited with
Russian notes by Mr. Platon Melioransky (Rieu's Turkish Cat.
p. 74; H.S. iii, 301).
[1155] Jami's _Subhatu'l-abrar_ (Rosary of the righteous).
[1156] The reference may be to things said by Muh. _Salih_ the
untruth of which was known to Babur through his own part in
the events. A crying instance of misrepresentation is Salih's
assertion, in rhetorical phrase, that Babur took booty in
jewels from Khusrau Shah; other instances concern the affairs
of The Khans and of Babur in Transoxiana (f. 124b and index
_s.nn._ Ahmad and Mahmud _Chaghatai_ _etc._; T.R. index
_s.nn._)
[1157] The name Fat-land (Tambal-khana) has its parallel in
Fat-village (Simiz-kint) a name of Samarkand; in both cases
the nick-name is accounted for by the fertility of irrigated
lands. We have not been able to find the above-quoted couplet
in the _Shaibani-nama_ (VambÈry); needless to say, the pun is
on the nick-name (_tambal_, fat) of Sl. Ahmad _Tambal_.
[1158] Muh. Salih does not show well in his book; he is
sometimes coarse, gloats over spoil whether in human captives
or goods, and, his good-birth not-forbidding, is a servile
flatterer. Babur's word "heartless" is just; it must have had
sharp prompting from Salih's rejoicing in the downfall of The
Khans, Babur's uncles.
[1159] the Longer (H.S. iii, 349).
[1160] Maulana Badru'd-din (Full-moon of the Faith) whose
pen-name was Hilali, was of Astarabad. It may be noted that
two dates of his death are found, 936 and 939 AH. the first
given by de SaÁy, the second by Rieu, and that the second
seems to be correct (_Not. et Extr._ p. 285; Pers. Cat. p.
656; Hammer's _Geschichte_ p. 368).
[1161] B.M. Add. 7783.
[1162] Opinions differ as to the character of this
work:--Babur's is uncompromising; von Hammer (p. 369) describes
it as "_ein romantisches Gedicht, welches eine sentimentale
M‰nnerliebe behandelt_"; Sprenger (p. 427), as a mystical
_masnawi_ (poem); Rieu finds no spiritual symbolism in it and
condemns it (Pers. Cat. p. 656 and, quoting the above passage
of Babur, p. 1090); EthÈ, who has translated it, takes it to
be mystical and symbolic (I.O. Cat. p. 783).
[1163] Of four writers using the pen-name Ahli
(Of-the-people), _viz._ those of Turan, Shiraz, Tarshiz (in
Khurasan), and 'Iraq, the one noticed here seems to be he of
Tarshiz. Ahli of Tarshiz was the son of a locally-known pious
father and became a Superintendent of the Mint; Babur's `_ami_
may refer to Ahli's first patrons, tanners and shoe-makers by
writing for whom he earned his living (Sprenger, p. 319).
Erskine read _'ummi_, meaning that Ahli could neither read nor
write; de Courteille that he was _un homme du commun_.
[1164] He was an occasional poet (H.S. iii, 350 and iv, 118;
Rieu's Pers. Cat. p. 531; EthÈ's I.O. Cat. p. 428).
[1165] Ustad Kamalu'd-din Bih-zad (well-born; H.S. iii, 350).
Work of his is reproduced in Dr. Martin's _Painting and
Painters of Persia_ of 1913 AD.
[1166] This sentence is not in the Elph. MS.
[1167] Perhaps he could reproduce tunes heard and say where
heard.
[1168] M. Belin quotes quatrains exchanged by `Ali-sher and
this man (_J. Asiatique_ xvii, 199).
[1169] _i.e._ from his own camp to Baba Ilahi.
[1170] f. 121 has a fuller quotation. On the dual succession,
_see_ T.R. p. 196.
[1171] Elph. MS. f. 144; W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 148_b_ and 217 f.
125_b_; Mems. p. 199.
[1172] News of Husain's death in 911 AH. (f. 163b) did not
reach Babur till 912 AH. (f. 184_b_).
[1173] Lone-meadow (f. 195_b_). Jahangir will have come over
the `Iraq-pass, Babur's baggage-convoy, by Shibr-tu. Cf. T. R.
p. 199 for Babur and Jahangir at this time.
[1174] Servant-of-the-mace; but perhaps, Qilinj-chaq,
swords-man.
[1175] One of four, a fourth. Char-yak may be a component of
the name of the well-known place, n. of Kabul, "Charikar"; but
also the _Char_ in it may be Hindustani and refer to the
permits-to-pass after tolls paid, given to caravans halted
there for taxation. Raverty writes it Charlakar.
[1176] Amongst the disruptions of the time was that of the
Khanate of Qibchaq (Erskine).
[1177] The nearest approach to _kipki_ we have found in
Dictionaries is _kupaki_, which comes close to the Russian
_copeck_. Erskine notes that the _casbekÈ_ is an oval copper
coin (Tavernier, p. 121); and that a _tuman_ is a myriad
(10,000). _Cf._ Manucci (Irvine), i, 78 and iv, 417 note;
Chardin iv, 278.
[1178] Muharram 912 AH.-June 1506 AD. (H.S. iii, 353).
[1179] I take Murgh-ab here to be the fortified place at the
crossing of the river by the main n.e. road; Babur when in
Dara-i-bam was on a tributary of the Murgh-ab. Khwand-amir
records that the information of his approach was hailed in the
Mirzas' camp as good news (H.S. iii, 354).
[1180] Babur gives the Mirzas precedence by age, ignoring
Muzaffar's position as joint-ruler.
[1181] _mubalgha qildi_; perhaps he laid stress on their
excuse; perhaps did more than was ceremonially incumbent on
him.
[1182] _`irq_, to which estrade answers in its sense of a
carpet on which stands a raised seat.
[1183] Perhaps it was a recess, resembling a gate-way (W.-i-B.
I.O. 215 f. 151 and 217 f. 127_b_). The impression conveyed by
Babur's words here to the artist who in B.M. Or. 3714, has
depicted the scene, is that there was a vestibule opening into
the tent by a door and that the Mirza sat near that door. It
must be said however that the illustration does not closely
follow the text, in some known details.
[1184] _shira_, fruit-syrups, sherbets. Babur's word for wine
is _chaghir_ (_q.v._ index) and this reception being public,
wine could hardly have been offered in Sunni Heri. Babur's
strictures can apply to the vessels of precious metal he
mentions, these being forbidden to Musalmans; from his
reference to the Tura it would appear to repeat the same
injunctions. Babur broke up such vessels before the battle of
Kanwaha (f. 315). Shah-i-jahan did the same; when sent by his
father Jahangir to reconquer the Deccan (1030 AH.-1621 AD.) he
asked permission to follow the example of his ancestor Babur,
renounced wine, poured his stock into the Chambal, broke up
his cups and gave the fragments to the poor (_`Amal-i-salih_,
Hughes' _Dict. of Islam_ quoting the _Hidayah_ and _Mishkat_,
_s.nn._ Drinkables, Drinking-vessels, and Gold; Lane's _Modern
Egyptians_ p. 125 n.).
[1185] This may be the Rabat-i-sanghi of some maps, on a near
road between the "Forty-daughters" and Harat; or Babur may
have gone out of his direct way to visit Rabat-i-sang-bast, a
renowned halting place at the Carfax of the Heri-Tus and
Nishapur-Mashhad roads, built by one Arslan _Jazala_ who lies
buried near, and rebuilt with great magnificence by `Ali-sher
_Nawa'i_ (Daulat-shah, Browne, p. 176).
[1186] The wording here is confusing to those lacking family
details. The paternal-aunt begims can be Payanda-sultan
(named), Khadija-sultan, Apaq-sultan, and Fakhr-jahan Begims,
all daughters of Abu-sa`id. The Apaq Begim named above (also
on f. 168_b_ _q.v._) does not now seem to me to be Abu-sa`id's
daughter (Gul-badan, trs. Bio. App.).
[1187] _yukunmai._ Unless all copies I have seen reproduce a
primary clerical mistake of Babur's, the change of salutation
indicated by there being no kneeling with Apaq Begim, points
to a _nuance_ of etiquette. Of the verb _yukunmak_ it may be
noted that it both describes the ceremonious attitude of
intercourse, _i.e._ kneeling and sitting back on both heels
(Shaw), and also the kneeling on meeting. From Babur's phrase
_Begim bila yukunub_ [having kneeled with], it appears that
each of those meeting made the genuflection; I have not found
the phrase used of other meetings; it is not the one used when
a junior or a man of less degree meets a senior or superior in
rank (_e.g._ Khusrau and Babur f. 123, or Babur and
Badi`u'z-zaman f. 186).
[1188] Musalmans employ a set of readers who succeed one
another in reading (reciting) the Qoran at the tombs of their
men of eminence. This reading is sometimes continued day and
night. The readers are paid by the rent of lands or other
funds assigned for the purpose (Erskine).
[1189] A suspicion that Khadija put poison in Jahangir's wine
may refer to this occasion (T.R. p. 199).
[1190] These are _jharokha-i-darsan_, windows or balconies
from which a ruler shews himself to the people.
[1191] Mas`ud was then blind.
[1192] Babur first drank wine not earlier than 917 AH. (f. 49
and note), therefore when nearing 30.
[1193] _aichkilar_, French, _intÈrieur_.
[1194] The obscure passage following here is discussed in
Appendix I, _On the weeping-willows of_ f. 190_b_.
[1195] Here this may well be a gold-embroidered garment.
[1196] This, the tomb of Khwaja `Abdu'l-lah _Ansari_ (d. 481
AH.) stands some 2m. north of Heri. Babur mentions one of its
numerous attendants of his day, Kamalu'd-din Husain
_Gazur-gahi_. Mohan Lall describes it as he saw it in 1831;
says the original name of the locality was Kar-zar-gah,
place-of-battle; and, as perhaps his most interesting detail,
mentions that Jalalu'd-din _Rumi's Masnawi_ was recited every
morning near the tomb and that people fainted during the
invocation (_Travels in the Panj-ab_ etc. p. 252). Colonel
Yate has described the tomb as he saw it some 50 years later
(JASB 1887); and explains the name Gazur-gah (lit.
bleaching-place) by the following words of an inscription
there found; "His tomb (Ansari's) is a washing-place
(_gazur-gah_) wherein the cloud of the Divine forgiveness
washes white the black records of men" (p. 88 and p. 102).
[1197] _juaz-i-kaghazlar_ (f. 47_b_ and note).
[1198] The _Habibu's-siyar_ and Hai. MS. write this name with
medial "round _ha_"; this allows it to be Kahad-stan, a
running-place, race-course. Khwand-amir and Daulat-shah call
it a meadow (_aulang_); the latter speaks of a feast as held
there; it was Shaibani's head-quarters when he took Harat.
[1199] _var._ Khatira; either an enclosure (_quruq_?) or a
fine and lofty building.
[1200] This may have been a usual halting-place on a journey
(_safar_) north. It was built by Husain _Bai-qara_, overlooked
hills and fields covered with _arghwan_ (f. 137_b_) and seems
once to have been a Paradise (Mohan Lall, p. 256).
[1201] Jami's tomb was in the `Id-gah of Heri (H.S. ii, 337),
which appears to be the Musalla (Praying-place) demolished by
Amir `Abdu'r-rahman in the 19th century. Col. Yate was shewn a
tomb in the Musalla said to be Jami's and agreeing in the age,
81, given on it, with Jami's at death, but he found a _crux_
in the inscription (pp. 99, 106).
[1202] This may be the Musalla (Yate, p. 98).
[1203] This place is located by the H.S. at 5 _farsakh_ from
Heri (de Meynard at 25 _kilomËtres_). It appears to be rather
an abyss or fissure than a pond, a crack from the sides of
which water trickles into a small bason in which dwells a
mysterious fish, the beholding of which allows the attainment
of desires. The story recalls Wordsworth's undying fish of
Bow-scale Tarn. (_Cf._ H.S. Bomb. ed. ii, _Khatmat_ p. 20 and
de Meynard, _Journal Asiatique_ xvi, 480 and note.)
[1204] This is on maps to the north of Heri.
[1205] d. 232 AH. (847 AD.). _See_ Yate, p. 93.
[1206] Imam Fakhru'd-din _Razi_ (de Meynard, _Journal
Asiatique_ xvi, 481).
[1207] d. 861 AH.-1457 AD. Guhar-shad was the wife of Timur's
son Shahrukh. _See_ Mohan Lall, p. 257 and Yate, p. 98.
[1208] This Marigold-garden may be named after
Harunu'r-rashid's wife Zubaida.
[1209] This will be the place n. of Heri from which Maulana
Jalalu'd-din _Purani_ (d. 862 AH.) took his cognomen, as also
Shaikh Jamalu'd-din Abu-sa`id _Puran_ (f. 206) who was visited
there by Sl. Husain Mirza, ill-treated by Shaibani (f. 206),
left Heri for Qandahar, and there died, through the fall of a
roof, in 921 AH. (H.S. iii, 345; _Khazinatu'l-asfiya_ ii,
321).
[1210] His tomb is dated 35 or 37 AH. (656 or 658 AD.; Yate,
p. 94).
[1211] Malan was a name of the Heri-rud (_Journal Asiatique_
xvi, 476, 511; Mohan Lall, p. 279; Ferrier, p. 261; _etc._).
[1212] Yate, p. 94.
[1213] The position of this building between the Khush and
Qibchaq Gates (de Meynard, l.c. p. 475) is the probable
explanation of the variant, noted just below, of Kushk for
Khush as the name of the Gate. The _Tarikh-i-rashidi_ (p.
429), mentions this kiosk in its list of the noted ones of the
world.
[1214] var. Kushk (de Meynard, l.c. p. 472).
[1215] The reference here is, presumably, to Babur's own
losses of Samarkand and Andijan.
[1216] Aka or Aga is used of elder relations; a _yinka_ or
_yinga_ is the wife of an uncle or elder brother; here it
represents the widow of Babur's uncle Ahmad _Miran-shahi_.
From it is formed the word _yinkalik_, levirate.
[1217] The almshouse or convent was founded here in Timur's
reign (de Meynard, l.c. p. 500).
[1218] _i.e._ No smoke without fire.
[1219] This name may be due to the splashing of water. A
Langar which may be that of Mir Ghiyas, is shewn in maps in
the Bam valley; from it into the Heri-rud valley Babur's route
may well have been the track from that Langar which, passing
the villages on the southern border of Gharjistan, goes to
Ahangaran.
[1220] This escape ought to have been included in the list of
Babur's transportations from risk to safety given in my note
to f. 96.
[1221] The right and wrong roads are shewn by the Indian
Survey and French Military maps. The right road turns off from
the wrong one, at Daulat-yar, to the right, and mounts
diagonally along the south rampart of the Heri-rud valley, to
the Zirrin-pass, which lies above the Bakkak-pass and carries
the regular road for Yaka-aulang. It must be said, however,
that we are not told whether Yaka-aulang was Qasim Beg's
objective; the direct road for Kabul from the Heri-rud valley
is not over the Zirrin-pass but goes from Daulat-yar by
"Aq-zarat", and the southern flank of Koh-i-baba (babar) to
the Unai-pass (Holdich's _Gates of India_ p. 262).
[1222] _circa_ Feb. 14th 1507, Babur's 24th birthday.
[1223] The Hazaras appear to have been wintering outside their
own valley, on the Ghur-bund road, in wait for travellers
[_cf._ T.R. p. 197]. They have been perennial highwaymen on
the only pass to the north not closed entirely in winter.
[1224] The Ghur-bund valley is open in this part; the Hazaras
may have been posted on the naze near the narrows leading into
the Janglik and their own side valleys.
[1225] Although the verses following here in the text are with
the Turki Codices, doubt cannot but be felt as to their
authenticity. They do not fit verbally to the sentence they
follow; they are a unique departure from Babur's plain prose
narrative and nothing in the small Hazara affair shews cause
for such departure; they differ from his usual topics in their
bombast and comment on his men (_cf._ f. 194 for comment on
shirking begs). They appear in the 2nd Persian translation
(217 f. 134) in Turki followed by a prose Persian rendering
(_khalasa_). They are not with the 1st Pers. trs. (215 f.
159), the text of which runs on with a plain prose account
suiting the size of the affair, as follows:--"The braves,
seeing their (the Hazaras) good soldiering, had stopped
surprised; wishing to hurry them I went swiftly past them,
shouting 'Move on! move on!' They paid me no attention. When,
in order to help, I myself attacked, dismounting and going up
the hill, they shewed courage and emulation in following.
Getting to the top of the pass, we drove that band off,
killing many, capturing others, making their families prisoner
and plundering their goods." This is followed by "I myself
collected" _etc._ as in the Turki text after the verse. It
will be seen that the above extract is not a translation of
the verse; no translator or even summariser would be likely to
omit so much of his original. It is just a suitably plain
account of a trivial matter.
[1226] _Gulistan_ Cap. I. Story 4.
[1227] Babur seems to have left the Ghur-bund valley, perhaps
pursuing the Hazaras towards Janglik, and to have come "by
ridge and valley" back into it for Ushtur-shahr. I have not
located Timur Beg's Langar. As has been noted already (_q.v._
index) the Ghur-bund narrows are at the lower end of the
valley; they have been surmised to be the fissured rampart of
an ancient lake.
[1228] Here this may represent a guard- or toll-house (Index
_s.n._).
[1229] As _yurun_ is a patch, the bearer of the sobriquet
might be Black Ahmad the repairing-tailor.
[1230] _Second Afghan War_, Map of Kabul and its environs.
[1231] I understand that the arrival undiscovered was a result
of riding in single-file and thus shewing no black mass.
[1232] or _gharbicha_, which Mr. Erskine explains to be the
four plates of mail, made to cover the back, front and sides;
the _jiba_ would thus be the wadded under-coat to which they
are attached.
[1233] This prayer is composed of extracts from the Qoran
(_MÈms_, i, 454 note); it is reproduced as it stands in Mr.
Erskine's wording (p. 216).
[1234] Babur's reference may well be to Sanjar's birth as well
as to his being the holder of Ningnahar. Sanjar's father had
been thought worthy to mate with one of the six Badakhshi
begims whose line traced back to Alexander (T. R. p. 107); and
his father was a Barlas, seemingly of high family.
[1235] It may be inferred that what was done was for the
protection of the two women.
[1236] Not a bad case could have been made out for now putting
a Timurid in Babur's place in Kabul; _viz._ that he was
believed captive in Heri and that Mirza Khan was an effective
_locum tenens_ against the Arghuns. Haidar sets down what in
his eyes pleaded excuse for his father Muh. Husain (T.R. p.
198).
[1237] _qush_, not even a little plough-land being given
(_chand qulba dihya_, 215 f. 162).
[1238] They were sons of Sl. Ahmad Khan _Chaghatai_.
[1239] f. 160.
[1240] Haidar's opinion of Babur at this crisis is of the more
account that his own father was one of the rebels let go to
the mercy of the "avenging servitor". When he writes of Babur,
as being, at a time so provoking, gay, generous, affectionate,
simple and gentle, he sets before us insight and temper in
tune with Kipling's "If...."
[1241] Babur's distinction, made here and elsewhere, between
Chaghatai and Mughul touches the old topic of the right or
wrong of the term "Mughul dynasty". What he, as also Haidar,
allows said is that if Babur were to describe his mother in
tribal terms, he would say she was half-Chaghatai,
half-Mughul; and that if he so described himself, he would say
he was half-Timurid-Turk, half-Chaghatai. He might have called
the dynasty he founded in India Turki, might have called it
Timuriya; he would never have called it Mughul, after his
maternal grandmother.
Haidar, with imperfect classification, divides Chingiz Khan's
"Mughul horde" into Mughuls and Chaghatais and of this
Chaghatai offtake says that none remained in 953 _AH._ (1547
_AD._) except the rulers, _i.e._ sons of Sl. Ahmad Khan (T.R.
148). Manifestly there was a body of Chaghatais with Babur and
there appear to have been many near his day in the Heri
region,--`Ali-sher _Nawa`i_ the best known.
Babur supplies directions for naming his dynasty when, as
several times, he claims to rule in Hindustan where the "Turk"
had ruled (f. 233_b_, f. 224_b_, f. 225). To call his dynasty
Mughul seems to blot out the centuries, something as we should
do by calling the English Teutons. If there is to be such
blotting-out, Abu'l-ghazi would allow us, by his tables of
Turk descent, to go further, to the primal source of all the
tribes concerned, to Turk, son of Japhet. This traditional
descent is another argument against "Mughul dynasty."
[1242] They went to Qandahar and there suffered great
privation.
[1243] Baran seems likely to be the Baian of some maps.
Gul-i-bahar is higher up on the Panjhir road. Chash-tupa will
have been near-by; its name might mean _Hill of the heap of
winnowed-corn_.
[1244] f. 136.
[1245] Answer; Visions of his father's sway.
[1246] Elph. MS. f. 161; W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 164 and 217 f.
139_b_; Mems. p. 220.
[1247] The narrative indicates the location of the tribe, the
modern Ghilzai or Ghilzi.
[1248] Sih-kana lies s.e. of Shorkach, and near Kharbin.
Sar-i-dih is about 25 or 30 miles s. of Ghazni (Erskine). A
name suiting the pastoral wealth of the tribe _viz._
Mesh-khail, Sheep-tribe, is shewn on maps somewhat s. from
Kharbin. _Cf._ Steingass _s.n._ Masht.
[1249] _yaghrun_, whence _yaghrunchi_, a diviner by help of
the shoulder-blades of sheep. The defacer of the Elphinstone
Codex has changed _yaghrun_ to _yan_, side, thus making Babur
turn his side and not his half-back to the north, altering his
direction, and missing what looks like a jesting reference to
his own divination of the road. The Pole Star was seen,
presumably, before the night became quite black.
[1250] From the subsequent details of distance done, this must
have been one of those good _yighach_ of perhaps 5-6 miles,
that are estimated by the ease of travel on level lands (Index
_s.v._ _yighach_).
[1251] I am uncertain about the form of the word translated by
"whim". The Elph. and Hai. Codices read _khud d:lma_ (altered
in the first to _y:lma_); Ilminsky (p. 257) reads _khud l:ma_
(de C. ii, 2 and note); Erskine has been misled by the Persian
translation (215 f. 164_b_ and 217 f. 139_b_). Whether
_khud-dilma_ should be read, with the sense of "out of their
own hearts" (spontaneously), or whether _khud-yalma_, own pace
(Turki, _yalma_, pace) the contrast made by Babur appears to
be between an unpremeditated gallop and one premeditated for
haste. Persian _dalama_, tarantula, also suggests itself.
[1252] _chapqun_, which is the word translated by gallop
throughout the previous passage. The Turki verb _chapmaq_ is
one of those words-of-all-work for which it is difficult to
find a single English equivalent. The verb _quimaq_ is
another; in its two occurrences here the first may be a
metaphor from the pouring of molten metal; the second
expresses that permission to gallop off for the raid without
which to raid was forbidden. The root-notion of _quimaq_ seems
to be letting-go, that of _chapmaq_, rapid motion.
[1253] _i.e._ on the raiders' own road for Kabul.
[1254] f. 198_b_.
[1255] The Fifth taken was manifestly at the ruler's
disposition. In at least two places when dependants send gifts
to Babur the word [_tassaduq_] used might be rendered as
"gifts for the poor". Does this mean that the _padshah_ in
receiving this stands in the place of the Imam of the Qoran
injunction which orders one-fifth of spoil to be given to the
Imam for the poor, orphans, and travellers,--four-fifths being
reserved for the troops? (Qoran, Sale's ed. 1825, i, 212 and
Hidayat, Book ix).
[1256] This may be the sum of the separate items of sheep
entered in account-books by the commissaries.
[1257] Here this comprehensive word will stand for deer, these
being plentiful in the region.
[1258] Three Turki MSS. write _sighinib_, but the Elph. MS.
has had this changed to _yitib_, having reached.
[1259] _bash-siz_, lit. without head, doubtless a pun on
Auz-beg (own beg, leaderless). B.M. Or. 3714 shows an artist's
conception of this _tart-part_.
[1260] Baba Khaki is a fine valley, some 13 _yighach_ e. of
Heri (f. 13) where the Heri sultans reside in the heats (_J.
Asiatique_ xvi, 501, de Meynard's article; H.S. iii, 356).
[1261] f. 172_b_.
[1262] _aukhshata almadi._ This is one of many passages which
Ilminsky indicates he has made good by help of the Memoirs (p.
261; _MÈmoires_ ii, 6).
[1263] They are given also on f. 172.
[1264] This may be Sirakhs or Sirakhsh (Erskine).
[1265] _Tushliq tushdin yurdi birurlar._ At least two meanings
can be given to these words. Circumstances seem to exclude the
one in which the Memoirs (p. 222) and _MÈmoires_ (ii, 7) have
taken them here, _viz._ "each man went off to shift for
himself", and "chacun s'en alla de son cÙtÈ et s'enfuit comme
il put", because Zu'n-nun did not go off, and the Mirzas broke
up after his defeat. I therefore suggest another reading, one
prompted by the Mirzas' vague fancies and dreams of what they
might do, but did not.
[1266] The encounter was between "Belaq-i-maral and
Rabat-i-`ali-sher, near Badghis" (Raverty's _Notes_ p. 580).
For particulars of the taking of Heri _see_ H.S. iii, 353.
[1267] One may be the book-name, the second the name in common
use, and due to the colour of the buildings. But Babur may be
making an ironical jest, and nickname the fort by a word
referring to the defilement (_ala_) of Auzbeg possession. (Cf.
H.S. iii, 359.)
[1268] Mr. Erskine notes that Badi`u'z-zaman took refuge with
Shah Isma`il _Safawi_ who gave him Tabriz. When the Turkish
Emperor Salim took Tabriz in 920 AH. (1514 AD.), he was taken
prisoner and carried to Constantinople, where he died in 923
AH. (1517 AD.).
[1269] In the fort were his wife Kabuli Begim, d. of Aulugh
Beg M. _Kabuli_ and Ruqaiya Agha, known as the Nightingale. A
young daughter of the Mirza, named the Rose-bud (Chuchak), had
died just before the siege. After the surrender of the fort,
Kabuli Begim was married by Mirza Kukuldash (perhaps
`Ashiq-i-muhammad _Arghun_); Ruqaiya by Timur Sl. _Auzbeg_
(H.S. iii, 359).
[1270] The _Khutba_ was first read for Shaibaq Khan in Heri on
Friday Muharram 15th 913 AH. (May 27th 1507 AD.).
[1271] There is a Persian phrase used when a man engages in an
unprofitable undertaking _Kir-i-khar gerift_, _i.e._ _Asini
nervum deprehendet_ (Erskine). The H.S. does not mention
Bana'i as fleecing the poets but has much to say about one
Maulana `Abdu'r-rahim a Turkistani favoured by Shaibani, whose
victim Khwand-amir was, amongst many others. Not infrequently
where Babur and Khwand-amir state the same fact, they
accompany it by varied details, as here (H.S. iii, 358, 360).
[1272] _`adat._ Muhammadan Law fixes a term after widowhood or
divorce within which re-marriage is unlawful. Light is thrown
upon this re-marriage by H.S. iii, 359. The passage, a
somewhat rhetorical one, gives the following details:--"On
coming into Her[i.] on Muharram 11th, Shaibani at once set
about gathering in the property of the Timurids. He had the
wives and daughters of the former rulers brought before him.
The great lady Khan-zada Begim (f. 163_b_) who was daughter of
Ahmad Khan, niece of Sl. Husain Mirza, and wife of Muzaffar
Mirza, shewed herself pleased in his presence. Desiring to
marry him, she said Muzaffar M. had divorced her two years
before. Trustworthy persons gave evidence to the same effect,
so she was united to Shaibani in accordance with the glorious
Law. Mihr-angez Begim, Muzaffar M.'s daughter, was married to
`Ubaidu'llah Sl. (_Auzbeg_); the rest of the chaste ladies
having been sent back into the city, Shaibani resumed his
search for property." Manifestly Babur did not believe in the
divorce Khwand-amir thus records.
[1273] A sarcasm this on the acceptance of literary honour
from the illiterate.
[1274] f. 191 and note; Pul-i-salar may be an irrigation-dam.
[1275] Qalat-i-nadiri, the birth-place of Nadir Shah, n. of
Mashhad and standing on very strong ground (Erskine).
[1276] This is likely to be the road passing through the
Carfax of Rabat-i-sangbast, described by Daulat-shah (Browne,
p. 176).
[1277] This will mean that the Arghuns would acknowledge his
suzerainty; Haidar Mirza however says that Shah Beg had higher
views (T. R. p. 202). There had been earlier negotiations
between Zu'n-nun with Badi`u'z-zaman and Babur which may have
led to the abandonment of Babur's expedition in 911 AD. (f.
158; H.S. iii, 323; Raverty's account (_Notes_ p. 581-2) of
Babur's dealings with the Arghun chiefs needs revision).
[1278] They will have gone first to Tun or Qain, thence to
Mashhad, and seem likely to have joined the Begim after
cross-cutting to avoid Heri.
[1279] _yaghi wilayati-gha kiladurghan._ There may have been
an accumulation of caravans on their way to Herat, checked in
Qalat by news of the Auzbeg conquest.
[1280] Jahangir's son, thus brought by his mother, will have
been an infant; his father had gone back last year with Babur
by the mountain road and had been left, sick and travelling in
a litter, with the baggage when Babur hurried on to Kabul at
the news of the mutiny against him (f. 197); he must have died
shortly afterwards, seemingly between the departure of the two
rebels from Kabul (f. 201_b_-202) and the march out for
Qandahar. Doubtless his widow now brought her child to claim
his uncle Babur's protection.
[1281] Persians pay great attention in their correspondence
not only to the style but to the kind of paper on which a
letter is written, the place of signature, the place of the
seal, and the situation of the address. Chardin gives some
curious information on the subject (Erskine). Babur marks the
distinction of rank he drew between the Arghun chiefs and
himself when he calls their letter to him, _`arz-dasht_, his
to them _khatt_. His claim to suzerainty over those chiefs
is shewn by Haidar Mirza to be based on his accession to
Timurid headship through the downfall of the Bai-qaras, who
had been the acknowledged suzerains of the Arghuns now
repudiating Babur's claim. Cf. Erskine's _History of India_ i,
cap. 3.
[1282] on the main road, some 40 miles east of Qandahar.
[1283] var. Kur or Kawar. If the word mean _ford_, this might
well be the one across the Tarnak carrying the road to Qara
(maps). Here Babur seems to have left the main road along the
Tarnak, by which the British approach was made in 1880 AD.,
for one crossing west into the valley of the Argand-ab.
[1284] Baba Hasan _Abdal_ is the Baba Wali of maps. The same
saint has given his name here, and also to his shrine east of
Atak where he is known as Baba Wali of Qandahar. The torrents
mentioned are irrigation off-takes from the Argand-ab, which
river flows between Baba Wali and Khalishak. Shah Beg's force
was south of the torrents (cf. Murghan-koh on S.A.W. map).
[1285] The narrative and plans of _Second Afghan War_ (Murray
1908) illustrate Babur's movements and show most of the places
he names. The end of the 280 mile march, from Kabul to within
sight of Qandahar, will have stirred in the General of 1507
what it stirred in the General of 1880. Lord Roberts speaking
in May 1913 in Glasgow on the rapid progress of the movement
for National Service thus spoke:--"A memory comes over me which
turns misgiving into hope and apprehension into confidence. It
is the memory of the morning when, accompanied by two of
Scotland's most famous regiments, the Seaforths and the
Gordons, at the end of a long and arduous march, _I saw in the
distance the walls and minarets of Qandahar, and knew that the
end of a great resolve and a great task was near._"
[1286] _min tash `imarat qazdurghan tumshughi-ning alida_; 215
f. l68_b_, _`imarati kah az sang yak para farmuda budim_; 217
f. 143_b_, _jay kah man `imarati sakhtam_; Mems. p. 226, where
I have built a palace; _MÈms._ ii, 15, _l'endroit mÍme o˘ j'ai
b‚ti un palais_. All the above translations lose the sense of
_qazdurghan_, am causing to dig out, to quarry stone. Perhaps
for coolness' sake the dwelling was cut out in the living
rock. That the place is south-west of the main _ariqs_, near
Murghan-koh or on it, Babur's narrative allows. Cf. Appendix
J.
[1287] _sic_, Hai. MS. There are two Lakhshas, Little Lakhsha,
a mile west of Qandahar, and Great Lakhsha, about a mile s.w.
of Old Qandahar, 5 or 6 m. from the modern one (Erskine).
[1288] This will be the main irrigation channel taken off from
the Argand-ab (Maps).
[1289] _tamam ailikidin--aish-kilur yikitlar_, an idiomatic
phrase used of `Ali-dost (f. 14_b_ and n.), not easy to
express by a single English adjective.
[1290] The _tawachi_ was a sort of adjutant who attended to
the order of the troops and carried orders from the general
(Erskine). The difficult passage following gives the Turki
terms Babur selected to represent Arabic military ones.
[1291] Ar. _ahad_ (_Ayin-i-akbari_, Blochmann, index _s.n._).
The word _bui_ recurs in the text on f. 210.
[1292] _i.e._ the _bui tikini_ of f. 209_b_, the _khasa
tabin_, close circle.
[1293] As Mughuls seem unlikely to be descendants of Muhammad,
perhaps the title Sayyid in some Mughul names here, may be a
translation of a Mughul one meaning Chief.
[1294] _Arghun-ning qarasi_, a frequent phrase.
[1295] in sign of submission.
[1296] f. 176. It was in 908 AH. [1502 AD.].
[1297] This word seems to be from _sanjmaq_, to prick or stab;
and here to have the military sense of _prick_, _viz._ riding
forth. The Second Pers. trs. (217 f. 144_b_) translates it by
_ghauta khurda raft_, went tasting a plunge under water (215
f. 170; Muh. _Shirazi_'s lith. ed. p. 133). Erskine (p. 228),
as his Persian source dictates, makes the men sink into the
soft ground; de Courteille varies much (ii, 21).
[1298] Ar. _akhmail_, so translated under the known presence
of trees; it may also imply soft ground (Lane p. 813 col. b)
but soft ground does not suit the purpose of _ariqs_
(channels), the carrying on of water to the town.
[1299] The S.A.W. map is useful here.
[1300] That he had a following may be inferred.
[1301] Hai. MS. _qachar_; Ilminsky, p. 268; and both Pers.
trss. _rukhsar_ or _rukhsara_ (f. 25 and note to _qachar_).
[1302] So in the Turki MSS. and the first Pers. trs. (215 f.
170_b_). The second Pers. trs. (217 f. 145_b_) has a gloss of
_atqu u tika_; this consequently Erskine follows (p. 229) and
adds a note explaining the punishment. Ilminsky has the gloss
also (p. 269), thus indicating Persian and English influence.
[1303] No MS. gives the missing name.
[1304] The later favour mentioned was due to Sambhal's
laborious release of his master from Auzbeg captivity in 917
AH. (1511 AD.) of which Erskine quotes a full account from the
_Tarikh-i-sind_ (History of India i, 345).
[1305] Presumably he went by Sabzar, Daulatabad, and Washir.
[1306] f. 202 and note to _Chaghatai_.
[1307] This will be for the Ningnahar _tuman_ of Lamghan.
[1308] He was thus dangerously raised in his father's place of
rule.
[1309] ff. 10_b_, 11_b_. Haidar M. writes, "Shah Begim laid
claim to Badakhshan, saying, "It has been our hereditary
kingdom for 3000 years; though I, being a woman, cannot myself
attain sovereignty, yet my grandson Mirza Khan can hold it"
(T. R. p. 203).
[1310] _tibradilar._ The agitation of mind connoted, with
movement, by this verb may well have been, here, doubt of
Babur's power to protect.
[1311] _tushluq tushdin taghgha yurukailar._ Cf. 205_b_ for
the same phrase, with supposedly different meaning.
[1312] _qangshar_ lit. ridge of the nose.
[1313] _bir auq ham quia-almadilar_ (f. 203_b_ note to
_chapqun_).
[1314] This will have been news both of Shaibaq Khan and of
Mirza Khan. The Pers. trss. vary here (215 f. 173 and 217 f.
148).
[1315] Index _s.n._
[1316] Mah-chuchuk can hardly have been married against her
will to Qasim. Her mother regarded the alliance as a family
indignity; appealed to Shah Beg and compassed a rescue from
Kabul while Babur and Qasim were north of the Oxus [_circa_
916 AH.]. Mah-chuchuk quitted Kabul after much hesitation, due
partly to reluctance to leave her husband and her infant of 18
months, [Nahid Begim,] partly to dread less family honour
might require her death (Erskine's _History_, i, 348 and
Gul-badan's _Humayun-nama_).
[1317] Erskine gives the fort the alternative name "Kaliun",
locates it in the Badghis district east of Heri, and quotes
from Abu'l-ghazi in describing its strong position (_History_
i, 282). H.S. Tirah-tu.
[1318] f. 133 and note. Abu'l-fazl mentions that the
inscription was to be seen in his time.
[1319] This fief ranks in value next to the Kabul _tuman_.
[1320] Various gleanings suggest motives for Babur's assertion
of supremacy at this particular time. He was the only Timurid
ruler and man of achievement; he filled Husain _Bai-qara_'s
place of Timurid headship; his actions through a long period
show that he aimed at filling Timur Beg's. There were those
who did not admit his suzerainty,--Timurids who had rebelled,
Mughuls who had helped them, and who would also have helped
Sa`id Khan _Chaghatai_, if he had not refused to be
treacherous to a benefactor; there were also the Arghuns,
Chingiz-khanids of high pretensions. In old times the Mughul
Khaqans were _padshah_ (supreme); Padshah is recorded in
history as the style of at least Satuq-bughra Khan Padshah
Ghazi; no Timurid had been lifted by his style above all
Mirzas. When however Timurids had the upper hand, Babur's
Timurid grandfather Abu-sa`id asserted his _de facto_
supremacy over Babur's Chaghatai grandfather Yunas (T. R. p.
83). For Babur to re-assert that supremacy by assuming the
Khaqan's style was highly opportune at this moment. To be
Babur Supreme was to declare over-lordship above Chaghatai and
Mughul, as well as over all Mirzas. It was done when his sky
had cleared; Mirza Khan's rebellion was scotched; the Arghuns
were defeated; he was the stronger for their lost possessions;
his Auzbeg foe had removed to a less ominous distance; and
Kabul was once more his own.
Gul-badan writes as if the birth of his first-born son Humayun
were a part of the uplift in her father's style, but his
narrative does not support her in this, since the order of
events forbids.
[1321] The "Khan" in Humayun's title may be drawn from his
mother's family, since it does not come from Babur. To whose
family Mahim belonged we have not been able to discover. It is
one of the remarkable omissions of Babur, Gul-badan and
Abu'l-fazl that they do not give her father's name. The topic
of her family is discussed in my Biographical Appendix to
Gul-badan's _Humayun-nama_ and will be taken up again, here,
in a final Appendix on Babur's family.
[1322] Elph. MS. f. 172_b_; W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 174_b_ and 217
f. 148_b_; Mems. p. 234.
[1323] on the head-waters of the Tarnak (R.'s _Notes_ App. p.
34).
[1324] Babur has made no direct mention of his half-brother's
death (f. 208 and n. to Mirza).
[1325] This may be Darwesh-i-`ali of f. 210; the Sayyid in his
title may merely mean chief, since he was a Mughul.
[1326] Several of these mutineers had fought for Babur at
Qandahar.
[1327] It may be useful to recapitulate this Mirza's
position:--In the previous year he had been left in charge of
Kabul when Babur went eastward in dread of Shaibani, and, so
left, occupied his hereditary place. He cannot have hoped to
hold Kabul if the Auzbeg attacked it; for its safety and his
own he may have relied, and Babur also in appointing him, upon
influence his Arghun connections could use. For these, one was
Muqim his brother-in-law, had accepted Shaibani's suzerainty
after being defeated in Qandahar by Babur. It suited them
better no doubt to have the younger Mirza rather than Babur in
Kabul; the latter's return thither will have disappointed them
and the Mirza; they, as will be instanced later, stood ready
to invade his lands when he moved East; they seem likely to
have promoted the present Mughul uprising. In the battle which
put this down, the Mirza was captured; Babur pardoned him; but
he having rebelled again, was then put to death.
[1328] Bagh-i-yurunchqa may be an equivalent of Bagh-i-safar,
and the place be one of waiting "up to" (_unchqa_) the journey
(_yur_). _Yurunchqa_ also means _clover_ (De Courteille).
[1329] He seems to have been a brother or uncle of Humayun's
mother Mahim (Index; A. N. trs. i, 492 and note).
[1330] In all MSS. the text breaks off abruptly here, as it
does on f. 118_b_ as though through loss of pages, and a blank
of narrative follows. Before the later gap of f. 251_b_
however the last sentence is complete.
[1331] Index _s. n. Babur-nama_, date of composition and gaps.
[1332] _ibid._
[1333] Jumada I, 14th 968 AH.-Jan. 31st 1561 AD. Concerning
the book _see_ Elliot and Dowson's _History of India_ vi, 572
and JRAS 1901 p. 76, H. Beveridge's art. _On Persian MSS. in
Indian Libraries_.
[1334] The T. R. gives the names of two only of the champions
but Firishta, writing much later gives all five; we surmise
that he found his five in the book of which copies are not now
known, the _Tarikh-i Muh. `Arif Qandahari_. Firishta's five
are `Ali _shab-kur_ (night-blind), `Ali _Sistani_, Nazar
Bahadur _Auzbeg_, Ya`qub _tez-jang_ (swift in fight), and
Auzbeg Bahadur. Haidar's two names vary in the MSS. of the T.
R. but represent the first two of Firishta's list.
[1335] There are curious differences of statement about the
date of Shaibani's death, possibly through confusion between
this and the day on which preliminary fighting began near
Merv. Haidar's way of expressing the date carries weight by
its precision, he giving _roz-i-shakk_ of Ramzan, _i.e._ a day
of which there was doubt whether it was the last of Sha`ban or
the first of Ramzan (Lane, _yauma'u'l-shakk_). As the sources
support Friday for the day of the week and on a Friday in the
year 915 AH. fell the 29th of Sha`ban, the date of Shaibani's
death seems to be Friday Sha`ban 29th 915 AH. (Friday December
2nd 1510 AD.).
[1336] If my reading be correct of the Turki passage
concerning wines drunk by Babur which I have noted on f. 49
(_in loco_ p. 83 n. 1), it was during this occupation of Kabul
that Babur first broke the Law against stimulants.
[1337] Mr. R. S. Poole found a coin which he took to be one
struck in obedience to Babur's compact with the Shah (B.M.Cat.
of the coins of Persian Shahs 1887, pp. xxiv _et seq._; T.R.
p. 246 n.).
[1338] It was held by Ahmad-i-qasim _Kohbur_ and is referred
to on f. 234_b_, as one occasion of those in which Dost Beg
distinguished himself.
[1339] Schuyler's _Turkistan_ has a good account and picture
of the mosque. `Ubaid's vow is referred to in my earlier
mention of the _Suluku'l-muluk_. It may be noted here that
this MS. supports the spelling _Babur_ by making the second
syllable rhyme to _pur_, as against the form _Babar_.
[1340] _auruq._ Babur refers to this exodus on f. 12_b_ when
writing of Daulat-sultan Khanim.
[1341] It is one recorded with some variation, in Niyaz
Muhammad _Khukandi's Tarikh-i-shahrukhi_ (Kazan, 1885) and
Nalivkine's _Khanate of Khokand_ (p. 63). It says that when
Babur in 918 AH. (1512 AD.) left Samarkand after defeat by the
Auzbegs, one of his wives, Sayyida Afaq who accompanied him in
his flight, gave birth to a son in the desert which lies
between Khujand and Kand-i-badam; that Babur, not daring to
tarry and the infant being too young to make the impending
journey, left it under some bushes with his own girdle round
it in which were things of price; that the child was found by
local people and in allusion to the valuables amongst which it
lay, called Altun bishik (golden cradle); that it received
other names and was best known in later life as Khudayan
Sultan. He is said to have spent most of his life in Akhsi; to
have had a son Tingri-yar; and to have died in 952 AH. (1545
AD.). His grandson Yar-i-muhammad is said to have gone to
India to relations who was descendants of Babur (JASB 1905 p.
137 H. Beveridge's art. _The Emperor Babur_). What is against
the truth of this tradition is that Gul-badan mentions no such
wife as Sayyida Afaq. Mahim however seems to have belonged to
a religious family, might therefore be styled Sayyida, and, as
Babur mentions (f. 220), had several children who did not live
(a child left as this infant was, might if not heard of, be
supposed dead). There is this opening allowed for considering
the tradition.
[1342] Babur refers to this on f. 265.
[1343] The _Lubbu't-tawarikh_ would fix Ramzan 7th.
[1344] Mr. Erskine's quotation of the Persian original of the
couplet differs from that which I have translated (_History of
India_ ii, 326; _Tarikh-i-badayuni_ Bib. Ind. ed. f. 444).
Perhaps in the latter a pun is made on Najm as the leader's
name and as meaning _fortune_; if so it points the more
directly at the Shah. The second line is quoted by Badayuni on
his f. 362 also.
[1345] Some translators make Babur go "naked" into the fort
but, on his own authority (f. 106_b_), it seems safer to
understand what others say, that he went stripped of
attendance, because it was always his habit even in times of
peace to lie down in his tunic; much more would he have done
so at such a crisis of his affairs as this of his flight to
Hisar.
[1346] Haidar gives a graphic account of the misconduct of the
horde and of their punishment (T.R. p. 261-3).
[1347] One of the mutineers named as in this affair (T.R. p.
257) was Sl. Quli _chunaq_, a circumstance attracting
attention by its bearing on the cause of the _lacunae_ in the
_Babur-nama_, inasmuch as Babur, writing at the end of his
life, expresses (f. 65) his intention to tell of this man's
future misdeeds. These misdeeds may have been also at Hisar
and in the attack there made on Babur; they are known from
Haidar to have been done at Ghazni; both times fall within
this present gap. Hence it is clear that Babur meant to write
of the events falling in the gap of 914 AH. onwards.
[1348] In 925 AH. (ff. 227 and 238) mention is made of
courtesies exchanged between Babur and Muhammad-i-zaman in
Balkh. The Mirza was with Babur later on in Hindustan.
[1349] Mir Ma`sum's _Tarikh-i-sind_ is the chief authority for
Babur's action after 913 AH. against Shah Beg in Qandahar; its
translation, made in 1846 by Major Malet, shews some
manifestly wrong dates; they appear also in the B. M. MS. of
the work.
[1350] f. 216_b_ and note to "Monday".
[1351] Elph. MS. f. 173_b_; W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 178 and 217 f.
149; Mems. p. 246. The whole of the Hijra year is included in
1519 AD. (Erskine). What follows here and completes the Kabul
section of the _Babur-nama_ is a diary of a little over 13
months' length, supplemented by matter of later entry. The
product has the character of a draft, awaiting revision to
harmonize it in style and, partly, in topic with the composed
narrative that breaks off under 914 AH.; for the diary,
written some 11 years earlier than that composed narrative,
varies, as it would be expected _‡ priori_ to vary, in style
and topic from the terse, lucid and idiomatic output of
Babur's literary maturity. A good many obscure words and
phrases in it, several new from Babur's pen, have opposed
difficulty to scribes and translators. Interesting as such
_minutiae_ are to a close observer of Turki and of Babur's
diction, comment on all would be tedious; a few will be found
noted, as also will such details as fix the date of entry for
supplementary matter.
[1352] Here Mr. Erskine notes that Dr. Leyden's translation
begins again; it broke off on f. 180_b_, and finally ends on
f. 223_b_.
[1353] This name is often found transliterated as Chandul or
[mod.] Jandul but the Hai. MS. supports Raverty's opinion that
Chandawal is correct.
The year 925 AH. opens with Babur far from Kabul and east of
the Khahr (fort) he is about to attack. Afghan and other
sources allow surmise of his route to that position; he may
have come down into the Chandawal-valley, first, from taking
Chaghan-sarai (f. 124, f. 134 and n.), and, secondly, from
taking the Gibri stronghold of Haidar-i-`ali _Bajauri_ which
stood at the head of the Baba Qara-valley. The latter surmise
is supported by the romantic tales of Afghan chroniclers which
at this date bring into history Babur's Afghan wife, Bibi
Mubaraka (f. 220_b_ and note; Mems. p. 250 n.; and Appendix K,
_An Afghan legend_). (It must be observed here that R.'s
_Notes_ (pp. 117, 128) confuse the two sieges, _viz._ of the
Gibri fort in 924 AH. and of the Khahr of Bajaur in 925 AH.)
[1354] Raverty lays stress on the circumstance that the fort
Babur now attacks has never been known as Bajaur, but always
simply as Khahr, the fort (the Arabic name for the place
being, he says, plain _Shahr_); just as the main stream is
called simply Rud (the torrent). The name Khahr is still used,
as modern maps shew. There are indeed two neighbouring places
known simply as Khahr (Fort), _i.e._ one at the mouth of the
"Mahmand-valley" of modern campaigns, the other near the
Malakand (Fincastle's map).
[1355] This word the Hai. MS. writes, _passim_, Dilah-zak.
[1356] Either Haidar-i-`ali himself or his nephew, the latter
more probably, since no name is mentioned.
[1357] Looking at the position assigned by maps to Khahr, in
the _du-ab_ of the Charmanga-water and the Rud of Bajaur, it
may be that Babur's left moved along the east bank of the
first-named stream and crossed it into the _du-ab_, while his
centre went direct to its post, along the west side of the
fort.
[1358] _su-kirishi_; to interpret which needs local knowledge;
it might mean where water entered the fort, or where water
disembogued from narrows, or, perhaps, where water is entered
for a ford. (The verb _kirmak_ occurs on f. 154_b_ and f. 227
to describe water coming down in spate.)
[1359] _diwanawar_, perhaps a jest on a sobriquet earned
before this exploit, perhaps the cause of the man's later
sobriquet _diwana_ (f. 245_b_).
[1360] Text, t:r:k, read by Erskine and de Courteille as Turk;
it might however be a Turki component in Jan-i-`ali or
Muhibb-i-`ali. (Cf. Zenker _s.n. tirik_.)
[1361] _aushul guni_, which contrasts with the frequent
_aushbu guni_ (this same day, today) of manifestly diary
entries; it may indicate that the full account of the siege is
a later supplement.
[1362] This puzzling word might mean cow-horn (_kau-saru_) and
stand for the common horn trumpet. Erskine and de Courteille
have read it as _gau-sar_, the first explaining it as
_cow-head_, surmised to be a protection for matchlockmen when
loading; the second, as _justaucorps de cuir_. That the word
is baffling is shewn by its omission in I.O. 215 (f. 178_b_),
in 217 (f. 149_b_) and in Muh. _Shirazi_'s lith. ed. (p. 137).
[1363] or _farangi._ Much has been written concerning the
early use of gun-powder in the East. There is, however, no
well-authenticated fact to prove the existence of anything
like artillery there, till it was introduced from Europe.
Babur here, and in other places (f. 267) calls his larger
ordnance Firingi, a proof that they were then regarded as
owing their origin to Europe. The Turks, in consequence of
their constant intercourse with the nations of the West, have
always excelled all the other Orientals in the use of
artillery; and, when heavy cannon were first used in India,
Europeans or Turks were engaged to serve them (Erskine). It is
owing no doubt to the preceding gap in his writings that we
are deprived of Babur's account of his own introduction to
fire-arms. _See_ E. & D.'s _History of India_, vi, Appendix
_On the early use of gunpowder in India_.
[1364] var. _qutbi_, _quchini_.
[1365] This sobriquet might mean "ever a fighter", or an
"argle-bargler", or a brass shilling (Zenker), or (if written
_jing-jing_) that the man was visaged like the bearded reeding
(Scully in Shaw's Vocabulary). The _Tabaqat-i-akbari_
includes a Mirak Khan _Jang-jang_ in its list of Akbar's
Commanders.
[1366] _ghul-din (awwal) aul qurghan-gha chiqti._ I suggest to
supply _awwal_, first, on the warrant of Babur's later
statement (f. 234_b_) that Dost was first in.
[1367] He was a son of Maulana Muh. _Sadr_, one of the chief
men of `Umar-shaikh M.'s Court; he had six brothers, all of
whom spent their lives in Babur's service, to whom, if we may
believe Abu'l-fazl, they were distantly related (Erskine).
[1368] Babur now returns towards the east, down the Rud. The
_chashma_ by which he encamped, would seem to be near the
mouth of the valley of Baba Qara, one 30 miles long; it may
have been, anglicÈ, a spring [not that of the main stream of
the long valley], but the word may be used as it seems to be
of the water supplying the Bagh-i-safa (f. 224), _i.e._ to
denote the first considerable gathering-place of small
head-waters. It will be observed a few lines further on that
this same valley seems to be meant by "Khwaja Khizr".
[1369] He will have joined Babur previous to Muharram 925 AH.
[1370] This statement, the first we have, that Babur has
broken Musalman Law against stimulants (f. 49 and n.), is
followed by many others more explicit, jotting down where and
what and sometimes why he drank, in a way which arrests
attention and asks some other explanation than that it is an
unabashed record of conviviality such conceivably as a
non-Musalman might write. Babur is now 37 years old; he had
obeyed the Law till past early manhood; he wished to return to
obedience at 40; he frequently mentions his lapses by a word
which can be translated as "commitment of sin" (_irtqab_); one
gathers that he did not at any time disobey with easy
conscience. Does it explain his singular record,--one made in
what amongst ourselves would be regarded as a private
diary,--that his sins were created by Law? Had he a balance of
reparation in his thoughts?
Detaching into their separate class as excesses, all his
instances of confessed drunkenness, there remains much in his
record which, seen from a non-Musalman point of view, is
venial; _e.g._ his _subuhi_ appears to be the "morning" of the
Scot, the _Morgen-trank_ of the Teuton; his afternoon cup, in
the open air usually, may have been no worse than the sober
glass of beer or local wine of modern Continental Europe. Many
of these legal sins of his record were interludes in the day's
long ride, stirrup-cups some of them, all in a period of
strenuous physical activity. Many of his records are
collective and are phrased impersonally; they mention that
there was drinking, drunkenness even, but they give details
sometimes such as only a sober observer could include.
Babur names a few men as drunkards, a few as entirely
obedient; most of his men seem not to have obeyed the Law and
may have been "temperate drinkers"; they effected work, Babur
amongst them, which habitual drunkards could not have
compassed. Spite of all he writes of his worst excesses, it
must be just to remember his Musalman conscience, and also the
distorting power of a fictitious sin. Though he broke the law
binding all men against excess, and this on several confessed
occasions, his rule may have been no worse than that of the
ordinarily temperate Western. It cannot but lighten judgment
that his recorded lapses from Law were often prompted by the
bounty and splendour of Nature; were committed amidst the
falling petals of fruit-blossom, the flaming fire of autumn
leaves, where the eye rested on the _arghwan_ or the orange
grove, the coloured harvest of corn or vine.
[1371] As Mr. Erskine observes, there seems to be no valley
except that of Baba Qara, between the Khahr and the
Chandawal-valley; "Khwaja Khizr" and "Baba Qara" may be one
and the same valley.
[1372] Time and ingenuity would be needed to bring over into
English all the quips of this verse. The most obvious pun is,
of course, that on Bajaur as the compelling cause (_ba jaur_)
of the parting; others may be meant on _guzid_ and _gazid_, on
_sazid_ and _chara_. The verse would provide the holiday
amusement of extracting from it two justifiable translations.
[1373] His possessions extended from the river of Sawad to
Baramula; he was expelled from them by the Yusuf-zai
(Erskine).
[1374] This will be the naze of the n.e. rampart of the Baba
Qara valley.
[1375] f. 4 and note; f. 276. Babur seems to use the name for
several varieties of deer.
[1376] There is here, perhaps, a jesting allusion to the
darkening of complexion amongst the inhabitants of countries
from west to east, from Highlands to Indian plains.
[1377] In Dr. E. D. Ross' _Polyglot list of birds_ the
_sarigh(sariq)-qush_ is said to frequent fields of ripening
grain; this suggests to translate its name as Thief-bird.
[1378] _Aquila chrysaetus_, the hunting eagle.
[1379] This _araligh_ might be identified with the "Miankalai"
of maps (since Soghd, lying between two arms of the Zar-afshan
is known also as Miankal), but Raverty explains the Bajaur
Miankalai to mean Village of the holy men (_mian_).
[1380] After 933 AH. presumably, when final work on the B.N.
was in progress.
[1381] Mr. Erskine notes that Pesh-gram lies north of Mahyar
(on the Chandawal-water), and that he has not found Kahraj (or
Kohraj). Judging from Babur's next movements, the two valleys
he names may be those in succession east of Chandawal.
[1382] There is hardly any level ground in the cleft of the
Panj-kura (R.'s _Notes_ p. 193); the villages are perched high
on the sides of the valley. The pass leading to them may be
Katgola (Fincastle's Map).
[1383] This account of Hind-al's adoption is sufficiently
confused to explain why a note, made apparently by Humayun,
should have been appended to it (Appendix L, _On Hind-al's
adoption_). The confusion reminds the reader that he has
before him a sort of memorandum only, diary jottings, apt to
be allusive and abbreviated. The expected child was Dil-dar's;
Mahim, using her right as principal wife, asked for it to be
given to her. That the babe in question is here called Hind-al
shews that at least part of this account of his adoption was
added after the birth and naming (f. 227).
[1384] One would be, no doubt, for Dil-dar's own information.
She then had no son but had two daughters, Gul-rang and
Gul-chihra. News of Hind-al's birth reached Babur in Bhira,
some six weeks later (f. 227).
[1385] f. 218_b_.
[1386] Bibi Mubaraka, the Afghani Aghacha of Gul-badan. An
attractive picture of her is drawn by the
_Tawarikh-i-hafi-i-rahmat-khani_. As this gives not only one
of Babur's romantic adventures but historical matter, I append
it in my husband's translation [(A.Q.R. April 1901)] as
Appendix K, _An Afghan Legend_.
[1387] _Bi-sut aili-ning Bajaur-qurghani-da manasabati-bar
jihati_; a characteristic phrase.
[1388] Perhaps the end of the early spring-harvest and the
spring harvesting-year. It is not the end of the campaigning
year, manifestly; and it is at the beginning of both the solar
and lunar years.
[1389] Perhaps, more than half-way between the Mid-day and
Afternoon Prayers. So too in the annals of Feb. 12th.
[1390] _til alghali_ (Pers. _zaban-giri_), a new phrase in the
B.N.
[1391] _chasht_, which, being half-way between sunrise and the
meridian, is a variable hour.
[1392] See n. 2, f. 221.
[1393] Perhaps Maqam is the Mardan of maps.
[1394] Bhira, on the Jehlam, is now in the Shahpur district of
the Panj-ab.
[1395] This will be the ford on the direct road from Mardan
for the eastward (Elphin-stone's _Caubul_ ii, 416).
[1396] The position of Sawati is represented by the Suabi of
the G. of I. map (1909 AD.). Writing in about 1813 AD. Mr.
Erskine notes as worthy of record that the rhinoceros was at
that date no longer found west of the Indus.
[1397] Elph. MS. _ghura_, the 1st, but this is corrected to
16th by a marginal note. The Hai. MS. here, as in some other
places, has the context for a number, but omits the figures.
So does also the Elph. MS. in a good many places.
[1398] This is the Harru. Mr. Erskine observes that Babur
appears to have turned sharp south after crossing it, since he
ascended a pass so soon after leaving the Indus and reached
the Suhan so soon.
[1399] _i.e._ the Salt-range.
[1400] Mr. Erskine notes that (in his day) a _shahrukhi_ may
be taken at a shilling or eleven pence sterling.
[1401] It is somewhat difficult not to forget that a man who,
like Babur, records so many observations of geographical
position, had no guidance from Surveys, Gazetteers and Books
of Travel. Most of his records are those of personal
observation.
[1402] In this sentence Mr. Erskine read a reference to the
Musalman Ararat, the Koh-i-jud on the left bank of the Tigris.
What I have set down translates the Turki words but, taking
account of Babur's eye for the double use of a word, and
Erskine's careful work, done too in India, the Turki may imply
reference to the Ararat-like summit of Sakeswar.
[1403] Here Dr. Leyden's version finally ends (Erskine).
[1404] Bhira, as has been noted, is on the Jehlam; Khush-ab is
40 m. lower down the same river; Chiniut (Chini-wat?) is 50
miles south of Bhira; Chin-ab (China-water?) seems the name of
a tract only and not of a residential centre; it will be in
the Bar of Kipling's border-thief. Concerning Chiniut _see_ D.
G. Barkley's letter, JRAS 1899 p. 132.
[1405] _taur yiri waqi` bulub tur._ As on f. 160 of the valley
of Khwesh, I have taken _taur_ to be Turki, complete, shut in.
[1406] _chashma_ (f. 218_b_ and note).
[1407] The promised description is not found; there follows a
mere mention only of the garden [f. 369]. This entry can be
taken therefore as shewing an intention to write what is still
wanting from Safar 926 AH. to Safar 932 AH.
[1408] Mir Muh. may have been a kinsman or follower of Mahdi
Khwaja. The entry on the scene, unannounced by introduction as
to parentage, of the Khwaja who played a part later in Babur's
family affairs is due, no doubt, to the last gap of annals. He
is mentioned in the Translator's Note, _s.a._ 923 AH. (_See_
Gul-badan's H.N. Biographical Appendix _s.n._)
[1409] or Sihrind, mod. Sirhind or Sar-i-hind (Head of Hind).
It may be noted here, for what it may be found worth, that
Kh(w)afi Khan [i, 402] calls Sar-i-hind the old name, says
that the place was once held by the Ghazni dynasty and was its
Indian frontier, and that Shah-jahan changed it to Sahrind.
The W.-i-B. I.O. 217 f. 155 writes Shahrind.
[1410] Three krores or crores of dams, at 40 to the rupee,
would make this 750,000 rupees, or about £75,000 sterling
(Erskine); a statement from the ancient history of the rupi!
[1411] This Hindustani word in some districts signifies the
head man of a trade, in others a landholder (Erskine).
[1412] In Mr. Erskine's time this sum was reckoned to be
nearly £20,000.
[1413] Here originally neither the Elph. MS. nor the Hai. MS.
had a date; it has been added to the former.
[1414] This rain is too early for the s.w. monsoon; it was
probably a severe fall of spring rain, which prevails at this
season or rather earlier, and extends over all the west of
Asia (Erskine).
[1415] _az ghina shor su._ Streams rising in the Salt-range
become brackish on reaching its skirts (G. of I.).
[1416] Here this will be the fermented juice of rice or of the
date-palm.
[1417] _Rauh_ is sometimes the name of a musical note.
[1418] a platform, with or without a chamber above it, and
supported on four posts.
[1419] so-written in the MSS. Cf. Raverty's _Notes_ and G. of
I.
[1420] AnglicÈ, cousins on the father's side.
[1421] The G. of I. describes it.
[1422] Elph. MS. f. 183b, _mansub_; Hai. MS. and 2nd W.-i-B.
_bisut_. The holder might be Baba-i-kabuli of f. 225.
[1423] The 1st Pers. trs. (I.O. 215 f. 188b) and Kehr's MS.
[Ilminsky p. 293] attribute Hati's last-recorded acts to Babur
himself. The two mistaken sources err together elsewhere. M.
de Courteille corrects the defect (ii, 67).
[1424] night-guard. He is the old servant to whom Babur sent a
giant _ashrafi_ of the spoils of India (Gul-badan's H.N.
_s.n._).
[1425] The _kiping_ or _kipik_ is a kind of mantle covered
with wool (Erskine); the root of the word is _kip_, dry.
[1426] _aulugh chasht_, a term suggesting that Babur knew the
_chota haziri_, little breakfast, of Anglo-India. It may be
inferred, from several passages, that the big breakfast was
taken after 9 a.m. and before 12 p.m. Just below men are said
to put on their mail at _chasht_ in the same way as, _passim_,
things other than prayer are said to be done at this or that
Prayer; this, I think, always implies that they are done after
the Prayer mentioned; a thing done shortly before a Prayer is
done "close to" or "near" or when done over half-way to the
following Prayer, the act is said to be done "nearer" to the
second (as was noted on f. 221).
[1427] _Juldu Dost Beg-ning ati-gha buldi._
[1428] The disarray of these names in the MSS. reveals
confusion in their source. Similar verbal disarray occurs in
the latter part of f. 229.
[1429] Manifestly a pun is made on the guide's name and on the
_cap-‡-piÈ_ robe of honour the offenders did not receive.
[1430] _aurdu-ning aldi-gha_, a novel phrase.
[1431] I understand that the servants had come to do their
equivalent for "kissing hands" on an appointment _viz._ to
kneel.
[1432] spikenard. Speede's _Indian Handbook on Gardening_
identifies _sambhal_ with _Valeriana jatmansi_ (Sir W. Jones &
Roxburgh); "it is the real spikenard of the ancients, highly
esteemed alike as a perfume and as a stimulant medicine;
native practitioners esteeming it valuable in hysteria and
epilepsy." Babur's word _dirakht_ is somewhat large for the
plant.
[1433] It is not given, however.
[1434] _i.e._ through the Indus.
[1435] Perhaps this _aiki-su-arasi_ (_miyan-du-ab_) was the
angle made by the Indus itself below Atak; perhaps one made by
the Indus and an affluent.
[1436] _ma'juni nakliki_, presumably under the tranquillity
induced by the drug.
[1437] _massadus_, the six sides of the world, _i.e._ all
sides.
[1438] This is the name of one of the five champions defeated
by Babur in single combat in 914 AH. (Translator's Note _s.a._
914 AH.).
[1439] f. 145_b_.
[1440] Humayun was 12, Kamran younger; one surmises that Babur
would have walked under the same circumstances.
[1441] _sabuhi_, the morning-draught. In 1623 AD. Pietro della
VallÈ took a _sabuhi_ with Mr. Thomas Rastel, the head of the
merchants of Surat, which was of hot spiced wine and sipped in
the mornings to comfort the stomach (Hakluyt ed. p. 20).
[1442] f. 128 and note.
[1443] AnglicÈ, in the night preceding Tuesday.
[1444] f. 106b.
[1445] This would be the under-corselet to which the four
plates of mail were attached when mail was worn. Babur in this
adventure wore no mail, not even his helm; on his head was the
under cap of the metal helm.
[1446] Index s.n. _gharicha_.
[1447] The earlier account helps to make this one clearer (f.
106b).
[1448] f. 112 _et seq._
[1449] Catamite, mistakenly read as _khiz_ on f. 112b
(_MÈmoires_ ii, 82).
[1450] He was acting for Babur (Translator's Note _s.a._; H.S.
iii, 318; T.R. pp. 260, 270).
[1451] "Honoured," in this sentence, represents Babur's
honorific plural.
[1452] in 921 AH. (Translator's Note _s.a._; T.R. p. 356).
[1453] _i.e._ Mir Muhammad son of Nasir.
[1454] _i.e._ after the dethronement of the Bai-qara family by
Shaibani.
[1455] He had been one of rebels of 921 AH. (Translator's Note
_s.a._; T.R. p. 356).
[1456] f. 137.
[1457] This is the Adjutant-bird, Pir-i-dang and Hargila
(Bone-swallower) of Hindustan, a migrant through Kabul. The
fowlers who brought it would be the Mult‰nis of f. 142_b_.
[1458] f. 280.
[1459] _Memoirs_, p. 267, sycamore; _MÈmoires_ ii, 84,
_saules_; f. 137.
[1460] Perhaps with his long coat out-spread.
[1461] The fortnight's gap of record, here ended, will be due
to illness.
[1462] f. 203_b_ and n. to _Khams_, the Fifth. _Tasadduq_
occurs also on f. 238 denoting money sent to Babur. Was it
sent to him as Padshah, as the Qoran commands the _Khams_ to
be sent to the Imam, for the poor, the traveller and the
orphan?
[1463] Rose-water, sherbet, a purgative; English, jalap,
julep.
[1464] Mr. Erskine understood Babur to say that he never had
sat sober while others drank; but this does not agree with the
account of Harat entertainments [912 AH.], or with the tenses
of the passage here. My impression is that he said in effect
"Every-one here shall not be deprived of their wine".
[1465] This verse, a difficult one to translate, may refer to
the unease removed from his attendants by Babur's permission
to drink; the pun in it might also refer to _well_ and _not
well_.
[1466] Presumably to aid his recovery.
[1467] _autkan yil_, perhaps in the last and unchronicled
year; perhaps in earlier ones. There are several references in
the B.N. to the enforced migrations and emigrations of tribes
into Kabul.
[1468] Pulad (Steel) was a son of Kuchum, the then Khaqan of
the Auzbegs, and Mihr-banu who may be Babur's half-sister.
[Index _s.n._]
[1469] This may be written for Mihr-banu, Pulad's mother and
Babur's half-sister (?) and a jest made on her heart as
Pulad's and as steel to her brother. She had not left husband
and son when Babur got the upper hand, as his half-sister
Yadgar-sultan did and other wives of capture _e.g._ Haidar's
sister _Habiba_. Babur's rhymes in this verse are not of his
later standard, _ai subah, kunkuika, kunkuli-ka_.
[1470] _Tasadduq_ sent to Babur would seem an acknowledgment
of his suzerainty in Balkh [Index _s.n._].
[1471] This is the Girdiz-pass [Raverty's _Notes_, Route 101].
[1472] Raverty (p. 677) suggests that Patakh stands for
_batqaq_, a quagmire (f. 16 and n.).
[1473] the dark, or cloudy spring.
[1474] _yaqish-liq qul_, an unusual phrase.
[1475] var. Karman, Kurmah, Karmas. M. de C. read Kir-mas, the
impenetrable. The forms would give Garm-as, hot embers.
[1476] _balafrÈ_; marked on the face; of a horse, starred.
[1477] Raverty's _Notes_ (p. 457) give a full account of this
valley; in it are the head-waters of the Tochi and the Zurmut
stream; and in it R. locates Rustam's ancient Zabul.
[1478] It is on the Kabul side of the Girdiz-pass and stands
on the Luhugur-water (Logar).
[1479] f. 143.
[1480] At this point of the text there occurs in the Elph. MS.
(f. 195_b_) a note, manifestly copied from one marginal in an
archetype, which states that what follows is copied from
Babur's own MS. The note (and others) can be seen in JRAS 1905
p. 754 _et seq._
[1481] Masson, iii, 145.
[1482] A _qulach_ is from finger-tip to finger-tip of the
outstretched arms (Zenker p. 720 and _MÈms._ ii, 98).
[1483] Neither _interne_ is said to have died!
[1484] f. 143.
[1485] or Atun's-village, one granted to Babur's mother's old
governess (f. 96); Gul-badan's guest-list has also an Atun
Mama.
[1486] f. 235_b_ and note.
[1487] _miswak_; _On les tire principalement de l'arbuste
Èpineux appelÈ capparis-sodata_ (de C. ii, 101 n.).
[1488] Gul-badan's H.N. Index s.n.
[1489] This being Ramzan, Babur did not break his fast till
sun-set. In like manner, during Ramzan they eat in the morning
before sun-rise (Erskine).
[1490] A result, doubtless, of the order mentioned on f.
240_b_.
[1491] Babur's wife Gul-rukh appears to have been his sister
or niece; he was a Begchik. Cf. Gul-badan's H.N. trs. p. 233,
p. 234; T.R. p. 264-5.
[1492] This remark bears on the question of whether we now
have all Babur wrote of Autobiography. It refers to a date
falling within the previous gap, because the man went to
Kashghar while Babur was ruling in Samarkand (T.R. p. 265).
The last time Babur came from Khwast to Kabul was probably in
920 AH.; if later, it was still in the gap. But an alternative
explanation is that looking over and annotating the diary
section, Babur made this reference to what he fully meant to
write but died before being able to do so.
[1493] AnglicÈ, the right thumb, on which the archer's ring
(_zih-gir_) is worn.
[1494] a daughter of Yunas Khan, Haidar's account of whom is
worth seeing.
[1495] _i.e._ the water of Luhugur (Logar). Tradition says
that But-khak (Idol-dust) was so named because there Sl.
Mahmud of Ghazni had idols, brought by him out of Hindustan,
pounded to dust. Raverty says the place is probably the site
of an ancient temple (_vahara_).
[1496] Qasim Beg's son, come, no doubt, in obedience to the
order of f. 240_b_.
[1497] The `Id-i-fitr is the festival at the conclusion of the
feast of Ramzan, celebrated on seeing the new moon of Shawwal
(Erskine).
[1498] f. 133_b_ and Appendix G, _On the names of the wines of
Nur-valley_.
[1499] _i.e._ of the new moon of Shawwal. The new moon having
been seen the evening before, which to Musalmans was Monday
evening, they had celebrated the `Id-i-fitr on Monday eve
(Erskine).
[1500] Diwan of Hafiz lith. ed. p. 22. The couplet seems to be
another message to a woman (f. 238); here it might be to Bibi
Mubaraka, still under Khwaja Kalan's charge in Bajaur (f.
221).
[1501] Here and under date Sep. 30th the wording allows a
ford.
[1502] This may be what Masson writes of (i, 149) "We reached
a spot where the water supplying the rivulet (of `Ali-masjid)
gushes in a large volume from the rocks to the left. I slaked
my thirst in the living spring and drank to repletion of the
delightfully cool and transparent water."
[1503] Mr. Erskine here notes, "This appears to be a mistake
or oversight of Babur. The eve of `Arafa" (9th of Zu'l-hijja)
"was not till the evening of Dec. 2nd 1519. He probably meant
to say the `Id-i-fitr which had occurred only five days
before, on Sep. 26th."
[1504] This was an affair of frontiers (T.R. p. 354).
[1505] Manucci gives an account of the place (Irvine iv, 439
and ii, 447).
[1506] Sep. 8th to Oct. 9th.
[1507] _khush rang-i khizan._ Sometimes Babur's praise of
autumn allows the word _khizan_ to mean the harvest-crops
themselves, sometimes the autumnal colouring.
[1508] This I have taken to mean the Kabul _tuman_. The Hai.
MS. writes _wilayatlar_ (plural) thus suggesting that _aul_
(those) may be omitted, and those countries (Transoxiana) be
meant; but the second Pers. trs. (I.O. 217 f. 169) supports
_wilayat_, Kabul.
[1509] joyous, happy.
[1510] _y:lk:ran._ This word has proved a difficulty to all
translators. I suggest that it stands for _ailikaran_, what
came to hand (_ailik see_ de C.'s Dict.); also that it
contains puns referring to the sheep taken from the road
(_yulkaran_) and to the wine of the year's yield (_yilkaran_).
The way-side meal was of what came to hand, mutton and wine,
probably local.
[1511] f. 141_b_.
[1512] f. 217 and n.
[1513] I think Babur means that the customary announcement of
an envoy or guest must have reached Kabul in his absence.
[1514] He is in the T.R. list of the tribe (p. 307); to it
belonged Sl. Ahmad _Tambal_ (_ib._ p. 316).
[1515] _Qabil-ning kuri-ning qashi-ka_, lit. to the presence
of the tomb of Qabil, _i.e._ Cain the eponymous hero of Kabul.
The Elph. MS. has been altered to "Qabil Beg"!
[1516] Mr. Erskine surmised that the line was from some
religious poem of mystical meaning and that its profane
application gave offence.
[1517] His sobriquet _khaksar_, one who sits in the dust,
suits the excavator of a _karez_. Babur's route can be
followed in Masson's (iii, 110), apparently to the very
_karez_.
[1518] In Masson's time this place was celebrated for vinegar.
To reach it and return must have occupied several hours.
[1519] Kunos, _aq tuigun_, white falcon; _`Amal-i-salih_ (I.O.
MS. No. 857, f. 45_b_), _taus tuighun_.
[1520] f. 246.
[1521] Nawa'i himself arranged them according to the periods
of his life (Rieu's Pers. Cat. p. 294).
[1522] Elph. MS. f. 202_b_; W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 175
(misplaced) and 217 f. 172; Mems. p. 281.
[1523] _pushta austida_; the Jui-khwush of f. 137.
[1524] The Hai. MS. omits a passage here; the Elph. MS. reads
_Qasim Bulbuli ning awi_, thus making "nightingale" a
sobriquet of Qasim's own. Erskine (p. 281) has "Bulbuli-hall";
Ilminsky's words translate as, the house of Sayyid Qasim's
nightingale (p. 321).
[1525] or Dur-nama'i, seen from afar.
[1526] _narm-dik_, the opposite of a _qatiq yai_, a stiff bow.
Some MSS. write _lazim-dik_ which might be read to mean such a
bow as his disablement allowed to be used.
[1527] Mr. Erskine, writing early in the 19th century, notes
that this seems an easy tribute, about 400 _rupis_ _i.e._ £40.
[1528] This is one of the three routes into Lamghan of f. 133.
[1529] f. 251_b_ and Appendix F, _On the name Dara-i-nur_.
[1530] This passage will be the basis of the account on f.
143_b_ of the winter-supply of fish in Lamghan.
[1531] This word or name is puzzling. Avoiding extreme detail
as to variants, I suggest that it is Daur-bin for Dur-nama'i
if a place-name; or, if not, _dur-bin_, foresight (in either
case the preposition requires to be supplied), and it may
refer to foreseen need of and curiosity about Kafir wines.
[1532] _chiurtika_ or _chiur-i-tika_, whether _sauterelle_ as
M. de Courteille understood, or _janwar-i-ranga_ and _chikur_,
partridge as the 1st Persian trs. and as Mr. Erskine
(explaining _chur-i-tika_) thought, must be left open. Two
points arise however, (1) the time is January, the place the
deadly Bad-i-pich pass; would these suit locusts? (2) If
Babur's account of a splendid bird (f. 135) were based on this
experience, this would be one of several occurrences in which
what is entered in the Description of Kabul of 910 AH. is
found as an experience in the diary of 925-6 AH.
[1533] Hai. MS. _mahali-da mazkur bulghusidur_, but W.-i-B.
I.O. 215 f. 176 for _mahali-da_, in its place, has _dar
majlis_ [in the collection], which may point to an intended
collection of Babur's musical compositions. Either reading
indicates intention to write what we now have not.
[1534] Perhaps an equivalent for _farz-waqt_, the time of the
first obligatory prayer. Much seems to happen before the sun
got up high!
[1535] Koh-i-nur, Rocky-mountains (?). _See_ Appendix F, _On
the name Dara-i-nur_.
[1536] Steingass gives _buza_ as made of rice, millet, or
barley.
[1537] Is this connected with Arabic _kimiya'_, alchemy,
chemistry?
[1538] Turki, a whirlpool; but perhaps the name of an office
from _aigar_, a saddle.
[1539] The river on which the rafts were used was the Kunar,
from Chitral.
[1540] An uncertain name. I have an impression that these
waters are medicinal, but I cannot trace where I found the
information. The visit paid to them, and the arrangement made
for bathing set them apart. The name of the place may convey
this speciality.
[1541] _panahi_, the word used for the hiding-places of
bird-catchers on f. 140.
[1542] This will be the basis of the details about fishing
given on f. 143 and f. 143_b_. The statement that particulars
have been given allows the inference that the diary was
annotated after the _Description of Kabul_, in which the
particulars are, was written.
[1543] _qanliqlar._ This right of private revenge which forms
part of the law of most rude nations, exists in a mitigated
form under the Muhammadan law. The criminal is condemned by
the judge, but is delivered up to the relations of the person
murdered, to be ransomed or put to death as they think fit
(Erskine).
[1544] Here the text breaks off and a _lacuna_ separates the
diary of 11 months length which ends the Kabul section of the
_Babur-nama_ writings, from the annals of 932 AH. which begin
the Hindustan section. There seems no reason why the diary
should have been discontinued.
[1545] Jan. 2nd 1520 to Nov. 17th 1525 AD. (Safar 926 to Safar
1st 932 AH.).
[1546] Index _s.nn._ Bagh-i-safa and B.N. _lacunae_.
[1547] Nominally Balkh seems to have been a Safawi possession;
but it is made to seem closely dependent on Babur by his
receipt from Muhammad-i-zaman in it of _tasadduq_ (money for
alms), and by his action connected with it (_q.v._).
[1548] _Tarikh-i-sind_, Malet's trs. p. 77 and _in loco_, p.
365.
[1549] A chronogram given by Badayuni decides the vexed
question of the date of Sikandar _Ludi's_
death--_Jannatu'l-firdus nazla_ = 923 (Bib. Ind. ed. i, 322,
Ranking trs. p. 425 n. 6). Erskine supported 924 AH. (i, 407),
partly relying on an entry in Babur's diary (f. 226_b_) _s.d._
Rabi`u'l-awwal 1st 925 AH. (March 3rd 1519 AD.) which states
that on that day Mulla Murshid was sent to Ibrahim whose
father _Sikandar had died five or six months before_.
Against this is the circumstance that the entry about Mulla
Murshid is, perhaps entirely, certainly partly, of later entry
than what precedes and what follows it in the diary. This can
be seen on examination; it is a passage such as the diary
section shews in other places, added to the daily record and
giving this the character of a draft waiting for revision and
rewriting (fol. 216_b_ n.).
(To save difficulty to those who may refer to the L. & E.
_Memoirs_ on the point, I mention that the whole passage about
Mulla Murshid is displaced in that book and that the date
March 3rd is omitted.)
[1550] Shal (the local name of English Quetta) was taken by
Zu'l-nun in 884 AH. (1479 AD.); Siwistan Shah Beg took, in
second capture, about 917 AH. (1511 AD.), from a colony of
Barlas Turks under Pir Wali _Barlas_.
[1551] Was the attack made in reprisal for Shah Beg's further
aggression on the Barlas lands and Babur's hereditary
subjects? Had these appealed to the head of their tribe?
[1552] Le Messurier writes (_l.c._ p. 224) that at Old
Qandahar "many stone balls lay about, some with a diameter of
18 inches, others of 4 or 5, chiselled out of limestone. These
were said to have been used in sieges in the times of the
Arabs and propelled from a machine called _manjanic_ a sort of
balista or catapult." Meantime perhaps they served Babur!
[1553] "Just then came a letter from Badakhshan saying, 'Mirza
Khan is dead; Mirza Sulaiman (his son) is young; the Auzbegs
are near; take thought for this kingdom lest (which God
forbid) Badakhshan should be lost.' Mirza Sulaiman's mother
(Sultan-nigar Khanim) had brought him to Kabul" (Gul-badan's
H. N. f. 8).
[1554] _infra_ and Appendix J.
[1555] E. & D.'s _History of India_, i. 312.
[1556] For accounts of the _Mubin_, _Akbar-nama_ Bib. Ind. ed.
i. 118, trs. H. Beveridge i. 278 note, Badayuni _ib._ i, 343,
trs. Ranking p. 450, Sprenger ZDMG. 1862, Teufel _ib._ 1883.
The _Akbar-nama_ account appears in Turki in the "Fragments"
associated with Kehr's transcript of the B.N. (JRAS. 1908, p.
76, A. S. B.'s art. _Babur-nama_). Babur mentions the _Mubin_
(f. 252_b_, f. 351_b_).
[1557] JRAS. 1901, _Persian MSS. in Indian Libraries_
(description of the Rampur _Diwan_); AQR. 1911, _Babur's
Diwan_ (_i.e._ the Rampur _Diwan_); and _Some verses of the
Emperor Babur_ (the _Abushqa_ quotations).
For Dr. E. D. Ross' Reproduction and account of the Rampur
_Diwan_, JASB. 1910.
[1558] "After him (Ibrahim) was Babur King of Dihli, who owed
his place to the Pathans," writes the Afghan poet Khush-hal
_Khattak_ (Afghan Poets of the XVII century, C. E. Biddulph,
p. 58).
[1559] The translation only has been available (E. & D.'s H.
of I., vol. 1).
[1560] The marriage is said to have been Kamran's (E. & D.'s
trs.).
[1561] Erskine calculated that `Alam Khan was now well over 70
years of age (H. of I. i, 421 n.).
[1562] A. N. trs. H. Beveridge, i, 239.
[1563] The following old English reference to Isma`il's
appearance may be quoted as found in a corner somewhat
out-of-the-way from Oriental matters. In his essay on beauty
Lord Bacon writes when arguing against the theory that beauty
is usually not associated with highmindedness, "But this holds
not always; for Augustus CÊsar, Titus Vespasianus, Philip le
Bel of France, Edward the Fourth of England, Alcibiades of
Athens, Isma`il the Sophy (Safawi) of Persia, were all high
and great spirits, and yet the most beautiful men of their
times."
[1564] Cf. _s.a._ 928 AH. for discussion of the year of death.
[1565] Elph. MS. f. 205_b_; W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 199_b_ omits
the year's events on the ground that Shaikh Zain has
translated them; I.O. 217 f. 174; Mems. p. 290; Kehr's Codex
p. 1084.
A considerable amount of reliable textual material for
revising the Hindustan section of the English translation of
the _Babur-nama_ is wanting through loss of pages from the
Elphinstone Codex; in one instance no less than an equivalent
of 36 folios of the Haidarabad Codex are missing (f. 356 _et
seq._), but to set against this loss there is the valuable
_per contra_ that Kehr's manuscript throughout the section
becomes of substantial value, losing its Persified character
and approximating closely to the true text of the Elphinstone
and Haidarabad Codices. Collateral help in revision is given
by the works specified (_in loco_ p. 428) as serving to fill
the gap existing in Babur's narrative previous to 932 AH. and
this notably by those described by Elliot and Dowson. Of these
last, special help in supplementary details is given for 932
AH. and part of 933 AH. by Shaikh Zain [_Khawafi_]'s
_Tabaqat-i-baburi_, which is a highly rhetorical paraphrase
of Babur's narrative, requiring familiarity with ornate
Persian to understand. For all my references to it, I am
indebted to my husband. It may be mentioned as an interesting
circumstance that the B.M. possesses in Or. 1999 a copy of
this work which was transcribed in 998 AH. by one of
Khwand-amir's grandsons and, judging from its date, presumably
for Abu'l-fazl's use in the _Akbar-nama_.
Like part of the Kabul section, the Hindustan one is in
diary-form, but it is still more heavily surcharged with
matter entered at a date later than the diary. It departs from
the style of the preceding diary by an occasional lapse into
courtly phrase and by exchange of some Turki words for Arabic
and Persian ones, doubtless found current in Hind, _e.g._
_fauj_, _dira_, _manzil_, _khail-khana_.
[1566] This is the Logar affluent of the Baran-water
(Kabul-river). Masson describes this haltingplace (iii, 174).
[1567] _muhaqqar saughat u bilak or tilak._ A small verbal
point arises about _bilak_ (or _tilak_). _Bilak_ is said by
QuatremËre to mean a gift (N. et E. xiv, 119 n.) but here
_muhaqqar saughat_ expresses gift. Another meaning can be
assigned to _bilak_ here, [one had also by _tilak_,] _viz._
that of word-of-mouth news or communication, sometimes
supplementing written communication, possibly secret
instructions, possibly small domestic details. In _bilak_, a
gift, the root may be _bil_, the act of knowing, in _tilak_ it
is _til_, the act of speaking [whence _til_, the tongue, and
_til tutmak_, to get news]. In the sentence noted, either word
would suit for a verbal communication. Returning to _bilak_ as
a gift, it may express the _nuance_ of English _token_, the
maker-known of friendship, affection and so-on. This
differentiates _bilak_ from _saughat_, used in its frequent
sense of ceremonial and diplomatic presents of value and
importance.
[1568] With Sa`id at this time were two Khanims Sultan-nigar
and Daulat-sultan who were Babur's maternal-aunts. Erskine
suggested Khub-nigar, but she had died in 907 AH. (f. 96).
[1569] Humayun's non-arrival would be the main cause of delay.
Apparently he should have joined before the Kabul force left
that town.
[1570] The halt would be at But-khak, the last station before
the Adinapur road takes to the hills.
[1571] Discussing the value of coins mentioned by Babur,
Erskine says in his _History of India_ (vol. i, Appendix E.)
which was published in 1854 AD. that he had come to think his
estimates of the value of the coins was set too low in the
_Memoirs_ (published in 1826 AD.). This sum of 20,000
_shahrukhis_ he put at £1000. Cf. E. Thomas' _Pathan Kings of
Dihli and Resources of the Mughal Empire_.
[1572] One of Masson's interesting details seems to fit the
next stage of Babur's march (iii, 179). It is that after
leaving But-khak, the road passes what in the thirties of the
19th Century, was locally known as Babur Padshah's Stone-heap
(cairn) and believed piled in obedience to Babur's order that
each man in his army should drop a stone on it in passing. No
time for raising such a monument could be fitter than that of
the fifth expedition into Hindustan when a climax of
opportunity allowed hope of success.
[1573] _rezandalik._ This Erskine translates, both here and on
ff. 253, 254, by _defluxion_, but de Courteille by _rhume de
cerveau_. Shaikh Zain supports de Courteille by writing, not
_rezandalik_, but _nuzla_, catarrh. De Courteille, in
illustration of his reading of the word, quotes Burnes'
account of an affection common in the Panj-ab and there called
_nuzla_, which is a running at the nostrils, that wastes the
brain and stamina of the body and ends fatally (_Travels in
Bukhara_ ed. 1839, ii, 41).
[1574] Tramontana, north of Hindu-kush.
[1575] Shaikh Zain says that the drinking days were Saturday,
Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
[1576] The Elph. Codex (f. 208_b_) contains the following note
of Humayun's about his delay; it has been expunged from the
text but is still fairly legible:--"The time fixed was after
`Ashura (10th Muharram, a voluntary fast); although we arrived
after the next-following 10th (_`ashur_, _i.e._ of Safar), the
delay had been necessary. The purpose of the letters (Babur's)
was to get information; (in reply) it was represented that the
equipment of the army of Badakhshan caused delay. If this
slave (Humayun), trusting to his [father's] kindness, caused
further delay, he has been sorry."
Babur's march from the Bagh-i-wafa was delayed about a month;
Humayun started late from Badakhshan; his force may have
needed some stay in Kabul for completion of equipment; his
personal share of blame for which he counted on his father's
forgiveness, is likely to have been connected with his
mother's presence in Kabul.
Humayun's note is quoted in Turki by one MS. of the Persian
text (B.M. W.-i-B. 16,623 f. 128); and from certain
indications in Muhammad _Shirazi_'s lithograph (p. 163),
appears to be in his archetype the Udaipur Codex; but it is
not with all MSS. of the Persian text _e.g._ not with I.O. 217
and 218. A portion of it is in Kehr's MS. (p. 1086).
[1577] Bird's-dome [f. 145_b_, n.] or The pair (_qush_) of
domes.
[1578] _gun khud kich bulub aidi_; a little joke perhaps at
the lateness both of the day and the army.
[1579] Shaikh Zain's maternal-uncle.
[1580] Shaikh Zain's useful detail that this man's pen-name
was Sharaf distinguishes him from Muhammad Salih the author of
the _Shaibani-nama_.
[1581] _gosha_, angle (_cf._ _gosha-i-kar_, limits of work).
Parodies were to be made, having the same metre, rhyme, and
refrain as the model couplet.
[1582] I am unable to attach sense to Babur's second line;
what is wanted is an illustration of two incompatible things.
Babur's reflections [_infra_] condemned his verse. Shaikh Zain
describes the whole episode of the verse-making on the raft,
and goes on with, "He (Babur) excised this choice couplet from
the pages of his Acts (_Waqi`at_) with the knife of censure,
and scratched it out from the tablets of his noble heart with
the finger-nails of repentance. I shall now give an account of
this spiritual matter" (_i.e._ the repentance), "by presenting
the recantations of his Solomon-like Majesty in his very own
words, which are weightier than any from the lips of Aesop."
Shaikh Zain next quotes the Turki passage here translated in
_b. Mention of the Mubin_.
[1583] The _Mubin_ (_q.v._ Index) is mentioned again and
quoted on f. 351_b_. In both places its name escaped the
notice of Erskine and de Courteille, who here took it for
_min_, I, and on f. 351_b_ omitted it, matters of which the
obvious cause is that both translators were less familiar with
the poem than it is now easy to be. There is amplest textual
warrant for reading _Mubin_ in both the places indicated
above; its reinstatement gives to the English and French
translations what they have needed, namely, the clinch of a
definite stimulus and date of repentance, which was the
influence of the Mubin in 928 AH. (1521-2 AD.). The whole
passage about the peccant verse and its fruit of contrition
should be read with others that express the same regret for
broken law and may all have been added to the diary at the
same time, probably in 935 AH. (1529 AD.). They will be found
grouped in the Index _s.n._ Babur.
[1584] _mundin burun_, by which I understand, as the
grammatical construction will warrant, _before writing the
Mubin_. To read the words as referring to the peccant verse,
is to take the clinch off the whole passage.
[1585] _i.e._ of the _Qoran_ on which the _Mubin_ is based.
[1586] Dropping down-stream, with wine and good company, he
entirely forgot his good resolutions.
[1587] This appears to refer to the good thoughts embodied in
the _Mubin_.
[1588] This appears to contrast with the "sublime realities"
of the _Qoran_.
[1589] In view of the interest of the passage, and because
this verse is not in the Rampur _Diwan_, as are many contained
in the Hindustan section, the Turki original is quoted. My
translation differs from those of Mr. Erskine and M. de
Courteille; all three are tentative of a somewhat difficult
verse.
_Ni qila min sining bila ai til?
Jihating din mining aichim qan dur.
Nicha yakhshi disang bu hazl aila shi`r
Biri-si fahash u biri yalghan dur.
Gar disang kuima min, bu jazm bila
Jalau'ingni bu `arsa din yan dur._
[1590] The Qoran puts these sayings into the mouths of Adam
and Eve.
[1591] Hai. MS. _tindurub_; Ilminsky, p. 327, _yandurub_;
W.-i-B. I.O. 217, f. 175, _sard sakhta_.
[1592] Of `Ali-masjid the _Second Afghan War_ (official
account) has a picture which might be taken from Babur's camp.
[1593] Shaikh Zain's list of the drinking-days (f. 252 note)
explains why sometimes Babur says he preferred _ma`jun_. In
the instances I have noticed, he does this on a drinking-day;
the preference will be therefore for a confection over wine.
December 9th was a Saturday and drinking-day; on it he
mentions the preference; Tuesday Nov. 21st was a drinking day,
and he states that he ate _ma`jun_.
[1594] presumably the _karg-khana_ of f. 222_b_,
rhinoceros-home in both places. A similar name applies to a
tract in the Rawalpindi District,--Babur-khana, Tiger-home,
which is linked to the tradition of Buddha's self-sacrifice to
appease the hunger of seven tiger-cubs. [In this Babur-khana
is the town Kacha-kot from which Babur always names the river
Haru.]
[1595] This is the first time on an outward march that Babur
has crossed the Indus by boat; hitherto he has used the ford
above Attock, once however specifying that men on foot were
put over on rafts.
[1596] f. 253.
[1597] In my Translator's Note (p. 428), attention was drawn
to the circumstance that Babur always writes Daulat Khan
_Yusuf-khail_, and not Daulat Khan _Ludi_. In doing this, he
uses the family- or clan-name instead of the tribal one,
_Ludi_.
[1598] _i.e._ day by day.
[1599] _darya_, which Babur's precise use of words _e.g._ of
_darya_, _rud_, and _su_, allows to apply here to the Indus
only.
[1600] Presumably this was near Parhala, which stands, where
the Suhan river quits the hills, at the eastern entrance of a
wild and rocky gorge a mile in length. It will have been up
this gorge that Babur approached Parhala in 925 AH.
(Rawalpindi Gazetteer p. 11).
[1601] _i.e._ here, bed of a mountain-stream.
[1602] The Elphinstone Codex here preserves the following
note, the authorship of which is attested by the scribe's
remark that it is copied from the handwriting of Humayun
Padshah:--As my honoured father writes, we did not know until
we occupied Hindustan (932 AH.), but afterwards did know, that
ice does form here and there if there come a colder year. This
was markedly so in the year I conquered Gujrat (942 AH.-1535
AD.) when it was so cold for two or three days between Bhulpur
and Gualiar that the waters were frozen over a hand's
thickness.
[1603] This is a Kakar (Gakkhar) clan, known also as
Baragowah, of which the location in Jahangir Padshah's time
was from Rohtas to Hatya, _i.e._ about where Babur encamped
(_Memoirs of Jahangir_, Rogers and Beveridge, p. 97; E. and D.
vi, 309; Provincial Gazetteers of Rawalpindi and Jihlam, p. 64
and p. 97 respectively).
[1604] _andin autub_, a reference perhaps to going out beyond
the corn-lands, perhaps to attempt for more than provisions.
[1605] _qush-at_, a led horse to ride in change.
[1606] According to Shaikh Zain it was in this year that Babur
made Buhlulpur a royal domain (B.M. Add. 26,202 f. 16), but
this does not agree with Babur's explanation that he visited
the place because it was _khalsa_. Its name suggests that it
had belonged to Buhlul _Ludi_; Babur may have taken it in 930
AH. when he captured Sialkot. It never received the population
of Sialkot, as Babur had planned it should do because
pond-water was drunk in the latter town and was a source of
disease. The words in which Babur describes its situation are
those he uses of Akhsi (f. 4_b_); not improbably a resemblance
inclined his liking towards Buhlulpur. (It may be noted that
this Buhlulpur is mentioned in the _Ayin-i-akbari_ and marked
on large maps, but is not found in the G. of I. 1907.)
[1607] Both names are thus spelled in the _Babur-nama_. In
view of the inclination of Turki to long vowels, Babur's short
one in Jat may be worth consideration since modern usage of
Jat and Jat varies. Mr. Crooke writes the full vowel, and
mentions that Jats are Hindus, Sikhs, and Muhammadans (_Tribes
and Castes of the North-western Provinces and Oude_, iii, 38).
On this point and on the orthography of the name, Erskine's
note (_Memoirs_ p. 294) is as follows: "The Jets or Jats are
the Muhammadan peasantry of the Panj-ab, the bank of the
Indus, Siwistan _etc._ and must not be confounded with the
Jats, a powerful Hindu tribe to the west of the Jamna, about
Agra _etc._ and which occupies a subordinate position in the
country of the Rajputs."
[1608] The following section contains a later addition to the
diary summarizing the action of `Alam Khan before and after
Babur heard of the defeat from the trader he mentions. It
refutes an opinion found here and there in European writings
that Babur used and threw over `Alam Khan. It and Babur's
further narrative shew that `Alam Khan had little valid
backing in Hindustan, that he contributed nothing to Babur's
success, and that no abstention by Babur from attack on
Ibrahim would have set `Alam Khan on the throne of Dihli. It
and other records, Babur's and those of Afghan chroniclers,
allow it to be said that if `Alam Khan had been strong enough
to accomplish his share of the compact that he should take and
should rule Dihli, Babur would have kept to his share, namely,
would have maintained supremacy in the Panj-ab. He advanced
against Ibrahim only when `Alam Khan had totally failed in
arms and in securing adherence.
[1609] This objurgation on over-rapid marching looks like the
echo of complaint made to Babur by men of his own whom he had
given to `Alam Khan in Kabul.
[1610] Mahmud himself may have inherited his father's title
Khan-i-jahan but a little further on he is specifically
mentioned as the son of Khan-i-jahan, presumably because his
father had been a more notable man than he was. Of his tribe
it may be noted that the Haidarabad MS. uniformly writes
Nuhani and not Luhani as is usual in European writings, and
that it does so even when, as on f. 149_b_, the word is
applied to a trader. Concerning the tribe, family, or caste
_vide_ G. of I. _s.n._ Lohanas and Crooke _l.c._ _s.n._
Pathan, para. 21.
[1611] _i.e._ west of Dihli territory, the Panj-ab.
[1612] He was of the Farmul family of which Babur says (f.
139_b_) that it was in high favour in Hindustan under the
Afghans and of which the author of the _Waqi`at-i-mushtaqi_
says that it held half the lands of Dihli in _jagir_ (E. and
D. iv, 547).
[1613] Presumably he could not cut off supplies.
[1614] The only word similar to this that I have found is one
"Jaghat" said to mean serpent and to be the name of a Hindu
sub-caste of Nats (Crooke, iv, 72 & 73). The word here might
be a nick-name. Babur writes it as two words.
[1615] _khasa-khail_, presumably members of the Sahu-khail
(family) of the Ludi tribe of the Afghan race.
[1616] Erskine suggested that this man was a rich banker, but
he might well be the Farmuli Shaikh-zada of f. 256_b_, in view
of the exchange Afghan historians make of the Farmuli title
Shaikh for Mian (_Tarikh-i-sher-shahi_, E. & D. iv, 347 and
_Tarikh-i-daudi_ ib. 457).
[1617] This Biban, or Biban, as Babur always calls him without
title, is Malik Biban _Jilwani_. He was associated with Shaikh
Bayazid _Farmuli_ or, as Afghan writers style him, Mian
Bayazid _Farmuli_. (Another of his names was Mian Biban, son
of Mian Ata _Sahu-khail_ (E. & D. iv, 347).)
[1618] This name occurs so frequently in and about the Panj-ab
as to suggest that it means a fort (Ar. _maluzat_?). This one
in the Siwaliks was founded by Tatar Khan _Yusuf-khail_
(_Ludi_) in the time of Buhlul _Ludi_ (E. and D. iv, 415).
[1619] In the Beth Jalandhar _du-ab_.
[1620] _i.e._ on the Siwaliks, here locally known as Katar
Dhar.
[1621] Presumably they were from the Hazara district east of
the Indus. The _Tabaqat-i-akbari_ mentions that this
detachment was acting under Khalifa apart from Babur and
marching through the skirt-hills (lith. ed. p. 182).
[1622] _dun_, f. 260 and note.
[1623] These were both refugees from Harat.
[1624] Sarkar of Batala, in the Bari _du-ab_ (A.-i-A. Jarrett,
p. 110).
[1625] _kurushur waqt_ (Index _s.n._ _kurush_).
[1626] Babur's phrasing suggests beggary.
[1627] This might refer to the time when Ibrahim's commander
Bihar (Bahadur) Khan _Nuhani_ took Lahor (Translator's Note
_in loco_ p. 441).
[1628] They were his father's. Erskine estimated the 3 _krors_
at £75,000.
[1629] _shiqq_, what hangs on either side, perhaps a satirical
reference to the ass' burden.
[1630] As illustrating Babur's claim to rule as a Timurid in
Hindustan, it may be noted that in 814 AH. (1411 AD.), Khizr
Khan who is allowed by the date to have been a Sayyid ruler in
Dihli, sent an embassy to Shahrukh Mirza the then Timurid
ruler of Samarkand to acknowledge his suzerainty
(_Matla`u's-sa`dain_, QuatremËre, N. et Ex. xiv, 196).
[1631] Firishta says that Babur mounted for the purpose of
preserving the honour of the Afghans and by so doing enabled
the families in the fort to get out of it safely (lith. ed. p.
204).
[1632] _chuhra_; they will have been of the Corps of braves
(_yigit_; Appendix H. section _c._).
[1633] _kim kulli gharz aul aidi_; Pers. trs. _ka
gharz-i-kulli-i-au bud_.
[1634] Persice, the eves of Sunday and Monday; Anglice,
Saturday and Sunday nights.
[1635] Ghazi Khan was learned and a poet (Firishta ii, 42).
[1636] _mullayana khud_, perhaps books of learned topic but
not in choice copies.
[1637] f. 257. It stands in 31∞ 50' N. and 76∞ E. (G. of I.).
[1638] This is on the Salt-range, in 32∞ 42' N. and 72∞ 50' E.
(_Ayin-i-akbari_ trs. Jarrett, i, 325; Provincial Gazetteer,
Jihlam District).
[1639] He died therefore in the town he himself built. Kitta
Beg probably escorted the Afghan families from Milwat also;
Dilawar Khan's own seems to have been there already (f. 257).
The _Babur-nama_ makes no mention of Daulat Khan's relations
with Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, nor does it
mention Nanak himself. A tradition exists that Nanak, when on
his travels, made exposition of his doctrines to an attentive
Babur and that he was partly instrumental in bringing Babur
against the Afghans. He was 12 years older than Babur and
survived him nine. (Cf. _Dabistan_ lith. ed. p. 270; and, for
Jahangir Padshah's notice of Daulat Khan, _Tuzuk-i-jahangiri_,
Rogers and Beveridge, p. 87).
[1640] I translate _dun_ by _dale_ because, as its equivalent,
Babur uses _julga_ by which he describes a more pastoral
valley than one he calls a _dara_.
[1641] _bir aqar-su._ Babur's earlier uses of this term
[_q.v._ index] connect it with the swift flow of water in
irrigation channels; this may be so here but also the term may
make distinction between the rapid mountain-stream and the
slow movement of rivers across plains.
[1642] There are two readings of this sentence; Erskine's
implies that the neck of land connecting the fort-rock with
its adjacent hill measures 7-8 _qari_ (yards) from side to
side; de Courteille's that where the great gate was, the
perpendicular fall surrounding the fort shallowed to 7-8
yards. The Turki might be read, I think, to mean whichever
alternative was the fact. Erskine's reading best bears out
Babur's account of the strength of the fort, since it allows
of a cleft between the hill and the fort some 140-160 feet
deep, as against the 21-24 of de Courteille's. Erskine may
have been in possession of information [in 1826] by which he
guided his translation (p. 300), "At its chief gate, for the
space of 7 or 8 _gez_ (_qari_), there is a place that admits
of a draw-bridge being thrown across; it may be 10 or 12 _gez_
wide." If de Courteille's reading be correct in taking 7-8
_qari_ only to be the depth of the cleft, that cleft may be
artificial.
[1643] _yighach_, which also means wood.
[1644] f. 257.
[1645] Chief scribe (f. 13 n. to `Abdu'l-wahhab). Shaw's
Vocabulary explains the word as meaning also a "high official
of Central Asian sovereigns, who is supreme over all _qazis_
and _mullas_."
[1646] Babur's persistent interest in Balkh attracts
attention, especially at this time so shortly before he does
not include it as part of his own territories (f. 270).
Since I wrote of Balkh _s.a._ 923 AH. (1517 AD.), I have
obtained the following particulars about it in that year; they
are summarized from the _Habibu's-siyar_ (lith. ed. iii, 371).
In 923 AH. Khwand-amir was in retirement at Pasht in
Ghurjistan where also was Muhammad-i-zaman Mirza. The two went
in company to Balkh where the Mirza besieged Babur's man
Ibrahim _chapuk_ (Slash-face), and treacherously murdered one
Aurdu-shah, an envoy sent out to parley with him. Information
of what was happening was sent to Babur in Kabul. Babur
reached Balkh when it had been besieged a month. His presence
caused the Mirza to retire and led him to go into the
Dara-i-gaz (Tamarind-valley). Babur, placing in Balkh
Faqir-i-`ali, one of those just come up with him, followed the
Mirza but turned back at Aq-gumbaz (White-dome) which lies
between Chach-charan in the Heri-rud valley and the Ghurjistan
border, going no further because the Ghurjistanis favoured the
Mirza. Babur went back to Kabul by the Firuz-koh, Yaka-aulang
(cf. f. 195) and Ghur; the Mirza was followed up by others,
captured and conveyed to Kabul.
[1647] Both were amirs of Hind. I understand the cognomen
Mazhab to imply that its bearer occupied himself with the
Muhammadan Faith in its exposition by divines of Islam
(_Hughes' Dictionary of Islam_).
[1648] These incidents are included in the summary of `Alam
Khan's affairs in section _i_ (f. 255_b_). It will be observed
that Babur's wording implies the "waiting" by one of lower
rank on a superior.
[1649] Elph. MS. Karnal, obviously a clerical error.
[1650] Shaikh Sulaiman Effendi (Kunos) describes a _tunqitar_
as the guardian in war of a prince's tent; a night-guard; and
as one who repeats a prayer aloud while a prince is mounting.
[1651] _rud_, which, inappropriate for the lower course of the
Ghaggar, may be due to Babur's visit to its upper course
described immediately below. As has been noted, however, he
uses the word _rud_ to describe the empty bed of a
mountain-stream as well as the swift water sometimes filling
that bed. The account, here-following, of his visit to the
upper course of the Ghaggar is somewhat difficult to
translate.
[1652] _Hindustanda daryalardin bashqa, bir aqar-su kim bar_
(_dur_, is added by the Elph. MS.), _bu dur_. Perhaps the
meaning is that the one (chief?) irrigation stream, apart from
great rivers, is the Ghaggar. The bed of the Ghaggar is
undefined and the water is consumed for irrigation (G. of I.
xx, 33; Index _s.n._ _aqar-su_).
[1653] in Patiala. Maps show what may be Babur's strong
millstream joining the Ghaggar.
[1654] Presumably he was of Ibrahim's own family, the
Sahu-khail. His defeat was opportune because he was on his way
to join the main army.
[1655] At this place the Elphinstone Codex has preserved,
interpolated in its text, a note of Humayun's on his first use
of the razor. Part of it is written as by Babur:--"Today in
this same camp the razor or scissors was applied to Humayun's
face." Part is signed by Humayun:--"As the honoured dead,
earlier in these Acts (_waqi`at_) mentions the first
application of the razor to his own face (f. 120), so in
imitation of him I mention this. I was then at the age of 18;
now I am at the age of 48, I who am the sub-signed Muhammad
Humayun." A scribe's note attests that this is "copied from
the hand-writing of that honoured one". As Humayun's 48th
(lunar) birthday occurred a month before he left Kabul, to
attempt the re-conquest of Hindustan, in November 1554 AD. (in
the last month of 961 AH.), he was still 48 (lunar) years old
on the day he re-entered Dihli on July 23rd 1555 AD. (Ramzan
1st 962 AH.), so that this "shaving passage" will have been
entered within those dates. That he should study his Father's
book at that time is natural; his grandson Jahangir did the
same when going to Kabul; so doubtless would do its author's
more remote descendants, the sons of Shah-jahan who
reconquered Transoxiana.
(Concerning the "shaving passage" _vide_ the notes on the
Elphinstone Codex in JRAS. 1900 p. 443, 451; 1902 p. 653; 1905
p. 754; and 1907 p. 131.)
[1656] This ancient town of the Saharanpur district is
associated with a saint revered by Hindus and Muhammadans. Cf.
W. Crooke's _Popular Religion of Northern India_ p. 133. Its
_chashma_ may be inferred (from Babur's uses of the word
_q.v._ Index) as a water-head, a pool, a gathering place of
springs.
[1657] He was the eighth son of Babur's maternal-uncle Sl.
Ahmad Khan _Chaghatai_ and had fled to Babur, other brothers
following him, from the service of their eldest brother
Mansur, Khaqan of the Mughuls (_Tarikh-i-rashidi_ trs. p.
161).
[1658] _fars-waqti_, when there is light enough to
distinguish one object from another.
[1659] _dim kuruldi_ (Index _s.n._ _dim_). Here the L. & E.
_Memoirs_ inserts an explanatory passage in Persian about the
_dim_. It will have been in one of the _Waqi`at-i-baburi MSS._
Erskine used; it is in Muh. _Shirazi_'s lithograph copy of the
Udaipur Codex (p. 173). It is not in the Turki text or in all
the MSS. of the Persian translation. Manifestly, it was
entered at a time when Babur's term _dim kuruldi_ requires
explanation in Hindustan. The writer of it himself does not
make details clear; he says only, "It is manifest that people
declare (the number) after counting the mounted army in the
way agreed upon amongst them, with a whip or a bow held in the
hand." This explanation suggests that in the march-past the
troops were measured off as so many bow- or whip-lengths
(Index _s.n._ _dim_).
[1660] These _araba_ may have been the baggage-carts of the
army and also carts procured on the spot. Erskine omits
(_Memoirs_ p. 304) the words which show how many carts were
collected and from whom. Doubtless it would be through not
having these circumstances in his mind that he took the
_araba_ for gun-carriages. His incomplete translation, again,
led Stanley Lane-Poole to write an interesting note in his
_Babur_ (p. 161) to support Erskine against de Courteille
(with whose rendering mine agrees) by quoting the circumstance
that Humayun had 700 guns at Qanauj in 1540 AD. It must be
said in opposition to his support of Erskine's "gun-carriages"
that there is no textual or circumstantial warrant for
supposing Babur to have had guns, even if made in parts, in
such number as to demand 700 gun-carriages for their
transport. What guns Babur had at Pani-pat will have been
brought from his Kabul base; if he had acquired any, say from
Lahor, he would hardly omit to mention such an important
reinforcement of his armament; if he had brought many guns on
carts from Kabul, he must have met with transit-difficulties
harassing enough to chronicle, while he was making that long
journey from Kabul to Pani-pat, over passes, through
skirt-hills and many fords. The elephants he had in Bigram may
have been his transport for what guns he had; he does not
mention his number at Pani-pat; he makes his victory a
bow-man's success; he can be read as indicating that he had
two guns only.
[1661] These Ottoman (text, _Rumi_, Roman) defences Ustad
`Ali-quli may have seen at the battle of Chaldiran fought some
40 leagues from Tabriz between Sl. Salim _Rumi_ and Shah
Isma`il _Safawi_ on Rajab 1st 920 AH. (Aug. 22nd 1514 AD.). Of
this battle Khwand-amir gives a long account, dwelling on the
effective use made in it of chained carts and palisades
(_Habibu's-siyar_ iii, part 4, p. 78; _Akbar-nama_ trs. i,
241).
[1662] Is this the village of the Pani Afghans?
[1663] Index _s.n._ arrow.
[1664] _Pareshan jam`i u jam`i pareshan;
Giriftar qaumi u qaumi `aja'ib._
These two lines do not translate easily without the context of
their original place of occurrence. I have not found their
source.
[1665] _i.e._ of his father and grandfather, Sikandar and
Buhlul.
[1666] As to the form of this word the authoritative MSS. of
the Turki text agree and with them also numerous good ones of
the Persian translation. I have made careful examination of
the word because it is replaced or explained here and there in
MSS. by _s:hb:ndi_, the origin of which is said to be obscure.
The sense of _b:d-hindi_ and of _s:hb:ndi_ is the same, _i.e._
irregular levy. The word as Babur wrote it must have been
understood by earlier Indian scribes of both the Turki and
Persian texts of the _Babur-nama_. Some light on its
correctness may be thought given by Hobson Jobson (Crooke's
ed. p. 136) _s.n._ Byde or Bede Horse, where the word Byde is
said to be an equivalent of _pindari_, _luti_, and _qazzaq_,
raider, plunderer, so that Babur's word _b:d-hindi_ may mean
_qazzaq_ of Hind. Wherever I have referred to the word in many
MSS. it is pointed to read _b:d_, and not _p:d_, thus
affording no warrant for understanding _pad_, foot, foot-man,
infantry, and also negativing the spelling _bid_, _i.e._ with
a long vowel as in _Byde_.
It may be noted here that Muh. _Shirazi_ (p. 174) substituted
_s:hb:ndi_ for Babur's word and that this led our friend the
late William Irvine to attribute mistake to de Courteille who
follows the Turki text (_Army of the Mughuls_ p. 66 and
_MÈmoires_ ii, 163).
[1667] _bi tajarba yigit aidi_ of which the sense may be that
Babur ranked Ibrahim, as a soldier, with a brave who has not
yet proved himself deserving of the rank of beg. It cannot
mean that he was a youth (_yigit_) without experience of
battle.
[1668] Well-known are the three decisive historical battles
fought near the town of Pani-pat, _viz._ those of Babur and
Ibrahim in 1526, of Akbar and Himu in 1556, and of Ahmad
_Abdali_ with the Mahratta Confederacy in 1761. The following
lesser particulars about the battle-field are not so
frequently mentioned:--(_i_) that the scene of Babur's victory
was long held to be haunted, Badayuni himself, passing it at
dawn some 62 years later, heard with dismay the din of
conflict and the shouts of the combatants; (_ii_) that Babur
built a (perhaps commemorative) mosque one mile to the n.e. of
the town; (_iii_) that one of the unaccomplished desires of
Sher Shah _Sur_, the conqueror of Babur's son Humayun, was to
raise two monuments on the battle-field of Pani-pat, one to
Ibrahim, the other to those Chaghatai sultans whose martyrdom
he himself had brought about; (_iv_) that in 1910 AD. the
British Government placed a monument to mark the scene of Shah
_Abdali's_ victory of 1761 AD. This monument would appear,
from Sayyid Ghulam-i-`ali's _Nigar-nama-i-hind_, to stand
close to the scene of Babur's victory also, since the
Mahrattas were entrenched as he was outside the town of
Pani-pat. (Cf. E. & D. viii, 401.)
[1669] This important date is omitted from the L. & E.
_Memoirs_.
[1670] This wording will cover armour of man and horse.
[1671] _atlanduk_, Pers. trs. _suwar shudim_. Some later
oriental writers locate Babur's battle at two or more miles
from the town of Pani-pat, and Babur's word _atlanduk_ might
imply that his cavalry rode forth and arrayed outside his
defences, but his narrative allows of his delivering attack,
through the wide sally-ports, after arraying behind the carts
and mantelets which checked his adversary's swift advance. The
Mahrattas, who may have occupied the same ground as Babur,
fortified themselves more strongly than he did, as having
powerful artillery against them. Ahmad Shah _Abdali's_ defence
against them was an ordinary ditch and _abbattis_, [Babur's
ditch and branch,] mostly of _dhak_ trees (_Butea frondosa_),
a local product Babur also is likely to have used.
[1672] The preceding three words seem to distinguish this Shah
Husain from several others of his name and may imply that he
was the son of _Yaragi Mughul Ghanchi_ (Index and I.O. 217 f.
184b l. 7).
[1673] For Babur's terms _vide_ f. 209_b_
[1674] This is Mirza Khan's son, _i.e._ Wais _Miran-shahi's_.
[1675] A dispute for this right-hand post of honour is
recorded on f. 100_b_, as also in accounts of Culloden.
[1676] _tartib u yasal_, which may include, as Erskine took it
to do, the carts and mantelets; of these however, Ibrahim can
hardly have failed to hear before he rode out of camp.
[1677] f. 217_b_ and note; Irvine's _Army of the Indian
Mughuls_ p. 133. Here Erskine notes (_Mems._ p. 306) "The size
of these artillery at this time is very uncertain. The word
_firingi_ is now (1826 AD.) used in the Deccan for a swivel.
At the present day, _zarb-zan_ in common usage is a small
species of swivel. Both words in Babur's time appear to have
been used for field-cannon." (For an account of guns,
intermediate in date between Babur and Erskine, _see_ the
_Ayin-i-akbari_. Cf. f. 264 n. on the carts (_araba_).)
[1678] Although the authority of the
_Tarikh-i-salatin-i-afaghana_ is not weighty its reproduction
of Afghan opinion is worth consideration. It says that
astrologers foretold Ibrahim's defeat; that his men, though
greatly outnumbering Babur's, were out-of-heart through his
ill-treatment of them, and his amirs in displeasure against
him, but that never-the-less, the conflict at Pani-pat was
more desperate than had ever been seen. It states that Ibrahim
fell where his tomb now is (_i.e._ in _circa_ 1002 AH.-1594
AD.); that Babur went to the spot and, prompted by his tender
heart, lifted up the head of his dead adversary, and said,
"Honour to your courage!", ordered brocade and sweetmeats made
ready, enjoined Dilawar Khan and Khalifa to bathe the corpse
and to bury it where it lay (E. & D. v, 2). Naturally, part of
the reverence shewn to the dead would be the burial together
of head and trunk.
[1679] f. 209_b_ and App. H. section _c._ Baba _chuhra_ would
be one of the corps of braves.
[1680] He was a brother of Muhibb-i-`ali's mother.
[1681] To give Humayun the title Mirza may be a scribe's
lapse, but might also be a _nuance_ of Babur's, made to shew,
with other _minutiae_, that Humayun was in chief command. The
other minute matters are that instead of Humayun's name being
the first of a simple series of commanders' names with the
enclitic accusative appended to the last one (here Wali), as
is usual, Humayun's name has its own enclitic _ni_; and,
again, the phrase is "_Humayun with_" such and such begs, a
turn of expression differentiating him from the rest. The same
unusual variations occur again, just below, perhaps with the
same intention of shewing chief command, there of Mahdi
Khwaja.
[1682] A small matter of wording attracts attention in the
preceding two sentences. Babur, who does not always avoid
verbal repetition, here constructs two sentences which, except
for the place-names Dihli and Agra, convey information of
precisely the same action in entirely different words.
[1683] d. 1325 AD. The places Babur visited near Dihli are
described in the _Reports of the Indian Archaeological
Survey_, in Sayyid Ahmad's _Asar Sanadid_ pp. 74-85, in
Keene's _Hand-book to Dihli_ and Murray's _Hand-book to Bengal
etc._ The last two quote much from the writings of Cunningham
and Fergusson.
[1684] and on the same side of the river.
[1685] d. 1235 AD. He was a native of Aush [Ush] in Farghana.
[1686] d. 1286 AD. He was a Slave ruler of Dihli.
[1687] `Alau'u'd-din Muh. Shah _Khilji Turk_ d. 1316 AD. It is
curious that Babur should specify visiting his Minar
(_minari_, Pers. trs. I.O. 217 f. 185_b_, _minar-i-au_) and
not mention the Qutb Minar. Possibly he confused the two. The
`Alai Minar remains unfinished; the Qutb is judged by
Cunningham to have been founded by Qutbu'd-din Aibak _Turk_,
_circa_ 1200 AD. and to have been completed by Sl.
Shamsu'd-din Altamsh (Ailtimish?) _Turk_, _circa_ 1220 AD. Of
the two tanks Babur visited, the Royal-tank (_hauz-i-khaz_)
was made by `Alau'u'd-din in 1293 AD.
[1688] The familiar Turki word Tughluq would reinforce much
else met with in Dihli to strengthen Babur's opinion that, as
a Turk, he had a right to rule there. Many, if not all, of the
Slave dynasty were Turks; these were followed by the Khilji
Turks, these again by the Tughluqs. Moreover the Panj-ab he
had himself taken, and lands on both sides of the Indus
further south had been ruled by Ghaznawid Turks. His latest
conquests were "where the Turk had ruled" (f. 226_b_) long,
wide, and with interludes only of non-Turki sway.
[1689] Perhaps this charity was the _Khams_ (Fifth) due from a
victor.
[1690] Bikramajit was a Tunur Rajput. Babur's unhesitating
statement of the Hindu's destination at death may be called a
fruit of conviction, rather than of what modern opinion calls
intolerance.
[1691] 120 years (Cunningham's _Report of the Archaeological
Survey_ ii, 330 _et seq._).
[1692] The _Tarikh-i-sher-shahi_ tells a good deal about the
man who bore this title, and also about others who found
themselves now in difficulty between Ibrahim's tyranny and
Babur's advance (E. & D. iv, 301).
[1693] Gualiar was taken from Bikramajit in 1518 AD.
[1694] _i.e._ from the Deccan of which `Alau'u'd-din is said
to have been the first Muhammadan invader. An account of this
diamond, identified as the Koh-i-nur, is given in _Hobson
Jobson_ but its full history is not told by Yule or by
Streeter's _Great Diamonds of the World_, neither mentioning
the presentation of the diamond by Humayun to Tahmasp of which
Abu'l-fazl writes, dwelling on its overplus of payment for all
that Humayun in exile received from his Persian host
(_Akbar-nama_ trs. i, 349 and note; _Asiatic Quarterly
Review_, April 1899 H. Beveridge's art. _Babur's diamond_;
_was it the Koh-i-nur?_).
[1695] 320 _ratis_ (Erskine). The _rati_ is 2.171 Troy grains,
or in picturesque primitive equivalents, is 8 grains of rice,
or 64 mustard seeds, or 512 poppy-seeds,--uncertain weights
which Akbar fixed in cat's-eye stones.
[1696] Babur's plurals allow the supposition that the three
men's lives were spared. Malik Dad served him thenceforth.
[1697] Erskine estimated these as _dams_ and worth about
£1750, but this may be an underestimate (_H. of I._ i, App.
E.).
[1698] "These begs of his" (or hers) may be the three written
of above.
[1699] These will include cousins and his half-brothers
Jahangir and Nasir as opposing before he took action in 925
AH. (1519 AD.). The time between 910 AH. and 925 AH. at which
he would most desire Hindustan is after 920 AH. in which year
he returned defeated from Transoxiana.
[1700] _kichik karim_, which here seems to make contrast
between the ruling birth of members of his own family and the
lower birth of even great begs still with him. Where the
phrase occurs on f. 295, Erskine renders it by "down to the
dregs", and de Courteille (ii, 235) by "_de toutes les
bouches_" but neither translation appears to me to suit
Babur's uses of the term, inasmuch as both seem to go too low
(cf. f. 270_b_).
[1701] _aiurushub_, Pers. trs. _chaspida_, stuck to.
[1702] The first expedition is fixed by the preceding passage
as in 925 AH. which was indeed the first time a passage of the
Indus is recorded. Three others are found recorded, those of
926, 930 and 932 AH. Perhaps the fifth was not led by Babur in
person, and may be that of his troops accompanying `Alam Khan
in 931 AH. But he may count into the set of five, the one made
in 910 AH. which he himself meant to cross the Indus. Various
opinions are found expressed by European writers as to the
dates of the five.
[1703] Muhammad died 632 AD. (11 AH.).
[1704] Tramontana, n. of Hindu-kush. For particulars about the
dynasties mentioned by Babur see Stanley Lane-Poole's
_Muhammadan Dynasties_.
[1705] Mahmud of Ghazni, a Turk by race, d. 1030 AD. (421
AH.).
[1706] known as Muh. _Ghuri_, d. 1206 AD. (602 AH.).
[1707] _surubturlar_, lit. drove them like sheep (cf. f.
154b).
[1708] _khud_, itself, not Babur's only Hibernianism.
[1709] "This is an excellent history of the Musalman world
down to the time of Sl. Nasir of Dihli A.D. 1252. It was
written by Abu `Umar Minhaj al Jurjani. See Stewart's
catalogue of Tipoo's Library, p. 7" (Erskine). It has been
translated by Raverty.
[1710] _bargustwan-war_; Erskine, cataphract horse.
[1711] The numerous instances of the word _padshah_ in this
part of the _Babur-nama_ imply no such distinction as attaches
to the title Emperor by which it is frequently translated
(Index _s.n._ _padshah_).
[1712] d. 1500 AD. (905 AH.).
[1713] d. 1388 AD. (790 AH.).
[1714] The ancestor mentioned appears to be Nasrat Shah, a
grandson of Firuz Shah _Tughluq_ (S. L. Poole p. 300 and
Beale, 298).
[1715] His family belonged to the Rajput sept of Tank, and had
become Muhammadan in the person of Sadharan the first ruler of
Gujrat (Crooke's _Tribes and Castes; Mirat-i-sikandari_,
Bayley p. 67 and n.).
[1716] S. L.-Poole p. 316-7.
[1717] Mandau (Mandu) was the capital of Malwa.
[1718] Stanley Lane-Poole shews (p. 311) a dynasty of three
Ghuris interposed between the death of Firuz Shah in 790 AH.
and the accession in 839 AH. of the first Khilji ruler of
Gujrat Mahmud Shah.
[1719] He reigned from 1518 to 1532 AD. (925 to 939 AH.
S.L.-P. p. 308) and had to wife a daughter of Ibrahim _Ludi_
(_Riyazu's-salatin_). His dynasty was known as the
Husain-shahi, after his father.
[1720] "Strange as this custom may seem, a similar one
prevailed down to a very late period in Malabar. There was a
jubilee every 12 years in the Samorin's country, and any-one
who succeeded in forcing his way through the Samorin's guards
and slew him, reigned in his stead. 'A jubilee is proclaimed
throughout his dominions at the end of 12 years, and a tent is
pitched for him in a spacious plain, and a great feast is
celebrated for 10 or 12 days with mirth and jollity, guns
firing night and day, so, at the end of the feast, any four of
the guests that have a mind to gain a throne by a desperate
action in fighting their way through 30 or 40,000 of his
guards, and kill the Samorin in his tent, he that kills him,
succeeds him in his empire.' See Hamilton's _New Account of
the East Indies_ vol. i. p. 309. The attempt was made in 1695,
and again a very few years ago, but without success" (Erskine
p. 311).
The custom Babur writes of--it is one dealt with at length in
Frazer's _Golden Bough_--would appear from Blochmann's
_Geography and History of Bengal_ (JASB 1873 p. 286) to have
been practised by the Habshi rulers of Bengal of whom he
quotes Faria y Souza as saying, "They observe no rule of
inheritance from father to son, but even slaves sometimes
obtain it by killing their master, and whoever holds it three
days, they look upon as established by divine providence. Thus
it fell out that in 40 years space they had 13 kings
successively."
[1721] No doubt this represents Vijayanagar in the Deccan.
[1722] This date places the composition of the _Description of
Hindustan_ in agreement with Shaikh Zain's statement that it
was in writing in 935 AH.
[1723] Are they the Khas of Nepal and Sikkim? (G. of I.).
[1724] Here Erskine notes that the Persian (trs.) adds, "_mir_
signifying a hill, and _kas_ being the name of the natives of
the hill-country." This may not support the name _kas_ as
correct but may be merely an explanation of Babur's meaning.
It is not in I.O. 217 f. 189 or in Muh. _Shirazi_'s
lithographed _Waqi`at-i-baburi_ p. 190.
[1725] Either yak or the tassels of the yak. See Appendix M.
[1726] My husband tells me that Babur's authority for this
interpretation of Sawalak may be the _Zafar-nama_ (Bib. Ind.
ed. ii, 149).
[1727] _i.e._ the countries of Hindustan.
[1728] so pointed, carefully, in the Hai. MS. Mr. Erskine
notes of these rivers that they are the Indus, Hydaspes,
Ascesines, Hydraotes, Hesudrus and Hyphasis.
[1729] _Ayin-i-akbari_, Jarrett 279.
[1730] _parcha parcha_, _kichikrak kichikrak_, _anda munda_,
_tashliq taqghina_. The Gazetteer of India (1907 i, 1) puts
into scientific words, what Babur here describes, the ruin of
a great former range.
[1731] Here _aqar-sular_ might safely be replaced by
"irrigation channels" (Index _s.n._).
[1732] The verb here is _tashmaq_; it also expresses to carry
like ants (f. 220), presumably from each person's carrying a
pitcher or a stone at a time, and repeatedly.
[1733] "This" notes Erskine (p. 315) "is the _wulsa_ or
_walsa_, so well described by Colonel Wilks in his Historical
Sketches vol. i. p. 309, note 'On the approach of an hostile
army, the unfortunate inhabitants of India bury under ground
their most cumbrous effects, and each individual, man, woman,
and child above six years of age (the infant children being
carried by their mothers), with a load of grain proportioned
to their strength, issue from their beloved homes, and take
the direction of a country (if such can be found,) exempt from
the miseries of war; sometimes of a strong fortress, but more
generally of the most unfrequented hills and woods, where they
prolong a miserable existence until the departure of the
enemy, and if this should be protracted beyond the time for
which they have provided food, a large portion necessarily
dies of hunger.' See the note itself. The Historical Sketches
should be read by every-one who desires to have an accurate
idea of the South of India. It is to be regretted that we do
not possess the history of any other part of India, written
with the same knowledge or research."
"The word _wulsa_ or _walsa_ is Dravidian. Telugu has
_valasa_, 'emigration, flight, or removing from home for fear
of a hostile army.' Kanarese has _valase_, _olase_, and
_olise_, 'flight, a removing from home for fear of a hostile
army.' Tamil has _valasei_, 'flying for fear, removing
hastily.' The word is an interesting one. I feel pretty sure
it is not Aryan, but Dravidian; and yet it stands alone in
Dravidian, with nothing that I can find in the way of a root
or affinities to explain its etymology. Possibly it may be a
borrowed word in Dravidian. Malayalam has no corresponding
word. Can it have been borrowed from Kolarian or other
primitive Indian speech?" (Letter to H. Beveridge from Mr. F.
E. Pargiter, 8th August, 1914.)
_Wulsa_ seems to be a derivative from Sanscrit _ulvash_, and
to answer to Persian _wairani_ and Turki _buzughlughi_.
[1734] _lalmi_, which in Afghani (Pushtu) signifies grown
without irrigation.
[1735] "The improvement of Hindustan since Babur's time must
be prodigious. The wild elephant is now confined to the
forests under Hemala, and to the Ghats of Malabar. A wild
elephant near Karrah, Manikpur, or Kalpi, is a thing, at the
present day (1826 AD.), totally unknown. May not their
familiar existence in these countries down to Babur's days, be
considered rather hostile to the accounts given of the
superabundant population of Hindustan in remote times?"
(Erskine).
[1736] _diwan._ I.O. 217 f. 190b, _dar diwan fil jawab
miguind_; Mems. p. 316. They account to the government for the
elephants they take; _MÈms._ ii, 188, _Les habitants payent
l'impÙt avec le produit de leur chasse_. Though de
Courteille's reading probably states the fact, Erskine's
includes de C.'s and more, inasmuch as it covers all captures
and these might reach to a surplusage over the imposts.
[1737] Pers. trs. _gaz_=24 inches. _Il est bon de rappeler que
le mot turk qari, que la version persane rend par gaz, dÈsigne
proprement l'espace compris entre le haut de l'Èpaule jusqu'au
bout des doigts_ (de Courteille, ii, 189 note). The _qari_
like one of its equivalents, the ell (Zenker), is a variable
measure; it seems to approach more nearly to a yard than to a
_gaz_ of 24 inches. See _Memoirs of Jahangir_ (R. & B. pp. 18,
141 and notes) for the heights of elephants, and for
discussion of some measures.
[1738] _khud_, itself.
[1739] _i.e._ pelt; as Erskine notes, its skin is scattered
with small hairs. Details such as this one stir the question,
for whom was Babur writing? Not for Hindustan where what he
writes is patent; hardly for Kabul; perhaps for Transoxiana.
[1740] Shaikh Zain's wording shows this reference to be to a
special piece of artillery, perhaps that of f. 302.
[1741] A string of camels contains from five to seven, or, in
poetry, even more (Vullers, ii, 728, _sermone poetico series
decem camelorum_). The item of food compared is corn only
(_bughuz_) and takes no account therefore of the elephant's
green food.
[1742] The Ency. Br. states that the horn seldom exceeds a
foot in length; there is one in the B.M. measuring 18 inches.
[1743] ab-khwura kishti, water-drinker's boat, in which name
kishti may be used with reference to shape as boat is in
_sauce-boat_. Erskine notes that rhinoceros-horn is supposed
to sweat on approach of poison.
[1744] _ailik_, Pers. trs. _angusht_, finger, each seemingly
representing about one inch, a hand's thickness, a finger's
breadth.
[1745] lit. hand (_qul_) and leg (_but_).
[1746] The anatomical details by which Babur supports this
statement are difficult to translate, but his grouping of the
two animals is in agreement with the modern classification of
them as two of the three _Ungulata vera_, the third being the
tapir (Fauna of British India:--Mammals, Blanford 467 and,
illustration, 468).
[1747] De Courteille (ii, 190) reads _kumuk_, osseuse; Erskine
reads _gumuk_, marrow.
[1748] Index _s.n._ rhinoceros.
[1749] _Bos bubalus._
[1750] "so as to grow into the flesh" (Erskine, p. 317).
[1751] _sic_ in text. It may be noted that the name _nil-gai_,
common in general European writings, is that of the cow;
_nil-gau_, that of the bull (Blanford).
[1752] _b:h:ri qutas_; _see_ Appendix M.
[1753] The doe is brown (Blanford, p. 518). The word _bughu_
(stag) is used alone just below and seems likely to represent
the bull of the Asiatic wapiti (f. 4 n. on _bughu-maral_.)
[1754] _Axis porcinus_ (Jerdon, _Cervus porcinus_).
[1755] _Saiga tartarica_ (Shaw). Turki _huna_ is used, like
English deer, for male, female, and both. Here it seems
defined by _airkaki_ to mean stag or buck.
[1756] _Antelope cervicapra_, black-buck, so called from the
dark hue of its back (Yule's H.J. _s.n._ Black-buck).
[1757] _tuyuq_, underlined in the Elph. MS. by _kura_,
cannon-ball; Erskine, foot-ball, de Courteille, _pierre plus
grosse que la cheville_ (_tuyaq_).
[1758] This mode of catching antelopes is described in the
_Ayin-i-akbari_, and is noted by Erskine as common in his day.
[1759] _H. gaina._ It is 3 feet high (Yule's H.J. _s.n._
Gynee). Cf. A. A. Blochmann, p. 149. The ram with which it is
compared may be that of _Ovis ammon_ (VignÈ's _Kashmir etc._
ii, 278).
[1760] Here the Pers. trs. adds:--They call this kind of monkey
_langur_ (baboon, I.O. 217 f. 192).
[1761] Here the Pers. trs. adds what Erskine mistakenly
attributes to Babur:--People bring it from several
islands.--They bring yet another kind from several islands,
yellowish-grey in colour like a _pustin tin_ (leather coat of
?; Erskine, skin of the fig, _tin_). Its head is broader and
its body much larger than those of other monkeys. It is very
fierce and destructive. It is singular _quod penis ejus semper
sit erectus, et nunquam non ad coitum idoneus_ [Erskine].
[1762] This name is explained on the margin of the Elph. MS.
as "_rasu_, which is the weasel of Tartary" (Erskine). _Rasu_
is an Indian name for the squirrel _Sciurus indicus_. The
_kish_, with which Babur's _nul_ is compared, is explained by
de C. as _belette_, weasel, and by Steingass as a fur-bearing
animal; the fur-bearing weasel is (_Mustelidae_) _putorius
ermina_, the ermine-weasel (Blanford, p. 165), which thus
seems to be Babur's _kish_. The alternative name Babur gives
for his _nul_, _i.e._ _mush-i-khurma_, is, in India, that of
_Sciurus palmarum_, the palm-squirrel (G. of I. i, 227); this
then, it seems that Babur's _nul_ is. Erskine took _nul_ here
to be the mongoose (_Herpestes mungus_) (p. 318); and
Blanford, perhaps partly on Erskine's warrant, gives
_mush-i-khurma_ as a name of the lesser _mungus_ of Bengal. I
gather that the name _nawal_ is not exclusively confined even
now to the (_mungus_.)
[1763] If this be a tree-mouse and not a squirrel, it may be
_Vandeleuria oleracea_ (G. of I. i, 228).
[1764] The notes to this section are restricted to what serves
to identify the birds Babur mentions, though temptation is
great to add something to this from the mass of interesting
circumstance scattered in the many writings of observers and
lovers of birds. I have thought it useful to indicate to what
language a bird's name belongs.
[1765] Persian, _gul_; English, eyes.
[1766] _qulach_ (Zenker, p. 720); Pers. trs. (217 f. 192_b_)
_yak qad-i-adm_; de Courteille, _brasse_ (fathom). These three
are expressions of the measure from finger-tip to finger-tip
of a man's extended arms, which should be his height, a fathom
(6 feet).
[1767] _qanat_, of which here "primaries" appears to be the
correct rendering, since Jerdon says (ii, 506) of the bird
that its "wings are striated black and white, primaries and
tail deep chestnut".
[1768] The _qirghawal_, which is of the pheasant species, when
pursued, will take several flights immediately after each
other, though none long; peacocks, it seems, soon get tired
and take to running (Erskine).
[1769] Ar. _barraq_, as on f. 278_b_ last line where the Elph.
MS. has _barraq_, marked with the _tashdid_.
[1770] This was, presumably, just when Babur was writing the
passage.
[1771] This sentence is in Arabic.
[1772] A Persian note, partially expunged from the text of the
Elph. MS. is to the effect that 4 or 5 other kinds of parrot
are heard of which the revered author did not see.
[1773] Erskine suggests that this may be the _loory_
(_Loriculus vernalis_, Indian loriquet).
[1774] The birds Babur classes under the name _sharak_ seem to
include what Oates and Blanford (whom I follow as they give
the results of earlier workers) class under _Sturnus_,
_Eulabes_ and _Calornis_, starling, grackle and mina, and
tree-stare (_Fauna of British India_, Oates, vols. i and ii,
Blanford, vols. iii and iv).
[1775] Turki, _qaba_; Ilminsky, p. 361, _tang_ (_tund_?).
[1776] E. D. Ross's _Polyglot List of Birds_, p. 314,
_Chighir-chiq_, Northern swallow; Elph. MS. f. 230_b_
interlined _jil_ (Steingass lark). The description of the bird
allows it to be _Sturnus humii_, the Himalayan starling
(Oates, i, 520).
[1777] Elph. and Hai. MSS. (Sans. and Bengali) _p:ndui_; two
good MSS. of the Pers. trs. (I.O. 217 and 218) _p:ndawali_;
Ilminsky (p. 361) _mina_; Erskine (_Mems._ p. 319)
_pindaweli_, but without his customary translation of an
Indian name. The three forms shewn above can all mean "having
protuberance or lump" (_pinda_) and refer to the bird's
wattle. But the word of the presumably well-informed scribes
of I.O. 217 and 218 can refer to the bird's sagacity in speech
and be _pandawali_, possessed of wisdom. With the same
spelling, the word can translate into the epithet _religiosa_,
given to the wattled _mina_ by LinnÊus. This epithet Mr.
Leonard Wray informs me has been explained to him as due to
the frequenting of temples by the birds; and that in Malaya
they are found living in cotes near Chinese temples.--An
alternative name (one also connecting with _religiosa_)
allowed by the form of the word is _binda-wali_. H. _binda_ is
a mark on the forehead, made as a preparative to devotion by
Hindus, or in Sans. and _Bengali_, is the spot of paint made
on an elephant's trunk; the meaning would thus be "having a
mark". Cf. Jerdon and Oates _s.n._ _Eulabes religiosa_.
[1778] _Eulabes intermedia_, the Indian grackle or hill-mina.
Here the Pers. trs. adds that people call it _mina_.
[1779] _Calornis chalybeius_, the glossy starling or
tree-stare, which never descends to the ground.
[1780] _Sturnopastor contra_, the pied mina.
[1781] Part of the following passage about the _luja_ (var.
_lukha_, _lucha_) is _verbatim_ with part of that on f. 135;
both were written about 934-5 AH. as is shewn by Shaikh Zain
(Index _s.n._) and by inference from references in the text
(Index _s.n._ B.N. date of composition). _See_ Appendix N.
[1782] Lit. mountain-partridge. There is ground for
understanding that one of the birds known in the region as
_monals_ is meant. _See_ Appendix N.
[1783] Sans. _chakora_; Ar. _durraj_; P. _kabg_; T. _kiklik_.
[1784] Here, probably, southern Afghanistan.
[1785] _Caccabis chukur_ (Scully, Shaw's Vocabulary) or _C.
pallescens_ (Hume, quoted under No. 126 E. D. Ross' _Polyglot
List_).
[1786] "In some parts of the country (_i.e._ India before 1841
AD.), tippets used to be made of the beautiful black,
white-spotted feathers of the lower plumage (of the _durraj_),
and were in much request, but they are rarely procurable now"
(_Bengal Sporting Magazine_ for 1841, quoted by Jerdon, ii,
561).
[1787] A broad collar of red passes round the whole neck
(Jerdon, ii, 558).
[1788] Ar. _durraj_ means one who repeats what he hears, a
tell-tale.
[1789] Various translations have been made of this passage, "I
have milk and sugar" (Erskine), "_J'ai du lait, un peu de
sucre_" (de Courteille), but with short _sh:r_, it might be
read in more than one way ignoring milk and sugar. See Jerdon,
ii, 558 and Hobson Jobson _s.n._ Black-partridge.
[1790] Flower-faced, _Trapogon melanocephala_, the horned
(_sing_)-monal. It is described by Jahangir (_Memoirs_, R. and
B., ii, 220) under the names [H. and P.] _phul-paikar_ and
Kashmiri, _sonlu_.
[1791] _Gallus sonneratii_, the grey jungle-fowl.
[1792] Perhaps _Bambusicola fytchii_, the western
bambu-partridge. For _chil_ see E. D. Ross, _l.c._ No. 127.
[1793] Jahangir (_l.c._) describes, under the Kashmiri name
_put_, what may be this bird. It seems to be _Gallus
ferrugineus_, the red jungle-fowl (Blanford, iv, 75).
[1794] Jahangir helps to identify the bird by mentioning its
elongated tail-feathers,--seasonal only.
[1795] The migrant quail will be _Coturnix communis_, the grey
quail, 8 inches long; what it is compared with seems likely to
be the bush-quail, which is non-migrant and shorter.
[1796] Perhaps _Perdicula argunda_, the rock bush-quail, which
flies in small coveys.
[1797] Perhaps _Coturnix coromandelica_, the black-breasted or
rain quail, 7 inches long.
[1798] Perhaps _Motacilla citreola_, a yellow wag-tail which
summers in Central Asia (Oates, ii, 298). If so, its Kabul
name may refer to its flashing colour. Cf. E. D. Ross, _l.c._
No. 301; de Courteille's _Dictionary_ which gives _qarcha_,
wag-tail, and Zenker's which fixes the colour.
[1799] _Eupodotis edwardsii_; Turki, _tughdar_ or _tughdiri_.
[1800] Erskine noting (Mems. p. 321), that the bustard is
common in the Dakkan where it is bigger than a turkey, says it
is called _tughdar_ and suggests that this is a corruption of
_tughdaq_. The uses of both words are shewn by Babur, here,
and in the next following, account of the _charz_. Cf. G. of
I. i, 260 and E. D. Ross _l.c._ Nos. 36, 40.
[1801] _Sypheotis bengalensis_ and _S. aurita_, which are both
smaller than _Otis houbara_ (_tughdiri_). In Hindustan _S.
aurita_ is known as _likh_ which name is the nearest approach
I have found to Babur's [_luja_] _lukha_.
[1802] Jerdon mentions (ii, 615) that this bird is common in
Afghanistan and there called _dugdaor_ (_tughdar_,
_tughdiri_).
[1803] _Cf._ Appendix B, since I wrote which, further
information has made it fairly safe to say that the Hindustan
_baghri-qara_ is _Pterocles exustus_, the common sand-grouse
and that the one of f. 49b is _Pterocles arenarius_, the
larger or black-bellied sand-grouse. _P. exustus_ is said by
Yule (H. J. _s.n._ Rock-pigeon) to have been miscalled
rock-pigeon by Anglo-Indians, perhaps because its flight
resembles the pigeon's. This accounts for Erskine's rendering
(p. 321) _baghri-qara_ here by rock-pigeon.
[1804] _Leptoptilus dubius_, Hind. _hargila_. Hindustanis call
it _pir-i-ding_ (Erskine) and _peda dhauk_ (Blanford), both
names referring, perhaps, to its pouch. It is the adjutant of
Anglo-India. Cf. f. 235.
[1805] only when young (Blanford, ii, 188).
[1806] Elph. MS. _mank:sa_ or _mankia_; Hai. MS. _m:nk_.
Haughton's _Bengali Dictionary_ gives two forms of the name
_manek-jur_ and _manak-yoi_. It is _Dissura episcopus_, the
white-necked stork (Blanford iv, 370, who gives _manik-jor_
amongst its Indian names). Jerdon classes it (ii, 737) as
_Ciconia leucocephala_. It is the beefsteak bird of
Anglo-India.
[1807] _Ciconia nigra_ (Blanford, iv, 369).
[1808] Under the Hindustani form, _buza_, of Persian _buzak_
the birds Babur mentions as _buzak_ can be identified. The
large one is _Inocotis papillosus_, _buza_, _kala buza_, black
curlew, king-curlew. The bird it equals in size is a buzzard,
Turki _sar_ (not Persian _sar_, starling). The king-curlew has
a large white patch on the inner lesser and marginal coverts
of its wings (Blanford, iv, 303). This agrees with Babur's
statement about the wings of the large _buzak_. Its length is
27 inches, while the starling's is 9-1/2 inches.
[1809] _Ibis melanocephala_, the white ibis, Pers. _safed
buzak_, Bengali _sabut buza_. It is 30 inches long.
[1810] Perhaps, _Plegadis falcinellus_, the glossy ibis, which
in most parts of India is a winter visitor. Its length is 25
inches.
[1811] Erskine suggests that this is _Platalea leucorodia_,
the _chamach-buza_, spoon-bill. It is 33 inches long.
[1812] _Anas poecilorhyncha._ The Hai. MS. writes _gharm-pai_,
and this is the Indian name given by Blanford (iv, 437).
[1813] _Anas boschas._ Dr. Ross notes (No. 147), from the
_Sanglakh_, that _suna_ is the drake, _burchin_, the duck and
that it is common in China to call a certain variety of bird
by the combined sex-names. Something like this is shewn by the
uses of _bugha_ and _maral_ _q.v._ Index.
[1814] _Centropus rufipennis_, the common coucal (Yule's H.J.
_s.n._ Crow-pheasant); H. _makokha_, _Cuculus castaneus_
(Buchanan, quoted by Forbes).
[1815] _Pteropus edwardsii_, the flying-fox. The inclusion of
the bat here amongst birds, may be a clerical accident, since
on f. 136 a flying-fox is not written of as a bird.
[1816] Babur here uses what is both the Kabul and Andijan name
for the magpie, Ar. _`aqqa_ (Oates, i, 31 and Scully's Voc),
instead of T. _saghizghan_ or P. _dam-sicha_ (tail-wagger).
[1817] The Pers. trs. writes _sandulach mamula_, _mamula_
being Arabic for wag-tail. De Courteille's Dictionary
describes the _sandulach_ as small and having a long tail, the
cock-bird green, the hen, yellow. The wag-tail suiting this in
colouring is _Motacilla borealis_ (Oates, ii, 294; syn.
_Budytes viridis_, the green wag-tail); this, as a migrant,
serves to compare with the Indian "little bird", which seems
likely to be a red-start.
[1818] This word may represent Scully's _kirich_ and be the
Turki name for a swift, perhaps _Cypselus affinis_.
[1819] This name is taken from its cry during the breeding
season (Yule's H.J. _s.n._ Koel).
[1820] Babur's distinction between the three crocodiles he
mentions seems to be that of names he heard, _shir-abi_,
_siyah-sar_, and _gharial_.
[1821] In this passage my husband finds the explanation of two
somewhat vague statements of later date, one made by
Abu'l-fazl (A. A. Blochmann, p. 65) that Akbar called the
_kilas_ (cherry) the _shah-alu_ (king-plum), the other by
Jahangir that this change was made because _kilas_ means
lizard (_Jahangir's Memoirs_, R. & B. i, 116). What Akbar did
is shewn by Babur; it was to reject the _Persian_ name
_kilas_, cherry, because it closely resembled _Turki gilas_,
lizard. There is a lizard _Stellio Lehmanni_ of Transoxiana
with which Babur may well have compared the crocodile's
appearance (Schuyler's _Turkistan_, i, 383). Akbar in
Hindustan may have had _Varanus salvator_ (6 ft. long) in
mind, if indeed he had not the great lizard, _al lagarto_, the
alligator itself in his thought. The name _kilas_ evidently
was banished only from the Court circle, since it is still
current in Kashmir (Blochmann _l.c._ p. 616); and Speede (p.
201) gives _keeras_, cherry, as used in India.
[1822] This name as now used, is that of the purely
fish-eating crocodile. [In the Turki text Babur's account of
the _gharial_ follows that of the porpoise; but it is grouped
here with those of the two other crocodiles.]
[1823] As the Hai. MS. and also I.O. 216 f. 137 (Pers. trs.)
write _kalah_ (_galah_)-fish, this may be a large cray-fish.
One called by a name approximating to _galah_-fish is found in
Malayan waters, _viz._ the _galah_-prawn (_hudang_) (cf.
Bengali _gula-chingri_, _gula_-prawn, Haughton). _Galah_ and
_gula_ may express lament made when the fish is caught
(Haughton pp. 931, 933, 952); or if _kalah_ be read, this may
express scolding. Two good MSS. of the _Waqi`at-i-baburi_
(Pers. trs.) write _kaka_; and their word cannot but have
weight. Erskine reproduces _kaka_ but offers no explanation of
it, a failure betokening difficulty in his obtaining one. My
husband suggests that _kaka_ may represent a stuttering sound,
doing so on the analogy of Vullers' explanation of the
word,--_Vir ridiculus et facetus qui simul balbutiat_; and also
he inclines to take the fish to be a crab (_kakra_). Possibly
_kaka_ is a popular or vulgar name for a cray-fish or a crab.
Whether the sound is lament, scolding, or stuttering the
fisherman knows! Shaikh Zain enlarges Babur's notice of this
fish; he says the bones are prolonged (_bar awarda_) from the
ears, that these it agitates at time of capture, making a
noise like the word _kaka_ by which it is known, that it is
two _wajab_ (18 in.) long, its flesh surprisingly tasty, and
that it is very active, leaping a _gaz_ (_cir._ a yard) out of
the water when the fisherman's net is set to take it. For
information about the Malayan fish, I am indebted to Mr. Cecil
Wray.
[1824] T. _qiy¸nlighi_, presumably referring to spines or
difficult bones; T. _qin_, however, means a scabbard [Shaw].
[1825] One of the common frogs is a small one which, when
alarmed, jumps along the surface of the water (G. of I. i,
273).
[1826] _Anb_ and _anbah_ (pronounced _amb_ and _ambah_) are
now less commonly used names than _am_. It is an interesting
comment on Babur's words that Abu'l-fazl spells _anb_, letter
by letter, and says that the _b_ is quiescent (_Ayin_ 28; for
the origin of the word mango, _vide_ Yule's H.J. _s.n._).
[1827] A corresponding diminutive would be fairling.
[1828] The variants, entered in parenthesis, are found in the
Bib. Ind. ed. of the _Ayin-i-akbari_ p. 75 and in a (bazar)
copy of the _Quranu's-sa`dain_ in my husband's possession. As
Amir Khusrau was a poet of Hindustan, either _khwash_
(_khwesh_) [our own] or _ma_ [our] would suit his meaning. The
couplet is, literally:--
Our fairling, [_i.e._ mango] beauty-maker of the garden,
Fairest fruit of Hindustan.
[1829] Daulat Khan _Yusuf-khail Ludi_ in 929 AH. sent Babur a
gift of mangoes preserved in honey (_in loco_ p. 440).
[1830] I have learned nothing more definite about the word
_kardi_ than that it is the name of a superior kind of peach
(_Ghiyasu'l-lughat_).
[1831] The preceding sentence is out of place in the Turki
text; it may therefore be a marginal note, perhaps not made by
Babur.
[1832] This sentence suggests that Babur, writing in Agra or
Fathpur did not there see fine mango-trees.
[1833] See Yule's H.J. on the plantain, the banana of the
West.
[1834] This word is a descendant of Sanscrit _mocha_, and
parent of _musa_ the botanical name of the fruit (Yule).
[1835] Shaikh Effendi (Kunos), Zenker and de Courteille say of
this only that it is the name of a tree. Shaw gives a name
that approaches it, _arman_, a grass, a weed; Scully explains
this as _Artemisia vulgaris_, wormwood, but Roxburgh gives no
_Artemisia_ having a leaf resembling the plantain's. Scully
has _aramadan_, unexplained, which, like _aman-qara_, may
refer to comfort in shade. Babur's comparison will be with
something known in Transoxiana. Maize has general resemblance
with the plantain. So too have the names of the plants, since
_mocha_ and _mauz_ stand for the plantain and (Hindi) _muka'i_
for maize. These incidental resemblances bear, however
lightly, on the question considered in the Ency. Br. (art.
maize) whether maize was early in Asia or not; some writers
hold that it was; if Babur's _aman-qara_ were maize, maize
will have been familiar in Transoxiana in his day.
[1836] Abu'l-fazl mentions that the plantain-tree bears no
second crop unless cut down to the stump.
[1837] Babur was fortunate not to have met with a seed-bearing
plantain.
[1838] The ripe "dates" are called P. _tamar-i Hind_, whence
our tamarind, and _Tamarindus Indica_.
[1839] _Sophora alopecuroides_, a leguminous plant (Scully).
[1840] Abu'l-fazl gives _galaunda_ as the name of the "fruit"
[_mewa_],--Forbes, as that of the fallen flower. Cf. Brandis p.
426 and Yule's H.J. _s.n._ Mohwa.
[1841] Babur seems to say that spirit is extracted from both
the fresh and the dried flowers. The fresh ones are favourite
food with deer and jackals; they have a sweet spirituous
taste. Erskine notes that the spirit made from them was
well-known in Bombay by the name of Moura, or of Parsi-brandy,
and that the farm of it was a considerable article of revenue
(p. 325 n.). Roxburgh describes it as strong and intoxicating
(p. 411).
[1842] This is the name of a green, stoneless grape which when
dried, results in a raisin resembling the sultanas of Europe
(_Jahangir's Memoirs_ and Yule's H.J. _s.n._; Griffiths'
_Journal of Travel_ pp. 359, 388).
[1843] _Aul_, lit. the _aul_ of the flower. The Persian
translation renders _aul_ by _bu_ which may allow both words
to be understood in their (root) sense of _being_, _i.e._
natural state. De Courteille translates by _quand la fleur est
fraÓche_ (ii, 210); Erskine took _bu_ to mean smell (_Memoirs_
p. 325), but the _aul_ it translates, does not seem to have
this meaning. For reading _aul_ as "the natural state", there
is circumstantial support in the flower's being eaten raw
(Roxburgh). The annotator of the Elphinstone MS. [whose
defacement of that Codex has been often mentioned], has added
points and _tashdid_ to the _aul-i_ (_i.e._ its _aul_), so as
to produce _awwali_ (first, f. 235). Against this there are
the obvious objections that the Persian translation does not
reproduce, and that its _bu_ does not render _awwali_; also
that _aul-i_ is a noun with its enclitic genitive _ya_ (_i_).
[1844] This word seems to be meant to draw attention to the
various merits of the _mahuwa_ tree.
[1845] Erskine notes that this is not to be confounded with E.
_jambu_, the rose-apple (_Memoirs_ p. 325 n.). Cf. Yule's H.J.
_s.n. Jambu_.
[1846] var. _ghat-alu_, _ghab-alu_, _ghain-alu_, _shafl-alu_.
Scully enters _`ain-alu_ (true-plum?) unexplained. The
_kamrak_ fruit is 3 in. long (Brandis) and of the size of a
lemon (Firminger); dimensions which make Babur's 4 _ailik_
(hand's-thickness) a slight excess only, and which thus allow
_ailik_, with its Persion translation, _angusht_, to be
approximately an inch.
[1847] Speede, giving the fruit its Sanscrit name _kamarunga_,
says it is acid, rather pleasant, something like an insipid
apple; also that its pretty pink blossoms grow on the trunk
and main branches (i, 211).
[1848] Cf. Yule's H.J. _s.n._ jack-fruit. In a Calcutta
nurseryman's catalogue of 1914 AD. three kinds of jack-tree
are offered for sale, viz. "Crispy or Khaja, Soft or Neo,
Rose-scented" (Seth, Feronia Nursery).
[1849] The _gipa_ is a sheep's stomach stuffed with rice,
minced meat, and spices, and boiled as a pudding. The
resemblance of the jack, as it hangs on the tree, to the
haggis, is wonderfully complete (Erskine).
[1850] These when roasted have the taste of chestnuts.
[1851] Firminger (p. 186) describes an ingenious method of
training.
[1852] For a note of Humayun's on the jack-fruit _see_
Appendix O.
[1853] _aid-i-yaman aimas._ It is somewhat curious that Babur
makes no comment on the odour of the jack itself.
[1854] _bush_, English bosh (Shaw). The Persian translation
inserts no more about this fruit.
[1855] Steingass applies this name to the plantain.
[1856] Erskine notes that "this is the bullace-plum, small,
not more than twice as large as the sloe and not so
high-flavoured; it is generally yellow, sometimes red." Like
Babur, Brandis enumerates several varieties and mentions the
seasonal changes of the tree (p. 170).
[1857] This will be Kabul, probably, because Transoxiana is
written of by Babur usually, if not invariably, as "that
country", and because he mentions the _chikda_ (_i.e.
chika?_), under its Persian name _sinjid_, in his _Description
of Kabul_ (f. 129_b_).
[1858] P. _mar manjan_, which I take to refer to the
_riwajlar_ of Kabul. (Cf. f. 129_b_, where, however, (note 5)
are _corrigenda_ of Masson's _rawash_ for _riwaj_, and his
third to second volume.) Kehr's Codex contains an extra
passage about the _karaun da_, _viz._ that from it is made a
tasty fritter-like dish, resembling a rhubarb-fritter
(Ilminsky, p. 369).
[1859] People call it (P.) _palasa_ also (Elph. MS. f. 236,
marginal note).
[1860] Perhaps the red-apple of Kabul, where two sorts are
common, both rosy, one very much so, but much inferior to the
other (Griffith's _Journal of Travel_ p. 388).
[1861] Its downy fruit grows in bundles from the trunk and
large branches (Roxburgh).
[1862] The reference by "also" (_ham_) will be to the _kamrak_
(f. 283_b_), but both Roxburgh and Brandis say the _amla_ is
six striated.
[1863] The Sanscrit and Bengali name for the chirunji-tree is
_piyala_ (Roxburgh p. 363).
[1864] Cf. f. 250_b_.
[1865] The leaflet is rigid enough to serve as a runlet, but
soon wears out; for this reason, the usual practice is to use
one of split bamboo.
[1866] This is a famous hunting-ground between Biana and
Dhulpur, Rajputana, visited in 933 AH. (f. 33O_b_). Babur's
great-great-grandson Shah-jahan built a hunting-lodge there
(G. of I.).
[1867] Hai. MS. _mu`arrab_, but the Elph. MS. _maghrib_,
[occidentalizing]. The Hai. MS. when writing of the orange
(_infra_) also has _maghrib_. A distinction of locality may be
drawn by _maghrib_.
[1868] Babur's "Hindustan people" (_ail_) are those neither
Turks nor Afghans.
[1869] This name, with its usual form _tadi_ (toddy), is used
for the fermented sap of the date, coco, and _mhar_ palms also
(cf. Yule's H.J. _s.n._ toddy).
[1870] Babur writes of the long leaf-stalk as a branch
(_shakh_); he also seems to have taken each spike of the
fan-leaf to represent a separate leaf. [For two omissions from
my trs. _see_ Appendix O.]
[1871] Most of the fruits Babur describes as orange-like are
named in the following classified list, taken from Watts'
_Economic Products of India_:--"+Citrus aurantium+, _narangi_,
_sangtara_, _amrit-phal_; +C. decumana+, _pumelo_, shaddock,
forbidden-fruit, _sada-phal_; +C. medica+ proper, _turunj_,
_limu_; +C. medica limonum+, _jambhira_, _karna-nebu_." Under
_C. aurantium_ Brandis enters both the sweet and the Seville
oranges (_narangi_); this Babur appears to do also.
[1872] _kindiklik_, explained in the Elph. Codex by _nafwar_
(f. 238). This detail is omitted by the Persian translation.
Firminger's description (p. 221) of Aurangabad oranges
suggests that they also are navel-oranges. At the present time
one of the best oranges had in England is the navel one of
California.
[1873] Useful addition is made to earlier notes on the
variability of the _yighach_, a variability depending on time
taken to cover the ground, by the following passage from
Henderson and Hume's _Lahor to Yarkand_ (p. 120), which shews
that even in the last century the _farsang_ (the P. word used
in the Persian translation of the _Babur-nama_ for T.
_yighach_) was computed by time. "All the way from Kargallik
(Qarghaliq) to Yarkand, there were tall wooden mile-posts
along the roads, at intervals of about 5 miles, or rather one
hour's journey, apart. On a board at the top of each post, or
_farsang_ as it is called, the distances were very legibly
written in Turki."
[1874] _ma`rib_, Elph. MS. _magharrib_; (cf. f. 285_b_ note).
[1875] _i.e. narang_ (Sans. _naranga_) has been changed to
_naranj_ in the `Arab mouth. What is probably one of Humayun's
notes preserved by the Elph. Codex (f. 238), appears to say--it
is mutilated--that _narang_ has been corrupted into _naranj_.
[1876] The Elph. Codex has a note--mutilated in early
binding--which is attested by its scribe as copied from
Humayun's hand-writing, and is to the effect that once on his
way from the Hot-bath, he saw people who had taken poison and
restored them by giving lime-juice.
Erskine here notes that the same antidotal quality is ascribed
to the citron by Virgil:--
Media fert tristes succos. tardumque saporem
Felicis mali, quo non praesentius ullum,
Pocula si quando saevae infecere novercae,
Miscueruntque herbas et non innoxia verba,
Auxilium venit, ac membris agit atra venena.
Georgics II. v. 126.
_Vide_ Heyne's note i, 438.
[1877] P. _turunj_, wrinkled, puckered; Sans. _vijapura_ and
H. _bijaura_ (_Ayin_ 28), seed-filled.
[1878] Babur may have confused this with H. _bijaura_; so too
appears to have done the writer (Humayun?) of a [now
mutilated] note in the Elph. Codex (f. 238), which seems to
say that the fruit or its name went from Bajaur to Hindustan.
Is the country of Bajaur so-named from its indigenous orange
(_vijapura_, whence _bijaura_)? The name occurs also north of
Kangra.
[1879] Of this name variants are numerous, _santra_,
_santhara_, _samtara_, etc. Watts classes it as a _C.
aurantium_; Erskine makes it the common sweet orange;
Firminger, quoting Ross (p. 221) writes that, as grown in the
Nagpur gardens it is one of the finest Indian oranges, with
rind thin, smooth and close. The Emperor Muhammad Shah is said
to have altered its name to _rang-tara_ because of its fine
colour (_rang_) (Forbes). Speede (ii, 109) gives both names.
As to the meaning and origin of the name _santara_ or
_santra_, so suggestive of Cintra, the Portuguese home of a
similar orange, it may be said that it looks like a hill-name
used in N. E. India, for there is a village in the Bhutan
Hills, (Western Duars) known from its orange groves as
Santra-bari, Abode of the orange. To this (mentioned already
as my husband's suggestion in Mr. Crooke's ed. of Yule's H.J.)
support is given by the item "Suntura, famous Nipal variety",
entered in Seth's Nursery-list of 1914 (Feronia Nurseries,
Calcutta). Light on the question of origin could be thrown, no
doubt, by those acquainted with the dialects of the hill-tract
concerned.
[1880] This refers, presumably, to the absence of the beak
characteristic of all citrons.
[1881] melter, from the Sans. root _gal_, which provides the
names of several lemons by reason of their solvent quality,
specified by Babur (_infra_) of the _amal-bid_. Erskine notes
that in his day the _gal-gal_ was known as _kilmek_
(_galmak_?).
[1882] Sans. _jambira_, H. _jambir_, classed by Abu'l-fazl as
one of the somewhat sour fruits and by Watts as _Citrus medica
limonum_.
[1883] Watts, _C. decumana_, the shaddock or pumelo; Firminger
(p. 223) has _C. decumana pyriformis_ suiting Babur's
"pear-shaped". What Babur compared it with will be the
Transoxanian pear and quince (_P. amrud_ and _bihi_) and not
the Indian guava and Bengal quince (_P. amrud_ and _H. bael_).
[1884] The Turki text writes _amrd_. Watts classes the
_amrit-phal_ as a _C. aurantium_. This supports Erskine's
suggestion that it is the mandarin-orange. Humayun describes
it in a note which is written pell-mell in the text of the
Elph. Codex and contains also descriptions of the _kamila_ and
_santara_ oranges; it can be seen translated in Appendix O.
[1885] So spelled in the Turki text and also in two good MSS.
of the Pers. trs. I.O. 217 and 218, but by Abu'l-fazl
_amal-bit_. Both P. _bid_ and P. _bit_ mean willow and cane
(ratan), so that _amal-bid_ (_bit_) can mean acid-willow and
acid-cane. But as Babur is writing of a fruit like an orange,
the cane that bears an acid fruit, _Calamus rotang_, can be
left aside in favour of _Citrus medica acidissima_. Of this
fruit the solvent property Babur mentions, as well as the
commonly-known service in cleansing metal, link it, by these
uses, with the willow and suggest a ground for understanding,
as Erskine did, that _amal-bid_ meant acid-willow; for
willow-wood is used to rub rust off metal.
[1886] This statement shows that Babur was writing the
_Description of Hindustan_ in 935 AH. (1528-9 AD.), which is
the date given for it by Shaikh Zain.
[1887] This story of the needle is believed in India of all
the citron kind, which are hence called _sui-gal_
(needle-melter) in the Dakhin (Erskine). Cf. Forbes, p. 489
_s.n. sui-gal_.
[1888] Erskine here quotes information from Abu'l-fazl (_Ayin_
28) about Akbar's encouragement of the cultivation of fruits.
[1889] Hindustani (Urdu) _garhal_. Many varieties of Hibiscus
(syn. Althea) grow in India; some thrive in Surrey gardens;
the _jasun_ by name and colour can be taken as what is known
in Malayan, Tamil, etc., as the shoe-flower, from its use in
darkening leather (Yule's H.J.).
[1890] I surmise that what I have placed between asterisks
here belongs to the next-following plant, the oleander. For
though the branches of the _jasun_ grow vertically, the bush
is a dense mass upon one stout trunk, or stout short stem. The
words placed in parenthesis above are not with the Haidarabad
but are with the Elphinstone Codex. There would seem to have
been a scribe's skip from one "rose" to the other. As has been
shewn repeatedly, this part of the Babur-nama has been much
annotated; in the Elph. Codex, where only most of the notes
are preserved, some are entered by the scribe pell-mell into
Babur's text. The present instance may be a case of a marginal
note, added to the text in a wrong place.
[1891] The peduncle supporting the plume of medial petals is
clearly seen only when the flower opens first. The plumed
Hibiscus is found in florists' catalogues described as
"double".
[1892] This Anglo-Indians call also rose-bay. A Persian name
appears to be _zahr-giyah_, poison-grass, which makes it the
more probable that the doubtful passage in the previous
description of the _jasun_ belongs to the rod-like oleander,
known as the poison-grass. The oleander is common in
river-beds over much country known to Babur, outside India.
[1893] Roxburgh gives a full and interesting account of this
tree.
[1894] Here the Elph. Codex, only, has the (seeming) note, "An
'Arab calls it _kazi_" (or _kawi_). This fills out Steingass'
part-explanation of _kawi_, "the blossom of the fragrant
palm-tree, _armat_" (p. 1010), and of _armat_, "a kind of
date-tree with a fragrant blossom" (p. 39), by making _armat_
and _kawi_ seem to be the _Pandanus_ and its flower.
[1895] _Calamus scriptorius_ (Vullers ii, 607. H. B.).
Abu'l-fazl compares the leaves to _jawari_, the great millet
(Forbes); Blochmann (A. A. p. 83) translates _jawari_ by
_maize_ (_juwara_, Forbes).
[1896] T. _airkak-qumush_, a name Scully enters unexplained.
Under _qumush_ (reed) he enters _Arundo madagascarensis_;
Babur's comparison will be with some Transoxanian _Arundo_ or
_Calamus_, presumably.
[1897] _Champa_ seems to have been Babur's word (Elph. and
Hai. MSS.), but is the (B.) name for _Michelia champaka_; the
Pers. translation corrects it by (B.) _chambeli_, (_yasman_,
jasmine).
[1898] Here, "outside India" will be meant, where Hindu rules
do not prevail.
[1899] _Hind ailari-ning ibtida-si hilal ailar-ning
istiqbal-din dur._ The use here of _istiqbal_, welcome,
attracts attention; does it allude to the universal welcome of
lighter nights? or is it reminiscent of Muhammadan welcome to
the Moon's crescent in Shawwal?
[1900] For an exact statement of the intercalary months _vide_
Cunningham's _Indian Eras_, p. 91. In my next sentence
(_supra_) the parenthesis-marks indicate blanks left on the
page of the Hai. MS. as though waiting for information. These
and other similar blanks make for the opinion that the Hai.
Codex is a direct copy of Babur's draft manuscript.
[1901] The sextuple division (_ritu_) of the year is referred
to on f. 284, where the Signs Crab and Lion are called the
season of the true Rains.
[1902] Babur appears not to have entered either the Hindi or
the Persian names of the week:--the Hai. MS. has a blank space;
the Elph. MS. had the Persian names only, and Hindi ones have
been written in above these; Kehr has the Persian ones only;
Ilminsky has added the Hindi ones. (The spelling of the Hindi
names, in my translation, is copied from Forbes' Dictionary.)
[1903] The Hai. MS. writes _gari_ and _garial_. The word now
stands for the hour of 60 minutes.
[1904] _i.e._ gong-men. The name is applied also to an
alligator _Lacertus gangeticus_ (Forbes).
[1905] There is some confusion in the text here, the Hai. MS.
reading _birinj-din tishi_(?) _nima quiubturlar_--the Elph. MS.
(f. 240_b_) _biring-din bir yassi nima quiubturlar_. The
Persian translation, being based on the text of the
Elphinstone Codex reads _az biring yak chiz pahni rekhta and_.
The word _tishi_ of the Hai. MS. may represent _tasht_ plate
or _yassi_, broad; against the latter however there is the
sentence that follows and gives the size.
[1906] Here again the wording of the Hai. MS. is not clear;
the sense however is obvious. Concerning the clepsydra _vide_
A. A. Jarrett, ii, 15 and notes; Smith's _Dictionary of
Antiquities_; Yule's H.J. _s.n._ Ghurry.
[1907] The table is:--60 _bipals_ = 1 _pal_; 60 _pals_ = 1
_g'hari_ (24 m.); 60 _g'hari_ or 8 _pahr_ = one _din-rat_
(nycthemeron).
[1908] Qoran, cap. CXII, which is a declaration of God's
unity.
[1909] The (S.) _rati_ = 8 rice-grains (Eng. 8 barley-corns);
the (S.) _masha_ is a kidney-bean; the (P.) _tank_ is about 2
oz.; the (Ar.) _misqal_ is equal to 40 _ratis_; the (S.)
_tula_ is about 145 oz.; the (S.) _ser_ is of various values
(Wilson's _Glossary_ and Yule's H. J.).
[1910] There being 40 Bengal _sers_ to the _man_, Babur's word
_manban_ seems to be another name for the _man_ or _maund_. I
have not found _manban_ or _minasa_. At first sight _manban_
might be taken, in the Hai. MS. for (T.) _batman_, a weight of
13 or 15 lbs., but this does not suit. Cf. f. 167 note to
_batman_ and f. 173_b_ (where, however, in the note f. 157
requires correction to f. 167). For Babur's table of measures
the Pers. trs. has 40 _sers_ = 1 _man_; 12 _mans_ = 1 _mani_;
100 _mani_ they call _minasa_ (217, f. 201_b_, l. 8).
[1911] Presumably these are caste-names.
[1912] The words in parenthesis appear to be omitted from the
text; to add them brings Babur's remark into agreement with
others on what he several times makes note of, _viz._ the
absence not only of irrigation-channels but of those which
convey "running-waters" to houses and gardens. Such he writes
of in Farghana; such are a well-known charm _e.g._ in Madeira,
where the swift current of clear water flowing through the
streets, turns into private precincts by side-runlets.
[1913] The Hai. MS. writes _lunguta-dik_, like a lunguta,
which better agrees with Babur's usual phrasing. _Lung_ is
Persian for a cloth passed between the loins, is an equivalent
of S. _dhoti_. Babur's use of it (_infra_) for the woman's
(P.) _chaddar_ or (S.) _sari_ does not suit the Dictionary
definition of its meaning.
[1914] When Erskine published the Memoirs in 1826 AD. he
estimated this sum at 1-1/2 millions Sterling, but when he
published his _History of India_ in 1854, he had made further
research into the problem of Indian money values, and judged
then that Babur's revenue was £4,212,000.
[1915] Erskine here notes that the promised details had not
been preserved, but in 1854 AD. he had found them in a
"paraphrase of part of Babur", manifestly in Shaikh Zain's
work. He entered and discussed them and some matters of
money-values in Appendices D. and E. of his _History of
India_, vol. I. Ilminsky found them in Kehr's Codex (C. ii,
230). The scribe of the Elph. MS. has entered the revenues of
three _sarkars_ only, with his usual quotation marks
indicating something extraneous or doubtful. The Hai. MS. has
them in contents precisely as I have entered them above, but
with a scattered mode of setting down. They are in Persian,
presumably as they were rendered to Babur by some Indian
official. This official statement will have been with Babur's
own papers; it will have been copied by Shaikh Zain into his
own paraphrase. It differs slightly in Erskine's and again, in
de Courteille's versions. I regret that I am incompetent to
throw any light upon the question of its values and that I
must leave some uncertain names to those more expert than
myself. Cf. Erskine's Appendices _l.c._ and Thomas' _Revenue
resources of the Mughal Empire_. For a few comments _see_ App.
P.
[1916] Here the Turki text resumes in the Hai. MS.
[1917] Elph. MS. f. 243_b_; W. i. B. I.O. 215 has not the
events of this year (as to which omission _vide_ note at the
beginning of 932 AH. f. 251_b_) and 217 f. 203; Mems. p. 334;
Ilminsky's imprint p. 380; _MÈms._ ii, 232.
[1918] This should be 30th if Saturday was the day of the week
(Gladwin, Cunningham and Babur's narrative of f. 269).
Saturday appears likely to be right; Babur entered Agra on
Thursday 28th; Friday would be used for the Congregational
Prayer and preliminaries inevitable before the distribution of
the treasure. The last day of Babur's narrative 932 AH. is
Thursday Rajab 28th; he would not be likely to mistake between
Friday, the day of his first Congregational prayer in Agra,
and Saturday. It must be kept in mind that the _Description of
Hindustan_ is an interpolation here, and that it was written
in 935 AH., three years later than the incidents here
recorded. The date Rajab 29th may not be Babur's own entry; or
if it be, may have been made after the interpolation of the
dividing mass of the _Description_ and made wrongly.
[1919] Erskine estimated these sums as "probably £56,700 to
Humayun; and the smaller ones as £8,100, £6,480, £5,670 and
£4,860 respectively; very large sums for the age". (_History
of India_, i. 440 n. and App. E.)
[1920] These will be his daughters. Gul-badan gives precise
details of the gifts to the family circle (_Humayun-nama_ f.
10).
[1921] Some of these slaves were Sl. Ibrahim's dancing-girls
(Gul-badan, _ib._).
[1922] Ar. _sada_. Perhaps it was a station of a hundred men.
Varsak is in Badakhshan, on the water flowing to Taliqan from
the Khwaja Muhammad range. Erskine read (p. 335) _sada Varsak_
as _sadur rashk_, incentive to emulation; de C. (ii, 233)
translates _sada_ conjecturally by _circonscription_. Shaikh
Zain has Varsak and to the recipients of the gifts adds the
"Khwastis, people noted for their piety" (A. N. trs. H. B. i,
248 n.). The gift to Varsak may well have been made in
gratitude for hospitality received by Babur in the time of
adversity after his loss of Samarkand and before his return to
Kabul in 920 AH.
[1923] _circa_ 10d. or 11d. Babur left himself stripped so
bare by his far-flung largess that he was nick-named Qalandar
(Firishta).
[1924] Badayuni says of him (Bib. Ind. ed. i, 340) that he was
_kafir kalima-gu_, a pagan making the Muhammadan Confession of
Faith, and that he had heard of him, in Akbar's time from
Bairam Khan-i-khanan, as kingly in appearance and poetic in
temperament. He was killed fighting for Rana Sanga at Kanwaha.
[1925] This is his family name.
[1926] _i.e._ not acting with Hasan _Miwati_.
[1927] Gul-badan says that the Khwaja several times asked
leave on the ground that his constitution was not fitted for
the climate of Hindustan; that His Majesty was not at all, at
all, willing for him to go, but gave way at length to his
importunity.
[1928] in Patiala, about 25 miles s.w. of Ambala.
[1929] Shaikh Zain, Gul-badan and Erskine write Nau-kar. It
was now that Khwaja Kalan conveyed money for the repair of the
great dam at Ghazni (f. 139).
[1930] The friends did not meet again; that their friendship
weathered this storm is shewn by Babur's letter of f. 359. The
_Abushqa_ says the couplet was inscribed on a marble tablet
near the _Hauz-i-khas_ at the time the Khwaja was in Dihli
after bidding Babur farewell in Agra.
[1931] This quatrain is in the Rampur _Diwan_ (_q.v._ index).
The _Abushqa_ quotes the following as Khwaja Kalan's reply,
but without mentioning where the original was found. Cf. de
Courteille, Dict. _s.n._ _taskari_. An English version is
given in my husband's article _Some verses by the Emperor
Babur_ (A. Q. R. January, 1911).
You shew your gaiety and your wit,
In each word there lie acres of charm.
Were not all things of Hind upside-down,
How could you in the heat be so pleasant on cold?
It is an old remark of travellers that everything in India is
the opposite of what one sees elsewhere. Timur is said to have
remarked it and to have told his soldiers not to be afraid of
the elephants of India, "For," said he, "their trunks are
empty sleeves, and they carry their tails in front; in
Hindustan everything is reversed" (H. Beveridge _ibid._). Cf.
App. Q.
[1932] Badayuni i, 337 speaks of him as unrivalled in music.
[1933] f. 267_b_.
[1934] _auruq_, which here no doubt represents the women of
the family.
[1935] _`ain parganalar._
[1936] Babur's advance, presumably.
[1937] The full amounts here given are not in all MSS., some
scribes contenting themselves with the largest item of each
gift (_Memoirs_ p. 337).
[1938] The `Id of Shawwal, it will be remembered, is
celebrated at the conclusion of the Ramzan fast, on seeing the
first new moon of Shawwal. In A.H. 932 it must have fallen
about July 11th 1526 (Erskine).
[1939] A square shawl, or napkin, of cloth of gold, bestowed
as a mark of rank and distinction (_Memoirs_ p. 338 n.); _une
tunique enrichie de broderies_ (_MÈmoires_, ii, 240 n.).
[1940] _kamar-shamshir._ This Steingass explains as
sword-belt, Erskine by "sword with a belt". The summary
following shews that many weapons were given and not belts
alone. There is a good deal of variation in the MSS. The Hai.
MS. has not a complete list. The most all the lists show is
that gifts were many.
[1941] f. 263_b_.
[1942] over the Ganges, a little above Anup-shahr in the
Buland-shahr district.
[1943] A seeming omission in the text is made good in my
translation by Shaikh Zain's help, who says Qasim was sent to
Court.
[1944] This quatrain is in the Rampur _Diwan_. It appears to
pun on Biana and _bi(y)an_.
[1945] Kandar is in Rajputana; Abu'l-fazl writes Kuhan-dar,
old habitation.
[1946] This is the first time Babur's begs are called amirs in
his book; it may be by a scribe's slip.
[1947] Chandwar is on the Jumna, between Agra and Etawah.
[1948] Here _aqar-sular_ will stand for the waters which
flow--sometimes in marble channels--to nourish plants and charm
the eye, such for example as beautify the Taj-mahal
pleasaunce.
[1949] Index _s.n._ The _talar_ is raised on pillars and open
in front; it serves often for an Audience-hall (Erskine).
[1950] _tash `imarat_, which may refer to the extra-mural
location of the house, or contrast it with the inner
_khilwat-khana_, the women's quarters, of the next sentence.
The point is noted as one concerning the use of the word
_tash_ (Index _s.n._). I have found no instance in which it is
certain that Babur uses _tash_, a stone or rock, as an
adjective. On f. 301 he writes _tashdin `imarat_,
house-of-stone, which the Persian text renders by
_`imarat-i-sangin_. Wherever _tash_ can be translated as
meaning outer, this accords with Babur's usual diction.
[1951] _baghcha_ (Index _s.n._). That Babur was the admitted
pioneer of orderly gardens in India is shewn by the 30th
_Ayin_, On Perfumes:--"After the foot-prints of Firdaus-makani
(Babur) had added to the glory of Hindustan, embellishment by
avenues and landscape-gardening was seen, while
heart-expanding buildings and the sound of falling-waters
widened the eyes of beholders."
[1952] Perhaps _gaz_, each somewhat less than 36 inches.
[1953] The more familiar Indian name is _baoli_. Such wells
attracted Peter Mundy's attention; Yule gives an account of
their names and plan (Mundy's _Travels in Asia_, Hakluyt
Society, ed. R. C. Temple, and Yule's _Hobson Jobson_ _s.n._
Bowly). Babur's account of his great _wain_ is not easy to
translate; his interpreters vary from one another; probably no
one of them has felt assured of translating correctly.
[1954] _i.e._ the one across the river.
[1955] _tash masjid_; this, unless some adjectival affix
(_e.g._ _din_) has been omitted by the scribe, I incline to
read as meaning extra, supplementary, or outer, not as
"mosque-of-stone".
[1956] or Jajmawa, the old name for the sub-district of
Kanhpur (Cawnpur).
[1957] _i.e._ of the Corps of Braves.
[1958] Dilmau is on the left bank of the Ganges, s.e. from
Bareilly (Erskine).
[1959] _Marv-ning bundi-ni baghlab_, which Erskine renders by
"Having settled the revenue of Merv", and de Courteille by,
"_AprÈs avoir occupÈ Merv_." Were the year's revenues
compressed into a 40 to 50 days collection?
[1960] _i.e._ those who had part in his brother's murder. Cf.
Nizamu'd-din Ahmad's _Tabaqat-i-akbari_ and the
_Mirat-i-sikandari_ (trs. _History of Gujrat_ E. C. Bayley).
[1961] Elph. MS. f. 252; W.-i-B. I.O. 215 f. 199b and 217 f.
208_b_; Mems. p. 343.
[1962] _siunchi_ (Zenker). Faruq was Mahim's son; he died in
934 A.H. before his father had seen him.
[1963] _salah._ It is clear from the "_tash-awi"_ (Pers. trs.
_khana-i-sang_) of this mortar (_qazan_) that stones were its
missiles. Erskine notes that from Babur's account cannon would
seem sometimes to have been made in parts and clamped
together, and that they were frequently formed of iron bars
strongly compacted into a circular shape. The accoutrement
(_salah_) presumably was the addition of fittings.
[1964] About £40,000 sterling (Erskine).
[1965] The MSS. write Safar but it seems probable that
Muharram should be substituted for this; one ground for not
accepting Safar being that it breaks the consecutive order of
dates, another that Safar allows what seems a long time for
the journey from near Dilmau to Agra. All MSS. I have seen
give the 8th as the day of the month but Erskine has 20th. In
this part of Babur's writings dates are sparse; it is a
narrative and not a diary.
[1966] This phrase, foreign to Babur's diction, smacks of a
Court-Persian milieu.
[1967] Here the Elph. MS. has Safar Muharram (f. 253), as has
also I.O. 215 f. 200b, but it seems unsafe to take this as an
_al Safarani_ extension of Muharram because Muh.-Safar 24th
was not a Wednesday. As in the passage noted just above, it
seems likely that Muharram is right.
[1968] Cf. f. 15_b_ note to Qambar-i-`ali. The title
_Akhta-begi_ is to be found translated by "Master of the
Horse", but this would not suit both uses of _akhta_ in the
above sentence. Cf. Shaw's Vocabulary.
[1969] _i.e._ Tahangarh in Karauli, Rajputana.
[1970] Perhaps _sipahi_ represents Hindustani foot-soldiers.
[1971] Rafi`u-d-din _Safawi_, a native of Ij near the Persian
Gulf, teacher of Abu'l-fazl's father and buried near Agra
(_Ayin-i-akbari_).
[1972] This phrase, again, departs from Babur's simplicity of
statement.
[1973] About £5,000 (Erskine).
[1974] About £17,500 (Erskine).
[1975] Hai. MS. and 215 f. 201b, Hasti; Elph. MS. f. 254, and
Ilminsky, p. 394, Aimishchi; _Memoirs_, p. 346, Imshiji, so
too _MÈmoires_, ii, 257.
[1976] About £5000 (Erskine). Bianwan lies in the _subah_ of
Agra.
[1977] Cf. f. 175 for Babur's estimate of his service.
[1978] Cf. f. 268_b_ for Babur's clemency to him.
[1979] Firishta. (Briggs ii, 53) mentions that Asad had gone
to Tahmasp from Kabul to congratulate him on his accession.
Shah Isma`il had died in 930 AH. (1524 AD.); the title
Shah-zada is a misnomer therefore in 933 AH.--one possibly
prompted by Tahmasp's youth.
[1980] The letter is likely to have been written to Mahim and
to have been brought back to India by her in 935 AH. (f.
380_b_). Some MSS. of the Pers. trs. reproduce it in Turki and
follow this by a Persian version; others omit the Turki.
[1981] Turki, _bua_. Hindi _bawa_ means sister or
paternal-aunt but this would not suit from Babur's mouth, the
more clearly not that his epithet for the offender is
_bad-bakht_. Gul-badan (H.N. f. 19) calls her "ill-omened
demon".
[1982] She may have been still in the place assigned to her
near Agra when Babur occupied it (f. 269).
[1983] f. 290. Erskine notes that the _tula_ is about equal in
weight to the silver _rupi_.
[1984] It appears from the kitchen-arrangements detailed by
Abu'l-fazl, that before food was dished up, it was tasted from
the pot by a cook and a subordinate taster, and next by the
Head-taster.
[1985] The Turki sentences which here follow the well-known
Persian proverb, _Rasida bud balai wali ba khair guzasht_, are
entered as verse in some MSS.; they may be a prose quotation.
[1986] She, after being put under contribution by two of
Babur's officers (f. 307_b_) was started off for Kabul, but,
perhaps dreading her reception there, threw herself into the
Indus in crossing and was drowned. (Cf. A.N. trs. H. Beveridge
_Errata_ and _addenda_ p. xi for the authorities.)
[1987] _gil makhtum_, Lemnian earth, _terra sigillata_, each
piece of which was impressed, when taken from the quarry, with
a guarantee-stamp (Cf. Ency. Br. _s.n._ Lemnos).
[1988] _tiriaq-i-faruq_, an antidote.
[1989] Index _s.n._
[1990] Kamran was in Qandahar (Index _s.n._). Erskine observes
here that Babur's omission to give the name of Ibrahim's son,
is noteworthy; the son may however have been a child and his
name not known to or recalled by Babur when writing some years
later.
[1991] f. 299_b_.
[1992] The _Ayin-i-akbari_ locates this in the _sarkar_ of
Jun-pur, a location suiting the context. The second Persian
translation (`Abdu'r-rahim's) has here a scribe's skip from
one "news" to another (both asterisked in my text); hence
Erskine has an omission.
[1993] This is the Char-bagh of f. 300, known later as the Ram
(Aram)-bagh (Garden-of-rest).
[1994] Presumably he was coming up from Marwar.
[1995] This name varies; the Hai. MS. in most cases writes
Qismati, but on f. 267_b_, Qismatai; the Elph. MS. on f. 220
has Q:s:mnai; De Courteille writes Qismi.
[1996] _artkab qildi_, perhaps drank wine, perhaps ate
opium-confections to the use of which he became addicted later
on (Gulbadan's _Humayun-nama_ f. 30_b_ and 73_b_).
[1997] _fursatlar_, _i.e._ between the occupation of Agra and
the campaign against Rana Sanga.
[1998] Apparently the siege Babur broke up in 931 AH. had been
renewed by the Auzbegs (f. 255_b_ and Trs. Note _s.a._ 931 AH.
section _c_).
[1999] These places are on the Khulm-river between Khulm and
Kahmard. The present tense of this and the following sentences
is Babur's.
[2000] f. 261.
[2001] Erskine here notes that if the _ser_ Babur mentions be
one of 14 _tulas_, the value is about £27; if of 24 _tulas_,
about £45.
[2002] T. _chapduq_. Cf. the two Persian translations 215 f.
205_b_ and 217 f. 215; also Ilminsky, p. 401.
[2003] _bulghan chiriki._ The Rana's forces are thus stated by
Tod (_Rajastan; Annals of Marwar_ Cap. ix):--"Eighty thousand
horse, 7 Rajas of the highest rank, 9 Raos, and 104 chieftains
bearing the titles of Rawul and Rawut, with 500 war-elephants,
followed him into the field." Babur's army, all told, was
12,000 when he crossed the Indus from Kabul; it will have had
accretions from his own officers in the Panj-ab and some also
from other quarters, and will have had losses at Panipat; his
reliable kernel of fighting-strength cannot but have been
numerically insignificant, compared with the Rajput host. Tod
says that almost all the princes of Rajastan followed the Rana
at Kanwa.
[2004] _durbatur._ This is the first use of the word in the
_Babur-nama_; the defacer of the Elph. Codex has altered it to
_auratur_.
[2005] Shaikh Zain records [Abu'l-fazl also, perhaps quoting
from him] that Babur, by varying diacritical points, changed
the name Sikri to Shukri in sign of gratitude for his victory
over the Rana. The place became the Fathpur-sikri of Akbar.
[2006] Erskine locates this as 10 to 12 miles n.w. of Biana.
[2007] This phrase has not occurred in the B.N. before;
presumably it expresses what has not yet been expressed; this
Erskine's rendering, "each according to the speed of his
horse," does also. The first Persian translation, which in
this portion is by Muhammad-quli _Mughul Hisari_, translates
by _az dambal yak digar_ (I.O. 215, f. 205_b_); the second,
`Abdu'r-rahim's, merely reproduces the phrase; De Courteille
(ii, 272) appears to render it by (amirs) _que je ne nomme
pas_. If my reading of Tahir-tibri's failure be correct
(_infra_), Erskine's translation suits the context.
[2008] The passage cut off by my asterisks has this outside
interest that it forms the introduction to the so-called
"Fragments", that is, to certain Turki matter not included in
the standard _Babur-nama_, but preserved with the
Kehr--Ilminsky--de Courteille text. As is well-known in
Baburiana, opinion has varied as to the genesis of this
matter; there is now no doubt that it is a translation into
Turki from the (_Persian_) _Akbar-nama_, prefaced by the
above-asterisked passage of the _Babur-nama_ and continuous
(with slight omissions) from Bib. Ind. ed. i, 106 to 120 (trs.
H. Beveridge i, 260 to 282). It covers the time from before
the battle of Kanwa to the end of Abu'l-fazl's description of
Babur's death, attainments and Court; it has been made to seem
Babur's own, down to his death-bed, by changing the third
person of A.F.'s narrative into the autobiographical first
person. (Cf. Ilminsky, p. 403 l. 4 and p. 494; _MÈmoires_ ii,
272 and 443 to 464; JRAS. 1908, p. 76.)
A minute point in the history of the B.N. manuscripts may be
placed on record here; _viz._ that the variants from the true
_Babur-nama_ text which occur in the Kehr-Ilminsky one, occur
also in the corrupt Turki text of I.O. No. 214 (JRAS 1900, p.
455).
[2009] _chapar kumak yitmas_, perhaps implying that the speed
of his horses was not equal to that of Muhibb-i-'ali's.
Translators vary as to the meaning of the phrase.
[2010] Erskine and de Courteille both give Mustafa the
commendation the Turki and Persian texts give to the carts.
[2011] According to Tod's _Rajastan_, negotiations went on
during the interval, having for their object the fixing of a
frontier between the Rana and Babur. They were conducted by a
"traitor" Salah'd-din _Tuar_ the chief of Raisin, who moreover
is said to have deserted to Babur during the battle.
[2012] Cf. f. 89 for Babur's disastrous obedience to
astrological warning.
[2013] For the reading of this second line, given by the good
MSS. _viz._ _Tauba ham bi maza nist, bachash_, Ilminsky (p.
405) has _Tauba ham bi maza, mast bakhis_, which de Courteille
[II, 276] renders by, "_O ivrogne insensÈ! que ne go˚tes-tu
aussi ‡ la pÈnitence?_" The Persian couplet seems likely to
be a quotation and may yet be found elsewhere. It is not in
the Rampur Diwan which contains the Turki verses following it
(E. D. Ross p. 21).
[2014] _kichmaklik_, to pass over (to exceed?), to ford or go
through a river, whence to transgress. The same metaphor of
crossing a stream occurs, in connection with drinking, on f.
189_b_.
[2015] This line shews that Babur's renouncement was of wine
only; he continued to eat confections (_ma`jun_).
[2016] Cf. f. 186_b_. Babur would announce his renunciation in
Diwan; there too the forbidden vessels of precious metals
would be broken. His few words leave it to his readers to
picture the memorable scene.
[2017] This night-guard (_`asas_) cannot be the one concerning
whom Gul-badan records that he was the victim of a little joke
made at his expense by Babur (H. N. Index _s.n._). He seems
likely to be the Haji Muh. _`asas_ whom Abu'l-fazl mentions in
connection with Kamran in 953 AH. (1547 AD.). He may be the
_`asas_ who took charge of Babur's tomb at Agra (cf.
Gul-badan's H. N. _s.n._ Muh. `Ali _`asas taghai_, and
_Akbar-nama_ trs. i, 502).
[2018] _saqali qirqmaqta u quimaqta._ Erskine here notes that
"a vow to leave the beard untrimmed was made sometimes by
persons who set out against the infidels. They did not trim
the beard till they returned victorious. Some vows of similar
nature may be found in Scripture", _e.g._ II Samuel, cap. 19
v. 24.
[2019] Index _s.n._ The _tamgha_ was not really abolished
until Jahangir's time--if then (H. Beveridge). See Thomas'
_Revenue Resources of the Mughal Empire_.
[2020] There is this to notice here:--Babur's narrative has
made the remission of the _tamgha_ contingent on his success,
but the _farman_ which announced that remission is dated some
three weeks before his victory over Rana Sanga (Jumada II,
13th-March 16th). Manifestly Babur's remission was absolute
and made at the date given by Shaikh Zain as that of the
_farman_. The _farman_ seems to have been despatched as soon
as it was ready, but may have been inserted in Babur's
narrative at a later date, together with the preceding
paragraph which I have asterisked.
[2021] "There is a lacuna in the Turki copy" (_i.e._ the
Elphinstone Codex) "from this place to the beginning of the
year 935. Till then I therefore follow only Mr. Metcalfe's and
my own Persian copies" (Erskine).
[2022] I am indebted to my husband for this revised version of
the _farman_. He is indebted to M. de Courteille for help
generally, and specially for the references to the Qoran
(_q.v. infra_).
[2023] The passages in italics are Arabic in the original, and
where traced to the Qoran, are in Sale's words.
[2024] _Qoran, Surah_ XII, v. 53.
[2025] _Surah_ LVII, v. 21.
[2026] _Surah_ LVII, v. 15.
[2027] _Surah_ VII, v. 140.
[2028] _Surah_ II, v. 185.
[2029] These may be self-conquests as has been understood by
Erskine (p. 356) and de Courteille (ii. 281) but as the Divine
"acceptance" would seem to Babur vouched for by his military
success, "victories" may stand for his success at Kanwa.
[2030] _Surah_ II, 177 where, in Sale's translation, the
change referred to is the special one of altering a legacy.
[2031] The words _diguchi_ and _yiguchi_ are translated in the
second _Waqi`at-i-baburi_ by _sukhan-gui_ and
[_wilayat_]_-khwar_. This ignores in them the future element
supplied by their component _gu_ which would allow them to
apply to conditions dependent on Babur's success. The Hai. MS.
and Ilminsky read _tiguchi_, supporter- or helper-to-be, in
place of the _yiguchi_, eater-to-be I have inferred from the
_khwar_ of the Pers. translation; hence de Courteille writes
"_amirs auxquels incombait l'obligation de raffermir le
gouvernement_". But Erskine, using the Pers. text alone, and
thus having _khwar_ before him, translates by, "amirs who
enjoyed the wealth of kingdoms." The two Turki words make a
depreciatory "jingle", but the first one, _diguchi_, may imply
serious reference to the duty, declared by Muhammad to be
incumbent upon a wazir, of reminding his sovereign "when he
forgetteth his duty". Both may be taken as alluding to
dignities to be attained by success in the encounter from
which wazirs and amirs were shrinking.
[2032] Firdausi's _Shah-nama_ [Erskine].
[2033] Also Chand-wal; it is 25 m. east of Agra and on the
Jamna [_Tabaqat-i-nasiri_, Raverty, p. 742 n.9]
[2034] Probably, Overthrower of the rhinoceros, but if
_Gurg-andaz_ be read, of the wolf.
[2035] According to the Persian calendar this is the day the
Sun enters Aries.
[2036] The practical purpose of this order of march is shewn
in the account of the battle of Panipat, and in the Letter of
Victory, f. 319.
[2037] _kurohcha_, perhaps a short _kuroh_, but I have not
found Babur using _cha_ as a diminutive in such a case as
_kurohcha_.
[2038] or Kanua, in the Biana district and three marches from
Biana-town. "It had been determined on by Rana Sangram Singh
(_i.e._ Sanga) for the northern limit of his dominions, and he
had here built a small palace." Tod thus describes Babur's
foe, "Sanga Rana was of the middle stature, and of great
muscular strength, fair in complexion, with unusually large
eyes which appear to be peculiar to his descendants. He
exhibited at his death but the fragments of a warrior: one eye
was lost in the broil with his brother, an arm in action with
the Lodi kings of Dehli, and he was a cripple owing to a limb
being broken by a cannon-ball in another; while he counted 80
wounds from the sword or the lance on various parts of his
body" (Tod's _Rajastan_, cap. Annals of Mewar).
[2039] Here M. de C. has the following note (ii, 273 n.); it
supplements my own of f. 264 [n. 3]. "_Le mot araba, que j'ai
traduit par chariot est pris par M. Leyden_" (this should be
Erskine) "_dans le sens de 'gun', ce que je ne crois pas
exact; tout au plus signifierait-il aff˚t_" (gun-carriage).
"_Il me parait impossible d'admettre que Baber e˚t ‡ sa
disposition une artillerie attelÈe aussi considÈrable. Ces
araba pouvaient servir en partie ‡ transporter des piËces de
campagne, mais ils avaient aussi une autre destination, comme
on le voit par la suite du rÈcit._" It does not appear to me
that Erskine _translates_ the word _araba_ by the word _gun_,
but that the _arabas_ (all of which he took to be
gun-carriages) being there, he supposed the guns. This was not
correct as the various passages about carts as defences show
(cf. Index _s.nn._ _araba_ and carts).
[2040] It is characteristic of Babur that he reproduces Shaikh
Zain's _Fath-nama_, not because of its eloquence but because
of its useful details. Erskine and de Courteille have the
following notes concerning Shaikh Zain's _farman_:--"Nothing
can form a more striking contrast to the simple, manly and
intelligent style of Baber himself, than the pompous, laboured
periods of his secretary. Yet I have never read this Firman to
any native of India who did not bestow unlimited admiration on
the official bombast of Zeineddin, while I have met with none
but Turks who paid due praise to the calm simplicity of Baber"
[Mems. p. 359]. "_Comme la prÈcÈdente (farman), cette piËce
est rÈdigÈe en langue persane et offre un modËle des plus
accomplis du style en usage dans les chancelleries orientales.
La traduction d'un semblable morceau d'Èloquence est de la
plus grande difficultÈ, si on veut Ítre clair, tout en restant
fidËle ‡ l'original._"
Like the Renunciation _farman_, the Letter-of-victory with its
preceding sentence which I have asterisked, was probably
inserted into Babur's narrative somewhat later than the battle
of Kanwa. Hence Babur's pluperfect-tense "had indited". I am
indebted to my husband for help in revising the difficult
_Fath-nama_; he has done it with consideration of the variants
between the earlier English and the French translations. No
doubt it could be dealt with more searchingly still by one
well-versed in the Qoran and the Traditions, and thus able to
explain others of its allusions. The italics denote Arabic
passages in the original; many of these are from the Qoran,
and in tracing them M. de Courteille's notes have been most
useful to us.
[2041] Qoran, cap. 80, last sentence.
[2042] Shaikh Zain, in his version of the _Babur-nama_, styles
Babur Nawab where there can be no doubt of the application of
the title, _viz._ in describing Shah Tahmasp's gifts to him
(mentioned by Babur on f. 305). He uses the title also in the
_farman_ of renunciation (f. 313_b_), but it does not appear
in my text, "royal" (fortune) standing for it (_in loco_ p.
555, l. 10).
[2043] The possessive pronoun occurs several times in the
Letter-of-victory. As there is no semblance of putting forward
that letter as being Babur's, the pronoun seems to imply "on
our side".
[2044] The _Babur-nama_ includes no other than Shaikh Zain's
about Kanwa. Those here alluded to will be the announcements
of success at Milwat, Panipat, Dibalpur and perhaps elsewhere
in Hindustan.
[2045] In Jun-pur (_Ayin-i-akbari_); Elliot & Dowson note (iv,
283-4) that it appears to have included, near Sikandarpur, the
country on both sides of the Gogra, and thence on that river's
left bank down to the Ganges.
[2046] That the word Nawab here refers to Babur and not to his
lieutenants, is shewn by his mention (f. 278) of Sanga's
messages to himself.
[2047] Qoran, cap. 2, v. 32. The passage quoted is part of a
description of Satan, hence mention of Satan in Shaikh Zain's
next sentence.
[2048] The brahminical thread.
[2049] _khar-i-mihnat-i-irtidad dar daman._ This Erskine
renders by "who fixed thorns from the pangs of apostacy in the
hem of their garments" (p. 360). Several good MSS. have
_khar_, thorn, but Ilminsky has Ar. _khimar_, cymar, instead
(p. 411). De Courteille renders the passage by "_portent au
pan de leurs habits la marque douloureuse de l'apostasie_"
(ii, 290). To read _khimar_, cymar (scarf), would serve, as a
scarf is part of some Hindu costumes.
[2050] Qoran, cap. 69, v. 35.
[2051] M. DefrÈmery, when reviewing the French translation of
the B.N. (_Journal des Savans_ 1873), points out (p. 18) that
it makes no mention of the "blessed ten". Erskine mentions
them but without explanation. They are the _'asharah
mubash-sharah_, the decade of followers of Muhammad who
"received good tidings", and whose certain entry into Paradise
he foretold.
[2052] Qoran, cap. 3, v. 20. M. DefrÈmery reads Shaikh Zain to
mean that these words of the Qoran were on the infidel
standards, but it would be simpler to read Shaikh Zain as
meaning that the infidel insignia on the standards "denounce
punishment" on their users.
[2053] He seems to have been a Rajput convert to Muhammadanism
who changed his Hindi name Silhadi for what Babur writes. His
son married Sanga's daughter; his fiefs were Raisin and
Sarangpur; he deserted to Babur in the battle of Kanwa. (Cf.
Erskine's _History of India_ i, 471 note; _Mirat-i-sikandari_,
Bayley's trs. _s.n._; _Akbar-nama_, H.B.'s trs. i, 261; Tod's
_Rajastan_ cap. Mewar.)
[2054] "Dejal or al Masih al Dajjal, the false or lying
Messiah, is the Muhammadan Anti-christ. He is to be one-eyed,
and marked on the forehead with the letters K.F.R. signifying
Kafer, or Infidel. He is to appear in the latter days riding
on an ass, and will be followed by 70,000 Jews of Ispahan, and
will continue on the Earth 40 days, of which one will be equal
to a year, another to a month, another to a week, and the rest
will be common days. He is to lay waste all places, but will
not enter Mekka or Medina, which are to be guarded by angels.
He is finally to be slain at the gate of Lud by Jesus, for
whom the Musalmans profess great veneration, calling him the
breath or spirit of God.--See Sale's _Introductory Discourse to
the Koran_" [Erskine].
[2055] Qoran, cap. 29, v. 5.
[2056] "This alludes to the defeat of [an Abyssinian
Christian] Abraha the prince of Yemen who [in the year of
Muhammad's birth] marched his army and some elephants to
destroy the _ka`ba_ of Makka. 'The Meccans,' says Sale, 'at
the appearance of so considerable a host, retired to the
neighbouring mountains, being unable to defend their city or
temple. But God himself undertook the defence of both. For
when Abraha drew near to Mecca, and would have entered it, the
elephant on which he rode, which was a very large one and
named Mahmud, refused to advance any nigher to the town, but
knelt down whenever they endeavoured to force him that way,
though he would rise and march briskly enough if they turned
him towards any other quarter; and while matters were in this
posture, on a sudden a large flock of birds, like swallows,
came flying from the sea-coast, every-one of which carried
three stones, one in each foot and one in its bill; and these
stones they threw down upon the heads of Abraha's men,
certainly killing every one they struck.' The rest were swept
away by a flood or perished by a plague, Abraha alone reaching
Senaa, where he also died" [Erskine]. The above is taken from
Sale's note to the 105 chapter of the Qoran, entitled "the
Elephant".
[2057] Presumably black by reason of their dark large mass.
[2058] Presumably, devouring as fire.
[2059] This is 50 m. long and blocked the narrow pass of the
Caspian Iron-gates. It ends south of the Russian town of
Dar-band, on the west shore of the Caspian. Erskine states
that it was erected to repress the invasions of Yajuj and
Mujuj (Gog and Magog).
[2060] Qoran, cap. lxi, v. 4.
[2061] Qoran, cap. ii, v. 4. Erskine appears to quote another
verse.
[2062] Qoran, cap. xlviii, v. 1.
[2063] Index _s.n._
[2064] _Khirad_, Intelligence or the first Intelligence, was
supposed to be the guardian of the empyreal heaven (Erskine).
[2065] Chin-timur _Chingiz-khanid Chaghatai_ is called Babur's
brother because a (maternal-) cousin of Babur's own
generation, their last common ancestor being Yunas Khan.
[2066] Sulaiman _Timurid Miran-shahi_ is called Babur's son
because his father was of Babur's generation, their last
common ancestor being Sl. Abu-sa`id Mirza. He was 13 years old
and, through Shah Begim, hereditary shah of Badakhshan.
[2067] The Shaikh was able, it would appear, to see himself as
others saw him, since the above description of him is his own.
It is confirmed by Abu'l-fazl and Badayuni's accounts of his
attainments.
[2068] The honourable post given to this amir of Hind is
likely to be due to his loyalty to Babur.
[2069] Ahmad may be a nephew of Yusuf of the same agnomen
(Index _s.nn._).
[2070] I have not discovered the name of this old servant or
the meaning of his seeming-sobriquet, Hindu. As a _quchin_ he
will have been a Mughul or Turk. The circumstance of his
service with a son of Mahmud _Miran-shahi_ (down to 905 AH.)
makes it possible that he drew his name in his youth from the
tract s.e. of Mahmud's Hisar territory which has been known as
Little Hind (Index _s.n._ Hind). This is however conjecture
merely. Another suggestion is that as _hindu_ can mean
_black_, it may stand for the common _qara_ of the Turks,
_e.g._ Qara Barlas, Black Barlas.
[2071] I am uncertain whether Qara-quzi is the name of a
place, or the jesting sobriquet of more than one meaning it
can be.
[2072] Soul-full, animated; var. Hai. MS. _khan-dar_. No
agnomen is used for Asad by Babur. The _Akbar-nama_ varies to
_jamadar_, wardrobe-keeper, cup-holder (_Bib. Ind._ ed. i,
107), and Firishta to _sar-jamadar_, head wardrobe-keeper
(lith. ed. p. 209 top). It would be surprising to find such an
official sent as envoy to `Iraq, as Asad was both before and
after he fought at Kanwa.
[2073] son of Daulat Khan _Yusuf-khail Ludi_.
[2074] These are the titles of the 20th and 36th chapters of
the Qoran; Sale offers conjectural explanations of them. The
"family" is Muhammad's.
[2075] a Bai-qara Timurid of Babur's generation, their last
common ancestor being Timur himself.
[2076] an Auzbeg who married a daughter of Sl. Husain M.
_Bai-qara_.
[2077] It has been pointed out to me that there is a Chinese
title of nobility _Yun-wang_, and that it may be behind the
words _jang-jang_. Though the suggestion appears to me
improbable, looking to the record of Babur's officer, to the
prevalence of sobriquets amongst his people, and to what would
be the sporadic appearance of a Chinese title or even
class-name borne by a single man amongst them. I add this
suggestion to those of my note on the meaning of the words
(Index _s.n._ Muh. `Ali). The title _Jun-wang_ occurs in Dr.
Denison Ross' _Three MSS. from Kashghar_, p. 5, v. 5 and
translator's preface, p. 14.
[2078] Cf. f. 266 and f. 299. _Yaragi_ may be the name of his
office, (from _yaraq_) and mean provisioner of arms or food or
other military requirements.
[2079] or, Tardi _yakka_, the champion, Gr. _monomachus_ (A.
N. trs. i, 107 n.).
[2080] var. 1 watch and 2 _g'haris_; the time will have been
between 9 and 10 a.m.
[2081] _juldu ba nam al `aziz-i-baradar shud_, a phrase not
easy to translate.
[2082] _viz._ those chained together as a defence and probably
also those conveying the culverins.
[2083] The comparison may be between the darkening smoke of
the fire-arms and the heresy darkening pagan hearts.
[2084] There appears to be a distinction of title between the
_akhta-begi_ and the _mir-akhwur_ (master of the horse).
[2085] Qoran, cap. 14, v. 33.
[2086] These two men were in one of the flanking-parties.
[2087] This phrase "our brother" would support the view that
Shaikh Zain wrote as for Babur, if there were not, on the
other hand, mention of Babur as His Majesty, and the precious
royal soul.
[2088] _diwanian_ here may mean those associated with the
wazir in his duties: and not those attending at Court.
[2089] Qoran, cap. 14, v. 52.
[2090] Index _s.n. chuhra_ (a brave).
[2091] _hizabran-i-besha yakrangi_, literally, forest-tigers
(or, lions) of one hue.
[2092] There may be reference here to the chains used to
connect the carts into a defence.
[2093] The braves of the _khasa tabin_ were part of Babur's
own centre.
[2094] perhaps the cataphract elephants; perhaps the men in
mail.
[2095] Qoran, cap. 101, v. 54.
[2096] Qoran, cap. 101, v. 4.
[2097] _ba andakhtan-i-sang u zarb-zan tufak bisyari._ As
Babur does not in any place mention metal missiles, it seems
safest to translate _sang_ by its plain meaning of _stone_.
[2098] Also, metaphorically, swords.
[2099] _tir._ My husband thinks there is a play upon the two
meanings of this word, arrow and the planet Mercury; so too in
the next sentence, that there may be allusion in the _kuakib
sawabit_ to the constellation Pegasus, opposed to Babur's
squadrons of horse.
[2100] The Fish mentioned in this verse is the one pictured by
Muhammadan cosmogony as supporting the Earth. The violence of
the fray is illustrated by supposing that of Earth's seven
climes one rose to Heaven in dust, thus giving Heaven eight.
The verse is from Firdausi's _Shah-nama_, [Turner-Macan's ed.
i, 222]. The translation of it is Warner's, [ii, 15 and n.]. I
am indebted for the information given in this note to my
husband's long search in the _Shah-nama_.
[2101] Qoran, cap. 3, v. 133.
[2102] Qoran, cap. 61, v. 13.
[2103] Qoran, cap. 48, v. 1.
[2104] Qoran, cap. 48, v. 3.
[2105] [see p. 572] _farash_. De Courteille, reading _firash_,
translates this metaphor by _comme un lit lorsqu'il est
dÈfait_. He refers to Qoran, cap. 101, v. 3. A better metaphor
for the breaking up of an army than that of moths scattering,
one allowed by the word _farash_, but possibly not by
Muhammad, is _vanished like bubbles on wine_.
[2106] Bagar is an old name for Dungarpur and Banswara [_G. of
I._ vi, 408 _s.n._ Banswara].
[2107] _sic_, Hai. MS. and may be so read in I.O. 217 f.
220_b___; Erskine writes Bikersi (p. 367) and notes the
variant Nagersi; Ilminsky (p. 421) N:krsi; de Courteille (ii.
307) Niguersi.
[2108] Cf. f. 318_b_, and note, where it is seen that the
stones which killed the lords of the Elephants were so small
as to be carried in the bill of a bird like a swallow. Were
such stones used in matchlocks in Babur's day?
[2109] _guzaran_, var. _gurazan_, caused to flee and hogs
(Erskine notes the double-meaning).
[2110] This passage, entered in some MSS. as if verse, is made
up of Qoran, cap. 17, v. 49, cap. 33, v. 38, and cap. 3, v.
122.
[2111] As the day of battle was Jumada II. 13th (March 16th),
the _Fath-nama_ was ready and dated twelve days after that
battle. It was started for Kabul on Rajab 9th (April 11th).
Something may be said here appropriately about the surmise
contained in Dr. Ilminsky's Preface and M. de Courteille's
note to _MÈmoires_ ii, 443 and 450, to the effect that Babur
wrote a plain account of the battle of Kanwa and for this in
his narrative substituted Shaikh Zain's _Fath-nama_, and that
the plain account has been preserved in Kehr's _Babur-nama_
volume [whence Ilminsky reproduced it, it was translated by M.
de Courteille and became known as a "Fragment" of Baburiana].
Almost certainly both scholars would have judged adversely of
their suggestion by the light of to-day's easier research. The
following considerations making against its value, may be set
down:--
(1) There is no sign that Babur ever wrote a plain account of
the battle or any account of it. There is against his doing so
his statement that he inserts Shaikh Zain's _Fath-nama_
because it gives particulars. If he had written any account,
it would be found preceding the _Fath-nama_, as his account of
his renunciation of wine precedes Shaikh Zain's _Farman_
announcing the act.
(2) Moreover, the "Fragment" cannot be described as a plain
account such as would harmonize with Babur's style; it is in
truth highly rhetorical, though less so as Shaikh Zain's.
(3) The "Fragment" begins with a quotation from the
_Babur-nama_ (f.310_b_ and n.), skips a good deal of Babur's
matter preliminary to the battle, and passes on with what
there can be no doubt is a translation in inferior Turki of
the _Akbar-nama_ account.
(4) The whole of the extra matter is seen to be continuous and
not fragmentary, if it is collated with the chapter in which
Abu'l-fazl describes the battle, its sequel of events, the
death, character, attainments, and Court of Babur. Down to the
death, it is changed to the first person so as to make Babur
seem to write it. The probable concocter of it is Jahangir.
(5) If the Fragment were Babur's composition, where was it
when `Abdu-r-rahim translated the _Babur-nama_ in 998 AH.-1590
AD.; where too did Abu'l-fazl find it to reproduce in the
_Akbar-nama_?
(6) The source of Abu'l-fazl's information seems without doubt
to be Babur's own narrative and Shaikh Zain's _Fath-nama_.
There are many significant resemblances between the two
rhetoricians' metaphors and details selected.
(7) A good deal might be said of the dissimilarities between
Babur's diction and that of the "Fragment". But this is
needless in face of the larger and more circumstantial
objections already mentioned.
(For a fuller account of the "Fragment" see JRAS. Jan. 1906
pp. 81, 85 and 1908 p. 75 ff.)
[2112] _Tughra_ means an imperial signature also, but would
Babur sign Shaikh Zain's _Fath-i-nama_? His autograph verse at
the end of the _Rampur Diwan_ has his signature following it.
He is likely to have signed this verse. Cf. App. Q. [Erskine
notes that titles were written on the back of despatches, an
unlikely place for the quatrain, one surmises.]
[2113] This is in the _Rampur diwan_ (E.D.R. Plate 17). Dr. E.
Denison Ross points out (p. 17 n.) that in the 2nd line the
Hai. Codex varies from the _Diwan_. The MS. is wrong; it
contains many inaccuracies in the latter part of the Hindustan
section, perhaps due to a change of scribe.
[2114] These words by _abjad_ yield 933. From Babur's use of
the pluperfect tense, I think it may be inferred that (my)
Sections _a_ and _b_ are an attachment to the _Fath-nama_,
entered with it at a somewhat later date.
[2115] My translation of this puzzling sentence is tentative
only.
[2116] This statement shews that the Dibalpur affair occurred
in one of the B.N. gaps, and in 930 AH. The words make 330 by
_abjad_. It may be noted here that on f. 312_b_ and notes
there are remarks concerning whether Babur's remission of the
_tamgha_ was contingent on his winning at Kanwa. If the
remission had been delayed until his victory was won, it would
have found fitting mention with the other sequels of victory
chronicled above; as it is not with these sequels, it may be
accepted as an absolute remission, proclaimed before the
fight. The point was a little uncertain owing to the seemingly
somewhat deferred insertion in Babur's narrative of Shaikh
Zain's _Farman_.
[2117] _da'ira_, presumably a defended circle. As the word
_aurdu_ [bracketed in the text] shows, Babur used it both for
his own and for Sanga's camps.
[2118] Hence the Rana escaped. He died in this year, not
without suspicion of poison.
[2119] _aichimni khali qildim_, a seeming equivalent for
English, "I poured out my spleen."
[2120] var. _maluk_ as _e.g._ in I.O. 217 f.225_b_, and also
elsewhere in the _Babur-nama_.
[2121] On f. 315 the acts attributed to Ilias Khan are said to
have been done by a "mannikin called Rustam Khan". Neither
name appears elsewhere in the B.N.; the hero's name seems a
sarcasm on the small man.
[2122] Babur so-calls both Hasan and his followers, presumably
because they followed their race sympathies, as of Rajput
origin, and fought against co-religionists. Though Hasan's
subjects, Meos, were nominally Muhammadans, it appears that
they practised some Hindu customs. For an account of Miwat,
see _Gazetteer of Ulwur_ (Alwar, Alur) by Major P. W. Powlett.
[2123] Alwar being in Miwat, Babur may mean that bodies were
found beyond that town in the main portion of the Miwat
country which lies north of Alwar towards Dihli.
[2124] Major Powlett speaking (p. 9) of the revenue Miwat paid
to Babur, quotes Thomas as saying that the coins stated in
Babur's Revenue Accounts, _viz._ 169,810,00 _tankas_ were
probably Sikandari _tankas_, or Rs. 8,490,50.
[2125] This word appears to have been restricted in its use to
the Khan-zadas of the ruling house in Miwat, and was not used
for their subjects, the Meos (Powlett _l.c._ Cap. I.). The
uses of "Miwati" and "Meo" suggest something analogous with
those of "Chaghatai" and "Mughul" in Babur's time. The
resemblance includes mutual dislike and distrust (Powlett
_l.c._).
[2126] _qilurlar aikan dur._ This presumptive past tense is
frequently used by the cautious Babur. I quote it here and in
a few places near-following because it supports Shaw's
statement that in it the use of _aikan_ (_ikan_) reduces the
positive affirmation of the perfect to presumption or rumour.
With this statement all grammarians are not agreed; it is
fully supported by the _Babur-nama_.
[2127] Contrast here is suggested between Sultans of Dihli &
Hind; is it between the greater Turks with whom Babur classes
himself immediately below as a conqueror of Hind, and the Ludi
Sultans of Dihli?
[2128] The strength of the Tijara hills towards Dihli is
historical (Powlett _l.c._ p. 132).
[2129] This is one of the names of the principal river which
flows eastwards to the south of Alwar town; other names are
Barah and Ruparel. Powlett notes that it appears in Thorn's
Map of the battle of Laswarree (1803 AD.), which he reproduces
on p. 146. But it is still current in Gurgaon, with also a
variant Manas-le, man-killer (_G. of Gurgaon_ 1910 AD. ivA,
p.6).
[2130] _aultururlar aikan dur_, the presumptive past tense.
[2131] f.308.
[2132] _qilghan aikan dur_, the presumptive past tense.
[2133] _Sultan atigha juldu bulub_; Pers. trs. _Juldu ba nam-i
Sultan shud_. The _juldu_ guerdon seems to be apart from the
fief and allowance.
[2134] f. 315.
[2135] Babur does not record this detail (f. 315).
[2136] f. 298_b_ and f. 328_b_. Ja`far is mentioned as Mahdi's
son by Gul-badan and in the _Habibu's-siyar_ iii, 311, 312.
[2137] f. 388_b_.
[2138] The town of Firuzpur is commonly known as
Firuzpur-jhirka (Firuzpur of the spring), from a small
perennial stream which issues from a number of fissures in the
rocks bordering the road through a pass in the Miwat hills
which leads from the town _vi‚_ Tijara to Rewari (_G. of
Gurgaon_, p. 249). In Abu'l-fazl's day there was a Hindu
shrine of Mahadeo near the spring, which is still a place of
annual pilgrimage. The Kutila lake is called Kotla-_jhil_ in
the _G. of G._ (p. 7). It extends now 3 m. by 2-1/2 m. varying
in size with the season; in Abu'l-fazl's day it was 4 _kos_ (8
m.) round. It lies partly in the district of Nuh, partly in
Gurgaon, where the two tracts join at the foot of the Alwar
hills.
[2139] This is the frequently mentioned size for reservoirs;
the measure here is probably the _qari_, _cir._ a yard.
[2140] Babur does not state it as a fact known to himself that
the Manas-ni falls into the Kutila lake; it did so formerly,
but now does not, tradition assigning a cause for the change
(_G. of G._ p. 6). He uses the hear-say tense, _kirar aimish_.
[2141] Khari and Toda were in Akbar's _sarkar_ of Rantambhor.
[2142] Bhosawar is in Bhurtpur, and Chausa (or Jusa) may be
the Chausath of the _Ayin-i-akbari_, ii, 183.
[2143] As has been noted frequently, this phrase stands for
artificial water-courses.
[2144] Certainly Trans-Hindu-kush lands; presumably also those
of Trans-Indus, Kabul in chief.
[2145] _austi_; perhaps the reservoir was so built as to
contain the bubbling spring.
[2146] _Chun ja'i khwush karda am._
[2147] f. 315.
[2148] var. Janwar (Jarrett). It is 25 m. east of Agra on the
Muttra-Etawa road (_G. of I._).
[2149] _kucha-band_, perhaps a barricade at the limit of a
suburban lane.
[2150] This has been mentioned already (f. 327).
[2151] f. 315.
[2152] _i.e._ those professedly held for Babur.
[2153] Or, according to local pronunciation, Badayun.
[2154] This is the old name of Shahabad in Rampur (_G. of I._
xxii, 197). The _A.-i-A._ locates it in Sambal. Cf. E. and
D.'s _History of India_, iv, 384 n. and v. 215 n.
[2155] Perhaps the one in Sitapur.
[2156] f. 305_b_.
[2157] As the Elphinstone Codex which is the treasure-house of
Humayun's notes, has a long _lacuna_ into which this episode
falls, it is not known if the culprit entered in his copy of
the _Babur-nama_ a marginal excuse for his misconduct (cf. f.
252 and n.); such excuse was likely to be that he knew he
would be forgiven by his clement father.
[2158] f. 305_b_.
[2159] Kamran would be in Qandahar. Erskine notes that the sum
sent to him would be about £750, but that if the coins were
rupis, it would be £30,000.
[2160] _qita`_, for account of which form of poem _see_
Blochmann's translations of Saifi's and Jami's _Prosody_, p.
86.
[2161] _Rampur Diwan_ (E. D. Ross' ed. p. 16 and Plate 14_a_).
I am uncertain as to the meaning of ll. 4 and 10. I am not
sure that what in most MSS. ends line 4, _viz._ _aul dam_,
should not be read as _aulum_, death; this is allowed by Plate
14a where for space the word is divided and may be _aulum_. To
read _aulum_ and that the deserters fled from the death in
Hind they were anxious about, has an answering phrase in "we
still are alive". Ll. 9 and 10 perhaps mean that in the things
named all have done alike. [Ilminsky reads _khair nafsi_ for
the elsewhere _hazz-nafsi_.]
[2162] These are 20 attitudes (_rak`ah_) assumed in prayer
during Ramzan after the Bed-time Prayer. The ablution
(_ghusl_) is the bathing of the whole body for ceremonial
purification.
[2163] This Feast is the `Id-i-fitr, held at the breaking of
the Ramzan Fast on the 1st of Shawwal.
[2164] Erskine notes that this is the earliest mention of
playing-cards he can recall in oriental literature.
[2165] f. 339_b_.
[2166] The two varieties mentioned by Babur seem to be
_Diospyrus melanoxylon_, the wood of which is called _tindu
abnus_ in Hindustani, and _D. tomentosa_, Hindi, _tindu_
(Brandis _s.nn._). Bari is 19 m. west of Dulpur.
[2167] _mi`ad_, perhaps the time at which the Shaikh was to
appear before Babur.
[2168] The Pers. trs. makes the more definite statement that
what had to be read was a Section of the Qoran (_wird_). This
was done with remedial aim for the illness.
[2169] As this statement needs comment, and as it is linked to
matters mentioned in the _Rampur Diwan_, it seems better to
remit remarks upon it to Appendix Q, _Some matters concerning
the Rampur Diwan_.
[2170] _risala._ _See_ Appendix Q.
[2171] Elph. MS. _lacuna_; I.O. 215 _lacuna_ and 217 f. 229;
Mems. p. 373. This year's narrative resumes the diary form.
[2172] There is some uncertainty about these names and also as
to which adversary crossed the river. The sentence which, I
think, shews, by its plural verb, that Humayun left two men
and, by its co-ordinate participles, that it was they crossed
the river, is as follows:--(Darwish and Yusuf, understood)
_Qutb Sirwani-ni u bir para rajalar-ni bir darya autub
aurushub yakshi basib turlar_. _Autub_, _aurushub_ and _basib_
are grammatically referable to the same subject, [whatever was
the fact about the crossing].
[2173] _bir darya_; W.-i-B. 217 f. 229, _yak darya_, one
river, but many MSS. _har darya_, every river. If it did not
seem pretty certain that the rebels were not in the
Miyan-du-ab one would surmise the river to be "one river" of
the two enclosing the tract "between the waters", and that one
to be the Ganges. It may be one near Sambhal, east of the
Ganges.
[2174] var. Shirwani. The place giving the cognomen may be
Sarwan, a _thakurat_ of the Malwa Agency (_G. of I._). Qutb of
Sirwan may be the Qutb Khan of earlier mention without the
cognomen.
[2175] n.w. of Aligarh (Kul). It may be noted here, where
instances begin to be frequent, that my translation "we
marched" is an evasion of the Turki impersonal "it was
marched". Most rarely does Babur write "we marched", never, "I
marched."
[2176] in the Aligarh (Kul) district; it is the Sikandara Rao
of the _A.-i-A._ and the _G. of I._
[2177] _Rampur Diwan_ (E. D. Ross' ed., p. 19, Plate 16_b_).
This _Diwan_ contains other quatrains which, judging from
their contents, may well be those Babur speaks of as also
composed in Sambal. _See_ Appendix Q, _Some matters concerning
the Rampur Diwan_.
[2178] These are aunts of Babur, daughters of Sl. Abu-sa`id
_Miran-shahi_.
[2179] Sikandarabad is in the Buland-shahr district of the
United Provinces.
[2180] It is not clear whether Babur returned from Sikri on
the day he started for Jalisir; no question of distance would
prevent him from making the two journeys on the Monday.
[2181] As this was the rendezvous for the army, it would be
convenient if it lay between Agra and Anwar; as it was 6 m.
from Agra, the only mapped place having approximately the name
Jalisir, _viz._ Jalesar, in Etah, seems too far away.
[2182] Anwar would be suitably the Unwara of the _Indian
Atlas_, which is on the first important southward dip of the
Jumna below Agra. Chandwar is 25 m. east of Agra, on the
Muttra-Etawah road (_G. of I._); Jarrett notes that
Tiefenthaler identifies it with Firuzabad (_A.-i-A._ ii, 183
n.).
[2183] In the district of Kalpi. The name does not appear in
maps I have seen.
[2184] _agha_, AnglicÈ, uncle. He was Sa`id Khan of Kashghar.
Haidar M. says Baba Sl. was a spoiled child and died without
mending his ways.
[2185] From Kalpi Babur will have taken the road to the s.w.
near which now runs the Cawnpur (Kanhpur) branch of the Indian
Midland Railway, and he must have crossed the Betwa to reach
Irij (Irich, _Indian Atlas_, Sheet 69 N.W.).
[2186] Leaving Irij, Babur will have recrossed the Betwa and
have left its valley to go west to Bandir (Bhander) on the
Pahuj (_Indian Atlas_, Sheet 69 S.W.).
[2187] beneficent, or Muhassan, comely.
[2188] The one man of this name mentioned in the _B.N._ is an
amir of Sl. Husain _Bai-qara_.
[2189] It seems safe to take Kachwa [Kajwa] as the Kajwarra of
Ibn Batuta, and the Kadwaha (Kadwaia) of the _Indian Atlas_,
Sheet 52 N.E. and of Luard's _Gazetteer_ _of Gwalior_ (i,
247), which is situated in 24∞ 58' N. and 77∞ 57' E. Each of
the three names is of a place standing on a lake; Ibn Batuta's
lake was a league (4 m.) long, Babur's about 11 miles round;
Luard mentions no lake, but the _Indian Atlas_ marks one quite
close to Kadwaha of such form as to seem to have a tongue of
land jutting into it from the north-west, and thus suiting
Babur's description of the site of Kachwa. Again,--Ibn Batuta
writes of Kajwarra as having, round its lake, idol-temples;
Luard says of Kadwaha that it has four idol-temples standing
and nine in ruins; there may be hinted something special about
Babur's Kachwa by his remark that he encouraged its people,
and this speciality may be interaction between Muhammadanism
and Hinduism serving here for the purpose of identification.
For Ibn Batuta writes of the people of Kajwarra that they were
_jogis_, yellowed by asceticism, wearing their hair long and
matted, and having Muhammadan followers who desired to learn
their (occult?) secrets. If the same interaction existed in
Babur's day, the Muhammadan following of the Hindu ascetics
may well have been the special circumstance which led him to
promise protection to those Hindus, even when he was out for
Holy-war. It has to be remembered of Chandiri, the nearest
powerful neighbour of Kadwaha, that though Babur's capture
makes a vivid picture of Hinduism in it, it had been under
Muhammadan rulers down to a relatively short time before his
conquest. The _jogis_ of Kachwa could point to long-standing
relations of tolerance by the Chandiri Governors; this, with
their Muhammadan following, explains the encouragement Babur
gave them, and helps to identify Kachwa with Kajarra. It may
be observed that Babur was familiar with the interaction of
the two creeds, witness his "apostates", mostly Muhammadans
following Hindu customs, witness too, for the persistent fact,
the reports of District-officers under the British _Raj_.
Again,--a further circumstance helping to identify Kajwarra,
Kachwa and Kadwaha is that these are names of the last
important station the traveller and the soldier, as well
perhaps as the modern wayfarer, stays in before reaching
Chandiri. The importance of Kajwarra is shewn by Ibn Batuta,
and of Kadwaha by its being a _mahall_ in Akbar's _sarkar_ of
Bayawan of the _suba_ of Agra. Again,--Kadwaha is the place
nearest to Chandiri about which Babur's difficulties as to
intermediate road and jungle would arise. That intermediate
road takes off the main one a little south of Kadwaha and runs
through what looks like a narrow valley and broken country
down to Bhamor, Bhuranpur and Chandiri. Again,--no bar to
identification of the three names is placed by their
differences of form, in consideration of the vicissitudes they
have weathered in tongue, script, and transliteration. There
is some ground, I believe, for surmising that their common
source is _kajur_, the date-fruit. [I am indebted to my
husband for the help derived from Ibn Batuta, traced by him in
Sanguinetti's trs. iv, 33, and S. Lee's trs. p. 162.]
(Two places similar in name to Kachwa, and situated on Babur's
route _viz._ Kocha near Jhansi, and Kuchoowa north of Kadwaha
(Sheet 69 S.W.) are unsuitable for his "Kachwa", the first
because too near Bandir to suit his itinerary, the second
because too far from the turn off the main-road mentioned
above, because it has no lake, and has not the help in
identification detailed above of Kadwaha.)
[2190] _qurughir_ which could mean also _reserved_ (from the
water?).
[2191] _qazan._ There seems to have been one only; how few
Babur had is shewn again on f. 337.
[2192] _Indian Atlas_, Sheet 52 N.E. near a tributary of the
Betwa, the Or, which appears to be Babur's Burhanpur-water.
[2193] The bed of the Betwa opposite Chandiri is 1050 ft.
above the sea; the walled-town (_qurghan_) of Chandiri is on a
table-land 250 ft. higher, and its citadel is 230 ft. higher
again (Cunningham's _Archeological Survey Report_, 1871 A.D.
ii, 404).
[2194] The plan of Chandiri illustrating Cunningham's Report
(_see_ last note) allows surmise about the road taken by
Babur, surmise which could become knowledge if the names of
tanks he gives were still known. The courtesy of the
Government of India allows me to reproduce that plan [Appendix
R, _Chandiri_ and _Gwaliawar]_.
[2195] He is said to have been Governor of Chandiri in 1513
AD.
[2196] Here and in similar passages the word _m:ljar_ or
_m:lchar_ is found in MSS. where the meaning is that of T.
_buljar_. It is not in any dictionary I have seen; Mr. Irvine
found it "obscure" and surmised it to mean "approach by
trenches", but this does not suit its uses in the _Babur-nama_
of a military post, and a rendezvous. This surmise,
containing, as it does, a notion of protection, links _m:ljar_
in sense with Ar. _malja'_. The word needs expert
consideration, in order to decide whether it is to be received
into dictionaries, or to be rejected because explicable as the
outcome of unfamiliarity in Persian scribes with T. _buljar_
or, _more Persico_ with narrowed vowels, _buljar_. Shaw in his
Vocabulary enters _buljaq_ (_buljar_?), "a station for troops,
a rendezvous, see _malja'_," thus indicating, it would seem,
that he was aware of difficulty about _m:ljar_ and _buljaq_
(_buljar_?). There appears no doubt of the existence of a
Turki word _buljar_ with the meanings Shaw gives to _buljaq_;
it could well be formed from the root _bul_, being, whence
follows, being in a place, posted. _Malja_ has the meaning of
a standing-place, as well as those of a refuge and an asylum;
both meanings seem combined in the _m:ljar_ of f. 336_b_,
where for matchlockmen a _m:ljar_ was ordered "raised". (Cf.
Irvine's _Army of the Indian Moghuls_ p. 278.)
[2197] _yaghda_; Pers. trs. _sar-ashib_. Babur's remark seems
to show that for effect his mortar needed to be higher than
its object. Presumably it stood on the table-land north of the
citadel.
[2198] _shatu._ It may be noted that this word, common in
accounts of Babur's sieges, may explain one our friend the
late Mr. William Irvine left undecided (_l.c._ p. 278), _viz._
_shatur_. On p. 281 he states that _narduban_ is the name of a
scaling-ladder and that Babur mentions scaling ladders more
than once. Babur mentions them however always as _shatu_.
Perhaps _shatur_ which, as Mr. Irvine says, seems to be made
of the trunks of trees and to be a siege appliance, is really
_shatu u_ ... (ladder and ...) as in the passage under note
and on f. 216_b_, some other name of an appliance following.
[2199] The word here preceding _tura_ has puzzled scribes and
translators. I have seen the following variants in
MSS.;--_nukri_ or _tukri_, _b:kri_ or _y:kri_, _bukri_ or
_yukri_, _bukrai_ or _yukrai_, in each of which the _k_ may
stand for _g_. Various suggestions might be made as to what
the word is, but all involve reading the Persian enclitic _i_
(forming the adjective) instead of Turki _lik_. Two roots,
_tig_ and _yug_, afford plausible explanations of the unknown
word; appliances suiting the case and able to bear names
formed from one or other of these roots are _wheeled
mantelet_, and _head-strike_ (P. _sar-kob_). That the word is
difficult is shewn not only by the variants I have quoted, but
by Erskine's reading _naukari tura_, "to serve the _turas_," a
requisite not specified earlier by Babur, and by de
Courteille's paraphrase, _tout ce qui est nÈcessaire aux
touras_.
[2200] Sl. Nasiru'd-din was the Khilji ruler of Malwa from 906
to 916 A.H. (1500-1510 AD.).
[2201] He was a Rajput who had been prime-minister of Sl.
Mahmud II. _Khilji_ (son of Nasiru'd-din) and had rebelled.
Babur (like some other writers) spells his name Mindni,
perhaps as he heard it spoken.
[2202] Presumably the one in the United Provinces. For
Shamsabad in Gualiar _see_ Luard _l.c._ i, 286.
[2203] _chiqti_; Pers. trs. _bar amad_ and, also in some MSS.
_nami bar amad_; Mems. p. 376, "averse to conciliation";
_MÈms._ ii, 329, "_s'ÈlevËrent contre cette proposition_." So
far I have not found Babur using the verb _chiqmaq_
metaphorically. It is his frequent verb to express "getting
away", "going out of a fort". It would be a short step in
metaphor to understand here that Medini's men "got out of it",
_i.e._ what Babur offered. They may have left the fort also;
if so, it would be through dissent.
[2204] f. 332.
[2205] I.O. 217, f. 231, inserts here what seems a gloss, "_Ta
in ja Farsi farmuda_" (_gufta_, said). As Babur enters his
speech in Persian, it is manifest that he used Persian to
conceal the bad news.
[2206] The _Illustrated London News_ of July 10th, 1915 (on
which day this note is written), has an ‡propos picture of an
ancient fortress-gun, with its stone-ammunition, taken by the
Allies in a Dardanelles fort.
[2207] The _du-tahi_ is the _ab-duzd_, water-thief, of f. 67.
Its position can be surmised from Cunningham's Plan [Appendix
R].
[2208] For Babur's use of hand (_qul_) as a military term
_see_ f. 209.
[2209] His full designation would be Shah Muhammad _yuz-begi_.
[2210] This will be flight from the ramparts to other places
in the fort.
[2211] Babur's account of the siege of Chandiri is incomplete,
inasmuch as it says nothing of the general massacre of pagans
he has mentioned on f. 272. Khwafi Khan records the massacre,
saying, that after the fort was surrendered, as was done on
condition of safety for the garrison, from 3 to 4000 pagans
were put to death by Babur's troops on account of hostility
shewn during the evacuation of the fort. The time assigned to
the massacre is previous to the _juhar_ of 1000 women and
children and the self-slaughter of men in Medini Rao's house,
in which he himself died. It is not easy to fit the two
accounts in; this might be done, however, by supposing that a
folio of Babur's MS. was lost, as others seem lost at the end
of the narrative of this year's events (_q.v._). The lost
folio would tell of the surrender, one clearly affecting the
mass of Rajput followers and not the chiefs who stood for
victory or death and who may have made sacrifice to honour
after hearing of the surrender. Babur's narrative in this part
certainly reads less consecutive than is usual with him;
something preceding his account of the _juhar_ would improve
it, and would serve another purpose also, since mention of the
surrender would fix a term ending the now too short time of
under one hour he assigns as the duration of the fighting. If
a surrender had been mentioned, it would be clear that his "2
or 3 _garis_" included the attacking and taking of the
_du-tahi_ and down to the retreat of the Rajputs from the
walls. On this Babur's narrative of the unavailing sacrifice
of the chiefs would follow in due order. Khwafi Khan is more
circumstantial than Firishta who says nothing of surrender or
massacre, but states that 6000 men were killed fighting.
Khwafi Khan's authorities may throw light on the matter, which
so far does not hang well together in any narrative, Babur's,
Firishta's, or Khwafi Khan's. One would like to know what led
such a large body of Rajputs to surrender so quickly; had they
been all through in favour of accepting terms? One wonders,
again, why from 3 to 4000 Rajputs did not put up a better
resistance to massacre. Perhaps their assailants were Turks,
stubborn fighters down to 1915 AD.
[2212] For suggestion about the brevity of this period, _see_
last note.
[2213] Clearly, without Babur's taking part in the fighting.
[2214] These words by _abjad_ make 934. The Hai. MS.
mistakenly writes _Bud Chandiri_ in the first line of the
quatrain instead of _Bud chandi_. Khwafi Khan quotes the
quatrain with slight variants.
[2215] _Chandiri tauri wilayat_ (_da_?) _waqi` bulub tur_,
which seems to need _da_, in, because the fort, and not the
country, is described. Or there may be an omission _e.g._ of a
second sentence about the walled-town (fort).
[2216] This is the "Kirat-sagar" of Cunningham's Plan of
Chandiri; it is mentioned under this name by Luard (_l.c._ i,
210). "Kirat" represents Kirti or Kirit Singh who ruled in
Gualiar from 1455 to 1479 AD., there also making a tank
(Luard, _l.c._ i, 232).
[2217] For illustrative photographs _see_ Luard, _l.c._ vol.
i, part iv.
[2218] I have taken this sentence to apply to the location of
the tanks, but with some doubt; they are on the table-land.
[2219] Babur appears to have written Betwi, this form being in
MSS. I have read the name to be that of the river Betwa which
is at a considerable distance from the fort. But some writers
dispraise its waters where Babur praises.
[2220] T. _qia_ means a slope or slant; here it may describe
tilted _strata_, such as would provide slabs for roofing and
split easily for building purposes. (_See_ next note.)
[2221] _`imarat qilmaq munasib_. This has been read to mean
that the _qialar_ provide good sites (Mems. & _MÈms._), but
position, distance from the protection of the fort, and the
merit of local stone for building incline me to read the words
quoted above as referring to the convenient lie of the stone
for building purposes. (_See_ preceding note.)
[2222] _Chandiri-da judai (jady)-ning irtiqa`i yigirma-bish
darja dur_; Erskine, p. 378, Chanderi is situated in the 25th
degree of N. latitude; de Courteille, ii, 334, _La hauteur du
Capricorne ‡ Tchanderi est de 25 degrÈes_. The latitude of
Chandiri, it may be noted, is 24∞ 43'. It does not appear to
me indisputable that what Babur says here is a statement of
latitude. The word _judai_ (or _jady_) means both Pole-star
and the Sign Capricorn. M. de Courteille translates the quoted
sentence as I have done, but with Capricorn for Pole-star. My
acquaintance with such expressions in French does not allow me
to know whether his words are a statement of latitude. It
occurs to me against this being so, that Babur uses other
words when he gives the latitude of Samarkand (f. 44_b_); and
also that he has shewn attention to the Pole-star as a guide
on a journey (f. 203, where he uses the more common word
_Qutb_). Perhaps he notes its lower altitude when he is far
south, in the way he noted the first rise of Canopus to his
view (f. 125).
[2223] Mallu Khan was a noble of Malwa, who became ruler of
Malwa in 1532 or 1533 AD. [?], under the style of Qadir Shah.
[2224] _i.e._ paid direct to the royal treasury.
[2225] This is the one concerning which bad news reached Babur
just before Chandiri was taken.
[2226] This presumably is the place offered to Medini Rao (f.
333_b_), and Bikramajit (f. 343).
[2227] Obviously for the bridge.
[2228] _m:ljar_ (_see_ f. 333 n.). Here the word would mean
befittingly a protected standing-place, a refuge, such as
matchlockmen used (f. 217 and Index _s.n._ _araba_).
[2229] _sighirurdi_, a vowel-variant, perhaps, of
_sughururdi_.
[2230] f. 331_b_. This passage shews that Babur's mortars were
few.
[2231] _nufur qul-lar-din ham karka bila rah rawa kishi u at
aitilar_, a difficult sentence.
[2232] _Afghanlar kupruk baghlamaq-ni istib`ad qilib tamaskhur
qilurlar aikandur._ The ridicule will have been at slow
progress, not at the bridge-making itself, since
pontoon-bridges were common (Irvine's _Army of the Indian
Moghuls_).
[2233] _tuilab_; Pers. trs. _uftan u khezan_, limping, or
falling and rising, a translation raising doubt, because such
a mode of progression could hardly have allowed escape from
pursuers.
[2234] AnglicÈ, on Friday night.
[2235] According to the Persian calendar, New-year's-day is
that on which the Sun enters Aries.
[2236] so-spelled in the Hai. MS.; by de Courteille
Banguermadu; the two forms may represent the same one of the
Arabic script.
[2237] or Gui, from the context clearly the Gumti. Jarrett
gives Godi as a name of the Gumti; Gui and Godi may be the
same word in the Arabic script.
[2238] Some MSS. read that there was not much pain.
[2239] I take this to be the Kali-Sarda-Chauka affluent of the
Gogra and not its Sarju or Saru one. To so take it seems
warranted by the context; there could be no need for the fords
on the Sarju to be examined, and its position is not suitable.
[2240] Unfortunately no record of the hunting-expedition
survives.
[2241] One historian, Ahmad-i-yadgar states in his
_Tarikh-i-salatin-i-afaghina_ that Babur went to Lahor
immediately after his capture of Chandiri, and on his return
journey to Agra suppressed in the Panj-ab a rising of the
Mundahar (or, Mandhar) Rajputs. His date is discredited by
Babur's existing narrative of 934 AH. as also by the absence
in 935 AH. of allusion to either episode. My husband who has
considered the matter, advises me that the Lahor visit may
have been made in 936 or early in 937 AH. [These are a period
of which the record is lost or, less probably, was not
written.]
[2242] Elph. MS. f. 262; I. O. 215 f. 207b and 217 f. 234_b_;
_Mems._ p. 382. Here the Elphinstone MS. recommences after a
_lacuna_ extending from Hai. MS. f. 312_b_.
[2243] _See_ Appendix S:--_Concerning the dating of_ 935 AH.
[2244] `Askari was now about 12 years old. He was succeeded in
Multan by his elder brother Kamran, transferred from Qandahar
[Index; JRAS. 1908 p. 829 para. (1)]. This transfer, it is
safe to say, was due to Babur's resolve to keep Kabul in his
own hands, a resolve which his letters to Humayun (f. 348), to
Kamran (f. 359), and to Khwaja Kalan (f. 359) attest, as well
as do the movements of his family at this time. What would
make the stronger government of Kamran seem now more "for the
good of Multan" than that of the child `Askari are the Biluchi
incursions, mentioned somewhat later (f. 355_b_) as having
then occurred more than once.
[2245] This will be his own house in the
Garden-of-eight-paradises, the Char-bagh begun in 932 AH.
(August 1526 AD.).
[2246] To this name Khwand-amir adds Ahmadu'l-haqiri, perhaps
a pen-name; he also quotes verses of Shihab's
(_Habibu's-siyar_ lith. ed. iii, 350).
[2247] Khwand-amir's account of his going into Hindustan is
that he left his "dear home" (Herat) for Qandahar in
mid-Shawwal 933 AH. (mid-July 1527 AD.); that on Jumada I.
10th 934 AH. (Feb. 1st 1528 AD.) he set out from Qandahar on
the hazardous journey into Hindustan; and that owing to the
distance, heat, setting-in of the Rains, and breadth of rapid
rivers, he was seven months on the way. He mentions no
fellow-travellers, but he gives as the day of his arrival in
Agra the one on which Babur says he presented himself at
Court. (For an account of annoyances and misfortunes to which
he was subjected under Auzbeg rule in Herat _see Journal des
Savans_, July 1843, pp. 389, 393, QuatremËre's art.)
[2248] Concerning Gualiar _see_ Cunningham's _Archeological
Survey Reports_ vol. ii; Louis Rousselet's _L'Inde des Rajas_;
Lepel Griffin's _Famous Monuments of Central India_,
especially for its photographs; _Gazetteer of India_; Luard's
_Gazetteer of Gwalior_, text and photographs; _Travels of
Peter Mundy_, Hakluyt Society ed. R. C. Temple, ii, 61,
especially for its picture of the fort and note (p. 62)
enumerating early writers on Gualiar. Of Persian books there
is Jalal _Hisari's Tarikh-i-Gwaliawar_ (B.M. Add. 16,859) and
Hiraman's (B.M. Add. 16,709) unacknowledged version of it,
which is of the B.M. MSS. the more legible.
[2249] Perhaps this stands for Gwaliawar, the form seeming to
be used by Jalal _Hisari_, and having good traditional support
(Cunningham p. 373 and Luard p. 228).
[2250] _tushlanib_, _i.e._ they took rest and food together at
mid-day.
[2251] This seems to be the conjoined Gambhir and Banganga
which is crossed by the Agra-Dhulpur road (_G. of I._ Atlas,
Sheet 34).
[2252] _aichtuq_, the plural of which shews that more than one
partook of the powders (_safuf_).
[2253] T. _talqan_, Hindi _sattu_ (Shaw). M. de Courteille's
variant translation may be due to his reading for _talqan_,
_talghaq_, _flot_, _agitation_ (his Dict. _s.n._) and _yil_,
wind, for _bila_, with.
[2254] in 933 AH. f. 330_b_.
[2255] "Each beaked promontory" (Lycidas). Our name
"Selsey-bill" is an English instance of Babur's (not
infrequent) _tumshuq_, beak, bill of a bird.
[2256] No order about this Char-bagh is in existing annals of
934 AH. Such order is likely to have been given after Babur's
return from his operations against the Afghans, in his account
of which the annals of 934 AH. break off.
[2257] The fort-hill at the northern end is 300 ft. high, at
the southern end, 274 ft.; its length from north to south is
1-3/4 m.; its breadth varies from 600 ft. opposite the main
entrance (Hati-pul) to 2,800 ft. in the middle opposite the
great temple (Sas-bhao). Cf. Cunningham p. 330 and Appendix R,
_in loco_, for his Plan of Gualiar.
[2258] This Arabic plural may have been prompted by the
greatness and distinction of Man-sing's constructions. Cf.
Index _s.nn._ _begat_ and _baghat_.
[2259] A translation point concerning the (Arabic) word
_`imarat_ is that the words "palace", "_palais_", and
"residence" used for it respectively by Erskine, de
Courteille, and, previous to the Hindustan Section, by myself,
are too limited in meaning to serve for Babur's uses of it in
Hindustan; and this (1) because he uses it throughout his
writings for buildings under palatial rank (_e.g._ those of
high and low in Chandiri); (2) because he uses it in Hindustan
for non-residential buildings (_e.g._ for the Badalgarh
outwork, f. 341_b_, and a Hindu temple _ib._); and (3) because
he uses it for the word "building" in the term building-stone,
f. 335_b_ and f. 339_b_. _Building_ is the comprehensive word
under which all his uses of it group. For labouring this point
a truism pleads my excuse, namely, that a man's vocabulary
being characteristic of himself, for a translator to increase
or diminish it is to intrude on his personality, and this the
more when an autobiography is concerned. Hence my search here
(as elsewhere) for an English grouping word is part of an
endeavour to restrict the vocabulary of my translation to the
limits of my author's.
[2260] Jalal _Hisari_ describes "Khwaja Rahim-dad" as a
paternal-nephew of Mahdi Khwaja. Neither man has been
introduced by Babur, as it is his rule to introduce when he
first mentions a person of importance, by particulars of
family, _etc._ Both men became disloyal in 935 AH. (1529 AD.)
as will be found referred to by Babur. Jalal _Hisari_
supplements Babur's brief account of their misconduct and
Shaikh Muhammad _Ghaus'_ mediation in 936 AH. For knowledge
of his contribution I am indebted to my husband's perusal of
the _Tarikh-i-Gwaliawar_.
[2261] Erskine notes that Indians and Persians regard
moonshine as cold but this only faintly expresses the
wide-spread fear of moon-stroke expressed in the Psalm (121 v.
6), "The Sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the Moon by
night."
[2262] _Agarcha luk baluk u bi siyaq._ Ilminsky [p. 441] has
_baluk baluk_ but without textual warrant and perhaps
following Erskine, as he says, speaking generally, that he has
done in case of need (Ilminsky's Preface). Both Erskine and de
Courteille, working, it must be remembered, without the help
of detailed modern descriptions and pictures, took the above
words to say that the buildings were scattered and without
symmetry, but they are not scattered and certainly Man-sing's
has symmetry. I surmise that the words quoted above do not
refer to the buildings themselves but to the stones of which
they are made. T. _luk_ means heavy, and T. _baluk_ [? block]
means a thing divided off, here a block of stone. Such blocks
might be _bi siyaq_, _i.e._ irregular in size. To take the
words in this way does not contradict known circumstances, and
is verbally correct.
[2263] The Rajas' buildings Babur could compare were Raja
Karna (or Kirti)'s [who ruled from 1454 to 1479 AD.], Raja
Man-sing's [1486 to 1516 AD.], and Raja Bikramajit's [1516 to
1526 AD. when he was killed at Panipat].
[2264] The height of the eastern face is 100 ft. and of the
western 60 ft. The total length from north to south of the
outside wall is 300 ft.; the breadth of the residence from
east to west 160 ft. The 300 ft. of length appears to be that
of the residence and service-courtyard (Cunningham p. 347 and
Plate lxxxvii).
[2265] _kaj bila aqaritib._ There can be little doubt that a
white pediment would show up the coloured tiles of the upper
part of the palace-walls more than would pale red sandstone.
These tiles were so profuse as to name the building Chit
Mandir (Painted Mandir). Guided by Babur's statement,
Cunningham sought for and found plaster in crevices of carved
work; from which one surmises that the white coating approved
itself to successors of Man-sing. [It may be noted that the
word Mandir is in the same case for a translator as is
_`imarat_ (f. 339_b_ n.) since it requires a grouping word to
cover its uses for temple, palace, and less exalted
buildings.]
[2266] The lower two storeys are not only backed by solid
ground but, except near the Hati-pul, have the rise of ground
in front of them which led Babur to say they were "even in a
pit" (_chuqur_).
[2267] MSS. vary between _har_ and _bir_, every and one, in
this sentence. It may be right to read _bir_, and apply it
only to the eastern faÁade as that on which there were most
cupolas. There are fewer on the south side, which still stands
(Luard's photo. No. 37).
[2268] The ground rises steeply from this Gate to an inner
one, called Hawa-pul from the rush of air (_hawa_) through it.
[2269] Cunningham says the riders were the Raja and a driver.
Perhaps they were a mahout and his mate. The statue stood to
the left on exit (_chiqish_).
[2270] This window will have been close to the Gate where no
mound interferes with outlook.
[2271] Rooms opening on inner and open courts appear to form
the third story of the residence.
[2272] T. _chuqur_, hollow, pit. This storey is dark and
unventilated, a condition due to small windows, absence of
through draught, and the adjacent mound. Cunningham comments
on its disadvantages.
[2273] _Agarcha Hindustani takalluflar qilib turlar wali bi
hawalik-raq yirlar dur._ Perhaps amongst the pains taken were
those demanded for _punkhas_. I regret that Erskine's
translation of this passage, so superior to my own in literary
merit, does not suit the Turki original. He worked from the
Persian translation, and not only so, but with a less rigid
rule of translation than binds me when working on Babur's
_ipsissima verba_ (_Mems._ p. 384; Cunningham p. 349; Luard p.
226).
[2274] The words _aurta da_ make apt contrast between the
outside position of Man-sing's buildings which helped to form
the fort-wall, and Bikramajit's which were further in except
perhaps one wall of his courtyard (see Cunningham's Plate
lxxxiii).
[2275] Cunningham (p. 350) says this was originally a
_bara-duri_, a twelve-doored open hall, and must have been
light. His "originally" points to the view that the hall had
been altered before Babur saw it but as it was only about 10
years old at that time, it was in its first form, presumably.
Perhaps Babur saw it in a bad light. The dimensions Cunningham
gives of it suggest that the high dome must have been
frequently ill-lighted.
[2276] The word _talar_, having various applications, is not
easy to match with a single English word, nor can one be sure
in all cases what it means, a platform, a hall, or _etc._ To
find an equivalent for its diminutive _talar-ghina_ is still
more difficult. Rahim-dad's _talar_-ette will have stood on
the flat centre of the dome, raised on four pillars or perhaps
with its roof only so-raised; one is sure there would be a
roof as protection against sun or moon. It may be noted that
the dome is not visible outside from below, but is hidden by
the continuation upwards of walls which form a mean-looking
parallelogram of masonry.
[2277] _T. tur yul._ Concerning this hidden road _see_
Cunningham p. 350 and Plate lxxxvii.
[2278] _baghcha._ The context shews that the garden was for
flowers. For Babur's distinctions between _baghcha_, _bagh_
and _baghat_, _see_ Index _s.nn._
[2279] _shaft-alu_ _i.e._ the rosy colour of peach-flowers,
perhaps lip-red (Steingass). Babur's contrast seems to be
between those red oleanders of Hindustan that are rosy-red,
and the deep red ones he found in Gualiar.
[2280] _kul_, any large sheet of water, natural or artificial
(Babur). This one will be the Suraj-kund (Sun-tank).
[2281] This is the Teli Mandir, or Telingana Mandir (Luard).
Cf. Cunningham, p. 356 and Luard p. 227 for accounts of it;
and _G. of I._ _s.n._ Teliagarhi for Teli Rajas.
[2282] This is a large outwork reached from the Gate of the
same name. Babur may have gone there specially to see the
Gujari Mandir said by Cunningham to have been built by
Man-sing's Gujar wife Mriga-nayana (fawn-eyed). Cf. Cunningham
p. 351 and, for other work done by the same Queen, in the s.
e. corner of the fort, p. 344; Luard p. 226. In this place
"construction" would serve to translate _`imarat_ (f. 340 n.).
[2283] _ab-duzd_, a word conveying the notion of a stealthy
taking of the water. The walls at the mouth of Urwa were built
by Altamsh for the protection of its water for the fort. The
date Babur mentions (a few lines further) is presumably that
of their erection.
[2284] Cunningham, who gives 57 ft. as the height of this
statue, says Babur estimated it at 20 _gaz_, or 40 ft., but
this is not so. Babur's word is not _gaz_ a measure of 24
fingers-breadth, but _qari_, the length from the tip of the
shoulder to the fingers-ends; it is about 33 inches, not less,
I understand. Thus stated in _qaris_ Babur's estimate of the
height comes very near Cunningham's, being a good 55 ft. to 57
ft. (I may note that I have usually translated _qari_ by
"yard", as the yard is its nearest English equivalent. The
Pers. trs. of the B. N. translates by _gaz_, possibly a larger
_gaz_ than that of 24 fingers-breadth _i.e._ inches.)
[2285] The statues were not broken up by Babur's agents; they
were mutilated; their heads were restored with coloured
plaster by the Jains (Cunningham p. 365; Luard p. 228).
[2286] _rozan_ [or, _auz:n_] ... _tafarruj qilib_. Neither
Cunningham nor Luard mentions this window, perhaps because
Erskine does not; nor is this name of a Gate found. It might
be that of the Dhonda-paur (Cunningham, p. 339). The 1st Pers.
trs. [I.O. 215 f. 210] omits the word _rozan_ (or, _auz:n_);
the 2nd [I.O. 217 f. 236b] renders it by _ja'i_, place.
Manifestly the Gate was opened by Babur, but, presumably, not
precisely at the time of his visit. I am inclined to
understand that _rozan_ ... _tafarruj karda_ means enjoying
the window formerly used by Muhammadan rulers. If _auz:n_ be
the right reading, its sense is obscure.
[2287] This will have occurred in the latter half of 934 AH.
of which no record is now known.
[2288] He is mentioned under the name Asuk Mal _Rajput_, as a
servant of Rana Sanga by the _Mirat-i-sikandari_, lith. ed. p.
161. In Bayley's Translation p. 273 he is called Awasuk,
manifestly by clerical error, the sentence being _az
janib-i-au Asuk Mal Rajput dar an (qila`) buda_....
[2289] _ata-lik, aughul-lik_, _i.e._ he spoke to the son as a
father, to the mother as a son.
[2290] The _Mirat-i-sikandari_ (lith. ed. p. 234, Bayley's
trs. p. 372) confirms Babur's statement that the precious
things were at Bikramajit's disposition. Perhaps they had been
in his mother's charge during her husband's life. They were
given later to Bahadur Shah of Gujrat.
[2291] The Teli Mandir has not a cupola but a waggon-roof of
South Indian style, whence it may be that it has the southern
name Telingana, suggested by Col. Luard.
[2292] See Luard's Photo. No. 139 and P. Mundy's sketch of the
fort p. 62.
[2293] This will be the Ghargaraj-gate which looks south
though it is not at the south end of the fort-hill where there
is only a postern approached by a flight of stone steps
(Cunningham p. 332).
[2294] The garden will have been on the lower ground at the
foot of the ramp and not near the Hati-pul itself where the
scarp is precipitous.
[2295] _Mundin kichikraq atlanilghan aikandur._ This may imply
that the distance mentioned to Babur was found by him an
over-estimate. Perhaps the fall was on the Murar-river.
[2296] Rope (Shaw); _corde qui sert ‡ attacher le bagage sur
les chameaux_ (de Courteille); a thread of 20 cubits long for
weaving (Steingass); I have the impression that an _arghamchi_
is a horse's tether.
[2297] For information about this opponent of Babur in the
battle of Kanwa, _see_ the _Asiatic Review_, Nov. 1915, II.
Beveridge's art. _Silhadi, and the Mirat-i-sikandari_.
[2298] Colonel Luard has suggested to us that the Babur-nama
word Sukhjana may stand for Salwai or Sukhalhari, the names of
two villages near Gualiar.
[2299] Presumably of night, 6-9 p.m., of Saturday Muh.
18th-Oct. 2nd.
[2300] f. 330_b_ and f. 339_b_.
[2301] Between the last explicit date in the text, _viz._
Sunday, Muh. 19th, and the one next following, _viz._
Saturday, Safar 3rd, the diary of six days is wanting. The gap
seems to be between the unfinished account of doings in
Dhulpur and the incomplete one of those of the Monday of the
party. For one of the intermediate days Babur had made an
appointment, when in Gualiar (f. 343), with the envoys of
Bikramajit, the trysting-day being Muh. 23rd (_i.e._ 9 days
after Muh. 14th). Babur is likely to have gone to Biana as
planned; that envoys met him there may be surmised from the
circumstance that when negociations with Bikramajit were
renewed in Agra (f. 345), two sets of envoys were present, a
"former" one and a "later" one, and this although all envoys
had been dismissed from Gualiar. The "former" ones will have
been those who went to Biana, were not given leave there, but
were brought on to Agra; the "later" ones may have come to
Agra direct from Ranthambhor. It suits all round to take it
that pages have been lost on which was the record of the end
of the Dhulpur visit, of the journey to the, as yet unseen,
fort of Biana, of tryst kept by the envoys, of other doings in
Biana where, judging from the time taken to reach Sikri, it
may be that the _ma`jun_ party was held.
[2302] AnglicÈ, Tuesday after 6 p.m.
[2303] _aghaz aichib nima yib_, which words seem to imply the
breaking of a fast.
[2304] Doubtless the garden owes its name to the eight heavens
or paradises mentioned in the Quran (Hughes' _Dictionary of
Islam_ _s.n._ Paradise). Babur appears to have reached Agra on
the 1st of Safar; the 2nd may well have been spent on the home
affairs of a returned traveller.
[2305] The great, or elder trio were daughters of Sl.
Abu-sa`id Mirza, Babur's paternal-aunts therefore, of his
dutiful attendance on whom, Gul-badan writes.
[2306] "Lesser," _i.e._ younger in age, lower in rank as not
being the daughters of a sovereign Mirza, and held in less
honour because of a younger generation.
[2307] Gul-badan mentions the arrival in Hindustan of a khanim
of this name, who was a daughter of Sl. Mahmud Khan
_Chaghatai_, Babur's maternal-uncle; to this maternal
relationship the word _chicha_ (mother) may refer. _Yinka_,
uncle's or elder brother's wife, has occurred before (ff. 192,
207), _chicha_ not till now.
[2308] Cf. f. 344_b_ and n.5 concerning the surmised movements
of this set of envoys.
[2309] This promise was first proffered in Gualiar (f.343).
[2310] These may be Bai-qara kinsfolk or Miran-shahis married
to them. No record of Shah Qasim's earlier mission is
preserved; presumably he was sent in 934 AH. and the record
will have been lost with much more of that year's. Khwand-amir
may well have had to do with this second mission, since he
could inform Babur of the discomfort caused in Heri by the
near leaguer of `Ubaidu'l-lah _Auzbeg_.
[2311] _Albatta auzumizni har nu` qilib tigurkumiz dur._ The
following versions of this sentence attest its
difficulty:--_Waqi`at-i-baburi_, 1st trs. I.O. 215 f. 212,
_albatta khudra ba har nu`i ka bashad dar an khub khwahim
rasanad_; and 2nd trs. I.O. 217 f. 238_b_, _albatta dar har
nu` karda khudra mi rasanim_; _Memoirs_ p. 388, "I would make
an effort and return in person to Kabul"; _MÈmoires_ ii, 356,
_je ferais tous mes efforts pour pousser en avant_. I surmise,
as Payanda-i-hasan seems to have done (1st Pers. trs.
_supra_), that the passage alludes to Babur's aims in
Hindustan which he expects to touch in the coming spring. What
seems likely to be implied is what Erskine says and more,
_viz._ return to Kabul, renewal of conflict with the Auzbeg
and release of Khurasan kin through success. As is said by
Babur immediately after this, Tahmasp of Persia had defeated
`Ubaidu'l-lah _Auzbeg_ before Babur's letter was written.
[2312] _Simab yimakni bunyad qildim_, a statement which would
be less abrupt if it followed a record of illness. Such a
record may have been made and lost.
[2313] The preliminaries to this now somewhat obscure section
will have been lost in the gap of 934 AH. They will have given
Babur's instructions to Khwaja Dost-i-khawand and have thrown
light on the unsatisfactory state of Kabul, concerning which a
good deal comes out later, particularly in Babur's letter to
its Governor Khwaja Kalan. It may be right to suppose that
Kamran wanted Kabul and that he expected the Khwaja to bring
him an answer to his request for it, whether made by himself
or for him, through some-one, his mother perhaps, whom Babur
now sent for to Hindustan.
[2314] 934 AH.-August 26th 1528 AD.
[2315] The useful verb _tibramak_ which connotes agitation of
mind with physical movement, will here indicate anxiety on the
Khwaja's part to fulfil his mission to Humayun.
[2316] Kamran's messenger seems to repeat his master's words,
using the courteous imperative of the 3rd person plural.
[2317] Though Babur not infrequently writes of _e.g._ Bengalis
and Auzbegs and Turks in the singular, the Bengali, the
Auzbeg, the Turk, he seems here to mean `Ubaidu'l-lah, the
then dominant Auzbeg, although Kuchum was Khaqan.
[2318] This muster preceded defeat near Jam of which Babur
heard some 19 days later.
[2319] Humayun's wife was Bega Begim, the later Haji Begim;
Kamran's bride was her cousin perhaps named Mah-afruz
(Gul-badan's _Humayun-nama_ f. 64_b_). The hear-say tense used
by the messenger allows the inference that he was not
accredited to give the news but merely repeated the rumour of
Kabul. The accredited bearer-of-good-tidings came later (f.
346_b_).
[2320] There are three enigmatic words in this section. The
first is the Sayyid's cognomen; was he _dakni_, rather dark of
hue, or _zakni_, one who knows, or _rukni_, one who props,
erects scaffolding, _etc._? The second mentions his
occupation; was he a _ghaiba-gar_, diviner (Erskine,
water-finder), a _jiba-gar_, cuirass-maker, or a _jiba-gar_,
cistern-maker, which last suits with well-making? The third
describes the kind of well he had in hand, perhaps the stone
one of f. 353_b_; had it scaffolding, or was it for
drinking-water only (_khwaraliq_); had it an arch, or was it
chambered (_khwazaliq_)? If Babur's orders for the work had
been preserved,--they may be lost from f. 344_b_, trouble would
have been saved to scribes and translators, as an example of
whose uncertainty it may be mentioned that from the third word
(_khwaraliq_?) Erskine extracted "jets d'eau and artificial
water-works", and de Courteille "_taillÈ dans le roc vif_".
[2321] All Babur's datings in Safar are inconsistent with his
of Muharram, if a Muharram of 30 days [as given by Gladwin and
others].
[2322] _hararat._ This Erskine renders by "so violent an
illness" (p. 388), de Courteille by "_une inflammation
d'entrailles_" (ii, 357), both swayed perhaps by the earlier
mention, on Muh. 10th, of Babur's medicinal quick-silver, a
drug long in use in India for internal affections (Erskine).
Some such ailment may have been recorded and the record lost
(f. 345_b_ and n. 8), but the heat, fever, and trembling in
the illness of Safar 23rd, taken with the reference to last's
year's attack of fever, all point to climatic fever.
[2323] _aindini_ (or, _andini_). Consistently with the
readings quoted in the preceding note, E. and de C. date the
onset of the fever as Sunday and translate _aindini_ to mean
"two days after". It cannot be necessary however to specify
the interval between Friday and Sunday; the text is not
explicit; it seems safe to surmise only that the cold fit was
less severe on Sunday; the fever had ceased on the following
Thursday.
[2324] AnglicÈ, Monday after 6 p.m.
[2325] The _Rashahat-i-¥ainu'l-hayat_ (Tricklings from the
fountain of life) contains an interesting and almost
contemporary account of the Khwaja and of his
_Walidiyyah-risala_. A summary of what in it concerns the
Khwaja can be read in the JRAS. Jan. 1916, H. Beveridge's art.
The tract, so far as we have searched, is now known in
European literature only through Babur's metrical translation
of it; and this, again, is known only through the _Rampur
Diwan_. [It may be noted here, though the topic belongs to the
beginning of the _Babur-nama_ (f. 2), that the _Rashahat_
contains particulars about Ahrari's interventions for peace
between Babur's father ¥Umar Shaikh and those with whom he
quarrelled.]
[2326] "Here unfortunately, Mr. Elphinstone's Turki copy
finally ends" (Erskine), that is to say, the Elphinstone Codex
belonging to the Faculty of Advocates of Edinburgh.
[2327] This work, Al-busiri's famous poem in praise of the
Prophet, has its most recent notice in M. RenÈ Basset's
article of the _EncyclopÊdia of Islam_ (Leyden and London).
[2328] Babur's technical terms to describe the metre he used
are, _ramal musaddas makhbun ¥aruz_ and _zarb gah abtar gah
makhbun muhzuf wazn_.
[2329] _autkan yil (u) har mahal mundaq ¥arizat kim buldi_,
from which it seems correct to omit the _u_ (and), thus
allowing the reference to be to last year's illnesses only;
because no record, of any date, survives of illness lasting
even one full month, and no other year has a _lacuna_ of
sufficient length unless one goes improbably far back: for
these attacks seem to be of Indian climatic fever. One in last
year (934 AH.) lasting 25-26 days (f. 331) might be called a
month's illness; another or others may have happened in the
second half of the year and their record be lost, as several
have been lost, to the detriment of connected narrative.
[2330] Mr. Erskine's rendering (_Memoirs_ p. 388) of the above
section shows something of what is gained by acquaintance
which he had not, with the _Rashahat-i-¥ainu'l-hayat_ and with
Babur's versified _Walidiyyah-risala_.
[2331] This gap, like some others in the diary of 935 AH. can
be attributed safely to loss of pages, because preliminaries
are now wanting to several matters which Babur records shortly
after it. Such are (1) the specification of the three articles
sent to Nasrat Shah, (2) the motive for the feast of f.
351_b_, (3) the announcement of the approach of the surprising
group of envoys, who appear without introduction at that
entertainment, in a manner opposed to Babur's custom of
writing, (4) an account of their arrival and reception.
[2332] Land-holder (_see_ _Hobson-Jobson_ _s.n._ talookdar).
[2333] The long detention of this messenger is mentioned in
Babur's letter to Humayun (f. 349).
[2334] These words, if short _a_ be read in Shah, make 934 by
_abjad_. The child died in infancy; no son of Humayun's had
survived childhood before Akbar was born, some 14 years later.
Concerning Abu'l-wajd _Farighi_, _see_ _Habibu's-siyar_, lith.
ed. ii, 347; _Muntakhabu't-tawarikh_, Bib. Ind. ed. i, 3; and
Index _s.n._
[2335] I am indebted to Mr. A. E. Hinks, Secretary of the
Royal Geographical Society, for the following approximate
estimate of the distances travelled by Bian Shaikh:--(_a_) From
Kishm to Kabul 240m.--from Kabul to Peshawar 175m.--from
Peshawar to Agra (railroad distance) 759 m.--total 1174 m.;
daily average _cir._ 38 miles; (_b_) Qila`-i-zafar to Kabul
264m.--Kabul to Qandahar 316m.--total 580m.; daily average
_cir._ 53 miles. The second journey was made probably in 913
AH. and to inform Babur of the death of the Shah of Badakhshan
(f. 213_b_).
[2336] On Muh. 10th 934 AH.-Sep. 26th 1528 AD. For accounts of
the campaign _see_ Rieu's Suppl. Persian Cat. under _Histories
of Tahmasp_ (Churchill Collection); the _Habibu's-siyar_ and
the _`Alam-arai-`abbasi_, the last a highly rhetorical work,
Babur's accounts (Index _s.n._ Jam) are merely repetitions of
news given to him; he is not responsible for mistakes he
records, such as those of f. 354. It must be mentioned that
Mr. Erskine has gone wrong in his description of the battle,
the starting-point of error being his reversal of two events,
the encampment of Tahmasp at Radagan and his passage through
Mashhad. A century ago less help, through maps and travel, was
available than now.
[2337] _tufak u araba_, the method of array Babur adopted from
the Rumi-Persian model.
[2338] Tahmasp's main objective, aimed at earlier than the
Auzbeg muster in Merv, was Herat, near which `Ubaid Khan had
been for 7 months. He did not take the shortest route for
Mashhad, _viz._ the Damghan-Sabzawar-Nishapur road, but went
from Damghan for Mashhad by way of Kalpush (_`Alam-arai_ lith.
ed. p. 45) and Radagan. Two military advantages are obvious on
this route; (1) it approaches Mashhad by the descending road
of the Kechef-valley, thus avoiding the climb into that valley
by a pass beyond Nishapur on the alternative route; and (2) it
passes through the fertile lands of Radagan. [For Kalpush and
the route _see_ Fr. military map, Sheets Astarabad and Merv,
n.e. of Bastam.]
[2339] 7 m. from Kushan and 86 m. from Mashhad. As Lord Curzon
reports (_Persia_, ii, 120) that his interlocutors on the spot
were not able to explain the word "Radkan," it may be useful
to note here that the town seems to borrow its name from the
ancient tower standing near it, the _Mil-i-radagan_, or, as
RÈclus gives it, _Tour de mÈimandan_, both names meaning,
Tower of the bounteous (or, beneficent, highly-distinguished,
_etc._). (Cf. Vullers Dict. _s.n._ _rad_; RÈclus' _L'Asie
AntÈrieure_ p. 219; and O'Donovan's _Merv Oasis_.) Perhaps
light on the distinguished people (_radagan_) is given by the
_Dabistan's_ notice of an ancient sect, the Radiyan, seeming
to be fire-worshippers whose chief was Rad-guna, an eminently
brave hero of the latter part of Jamshid's reign (800 B.C.?).
Of the town Radagan Daulat Shah makes frequent mention. A
second town so-called and having a tower lies north of
Ispahan.
[2340] In these days of trench-warfare it would give a wrong
impression to say that Tahmasp entrenched himself; he did
what Babur did before his battles at Panipat and Kanwa
(_q.v._).
[2341] The Auzbegs will have omitted from their purview of
affairs that Tahmasp's men were veterans.
[2342] The holy city had been captured by `Ubaid Khan in 933
AH. (1525 AD.), but nothing in Bian Shaikh's narrative
indicates that they were now there in force.
[2343] Presumably the one in the Radagan-meadow.
[2344] using the _yada-tash_ to ensure victory (Index _s.n._).
[2345] If then, as now, Scorpio's appearance were expected in
Oct.-Nov., the Auzbegs had greatly over-estimated their power
to check Tahmasp's movements; but it seems fairly clear that
they expected Scorpio to follow Virgo in Sept.-Oct. according
to the ancient view of the Zodiacal Signs which allotted two
houses to the large Scorpio and, if it admitted Libra at all,
placed it between Scorpio's claws (Virgil's _Georgics_ i, 32
and Ovid's _Metamorphoses_, ii, 195.--H. B.).
[2346] It would appear that the Auzbegs, after hearing that
Tahmasp was encamped at Radagan, expected to interpose
themselves in his way at Mashhad and to get their 20,000 to
Radagan before he broke camp. Tahmasp's swiftness spoiled
their plan; he will have stayed at Radagan a short time only,
perhaps till he had further news of the Auzbegs, perhaps also
for commissariat purposes and to rest his force. He visited
the shrine of Imam Reza, and had reached Jam in time to
confront his adversaries as they came down to it from
Zawarabad (Pilgrims'-town).
[2347] or, Khirjard, as many MSS. have it. It seems to be a
hamlet or suburb of Jam. The _`Alam-arai_ (lith. ed. p. 40)
writes Khusrau-jard-i-Jam (the Khusrau-throne of Jam), perhaps
rhetorically. The hamlet is Maulana `Abdu'r-rahman _Jami's_
birthplace (Daulat Shah's _Tazkirat_, E. G. Browne's ed. p.
483). Jam now appears on maps as Turbat-i-Shaikh Jami, the
tomb (_turbat_) being that of the saintly ancestor of Akbar's
mother Hamida-banu.
[2348] The _`Alam-arai_ (lith. ed. p. 31) says, but in
grandiose language, that `Ubaid Khan placed at the foot of his
standard 40 of the most eminent men of Transoxania who prayed
for his success, but that as his cause was not good, their
supplications were turned backwards, and that all were slain
where they had prayed.
[2349] Here the 1st Pers. trs. (I.O. 215 f. 214) mentions that
it was Chalma who wrote and despatched the exact particulars
of the defeat of the Auzbegs. This information explains the
presumption Babur expresses. It shows that Chalma was in Hisar
where he may have written his letter to give news to Humayun.
At the time Bian Shaikh left, the Mirza was near Kishm; if he
had been the enterprising man he was not, one would surmise
that he had moved to seize the chance of the sultans'
abandonment of Hisar, without waiting for his father's urgency
(f. 348_b_). Whether he had done so and was the cause of the
sultans' flight, is not known from any chronicle yet come to
our hands. Chalma's father Ibrahim _Jani_ died fighting for
Babur against Shaibaq Khan in 906 AH. (f. 90_b_).
As the sense of the name-of-office Chalma is still in doubt, I
suggest that it may be an equivalent of _aftabachi_, bearer of
the water-bottle on journeys. _T. chalma_ can mean a
water-vessel carried on the saddle-bow; one Chalma on record
was a _safarchi_; if, in this word, _safar_ be read to mean
journey, an approach is made to _aftabachi_ (fol. 15_b_ and
note; Blochmann's A.-i-A. p. 378 and n. 3).
[2350] The copies of Babur's Turki letter to Humayun and the
later one to Khwaja Kalan (f. 359) are in some MSS. of the
Persian text translated only (I.O. 215 f. 214); in others
appear in Turki only (I.O. 217 f. 240); in others appear in
Turki and Persian (B. M. Add. 26,000 and I.O. 2989); while in
Muh. Shirazi's lith. ed. they are omitted altogether (p. 228).
[2351] Trans- and Cis-Hindukush. Payanda-hasan (in one of his
useful glosses to the 1st Pers. trs.) amplifies here by
"Khurasan, Ma wara'u'n-nahr and Kabul".
[2352] The words Babur gives as mispronunciations are somewhat
uncertain in sense; manifestly both are of ill-omen:--Al-aman
itself [of which the _alama_ of the Hai. MS. and Ilminsky
maybe an abbreviation,] is the cry of the vanquished,
"Quarter! mercy!"; _Ailaman_ and also _alaman_ can represent a
Turkman raider.
[2353] Presumably amongst Timurids.
[2354] Perhaps Babur here makes a placatory little joke.
[2355] _i.e._ that offered by Tahmasp's rout of the Auzbegs
at Jam.
[2356] He was an adherent of Babur. Cf. f. 353.
[2357] The plural "your" will include Humayun and Kamran.
Neither had yet shewn himself the heritor of his father's
personal dash and valour; they had lacked the stress which
shaped his heroism.
[2358] My husband has traced these lines to Nizami's _Khusrau_
and _Shirin_. [They occur on f. 256_b_ in his MS. of 317
folios.] Babur may have quoted from memory, since his version
varies. The lines need their context to be understood; they
are part of Shirin's address to Khusrau when she refuses to
marry him because at the time he is fighting for his sovereign
position; and they say, in effect, that while all other work
stops for marriage (_kadkhudai_), kingly rule does not.
[2359] _Aulughlar kutarimlik kirak_; 2nd Pers. trs. _buzurgan
bardasht mi baid kardand_. This dictum may be a quotation. I
have translated it to agree with Babur's reference to the ages
of the brothers, but _aulughlar_ expresses greatness of
position as well as seniority in age, and the dictum may be
taken as a Turki version of "_Noblesse oblige_", and may also
mean "The great must be magnanimous". (Cf. de C.'s Dict.
_s.n._ _kutarimlik_.) [It may be said of the verb _bardashlan_
used in the Pers. trs., that Abu'l-fazl, perhaps translating
_kutarimlik_ reported to him, puts it into Babur's mouth when,
after praying to take Humayun's illness upon himself, he cried
with conviction, "I have borne it away" (A.N. trs. H.B. i,
276).]
[2360] If Babur had foreseen that his hard-won rule in
Hindustan was to be given to the winds of one son's
frivolities and the other's disloyalty, his words of scant
content with what the Hindustan of his desires had brought
him, would have expressed a yet keener pain (_Rampur Diwan_
E.D.R.'s ed. p. 15 l. 5 fr. ft.).
[2361] _Bostan_, cap. _Advice of Noshirwan to Hurmuz_ (H.B.).
[2362] A little joke at the expense of the mystifying letter.
[2363] For _ya_, Mr. Erskine writes _be_. What the mistake was
is an open question; I have guessed an exchange of _i_ for
_u_, because such an exchange is not infrequent amongst Turki
long vowels.
[2364] That of reconquering Timurid lands.
[2365] of _Kulab_; he was the father of Haram Begim, one of
Gul-badan's personages.
[2366] _aun alti gunluk m:ljar bila_, as on f. 354_b_, and
with exchange of T. _m:ljar_ for P. _mi`ad_, f. 355_b_.
[2367] Probably into Rajput lands, notably into those of
Salahu'd-din.
[2368] _tukhmaliq chakmanlar_; as _tukhma_ means both button
and gold-embroidery, it may be right, especially of Hindustan
articles, to translate sometimes in the second sense.
[2369] These statements of date are consistent with Babur's
earlier explicit entries and with Erskine's equivalents of the
Christian Era, but at variance with Gladwin's and with
W¸stenfeldt's calculation that Rabi` II. 1st was Dec. 13th.
Yet Gladwin (_Revenue Accounts_, ed. 1790 AD. p. 22) gives
Rabi` I. 30 days. Without in the smallest degree questioning
the two European calculations, I follow Babur, because in his
day there may have been allowed variation which finds no entry
in methodical calendars. Erskine followed Babur's statements;
he is likely nevertheless to have seen Gladwin's book.
[2370] Erskine estimated this at £500, but later cast doubts
on such estimates as being too low (_History of India_, vol.
i, App. D.).
[2371] The bearer of the stamp (_tamgha_) who by impressing it
gave quittance for the payment of tolls and other dues.
[2372] Either 24ft. or 36ft. according to whether the short or
long _qari_ be meant (_infra_). These towers would provide
resting-place, and some protection against ill-doers. They
recall the two _mil-i-radagan_ of Persia (f. 347 _n._ 9), the
purpose of which is uncertain. Babur's towers were not "_kos
minars_", nor is it said that he ordered each _kuroh_ to be
marked on the road. Some of the _kos minars_ on the "old
Mughal roads" were over 30ft. high; a considerable number are
entered and depicted in the _Annual Progress Report_ of the
ArchÊological Survey for 1914 (Northern Circle, p. 45 and
Plates 44, 45). Some at least have a _lower_ chamber.
[2373] Four-doored, open-on-all-sides. We have not found the
word with this meaning in Dictionaries. It may translate H.
_chaukandi_.
[2374] Erskine makes 9 _kos_ (_kurohs_) to be 13-14 miles,
perhaps on the basis of the smaller _gaz_ of 24 inches.
[2375] _alti yam-ati baghlaghailar_ which, says one of
Erskine's manuscripts, is called a _dak-choki_.
[2376] Neither Erskine (_Mems._ p. 394), nor de Courteille
(_MÈms._ ii, 370) recognized the word _Mubin_ here, although
each mentions the poem later (p. 431 and ii, 461), deriving
his information about it from the _Akbar-nama_, Erskine
direct, de Courteille by way of the Turki translation of the
same _Akbar-nama_ passage, which Ilminsky found in Kehr's
volume and which is one of the much discussed "Fragments", at
first taken to be extra writings of Babur's (cf. Index _in
loco_ _s.n._ Fragments). Ilminsky (p. 455) prints the word
clearly, as one who knows it; he may have seen that part of
the poem itself which is included in BerÈsine's _Chrestomathie
Turque_ (p. 226 to p. 272), under the title _Fragment d'un
poËme inconnu de Babour_, and have observed that Babur himself
shews his title to be _Mubin_, in the lines of his colophon
(p. 271),
_Chu bian qildim anda shar`iyat,
Ni `ajab gar Mubin didim at?_
(Since in it I have made exposition of Laws, what wonder if I
named it _Mubin_ (exposition)?) Cf. _Translator's Note_, p.
437. [BerÈsine says (Ch. T.) that he prints half of his
"_unique manuscrit_" of the poem.]
[2377] The passage Babur quotes comes from the _Mubin_ section
on _tayammum masa'la_ (purification with sand), where he tells
his son sand may be used, _Su yuraq bulsa sindin air bir mil_
(if from thee water be one _mil_ distant), and then interjects
the above explanation of what the _mil_ is. Two lines of his
original are not with the _Babur-nama_.
[2378] The _tanab_ was thus 120 ft. long. Cf. A.-i-A. Jarrett
i, 414; Wilson's _Glossary of Indian Terms_ and Gladwin's
_Revenue Accounts_, p. 14.
[2379] Babur's customary method of writing allows the
inference that he recorded, in due place, the coming and
reception of the somewhat surprising group of guests now
mentioned as at this entertainment. That preliminary record
will have been lost in one or more of the small gaps in his
diary of 935 AH. The envoys from the Samarkand Auzbegs and
from the Persian Court may have come in acknowledgment of the
_Fath-nama_ which announced victory over Rana Sanga; the
guests from Farghana will have accepted the invitation sent,
says Gul-badan, "in all directions," after Babur's defeat of
Sl. Ibrahim _Ludi_, to urge hereditary servants and Timurid
and Chingiz-khanid kinsfolk to come and see prosperity with
him now when "the Most High has bestowed sovereignty" (f.
293a; Gul-badan's H.N. f. 11).
[2380] Hindu here will represent Rajput. D'HerbÈlot's
explanation of the name Qizil-bash (Red-head) comes in
usefully here:--"KEZEL BASCH or KIZIL BASCH. Mot Turc qui
signifie _TÍte rouge_. Les Turcs appellent les Persans de ce
nom, depuis qu'IsmaÎl Sofi, fondateur de la Dynastie des
princes qui regnent aujourd'hui en Perse, commanda ‡ ses
soldats de porter un bonnet rouge autour duquel il y a une
Ècharpe ou Turban ‡ douze plis, en mÈmoire et ‡ l'honneur des
12 Imams, successeurs d'Ali, desquels il prÈtendoit descendre.
Ce bonnet s'appelle en Persan, _Taj_, et fut instituÈ l'an
907e de l'HÈg." Tahmasp himself uses the name Qizil-bash;
Babur does so too. Other explanations of it are found
(Steingass), but the one quoted above suits its use without
contempt. (Cf. f. 354 n. 3).
[2381] _cir._ 140-150ft. or more if the 36in. _qari_ be the
unit.
[2382] _Andropogon muricatus_, the scented grass of which the
roots are fitted into window spaces and moistened to mitigate
dry, hot winds. Cf. _Hobson-Jobson_ _s.n._ _Cuscuss_.
[2383] A nephew and a grandson of Ahrari's second son Yahya
(f. 347_b_) who had stood staunch to Babur till murdered in
906 AH.-1500 AD. (80_b_). They are likely to be those to whom
went a copy of the _Mubin_ under cover of a letter addressed
to lawyers of Ma wara'u'n-nahr (f. 351 n. 1). The Khwajas were
in Agra three weeks after Babur finished his metrical version
of their ancestor's _Walidiyyah-risala_; whether their coming
(which must have been announced some time before their
arrival), had part in directing his attention to the tract can
only be surmised (f. 346).
[2384] He was an Auzbeg (f. 371) and from his association here
with a Bai-qara, and, later with Qasim-i-husain who was half
Bai-qara, half Auzbeg, seems likely to be of the latter's
family (Index _s.nn._).
[2385] _sachaq kiurdi_ (_kilturdi_?) No record survives to
tell the motive for this feast; perhaps the gifts made to
Babur were congratulatory on the birth of a grandson, the
marriage of a son, and on the generally-prosperous state of
his affairs.
[2386] Gold, silver and copper coins.
[2387] Made so by _bhang_ or other exciting drug.
[2388] _aral_, presumably one left by the winter-fall of the
Jumna; or, a peninsula.
[2389] Scribes and translators have been puzzled here. My
guess at the Turki clause is _aurang airalik kish jabbah_. In
reading _muslin_, I follow Erskine who worked in India and
could take local opinion; moreover gifts made in Agra probably
would be Indian.
[2390] For one Hafiz of Samarkand see f.237_b_.
[2391] Kuchum was Khaqan of the Auzbegs and had his seat in
Samarkand. One of his sons, Abu-sa`id, mentioned below, had
sent envoys. With Abu-sa`id is named Mihr-ban who was one of
Kuchum's wives; Pulad was their son. Mihr-ban was, I think, a
half-sister of Babur, a daughter of `Umar Shaikh and Umid of
Andijan (f. 9), and a full-sister of Nasir. No doubt she had
been captured on one of the occasions when Babur lost to the
Auzbegs. In 925 AH.-1519 AD. (f. 237_b_) when he sent his
earlier _Diwan_ to Pulad Sl. (_Translator's Note_, p. 438) he
wrote a verse on its back which looks to be addressed to his
half-sister through her son.
[2392] Tahmasp's envoy; the title Chalabi shews high birth.
[2393] This statement seems to imply that the weight made of
silver and the weight made of gold were of the same size and
that the differing specific gravity of the two metals,--that of
silver being _cir._ 10 and that of gold _cir._ 20--gave their
equivalents the proportion Babur states. Persian Dictionaries
give _sang_ (_tash_), a weight, but without further
information. We have not found mention of the _tash_ as a
recognized Turki weight; perhaps the word _tash_ stands for an
ingot of unworked metal of standard size. (Cf. _inter alios
libros_, A.-i-A. Blochmann p. 36, Codrington's _Musalman
Numismatics_ p. 117, concerning the _misqal, dinar, etc._)
[2394] _tarkash bila._ These words are clear in the Hai. MS.
but uncertain in some others. E. and de C. have no equivalent
of them. Perhaps the coins were given by the quiverful; that a
quiver of arrows was given is not expressed.
[2395] Babur's half-nephew; he seems from his name
Keepsake-of-nasir to have been posthumous.
[2396] 934 AH.-1528 AD. (f. 336).
[2397] Or, gold-embroidered.
[2398] Wife of Muhammad-i-zaman Mirza.
[2399] These Highlanders of Asfara will have come by
invitation sent after the victory at Panipat; their welcome
shows remembrance of and gratitude for kindness received a
quarter of a century earlier. Perhaps villagers from Dikh-kat
will have come too, who had seen the Padshah run barefoot on
their hills (_Index s.nn._).
[2400] Here gratitude is shewn for protection given in 910
AH.-1504 AD. to the families of Babur and his men when on the
way to Kabul. Qurban and Shaikhi were perhaps in Fort Ajar (f.
122_b_, f. 126).
[2401] Perhaps these acrobats were gipsies.
[2402] This may be the one with which Sayyid Dakni was
concerned (f. 346).
[2403] Babur obviously made the distinction between _pahr_ and
_pas_ that he uses the first for day-watches, the second for
those of the night.
[2404] AnglicÈ, Tuesday, Dec. 21st; by Muhammadan plan,
Wednesday 22nd. Dhulpur is 34 m. s. of Agra; the journey of
10hrs. 20m. would include the nooning and the time taken in
crossing rivers.
[2405] The well was to fill a cistern; the 26 spouts with
their 26 supports were to take water into (26?) conduits.
Perhaps _tash_ means that they were hewn in the solid rock;
perhaps that they were on the outer side of the reservoir.
They will not have been built of hewn stone, or the word would
have been _sangin_ or _tashdin_.
[2406] One occupation of these now blank days is indicated by
the date of the "_Rampur Diwan_", Thursday Rabi` II. 15th
(Dec. 27th).
[2407] The demon (or, athlete) sultan of Rumelia (_Rumlu_);
once Tahmasp's guardian (_Tazkirat-i-Tahmasp_, Bib. Ind. ed.
Phillott, p. 2). Some writers say he was put to death by
Tahmasp (_Êt._ 12) in 933 AH.; if this were so, it is strange
to find a servant described as his in 935 AH. (An account of
the battle is given in the _Sharaf-nama_, written in 1005 AH.
by Sharaf Khan who was reared in Tahmasp's house. The book
has been edited by Veliaminof-Zernof and translated into
French by Charmoy; cf. Trs. vol. ii, part i, p. 555.--_H.
Beveridge._)
[2408] This name, used by one who was with the Shah's troops,
attracts attention; it may show the composition of the Persian
army; it may differentiate between the troops and their
"Qizil-bash leader".
[2409] Several writers give Saru-qamsh (Charmoy, _roseau
jaune_) as the name of the village where the battle was
fought; Sharaf Khan gives `Umarabad and mentions that after
the fight Tahmasp spent some time in the meadow of
Saru-qamsh.
[2410] The number of Tahmasp's guns being a matter of
interest, reference should be made to Babur's accounts of his
own battles in which he arrayed in Rumi (Ottoman) fashion; it
will then be seen that the number of carts does not imply the
number of guns (Index _s.n._ _araba_, cart).
[2411] This cannot but represent Tahmasp who was on the
battle-field (_see_ his own story _infra_). He was 14 years
old; perhaps he was called Shah-zada, and not Shah, on account
of his youth, or because under guardianship (?). Readers of
the Persian histories of his reign may know the reason. Babur
hitherto has always called the boy Shah-zada; after the
victory at Jam, he styles him Shah. Juha Sl. (_Taklu_) who was
with him on the field, was Governor of Ispahan.
[2412] If this Persian account of the battle be in its right
place in Babur's diary, it is singular that the narrator
should be so ill-informed at a date allowing facts to be
known; the three sultans he names as killed escaped to die,
Kuchum in 937 AH.-1530 AD., Abu-sa`id in 940 AH.-1533 AD.,
`Ubaid in 946 AH.-1539 AD. (Lane-Poole's _Muhammadan
Dynasties_). It would be natural for Babur to comment on the
mistake, since envoys from two of the sultans reported killed,
were in Agra. There had been time for the facts to be known:
the battle was fought on Sep. 26th; the news of it was in Agra
on Nov. 23rd; envoys from both adversaries were at Babur's
entertainment on Dec. 19th. From this absence of comment and
for the reasons indicated in note 3 (_infra_), it appears that
matter has been lost from the text.
[2413] Tahmasp's account of the battle is as follows
(_T.-i-T._ p. 11):--"I marched against the Auzbegs. The battle
took place outside Jam. At the first onset, Auzbeg prevailed
over Qizil-bash. Ya`qub Sl. fled and Sl. Walama _Taklu_ and
other officers of the right wing were defeated and put to
flight. Putting my trust in God, I prayed and advanced some
paces.... One of my body-guard getting up with `Ubaid struck
him with a sword, passed on, and occupied himself with
another. Qulij Bahadur and other Auzbegs carried off the
wounded `Ubaid; Kuchkunji (Kuchum) Khan and Jani Khan Beg,
when they became aware of this state of affairs, fled to Merv.
Men who had fled from our army rejoined us that day. That
night I spent on the barren plain (_sahra'_). I did not know
what had happened to `Ubaid. I thought perhaps they were
devising some stratagem against me." The `A.-`A. says that
`Ubaid's assailant, on seeing his low stature and contemptible
appearance, left him for a more worthy foe.
[2414] Not only does some comment from Babur seem needed on an
account of deaths he knew had not occurred, but loss of matter
may be traced by working backward from his next explicit date
(_Friday 19th_), to do which shows fairly well that the "same
day" will be not Tuesday the 16th but Thursday the 18th.
Ghiasu'd-din's reception was on the day preceding Friday 19th,
so that part of Thursday's record (as shewn by "on this same
day"), the whole of Wednesday's, and (to suit an expected
comment by Babur on the discrepant story of the Auzbeg deaths)
part of Tuesday's are missing. The gap may well have contained
mention of Hasan _Chalabi's_ coming (f. 357), or explain why
he had not been at the feast with his younger brother.
[2415] _qurchi_, perhaps body-guard, life-guardsman.
[2416] As on f. 350_b_ (_q.v._ p. 628 n. 1) _aun alti gunluk
buljar_ (or, _m:ljar_) _bila_.
[2417] A sub-division of the Ballia district of the United
Provinces, on the right bank of the Ghogra.
[2418] _i.e._ in 16 days; he was 24 or 25 days away.
[2419] The envoy had been long in returning; Kanwa was fought
in March, 1527; it is now the end of 1528 AD.
[2420] Rabi` II. 20th--January 1st 1529 AD.; AnglicÈ, Friday,
after 6p.m.
[2421] This "Bengali" is territorial only; Nasrat Shah was a
Sayyid's son (f.271).
[2422] Isma`il Mita (f. 357) who will have come with Mulla
Mazhab.
[2423] _mi`ad_, cf. f. 350_b_ and f. 354_b_. Ghiasu'd-din may
have been a body-guard.
[2424] Ludi Afghans and their friends, including Biban and
Bayazid.
[2425] _yulluq turalik_; _Memoirs_, p. 398, "should act in
every respect in perfect conformity to his commands";
_MÈmoires_ ii, 379, "_chacun suivant son rang et sa dignitÈ_."
[2426] _tawachi._ Babur's uses of this word support Erskine in
saying that "the _tawachi_ is an officer who corresponds very
nearly to the Turkish _chawush_, or special messenger"
(Zenker, p. 346, col. iii) "but he was also often employed to
act as a commissary for providing men and stores, as a
commissioner in superintending important affairs, as an
aide-de-camp in carrying orders, _etc._"
[2427] Here the Hai. MS. has the full-vowelled form, _buljar_.
Judging from what that Codex writes, _buljar_ may be used for
a rendezvous of troops, _m:ljar_ or _b:ljar_ for any other
kind of tryst (f. 350, p. 628 n. 1; Index _s.nn._), also for a
shelter.
[2428] _yawushub aidi_, which I translate in accordance with
other uses of the verb, as meaning approach, but is taken by
some other workers to mean "near its end".
[2429] Though it is not explicitly said, Chin-timur may have
been met with on the road; as the "also" (_ham_) suggests.
[2430] To the above news the _Akbar-nama_ adds the important
item reported by Humayun, that there was talk of peace. Babur
replied that, if the time for negotiation were not past,
Humayun was to make peace until such time as the affairs of
Hindustan were cleared off. This is followed in the A. N. by a
seeming quotation from Babur's letter, saying in effect that
he was about to leave Hindustan, and that his followers in
Kabul and Tramontana must prepare for the expedition against
Samarkand which would be made on his own arrival. None of the
above matter is now with the _Babur-nama_; either it was there
once, was used by Abu'l-fazl and lost before the Persian trss.
were made; or Abu'l-fazl used Babur's original, or copied,
letter itself. That desire for peace prevailed is shewn by
several matters:--Tahmasp, the victor, asked and obtained the
hand of an Auzbeg in marriage; Auzbeg envoys came to Agra, and
with them Turk Khwajas having a mission likely to have been
towards peace (f. 357_b_); Babur's wish for peace is shewn
above and on f. 359 in a summarized letter to Humayun. (Cf.
Abu'l-ghazi's _Shajarat-i-Turk_ [_Histoire des Mongols_,
DÈsmaisons' trs. p. 216]; _Akbar-nama_, H. B.'s trs. i, 270.)
A here-useful slip of reference is made by the translator of
the _Akbar-nama_ (_l.c._ n. 3) to the Fragment (_MÈmoires_ ii,
456) instead of to the _Babur-nama_ translation (_MÈmoires_
ii, 381). The utility of the slip lies in its accompanying
comment that de C.'s translation is in closer agreement with
the _Akbar-nama_ than with Babur's words. Thus the
_Akbar-nama_ passage is brought into comparison with what it
is now safe to regard as its off-shoot, through Turki and
French, in the Fragment. When the above comment on their
resemblance was made, we were less assured than now as to the
genesis of the Fragment (Index _s.n._ Fragment).
[2431] Hind-al's guardian (G. B.'s _Humayun-nama_ trs. p. 106,
n. 1).
[2432] Nothing more about Humayun's expedition is found in the
B. N.; he left Badakhshan a few months later and arrived in
Agra, after his mother (f. 380_b_), at a date in August of
which the record is wanting.
[2433] under 6 m. from Agra. Gul-badan (f. 16) records a visit
to the garden, during which her father said he was weary of
sovereignty. Cf. f. 331_b_, p. 589 n. 2.
[2434] _kurnish kilkan kishilar._
[2435] MSS. vary or are indecisive as to the omitted word. I
am unable to fill the gap. Erskine has "_Sir Mawineh_ (or
hair-twist)" (p. 399), De Courteille, _Sir-mouÔneh_ (ii, 382).
_Muina_ means ermine, sable and other fine fur
(_Shamsu'l-lughat_, p 274, col. 1).
[2436] His brother Hazrat Makhdumi Nura (Khwaja Khawand
Mahmud) is much celebrated by Haidar Mirza, and Babur
describes his own visit in the words he uses of the visit of
an inferior to himself. Cf. _Tarikh-i-rashidi_ trs. pp. 395,
478; _Akbar-nama_ trs., i, 356, 360.
[2437] No record survives of the arrival of this envoy or of
why he was later in coming than his brother who was at Babur's
entertainment. Cf. f. 361_b_.
[2438] Presumably this refers to the appliances mentioned on
f. 350_b_.
[2439] f. 332, n. 3.
[2440] _zarbaft m:l:k._ Amongst gold stuffs imported into
Hindustan, Abu'l-fazl mentions _milak_ which may be Babur's
cloth. It came from Turkistan (A.-i-A. Blochmann, p. 92 and
n.).
[2441] A _tang_ is a small silver coin of the value of about a
penny (Erskine).
[2442] _tanglasi_, lit. at its dawning. It is not always clear
whether _tanglasi_ means, AnglicÈ, next dawn or day, which
here would be Monday, or whether it stands for the dawn
(daylight) of the Muhammadan day which had begun at 6 p. m. on
the previous evening, here Sunday. When Babur records, _e.g._
a late audience, _tanglasi_, following, will stand for the
daylight of the day of audience. The point is of some
importance as bearing on discrepancies of days, as these are
stated in MSS., with European calendars; it is conspicuously
so in Babur's diary sections.
[2443] _risalat tariqi bila_; their special mission may have
been to work for peace (f. 359_b_, n. 1).
[2444] He may well be Kamran's father-in-law Sl. `Ali Mirza
Taghai _Begchik_.
[2445] _nimcha u takband._ The _tak-band_ is a silk or woollen
girdle fastening with a "hook and eye" (Steingass), perhaps
with a buckle.
[2446] This description is that of the contents of the
"_Rampur Diwan_"; the _tarjuma_ being the _Walidiyyah-risala_
(f. 361 and n.). What is said here shows that four copies went
to Kabul or further north. Cf. Appendix Q.
[2447] _Sar-khat_ may mean "copies" set for Kamran to imitate.
[2448] _bir pahr yawushub aidi_; I.O. 215 f. 221, _qarib yak
pas roz bud_.
[2449] _akhar_, a word which may reveal a bad start and
uncertainty as to when and where to halt.
[2450] This, and not Chandwar (f. 331_b_), appears the correct
form. Neither this place nor Abapur is mentioned in the G. of
I.'s Index or shewn in the I.S. Map of 1900 (cf. f. 331_b_ n.
3). Chandawar lies s.w. of Firuzabad, and near a village
called Sufipur.
[2451] AnglicÈ, Wednesday after 6 p.m.
[2452] or life-guardsman, body-guard.
[2453] This higher title for Tahmasp, which first appears
here in the B.N., may be an early slip in the Turki text,
since it occurs in many MSS. and also because "Shah-zada"
reappears on f. 359.
[2454] Slash-face, _balafrÈ_; perhaps Ibrahim _Begchik_ (Index
_s.n._), but it is long since he was mentioned by Babur, at
least by name. He may however have come, at this time of
reunion in Agra, with Mirza Beg Taghai (his uncle or
brother?), father-in-law of Kamran.
[2455] The army will have kept to the main road connecting the
larger towns mentioned and avoiding the ravine district of the
Jumna. What the boat-journey will have been between high banks
and round remarkable bends can be learned from the G. of I.
and Neave's _District Gazetteer of Mainpuri_. Rapri is on the
road from Firuzabad to the ferry for Bateswar, where a large
fair is held annually. (It is misplaced further east in the
I.S. Map of 1900.) There are two Fathpurs, n. e. of Rapri.
[2456] _aulugh tughaining tubi._ Here it suits to take the
Turki word _tughai_ to mean bend of a river, and as referring
to the one shaped (on the map) like a soda-water bottle, its
neck close to Rapri. Babur avoided it by taking boat below its
mouth.--In neither Persian translation has _tughai_ been read
to mean a bend of a river; the first has _az payan ruia
Rapri_, perhaps referring to the important ford (_payan_); the
second has _az zir bulandi kalan Rapri_, perhaps referring to
a height at the meeting of the bank of the ravine down which
the road to the ford comes, with the high bank of the river.
Three examples of _tughai_ or _tuqai_ [a synonym given by
Dictionaries], can be seen in Abu'l-ghazi's _Shajrat-i-Turk_,
Fraehn's imprint, pp. 106, 107, 119 (DÈsmaisons' trs. pp. 204,
205, 230). In each instance DÈsmaisons renders it by _coude_,
elbow, but one of the examples may need reconsideration, since
the word has the further meanings of wood, dense forest by the
side of a river (VambÈry), prairie (Zenker), and reedy plain
(Shaw).
[2457] Blochmann describes the apparatus for marking lines to
guide writing (A.-i-A. trs. p. 52 n. 5):--On a card of the size
of the page to be written on, two vertical lines are drawn
within an inch of the edges; along these lines small holes are
pierced at regular intervals, and through these a string is
laced backwards and forwards, care being taken that the
horizontal strings are parallel. Over the lines of string the
pages are placed and pressed down; the strings then mark the
paper sufficiently to guide the writing.
[2458] _tarkib (ning) khati bila tarjuma bilir auchun._ The
_Rampur Diwan_ may supply the explanation of the uncertain
words _tarkib khati_. The "translation" (_tarjuma_), mentioned
in the passage quoted above, is the _Walidiyyah-risala_, the
first item of the _Diwan_, in which it is entered on crowded
pages, specially insufficient for the larger hand of the
chapter-headings. The number of lines per page is 13; Babur
now fashions a line-marker for 11. He has already despatched 4
copies of the translation (f. 357_b_); he will have judged
them unsatisfactory; hence to give space for the mixture of
hands (_tarkib khati_), _i.e._ the smaller hand of the poem
and the larger of the headings, he makes an 11 line marker.
[2459] Perhaps Ahrari's in the _Walidiyyah-risala_, perhaps
those of Muhammad. A quatrain in the _Rampur Diwan_ connects
with this admonishment [Plate xiv_a_, 2nd quatrain].
[2460] Jakhan (_G. of Mainpuri_). The _G. of Etawa_
(Drake-Brockman) p. 213, gives this as some 18 m. n.w. of
Etawa and as lying amongst the ravines of the Jumna.
[2461] f. 359_b_ allows some of the particulars to be known.
[2462] Mahdi may have come to invite Babur to the luncheon he
served shortly afterwards. The Hai. MS. gives him the
honorific plural; either a second caller was with him or an
early scribe has made a slip, since Babur never so-honours
Mahdi. This small point touches the larger one of how Babur
regarded him, and this in connection with the singular story
Nizamu'd-din Ahmad tells in his _Tabaqat-i-akbari_ about
Khalifa's wish to supplant Humayun by Mahdi Khwaja (Index
_s.nn._).
[2463] _yigitlarni shokhluqgha salduq_, perhaps set them to
make fun. Cf. f. 366, _yigitlar bir para shokhluq qildilar_.
Muh. _Shirazi_ (p. 323 _foot_) makes the startling addition of
_dar ab_ (_andakhtim_), _i.e._ he says that the royal party
flung the braves into the river.
[2464] The _Gazetteer of Etawa_ (Drake-Brockman) p. 186,
_s.n._ Baburpur, writes of two village sites [which from their
position are Muri-and-Adusa], as known by the name Sarai
Baburpur from having been Babur's halting-place. They are 24m.
to the s.e. of Etawa, on the old road for Kalpi. Near the name
Baburpur in the Gazetteer Map there is Muhuri (Muri?); there
is little or no doubt that Sarai Baburpur represents the
camping-ground Muri-and-Adusa.
[2465] This connects with Kitin-qara's complaints of the
frontier-begs (f. 361), and with the talk of peace (f.
356_b_).
[2466] This injunction may connect with the desired peace; it
will have been prompted by at least a doubt in Babur's mind as
to Kamran's behaviour perhaps _e.g._ in manifested dislike for
a Shia`. Concerning the style Shah-zada _see_ f. 358, p. 643,
n. 1.
[2467] Kamran's mother Gul-rukh _Begchik_ will have been of
the party who will have tried in Kabul to forward her son's
interests.
[2468] f. 348, p. 624, n. 2.
[2469] Kabul and Tramontana.
[2470] Presumably that of Shamsu'd-din Muhammad's mission. One
of Babur's couplets expresses longing for the fruits, and also
for the "running waters", of lands other than Hindustan, with
conceits recalling those of his English contemporaries in
verse, as indeed do several others of his short poems (_Rampur
Diwan_ Plate xvii A.).
[2471] Hai. MS. _na marbutlighi_; so too the 2nd Pers. trs.
but the 1st writes _wairani u karabi_ which suits the matter
of defence.
[2472] _qurghan_, walled-town; from the _mazbut_ following,
the defences are meant.
[2473] _viz._ Governor Khwaja Kalan, on whose want of
dominance his sovereign makes good-natured reflection.
[2474] _`alufa u qunal_; cf. 364_b_.
[2475] Following _ailchi_ (envoys) there is in the Hai. MS.
and in I.O. 217 a doubtful word, _bumla_, _yumla_; I.O. 215
(which contains a Persian trs. of the letter) is obscure,
Ilminsky changes the wording slightly; Erskine has a free
translation. Perhaps it is _yaumi_, daily, misplaced (_see_
above).
[2476] Perhaps, endow the Mosque so as to leave no right of
property in its revenues to their donor, here Babur. Cf.
Hughes' _Dict. of Islam_ s.nn. _shari`_, _masjid_ and _waqf_.
[2477] f. 139. Khwaja Kalan himself had taken from Hindustan
the money for repairing this dam.
[2478] _sapqun alip_; the 2nd Pers. trs. as if from _satqun
alip_, _kharida_, purchasing.
[2479] _nazar-gah_, perhaps, theatre, as showing the play
enacted at the ford. Cf. ff. 137, 236, 248_b_. Tutun-dara will
be Masson's Tutam-dara. Erskine locates Tutun-dara some 8
_kos_ (16 m.) n. w. of Hupian (Upian). Masson shews that it
was a charming place (_Journeys in Biluchistan, Afghanistan
and the Panj-ab_, vol. iii, cap. vi and vii).
[2480] _jibachi._ Babur's injunction seems to refer to the
maintaining of the corps and the manufacture of armour rather
than to care for the individual men involved.
[2481] Either the armies in Nil-ab, or the women in the
Kabul-country (f. 375).
[2482] Perhaps what Babur means is, that both what he had said
to `Abdu'l-lah and what the quatrain expresses, are dissuasive
from repentance. Erskine writes (_Mems._ p. 403) but without
textual warrant, "I had resolution enough to persevere"; de
Courteille (_Mems._ ii, 390), "_Voici un quatrain qui exprime
au juste les difficultÈs de ma position._"
[2483] The surface retort seems connected with the jacket,
perhaps with a request for the gift of it.
[2484] Clearly what recalled this joke of Banai's long-silent,
caustic tongue was that its point lay ostensibly in a baffled
wish--in `Ali-sher's professed desire to be generous and a
professed impediment, which linked in thought with Babur's
desire for wine, baffled by his abjuration. So much Banai's
smart verbal retort shows, but beneath this is the
_double-entendre_ which cuts at the Beg as miserly and as
physically impotent, a defect which gave point to another jeer
at his expense, one chronicled by Sam Mirza and translated in
Hammer-Purgstall's _Geschichte von schˆnen Redek¸nste
Persiens_, art. CLV. (Cf. f. 179-80.)--The word _madagi_ is
used metaphorically for a button-hole; like _na-mardi_, it
carries secondary meanings, miserliness, impotence, _etc._
(Cf. Wollaston's _English-Persian Dictionary_ _s.n._
button-hole, where only we have found _madagi_ with this
sense.)
[2485] The 1st Pers. trs. expresses "all these jokes", thus
including with the double-meanings of _madagi_, the jests of
the quatrain.
[2486] The 1st Pers. trs. fills out Babur's allusive phrase
here with "of the _Walidiyyah_". His wording allows the
inference that what he versified was a prose Turki translation
of a probably Arabic original.
[2487] Erskine comments here on the non-translation into
Persian of Babur's letters. Many MSS., however, contain a
translation (f. 348, p. 624, n. 2 and E.'s n. f. 377_b_).
[2488] AnglicÈ, Thursday after 6 p.m.
[2489] What would suit measurement on maps and also Babur's
route is "Jumoheen" which is marked where the Sarai
Baburpur-Atsu-Phaphand road turns south, east of Phaphand
(I.S. Map of 1900, Sheet 68).
[2490] var. _Qabaq_, _Qatak_, _Qanak_, to each of which a
meaning might be attached. Babur had written to Humayun about
the frontier affair, as one touching the desired peace (f.
359).
[2491] This will refer to the late arrival in Agra of the
envoy named, who was not with his younger brother at the feast
of f. 351_b_ (f. 357, p. 641, n. 2).--As to Tahmasp's style,
see f. 354, f. 358.
[2492] Shah-quli may be the ill-informed narrator of f. 354.
[2493] Both are marked on the southward road from Jumoheen
(Jumandna?) for Auraiya.
[2494] The old Kalpi _pargana_ having been sub-divided,
Dirapur is now in the district of Cawnpore (Kanhpur).
[2495] That this operation was not hair-cutting but
head-shaving is shewn by the verbs T. _qirmaq_ and its Pers.
trs. _tarash kardan_. To shave the head frequently is common
in Central Asia.
[2496] This will be Chaparghatta on the
Dirapur-Bhognipur-Chaparghatta-Musanagar road, the affixes
_kada_ and _ghatta_ both meaning house, temple, _etc._
[2497] Mahim, and with her the child Gul-badan, came in
advance of the main body of women. Babur seems to refer again
to her assumption of royal style by calling her Wali, Governor
(f. 369 and n.). It is unusual that no march or halt is
recorded on this day.
[2498] or, Arampur. We have not succeeded in finding this
place; it seems to have been on the west bank of the Jumna,
since twice Babur when on the east bank, writes of coming
opposite to it (_supra_ and f. 379). If no move was made on
Tuesday, Jumada II. 6th (cf. last note), the distance entered
as done on Wednesday would locate the halting-place somewhere
near the Akbarpur of later name, which stands on a road and at
a ferry. But if the army did a stage on Tuesday, of which
Babur omits mention, Wednesday's march might well bring him
opposite to Hamirpur and to the "Rampur"-ferry. The verbal
approximation of Arampur and "Rampur" arrests attention.--Local
encroachment by the river, which is recorded in the District
Gazetteers, may have something to do with the disappearance
from these most useful books and from maps, of _pargana_
Adampur (or, Arampur).
[2499] _tushlab._ It suits best here, since solitude is the
speciality of the excursion, to read _tushmak_ as meaning to
take the road, Fr. _cheminer_.
[2500] _da`wi bila_; _Mems._ p. 404, challenge; _MÈms._ ii,
391, _il avait fait des faÁons_, a truth probably, but one
inferred only.
[2501] This will be more to the south than Kura Khas, the
headquarters of the large district; perhaps it is "Koora
Khera" (? Kura-khiraj) which suits the route (I.S. Map, Sheet
88).
[2502] Perhaps Kunda Kanak, known also as "Kuria, Koria, Kura
and Kunra Kanak" (_D.G. of Fathpur_).
[2503] Haswa or Hanswa. The conjoint name represents two
villages some 6m. apart, and is today that of their
railway-station.
[2504] almost due east of Fathpur, on the old King's Highway
(_Badshahi Sar-rah_).
[2505] His ancestors had ruled in Junpur from 1394 to 1476
AD., his father Husain Shah having been conquered by Sl.
Sikandar _Ludi_ at the latter date. He was one of three rivals
for supremacy in the East (_Sharq_), the others being
Jalalu'd-din _Nuhani_ and Mahmud _Ludi_,--Afghans all three.
Cf. Erskine's _History of India, Babur_, i, 501.
[2506] This name appears on the I.S. Map, Sheet 88, but too
far north to suit Babur's distances, and also off the Sarai
Munda-Kusar-Karrah road. The position of Naubasta suits
better.
[2507] Sher Khan was associated with Dudu Bibi in the charge
of her son's affairs. Babur's favours to him, his son
Humayun's future conqueror, will have been done during the
Eastern campaign in 934 AH., of which so much record is
missing. Cf. _Tarikh-i-sher-shahi_, E. & D.'s _History of
India_, iv, 301 _et seq._ for particulars of Sher Khan (Farid
Khan _Sur Afghan_).
[2508] In writing "Sl. Mahmud", Babur is reporting his
informant's style, he himself calling Mahmud "Khan" only (f.
363 and f. 363_b_).
[2509] This will be the more northerly of two Kusars marked as
in Karrah; even so, it is a very long 6 _kurohs_ (12m.) from
the Dugdugi of the I.S. Map (cf. n. _supra_).
[2510] _bir para ash u ta`am_, words which suggest one of
those complete meals served, each item on its separate small
dish, and all dishes fitting like mosaic into one tray. T.
_ash_ is cooked meat (f. 2 n. 1 and f. 343_b_); Ar. _ta`am_
will be sweets, fruit, bread, perhaps rice also.
[2511] The _yaktai_, one-fold coat, contrasts with the
_du-tahi_, two-fold (A.-i-A. Bib. Ind. ed., p. 101, and
Blochmann's trs. p. 88).
[2512] This acknowledgement of right to the style Sultan
recognized also supremacy of the Sharqi claim to rule over
that of the Nuhani and _Ludi_ competitors.
[2513] _mindin biti turgan waqai'._ This passage Teufel used
to support his view that Babur's title for his book was
_Waqai`_, and not _Babur-nama_ which, indeed, Teufel describes
as the _Kazaner Ausgabe adoptirte Titel_. _Babur-nama_,
however, is the title [or perhaps, merely scribe's name]
associated both with Kehr's text and with the Haidarabad
Codex.--I have found no indication of the selection by Babur of
any title; he makes no mention of the matter and where he uses
the word _waqai`_ or its congeners, it can be read as a common
noun. In his colophon to the _Rampur Diwan_, it is a parallel
of _ash`ar_, poems. Judging from what is found in the _Mubin_,
it may be right to infer that, if he had lived to complete his
book--now broken off _s.a._ 914 AH. (f. 216_b_)--he would have
been explicit as to its title, perhaps also as to his grounds
for choosing it. Such grounds would have found fitting mention
in a preface to the now abrupt opening of the _Babur-nama_ (f.
1_b_), and if the _Malfuzat-i-timuri_ be Timur's authentic
autobiography, this book might have been named as an ancestral
example influencing Babur to write his own. Nothing against
the authenticity of the _Malfuzat_ can be inferred from the
circumstance that Babur does not name it, because the preface
in which such mention would be in harmony with _e.g._ his
_Walidiyyah_ preface, was never written. It might accredit the
_Malfuzat_ to collate passages having common topics, as they
appear in the _Babur-nama_, _Malfuzat-i-timuri_ and
_Zafar-nama_ (cf. E. & D.'s H. of I. iv, 559 for a discussion
by Dr. Sachau and Prof. Dowson on the _Malfuzat_). (Cf. Z.D.M.
xxxvii, p. 184, Teufel's art. _Babur und Abu'l-fazl_;
Smirnow's Cat. of _Manuscrits Turcs_, p. 142; Index _in loco_
_s.nn._ _Mubin_ and Title.)
[2514] Koh-khiraj, Revenue-paying Koh (H. G. Nevill's _D. G.
of Allahabad_, p. 261).
[2515] _kima aichida_, which suggests a boat with a cabin, a
_bajra_ (_Hobson-Jobson_ _s.n._ budgerow).
[2516] He had stayed behind his kinsman Khwaja Kalan. Both, as
Babur has said, were descendants of Khwaja `Ubaidu'l-lah
_Ahrari_. Khwaja Kalan was a grandson of Ahrari's second son
Yahya; Khwaja `Abdu'sh-shahid was the son of his fifth, Khwaja
`Abdu'l-lah (Khwajagan-khwaja). `Abdu'sh-shahid returned to
India under Akbar, received a fief, maintained 2,000 poor
persons, left after 20 years, and died in Samarkand in 982
AH.-1574-5 AD. (A.-i-A., Blochmann's trs. and notes, pp. 423,
539).
[2517] f. 363, f. 363_b_.
[2518] Not found on maps; OOjani or Ujahni about suits the
measured distance.
[2519] Prayag, Ilahabad, Allahabad. Between the asterisk in my
text (_supra_) and the one following "ford" before the
foliation mark f. 364, the Hai. MS. has a _lacuna_ which, as
being preceded and followed by broken sentences, can hardly be
due to a scribe's skip, but may result from the loss of a
folio. What I have entered above between the asterisks is
translated from the Kehr-Ilminsky text; it is in the two
Persian translations also. Close scrutiny of it suggests that
down to the end of the swimming episode it is not in order and
that the account of the swim across the Ganges may be a
survival of the now missing record of 934 AH. (f. 339). It is
singular that the Pers. trss. make no mention of Piag or of
Sir-auliya; their omission arouses speculation, as to in which
text, the Turki or Persian, it was first tried to fill what
remains a gap in the Hai. Codex. A second seeming sign of
disorder is the incomplete sentence _yurtgha kilib_, which is
noted below. A third is the crowd of incidents now standing
under "Tuesday". A fourth, and an important matter, is that on
grounds noted at the end of the swimming passage (p. 655 n. 3)
it is doubtful whether that passage is in its right place.--It
may be that some-one, at an early date after Babur's death,
tried to fill the _lacuna_ discovered in his manuscript, with
help from loose folios or parts of them. Cf. Index _s.n._
swimming, and f. 377_b_, p. 680 n. 2.
[2520] The Chaghatai sultans will have been with `Askari east
of the Ganges.
[2521] _tur hawalik_; _Mems._ p. 406, violence of the wind;
_MÈms_. ii, 398, _une tempÈrature trËs agrÈable_.
[2522] _yurtgha kilib_, an incomplete sentence.
[2523] _aral bar aikandur_, phrasing implying uncertainty;
there may have been an island, or such a peninsula as a
narrow-mouthed bend of a river forms, or a spit or bluff
projecting into the river. The word _aral_ represents
_Aiki-su-arasi_, _Miyan-du-ab_, _Entre-eaux_,
Twixt-two-streams, Mesopotamia.
[2524] _qul_; Pers. trss. _dast andakhtan_ and _dast_.
Presumably the 33 strokes carried the swimmer across the deep
channel, or the Ganges was crossed higher than Piag.
[2525] The above account of Babur's first swim across the
Ganges which is entered under date Jumada II. 27th, 935 AH.
(March 8th, 1529 AD.), appears misplaced, since he mentions
under date Rajab 25th, 935 AH. (April 4th, 1529 AD. f.
366_b_), that he had swum the Ganges at Baksara (Buxar) a year
before, _i.e._ on or close to Rajab 25th, 934 AH. (April 15th,
1528 AD.). Nothing in his writings shews that he was near Piag
(Allahabad) in 934 AH.; nothing indisputably connects the
swimming episode with the "Tuesday" below which it now stands;
there is no help given by dates. One supposes Babur would take
his first chance to swim the Ganges; this was offered at
Qanauj (f. 336), but nothing in the short record of that time
touches the topic. The next chance would be after he was in
Aud, when, by an unascertained route, perhaps down the Ghogra,
he made his way to Baksara where he says (f. 366_b_) he swam
the river. Taking into consideration the various testimony
noted, [Index _s.n._ swimming] there seems warrant for
supposing that this swimming passage is a survival of the
missing record of 934 AH. (f. 339). Cf. f. 377_b_, p. 680 and
n. 2 for another surmised survival of 934 AH.
[2526] "Friday" here stands for AnglicÈ, Thursday after 6
p.m.; this, only, suiting Babur's next explicit date Sha`ban
1st, Saturday.
[2527] The march, beginning on the Jumna, is now along the
united rivers.
[2528] _zarb-zanlik arabalar._ Here the carts are those
carrying the guns.
[2529] From the particulars Babur gives about the Tus (Tons)
and Karma-nasa, it would seem that he had not passed them
last year, an inference supported by what is known of his
route in that year:--He came from Gualiar to the Kanar-passage
(f. 336), there crossed the Jumna and went direct to Qanauj
(f. 335), above Qanauj bridged the Ganges, went on to
Bangarmau (f. 338), crossed the Gumti and went to near the
junction of the Ghogra and Sarda (f. 338_b_). The next
indication of his route is that he is at Baksara, but whether
he reached it by water down the Ghogra, as his meeting with
Muh. Ma`ruf _Farmuli_ suggests (f. 377), or by land, nothing
shews. From Baksara (f. 366) he went up-stream to Chausa (f.
365_b_), on perhaps to Sayyidpur, 2m. from the mouth of the
Gumti, and there left the Ganges for Junpur (f. 365). I have
found nothing about his return route to Agra; it seems
improbable that he would go so far south as to near Piag; a
more northerly and direct road to Fathpur and Sarai Baburpur
may have been taken.--Concerning Babur's acts in 934 AH. the
following item, (met with since I was working on 934 AH.),
continues his statement (f. 338_b_) that he spent a few days
near Aud (Ajodhya) to settle its affairs. The _D.G. of
Fyzabaa_ (H. E. Nevill) p. 173 says "In 1528 AD. Babur came to
Ajodhya (Aud) and halted a week. He destroyed the ancient
temple" (marking the birth-place of Rama) "and on its site
built a mosque, still known as Babur's Mosque.... It has two
inscriptions, one on the outside, one on the pulpit; both are
in Persian; and bear the date 935 _AH._" This date may be that
of the completion of the building.--(_Corrigendum_:--On f. 339
n. 1, I have too narrowly restricted the use of the name
Sarju. Babur used it to describe what the maps of Arrowsmith
and Johnson shew, and not only what the _Gazetteer of India_
map of the United Provinces does. It applies to the Sarda (f.
339) as Babur uses it when writing of the fords.)
[2530] Here the lacuna of the Hai. Codex ends.
[2531] Perhaps, where there is now the railway station of
"Nulibai" (I.S. Map). The direct road on which the army moved,
avoids the windings of the river.
[2532] This has been read as T. _kint_, P. _dih_, Eng. village
and Fr. _village_.
[2533] "Nankunpur" lying to the north of Puhari
railway-station suits the distance measured on maps.
[2534] These will be the women-travellers.
[2535] Perhaps jungle tracts lying in the curves of the river.
[2536] _jirga_, which here stands for the beaters' incurving
line, witness the exit of the buffalo at the end. Cf. f.
367_b_ for a _jirga_ of boats.
[2537] _auzun auzagh_, many miles and many hours?
[2538] Bulloa? (I.S. Map).
[2539] AnglicÈ, Sunday after 6 p.m.
[2540] _`alufa u qunal_ (f. 359_b_).
[2541] than the Ganges perhaps; or narrowish compared with
other rivers, _e.g._ Ganges, Ghogra, and Jun.
[2542] _yil-turgi yurt_, by which is meant, I think, close to
the same day a year back, and not an indefinite reference to
some time in the past year.
[2543] Maps make the starting-place likely to be Sayyidpur.
[2544] re-named Zamania, after Akbar's officer `Ali-quli Khan
Khan-i-zaman, and now the head-quarters of the Zamania
_pargana_ of Ghazipur. Madan-Benares was in Akbar's _sarkar_
of Ghazipur. (It was not identified by E. or by de C.) Cf.
_D.G. of Ghazipur_.
[2545] In the earlier part of the Hai. Codex this Afghan
tribal-name is written Nuhani, but in this latter portion a
different scribe occasionally writes it Luhani (Index _s.n._).
[2546] _`arza-dasht_, _i.e._ phrased as from one of lower
station to a superior.
[2547] His letter may have announced his and his mother Dudu
Bibi's approach (f. 368-9).
[2548] Nasir Khan had been an amir of Sl. Sikandar _Ludi_.
Sher Khan _Sur_ married his widow "Guhar Kusain", bringing him
a large dowry (A.N. trs. p. 327; and _Tarikh-i-sher-shahi_, E.
& D.'s _History of India_ iv, 346).
[2549] He started from Chaparghatta (f. 361_b_, p. 650 n. 1).
[2550] _yil-turgi yurt._
[2551] "This must have been the Eclipse of the 10th of May
1528 AD.; a fast is enjoined on the day of an eclipse"
(Erskine).
[2552] Karma-na['s]a means loss of the merit acquired by good
works.
[2553] The I.S. Map marks a main road leading to the mouth of
the Karma-na['s]a and no other leading to the river for a
considerable distance up-stream.
[2554] Perhaps "Thora-nadee" (I.S. Map).
[2555] AnglicÈ, Sunday after 6 p.m.
[2556] _autkan yil._
[2557] Perhaps the _du-aba_ between the Ganges and
"Thora-nadee".
[2558] _yil-tur ... Gang-sui-din min dastak bila autub, ba`zi
at, ba`zi tiwah minib, kilib, sair qililib aidi._ Some
uncertainty as to the meaning of the phrase _dastak bila
autub_ is caused by finding that while here de Courteille
agrees with Erskine in taking it to mean swimming, he varies
later (f. 373_b_) to _appuyÈs sur une piËce de bois_. Taking
the Persian translations of three passages about crossing
water into consideration (p. 655 after f. 363_b_, f. 366_b_
(here), f. 373_b_), and also the circumstances that E. and de
C. are once in agreement and that Erskine worked with the help
of Oriental _munshis_, I incline to think that _dastak bila_
does express swimming.--The question of its precise meaning
bears on one concerning Babur's first swim across the Ganges
(p. 655, n. 3).--Perhaps I should say, however, that if the
sentence quoted at the head of this note stood alone, without
the extraneous circumstances supporting the reading of _dastak
bila_ to mean swimming, I should incline to read it as stating
that Babur went on foot through the water, feeling his footing
with a pole (_dastak_), and that his followers rode through
the ford after him. Nothing in the quoted passage suggests
that the horses and camels swam. But whether the Ganges was
fordable at Baksara in Babur's time, is beyond surmise.
[2559] _fasl soz_, which, manifestly, were to be laid before
the envoy's master. The articles are nowhere specified; one is
summarized merely on f. 365. The incomplete sentence of the
Turki text (_supra_) needs their specification at this place,
and an explicit statement of them would have made clearer the
political relations of Babur with Nasrat Shah.--A folio may
have been lost from Babur's manuscript; it might have
specified the articles, and also have said something leading
to the next topic of the diary, now needing preliminaries,
_viz._ that of the Mirza's discontent with his new
appointment, a matter not mentioned earlier.
[2560] This suits Babur's series, but Gladwin and W¸stenfeld
have 10th.
[2561] The first is near, the second on the direct road from
Buxar for Arrah.
[2562] The Hai. MS. makes an elephant be posted as the sole
scout; others post a _sardar_, or post braves; none post man
and beast.
[2563] This should be 5th; perhaps the statement is confused
through the gifts being given late, AnglicÈ, on Tuesday 4th,
IslamicÈ on Wednesday night.
[2564] The Mirza's Timurid birth and a desire in Babur to give
high status to a representative he will have wished to leave
in Bihar when he himself went to his western dominions,
sufficiently explain the bestowal of this sign of sovereignty.
[2565] _jirga._ This instance of its use shews that Babur had
in mind not a completed circle, but a line, or in sporting
parlance, not a hunting-circle but a beaters'-line. [Cf. f.
251, f. 364_b_ and _infra_ of the crocodile.] The word is used
also for a governing-circle, a tribal-council.
[2566] _aulugh_ (_kima_). Does _aulugh_ (_auluq_, _uluq_)
connect with the "bulky Oolak or baggage-boat of Bengal"?
(_Hobson-Jobson_ _s.n._ Woolock, oolock).
[2567] De Courteille's reading of Ilminsky's "Baburi" (p. 476)
as Bairi, old servant, hardly suits the age of the boat.
[2568] Babur anticipated the custom followed _e.g._ by the
White Star and Cunard lines, when he gave his boats names
having the same terminal syllable; his is _aish_; on it he
makes the quip of the har _aish_ of the Farmaish.
[2569] As Vullers makes Ar. _ghurfat_ a synonym of
_chaukandi_, the Farmaish seems likely to have had a cabin,
open at the sides. De Courteille understood it to have a
rounded stern. [Cf. E. & D.'s _History of India_ v, 347, 503
n.; and Gul-badan's H. N. trs. p. 98, n. 2.]
[2570] _mindin rukhsat aldi_; phrasing which bespeaks admitted
equality, that of Timurid birth.
[2571] _i.e._ subjects of the Afghan ruler of Bengal; many
will have been Biharis and Purbiyas. Makhdum-i-`alam was
Nasrat Shah's Governor in Hajipur.
[2572] This might imply that the Afghans had been prevented
from joining Mahmud Khan _Ludi_ near the Son.
[2573] Sl. Muhammad Shah _Nuhani Afghan_, the former ruler of
Bihar, dead within a year. He had trained Farid Khan _Sur_ in
the management of government affairs; had given him, for
gallant encounter with a tiger, the title Sher Khan by which,
or its higher form Sher Shah, history knows him, and had made
him his young son's "deputy", an office Sher Khan held after
the father's death in conjunction with the boy's mother Dudu
Bibi (_Tarikh-i-sher-shahi_, E. & D.'s _History of India_ iv,
325 _et seq._).
[2574] _guz baghi yusunluq_; by which I understand they were
held fast from departure, as _e.g._ a mouse by the fascination
of a snake.
[2575] f. 365 mentions a letter which may have announced their
intention.
[2576] Ganges; they thus evaded the restriction made good on
other Afghans.
[2577] AnglicÈ, Saturday 8th after 6 p.m.
[2578] The _D. G. of Shahabad_ (pp. 20 and 127) mentions that
"it is said Babur marched to Arrah after his victory over
Mahmud _Ludi_", and that "local tradition still points to a
place near the Judge's Court as that on which he pitched his
camp".
[2579] Kharid which is now a _pargana_ of the Ballia district,
lay formerly on both sides of the Ghogra. When the army of
Kharid opposed Babur's progress, it acted for Nasrat Shah, but
this Babur diplomatically ignored in assuming that there was
peace between Bengal and himself.--At this time Nasrat Shah
held the riverain on the left bank of the Ghogra but had lost
Kharid of the right bank, which had been taken from him by
Junaid _Barlas_. A record of his occupation still survives in
Kharid-town, an inscription dated by his deputy as for 1529
AD. (_District Gazetteer of Ballia_ H. R. Nevill), and _D. G.
of Saran_ (L. L. S. O'Malley), Historical Chapters.
[2580] Babur's opinion of Nasrat Shah's hostility is more
clearly shewn here than in the verbal message of f. 369.
[2581] This will be an unceremonious summary of a
word-of-mouth message.
[2582] Cf. f. 366_b_, p. 661 n. 2.
[2583] This shews that Babur did not recognize the Saran
riverain down to the Ganges as belonging to Kharid. His
offered escort of Turks would safe-guard the Kharidis if they
returned to the right bank of the Ghogra which was in Turk
possession.
[2584] The Hai. MS. has _wali_, clearly written; which, as a
word representing Mahim would suit the sentence best, may make
playful reference to her royal commands (f. 361_b_), by
styling her the Governor (_wali_). Erskine read the word as a
place-name Dipali, which I have not found; De Courteille omits
Ilminsky's _w:ras_ (p. 478). The MSS. vary and are uncertain.
[2585] This is the "Kadjar" of RÈclus' _L'Asie antÈrieure_ and
is the name of the Turkman tribe to which the present ruling
house of Persia belongs. "Turkman" might be taken as applied
to Shah Tahmasp by Div Sultan's servant on f. 354.
[2586] _Nelumbium speciosum_, a water-bean of great beauty.
[2587] Shaikh Yahya had been the head of the Chishti Order.
His son (d. 782 AH.-1380-1 AD.) was the author of works named
by Abu'l-fazl as read aloud to Akbar, a discursive detail
which pleads in my excuse that those who know Babur well
cannot but see in his grandson's character and success the
fruition of his mental characteristics and of his labours in
Hindustan. (For Sharafu'd-din _Muniri_, cf.
_Khazinatu'l-asfiya_ ii, 390-92; and _Ayin-i-akbari_ _s.n._)
[2588] Kostenko's _Turkistan Region_ describes a regimen for
horses which Babur will have seen in practice in his native
land, one which prevented the defect that hindered his at
Munir from accomplishing more than some 30 miles before
mid-day.
[2589] The distance from Munir to the bank of the Ganges will
have been considerably longer in Babur's day than now because
of the change of the river's course through its desertion of
the Burh-ganga channel (cf. next note).
[2590] In trying to locate the site of Babur's coming battle
with the forces of Nasrat Shah, it should be kept in mind that
previous to the 18th century, and therefore, presumably, in
his day, the Ganges flowed in the "Burh-ganga" (Old Ganges)
channel which now is closely followed by the western boundary
of the Ballia _pargana_ of Du-aba; that the Ganges and Ghogra
will have met where this old channel entered the bed of the
latter river; and also, as is seen from Babur's narrative,
that above the confluence the Ghogra will have been confined
to a narrowed channel. When the Ganges flowed in the
Burh-ganga channel, the now Ballia _pargana_ of Du-aba was a
sub-division of Bihiya and continuous with Shahabad. From it
in Bihiya Babur crossed the Ganges into Kharid, doing this at
a place his narrative locates as some 2 miles from the
confluence. Cf. _D. G. of Ballia_, pp. 9, 192-3, 206, 213. It
may be observed that the former northward extension of Bihiya
to the Burh-ganga channel explains Babur's estimate (f. 370)
of the distance from Munir to his camp on the Ganges; his
12_k._ (24m.) may then have been correct; it is now too high.
[2591] De Courteille, _pierrier_, which may be a balista.
Babur's writings give no indication of other than
stone-ammunition for any projectile-engine or fire-arm. Cf. R.
W. F. Payne-Gallwey's _Projectile-throwing engines of the
ancients_.
[2592] Sir R. W. F. Payne-Gallwey writes in _The Cross-bow_
(p. 40 and p. 41) what may apply to Babur's _zarb-zan_
(culverin?) and _tufang_ (matchlock), when he describes the
larger culverin as a heavy hand-gun of from 16-18lb., as used
by the foot-soldier and requiring the assistance of an
attendant to work it; also when he says that it became the
portable arquebus which was in extensive use in Europe by the
Swiss in 1476 AD.; and that between 1510 and 1520 the arquebus
described was superseded by what is still seen amongst remote
tribes in India, a matchlock arquebus.
[2593] The two positions Babur selected for his guns would
seem to have been opposite two ferry-heads, those, presumably,
which were blocked against his pursuit of Biban and Bayazid.
`Ali-quli's emplacement will have been on the high bank of old
alluvium of south-eastern Kharid, overlooking the narrowed
channel demanded by Babur's narrative, one pent in presumably
by _kankar_ reefs such as there are in the region. As
illustrating what the channel might have been, the varying
breadth of the Ghogra along the `Azamgarh District may be
quoted, _viz._ from 10 miles to 2/5m., the latter being where,
as in Kharid, there is old alluvium with _kankar_ reefs
preserving the banks. Cf. Reid's _Report of Settlement
Operations in `Azamgarh, Sikandarpur, and Bhadaon_.--Firishta
gives Badru as the name of one ferry (lith. ed. i. 210).
[2594] Mustafa, like `Ali-quli, was to take the offensive by
gun-fire directed on the opposite bank. Judging from maps and
also from the course taken by the Ganges through the
Burh-ganga channel and from Babur's narrative, there seems to
have been a narrow reach of the Ghogra just below the
confluence, as well as above.
[2595] This ferry, bearing the common name Haldi (turmeric),
is located by the course of events as at no great distance
above the enemy's encampment above the confluence. It cannot
be the one of Sikandarpur West.
[2596] _guzr_, which here may mean a casual ford through water
low just before the Rains. As it was not found, it will have
been temporary.
[2597] _i.e._ above Babur's positions.
[2598] _sarwar_ (or _dar_) _waqt_.
[2599] The preceding sentence is imperfect and varies in the
MSS. The 1st Pers. trs., the wording of which is often
explanatory, says that there were _no_ passages, which, as
there were many ferries, will mean fords. The Haldi-guzr where
`Askari was to cross, will have been far below the lowest
Babur mentions, _viz._ Chatur-muk (Chaupara).
[2600] This passage presupposes that guns in Kharid could hit
the hostile camp in Saran. If the river narrowed here as it
does further north, the Ghazi mortar, which seems to have been
the only one Babur had with him, would have carried across,
since it threw a stone 1,600 paces (_qadam_, f. 309). Cf.
Reid's _Report_ quoted above.
[2601] AnglicÈ, Saturday after 6p.m.
[2602] _yaqin bulghan fauj_, var. _ta`in bulghan fauj_, the
army appointed (to cross). The boats will be those collected
at the Haldi-ferry, and the army `Askari's.
[2603] _i.e._ near `Ali-quli's emplacement.
[2604] Cf. f. 303, f. 309, f. 337 and n. 4.
[2605] "The _yasawal_ is an officer who carries the commands
of the prince, and sees them enforced" (Erskine). Here he will
have been the superintendent of coolies moving earth.
[2606] _ma`jun-nak_ which, in these days of Babur's return to
obedience, it may be right to translate in harmony with his
psychical outlook of self-reproach, by _ma`jun_-polluted.
Though he had long ceased to drink wine, he still sought cheer
and comfort, in his laborious days, from inspiriting and
forbidden confections.
[2607] Probably owing to the less precise phrasing of his
Persian archetype, Erskine here has reversed the statement,
made in the Turki, that Babur slept in the Asaish (not the
Farmaish).
[2608] _austida tashlar._ An earlier reading of this, _viz._
that stones were thrown on the intruder is negatived by
Babur's mention of wood as the weapon used.
[2609] _su sari_ which, as the boats were between an island
and the river's bank, seems likely to mean that the man went
off towards the main stream. _Mems._ p. 415, "made his escape
in the river"; _MÈms._ ii, 418, _dans la direction du large_.
[2610] This couplet is quoted by Jahangir also (_Tuzuk_, trs.
Rogers & Beveridge, i, 348).
[2611] This, taken with the positions of other
crossing-parties, serves to locate `Askari's "Haldi-passage"
at no great distance above `Ali-quli's emplacement at the
confluence, and above the main Bengal force.
[2612] perhaps, towed from the land. I have not found Babur
using any word which clearly means to row, unless indeed a
later _rawan_ does so. The force meant to cross in the boats
taken up under cover of night was part of Babur's own, no
doubt.
[2613] _atish-bazi_ lit. fire-playing, if a purely Persian
compound; if _atish_ be Turki, it means discharge, shooting.
The word "fire-working" is used above under the nearest to
contemporary guidance known to me, _viz._ that of the list of
persons who suffered in the Patna massacre "during the
troubles of October 1763 AD.", in which list are the names of
four Lieutenants fire-workers (_Calcutta Review_, Oct. 1884,
and Jan. 1885, art. _The Patna Massacre_, H. Beveridge).
[2614] _bi tahashi_, without protest or demur.
[2615] AnglicÈ, Wednesday after 6 p.m.
[2616] Perhaps those which had failed to pass in the darkness;
perhaps those from Haldi-guzr, which had been used by
`Askari's troops. There appear to be obvious reasons for their
keeping abreast on the river with the troops in Saran, in
order to convey reinforcements or to provide retreat.
[2617] _kimalar austida_, which may mean that he came, on the
high bank, to where the boats lay below.
[2618] as in the previous note, _kimalar austida_. These will
have been the few drawn up-stream along the enemy's front.
[2619] The reproach conveyed by Babur's statement is borne out
by the strictures of Haidar Mirza _Dughlat_ on Baba Sultan's
neglect of duty (_Tarikh-i-rashidi_ trs. cap. lxxvii).
[2620] _yusunluq tushi_, Pers. trss. _tarf khud_, i.e. their
place in the array, a frequent phrase.
[2621] _dastak bila dosta-i-qamish bila._ Cf. f. 363_b_ and f.
366_b_, for passages and notes connected with swimming and
_dastak_. Erskine twice translates _dastak bila_ by swimming;
but here de Courteille changes from his earlier _‡ la nage_
(f. 366_b_) to _appuyÈs sur une piËce de bois_. Perhaps the
swift current was crossed by swimming with the support of a
bundle of reeds, perhaps on rafts made of such bundles (cf.
_Illustrated London News_, Sep. 16th, 1916, for a picture of
Indian soldiers so crossing on rafts).
[2622] perhaps they were in the Burh-ganga channel, out of
gun-fire.
[2623] If the Ghogra flowed at this point in a narrow channel,
it would be the swifter, and less easy to cross than where in
an open bed.
[2624] _chirik-aili_, a frequent compound, but one of which
the use is better defined in the latter than the earlier part
of Babur's writings to represent what then answered to an Army
Service Corps. This corps now crosses into Saran and joins the
fighting force.
[2625] This appears to refer to the crossing effected before
the fight.
[2626] or Kundbah. I have not succeeded in finding this name
in the Nirhun _pargana_; it may have been at the southern end,
near the "Domaigarh" of maps. In it was Tir-muhani, perhaps a
village (f. 377, f. 381).
[2627] This passage justifies Erskine's surmise (_Memoirs_, p.
411, n. 4) that the Kharid-country lay on both banks of the
Ghogra. His further surmise that, on the east bank of the
Ghogra, it extended to the Ganges would be correct also, since
the Ganges flowed, in Babur's day, through the Burh-ganga (Old
Ganges) channel along the southern edge of the present Kharid,
and thus joined the Ghogra higher than it now does.
[2628] Bayazid and Ma`ruf _Farmuli_ were brothers. Bayazid had
taken service with Babur in 932 AH. (1526 AD.), left him in
934 AH. (end of 1527 AD.) and opposed him near Qanuj. Ma`ruf,
long a rebel against Ibrahim _Ludi_, had never joined Babur;
two of his sons did so; of the two, Muhammad and Musa, the
latter may be the one mentioned as at Qanuj, "Ma`ruf's son"
(f. 336).--For an interesting sketch of Ma`ruf's character and
for the location in Hindustan of the Farmuli clan, _see_ the
_Waqi`at-i-mushtaqi_, E. & D.'s _History of India_, iv,
584.--In connection with Qanuj, the discursive remark may be
allowable, that Babur's halt during the construction of the
bridge of boats across the Ganges in 934 AH. is still
commemorated by the name Badshah-nagar of a village between
Bangarmau and Nanamau (Elliot's _Onau_, p. 45).
[2629] On f. 381 `Abdu'l-lah's starting-place is mentioned as
Tir-muhani.
[2630] The failure to join would be one of the evils predicted
by the dilatory start of the ladies from Kabul (f. 360_b_).
[2631] The order for these operations is given on f. 355_b_.
[2632] f. 369. The former Nuhani chiefs are now restored to
Bihar as tributaries of Babur.
[2633] Erskine estimated the _krur_ at about £25,000, and the
50 _laks_ at about £12,500.
[2634] The Mirza thus supersedes Junaid _Barlas_ in
Junpur.--The form Junapur used above and elsewhere by Babur and
his Persian translators, supports the _Gazetteer of India_
xlv, 74 as to the origin of the name Junpur.
[2635] a son of Nasrat Shah. No record of this earlier
legation is with the _Babur-nama_ manuscripts; probably it has
been lost. The only article found specified is the one asking
for the removal of the Kharid army from a ferry-head Babur
wished to use; Nasrat Shah's assent to this is an anti-climax
to Babur's victory on the Ghogra.
[2636] Chaupara is at the Saran end of the ferry, at the
Sikandarpur one is Chatur-muk (Four-faces, an epithet of
Brahma and Vishnu).
[2637] It may be inferred from the earlier use of the phrase
Gogar (or Gagar) and Saru (Siru or Sird), on f. 338-8_b_, that
whereas the rebels were, earlier, for crossing Saru only,
_i.e._ the Ghogra below its confluence with the Sarda, they
had now changed for crossing above the confluence and further
north. Such a change is explicable by desire to avoid
encounter with Babur's following, here perhaps the army of
Aud, and the same desire is manifested by their abandonment of
a fort captured (f. 377_b_) some days before the rumour
reached Babur of their crossing Saru and Gogar.--Since
translating the passage on f. 338, I have been led, by
enforced attention to the movement of the confluence of Ghogra
with Ganges (Saru with Gang) to see that that translation,
eased in obedience to distances shewn in maps, may be wrong
and that Babur's statement that he dismounted 2-3 _kurohs_
(4-6 m.) above Aud at the confluence of Gogar with Saru, may
have some geographical interest and indicate movement of the
two affluents such _e.g._ as is indicated of the Ganges and
Ghogra by tradition and by the name Burh-ganga (cf. f. 370, p.
667, n. 2).
[2638] or L:knur, perhaps Liknu or Liknur. The capricious
variation in the MSS. between L:knu and L:knur makes the
movements of the rebels difficult to follow. Comment on these
variants, tending to identify the places behind the words, is
grouped in Appendix T, _On L:knu_ (_Lakhnau_) and _L:knur_
(_Lakhnar_).
[2639] Taking _guzr_ in the sense it has had hitherto in the
_Babur-nama_ of ferry or ford, the detachment may have been
intended to block the river-crossings of "Saru and Gogar". If
so, however, the time for this was past, the rebels having
taken a fort west of those rivers on Ramzan 13th. Nothing
further is heard of the detachment.--That news of the
rebel-crossing of the rivers did not reach Babur before the
18th and news of their capture of L:knu or L:knur before the
19th may indicate that they had crossed a good deal to the
north of the confluence, and that the fort taken was one more
remote than Lakhnau (Oude). Cf. Appendix T.
[2640] AnglicÈ, Wednesday after 6 p.m.
[2641] These are recited late in the night during Ramzan.
[2642] _kaghaz u ajza'_, perhaps writing-paper and the various
sections of the _Babur-nama_ writings, _viz._ biographical
notices, descriptions of places, detached lengths of diary,
_farmans_ of Shaikh Zain. The _lacunae_ of 934 AH., 935 AH.,
and perhaps earlier ones also may be attributed reasonably to
this storm. It is easy to understand the loss of _e.g._ the
conclusion of the Farghana section, and the diary one of 934
AH., if they lay partly under water. The accident would be
better realized in its disastrous results to the writings, if
one knew whether Babur wrote in a bound or unbound volume.
From the minor losses of 935 AH., one guesses that the current
diary at least had not reached the stage of binding.
[2643] The _tungluq_ is a flap in a tent-roof, allowing light
and air to enter, or smoke to come out.
[2644] _ajza' u kitab._ _See_ last note but one. The _kitab_
(book) might well be Babur's composed narrative on which he
was now working, as far as it had then gone towards its
untimely end (Hai. MS. f. 216_b_).
[2645] _saqarlat kut-zilucha_, where _saqarlat_ will mean warm
and woollen.
[2646] Kharid-town is some 4 m. s.e. of the town of
Sikandarpur.
[2647] or L:knu. Cf. Appendix T. It is now 14 days since
`Abdu'l-lah _kitabdar_ had left Tir-muhani (f. 380) for
Sambhal; as he was in haste, there had been time for him to go
beyond Aud (where Baqi was) and yet get the news to Babur on
the 19th.
[2648] In a way not usual with him, Babur seems to apply three
epithets to this follower, _viz._ _ming-begi_, _shaghawal_,
_Tashkindi_ (Index _s.n._).
[2649] or Kandla; cf. Revenue list f. 293; is it now Saran
Khas?
[2650] £18,000 (Erskine). For the total yield of Kundla (or
Kandla) and Sarwar, _see_ Revenue list (f. 293).
[2651] f. 375. P. 675 n. 2 and f. 381, p. 687 n. 3.
[2652] A little earlier Babur has recorded his ease of mind
about Bihar and Bengal, the fruit doubtless of his victory
over Mahmud _Ludi_ and Nasrat Shah; he now does the same about
Bihar and Sarwar, no doubt because he has replaced in Bihar,
as his tributaries, the Nuhani chiefs and has settled other
Afghans, Jalwanis and Farmulis in a Sarwar cleared of the
Jalwani (?) rebel Biban and the Farmuli opponents Bayazid and
Ma`ruf. The Farmuli Shaikh-zadas, it may be recalled, belonged
by descent to Babur's Kabul district of Farmul.--The
_Waqi`at-i-mushtaqi_ (E. & D.'s _H. of I._ iv, 548) details
the position of the clan under Sikandar _Ludi_.
[2653] The MSS. write Fathpur but Nathpur suits the context, a
_pargana_ mentioned in the _Ayin-i-akbari_ and now in the
`Azamgarh district. There seems to be no Fathpur within
Babur's limit of distance. The _D. G. of `Azamgarh_ mentions
two now insignificant Fathpurs, one as having a school, the
other a market. The name G:l:r:h (K:l:r:h) I have not found.
[2654] The passage contained in this section seems to be a
survival of the lost record of 934 AH. (f. 339). I have found
it only in the _Memoirs_ p. 420, and in Mr. Erskine's own
Codex of the _Waqi`at-i-baburi_ (now B.M. Add. 26,200), f. 371
where however several circumstances isolate it from the
context. It may be a Persian translation of an authentic Turki
fragment, found, perhaps with other such fragments, in the
Royal Library. Its wording disassociates it from the
`Abdu'r-rahim text. The Codex (No. 26,200) breaks off at the
foot of a page (_supra_, Fathpur) with a completed sentence.
The supposedly-misplaced passage is entered on the next folio
as a sort of ending of the _Babur-nama_ writings; in a rough
script, inferior to that of the Codex, and is followed by
_Tam, tam_ (Finis), and an incomplete date 98-, in words.
Beneath this a line is drawn, on which is subtended the
triangle frequent with scribes; within this is what seems to
be a completion of the date to 980 AH. and a pious wish,
scrawled in an even rougher hand than the rest.--Not only in
diction and in script but in contents also the passage is a
misfit where it now stands; it can hardly describe a village
on the Saru; Babur in 935 AH. did not march for Ghazipur but
may have done so in 934 AH. (p. 656, n. 3); Isma`il _Jalwani_
had had leave given already in 935 AH. (f. 377) under other
conditions, ones bespeaking more trust and tried
allegiance.--Possibly the place described as having fine
buildings, gardens _etc._ is Aud (Ajodhya) where Babur spent
some days in 934 AH. (cf. f. 363_b_, p. 655 n. 3).
[2655] "Here my Persian manuscript closes" (This is B.M. Add.
26,200). "The two additional fragments are given from Mr.
Metcalfe's manuscript alone" (now B.M. Add. 26,202) "and
unluckily, it is extremely incorrect" (Erskine). This note
will have been written perhaps a decade before 1826, in which
year the _Memoirs of Babur_ was published, after long delay.
Mr. Erskine's own Codex (No. 26,200) was made good at a later
date, perhaps when he was working on his History of India
(pub. 1854), by a well-written supplement which carries the
diary to its usual end _s.a._ 936 AH. and also gives Persian
translations of Babur's letters to Humayun and Khwaja Kalan.
[2656] Here, as earlier, Nathpur suits the context better than
Fathpur. In the Nathpur _pargana_, at a distance from Chaupara
approximately suiting Babur's statement of distance, is the
lake "Tal Ratoi", formerly larger and deeper than now. There
is a second further west and now larger than Tal Ratoi;
through this the Ghogra once flowed, and through it has tried
within the last half-century to break back. These changes in
Tal Ratoi and in the course of the Ghogra dictate caution in
attempting to locate places which were on it in Babur's day
_e.g._ K:l:r:h (_supra_).
[2657] Appendix T.
[2658] This name has the following variants in the Hai. MS.
and in Kehr's:--Dalm-u-uu-ur-ud-ut. The place was in Akbar's
_sarkar_ of Manikpur and is now in the Rai Bareilly district.
[2659] Perhaps Chaksar, which was in Akbar's _sarkar_ of
Junpur, and is now in the `Azamgarh district.
[2660] Hai. MS. _J:nara khund tawabi si bila_ (perhaps
_tawabi`si_ but not so written). The obscurity of these words
is indicated by their variation in the manuscripts. Most
scribes have them as Chunar and Junpur, guided presumably by
the despatch of a force to Chunar on receipt of the news, but
another force was sent to Dalmau at the same time. The rebels
were defeated s.w. of Dalmau and thence went to Mahuba; it is
not certain that they had crossed the Ganges at Dalmau; there
are difficulties in supposing the fort they captured and
abandoned was Lakhnau (Oude); they might have gone south to
near Kalpi and Adampur, which are at no great distance from
where they were defeated by Baqi _shaghawal_, if Lakhnur (now
Shahabad in Rampur) were the fort. (Cf. Appendix T.)--To take
up the interpretation of the words quoted above, at another
point, that of the kinsfolk or fellow-Afghans the rebels
planned to join:--these kinsfolk may have been, of Bayazid, the
Farmulis in Sarwar, and of Biban, the Jalwanis of the same
place. The two may have trusted to relationship for harbourage
during the Rains, disloyal though they were to their kinsmen's
accepted suzerain. Therefore if they were once across Ganges
and Jumna, as they were in Mahuba, they may have thought of
working eastwards south of the Ganges and of getting north
into Sarwar through territory belonging to the Chunar and
Junpur governments. This however is not expressed by the words
quoted above; perhaps Babur's record was hastily and
incompletely written.--Another reading may be Chunar and Jaund
(in Akbar's _sarkar_ of Rohtas).
[2661] _yuliini tushqailar._ It may be observed concerning the
despatch of Muhammad-i-zaman M. and of Junaid _Barlas_ that
they went to their new appointments Junpur and Chunar
respectively; that their doing so was an orderly part of the
winding-up of Babur's Eastern operations; that they remained
as part of the Eastern garrison, on duty apart from that of
blocking the road of Biban and Bayazid.
[2662] This mode of fishing is still practised in India
(Erskine).
[2663] IslamicÈ, Saturday night; AnglicÈ, Friday after 6 p.m.
[2664] This Tus, "Tousin, or Tons, is a branch from the Ghogra
coming off above Faizabad and joining the Sarju or Parsaru
below `Azamgarh" (Erskine).
[2665] Kehr's MS. p. 1132, Mang (or Mank); Hai. MS. Taik; I.O.
218 f. 328 Ba:k; I.O. 217 f. 236_b_, Biak. Maing in the
Sultanpur district seems suitably located (_D.G. of
Sultanpur_, p. 162).
[2666] This will be the night-guard (_`asas_); the librarian
(_kitabdar_) is in Sambhal. I.O. 218 f. 325 inserts _kitabdar_
after `Abdu'l-lah's name where he is recorded as sent to
Sambhal (f. 375).
[2667] He will have announced to Taj Khan the transfer of the
fort to Junaid _Barlas_.
[2668] £3750. Parsarur was in Akbar's _subah_ of Lahor; G. of
I. xx, 23, Pasrur.
[2669] The estimate may have been made by measurement (f. 356)
or by counting a horse's steps (f. 370). Here the Hai. MS. and
Kehr's have D:lmud, but I.O. 218 f. 328_b_ (D:lmuu).
[2670] As on f. 361_b_, so here, Babur's wording tends to
locate Adampur on the right (west) bank of the Jumna.
[2671] Hai. MS. _auta_, presumably for _aurta_; Kehr's p.
1133, Aud-daghi, which, as Baqi led the Aud army, is _ben
trovato_; both Persian translations, _miangani_, central,
inner, _i.e._ _aurta_, perhaps household troops of the Centre.
[2672] AnglicÈ, Saturday 12th after 6 p.m.
[2673] In Akbar's _sarkar_ of Kalanjar, now in the Hamirpur
district.
[2674] £7500 (Erskine). Amroha is in the Moradabad district.
[2675] At the Chaupara-Chaturmuk ferry (f.
376).--_Corrigendum_:--In the Index of the _Babur-nama
Facsimile_, Musa _Farmuli_ and Musa Sl. are erroneously
entered as if one man.
[2676] _i.e._ riding light and fast. The distance done between
Adampur and Agra was some 157 miles, the time was from 12 a.m.
on Tuesday morning to about 9 p.m. of Thursday. This exploit
serves to show that three years of continuous activity in the
plains of Hindustan had not destroyed Babur's capacity for
sustained effort, spite of several attacks of (malarial?)
fever.
[2677] AnglicÈ, Tuesday 12.25 a.m.
[2678] He was governor of Etawa.
[2679] IslamicÈ, Friday, Shawwal 18th, AnglicÈ, Thursday, June
24th, soon after 9 p.m.
[2680] AnglicÈ, she arrived at mid-night of
Saturday.--Gul-badan writes of Mahim's arrival as unexpected
and of Babur's hurrying off on foot to meet her
(_Humayun-nama_ f. 14, trs. p. 100).
[2681] Mahim's journey from Kabul to Agra had occupied over 5
months.
[2682] Hindu Beg _quchin_ had been made Humayun's retainer in
932 AH. (f. 297), and had taken possession of Sambhal for him.
Hence, as it seems, he was ordered, while escorting the ladies
from Kabul, to go to Sambhal. He seems to have gone before
waiting on Babur, probably not coming into Agra till now.--It
may be noted here that in 933 AH. he transformed a Hindu
temple into a Mosque in Sambhal; it was done by Babur's orders
and is commemorated by an inscription still existing on the
Mosque, one seeming not to be of his own composition, judging
by its praise of himself. (JASB. _Proceedings_, May 1873, p.
98, Blochmann's art. where the inscription is given and
translated; and _ArchÊological Survey Reports_, xii, p. 24-27,
with Plates showing the Mosque).
[2683] Cf. f. 375, f. 377, with notes concerning `Abdu'l-lah
and Tir-muhani. I have not found the name Tir-muhani on maps;
its position can be inferred from Babur's statement (f. 375)
that he had sent `Abdu'l-lah to Sambhal, he being then at
Kunba or Kunia in the Nurhun _pargana_.--The name Tir-muhani
occurs also in Gorakhpur.--It was at Tir-muhani (Three-mouths)
that Khwand-amir completed the _Habibu's-siyar_ (lith. ed. i,
83; Rieu's _Pers. Cat._ p. 1079). If the name imply three
water-mouths, they might be those of Ganges, Ghogra and Daha.
[2684] _nim-kara._ E. and de C. however reverse the _rÙles_.
[2685] The _Tarikh-i-gualiari_ (B.M. Add. 16, 709, p. 18)
supplements the fragmentary accounts which, above and _s.a._
936 AH., are all that the _Babur-nama_ now preserves
concerning Khwaja Rahim-dad's misconduct. It has several
mistakes but the gist of its information is useful. It
mentions that the Khwaja and his paternal-uncle Mahdi Khwaja
had displeased Babur; that Rahim-dad resolved to take refuge
with the ruler of Malwa (Muhammad _Khilji_) and to make over
Gualiar to a Rajput landholder of that country; that upon this
Shaikh Muhammad _Ghaus_ went to Agra and interceded with
Babur and obtained his forgiveness for Rahim-dad. Gualiar was
given back to Rahim-dad but after a time he was superseded by
Abu'l-fath [Shaikh Guran]. For particulars about Mahdi Khwaja
and a singular story told about him by Nizamu'd-din Ahmad in
the _Tabaqat-i-akbari_, _vide_ Gul-badan's _Humayun-nama_,
Appendix B, and _Translator's Note_ p. 702, Section _f_.
[2686] He may have come about the misconduct of his nephew
Rahim-dad.
[2687] The `Idu'l-kabir, the Great Festival of 10th
Zu'l-hijja.
[2688] About £1750 (Erskine).
[2689] Perhaps he was from the tract in Persia still called
Chaghatai Mountains. One Ibrahim _Chaghatai_ is mentioned by
Babur (f. 175b) with Turkman begs who joined Husain
_Bai-qara_. This Hasan-i-`ali _Chaghatai_ may have come in
like manner, with Murad the Turkman envoy from `Iraq (f. 369
and n. 1).
[2690] Several incidents recorded by Gul-badan (writing half a
century later) as following Mahim's arrival in Agra, will
belong to the record of 935 AH. because they preceded
Humayun's arrival from Badakhshan. Their omission from Babur's
diary is explicable by its minor _lacunÊ_. Such are:--(1) a
visit to Dhulpur and Sikri the interest of which lies in its
showing that Bibi Mubarika had accompanied Mahim Begim to Agra
from Kabul, and that there was in Sikri a quiet retreat, a
_chaukandi_, where Babur "used to write his book";--(2) the
arrival of the main caravan of ladies from Kabul, which led
Babur to go four miles out, to Naugram, in order to give
honouring reception to his sister Khan-zada Begim;--(3) an
excursion to the Gold-scattering garden (_Bagh-i-zar-afshan_),
where seated among his own people, Babur said he was "bowed
down by ruling and reigning", longed to retire to that garden
with a single attendant, and wished to make over his
sovereignty to Humayun;--(4) the death of Dil-dar's son Alwar
(var. Anwar) whose birth may be assigned to the gap preceding
932 AH. because not chronicled later by Babur, as is Faruq's.
As a distraction from the sorrow for this loss, a journey was
"pleasantly made by water" to Dhulpur.
[2691] Cf. f. 381b n. 2. For his earlier help to Rahim-dad
_see_ f. 304. For Biographies of him _see_ Blochmann's A.-i-A.
trs. p. 446, and Badayuni's _Muntakhabu-'t-tawarikh_
(Ranking's and Lowe's trss.).
[2692] Beyond this broken passage, one presumably at the foot
of a page in Babur's own manuscript, nothing of his diary is
now known to survive. What is missing seems likely to have
been written and lost. It is known from a remark of
Gul-badan's (H.N. p. 103) that he "used to write his book"
after Mahim's arrival in Agra, the place coming into her
anecdote being Sikri.
[2693] Jauhar's _Humayun-nama_ and Bayazid _Biyat's_ work of
the same title were written under the same royal command as
the Begim's. They contribute nothing towards filling the gap
of 936 AH.; their authors, being Humayun's servants, write
about him. It may be observed that criticism of these books,
as recording trivialities, is disarmed if they were commanded
because they would obey an order to set down whatever was
known, selection amongst their contents resting with
Abu'l-fazl. Even more completely must they be excluded from a
verdict on the literary standard of their day.--Abu'l-fazl must
have had a source of Baburiana which has not found its way
into European libraries. A man likely to have contributed his
recollections, directly or transmitted, is Khwaja Muqim
_Harawi_. The date of Muqim's death is conjectural only, but
he lived long enough to impress the worth of historical
writing on his son Nizamu'-d-din Ahmad. (Cf. E. and D.'s H. of
I. art. _Tabaqat-i-akbari_ v, 177 and 187; T.-i-A. lith. ed.
p. 193; and for Bayazid _Biyat's_ work, JASB. 1898, p. 296.)
[2694] Ibn Batuta (Lee's trs. p. 133) mentions that after his
appointment to Gualiar, Rahim-dad fell from favour ... but was
restored later, on the representation of Muhammad Ghaus; held
Gualiar again for a short time, (he went to Bahadur Shah in
Gujrat) and was succeeded by Abu'l-fath (_i.e._ Shaikh Guran)
who held it till Babur's death.
[2695] Its translation and explanatory noting have filled two
decades of hard-working years. _Tanti labores auctoris et
traductoris!_
[2696] I am indebted to my husband for acquaintance with
Nizamu'-d-din Ahmad's record about Babur and Kashmir.
[2697] In view of the vicissitudes to which under Humayun the
royal library was subjected, it would be difficult to assert
that this source was not the missing continuation of Babur's
diary.
[2698] E. and D.'s H. of I. art. _Tarikh-i Khan-i-jahan Ludi_
v, 67. For Ahmad-i-yadgar's book and its special features
_vide_ _l.c._ v, 2, 24, with notes; Rieu's _Persian Catalogue_
iii, 922_a_; JASB. 1916, H. Beveridge's art. _Note on the
Tarikh-i-salatin-i-afaghana._
[2699] Humayun's last recorded act in Hindustan was that of
933 AH. (f. 329_b_) when he took unauthorized possession of
treasure in Dihli.
[2700] _Tarikh-i-rashidi_ trs. p. 387.
[2701] T.-i-R. trs. p. 353 _et seq._ and Mr. Ney Elias' notes.
[2702] Abu'l-fazl's record of Humayun's sayings and minor
doings at this early date in his career, can hardly be
anything more accurate than family-tradition.
[2703] The statement that Khalifa was asked to go so far from
where he was of the first importance as an administrator,
leads to consideration of why it was done. So little is known
explicitly of Babur's intentions about his territories after
his death that it is possible only to put that little together
and read between its lines. It may be that he was now planning
an immediate retirement to Kabul and an apportionment during
life of his dominions, such as Abu-sa`id had made of his own.
If so, it would be desirable to have Badakhshan held in
strength such as Khalifa's family could command, and
especially desirable because as Barlas Turks, that family
would be one with Babur in desire to regain Transoxiana. Such
a political motive would worthily explain the offer of the
appointment.
[2704] The "Shah" of this style is derived from Sulaiman's
Badakhshi descent through Shah Begim; the "Mirza" from his
Miran-shahi descent through his father Wais Khan Mirza. The
title Khan Mirza or Mirza Khan, presumably according to the
outlook of the speaker, was similarly derived from forbears,
as would be also Shah Begim's; (her personal name is not
mentioned in the sources).
[2705] Sa`id, on the father's, and Babur, on the mother's
side, were of the same generation in descent from Yunas Khan;
Sulaiman was of a younger one, hence his pseudo-filial
relation to the men of the elder one.
[2706] Sa`id was Shah Begim's grandson through her son Ahmad,
Sulaiman her great-grandson through her daughter Sultan-Nigar,
but Sulaiman could claim also as the heir of his father who
was nominated to rule by Shah Begim; moreover, he could claim
by right of conquest on the father's side, through Abu-sa`id
the conqueror, his son Mahmud long the ruler, and so through
Mahmud's son Wais Khan Mirza.
[2707] The menace conveyed by these words would be made the
more forceful by Babur's move to Lahor, narrated by
Ahmad-i-yadgar. Some ill-result to Sa`id of independent rule
by Sulaiman seems foreshadowed; was it that if Babur's
restraining hand were withdrawn, the Badakhshis would try to
regain their lost districts and would have help in so-doing
from Babur?
[2708] It is open to conjecture that if affairs in Hindustan
had allowed it, Babur would now have returned to Kabul.
Ahmad-i-yadgar makes the expedition to be one for pleasure
only, and describes Babur as hunting and sight-seeing for a
year in Lahor, the Panj-ab and near Dihli. This appears a mere
flourish of words, in view of the purposes the expedition
served, and of the difficulties which had arisen in Lahor
itself and with Sa`id Khan. Part of the work effected may have
been the despatch of an expedition to Kashmir.
[2709] This appears a large amount.
[2710] The precision with which the Raja's gifts are stated,
points to a closely-contemporary and written source. A second
such indication occurs later where gifts made to Hind-al are
mentioned.
[2711] An account of the events in Multan after its occupation
by Shah Hasan _Arghun_ is found in the latter part of the
_Tabaqat-i-akbari_ and in Erskine's H. of I. i, 393 _et
seq._--It may be noted here that several instances of confusion
amongst Babur's sons occur in the extracts made by Sir H.
Elliot and Professor Dowson in their _History of India_ from
the less authoritative sources [_e.g._ v, 35 Kamran for
Humayun, `Askari said to be in Kabul (pp. 36 and 37); Hind-al
for Humayun _etc._] and that these errors have slipped into
several of the District Gazetteers of the United Provinces.
[2712] As was said of the offering made by the Raja of Kahlur,
the precision of statement as to what was given to Hind-al,
bespeaks a closely-contemporary written source. So too does
the mention (text, _infra_) of the day on which Babur began
his return journey from Lahor.
[2713] Cf. _G. of I._ xvi, 55; Ibbetson's _Report on Karnal_.
[2714] It is noticeable that no one of the three royal
officers named as sent against Mohan _Mundahir_, is
recognizable as mentioned in the _Babur-nama_. They may all
have had local commands, and not have served further east.
Perhaps this, their first appearance, points to the origin of
the information as independent of Babur, but he might have
been found to name them, if his diary were complete for 936
AH.
[2715] The E. and D. translation writes twice as though the
inability to "pull" the bows were due to feebleness in the
men, but an appropriate reading would refer the difficulty to
the hardening of sinews in the composite Turkish bows, which
prevented the archers from bending the bows for stringing.
[2716] One infers that fires were burned all night in the
bivouac.
[2717] At this point the A.S.B. copy (No. 137) of the
_Tarikh-i-salatin-i-afaghana_ has a remark which may have been
a marginal note originally, and which cannot be supposed made
by Ahmad-i-yadgar himself because this would allot him too
long a spell of life. It may show however that the
interpolations about the two Timurids were not inserted in his
book by him. Its purport is that the Mundahir village
destroyed by Babur's troops in 936 AH.-1530 AD. was still in
ruins at the time it was written 160 (lunar) years later
(_i.e._ in 1096 AH.-1684-85 AD.). The better Codex (No. 3887)
of the Imperial Library of Calcutta has the same passage.--Both
that remark and its context show acquaintance with Samana and
Kaithal.--The writings now grouped under the title
_Tarikh-i-salatin-i-afaghana_ present difficulties both as to
date and contents (cf. Rieu's _Persian Catalogue_ _s. n._).
[2718] Presumably in Tihrind.
[2719] Cf. G. B.'s H. N. trs. and the _Akbar-nama_ Bib. Ind.
ed. and trs., Index _s.nn._; Hughes' _Dictionary of Islam_
_s.n._ Intercession.
[2720] A closer translation would be, "I have taken up the
burden." The verb is _bardashtan_ (cf. f. 349, p. 626 n. 1).
[2721] _See_ Erskine's _History of India_ ii, 9.
[2722] At this point attention is asked to the value of the
Ahmad-i-yadgar interpolation which allows Babur a year of
active life before Humayun's illness and his own which
followed. With no chronicle known of 936 AH. Babur had been
supposed ill all through the year, a supposition which
destroys the worth of his self-sacrifice. Moreover several
inferences have been drawn from the supposed year of illness
which are disproved by the activities recorded in that
interpolation.
[2723] E. and D.'s _History of India_ v, 187; G. B.'s
_Humayun-nama_ trs. p. 28.
[2724] _dar khidmat-i-diwani-i-buyutat_; perhaps he was a
Barrack-officer. His appointment explains his attendance on
Khalifa.
[2725] Khalifa prescribed for the sick Babur.
[2726] _khanwada-i-biganah_, perhaps, foreign dynasty.
[2727] From Sambhal; Gul-badan, by an anachronism made some 60
years later, writes Kalanjar, to which place Humayun moved 5
months after his accession.
[2728] I am indebted to my husband's perusal of Sayyid Ahmad
Khan's _Asar-i-sanadid_ (Dihli ed. 1854 p. 37, and Lakhnau
ed. 1895 pp. 40, 41) for information that, perhaps in 935 AH.,
Mahdi Khwaja set up a tall slab of white marble near Amir
Khusrau's tomb in Dihli, which bears an inscription in praise
of the poet, composed by that Shihabu'd-din the Enigmatist who
reached Agra with Khwand-amir in Muharram 935 AH. (f. 339_b_).
The inscription gives two chronograms of Khusrau's death (725
AH.), mentions that Mahdi Khwaja was the creator of the
memorial, and gives its date in the words, "The beautiful
effort of Mahdi Khwaja."--The Dihli ed. of the
_Asar-i-sanadid_ depicts the slab with its inscription; the
Lakhnau ed. depicts the tomb, may show the slab _in sit˚_, and
contains interesting matter by Sayyid Ahmad Khan. The slab is
mentioned without particulars in Murray's _Hand-book to
Bengal_, p. 329.
[2729] Lee's _Ibn Batuta_ p. 133 and Hiraman's
_Tarikh-i-gualiari_. Cf. G. B.'s _Humayun-nama_ trs. (1902
AD.), Appendix B.--_Mahdi Khwaja._
[2730] In an anonymous _Life of Shah Isma`il Safawi_, Mahdi
Khwaja [who may be a son of the Musa Khwaja mentioned by Babur
on f. 216] is described as being, in what will be 916-7 AH.,
Babur's _Diwan-begi_ and as sent towards Bukhara with 10,000
men. This was 29 years before the story calls him a young man.
Even if the word _jawan_ (young man) be read, as T. _yigit_ is
frequently to be read, in the sense of "efficient fighting
man", Mahdi was over-age. Other details of the story, besides
the word _jawan_, bespeak a younger man.
[2731] G. B.'s H. N. trs. p. 126; _Habibu's-siyar_, B. M. Add.
16,679 f. 370, l. 16, lith. ed. Sec. III. iii, 372 (where a
clerical error makes Babur give Mahdi _two_ of his
full-sisters in marriage).--Another _yazna_ of Babur was
Khalifa's brother Junaid _Barlas_, the husband of Shahr-banu,
a half-sister of Babur.
[2732] Babur, shortly before his death, married Gul-rang to
Aisan-timur and Gul-chihra to Tukhta-bugha _Chaghatai_. Cf.
_post_, Section _h_, _Babur's wives and children_; and G. B.'s
H. N. trs. Biographical Appendix _s.nn._ Dil-dar Begim and
Salima Sultan Begim _Miran-shahi_.
[2733] Cf. G. B.'s H. N. trs. p. 147.
[2734] She is the only adult daughter of a Timurid mother
named as being such by Babur or Gul-badan, but various
considerations incline to the opinion that Dil-dar Begim also
was a Timurid, hence her three daughters, all named from the
Rose, were so too. Cf. references of penultimate note.
[2735] It attaches interest to the Mirza that he can be taken
reasonably as once the owner of the Elphinstone Codex (cf.
JRAS. 1907, pp. 136 and 137).
[2736] Death did not threaten when this gift was made; life in
Kabul was planned for.--Here attention is asked again to the
value of Ahmad-i-yadgar's Baburiana for removing the
impression set on many writers by the blank year 936 AH. that
it was one of illness, instead of being one of travel, hunting
and sight-seeing. The details of the activities of that year
have the further value that they enhance the worth of Babur's
sacrifice of life.--Haidar Mirza also fixes the date of the
beginning of illness as 937 AH.
[2737] The author, or embroiderer, of that anonymous story did
not know the _Babur-nama_ well, or he would not have described
Babur as a wine-drinker after 933 AH. The anecdote is parallel
with Nizamu'd-din Ahmad's, the one explaining why the Mirza
was selected, the other why the _damad_ was dropped.
[2738] _Bib. Ind._ i, 341; Ranking's trs. p. 448.
[2739] The night-guard; perhaps Mahim Begim's brother (G. B.'s
H. N. trs. pp. 27-8).
[2740] G. B.'s H. N. trs. f. 34_b_, p. 138; Jauhar's _Memoirs
of Humayun_, Stewart's trs. p. 82.
[2741] Cf. G. B.'s H. N. trs. p. 216, Bio. App. _s.n._ Bega
Begam.
[2742] f. 128, p. 200 n. 3. Cf. Appendix U.--_Babur's Gardens
in and near Kabul_.
[2743] Cf. H. H. Hayden's _Notes on some monuments in
Afghanistan_, [_Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal_ ii,
344]; and _Journal asiatique_ 1888, M. J. Darmesteter's art.
_Inscriptions de Caboul_.
[2744] _an_, a demonstrative suggesting that it refers to an
original inscription on the second, but now absent, upright
slab, which presumably would bear Babur's name.
[2745] Ruzwan is the door-keeper of Paradise.
[2746] Particulars of the women mentioned by Babur, Haidar,
Gul-badan and other writers of their time, can be seen in my
Biographical Appendix to the Begim's _Humayun-nama_. As the
Appendix was published in 1902, variants from it occurring in
this work are corrections superseding earlier and
less-informed statements.
[2747] _Tarikh-i-rashidi_ trs. Ney Elias and Ross p. 308.
[2748] Bio. App. _s.n._ Gul-chihra.
[2749] The story of the later uprisings against Mahim's son
Humayun by his brothers, by Muhammad-i-zaman _Bai-qara_ and
others of the same royal blood, and this in spite of Humayun's
being his father's nominated successor, stirs surmise as to
whether the rebels were not tempted by more than his defects
of character to disregard his claim to supremacy; perhaps
pride of higher maternal descent, this particularly amongst
the Bai-qara group, may have deepened a disregard created by
antagonisms of temperament.
[2750] Until the Yangi-ariq was taken off the Sir, late in the
last century, for Namangan, the oasis land of Farghana was
fertilized, not from the river but by its intercepted
tributaries.
[2751] Ujfalvy's translation of Yaqut (ii, 179) reads one
_farsakh_ from the mountains instead of 'north of the river.'
[2752] Kostenko describes a division of Tashkint, one in which
is Ravine-lane (_jar-kucha_), as divided by a deep ravine; of
another he says that it is cut by deep ravines (Babur's _`umiq
jarlar_).
[2753] Babur writes as though Akhsi had one Gate only (f.
112_b_). It is unlikely that the town had come down to having
a single exit; the Gate by which he got out of Akhsi was the
one of military importance because served by a draw-bridge,
presumably over the ravine-moat, and perhaps not close to that
bridge.
[2754] For mention of upper villages _see_ f. 110 and note 1.
[2755] _Cf._ f. 114 for distances which would be useful in
locating Akhsi if Babur's _yighach_ were not variable; Ritter,
vii, 3 and 733; RÈclus, vi, index _s.n._ Farghana; Ujfalvy ii,
168, his quotation from Yaqut and his authorities; Nalivkine's
_Histoire du Khanat de Kokand_, p. 14 and p. 53; Schuyler, i,
324; Kostenko, Tables of Contents for cognate general
information and i, 320, for Tashkint; von Schwarz, index under
related names, and especially p. 345 and plates; Pumpelly, p.
18 and p. 115.
[2756] This Turki-Persian Dictionary was compiled by Mirza
Mahdi Khan. Nadir Shah's secretary and historian, whose life
of his master Sir William Jones translated into French (Rieu's
Turki Cat. p. 264_b_).
[2757] The _Padshah-nama_ whose author, `Abdu'l-hamid, the
biographer of Shah-jahan, died in 1065 AH. (1655 AD.) mentions
the existence of lacunÊ in a copy of the Babur-nama, in the
Imperial Library and allowed by his wording to be Babur's
autograph MS. (i, 42 and ii, 703).
[2758] _Akbar-nama_, Bib. Ind. ed. i, 305; H. B. i, 571.
[2759] Hai. MS. f. 118_b_; _aushal baghda su aqib kila dur
aidi_. _Babur-nama_, _su aqib_, water flowed and _aushal_ is
rare, but in the R.P. occurs 7 times.
[2760] _guzum awiqi-gha barib tur._ B.N. f. 117_b_, _guzum
awiqu-gha bardi_.
[2761] _kura dur min_, B.N. f. 83, _tush kurdum_ and _tush
kurar min_.
[2762] _ablaq suwar bilan_; P. _suwar_ for T. _atliq_ or
_atliq kishi_; _bilan_ for B.N. _bila_, and an odd use of
piebald (_ablaq_).
[2763] _masnad_, B.N. _takht_, throne. _Masnad_ betrays
Hindustan.
[2764] _Hamra`ilari (sic) bir bir ga (sic) maslahat qila
durlar._ _Maslahat for B.N. kingash_ or _kingaish_; _hamrah_,
companion, for _mining bila bar_, etc.
[2765] _baghlamaq_ and f. 119_b_ _baghlaghanlar_; B.N. _almak_
or _tutmaq_ to seize or take prisoner.
[2766] _diwar_ for _tam_.
[2767] f. 119, _at-tin auzlar-ni tashlab_; B.N. _tushmak_,
dismount. _Tashlamaq_ is not used in the sense of dismount by
B.
[2768] _padshah_ so used is an anachronism (f. 215); Babur
Mirza would be correct.
[2769] _zahiran_; B.N. _yaqin_.
[2770] Ilminsky's imprint stops at _dib_; he may have taken
_kim-dib_ for signs of quotation merely. (This I did earlier,
JRAS 1902, p. 749.)
[2771] Aligarh ed. p. 52; Rogers' trs. i, 109.
[2772] _Cf._ f. 63_b_, n. 3.
[2773] Another but less obvious objection will be mentioned
later.
[2774] Julien notes (_Voyages des pÈlerins Bouddhistes_, ii,
96), "Dans les annales des Song on trouve Nang-go-lo-ho, qui
rÈpond exactement ‡ l'orthographe indienne Nangarahara, que
fournit l'inscription dÈcouvert par le capitaine Kittoe"
(JASB. 1848). The reference is to the Ghoswara inscription, of
which Professor Kielhorn has also written (_Indian Antiquary_,
1888), but with departure from Nangarahara to Nagarahara.
[2775] The scribe of the Haidarabad Codex appears to have been
somewhat uncertain as to the spelling of the name. What is
found in histories is plain, N:g:r:har. The other name varies;
on first appearance (fol. 131_b_) and also on fols. 144 and
154_b_, there is a vagrant dot below the word, which if it
were above would make Ning-nahar. In all other cases the word
reads N:g:nahar. Nahar is a constant component, as is also the
letter _g_(or _k_).
[2776] Some writers express the view that the medial _r_ in
this word indicates descent from Nagarahara, and that the
medial _n_ of Elphinstone's second form is a corruption of it.
Though this might be, it is true also that in local speech _r_
and _n_ often interchange, _e.g._ Chighar- and Chighan-sarai,
Suhar and Suhan (in Nur-valley).
[2777] This asserts _n_ to be the correct consonant, and
connects with the interchange of _n_ and _r_ already noted.
[2778] Since writing the above I have seen Laidlaw's almost
identical suggestion of a nasal interpolated in Nagarahara
(JASB. 1848, art. on Kittoe). The change is of course found
elsewhere; is not Tank for Taq an instance?
[2779] These affluents I omit from main consideration as
sponsors because they are less obvious units of taxable land
than the direct affluents of the Kabul-river, but they remain
a reserve force of argument and may or may not have counted in
Babur's nine.
[2780] Cunningham, i, 42. My topic does not reach across the
Kabul-river to the greater Udyanapura of Beal's _Buddhist
Records_ (p. 119) nor raise the question of the extent of that
place.
[2781] The strong form Ning-nahar is due to euphonic impulse.
[2782] Some discussion about these coins has already appeared
in JRAS. 1913 and 1914 from Dr. Codrington, Mr. M. Longworth
Dames and my husband.
[2783] This variant from the Turki may be significant. Should
_tamghanat(-i-)sikka_ be read and does this describe
countermarking?
[2784] It will be observed that Babur does not explicitly say
that Husain put the beg's name on the coin.
[2785] _Habibu's-siyar_ lith. ed. iii, 228; _Haidarabad_ Codex
text and trs. f. 26_b_ and f. 169; Browne's Daulat Shah p.
533.
[2786] Husain born 842 AH. (1438 AD.); d. 911 AH. (1506 AD.).
[2787] Cf. f. 7_b_ note to braves (_yigitlar_). There may be
instances, in the earlier Farghana section where I have
translated _chuhra_ wrongly by _page_. My attention had not
then been fixed on the passage about the coins, nor had I the
same familiarity with the Kabul section. For a household page
to be clearly recognizable as such from the context, is
rare--other uses of the word are translated as their context
dictates.
[2788] They can be traced through my Index and in some cases
their careers followed. Since I translated _chuhra-jirga-si_
on f. 15_b_ by cadet-corps, I have found in the Kabul section
instances of long service in the corps which make the word
cadet, as it is used in English, too young a name.
[2789] This Mr. M. Longworth Dames pointed out in JRAS. 1913.
[2790] _Habibu's-siyar_ lith. ed. iii, 219; FertÈ trs. p. 28.
For the information about Husain's coins given in this
appendix I am indebted to Dr. Codrington and Mr. M. Longworth
Dames.
[2791] Elphinstone MS. f. 150_b_; Haidarabad MS. f. 190_b_;
Ilminsky, imprint p. 241.
[2792] Muh. Ma`sum _BhakkarÌ's Tarikh-i-sind_ 1600, Malet's
Trs. 1855, p. 89; Mohan Lall's _Journal_ 1834, p. 279 and
_Travels_ 1846, p. 311; Bellew's _Political Mission to
Afghanistan_ 1857, p. 232; _Journal Asiatique_ 1890,
Darmesteter's _La grande inscription de Qandahar_; JRAS. 1898,
Beames' _Geography of the Qandahar inscription_. Murray's
_Hand-book of the Panjab etc._ 1883 has an account which as to
the Inscriptions shares in the inaccuracies of its sources
(Bellew & Lumsden).
[2793] The plan of Qandahar given in the official account of
the Second Afghan War, makes Chihil-zina appear on the wrong
side of the ridge, n.w. instead of n.e.
[2794] destroyed in 1714 AD. It lay 3 m. west of the present
Qandahar (not its immediate successor). It must be observed
that Darmesteter's insufficient help in plans and maps led him
to identify Chihil-zina with Chihil-dukhtaran
(Forty-daughters).
[2795] _Tarikh-i-rashidi_ trs. p. 387; _Akbar-nama_ trs. i,
290.
[2796] Hai. Codex, Index _sn.n._
[2797] It is needless to say that a good deal in this story
may be merely fear and supposition accepted as occurrence.
[2798] Always left beyond the carpet on which a reception is
held.
[2799] This is not in agreement with Babur's movements.
[2800] _i.e._ Humayun wished for a full-brother or sister,
another child in the house with him. The above names of his
brother and sister are given elsewhere only by Gulbadan (f.
6_b_).
[2801] The "we" might be Mahim and Humayun, to Babur in camp.
[2802] Perhaps before announcing the birth anywhere.
[2803] Presumably this plural is honorific for the Honoured
Mother Mahim.
[2804] Mahim's and Humayun's quarters.
[2805] Gul-badan's _Humayun-nama_, f. 8.
[2806] JRAS. A. S. Beveridge's Notes on _Babur-nama_ MSS.
1900, [1902,] 1905, 1906, [1907,] 1908 (Kehr's transcript, p.
76, and Latin translation with new letter of Babur p. 828).
[2807] In all such matters of the _Babur-nama_ Codices, it has
to be remembered that their number has been small.
[2808] Vigne's _Travels in Kashmir_ ii, 277-8;
_Tarikh-i-rashidi_ trs., p. 302 and n. and p. 466 and note.
[2809] It is not likely to be one heard current in Hindustan,
any more than is Babur's Ar. _bu-qalamun_ as a name of a bird
(Index _s.n._); both seem to be "book-words" and may be traced
or known as he uses them in some ancient dictionary or book of
travels originating outside Hindustan.
[2810] My note 6 on p. 421 shows my earlier difficulties, due
to not knowing (when writing it) that _kabg-i-dari_ represents
the snow-cock in the Western Himalayas.
[2811] By over-sight mention of this note was omitted from my
article on the Elphinstone Codex (JRAS. 1907, p. 131).
[2812] Speede's _Indian Hand-book_ (i, 212) published in 1841
AD. thus writes, "It is a curious circumstance that the finest
and most esteemed fruit are produced from the roots below the
surface of the ground, and are betrayed by the cracking of the
earth above them, and the effluvia issuing from the fissure; a
high price is given by rich natives for fruit so produced."
[2813] In the margin of the Elphinstone Codex opposite the
beginning of the note are the words, "This is a marginal note
of Humayun Padshah's."
[2814] Every Emperor of Hindustan has an epithet given him
after his death to distinguish him, and prevent the necessity
of repeating his name too familiarly. Thus _Firdaus-makan_
(dweller-in-paradise) is Babur's; Humayun's is
_Jannat-ashi-yani_, he whose nest is in Heaven; Muhammad
Shah's _Firdaus-aramgah_, he whose place of rest is Paradise;
_etc._ (Erskine).
[2815] Here Mr. Erskine notes, "Literally, _nectar-fruit_,
probably the mandarin orange, by the natives called _naringi_.
The name _amrat_, or pear, in India is applied to the guava or
_Psidium pyriferum_--(_Spondias mangifera_, Hort. Ben.--D.
Wallich)."... Mr. E. notes also that the note on the
_amrit-phal_ "is not found in either of the Persian
translations".
[2816] _chuchuman_, Pers. trs. _shirini bi maza_, perhaps
flat, sweet without relish. Babur does not use the word, nor
have I traced it in a dictionary.
[2817] _chuchuk_, savoury, nice-tasting, not acid (Shaw).
[2818] _chuchuk naranj andaq (?) mat`un aidi kim har kim-ni
shirin-karlighi bi masa qilkandi, naranj-su'i dik tur dirlar
aidi._
[2819] The _lemu_ may be _Citrus limona_, which has abundant
juice of a mild acid flavour.
[2820] The _kamila_ and _samtara_ are the real oranges
(_kaunla_ and _sangtara_), which are now (_cir._ 1816 AD.)
common all over India. Dr. Hunter conjectures that the
_sangtara_ may take its name from Cintra, in Portugal. This
early mention of it by Babur and Humayun may be considered as
subversive of that supposition. (This description of the
_samtara_, vague as it is, applies closer to the _Citrus
decumana_ or _pampelmus_, than to any other.--D.
Wallich.)--Erskine.
[2821] Humayun writes of this fruit as though it were not the
_sang-tara_ described by his father on f. 287 (p. 511 and
note).
[2822] M. de Courteille translated _jama`_ in a general sense
by _totalit.'_ instead of in its Indian technical one of
revenue (as here) or of assessment. Hence Professor Dowson's
"totality" (iv, 262 n.).
[2823] The B.M. has a third copy, Or. 5879, which my husband
estimates as of little importance.
[2824] Sir G. A. Grierson, writing in the _Indian Antiquary_
(July 1885, p. 187), makes certain changes in Ajodhya Prasad's
list of the Brahman rulers of Tirhut, on grounds he states.
[2825] Index _s.n._ Babur's letters. The passage Shaikh Zain
quotes is found in Or. 1999, f. 65_b_, Add. 26,202, f. 66_b_,
Or. 5879, f. 79_b_.
[2826] Cf. Index _in loco_ for references to Babur's metrical
work, and for the Facsimile, JASB. 1910, Extra Number.
[2827] Monday, Rabi` II. 15th 935 AH.--Dec. 27th 1528 AD. At
this date Babur had just returned from Dhulpur to Agra (f.
354, p. 635, where in note 1 for Thursday read Monday).
[2828] Owing to a scribe's "skip" from one _yibarildi_ (was
sent) to another at the end of the next sentence, the passage
is not in the Hai. MS. It is not well given in my translation
(f. 357_b_, p. 642); what stands above is a closer rendering
of the full Turki, _Humayungha tarjuma_ [_u_?] _ni-kim
Hindustangha kilkani aitqan ash'arni yibarildi_ (Ilminsky p.
462, 1. 4 fr. ft., where however there appears a slight
clerical error).
[2829] Hesitation about accepting the colophon as
unquestionably applying to the whole contents of the
manuscript is due to its position of close association with
one section only of the three in the manuscript (cf. _post_ p.
lx).
[2830] Plate XI, and p. 15 (mid-page) of the Facsimile
booklet.--The Facsimile does not show the whole of the marginal
quatrain, obviously because for the last page of the
manuscript a larger photographic plate was needed than for the
rest. With Dr. Ross' concurrence a photograph in which the
defect is made good, accompanies this Appendix.
[2831] The second section ends on Plate XVII, and p. 21 of the
Facsimile booklet.
[2832] Needless to say that whatever the history of the
manuscript, its value as preserving poems of which no other
copy is known publicly, is untouched. This value would be
great without the marginal entries on the last page; it finds
confirmation in the identity of many of the shorter poems with
counterparts in the _Babur-nama_.
[2833] Another autograph of Shah-i-jahan's is included in the
translation volume (p. xiii) of Gul-badan Begam's
_Humayun-nama_. It surprises one who works habitually on
historical writings more nearly contemporary with Babur, in
which he is spoken of as _Firdaus-makani_ or as _Giti-sitani
Firdaus-makani_ and not by the name used during his life, to
find Shah-i-jahan giving him the two styles (cf. _Jahangir's
Memoirs_ trs. ii, 5). Those familiar with the writings of
Shah-i-jahan's biographers will know whether this is usual at
that date. There would seem no doubt as to the identity of _an
Hazrat._--The words _an hazrat_ by which Shah-i-jahan refers to
Babur are used also in the epitaph placed by Jahangir at
Babur's tomb (Trs. Note p. 710-711).
[2834] The Qazi's rapid acquirement of the _mufradat_ of the
script allows the inference that few letters only and those of
a well-known script were varied.--_Mufradat_ was translated by
Erskine, de Courteille and myself (f. 357_b_) as alphabet but
reconsideration by the light of more recent information about
the _Baburi-khatt_ leads me to think this is wrong because
"alphabet" includes every letter.--On f. 357b three items of
the _Baburi-khatt_ are specified as despatched with the
Hindustan poems, _viz._ _mufradat_, _qita`lar_ and
_sar-i-khatt_. Of these the first went to Hind-al, the third
to Kamran, and no recipient is named for the second; all
translators have sent the _qita`lar_ to Hind-al but I now
think this wrong and that a name has been omitted, probably
Humayun's.
[2835] f. 144_b_, p. 228, n. 3. Another interesting matter
missing from the _Babur-nama_ by the gap between 914 and 925
AH. is the despatch of an embassy to Czar Vassili III. in
Moscow, mentioned in Schuyler's _Turkistan_ ii, 394, Appendix
IV, Grigorief's _Russian Policy in Central Asia._ The mission
went after "Sultan Babur" had established himself in Kabul; as
Babur does not write of it before his narrative breaks off
abruptly in 914 AH. it will have gone after that date.
[2836] I quote from the VÈliaminof-Zernov edition (p. 287)
from which de Courteille's plan of work involved extract only;
he translates the couplet, giving to _khatt_ the
double-meanings of script and down of youth (_Dictionnaire
Turque_ _s.n._ _sighnaqi_). The _Sanglakh_ (p. 252) _s.n._
_sighnaq_ has the following as Babur's:--
_Chu balai khatti nasib'ng bulmasa Babur ni tang?
Bare khatt almansur khatt sighnaqi mu dur?_
[2837] Gibb's _History of Ottoman Poetry_ i, 113 and ii, 137.
[2838] RÈclus' _L'Asie Russe_ p. 238.
[2839] On this same _tahrir qildim_ may perhaps rest the
opinion that the Rampur MS. is autograph.
[2840] I have found no further mention of the tract; it may be
noted however that whereas Babur calls his _Treatise on
Prosody_ (written in 931 AH.) the _`Aruz_, Abu'l-fazl writes
of a _Mufassal_, a suitable name for 504 details of
transposition.
[2841] _Tuzuk-i-jahangir_ lith. ed. p. 149; and _Memoirs of
jahangir_ trs. i, 304. [In both books the passage requires
amending.]
[2842] Rampur MS. Facsimile Plate XIV and p. 16, verse 3;
_Akbar-nama_ trs. i, 279, and lith. ed. p. 91.
[2843] Cf. Index _s.n._ Dalmau and Bangarmau for the
termination in double _u_.
[2844] Dr. Ilminsky says of the Leyden & Erskine _Memoirs of
Babur_ that it was a constant and indispensable help.
[2845] My examination of Kehr's Codex has been made
practicable by the courtesy of the Russian Foreign Office in
lending it for my use, under the charge of the Librarian of
the India Office, Dr. F. W. Thomas.--It should be observed that
in this Codex the Hindustan Section contains the purely Turki
text found in the Haidarabad Codex (cf. JRAS. 1908, p. 78).
[2846] It may indicate that the List was not copied by Babur
but lay loose with his papers, that it is not with the
Elphinstone Codex, and is not with the `Abdu'r-rahim Persian
translation made from a manuscript of that same annotated
line.
[2847] Cf. _in loco_ p. 656, n. 3.
[2848] A few slight changes in the turn of expressions have
been made for clearness sake.
[2849] Index _s.n._ Mir Baqi of Tashkint. Perhaps a better
epithet for _sa`adat-nishan_ than "good-hearted" would be one
implying his good fortune in being designated to build a
mosque on the site of the ancient Hindu temple.
[2850] There is a play here on Baqi's name; perhaps a good
wish is expressed for his prosperity together with one for the
long permanence of the sacred building _khair_ (_khairat_).
[2851] Presumably the order for building the mosque was given
during Babur's stay in Aud (Ajodhya) in 934 AH. at which time
he would be impressed by the dignity and sanctity of the
ancient Hindu shrine it (at least in part) displaced, and like
the obedient follower of Muhammad he was in intolerance of
another Faith, would regard the substitution of a temple by a
mosque as dutiful and worthy.--The mosque was finished in 935
AH. but no mention of its completion is in the _Babur-nama_.
The diary for 935 AH. has many minor _lacunÊ_; that of the
year 934 AH. has lost much matter, breaking off before where
the account of Aud might be looked for.
[2852] The meaning of this couplet is incomplete without the
couplet that followed it and is (now) not legible.
[2853] Firishta gives a different reason for Babur's sobriquet
of _qalandar_, namely, that he kept for himself none of the
treasure he acquired in Hindustan (Lith. ed. p. 206).
[2854] Jahangir who encamped in the Shahr-ara-garden in Safar
1016 AH. (May 1607 AD.) says it was made by Babur's aunt,
Abu-sa`id's daughter Shahr-banu (Rogers and Beveridge's
_Memoirs of Jahangir_ i, 106).
[2855] A _jalau-khana_ might be where horse-head-gear, bridles
and reins are kept, but _Ayin_ 60 (A.-i-A.) suggests there may
be another interpretation.
[2856] She was a daughter of Hind-al, was a grand-daughter
therefore of Babur, was Akbar's first wife, and brought up
Shah-i-jahan. Jahangir mentions that she made her first
pilgrimage to her father's tomb on the day he made his to
Babur's, Friday Safar 26th 1016 AH. (June 12th 1607 AD.). She
died _Êt._ 84 on Jumada I. 7th 1035 AH. (Jan. 25th 1626 AD.).
Cf. _Tuzuk-i-jahangiri_, Muh. Hadi's Supplement lith. ed. p.
401.
[2857] Mr. H. H. Hayden's photograph of the mosque shows
pinnacles and thus enables its corner to be identified in his
second of the tomb itself.
[2858] One of Daniel's drawings (which I hope to reproduce)
illuminates this otherwise somewhat obscure passage, by
showing the avenue, the borders of running-water and the
little water-falls,--all reminding of Madeira.
[2859] _choki_, perhaps "shelter"; see Hobson-Jobson _s.n._
[2860] If told with leisurely context, the story of the visits
of Babur's descendants to Kabul and of their pilgrimages to
his tomb, could hardly fail to interest its readers.
THE HISTORY OF BABUR OR BABUR-NAMA
Index I. Personal
+Aba-bikr Mirza+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son
of Abu-sa`id and a Badakhshi begim--particulars 22, 26;
his attack on Hisar 51;
defeated by Husain _Bai-qara_ and his death (884) 260;
his Bai-qara marriage 266;
a Badakhshi connection 51;
[d. 884 AH.-1479 AD.].
+Aba-bikr Mirza+ _Dughlat Kashghari_, son of Saniz and a Chiras
(var. Jaras) begim--invades Farghana (899) 32;
his annexations in Badakhshan 695;
his Miranshahi wife 48;
[d. 920 AH.-1514 AD.].
+`Abbas+, a slave--murderer of Aulugh (Ulugh) Beg _Shah-rukhi_ (853) 85.
+`Abbas Sultan+ _Auzbeg_--marries Gul-chihra _Miran-shahi_, Babur's
daughter (954) 713.
+`Abdu'l-`ali Tarkhan+ _Arghun Chingiz-Khanid_--particulars 38, 39;
[d. cir. 899 AH.-1494 AD.].
+`Abdu'l-`aziz+ _mir-akhwur_--ordered to catch pheasants (925) 404;
->[2861] posted in Lahor (930) 442;
sent into Milwat (932) 460;
on service 465-6, 471, 530;
the reserve at Panipat 472-3;
reinforces the right 473;
surprised and defeated by Sanga (933) 549, 550;
in the left wing at Kanwa 567, 570;
pursues Sanga 576;
ordered against Baluchis (935) 638;
writes from Lahor about the journey of Babur's family 659, 660;
arrested 688;
-> sequel to his sedition not given in the _Akbar-nama_ 692;
-> reference to his sedition 698.
+`Abdu'l-`aziz Mirza+ _Shah-rukhi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of
Aulugh Beg--his Chaghatai wife 19-20.
+`Abdu'l-baqi+--surrenders Qandahar to Babur (928) 436, 437.
+`Abdu'l-baqi Mirza+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of
`Usman--particulars 280;
referred to 266 n. 6;
goes to Heri (908) 336;
his wife Sultanim _Bai-qara_ 265 n. 5, 280.
+`Abdu'l-ghaffar+ _tawachi_--conveys military orders (935) 638.
Mir +`Abdu'l-ghafur+ _Lari_, of Husain _Bai-qara's_ Court--particulars
284, 285;
[d. 912 AH.-1506-7 AD.].
Khwaja +`Abdu'l-haqq+, brother of Khwaja Makhdumi Nura--waited upon
by Babur (935) 641, 686;
has leave to stay in Agra 641.
+`Abdu'l-karim+ _Ushrit_ (var.) _Auighur_[2862] (var.)--serving Ahmad
_Miran-shahi_ 40;
captured by an Auzbeg (902) 65.
+`Abdu'l-khaliq Beg+ _Isfarayini_--particulars 273-4 (where read
_Isfarayini_ for "_Isfarayini_").
Shaikh +`Abdu'l-lah+ _aishik-agha_--with Jahangir (899) 32;
leaves Babur for home (902) 191.
Sayyid +`Abdu'l-lah+ _Andikhudi_--his Bai-qara wife Bairam-sultan
and their son Barka _q.v._
Khwaja +`Abdu'l-lah+ _Ansari_--his tomb visited by Babur (912) 305;
a surmised attendant on it 145 n. 1;
[d, 481 AH.-1088 AD.].
Shaikh +`Abdu'l-lah+ _bakawal_--with the Bai-qara families (913) 328.
Shaikh +`Abdu'l-lah+ _Barlas_--particulars 51;
excites the Tarkhan rebellion (901) 61-2;
his daughter a cause of attempt on Samarkand 64;
with his son-in-law Mas`ud _Miran-shahi_ (903) 93.
Khwaja +`Abdu'l-lah Khwajagan Khwaja+--fifth son of `Ubaidu'l-lah
_Ahrari_--his son `Abdu'sh-shahid, _q.v._
Mulla +`Abdu'l-lah+ _kitabdar_--one of eleven left with Babur (913) 337;
given the third of a potent confection (925) 373;
a drunken lapse 398;
induced by Babur to restrict his drinking 399;
at a party where Babur, abstaining, watches the drinkers 400-1;
rebuked for an offending verse 416;
joins Babur in an autumn garden 418;
on service (932) 468, 530;
in the right centre at Panipat (932) 472, 473;
and at Kanwa (933) 565, 569;
sent to take possession of Agra 475;
is sarcastic 581;
in attendance on Auzbeg envoys (935) 631;
sent to take charge of Sambhal (935) 675, 687;
conveys orders 676;
sends news of Biban and Bayazid 679;
arrives in Agra, 687.
Khwaja +`Abdu'l-lah+ _Marwarid_--particulars 278-9;
preeminent on the dulcimer 291;
[d. 922 AH.-1516 AD.].
+`Abdu'l-lah Mirza+ _Shah-rukhi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_--succeeds his
father, Ibrahim, in Shiraz (838) 20, and his
cousin `Abdu'l-latif in Transoxiana (854) 85-6;
Yunas Khan his retainer _q.v._;
[d Jumada I. 22, 855 AH.-1450 AD.].[2863]
Khwaja +`Abdu'l-lah Qazi+, see Khwaja Maulana-i-qazi.
+`Abdu'l-lah Sultan+ _Auzbeg-Shaiban_--particulars 267;
serving Babur in Hindustan (after 933?) 267.
+`Abdu'l-latif+ _bakhshi_--serving Husain _Bai-qara_ (901) 57;
acts for Babur from Qunduz (932-3) 546.
+`Abdu'l-latif Mirza+ _Shah-rukhi Timurid, Barlas Turk_--murders and
succeeds his father Aulugh Beg (853) 15;
a couplet on his parricide 85[2864];
[d Rabi` l .26, 854 AH.-1450 AD.[2865]].
+`Abdu'l-latif Sultan+ _Auzbeg_, _Shaibani Chingiz-khanid_, son of
Hamza-- Babur's half-sister Yadgar (_Êt. cir._ 8) his share of
spoil (908) 18.
Mulla +`Abdu'l-maluk+ _Khwasti_ (var. malik)--at Bajaur (925) 368;
sent ahead into Bhira 381;
and to Kabul 415;
returns from an embassy to `Iraq (932) 446 (here _qurchi_);
sent again (935) 642;
on service (933) 576, 582.
+`Abdu'l-minan+, son of Mulla Haidar--holding Bish-kint (907) 151.
Amir +`Abdu'l-qadus Beg+ _Dughlat_--slays Jamal _Khar Arghun_ (877) 35;
conveys wedding gifts to Babur and arouses suspicion (900) 43;
[for his death see T.R. trs. pp. 94, 103].
+`Abdu'l-qadus Beg+ _Kohbur Chaghatai_--with Babur at Madu (Mazu) (905)
109 (where for "qasim" read qadus);
one of the eight fugitives from Akhsi (908) 177.
Mirak +`Abdu'r-rahim+ _Sadr_--his servant Badru'd-din _q.v._
+`Abdu'r-rahim+ _shaghawal_--sent to speak the Bhira people fair for
Babur (925) 381;
given charge of Ibrahim _Ludi's_ mother (933) 543;
fetches a hostage to Court 578;
who escapes 581.
Maulana +`Abdu'r-rahim+_ Turkistani_--fleeces Khwand-amir 328.
Mulla +`Abdu'r-rahman+ _Ghaznawi_--particulars 218;
[d. 921 AH.-1515 AD.].
Maulana +`Abdu'r-rahman+ _Jami_--his letters imitated by Nawa'i 271;
his sarcasm on Shaikhim's Verse 277;
his tomb visited by Babur (912) 285, 305;
Babur's reverential mention of him 283, 286;
his example followed by production of the _Walidiyyah-risala_ (935)
620;
his birth-place 623 n. 8;
his disciple `Abdu'l-ghafur 284;
[898 AH.-1492 AD.].
+`Abdu'r-rahman Khan+ _Barak-zai Afghan_, Amir of Afghanistan--mentioned
in connection with Jami's tomb 305 n. 6;
[d. 1319 AH.-1901 AD.].
+`Abdu'r-razzaq Mirza+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of
Aulugh Beg _Kabuli_--loses Kabul (910) 195, 365;
out with Babur 234;
surmised part-vendor of Babur's mother's burial-ground 246 n. 2;
in Herat (912) 298;
escapes Shaibani and joins Babur (913) 331;
in the left wing at Qandahar 334;
his loot 337-8;
deserts Qalat in fear of Shaibani 340;
left in charge of Kabul _ib._;
given Ningnahar 344;
rebels (914) 345;
his position stated 345 n. 6;
[d. 915 AH.-1509 AD.?].
Khwaja +`Abdu'sh-shahid+, son of Ahrari's fifth son Khwajagan-khwaja
(`Abdu'l-lah)--placed on Babur's right-hand (935) 631;
gifts made to him 632;
invited to a _ma`jun_-party 653;
particulars 653 n. 4;
-> a likely recipient of the _Mubin_ 438, 631 n. 3;
[d. 982 AH.-1574 AD.].
+`Abdu'sh-shukur+ _Mughul_, son of Qambar-i-`ali _Silakh_--serving
Jahangir _Miran-shahi_ (after 910) 192;
in the right wing at Kanwa (933) 566.
+`Abdu'l-wahhab+ _Mughul_--given Shaikh Puran to loot (913) 328.
+`Abdu'l-wahhab+ _shaghawal_, servant of `Umar-shaikh and Ahmad
_Miran-shahi_--forwards news (899) 25;
gives Khujand to Babur 54;
his son Mir Mughul _q.v._
+Abraha+ _Yemeni_, an _Abyssinian Christian_--his defeat (571 AD.)
563 n. 3.
Imam +Abu Hanifa+--his followers' respect for the _Hidayat_ 76;
his ruling that peacock-meat is lawful food 493.
Khwaja +Abu'l-barka+ _Faraqi_--criticizes Bana'i's verse (906) 137.
Shaikh +Abu'l-fath+, servant of the Shah-zada of Mungir--envoy from
Bengal to Babur (934, 935) 676;
placed on Babur's right-hand (935) 631.
+Abu'l-fath Sa`id Khan+, see Sa`id Khan _Chaghatai_.
+Abu'l-fath+ _Turkman_, son of `Umar--his joining Babur from `Iraq 280;
made military-collector of Dhulpur (933) 540;
Babur visits his _hammam_ (935) 615.
+Abu'l-fazl+, see _Akbar-nama_.
+Abu'l-hasan+ _qur-begi_--in the right wing at Qandahar (913) 334;
does well (925) 404;
his brother Muhammad Husain _q.v._
+Abu'l-hasan+ _qurchi_--in the centre at Qandahar (913) 335.
+Abu'l-hashim+, servant of Sl. `Ali [Taghai _Begchik_]--overtakes Babur
with ill news (925) 412.
+Abu'l-ma`ali+ _Tirmizi_-- -> his burial-place has significance as
to Mahdi Khwaja's family 705;
[d. 971 AH.-1564 AD.].
Khwaja +Abu'l-makaram+--supports Bai-sunghar _Miran-shahi_ (901) 62,
(902) 65;
acts for peace (903) 91;
meets Babur, both exiles (904) 99;
at Babur's capture of Samarkand (906) 132, 141;
leaves it with him 147 n. 2;
speaks for him (908) 157-8;
fails to recognize him 161;
-> at Archian 184;
[d. 908 AH.-1502 AD.].
Shaikh +Abu'l-mansur+ _Mataridi_--his birthplace Samarkand 75, 76;
[d. 333 AH.-944 AD.].
+Abu'l-muhammad+ _neza-baz_--in the _tulghuma_ of the left wing, at
Panipat (932) 473;
on service (933) 582, (934) 589, 598.
+Abu'l-muhammad+ _Khujandi_--his sextant 74 n. 4.
+Abu'l-muhsin Mirza+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of Husain
and Latif--particulars 262 (where for "husain" read muhsin), 269;
serving his father (901) 58;
defeats his brother Badi`u'z-zaman (902) 69, 70;
defeated by his father at Halwa-spring (904) 260;
his men take Qarakul from Auzbegs (906) 135;
co-operates against Shaibani (912) 296;
rides out to meet Babur 297;
they share a divan 298;
presses him to winter in Heri 300;
returns to his district (Merv) 301;
his later action and death 329-30, 331;
[d. 913 AH.-1507 AD.].
+Abu'l-muslim Kukuldash+--brings an Arghun gift to Babur (925) 401, 402.
+Abu'l-qasim+ _Jalair_--tells Babur a parrot story. (935)[2866] 494.
+Abu'l-qasim+--a musician (923) 387, 388 (here Qasim only).
+Abu'l-qasim+, _Kohbur Chaghatai_, son of Haidar-i-qasim--on
service with Babur (902) 68, (906) 130, 131, 133;
in the right wing at Sar-i-pul (Khwaja Kardzan) 139;
killed 141;
[d. 906 AH.-1501 AD.].
Shaikh +Abu'l-wajd+ _Farighi_, maternal-uncle of Zain
_Khawafi_--makes verse on the Kabul-river (932) 448;
his chronogram on Al-aman's birth (935) 621;
[d. 940 AH.-1533 AD.[2867]].
Shaikh +Abu-sa`id Khan+ _Dar-miyan_[2868]--particulars 276.
Sultan +Abu-sa`id Mirza+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas
Turk_--his descent 14;
asserts Timurid supremacy over Chaghatai Khaqans (855) 20, 344, 352;
takes Mawara'u'n-nahr (855) 86;
forms his Corps of Braves 28, 50;
a single combat in his presence (857) 50;
defeats Husain _Bai-qara_ (868) 259;
a swift courier to him 25;
joined by the Black-sheep Turkmans (872) 49;
orders the Hindustan army mobilized 46;
defeated and killed by the White-sheep Turkmans (873) 25, 46, 49;
appointments named 24, 37;
his banishment of Nawa'i 271;
reserves a Chaghatai wife for a son 21, 36;
his Badakhshi wife and their son 22,[2869] 260;
his Tarkhan _Arghun_ wife and their sons, 33, 45;
his mistress Khadija _q.v._;
his daughters Payanda-sultan, Shahr-banu, Rabi`a-sultan,
Khadija-sultan, Fakhr-i-jahan, Apaq-sultan, Aq Begim _q.v._;
retainers named as his `Ali-dost _Sagharichi_, Muhammad Baranduq,
Aurus, and Zu'n-nun _Arghun_ _q.v._;
his marriage connection Nuyan _Tirmizi_ _q.v._;
[d. 873 AH.-1469 AD.].
+Abu-sa`id Puran+, see Jamalu'd-din.
+Abu-sa`id Sultan+ _Auzbeg-Shaiban_, _Chingiz-khanid_, son of
Kuchum-- -> at Ghaj-davan (918) 360;
at Jam (935) 622, 636;
sends an envoy to Babur 631, 632, 641;
[d. 940 AH.-1533-4 AD.].
Shaikh +Abu-sa`id Tarkhan+ (var. Bu-sa`id)--his house Mirza Khan's
loot in Qandahar (913) 338.
+Abu-turab Mirza+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of Husain
and Mingli--particulars 262, 269;
his son Sohrab _q.v._;
[d before 911 AH.-1505-6 AD.].
+Adik Sultan+ _Qazzaq_, _Juji Chingiz-khanid_ (var. Aung Sultan),
son of Jani Beg Khan (T.R. trs. 373)--husband of Sultan-nigar
_Chaghatai_ _q.v._
+`Adil Sultan+ _Auzbeg-Shaiban_(?), _Chingiz-khanid_(?),
son of Mahdi and a Bai-qara begim--marries Shad _Bai-qara_ 263;
suggestions as to his descent 264 n. 1;
waits on Babur at Kalanur (932) 458;
on Babur's service 468, 471, 475, 530;
in the left wing at Panipat 472;
and at Kanwa (933) 567, 570;
ordered against Baluchis (935) 638;
-> mentioned as a landless man 706.
Sayyida +Afaq+, a legendary wife of Babur 358 n. 2;
her son and grandson _ib._
+Afghani Aghacha+, see Mubarika.
Sayyid +Afzal Beg+, son of `Ali _Khwab-bin_--conveys Husain
_Bai-qara's_ summons to Babur for help against Shaibani (911) 255;
particulars 282;
takes news to Herat of Babur's start from Kabul (912) 294;
sends him news of Husain's death 295;
[d. 921 AH.-1516 AD.].
+Agha Begim+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter
of Husain and Payanda-sultan--parentage and marriage (or betrothal,
H.S. iii, 327) 266;
[d died in childhood].
+Agha-sultan+, _ghunchachi_ of `Umar Shaikh--her daughter
Yadgar-i-sultan _q.v._
+Ahi+--his feet frost-bitten (912) 311.
+Ahi+, a poet--particulars 289;
[d 907 AH.-1501-2].
+Ahli+, a poet--particulars 290;
(for 4 writers using _Ahli_ as their pen-name see 290 n. 6).
Sultan +Ahmad+ _Ailchi-bugha_, _Mughul_--one of four daring much
(912) 315;
in the left wing at Qandahar (913) 334.
Pir +Ahmad+--leaves Samarkand with the Tarkhans (905) 121;
fights for Babur at Sar-i-pul (Khwaja Kardzan) (906) 139.
+Ahmad+ _Afshar Turk_--a letter to him endorsed by Babur (935) 617.
Mirza +Ahmad `Ali+ _Farsi_, _Barlas_--particulars 273.
+Ahmad `Ali Tarkhan+ _Arghun_, brother of Quli Beg--favours Babur and
admits him to Qandahar (913) 337.
Mulla +Ahmad+ _Balkhi_-- conveys treasure to Balkh (932) 446.
Mirza Sayyidi +Ahmad+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of
Miran-shah--particulars 257 n. 5;
named in a line of descent 280 n. 1;
his son Ahmad and grandson `Abdu'l-baqi _q.v._
Mir +Ahmad Beg+ _Itaraji Mughul_, paternal-uncle of Tambal--guardian
of a son of The Khan (Mahmud) 115;
reinforces Babur (903) 92;
acts against him (905) 115, 116;
acts against `Ali _Miran-shahi_ 112;
makes a contemptuous speech about Tambal (906) 145.
+Ahmad Beg+ _Safawi_-- -> leads a reinforcement to help Babur
(917) 353.
Sultan +Ahmad+ _Char-shamba'i_, see Char-shamba.
+Ahmad+ _chashnigir_--helps in poisoning Babur (933) 541;
[d. 933 AH.-1526 AD.].
+Ahmad Haji Beg+ _Duldai_, _Barlas Turk_--particulars 25, 37, 38;
his pen-name Wafa'i and a couplet of his 38;
his hospitality to `Ali-sher _Nawai_ 38, 271;
drives Khusrau Shah from Samarkand (900) 51;
supports Bai-sunghar _Miran-shahi_ in the Tarkhan rebellion (901)
62, 63;
his death at the hands of slaves and slave-women 63-4;
[d. 901 AH.-1496 AD.].
+Ahmadi+ _parwanchi_--on service (925) 377, (932) 458, 460, (933) 540;
sent to surprise Ibrahim _Ludi_ (932) 468 (his name is omitted in
my text);
in the left centre at Panipat 472, 473;
his ill-behaviour in the heats 524.
Sultan +Ahmad Khan+--+Alacha Khan+--_Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_, son of
Yunas and Shah Begim--particulars 23, 160;
meaning of his sobriquet Alacha Khan 23;
younger Khan-dada, Babur's name for him 129;
considered as a refuge for Babur (899) 29, (903) 92, (906) 129,
(908) 158;
visits Tashkint (908) 159;
ceremonies of meeting 160-1, 171-2;
moves with his elder brother Mahmud against Tambal 161, 168, 171;
his kindness to Babur 159, 166-7, 169, 171;
is given Babur's lands and why 168;
retires from Andijan in fear of Shaibani 172;
defeated by Shaibani at Archian (908 or 909) 7, 23, -> 182-3;
his death (909) reported to Babur (911) 246 and n. 4;
his sons Mansur, Sa'id, Baba (T.R. trs. 160, Babajak), Chin-timur,
Tukhta-bugha, and Aisan-timur q.v.;
his grandson Baba _q.v._;
-> followers of his return from forced migration (908) when
Shaibani is killed (916) 351;
[dend of 909 AH.-1504 AD.].
+Ahmad Khan+ _Haji-tarkhani_ (_Astrakhani_)--marries Badi`u'l-jamal
(Badka) _Bai-qara_ (899?) 257, 258;
their sons (Mahmud and Bahadur) 258;
their daughter Khan-zada _q.v._
Sultan +Ahmad Mirza+ _Dughlat_--sent by The Khan (Mahmud) to help Babur
(908) 161.
Sultan +Ahmad Mirza+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of
Abu-sa`id--the lands his father gave him 35, 86;
his brother Mahmud taken to his care (873 or 4) 46;
his disaster on the Chir (895) 17, 25, 31, 34;
a swift courier to him 25;
defeats `Umar Shaikh 17, 34; 12 n. 2; 53;
invades Farghana (899) 13, 30;
given Aura-tipa 27;
dreaded for Babur 29;
retires and dies 31, 33;
particulars 33, 40;
referred to by Husain _Bai-qara_ (910) 190;
his wives and children 35-6;
an honoured Beg Nuyan _Tirmizi_ _q.v._;
[d. 899 AH.-1494 AD.].
Sultan +Ahmad Mirza+, _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of
Mirza Sayyidi Ahmad--particulars 257 n. 5;
his wife Aka Begim _Bai-qara_ and their son Kichik Mirza _q.v._; 266
n. 6;
a building of his at Heri 305.
+Ahmad+ _mushtaq_, _Turkman_--takes Mahmud _Miran-shahi_ to Hisar
(873 or 4) 46-7.
Sultan +Ahmad+ _qarawal_, father of Quch (Quj) Beg, Tardi Beg and
Sher-afgan Beg _q.v._--defends Hisar (901) 58;
enters Babur's service (905) 112;
in the left Wing at Khuban (905) 113;
holds Marghinan 123.
+Ahmad-i-qasim+ _Kohbur Chaghatai_, son of Haidar-i-qasim--with Babur
(906) 133;
invited to a disastrous entertainment (907) 152;
joins Jahangir and Tambal 156;
in Akhsi (908) 171;
defeats an Auzbeg raider (910) 195;
helps to hold Kabul for Babur (912) 313;
pursues Mirza Khan 317, 320;
holding Tashkint against Auzbegs (918) 356, 358, 396, 397;
a Kabuli servant of his 351.
+Ahmad-i-qasim+ _Qibchaq Turk_, (grand-?) son of Baqi _Chaghaniani_
and a sister of Khusrau Shah, perhaps son of Baqi's son
Muhammad-i-qasim (189 n. 3)--holding Kahmard and Bamian (910) 189;
given charge of the families of Babur's expeditionary force 189;
ill-treats them and is forced to flee 197, 243;
goes to Husain _Bai-qara_ _ib._;
killed at Qunduz 244;
[d. 910 AH.-1505 AD.].
Sultan +Ahmad Qazi+ _Qilich_--particulars 29;
his son Khwaja Maulana-i-qazi _q.v._
+Ahmad+ _qushchi_--seen by the fugitive Babur (908) 180.
Khwaja +Ahmad+ _Sajawandi_--his birthplace 217.
+Ahmad Shah+ _Khilji Turk_--dispossessed of Chandiri by Ibrahim
_Ludi_ 593;
restored by Babur (934) 598.
+Ahmad Shah+ _Durrani_, _Abdali Afghan_--his victory at Panipat (1174)
472;
[d. 1182 AH.-1772 AD.].
+Ahmad Tarkhan+ _Arghun Chingiz-khanid_ (?)--joins Babur in Samarkand
(906) 133;
loses Dabusi to Shaibani 137;
[d. 906 AH.-1500 AD.].
+Ahmad (son of) Tawakkal+ _Barlas_, amir of Husain
_Bai-qara_--particulars 272.
+Ahmad+ _yasawal_--conveys a message from Babur to the begs of Kabul
Fort (912) 314.
Khwaja +Ahmad+ _Yasawi_--+Sayyid Ata+--Shaibani's vow at his shrine
348, 356;
[d. 514 AH.-1120-1 AD.].[2870]
+Ahmad-i-yusuf Beg+ _Aughlaqchi_, son of Hasan, nephew of
Yusuf--managing Yar-yilaq for `Ali _Miran-shahi_ (904) 98;
dismissed on suspicion of favouring Babur 98;
probably joins Babur with his uncle (910) 196;
remonstrated with him for fighting unmailed (911) 252;
helping loyalists in Kabul (912) 313;
saves Babur a blow 315, 316;
at Bajaur (925) 369, 401 (here Ahmad Beg);
joins Babur in Hindustan (933) 550;
in the right wing at Kanwa 566 (where in n. 1 for "may" read is),
569;
governor of Sialkot 98.
Malik +Ahmad+ _Yusuf-zai Afghan_, nephew of Sulaiman
_q.v._--particulars App. K.
+Ai Begim+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter of Mahmud
and Khan-zada II.--betrothed to Jahangir. (_cir._ 895) 48;
married (910) 189;
their daughter 48.
+Aiku-salam+ _Mughul_--rebels against Babur (914) 345.
+Aiku[2871]-timur Beg Tarkhan+ _Arghun_--his descendant Darwesh Beg
_q.v._;
[d. 793 AH.-1391 AD.].
Sultan? +Ailik+ _Mazi Auighur_ (_Uighur_)--his descendant Khwaja
Maulana-i-qazi _q.v._
+Airzin Beg+ (var. Airazan) _Barin Mughul_--supports Yunas _Chaghatai_
(_cir._ 830), takes him to Aulugh Beg _Shah-rukhi_
(_cir._ 832) 19;
ill-received and his followers scattered 20;
[d. 832 AH.-1428 AD.].
+Aisan-bugha Khan+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_, son of Dawa--named in
Yunas Khan's genealogy 19;
[d_cir._ 718 AH.-1318 AD.].
+Aisan-bugha Khan II.+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_, son of
Wais--particulars 19;
invades Farghana and defeated at Aspara (_cir._ 855) 20;
quarrels with the begs of the Sagharichi _tuman_ and leads to the
elevation of Yunas _ib._;
[d. 866 AH.-1462 AD.].
+Aisan-daulat Begim+ _Kunji_ (or _Kunchi_) _Mughul_, wife of Yunas
_Chaghatai_--particulars 20, 21;
her good judgment (900) 43;
entreats Babur's help for Andijan (903) 88-9;
joins him in Khujand after the loss of Andijan 92;
and in Dikh-kat after that of Samarkand (907) 151;
news of her death reaches Kabul (911) 246;
rears one of `Umar Shaikh's daughters 18;
her kinsmen `Ali-dost, Sherim, Ghiyas _q.v._;
[d. 910 AH.-1505 AD.].
+Aisan-quli Sultan _Auzbeg-Shaiban_, _Chingiz-khanid_--his Bai-qara
marriage, 265, 397.
+Aisan-timur Sultan+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_, son of Ahmad
(Alacha Khan)--on Babur's service 318, 682;
meets Babur (935) 654;
in the battle of the Ghogra 672, 673;
thanked 677;
angers Babur 684.
+Aka Begim+, _Barlas Turk_, daughter of Timur--an ancestress of Husain
_Bai-qara_ 256.
+Aka Begim+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, daughter of Mansur and
Firuza--particulars 257;
her husband Ahmad and their son Kichik Mirza _q.v._
Abu'l-fath Jalalu'd-din Muhammad +Akbar+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_,
_Barlas Turk_, grandson of Babur and Mahim-- -> 184;
-> an addition about him made to the Chihil-zina inscription 432;
-> his visit to Panipat (963) 472;
his change in the name of the cherry explained by Babur's words 501,
n. 6;
[d1014 AH.-1605 AD.].
+Alacha Khan+, see Ahmad _Chaghatai_.
+Al-aman+, son of Humayun--his birth and name (935) 621, 624, 642;
[d in infancy].
+`Alam Khan+ _Kalpi_, son of Jalal Khan _Jik-hat_ (or
_Jig-hat_)--holding Kalpi and not submissive to Babur (932) 523;
goes to Court (933) 544;
disobeys orders 557;
is Babur's host in Kalpi (934) 590;
on service (935) 682;
an order about him 684.
`Alau'u'd-din +`Alam Khan+ _Ludi Afghan_, son of Buhlul-- -> a principal
actor between 926-32 AH. 428;
-> asks and obtains Babur's help against his nephew Ibrahim (929)
439-441;
placed by Babur in charge of Dibalpur (930) 442;
-> defeated by Daulat Khan _Yusuf-khail_ (931) 444;
flees to Kabul and is again set forth 444, 455;
defeated by Ibrahim and returns to Babur (932) 454-8;
his relations with Babur reviewed 455, n. 1;
in Fort Ginguta 457, 463;
in the left centre at Kanwa (933) 565;
his sons Jalal, Kamal, and Sher Khan (_Ludi_) _q.v._
Sultan `Alau'u'd-din +`Alam Khan+ _Sayyidi_--holding Dihli 481;
[d. 855 AH.-1451 AD.].
+`Alam Khan+ _Tahangari_, brother of Nizam Khan of Biana--works badly
with Babur's force (933) 538;
defeated by his brother 539;
sent out of the way before Kanwa 547.
+`Alau'u'd-din Husain Shah+, ruler in Bengal--the circumstances of his
succession 483;
his son Nasrat _q.v._;
[d. 925 AH.-1518 AD.?].
+`Alau'u'd-din Husain+ _Jahan-soz Ghuri_--his destruction in Ghazni
(550) 219;
[d. 556 AH.-1161 AD.?].
Sultan +`Alau'u'd-din Muhammad Shah+ _Khilji Turk_--Babur visits his
tomb and minar (932) 476;
his bringing of the Koh-i-nur from the Dakkhin 477;
[d. 715 AH.-1315 AD.].
Sultan +`Alau'u'd-din+ _Sawadi_--waits on Babur (925) 372, 375-6.
+`Alaul Khan+ _Sur Afghan_--writes dutifully to Babur (935) 659.
+`Alaul Khan+ _Nuhani Afghan_--his waitings on Babur (934, 935) 677,
680.
Sharafu'd-din Muhammad +al Busiri+--his _Qasidatu'l-burda_ an example
for the _Walidiyyah-risala_ 620;
[d_cir._ 693 AH.-1294 AD.].
+Alexander of Macedon+, see Iskandar _Filqus_ (_Failaqus_).
Sayyid +`Ali+--escapes from a defeat (909) 102;
out with Babur (925) 403;
sent against Baluchis (935) 638.
Sultan +`Ali+ _asghar_ Mirza _Shah-rukhi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_,
son of Mas`ud _Kabuli_--particulars 382.
+`Ali Ataka+, servant of Khalifa--reinforces the right wing
(_tulghuma_) at Kanwa (933) 569.
Shaikh +`Ali Bahadur+, one of Timur's chiefs--his descendant Baba
`Ali 27.
Khwaja +`Ali Bai+--mentioned (906) 127;
fights for Babur at Sar-i-pul (Khwaja Kardzan) 139;
his son Jan-i-`ali _q.v._
Shaikh +`Ali+ _Barin Mughul_, son of Shaikh Jamal--in the left wing
(_tulghuma_) at Panipat (932) 473;
sent against Baluchis (935) 638.
+`Ali+ _Barlas Turk_--his son Muhammad Baranduq _q.v._
+`Ali Beg+ _Jalair Chaghatai_, father of Hasan-i-`Ali and Apaq
Bega--his Shah-rukhi service 278.[2872]
Mir (Shaikh) +`Ali Beg+ _Turk_ (inferred 389), governor of Kabul for
Shah-rukh _Timurid_--his sons Baba Kabuli, Darya Khan, and Ghazi
(Apaq) Khan (_q.v._) cherished by Mas`ud _Shah-rukhi_ 382;
(see his son Ghazi's grandson Minuchihr for a Turk relation 386).
Sultan +`Ali+ _chuhra_, _Chaghatai_--his loyalty to Babur doubted
(910) 239;
rebels (914) 345.
Sayyid +`Ali-darwesh Beg+ _Khurasani_--particulars 28;
with Jahangir (_Êt._ 8), in Akhsi (899) 32, leaves Babur for home
(903) 91;
on Babur's service (904) 106, (905) 28, 118.
Mir +`Ali-dost Taghai+ _Kunji Mughul_, a Sagharichi-_tuman_
beg--particulars 27-8;
his appointment on Babur's accession (899) 32;
has part in a conference (900) 43;
surrenders Andijan (903) 88-9;
asks Babur's pardon (904) 99;
gives him Marghinan 100;
defeated by Tambal 106;
in the right wing at Khuban (905) 113;
his ill-timed pacifism 118;
his self-aggrandizement 119, 123;
joins Babur against Samarkand 123;
in fear of his victims, goes to Tambal 125;
his death _ib._;
his brother Ghiyas, his son Muhammad-dost, and his servant Yul-chuq
_q.v._;
[da few years after 905 AH.-1500 AD.].
Mir Sayyid +`Ali+ _Hamadani_--his death and burial 211;
[d. 786 AH.-1384 AD.].
Mulla +`Ali-jan+ (var. Khan)--fetches his wife from Samarkand (925) 403;
is taught a rain-spell (926) 423;
makes verse on the Kabul-river (932) 448;
a satirical couplet on him made and repented by Babur 448;
host of Mulla Mahmud _Farabi_ (935) 653.
+`Ali Khan+ _Bayandar_, _Aq-quiluq Turkman_--joins Husain _Bai-qara_
(873) 279.
Shaikh-zada +`Ali Khan+ _Farmuli Afghan_--his family-train captured
(932) 526;
waits on Babur 526-7;
in the left wing at Kanwa (933) 567;
on service 576, 582, 678.
+`Ali Khan+ _Istilju_--leads Isma`il _Safawi's_ reinforcement to Babur
(917) 353.
Sayyid +`Ali Khan+ _Turk_, son of Ghazi (Apaq) Khan and grandson of
Mir (Shaikh) `Ali Beg--one of Sikandar _Ludi's_ Governors in the
Panjab (910) 382;
leaves Bhira on Babur's approach _ib._;
his lands made over by him to Daulat Khan _Yusuf-khail_ 382-3;
his son Minuchihr and their Turk relation (389) _q.v._
+`Ali Khan+ _Turkman_, son of `Umar Beg--defends the Bai-qara families
against Shaibani (913) 328.
+`Ali Khan+ _Yusuf-khail Ludi Afghan_--eldest son of Daulat Khan--his
servants wait on Babur (925) 382;
comes out of Milwat (Malot) to Babur (932) 459-60;
sent under guard to Bhira 461;
his son Isma`il _q.v._
Sayyid +`Ali+ _Khwab-bin_, father of Sayyid Afzal _q.v._ (cf. H.S.
lith. ed. iii, 346).
Mulla Sultan +`Ali+ _khwush-nawis_, calligrapher of Husain
_Bai-qara_--particulars 291;
given lessons in penmanship by Shaibani (913) 329;
[d. 919 AH.-1513 AD.].
+`Ali-mazid Beg+ _quchin_--particulars 26;
leaves Babur for home (903) 91.
Mir +`Ali+ _mir-akhwur_[2873]--particulars 279;
helps Husain _Bai-qara_ to surprise Yadgar-i-muhammad _Shah-rukhi_
in Heri (875) 134, 279.
Sultan +`Ali Mirza+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of Mahmud
and Zuhra--particulars 47;
serving his half-brother Bai-sunghar (900) 27, 55;
made _padshah_ in Samarkand by the Tarkhans (901) 62-3, 86;
meets Babur 64;
their arrangement 66,(902) 65, 82, 86;
gives no protection to his blind half-brother Mas`ud (903) 95;
suspects a favoured beg (904) 98;
quarrels with the Tarkhans (905) 121;
desertions from him 122;
defeats Mirza Khan's Mughuls _ib._;
is warned of Babur's approach 125;
gives Samarkand to Shaibani and by him is murdered (906) 125-7;
his wife Sultanim _Miran-shahi_ and sister Makhdum-sultan _q.v._;
[d. 906 AH.-1500 AD.].
Sultan +`Ali Mirza Taghai+ _Begchik_ (Mirza Beg Taghai), brother(?)
of Babur's wife Gul-rukh--movements of his which bear on the
_lacuna_ of 914-924 AH. 408;
arrives in Kabul (925) _ib._;
Kamran marries his daughter (934) 619;
conveys Babur's wedding gifts to Kamran (935) 642;
takes also a copy of the _Walidiyyah-risala_ and of the Hindustan
poems, with writings (_sar-khatt_) in the Baburi script 642.
Ustad +`Ali-quli+--his match-lock shooting at Bajaur (925) 369;
shoots prisoners (932) 466;
ordered to make Rumi defences at Panipat 469;
fires _firingis_ from the front of the centre 473;
casts a large mortar (933) 536, 547;
his jealousy of Mustafa _Rumi_ 550;
his post previous to Kanwa 558;
his valiant deeds in the battle 570-1;
a new mortar bursts (934) 588;
his choice of ground at Chandiri 593;
his stone-discharge interests Babur 595, 670-1-2;
uses the Ghazi mortar while the Ganges bridge is in building 599;
a gift to his son (935) 633;
his post in the battle of the Ghogra 667, 668, 669.
+`Ali-quli+ _Hamadani_-- -> sent by Babur to punish the Mundahirs,
and fails (936) 700.
Mir +`Ali+ _qurchi_--conveys playing-cards to Shah Hasan _Arghun_
(933) 584.
Malik +`Ali+ _qutni_(?)--in the left centre at Bajaur (925) 369.
+`Ali Sayyid+ _Mughul_--in the right wing at Qandahar (913) 334;
rebels (914) 345[2874];
his connection Aurus-i `Ali Sayyid 335.
+`Ali+ _shab-kur_ (night-blind)--one of five champions defeated in
single combat by Babur (914) 349.
Mir +`Ali-sher Beg+ _Chaghatai_, pen-names Nawa'i and Fana'i--his
obligations to Ahmad Haji Beg and return to Herat 38;
fails in a mission of Husain _Bai-qara's_ (902) 69[2875];
his Turki that of Andijan 4;
checks Husain in Shi`a action 258;
opposes administrative reform 282;
particulars 271-2;
his relations with Bana'i 286-7, 648;
corresponds with Babur (906) 106;
exchanges quatrains with Pahlawan Bu-sa`id 292;
some of his poems transcribed by Babur (925) 419;
his restoration of the Rabat-i-sang-bast 301 n. 1;
his flower-garden (_baghcha_) and buildings visited or occupied by
Babur (912) 301, 305, 306;
his brother Darwesh-i-`ali _q.v._;
a favoured person 278;
a mystic of his circle 280-1;
his scribe 271;
[d. 906 AH.-Dec. 1500 AD.].
+`Ali-shukr Beg+, of the Baharlu-aimaq of the Aq-quiluq[2876]
Turkmans--his daughter Pasha, grandson Yar-i-`ali _Balal_,
and descendant Bairam Khan-i-khanan _q.v._
Sultan +`Ali Sistani+ _Arghun_--his help against Shaibani counselled
(913) 326;
-> one of five champions worsted by Babur in single combat (914) 349;
with Babur and chops at a tiger (925) 393.
Shaikh +`Ali Taghai+ _Mervi_(?)--holding Balkh for Badi`u'z-zaman
_Bai-qara_ (902) 70;
joint-darogha in Heri (911) 293.
+Allah-birdi+ (var. quli)--serving Babur (910) 234.
+Allah-wairan+ _Turkman_--in the van at Qandahar (913) 335.
+Alur+ or Alwar,[2877] son of Babur and Dil-dar--mentioned 689 n. 5.
-> 712;
[ddied an infant].
+Amin Mirza+--an Auzbeg envoy to Babur (935) 631;
receives gifts 632, 641.
+Amin-i-muhammad Tarkhan+ _Arghun_--punished for disobedience (925)
390-1;
deals with a drunken companion 415.
+Amir Khan+, chief guardian of Tahmasp _Safawi_-- -> negociates with
Babur (927) 433.
Mulla +Apaq+--particulars 526;
on Babur's service (932) 526, 528, (933) 539, (934) 590;
surprised by Sanga (933) 549;
made _shÌqdar_ of Chandiri 598;
his retainers on service (935) 679.
+Apaq Bega+ _Jalair Chaghatai_, sister of Husan-i-`ali--a poet 286.
Sayyida +Apaq Begim+ _Andikhudi_--particulars 267, 268, 269;
visited in Herat by Babur (912) 301.
+Apaq Khan+, see Ghazi Khan.
+Apaq Khan+ _Yusuf-khail_, see Ghazi Khan.
+Apaq-sultan Begim+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter of
Abu-sa`id--one of the paternal aunts visited by Babur (912)
301 n. 3.
+Aq Begim+ (1), _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter of Husain
and Payanda-sultan--particulars 265;
[pre-deceased her husband who died d. 911 AH.-1504 AD.].
+Aq Begim+ (2), _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_--daughter of
Abu-sa`id and Khadija--particulars 262, 268;
waited on by Babur (935) 606.
+Aq Begim+ (3), _ut supra_, daughter of Mahmud
and Khan-zada II.--brought to join Babur's march (910) 48.
+Aq Begim+ (4), see Saliha-sultan.
+Aq-bugha Beg+, one of Timur's chiefs--collateral ancestor of
Khudai-birdi _Timur-tash_ 24.
+`Aqil Sultan+ _Auzbeg-Shaiban_, son of `Adil and Shad _Bai-qara_--his
conjectured descent 264 n. 1 (where in l. 4 for "`aqil"
read `adil).
+Araish Khan+--proffers support to Babur against Ibrahim _Ludi_
(932) 463;
in the left centre at Kanwa (933) 565;
negociates about surrendering Chandiri (934) 594;
his gift of a boat to Babur 663.
+Arghun Sultan+, elder brother of Muhammad `Ali _Jang-jang_--deputed to
hold Milwat (Malot., 932) 461.
Shaikh +`Arif+ _Azari_, nephew of Timur's story-teller, see Index
_s.n._ Aulugh Beg _Shah-rukhi_;
[d. 866 AH.-1461-2 AD. _Êt._ 82, Beale].
+Arslan+ _Jazala_--his building of the Rabat-i-sang-bast 301 n. 1.
+Asad Beg+ _Turkman_--joins Husain _Bai-qara_ 279;
his brother Taham-tan _q.v._
Khwaja and Khwajagi +Asadu'l-lah+ _Jan-dar_, _Khawafi_--with Babur in
Dikh-kat (907) 150;
envoy to Tahmasp _Safawi_ (933) 540, 583;
has charge of Ibrahim _Ludi's_ mother 543;
in the right wing at Kanwa 566, 569.
Khwaja +Asafi+--particulars 286;
waits on Babur (912) 286;
[d. 920 or 926 AH.-1514 or 1520 AD.].
+`Asas+, see Khwaja Muhammad `Ali _`asas_.
+`Ashiq+ _bakawal_--with advance-troops for Chandiri (934) 590;
ordered on service (935) 638.
+`Ashiq-i-muhammad Kukuldash+ _Arghun_, son of "Amir Tarkhan Junaid"
(H.S. lith. ed. iii, 359)--defends Ala-qurghan against Shaibani
(913) 328;
his brother Mazid Beg _q.v._
+`Ashiqu'l-lah+ _Arghun_--killed fighting against Babur at Qandahar
(913) 333 (where for "`Ashaq" read `Ashiq).
+Asiru'd-din+ _Akhsikiti_, a poet--his birthplace Akhsi-village
(kit-kint) 9-10;
[d. 608 AH.-1211-2 AD.].
Muhammad +`Askari+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of Babur
and Gul-rukh-- -> his birth (922) 364;
gifts to him (932) 523, (933) 628;
-> his recall from Multan (934) 603-4-5, 699[2878];
waits on his father (935) 605;
made Commander (_Êt. cir._ 12) of the army of the East 628, 637;
at a feast 631;
takes leave 634;
waits on his father at Dugdugi 651;
east of the Ganges 654;
in the battle of the Ghogra 668-9, 671-3;
waits on Babur after the victory 674;
[d. 965 AH.-1557-8 AD.].
+Asuk Mal+ _Rajput_--negociates with Babur for Sanga's son (934-5)
612-3.
Sayyid +`Ata+, see Khwaja Ahmad _Yasawi_.
Khwaja Jamalu'd-in +`Ata+--particulars 282 (where in n. 3 for
(H.S. iii), "345" read 348-9).
+Ataka+ _bakhshi_ (var. Atika, Pers. Atka)--a surgeon who dresses
a wound of Babur's (908) 169.
+Ata+ _mir-akhwur_--gives Babur a meal (925) 418.
Mir Burhanu'd-din +`Ata'u'l-lah+ _Mashhadi_--particulars 285
(H.S. iii, 345);
[d. 926 AH.-1520 AD.].
+Atun Mama+, a governess--walks from Samarkand to Pashaghar (907) 148;
mentioned? (925) 407 l. 4.
+Aughan-birdi+ _Mughul_ (var. Afghan-birdi and -tardi)--on service
(925) 376, 377;
of a boat-party 387;
in the battle of the Ghogra (935) 671, 672.
Sayyid _Aughlaqchi_, see Murad.
+Auliya Khan+ _Ishraqi_--waits on Babur (935) 677.
+Aulugh Beg Mirza+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of Muhammad
Sultan Mirza--his (?) journey to Hindustan (933) 265.
+Aulugh Beg Mirza+ _Kabuli_, _Miran-shahi_, _ut supra_,
son of Abu-sa`id--particulars 95;
his earliest guardians amusingly frustrate his designs against
them 270;
his dealings with the Yusuf-zai App. K. xxxvi;
his co-operation with Husain _Bai-qara_ against the Auzbegs 190;
his praise of Istalif 216;
his death (907) 185;
gardens of his bought by Babur (perhaps one only) 216, (911) 246;
another garden 315;
houses of his 247, 251;
his Almshouse 315;
referred to 284;
his joint-guardians Muhammad Baranduq and Jahangir _Barlas_, his
later one Wais Ataka _q.v._;
his sons `Abdu'r-razzaq and Miran-shah, his daughter Bega Begim
and daughter-in-law Manauwar _q.v._;
[d. 907 AH.-1501-2 AD.].
+Aulugh Beg Mirza+ _Shah-rukhi_, _ut supra_ (Ulugh), son
of Shah-rukh--his Trans-oxus rule 85[2879];
receives Yunas _Chaghatai_ badly (832-3?) 19-20;
defeated by Aba-bikr _Miran-shahi_ 260;
his family dissensions 20;
his constructions, Astronomical and other 74, 77, 78-9[2880];
his sportsmanship 34[2881];
his murder and its chronograms 85;
Babur resides in his College (906) 142;
his sons `Abdu'l-latif and `Abdu'l-`aziz _q.v._;
a favoured beg Yusuf _Aughlaqchi_ _q.v._;
Preface, _q.v._ _On the misnomer "Mughul Dynasty"._
[d. 853 AH.-1449 AD.].
+Aulus Agha+ (Ulus), daughter of Khwaja Husain _q.v._--particulars 24.
+Aurdu-bugha Tarkhan+ _Arghun_ (Urdu)--his son-in-law Abu-sa`id
_Miran-shahi_ and son Darwesh-i-muhammad _q.v._
+Aurdu-shah+--murdered as an envoy (923) 463 n. 3.
+Aurangzib Padshah+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_-- -> referred
to as of Babur's line 184;
[d. 1118 AH.-O.S. 1707 AD.].
Amir +Aurus+-- -> flees from his post on Shaibani's death (916) 350.
+Aurus-i `Ali Sayyid+ _Mughul_, son? of `Ali Sayyid--in the centre at
Qandahar (913) 335.
+Aurus+ _Arghun_--his son Muhammad-i-aurus _q.v._
+Auzbeg Bahadur+ (Uzbeg)-- -> one of five champions worsted in single
combat by Babur (914) 349 n. 1.
+Auzun Hasan Beg+ _Aq-quiluq Turkman_--his defeat of the Qara-quiluq
Turkmans and of Abu-sa`id _Miran-shahi_ 49;
[d. 883 AH.-1478 AD.].
Khwaja +Auzun Hasan+ (Uzun)[2882]--negociates for Babur (899) 30;
his appointment 32;
confers in Babur's interests (900) 43 (where add his name after
`Ali-dost's);
acts for Jahangir against Babur (903) 87, 88, 91, (904) 100, 101,
102;
his servant's mischievous report of Babur's illness (903) 89;
his men defeated by Babur's allies 102;
loses Akhsi and Andijan 102-3;
captured and released by Babur 104;
goes into Samarkand to help Babur (907) 146;
his brother Husain and adopted son Mirim _q.v._
+`Ayisha-sultan Begim+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter of
Husain--particulars 267;
her husbands Qasim _Auzbeg-Shaiban_ and Buran, her sons
Qasim-i-husain and `Abdu'l-lah _q.v._
+`Ayisha-sultan Begim+ _Miran-shahi_, _ut supra_, daughter of Ahmad
(Alacha Khan) and first wife of Babur--particulars 35, 36;
married (905) 35, 120, 711;
joins Babur in Samarkand (906) 135-6;
her child 136;
leaves Babur 36.
Mir +Ayub Beg+ _Begchik_--particulars 50;
sent by The Khan (Mahmud) to help Babur (903) 92, (906) 138, 161,
170;
his Mughuls misbehave at Sar-i-pul (Khwaja Kardzan) 140;
claims post in the right wing (_tulghuma_) 155;
his Mughuls confuse pass-words 164;
in the right wing at Qandahar (913) 334;
-> vainly tempts Sa`id _Chaghatai_ to betray Babur (916) 351;
-> does not then desert 352, 362;
-> rebels in Hisar (918) 362;
-> dying, repents his disloyalty (920) 362;
his sons Buhlul-i-ayub, Ya`qub-i-ayub and Yusuf-i-ayub _q.v._;
[d. 920 AH.-1514 AD.].
+`Azim Humayun+ _Sarwani_--invests Gualiar 477;
his title changed and why (933) 537;
his son Fath Khan _q.v._
Mir +`Azu+, a musical composer--particulars 292.
+Baba `Ali+ _aishik-agha_ (_ishik_), a Lord-of-the-Gate of Husain
_Bai-qara_--particulars 278;
his son Yunas-i-`ali and friend Badru'd-din _q.v._
Baba-quli's Sultan +Baba `Ali Beg+[2883]--particulars 27;
his sons Baba-quli, Sayyidim `Ali and Dost-i-anju (?) Shaikh _q.v._;
[d. 900 AH.-1495 AD.].
+Baba-aughuli+, see Papa-aughuli.
+Baba Chuhra+, a household brave--reprieved from death (914) 344;
on Babur's service (932) 474, 534, (934) 590, 602;
does well in the battle of the Ghogra (935) 671.
+Baba Husain+, see Husain.
+Baba Jan+ _akhtachi_, a groom or squire--Babur dislocates his own
thumb in striking him (925) 409.
+Baba Jan+ _qabuzi_--musician at entertainments (925) 386-7, 388.
+Baba Kabuli+ _Turk_, son of Mir `Ali, Shah-rukh _(Timurid)'s_
Governor of Kabul--nominated `Umar Shaikh's guardian when Kabul was
allotted to the boy 14;
particulars 382;
his brothers Darya Khan and Ghazi (Apaq) Khan _q.v._
+Baba Khan Sultan+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_, (Babajak), son of Ahmad
(Alacha Khan)--his ceremonious meeting with Babur (908) 159;
[living in 948 AH.-1542--T.R.].
+Baba Khan+ _Chaghatai_, son of The Khan (Mahmud)--murdered with his
father and brothers by Shaibani (914) 35.
+Baba Qashqa+ _Mughul_ (perhaps identical with Qashqa Mahmud _Chiras_
_q.v._)--out with Babur (925) 404, 405;
in charge of Dibalpur (930) 442;
his brothers Malik Qasim and Kuki;
his sons Shah Muhammad, Dost-i-muhammad and Haji Muhammad Khan
_Kuki_ _q.v._;
[d_cir._ 940 AH.-1553 AD.].[2884]
Sultan +Baba-quli Beg+, son of Sultan Baba `Ali Beg--serving under
Khusrau Shah (901) 60, 61;
with Babur and captured (903) 72;
staunch to him 91;
in the centre at Qandahar (913) 335;
conveys royal letters (932) 529.[2885]
+Baba Sairami+--pursues Babur in his flight from Akhsi (908) 178;
promised fidelity but seems to have been false 179-182.
+Baba Shaikh+ _Chaghatai_, brother of Mulla Baba _Pashaghari_--in the
left centre at Qandahar (913) 335;
-> rebels at Ghazni (921) 363;
forgiven (925) 397;
deserts Humayun (932) 546;
his capture and death 545;
a reward given for his head _id._;
[d. 932 or 933 AH.-1526 AD.].
+Baba Shaikh+--sent out for news (935) 661.
+Baba Sher-zad+--one of three with Babur against Tambal (908) 163;
does well at Akhsi 174;
fights against rebels at Kabul (912) 315;
at Qandahar (913) 335.
+Baba Sultan+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_, son of Khalil son of Ahmad
(Alacha Khan)--waits on Babur near Kalpi (934) 590;
particulars 590;
on service 318, (934) 599;
not at his post (935) 672.
+Baba Yasawal+--at the siege of Bajaur (925) 370;
chops at a tiger's head 393.
+Babu Khan+--holding Kalanjar and looking towards Hati _Kakar_ (925)
387.
Zahiru'd-din Muhammad _Babur Padshah_ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, Barlas
Turk--b. Muharram 6th 888 AH.-Feb. 14th 1483 AD. p. 1;
dJumada I, 6th 937 AH.-Dec. 26th 1530 A.D. 708;
+Parentage+:--paternal 13;
maternal 19, 21;
+Titles+:--Mirza (inherited) Padshah (taken) 344;
Ghazi (won) 574;
Firdaus-makani (Dweller-in-paradise, posthumous) see Gladwin's
Revenue Accounts;
+Religion+:--[2886]belief in God's guidance 31, 72-3, 103-13-37-94-99;
in His intervention 73, 247, 316, 446-51-74-79, 525-96, 620;
that His will was done 55, 100-16-32-34-35-67, 269,
316-22-23-36-37-70, 454-70-71-80, 542-94, 627-28-70;
that He has pleasure in good 331;
that to die is to go to His mercy 67;
reliance on Him 100-08-16-32, 311, 463, 678;
God called to witness 254
and invoked to bless 624;
His punishment of sin 42-5, 449-77 (Hell),
and of breach of Law 449;
His visitation of a father's sins on children 45;
His predestination of events 128, 243-46-53, 469, 594;
--prayer to Him for a sign of victory 440,
for the dead 246,
against a bad wife 258;
a life-saving prayer 316;
+Characteristics+:--ambition 92-7;
admiration of high character 27, 67, 89, 90;
bitterness and depression (in youth)
91, 130-52-57-78;
consideration for dependants 91-9, 158-78-96, 469;
distrust of the world 95, 144-56;
silent humiliation 119;
fairness 15, 24, 91, 105, 469;
fearlessness 163-5-73;
fidelity:--to word 104, 129 (see 118-9), 172-3, 194,
to salt 125,
to family-relation,--filial 88-9, 135-49-57-58-88,
--fraternal see Jahangir and Nasir,--Timurid 41, 149-57-68,
Chaghatai 54, 169-72,
Mughul 27, 119-25,
Auzbeg 37;
friendship see Nuyan and Khw. Kalan;
good judgment 43, 87, 91, 134-37-55;
gratitude 99, 633;
insouciance 150;
joy at release from stress 99, 134-35-48-81;
bashfulness and passion 120;
persistence 92-7 and _passim_;
promptitude 117, 170;
reprobation of vice, tyranny and cruelty 42-5-6, 50, 66, 70, 90-6,
102-10-25-97, 290
and of an unmotherly woman 125-28;
self-reproach 147;
self-comment on inexperienced action 165-67-73;
dislike of talkativeness 28, 97, 143-92-93;
vexation at loss of rule (_Êt._ 14) 90-1-9, 129-30-57;
truth for truth sake 135, 318;
seeking and weighing counsel 73, 100-14-31-41-65-70-73-97-98,
229-30-31-48, 340-76-78, 410-12-69, 524-30-77, 628-39-67-69-82;
enjoins Humayun to take counsel 627;
+Occupations+ (non-military):--archery _i.a._ 175;
calligraphy see _infra_;
literary composition see _infra_;
metrical amusements see verse;
Natural History _passim_;
travel, excursions, sight-seeing, social intercourse _passim_;
building 5, 217-9, 375-98,
in Dulpur 585, 606-07-42,
in Agra 642,
in Kabul 646-7,
in Sikri 588,
Ajodhya mosque 656 n. 3, App. U,
Panipat mosque 472 n. 1;
gardening and garden-making _passim_;
--Babur's script (_Baburi-khatt_) devised 910 AH. 228,
Qoran transcribed by him in it 228 n. 4;
studied by an enquirer 285;
alphabet and specimens sent to Babur's sons 642;
_Abushqa_ account of, App. Q, lxii to lxv;
+Observance and breaches of Muh. Law+:--signs of his Sunni mind
_e.g._ 25, 44, 111, 262, 370-7, 483, 547-51-74-89-96,
in the _Mubin_ and _Walidiyyah-risala q.v._;
his orthodox reputation 711;
his heterodox seeming 354,
and arrow-sped disclaimer 361;
--his boyish obedience as to wine 302,
up to his 23rd year 299, 302-3-4;
for breach see Law and Wine;
+Writings+:--_a._ Verses in the B.N. down to 926 AH. see _infra_;
_b._ First Diwan 402;*
perhaps containing the _Abushqa_ quotations 438;
_c._ Diary of 925 and 926 _q.v._ AH. (probably a survival of more)
*438;
_d._ The _Mubin_ (928 AH.) 426-37-38-49;
quoted 630-31 n. 3;
_e._ Treatise on Prosody (931 AH.)
586, App. Q, lx, lxvi;
_f._ The _Walidiyyah-risala_ (935 AH.) 619-20-31 n. 3, (_tarjuma_)
642-3, App. Q, lix;
_g._ The _Hindustan Poems_ 642, App. Q;
_h._ _Rampur MS._ of 6 and 7. App. Q, referred to *438, 620 n. 6,
642 n. 3;
_i._ Diary of 932 to 936 _q.v._;
_j._ Narrative of 899 to within 914 AH. _q.v._;
+Babur's verse quoted in the Babur-nama+:--(Turki,) love-sickness
120-1;
the worldling 130;
granting a request 137;
respite from stress 148;
praise of a beloved 153;
the neglected exile 154;
isolation 156;
the New Years 236;
Fortune's cruelty 309;
? Turkman Hazara raid 312;
Spring 321;
God only is strength 337;
dealing with tribesmen 393;
greeting to absent convives 401;
message to a kinswoman 402;
his broken vow 449, 450 n.;
reply to Khw. Kalan 526;
disobedience to Law (T. & P.) 556;
Death inevitable (T. & P.) 556 (?);
the Ghazi's task 575;
to those who have left him 584;
couplet used in metrical amusement 586, App. 2, sect. 2;
fever 588;
Chandiri 596;
on his first grandson's birth 624;
_Mubin_ quoted 637;
Pagan lands 637;
pain in renunciation 648;
an invitation 683;
[Persian,] good in everything 311;
insight of Age 340;
on casting off his Shi`a seeming 361;
parting from Khw. Kalan 372;
a message 411;
satirical couplet 448;
before Panipat 470;
Biana warned 529.
See Table of Contents, _On Babur's Naming_.
+Babur Mirza+ _Arlat_, son of Muhammad-i-qasim and Rabi`a-sultan
_Miran-shahi_--his Bai-qara marriage 266.
`Abdu'l-qasim +Babur Mirza+ _Shah-rukhi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son
of Bai-sunghar--his sister 265;
his retainers Muhammad Baranduq and Mazid _q.v._;
his pleasure-house 302;
[d. 861 AH.-1457 AD.].
Baburi--a bazar-boy (905) 120.
+Badi`u'l-jamal Begim+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter
of Abu-sa`id--waited on by Babur near Agra (935) 616.
Badi`u'l-jamal +Badka Begim+ _Bai-qara_, _ut supra_, daughter of
Mansur and Firuza--particulars 257, 258;
her husband Ahmad _Haji-tarkhani_, their sons Mahmud and Bahadur
and daughter Khan-zada _q.v._
+Badi`u'z-zaman Mirza+ _Bai-qara_, _ut supra_, son of Husain and Bega
_Mervi_--serving his father against Khusrau Shah (901) 57;
defeated 61;
takes offence with his father 61, 69;
in arms and defeated by his father 69, 70;
his retort on Nawa'i (_q.v._);
goes destitute to Khusrau Shah and is well-treated 70, 130;
on Khusrau Shah's service 71;
moves with Arghun chiefs against his father (903) 95, 261;
gives Babur no help against Shaibani (906) 138;
his co-operation sought by his father (910) 190, 191;
takes refuge with his father 243;
has fear for himself (911) 292-3;
joint-ruler in Heri 293;
concerts and abandons action against Shaibani (912) 296-7, 301;
his social relations with Babur 297, 8, 9, 300, 2, 4;
courteous to Babur as a non-drinker 303;
a false report of him in Kabul (912) 313;
irresolute against Shaibani (913) 326;
his army defeated 275, 327;
abandons his family and flees (1) to Shah Beg _Arghun_,
(2) to Isma`il _Safawi_ 327;
captured in Tabriz by Sultan Salim _Rumi_ (920) and dies
in Constantinople (923) 327 n. 5;
a couplet on his name 201-2;
musicians compete in his presence 291;
his host-facility 304;
his son Muhammad-i-zaman, his begs Jahangir _Barlas_ and Zu'n-nun
_Arghun q.v._.; joined by Sayyidim _Darban_ _q.v_;
his College in Heri 306; [d. 923 AH.-1517 AD.].
Sayyid +Badr+--particulars 276;
safe-guards Mahmud _Miran-shahi_ 46-7;
seen by Babur in Herat (912) 299;
(see H.S. lith. ed. iii, 233).
+Badru'd-din+--particulars 278;
his friend Baba `Ali _q.v._;
his son (?) receives Kachwa (934) 590.
Maulana +Badru'd-din+ _Hilali_, _Chaghatai_--particulars 290;
his poet-daughter 286 n. 1;
[d. 939 AH.-1532-3 AD.].
+Bahadur Khan+ _Sarwani_--Babur halts at his tomb (935) 686.
+Bahadur Khan+ _Gujrati_, _Tank Rajput_--ill-received by Ibrahim
_Ludi_ (932);
exchanges friendly letters with Babur 534;
becomes Shah in Gujrat 535;
is given the Khilji jewels 613 n. 1;
[d. 943 AH.-1547 AD.].
+Bahjat Khan+ (or Bihjat), a Governor of Chandiri--Babur halts near his
tank (934) 592, 594.
+Bai-qara Mirza+ _`Umar-shaikhi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, grandson of
Timur--mentioned in a genealogy 256;
a grandson `Abdu'l-lah _Andikhudi_ _q.v._
+Bai-qara Mirza+ _`Umar-shaikhi_, _ut supra_, son of Mansur and
Firuza--particulars 257;
his brother Husain, and sons Wais and Iskandar _q.v._
+Bairam Beg+[2887]-- -> reinforces Babur from Balkh (918) 359;
serving Najm _Sani_ 360.
+Bairam Khan+ _Baharlu-Qara-quiluq Turkman_ (Akbar's Khan-i-khanan),
son of Saif-`ali--his ancestry 91 n. 3, 109 n. 5 (where for
"father" read "grandfather");
-> mention of a witness of his assassination 348;
quotation of his remarks on Hasan Khan _Mewati_ 523 n. 3;
[d. 968 AH.-1561 AD.].
+Bairam-sultan Begim+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter of
Husain and Mingli--particulars 266;
her husband `Abdu'l-lah _Andikhudi_, their son Barka _q.v._
+Bai-sunghar Mirza+ _Miran-shahi_, _ut supra_, son of Mahmud
and Pasha--particulars 47, 110-112;
succeeds in Samarkand (900) 52, 86;
withstands The Khan (Mahmud) 52;
the _khutba_ read for him in Babur's lands 52;
his man surrenders Aura-tipa 55-6;
his favouritism incites the Tarkhan rebellion (901) 38, 61;
escapes from Tarkhan imprisonment 62, 86;
defeated by his half-brother `Ali 38, 63;
prosperous (902) 65;
moves against `Ali 65;
retires before Babur 66;
at grips with him 67;
asks Shaibani's help (903) 73;
goes to Khusrau Shah 74;
made ruler in Hisar 93, 5, 6, 261;
murdered (905) 110;
his death referred to 50, 112;
his pen-name `Adili 111;
his sister's marriage 41;
his brother Mas`ud, his guardian Ayub _q.v._;
[d. 905 AH.-1499 AD.].
+Bai-sunghar Mirza+ _Shah-rukhi Timurid_, son of Shah-rukh--his servant
Yusuf _Andijani_ 4;
[d. 837 AH.-1433-4 AD.].
+Balkhi+ _faliz-kari_--grows melons in Agra (935) 686.
+Baltu+--rescues Khalifa's son Muhibb-i-`ali (933) 550.
Mulla +Bana'i+--Maulana Jamalu'd-din _Bana'i_--in Khwaja Yahya's service
and seen by Babur (901) 64,
in Shaibani's (906) 136,
in Babur's 64, 136;
particulars 286-7;
given the Heri's authors to loot (913) 328;
Babur recalls a joke of his (935) 648;
two of his quatrains quoted 137;
his musical composition 286, 292;
[murdered 918 AH. -1512 AD.].
+Banda-i-`ali+, _darogha_ of Karnan--pursues Babur from Akhsi (908)
178-9, 180, 181.
+Banda-i-`ali+ _Yaragi Mughul_, son of Haidar Kukuldash--sent
to reinforce Babur (904) 101;
in the van at Sar-i-pul (906) 139;
his mistimed zeal (908) 176;
his son-in-law Qasim Beg quchin _q.v._
+Baqi Beg+ _Chaghaniani_, _Qibchaq Turk_--his influence on Mas`ud
_Miran-shahi_ (901) 57, (903) 95;
defends Hisar for him (901) 58;
acts against him (902) 71;
joins Babur (910) 48, 188-9;
advises sensibly 190, 197;
leaves his family with Babur's 191;
dislikes Qambar-i-`ali _Silakh_ 192;
helps his brother Khusrau to make favourable terms with Babur 192-3;
quotes a couplet on seeing Suhail 195;
his Mughuls oppose Khusrau 197;
mediates for Muqim _Arghun_ (910) 199;
Babur acts on his advice 230-1, 239, (911) 246, 249;
particulars 249-50;
dismissed towards Hindustan 250;
killed on his road 231, 251;
his son Muhammad-i-qasim and grandson(?) Ahmad-i-qasim _q.v._;
[d. 911 AH.-1505-6 AD.].
+Baqi+ _Gagiani Afghan_--his caravan through the Khaibar (911) 250.
+Baqi+ (_khiz_)_hiz_--opposes Babur (908) 174, 396.
Khwaja +Baqi+, son of Yahya son of Ahrari--murdered 128;
[d. 906 AH.-1500 AD.].[2888]
+Baqi Beg+ _Tashkindi_, _shaghawal_ and (later) _ming-bashi_
(= _hazari_)--sent to Balkh with promise of head-money (932) 463,
546;
on service (934) 590, 601, 2;
reports from Aud (Oudh) (935) 679;
on service with the Aud (Oudh) army 684, 5;
leave given him for home 685.
+Baqi Tarkhan+, _Arghun Chingiz-khanid_, son of `Abdu'l-`ali and
a daughter of Aurdu-bugha--particulars 38, 40;
consumes the Bukhara revenues (905) 121;
defeated by Shaibani 124;
occupies Qarshi (qy. Kesh) (906) 135;
plans to join Babur 138;
goes to Shaibani and dies in misery 40.
+Baraq Khan+, _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_--mentioned in the genealogy
of Yunas 19.
+Baraq Sultan+ _Auzbeg-Shaiban Chingiz-khanid_, son of Siunjuk--at Jam
(934) 622.
Sayyid +Barka+ _Andikhudi_, Timur's exhumation of his body 266 n. 4.
Sayyid +Barka+ _Andikhudi_, descendant of the last-entered, son of
`Abdu'l-lah--particulars 266;
serving Babur (917) 266.
+Bar-mal+ _Idri_--his force at Kanwa (933) 562.
+Ba-sa`id+ _Tarkhani_, see Abu-sa`id _Tarkhani_.
+Basant Rao+--killed by (Baba Qashqa's brother?) Kuki in the battle of
the Ghogra 673;
[d. 935 AH.-1529 AD.].
+Batalmius+ (Ptolemy)--mentioned as constructor of an observatory 79.
Sultan +Bayazid+[2889]--urges attack on the Afridi (925) 411, 412.
Shaikh +Bayazid+, _Farmuli Afghan_--acts for his dead brother
Mustafa[2890] (932) 527;
waits on Babur and receives Aud (Oudh) 527;
on service 530;
in Aud (933) 544;
his loyalty tested (934) 589;
with Biban, opposing Babur 594, 598-601, 2, (935) 638;
serving Mahmud _Ludi_ against Babur 652, 673;
Babur resolves to crush him and Biban 677-8;
mentioned 679, 692;
takes Luknur(?) 681, App. T;
action continued against him 681, 2, 5;
his comrade Biban _q.v._;
[d. 937 AH.-1531 AD.].
Shaikh +Bayazid+ _Itarachi Mughul_, brother of Ahmad Tambal--holding
Akhsi for Jahangir (908) 170;
sends a force against Pap 171;
receives Babur in Akhsi 171-2;
made prisoner against Babur's wish 173;
escapes 175;
reported as sending Yusuf _darogha_ to Babur's hiding-place 182.
+Bega Begim (1)+, _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter of
Husain and Payanda--particulars 266;
[d before Husain 911 AH.-1505 AD.].
+Bega Begim (2)+, _Miran-shahi ut supra_, daughter of Aulugh Beg
_Kabuli_--her marriage with Muhammad Ma`sum _Bai-qara_ (902) 264.
+Bega Begim (3)+, _Miran-shahi ut supra_, daughter of Mahmud and
Khan-zada II--betrothed to Haidar _Bai-qara_ (901) 48, 61, 263;
married (903) 48;
their child 263.
+Bega Begim (4)+, _Shah-rukhi ut supra_, daughter of Bai-sunghar
(_Shah-rukhi_)--her grandson's marriage 265.
+Bega Begim (5)+,--Haji Begim--daughter of Yadgar Taghai, wife of
Humayun--her son Al-aman _q.v._
+Bega Begim (6)+,--"the Bibi"--, see Mubarika.
+Bega Sultan Begim+ _Mervi_, wife of Husain _Bai-qara_--particulars
261, 7, 8;
divorced 268;
her son Badi`u'z-zaman _q.v._;
[893 AH.-1488 AD.].
Wais _Laghari's_ +Beg-gina+,--brings Babur news of Al-aman's birth
(935) 621, 4.[2891]
The +Begims+, Babur's paternal aunts--waited on by him 301, 616, 686.
+Begim Sultan+, see Sa`adat-bakht.
+Begi Sultan Aghacha+, _ghunchachi_ of Husain _Bai-qara_--particulars
269.
+Beg Mirak+ _Mughul_--brings Babur good news (932) 466;
on service (933) 548.
+Beg Mirak+ _Turkman_, a beg of the Chiras (Mughul) _tuman_--acts for
Yunas Khan 191;
[d. 832 AH.-1428-9 AD.].
+Beg Tilba+ _Itarachi Mughul_, brother of Ahmad Tambal--induces
the Khan (Mahmud) not to help Babur (903) 91, (905) 115;
his light departure perplexes his brother 116;
invites Shaibani into Farghana (908) 172.
+Bhupat Rao+, son of Salahu'd-din--killed at Kanwa 573;
[d. 933 AH.-1527 AD.].
+Bian Shaikh+ (Biyan)--his rapid journeys 621, 624;
brings news of the battle of Jam (935) 622, 623 n. 3;
the source of his news 624 n. 1;
hurried back 624, 627.
+Bian-quli+--his son Khan-quli _q.v._
Malik +Biban+ _Jilwani_?[2892] _Afghan_--deserts `Alam Khan _Ludi_
(932) 457 and n. 2;
writes dutifully to Babur 464;
is presuming at an audience 466;
deserts Babur 468, 528;
is defeated 528-9;
with Bayazid, besieges Luknur (933) 582;
defeats Babur's troops 594, 598;
opposes Babur in person (934) 598-601;
referred to as a rebel (935) 638;
serving Mahmud _Ludi_ 652, 675;
Babur resolves to crush him 677-8;
mentioned 679 n. 7, 692;
takes Luknur(?) 681, App. T;
action taken against him 681, 2, 5;
his constant associate Bayazid _Farmuli_ _q.v._
Muhammad Shah, +Bihar Khan+ _Bihari_, _Nuhani Afghan_, son of Darya
Khan--declared independent in Bihar (932) 523;
particulars 664;
his widow Dudu and son Jalal _q.v._;
[d. 934 AH.-1527 AD.].
+Bihar Khan+ _Ludi_ (or Pahar Khan),[2893] a Panj-ab amir of Ibrahim
Ludi's in 930 AH.--[2894] defeated by Babur (930) 208, 441 (where
add "or Pahar"), 578;
a chronogram which fixes the date 575.
+Bihjat+, see Bahjat.
+Bih-bud Beg+--particulars 277, App. H, and Additional Notes under
p. 277.
Ustad Kamalu'd-din +Bih-zad+--particulars 291;
his training due to Nawa'i 272;
is instructed in drawing by Shaibani (913) 329.
+Raja of Bijanagar+ (Vijayanagar)--mentioned as ruling in 932 AH. 483.
+Raja Bikam-deo+, named in the Hindustan Revenue List.
+Raja Bikam-chand+, _ut supra_.
+Raja Bikramajit+, _ut supra_.
+Bi-khub Sultan+ (var. Ni- or Nai-khub)? _Auzbeg-Shaiban_--on Babur's
service (934) 589, 602, (935) 651, 682;
in the battle of the Ghogra 669.
Rana +Bikramajit+, son of Sanga and Padmawati--negotiations for him
with Babur (934) -> 603, 612, (935) 612-3, 615, 616;
pact made with him 616-7;
possessor of Khilji jewels 613;
his mother Padmawati and her kinsman Asuk Mal _q.v._
Raja +Bikramajit+ _Gualiari_, _Tunwar Rajput_--his ancestral fortress
477;
his Koh-i-nur (932) 477;
his buildings 607-610 and nn.;
his palace Babur's quarters (935) 607;
his death (932) 477;
[d. 932 AH.-1526 AD.].
Raja +Bikramajit+ (Vikramaditya)--his Observatory and Tables 79.
+Birim Deo+ _Malinhas_--on Babur's service (932) 462.
Raja +Bir-sing Deo+--named in the Revenue List (935) 521;
his force at Kanwa (933) 562;
serving Babur 639.
Khalifa's +Bishka+(?)--a woman who leaves Samarkand with Babur's mother
(907) 147.
+Bishka Mirza+ _Itarachi Mughul_--brings and receives gifts (925) 415,
416.
+Brethren of Babur+--removal of their opposition to his aim on
Hindustan 478.
+Buhlul-i-ayub+ _Begchik_, son of Ayub--Babur warned against him
(910) 190;
joins Babur 196;
his misconduct 241, (911) 254.
Sultan +Buhlul+, +Sahu-khail Ludi+, _Afghan_--grandfather of Ibrahim
463;
his treasure 470;
his tomb visited by Babur 476;
his capture of Junpur and Dihli 481;
his sons Sikandar and `Alau'u'd-din _q.v._;
[d. 894 AH.-1488 AD.].
Pahlawan +Buhlul+, _tufang-andazi_--receives gifts (935) 633.
+Bujka+, a household bravo--on Babur's service (932) 458, 474, 534,
(933) 545;
his success at Biana 547.
Malik +Bu Khan+ _Dilah-zak (Dilazak) Afghan_--receives gifts from Babur
(925) 394;
brings tribute 409.
+Buran Sultan+ _Auzbeg-Shaiban_--his marriage with `Ayisha-sultan
_Bai-qara_ 267;
their son `Abdu'l-lah _q.v._
Shaikh +Burhanu'd-din `Ali Qilich+, _Marghinani_, author of
the _Hidayat_--his birthplace Rashdan 7;
a descendant 29, 89;
[d. 593 AH.-1197 AD.].
Malik +Bu-sa`id+ _Kamari_--a guide (910) 230, 231;
doubted 233.
+Chaghatai Khan+, second son of Chingiz Khan--his _yurt_
(camping-ground) occupied by his descendant Yunas 12;
mentioned in the genealogy of Yunas 19;
[d. 638 AH.-1241 AD.].
+Chaku+ _Barlas_, one of Timur's noted men--an ancestor of Muhammad
Baranduq 270;
descent of his line to Akbar's day 270 n. 2.
Rai +Chandraban+, _Chauhan Rajput_--killed at Kanwa (933) 573;
[d. 933 AH.-1527 A.D.].
+Chapuq+ (Slash-face), see Ibrahim _Begchik_.
Sultan Ahmad +Char-shamba+--unhorses Muhammad Mumin[2895] _Bai-qara_
(902) 71;
coincident occurrences of "Char-shamba" 71.
Isma`il +Chilma+ (or Chalma), son of Ibrahim _Jani_--writes particulars
of the battle of Jam (935) 624.
+Chilma+ _Mughul_ (or Chalma)--in the centre at Qandahar (913) 335;
rebels in Kabul (914) 345.
+Chilma+ _taghchi Mughul_ (? shoeing-smith)--in the centre at Qandahar
(913) 335.
+Chingiz Khan+ _Mughul_--counted back to in Yunas Khan's genealogy
12, 19;
his capture of Samarkand (619 AH.-1222 AD.) 75;
referred to concerning the name Qarshi 84;
his Rules (_Tura_) 155, 298;
[d. 624 AH.-1227 AD.].
+Chin+ _Sufi_--defends Khwarizm for Husain _Bai-qara_ against Shaibani
(910) 242 n. 3, 244;
killed in the surrender 255-6;
[d. 911 AH.-1505-6 AD.].
+Chin-timur Sultan+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_, son of Ahmad--mentioned
_s.a._ 912 as serving Babur 318;
succeeds against Ibrahim _Ludi's_ advance (932) 467;
in the right centre at Panipat 472,
and at Kanwa (933) 565, 568 n. 3;
rewarded 527, 578-9;
on service (933) 540;
at Chandiri (934) 590;
pursues Biban and Bayazid 601, 602;
in command against Baluchis (935) 638, 676;
met on a journey 639;
writes of loss of reinforcement 675;
ordered to Agra 676;
waits on Babur 688;
his brothers Mansur, Aisan-timur, Tukhta-bugha, Sa`id, Khalil
_q.v._;
[d. 936 AH.-1530 AD.].
+Chiqmaq Beg+--sent on road-surveyor's work (935) 629-30;
the _Mubin_ quoted in connection with his orders 630;
his clerk Shahi _q.v._
+Chirkas qizlar+ (Circassian girls), see Gulnar and Nar-gul.
+Chuli Begim+, _Azaq Turkman_--particulars 265, 268;
her husband Husain _Bai-qara_ and their daughter Sultanim _q.v._;
[dbefore 911 AH.-1505 AD.].
+Damachi+ _Mughul_--in the centre at Qandahar (913) 335.
+Dankusi+ var. Nigarsi--killed at Kanwa 573;
[d. 933 AH.-1527 AD.].
+Darwesh-i-`ali+--serving Humayun in Sambhal (934) 587.
+Darwesh-i-`ali Beg+ _Chaghatai_, brother of Nawa'i--particulars 275;
in Babur's service (916) 275 and (917) 277;
his poet-wife Apaq Bega _q.v._
+Darwesh-i-`ali+ _piada_ and, later, _tufang-andaz_--takes news
of Hind-al's birth to Babur (925) 385.
+Darwesh-i `Ali Sayyid+ _Mughul_--in the centre at Qandahar (913) 335.
+Darwesh Beg Tarkhan+, _Arghun_--particulars 39;
[d. 895 AH.-1490 AD.].
+Darwesh Gau+ _Andijani_--put to death as seditious (899) 30.
Shaikh +Darwesh Kukuldash+ _qur-begi_--at a household-party (906) 131;
his death, successor in office, and avengeance 251, 253;
[d. 911 AH.-1505-6 AD.].
+Darwesh-i-muhammad+ _Fazli_--defeated (910) 241;
degraded for not supporting a comrade (925) 405.
+Darwesh-i-muhammad Sarban+--Mirza Khan's envoy to Babur (925) 402;
a non-drinker not pressed to disobey 406;
replaces a china cup 407;
enters Babur's service 408;
over-pressed to break the Law 410;
eats a strange fruit 410-1;
at ma`jun-parties 412, (935) 683;
asks a fruitful question (932) 470-1;
in the right-centre at Pani-pat 472 and at Kanwa (933) 565;
recals a vow to Babur 553;
in the battle of the Ghogra (935) 673.
+Darwesh-i-muhammad Tarkhan+ _Arghun Chingiz-khanid_--particulars 38;
envoy to the Andijan begs (899) 31;
his part in the Tarkhan rebellion (901) 62;
his death 38, 63;
his relationship to Miran-shahis 13 n. 5, 33, 38, and his kinsman
`Abdu'l-`ali _q.v._;
[d. 901 AH.-1496 AD.].
+Darwesh Sultan+ (_? Chaghatai_)--on Babur's service (934) 599.
+Darya Khan+ _Turk_, son of Mir (Shaikh) `Ali Beg--particulars 382; his
sons Yar-i-husain and Hasan _q.v._
+Darya Khan+ _Nuhani_, _Afghan_--his sons Saif Khan and Bihar Khan, his
grandson Jalal _q.v._
Mulla +Daud+--killed serving Babur 549;
[d. 933 AH.-1527 AD.].
Sayyid +Daud+ _Garm-seri_--receives gifts (935) 633.
+Daud Khan+ _Ludi_--defeated by Babur's troops (932) 467-8.
+Daud+ _Sarwani_, see Rawu'i _Sarwani_.
+Daulat Khan+, _Yusuf-khail Ludi_, _Afghan_, son of Tatar--is given
Bhira _etc._ 382, 383;
concerning his lands, Author's Note 383;
-> a principal actor from 926 to 932 AH. 428;
dreads Ibrahim _Ludi_ 439;
-> proffers allegiance to Babur (929?) 439, 440;
-> his gift of an Indian fruit decides Babur to help him 440,
503 n. 6;
-> his action causes the return to Kabul of Babur's fourth expedition
into Hindustan 442;
his strength and action 443-4;
his rumoured attack on Lahor (932) 451, 453;
negotiates with `Alam Khan (931?) 455-6;
loses Milwat to Babur (932) 459;
his death 461;
his sons `Ali, Apaq, Dilawar _q.v._;
his relations with Nanak 461 n. 3;
[d. 932 AH.-1526 A.D.].
+Daulat-i-muhammad Kukuldash+, see Qutluq-i-muhammad.
+Daulat-qadam ?+--his son Mir Mughul _q.v._
+Daulat-shah+ _Isfarayini_, author of the _Tazkiratu'sh-shu`ara_--at
Tazkir`atu'sh the battle of Chikman-sarai (876) 46 n. 2;
[d. 895 AH.-1490 AD.?].
+Daulat-sultan Khanim+, _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_, daughter of Yunas
Khan and Shah Begim--particulars 24;
her long family separation (907) 149;
meets her brother Ahmad (908) 159;
married as a captive by Timur _Auz-beg_ (909) 24;
rejoins Babur (917) _ib._ and 358 n. 1;
letters from her reach Babur (925) 409;
sends letters and gifts to him (932) 446.
+Dawa Khan+, _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_---mentioned in Yunas Khan's
genealogy 19;
[d. 706 +AH.+-1306-7 AD.].
+Dejal+, the false Messiah 563 n. 1.
+Deo Sultan?+, see Div.
Raja +Dharmankat+ _Gualiari_--stirs trouble (933) 539;
lays siege to Gualiar 557.
+Dharm-deo+--his force at Kanwa (933) 562.
+Dilawar Khan+ _Yusuf-khail Ludi_, _Afghan_, son of Daulat
Khan-- -> ill-received by Ibrahim _Ludi_ (929?) 439;
-> goes to Kabul to ask help from Babur 439-40;
imprisoned by his father (931) 442, 443;
escapes and joins `Alam Khan 455, 456;
joins Babur 457, 461;
location of his mother's family 462;
does not sit in Babur's presence 466;
entrusted by Babur with care for the corpse of Ibrahim _Ludi_ 474
n. 1;
in the right wing at Kanwa (933) 567 (here styled Khan-i-khanan);
[d. 946 AH.-1539 AD.].
+Dil-dar Begim+ (? Salha-sultan 3rd daughter of Mahmud _Miran-shahi_
and Pasha), wife of Babur--her unborn child forcibly adopted (925)
347,
and App. L;
her son Alwar (Alur)'s death (935) 689 n. 5;
particulars 712-4;
her sons Hind-al and Alur, her daughters Gul-rang, Gul-chihra and
Gul-badan _q.v._
+Dilpat Rao+--killed at Kanwa 573;
[d. 933 AH.-1527 AD.].
+Div Sultan+ _Rumlu_ (or Deo)--recaptures Balkh (cir. 919) 363;
particulars 635 n. 2;
his servant describes the battle of Jam (935) 635-6.
+Diwa Hindu+, son of Siktu--waits on Babur in Bhira (925) 382;
made prisoner and ransomed 399.
+Diwana+ _jama-baf_--put to retaliatory death 73;
[d. 903 AH.-1497 AD.].
+Baba Dost+--put in charge of Humayun's Trans-Indus district (925) 391;
conveys wine to Babur's camp (933) 551 (here _suchi_).[2896]
+Dost+, son of Muhammad Baqir--drunk (925) 415.
+Dost-anju+?[2897] +Shaikh+, son of Baba `Ali--left in charge of Ghazni
(911) 307.
+Dost Beg+ _Mughul_, son of Baba Qashqa and brother (p. 588) of Shah
Muhammad--at a social gathering and sent to Bhira 388
(here _muhrdar_);
made a _diwan_ (932) 476;
in charge of Biana (933) 539 and made its _shiqdar_ 579
(here Lord-of-the Gate);
in the right centre at Kanwa 565, 569;
waits on Babur 581;
pursues rebels (934) 601 (here Dost-i-muhammad);
in the battle of the Ghogra (935) 673;
for his kinsmen see _s.n._ Baba Qashqa.
Khwaja +Dost-i-khawand+--lets himself down over the wall of Qandahar
(913) 343;
at boat-parties (925) 385, 388;
comes from Kabul to Agra (933) 544;
in the left-centre at Kanwa 565;
-> sent on Babur's family affairs to Humayun in Badakhshan (934) 603;
delayed in Kabul till Kamran's arrival 618 and nn. 2-6;
his letters reach Babur (935) 618.
+Dost-kildi+ _Mughul_--in the centre at Qandahar (913) 335.
+Dost-i-nasir Beg+--Dost Beg--(Nasir's Dost), son of Nasir--enters
Babur's service (904) 103;
on service (906) 131, (908) 163, 165;
one of three standing by Babur 166, 167, 396;
with him at Akhsi 174, 396;
one of the eight in the flight 177, 396;
at the recapture of Kabul (912) 315;
in the left centre at Qandahar (913) 335, 338;
at Tashkint (918) -> 356 n. 1, -> 358, 396-7;
opposing rebels (921) -> 364, 397;
leading the left at Bajaur (925) 368 (here first styled Beg), 369,
370, 397;
his revenue work 384;
at wine parties 387, 388;
at Parhala 390;
attacked by fever 394;
his death and his burial at Ghazni 395-6;
his brother Mirim _q.v._;
particulars 395-7;
[d. 925 AH.-1519 AD.].
+Dost+ _Sar-i-puli_, _piada_ and (later) _kotwal_--attacks Babur
blindly (912) 316-7;
wounded (913) 324;
[d. 913 AH.-1507 AD.].
+Dost-i-yasin-khair+--wrestles well with eight in successive
(935) 653; 656.
+Dudu Bibi+, widow of Bihar Khan _Bihari_--news of her bringing her
son to Babur (935) 664;
encouraging letters sent to her 665;
Sher Khan _Sur _her co-guardian for her son 664 n. 2;
her son Jalalu'd-din _Nuhani_ _q.v._
+Faghfur Diwan+--on service (933) 551;
his servants sent for fruit to Kabul (935) 687.
Hai. MS. reads Maghfur.
+Fajji+ _Gagiani_, _Afghan_--guides Babur's first passage of
the Khaibar (910) 229.
+Fakhru'n-nisa'+, daughter of Babur and `Ayisha--died an infant 35-6,
136;
[d. 906 AH.-1500-1 AD.].
+Faqi-i-`ali+--reprieved (914) 345; with Babur and left in charge of
Balkh (923) 463;
-> left in charge of Qila`i-zafar by Humayun (936) 695.
+Farid Khan+ _Nuhani_, _Afghan_, son of Nasir--writes dutifully
to Babur (935) 659.
+Faridun+, (an ancient Shah of Persia)--mentioned in a verse 85.
+Faridun-i-husain Mirza+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, son of Husain and
Mingli--particulars 263, 269;
[d. 915 AH.-1509 AD.].
+Faridun+ _qabuzi_--summoned by Babur (935) 617.
Mulla +Farrukh+--placed on Babur's left at a feast (935) 631;
gifts made to him 632.
+Farrukh+ _Arghun_--surrenders Qalat-i-ghilzai to Babur (911) 248-9.
Mirza +Farrukh+ _Aughlaqchi_, son of Hasan--mentioned for his qualities
279.
+Farrukh-i-husain Mirza+, _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son
of Husain and Papa--particulars 264;
[d. 915 AH.-1509 AD.].
+Farrukh-zad Beg+--Babur dismounts in his garden at Qandahar (913) 337.
+Faruq+, son of Babur and Mahim--his birth (932) announced to Babur
(933) 536, 689 n. 5;
[933 AH.-1526-7 AD.].
+Fath Khan+ _Sarwani_ Khan-i-jahan, son of `Azim-humayun--is escorted
to Babur (932) 534;
well-received (933) 537;
his hereditary title superseded _ib._;
invited to a wine-party _ib._;
serving Mahmud _Ludi_ (935) 652;
his son Mahmud _q.v._;
? a kinsman Daud _q.v._
+Fatima-sultan Agha+ _Mughul_--first wife of `Umar Shaikh _Miran-shahi_
17, 24;
their son Jahangir _q.v._
+Fatima-sultan Begim+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter
of Husain and Mingli--particulars 266;
her husband Yadgar-i-farrukh _Miran-shahi_ _q.v._;
[dbefore 911 AH.-1505 AD.].
+Fazil Kukuldash+--serving Shah Beg _Arghun_ (910) 238;
-> a good account of him named 443;
his death a crushing grief to Shah Beg _ib._;
[d. 930 AH.-1514 AD.].
+Fazil Tarkhan+--a Turkistan merchant created a Tarkhan by Shaibani,
[Author's Note] 133;
his death _ib._;
[906 AH.-1500 AD.].
+Fazli+, see Darwesh-i-muhammad.
+Ferdinand the Catholic+--his action in 1504 (910 AH.) 187
n. 2 (Erskine).
+Firuza Begim+ _Qanjut_, wife of Mansur _Bai-qara_ her Timurid
ancestry 256;
her children Bai-qara (II), Husain, Aka and Badka _q.v._;
[d. 874 AH.-1469-70 AD.].
+Firuz Khan+ _Mewati_--reprieved (932) 477-8.
+Firuz Khan+, _Sarang-khani_, _Afghan_--on Ibrahim _Ludi's_ service
527;
waits on Babur (932) 527, and on his service 530.
Sultan +Firuz Shah+, _Tughluq Turk_--his servants' dynasties 481, 482;
his relations with the rulers of Malwa 482 (where in n. 3 for
"Gujrat" read Malwa);
[d. 790 AH.-1388 AD.].
+Firuz Shah Beg+--his grandson `Abdu'l-khaliq _q.v._
+Gadai+ _Balal_--rejoins Babur (913) 330-1.
+Gadai+ _bihjat_--misbehaves (925) 414.
+Gadai Taghai+--shares a confection (925) 375;
at social gatherings 385, 7, 8, 400, 412;
rides carrying a full pitcher 386;
out with Babur 404;
removes a misbehaving namesake 414.
+Gauhar-shad Begim+, wife of Shah-rukh _Timurid_--Babur visits her
college and tomb (912) 305;
[d. 861 AH.-1457 AD.].
+Gauhar-shad Begim+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter
of Abu-sa`id--visited by Babur (935) 616.
Mir +Gesu+--finds chronogram identical with Shaikh Zain's 575.
Apaq +Ghazi Khan+ _Turk_, son of Mir (Shaikh) `Ali Beg--particulars
382;
his brothers Baba Kabuli and Darya Khan, his son `Ali and his
relation Nazar-i-`ali _Turk_ _q.v._
Apaq +Ghazi Khan+ _Yusuf-khail Ludi Afghan_, son of
Daulat Khan-- -> arrested by Babur (930) 442;
moves against Babur (932) 451, 453;
not trusted 455;
agrees to help `Alam Khan 455-6;
receives him ill on defeat 457-8;
pursued for Babur 458, 460, 461, 462, 463;
Babur's reproach for his abandonment of his family 460-1;
his forts in the Dun 462;
his library less valuable than was expected by Babur 460;
his kinsman Haji Khan and his own son 465.
+Ghiyas+, a buffoon 400 (where erroneously Ghias).
Mir +Ghiyas+, building entrusted to him (935) 642.
Mir +Ghiyas Taghai+ _Kunji Mughul_, brother of `Ali-dost--particulars
28;
enters the Khan (Mahmud)'s service (899) 28, 32;
[d before 914 AH.-1507-8 AD.].
Amir +Ghiyasu'd-din+, -> patron of Khwand-amir and supposed ally
of Babur--killed in Herat (927) 432.
+Ghiyasu'd-din+, nephew of Khwand-amir-- -> conveys the keys of Qandahar
to Babur (928) 432, 435, 436.
Sultan +Ghiyasu'd-din+ _Balban_--Babur visits his tomb (932) 475;
[d 686 AH.-1287 AD.].
+Ghiyasu'd-din+ _qurchi_--takes campaigning orders to Junaid _Barlas_
(935) 628;
returns to Court 636;
takes orders to the Eastern amirs 638.
+Ghulam-i-`ali+--returns from taking Babur's three articles to Nasrat
Shah (935) 676.
+Ghulam bacha+, a musician--heard by Babur in Herat (912) 303.
+Ghulam-i-shadi+, a musician--particulars 292;
his younger brother Ghulam bacha _q.v._
Mulla +Ghulam+ _Yasawal_--makes an emplacement for the Ghazi mortar
(935) 670;
sent to collect the Bihar tribute 676.
Ghuri _Barlas_--on Babur's service (905) 125;
in the left wing at Qandahar (913) 334;
wounded 336;
[d. 919 AH.-1513 AD.].
+Gujur Khan+--ordered on service (935) 638.
+Gul-badan Begim+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter
of Babur and Dil-dar-- -> her birth (929 or 930) and her book
(_cir._ 995) 441;
her journey to Agra (935) 650 n. 2;
-> her parentage 712;
[d. 1011 AH.-1603 AD.].
+Gul-barg+ _Barlas Turk_, daughter of Khalifa-- -> betrothed(?) to Shah
Hasan _Arghun_ (924-5) 366;
-> married (930) 443.
+Gul-chihra Begim+, full sister of Gul-badan _supra_--her marriage with
Tukhta-bugha _Chaghatai_ 705 n. 1, 708;
her parentage 712;
-> perhaps the mother of Salima _Chaqaniani_ 713.
+Gul-rang Begim+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter
of Babur and Dil-dar-- -> born in Khwast (920) 363;
-> married to Aisan-timur _Chaghatai_ (937) 705 n. 1, 708;
parentage 712.
+Gul-rukh Begim+ _Begchik_, wife of Babur-- -> with Babur on the
Trans-oxus campaign (916-20) 358;
particulars 712;
her sons Kamran and `Askari and her brother(?) Sultan `Ali Mirza
Taghai _q.v._
Mirak +Gur+ _diwan_ (or Kur) captured by Shaibani (913) 328.
Shaikh Abu'l-fath +Guran+ (G'huran)--serving Babur (932) 526, 528-9,
(933) 539, 567, (934) 590;
in the right wing at Kanwa (933) 567;
host to Babur in Kul (Koel) (934) 587;
takes lotus-seeds to him 666;
sends him grapes (935) 686;
given Gualiar (936) 688, 690;
-> holds it till Babur's death 692 n. 1.
+Habiba-sultan Begim+ _Arghun_, wife of Ahmad
_Miran-shahi_--particulars 36, 37;
arranges her daughter Ma`suma's marriage with Babur (912) 306,
(913) 330.
+Habiba-sultan Khanish+ _Dughlat_, daughter of Muhammad Husain
and Khub-nigar _Chaghatai_--her marriages 21-2;
depends on Babur (917) 22.
+Hafiz Haji+, a musician--heard by Babur in Heri (912) 303.
+Hafiz+ _kabar-katib_--his brother conveys Babur's earliest Diwan to
Samarkand (925) 482;
at a feast (935) 631, 632.
+Hafiz Mirak+--composes an inscription (913) 343.
+Hafiz-i-muhammad Beg+ _Duldai Barlas_--particulars 25;
in Aura-tipa (893) 17, 25;
-> joint-guardian of Mirza Khan (905) 25, 122;
his death 26;
his sons Muhammad _miskin_ and Tahir _q.v._;
his (?) Char-bagh 108;
[d_cir._ 909-10 AH.-1504 AD.].
Khwaja Shamsu'd-din Muhammad +Hafiz+ _Shirazi_--parodied (910) 201;
[d. 791 AH.-1389 AD.].
+Hafiz+ _Tashkindi_--gifts made to him (935) 632.
+Haibat Khan+ _karg-andaz_, _Hindustani_--leaves Babur (933) 557.
+Haibat Khan+ _Samana'i_-- -> perhaps the provider of matter to fill
the _lacuna_ of 936 AH., 693.
Mulla +Haidar+--his sons `Abdu'l-minan and Mumin _q.v._
+Haidar+ _`Alamdar_--on Babur's service (925) 383, (926) 421.
+Haidar-`ali Sultan+ _Bajauri_--obeys custom in testing his dead
mother's virtue 212;
-> his Gibri fort taken by Babur (924) 366, 7, 8.
+Haidar Kukuldash+ _Yaragi Mughul_, Mahmud Khan's "looser and
binder"--defeated 35, (900) and killed 52, 111-2;
his garden 54;
his son Banda-i-`ali and a descendant (?) Husain _Yaraji_ _q.v._
+Haidar-Mirza+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of Husain
and Payanda-sultan--his Miran-shahi betrothal at Hisar (901) 48, 61;
rejoins his father opportunely (903) 261;
particulars 263;
his wife Bega _q.v._;
[d. 908 AH.-1502-3 AD.].
Muhammad +Haidar Mirza Kurkan+ _Dughlat_, author of
the _Tarikh-i-rashidi_--particulars 21-2,[2898] 348;
-> takes refuge with Babur (916) 350;
-> his first battle (917) 353;
-> ill when Kul-i-malik was fought (918) 357-8;
goes to Sa`id Khan in Kashgar 22, 362;
on Sa`id's service (933) 590, (936) 695-6;
[d. 958 AH.-1551 AD.].
+Haidar-i-qasim Beg+ _Kohbur Chaghatai_--father of Abu'l-qasim,
Ahmad-i-qasim and Quch (Quj) Beg _q.v._
+Haidar-quli+--on Auzun Hasan's service (904) 102.
+Haidar-quli+, servant of Khwaja Kalan--on service (932) 467;
mentioned by Babur in writing to the Khwaja (935) 648.
+Haidar+ _rikabdar_--stays with Babur at a crisis (903) 91;
his son Muhammad `Ali _q.v._
+Haidar+ _taqi_--his garden near Kabul 198 n. 1.
+Haji Ghazi+ _Manghit_--sent to help Babur (904) 101 where in n. 3 add
VambÈry's Note 29 to the references.
+Haji (`Ali) Khan+ _Yusuf-khail Ludi Afghan_--acting with `Alam Khan
_Ludi_ (932) 445-6-7.
+Haji piada+--killed at the Lovers'-cave 68;
[902 AH.-1497 AD.].
+Haji Pir+ _bakawal_--negociates for Husain _Bai-qara_ with the Hisar
begs (901) 61.
+Halahil+--on service (925) 391, (925) 638.
+Halwachi Tarkhan+ _Arghun_--engages Babur's left wing at Qandahar
(913) 336.
Sayyid Mir +Hamah+--gets the better of two traitors (932-3) 546;
receives head-money (933) 546;
in the right wing at Kanwa 566.
+Hamid Khan+ _Khasa-khail Sarang-khani Ludi_--opposes Babur (932) 465;
defeated by Humayun 466;
defeated (633) 540;
sent out of the way before Kanwa 547.
+Hamusi+, son of Diwa--sent to make a Hindu pact with Sanga's son
(935) 616.
Amir +Hamza+--a poem mentioned imitating that in which he is celebrated
280;
[d. 3 AH.-625 AD.].
+Hamza Beg+ _quchin_, son of Qasim and a daughter of Banda-i-`ali--his
wedding gifts to Babur on his marriage with Khalifa's daughter
(925) 400;
joins Babur on summons from Qunduz 406, 410.
+Hamza Bi+ _Mangfit Auzbeg_--defeated, when raiding, by Babur's men
(910) 195.
+Hamza Khan+, Malik of `Ali-shang--made over to the avengers of blood
(926) 425;
[d. 926 AH.-1520 AD.].
+Hamza Sultan+ _Auzbeg_--his various service 58, 59, 131;
defeated by Husain _Bai-qara_ (901) 58;
enters Babur's service 59;
given leave 64;
his Mughuls rebel against Babur (904) 105;
serving Shaibani (906) 131, 139, (910) 244;
-> holding Hisar and comes out against Babur (916) 352;
defeated at Pul-i-sangin and put to death by Babur (917) 18, 37,
262, 353;
his defeat announced to Isma`il _Safawi_ 354;
his sons in the battle of Jam (935) 622;
his sons `Abdu'l-latif and Mamaq _q.v._; his Miran-shahi wife 37;
[d. 917 AH.-1511 AD.].
+Haq-dad+, headman of Dur-nama--makes offering of his garden to Babur
(926) 420.
+Haq-nazar+--finds the body of his nephew (Nuyan) Kukuldash (907) 152.
+Haq-nazir+ _chapa_--to punish his raid, beyond the power of the Herat
Mirzas (912) 300.
+Harunu'r-rashid Khalifa+--his second son Mamun Khalifa (d. 218 AH.)
79;
[d. 193 AH.-809 AD.].
Ustad +Hasan-i-`ali+--orders given for the completion of work he had
begun in Kabul (935) 646-7.
+Hasan-i-`ali+ _Chaghatai_--receives a pargana (935) 689.
+Hasan-i-`ali+ _Jalair Chaghatai_, son of `Ali (_q.v._)--particulars
278, 286;
meets Babur (912) 299;
his poet-sister 286 n. 1;
[d. 925 AH.-1519 AD.].
Sayyid +Hasan+ _Aughlaqchi Mughul_, son of Murad--particulars 279;
serving Babur (917) 279;
his son Farrukh _q.v._;
[d. 918 AH.-1522 AD.].
+Hasan+ _Barlas_--his rough dealing with Babur (910) 194.
Shah +Hasan Beg+ _Arghun_, son of Shah (Shuja`) Beg--quarrels with his
father and goes to Babur (924) 365, -> 430;
his betrothal (?) to Gul-barg (924-6) 366 and marriage (930) 443;
in the left centre at Bajaur (925) 369;
sent to claim ancient lands of the Turks 383-4;
is successful 388;
out with Babur 395;
gifts to him _ib._ 414, 584;->
social matters 400, 7, 10, 12;
Babur sends him a quatrain 401;
(see _s.n._ Shah-zada), -> a principal actor between 930 and 932
AH. 427;
his attack on Multan 437, 442 and _s.n._ `Askari;
accedes in Sind (930) 443;
reads the _khutba_ for Babur 430;
his envoy to Babur (935) 632;
[d. 962 AH.-1555 AD.].
+Hasan+ _Chalabi_--Tahmasp _Safawi's_ envoy to Babur (935), arrives
late 631, 632 n. 3, 641;
Babur accepts excuse for his delay 649;
Babur's envoy accompanies him on his return 641;
his servant gives Babur's envoy an account of the battle of Jam 649.
+Hasan-dikcha+ of Akhsi--supports Babur (904) 101.
+Hasan-i-khalifa+, son of Nizamu'd-din `Ali--sent on service 679.
+Hasan Khan+ _Bariwal Hindustani_--leaves Babur for Sanga (933) 557.
+Hasan Khan+ _Darya-khani_, son of Darya Khan son of Mir `Ali Beg--on
service for Babur (933) 582;
in the battle of the Ghogra (935) 669;
pursuing rebels 678.
+Hasan-i-makan+, loses Kandar to Sanga (932) 529-30.
+Hasan Khan+ _Mewati_--his change of capital (930) 578;
his opposition to Babur (932) 523 and n. 3, (933) 545, 547;
his force at Kanwa 562 and death 573;
Bairam Khan's remarks on him 523 n. 3;
his son Nahar _q.v._;
[d. 933 AH.-1527 AD.].
+Hasan Nabira+, grandson of Muhammad _Sighal_--waits on Babur (902) 66;
captures his elder brother (903) 72;
leaves `Ali for Mirza Khan (905) 122;
goes as envoy (?) to Babur from Mirza Khan (925) 415;
his elder brother Muhammad Qasim Nabira _q.v._
Mulla +Hasan+ _sarraf_--given custody of gifts for Kabul (932) 525.
+Hasan+ _sharbatchi_--helps Bai-sunghar _Miran-shahi's_ escape (901)
62.
+Hasan-i-yaq`ub Beg+, son of Nuyan Beg?--particulars 26;
supports Babur (899) 30, 31;
his appointments 32;
shows disloyalty (900) 43;
his death 44;
his sobriquet Nuyan's Hasan 273;
[d. 900 AH.-1494 AD.].
Malik +Hast+ _Janjuha_--receives an envoy from Babur (925) 380;
serving Babur 380, 389;
his injuries from Hati _Kakar_ 391.
+Hati+ _Kakar_--particulars 387;
his misdeeds provoke punishment (925) 387, 9, 91;
abandons Parhala 390;
sends Babur tribute and is sent an envoy 391-2;
referred to 452.
`Abdu'l-lah +Hatifi+, nephew of Jami--particulars 288.
+Hatim+ _qurchi_--promoted to be _qur-begi_ (911) 252;
in the centre at Qandahar (913) 335.
+Hazaraspi+, see Pir-i-muhammad.
+Henry VII of England+--his _Intercursus malus_ contemporary with
910 AH. 187 n. 2.
+Henry of Navarre+-- -> his difficulties, as to creed, less than those
of Babur in 917 AH.-1511 AD., 356.
+Hilali+, see Badru'd-din _Hilali_.
Abu'l-nasir Muhammad +Hind-al Mirza+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_,
_Barlas Turk_, son of Babur and Dil-dar--his pre-natal adoption
(925) 374;
meaning of his name Hind-al 385;
gifts to him or his servants 522, (935) 633, 642;
the _Walidiyyah-risala_ and Hindustan verses sent to him 642;
under summons to Hind 645, -> 696;
-> sent by Humayun to Qila`-i-zafar (936) 695;
referred to 697;
-> waits on his father in Lahor 699;
-> his dying father's wish to see him (937) 708;
his escort of Babur's family in 946 AH. referred to 710;
[d. 958 AH.-1551 AD.].
+Hindi+--Mindi,--Mahndi, see Mahndi.
+Hindu Beg+ _quchin_--leaves `Ali _Miran-shahi_ for Mirza Khan (905)
122;
sent to raid Panj-kura (925) 374;
in Bhira 386-8;
leaves it 399;
out with Babur 403;
serving under Humayun (932) 465-6, 528-9;
in the right wing at Panipat 472 and at Kanwa (933) 566 and
n. 2, 569;
escorts Mahim from Kabul (935) 687;
sent to Sambhal _ib._;
waits on Babur _ib._ and n. 2, 689;
his mosque in Sambhal 687 n. 2.
-> +Hulaku Khan+ _Ail-khani_ (_Il-khani_)--referred to 79;
[d. 663 AH.-1264 AD.].
+Hul-hul Aniga+--a woman drinker 417.
Nasiru'd-din Muhammad +Humayun Mirza+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_,
_Barlas Turk_, son of Babur and Mahim--his birth (913) 344;
his mother's parentage 344 n. 3, -> 712-3;
death of elder brethren referred to 374;
a Trans-indus district given to him (925) 391;
carried in haste to meet his father 395;
makes a good shot 417;
prefers not to go to Lamghan (926) 421;
-> appointed to Badakhshan (927) 427;
with his father in the Trans-oxus campaign (916-20) 358;
his delay in joining the Hindustan expedition (932) 444, 446
n. 3, 447;
a desertion from him 545;
first sight of a rhinoceros 451;
books given to him at Milwat 460;
his story-teller killed _ib._;
a successful first military affair 466-7;
on service 471;
in the right wing at Panipat 472;
sent to take possession of Agra 475, 476, 526;
becomes owner of the Koh-i-nur 477;
receives Sambhal and other gifts 522, 7, 8;
appointed against the Eastern Afghans, his campaign 534, 544;
mentioned in connection with the title `Azam-humayun (933) 537;
his return to Agra 544;
his dislike of wine 545;
in the right wing at Kanwa 566, 568-9;
his departure for Kabul (and Badakhshan) 579-80;
misappropriates treasure 583, -> 695 n. 1;
a daughter born (934 or 5) 618;
his father's messenger, detained a year by
him, arrives in Agra (935) 621, 626;
birth of a son (934) 621, 624-5;
letter to him from his father quoted 624-27;
ordered to act with Kamran against the Auzbegs 625-6;
news of his action reaches Babur 639, 640;
gifts sent to him on his son's birth and with them the
_Walidiyyah-risala_ and the Hindustan poems 642;
topics of a letter to him enumerated 645;
the letter despatched 649;
gifts from him to his father 687;
a family tradition that his father wished to abdicate in his favour
689 n. 5;
-> misery of his creation 692;
concerning a plan to set him aside from the succession 644
n. 4, 688 n. 2, -> 692-3, -> 702-7;
deserts his post in Badakhshan (936) 694;
its sequel 695, 6, 7-8;
ordered by his father to Sambhal 697;
his illness and his father's self-surrender (937) 701-2;
goes back to Sambhal 702;
summoned and is declared successor at his father's last audience
708;
[d. 963 AH.-1556 AD.].[2899]
Baba +Husain+--his murder of Aulugh Beg _Shah-rukhi_ (853) 85 and
n. 3.[2900]
Maulana Shaikh +Husain+--particulars 283-4.
+Husain+ _Aikrak_ (?) (or Hasan)--receives the Chin-ab country from
Babur (925) 386;
misbehaves (926) 423.
Sayyid +Husain Akbar+ _Tirmizi_, a maternal relative of Mas`ud
_Miran-shahi_--attacks the fugitive Bai-sunghar (903) 74;
out with Babur (910) 234;
suspected 239;
in the left wing at Qandahar (913) 334.
Sultan +Husain+ _Arghun Qara-kuli_--particulars 40;
leaves Samarkand with the Tarkhans (905) 121;
fights for Babur at Sar-i-pul (Khwaja Kardzan) (906) 139;
his great-niece Ma`suma a wife of Babur 36.
+Husain Aqa+ _Sistani_--in the right wing at Kanwa (933) 566.
+Husain+ _`audi_, lutanist of Husain _Bai-qara_--particulars 292;
owed his training to `Ali-sher _Nawa'i_ 272.
Shah +Husain+ _bakhshi_--brings Babur news of a success (935) 685.
Khwaja +Husain Beg+, brother of Auzun Hasan--particulars 26;
his daughter a wife of `Umar Shaikh 24, 146 n. 3;
leaves Samarkand with the Tarkhans (905) 121;
fights for Babur at Sar-i-pul (Khwaja Kardzan) (906) 139;
one of eight in the flight from Akhsi (908) 177 (here Khwaja
Husaini);
his lameness causes him to leave Babur 178;
sends Lahor revenues to Kabul (932) 446;
waits on Babur 458;
on service (933) 549 (here Mulla Husain);
in the left centre at Kanwa 566.
Shah +Husain+ _chuhra_, a brave of Husain _Bai-qara_--left in Balkh
(902) 70.
Sultan +Husain+ _Dughlat_--joins Babur (901) 58-9;
conspires against Tambal (907) 154;
sent by The Khan (Mahmud) to help Babur (908) 161.
+Husain+ _Ghaini_--a punitive force sent against him (911) 253.
+Husain-i-hasan+--out with Babur (925) 403;
killed and avenged 404, 405;
[d. 925 AH.-1519 AD.].
Maulana Shah +Husain+ _Kami_, a poet--particulars 290.
+Husain Kashifi+--his omission from Babur's list of Herat
celebrities 283 n. 1.
+Husain Khan+ _Lashkar_ (?) _Wazir_--writes from Nasrat Shah,
accepting Babur's three articles (935) 676.
Sultan +Husain Mirza+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of
Mansur--defeats Mahmud _Miran-shahi_ (865) 46, 259 and (876) 260;
his relations with Nawa'i 33, 272;
his campaign against Khusrau Shah (901) 57, 58-61, 130;
his dissensions with his sons 61, 69, (902) 68-70, 260, (903) 94-5;
his capture of Heri (875) compared with Babur's of Samarkand (906)
134-5;
does not help Babur against Shaibani 138, 145;
asks Babur's help against him (910) 190-1, (911) 255;
his death 256, and burial 293;
particulars of his life and court 256-292:
--(personal 256
--amirs 270
--sadrs 280
--wazirs, etc. 281
--poets 286
--artists 291)
--his dealings with Zu'n-nun _Arghun_ and Khusrau Shah 274;
his kindness to Mas'ud _Miran-shahi_ (903) 93, 95;
his disorderly Finance Office 281-2;
delays a pilgrim 284; his copyist 291;
his splendid rule 300;
his buildings 305;
his relation Nuyan Beg _Tirmizi_ 273;
Babur writes to him in ignorance of his death (912) 294;
Babur's comments on him 60, 191, 225;
a poem mistakenly attributed to him 281;
[d. 911 AH.-1506 AD.].
Sultan +Husain Mirza+ _Miran-shahi_, son of Mahmud and a Tirmizi
wife--his death (_Êt._ 13) in his father's lifetime, 47, 110.
Mir +Husain+ _mu`amma'i Nishapuri_--particulars 288 and n. 7;
[d. 904 AH.-1498-9 AD.].
+Husain Khan+ _Nuhani Afghan_--holding Rapri and not submissive to
Babur (932) 523;
abandons it 530;
takes it again (933) 557;
drowned in flight 582;
[d. 933 AH.-1527 AD.].
Sultan +Husain+ _Qanjut_, maternal grandfather of Husain
_Bai-qara_--his Timurid descent 256 n. 5.
Shah Mir +Husain+ _Qarluq_--waits on Babur (925) 403 (here var. Hasan)
409;
sent to Bajaur (926) 422;
meets Babur on his road 423;
in charge of _impedimenta_ (932) 458;
allowed to raid from Milwat 464;
fighting for Babur 468, 471;
in the left wing at Panipat 472;
posted in Junpur (933) 544.
+Husain-i Shaikh Timur+--particulars 273 (where in n. 2 read
grand("father")).
Sultan +Husain+ _Sharqi_--rise and fall of his dynasty 481;
[d. 905 AH.-1500 AD.].
Shah +Husain+ _Yaragi Mughul Ghanchi_--in the left wing at Panipat
(932) 472, and at Kanwa (933) 567;
on service 530.
+Husamu'd-din `Ali+ _Barlas_, son of Khalifa--on service (934) 601;
waits on Babur (935) 687.
+Ibn-i-husain Mirza+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of Husain
and Papa--parentage 265;
joins his brothers against Shaibani (912) 296;
fails in etiquette when meeting Babur 297;
his place at a reception 298;
goes back to his districts Tun and Qain 301;
mentioned 331;
the poet Ahi his servant 289;
[d. 919 AH.-1513 AD.].
+Ibrahim Ata+ (Father Abraham)--his tomb in Turkistan 159.
+Ibrahim Beg+ _Begchik_, brother of Ayub--in the right wing at Qandahar
(913) 334.
Mir +Ibrahim+ _Begchik_--fights and kills a guardian of `Umar Shaikh
_Miran-shahi_ (_cir._ 870) 25.
+Ibrahim+ _Chaghatai_--joins Husain _Bai-qara_ 279,[2901] 689 n. 4.
+Ibrahim+ _chuhra_--conveys a quatrain of Babur's (925) 401.
+Ibrahim+ _Duldai Barlas_--particulars 274.
Sultan +Ibrahim+ _Ghaznawi_--his tomb 218;
[d. 492 AH.-1098 AD.].
+Ibrahim-i-husain Mirza+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of
Husain--particulars 265;
on his father's service (901) 57;
receives Balkh (902) 70;
besieged (903) 93-4;
[d. 910 AH.-1504-5 AD.].
+Ibrahim+ _Jani_--fights for Babur at Sar-i-pul (906) 139;
one of three Ibrahims killed there 141, 624 n. 1;
his son Chilma _q.v._;
[d. 906 AH.-1501 AD.].
Mir +Ibrahim+ _qanuni_--waits on Babur (935) 605;
his kinsman Yunas-i-`ali _q.v._
Sultan +Ibrahim+ _Sahu-khail Ludi Afghan_, son of Sikandar--Babur sends
him a goshawk and asks for the ancient lands of the Turk (925)
385;
-> co-operation against him proffered to Babur by Sanga 426, 529;
-> a principal actor in the years of the _lacuna_ from 926
to 932 AH. 427;
-> no indication of Babur's intending to attack him in 926 AH. 429;
his misdoing leads to appeal for Babur's help (929) 439;
defeats his uncle `Alam Khan (932) 456-7;
Babur moves from the Dun against him 463;
his military strength 463, 470;
imprisons humble men sent by Babur 464;
various news of him 465, 466-7;
Babur's estimate of him 470;
defeated and killed at Panipat 473-4, 630 n. 4;
an Afghan account of Babur's care for his corpse _ib._;
references to his rule in Gualiar 977, to the rebellion of his
Eastern amirs 523, 527, to his capture of Chandiri and defeat at
Dhulpur by Sanga 593, to Babur's route when he was defeated (932)
206, and to his "prison-house" 459;
his resources contrasted with Babur's 480;
his treasure at an end (935) 617;
his mother q.v. _s.n._ mother;
his son sent to Kamran's charge in Qandahar (933) 544;
[d. 932 AH.-1526 AD.].
+Ibrahim Saru+ _Mingligh Beg_--_Chapuk_--particulars [Author's Note] 52;
disloyal to Babur (900) 52;
besieged and submits 53;
receives Shiraz (902) 66;
remains with Babur at a crisis (903) 91;
on service (904) 101, 106;
his man holds fast in Aush 107;
plundered by `Ali-dost (905) 119;
waits on Babur 125;
one of three Ibrahims killed at Sar-i-pul (Khwaja Kardzan) 139, 141;
his brother Samad _q.v._; his good bowman 66;
[d. 906 AH.-1501 AD.].
+Ibrahim Sultan Mirza+ _Shah-rukhi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of
Shah-rukh--his rule in Shiraz, death and successor (838) 20;
referred to 85;
[d. 838 AH.-1414-5 AD.].
+Ibrahim Taghai Beg+ _Begchik_, brother of Ayub--wounded and nicknamed
_Chapuk_ (902) 67;
leaves Babur (903) 86;
in Akhsi with Bayazid _Itarachi_ (908) 171;
sent against Pap _ib._;
arrests Bayazid 173-4;
wounded but fights for Babur 174;
soon falls behind in the flight from Akhsi 176;
in the right wing at Qandahar (913) 334;
holds Balkh for Babur (923) 463 n. 3;
sent as Babur's envoy to Auzbeg Khans and Sultans (935) 643.
+Ibrahim Tarkhan+ _Arghun_--serving Husain _Bai-qara_ (901) 58;
holding Shiraz (906) 130;
reinforces Babur 131;
one of three Ibrahims killed at Sar-i-pul 140-1;
his brother Ahmad _q.v._;
[d. 906 AH.-1501 AD.].
Qazi +Ikhtiyar+--particulars 285;
waits on Babur and examines the Baburi script (912) 285;
is instructed in the exposition of the Qoran by Shaibani (913) 329;
[d. 928 AH.-1521 AD.].
+Ilias Khan+, see Rustam.
Shah +`Imad+ _Shirazi_--brings Babur friendly letters from two amirs of
Hind (932) 463.
+`Imadu'd-din Mas`ud+--an envoy of Jahangir _Miran-shahi_ to Tramontane
clans (911-912) 296.
+`Imadu'l-mulk+, a slave--strangles Sikandar _Gujrati_ (932) 535.
+Imam-i-muhammad+--Babur's company drink at his house (925) 418;
his master Khwaja Muhammad-amin _q.v._
+Isan+, see Aisan.
+Ishaq Ata+ (Father Isaac)--his tomb in Turkistan 159.
+Iskandar+, see Sikandar.
+Islim+ _Barlas_--particulars 276.
+Isma`il+ _chilma_, see Chilma.
+Isma`il Khan+ _Jilwani_ (not _Jalwani_)--with `Alam Khan _Ludi_ (932)
456;
deserts him 457;
writes dutifully to Babur 464;
speaks of waiting on him (934?) 680;
does it (935) 677, 679.
+Isma`il Khan+ _Yusuf-khail Ludi_, son of `Ali--parleys with Babur at
Milwat (932) 459;
deported 461.
+Isma`il Mita+--Nasrat Shah's envoy to Babur (935) 640-1, 664-5.
+Isma`il+ _Safawi `Arab_, Shah of Persia--reference to his capture of
`Iraq (cir. 906) 280, 336;
gives refuge to a fugitive Bai-qara (913) 327 n. 5;
-> hostilities begin between him and Shaibani (915) 350;
defeats Shaibani at Merv (916) 18, 318, -> 350;
sends Khan-zada back to Babur 18, 352;
-> asked by Babur for reinforcement (917) 352-4;
-> his alliance dangerous for Babur 355;
-> indication of his suzerain relation with Babur 355;
-> a principal actor in the _lacuna_ years from 926-930, 427;
-> his relations with Shah Beg _Arghun_ 430;
relations with Babur (927) 433-4;
-> his death after defeat (930) 443;
-> Lord Bacon on his personal beauty 443 n. 1;
his son Tahmasp _q.v._;
his (presumed) Bai-qara disciple in Shi`a heresy 262;
[d. 930 AH.-1524 AD.].
+Ja`far Khwaja+, son of Mahdi Khwaja and step-son of Babur's sister
Khan-zada--fills his father's place in Etawa (933) 579, 582;
sent to collect boats (934) 598;
pursues Biban and Bayazid (935) 682.
+Jahangir+ _Barlas_, son of Ibrahim and a Badakhshi Begim (T.R. trs.
p. 108)--particulars 273;
joint-governor of Kabul for Abu-sa`id 270, 273.
+Jahangir Mirza+ _Barlas Turk_, eldest son of Timur--named
in Abu-sa`id's genealogy 14;
is given Samarkand by Timur 85;
his tomb in Kesh 83;
his son Muhammad 78, 85;
[d. 776 AH.-1374-5 AD.].
+Jahangir Mirza+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of `Umar
Shaikh and Fatima _Mughul_--particulars 17;
sent (a child) to reinforce an uncle (_cir._ 895) and then betrothed
48, 189;
comes to Andijan after his father's death (899) 32;
Mughul support for him against Babur (900) 43-4, (903) 87-8,
(904) 101;
joins Tambal 103; a "worry" 104;
defeated at Khuban (905) 113;
waits on Babur 119;
summoned for a Samarkand expedition 122;
reinforces Babur (906) 138;
a gift to him from the exiled Babur (907) 150;
joins Babur (908) 173;
acts against Babur's wishes 173-4;
flees in panic 174-5;
rumoured a prisoner 176;
-> his occupation of Khujand (909?) 182;
Babur rejects advice to dismiss him (910) 191;
deference to him from Khusrau Shah 193;
his part in occupying Kabul 198, 199;
receives Ghazni 227;
out with Babur 233-4, 235-6, 239;
rejects counsel to betray him 239;
is Babur's host in Ghazni 240;
his experiences in an earthquake (911) 247;
insists on a move for Qalat-i-ghilzai 248;
waits on Babur and does service 252-3;
his misconduct 254;
causes Babur to mobilize his troops 255;
goes to Yaka-aulang (912) 294;
the clans not supporting him, he goes to Heri with Babur 295-6;
at social gatherings 298, 302;
defeats his half-brother Nasir 321;
his death 331 n. 3, 345;
his widow brings their son Pir-i-muhammad to Babur (913) 331;
[d. 912 or 913 AH.-1507-8 AD.].
Nuru'ddin Muhammad +Jahangir Padshah+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_,
_Barlas Turk_, son of Akbar--his work in Babur's burial-ground 710;
words of his made clear by Babur's 501 n. 6;
mentioned concerning the _tamgha_ 553 n. 1;
[d. 1037 AH.-1627 AD.].
+Jahangir+ _Turkman_--revolts in Badakhshan against the Auzbegs (910)
242;
keeping his head up (913) 340.
+Jahan-shah+ _Barlas_, son of Chaku--mentioned in his son Muhammad
Baranduq's genealogy 270.
+Jahan-shah Mirza+ _Barani_, _Qara-quiluq Turkman_--ruling in Tabriz
while Yunas _Chaghatai_ stayed there 20;
his sons defeated by the Aq-quiluq (872) 49;
his son Muhammadi's wife Pasha 49;[2902]
[d. 872 AH.-1467-8 AD.].
Rai +Jaipal+ _Lahori_--a legend of his siege of Ghazni 219;
[d_cir._ 392 AH.-1002 AD.].
Raja +Jai-singh+ _Jaipuri_--his astronomical instruments 79 n. 4;
[d. 1156 AH.-1743 AD.].
+Jalal Khan+ _Jig-hat_--waits on `Alam Khan _Ludi_ (932) 456 and n. 4;
his house in Dihli Babur's quarters 476;
his son `Alam Khan _Kalpi_ _q.v._
+Jalal Khan+ _Ludi_, son of`Alam Khan--deserts his father (932) 457;
in the left wing at Kanwa (933) 567 (where for "Jamal" read Jalal).
+Jalal+ _Tashkindi_--brings Babur news of Biban and Bayazid (935) 685.
+Jalalu'd-din Mahmud+ _nai_--a flautist, heard in Herat (912) 303.
Sultan +Jalalu'd-din+ _Nuhani_--Jalal Khan, son of Bihar Khan and
Dudu--one of three competitors for rule (935) 651 n. 5;
writes dutifully to Babur 659;
news of his and his mother's coming 664;
waits on Babur 676;
receives revenue from Bihar 676.
Maulana +Jalalu'd-din+ _Purani_--origin of his cognomen 306;
his descendant Jamalu'd-din Abu-sa`id _Puran_ _q.v._;
[d. 862 AH.-1458 AD.].
Sultan +Jalalu'd-din+ _Sharqi_, son of Husain Shah--waits on Babur
(935) 651;
particulars 651 n. 5;
his man abandons Benares 652;
entertains Babur 652;
his son styled Sultan _ib._;
his gift of a boat to Babur 663;
in the battle of the Ghogra 669;
on service 678.
Shaikh +Jamal+ _Barin Mughul_--his son(?) Shaikh `Ali _q.v._
Shaikh +Jamal+ _Farmuli Afghan_--deserts `Alam Khan (932) 457;
serving Babur (933) 551.
Shaikh +Jamali+--at a feast (935) 631;
conveys encouragement to Dudu Bibi 665-6.
Shaikh +Jamalu'd-din Abu-sa`id+ _Puran_--particulars 306 n. 2;
ill-treated by Shaibani (913) 306 n. 2, 328;
[d. 921 AH.-1515 AD.].
Shaikh +Jamalu'd-din+ _khar_, _Arghun_--captor of Yunas Khan and
Aisan-daulat Begim (T.R. trs. p. 94)
--slain 35;
[d. 877 AH.-1472-3 AD.].
Mir +Jamalu'd-din+ _muhaddas_--particulars 284;
[living 934-7 AH.-1527-31 AD.].
Shaikh +Jami+--ancestor of Akbar's mother 623 n. 8.
+Jami+, see `Abdu'r-rahman _Jami_.
+Jamshid+, (an ancient ruler of Persia)--mentioned 85, 152.
Mir +Jan-airdi+, retainer of Zu'n-nun _Arghun_--sells provisions to
Babur (912) 308.
+Janak+--recites in Turki (912) 304.
+Janaka Kukuldash+, (or Khanika)--escapes after Sar-i-pul (906) 141.
+Jan-i-`ali+--murdered by Shaibani (906) 127, 128;
[d. 906 AH.-1500 AD.].
+Jan Beg+--in charge of _impedimenta_ (932) 458;
allowed leave for a raid 464;
in a night-attack 471;
in the left wing at Panipat 472 and at Kanwa (933) 567 (here
Jan-i-muhammad Beg Ataka);
on service (935) 682 (here Jani Beg).
Mir +Jan+ _Diwan_--his house in Qandahar reserved as loot for Nasir
_Miran-shahi_ (913) 338.
+Jani Beg+ _Duldai Barlas Turk_--particulars 37 (where nn. 2 and 3
should be reversed).
+Jani Beg Sultan Khan+ _Auzbeg-Shaban Chingiz-khanid_--his two
Miran-shahi marriages of conquest 18, 35;
fights for Shaibani at Sar-i-pul (906) 139 (where read Jani Beg
Sultan);
he and his sons at Jam (935) 622;
flees to Merv 636 n. 2.
+Jan-i-hasan+, _Barin Mughul_--sent to reinforce Babur (903) 92, (908)
161, 170.
+Jan-i-nasir+--answers a call-to-arms (925) 408.
Mir +Jan+ _Samarkandi_--his distasteful singing (912) 303.
+Jan-wafa Mirza+--serving Shaibani in Samarkand (906) 131;
escapes on Babur's success 133.
Barlas +Juki+--brings Babur good news, a live Auzbeg, and a head (925)
408.
+Juha Sultan+ _Taklu_,Governor of Ispahan--with Tahmasp _Safawi_ on
the battle-field of Jam (935) 635.
+Juji Khan+ _Chingiz-khanid_--a Qazzak descendant mentioned 23.
Muhammad +Juki Mirza+ _Shah-rukhi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of
`Abdu'l-latif (d. 854)--mentioned as besieged by Abu-sa`id
_Miran-shahi_ 24;
[d. 868 AH.-1463-4 AD.].
Sultan +Junaid+ _Barlas_ (or Junid)--particulars 276;
his sons Nizamu'd-din `Ali Khalifa and Junaid _q.v._
Sultan +Junaid+ _Barlas_ (or Junid), son of the last-entered--incites
an attempt on Samarkand (900) 52, 111;
serving Babur (932) 460, 468, 471;
in the left wing at Panipat 472;
sent to help in occupying Dihli 475;
given Dulpur 530-1;
posted in Junpur (933) 544;
in Kharid (935) 637 and n. 1;
joins Babur late and is not received 667;
gives local information 668;
in the battle of the Ghogra 669;
on service 679, 682 and n. 2;
his wife Shahr-banu _Miran-shahi_ _q.v._
+Kabuli Begim+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_--abandoned by her
husband Badi`u'z-zaman _Bai-qara_ and captured by Shaibani (913)
328.
+Kahil+ _sahib-i-qadam_--gives his horse to Babur (908) 174.
Pahlawan +Kalal+--wrestles (935) 650.
+Kalantar of Dikh-kat+ (var. _kalantar_ and _kilantar_)--his house used
by Babur (907) 150;
his aged mother's story _ib._
+Kalimu'l-lah Shah+ _Bahmini Afghan_--ruling the Dakkhin (932) 482.
+Kal-qashuq+--put to retaliatory death (903) 73.
Sayyid +Kamal+--serving Khusrau Shah (903) 96 (where for "Qasim" read
Kamal).
+Kamal Khan+ _Sahu-khail Ludi Afghan_, son of `Alam Khan--in the left
wing at Kanwa (933) 567.
+Kamal Khwaja+--his birth-place Khujand 8;
[d. 803 AH.-1400-1 AD.].
+Kamal+ _sharbatchi_--in the right wing at Qandahar (913) 335.
Pahlawan Khwaja +Kamalu'd-din+ _Badakhshi_--in the right wing at Kanwa
(933) 566.
Khwaja +Kamalu'd-din Husain+ _Gasur-gahi_--particulars 280, 281;
sent as envoy to Shaibani (904) 145.
Khwaja +Kamalu'd-din Mahmud+, retainer of Isma`il _Safawi_-- -> with
Babur after the defeat at Ghaj-davan (919) 362-3;
[d_cir._ 919 AH.-1514 AD.].
+Kamalu'd-din+ _Qiaq_ (var.)--lays before Babur complaint of the begs
of the Balkh frontier (935) 649.
+Kamran Mirza+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of Babur and
Gul-rukh _Begchik_-- -> the date of his birth App. J, xxxv;
-> taken on the Transoxus campaign (916-920) 358;
carried in haste to meet his father (920) 395;
joins his father 417;
-> the _Mubin_ written for his instruction (928) 438;
-> left in charge of Kabul and Qandahar (932) App. J, xxxv;
a letter from Babur to him _ib._ and App. L, xliii;
his copy of the _Babur-nama_ App. J, xxxv-vi;
gifts sent to him (932) 460, 522, 642;
put in charge of Ibrahim _Ludi's_ son (933) 544;
-> of his transfer to Multar (934-5) -> 604, 605 n. 3, 645;
of his proceedings in Kabul 618;
his marriage to a cousin 619;
the _Walidiyyah-risala_, Hindustan Poems and specimens of the
Baburi script sent to him 642;
heads of a letter to him 645, 646;
-> meets Humayun in Kabul (935) 696;
-> meets Babur in Lahor (936) 699;
-> of his governments 699;
-> later action in Multan and Lahor (938) (which read for 935) 699;
-> visits his father's tomb near Agra (946) 709;
[d. 964 AH.-1556 AD.].
+Kanku+ or Gangu--killed at Kanwa 573;
[d. 933 AH.-1527 AD.].
+Karim-birdi+--on Babur's service (935) 661.
+Karim-dad+ _Turkman_--at a household party (906) 131;
escapes from Sar-i-pul (Khwaja Kardzan) 141;
one of four fighting with Babur (908) 166, 396;
reprieved from a death sentence (914) 345.
+Karm-chand+--acting for Hasan _Mewati_ (933) 545, 578;
asks peace from Babur for Hasan's son Nahar 578.
+Karm Singh+--killed at Kanwa 573;
[d. 933 AH.-1527 AD.].
+Raja Karna+ _Gualiari_, (or, Kirti), _Tunwar Rajput_--his buildings
in Gualiar 608 n. 3.
+Khadija Agha+, and later, Begim, mistress of Abu-sa`id _Miran-shahi_,
wife of Husain _Bai-qara_--particulars 262, 268;
her dominance 268, 292;
visited in Heri by Babur (912) 301;
at an entertainment to him 302;
a suspicion against her 302 n. 1;
captured by Shaibani (913) 327;
given for a traitor to loot 328;
her daughter Aq Begim and sons Shah-i-gharib and Muzaffar-i-husain
_q.v._
+Khadija-sultan Begim+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter
of Abu'sa`id--(probably) seen by Babur in Heri
(912) 301;
Babur visits her near Agra (934) 588 and in Agra Fort (935) 606,
616.
+Khaldar+ _Yaragi Mughul_, son of Haidar Kukuldash--fights for Babur
at Sar-i-pul (Khwaja Kardzan) (906) 139.
+Khalifa+, see Nizamu'd-din `Ali _Barlas_.
+Khalil+ _chuhra_--a brave who fought well for Babur (904) 101.
+Khalil+ _diwana_--on Auzun Hasan's service (904) 102 (where for
"Diwan" read diwana).
Sultan +Khalil Mirza+, _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of
Miran-shah--mentioned 262 n. 2;
[d. 814 AH.-1411-2 AD.].
Sultan +Khalil Mirza+ _Miran-shahi_ (_ut supra_), son of Abu-sa`id--his
daughter sole wife of Bai-sunghar _Miran-shahi_ 112.
+Khalil Sultan+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_, son of Ahmad, (Alacha
Khan), full brother of Sa`id--his son Baba Sultan _q.v._
+Khalil Sultan+ _Itaraji Mughul_, brother of Ahmad Tambal--holding Madu
for Tambal (905) 109;
captured _ib._, and released 119;
surprises Aush 125;
helps Babur against Shaibani (906) 138;
killed at Sar-i-pul 141;
[d. 906 AH.-1501 AD.].
+Khalwi+ _piada_ (or Khalwa)--his spear-head bitten off by a tiger
(925) 393.
The +Khatib of Qarshi+--an envoy to Babur (910) 188.
+Khan-i-jahan+, see Fath Khan _Sarwani_.
+Khan-i-jahan+, a "pagan"--opposes Babur (933) 539.
+Khan-quli+, son of Bian-quli--leaves Babur in Samarkand (903) 86;
at a household party (906) 131 (where read Khan-quli for
"Khan-i-quli");
gives ground for suspicion (907) 156;
one of eight in the flight from Akhsi (908) 176, 177;
in the right-centre at Qandahar (913) 335.
+Khan-zada Begim (1)+, _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter
of Mahmud--particulars 48.
+Khan-zada Begim (2)+, _ut supra_, daughter of Mas`ud and
Sa`adat-bakht--particulars 267;
visited by Babur near Agra (935) 616.
+Khan-zada Begim (3)+, _ut supra_, daughter of `Umar Shaikh
and Qutluq-nigar--particulars 17;
her marriage with Shaibani (907) 18, 147, -> 184;
her divorce and remarriage with Sayyid Hadi Khwaja 352 [H.S. iii],
364;
her reunion with Babur (916) 18, 352, 356;
her marriage with Mahdi Khwaja _q.v._;
her summons to Hindustan (935) 647;
his son Khurram Shah _q.v._;
[d. 952 AH.-1545 AD.].
+Khan-zada Begim (4)+, _Tirmizi_, wife of Mahmud
_Miran-shahi_--particulars 48;
her son Mas`ud _q.v._;
her niece 48.
+Khan-zada Begim (5)+, _Tirmizi_, niece of the above, wife of
Mahmud--particulars 48, 9;
her son Husain _q.v._;
her five daughters 47-8.
+Khan-zada Begim (6)+, _Tirmizi_, wife of Ahmad
_Miran-shahi_--particulars 37;
Babur, a child, pulls off her wedding veil (893) 37.
+Khan-zada Khanim+ _Haji-tarkhani_, daughter of Ahmad and
Badi`u'l-jamal (Badka)--particulars 258 n. 2, 329;
illegally married by Shaibani (913) 329;
her husband Muzaffar-i-husain _Bai-qara_ _q.v._
+Khawand Shah Amir+, ("Mirkhond"), author of the
_Rauzatu's-safa_--omitted (or lost) from Babur's list of Herat
celebrities 283 n. 1;
[d. 903 AH.-1498 AD.].
+Khizr Khwaja Khan+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_--mentioned in Yunas
Khan's genealogy 19.
Khwaja +Khizr+ _Nuhani_, a merchant--killed by a Mughul (910) 235
(where for "_Luhani_" read _Nuhani_).
+Khub-nigar Khanim+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_, daughter of Yunas
and Aisan-daulat--particulars 21, 22;
her death announced to Babur (907) 148, 149;
her rebel husband forgiven for her sake (912) 319;
her husband Muhammad Husain _Dughlat_, their son Haidar
and daughter Habiba _q.v._;
[d. 907 AH.-1501-2 AD.].
+Khuda-bakhsh+ _Chaghatai_, retainer, (1) of Khusrau Shah,
(2) of Babur--in the right wing at Qandahar (913) 334;
rebels against Babur (914) 345.
+Khudai-birdi Beg+ _tughchi_, _Mughul_--stays with Babur at a crisis
(903) 91;
made a beg and on service 110;
killed at Sar-i-pul 141;
[d. 906 AH.-1501 AD.].
+Khudai-birdi+ _buqaq_, _Mughul_--killed at Asfara (900) 53 (here
_atakam_, my guardian);
his favour from Babur 105;
his son Quli _chunaq_ _q.v._;
[d. 900 AH.-1495 AD.].
+Khudai-birdi+ _tughchi Timur-tash_--made `Umar Shaikh's
Lord-of-the-Gate (_cir._ 870) 14;
particulars 24-5;
[da few years after 870 AH.-1466 AD.].
+Khurram Shah+ _Auzbeg-Shaiban_, _Chingiz-khanid_, son of Shaibani
and Khan-zada--particulars 18;
[da few years after 916 AH.-1510-11 AD.].
+Khush-kildi+[2903] _Mughul_--in the centre at Qandahar (913) 335.
+Khusrau+, an ancient ruler of Persia--mentioned in a couplet 85.
+Khusrau+ _Gagiani_--waits on Babur (910) 230 (where insert his name
in the last line);
taken as a guide 231.
+Khusrau Kukuldash+--at a household party (906) 131 (where insert his
name after that of Shaikh Darwesh);
captured by Tambal (908) 168;
rejoins Babur (913) 330-1;
in the right centre at Qandahar 335;
out with Babur (925) 377, 403;
an enquiry 405;
-> posted in Sialkot (930) 442;
seeming still to hold it (932) 453;
on service 465, 471;
in the van at Panipat 472;
in the right wing at Kanwa (933) 566, 568;
given Alur (Alwar) by mistake 578;
sent against Baluchis (935) 638;
at social gatherings 385-7-8.
Amir Khwaja +Khusrau+ _Lachin Turk_--a couplet of his quoted 503;
[d. 725 AH.-1325 AD.].
+Khusrau Shah+[2904] _Turkistani_, _Qibchaq Turk_,
--particulars 49-50;
takes Mahmud _Miran-shahi_ (_Êt._ 17) to Hisar (_cir._ 873) 46-7;
referred to as a rival 50;
his tolerance of Hisari ill-conduct (899) 41-2;
expelled from Samarkand on Mahmud's death (900) 51-2;
opposes Husain _Bai-qara_ (901) 57, 60-1;
his rise helped by Bai-qara failures 61;
supports Mas`ud _Miran-shahi_ 64;
falls out with him 71, 93;
blinds him (903) 95;
defeats Badi`u'-zaman _Bai-qara_ 60-1;
re-equips him defeated by his father (902) 70;
receives well the fugitive Bai-sunghar _Miran-shahi_ (903) 74;
makes him _padshah_ in Hisar 93;
strangles him (905) 110;
a fugitive Tarkhan goes to him (906) 120, 141;
his niggardliness to Babur 129, 130;
gives him no help against Shaibani 138, -> 183;
Qasim Beg _quchin_ takes refuge with him (907) 27;
his position less secure (910) 188;
followers of his join Babur 189, 192, 196, 227 n. 3;
invited to co-operate with the Timurid Mirzas against Shaibani 190;
takes the Kabul road on Babur's approach 192, 244;
offers him service 192;
the interview of his submission 193-4;
allowed to go towards Khurasan 194, 195;
breaks his pact and is put to flight 197, 243;
gets sensible counsel in Herat 243;
makes trouble for Nasir _Miran-shahi_ in Badakhshan 244-5;
beheaded at Qunduz by the Auzbegs 244;
good results from his death for Babur 245;
Babur's reflections on the indiscipline of his followers 199,
230 n. 5, 239, 244-5;
his former following rebels (914) 335;
his brothers Wali and Baqi, and nephew Ahmad-i-qasim _q.v._;
[d. 910 AH.-1505 AD.].
+Khwaja Chishti+ var. Husaini--at a feast (935) 631.
`Abdu'l-lah +Khwajagan-khwaja+, fifth son of `Ubaidu'l-lah
_Ahrari_--his son `Abdu'sh-shahid 653 n. 4.
+Khwajaka Khwaja+, Muhammad-i-`ubaidu'l-lah, eldest son of
Ahrari--protects Bai-sunghar _Miran-shahi_ in the Tarkhan rebellion
(901) 62 (where, erroneously, "Khwajaki");
becomes his spiritual guide 63;
visited in Farkat by Babur (907) 149;
his brother Yahya _q.v._
+Khwaja Kalan+, descendant of `Ubaidu'l-lah _Ahrari_-- -> a likely
recipient of the _Mubin_ 438, 631 n. 3 (where for "son" read
grandson of Yahya);
at a feast in Agra (935) 631;
gifts and leave given 632, 641-2;
a copy of Babur-nama writings sent to him 653.
Mir +Khwaja Kalan+, son of Maulana Muhammad Sadru'd-din--receives
Bajaur (925) 370;
particulars 370 n. 2;
prisoners pardoned at his request 371;
out with Babur 372;
returns to Bajaur 376;
is recalled on grounds given (926) 422-3;
joins Babur for Hindustan (932) 447;
on service 465-6;
in the right wing at Panipat 472;
helps to secure Agra 475;
of his leaving Hindustan 520, 531;
his offending couplet about leaving, and Babur's reply 525-6;
has charge of Kabul and Ghazni 524;
conveys money to repair the Ghazni dam 219, 524 n. 2, 647 n. 1;
Babur's various writings sent to him, quatrains (925) 372, (932)
525-6, (935) the _Walidiyyah-risala_ and Hindustan poems 642
--letters (925) 411, (935) 604, 618 n. 2, quoted 645-8;
commended to Humayun as a friend 627;
a letter of his mentioned 644;
wine parties in his house (925) 371-2, 375;
has Ghazni wine at Milwat (932) 461;
urged to renounce wine 648;
tells Babur of a fruitful orange-tree (935) 510, cf. 483 n. 2;
-> quotation from his ode on Babur's death 709.
`Abdu'l-lah +Khwaja Maulana-i-qazi+--particulars 29, 89-90;
supports Babur (899) 30;
chases off an invader 32;
confers with other well-wishers of the boy (900) 43;
mediates for Ibrahim _Saru_ 53, for Aurgutis (902) 68;
envoy to Auzun Hasan (903) 87;
open-handed to Babur's followers 88;
entreats him to save Andijan 88-9;
Mir Mughul aids him in its defence 122;
hanged by Tambal and Auzun Hasan 89;
`Ali-dost fears retaliation for his death (905) 119;
his right guidance recalled by Babur (912) 303;
[d. 903 AH.-1498 AD.].
+Khwajaki Mulla-i-sadr+, son of Maulana Muhammad Sadru'd-din,
and elder brother of Khwaja Kalan--particulars 67;
killed near Yam 67;
[d. 902 AH.-1497 AD.].
+Khwaja Mir-i-miran+--speaks boldly at Akhsi (908) 174;
in charge of baggage camels (925) 376, 377, and of Babur's camp 389,
391;
Babur halts near his Lamghan village (926) 424;
given charge of Daulat Khan _Yusuf-khail_ (932) 459-60;
in the left-centre at Panipat 973;
entrusted with gifts for Kabul 525.
+Khwaja Mir Sultan+--he and his son receive gifts (935) 632.
+Khwand-amir+, grandson of Khawand Shah Amir ("Mirkhond")
-- -> associated with Muhammad-i-zaman _Bai-qara_ (923) 364-5,
463 n. 3;
fleeced by Shaibani's order (913) 328 n. 2;
his discomforts in Herat 617 n. 2;
waits on Babur (935) 605;
Babur invites him in verse 693;
completes the _Habibu's-siyar_ while at Tir-muhani with Babur 687
n. 3;
his omission (or loss) from Babur's list of Herat celebrities 283
n. 1;
his and Babur's varied choice of details 328 n. 2;
-> his patron Amir Ghiyasu'd-din and nephew Ghiyasu'd-din 436;
[d. 942 AH.-1535 AD.].
Khwaja +Khwand-sa`id+--Babur visits his tomb (925) 407.
Mir +Khawand+--Shah Amir ("Mirkhond")--author of the _Rauzatu's-safa_,
grandfather of Khwand-amir--his omission (or loss) from Babur's
list of Herat celebrities 283 n. 1;
[d. 903 AH.-1498 AD.].
+Kichik `Ali+--his courage (908) 176;
made prisoner (933) 557, 576;
_shiqdar_ of Koel 176.
+Kichik Baqi+ _diwana_--suspended (911) 248;
killed at Qalat-i-ghilzai 248;
[d. 911 AH.-1505 AD.].
+Kichik Begim+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter of Husain
and Payanda-sultan--refused in marriage to Mas`ud _Miran-shahi_ 265;
"afterwards" marries Multa Khwaja 266.[2905]
+Kichik Khwaja+--on `Askari's service (935) 681, 682.
+Kichik Khwaja Beg+, son of Maulana Muhammad Sadru'd-din and elder
brother of Khwaja Kalan--in the left wing at Khuban (905) 113;
killed at Qalat-i-ghilzai 248[2906];
[d. 911 AH.-1505 AD.].
+Kichik Mirza+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of Ahmad
(Mirza Sayyidi) and Aka _Bai-qara_--particulars 257.
+Kichkina+ _tunqtar_--sent with orders to Tramontane begs (925) 406.
+Kipa+ and +Kipik+, see Kupuk.
Raja +Kirti+ _Gualiari_, see Karna.
+Kitin-qara Sultan+ _Auzbeg_--in Balkh (932) 545-6;
at Jam (935) 622 (where in n. 1 read 935 for "934");
makes complaint to Babur 649, 645 n. 1.
+Kitta Beg+ _Kohbur Chaghatai_, son of Sayyidi Qara--convoys
Yusuf-khail chiefs to Bhira (932) 461;
on Babur's service 465-6, 468, 528, (933) 545, (935) 638;
wounded at Biana (933) 548.
+Kitta Mah+ and +Kichik Mah+, slaves of Muzaffar-i-husain
_Bai-qara_--offend Babur by their performance (912) 304.
+Kuchum Khan Sultan+--Kuchkunji--_Auzbeg-Shaiban_,
_Chinqiz-khanid_--particulars 632 n. 3;
-> his force gathered at Qarshi (917) 353;
-> a principal actor between 926 and 932 AH. 427;
his position in relation to `Ubaidu'l-lah (935) 618 n. 6;
in the battle of Jam 622;
various accounts of his escape or death 623, 636;
his envoy to Babur 631, 632;
his sons Abu-sa`id and Pulad _q.v._; [d. 937 AH.-1530-1 AD.].
+Kuki-i+[1] +Baba Qashqa+, see Haji Muhammad Khan _Kuki_.
+Kuki+,[2907] paternal-uncle of the last-entered (A.N.)--on Babur's
service (934) 589, (935) 674, 679;
in the battle of the Ghogra 673; [d. 940 AH.-1553 AD.?].
+Kupuk Beg+, var. Kipik, Kipa (hunchbacked)--in Babur's service (910)
237;
promoted (911) 253;
frost-bitten (912) 311;
in the centre at Qandahar (913) 335;
envoy to Mirza Khan (925) 405.
+Kupuk Bi+ _Auzbeg_ var. _ut supra_--blamed for three murders (906)
128;
given Khwarizm by Shaibani (911) 256;
his son Qambar-i-`ali _q.v._
+Kupuk Mirza+ _Bai-qara_, Muhammad Muhsin, son of Husain
and Latif-sultan--parentage 262;
defeated by his father (904) 260;
does not join his brothers against Shaibani (912) 296-7;
defeated and killed 329-30; [d. 913 AH.-1507 AD.].
Sayyid +Lachin+--bearer of an urgent message from Babur (932) 453.
Hazrat +Lam+, (Lamak, Lamakan), father of Noah--his reputed tomb, 210.
+Langar Khan+ _Janjuha_--on Babur's service (925) 380, 381, 388-9, 412;
one of a raft-party 385;
waits on Babur 391, 411.
+Langar Khan+ _Niazai Afghan_--one of a raft-party (925) 412;
waits on Babur (926) 421.
+Latif Begim+ _Duldai Barlas Turk_--particulars 37 (where for "916"
read 917 AH.).
+Latif-sultan Aghacha+ _Char-shamba'i_, a mistress of Husain
_Bai-qara_--particulars 269;
her sons Abu'l-muhsin and Kupuk _q.v._;
[dbefore 911 AH.-1506 AD.].
+Lope de Vega+--a popular use of his name resembling one of Nawa'i's
287 n. 3.
+Lutfi Beg+--measures the Ganges-bank on Babur's journey (933) 659.
+Maghfur+, see Faghfur.
+Mah-afruz+--married by Kamran (934) 619 n. 1.
+Mah-chuchuq+ _Arghun_, daughter of Muqim and Zarif--marries Qasim
Kukuldash (913) 342, 199 n. 1, -> 365;
their daughter Nahid _q.v._;
[d_cir._ 975 AH.-1568 AD.].
+Mahdi Sultan+ _Auzbeg_, the constant associate (brother?)
of Hamza--defeated by Husain _Bai-qara_ (901) 58;
enters Babur's service 59;
deserts 64;
defeats `Ali _Miran-shahi_ and goes back to Shaibani 65;
his Mughuls are disloyal to Babur (904) 105;
serving Shaibani (906) 131;
at Sar-i-pul 139;
at Hisar (910) 244;
-> retires before Babur (916) 352;
defeated and killed by him at Pul-i-sangin (917) 18, 37, 262, 353,
354;
his Miran-shahi wife 36;
his sons at Jam (935) 622;
[d. 917 AH.-1511-12 AD.].
+Mahdi-Sultan+ _Auzbeg-Shaiban_?--his identity discussed 264 n. 1;
his son `Adil and grandson `Aqil _q.v._
Sayyid +Mahdi Khwaja+, son of Musa Khwaja and third husband of Babur's
sister Khan-zada--Babur's _diwan-begi_ (916-7) 704 n. 3;
-> dissuades Muhammad-i-zaman from accepting Babur's invitation to
Kabul (after 920) 364;
on Babur's service (932) 468, 471;
in the left wing at Panipat 472, 473;
commands troops sent to seize Dihli 475;
gifts made to him 527;
given Etawa 530;
orders changed 531;
serves as an escort (933) 534, 537;
given Biana 539;
sends news of Sanga's approach 544;
joins Babur quickly 548;
in the left wing at Kanwa 567;
given leave for Kabul 579;
host to Babur near Etawa (935) 644;
waits on him returning to Agra 686;
displeases him 688 n. 2, 704 n. 2;
summoned to Court 689;
later particulars 644 n. 4, 688 n. 2, -> 692;
-> discussion of a plan to make him Padshah 703-7;
-> his name may be a gloss in the story 705;
his son Ja`far _q.v._;
his inscribed slab at Amir Khusrau's tomb 704 n. 1;
his surmised Tirmizi descent 704;
his relation or servant Mir Muhammad (925) 381.
+Mahim Begim+, wife of Babur--particulars 344 n. 3, 711, -> 712, 714;
-> with Babur during the Transoxus campaign (916-920) 358;
adopts Hind-al (925) 374, 385, -> 715, App. L;
-> visits Humayun in Badakhshan (928) 436;
goes to Agra (935) 640 n. 2, 650 n. 2, 665, 686-7, 689 n. 2, 690;
-> her influence probably misused on Humayun 694, 707;
meets him, sick, in Muttra (937) 701-2;
-> her care of Babur's Agra tomb (937) 709;
[d. 940 AH.-1533-4 AD.].
Sayyid +Mahmud+ _Aughlaqchi_, _Mughul_--forced to go on foot (910) 239.
+Mahmud Beg+ _Nundaki_, _Barlas Turk_--particulars 51;
defends Hisar against Aba-bikr _Miran-shahi_ ( 873) 51,
and against Husain _Bai-qara_ (901) 58;
negociates with Husain 61.
Sultan +Mahmud+ _Duldai Barlas Turk_--expelled from Andijan (900) 44;
turns informer (905) 125.
Mulla +Mahmud+ _Farabi_, associated with Khalifa--reads the Qoran to
Babur (925) 401;
rebukes a jest at Khalifa's expense 416;
reads the _Khutba_ first for Babur in Dihli (932) 476;
reinforces the right wing [_tulghuma_] at Kanwa (933) 569;
leads the Morning Prayer at Rapri (935) 643 (where for "Muhammad"
read Mahmud).
Sultan +Mahmud Ghazi+ _Ghaznawi Turk_--his humble capital Ghazni 217,
219;
his and his descendants' tombs 218;
Dost-i-nasir's tomb near his 396;
his dam and Babur's gift from Hindustan for its repairs 219;
But-khak traditionally named from his idol-breaking 409 n. 3;
mentioned as a conqueror of Hindustan 479;
contrast made between his position and Babur's 479;
[d. 421 AH.-1030 AD.].
Sultan +Mahmud Khan+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_, Khaqan of the
Mughuls, elder son of Yunas and Shah Begim--succeeds
his father (892) 13;
his disaster on the Chir (895) 31, 34, 39;
invades Farghana (899) 13, 31;
thought of as a refuge for Babur 29, (908) 178;
retires from Farghana 32;
attempts Samarkand and is defeated (900) 52, 111, (905) 122;
takes Aura-tipa (900) 55-6;
demands Andijan (903) 87;
is visited by Babur (900) 54, (903) 90, 92, (907 and 908) 153-159;
sends help to Babur (903) 90, 92, (904) 101, (906) 138, 139;
his men abandon Babur (903) 91, 92;
he opposes Babur (905) 115-6, 116;
moves out against Tambal (907) 154, 156;
numbers his army 154;
acclaims his standards 155;
ceremonies on his meeting his brother Ahmad (908) 160;
goes with him against Tambal 161, 168, 171;
they number their armies 161;
retires to Tashkint 172;
defeated at Archian by Shaibani (909) 7, 23, -> 182-3;
his prÊ-accession sobriquet Khamka Khan 23;
his summer retreat in Farghana 5;
his Miran-shahi marriage (cir. 892) 13, 35;
retainers of his 25, 28;
former followers, deported (908) by Shaibani,
return after his death (916) 351;
Babur's comment on him as a soldier 91, 157,
and as a verse-maker 154;
-> murdered with five young sons by Shaibani 350;
[d. 914 AH.-1509 AD.].
+Mahmud Khan+ _Ludi Afghan_, son of Sikandar--fights for Sanga at Kanwa
(933) 562;
reported to have taken Bihar (935) 639, 675;
one of three competitors for rule 651 n. 5;
gathers an army to oppose Babur 651-2;
it breaks up 654;
is near the Son 658;
flees before Babur's men 662;
referred to 664 n. 7, 679 n. 7;
on his title Sultan 652 nn. 2, 6, 653-4 n. 1;
[d. 945 AH.-1543 AD.].
+Mahmud Khan+ _Nuhani Afghan_
--holding a district from Babur;
taken by `Alam Khan (932) 455, 456;
deserts `Alam Khan;
waits on Babur and given revenue from Ghazipur 527;
sent against Etama 530;
waits on Babur (935) 659;
searches for a passage through the Ghogra 668;
in the battle of the Ghogra 669 (here _Ghazipuri_);
receives a grant on Bihar 676;
on service against Biban and Bayazid 682.
+Mahmud Khan+ _shikdar_ of Sikandarpur--collects boats for Babur's
passage of the Ghogra (935) 668.
+Mahmud Khan Sultan+ _Auzbeg-Shaiban Chingiz-khanid_--in the battle
of Sar-i-pul (Khwaja Kardzan) (906) 139;
receives Qunduz (910) 244;
his protection sought 196 n. 5;
dies 244;
[d. 910 AH.-1504 AD.].
Sultan +Mahmud+ _Khilij_ Turk, ruler in Malwa--particulars 482 (where
in n. 2 for "Gujrat" read Malwa);
his territory (916) 593;
his jewels (925 and 935) 612-3;
thought of by Rahim dad as a refuge 688 n. 2 (where for "Muhammad"
read Mahmud);
[d. 937 AH.-1531 AD.].
+Mahmud+ _kundur-sangak, piada_--killed fighting 68;
[d. 902 AH.-1497 AD.].
Sultan +Mahmud+ _mir-akhwur_, see Mirza Beg _firmgi-baz_
(58 and n. 4).
Sultan +Mahmud Mirza+ _Ghazi_, _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_,
son of Abu-sa`id--particulars 45-51;
defeated by Husain _Bai-qara_ (865 and 876), 46, 259-60, 268;
succeeds his brother Ahmad (899) 40-1, 86;
alienates allegiance 41-2;
sends Babur wedding-gifts (900) 43;
his death 27, 45, 50, 52;
his family joins Babur (910) 189;
referred to 12 n. 2, 13 n. 5, 190, 194;
his Hisar house 93;
[d. 900 AH.-1495 AD.].
Sayyid +Mahmud Saifi+, Maulana _`Aruzi_--author of the
_`Aruz-i-saifi_--tutor of Bai-sunghar _Miran-shahi_ 111.
+Mahmud+ _Sarwani_, son of Fath Khan Khan-i-jahan--ordered to stay at
Court (933) 537.
+Mahmud Shah+ _Ilyas_--his murder mentioned to illustrate a succession
custom of Bengal 483.
Sultan +Mahmud+ _Sharqi_, son of Jalalu'd-din--Babur gives him the
title of Sultan (935) 652.
+Mahmud+, son of Muhammad-i-makhdumi--beheaded in Badakhshan 242;
[d. 910 AH.-1504-5 AD.?].
(?) +Mahndi+ (415, 473), or Mindi or Hindi (235, 335)--kills an Afghan
trader (910) 235;
in the centre at Qandahar (913) 335;
wine first given to him (925) 415;
in the left wing [_tulghuma_] at Panipat (932) 473.
Khwaja +Majdu'd-din Muhammad+ _Khawafi_--particulars 281, 282.
+Makan+ _Farmuli_(?) _Afghan_--not submissive to Babur (932) 529;
sent out of the way before Kanwa (933) 547;
his son Hasan _q.v._
+Makhdum-i-`alam+, Nasrat Shah's Governor in Hajipur--his defences on
the Gandak (935) 663.
Hazrat +Makhdumi Nura+--mentioned 641 n. 1.
+Makhdum-sultan Begim+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter
of Mahmud and Zuhra--in Badakhshan (_cir._ 935) 48.
+Makhdum-sultan Begim+ _Qara-guz_, wife of `Umar Shaikh--particulars
18, 24.
+Malik-dad+ _Kararani_ (_Karani_)[2908]--reprieved (932) 477-8;
on service (933) 540, 582, (935) 682;
in the right wing at Kanwa (933) 557.
+Malik-i-muhammad Mirza+ _Miran-shahi_, nephew of Abu-sa`id--aspires
to rule (899) 41;
murdered 41;
his wife 47;
his house 146;
[d. 899 AH.-1494 AD.].
+Maliks of Alangar+--their garden a halting-place (926) 424.
+Malik of Fan+--stingy to Babur (906) 130.
+Malik-quli+ _Kunari_--Babur halts at his son's house (926) 423 (where
read quli for "`Ali").
+Malik Sharq+--returns from service (935) 683.
+Mallu Khan+ of Malwa--his tank at Chanderi 597 n. 8, 598.
+Mamaq Sultan+ _Auzbeg-Shaiban Chingiz-khanid_, son of Hamza--takes
service with Babur (901) 58, 59;
-> his death 353;
[d. 917 AH.-1511-2 AD.].
+Mamum Khalifa+, _`Abbasi_, son of Harunu'r-rashid--his Observatory
and Tables, Author's Note 79;
[d. 218 AH.-833 AD.].
+Manik-chand+ _Chauhan Rajput_--killed at Kanwa 573;
[d. 933 AH.-1527 AD.].
Raja +Man-sing+ _Gualiari_, _Tunwar Rajput_--his buildings 607, 608;
his son Bikramajit _q.v._;
[d. 924 AH.-1518 AD.].
Shah +Mansur+ _bakhshi_--helps Shaibani to take Herat (913) 325;
given Khadija Begim to loot 326.
Shah +Mansur+ _Barlas_--on service (932) 465-6, 475, 530, (933) 545;
in the right centre at Panipat (932) 472, 473,
and at Kanwa (933) 565, 569;
his untimely praise of the Rajput army 548, 550.
Sultan +Mansur Khan+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_, eldest son of Ahmad,
Alacha Khan-- -> defeats his half-brother Sa`id (914) 349;
-> mentioned as Khaqan of the Mughuls, Sa`id as Khan in Kashghar 427;
[d. 950 AH.-1543 AD.].
+Mansur Mirza+ _Bai-qara_, _`Umar-shaikhi Timurid_, _Barlas
Turk_--mentioned in his son Husain's genealogy 256;
his not-reigning 256;
his wife Firuza and their children 256, 257;
his beg Wali _q.v._
+Mansur+ _Turkman_--in the centre at Qandahar (913) 335.
Malik Shah +Mansur+ _Yusuf-zai Afghan_, son of Sulaiman--envoy of his
tribe to Babur (924) 371;
his daughter's
marriage with Babur (925) 375, App. K;
waits on him 399, 400;
his brother Taus Khan and cousin Ahmad _q.v._;
a follower 377.
+Maqsud+ _suchi_, _sharbatchi_, _karg_--in the left centre at Qandahar
(913) 335, 338;
his tossing by a rhinoceros (_karg_) 400.
+Marghub+ _qul_--in Mahawin (932) 523.
Mian +Ma`ruf+ _Farmuli Afghan_[2909]--disaffected to Ibrahim and
(later) to Babur (932) 523;
his opposition 530;
flees 533-4;
his son Muhammad (?) leaves him (934) 598;
his sons Muhammad and Musa _q.v._
+Ma`ruf+ _Yaq`ub-khail Dilah-zak_ (_Dilazak_) _Afghan_--waits on Babur
at `Ali-masjid (925) 394.
Shaikh +Maslahat+ _Khujandi_--his birthplace 8;
dreamed of by Babur (906) 132;
his tomb visited by Timur (790) 132 n. 2.
+Masti+ _chuhra_--deals with a drunken man (925) 415;
intoxicated by beer (926) 423.
Sultan +Mas`ud+ _Ghaznawi_--his tomb 218.
Sultan +Mas`ud Mirza+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of
Mahmud and Khan-zada I--particulars 47, 48;
holding Hisar (900) 52;
opposes Husain _Bai-qara_ and flees (901) 57-8, 130;
one of three besieging Samarkand; retires with his desired Barlas
bride 64;
quarrels with Khusrau Shah (902) 71,
and with the Hisar begs (903) 93;
takes refuge with Husain _Bai-qara_ 93, 95, 261, 265;
returns to Khusrau and is blinded by him 95, 50;
goes back to Husain 95, 266;
mentioned as older than Bai-sunghar 110;
meets Babur in Herat (912) 302;
murdered by Auzbegs (913) 267;
his wives Saliha-sultan _Miran-shahi_, and Sa`adat-bakht
_Bai-qara_ _q.v._;
his betrothed (?) Kichik Begim _Bai-qara_ _q.v._;
[d. 913 AH.-1507 AD.].
Sultan +Mas`ud Mirza+ _Kabuli_, _Shah-rukhi_, _ut supra_--particulars
382;
his cherished followers, sons of Mir `Ali Beg _q.v._;
his son `Ali _asghar_ _q.v._;
[deposed 843 AH.-1439-40 AD.].
Mulla +Mas`ud+ _Sherwani_, of Husain _Bai-qara's_ Court--no particulars
284.
+Ma`suma-sultan Begim+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter
of Ahmad and Habiba-sultan, and wife of Babur--particulars 36,
-> 711;
her marriage arranged (912) 306, -> 714;
brought from Herat (913) 330;
married 339;
dies in child-bed and her name at once given to her child 36;
[d_cir._ 915 AH.-1509 AD.].
+Ma`suma-sultan Begim+, _ut supra_, daughter of Babur
and Ma`suma-sultan (_supra_)--her birth 36;
with her father in the Transoxus campaign (916-920) 358;
her marriage (or betrothal) to Muhammad-i-zaman _Bai-qara_
(923 or 924) 365;
gifts made to her servants (935) 633;
-> in the family-list 705, 706.
+Maulana Sayyidi+, or _Mashhadi_--his chronogram on Humayun's birth
(913) 344.
Shaikh +Mazid Beg+, Babur's first guardian--particulars 26, 27;
[d before 899 AH.-1494 AD.].
Mir +Mazid Taghai+ _Kunji Mughul_, brother or uncle
of Aisan-daulat--takes part in a sally from Samarkand (906) 142;
wounded at Akhsi (908) 168;
rebels (921) 363, 397;
his relations, `Ali-dost, Sherim, Qul-nazr _q.v._;
[d_cir._ 923 AH.-1517 AD.].
+Mazid Beg Tarkhan+ _Arghun_, son of Amir Tarkhan Junaid (H.S. lith.
ed. iii, 359)--his retainer Khusrau Shah 49;
his action in 873 AH. 51;
his brother `Ashiq-i-muhammad _q.v._
Shaikh +Mazid Kukuldash+--envoy of Muhammad-i-zaman to Babur (925) 402.
+Medini Rao+ var. Mindi _etc._--particulars 593 n. 5;
his force at Kanwa (933) 562;
holding Chanderi (934) 483, 593;
Babur negociates with him 594;
his house the scene of a supreme rite 595.
+Mihr-angez Begim+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_--married as a
captive (913) 329 n. 1.
+Mihr-ban Khanim+ (see _infra_)--gifts to and from Babur (935) 631,
632, 641;
her husband Kuchum _Auzbeg_ and their son Pulad _q.v._;
a verse seeming to be addressed to her (925) 402.
+Mihr-banu Begim+ _Miran-shahi_, half-sister of Babur (perhaps the
Khanim last entered)--particulars 18.
+Mihr-nigar Khanim+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_, daughter of
Yunas--particulars 21, 149;
joins Babur in Kabul (911) 246;
visited by him after her disloyalty (912) 315;
goes to Badakhshan (913) 341;
dies a prisoner 21.
+Milli Surduk+--reprieved from death (932) 477, 478.
+Mingli Bi Aghacha+, a mistress of Husain _Bai-qara_--particulars 269;
her sons and daughters 262-3, 266.
+Minglik Kukuldash+--leaves Samarkand (907) 147.
+Minuchihr Mirza+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, brother
of Abu-sa`id--an attributed descendant 24;
his son Malik-i-muhammad _q.v._
+Minuchihr Khan+ _Turk_--delayed in waiting on Babur by a forcible
marriage (925) 386, 388;
on Babur's service in Bhira 389;
leading Darya-khanis (934) 589;
his relation Nazar-i-`ali _Turk_ _q.v._
+Mirak+--entrusted with building work (935) 642.
+Mirak Kur Diwan+ (or Gur)--in Ala-qurghan when Shaibani took Herat
(913) 328.
+Miran-shah Mirza+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of Aulugh
Beg _Kabuli_--rebels against his father and goes to Khusrau Shah 95;
sent to Bamian 96.
+Miran-shah Sultan Mirza+ _Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, 3rd son
of Timur--mentioned in a genealogy 14;
his daughter's son Ahmad _Bai-qara_ _q.v._;
[d. 810 AH.-1407-8 AD.].
+Mir Buzurg+ _Tirmizi_--his daughter and granddaughter, wives of Mahmud
_Miran-shahi_ 47-8, 49.
+Mirim+--Mir Muhammad?[2910]--adopted son of Auzun Hasan--killed
fighting against Babur 170;
[d. 908 AH.-1502 AD.].
+Mirim Diwan+--_ut supra_--captured serving Babur (904) 106;
released (905) 119;
discovers a rebel (912) 319.
+Mirim+ _Laghari_--_ut supra_--leaves Babur for home (903) 91;
captured serving Babur (904) 106;
killed 167;
[d. 904 AH.-1499 AD.].
+Mirim-i-nasir Beg+--_ut supra_--enters Babur's service (904) 103;
one of a household-party (906) 131;
in the left centre at Qandahar (913) 335, 338;
at social gatherings (925) 385, 388;
on service 389, 391;
receives his dead brother's district 397.
+Mirim Tarkhan+--_ut supra_--drowned while serving Bai-sunghar
_Miran-shahi_ 74;
[d. 903 AH.-1497 AD.].
+Mir Khurd+ _bakawal_--one of a boat-party (925) 388;
ordered to catch pheasants 404;
made Hind-al's guardian 408;
on service (935) 640.
+Mir Mughul+, son of `Abdu'l-wahhab _shaghawal_--helps to defend
Andijan (903) 122;
his son killed (904) 102 (here Mughul Beg);
sent by Tarkhans to invite Babur to Samarkand (905) 122, 123;
on service (925) 389 (here Beg Muhammad _Mughul_); measures
Babur's marches (935) 658 (here Mughul Beg);
in the battle of the Ghogra 673-4 (here Mughul-i `Abdu'l-wahhab).
+Mir Sang-tarash+--entrusted with building-work (935) 642.
+Mirza Beg+ _firingi-baz_--in Husain _Bai-qara's_ service (901) 58.
+Mirza Beg Kai-khusrawi+--in Ala-qurghan when Shaibani took Heri
(913) 328.
+Mirza Beg Taghai+, see Sl. `Ali M. Taghai _Begchik_.
+Mirza Beg Tarkhan+--in the left centre at Panipat (932) 472.
Wais +Mirza Khan+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_--Khan Mirza--son
of Mahmud and Sultan-nigar _Chaghatai_--particulars 47;
sent by The Khan (Mahmud _Chaghatai_) against Samarkand (905) 122;
in Tashkint (908) 159;
at Khusrau Shah's audience of submission (910) 193;
demands vengeance on him 194;
on service 234;
disloyal (912) 313-20;
captured and banished 320;
rejoins Babur from Herat (913) 331;
in the right wing at Qandahar 334;
his loot 338;
goes to Badakhshan on Shah Begim's insistance 340-1, 342;
his claim to rule in it 698 nn. 1-3;
serves as a refuge for Sa`id _Chaghatai_ (915) 349
and Haidar _Dughlat_ 350;
sends Babur news of Shaibani's defeat at Merv (916) 350;
invites his help in recovering their ancestral lands _ib._;
messenger of Babur to Isma`il _Safawi_ 352;
helps him to defend Hisar (918) 359;
receives him plundered 362;
sends him an envoy (925) 402;
loses lands to Sa`id _Chaghatai_ 695;
-> mentioned 427;
his death announced to Babur (927) 433, 621 n. 5;
his titles 21 n. 5;
his guardians 26, 122;
[d. 927 AH.-1521 AD.].
+Mir-zadas+ of Khwast--wait on Babur (925) 399.
+Mirza-i-malu+ _Qarluq_?--his son Shah Husain or Hasan _q.v._
+Mirza Mughul+, son of Daulat-qadam-i-turk--conveys letters
(932) 526-7.
+Mohan+ _Mundahir Rajput_-- -> a punitive expedition against him
(936) 700-1;
[d. 936 AH.-1529 AD.?].
The +Mother+ of the Head-man of Dikh-kat--particulars 150.
Ibrahim _Ludi's_ +Mother+--receives an allowance from Babur (932) 478;
attempts to poison him (933) 541;
started under guard for Kabul 543;
her grandson sent to Kamran 544;
[d. 933 AH.-1527 AD.].
+Mirza-quli Kukuldash+ (Mirza's servant?)--with Jahangir (_Êt._ 9)
in Akhsi (899) 32;
one of three with Babur (908) 166, 396;
fights for him in Akhsi 174-5;
one of eight in flight 177;
his horse fails 178;
at social gatherings (925) 385, 387, 388;
out with Babur 403;
behaves in his own fashion 407.
+Muatukan+ _Chaghatai Chingis-khanid_--mentioned in Yunas Khan's
genealogy 19.
Bibi +Mubaraka+ _Yusuf-zai Afghan_, a wife of Babur--referred
to 367 n. 3;
her courtship App. K;
asked and given in marriage 375, 376;
a couplet suiting her 411;
accompanies Mahim to Agra (935) 689 n. 5;
-> her probable charge of conveying Babur's body to Kabul 709-10;
her brother Jamal App. K, xli;
[d early under Akbar 963 AH.-1556 AD.].
+Mubarak Khan+ _Jilwani_--killed serving Biban (935) 685.
+Mubarak Shah+ _Muzaffari_--rises in Badakhshan against Shaibani
(_cir._ 910) 242;
invites Nasir _Miran-shahi_ 242, 243;
defeats Auzbegs (912) 294-5;
defeats Nasir 321;
in force (913)
Author's Note 340;
invites Mirza Khan to Qila`i-zafar 21;
[d_cir._ 913 AH.-1508 AD.].
+Mughul Beg+, amir of Husain _Bai-qara_--particulars 275.
A +Mughul servant+--aims an arrow at Babur (912) 316.
+Muhammad+, the Prophet--reference to 75;
a saying on travel 184;
his edicts do not include the imposition of the _tamgha_ 555;
on the duty of a wazir 556;
mentioned in the _farman_ and the _fath-nama_ (933) 553, 559-574.
Khwaja +Muhammad+, an old tailor of `Umar Shaikh's--allays anxiety
for Babur (899) 30.
Mir +Muhammad-i-Mahdi Khwaja+--on service (925) 381.
Pahlawan Haji +Muhammad+--gifts made to him (935) 633.
Ustad Sultan +Muhammad+, a Kabul builder--orders for his work
(935) 646-7.
+Muhammad `Ali+, son of Haidar _kikabdar_--brings a gift (925) 418;
summons Humayun (933) 537-8;
sent out for news (935) 661, 662.
+Muhammad `Ali+ _bakhshi_--on Abu-sa`id's service and defeated
by Husain _Bai-qara_ (868) 259.
+Muhammad `Ali+ _Jang-jang_--in the centre at Bajaur (925) 370;
at boat-parties 387, 388;
his servant's service 391, 392;
his districts 392-3, 530;
reinforced 412;
waits on Babur 403, 419, (932) 458;
at Milwat (932) 460, 461;
at Hisar-firuza 465-6;
wounded 471;
in the van at Panipat 472;
on service 530, (933) 549, 550, 576, 582;
in the left wing at Kanwa 557;
acts unsuccessfully against Biban and Bayazid (934) 589, 594, 598;
pursues from near Qanuj 601;
sent against Baluchis (935) 638;
his brother Arghun and sons Tardi-muhammad and Nan-roz _q.v._
Khwaja +Muhammad `Ali+ _kitabdar_--messenger to Khwaja Yahya
(905) 124;
confuses a pass word (908) 164 (here _sairt-kishi_ = _sart_);
captured by Tambal 168;
fights against rebels (912) 315;
in the left centre at Qandahar (913) 335;
in charge of treasure 338;
at entertainments (925) 410, 411, 413;
-> at Kalanur (930) 442 (here Tajik = Sart).
+Muhammad `Ali+ _Mubashir-beg_--stays with Babur at a crisis
(903) 91;
at Khuban (905) 113;
in the flight from Akhsi (908) 163;
captured by Tambal 168;
killed on service 252;
his servant Sulaiman 175;
[d. 911 AH.-1506 AD.].
+Muhammad `Ali+ _piada_--deserts Nasir _Miran-shahi_ (913) 343.
Khwaja +Muhammad `Ali Taghai+--`Asas--brother of Mahim Begim?--in the
van at Qandahar (913) 335;
meets Babur at a crisis (914) 346;
waits on Babur (925) 399, 403;
answers a military summons 408;
the first to follow Babur in renouncing wine (933) 552;
at various entertainments (925) 387, 388, 400, 412, (926) 423,
(935) 683;
on his identity 522 n. 4;
-> in charge of Babur's Agra tomb (937) 709.
Khwaja +Muhammad-amin+--out with Babur (910) 230;
deserts from Qandahar (913) 343;
at a garden-wine-party (925) 418;
his servant Imam-i-muhammad _ib._
+Muhammad-amin Khan+ _Qazani_, _Jugi Chingiz-khanid_--Shaibani sends
him a Herat musician 292;
[d. 925 AH.-1519 AD.].
Ustad +Muhammad-amin+ _jibachi_--attention for him desired from Khwaja
Kalan (935) 647.
+Muhammad+ _Andijani_--sent to Kabul (912) 313-4.
+Muhammad+ _Arghun_--with Mughuls against Babur (904) 106.
Sayyid +Muhammad-i-aurus+ _Arghun_, son of Aurus--particulars 279.
Shah Sultan +Muhammad+ _Badakhshi_--his claim to Greek descent and his
six daughters 22.
(Cf. T.R. trs. p. 107.)
Miir +Muhammad+ _Badakhshi_ of Ishkimish--particulars 288-9;
waits on Babur (917) 289.
+Muhammad+ _bakhshi_--on service at Qandahar (913) 338.
+Muhammad Baqir Beg+ _Andijani_--with Jahangir (899) 32;
disloyal to Babur (900) 44;
with Bai-sunghar (902) 65;
leaves Babur for home (903) 91;
in Akhsi and seen in the flight (908) 189, 181;
-> 182;
his son Dost _q.v._
+Muhammad Baranduq Beg+ _Barlas Turk_--particulars 270;
on Husain _Bai-qara's_ service (901) 58;
retorts on Khusrau Shah (910) 243;
retainer of Muzaffar-i-husain _Bai-qara_ (911) 274, 293;
acts against Shaibani (912) 296, 297;
at a feast 298;
concerning Babur's reception at the Heri Court 299;
presses him to winter in Heri 307;
his plan of defence rejected (913) 326.
+Muhammad Beg+ _Begchik_, brother of Ayub--in the right wing
at Qandahar (913) 334.
Pahlawan +Muhammad Bu-sa`id+--particulars 292.
Shah +Muhammad+ _diwana_, receives a fugitive Bai-qara 263;
his son brings Babur news of Biban and Bayazid (935) 681.
+Muhammad-dost Taghai+ _Kunji Mughul_, son of `Ali-dost--with Babur
(900) 53;
remains at a crisis (903) 91;
captured by Tambal (904) 106;
released (905) 119;
his self-aggrandizment 119;
deserts to Tambal 125;
negociates for him with Babur (908) 173;
blinded by the Auzbegs 125.
Sayyid +Muhammad+ _Dughlat Hisari_--enters Babur's service (901) 58,
59;
his Mughuls desert Babur (904) 105;
conspires against Tambal and goes to The Khan (Mahmud) (907) 154;
sent with Babur against Tambal (908) 161.
Sultan +Muhammad+ _Duldai_, _Barlas Turk_--Babur's messenger to Husain
_Bai-qara_ (912) 294;
returns with news of Husain's death 295;
in the right centre at Qandahar (913) 335;
waits on Babur from Bajaur (925) 401;
overtakes him at Jui-shahi 410;
at a wine-party _ib._;
at Hisar-firuza (932) 465-6;
in the right-wing at Panipat 472;
given Qanuj 530;
abandons it (933) 557;
unwilling to return there 582;
sent against Baluchis (935) 638;
ordered to Agra 676.
Shah +Muhammad+ _Farmuli Afghan_, son of Ma`ruf--particulars 675;
Babur gives him Sarun (934) 603, 675;
waits on Babur (935) 675, 679.
Sultan +Muhammad+ _Galpuk_, _Itarachi Mughul_--opposing Babur
(908) 165.
Shaikh +Muhammad+ _Ghaus_--particulars 539;
helps Babur to gain Gualiar (933) 539-40;
intercedes for Rahim-dad (936) 688, 690.
+Muhammad Haidar Mirza+ _Dughlat_, see Haidar.
+Muhammad Husain Mirza Kurkan+ _Dughlat_, receives Aura-tipa
(900) 56;
effects Qasim _quchin's_ dismissal (903) 90;
sent by The Khan (Mahmud) to help Babur 92;
lends him Pashaghar (904) 97,
and Dikh-kat (907) 148;
sent against Samarkand (905) 122;
keeps back Aura-tipa from Babur (907) 149;
goes to him in Kabul (911) 246;
incites a Mughul revolt against him (912) 313-17;
captured and banished 319;
ungrateful for leniency _ib._;
Shaibani avenges Babur _ib._;
his son Haidar's excuses for him 317 n. 3;
his wife Khub-nigar, son Haidar, daughter Habiba _q.v._;
[d. 914 AH.-1508 AD.].
+Muhammad Husain+, brother of Abu'l-hasan _qur-begi_--joins Mirza Khan
(912) 315;
on Babur's service (925) 413 (here _qurchi_).
+Muhammad-i-husain Mirza+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of
Husain and Mingli--particulars 262, 268;
hostile to his father (903) 94;
his flight into `Iraq 262.
Mir +Muhammad+ _jala-ban_--examines a ford through the Sind-water
(Indus) (925) 378;
selects a site for a pontoon-bridge across the Ganges (934) 599;
examines fords above Aud (Oudh) 602;
advises about crossing the Saru (Goghra) 674;
rewarded for his pontoon-bridge (935) 635;
his raft-mishaps (925) 407, 423.
+Muhammad Jan+, Najm Sani's Lord-of-the-Gate-- -> envoy to Babur and
discontented with his reception (917) 355.
+Muhammad Khalil+ _akhta-begi_--sent raiding (933) 538;
at Kanwa (933) 569.
+Muhammad Khan+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_--mentioned in Yunas Khan's
genealogy 19.
+Muhammadi Kukuldash+, kinsman of Baba Qashqa (?--_q.v._)--seen with
Babur by Khan-zada (before 907 and in 916) 18;
on service at Milwat (932) 458, 460;
in the right centre at Panipat 472, 473, 475;
sent against Dulpur 530;
receives Samana 528;
in the right wing at Kanwa (933) 566, 569, 576;
sends news of a second[2911] Baluchi incursion (935) 605 n. 3, 638;
reports action 675;
ordered to Agra 676;
at various entertainments (925) 385, 388, 412.
+Muhammad-i-makhdumi+--his son Mahmud _q.v._
+Muhammad Ma`sum Mirza+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of
Husain and Mingli--particulars 264, 269;
his wife Bega _Miran-shahi_ _q.v._;
[d. 907 AH.-1501-2 AD. See HS. iii, 290].
Mulla +Muhammad+ _Mazhab_--profers support to Babur (932) 463;
Babur's envoy to Bengal (935) 637.
+Muhammad Mazid Tarkhan+ _Arghun Chingiz-khanid_, son of
Aurdu-bugha--particulars 39;
has charge of Nasir _Miran-shahi_ (899) 32;
leaves Samarkand after the Tarkhan rebellion (901) 62;
displeases `Ali _Miran-shahi_ (905) 121;
plotted against _ib._;
invites Mirza Khan and Babur 122, 123;
welcomes Babur 40, 124;
joins Khusrau Shah (906) 129;
fights for Babur at Sar-i-pul (Khwaja Kardzan) 139;
takes refuge with Khusrau Shah 141;
at Kul-i-malik (918) -> 357;
killed there 39;
his house a post of Babur's 143;
[d. 918 AH.-1512 AD.].
Sultan +Muhammad Mirza+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_--parentage
257.
Sayyid +Muhammad Mirza+ _Dughlat_, uncle of Haidar--sent to help Babur
(906) 139;
envoy of Sa`id _Chaghatai_ to him (917) 22;
escorts his niece to Kashghar _ib._
Sultan +Muhammad Mirza+ _Miran-shahi_, grandson of Timur--his son
Abu-sa`id _q.v._
Sultan +Muhammad Mirza+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_--his father Abu-sa`id
_q.v._
+Muhammad+ _miskin_, _Duldai Barlas_, son of Hafiz--captured
by Babur's men (903) 72.
+Muhammad Muhsin+ _Bai-qara_, see Kupuk.
+Muhammad Muqim Beg+ _Arghun_, son of Zu'n-nun--takes possession
of Kabul (908) 195 n. 3;
loses it to Babur (910) 198, 199, 227, 246 n. 3;
loses Qalat-i-ghilzai to him (911) 248-9;
seeks his co-operation against Shaibani (913) 330;
withdraws and fails in etiquette 331-2;
opposed to Babur at Qandahar 333-7;
flees in defeat 339.
Khwaja +Muhammad Muqim+ _Herawi_, father of Nizamu'd-din Ahmad the
historian-- -> mentioned 691 n. 1, -> 692;
-> his story of a plan to supersede Humayun as Padshah
in 937 AH. 703;
discussion of it 704-7;
its incredibility as told 704-5.
+Muhammad Mumin+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son
of Badi`u'z-zaman--Astarabad claimed for him (902) 69;
defeated by an uncle 71 (where _delete_ the _`ain_ from his name);
his murder attributed to Khadija Begim 268.
Shaikh +Muhammad+ _Musalman_, ancestor of the Farmuli Shaikh-zadas--his
tomb and descendants 220.
Sultan +Muhammad Muzaffar+ _Gujrati_, _Tank Rajput_--particulars 481-2;
his death 481;
his sons Sikandar Shah and Bahadur Khan _q.v._;
[d. 932 AH.-1526 AD.].
+Muhammad+ _Nuhani_, see Bihar Khan.
Mulla +Muhammad+ _Parghari_--loquacious (932) 453.
+Muhammad-i-qasim+ _Barlas_--comes accidentally on Babur (925) 417.
+Muhammad-i-qasim Mirza+ _Arlat_, son of Abu'l-qasim
(H.S. iii, 327)--his Bai-qara wife and their child 265;
his sons (?) Babur and Murad _q.v._
+Muhammad-i-qasim Mirza+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, son of Husain
and Papa--parentage 265.
+Muhammad-i-qasim+ _Nabira_, grandson of Muhammad _Sighal_--made
prisoner when opposing Babur (903) 72.
+Muhammad-i-qasim+ _Qibchaq Turk_, son of Baqi _Chaghaniani_--leaves
his family in Ajar (910) 191;
father (?) of Ahmad-i-qasim _q.v._
+Muhammad-quli+ _quchin_--Mir Shah _quchin_--helps Bai-sunghar's escape
from Samarkand (901) 62;
with Babur at Samarkand and wounded (902) 68;
stays with him at a crisis (903) 91;
captured (904)
and released by Tambal (905) 119;
in the van at Sar-i-pul (Khwaja Kardzan) (906) 139;
besieged in Samarkand 142-144;
with Babur when surprised by Tambal (908) 163;
in the left wing at Qandahar (913) 334;
in a raid (925) 403.
+Muhammad+ _qurchi_, retainer of Khusrau Shah--rises against the Auzbeg
occupation of Badakhshan (910) 242;
expels Nasir _Miran-shahi_ (912) 321;
keeping up his head (913) 340.
Ustad +Muhammad+ _sabz-bana_--his son Bana'i _q.v._
Maulana +Muhammad Sadru'd-din+ _Andijani_--his six sons' service
to Babur 370 n. 2;
his sons Khwajaka Mulla-i-sadr, Kichik Khwaja, Khwaja Kalan _q.v._
+Muhammad Salih Mirza+ _Khwarizmi_, author of the _Shaibani-nama_--in
Khwaja Yahya's service[2912] and waits on Babur (901) 64;
leaves Samarkand with the Tarkhans (905) 121;
enters Shaibani's service 65 n. 3;
on Shaibani's service (910) 196 n. 5;
couplets of his quoted by Babur 120-1, 448;
[d. 941 AH.-1534-5 AD.].
Ustad Shah +Muhammad+ _sang-tarash_--cuts an inscription (913) 343;
receives orders for work (933) 585, 606, (935) 642.
+Muhammad Shah+ _Khilji Turk_, son of Nasiru'd-din of Malwa--takes
Chanderi and seeks Ibrahim _Ludi's_ protection (916) 593;
his young son Ahmad _q.v._;
[d. 931 AH.-1524 AD.?].
+Muhammad Shah Padshah+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_--his
change of name for an orange 511 n. 4;
[d. 1161 AH.-1748 AD.].
+Muhammad+ _Shaibani_, see Shaibani.
Shaikh +Muhammad-i Shaikh Bhakari+ (?)--on service (933) 382.
Shah +Muhammad Shaikh-zada+ _Farmuli Afghan_, son of Ma`ruf--leaves his
Afghan associates (934) 598 (no name here);
favoured by Babur 603, 675;
compelled to act with Biban and Bayazid (935) 675;
writes dutifully to Babur _ib._;
waits on `Askari and Babur _ib._ and 679.
+Muhammad Sharif+ _munajjim_ (astrologer)--comes to Kabul (925) 399
and to Agra (933) 551;
augurs defeat at Kanwa 551, 576;
offers congratulations on victory, blamed and banished with
a gift 576.
Sultan +Muhammad+ _Sighal_, _Chaghatai_--his descendants
Muhammad-i-qasim and Hasan _q.v._
(Cf. 66 n. 4 and H.S. lith. ed. iii, 275 for tribe and title resp.).
+Muhammad Sultan+ _bakhshi_--left behind to catch pheasants (925) 404;
in a night-attack on Ibrahim's camp (932) 471;
in the left wing at Panipat 472;
has custody of the cook who poisoned Babur (933) 542;
staff-officers at Kanwa 568;
host to Babur (935) 629;
introduces a Kabul messenger 644;
brings news of Mahmud _Ludi_ 653-4;
writes that Babur's family is on its way from Kabul 657;
waits on Babur 606;
his servant Shah Qasim _q.v._
Sultan +Muhammad Sultan+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_--Sultanim
and Khanika--eldest son of The Khan (Mahmud)--sent to help Babur
(903) 92;
his guardian and he oppose Babur (905) 116;
his part in acclaiming the standards (907) 155;
goes out to meet his uncle Ahmad (Alacha Khan) (908) 159;
-> murdered 350;
[d. 914 AH.-1508 AD.].
+Muhammad Sultan-i-jahangir Mirza+ _Jahangiri Timurid_,
_Barlas Turk_--Samarkand given to him by his grandfather Timur 85;
his college 78.
+Muhammad Sultan Mirza+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of Wais
and Sultanim--particulars 265;
waits on Babur at Kalanur (932) 458;
on Babur's service 468, 471, 475, 530, 534, (933) 545, 548, 582,
(934) 589, (935) 682;
in the left wing at Panipat (932) 472
and at Kanwa (933) 567, 570;
gifts to him 527;
given Qanuj 582;
joins Babur (935) 651;
in the battle of the Ghogra 671, 672, 674;
-> mentioned 706 (where wrongly classed with half-Timurids);
once owner of the Elphinstone Codex 706 n. 3.
Beg +Muhammad+ _ta`alluqchi_--conveys gifts to Humayun (Muh. 934)
and returns (Rabi`I, 935) 621;
Babur complains of his detention.
+Muhammad Tahir+--captured (903) 74.
Muhammad +Timur Sultan+ _Auzbeg-Shaiban_, _Chingiz-khanid_, son of
Shaibani--at Samarkand (906) 128;
at Sar-i-pul (Khwaja Kardzan) 139;
defeats and kills two Bai-qara Mirzas (913) 263, 329-30;
leaves Samarkand on Babur's approach (917) 354;
at Ghaj-davan (918) 360;
his marriages with captives 24, 36, 328 n. 1.
Mulla +Muhammad+ _talib-mu`ammai_--an enigmatist of Husain
_Bai-qara's_ Court--particulars 201 n. 7[2913];
a couplet of his quoted 201-2;
[d. 918 AH.-1512 AD.].
Pahlawan Haji +Muhammad+ _tufang-andazi_--receives gifts (935) 633.
Mulla +Muhammad+ _Turkistani_, retainer of Khusrau Shah--makes Qunduz
safe for Shaibani Khan (910) 192.
+Muhammad-i-`ubaidu'l-lah+, son of Ahrari, see Khwaja Khwaja.
Sultan +Muhammad Wais+--waits on Babur (902) 66;
runs away and is suspected (907) 156;
serving Babur at Akhsi (908) 174;
his retainer Kichik `Ali _q.v._
+Muhammad Wali+ Beg--particulars 277;
on Husain Bai-qara's service (901) 57, (902) 70, (903) 94.
+Muhammad-i-yusuf+ _Aughlaqchi_, elder son of Yusuf--waits on Babur
(905) 125.
Mir +Muhammad-i-yusuf+--particulars 285;
waits on Babur in Herat (912) 285;
Shaibani instructs him in exposition (913) 329.
+Muhammad+ _Zaitun_[2914]--opposing Babur (932) 523;
written to and makes false excuse 529, 530;
waits on Babur (933) 540;
sent out of the way before Kanwa 547.
Khwaja +Muhammad Zakariya+,[2915] son of Yahya--murdered 128;
[906 AH.-1500 AD.].
+Muhammad-i-zaman Mirza+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, grandson
and last surviving heir of Husain--particulars 261, 269 n. 6, 279;
spared by Shaibani 263;
his wanderings and association with Khwand-amir 364-5, 463 n. 3;
sent to Babur and married to his daughter Ma`suma-sultan (923-4) 365;
in Balkh 365, 522;
dutiful letters and tribute sent by him to Babur (925) 385, 402,
-> 427, -> (926-932) 428;
with Babur (935) 606, 631, 639, 659;
objects to the Bihar command 661-2;
does homage for it and is given _insignia_ of royalty 662, -> 706;
starts for Bihar but is recalled 663, 664;
in the battle of the Ghogra 668, 669, 671;
-> given Junpur 682;
pursues Biban and Bayazid 682;
grounds for surmising in Babur the intention to leave him as ruler
in Hindustan 705-7;
-> of his later uprisings against Humayun 714 n. 1;
[ddrowned at Chausa 946 AH.-1539 AD.].
+Muhibb-i-`ali Khan+ _Barlas Turk_, son of Khalifa-- -> marries Nahid
Begim (930) 443;
in a night-attack (932) 471;
in the left centre at Panipat 472, 473
and at Kanwa (933) 565;
unhorsed in `Abdu'l-`aziz' discomfiture 549-50;
on service (934) 601.
+Muhibb-i-`ali+ _qurchi_--on Khusrau Shah's service (901) 60, (902) 71;
joins Babur (910) 188;
Babur's praise of him (912) 307, 308;
loyal 313, (914) 346;
in the van at Qandahar (913) 335;
collector of an impost (925) 384;
at Hisar-firuza (932) 465-6;
at an entertainment 410.
+Muhibb-sultan+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter
of Mahmud--particulars 48, 49.
Saqi +Muhsin+--wrestles (935) 660.
+Muhsin+ _Duldai Barlas_--at Chanderi (934) 590.
+Muinu'd-din al Zamji+--omitted (or lost) from Babur's list of Herat
celebrities 283 n. 1.
+Mujahid Khan+ _Multani_--on Babur's service (933) 540.
The +Mulla+, see `Abdu'r-rahman _Jami_.
+Mulla Baba+ _Farkati_--brings Babur news of Shaibani (913) 343.
+Mulla Bihishti+--conveys gifts to Hind-al (935) 642.
+Mulla Baba+ _Pashaghari_, _Chaghatai_--comes into one of Babur's
dreams (906) 132;
at Sar-i-pul 141;
envoy for Babur to Khusrau Shah (910) 188;
loyal (912) 313, (914) 346;
-> disloyal in Ghazni (921) 363;
deserts Humayun (932) 545;
joins the Auzbegs;
his proceedings 546;
his brother Baba Shaikh _q.v._;
his Kabul garden 315.
+Mulla Hijri+, a poet--waits on Babur (907) 153.
+Mulla Kabir+--his devious route to wait on Babur (925) 399.
+Mulla Khwajaka+--prescribes for Babur (925) 399 (where read
Khwajaka).
+Mulla Khwaja-i Sayyid Ata+--his Bai-qara wife 265-6.
+Mulla Tabrizi+--conveys gifts (935) 642.
+Mulla Taghai+--envoy to Babur of Abu-sa`id _Auzbeg_ (935) 631, 632,
641.
+Mumin+--suspected of the death of Nuyan Kukuldash (907) 151-2.
+Mumin-i-`ali+ _tawachi_--conveys orders (932) 451;
conveys the Kanwa Letter-of-victory to Kabul (933) 580.
+Mumin Ataka+--out with Babur (925) 404;
on service (932) 465, 534;
in the left wing (_tulghuma_) at Kanwa (933) 568, 569;
his brethren (935) 679.
Khwaja +Munir+ _Aushi_--incites attack on Bukhara (902) 65.
Sayyid +Murad+ _Aughlaqchi_[2916]--referred to as father of Yusuf 39
and Hasan 279;
[d. 874 AH.-1469-70 AD.].
+Murad Beg+ _Bayandari Turkman_--his joining Husain _Bai-qara_
(908) 280, 336.
+Murad Mirza+ _Arlat_, son of Muhammad-i-qasim and Rabi`a-sultan
_Miran-shahi_--his Bai-qara (?) marriage 266.[2917]
+Murad+ _Qajar Turkman_, _qurchi_--`Iraqi envoy to Babur (935) 666,
688, 689, n. 4.
Mulla Khwaja +Murshid+ _`Iraqi_--envoy of Babur to Ibrahim _Ludi_
(925) 385, -> 427 n. 3;
made Diwan of Bihar (935) 661, 662.
Mir +Murtaza+--particulars 284.
+Musa Khwaja+--whispers of Mughul rebellion (914) 346.
Malik +Musa+ _Dilah-zak (Dilazak) Afghan_--receives gifts (925) 394;
brings tribute 409.
+Musa Sultan+ _Farmuli_, son of Ma`ruf--waits on Babur (935) 685;
in the battle of the Ghogra 669.
+Mustafa Shaikh-zada+ _Farmuli Afghan_--on service for Ibrahim _Ludi_
(932) 527;
his brother Bayazid _q.v._;
[d. 932 AH.-1525-6 AD.].
+Mustafa+ _Rumi_, _tawachi_--his culverin-discharge at Panipat
(932) 474;
has carts made for defence at Kanwa (933) 550;
at Kanwa 550, 568-9;
at the Gangas bridge (934) 599;
in the battle of the Ghogra (935) 668, 669, 670.
+Mu'yad+--leading Darya-khanis for Babur (933) 582.
Shah +Muzaffar+--particulars 291;
his artist-training owed to Nawa'i 272.
+Muzaffar+ _Barlas_--particulars 270-1.
Sultan +Muzaffar+ _Gujrati_--his death and successor 534 (where for
[Jumada II] "and" read 932);
[d. 932 AH.-1526 AD.].
+Muzaffar-i-husain Mirza+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son
of Husain and Khadija--particulars 262, 268;
serving under his father (901) 58, (902) 71;
given Astarabad (902) 61, 69;
made joint-ruler in Heri (911) 292-3;
combines in action against Shaibani (912) 296-7
and withdraws 301;
fails in etiquette 297;
in social relation with Babur 298, 299, 300, 302-3;
plain speech to him from Qasim Beg 304;
a false report of him in Kabul 313;
irresolute in opposing Shaibani (913) 326;
his army defeated 327;
flees (to Astarabad) abandoning his family _ib._;
his wife Khan-zada Khanim _q.v._
Sultan +Muzaffar Shah+ _Habshi_, mentioned in illustration of a
Bengal custom 483.
Mirza Yar-i-ahmad +Najm Sani+, wazir of Isma`il _Safawi_--his killing
Sohrab _Bai-qara_ 262;
-> his commission to correct Babur (918) 355, 359;
-> his massacre in Qarshi 360;
-> slain at Ghaj-dawan 262 n. 4, 361;
Babur's alleged failure to support him 361;
his retainer Muhammad Jan _q.v._;
[d. 918 AH.-1512 AD.].
+Nadir Shah+ _Afsharid_--his birthplace (mod.) Qalat-i-nadiri 329
n. 4;
[d. 1160 AH.-1747 AD.].
+Nahar+, son of Hasan Khan _Mewati_--released by Babur from capture
(933) 545;
returns to Court 578;
escapes 581.
Nahid Begim-- -> her marriage (930) 443.
+Na`man Chuhra+--captured by Tambal (908) 168;
at a wine-party (925) 385.
Guru +Nanak Shah+--his relations with Daulat Khan _Yusuf-khail_ and
traditionally with Babur 461 n. 3;
[d. 946 AH.-1539 AD.].
Napoleon-- -> his problem of creed in Egypt less difficult than that of
Babur with Shi`a support 356.
+Narpat Hara+ _Chauhan Rajput_--his force at Kanwa (933) 562.
+Nasir Beg+--makes over Andijan to Babur (904) 103;
counsels him (908) 165;
captured by Tambal 168;
his sons Dost-, Mirim-, and Shahim-i-nasir; his brother-in-law Auzun
Hasan _q.v._
+Nasir Khan+ _Nuhani Afghan_--particulars 659 n. 4;
disaffected to Ibrahim _Ludi_ and unsubmissive to Babur (932) 523;
discussion of his movements 530;
assembles a force but flees before Babur's 533-4, 544;
his son Farid _q.v._
+Nasir Mirza+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of
`Umar Shaikh--particulars 17;
in Kasan (_Êt._ 8) (899) 32;
taken to his uncle Ahmad 32;
meets Babur (908) 172, 178;
at the capture of Kabul (910) 198, 199;
Zurmut hostility 220;
given Ningnahar 227;
misconduct 229, 241-2;
accepts an invitation to Badakhshan 242-3;
has an imbroglio with Khusrau Shah 243;
clans which had left him 255;
defeats Auzbegs (912) 295;
defeated by Badakhshis and goes to Babur 321;
Babur's reflections on the situation 322;
out with Babur (913) 324;
in the van at Qandahar 335;
his loot and command and beleaguerment in Qandahar 339-40;
goes to Ghazni 343, 344;
-> given Kabul (917) 363;
-> returns it to Babur (920) 363;
dies in Ghazni (921) 363;
his sister Mihr-banu and wife Qara-guz _Bai-qara_ _q.v._;
[d. 921 AH.-1515 AD.].
Khwaja +Nasiru'd-din+ _Tusi_--his Astronomical Tables 79;
[d. 672 AH.-1274 AD.].
Sultan +Nasiru'd-din+ _Khilji Turk_, Sultan of Malwa--events following
his death 593;
his son Mahmud _q.v._;
[d. 916 AH.-1510 AD.].
+Nasrat Shah+ _Husain-shahi_, Sultan in Bengal--particulars 482-3;
reported friendly to Babur (935) 628, 637;
sends him an envoy 637;
negociations with him 661, 664, 676;
referred to as at peace with Babur 665;
mentioned 667, 677, 679;
his troops defeated on the Ghogra 671-4;
peace made 676;
[d. 939 AH.-1532 AD.].
+Nasrat Shah+ _Tughluq Turk_--receives Dihli from Timur 481 n. 4.
+Naurang Beg+-- -> punishes the Mundahirs (936) 700, 701.
+Nau-roz+, brother of Muhammad-`ali _Jang-jang_--at Bajaur (925) 370.
+Naukar Hindu+, see Tuka.
+Nazar-i-`ali+ _Turk_--on Babur's service (925) 389;
his relation Minuchihr _q.v._
+Nazar Bahadur+--killed on Khusrau Shah's service 93, 94, 279;
[d. 903 AH.-1497-8 AD.].
+Nazar Bahadur+ _Auzbeg_--one of five champions worsted by Babur in
single combat (914) 349 n. 1.
Shah +Nazar+ _Turkman_--in the centre at Qandahar (913) 335;
rebels (914) 345.
+Ni`amat+ _Arghun_--his defeat 34.
Mulla +Ni`amat+--killed in a surprise by Sanga 549;
[d. 933 AH.-1527 AD.].
Khwaja +Ni`amatu'l-lah+--his son Asafi 286 n. 2.
+Nigarsi+, see Dankusi.
+Nizam Khan+ _Biana'i_--not submissive to Babur (932) 523;
receives letters and a quatrain from him 529;
defeats Babur's troops (933) 538-9;
waits on Babur 539;
in the left wing at Kanwa 567;
on service (935) 678.
Khwaja +Nizamu'd-din Ahmad+, the author of the _[T.]abaqat-i-akbari_,
son of Muhammad Muqim-- -> discussion of his story of the intended
supersession of Babur's sons 702-8;
[d. 1003 AH.-1594 AD.].
Sayyid +Nizamu'd-din `Ali Khalifa+ _Marghilani_, _Barlas Turk_
son of Junaid--escapes from prison and death (900) 55;
driven from Babur's presence (903) 90, (905) 119;
defends Kabul (912) 313;
mediates (914) 345;
hears rumours of Mughul revolt 346;
in the left centre at Bajaur (925) 369
and at Panipat (932) 473;
given charge of Ibrahim's corpse 474 n. 1;
at Kanwa (933) 556, 558, 564-5;
on service 384, 395, 666;
communicates bad news at Chanderi (934) 594 and (935) 639;
mediates for Rahim-dad 689;
-> declines the Badakhshan government (936) 697;
-> discussion of his plan to set Humayun aside (in Hindustan?)
702-8;
his seat at a feast 631;
host to Babur 408;
his sons Muhibb-i-`ali, Husamu'd-din-i-`ali, Hamza and daughter
Gul-barg _q.v._
Shaikh +Nizamu'd-din Auliya+--his tomb visited by Babur (932) 475;
[d. 725 AH.-1325 AD.].
+Nizamu'l-mulk+ _Khawafi_, Diwan in Heri--arrested and put
to death 282;
[d. 903 AH.-1497-8 AD.].
Hazrat +Nuh+ (Noah)--his father Lam _q.v._
+Nur Beg+ (perhaps Sayyid Nuru'd-din _Chaghaniani_ _infra)_--disobeys
the Law, plays the lute (925) 395;
joins Babur in an autumn garden 418;
his brethren on service (932) 446;
with Babur in the East (935) 653;
in the battle of the Ghogra 673;
sent to allay Rahim-dad's fears 688-9;
his brother Shaham _q.v._
Sayyid +Nuru'd-din+ _Chaghaniani_--Sayyid Amir--a son-in-law of Babur
and father of Salima-sultan -> 713;
perhaps Nur Beg _supra_.
Shaikh +Nuru'd-din Beg+ _Turkistani_, _Qibchaq Turk_--grandfather,
through a daughter, of Yunas _Chaghatai_ 19 (see T.R. trs. p. 64).
+Nuru'l-lah+ _tamburchi_--his experience in an earthquake (911) 247.
Sayyid +Nuyan Beg+ _Tirmizi_--particulars 273;
his son Hasan-i-ya`qub _q.v._
+Nuyan Kukuldash+ _Tirmizi_--makes a right guess (906) 131-2;
on service against Shaibani 142;
his sword sent as a gift to Tambal (907) 150;
that sword wounds Babur's head (908) 151, 167, 396;
his suspicious death 151-152;
Babur's grief 152;
Nuyan's uncle Haq-nazar _q.v._;
[d. 907 AH.-1502 AD.].
+Padmawati+, wife of Rana Sanga--in Rantanbhur (935) 612;
mentioned 613 n. 1;
her son Bikramajit and kinsman Asuk-mal _q.v._
+Pahar Khan+ _Ludi_, see Bihar.
+Pahar Mirza+, a father-in-law of Jahangir _Miran-shahi_--his daughter
brings her son Pir-i-muhammad to Babur (913) 331.
+Pahlawan+ _Audi_ (_Oudhi_)--wrestles (935) 683, 688.
+Pahlawan+ _Lahori_, a boatman--wrestles (935) 656.
+Papa Aghacha+, a mistress of Husain _Bai-qara_--particulars 266,
268-9;
her five sons and three daughters _ib._[2918]
+Papa-aughuli+, of Babur's household--out with Babur (910) 234;
at Qandahar (913) 335.
+Parbat+ _Kakar_--conveys tribute to Babur (925) 391, 392, 393.
+Pasha Begim+ _Baharlu_, _Aq-quiluq Turkman_, daughter of `Ali-shukr
Beg--particulars 49;
her nephew Yar-`ali Balal _q.v._[2919]
+Payanda-muhammad+ _Qiplan_--out with Babur (925) 404.
+Payanda-sultan Begim+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter
of Abu-sa`id and wife of Husain _Bai-qara_--particulars 263, 265,
268;
her son Haidar and her daughters _ib._;
visited in Herat by Babur (912) 301;
arranges a marriage for him 306;
captured by Shaibani (913) 327.
+Pietro della VallÈ+--an illustration drawn from his recorded
morning-draught (1623 AD.) 395.
Khwaja +Pir Ahmad+ _Khawafi_--his son 281.
+Pir Budagh Sultan+, Khaqan in Desht Qibchaq (H.S. iii, 232)--his
Bai-qara marriage 258 n. 2.
Mir +Pir Darwesh+ _Hazar-aspi_--in charge of Balkh (857) 50;
fights there _ib._
+Piri Beg+ _Turkman_--joins Babur (913) 336;
particulars Author's Note, 336.
+Pir Kanu+ of Sakhi-sarwar--Babur halts at his tomb (910) 238.
+Pir Muhammad+ _Ailchi-bugha_, _quchin_--particulars 50 and nn.;
drowned 48 n. 4, 50;
[895 AH.-1490 AD.].
+Pir Muhammad+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_,_ Barlas Turk_, son of
Jahangir--brought by his widowed mother to Babur (913) 331.
+Pir-quli+ _Sistani_--in the right wing at Panipat (932) 472, and at
Kanwa (933) 566;
on service (932) 530.
+Pir Sultan+ _Pashai_--one of Babur's guides (912) 308.
Prester John, Wang Khan [T.R. trs. 16], Ong Khan [Abu'l-ghazi,
Desmaisons' trs. p. 55]--his title 23 n. 3.
+Pulad Sultan+ _Auzbeg-Shaiban Chingiz-khanid_--son of Kuchum--Babur
sends him his earliest-mentioned Diwan (925) 402, 632 n. 3;
at Jam (934) 622;
an envoy goes from him to Babur (935) 631, 632, 641.
+Puran+ (Allah-birdi or Allah-quli)--out with Babur (910) 234; wounded
(913) 342;
his father-in-law Qasim _quchin_ _q.v._
+Qabil+ (Cain)--Babur goes alone to his tomb (925) 415.
+Qadir-birdi+ _Ghaini_--spoken to by Babur when in hiding (908) 180-1.
+Qaitmas+ _Turkman_, retainer of Jahangir--drowned (910) 237.[2920]
+Qalandar+ _piada_--on Babur's service (932) 529.
+Qambar-i-`ali+ _Arghun_--on Babur's service (935) 688.
+Qambar-i-`ali Beg+--mobilizes the Hindustan army by Abu-sa`id's order
(873?) 46;
expelled from Khurasan with Mahmu _Miran-shahi_ 47.
+Qambar-i-`ali Beg+ _quchin_, son of Qasim--races with Babur (?)
(907) 147;
wounded, brings Babur a message (908) 174;
one of the eight in flight from Akhsi 177;
gives Babur his horse 177-8;
beats down snow for a road (912) 308-9;
fights rebels in Kabul 315;
at Qandahar (913) 334;
wounded 336;
hurries from Qunduz against rebels in Ghazni (921) 364;
brings Babur a letter from Balkh (?) (925) 385.
+Qambar-i-`ali Be+g _Silakh_, _Mughul_--particulars 28;
his inconvenient absence (904) 106;
recalled (905) 108;
goes away 110;
returns 112;
in the van at Khuban 113;
goes away 115;
returns and is ill-tempered 117;
his districts 115, 124;
his ill-timed pacificism 118;
his misconduct 123;
goes to Tambal, made prisoner, escapes to Babur 124;
on Babur's service (906) 130, 131;
at Sar-i-pul 138, 139;
sends his family out of Samarkand 141;
? races with Babur (907) 147;
? leaves Babur in Dikh-kat 150 n. 3;
conspires against Tambal and goes to The Khan (Mahmud) 154;
serves Babur against Tambal (908) 161, 162, 165, 166;
counsels Babur distastefully and flees 168, 170;
talks to him of peace with Tambal 173;
made prisoner in Akhsi against Babur's wish 174;
leaves Khusrau Shah for Babur (910) 189;
dismissed by Babur and why 192, 532 n. 1;
his son `Abdu'-shukur _q.v._
+Qambar Bi+ _Auzbeg_--blamed by Shaibani for three murders (906) 128;
on service for him (910) 242, 244;
defeated by Tahmasp _Safawi's_ men (934) 622.
+Qara Ahmad+ _yurunchi_--Babur's messenger to the Kabul begs (912) 314.
+Qara Barlas+--leaves Samarkand with the Tarkhans (905) 121;
fights for Babur at Sar-i-pul (906) 139;
besieged and holds out to the end 143, 144.
Sayyid +Qara Beg+ _Kohbur Chaghatai_--remains with Babur at a crisis
(903) 91;
invited into Akhsi (for Babur) (904) 101;
escapes after defeat 106;
at Khuban (905) 113;
released 119[2921];
his (?) hasty retreat to entrenchments (906) 138, 232 n. 4;
his son `Abdu'l-qadus _q.v._
+Qara Bilut+--surrenders Qalat-i-ghilzai to Babur (911) 248-9.
+Qaracha Khan+--punished for disobedience (925) 390-1;
on service (934) 602, (935) 638;
his messenger with news of Mahim's journey 650, 659.
+Qara-guz Begim+ _Arlat_--her marriage with Nasir _Miran-shahi_ 265.
+Qara-guz Begim+, see (1) Makhduma, (2) Rabi`a-sultan.
+Qara-quzi+--on Babur's service (932) 471;
in the left-wing [_tulghuma_] at Panipat 473.
+Qarlughach Bakhshi+ kills Mughul Beg's son (904) 102.
+Qashqa Mahmud+ (or Qashqa), Beg of the Chiras _tuman_ of Mughuls--sent
to help Babur (906) 138;
quarrels with a Begchik for the military post of honour (907) 155.
(He may be "Baba Qashqa" _q.v._)
Mulla +Qasim+--building work given to him (935) 642.
Sayyid +Qasim+ (p. 96), see Sayyid Kamal.
+Qasim-i-`ajab Beg+--remains with Babur at a crisis (903) 91;
promoted to beg's rank (904) 104;
captured by Tambal's men (905) 115-6;
released 119.
+Qasim-i-`ali+ _tariyaki_--musician at entertainments (925) 385, 387,
388.
+Qasim Beg+ _quchin_--particulars 26;
supports Babur (899) 30, (900) 43;
his appointments 43, 44 (where delete Sayyid as his title);
punishes misconducted Mughuls (902) 66-7, 153 and has to leave
Babur (907) 27, 67;
on missions (903) 90, (904) 100, 101;
remains with Babur at a crisis (903) 91;
defeated by Mughuls (904) 105-6;
in the centre at Khuban (905) 113;
banished from Andijan by `Ali-dost 119;
rejoins Babur for Samarkand 123, (906) 130;
suspects Bana'i 136;
in the centre at Sar-i-pul 139;
defending Samarkand 141, 142, 143, 144;
races with Babur (907) 147;
advises a tactful gift 150;
out with Babur (910) 234;
rewarded (911) 252;
goes with a punitive force to Nigr-au 253;
a saying of his twisted for ill 254;
defeats Auzbegs (912) 295;
insists in Herat on ceremony due to Babur 298;
angered by Babur's being pressed to drink wine 304;
mistaken as to a route 308-9;
mistakenly compassionate 313;
allowed to keep his Fifth of spoil (913) 324;
in the left wing at Qandahar 334, 335;
wounded 336;
retainers allotted to him 339;
his counsel 339-40;
mediates for suspects (914) 345;
waits on Babur returned from Hindustan (925) 395;
mediates for Tramontane clans to leave Kabul 402;
Babur breaks fast at his house 408;
his sons Hamza, Tingri-birdi, Qambar-i-`ali _q.v._;
his ill-conducted nephew 414;
a servant 313;
a father-in-law Banda-i-`ali _q.v._;
[d. 928 AH.-1522 AD.].
+Qasim+ _Duldai_, _Barlas Turk_--serving Bai-sunghar _Miran-shahi_
(902) 65;
joins Babur 66.
+Qasim-i-husain+ _Auzbeg-Shaiban_, son of Qasim and `Ayisha-sultan
_Bai-qara_--particulars 267, 298;
joins Babur (933) 550;
at Kanwa 556, 559;
receives Badaun 582;
on service 582, (934) 589, (935) 682;
in the battle of the Ghogra (935) 669;
mentioned 631 n. 4, -> 706.
Sayyid +Qasim+ _Jalair_--wins the Champion's Portion at Asfara
(900) 53;
takes it at Shahrukhiya 53;
stays with Babur at a crisis (903) 91;
joins him for Samarkand (905) 123-4;
at Sar-i-pul (Khwaja Kardzan) (906) 139;
his strange doings in Pap (908) 171;
his unseasonable arrival in Akhsi 174;
defeats an Auzbeg raider (910) 195;
out with Babur 234, (925) 403;
drunk 415;
Babur pays him a consolation-visit 418;
a party in his country-house (926) 420;
assigned to reinforce Khwaja Kalan in Kabul (935) 647.
+Qasim Khan+ _Qazzaq_, _Juji Chingiz-khanid_--his marriage with
Sultan-nigar _Chaghatai_ 23;
his good administration 23-4;
[d. 924 AH.-1518 AD.].
+Qasim+ _Khitka (?) Arghun_, (var. _Jangeh_)--in Akhsi (908) 171.
+Qasim Khwaja+--succeeds in his brother Yakka's appointments (935) 674;
on service 682.
+Qasim Kukuldash+--at a household party (906) 131 (his name is omitted
from the Hai. MS. f. 83 and from my text);
helps Babur at his mother's burial (911) 246;
at Qandahar (913) 335;
his Arghun marriage 342, 199 n. 1, -> 443.
+Qasim Mir-akhwur+--stays with Babur at a crisis (903) 91;
on service (933) 548.
Malik +Qasim+ _Mughul_, brother (p. 568) of Baba Qashqa--in the
right-wing [_tulghuma_] at Panipat (932) 473, and at Kanwa
(933) 568;
on service with his brethren (932) 528, (933) 558, 582, (934) 589;
his good service near Qanuj and his death 599;
his kinsmen, see _s.n._ Baba Qashqa;
[d. 934 AH.-1528 AD.].
Shah +Qasim+ _piada_--sent on a second mission to Babur's kinsfolk
in Khurasan (935) 617.
+Qasim+ _Sambhali_--not submissive to Babur (932) 523;
surrenders 528, 529;
sent out of the way before Kanwa (933) 547 (where the Hai. MS. adds
"Beg", by clerical? error).
+Qasim Sultan+ _Auzbeg-Shaiban Chingiz-khanid_--his Bai-qara
marriage 267;
at a reception (912) 298;
his son Qasim-i-husain _q.v._
+Qataq Begim+, wife of Ahmad _Miran-shahi_--particulars 36;
of Ahmad's escape from her dominance 36 n. 1.
+Qayyam Beg+--Aurdu (Urdu) Shah--out with Babur (925) 403;
waits on Babur as Governor of Ningnahar (926) 421;
joins him in Hindustan (933) 550 (here Qawwam Aurdu-shah);
at Kanwa 556, 569.
+Qazi Bihzadi+--Babur forbids unlawful drinks in his house (925) 398.
+Qazi Ghulam+--escapes death by pretending to be a slave (904) 102.
+Qazi Jia+--waits on Babur (932) 527;
on service 530, (933) 544, (935) 639;
joins Babur 667;
on service 668, 682.
+Qazi of Kabul+--waits on Babur (925) 395.
+Qazi of Samana+-- -> complains of Mundahir attack (936) 693, 700.
+Qismatai Mirza+--on Babur's service in Hindustan (932) 474, (933) 545,
546-7, 548;
his untimely praise of the Rajput army 548, 550.
+Qilka+ _Kashghari_--escapes death (904) 102.
+Qizil+ _tawachi_--messenger of Shah Beg _Arghun_ to Babur (925) 395.
+Qublai Khan+, great-grandson of Chingiz Khan--his building at Qarshi
84 n. 2;
[d. 693 AH.-1294 AD.].
+Quch Beg+ (Quj), son of Ahmad _qarawal_--in the left wing at Khuban
(905) 113;
his courage at Bishkharan 118;
leaves Babur for Hisar (906) 129;
? reprieved at Qasim _quchin_'s request (914) 345;
on Babur's service (925) 374, (925) 384;
at Parhala 390;
comes on summons to Kabul 409;
referred to as dead (933) 565;
his brother Tardi Beg _q.v._
+Quch+ _Arghun_--allotted in Qalat to Qasim _quchin_ (913) 339.
+Quch Beg+ _Kohbur Chaghatai_, son of Haidar-i-qasim--at Sar-i-pul
(906) 139;
in Samarkand besieged 142, 143, 144.
+Qul-aruk+--drowned in the Sind-water (910) 237.
+Qul-bayazid+ _bakawal_--particulars 237;
swims the Sind-water (910) 237;
at Qandahar (913) 335, 338;
his son Tizak _q.v._;
his tomb near Kabul 198.
+Quli Beg+ _Arghun_--known as attached to Babur (913) 337;
returns from an embassy to Kashghar (925) 415;
his brother Ahmad-`ali Tarkhan _q.v._
+Qulij Bahadur+ _Auzbeg_--mentioned in Tahmasp _Safawi_'s account
of Jam (935) 636 n. 2.
Mirza +Quli Kukuldash+, see Mirza-quli.
+Quli-muhammad+ _Bughda quchin_--particulars 40.
Ustad +Qul-muhammad+ _`Audi_--particulars 291;
his musical training owed to Nawa'i 272.
+Qul-nachaq+--holding Balkh for the Bai-qaras (912) 294, 296;
surrenders it to Shaibani 300.
+Qul-nazar+ of Taghai Beg--sallies out from Samarkand (906) 142;
does well 144.
+Qurban+ _Chirkhi_--sent into Bhira (925) 381;
a false rumour about him as invited into Balkh (935) 625;
gifts to his
servants 633;
in the battle of the Ghogra 669;
on service 678.
+Qusam ibn `Abbas+, one of the Companions--his tomb at Samarkand 75.
+Qusum-nai (?)+--on service (932) 534.
+Qutb Khan+ _Sarwani_--not submissive to Babur (932) 523;
Mahdi Khwaja sent against him in Etawa 530;
takes Chandwar (933) 557;
abandons both places 579, 582;
defeated 587.
Khwaja +Qutbu'd-din+ _Aushi_ (_Ushi_)--his birthplace in Farghana
475 n. 6;
Babur visits his tomb in Dihli (932) 475;
[d. 633 AH.-1235 AD.].
+Qutluq Khwaja Kukuldash+--with Babur in Samarkand (906) 143, 144;
host to Babur (925) 398, 407;
held up as an example 406.
+Qutluq-muhammad Kukuldash+, foster-brother of Daulat-sultan
Khanim--brings Babur letters from Kashghar (925) 409 (where for
"Daulat" read Qutluq).
+Qutluq-nigar Khanim+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_, mother
of Babur--particulars 21;
mentioned 17, 19;
in Andijan (900) 43;
entreats her son's help (903) 88, 89;
sent to join him in Khujand 92, and in Aura-tipa (905) 136;
her Mughuls rebel (904) 105;
with Babur in Samarkand (906) 136;
leaves the town with him (907) 147;
hears of a sister's death 148-9;
goes to her own family in Tashkint 149;
her dangerous illness _ib._;
her safety leaves Babur free (908) 157, 158;
-> with him in Sukh 184;
uses his tent in the exodus from Farghana (910) 188;
left in Kahmard 189;
crosses Hindu-kush and rejoins him in Kabul 197;
her death (911) 21, 246;
her treatment as a refugee in Tashkint (908) contrasted with that
of her refugee-relations in Kabul (912) 318;
her concern for her son's marriage affairs (905) 120, (910) 48;
her old governess 148;
[d. 911 AH.-1505 AD.].
+Qutluq-qadam+ _qarawal_--out with Babur (910) 236-7;
in the left-centre at Qandahar (913) 335;
on service (925) 403, (932) 458, 460, 468, 471, 530;
in the left wing at Panipat 472 and at Kanwa (933) 567, 570;
on service 475;
host to Babur (926) 424;
his tomb and bridge near Kabul 198, 204;
[d. 934 AH.-1528 AD.?].
+Qutluq-sultan Begim+, daughter of Miran-shah son of Timur--wife
of Husain _Qanjut_ 256 n. 5.
+Rabi`a-sultan Begim+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_--Qara-guz
Begim--daughter of Ahmad--particulars 13, 35.
Sayyid +Rafi`u'd-din+ _Safawi_--Mulla Rafi`--mediates for Nizam Khan
with Babur (933) 539;
concocts tonic powders (935) 606;
at a feast 631.
Khwaja +Rahim-dad+, paternal-nephew of Mahdi Khwaja--receives
and obtains possession of Gualiar (933) 539, 540, 547;
his quarters and constructions there (935) 607, 610, 613;
Babur sleeps in his flower-garden 612, 613;
action against him as seditious 688-9, (936) 690;
his son held as hostage and escapes (935) 688-9;
-> Ibn Batuta's account of him 692 n. 1;
-> no sequel of his rebellion mentioned in the _Akbar-nama_ 692.
+Rahmat+ _piada_--conveys letters to Kabul (932) 466.
+Raja of Kahlur+-- -> waits on Babur (936) 699.
+Rajab-sultan Begim+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter
of Mahmud--particulars 48, 49.
+Ramzan+ _luli_--a musician at parties (925) 387, 388.
+Rao+ _Sarwani_, see Daud.
Sultan +Rashid Khan+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_, son of Sa`id
and Makhtum _Qaluchi_ (T.R. trs. p. 187)--his Qazzaq marriage 23.
Mr. Thomas +Rastel+--an illustration drawn from his morning-draught
recorded [1623 AD.] 395.
+Rana Ratan-si+--successor of his father Sanga in Chitor 613;
mentioned in connection with the Khilji jewels _ib._;
his younger brother Bikramajit _q.v._
+Rauh-dam+--musician at entertainments (925) 385, 387, 388;
in a raft-misadventure 407.
+Rawu'i+ _Sarwani_ (Rao)--serving Babur (933) 538 (here read as Daud),
(935) 682;
host to Babur (934) 588.
+Rinish+ (var. Zinish) _Auzbeg_--his defeat by Tahmasp _Safawi_
(934) 618, 622 (where in n. 1 for "934" read 935 as the date
of the battle of Jam);
[d. 934 AH.-1528 AD.].
A +Rumi+ prescribes for Babur (935) 657, 660.
Raja _Rup-narain_--included in Babur's Revenue List 521.
+Ruqaiya Agha+, wife of Badi`u'z-zaman _Bai-qara_--captured in Herat
and married by Timur _Auzbeg_ 328.
+Ruqaiya-sultan Begim+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter
of `Umar Shaikh--particulars 18, 19;
[d_cir._ 935 AH.-1528 AD.].
+Rustam-i-`ali+ _Turkman_--in the centre at Qandahar (913) 335;
on service (925) 377, (933) 538;
in the _tulghuma_ of the left-wing at Kanwa 568, 569.
+Rustam Khan+--Ilias (p. 576)--captures Babur's commander at Kul (Koel)
(933) 557, 576;
captured and flayed alive 576.
+Sa`adat-bakht Begim++--Begim Sultan+--_Bai-qara Timurid_,
_Barlas Turk_, daughter of Husain--particulars 266-7.
Nasiru'd-din +Sabuktigin+ _Ghaznawi Turk_--the humble status of his
capital 217;
a legend concerning him 219;
his son Mahmud _q.v._;
[d. 387 AH.-997 AD.].
+Sadharan+ _Tank Rajput_--his acceptance of Islam 481 n. 5.
Pahlawan +Sadiq+--made to wrestle (935) 650;
forbidden as an antagonist 653;
wrestles 688.
Mulla +Sa`du'd-din Mas`ud+ _Taftazani_--a descendant of 283;
[d. 792 AH.-1390 AD.].
Sultan +Sa`id Khan+ _Ghazi_, _Chaghatai Chinqiz-khanid_, son of
Ahmad--particulars 698 nn. 2, 3, 349;
meets Babur (908) 159;
stays with him in Kabul (914) 318, 349-50;
receives Andijan from him (916) 318, 357;
loyal to him 344 n. 2, -> 351-2;
sends an envoy to him (917) 22;
Haidar _Dughlat_ goes from Babur to Sa`id (918) 362;
two kinswomen take refuge with him (923 and 924) 24 (where in n. 1
_delete_ the second sentence);
reported to have designs on Badakhshan (925) 412;
an envoy to him returns 415;
-> named as a principal actor between 926 and 932 AH. 427;
writes and sends gifts to Babur (932) 446;
-> invades Badakhshan (936) 695-6;
-> gist of a letter from Babur to him 697-8;
-> Babur moves menacingly for the North-west 698;
his full-brother Khalil, his son Rashid, his wife Habiba, and
_kukuldash_ Yangi Beg _q.v._;
[d. 939 AH.-1533 AD.].
+Sa`idliq Sa`d+ _Turkman_--defeated by Husain _Bai-qara_ (873?) 260.
+Saif-i-`ali Beg+ _Baharlu Qara-quiluq Turkman_, father of Bairam
Khan-i-khanan--particulars 91 n. 3.[2922]
Maulana +Saifi+ _Bukhari_--`Aruzi--particulars 288;
[d. 909 AH.-1503-4 AD.].
+Saif Khan+ _Nuhani_, son of Darya Khan--deserts `Alam Khan _Ludi_
(932) 457.
+Saifu'd-din Ahmad+, Shaikhu'l-islam in Herat--particulars 283;
takes the keys of Herat to Shaibani (913) 328;
his pupil Muhammad-i-yusuf _q.v._;
killed by Shah Isma`il 283;
[d. 916 AH.-1510 A.D.].
Haji +Saifu'd-din Beg+, ? uncle of Timur--his descendant Wali Beg 272.
+Sakma+ _Mughul_--rebels against Babur (914) 345.
+Salahu'd-din+ (_Silhadi_)--particulars 562 n. 3, 614 n. 2;
his force at Kanwa (933) 562;
attack on him planned and abandoned (934) 598;
Babur visits village near his birthplace (935) 614;
mentioned 628 n. 2.
+Saliha-sultan Begim+ _Miran-shahi_, daughter of Mahmud and Pasha,
wife of Babur--(name not now in the Turki text) 47;
-> the likelihood that she and "Dil-dar" were one 713 (where read
Saliha).
+Saliha-sultan+ _Miran-shahi_--Aq Begim--daughter of Ahmad
and Qataq--particulars 35;
gifts from her wedding reach Babur (900) 43.
+Salima-sultan Begim+-- -> her parentage 713.
Sultan +Salim+ _Rumi_--takes Badi`u-z-zaman _Bai-qara_, a captive,
to Constantinople (920) 327 n. 5;
-> defeats Isma`il _Safawi_ at Chaldiran (920) 443, 469;
[d. 926 AH.-1520 AD.].
+Samad+ _Minglighi_--wounded and dies 106;
[d. 904 AH.-1499 AD.].
Mehtar +Sambhal+, slave of Shah Beg _Arghun_--particulars 338 n. 2;
captured at Qandahar and escapes (913) 338;
-> Commander in Qandahar and revictuals it for Shah Beg 432.
Sultan +Sanjar+ _Barlas Turk_, son of `Abdu'l-lah--incites a Mughul
revolt in Kabul (912) 313-17;
spared on family grounds 317.
Sultan +Sanjar Mirza+ _Mervi_--his daughter Bega Sultan Begim's
Bai-qara marriage (_cir._ 860) 267.
Rana +Sanga+ _Mewari_--particulars 483, 558 n. 2;
his capture of Chanderi 593;
proffers Babur co-operation against Ibrahim _Ludi_ (931?) 426, 529;
fails him (932) 529;
takes Kandar 530, 539;
Babur's attack on him deferred 530-1
and determined (933) 538;
his strength and approach 544, 547;
defeated at Kanwa 559-574;
escapes 576;
references to the battle 267, 533, 579, 582, 583, 599, 600, 630
n. 4, 637, 663;
his lands not invaded, on climatic grounds 577, 578;
Babur's planned attack on him in Chitor frustrated (934) 598;
his wife Padmawati and sons Ratan-si and Bikramajit _q.v._;
his trusted man Medini Rao _q.v._;
[d. 934 AH.-1528 AD.].[2923]
+Sangur Khan+ _Janjuha_--waits on Babur (925) 383;
on service 389, 419;
killed in a sally from Biana 548;
[d. 933 AH.-1527 AD.].
Mir +Sar-i-barhana+, see Shamsu'd-din Muhammad.
+Sarigh-bash Mirza+ _Itarachi_--sent by The Khan (Mahmud) to help Babur
(908) 161, 170.
Mulla +Sarsan+--Kamran's messenger and custodian of Ibrahim _Ludi's_
son (933) 544.
+Sar-u-pa+ _Gujur_--Babur's guide to Parhala (925) 389, 391.
+Satrvi Kachi+--his force at Kanwa (933) 562.
Sultan +Satuq-bughra Khan Ghazi Padshah+ (b. 384 AH.-994 AD.).--a
surmised descendant 29 n. 8;
his style Padshah 344 n. 2.
+Sayyid Amir+, see Nuru'd-din _Chaghaniani_.
+Sayyid Dakkani+--Shah Tahir _Khwandi Dakkani_--present at a feast
(935) 631.[2924]
+Sayyid Dakni+ _Shirazi_, or Rukni, or Zakni--receives honours
and orders (935) 619;
on his name and work _ib._ n. 2, 634 n. 1;
(see _supra_).
+Sayyidi Beg Taghai+, see Sherim Taghai.
+Sayyidim `Ali+ _darban_ (? Muhammad-`ali), son of Baba
`Ali Beg--particulars 307;
serving Khusrau Shah (901) 60-1;
leads the Rusta-hazara to join Babur (910) 196;
a follower punished 197;
takes Bai-qara service (912) 307;
drowned by Badi`u'z-zaman 307-8;
[d_cir._ 913 AH.-1507 AD.].
+Sayyid Mashhadi+ (var. Masnadi)--brings Babur news of Khwaja
Rahimdad's sedition (935) 688.
+Sayyid Mirza+ _Andikhudi_, ? brother of Apaq Begim--his two Bai-qara
marriages 267.
+Sayyid Rumi+--at a feast (935) 631.
+Sayyid Tabib+ _Khurasani_--attends Babur's mother (911) 247.
+Shad Begim+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_--particulars 263-4;
her husband `Adil Sultan _Auzbeg_ _q.v._
+Shadi+, a reciter--his son Ghulam-i-shadi 292.
+Shadi Khan+ _Kiwi Afghan_--fights and submits to Babur (910) 233.
+Shadman+ _chuhra_--wrestles (935) 660.
+Shah Baba+ _bildar_--entrusted with building work (935) 642.
+Shah-baz+ _qalandar_--his tomb destroyed by Babur (925) 377.
+Shah-baz+ _Qarluq_--serving Tambal (908) 170.
+Shah Beg+ _Arghun_--Shuja` Beg--son of Zu'n-nun--his close association
with his father 274;
mentioned as with him in Qandahar (902) 71, (910) 198, 227;
they give refuge to Badi`u'z-zaman _Bai-qara_ (902) 71, (913) 307;
act with the Mirza (903) 94, 95;
favoured by Husain _Bai-qara_ 264;
his dominance _ib._;
proffers and renounces co-operation with Babur against Shaibani
(913) 330, 331-2;
loses Qandahar to him 337-8;
-> released from Safawi imprisonment by his slave Sambhal's devotion
(917) 338 n. 2, 365;
news of his taking Kahan reaches Babur (925) 395;
his interpretation of Babur's reiterated attack on Qandahar 365,
-> 427;
other suggestions for the attack of 926 AH. 430;
-> action of his checks an expedition into Hindustan (926) 428, 429,
430;
-> his position and political relations 429;
Babur's campaign against Qandahar (926-928) 366, 430-436, App.
J. xxxiv;
-> final surrender to Babur (928) _ib._;
-> his death 437, 443;
his son Shah Hasan, brother Muhammad Muqim, slave Mehtar, commissary
Qizil _q.v._;
[d. 930 AH.-1524 AD.?].
+Shah Begim+ _Badakhshi_, wife of Yunas Khan _Chaghatai_--particulars
22-3;
visited by Babur (903) 92, (907) 149, (908) 157;
delays to accept his plans 158;
meets her younger son Ahmad 159;
-> ordered by Shaibani to stay in Tashkint 184;
comes to Babur in Kabul (911) 246;
disloyal (912) 317;
his reflections on her conduct 318-9;
goes to Badakhshan (913) 21, 35, 341;
captured by Aba-bikr _Kashghari_;
her sons Mahmud and Ahmad, her daughter Daulat-sultan, her nephew
Sanjar _Barlas_;
her grandsons Mirza Khan and Sa`id (and his brothers) _q.v._
+Shah-i-gharib Mirza+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of Husain
and Khadija--particulars 261, 268;
his retainer Ahi the poet 289 n. 3;
[d. 902 AH.-1496-7 AD.--H.S. lith. ed. iii, 260].
+Shahi+ _qalandar_--plays the _ribab_ (925) 417.
+Shahi+ _tamghachi_--appointed clerk (935) 629.
+Shahim+ (Shah Muhammad?)--sent for news (932) 454;
climbs into Chanderi (934) 595 (here _yuz-bashi_);
his brother Nur Beg _q.v._
+Shahim-i-nasir+--one of eight fugitives from Akhsi (908) 177.
+Shah-jahan Padshah+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_-- -> 184;
his imitation of Babur (1030) 298 n. 3;
-> his work in Babur's burial-garden 710, App. V, lxxx;
[d. 1076 AH.-1666 AD.].
+Shah Muhammad+ _muhrdar_, son of Baba Qashqa--on Babur's service
(925) 388, (935) 688;
his kinsmen _see_ _s.n._ Baba Qashqa;
[d. 958 AH.-1551 AD.].[2925]
+Shah-quli+ _ghichaki_--a guitar-player--particulars 291.
+Shah-quli+ _Kul-abi_--goes into Hisat (935) 640;
his brother Wais _q.v._
+Shah-quli+, ? servant of Div Sultan (p. 635)--sent to give Babur
a report of the battle of Jam (935) 649;
conveys from Babur an acceptance of excuse to Tahmasp _Safawi_ 649.
+Shahrak+--conveys letters and a copy of Babur-nama writings
(935) 652, 653.
+Shahr-banu Begim+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter
of Abu-sa`id--particulars 268;
married to Husain _Bai-qara_ (_cir._ 873) and divorced
(876) 21 n. 1, 268.
+Shahr-banu Begim+ _Miran-shahi_, (_ut supra_), daughter
of `Umar Shaikh, wife of Junaid _Barlas_--particulars 18.
+Shahrukh Mirza+ _Barlas Turk_, son of Timur--mentioned
in a genealogy 14;
ruling in Herat when Husain _Bai-qara_ was born there (842) 256;
his wazir serves Husain (after 873) 281;
[d. 850 AH.-1447 AD.].
+Shahrukh-Sultan+ _Afshar Turk_--commands a reinforcement for Babur
from Isma`il _Safawi_ (917) 354.
+Shah Sufi+--does well in Samarkand (906) 144.
+Shah Sultan Begim+ (? _Arghun_), wife of Abu-sa`id _Miran-shahi_
and mother of `Umar Shaikh--her parentage not stated 13 n. 5,[2926]
45 n. 1;
goes from Akhsi to Andijan when widowed (899) 32;
a mediator (905) 113;
her death announced (907) 149;
[d. 906 AH.-1501 AD.].
+Shah-suwar+ _Mughul_--fights in single combat (904) 106.
+Shah Tahir+ _Khwandi Dakkani_, see Sayyid Dakkani.
+Shah-zada+, ? Shah Hasan _Arghun_--(926) 417, 418.
+Shah-zada+ _Mungiri_, son of Nasrat Shah--negociates with Babur
(935) 676 (where the note reference "5" should follow Mungir).
+Shaibak+ _piada_--brings news of Hind-al's birth (925) 385.
A +Shaiban-Auzbeg Sultan's+ marriage 23.
Muhammad +Shaibani Khan+--Shaibaq Khan[2927]--_Auzbeg-Shaiban
Chingiz-khanid_--his relations with Hamza and Mahdi Sultans _q.v._;
invited to help Bai-sunghar (903) 73;
raids Shiraz 92;
defeats Tarkhans in Dabusi (905) 40, 124, (906) 137;
takes Bukhara 125;
is given Samarkand by `Ali _Miran-shahi_ 125;
murders the Mirza (906) 128;
his men murder Khwaja Yahya and two sons 128;
loses Samarkand by Babur's surprise attack 131, 132, 134;
Babur's comparison of this capture with Husain _Bai-qara's_
of Herat 135;
Babur's estimate of Shaibani's position 137-8;
defeats Babur at Sar-i-pul (Khwaja Kardzan) 138-141;
besieges Samarkand and effects its surrender (906) 142-7;
receives an envoy from Husain _Bai-qara_ 145;
crosses the frozen Saihun and raids Shahrukhiya 151;
plunders Aura-tipa 152-3;
referred to (908) 158, 168;
invited into Farghana 172;
defeats the Chaghatai Khans and Babur at Archian 18, -> 183;
captures Andijan (909?) 192;
beheads Wali _Qibchaq_ (910) 196;
takes Khwarizin (911) 242, 255-6;
co-operation against him invited by Husain _Bai-qara_ (910) 190,
(911) 255;
his men beaten in Badakhshan (911-2) 294-5;
takes Balkh 300;
his capture of Herat (913) 263, 275, 296-7, 325-330;
besieges Nasir _Miran-shahi_ in Qandahar and retires 339-40, 343;
a recognized menace to Kabul 21 n. 4, 340, 342;
orders Sa`id _Chaghatai's_ death (914) 349;
-> murders Chaghatai and Dughlat chiefs 350;
war begun with Shah Isma`il (915) 350;
defeated and killed at Merv 350;
his wives Mihr-nigar _Chaghatai_, Khan-zada _Miran-shahi_,
Zuhra _Auzbeg_ _q.v._;
his sons Timur and Khurram _q.v._;
Bana'i his retainer (906) 136;
creates a Tarkhan 133;
[d. 915 AH.-Dec. 1510 AD.].
+Shaikhi+--receives gifts (935) 633.
+Shaikhim Beg+, amir and poet of Husain _Bai-qara_--particulars 277,
286;
[d. 918 AH.-1512-3 AD.].
+Shaikhim Mirza+ _Auzbeg_--holding Qarshi for his nephew
`Ubaidu'l-lah (918) 360.
+Shaikhim+ _mir-shikar_--loses one of Babur's good hawks (925) 394.
+Shaikhi+ _nayi_, flautist in Husain _Bai-qara's_ Court--particulars
291;
owed his training to Nawa'i 272.
Shaikh +Sharaf+ _Qara-baghi_--his arrest for sedition (935) 687-8.
Shaikh +Sharafu'd-din+ _Muniri_--his father Shaikh Yahya _Chishti_ 666;
his writings read aloud to Akbar 666 n. 7;
[d. 782 AH.-1380 AD.].
+Shami+ (Syrian)--deserts from Qandahar (913) 343.
+Sher-afgan+, brother of Tardi and Quj Begs--on Babur's service
(933) 538.
+Sher-i-ahmad+--belittled as good company (935) 648.
+Sherak Beg+ _Argun_ (var. Sher, Sherka)--serving Muqim _Arghun_
(910) 195;
defeated and takes service with Babur 196, 198;
in the centre at Qandahar (913) 335.
+Sher-i-`ali+ _Aughlan_,[2928] _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_--mentioned
in Yunas Khan's genealogy 19.
+Sher-i-`ali+ _chuhra_ (a brave?)--deserts Babur (906) 129;
put to death under suspicion (911) 248.
Mir +Sher Haji Beg+ _Kunji Mughul_--his daughter's marriage with Yunas
Khan 20 (where for "`Ali-sher" read Sher Haji).
+Sherim+ (Sher-i-muhammad?) _chuhra_, a brave?--defends Hisar (910) 244;
killed at Qunduz _ib._;
[d. 910 AH.-1505 AD.].
+Sherim Taghai+ _Kunji Mughul_--Taghai Beg--maternal uncle of Babur's
mother--supports Babur (899) 29, (903) 91, 98;
captured by Tambal (905) 110;
released 119;
in Samarkand (906) 141, 143, 188;
Babur's reflections on his conduct 141, 188;
thinks of leaving Babur (910) 188;
on his service 194, 197, 234;
loses an index-finger 235;
his post against rebels (912) 314;
an opinion on game (_kiyik_) (913) 325;
in the right wing at Qandahar (913) 334, 337;
counsels a retreat to Badakhshan from Kabul 340;
-> disloyal (916) 351;
heads Mughul revolt in Ghazni (921) 363;
defeated 364, 397;
takes refuge with Babur 364;
his son Tuqa _q.v._;
his (and other) abbreviated names 29 n. 2.
+Sherim Zikr Beg+--put to death in Kabul under `Abdu'r-razzaq
(909?) 195 n. 3.
+Sher Khan+ _Ludi Afghan_, son of `Alam Khan--on his father's service
(932) 455.
+Sher Khan Sur+ _Afghan_--Farid Khan--Sher Shah--favoured by Babur
(934) 652;
serving Mahmud _Ludi_ (935) 652;
co-guardian of Jalal Khan _Nuhani_ with Dudu Bibi 652 n. 1, 664 n. 2;
writes dutifully to Babur 659;
his training, cognomen and one of his marriages 664 n. 2, 659 n. 4;
his victory over Humayun (1540) 652 n. 3.
+Sher Khan+ _Tarkalani_--host to Babur (926) 424.
+Sher-quli+ _qarawal Mughul_--loyal to Babur (912) 315;
at Qandahar (913) 333, 335;
rebels (914) 345.
Baba +Sher-zad+, _see_ Baba Sher-zad.
Mulla +Shams+--very riotous (932) 453.
Sultan +Shamsu'd-din+ _Ailtmish_[2929] (_Altamsh_) of the Slave
dynasty in Dihli--his buildings in Gualiar 610, 611;
[d. 633 AH.-1236 AD.].
Sayyid +Shamsu'd-din Muhammad+--Mir Sar-i-barahna--particulars 280.
+Shamsu'd-din Muhammad+--bearer of letters between Khwaja Kalan
and Babur (935) 644, 645, 649.
Maulana +Shihab+ _mu`ammai_--arrives in Agra from Herat (935) 605;
invited in verse by Babur 683;
[d. 942 AH.-1535 AD.].
Khusrau's +Shihabu'd-din+--on Babur's service (935) 689, (936) 690.
Shaikh +Shihabu'd-din+ _`Arab_--at a feast (935) 631.
Mu`zzu'd-din +Shihabu'd-din Muhammad+ _Ghuri_--his capital Ghazni 217;
mentioned as a conqueror of Hindustan 479;
his position contrasted with Babur's 479-80, 481;
[d. 602 AH.-1206 AD.].
Shah +Sikandar+--on Babur's service (932-3) 546;
sent to Bihar (935) 664.
+Sikandar-i-Filkus+--Alexander of Macedon--Badakhshi chiefs claim
of descent from him 22;
a surmise that he founded Samarkand 75;
his supposition that the Indus was the Nile a probable root of
a geographical crux 206 n. 3;
[d. 327 B.C.].
Sultan +Sikandar Mirza+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, nephew
of Husain--parentage 257;
his wife Sultan-nizhad _q.v._;
[d. 908 AH.-1502-3 AD.].
Sultan +Sikandar+ _Ludi Afghan_, son of Buhlul--over-lord in Bhira
(910) 382, 383;
his treasure 470, exhausted (935) 617;
his siege of Gualiar 477;
his capture of Junpur and Dihli (881) 481, 571 n. 5;
Babur visits his tomb (932) 476;
his brother `Alam Khan and sons Ibrahim and Mahmud _q.v._;
-> his death and its date 427 and n. 3;
[d. 923 AH.-1517 AD.].
+Sikandar Shah+ _Gujrati_--his accession and murder 534-5 (where for
"2nd" read 932);
[d. 932 AH.-1526 AD.].
+Siktu+ _Hindu_--father of Diwa _q.v._
+Siunduk+ _Turkman_--his hands frost-bitten (912) 311;
in the centre at Qandahar (913) 335;
rebels against Babur (914) 355.
+Siunjuk Sultan Khan+ _Auzbeg-Shaiban_, _Chingiz-khanid_,
son of Abu'l-khair-- -> besieges Tashkint (918) 358, 396;
his son Baraq at Jam (935) 622.
+Sohrab Mirza+ _Bai-qara_, son of Abu-turab--particulars 262.
The +Spanish Ambassadors+--the place of their first interview with
Timur 78 n. 2.
+Sulaiman+--offers his horse to a wounded man (908) 175.
+Sulaiman Aqa+ _Turkman_--envoy of Tahmasp _Safawi_ to Babur
(933) 540, 583;
in the right wing at Kanwa 566.
+Sulaiman Mirza+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of Mirza
Khan (Wais)[2930]-- -> brought to Kabul on his father's death
(927) 433 n. 1;
in the right centre at Panipat (932) 472, and at Kanwa (933) 565;
-> sent to govern Badakhshan (936) 697-8, 699;
-> Babur's protective warning to Sa`id _Chaghatai_ 697-8 (here styled
Shah Mirza);
on his descent 698 nn. 2, 3;
meets his rebel grandson Shahrukh (_cir._ 983) 191 n. 2;
[d. 997 AH.-1589 AD.].
Mian _Sulaiman Shaikh-zada_ _Farmuli Afghan_--reinforces `Alam Khan
_Ludi_ (932) 456;
gives him 4 _laks_ 457;
Babur dismounts at his Dihli home 476.
Malik Shah +Sulaiman+ _Yusuf-zai Afghan_--murdered by Aulugh Beg
_Kabuli_ App. K, xxxvi;
his sons Mansur and Taus, his nephew Ahmad _q.v._
+Sultan-bakht Begim+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter
of Abu-sa`id--her daughter visited by Babur (935) 616.
+Sultanim Begim+ _Miran-shahi_ (_ut supra_), daughter of Ahmad
and Qataq--particulars 36.
+Sultanim Begim+ _Bai-qara_ (_ut supra_), daughter of Husain
and Chuli Begim--particulars 265;
arrives in Kabul (925) 397;
dies on her way to Agra (933) 265;
her husbands Wais _Bai-qara_ and `Abdu'l-baqi _Miran-shahi_,
her son Muhammad
Sultan Mirza and grandson Aulugh Mirza (265 n. 5) _q.v._;
[d. 933 AH.-1527 AD.].
+Sultan Malik+ _Kashghari_, _Duldai Barlas Turk_--his sons Hafiz
Muhammad and Ahmad Haji Beg, his brother Jani Beg _q.v._
+Sultan-nigar Khanim+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_, daughter of Yunas
Khan and Shah Begim--particulars 23;
long parted from a half sister (907) 149;
meets her brother Ahmad (908) 159;
mentioned in Babur's reflection on disloyal kinsfolk (912) 318;
writes to him from Kashghar (932) 446 n. 2;
her son Wais [Mirza Khan] and grandson Sulaiman _q.v._[2931];
[d. 934 AH.-1527-8 AD.].
+Sultan-nizhad Begim+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter
of Husain and Papa--particulars 266;
her husband Sikandar _Bai-qara_ _q.v._
+Sultan-quli+ and +Sultan `Ali+, see Baba-quli and Baba `Ali.
+Sultan-quli+ _chunaq_, _Mughul_--his fidelity (904)
and treachery(?) (914 and 921) 105, 109 n. 5;
falls into a pit outside Kabul (910) 198;
does a bold deed 236;
out with Babur (911) 252-3;
rejoins Babur from Herat (913) 330-1;
in the Mughul rebellion at Ghazni (921) 364 n. 1.
Sultan +Suyurghatmish Mirza+ _Shah-rukhi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_,
son of Shah-rukh--mentioned in his son Mas`ud's genealogy 382.
+Taghai Beg+, see Sherim Taghai.
+Taghai Shah+ _bakhshi_--put in charge of Shah Beg's treasury
(913) 338.
+Taham-tan+ _Turkman_--particulars 279;
his grandson Muhammad-i-zaman _q.v._
+Tahir Beg+ _Duldai Barlas Turk_, son of Hafiz-i-muhammad--joint
governor of Mirza Khan (905) 122;
feeds the famished Babur (907) 148.
+Tahir+ _tibri_--finds Ibrahim _Ludi's_ body (932) 475;
surprised by Rajputs (933) 549.
Shah-zada[2932] +Tahmasp+ _Safawi `Arab_, son of Isma'il-- -> mentioned
as reigning from 930-932 AH. 427;
Babur's envoy to him (930) returns with gifts (933) 540, 560 n. 2,
538, -> 712;
his campaigns against the Auzbegs (934) 618, (935) the battle
of Jam 617 n. 3, 622-4 (where on p. 622 n. 1 read 935 for "934"),
625 n. 4, 635-6;
his own account of the battle 635-6;
desires peace 639 n. 3;
his envoys in Agra 630, 632;
his friendship enjoined on Kamran 645;
[d. 984 AH.-1576 AD.].
+Taj Khan+ _Sarang-khani Afghan_--sends Babur news that Mahmud
_Ludi's_ army has broken up (935) 654;
waits on Babur 657;
brings news which prevents hunting 658;
sent on service 682;
superseded in Chunar by Junaid _Barlas_ 683.
+Taju'd-din Mahmud+ _Arghun_--holding Qalat for Muqim (913) 339;
waits on Babur (925) 418.
Sultan Ahmad +Tambal+ _Itarachi Mughul_--with Babur at Asfara
(900) 53;
wounded near Samarkand (902) 67;
promoted (903) 86;
deserts Babur under privation 86, 87;
joins Auzun Hasan in supporting Jahangir in Farghana 87-8;
induces The Khan (Mahmud) to withdraw support from Babur 91;
his tyranny (904) 100-1;
brings Jahangir against Babur in Marghinan 101;
his men drubbed out of Akhsi and defeated at the ferry 101-2;
loses Andijan 103;
is joined by anxious Mughuls 105;
takes Jahangir against Andijan and retires 106-7;
Babur's campaign against him (905) 108-110, 112-5;
defeated at Khuban 113;
helped feebly by The Khan 115-6;
opposes Babur at Archian 117
and at Bishkaran 118;
terms made 118-9;
waits on Babur 119;
his ill-influence 119, 125;
makes Qambar-i-`ali prisoner 124;
deserters to him 118, 125, 156;
moves against The Khan (906) 145, 154;
an uncle's rough comment on him 145;
is sent Nuyan's sword by Babur (907) 150-1;
conspiracy against him 154;
the two Khans join Babur against him (908) 161-176;
wounds Babur with Nuyan's sword 166-7, 396;
terms with him repudiated by Babur 169, 171;
invites Shaibani into Farghana 172;
occupies Akhsi citadel 173;
left by Jahangir 173-174;
mentioned to Babur in the flight from Akhsi 178, 182;
-> helped by Shaibani 183;
defeated by him and killed 244 and n. 3;
a couplet of Muhammad Salih's about him 289;
his brothers Beg Tilba, Khalil, Muhammad and Bayazid _q.v._;
[d. 909 AH.-1504 AD.].
+Tang-atmish Sultan+ _Auzbeg-Shaiban?_--at a feast (935) 631;
his descent 631 n. 4;
in the battle of the Ghogra 669.
+Tardi Beg+, brother of Quj (Quch) and Sher-afgan--in the left centre
at Panipat (932) 472, 473,
and at Kanwa (933) 565;
on service 538-9, 582, (934) 590, 602;
[d. 946 AH.-1539 AD.].
+Tardi Beg+ _khaksar_--Babur visits him (925) 417-8;
makes verse dropping down the Kabul-river (932) 448;
praises a spring and receives a district 467, 581;
returns to the darwesh-life (933) 583;
conveys a gift to Kamran in Qandahar 583.
+Tardika+--Tardi _yakka_ (568 n. 1)--on service (932) 462;
in the right wing [_tulghuma_] at Kanwa (933) 568, 579;
joins Babur at Dugdugi (935) 651;
on service 678.
+Tardi-muhammad+ _Jang-jang_, son of Muhammad _Jang-jang_--sent into
Bhira (935) 661, 664.
+Tardi-muhammad+ _Qibchaq_--at entertainments (925) 386, 400.
+Tarkhan Begim+ _Arghun Chingiz-khanid_, daughter
of `Abdu'l-`ali--particulars 36.
+Tarsam Bahadur+--punishes the Mundahirs (936) 700-1.
+Tarsun-muhammad Sultan+--serving Humayun (935) 640.
Malik +Taus+ _Yusuf-zai Afghan_--escorts his sister Mubaraka to her
wedding with Babur (925) 375.
+Tatar Khan+ _Kakar_ (or _Gakar_)--particulars 387;
detains one travelling to Babur (925) 386;
killed by his cousin Hati 387, 389;
Babur dismounts at his house in Pauhala 390;
[d. 925 AH.-1519 AD.].
+Tatar Khan+ _Sarang-khani Afghan_--Khan-i-jahan--in Gualiar and not
submissive to Babur (932) 523;
surrenders (933) 539-40;
on Babur's service (935) 582 (here Khan-i-jahan).
+Tatar Khan+ _Yusuf-khail Ludi Afghan_--particulars 382, 383;
his son Daulat Khan _q.v._;
[da few years before 910 AH.-1504-5 AD.].
Amir +Timur Beg+ _Barlas Turk_--Sahib-i-qiran--mentioned in genealogies
14, 256;
his birthplace Kesh 83;
Samarkand his capital 75, 77, 78;
his description of Soghd 84;
his removal of the body of Sayyid Barka to Samarkand 266 n. 4;
circumambulates Shaikh Maslahat's tomb (790) 132 n. 2;
and Ahmad _Yassawi's_ (799) 356;
captures of Qarshi 134 n. 1;
his example followed in the bestowal of Farghana 14;
his gifts of the governments of Dihli 487 and Samarkand 85;
his descendants styled Mirza down to 913 AH. 344;
Husain _Bai-qara_ the best swordsman of his line 259
and greatest in his lands 191;
a descendant 567;
favoured begs 19, 39;
one of his old soldiers 150;
a descendant effects the migration of fowlers to Multan 225;
Babur's victory where his had been at Pul-i-sangin 352;
his and his descendants rule in Hindustan 382;
their loss of lands to the Auzbegs 340;
his builders and Babur's numerically compared 520;
[d. 807 AH.-1405 AD.].
+Timur `Usman+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_--mentioned 280.
+Tingri-birdi+ _Bashaghi_ (?) _Mughul_--in the left wing [_tulghuma_]
at Panipat (932) 473.
+Tingri-birdi Beg+, son of Qasim _quchin_--helps to beat down snow for
a road (912) 308-9;
in the left wing at Qandahar (913) 334, 336;
his servant at Bajaur (925) 361;
entertains Babur 401;
returns to his districts Khwast and Andar-ab 403;
overtakes Babur at Jui-shahi 410;
acts swiftly for him (932-3) 546.
+Tingri-quli+, a musician--plays at Babur's entertainments (925) 385,
386, 388;
upset into the Parwan-water 407;
first given wine 415.
+Tirahi Sultan+--takes a letter to Khwaja Kalan (925) 411.
Mulla +Tirik-i-`ali+ (= Pers. Jan-i-`ali ?)--fights for Babur
at Bajaur (925) 368 and (on his name) n. 5;
on service (933) 551 (where read Tirik).
+Tizak+, son of Qul-i-bayazid _bakawal_--captured as a child and kept
4 years (910) 197.
+Tufan+ _Arghun_--joins Babur and so creates a good omen (913) 333.
Sayyid +Tufan+--on Babur's service (932) 453.
+Tughluq-timur Khan+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_--mentioned in Yunas
Khan's genealogy 19.
+Tuka+ _Hindu_ (var. Nau-kar)--given charge of gifts for Kabul
(932) 525.
+Tukhta-bugha Sultan+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_, son of Ahmad
(Alacha Khan)--waits on Babur (934) 601;
at a feast (935) 631;
referred to as serving Babur 318;
works magic 654;
in the battle of the Ghogra 672, 673;
receives praise, thanks, and guerdon 674, 677;
on service 682;
[d_cir._ 940 AH.-1533-4 AD.].
+Tulik Kukuldash+[2933]--Tambal strikes him with Babur's sword
(912) 316;
defeats Auzbegs in Badakhshan (925) 408;
on Humayun's service (935) 640;
his servant Barlas Juki _q.v._
+Tulmish+ _Auzbeg_--in the battle of the Ghogra (935) 669;
on service 678.
+Tulun Khwaja Beg+, _Barin Mughul_--particulars 87;
on Babur's service (902) 66, (903) 88;
killed 88;
[d. 903 AH.-1498 AD.].
+Tun-sultan+ (var. Yun) _Mughul--ghunchachi_ of `Umar Shaikh 24.
+Tuqa Beg+, son of Sherim Taghai--captured by Tambal when serving
Babur (904) 106;
killed as a prisoner 107;
[d. 904 AH.-1499 AD.]
Khwaja +`Ubaidu'l-lah+ _Ahrari Naqshbandi_--his righteous influence
in Samarkand 42;
his intervention for peace between `Umar Shaikh and kinsmen
62 and n. 1;
Pashaghar once his village 97;
disciples named by Babur, Ahmad and `Umar Shaikh _Miran-shahi_,
Darwesh Beg Tarkhan, and Maulana-i-qazi _q.v._;
held in slight esteem by Mahmud _Miran-shahi_ 46;
his family ill-treated by Mahmud (899) 41;
dreamed of by Babur (906) 132;
his _Walidiyyah-risala_ versified by Babur 619-20, 468 n. 4, -> 604;
his sons [Muhammad `Ubaidu'l-lah] Khwajaka Khwaja and Yahya _q.v._;
[d. 895 AH.-1491 AD.].
+`Ubaidu'l-lah Sultan Khan+ _Auzbeg_, _Shaibani Chingiz-khanid_,
son of Mahmud and nephew of Shaibani--defeats two pairs of Bai-qara
Mirzas (913) 263, 329-30;
defeated at Merv (917) 354;
defeated north of Bukhara _ib._;
his vow and return to obedience 348, 356;
victorious over Babur at Kul-i-malik (918) 201 n. 7, 357-8;
routs Najm Sani at Ghaj-davan 360-1;
avenges Mughul tyranny in Hisar 362;
attacks Herat (927) 434;
takes Merv (932) 534, 617 n. 2;
takes Mashhad (933) 534, 623 n. 3;
attacked by Tahmasp _Safawi_ (934) 618, 622;
defeated at Jam (935) 622 (where in n. 1 for "934" read 935), 635-6;
Tahmasp's description of him 636 n. 2[2934];
his wives by capture Habiba _Dughlat_ and Mihr-angez
_Bai-qara_ _q.v._;
[d. 946 AH.-1539 AD.].
Rawal +Udai-singh+ _Bagari_--his force at Kanwa (933) 562;
his death 573;
[d. 933 AH.-1527 AD.].
+Ulugh, Ulus+, see Aulugh, Aulus.
Mir +`Umar Beg+ _Turkman_--particulars 279;
his sons Abu'l-fath and `Ali Khan _q.v._
+`Umar Mirza+ _Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of Miran-shah--mentioned
262 n. 3.
+`Umar Shaikh Mirza I+, son of Timur--mentioned 14 (where in l. 3 for
"and" read who);
receives Farghana 14;
[d. 797 AH.-1395 AD.].
+`Umar Shaikh Mirza II+ _Miran-shahi_, father of Babur--particulars
16-19, 24-28;
his lands 17, 24, 50, 55, 95 n. 2, 103;
Akhsi his capital 10;
his ambition 12;
his family relations 12;
betroths Babur 35, 120;
Farghana invaded (899) 13;
his death 13, 29, 32, App. A, i, iii;
his house used by Babur (908) 172
and his tomb visited (900) 54, (908) 173;
his mother Shah Sultan Begim _q.v._;
his retainers Tulun Khwaja, `Abdu'l-wahhab, Khwajaki Khwaja _q.v._;
his old tailor 30;
mentioned 6;
[d. 899 AH.-1494 AD.].
+Umid Aghacha+ _Andijani_, _ghunchachi_ of `Umar Shaikh--her son Nasir
_q.v._;
[dbefore 899 AH.-1494 AD.].
+`Usman+, the Third Khalif--Babur surmised that Samarkand became
Musalman in his reign 75;
[dmurdered 35 AH.-665 AD.].
Mulla-zada Mulla +`Usman+--particulars 284;
his birthplace Chirkh 217.
Amir +Wahid+--his tomb in Herat visited by Babur (912) 306;
[d. 35 AH.-655-6 AD. ?]
Beg +Wais+--brings news from Kabul to Agra (933) 536.
Pir (or Mir) +Wais+--stays with Babur at a crisis (903) 91;
released (905) 119;
leaves Samarkand during the siege (906-7) 146.
Shaikh +Wais+--stays with Babur at a crisis (903) 91;
leaves Samarkand during the siege (906-7) 146.
+Wais Ataka+--his canal at Kabul 200.
+Wais Khan+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_, father of Yunas
Khan--mentioned 19;
his sons Yunas and Aisan-bugha _q.v._;
[d. 832 AH.-1428-9 AD.].
Sultan +Wais+ _Kulabi_--his friendship recommended to Humayun
(935) 627;
-> reinforces Qila`-i-zafar (935 or 936) 696;
his daughter Haram Begim _q.v._
+Wais+ _Laghari_ +Beg+ _tughchi_--particulars 28;
joins The Khan (Mahmud) (899) 32;
safe-guards his ward Nasir _Miran-shahi_ _ib._;
on service for Bai-sunghar (902) 65;
waits on Babur 66;
stays with him at a crisis (903) 91;
on his service (904) 98, 100, 101, 106;
at Khuban (905) 113;
advises 117;
plundered by `Ali-dost 119;
leaves Samarkand during the siege (906-7) 146;
his son (?) Beg-gina _q.v._
+Wais+ _Miran-shahi_, see Mirza Khan.
Sultan +Wais Mirza+ _Bai-qara Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, son of
Bai-qara II--parentage 257;
his cousin and wife Sultanim _q.v._
Sultan +Wais+ _Sawadi_--mentioned 372;
sent to collect a tax he had fixed (925) 374;
receives gifts and leave 376.[2935]
Sultan +Walama+ _Taklu_--mentioned in Shah Tahmasp's account
of the battle of Jam (935) 626 n. 2.
Pir +Wali+ _Barlas Turk_-- -> loses Siwistan to Shah Beg (_cir._ 917)
429 n. 1.
+Wali Beg+ _Barlas_--particulars 272-3;
his son Muhammad-i-Wali _q.v._;
[d. 973 AH.].
+Wali Beg+ _Qibchaq Turk_, brother of Khusrau Shah[2936]--particulars
51;
on his brother's service (901) 60, 64, (902) 71, (903) 93-4;
mentioned (906) 129, (910) 191 by Husain _Bai-qara_;
inquired for from Khusrau by Babur 193;
defeated by Aimaqs 196;
his death 51, 196;
his former followers gathered together 242;
[d. 910 AH.-1504 AD.].
+Wali+ _khazanchi_, _Qara-quzi_--captured by Tambal in Akhsi (908) 181;
in the left centre at Qandahar (913) 335;
his matchlock shooting at Bajaur (925) 369;
on service 391, (932) 458, 465-6, 471;
in the right wing at Panipat 472, 475,
and at Kanwa (933) 566;
his ill-behaviour in the heats 524.
+Wali+ _parschi_ (cheeta-keeper)--receives a gift (935) 633.
+Wali Qizil+ _Mughul_--rebuked (932) 453;
in the right-wing [_tulghuma_] at Panipat 473;
made _shiq-dar_ of Dihli 476;
on service (934) 601, (935) 638.
+Yadgar-i-muhammad+[2937] +Mirza+ _Shah-rukhi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_,
son of Muhammad--his capture of Herat referred to 278;
his defeat by Husain _Bai-qara_ at Chanaran (874) 260;
his loss of Herat to Husain (875) 260, 279,
compared with Shaibani's of Samarkand to Babur (906) 134-5;
the date of his death referred to 259 n. 1;
his Master-of-horse Mir (Qambar-i-)`ali _q.v._;
[d. 875 AH.-1470-1 AD.].
+Yadgar-i-nasir Mirza+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_,
son of Nasir--gifts made to him (935) 632;
[d. 953 AH.-1546 AD.].
+Yadgar-i-sultan Begim+ _Miran-shahi_ (_ut supra_), daughter of
`Umar Shaikh--particulars 18;
her Auzbeg marriage (908) 18, 356;
her return to Babur (917) 356.
+Yadgar Taghai+--his daughter Bega Begim _q.v._
Khwaja +Yahya+, younger son of `Ubaidu'l-lah _Ahrari_--his part in
the Tarkhan revolt (901) 63;
treats with Babur (904) 98;
welcomes him to Samarkand (905) 124;
waits on Shaibani (906) 127;
banished by him and murdered with two sons 128, 147 n. 4;
his house mentioned 133;
his sons Muhammad Zakariya and Baqi, his grandsons `Abdu'sh-shahid
and Khwaja Kalan _q.v._;
[d. 906 AH.-1500 AD.].
Shaikh +Yahya+ _Chishti_--his tomb visited by Babur (935) 666;
his son Sharafu'd-din _Muniri_ _q.v._
+Yahya+ _Nuhani_, at the head of Hindustan traders--allowed to leave
Kabul (925) 416.
+Yahya Nuhani+ (perhaps the man last entered)--waits on Babur
(935) 676;
a grant and leave given 683;
his younger brother (no name) 683.
+Yakka Khwaja+--on Babur's service (934) 598; in the battle
of the Ghogra (935) 671; drowned 674; his brother Qasim _q.v._;
[d. 935 AH.-1529 AD.].
+Yangi Beg Kukuldash+--brings Babur letters and gifts from Kashghar
(932) 445-6.
+Ya`qub-i-ayub+ _Begchik_, son of Ayub--on Husain Bai-qara's service
(901) 58;
proffers Khusrau Shah's service to Babur (910) 192-3.
Sultan +Ya`qub Beg+ _Aq-quiluq Turkman_--a desertion to him 275;
affords refuge to Bana'i 287;
his beg Timur `Usman _Miran-shahi_ _q.v._;
[d. 896 AH.-1491 AD.].
Maulana +Ya`qub+ _Naqshbandi_--his birthplace Chirkh 217;
[d. 851 AH.-1447 AD.].
+Ya`qub+ _tez-jang_-- -> one of five champions defeated in single combat
by Babur (914) 349 n. 1.
+Ya`qub Sultan+--mentioned as at Jam 636 n. 2.
Mulla +Yarak+--plays one of his compositions and incites Babur
to compose (926) 422.
+Yarak Taghai+ (var. Yarik)--stays with Babur at a crisis (903) 91;
_locum tenens_ in Akhsi (905) 116;
retaliates on Turkman Hazaras (911) 253;
takes charge of sheep raided by Babur (912) 313;
in the right wing at Qandahar (913) 334.
+Yar-i-`ali+ _Balal_, _Baharlu Qara-quiluq Turkman_, grandfather
of Bairam Khan-i-khanan--stays with Babur at a crisis (903) 91;
wounded (905) 109 (where in n. 5 for "father" read grandfather);
rejoins Babur (910) 189;
on his Tramontane service (932-3) 546.
+Yar-i-husain+, grandson of Mir (Shaikh) `Ali Beg--waits on Babur
(910) 228;
asks permission to raise a force in Babur's name 231;
kills Baqi _Chaghaniani_ (911) 250-1.
+Yarim Beg+--Yar-i-muhammad?--on Babur's service (913) 337.
+Yili-pars Sultan+ _Auzbeg-shaiban_--his brother Aisan-quli
(_q.v._) 265.
+Yisun-tawa Khan+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_--mentioned in Yunas
Khan's genealogy 19.
+Yul-chuq+--conveys a message to Babur (904) 99.
+Yunas-i-`ali+, son of Baba `Ali Lord-of-the-Gate--surprised at a
Tuesday's fast (925) 398;
on Babur's service 278, 468 (where read his name in l. 3) 475, 521;
in the right centre at Panipat (932) 472, 473
and at Kanwa (933) 565, 569;
has charge of Ibrahim's mother 543, 545;
makes a garden (932) 532;
in social charge of Tahmasp _Safawi's_ envoys (935) 631;
inquires into Muhammad-i-zaman _Bai-qara's_ objections to Bihar
661, 662;
in the battle of the Ghogra 671;
at entertainments (925) 400, (935) 683;
his kinsman Ibrahim _qanuni_ _q.v._
+Yunas Khan+ _Chaghatai Chingiz-khanid_, Babur's maternal
grandfather--particulars[2938] 19-24;
made Khan of the Mughuls by Babur's grandfather 20, 344 n. 2, 352;
his friendly relations with Babur's father 12;
receives Tashkint from him 13;
defeats him 16;
his sons Mahmud and Ahmad _q.v._ and daughters 21-4;
his servant Qambar-i-`ali _q.v._ mentioned 92 n. 1, 149, 565 n. 1;
[d. 892 AH.-1487 AD.].
Khwaja +Yunas+ _Sajawandi_--his birthplace in Luhugur (Logar) 217.
+Yusuf-i-`ali+--musician at entertainments (925) 385, 387, 388,
418.
+Yusuf-i-`ali+ _bakawal_--on Babur's service in Bajaur (925) 375.
+Yusuf-i-`ali Kukuldash+--made joint-_darogha_ in Herat (911) 293;
Babur's cicerone in Herat (912) 304;
his good dancing 303.
+Yusuf-i-`ali+ _rikabdar_--conveys a letter concerning Hind-al's
pre-natal adoption (925) 374;
receives a gift for swimming 401;
meets Babur 418;
(?) in Sambhal (934) 587;
(?) dies there 675, 687 (here `Ali-i-yusuf);
[d. 935 AH.-1529 AD.].[2939]
Khwaja +Yusuf+ _Andijani_, a musician--particulars 4.
+Yusuf-i-ayub+ _Begchik_, son of Ayub--Babur warned against him
(910) 190;
takes service with Babur 196;
winters with Nasir 241;
leaves Babur for Jahangir (911) 190, 254.
+Yusuf+ _badi_`[2940]--particulars 289;
[d. 897 AD.-1492].
Sayyid +Yusuf Beg+ _Aughlaqchi_, son of Murad--particulars 39;
waits on Babur from Samarkand (903) 72;
holding Yar-yilaq for `Ali _Miran-shahi_ (904) 98;
dismissed from Khurasan on suspicion 98;
joins Babur (910) 196;
advises him 197;
his death 241;
his brother Hasan and sons Muhammad-i-yusuf and Ahmad-i-yusuf
_q.v._;
[d. 910 AH.-1505 AD.].
+Yusuf darogha+ of Akhsi?--interviews Babur during the flight
(908) 181-2.
Sayyid +Yusuf+ _Machami_--particulars 118;
opposes Babur (905) 118, 117 n. 2.
+Zahid Khwaja+--abandons Sambhal (933) 557;
on service (935) 682;
[d. 953 AH.-1546 AD.].
Shaikh +Zain+ _Khawafi_--verse-making on the Kabul-river (932) 448;
his account of Babur's regretted couplet 448 n. 5;
goes into Dihli for the Congregational Prayer 476;
makes a garden at Agra 532;
recalls a vow to Babur (933) 553;
his _insha_ on Babur's renunciation of wine and of the _tamgha_
553-6;
his _Fath-nama_ of Kanwa 559-574, and chronograms of victory 575;
in the left centre of the battle 565;
prefers requests for Muhammad-i-zaman _Bai-qara_ (935) 662;
invited in verse by Babur 683;
his maternal uncle Abu'l-wajd _q.v._;
[d. 940 AH.-1533-4 AD.].
+Zainab-sultan Begim+--her granddaughter met by Babur near Agra
(935) 616.
+Zainab-sultan Begim+ _Miran-shahi Timurid_, _Barlas Turk_, daughter
of Mahmud--particulars 48;
married to Babur (910) 48, 711;
[d_cir._ 912 AH.-1506-7 AD.].
+Zard-rui+--on Babur's service (935) 668, 669.
+Zar-dusht+ ("Zoroaster")--mentioned in a verse 85.
Bibi +Zarif Khatun+--her daughter Mah-chuchuq 199 n. 1, 342 n. 3.
+Zubaida Aghacha+ _Jalair_--particulars 267, 273 n. 2;
[dbefore 911 AH.-1506 AD.].
+Zubaida Khatun+, wife of Khalifa Harunu'r-rashid--a surmise
concerning her 306 n. 1;
[d. 216 AH.-831 AD.].
+Zubair+ _Raghi_--revolts against Auzbeg rule in Badakhshan (910) 242,
(912) 295;
defeats Nasir _Miran-shahi_ 321;
standing firm (913) 340;
[d. 914 AH.-1508 AD.].
+Zuhra Begi Agha+ _Auzbeg_, concubine of Mahmud
_Miran-shahi_--particulars 47, 49;
intrigues disastrously with Shaibani (905) 125-6, (906) 127-8.
Mir Shaikh +Zu'n-nun Beg+ _Arghun_--particulars 274-5;
captures Shal (Quetta) (884) 429 n. 1;
his ward-ship of `Ali _Miran-shahi_ (900) 55;
imprisons Khalifa 55;
surrenders Aura-tipa 56;
serving Husain _Bai-qara_ (901) 57, 60 n. 3;
becomes an ally of the rebel Badi`u-z-zaman (902) 71, (903) 94-5,
260;
invited by Husain to co-operate against Shaibani (910) 190, 191;
goes for refuge to Husain 243;
dealings with his son Muqim 198, 227, 248;
his title Lion-of-God 281;
part of the coalition government in Herat (911) 293;
defeats Auzbegs (912) 296;
social matters 298, 299, 307;
hears plain speaking from Qasim Beg _quchin_ 304;
his futile opposition to Shaibani (913) 326;
defeated and killed 275, 327;
his retainer Jan-airdi;
[d. 913 AH.-1507 AD.].
Index II. Geographical.
Abapur (S.E. of Agra), Babur at 642-3.
Aba-quruq (Kabul), Babur at 197.
Ab-burdan (Upper Zar-afshan), description of 152;
spring and pass of 152;
a route through 40 n. 4.
Ab-dara (Hisar-shadman), Babur takes up good ground at 353.
Ab-dara (Hindu-kush), a winter-route through 205, 242, 321, 351.
Ab-i-khan (Farghana), Tambal in 110, 112.
Ab-i-rahmat = Qara-su _q.v._ (Samarkand), mentioned to locate
Kan-i-gil 78, 81.
Ab-istada (S.E. of Ghazni) described 239;
Babur at 218, 239.
Abiward (Khurasan), Anwari's birthplace 260 n. 1.
Ab-i-yar-quruq (Samarkand), Babur in 66.
Abuha or Anuha (N.W.F.P. India), limits Sawad 400.
Abun- or Atun-village (Kabul), Babur at 407.
Adampur or Arampur-_pargana_ (U.P. India), Babur at 650, 684;
682 n. 1;
location of 650 n. 3;
684 n. 3.
Adinapur (Kabul), on the Surkh-rud 209;
of the name 207, App. E, xxi;
a darogha's head-quarters 208;
the Bagh-i-wafa near 421, 443;
Babur at 229.
Adusa-and-Muri (U.P. India), Babur at 645.
Afghanistan, Babur's limitation of the name 200;
demerits of its mountains 223.
Agra, revenue of 521;
`Alam Khan plans to attack 455-6, 474;
estimate of Panipat casualties made in 474;
submits to Babur 523;
exhaustion of treasure in 617;
a military rendezvous 676;
supplies from 685; hot season in 524;
measurement of Kabul-Agra road 629;
water-raising in 487;
Babur takes oleanders to 610;
his workmen in 520, 630, 642;
keeps Ramzan in 584;
receives letters from 639;
comes and goes to and from 478, 548, 581, 606, 686;
others ditto 475, 526, 540, 576-8, 606, 621-4, 650;
mentioned to locate places 529, 531 (2), 588, 597, 641, 650-8, 680.
Ahangaran (on the Heri-rud, Khurasan), 308 n.
Ahangaran-julga[2941] (S.E. of Tashkint), Babur at 90, 152, 161.
Ahar-passage (Ganges), Babur's troops at 528.
Aibak, mod. Haibak, Fr. map Boukhara, Hai-bagh (Kabul-Balkh route),
Babur at 189;
a rebel near 546, and for location 546, n. 2.
Aikari-yar (Kabul), Babur's scouts fight near 196.
Aiki-su-ara[2942] = Miyan-du-ab = Between-the-two-waters (Farghana)
an alternative name Rabatik-aurchin 88;
located 88, n. 2;
Mughuls in 88, 105;
Babur in 114;
Tambal in 116.
Ailaish- or Ailamish-darya, ? Qara-darya (Farghana), Babur's men
defeated on, 105;
game near 114.
Ailak-yilaq (Hisar-shadman), Babur at 187-8, 194.
Ailchi (E. Turkistan), of the name 50, n. 2.
Aindiki var. (Kabul), Babur gathers tooth-picks near 407.
`Aish-pushla (Farghana), Tambal near 106;
Babur near 165.
Aitmak-daban (Samarkand) described 83;
a boundary 84;
64 n. 1;
80 n. 2.
Ai-tughdi (Kabul) position of 253 n. 3;
Babur at 253.
Ajar Fort (in Kahmard, or Kahmard _q.v._ Fr. map MaÔmËnË), Babur's
and his followers' families left in 189;
various occurrences in 197, 243, 293;
a plan to defend 191;
gifts to its peasantry 633 n. 5.
Akhsi, Akhsikit (Farghana), described 9;
book-name of 9 and n. 4;
position of 13;
--`Umar Shaikh's capital 10;
exploit at 16;
death at 13;
--a rebel at 26;
a death in 40;
appointments to 32, 115;
a notable of 110;
a village of 171;
a melon of 82;
besieged 31-2, 54;
threatened 44;
army of, called up against Babur 110;
comings and goings from and to 87, 90, 101-3, 124, 161, 176, 180,
182, 183;
river-fight below 102;
Babur at 54, 116, 170-1-2;
apportioned to Jahangir 118-9;
an army hostile to Babur near 162;
promised to Babur 168;
his attempt to defend 173-6;
his flight from 176, 396;
Shaibani defeats the Chaghatai Khans near 18, 182, 351-6.
Akriada-_pargana_ (Panj-ab), a holder of 453.
Alai-tagh (Farghana), on a Hisar--E. Turkistan route 129;
sub-districts of 162.
Alangar-_tuman_ (Kabul), described 210;
a constituent of the true Lamghanat 210;
a holder of 241;
Babur in 424.
Ala-qurghan = Ikhtiyaru'd-din (Herat), Babur reported captive in 313;
the Bai-qara households in 327;
captured by Shaibani 328.
Ala-sai-_buluk_ (Kabul), described 220-1;
wines of 221.
Ala-tagh (s. of Qalat-i-ghilzai, Afghanistan), over-run 249.[1]
Alexander's Iron-wall (Darband _q.v._ Caspian Sea), mentioned
in metaphor 564;
purpose of 564 n. 3.
Alexandria ad Caucasum (Kabul), site of 214 n. 7.
Alghu-tagh var. Aulugh-tagh (mid-Oxus valley), a Bai-qara arrival
near 60.
`Ali-abad (Samarkand), Shaibani in 135.
`Ali-masjid (Khaibar-route), Babur passes 394, 411-2, 450;
description of its spring 412 n. 1.
`Ali-shang-_tuman_ (Kabul), described 210;
a constituent of the tune Lamghanat 210;
a holder of 241;
Babur in 342, 424.
Allahabad (India), _see_ Piag.
Almaligh (E. Turkistan), depopulation of 1;
located 2 n. 1;
referred to 162 n. 2.
Almar (s. of MaÔmËnË, Fr. map), Babur passes through, 296.
Almatu (E. Turkistan), depopulation of 1;
located 2 n. 1;
referred to 162 n. 2;
*a battle near 349.
Alti-shahr (E. Turkistan), an occasional name of Yiti-kint 11 n. 6.
Alwar, Alur (Rajputana), a rebel leaves 545;
an arrival from 687;
mentioned to fix limits 577-8-9;
gift made of its treasure 519;
an appointment to 578.
Ambahar (N.W.F.P. India?), on a suggested route 376;
pass of 376.
Ambala (Panj-ab), Babur at 465.
`Ambar-koh (Qunduz), a fight on 61.
Amla (Kabul), Babur at 422.
Amroha (U.P. India), revenue assigned of 685.
Amu-darya, Oxus, Babur on 48, 189, 249, others on 57, 74, 193, 244,
*359[2943];
of Trans-Amu tribes 242;
limits territory 49;
*Babur's fortunes lost beyond 426;
--ferries of, Aubaj, 93, 95 (where for Aubaj read Char-jui), 110,
189, Charjui (which read for Aubaj), Kilif 57, 191, Kirki 191,
Tirmiz 191.
Andar-ab (n. of Hindu-kush), a n. boundary of Kabul 200;
mountains of 221;
roads from 205;
a holder of 403;
comings through 51, 193 (Babur's), 196.
Andaraba (Panj-ab), Babur at 391-2.
Andijan (Farghana), description of 3-4;
the capital, sport in, pure Turki in, climate of 4
--its water 5,
mountains of 15, 55, 102, 118, 125;
tribes of 162;
a grass of 221;
its Char-bagh 29;
celebrities of 4, 280;
mentioned to locate places, etc., 4, 8, 10, 16, 113, 396;
its railway 30 n. 5;
given to `Umar Shaikh I and II, 14;
people of led into captivity 20, 22;
Babur its governor 29 n. 1;
succeeds in it 29;
attacks on 27, 30, 54, 87-8, 106-8, 161-8, 171, 192;
captures of 18, 20, 89, 90, 122, 192, 244;
demanded from Babur 87, 168, 318, 351-2;
Auzbeg chiefs wait on Babur in 58;
lost by Babur 89-90, 122;
his attempts to regain 92-7-8, 162-5;
succeeds, 103-4, 115;
proposed disposition of 118;
the cause of his second exile from 105; he
compares it with Samarkand 123;
a raid near 164;
its army on service, 48, 87, 101, 171-2;
occupied by Sa`id Khan 351-7, 362;
commandants of 25, 32, 44;
gifts sent to 633;
comings and goings to and from 32, 58, 64, 102-3-6-8-9, 113, 145,
150, 165-8, 170, *183, 399;
Babur's comings and goings to and from 55, 66, 71, 114-9, 174;
hint of another visit 358 and n. 2;
(_see_ Farghana).
Andikan (Farghana), 161 _see_ Andijan.
Andikhud (w. of Balkh, Khurasan), fighting near 46, 260;
plan to defend 191;
Sayyids of 266-7-8;
a commandant of 279;
a traitor in 325.
Anwar, ? Unwara (near Agra), Babur at 589, 641.
Aqar-tuzi (Samarkand), a battle near 34.
Aq-bura-rud (Farghana), rapid descent of 5 n. 3.
Aq-kutal (between Soghd and Tashkint), a force passes 111.
Aq-qachghai (Aura-tipa, Samarkand), a rapid message through 25.
Aq-su (Aura-tipa, Samarkand), Ahmad _Miranshahi_ dies on 33.
Aq-su (Eastern Turkistan), 20 n. 5, 29 n. 5.
`Arabia, a bird of 497.
Arat (Kabul), App. G. xxv.
Archa-kint (Farghana), a road through 116.
Archian-qurghan (Farghana), Tambal enters 117;
scene of the Chaghatai Khans' defeat 117 n. 2, *182, *351 (where
read Archian for "Akhsi"), 356 (here read near Akhsi).
Argand-ab (Qandahar) irrigation off-takes of 332 n. 4, 333 n. 4.
Ari-_pargana_, Arrah (Bihar, India), Babur in 664-6.
Arind-water, Rind (U.P. India), Babur on 684.
Arupar (U.P. India), _see_ Rupar.
Arus-, Urus-, Arys-su (W. Turkistan), a battle near 16.
Asfara (Farghana), described 7;
Persian-speaking Sarts of 7 and n. 3;
a holder of 115;
Babur takes refuge in 7 and sends gifts to Highlanders of 633
and n. 4;
Babur captures 53;
Babur in a village of 123.
Asfiduk (Samarkand), Babur in 131-2.
Aspara or Ashpara (Mughulistan), Abu-sa`id _Miran-shahi_ leads an army
to 20.
Astar-ab (e. of Pul-i-chiragh, Fr. map MaÔmËnË), tribes in 255.
Astarabad (Khurasan), partridge-cry in 496;
oranges of 510;
a poet of 290 n. 3;
Husain _Bai-qara_ and 46, 95, 259, 260, 261, 272;
assignments of 61-9, 70, 94;
commandants in 272 (Nawa'i), 275;
two Bai-qaras put to death in 262, 266.
Atak, "Attock" (on the Indus), locates Nil-ab 206 n. 3, and Baba Wali
_Qandahari's_ shrine 332 n. 4.
Atar (Kabul), located 211;
Babur at 343, 422-3.
Auba, Ubeh, "Obeh" (on the Heri-rud), a holder of 274.
Aud (U.P. India), _see_ Oude, Oudh.
Aulaba-tu (Ghazni), Babur at 323.
Aulia-ata (E. Turkistan), 2 n. 1.
Aulugh-nur (Kabul), located 209;
a route past 209;
on the "nur" of the name App. F, xxiii;
Babur at 421-5.
Aunju- or Unju-tupa (Farghana), Babur at 110.
Aurangabad (Haidarabad, Dakhin, India), a grape of 77 n. 2.
Aura-tipa (between Khujand and the Zarafshan, Samarkand), its names
Aurush and Aurushna 77;
an alp of 25;
Dikh-kat a village of 149, 154;
locates Khwas 17;
escapes to 124, 141, 156;
transfers of, to `Umar `Shaikh 17,
to Ahmad 27, 30, 35,
to Muh. Husain _Dughlat_ 97;
Ahmad dies in 33;
The Khan in 92;
Babur's family in 136;
Babur in 98-9, 124, 149 (2);
enemies of Babur in 152, 154.
Aurganj or Urgenj (Khwarizm), a claim to rule in 266.
Aurgut (Samarkand), surrenders to Babur, 68.
Aush, Ush (Farghana), described 4;
a trick of the ragamuffins of 6;
course of its water 10;
appointments to 32, 65;
a raid near 25;
an arrival from 112;
fugitive to 168;
dependencies of 109, 110;
Tambal and 103-7, 123;
Babur's men in 114;
oppression of 172;
good behaviour at 176; Babur at 108, 161-2-4-7-9 (advice to go to).
Autrar, Utrar, "Otrar" (W. Turkistan), _see_ Yangi.
Autruli, Atrauli (U.P. India), Babur at 587.
Auz-kint (Farghana), refuge in planned, for the child Babur, 29;
Mughuls take refuge in 105;
Jahangir, with Tambal, and 103, 114-6-8, 123;
Babur and 29, 108-9, 118, 161-2-9;
Babur's note on 162.
Awighur (Farghana), a holder of 118, 125 n. 2.
Azarbaijan (on the Caspian), taken by White Sheep 49;
cold of 219;
a comer from 280;
Timur's workmen in 520.
Baba Hasan _Abdal_, _i.e._, Baba Wali _Qandahari_ (Qandahar),
irrigation-channels towards 332-6;
shrine of the saint near Atack (Attock) 332 n. 4.
Baba Ilahi (Herat), Husain _Bai-qara_ dies at 256;
(_see_ Fr. map Herat, Baboulei).
Baba Khaki (Herat), a rapid message from
Farghana to 25;
an army at 326;
located 25 n. 2, 326 n. 1.
Baba Luli (Kabul), Babur advances towards 315.
Baba Qara (Bajaur _q.v._), spring of 371;
?identical with Khwaja Khizr 371 n. 1;
valley of 367 n. 3.
Baba Tawakkul's Langar (Farghana), the younger Khan halts at 168.
Baba Wali (Atak, Attock), _see_ Baba Hasan.
Babur-khana (Panj-ab), 450 n. 5.
Baburpur (U.P. India), Babur at 644 n. 6.
Bachrata var. (Farghana), a ferry crossed near 116, 170 (by Babur).
Badakhshan, Farghana's s. boundary 1;
Hindu-kush divides Kabul from 204;
trees of 221;
locates Kafiristan 46; Kabul trade of 202;
Babur sends sugar-cane to 208;
a poet of 288; Rusta Hazara of 196;
unprofitable to Babur 480;
reference to his conquest of 220;
Greek descent of its Shahs 22, 242;
a series of rulers in 47-9, 208 n. 8, 243, 340, *426, *433, *697;
a plan for defence of 191;
Auzbegs and 242, 294;
considered as a refuge for Babur 340;
various begims go to 21-2-4, 48;
Nasir's affairs in 242-3, 321-2;
a letter of victory sent to 371;
Babur plans going to 412;
Babur and Mahim visit Humayun in 426, 436;
Sa`id _Chaghatai's_ affairs with 412, *695-6;
*Humayun's desertion of 690, 707;
*offered to Khalifa 697 and n. 1;
*contingent disposition of 706.
Badam-chashma (Kabul), climatic change at pass of 203; Babur at 229,
409, 445.
Badayun (U.P. India), appointments to 267, 582.
Badghis (Khurasan, n. of Herat), Auzbegs defeat Bai-qaras in 275;
Babur in 296, 307.
Bad-i-pich-pass, Bad-pakht? (Kabul), a route through 209; Babur goes
through 343, 421;
places an inscription in 343.
Badr-au-_buluk_, Tag-au (Kabul), described 221;
water of 227 n. 1;
a route through 209;
Babur in 421.
Badru-ferry (Ghogra, Saru); 667 n. 5.
Badshah-nagar (U.P. India), Babur's visit gives the name to 678 n. 1.
Bagar (Rajputana), a holder of 573;
identified 573 n. 2.
"Baghdad," a variant for Bughda 40 and n. 2.
Baghlan (Qunduz), nomads leave Kabul for 402.
Bahar or Bihar (Kabul), seat of a tribe 413;
Babur at 414.
Bahat, Bihat, Jhelum-river (Panj-ab), course of 485;
Babur on 382, *441, 453;
crossed in fear of him 382.
Bahraich (U.P. India), revenue of 521;
locates Ghazra crossings 669.
Bajaur (N.W.F.P. India), concerning its name 367 n. 4, 571 n. 3;
once a Kabul dependency 207;
wines and fruit of 372, 510-1;
monkeys and birds of 492-3-4;
beer made in 423;
a test of women's virtue in 211;
Babur and 367 to 370, 371-3, 377, *429;
repopulation of 375;
tribute of 400;
Dost Beg's valour at 370, 397;
Khwaja Kalan and 370, 411, 422-3;
Bibi Mubarika left in 376;
arrivals from 401.
Bakkak-pass (between Yaka-aulang and the Heri-rud valley), Babur's
perilous crossing of 309;
an alternative pass (Zirrin) 310 n. 2.
Baksar _sarkar_ (U.P. India), revenue of 521.
Baksara (U.P. India), Babur at *603, 660.
Baladar, Biladar (U.P. India), Babur at 686.
Bala-hisar (Kabul), present site of 198 n. 4;
(_see_ Citadel).
Bala-jui (Kabul), maker and name of 200 and n. 5.
Ballia (U.P. India), sub-divisions of 637 n. 1, 664 n. 8, 667 n. 2.
Balkh (Oxus valley), border-countries of 76, 261, 204;
heat in 520;
a melon-grower of 686;
its trade with Kabul 202;
holders of 18, 61-9, 257, 263, 275;
exploits at 50, 93, 270;
Husain _Bai-qara_ and 70, 191;
Khusrau Shah and 93-4, 110, 270;
Shaibani and 294-6, 300, *363;
Kitin-qara and 545-6;
`Ubaid and 622;
*Isma`il _Safawi_ and 359, 363;
Muhammad-i-zaman and *364, 385, *428;
Babur and 220, *359, *426-7, *442-4-5-6, 463 and n. 3, 546 n. 1,
625.
Balkh-ab, headwaters of 216; Babur crosses 295.
Balnath Jogi's hill (Panj-ab), Babur near 452.
Bamian (Khurasan ? w. of Ghur-bund, Kabul), mountains of 215;
how reached from Kabul 205;
Khusrau Shah and 96 (where for "Qasim" read Kamal);
Babur and 189, 311, *351, 409.
Bam-valley (Herat), a _langar_ in 308 n. 1;
Babur in 296, 297 n. 1.
Banakat, Fanakat = Shahrukhiya (Tashkint) 2 n. 5, 76.
Banaras, Benares (U.P. India), crocodiles near 502;
threatened 652-4;
Babur near 657.
Banas-river (India), course of 485.
Bandir, Bhander (C. India), a fruit of 507;
Babur at 590-8.
Band-i-salar Road (Farghana), Babur on 55, 116.
Bangarmawu, Bangarmau (U.P. India), Babur near 601.
Bangash _tuman_ (Kabul), described 220, 209, 233, 405;
a holder of 27, 252;
plan of attack on 229, 231-3, 382.
Bannu plain (N.W.F.P. India), a limit of Kabul territory 200;
a waterless plain near 234;
date of the modern town 232 n. 5;
Babur and 218, 231-2, 382, 394.
Banswara (Rajputana), an old name of 573 n. 1.
Banur (Patiala, Panj-ab), Babur on (Ghaggar) torrent of 464.
(The) Bar (Panj-ab), 380 n. 4.
Baraich (U.P. India), _see_ Bahraich.
Barak or Birk (?N.W.F.P. India), mentioned as between Dasht and Farmu
l 235.
Barakistan, Birkistan (Zurmut, Kabul), a tomb in 220;
? tongue of 207.
Bara-koh (Farghana) described 5; position of 5 n. 2.
Baramula (Kashmir), a limit of Sawad territory 372 n. 3.
Baran-su,[2944] Panjhir-su (Kabul), affluents to 210-1;
the bird-migrants' road 224;
migration of fish in 225;
bird-catching on 228;
routes crossing 209, 342;
locates various places 207 n. 5, 215, App. E, xvii;
--passers along 195, 242;
Babur and 254, 420, _see_ Koh-daman.
Baran _wilayat_ (Kohistan, Kabul), Babur in 253, 320, 405.
Bara (N.W.F.P. India), road of 411;
Babur fords the water of 230.
Bari (Rajputana), hills of 486;
hunting-grounds in 509 n. 2;
Babur at 509, 585.
Barik-ab (affluent of the "Kabul-river"), Babur on 409, 414, 446.
Bast, Bost, Bust (on the Helmand, Afghanistan), Husain _Bai-qara's_
affairs at 94, 260.
Bastam (`Iraq), a w. limit of Khurasan 261 (where read Bastam);
captured 622.
Bateswar (U.P. India), ferry of 643 n. 3.
Bazar and Taq (India), _see_ Dasht.
Bazarak (Hindu-kush), described 205.
Beg-tut (Kabul), earthquake action near 247.
Benares (India), _see_ Banaras.
Bengal, Bangala (India), particulars of the rules and customs in 482;
envoys to and from 637, 640, 665;
army of 663; Babur at ease about 677, 679 n. 7;
traversed by the Ganges 485;
a bird of 495;
fruits of 504.
Between-two-waters (Farghana), _see_ Aiki-su-ara.
Betwi-river, Betwa (C. India) described 597.
Bhander (C. India), _see_ Bandir.
Bhilsan (C. India), Sanga's 483;
Babur's plan against 598.
Bhira (Panj-ab), history of 382;
revenue of 521;
tribes of 387;
Baluchis in 383;
locates places 379, 380, 381;
limit of Ludi Afghan lands 481,
and of Babur's in Hindustan 520;
servants from 616, 678;
arrivals from 228, 391, 419;
local soldiery 389, 539,
rhinoceros in 490, Babur and 377-8, 382-3-7, *429, 478;
he stays in the fort of 384;
safeguards people of 383, 478;
sends prisoners into 461;
summons by Mahim of an escort from 650;
a governor 386-8, 392-9.
Bhujpur (Bihar, India), Babur at 662.
Biah-su, Beas (Panj-ab), course of 485; Babur crosses 458.
Biana, Bayana (Rajputana), mountains in 486;
red-stone of 532, 611;
water-raising in 487;
a dependency of 563;
locates places 539, 613;
disaffection to Babur of 523-9;
taken 530-8, 540-5;
a gun made to use against it 537;
praise of its soldiers 548, 550;
an appointment to 579;
asked for 613;
Babur at 577, 581;
his workmen in 520;
revenue from assigned to support his tomb *709.
Bianwan _pargana_ (U.P. India), assignment on 540.
Bibi Mah-rui (Kabul), Babur at 314.
Bigram, Bikram (Panj-ab), four ancient sites so-named 230 n. 2;
Babur at 230, 394, 450-1.
Bihar (India), a limit of Afghan lands in Hind 480-1,
and of Babur's 520;
revenue of 521;
Babur and 639, 656, 677-9;
an assignment on 676;
mentioned as if Babur's 561;
Muhammad-i-zaman and 661-3-4;
an earlier Ludi capture of 675;
a diwan of 661.
Bihiya (Bihar, India), Babur at 662-7 n. 2.
Bih-zadi (Kabul), Babur at 398, 416-8;
wine fetched from 417;
19th century vinegar of 417 n. 2.
Bijanagar, Vijaynagar (Dakhin, Deccan, India), a ruler of 483.
Biladar (U.P. India), _see_ Baladar.
Bilah (Panj-ab), Babur at 237.
Bilkir? (Kabul), Babur at 420.
Bilwah ferry (Ganges), Babur at 658.
Bimruki _pargana_ (Panj-ab), a holder of 453.
Birk and Birkistan, _see_ Barak.
Bishkharan (Farghana), good fighting at 28;
Babur at or near 117-8, 170.
Bish-kint (on the Khujand-Tashkint road), Tambal at 145, 154;
Babur at 151.
Bi-sut (Kabul), Bi-sutis migrated to Bajaur 375.
Bolan-pass (Baluchistan), *Shah Beg's entrance to Sind 429.
"Bottam" (? dÈbouchement of the Zar-afshan), a word used by Ibn Hankal
76 n. 6.
Budana-_quruq_ (Samarkand), described 82;
Babur at 131 (here Quail-reserve).
Buhlulpur (Panj-ab), Babur at 454.
Bukhara (Transoxiana), described 82;
w. limit of Samarkand 76,
and of Soghd 84;
deficient water-supply of 77;
trade with Kabul 202;
wines of 83;
melons of 10, 82;
bullies in 7;
Babur sends sugar-cane to 208;
various rulers of 35, 38, 112;
governors in 40, 52, 121;
taken by Shaibani 125;
various attacks on 63-5, 124, *356-7-9, *354, *359, *360;
Babur's capture of 21, 704 n. 3;
Mahdi Khwaja and 704 n. 3;
various comings and goings from and to 62-3-4, 135, 534.
Bulan (Kabul), a route through 209.
Buli (Rajputana), revenues of 521.
Burhanpur (C. India), Babur on water of 592-8.
Burh-ganga (Old Ganges), its part in the battle of the Ghogra 667
n. 2, 674 n. 6, 667 n. 2.
Burka-yilaq (Aura-tipa _q.v._), Babur at the fort of 92, 124.
Busawar (Rajputana), Babur at 548 (where read Busawar) 581.
Bu-stan-sarai (Kabul), Babur at 251-4.
Bu-stan-sarai (Samarkand), 62;
Babur at 74, 134.
But-khak (Kabul), damming of its water 647;
Babur at 409, 446 n. 4.
Buz-gala-Khana (Samarkand), _see_ Aitmak-daban.
Chach, _see_ Tashkint.
Chachawali (U.P. India), Babur at 649.
Chach-charan (on the Heri-rud), a holder of 274;
Babur at 308.
Chaghanian (Hisar-shadman), located 48 n. 5;
an earlier extension of the name 188 n. 4;
Nundak dependent on 471;
a meadow (_aulang_) of 129;
a ruler in 47;
Khusrau Shah at 93;
Babur in 188.
Chaghan-sarai _buluk_, Chighan-sarai (Kabul), described 212;
water of 211-2;
name of 212 n. 2;
a governor of 227;
Babur's capture of 211 (where for "920" _read_, *366-7 n. 3.)
Chahar _see_ Char.
*Chak-chaq pass (Hisar-shadman), Babur traverses 359.
Chaldiran (Persia), cart-defence in the battle of 469 n. 1.
Chambal-river (C. India), course of 485;
Babur on 509, 585-9, 607, 614;
Shah-i-jahan pours wine into 298 n. 3.
Champaran (Bihar, India), revenue of 521.
Chanaran (n.w. of Mashhad), Husain _Bai-qara's_ victory at 260;
located 260 n. 1
and FertÈ _q.v._ p. 39 n. 2.
Chandawal (Bajaur, N.W.F.P.), of its name 367 n. 3;
torrent of 372;
Babur hunts near 372.
Chandawar, Chandwar (U.P. India), correct name of 642 n. 8;
water-raising in 487;
comings and goings from and to 531, 552, 582;
Babur at 589, 642-3;
he loses it 557, 581.
Chandiri (C. India), described 582-3-6;
hills of 486;
death of a holder of 573;
mentioned to fix dates 269, 483, 605;
Babur's capture of 589, 590-2-4-8.
Chapar-kuda (U.P. India), identity of with Chaparghatta 650 n. 1;
a start from 659 n. 5;
Babur at 650.
Char-dar _col_ (Hindu-kush), 204 n. 4.
Char-dih plain (w. of Kabul-town), the Kabul-river traverses 200 n. 4;
*overlooked from Babur's tomb 710.
Charikar, Char-yak-kar (Kabul), altitude of 204 n. 4;
name of _ib._ 295 n. 1;
Judas-trees of 216 n. 3.
Char-jui ferry (Oxus), 95 (where "Aubaj" is wrong).
Char-shamba = Wednesday (Oxus valley _see_ Fr. map MaÔmËnË), 71 n. 2.
Char-su (Samarkand), an execution in 196.
Char-yak (Fr. map MaimËnË), over-run 295, 94 (where for "San-chirik"
_read_ San and Char-yak).
Chashma-i-tura pass (Kabul), Babur at 403-4.
Chash-tupa (Kabul), Babur at 320.
Chatsu (Rajputana), revenue of 521.
Cha-tu var. Jal-tu (Kabul), Babur at 228.
Chatur-muk (U.P. India), a Ghogra-crossing at 669, 677.
Chaupara (N.W.F.P. India), an Indus ferry at 206;
a limit of Bannu 233;
Babur near 234.
Chaupara (U.P. India), ferry of 677-9.
Chausa (Bihar, India), a death at 273 n. 3;
Babur at *603, 659, 660.
Chausa or Jusa (C. India), Babur at 581.
Chichik-tu (Balkh-Herat road), located 300;
Babur at 296.
Chihil-dukhtaran (Farghana), 107, 162;
(Heri) 296, 301;
(Kabul), 107 n. 1.
Chihil-qulba (Kabul), Babur hunts near 420.
Chikman-sarai (Andikhud, Oxus valley), a defeat at 46, 260, 268.
Chin, China, Kabul trade with 203;
a Chini cup 407;
[for "China" _see_ Khitai].
Chin-ab, Chan-ab, tract and river (Chen-ab, Panj-ab), course of 485;
the Bar in 380 n. 4;
a Turk possession 380-2;
Babur resolves to regain 380;
he on the river *441, 453;
envoys to him from 386;
his family reach 659;
an appointment to 386.
China-qurghan (Kabul), Babur at 407.
Chiniut or Chiniwat (Panj-ab), a Turk possession 380-2;
Babur resolves to regain 380.
Chiragh-dan (Upper Heri-rud), Babur at 309;
_see_ Add. Note p. 309 for omitted passage.
Chirkh (Kabul), described 217;
a mulla of 284;
a soldier of 669, 678.
Chir-su, Chir-chik (Tashkint lands), Ahmad _Miran-shahi's_ disaster at
17, 25, 31-4-5.
Chitr (Panj-ab), Babur at 645.
Chitur, Chitor (Rajputana), hills of 486;
Babur's plan against 598;
Rana Sanga's 483, 617.
Chunar (U.P. India), advance on 652-4;
arrival from 657;
appointments 682-3;
Babur at 658;
road measured from 659;
question of identity 682 n. n.
Chupan-ata (Samarkand), 72 n. 3, 76 (Kohik), 76 n. 4;
Babur crosses 124;
[_see_ Kohik].
Chutiali (Duki, Qandahar), Babur at 238-9.
Cintra (Portugal), oranges of 511 n. 4.
Citadel (_arg_) of Kabul, 201;
Bala-hisar 198 n. 4;
--of Samarkand, 77;
position of 78 n. 6;
Babur in 134, 141.
Dabusi (Samarkand), Auzbeg victories at 40, 124, 137.
Dahanah (_see_ Fr. map MaimËnË), corn from 295;
traversed 194-7, 243, 295.
Dakka (Kabul), App. E. xx;
[_see_ note to Baran-su].
Dakkan, Dakhin, Deccan (India), rulers in 482;
? Dakni = Dakkani 619, 631, Add. Note pp. 619, 631.
Daman (N.W.F.P. India), _see_ Dasht.
Damghan (Persia), a w. limit of Khurasan 261;
Bai-qaras captured in 263;
Auzbegs defeated at 618, 622.
Dandan-shikan pass (Khurasan), Babur crosses 294.
Dara-i-bam (Badghis, Khurasan), Babur in 296.
Dara-i-gaz (s. of Balkh), a recall from 14.
Dara-i-Ghazi Khan (Panj-ab), 233 n. 3.
Dara-i-khwush (Kabul), Babur in 27, 251-3.
Dara-i-nur (Kabul) described 210;
unique character of 210, 241, App. F;
wines of 210, 410, App. G, xxv;
monkeys of 211, 492;
name of App. F, xxiii, xxiv;
a holder of 227, 344;
attacked 241;
Babur in 422.
Dara-i-pur-amin (Kabul), Babur at 342 (where for "anim" _read_ amin).
Dara-i-suf (Khurasan), character of 222.[2945]
Dara-i-zang (Khurasan), defence for planned 191.
Dara-i-zindan (Kabul-Balkh road), mountains of 222;
located 189 n. 6;
Babur in 189.
Darband (Caspian Sea), 564 n. 5.
Darband-i-ahanin (Hisar-shadman), a limit of territory 47;
a name of Qulugha, Quhqa, 194;
*Babur at 353;
Najm Sami near 359.
Dar-i-gham canal (Samarkand) described 76, 84;
Babur on 124-5;
(_see_ Kohik-water).
Daruta (Kabul), Babur at 421-2.
Darwaza (Bajaur ? N.W.F.P. India), a road through 376.
Dasht (Plain), Daman, Bazar and Taq (N.W.F.P. India), names of 229
n. 1, 233 and n. 1;
(Mehtar Sulaiman) mountains of 223;
limits Bannu 233;
a route through 206;
Babur and 229, 235-7, 394.
Dasht-i-shaikh, Kurrat-taziyan (Kohistan, Kabul) described 215.
Dawar (Kohistan, Kabul), Babur at 421;
perhaps Dur-nama 421 n. 5.
Dhar (C. India), observatory in 79.
Dibalpur (Panj-ab), revenue of 521;
water-wheels in 486, 532;
commandants in 442-3, 463;
Babur captures 208, *441, 575-8.
Dih-i-afghan (Kabul), a rebel in 345;
a goer to 402.
Dih-i-ghulaman (Kabul), Babur at 413.
Dih-i-yaq`ub (Kabul), narrows of 200;
water of 241;
Babur at 409, 445.
Dihli, mountains of 485;
the capital of Hindustan 463;
a Ludi possession 481;
revenue of 521;
Miwat and 577;
`Alam Khan and 455-6;
Ibrahim marches from 465;
Sanga gives Babur rendezvous near 529;
Babur takes possession of 475;
appointments to 476;
submissive 523;
mentioned as Babur's 561;
Khwaja Kalan's inscription in 525;
an arrival from to Babur 526;
treasure of 583, *695 n. 1, 617.
Dikh-kat (Aura-tipa, Samarkand), described 149, 152;
an arrival in 151;
Babur in 149, 150, 633 n. 4.
Dilmau var. (U.P. India), comings and goings from and to 534-7, 681-4;
variants of name of 681 n. 3.
Din-kot, Dhankot (N.W.F.P. India), location and name of 206 n. 6;
limit of Koh-i-jud 380
and of Bannu 233;
routes through 206, 399.
Dirapur (U.P. India), Babur in 649.
Diri pass (Kabul), a route through 209.
Diyul (Samarkand), allies of Babur in 138.
Dizak (Samarkand), Babur a fugitive in 148;
a governor of 26.
"Doab," _see_ Miyan-du-ab.
Du-aba (U.P. India), Gangetic changes in 667 n. 2.
Dugdugi (U.P. India), Babur at 651-2.
Dughaba river (Khurasan), head-waters of 216.
Duki (Qandahar), mountains of 223, 236;
Babur in 218, 238, 382.
Dulpur, "Dholpur" (Rajputana), mountains of 486;
Ibrahim _Ludi's_ begs in 593;
Babur and 520, 552, 585, *603-6, 614, 634-5-9, 689;
accounts of work in 606, 634, 642;
a view from 610.
Dun (Jaswan, Panj-ab); `Alam Khan in 457;
Babur in 461-2.
Dungarpur (Rajputana), old name of 573 n. 1.
Dur-nama or -nama'i (Kohistan, Kabul), described 215;
Babur at 420;
(_see_ Dawar).
Durrin- or Diurrin-tangi (Kabul), a limit of Shah-i-Kabul 200, 417.
Du-shamba (Badakhshan), Humayun at 621.
Dushi (n. of Hindu-kush), Khusrau Shah submits to Babur at 51, 191-5.
Egypt, _see_ Misr.
Etawa, Itawa (U.P. India), hostile to Babur 523-9, 530;
appointments to 530-3, 579, 582;
comings and goings from and to 541, 645, 689;
Babur at 644, 686.
Faizabad (Badakhshan), *? Babur and Mahin at 436.
Fakhru'd-din-aulum (Balkh-Herat road), Babur at 296;
(_see_ Fr. map MaÔmËnË).
Fanakat, Banakat = Shahrukhiya (Tashkint), passed by the Sir-darya 2;
identity of 2 n. 5, 7 n. 5.
Fan-tagh (Hisar-shadman), Lake Iskandar in 129;
Babur in 130.
Farab (W. Turkistan?), a mulla of 643.
Faraghina (Farghana), Babur at 168.
Farghana mod. Kokand, description of 1 to 12;
extent of 2 n. 3;
included in Trans-oxiana 76;
Alps of 223;
nick-name of 289;
winter-route into 2, *183;
capitals of 3, 10, 162;
an e. limit of Samarkand 76;
Kabul trade of 202;
celebrities of 4, 7, 76, 90, 289;
`Umar Shaikh's (I and II) 14-7, 24;
Babur succeeds in 1, 29;
invasions of 13, 20-9, 54, *183;
proposal to dispossess Babur 168;
an arrival in 28;
an exit from 190;
Babur's loss of 19 n. 1, *183;
Babur's leaving 187;
(_see_ Andijan).
Far-kat (n. of Kindir-tau _q.v._), a refugee in 149;
a mulla of 343;
reached from Ghawa (Farghana, Fr. map, Gava), 179.
Farmul _tuman_ (Kabul), described 220;
a s. limit of Kabul 200;
Urghun in 206 n. 2;
roads through 206, 231-3-5;
Shaikh-zadas of 220, 679 n. 7.
Fathpur (U.P. India), Babur at 643, 686.
Fathpur or Nathpur (U.P. India), a dependency of 680;
lake of 681.
Fathpur-Aswa (U.P. India), Babur at 651.
Firuzabad (U.P. India), 643 n. 3.
Firuz-koh (Ghur-Kabul road), Babur on 365.
Firuzpur (-jhirka; Gurgaon, Panj-ab), described 580 n. 1;
Babur at 580.
Fulul (Badakhshan), Khusrau Shah and 60;
Mughuls from, join Babur 192 (where _read_ Fulul).
Gagar, Ghaggar, Kakar river (Patiala, Panj-ab), Babur visits and
describes 464-5;
called _rud_ (torrent) of Banur and Sanur 464.
Gagar, Kakar (U.P. India), a constituent of the Gogra, Ghogra _q.v._;
the word Gagar or Kakar used 602.
Gamb(h)ir-water (India), Babur crosses 606.
Gandak river (India), course of 485;
defence of 663.
Gandamak (Kabul), Babur at 394, 414, 446.
Gang-river, Ganges (India), course of 485;
changed course of 667 n. 2, 674 n. 6-7 n. 2, 682 n. 1;
bridged by Babur 495, 599, 633;
lands and chiefs east of 523, 628, 638, 651;
various crossings made of 530, 544, 583-7, 598, 669, 681-4;
Babur on 598 to 665, 666-7;
a battle-station east of 371;
Babur swims 603-5, 655, 660.
Garm-chashma (Kabul), Babur at 229, 411, 448.
Garm-sir (S. Afghanistan), *432; a bird of 496.
Garzawan (Khurasan, Fr. map MaÔmËnË, Ghourzistan), mountains of 222;
locates a place 69;
a plan for defence of 191;
Babur at 296 (where mis-spelled "Gurzwan").
Gau- or Kau-water (Kabul), Kafiristan the source of 210.
Gawar or Kawar (Kabul), position of 210.
Ghain (Kabul), a punitive force against 253.
Ghaj-davan (Bukhara), *besieged 360; *battle of 361, 279:
a fugitive from 363.
Gharjistan, Ghurjistan (Khurasan), mountains of 222;
Babur near 308;
Muhammad-i-zaman in 365.[2946]
Ghawa (Farghana, Fr. map, Gava), Babur seeks the road to 179,
180-1-*2.
Ghazipur (U.P. India), crocodiles of 502;
an assignment on 527;
a holder of 669;
threatened 544, 680;
Babur at 659;
his boats sent to 679.
Ghazni = Kabul and Zabulistan, Ghaznin (Kabul); describes 217, 321;
a N.W. limit to Hindustan 481;
cold of 219, 526; game in 224;
no honey from 203;
firewood of 223;
highwaymen on road to 228;
wines of, taken to Hindustan 461, 551;
repairs of a dam at 219, 646;
a route to 206;
locates Zurmut 220;
a Shahrukhi's 382 (here Kabul); Aulugh Beg and 95 n. 2;
Dost Beg buried at 396;
various governors of 227, 253-4, 307, 343-4, 363, 397, 525;
not subjected to Babur (912 AH.) 300;
rebellion in (912 AH.) 363;
Khwaja Kalan and 447, 526;
Babur and 199, 228, 239, 240, 330, 526.
Ghur (Khurasan), mountains of 222;
w. limit to Kabul 200;
road from Kabul to 214;
a holder of 274.
Ghuram (Panj-ab), an assignment of 525.
Ghur-bund _tuman_ (Kabul), described 214;
Nil-ab (Naulibis) in 206 n. 3;
roads from 205;
a tulip of 215;
Babur in 195, 294, 314.
Ghuri (Khurasan), position of 409;
a route through 94;
corn from 295;
a failure in 546.
Ghurjistan, _see_ Gharjistan.
Ghwaliri pass (on the Gumal _q.v._, India), a surmised route through
235 n. 2.
Gibrik or Kibrik (Kafiristan), people of 207.
Ginguta (Panj-ab), described 462;
an occupation of 457.
Girdiz (Kabul), head-quarters in Zurmut 220;
tribesmen on road to 228, 403;
a road for 405;
locates a place 403;
Khwaja Kalan's 525;
Tang-i-waghchan a name for its pass 403 n. 1.
Gogra, Ghogra, Gagar, Kakar river (U.P. India), _see_ Saru.
Gosfand-liyar (n. of Bannu-plain), a sheep-road travelled by Babur
233.
Goshta (Kabul), 206 n. 4.
Gualiar, Gwalior (C. India), described 607 to 612, 613-4;
Babur's building in 520;
hills of 486;
revenue of 521;
forms of the name 486;
ruler of killed at Panipat 477;
hostile to Babur 523-9 (where add "Gualiar" after Dulpur, l. 4 fr.
foot), 539;
assigned 539;
gained 540;
reinforced 547, 557;
Babur's visit to 605, 552, 607 to 614;
on envoy from 612;
sedition in 688-9, 690, *692 n. 1.
Gui-water, Gumti (U.P. India), course of 485 (where for "Gumti" _read_
(Babur's) Gui);
Babur on 601, 658, 683-4.
Gujrat (Panj-ab), a tree of;
a ruler in 481;
affairs of 534-5.
Guk-sarai (Samarkand), described 41 n. 2, 63, 77;
ascension-stone in 77 n. 5;
a Mirza sent to 41.
Gul-i-bahar (Kohistan, Kabul), described (without name) 214-5;
fish-catching in 226, Babur at 320-1, 406-7.
Gumal valley and river (N.W.F.P. India), Babur and 235-6.
Gumbazak pass (Khurasan; _see_ Fr. map MaÔmËnË), Babur at 294.
Gumhaz-i-chaman (Farghana), Babur at 176.
Gura-khattri (Panj-ab), Babur and 230, 294.
Gurgan-su (s.e. of the Caspian), Husain _Bai-qara_ swims 259,
260 n. 6.
Guzar var. (Qandahar?), Babur at 332.
Ha-darwesh waste (Farghana), described 9, 9, 151;
*birthplace of Babur's legendary son 358 n. 2.
Haft-bacha pass (Hindu-kush), described 205.
Haji-ghat pass (Hindu-kush), turns Hindu-kush 205 n. 2.
Hajipur (Bihar, India), Babur and 674;
a governor of 663 n. 6.
Haji-tarkhan = Astrakhan (on the Caspian), a chief of 258.
Haldi-guzr (U.P. India), location of 668 n. 2, 669 n. 1, 671 n. 1;
Babur's men cross 668-9, 675.
Halwa-chashma (Khurasan), a victory at 260.
Hamadan (Persia), a saint of 211; *a soldier of 700.
Hamtatu pass (Panj-ab), Babur crosses 381.
Hangu (N.W.F.P. India), Babur at 231-2.
Harmand-, Halmand-river (Afghanistan), source of 216;
a drowning in 307.
Haru, Kacha-kot water (Panj-ab), Babur crosses 379, 452;
an Indus-ford near 206 n. 5.
Hash(t)-nagar (N.W.F.P. India), a limit of Kabul 200;
desolate 207;
rhinoceros in 490;
birds of 497, 500;
locates a place 376;
Babur advised to raid 410-1.
Hasht-yak (W. Turkistan), Babur near 151.
Hatya (Panj-ab), limit of a clan 452 n. 5.
Hazarasp (Khwarizm), a holder of 50.
Heri, Herat (Khurasan), description of 304 to 306;
Husain _Bai-qara's_ birthplace 256,
conquest of 134,
splendid rule in 273,
ease in 261,
feast in 264,
delay of a pilgrim in 284,
reception of fugitives 243,
burial in 293;
--joint-rule in 293, 326;
weakness before Auzbeg attack on 296-9, 326;
--Shaibani's capture of 207, 326-8-9;
--Isma`il _Safawi's_ capture of *350-5;
--`Ubaidu'l-lah _Auzbeg_ and *434;
--`Ali-sher _Nawa'i_ in 4, 271, 286-7;
Bana'i and 286-7;
*Shah Beg and 365, 429, 430;
Khwand-amir and *432, 605;
fugitives from 331;
governors of 24, 37, 274 (Koh-daman), 275, *633;
envoys to Babur from *436;
a Begim comes from 267;
Mas`uma brought from 330;
Babur at 300-1-2, 302 to 307;
his marriage with Mahim in *704;
--locates a place 25;
fixes a date 258.
Himar or Khimar (? Khurasan), a passer through 260.
Hind, Hindustan, Hindustanat--a northern limit of Kabul 200;
routes between it and Kabul 206;
a journey to Makka made from Kabul through 26;
trade and traders 202, 331, 416;
Jats and Gujurs in 454;
a saint honoured in 238;
a raja of 219;
comings and goings to and from 250, 265, 267, 368;
Khwand-amir in *432, 605 and n. 6;
--Astronomical Tables in 79;
names for outside places used in 202;
gold from 446;
titles in 537;
building style in 609;
greetings in 640;
mentioned by Babur in a verse 584;
Hind-al named from 385;
of Biana in 529;
of the Betwa 597;
--a seemingly limited use of the name Hindustan 386;
of its three names used by Babur, Hind 26, 219, 385, 525, 532, 577,
577 n. 6, 578,
Hindustanat 485,
Hindustan usually;
--Hindustan the Less (?) 46 and 46 n. 4;
--Ludi rise in 383;
Ludi possessions in 463, 480;
Ibrahim's accession in 385;
*torn by faction 439;
envoys to Babur from *426, *436;
Babur's comments on its chiefs 219, 385, 459;
Farmuli ascendancy in 220;
begs in 387;
armies in 547;
--Timur's conquest of 382;
his employment in Samarkand of workmen from 77;
pictures of his victories in 78;
tradition of a soldier in his army of 150;
--Babur's persistent wish to regain Turk possessions in 340, 377,
380-1-2, 478-9;
working-out of his desire for *426;
varied opposition to his aims 478;
*his five expeditions to:--
910 AH.--39, 229, 382;
925 AH.--378 et seq., 478, 480;
926 AH.--*428, *429;
its frustration *429, *430, *441;
930 AH.--575, *442;
its frustration 442;
932 AH.--*444, 445, 479;
--one start frustrated in Kabul 913, AH. 341-3;
`Alam Khan asks and obtains help in *439, *441, 455;
Daulat Khan proffers allegiance *440;
*Babur's prayer for a sign of victory *440;
his fifth expedition fixes dates 269, 545;
indications that only the fifth aimed at Dihli *429, *444, 480;
his decisive victories, at Panipat 475,
at Kanwa 574;
references to his conquest 220, 561;
some of his Begs wish to leave 524-5, 579, 584;
his Hindustan poems 642, App. Q;
his ease in and hints at leaving 617, 645, 686;
his family brought to 646, 686;
--the *_Akbar-nama_ chronicles no public events of 936-937 AH.
in 682;
*Babur's journey to Lahor (936 AH.) may point to his leaving
Hindustan 707;
*Humayun's arrival in 696, 707;
*on Babur's intended disposal of Hindustan 702 to 708;
*burial of his body in 709
and later removal from 709-710;
--Babur's description of Hindustan 478 to 531,
_viz._:--Introduction, on earlier Tramontane expeditions into 478
to 480,
boundaries and capital of 480,
rulers in 932 AH. 481,
varied climate,
character of and northern mountains 484;
rivers and Aravalli range 485;
irrigation 486,
other particulars 487,
--mammals 488,
birds 493,
aquatic animals 501,
fruits 503,
flowers 513;
--seasons of the year 515,
days of the week 516,
division of time 516,
weights and measures 517,
modes of reckoning 518;
--Hindus in 518;
--defects and advantages of 518-9, 531, 532,
revenues 520-1.
Hindu-kush mountains, n. boundary of Kabul 200-4;
connected ranges 210, 380;
called Hindu-kush in Kabul 485;
account of their prolongation in Hind (_i.e._ Himalayas), 485;
roads and passes of 204-5;
the clouds a hindrance to bird-migration 224;
limits of territory fixed by 47-9, 194;
an episode on 270 *Babur's crossing 930 AH. 442.
Hisar-firuza (Panj-ab), revenue of 521;
given to Humayun 465, 466, 528;
opposition near 540.
Hisar (-shadman; Transoxiana), mountains of 222;
clans from 228;
Kabul trade with 202;
--Aba-bikr and 51;
Mahmud and 47-9;
Mas`ud and 52, 64, 71, 93-5, 261;
Bai-sunghar and 52, 61, 96, 110-2;
Husain and 48, 57-8-9, 61, 130, 191, 260-3, 275;
Babur traverses 128, 130, 187-8,
moves for *352,
takes 37, 262, *352-3,
defends *358, 471,
attacked in 345, *361-2,
leaves 362-3;
--Mughuls leave 58
and rebel 105;
goers to 104, 141;
Shaibani and 192, 244, *362;
abandoned by the Auzbegs 622-4;
Khusrau Shah and _see s.n._;
*threefold catastrophe in 362;
Humayun ordered to attack 625;
Qasim _quchin_ and 66;
a governor in 46-7;
occupied for Babur 640.
Hormuz (Persia), Farghana almonds imported to 9.
Huni (Kabul), Babur at 405.
Hupian pass, Upian (Kabul), Babur crosses 195;
locates a place 647 n. 3.
Hurur (Panj-ab), taken from Babur 464.
Hushiar (Farghana), a subdivision of Asfara 7;
Babur a refugee in 7, *181;
his gifts to envoys from 633.
Ilyak-su, Kafirnighan (Hisar-shadman), locates a place 48 n. 5.
Indri (U. P. India), an arrival at 456.
Indus, _see_ Sind-darya.
`Iraq (Persia), Kabul trade with 202;
various captures of 49, 51, 280, 336;
envoys to and from 540, 583, 666;
other comings and goings from and to 20, 46, 260-2-8, 275, 282-7,
291-4 n. 3, 622;
Babur's gifts to kinsfolk in 522.
`Iraqain, _i.e._ `Iraq-i-`ajam and `Iraq-i-`arabi, places noted for
cold in 219.
`Iraq-pass (n. w. of Kabul), a presumed crossing of 294 n. 3.
Irij or Irich (C. India), Babur at 590.
Ishkimish (Qunduz?), not in Badakhshan 288;
on a named route 321;
military action at 60, 192, 243.
Ispahan (Persia), a governor of 635 n. 6.
Istalif (Kabul), described 216;
a garden at 246;
fishing at 226;
Babur at 246, 406, 416-8.
Jagdalik pass (Kabul), Babur crosses 229, 341, 414.
Jahan-nama fort (Bhira, Panj-ab), Babur in 384 (where for "numa"
_read_ nama).
Jahan-nama hill (Dihli district), 485.
Jahan-nama'i (Kabul), Babur at 421;
_see_ Jui-shahi.
Jajmau or Jajmawa (U. P. India), rebels in 533;
a submission near 534.
Jakin _pargana_ (U. P. India), Babur in 644.
Jalandhar (Panj-ab), an appointment to 442.
Jalisar, Jalesar (on the Jumna, U. P. India), Humayun at 531;
Babur at 589, 640 (in both places _read_ Jalisar).
Jalisar, Jalesar (on the Ghogra, U. P. India), Babur at 681;
perhaps Chaksar 681 n. 4.
Jalmish (w. frontier, Kabul), 205 n. 2.
Jal-tu var. Cha-tu (Kabul), Babur at 228.
Jam, mod. Jam-rud (N. W. F. P. India), Babur at 229, 230, 412.
Jam (Khurasan), Hatifi's birthplace 288;
how marked in maps 623 n. 8, *714;
Jami the cognomen of Maulana `Abdu'r-rahman _q.v._;
Auzbeg defeat near 622 n.1, 625 n. 4, 635, 636 n. 2,
details as to location of the battle 623 n. 8, 635 n. 4.
Janara or Chanara (U. P. India), rebels take refuge in 682;
not identified 682 n. 1.
Janglik (Kabul), Babur at 251-3, 311-4 n. 1.
Jaswan-dun (Panj-ab), described 462;
Babur in 461-3.
Jaunpur (U. P. India), _see_ Junpur.
Jauz-wilayat (Khurasan), 46 n. 3.
Jihlam, Jilam, Jhelum (Panj-ab), Babur near 453;
_see_ Bahat for Jhelum river.
Jud mountains (Panj-ab), _see_ Koh-i-jud.
Juduk (Samarkand), Babur at 147.
Jui-shahi (Kabul), Babur at 229, 394, 410, 422;
(_see _Jahan-nama'i).
Jumandna, mod. "Jumoheen" ? (U. P. India), Babur at 649.
Jun-river, Jumna (India), course of 485;
locates a place 532;
a drowning in 582;
Babur on or crossing 467, 475, 531, 605, 616, 638-9, 640, 650-5,
684-6;
he bathes in 644;
orders his officers to cross 684;
in flood 685.
Junahpur, Junapur (U. P. India), an old form of Junpur or Jaunpur
676 n. 4;
used by Babur 276 (where read it for "Jaunpur"), 544, 636, 676, 682;
_see infra_ Junpur.
Junpur, Jaunpur (U. P. India), water of 658;
formerly a Sharqi possession 481;
revenue of 521;
taken by Humayun 544;
an assignment on 527;
appointments to 276, 538, 544, 676, 682;
arrivals from 636, 667.
Jurgha-tu (Kabul), _see_ Qurgha-tu.
Jusa or Chausa (C. P. India), Babur at 581.
Kabul town and country, description of 199 to 227,
--position and boundaries 199, 481,
town and environs 200, fort 201, 344,
bridges 198, 314, 417,
trade 202,
climate 77, 201-3, 223, 314, 584,
snow in 208-9, 223, 314,
dividing line between hot and cold climates 208, 220, 229,
fruits 202, 510,
cultivated lands 243,
meadows 204,
Hindu-kush roads 204,
Lamghanat roads 201,
Khurasan road 205,
Hindustan roads 205, 206 n. 3, 231, 308, 629;
highwaymen 205, 341,
peoples 207, 221,
subdivisions 207 to 221,
dependencies 214-5,
revenue 221,
mountain-tracts 221,
firewood 223,
fauna 223, 496-8,
bird-catching 224, fishing 225;
--rivers of, Baran _q.v._--Kabul, Luhugur (Logar);
_garm-sil_ 208, 484;
unfitness for nomads 228, 402;
use "Hindu-kush" in 485;
use of "Kabul" in Agra 532;
a mulla of 284;
--given to `Umar Shaikh 14;
Aulugh Beg _Kabuli_ and 95 and n. 2 (where "2" should follow "Mirza"
and not "son"), *185;
Aba-bikr and 260;
`Abdu-r-razzaq and 195;
Muqim _Arghun_ and 195, 198-9, 227;
Khusrau Shah and 192;
--Babur's move to win it 7, 189, 191-7;
his capture of 198-9;
dates fixed, by the capture of, 19 n. 1, 21, 26, 39, 48, 227, 251,
274, 282, 377, 383, 394,
and by his possession of 27, 529;
a sequel of its capture 243;
reserved by him for himself 227, 227 n. 5, 627, 645-6;
--his comings and goings to
and from 27, 229, 241, 248-9, 294, 323, 325, 330, 339, *350,
*363-4-5, 389, 395,
403-4-5-7-8, 415-18-19,441-2-3;
other comings and goings 51, 196, 228, 321, 349, 364-5, 385, 399,
531, 539, 544, *696, 687, 699;
men sent to 343, 413, 466, 476;
various Begims arrive in or leave 36, 306, 339--265,
397--21--264--267--269--606, 616;
family journey from 646-7, 650-5-7-8, 686-7-9 n. 5;
followers delay to go to 307;
*landless men in 706;
excess levy of grain on 228;
its _sir_ (weight) 632;
officers in 250, 270, 273, 382, 646 n. 3;
newly-made begs of 458, 524;
--anxiety for 300, 307;
disloyalty in 313-320, 331, 345;
*tranquil 349;
*Mughuls of 357;
of its troops 375, 550, 579, 625;
--Babur in it the last ruling Timurid 340, *427;
envoys to him in *439-440, *441, 529;
his poverty in 525;
learns the word _sangur_ in 232;
family affairs in *603-4;
--letters of victory sent to 371, 466, 580;
other letters to and from 374, 541, 618, 639, 644-5, 6;
gifts 463, 523, 642;
Babur's seeming intention of return to 698 n. 5, *705-6-7;
his chosen centre *705;
the taking of his body to *709-10;
his burial-garden and grave *710-11.
Kabul-water, Nil-ab a name of 206 n. 3;
fords of 206, 345, 411;
App. E xvii, xix, xx;
Babur on 451.
Kabud (Soghd, Samarkand), 73, 98.
Kacha-kot (Panj-ab), a holder of 250;
Babur crosses water of (Haru) 379, 403, 452.
Kachwa (C. India), described 590;
Babur at 590-2.
Kafiristan, mountains connecting with its own 480;
former extent of 212 n. 3;
borderlands of 210-1-2;
wines of 211-2, 372;
highwaymen of 205, 214;
a _ghazi_ raid into 46.
Kahadstan (Heri), Babur at 305;
Shaibani at 329.
Kahan (Sind, India), Shah Beg's capture of 398, *430-5.
Kahlur (Simla Hill-state, India), taken for Babur 464;
*its Raja visits him, 692-9.
Kahmard or Kalmard (Kabul-Balkh route, Fr. map MaÔmËnË), a plan for
defence of 191;
a governor in 409, 546 n. 2;
exposed to Auzbeg attack 409;
various occurrences in it 239, 250, 295;
Babur in 48, 189;
households left in 189, 194-7;
Babur loyal to Jahangir in 190, 239;
he sends gifts to peasants of 633;
(_see_ Ajar).
Kahraj (N.W.F.P. India), Babur at 373-4.
Kakar river (N. India), _see_ Gagar, Ghaggar.
Kalabagh (Panj-ab), locates Dinkot 206, n. 5.
Kalanjar (Panj-ab), perverted allegiance of 387 (where in n. 3
_delete_ the second sentence).
Kalanjar (U.P. India), revenue of 521;
Mahuba a dependency of 685 n. 3.
Kalanur (Panj-ab), a governor of 442;
Babur and 451-8.
Kalda-kahar (Panj-ab), described 381;
Babur at 381-9, 391.
Kalpi (U.P. India), revenue of 521;
elephants in 488;
dependencies of 649, 686;
locates places 544, 590, 659;
hostile to Babur 523;
Babur in 590;
boats from 598, 684.
Kalpush (Khurasan), 622 n. 3.
Kama _buluk_ (Kabul), described 213;
water of 211.
Kamari (Kabul), meadow of 204;
Babur at 244;
(on the Indus), Babur at 230.
Kam-rud valley (Hisar-shadman), a flight through 58;
Babur in 129-30.
Kanar ferry (Jumna U.P. India), Babur at 589, 590-8.
Kan-bai (Samarkand), locates places 52, 64;
Mahmud (Khan) at 53, 111.
Kandar, Kuhandar (Rajputana), besieged by Sanga, surrenders 530-9.
Kand-i-badam (Farghana), described 8,
locates a place 20;
a governor of 115;
passers through 44, 172;
Babur at 92, *358 n. 2 (a legendary visit).
Kandla or Kundla (U.P. India), revenue of 521;
an assignment on 679.
Kangra (Panj-ab), a "Bajaur" north of 511 n. 3.
Kanhpur, "Cawnpore" (U.P. India), 649 n. 7.
Kaniguram (Dasht-Kabul route), 235 n. 2.
Kanwa, Kanwaha (Rajputana), Babur's victory of 549, 557 to 574,
523 n. 3.
Kanwahin (Panj-ab), Babur at 458.
Karal (Panj-ab), Babur at 464.
Kara-su, Qara-su? (Kabul), a tribe on 413.
Karg-khana, _see_ Sawad.
Kark ? (Kabul), Babur at 395.
Karman (`Iraq), surrenders 51;
an intruder in 260.
Karma-na['s]a river (Bihar, India), ill-repute of 659;
Babur on 659-60.
Kar-mash mountain (Kabul), located 403;
Babur near 403-5.
Karmina (Samarkand), mentioned as a _wilayat_ 84.
Karnal (U.P. India), *Babur at 701.
Karnan (Farghana), a village of 161;
locates place 162, 168 (where in section heading for "Kasan" _read_
Karnan);
a _darogha_ of 179-80;
Babur and 179, *182.
Karrah (U.P.I.), a dependency of 651;
Babur at 652.
Karrah-Manikpur (U.P. India), revenue of 521;
elephants in 488;
Humayun near 544.
Kasan (Farghana), described 10;
fixes a date 28;
a raid near 26;
a departure to 32;
a holder of hostile to Babur 170;
Babur at 104, 116.
Kashghar (E. Turkistan), an e. limit of Farghana 1, of Samarkand 76;
a border tribe of 55;
*Kashghar-Farghana road 183;
trade with Kabul 202,
Andijani captives in 20 n. 3;
rulers in 21, 29 n. 5, 32-7, 318, 415, 427, 695-6;
Mughuls in *184, 351, 364;
arrivals from 399, 415-6;
Babur's kinsfolk in 21-4, 318, 409, 522;
a devious journey through 399;
a return from 408,
and to 590.
Kashmir, mountains of 380-7, 481;
a bird of 494;
lost dependencies of 484;
Babur on name of 484,
*sends an expedition to 692-3-8 n. 5, 701.
Additional Note p. 693.
Katlang (N.W.F.P. India), Babur at 377.
Kattawaz-plain (Ghazni ?), torrent of 240;
Babur in 323-5.
Kawari-water (C. India), Babur crosses 607, 614.
Kechef-dara (Khurasan), leads down to Mashhad 622 n. 3.
Kesh = Shahr-i-sabz (Samarkand), described 3, 83;
a blinded refugee in 95;
Bana'i dismissed to 136;
an arrival from 137;
Babur and 125-8, 138.
Keshtud (Hisar-shadman tract), Babur at 130.
Khaibar-mountains (Kabul), route through 206;
crossings of 250, 260, 492;
Babur's crossings of 229, 382, 411-3.
Khairabad (U.P. India), revenue of 521;
Babur's army at 583.
Khakan-ariq (Farghana), Babur on 165-7.
Khalila (Soghd, Samarkand), Babur at 148.
Khalishak (Qandahar), a water-head 332;
Babur at 333.
Khamalangan (Badakhshan), a holder of 242.
Khamchan (Badakhshan), military move to 321.
Khan-yurti (Samarkand), described 82;
Babur at 67-8, 82, 124, 131.
Kharabuk (Farghana), Babur near 163-8.
Kharbin (s.e. of Ghazni), 323 n. 3.
Khari (U.P. India), Babur at 580.
Kharid _pargana_ (on the Saru = Ghogra), formerly on both banks of the
river 561 n. 2, 664 n. 8, 674 n. 6;
present limits 637, n. 1;
position of town of 679 and n. 1;
a (now) Bihar pargana of 674;
Humayun plunders 544;
capture of mentioned 561;
Babur's man in 637;
position of its army opposing Babur 664, 676 n. 5.
Khartank (Samarkand), a celebrity of 76.
Khasban plain (Farghana), Babur crosses 124.
Khaslar (W. Turkistan), Babur at 151.
Kawak road (Hindu-kush), 205;
height of its pass 204, n. 4.
Khawal-i-quti (_see_ Zirrin pass), Babur in 309.
Khinjan (n. of Hindu-kush), roads to 205.
Khirgird or Khirjard (Khurasan), Jami'sbirthplace 623, n. 8;
battle of Jam fought near 623, 635.
Khirs-khana (Kabul), Babur passes 417.
Khitai = N. China, a caravan from 15;
porcelain, etc. from 80, 157-9, 160;
trade profits in 202.
[N. B.--For all instances Babur's word is Khitai and not "China".]
Khozar or Khuzar (Samarkand), mentioned as a _wilayat_ 84;
lost by Auzbegs, 135, 359.
Khuban or Khunan (Farghana), approx. site of Babur's first ranged
battle 113.
Khujand var. (Farghana), described 7;
not counted by all as in Farghana 17;
locates a place 55;
holders of 35, 115;
Ahmad _Miran-shahi_ takes 30;
surrender to Babur of 53;
Babur's first marriage made in it 35, 120;
he in it 89, 90-1-2;
a "poor place" 97-8;
he halts in a village of 100;
his legendary transit of 358 n. 2;
a follower's compulsory journey to 124.
Khujand-water, Saihun, Sir-darya _see_ Saihun.
Khulm (Kabul-Balkh road, Fr. map Bokhara), vine-culture in 210 n. 6;
places on its river 546 n. 2.
Khuqan (Farghana), an arrival at 44;
Babur at 161.
Khurasan, Khurasanat (219),
Hindustani use of the name 202;
Kabul roads from 205, 300;
Kabul trade with 202, 225;
melons and oranges of 203, 510,
compared with Kabul Koh-daman 216;
_hammams_ in 79;
medical practice in 246;
refined manners of Khurasanis 303;
nomads of 221;
*enforced migration of Mughuls to 351;
--Mahmud _Ghaznawi_ and 479;
Abu-sa`id's Cadet Corps of 28, 50, App. H, xxvi, xxvii;
Yunas Khan in 20;
Aba-bikr defeated in 260;
Mahmud expelled from 46;
Mas`ud "did not stay in" 95 (where add the quoted words, l. 12,
after "service");
Badi`u'z-zaman returns to 70;
Husain _Bai.qara_ and 57, 94, 259-60-80-3;
Babur and 185-7-8, 255, 285-6, 295, 300, 330-2;
Ma`suma in 36, 339;
--troops of 61, 296;
dismissals to 98, 128, 194-7, 319, 320;
comings and goings from and to 15, 194, 197, *243, 264, 270, 331,
363;
distinguished men of 280-2-4, 291;
Babur's kinsfolk in 246, 253, 522, 617;
a verse well known in 328.
Khurd (Khwurd)-Kabul (Kabul), wild asses in 224;
river-dam of 647;
Babur in 341.
Khurram (Kabul-Balkh route), traitors to Babur near 546 (Fr. map
MaÔmËnË, Khouram).
Khush-ab (Panj-ab), Aba-bikr in 260;
Babur regards it as his own 380-2;
Baluchis in 383;
an enemy to 383-4, 388;
a governor of 388;
a fugitive through 399.
Khutan, Khotin (E. Turkistan), Ailchi the capital of 50 n. 2;
Gurkhan a title of rulers in 84 n. 2;
a ruler in 32.
Khutlan (Hisar-shadman territory), river and alps of 60, 222;
a saint's burial in 211;
a ruler and holders of 47, 58, 93, 191-6;
Babur's victory in 18.
Khwaja `Abdu's-samad (Kabul), 201.
Khwaja Basta (Kabul), a water-course near 647.
Khwaja Bikargan (Farghana), water of 99 n. 4.
Khwaja Changal (Tahqan), 61; located 60 n. 4.
Khwaja Char-taq (Qunduz) 244.
Khwaja Didar (Samarkand), Babur's winters in 73-4;
Shaibani near 130-1-5;
Babur passes 147.
Khwaja Hasan (Kabul), Babur passes 398, 418.
Khwaja `Imad (Hisar-shadman), Babur at 188.
Khwaja Isma`il _Siriti_ (s.e. of the Kabul territory), mountains
of 223;
Babur at 323-4.
Khwaja Kafshir (Samarkand), escapes by 62, 144.
Khwaja Kardzan var. Kardzin (Samarkand), 65, 128;
Shaibani at 138.
Khwaja Khawand Sa`id (Kabul), wines of 203, 215.
Khwaja Kitta (Farghana), Babur at 165.
Khwaja Khizr (N.W.F.P. India), Babur at 372-6.
Khwaja Khizr's Qadam-gah (Kabul), 201, 407.
Khwaja Khizr's Mosque (Samarkand), 142.
Khwaja-rabat (Samarkand), 73, 97, 127-8, 130-1.
Khwaja Raushana'i's _Chashma_ (Kabul), 201.
Khwaja Reg-i-rawan (Kohistan, Kabul), described 215;
Babur at 420.
Khwaja Riwaj (Kabul), rebels go to 245, 345.
Khwaja Rustam (Kabul), Babur near 447.
Khwaja Shabab (Kabul), Babur at 418.
Khwaja Shamu's tomb (Kabul), 201.
Khwaja Sih-yaran (Kabul), described 216;
names of the "Three friends" 216, n. 4;
Babur at 398, 405-6-20.
Khwaja Zaid (n. of Hindu-kush), Babur at 195.
Khwas (Samarkand border?), `Umar Shaikh defeated at 17, 34;
located 17 and n. 1.
Khwarizm = Khiva, w. limit of Samarkand 76;
and northern of Khurasan 261;
cold in 219;
Mahmud _Ghaznawi's_ over-rule in 479;
Chin _Sufi_ defends 242, 255-6;
Khusrau Shah's head sent to 244;
a Bai-qara refugee in 397;
governors of 256, 274;
Muhammad _Salih_ of it 289 n. 4.
Khwast, "Khost" (n. of Hindu-kush), mountains of 221;
name and character of 221 n. 4;
a mulla of 368;
Mir-zadas of 412;
comers and goers from and to 399, 403, 196 n. 5;
piety of Khwastis 523 n. 1;
*Mahim Begim's connection with 714;
Babur at *363, 408.
Kila-gahi (n. of Hindu-kush), a fugitive through 321.
Kilirah? (U.P. India), Babur at 680.
Kilif ferry (Oxus), Husain _Bai-qara_ and 57, 191.
Kindir-tau, Kurama (Farghana's n.w. border-mountains), 8n. 5, 11 n. 6;
--Kindirlik pass, when open 2 n. 4, *183;
distinguished 116 n. 2;
The Khans and 90, 161, 172;
Babur crosses 54, 90, 161.
Kind-kir (Kabul), described 424;
(_see_ Masson, iii, 193).
Kintit (U.P. India), identified 657 n. 2;
Babur at 657.
Kirki ferry (Oxus), 191.
Kishm (Badakhshan), Auzbeg defeat at 295;
Humayun near 621, 624 n. 1;
? *Babur winters in (919 AH.), 362.
Kisri-taq (below Baghdad), height of 83.
Kitib or Kib (Panj-ab), an appointment to 393.
Koel, Kul, Kuil (U.P. India), _see_ Kul.
Kohat (Panj-ab), Babur in 218-31-33-50, 382-94.
Koh-bacha (var. ? a common noun; Kabul), tooth-picks gathered on 407.
Koh-daman (Herat), an appointment to 274.
Koh-daman (Kabul), described 215 to 217;
Babur on 320, 405, 416, 420.
Koh-i-jud, Salt-range (Panj-ab), described 379;
places connecting with 381, 452;
a note of Erskine's on 380 n. 2.
Koh-khiraj (U.P. India), Babur at 653.
Kohik, Chupan-ata _q.v._ (Samarkand), described 76 n. 4;
gardens on 78, 80;
bounds a meadow 82;
Babur near 72.
Kohik-su = Zar-afshan (Samarkand), course and name 76, 76 n. 4;
bounds a meadow 82,
and a _tuman_ 84;
suggested drowning in 128 n. 2;
Babur and 64, 130-1;
swims it in flood 140.
Koh-i-nur, Rocky-mountain (Kabul), _see_ Kunar.
Koh-i-safed, Spin-ghur (Kabul), described 209;
Pushtu name of 209 n. 2;
App. E, xvii, xix, xx.
Kohistan (Badakhshan), begs of 296;
--(Kabul), villages of described 214 and n. 7;
a _tuman_ of 213;
_rara avis_ of 213 n. 7.
Kohtin mountains (s. of Samarkand), limits possessions of territory 47.
Kufin (Samarkand), 65.
Kukcha-su (Badakhshan), 321.
Kul, Kuil, Koel (U.P. India), a governor of 176;
Babur's building-work in 520 (here Kuil),
his envoy to 526,
loss of 557, 576, visit to 586-7.
Kul-ab (Badakhshan), a chief of 627 n. 2, *696.
Kula-gram (Kunar, Kabul), Babur at 423.
Kuldja (E. Turkistan), Almaligh the former capital of 2 n. 1;
*The Khans escape after defeat by its road 183 (where _read_ Kuldja).
Kul-kina or Gul-kina (Kabul), a place of revel 200-1, 395.
Kul-i-malik (Bukhara), Babur defeated at 40, *357.
Kunar with Nur-gal (Kabul), described 211;
is Koh-i-nur (Rocky-mountain), the true name of, App. F, xxiii, xxiv;
torrent of 212;
beer made in 423; peacocks in 493;
a test of woman's virtue in 212,
governors in 227, 344;
Babur in 343, 376, 423.
Kundi (Lamghanat, Kabul), _see_ Multa-kundi.
Kundih or Kundbah (Bihar, India), Babur at 674-7, 687 n. 5 (where read
the name as above).
Kura pass (Kabul), divides the hot and cold climates 220;
Babur at 421.
Kurarah (U.P. India), Babur at 651.
Kurdum-daban (Farghana), 5 n. 3.
Kuria (U.P. India), Babur at 651.
Kurrat-taziyan (Kabul), _see_ Dasht-i-shaikh.
Kusar (U.P. India), Babur at 652.
Kushan (Persia), locates Radagan 622 n. 4.
Kutila (Panj-ab), Babur gains 462;
strength of 463.
Kutila-lake, mod. Kotila-jhil (Gurgaon, Panj-ab), Babur at 580 and
n. 1.
Kuy-payan, Low-lane (Samarkand), 146.
Lahur, Lahor (Panj-ab), revenues of 446, 521;
snows seen from 485;
water-wheels of 486, 532;
locates Sialkot 429;
Daulat Khan and 382-3, *428, *441-2-3, 451;
Babur's envoy detained in 385;
`Alam Khan and 444, 455-8;
Babur's begs in 443, 453-4;
sedition in 688;
*Babur's visit to (936 AH.) 604 n. 1, *692-3-7-8-9, 707;
Mahim and 650-9;
*taken by Kamran (where for "935" _read_ 938).
Lak-lakan (s. of Tashkint), a hostile meeting at 145.
Laknau, Lakhnau, Luknau, "Lucknow" (U.P. India), a bird of 495;
abandoned by Babur's men 594;
Babur at 601;
? Biban and Bayazid approach it 677;
? news of capture of 679 and n. 2, 681;
variants in name of 677 n. 3, 678 n. 1, 582 n. 6, App. T;
_see_ Luknur.
Lamghanat _tumans_ (Kabul), described 207-13;
true use of the name 210;
classification of 200;
a tuman of 318;
mountains of 222;
tribes in 229, 242;
fruits of 203, 424, 510-1;
birds of 494-5, 500;
fishing in 226;
routes into 206-9;
locates 208, 211;
Babur in 414-19-21-*29;
(_see_ Lamghan).
Lamghan _tuman_ (Kabul), the name of 200 n. 1, 210;
a fruit and tree of 508;
limits a tribe 341;
Babur's retreat to 21, 340;
Babur in 407-14-19-21-*29.
Lar (Persia) a native of 284.
Laswaree, Battle of (1803 AD.) 578 n. 1.
Lat-kint (Farghana), Babur at 108.
Lawain (U.P. India), Babur at 656.
Lombardy (Italy), wine culture in 210 n. 5.
Luhugur, mod. Logar (Kabul), described 217;
Chirkh its one village 217;
a celebrity of 184, 217;
vine-culture in 210 n. 6.
Luknur (Rampur, U.P. India), revenue of 521;
besieged by Biban 582;
? approached by Biban and Bayazid 677;
? news of its capture 679 and n. 2, 681.
Macha (Upper Zar-afshan), located 149, 152;
`Ali _Miran-shahi_ takes refuge in 55;
Babur in 27, 67, 152-3.
Macham (Farghana), a foot-hill 118, 125 n. 2.
Madan-Banaras, Zamania (U.P. India), Babur at 658.
Madina (Arabia), Babur sends gifts to 523.
Madu, Mazu (Farghana), Babur takes 109.
Madhakur (U.P. India), Babur at 548, 616 (where read as here).
Maghak-pul (Samarkand), Babur at 68, 132.
Mahan (Farghana), Babur at 123.
Mahawin (Muttra; U.P. India), not submissive to Babur 523.
Mahuba (U.P. India), rebels take flight to 685, 682 n. 1.
Mahura-sangur (N.W.F.P. India), locates a tribe 376.
Mahyar (N.W.F.P. India), 373 n. 6.
Maidan (Kabul), the road to 228;
earthquake action near 247;
white marble of 710.
Maidan-i-Rustam (Kabul), Babur at 405.
Maing (U.P. India), Babur near 683.
Makka (Arabia), Babur sends money gifts to 522,
and a Qoran in his script 228 n. 3;
pilgrims to 26, 267 n. 2, _etc._
Malabar, a succession-custom in 482 n. 5.
Malarna (Rajputana), revenue of 521.
Malot, _see_ Milwat.
Malwa (C. India), an observatory at 79;
known in Babur's day as Mandau _q.v._ 79.
Mama Khatun (Kabul), 405.
Manas-ni (nai; Rajputana), other names of 578 n. 1;
reputed outfall of 580; Babur on 578-9.
Mandaghan (Khurasan), Babur at 295.
Mandau, Mandu (C. India), capital of Malwa 482 n. 2;
Malwa known as 79, 482;
hills of 486;
a ruler of 482;
a holder of 593, 688 n. 2,
downfall of sultans of 483;
[Elphinstone Codex _passim_ and Haidarabad Codex, except on p. 79
where "Mandu" occurs, write Mandau].
Mandish, Mandesh (N.W.F.P. India), Babur at 375.
Mandrawar _tuman_ (Kabul), described 210;
one of the three constituents of the true Lamghanat 210;
a village of 424;
holders of 229, 344;
Babur in 321, 421.
Manikpur (U.P. India), revenue, of 521;
elephants in 489.
Maqam (N.W.F.P. India), perhaps mod. Mardan 377 n. 2;
Babur near 377-8.
Maragha (Azar-bayigan, Caspian Sea), astronomical Tables constructed
at 79.
Marghinan (Farghana), described 6;
bullies of 7[2947];
a celebrity of 7, 76;
locates a place 7;
comings and goings from and to 30, 97 n. 2, 173;
lost to Babur 30;
recovered by him 99-100;
rebel attack on 101-2;
Babur in 103, 123, 162-9, 172.
Maruchaq (on the Murgh-ab, Khurasan), Auzbeg raiders defeated at 296.
Marwar (Rajputana), Sanga's approach from 544 n. 5.
Mashhad (Khurasan), a celebrity of 285;
a Bai-qara holder of 263, 296, 329-30;
held by Auzbegs 534, 623;
Tahmasp's route to 622 n. 3.
Masht (Ghazni?), a tribe in 323.
Masjid-i-jauza (Farghana), described 5.
Masjid-i-laqlaqa (Samarkand), described 80.
Masjid-i-maquta` (Samarkand), described 79.
Mastung, Quetta (Baluchistan), Shah Beg and 337, *427 (where read
Mastung).
Matarid (Samarkand), a celebrity of 75.
Mawara'u'n-nahr, Transoxiana, name of the country of Samarkand 74;
name includes Farghana 76;
melons and wines of 82-3;
bullies in 7 (_see s.n._ Marghinan for an omission);
Leaders of Islam born in 7, 75-6;
three strong forts in 3;
an appointment in its interests 61, 85;
in Auzbeg hands 427, 480, 618;
*Babur's desire to regain 697 n. 1 (and _s.n._ Babur).
Mehtar-Sulaiman range (Afghan border), a shrine on 238;
Babur and 236-8.
Merv, Marv (Khurasan), comings and goings from and to 135-7, 296, 301,
*357, 623;
chiefs of 261, 244;
`Ali-sher winters in 287;
Babur's sister in 18, *352;
Shaibani defeated and killed near 318, *350;
`Ubaid and 534, 618, 622.
Mewat, Miwat (Rajputana), revenue of 521;
hills of 486;
account of 577-8-9;
holders of 523, 551;
Babur orders a raid on 551;
Kanwa casualties on the road to 577;
Babur at 578.
Mian-du-ab, "Doab" (between Ganges and Jumna), revenue of 521;
archers of 526-8, 551-7;
a _pargana_ bestowed in 539;
`Alam Khan goes to 457;
Ibrahim advances into 467;
Babur puts down a rebel in 576.
Mian-kal, Miyan-kal (Samarkand), returns to Babur 135;
Auzbegs in 622.
Mian-kalai (N.W.F.P. India), Babur in 373;
? a du-ab 373 n. 6.
Mian-wilayat, Miyan-wilayat (U.P. India), revenue of 521.
Mich-gram (Kabul), a tribe in 413;
Babur at 414.
Mil (Kafiristan), position of 210.
Milwat, Malot (Panj-ab), prisoners sent to 461.
Milwat, Malot (U.P. India), Babur's capture of 457-8, 461.
Minar-hill (Kabul), Babur crosses 314.
Mir Ghiyas-langar (Khurasan), Babur at 307-8.
Mirza-rabat, (Farghana), w. wind over 9 n. 2, *183.
Misr, Egypt, compared with a Samarkand _tuman_ 84;
*Napoleon's task in 356.
Mita-kacha (Kohistan, Kabul), described 214.
Mughulistan, mountains of 222;
game in 325;
Aspara in 20;
Yunas Khan in 12;
a Mughul _tuman_ enters 20;
*Mughuls forced to go far from 351;
a dweller in 114;
Babur thinks of going to 158, *184.
Muhammad Agha's village (Kabul), Babur at 405.
Muhammad Chap's Bridge (Samarkand), 72.
Muhammad-fajj (N.W.F.P. India), meaning of the name 229 n. 5;
Babur at 231.
Multa-kundi (Kabul), defined 211.
Multan (Panj-ab), the Five-rivers meet near 485;
a dependency of 237;
fowlers migrated from 225;
Aba-bikr at 260;
Daulat Khan and 441-2;
`Askari recalled from *603, 605;
Kamran and 645, 699.
Mungir (Bengal), Babur's envoy to 676.
Munir (Bihar, India), Babur at 666-7, 670.
Munughul-tagh (Farghana), variants in name of 8 n. 5;
mines and malarial influence of 8;
surmised action on wind of (here Mogol-tau) 9 n. 2;
(_see_ Abu'l-ghazi, DÈsmaisons p. 12).
Muqur (Afghanistan), Babur at 345.
Mura-pass (Hisar-shadman), 58 n. 1;
Babur crosses 129 (not named).
Murgh-ab river and fort (Khurasan), Husain _Bai-qara_ and 191, 260;
Babur on 285, 297-9, 300;
Shaibani at 327.
Murghan-koh (Qandahar), position of 332 n. 4;
Babur at 336.
Muri and Adusa, Baburpur (U.P. India), Babur at 644.
Muttra (U.P. India), _see_ Mahawin.
Naghr or Naghz (Kabul), a s. limit of Kabul 200;
position of 206, 231-3.
Nagur, Nagor (Rajputana), revenue of 521.
Nakhshab (Samarkand), _see_ Qarshi.
Namangan (Farghana), new canal of App. A, ii, n. 1;
Babur near 117.
Nanapur (U.P. India), Babur at 657.
Nani (Ghazni), Babur at 240;
old Nani plundered 254.
Napoleon's* task in Egypt compared 356.
Nardak* (U.P. India), a hunting-ground 701.
Narin (n. of Hindu-kush), a fugitive through 321.
Narin-river (n. arm of Saihun), 88 n. 2, App. A, ii.
Narnul (U.P. India), an assignment on 677.
Nasukh (Farghana), Babur at 92.
Nathpur or Fathpur (U.P. India), Babur near 680-1.
Naugram (U.P. India), Babur meets his sister at 689 n. 3.
Nijr-au _tuman_ (Kabul), described 213;
mountains of 222;
products of 203, 213;
boiled wine in 213;
a dependency of 220;
locates Ala-sai 220;
Babur in 253, 420-1,
his frontier-post of 213 n. 2.
Nil-ab (Indus), various instances of the name 206 n. 3;
a tribal limit 378, 387;
routes to Kabul from 206;
old Nil-ab located 392;
comings and goings from and to 250, 265, 399, 419, 422, 647, 659;
given to Humayun 391;
Babur at 392,
counts his army at 451.
Nile (The),* used as an illustration 9 n. 2;
Alexander takes the Indus for 206 n. 3.
Ning-nahar _tuman_ (Kabul) described 207-9;
its book-name Nagarahar 207;
meaning of the name 208, App. E;
not included in the Lamghanat 210;
a dependency of 213;
waters of 209, App. E;
wintering tribes 242;
a bird of 493;
division of hot and cold climates n 229;
Bagh-i-wafa laid out in 208;
holders of 227, 317, 344, 421;
an arrival from 345;
Babur at 342.
Nirah-tu or Tirah-tu, Kaliun (Heri), Shaibani's family in 343.
Nirhun (Bihar, India), Babur at 674.
Nirkh-pass, Takht-pass (Kabul), Babur crosses 228.
Nishapur (Khurasan), mentioned as on a route 622 n. 3.
Nishin-meadow (Heri), Husain _Bai-qara_ and 95, 261.
Nu-kint (Farghana), locates an enemy 116;
threatened 170.
Nuliba (U.P. India), Babur at 657.
Nundak, H.S. Nawandak (Chaghanian _q.v._), located 471;
Barlas family of 51 (where "Badakhshan" is wrong);
Babur near 129;
Auzbegs retire to 471.
Nur-gal (Kabul), described 211;
meaning of its name, App. F, xxiii;
holders of 227, 334;
Babur at 343, 423.
Nur-lam (Kabul), _see_ App. F, xxiii.
Nur-valley (Kabul), _see_ Dara-i-nur.
Nush-ab (Farghana), Babur near 114.
Otrar (W. Turkistan), _see_ Autrar.
Oude, Oudh, Aud, Adjodhya (U.P. India), revenue of 521;
river-crossings to 669;
locates places 601-2, 679 n. 2;
army of 684-5;
a bird of 495;
appointment to 544;
? Babur at 680 and n. 2;
his Mosque in App. U.
Pakli, Pakhli (Panj-ab), formerly part of Kashmir 484.
Palghar (Samarkand), limit of Samarkand on upper Zar-afshan 152.
Pamghan range and village, Paghman (Kabul), described 215-6;
village destroyed by earthquake 247;
Shah Begim's 318;
*snows seen from Babur's burial-garden 710.
Pamir routes, *spring re-opening of 695.
Pani-mali or -mani (N.W.F.P. India), the road to 376.
Panipat (Panj-ab), battles at 472 n. 1;
Babur's victory at 457, 469, 470-1-2, 534.
Panj-ab (India), of the name App. E, xx;
*Babur's power in 426, 430;
*Daulat Khan's strength in 412, 443;
Babur's journey to (937 AH.), 604 n. 1, *698.
Panj-dih, Pand-dih (Khurasan), Auzbeg raiders beaten at 296.
Panjhir, Panj-sher _tuman_ (Kabul), described 214;
pass-roads of 195-6, 205;
highway-men of 214;
river of 407;
a _darogha_ in 250.
Panj-kura (N.W.F.P. India), Babur at 373-4.
Pap (Farghana), holds fast for Babur 91, 101;
affairs in 171-4-6 n. 3.
Parandi-pass (Hindu-kush), described 205;
height of 204 n. 4.
Parashawar, Peshawar (N.W.F.P. India), a limit of Kabul 200;
beauty of flowers near 393;
rhinoceros of 490;
partridges in 496;
Bigram near 230 n. 2;
Babur and 382, 393, 410-2.
Parhala (Panj-ab), a Kakar stronghold 387-9;
described and taken by Babur 396-7.
Parsaru-river (U.P. India), Babur on 682-3.
Parsrur, Parsarur (Panj-ab), an assignment on 684;
Babur at 458;
G. of India form of name Pasrur 684 n. 1.
Parwan (Kohistan, Kabul), described 214-5;
wind of 201, 224;
road and pass of 205;
fishing in 226, 406;
wines and flowers of 215.
Pashaghar (Samarkand), described 97;
a native of 188;
Babur at 97-8, 148.
Patakh-i-ab-i-shakna (Kabul), meaning of the name 403 n. 2;
Babur at 403.
Pawat-pass (Mehtar Sulaiman range), Babur crosses 238.
Pehlur, Phillaur (Panj-ab), Babur at 458.
Pesh-gram (N.W.F.P. India), Babur at 373.
Piag, Allahabad (U.P. India), Babur at 654-5;
incident of his march from 657.
Pichghan (Kabul), bird-catching in 220;
punitive attack on 253.
Pich-i-Kafiristan (n. of Kabul country), wines of 212;
hostile to Babur 212.
Pir Kanu, _see_ Sakhi-sarwar.
Pul-i-chiragh, Bil-i-chiragh (Balkh-Herat road), located 69;
a victory at 69, 260.
Pul-i-salar (Herat), 329-30.
Pul-i-sangin (Hisar-shadman), *Timur's and Babur's victories at 353-4.
Pushta-i-`aish (Farghana), forces near 106, 165.
Qaba (Farghana), swamp of 31;
invaded 30;
Babur at 123, 162.
Qa`badian (Hisar-shadman), Babur at 188;
taken for him 640.
Qabil's tomb, _i.e._ Cain's (Kabul), Babur at 415.
Qain (Khurasan), held by a Bai-qara 296, 301.
Qaisar (s.w. of MaÔmËnË, _see_ Fr. map), Babur at 296.
Qalat-i-ghilzai (Qandahar), Babur takes 248-9, 339;
road south from 333;
a governor of 340;
fugitives join Babur near 331;
Hindustan traders at 331.
Qalat-i-nadiri (n. of Mashhad, Khurasan), birthplace of Nadir Shah 263
n. 4, 329 n. 4;
Bai-qara holders of 263, 329.
Qanauj (U.P. India), revenue of 521;
appointments in 265, 582;
hostile both to Ibrahim and to Babur 523-9;
military occurrences at 530, 557, 582-9, 594-8.
Qandahar (Afghanistan), sometimes reckoned as part of Ghazni 217;
a s. limit of Khurasan 261;
irrigation-waters of 332-6;
heat of compared 520;
Kabul trade with 202;
routes to 206, 308;
--governors in 264, 274;
Arghuns in 71, 227, 326, 336, 429;
Husain _Bai-qara's_ failure at 94;
--Babur's campaigns against 220, 246-8, 330-9, *365, *426-28-36-39;
unremunerative to him 480;
his rock-residence (Chihil-zina) near 333-5, App. J;
Shaibani's siege of 21, 331-9, 340-3;
Nasir in 338;
Kamran in 583, *694-9, *706;
--Khwand-amir leaves 605;
a rapid journey to 621, *705;
Lord Roberts on his first view of 333 n. 1;
ruins of in 1879 AD. 430.
Qara-bagh (Kabul), Babur at 196;
? a rebel of 687.
Qara-bagh-meadow (Qandahar), flood-waters of 240;
spoils shared out at 339;
? a rebel of 687.
Qara-bugh (Samarkand), Babur at 147.
Qara-bulaq (Samarkand), Babur at 66-7;
a punishment at 66, 153.
Qara-darya (s. arm of Saihun), now supplies Andijan 3 n. 6;
88 n. 2;
App. A, ii.
Qara-kul (Samarkand), mentioned 84;
irrigation of 76-7;
a governor of 40;
lost and regained by Auzbegs 135-7.
Qara-kupa pass, ? Malakand (N.W.F.P. India), Babur on 376.
Qara-nakariq ? (Kabul), a route through 209.
Qarluq _wilayat_ (Panj-ab), a governor of 403.
Qarshi, Nashaf, Nakhshab (Samarkand), described 84;
Tarkhans in 62, 88, 135 (here ? Kesh, p. 138);
Auzbegs and 135, *353-4;
Babur's wish to spare and Najm Sani's massacre 359-60, 361.
Qara-rabat (n. of Herat), Bai-qara defeat at 327.
Qara-su, Siyah-ab (Kabul), Babur fords 396;
(N.W.F.P. India), he crosses 450;
(s. arm of Zar-afshan, Samarkand) 78;
course of 82;
a meadow on 81;
known as Ab-i-rahmat 78.
Qara-tigin (n. of Hisar-shadman), passers through 58, 112, *349;
Babur plans to go through to Kashghar 129;
*his Mughul assailants retire to 362.
Qara-tu (Kabul), located 208-9;
Babur at 395, 409, 425.
Qargha-yilaq (Kabul), low hills of 320.
Qiaq-tu (Ghazni ?), Babur at 323.
Qibchaq road and pass (Hindu-kush), described 205;
Babur on 197.
Qilaghu (Kabul), Babur at 413.
Qiriq-ariq (Kabul), Babur at 410, 448.
Qila`-i-Ikhtiyaru'd-din, Ala-qurghan (Herat), Babur rumoured captive
in 313;
Bai-qara families abandoned in 327.
Qila`-i-zafar, Shaf-tiwar (Badakhshan), former name Shaf-tiwar 242;
sends an envoy to Babur 618;
a rapid journey from 621;
offered to Mirza Khan 21, *349;
a Chaghatai fugitive through 349;
opposes the Auzbegs 242;
--Humayun's departures from (932 AH.) 545,
*(935 AH.) 694-5;
*Hind-al in charge 696-7;
*beleaguered by Sa`id 697;
*made over to Sulaiman 699.
Qizil-su, Surkh-ab, _q.v._ (n. of Hindu-kush), locates a road 205;
a fugitive on 321;
Babur near 192-3.
Quhlugha, Quhqa (Hisar-shadman), _see_ Dar-band-i-ahanin.
Qulba meadow (Samarkand), described 82;
80;
a murder in 128;
Babur in 72, 141.
Qunduz (Badakhshan), n. limit of Kabul 200;
pass-roads 204-5;
head-waters of 216;
tribes of 228, 402;
Mughuls of 345, 361;
a ruler in 47;
Husain _Bai-qara_ and 48, 50-7, 61, 94, 191, 260, 275;
Khusrau Shah and 57, 60, 70-4, 93, 110, 141, 196, 244;
Shaibani and 192, 242-4;
goings to 270, 546;
Babur and 51, 318, *352-3, *362-3, *427-80;
letters of victory sent to 371;
his sister sent to 18, *352.
Qurgha-tu (Kabul), a route through 376.
Quruq-sai (Kabul), located by context 208-9, 341, 395;
Babur at 341, 395, 414.
Qush-khana (Hisar-shadman), an encounter at 71.
Qush-khana meadow (Qandahar), Babur in 338.
Qush-gumbaz (Kabul), Babur at 229, 241, 447.
Qush-nadir or nawar (Kabul), Babur at 247, 417.
Qutluq-qadam's tomb and bridge (Kabul), position of 208;
Babur at 198, 395.
Rabat-i-duzd or -dudur (n. of Herat), a Bai-qara defeat at 263.
Rabat-i-khwaja (Samarkand), head-quarters of Shavdar 97;
Babur's men in 73;
Babur in 97, 130-1, 127-8.
Rabat-i-sarhang (Farghana), Tambal in 108, 110.
Rabat-i-Soghd (Samarkand), a battle near 111.
Rabat-i-surkh (Kabul), Babur at 341.
Rabat-i-zauraq or -ruzaq (Farghana), Babur at 165, 396.
Rabatik-aurchin (Farghana), _see_ Aiki-su-ara.
Radagan (n.w. of Mashhad), Tahmasp at 622;
name and location of 622 nn. 4, 5, 623 nn. 4, 7.
Ragh (Badakhshan), uprisings in 242, 321.
Rahap river, ? Rapti (India), course of 485.
Raising (C. India), Babur's intention against 598.
Rant(h)ambur (Rajputana), revenue of 521;
hills of 486; Sanga's 483.
Rapri (U.P. India), a _pargana_ of 644;
a dependency of 686;
military vicissitudes at 523-30-57-81-82-98;
Babur at 643.
Rashdan (Farghana), birthplace of the author of the Hidayat 7, 76.
Ravi river (Panj-ab) 458; source of 485.
Rechna du-ab (Panj-ab), *Babur in 429.
Rivers of Hindustan 485.
Rohtas (Panj-ab), a tribal limit 452 n. 5.
Rum (Turkey-in-Asia), Kabul trade with 202;
a medical remedy of 657;
Rumi defence of connected carts 469, 550, 564, 635.
Rupar (Panj-ab), Babur at 464.
Rusta-hazara, ? a tribe name (Badakhshan), men of join Babur 196;
(Elph. and Hai. MSS. Rusta, Ilminski, p. 153, Rustakh;
is it Rustaq _infra_ ?).
Rustam-maidan (Kabul), described 405;
Babur at 405.
Rustaq (Badakhshan), revolts against Auzbegs 242;
_see_ Rusta-hazara _supra_.
Sabzawar (Khurasan), a return from 261;
on a route 622 n. 3.
Saf-koh (Kabul-Herat route), Babur on 295-6.
Safed-koh (Kabul), _see_ Koh-i-safed.
Saighan (Khurasan; _see_ Fr. map MaÔmËnË), on the summer-road by
Shibr-tu 205;
Babur in 294.
Saihun-darya, Sir-darya, Khujand-water (Transoxiana), course of 2, 84
n. 5, App. A, ii;
the Khans and 13, 31, 156, 172;
various crossings of 101-16;
a proposed limit of lands 118-62;
Babur's crossings of 151 (on ice), 161, 170-9, *183;
his men's success on 102;
his father's defeat on 16;
_see_ Narin and Qara-darya for constituents of.
Sai-kal (Kabul), Babur at 342.
Sairam (n. of Tashkint), locates Yagha 159;
holders of 17, 35;
name of used as a password 164;
*withstands the Auzbegs 358.
Sajawand (Kabul), celebrities of 217;
Babur at 241.
Sakan (Farghana), a ferry near 161.
Sakhan (Ghazni), ruined dam of 219.
Sakhi-sawar (Dara-i-Ghazi Khan, India), Pir Kanu's tomb at 238;
Babur at 238.
Salt-range (Panj-ab), _see_ Koh-i-jud.
Samana (Panj-ab), river of 465;
fixes a limit 638;
an appointment to 528;
*a surmised source of historic information 693;
*a complaint from to Babur and punitive results 700.
Samarkand (mod. Asiatic Russia), description of 74-86;
names of 74, 75 and n. 4;
sub-divisions, _see_ Bukhara, Karmina, Kesh, Khozar, Qara-kul,
Qarshi = Nashaf and Nakhshab, Shavdar or Shadwar, Soghd;
meadows of 67-8, 70-77, 81-2, 128, 131;
buildings and constructions in:--
(1) Timur's 77-8 and _s.n._ Gardens,
(2) Aulugh Beg's 78-9, 80, 133, 142-4,
(3) others 75-7 nn. 6-8;
-- Alps of 222;
cold in 202-4;
a comparison of 216;
fruits 8, 510;
bullies 7;
Aimaqs 221;
trade with Kabul 202;
name locates places or fixes dates 1, 2, 25, 44-9, 136, 150-1-2,
244, 284, 289;
Corps of Braves 28, App. H, xxvii;
_tughchis_ 28;
rulers of 13, 35, 41-6, 52, 65, 74, 90, 111, 121-7, 147, 152, 479,
622;
governors of 37, 131;
comings and goings to and from 15, 20-2-4, 64, 88, 136-7, 148-9,
256, 300, 402-3;
refugees to 46, 51, 58, 95 (plan for), 271;
an execution in 51, 196;
a raid near 16;
`Umar Shaikh and 12, 15;
Tarkhan revolt in 61-3;
besieged for a bride 64;
Abu-sa`id takes 20-8;
Mahmud _Chaghatai_ and 23, 88, 122;
-- Babur _Êt._ 5, taken to 35-7;
his desire for 97-8, *706;
desired by others 64, 111-2;
his attempts on 64-6-8, 72-4, 92-3-7, 112-5-9, 131-2, *354;
invited to 122-3-4;
captures of 18, 35-9, 40, 74, 88, 132-4, 266, 277-9, *355, 471;
his surprise capture compared 134-5[2948];
rule in 86-7, 135, 147;
leaves it to help Andijan 88-9, 190;
defeated at 133-141;
besieged in and surrenders 141-7, 168, 24;
leaves it 147, 358, 471;
-- Shaibani receives it in gift 125;
loss and gain of 74, 147, 168;
occupation of 125-8, *183, 256, 300, 325-8, 360;
-- *Haidar _Dughlat_ in 357;
Merv Mughuls near 357;
Humayun attempts to recover 625, 639;
-- envoys from to Babur 438, 630-1, 642;
gifts to 522;
Babur's 1st _Diwan_ and the _Mubin_ sent to 402, App. Q, viii, *438.
Samnan (Persia), a fruit of 6.
Sambhal (U.P. India), revenue of 521;
snows seen from 485;
hostile to Babur 523;
Babur's 528, 547;
abandoned by his men 557;
Babur at 586-7;
deaths of officers in 675, 683 n. 4, 687;
Humayun's fief 697, *700-2.
Sam-sirak (s. of Tashkint), The Khan's army counted near 154;
hunting near 156;
Babur at 152.
San (Balkh territory ?), plundered 94, 295 (p. 94 for "San-chirik",
_read_ San and Char-yak).
Sanam (C. India), river of 465.
Sang (Farghana), Babur at 176, *183.
Sang-i-aina (Farghana), described 7.
Sang-i-barida (Kabul), Babur passes 407.
Sang-i-lakhshak (Qandahar), Babur at 333.
Sang-i-surakh (Kabul), Babur passes 228;
and (Dasht-Farmul road) _do._ 235.
Sangdaki pass (Panj-ab), Babur crosses 379, 392.
Sangzar (Samarkand), Babur and 92, 124, 131;
(p. 92, l. 9, _read_ "to Sangzar by way of Yar-yilaq").
Sanji-taq (Kabul), a pleasure resort 200 n. 6.
Sanjid-dara (Kabul), Babur at 196, 406.
Sanur (C. India), torrent of 464.
Sapan (Farghana), a hostile force at 101.
Saqa (Farghana), Babur's victory near 113.
Sarai Munda (U.P. India), Babur at 651.
Sarai Baburpur (U.P. India), _see_ Muri and Adusa.
Sarakhs (on the Heri-rud), Auzbeg capture of 534.
Saran (Bihar, India), revenue of 521;
held by a Farmuli *602, 675; an assignment on 679;
locates troops 672 n. 4.
Sarangpur (C. India), Sanga's 483;
Babur's intention against it 598.
Sara-taq pass (Hisar-shadman), described 129;
mentioned on routes 40 n. 4, 58, 129;
Babur crosses 129.
Sar-bagh (Kabul-Balkh route), traitors to Babur near 546;
(_see_ Fr. map MaÔmËnË).
Sar-i-dih (Ghazni), dam of 218;
Babur at 240, 323.
Sarigh-chupam (Badakhshan), *annexed to Kashghar 695;
*Haidar _Dughlat_ at 697.
Sar-i-pul, Bridge-head (Kabul), Babur at 314;
(Samarkand), an army at 65;
Babur defeated at 18, 137-8 to 141, 188.
Sarju affluent of the Gogra, _q.v._ 602 n. 1.
Sarsawa spring (U.P. India), Babur at 467.
Saru-darya, Gagar, Gogra, Ghogra (India), two constituent rivers Sird
(Sarda) and Gagar (or Kakar) 602, 1677 n. 2;
course of (Gagar) 485;
confluence and _du-ab_ with Gang (Ganges) 665-6-7, 677 n. 2;
narrowed below and above the confluence 668 n. 1, 674 nn. 1, 2;
rhinoceros and water-hogs of 490, 502;
-- various crossings of 544, 668, 671-4-5-7, 685;
Babur crosses after his victory on 674-7-9;
leaves it 682;
Battle of the Gogra 671-7.
Saru-qamsh (Khurasan), an ascribed site of the battle of Jam 635 n. 4.
Sarwar (U.P. India), revenue of 521; Biban and Bayazid sent towards
642;
an assignment on 679; 682 n. 1;
Babur at ease about 679.
Sawad (N.W.F.P. India), a limit fixed 400;
trees of 222;
various products of 492-4, 510-11;
brewing in 422;
desolate 207;
a test of women's virtue in 211;
chiefs of 372-4;
Yusuf-zai in 410, App. K, xxxvii, an arrival from 399;
Babur and 373-6-7, 411-2.
Sawa-sang (Qandahar), Babur over-runs 249.
Sawati, ? an adjective=of Sawad, _q.v. kargkhana_ and Babur's
rhino-hunting in 378, 450.
Sayyidpur ? or Sidhpur (Panj-ab), Babur takes 429.
Sehonda, Seondha (C. India), revenue of 521.
Shaf-tiwar (Badakhshan), _see_ Qila`-i-zafar.
Shahabad (Panj-ab), Babur at 466.
Shah-i-Kabul mountain, Sher-darwaza (Kabul), located 200-1;
*Babur buried on 710.
Shahmang ? (Panj-ab), once part of Kashmir 484.
Shahr-i-sabz (Samarkand), _see_ Kesh.
Shahr-i-safa (Hisar-shadman), a holder of 188;
(Qandahar), Babur at 332-3.
Shahrukhiya = Fanakat _q.v._ (Tashkint), a limit of Samarkand 76;
names of 2 n. 5, 7 n. 5, 13, 76;
holders of 13, 17;
various military occurrences at 21-4, 16, 54, 7, 23, 151;
Champion's-portion taken at 53.
Shakdan (Badakhshan), a force at 295.
Shal = Quetta (Baluchistan), Shah Beg goes to 337, *427.
Sham, Syria, a Samarkand _tuman_ compared with 84.
Shamsabad (U.P. India), exchanges of 477, 594-8, 613;
an assignment on 677.
Sham-tu (n. of Hindu-kush), on a route 192.
Shash (W. Turkistan), _see_ Tashkint.
Shatlut river, ? Sutlej (Panj-ab), Babur crosses 457.
Shavdar or Shadwar _tuman_ (Samarkand), described 84;
a fort of 68;
head-quarters in 97;
a Tarkhan in 122;
joins Babur 125.
Sherkot (Bhira, Panj-ab), a holder of 382.
Sherukan ? (Ghazni?), a fight near 397.
Sherwan (n.e. of Mashhad, Persia), a native of 284;
(_see_ Fr. map MaÔmËnË).
Shibarghan (Khurasan), besieged 94;
defence planned 191;
battle near 260.
Shibr-tu pass (Hindu-kush), described 205;
height of 204 n. 4;
meaning of name 205 n. 2;
crossed 242, 321;
Babur crosses 294, 311;
(for an omission on p. 205, _see_ Add. Note p. 205).
Shiraz (Persia), Yunas Khan in 20;
(Samarkand), a Commandant of 130;
Babur near 64-6, 73;
raided by Shaibani 92; 98.
Shiwa (Kabul-river), Babur at 343.
Sniz (Kabul-Ghazni road), Babur near 248.
Shorkach (Ghazni ?), locates a place 323 n. 3.
Shulut (Kabul), App. F, xxiv.
Shunqar-khana mountains (n.w. rampart of Zar-afshan valley), Babur
crosses 130.
Shutur-gardan (Samarkand), described 142 n. 1, 143.
Sialkot (Panj-ab), revenue of 521;
officers of 98, *442-3;
*attacked 443;
Babur and *429-52-54-58.
Sidhpur (Panj-ab), _see_ Sayyidpur.
Sihkana (Afghanistan), a tribe in 323.
Sihrind, Sahrind, Sirhind (Panj-ab), revenue of 521;
names of 383 n. 1;
rivers rising n. of 485;
fixes a limit 638;
fixes a date 457;
snows seen from 485;
a holder of 383;
an assignment on 582;
Babur and *441-64, *693-9, *700-1.
Sikandar's dam (C.P. India), described 606;
Babur at 585.
Sikandara (U.P. India), Babur at 587.
Sikandar‰bad (U.P. India), Babur passes 588.
Sikandarpur (U.P. India), a ferry station of 677;
an official of 668;
Babur at 679.
Sikri (U.P. India), hills of 485;
*Babur keeps Ramzan at 351, changes name of 548 n. 2;
selects it for his camp (933 AH.) 548;
Babur at 549, 581-5-8, 600, 615-6;
revenues of support his tomb *709.
Sind (India), *Shah Beg and 427-9.
Sind-darya, Indus, of "Nil-ab" as a name of 206 n. 3;
fords and ferries of 206;
tributaries of 216, 485;
rhinoceros of 490;
limits lands 206 n. 6, 231-3, 380, 392, 484, 525;
-- *Shah Beg and 431;
-- *Babur's compulsion to seek territory across 706;
Babur on 230-7-8, 378-92, *452-3;
mentions it in verse 525-6.
Singar-water, Sengar (U.P. India), Babur bathes in 649.
Sinjid-dara (Kabul), Babur in 196, 406.
Sir-ab or Sar-i-ab (n. of Hindu-kush), a pass-route to 205;
a defeat near 51, 196.
Sir-auliya (U.P. India), Babur at 654.
Sird, Sirda, Sarda (U.P. India), a constituent of the Gagar, Gogra,
Ghogra 602.
Sirhind (Panj-ab), _see_ Sihrind.
Sirkai, ? Sirakhs (Khurasan), Shaibani near 327.
Sistan (Khurasan), a s. limit of Khurasan 261;
plan of defence for 326.
Siwalik-hills, or Sawalak (N. India), Babur on the name 485.
Siwi, Sibi (Baluchistan), an official in 238;
an incursion into 260;
Siwistan, *427.
Siyah-ab, _see_ Qara-su.
Siyah-koh (Kabul), located (unnamed) 209;
various names of 209 n. 3.
Siyah-sang (Kabul), meadow of 201;
*scene of an Afghan massacre, App. K, xxvi.
Soghd _tuman_ (Samarkand), described 84, 147;
Babur and 64, 135, 147.
Son-water (Bihar, India), an enemy near 658;
crossed for Babur 662;
Babur on 666.
Spin-ghur (Afghanistan), _see_ Safed-koh.
Suf-valley (Khurasan), _see_ Dara-i-suf.
Sugandpur (U.P. India), Babur at 686.
Suhan-nuri, or Suhar-nuri (Kabul), App. G, xxv.
Suhan-su (Panj-ab), a tribe on 380;
Babur on 379, 391.
Sukh (Farghana), Babur's refuge in 7, 130 n. 1, 176 n. 1, *184-5;
gifts to envoys from 633.
Sukhjana (C.P. India), Babur near 614.
Sulaiman-range (Afghan border), _see_ Mehtar Sulaiman.
Sultania (Persia), cold of 219.
Sultanpur (Kabul), Babur at 409-13-47.
Sultanpur (Panj-ab), founder of 442-61;
a return to 457;
*taken from Babur 443.
Sunkar (Rajputana), Babur at 581.
Surkh-ab (n. of Hindu-kush), _see_ Qizil-su.
Surkh-ab, Qizil-su (Hisar-shadman), Babur's victory on 352-3.
Surkh-ab and rud, Qizil-su (Kabul), 207 n. 5;
Bagh-i-wafa on 208, Adinapur-fort on 209;
wild-ass near 224;
Babur crosses 395;
ruins near App. E, xvii.
Surkh-rabat (Kabul), _see_ Rabat-i-surkh.
Susan-village (Kabul), Babur at 422.
Sutluj and Shutlut (_sic_ Hai. MS.), Sutlej-river (Panj-ab), limits
lands 383;
course of 485;
crossed 457;
Trans-Sutluj revenues 521.
Syria, _see_ Sham.
Tabriz (Persia), cold of 204-19;
Yunas Khan in 20.
Tag-au (Kabul), _see_ Badr-au.
Tahangar (Rajputana), hostile to Babur 538.
Takana (? Khurasan), a fight at 260.
"Takhta Qarachi" (Samarkand), 83 n. 2;
_see_ Aitmak-daban.
Takht-i-sulaiman (Farghana) 5 n. 2.
Taliqan, Taikhan (Oxus), a Bai-qara at 60;
Mughuls from 192.
Tal Ratoi (Nathpur, U.P. India), 681 n. 1.
Tang-ab (Farghana), Babur at 100;
located 99 n. 4.
Tang-i-waghchan pass (Kabul), _see_ Girdiz.
Tank, Taq (N.W.F. Province), _see_ Dasht.
Taraz or Tarar (E. Turkistan), _see_ Yangi.
Tarnak river (Qandahar), _see_ Turnuk.
Tarshiz (Khurasan), Husain _Bai-qara's_ victory at 259 and n. 5 (where
_read_ p. 524).
Tashkint, Tashkend (Russia-in-Asia), of its names 2 n. 5, 7 and n. 5,
*184;
its book-names Shash and Chach 13, 76;
ravines of App. A, ii;
holders of 32-5, 115, 154, 161;
a rebel at 36;
Khalifa sent to 90;
name of used as a pass-word 164;
Shaibani's capture of (908 AH.) 23-4, *184;
holds out for Babur (918 AH.) 356-8, 396;
its Auzbeg Sultans at Jam 622.
Tash-rabat (n. of Heri), Babur at 301.
Tatta (Sind, India), course of the Indus through 485;
playing cards sent to 584.
Tazi var. Yari (Ghazni-Qalat road), Babur at 248.
Tibet, Babur locates 485.
Tijara (Rajputana), a chief town in Miwat 578;
given to Chin-timur 578-9, 688.
Tika-sikritku, Goat-leap (Farghana), `Umar Shaikh defeated at 16.
Til, Thal (Kohat, N.W.F.P. India), Babur at 232.
Tiimur Beg's Langar (Kabul), Babur at 313.
Tipa (Kabul), assigned for a camp 199;
earthquake damage in 247;
an exit from 254.
Tirak-pass (Farghana), 15 n. 5.
Tirhut (Bihar, India), revenue of 521.
Tirmiz (Hisar-shadman territory), a s. limit of Samarkand 76, Begims
of 37, 47-8;
Husain _Bai-qara_ and 5, 191;
a governor of 74;
Baqi _Chaghaniani's_ 188, 249;
a sayyid of *704-5;
Najm _Sani_ at 359;
entered for Babur 640.
Tir-muhani (Bihar, India), mentioned 679, 675 n. 1, 687 and n. 2;
the _Habibu's-siyar_ finished at 687 n. 2.
Tizin-dara (Kabul), 208 n. 4.
Tochi-valley (N.W.F.P. India), ? to be traversed by Babur 231.
Toda-bhim (Rajputana), Babur at 581;
Sanga at 545 (where "Agra district" is wrong).
Tons-river, Tus-su (U.P. India), Babur on 656, 683.
Tramontana (between the Oxus and Hindu-kush), army of 447; *706.
Tughluqabad (Dihli), Babur at 476.
Tul-pass and road (Hindu-kush), account of 205;
height of 204 n. 4.
Tun (Khurasan), a Bai-qara holder of 296, 301.
Tup (Kabul-Herat road), Babur at 295.
Tuquz-aulum (Oxus), a defence question 191.
Turfan (Chinese Turkistan), Babur plans going to 158.
Turkistan, course of the Saihun in 2-3;
trade with Kabul 202;
gold-cloth of 641 n. 5;
Shaibani and 65 n. 3, 73-4, 135;
his vow in Hazrat Turkistan 356;
*`Ubaid in 354.
Turnuk, Tarnak (Qandahar), 332 n. 3;
a holder of 340.
Tus-su (U.P. India), _see_ Tons.
Tus (`Iraq), an astronomer of 79;
Shaibani attacks 534.
Tuta (U.P. India), Begims from Kabul pass 616.
Tutluq-yul, Mulberry-road (Farghana), Babur on 165.
Tutun-dara (Kabul), water taken from 647.
Udyanapura (Kabul), App. E, xxi;
_see_ Adinapur.
Ujjain (Malwa, C. India), an observatory in 79.
`Uman-sea, receives the Indus 485.
`Umarabad (Khurasan), an ascribed site of the battle of Jam 635 n. 4.
Unju-tupa (Farghana), _see_ Aunju-tupa.
`Uqabain (Kabul), site of the Bala-hisar 201.
Urgenj (Khwarizm), _see_ Aurganj.
Urghun (Kabul), _see_ Aurghun.
Urus-su (W. Turkistan), _see_ Arus.
Ush (Farghana), _see_ Aush.
Ushtur-shahr (Kabul), Babur in 195, 294, 314.
`Utrar, Otrar, Autrar (W. Turkistan), _see_ Yangi.
Varsak (Badakhshan), position of 523 n. 1, Babur's gifts to 523.
Vierney, Vernoe (E. Turkistan), position on site of old Almatu 2 n. 1.
Wakhsh (Hisar-shadman), Auzbegs at 352, 362.
Walian pass (Hindu-kush), account of 205;
height of 204 n. 4.
Warukh (Farghana), account of 7.
Wasmand fort (Samarkand), Babur at 132.
Wazr-ab (Hisar-shadman), 58 n. 1.
Yada-bir (Kabul), Babur at 394, 411, 448.
Yaftal (Badakhshan), a force at 321.
Yagha or Yaghma (n. of Tashkint), tombs at 139;
Babur at 139.
Yai (Khurasan), tribes in 255.
Yaka-aulang (w. of Bamian, _see_ Fr. map MaÔmËnË), Jahangir goes to
294;
passes from Heri-rud valley to 310 n. 2;
Babur in 311.
Yak-langa (Kabul), Babur crosses 445.
Yam (Samarkand), Babur at 67;
84 n. 3.
Yan-bulagh (Kabul), Babur on road of 425.
Yangi-hisar (Kashghar), *a death-bed repentance at 362.
Yangi = Taraz (E. Turkistan), depopulated 2;
book-name of 2 and n. 1;
an army at 20.
Yangi = Utrar, Otrar (W. Turkistan), a mistaken entry of in some MSS.
2 n. 1.
Yangi-yul pass (Hindu-kush), described 205.
Yari (Ghazni-Qalat road), _see_ Tazi.
Yari (Zar-afshan), Babur crosses the bridge to 130.
Yarkand (E. Turkistan), *696.
Yar-yilaq (Samarkand), Timur's "head" of Soghd 84;
fights near 35, 122;
villages of 97-8;
submits to Babur 98;
Babur in 64, 92, 125, 130-1.
Yasan (Farghana), _see_ Khasban.
Yasi-kijit (Farghana), Babur's men defeated at 27, 105.
Yilan-auti or Yilan-aut (Samarkand), Babur at 147.
Yilan-chaq (n. of Hindu-kush), a tribe of 196.
Yiti-kint (Farghana), mandrake in 11;
of its position 11 n. 6;
Yunas Khan's headquarters 20 n. 5.
Zabul, Zabulistan, a name of Ghazni _q.v._
[Z.]ahaq fort, "Zohak" (s. of Bamian), Babur at 294;
(_see_ Fr. map MaÔmËnË).
Zamania (U.P. India), _see_ Madan-Banaras.
Zamin (Samarkand), locates places 34, 64;
Babur at 97.
Zamin-dawar (Qandahar), Arghun chiefs in 71, 337-9;
Zu'n-nun's 274;
taken by Babur 27;
plan to defend 326.
Zar-afshan river, Kohik-su _q.v._ (Samarkand), described 76 and nn.
4, 5;
Macha village on 149 n. 4;
Babur crosses 67, 130;
*Najm _Sani_ crosses 360.
Zardak-chul (w. of Balkh), over-run 94.
Zarqan or Zabarqan (Farghana), Babur at 161.
Zindan valley (Kabul-Balkh road), _see_ Dara-i-zindan.
Zirrin-pass (between Heri-rud valley and Yaka-aulang), Babur misses
it 309-10.
Zurmut _tuman_ (Kabul), described 220;
floods in 240;
Girdiz head-quarters in 220.
Index III. General
Abbreviated names 29.
Abdu'l-wahhab _Ghaj-davani_ see _Waqi`-nama-i-padshahi_.
Ablution--before death 188;
reservoirs 208, 217, 580, 639, 683.
Abu-talib _Husaini_ or Abu'l-husain _Turbati_
_see_ _Malfuzat-i-timuri_.
_Abushqa_, a Turki--Turkish Dict.--quotes verses as Babur's 438;
quotes Khw. Kalan 526;
the Baburi-script App. Q, lxiii.
Account-rolls of palm leaves 510.
Adoption--of a son 170;
prÊ-natal 374, App. L.
_Afghanistan and the Afghans_, H. W. Bellew--vine-culture 210;
decoy-ducks 225 (_where_, _in n. 5_, _read title as above_).
_Afghan Poets of the XVII Century_, C. E. Biddulph--Khush-ab _Khattak_
mentions Babur 439.
Afzal Khan _Khattak_--(_Raverty's Notes_ _q.v._)--Nil-ab
(_ferry-station_) 206.
Agriculture--seed-corn and money advances 86;
young millet grazed 215;
methods of vine culture 210;
water-raising appliances 388, 486-7;
irrigation, "running waters":--Farghana 4, 5, 7,
Samarkand 76-7, 147;
Hindustan 486-7, 519-31-81,
Qandahar 332-6,
Chandiri 596;
--canals:--Farghana 67,
Samarkand 76, 147;
--grain, corn:--Farghana 2, 3, 55, 114-46,
Kabul 203, 228, 373-4,
[green corn] 394,
Qandahar 333,
Hash-nagar 410,
Bara 414,
Bhira 381;
--raft of corn seized on the Sind 392;
horse-corn fails on a march 238-9;
(rice) 342-74-94, 410.
_Akbar-nama_, Shaikh Abu'l-fazl _`Allamiy_, (_trs. H. Beveridge_)--(_see
notes on pp. given_) +meanings+:--_bat-qaq_ 31;
_nihilam_ and _tasqawal_ 45;
Tardika 568;
Tarkhan 34;
_fil-i-darya'i_ App. M. xlvii;
--+persons+:--13, 22, 263-4, 346, 552, 562, 641, 657;
--+various places+:--191, 206, 441, 523, App. J, xxxv;
--winter access to Farghana 2;
Nizami quoted 44;
an inscription of Babur's 343;
Rumi defences 469;
the(Koh-i-nur) diamond 477;
a cognomen 566;
risks to MSS. App. D, x;
Akbar-nama material *441-5, *691-3;
Babur supplemented 639;
length of work on it *692 n.;
Mubin passage translated in the "Fragments" (_q.v._) *437-8;
Babur's self-devotion *701;
his choice of a successor *702 to 705,
mentioned Preface xxxiii;
translated from by Jahangir (?) xlv.
`Ali-sher _Nawa'i's_ comforts 287.
_Allgemeine Erdkunde_, Carl Ritter--Bara-koh 5;
Babur's _farsi-gui_ useful 7;
Akhsi distances App. A, v.
_`Amal-i-salih_, Muh. Salih--Shah-jahan's destruction of wine 298;
_tuigun_ (bird) 418.
_Amanitates exoticae_, Engelbertus KÊmpfer--_Ijtihad_ 284.
Amusements _see_ Games.
_Ancient Geography of India_, Major-Gen. Sir Alex. Cunningham--(_see
nn. on pp. named_) Shibr-tu 205;
Nil-ab 206;
Kohistan villages 214;
Gurkhattri 230;
Bigram 230;
Udyan-apura App. E, xxi.
_Annals and Antiquities of Rajastan_ Col. James Tod--Sanga's force 547;
negociations with Babur 550;
appearance 558;
Salahu'd-din (Silhadi) 562.
Antidotes--lime-juice 511,
Lemnian earth 543.
_Anwar-i-suhaili_, Husain Wa`izu 'l-kashifi--quoted 22;
Firdausi quoted 557,
Add. N, P. 557.
Apostates 577-8, 590-1.
Arabic Sciences 283-5.
_`araq_ see fermented drinks, _s.n._ Wine.
Archery[2949]--[_see nn. on pp. named_], _good bowmen_ 16, 22, 26,
34 (2),
cross-bowman 53, 263;
remarkable feats 276, 279;
--_archer's marks_:--_ilbasun_ (duck), _qabaq_ (gourd), _tuquq_ (hen)
34,
_takhta_ (target);
_qabaq-maidan_ 276;--
_arrows_:--_auq_ 22, 34, 255,
_etc._, _giz_ 213, 225,
_khadang_ (white poplar) 13,
_tir-giz_ 11
(_where preface n. 2 by the name_), 34;
arrow-barb, _paikan_ 22,
-notch, _gosha_ App. C, -flight 8, 140;
flights of arrows 52;
rain of, 138;
quiver T. _saghdaq_ 160, 166,
P. _tarkash_ 526;
an arrow-borne letter 361;
--_bows_:--Chachi bow (_kaman_) 13;
cross-bow _takhsh-andaz_, _kaman-i-guroha_ 55, 263;
_narmdik yai_, an easy-bow 420;
_qatiq yai_, a stiff-bow 490;
--bows ruined by Hindustan climate 519, *700;
--_various_:--_chapras_, _daur_, _gosha_, _kaman-khana_, _kardang_
explained App. C;
_gosha-gir_, a repairing-tool 166, App. C;
Turkish bow-making a fine craft App. C, ix;
dismounting to shoot 52;
--_to bow-string_ (T. _kirish salmaq_) 110.
Architecture Timuriya and Timurid Pr. xxxi.
_Archiv f¸r Asiatische Litteratur_ H. J. Klaproth (_q.v._)--Kasan
gardens 10;
his extracts from the Bukhara Compilation MSS. Pr. xxxix, xlvii.
_Ariana Antiqua_, H. H. Wilson--_Masson's art. Actinapur Region_ 227,
Nagarahara App. E, xvii.
_Army of the Indian Moghuls_, W. Irvine--trepanning 109;
misled 470;
on _muljar_ (_q.v._) 592;
"_shatur_" explained 593;
_firingi_ (gun) 473,
pontoon-bridges 600.
_`Aruz-i-saifi_, Maulana Sayyid Mahmud _Saifi_
of Bukhara, (_trs. Blochmann and Ranking_)--a note by Rieu 288;
Saifi's pupil Bai-sunghar 111;
his high number of ruba'i measures App. Q, lxvi.
_Asia Portuguesa_, Manuel de Faria y Sousa--Habshi succession custom
482.
_Astronomy and Astrology_--Tables and Observatories 74, 79, Pr. xxx;
Canopus (Suhail) 195;
forecasts 139, 551;
houses of Scorpio 633;
Pole-star a guide 323,
its altitude at Chandiri 597;
Capricorn 597.
_Ayin-i-akbari_, Abu-fazl (_trs. Blochmann, Jarrett_)--(_see nn. on pp.
named_);
Climates 1;
_qilij_ (cognomen) 29;
observatories 79;
guns 473;
clepsydra 516;
kitchen rules 541;
fruits 3, 501-3-4-5, 512;
_chalma_ 624;
hunting deer 630;
_bahri_ (falcon) 632;
_milak_ (gold, cloth) 641;
_yak-tai_ (unlined) 652;
--+(weights and measures)+ _khar-war_ 228,
_tanab_ 630,
_sang_=_tash_ 632;
--a title 209;
a child traveller 265;
Barlas begs 270;
+(places)+ Kabul 207, 221;
Kacha-kot 250;
Sidhpur 429;
Nagarahara App. E, xxiii;
Buhlulpur 454;
Kanwahin 458;
Milwat (Malot) 461;
Jahan-nama 485;
Chausath 581;
Lakhnur 582;
Sikandra Rao 587,
Godi, Gui 601;
--+(persons)+ 285, 653, 666, App. P, lvi;
--Babur's expedition to Kashmir 693.
_Agar-i-sanadid_, Sayyid Ahmad Khan--places Babur visited 475;
Mahdi Khwaja and Amir Khusrau's tomb 704.
+Noticeable words+:
--P. _ab-duzd_ 109 = P. _du-tahi_ 62, 595-6;
_aiki-su-ara_ = P. _miyan-du-ab_ (Mesopotamia) _i.a_ 88;
_aimaq_ (clan) 51, 196, 207-15-55, Add. Note P. 49; M.
_alachi_ whence _Alacha_ 23;
_arghamchi_ 614; _ash-kina_ (stew) 4;
_audaliq_ (odalisque) = P. _ghunchachi_ _q.v._;
_aughlan_ (child, boy, non-regnant chief) 19;
_augh-laqchi_ 39;
_aurchin_ 44, 88;
_aung_, _ung_ (Prester John's title) 23;
_aupchin_ 176, 282;
Auz-beg, -khan, -kint, _i.a_ 162, (_see_ A.N. trs. i, 160, 170);
_ayik-aut_ = P. _mihr-giyah_ (mandrake) 11.
_The Babur-nama_, Zahiru'd-din Muh. Babur (Lion) Mirza and (later)
Padshah _Ghazi_.
I. SECTIONS OF THE BOOK:--(_The record of prÊ-accession
years is lost Pr. xxxvi_); (1) +Farghana+ 1-182, (Trs. N.
[_bridging a gap_] 182-185); (2) +Kabul+ 187-346, (Trs. N.
347-366), 367-425, (Trs. N. 426-444); (3) +Hindustan+ 445-602,
(Trs. N. 603-4), 605-690, (Trs. N. 691-716);
SUB-SECTIONS:--(_a_) +Descriptions+ of Farghana 1-12, Kabul
199-227, Herat 304-5, Hindustan 480-521, Chandiri 592, 596,
Gualiar 605-614; (_b_) +Biographies+ of Yunas Khan 19-24 (_see
infra, displacements_), of Miran-shahis _viz._ `Umar Shaikh
13-19, 24-28, Ahmad 33-40, Mahmud 45-51, Bai-sunghar 110-112,
of Husain _Bai-qara_ 256-292, of amirs _etc._ 24, 37, 49, 270;
II. LACUN∆:--(_other than mentioned above_); minor in 935 AH.
_see_ dating and nn. on pp. 617, 621, 630, 636, 687, and for
surmised patching from fragments of 934 AH. 654, 655, 680; (1)
+References to events of the gaps+ _see_ nn. on pp. 105, 364
--208, 441, 575 --381 --408, 422 --(of 934 AH.) 603, 617, 618, 621
--an Akbar-nama indication 639; (2) +Varia concerning the
gaps+:--Causes of, Pr. xxxiv; misinterpreted xxxv; results in
present displacement xxxvi;
III. VARIA CONCERNING THE BOOK:-- (1) +Date of composition+,
[_see nn. on pp. named_]; 48, 50, 79, 98 --102, 105 --139, 154,
176, 190 (l. 5 fr. ft.) 198 --203-4-6-8 --214-18-19-20 (_para.
3_), 269-76-78-85 --313 ("now" _para. 2_), 314 ("now" l. 4),
315 (l. 2), 318 (_para._ 2), 337 (l. 16), 373 (l. 8 fr. ft.),
374; (2) +Literary style and idiom+:-- plain diction 2, precise
wording _e.g._ 5, 79, 475, 485, appreciation of words 67, 265,
283, 627, comments on style _e.g._ 22, 67, and pronunciation
210, 484, early diary differs in wording from the narrative
367; lapses into courtly Persian 445, 537, 539; (3)
+Grammatical details+:-- relatives not used Add. Note, P. 167;
uses of "we" and "I" 104, 118; distinctions of meaning
expressed by Ar. and T. plurals _e.g._ 5, 80; uses of the
presumptive tense 37, 75, 162, 167, 577 (cf. Shaw's Grammar);
examples of idiom 29, 44, 66, 75, Add. Note, P. 167
(_gharicha_); (4) +Varied information+ _see_ Preface _passim_;
(5) +Babur's notes+: --Khwaja Maulana-i-qazi 29 --Ibrahim Saru
52 --Champion's portion 53 --Guk-sarai 63 --Fazil Tarkhan 133
--Auz-kint 163 --Pass-words 169 --Multa-kundi 211 --Military terms
334 --Piri Beg 336 --Badakhshan 340 --Sl. Ma`sud M. 382 --Campaign
of 910 AH. 382 --Daulat Khan 383 --_daqiqa_ 516 --_pol_ 517
--Mulla Apaq 526 --_kuroh_ (from the _Mubin_) 630 --_tash_ weight
632;
IV. WORK DONE ON THE BOOK:-- (1) +Turki Codices+ _see_ Preface,
Cap. III, Part II and Table xli; --(_a_) _Haidar Mirza's
Codex_--its importance Pr. xxxiv, xxxv, xxxviii, xli, xlii (No.
iv); (_b_) _Elphinstone Codex_--archetypes 405, Pr. xli, xlii,
xliii (No. v); its losses of pages 445; defacement 129, 325,
415, 548; Erskine's use of it Add. Note, P. 287; reliance on
it _in loco_ 1, 187, 445; preserves Humayun's attested notes
447-52-67, 510-14 and attributed notes 216, 494, 507 --also a
quatrain on Mughuls 140; "Rescue-passage" not in it App. D;
divergency from it in the Kasan Imprint _ib._ xiv; a former
owner 706; referred to in nn. on pp. 7, 10, 12, 14, 23-6-8,
31-6, 44-7-8, 60-4, 75, 88, 112-3, 133 (Shaibaq), 143-8, 154
(_dim_), 159, 161-4-9; Preface xli, xlii, xliii (No. v),
xlvii; _cf._ JRAS _Notes infra_; (_c_) _Haidarabad Codex_,
published in Facsimile by the Gibb Trust, ed. A. S.
Beveridge--basis of the _B.N. in English_ 1, 187, 445, Preface
xxvii; appears a direct copy of Babur's autograph Codex 47,
103, 515; contains (Jahangir's?) Rescue-passage App. D;
divergency of Kasan Imprint from it _ib._ xiv; referred to in
nn. on pp. 2, 8, 9, 10, 12, 133 (Shaibaq), 14, 18, 23 (careful
pointing clears away a doubt), 28, 31, 36, 40 (Baghdad
corrected to Bughda), 60-4, 75, 88, 132, 140-6-8, 153 (a
mistake?), 154 (_dim_), 159, 164 (_sairt kishi_), 165, 168,
177 (Pers. _dictum_), App. A, i (Akhsi); Preface xxvii, xxxiii
(title), xxxv, xli (Table), xlvi (No. x), xlvii;--[2950]
(2) +Persian work+:-- (_a_) _Tabaqat-i-baburi_, described 445;
made known to Erskine 520; its deference to Babur App. P,
lvii; shews a date 496; shews nature of an illness (B.'s) 446;
specifies drinking-days 447, 450; gives a useful pen-name 448;
Buhlulpur 454; of a gun 489; Varsak and Khwastis 523; Naukar
or Tuka 525; Babur points "Sikri" to read _shukri_ 548; styles
him "Nawab" 560 _etc._; describes a porpoise as _bahri_ App.
M, xlvii; helps as to "Luknur" App. T, lxxiv; (_b_)
_Waqi`at-i-baburi_ (Acts of Babur), (_the first Pers. Trs.
1583_), Payanda-hasan _Mughul_ of Ghazni and Muh-quli _Mughul_
of Hisar--explicit 187, 198; useful variants 267, 624, 645; a
puzzling phrase 549, and passage 617; title Pr. xxxiii;
described liii (No. vi); (_c_) _Waqi`at-i-baburi_ (Acts of
Babur), (_the second Pers. Trs. 1589_), `Abdu'r-rahim M.
_Turkman_--misleading glosses 2 n. 1, 3 n. 1; _tash_ misread
312 _etc._; verses doubtfully Babur's 312; a gloss unsupported
337; a difficult passage 617; a fine illustrated copy (B.M.
3714) 155, 298, 325; Erskine's account of its diction (quoted)
Pr. xliv (No. vii); on its title xxxiii;
(3) +Persian-English work+:--_The Memoirs of Baber_, Leyden and
Erskine (1826)--[_see nn. on pp. named_]; +Varia+:-- Leyden's
slight collaboration 287, 367, 380, Add. Note, P. 287, Pr.
xlviii, Cap. iv, [L. and E. _Memoirs_]; two notes by Leyden
10, 219; not fully representative of Babur's autobiography 2,
Cap. iv; advance in help (MSS. and other) since Erskine worked
347, 620-22, App. T, lxxiii; his own MSS. 680; Indian guidance
632, 661; dating agrees with Babur's 629; misled by his
Persian source [_q.v._ 3 _etc._] and by a scribe's slip 544;
his help to Ilminski 1, 187, 326, Pr. lv; misleads by uniform
"Luknow" App. T; omissions 2, 632, 468, 559 (_important_); a
prayer reproduced in its words 316; quoted 715; --+questioned
readings+:--143, 223-5-9, 324-7, 333-7, 369, 400-16, Add. Note,
P. 416, 446-49-57-62-67 (shaving-passage), 478,
523-34-49-55-59-61, 608-9, 617-19-26-38-40-46-47; --[_Numerous
verbal explanations and other notes are reproduced as
Erskine's and each identified_];
(4) +Turki-English work+:--_The Babur-nama in English_
(_Memoirs of Babur_), Annette S. Beveridge--_see_ Preface and
other contents of these volumes.
_Babar_, Stanley Lane Poole--the Eight Stars 139; a misled note 468.
_Babur und Abu'l-fazl_, Teufel [_ZDMG, 1862_]--an opinion negatived
119;
useful critique on "Fragments" (_q.v._) Preface Cap. III, Part III
and App. D; Mubin MS. used by BerÈzine 438;
Babur-nama title 653, Pr. xxxiii.
_Bahar-i-`ajam_ (Pers. Dict.) _see_ Dictionaries.
_Baz-nama_ (Book of Sport), Muhibb-i-`ali _Barlas_--its author's
descent 276;
_l_ exchanged with _n_ (_cf._ _Luhani and Nuhani_) _ib._
BÈlin M.--[_Journal Asiatique xvi, xvii_] 257-8, 271-82-92.
_Bengali Household Stories_, Macculoch--a sign of obedience 275.
Beveridge Annette S.--JRAS. Notes in referred to _in loco_:--MSS. of
the B.N. Turki text 1900;
Further Notes 1902,
Haidarabad Codex and all others 1905, 1906;
Elphinstone Codex 1907;
Material for a definitive text and account of Kehr's Codex and its
Persian alloy 1908;
Kehr's Latin Version of part of his source _i.e._
the _Waqi`-nama-i-padshahi_ (Bukhara Compilation _q.v._) 1908,
Klaproth's _Archiv_ 1909, and (expected) on the confused identity
of the Bukhara Compilation with the _Babur-nama_ 1922;
--(2) Grounds for making a new translation Preface Cap. IV;
the mistaken identity of Kehr's source (_supra_) Cap. III[2951];
of the _Babur-nama_, Preface _passim_.
Beveridge Henry--(1) +Notes _in loco_+:--_tabalghu_ 11;
Baba-i-kabuli 14;
Quintets 15, 288;
a mistake by Firishta 15;
Lotus-eaters 42;
Daulat-shah 46; Hafiz parodied 201;
Byron's _tambourgi_ 247;
Jami plagiarized 258;
_Khazinatu'l-asfiya_ quoted 211;
Timur's burial-position 266;
syphilis 279;
an illegal marriage 329;
Babur's satirical verse and Shaikh Zain 448;
_Zafar-nama_ (?) quoted 485;
"_kaka_" 502;
Khw. Khusrau's couplet 503;
the name "Cintra" for an orange 512;
Timur on Hindustan 526;
fate of Ibrahim _Ludi's_ mother 543;
_tamgha_ 553;
a pun 571;
versus traced 571, 625-6;
Ibn Batuta quoted 591;
date of Babur's visit to Lahor from Agra 604;
Khwand-amir 605;
Rahim-dad 608, 688;
Mahdi Khw. 704;
Scorpio and Libra 623;
Battle of Jam 635;
"bulky Oolak" 663;
Kashmir expedition 693;
a poor MS. App. P, lv;
Shaikh Zain's deference _ib._ lvii;
--(2) +Translations+:
--(_a_) Akbar-nama _q.v._ and Tuzuk-i-jahangiri _q.v._
--(_b_) revision of Persian _farman_ 553, and the Kanwa
Letter-of-victory 559;
--(3) +Articles referred to+:
--(_a_) A.Q.R. 1899, _Babur's Diamond, was it the Koh-i-nur?_ 447;
1901, _An Afghan Legend_ 375, App. K;
1910, _Paper-mills of Samarkand_ 81;
1911, _Oriental Cross-bows_ 140, 142;
_Babur's Diwan_ (Rampur MS.) 439;
_Some verses by the Emperor Babur_ 439
--1915, Silhadi and the _Mirat-i-sikandari_ 614;
--(_b_) Calcutta Review 1884, _the Patna Massacre_ 672;
--JASB. 1898, _Bayazid Biyat_ 691;
--1905, _The Emperor Babur's legendary son_ 558;
--1884, _Authorship of the Dabistan_;
--1916, _Tarikh-i-salatin-i-afaghana_ 693;
--(_c_) JRAS. 1900, _On the word nihilam_ 45, 224
--1901, _Pers. MSS. in Indian Libraries_ 348
--1910, _On the word mutaiyim_ 16, 275
--1913-14, _Coinage of Husain Bai-qara_ App. H, xxvi
--1916, _Rashahat-i-`ainu'l-hayat_ 620;
--(4) +Other related articles+:--
(_a_) A. S. Q.--_Emperor Babur and the Habibu's-siyar_ 1906;
_Emp. B. and Khwand-amir_ 1909 (_2 parts_);
_Emp. B.'s opinion of India_ 1917;
_Attempt to poison B._ _ib._;
_Was `Abdu'r-rahim the translator of B.'s Mems. into Persian?_
1900 (_2 parts_);
(_b_) JRAS.--_The B.N. "Fragments"_ 1908;
_Date of Shah Hasan Arghun's death_ 1914;
_An obscure quatrain by Bana'i_ 1917;
_The Mongol title Tarkhan_ _ib._;
_Tarkhan and Tarquinius_ 1918[2952];
--(5) +His help+: _see_ Postscript of Thanks, Preface lxi.
The Bible--untrimmed beard 552;
moon-stroke 608.
_BibliothËque Orientale_, B. d'HerbÈlot--(_see nn. on pp. named_),
`Umar Shaikh 13;
Satuq-bughra Khan 29; Mahmud _Miran-shahi_ 46;
Mataridiyah and Ash`ariyah Sects 75-6;
Isma`il _Khartank_ 76;
Nasiru'd-din _Tusi_ 79;
Nil-ab 206;
"Qizil-bash" explained 630.
_Biographie Universelle_, LanglÈsart. _Babour_ xlv.
_Biographies of Ladies_ (_Sprenger's Cat._)--two women-poets 286.
_Birds of India_, T. C. Jerdon--partridge-tippets 496;
cries _ib._;
bustard 498;
_manek_ 499;
_likhh_ (florican) App. N;
_kabg-i-dari_and _chiurtika_ (snow-cock) _ib._
"Blessed Ten" 562.
Blochmann H. (_JASB. 1873_)--Babur's Mosque in Sambhal 687;
_see_ _Ayin-i-akbari._
Blood-ransom 461;
retaliation 64, 102, 119, 194, 251-53, 424.
Boats--383-5-7-8, 407-10-22-23-54, 589, 652-4-5-6-8-9, 660, 662;
Babur names his Ganges flotilla 663, 669, 670-1-4-9, 681-4;
pontoon bridge 599, 633.
Book-names--Akhsikit = Akhsi 9;
Banakat = Shahrukhiya 76;
Chach and Shash = Tash-kint 13, 76;
Galiur or Galiwar = Gualiar 605;
Nashaf and Nakhshab = Qarshi 84;
Nagarahara = Ning-nahar 207;
Taraz = Yangi 2.
Book-room--Ghazi Khan _Ludi's_ 460.
Books (_no titles_)--Exposition of the _Nafahat_ 284;
On Jurisprudence 285,
--prosody 271,
--rhyme 285,
--riddles 289.
_Botany of the Afghan Delimitation Commission_, Aitchison--regional
grasses 222;
_qarqand_ = _sax-aol_(_?_) 223.
Brahminical thread 561.
Bridge of boats _see_ Boats.
_Buddhist Records_, S. Beal--Greater Udyana-pura App. E, xxi;
sugarcane in Lamghan 203 (_where read Beal_).
Browne, Professor Edward Granville--the Haidarabad Codex Facsimile,
Preface xlvi (No. x).
Building-stone--Samarkand 83,
Kabul 710,
Chandiri 597,
Dulpur 606,
Gualiar 608,
Biana 611.
"Bukhara Compilation," known as "_Babur-nama_"
see _Waqi`nama-i-padshahi_.
Bullies of Marghinan (Marghilan) 7 (_where in line 1, add_, "They are
notorious in Ma-wara'u'n-nahr for their bullyings").
_Burhan-i-qati`_ (Pers. Dict.) _see_ Dictionaries.
_Buried Cities of Khotan_, Sir M. Aurel Stein--Aq-bura-rud 4.
_Bu-stan_, Sa`di--couplets quoted 139, 152, 626.
+Noticeable words+:--
(P.-Ar.-T.) _baghat_, _baghlar_, _baghcha_ and _begat_, _beglar_ 5,
80, 478;
_baghish_ 59, 69;
_bakhshi_ (in M. surgeon) 169;
_bashliqlar_ (commanders) 119;
_batman_ (a weight) 261;
_batqaq_ (slough of despond) 31;
_bai_ (rich man) 127;
_bairi_ (old servant) 30;
_bi_ = beg 127-8;
_bildurga_ 225;
_b:d-hindi_ = P. _sih-bandi_ (Byde Horse) 470;
_bilak_ 446;
_bughu-maral_ 8, 10;
_bughda_ (cutlass) 40;
_bulak_ and _baluq_ 196, 17 and 221;
_bush_ (bosh) 507.
_Cabool_ (Kabul), Sir Alex. Burns--(_see nn. on pp. named_);
wind and running sands 201, 215;
climate 204;
_kabg-i-dari_ 213;
Kohistan 214;
millet 215;
Babur's Burial-garden 710.
Cadell, Jessie E.--quoted Preface xxvii.
Cadet-corps formed 28, App. H, xxvii.
Cairn _i.e._ "Babur Padshah's Stone-heap" 446, Preface xxxvii.
Candles and candlesticks--none in Hind 518;
offensive substitutes _ib._
Canopus _see_ Suhail.
Capitals of Farghana--Andijan 3,
Akhsi 10,
Auz-kint 162.
Caravans--15, 202, 250, 331.
Carruthers, Mr. Douglas--help from App. B, vii.
Carving--Babur no carver 304.
Caste-names--518.
Catalogues:--(_see nn. on pp. named_);
" Coins of the Shahs of Persia (B.M.), R. S. Poole--Babur's surmised
vassal coin 355, App. H, xxx, Preface xxxv;
" Feronia Nursery Calcutta, Seth--Jack-fruit 506;
_sang-tara_ orange 511;
" Library of the King of Oudh, A. Sprenger--Biographies of Ladies 286;
_Shah u Darwesh_ 290;
Ahli 290;
" Library of Tippoo Sultan, C. Stewart--_Tabaqat-i-nasiri_ 479;
" _Manuscrits Turcs de l'Institut des langues orientales_, W. D.
Smirnov--_Malfuzat-i-timuri_ 653;
Babur's writings _ib._
" Persian MSS. (B.M.), C. Rieu--Shash and Fanakat 2, 7;
Khw. Kamal 8;
Akhsikiti 9;
`Abdu'l-lah _Barlas_ 51;
Saifi 111, 288;
Halwa-spring 260;
Nizami 271;
Daulat-shah 274;
_Baz-nama_ 276;
Suhaili 277;
Marwarid 278;
Amir Hamza 280;
`Ata'u'l-lah 282;
Taftazani 283;
_Khamsatin_ 288;
Husain _Nishapuri_ 288;
Yusuf of Farghana 289;
Hilali 290;
a scribe-poet 291;
_Suluku'l-muluk_ 348;
Nawa'i's Diwans arranged 419;
Histories of Tahmasp 622;
_Habibu's-siyar_ finished 687;
_Tarikh-i-salatin-i-afaghana_ 693, 701;
--Kasan Imprint misleads 259;
a questioned reading 266;
" Persian MSS. in the I.O. Library, H. EthÈ--Khw. Hijri 153;
Husain _Nishapuri_ 288;
_Shah u Darwesh_ 290;
a scribe-poet 293[2953];
" Turki MS. in B.M., C. Rieu--the author of the _Sang-lakh_ App.
A, v;
the _Shaibani-nama_ 289.
Catamites 26, 42-5-9, 278, 396 (_cf._ 174 n.).
_Cathay and the way thither_, ed. Sir H. Yule (Hakluyt Society vol.
i, p. 20)--running-sands 215.
_Caubul_ (Kabul), Hon. Mountstewart Elphinstone--millet 215;
Judas-tree 216;
Indus ford (_Nil-ab_) 378;
"Nangrahaur" App. E, xix.
"Chaghatai Castles" 208.
Chaghatai families--`Ali-sher _Nawa'i_ a member of one, Preface xxxi.
Chaghatai-Osmanisches Wˆrterb¸ch _see_ Dictionaries.
Chaghataische Sprach-studien, H. VambÈry--(_mil._) pass-words
(_auran_) 219;
meaning of _gepanzert_ 221,
_bildurga_ 225,
_sighnaq_ App. Q, lxiv.
Champion's portion won and explained 53.
_Charikar_, T. C. Haughton--Kohistan of Kabul 214-5.
Charles XII's sobriquet Iron-head 14.
_Char-ulus_ (Four hordes), Aulugh Beg Mirza, Preface xxx.
_Childe Harold's Pilgrimage_--tambourgi 247.
_Chinese Turkistan_, P. W. Church--maral 8.
Chingiz-tura (_ordinances_) respected 155, 298.
_Chiniut_, D. G. Barkley [_JRAS._ 1899]--its position 380.
Chirkas sword 65.
Chishti order 666.
_Chrestomathie Turque_, BerÈzine--the _Mubin_ quoted 438, 630.
Chronograms 85, 135, 152, 217, 344, 427, 575, 596.
Cider 83.
Circumcision 14, 69.
Coincidences 71, 123, 261, 686.
Coins--_ashrafi_ 446-60;
_dam_ 383;
_kipki_ 296;
_sikka_ (coined money ?) 277;
_shahrukhi_ 379-83, 400, 408, 417-46-78-9, 523;
_tang_ 641;
_tanka_ "black" (_i.e._ _copper_) 521,
"white" (_i.e._ _silver_) 338-9, 344, 446, 521-7, 641, App.
P, lvii;
"red and white" (money) 522;
Babur's "vassal coins" 354-5-6, App. H, xxx.
Confections--_ma`jun_:--used in excess 16;
gifts of 373;
parties on non-drinking-days 447;
eating of 377-83-84-88-93, 410-12-15-16-18, 420-2, 448-50, 580-8,
615-50-59-83;
_kamali_ 373.
Congregational Prayer--unbroken attendance at 283.
Countermark [_Bih-bud_] on coins 277, App. H, xxv, xxvi, xxix.
_Cross-bow_, Sir W. F. Payne-Gallwey--archers' marks 34;
bow-shot distances 140;
what may apply to Babur's _zarb-zan_ and _tufang_ 667.
Cunningham, Maj.-Gen. Sir Alex. _see_ _Indian Eras_ and Reports on
Arch. Survey.
Customs--Musalman scruples about burial-places 246;
the Champion's-portion 53;
circumambulation of tombs 54, 285, 301-5-6, 475,
and of the sick 701;
amongst combatants' wives 22, 268;
dipping 16 times in bathing 151;
levirate marriage 23;
mourning rites 32, 246, 293;
a nativity-feast 344;
nine a mystic number _see s.n._ nine;
an ordeal of virtue 211;
divining from sheep-blade-bones 233;
pillars of heads 232, _i.a._ 573-6;
rock-inscription 153;
signs of submission 53, 232-3, 248;
succession in Bengal 482-3 n. 5;
unveiling a bride 37;
gifts from those marrying 43, 400;
gifts by wives _q.v._
CyclopÊdia of Archery _see_ _Kulliyatu'r-rami_.
Czar Vassili III--Babur's embassy to, App. Q, lxiii.
+Noticeable words+:--_Chachi_ 13;
_chaghir_ 83, 298;
_chapuk_, slash-face 68;
P. _char-dara_ 80, 629;
_chaughan_ (polo) 26;
P. _chalma_ 624;
H. _chaukandi_ = Ar. _ghurfat_ and P. _char-dara_ (?) 629-63;
_chapkun_ 324;
_chiqar_ (exit) 44;
_yinka-chicha_ 616;
_chuhra-jirga_ 50, 227,
App. H, xxvi-vii.
_Dabistan_, Mir Zu'l-fiqar `Ali'u'l-husaini (_pen-name Mubad_)--Nanak
founder of the Sikh religion 461;
Radiyan sect 622;
[concerning the authorship of the book _see_ JRAS. H.B.'s art.
_q.v.s.n._].
Darwesh-life--soldiering abandoned for 262;
return to 583.
Dating by events:--Battle of the Goat-leap 16,
Dispersion of Airzin 20,
Battle of Kanbai 111-2 [_T.R. trs._ 119];
the dating of 935 AH. 605, App. S.
DefrÈmery C.--[_J. des Savans_ 1873], art. _Les MÈmoires de Baber_
(P. de C.) 562.
_De Paris ‡ Samarcande_, Madame Ujfalvy--(_see nn. on pp. named_);
Bara-koh 5, 6;
Samarkand 74-5;
_qara yighach_ (hard-wood elm) 81;
paper-pulping mortars 81.
De SaÁy, A. L. Silvestre (_Nat. et Ex._ 265, 285)--Husain Shaikh Timur
273 (_cf._ _Daulat-shah_ (Browne) 538-9);
date of Hilali's death 290.
_Dialects of the Hindu-kush_, Col. J. Biddulph--Khowari 211;
forms of "nine" App. E, xix.
Dictionaries, Lexicons, Vocabularies:--[_see nn. on pp. named_];
" of Antiquities, W. W. Smith--clepsydra 516;
" Arabic-English Lexicon, E. W. Lane--_akhmail_ 336;
" _Arabes, SupplËment aux Dictionnaires_, R. Dozy--_bahri_ (a falcon)
App. M, xlvi;
" _Bahar-i-`ajam_ (Pers. Dict.), Rai Tikchana Bahar--a sign of fear
232;
the Taftazani Shaikhs of Islam 283;
" _Burhan-i-qati`_ (Pers. Dict.), Muh. Husain b.
Khalfa'u't-tabrizi--_izara_ (dado) 80;
" _Chaghatai-osmanisches Wˆrterbuch_, Shaikh Sulaiman Effendi
(ed. Kunos)--_tunqitar_ 464;
_qutan_ App. N, 1;
_sighnaq_ App. Q, lxiv;
" English-Persian, A. N. Wollaston--a rare meaning 648;
" Hindustani-English, D. Forbes--changed name of an orange 511;
"needle-melting" citron 513;
great millet (maize?) 514;
names of days 516;
gongman _ib._;
" Hindustani-English, J. Taylor [ed. W. Hunter]--"sang-tara" and
"Cintra" App. O lii;
" of Islam, J. P. Hughes--turbans 15;
eating of food 44;
_mazhab_ 463;
the Eight Paradises 646;
legal endowment 701;
" Oriental Biographical, T. W. Beale [_ed._ _Keene_]--Khw. Nasir
_Tusi_ 79;
" of Oriental Quotations, C. Field--a common couplet 22;
" Persian-English, F. Steingass--176, 202, 286, (_metres_) 514, 527,
630;
_qizil-bash_ 643;
" Persico-Latinum Lexicon, I. A. Vullers--_shash-par_ 160;
_kaka_ 502;
_gharau_ 514;
_rad_ (_whence Radagan_) 622;
" Pushtu-English, H. J. Raverty--Multakund 211;
" _Sang-lakh_ (Turki-Persian), Muh. Mahdi Khan--described App. B, v;
_kharpala_ (the "Qarshi birdie") _ib._;
contains verses entered as by Babur 439;
" Sanscrit-Bengali-English, Haughton--a stork 499;
gula-prawn 502;
" of Towns (_Majama`u'l-buldan_), Yaqut--"Akhsikis" 9, 10;
" _Turc Orientale_, A. Pavet de Courteille--Babur's verses quoted
439, 526;
a wag-tail 501;
a meaning 626;
Babur's script App. Q, lxiii;
" Turki Vocabulary, R. B. Shaw--_kuk-bura_ (a game) 39;
_qurugh_, reserved land 81;
_aupchinlik_, 4 horse-shoes and their nails 176;
_charuq_, brogues, and _chapan_, long coat 187;
_qalpaq_, felt wide-awake 258;
_qush-begi_, a Court official 278;
_shaghawal_ ib. 463;
_jiran_, a deer 491;
_qin_, scabbard 503;
_akhta-begi_, master-gelder 538;
_buljar_, a rendezvous _etc._ 592;
--Part II. J. Scully--_qodan_, water-hen 224;
_kiklik_ (_caccabis_, _chikur_) 496;
_`aqqa_, magpie 501;
_qirich_, swift 501;
_buia_, a plant 505;
_aman-qara_ (perhaps maize) 504;
_airkak-qumush_, male-reed 514.
Diseases and accidents:--(_a_) +Babur's+ saddle turns 147;
sciatica 253-4;
boils 254, 657-60;
dislocated wrist 409-13-20;
tooth breaks 424;
ear-ache 310, 601-8-15;
fall of river bank 655;
fall of tent 678;
wounds of head 150-167,
--leg 167-9,
--arm-pit 176;
+his illnesses+:--unspecified (923) 365;
catarrhal discharge (_rezandalik_) 446-49-51;
fever (903 AH.) 88-9, (911) 247, (925) 399 to 401, (934) 585-6-8,
603-4, (935) 619-20, (937) 702-3-5;
(_b_) +Of others+:--child-birth 36;
small-pox 48;
"violent illness" 45;
frost-bite 116, 311;
cold 151;
ulcerated hand 125;
siphylis 279;
pestilence 524;
paralysis 620;
malarial fever 4, 8;
fever 33, 246.
Diversity of place-names through trs. _see_ (_e.g._) Qizil = Surkh,
Safed = Spin.
Dividing line of the Afghans and Khurasan 200.
Divorces 267-8, 329.
_Diwan-i Babur Padshah_, [_ed. Sir E. D. Ross_]--not Babur's earliest
collection 438-9, 447;
appears referred to 642;
verses suiting his moods and deeds 604, 626-44, 705;
verses of the Diwan in the B.N. 526-75-84-89;
the _Walidiyyah-risala_ and B.'s new ruler 643;
Elizabethan conceits 645;
concerning the Rampur MS. App. Q, (illustration); 585; 635.
_Diwan-i Khwaja Hafiz_ [_ed. H. Brockhaus, trs. W. Clarke_]--a couplet
411.
_Diwan-i Nuru'd-din `Abdu'r-rahman Jami_--a quatrain plagiarized 257.
Diwan-writers mentioned by Babur--Ahi 289;
Ahli 290;
`Ali-sher _Nawa'i_ (Pers.) 272;
Husain _Bai-qara_ (_Turki_) 259;
Kami 290;
Saifi 288;
Suhaili 277;
Mahmud _Barlas_ 51;
Mahmud _Miran-shahi_ 46.
Domestic animals--ass 144;
buffalo 231, 393, 454, 490;
camel:--_khachar_ 74, 249,
_tiwa_ 232-5, 240, 376-91;
camels counted 391;
flesh eaten 251;
cost of keep 489;
gift of 382;
--cattle 150, 231-4-5-8, 333-96, 454;
symbol of submission 232;
--dog 144, 224;
elephant _s.n._ Nat. Hist.;
horse _see s.n._;
mule 194, 338;
sheep 50-5, 71, 228, 234-5-8-9, 249-50, 394;
swine 211;
yak 55, 490 (here _bahri-qutas_) App. M;
--fowls 82, 213;
goose 82;
pigeon 13, 259, 401.
Domestic appliances--china 80, 195, 407;
festal ornament 304, App. I;
drinking cups 489, 298 and 552;
fuel 223, 311;
goatskins 371, 421;
gong 515;
knife 44;
lamp 518;
litter 254 and 401, 331 n. 3, 268;
rope 509;
spoon 44, 73 n. 1, 407, 509;
table-cloth 44, 132;
tooth-pick 407;
torch 213-34, 387-8, 518.
Dreams--Babur's 132, (attributed) 132 n. 2, App. D, xi;
another's App. D, xii.
Dress, articles of--_bash-ayaq_ = _sar-u-pa_ (head to foot) _i.a._
159, 393;
bathing-cloth (_futa_) 275, 527;
brogues (_charuq_) 187;
caps:--black lambskin (_qara-quzi burk_) 258,
ermine (_as burk_) 150,
_Mughul burk_ 15, 179;
_muftul_ or _muftunluq Mughul burk_ 159;
helm-cap (_duwulgha burk_) 167;
--_char-qab_ 304, 527;
clasp (_qulab_) 156;
girdle (_tak-bund_) 156, (_bil-bagh_ lit. waist-band) 298,
(_kamr-bund_) 642;
cymar (_khimar_) 561;
coats and tunics:--_jama_ 652,
surtout (_jiba_) 303, 632,
long coat (_chapan_) 187,
sheep-skin coat (_postin_) 181;
short tunic (_nimcha_) 652;
tunic and coat (_tun_) 14, 51, 159, 166, 371, 400;
clothes-in-wear (_artmaq_, _artmaq_) 339;
torque (_tauq_) 561;
head-wear (_bashliq_) 632;
_lung_ (_dhoti_) 519;
rain-cloak (_kiping_) 389;
feather tippet 496;
turban 14, 33, 101, 258;
turban-aigrette 225, 325;
wide-awake (_qalpaq_);
vest (_kunglak_) 171.
Drums--nagaret 144, 155, 250, 337, 369, 628;
of departure 235, morning 392, saddle 163-4;
drumming sound [at the Running Sands] 315;
dismissal of 595;
tambour-player 247.
_Durch Asien's W¸sten_, Sven Hedin--Farghana wind 9.
Dynasties--Bahmani 482;
Qilich 29;
Tughluq 451;
Shaibani's destruction of 39;
"Mughul
Dynasty" a misnomer in Hind 158 (_see s.nn. Turk and Mughul_).
+Noticeable words:+--
_daban_, a difficult defile;
_dada_ 157 (_see taghai_);
Ar. _daur_, warp of a bow, App. C;
_dim_ [_T root de_, _telling_] = P. _san_, numbering 154[2954], 161,
468, Add. Note, P. 54.
Ear-rings 510 (_where add (in l. 5) an omitted passage entered in App.
O, liv_).
_Economic Products of India_, Watts--date-plum 210;
fish-drugs 226;
oranges var. 512.
Editors mentioned _in loco_--A. S. Beveridge, G. B.'s _Humayun-nama_,
and Fac-simile of the Haidarabad Codex;
H. Brockhaus, _Die Lieder des Hafis_;
E. G. Browne, _Tazkiratu'sh-shu`ara_ (Memoirs of Poets),
_Tarikh-i-guzida_ (Select History);
C. M. FrÊhn, _Shajarat-i Turk_ (Genealogical Tree of the Turk);
N. I. Ilminski, _Baber-nama_ (Kasan Imprint);
I. Kunos, Shaikh Sulaiman _Effendi's_ Vocabulary;
D. C. Phillott, _Tazkirat-i Tahmasp_;
E. D. Ross, _Babur's Diwan_ (Rampur MS.), and Three Turki MSS. from
Kashghar;
C. Schafer, _Siyasat-nama_;
R. C. Temple, _Peter Munday's Travels_;
F. Veliaminof-Zernov, _Abushqa_;
H. Yule, Wood's _Journey_.
_Einblicke in das Farghana Thal_--A. I. v. Middendorf--winds 9.
Elphinstone, Hon. M.--his Codex _see s.n. Babur-nama_.
Embassy from Babur to Moscow App. Q, lxiii.
_Embassy to Timur_, Ruy Gonsalves di Clavigo (_trs. Sir C.
Markham_)--Hindustan the Less 46;
kneeling in greeting 54;
Samarkand 74-5-8;
Kesh 83.
_EncyclopÊdia Britannica_--range of temperature 204;
Faridu'd-din _`Attar_ 271;
rhinohorns 408;
maize when first in Asia 509.
_EncyclopÊdia of Islam_--RÈnÈ Basset's art. Al-busiri 620.
Erskine William--Preface xxxiii, xliii-iv-viii-ix, Cap. IV,
[_see Memoirs of Baber and History of India_].
_Essays_, Lord Bacon--Isma`il _Safawi's_ personal beauty 441.
Etiquette and decorum--well-mannered 45, 271-3-6, 303;
knees not crossed 33;
feet hidden 34;
deference to elders 303;
epistolary 332;
farewell 330;
--+Interviews+:--kneeling 61-9, 301, 408;
looking one another in the eyes (_i.a._) 54, 64;
embrace 160;
+--Meetings+:--The Khans with Babur 54, 159, 169;
the two Khans 160;
Timuriya reception 59;
Babur and the Bai-qara Mirzas 297-8-9, and elder Begims 301-97;
his reception of Khusrau Shah 193,
Daulat Khan 459,
Nasrat Shah's envoy 640-1.
Exemplars of Babur--Preface, Cap. I.
_ExpÈdition scientifique FranÁaise_, C. E. Ujfalvy--_yighach_
(_measure_) 4;
Aush (Ush) 5;
Bara-koh 5;
Babur's serviceable "Farsi-gui" 7;
misreading (?) App. A, ii;
distances near old Akhsi _ib._ v;
Samarkand 74;
Ab-burdan 152.
_Explorations in Turkistan_, R. Pumpelly--Aq-bura-rud (_Huntingdon's
art._) 5;
Akhsi App. A, i, v.
_Fair at Sakhi-sarwar_, Michael Macauliffe--238.
_Famous Monuments of Central India_, Sir Lepel H. Griffin--Gualiar 605.
_Fan-valley_, W. R. Rickmers--[_JRGS. 1907_], Sara-taq-daban 129;
Ab-burdan 152.
_Farhang-i-azfari_ [_Turki-Pers. Dict._] _nihilam_ explained 45.
_Fauna of British India_, Oates and Blanford--flying-squirrel and
snow-cock 213 nn. 5, 6, 7;
various birds 495, 497, 501.
Festivals--Babur's Ramzan rule 584;
Id-i-fitr 66, 235, 311, 351, 410, 584, 683, 689;
Id-i-qurb-an 154;
Nu-roz 236;
approximation of Nu-roz and Id-i-fitr 236.
Fifth-share (_Khams_) 324.
Five-days' World 50, 128, 328.
_Flora Indica_, W. Roxburgh--spikenard 392;
_mahuwa_ 505;
_gular_ 508;
_chirunji_ _ib._;
_kiura_ 514.
"Florio Beg _Beneveni_", Secretary to a Russian Mission, Preface xliv.
Folk-lore--test of a dead woman's virtue 212;
blizzard-raising spring 219;
"commerce with the Spheres" 275;
eye-bewitchment 664;
omen as to sex of an unborn babe App. L;
succession customs 482.
Food (_ex. birds and fruits_)--bread 148 (_cf. A.N. trs. i, 421 for
spiced bread, also Memoirs p. 144 n._);
brochettes (_kabab_) 148, 415;
betel 440;
camel-flesh 493;
carrots 542;
cheese 394;
meat cold 411;
date-palm cheese 508;
dried meat 542;
fritters 541;
haggis 506;
hare 542;
honey 203, 409, 440;
lotus seed 660;
mango preserve 440;
millet porridge 181;
pistachio nuts 508 (cf. _s.n._ Nat. Hist.).
_A Frontier Campaign_, Lord Fincastle--_khahr_ = _shahr_ 367;
Katgola and Panj-kura 374.
Frontier-posts 213.
Games and amusements--acrobats 635;
cards 584;
chess 38, 275-84-87;
dancing 276-99, 303;
dancing-girls 522, 634;
dice 16, 275-8;
draughts 16, 278;
feats of archery _q.v._;
fights of cocks 259, rams 259, elephants 631, camels 631;
improvisation and recitation of verse 16, 26, Preface xxx;
_kuk-bura_ 39;
leap-frog 26;
pigeon-flying 13, 259;
polo (_chaughan_) 26;
wrestling 292, 660-83, Index I. _s. nn._ Dost-i-yasin, Sadiq;
hawking and fowling _see s.n._
Gardens--+Andijan+:--Char-bagh 29,
Hafiz Beg's 108,
Birds' 168,
Aush 5,
Asfara 7,
Kasan 10;
Tashkint:--Haidar Kukul-dash's 54,
Poplar 145, 146;
+Samarkand+:--Heart-expanding 78, 82,
New 62, 138,
North, Paradise, Plane-tree 78,
Plain's 92,
Porcelain, World-picture 78,
Darwesh Tarkhan's 80, 81;
+Kabul+:--Almshouse 315,
Avenue 647,
Babur's Burial-garden 709 _see_ illustrations,
Char-bagh 249-51-54, 346-97-98, 416-7-8,
Haidar _Taqi's_ 198, 401,
Khalifa's 315,
Little 198,
Paradise 315-6-7,
Plane-tree 401, 418,
Private 346-97,
Rendezvous (?) 346,
Violet 395, 415-7;
+Koh-daman+:--Istalif 216-7, 398, 416,
New Year's 246, Royal 418;
+Ning-nahar+:--447,
Adinapur 207 and n. 5,
Char-bagh, Fidelity 207 n. 5, 208, 394, 409, 414-21-22, 443-7;
Qara-tu 395;
+Herat+:--`Ali-sher's 305,
Marigold, Town, White 306, Raven's 134, 306;
+Hindustan+:--_Safa_ (purity) 381, 665,
(Agra), Char-bagh, Eight-paradises 531-3-7, 543-4, 548, 616-34-86,
Gold-scattering 640-41, 689 n. 3, *708,
Garden of Rest 709,
(+Dulpur+) Char-bagh 603-6-15,
Lotus 639, (on the Gagar) 465,
(Sikri) 581-4,
(+Gualiar+) 607-10-12-13-14.
Gardening _see_ "Indian" and "Manual".
The Gate--Lordship in 24;
Babur's 26, 32;
the place of judgment 24, 197, 259;
Gate-house 43;
between-the-doors 24, 100, 133;
waiting in 277;
gate-ward post 166.
_Gates of India_, Sir T. H. Holdich--a Central Asian claim to Greek
descent 22;
headwaters in Koh-i-baba 216;
a route 310.
Gazetteers:--[_see nn. on pp. named_];
" of India [ed. 1908-9]--Observatories 79;
Nil-ab 206; Gur-khattri 230;
Pir Kanu 238;
Sawati 378;
Parhala 387;
Nagarahara App. E, xvii, xx (Bellew);
the Gagar (Kakar, Ghagghar) 465;
Bagar 573;
Chandawar, Chandwar 581-9, 643;
Lukhnur 582;
Sarwan 587;
Sikandra Rao _ib._;
Gualiar 605, 610, 611;
Parsarur 684;--Gujur 250;
Kakar 386;
Luhani (var.) 455;
Mundahir 700;
--brackish streams 384;
a ruined range 486;
a hunting-ground (Bari) 509;
Juna(h)pur = Junpur 676;
--tree squirrel 492;
frogs 503;
_yak_ App. M, xlvii.
District Gs. of India:--Allahabad, (H. G. Neville), 653;
`Azamgarh, ("), 680;
Ballia, ("), 664, 667;
Etawa, (Drake-Brockmann), 644 nn. 2, 6;
Fathpur, (H. G. Neville), 651;
Fyzabad, (") 656, App. U;
Ghazipur, (Drake-Brockmann), 658;
Gualiar, C. E. Luard, 590-4-7, 605-9, 610-12-13-14;
Gurgaon, (F. Cunningham), 578-80;
Jihlam, ("), 452, 461;
Mainpuri, (E. R. Neave), 643-4;
Rawalpindi, (F. A. Robertson), 452;
Saran, (L. L. S. O'Malley), 664;
Shahabad (D. B. Allen), 664;
Sultanpur, (H. G. Neville), 683;
Ulwar, Alwar (P. W. Powlett), 557-8.
Gazetteers of the Province of Oude, App. T, lxxv, lxxvi.
" of the Turkistan Region, Col. L. F. Kostenko
--+Farghana:+--passes 2;
fruits 3;
cooking recipe 4;
fever 4;
running-waters 5;
Aq-bura-rud 5;
Khujand 7, 8;
Mogol-tau 8;
Sang-ferry 176;
--+Samarkand:+--74;
extent of town 75, 145;
Kohik-su 76;
paper-making 81;
Ab-burdan 15;
three passes 83, 90, 129;
Lake Iskandar 129;
--distances 4, 6, 75, 84;
ravines App. A, ii;
various _ib._ v;
rapid riding 25;
_kuk-bura_ 37;
Sarts and their tongues 6, 7;
Central Asian claim to Greek descent 22.
_GÈographie_, Abu'l-feda [_trs. Reinaud_]--land cultivated by the
Zar-afshan (Kohik) 76;
Nasir _Tusi_ 79;
names of Qarshi 84.
_Geography and History of Bengal_, H. Blochmann--Habshi
succession-customs 452.
" _of the Qandahar Inscription_, T. Beames [JRAS. 1898]--revision
incomplete App. T. xxxiv.
" _Oriental_ [_Ashkalu'l-bilad_] Ibn Hauqal,
[_trs. Ouseley_]--absorption of the Sir 3;
"Banakas" 9;
Akhsi App. A, ii, iii;
Kohik irrigation 76;
Samarkand Gates 77;
Qarshi names 84.
Geographical unit, [_village and its cultivated land_] 3.
_Geschichte von schˆnen Redek¸nste Persiens_, Freiherr v.
Hammer-Purgstall--Hilali 290;
_Shah u Darwesh_ 290;
Sam Mirza's jeer 648.
_Ghiyasu'l-lughat_ (Pers. Dict.), Muh. Ghiyasu'd-din
_Rampuri_--_kardi_-peach 504.
Ghulam-i-muhammad (_collaborator with Raverty_)--Nijr-au 213;
Nil-ab 206;
Babur's frontier-posts 213;
a route 208.
Gibb, E. J. Wilkinson, Memorial Trust--Preface xlvii.
_Glossary of Terms_, H. H. Wilson--_ser_ (_sir_)-measure 517;
_tanab_-measure 630.
_The Golden Bough_, T. G. Frazer--a succession custom 482.
_Goswara Inscription_, Kittoe and Kielhorn [_I.A. 1888_]--App. E,
xviii-ix, xxii.
Grant, Mr. Ogilvie--his help App. B, vii.
_Great Diamonds of the World_, E. W. Streeter--its Koh-i-nur account
incomplete 477.
Greek descent, 22, 341.
Guest-begs 141, 227.
Gul-badan Begim (_Lady Rosebody_) _see_ H. N.
_Gulistan_, Sa`di [_trs. Eastwick_]--quoted 42, 152-8, 190, 313.
_Gulzar-i-Bihar_, Ajodhya Prasad--rulers in Tirhut and Darbanga App.
P, lvii;
varied by Sir G. A. Grierson (_I. A._ 1885) _ib._ n. 1.
+Noticeable words:+--
P. _gosha_, bow-tip and notch App. C;
P. _gosha-gir_, an archer's repairing-tool 160-6, App. C, =
_chapras_ and _kadang_; P. _ghunchachi_ 17.
_Habibu's-siyar_, Khwand-amir--[_see nn. on pp. named_];
relations with the _Babur-nama_ 57, 127, 256, 328;
value as a source 70, 348, 426;
not used for _The Memoirs_ 347;
used by Babur 11, 256-91;
completion of 687;
--Kinsmen of Babur 13,[2955] 18, 34-5, 46-8, 50, 61, 90, 111, 127;
--Babur 29, 147, 184, 297, 354-7, 432-7, 704;
--various persons 25, 38, 47, 50-4-8, 72, 98, 111, 128, 249, 396;
[Bih-bud] 227 and App. H, xxvi, 579, 621;
_varia_ 133, 244-96, 327-8-9, 463 (_n. where read Tamarisk_), 469,
617-22;
--Herat 305;
Char-shamba 71;
_kisak_ 66;
Nizami 85 (_where in n. read l. 2_), H.S. iii, 44, 167.
_Haft Iqlim_, Amin Ahmad _Razi_--celebrities of Chirkh 217.
Hand-book to Dihli, H. J. Keene--places visited by Babur 475.
" to Bengal, Murray's--observatories 79;
Dihli 475, 704.
" to the Panj-ab, Murray's--Qandahar Inscription App. J, xxxiii.
Hawking and fowling--experts in 31-8, 40-5, 67, 270-3-6;
birds with dogs 224;
a story 254;
lost hawk 394;
Babur's gift of a goshawk (_qarchigha_) 385;
Ahmad _Miran-shahi_ and goshawks 34, Add. Note, P. 34.
Herat's high standard of proficiency 283, Preface xxx;
_see_ Index II.
_Herat, On the city of_, Col. C. E. Yule [_JASB. 1887_]--280, 305-6.
" B. de Meynard (J. A. xvi)--257, 305-6-7, 326.
_Hidayat_, Burhanu'd-din `Ali _Qilich_ (_trs. C. Hamilton_)--its
author's birth-place 7, 76;
held in honour 76;
his descendant 29;
_Khams_, the Fifth 324.
_Hidayatu'r-rami_ (The Archer's Guide), Aminu'd-din (T. O. MS.
2768)--_nawak_ 142;
_gosha-gir_ App. C, viii;
(_cf._ _AQR. 1911_, _H.B.'s art. Oriental Cross-bows_).
_High Tartary_, R. Shaw--_tanga_, (_coin_) App. P, lvii.
Hindu-shahi rulers in Kabul 200.
Hindustani uses of "Khurasan" 202 and other words 455-88-91-92-99
(_where for yak-rang read bak-ding_);
pronunciation 380, 484.
Hinks, Mr. A. E. (_R.G.S._), estimate of distance from Kishm to
Qandahar 621.
_Histoire de Chingiz Khan_, F. PÈtis de la Croix, the elder--Guk-sarai
63, Ascension Stone 77.
_Histoire du Khanat de Khokand_, L. Cahun--Farghana winds 9.
" _du Khanat de Khokand_, Gen. V. R. Nalivkine--Sarts 6;
Akhsi App. A, i, iv, v;
tradition of Babur's abandoned child 358.
" _de Timur Beg_, F. PÈtis de la Croix, the younger--Samarkand Gates
and walls 77 (_see Zafar-nama_).
_Historical Sketches_, Col. Mark Wilks--_wulsa_ (flight _en masse_)
486-7 (_where for "ulwash" read ulwan_);
Add. Notes, P. 487.
Histories:--(_see nn. on pp. named_).
" of Bukhara, A. VambÈry--descent of chiefs 244.
" of Gujrat, E. C. Bayley trs. _see Mirat_.
" of India, Elliott and Dowson--Tarkhans 31 (_where add (n. 4)
references vol. i, 300, 320-1, 498_);
Farmulis 456, 675;
Bugials 452;
_varia_ 274, 440-77, 652-9, 693;
places 191, 219, 457, 582, 699;
earthquake 247;
Mian = Shaikh 457;
a B. N. source 348, 428-39, 621;
_The Malfuzat-i-timuri_ 653;
supers-session of B.'s sons proposed 703.
" of India, Baber, W. Erskine--148-94, 247, 332-8, 343-6, 361, 440-78,
520-2, 562, 651, 702;
gunpowder 369;
coins and Revenue List 446-78, 520-22, 627, App. P, lv;
value of the book 428.
" of Musical Sounds, C. Carus-Wilson--215.
" of Ottoman Poetry, E. J. Gibbs--double meaning in composition App.
Q, lxiv.
_Hobson-Jobson_, Sir H. Yule (_ed. Crookes_)--(_see nn. on pp.
named_), Byde (_var._) Horse 470;
the Koh-i-nur 477;
black-buck 491;
gynee-cow 492;
partridge cries 496;
rock-pigeon (baghri-qara?) 498;
coucal 500;
_koel_ 501;
mango 503;
plantain 504;
"mohwa" 505;
_kishmish_ 505;
_jambu_ 506;
jack-fruit 506;
toddy 509;
an orange 511;
shoe-flower 513;
ghurry (clepsydra) 516;
_ser_ (measure) 517;
"bowly" (_baoli_) 533;
"talookdar" 621;
"cuscuss"-grass 631;
"moonaul" (monal) App. N, xlix;
"choki" App. V, lxxxi.
Holy War--against Kafiristan 46;
Babur's against Sanga 547 _et seq._ and Chandiri 589;
references to 579-83, 637.
Horse-accoutrement--Mughul 160;
mail 140-67, 380;
saddle-bags 338.
Horses--_tipuchaqs_;--a breeder of 38;
mentioned 235, 303 and 336 (grey), 383 (almond-coloured), 401,
captured at Qandahar 338;
--Kabul horse-trade 202;
horses bred for sale 235;
how fed in a siege 145;
eaten on a journey 148;
swim the Zarafshan in mail 140;
in snow 253, 308-11;
single-file in snow 314;
women's use of during a battle 268;
murrians 31;
abandoned 239, 379;
invalided to Kabul 376-8;
trodden down by elephants 457;
restorative treatment 666;
--tribute in 228, _etc._;
raided by Babur 313;
galloping-ground for 222;
steps counted to estimate a distance 666;
--_qush-at_, a change-horse led by a rider 453;
corn and grass for 186, 221-2-3, 238; 311, 394;
unfit grass 222;
anatomical similarity with the rhinoceros 490.
Hot-bath, _hamman_--Samarkand 78,
Akhsi 173,
Kabul 346,
Babur finds none in Hindustan 518,
constructs in Agra, 532, 634,
in Dulpur 614, 639.
Households and families--various 32, 123, 125-9, 141;
Babur's sent to him 71-2, 151-3;
(B.'s) 184, 306;
marching for Kabul 189, 191-7;
Mughuls' come to B.'s army 192-4;
B. safeguards 199, 460-1;
driven like sheep 242 (2);
Bai-qaras desert 327;
Shaibani anxious about 135, 343;
B.'s come to Hind 645-6, 650-7-8, 665-75-89;
his wives and children 711-4.
Houses--high 221,
windowed 201;
in Chandiri 597;
in Gualiar 608.
Huma, a fabulous bird 26.
Hunting:--circle (_jirga_) 114, 325, 424-50, 657;
Babur's hunting 296, 602, 707.
_Humayun-nama_, Bayazid Biyat--a commanded book 691.
_Humayun-nama_, Gul-badan Begim--(_trs. and ed. A. S. Beveridge_)--[_see
nn. on pp. named_];
Adik Sl. 23;
a betrothal 48;
Khan-zada 147;
Mah-chuchuk 199, 342;
Apaq B. 301;
Mahdi Khw. 381, 688, 703-4, 579;
`Asas (1) 387, (2) 552;
Mama Atun 148, 407;
various men 408 and 640, 526;
a begim's manly pursuits 263;
Mahim B. 344, 686;
Mirza Khan 433 (_where, l. 2 fr. ft. read grand-"mother"_);
Babur's sons 436, App. J, xxxv, 619, App. L, xliii, 545;
B.'s daughters 441, 522, 708, 713;
Babur's wounds 167, 524, 616, 630;
his self-devotion 701, (illustration 702, Preface xxxii;)
his death 708-9;
removal of body to Kabul 709;
--references to the H.N. 347, 689, 691-4, Pref. xxviii;
its Biographical App. 13, 705, 711.
Ibn Batuta _see_ Travels.
" Hauqal _see_ Geography.
_Illustrated London News_--fortress gun and stone ammunition 595;
rafts 673.
_Indian Eras_, Sir Alex. Cunningham--intercalary months 515;
discrepant dates App. S, lxxi.
_Indian Forest Trees_, D. Brandis--[_see nn. on pp. named_],
date-plum 210;
cypress 222;
weeping-willow App. I, xxxii;
"mohwa" 505;
bullace-plum 507;
orange-like fruits 510;
ebony-tree 585.
_Indian Hand-book of Gardening_, G. T. F. Speede--_sinjid_ (jujube) 203;
_amluk_ (date-plum) 210;
_sambal_ (spikenard) 392;
"keeras" (cherry) 501;
_kamrak_ (_averrhoa carambola_) 506;
_sang-tara_ (orange) 511;
under-ground jack-fruit App. O, lii.
Inscriptions--Babur's atAb-burdan 152,
Bad-i-pich pass 343,
Qandahar App. T;
--on Ajodhya Mosque App. U;
on B.'s tomb 710.
_Inscriptions de Caboul_, J. Darmesteter [_J.A. 1888_]--in Babur's
Burial-garden 710.
Intercession--Babur's, through Ahrari 620;
through Imam `Ali, 702.
"Islam"'s foes killed 370;
its army 564.
Ivory 489.
Jogis--at Gur-khattri 230.
_Journal of Travel_, W. Griffiths--red apple 507;
_cicadÊ_ s. of Ghazni App. N, l.
_Journey from Bengal to England_, G. Forster--division of climates
229 (_where for "Travels" read Journey_).
_Journey to the Sources of the Oxus_, J. Wood (_ed. Yule_)--Kabul 199;
Running-sands 201, 215;
Hindu-kush passes (_Yule's Introduction_) 204;
dun sheep 224;
Nagarahara regions App. E, xxiii.
_Journeys in Biluchistan, Afghanistan and the Panj-ab_,
E. Masson--(_see nn. on pp. named_), Kabul 199, 200, 201,
(fruits) 203-4;
Shibr 215;
Panjhir 205;
Nil-ab (in Ghur-bund) 216;
Adinapur 207;
Chaghatai castles 208;
a meaning of "Lam" 210;
Running-sands 215;
Judas-tree 216;
--places 405, 412-17-45, 647;
routes 231, 417;
sign of submission 232;
Nagarahara App. E, xvii;
"Babur Padshah's stone-heap" (cairn) 416;
Preface p. xxxviii.
_Journey to India overland_, A. Conolly--Kabul 199;
_rawaj_ (rhubarb) 203.
Kabul _see_ "Cabool" and "Caubul".
"Kafir"--uses of the word 481-3; 518, 577.
_Kafirs of the Hindu-kush_, Robertson--their wines 212.
_Kaiser Akbar_, Count F. v. Noer (_trs. A. S. Beveridge_)--finance
reform 282.
Kehr, Dr. G. J. [_scribe of the Pet. F. O. School Codex of the
"Bukhara Babur-nama"_] see _Waqi`-nama-i-padshahi_.
The _Khamsatin_ (Two Quintets)--a reader of 15;
imitated 288.
_Khazinatu'l-asfiya_ [Treasury of Saints], Ghulam-i-sarwar--Khwajaki
Khw. 67;
Mir Sayyid `Ali _Hamadani's_ grave 211;
Pir Kanu 238;
Jalalu'd-din _Purani_ 306;
Sharafu'd-din _Muniri_ 666.
_Khutba_--read disloyally 52, 328;
Babur's compact 354-6;
read in Dihli for him 476.
The (Koh-i-nur) diamond 477, 702.
Klaproth Jules--Preface xxxix, xlvii;
[_see_ _Archiv_ and _MÈmoires relatifs etc._].
_Kulliyatu'r-rami_ (CyclopÊdia of Archery), Muh. Budha'i--_nawak_ 142;
_gosha-gir_ App. C, viii;
(_cf. Oriental Cross-bows, H.B. AQR. 1911_).
+Noticeable words:+--_khachar_ 74, 249; _khak-bila_
(leap-frog) 26; _Khan-dada_; _kisak_ (old person) 66; _kim_
(yeast) 423; _kiyik_ 6, 8, 10, 224, 491; _khimar_ = cymar
(scarf) 561; _kuilak_ syn. _kunglak_ (pullover vest, jersey)
171-5; _kukbura_ see _aughlaqchi_; _kur-khana_; Qarshi = Ar.
_qasr_ 84; _kurush_, looking in the eyes, interviewing _i.a._
54, 64, 640 (_cf. quchush_, embracing); _kusaru_[?] 369;
_kushluq_ 250.
_La Grande inscription de Qandahar_, J. Darmesteter (_JAS. 1890_),
App. J, xxxiii-iv.
_Lahor to Yarkand_, Hume and Henderson--_yak_ App. M, xlvii.
Laidlaw (_JASB 1848_)--nasal utterance App. E.
Lane's Lexicon _see_ Dictionaries.
LanglÈs art. Babour Preface xiv.
Law (Muhammad's)--on blood-vengeance 194, 251-8;
Shaibani's disregard of 329;
Husain _Bai-qara's_ regard for 258;
Babur's orthodox observance shown _e.g._ 25, 44, 111, 262, 370-7,
483, 547-51-74-89-96, and in the _Mubin and Walidiyyah-risala_
_q.v._;
his orthodox reputation (_epitaph_) 711;
his observance as to intoxicants 302, beyond his 23rd year 299,
302-3-4;
his return to obedience (933) in 44th year 551-5;
referred to 203 (_verse_) 645-7-8;
his breaches of Law:--against types of verse 447,
repented 448;
against wine, _see s.n._ Wine.
_Les MosquÈes de Samarcande_, Pet. Archeol. S.--74-8-7.
_Les six voyages en Turquie, en Perse, et aux Indes_, Jean Baptiste
le Tavernier--the coin _casbeke, kipki_ 296.
_Letters of Lady Mary W. Montagne_--lovers' marks 16.
Letters--Nawa'i's imitation of Jami's collection 271;
Babur keeps a letter of 910 to 935 AH. 190;
his royal-letters (_farman_) 463-4, 526, 617 (_with autograph
marginal couplet_), others (_khat_t) 331-2;
to Khw. Kalan 411 (_with autograph couplet_), 603 n. 3, 627, and
(_reproduced_) 645;
to Humayun (_reproduced_) 624;
to Kamran 645-6, Preface xxxv, xliii;
to Mahim 374, 541;
Letters-of-victory:--Kabul 319,
Bajaur 371,
Hisar-firuza 466,
Kanwa 559-74, 580.
Levirate marriage 23, 267.
Levy on stipendiaries 617.
Lexicon Persico-Latinum, I. A. Vullers _see_ Dictionaries.
Leyden John--tentative trs. of the Bukhara Compilation, Preface
xlvii-viii-ix, lviii.
_Life and Letters of Ogier G. de Busbecq_ [_trs.
Forster & Daniel_]--explains "Sultanim" 29.
_L'Inde des Rajas_, L. Rousselet--Gualiar 605.
_Linguistic Survey of India_, Sir G. A. Grierson--forms of "nine"
App. E, xviii.
Loess 3, 30, App. A, ii.
Looting of assigned individuals 328.
Lord [JASB 1838]--Ghurbund 205;
Running-sands 215.
"Lords of the Elephant" 563-73.
Lordship in the Gate _see_ Gate.
_Lotophagi_, a fruit they ate 210;
quoted 42.
Lover's-marks 16, Add. Note, P. 16.
_Lubbut't-tawarikh_, Yahya _Kazwini_--an early (brief) source 349;
dates the battle of Ghaj-davan 361.
+Noticeable words+:--
_lam_ (fort) 210;
_likh_, _luja_, _lukha_ (a bird) 498, App. N, xlvii.
_Ma`asir-i-rahimi_ (a Life of `Abdu'r-rahim Mirza _q.v._),
`Abdu'l-baqi _Nahavandi_--Babur's wife Salha 713.
_Ma`asiru'l-`umra_, Shah-navaz-Khan--Mu'azzam-nagar = Din-kot 206.
McGregor, Col. H. G.--meaning of "_ningrahar_" and
"_nungnihar_" = 9 streams, App. E, xix.
Magic--rain making with the jade-stone (_yada-tash_) 27, 67, 654;
the stone used to ensure victory 623;
Babur's talisman to stop rain 423.
_Majalis-i-nafa'is_, `Ali-sher _Nawa'i_--mentions `Abdu'l-lah
_Barlas_ 51.
_Making of a Frontier_, A. G. A. Durand--Greek descent 22.
_Malfuzat-i-timuri_ (Timur's Turki Annals)--not discredited by
no-mention in the mutilated B.N. 653;
Yunas Khan and the book Preface xxix;
an incentive to Babur xxx,
perhaps also at xxxii;
their acceptance in a Persian translation by Shah-jahan xlvi.[2956]
_Mammals of India_, T. E. Jerdon--hog-deer 491.
_Manners and customs of the modern Egyptians_, E. W. Lane--drinkables
298.
_Manual of Gardening_, Firminger--cherries 203;
_kamrak_ fruit 506;
an orange 511;
_sada-fal_ 512.
Manufactures of Samarkand, cramoisy and paper 81, 305.
_Marmion_ (_Scott's Notes to_), wild geese checked in flight 214.
Marriage, compelled 386;
levirate 23, 267;
legitimate 269;
illegal 329.
The _Masnawi_ of Jalalu'd-din _Rumi_ (_trs. E. H. Whinfield_)--read
by `Umar Shaikh 15, Preface xxx.
_Materials for the History of India_, Nassau Lees--amongst the sources
for filling out Babur-nama gaps 428.
_Matla`u's-sa`dain_, `Abdu'r-razzaq (_N. et Ex. xiv_)--Timurid
suzerainty acknowledged in Dihli [in 814-1411] 459.
Meal-hours--big breakfast 389;
nooning 614-861.
Measures--+Linear+:--_ailik_ (finger-breadth) 489, 630;
_arghamchi_ (rope) 614;
arrow's-flight (_i.a._ bow-shot), _i.a._ 8, 640;
from gate-ward to Gate 316;
_gaz_ 611 n. 3;
_kuroh_ _i.a._ 76;
_qadam_ (step, pace) 75, 630, (of a horse) 666;
_qari_ 7, 208-9, 489, 550, 611-29-30-31;
_qarish_ (inch) 489;
_qulach_ 406-93;
_shar`i_ 76, 200;
spear's length 196, 377, 474;
_tanab_ (rope) 630;
_tutam_ (hand-breadth) 630;
_yighach_ (Prs. trs. _farsang_) 4, 7, 9, 10, 25, 55, 76, 82-3-4,
99, 138, 208-17-18, 323, App. A, v. n. 1;
--+Time+:--Hindustan divisions of the year 515 to 517;
boiling of milk 175, 237;
--+Weight+:--batman 263, 276;
_man_ 699;
misqal 421-77, 632;
_rati_ 477 n. 6, 517;
_tash_ (stone, silver & gold) 632;
Kabul _sir_ (_ser_) 632, 546;
Table of weights of Hind 517-8;
_tula_ 517-41;
--ass-load (_kharwar_) 228, 338-9, 374;
--+Numeration+ (Indian) 518;
--+Capacity+:--_x_ mills water-power _i.a._ 208, 216, 462-5, 581;
(coins by the) quiverful 632.
Medical and surgical remedies:--dried plums (_prunes_) 82;
water dropped from cotton 89;
trepanning 106-9;
seton, bandage (_yildiz_) 169;
powder for bone-growing 169;
water-melon and narcissus 246, 399, 401;
rose-water (_jul-ab_) 400;
antidotes to poison 511, 543;
tonic powders 606;
opium 608, 661;
quicksilver 618;
pepper-steaming 657, 660.
_MediÊval geography and history of Central and Western Asia_,
E. Bretschneider--Almaligh and other old towns 2;
Simiz-kint [_Fat-village_], a name of Samarkand 75;
_Nuyan_ explained 131.
_MÈmoires relatifs ‡ l'Asie_ (_ii, 134_), J. Klaproth--its valuable
extracts from the Bukhara Compilation, Preface, Cap. III,
Part III;
Babur's letter to Kamran, App. J, xxxv, (_see Archivs_).
Memory, retentive, 290.
_Merv Oasis_, O'Donovan--Radagan 622.
_Metamorphoses_, Ovid--Scorpio and Libra 623.
Migration enforced--of Mughuls of the Horde 20, 350-1;
of Tramontane tribes 202-70, 322;
of villagers to Bajaur 375,
and planned to Sialkot.
Military:--+Armies, size of+:--Mahmud (Ghazni) 479;
Shihabu'd-din _Ghuri_ 480;
Auz-beg 480;
Daulat Khan _Ludi_ 451;
Babur, Qandahar 334,
Bhira 480,
Panipat 452-80;
Ibrahim _Ludi_ 463-80;
Sanga 547;
Tahmasp at Jam 635;
--Babur's force in various encounters (200 to 300) 91;
(240) 100;
(1000) 87;
(240) 334-7;
(10 to 15) 140;
(100) 147;
(10 to 15) 166;
(3) _ib._;
(1) 167;
(100) 173;
(20 to 25) 177;
(1) 178;
--+Commands+:--Mingligh (1000) 52;
Nuyan (_Mughuli_) 151;
Tuman-begi (10,000) 17;
Yuz-atlik (_Centurion of horse_) 143;
Quchin 32;
--+Army array:+--108-13-55-98;
234-381;
468-71, 557-8;
Babur's organization and terms 334;
flanking-movement (_tulghuma_) 139,
described 140, 473, 568;
rallying-point 547;
rendezvous (_buljar_) 122-3, 592, 638;
at the Sind-ferry 461-2;
postings 113-39, 372, 595, 662-68;
--+Various+:--A.S. Corps 674;
army-list 451-2;
camp-bazar 67-8;
Corps of Braves 28, App. H, xxvii;
discipline 66-7;
necessaries for holding a fort 145;
numbering (_dim_) 154-61, 468, (_san_) 451-2;
pass-words 164;
pillars of heads 232, 324-71, 404;
war-cries 138-44-55-63-66;
ways and means 228, 617;
--Rajput fighting customs 595;
massacres of "Pagans" 370, 484, 596;
--+Appliances and constructions+:--axe (tool) 108, 379;
catapult 59;
camp defence:--ditch and branch 60-1, 110-17, 138, (908 AH.) 162,
Rumi defence of linked carts _infra_ (932 AH.) 469-70, 550-58;
draw-bridge (_pul-i-rawan_) 171-76;
flaming-fire 595;
guns _see_ fire-arms;
ladders (_shatu_) 130-31-43-71, 368-70, 593;
mantelet (_tura_) 108-13-55, 368, 469, 593;
mines 53-9, 343-70;
moat 10;
pit 198;
head-strike (_sar-kob_) 53-9;
spade or shovel (_kitman_) 108;
smoke 59;
wheeled-tripod 550-7;
--+Armour+:--helm 166-7, 396;
cuirass (mail or wadded) _i.a._ 195, 315-96;
the word _jiba_ 495;
Qalmaq _jiba_ 175;
coat of mail (_joshan_) 195;
horse-mail (_kichim_) _see_ horse;
arm-protector, the 4 plates of mail, attachment (_gharicha_) 167,
315, 396;
--+Arms+:--battle-axe (_baltu_) 160, 370;
broad dagger (_jamdar_) 528;
hanger (_khanjar_) 528;
Hindu knife (_kard_) 528;
lance (_neza_) 370;
six-flanged mace (_shash-par_) 160;
rugged mace (_piyazi_, _Sanglakh Dict. f. 312b_, _kisgin_) 160;
_casse-t‚te_ mace (_kistin_) 160;
scabbard (_qin_) 167;
sword (_qilich_) 160-61-67, 315-70-96, 453;
broad sword (_yasi qilich_) 150;
(_see Archery_);
--+Carts+ (_araba_) for Rumi defence:--(Panipat) ordered collected
468;
700 brought and used as described 468-9;
--misleading omission from (E.'s) _Memoirs_ 468 n. 3;
--progress of the defences 469-70;
mantelets used 469;
(position of guns 473-74);
--(Kanwa) carts supplemented by wheeled tripods 550;
place of carts in the march out 550-57-58;
carts the frontal protection 550-58;
well-made in Rumi fashion 550;
[posts of matchlockmen and canoneers along the line of carts
569];
carts in the battle 564-697, 471;
centre troops move from behind them 570-71;
carts advanced in front of Babur 571;
--(Jam) Tahmasp's Rumi defence 623, 635-36;
--+Fire-arms+:--_firingi_ (swivel-gun, _pierrier_) 472, 667;
mortars (_qazan_) 59
--the Ghazi cast 536,
tested 547
--used 570-99
--ineffective at Chandiri 592-5
--its elephant-traction 489;
mortars and (_add_) carts landed 651
--used in the Gogra battle (_where "tope"_) 669-70-71;
a larger mortar made, bursts 588;
--_zarb-zan_ (culverin) 473
--used at Panipat 474,
Kanwa 564-9, 71,
the Ganges-bridge 599,
Eastern campaign 651-6;
--_tufang_, _tufak_ (matchlock) used 368-9, 466-9, 558-64-70-71-73,
599, 628-67-8-9;
Tahmasp's 622-35;
--gunners and matchlockmen 368,
their pay 617
and wellbeing 647;
"fire-working" Bengalis 672;
--_muljar_ (gun emplacement) 593, 628
(_for buljar_?), 668;
--+Stone-missiles+:--hurled by hand 109, 370, 595;
legendary dropping of by birds 563;
discharged from catapults 59,
from mortars and matchlocks 109, 369, 431-73, 571-88-93-95-99,
617-67-70-79;
--+Transport:+--pack animals 235;
camels 232-5, 378, (_counted_) 391, 601-56
(_see Domestic animals_);
elephants 489;
carts (_baggage_) 237, 376-77, 468, 636, 700,
(_gun_) 592-99,
(_unspecified_) 601-51-56.
Minerals:--ribbon jasper 6;
turquoise 8, 12;
iron 12;
jade 27, 67;
ruby 194;
silver and lapis-lazuli 214;
lead and copper 485.
_Mirat-i-jahan-numa_, Shaikh Muh. _Baqa_--Khwand-amir's journey to
Hind 505.
_Mirat-i-sikandari_, `Ali Muh. Khan (_trs. E. Clive Bayley_)--Gujrat
affairs 535;
persons 562 and 614, 612;
Gualiar jewels 613.
Mirror-stone, (_Farghana_) 7.
_Miscellaneous Works_, Greaves--Observatories 79.
Mohl, Jules--date of revision of _Tarikh-i-firishta_ 694 (_E. and D.'s
Hist. of India iv, 209_).
_Mongolia_, N. Prejevalsky (_trs. E. Delmar-Morgan_)--_aimaq_ 49,
explained Add. Notes P. 49.
Moon-stroke 608.
_Mountain-passes leading into the valley of Bamian_, Lt.-Gen. E. Kaye,
C.B. [PRGS. 1879]--birds 213.
_Mubin_ (Exposition), Babur--date of composition (928 AH.) 426, 437;
described 437-8;
Babur's choice of its title 630, 653;
thought during its composition 449;
quoted 630;
sent to Samarkand 653.
+Mughuls and Babur+:--a faithful Mughul 87-8;
Mughuls enter his service 58-9, 189, 190-2-4, 245;
support Jahangir against him _see i.a. snn._ Tambal, `Ali-dost;
offer to supplant him by Sa`id _Chaghatai_ 351;
sent to help him 101-4,
oppose him 115;
desert him 86-7, 104-5;
Five Rebellions against him 105, 208, 313-4, 345-9, 361-2-3, 397;
his following purged of them 427;
his comments on them 66, 104-5, 115-40, 172;
a Mughul chief's dying comment on them 363;
"Mughul dynasty" a misnomer 158.
_Muhammadan Dynasties_, Stanley Lane-Poole--Table of Timurids 262;
various 479-82;
certain Auzbeg deaths 636.
Mu'inu'd-din al Zamji (_J.A. xvi, 476, de Meynara's art._)--Kichik
Mirza's Egyptian information 257.
_Muntakhabu'l-lubab_, Muh. Hashim _Kh(aw)afi_ Khan--[_see nn. on pp.
named_], a source for filling Babur-nama gaps 208;
Sihrind, Sar-i-hind 383;
siege of Chandiri 596;
varies Babur's chronogram of the victory 596.
_Muntakhabu't-tawarikh_, `Abdu'l-qadir _Badayuni_ (_trs. Ranking,
Lowe_) Hasan _Hijri_ 153;
Babur's Script 228, App. Q, lxii, arrow-sped couplet 361;
_Mubin_ 437-8;
Chronogram of Sikandar _Ludi's_ death 427;
the haunted field of Panipat 472;
Hasan _Miwati_ 523;
Shaikh Guran 526;
Farighi 621;
Muh. _Ghaus_ 690;
quotes Babur's Funeral Ode 709.
"Musalman" as used by Babur 99, 104, 268, 481,
and by Shaikh Zain 553-5.
_Musalman Numismatics_, O. Codrington--various coins 632 [_see JRAS.
1913-4_].
Music--+instruments+:--`_aud_ (lute) 292, 395;
_chang_ (jews'-harp) 303;
drum _see s.n._;
_ghachak_ (guitar) 291;
_nai_ (flute) 291, 303;
_qanum_ (dulcimer) 278;
_qubuz_ (guitar) 39;
--+modes+:--76 n. 5, 136, 287, 422;
--+performers+:--39, 278, 286-7, 291, 292, 422 (Babur);
at entertainments _passim_;
--Bana'i's rapid progress as a musician 287.
+Noticeable words+:--
_aimaq_ 51 _etc._ Add. Note P. 51;
_ming_ = P. _hazara_ 52;
_ming-begi_ see _quchin_;
_mihman-beg_ 227.
Nadir Shah Pref. xlvii.
_Nagarahara_, Simpson [JASB. xiii?]--App. E. xxiii.
_Narrative of the Journey of the Embassy to Kashghar_ (_Yarkand_),
H. W. Bellew--Satuq-bughra Khan 29.
Nasal utterance--its seeming products "_ning_" (var.) = nine, App. E,
xviii, xix, and "Tank" = Taq 233.
Natural History--+Beasts+:--those common to Kabul and Hind 222;
wild ass 224, 325;
wild buffalo 490, 657;
_bughu-maral_ 8, 10, 114, 373, 491, 500;
--elephant described 488,
encounters with rhino and camel 451, 631, 657,
in battle 463-70, 457-66-68, 529, 668,
in hunting 657,
killed by a fleeing foe 662,
killed in Makka 563,
statues of, at Gualiar 609,
various 590, 628-58;
--ermine-weasel 492;
yellow fox 114;
flying-fox (bat) 500 (_and n. 6 where read f. 135_);
_gaini_ cattle 492;
goat 16, 83;
hare 10, 114;
--_kiyik_:--black buck, hog-deer and a smaller deer 222, 491,
_aq kiyik_ (white) 6, 8, 10, 491,
_qizil kiyik, arqarghalcha_ (dun sheep) 224, 491;
--tree-mouse 492;
monkey, ape 211, 222, 492;
musk-rat 214;
_nil-gau_ 222, 490;
pig 114;
_quchqar_ (ram) 492;
_karg_ (rhinoceros) 378, 450-1-89, 557;
squirrel 492;
flying squirrel 213[2957];
tiger 393, 664;
_yak_ (_qutas_) 55, 155,
_bahri qutus_ 485, 490, App. M.
--+Birds+:--migration 220-4;
catching 220-4-5;
common to Hind and Kabul 220;
decoy-birds 225;
impeded flight 214, 496;
special notes on App. B and N;
combined sex-name 500;
_ding_ (adjutant) 398, 498;
_bak-ding_[2958] (adjutant) 499;
_baghri-qara_ _see_ sand-grouse and App. N.;
Indian bustard and Great bustard 498;
Large _buzak_ (black ibis) 499;
white _buzak_ 499, 500 l. 2;
buzzard (T. _sar_) 499, 500[2959];
chameleon-bird _see lukha_;
cranes var. 224, 499;
crow var. 500;
ducks var. 224, 500;
egret (_qarqara_) 224;
golden eagle (_burgut_) 373, 500;
florican 498[2960];
goshawk (T. _qarchigha_ and _qirghicha_) 34, Add. Note, P. 34,
385;
grey heron (_auqar_) 224, 499;
jungle-fowl var. 497;
_kabg-i-dari_ 214, 496-7, App. N, xlix (_see lukha_);
kuil, koel 501;
Indian loriquet 494 n. 5;
_lukha_ var. 213, 222, 496, Add. Note, P. 496
(_see kabg-i-dari_);
magpie 500;
green magpie 501;
_manek_ (beef-steak bird) 499;
_monal_ 496, 497, App. N, _phul-paikar_ 497;
_bulbul_ (nightingale) 420, 501;
northern-swallow 495;
parrot var. 493-4;
partridge var. 421-93-96-97;
peacock 493;
pelican (_qutan_) 224, App. N, 1;
pheasant (_qir-ghawal_) 3, 8, 10, 34, 114, 493-97 (_chir_);
_qil-quyirugh_ (_Qarshi-birdie_) 84, App. B;
quail var. 34, 497-8;
sand-grouse (_baghri-qara_) 84, 498,[2961] App. B;
_sarigh-aush_[2962] 373;
_sharak_;
--Himalayan starling? 495 n. 3;
_pindawati_ 495;
house-_mina_ 495 (_add n. ref. 5_);
pied-_mina_ _ib._--sparrow (_chuchuq_) 8;
snow-cock 213, 421, App. N, 1, (_see_ _lukha_ and _chiurtika_
_ib._);
white stork 499;
_karcha_ (swift) 501;
wag-tail 498, 501;
wild fowl 497;
little green wood-pecker 501;
_zummaj_ 500 ("eagle," _add_ Its colour is black);
--+Fish and amphibia+:--migration 225;
catching 225-7, 406, 682;
of Hindustan fish 503;
cray fish 502;
unnamed 663;
frog 503;
porpoise 502;
crocodile var. 501-2, 663;
--+Various+:--lizard 501-2;
locust (_chiurtika_) 421, App. N, 1;
mosquito 204;
snakes, 8, 147, 406;
+Flowers+:--Farghana 5, 10;
Kabul 215-7;
Peshawar 393;
Hind 513-5;
--_arghwan_ (red, the Judas-tree) 216-7, 305,
(yellow) 217;
hibiscus 513;
jasmine 515;
oleander 514, 580, 610;
roses 5, 321 (couplet), 513;
screw-pine 516;
tulips 5, 215, 321;
violets 5;
--+Fruits+:--Farghana 2, 3, 6, 8, 10;
Samarkand 77, 82-4;
Kabul 202-3-8-9-10-12-16-18-20-21;
Hind 503 to 513, App. O;
--`_ain-alu_ 506;
almond 6, 7, 9, 223, 507-8;
_alu-balu_ 203;
apple 2, 8, 77, 202-20, 507;
apricot 6, 202;
_badrang_ 203;
plantain (banana) 208, 504;
cherry 203;
_chirunji_ 508;
citron var. 203-8-10, 501-11;
clustered-fig 508;
coco-nut 509;
colocynth-apple (_wild gourd_) 410-11 (_where for khuntal read
hunzal_);
coriander 211;
corinda 507;
date-palm 410-24, 506-8;
date-plum (T. _qara-yimish_) 203-10;
fig 508;
grape 3, 77, 202-3-10-12-18-21, 507-8, 646-86-87;
jack-fruit 506;
_jaman_ 506, 606;
_jilghuza_ (pine-seeds) 203-13;
jujube (_sinjid_) 196, 203;
_chikda_ 506;
_kamrak_ 506 (_where add, It has no stone_);
lemon 512, 614;
lime var. 512;
lote-fruit 507;
lotus-seed (_dudah_) 666;
mango 503;
melon var. 10, 82-4, 92, 411, 645-6, 686-7;
mimusops 505;
myrobalan 508;
_nashpati_ 3;
orange var. 203-10-11, 414, 510, 512, Add. N. P. 512, 614, App.
O, liii;
pear 203;
peach 203;
pistachio 508;
plum 82;
monkey-jack 506-7;
pomegranate 6, 8, 77, 202-8, 507;
quince 202, 507-12;
tamarind 505 (_n. ref. to buia_);
walnut 203, 508;
--+Trees and plants+:--_aman-qara_, maize (?) 504,
small almond 233,
_buia_ 505,
_buta-kuh_ 221,
clover, trefoil, _sih-barga_, _yurunchqa_ 6, 209, 346,
conifers, archa, 221-2,
cypress 81, 222,
_dhak_ 472;
ebony-tree 585, 614,
hardwood-elm 81,
grass (_cuscus_) 631 n. 2,
holm-oak 213-16-23,
madder 218,
_mahuwa_ 505-8,
male-reed 514,
mandrake and its similars 11,
mastic 213-23,
millet 81, 215,
mulberry (_tut_) 248, 494,
olive 222,
palmyra palm 509, App. O, liv,
Pinus Gerardiana, _jilghuza_ 203-13,
plane 216, 398,
poplar var. 13, 15, (_turuk_) 145 and 156, 414 (_where for
"purslain" read poplar_),
_qarqand_ 223,
reed 514,
rice 210, 342,
rhubarb 203, 345, 507,
spikenard 392,
sugar-cane 208, 388,
_tabalghu_ 11,
tamarisk 14, 463 (_where, wrongly, "Tamarind"_);
--willow 217, 306,
(weeping) 304, App. I,
(_amal-bid_) 512;
--+Physical various--Climate+:--change on the Kindirlik-pass (?) 2;
meeting places of hot and cold in Kabul 208 and 229, 220;
both near the town 202;
good climate Aush 4-6,
Kasan 10,
Soghd 84,
Kabul 263;
--+Climes+:--Farghana and Samarkand in the 5th 1, 74;
Kabul in the 4th 199;
--cold, Akhsi 116,
Hasht-yak 151,
Ghazni 219, 526,
Khwarizm 219,
upper Heri-rud valley 311,
Kabul 314;
--+Various+:--dust-storm 520, 32-6;
earthquake 247, 367;
solar eclipse 659;
ice,--Sir-darya crossed on 151;
Kabul ice-houses 215;
near Parhala 452;
none had in Hind 518;
--+malaria+:--Andijan 4,
Khujand 8;
--+rain+:--384, 425;
rain-making _see_ magic;
rain-talisman 423;
rainy season (various) 405, 507, 514-19, 677-8;
--+snow+:--208, 215, 252, 314, 373;
Himalayan snows 485;
perilous journey in snow 309-11;
snowfall of Samarkand and Kabul compared 77;
--+wind:+--Farghana 9 and n. 2, 151;
Kabul 201;
upper Heri-rud valley 310;
Hind 520, pestilential 524, 532, 654-7,
does damage to Babur's writings 658.
Nestorian Church 2.
_New account of the East Indies_ (Edin. 1727), Alex. Hamilton--Malabar
succession customs 482.
_Nigar-nama-i-hind_, Sayyid Ghulam-i-`ali--a British monument
at Panipat 472.
Nine a mystic number--9 Tarkhan privileges 250;
9 allowed offences 250;
gifts by nines;
[Cf. _Shajaratu'l-atrak, Miles trs. p. 530_, for the root of
reverence for the number nine].
_Notes on Afghanistan and Baluchistan_, H. G. Raverty--[_see nn. on pp.
named_], Kabul rulers and river 200;
river called Nil-ab 206;
`Aqabain 201;
Adinapur-region 207;
Ghazni magic spring 219;
migration of fowlers 225;
Timur's pillars of heads 232;
place of Zu'n-nun's death 327;
"Kakar" 386;
"Patakh" (= _bat-qaq_ = quagmire) 403;
But -khak a vahara-site 409;
--+Various places+ 206, 220, (Gum-rahan) 236, 238-47-48 (2),
"Chariakar" (_Char-yak-kar_) 295, 345-73, 403, (Zabul) 405;
--+Routes+ 206-9, 212, 228-35-54;
book needs revision 330-67;
a collaborator 213.
_Notes on the Chugani and neighbouring tribes of Kafiristan_, Col.
H. S. Tanner (_JRGS. 1881_)--map mentioned 209;
Dara-i-nur 210, App. F;
Ning-nahar App. E, xix.
[_Cf. Index II s.n. chiqan._]
_Notes on some monuments in Afghanistan_, H. H. Hayden--Babur's Grave
(illustration) 710, App. V, lxxx.
_Nouvelle GÈographie_; _L'Asie AntÈrieure_, RÈclus--[_see nn. on pp.
named_], Farghana 4, 5, 9;
distances (Akhsi) App. A, v, (Tirmiz-Hisar) 57;
Samarkand 74, 83, 88;
Mil-i-radagan 622;
Kadgar (_i.a._ Qajar) 666;
_sighnaq_ = fort App. Q, lxiv;
_daban_ and other pass-names 54.
+Noticeable words+:--
P. _nabira_ 66, 72;
_nihilam_ (game-driving) 45;
M. _nuyan_ 131, 224-73.
Observatories _see_ Astronomy.
Omens--of the sex of an unborn child App. L;
of success 466, 558.
_Onau_, Sir Charles Elliot--Badshah-nagar named from Babur's halt 675.
"Oolak" (baggage-boat), perhaps from T. _aulugh_, great 663.
Open-table, maintainers of 39, 45-9, 119, 227.
Opium-eater 385.
_Oriental Biographical Dictionary_, T. W. Beale (_ed. Keene_) _see_
Dictionaries.
_Oriental Proverbs_, T. Roebuck--the "five-days' world" 50.
+Noticeable words+:--
M. Oghlat = T. Dughlat = Qungur-at of Auzbegs 22.
Padshah--uses of the word 1;
title assumed by Babur 344.
_Padshah-nama_, `Abdu'l-hamid--_lacunÊ_ in an early copy of the
_Babur-nama_ App. D, x.
_Padshah-nama_, Muhammad Amin _Kazwini_--Babur's gardens in and near
Kabul App. V;
[cf. _Malfuzat-i-timuri_].
Pagan _see_ Kafir.
Painting and painters--22, 78, 111, 272-91.
_Painting and Painters of Persia_, Martin--Bih-zad 291.
Pargiter, Mr. F. E.--on "_wulsa_" 487-8, Add. Note, P. 487.
Pass-names 54.
Pass-words _see_ Military.
Penmanship and scripts--good writers 28, 111, 278, 291;
the Baburi-script 228, 642, App. Q, lxii.
Pen-names--`Adili 111,
Ahi 289,
Ahli 290,
`Aruzi 288,
Badakhshi 288,
Bana'i 286,
Bayani 278,
Fani and Nawa'i 272,
Faraqi 137,
Gharbati 261,
Hatifi 288,
Hilali 290,
Husaini 259,
Kami 290,
Sharaf 448,
Suhaili 277,
Tufaili 278,
Wafa'i 38, etc.
_Persia and the Persian Question_, Lord Curzon--its "Radkan"
explained 622.
Persian Grammar, J. T. Platts (_ed. Ranking_) lunar months App. L, lxx.
_Persian Poets_, Sir W. Ouseley--Khwaja Kamal 8.
"Pharoah" used as an epithet 39.
_Poems of Nizami_ (_MeÁon and Lahor eds._)--_Haft Paikar_ quoted 6;
_Khusrau u Shirin_:--parricide 85, Add. Note, P. 85;
death inevitable 182 [_here Turki_], App. D, xi [_here Pers.; MaÁon
ed. iii, 1589_];
Fate an avenging servitor 251, Add. Note, P. 251 [_f. 281 in MS. of
317 ff._];
swift action a maker of victory 625;
lovers' marks Add. Note, P. 16;
--the _Khamsatin_ 15, 288.[2963]
_Poems of Nuru'd-din `Abdu'r-rahman Jami_--an exposition of the
_Nafahat_ 284;
the metre of the _Subhatu'l-abrar_ adopted in the
_Shaibani-nama_ 289,
and in the _Walidiyyah-risala_ 620 (_where read rahman for
"rahim"_).
_Poems of Kipling_--"My Lord the Elephant" 208;
"The Border-thief" 308;
"If----" 320.
Poison--suspected 302, 576;
given to Babur 541;
revealed by rhino-horn 489;
antidotes, lime-juice 511,
Lemnian Earth 543.
_Political Mission to Afghanistan and Seistan_, H. W. Bellew--birds
at Ab-istada 240;
Qandahar 430, App. J, xxxiii.
_Polyglot List of Birds_, E. Denison Ross, Ph. D.--373, 495-6-7-8,
500, App. M, xlvi.
_Popular Religion of Northern India_, W. Crooks--Sarsawa 467.
Prayers, The Five--`Umar Shaikh's observance of 15;
voluntary Sunnat-prayer 100;
Babur (_Êt._ 12) less neglects the after-midnight prayer 44;
Ahmad _Miran-shahi_ observes on drinking-days 33;
a reverse case 111;
Erskine on their "performance" 258;
time expressed by their names _passim_.
Prisoners--rebels killed 69, 113;
war-captives killed 233, 466-8;
set free 37, 237, 313, 371, 413;
traitors pardoned 317-9, 320, 345.
_Projectile-throwing engines of the ancients_,
Sir W. F. Payne-Gallwey--stone ammunition 667.
Promotions--to begs rank from the household-circle 104;
household beg to Great Beg 86, 104;
_yasawal_ to beg 273;
to begship 87, 114, 278;
_qurchi_ to _qur-begi_ 252;
brave to beg 396;
--a beg self-made 118;
(`Askari) to preside in Diwan 628;
(a Mirza) to royal insigna 662, 706;
to use of the _tugh_ (standard), frequent.
Proverbs and sayings--90, 117, 24-5-8, 145-66-77-82-84-90-93, 223-7-8,
254, 310, 453-94, 542-3, 703.
Punishments--beard shaved off 404;
blinding 50, 63, 95, 194, 266;
bow-stringing 110, 194;
quartering 238, 454, 543;
hanging 345;
impalement 341;
nose-slitting 234, 383;
parade mutilated 404, 234;
shooting 543;
skinning alive 542;
for disloyalty 70, 113.
Puns and Quips--44, 115, 136-7, 150, 189, 287, 391, 529, 648.
+Noticeable words+:--
P. _pahr_ and _pas_ distinguished 634;
_postin_ 10.
_Qandahar in 1879_ AD., Le Mesurier--the old town 431;
stone-ammunition _ib._
_Qandahar_ see _La grande inscription de Q._
_Qasidatu'l-burda_, Al-busiri--Babur works from its motive 620;
[cf. RÈnÈ Basset].
_qibla_--discrepancy 79.
_qizil-bash_ (red-head) 266, 618-22-30-35.
The Qoran (_trs. G. Sale_)--quoted by Babur 194, 316, 449;
read by or to him, remedially, 401, Add. Note, P. 401, 585;
copied by him in his Script 228;
obeyed as to the Khams (5th) of booty 324;
referred to by him 517;
--`Umar Shaikh a reader of 15, Preface xxx;
transcribers of 38, 481;
recited 246, 301;
frequent quotations by Shaikh Zain 553 to -6, 559 to -74;
quoted on a Samarkand arch 77;
sworn on 179, 557;
Shaibani makes exposition of 329;
a collection of homonymous verses 285;
Sale's Intro, referred to 562-3.
QuatremËre, E.--(_N. et Ex._) 446-59, (_J. des Savans, 1843_) 605.
_Qiranu's-sa`dain_, Amir Khusrau--a couplet quoted 503 (H.B.).
+Noticeable words:+--
_qabaq_ 34;
_qachar_ (punned on) 44;
_qari_ (a measure) 7;
_qara-tiyaq_ 101, 103;
_qazaqlar_ (guerilla times) 35;
_qaptal_ (part of a saddle) 253;
_quba-yuzluq_ (fat-faced) 14;
_qurchi_ (armourer, life-guardsman) _i.a._ 188, 288;
_quchin_ = _ming-begi_ 26, 40;
_qurghan_ (walled-town) _i.a._ 3, 5, 8, 10;
_quruq_ (reserved land) 81, 168, 197;
_qushuq_ (improvised dance and song) 24;
_qumiz_ (fermented mare-milk) 155;
_quchush_ (embrace) 160;
_qulach_ (a measure) 406.
_Races of Afghanistan_, H. W. Bellew--Khilich 29 (_where read title
as above_).
Raft--(Farghana) 161, 180;
(Kabul) 410-11-12-21-22-23, 447-8.
_Ramacarita_, H. Sastri (_Memoirs, AS Bengal_) Nagarahara App. E,
xxiii.
Rampur MS. of Babur's Diwan, Preface 1, App. Q.
Rapid travel--Aura-tipa to Baba Khaki 25;
Kishm to Qandahar 621;
Kabul to Agra 621.
_Rashahat-i-`ainu'l-hayat_ [_Tricklings from the Fount of Life_]
`Ali _Kashifi_-- Khwajaki Khwaja 62;
Ahrari 620;
[_not known to Erskine_].
_Rauzatu's-safa_, Mir Khwand--referred to (?) 11;
Baba-i-kabuli 14;
Hazaraspi 50;
a chronogram 85;
the Chaghatai Khans (908 AH.) 161.
_RÈcueils d'ItinÈraires_, Th. Radloff--fruit as food in C. Asia 3, 114;
position of Yiti-kint 11;
elevation to Khanship 21;
Pul-i-mougak 68 (Khorochkine's art.);
battle-cries 163.
Reports:--
" _on the Ghilzai country_, J. S. Broadfoot [ed. W. Broadfoot]--birds
at Ab-istada 240;
" _of the Indian Archeological Survey_, Cunningham & Ferguson--[_see
nn. on pp. named_], places Babur visited 475-6;
a Gualiar dynasty's term of rule 477;
Chandiri 592-7, App. R, (plan);
Gualiar 605-7 to 13;
App. R, (plan);
Sambhal 687;
--Annual Report 1914--_kos-minar_ 629;
" _on Karnal_, D. Ibbetson--Mundahirs 700;
" _of Mission to Kashghar_, Col. J. Biddulph's art.--_maral_ 8;
" _Persian Boundary Commission_, W. T. Blanford's art.--_Pteroclas
arenarius_ App. B, vi;
--A. GÈrard's art.--irrigation-channels of Aush (Ush) 4;
" _Settlement Operations etc._, Reid--old alluvium on the Gogra
667;
narrowing of the river 669;
Reports (_I. O. Library_) I, VI, VII, J. Wood--vine-culture 210;
Ghur-bund 214;
_bootr_ (a plant) 222;
climate-shed 229;
--VI, VII, D. Leach--204-5-6-13-38;
--IX, X, Alex. Burnes--Kabul 199;
unchanging trade-habits of Luhanis 235.
"Rescue-passage" 182, App. D;
Preface xlv (No. viii).
_Revenue Accounts_ (_Bengal_), F. Gladwin--dating of 935 AH. 629,
App. S;
_tanab_-measure 630.
_Revenue resources of the Mughal Empire_, E. Thomas--coin-values 446;
_tamgha_ 553;
Sikandari _tanka_ 577.
Revenues various--Farghana 12,
Tatar Khan _Ludi's_ 383,
Kabul-town 250,
Hindustan 520, App. P.
_RhÈtorique_, GarÁin de Tassy--_combinaisons Ènigmatiques_ 202.
_Ride from Samarkand to Herat_, N. Grodekoff (_trs.
Marvin_)--Pul-i-chiragh 69;
Char-shamba 71.
_Riyazu's-salatin_, Ghulam-i-husain--a Ludi alliance 482.
Roads measured--Agra-Kabul 629;
Munir to camp by horse-paces 666;
Chunar eastwards 659.
ruler, _mistar_--a new one for copying the _Walidiyyah-risala_ 643.
_Russian Policy in Central Asia_, Grigorief (_Schuyler's Turkistan_
App. IV)--Babur's embassy to Moscow App. Q, lxiii;
Peter the Great's embassy to Bukhara Preface p. liii.
Sachau, C.--on the _Malfuzat-i-timuri_ 653.
_Sahih-i-bukhari_, Isma`il _Khartank_--his native land 76.
Sainthood--courage a witness to 90.
_Siyaru'l-muta`akhirin_, Ghulam-i-husain Khan--trepanning 105.
Salt, fidelity to 125, 440.
Samarkand begs--action of 52, 62, 86, 124-5.
Samarkandis--displeased with a Mirza 42;
overjoyed at his death 52;
no scarcity in a siege 64;
move against Bukhara 65;
oppose Babur 72;
their orthodoxy 75;
joy at Babur's return 131-3.
Sanctuary 63.
_Sang-lakh_ _see_ Dictionaries.
Sart, Sairt--Babur's serviceable use of the name 6, 7, 149;
a "Sairt"'s blunder 169.
_Science of Language_, Max M¸ller--guest-tribes 227.
Scottish service for the _Babur-nama_, Preface xlvii, xlviii.
_Second Afghan War (Official Account)_--its maps 201-6, 229, 314-32;
Char-dih 200;
Qandahar App. J, xxxiii;
`Ali-masjid 450;
a valuable book in following Babur's campaigns, 333.
_Second Journey through Persia_, J. J. Morier (Haji Baba)--a bird App.
B, vi.
Sects, Muhammadan--Mataridiyah, Ash`ariyah, Abu Hanifa's 75-6,
Shafi`i 283;
Radiyan 625.
_Shahi Kings of Kabul_, Sir Aurel Stein--200.
_Shah-nama_, Firdausi [_trs. Warner_] Chachi bow, _khadang_ arrows 13;
much read 15;
Baqi Tarkhan sketched 40;
a couplet 557;
a quatrain 571.
_Shaibani-nama_, Muh. Salih Mirza [_ed. VambÈry_]--[_see nn. on pp.
named_], writes "Shaibani" not Shaibaq 12;
Sh.'s marriages, with Babur's sister 17-8, 147,
and with Zuhra _Auzbeg_ 126-8;
his dealings with Zuhra's son `Ali 126-8,
with Babur 144-6-7,
with the Chaghatai Khans 182-3-4;
later action 191-2;
--Tambal 145, 244;
others 40, 62, 101, 196;
Chin Sufi 242-56;
Khusrau Shah's jewels 144;
Oghlat (Dughlat) 22;
Chirkas sword 65;
Khwast a hell 221,
_baghri qara_ App. B, v, vii;
the book and its author 64, 120-1-7 [_cf. Tuhfa-i-Sami I.O. 655,
f. 342_].
_Shajarat-i Turk_, Abu'l-ghazi Mirza [_ed. FrÊhn, trs.
DÈsmaisons_]--[_see nn. on pp. named_], "Nurim" Sherim _etc._ 29;
an archer's mark 34;
_san_ = _dim_ 154;
_tughai_, _tuqai_ (bend of a river) 643;
a Shaban sultan 265;
of Babur's descent _see_ its Introduction.
_Shajaratu'l-atrak_, Aulugh _Beg Shahrukhi_ (trs. Miles)--Babur's
descent _see_ its Introduction.
_Sharaf-nama_, Sharaf Khan (_trs. F. E. Charmoy_)--Battle of Jam 635.
Sharafu'd-din `Ali _Yazdi_--his book on enigmas 201;
his _Zafar-nama_ (see _s.n._) Preface xxix.
Shaving--Babur's first 187;
Humayun notes his in the B.N. 466;
beard shaved as punishment 404;
untrimmed by vow 552;
head shaved 408, 649.
Shi`a heresy--instances 258-62-86, 111 (and return);
Babur's fatal Shi`a alliance, 347-54-55-61, Preface xxxv.
Sikh religion--Nanak's exposition to Babur 461;
Nanak and Daulat Khan _ib._
_Siyasat-nama_ [_TraitÈ de gouvernement_], Wazir Nizamu'l-mulk, [_ed.
C. Schefer_]--use of a whip in making count of an army 154.
Slaves--slave-women retaliate on their owner's murderers 63,
are captured at the Samarkand ditch 73,
taken by crocodiles 502;
slave-agents in poisoning Babur 541;
--Shah Beg's faithful slave _see_ Sambhal;
the chief-slave 346;
slave-trade between Hind and Kabul 202;
--Mingli Bibi, a slave-woman 269.
Song by Wordsworth recalled--the "undying fish" 305.
_Spanish Literature_, Ticknor--Montalvan on Lope de Vega 287.
_Sport and politics under an Eastern sky_, Lord Ronaldshay--_maral_ 8.
_" and Travel_, F. C. Selous--_maral_ 8.
Square seal--Abu-sa`id's 28.
Standards (_tugh_, _qutas-tugh_)--acclaimed 155;
bestowed 372 _etc._;
Babur's 140-66 _etc._
_Suluku'l-muluk_, Fazl b. Ruzbahan _Isfahani_--value as a source 348;
supports the form "Babur" 356.
_SupplÈment etc._, R. Dozy _see_ Dictionaries.
Swimming--man and horse in mail 140, 237;
man and horse bare 237;
competition 401;
on bundles of reeds 673;
Babur's (in mail) 140, 603-55-660-61.
+Noticeable words+:--
P. _sar-i-sabz_, green-head 66, 703;
P. _sar-kob_ 53-9[2964];
_sangur_ 232;
_sighnaq_, a script App. Q, lxiii.
_Tabaqat-i-akbari_, Nizamu'd-din Ahmad--[_see nn. on pp. named_],
Baburi Script 228, App. Q, lxii;
_Jang-jang_ 370;
date of Shah Beg's death 437;
Hazaras serve Babur 457;
Gujrat affairs 535;
Multan affairs 699;
Babur's Kashmir force 692-8;
the author's father 691;
proposed supersession in Hind of Babur's sons 644-88-92-93,
discussed 702 ff.;
the book plagiarized 693.
" _-i-baburi_, Shaikh Zainu'd-din _Khawafi_ _see_ B.N. and Zain.
" _-i-nasiri_, Minhaj [_trs. Raverty_] Satuq-bughra Khan 29 [_where
read Tabaqat_];
Chandwal 537;
quoted by Babur 479;
described by Erskine 279;
used in Appendix E, xxiii.
_tamgha_ (_lit. stamp_), a transit or customs duty 250;
forms the revenue of Kabul town _ib._;
Husain _Bai-qara_ marks his stamps _Bih bud_ (_valid_) 271;
remission of 553-95;
a _tamghachi_ clerk 629.
_Tarikh-i-`alam-arai_, Mir Sikandar--[_see nn. on pp. named_], its
Safawi outlook 349;
Tahmasp's Auzbeg campaign 622;
Battle of Jam 623;
insignificant appearance of `Ubaidu'l-lah 636.
" _-i-badayuni_ see _Muntakhabu't-tawarikh_.
" _-i-daudi_, `Abdu'l-lah--"Shaikh" and "Mian" interchangeable titles
457.
" _-i-firishta_, Muh. Qasim _Firishta_ [_trs. Major-Gen.
J. Briggs_]--`Umar Shaikh 13;
a mistake 15;
Babur's reluctance to rank himself with Timur 134;
his single combats 329;
his sobriquet Qalandar 523;
his Embassy to Persia 540;
his siege of Chandiri 596;
--Yar-i-`ali _Balal_ 91;
Ghazi Khan's literary culture 460;
the cognomen _jan-dar_ 566;
Badru-ferry over Gogra 667;
--value of the book as a source 208, 349, 694;
date of its revision 694.
_Tarikh-i-Gualiarwar_, Jalal _Hisari_ and Hira-man--Gualiar 605;
Khw. Rahim-dad 607, 688, 704.
" _-i-Haji Muh_. _`Arif Qandahari_--account of Qandahar 348.
" _-i-Khan-i-jahan Ludi_, Ni`amatu'l-lah--helped in his book by Haibat
Khan 693.
" _-i-rashidi_, [Muh. ] Haidar Mirza _Dughlat_ [_ed. Ney Elias, trs.
E. D. Ross_]--+Places+:--Almaligh 2;
Yiti-kint 11;
Qilat-i-nadari 263;
Qila`-i-zafar 21;
Herat 306;
Qandahar [Insc.] App. J, xxxv;
+Tribes _etc._+:--tuman-begs 17;
_quchin_ 26;
_chuhra-jirga_ App. H, xxvii;
Chaghatais and Mughuls distinguished 320;
Chaghatai or Timurid supremacy 344,
Begchiks 50, 712
or Chiras 155;
Tarkhans 31;
Greek descent 317;
Jigraks 55;
Turkman Hazaras 311;
+Persons+:--12--App. A, iii; 21, 23, 32, 48, 62;
Jahangir 183, 254-94-302, 195-242-56, 249-272, 273; 330-41-96-7,
409; 641; 694-6;
+Varia+:--fruit as food 3;
_yak_, _qutas_ App. M, xlvii;
on joint-rule 293;
epoch-making events 20, 35, 158, 182, 350;
+Babur+:--name 17;
character 194, 320;
Script App. Q, lxii;
disastrous expedition (910 AH.) 241;
relationships 246;
single combats 349;
Tramontane campaign 349 to 366;
hospitality to exiles 350;
a frontier affair 412;
onset of last illness 706;
+Haidar+:--his life saved 21;
descent and other particulars 22;
excuses his father 317;
his list of tribes and chiefs valuable 415;
his book of great and, perhaps, unique value for Babur's
_lacunÊ_ 347-8;
referred to Preface xxxiv, xxxviii;
his Codex xli, xlii (No. iv).
" _-i-salatin-i-afaghana_, Ahmad Yadgar [_part-trs. E. & D. vol.
I_]--Hindustan in 929 AH. 439-40;
Panipat 474;
Babur's visit to Lahor (936 AH.) 604-98 to 700, 703-6;
Mundahirs 700;
anachronism 707;
Babur's "selection" of a successor 707;
importance of its contribution for filling a _lacuna_ 693, 702-6.
" _-i-shahrukhi_, Niyaz Muh. _Khukandi_--tradition of a babe abandoned
358.
" _-i-sher-shahi_, `Abbas Khan _Sarwani_--"Shaikh" and "Mian" 457;
`Azam Humayun 477;
Sher Khan _Sur_ 659, 664.
" _-i-Sind_, Muh. Ma`sum _Bhakkari_--a chief authority 336, 428;
Shah Beg 338, 427, (death) 437;
sieges of Qandahar 431 to 436;
the Inscription App. J, xxxiii.
Tarkhan--suitable meaning 31 [where add ref. E. & D.'s H. of I. i,
300, 20, 21, 498]
privileges nine 250;
not given to all Arghun chiefs 249 n. 2;
a merchant Tarkhan 133;
marriages 49, Preface xxviii;
revolt 61 to 64, 86, 112;
see _s.n. Nine_ & H. Beveridge's note on Etruscan names.
_Tarkhan-nama_ or _Arghun-nama_, Sayyid Jamal--a useful source 428.
_Tawarikh-i-guzida_--(Select Histories)--fashions of sitting and
kneeling 33, 54-9;
Tulun Khwaja _Mughul_ 66;
supplements the B. N. 127.
" _-i-hafi-i-rahmat-khani_ (_part-trs. H. Beveridge_ AQR.
1901)--Bibi Mubar-ika's marriage with Babur 375, App. K,
_An Afghan Legend_.
_Tazkiratu'sh-shu`ara_ (_Memoirs of Poets_) Daulat-shah
(_ed. Browne_)--[_see nn. on pp. named_], Akhsikiti 9;
dates of Mahmud _Miran-shahi's_ boyhood 46;
Ahmad _Mushtaq_ 47;
Hazaraspi 50;
a couplet 85;
Husain _Bai-qara_ 259-60-73;
Gazur-gahi's good birth 281;
Rabat-i-sangbast 301-30;
Bih-bud Beg App. H, xxvi-vii;
Radagan-(town) 622;
Jami's birthplace 623;
--the author in the battle of Chikman-sarai 46;
one of his collaterals 274.
" _-i-Sultan Satuq-bughra Khan_--a seeming descendant 29.
" _-i-Tahmasp_, Shah Tahmasp _Safawi_ (_ed. D. C. Phillott_)--Div
Sultan 635;
battle of Jam 636.
" _-i-Waqi`at_ (_var._) Jauhar (_trs. C. Stewart_)--outside literary
criticism 619;
a date at which Babur's body lay near Kabul 709.
+Tents+--_alachuq_ 188;
_autagh_ 339;
_aq-awi = chadar_ 169-88, 239, (flooded) 339, 678;
_char-taq_ 264;
_khar-gah_ ( = _kibitka_, and _alachuq_ ?) 239, 678;
--_shamiana_ (awning) 358;
_tungluq_ (roof-flap) 678;
_pesh-khana_ 678.
_Thesaurus_, Meninsky--_baghriqara_ cry App. B, vi;
_bahri-qutas_ App. M, xlvi.
Thomas, F. W., Ph.D.--his help App. J, lxxiv with Preface lii.
Thorn-defences 487.
Timur-pulad, buys a Codex of the _W'aqi`nama-i-padshahi_ _q.v._
_Three (Turki) MSS. from Kashghar_ [_ed. Sir E. Denison Ross_]--the
title _Jun-wang_ 567.
_Through unknown Pamirs_, O. Olufsen--yak App. M, xlvii.
The Times--on diverse names of a single place 209.
Tongues and utterance--Andijan Turki 4;
Farsi (Persian)-speaking Sarts of Asfara 7;
Kabul's polyglot tongues 207;
Mughuli-speaking Hazaras;
Babur on clipped Hindustani utterance 380,
and on the words Kas and Sawalak 485.
Trade--202-35, 331, 416-85.
Traditions--4, 5;
one versed in 283-4.
Translators:--Babur [_Wal.-ris._];
E. C. Bayley (_Mirat_);
A. S. Beveridge [_s.n._];
H. Beveridge [_s.n._];
H. Blochmann [_s.n._];
H. S. Jarrett [_Ayin_];
J. Briggs [_Tar.-i-fir._];
F. C. Charmoy [_Sharaf-n._];
W. Clarke [Diwan-i-H.];
A. P. de Courteille [_MÈms._];
Delmar-Morgan [_Mong._];
Desmaisons [_Shaj.-i-Turk_];
E. B. Eastwick [_Gul._];
H. M. Elliot and J. Dowson [_H. of I._];
Forster & Daniel [_Life of O. de B._];
C. Hamilton [_Hidayat_];
W. H. Lowe & G. S. A. Ranking [_Munt._];
H. E. Lloyd [_Travels_];
G. du Laurens [_Voyages_];
C. E. Markham [_Embassy_];
R. Marvin [_Ride_];
W. Ouseley [_Or. Geo._];
F. PÈlis de la Croix, _elder & younger_ [_Histoire_];
G. S. A. Ranking [see _Lowe; and `Aruz_];
H. G. Raverty [_Tab.-i-n._];
M. Reinaud [_Geo._];
G. Sale [_Qoran_];
B. R. Sanguinetti & T. Lee [_Travels_];
H. Sastri [_Rama._];
C. Stewart [_Taz._];
A. VambÈry [_Shai.-n._];
Warner [_Shah-n._];
E. H. Whinfield [_Mas. and `Umar_].
Transliteration 2.
Transmigration 518.
_Travels in Bukhara_, Sir Alex. Barnes--[_see nn. on pp. named_],
_nuzla_, a Panj-ab disease 446;
water-fall fishing 227;
" _in Europe and Asia_, Peter Mundy (_ed. Sir R. Temple_)--_baoli_
(a well) 533;
Gualiar 605.
" _in India_, Pietro della VallÈ--the morning-draught 395.
" _of Ibn Batuta_ (_trs. Sanguinetti & Lee_)--Samarkand the Protected
City 75, Add. N.P. 75;
Kajwarra 590;
Rahim-dad 693; 704.
" _in Kashmir_, G. T. Vigne--_yak_ and _kosh-gau_ App. M, xlv-vii.
" _in Panj-ab_ (_etc._), Mohan Lall--Herat 305-6;
Qandahar Insc. App. J;
Babur's burial-place 710.
" _of the Russian Mission_, G. Timkovsky [_trs. H. E. Lloyd_] fruit as
food 3.
" _on the Upper and Lower Amoor_, T. W. Atkinson--_maral_ 8.
_Tribes and Castes of the N. W. P. and Oude_, W. Crooke--Jats 454;
Nuhani (or Luhani) 455;
Jaghat (serpent) 456;
Tank 481.
Tribes and other groups:--
+Afghan+:--`Abdu'r-rahman 403;
Afridi 411-2;
Aughan 217-20;
Auruq-zai 526;
Bilut 248;
Birki 207;
Dilah-zak 231, 367-94, 412-3;
Dilah-zak Ya`qub-khail 394;
Gagiani 251;
Ghilji 323-31;
`Isa-khail 233;
Jasawal _var._ Jaswan 462;
Jalwani _see_ Index I;
Khattak 439;
Khirilchi 208-20-49-413;
Khizr-khail 413;
Khugiani 220;
Kiwi 233;
Kurani, Karani, Kararani 233, 477;
Landar 220;
Ludi 481, Index I;
Ludi _khasa-khail_ _i.e._ Sahu-khail 465;
Ludi Sarang-khani 540, 654;
Luhani _see_ Nuhani;
Mahmand 221, 323-31-45;
Muhammad-zai 376 (_where read as here_);
Nia-zai 233;
Nuhani 235 (_cf. 455 n. 3_), Index I;
Pani 540;
Pashai(?) 207;
Samu-khail (Khirilchi?) 412;
Sur 233;
Tarkalani 242, 424;
Turi 220;
Waziri 413;
Yusuf-zai 231, 371-3-5-6, 400-10-19;
--Afghans of Bhira 399,
Ghazni 218,
Sind riverain 218-36,
Kabul 207-21;
--Afghan thieves 208, 341;
Afghan warrings in Hind 426,
and power 480-1;
serving Babur 522;
bad-mannered 451;--
+Auz-beg+ ("_Uzbeg_"):--2, 37, 135, 622, Index I;
Auz-beg Qazzaq ("_Cossack_") 23;
Auz-beg Mankfit 195;--
+Chaghatai+ (_i.e._ Chaghatai Khan's tribal appanage):--extinct but
for their Khans in 1547 (953 AH.) _Tar. Rash._ trs. 149;
near Heri 320, 689;
its Kohbur clan 55;
high families in, Sighal 66, 72, Nawa'i's (_Index I_);
distinguished from Mughuls 320, 351,
Turks 340;--
+Mughuls of the Horde+:--105-92;
_tumans_ (_groups of 10,000_):--Barin 19, 473;
Begchik 155;
Chiras 158;
Sagharichi 20;
_sub-divisions_ (?):--Bishaghi (_var._) 473;
Darban 60;
Itaraji 161, 415;
Jalair 91;
Kunchi 20;
Qalmaq 23;
Manghit 101[2965];
--Mughul devastation 2, 98, 172, 362;
faithlessness 105, 140 _etc._;
conduct on the Chir 17, 31-4;
the Horde divided 19;
its dislike for cultivated lands 12;
its _aimaqs_ in open land 221-54-55;
return from enforced migration 20, 350-1;--
+Turk+:--Afshar 354;
Auighur (_Awighur_, _Uighur_) 40, 118;
its Ishrit clan 40, 65;
Barlas 51, 429, Index I;
Barlas Duldai 25, 37;
Darya-khani 231, 589;
Istilju 353;
Khilij 482;
Qipchaq 19, 49;
--Turks of Andijan 4,
Kabul-lowlands 207-15-21;
early Turk rulers of Kabul 200;
contrasted with Sarts 149;
--Uses of the name, "Mughul and Turk" 158, 402,
"Chaghatai and Turk" 340;
"Turk and Timurid" one 380-2-4-8-9;
probable statement of B.'s descent 320;
his claim to rule in Hind, based on Turk descent 380-2-4, 476-9;
Turk warning to Biana 529;--
+Turkman+:--White-sheep Horde 49 (_where read White for "Black"_);
--its Baharlu clan 49;
its Balal 911 and Bayandar 279;
--Black-sheep Horde 10;
Qajar 666;
Turkmans serve Babur 47, 279, 361;
--features 111;
--Hazaras (_infra_);
Turuq-shar 101;--
+Various+:--`Arab 207, 522, 631;
Arlat (Turk?) 265;
Ashpari 101;
Asiqanchi [_var._ Saqanchi] 197;
Baluchi 383, 459, 522;
Bengali (race) 482;
Bugial 452;
Kafir 212-3, 342-72, 421;
Kakar (_var._) 387-9;
Kas 484;
Kib (or Kitib) 393;
Meos 577;
Farsi (Persian, race) 7, 207, 507-55;
Ghiyas-wal (or -dal) 393;
Gujur 250, 379-87, 454;
Habshi 483;
Janjuha-khail and Jud-khail 379-80-87;
Jats 250, 387, 454;
Jigrak (_var._) 55, 101;
Nikdiri (_var._) 196-7, 200-1-7, 275, 326, 430 (_cf. E. & D. iv,
304, Tukdari_)
Nil-abi 379 (_see Index II_);
Paraji 207;--
Rajput;--
Chuhan 573,
Tank sept 481;--
Tajik 6, 207, 420, 535;--
+Hazara+ (1000):--Gadai or Kidi 250,
Qarluq 391-3, 403;
Rustaq [or Rusta] 196;
Sl. Mas`udi 221-8, 525;
Turkman 27, 214-51, 311 to 313;
+Hazaras+:--w. of Kabul 200-7-22, 430;
e. of the Sind 457, 522;
in the open country of Ghazni 218,
Kabul 221,
Heri-rud valley 308;
refuge taken amongst 95;
traversed 254.
Tribute--Jigrak 55,
Ghazni 240,
Yusuf-zai 375,
Bhira 384,
Kakar 391,
Bajaur and Sawad 400,
Balkh 402;
Nijr-au 421;
Koh-i-jud 379.
_Tuhfa-i-sami_ (_a Turki anthology_), Sam M. _Safawi_--Marwarid 278;
syphilis 279;
a jeer 648.
The twelve Imams, 258, 354.
Turki tongue, Preface xxvii, Cap. iv.
_Turkistan_, Alex. Petzhold--Sarts 6.
" E. Schuyler--[_see nn. on pp. named_],
+Farghana+:--extent of 2,
various 5, 6, 8;
(wind) 9;
(out-of-doors life) 29;
_kuk-bura_ (a game) 39;
Old Akhsi App. A;
Sarts 6;--
+Samarkand+:--67, 74-5-7, 83,
(Aurgut) 68;
Kesh 83;
+Various+:--Sara-taq pass 129;
Lake Iskandar _ib._ Hazrat Turkistan (shrine) 356;
a distance 9;
a lizard 501;--
Babur's Moscow Embassy App. Q, lxiii;
Gregorief's _Russian Policy_, (_App. iv trs._) Preface, liii.
" Franz v. Schwarz--autumn fever 4;
running-waters 4,
recipe for _ma`jun_ 16;
_yighach_ (measure) 4;
a Kirghis measure 196;
loess constructions 30;
_charkh_ (a hunting bird) 224;
Mogol-tau 8;
duties of the Lord of the Gate 24;
_kuk bura_, _baiga_ 39;
Greek descent 22; various App. A, v.
_Tuzuk-i-jahangiri_, Jahangir Padshah (_trs. Rogers and
Beveridge_)--Bugials 452;
Daulat Khan _Ludi_ 461;
measures 189;
birds 497;
_kishmish_ 515;
couplet 670;
metrical amusement App. Q, lxvi-vii;
its titles for Babur varied _ib._ lxi;
Jahangir's additions to the B.N. App. D, xiii, Preface xlv
(No. viii), lii;
his pilgrimage to B.'s burial-garden App. V, lxxx;
his stay in B.'s Garden _ib._
+Noticeable words+:--
_tabalghu_, a tree 11;
_tash-chantai_, outside bag (?) 160;
_tash_, stone confused with _tash_, outer 3, 43, 78, 80, 160;
_tauri_, complete, enclosed 109, 280, 501 (_where this better
describes the koel's song_);
_tipuchaq_ a horse and its points 38;
_tir-giz_, arrow 34;
_tirik_ 36, 362;
P. _tu_, turn of a hill 205-8 _etc._;
_tuluk_ vegetable food, other than grain 114;
_tun-yarim_, half-dark 100;
_tura_ (ordinances) 38;
_tura_ (army mantelets) 108-13-55, 368, 469, 593;
_tuman_, 10,000, a district command 17;
_tuq-bai_, one using a standard 313;
_tulghuma s.n._ Military;
_tusqawal_ 224, 314;
_tughai_ and _tuqai_ 643.
_`Umar Khayyam's Quatrains_ (_trs. E. H. Whinfield_)--a couplet Babur's
words recall 203.
_Upper Basin of the Kabul-river_, Sir C. Markham (_PRGS.
1879_)--Hindu-kush passes 204,
maps of Koh-i-baba 216.
Veliaminof-Zernof, editor of the _Sharaf-nama_ 635 and _Abushqa_
App. Q, lxiii.
_Vergleichunge-Tabellen des Muh. and Christlichen Zeitrechnung_,
F. W¸stenfeld--dates of 935 AH. 629, App. S.
Verses:--of untraced authorship 332, 316 and 670;
verse-making 15, 22, 38-9, 46, 54, 111, 136-7, 154;
Babur's opinion of Nawa'i's Turki verse 271;
Shaibani's verses made public 329;
composition on a model 448;--
Metrical amusements 585-6, App. Q, lxv-vi.
Vikramaditya Era 79 (where _read_ began).
Virgil--citron-juice as an antidote 511;
Scorpio and Libra 623.
_Visit to Ghuzni_ (_etc._), G. T. Vigne--[_see nn. on pp. named_],
boundary between Afghans and Khurasan 200;
Kabul-river _ib._;
`Uqabain 201;
rhubarb 203;
sahibi-grapes 203;
Dur-nama 215;
Running-sands 215;
Pamghan villages 216;
_arghwan_ 217;--
various:--218-9, 224, 227;
"Tank" for Taq 233;
routes 208, 235;
Bilah on the Indus 237; _see_ App. E, xxiii.
_Visit to Kafiristan_, W. W. Macnair (_PRGS. 1884_)--Ning-nahar App.
E, xxiii.
_Voyage dans le Turkistan_, Fedtschenko (_trs. G.
du Laurens_)--Sang-aina, Mirror-stone, 7.
" _dans l'Asie septentrionale_, P. S. Pallas--_aq kiyik, argali_
(Ovis poli) 6.
" _des PÈlerins Bouddhistes_, S. A. Julien--Nanganahara App. E, xviii.
_Voyages en Perse et autres lieux d'Orient_, Jean
Chardin--lovers'-marks 16;
square seal 28;
Sikiz-yilduz, Eight-stars 139;
_kipki_ "casbekÈ" (a coin) 296;
epistolary etiquette 332.
_Waqi`-nama-i-padshahi_ (Record of Royal Acts), `Abdu'l-wahhab
_akhund_ of Ghajdavan (1709)--(_found mentioned as the Babur-nama,
the "Bukhara Babur-nama" and the "Bukhara Compilation"_)--for its
seeming author's colophon JRAS. 1900, p. 474 and Preface lvii;
its divergence from the true text Preface xxxix,
its element of true text (Kamran's tattered Codex) li;
its dual purpose xxxix, lxii;
its character xl;
its stop-gaps xlv;
its use by Leyden xlviii;
+Described+ (_as it is in Kehr's transcript_):--Preface, Cap. III,
Parts I and III; its history liii, author and colophon lvii,
(_cf._ JRAS. 1900, p. 474);
its identity confused with Babur's true text Preface, Cap. III,
Part III;
ITS DESCENDANTS AND OFFTAKES Table lvii;--
(_a_) Petrograd F. O. Codex (_an indirect copy_ (?)), described
by purchaser as _Babur-nama_, Preface xliii-iv;
(_b_) Pet. F. O. School of Oriental Languages Codex, entitled
_Babur-nama_, scribe G. J. Kehr--referred to _in
loco_:--diction of the Farghana Section 1, of the Kabul
Sect. 187, of the Hindustan Sect. 445;
its Persified character exemplified 147, 150, 167, and Add.
Note, 177, (_cf. JRAS. 1908, pp. 76, 88_);
its Latin version App. J, xxxv, Preface liv;--
Other references 9, 18, 19, 44-8, 88, 164, 169;
+Full contents+:--Preface lii;
their reconstruction by Ilminski lii-iv, (_cf. his own Preface
JRAS. 1900 and a separate form in B.M., I.O., R.A.S. Libraries,
etc._);
the "Fragments" Preface xlv (No. viii), lii, (_in loco_) 438,
549, (_a discussion_) 574, 630, 640 (_cf._ JRAS. 1900-6-8);
(_c_) The "_Babur-nama_" Imprint (_constructed and edited by_)
N. I. Ilminski--referred to _in loco_, App. D, 227-59, 336,
420, App. I, xxxii;
modelled on the L. and E. _Memoirs of Baber_ 326, 337, App. T,
lxxiv, Preface lii (_cf. Ilminski's Preface ref. supra_), 574;
Preface:--its Kasan publication li;
its deviation from its sole basis (_Kehr's Codex_) lii;
Ilminski's work and some results lii, with n. 1 mid-page, liv;
his doubts and achievement of a Turki reading book _see_ hi
s own Preface ref. _supra_;
(_d_) _MÈmoires de Baber_, (_French trs. of Ilminski's
Babur-nama_) A. Pavet de Courteille--referred to _in
loco_, 215, 227, 346, 347, 407, 446, 478, 489, 559, 632,
App. T, lxxviii, App. M, xlv;--
the _Mubin_ not recognized 449, 630;
an illness 619;
mistakenly controverted 468;
surmised ground on which it accepted the "Rescue Passage" App.
D, xiv;
its help in considering Shaikh Zain's compositions 553, 559;--
questioned readings 223-5, 327-33-69, 421 (_chiurtika_), 462-70,
534, 617-19-38-40-47;
a surmise discussed 574;--
reviewed by DefrÈmery 562;
its title Preface xxxiii, translation li, source liv, diction
lix.
Water--water-thief 109,
-road 595;
dug for 234;
under-ground courses of 417.
Wedding-gifts--43, 400.
Wednesday (_Char-shamba_)--coincidences of the day 71.
Wells--chambered (_wain_, _baoli_) 532-3;
dug 548, 552;
purified when new 634.
White cloth--traded 202;
booty 233-4-5-7-8.
Whiteway, Mr. R. S.--his help App. B, vii.
Wilayat = Kabul 414.
_With the Kuram Field-Force_, J. A. S. Colquhoun--a route 231.
Wine (_i.e. any fermented liquor_)--_`araq_ (spirit) 385-6-7-8,
453-61-76;
mahuwa-flower 505;
beer 423;
cider (_chagir_) 83, Add. Note, P. 83;
wines of Bukhara 83,
Heri 265,
Kabul:--Ala-sai 221,
Dara-i-nur 210, 410, App. G;
Ghazni 461,
Kabul-_tuman_ 203,
Nijr-au 213;--
Kafiristan 211-12, 372;--
+rules in use+:--drinking-days 33-4, 111, 447;
one liquor only 386;
no-pressure on a non-drinker 406-10;
+wine-parties+:--Babur protests against excess 398;
excludes drunkards 419,
is disgusted by drunken uproar 386
and by beer-intoxication 423;
gives his followers freedom to do as Heratis did 304;
givers of "wines", Khw. Kalan 371-5, 461,
Shah Beg 400,
the Bai-qara Mirzas 299, 302,
Khw. Muh. `Ali 411 (a business-party), 413;--
+Babur's breaches of Law+ not committed till _cir._ his 28th year
83, 355;
resisted temptation in Herat 299, _etc._--
his parties associated with beauty of scene, _e.g._ autumnal
414-16-18;
in his gardens 412, 406 and 420;
under a plane-tree 405,
at Istalif 406,
near an illuminated camp 450;
after and before long marches (_frequent_); mention made of
(925 AH.) 375-85-88, 408-10-14-15-16-17-19;
(926 AH.) 420-1-2-3-4;
(932 AH.) 447, 450-53-61;
(933 AH.) 537;--
drinks a few cups to console 418,
out of courtesy in a charmless place 424;
"morning" 395-8, 415-20-22;
gallops when not sober 388-98;--
+Other Law-breakers+ Preface xxix, 16, 33-4, 45, 70, 134, 259-68-73,
(woman) 36, 417;
Heratis 259,
Hisaris 42,
Pich-Kafirs 22;--
+Parties accompanied+ by improvisation 26,
dancing 299, music (_usually_);
(_for return to obedience see Law and Index I s.n. Babur_).
Wordsworth's "undying fish" recalled 305.
Workmen--Timur's 77, 520;
Babur's 520, 634.
Wray, Mr. Cecil and Mr. Leonard--their help 495, 502.
Yajuj and Majuj (_Gog and Magog_) 560.
Yaqut _see_ Dictionary of Towns.
+Noticeable words+:--
_Yada-tash_, jade-stone _see_ Magic;
_yaghrunchi_, divination from sheep's-blades 233;
_yighach_, tree, wood 11, 81;
_yighach_ _see_ Measures;
_yigit_, a brave 16, 53, 70, App. H, xxvii;
_yilaq_, alp see _i.a._ Yar- and Burka-;
_yinka-chicha_, maternal-uncle's mother-in-law (?);
_yinkalik_, levirate 23, 267, 306, 616;
_yukunmak_, to bend the knee 301;
_yusunluq_, hereditary 23.
_Zafar-nama_ (Book of Victory _i.e._ Timur's) Maulana Sharafu'd-din
`Ali _Yazdi_--[_see nn. on pp. named_], places 10, 74-8, 83-4;
persons 39, 272;
meaning of Sawalak 485;
Timur's capture of Qarshi 134;
his burial at a saint's feet 266;
his workmen 77, 520;
partly translated in _Histoire de Timur Beg q.v._;
the book and its main basis, the _Malfuzat-i-timuri_ Preface xxix,
xxx,
its author xxxiii.
Zainu'd-din _Khawafi_ (Shaikh Zain)'s writings--
(1) _Tabaqat-i-baburi q.v._;
(2) _Mubin_, a Commentary on Babur's _Mubin_ 438;
(3) _Farman_ announcing Babur's renouncement of wine and remission
of _tamgha_-tax 553;
(4) _Fath-nama_ of the victory at Kanwa 559 to 574;
Babur's reason for inserting it (4) in his book 559;
the sole Letter of victory so preserved 561;
grounds against supposing Babur wrote a plain Turki account of the
battle 574.
OMISSIONS FROM TRANSLATION AND FOOTNOTES.
p. 7 l.1 "turbulent" _add_ They are notorious in Mawara'u'n-nahr for
their bullyings.
p. 27 l.5 "(1504)" _add_ when, after taking Khusrau Shah, we besieged
Muqim in Kabul.
p. 31 l.1 "paid" _add_ no (attention).
p. 43 l.9 _enter_ f. 24_b_.
_ib._ l.8 fr. ft. "Taghai" _add_ and Auzun Hasan.
p. 45 Sec. c, l.2 "good" _add_ he never neglected the Prayers.
p. 48 l.16 "grandmother" _add_ Khan-zada Begim.
p. 52 l.4 fr. ft. "childhood" _add_ and had attained the rank of Beg.
p. 88 l.9 Hasan _add_ and Sl. Ahmad Tambal.
p. 92 l.8 "on" _add_ to Sang-zar.
p. 95 l.12 "service" _add_ did not stay in Khurasan but.
p. 128 l.18 "two" _add_ young (sons).
p. 131 l.12 "Jan-wafa" _add_ Mirza.
p. 134 l.7 fr. ft. "that" _add_ night that.
_ib._ l.3 fr. ft. "was" _add_ in my 19th (lunar) year.
p. 136 l.5 "was" _add_ in my 19th (lunar) year.
p. 139 l.11 fr. ft. _read_ Jani Beg Sultan.
p. 141 l.10 "Khusrau Shah" _add_ my highly-favoured beg Qambar-i-ali
_the Skinner Mughul_, not acting at such a time as this according
to the favour he had received, came and took his wife from
Samarkand; he too went to Khusrau Shah.
p. 143 l.16 "that" _add_ near Shutur-gardan.
p. 152 l.12 fr. ft. "dead" _add_ A few days later we went back
to Dikh-kat.
p. 164 Sec. d, l.6 fr. ft. "for" _add_ Sairam.
p.201 l.12 _read_ Kabul-fort.
p. 205 l.10 fr. ft. _read_ "are closed for" 4 or 5 months in winter.
After crossing Shibr-tu people go on through Ab-dara. In the heats,
when the waters come down in flood, these roads have the same rule
as in winter ("because" _etc._).
p. 217 l.11 "Sih-yaran" _add_ It became a very good-halting-place.
I had a vineyard planted on the hill above the seat.
p. 221 Sec. h, at the beginning _insert_ The mountains to the eastward
of the cultivated land of Kabul are of two kinds as also are those
to its westward ("Where the mountains" _etc._).
p. 230 last line "men" _add_ Khusrau _Gagiani_.
p. 247 l.1 "Qush-nadir" _add_ meadow.
p. 308 l.14 "ground" _add_ Moreover it snowed incessantly and after
leaving Chiragh-dan, not only was there very deep snow but the road
was unknown.
p. 391 March 18th "darogha-ships" _add_ Sangur Khan Qarluq and
Mirza-i-malui Qarluq came leading 30 or 40 men of the Qarluq elders,
made offering of a horse in mail, and waited on me. Came also the
army of the Dilah-zak Afghans.
p. 393 March 25th l.2 "out" _add_ from the river's bank.
p. 454 l.5 "boat" _add_ There was a party; some drinking _`araq_, some
beer. After leaving the boat at the Bed-time Prayer, there was more
drinking in the _khirgah_ (tent). For the good of the horses, we
gave them a day's breathing on the bank of this water.
p. 468 l.3 "sent" _add_ Yunas-i-'ali and Ahmadi and ("`Abdu'l-lah").
p. 484 l.1 "Rao" _add_ with four or five thousand Pagans.
p. 498 (_s.n._ florican), "colour" _add_ The flesh of the florican is
very delicate. As the _kharchal_ (Indian buzzard) resembles the
_tughdaq_ (great buzzard) so the _charz_ (florican) resembles the
_tughdiri_.
_ib._ (_s.n._ sand-grouse) "Tramontana" _add_ the blackness of its
breast is less deep, its cry also is sharper.
p. 500 after l. 11 "eagle" _add_ (new para.) Another is the buzzard
(T. _sar_); its tail and back are red.
p. 506 (_s.n._ _kamrak_) "long" _add_ It has no stone.
p. 507 n. 3 "name" _add_ also; "plantain" _add_ (banana).
p. 510 l. 5 see App. O, p. liv for _addendum_.
p. 529 l. 4 fr.ft. "Dulpur" _add_ Gualiar.
p. 595 l. 19 "other" read 2 or 3 (places); the Pagans in the _du-tahi_
began to run away; "the _du-tahi_ was taken."
p. 603 l. 7 fr.ft. "(366_b_)" _add_ and between Ghazipur and Banaras
(p. 502).
p. 674 l. 2 "river" _add_ in his mail.
p. 678 l. 2 "amirs" _add_ Sultan.
p. 679 l. 8 fr.ft. "given" _add_ It was settled that a son of each of
them should be always in waiting in Agra; l. 7 fr.ft. "Araish"
_add_ and two others; l. 2 fr.ft. "Saru" _add_ towards Oude.
p. 689 l. 2 fr.ft. "laks" _add_ and a head-to-foot (dress).
App. Q l. 1 "interpret" add those of.
CORRIGENDA.
_To ensure notice many of these are entered in the Indices._
Pages
6 l.4 "meadow" _read_ plain (_maidan_).
11 n.4, "siyar" unaccented; (H.S.) ii _read_ iii n.n. pp. 18, 38, 48,
244.
12 n.4 l.3 "attack in" _read_ attacking.
14 l.3 "and" _read_ who.
16 l.10 n. ref. "3" _tr. to_ "amorous".
24 n.1 "932" _read_ 923.
27 para. 2 _read_ "Baba `Ali Beg's Baba-quli".
28 l.8 "leaders" _read_ Mughul mirzadas.
29 n.6 l.5 "then" _read_ his.
37 l.8 "916" _read_ 917; and tr. nn. 2 and 3.
38 l.9 "favour" _run on_ to Ahmad.
44 l.9 55 l.12 _delete_ "Sayyid".
46 l.12 _read_ Chikman.
49 l.3 "Black" _read_ White.
51 l.12 fr. ft. "Badakhshan" _read_ Hisar.
55 "f. 34" _read_ f. 32_b_.
57 l.1, enter f. 33 and _move_ "f. 33_b_" to 58 l.2.
61 l.4 "Beg" _read_ Baba-quli Beg.
68 l.10 fr. ft. _tr._ n. ref. 4 to "Aurgut".
69 n.2, read _aunutung_; and _tr._ _nakunid_ and _bakunid_.
79 l.5 tr. n. ref. 3 to _qibla_; in author's n. _read_ Batalmius;
and in n.4 _read_ _Ayin_.
85 l.9 _read_ 851 A.H.-1447 A.D.; l.3 fr. ft. _move_ "Jumada I, 22,
855 A.H." to p.86 l.1, after "years".
94 l.6 "Chirik" _read_ Char-yak.
95 l.2 fr. ft. "Aubaj" _read_ Char-jui.
96 last line "Qasim" _read_ Kamal (or Kahal).
109 l.16 "qasim" _read_ qadus.
_ib._ n.5 l.3 _read_ grand "father".
117 n.2 "909" _read_ 908.
122 n.4 "_bulghar_" _read_ _buljar_.
129 l.14 "_daban_" _read_ _kutal_.
131 ll.3-4 fr. ft. _read_ Khan-quli and Karim-dad.
134 l.3 fr. ft. and 136 l.5 _read_ in my 19th (lunar) year.
144 para. 3 "rain" _read_ grain.
148 n.2 "f. 18" _read_ f. 118.
149 l.17 _read_ Khanim.
154 n.3 "f. 183_b_" _read_ f. 103_b_ and for f. 264_b_ _read_ f. 264.
168 Sect. heading "Kasan" _read_ Karnan.
175 l.11 _read_ Mirza-quli.
183 last line "Kulja" _read_ Khuldja.
192 l.3 _read_ Taliqan.
194 l.12 _read_ Quhlugha.
_ib._ n.3 _read_ Bai-sunghar.
204 l.16 _read_ Curriers'.
205 l.5 _read_ Sir; l.13 _read_ Wa(lian); l.14 _read_ Qibchaq.
205 l.10 fr. ft. "three or four" _read_ four or five (cf. omissions
p. 205).
211 para. 3, end, "920" _read_ 924.
212 n.2 l.2 _read_ _chiqmaq_.
213 n.5 "_parwan_" _read_ _parran_; and nn.5, 6, 7 _read_ Blanford.
244 ll.8 and 25 "page" _read_ preferably, brave; l.19 _read_
gallopers.
273 n.2 _read_ grand-"daughter".
282 n.3 l.2 "345" _read_ 348-9.
289 l.5 "wonderful" _read_ metaphorist.
342 mid-page _read_ Pur-amin.
344 last line "Appendix" _read_ Trs.' note 711.
351 l.15 "Akhsi" _read_ Archian.
387 n.3 _delete_ sentence 2.
410 last line "_khuntul_" _read_ _hunzal_.
414 l.2 "18th" _read_ 13th; and l.2 fr. ft. "purslain" _read_ poplar.
438 l.15 "son" _read_ grandson.
447 n.3 para. 2 l.1 "month" _read_ week.
470 n.l. 5 fr. ft. "p.66" _read_ p. 166.
482 n.3 "Gujrat" _read_ Malwa.
485 sec. e l.7 "Gumti" _read_ Gui.
499 l.17 "_yak-rang_" _read_ _bak-ding_ (see Add. Note P. 499).
500 l.15 _s.n._ crow "_qarcha_" _read qargha_; n.6 "f. 136"
_read_ f. 135.
505 l.6 tr. n. ref. "2" to, _buia_.
520 n.1 "1854" _read_ 1845.
534 l.2 fr. ft. "and" _read_ 932.
535 l.2 fr. ft. _delete_ "others".
579 l.8 "April 13th" _read_ April 3rd.
591 n.2 "_qurughir_" _read_ _quruqtur_.
604 n.l.1 _read_ _Afaghana_.
616 l.5 _read_ Madhakur; and Sect. m "_qara-su_" _read_ _darya
qaraghi_ or _qaraghina_.
620 l.7 _rahim_ _read_ _rahman_.
621 l.11 after "servants" _read_ Beg-gina "had come".
622 l.12 _read_ Siunjuk; l.13 Tashkint.
631 l.13 _delete_ the parenthesis (see Add. Note P. 631).
632 l.4 _read_ Farrukh.
636 l.7 "rest" _read_ eight others.
640 l.1 _read_ quli.
643 (Feb. 4th) "Muhammad" _read_ Mahmud.
644 n.5 "323" _read_ 232.
699 l.13 "935" _read_ 938.
713 l.3 _read_ Saliha; and l.11 fr. ft.
Miran-shahi.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
P. 16 l. 11.--Nizami mentions "lover's marks" where a rebel chieftain
commenting on Khusrau's unfitness to rule by reason of his
infatuation for Shirin, says, "_Hinoz az`ashiqbazi garm dagh ast._"
(H.B.)
P. 22 n. 2.--Closer acquaintance with related books leads me to delete
the words "Chaghatai Mughul" from Haidar _Dughlat's_ tribal
designations (p. 22, n. 2, l. 1). (1) My "Chaghatai" had warrant (now
rejected) in Haidar's statement (T.R. trs. p. 3) that the Dughlat
amirs were of the same stock (_abna`-i-jins_) as the Chaghatai
Khaqans. But the Dughlat off-take from the common stem was of earlier
date than Chingiz Khan's, hence, his son's name "Chaghatai" is a
misnomer for Dughlats. (2) As for "Mughul" to designate Dughlat, and
also Chaghatai chiefs--guidance for us rests with the chiefs
themselves; these certainly (as did also the Begchik chiefs) held
themselves apart from "Mughuls of the horde" and begs of the horde--as
apart they had become by status as chiefs, by intermarriage, by
education, and by observance of the amenities of civilized life. To
describe Dughlat, Chaghatai and Begchik chiefs in Babur's day as
Mughuls is against their self-classification and is a discourtesy. A
clear instance of need of caution in the use of the word Mughul is
that of `Ali-sher _Nawa'i Chaghatai_. (Cf. Abu'l-ghazi's accounts of
the formation of several tribes.) (3) That "Mughul" described for
Hindustanis Babur's invading and conquering armies does not
obliterate distinctions in its chiefs. Mughuls of the horde followed
Timurids when to do so suited them; there were also in Babur's armies
several chiefs of the ruling Chaghatai family, brothers of The Khan,
Sa`id (_see_ Chin-timur, Aisan-timur, Tukhta-bugha). With these must
have been their following of "Mughuls of the horde".
P. 34 l. 12.--"With the goshawks" translates _qirchigha bila_ of the
Elph. MS. (f. 12_b_) where it is explained marginally by _ba bazi_,
with the falcon or goshawk. The Hai. MS. however has, in its text,
_piazi bila_ which may mean with arrows having points (_Sanglakh_ f.
144_b_ quoting this passage). Ilminski has no answering word (_MÈms._
i, 19). Muh. _Shirazi_ [p. 13 l. 11 fr. ft.] writes _ba bazi
miandakhtan_.
P. 39.--The _Habibu's-siyar_ (lith. ed. iii, 217 l. 16) writes of
Sayyid Murad _Aughlaqchi_ (the father or g.f. of Yusuf) that he (who
had, Babur says, come from the Mughul horde) held high rank under
Abu-sa`id Mirza, joined Husian _Bai-qara_ after the Mirza's defeat
and death (873 A.H.), and (p. 218) was killed in defeat by Amir `Ali
_Jalair_ who was commanding for Yadgar-i-muhammad _Shah-rukhi_.
P. 49.--An _Aimaq_ is a division of persons and not of territory. In
Mongolia under the Chinese Government it answers to khanate. A Khan
is at the head of an _aimaq_. Aimaqs are divided into _koshung_,
_i.e._ banners (_Mongolia_, N. Prejevalsky trs. E. Delmar Morgan, ii,
53).
P. 75 and n. 1.--For an explanation, provided in 94 AH., of why
Samarkand was called _Baldat-i-mahfuza_, the Guarded-city, see
Daulat-shah, Browne's ed. _s.n._ Qulaiba p. 443.
P. 85 n. 2.--The reference to the _Habibu's-siyar_ confuses two
cases of parricide:--`Abdu'l-latif's of Aulugh Beg (853-1447) to which
H.S. refers [Vol. III, Part 2, p. 163, l. 13 fr. ft.] with (one of
7-628) Shiruya's of Khusrau Parviz (H.S. Vol. I, Part 2, p. 44, l. 11
fr. ft.) where the parricide's sister tells him that the murderer of
his father (and 15 brothers) would eventually be punished by God, and
(a little lower) the couplet Babur quotes (p. 85) is entered (H.B.).
P. 154 n. 3.--The Persian phrase in the _Siyasat-nama_ which describes
the numbering of the army (T. _dim kurmak_) is _ba sar-i-taziana
shumurdan_. Schafer translates _taziana_ by _cravache_. I have
nowhere found how the whip was used; (cf. S.N. Pers. text p. 15 l.
5).
P. 171 n. 1.--Closer acquaintance with Babur's use of _darya_, _rud_,
_su_, the first of which he reserves for a great river, casts doubt
on my suggestion that _darya_ may stand for the Kasan-water. But the
narrative supports what I have noted. The "upper villages" of Akhsi
might be, however, those higher up on the Saihun-darya (Sir-darya).
P. 189 and n. 1.--A third and perhaps here better rendering of _bi
baqi_ is that of p. 662 (_s.d._ April 10th), "leaving none behind."
P. 196.--The _Habibu's-siyar_ (lith. ed. iii, 250 l. 11 fr. ft.)
writes of _baradaran_ of Khusrau Shah, Amir Wali and Pir Wali. As it
is improbable that two brothers (AnglicÈ) would be called Wali, it
may be right to translate _baradaran_ by brethren, and to understand
a brother and a cousin. Babur mentions only the brother Wali.
P. 223 ll. 1-3 fr. ft.--The French translation, differing from
`Abdu'r-rahim's and Erskine's, reads Babur as saying of the ranges
separating the cultivated lands of Kabul, that they are _comme des
ponts de trËfle_, but this does not suit the height and sometimes
permanent snows of some of the separating ranges.--My bald "(great)
dams" should have been expanded to suit the meaning (as I take it to
be) of the words _Yur-unchaqa pul-dik_, like embankments (_pul_)
against going (_yur_) further; (so far, _uncha_). Cf. Griffiths'
_Journal_, p. 431.
P. 251.--Nizami expresses the opinion that "Fate is an avenging
servitor" but not in the words used by Babur (p. 251). He does this
when moralizing on Farhad's death, brought about by Khusrau's trick
and casting the doer into dread of vengeance (H. B.).
P. 266 n. 7.--On p. 266 Babur allots three daughters to Papa Aghacha
and on p. 269 four. Various details make for four. But, if four, the
total of eleven (p. 261) is exceeded.
P. 276 para. 3.--Attention is attracted on this page to the unusual
circumstance that a parent and child are both called by the same
name, Junaid. One other instance is found in the _Babur-nama_, that
of Babur's wife Ma`suma and her daughter. Perhaps "Junaid" like
"Ma`suma" was the name given to the child because birth closely
followed the death of the parent (_see_ _s.n._ Ma`suma).
P. 277.--Concerning Bih-bud Beg the _Shaibani-nama_ gives the
following information:--he was in command in Khwarizm and Khiva when
Shaibani moved against Chin _Sufi_ (910 AH.), and spite of his name,
was unpopular (VambÈry's ed. 184, 186). VambÈry's note 88 says he is
mentioned in the (anonymous) prose _Shaibani-nama_, Russian trs. p.
lxi.
P. 372 l. 2 fr. ft.--Where the Hai. MS. and Kasan Imp. have _mu`araz_,
rival, E. and de C. translate by representative, but the following
circumstances favour "rival":--Wais was with Babur (pp. 374-6) and
would need no representative. His arrival is not recorded; no
introductory particulars are given of him where his name is first
found (p. 372); therefore he is likely to have joined Babur in the
time of the gap of 924 AH. (p. 366), before the siege of Bajaur-fort
and before `Ala'u'd-din did so. The two Sawadi chiefs received gifts
and left together (p. 376).
P. 393 l. 4.--In this couplet the point lies in the double-meaning of
_ra`iyat_, subject and peasant.
P. 401.--Under date Thursday 25th Babur mentions an appointment to
read _fiqah sabaqi_ to him. Erskine translated this by "Sacred
extracts from the Qoran" (I followed this). But "lessons in theology"
may be a better rendering--as more literal and as allowing for the use
of other writings than the Qoran. A correspondent Mr. G. Yazdani
(Gov. Epigraphist for Muslim Inscriptions, Haidarabad) tells us that
it is customary amongst Muslims to recite religious books on
Thursdays.
P. 404 l. 7 fr. ft.--Baba Qashqa (or Qashqa)'s family-group is
somewhat interesting as that of loyal and capable men of Mughul birth
who served Babur and Humayun. It must have joined Babur in what is
now the gap between 914 and 925 AH. because not mentioned earlier and
because he is first mentioned in 925 AH. without introductory
particulars. The following details supplement _Babur-nama_
information about the group:--(1) Of Baba Qashqa's murder by
Muhammad-i-zaman _Bai-qara_ Gul-hadan (f. 23) makes record, and
Badayuni (Bib. Ind. ed. i, 450) says that (_cir._ 952 AH.) when
Baba's son Haji Muh. Khan _Kuki_ had pursued and overtaken the rebel
Kamran, the Mirza asked, as though questioning the Khan's ground of
hostility to himself, "But did I kill thy father Baba Qashqa?"
(_Pidrat Baba Qashqa magar man kushta am?_).--(2) Of the death of Baba
Qashqa's brother "Kuki", Abu'l-fazl records that he was killed in
Hindustan by Muhammad Sl. M. _Bai-qara_ (952 AH.), and that Kuki's
nephew Shah Muh. (_see_ p. 668) retaliated (955 AH.) by
arrow-shooting one of Muh. Sl. Mirza's sons. This was done when Shah
Muh. was crossing Minar-pass on his return journey from sharing
Humayun's exile in Persia (_see_ Jauhar).--(3) Haji Muh. Khan _Kuki_
and Shah Muhammad Khan appear to have been sons of Baba Qashqa and
nephews of "Kuki" (_supra_). They were devoted servants of Humayun
but were put to death by him in 958 AH.-1551 AD. (cf. Erskine's _H.
of I. Humayun_).--(4) About the word _Kuki_ dictionaries afford no
warrant for taking it to mean foster-brother (_kokah_). Chingiz Khan
had a beg known as Kuk or Kouk (or Guk) and one of his own grandsons
used the same style. It may link the Baba Qashqa group with the
Chingiz Khanid Kuki, either as descendants or as hereditary
adherents, or as both. (_See_ Abu'l-ghazi's _Shajarat-i-Turk_, trs.
DÈsmaisons, Index _s.n._ _Kouk_ and also its accounts of the origin
of several tribal groups.)
P. 416.--The line quoted by `Abdu'l-lah is from the _Anwar-i-suhaili_,
Book II, Story i. Eastwick translates it and its immediate context
thus:--
"People follow the faith of their kings.
My heart is like a tulip scorched and by sighings flame;
In all thou seest, their hearts are scorched and stained
the same." (H.B.)
The offence of the quotation appears to have been against Khalifa,
and might be a suggestion that he followed Babur in breach of Law by
using wine.
P. 487 n. 2.--The following passages complete the note on _wulsa_
quoted by Erskine from Col. Mark Wilks' _Historical Sketches_ and
show how the word is used:--"During the absence of Major Lawrence from
Trichinopoly, the town had been completely depopulated by the removal
of the whole _Wulsa_ to seek for food elsewhere, and the enemy had
been earnestly occupied in endeavouring to surprise the garrison."
(Here follows Erskine's quotation _see in loco_ p. 487). "The people
of a district thus deserting their homes are called the _Wulsa_ of
that district, a state of utmost misery, involving precaution against
incessant war and unpitying depredation--so peculiar a description as
to require in any of the languages of Europe a long circumlocution,
is expressed _in all the languages of Deckan and the south of India
by a single word_. No proofs can be accumulated from the most
profound research which shall describe the immemorial condition of
the people of India with more precision than this single word. It is
a bright distinction that the _Wulsa_ never departs on the approach
of a British army when this is unaccompanied by Indian allies."--By
clerical error in the final para. of my note _ulvash_ is entered for
_ulvan_ [Molesworth, any desolating calamity].
P. 540 n. 4.--An explanation of Babur's use of Shah-zada as Tahmasp's
title may well be that this title answers to the Timurid one
Mir-zada, Mirza. If so, Babur's change to "Shah" (p. 635) may
recognize supremacy by victory, such as he had claimed for himself in
913 AH. when he changed his Timurid "Mirza" for "Padshah".
P. 557.--Husain _Kashifi_, also, quotes Firdausi's couplet in the
_Anwar-i-suhaili_ (Cap. I, Story XXI), a book dedicated to Shaikh
Ahmad _Suhaili_ (p. 277) and of earlier date than the _Babur-nama_.
Its author died in 910 AH.-1505 AD.
P. 576 n. 1.--Tod's statement (quoted in my n. 1) that "the year of
Rana Sanga's defeat (933 AH.) was the last of his existence" cannot
be strictly correct because Babur's statement (p. 598) of intending
attack on him in Chitor allows him to have been alive in 934 AH.
(1528 AD.). The death occurred, "not without suspicion of poison,"
says Tod, when the Rana had moved against Irij then held for Babur;
it will have been long enough before the end of 934 AH. to allow an
envoy from his son Bikramajit to wait on Babur in that year (pp. 603,
612). Babur's record of it may safely be inferred lost with the
once-existent matter of 934 AH.
P. 631.--My husband has ascertained that the "Sayyid Dakni" of p. 631
is Sayyid Shah Tahir _Dakni_ (_Deccani_) the Shiite apostle of
Southern India, who in 935 AH. was sent to Babur with a letter from
Burhan Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar, in which (if there were not two
embassies) congratulation was made on the conquest of Dihli and help
asked against Bahadur Shah _Gujrati_. A second but earlier mention of
"Sayyid _Dakni_" (_Zakni_, _Rukni?_) _Shirazi_ is on p. 619. Whether
the two entries refer to Shah Tahir nothing makes clear. The
cognomen Shirazi disassociates them. It is always to be kept in mind
that preliminary events are frequently lost in gaps; one such will be
the arrivals of the various envoys, mentioned on p. 630, whose places
of honour are specified on p. 631. Much is on record about Sayyid
Shah Tahir _Dakni_ and particulars of his life are available in the
histories by Badayuni (Ranking trs.) and (Firishta Nawal Kishor ed.
p. 105); B.M. Harleyan MS. No. 199 contains his letters (_see_ Rieu's
Pers. Cat. p. 395).
P. 699 and n. 3.--The particulars given by the _Tabaqat-i-akbari_
about Multan at this date (932-4 AH.) are as follows:--After Babur
took the Panj-ab, he ordered Shah Hasan _Arghun_ to attempt Multan,
then held by one Sl. Mahmud who, dying, was succeeded by an infant
son Husain. Shah Hasan took Multan after a 16 (lunar) months' siege,
at the end of 934 AH. (in a B.N. _lacuna_ therefore), looted and
slaughtered in it, and then returned to Tatta. On this Langar Khan
took possession of it (H.B.). What part `Askari (_Êt._ 12) had in the
matter is yet to learn; possibly he was nominated to its command and
then recalled as Babur mentions (935 AH.).
FOOTNOTES
[2861] The fist indicates Translator's matter.
[2862] See Abu'l-ghazi's _Shajarat-i-turki_ on the origin and
characteristics of the tribe (DÈsmaisons trs. Index _s.n._
Ouighur, especially pp. 16, 37, 39).
[2863] This date is misplaced in my text and should be
transferred from p. 83, l. 3 fr. ft. to p. 86, l. 1, there to
follow "two years".
[2864] A fuller reference to the H.S. than is given on p. 85
n. 2, is ii, 44 and iii, 167.
[2865] Cf. _s.n._ `Abdu'l-lah Mirza _Shah-rukhi_ for a date
misplaced in my text.
[2866] The date 935 AH. is inferred from p. 483.
[2867] Cf. Badayuni's _Muntakhabu't-tawarikh_ and Ranking's
trs. i, 616 and n. 4, 617.
[2868] FertÈ translates this sobriquet by _le dÈvouÈ_ (_Vie de
Sl. Hossein Baikara_ p. 40 n. 3).
[2869] At p. 22 n. 8 fill out to Cf. f. 6_b_ (p. 13) n. 5.
[2870] For an account of his tomb see Schuyler's _Turkistan_,
1, 70-72.
[2871] Or Aigu (Ayagu) from _ayagh_, foot, perhaps expressing
close following of Timur, whose friend the Beg was.
[2872] Daulat-shah celebrates the renown of the Jalair section
(_farqa_) of the Chaghatai tribes (_aqwam_) of the Mughul
horde (_aulus_, _ulus_), styles the above-entered `Ali Beg a
veteran hero, and links his family with that of the Jalair
Sultans of Baghdad (Browne's ed. p. 519).
[2873] See H. S. lith. ed. iii, 224, for three men who
conveyed helpful information to Husain.
[2874] Later consideration has cast doubts on his
identification with Darwesh-i-`ali suggested, p. 345 n. 4.
[2875] On p. 69 n. 2 for _aunulung_ read _aunutung_ and
reverse _bakunid_ with _nakunid_.
[2876] On p. 49 l. 3 for "Black Sheep" read White Sheep.
[2877] Like his brother Hind-al's name, Alur's may be due to
the taking (_al_) of Hind.
[2878] See the _Tabaqat-i-akbari_ account of the rulers of
Multan.
[2879] On p. 85 l. 9 for "872 AH.-1467 AD.", read 851 AH.-1447
AD.
[2880] On p. 79 transfer the note-reference "3" to _qibla_.
[2881] See Daulat-shah (Browne's ed. p. 362) for an
entertaining record of the Mirza's zeal as a sportsman and an
illustrative anecdote by Shaikh `Arif _`azari_ _q.v._ (H.B.).
[2882] I have found no statement of his tribe or race; he and
his brother are styled Khwaja (H.S. lith. ed. iii, 272); he is
associated closely with Ahmad Tambal _Mughul_ and Mughuls of
the Horde; also his niece's name Aulus Agha translates as Lady
of the Horde (_ulus_, _aulus_). But he may have been a
Turkman.
[2883] The MS. variants between `Ali and -quli are confusing.
What stands in my text (p. 27) may be less safe than the
above.
[2884] Baba Qashqa was murdered by Muhammad-i-zaman
_Bai-qara_. For further particulars of his family group see
Add. Notes under p. 404.
[2885] Sultan Baba-quli Beg is found variously designated Quli
Beg, Quli Baba, Sl. `Ali Baba-quli, Sultan-quli Baba and
Baba-quli Beg. Several forms appear to express his filial
relationship with Sultan Baba `Ali (_q.v._).
[2886] Down to p. 346 Babur's statements are retrospective;
after p. 346 they are mostly contemporary with the dates of
his diary--when not so are in supplementing passages of later
date.
[2887] He may be the father of Mun`im Khan (Blochmann's
Biographies A.-i-A. trs. 317 and n. 2).
[2888] See note, Index, _s.n._ Muhammad Zakaria.
[2889] He is likely to have been introduced with some
particulars of tribe, in one of the now unchronicled years
after Babur's return from his Trans-oxus campaign.
[2890] His wife, daughter of a wealthy man and on the mother's
side niece of Sultan Buhlul _Ludi_, financed the military
efforts of Bayazid and Biban (_Tarikh-i-sher-shahi_, E. and D.
iv, 353 ff.).
[2891] My translation on p. 621 l. 12 is inaccurate inasmuch
as it hides the circumstance that Beg-gina alone was the
"messenger of good tidings".
[2892] In taking Biban for a Jilwani, I follow Erskine, (as
inferences also warrant,) but he may be a Ludi.
[2893] For the same uncertainty between Bihar and Pahar see E.
and D.'s History of India iv, 352 n. 2.
[2894] Firishta lith. ed. i, 202.
[2895] For "Mu'min" read Mumin, which form is constant in the
Hai. MS.
[2896] He may be Hamida-banu's father and, if so, became
grandfather of Akbar.
[2897] Ilminsky, _anlu_, Erskine, _angu_. Daulat-shah mentions
a Muhammad Shah _anju_ (see Brown's ed. Index _s.n._).
[2898] On p. 22 n. 2 delete "_Chaghatai Mughul_" on grounds
given in Additional Note, Page 22.
[2899] For Humayun's annotation of the _Babur-nama_, see
General Index _s.n._ Humayun's Notes.
[2900] For a correction of dates, see _s.n._ Aulugh Beg.
[2901] On p. 279 l. 3 from foot read "There was also Ibrahim
_Chaghatai_" after "Muhammad-i-zaman Mirza".
[2902] _Addendum_:--p. 49 l. 4, read "wife" of Muhammadi "son"
of Jahan-shah.
[2903] His name might mean Welcome, _Bien-venu_.
[2904] Khusrau-shah may be the more correct form.
[2905] The "afterwards" points to an omission which
Khwand-amir's account of Husain's daughters fills (lith. ed.
iii, 327).
[2906] No record survives of the Khwaja's deeds of daring
other than those entered above; perhaps the other instances
Babur refers to occurred during the gap 908-9 AH.
[2907] This may be a tribal or a family name. Abu'l-ghazi
mentions two individuals named "Kouk". One was Chingiz Khan's
grandson who is likely to have had descendants or followers
distinguishable as _Kuki_. See Add. Note P. 673 on Kuki fate.
[2908] Cf. E. and D. for "Karani" (_e.g._ vol. iv, 530). The
Hai. MS. sometimes doubles the _r_, sometimes not.
[2909] See _Waqi`at-i-mushtaqi_, E. and D. iv, 548.
[2910] Shaikhim _Suhaili_ however was named Ahmad (277) not
Muhammad.
[2911] The record of the first appears likely to be lost in
the _lacuna_ of 934 AH.
[2912] See _Shaibani-nama_, VambÈry's ed. Cap. xv, l. 12, for
his changes of service, and Sam Mirza's _Tuhfa-i-sami_ for
various particulars including his classification as a
Chaghatai.
[2913] He died serving Babur, at Kul-i-malik (H.S. iii,
344).--Further information negatives my suggestion (201 n. 7)
that he and Mir Husain (p. 288 and n. 7) were one.
[2914] "Zaitun is the name of the Chinese city from which
satin was brought (_hodie_ Thsiuancheu or Chincheu) and my
belief is that our word satin came from it" (Col. H. Yule, E.
and D. iv, 514).
[2915] My text omits to translate _yigit_ (_aughul_) and thus
loses the information that Yahya's sons Baqi and Zakaria were
above childhood, were grown to fighting age--braves--but not yet
begs (see Index _s.n._ _chuhra_).
[2916] See Add. Notes under p. 39.
[2917] See Add. Notes under p. 266.
[2918] For emendation of 266 n. 7, see Add. Notes under P.
266.
[2919] On p. 49 l. 3 for "Black" read White; and in l. 3 read
("wife of") Muhammadi son of ("Jahan-shah").
[2920] Cf. H.S. Ferti's trs. p. 70 for the same name Qaitmas.
[2921] His capture is not recorded.
[2922] He joined Babur with his father Yar-i-`ali _Balal_
(_q.v._) in 910 AH. (Blochmann's Biographies, A.-i-A. trs.
315).
[2923] Concerning the date of his death, see Additional Notes
under p. 603.
[2924] Since my text was printed, my husband has lighted upon
what shows that the guest at the feast was an ambassador sent
by Burhan Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar to congratulate Babur on
his conquest of Dihli, namely, Shah Tahir the apostle of
Shiism in the Dakkan. He is thus distinguished from Sayyid
Dakni, (Rukni, Zakni) _infra_ and my text needs suitable
correction. (See Add. Notes under p. 631 for further
particulars of the Sayyid and his embassy.)
[2925] For further particulars see Add. Note under p. 688.
[2926] For "H.S. ii" read iii (as also in some other places).
[2927] Down to p. 131 the Hai. MS. uses the name Shaibani or
Shaibani Khan; from that page onwards it writes Shaibaq Khan,
in agreement with the Elphinstone MS.--Other names found are
_e.g._ Gulbadan's Shahi Beg Khan and Shah-bakht. (My note 2 on
p. 12 needs modification.)
[2928] The title "Aughlan" (child, boy) indicates that the
bearer died without ruling.
[2929] This cognomen was given because the bearer was born
during an eclipse of the moon (_ai_, moon and the root _al_
taking away); _see_ Badayuni Bib. Ind. ed. i, 62.
[2930] Here _delete_ "Sultan-nigar Khanim", who was his
grandmother and not his mother.
[2931] On p. 433 n. 1 her name is mistakenly entered as that
of Sulaiman's mother.
[2932] Concerning this title, see Add. Notes under p. 540.
[2933] He may be the Tulik Khan _quchin_ of the
_Ma`asiru'l-umra_ i, 475.
[2934] Haidar Mirza gives an interesting account of his
character and attainments (T.R. trs. p. 283).
[2935] See Additional Note under P. 372.
[2936] See Additional Notes under P. 51.
[2937] Here the Hai. MS. and Ilminsky's Imprint add "Nasir".
[2938] The natural place for this Section of record is at the
first mention of Yunas Khan (p. 12) and not, as now found,
interrupting another Section. See p. 678 and n. 4 as to
"Sections".
[2939] The entries of 934 and 935 may concern a second man
`Ali-i-yusuf.
[2940] Perhaps skilled in the art of metaphors and tropes
(_`ilmu'l-badi`_).
[2941] My text has _julgasi_, but I am advised to omit the
genitive _si_; so, too, in aiki-su-ara-si, Rabatjk-aurchin-i
_q.v._
[2942] Cf. _s.n._ Ahangaran-julga n. as to form of the name.
[2943] Asterisks indicate Translator's matter.
[2944] Babur uses this name for, AnglicÈ, the Kabul-river as
low as nearly to Dakka.
[2945] "The Dara-i-suf, often mentioned by the Arabian
writers, seems to lie west of Bamian" (Erskine, _Memoirs_, p.
152 n. 1).
[2946] Babur's itinerary gives Gharjistan a greater eastward
extent than the Fr. map MaÔmËnË allows, thus agreeing with
Erskine's surmise (_Memoirs_ p. 152 n. 1).--The first syllable
of the name may be "Ghur".
[2947] On p. 7, l. 1, after "turbulent", _add_, " They are
notorious in Mawara'u'n-nahr for their bullying."
[2948] On p. 134 for "(I was) 19" _read_ in my 19th (lunar)
year.
[2949] Cf. _Life of Busbecq_ (Forster and Daniels) i, 252-7,
for feats of Turkish archery.
[2950] For the Bukhara (Babur-nama) Compilation _see_
_Waqi`-nama-i-padshahi_; as also for its Codices, descendants
and offtakes, _viz._ Ilminski's "_Babur-nama_" and de
Courteille's _MÈmoires de Baber_.
[2951] The confusion of identity has become clear to me in
1921 only.
[2952] One of the nine great gods of the Etruscans was called
Turan. Etr. _Tur_ means strong, a strong place (fortress);
with it may connect L. _turma_ (troop) and the name of
Virgil's Rutulian hero Turmus may root in the Mongol tongue.
Professor Jules Marthe writes in _La Langue Etrusque_ (Pref.
vi), "Il m'a paru qu'il y avait entre l'Etrusque et les
langues finns-ougriennes d'Ètroites affinitÈs" (hence with the
Mongol tongue). "Tarkhan" is "Turkhan" in Miles trs. p. 71 of
the _Shajaratu'l-atrak_ (H. B.).
[2953] This Cat. contains the Turki MS. of the Bukhara
Compilation, once owned by Leyden.
[2954] where, in n. 3, for f. 183_b_ and f. 264_b_ _read_ f.
103_b_ and f. 264.
[2955] For "H.S. ii" read H.S. iii--also on p. 244.
[2956] On this peg may be hung the following note:--The
_Padshah-nama_ (_q.v._) calls the author and presenter of the
above translation "Abu-talib" _Husaini_ (Bib. Ind. ed. vol. i,
part 2, p. 288), but its index contains many references
seemingly to the same man as Khwaja Abu'l-husain _Turbati_.
The P. N. says the book which it entitles
_Waqi`at-i-sahib-qiran_ (The Acts of Timur), was in Turki, was
brought forth from the Library of the (Turk) Governor of Yemen
and translated by Mir Abu-talib _Husaini_; that what Timur had
done with this book of counsel (_dastan-i-nasa'ih_) when he
sent it to his son Pir-i-muhammad, then succeeding (his
brother) Jahangir [in Kabul, the Ghaznis, Qandahar, _etc._]
Shahjahan also did by sending it, out of love, to his son
Aurangzib who had been ordered to the Deccan.
[2957] In n. 5 for "_parwan_" read _parran_, and _read_
Blanford.
[2958] Which _read_ (l. 17) for _yak rang_. The name
_bak-ding_ appears due to the clapping of the bird's mandibles
and its pompous strut; (cf. Ross' _Polyglot List_, No. 336).
[2959] Following the _zammaj_ insert "Another is the buzzard
(T. _Sar_); its back and tail are red". (_Cf._ Omission List
under p. 500.)
[2960] _See_ Omission List under p. 498.
[2961] After "Tramontane", _add_ Its breast is less deeply
black.
[2962] The bird being black, its name cannot be translated
"yellow-bird"; as noted on p. 373 _sarigh_ = thief; [_saragh_
or _sarigh_ means a bird's song].
[2963] For references to Nizami's text, I am indebted to Mr.
Beveridge's knowledge of the poems.
[2964] Cf. Mr. G. Murray's trs. (Euripides i, 86) suggesting
that the Wooden Horse was a _sar-kob_.
[2965] Abu'l-ghazi classes Manghit with Mughul tribes, Radloff
with Turk tribes (_RÈcueils p. 325_), Erskine says, "modern
Nogais."
_Stephen Austin and Sons, Ltd., Printers, Hertford._
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